Chapter Summaries

Yang Ling confronted the Star Gazing Academy during negotiations and announced he would reopen Kong Xinghu’s case while demanding Luo Kai’s whereabouts. The chapter ended with Yang Ling formally summoning Ying Taisui on suspicion of plotting to murder him.

• Yang Ling provoked Gu Weizhou and the elderly Confucian scholars, then followed Zhang Xuanshui to the negotiation venue despite Hua Jinsong’s warnings.
• Zhang Xuanshui questioned Yang Ling about Kong Xinghu’s death, and Yang Ling said he would seek permission to reinvestigate the case.
• Yang Ling demanded Luo Kai’s whereabouts and warned Zhang Xuanshui that concealing him could make the academy an accomplice.
• At the negotiations, Yang Ling examined the Star Gazing Academy Head and Ying Taisui, then told Zhao Zheng he had come to investigate another case.
• Yang Ling accused Ying Taisui of plotting to murder him and summoned him in accordance with the law.

Yang Ling accused Ying Taisui of attacking him and challenged the Star Gazing Academy over the handling of Kong Xinghu’s death. He revealed that he intended to reopen the old case, claiming Zhang Xuanshui had agreed, and Zhang Xuanshui immediately denied it.

• Ying Taisui demanded that Yang Ling provide evidence or surrender his cultivation, while the Star Gazing Academy Head and Zhao State officials warned that the accusation could provoke war.
• Yang Ling claimed he had witnessed Ying Taisui attack him, and Hua Jinsong supported treating his testimony as corroboration.
• The Star Gazing Academy Head ordered Yang Ling to surrender his cultivation as compensation, but Zhao Zheng argued that Qi Tairan should be punished if he had misidentified Ying Taisui.
• Yang Ling announced that he also intended to handle Kong Xinghu’s death and alleged that the Star Gazing Academy had interfered with the original investigation.
• Yang Ling said Zhang Xuanshui had agreed to reopen the case, and Zhang Xuanshui jumped up and called the claim bullshit.

Yang Ling faced Ying Taisui to test his claim that Ying had ambushed him before. Yang Ling shattered Ying’s palm strike and overwhelmed him with a flurry of slashes, leaving Ying badly wounded and his mental power nearly depleted.

• Zhang Xuanshui denied changing his position, while the Star Gazing Academy Head said he supported reopening Kong Xinghu’s case but would not interfere in the dispute with Yang Ling.
• Ying Taisui suppressed the gathered officials and martial artists, then took Yang Ling into the air to fight him away from the fishing village.
• Zhao Zheng and Xie Jinjia urged the Star Gazing Academy Head to protect Yang Ling, but the Academy Head said Yang Ling had to prove his claim himself.
• The Academy Head argued that Ying defeating Yang Ling would show that Yang had falsely accused him, and Gu Weizhou agreed.
• Ying Taisui struck at Yang Ling, who broke the attack with one slash and landed hundreds of cuts, reducing Ying’s mental power to fewer than a thousand points.

Yang Ling revealed himself as a Middle Second Rank Human Immortal while overpowering Ying Taisui, stunning the Rong Tribe and Zhao State witnesses. As the Rong Tribe’s Chen Quan invoked a cooperation agreement with the Star Gazing Academy Head, an unseen force immobilized everyone, leaving the negotiations exposed as a possible setup.

• The Rong Tribe martial artists reacted in fear as Yang Ling attacked Ying Taisui, while the Heavenly Wolf Guard Wei Lord urged them not to panic.
• Hua Jinsong, Zhao Zheng, Xie Jinjia, and others reconsidered Yang Ling’s past exploits and realized he had likely concealed his cultivation during earlier encounters.
• Li Ting confirmed Yang Ling was a Middle Second Rank Human Immortal, prompting Zhao State officials and Iron Clothes members to recognize his standing and speculate about his role in the department.
• Chen Quan asked the Star Gazing Academy Head whether their cooperation agreement still stood, and Xie Jinjia ordered Xu Wuji to take the Pacify the Rong King away.
• An invisible pressure immobilized everyone present as Chen Quan relaxed, believing the situation could still be salvaged.

