Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Before leaving, Lin Qing’s group reassures Elder Liu that they will be careful. Liu reports that the other companions are safe; Zhu Li and Wu Gui are traveling together, while Dugu Jian and Li Jiuchong are alone. All avoided a huge Baleful Fiend migration.
• Lin Qing, Yue Ling’er, and Ji Han continue north through the Ancient Baleful Battlefield, where the terrain grows more varied and the pervasive Killing Intent becomes stronger.
• Over ten days, the trio fights several groups of Lower Baleful Fiends and a Mid Baleful Fiend. Their teamwork lets them defeat the enemies with few problems.
• Lin Qing’s combat experience and cultivation improve: his Mid Fourth Tier realm stabilizes, his Gang Force increases, and he opens his seventy-second Dragon Vein.
• The landscape shifts from barren wasteland to Gobi Desert, where towering cacti and other vegetation grow despite the battlefield’s hostile conditions.
• On the tenth day, Ji Han’s treasure-hunting squirrel, Little Treasure, detects something valuable and leads the group into a damp mountain hollow.
• There, they find two Late Fourth-Step Martial Saints from rival Sin Clan tribes fighting over a Millennial Yin-Baleful Fruit. The rare fruit would be especially valuable to Ji Han, whose cultivation is ice-based.
• Ji Han and Yue Ling’er defer to Lin Qing on whether to intervene. The chapter ends as they consider exploiting their numerical advantage while the two rivals are occupied.

Character developments

• Lin Qing grows more capable through repeated battles, learning the fiends’ habits and becoming more decisive. His physical strength also rises with his Dragon-Elephant Tyrant Body Art breakthrough.
• Yue Ling’er helps keep the group alert and fights effectively, though her reassurance to Elder Liu reveals she is more anxious than she lets on.
• Ji Han contributes through her perception and coordination, and Little Treasure’s discovery brings her a chance to obtain a treasure suited to her cultivation.
• The wider party remains accounted for and apparently safe, easing Lin Qing’s concern.

Character interactions

• The companions reassure Liu Ting and exchange safety reports through the Blood-Soul Jade.
• Lin Qing, Yue Ling’er, and Ji Han coordinate closely in combat, combining surprise attacks, strength, and ice techniques.
• Ji Han trusts Lin Qing to decide how to approach the Sin Clan fighters, while Yue Ling’er raises the possibility of intervening.
• The two Sin Clan warriors clash fiercely, their contrasting styles—overwhelming strength versus agility—reflecting the rivalry between their tribes.

Significant themes

• Cooperation and vigilance: The group survives by communicating, watching one another, and combining their abilities.
• Growth through adversity: Repeated encounters with Baleful Fiends strengthen Lin Qing’s skills and cultivation.
• Opportunity amid danger: The battlefield’s harsh conditions conceal both threats and valuable resources.
• Rivalry and divided loyalties: The Sin Clan’s internal feuds create conflict—and potentially an opening for outsiders.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Qing decides not to steal a thousand-year-old Yin-Baleful Fruit from two feuding Sin Clan youths. He judges that provoking the hostile clan—and possibly its Supreme-level experts—isn’t worth the risk.
• As the group prepares to leave, the youths’ clash shakes the ground and exposes a river of blood. The Sin Clan fighters recognize it as a sign that the legendary Python God, Pithon, has awakened, and flee.
• The earth opens beneath them. An enormous red fissure swallows both youths, while Lin Qing, Yue Ling’er, and Ji Han are briefly trapped by a force they identify as Origin Power. They strike the ground, break free, and escape the hollow.
• A colossal Ancient Sand Python rises from the dunes. Its overwhelming aura restrains the trio, and it attacks with poisonous mist that corrodes sand, stone, and vegetation.
• Ji Han uses a talisman to disrupt the restraint, allowing the group to flee in separate directions. Yue Ling’er and Ji Han each activate a Thousand-Li Swift Travel Talisman and vanish.
• The python pursues Lin Qing. He runs at full speed and dives into a Stone Forest, weaving between pillars to evade it. The beast smashes through the terrain, and Lin Qing remains in grave danger.

Character developments

• Lin Qing shows caution and sound judgment by rejecting the fruit, then resourcefulness and courage in the escape. He tries to protect Yue Ling’er and keeps using terrain and speed to survive.
• Yue Ling’er demonstrates sharp perception by detecting the disturbance underground, and quick thinking in using her escape talisman when her speed proves insufficient.
• Ji Han accepts Lin Qing’s decision about the fruit despite her disappointment. Later, she uses a powerful talisman to break the python’s restraint and escapes with her own travel talisman.
• The Sin Clan youths are revealed as powerful fighters, but their terror at the blood river shows how deeply feared the awakened python is.

Significant themes

• Prudence over greed: The group gives up a rare prize rather than invite conflict with a powerful clan.
• The limits of strength: Even skilled cultivators are helpless before a vastly stronger ancient beast.
• Survival through teamwork and judgment: The trio coordinate their attacks to escape the ground’s restraint, then split up to reduce the python’s chances of catching them all.
• Nature as overwhelming danger: The battlefield itself becomes lethal as the earth opens, the dunes shift, and the python’s poison destroys everything in its path.

