Chapter Summaries

Zhao Nan traveled to Misty Canyon to gather Blue Heart Grass for Linley and considered how his disciples might train there. He collected the rare herb and moved deeper into the canyon, where his Saint-level aura drove the dragon-type magical beasts away.

• Zhao Nan told Linley, Ace, and the Bark Five Brothers to continue studying with Doehring while he left Wushan Town for several days.
• Zhao Nan flew to the Magical Beast Mountain Range and found Misty Canyon after searching for three days.
• Zhao Nan gathered Blue Heart Grass to help awaken Linley's bloodline and decided not to interfere with Linley's chance to form an Equality Contract with Bebe.
• Zhao Nan traveled deeper into the canyon in search of the Violet Blood Soft Sword and considered bringing his disciples there to cultivate.
• Zhao Nan's Saint-level aura scattered the dragon-type magical beasts in the canyon.

Zhao Nan found Sathius in the underground cavern and offered him a chance to reach the Saint-level in exchange for becoming his disciple’s contracted magical beast. After overpowering Sathius, Zhao Nan learned that the proud dragon remained unwilling to agree, leaving his plan to take Sathius as a disciple uncertain.

• Zhao Nan found the forbidden cavern and entered it while the magical beasts watched from afar.
• Zhao Nan encountered Sathius, the Level Nine Armored Spined Dragon who had sucked Linley's blood, and offered him a chance to reach the Saint-level through an Equality Contract with one of Zhao Nan's disciples.
• Sathius doubted Zhao Nan's claim that his disciple could become a god, so Zhao Nan used spatial pressure to pin him to the ground.
• Sathius realized Zhao Nan could easily kill him but stayed silent rather than agree to the contract.
• Zhao Nan frowned because Sathius's SSS-ranked evaluation could raise the system's cultivation speed, but he wanted Sathius to become Ace's contracted beast and his own disciple.

Zhao Nan persuaded Sathius to become his disciple and uncovered a sealed platform hidden in the cave, which he concealed rather than disturb. He brought Sathius to Wushan Town and summoned Linley, Hogg, and his other disciples to meet them in the back hills.

• Zhao Nan offered to teach Sathius and explained that he could help the Level Nine Magical Beast reach the Saint level.
• Sathius agreed to become Zhao Nan's disciple but refused to call Ace his senior brother while Ace was weaker, saying he would do so once Ace surpassed him.
• Zhao Nan recalled that repeated attacks on the cave walls had revealed a sealed area, then smashed through the ceiling and uncovered a black platform with a purple longsword at its center.
• Zhao Nan concealed the platform with Earth Element energy and took Sathius out of the cave.
• Zhao Nan carried Sathius to Wushan Town and summoned Linley, Hogg, and his other disciples to the back hills, where they recoiled at Sathius's size before stopping when they saw Zhao Nan.

Zhao Nan introduced Sathius to his disciples and gave Linley and Hogg Blue Heart Grass to help awaken their Dragonblood Warrior bloodlines. After Sathius supplied living dragon blood, Linley and Hogg began cultivating the Dragonblood Secret Codex, and their bloodlines started to manifest.

• Zhao Nan introduced Sathius as his newest disciple, and Doehring Cowart translated as Sathius greeted Linley and the others.
• Sathius discussed senior and junior disciple ranks with the group, and Linley and Ace accepted him as their senior brother.
• Zhao Nan gave Linley and Hogg Blue Heart Grass and explained that it could help awaken their Dragonblood Warrior bloodlines.
• Sathius filled two buckets with his blood for Linley and Hogg, who swallowed the Blue Heart Grass and drank the living dragon blood.
• Zhao Nan told Linley and Hogg to cultivate the Dragonblood Secret Codex, and their hidden bloodlines began to manifest.

Zhao Nan helped Linley and Hogg awaken their Dragonblood Warrior bloodlines using Sathius's dragon blood. Their first transformation left them unconscious, but they woke a day later in their rooms.

• Linley and Hogg refined Sathius's dragon blood while circulating the Dragonblood Secret Codex's techniques.
• Black scales, horns, back spikes, and tails emerged as Linley and Hogg transformed into dragon-like forms.
• Dragonblood Battle Qi surged through their bodies, and the pain of growing claws made them both pass out.
• Zhao Nan reassured Ace that the transformation was not serious and carried Linley and Hogg to their rooms.
• Linley and Hogg woke up in their beds after a day.

