Chapter Summaries

Fang Han rescued Yun Qianyue and Li Feng from demon beasts before confronting a Silver Giant Wolf whose aura matched a third-rank martial artist. He fought the wolf to a standstill and wounded it, but his final sword struck its shoulder rather than its throat.

• Fang Han saved Yun Qianyue from the Giant Ape and Giant Python, killing both with two sword strikes.
• Fang Han killed the Giant Scorpion threatening Li Feng, and the three fought together against the surrounding demon beasts.
• A Silver Giant Wolf appeared and challenged Fang Han, who sent Yun Qianyue and Li Feng away from the fight.
• Fang Han met the wolf's pounce head-on with his full strength, then battled it with his sword and Windcloud Escape.
• Fang Han wounded the Silver Giant Wolf repeatedly, but his attempt to stab its throat struck its shoulder blade instead.

Fang Han and the other martial artists endured a brutal demon beast assault at the stronghold, and the tide turned when the elite fighters defeated their powerful opponents and joined the battle. The surviving demon beasts fled, leaving the exhausted fighters amid heavy casualties.

• Fang Han killed the Silver Giant Wolf despite his injuries, astonishing Yun Qianyue, Li Feng, and the Azure Profound Sect disciples.
• Fang Han, Yun Qianyue, and Li Feng continued fighting as their strength waned and disciples from several sects were killed.
• Fang Han prepared to break out, but Chen Wanjun killed the Golden Giant Tiger and began cutting through the ordinary demon beasts.
• The white-haired old monk and the Rain Listening Tower expert defeated their opponents and joined Chen Wanjun, easing the pressure on the survivors.
• The Hundred Flower Valley woman killed the Giant Scorpion, and the remaining demon beasts fled into the mountains and forests.
• The exhausted survivors stayed at the stronghold, where the wounded collapsed and mourners grieved among the many human and demon beast corpses.

After the monster raid, Fang Han and the survivors recovered and learned the gathering point had suffered more than two hundred deaths. Chen Wanjun revealed that a Grandmaster-level monster might be directing the attacks, and Luo Yuntian asked how they should respond.

• Fang Han, Yun Qianyue, and Li Feng recovered after fighting off the monsters, while survivors mourned and gathered their dead.
• Chen Wanjun summoned the team leaders and reported that twenty-one Azure Profound Sect disciples and more than two hundred people overall had died.
• Fang Han and the leaders suspected that a powerful monster had coordinated the raid.
• Chen Wanjun said a Grandmaster-level monster might have emerged deep within the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.
• Luo Yuntian asked Chen Wanjun how they should respond to the possible Grandmaster-level threat.

After the Seven Sects and the military ended the demon hunt, Fang Han secretly recharged demon corpses to reach one hundred million silver and raised his Root Bone Talent Amplification to 256x. He left the Cloud Mist Mountain Range with the others and reached the safety of the open plain at dusk.

• Chen Wanjun told the group that the Seven Sects and the military would withdraw at dawn and ordered them not to spread news of the possible Grandmaster-level demon.
• Fang Han secretly recharged demon corpses until his wealth reached 100.1 million silver.
• Fang Han spent one hundred million silver to increase his Root Bone Talent Amplification from 128x to 256x and tested the improvement by circulating the Mystic Wind Art.
• Fang Han, Yun Qianyue, and Li Feng joined Chen Wanjun and the other teams as they began withdrawing from the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.
• The Seven Sects and the military emerged from the forest at dusk, and the exhausted survivors gathered on the open plain.

After the Cloud Mist Mountain Range demon hunt, Fang Han returned to the Azure Profound Sect with the survivors and the coffins of twenty-one fallen disciples. Chen Wanjun later announced that the eight top-ranked disciples’ rewards had doubled, leaving Fang Han with enough merit for a Grandmaster-level cultivation art.

• Chen Wanjun ordered the survivors to camp for the night before they departed the next morning with twenty-one coffins.
• Three days later, Chen Wanjun arranged for the fallen disciples to be taken through the Azure Profound Sect’s mountain gate, and news of the losses spread throughout the sect.
• Fang Han returned to No. 35 Annex, bathed, and slept before receiving Chen Wanjun’s summons to the Law Enforcement Hall.
• Fang Han joined seven other top-ten disciples as Chen Wanjun informed them that their demon-hunt reward had increased from one minor merit to two.
• Fang Han realized that the doubled reward brought his total to four minor merits, enough to exchange for a Grandmaster-level cultivation art.

