Chapter Summaries

Yang Ling tried to interpret his mission to wipe out Arhat Temple and destroyed the temple with a Heavenly Will Immortal-Slaying Saber. The Blue-Faced Arhat awakened from the Buddha statue, sealed Arhat City behind a golden barrier, and appeared before Yang Ling and the others.

• Yang Ling ordered everyone to withdraw from Arhat Temple, then flew into the air and summoned a Heavenly Will Immortal-Slaying Saber.
• Yang Ling unleashed the saber, erasing the temple buildings and mountain gate and leaving a vast crater.
• The Blue-Faced Arhat emerged from the surviving Buddha statue as a golden barrier sealed Arhat City.
• The monks rejoiced at the Blue-Faced Arhat's appearance and began chanting, while Kong Luan recoiled in alarm.

Yang Ling faced the Blue-Faced Arhat, whose overwhelming stats made a direct fight seem hopeless, and used the White Bone Return to the West Scripture to drain the monster’s health. After the Blue-Faced Arhat crumbled and the barrier vanished, Yang Ling completed the raid as Han Xiaoyao and his companions reached him.

• Wei Shenwu, Chu Pinglan, and Han Xiaoyao tried to enter Arhat City but were stopped by the golden barrier surrounding it.
• Yang Ling compared his attributes with the Blue-Faced Arhat’s and began chanting the White Bone Return to the West Scripture with the Forest of All Phenomena Dharma Eye active.
• The Blue-Faced Arhat lost 800,000 health points each second, while Yang Ling’s Heavenly Will Body evaded every one of its attacks.
• The Blue-Faced Arhat crumbled into dust after five seconds, completing Yang Ling’s quest and removing the barrier.
• Han Xiaoyao and his companions reached Yang Ling as his experience points surged.

Yang Ling finished the operation at Arhat Temple, exposed the Blue-Faced Arhat’s connection to the temple, and left the remaining arrests and confiscations to the Iron Clothes Department. After earning an SS quest rating, he received the Blue-Faced Arhat as a powerful spirit pet.

• Yang Ling told Kong Luan that the Blue-Faced Arhat likely served the Great Dream Dynasty, and Kong Luan killed an Arhat Temple monk who identified the creature as their arhat.
• Yang Ling questioned the Arhat Temple monks, then learned that Chu Pinglan, Wei Shenwu, and Han Xiaoyao were Third-Rank Grandmasters serving as Iron Clothes.
• Yang Ling left the monks in the three kings’ custody, and Kong Luan promised to cooperate with the Iron Clothes Department’s operations.
• Far from Arhat City, Yang Ling received an SS quest rating and the Blue-Faced Arhat Beast reward.
• The Blue-Faced Arhat appeared without hostility, and Yang Ling inspected its unchanged stats before urging Little White to grow stronger.

Yang Ling completed the mission to destroy Arhat Temple and learned that the Blue-Faced Arhat had been Emperor Rong Wu’s ninth son and a former Land Immortal. Zhao De then ordered Yang Ling to travel to the Capital to serve as the Iron Clothes Department’s Department Master and receive envoys from the Great Dream Dynasty.

• Yang Ling confirmed that the Blue-Faced Arhat Beast could enter his Spirit Pet Space, cheered up Little White, and equipped the Thunder God Battle Armor.
• Zhao De arrived and questioned Yang Ling about killing the Blue-Faced Arhat, whose power had reportedly rivaled a Human Immortal.
• Zhao De revealed that the Blue-Faced Arhat was Arhat Temple’s first abbot and Emperor Rong Wu’s ninth son, making Yang Ling’s actions impossible to take back.
• Zhao De asked Yang Ling to go to the Capital, establish a site for the Iron Clothes Department, and receive the Great Dream Dynasty’s envoys.
• Yang Ling agreed, relying on the Blue-Faced Arhat Beast and Xuanhuang Cave Abode to keep himself safe in the Capital.

Yang Ling advanced the Heavenly Will True Scripture to Return to Simplicity, gaining a major increase in mental power and the temporary Enhancement skill. A massive disturbance on the Tianyuan River turned out to be caused by a duel between elders of the Divine Sect and the Nine Immortal Dao Palace, and the route was closed for three days.

