Recaps

Linley and Ace passed the magic aptitude test and were accepted into the Ernst Institute, while Bebe formed an Equality Contract with Linley after fearing he had left for good. Zhao Nan took Bebe as a disciple and promised to show Linley, Ace, and his other students a cultivation sanctuary.

• Linley fed Bebe rabbits for days, and Bebe grew attached to him, though he showed no sign of forming an Equality Contract.
• Zhao Nan told Linley and Ace to take the magic aptitude test in Fenlai City, and Linley warned Bebe that he would be away.
• Linley and Ace left with Hillman, and Bebe formed an Equality Contract with Linley when he thought Linley would not return.
• Linley and Ace passed the test and were accepted into the Ernst Institute, then introduced Bebe to Zhao Nan.
• Zhao Nan accepted Bebe as his disciple and told Linley, Ace, and the others he would take them to a cultivation sanctuary as a test.

Zhao Nan took Linley, Ace, Bebe, and Sathius to Misty Canyon to visit Hogg, where he developed a powerful attack technique after watching Hogg fight. He named the move Zhan Tiangang and decided to teach it to his disciples only when their bodies were strong enough.

• Zhao Nan reassured Linley, Ace, and Sathius that he would teach them more than the Visualization Technique.
• Zhao Nan told Hiri and Hillman he was going to visit Hogg, then traveled to Misty Canyon with Linley, Bebe, Ace, and Sathius.
• Zhao Nan and his disciples found Hogg fighting five Velociraptors with a massive axe, impressing Linley, Ace, and Sathius.
• After watching Hogg fight, Zhao Nan developed a basic attack technique and tested it by knocking an eight-rank Wyvern from the sky.
• Zhao Nan named the move Zhan Tiangang and said he would teach Linley and Ace when they reached the seventh rank as warriors, and Sathius when they met Barker and the others.

Zhao Nan taught the Bark Five Brothers and Sathius to cultivate Zhan Tiangang, and Sathius gained insight that led him to retreat for a breakthrough. After Sathius became a Saint-level Magical Beast, Zhao Nan demonstrated his strength by striking him into the ground, and Sathius demanded compensation.

• Zhao Nan explained that Zhan Tiangang depended on continually surpassing one's own speed, and Gates asked how speed could surpass time.
• Sathius pondered Zhao Nan's explanation, so Zhao Nan and the Bark Five Brothers left him alone to cultivate.
• Zhao Nan entered seclusion as Sathius attempted to break through, and Misty Valley grew quiet.
• A surge of worldly energy gathered at the underground cave, and Sathius emerged proclaiming that he had become a Saint-level Magical Beast.
• Zhao Nan challenged Sathius, then used Hand Covering the Sky to slap him into the ground.
• Sathius flew back out and complained that Zhao Nan had hit him instead of giving him a breakthrough reward.

Zhao Nan returned Linley and Ace to Wushan Town, then took Sathius aside to teach him about cultivation at the Saint level and the realms above it. He explained the paths to godhood, leaving Sathius stunned by how many ranks existed beyond the Saint level.

• Zhao Nan slapped Sathius back into the ground, then took Linley and Ace to Wushan Town while telling the Bark brothers to wait until they could travel together.
• Zhao Nan left Linley and Ace in Hillman's care and brought Sathius behind the Baruch estate to teach him.
• Zhao Nan explained that Saint-level cultivators studied the profound mysteries of the laws, and that darkness had six such mysteries.
• Zhao Nan outlined the cultivation realms beyond the Saint level and explained that people could become gods by refining Godheads or cultivating to godhood themselves.
• Zhao Nan told Sathius that the War God of the Yulan Continent had become a god by refining a Godhead, leaving Sathius astonished by the ranks above the Saint level.

Zhao Nan taught Sathius about godhood and the Laws of Darkness, then recognized that Sathius had fused two profound mysteries when he became a Saint. He revealed that this kind of fusion was the path to becoming a Paragon High-God.

• Sathius asked Zhao Nan about the difference between cultivating into a god and refining a Divine Spark, and Zhao Nan explained their differences and the choice between External and Internal Godhood.
• Zhao Nan listed the six profound mysteries of the Laws of Darkness and asked Sathius which one he had comprehended to become a Saint.
• Sathius demonstrated his speed technique, and Zhao Nan recognized it as a fusion of Stealth and the Shadow Clone Technique.
• Zhao Nan explained the ranks of the gods and described Paragon High-Gods as exceptionally rare beings who surpassed most gods through cultivation.
• Zhao Nan told Sathius that fusing profound mysteries of the laws was how one became a Paragon High-God.