Character interactions

• Lin Qing explains the risks of taking the fruit, and Yue Ling’er and Ji Han agree with his decision.
• When Yue Ling’er is caught by sinking ground, Lin Qing pulls her free while Ji Han follows close behind.
• Facing the python, the three combine their powers to resist its restraint; Ji Han’s talisman creates the opening for their escape.
• The women flee separately from Lin Qing, while he draws the python’s pursuit into the Stone Forest. His final thought—wanting to find Ji Han and punish the Treasure-Hunting Squirrel—adds a brief note of humor amid the danger.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Qing escapes the Ancient Sand Python after a long, exhausting pursuit through the desert. He hides, suppresses his aura, and waits until the beast has moved on before recovering with Qi-Replenishing Pills.
• While still weakened, he is surrounded by an Elite Mid Baleful Fiend and seven Lower Baleful Fiends. With little Gang Force or stamina left, he takes a Qi-Burst Pill to force his body back into fighting condition.
• Lin Qing initially struggles against the Elite fiend’s speed and strength, while the Lower fiends close in from every side. Cornered, he unleashes part of the Thunder Dao Fruit’s power, filling the area with violet lightning that numbs and slows the attackers.
• Using the opening, he wounds the Elite fiend severely, then changes tactics and kills all seven Lower fiends before the pill’s effects can fade.
• The badly injured Elite fiend continues attacking. As Lin Qing tires and his blade fight becomes unsustainable, he switches to his Whale Fall Gloves and punches the fiend’s weapon aside, opening it up for a powerful strike to the chest. The chapter ends before the blow’s result is shown.

Character development

• Lin Qing shows endurance and caution after escaping the Sand Python: despite his exhaustion, he stays concealed until he is sure the danger has passed.
• Under pressure, he proves adaptable and decisive. He uses risky medicines and a rare trump card, prioritizes the weaker enemies, and changes from swordplay to hand-to-hand combat when his stamina runs low.
• His willingness to draw on the Thunder Dao Fruit despite its pain and its importance to his long-term cultivation shows how readily he will sacrifice future advantages to survive.

Significant themes

• Survival against overwhelming odds: Lin Qing repeatedly faces enemies stronger or more numerous than he can comfortably handle.
• Resourcefulness and tactical adaptation: His survival depends not just on strength, but on using terrain, concealment, timing, and changing tactics.
• Power at a cost: The Qi-Burst Pill and Thunder Dao Fruit provide crucial strength but carry risks and strain his body.
• Relentless escalation: The reprieve after the Sand Python is brief; one danger gives way almost immediately to another.

Character interactions

• Lin Qing’s encounter with the Sand Python is entirely a contest of pursuit: he survives by remaining just faster, then hides until the beast loses his scent and leaves.
• In the battle with the Baleful Fiends, he is surrounded and forced to defend against coordinated attacks. The lightning disrupts the group, allowing him to isolate and eliminate the Lower fiends before facing the Elite one alone.
• The Elite Baleful Fiend remains a ferocious opponent even after being badly wounded, forcing Lin Qing to abandon prolonged blade exchanges and attempt a decisive close-range attack.

Key plot points and events

• Still weakened from escaping an Ancient Sand Python, Lin Qing is ambushed by an Elite Mid Baleful Fiend and seven Lower Baleful Fiends.
• He uses the Dragon Whale Divine Palm and Dragon-Elephant Battle Body to overwhelm the elite enemy, breaking its weapon and armor before killing it with a devastating palm strike. He collects all eight Baleful Fiend Pearls, including one unusually pure pearl.
• Exhausted and injured, Lin Qing takes several Qi-Replenishing Pills, treats a rib injury and a long cut on his arm, then hides in a narrow shelter between boulders to recover. After a day and night of meditation, he is well enough to travel, though not fully restored.
• His Blood-Soul Jade cannot locate Yue Ling’er or Ji Han, who are beyond its range, or several others who have deactivated their jades. Lin Qing decides to continue alone rather than waste time searching for them.
• Traveling north, he reaches a greener region inhabited by the reclusive Sin Clan. He spots a river valley crowded with powerful ancient beasts competing for scarce water and cautiously avoids the area.

Character development and interactions

• Lin Qing demonstrates formidable strength and persistence, but the battle also exposes the danger of fighting while depleted. He recognizes that his survival depended on overcoming poor timing, not merely defeating weaker foes.
• He prioritizes recovery and caution, choosing to avoid both the ancient beasts and unnecessary risks while still pursuing cultivation opportunities.
• Lin Qing reflects that other prodigies may conceal their locations to keep resources for themselves. He accepts their self-interest without resentment and turns his attention to his own progress.
• There are no direct conversations in this chapter; the main interactions are Lin Qing’s violent clashes with the fiends and his wary observation of the competing beasts.

