Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Lu Li confronts Zhao Junlin, who has been acting with the authority of an Upper Realm envoy and leader of the Heaven’s Chosen selection. When Zhao shows hostility, Lu Li repeatedly strikes him with the Broken Saber, overpowering him and drawing blood.
• The presiding elder intervenes, but Lu Li’s next attack forces him to retreat with Zhao Junlin and destroys the ground and chairs where they had stood. The strike’s power appears to exceed that of a King and carry the might of an Emperor.
• Representatives of several Upper Realm factions step forward in support of Zhao Junlin. Lu Li cuts a deep gorge into the ground as a boundary and orders them not to cross it.
• A Purple-Crowned Elder ignores the warning and is instantly killed. Lu Li then slaughters the rest of the purple-crowned group, including those who have withdrawn, declaring that anyone who moves will bring destruction upon their entire clan. The assembled factions are left too frightened to act.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Li shifts from calm provocation to overwhelming force, openly challenging Zhao Junlin and then the Upper Realm factions as a whole. His actions establish him as an unpredictable, exceptionally powerful figure.
• Zhao Junlin goes from confident authority to helpless fury and fear. He can neither stop Lu Li’s blows nor finish speaking without being struck.
• The presiding elder attempts to protect Zhao and assert authority, but retreats after witnessing Lu Li’s devastating attack.
• Upper Realm representatives, including factions with their own influence and even the hostile Lou family, initially rally behind Zhao Junlin. Lu Li’s boundary and killings make them hesitate and fear further consequences.
• The central interaction is a direct contest of authority: Zhao Junlin expects obedience, while Lu Li refuses to recognize his status or the rules he represents.

Significant themes

• Power versus status: Family lineage, institutional rank, and origin in the Upper Realm offer no protection when faced with superior strength.
• Defiance of authority: Lu Li rejects the idea that Zhao Junlin or the Upper Realm can dictate who may act or survive.
• Fear as control: Lu Li’s violence turns his warning into a credible threat, silencing an entire assembly.
• The unusual outsider: Lu Li’s strength is remarkable even by Upper Realm standards, suggesting that his presence in the Mortal World is extraordinary.

Plot points and events

• Lu Li’s effortless slaughter of the Upper Realm’s fighters leaves everyone—including the previously arrogant Zhao Junlin and Lou Lin’s group—too frightened to move.
• She orders the Martial Tower’s people aside and confronts Zhao Junlin. When he suggests the Tower might hunt her, she eagerly celebrates that they have finally agreed to pursue her.
• Lu Li’s aura surges so ominously that nearly everyone flees. Zhao Junlin uses the opportunity to call for reinforcements, while the Tower’s elder sends urgent messages to the Upper Realm.
• The aura then fades, and Lu Li is seen smiling calmly beside Ye Qiu. The confused crowd begins returning, but the Old Madman flees again, sensing danger.
• His instincts prove right: Lu Li’s overwhelming aura suddenly seals the area and knocks everyone down. She strides through the air to the Martial Ancestor’s statue and raises her Broken Saber, leaving the outcome unresolved.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Li remains calm and commanding after defeating her opponents. Her excitement at being threatened shows that she actively wants the Martial Tower to pursue her, and her abrupt shifts between playful and terrifying keep everyone guessing.
• Zhao Junlin is reduced from an arrogant, threatening figure to someone who trembles before Lu Li. Though he submits in the moment, he privately remains resentful and seeks reinforcements.
• Ye Qiu stays close to Lu Li, reacting with confusion to her declaration. Nan Qingyue understands her motives, having taught her this way of thinking.
• The Old Madman recognizes that Lu Li’s aura may signal danger and repeatedly tries to escape; the others disregard his warning until it is too late.
• The Mortal and Upper Realm groups alike are united by fear, while the Martial Tower’s earlier authority proves ineffective against Lu Li.

Significant themes

• Power overturns status: Upper Realm rank and reputation offer no protection against Lu Li’s strength.
• Fear and humiliation: Formerly confident characters lose their pride and agency in her presence.
• Unpredictability and provocation: Lu Li seems to deliberately invite conflict, turning a threat of pursuit into something she welcomes.
• Suspense: The chapter ends as she prepares to strike the Martial Ancestor’s statue, leaving the consequences unknown.

Plot points and events

• Sensing danger, the Old Madman flees before the others, who are soon immobilized by a terrifying aura.
• Lu Li uses Ye Qiu’s Broken Saber to destroy the Martial Ancestor Statue, striking it apart piece by piece until nothing remains.
• With the Statue gone, its influence over the Laws disappears. Heaven’s Gate is freed, and a vast fissure opens above the Azure Summit, exposing a realm beyond the Upper Realm.
• A powerful presence confronts Lu Li through the fissure. She orders it to disappear; a brief cosmic battle follows, and the presence is apparently destroyed.
• Rosy, blood-tinged light pours from the fissure. Most of it enters Lu Li, while some empowers Nan Qingyue’s cultivation and accelerates the evolution of Ye Qiu’s Divine Power.
• Lu Li ascends to the now-unshackled Heaven’s Gate and tells Ye Qiu, “I’ll give you the whole Mortal World!”

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Li reveals extraordinary power and fearlessness, demolishing the revered Statue and challenging a force from beyond the known realms. Her final offer to Ye Qiu suggests she intends to place the Mortal World in his hands.
• Ye Qiu is shaken by Lu Li’s actions and worries about their consequences. Brother Snake agrees the plan is dangerous, but notes that Lu Li considers it worthwhile. Ye Qiu also benefits from the fallen power’s Origin, bringing him closer to opening his Divine Gate.
• Nan Qingyue receives some of the mysterious energy, causing her cultivation to surge.
• The Old Madman survives by trusting his instincts and escaping before the others are trapped. The crowd and Martial Tower are left stunned by Lu Li’s desecration of the Statue.