• Yang Ling postponed cultivating the Purple Mansion Divine Dao Scripture and chose to advance the Heavenly Will True Scripture instead.
• The Heavenly Will True Scripture reached Return to Simplicity, raising Yang Ling's mental power to 12,000 and improving his object-control ability.
• Yang Ling gained Enhancement, which temporarily strengthened Ice Blade, Fire Saber, and Lightning Saber at the cost of qi and blood.
• Yang Ling sensed a disturbance on the Tianyuan River and watched a huge wave rock the Cao Gang's ship.
• Master Wu and the Cao Gang disciples found no sign of an aquatic exotic beast, then learned that elders from the Divine Sect and the Nine Immortal Dao Palace were dueling nearby and had closed the route for three days.

Yang Ling intervened when sect disciples blocked a Cao Gang ship and mocked the Iron Clothes Department, beating Dongfang Jingshuo and Elder Zhao with overwhelming ease. After revealing himself as the Department Master, he learned that two upper third-rank elders were dueling more than a hundred li away and sent out his spiritual perception.

• Wu Chengquan asked the sect disciples to let the Cao Gang ship pass, then invoked the Iron Clothes Department’s ban on public sect duels.
• Dongfang Jingshuo mocked the department and Yang Ling, so Yang Ling seized him and slapped him while his pressure pinned the Divine Sect disciples to the deck.
• Elder Zhao rushed across the waves to rescue Dongfang Jingshuo, but Yang Ling caught and slapped him as well.
• Yang Ling identified himself as the Iron Clothes Department Master, leaving Wu Chengquan and the sect disciples shocked by his apparent fourth-rank strength.
• Yang Ling learned that Elder Wu of the Nine Immortal Dao Palace and Elder Mo of the Divine Sect were dueling more than a hundred li away at upper third rank, then extended his spiritual perception.

Yang Ling caught the Divine Sect and Nine Immortal Dao Palace sparring on the Tianyuan River and ordered their disciples to kneel aboard a requisitioned ship. When the ship reached the two Upper Third Rank experts, Yang Ling identified himself as Department Master of the Iron Clothes Department and announced their arrest.

• Yang Ling sensed Elder Mo and Elder Wu sparring on the Tianyuan River and asked Elder Zhao whether the fight had been reported to the Iron Clothes Department.
• Yang Ling requisitioned Wu Chengquan's ship, ordered the Divine Sect and Nine Immortal Dao Palace disciples to kneel at the bow, and used the White Bone General to drive the ship rapidly toward the fighters.
• The ship reached the two sects' gathering, and Elder Wu mistook its approach for a declaration of war by the Cao Gang.
• Yang Ling introduced himself as Department Master of the Iron Clothes Department and ordered Elder Wu, Elder Mo, and their people to surrender their weapons and submit to arrest.

Yang Ling arrested Mo Changyun, Wu Xiaotian, and their followers after stopping their unreported duel on the Tianyuan River, then brought them to the Capital. On arrival, Chu Pinglan warned Yang Ling that people were saying he had vowed to beat the Great Dream Dynasty Envoys’ experts.

• Yang Ling seized Mo Changyun when he attacked, beat him until he admitted his guilt, and demanded that both sect elders and their followers come to the Capital to give statements.
• Wu Xiaotian admitted his guilt, and Yang Ling ordered the group to travel with him aboard the Giant Ship; he allowed most of the kneeling disciples to rise but ordered Dongfang Jingshuo to remain kneeling.
• Several days later, the Giant Ship reached Capital Port, where Chu Pinglan, Han Xiaoyao, and Wei Shenwu met Yang Ling with Iron Clothes officers.
• Chu Pinglan told Yang Ling that people in Capital City claimed he had vowed to beat all the experts accompanying the Great Dream Dynasty Envoys, and Yang Ling wondered who had framed him.

Yang Ling established the Iron Clothes Department’s headquarters in the Capital and waited for trouble that never came before leaving the forced instance. Back in Wubao Zhai, he vanished just before the Grand Ancestor of the Cicada-Holding Directorate arrived looking for him.