Yang Ling fought Ying Taisui while learning about the Second Rank Immortal Deity Domain and the Star Gazing Academy Head’s alliance with the Rong Tribe. After Ying Taisui entered the domain and overwhelmed him, Yang Ling countered with his Dharma Eye and scripture, while Zhao Zheng stopped the Academy Head from interfering.

• The Star Gazing Academy Head admitted he had cooperated with the Rong Tribe to reach Second Rank, and Chen Quan urged him to help Ying Taisui.
• Yang Ling attacked Ying Taisui with his saber and then a barrage of kicks, but Ying Taisui’s powerful regeneration erased his injuries.
• Ying Taisui entered the Immortal Deity Domain, boosting his strength and agility, and struck Yang Ling with over a hundred palm attacks.
• Yang Ling activated the Thunder God Body to withstand Ying Taisui’s attacks, then used his Forest of All Phenomena Dharma Eye and began chanting the White Bone Return to the West Scripture.
• The scripture made Ying Taisui’s flesh vanish and stopped his regeneration, while Zhao Zheng pressed the Star Gazing Academy Head back down before he could intervene.

Zhao De revealed himself as Yang Ling’s master, subdued the Star Gazing Academy Head, and ordered the Rong Tribe delegation detained. After Yang Ling apparently reduced Ying Taisui to ash, he realized the Second Rank Human Immortal had escaped, leaving everyone stunned.

• Zhao De appeared behind the Star Gazing Academy Head, forced him to sit, and identified himself as Yang Ling’s master.
• Zhao De ordered Hua Jinsong to disarm and detain the visitors and prepare ships to take them back to Zhao State.
• Ying Taisui’s body turned to ash, but Yang Ling noticed he had received no experience and suspected the Second Rank Human Immortal was still alive.
• Yang Ling returned to the Negotiation Site and told Zhao De that Ying Taisui had escaped.
• The onlookers questioned how Ying Taisui could have survived after apparently turning to ash.

Yang Ling and Zhao De confronted the Star Gazing Academy Head and the Rong State delegation, learning more about Second Rank Human Immortals and the immortal deity domain. The confrontation ended with the Heavenly Wolf Guard Wei Lord revealing that he was Pei Zhiyan, Master of the First Branch of the Iron Clothes Department's Strategy Division.

• Yang Ling learned that Ying Taisui had survived turning to ash, and Zhao De explained that Second Rank Human Immortals could use the immortal deity domain's immortality only two or three times.
• The Star Gazing Academy Head, Zheng Hai, defended his disciples and turned himself into mangled flesh and ash to avoid capture; Zhao De explained that he had chosen suicide.
• Chen Quan and the Heavenly Wolf Guard Wei Lord argued that the Rong State and Zhao State were not at war, while Zhao Zheng insisted the Rong delegation return to the Capital.
• The Heavenly Wolf Guard Wei Lord warned that the Rong Tribe might launch a full-scale offensive within six months to a year and suggested that the Rong Tribe had planned to provoke Zhao State into internal strife.
• The Wei Lord identified himself as Pei Zhiyan, Master of the First Branch of the Iron Clothes Department's Strategy Division, shocking Yang Ling, Zhao Zheng, and the Heavenly Wolf Guards.

Pei Zhiyan revealed that he was Zhao State’s spy inside the Rong Tribe’s Heavenly Wolf Guards, while Yang Ling helped uncover connections between Luo Kai and the missing Li Fengxian. After Yang Ling pledged to support Zhao Zheng’s bid for the throne, a new Divine Domain main quest forced Zhao State players to choose which prince to help.

• Zhao De confirmed that Pei Zhiyan was telling the truth, and Pei Zhiyan urged Zhao Zheng to capture Chen Quan and the other conspirators.
• Zhao Zheng ordered Zhang Xuanshui and the Star Gazing Academy disciples to return to the Capital, while Pei Zhiyan agreed to search Rong Tribe territory for Luo Kai and Immortal God Cult members.
• Xie Jinjia, Pei Zhiyan, and Hua Jinsong escorted the academy disciples and Rong Tribe prisoners onto a ship bound for the Capital.
• Yang Ling reassured Zhao Zheng and Xu Wuji that he would help them, then urged Zhao Zheng to become the Zhao Emperor and promised to support his bid.
• The Zhao State Divine Realm Chat Channel announced four throne-related main quest choices and gave players one day to choose.

