Chapter Summaries

Yang Ling and Ji Nian suspected that Luo Kai had taken on Li Fengxian’s identity, explaining how a young player could be the fifty-two-year-old cult leader. After recovering in the ruined temple, Yang Ling left the others to hide in the city and prepared to confront Jiu Xingkong alone.

• Zhang Shuzhou told Ji Nian and Yang Ling that Li Fengxian had looked no older than thirty when they met, despite being fifty-two in their files.
• Yang Ling suggested that a young man might have assumed Li Fengxian’s identity, and Ji Nian identified the vanished doctoral student Luo Kai as a possible match.
• Yang Ling stayed at the ruined temple while Zhang Shuzhou and the others recovered, then they agreed to hide in the city until the instance ended.
• Zhang Hongyu challenged Yang Ling about confronting Jiu Xingkong, but Yang Ling said he would carry out the decapitation alone.
• Zhang Hongyu and the other disciples agreed to wait for Yang Ling’s return with Jiu Xingkong’s head.

Yang Ling watched Jiu Xingkong fight the Extreme Flame Sword Mansion swordsmen, then intervened with flying daggers when Jiu Xingkong was about to kill one of them. With Zhao Heavenly King approaching, Jiu Xingkong believed he had won, but Yang Ling revealed that he could fight with his fists and feet as well and charged at him.

• Jiu Xingkong used his Demon-Subduing Pestle and Arhat Crossing Sutra to overpower the Extreme Flame Sword Mansion swordsmen, whose Sword Formation nearly exhausted his qi and blood.
• One swordsman called on the Tun Tian Dao Palace to honor its agreement, and Yang Ling threw a Quenching Gold Armor Piercing Flying Dagger to stop Jiu Xingkong from killing him.
• Yang Ling attacked Jiu Xingkong with waves of flying daggers, forcing him to spend much of his qi and blood defending himself as he dodged toward Yang Ling.
• Jiu Xingkong pretended to flee, then turned to attack Yang Ling, while the Extreme Flame Sword Mansion swordsmen fled after sensing Zhao Heavenly King approaching.
• Jiu Xingkong laughed that Zhao Heavenly King would arrive within two quarters of an hour and declared victory, but Yang Ling said his fist and foot skill was good too and charged at him.

Yang Ling killed Jiu Xingkong and completed the first stage of the Tun Tian Dao Palace instance with an S- rating, earning attribute points and Peiyuan Pills. The instance immediately began its second stage, and Zhao Heavenly King arrived while Yang Ling was still trapped there.

• Yang Ling used Treading the Void and his martial arts to keep Jiu Xingkong under pressure while learning that Zhao Heavenly King was approaching.
• Yang Ling deliberately exposed an opening, absorbed Jiu Xingkong's pestle strike, then unleashed a barrage of double-critical kicks that killed him.
• Yang Ling received two level-ups and completed the first stage of the Tun Tian Dao Palace instance, earning an S- rating, 25 free attribute points, and 30 Peiyuan Pills.
• Yang Ling collected the pills and Jiu Xingkong's Demon-Subduing Pestle, then learned that his rating had triggered the instance's second stage and extended its time by 30 days.
• Zhao Heavenly King confronted Yang Ling, who quietly spent his free attribute points on agility.

Yang Ling survived his encounter with Zhao Heavenly King, who revealed that he had arranged the ambush on Jiu Xingkong and took Yang Ling as his disciple. Zhao granted him dragon qi and a first-class sword technique, while Yang Ling kept his connection to Zhao secret and completed the mission.

• Yang Ling met Zhao Heavenly King after killing Jiu Xingkong, and Zhao praised him for the victory.
• Zhao explained that he had enlisted Tun Tian Dao Palace and Extreme Flame Sword Mansion to ambush Jiu Xingkong, then offered to take Yang Ling as his disciple.
• Yang Ling accepted Zhao as his master, unlocking the cultivation requirements for Great Grade Azure Dragon Force, but asked to become the Tun Tian Dao Palace headmaster’s personal disciple as well.
• Zhao gave Yang Ling the Candle Dragon Seven-Star Sword Technique and told him to conceal their relationship from the palace master.
• After Zhao departed, Yang Ling recovered his weapons, while Zhang Shuzhou and Ji Nian realized their mission was complete despite its F- rating.