Significant themes

• Rebellion against established authority: Lu Li destroys a sacred symbol of martial order and removes its suppression over the world.
• Power beyond known boundaries: The fissure and the defeated presence reveal forces that surpass even the Upper Realm.
• Consequences and transformation: The Statue’s destruction reshapes the Laws, frees Heaven’s Gate, and redistributes immense power.
• Trust and partnership: Ye Qiu questions Lu Li’s choices, while her declaration at Heaven’s Gate signals the scale of what she is willing to entrust to him.

Plot points and events

• Lu Li smiles at Ye Qiu, and a mysterious source energy surges through him, cleansing and elevating his Qi, cultivation, and Divine Power.
• Ye Qiu’s God-Burning Divine Fire ignites, and his Divine Gate appears. It grows beyond six thousand zhang and continues climbing, astonishing everyone—including the Upper Realm cultivators.
• After a quarter of an hour, the gate stops at 7,600 zhang, an unprecedented achievement in the Mortal World. Its scale suggests Ye Qiu could rank among the Upper Realm’s most exceptional talents, and perhaps reach even greater heights after ascending.
• The Upper Realm figures regret not being able to recruit him. Zhao Junlin, threatened by Ye Qiu’s potential, becomes consumed by jealousy and murderous intent, hoping reinforcements will arrive to kill him.
• Instead, Lu Li turns toward Heaven’s Gate. Her aura grows sinister and overwhelming, and she grips the enormous gate’s lower frame—leaving everyone terrified and unsure what she intends to do.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qiu undergoes a dramatic advancement, gaining power far beyond that of ordinary Divine Realm cultivators. His achievement overturns others’ assumptions about the limits of Mortal World natives.
• Lu Li remains mysterious and unnervingly cheerful. Her apparent role in Ye Qiu’s elevation is unclear, but she treats his completed gate as though it has met a requirement. Her move against Heaven’s Gate suggests she is preparing another extraordinary act.
• Zhao Junlin shifts from contempt for Ye Qiu as a Mortal World native to fearful envy. He now sees Ye Qiu as a serious threat and wants him eliminated before he can reach the Upper Realm.
• The witnesses—from Ye Qiu’s companions to prominent Upper Realm figures—respond with awe, regret, fear, or envy. Mei Xianzhi, in particular, finds Ye Qiu’s potential far more significant than the karma he carries.

Significant themes

• Potential beyond origin: Ye Qiu’s achievement challenges the belief that the Mortal World’s incomplete laws limit its people.
• Power and its consequences: Exceptional talent inspires admiration and recruitment ambitions, but also jealousy and murderous intent.
• Uncertainty and foreboding: Lu Li’s unexplained influence and her apparent challenge to Heaven’s Gate close the chapter on a note of suspense.

Plot points and events

• Lu Li seizes Heaven’s Gate—the ancient, nearly ten-thousand-zhang portal between the Mortal World and Upper Realm—and begins forcibly pulling it down.
• The Gate resists, but with a mysterious female phantom mirroring his movements, Lu Li breaks a series of unseen restraints and drags it down. He and the phantom then lift the entire Gate overhead.
• Though trembling, bleeding, and visibly exhausted, Lu Li carries it toward Ye Qiu’s 7,600-zhang Divine Gate, apparently intending to merge the two.
• Before he can proceed, powerful auras pour through the opening left by Heaven’s Gate. The Martial Tower has arrived from the Upper Realm.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Li demonstrates extraordinary strength and resolve, risking severe injury to help Ye Qiu. Despite his bloodied condition, he smiles at Ye Qiu as he approaches with the Gate.
• Ye Qiu is stunned by Lu Li’s feat and terrified by the phantom’s presence. He asks Brother Snake and Nan Qingyue to identify it, but neither can explain it.
• Nan Qingyue recognizes the phantom as the Sword Maiden, though she admits she does not understand what it is. She tells Ye Qiu to prepare and moves away.
• Brother Snake, usually a source of answers for Ye Qiu, is frightened and insists he does not know what the phantom is.
• Zhao Junlin recognizes the arriving force as the Martial Tower.

Significant themes

• Defiance of established power: Lu Li challenges the ancient order by pulling down a structure no one had dared to move.
• Sacrifice and loyalty: Lu Li endures immense strain to aid Ye Qiu, while Nan Qingyue emphasizes how much Ye Qiu owes him.
• The unknown and the supernatural: The Sword Maiden’s terrifying aura—and even Brother Snake’s fear of it—suggests a power beyond the characters’ understanding.
• Escalating conflict: Lu Li’s act opens a route from the Upper Realm, bringing the Martial Tower into the scene just as he prepares to merge the Gates.

Plot points and events

• Ten Martial Tower Guardian Elders emerge from the Rift: eight God Kings and two God Emperors. Seeing Lu Li holding the enormous Heaven’s Gate above the Divine Gate, they realize she may be merging the two.
• Zhao Junlin urges the elders to kill Lu Li and her allies. The Martial Tower sees the Heaven’s Gate as its rightful property and fears losing the power and fortune attached to it.
• The Upper Realm factions largely hesitate or look on approvingly, while Ye Qiu condemns their willingness to let the Martial Tower gain overwhelming power.
• Ye Qiu steps forward to support Lu Li. Wu Xiaokai, Yuan Gang, the Mysterious Gate, the Old Madman’s followers, and members of several other groups join him. Li Xingchen frames the choice as a question of where to stand, not merely whether to fight.
• The Martial Tower elders advance and prepare to attack. Lu Li barely acknowledges them, focused instead on Ye Qiu’s Divine Gate, and quietly orders that the elders be driven away.
• Just as the elders begin their attack, black-clad warriors appear through Void vortices and surround Lu Li. Their leader—a scarred elder carrying a Purple-Gold Greatsword—identifies them as the Dao Guardian Alliance.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qiu shows moral courage, choosing to oppose the Martial Tower despite the overwhelming difference in strength. His stand inspires others to follow.
• Lu Li remains composed and single-minded even while visibly strained by Heaven’s Gate. She pays little attention to the Martial Tower, keeping her focus on the Divine Gate.
• Li Xingchen recognizes the significance of Lu Li’s expression and urges Nie Chong to choose a side. Though he declares he will die alongside Ye Qiu, his private gesture suggests he is also being practical.
• Zhao Junlin becomes triumphantly confident when the Guardian Elders arrive, convinced Lu Li is vulnerable.
• The Upper Realm factions’ hesitation exposes a sharp contrast with Ye Qiu and his allies, who stand together despite their fear.

