Chapter Summaries

Ren Xiaoyao began cultivating immortality after choosing the Supreme Primordial Beginning Art, and quietly advanced toward the Dao Realm First Heaven while serving at the Imperial Observatory. Just as he approached a breakthrough, Liu Ruyan revealed that she was the Mystic Moon Demonic Cult’s Saintess and an undercover agent.

• The Empress Tianyuan stripped Ren Xiaoyao of his title as Marquis Xiaoyao and sent him to serve at the Imperial Observatory for releasing a Demonic Maiden from the Heavenly Prison.
• After transmigrating into Ren Xiaoyao’s body and learning his father had sealed his Acupoints, Ren Xiaoyao activated a system and chose to cultivate immortality.
• Ren Xiaoyao joined Li Chunfeng’s Night Observation Department and sensed qi within three hours through his Heaven-Defying Comprehension.
• Liu Ruyan repeatedly sought Ren Xiaoyao out, while he avoided her because he believed his lack of martial strength made him unworthy of her.
• As Ren Xiaoyao neared the Dao Realm First Heaven, Liu Ruyan entered his room and revealed she was the Saintess of the Mystic Moon Demonic Cult and an undercover agent in the Imperial Observatory.

Ren Xiaoyao agreed to pretend to help Liu Ruyan steal Li Chunfeng’s Great Evolution Tome, then broke through to the Dao Realm First Heaven and learned more about the Martial Dao ranks. By dawn, he had developed Spiritual Sense and received the Qi Sword technique for choosing to bide his time until he could contend with Liu Ruyan.

• Liu Ruyan revealed that she was the Mystic Moon Demonic Cult’s Saintess and asked Ren Xiaoyao to steal Li Chunfeng’s Great Evolution Tome in exchange for restoring his aptitude.
• Ren Xiaoyao chose to pretend to cooperate, and Liu Ruyan left when a disturbance arose in the Capital City.
• Ren Xiaoyao broke through to the Dao Realm First Heaven before Li Chunfeng returned and learned that Liu Ruyan was a First-Rank expert while Li Chunfeng had reached Super Rank.
• Li Chunfeng warned Ren Xiaoyao not to mention the Great Evolution Tome to investigators from the Facing Heaven Pavilion and explained the Martial Dao ranks.
• Ren Xiaoyao developed Spiritual Sense as his spiritual power stabilized, then received the Qi Sword technique for fulfilling the conditions of his choice.

Ren Xiaoyao mastered the Pure Yang Heaven Breaking Gang Sword and learned that someone may have poisoned him to shorten his life, leading him to suspect Ren Xuanji. After a half-month lull, Ren Xuanji arrived at Fulong Mountain and summoned Ren Xiaoyao and Li Chunfeng over the Golden Light Zen Temple case.

• Ren Xiaoyao inherited the Qi Sword and comprehended the Pure Yang Heaven Breaking Gang Sword, which he practiced in secret.
• Ying Huai and Fang Yuan visited Night Gazing Peak to question Ren Xiaoyao about Liu Ruyan and discuss the Golden Light Zen Temple massacre and the Mystic Moon Demonic Cult investigation.
• Li Chunfeng told Ren Xiaoyao that Ying Huai had arranged for him to stay at the Imperial Observatory and warned him not to speak openly about sensitive matters.
• Ren Xiaoyao tested his Gang Sword on a boulder and noticed his maximum lifespan had increased from eighteen to eighty, suggesting spiritual power had purged a hidden toxin.
• Ren Xiaoyao suspected Ren Xuanji was behind the attempt on his life.
• Bai Su told Li Chunfeng and Ren Xiaoyao that Ren Xuanji had arrived at Fulong Mountain and summoned them over the Golden Light Zen Temple case.

Ren Xiaoyao faced his cold father, Ren Xuanji, who came to question Li Chunfeng about Yuan Tiangang but backed down when Li Chunfeng began discussing the Emperor’s succession. After Ren Xuanji left, Ren Xiaoyao focused on cultivation, reached Dao Realm Double Heaven, and discovered his Spiritual Sense could gauge other Martial Artists’ strength.

