Chapter Summaries

Yang Wudi denounced Tai Tan for choosing the Clear Sky Sect over his clansmen, then personally executed him and Tai Long under Han Yu’s order. Han Yu enslaved and exiled the Strength Clan’s remaining accomplices, displayed Tai Tan’s head as a warning, and left Heaven Dou City shaken by the Ling Tian Sect’s power.

• Niu Gao and Bai He disavowed the Strength Clan, while Yang Wudi pledged to kill Tai Tan and serve Han Yu.
• Yang Wudi accused Tai Tan of abandoning the other clans and condemned his loyalty to the Clear Sky Sect; Tai Long defended his grandfather.
• Han Yu ordered the execution, and Yang Wudi beheaded Tai Tan, Tai Nuo, and Tai Long as dozens of Strength Clan members were also executed.
• Han Yu sentenced the remaining Strength Clan accomplices to lifelong exile and forced labor, and ordered Tai Tan’s head displayed at Heaven Dou City’s gate for three months.
• Han Yu and his followers departed, while nobles and sect representatives realized the Ling Tian Sect had reshaped the balance of power.

After Yang Wudi executed Tai Tan and the Strength Clan, Tang San learned of their deaths in the Ling Tian Sect dungeon and broke down in grief. Han Yu blamed Tang San for their fate and threatened Tang Hao unless Tang San surrendered the Tang Sect secret arts, leaving him to decide by the next day.

• Yang Wudi killed Tai Tan and the Strength Clan, while Bai He mourned the loss of his former friend.
• Dungeon guards told Tang San that Tai Tan, Tai Nuo, Tai Long, and hundreds of Strength Clan members had been executed.
• Tang San erupted in grief and fury, and Tang Hao urged him to endure Han Yu’s torment.
• Han Yu told Tang San that his refusal to surrender the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record had caused the clan’s deaths and threatened to display Tang Hao’s remaining arm if Tang San refused again.
• Han Yu gave Tang San until the following day to answer, while the God of Evil praised Han Yu’s cruelty.

Tang San and Tang Hao endured their imprisonment as Han Yu revealed that he had taken and cultivated Ah Yin’s Blue Silver Emperor sapling. Han Yu said Ah Yin could soon take human form again and left Tang San facing the threat of her seeing him and Tang Hao in their ruined condition.

• Tang San clung to Han Yu’s claim that Xiao Wu could be resurrected and told Tang Hao not to die.
• Tang San learned from guards that Tang Hao was growing weaker, while Han Yu briefly asked whether Tang San had reconsidered and left without an answer.
• Han Yu visited Tang San with Yang Wudi and revealed that he had the Blue Silver Emperor sapling Ah Yin left behind.
• Tang Hao recognized the sapling and accused Han Yu of taking Ah Yin’s right leg bone from Water Curtain Cave.
• Han Yu said he had raised the sapling at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and that Ah Yin would soon be able to take human form.
• Han Yu asked Tang San to consider what Ah Yin might think if she regained her memories and saw him and Tang Hao in their present condition.

Han Yu pressured Tang San by revealing that Ah Yin was in his hands and demanding the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record. Tang San agreed to surrender it in exchange for promises to protect Xiao Wu’s remnant soul and leave his mother unharmed, while resolving to fight back someday.

• Tang Hao raged at Han Yu for capturing Ah Yin and destroying his family, while Tang San asked Han Yu to name his terms.
• Han Yu demanded that Tang San write the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record from memory before they discussed anything else, then left the dungeon with Yang Wudi.
• Alone in his cell, Tang San remembered Xiao Wu’s sacrifice and accepted that he could no longer keep the Tang Sect’s rules as his bottom line.
• Tang San offered Han Yu the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record in return for a guarantee that Xiao Wu’s remnant soul would be properly settled and Ah Yin would not be harmed again.
• Tang Hao warned Tang San not to give in, but fell silent when Tang San said he had no other choice.
• That night, Tang San recited the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record from memory and vowed that although Han Yu had won, he would not lose forever.

Tang San gave in to Han Yu’s demand for the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record in exchange for the chance to protect Xiao Wu’s remnant soul and Ah Yin. He began reciting the text from memory in the dungeon, while Han Yu remained away.

• Han Yu demanded that Tang San write out the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record before they could discuss returning Ah Yin, then left the dungeon with Yang Wudi.
• Tang San grieved over Xiao Wu, Ah Yin, and Tang Hao, and recognized that he could no longer hold to the principles he had guarded.
• Tang San offered to give Han Yu the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record if he promised to protect Xiao Wu’s remnant soul and leave Ah Yin alone.
• Tang Hao urged Tang San not to give in, but Tang San told him he had no other way.
• At midnight, Tang San recited the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record from memory and quietly said that Han Yu had won.