Significant themes

• Survival and endurance: Strength alone is not enough; timing, stamina, and recovery matter.
• Self-reliance and competition: With allies unreachable and resources limited, Lin Qing accepts that he must proceed independently.
• Caution amid power: He avoids confrontations that could overwhelm him, showing restraint as well as courage.
• Life in a hostile environment: The battlefield’s scarce resources draw powerful creatures into constant competition.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Lin Qing spends six days traveling alone through the Ancient Baleful Battlefield’s outer region. He kills 22 Lower Baleful Fiends and three Mid Baleful Fiends, refining their pearls into Tiansha Pearls and strengthening his Gang Force.
• By studying the fiends’ instinctive tells, Lin Qing becomes more efficient in combat, learning to anticipate attacks and exploit openings. Meanwhile, the battlefield’s Killing Intent helps him open 74 Dragon Veins, greatly enhancing his body.
• Seeking stronger tempering and richer fiend pearls, he heads toward the inner region, where the Killing Intent is so dense that he must sometimes rely on Protective True Gang to endure it.
• A brilliant pillar of light appears, signaling that one or more Ancient Treasures may soon emerge. Lin Qing reaches its source first: a fissure sealed by an ancient, fading restriction.
• Maxim, a holy son of Great Bear’s High God Sect, arrives and challenges Lin Qing over the treasure. Their battle draws numerous prodigies from other kingdoms, including Liebanav, Augustus, Jin Zhenghua, Jin Zongtai, Park Jingxi, Sasib, and Lin Qing’s fellow Great Shun prodigy Dugu Jian.
• Lin Qing and Maxim trade powerful attacks. Lin Qing withstands Maxim’s rapid spear techniques and ultimately knocks him back with a decisive palm strike, revealing that he is the stronger fighter.

Character developments

• Lin Qing grows markedly stronger and more confident through solo combat. His careful analysis of enemy movements shows him developing not just physical power, but sharper battle judgment.
• Maxim begins the confrontation with confidence in his status and skill, but Lin Qing’s strength forces him to recognize that he has underestimated his opponent.
• Dugu Jian watches with rising interest and fighting spirit. Though he and Lin Qing are from the same kingdom, he regards the treasure contest as a matter of strength rather than allegiance.
• The gathered prodigies take Lin Qing seriously after witnessing his dominance over Maxim.

Character interactions

• Lin Qing bluntly challenges Maxim to fight rather than negotiate, and the two clash over the treasure.
• Maxim’s spear attacks test Lin Qing’s defense, while Lin Qing’s Dragon Whale Divine Palm gradually overwhelms him.
• The arriving prodigies observe the duel and assess Lin Qing’s strength, recognizing him as an unusually young and formidable opponent.
• Dugu Jian’s presence hints at a possible future rivalry, despite their shared origin.

Significant themes

• Strength and merit: The treasure is treated as belonging to whoever can claim it through power, not nationality or faction.
• Growth through adversity: Lin Qing turns repeated battles, careful reflection, and exposure to Killing Intent into rapid physical and combat development.
• Competition among prodigies: The treasure’s emergence draws powerful figures from several kingdoms, setting up broader rivalries beyond Lin Qing’s duel with Maxim.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Qing decisively defeats Maxim, the High God Sect’s Holy Son. Maxim activates High God Possession, summoning the guardian deity Atla’s power and dramatically increasing his strength, but Lin Qing’s Raging Sea Swift Waves palm technique shatters his spear attack and knocks him into a boulder.
• The watching prodigies from Great Bear and Great Yue reassess Lin Qing as a formidable rival, possibly near Fourth Tier Perfection. Maxim accepts defeat without excuses, withdraws from the contest for the Ancient Treasure, and leaves.
• Sasib, Holy Son of Great Barbarian Kingdom’s Wild Lion Tribe, challenges Lin Qing. He charges in with a massive sacred axe, embodying his kingdom’s creed that overwhelming force can overcome technique.
• Sasib’s body-tempering lets him shatter Lin Qing’s powerful palm strikes and trade blows with him through sheer physical strength. When Sasib unleashes a devastating axe blow, Lin Qing dodges rather than risk taking it directly.
• Sasib presses the attack. Lin Qing shifts tactics, avoiding direct clashes with the superior-grade axe and using precise palm strikes to deflect its blade and dissipate its force. Their fierce duel continues as the chapter ends.

Character developments

• Lin Qing demonstrates both overwhelming power and tactical flexibility. He begins confidently meeting force with force, but recognizes the danger of Sasib’s strongest attacks and adapts by relying on evasion and redirection.
• Maxim moves from furious pride to straightforward acceptance of defeat. His willingness to concede and withdraw earns Lin Qing’s respect.
• Sasib is introduced as fearless, battle-hungry, and devoted to the Wild Lion Tribe’s strength-first fighting tradition. Rather than being intimidated by Lin Qing, he welcomes the challenge.
• The watching prodigies, including Augustus, Liebanav, and the Great Yue leaders, grow more wary of Lin Qing and recognize that he may rival the strongest among them.