• Ren Xuanji arrived at Night Gazing Peak to summon Li Chunfeng, but Li Chunfeng refused and mocked his authority.
• Ren Xuanji asked who Yuan Tiangang was, then stopped Li Chunfeng from revealing more when he realized the matter involved the Empress and the Imperial Regalia.
• Ren Xuanji privately told Ren Xiaoyao that he had no right to resent his father, then left without showing him any affection.
• Li Chunfeng warned Ren Xiaoyao that Ren Xuanji was a True Man Realm expert stronger than himself, and Ren Xiaoyao made surpassing him his goal.
• Ren Xiaoyao learned from Bai Su that Song Duanyang and Li Chunfeng were Grandmaster Realm experts while Ren Xuanji and the Director were True Man Realm experts.
• Ren Xiaoyao broke through to Dao Realm Double Heaven, used his Spiritual Sense to assess Bai Su and Song Duanyang, and concluded he could now handle Liu Ruyan.

Ren Xiaoyao learned the truth about Yuan Tiangang and prepared for the Evil Sect’s arrival, while Liu Ruyan came to seek the Great Evolution Tome. Lian Wanhe attacked the Huben Guards and headed for Night Gazing Peak, revealing that Ren Xiaoyao—not Li Chunfeng—was his true target.

• Ying Huai told Ren Xiaoyao and Li Chunfeng that Yuan Tiangang had been Empress Tianyuan’s master, was imprisoned after she seized power, and had been rescued by the Demonic Sect.
• Ying Huai warned Li Chunfeng that the Northern Pasture Sea Evil Sect might seek revenge for its former Sect Master, and Li Chunfeng said he would prepare to face its Grandmaster.
• Ren Xiaoyao trained for half a month, then discovered Liu Ruyan had arrived at Sun Gazing Peak to ask about the Great Evolution Tome.
• Liu Ruyan explained that Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng had both cultivated the Great Evolution Tome, making Ren Xiaoyao wonder how she knew so much about it.
• Lian Wanhe killed and wounded Huben Guards at Fulong Mountain, declared that he had come to avenge the former Evil Sect Master, and charged toward Night Gazing Peak.
• Lian Wanhe revealed that Ren Xiaoyao was his real target and rushed toward the peak with a portrait of him.

Liu Ruyan told Ren Xiaoyao that her mission to obtain the Great Evolution Tome was part of a larger plan, then tried to persuade him to join her in Dual Cultivation. When Lian Wanhe of the Evil Sect arrived to kill Ren Xiaoyao, Ren Xiaoyao secretly used the Pure Yang Void-Breaking Gang Sword to kill him.

• Liu Ruyan explained that her imprisonment, release, and infiltration of the Imperial Observatory had been planned to help her obtain the Great Evolution Tome.
• Liu Ruyan offered Ren Xiaoyao Dual Cultivation, but they sensed a powerful killing intent approaching Night Gazing Peak.
• Lian Wanhe of the Evil Sect arrived and declared that he had come to kill Ren Xiaoyao, while sparing Liu Ruyan because of her ties to the Illusory Moon Demonic Cult.
• Ren Xiaoyao chose to wait until Liu Ruyan was unconscious before striking discreetly, and Lian Wanhe knocked her out with a single blow.
• Lian Wanhe attacked Ren Xiaoyao with his sword, but Ren Xiaoyao's Pure Yang Void-Breaking Gang Sword cut through the weapon and killed him.

Ren Xiaoyao hid Liu Ruyan after killing the Evil Sect member who had come specifically to assassinate him, then gained the Golden Bell Shield and comprehended the Chaos God-Demon Body Refining Technique. Li Chunfeng helped conceal Ren Xiaoyao’s strength as others credited him with the kill, and Ren Xiaoyao returned to training while his hidden enemy remained unknown.

