Chapter Summaries

Chen Changsheng explained to Ma Ling'er why those who acted against the Eight Desolations Nine Regions put their families and sects at risk, then ordered action against the powerful figures who had enabled them. Kong Xuan accepted the Imperial Tutor's command to mobilize the Tiger Guard, while admitting he was not ready to face Chen Changsheng's scolding.

• Chen Changsheng warned Ma Ling'er that killing those who bore no grudge could create future enemies and endanger their loved ones, and Ma Ling'er said she understood.
• Chen Changsheng sent Xu Yao and Ma Ling'er to sell materials at the market and told Xu Yao he would not have killed them, though they were unfit for leadership if they failed to understand his lesson.
• Ma Hu asked how Chen Changsheng would resolve the Sword Qi Great Wall matter, and Chen Changsheng ordered the offenders' families and sects to collect them before threatening those responsible for indulging them.
• Chen Changsheng gave Ma Hu his command token and ordered him to have Kong Xuan mobilize the Tiger Guard to enforce the order.
• Yang Jian delivered Chen Changsheng's message and command token to Kong Xuan, who accepted responsibility and said he would obey the Imperial Tutor for the sake of the Eight Desolations Nine Regions.

Chen Changsheng interrupted Nangong Xing’s purchase of Xu Yao and Ma Ling’er’s goods and challenged him to buy them with a staircase of Divine Sources. Nangong Xing paid thirteen million Divine Sources to win Ma Ling’er’s approval, while Chen Changsheng told Jian Fei that he was rich enough to compete.

• Xu Yao and Ma Ling’er set up a stall at the Sword Qi Great Wall, where Nangong Xing offered five million Divine Sources for all their goods.
• Chen Changsheng took the bundle and told Jian Fei to build a platform, then challenged Nangong Xing to make a staircase of Divine Sources to claim the goods.
• Nangong Xing started to leave, but Chen Changsheng taunted him; Ma Ling’er told Nangong Xing not to waste money, and he vowed to do what she wanted.
• Nangong Xing paid five million Divine Sources and used a ten-thousand-year warm jade, valued at eight million, to obtain enough currency for a thirteen-million-Source staircase.
• As Nangong Xing climbed the staircase, Chen Changsheng told Jian Fei that he was not poor and revealed the many Beast Hide Pouches in Jian Fei’s hands.

Chen Changsheng returned Jian Fei’s former possessions to him, then watched him use his own wealth to compete with Nangong Xing while explaining to Xu Yao why he wanted Jian Fei to confess his feelings to Ma Ling’er. He left Xu Yao confronting the possibility that Nangong Xing or someone close to her might become a traitor and that affection could make her waver.

• Chen Changsheng told Jian Fei that the Beast Hide Pouch and its contents had originally belonged to him, and Jian Fei accepted them despite wanting to act on his own.
• Nangong Xing spent Divine Source to climb the steps, but Jian Fei began spending his own treasures and quickly caught up.
• Chen Changsheng asked Xu Yao what kind of men she liked, and she said she disliked both Jian Fei’s and Nangong Xing’s displays of wealth.
• Chen Changsheng defended Jian Fei’s devotion and explained that he hoped Jian Fei would express his feelings to Ma Ling’er, even if she did not return them.
• Chen Changsheng warned Xu Yao that Nangong Xing might have a problem and that Ma Ling’er could suffer if she fell for him.
• Chen Changsheng asked whether Xu Yao could resist being turned if someone close to her betrayed the Sword Qi Great Wall, leaving her shaken.

Jian Fei yielded the divine-source contest to Nangong Xing after realizing Ma Ling'er favored Nangong Xing, and Ma Ling'er openly chose to pursue him. Chen Changsheng then told Xu Yao he was certain Nangong Xing did not like Ma Ling'er, leaving the risk of her heartbreak unresolved.

• Xu Yao questioned Chen Changsheng's indirect approach, and he explained why he could not reveal his suspicions or force Jian Fei and Ma Ling'er together.
• Jian Fei and Nangong Xing competed to climb the divine-source staircase, and Jian Fei crushed the source in his final step to let Nangong Xing win.
• Jian Fei told Ma Ling'er he had run out of money and urged her to invite him to her wedding, while he concealed his tears as he walked away.
• Nangong Xing gave Ma Ling'er a gift, and she thanked Chen Changsheng before going to speak with Nangong Xing.
• Chen Changsheng told Xu Yao he was fifty percent certain Nangong Xing had a problem and one hundred percent certain he did not like Ma Ling'er.