Significant themes

• Principle versus self-interest: The Upper Realm factions prioritize their own status, while Ye Qiu’s group opposes the Martial Tower’s looming dominance.
• Solidarity in the face of overwhelming power: The characters cannot match the elders, but they choose to stand together anyway.
• Power, fortune, and control: Heaven’s Gate represents more than a weapon or prize; its connection to vast Fortune makes the struggle a threat to the balance of power.
• The importance of choosing a side: As Li Xingchen observes, the moment is about allegiance as much as combat.

Chapter Summary: “One-Sided, Utterly Crushed!”

Key plot points and events

• The Dao Guardian Alliance arrives to support Lu Li, prompting alarm among the Upper Realm’s powers. Though small and secretive, the alliance is known to contain many formidable experts.
• Lu Li, badly wounded from carrying the strain of Heaven’s Gate, takes control of both Heaven’s Gate and Ye Qiu’s Divine Gate and begins merging them.
• Zhao Junlin and the Martial Tower’s elders protest, insisting Heaven’s Gate belongs to the tower and is vital to the Mortal World and the Upper Realm’s balance.
• Lu Li orders the Dao Guardian Alliance to remove the Martial Tower within three breaths. When the God Emperors continue arguing and deliberately disrupt her, her irritation turns to loathing.
• The Alliance’s scar-faced elder attacks the Martial Tower’s two God Emperors, while the rest of its members clash with the tower’s Guardian Elders. Three Alliance members stay behind to shield Lu Li so she can continue her work.
• The Martial Tower initially assumes it can match the Alliance, but the battle quickly proves otherwise. The scar-faced elder nearly overwhelms both God Emperors, and Alliance fighters crush the tower’s God Kings. Two Martial Tower experts are killed within moments.

Character developments

• Lu Li shows fierce resolve, continuing to merge the gates despite severe injuries. Her temper is formidable, and even a flicker of irritation from her is enough to trigger the Alliance’s intervention.
• The scar-faced elder emerges as a vastly stronger fighter than his apparent cultivation suggests, taking on two God Emperors at once.
• Zhao Junlin and the Martial Tower elders move from confidence and defiance to shock and fear as they realize the Alliance decisively outmatches them.
• Nie Chong and Li Xingchen take comfort in the arrival of Lu Li’s backing; Nie Chong grudgingly recognizes that Li Xingchen had correctly predicted she had support.

Character interactions

• The Dao Guardian Alliance treats Lu Li with extraordinary deference, following orders to protect and satisfy her at any cost.
• The Martial Tower’s God Emperors challenge the Alliance’s intervention, while Lu Li responds with impatience and a direct threat.
• The Alliance’s fighters engage the Martial Tower to protect Lu Li, leaving only a small guard around her as she resumes merging the gates.

Significant themes

• Power beyond appearances: The scar-faced elder’s true combat strength far exceeds what his cultivation level suggests.
• Loyalty and protection: The Alliance’s members risk everything to carry out their orders and keep Lu Li undisturbed.
• Arrogance and miscalculation: The Martial Tower’s confidence in its status and strength collapses when it meets a superior force.
• Resolve under pressure: Lu Li persists with her task despite injury and repeated interference.

Key plot points and events

• A scarred elder from the Dao Guardian Alliance overwhelms the opposing God Emperors. His first slash blasts both away; a second kills the black-robed emperor along with his summoned Dharma Form.
• The battle’s shock waves and the falling God Emperor blood devastate the onlookers, who flee for safety. Old Madman escapes first, and Li Xingchen drags Nie Chong away.
• Wu Xiaokai briefly returns to tell Ye Qiu that his “sister-in-law” is incredible, then tries to bargain for a share of her supposed family fortune. Ye Qiu agrees, while Nan Qingyue grows suspicious of their private understanding.
• The scarred elder destroys most of the white-robed emperor’s seven-story tower and kills him, despite the emperor’s appeal to avoid a wider war. The elder declares that the Dao Guardian Alliance was founded to guard Lu Li’s path, and that the Alliance exists because of her.

Character developments and interactions

• The scarred elder is dissatisfied even when his blows send God Emperors flying; he wants decisive kills and shows absolute devotion to Lu Li.
• Li Xingchen proves practical beneath his bravado, urging Nie Chong to show courage but retreat from a fight far beyond his level. Nie Chong follows and remains curious about Lu Li’s identity.
• Old Madman dismisses Nie Chong’s guesses about Lu Li’s parentage, saying even the Dao Guardian Alliance is unworthy of her.
• Wu Xiaokai shifts from fleeing the danger to opportunistically pledging lifelong brotherhood to Ye Qiu in hopes of future rewards. Ye Qiu plays along; Nan Qingyue reacts with suspicion.
• Ye Qiu and Nan Qingyue are protected from the battle’s aftershocks by the three figures above, leaving Ye Qiu free to watch the overwhelming display of Lu Li’s faction’s strength.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and protection: The Alliance’s defining purpose is to protect Lu Li and her future.
• Power and its consequences: The battle’s immense force makes even bystanders vulnerable, while God Emperors and their treasures are destroyed with startling ease.
• Bravado versus practicality: Li Xingchen distinguishes appearing courageous from recklessly entering a battle where one would be helpless.
• The scale of Lu Li’s importance: The Alliance’s extreme response—and the scarred elder’s final declaration—suggest that Lu Li’s safety and destiny outweigh political consequences.

