Chapter Summaries

Bai Jing won three matches by wearing down his opponents with seven arrays, while the watching geniuses debated how many arrays he had inscribed and whether he was concealing his limits. The chapter ended with the group looking ahead to the decisive battles in three days, when Lu Sheng might test Bai Jing’s strength.

• Bai Jing’s opponent repelled the attacks of five arrays, but Bai Jing revealed two more and wore him down until he could no longer fight.
• Cheng Feidu explained that Bai Jing had likely increased his strength by inscribing many arrays rather than mastering a few, and estimated he could have at most fifteen.
• Bai Jing defeated his first opponent unscathed, prompting Shen Miaomiao to warn that few contestants could outlast his deep inner core foundation.
• Xu Shan cheered Bai Jing, and Xiao Yucheng said the upcoming battle with Lu Sheng could reveal Bai Jing’s limits.
• The next day, Bai Jing won two more matches using seven arrays, while Wu Yu suspected he was hiding his true strength and Jin Tao praised Lu Sheng’s dominance.

Bai Jing faced Lu Sheng in the tournament, using his wind technique and twelve formations to outlast Lu Sheng’s powerful attacks. Bai Jing won, though the strain revealed that his beginner-level formations could only wear down opponents of Lu Sheng’s caliber.

• Shen Miaomiao and the others discussed using Lu Sheng’s match to gauge Bai Jing’s strength, while Lu Sheng heard spectators speculate about his chances.
• Bai Jing greeted Lu Sheng respectfully, and Lu Sheng opened with a powerful Sky Burning Fist attack.
• Bai Jing dodged with Wind’s Chant, then challenged Lu Sheng to defeat his formations and summoned twelve instead of ten.
• Lu Sheng revealed perfected Taiyin Fire and fought through the formations, but their combined force gradually overwhelmed him.
• Bai Jing defeated Lu Sheng and reflected that his beginner-level formations needed to wear opponents down rather than overpower them outright.

Bai Jing continued improving his formations while winning his matches, and he and Li Huai'an reached the finals undefeated. A huge crowd gathered for their battle, which began at the chapter’s end.

• After Bai Jing defeated Lu Sheng, Li Huai'an vowed to give their future match his all and test Bai Jing's strength.
• Bai Jing refused Xiao Yucheng's invitation to drink and returned to his cave abode to improve his formations.
• Bai Jing advanced his fourth formation to minor mastery three days later, strengthening it with his Yin Yang Array Diagram.
• Bai Jing won his remaining matches, while Li Huai'an also entered the finals undefeated and Lu Sheng secured a top-three finish.
• More than fifty thousand spectators gathered at Spiritual Elegance Peak to watch Bai Jing face Li Huai'an in the finals.
• The grand finale officially began.

Bai Jing overwhelmed Li Huai'an in the qualification battle with seventeen formations, securing first place and drawing attention to his growing strength. After several days of cultivation, he won his opening final-ranking match, then learned that Wu Yu had unexpectedly lost to Ling Qinghe.

• Li Huai'an challenged Bai Jing, but Bai Jing used seventeen formations, including three at minor mastery, to drive him back and win the qualification battle.
• The spectators judged that Wu Yu and Shen Miaomiao might be the remaining challengers capable of defeating Bai Jing, while Ning Feng predicted Bai Jing could inscribe another formation before the final rankings.
• Lin Changsheng and the others congratulated Bai Jing, who chose to focus on cultivating another formation instead of celebrating.
• Several days later, Bai Jing won his opening match at Fire Spirit Peak and returned to his cave abode to cultivate.
• Bai Jing received news that Ling Qinghe had defeated Wu Yu.

Bai Jing and Wu Yu suspected Ling Qinghe’s strength came from an extraordinary pill-dao inheritance or fire, and she drew a large crowd for her next match. As Jin Tao fought her, Wu Yu recognized her flames as Innate Dao Fire, though its identity and ranking remained unknown.

• Bai Jing wondered whether Ling Qinghe had inherited a legacy from the Pill Saint Mausoleum or possessed a naturally born pill-dao inner core.
• Wu Yu told Shen Miaomiao and the others that Ling Qinghe had defeated him with strange flames he could not overcome.
• Jin Tao worried that he would not match Ling Qinghe after Wu Yu’s loss, while Shen Miaomiao questioned whether she could still place among the class’s top three inner cores.
• Ling Qinghe drew a packed crowd when she took the stage as the evening’s final battle at Fire Spirit Peak.
• Jin Tao attacked Ling Qinghe, who unleashed a crimson Dao Fire that heated the stone platform and the surrounding stands.
• Wu Yu identified Ling Qinghe’s flames as Innate Dao Fire, explaining that its fire-seed could keep it from running dry, but its origin and ranking were still unknown.