After receiving his merits, Fang Han chose to pursue a master-level sword art once his current swordsmanship reached Perfection, then advanced his understanding of Wind Momentum through practice. Meanwhile, seven master-level experts gathered at the Cloud Mist Mountain Range to investigate and exterminate a suspected master-level demon beast.

• Chen Wanjun told the eight disciples that the Seven Sects would send master-level experts into the Cloud Mist Mountain Range and warned them not to spread the news.
• Fang Han returned to No. 35 Annex and decided to exchange his merits for a master-level sword art after perfecting the Void-Sundering Nine Swords.
• Fang Han practiced with the Cloudsplitter Sword and produced a faint crack in the air, realizing that he had moved closer to Perfection.
• Seven master-level experts from the Seven Sects gathered at the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, including Gu Changqing, Li Hanjiang, Huiming, and Liu Meiniang.

Seven sect grandmasters searched the Cloud Mist Mountain Range for the demon beast believed to have led the uprising, but found no trace of it. They suspected it had sensed their approach and fled, leaving the threat to Qingyang Prefecture unresolved.

• Huiming proposed that the seven grandmasters enter the mountain from different directions and support whoever found the demon beast, and they agreed to search at dawn.
• Gu Changqing crossed the forest, killing several top third-rank demon beasts but sensing no grandmaster-level aura.
• The seven grandmasters returned to their rendezvous point and each reported finding nothing.
• Huiming and Bai Yujing suggested that the demon beast might have fled, and Lei Lie warned that it could grow stronger and endanger the Seven Sects and Qingyang Prefecture.

Fang Han broke through the bottleneck and perfected the Void-Sundering Nine Swords, greatly improving his control over Wind Momentum. He went to the Library Pavilion to exchange for a grandmaster-level sword art, where Elder Mo was astonished to learn that Fang Han had already cultivated the Black Tortoise True Art to the Beginner stage.

• The sect leaders agreed to return to their sects and investigate the county for traces of the escaped demon.
• Fang Han broke through to the major accomplishment stage of the Return to Ruin Essence Concealment Art and greatly improved his ability to hide his aura.
• Fang Han understood that the Void-Sundering Nine Swords depended on ultimate sharpness and finally cultivated the sword art to perfection.
• Fang Han found that his control over Wind Momentum had reached one hundred percent and grew confident he could kill Meng Xian within several dozen moves.
• Fang Han went to the Library Pavilion to exchange for a grandmaster-level sword art and told Elder Mo that he had cultivated the Black Tortoise True Art to the Beginner stage.
• Elder Mo reacted with astonishment at how quickly Fang Han had advanced in the Black Tortoise True Art.

Fang Han surprised Elder Mo by reaching the Beginner stage in Black Tortoise True Art, then borrowed the sect’s only wind-attribute Grandmaster-level Sword Art, Void-Sundering Sword Manual. He comprehended and memorized it in a day and returned home to review it in his mind.

• Elder Mo learned that Fang Han had cultivated Black Tortoise True Art to the Beginner stage within a few months and marveled at his achievement.
• Fang Han asked Elder Mo for a Grandmaster-level Sword Art suited to him, and Elder Mo brought out Void-Sundering Sword Manual.
• Elder Mo explained that the manual could only be read in designated areas of the pavilion and could not be copied or taken outside.
• Fang Han studied the manual throughout the day, using his sword talent and mastery of Void-Sundering Nine Swords to understand it.
• Fang Han returned the manual to Elder Mo after comprehending and memorizing it, then went home and began reviewing it in his mind.

Fang Han studied and repeatedly practiced the grandmaster-level Void-Sundering Sword Manual, mastering its movements but failing to comprehend the Wind Sword Intent. Months later, the new Prodigy Ranking placed him fifteenth, surpassing Yun Muyao, and the news astonished Azure Profound Sect disciples.

• Fang Han studied the Void-Sundering Sword Manual and learned that reaching its Beginner stage required comprehending Wind Sword Intent beyond his perfected Wind Momentum.
• Fang Han practiced the sword manual through the night until its movements became fluid, but his strikes showed no artistic conception.
• Fang Han followed a regular training routine for several months, strengthening his Internal Qi, body, swordsmanship, and Windcloud Escape.
• Qui Lan brought Fang Han the new rankings, where he found himself at fifteenth place on the Prodigy Ranking, above Yun Muyao.
• Disciples at Rain Listening Hall reacted with shock as they confirmed Fang Han had risen twenty-one places and pushed Yun Muyao to seventeenth.

