Chapter Summaries

The Myriad Sword Pavilion disciples continued to impress at the tournament, while Yun Shu considered a match proposal for Xia Jin. The chapter ended with Chu Huangyue receiving information that stunned her.

• A powerful Myriad Sword Pavilion disciple won his match, and Kong Xing remarked that his deep foundation resembled Yun Shu's.
• The Myriad Sword Pavilion disciples won all their matches, prompting the other competitors to anticipate further fights and the Sect Masters to worry about losing top-ten places.
• Yun Shu showed Xia Jin the Weak Water Palace Master's suggestion that he and Qin Yan would make a good match, but Xia Jin politely declined.
• Pei Lin and Jiang Qingyang teased Xia Jin after overhearing the conversation, and Yun Shu reflected on the disciples' progress and wondered whether he might meet Chu Huangyue again.
• Chu Huangyue absorbed Ancient Phoenix Essence in the Ancient Phoenix Grotto-Heaven and received a talisman containing information gathered by her Deacons; she froze as she read it.

Chu Huangyue learned that Yun Shu had destroyed Wuji Immortal Sect and marveled at how far he had surpassed her, while Yun Shu focused on cultivation as the Grand Competition’s decisive matches approached. The next day, his four disciples prepared for difficult bouts that would determine who reached the top ten.

• Chu Huangyue read intelligence about Yun Shu destroying Wuji Immortal Sect and resolved to keep cultivating rather than fall further behind him.
• Yun Shu considered the approaching plot and continued cultivating because greater strength would help him protect himself.
• The competition schedule showed that all four of Yun Shu’s disciples had matches, including Jiang Qingyang’s bout against the Weak Water Palace Master’s Sole True Disciple.
• Yun Shu gave the four disciples the match list and trusted them to face the day’s tough opponents.
• Pei Lin prepared to challenge a powerful Yin Yang Dao disciple, while Xia Jin and Du Yuan also faced higher-ranked opponents in their bids for the top ten.

Jiang Qingyang revealed that he cultivated both the Immortal and Demonic Paths during his match against a Weak Water Palace disciple, astonishing the sect masters and earning predictions that he could place near the top. The arena battles continued with the strongest contestants still fighting, and Jiang Qingyang and his opponent activated their Special Physiques.

• The sect masters watched Jiang Qingyang reveal his powerful Demonic Cultivation and realized he cultivated both the Immortal and Demonic Paths.
• The sect masters recognized Jiang Qingyang's technique as an advanced art Yun Shu had created by adapting the Devil Ancestor's master's technique and incorporating his own understanding.
• The sect masters debated Jiang Qingyang's chances, with several believing he could contend for second or third place if he remained at the Nascent Soul Early Stage.
• Xia Jin struggled against the Nascent Soul Middle Stage Young Master of the Feng Family, while the other arena matches also remained unsettled.
• Jiang Qingyang and the Weak Water Palace disciple clashed with demonic flames and piercing water droplets, then both activated their Special Physiques as the spectators watched.

Jiang Qingyang defeated the True Disciple of Weak Water Palace after breaking through to Nascent Soul Middle Stage during their fight, strengthening his chances of contending for the top spots. Du Yuan struggled against Chu Tianfeng’s defensive tactics, while Xia Jin and Pei Lin held advantages in their own matches.

• Jiang Qingyang unleashed his Special Physique and blasted the True Disciple of Weak Water Palace off the platform, breaking through to Nascent Soul Middle Stage during the battle.
• The Weak Water Palace Master realized her disciples had been eliminated by Myriad Sword Pavilion, while the Great Monks and Sect Masters considered Jiang Qingyang a possible contender for first place.
• Du Yuan continued attacking Chu Tianfeng, but Chu Tianfeng relied on defensive techniques and drained his vital essence to try to secure a top-ten ranking.
• Xia Jin gained an advantage over his opponent from the Feng Family, and Pei Lin pressured the Yin Yang Dao disciple with his swordsmanship.

Du Yuan conceded to Chu Tianfeng after holding off the Nascent Soul Middle-Stage opponent, giving Myriad Sword Pavilion three places in the top ten. Back at their lodgings, Yun Shu reassured Du Yuan, who vowed to win the competition in three years.

• Du Yuan threw aside his Long Sword and conceded, allowing Chu Tianfeng to claim victory while preserving his Lineage's ranking.
• Myriad Sword Pavilion secured three top-ten spots as the remaining matches concluded, while Yin Yang Dao and Weak Water Palace lost their direct disciples to the Loser Bracket.
• Di Jianyi kept his position after defeating a challenger from Seven Kill Sect, and Buddha's Son held third place.
• Yun Shu told Du Yuan that losses were normal and urged him to keep his Sword Heart clear.
• Du Yuan promised Yun Shu he would win it all in three years, and Xia Jin and Jiang Qingyang arrived to greet the Pavilion Master.

