Chapter Summaries

Zhou Gu and Sun Yun tried to persuade Lu Ye to hand Bifu to their families, offering help with Dao Fusion advancement and other benefits. Their negotiations stalled when Sun Yun threatened Lu Ye, and a new arrival entered the parlor.

• Zhou Gu and Sun Yun arrived to negotiate with Lu Ye over Bifu, and Lu Ye invited them inside.
• Zhou Gu praised Lu Ye’s role in killing a Dao Fusion cultivator, while Lu Ye credited Yan Hong and the enemy’s carelessness.
• Sun Yun offered the Sun Family’s help with Dao Fusion advancement and access to the Dao Pattern Pavilion; Zhou Gu matched her offer on behalf of the Zhou Family.
• Sun Yun cited her family’s control over Battle Merit registration, while Zhou Gu offered help exchanging for military supplies.
• Ziying and her Order Official watched from outside as Ziying revealed she had summoned reinforcements, hoping the guarded Dao Fusion cultivators would take over the defense.
• Sun Yun threatened Lu Ye when he refused to commit, Zhou Gu disavowed threats, and an unknown figure entered asking who was threatening whom.

Yan Hong intervened when Zhou Gu and Sun Yun tried to claim Bifu, but Zhou Gu secretly ordered his guard to seize Lu Ye. Blue Water’s guardian Ziying swiftly subdued both Fusion Dao guards, and Yan Hong later returned Bifu to Lu Ye after inspecting it.

• Yan Hong arrived and rebuked Zhou Gu and Sun Yun for threatening Lu Ye, asserting that Bifu belonged to the Yan Family.
• Zhou Gu pretended to agree to leave, then ordered Uncle Yi to seize Lu Ye so the Zhou Family could take Bifu.
• Ziying beat Uncle Yi and Sun Yun’s Fusion Dao guard for entering Blue Water without reporting in, forcing Zhou Gu and Sun Yun to flee.
• Yan Hong apologized to Lu Ye and credited Ziying for resolving the confrontation.
• Yan Hong asked to inspect Bifu, examined it with fascination, and solemnly handed it back to Lu Ye.

Lu Ye negotiated with the Yan Family over the Bifu while Ziying intervened to ensure he received favorable terms. The Yan Family agreed to provide him with resources and access to its Dao Pattern Pavilion, and Lu Ye accepted the arrangement after confirming his Dao Bone supply would continue until he reached Fusion Dao.

• Yan Hong returned the Bifu to Lu Ye and stayed at his pavilion to recover and deter other families from approaching him.
• Yan Yong arrived to negotiate for the Yan Family, but Ziying came to protect Lu Ye and warned that other Fusion Dao cultivators were waiting outside Blue Water.
• Yan Yong offered Lu Ye monthly Dao Bones, access to the star's Entering Dao Pattern Pavilion, a top-grade Dao Artifact, and a place in the Yan Family's Household Generals Hall.
• Ziying challenged Yan Yong's terms, and Yan Hong offered to transfer his own opportunity to enter the Dao Pattern Pavilion to Lu Ye.
• Yan Yong agreed to let Lu Ye enter the Yan Family's Dao Pattern Pavilion once and promised the Dao Bone supply would continue until Lu Ye advanced to Fusion Dao.
• Lu Ye accepted the terms in principle after clarifying that the Yan Family would keep providing Dao Bones if his advancement took a long time.

Lu Ye secured generous benefits from the Yan Family for transferring Bifu, while Ziying protected him and arranged for the Insect Mother to learn that Bifu had changed hands. After receiving his rewards and promotion to Silver Guard, Lu Ye considered leaving Azure Water to seek more battles and Dao Bones.

• Ziying negotiated for Lu Ye to receive two hundred Dao Bones monthly, a Dao Artifact, a Yan Family retainer token without obligations, and access to the Entering Dao Pattern Pavilion.
• Ziying had a Stone Worm witness her hand Bifu to Yan Yong, then warned Lu Ye that the Insect and Blood Races might still target him.
• Lu Ye stayed at Azure Water to cultivate, knowing the Insect Mother might still suspect he possessed another Bifu.
• The Yan Family delivered a top-grade short hammer, the first month's Dao Bones, and a retainer token, while Lu Ye's battle merits earned him Silver Guard rank.
• After a month at Azure Water, Lu Ye considered leaving because the recovering armies would likely bring little fighting for several years.

