Chapter Summaries

On the Spirit Road, Bing Tianxiao captured Luo Li after she tried to kill him, then learned she had attacked because she wanted to repay the debt of his having saved her. He tried to convince her that she owed him nothing, but she remained troubled by the idea of leaving the favor unpaid.

• Bing Tianxiao roasted meat at his campfire and reflected on his past as a transmigrator and his Ice Spirit Clan branch.
• An unseen attacker struck at Bing Tianxiao with a black sword, but he dodged and overpowered the attacker.
• Bing Tianxiao recognized his captive as Luo Li and saw that her weapon was the Luoshen Sword.
• Luo Li explained that she tried to kill Bing Tianxiao to settle the debt of his saving her without owing him a favor.
• Bing Tianxiao insisted that Luo Li did not need to repay him and compared himself to a tree that had sheltered her.

Bing Tianxiao tried to settle his debt with Luo Li, but after she ate his grilled meat, she insisted their debts remained and vowed to pursue him. Luo Li vanished into the forest, leaving Bing Tianxiao worried about the powerful Luo Shen Clan backing her.

• Bing Tianxiao offered to return Luo Li's sword and let her go if she stopped seeking revenge, but Luo Li refused and said he would have to keep defeating her.
• Luo Li struggled to break free, but her stomach growled, and Bing Tianxiao offered her grilled meat.
• After eating, Luo Li reclaimed the Luoshen Sword and said saving her and feeding her had created separate karmic debts.
• Luo Li declared that she would follow and hunt Bing Tianxiao after she had time to temper her sword, then disappeared into the forest.
• Bing Tianxiao lamented that he had saved a dangerous pursuer and feared the Luo Shen Clan's powerful backing.

Bing Tianxiao endured five months of daily fights with Luo Li, who pursued him while relying on him for meals. When she failed to appear one evening, he grew worried and followed her tracks, finding her surrounded by Yang Hong, Zhao Tiandu, and six other cultivators.

• Luo Li repeatedly fought Bing Tianxiao and ate his food, turning his pursuit into an exhausting routine.
• Over five months, Bing Tianxiao pushed his Third-level Spirit Body to its limit but concluded that reaching the Fourth level required killing an Earth Ranking Spirit Beast.
• When Luo Li failed to arrive as usual, Bing Tianxiao followed her footprints toward the other side of the valley.
• Yang Hong and Zhao Tiandu confronted Luo Li with six other cultivators and demanded that she return with them to meet Ji Xuan.
• As Zhao Tiandu pressed Luo Li to decide, four piercing whistles suddenly rang out toward the group.

Bing Tianxiao arrived in time to save Luo Li and confronted Zhao Tiandu and Yang Hong’s group. As Bing Tianxiao fought Zhao Tiandu, Luo Li defeated Yang Hong and stood over him.

• Bing Tianxiao shot three of the men surrounding Luo Li and emerged from the woods to confront Yang Hong and Zhao Tiandu.
• Bing Tianxiao rejected Zhao Tiandu’s offer to join Ji Xuan’s group and declared that Luo Li was his person; Luo Li stepped beside him to fight.
• Bing Tianxiao overwhelmed Zhao Tiandu in a clash of strength, then attacked him with his dagger and called out the three remaining men to help.
• Luo Li knocked the Twin Maces from Yang Hong’s hands and sent him tumbling to the ground.

Bing Tianxiao defeated Zhao Tiandu and his three lackeys while Luo Li killed Yang Hong, then the two agreed to settle their five-month rivalry in a real fight. Their duel began after an hour of preparation, and Bing Tianxiao fired a point-blank arrow as Luo Li wounded him with her sword.

• Bing Tianxiao killed Zhao Tiandu's three Second-level Spirit Body lackeys and then defeated Zhao Tiandu as he tried to flee.
• Luo Li finished her battle with Yang Hong, and she challenged Bing Tianxiao to a real fight in one hour.
• Bing Tianxiao and Luo Li rested and prepared in the snow before beginning their duel.
• Bing Tianxiao opened with three arrows, which Luo Li deflected, and they exchanged attacks through the forest and air.
• Luo Li closed the distance and cut Bing Tianxiao beneath the ribs, but he twisted aside and fired his bow at point-blank range.

After Bing Tianxiao defeated Luo Li, he spared her and accepted her vow to become the sword guarding him. The two became partners and planned to use the Spirit Road’s dangers against Ji Xuan’s much larger group.

• Bing Tianxiao disarmed Luo Li after winning their duel and spared her, saying he considered her a compatible friend.
• Luo Li vowed to guard Bing Tianxiao as his sword, and he accepted her offer of partnership.
• Bing Tianxiao asked Luo Li about the Spirit Road, and she explained that Ji Xuan commanded seventy or eighty people while Wen Qingxuan had twenty or thirty.
• Bing Tianxiao proposed settling their grudge with Ji Xuan, but Luo Li warned that the two of them were badly outnumbered.
• Bing Tianxiao said they would avoid a direct confrontation and use spirit beasts to attack Ji Xuan’s large, slow-moving group.