• Ren Xiaoyao hid the unconscious Liu Ruyan in a secluded cave and found a bloodstained portrait of himself on the Evil Sect member’s corpse.
• Ren Xiaoyao inherited the Golden Bell Shield and comprehended the evolving Chaos God-Demon Body Refining Technique, which he began cultivating beside the corpse.
• Li Chunfeng returned, learned Ren Xiaoyao had killed the Grandmaster Realm assassin, and agreed to help conceal the truth.
• Fang Yuan, Ying Huai, and the Huben Guards arrived and assumed Li Chunfeng had killed the assassin, while Li Chunfeng kept Ren Xiaoyao’s secret.
• Ren Xiaoyao found Liu Ruyan gone from the cave and returned to Night Gazing Peak to continue training against the unknown threat.

After the Evil Sect’s destruction, Ying Huai and Phoenix investigated the attack and offered Li Chunfeng the Imperial Observatory’s Director position, which he refused. Ren Xiaoyao suspected Ren Xuanji had concealed evidence of the Evil Sect’s true target, continued cultivating, and learned that the Director was intermittently insane; as the year’s end approached, Bai Su invited them to meet him.

• Ying Huai brought Phoenix to Night Gazing Peak to question Li Chunfeng about the Evil Sect’s attack, and Li Chunfeng and Ren Xiaoyao gave their agreed-upon account.
• Ren Xiaoyao realized someone had removed his portrait from the Evil Sect’s remains and suspected Ren Xuanji had hidden evidence that he was the intended target.
• Phoenix offered Li Chunfeng the position of Director, but Li Chunfeng refused because he wanted to live as an idle man.
• Li Chunfeng told Ren Xiaoyao that the Director had gone mad from pursuing the Heavenly Human Realm and explained its power over those who had not reached it.
• Ren Xiaoyao cultivated for two months, growing strong enough to believe he could challenge a True Man Realm expert, while Li Chunfeng considered giving him the Great Evolution Tome.
• Bai Su reported that the Director had recently become lucid and wanted to gather the Imperial Observatory’s disciples, and Ren Xiaoyao looked forward to gauging the Director’s strength.

Ren Xiaoyao visited the Imperial Observatory with Li Chunfeng, learned about its history and the Great Evolution Tome, and refused offers to study either martial arts or the tome. After half a month of cultivation, he broke through to the Third Heaven of the Dao Realm and grew powerful enough to begin establishing himself in Great Gan, while keeping his ambitions focused on cultivation.

• Li Chunfeng told Ren Xiaoyao that the current Director had gone mad, explained the Imperial Observatory's two lineages, and described how the Great Evolution Tome had come to him.
• At Imperial Observatory Peak, the Director recognized Ren Xiaoyao's wasted Martial Arts Saint Physique, explained that he had accepted Liu Ruyan at the request of his former eldest disciple, and offered to train Ren Xiaoyao toward the Heavenly Human Realm.
• Ren Xiaoyao refused the Director's martial arts training and Li Chunfeng's offer to pass down the Great Evolution Tome, choosing instead to focus on cultivation.
• Half a month later, Ren Xiaoyao broke through to the Third Heaven of the Dao Realm, and his strength rose to many times the Director's.
• Ren Xiaoyao remained low-key despite his newfound power and resolved to keep cultivating toward a far greater goal.

Ren Xiaoyao continued cultivating at the Imperial Observatory while Liu Ruyan gave him a rare Aperture Condensing Pill, which he absorbed for its spiritual energy instead of using it to restore his Acupoints. In February, news reached the Capital City that the Devil Master had attempted to assassinate the Empress and escaped unharmed.