Significant themes

• Strength versus technique: Maxim’s enhanced spear technique fails against Lin Qing’s power, while Sasib’s raw physical force challenges Lin Qing in a different way.
• Adaptability in combat: Lin Qing’s success depends not only on strength but also on knowing when to evade and redirect rather than meet an opponent head-on.
• Honor in defeat: Maxim’s candid concession contrasts with the ongoing struggle for dominance and wins Lin Qing’s respect.
• Different martial traditions: Great Bear’s secret arts, Great Shun’s Gang Force techniques, and Great Barbarian’s body-tempering illustrate distinct paths to power.

Character interactions

• Maxim and Lin Qing clash first; after losing, Maxim openly acknowledges Lin Qing’s strength and withdraws.
• The gathered prodigies discuss Lin Qing’s abilities and reconsider the balance of power before the Ancient Treasure appears.
• Sasib formally challenges Lin Qing, and the two engage in a prolonged, escalating duel that turns the basin into a battlefield.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Qing and Sasib trade hundreds of blows. Sasib’s Wild Lion Sacred Axe gives him a powerful advantage, but Lin Qing’s speed and palm techniques repeatedly neutralize his attacks.
• Frustrated, Sasib unleashes the Wild Lion Tribe’s supreme technique, Axe-Blade Storm, turning himself and his axe into a pursuing tornado.
• Lin Qing meets the attack head-on with Dragon Whale Divine Palm: Myriad Streams Return to the Abyss. His overwhelming strength shatters the storm and hurls Sasib through several rock walls, leaving him gravely wounded.
• Sasib admits defeat and says he will withdraw from the contest for the Ancient Treasures. Before Lin Qing can respond, Dugu Jian suddenly stabs Sasib through the throat and kills him.
• Dugu Jian takes Sasib’s Mustard Seed Bag and Wild Lion Sacred Axe. Lin Qing and the watching prodigies condemn the killing as a dishonorable ambush.
• A golden pillar rises from the seal, revealing two Ancient Treasures close to breaking free: a radiant bow and a rune-inscribed talisman.
• Dugu Jian refuses Lin Qing’s challenge, promising a future duel, and flees with his loot. Liebanav and Jin Zongtai pursue him, demanding that he surrender the axe and bag, while most others hesitate because the treasures are about to emerge.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Qing reveals that he had been holding back much of his strength; his decisive palm strike proves him far stronger than Sasib. He is also angered by Dugu Jian’s opportunism and loses respect for him.
• Sasib shifts from confidence and fury to helplessness, then accepts defeat with dignity. His attempt to withdraw is cut short by Dugu Jian’s ambush.
• Dugu Jian is shown as cold, ruthless, and unapologetically pragmatic. He kills a badly wounded opponent, loots him, and leaves rather than fight Lin Qing immediately.
• Liebanav and Jin Zongtai openly denounce Dugu Jian, but their pursuit is also driven by the valuable axe and bag. Their reaction reflects both moral outrage and rivalry over the spoils.
• The watching prodigies recognize Lin Qing as a major threat; some had already discussed joining forces against him when competing for the Ancient Treasures.

Significant themes

• Strength and hidden reserves: Lin Qing’s victory shows how dramatically a fighter’s full power can exceed what they initially display.
• Honor versus expediency: Sasib faces Lin Qing openly, while Dugu Jian exploits his weakened state. The chapter sharply contrasts martial courage with ruthless opportunism.
• Competition and shifting alliances: The looming Ancient Treasures intensify suspicion and greed, and even condemnation of Dugu Jian is mixed with desire for his loot.
• Power invites fear: Lin Qing’s performance earns admiration but also makes other prodigies view him as a future danger.

Plot points and events

• After Dugu Jian kills the badly wounded Sasib to seize his Supreme-Grade Source Artifact and supplies, Lin Qing condemns the betrayal. He decides never to trust Dugu Jian again and resolves to confront him later, but conserves his remaining strength for the emerging Ancient Treasures.
• New contenders arrive: Great Jing’s Wolf God Cult holy son Tulier and holy daughter Xiyin, and Great Yue’s Wang Gongsun. Wang probes Lin Qing about his reputation, while Tulier recognizes him as the killer of his uncle, Tu Hai, and summons reinforcements before threatening him with Xiyin.
• Before they can attack, A Langzhan of the Sin Clan confronts Tulier and Xiyin for stealing his tribe’s sacred relic and luring him into ruins. Unaffected by the battlefield’s curse and far stronger than the pair, he demands their relics and Mustard Seed Bags—or their lives. Lin Qing watches without intervening.
• The seal over the basin’s fissure breaks, revealing two extraordinarily powerful Ancient Treasures. Lin Qing reacts first, using Thunder Escape to catch one as it shoots away, though the relic struggles against his grip.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Qing becomes more distrustful after Dugu Jian’s treachery. He distinguishes ruthless but direct combat from attacking the defenseless, and narrows whom he feels obligated to protect. He remains disciplined, avoiding needless fights while the treasure is at stake.
• Dugu Jian is established as opportunistic and unprincipled; Lin Qing now regards him as an eventual enemy, not a comrade.
• Tulier and Xiyin shift from threatening Lin Qing to terror at A Langzhan’s arrival. Tulier considers using Lin Qing as a scapegoat, but loses the chance; Xiyin hides behind him.
• A Langzhan arrives seeking revenge and restitution, demonstrating the Sin Clan’s strength and its immunity to the battlefield’s suppression.
• Wang Gongsun tests Lin Qing verbally but keeps his intentions guarded, positioning himself to compete for the treasure.
• Lin Qing’s past actions shape current tensions: Tulier seeks revenge for Tu Hai’s death, while Wang recalls their earlier encounter and suspects Lin Qing’s growing power.