Key plot points and events

• Lu Li and the Dao Guardian Alliance decisively defeat the Great Dao Academy and Martial Tower forces. The two enemy God Emperors are destroyed so completely that not even their Primordial Souls remain; the Martial Tower’s eight God Kings are also wiped out. The Alliance suffers only one death and three injuries.
• The Mortal World’s observers are terrified and ready to submit to Canglan, while the Upper Realm survivors—including Zhao Junlin—are too frightened to flee.
• As Lu Li continues merging Heaven’s Gate with Ye Qiu’s Divine Gate, Nan Qingyue claims the fallen enemies’ Storage Rings and gives Ye Qiu a fragment of the shattered White Robe God Emperor’s Little Tower. Ye Qiu briefly hears a mysterious voice from inside it, but cannot find its source and keeps the fragment.
• Lu Li’s final stage of the fusion becomes agonizing. The gates resist one another, and she suffers severe pain and begins bleeding. The scarred elder realizes she is absorbing the immense karmic backlash herself rather than letting it fall on Ye Qiu.
• As Lu Li’s aura grows increasingly violent, the scarred elder rushes forward and kneels, urgently warning her not to continue. The chapter ends before his warning is completed.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qiu is stunned by Lu Li’s power and begins worrying about how intimidating her family must be. Despite the danger, he watches for valuables and accepts the tower fragment. The voice he hears introduces a possible mystery.
• Lu Li remains determined to complete the fusion despite its physical cost, apparently choosing to take the backlash upon herself to protect Ye Qiu.
• Nan Qingyue shows practical, possessive protectiveness: she gathers the spoils before Ye Qiu can, then gives him a fragment. When Lu Li suffers, she glares at him as if blaming him for her daughter’s pain.
• The scarred elder moves from awe and envy of Ye Qiu’s good fortune to alarm as he recognizes the danger facing Lu Li. His reverence is underscored by his kneeling and calling her “Miss.”

Significant themes

• Power and submission: The overwhelming victory erases the confidence of both Mortal World and Upper Realm observers.
• Sacrifice and devotion: Lu Li accepts the karmic consequences of the fusion so Ye Qiu can receive its blessings.
• Fate and responsibility: The fusion is tied to enormous karma, suggesting that power gained through Heaven’s Gate carries serious consequences.
• Mystery and foreshadowing: The faint voice within the tower fragment and the scarred elder’s unfinished warning hint at dangers yet to come.

Key plot points and events

• Old Madman kneels before Lu Li and begs her not to continue. His submission shocks everyone, especially because he is powerful enough to have killed two God Emperors. The Upper Realm delegation realizes how badly they have misjudged the situation; Zhao Junlin fears the consequences of losing so many warriors.
• Lu Li completes the fusion of Ye Qiu’s Divine Gate with Heaven’s Gate. Ye Qiu’s gate is replaced by a colossal structure 9,999 zhang high, and his body, cultivation, Qi and Blood, and Primordial Soul are strengthened. His Second Step of Bloodline begins to surge, hinting at another extraordinary awakening.
• Lu Li then unleashes an even greater power. Old Madman and the Dao Guardian Alliance members beg her to stop, warning that the cost will be too great and could endanger their families. Lu Li answers, “I’ll bear it,” and continues.
• A pressure beyond anyone’s comprehension forces those present to bow. The Firmament shatters across multiple levels, shaking the Mortal World and realms far beyond it.
• A vast, blood-red sea appears in the broken sky, its waves filled with corpses, bones, and remains of beings of wildly different sizes—including a dragon’s corpse that seems tiny beside enormous black bones.

Character developments

• Lu Li reveals power and resolve far beyond what the others expected. She knowingly accepts a terrible price, despite the pleas of those who fear the consequences.
• Ye Qiu gains a dramatic boost from the Heaven’s Gate fusion, while his developing Bloodline hints at another major transformation.
• Old Madman shows that his fear and deference toward Lu Li override his pride and formidable status.
• Zhao Junlin shifts from arrogance to panic, recognizing that his expedition may bring ruin upon him and his family.

Significant themes

• Power and hierarchy: Even the mightiest can be reduced to pleading before someone of truly overwhelming power.
• Sacrifice and consequences: Lu Li’s choice to continue may impose a heavy cost not only on herself but also on those connected to her.
• The vastness of the cosmos: The destruction of multiple Firmaments and the appearance of the Blood Sea suggest forces and histories far beyond the characters’ understanding.
• Reversal of expectations: The Upper Realm’s former sense of superiority collapses when its delegation encounters the Mortal World’s unexpected strength.

Character interactions

• Old Madman repeatedly pleads with Lu Li, while the Dao Guardian Alliance members join him and fear their clans will suffer if she proceeds.
• Lu Li refuses to back down, accepting responsibility with the declaration, “I’ll bear it.”
• Observers react in contrasting ways: Wu Xiaokai sympathizes with Ye Qiu, Li Xingchen praises his good fortune in having Lu Li as a wife, and Nie Chong quietly suspects Old Madman knows more than he reveals.
• The chapter ends with everyone united in stunned silence before the Blood Sea.