Ling Qinghe and Bai Jing dominated the final battles, defeating the Golden Core peak experts who had once hoped to compete for the top ranks. With Shen Miaomiao defeated and Bai Jing set to face Xia Ming, the contest for first place appeared nearly decided.

• Ling Qinghe defeated Jin Tao with her Innate Dao Fire, and Wu Yu warned Ning Feng that he would face her the next day.
• Bai Jing revealed that four of his seventeen arrays had reached minor mastery, prompting Jin Tao to concede; Ling Qinghe then defeated Ning Feng.
• Over the next three days, Bai Jing and Ling Qinghe remained undefeated, while Bai Jing beat Wu Yu by unveiling an eighteenth array.
• Ling Qinghe defeated Shen Miaomiao, who lamented that Ling Qinghe's wind cultivation nullified her speed advantage.
• Xiao Yucheng cautioned that Xia Ming had defeated Shen Miaomiao, while Tan Zhuo remained confident Bai Jing would claim first place with his twenty arrays.

Xia Ming challenged Bai Jing for a place in the top two, using his Golden Core physique and swordsmanship to withstand Bai Jing’s eighteen arrays. He then unleashed the Lesser Divine Ability-level Profound Water, the Inner Core chapter’s supreme art, and its attack forced its way toward Bai Jing.

• Bai Jing and Xia Ming began their battle as the gathered cultivators watched to see whether Xia Ming could push the array genius to his limit.
• Xia Ming endured Bai Jing’s seventeen arrays with his Golden Core physique, then drew his sword and used the Water Cloud Sword Technique to counter the arrays.
• Bai Jing raised the pressure to eighteen arrays, and Xia Ming’s swordsmanship matched them but could not break through.
• Xia Ming put away his sword and performed Profound Water, the Inner Core chapter’s supreme art, at the Lesser Divine Ability level.
• Xia Ming’s attack dispelled Bai Jing’s array strikes and closed in on him, leaving the spectators wondering whether Bai Jing would be injured.

Bai Jing overwhelmed Xia Ming while comprehending a new transformation of his array formation, then faced Ling Qinghe in the final ranking match. Ling Qinghe conceded, leaving Bai Jing as the Golden Core Ranking’s top newcomer without a final fight.

• Bai Jing manifested twenty arrays and began comprehending how they could connect into the Array of Longevity, while his power left Xia Ming badly injured.
• Elder Liu intervened after Bai Jing withdrew his formation, and Bai Jing apologized to the shaken Xia Ming.
• Xia Ming defeated Shen Miaomiao to claim third place in the ranking contest.
• Bai Jing and Ling Qinghe exchanged memories of their early days before their final match began.
• Ling Qinghe conceded without fighting, and Bai Jing was recognized as the top newcomer of the Golden Core Ranking.

After the quota battle, Shangqing Mountain’s newcomers settled into cultivation while Bai Jing resumed training in spiritual arts and arrays. A month later, the Rhino Demon announced he was ready to condense his Demon Core, delaying Bai Jing’s plan to have him refine pills.

• The spectators praised the newcomers’ talent, and the final rankings placed Bai Jing first and Cheng Feidu eleventh.
• Wu Yu and Shen Miaomiao discussed how mastering their True Saint inheritances through Three-Attribute Cultivation could change the balance among the peerless Spiritual Cultivators.
• Bai Jing woke with a hangover after Senior Brother Lin’s wine, thanked the Ox Demon for cleaning the pavilion, and considered teaching him to refine pills.
• Bai Jing resumed cultivating his Inner Core chapters and spiritual arts alongside his array training as Shangqing Mountain returned to a peaceful routine.
• A month later, the Rhino Demon told Bai Jing he was going to condense his Demon Core, postponing Bai Jing’s pill-refining plan.

Half a year later, Ling Qinghe supplied Myriad Pill Hall with pills while preparing to head north, and Bai Jing broke through in all three of his cultivation systems. Bai Jing tested his improved strength and continued cultivating formations as the Rhino Demon refined pills.

• Ling Qinghe sold Xu Shan more Jade Soul Pills and supplied Spirit Replenishing Pills, explaining that she was gathering resources for a journey north.
• Xu Shan decided to keep working toward the Heaven Scroll before considering condensing his Inner Core with a high-grade immortal art.
• Bai Jing broke through after half a year, advancing his water and fire Inner Cores to the second layer and his wind Inner Core to the third layer.
• Bai Jing tested his strength with the Water Cloud Sword Technique and Sky Burning Fist, then observed that all twenty of his formations had reached minor mastery.
• Bai Jing found the Rhino Demon refining pills in the pill-refining chamber at a crucial moment.