Yang Ling returned to Tun Tian Dao Palace with Jiu Xingkong’s head and presented it to the headmaster. When she offered him any reward he wanted, he asked to become her personal disciple.

• The players were puzzled by clearing the instance, then decided to avoid the city and keep cultivating while the Heavenly Wolf Guard hunted for them.
• Yang Ling returned to the courtyard and revealed that the black bag contained Jiu Xingkong’s head, stunning Zhang Hongyu and the others.
• Yang Ling and his companions returned to Tun Tian Dao Palace, where he assessed the mountain lords and chief disciples who might compete with him.
• Tun Tian Dao Palace’s headmaster confirmed Jiu Xingkong’s identity and offered Yang Ling any reward he wanted for killing him.
• Yang Ling immediately asked to become the Headmaster’s Personal Disciple.

Yang Ling competed with the other chief disciples for the chance to become the Headmaster of the Tun Tian Dao Palace’s personal disciple, with a Great Tun Tian Restoration Pill promised to the winner. While cultivating in seclusion, he raised his strength to 150 points and endured a painful bodily transformation that increased his qi and blood to 8,000.

• The Headmaster of the Tun Tian Dao Palace rejected Yang Ling’s request for a Great Tun Tian Restoration Pill, then promised one to whichever chief disciple won the upcoming contest for his personal disciple.
• Lin Zhen challenged the Headmaster’s plan to reward only Yang Ling, so the Headmaster extended the pill reward to all contestants; Yang Ling and the others accepted.
• Yang Ling left for a secluded cave on Qingyun Mountain and confirmed that becoming Zhao De’s disciple had unlocked Great Grade Azure Dragon Force’s cultivation requirements.
• Yang Ling advanced Great Grade Azure Dragon Force to First Glimpse of the Door and then Mastery Through Practice, gaining free attribute points.
• Yang Ling raised his base strength to 150 points, triggering intense pain and a bodily transformation that raised his qi and blood from 6,000 to 8,000.

Yang Ling recovered from a minor gene mutation, strengthened his attributes and Candle Dragon Seven-Star Sword Technique, then tried to cultivate two internal methods at once. As he continued practicing in seclusion, Zhang Hongyu came to his courtyard and found him missing.

• Yang Ling added his remaining attribute points to agility and realized his mutation had greatly increased his health and qi and blood.
• Yang Ling compared his attributes with Jiu Xingkong's and concluded that he needed to raise his qi and blood to close the gap.
• Yang Ling used seventy Spirit Nurturing Pills to advance the Candle Dragon Seven-Star Sword Technique to perfected skill.
• Yang Ling tried to circulate the Vajra Mingwang Technique and Great Grade Azure Dragon Force simultaneously, but each method stopped the other.
• Yang Ling continued experimenting with the two cultivation methods while Zhang Hongyu entered his courtyard and left after finding no sign of him.

Yang Ling combined two cultivation methods to raise his attributes and arrived at the Tun Tian Dao Palace training grounds confident he could win the headmaster’s personal disciple position. He defeated Lin Zhen in two kicks, leaving the other contestants stunned and Flying Dragon Mountain’s lord demanding an explanation.

• Yang Ling combined the Vajra Mingwang Technique and Great Grade Azure Dragon Force, boosting his attributes and resolving to gain six more points for another minor genetic mutation.
• On the final day of the mission, Yang Ling appeared at the training grounds and announced he intended to defeat the other chief disciples and become the headmaster’s personal disciple.
• Several chief disciples withdrew from the competition, leaving Lin Zhen, Huo Yunzhu, Chi Ling, and Yang Ling to contend for the position.
• Lin Zhen challenged Yang Ling to the first match, and Yang Ling used Lingxu Step and Wind God Vajra Leg to knock him out of the training grounds with two kicks.
• Flying Dragon Mountain’s lord questioned Qingyun Mountain’s lord about Yang Ling’s cultivation and the unfamiliar movement and leg techniques he had used.

Yang Ling won recognition as the Sect Leader’s Personal Disciple and learned that the death tribulation on the path to Fifth Rank could be fatal. The Headmaster warned him that it was ten times more painful than the life tribulation and that martial artists often died during it.