Xia Jin and Jiang Qingyang rose through the rankings with powerful victories, setting up challenges against the top disciples. The chapter ended with the sects gathering to watch Jiang Qingyang face Di Jianyi and Xia Jin face Buddha's Son.

• Yun Shu praised Jiang Qingyang, Xia Jin, and Pei Lin after their matches and urged them to keep improving.
• Xia Jin broke through to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, defeated a Han Family prodigy, and climbed to sixth place before later reaching fourth.
• Jiang Qingyang defeated Yin Hao of the Seven Kill Sect in a fierce match and climbed to fourth place.
• Pei Lin failed to take seventh place from an opponent with a Special Physique but was expected to hold eighth place.
• The contest schedule set Jiang Qingyang against Di Jianyi and Xia Jin against Buddha's Son, drawing a large crowd to the Pocket Dimension.

Xia Jin and Buddha's Son fought an intense, evenly matched duel in the final rankings competition. After their last clash left him injured and near the edge of the arena, Buddha's Son conceded, and Xia Jin advanced.

• Kong Xing faced Xia Jin in the first match of the afternoon and prepared to fight with everything he had.
• Xia Jin and Buddha's Son exchanged powerful attacks and fought at full strength before the watching disciples.
• After half an hour, their auras surged as they unleashed another major clash in midair.
• Buddha's Son was knocked back near the edge of the arena, while Xia Jin staggered less.
• Buddha's Son admitted defeat, then spat out blood as he left the arena.

Xia Jin defeated Kong Xing, securing Myriad Sword Pavilion a place for two disciples in the top three and leaving the sect’s strength on full display. As the crowd reassessed Xia Jin and Myriad Sword Pavilion, Di Jianyi and Jiang Qingyang began their battle for first place.

• Kong Xing conceded to Xia Jin after their clash, recognizing that Xia Jin’s Body Tempering cultivation gave him the advantage.
• The two Great Monks checked on Kong Xing, while Yun Shu and the Sect Masters observed Xia Jin’s victory and reconsidered his strength.
• The crowd realized Myriad Sword Pavilion had placed two disciples in the top three and three of its four entrants in the top ten.
• Yun Shu considered the possibility that Jiang Qingyang might face Xia Jin in the final the following day if Jiang Qingyang won.
• Di Jianyi and Jiang Qingyang entered the arena for their battle for first place, as Xia Jin predicted neither would win quickly.

Jiang Qingyang and Di Jianyi fought an evenly matched battle as spectators discussed their strengths and methods. The contest intensified, with Di Jianyi relying on his perfected Sword Path and Jiang Qingyang pressing his advantage with powerful Mental Energy techniques.

• Jiang Qingyang and Di Jianyi exchanged powerful attacks, and neither gained the upper hand.
• Spectators and Sect Masters discussed Jiang Qingyang's Mental Energy attacks and Di Jianyi's Sword Intent.
• Kong Xing realized that Xia Jin's Mental Energy defenses had helped him withstand Kong Xing's techniques in their earlier match.
• The Great Monks praised Di Jianyi's Sword Path but judged his insight inferior to Jiang Qingyang's, while mentioning Pavilion Master Yun as another exceptional talent.
• Jiang Qingyang and Di Jianyi continued fighting at full strength, each eager to face a worthy opponent.

Jiang Qingyang defeated Di Jianyi in their Grand Competition match by combining powerful Mental Energy with a decisive strike. Di Jianyi conceded defeat, while the Sect Masters reflected on how quickly the contest had ended.

• Yun Shu watched Jiang Qingyang and Di Jianyi fight and believed Jiang Qingyang had no significant weaknesses.
• The Sword Emperor and the Sect Masters recognized that Di Jianyi was struggling to overcome Jiang Qingyang’s balanced strength and abilities.
• Jiang Qingyang’s Mental Energy disrupted Di Jianyi’s focus, and Jiang Qingyang blocked Di Jianyi’s full-strength sword strike before knocking him off the arena.
• The audience and Elders reacted with surprise at Di Jianyi’s swift defeat, while Nascent Soul Stage disciples realized Mental Energy had interfered with him.
• Di Jianyi willingly conceded, and Jiang Qingyang said he had won through a clever advantage.

