Chapter Summaries

Lin Yan visited a Langya Internet Cafe to try Wang Mu’s new game, Immortal Dao Overlord, before leaving on a dangerous journey to seek a high-ranked Spirit Flame. He entered the game’s tutorial and was asked to choose a free character.

• Lin Yan hurried to the newly upgraded Langya Internet Cafe and paid for an hour of play.
• Shopkeeper Song showed Lin Yan how to use the Tianwen Game Console and log in with his Xianliao or Forum account.
• Lin Yan created the game name Emperor Yan and entered the game’s arena through the console’s illusion formation.
• The game began its beginner tutorial and offered Lin Yan a choice among Tang Sect Descendant, Yuan Jiu, and Useless Scholar.

Lin Yan chose the Tang Sect Descendant and cleared the Beginner Tutorial, then discovered that the shop's Emperor Yan character was modeled after him. Confident in the game, he challenged an AI opponent and was stunned when it defeated him with techniques he could not use.

• Lin Yan selected the Tang Sect Descendant, learned the controls, and defeated the tutorial's tiger demon to earn experience and Gold Coins.
• The Shopkeeper explained leveling, matchmaking, the Ladder, and how Gold Coins could unlock characters in the shop.
• Lin Yan spotted Emperor Yan in the shop and recognized the character as a version of himself, prompting him and Dan Xuan to wonder what Wang Mu intended.
• Lin Yan entered an AI match against another Tang Sect Descendant, assuming his opponent had the same abilities as he did.
• The AI used powerful attacks to defeat Lin Yan, who demanded to know why it could use techniques that he could not.

Lin Yan struggled to defeat the game’s AI until Dan Xuan took over his body, confident that he could master the game by understanding its controls. After Dan Xuan was quickly defeated and mocked by onlookers, he lost his temper and Lin Yan and the Shopkeeper tried to calm him down.

• Lin Yan learned to fire Chain Poison Arrows but failed more than twenty matches while trying to discover other moves.
• The Internet cafe filled with customers, and onlookers laughed at Lin Yan for repeatedly losing.
• Dan Xuan took control of Lin Yan’s body, explaining that patience and understanding the character would lead to victory.
• Dan Xuan charged forward and was defeated by the AI’s aerial combo, then became furious when a customer mocked him.
• Lin Yan and the Shopkeeper restrained Dan Xuan and urged him to calm down as the frightened customers fled.

Dan Xuan and Lin Yan struggled to defeat the AI in Immortal Dao Overlord, blaming their losses on the character before Dan Xuan repeatedly failed with Useless Scholar. After more than ten defeats, Dan Xuan swallowed his pride and asked Lin Yan to find out how to use training mode so he could keep playing.

• Wang Mu had designed Immortal Dao Overlord with a high difficulty and characters that each possessed at least thirty skills.
• Dan Xuan repeatedly failed to defeat the AI while using Tang Sect Descendant and decided the character was too despicable for him to control.
• Dan Xuan chose Useless Scholar, rejected a nearby player's training mode, and charged into another match against Tang Sect Descendant.
• The AI repeatedly trapped and defeated Dan Xuan, leaving him dejected and briefly returning control of Lin Yan's body.
• Dan Xuan asked Lin Yan to find out how to use training mode so he could continue playing.

Lin Yan found combo tutorials on the forum and negotiated with Dan Xuan over who would fight the training bot. At Kunlun Sacred Ground, Demon Race challengers provoked the wounded disciples, and their leader Xiang Ye revealed they were heading north.

• Lin Yan opened the forum, found a guide to entering training mode, and memorized the Tang Sect Descendant's confirmed combos.
• Lin Yan and Dan Xuan argued over who would take revenge on the training bot, then agreed to take turns using three lives each.
• A multicolored-robed Demon Race woman mocked Kunlun Sacred Ground after several Kunlun disciples lost a spar.
• Zhou Yao ordered the Kunlun disciples to stand down and challenged Xiang Ye's timing, noting that Kunlun's strongest young disciples had gone north with the Saintess.
• Xiang Ye said the Demon Race group was also heading north, prompting Zhou Yao to ask whether they intended to cross Kunlun to reach the Northern Region.

Murong Qiushui allowed the demon prodigies to enter human territory only if their elders returned, recognizing that the coordinated journeys across several regions pointed to upheaval among the demons. Xiang Ye then reported to a mysterious Young Emperor, who assured him the young demons would be safe.

• Xiang Ye argued with Zhou Yao over past violations of the human-demon agreement and asked for the demon prodigies to enter the Northern Region.
• Murong Qiushui agreed to let the young demons go without their elders, threatening war if Xiang Ye refused; Xiang Ye accepted and sent them toward the Northern Region.
• Murong Qiushui told Zhou Yao that demon prodigies had also gone to the Central and Southern Regions, suggesting a coordinated effort amid turmoil in the Emperor Demon Palace.
• Xiang Ye and experts from the Peacock and Kui Niu clans bowed before a green-robed Young Emperor, who said the demon prodigies would be safe.