• Ren Xiaoyao reached the Third Heaven of the Dao Realm and overwhelmed Li Chunfeng in a spar, then declined to leave the Imperial Observatory for the martial world.
• Li Chunfeng told Ren Xiaoyao that Great Gan had suppressed most sects, while four powerful Demonic Cults remained outside the Imperial Court's control.
• Liu Ruyan visited Ren Xiaoyao on the Lantern Festival and gave him an Aperture Condensing Pill, hoping to restore his talent and expressing her affection for him.
• Tantai Wanwan warned Liu Ruyan that many people would oppose Ren Xiaoyao and said the Devil Master would judge whether he was suitable for her.
• Ren Xiaoyao swallowed the Aperture Condensing Pill and absorbed its spiritual energy, strengthening his cultivation and realizing that Spiritual Medicine could accelerate his progress.
• In February, the Capital City heard that the Devil Master had tried and failed to assassinate the Empress, then escaped unharmed.

Ying Huai told Li Chunfeng, Ren Xiaoyao, and Fang Yuan about the Empress’s assassination attempt and the ensuing purge, while Liu Ruyan later claimed the Devil Master had been framed and suspected Yuan Tiangang. After the Capital City’s turmoil subsided, Ren Xiaoyao received a choice prompt warning that Yuan Tiangang was about to arrive at the Imperial Observatory.

• Ying Huai reported that the Devil Master had disguised himself as a palace guard, nearly killed the Empress, and used Hidden Agents within the Shadow Guard.
• Ying Huai proposed that the Imperial Clan or Wu Family might have colluded with the Devil Master, while Li Chunfeng explained why Heavenly Human experts could challenge Imperial power.
• Liu Ruyan told Ren Xiaoyao that her father had not attempted the assassination and that Tantai Wanwan suspected Yuan Tiangang had framed him.
• Bai Su entered the Super-Rank Realm and became a Third-Rank Female Official as the Imperial Court’s purge eventually ended without capturing the Devil Master or Yuan Tiangang.
• Ren Xiaoyao received a prompt warning that Yuan Tiangang was about to arrive and offering him a choice between defeating him openly or discreetly.

Ren Xiaoyao and the Imperial Observatory faced Yuan Tiangang, who demanded the Great Evolution Tome and attacked the Director. Ren Xiaoyao secretly joined Li Chunfeng’s sword strike and severed Yuan Tiangang’s right hand, leaving everyone stunned.

• After Li Chunfeng divined great misfortune, he and Song Duanyang kept everyone on Imperial Observatory Peak to prepare for trouble.
• Yuan Tiangang arrived with a True Man Realm woman and demanded the Great Evolution Tome, threatening to slaughter the Imperial Observatory if Li Chunfeng refused.
• Yuan Tiangang attacked the Director, broke several of his ribs, and seized him by the throat to force Li Chunfeng to hand over the tome.
• Li Chunfeng attacked Yuan Tiangang with his sword, while Ren Xiaoyao secretly layered a Gang Sword over it.
• The combined strike severed Yuan Tiangang’s right hand, shocking Li Chunfeng and the others.

Li Chunfeng drove Yuan Tiangang away while Ren Xiaoyao secretly received the Imperial Sword Art and comprehended the Heaven-Severing Sword Drawing Art. Rumors that Li Chunfeng had reached the Heavenly Human Realm spread, Yuan Tiangang was later killed by the Dragon Capturing Organization’s new Dragon Head, and Princess Taiping sought a meeting with Ren Xiaoyao.

• Li Chunfeng’s sword strikes forced Yuan Tiangang and his companion to flee, while Ren Xiaoyao concealed that he had helped defeat him.
• Ren Xiaoyao received the Imperial Sword Art from the system and comprehended the Heaven-Severing Sword Drawing Art.
• News of Yuan Tiangang’s defeat spread through the Capital City, and the Empress grew wary of Li Chunfeng’s suspected Heavenly Human Realm strength.
• Li Chunfeng told Ying Huai that he had used a secret technique, while Ying Huai explained that Yuan Tiangang had been killed by the Dragon Capturing Organization’s new Dragon Head after returning to reclaim control.
• Ying Huai warned Ren Xiaoyao that other forces might try to recruit him, and Ren Xiaoyao accepted his advice.
• Bai Su returned from the Jianghu and told Ren Xiaoyao that Princess Taiping wanted to meet him.