After awakening as Dragonblood Warriors, Linley and Hogg tested their new strength on the back mountain under Zhao Nan’s guidance. Linley reached the sixth level when transformed, while Hogg surpassed the sixth level in human form and began testing a partial transformation.

• Zhao Nan asked the newly awakened Hogg and Linley how their bodies felt, and they noticed their strength had greatly increased.
• Zhao Nan led Hogg, Linley, and the others to the back mountain so the two could test their abilities.
• Linley shattered a rock with one punch, and Zhao Nan judged his human-form strength to be that of a fifth-level warrior.
• Linley transformed, tested his claws and tail against rocks and trees, and Zhao Nan assessed him as sixth-level while transformed.
• Hogg tested his strength, and Zhao Nan judged his human form to have reached the seventh level.
• Hogg chose to attempt only a partial dragon transformation because he thought a complete transformation would be too much for him at his age.

Zhao Nan advised Hogg to wait until he was stronger before seeking revenge and revealed that the dead could be rescued from the Netherworld. He then arranged for Linley and Ace to attend the Ernst Institute and for the Bark Five Brothers to cultivate elsewhere, while Hogg planned to take Wharton with them.

• Zhao Nan assessed Hogg's strength and urged him to reach the ninth level before pursuing revenge.
• Zhao Nan told Hogg that strong people could rescue deceased relatives and friends from the Netherworld, giving Hogg hope of seeing his family again.
• Zhao Nan proposed sending Linley and Ace to test their magical aptitude and apply to the Ernst Institute, and they reluctantly agreed.
• Zhao Nan asked Sathius to consider forming an Equality Contract with Ace, and Sathius did not refuse outright.
• Zhao Nan arranged a place for the Bark Five Brothers to train, and Hogg asked to bring Wharton along.
• Hillman and Hiri asked to accompany Hogg, but Hogg told them to stay in Wushan Town and look after it.

Zhao Nan took Hogg and the Bark Five Brothers to a cavern in the Magical Beast Mountain Range so they could cultivate, then returned to guide Linley and Ace. As the magic academy entrance tests drew near, Linley discovered a young Shadow Mouse named Bebe and considered taming him.

• Zhao Nan brought Hogg, Wharton, and the Bark Five Brothers to the Misty Canyon and led them into Sathius’s former cavern to cultivate.
• Zhao Nan returned to Wushan Town and continued guiding Linley, Ace, Sathius, and Bebe, while Linley periodically cleaned the Baruch Clan ancestral hall.
• One month before the magic academy entrance tests, Linley heard a noise near the ancestral hall and found a black mouse gnawing on rubble.
• Linley summoned Doehring Cowart, who identified the mouse as a newborn Shadow Mouse and explained its potential as a powerful magical beast.
• Doehring Cowart asked whether Linley wanted to tame Bebe, and Linley became eager to have a magical beast of his own.

Linley wanted to tame a young Shadow Mouse, but he could not catch it or set up a Soul Contract Magic Array himself. Doehring Cowart explained that Linley could win the mouse’s affection and persuade it to form an Equality Contract, though Linley considered asking Zhao Nan for help.

• Linley asked Doehring Cowart how he could tame the young Shadow Mouse.
• Doehring Cowart warned that the mouse was too fast for Linley to catch and that Linley was not strong enough to create a Soul Contract Magic Array.
• Doehring Cowart explained that a magical beast could form an Equality Contract itself and that a young, lonely beast could be won over with treats and attention.
• Linley said he could care for the Shadow Mouse like a child, drawing on his experience looking after Wharton and Ace.
• After Doehring Cowart warned that the mouse might bite him, Linley considered asking his teacher Zhao Nan to catch it.

Linley followed Doehring Cowart’s advice and began trying to tame the Shadow Mouse, Bebe, with food. Bebe remained wary after Linley offered him a rabbit, leaving the attempt unresolved.

• Doehring Cowart told Linley to feed the Shadow Mouse meat from a distance and wait for it to approach.
• Linley went to Mount Wushan, killed a rabbit with a stone spike, and decided to offer it raw before gradually switching to roasted meat.
• Zhao Nan watched Linley and Doehring Cowart from the back mountain without interfering.
• Linley returned to the ancestral hall and found Bebe gnawing on a stone.
• Linley tossed the rabbit near Bebe, but Bebe stayed still and watched him warily.

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.