The Young Emperor explained why the Human Race should not be provoked, then Lin Yan cleared the game’s human-machine stage and discovered how much he enjoyed the praise. As Immortal Dao Overlord swept the Northern Region, Wang Mu ordered more Internet cafes and reviewed character-skin drafts.

• The Young Emperor warned that the Human Race could become formidable when pushed into war and urged patience in dealing with them.
• Lin Yan defeated the human-machine stage, drawing a crowd of amazed players who asked him to share his strategy.
• Lin Yan calculated how many matches he needed to afford Emperor Yan, while Dan Xuan urged him to keep earning Gold Coins.
• Three days after its launch, Immortal Dao Overlord topped the forum’s popularity rankings, but players reported a shortage of Internet cafes.
• Wang Mu ordered more Internet cafes and asked Nie Tingting to show him the available character-skin drafts.

Wang Mu met with Zhu Yan and the Joyous Union Sect, whose members feared the Wang Family’s power but hoped for its protection. He offered the sect a chance to fly the Wang Family banner in exchange for completing a task, leaving Zhu Yan eager to hear what he wanted.

• Wang Mu rejected suggestions to add attributes to the skins and told Nie Tingting to release attractive designs gradually.
• Li Yuanhua informed Zhu Yan that Wang Mu wished to meet her, and she brought the Joyous Union Sect’s elders and young disciples to greet him.
• Wang Mu reassured Zhu Yan that the sect’s seductive bearing was natural and praised the beauty of its disciples.
• Wang Mu asked whether the Joyous Union Sect had been struggling, and Zhu Yan recalled the hostility and pressure it faced.
• Wang Mu offered the Joyous Union Sect permission to fly the Wang Family banner if it handled a task well.

Wang Mu brought the Joyous Union Sect under the Wang family's protection and assigned it secret work, including training disciples for live-streaming. Meanwhile, Lin Yan saved enough gold to unlock Emperor Yan, whose dramatic introduction stunned the internet cafe.

• Wang Mu offered the Joyous Union Sect the Wang family name and protection, and Zhu Yan pledged the sect's loyalty to him.
• Wang Mu left Li Yuanhua to explain his orders, and Li told Zhu Yan to keep the alliance secret and select attractive, talented disciples for live-streaming training.
• Li Yuanhua showed Zhu Yan images of the clothing the Young Master had provided, and she praised its appearance.
• After playing AI opponents for two days and two nights, Lin Yan reached level ten and saved nearly ten thousand gold coins.
• Lin Yan spent 9,900 gold coins to unlock Emperor Yan, whose fiery character reveal left the internet cafe patrons cheering in amazement.

After reaching level ten, Lin Yan unlocked matchmaking mode and practiced Emperor Yan’s skills while cultivators explored the new game options. Meanwhile, Ling Xiaozi urged Jiang Baiyi to reconnect with Ye Mo by understanding his interests, and Jiang Baiyi agreed to investigate the Wang family’s creations.

• Lin Yan discovered that level ten unlocked 1v1 and 5v5 matchmaking, then entered training mode to study Emperor Yan’s skills.
• Jiang Baiyi tried to visit Ye Mo, but Ye Mo refused to open his cultivation room or speak with him inside.
• Jiang Baiyi told Ling Xiaozi that Ye Mo resented him for confiscating his communication talisman.
• Ling Xiaozi advised Jiang Baiyi to understand Ye Mo’s interests and investigate the Wang family’s creations as a way to rebuild their relationship.
• Jiang Baiyi explained that the sacred ground’s formation blocked communication talismans, and Ling Xiaozi offered to ask Formation Evolution Peak to resolve the problem.

Jiang Baiyi discovered the Langya Forum and became engrossed in its novels, forgetting his plan to reconcile with Ye Mo. He later apologized, brought Ye Mo a Communication Talisman and a Game Console, and secured permission for him to use the talisman in the Sacred Land, leaving the two reconciled.

• Jiang Baiyi explored the Langya Forum and spent several days reading novels, forgetting why he had wanted to learn Ye Mo's interests.
• Ling Xiaozi visited Jiang Baiyi and reminded him of his plan to improve his relationship with Ye Mo.
• Jiang Baiyi bought two Game Consoles and two Communication Talismans, then went to Ye Mo's Cave Mansion to apologize and offer him the gifts.
• Ye Mo accepted Jiang Baiyi's apology and let him into the Cave Mansion.
• Jiang Baiyi told Ye Mo that he had persuaded the Holy Lord to allow Communication Talismans in the Sacred Land, and Ye Mo tested his talisman and thanked his master.
• Ye Mo began reading novels while Jiang Baiyi urged him not to neglect his cultivation and suggested they play the Game Console afterward.