Significant themes

• Trust and betrayal: Shared national allegiance does not guarantee loyalty; Dugu Jian’s greed forces Lin Qing to rely chiefly on himself.
• Honor and martial conduct: Lin Qing believes strength should be tested openly, not used against the helpless.
• Power and vulnerability: A Langzhan’s advantage over the suppressed outsiders makes the battlefield’s unequal conditions stark.
• Competition and timing: With rivals converging, conserving strength and acting faster than others become crucial. Lin Qing’s swift grab gives him the first apparent advantage, though the treasure is not yet secured.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Lin Qing seizes a powerful ancient bow later identified as the Dragonfall Sunset Bow. Its ancient aura flows into him, but he has no time to examine or master it: Augustus, Jin Zhenghua, and Park Jingxi immediately attack from three directions.
• Cornered and badly depleted from earlier fights, Lin Qing activates the Flame-Phoenix Pendant Zhu Luoyu gave him. Its phoenix apparition blocks the three attackers’ combined blows, but the pendant is destroyed, and the remaining force injures Lin Qing and makes him spit blood.
• Lin Qing tries to escape with a Thousand-Li Swift Travel Talisman, but Jin Zhenghua counters it with a space-sealing talisman. Lin Qing then uses Thunder Escape to flee, pursued closely by all three prodigies, who attack as they run in hopes of wearing him down and claiming the bow.
• Elsewhere, Wang Gongsun uses the royal secret movement art Moonlight Flowing-Shadow Escape to seize the second ancient treasure, a Celestial Cycle Star Talisman. It can form a barrier capable of trapping a Fifth Tier expert for several breaths.
• Tulier and Xiyin try to take Wang Gongsun’s prize, but he effortlessly deflects their hidden weapons. A Langzhan then attacks them, prioritizing recovery of the Sin Clan’s stolen Tribal Sacred Relic over competing for treasure. His devastating javelin nearly kills them; Xiyin is wounded, and Tulier offers to surrender everything in exchange for their lives.
• Meanwhile, Lin Qing has run dozens of li into the battlefield, but Augustus and Jin Zhenghua remain close, while Park Jingxi keeps pace. Their repeated attacks force him to dodge, slowing his escape.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Qing shows resolve under pressure, choosing survival over the temptation to use or inspect his new bow. He sacrifices the one-use Flame-Phoenix Pendant and continues fleeing despite serious injuries and dwindling Gang Force.
• Augustus, Jin Zhenghua, and Park Jingxi cooperate effectively to trap and exhaust Lin Qing, though their methods differ: Augustus relies on overwhelming strength and endurance, Jin on precision, speed, and a sealing talisman, and Park on illusion and mist-based attacks.
• Wang Gongsun demonstrates exceptional short-range speed and composure. He secures the second treasure with little risk, then withdraws when A Langzhan’s power becomes evident.
• Tulier and Xiyin, desperate to escape with the Sacred Relic, are forced into retreat and submission. Their failed attack on Wang Gongsun is interrupted by A Langzhan, who treats recovering the relic as his sole priority.
• A Langzhan acts decisively and ruthlessly to protect his tribe’s heritage, using a single javelin throw to overwhelm Tulier and Xiyin.

Significant themes

• Power comes with immediate danger: Lin Qing’s prized bow makes him the target of three powerful rivals, turning victory into a desperate fight for survival.
• Tactical restraint and sacrifice: Lin Qing uses his precious defensive pendant when no other option remains; Wang Gongsun takes the safer opportunity to claim the second treasure.
• Uneven advantages and survival: The battlefield’s curse suppresses most fighters but not A Langzhan, magnifying the gap between him and the weakened Tulier and Xiyin.
• Relic and treasure as competing priorities: The ancient treasures drive the main pursuit, while A Langzhan’s commitment to the Tribal Sacred Relic reveals its deeper cultural and ancestral importance.