Key plot points and events

• A vast sea of blood appears reflected across Beneath Heaven’s sky. Though only a projection, its presence violently shakes the land, collapsing mountains and splitting the earth.
• Xiao Qingsong, Xiao Qingyu, Wen Zheng, Yun Lu, Qiu Yun, and their companions race toward the Ascension Platform. The catastrophe deepens Xiao Qingsong’s urgency and Wen Zheng’s fear that Ye Qiu may be in danger from the Upper Realm.
• The blood sea reveals countless corpses and bones, including enormous dragon remains. Even Brother Snake hides from the spectacle, while a Dao Guardian Alliance elder realizes Lu Li’s power is far beyond what he had imagined.
• A huge vortex forms in the blood sea, and a corner of an ancient-looking crimson gate rises from it. Lu Li stands before the gate, which everyone recognizes as his Divine Gate—though its nature and rank are beyond their understanding.
• The gate breaks apart into a river of blood that flows through Lu Li and into the immense gate formed by merging Ye Qiu’s Divine Gate with Heaven’s Gate. The merged gate grows taller.
• Ye Qiu understands that Lu Li is sacrificing his own Divine Gate, life force, Fortune, and Great Dao to repair Ye Qiu’s path. He begs Lu Li to stop, but rejects the sacrifice: “I don’t want them!”

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Li is revealed to be willing to endure immense agony and potentially irreversible damage to restore Ye Qiu’s future. His actions show extraordinary devotion and self-sacrifice.
• Ye Qiu responds with shock, anger, gratitude, and shame. He recognizes the magnitude of Lu Li’s sacrifice and refuses to accept it, revealing both his concern for Lu Li and his unwillingness to benefit at his expense.
• Wen Zheng worries that Ye Qiu’s stubbornness may lead him to challenge the Upper Realm recklessly.
• The Dao Guardian Alliance elder shifts from awe at Lu Li’s power to desperate fear for what Lu Li is doing, though he cannot approach or stop him.
• The arriving companions are overwhelmed by the catastrophe and hurry onward, while even the usually fearless Brother Snake cowers.

Significant themes

• Self-sacrifice and friendship: Lu Li gives up his own path to help Ye Qiu recover his.
• The cost of salvation: Repairing Ye Qiu’s future may permanently ruin Lu Li’s, making the act both heroic and horrifying.
• Power beyond comprehension: The blood sea, its gate, and Lu Li’s control surpass the knowledge of both Beneath Heaven and the Upper Realm.
• Agency and refusal: Ye Qiu’s protest shows that being saved at such a cost is not something he can accept passively.

Key plot points

• Lu Li severs her own Dao, Fortune, and life essence to strengthen Ye Qiu and raise the Gate of Unity beyond its apparent limit of 9,999 zhang.
• When the gate still falls short of 10,000 zhang, she repeatedly summons and destroys fragments of her Blood Gate, pouring their power into it despite her worsening injuries. On her final attempt, the gate reaches the unprecedented height of 10,000 zhang.
• The Blood Sea disappears and the damaged Firmament heals. Lu Li nearly collapses, but hides her weakness, tells Ye Qiu, “I can take it,” and walks with him toward the Great Dao Academy.
• Lu Li kills Lou Lin, the academy’s people behind him, Lou Bandao and his companions, and Ancestor Mu, blaming them for provoking the crisis.
• She lets the Upper Realm survivors flee through the rift, then reveals that she deliberately allowed them to escape so she would have an excuse to pursue them and destroy the Martial Tower.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Li displays extraordinary resolve and devotion to Ye Qiu, sacrificing herself while masking her pain. Her tenderness toward him coexists with ruthless vengeance toward those responsible.
• Ye Qiu is horrified by Lu Li’s sacrifice and begs Nan Qingyue to stop her, even as he feels his power growing. He finally understands that Nan’s earlier behavior came from concern for Lu Li, not resentment toward him.
• Nan Qingyue weeps for Lu Li and tells Ye Qiu to treat her better than anyone ever could. Her words suggest that Ye Qiu still cannot fully grasp the scale of Lu Li’s sacrifice.
• The witnesses—including Ye Qiu’s allies and former opponents—feel both grief and envy at Lu Li’s devotion. The Upper Realm survivors, once their terror peaks, flee in panic.

Significant themes

• Love and self-sacrifice: Lu Li gives up nearly everything to advance Ye Qiu’s power and protect the life he is living.
• Unimaginable cost and lasting consequences: Dao Severance may bind Lu Li to immense, enduring suffering and karma.
• Strength as endurance: Lu Li insists she can bear the pain, concealing her vulnerability even as her life force fades.
• Power and vengeance: Her sacrifice achieves a miraculous breakthrough, while the aftermath turns into a merciless reckoning—and a calculated pursuit of the Upper Realm.

Key plot points and events

• Lu Li declares Ye Qiu and Ye Huang the ruler of the Mortal World, then asks whether anyone objects. After a tense pause, the major factions—and eventually the whole Human Realm—bow and acknowledge him.
• Ye Qiu’s Bloodline awakens during the ceremony. It first reaches Saint King Tier, then, as the Divine Gate channels its light and Dao Patterns into him, advances to Saint Emperor Tier.
• The Divine Gate dissolves into light and pours into Ye Qiu. His growing power and the Human Realm’s unified Fortune make his authority feel undeniable. The crowd’s reluctant submission turns into genuine awe and reverence.
• Lu Li also threatens to pursue the fleeing Martial Tower into the Upper Realm and destroy the sect, a possibility that shocks the crowd.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qiu is transformed from a promising young man into a figure the entire Human Realm recognizes as its ruler. Despite the ceremony and his immense power, his attention stays on Lu Li—and he notices that she is bleeding.
• Lu Li makes Ye Qiu’s elevation possible and appears to have pushed herself to her limit. Her sacrifice weighs on Ye Qiu, who realizes his path to power has been stained with her blood.
• The realm’s factions initially bow out of fear and necessity, but Ye Qiu’s Saint Emperor Blood convinces them that he deserves their respect.
• Wu Xiaokai and Yuan Gang celebrate Ye Qiu proudly. Li Xingchen openly declares his desire for him, while Li Zhenzhen and Chen Luolan react with admiration.
• Mei Xianzhi urges Li Zhenzhen to pursue Ye Qiu, reversing his earlier opposition. Li Zhenzhen and Chen Luolan both resent his past interference and tease him for his changed stance.

