Chapter Summaries

Su She survived his apparent death by using a golden ingot as a coffin, escaping the collapse of the Treasure Gathering Chamber of Commerce and planning to begin anew under another identity. Jiang Wang continued toward Linzi, more determined to grow stronger, and met Chongxuan Sheng and his armored companion, who had rushed to find him.

• After Jiang Wang and Hell's Gate left, Su She emerged alive from a golden ingot beneath his apparent corpse and flew away.
• Su She reflected that he had secretly moved most of his resources through smaller merchant houses before the Treasure Gathering Chamber of Commerce collapsed, then staged his death to escape his enemies.
• Su She admitted that his plan to kill Jiang Wang and Chongxuan Sheng had failed and decided to avoid his former enemies while building a new identity.
• Jiang Wang traveled toward Linzi, recalling how close he had come to dying and vowing never to be powerless again.
• Chongxuan Sheng and his armored companion caught up with Jiang Wang; Chongxuan Sheng explained that he had come after learning Su She was targeting him and asked where Su She was.

After Jiang Wang revealed that Su She had been killed with help from Yin Guan and Hell's Gate, Chongxuan Sheng devised a way to protect Jiang Wang and turn the incident against Chongxuan Zun's faction. They prepared to return to Linzi, where Chongxuan Sheng also planned to pressure the Bao Family over the attack.

• Chongxuan Sheng explained that the Chongxuan Family elders had prevented Chongxuan Chuliang from helping Jiang Wang, so he had risked his own safety to force his uncle to come.
• Jiang Wang showed Chongxuan Sheng Su She's corpse and explained that Yin Guan and the King Wuguan had helped kill him, and that Hell's Gate expected Jiang Wang to arrange entry into Linzi.
• Chongxuan Sheng destroyed the corpse and had Shi Si damage the Official Path, then proposed claiming that he, Shi Si, and Jiang Wang had killed Su She and blaming a Chongxuan Zun subordinate for helping Hell's Gate enter the city.
• Jiang Wang agreed to contact Yin Guan within two days and asked Chongxuan Sheng to compensate the carriage driver whose family had been affected.
• Chongxuan Sheng instead accused the Bao Family of colluding with Su She, planning to use the incident to force them to pay.

Jiang Wang cultivated the Fire Source Canon while waiting for a match that could win him first place in the Soaring Dragon Realm of the Great Void Illusion Realm. He faced Ling Yue, the Youth in Flowery Robes who had waited five days for a rematch, and the chapter ended as their battle began.

• Jiang Wang focused on perfecting the Soaring Dragon Realm, cultivating the Fire Totem, and competing for first place in the Six Directions of the Great Void Illusion Realm.
• Jiang Wang studied the Fire Source Canon and used its perspective on fire to improve his control over Fire Dao arts.
• Jiang Wang received a matched battle in the Great Void Illusion Realm and found himself facing Ling Yue, the Youth in Flowery Robes.
• Ling Yue told Jiang Wang he had waited five days for him because he believed he should not have lost their previous match.
• Ling Yue spread his arms and challenged Jiang Wang to fight.

Jiang Wang challenged the Youth in Flowery Robes again and used Soul Hidden Snake to attack his Divine Soul, creating an opening against his overwhelming Water Cage. With Jiang Wang’s sword at his brow, the Youth in Flowery Robes conceded defeat.

• Jiang Wang opened the battle with a swift sword strike, but the Youth in Flowery Robes blocked it with a droplet of heavy water and an azure Daoist robe.
• The Youth in Flowery Robes flooded the Sword Discussion Ground with Water Cage, forcing Jiang Wang to defend himself with Sword Circle.
• Jiang Wang used Jealous Fire to draw out his opponent’s response, then sent three hundred Soul Hidden Snakes into his Heaven-Connecting Palace.
• The Youth in Flowery Robes’ blue flood dragon Dao Vein True Spirit attacked the snakes, but Jiang Wang entered the palace and unleashed a Sea of Soul Flowers around him.
• Jiang Wang withdrew from the Heaven-Connecting Palace and struck through the momentarily uncontrolled water, prompting the Youth in Flowery Robes to concede as the flood receded.

