Chapter Summaries

Xiao Fan’s Cang Race bloodline began changing his behavior as he easily defeated a body cultivator in the Trial Space. Confusion severed the faint connection influencing Xiao Fan, while the other competitors prepared for the second round, which was about to begin.

• Xiao Fan refused his father’s offer of Spirit Coins, telling him to save the money for Big Brother, then entered the Trial Space.
• Xiao Fan defeated a Ninth-Level Qi Refining body cultivator with instinctive combat skill and celebrated his victory.
• Confusion recognized the Cang Race bloodline’s influence on Xiao Fan and severed the faint connection responsible for it.
• Lin Qiuxian, Jiang Yujiu, the Immortal Sect disciples, and Zhang Yunlu trained in the Trial Space as the second round approached.
• Yu Ming gathered with Spirit Transformation cultivators and other powerful figures in a quiet room at Xuanjian City No. 3 Middle School as the second round was about to begin.

Yu Ming and the other trial-takers faced stronger opponents after Xu Xing raised the second round’s difficulty. Xu Xing explained that he had offered the trial to the city’s people, but said he and Chi Jiuyu would soon leave while he kept watch on Huo.

• Yu Ming entered the trial and encountered a powerful Qi Refining ninth-layer body cultivator wielding the Tyrant's Canon and perfected Mountain-Shaking Fist.
• The body cultivator caught Yu Ming’s spear and flung him away.
• Xiao Fan charged his opponent, was beaten back, and used the Xuantian War Technique to strengthen himself, but the phantom dodged his punch and slammed his face toward the ground.
• Xu Xing explained that he had dynamically raised the second round’s difficulty based on each trial-taker’s abilities.
• Chi Jiuyu asked why Xu Xing had held the trial, and he said he had wanted to give the people of the city a chance before they left soon.

Lin Qiuxian fought the trial’s strongest opponent with the Seven Emotions Sword Canon while Xu Xing and Chi Jiuyu watched. After Zhang Yunlu won her match, Chi Jiuyu declared that she could lead the Sword Sect to even greater heights as its Sect Master.

• Lin Qiuxian struggled against a powerful heavy-sword cultivator whose Flowing Cloud Sword Technique repeatedly overwhelmed his defenses.
• Lin Qiuxian drew on the Seven Emotions Sword Canon, embraced his joy in the challenge, and launched a blood-red sword strike.
• Chi Jiuyu criticized the trial participants’ reliance on other people’s styles, while Xu Xing recognized that Lin Qiuxian’s Seven Emotions Sword Canon had been completed.
• Chi Jiuyu spotted Zhang Yunlu defeating her opponent and claimed that her own pointers deserved some credit for Zhang Yunlu’s progress.
• Chi Jiuyu told Xu Xing she wanted to become Sword Sect Master and believed she could raise the sect’s overall level.

After passing the second trial, Xiao Fan received the Clarify My Origin Method, which stirred memories of his family and his brother. When his mother told him his brother had awakened, Xiao Fan chose to pursue a personal chance encounter before visiting the hospital.

• Chi Jiuyu watched the remaining trial matches, including Jiang Yujiu fighting a lightning spell cultivator and a Dragon-Elephant Heaven-Supporting Sect body cultivator battling a Celestial Human.
• Xiao Fan awoke after winning the second trial and received the Clarify My Origin Method as his reward.
• As Xiao Fan studied the method, he recalled his family and began to wonder whether he had been too cold toward them lately.
• Xiao Fan's mother sent him a voice message saying his big brother had awakened.
• Xiao Fan decided to seek his chance encounter first, reasoning that his brother was already out of danger.

Yu Ming restored his foundation after the second trial, while Xiao Ming recovered from his injuries and met Xiao Fan at the hospital. Xiao Ming revealed that he had passed the trial, then confronted Xiao Fan about his cultivation level.

• Yu Ming regained his youthful appearance and restored foundation after the second trial, and he chose not to advance to Spirit Transformation so he could remain eligible for the third trial.
• Li Qingyang took the other cultivators away and said he would oversee the upcoming third round in the real world.
• Xiao Ming arrived at the hospital recovered, while Xiao Fan carried a black ring containing the sinister Herding Spirit Nourishing Self Scripture.
• Xiao Ming asked Xiao Fan to speak with him privately, then explained that passing the second round had restored his health.
• Xiao Ming asked why Xiao Fan was still at the ninth level of Qi Refining, and Xiao Fan met his brother's violet, shadowy eyes.

Xiao Fan worried that Xiao Ming had noticed his unusual cultivation, while Xiao Ming privately grew suspicious of his younger brother. As Xiao Fan questioned his identity and the Cang Race, Xu Xing observed that his corruption had advanced to its second stage.