Bai Jing taught the Rhino Demon to refine high-grade pills and advanced two of his arrays to major completion. The Rhino Demon brought the pills to Xu Shan to sell, and Xu Shan realized Bai Jing had arranged the business to help him.

• Bai Jing guided the Rhino Demon through pill refining, helping him produce a high-grade pill and demonstrating a faster furnace method.
• A month later, the Rhino Demon saw Bai Jing's Star Array and Sunlight Array reach major completion.
• Bai Jing told the Rhino Demon he did not need to repay the resources spent on refining and let him sell the pills as he wished.
• Gu Pan'er urged Xu Shan to use Spirit Gathering Pills to advance, but he returned them because he wanted to save for a high-grade immortal art and another Heaven Scroll Trial.
• The Rhino Demon brought more than thirty bottles of high-grade pills to Xu Shan and offered him the same sales commission Bai Jing had used before.
• Xu Shan realized Bai Jing had taught the Rhino Demon pill refining to support him, and he became emotional as the Rhino Demon left.

Three and a half years after the quota competition, Li Huai'an mastered the Eye of the Candle Dragon and considered how the foremost talents might fare after Three-Attribute Cultivation. Bai Jing had advanced rapidly in both cultivation and formations, and Elder Liu taught him how to combine opposing yin and yang formations before warning him not to rush to inscribe every formation onto his Star Positions.

• Li Huai'an demonstrated the Eye of the Candle Dragon, which he had cultivated for more than three years, and resolved to raise his cultivation before Three-Attribute Cultivation.
• Li Huai'an reflected that Bai Jing's strength might have risen greatly since they last met.
• Bai Jing displayed his Star, Yin Thunder, and Yang Thunder Formations, and Elder Liu praised his progress toward becoming a Second-Tier Array Cultivator.
• Bai Jing told Elder Liu that his three Inner Cores had reached the fifth layer together, while his Yin Yang Array Diagram remained exceptionally powerful.
• Elder Liu showed Bai Jing how Yin and Yang Thunder could merge to amplify their power, and Bai Jing accepted the lesson.
• Elder Liu warned Bai Jing not to rush to inscribe all his formations onto his Star Positions after becoming a Second-Tier Array Cultivator.

Xu Nian added Bai Jing to the team overseeing Shangqing Mountain’s disciple selection, while Elder Liu explained that Bai Jing would travel to the Northern Territory to pursue Divine Arrays. The chapter left Bai Jing eager to learn more about the Twelve Heavens Divine Fiend Great Array, Shangqing Mountain’s sole second-tier Divine Array.

• Xu Nian announced the upcoming disciple selection and named Jiang Zhiyuan and Fang Wenze as recorders from the Sword Holding Hall.
• Xu Nian added Bai Jing to the selection team at the elders’ request, and Jiang Zhishen agreed.
• Elder Liu told Bai Jing that he would travel to the Northern Territory to cultivate and train with other prodigies.
• Elder Liu explained that Divine Arrays could unleash unmatched power at every tier and were an important foundation for an array cultivator’s Dao.
• Elder Liu revealed that Shangqing Mountain possessed the Twelve Heavens Divine Fiend Great Array, obtained by the Second Patriarch during his travels.

Bai Jing learned that Divine Arrays required second-tier Array Cultivator qualifications and that Shangqing Mountain would provide him with several arrays because of his talent. After helping Xu Shan with Immortal Merit and completing his seventh array, Bai Jing continued working toward the second tier.

• Elder Liu explained the requirements and costs for cultivating Divine Arrays, then told Bai Jing that Shangqing Mountain would give him its Twelve Heavens Divine Fiend Great Array and support him in acquiring others.
• The Rhino Demon offered Bai Jing more than thirty thousand Immortal Merit, but Bai Jing told him he did not need it and ordered him to send Xu Shan six thousand.
• Xu Shan accepted that he might never obtain the Heaven Scroll and resolved to pursue a high-grade immortal art instead.
• Two months later, Bai Jing completed his seventh array and estimated that he would reach the second tier in about two years.
• Someone knocked at Bai Jing's door as he prepared to test the newly completed array.

Bai Jing accepted an assessment assignment from Lin Changsheng and focused his cultivation on breaking through to the sixth layer of the Inner Core Realm before the assessments began. After three months of seclusion, he succeeded and emerged ready to complete his task.

• Lin Changsheng told Bai Jing that he had to complete an assessment task at Spiritual Elegance Peak, which would qualify him for later resources and preparation for the Northern Territory.
• Bai Jing decided to raise his spiritual cultivation before the assessments and swallowed three Perfect Three-Attribute Spirit Pills.
• Bai Jing spent three months cultivating and broke through to the sixth layer of the three-attribute Inner Core Realm.
• Bai Jing tested his stronger spiritual attack, which blasted a huge crater into a hillside and astonished the Rhino Demon.
• Bai Jing reviewed his Heaven Scroll and array progress, then left seclusion to complete his assessment task.