After catching up on updates, Ye Mo and Jiang Baiyi enjoyed the Langya Merchant Association’s new game, while Elder Chu sought a way to ease Lu Jiuyuan’s lovesick misery. Elder Chu confiscated a disciple’s Game Console, apparently intending to use the game to help the Holy Son.

• Ye Mo and Jiang Baiyi played the new game and talked about unlocking characters based on storybook heroes, including Ye Tiandi.
• Lu Jiuyuan grieved over his unrequited feelings for Qianxue, and Su Li ordered Elder Chu to make the Holy Son return to normal.
• Elder Chu learned that the disciples were enjoying a new game from the Langya Merchant Association and decided it might lift Lu Jiuyuan’s spirits.
• A disciple showed Elder Chu a Game Console, and Elder Chu confiscated it despite the disciple’s protest.

Elder Chu brought Lu Jiuyuan a Game Console, which cheered him up when he discovered Dugu Qianxue and a character based on himself in the game. At the Primal Origin Sacred Ground, Ye Mo bought [Ye Tiandi], triggering a dramatic character reveal.

• A disciple warned Elder Chu that the Sacred Ground needed its formation adjusted to receive the Tianwen signal, and Elder Chu arranged for the signal to cover the grounds.
• Elder Chu offered Lu Jiuyuan a Game Console, but Lu Jiuyuan refused until he learned the game featured a character resembling Dugu Qianxue.
• Lu Jiuyuan recognized Dugu Qianxue in the opening animation and began playing, then found the freely gifted [Yuan Jiu] resembled him.
• Lu Jiuyuan learned Wang Mu had made the game and decided to play despite being given away for free, while Elder Chu struggled to respond to his complaints.
• At the Primal Origin Sacred Ground, Ye Mo and Jiang Baiyi celebrated a victory after mastering their characters, and Ye Mo spent his Gold Coins to buy [Ye Tiandi].
• Ye Mo's purchase triggered a dramatic reveal of [Ye Tiandi] amid a darkened sky, lightning, and a radiant Reincarnation Jade Disc.

Jiang Baiyi and Ye Mo entered matchmaking in Immortal Dao Overlord, where their confidence was shaken by a hostile player and the scramble to pick heroes. They secured Emperor Yan and Ye Tiandi for a second match, but Ye Mo realized Jiang Baiyi might not know how to play his character.

• Jiang Baiyi and Ye Mo saved enough money to buy heroes and teamed up for a 5v5 matchmaking game.
• A teammate picked Ye Tiandi first, and Jiang Baiyi tried to persuade him to give the character to Ye Mo by invoking their sacred ground and titles.
• The teammate claimed to be the Primal Origin Holy Lord and mocked Jiang Baiyi, who erupted in anger until Ye Mo exited the game and calmed him down.
• Jiang Baiyi and Ye Mo started another match and quickly locked in Emperor Yan and Ye Tiandi.
• Ye Mo asked Jiang Baiyi whether he knew how to play Emperor Yan, leaving Jiang Baiyi speechless.

Ye Mo and Jiang Baiyi struggled through the game's five-versus-five mode, learned their characters' skills, and continued losing match after match. After more than ten defeats, Jiang Baiyi refused to let Ye Mo leave to cultivate until they won.

• Ye Mo and Jiang Baiyi went 0/18 and 0/20 in their first five-versus-five match, then agreed they had treated the game too casually.
• The two studied forum guides and mastered the skills of [Emperor Yan] and [Ye Tiandi].
• Ye Mo and Jiang Baiyi charged into another match without buying equipment and were repeatedly killed by the enemy [Moon Emperor].
• Jiang Baiyi blamed their teammates for the defeat and persuaded Ye Mo to keep playing.
• After more than ten consecutive losses, Ye Mo asked to cultivate, but Jiang Baiyi insisted they stay until they won a match.

Jin Zhongyuan learned that his students were playing a game that depicted him as a free character called [Useless Scholar], but he restrained himself from confronting the Langya Merchant Association. The next day, rumors spread that Young Master Wang had secured three hundred Yaochi Feast quotas for Langya Academy students from poor families, and Wang Mu dismissed the backlash as the work of clowns.

• Jin Zhongyuan scolded his disciples for playing a Game Console and blamed their neglect of cultivation for the Heavenly Dao Institute losing Yaochi Feast quotas.
• A disciple showed Jin Zhongyuan the game's free [Useless Scholar] character, provoking his fury, but Jin Zhongyuan refused to attack the Langya Merchant Association.
• The Eldest Disciple suggested using Young Master Wang's request for three hundred additional Kunlun Sacred Ground quotas to retaliate against the Langya Merchant Association, and Jin Zhongyuan tasked him with the matter.
• A post on the Langya Forum claimed Young Master Wang had secured three hundred Yaochi Feast quotas for students from poor families at Langya Academy, prompting accusations that he was building his own faction.
• Wang Mu heard the rumors while touring a Langya Academy branch campus with Dugu Qianxue and called the rumor-spreaders clowns.