Yang Ling assessed the Zhao State's new Main Quest and urged players to support Fourth Prince Zhao Zheng despite the SSS difficulty. After Zhao De agreed to let Zhao Zheng pursue the throne, Yang Ling publicly declared that Zhao Zheng would ascend.

• A Main Quest appeared, offering players a choice of which prince to help claim the Zhao State throne, with Zhao Zheng's route rated SSS and failure carrying severe penalties.
• Yang Ling studied the quest and concluded that Zhao Zheng's route was difficult because Land Immortals might intervene, but his own support could change the odds.
• Players debated which prince to support, while Yang Ling announced that they should choose Zhao Zheng and promised Spirit Deer Sets to those who did.
• Lin Caiyi and Yang Ling's other allies accepted Zhao Zheng's quest, while many players distrusted Yang Ling and opted for the Crown Prince instead.
• Zhao De arrived and told Yang Ling that Zhao Zheng could take the throne, prompting Yang Ling to announce that the Fourth Prince would ascend.

Yang Ling waited with Zhao De as Ji Tianming absorbed the Magma Sea, while Zhao De explained how Second Rank Human Immortals could return from death through an Upper Realm. Three days later, Ji Tianming shed his flood-dragon body and announced that he had discovered who he truly was.

• Yang Ling watched registration for the main quest close, with 1.2 million players choosing the Crown Prince.
• Zhao De told Yang Ling that Second Rank Human Immortals could be reborn in a powerful Upper Realm after death, and admitted he had killed himself once to verify the rumor.
• Yang Ling suspected the Upper Realm was the Immortal Network and that Zhao De and other natives might be descendants of players, but kept his theory to himself.
• Three days later, Ji Tianming absorbed the Magma Sea and regained the appearance he had worn when Yang Ling first met him.
• Ji Tianming opened his eyes, laughed, and declared that he had finally learned who he truly was.

Yang Ling, Zhao De, and Ji Tianming set out for the White Bone Dao Palace after Ji was freed from his confinement and agreed to stay in the Zhao State's Capital. They reached the palace, where Zhu Xiu met them, and Yang Ling asked whether he was human or a ghost.

• Yang Ling suffered a backlash after probing Ji Tianming's cultivation, and Ji warned him against recklessly examining powerful cultivators.
• Ji Tianming thanked Yang Ling for the Immortal Spirit Pill and agreed to stay at Yang's courtyard in the Capital, with Zhao De's permission.
• Ji Tianming agreed to help investigate the ambush on Yang Ling and asked whether he could act in the Capital without revealing his identity.
• Zhao De proposed visiting the White Bone Dao Palace, and Ji Tianming agreed to accompany him and Yang Ling.
• The three arrived at the White Bone Dao Palace, where Zhu Xiu led them toward the Divine Lord; Yang Ling asked Zhu whether he was human or a ghost.

Yang Ling arrived at the White Bone Dao Palace with Ji Tianming and Zhao De and learned that the White Bone Divine Lord had passed him the White Bone Origin Spirit Method, making him the Young Cave Lord. The Divine Lord revealed that the method was only a fragment of a super first-rate art, and Yang Ling began to suspect he knew why she had suffered a backlash.

• Yang Ling confronted Zhu Xiu, who led him and his companions through the White Bone Dao Palace to meet the White Bone Divine Lord.
• Yang Ling recognized the statue of the White Bone Emperor and bowed to the Divine Lord when she appeared.
• Zhu Xiu and Luo Wendao accused Yang Ling of burning the White Bone Origin Spirit Method out of them, and the Divine Lord confirmed she had passed the method to him, making him the Young Cave Lord.
• The White Bone Divine Lord asked to speak with Yang Ling alone, but Zhao De and Ji Tianming insisted on staying.
• The Divine Lord said the White Bone Origin Spirit Method was an incomplete fragment and revealed that cultivating its complete form had caused her a backlash.
• Yang Ling wondered whether he could safely cultivate the complete method and recalled a possible clue.

Yang Ling entered White Bone Cave’s inner hall with the White Bone Divine Lord to help her seek the Great Luo Saint Ancestor’s recognition and remove the backlash afflicting her cultivation. He summoned the White Bone Loose Immortal, but the White Bone Divine Lord vanished as her plan began.