Zhao Nan left Sathius with instructions to train and traveled to the O'Brien Empire to seek Olivier as a disciple. After arriving in the capital, he asked an inn waiter about its talented young people and learned there were three celebrated young geniuses.

• Zhao Nan explained the Fusion Law to Sathius, told him to keep training, and asked him to protect his junior disciples at the Ernst Institute.
• Zhao Nan left Wushan Town and traveled toward the O'Brien Empire while cultivating the Wind Laws along the way.
• After a year of travel, Zhao Nan checked his status and saw that his comprehension of the Wind Laws had advanced greatly.
• Zhao Nan reached the O'Brien Empire's capital and asked an inn waiter about talented young people nearby.
• The waiter told Zhao Nan that the capital had three dazzling young geniuses, then asked him to wait until he had finished his work before naming them.

Zhao Nan sought out Olivier in the mountains east of the imperial capital after learning about the young swordsman’s reputation. He tested Olivier with a barrage of Wind Blades, then introduced himself and explained why he had come.

• Zhao Nan paid a waiter for information about the capital’s three great geniuses and learned Olivier was training in the mountains east of the city.
• Zhao Nan finished his meal, traveled through the eastern gate, and used his spiritual force to locate Olivier in a thatched hut on a barren mountain.
• Olivier rushed out of the hut with his sword when Zhao Nan called to him.
• Zhao Nan attacked Olivier with repeated Wind Blades, slowing his climb until Olivier was exhausted, then dispelled them.
• Zhao Nan introduced himself and said he had come to see Olivier for himself; Olivier asked what Zhao Nan thought of him.

Zhao Nan forced Olivier into a fight and repeatedly battered him with the Heaven-Covering Hand Seal until Olivier agreed to become his apprentice. Zhao Nan confirmed that Olivier had appeared as a new disciple on his system panel.

• Zhao Nan offered to fight Olivier and take him as an apprentice, but Olivier refused and questioned his claims.
• Zhao Nan attacked Olivier with a giant green hand, then struck him again with an earthen-yellow hand when he climbed out of the ground.
• Zhao Nan continued using the Heaven-Covering Hand Seal in different elemental forms, knocking Olivier underground again and again.
• Olivier finally agreed to become Zhao Nan's apprentice after Zhao Nan buried him up to his head.
• Zhao Nan checked his system panel and confirmed Olivier had become his disciple.

Zhao Nan recruited Olivier as a disciple, then planned to cultivate and gather talented disciples while traveling to retrieve the Purple Flame Secret Manual for Ace. Six months later, his caravan reached the Hanmu Kingdom after Zhao Nan had saved it from danger along the way.

• Zhao Nan confirmed Olivier had SSS-rank potential, gave him a golden leaf token, and vanished after promising to teach him techniques when he reached the Saint-level.
• Olivier and Blumer left the O'Brien Empire, while Linley and Ace began studying at the Ernst Institute and Hogg and the Bark Five Brothers remained in Misty Valley.
• Zhao Nan decided to visit the Hyde Clan for the Purple Flame Secret Manual and arranged passage to the Hanmu Kingdom with a caravan.
• During the six-month journey, Zhao Nan cultivated in his carriage and repeatedly protected the caravan from bandits and magical beasts.
• The caravan arrived in the Hanmu Kingdom, and its Eighth-level Warrior asked Zhao Nan how he wished to proceed.

Zhao Nan returned to Hyde Ridge to collect the Hyde family's Purple Flame Secret Manual and learned that Ace was studying at the Ernst Institute. He left the struggling family to handle its troubles themselves, while Vincent explained that Ace must have awakened the Violet Flame Warrior bloodline.

• Zhao Nan reached Hyde Ridge and found that only a handful of the Hyde Clan remained there.
• Vincent and his sons met Zhao Nan, who said Ace was studying at the Ernst Institute and that he had come for the Purple Flame Secret Manual.
• Vincent invited Zhao Nan inside and went to retrieve the manual while Trey followed him to the study.
• Vincent explained that only someone with the Violet Flame Warrior bloodline could cultivate the manual, so Ace must have awakened his bloodline.
• Trey tried cultivating the manual but found that it had no effect.

Vincent tried to use a dinner with Zhao Nan to draw him into the Hyde Clan’s troubles, but Zhao Nan avoided getting involved and left the possibility of a future visit open. The chapter ended with Vincent understanding Zhao Nan’s position.

