Chapter Summaries

Ji Tianming and Zhao De fought a devastating battle on Wuheng Mountain, while Yang Ling watched and realized the gap between Fifth-Rank and Fourth-Rank Grandmasters. The fight moved into close combat, and Yang Ling turned on a Fifth Rank who had struck him and interrupted his view.

• Ji Tianming summoned the demonic ape’s mental pressure, unsettling the Divine Guard Office’s Fifth Ranks and the soldiers below Wuheng Mountain.
• Ji Tianming fired a black arrow at Zhao De, who answered with his sword and the Candle Dragon Seven-Star Sword Technique’s Seven-Star Sword Formation.
• The two attacks collided, shattering the waterfall’s riverbed and sending shock waves through the surrounding area.
• Zhao De charged Ji Tianming, and the two top-tier Upper Fourth Ranks began fighting at close range while Yang Ling struggled to follow their movements.
• A Fifth Rank struck Yang Ling from behind, and Yang Ling angrily declared that he would beat him to death.

Yang Ling overwhelmed the Divine Guard Office’s fifth-rank experts in his Sky Wolf Battle Armor, while Ji Tianming and Zhao De agreed to end their fight and withdraw. A third-rank expert from the Heavenly Will Sect then appeared, immobilized the fighters, and struck Ji Tianming with a flying knife.

• Yang Ling beat down the fifth-rank expert who had ambushed him and drove back the Divine Guard Office experts who tried to rescue their comrade.
• The Divine Guard Office’s top upper fifth rank led more than twenty experts in surrounding Yang Ling, but Yang Ling fought back with his sword and Crane-Mouth Hoe, leaving the attackers wounded and unable to continue.
• Yang Ling struck the top upper fifth rank in the head with his hoe, while Ji Tianming and Zhao De reached an agreement for Ji Tianming to leave Rong State with his men.
• A powerful presence immobilized the fifth-rank experts, and a flying knife pierced Ji Tianming’s chest.
• An unseen voice identified the attacker as a third rank from the Heavenly Will Sect and ordered Zhao De to take Ji Tianming alive.

Nangong Xun disrupted Vice Minister Hua’s plan and gravely wounded Ji Tianming, who escaped while Zhao De pursued him. Yang Ling rescued Ji Tianming and fled Wuheng Mountain, despite the two Third-Rank Grandmasters who could stop them.

• Nangong Xun told Vice Minister Hua that the minister wanted the Jingxiao Bandits and the Divine Guard Office’s remaining forces in Rong State destroyed, and announced he would become left vice minister of war.
• Ji Tianming fled after his heart was pierced, while Zhao De pursued him and the Divine Guard Office’s Fifth Ranks surrendered to the Extreme Flame Sword Mansion.
• Yang Ling learned that Vice Minister Hua and the Ministry of War had betrayed Ji Tianming, then set off to help Zhao De capture him.
• Yang Ling found Zhao De confronting Ji Tianming, picked up Ji Tianming, and ran without waiting for Zhao De to respond.
• Ji Tianming urged Yang Ling to put him down, but Yang Ling kept fleeing and said they should at least try to escape.

Zhao De revealed that Yang Ling was his disciple and explained his plans for an independent Iron Clothes Department, insisting that Ji Tianming remain connected to the Divine Guard Office. After Zhao De forced Nangong Xun and Vice Minister Hua to withdraw their troops, Yang Ling continued fleeing with the injured Ji Tianming, who suddenly stopped him.

• Zhao De used his overwhelming Third-Rank strength to intimidate Nangong Xun and Vice Minister Hua, then clarified that his advancement was known throughout Rong State.
• Zhao De said he had arranged for Yang Ling to become Yun Tianqing's personal disciple and planned to groom him as the Iron Clothes Department's first Department Master.
• Zhao De explained that he trusted Ji Tianming as a mole in the Divine Guard Office and ordered the troops to withdraw and interrogate their captured Fifth-Rank men.
• Zhao De slapped Nangong Xun when he tried to object, warned him to cultivate in seclusion, and ordered him to withdraw the troops.
• After escaping for half an hour without pursuers, Yang Ling kept running despite his exhausted Qi and Blood.
• Ji Tianming flashed in front of Yang Ling and stopped him with a hand against his chest, startling and angering Yang Ling.