Bing Tianxiao told Luo Li that Ji Xuan’s group was hunting an adult Thunder Kylin Beast in the Black Demon Forest, then followed her there after she angrily ordered him to stay quiet. They watched Ji Xuan’s party enter the forest, and Bing Tianxiao called out to two hidden figures, whose identities remained unknown.

• Bing Tianxiao revealed that Ji Xuan was leading a force into the Black Demon Forest to hunt a Thunder Kylin Beast and obtain its Essence.
• Luo Li realized Bing Tianxiao had known about Ji Xuan’s plans while she analyzed the situation, drew her Luoshen Sword, and ordered him to follow her in silence.
• Ji Xuan’s group reached the Black Demon Forest, where Qiu Beihai warned him to stay alert because Bing Tianxiao had defeated Yang Hong and Zhao Tiandu.
• Ji Xuan dismissed Bing Tianxiao as a threat and led his group into the forest to pursue the Thunder Kylin Beast.
• Bing Tianxiao and Luo Li emerged from hiding after Ji Xuan’s group passed, and Bing Tianxiao called for two concealed figures to come out.

Bing Tianxiao and Luo Li encountered Mu Chen and Zhan Xiong in the Black Demon Forest and proposed joining forces against Ji Xuan's group. After agreeing on a plan to weaken Ji Xuan's forces and meet at the Thunder Kylin Beast, the two teams split up to attack from different sides.

• Bing Tianxiao exposed Mu Chen and Zhan Xiong hiding in the bushes by flicking a pebble toward them.
• Mu Chen said he intended to stop Ji Xuan from using the Thunder Kylin Beast and to settle old debts.
• Bing Tianxiao proposed that their teams ambush stragglers and attack Ji Xuan's group from the shadows.
• Mu Chen accepted the alliance, and the teams agreed to rendezvous at the Thunder Kylin Beast after weakening their enemies.
• Bing Tianxiao and Luo Li headed west while Mu Chen and Zhan Xiong went east.

Bing Tianxiao and Luo Li attacked Qiu Beihai and quickly overwhelmed his subordinates, but a spirit beast horde surged through the Black Demon Forest before Qiu Beihai could escape. Mu Chen had provoked the beasts and sent them toward Ji Xuan’s main force, setting the forest into chaos.

• Bing Tianxiao ambushed Qiu Beihai with arrows, and Luo Li joined him to attack.
• Qiu Beihai realized he could not defeat them together and tried to retreat.
• Luo Li cut down Qiu Beihai’s peak Level 2 Spirit Body subordinates while Bing Tianxiao kept Qiu Beihai under pressure.
• A furious roar and violent tremors signaled that a spirit beast horde was approaching.
• Mu Chen revealed that he had provoked powerful spirit beasts and driven them toward Ji Xuan’s main force.

Bing Tianxiao and Luo Li killed Qiu Beihai as a Spirit Beast riot devastated Ji Xuan’s forces. Ji Xuan reached the weakened Thunder Kylin Beast and tried to capture it, but Mu Chen, Zhan Xiong, Bing Tianxiao, and Luo Li intervened, leaving the rivals facing off.

• Bing Tianxiao shot Qiu Beihai through the heart while Luo Li knocked his blade aside, and Qiu Beihai dissolved into specks of light.
• Ji Xuan learned that Qiu Beihai’s aura had disappeared, ignored his losses, and ordered his surviving men to press on toward the Thunder Kylin Beast.
• Ji Xuan’s reduced force reached the clearing, where he sent his subordinates to trap the weakened Thunder Kylin Beast with a poisoned Spirit Binding Net.
• Bing Tianxiao shot the net apart from a treetop, revealing himself and Luo Li as Mu Chen and Zhan Xiong emerged nearby.
• Mu Chen told Ji Xuan that his group was also interested in the Thunder Kylin Beast.

Ji Xuan tried to enlist Bing Tianxiao, Luo Li, and Mu Chen to help capture the Thunder Kylin Beast, but they rejected his offer and turned his trap against him. Ji Xuan escaped as his team was destroyed, and Bing Tianxiao killed the weakened beast and took its Essence.