Bai Jing joined the Shangqing Mountain assessment team and traveled to Lingzhou to observe and rate the incoming disciples. As the newcomers arrived, he began searching the crowd for the twenty examinees assigned to him.

• Wu Yu watched Bai Jing board the assessment ship and resolved to focus on Shen Miaomiao and defeating Xia Ming rather than competing with Bai Jing.
• Bai Jing met Xu Nian and the Spiritual Elegance Peak disciples, received a booklet listing his twenty examinees, and learned the assessment would take place in Lingzhou.
• Bai Jing and the other rating disciples reached the Lingzhou outpost, where Bai Jing concealed himself among the clouds and cultivated while waiting for the newcomers.
• The next afternoon, several dozen Immortal Boats arrived, and Bai Jing compared the newcomers with their portraits to find the twenty disciples under his charge.

Bai Jing observed the new disciples as they settled into the outpost and evaluated their talents and choices. That night, he noticed a young man secretly digging in a courtyard in District One and watched to see what he would uncover.

• The new disciples arrived at the outpost and learned that they could pay three Ascension Coins per month to live in District One instead of the outer thatched huts.
• Bai Jing identified Zhang Wenchen, Wang Qingfeng, and Zhou Chengxue as talented disciples while reviewing the batch's assessments.
• Cui Fang initially agreed with her childhood companion to prioritize cultivation manuals, but later left him and moved into District One.
• Bai Jing noticed a young man digging in a District One courtyard at night and watched him eagerly unearth a mound.

Wang Qingfeng dug up a grave in the stronghold, only to discover the remains of Senior Brother Lin’s beloved Calico Cat. As the assessment continued and Wang Qingfeng prepared to begin his tasks, Bai Jing and the other cultivators grew curious about whether he would keep searching for graves.

• Wang Qingfeng dug up a black wooden box and found the remains of a Calico Cat, while Bai Jing observed and recorded his actions.
• Fang Wenze identified the cat as one Senior Brother Lin had kept during his assessment and sent him a communication talisman about its grave being disturbed.
• Three days later, Zhou Chengxue broke through to the Second Stage of Qi and Blood, while Wang Qingfeng continued scouting for graves and Bai Jing watched Cui Fang and the other disciples.
• Senior Brother Yu organized a betting pool on how many graves Wang Qingfeng would dig up before the assessment ended, asking Bai Jing to keep track.
• Two days later, Wang Qingfeng broke through and became eligible to begin the tasks, and Bai Jing wondered whether he would still dig up graves.

Zhang Wenchen and Wang Qingfeng prepared to carry out their assessment missions while Bai Jing monitored the disciples as an observer. During the journey, Wang Qingfeng ate the senior brother’s potted tree’s fruits and then admitted he had not washed his hands after relieving himself.

• Zhang Wenchen’s companions praised his quick breakthrough, and he considered confronting Wang Qingfeng before deciding to leave the fatty alone.
• Wang Qingfeng packed tools for his mission, and Bai Jing noted that he had accepted a task near Zhang Wenchen’s mission location in Heimu County.
• Bai Jing observed Cui Fang practicing swordsmanship and watched Wang Qingfeng depart by Immortal Boat.
• Wang Qingfeng offered the senior brother two fruits he had picked, and the senior brother realized Wang Qingfeng had stripped his potted tree of more than fifty fruits.
• Wang Qingfeng set down his bundle and said he had relieved himself without tying his waistband; when the senior brother asked if he had washed his hands, Wang Qingfeng pointed out there was no water.

Bai Jing watched Wang Qingfeng complete his first mission, then follow through on his plan to rob wealthy families’ ancestral tombs. After an interruption at Steward Ming’s cemetery, Wang Qingfeng robbed an official’s grave, while Bai Jing secretly added stolen objects to his bundle and embellished his record of the earlier attempt.

• Wang Qingfeng paid seven extra Ascension Coins to his senior brother, and Bai Jing followed him to Steward Ming’s Mansion, where he found three ghostly creatures and prepared to record the mission.
• Wang Qingfeng defeated the ghosts and earned an A from Bai Jing, then said goodbye to Steward Ming and secretly returned to the mansion’s cemetery to dig up a tomb.
• Steward Ming arrived with his family, forcing Wang Qingfeng to flee before he could finish, and Bai Jing stopped recording.
• Wang Qingfeng rode away, spotted an official residence, and robbed a large tomb there while Bai Jing recorded his actions.
• Bai Jing added old objects to Wang Qingfeng’s bundle and filled in the unfinished record of his first grave robbery, while Wang Qingfeng headed home pleased with his haul.