Tang San accepted that Han Yu had gained control over his family and agreed to surrender the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record in exchange for a promise to protect Xiao Wu’s remnant soul and leave Ah Yin alone. As night fell, Tang San prepared to give up the secret while vowing that Han Yu would not win forever.

• Tang San pleaded with Han Yu to return Ah Yin and offered to negotiate, but Han Yu demanded that he first recite the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record from memory.
• After Han Yu and Yang Wudi left the dungeon, Tang San reflected on his failures to save Xiao Wu, Ah Yin, and Tang Hao.
• Tang San decided to surrender the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record if Han Yu guaranteed Xiao Wu’s remnant soul would be properly settled and Ah Yin would not be harmed again.
• Tang Hao urged Tang San not to give in, but Tang San told him he had no other choice.
• As night covered the Ling Tian Sect, Tang San recited the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record in his mind and vowed that he would not lose forever.

Han Yu saw through Tang San’s attempt to poison Ling Tian Sect with incomplete secrets and planned to use the copied Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record to strengthen his sect. Meanwhile, the Education Committee Members learned that Han Yu’s forces were tightening control over Heaven Dou City and targeting anyone connected to his enemies.

• Tang San admitted that he had deliberately given Tang Hao and himself’s captor flawed formulas, hoping toxins would build up in the sect, and urged Tang Hao to endure and survive.
• Han Yu revealed to Yang Wudi that Tang San had omitted key cultivation incantations and poison ingredients, but said Ling Tian Sect could deduce them from the information provided.
• Han Yu ordered Tang Hao and Tang San kept imprisoned, using Xiao Wu and the Blue Silver Emperor to ensure Tang San remained under control.
• At Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin condemned Han Yu’s takeover and the execution of Tai Tan as the empire’s remaining Xue family became powerless.
• Qin Ming reported that Ling Tian Sect’s informants had sealed off Heaven Dou City, were arresting Clear Sky Sect and Strength Clan associates, and were monitoring Shrek Academy.

After Han Yu and the Ling Tian Sect overwhelmed Heaven Dou, the three Education Committee Members sought aid from Ning Fengzhi and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Ning Fengzhi feigned ignorance about Heaven Dou City’s collapse, leaving the committee members’ appeal unanswered.

• Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin decided to seek Ning Fengzhi’s help, while Qin Ming stayed behind to protect the academy’s students and evacuate them if the committee members did not return.
• The three Education Committee Members flew from Heaven Dou Royal Academy to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
• Ning Fengzhi agreed to receive the visitors despite Chen Xin warning that involvement in the conflict could be dangerous.
• Meng Shenji urged Ning Fengzhi to help resist Han Yu, but Ning Fengzhi pretended that Heaven Dou City remained generally stable.
• Bai Baoshan told Ning Fengzhi that Xue Xing and Xue Beng had been murdered and that Xue Ke was Han Yu’s puppet.

The three Heaven Dou Education Committee Members pleaded with Ning Fengzhi to lead a coalition against Han Yu and the Ling Tian Sect. Ning refused, explaining that opposing Han Yu would destroy the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and left their appeal unanswered.

• Zhi Lin accused Han Yu of destroying factions across Heaven Dou, and Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin knelt to ask Ning Fengzhi to unite the empire against him.
• Ning Fengzhi rejected their appeal as a futile attempt to seek death and described the Clear Sky Sect's destruction and Han Yu's formidable forces.
• Ning Fengzhi dismissed the nobles and other sects as unreliable, while Chen Xin rebuked Meng Shenji for invoking Emperor Xue Ye's kindness.
• Ning Fengzhi said his first duty was protecting the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and its disciples, and Meng Shenji realized he would not break the sect's neutrality to fight Han Yu.

Ning Fengzhi urged the three Heaven Dou Royal Academy Education Committee Members to submit to Han Yu, and they abandoned their hope of saving the empire. Han Yu prepared to consolidate his rule, ordering the Heaven Dou Sect Grand Ceremony for the first day of the next month.

• Ning Fengzhi told Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin that resisting Han Yu would endanger the academy and its students, and the three left in despair.
• Ning Fengzhi ordered the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to scale back its business and avoid all conflict with the Ling Tian Sect.
• Meng Shenji told Bai Baoshan and Zhi Lin to return to the academy and send Qin Ming and the other promising students away.
• Yang Wudi reported the Education Committee Members' visit to Han Yu, who said Ning Fengzhi had wisely chosen to submit.
• Han Yu ordered more guards for Tang San and his father in the dungeon and commanded Xue Ke to announce the Heaven Dou Sect Grand Ceremony for the first day of the next month.