Wang Mu showed Dugu Qianxue how Langya Academy’s impoverished students used the Heavenly Scripture to cultivate through focused everyday work and the Heart Dao. After their visit, a forum controversy over his gifts and Yaochi Feast slots spiraled into public attacks on Qiankun Sacred Ground and Primal Origin Sacred Ground, leaving their leaders furious and facing millions of critics.

• Wang Mu visited the Chongyue Island branch academy with Xiao Wanmeng and Dugu Qianxue, where dean Gu Yuan showed them the students’ unusual lessons in chopping wood, farming, and catching fish.
• Dugu Qianxue witnessed students enter Daoheart Clarity and Unity of Heaven and Man, and Wang Mu explained that the Heavenly Scripture guided them to cultivate through the Heart Dao while still following the Golden Core path.
• After the group returned to Heavenly Severing Island, Wang Mu found forum posts about his gifts to Kunlun Sacred Ground and the Yaochi Feast slots had gone viral, prompting users to accuse Qiankun Sacred Ground and Primal Origin Sacred Ground of pressuring him.
• Holy Lord Su Li and Elder Chu discovered that online criticism had turned against Qiankun Sacred Ground, while Ling Xiaozi ordered Primal Origin Sacred Ground to use the Great Karmic Curse against its critics.
• An elder warned Ling Xiaozi that tens of millions of people were cursing the Sacred Ground, leaving him speechless.

The Heavenly Dao Institute discovered that Langya Academy taught students through farming and ordinary chores, and Jin Zhongyuan dismissed its methods as a rejection of traditional cultivation. At a Langya Academy branch, Han Li brought home a mysterious green bottle he had found in a field, unaware that it briefly glowed beneath his pillow.

• Forum users exposed the people who had spread rumors about Wang Mu as members of the Heavenly Dao Institute, prompting Jin Zhongyuan to blame a disciple for being identified.
• Jin Zhongyuan ordered an investigation of Langya Academy and learned that its students spent their days chopping wood, farming, fishing, and doing other practical tasks.
• A Guest Elder showed Jin Zhongyuan a well-used textbook titled First-Year Breathing Exercises, and Jin Zhongyuan condemned its lessons as lowering the status of cultivation.
• Han Li searched for his missing textbook, told Instructor Zhang he had lost it, and returned to the dormitory with a small green bottle he had found in the mud.
• Han Li placed the bottle beside his pillow and fell asleep as a flash of emerald light appeared beneath it.

Three Demon Race prodigies defeated Northern Region challengers ranked from seventy-second to forty-ninth on the Hidden Dragon List, then split up to seek their next opponents. Kui Shan chose Lin Yan, who was playing at a Langya Internet Cafe, and a towering figure appeared at its entrance.

• Kui Shan defeated the Heavenly Sword Immortal Sect's prodigies, and Kong Ling mocked the Northern Region before the three Demon Race prodigies departed.
• The Heavenly Sword Sect Leader refused to warn other powers, insisting that the sect had lost openly and honorably.
• Over the next month, the three Demon Race prodigies defeated renowned Northern Region challengers, stirring alarm across the region.
• Xiang Xin explained that the Young Emperor had ordered them to challenge opponents from lower to higher rankings, and the trio decided to split up.
• Kong Ling and Xiang Xin each picked a challenger, while Kui Shan chose forty-third-ranked Lin Yan, judging him weak from his name.
• A tall figure arrived at the Langya Internet Cafe where Lin Yan had been staying, and the crowd fell silent.

Kui Shan came to challenge Lin Yan, but Lin Yan kept putting him off to finish his Promotion Match and persuaded him to try gaming. By the next day, Kui Shan was so engrossed in battling the game’s AI that he agreed to keep playing instead of fighting Lin Yan.

• Kui Shan found Lin Yan at an Internet cafe and challenged him, but Lin Yan refused because they had no grudge and he was busy gaming.
• Dan Xuan warned Lin Yan that Kui Shan belonged to the powerful Kui Niu lineage and offered to help him fight in exchange for more chances to play.
• Lin Yan agreed to fight Kui Shan the next day, and Kui Shan bought a new [Tianwen]-brand Communication Talisman so he could play while waiting.
• Kui Shan spent a day learning to use the talisman, then created an account and repeatedly fought the game’s AI after Lin Yan suggested looking up guides.
• When Kui Shan’s deadline arrived, Lin Yan said his Promotion Match was unfinished, and Kui Shan chose to keep playing until he could defeat the AI.