• Xiao Fan told Xiao Ming he had passed the second round of the trial and tried to teach him the Xuantian War Technique, but Xiao Ming did not seem to hear the explanation.
• Xiao Ming encouraged Xiao Fan to join an Immortal Sect, then grew suspicious after noticing his cultivation and unnaturally steady reaction; he decided not to worry their parents.
• Outside the hospital, Xiao Fan wondered why Senior Confusion had forbidden him from thinking of himself as Cang and questioned whether he was worthy of that identity.
• In the Red Moon Secret Realm, Xu Xing observed Chi Jiuyu cultivating her Life-Bound Sword and sensed that Xiao Fan’s corruption had reached its second stage.
• Xu Xing noted that Xiao Fan had mistaken Confusion for someone of the Cang Race, then turned his attention to the trial and the Red Moon Secret Realm.

After the second trial, Xu Xing began reorganizing the Secret Realm and took Chi Jiuyu to explore Mystic Sword City before the third trial. Their stroll ended with Chi Jiuyu explaining Sword Sect demolition compensation and declaring her ambition to become Sect Master.

• Xu Xing rewarded the trial participants and began reorganizing the Secret Realm, causing its landscape to churn violently.
• Chi Jiuyu’s sword absorbed the last of the red mist, flew around, then retreated to her when the Red Moon rippled.
• Xu Xing took Chi Jiuyu to Mystic Sword City, where they browsed the night market and she bragged about her competition victories.
• Chi Jiuyu told Xu Xing she was the first junior he had taken for a stroll, then sent a message that made her senior sister bombard her with replies.
• Xu Xing and Chi Jiuyu walked through a district marked for demolition, and Chi Jiuyu explained how compensation was calculated before announcing she planned to become Sword Sect Sect Master.

Zhang Yunlu completed the second stage of the Harvesting and Refining Method, and the Sword Sect offered to recruit her. Xiao Fan completed the first layer of the Herding Spirit Nourishing Self Scripture and realized he could pursue a Heaven-Forged Dao Foundation through another path; he was interrupted when his family entered.

• Zhang Yunlu endured the dangerous refining stage and completed the second stage of the Harvesting and Refining Method.
• A staff member gave Zhang Yunlu a Red Sun Pill to restore her body and congratulated her after she recovered.
• The staff member offered to report Zhang Yunlu to the Sword Sect for recruitment, and Zhang Yunlu considered the offer.
• Xiao Fan drank Plain-Soul True Radiance and completed the first layer of the Herding Spirit Nourishing Self Scripture.
• Xiao Fan realized his Cang Race blood let him use the scripture to pursue a Heaven-Forged Dao Foundation without a rare treasure of Heaven and Earth.
• Xiao Fan prepared to test his new cultivation, but his parents and elder brother entered carrying things.

Xiao Ming disguised himself and secretly followed Xiao Fan, who was testing the Herding Spirit Nourishing Self Scripture by commanding a rat. The chapter left Xiao Ming puzzled by Xiao Fan’s apparent beast-taming and unexpected talent for making money.

• Xiao Fan left home to get some fresh air, and Xiao Ming promised their parents he would follow and keep an eye on him.
• Xiao Ming changed into an old man’s disguise and overheard children disparaging body cultivators as he tracked Xiao Fan.
• Xiao Fan fed a large gray rat and used the Herding Spirit Nourishing Self Scripture to make it obey his commands.
• Onlookers mistook Xiao Fan for a beast tamer and paid him Spirit Coins to make the rat perform.
• A World Relief Valley alchemist offered to buy Xiao Fan’s beast-taming method, but Xiao Fan refused because he had no such method to sell.
• Watching from hiding, Xiao Ming wondered whether Xiao Fan had come out simply to make money and how he had learned to tame beasts.

Xiao Fan considered using his new spirit-taking ability on stronger creatures, but a group of thugs tried to rob him before Xiao Ming intervened. Meanwhile, Confusion watched the encounter, and Chi Jiuyu enjoyed messages from Senior Sister Who Doesn't Give Me Books until her outburst abruptly ended.

• Xiao Fan took the spirits of a mouse and a mosquito, then considered seeking stronger spirits from large animals or exotic beasts.
• A group of thugs confronted Xiao Fan and demanded his beast-taming technique, threatening the gray rat they called his contracted beast.
• As Xiao Fan prepared to fight, Xiao Ming grabbed the blond thug and shielded his little brother, making the bystanders notice the attempted robbery.
• Confusion watched and wondered whether Xiao Fan would have taken the thugs' spirits, then noted that the Cang Race old monster was becoming less discreet before disappearing.
• Chi Jiuyu read messages from Senior Sister Who Doesn't Give Me Books, who confirmed she had brought her master out of seclusion and was forbidden from visiting Chi Jiuyu, then abruptly cried out.

