Recaps

Chen Changan, Mu Yunyao, and Gu Minglou reached Wind Moon Tower’s second floor, where they had to compose three poems to pass. After Chen Changan praised a poorly regarded poem and questioned the legacy of the Sage of Literature, the outraged literati challenged him to prove his own talent.

• Gu Minglou handed Chen Changan the items he had been carrying, and Chen Changan promised to share the spoils with him.
• Chen Changan, Mu Yunyao, and Gu Minglou reached the second floor of Wind Moon Tower, where two Palace Masters explained that they needed three acceptable poems to pass.
• Chen Changan praised a poem about crossing a rickety bridge, drawing ridicule from the crowd before he encouraged its author.
• Chen Changan questioned whether the literary world still matched the heights reached by the Sage of Literature, angering the literati.
• The literati demanded that Chen Changan write a poem to prove himself, and Chen Changan asked them to name the Sage of Literature’s great works.

Chen Changan challenged the True Realm scholars’ reverence for Sage of Literature and listened as they recited his father’s celebrated poem. Chen Changan then delivered his own boastful verses, leaving everyone stunned and wondering if Sage of Literature had manifested.

• The scholars condemned Chen Changan for insulting Sage of Literature and recited a poem they praised as his peerless Divine Work.
• Mu Yunyao dismissed the poem as doggerel, while Gu Minglou admired its domineering claim that Sage of Literature stood unrivaled.
• Chen Changan considered whether he could match his father’s poem, then closed his eyes to compose one as the scholars waited and mocked him.
• Chen Changan recited verses declaring that the world would languish in darkness without him and that scholars lowered their brows at his sight.
• The two Palace Masters and everyone on the second floor stared at Chen Changan in shock, with some calling it Sage of Literature manifesting.

Chen Changan impressed the literary world with another borrowed poem and passed the Wind Moon Tower’s literary challenge alongside Mu Yunyao and Gu Minglou. He left for the third floor, hoping the final level would bring no surprises.

• Scholars and cultivators praised Chen Changan’s first poem and learned that he was the Sage of Literature’s son, the Imperial Pavilion Young Master.
• Chen Changan asked the two Palace Masters whether his poem was enough to pass, and they explained that his team’s challenge required three poems.
• At the crowd’s request, Chen Changan recited a second poem about Wind Moon Tower and said it was his last.
• Chen Changan took Mu Yunyao and Gu Minglou to the third floor, admitting he had no more poems ready.

Chen Changan and his companions reached Wind Moon Tower’s third floor, where the challenge was painting. Though the others expected a masterpiece from him, Chen Changan admitted that painting was his weakness and sat down to begin.

• Yang Dianfeng questioned Gu Minglou’s presence on the third floor, and Gu Minglou explained their mutual dislike to Chen Changan.
• Third-floor Palace Master Meng Ziyang greeted Chen Changan with reverence and praised his literary talent.
• Chen Changan said he had come to reach the ninth floor and asked about the third challenge.
• Meng Ziyang announced that the third challenge was painting, and Chen Changan realized he would have to rely on his poor painting skills.
• Chen Changan took his place before the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone as the others praised his supposed mastery.

Chen Changan passed the painting test by smearing ink across paper, and the crowd hailed the ambiguous result as a revolutionary Divine Work. The Palace Master kept the painting, while Gu Minglou eagerly pledged himself to Chen Changan as his little brother.

• Chen Changan abandoned his paintbrush and smeared ink across the paper with his palm.
• The crowd saw different things in the painting, and the Palace Master declared it a Divine Work that established a new school of painting.
• Mu Yunyao recognized Chen Changan's painting as random smears and understood how he used the crowd's imagination to make it seem profound.
• Chen Changan passed the test and gave the painting to the entranced Palace Master.
• Gu Minglou insisted on becoming Chen Changan's little brother, and Chen Changan agreed to consider it a trial arrangement.

Chen Changan, Mu Yunyao, and Gu Minglou passed the fourth-floor test, where the Palace Master's music tested their souls and willpower, then cleared the fifth floor. On the sixth floor, they met an Emperor Dao Realm Palace Master, and Gu Minglou insisted on taking the challenge alone.