Jiang Wang defeated Zuo Guangshu in the Great Void Illusion Realm and explained that his lack of life-and-death combat experience had cost him the match. After learning that Zuo Guangshu was Zuo Guanglie’s younger brother, Jiang Wang wondered whether the Vein-Opening Pill Zuo Guanglie had protected before his death had been meant for him.

• Zuo Guangshu asked Jiang Wang why he had lost, and Jiang Wang suggested that he lacked experience facing real danger.
• Jiang Wang gave Zuo Guangshu a false name before explaining why revealing their real identities in the Great Void Illusion Realm was risky.
• Zuo Guangshu introduced himself, and Jiang Wang learned that he was Zuo Guanglie’s younger brother.
• Jiang Wang revealed his real name and said he respected Zuo Guanglie, but Zuo Guangshu ended their conversation and left.
• After returning to his Sword Discussion Platform, Jiang Wang recalled the Vein-Opening Pill Zuo Guanglie had preserved and wondered whether it had been meant for Zuo Guangshu.

After earning the title Strongest Soaring Dragon of the Great Void, Jiang Wang considered the benefits of the Great Void Illusion Realm and reflected on his battle with Zuo Guangshu. He later met Chongxuan Sheng, who took him to deal with the loose ends from the Seven Star Tower Secret Realm before Tian Anping could learn what Jiang Wang had gained there.

• Jiang Wang earned the Strongest Soaring Dragon of the Great Void title, which permanently added an effect to his Dao Evolution Platform.
• Jiang Wang reviewed his divine-soul battle with Zuo Guangshu, learned from his control of water essence, and understood the pressure Zuo Guangshu faced as Zuo Guanglie's younger brother.
• Jiang Wang met Chongxuan Sheng, who said the Great Void Illusion Realm might be more important than he had thought, and they discussed Wang Yiwu's absence from it.
• Chongxuan Sheng told Jiang Wang they needed to clean up the trouble left by his trip to the Seven Star Tower Secret Realm before Wen Lianmu's knowledge of Jiang Wang's incomplete lifespan led Tian Anping to the secret.

Chongxuan Sheng arranged an auction to make Jiang Wang’s lifespan reaching its full measure seem like the result of a life-extending treasure. As the Seven-Ear Flower went under the hammer, Chongxuan Sheng kept raising the bid, pushing its price far beyond its real value.

• Chongxuan Sheng chose the Hundred Treasures Pavilion to auction a convincing fake life-extending treasure and create a plausible explanation for Jiang Wang’s lifespan.
• Jiang Wang bought several unusual secret arts, and Chongxuan Sheng suspected that demand from the Great Void Illusion Realm was beginning to affect the Present World.
• The Seven-Ear Flower, the fake treasure Chongxuan Sheng had arranged, came up for auction.
• Chongxuan Sheng instructed the attendant to outbid everyone by a thousand Dao Essence Stones, then continued bidding as the price rose.
• The Seven-Ear Flower’s price reached two hundred thousand Dao Essence Stones, and the attendant warned Chongxuan Sheng that it had already far exceeded the flower’s value.

Chongxuan Sheng used the Seven-Ear Flower auction to make Jiang Wang’s lost lifespan look legitimate, then told him he had rejected Bao Zhongqing’s offer to join his campaign against Chongxuan Zun. The chapter ended with Zhao Xuan feeling uneasy as he inspected a coffin being prepared in Linzi.

• Chongxuan Sheng outbid Bao Zhongqing for the Seven-Ear Flower while Jiang Wang’s display of fire control cowed Yan Er and the Pingxi Twin Evils.
• Bao Zhongqing backed out after pushing the price to four hundred thousand Dao Essence Stones, and Chongxuan Sheng gave the flower to Jiang Wang to support his cover story about recovering lost lifespan.
• In the carriage, Chongxuan Sheng told Jiang Wang that Bao Zhongqing had offered to help destroy Chongxuan Zun’s business in exchange for a share, but he had refused.
• Chongxuan Sheng said the struggle had gone on too long while Chongxuan Zun remained at Jixia Academy and unable to interfere directly.
• Zhao Xuan inspected the coffin of a deceased palace eunuch at Old Zhang’s Coffin Shop and, despite his usual patience, urged Old Zhang to finish it quickly.