The sect masters recognized that Myriad Sword Pavilion’s Xia Jin and Jiang Qingyang had reached the final after showcasing exceptional strength, which they attributed to Yun Shu’s cultivation methods and guidance. As the final match began, Yun Shu’s sect stood poised to claim first place, with the story leaving the winner undecided.

• After Xia Jin defeated Kong Xing, the sect masters realized he and Jiang Qingyang would face each other for first place.
• The sect masters praised Yun Shu for shaping his disciples, while the group discussed celebrating and searching for ruins after the Grand Competition.
• The next morning, Yun Shu entered the small world for the final battle and considered rebuilding Myriad Sword Pavilion once the competition ended.
• The Weak Water Palace Master and Huangfu Heng congratulated Yun Shu and praised his disciples before the final match began.

Xia Jin and Jiang Qingyang fought fiercely for first place, revealing that both Myriad Sword Pavilion disciples possessed formidable Sword Intent and strength across multiple paths. The match continued with neither gaining the upper hand, leaving the crowd and observers astonished by their Sword Path mastery.

• Huangfu Heng resumed the competition, and Xia Jin and Jiang Qingyang took the platform for their final match.
• Xia Jin and Jiang Qingyang revealed matching sun- and moon-themed magical artifacts and countered each other's opening attacks.
• The two abandoned cautious probing and unleashed their strongest techniques, drawing on Immortal Path Strength, Body Cultivation, and Mental Energy.
• Huangfu Heng and Di Jianyi recognized that both fighters wielded Second-Order Sword Intent.
• Xia Jin and Jiang Qingyang continued clashing with Sword Intent, Mental Energy, and Body Cultivation, with neither gaining the upper hand.

Xia Jin and Jiang Qingyang fought evenly through the day and night, leaving the spectators and Sect Masters waiting for a result. At daybreak, someone announced that the match was finally about to be decided.

• Xia Jin and Jiang Qingyang continued their swordsmanship duel without gaining a clear advantage over the other.
• Huangfu Heng asked Yun Shu when the contest might end, and Yun Shu suggested it could take until tomorrow.
• Huangfu Heng postponed having the audience vote on the rankings and let the contest continue.
• Pei Lin complained that Xia Jin and Jiang Qingyang might fight until the next day, while Du Yuan defended their determination to settle the match.
• Xia Jin and Jiang Qingyang fought until they were nearly exhausted, as the spectators grew drowsy and many stopped paying attention.
• At daybreak, a spectator called out that the fight was about to be decided.

Xia Jin narrowly defeated Jiang Qingyang after their day-long duel exhausted their Spiritual Energy, and the Grand Competition’s final rankings and rewards were announced. Yun Shu congratulated his disciples, warned them that leadership in Myriad Sword Pavilion would bring heavier responsibilities, and prepared them to visit the Secret Realm Ruins the next day.

• Xia Jin knocked out Jiang Qingyang with a final punch after both fighters exhausted their Spiritual Energy, winning their match by a narrow margin.
• Huangfu Heng announced the final rankings: Xia Jin placed first, Jiang Qingyang second, Di Jianyi third, Buddha's Son fourth, Yin Hao fifth, and Pei Lin eighth.
• The Sword Emperor presented the prizes and announced that he would lead the competitors and Sect Masters to the Secret Realm Ruins the following day.
• Yun Shu told his four disciples that their Grand Competition results had earned them standing across the Crimson Cloud Domain and positions among Myriad Sword Pavilion’s upper ranks.
• Yun Shu warned his disciples that their new positions would bring greater burdens and that they could be replaced if they failed to handle them.

Yun Shu accompanied four disciples to an ancient battlefield Secret Realm, where they joined the other sects’ disciples. After Sword Emperor invited Yun Shu to lecture at Imperial Sword Sect, the sect leaders competed with Spirit Stone offers, and Yun Shu accepted Imperial Sword Sect’s fifty million Low-grade Spirit Stone deal.

• Yun Shu praised the four disciples and gave them modest rewards before they set out for the ruins the next morning.
• Sword Emperor opened the Secret Realm, and the disciples entered while Yun Shu stayed outside because his cultivation could collapse its laws.
• Sword Emperor asked Yun Shu to lecture at Imperial Sword Sect, offering to make the attending disciples his Registered Disciples.
• Seven Kill Sect and other sect leaders offered Spirit Stones to invite Yun Shu to share his cultivation insights.
• Huangfu Heng and Sword Emperor offered fifty million Low-grade Spirit Stones for Yun Shu to lecture to the sect leaders and Grand Competition disciples, and Yun Shu agreed.