Yang Ling learned that the Flesh-and-Blood Ginseng Fruit could let him safely consume a freshly produced Fire Spirit Pearl, then returned to camp with Zhao De. Zhao De appointed Yang Ling the first Department Master of the Rong State’s Iron Clothes Department.

• Ji Tianming assured Yang Ling that the danger had passed and explained that Martial Way Sacred Medicines strengthened the foundations of Fifth-Rank Minor Grandmasters.
• Ji Tianming told Yang Ling that the Flesh-and-Blood Ginseng Fruit left power in his body that would let him safely consume a Fire Spirit Pearl for a year and gain stronger flesh regeneration.
• Yang Ling left Ji Tianming, who chose to return to the Great Dream Dynasty despite Yang Ling offering to avenge him if he died.
• Zhao De brought Yang Ling back to camp, where Yang Ling admitted he had erred by taking a Divine Guard Office spy away from the Ministry of War.
• Zhao De told Yang Ling to claim he had acted on Zhao De’s orders if Nangong Xun questioned him, then appointed him the first Department Master of the Iron Clothes Department.

Yang Ling learned that the newly established Iron Clothes Department would monitor the Rong State’s sects, then discovered Zhao De had chosen him as its Department Master. After the Decapitation Operation ended, Yang Ling received a fourth-rank official seal and an S+ quest evaluation, and wondered whether he would receive every listed reward.

• Zhao De explained that the Iron Clothes Department’s initial duty was to monitor the Rong State’s sects, and Yang Ling returned with him to camp.
• Nangong Xun questioned Zhao De’s choice of Yang Ling as Department Master and alluded to Jiu Xingkong’s death, while Yang Ling suspected the appointment had been contested by sects.
• Vice Minister Hua declared the Decapitation Operation a victory, and Yang Ling completed his main quest to eliminate the Jingxiao Bandits.
• Zhao De gave Yang Ling the Iron Clothes Department’s official seal, granting him a temporary fourth-rank position.
• Yang Ling received an S+ evaluation and rewards of ten White Bone Essence Pills, five Great Tun Tian Restoration Pills, and thirty free attribute points, then wondered whether he could keep them all.

Yang Ling received an upper first-class merit rating for killing three Fifth Ranks and rescuing a colleague, earning a promised Black Tortoise Longevity Blood Pill. As the rewards were assigned and the force prepared to search the mountain, he realized he held official posts in both Zhao and Rong States and could benefit from two positions.

• Vice Minister Hua awarded Yang Ling upper first-class merit and promised him a Black Tortoise Longevity Blood Pill once supplies arrived.
• Zhao De explained that the pill greatly aided Internal Energy cultivation, exciting Yang Ling with the prospect of advancing his Divine Ape Visualization.
• Vice Minister Hua gave the Extreme Flame Sword Mansion a lower fourth-class rating and awarded its members Spirit Nurturing Pills, while Lin Zhen and the other two received one Nourishing Breath Essence Pill each.
• Yang Ling considered the rewards and expenses for the soldiers and officials, realizing the Ministry of War spent heavily on such operations.
• Vice Minister Hua ordered everyone to search the mountain and clear out stragglers before setting off at daybreak.

Yang Ling explored the hidden vault Ji Tianming had prepared and found a large supply of valuable pills. He decided to use them to advance the Great Grade Azure Dragon Force and the Heavenly Will Hundred Battles Manual before focusing on the Divine Ape Visualization.

• Yang Ling assigned his free attribute points to raise his strength to its limit and increase his agility.
• Yang Ling warned Lin Zhen and the other two to watch for hidden Jingxiao Bandits, then searched the waterfall pool alone.
• Yang Ling followed an underwater passage into the secret vault and found five boxes of pills.
• Yang Ling collected the pills and calculated that his full supply could provide 430,000 internal skill experience points.
• Yang Ling chose to advance the Great Grade Azure Dragon Force and the Heavenly Will Hundred Battles Manual first, while keeping the Divine Ape Visualization as a later priority.

Yang Ling used his remaining pills to advance several techniques, raising his combat abilities and unlocking Absolute Focus. After the Ministry of War cleared Wuheng Mountain, Nangong Xun questioned him about an emptied secret vault, and Yang Ling turned the suspicion back on the bandits.