Fang Han rose to fifteenth on the Prodigy Ranking, drawing attention from Azure Profound Sect and prompting Nether Pavilion to plot his death. Meanwhile, he broke through to major mastery of Windcloud Escape.

• Disciples across Azure Profound Sect discussed Fang Han’s rise to fifteenth on the Prodigy Ranking, while Yun Muyao saw that he had surpassed her and teased Yun Qianyue for being happy about it.
• Li Wushang ordered You Xin to prepare to kill Fang Han, saying he would create an opportunity for the assassination.
• Fang Han practiced Windcloud Escape in No. 35 Annex and realized that true tracelessness meant merging with heaven and earth rather than relying only on speed and changes of direction.
• Fang Han entered a natural, windlike movement state and advanced Windcloud Escape to major mastery.

After mastering Windcloud Escape, Fang Han considered seeking grandmaster-level martial arts but lacked the merits to exchange for them. News then spread that bandits had slaughtered the guards and looted the North Mountain Herb Fields; Deputy Hall Master Chen summoned Fang Han, Luo Yuntian, and Yun Muyao, and asked whether they had heard of the attack.

• Fang Han tested his newly improved Windcloud Escape and realized that its increased speed and agility strengthened his combat ability, but he lacked five minor merits for grandmaster-level techniques.
• Disciples learned that bandits had killed the North Mountain Herb Fields' stewards, guards, and menial workers, then stolen the nearly ripe medicinal herbs.
• Qui Lan told Fang Han about the attack, and he suspected that the bandits' actions concealed something more than an ordinary robbery.
• A servant informed Fang Han that Deputy Hall Master Chen had summoned him to the Law Enforcement Hall.
• Fang Han met Luo Yuntian and Yun Muyao in a side chamber, where they briefly discussed Fang Han surpassing Yun Muyao on the Prodigy Ranking.
• Chen Wanjun arrived and asked Fang Han, Luo Yuntian, and Yun Muyao whether they had heard about the North Mountain Herb Fields.

Fang Han accepted the mission to hunt the Black Crow Bandits, whose attack on the Azure Profound Sect’s North Mountain Herb Fields had killed its stewards, disciples, and servants. After finding the ruins and using his mastered Spirit Sniffing Art to trace the bandits northeast, he led the pursuing disciples into the mountains.

• Chen Wanjun assigned Fang Han the mission because he had mastered the Spirit Sniffing Art, and gave him an emergency sect token and more than twenty elite disciples to accompany him.
• Fang Han led the disciples to the North Mountain Herb Fields, where they found the herb fields looted and the bodies of two stewards, twelve disciples, and dozens of servants.
• Fang Han used the Spirit Sniffing Art to detect the bandits’ faint concealed scents and determined that they had fled northeast in a group of more than thirty, including three fourth-rank martial artists.
• Fang Han left five disciples to guard the bodies and ruins, then led the others into the mountain forest in pursuit.

Fang Han tracked the bandits across two prefectures and perfected the Spirit Sniffing Art during the pursuit. He found their camp in East Foothills Prefecture and prepared his companions to attack.

• Fang Han followed the bandits’ faint scent through the forest and chose the correct route when their trail split.
• Fang Han perfected the Spirit Sniffing Art, allowing him to distinguish the bandits’ scent clearly.
• Fang Han led the disciples into East Foothills Prefecture and continued tracking the bandits through remote forests.
• Fang Han found the bandits’ camp, identified three fourth-rank martial artists among them, and ordered his group to attack after resting for half an hour.

Fang Han comprehended the Azure Profound Art and converted his internal qi to the Grandmaster-grade technique, gaining purer qi and a cultivation speed three times faster. Meanwhile, Yin Wugou reached the woodland where his son’s distress letter had led him and saw two figures locked in a chase.

• Fang Han finished comprehending the Azure Profound Art in half a day and returned the manual to Elder Mo.
• Fang Han took two True Spirit Pills and spent several hours converting his Mystic Wind Art internal qi to the Azure Profound Art.
• Fang Han completed the conversion and found that his new internal qi was more refined and his cultivation speed had increased threefold.
• Fang Han ate dinner after reflecting on the benefits of his new technique.
• Yin Wugou hurried toward the location in Yin Huang’s distress letter and arrived at a woodland, where he saw two figures chasing each other.