The three Education Committee Members sent Qin Ming and the young disciples away to preserve Heaven Dou Royal Academy’s future, then confronted Han Yu at Ling Tian Sect. They offered to resign and surrender control of the academy, leaving Han Yu’s response unresolved.

• Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin urged Qin Ming and the young disciples to flee with academy resources, and Qin Ming left after bidding them farewell.
• Han Yu ordered Yang Wudi to take three thousand troops and destroy the nine sects that had refused the Grand Ceremony decree.
• Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin forced their way into Ling Tian Sect’s main hall and confronted Han Yu.
• Han Yu dismissed Bai Baoshan’s appeal to divine retribution and declared that strength made him heaven.
• Meng Shenji told Han Yu that the three committee members would resign and hand over control of Heaven Dou Royal Academy to spare its students and teachers.

Han Yu forced Heaven Dou Royal Academy’s leaders to accept Ling Tian Sect rule and prepare to swear allegiance, while the sect crushed resistance across the empire. Shrek Academy fled to the Star Luo Empire, and the first day of the next month brought the start of a tense ceremony in Heaven Dou City.

• Han Yu threatened the Education Committee Members with the academy’s destruction unless they agreed to rename it Ling Tian Royal Academy, remain in their posts, and publicly pledge allegiance.
• Meng Shenji concealed Qin Ming’s whereabouts, and Han Yu declined Dugu Bo’s offer to pursue him, prioritizing the coming ceremony.
• Yang Wudi and Ling Tian Sect forces destroyed nine disobedient sects, while the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect withdrew behind closed gates.
• Flender, Yu Xiaogang, and the remaining Shrek teachers and students fled Heaven Dou for the Star Luo Empire to seek refuge with Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing.
• Ling Tian Sect disciples replaced the imperial guards in Heaven Dou City, where Tai Tan’s head remained displayed above the gates.
• The first day of the next month arrived, and Heaven Dou City stood decorated for the ceremony under a grim atmosphere of oppression.

Han Yu forced Heaven Dou’s sects and nobles to submit to the Ling Tian Alliance as he consolidated control over the empire. The chapter ended with Tang San and Tang Hao brought out as prisoners, shocking the gathered leaders.

• Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin arrived at the assembly, and Ning’s deference signaled the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect’s compromise.
• Xue Ke appeared under guard as Han Yu took the throne, and the assembled sect leaders and nobles knelt to them.
• Yang Wudi announced the Ling Tian Alliance, demanding that sects obey Ling Tian Sect and surrender thirty percent of their resources.
• Meng Shenji surrendered Heaven Dou Royal Academy’s seal and declared that it would be renamed Ling Tian Royal Academy.
• Ling Tian Sect disciples brought Tang San and Tang Hao onto the platform in an iron cage, revealing that Han Yu had imprisoned them.

At the Heaven Dou Empire’s grand ceremony, Han Yu publicly humiliated Tang San and Tang Hao, then announced the Ling Tian Alliance’s rule over the empire’s sects and clans. Ning Fengzhi accepted the alliance’s authority, while Meng Shenji and the other witnesses left in silence.

• Han Yu exposed Tang San’s alterations to the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record and used a fabricated Xiao Wu soul to torment him before knocking him unconscious.
• Han Yu ordered Yang Wudi to return Tang San and the crippled Tang Hao to the dungeon and keep them alive.
• Han Yu declared the Clear Sky Sect finished in the Heaven Dou Empire and established the Ling Tian Alliance to manage the empire’s sects, clans, resources, and affairs.
• Ning Fengzhi said the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would abide by the alliance’s covenant, and Meng Shenji acknowledged Han Yu’s planned changes to the Ling Tian Royal Academy.
• Han Yu left the ceremony, and Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin departed while Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin remained silently before the empty chair.

Han Yu visited Ah Yin, who had been captured after regaining her hundred-thousand-year cultivation, and offered to spare Tang San and Tang Hao if she sacrificed herself to Ye Mengxue. Ah Yin agreed, and Han Yu set the sacrifice for the day after tomorrow.

• Gu Rong told Han Yu that he had sealed Ah Yin in the Back Mountain secret chamber after she took human form.
• Han Yu told Ah Yin that Tang San and Tang Hao were imprisoned, and showed her Xiao Wu’s preserved remnant soul.
• Han Yu offered to guarantee Tang San and Tang Hao would live if Ah Yin sacrificed herself to Ye Mengxue so Ye Mengxue could break through her cultivation bottleneck.
• Ah Yin agreed to sacrifice herself after Han Yu promised to keep Tang San and Tang Hao alive, though he could not guarantee their recovery or release.
• Han Yu told Ah Yin that the sacrifice would take place the day after tomorrow.

