Chapter Summaries

Lu Ye, a mine slave in Evil Moon Valley, fought to open his Spiritual Apertures while hiding his hopes beneath hard labor. After beating two fellow slaves who tried to rob him, he encountered Steward Yang, who struck him with Spiritual Power but then recognized him and ordered him to come along.

• Lu Ye reflected on his year as a mine slave and his efforts to open his Spiritual Apertures by exchanging ore for Qi and Blood Pills.
• Lu Ye ambushed the Liu Brothers behind a boulder and knocked both unconscious after recognizing them as robbers who had targeted him before.
• A cultivator rushed into the tunnel and struck Lu Ye, sending him flying and breaking his chest bones.
• Lu Ye recognized the attacker as Steward Yang, who explained through his actions that he had not meant to kill him and grabbed his shoulder, telling him to come along.

Lu Ye led Steward Yang into a hidden Dark Path after learning that the Vast Sky Alliance had arrived and Steward Yang meant to hide from them. There, the Primordial Magnetic Field suppressed Steward Yang’s Spiritual Power, allowing Lu Ye to kill him, though Steward Yang stabbed Lu Ye in the thigh before dying.

• Steward Yang forced Lu Ye to guide him through the Mine Tunnels and gave him a Healing Pill for his chest injury.
• Lu Ye led Steward Yang into a concealed Dark Path, where Steward Yang revealed that he planned to hide from the Vast Sky Alliance and intended to kill Lu Ye.
• Steward Yang attacked Lu Ye, but the Primordial Magnetic Field suppressed his Spiritual Power, and Lu Ye broke his arm with a mining pickaxe.
• Steward Yang drew a sword and tried to flee the field, but Lu Ye struck him with a stone and then smashed his head with the broken pickaxe.
• Lu Ye discovered Steward Yang’s sword embedded in his thigh and collapsed, relieved to be alive.

After killing Steward Yang, Lu Ye treated his sword wound and searched the Storage Bag for supplies and cultivation books. A mysterious flame from an unknown ore triggered a painful breakthrough, and the chapter ended with Lu Ye opening his Spiritual Apertures.

• Lu Ye removed Steward Yang's unlocked Storage Bag, found Qi and Blood Pills, Healing Pills, food, and other supplies, and treated his thigh wound after pulling out the sword.
• Lu Ye recovered, ate dried beast meat, and searched Steward Yang's belongings, finding the Golden Cicada Free and Unfettered Art but realizing he could not cultivate without open Spiritual Apertures.
• Lu Ye found an unfamiliar dark-red ore, and the Shadow Tree appeared and drove its roots into the stone.
• The ore split open and released a flame that clung to Lu Ye, vanished, and sent a scorching force into his dantian.
• Lu Ye endured severe pain as something broke in his lower abdomen, then sensed the force gathering there and realized his Spiritual Apertures had opened.

After the Shadow Tree consumed an orange-yellow flame, Lu Ye opened his Spiritual Aperture and learned the Spiritual Pattern Sharpness. He tested its power, recovered from exhausting himself, and realized the Shadow Tree was a Talent Tree.

• Lu Ye saw a burning leaf on the Shadow Tree and absorbed the pattern’s knowledge, learning the Spiritual Pattern Sharpness.
• Lu Ye moved beyond the Primordial Magnetic Field and found he could control the Spiritual Power in his Spiritual Aperture.
• Lu Ye formed Sharpness on his palm and cut a washbasin-sized stone cleanly in two.
• Lu Ye ran out of Spiritual Power and recovered by taking Qi and Blood Pills and eating beast meat.
• Lu Ye recognized the Shadow Tree as a Talent Tree and discovered his Martial Refinement update was already complete.

Lu Ye stayed hidden in the mine after awakening the Talent Tree and decided to recover and cultivate before seeking out the Vast Sky Alliance. He learned that he could not open another Spiritual Aperture until his Source Spirit Aperture was full, and Refining Essence into Qi was the only cultivation method available to him.

• Lu Ye discovered that using Sharpness had left his palm riddled with holes, then chose to remain hidden rather than risk leaving the mine.
• Lu Ye decided to recover and cultivate in the hidden area, planning to seek out the Vast Sky Alliance within a month.
• Lu Ye studied the Golden Cicada Free and Unfettered Art and learned that he had to fill his Source Spirit Aperture before opening another one.
• Lu Ye found that he could not sense Spiritual Energy or identify cultivation pills, leaving Refining Essence into Qi as his only way to cultivate.