• Ji Xuan offered to split the Thunder Kylin Beast's Essence and cooperate during the Spirit Road trials, but Mu Chen exposed his promise as a ploy.
• Bing Tianxiao and Mu Chen agreed to eliminate Ji Xuan, and Bing Tianxiao shot the spiritual energy net to free the Thunder Kylin Beast.
• The enraged Thunder Kylin Beast attacked Ji Xuan's team while Mu Chen and Zhan Xiong blocked their escape route.
• Ji Xuan abandoned most of his subordinates and fled into the forest with several Third-level Spirit Bodies as the remaining team members were killed.
• Bing Tianxiao shot the exhausted Thunder Kylin Beast through its neck, killed it, and removed its Essence.

After Bing Tianxiao’s group defeated Ji Xuan’s forces, Mu Chen left with his companions, while Bing Tianxiao kept the Thunder Kylin Beast’s Essence. Outside the Spirit Road, the deans argued over whether the students’ tactics deserved punishment, but most defended their right to compete by their own abilities.

• Mu Chen acknowledged Bing Tianxiao’s victory, warned him they would meet again at the Spirit Crown Battle, and left with Zhan Xiong and the others.
• Bing Tianxiao boasted to Luo Li that his plan had avenged him and won him a treasure, while Luo Li warned that Ji Xuan would seek revenge.
• The five academy deans watched the conflict in the Black Demon Forest on a Water Screen as Wu Tianwang worried that many students would be eliminated.
• Dean Tian Sheng demanded that the students involved be stripped of their Spirit Road qualifications and killed, citing Ji Xuan’s near death.
• Dean Tian Song, Dean Tai Cang, Wu Tianwang, and Tang Qiu rejected Tian Sheng’s demand and defended the students’ actions as within the Spirit Road’s rules.
• Tian Sheng left the hall in anger, and the remaining deans returned their attention to the Water Screen.

Bing Tianxiao absorbed the Thunder Kylin Beast Essence and broke through to the Fourth-level Spirit Body while Luo Li guarded him. After the Spirit Crown Battle was announced, Bing Tianxiao and Luo Li set out for Spirit Crown Mountain, as Mu Chen and Zhan Xiong also headed there and Ji Xuan vowed to claim the Crown and kill his rivals.

• Bing Tianxiao offered the Thunder Kylin Beast Essence to Luo Li, but she refused and said she would take what she wanted herself.
• Bing Tianxiao cultivated in a secluded cave for three days while Luo Li guarded him, and he emerged having reached the Fourth-level Spirit Body.
• The Spirit Crown Battle was announced, with whoever claimed the Spirit Flag atop the mountain becoming the Crown of the Spirit Road.
• Bing Tianxiao and Luo Li set off for the mountain, expecting to encounter Ji Xuan there.
• Mu Chen led Zhan Xiong through the jungle toward the mountain and said they would have to fight to win the Crown.
• Ji Xuan suppressed his anger, declared that Spirit Crown Mountain would be where Bing Tianxiao and Luo Li were buried, and led his remaining followers toward it.

Bing Tianxiao and Luo Li reached Spirit Crown Mountain, where Wen Qingxuan challenged them and fought Luo Li before clashing with Bing Tianxiao. The confrontation paused when Ji Xuan, Mu Chen, and Zhan Xiong arrived on the mountain platform.

• Bing Tianxiao and Luo Li climbed Spirit Crown Mountain and met Wen Qingxuan and her group blocking the path.
• Bing Tianxiao provoked Wen Qingxuan, and Luo Li stepped in to block her spear and defend him as her partner.
• Luo Li fought Wen Qingxuan, who revealed her Fourth-level Spirit Body and gained the advantage.
• Bing Tianxiao joined the fight, and he and Wen Qingxuan battled to a stalemate before approaching footsteps interrupted them.
• Ji Xuan arrived with Mu Chen and Zhan Xiong, bringing the leading figures of the five great guardian lands together on the platform.

Bing Tianxiao turned the confrontation over the Spirit Crown into a standoff against Ji Xuan, then Ji Xuan proposed a race up Spirit Crown Mountain instead of fighting. Wen Qingxuan raced ahead, followed by Ji Xuan and his subordinates, while Bing Tianxiao, Luo Li, and Mu Chen remained on the platform.

• Bing Tianxiao challenged Ji Xuan to act against Wen Qingxuan, and threatened to target Ji Xuan if he refused.
• Luo Li and Mu Chen backed Bing Tianxiao, leaving Ji Xuan facing the others’ hostility.
• Wen Qingxuan warned that Bing Tianxiao would have the advantage if she were eliminated, prompting Ji Xuan to reconsider fighting her.
• Ji Xuan proposed that they compete to reach the summit and obtain the Spirit Crown, leaving the mountain’s obstacles to fate.
• Wen Qingxuan accepted the terms and charged up the mountain path, and Ji Xuan followed with his subordinates.
• Bing Tianxiao, Luo Li, and Mu Chen stayed behind on the platform.