• Zhao De explained that super first-rate cultivation methods required their founding patriarch’s approval, or cultivators could suffer a backlash.
• The White Bone Divine Lord revealed that she wanted Yang Ling to gain the Great Luo Saint Ancestor’s recognition for her so she could remove the backlash’s last trace.
• Yang Ling agreed, and the White Bone Divine Lord led him into the inner hall while Zhao De and Ji Tianming waited outside.
• Zhao De sensed an incomplete primordial spirit sleeping inside the White Bone Emperor’s statue, and Ji Tianming said his sect had been destroyed when he was at the fourth rank.
• The White Bone Divine Lord explained the Great Luo Saint Ancestor’s history and told Yang Ling to circulate the White Bone Origin Spirit Method so she could attempt God Descent.
• Yang Ling activated the White Bone Loose Immortal, and the White Bone Divine Lord vanished.

Yang Ling and the White Bone Divine Lord received inheritances from the Great Luo Saint Ancestor, strengthening their cultivation and granting Yang Ling the Hongmeng White Bone Origin Spirit Method. After the White Bone Divine Lord recovered and advanced her cultivation, she announced her intention to attack the Great Dream Dynasty and demanded that Zhao De and Ji Tianming choose a side.

• The White Bone Divine Lord gained the founding master's recognition, mastered the Golden Immortal White Bone Origin Spirit Method, and cleared the backlash from her body.
• Yang Ling received the Hongmeng White Bone Origin Spirit Method, which stored the experience needed to reach the Divine Dao Realm until he advanced to Second Rank.
• Yang Ling inspected the method's skills, including Rebirth, Invite Immortal, and Divine Descent, and wondered about their powers.
• The White Bone Divine Lord finished her inheritance, returned to her peak cultivation, advanced further, and forgave Yang Ling over the Bone-Burning Inheritance.
• The White Bone Divine Lord told Zhao De and Ji Tianming that she intended to attack the Great Dream Dynasty and asked whose side they would take.

Zhao De persuaded the White Bone Divine Lord to delay attacking the Great Dream Dynasty until the coming conflict with the Shura Path's Third Dao Court revealed the situation. The group prepared to leave the White Bone Dao Palace for the Capital, with Yang Ling chosen as the likely candidate to confront the Dao Lord in Youluo City.

• Zhao De argued that conquering the Great Dream Dynasty without legitimate grounds for war would unite its people and make the territory impossible to govern.
• Zhao De revealed that the Dao Lord of the Shura Path's Third Dao Court was expected to attack, and Yang Ling explained that the Dao Lord was trying to advance using the Grand Ancestor and the Purple Mansion Space.
• Zhao De said Yang Ling should enter Youluo City to stop the Dao Lord because Yang Ling's Transcendent Grade Martial Way Kindling would help him resist Primordial Spirit techniques.
• The White Bone Divine Lord shrank the White Bone Dao Palace into his palm and agreed to stay temporarily at Yang Ling's courtyard in the Capital.
• The White Bone Divine Lord told Zhu Xiu, Zhu Wudi, and Luo Wendao that the time had not come to fight the Great Dream Dynasty and that they would stay in the Zhao State while their physical bodies were formed anew.

Yang Ling reopened the unresolved Wangzhi Medicine Guild case and ordered a second investigation into how Ying Taisui entered the Capital and attacked him. He appointed Xu Wenjun and Yun Buchuan as deputy leaders, then looked to Zhao De, who realized Yang Ling might know his identity.

• Yang Ling arrived at the Iron Clothes Department with Zhao De, White Bone Divine Lord, Ji Tianming, Zhu Wudi, and the others, where Xu Wenjun and other officials greeted him.
• Yang Ling reopened the Xiangfeng Prefecture case involving Xu Wenjun's father-in-law's Wangzhi Medicine Guild and appointed Xu Wenjun deputy leader of the special case team.
• Yang Ling ordered a separate investigation into Ying Taisui's attack in the Capital and appointed Xu Wenjun and Yun Buchuan as deputy leaders.
• Yang Ling said resistance to the investigations would serve as a lead and told the officials to bring obstructors in for questioning.
• Yang Ling looked at Zhao De, whose expression changed as he suspected Yang Ling knew who he was.