After exhausting his Qi and Blood Pills, Lu Ye left the Mine Cave with Steward Yang’s valuables and encountered the wounded Zhou Cheng. Zhou Cheng attacked him, and Lu Ye countered with a sword enhanced by Sharpness Enhancement.

• Lu Ye cultivated for roughly a dozen days, filled his Source Spirit Aperture, and failed to locate his second Spiritual Aperture.
• After running out of food and Qi and Blood Pills, Lu Ye decided to take Steward Yang’s Storage Bag and mined all the Primordial Magnetic Ore into it.
• Lu Ye hid the Storage Bag against his body, took Steward Yang’s longsword, and cautiously headed for the Mine Cave exit.
• Lu Ye encountered the injured Zhou Cheng, who recognized him and demanded to know where he had gotten the sword.
• Zhou Cheng attacked, but Lu Ye dodged his strike and swept his own longsword upward with Sharpness Enhancement.

Lu Ye killed the injured Zhou Cheng with a Sharpness-enhanced sword and encountered a powerful elder from the Vast Sky Alliance. The elder agreed to lead him out of the mine and helped him open Zhou Cheng’s Storage Bag, taking a bottle of Dragon Tiger Pills as payment.

• Lu Ye used Sharpness to break Zhou Cheng’s sword and slash his neck, then fled deeper into the Mine Tunnel.
• Lu Ye returned and confirmed Zhou Cheng had died from his wound.
• A powerful elder arrived, identified Zhou Cheng as a remnant of Evil Moon Valley, and learned that Lu Ye was a mine slave from the destroyed Mystic Heaven Sect.
• Lu Ye confirmed the elder belonged to the Vast Sky Alliance and pleaded for help leaving the mine.
• The elder agreed to take Lu Ye with him, then helped open Zhou Cheng’s Storage Bag and took its bottle of Dragon Tiger Pills.

Lu Ye escaped the Mine Tunnel with Old Man Tang’s help and reached a Vast Sky Alliance camp, where rescued prisoners were being registered. As a plump cultivator began verifying Lu Ye’s identity, he fixed his attention on the Storage Bag at Lu Ye’s waist.

• Lu Ye found pills, ore, and a longsword in Zhou Cheng’s Storage Bag, then followed Old Man Tang through the Mine Tunnel.
• Old Man Tang led Lu Ye safely to the exit, where Vast Sky Alliance cultivators recognized him and assigned a young cultivator to register Lu Ye.
• Old Man Tang told the Alliance guards that Lu Ye had helped him, shielding Lu Ye’s Storage Bag from suspicion, then flew away to meet Deputy Alliance Master Pang.
• The young cultivator brought Lu Ye to a registration table among the rescued Mine Slaves and other captives.
• The plump cultivator woke up, saw Lu Ye, and fixed his gaze on the Storage Bag at Lu Ye’s waist.

Lu Ye’s identity as a former Mine Slave was verified after Yu Xiaodie vouched for him, and Senior Brother Pang hinted that an opportunity awaited him. Yu Xiaodie explained that the Vast Sky Alliance would select Mine Slaves with cultivation potential to join its sects.

• Senior Brother Pang questioned Lu Ye about his identity and opened Spiritual Aperture, then accepted his explanation that he had killed an injured Evil Moon Valley cultivator.
• Senior Brother Pang checked whether anyone from Mystic Heaven Sect could identify Lu Ye, but the other Mine Slaves stayed silent and the Liu Brothers watched without helping.
• Yu Xiaodie stepped forward and confirmed that Lu Ye belonged to Mystic Heaven Sect, allowing Senior Brother Pang to clear his identity.
• Lu Ye thanked Yu Xiaodie, and they introduced themselves again, recalling how he had once saved her in the Mine Tunnel.
• Yu Xiaodie told Lu Ye that the Vast Sky Alliance would arrange for Mine Slaves with cultivation talent to be taken in by its sects.

Lu Ye learned that the Vast Sky Alliance was offering enslaved people a chance to join its sects, then waited as cultivators tested them for aptitude. The tests had reached Thirteenth, whose crystal ball glowed cyan, while Lu Ye was still in line.

• Yu Xiaodie warned Lu Ye not to miss the next day's opportunity, and Lu Ye confirmed that he had opened his Spiritual Apertures.
• Lu Ye beat the Liu Brothers and claimed their spot, then rested and ate while the enslaved people waited for the opportunity.
• Vast Sky Alliance cultivators divided the enslaved people into groups and began testing them with a crystal ball.
• After many people showed no aptitude, Thirteenth made the crystal ball glow pale cyan and received a Jade Token before being sent to a tent for further examination.