Chen Changsheng met with Gui Daoran and Gui Qianjie, learned that Gui Daoran remembered his past as Drunken Scholar, and revealed the truth about his bond with Sun Yuqing. He left them a painting and a communication number as the Sword Cultivator Assembly’s turmoil approached, while Gui Qianjie urged Gui Daoran to accept a role in the upheaval.

• Chen Changsheng told Xu Yao to let Ling Er follow her own path and then went to meet Gui Daoran and Gui Qianjie.
• Chen Changsheng shared bitter tea with Gui Daoran and asked whether he was Gui Daoran or Drunken Scholar; Gui Daoran said he was Gui Daoran.
• Chen Changsheng offered the Mountain and River Splendor Painting in exchange for help governing the Sword Qi Great Wall, but Gui Daoran declined because he wanted a peaceful life.
• Chen Changsheng revealed that Sun Yuqing had been reincarnated as Gui Qianjie and that he and Sun Yuqing had preserved their karmic bond, though both reincarnated as entirely new people.
• Chen Changsheng warned that turmoil surrounded the Sword Cultivator Assembly, left Gui Daoran and Gui Qianjie a painting and his communication number, and gave them two chances to ask him questions.
• Gui Qianjie told Gui Daoran she wanted a happy life with him and urged him to accept Chen Changsheng’s offer.

Chen Changsheng arranged the Sword Cultivator Assembly matches for Xu Yao, Gui Qianjie, Gui Daoran, and the others while wondering whether he could find a new era-defining prodigy. The system’s comparison of him to Wu Li made Chen Changsheng question whether his own control would eventually make him the kind of person he once opposed.

• Chen Changsheng told Xu Yao he mourned his lost friends and worried about what awaited her and the others in the coming cycle.
• Chen Changsheng explained the Sword Cultivator Assembly’s venues and revival matches, distributed number plates, and arranged for his companions to avoid meeting before the finals.
• Chen Changsheng told Gui Daoran that he would judge him after seeing him fight, and revealed he would receive byes through to the finals.
• After the others left to compete, Chen Changsheng asked the system when he would find the person he was looking for and discussed the lack of a new being like Thirteen or Wu Li.
• The system said Chen Changsheng’s situation resembled Wu Li’s and that he would most likely lose, prompting Chen Changsheng to realize the present resembled the Lower Realm before Wu Li rose.
• Chen Changsheng wondered whether his long-running plans and control would eventually hinder the world and turn him into someone like those who had opposed Wu Li.

After Jian Fei, Gui Qianjie, and Gui Daoran all lost in the Sword Cultivator Assembly, Chen Changsheng learned they had been defeated by the mysterious Zhang Zhen and went to investigate. Zhang Zhen won his match against Su You in three strikes, then faced Chen Changsheng in the arena.

• Chen Changsheng rejected the system's advice to eliminate the era's prodigies and decided to let them compete on their own.
• Jian Fei and Gui Qianjie returned after losing their matches, and Chen Changsheng told them to wait for the revival matches.
• Gui Daoran revealed that Zhang Zhen had defeated him, prompting Chen Changsheng to check Mo Wen's list and head to the assembly.
• Spectators explained that Zhang Zhen had defeated two Golden Toad Academy prodigies in three strikes and dubbed him “Three Tremor Strikes.”
• Zhang Zhen forced Su You out of the arena with three powerful strikes, then was matched against Chen Changsheng.
• Chen Changsheng stepped onto the arena with a broadsword and challenged Zhang Zhen to a blade contest.

Chen Changsheng fought the blade prodigy Zhang Zhen, then used the duel to challenge his companions to break an ordinary pudao. He left them mocking their performance after Xu Yao finally snapped the blade.

• Zhang Zhen attacked Chen Changsheng, and the two traded blows as Chen Changsheng marveled at Zhang Zhen’s talent and blade understanding.
• Their pudao blades broke simultaneously, and Chen Changsheng conceded the match, leaving Zhang Zhen puzzled and determined to defeat the Sword Cultivator Assembly champion to survive.
• At the Sword Qi Great Wall, Chen Changsheng told Gui Daoran and the others he had lost and challenged them, including the newly arrived Su You, to break an ordinary pudao.
• After half an hour of attacks, Xu Yao finally broke the blade, while the others lay exhausted around Chen Changsheng.
• Chen Changsheng compared their showing unfavorably with Zhang Zhen’s and said he could not keep associating with people who would lower his horizons.