Chi Jiuyu delivered Xu Xing’s application for the large-scale trial while the Secret Realm finished transforming into a canyon filled with strange creatures. Xu Xing and Confusion prepared to use the realm for the third trial and draw out a powerful Cang Race expert.

• Chi Jiuyu chatted with her Master, then apologized to Xu Xing for provoking Senior Sister.
• Xu Xing wrote an application for the large-scale event and sent Chi Jiuyu to deliver it to the local authorities.
• The Secret Realm’s changes stopped, revealing a vast canyon, chained Sword Peak, and countless silver creatures embedded in the canyon floor.
• Confusion appeared in the Secret Realm, and its Red Moon attacked him before Xu Xing arrived and calmed it.
• Confusion altered the creatures and the Secret Realm, then he and Xu Xing agreed to draw out the Cang Race expert behind the coming threat.

Zhang Yunlu headed to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall to complete the final stage of the Harvesting and Refining Method, while Chi Jiuyu encountered her on the way. At City Hall, the mayor discovered that a vast Secret Realm was appearing above Mystic Sword City, apparently as the site of the Third Trial.

• Zhang Yunlu told Chi Jiuyu she was cultivating the third and final stage of the Harvesting and Refining Method as she walked to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall.
• Chi Jiuyu speculated that Zhang Yunlu fit the pattern of a storybook protagonist, then rode away on her tricycle.
• The mayor initially dismissed the Law Enforcement Hall's application for Chi Jiuyu's Third Trial, but reconsidered after seeing her name on it.
• The mayor and his secretary spotted a pale-red phantom sphere appearing above Mystic Sword City and used a magical satellite artifact to examine it.
• The mayor identified the enormous sphere as a Secret Realm entering reality and realized it would serve as the Third Trial's location.

A vast Moon Shadow Secret Realm appeared above Mystic Sword City, and the third trial was announced to be underway. As trial-takers and residents reacted, Huo and Xu Xing suspected that an unseen entity was using Xiao Fan as bait for some unknown purpose.

• Chi Jiuyu calmly bought two Little Yellow Duck charms while the city watched the mysterious object appear, then hinted that people would understand what was happening later.
• Jiang Yujiu livestreamed the spectacle and spotted the message announcing the third trial at the Moon Shadow Secret Realm, but the city government revealed the truth before she could.
• The Xiao brothers returned home and saw the trial announcement, while Xiao Fan briefly perceived purple threads around the Secret Realm and heard a mysterious voice before the vision vanished.
• Huo watched Xiao Fan from the hospital and discussed with Xu Xing whether the unseen entity was using Xiao Fan as bait and what it might be plotting.

Zhang Yunlu completed the third stage of the Harvesting and Refining Method and reached the third round of trials, while Xu Xing prepared to begin the trial in the Moon Shadow Secret Realm the next day. Chi Jiuyu gave Xu Xing a Little Yellow Duck keychain, and he told Martial Sister that she had likely prepared a present for her as well.

• Zhang Yunlu completed the Harvesting and Refining Method’s final stage and perfected the Purple Enclosure Qi Observation Method.
• A staff member offered Zhang Yunlu a place in the Sword Sect and a divine essence for Foundation Establishment, but she asked to wait until the third round of trials was over.
• Chi Jiuyu returned to the villa and learned Xu Xing planned to start the trial the next day and return to the sect afterward.
• Chi Jiuyu gave Xu Xing an angry Little Yellow Duck keychain as a return gift for upgrading her sword.
• Xu Xing sent Martial Sister a photo of the keychain and warned her that Chi Jiuyu had likely prepared a present for her too.
• Home-Guarding Sword Venerable said she would accept the present first and then beat Chi Jiuyu.

Xu Xing watched Zhang Yunlu advance in her cultivation and anticipated Xiao Fan’s progress as discussion of the Secret Realm spread online. As cultivators gathered in Mystic Sword City to observe the realm before the trial, Han Yun left using a paper decoy, keeping his real body hidden.

• Xu Xing observed the Secret Realm’s eerie threads and saw that Zhang Yunlu had completed the third stage of the Harvesting and Refining Method.
• Chi Jiuyu read online reactions to the Secret Realm and claimed that she had delivered the application for the trial.
• Cultivators and livestreamers gathered in Mystic Sword City’s central plaza to watch the Secret Realm before the trial.
• Yang Lin and Han Yun discussed their reluctance to enter the trial, then left the crowded plaza separately.
• Han Yun turned into a paper figurine in a secluded spot, and the decoy burned to ash.

Xiao Ming discovered unsettling signs in Xiao Fan’s cultivation, while an ancient presence connected to Senior Confusion spoke through Xiao Fan. The third round of the trial began at Mystic Sword City’s central plaza, though fewer than a fifth of the participants had arrived by the starting time.

