Chapter Summaries

Xia Ping repelled a coordinated assault from dozens of examinees by absorbing and redirecting their attacks, leaving them badly injured. His overwhelming strength and ties to Giant Corporation cowed examinees from all nine districts into admitting they were convinced.

• Dozens of examinees attacked Xia Ping together to stop him from defeating the eight experts.
• Xia Ping used the Northern Underworld Body Protection Art to absorb their attacks and send the force back at them, knocking them down and injuring them.
• The bald and crew-cut examinees stared in disbelief as the attackers lay battered while Xia Ping remained unharmed.
• An examinee learned from the Yang Province District group that Xia Ping had recently appeared and been recruited by Giant Corporation.
• Xia Ping challenged the examinees to attack again, then threatened to break their bones until they were convinced.
• Examinees from all nine districts declared themselves convinced and begged Xia Ping not to come closer.

Xia Ping refused to let the defeated examinees drink from the Wine Bottle Tree unless they paid him two hundred million Federal Coins each. He left them desperate to choose between thirst and Xia Ping’s exorbitant terms.

• Xia Ping told the defeated examinees to leave, but they pleaded for water after hours in the sun.
• Feng Hetang mocked the examinees and refused to let them drink for free.
• Xia Ping offered water at the Wine Bottle Tree for two hundred million Federal Coins per person.
• When an examinee said he could not afford the price, Xia Ping offered a loan at three percent monthly compound interest.
• Feng Hetang praised Xia Ping’s scheme, while the examinees condemned his greed and Xia Ping defended his need for money.

Xia Ping forced the exam candidates to pay two hundred million Federal Coins each for water, earning more than twenty-four billion. As night approached and the desert threatened to freeze, he suggested sheltering in a nearby Royal Palace building.

• Feng Hetang claimed he was poor after spending hundreds of millions at a brothel and urged the rich candidates to support him.
• Xia Ping gave the candidates three minutes to decide whether to pay two hundred million Federal Coins for water, and they agreed under pressure.
• The candidates signed contracts with Xia Ping and rushed to drink the water.
• Jiang Yaru, Nangong Wu, and Chu Rong reacted to Xia Ping's huge earnings, while Feng Hetang praised him.
• Jiang Yaru warned that the temperature would plunge after dark and said they needed safe shelter.
• Xia Ping pointed to a massive black stone building in the Royal Palace as a possible place to stay.

Xia Ping and his companions took shelter from the desert’s extreme temperatures in a black house in the Ruined City. While they rested inside, Xia Ping trained outside in the freezing cold and advanced his cultivation, as other examinees fumed over the money he had extorted from them.

• Xia Ping, Jiang Yaru, Nangong Wu, Chu Rong, and Feng Hetang entered a black house whose unusual materials kept it cool and later released stored heat at night.
• The group settled into the house as a snowstorm and freezing temperatures swept across the ruins, while Jiang Yaru and Chu Rong speculated that other examinees had found shelter too.
• Nangong Wu and Feng Hetang went to sleep, but Xia Ping sat outside in the snow and practiced the Pure Yang Indestructible Art.
• Xia Ping used the extreme cold to refine the medicinal power in his body and fill his third acupoint as he neared the peak of the Third Heaven of Martial Artist Realm.
• Examinees from the other Nine Continents complained about Xia Ping’s two-hundred-million-Federal-Coin extortion and vowed that someone would eventually defeat him.

After several days of recovery and cultivation, Xia Ping reached the peak of the Third Heaven of Martial Artist Realm. A group of examinees arrived seeking his help to hunt Fire-Thorn Lizards for food, and Wu Tong asked him to join them.

• Xia Ping cultivated outside the black house and advanced to the peak of the Third Heaven of Martial Artist Realm.
• A group of examinees from the Nine Continents arrived at the black house, and Xia Ping teased them about giving him money.
• Wu Tong introduced himself and explained that the group had found Fire-Thorn Lizards in the Black Stone Mountain Range and wanted to hunt them for food.
• Nangong Wu described the Fire-Thorn Lizards' ancient origins, powerful bodies, and pack-hunting habits.
• Wu Tong invited Xia Ping and his companions to join the group in hunting the Fire-Thorn Lizards.