• Vincent gave Zhao Nan the Hyde Clan’s Purple Flame Secret Manual, and Zhao Nan read it before returning it and promising to teach Ace.
• Vincent invited Zhao Nan to dinner, hoping drinks would loosen his tongue and let Vincent ask for help with the family’s troubles.
• At dinner, Zhao Nan recognized Vincent’s attempts to get him drunk and kept drinking without agreeing to help.
• Zhao Nan ended the dinner because he had to attend to something early the next day, and Vincent accepted.
• Zhao Nan said he would visit the Hyde Clan after Ace completed his studies, and Vincent welcomed him.

Three years after leaving Hyde Ridge, Zhao Nan returned to Ernst Institute with the infant Shigu Boley and reflected on how his disciples had grown. He presented his old student token at the gate, where a guard questioned how long ago it had been issued.

• Zhao Nan stood outside Ernst Institute with Shigu Boley and checked his status and his disciples’ progress.
• Zhao Nan recalled rescuing Shigu and taking him as a disciple after Shigu’s parents died from their injuries.
• Zhao Nan decided to visit Linley and the others because he did not know how to care for an infant.
• Zhao Nan wondered whether he and his former roommates were still Ernst students, then approached the institute’s gate.
• A guard checked Zhao Nan’s token and remarked that it appeared to be four or five years old.

Zhao Nan returned to Ernst after five years away and went to find Linley and Ace. While Yale welcomed him at Linley’s dormitory, Reynolds went to the back hills to fetch the two disciples.

• Zhao Nan told the guard he had returned after five years away, entered Ernst, and found his old dormitory dusty and unoccupied.
• Zhao Nan went to Dormitory 1987, where Reynolds let him in and Yale greeted him respectfully.
• Zhao Nan asked Yale to summon Linley and Ace, and Yale sent Reynolds to find them in the back hills.
• Yale told Zhao Nan that Linley and Ace had kept their teacher’s name secret until they reached the Saint realm, as their senior brother had instructed.
• Reynolds reached the back hills and told Linley and Ace that Zhao Nan had come looking for them.

Zhao Nan reunited with Linley, Ace, and the others at Ernst Institute, then taught Ace the Purple Flame Secret Manual and trained his disciples for half a month. He left after promising to take them across the Yulan Continent once they were strong enough.

• Ace and Linley hurried to Dormitory 1987 after Reynolds said Zhao Nan had come to see them, and Ace reunited with his teacher.
• Sathius emerged from Ace and greeted Zhao Nan, startling Yale and Reynolds with his Saint-level strength.
• Zhao Nan reunited with Bebe, introduced Stone Drum as their junior, and took everyone to Bishui Paradise for a meal that cost eighty thousand gold coins.
• At Dormitory 1990, Zhao Nan told Ace that his father was safe and taught him the Purple Flame Secret Manual.
• Zhao Nan spent half a month training Linley and Ace and helping Sathius comprehend the laws, then announced he was leaving and promised to take them across the Yulan Continent when they were strong enough.

Zhao Nan returned to Misty Canyon and challenged Barker to find out why his strength had stalled while Hogg and the Bark Five Brothers had improved. He demonstrated the proper way to use Zhan Tiangang and continued testing Barker’s fighting skills.

• Zhao Nan watched Hogg spar with Barker and recognized that Hogg had mastered the Weight as Light as a Feather realm.
• Zhao Nan praised Gates, Hazer, and the other brothers, then asked Barker why his strength had not improved in more than three years.
• Zhao Nan challenged Barker and evaded his Zhan Tiangang with Sui Feng Liu Xu, explaining that the technique let him use the wind to dodge.
• Zhao Nan demonstrated Zhan Tiangang with a swift sword strike that barely pierced Barker’s chest, leaving Barker ashamed that he had not seen the attack.
• Barker charged Zhao Nan, who repeatedly tapped the swinging axe with his sword instead of meeting the attack head-on.

Zhao Nan defeated Barker in a sparring match, then discussed the Stone Drum and the Boley Clan with Hogg. Hogg revealed that Wharton’s bloodline concentration was sufficient and that he had planned to take him to the O’Brien Empire.

• Zhao Nan overwhelmed Barker in a sparring match and healed his injuries after Barker surrendered.
• Zhao Nan asked Barker about his performance, then sent Gates and the others to take him back to his room.
• Hogg praised Zhao Nan’s combat skills, and Zhao Nan explained that his high level let him wield greater strength.
• Zhao Nan told Hogg that the Stone Drum was the last surviving trace of the Boley Clan, the Tiger-Striped Warriors.
• Zhao Nan asked Hogg whether Wharton’s bloodline concentration had been tested, and Hogg confirmed it was sufficient.
• Hogg said he had planned to leave Misty Canyon with Wharton and take him to the O’Brien Empire if Zhao Nan had not appeared.