Significant themes

• Power and legitimacy: Political submission becomes genuine recognition once Ye Qiu’s unprecedented Bloodline manifests.
• Unity and rule: The separate realms are recast as one Human Realm under a single ruler.
• Sacrifice and loyalty: Ye Qiu’s rise is bound to Lu Li’s exertion and suffering, which he recognizes even amid his own triumph.
• Changing fortunes: Characters who once dismissed or obstructed Ye Qiu now compete for his favor, showing how quickly status reshapes relationships.

Key plot points and events

• Lu Li sacrifices her wings and severs her own cultivation path to help Ye Qiu ascend. His bloodline stabilizes at the peak of Saint Emperor Blood, approaching Emperor Blood, but an ominous presence marks him once more.
• Ye Qiu is overwhelmed by concern for Lu Li’s sacrifice. She insists she can bear it, while he silently takes her hand.
• Wen Zheng and the others arrive, confirm Ye Qiu is safe, and greet Lu Li. Nan Qingyue reassures them she will not hit them again.
• The late arrivals learn that the contest is already over: Ye Qiu defeated the Great Dao Academy, which has been destroyed and renamed Ye Huang Palace. He is now hailed as Emperor Ye, ruler of the Mortal World.
• Xiao Qingsong, who once gave Ye Qiu up, is confronted with the scale of Ye Qiu’s rise. Yan Changsheng and others thank him for that past decision, while Li Qingfeng asks whether he regrets it.
• The Wen Family erupts in celebration, and Wen Zheng openly curses Xiao Qingsong.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qiu reaches an extraordinary new level of power and authority, but his attention remains on Lu Li and the cost of her sacrifice.
• Lu Li proves her devotion through a profound personal sacrifice and remains composed despite the danger and loss.
• Xiao Qingsong is stunned and filled with regret and humiliation as he faces the consequences of having once rejected Ye Qiu.
• Wen Zheng and the Wen Family move from relief at Ye Qiu’s survival to exuberant pride in his triumph.
• Other allies and rivals—including the Sword Sect, Pill Tower, and Great Dao Academy figures—react with gratitude, astonishment, or amusement to the new order.
• The family-side interactions offer comic relief: Qiu Yun frets over Chen Luolan, then bluntly checks on the battered fat man, who doubts whether she really is his mother.

Significant themes

• Sacrifice and devotion: Lu Li’s loss underscores the personal cost behind Ye Qiu’s ascent.
• Reversal of fortune and regret: Xiao Qingsong’s past decision looks radically different in light of Ye Qiu’s rise.
• Power and legitimacy: The crowd’s unanimous salute establishes Ye Qiu’s new rule and the transformation of the Mortal World.
• Relief, loyalty, and camaraderie: The reunion with family and allies balances the chapter’s dramatic revelations with warmth and humor.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Qiu prepares to ascend with Lu Li and Nan Qingyue. He parts from his grandfather, Wen Zheng, who reluctantly accepts that Ye Qiu must leave. Ye Qiu privately promises to return.
• Ye Qiu possesses Heaven’s Gate, which has absorbed the Mortal World’s fortune into him. Though he cannot yet control it fully, it gives him a unique hold over the passage between realms.
• A select group of powerful allies and representatives from the major sects begins ascending through a shrinking rift.
• Ye Qiu invites Xiao Qingyu to join them. She declines, feeling unable to leave after what has happened, and vows to reach the Upper Realm by her own strength next time.
• Chen Qianqian chooses to stay behind rather than ascend, hoping to pursue Lin Sisi and remain with his mother. He persuades Qiu Yun that staying will benefit both their family and his future prospects.
• After the others ascend, the Dao Guardian Alliance escorts Ye Qiu, Lu Li, and Nan Qingyue into the rift. Lu Li orders them to summon reinforcements and destroy the Martial Tower.

Character developments

• Ye Qiu accepts the separation from his grandfather and takes responsibility for his new power and the future connection between the realms.
• Xiao Qingyu shows pride and independence: she turns down an invitation she wants to accept, determined to earn her own way upward.
• Chen Qianqian reveals his devotion to Lin Sisi and chooses love and family over the rare chance to ascend.
• Qiu Yun shifts from anger at her son’s decision to accepting his choice once she sees its potential benefits—and the prospect of keeping him close.
• The Dao Guardian Alliance appears anxious and compromised: its members expect punishment for their failure to prevent Lu Li’s Dao-Severing Path.

Significant themes

• Parting and sacrifice: Ascension means leaving loved ones behind, perhaps permanently.
• Self-determination: Xiao Qingyu and Chen Qianqian each choose a path different from the one others expect.
• Power and responsibility: Ye Qiu’s control of Heaven’s Gate could affect the Mortal World’s people, fortune, and survival.
• Family, love, and ambition: The chapter contrasts the allure of the Upper Realm with personal attachments and obligations.
• Consequences of failure: The Alliance’s concern highlights how powerful institutions judge outcomes rather than intentions.

Character interactions

• Wen Zheng and Ye Qiu share a restrained, emotional farewell; both struggle to express how much the separation means.
• Ye Qiu offers Xiao Qingyu a place among the ascenders, but respects her refusal.
• Qiu Yun and Chen Qianqian argue over his choice to stay, while his sister Chen Luolan criticizes him before leaving.
• Qiu Yun advises Chen Luolan to stay close to Li Zhenzhen in the Upper Realm and jokingly urges her to bring back a grandson.
• The Dao Guardian Alliance escorts Ye Qiu and Lu Li, ending the chapter with Lu Li’s abrupt call to attack the Martial Tower.