Lu Ye accepted Ziying’s appointment as commander of Blue Water’s Vanguard Camp for an attack on the enemy war star. He won the camp’s respect by defeating its strongest cultivator and told the assembled force to stay close to him in battle.

• Lu Ye visited Ziying to say farewell, but she told him to wait because Blue Water planned a surprise attack on the enemy war star in three days.
• Ziying appointed Lu Ye to command a hundred elite cultivators and lead the vanguard, and Lu Ye accepted.
• Lu Ye arrived at the valley where the camp had gathered and ordered the cultivators to form up, but most ignored him.
• When a cultivator challenged his authority, Lu Ye first defeated him with his hammer and then beat him in hand-to-hand combat without using a Dao Artifact.
• The cultivator, Wang Xun, recognized Lu Ye as the Dao Entry cultivator rumored to have slain a Dao Integration cultivator, and the camp accepted Lu Ye as its commander.
• Lu Ye told the camp that everyone must stay close to him during the coming battle and forbid anyone from acting alone.

Lu Ye tried to turn the Vanguard Camp into a battle-ready formation using the Shared Breath, Connected Branches Spirit Pattern, but the Spirit Pattern failed under the strain of Dao Force. He spent two days deriving a new version and discovered that the Talent Tree’s derivation had incorporated patterns he had encountered inside Bifu.

• Lu Ye met with Wang Xun, learned that only Wang Xun, Liu Yi, and Yang Mingfang in the Vanguard Camp possessed Dao Artifacts, and considered how to use the camp in the coming battle.
• Lu Ye used the Shared Breath, Connected Branches Spirit Pattern to link several cultivators and guide them into forming a Black Tortoise Formation.
• Wang Xun tested the formation with a full-strength strike, causing it to collapse when Lu Ye’s Dao Force destabilized the Spirit Pattern.
• Lu Ye began deriving a new version of the Spirit Pattern on the Talent Tree, increasing the fuel input and discovering that consuming Dao Force accelerated the process.
• After two days and roughly one to two thousand strands of Dao Force, Lu Ye completed the new Spirit Pattern and recognized traces of patterns from Bifu within it.

Lu Ye stabilized the Shared Breath, Connected Branches Spirit Pattern and used it to assemble a hundred cultivators into the Crane Wing Formation, strengthening the Vanguard Camp. After naming them the Crane Wing Camp, he led them with Ziying’s forces to the Blood Cloud War Star, where enemy troops were already waiting.

• Lu Ye successfully constructed the Shared Breath, Connected Branches Spirit Pattern with Dao Power and chose the Crane Wing Formation after consulting Wang Xun.
• Lu Ye used the Spirit Pattern to unite a hundred cultivators in the Crane Wing Formation, boosting their strength but taking on the strain and limiting how long and far he could sustain it.
• Lu Ye named his unit the Crane Wing Camp and ordered its cultivators to rest before the coming battle.
• Ziying summoned the Alliance Guards and led them aboard her palace toward the Blood Cloud War Star.
• Lu Ye and the Crane Wing Camp arrived in the starry sky before the Blood Cloud War Star and saw that a large enemy force had gathered to meet them.

Ziying led Blue Water in a sudden assault on Blood Cloud War Star, forcing Fei Lian to meet her while the armies clashed. Lu Ye held Crane Wing Camp back until ordered to confront a spreading Blood Sea, then led his camp straight into it; the Blood Sea collapsed, revealing a Divine Crane phantom.