Hell's Gate assassins killed Minister of Rites Zhao Xuan at Little Lian Bridge, then escaped Linzi before Qi's forces could seal the city. The Qi Emperor kept Zheng Shi in command and ordered him to capture the assassins and the Yang court remnants behind them, as the killing sent shockwaves across the Eastern Domain.

• Zhao Xuan went to a coffin shop at Little Lian Bridge, where five Hell's Gate assassins ambushed and killed him.
• Jiang Wang and Chongxuan Sheng noticed the Imperial Guard and Northern Office rushing through Linzi, and Chongxuan Sheng ordered the carriage back to the residence.
• Zheng Shi reached Little Lian Bridge, found Zhao Xuan dead, and closed five city gates while requesting authorization to activate Linzi's grand formation.
• The Right Chancellor approved the citywide lockdown, but Hell's Gate's assassins had already escaped Linzi.
• Zheng Shi classified the killing as revenge by Yang court remnants and offered to resign, but the Qi Emperor refused and ordered him to capture the assassins and their backers at all costs.

After Hell's Gate assassinated Zhao Xuan in Linzi, Zheng Shi uncovered how its members had entered the city and found a link to Chongxuan Zun's subordinate. The Chongxuan Family reclaimed control of Chongxuan Zun's businesses, giving Chongxuan Sheng the advantage he had pursued, though Chongxuan Zun remained a contender to lead the family.

• Jiang Wang recalled that Yama had hidden in the Paper Doll Shop at Little Lian Bridge, while Zheng Shi investigated the assassination and rounded up suspects.
• Zheng Shi traced Hell's Gate's infiltration to a Cloth Shop owner connected to Chongxuan Zun, but the man was silenced before the Northern Office could question him.
• Chongxuan Sheng met Jiang Wang and Shi Si after the Chongxuan Family meeting and announced that everything was under control.
• The family divided Chongxuan Zun's businesses among Chongxuan Mingguang, the clan elders, and Chongxuan Sheng, while leaving Chongxuan Zun's right of succession intact.
• Chongxuan Sheng told Jiang Wang he could have taken a larger share, but had chosen to leave the clan elders with enough of Chongxuan Zun's businesses that they would have to consider his resentment.

Wen Lianmu and Wang Yiwu faced the collapse of Chongxuan Zun's faction after a series of setbacks crippled their businesses and left them unable to counter Chongxuan Sheng. They ended with no clear way to rescue Chongxuan Zun or reverse their defeat.

• Wen Lianmu recalled how Jiang Wang's departure had let him attack Chongxuan Sheng, but the Treasure Gathering Chamber of Commerce's sudden collapse and Su She's betrayal disrupted his plans.
• Wen Lianmu explained that Su She had tried to ambush Jiang Wang, who survived and killed him, while Hell's Gate and the Yang Court remnants created further crises for Chongxuan Zun's faction.
• Wen Lianmu told Wang Yiwu that the Northern Office and the Chongxuan Family had turned against them, leaving Chongxuan Sheng poised to take their remaining businesses.
• Wang Yiwu insisted Chongxuan Zun had no ties to the Yang Court remnants and said the family was using the scandal as an excuse to reprimand him.
• Wen Lianmu reported that the Great Marsh Tian Clan had joined Chongxuan Sheng's attack, apparently because Tian Anping had intervened, and admitted he had no solution.
• Wen Lianmu suggested asking Chen Zeqing or Jiang Mengxiong for help, but Wang Yiwu rejected both options, and Wen Lianmu scattered the chess pieces to mark the game's end.

Wang Yiwu recalled Chongxuan Zun arguing that they could pursue their ambitions without surrendering to expectations imposed by history, then silently removed the captured stones from their chessboard after Wen Lianmu left. At Xia Mountain Villa, Jiang Wang reviewed how his unconventional cultivation had built a strong foundation and went to watch Chongxuan Sheng take over the last shop still controlled by Chongxuan Zun.

• Wang Yiwu remembered Chongxuan Zun telling him that they could keep the Chongxuan Family and the Army of Heaven's Cover while making their own choices and claiming their era.
• Wen Lianmu returned to the army, and Wang Yiwu lifted the captured white stones from the chessboard one by one.
• Jiang Wang reviewed his cultivation and concluded that his self-built foundation was sufficient to support his progress toward the Soaring Dragon Realm and beyond.
• Jiang Wang learned that Chongxuan Sheng had gone to East Street Entrance to take over the last shop under Chongxuan Zun's control, and he went to watch.