• Yang Ling advanced the Heavenly Will Hundred Battles Manual, Great Grade Azure Dragon Force, and Heavenly Will True Scripture to Entering the Hall and Room, gaining attributes and the Absolute Focus skill.
• Yang Ling tested Absolute Focus and found that his gaze could make an ant feel trapped, confirming the skill could help suppress enemies and target their heads.
• Yang Ling used his remaining pills to raise the Divine Ape Visualization to 90,000 experience and the Heavenly Will Hundred Battles Manual to 160,000, then assessed his greatly increased attributes and mental power.
• The Ministry of War confiscated the contents of Ji Tianming's other secret vaults, while Nangong Xun discovered the vault beneath the waterfall pool after its contents were gone.
• Vice Minister Hua declared the Jingxiao Bandits wiped out and ordered the group to withdraw; Yang Ling sent Lin Zhen and the others back with Langzhong Xie while he traveled alone.
• Nangong Xun challenged Yang Ling over the empty vault, and Yang Ling suggested interrogating the Jingxiao Bandits, prompting Nangong Xun to glance at Zhao De.

Nangong Xun suspected Yang Ling of taking the Secret Vault’s treasure, but a search cleared him. Yang Ling recruited Liu Dali as a Ninth-Rank Iron Clothes and sent him to spy on Arhat Temple; the next day, an unknown Fourth-Rank Grandmaster seized Yang Ling near Tun Tian Dao Palace.

• Nangong Xun accused Yang Ling of possibly taking the treasure from the deep-pool Secret Vault, but a search found no rare items on him.
• Yang Ling agreed to let Liu Dali travel with him and made him a Ninth-Rank Iron Clothes tasked with gathering intelligence on Arhat Temple.
• Liu Dali reported that Arhat Temple might have ties to Great Underworld Temple, and Yang Ling rewarded him with a Peiyuan Pill before sending him back to spy.
• Yang Ling returned to Tun Tian Dao Palace the next day without his Sky Wolf Battle Armor and planned to practice martial skills before the instance ended.
• An unknown Fourth-Rank Grandmaster grabbed Yang Ling by the neck and carried him away from Tun Tian Dao Palace’s territory.

Yang Ling was taken to an abandoned temple by Shi Tianlong, a Fourth-Rank Grandmaster from the Great Underworld Temple, while the Arhat Temple arranged a meeting with him. After seeing Shi Tianlong’s overwhelming attributes and suspecting that natives could gain class-transfer abilities, Yang Ling secretly messaged Liu Dali to alert Zhao De.

• Shi Tianlong told Yang Ling that he had brought him to the temple on someone else’s orders and that the person who wanted to meet him would arrive in an hour.
• Yang Ling suspected the Arhat Temple was behind his capture and wondered whether Zhao De knew of its ties to the Great Underworld Temple.
• Yang Ling activated the Vajra Mingwang Technique and viewed Shi Tianlong’s attribute panel, discovering his formidable strength, skills, and Dharma Protector Vajra class.
• Yang Ling considered whether Divine Domain natives could gain class-transfer abilities upon reaching the fourth rank, then asked Shi Tianlong whether he planned to kill him.
• Yang Ling used loose silver to privately message Liu Dali, telling him to find Zhao De and report that Shi Tianlong had captured him for the Arhat Temple.

Yang Ling was held captive by Shi Tianlong and confronted by Zong Heng, who accused him of killing Jiu Xingkong and attacked him. Yang Ling admitted the killing, then revealed his Fortune-Bringing Secret Technique and offered the monks a catty of blazing gold each day in exchange for sparing him.

• Yang Ling demonstrated his silver-conjuring trick to Shi Tianlong, who refused to let him leave until Arhat Temple's elders arrived.
• Zong Heng and three fifth-rank monks arrived, and Zong Heng struck Yang Ling so hard that he lost nearly seven thousand health points.
• Zong Heng said Arhat Temple wanted Zhao De to appoint someone else as Iron Clothes Department master and suspected Yang Ling had killed his missing disciple, Jiu Xingkong.
• Zong Heng attacked Yang Ling again after accusing him of lying, triggering Yang Ling's blood lock and refilling his health.
• Yang Ling admitted he had killed Jiu Xingkong and offered the monks a catty of hundred refined blazing gold each day through his Fortune-Bringing Secret Technique if they kept him alive.