• Lin Zhen accepted Yang Ling’s victory, and Huo Yunzhu and Chi Ling withdrew from the competition for the personal-disciple position.
• The mountain masters approved Yang Ling, and the Headmaster of Tun Tian Dao Palace took him as her personal disciple and awarded him a Great Tun Tian Restoration Pill.
• The Headmaster said Yang Ling’s Heaven Swallowing Golden Sword would take about a year to forge, and Yang Ling concealed whether he had encountered King Subei.
• The Headmaster brought Yang Ling to her residence and explained that passing both tribulations was necessary to reach Fifth Rank and earn the title of Minor Grandmaster.
• The Headmaster warned Yang Ling that the death tribulation was ten times as painful as the life tribulation and often killed martial artists without outside intervention.

Yang Ling learned how the death tribulation and the path to Fourth Rank worked, and decided to wait for Snow Spirit Marrow rather than rush his breakthrough. As his Tun Tian Dao Palace instance mission ended with an S+ evaluation, he resolved to raise his qi and blood before advancing.

• The Headmaster of Tun Tian Dao Palace explained that Snow Spirit Marrow could help Yang Ling survive the death tribulation without dulling its pain, preserving the benefits of enduring it.
• Yang Ling agreed to wait for Snow Spirit Marrow and asked how Upper Fifth Rank martial artists reached Fourth Rank.
• The Headmaster explained that reaching Fourth Rank required a powerful physique and qi and blood to ignite a martial way furnace, and told Yang Ling to cultivate at Qingyun Mountain.
• That night, Yang Ling reconsidered his plan to advance immediately and concluded he needed to raise his qi and blood beyond the Upper Sixth Rank standard.
• Yang Ling completed the second stage of the Tun Tian Dao Palace instance with an S+ evaluation.

After earning the first S+ rating in the Swallowing Heaven Instance, Yang Ling claimed the Qi and Blood Tai Sui and unlocked the instance as an exclusive monthly return. Back in the Iron Clothes Department, he raised his qi and blood and stacked his equipment and techniques to reach extraordinary attributes, startling Zhao Xun with the pressure he sensed.

• Yang Ling chose the Qi and Blood Tai Sui from his S+ rewards and learned he could claim the Swallowing Heaven Instance as an exclusive instance.
• Yang Ling accepted the exclusive instance, returned to the Iron Clothes Department, and found that his Demon-Subduing Pestle had been reclaimed while his reward items remained.
• Yang Ling swallowed the Qi and Blood Tai Sui and raised his qi and blood from 8,000 to 11,000 points.
• Yang Ling equipped his gear and activated his techniques, raising his strength to 530 and agility to 374 before accounting for martial skills.
• Zhao Xun sensed Yang Ling's formidable presence and wondered whether a Middle Fifth Rank or Upper Fifth Rank expert had entered Changhe Prefecture.

Yang Ling returned to the Blazing Gold Ore mine after Zhao Xun warned him that a powerful Fifth Rank expert might be targeting him and told him about the Zhao Family’s founding history. He resumed overseeing the mine, while Jue Wang remained bound to the Third Prince by past favors and called Yang Ling shameless.

• Zhao Xun sensed Yang Ling’s briefly leaked aura and warned him that the Heavenly Wolf Guard might send a Fifth Rank expert to kill him, then escorted him back to the Blazing Gold Ore mine.
• On the journey, Zhao Xun described how Zhao Chongxu avenged the Zhao Family’s Supreme Old Ancestor and founded the Zhao State, though he could offer Yang Ling little reliable information about Zhao De.
• Yang Ling arrived at the mine, where Players admired his level and ranking, and Jue Wang asked why he had been away.
• Yang Ling urged Jue Wang to return to Ku Jue Temple, but Jue Wang said he had accepted the Third Prince’s gifts and was following his instructions.
• Yang Ling scolded Players for mining near Earth Vein Fire and sent them to a safer area, prompting Jue Wang to call him shameless.

Yang Ling perfected Great Grade Azure Dragon Force, gained more qi and blood, and tested how his attributes affected his breakthrough requirements. He then asked Zhou Zheng to temper thousands of flying daggers, leaving Zhou Zheng convinced that Yang Ling was working with the Fourth Prince.