Chen Changsheng approached Zhang Zhen with an offer to hire him to kill people, using a Yin Yang Pill and the promise of better treatment for Zhang Zhen’s condition as payment. Zhang Zhen swallowed the pill, learned it only eased his symptoms, and asked Chen Changsheng whom he wanted killed.

• Chen Changsheng warned Xu Yao that her laziness would let Zhang Zhen surpass her, then left.
• Chen Changsheng visited Zhang Zhen, examined his broken pudao, and offered him a transaction rather than recruitment.
• Chen Changsheng identified the Yin Yang Pill as the reward Zhang Zhen sought and gave him another one to swallow.
• The pill eased Zhang Zhen’s symptoms but could not cure his condition, and Chen Changsheng said he knew ways to treat it and prolong his life.
• Zhang Zhen asked Chen Changsheng who he needed him to kill.

Chen Changsheng made a deal with Zhang Zhen to exchange assassinations for Points that could help save his life, then brought him to the Sword Qi Great Wall residence. After Zhang Zhen met the others and revealed his killing intent, Chen Changsheng confronted Kong Xuan in the wilderness and criticized what he had done to the Sword Qi Great Wall.

• Chen Changsheng offered Zhang Zhen Points for killing targets and promised treatment or a cure if he reached the required totals, and Zhang Zhen agreed while refusing missions against targets more than one major realm above him.
• Chen Changsheng brought Zhang Zhen to the Sword Qi Great Wall residence, where Zhang Zhen asked how many Points the others were worth and Chen Changsheng named prices for them.
• Chen Changsheng left Zhang Zhen with the others, and Zhang Zhen's killing intent made the atmosphere tense.
• Chen Changsheng met Kong Xuan in the wilderness, and Kong Xuan said his cultivation—not his position as Lord of the Heavenly Court—gave him confidence.
• Chen Changsheng told Kong Xuan that he had become stupid and demanded to know what he had done to the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Chen Changsheng reprimanded Kong Xuan over the unrest and ordered secret surveillance of the Great Strength Donkey Clan, warning that Ma Ling'er’s death would bring the clan’s destruction. He explained why he had preserved the Wilds as a force that could drive future change, then told Kong Xuan that the Heavenly Court would eventually have to give way; Kong Xuan had found the person Chen Changsheng wanted to see.

• Chen Changsheng criticized Kong Xuan’s failure to guide the younger generation and confirmed that everyone involved had been investigated under strict confidentiality.
• Chen Changsheng ordered Yang Jian to secretly monitor the Great Strength Donkey Clan and said it would be destroyed if Ma Ling'er died.
• Kong Xuan questioned why Chen Changsheng had left the Wilds intact, and Chen Changsheng explained that they could help future generations replace a decaying Heavenly Court without relying on outside forces.
• Chen Changsheng said the Heavenly Court would eventually leave the stage and warned that the Wilds must be wiped out if they could not let go of their hatred.
• Chen Changsheng told Kong Xuan that he might have to step down if he could not understand the matter, and Kong Xuan said he had found the person Chen Changsheng wanted.

Chen Changsheng decided to move against those pursuing the Great Dao and sent Kong Xuan to prepare the God and Demon Cemetery as the final location. After the Sword Cultivator Assembly’s revival round and semifinals, Kong Xuan changed the finals into a hunt for Wilds spies and teleported the 180 contestants into the cemetery.

• Chen Changsheng told Kong Xuan that those pursuing the Great Dao could not be spared and ordered preparations at the God and Demon Cemetery.
• At the Sword Qi Great Wall, Xu Yao challenged Zhang Zhen, but Jian Fei warned him she was too poor to offer a worthwhile fight.
• Chen Changsheng promised Xu Yao another ten thousand Points if she won the Sword Cultivator Assembly and told the contestants he had a surprise planned for the finals.
• The revival round and semifinals produced 180 contestants, including Xu Yao, Nangong Xing, Zhang Zhen, and a lucky contestant who had advanced through repeated byes.
• Kong Xuan announced that the finals would require contestants to capture the Wilds spies’ marked leader and bring him to Burial Mountain, then gave them Jade Slips that detected spies nearby.
• Kong Xuan teleported the 180 contestants into the God and Demon Cemetery, where they questioned how they could search such a vast area.