• Fei Lian learned that Ziying had launched a full-scale counterattack and called for reinforcements while preparing to hold Blood Cloud War Star.
• Ziying charged into Blood Cloud's defenses, and Fei Lian engaged her as the Order Official sent nine Vanguard Camps into the battle.
• The Order Official kept Lu Ye and Crane Wing Camp in reserve while the fighting intensified and casualties mounted.
• The Order Official assigned Lu Ye to deal with a Blood Sea that was swallowing both allies and enemies, and Lu Ye led his camp toward it.
• Lu Ye commanded Crane Wing Camp to spread out and charge into the Blood Sea, alarming the Order Official.
• The Blood Sea shook and collapsed, and a lifelike Divine Crane phantom appeared before the stunned Order Official.

Lu Ye led the hundred-member Crane Wing Camp in a devastating assault that shattered the Insect and Blood Races’ defenses. After three members were killed in a planned attack, the formation remained intact and swallowed the enemies massing around it.

• The Crane Wing Formation tore through the Blood Sea, killing large numbers of Insect and Blood Races cultivators as the Order Official watched in amazement.
• Lu Ye ordered a formation change, and the Divine Crane swept through another battle zone, leaving enemy corpses and taking their Dao Bones.
• The Crane Wing Camp’s attacks broke gaps in Blood Cloud War Star’s defensive line, forcing the Insect Mother to contract its defenses.
• The Insect Mother sent Dao Artifact-wielding cultivators to kill members of the Crane Wing Camp, and three succeeded before they were overwhelmed and killed.
• The Insect and Blood Races gathered to attack the weakened formation, but the Crane Wing Formation held firm and swept the surrounding enemies into its ranks.

Lu Ye led the Crane Wing Camp through the battle until Giant Ruler’s reinforcements arrived, then watched as Ziying revealed her real target: the Insect Mother inside Blood Cloud War Star. Ziying’s soul battle with the Insect Mother shook the war star and ended with a piercing scream and a crack of light across its surface.

• The Insect and Blood Races sent more cultivators into the fight, while the Crane Wing Camp suffered casualties and Lu Ye led his exhausted camp to withdraw and recover.
• Giant Ruler War Star’s forces arrived, forcing the Insect and Blood Races into retreat as the battle intensified.
• A Giant Race Fusion Dao cultivator joined Ziying’s fight with Fei Lian, but then broke away and rushed into Blood Cloud War Star.
• Lu Ye realized Ziying’s true target was the Insect Mother, whose Insect Nest prevented it from escaping and whose strength lay in soul combat.
• Ziying and the Insect Mother fought within the Insect Nest, sending increasingly violent soul-power aftershocks across the battlefield.
• A piercing scream sounded from the Insect Nest, and Blood Cloud War Star appeared split by a crack with light shining from within.

Ziying killed the Insect Mother inside Blood Cloud War Star, forcing Fei Lian to flee and turning the battle in the Human Race Alliance and Giant Race’s favor. After returning to Blue Water, Lu Ye accepted half of Crane Wing Camp’s collected Dao Bones as his share of the spoils.

• Ziying killed the Insect Mother and shattered Blood Cloud War Star, while Fei Lian fled using the Blood Escape Art.
• Ziying pursued Fei Lian to drive him away, then revealed her severe injuries and asked Giant Ruler to protect her.
• Lu Ye led Crane Wing Camp into battle as the Insect and Blood Races lost command and morale, then retreated when enemy reinforcements were expected.
• Ziying and Giant Ruler returned with their forces to Blue Water after the battle.
• Wang Xun gave Lu Ye half of Crane Wing Camp’s Dao Bones, and Lu Ye accepted the share.
• Kang Xing and the other two praised Lu Ye and Crane Wing Camp after returning safely from the battle.

Lu Ye refined Dao Bones until his Dao Power reached thirty-nine, then prepared to leave the now-quiet war zone for a more challenging one. Before he could depart, Huang Zhen of the Military Affairs Office arrived to investigate the Crane Wing Formation, and Lu Ye revealed the adaptable formation pattern and his Spirit Pattern Master skills.