Chongxuan Sheng took control of Dream Flower and announced plans to turn it into a roast chicken shop, while Wang Yiwu confronted him over the Hell's Gate assassin and accused him of putting his ambition ahead of the Chongxuan Family and Qi. Wang Yiwu ended by asking whether Chongxuan Sheng remembered what he had asked him on the day Chongxuan Zun went to Jixia Academy.

• Chongxuan Sheng arrived at Dream Flower with his staff, took over its accounts, and dismissed the shopkeeper's offer to help manage it.
• Chongxuan Sheng told the shopkeeper that Dream Flower would stop selling clothes and sell roast chicken instead.
• Wang Yiwu entered and challenged Chongxuan Sheng, asking about the person who had arranged for the Hell's Gate assassin to enter the city.
• Chongxuan Sheng denied knowing what Wang Yiwu meant and taunted him about losing to Chongxuan Sheng.
• Wang Yiwu accused Chongxuan Sheng of risking the Chongxuan Family's standing and Qi's interests to defeat Chongxuan Zun.
• Wang Yiwu asked Chongxuan Sheng if he remembered what he had asked on the day Chongxuan Zun went to Jixia Academy.

Wang Yiwu attacked Chongxuan Sheng inside Dream Flower and trapped him with a Heaven Cover Army artifact, killing his attendants and the shop assistants. Chongxuan Sheng remained trapped with Wang Yiwu and Shi Si as Wang Yiwu declared that protecting Chongxuan Zun’s interests was his idea of the bigger picture.

• Chongxuan Sheng realized Wang Yiwu meant to kill him and fled through Dream Flower while planning to use the attack against Chongxuan Zun.
• Wang Yiwu advanced through Chongxuan Sheng’s attendants, killing them with a single punch as they tried to stop him.
• Chongxuan Sheng struck an invisible barrier and recognized it as the Silent Decapitation Order, which prevented those marked from leaving its area.
• Wang Yiwu killed the shop assistants but spared Dream Flower’s proprietor because Chongxuan Zun liked the clothes he made.
• Wang Yiwu turned back to Chongxuan Sheng and said that ensuring Chongxuan Zun had clothes he liked was what he considered the bigger picture.

Chongxuan Sheng and Shi Si fought Wang Yiwu under the Silent Decapitation Order, using their teamwork and gravity arts to drive him toward its boundary. Wang Yiwu stopped at the edge and advanced on them, declaring that their loss would mean death.

• Chongxuan Sheng faced Wang Yiwu after deciding to fight him under the Silent Decapitation Order.
• Shi Si intercepted Wang Yiwu’s Selfless Killing Fist with his greatsword, and Chongxuan Sheng broke his arm blocking Wang Yiwu’s follow-up punch.
• Chongxuan Sheng and Shi Si combined Gravity Art with Shi Si’s six hundred consecutive slashes to drive Wang Yiwu into the ground and batter him with Wind Blades.
• Chongxuan Sheng used gravity and repulsive force while Shi Si attacked to push Wang Yiwu toward the edge of the Silent Decapitation Order’s range, hoping to draw the Northern Office’s attention.
• Wang Yiwu planted his feet at the boundary, then advanced on Chongxuan Sheng and Shi Si, saying they had already lost and would die.

Wang Yiwu overwhelmed Chongxuan Sheng and Shi Si despite their coordinated attacks. The battle reached its turning point when Wang Yiwu struck Shi Si through his armor, sending him flying as his greatsword shattered.

• Wang Yiwu drove Shi Si and Chongxuan Sheng backward with the Selfless Killing Fist.
• Chongxuan Sheng used the Decapitation Blade, but Wang Yiwu met it with an iron fist and forced him into the air.
• Chongxuan Sheng sacrificed the use of his right hand and used the Silent Decapitation Order's boundary to rebound into another attack.
• Shi Si seized Chongxuan Sheng's brief opening and launched a final sword strike while abandoning his defense.
• Wang Yiwu struck upward to send Chongxuan Sheng tumbling and forward to shatter Shi Si's Mountain-Bearing Armor and greatsword, blasting Shi Si away.