Key plot points and events

• Exhausted and pursued by Augustus, Jin Zhenghua, and Park Jingxi, Lin Qing completes most of his refinement of the Dragonfall Sunset Bow. His Dragon Vein affinity lets him master the Ancient Treasure unusually quickly.
• He fires three homing arrows. Though each pursuer is badly hurt defending against one, all three survive and continue chasing him, their desire for the bow strengthened.
• Lin Qing flees into a stone forest, then turns to face Augustus, who has drawn closest. He uses a much more powerful arrow—fuelled by his full Dragon Vein—to pierce Augustus’s shield and Greatsword and inflict a mortal chest wound.
• Lin Qing bluffs the remaining pursuers by drawing another, weaker arrow. Unaware that he has nearly exhausted himself, Jin Zhenghua and Park Jingxi hesitate. Jin chooses to pursue the wounded Augustus instead, and Park follows.
• After escaping, Lin Qing collapses from exhaustion but presses on. He eventually finds a concealed cavern, takes Qi-Replenishing Pills, and begins recovering while keeping the Sunset Bow close.

Character developments

• Lin Qing demonstrates resourcefulness and resolve, using the bow’s power and his intimidating composure to survive despite being near collapse. His victory is costly: his Gang Force is spent, and he must retreat to recover.
• Augustus goes from aggressive pursuer to helpless prey after Lin Qing’s strongest arrow gravely wounds him.
• Jin Zhenghua remains determined to obtain the bow, but the demonstration of its power makes him cautious. He decides Augustus is the more vulnerable target.
• Park Jingxi is badly shaken by Lin Qing’s attack and ultimately prioritizes escape over confronting him.

Significant themes

• Power at a price: The Ancient Treasure gives Lin Qing overwhelming force, but its use drains him almost completely.
• Bluff and perception: Lin Qing’s apparent readiness to fire again deters pursuers who do not know how little strength he has left.
• Greed and risk: The bow’s appeal keeps the pursuers coming even after their injuries, but its power forces them to reconsider.
• Endurance and survival: Lin Qing’s discipline, physical toughness, and refusal to stop carry him through both the fight and the escape.

Character interactions

• Lin Qing’s attacks force each pursuer to reveal a different defense: Augustus blocks, Jin tries to evade before countering, and Park relies on her purple mist.
• After Augustus falls, Lin Qing threatens Jin and Park with the drawn bow; Jin chooses to abandon the confrontation and pursue Augustus, and Park follows.
• Once alone, Lin Qing retreats to a hidden cavern, where he begins restoring his strength and safeguarding the bow.

Plot points and events

• After escaping the prodigies who pursued him for the Sunset Bow, Lin Qing suppresses his anger and chooses to hide in the Ancient Baleful Battlefield’s inner region. Its intense baleful energy strengthens his Dragon-Elephant Battle Body, and he hopes to reach major mastery after several months of cultivation.
• At the basin where the Ancient Treasures appeared, Great Jing princes Jueluo Qianlong and Jueluo Fuyi assess the aftermath. They learn that Lin Qing took the Sunset Bow, Wang Gongsun obtained another Ancient Treasure, and Dugu Jian killed Sasib and seized the Wild Lion Sacred Axe.
• The princes discuss Great Jing’s secret campaign to kill the Great Shun prodigies in the battlefield. Their father wants Lin Qing dead above all, fearing his future potential. The Shadow Wolf Guard is tracking Zhu Li, Wu Gui, and Li Jiuchong, waiting to strike when it can eliminate them without warning.
• Qianlong contacts Flaubert, who can track Lin Qing with an Origin Pearl. Flaubert reports he will arrive in six hours; the princes prepare to join forces with him and the Shadow Wolf Guard.
• After a day and night of recovery, Lin Qing regains about sixty to seventy percent of his strength. He has also bound the Sunset Bow with his blood, making it feel like an extension of himself.
• As Lin Qing emerges from his cavern, an overwhelming, inexplicable sense of danger seizes him. He turns north, but sees nothing unusual.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Qing shifts from anger and revenge to patient preparation, using the inner region’s hostile environment as a cultivation advantage. His bond with the Sunset Bow deepens, but his instinct warns that a grave threat is approaching.
• Jueluo Qianlong is revealed as calculating and ruthless. He prioritizes Lin Qing and supports a coordinated, carefully timed campaign rather than reckless attacks.
• Jueluo Fuyi questions Qianlong’s tactics and the consequences of killing Great Shun’s prodigies, but ultimately accepts his brother’s reasoning and trusts the Shadow Wolf Guard.
• The brothers share intelligence, coordinate with Flaubert and the Shadow Wolf Guard, and frame their plan as a way to weaken Great Shun while provoking a response that could benefit Great Jing.

Significant themes

• Patience and preparation: Lin Qing retreats to grow stronger, while Great Jing’s forces delay their attacks until conditions favor them.
• Political rivalry and manipulation: The battlefield’s hunt for treasure conceals a larger state-sponsored effort to eliminate a rival generation of prodigies.
• Instinct and looming danger: Lin Qing’s body senses a threat before his eyes can identify it, ending the chapter on suspense.
• Power and survival: Both sides rely on specialized advantages—Lin Qing’s body art and Ancient Treasure, and Great Jing’s trackers, elite guards, and coordinated numbers.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Qing senses extreme danger and immediately flees, but a blood-red attack—launched from dozens of li away with power comparable to a late fifth-tier expert—closes on him too quickly to dodge.
• Lei Long’s mark on Lin Qing’s chest activates, forming a purple lightning barrier. It blocks most of the strike but shatters under its force.
• Lin Qing twists aside at the last moment, saving his heart, but the weakened attack pierces his chest and lung. Gravely wounded, he takes a Flesh-Regenerating Bone-Rebuilding Pill, though it will take time to restore him.
• Recognizing that another long-range strike could kill him, Lin Qing flees into the more complex inner battlefield, hoping its terrain will provide cover.
• His attackers catch sight of him: a masked man called Flaubert, who used a costly Blood-Sacrificing Soul Essence Arrow, and two Great Jing imperial prodigies, Jueluo Qianlong and Jueluo Fuyi. They pursue him, beginning a hunt.

