Chapter Summaries

Lord Xia Feng and Lord Kenneth fought by summoning armies through territorial mediums, and Kenneth used Fire Resonance to form a powerful Lava Pool after Xia Feng destroyed his first wave of Fire Sprites. Kenneth then sacrificed half his Fiercefire Elementals to strengthen the survivors, who charged at Xia Feng as the China Martial Hall medium continued forming.

• Queen Bee explained to Bai Xiaowen that lords used mediums to summon territorial troops, and that stronger mediums took longer to form.
• Lord Xia Feng held off Kenneth's Fire Sprites while protecting the China Martial Hall medium, then destroyed them with Gale Wind Draping.
• Lord Kenneth formed a Lava Pool medium by absorbing residual fire energy through Fire Resonance and summoned Fiercefire Elementals.
• Lord Kenneth used Chaos Sacrifice to destroy half the Fiercefire Elementals and strengthen the survivors, who charged at Lord Xia Feng.

Lord Xia Feng defeated Lord Kenneth after surviving the Fiercefire Elementals’ explosions and claimed the Five-Finger Mountain Spirit Vein for Great Xia. After leaving the arena with Queen Bee, Bai Xiaowen was stopped by someone who recognized him as Luolock.

• Lord Kenneth used Wind Elementals to strengthen the Fiercefire Elementals, which then exploded around Lord Xia Feng and his forming China Martial Hall medium.
• Lord Xia Feng and the China Martial Hall reappeared unharmed, and his longblade martial artists destroyed Kenneth’s Wind Elementals.
• Lord Kenneth conceded, and Lord Xia Feng claimed the Five-Finger Mountain Spirit Vein for Great Xia.
• Queen Bee told Sky Monkey and Old Zhong that Kenneth had not lost unfairly, then praised Bai Xiaowen as a first-generation Lord.
• Bai Xiaowen parted from Queen Bee and headed toward the teleportation gate before someone called out and asked if he was Luolock.

Bai Xiaowen was confronted by Li Feng and Uncle Geng, who accused him of stealing the Grievance Spirit Banner and extorting Spirit Crystals on the Shaoding Plane. He denied being Luolock and left them with the name Ling Feng.

• Li Feng recognized Bai Xiaowen outside the arena and accused him of being Luolock from the Shaoding Plane.
• Uncle Geng asked Bai Xiaowen to return the Grievance Spirit Banner in exchange for the Great Tang Domain letting the matter go, while Li Feng demanded his Spirit Crystals back.
• Bai Xiaowen altered his appearance to argue that Li Feng could not identify him by his face alone, but Li Feng recalled seeing him unmasked in the cave.
• Uncle Geng stopped Li Feng from making a public scene, and Bai Xiaowen prepared to leave.
• When Uncle Geng asked his name, Bai Xiaowen said he had never changed it and called himself Ling Feng.

Bai Xiaowen returned to White Phoenix Territory after meeting Li Feng and Uncle Geng, then briefed his teammates on Great Tang Domain and a lord duel. He brought back tools, seeds, and Rootless Heavy Water, and the team prepared to build their Territory Shield.

• Uncle Geng told Li Feng he had recorded Bai Xiaowen’s appearance and would ask the Imperial Preceptor to divine his origins.
• Bai Xiaowen returned to White Phoenix Territory and told his teammates about meeting Li Feng and Great Tang Domain.
• Bai Xiaowen explained the lord duel and speculated about how crystal ratings measured summoned troops and how powerful Taizong might be.
• Bai Xiaowen showed the team the copper-smelting and iron-forging tools, seeds, and other goods he had obtained through trade.
• Bai Xiaowen revealed the Rootless Heavy Water and urged the team to begin building the Territory Shield.

Bai Xiaowen activated White Phoenix Territory’s Five Elements Formation and Territory Shield using Thousand-Soul Jade and five elemental treasures. He learned the shield’s strength and gained Cosmic Scanning, Territory Merger, and Territory Self-Destruction authorities, but recognized that prolonged attacks could still exhaust it.

• Bai Xiaowen chose the Five Elements Formation and used Thousand-Soul Jade as its Source of Spirit Force.
• Bai Xiaowen spent 1,000 Spirit Crystals to install the Source of Spirit Force beneath the palace and place the five elemental treasures around White Phoenix Territory.
• The Five Elements Formation connected its six pillars of light, activating the Territory Shield and granting Bai Xiaowen three new authorities.
• The Spirit Realm Rules explained that the shield could withstand an instantaneous attack of 1,200 units and regenerate 30 units per minute.
• Bai Xiaowen realized the shield could withstand a volley from 1,200 Fire Essences but could still be worn down by sustained attacks.