Lu Ye passed the cultivation aptitude test and discovered that his dominant attribute was Fire, with some Metal as well. He entered the Azure Jade Sect’s talent-testing tent, where Third Senior Brother began giving him an exhaustive introduction to the sect.

• Lu Ye reached the testing desk and told the cultivator that he had opened one aperture.
• The crystal ball showed Lu Ye’s Fire attribute was dominant, with some Metal, and the cultivator gave him a Jade Token.
• Lu Ye entered the tent and sat on a formation disk engraved with intricate Spiritual Patterns for his talent assessment.
• Third Senior Brother inspected Lu Ye’s Jade Token and launched into a lengthy introduction to the Azure Jade Sect and other sects.
• Lu Ye recognized the speech as an enrollment brochure for the Cultivation World.

Lu Ye underwent an aptitude test at the Azure Jade Sect and received a result that seemed exceptionally poor, leaving him wary of what it meant. Yu Xiaodie confirmed that fewer saplings indicated lower aptitude, but Lu Ye accepted the result calmly, grateful that he had opened a Spiritual Aperture.

• Third Senior Brother explained the Azure Jade Sect’s cultivation arts and disciple benefits before testing Lu Ye’s aptitude with a Formation.
• The test caused Lu Ye increasing pain, and only one of the eight saplings grew a leaf.
• Third Senior Brother returned Lu Ye’s Jade Token and told him to pretend he had not heard the earlier recruitment pitch.
• Lu Ye asked Yu Xiaodie to interpret his Jade Token, and she confirmed that a smaller number indicated lower aptitude.
• Lu Ye accepted the result without discouragement, noting that he was still fortunate compared with those eliminated for lacking cultivation aptitude.

Lu Ye learned that his talent was only one leaf out of a possible sixty-four, far below Yu Xiaodie's thirty-eight, and asked her how the test measured cultivation potential. Their comparison of cultivation speeds left him confused about why his own progress seemed faster despite his poor talent.

• Lu Ye asked to see Yu Xiaodie's Jade Token and discovered that her talent score was thirty-eight leaves out of a possible sixty-four.
• Lu Ye realized that his own score of one represented a single leaf, not one sapling, and was deeply discouraged before reminding himself of his Talent Tree.
• Yu Xiaodie explained that the test measured how easily Spiritual Energy entered the body and that this affected cultivation efficiency.
• Lu Ye learned that Yu Xiaodie had filled her first Spiritual Aperture in about twenty-odd days after receiving a Spirit Nurturing Pill.
• Lu Ye recalled that he had filled his own first Spiritual Aperture in only a dozen or so days using Qi and Blood Pills, and wondered what was going on.

Lu Ye asked Yu Xiaodie for help locating his second Spiritual Aperture and learned more about cultivation and the sects of Soldier Province. As inspections neared completion, Yu Xiaodie encouraged him to seek a place among the sects recruiting people with Jade Tokens.

• Lu Ye asked Yu Xiaodie how to open his second Spiritual Aperture, and she explained that he needed to sense its position himself or receive guidance from a cultivator in the Cloud River Realm.
• Yu Xiaodie warned Lu Ye that the second aperture's location depended on his cultivation art and explained that cultivators progressed through the Spirit Stream, Cloud River, True Lake, and Divine Sea Realms.
• Yu Xiaodie described the nine ranks of sects and named Soldier Province's Ten First-Rank Sects, including Azure Jade Sect and Righteous Qi Sect.
• Lu Ye learned that Evil Moon Valley was far below a First-Rank Sect and that several sects had come to recruit people with Jade Tokens.
• Yu Xiaodie urged Lu Ye not to miss the chance to join a sect, and he doubted his one-leaf aptitude would earn him a place.

Lu Ye and Yu Xiaodie met Pang Dahai, who offered advice about choosing a sect in exchange for ore. After bargaining over how much counted as sincerity, Pang Dahai finally admitted Lu Ye had offered enough.

• Pang Dahai approached Lu Ye and Yu Xiaodie and said that choosing the right sect could help them get what they wanted.
• Yu Xiaodie asked Pang Dahai to explain, and he demanded sincerity from Lu Ye in return for his guidance.
• Lu Ye tested Pang Dahai by offering a bottle of Qi and Blood Pills, then learned that Pang Dahai wanted ore.
• Pang Dahai introduced himself as Pang Dahai of the Righteous Qi Sect and insisted that Lu Ye offer more valuable ore.
• Lu Ye began taking back the ore he had laid out, and Pang Dahai stopped him and declared that it was enough.