• Chen Changan and the others endured the fourth-floor Palace Master's soul-affecting music, and Gu Minglou resisted an illusion until the piece ended.
• The Palace Master confirmed their success and explained that the music had strengthened Gu Minglou's soul.
• The trio passed the fifth-floor challenge with ease and continued to the sixth floor.
• The sixth-floor Palace Master revealed his Emperor Dao Realm cultivation and explained that the challenge would depend on the challengers' cultivation.
• Gu Minglou volunteered to face the sixth-floor Palace Master alone and confirmed that he was sure.

Gu Minglou challenged the Palace Master on the sixth floor, determined to endure ten moves despite their vast difference in strength. After surviving the trial and revealing a powerful move he invented during the fight, he passed and said he still wanted to fight Chen Changan.

• Gu Minglou asked to face the Palace Master alone, and Chen Changan agreed to let him take the challenge.
• The Palace Master required Gu Minglou to withstand ten moves, and Gu Minglou charged at him despite the odds.
• The Palace Master knocked Gu Minglou back repeatedly, but Gu Minglou endured nine moves and refused to stop when warned.
• On the tenth move, Gu Minglou seized an opening and struck the Palace Master with a powerful move he had created during the fight.
• Chen Changan helped Gu Minglou recover, and the Palace Master declared that he had passed the trial.
• Gu Minglou said he still wanted to fight Chen Changan, who replied that he was no match for him but would not lose.

Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao reached Wind Moon Tower’s seventh floor, where they learned the challenge had been altered to pit them against thirty coordinated Emperor Lord Realm cultivators. Mu Yunyao chose to fight them herself, while Gu Minglou remained too injured to join in.

• Chen Changan told Gu Minglou that he had never lost, though he might only manage a draw against a stronger opponent, and explained that he had used a potent Life Force to help Gu Minglou recover.
• Mu Yunyao volunteered to challenge the seventh floor, and the group found thirty Palace Masters waiting there instead of a single opponent.
• Chen Changan learned that Wind Moon Tower changed its Palace Masters and challenge rules according to each challenger, and that the seventh-floor group had increased from ten people to thirty because they came as a team.
• The seventh-floor Palace Masters warned that Mu Yunyao, at the Half-step Emperor Realm, would face thirty Emperor Lord Realm fighters working together in formations.
• Mu Yunyao welcomed the chance to fight and declared that she was strong in her own right.

Mu Yunyao defeated all thirty Emperor Lord Realm experts on the seventh floor, revealing strength that surprised even Chen Changan. The group reached the eighth floor, where Hua Wulei set Chen Changan the challenge of hitting him once before an incense stick burned down.

• Chen Changan reassured Gu Minglou that Mu Yunyao could defeat the seventh-floor challengers with ease.
• Mu Yunyao identified and struck the three core members of the formation, then knocked down all thirty experts.
• The seventh-floor Palace Master admitted Mu Yunyao had won and let the group proceed.
• Chen Changan explained that Mu Yunyao had reached the Half-step Emperor Realm and had touched the edges of the Space Law and the Law of Strength.
• On the eighth floor, Hua Wulei told Chen Changan he needed to hit him once within the time it took one incense stick to burn.
• Chen Changan called the challenge easy and asked Hua Wulei to give him a different one.

Chen Changan used the Time Law and another method to defeat Hua Wulei in a movement challenge, leaving him stunned. After Hua Wulei's Dao Heart shattered from self-doubt, Chen Changan rebuked him and restored his resolve.

• Hua Wulei accepted Chen Changan's challenge to land a hit on him and prepared to defend himself.
• Chen Changan used the Time Law's Time Stop to appear behind Hua Wulei before he could react, shocking Hua Wulei, Gu Minglou, Feng Wuyou, and Yue Zhirou.
• Chen Changan vanished and appeared behind Hua Wulei again, making Hua Wulei realize that Chen Changan had more than one way to bypass his movement skills.
• Hua Wulei's Dao Heart shattered as he doubted himself, and Chen Changan shouted him out of his despair and challenged his fragile confidence.
• Hua Wulei thanked Chen Changan for setting him straight and promised to repay him, but Chen Changan dismissed the offer.

Chen Changan and his companions drank Wind Flower Wine at Fengyue Tower, and Mu Yunyao and Gu Minglou advanced in cultivation. Chen Changan drank the entire jar at once and broke through to the early stage of the Emperor Realm before turning to serious business.