Character developments

• Lin Qing shows quick instincts and composure under lethal pressure. He uses Lei Long’s protection, a split-second evasive maneuver, and immediate healing to survive, then focuses on escape despite severe pain.
• Flaubert is revealed as the leader of the ambush and a formidable, calculating attacker. Frustrated that his expensive weapon failed to kill Lin Qing, he presses the pursuit.
• Jueluo Qianlong is eager to finish Lin Qing while he is weakened.
• Jueluo Fuyi is excited by the chase, viewing it with the thrill and superiority of a hunter.

Significant themes

• Survival under overwhelming odds: Lin Qing survives not by overpowering the attack, but through preparation, protection, and a split-second choice.
• The cost of vulnerability: His injuries sharply reduce his fighting ability, making escape more urgent than retaliation.
• Hunter and hunted: The pursuers treat Lin Qing as prey, while he searches for terrain that can help him turn the odds.
• Hidden powers and preparation: Lei Long’s lingering mark and Lin Qing’s stored medicine prove crucial when he has no time to plan.

Character interactions

• Lin Qing’s only direct interaction with the attackers is through the ambush and pursuit; his brief glances back let him identify the two imperial prodigies and assess the group.
• Flaubert tells Qianlong that Lin Qing’s protective mark blunted the arrow but left him badly wounded. Qianlong and Fuyi urge an immediate chase, and Flaubert leads them after Lin Qing.

Lin Qing, gravely wounded, fled from Flaubert and the two Jueluo prodigies toward Death Canyon, hoping to use its Baleful Fiends to turn the pursuit against them. As the three closed in, Flaubert's Origin Flying Needle narrowly missed Lin Qing, leaving his desperate escape unresolved.

• Lin Qing recognized that Flaubert was likely a Fifth Tier expert using a secret method to evade the Ancient Baleful Battlefield's restriction, and realized Great Jing had joined with the Shadow Moon Tower to hunt him.
• Lin Qing used Thunder Escape and Qi-Burst Pills to flee while Flaubert, Jueluo Qianlong, and Jueluo Fuyi attacked and pursued him.
• Remembering that his Dragon-Elephant Tyrant Body Art could absorb baleful energy, Lin Qing chose to head for Death Canyon and try to draw his pursuers into the Baleful Fiends' territory.
• Jueluo Qianlong and Jueluo Fuyi recognized Lin Qing's destination, but Flaubert continued the pursuit without hesitation.
• Flaubert hurled an Origin Flying Needle at Lin Qing, who dodged it at the last moment as it pierced a rock and corroded it to ash.

Lin Qing escaped his pursuers by entering Death Canyon, where dense baleful energy and Baleful Fiends threatened his body and mind. He found a concealed cave, killed its occupants, and passed out, while Jueluo Qianlong, Jueluo Fuyi, and Flaubert stopped at the canyon entrance.

• Lin Qing used an explosive Golden Arrow to halt Jueluo Qianlong, Jueluo Fuyi, and Flaubert, then fled into Death Canyon.
• Lin Qing endured the canyon's baleful energy with a Bright-Eye Heart-Cleansing Pill and killed three Lower Baleful Fiends blocking his path.
• Lin Qing found a concealed cave, killed three more Lower Baleful Fiends, and collected their pearls.
• Lin Qing's body and mind succumbed to the baleful energy, and he passed out in the cave.
• Jueluo Qianlong and Jueluo Fuyi warned that the baleful energy would overwhelm their protective true gang, while Flaubert also stopped at the canyon entrance.

Flaubert summoned the Shadow Wolf Guards and ordered them to seal Death Canyon while Lin Qing hid inside, gravely wounded by an origin injury. Lin Qing contacted Lei Long, who said the Thunder Dao Fruit could cleanse the wound but would sacrifice Lin Qing’s progress toward the Heavenly Thunder Dao Body.

• Flaubert sent Jueluo Qianlong and Jueluo Fuyi away to hunt the other Great Shun Prodigies while he guarded Death Canyon’s entrance.
• Flaubert summoned the Shadow Wolf Guards, briefed Shadow Four, Shadow Five, and Shadow Six on Lin Qing’s abilities and injuries, and ordered them to block the canyon’s rear exit.
• Lin Qing awoke in a cave, near the limits of his strength, and saw that Flaubert’s attack had left an origin injury spreading through his chest.
• Lin Qing contacted Lei Long through the Thunder Seal and learned that the Thunder Dao Fruit could purify the injury.
• Lei Long warned Lin Qing that using the Thunder Dao Fruit would consume his progress toward the Heavenly Thunder Dao Body, leaving Lin Qing to face the cost of recovery.