Ah Yin sacrificed herself to strengthen Ye Mengxue’s Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul, and she truly died after her life force was exhausted. Ye Mengxue’s Soul Power rose by a level, while Han Yu’s promise to let Ah Yin see Tang San remained unfulfilled.

• Han Yu ordered Yang Wudi to prepare for Ah Yin’s sacrifice and to issue notices establishing the Ling Tian Alliance.
• Ye Mengxue prepared herself for the sacrifice, and Ah Yin asked Han Yu to let her see Tang San afterward.
• Han Yu promised Ah Yin she could see Tang San once the sacrifice was complete.
• Ah Yin sacrificed herself as her blue energy flowed into Ye Mengxue’s Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul.
• Ah Yin vanished permanently, and Ye Mengxue’s Soul Power rose by an entire level.

Han Yu watched Ah Yin sacrifice herself to Ye Mengxue, then used her death to torment Tang San while consolidating the Ling Tian Alliance. As Han Yu waited for the Nine Evil Trials, the God of Evil appeared to challenge his treatment of Tang San.

• Han Yu ordered Yang Wudi to bring Tang San from the dungeon, and Tang San saw where Ah Yin had vanished and collapsed in grief.
• Han Yu told Tang San that Ah Yin had watched him while he was unconscious, then had the disciples take him back to the dungeon.
• Ye Mengxue reported that absorbing Ah Yin's soul ring and soul bone had raised her to level ninety-two and strengthened her recovery abilities.
• Yang Wudi reported Dai Mubai's marriage to Zhu Zhuqing and the Sun Moon Empire's Yu Lingfeng remaining undecided, while Han Yu ordered alliance members to submit resource inventories and rosters.
• Han Yu waited in the back courtyard for the Nine Evil Trials, and the God of Evil appeared and questioned whether forcing Tang San to watch Ah Yin's sacrifice was necessary.

Han Yu received the first of the Nine Evil Trials: find an unnamed woman in the Star Luo Imperial City and make her willingly leave with him. As he prepared to travel there, a report revealed the ongoing struggle between Dai Mubai and Dai Weisi for influence in the Star Luo Empire.

• The God of Evil granted Han Yu the Nine Evil Trials and ordered him to find a woman in the Star Luo Imperial City who would willingly go with him, without giving him her identity or a deadline.
• Han Yu told Gu Rong about the First Trial and asked him to oversee the Ling Tian Alliance while Han Yu prepared to travel to the Star Luo Empire.
• Han Yu asked Gu Rong to obtain information from Yang Wudi's covert contacts about recent events in the Star Luo Imperial City.
• Yang Wudi reported that Dai Mubai had lost much of his support after the Clear Sky Sect's fall, while Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun accused him of colluding with outside forces.
• Yang Wudi explained that Dai Tianfeng had avoided choosing between Dai Mubai and Dai Weisi, while Shrek's Flender, Liu Erlong, and Yu Xiaogang helped Dai Mubai preserve some military connections.

Han Yu learned that Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing had married and decided to travel to Star Luo Imperial City to offer Zhu Zhuqing a way out. He and Gu Rong entered the tense city in disguise, where Han Yu began scouting its defenses and patrols before witnessing a gray-clad man flee from city guards.

• Han Yu learned that Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing had formally married while the Zhu Clan remained divided over which faction to support.
• Han Yu decided to go to Star Luo Imperial City and let Zhu Zhuqing know she could leave with him, while Gu Rong warned him not to force her.
• Han Yu and Gu Rong set off in disguise and entered Star Luo Imperial City, where soldiers were inspecting people and patrols watched the streets.
• Han Yu rented a room in a southern inn, then went out alone to observe the city's defenses and patrol patterns.
• A pale gray-clad man ran past Han Yu in an alley, and two city guards chased after him without stopping Han Yu.

Han Yu tracked down Zhu Zhuqing in Star Luo City and asked her to leave with him, but she refused because she still believed Dai Mubai could win the struggle for the throne. The next morning, Han Yu watched the Crown Prince's Residence as Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun came and went with serious expressions.

• Han Yu followed Zhu Zhuqing from the old royal residence to a tavern and told her he had come to take her away.
• Zhu Zhuqing recognized Han Yu as the Ling Tian Sect Master and Regent of the Heaven Dou Empire, but told him she had things to do and Dai Mubai needed her.
• Han Yu told Gu Rong that Zhu Zhuqing might reconsider if Dai Mubai's chances of winning worsened, and said he would wait for her to decide for herself.
• Han Yu went to northern Star Luo City the next morning and watched Dai Weisi enter and leave the Crown Prince's Residence with Zhu Zhuyun.