• Chen Changan took Mu Yunyao and Gu Minglou upstairs to meet Feng Wuyou and Yue Zhirou, who thanked him for protecting Hua Wulei's Dao Heart.
• Chen Changan insisted they drink Wind Flower Wine before discussing Wind Moon City and Fengyue Tower.
• Mu Yunyao advanced to the middle stage of the Emperor Realm after four cups, while Gu Minglou reached the middle stage of the Emperor Lord Realm after two.
• Chen Changan gulped down the entire jar of Wind Flower Wine and absorbed its energy quickly.
• Chen Changan broke through to the early stage of the Emperor Realm and said it was time to discuss serious business.

Chen Changan learned that Feng Wuyou and Yue Zhirou had waited for him on their master's orders, hoping he would become the True Realm's new Sage of Literature. Their master also offered to become Chen Changan's adoptive father and help him reach the pinnacle of the True Realm.

• Feng Wuyou and Yue Zhirou explained that their master had ordered them to wait for Chen Changan and compare him with the disciples he had raised.
• Feng Wuyou revealed that their master had brewed Wind Flower Wine and wanted Chen Changan to become the new Sage of Literature.
• Feng Wuyou warned Chen Changan to beware of his father's people and directed him to the Sacred Land of Literature with a map.
• Chen Changan learned that the Sacred Land of Literature lay southwest of Wind Moon City, along a route that passed Qingming Sect.
• Feng Wuyou told Chen Changan that their master wanted to be his adoptive father and would help him conquer the True Realm if he agreed.

Chen Changan refused to take an adoptive father and discussed the risks of trusting the mysterious person who sent him toward the Sacred Land of Literature. After Feng Wuyou and Yue Zhirou left Wind Moon City, Chen Changan and his companions arrived at the Qingming Sect, where its leaders feared he had come to claim their sacred object.

• Chen Changan told Mu Yunyao that he would not take an adoptive father, and he explained that he did not want to accept a position that put him at a disadvantage.
• Chen Changan warned Mu Yunyao and Gu Minglou to stay cautious of people who approached them in the True Realm, though he believed the Sacred Land of Literature was unlikely to be dangerous at first.
• Feng Wuyou and Yue Zhirou left Wind Moon City after telling Hua Wulei and the other two to become city lords and continue cultivating.
• After more than ten days of travel, Chen Changan, Mu Yunyao, and Gu Minglou arrived at the Qingming Sect, where Chen Changan revealed his identity.
• The Qingming Sect's leader and Elders worried that Chen Changan had come for their sacred object, and they discussed pretending not to know where it was.

Chen Changan confronted the Qingming Sect over an item the sect had taken, but the Grand Elder decided to kill him rather than hand it over. Chen Changan learned of the plot and faced the sect’s leaders as they came to attack.

• Chen Changan demanded that the Qingming Sect return an item that did not belong to them, while the Sect Master pretended not to know what he meant.
• When the Sect Master could not make a decision, Chen Changan told him to bring someone with authority, and the Sect Master went to consult the Grand Elder.
• The Grand Elder learned that Chen Changan had brought only two companions and concluded that the Qingming Sect could kill him.
• The Grand Elder revealed that someone had given him the item on the condition that he kill Chen Changan if he came to claim it.
• The Qingming Sect Master voiced concerns about provoking the Imperial Pavilion, but the Grand Elder led him back to attack Chen Changan.
• Chen Changan remarked that the sect wanted to kill him.

Chen Changan learned that the Qingming Sect had been ordered to kill him, but he continued to follow the hidden plot and let the Grand Elder attack. He slaughtered the sect’s fighters with Time Stop and the Red Dust Sword, then confronted the Grand Elder, who guessed Chen Changan wanted to locate a hidden item.

• Chen Changan told Mu Yunyao that someone behind the scenes had ordered the Qingming Sect to kill him, and he chose to keep playing along with the plan.
• Chen Changan told Mu Yunyao and Gu Minglou to hold off the others while he dealt with the people in the hall.
• The Grand Elder attacked Chen Changan with a full-strength palm, collapsing the Qingming Hall, but Chen Changan emerged unharmed.
• Chen Changan used Time Stop and sword strikes to kill the Grand Elder’s followers, then killed everyone else around the Grand Elder.
• The Grand Elder asked whether Chen Changan was hiding his cultivation, and Chen Changan said he was truly in the Emperor Realm before demanding the hidden item.

Chen Changan recovered the Crimson Demon Arm Armor from the Qingming Sect's Grand Elder and learned that the armor was part of a legendary set said to unlock a treasure trove. Before the Grand Elder could identify who had ordered Chen Changan's death, he was mysteriously killed, leaving Chen Changan unsure who was watching them.