Yang Ling brought his powerful companions to meet Zhao Chongxu at the Iron Clothes Department, where their introductions revealed unexpected ties and a startling age gap. When Zhao Chongxu learned Yang Ling had been his father’s disciple since before he could walk, he accused the group of being fiends and unleashed his aura.

• Zhao Chongxu wondered whether Yang Ling could reopen the Xiangfeng Prefecture case, while Li Zhong warned that investigating a case involving the Third Prince could anger the Palace and civil officials.
• Li Zhong escorted Yang Ling and his companions into the courtyard and was shocked to find he could not see through their cultivation.
• Yang Ling introduced Zhao De and the White Bone Divine Lord as his masters, and Zhao Chongxu recognized the latter and asked Li Zhong to oversee the Xu Wenjun and Yun Buchuan cases.
• Ji Tianming told Zhao Chongxu that an immortal spirit pill had restored him, and Zhao Chongxu congratulated him on his chance to reach first rank in the flesh.
• Zhao De revealed that Yang Ling was his personal disciple, and Ji Tianming explained that Yang Ling had been his sworn brother before Zhao Chongxu could walk.
• Zhao Chongxu accused the group of using illusions to toy with him and released a terrifying aura that went unnoticed by the rest of the Iron Clothes Department.

Zhao Chongxu learned that Yang Ling was his senior brother and handed him the Iron Clothes Department token before asking him to recount recent events. The group discussed the threat posed by the Grand Secretary and decided to test his reaction by reopening two cases, while Yang Ling was told to proceed boldly.

• Zhao Chongxu questioned White Bone Divine Lord and learned that Yang Ling had become his disciple before Zhao State existed and before Zhao Chongxu learned martial arts.
• Zhao Chongxu gave Yang Ling the Iron Clothes Department token and announced he planned to retire, but Zhao De and Yang Ling explained that Yang Ling had once served as the department’s first master.
• Yang Ling recounted the Abyssal Beast Cavern, the Grand Ancestor’s imprisonment, Ying Taisui’s defeat, and the events involving White Bone Dao Palace.
• Zhao Chongxu realized that several powerful First Ranks could stand with Zhao State and accepted Yang Ling as his senior brother.
• Zhao Chongxu warned that reopening the Xiangfeng Prefecture and Ying Taisui cases might displease the Grand Secretary, but Zhao De said they would use the cases to test his response.
• Zhao De and Ji Tianming assured Yang Ling they would protect him, and Yang Ling decided to let Xu Wenjun, Yun Buchuan, and the others proceed without holding back.

Yang Ling visited Player Street and the Green Gang Headquarters, where he encouraged the players and prepared them for the Divine Domain's Martial Way Tournament. He promised each player a Spirit Deer Set so they could compete against players from other regions and claim rewards.

• Yang Ling toured Player Street with Qin Mo and learned that the Four Great Gangs had grown wealthy and influential under the Iron Clothes Department's protection.
• Qin Mo told Yang Ling that Lu Xiangdi had prepared seven giant ships to transport a hundred thousand Spirit Deer Sets.
• Yang Ling arrived at the Green Gang Headquarters, where over a thousand players gathered to welcome him.
• Yang Ling restrained the excited crowd, then told the players to focus on leveling up, cultivating, and getting stronger.
• Yang Ling announced the upcoming Martial Way Tournament and promised each player a Spirit Deer Set to use against players from other regions.

Yang Ling distributed Spirit Deer Sets to the Four Great Gangs’ core members, dramatically raising their attributes and urging them to prepare for the Martial Way Tournament. The gathering was interrupted when Ministry of Justice officers accused the Players of plotting rebellion and ordered them to surrender.

• Yang Ling decided that every core member of the Four Great Gangs would receive a Spirit Deer Set, regardless of rank, and began distributing the equipment.
• Players discovered that the sets boosted two attributes by 15 points each and immediately equipped them, with many reaching upper Ninth Rank combat strength.
• Yang Ling warned that equipment did not replace Internal Energy or Martial Skills, encouraged the Players to level up, and told them to seize the rewards at the Martial Way Tournament.
• Around twenty Ninth Rank-or-higher men in black forced their way into the Green Gang headquarters and demanded to see its leader.
• Yang Yi identified herself as the Green Gang leader, and the men accused everyone present of plotting rebellion and ordered them to surrender.