Xia Ping joined Wu Tong, Feng Hetang, and the others on a hunt for Fire-Thorn Lizards in the Black Stone Mountain Range. At the caves, Luo Di insulted Shi Fei and threatened Xia Ping, then launched an attack.

• Xia Ping agreed to hunt Fire-Thorn Lizards with the candidates, hoping to secure food while they guided him to the mountain range.
• The group crossed the desert, passed the remains of dead candidates, and reached the barren Black Stone Mountain Range.
• Wu Tong led the group to caves where Fire-Thorn Lizards lived, but they found Luo Di and more than twenty Xu Province District candidates guarding the entrance.
• Luo Di mocked Shi Fei for following Xia Ping and threatened to confront the Shi Family after the exam.
• Xia Ping challenged Luo Di for insulting Shi Fei, and Luo Di attacked him at once.

Xia Ping defeated Luo Di and his fellow examinees, then demanded five hundred million from each of them in emotional distress damages and education fees. Luo Di and the others were left beaten and forced to face Xia Ping’s outrageous terms.

• Xia Ping knocked Luo Di into a cliff with one palm, badly injuring him.
• The examinees who attacked Xia Ping were sent flying, and he ordered Wu Tong, Shi Fei, Liu Qiang, and the others to beat them.
• Shi Fei slapped Luo Di and confronted him over his past bullying, while Feng Hetang crushed the fallen examinees beneath his weight.
• Luo Di and the others admitted defeat and begged to be released.
• Xia Ping demanded five hundred million from each examinee for emotional distress damages and education fees, and Shi Fei and Feng Hetang defended the demand.

Xia Ping forced Luo Di and the other Xu Province District examinees to sign compensation contracts, then led his group to hunt Fire-Thorn Lizards. He used a Gem Fruit to lure the monsters out of their cave, and a tremendous tremor signaled that they were coming.

• Luo Di and the other examinees signed contracts agreeing to pay Xia Ping five hundred million Federal Coins each, then hurried away despite their injuries.
• Xia Ping led Jiang Yaru, Shi Fei, Wu Tong, and the others into the Fire-Thorn Lizard cave, where they found many confusing tunnels.
• Xia Ping proposed luring the Fire-Thorn Lizards out and showed the group a piece of Gem Fruit.
• Xia Ping placed the Gem Fruit outside the cave, and its fragrance spread through the tunnels.
• A few minutes later, the mountain shook violently, and Xia Ping realized the Gem Fruit had attracted a huge number of Fire-Thorn Lizards.

Xia Ping and his companions fought off a massive swarm of Fire-Thorn Lizards outside their cave, killing around two thousand without losing anyone. After the battle, Xia Ping tried the lizard meat and discovered that it tasted good and quickly restored his energy.

• A Fire-Thorn Lizard lunged from the cave, and Xia Ping killed it with a palm strike, drawing more of the creatures outside.
• Xia Ping held the cave entrance while Jiang Yaru, Chu Rong, Nangong Wu, and Feng Hetang fought the lizards that got past him.
• Wu Tong and the others joined the fight, and the group killed roughly two thousand Fire-Thorn Lizards over an hour.
• The remaining lizards stopped emerging, and Wu Tong and the others rested after surviving the battle with only a few injuries.
• Nangong Wu showed Xia Ping the edible meat inside a Fire-Thorn Lizard, and he ate some that restored his spent energy and began to strengthen his true qi.

Xia Ping went into the Fire-Thorn Lizards’ cave to search for its lair while his companions butchered the carcasses. Elsewhere, Mu Bancheng heard Luo Di’s group accuse Xia Ping and his followers of beating and extorting them, and Luo Di demanded revenge.

• Jiang Yaru, Wu Tong, and the other examinees celebrated their haul of two thousand Fire-Thorn Lizards.
• Xia Ping entered the cave to search for treasure, confident his tracking technique would keep him from getting lost.
• Mu Bancheng and more than a hundred examinees gathered around a thousand Fire-Thorn Lizard carcasses and praised his swordsmanship.
• Luo Di and his companions returned battered, and Mu Bancheng asked what had happened.
• Luo Di’s group accused Xia Ping and his followers of beating them and demanding five hundred million from each of them.
• Luo Di blamed Xia Ping for his injuries and vowed to get revenge.