• The Qingming Sect's Grand Elder handed Chen Changan the arm armor in exchange for his life and the sect's survival.
• The arm armor joined the Crimson Demon pieces inside Chen Changan, and the Grand Elder revealed the armor's rumored power and connection to a treasure trove.
• Chen Changan asked who had given the Grand Elder the armor and ordered him to kill Chen Changan, but the Grand Elder suddenly died before answering.
• Chen Changan searched for the unseen killer and examined the corpse but found no trace of the attacker.
• Mu Yunyao and Gu Minglou joined Chen Changan, who decided they should leave the area.

Chen Changan and his companions visited the Gu Family, where Family Head Gu Longcheng revealed that he had arranged for Gu Minglou to meet Chen Changan. The Gu Family honored Chen Changan as their ancestor because their first Family Head had received guidance from his father, and Gu Minglou ended the chapter wondering what that made him.

• Chen Changan left the Qingming Sect's surviving disciples alive and agreed to accompany Gu Minglou to visit his family.
• Chen Changan questioned how Gu Minglou had heard of him so far from their first meeting, but Gu Minglou said he had heard about him from his father.
• Gu Longcheng welcomed Chen Changan and admitted that he had deliberately sent Gu Minglou to meet him, expecting him to follow Chen Changan and return home with him.
• Gu Longcheng and the Gu Family elders knelt to honor Chen Changan, explaining that their first Family Head had received guidance from Chen Changan's father.
• Gu Minglou stayed kneeling and asked Gu Longcheng what he should call him if Gu Longcheng was of Chen Changan's grandson's generation and he called Chen Changan Big Brother.

Chen Changan learned that Hong Tianlong, one of the Five Great Elders of the Imperial Pavilion, had arranged for the Gu Family to invite him to compete in the Martial God Ranking. The Imperial Pavilion had already announced his participation in Martial God City, pressuring him to join.

• Gu Minglou pretended to be foolish to annoy his father, Gu Longcheng, while welcoming Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao to the Gu Family.
• Chen Changan recognized that Gu Minglou was acting, and the three of them entered the hall as Gu Longcheng followed.
• Chen Changan asked who had instructed Gu Longcheng to lure him to the Gu Family, and Gu Longcheng named Hong Tianlong, one of the Five Great Elders of the Imperial Pavilion.
• Gu Longcheng explained that the Martial God Ranking compared combat strength among people of the same cultivation level and also allowed cross-level comparisons.
• Gu Longcheng revealed that the Imperial Pavilion had announced Chen Changan would compete, and Chen Changan realized the publicity was meant to pressure him into joining.

Chen Changan questioned Gu Longcheng about the Martial God Ranking, the Red Demon, and the Gu Family's history before leaving with Mu Yunyao. He suspected the Five Great Elders were behind the conspiracy and decided to visit the Sacred Land of Literature to investigate his father's past.

• Gu Longcheng told Chen Changan that the Martial God Ranking could be entered at any time and that he had no news about the Red Demon.
• Gu Longcheng explained that the first Gu Family Head fell fighting foreign races and the second sacrificed himself to help the family rise.
• Chen Changan left the hall with Mu Yunyao and told Gu Minglou to stay, allowing Gu Longcheng and the elders to swarm and beat him.
• Chen Changan told Mu Yunyao he suspected the Five Great Elders had arranged the Qingming Sect attack and might be using him to gather the Red Demons.
• Chen Changan decided to visit the Sacred Land of Literature the next morning to learn why his father became a Sage of Literature.

Chen Changan left the Gu Family for the Sacred Land of Literature, while Feng Wuyou and Yue Zhirou intercepted an ambush waiting for him at West Peak Ridge. After learning that two attackers survived, Chen Changan said he had another way to discover who ordered the attack.

• Gu Longcheng gave Chen Changan resources for his journey and asked Gu Minglou to stay sharp while accompanying him.
• Dozens of experts gathered at West Peak Ridge to ambush Chen Changan, but Feng Wuyou and Yue Zhirou attacked first.
• Feng Wuyou and Yue Zhirou killed the ambushers and captured two wounded Emperor Heaven Realm experts.
• Yue Zhirou found Chen Changan and explained that her master had ordered her and Feng Wuyou to protect him in secret.
• Chen Changan said the captives did not need to talk for him to learn who had sent them.