Yun Shu accepted fifty million low-grade Spirit Stones from Huangfu Heng in exchange for giving the gathered disciples an exposition on cultivation. After the disciples emerged from the ruins with their gains, Yun Shu advised them to make inherited power part of their own path rather than rely on it as their endpoint.

• Huangfu Heng paid Yun Shu fifty million low-grade Spirit Stones and arranged for him to teach the disciples after they left the ruins.
• Three days later, the disciples emerged, and Du Yuan reported that he had obtained two Inheritance Marks.
• Yun Shu warned Du Yuan and the other disciples to refine inheritance power without letting it replace their own cultivation paths.
• The sect masters praised Yun Shu's perspective, while the disciples reported their gains from the expedition.
• Yun Shu returned the disciples' belongings after inspecting them, and Xia Jin came back without obtaining an inheritance.

After hearing how his disciples fought over an inheritance, Yun Shu urged them to eliminate future threats and sent Yuan Xi after the hostile Han family juniors. The next day, the assembled cultivators gathered to hear Yun Shu lecture in the small world.

• Yun Shu learned from Jiang Qingyang that Du Yuan had lost an inheritance site to Young Master Han's group before Jiang Qingyang and Xia Jin drove them away, and Du Yuan claimed the final inheritance.
• Yun Shu told his disciples to act decisively against enemies and prevent grudges from becoming future dangers.
• Yun Shu sent a violet-gold Talisman, and Yuan Xi decided to secretly deal with Young Master Han and the other hostile juniors.
• Yuan Xi wished he could accompany his Master to the Nine Sects Grand Competition and win everything for him.
• The following day, the gathered cultivators returned to the small world to attend Yun Shu's lecture.

Yun Shu began his lecture to cultivators from many sects, explaining basic principles of cultivation and challenging familiar assumptions about Spiritual Energy. He then turned to Sword Intent, beginning with how several sects defined it.

• Yun Shu decided that improving methods to Great Accomplishment was sufficient and prepared to begin his lecture once the crowd had gathered.
• Huangfu Heng introduced Yun Shu and the lecture, after which the Sword Emperor and the assembled sect leaders bowed to him.
• Yun Shu told the audience they could leave if they disliked his lecture, then outlined topics ranging from Spiritual Energy and Spiritual Roots to Sword Intent and Mental Energy.
• Yun Shu explained that cultivators need not define Spiritual Energy, but should understand how to absorb, refine, and circulate it along a balanced path.
• The sect leaders and stronger disciples listened closely as Yun Shu explained cultivation fundamentals, while some ordinary disciples found the material drowsy.
• Yun Shu began discussing Sword Intent by quoting definitions from the Imperial Sword Sect, Weak Water Palace, and Myriad Sword Pavilion.

Yun Shu explained his approach to discovering and cultivating Sword Intent, urging practitioners to study earlier insights, practice diligently, and forge a path that suited their own hearts. Sword Emperor grasped the method and considered trying it, while Yun Shu remained unaware that he expected him to suffer Qi Deviation.

• Yun Shu defined Sword Intent as mastery of the sword and described how repeated practice could help it take shape.
• Sword Emperor questioned whether skill alone could explain Sword Intent, since he had gained his own through sudden insight.
• Yun Shu advised studying many predecessors’ teachings, swinging a sword ten thousand times a day, and trusting one’s heart to discover a personal Sword Intent.
• Sword Emperor understood the method as learning from many sources before forging and continually refining his own path.
• Sword Emperor decided Yun Shu’s approach might suit him and privately predicted Yun Shu would suffer Qi Deviation from cultivating too quickly.
• Yun Shu reflected that the method was safe for him because he tested and refined each step, and he had once paused cultivation for a year.

Yun Shu finished explaining his unconventional cultivation methods, warning that they demanded confidence and were not suited to everyone. Huangfu Heng then opened a question-and-answer session, and an Imperial Sword Sect disciple stood to ask the first question.

• Yun Shu’s advice impressed talented disciples, though the Sect Masters recognized that his risky approach would be difficult for ordinary cultivators to follow.
• The Sword Emperor and Huangfu Heng considered how Yun Shu had built his cultivation through accumulated experience and personal insight.
• Yun Shu concluded his lecture after covering cultivation up to roughly the Golden Core level, leaving further changes for cultivators to discover themselves.
• Huangfu Heng announced a question-and-answer session limited to topics from the lecture, and Yun Shu agreed to respond.
• An Imperial Sword Sect disciple stood, bowed, and began to ask Yun Shu a question.