Key plot points and events

• The rift between the Mortal World and the Upper Realm closes, leaving the realms separated again.
• News arrives that Ye Qiu has united the Mortal World under Ye Huang Palace. He is now Emperor Ye, and Lu Li is Empress Li.
• Ye Huang Palace’s leaders move quickly to prevent unrest. The Protector orders them to secure Canglan, establish Ye Huang Palaces and laws across the realms, gather powerful cultivators, and summon top experts to the palace.
• To prevent rivals from exploiting Ye Qiu’s family ties, the Protector brings the Ye Clan into Ye Huang Palace. He also plans to bring in the Wen Family and make it the foremost clan, both to protect Ye Qiu’s loved ones and prevent them from becoming a political pretext for rebellion.
• Meanwhile, Ye Qiu and his companions arrive in the Upper Realm under the Dao Guardian Alliance’s escort. Its vast, ancient wilderness and exceptionally rich Essence Qi amaze the newcomers, whose cultivation responds immediately.
• Brother Snake dismisses the seemingly abundant resources as inferior and warns Ye Qiu that the Upper Realm’s laws differ from those of the Mortal World, so he must adapt his cultivation.

Character developments and interactions

• The Protector shows himself to be a cautious, politically astute strategist: he focuses on stabilizing the Mortal World rather than celebrating its new ruler.
• Lei Gong and Zheng Qiankun recognize and approve of his plans, while Zheng especially admires the Protector’s foresight.
• Ye Qiu’s companions—including Wu Xiaokai, Yuan Gang, and Li Zhenzhen—are awestruck by the Upper Realm and experience immediate benefits from its environment.
• Brother Snake teases Ye Qiu’s lack of knowledge and positions himself as a guide to the Upper Realm’s cultivation principles. Ye Qiu privately doubts Brother Snake’s dismissal of resources that are clearly benefiting him.

Significant themes

• Power requires governance: Ye Qiu’s unification is only the beginning; lasting rule depends on preventing rebellion and managing loyalties.
• Political control and protection: The Protector’s plans safeguard the Ye and Wen families while also preventing others from using them to destabilize the new order.
• A higher realm brings new rules: The Upper Realm offers overwhelming resources, but its laws and standards differ, forcing newcomers to relearn how to cultivate.
• Triumph mixed with uncertainty: The Mortal World celebrates Ye Qiu’s rise even as its leaders fear that the new order may not hold.

Key plot points and events

• Brother Snake explains that the Upper Realm has more complete Laws and far denser, more stable space than the Mortal World. Its surface Essence Qi is weak; the purest energy lies deep within the Void.
• Following his instructions, Ye Qiu senses increasingly pure energy particles—green, cyan, blue, purple, and finally gold. The deeper layers strain his Primordial Soul, but the golden essence feels exceptionally pure.
• Ye Qiu tries to absorb the energy but cannot. He can sense even the golden particles, yet the Upper Realm’s Laws suppress his attempts.
• Brother Snake has him compare himself with Lu Li, Nan Qingyue, and Li Xingchen. Lu Li absorbs golden energy, Nan Qingyue purple, and Li Xingchen blue.
• Ye Qiu realizes the obstacle is not his talent or Primordial Soul, but his Cultivation Method. Brother Snake confirms that the others possess superior methods: Nan Qingyue apparently received one from the Dao Guardian Alliance, while Li Xingchen likely inherited one from the Upper Realm.
• Ye Qiu flatters Brother Snake and begs him for help, promising loyalty and a generous share of future resources. Brother Snake claims the task will be difficult but agrees to do it—after theatrically emphasizing his generosity.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qiu is humbled by the Upper Realm’s stricter Laws and frustrated when others absorb energy he cannot. His competitive streak surfaces, especially when he learns Nan Qingyue and Li Xingchen can do what he cannot. He ultimately shifts from self-doubt to bargaining with Brother Snake.
• Brother Snake acts as Ye Qiu’s guide but withholds the key explanation until Ye Qiu struggles and makes comparisons. Their exchange is teasing and transactional: Ye Qiu tries flattery, while Brother Snake plays up the difficulty of helping him.
• Lu Li, Nan Qingyue, and Li Xingchen serve as benchmarks for cultivation in the Upper Realm. Their different levels of energy absorption reveal the advantage of their Cultivation Methods and backgrounds.

Significant themes

• Adaptation and hierarchy: The Upper Realm’s more complete Laws make Mortal World cultivation inadequate and difficult to adjust to.
• Talent versus technique: Ye Qiu’s strong perception and Primordial Soul are not enough; a suitable Cultivation Method is essential for harnessing energy.
• Comparison and pride: Ye Qiu’s frustration shows how competition can expose insecurity, even in someone confident in his abilities.
• Bargaining and loyalty: The humorous negotiation between Ye Qiu and Brother Snake turns brotherhood into a playful exchange of promises and favors.

Plot points and events

• Brother Snake finally teaches Ye Qiu a modified version of the Great Dragon Breath Technique. Though the changes are slight, they let Ye Qiu draw pure golden energy from the Upper Realm’s Void.
• Ye Qiu uses this energy to cleanse and transform his cultivation, beginning the process called “shedding mortal dust”—adapting his body, mind, and soul to the Upper Realm’s Laws.
• His progress astonishes those watching, including the Dao Guardian Alliance, who suspect that someone powerful stands behind him.
• A mysterious, terrifying aura descends from the Firmament. Ye Qiu and Lu Li sense the danger, and Ye Qiu feels the calamity marking him grow heavier.
• Lu Li orders the Dao Guardian Alliance to mobilize in full and destroy the Martial Tower. She takes Ye Qiu and heads there, followed by Nan Qingyue, Wu Xiaokai, Yuan Gang, and Li Xingchen.
• Though hesitant because the Martial Ancestor has the advantage and an attack could destabilize the Upper Realm and beyond, the Scarred Elder sends ten highest-alert summons and leads the Alliance after Lu Li.

Character developments

• Ye Qiu shows increasing mastery and potential, adapting rapidly to the Upper Realm. He also becomes more aware that his extraordinary fate is tied to a dangerous calamity.
• Brother Snake reveals both his shrewd teaching style—making his help seem hard-won so Ye Qiu will value it—and his genuine fear of the risks of aiding Ye Qiu, whose bloodline and karma surpass those of past Persons of Calamity.
• Lu Li shifts decisively from observation to action, taking command and accepting the consequences of a major conflict.
• The Scarred Elder struggles between caution and obedience, but ultimately commits the Alliance’s full strength.