• Lu Ye used the Talent Tree to refine Dao Bones and raised his strength to thirty-nine Dao Power.
• Lu Ye concluded that the destruction of the Blood Cloud War Star had made the war zone unsuitable for his cultivation and considered moving to a fierce front-line war zone.
• Ziying summoned Lu Ye three days later, where he met Huang Zhen from the Military Affairs Office, accompanied by Yan Yong.
• Lu Ye presented Huang Zhen with the Crane Wing Formation pattern and explained that it could help form different formations, not just the Crane Wing.
• Lu Ye showed the Tattoo Pattern on his chest, explaining how he activated the complex pattern in battle, and Huang Zhen recognized him as a Spirit Pattern Master.

Lu Ye offered the Military Affairs Office the Dao Pattern he had devised and negotiated support, then heard Ziying’s advice about advancing to Fusion Dao and joined Falcon as his next destination. He prepared to leave Blue Water for the Battle Merit Pavilion to enlist.

• Huang Zhen identified Lu Ye’s pattern as a Dao Pattern and offered him recruitment into the Huang Family while accepting the pattern for the Military Affairs Office.
• Lu Ye negotiated one hundred Dao Bones each month, and Ziying secured him a Gold Guard Token and materials for a Dao Soldier upon his future advancement to Fusion Dao.
• Ziying advised Lu Ye not to use the pattern as his foundation for advancing and explained that Falcon hunted enemy cultivators carrying Dao Artifacts.
• Lu Ye learned that Dao Artifacts could be traded for Dao Bones and decided to join Falcon for access to its intelligence network.
• Ziying directed Lu Ye to the Battle Merit Pavilion to enlist, and Lu Ye thanked her before setting out.

Lu Ye joined Falcon under the codename Owl and accepted a mission to hunt an Insect Race target with Fourteen Dao Power. After traveling to Fir War Star and meeting the Night Owl informant Chen Sheng, Lu Ye reached the battlefield where the target had attacked Chen Sheng’s group.

• Lu Ye proved that his Dao Soldier gave him Fourteen Dao Power, joined Falcon, and registered the codename Owl.
• Lu Ye refined his Hunter Eagle Token, reviewed Falcon’s dangerous missions, and accepted a mission targeting a powerful Insect Race.
• The Night Owl informant Chen Sheng contacted Lu Ye and shared information about the target that had injured him.
• Lu Ye traveled to Fir War Star, met Chen Sheng, and followed him to the site where the Insect Race had killed three of Chen Sheng’s companions.

Lu Ye drew the Insect Mother’s attention by openly killing enemies across the war zone, until a Fourteen Dao Power Insect Race cultivator came to confront him. Their battle began with both sides wielding high-grade Dao Artifacts, and Lu Ye pressed his attack without retreating.

• Lu Ye sent Chen Sheng away and deliberately hunted enemies, expecting the Insect Mother to notice him.
• Lu Ye killed four members of a five-person Insect Race and Blood Race ambush squad, while the last Insect Race cultivator escaped.
• Lu Ye continued fighting across the war zone until the Insect Mother ordered her forces to avoid him.
• Two days later, the Fourteen Dao Power Insect Race cultivator Lu Ye had been seeking appeared, and he realized it had come specifically for him.
• Lu Ye and the Insect Race cultivator clashed; it attacked his chest while Lu Ye drove his short hammer through its defenses.

Lu Ye killed a Fourteen Dao Insect Race cultivator despite being wounded, then arranged to sell the enemy’s high-grade Dao Artifact to the Yan Family. After settling his red-level Falcon mission on Fir War Star, he met Yan Xiaowu, who had come to complete the handover.

• Lu Ye seized the Insect Race cultivator after their first exchange, destroyed his defensive Dao Artifact with a second hammer blow, and killed him with a third.
• Lu Ye recovered from his wound, messaged Yan Hong, and agreed to sell the short blade Dao Artifact to the Yan Family for nine hundred Dao Bones.
• Yan Hong told Lu Ye that he was Dragon Falcon, while Lu Ye said he had joined Falcon and planned to share the Dao Bones outward.
• Lu Ye refined Dao Bones while waiting, then returned to Fir War Star and settled his red-level mission by presenting the Insect Race corpse and short blade.
• Yan Xiaowu approached Lu Ye outside the Battle Merit Hall and introduced himself as Yan Hong’s cousin, sent to complete the handover.