Bai Xiaowen learned how the White Phoenix Fief’s Territory Shield and Five Elements Formation protected its land, then studied his new cosmic authorities. He discovered that Earth would not come within scanning range for about ten months and that destroying his territory would unleash a devastating blast, but only after a delay.

• Bai Xiaowen learned that the Five Elements Formation could weaken intruders with Five Elements Reversal or strengthen defenders with Five Elements Flow.
• Bai Xiaowen learned that Cosmic Scanning Authority could locate Earth only when its orbit brought it near the White Phoenix Fief, an opportunity that came once per Earth year.
• Bai Xiaowen decided not to scan yet because Earth was already beyond range, and scanning would reveal his Territory Coordinates to nearby territories.
• Bai Xiaowen learned that Territory Merger Authority required another lord’s consent and set it aside.
• Bai Xiaowen learned that Territory Self-Destruction Authority could turn the White Phoenix Fief into a blast worth six thousand crystals, but detonation would take at least ten seconds.
• Bai Xiaowen concluded that self-destruction was no reliable defense and that strengthening himself was the better course.

White Phoenix Fief expanded its farming and mining operations while Han Xu trained apprentices to forge useful tools and equipment. In Chang'an, Fu Jing refused to divine Bai Xiaowen’s origins for less than a thousand Contribution Points, then hurried to request an audience with Emperor Taizong after Li Feng and Xu Geng left.

• The youths sowed the first field, and Bai Xiaowen sent prospecting teams to search for Spirit Crystal Veins, but they found gold and iron mines instead.
• Bai Xiaowen ordered Skeleton Workers to develop the mines, while Han Xu trained apprentices to smelt ore and forge household tools and occasionally found valuable Adamantine Ore.
• Li Feng and Xu Geng brought Bai Xiaowen’s image to Fu Jing and asked him to divine the man’s origins.
• Fu Jing demanded a thousand Contribution Points for the difficult divination, so Xu Geng and Li Feng left without paying.
• After they left Chang'an, Fu Jing hurried to the palace and requested an audience with Emperor Taizong.

Fu Jing identified Bai Xiaowen as the likely new lord Lu Wang, whose actions had disrupted the Great Tang Domain’s effort to collect the Grievance Spirit Banners. Li Weichen confronted Lu Wang over private messages and threatened his territory, but Bai Xiaowen refused to yield, leaving their conflict unresolved.

• Fu Jing reported that his divinations about Bai Xiaowen, the West River Territory, and Lu Wang had all met obstacles, leading him to suspect Bai Xiaowen was Lu Wang.
• Li Weichen agreed that Lu Wang had likely interfered with the Grievance Spirit Banner plan and decided to pressure him, though the banners could not provide a public excuse for war.
• Li Weichen privately accused Lu Wang of ruining the Great Tang Domain’s plan and demanded compensation, while Bai Xiaowen denied knowing about the Shaoding Plane or Li Feng.
• Li Weichen threatened to crush the West River Territory, and Bai Xiaowen challenged him to declare war rather than submit to extortion.
• Li Weichen warned that he could reach the West River Territory despite its coordinates being secret.

Bai Xiaowen faced Taizong’s demand to open West River Territory to Great Tang Domain and bought a week to respond. He gathered his companions to plan defenses and fallback options, leaving them preparing to delay a possible attack.

• Taizong used his knowledge of the orbital sectors to threaten to locate West River Territory and demanded access for Great Tang Domain’s advisory group and survey team.
• Bai Xiaowen denied having the Grievance Spirit Banner and negotiated a week before giving Taizong an answer.
• Bai Xiaowen told his companions about the threat and proposed joining the Pan-Asia Alliance as a fallback if they could not defend the territory.
• Bai Xiaowen and his companions discussed upgrading the Five Elements Formation and recruiting native fighters to strengthen their defenses.
• Bai Xiaowen urged his companions to keep cultivating and training while the territory stalled for as long as possible.

Qiu Zhenli arrived in Great Tang Domain with a Golden Dragon Token and sought an audience with Taizong. As Taizong and Fu Jing discussed pressuring West River Territory and restarting their plans in the Shaoding Plane, a guard announced Qiu's arrival.

• Qiu Zhenli entered Chang'an and paid two guards to explain Great Tang Domain's customs and political realities.
• Qiu showed the guards a Golden Dragon Token from Xin Feng, and they escorted him toward the palace to meet the emperor.
• Taizong told Fu Jing that Lu Wang had not admitted involvement with the Grievance Spirit Banners and had one week to hand over West River Territory's coordinates.
• Taizong and Fu Jing discussed finding someone to resume their plans in the Shaoding Plane after Li Feng's defeat.
• A guard reported that Qiu Zhenli had arrived requesting an audience with Taizong.

Taizong agreed to help Qiu Zhenli and the Black Heaven Holy Church attack the Supreme Clarity Sect, offering troops in exchange for concessions. After Bai Xiaowen ignored him for a week, Taizong began searching for the coordinates of Lu Wang’s West River Territory.