• Yang Ling suspected Arhat Temple’s remnants had spread rumors to frame him, then ordered Mo Changyun and Wu Xiaotian released after they registered, gave statements, and paid fines.
• Yang Ling chose the site for the Iron Clothes Department’s headquarters, and the Ministry of Works built it in time to open two days later.
• Yang Ling inspected the completed headquarters and wondered why no one in the Capital, including the Rong Emperor, had contacted him.
• Chu Pinglan told Yang Ling that the Great Dream Dynasty’s envoys were nearing the Capital, but Yang Ling exited the instance before they could go receive them.
• Yang Ling appeared in Wubao Zhai, spent Trade Points to leave again, and avoided the Grand Ancestor of the Cicada-Holding Directorate, who came asking where he had gone.

The Grand Ancestor revealed that the Purple Mansion Divine Dao Scripture had trapped him in the Dao Lord’s control and asked Zhao De and the Wubao Divine Tree to help send Zhao De’s disciple into Youluo City with the White Bone Divine Lord’s legacy. Meanwhile, Yang Ling discovered that he could not accept quests on the Grandmaster Network and decided to keep the problem secret while waiting to see whether the Grand Ancestor was still nearby.

• The Grand Ancestor admitted that the Dao Lord controlled him through the Purple Mansion Divine Dao Scripture and explained that he had been trapped in Youluo City, where he could be killed and revived without his memories.
• The Grand Ancestor said the White Bone Origin Spirit Method could counter the Purple Mansion Divine Dao Scripture and asked Zhao De and the Wubao Divine Tree to help train Zhao De’s disciple and send him into Youluo City.
• Yang Ling checked the Grandmaster Network Quest Hall and found that he still could not access quests despite advancing to the upper third rank.
• Gui He told Yang Ling that the Quest Hall worked normally and invited him to join a quest, leading Yang Ling to suspect that he alone could not accept quests.
• Yang Ling decided to conceal his problem, remain in the network for a few days, and later check whether the Grand Ancestor was still around.

Yang Ling examined pills and equipment for opportunities to trade in the Divine Domain while preparing to convert his remaining trade points into attributes and resources. After ordering agility pills and other supplies, he inspected a level-zero novice set and called its stats average before asking its price.

• Ding Luo offered to buy Yang Ling’s fifty Black Tortoise Longevity Blood Pills, and Yang Ling proposed trading for attribute-boosting pills and other resources instead.
• Yang Ling reviewed the Mystic Antiquity Ding Clan Pill Group’s catalog and ordered the maximum allowed quantity of every agility-increasing pill, along with a Returning-to-Void Jade Marrow Pill and a hundred genuine Tyrant Blood Pills.
• Ding Luo said the group had nearly run out of Counterfeit Tyrant Blood Pills after receiving a warning from the Pangu Gene Group.
• Lei Wanqi arrived and offered a sample from the hundred thousand novice sets prepared by the Savage Wilderness Lei Clan Divine Weapon Group.
• Yang Ling examined the level-zero Spirit Deer Set, judged its stats average, and asked Lei Wanqi how much it cost.

Yang Ling bought pills and Basic Treasure-Hiding Talismans while arranging to purchase a hundred thousand Spirit Deer Sets from Lei Wanqi. When the goods arrived, the enormous pile of beginner equipment stunned the players in the plaza.

• Yang Ling agreed to buy a hundred thousand Spirit Deer Sets from Lei Wanqi for one hundred thousand Trade Points and learned the sets first appeared thirty years after Barbarian Wasteland launched.
• Meng Yuan delivered Yang Ling an invitation to the Summit Conference at Pangu Plaza, scheduled to begin the next day.
• Yang Ling bought strength- and agility-enhancing pills from Ding Luo, spending a total of one hundred and eighty-five thousand Trade Points.
• Yang Ling asked Lei Wanqi to obtain a hundred Basic Treasure-Hiding Talismans, which Lei Wanqi arranged to deliver with the Spirit Deer Sets.
• Lei Wanqi told Yang Ling the goods had arrived, and the players in the plaza stared in shock at the massive piles of Spirit Deer Sets.