• Xiao Ming watched mosquitoes gather around Xiao Fan during his cultivation and became alarmed when Xiao Fan sensed him and seemed to radiate a terrifying presence.
• After Xiao Ming left, an ancient voice speaking through Xiao Fan accused Confusion of using the Cang Race’s fortune to nurture a Human Race junior and demanded to know whether he was ready to pay the price.
• Xiao Fan recalled hearing the words “Since ancient times, my Dao endures” and saw a figure he recognized as Senior Confusion.
• At Mystic Sword City’s central plaza, Li Qingyang waited for the trial while Jiang Jing entered as a participant in the third round.
• Disciples and representatives from several Immortal Sects gathered, while the Supreme Dao Sect was notably absent.
• At nine o’clock, golden text announced that the trial had begun, although fewer than one-fifth of the five hundred participants had arrived.

The Secret Realm began selecting and teleporting trial-takers while a voice announced their names and cultivation levels across Mystic Sword City. Xiao Fan recognized Senior Confusion as the overseer and entered the realm, while Xu Xing showed Chi Jiuyu Zhang Yunlu preparing to fight strange creatures.

• Ripples swept across the sky, and the Secret Realm announced Zhang Yunlu as its first entrant before teleporting her into the realm.
• The voice announced more trial-takers, including Lin Qiuxian, Feng Yuan, Yu Ming, and Xiao Fan, as pillars of light carried them away.
• Xiao Fan recognized Senior Confusion's voice and entered the Secret Realm, leaving his parents to find his bedroom empty.
• Chi Jiuyu asked Xu Xing about the announcements and the Secret Realm, and he used a screen of light to show Zhang Yunlu facing three strange creatures.

The third trial forced participants to cross a monster-infested realm toward Sword Peak, where they would fight until only one of five hundred remained. Xiao Fan discovered the monsters were transformed Mystic Profound Grass with spiritual nature, while Lin Qiuxian recognized the trial as resembling a Secret Realm from a mission.

• Xu Xing showed Chi Jiuyu the cliffs and valley crawling with Mystic Profound Grass Monsters, while participants' appearances in the realm remained random.
• Yang Lin and Han Yun discovered that both had been announced as peak Nascent Soul cultivators, but their false bodies were destroyed or dispersed instead of the beams reaching them.
• Xiao Fan fought a Mystic Profound Grass Monster, killed it, and gained a powerful surge of spiritual nature by touching its plant form.
• Xiao Fan spotted more than a dozen monsters clinging to the cliff and fled as a message appeared in his mind.
• Lin Qiuxian reviewed the trial rules: participants had to reach the central Sword Peak, fight any other participant they encountered, and survive until only one remained.
• Lin Qiuxian suspected the trial realm was the Secret Realm described in a Void Return elder's mission requirements.

Jiang Yujiu escaped a horde of Mystic Profound Grass Monsters while Yang Lin tried to reach her, and Zhang Yunlu encountered her former teacher Yu Ming in a forced battle. The chapter left Zhang Yunlu facing Yu Ming’s spear as he urged her not to hesitate.

• Jiang Yujiu hid from the Mystic Profound Grass Monsters until a lightning-wielding trial-taker drove them away, then climbed a cliff to escape.
• Yang Lin spotted Jiang Yujiu and used a secret art to charge through the monsters, shouting for her to stay so they could avoid being forced into a death match.
• Zhang Yunlu met Yu Ming after he knocked two Mystic Profound Grass Monsters off a cliff, and the Secret Realm transported them into a battle space.
• Yu Ming revealed his identity to Zhang Yunlu, then thrust his spear toward her throat and told her to stop hesitating.

Zhang Yunlu defeated Yu Ming in the Secret Realm and began to sense the first thread of “Comprehending the Logic.” Yu Ming returned to Xuanjian City No. 3 Middle School after his elimination, while Hua and Chi Jiuyu considered Zhang Yunlu the trial-taker most likely to take the final step.

• Zhang Yunlu used a hidden short sword to kill Yu Ming’s phantom, then returned to the Secret Realm and reflected on how she could improve her swordsmanship.
• Zhang Yunlu sensed that she had touched the first thread of “Comprehending the Logic.”
• Yu Ming reappeared in the principal’s quiet room and told him that Zhang Yunlu had defeated him in the trial.
• The principal was surprised that Zhang Yunlu had beaten Yu Ming, and two stalks of Mystic Profound Grass appeared as Yu Ming’s consolation prize.
• Hua asked Xu Xing and Chi Jiuyu whether Zhang Yunlu could “Comprehend the Logic,” and Chi Jiuyu said she had a good chance.
• Hua concluded that Zhang Yunlu was closer to “Comprehending the Logic” than any other trial-taker, including Xiao Fan.