• Yang Ling used the Great Tun Tian Restoration Pill to cultivate Great Grade Azure Dragon Force until it reached perfected skill, increasing his qi and blood and unlocking Azure Dragon Force’s true-damage effect.
• Yang Ling tested his new skill and considered how his increased qi and blood strengthened his other abilities, while resolving to find an evenly matched opponent.
• Yang Ling tested whether he could add free attribute points to strength and concluded that reaching the lower fifth rank required both strength and agility to reach 150 points.
• Yang Ling raised his agility from 144 to 149 and kept 15 free attribute points for after his breakthrough.
• Yang Ling asked Zhou Zheng to temper nearly five thousand Hundred Refined Red Gold Flying Daggers using 250 jin of blazing gold.
• Zhou Zheng suspected the Fourth Prince had supplied the materials, steadied himself, and began carefully tempering the daggers.

Yang Ling mined blazing gold for over twenty days, expanding the mine and raising his level to 86 while the other players gained levels as well. After nearly restoring his gold reserves and receiving nearly five thousand Quenching Gold Armor Piercing Flying Daggers, he learned that Zhao Fu had arrived in Xiangfeng Prefecture and summoned him and Jue Wang for questioning.

• Yang Ling mined blazing gold, rapidly gaining experience and expanding the mine while avoiding eruptions of earth fire.
• Lin Caiyi reached level 47, and she explained that Qi-Recovery Pills let her mine longer than the others.
• Zhou Zheng visited the enlarged mine and saw Yang Ling mine at exceptional speed; Yang Ling kept most of the ore he extracted as pay.
• Zhou Zheng told Yang Ling that nearly five thousand Quenching Gold Armor Piercing Flying Daggers were ready, and Yang Ling returned to the surface to collect them.
• Zhang Wei warned Yang Ling that the Third Prince had arrived in Xiangfeng Prefecture and sent Zhao Qing to summon him and Jue Wang for questioning.
• Zhao Qing formally invited Yang Ling and Jue Wang to Xiangfeng Prefecture by order of the Third Prince.

Yang Ling met the Third Prince at the Xiangfeng Prefectural Office after helping bring the Blazing Gold Ore mine close to operation. He told the prince the mine was already producing over two jin a day, and the Third Prince realized the Fourth Prince and Eunuch Xu had gained the advantage.

• Yang Ling saw Cao Yunlong in the courtyard and assessed the white-haired eunuch as a powerful middle fifth rank expert.
• The Third Prince asked whether Yang Ling had consumed the 300 Year Crimson Blood Vermilion Fruit, and Yang Ling confirmed that he had enjoyed its taste.
• The Third Prince said he wanted to manage the Blazing Gold Ore mine himself if he could get it running.
• Yang Ling reported that the mine was producing over two jin of blazingly gold each day and was nearing the required monthly output.
• The Third Prince fell silent as Qian Dalong glared at Yang Ling, realizing that the mine had nearly succeeded without him.

Yang Ling navigated a tense meeting between Zhao Fu and Zhao Zheng over the profitable blazing gold mine, while Zhao Chonghong tested him about arrested officials. The princes decided to remain and oversee the mine, but an explosion and fire erupted in the southwest, which Yang Ling suspected was the work of the Immortal God Cult.

• Yang Ling said he served Zhao State and would follow the Third Prince’s instructions only if they obeyed the law, prompting Zhao Zheng to smooth over the exchange by calling it a joke.
• Zhao Chonghong questioned Yang Ling about Lan Wentao and Gu Weizhou, and Yang Ling noted that Kong Xinghu was Gu Weizhou’s junior fellow disciple before directing any appeal to Lu Yunchen.
• Zhao Chonghong urged the princes to ask their questions and let Yang Ling and Jue Wang return to mining under the Emperor’s six-month deadline.
• Zhao Fu asked about five thousand flying daggers, and Zhao Zheng claimed he had asked Yang Ling to help purchase them for fun.
• Zhao Fu announced that a thousand experienced miners would arrive the next day and said he would stay at the mine; Zhao Zheng also decided to remain and oversee it.
• A crash and a towering fire erupted in the southwest, and Yang Ling suspected the Immortal God Cult.