Ren Xiaoyao tried to avoid Princess Taiping’s bid to recruit him into her succession camp, but she visited the Imperial Observatory and pressed him to choose a side. After she left, Ying Huai and Fang Yuan revealed that Princess Taiping had masterminded the Evil Sect’s attack, whose real target had been Ren Xiaoyao.

• Ren Xiaoyao used the Empress’s decree to refuse Princess Taiping’s request to meet, and Princess Taiping said she would visit the Imperial Observatory instead.
• Li Chunfeng explained that Princess Taiping sought a Heavenly Human Realm ally to influence the succession, while Ren Xiaoyao considered how much power his cultivation might grant him.
• Princess Taiping visited the Imperial Observatory, secretly brought a True Man Realm maid, and summoned Ren Xiaoyao rather than meeting Li Chunfeng.
• Princess Taiping spoke of Ren Xiaoyao’s mother, Luo Mengshen, then urged him to join her camp and promised him a title and lands if she inherited the throne.
• Ren Xiaoyao avoided giving Princess Taiping an answer, and she left displeased.
• Ying Huai and Fang Yuan arrived with news that the Evil Sect’s true target had been Ren Xiaoyao and that Princess Taiping had directed the attack.

Ying Huai revealed that Princess Taiping had likely used the Evil Sect to target Ren Xiaoyao, possibly because of his mother, Luo Mengshen. As Princess Taiping began recruiting Lin Ping and a challenger threatened Li Chunfeng, Ren Xiaoyao proposed a deadly solution to his Master's growing problem.

• Ying Huai told Ren Xiaoyao and Li Chunfeng that his investigation linked Princess Taiping to the Evil Sect and its attempt to kill Ren Xiaoyao.
• Li Chunfeng and Ren Xiaoyao speculated that Princess Taiping's attack might have been connected to Luo Mengshen, while Ying Huai warned Ren Xiaoyao to stay under his Master's protection.
• After half a month, Bai Su told Ren Xiaoyao that Princess Taiping had stopped trying to recruit him and was recruiting Lin Ping instead.
• Lin Ping reported that an expert intended to challenge Li Chunfeng, but Li Chunfeng refused Princess Taiping's offer of intelligence and turned to Ren Xiaoyao for help.
• Ren Xiaoyao told Li Chunfeng that he could solve the problem with the approach, “Use killing to end war.”

Dugu Jian challenged Li Chunfeng at Fulong Mountain, believing him to be a Heavenly Human, but Ren Xiaoyao secretly wielded the Imperial Sword Art to kill Dugu Jian with a sword technique called Draw Sword to Sever Heaven. The duel ended with Li Chunfeng alive and Dugu Jian reduced to a mist of blood.

• Ying Huai told Li Chunfeng that Dugu Jian, a legendary swordsman nearing the end of his life, was coming to challenge him, and Li Chunfeng worried he could not survive the fight.
• News of the duel spread, drawing martial artists to Fulong Mountain while officials and the Empress discussed the danger and Li Chunfeng's true realm.
• Dugu Jian arrived at the Imperial Observatory and insisted on a final battle, while Li Chunfeng denied reaching the Heavenly Human Realm and turned to Ren Xiaoyao for help.
• Dugu Jian unleashed his strongest sword technique, Azure Vault, and Ren Xiaoyao used the Imperial Sword Art to counter it through Li Chunfeng's ordinary sword.
• Ren Xiaoyao's sword shattered Canhong, pierced Dugu Jian, and killed him before Ren Xiaoyao named the technique Draw Sword to Sever Heaven.

Li Chunfeng defeated Dugu Jian with a single sword strike, convincing the martial world that he had reached the Heavenly Human Realm. After the Empress visited the Imperial Observatory and offered Ren Xiaoyao a place by her side in the palace, Ren Xiaoyao faced a choice between accepting her invitation and continuing to cultivate in seclusion.