Zhao Nan entered repeated states of enlightenment and began comprehending the Laws of Fate, drawing Beirut’s attention as he neared godhood. He struggled to decide whether to become a Fate god or preserve his chance to follow the Four-Element Soul Mutation path to transcendence.

• After Hogg said Wharton would go to the O'Brien Empire, Zhao Nan entered a deep state of enlightenment, and Hogg sent Wharton to fetch Hazer and the others to guard him.
• Zhao Nan pondered questions about Fate, his transmigration, the system, and transcendence while absorbing the elemental essence of Misty Canyon for half a month.
• Beirut discovered Zhao Nan’s three divine beast bloodlines and watched from nearby after sensing that Zhao Nan might soon become a god.
• Zhao Nan weighed becoming a god through Fate against waiting to pursue Four-Element Soul Mutation, then asked the system whether it could share Soul Mutation.
• New questions about whether Fate had arranged his godhood and transcendence sent Zhao Nan into enlightenment again, while Beirut wondered if he could become a Median God of Fate in one step.

Zhao Nan let go of his fixation on whether fate had arranged his path, recovering as Hongmeng watched and took an interest in him. Still uncertain whether to pursue transcendence, Zhao Nan considered whether the Four Divine Beasts’ blood essences and Chief God’s Might could help him cultivate a Hongmeng Body.

• As Zhao Nan’s body and soul weakened, he remembered his former life and questioned his relentless pursuit of power.
• Zhao Nan accepted that he could not control whether fate had arranged his path, and his soul power recovered as his wounds healed.
• Beirut watched Zhao Nan recover, while Hongmeng observed from beyond the Coiling Dragon World and praised his ambition to command his own fate.
• Hongmeng sent Zhao Nan a cup of wine, then returned to drinking at his cottage.
• In Misty Canyon, Zhao Nan remained conflicted about becoming a God of Laws of Fate or waiting to pursue another path.
• Zhao Nan considered whether combining the Four Divine Beasts’ blood essences with the four types of Chief God’s Might could help him cultivate a Hongmeng Body and transcend.

Zhao Nan chose to become a Midgod in the Laws of Fate and successfully achieved External Godhood, receiving a welcome from Hongmeng as his soul split and his Fate Clone formed. After testing his new abilities, he learned that his breakthrough had taken only a month and a half and turned to Barker and the others.

• Zhao Nan broke through the Midgod bottleneck in the Laws of Fate, formed a Godhead, and chose External Godhood.
• Hongmeng welcomed Zhao Nan and gave him a cup of wine, after which the process split Zhao Nan's soul in two.
• Zhao Nan's external soul fused with the Godhead, and divine power from the Elemental Ocean formed his Fate Clone.
• Zhao Nan tested his Soul Space, Fate Divine Power, Law comprehension, and the divine power's effect on his original body.
• After a month and a half of cultivation, Zhao Nan opened his eyes and asked Hogg how long he had been in seclusion.

After Zhao Nan became a Midgod, Beirut summoned him and proposed training him so he could compete for a Sovereign Spark in the Necropolis of the Gods. The chapter ended with Beirut asking where Zhao Nan had learned about cultivation at the Saint-level.

• The Bark Five Brothers congratulated Zhao Nan on becoming a god, and he joked that they could invoke his name if other God-level experts troubled them.
• Beirut contacted Zhao Nan and invited him to meet on the mountain, where Zhao Nan greeted him respectfully.
• Beirut explained that Bebe was his descendant and that Linley and Bebe should continue traveling together.
• Beirut revealed that the Necropolis of the Gods held three Sovereign Sparks and offered to cultivate Zhao Nan so he could win one for him.
• Zhao Nan cautiously accepted Beirut's intentions, and Beirut asked where he had learned about Saint-level cultivation.

Zhao Nan explained his knowledge to Beirut, received instruction on the Seven Elemental Laws and a ring of cultivation resources, then returned to Misty Canyon and brought Hogg and the others to Ernst Institute. He revealed the Radiant Church’s role in Hogg’s wife’s death and promised support, leaving everyone gathered at Bishui Paradise after meeting Linley and the others.