Lu Ye traded a high-grade Dao Artifact for Dao Bones, refined his growing hoard, and tempered his Dao Bones before accepting another red-grade mission. He killed a powerful Blood Race cultivator in his Blood Sea and obtained another high-grade Dao Artifact, leaving Yan Xiaowu shocked when he returned to trade it.

• Lu Ye gave Yan Xiaowu a high-grade Dao Artifact and received eleven hundred Dao Bones, then rewarded Chen Sheng with eighty Dao Bones for his intelligence.
• Lu Ye refined his Dao Bones with the Talent Tree and discovered that tempering each Dao Bone now required roughly two thousand strands of Dao Power.
• Lu Ye collected his monthly Dao Bones from the Military Affairs Office and left Fir War Star to pursue another red-grade mission.
• Lu Ye entered a Blood Race cultivator's Blood Sea, found the enemy's hidden position, and killed him with a hammer strike.
• Lu Ye collected the Blood Race cultivator's spoils and contacted Yan Hong on his way back.
• Yan Xiaowu met Lu Ye again less than a month later and was shocked that Lu Ye had acquired another high-grade Dao Artifact.

Lu Ye continued hunting red-level targets and refining Dao Bones, reaching ninety Dao Power before enemy experts went into hiding and stalled his progress. After he abandoned his first mission and struggled to find another, Ziying contacted him to ask him to join her forces.

• Lu Ye exchanged high-grade Dao Artifacts with Yan Xiaowu, who explained that the Yan Family would only buy them at the usual price and offered to connect him with other great families.
• Lu Ye refined Dao Bones until he could wield ninety Dao Power, then accepted another red-level mission.
• After two months without finding his target, Lu Ye discovered that enemy experts had gone into hiding; he eventually returned and abandoned the mission.
• Lu Ye tried and failed to secure a lower-level mission, then received a message from Ziying asking him to help because she was short on troops and officers.
• Lu Ye agreed to join Ziying and asked where she was stationed.

Lu Ye arrived at Yellow Springs War Star and took command of the reorganized Crane Wing Camp. When Fengtai Stronghold came under urgent threat, he led the camp to reinforce it and formed the Divine Crane formation on the way.

• Lu Ye reached Yellow Springs War Star, where Wang Xun welcomed him and explained that Ziying had assembled the Crane Wing Camp for him.
• Lu Ye reunited with the camp, now reinforced so every cultivator was at the Ninth Layer Dao, and accepted command.
• Wang Xiu delivered an order to send the Crane Wing Camp to support Fengtai Stronghold, and Lu Ye confirmed the dispatch with Ziying.
• Lu Ye led the camp toward Fengtai Stronghold as Wang Xun explained the stakes of fighting in a major war zone.
• At Lu Ye's command, the Crane Wing Camp formed the Crane Wing Formation and transformed into the Divine Crane, astonishing the newcomers.

Lu Ye brought the Crane Wing Camp to Fengtai Stronghold and discovered that his increased strength had greatly enhanced their formation. As the enemy closed in around the stronghold, he led the camp and other reinforcements in a flanking assault and promised a counterattack was coming.

• Lu Ye found that the Crane Wing Formation placed far less strain on him and raised its members to at least Thirteen Dao Power.
• Lu Ye and the Crane Wing Camp reached Fengtai Stronghold, where Du Feng fought an Insect Race Fusion Dao cultivator and allied forces struggled to hold the enemy back.
• Lu Ye ordered his teams to attack along the edges of the Blood Seas without entering them, and the Crane Wing Camp tore through enemies who tried to intercept them.
• The Crane Wing Camp's attacks eased the pressure on Fengtai Stronghold, but enemy Blood Seas closed in and threatened to encircle the reinforcements.
• Lu Ye urged the other cultivators to stay close and promised an opportunity to counterattack, though a few chose to break out.