Significant themes

• Transformation and belonging: Ye Qiu’s cleansing represents the transition from the Mortal World to the Upper Realm.
• Calamity and destiny: Ye Qiu’s power is inseparable from a dangerous mark and mounting karma.
• Power and hidden influence: Observers interpret Ye Qiu’s unusual abilities as evidence of a formidable force behind him.
• Loyalty versus caution: The Alliance must choose between avoiding a potentially catastrophic war and obeying Lu Li.

Character interactions

• Brother Snake coaches Ye Qiu while carefully managing what he reveals; Ye Qiu responds with gratitude after realizing more lessons may follow.
• The onlookers compare Ye Qiu’s rapid progress with their own, reacting with admiration and unease.
• Lu Li takes charge of the Scarred Elder and the Alliance, dismissing his hesitation and ordering a full mobilization.
• Ye Qiu and Lu Li share a grave awareness of the threat above, then move together toward the Martial Tower.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Qiu and Lu Li travel through the Upper Realm while Ye Qiu gradually adapts to its Laws. A mysterious aura from an unknown source grows stronger, weighing on him.
• Lu Li explains three important Upper Realm locations: the Southern Heaven Region and its Heaven’s Gate, the Myriad Laws Academy on the Eastern Continent, and Divine Summit Peak in the Western Ridge, where a saber could strengthen Ye Qiu’s Broken Saber.
• Lu Li reveals that fragments of his buried memories began returning when he was young, though they remain incomplete. He says he must leave for a while but keeps the details to himself.
• The group reaches Spirit Moon City, eats at a wine house, and walks beneath the moon. Lu Li explains that he intends to destroy the Martial Tower, not merely defeat it.
• Believing the Martial Tower may underestimate them, Lu Li decides they need to make a bigger impression. He and Nan Qingyue race ahead, with Ye Qiu and the others following under the Dao Guardian Alliance’s protection.
• By midday, they reach a vast, prosperous city and approach a place surrounded by purple light and visions of Qilin. The chapter ends as Ye Qiu connects the Qilin imagery to the Lou Family, reputed inheritors of Qilin blood.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qiu is still adjusting to the Upper Realm and is slowed by both his incomplete adaptation and the oppressive aura targeting him. He questions Lu Li about his knowledge and memories, but Lu Li evades the full answer.
• Lu Li shows deeper ambitions and a strategic streak: he wants the Martial Tower to gather its forces so he can eliminate it in one decisive sweep. His playful, intimate gesture toward Ye Qiu—touching the wrist where Lu Li’s bite marks remain—hints at their closeness.
• Nan Qingyue accompanies Lu Li as he rushes ahead. The Dao Guardian Alliance’s elders help Ye Qiu and the others keep pace.
• Ye Qiu and Lu Li share a quiet walk, while the rest of the group explores the unfamiliar Upper Realm independently.

Significant themes

• Power and arrogance: Lu Li and Ye Qiu recognize that Upper Realm authorities may dismiss them because of their Mortal World origins.
• Incomplete transformation and hidden pressure: Ye Qiu’s adaptation to the Upper Realm is ongoing, while the unseen aura suggests a looming threat.
• Buried identity and memory: Lu Li’s returning memories hint at a hidden past that may shape his future.
• Escalation and strategy: Rather than attack immediately, Lu Li wants to provoke the Martial Tower into underestimating them no longer—and, ideally, into assembling in one place.

Plot points and events

• Lu Li and Nan Qingyue arrive at the Lou Family mansion, where a purple Great Dao Phenomenon has lingered for months after the family head’s rise to Saint Level.
• The Lou Family’s guards turn away most visitors, but Lu Li identifies herself as being from the Mortal World and says she has come to kill the Saint.
• When a guard challenges her, Nan Qingyue attacks, sending him crashing into the gate. The other guard runs inside to alert the family.
• Lou Tu, a notorious God King known as the “God-King Slayer,” emerges with others. Before he can act, a purple greatsword destroys him and the group accompanying him.
• Lu Li gives the remaining messenger a chance to summon the Saint. When the mansion sends out dozens more fighters—including three God Emperors—the Scarred Elder and the mysterious black-robed men kill them all.
• The Saint still does not appear. Losing patience, Lu Li orders her allies to fight their way into the mansion.

Character developments

• Lu Li is openly defiant and purposeful, showing no hesitation in challenging the Lou Family or its Saint. Her patience runs out after two failed summons.
• Nan Qingyue demonstrates how much she has grown since leaving the Mortal World: she now wields powerful swordsmanship and acts decisively in Lu Li’s defense.
• Ye Qiu quietly stands with Lu Li, identifying her as his wife when a bystander asks about her.
• The Lou Family’s guards and fighters shift from arrogance to shock and terror as their assumed power proves ineffective.

Significant themes

• Power and status: The Lou Family’s new prestige, built on its Saint’s ascension, cannot protect it from a stronger force.
• The reversal of hierarchy: Lu Li’s Mortal World origins invite dismissal, but the ensuing battle overturns the crowd’s assumptions about who holds power.
• Fear and spectacle: The bystanders’ awe at the Saint’s phenomenon gives way to horror as the family’s defenders are destroyed.
• Escalating confrontation: Each failed attempt to bring out the Saint raises the stakes and pushes Lu Li closer to a direct assault.

Character interactions

• Lu Li confronts the guards verbally; Nan Qingyue follows with a sudden sword strike when one threatens them.
• Ye Qiu joins Lu Li’s side, while the crowd reacts with disbelief and fear.
• Lu Li repeatedly orders the surviving messenger to summon the Saint, but the mansion answers with armed forces instead.