Mu Chen refused Bing Tianxiao’s offer to team up, confident he could face Ji Xuan and his subordinates alone. As Bing Tianxiao and Luo Li encountered Wen Qingxuan on Spirit Crown Mountain, Mu Chen came face-to-face with Ji Xuan.

• Bing Tianxiao offered to join forces with Mu Chen against Ji Xuan, but Mu Chen declined, saying Ji Xuan was not yet a Fourth-level Spirit Body and he wanted to temper himself alone.
• Bing Tianxiao praised Mu Chen’s courage and said he would intervene if Ji Xuan resorted to underhanded tactics; Mu Chen then continued up the mountain with Zhan Xiong.
• Bing Tianxiao and Luo Li fought their way through Spirit Crown Mountain and encountered Wen Qingxuan in a clearing.
• Luo Li took on Wen Qingxuan’s subordinates while Bing Tianxiao challenged Wen Qingxuan and fired an arrow at her.
• Mu Chen stopped on a rocky outcrop and found Ji Xuan waiting on the mountain path.

Wen Qingxuan and Bing Tianxiao fought fiercely on a mountain path, escalating from a spear assault to a close-quarters clash with daggers. The two remained locked in a contest, neither willing to admit defeat.

• Wen Qingxuan overwhelmed Bing Tianxiao with relentless spear strikes, and his attempts to distract her with teasing only made her attacks more precise.
• Wen Qingxuan thrust at Bing Tianxiao's throat, but he blocked the spear with two Ink-Black Daggers and counterattacked.
• Bing Tianxiao and Wen Qingxuan traded blows at close range until a head-on clash forced them both back.
• Wen Qingxuan and Bing Tianxiao resumed their fierce exchange and locked weapons, each refusing to yield.
• Wen Qingxuan drove her knee toward Bing Tianxiao's lower abdomen as they remained locked together.

Bing Tianxiao and Wen Qingxuan's battle sent them tumbling down a mountainside, where they were left exhausted and awkwardly entangled. After recovering, Wen Qingxuan spared him and vowed to defeat him honorably at the final battleground, while Bing Tianxiao resolved to challenge her again.

• Bing Tianxiao and Wen Qingxuan exchanged a final blow, and the unstable slope collapsed beneath them.
• The pair rolled down the mountainside and landed in the grass, too exhausted to separate from their intimate position for a quarter of an hour.
• Wen Qingxuan and Bing Tianxiao took medicine and meditated several meters apart to recover their strength.
• Wen Qingxuan approached the recovering Bing Tianxiao with killing intent but decided she would not take advantage of his weakness.
• Wen Qingxuan spared Bing Tianxiao and flew toward the forest, promising to defeat him at the final battleground.
• Bing Tianxiao watched Wen Qingxuan leave and resolved that their next contest could go either way.

Mu Chen fought through Ji Xuan’s ambush after Zhan Xiong died protecting him, then pursued Ji Xuan to the Spirit Crown Banner. At the summit, Luo Li, Wu Ling, Wen Qingxuan, and Bing Tianxiao joined Mu Chen to confront Ji Xuan, and Bing Tianxiao’s arrow disrupted Ji Xuan’s attempt to counterattack.

• Ji Xuan ordered his hidden Third-level Spirit Bodies to surround Mu Chen and attack him, and Zhan Xiong took a fatal blow while shielding Mu Chen.
• Enraged by Zhan Xiong’s death, Mu Chen slaughtered Ji Xuan’s blockers and charged toward the mountaintop.
• Ji Xuan approached the Spirit Crown Banner, but Luo Li and Wu Ling appeared and blocked his way.
• Mu Chen reached the summit with Wen Qingxuan, while Bing Tianxiao arrived with his bow and joined the standoff against Ji Xuan.
• Mu Chen lunged at Ji Xuan, and Bing Tianxiao’s arrow struck Ji Xuan’s arm, disrupting his counterattack.

Mu Chen and his allies defeated the other contenders for the flag, forcing Ji Xuan to flee and Wu Ling and Wen Qingxuan to withdraw. Bing Tianxiao claimed the flag and was named Spirit Crown Holder as the Spirit Road Trial concluded.

• Bing Tianxiao sealed Ji Xuan's escape route, giving Mu Chen the opening to strike him and pin him down.
• Luo Li intercepted Wu Ling, while Bing Tianxiao stopped Wen Qingxuan from reaching the flag and fought her.
• Mu Chen brutally injured Ji Xuan, who broke free and fled; Mu Chen then helped Luo Li force Wu Ling to surrender.
• Wen Qingxuan conceded after Ji Xuan fled and Wu Ling surrendered, and Mu Chen told Bing Tianxiao to claim the flag.
• Bing Tianxiao pulled the flag from the platform, and a voice declared the Spirit Road Trial concluded and named him Spirit Crown Holder.