• Qiu Zhenli told Taizong and Fu Jing that Lu Wang had ruined the Black Heaven Cult’s plan and that the cult had suffered a crushing defeat.
• Qiu Zhenli asked the Great Tang Domain to help destroy the Supreme Clarity Sect, explaining that its Sect Master had failed to break through and disappeared.
• Taizong offered two hundred Giant Savage Soldiers and two hundred members of a stronger secret force, while Qiu Zhenli agreed that the Holy Church would pay the transportation costs.
• Taizong demanded further concessions from Qiu Zhenli, who said he would relay the conditions to the Cult Leader.
• After Bai Xiaowen ignored his messages for a week, Taizong activated a cosmic scan to search for the West River Territory’s coordinates.

Bai Xiaowen learned that the Great Tang Domain would need at least two months to locate White Phoenix Fief, then trained with an Insight Orb and advanced Taigong's Art of War. He reached level 12 and gained Array Deployment, but the chapter ended as he asked whether a breakthrough in his second profession text would grant further rewards.

• Bai Xiaowen asked Queen Bee how long Li Weichen would need to locate White Phoenix Fief, and she estimated at least two months.
• Queen Bee offered to protect Bai Xiaowen in exchange for thirty percent of his domain's mineral rights, but he declined to commit.
• Bai Xiaowen planned to train, explore the Spirit Realm for allies, and prepare to defend White Phoenix Fief.
• Bai Xiaowen used a Hero 5A-Tier Insight Orb and trained for two and a half days until Taigong's Art of War reached the first volume's advanced stage.
• The Spirit Realm Rules raised Bai Xiaowen to level 12, increased his attributes and True Essence Force maximum, and taught him Array Deployment.
• Bai Xiaowen asked whether breaking through the Scripture of the Grand Void would grant him additional rewards.

Bai Xiaowen broke through to the advanced stage of the upper part of Taigong's Art of War, gaining attributes, True Essence Force, and the Array Deployment skill. As he considered how his new formation skills could strengthen his army, his storage bracelet began to heat faintly.

• The Spirit Realm Rules told Bai Xiaowen that breakthroughs in his second class manual granted half the usual increase to his body and True Essence Force limit.
• Bai Xiaowen reached level 12, and his breakthrough tempered his body, strengthened his meridians, and increased his attributes by 45 points and his True Essence Force limit by 320.
• Bai Xiaowen learned Array Deployment and its Arrow Formation, Fortified Wall Formation, and Longwind Formation, which boosted attacks, defense, and speed.
• Bai Xiaowen considered using his Command-type skills to strengthen an army of capable natives and defend his territory.
• Bai Xiaowen felt a faint heat coming from his storage bracelet.

After receiving Chen Rong’s plea for help, Bai Xiaowen discovered that her spirit-talisman wooden doll could send him back to the Shaoding Plane. He decided to return to confront the Great Tang Domain’s growing influence and support the Supreme Clarity Sect.

• Bai Xiaowen received a message from Chen Rong describing the Supreme Clarity Sect’s crisis, her master’s disappearance, her missing grandfather, and the Black Heaven Cult’s resurgence.
• Bai Xiaowen used the wooden doll as a positioning item and confirmed that he could teleport directly to a fixed location in the Shaoding Plane.
• Bai Xiaowen told Li Shuyi, Qiao Rui, and Cecilia about his plan to return and explained his suspicion that the Great Tang Domain was backing the Black Heaven Cult.
• Bai Xiaowen set three objectives for his return: disrupt the Great Tang Domain’s plans, join native forces to destroy its army, and form an alliance with the Supreme Clarity Sect.

Bai Xiaowen traveled alone to the Shaoding Plane to reach the Supreme Clarity Sect, but learned that Ironblood Cliff was nearby and the martial world was gathering there to oppose the Black Heaven Demon. He left the chapter poised to investigate the assembly.

• Bai Xiaowen refused to bring Cecilia because the trip was too dangerous, then bade farewell to his companions and entered the Shaoding Plane alone.
• Bai Xiaowen arrived beside a river, found Wind Tomb Ferry, and entered a rundown inn to ask where he was and how to reach the Supreme Clarity Sect.
• The shop assistant told Bai Xiaowen he was in Tanzhou territory, within Jinghu Circuit, and that the Supreme Clarity Sect was several hundred li away.
• Bai Xiaowen overheard martial world figures discussing the Ironblood Cliff Assembly, where heroes from Jiangnan's six circuits would swear an oath and plan to resist the Black Heaven Demon.
• Bai Xiaowen asked where Ironblood Cliff was, and the shop assistant said it lay thirty li south after crossing the river.