An explosion at a settlement for displaced people in Xiangfeng Prefecture killed players, and the Immortal God Cult publicly blamed Yang Ling for their deaths. The cult warned Yang Ling to stop targeting it, leaving players fearful of further attacks.

• Zhao Chonghong's soldiers and the Iron Clothes Constables arrived to control the fire at a settlement housing displaced people.
• Yang Ling learned from a surviving player that at least seventy or eighty players had been living inside, and he identified explosives and fire oil as the cause of the blast.
• Anonymous messages flooded the Divine Realm Chat Channel, claiming the Immortal God Cult had burned a hundred players alive because Yang Ling had purged the cult.
• At the Blazing Gold Ore mine, Lin Caiyi, Qin Mo, Zhang Shendao, and Li Shou reacted to the deaths and worried about how Yang Ling could respond.
• Luo Kai sent Yang Ling an anonymous message calling the attack a first warning and threatening further violence if he continued targeting the Immortal God Cult.

Yang Ling investigated the burning of nearly a hundred refugees and suspected the Immortal God Cult was responsible, while Zhao Chonghong tasked him with helping uncover the motive. After sending Shi Xin to arrest cult followers, Yang Ling brutally disabled Yu Jing and asked Zeng Mao where Zhuang Xu was.

• Yang Ling deduced that Luo Kai and Li Fengxian were the same person, then ignored Li Fengxian's private message and told Qin Mo to have Shi Xin return to the prefectural capital.
• Yang Ling examined the scene of the fire and used the Insight Technique to discover that Zhao Qing had illegally sold fire oil to Xu Ying.
• Yang Ling told Zhao Chonghong and the others that the Immortal God Cult likely caused the fire, and Zhao Chonghong assigned him to help investigate why the refugees were killed.
• Yang Ling agreed with Shi Xin to arrest the Immortal God Cult followers in the prefectural capital and sent Shi Xin out with the constables.
• Yang Ling took Yu Jing's silver, broke both his arms and kneecaps, and asked Zeng Mao where Zhuang Xu was.

Yang Ling interrogated Yu Jing and learned where Zeng Mao, Zhuang Xu, and their companions were hiding. He arrested them for helping the Immortal God Cult spread anonymous messages, then forced them to quit the game, killing Zeng Mao in the process.

• Yang Ling tortured Yu Jing until Yu Jing revealed that Zeng Mao and Zhuang Xu were staying in Xiangfeng Prefecture.
• Zeng Mao and Zhuang Xu dismissed concerns that Yu Jing might expose them and justified helping send anonymous messages for a chance at Class Transfer.
• Yang Ling captured Zeng Mao, Zhuang Xu, and the other players, confiscating their money so they could not send Private Chat messages.
• Yang Ling told the prisoners that Yu Jing had quit the game and explained how their messages had helped the Immortal God Cult.
• Yang Ling learned the prisoners knew nothing about the cult member who had contacted Yu Jing, then ordered them to quit the game.
• When Zeng Mao cursed at Yang Ling, Yang Ling killed him, leaving Zhuang Xu and the others terrified.

Yang Ling left the Iron Clothes Department’s case meeting without any leads, then used Insight Technique to uncover Ding Wei’s role in delivering fire oil to Bloodhand Scholar. Ding Wei revealed that the delivery had been seen at the Wangzhi Medicine Guild, leaving Yang Ling with a new lead while Zhao Qing hoped the guild’s powerful connections would shield him.

• Zhao Qing denied that the fire oil used in the arson came from his division, while Zhao Chonghong and Zhao Fu questioned whether the incident was tied to the Immortal God Cult.
• Yang Ling said he had no leads and left the meeting to return to the blazing gold mine, but went to the Public Security Division Second Branch instead.
• Yang Ling used Insight Technique on Ding Wei and learned that he had delivered fire oil to Bloodhand Scholar half a month earlier.
• Yang Ling threatened Ding Wei into revealing that the fire oil had been handed over at the Wangzhi Medicine Guild, then left without exposing Zhao Qing.
• Ding Wei told Zhao Qing about Yang Ling’s visit, and Zhao Qing decided not to worry because Yang Ling had no evidence and the Wangzhi Medicine Guild had powerful connections.