Yang Ling accepted 100,000 Spirit Deer Sets from Lei Wanqi and stored them in the Xuanhuang Cave Abode, then increased his strength and agility with pills. The next day, he arrived at Pangu Plaza to attend the Summit Conference and learn what the top groups had planned for him.

• Yang Ling decided to accept resources for Divine Domain players despite the risks, and Lei Wanqi delivered 100,000 Spirit Deer Sets at a low price.
• Yang Ling moved the sets into the Xuanhuang Cave Abode and paid Lei Wanqi 300,000 Trade Points, while Meng Yuan failed to enter the abode from the plaza.
• Meng Yuan explained that he had wanted to test whether players could enter the cave abode and whether killing them inside would bring company punishment.
• Inside the Xuanhuang Cave Abode, Yang Ling consumed pills that raised his agility to 20,294 and his strength to 23,999.
• The next day, Yang Ling and Meng Yuan arrived at Pangu Plaza, where a Pangu Gene representative escorted Yang Ling toward the Summit Conference.

Yang Ling learned about Pangu Plaza One’s advantages and the dangerous True Dragon Grotto mission before attending the Summit Conference. The corporate representatives invited him to make the Divine Domain the conference’s thirty-eighth member, provoking outrage among the other attendees.

• Meng Yuan explained that Pangu Plaza One offered discounted mission entry, equipment binding, and exclusive 10-star missions, including the True Dragon Grotto.
• Yang Ling learned that the True Dragon Grotto required at least eighteen thousand in both attributes and restricted outside assistance, while dragon-kin beasts offered experience and treasure chests.
• Yang Ling arrived at the Summit Conference and challenged the corporate representatives to state the meeting’s purpose without delay.
• The representatives invited Yang Ling and the Divine Domain to join the Summit Conference as its thirty-eighth member.
• Ding Zhan realized that Pangu Gene Group and the other corporations were making an unprecedented effort to win over the Divine Domain, while attendees protested that the move broke the rules.

Yang Ling rejected the Summit Conference’s attempt to recruit Divine Domain and declared it would remain neutral, then returned to Wubao Zhai, where the Grand Ancestor asked him to kill a powerful enemy in Youluo City after he became a Land Immortal. Yang Ling learned that the Purple Mansion Space could lead to the city and showed interest when the Grand Ancestor offered rare herbs and pills as payment.

• Yang Ling rejected the Summit Conference and warned that Divine Domain would fight back if anyone interfered with it.
• The Summit Conference accepted Divine Domain’s neutrality, and Yang Ling left for Song Yu Plaza.
• Yang Ling waited several days before exiting the Grandmaster Network and returning to Wubao Zhai, where he met Zhao De, the Wubao Divine Tree, and the aged Grand Ancestor.
• Yang Ling admitted he had visited the area outside Youluo City, and the Grand Ancestor confirmed that the Purple Mansion Space could lead there if cultivated to the Return to Simplicity realm.
• The Grand Ancestor asked Yang Ling to kill the Dao Lord of the Third Dao Court of the Shura Path after reaching Land Immortal and offered treasured herbs and pills; Yang Ling asked what they were.

Yang Ling agreed to help the Grand Ancestor deal with the Dao Lord in Youluo City once he was confident enough, then consumed a Decayed Spirit Root that raised him to level 888. He learned the Six Surnames might trade him more roots and eagerly planned to use them to close the level gap with other players.

• The Grand Ancestor warned Yang Ling that the Dao Lord could threaten the Great Dream Dynasty and neighboring territories, and Yang Ling agreed to confront him only when he was strong enough.
• The Grand Ancestor gave Yang Ling ten Hundred-Year Pills and a Decayed Spirit Root, while Zhao De persuaded him to hand over the Cicada-Holding Treasure Seal.
• Yang Ling ate the Decayed Spirit Root and gained 132 levels, reaching level 888 without receiving a treasure chest.
• The Wubao Divine Tree offered to arrange a trade with the Six Surnames, who might exchange Decayed Spirit Roots for Basic Treasure-Hiding Talismans.
• Zhao De explained that repeated Decayed Spirit Roots had diminishing effects, but Yang Ling remained eager to obtain more and hoped to surpass level 1,000.