Yang Ling used his ability to produce hundred refined blazing gold to persuade the Arhat Temple to keep him alive, then proved the power was real. The chapter ended with Zong Heng and Shi Tianlong arguing over how to divide the profits from Yang Ling’s ability.

• Yang Ling offered a jin of hundred refined blazing gold, but Zong Heng refused to spare him until the technique was verified.
• Yang Ling explained that he could produce a jin of hundred refined blazing gold daily, convincing the monks that he could be more valuable than a mine.
• Zong Heng gave Yang Ling one day to prove his claim, and Yang Ling gained confidence that he would survive.
• Yang Ling produced another jin of hundred refined blazing gold under Shi Tianlong and Zong Heng’s close observation.
• Shi Tianlong demanded an equal share for the Great Underworld Temple, while Zong Heng insisted the Arhat Temple deserved at least ninety percent.

Yang Ling’s daily conjuring of hundred refined blazing gold convinced Zong Heng and Shi Tianlong of his value, but they kept him under guard while waiting for the situation outside to settle. On the instance’s final day, Yang Ling climbed into the Sky Wolf Battle Armor and exited just as time ran out.

• Yang Ling proposed dividing the gold eighty-twenty between the Great Underworld Temple and the Arhat Temple, but Zong Heng and Shi Tianlong rejected his attempt to influence their dispute.
• Zong Heng and Shi Tianlong waited to verify Yang Ling’s ability, and on the third day he conjured a jin of hundred refined blazing gold.
• Liu Dali privately told Yang Ling that Zhao Heavenly King had beaten and imprisoned him, leaving Yang Ling uncertain whether anyone would come looking for him.
• Zong Heng and Shi Tianlong decided to keep Yang Ling hidden, while Yang Ling assessed their martial abilities and considered how he might fare against them after reaching fourth rank.
• Yang Ling conjured another jin of gold each day until the instance’s final day, then entered the Sky Wolf Battle Armor and said goodbye as he exited.

Yang Ling revealed his Sky Wolf Battle Armor, defeated Shi Jinglong and the other Star Sea Fishing Alliance men, and forced Shi Jinglong to explain their plans for Fire Flood Dragon Island. He left disguised as Shi Jinglong, intending to seek the Crimson-Refined Fire Flood Dragon Sect's legacy and the Fire Spirit Pearl.

• Yang Ling transformed into a wolf-headed warrior in Sky Wolf Battle Armor, then battered one Upper Fifth Rank and killed another when they tried to inspect the armor.
• Yang Ling called himself King Yama and captured Shi Jinglong, then beat him before questioning the three men about their plans.
• Shi Jinglong revealed that the Star Sea Fishing Alliance believed the old flood dragon had died and sought its body and the Crimson-Refined Fire Flood Dragon Sect's legacy with allies from the Zhao State and Rong State.
• Yang Ling removed the Sky Wolf Battle Armor into the Green Dragon Ring, confirmed he could eat the Golden Dragon Treasure Fish, and made Shi Jinglong say “Amitabha.”
• Yang Ling left disguised as Shi Jinglong after the three men and their bodies disappeared from the room.

Yang Ling disguised himself as Shi Jinglong and pressured Qin Kunlun and Zhao Yingying into surrendering the Fire Flood Dragon Blood and Fire Spirit Pearl. He reached the dry-well entrance to meet the Old Ancestor, while Hua Jinsong and River Elder discussed searching for the hidden entrance.

• Yang Ling entered No Return Fishing Village’s territory disguised as Shi Jinglong and told the gathered disciples that Yang Ling would return later.
• Yang Ling demanded Qin Kunlun’s Fire Flood Dragon Blood and Zhao Yingying’s Fire Spirit Pearl, invoking Hua Jinsong and River Elder to make them hand over the treasures.
• The others believed Yang Ling was dead, and Zhao Zheng left to demand an explanation for his death.
• Yang Ling reached the dry well and pretended to drop a silver ingot before jumping inside.
• Hua Jinsong and River Elder discussed digging up the island to find the entrance before the thirty-day deadline passed.