Chen Changan learned through soul searching that the assassins came from the Feng Family of Dragon Sealing Valley, but their reason for targeting him remained unknown. He sent Feng Wuyou and Yue Zhirou to investigate the family and continued on his journey, wary that the True Realm might be setting a trap around him.

• Chen Changan soul-searched one of the captured Emperor Heaven Realm experts, despite the risks Mu Yunyao explained.
• Chen Changan discovered that the assassins came from the powerful Feng Family of Dragon Sealing Valley, whose motive he could not learn.
• Chen Changan decided to postpone confronting the Feng Family and ordered Feng Wuyou to kill the two captured men.
• Chen Changan asked Feng Wuyou and Yue Zhirou to investigate the Feng Family instead of continuing to follow him, and they agreed before leaving for Dragon Sealing Valley.
• Chen Changan told Mu Yunyao he did not fully trust their master and suspected that people in the True Realm might be involved in a trap around him.

Chen Changan arrived at the Sacred Land of Literature and learned that scholars there had spread his poems, paintings, and calligraphy. He went to Ancestor of Literature Academy to meet the Ten Elders of Literature and learn how to earn the title of Sage of Literature.

• Chen Changan, Mu Yunyao, and Gu Minglou arrived at the Sacred Land of Literature, where scholars were reciting and imitating Chen Changan's work.
• Gu Minglou learned that the Ten Elders of Literature led the Sacred Land and that anyone seeking the title of Sage of Literature would need to meet them.
• Chen Changan and his companions went to Ancestor of Literature Mountain and requested an audience with the Ten Elders of Literature.
• Two gatekeepers recognized Chen Changan and welcomed him into Ancestor of Literature Academy on foot.
• Scholars at the academy gathered to watch the newcomers and wished the Son of the Sage of Literature had come.

Chen Changan learned how the Ten Elders of Literature and the Sage of Literature were chosen, then followed the Ten Elders to the Five Ancestors of Literature’s statues. He prepared to test whether their wills would recognize him by casting his own will into the statues.

• Chen Changan met the Ten Elders of Literature, who revealed he was the pavilion’s sole occupant and a Half-step Ancestor Realm powerhouse.
• The Ten Elders invited Chen Changan to try to become the Sage of Literature and explained that Chen Changan’s father had earned that title on Ancestor of Literature Mountain.
• The Ten Elders led Chen Changan to five statues and explained that the Five Ancestors of Literature’s remaining wills chose the Ten Elders, the Sage of Literature, and the Ancestor of Literature.
• The Ten Elders said Chen Changan would have to cast his own will into the statues to learn whether the Five Ancestors recognized him.

Chen Changan sat before the Five Ancestors’ statues and unexpectedly gained their recognition, entering their world of willpower. There, he beat the Five Ancestors until they begged him to stop.

• Chen Changan dismissed the Ten Elders’ doubts and sat before the five statues with his eyes closed.
• The statues trembled and shone with five beams of light as students gathered and the Ten Elders kept them at a distance.
• Chen Changan entered a world of willpower and met five young men who identified themselves as the Five Ancestors of Literature.
• When the Five Ancestors threatened him, Chen Changan charged at them and beat them until they begged for mercy.
• Chen Changan stopped and told the Five Ancestors, “If you can throw hands, don't run your mouth.”

Chen Changan learned that his father had once begun awakening the Five Ancestors of Literature but stopped after hearing about their unfinished task. The Ancestors revealed that their legacy came from the fallen Ancient Era and was meant to help descendants open the Ancient Forbidden Land, leaving Chen Changan suspicious of the plan and the foreign races’ true purpose.

• Chen Changan asked the Five Ancestors why they had left their wills behind, and they explained that his father had awakened three of them before stopping.
• One Ancestor said Chen Changan’s father had paused because he wanted to investigate their task before awakening all five wills, but he never returned.
• The Five Ancestors explained that an Ancient Era legacy had brought literature and cultivation to the True Realm and described the era’s mysterious fall.
• The Ancestors said powerful beings had hidden inside the Ancient Forbidden Land, which could only be opened from outside, and their legacy urged descendants to open it so those beings could return.
• Chen Changan questioned the suspicious design of the forbidden land and learned that foreign races had invaded the True Realm repeatedly across ages.
• Chen Changan wondered whether the foreign races were truly invading to seize the True Realm.