As the Sword Cultivator Assembly began, Xu Yao went to Burial Mountain to confront Chen Changsheng about Ma Ling'er's fate. After learning the truth and Chen Changsheng's arrangements, she left with twelve hours to choose her path, while Nangong Xing discovered a weak Wilds spy in God and Demon Cemetery.

• Nangong Xing invited Chen Changsheng to team up, but Chen Changsheng left with Zhang Zhen, and Xu Yao refused Nangong Xing as well.
• Xu Yao climbed Burial Mountain and asked Chen Changsheng what would happen to Ling Er.
• Chen Changsheng gave Xu Yao a Jade Slip with the truth and explained that Su You and others were protecting Ling Er from possible harm by Nangong Xing.
• Xu Yao asked to see the others off, but Chen Changsheng refused and gave her twelve hours to decide what to do, during which no great power above the Immortal Venerable Realm would attack her.
• Zhang Zhen offered to kill Xu Yao for Points, but Chen Changsheng chose to wait and see what she and the others would decide.
• In God and Demon Cemetery, Gui Qianjie and the others found a weak woman tied up as a suspected Wilds spy, and Nangong Xing lost his smile.

Nangong Xing revealed that he had deceived Ma Ling'er and explained his loyalty to Qiao Er, while Xu Yao tried to stop him from taking Ma Ling'er. As Gui Daoran and Su You prepared to fight Nangong Xing, Ma Ling'er intervened and ordered them to let him go.

• Gui Daoran and Nangong Xing agreed to break the Wilds spy's will and keep her alive to obtain information about the spies' leader.
• Xu Yao arrived and threatened Nangong Xing, insisting that she would take Ma Ling'er to Burial Mountain and stop anyone who stood in her way.
• Nangong Xing stabbed Ma Ling'er lightly, then admitted that he had feigned affection for her to gain the God of Wealth successor's support and had arranged an assassination to divert the Heavenly Court's attention.
• Nangong Xing revealed that he had acted for Qiao Er and declared that he would rather die than trade her life for his future.
• Gui Daoran and Su You refused to let Nangong Xing leave, citing their opposing paths and his betrayal of the Eight Desolations and Nine Regions.
• Ma Ling'er finally spoke and told them to let Nangong Xing go.

Ma Ling'er let Nangong Xing escape, and Chen Changsheng explained why the young cultivators had to balance their conscience with their responsibilities. He sent them to capture the other traitors alive, while Zhang Zhen bargained with him for payment to help.

• Ma Ling'er ordered the others to let Nangong Xing go and said she would personally plead guilty at Burial Mountain.
• Chen Changsheng forgave Ma Ling'er and explained that letting Nangong Xing escape allowed the group to honor their feelings while leaving others to deal with him.
• Chen Changsheng told Xu Yao and the others to capture the named traitors alive, making whoever captured the most the Sword Cultivator Assembly champion.
• Su You asked what would have happened to Nangong Xing and Ma Ling'er if they had made different choices, and Chen Changsheng explained the consequences.
• Zhang Zhen offered to help capture the traitors, but Chen Changsheng haggled his proposed fee down to one hundred Points per person.

Chen Changsheng explained why he had spared Ma Ling'er and planted a backup plan that might one day save his life, then left the next Heavenly Mandate to the young geniuses to fight over. At the God and Demon Cemetery, Jian Fei confronted Nangong Xing, who sent his companions away and prepared to duel.

• Zhang Zhen accepted Chen Changsheng's permission to capture the traitors and went down the mountain to make arrests.
• Chen Changsheng told Bai Ze that sparing Ma Ling'er could plant a lifesaving seed, and he declined to choose who would receive the next Heavenly Mandate.
• Nangong Xing and several geniuses encountered Jian Fei, who had blocked their path in the God and Demon Cemetery.
• Nangong Xing sent the other geniuses away and left Qiao Er behind, explaining that he needed to face Jian Fei alone.
• Jian Fei asked why Nangong Xing had hurt Ma Ling'er, then drew his Wooden Stick to test the Eight Desolations First Sword Cultivator.