• Ren Xiaoyao used Li Chunfeng to kill Dugu Jian with one sword, and witnesses concluded that Li Chunfeng was a genuine Heavenly Human.
• Song Duanyang carried Dugu Jian’s broken Remnant Rainbow Sword to the capital, spreading news of the defeat.
• Ren Xuanji learned of Li Chunfeng’s victory, while Princess Taiping and the Empress considered how to win Li Chunfeng over.
• The Empress visited the Imperial Observatory and offered Li Chunfeng the rank of First-Rank Imperial Preceptor, but he refused.
• The Empress told Ren Xiaoyao that he had been wrongfully accused and invited him to live by her side in the palace; a system prompt offered him the choice to accept or refuse.

Ren Xiaoyao rejected the Empress’s offer, received the Great Sun Divine Sword, and cultivated to the Dao Realm Fourth Heaven while the Imperial Observatory remained wary of her retaliation. Liu Ruyan then warned him that Bai Su’s relationship with the Seven Kill Demonic Cult leader could bring disaster to the Observatory and again invited him to join the Demonic Sect.

• Ren Xiaoyao refused to serve the Empress, and Li Chunfeng also declined her offer to become Imperial Preceptor, angering her as she departed.
• Ren Xiaoyao obtained the Great Sun Divine Sword and branded his Spiritual Sense onto it so he could wield it.
• After three months of cultivation, Ren Xiaoyao broke through to the Dao Realm Fourth Heaven, gaining immense power, a five-hundred-year lifespan, and Spiritual Sense that reached one kilometer.
• Liu Ruyan visited Ren Xiaoyao and invited him to join the Demonic Sect, offering to have her father, the Devil Master, accept him as a disciple; Ren Xiaoyao refused but accepted her Aperture Condensing Pills.
• Liu Ruyan told Ren Xiaoyao that Bai Su had fallen for Yao Luochen, the Seven Kill Demonic Cult leader, and warned that the Empress might use their relationship to target the Imperial Observatory.

The Empress’s schemes turned the Imperial Observatory into the target of a gathering of powerful martial artists, including Zhao Luoxia, who sought to test Li Chunfeng and claim the Great Evolution Tome. As the Devil Master and Liu Ruyan arrived, Ren Xiaoyao received a choice between fleeing and defending the observatory.

• Liu Ruyan warned Li Chunfeng that the Empress might target the Imperial Observatory, but Li Chunfeng said he was confident he could withstand the danger.
• News spread that Bai Su and Yao Luochen had betrayed the Imperial Court and Demonic Sect, prompting both powers to hunt them.
• Ying Huai warned Li Chunfeng that the Empress was searching for Zhao Luoxia and had spread rumors about the Great Evolution Tome to draw attention to the Imperial Observatory.
• Phoenix assembled more than a hundred powerful martial artists, and Zhao Luoxia led them toward the Imperial Observatory to challenge Li Chunfeng.
• The Devil Master and Liu Ruyan joined Phoenix, and Ren Xiaoyao received a choice to flee the observatory or defend it for a Fire Control Technique.

Ren Xiaoyao used the Great Sun Divine Sword to protect the Imperial Observatory from Zhao Luoxia and his army, while making it appear that Li Chunfeng was responsible. The sword killed Zhao Luoxia and ended the attackers’ assault, leaving the martial artists kneeling in fear.

• Ren Xiaoyao chose to stand with the Imperial Observatory and told Li Chunfeng to prepare for its coming crisis.
• Zhao Luoxia led more than one hundred martial artists to Fulong Mountain and demanded that Li Chunfeng surrender the Great Evolution Tome.
• Zhao Luoxia struck Song Duanyang down and threatened to destroy the Imperial Observatory, but Ren Xiaoyao stopped him with the Great Sun Divine Sword.
• Zhao Luoxia rallied his followers to attack Li Chunfeng, and Ren Xiaoyao’s sword cut through Zhao Luoxia and killed him.
• The martial artists dropped their weapons and knelt, while the Devil Master was shaken by Zhao Luoxia’s death.