• Zhao Nan told Beirut that he had learned magic and divine cultivation from a diary and book found in a Space Ring, and Beirut accepted the explanation and taught him about the Seven Elemental Laws.
• Beirut gave Zhao Nan a ring of cultivation resources, and Zhao Nan left for Misty Canyon, where he told Hogg and the others they would depart for Ernst Institute.
• Zhao Nan revealed the Radiant Church’s connection to Hogg’s wife’s death and promised to help Hogg and Linley take revenge on the church.
• Zhao Nan took Hogg, Wharton, and the Bark Five Brothers to Ernst Institute, where Linley, Ace, Sathius, Bebe, and the others greeted them.
• Zhao Nan brought everyone to Bishui Paradise for a meal, and Yale, George, and Leiluo left after dinner.

Zhao Nan revealed Hogg’s vengeance against the Kingdom of Fenlai and the Radiant Church, urging Linley to focus on training, while explaining the Hyde Clan’s bloodline to Ace. After settling his group in the O’Brien Empire and sharing his disciples’ talents, Zhao Nan went to War God Mountain, where the War God sent Fain to welcome him.

• Hogg told Linley and Ace that the Kingdom of Fenlai and the Radiant Church had been involved in his wife’s death, and Linley vowed to grow strong enough to help him take revenge.
• Zhao Nan warned Linley not to act recklessly and urged him to train, then told Ace to work hard to resolve his family’s property dispute.
• Ace confessed that he had taught his father, Vincent, how to awaken the Hyde Clan bloodline, and Zhao Nan explained that many Hyde Clan members lacked the Violet Flame Warrior bloodline and could not cultivate battle qi.
• Zhao Nan traveled to the O’Brien Empire with Hogg and the Bark Five Brothers, helped Hogg take Wharton to have his talent tested, and prepared a mansion.
• Zhao Nan shared the talents of his disciples, including Bebe, Sathius, and Olivier, then flew to War God Mountain.
• The War God sensed Zhao Nan’s arrival and ordered Fain to welcome him with the utmost care.

Zhao Nan forced War God O'Brien to become his servant and assigned him to protect Zhao Nan’s disciples. After leaving the O'Brien Empire, Zhao Nan searched the Chaotic Territory for Beirut’s Magic Stone Mine but could not decide how to claim it without raising questions.

• Fain escorted Zhao Nan beneath War God Mountain, where O'Brien explained that Beirut had told him to keep a low profile.
• Zhao Nan pressured O'Brien into swearing loyalty, promised him access to stronger Divine Sparks, and ordered him to protect Zhao Nan’s disciples.
• Zhao Nan told Hogg and the Bark Five Brothers that he was leaving, then instructed O'Brien to guard the Bark Five Brothers and Stone Drum.
• Zhao Nan sent his Fate Clone to the Ernst Institute and traveled to the Chaotic Territory alone.
• Zhao Nan found the Magic Stone Mine but could not think of a reasonable way to claim it, so he headed toward the Yulan Empire.

Zhao Nan toured the Yulan Empire while Hogg and the Bark Five Brothers destroyed the Radiant Church’s strongholds in the O'Brien Empire and planned to move against its territory. Linley and Ace set out for the Magical Beast Mountain Range, where Sathius sensed a powerful, familiar presence.

• Zhao Nan met Catherine above the Yulan Empire, teased her, and continued sightseeing while seeking a way into the Micro-plane containing the Magic Crystal Mine.
• Hogg and the Bark Five Brothers wiped out the Radiant Church’s strongholds in the O'Brien Empire, prompting Heidens to order the Church’s people to withdraw and Gilmer to travel toward the empire.
• Hogg decided to lead the Bark Five Brothers to the Chaotic Territory, while the War God arranged for Fain to protect Wharton and Stone Drum.
• Linley and Ace received permission to train and departed for the Magical Beast Mountain Range with Bebe and Sathius.
• Doehring Cowart warned Linley and Ace about dangers in the range, and Sathius sensed a familiar, powerful aura.

Zhao Nan used Fate-based illusions to train Linley, Ace, Bebe, and Sathius while explaining the Laws of Earth to Doehring Cowart. Meanwhile, Hogg and the Bark Five Brothers arrived in the Chaotic Territory and began planning how to establish themselves there.

• Sathius tricked Linley, Ace, and Bebe into expecting danger, so Zhao Nan trapped the group in Fate-based illusions as training.
• Zhao Nan told Doehring Cowart he had become a god through the Laws of Fate, then explained the Laws of Earth he had comprehended.
• Zhao Nan watched Bebe outmaneuver his illusory opponent and found Sathius fleeing three Purple-Striped Black Bears, so he ended the fight and began a three-month training regimen.
• Hogg and the Bark Five Brothers discussed how to establish themselves in the Chaotic Territory, and Gates warned that they would need supplies to govern any territory they seized.
• Hazer told Hogg that they could solve their shortage of food and supplies by taking them from their enemies.