Azure Profound Sect elders ambushed Yin Wugou after he pursued Fang Han and killed Yin Huang. Zhou Jin and the elders defeated Yin Wugou, who died warning that Nether Pavilion would seek revenge.

• Yin Wugou rushed to save Yin Huang, but an Azure Profound Sect deacon killed him with a saber strike.
• Zhou Jin and two Azure Profound Sect elders surrounded Yin Wugou and revealed that the rescue cry had been bait.
• Yin Wugou attacked Zhou Jin, but the three elders coordinated their strikes and wounded him severely.
• Yin Wugou burned his essence blood, broke through the thin elder’s sword defense, and tried to escape.
• Zhou Jin stopped Yin Wugou, broke his arm, and struck him down.
• Yin Wugou died after warning Zhou Jin that Nether Pavilion would not let the matter rest, leaving his corpse beside Yin Huang’s.

Wang Lie discovered that Yin Huang and Yin Wugou had been killed, and Li Wushang blamed Azure Profound Sect for luring Yin Wugou into a trap and ordered retaliation. Zhou Jin told Fang Han that the sect had avenged him, warned him to stay inside the sect, and left the Nether Pavilion's response looming.

• Wang Lie and five Nether Pavilion disciples found Yin Huang and Yin Wugou dead in a devastated forest and sent word to the sect.
• Li Wushang learned of their deaths, concluded Yin Huang's plea for aid had been bait, and ordered attacks on Azure Profound Sect's businesses outside the sect.
• Zhou Jin summoned Fang Han and told him the sect had used Yin Huang to lure out and kill Yin Wugou.
• Fang Han thanked the sect for avenging him, and Zhou Jin warned him to remain within the sect because the Nether Pavilion would retaliate.

Nether Pavilion’s retaliatory attacks on Azure Profound Sect failed, prompting other sects to warn their elders not to target Fang Han. Fang Han claimed first place on the General Ranking, and Luo Yuntian responded by resolving to cultivate.

• Nether Pavilion elders and deacons attacked six Azure Profound Sect properties, but the sect had prepared ambushes and drove them off.
• After learning that Yin Wugou had been killed for breaking the rules by targeting Fang Han, leaders at Vajra Temple, Hundred Flower Valley, and other forces ordered their elders not to attack Azure Profound Sect disciples, especially Fang Han.
• Fang Han tested his strength at the month’s end and rose to first place on Azure Profound Sect’s General Ranking.
• Luo Yuntian heard that Fang Han had surpassed him and went to the Quiet Room to cultivate, driven by unwillingness.

After taking first place on the General Ranking, Fang Han received his monthly rewards and discovered he had risen to sixth place on the Prodigy Ranking. Yue Lingtian saw Fang Han’s new ranking and worried that the rising Azure Profound Sect disciple might take first place before Yue Lingtian left the list next month.

• Chen Tianyuan learned Fang Han had taken first place on the General Ranking and heard Luo Yuntian had entered secluded cultivation.
• Zhou Heng delivered Fang Han 35,000 contribution points and five bottles of pills, bringing his total to 115,000 points.
• Fang Han read the new Prodigy Ranking and found himself listed in sixth place after killing You Xin.
• Disciples gathered at Rain Listening Hall and celebrated Fang Han’s rise to sixth place.
• Yue Lingtian saw Fang Han ranked sixth and worried Fang Han might take his first-place position before Yue Lingtian left the ranking next month.

Fang Han broke through the threshold from Wind Momentum to Wind Sword Intent, advancing Void-Sundering Sword Manual to the Beginner stage. He left the courtyard badly damaged and returned to the Quiet Room as Qui Lan and the maidservants watched in awe.

• Fang Han repeatedly practiced Void-Sundering Sword Manual as he struggled to turn his Sword Intent Embryo into Wind Sword Intent.
• After several days of contemplation and practice, Fang Han thrust the Cloudsplitter Sword and comprehended Wind Sword Intent.
• Fang Han's Sword Intent tore through bamboo stalks, cracked the courtyard paving, and cut into the walls.
• Qui Lan and two maidservants entered the courtyard and froze at the destruction and Fang Han's sharp aura.
• Fang Han announced that Void-Sundering Sword Manual had reached the Beginner stage, told Qui Lan to arrange cleanup, and walked into the Quiet Room.