Lin Qing used the Thunder Dao Fruit to burn away Flaubert’s origin injury, sacrificing the fruit and his progress toward a heavenly thunder Dao body. As baleful energy began mutating his body and eroding his mind, he left his cavern and silently killed several Baleful Fiends while searching for a way through Death Canyon.

• Lin Qing drew on the Thunder Dao Fruit to purge the origin injury, healing his wound but consuming the fruit completely.
• Flaubert sensed that his origin power had been eradicated, entered Death Canyon to pursue Lin Qing, then retreated when the baleful energy threatened to assimilate him.
• Lin Qing took healing pills and cultivated, but the canyon’s baleful energy continued to corrode his body and overwhelm his mind with murderous thoughts.
• Lin Qing used his last Mind-Cleansing Pill to suppress the thoughts temporarily, armed himself, and left the cavern to seek a way out.
• Lin Qing concealed his aura and killed a Lower Baleful Fiend, then silently slew seven more as he moved through the canyon.

Lin Qing killed a Mid Baleful Fiend and found dusky blue flowers beside a lake, but the baleful energy overwhelmed him before he could use one. As he lost his human awareness, blood rain fell over the Western Reef Archipelago, where fishermen feared a great figure had met with misfortune.

• Lin Qing used the Dragonfall Sunset Bow and Thunderous Life-Slaying Blade to kill a Mid Baleful Fiend, then continued deeper into Death Canyon with his Gang Force depleted.
• Lin Qing found a clear lake ringed with dusky blue flowers that he hoped could resist the baleful energy, but his body began transforming before he could swallow one.
• Lin Qing cried out that he must not forget Situ Yue, Beichen, Siyun, and his home, then lost his last human awareness as Baleful Fiends converged on him.
• On Pingzhou Island, A Fu and the other fishermen saw red rain fall from a clear sky, and Old Chen feared that a great figure had suffered misfortune.

Situ Yue learned that blood rain had spread across the Western Reef and feared for Lin Qing, while Lin Qing, stripped of his memories and humanity in Death Canyon, began slaughtering the Baleful Fiends around him. Situ Yue sought information about her husband as Lin Qing charged deeper into the battle.

• Situ Yue watched Xinghui and Mu Han in the garden and felt a sudden, unexplained emptiness in her chest.
• Han Gongfu told Situ Yue that blood rain was falling across the Western Reef, and she feared that Lin Qing had suffered a calamity.
• Situ Yue ran to the city wall, prayed for Lin Qing, and ordered Xu Yuan and Elder Han to gather information and consult the master of Rare Treasure Island.
• In Death Canyon, Lin Qing crushed an elite Lower Baleful Fiend's bone blade and punched through its chest, while the ghostly blue flower stirred no memories in him.
• With only the urge to kill remaining, Lin Qing charged into the Baleful Fiends and began killing them with brutal punches as their attacks struck his armor.

Lin Qing devoured Baleful Fiend Pearls, evolved into a Mid Baleful Fiend approaching king rank, and continued deeper into the canyon. Meanwhile, as blood rain fell over the Western Reef Archipelago, Situ Yue agreed to perform a dangerous ten-day ritual to pray for his safety.

• Lin Qing killed more than thirty Lower Baleful Fiends, and the survivors fled from him.
• Lin Qing swallowed the Baleful Fiend Pearls, which transformed his body and helped him condense dragon veins through the Dragon-Elephant Tyrant Body Art.
• Lin Qing became a powerful Mid Baleful Fiend beginning to evolve toward king rank, then walked deeper into the canyon.
• As bloody rain continued over the Western Reef Archipelago, Situ Yue worried that Lin Qing was in danger and discussed the calamity with Ge Hong.
• Ge Hong proposed the Grand Heaven-Imploring Life-Renewal Ritual, and Situ Yue agreed to begin it at sunrise the next day despite its risks.

Situ Yue completed a ten-day Heaven-Praying Life-Extension Rite for Lin Qing, then learned he was in the dangerous Ancient Baleful Battlefield. Meanwhile, Lin Qing continued evolving as a Baleful Fiend in Death Canyon and entered the territory of an Ironback Baleful Fiend.

• Situ Yue knelt and prayed for ten days while Ge Hong led the rite, and the gathered commoners prayed for Lin Qing's safe return.
• After the rite, Xu Yuan told Situ Yue that Lin Qing had entered the Ancient Baleful Battlefield as captain of the Great Shun prodigies, but that news from the isolated trial would take months to arrive.
• In Death Canyon, Lin Qing hunted and devoured nearly a hundred Baleful Fiend Pearls, opening Dragon Veins and growing stronger while losing all memories of his former life.
• Lin Qing entered a new territory, killed its Lower Baleful Fiend patrol, and proceeded toward the cave of the King-Class Ironback Baleful Fiend.