Jian Fei survived Nangong Xing’s attack, awakened the Heavenly Silk Nine Transformations, and drew Dragon's Roar for the first time before Chen Changsheng transported the captured traitors to Burial Mountain. There, Chen Changsheng sentenced the traitors and their parents, then exposed Wu Tai’s role in colluding with the Wilds.

• Nangong Xing wounded Jian Fei and left with Qiao Er, while a voice urged Jian Fei to let go of his Yang Feiyun obsession and embrace his identity as Jian Fei.
• The voice healed Jian Fei and awakened the Heavenly Silk Nine Transformations within him.
• Jian Fei used Basic Sword Art, drew Dragon's Roar, and struck Nangong Xing with a flying sword before collapsing.
• Chen Changsheng declared the Nangong Noble Clan was finished and transported Nangong Xing, Qiao Er, and the captured traitors to Burial Mountain.
• More than a hundred powerful figures arrived to collect their descendants, and Chen Changsheng sentenced the traitors to death and their parents to take their own lives.
• When Wu Tai demanded evidence, Chen Changsheng detailed his family’s collusion with the Wilds and presented records that made Wu Tai sweat.

Chen Changsheng exposed Wu Tai, Shen Jia, Shen Jun, and Zhu Xi for betraying the Heavenly Court and held them responsible for their actions. He let the accused leave the God and Demon Cemetery alive if they could escape by any means.

• Chen Changsheng revealed that Wu Tai had sold Sword Qi Great Wall intelligence for military merits and wealth.
• Chen Changsheng recounted how Shen Jia had lost five thousand soldiers through incompetence, then accused Shen Jun of covering up her failure and aiding Nangong Xing.
• Chen Changsheng denounced Zhu Xi for joining the rebellion for fame and wealth, then ordered the accused to kill themselves, allowing their True Spirits to enter Reincarnation.
• Wu Shan killed his son Wu Tai, and Wu Shan and his wife entered Reincarnation; several other families also chose suicide.
• When most of those still kneeling refused to act, Chen Changsheng offered to spare them if they could escape the God and Demon Cemetery by any means.

Chen Changsheng punished the traitors and explained the consequences of choosing to spare Nangong Xing, while Xu Yao and the others accepted responsibility for their choice. Nangong Xing prepared to die beside Qiao Er and told Zhang Zhen that his arranged life and love for Qiao Er had led him to betray the Heavenly Court.

• Chen Changsheng gave the fleeing traitors five breaths to escape, ordered their clans punished, and exempted the families of those who had committed suicide from being labeled traitors.
• Chen Changsheng ordered Xu Yao and the others to submit apologies and serve as vanguard soldiers, and Hu Yan presented their memorials before leaving to join them.
• Chen Changsheng told Xu Yao and the others that sparing Nangong Xing required someone to bear responsibility, while refusing to spare him would mean abandoning their loyalty and youthful selves.
• Nangong Xing asked to dig a grave beside Qiao Er and gave Jian Fei his two divine weapons, including the Rainfall Sword engraved with the Rainfall Sword Technique.
• After the others left, Zhang Zhen asked Nangong Xing why he had betrayed them, and Nangong Xing said he had sought freedom and happiness after Qiao Er saved him.

Nangong Xing explained why he had joined the Wilds’ plan before Chen Changsheng killed him and Qiao Er. Meanwhile, the Old Celestial Master confronted Shen Jun’s group east of the God and Demon Cemetery, and Meng Po blocked fleeing traitors to the west.

• Nangong Xing told Zhang Zhen that the Nangong family and the Heavenly Court’s need for the Wilds as an enemy had left him no path to change the Rules.
• Nangong Xing said his plan had been to marry Ma Ling'er, win Xu Yao over, and draw the Heavenly Court into negotiations, but Chen Changsheng had undone his scheme.
• Chen Changsheng asked whether Qiao Er’s rescue of Nangong Xing had been arranged, and Nangong Xing admitted he knew but had truly loved her.
• Chen Changsheng killed Nangong Xing and Qiao Er, buried them, and explained to Zhang Zhen that the Wilds’ Honey Trap had worked through sincere love.
• Zhang Zhen asked how many Points Chen Changsheng would give him for killing the traitors, received the answer of fifty each, and headed down the mountain.
• East of the God and Demon Cemetery, the Old Celestial Master refused to spare Shen Jun and his companions, while west of it Meng Po offered fleeing traitors bowls of soup.