Yang Ling used the Human-Skin Map to pass through the stone beneath a dry well and entered a hot, radiation-filled passage that he believed led to the Old Ancestor. Aboveground, River Elder realized Shi Jinglong had vanished and ordered the others to dig beneath the well.

• Hua Jinsong warned against using brute force to find the entrance, and the Grandmasters agreed to search likely areas carefully.
• Yang Ling used the Human-Skin Map to sink through the stone at the bottom of the dry well and land in a hidden passage.
• Yang Ling found that the map let him pass through specific stone, noticed radiation in the passage, and hurried deeper inside.
• Hua Jinsong and the others marked likely search areas and agreed to begin digging cautiously.
• River Elder learned that Shi Jinglong had disappeared, concluded he had found the passage, and ordered everyone to dig beneath the dry well.

Yang Ling entered Fire Cloud Cave and used the Human-Skin Map to plot a route toward its deepest part. Above, River Elder and the Star Sea Fishing Alliance broke through into the cave and prepared to send cultivators inside despite its deadly supernatural power.

• Yang Ling reached a vast, scorching cavern and watched the Human-Skin Map reveal the Fire Cloud Cave’s layout.
• Yang Ling chose a route toward the map’s red-marked deepest area that passed only one skull marker, then hurried onward after hearing digging behind him.
• The Star Sea Fishing Alliance broke through the courtyard floor and exposed a passage into the cave.
• Old Tu entered the passage, suffered rapid skin decay from the supernatural power, and recovered using Flesh Regeneration.
• River Elder revealed that Snow Spirit Marrow could help Fifth-Rank cultivators resist the supernatural power and said the legendary Fire Cloud Cave lay below.

Zhao and Rong States revealed their coordinated plan to seize Fire Cloud Cave after learning the Old Flood Dragon had died, and their fleets approached Fire Flood Dragon Island. Xie Jinjia and Chen Quan went ahead to negotiate while the others prepared to land, leaving Zhao Yuan and Zhao Qi eager to join the expedition.

• Xu Wuji accused Xie Jinjia of betraying Zhao State, but Xie Jinjia denied it and Li Zhong’s calm response reassured the others.
• Xu Wuji revealed that the Star Sea Fishing Alliance had sent powerful experts to hunt Zhao’s young prodigies on Fire Flood Dragon Island.
• Xie Jinjia explained that the Old Flood Dragon had died and that Zhao State had deliberately allowed the alliance to find Fire Cloud Cave while its own forces prepared a counterplan.
• Xie Jinjia ordered Li Zhong to ready the Iron Clothes Department for landing and invited Nangong Linghe’s Cao Gang fighters to join the expedition.
• Zhang Wei told Yang Ling that Zhao State had the advantage, and Yang Ling agreed to wait for Zhang Wei before entering Fire Cloud Cave.
• Chen Quan and Xie Jinjia flew ahead to negotiate with the Star Sea Fishing Alliance’s third-rank expert as Zhao Yuan and Zhao Qi anticipated landing on the island.

Yang Ling crossed a magma river in Fire Cloud Cave with Little White’s help and discovered that his map was outdated. Meanwhile, Xie Jinjia and Chen Quan confronted Li Ting of the Star Sea Fishing Alliance and demanded compensation, leaving the negotiations on the verge of a fight.

• Zhang Wei reassured Yang Ling that Xie Jinjia had not betrayed Zhao State and that the alliance’s plot had been uncovered.
• Yang Ling removed his Sky Wolf Battle Armor, took a Fire-Avoidance Pill, and summoned Little White to carry him over the magma river.
• A turtle-headed exotic beast rose from the magma and fired more than a thousand magma arrows at Yang Ling and Little White, who escaped above its reach.
• Yang Ling realized his Fire Cloud Cave map was outdated and resolved to stay cautious as he continued onward.
• Xie Jinjia and Chen Quan confronted Li Ting at the abandoned mine and demanded compensation for the Star Sea Fishing Alliance’s actions.
• Li Ting balked at paying twenty portions of Martial Way Sacred Medicine, and Xie Jinjia challenged him to fight.