Mu Bancheng and the other examinees heard a Yang Province District examinee describe Xia Ping as a notorious criminal protected by Giant Corporation. Incited by the accusations, Mu Bancheng vowed to confront Xia Ping and led the group to find him.

• An examinee from Yang Province District said Xia Ping had killed Xu Yuntian and several of his followers, terrifying the district's examinees.
• The examinee accused Xia Ping of abducting and assaulting women, and said Giant Corporation's protection kept him from being punished.
• Luo Di and the other examinees condemned Xia Ping and urged Mu Bancheng to stop him.
• Mu Bancheng agreed to confront Xia Ping and led the group to meet him.

Xia Ping found six Fire-Thorn Lizard eggs deep in the cave and redeemed a Space Ring to carry them. As he left the mountain with Jiang Yaru and the others, Mu Bancheng ambushed him and revealed himself as a powerful rival.

• Xia Ping reached the cave’s deepest point and discovered six Fire-Thorn Lizard eggs.
• Xia Ping redeemed a Space Ring from the system, stored the eggs inside it, and made the ring invisible.
• Xia Ping returned to Jiang Yaru and the others, and they left the mountain together.
• Mu Bancheng launched a sword aura at Xia Ping, who dodged the attack as it split a massive boulder.
• Mu Bancheng identified himself as the top examinee, a Fifth Heaven martial artist and King Family descendant, and confronted Xia Ping.

Xia Ping confronted Mu Bancheng, who had come with Luo Di and the Xu Province District examinees to demand that Xia Ping cancel his contracts and apologize. Their battle escalated as Xia Ping matched Mu Bancheng’s Azure Emperor Sword Technique with powerful punches, and Mu Bancheng began his second form.

• The Xu Province District examinees insulted Xia Ping and demanded he answer for beating Luo Di’s group and extorting money from them.
• Mu Bancheng ordered Xia Ping to kneel, apologize, and cancel the contracts, but Xia Ping challenged him to fight.
• Mu Bancheng’s first sword strike collided with Xia Ping’s punch, and their clash blasted a crater into the ground and injured nearby examinees.
• Mu Bancheng unleashed the first form of the Azure Emperor Sword Technique, and Xia Ping met it with a barrage of punches that forced the onlookers to retreat.
• Mu Bancheng grew enraged and attacked with the second form of the Azure Emperor Sword Technique, Death to Those Who Oppose Me.

Xia Ping fought Mu Bancheng and withstood his powerful sword attacks, astonishing the onlookers. As Mu Bancheng unleashed the third form of Azure Emperor Sword Technique, Xia Ping gathered the power of Ten Thousand Beasts Fist and prepared to counter with its seventh form.

• Xia Ping used Blood Shark Devour to swallow the sword energies of Mu Bancheng’s strike.
• Xia Ping and Mu Bancheng clashed across the battlefield, while Luo Di, Jiang Yaru, and the others watched in shock.
• Mu Bancheng unleashed the third form of Azure Emperor Sword Technique, Ten Thousand People Executed.
• Xia Ping combined the principles of his first six fist forms and used Kunpeng Step to gather his strength.
• Xia Ping stepped forward and prepared to unleash the seventh form of Ten Thousand Beasts Fist, Giant Elephant Axe.

Xia Ping defeated Mu Bancheng and beat the other examinees who had come to challenge him. He demanded that Mu Bancheng become his lackey, but Mu Bancheng angrily refused.

• Xia Ping shattered Mu Bancheng’s sword aura with a punch, sent him crashing into a boulder, and left him gravely injured.
• Xia Ping charged the examinees who tried to help Mu Bancheng and quickly beat more than a hundred of them.
• Feng Hetang mocked the fallen examinees and led others in beating them again when they refused to admit defeat.
• When Mu Bancheng protested, Xia Ping punched both his eyes, then demanded that he become his lackey instead of paying money.
• Mu Bancheng refused, declaring that he would never become Xia Ping’s lackey.

Xia Ping forced Mu Bancheng and the other examinees to submit by threatening to feed them to the Fire-Thorn Lizards, then made them pay more money. He left with their obedience and another six hundred billion Federal Coins promised.