Wang Yiwu defeated Chongxuan Sheng and interrupted his attempt to seize a Divine Ability Seed, while revealing that he had killed Shi Si. Jiang Wang arrived and promised the grieving Chongxuan Sheng that he would try to kill Wang Yiwu.

• Wang Yiwu recalled how he had once tried to protect the bullied Chongxuan Sheng, then calmly dismissed Chongxuan Sheng's anger over his attack on Shi Si.
• Chongxuan Sheng unleashed Daoist Art arrows and his Decapitation Blade, but Wang Yiwu used the Sacrificial Robe to nullify the blade and struck him.
• Chongxuan Sheng's Teleportation Protection Jade moved him across Dream Flower's room, and he began trying to seize a Divine Ability Seed despite the cost to his future.
• Wang Yiwu snapped the Thread of Causality to strike Chongxuan Sheng and disrupt his breakthrough, then suppressed him with another blow.
• Jiang Wang forced Wang Yiwu back with Longing, helped Chongxuan Sheng up, and promised to try to kill Wang Yiwu after Chongxuan Sheng said he had killed Shi Si.

Jiang Wang intervened when he found Wang Yiwu attacking Chongxuan Sheng at Dream Flower, then fought Wang Yiwu with everything he had. After Wang Yiwu gained the upper hand in their first exchange, Jiang Wang unleashed a strengthened Eight-Sound Flame Sparrow as Wang Yiwu charged.

• Jiang Wang entered Dream Flower, discovered the devastation and Chongxuan Sheng’s men dead or injured, and drove Wang Yiwu back with Old General’s Twilight.
• Jiang Wang attacked Wang Yiwu with Crown of Thorns, Five-Qi Tiger Binding, and Jealous Fire, but neither Daoist Art could meaningfully affect his opponent.
• Jiang Wang and Wang Yiwu clashed with sword and fist until Wang Yiwu’s Selfless Killing Fist sent Jiang Wang flying backward.
• As Wang Yiwu charged after him, Jiang Wang completed Eight-Sound Flame Sparrow, sending out a swarm of Flame Sparrows, nearly half carrying flowers of flame.

Jiang Wang fought Wang Yiwu with powerful fire arts and invaded his Heaven-Connecting Palace, but Wang Yiwu's defenses drove him out. As the battle continued, Jiang Wang comprehended the third form of the Sword of Humanity and thrust forward despite being overwhelmed.

• Jiang Wang unleashed Eight-Sound Flame Sparrow and Flame Sparrow Carrying Flower, but Wang Yiwu advanced through the flames with Selfless Killing Fist.
• Jiang Wang sent Soul Hidden Snakes into Wang Yiwu's Heaven-Connecting Palace, where the Winged Tiger destroyed them.
• Jiang Wang appeared inside the Heaven-Connecting Palace and used Sea of Soul Flowers, but Wang Yiwu smashed it apart and forced him to withdraw.
• Jiang Wang returned to the fight and attacked with Old General's Twilight and the Sword of the Destitute Scholar, while Wang Yiwu countered with repeated punches.
• Jiang Wang understood that both earlier forms embodied Helplessness and realized the third form of the Sword of Humanity.
• Though Wang Yiwu's fists left him drifting helplessly, Jiang Wang held onto his sword and thrust forward with unwavering resistance.

Jiang Wang defeated Wang Yiwu in the Soaring Dragon Realm, forcing him to admit Jiang was the world’s strongest at that level. Wang Yiwu accepted the defeat as a step toward lasting invincibility and prepared to help Jiang Wang ascend to the Inner Palace.

• Wang Yiwu overcame Jiang Wang’s Helpless Sword with a fierce Selfless Killing Fist, piercing Longing through his hand before knocking Jiang Wang away.
• Jiang Wang immediately attacked again, and Wang Yiwu met him with a fist formed from vast Soldier Sha.
• Jiang Wang broke through Wang Yiwu’s thousand troops and pressed him with three successive sword strikes.
• Wang Yiwu spent his Soldier Sha to repel Jiang Wang rather than try to defeat him, and Jiang Wang broke free of the attack.
• Wang Yiwu admitted that Jiang Wang was the number one Soaring Dragon in the world and said the defeat had helped him reach perfection.
• Wang Yiwu declared that he would help Jiang Wang ascend to the Inner Palace.