Pang Dahai explained how cultivators’ attributes and interests should guide their choice of faction and sect, then advised Lu Ye and Yu Xiaodie about their prospects. He left Lu Ye frustrated over his One Leaf Talent, but gave Yu Xiaodie a recommendation suited to her wood attribute.

• Pang Dahai explained the six major cultivation factions and how sects prioritize different paths according to their resources and specialties.
• Pang Dahai described how the Five Elements suit different factions and urged Lu Ye and Yu Xiaodie to consider their attributes before choosing a sect.
• When Lu Ye asked which sect suited his fire-and-metal attributes, Pang Dahai mocked his One Leaf Talent, then quietly advised him to keep his expectations low and focus on what he wanted.
• Pang Dahai recommended Hundred Flowers Valley to Yu Xiaodie because she disliked fighting and her wood attribute suited its Medical Cultivators.
• After Pang Dahai left, Lu Ye explained to Yu Xiaodie that people value things more once they have lost them, referring to Pang Dahai accepting two ore chunks after rejecting four.

Lu Ye and the other test-passing cultivators chose up to three sects, knowing their chances depended on both their preferences and the sects’ selections. After recalling Pang Dahai’s warning, Lu Ye chose the low-ranked Crimson Blood Sect and asked what would happen if he selected only that one.

• Cultivators gave the test-passing group lists of ten sects and explained that each person could choose up to three, while the sects would also decide whom to accept.
• Lu Ye compared the sect choices to university preferences and worried that his One Leaf talent would leave him at a disadvantage.
• Yu Xiaodie asked whether Lu Ye had decided, and he told her to go ahead while he thought longer.
• Lu Ye circled the Crimson Blood Sect as insurance, then reconsidered his other choices after recalling Pang Dahai’s advice.
• Lu Ye asked the cultivator what would happen if he chose only the Crimson Blood Sect, and the cultivator told him to choose it and find out.

Lu Ye chose the low-ranked Crimson Blood Sect as his only sect, triggering an alliance rule that required it to accept him despite his poor talent. Old Man Tang hesitated over taking him in, while Pang Zhen ordered him to accept Lu Ye and suggested the choice might benefit the sect.

• Lu Ye trusted Pang Dahai's advice, chose only the Crimson Blood Sect, and handed his preferences and Jade Token to Mustache.
• Mustache delivered the choices to the Vast Sky Alliance leaders, who were preparing to retreat after Myriad Demon Ridge began gathering forces.
• The sect representatives discovered that Lu Ye had chosen only the Crimson Blood Sect, and Old Man Tang recognized him as the youth from the Mine Cave.
• Old Man Tang explained that the Crimson Blood Sect did not accept disciples, but the alliance's rules required it to take Lu Ye because he had made only one choice.
• Pang Zhen ordered Old Man Tang to accept Lu Ye despite his poor talent, and Old Man Tang said he would think it over.

Lu Ye waited to learn whether he had been accepted into a sect, expecting to be turned away after choosing only Crimson Blood Sect. Old Man Tang ultimately accepted him, and Lu Ye joined the long-dormant sect as its first recruit in thirty years.

• Mustache announced the accepted disciples, including Yu Xiaodie, while Lu Ye and about ten others were left off the list.
• Old Man Tang watched Lu Ye from the shadows and, after considering the Alliance rules, decided to accept him into Crimson Blood Sect.
• Mustache added Crimson Blood Sect to the announcements and called Lu Ye's name, congratulating him as Lu One Leaf.
• Lu Ye asked Mustache's name and cultivation level, learned he was Leshan of Righteous Qi Sect at Cloud River Stage, Seventh Layer, and promised to remember his kindness.
• Leshan led the rejected candidates away, unaware that choosing Crimson Blood Sect would not have helped them, since it accepted only Lu Ye.

Lu Ye waited for the Crimson Blood Sect, failed again to find his second aperture, and watched the Vast Sky Alliance summon its Flying Dragon Ships. Old Man Tang revealed he was from the Crimson Blood Sect and took Lu Ye aboard one of the ships, where they entered a plain cabin room.

• Yu Xiaodie left with a cultivator from Hundred Flowers Valley, and Lu Ye waited alone for the Crimson Blood Sect.
• Lu Ye tried and failed to locate his second aperture while cultivators gathered to withdraw from the valley.
• A middle-aged cultivator summoned several enormous Flying Dragon Ships, and the sect cultivators boarded them.
• Old Man Tang appeared beside Lu Ye, explained the ships’ purpose, and confirmed he belonged to the Crimson Blood Sect.
• Old Man Tang carried Lu Ye onto a Flying Dragon Ship and led him into a simple cabin room.