• Xia Ping ordered Feng Hetang and the others to carry Luo Di and the other examinees toward the Fire-Thorn Lizards' cave.
• Mu Bancheng agreed to become Xia Ping's underling and begged him to spare the examinees.
• Xia Ping let Feng Hetang and the others set the captives down, and Mu Bancheng and the others apologized and praised him.
• Xia Ping demanded another five billion from each of the 120 examinees, and they agreed to pay.
• Wu Tong and the others watched as Xia Ping added the six hundred billion to the money he had already extorted.

After Xia Ping cooked eggs from a Fire-Thorn Lizard King’s nest, Nangong Wu warned that the enraged king and its vast horde would hunt them down. Xia Ping intended to eat the eggs anyway and proposed recruiting Mu Bancheng’s group to fight the king.

• After signing the debt agreement, Mu Bancheng and his companions left, and Xia Ping’s group returned to the Royal Palace in the Ruined City.
• Xia Ping cooked the Fire-Thorn Lizard eggs he had taken from a cave, and their glowing shells revealed they were extraordinary.
• Nangong Wu recognized the eggs as belonging to a Fire-Thorn Lizard King and warned that it could command tens of thousands of lizards and track them by scent.
• Feng Hetang panicked, while Jiang Yaru and Chu Rong blamed Xia Ping for provoking the monster horde.
• Xia Ping proposed asking Mu Bancheng’s group for help, then urged everyone to eat the eggs before they got cold.
• Nangong Wu refused to eat the eggs, but Xia Ping said he would eat them himself to help break through to the Third Heaven of Martial Artist Realm.

After consuming the Fire-Thorn Lizard King’s eggs, Xia Ping broke through to the Fourth Heaven of Martial Artist Realm and set out to recruit Mu Bancheng to help attack the king. The Fire-Thorn Lizard King returned to its lair, discovered its guards and eggs were gone, and roared in fury.

• Xia Ping refined the eggs’ energy overnight and broke through to the Fourth Heaven of Martial Artist Realm.
• Xia Ping decided to seek Mu Bancheng’s help before confronting the Fire-Thorn Lizard King, then raced toward his group using Kunpeng Step.
• The Fire-Thorn Lizard King returned to the Black Stone Mountain Range with its group and their Fire Essence Ore spoils.
• The Fire-Thorn Lizard King found its guards and eggs missing and roared, shaking the mountain as the other Fire-Thorn Lizards answered.

Xia Ping killed a Sand Bear with one blow and carried its body to White Stone City as a gift for Mu Bancheng. He arrived just as Mu Bancheng and the other candidates were plotting revenge, leaving them stunned by his entrance.

• Xia Ping charged through the desert and killed a Sand Bear with the fourth form of the Ten Thousand Beasts Fist.
• Xia Ping decided to take the Sand Bear to Mu Bancheng as a gift and carried it toward White Stone City.
• Mu Bancheng's fellow candidates urged him to rally a thousand people and take revenge on Xia Ping for beating and extorting them.
• A guard reported that a powerful intruder carrying a Sand Bear had forced his way through the city's defenses.
• Xia Ping threw the Sand Bear into the Royal Palace hall, damaging the floor and sending several candidates flying.
• Mu Bancheng and the candidates saw Xia Ping enter the hall.

Xia Ping arrived at the palace claiming he had come to apologize for beating and extorting the examinees, and offered them a Sand Bear as a gift. The examinees suspected he was afraid of retaliation after the exam and began thinking of unreasonable demands, while Mu Bancheng remained wary; a panicked examinee then rushed in.

• Xia Ping appeared at the palace, and Mu Bancheng noticed he had advanced to the Fourth Heaven of Martial Artist Realm.
• Xia Ping said he had come to apologize and offered everyone a Sand Bear for his actions the previous day.
• The examinees guessed Xia Ping wanted to avoid trouble from their powerful families after the exam and rejected the idea that one bear could settle their grudge.
• Xia Ping invited the examinees to name reasonable conditions, while they planned to make unreasonable demands.
• Another examinee ran into the palace, drenched in sweat and panicked.