Bai Xiaowen attended the Ironblood Cliff Assembly to learn about the conflict between the Supreme Clarity Sect and the Black Heaven Cult. The gathering was ambushed by a Black Heaven Cult force that suppressed the martial wanderers’ Astral Qi, and Bai Xiaowen saw an undead army below the cliff.

• Bai Xiaowen introduced himself as a traveling scholar at Wind Tomb Ferry and accepted Wang Tieqiang’s offer to escort him to the Ironblood Cliff Assembly.
• Bai Xiaowen surveyed the assembly of hundreds of martial wanderers and learned that the masters of the Three Mountains and Five Islands had called it to ally with the Supreme Clarity Sect against the Black Heaven Cult.
• A handsome young man mocked the martial wanderers, and Bai Xiaowen recognized him as a powerful Leader Tier fighter.
• Gray light spread beneath Ironblood Cliff and suppressed the gathered warriors’ ability to summon Astral Qi.
• The young man directed the crowd to look below the cliff, where Bai Xiaowen saw about two hundred black-armored undead and four black-clad figures surrounding the cliff.

At the Ironblood Cliff Assembly, Black Heaven Holy Son Li Yan revealed that Mountain Lord Mo and Island Lord Huang had helped trap the gathered martial artists and demanded their submission. Li Yan began forcing the captives to prove their loyalty, while a warning exposed the danger of the Corpse King Pill.

• Mountain Lord Mo announced that Li Yan was the Black Heaven Holy Church’s Holy Son and that ghost soldiers and a formation had trapped the assembly’s guests.
• Mountain Lord Mo and Island Lord Huang defeated the remaining sect leaders and scattered martial artists who tried to resist.
• Wang Tieqiang urged Bai Xiaowen to pretend to submit, then asked Li Yan to let the captives leave after they handled family affairs.
• Li Yan brought out Qin Changsheng of the Supreme Clarity Sect and demanded that would-be converts carve a piece of flesh from him as their first loyalty test.
• Li Yan said those who passed would take a Corpse King Pill, but someone warned that it controlled its users with deadly corpse worms.

Bai Xiaowen revealed himself as Lu Wang and turned against Li Yan at Ironblood Cliff. After secretly studying the Earthly Fiend Grand Formation, he broke it, restoring the martial artists’ Astral Qi and leaving the Black Heaven Cult’s advantage undone.

• Li Yan used a ghostly sickle and bells to seize the sallow-faced man’s soul, but the Eye of Evolution struck back and injured Li Wuxu.
• Li Wuxu pointed out Bai Xiaowen as the attacker, and Bai Xiaowen removed his hat and introduced himself as Lu Wang.
• The crowd recognized Lu Wang as the hero who had defeated demonic-cult experts, while Li Yan confronted him.
• Bai Xiaowen mocked Li Yan and kept him talking while explaining that he had studied the Earthly Fiend Grand Formation and found its weakness.
• Bai Xiaowen triggered explosions beneath Ironblood Cliff and broke the formation, restoring the martial artists’ Astral Qi.

After Bai Xiaowen broke the Black Heaven Cult’s formation, Li Chun led the Netherdemon Army against the martial artists on Ironblood Cliff and demonstrated its devastating Spirit Force Coordination. As the survivors rallied around Bai Xiaowen, he revealed that he also knew the Way of Command and asked them to obey his orders.

• The martial artists on Ironblood Cliff killed Li Wuxu and Li Wuhui and charged at Li Chun’s approaching undead troops.
• Li Chun used Spirit Force Coordination to synchronize the Netherdemon Army and unleash a powerful combined sword-qi strike that killed several martial artists.
• The Netherdemon Army struck again, driving the remaining martial artists back toward the clifftop and Bai Xiaowen.
• Li Yan taunted Bai Xiaowen and the martial artists, claiming they could not defeat the Netherdemon Army.
• Bai Xiaowen explained that he knew the Way of Command and asked the martial artists to follow his orders without hesitation.

Bai Xiaowen organized the martial artists at Ironblood Cliff and used the Fortified Wall Formation to strengthen their defenses. When Li Chun’s Netherdemon Army attacked, the formation held, leaving the fighters unharmed and Li Chun shocked.

• Bai Xiaowen accepted command and ordered the martial artists to form ranks under two Dao Arts Marks.
• Bai Xiaowen had Kitz and Delifa organize the fighters, then used the Fortified Wall Formation to link and strengthen their defenses.
• Bai Xiaowen joined the two formations as Li Chun led the Netherdemon Army to Ironblood Cliff.
• Li Chun ordered the Netherdemon Army to unleash a massive arc of black sword energy at the front ranks.
• Bai Xiaowen used Empathy to calm the martial artists and assure them that the formation would hold.
• The Fortified Wall Formation absorbed the strike, leaving Wang Tieqiang unharmed and Li Chun shocked.