Yang Ling traded Basic Treasure-Hiding Talismans for Decayed Spirit Roots, then Zhao De brought him out of the Abyssal Beast Cavern as his personal Lampbearer. After inspecting Yang Ling’s Immortal Spirit Pill, Zhao De asked for his own share.

• Five-Spice Pork delivered six Decayed Spirit Roots from the Abyssal Six Clans, and Yang Ling exchanged them for sixty Basic Treasure-Hiding Talismans.
• Zhao De took Yang Ling to Jiayi City and appointed him his personal Lampbearer.
• Yang Ling inspected Nangong Bafang’s attributes and recognized him as a powerful Heavenly Will Sect turncoat.
• Zhao De showed Nangong Bafang the Grand Ancestor’s Seal, then flew away with Yang Ling in Battle Armor.
• Yang Ling asked Zhao De to visit Fire Flood Dragon Island before the White Bone Dao Palace so he could deliver an Immortal Spirit Pill to his Sworn Brother.
• Zhao De examined the pill and asked Yang Ling where his master’s share was.

Yang Ling returned to Fire Flood Dragon Island with Zhao De and gave Ji Tianming an Immortal Spirit Pill that might help him overcome his condition. After the pill began taking effect, Yang Ling announced the first equipment distribution for the Grandmaster Project, summoning registered Ninth Rank players to prefectural capitals.

• Zhao De told Yang Ling that Immortal Spirit Pills were extremely scarce and valuable, and Yang Ling promised to bring back a hundred.
• Yang Ling and Zhao De reached Fire Flood Dragon Island, where Ji Tianming learned the Grand Ancestor would no longer threaten him.
• Yang Ling gave Ji Tianming an Immortal Spirit Pill, and Ji Tianming took it to his Flood Dragon body to absorb its effects.
• Yang Ling saw the Divine Realm Rank List show him at level 888 and summoned registered Ninth Rank players to gather at their nearest prefectural capital for the Grandmaster Project's first equipment distribution.

Yang Ling arranged for Ninth Rank players with clean Iron Clothes Department records to receive Spirit Deer Sets and consumed several Decayed Spirit Roots, reaching Level 972. At the Blood Essence Ore mine, he learned that the Rong Tribe conflict had escalated into negotiations between Second Rank Human Immortals and went to intervene.

• Lin Caiyi and the others discussed screening recipients, and Lin Caiyi relayed Yang Ling’s plan to distribute Spirit Deer Sets through the Iron Clothes Departments to eligible Ninth Rank players.
• Yang Ling ate three Decayed Spirit Roots, reached Level 972, and decided to save the remaining roots because their effects had sharply weakened.
• Yang Ling spent his remaining Free Attribute Points on Agility and headed to the Blood Essence Ore mine to test how long mining would take to gain a level.
• A Mine Gang elder told Yang Ling that killings and disappearances after clashes with the Rong Tribe had led both sides to send Second Rank Human Immortals to negotiate.
• Yang Ling learned that Star Gazing Academy’s head and Ying Taisui represented the two sides, then set off to stop the Rong Tribe from running rampant.

Yang Ling arrived at the Star Sea Fishing Alliance’s negotiation site and revealed himself to Hua Jinsong after withstanding more than a hundred saber strikes without injury. When Zhang Xuanshui ordered him to attend the negotiations, Yang Ling agreed so he could investigate the deaths on Fire Flood Dragon Island and confront those involved.

• Yang Ling flew to the fishing village where the Zhao State and Rong Tribe were negotiating and found Hua Jinsong.
• Hua Jinsong attacked the armored stranger, but Yang Ling’s Spirit Armor took more than a hundred saber strikes without a mark; Yang Ling revealed that he was Xiao Yang.
• Yang Ling asked about the negotiations and angrily challenged the lack of conclusive evidence against Ying Taisui, despite Qi Tairan’s accusation.
• Zhang Xuanshui arrived with Star Gazing Academy scholars and said his master had ordered him to bring Yang Ling to the negotiations.
• Yang Ling agreed to go, saying he would investigate the deaths on Fire Flood Dragon Island, then told Zhang Xuanshui to lead the way.