Chapter Summaries

More than a decade earlier, the injured Qing Yanjing crashed into the Spirit Beast Forest and was surrounded by beasts. In Hundred Spirit City, twelve-year-old Mu Chen visited his father, Mu Feng, who remembered his absent wife as the chapter revealed how Qing Yanjing had helped him build the Mu Clan’s rule over the Hundred Spirit Continent.

• Qing Yanjing fell into a ravine in the Spirit Beast Forest, grievously wounded, as spirit beasts closed in on her.
• At the King’s Tribute Festival, Mu Chen ordered the music and dancing to continue until Luo Tong told him Mu Feng wanted to see him.
• Mu Chen left the hall and joined Mu Feng and Zhou Ye, who had finished discussing matters of the kingdom.
• Mu Feng asked Mu Chen about his injured leg, and Mu Chen complained that he was already twelve and had only hunted low-level beasts.
• Mu Feng reflected that Qing Yanjing had been gone for nearly twelve years and remembered how she helped him establish the Mu Clan’s rule across the Hundred Spirit Continent.

Mu Chen showed Mu Feng his cultivation and learned that he would preside over the upcoming King's Tribute Festival. After leaving the hall, he encountered Hong Ling, who tried to approach him, but another visitor interrupted them.

• Mu Chen demonstrated his restrained spiritual energy, and Mu Feng praised his progress in the Great Pagoda Art.
• Mu Feng told Mu Chen that he would oversee the King's Tribute Festival and show his bearing as the Young King of Hundred Spirits.
• Hong Ling waited outside the hall and stopped Mu Chen as he left, saying she and Qian'er would help him prepare for the festival.
• Hong Ling flirted with Mu Chen, who struggled to think of a way to leave.
• An unfamiliar voice called out, “Junior Mu Chen, I've finally found you,” interrupting them.

Mu Chen advanced the Pagoda God Art to Form Condensation and reflected on how it would eventually unlock his sealed Spirit Vein. After reuniting with Lie Jiu, he learned that the Spirit Road Selection had begun.

• Tang Qian'er visited Mu Chen, but Hong Ling teased her about her feelings for him and drove her off.
• Hong Ling said goodbye to Mu Chen after teasing him about Tang Qian'er’s affection.
• Mu Chen cultivated until his Dark Spirit Power formed an illusory nine-story pagoda, advancing the Pagoda God Art to Form Condensation.
• Mu Chen recalled that reaching the Pagoda Manifestation Realm would awaken his Eight Spirit Veins and Nine Divine Veins.
• Lie Jiu visited Mu Chen, and Mu Chen learned that the Spirit Road Selection had begun.

The Northern Spiritual Academy gathered to begin the Spirit Road Selection, with Royal Heir Mu Chen arriving as the students prepared to enter the trials. The Mirror of Judgment appeared above the academy, and its immense spiritual pressure overwhelmed nearly everyone present.

• Dean Xiao addressed the gathered students and announced the opening of the Spirit Road Selection.
• Teacher Mo reported that Lie Jiu had been sent to invite Mu Chen, and Dean Xiao spotted Mu Chen arriving.
• Mu Chen joined Tang Qian'er and Hong Ling before taking his place at the front of the students.
• The instructors explained that the Spirit Road barred energy use and tested entrants through dangerous trials selected by the Mirror of Judgment.
• The Mirror of Judgment projected itself above the academy, and its spiritual pressure forced students and instructors to bow or sit down.

Mu Chen absorbed the Mirror of Judgment’s starlight through the Great Pagoda Art, draining the power meant to test him. His pillar eventually burst, leaving the academy convinced the selection had mistakenly rejected the Royal Heir, while the Mirror’s projection trembled in exhaustion.

• The Mirror of Judgment summoned three hundred eligible Spirit Academy students and enveloped each in a pillar of starlight to test their potential.
• Mu Chen sensed that the starlight could refine his body and awakened the Ancient God Canon’s Great Pagoda Art.
• The mysterious nine-story pagoda devoured the starlight entering Mu Chen, and the Mirror repeatedly increased its flow to keep his pillar intact.
• Most students failed as their pillars faded, while Dean Xiao expected Mu Chen to pass the selection.
• Mu Chen’s pillar suddenly weakened and burst, prompting Teacher Mo and the academy’s senior staff to protest that the Mirror had malfunctioned.
• The Mirror of Judgment’s projection shook and dimmed after Mu Chen drained its power, radiating hurt and frustration.

Mu Chen awakened the Mirror of Judgment through his immense cultivation talent and led the selected prodigies into the Spirit Road. He arrived alone in a primeval forest, where the plane’s laws suppressed spiritual energy and left him to rely on strength and wisdom.

• Mu Chen sent a pillar of starlight into the Mirror of Judgment, rousing the divine artifact and astonishing the onlookers.
• The Mirror of Judgment selected the prodigies and opened the Starry Sky Gate to the Spirit Road.
• Mu Chen led the selected group through the gate, and the Mirror of Judgment vanished as the passage closed.
• Mu Chen arrived alone in a vast forest on the Spiritual Road Plane and determined that the Mirror of Judgment had scattered the arrivals.
• Mu Chen found that the plane’s laws had sealed his spiritual energy, domains, and Spirit Array abilities.

Mu Chen learned the Spirit Road Selection’s rules and confronted the Zhan brothers, who tried to rob him. He defeated both brothers in seconds and asked whether that was all they could do.

• A Blood-Colored Token appeared for Mu Chen and gave him information about earning points and strengthening his spirit body by hunting spirit beasts.
• Mu Chen recognized the trial as similar to the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy’s freshman trial and noted that sealed spiritual energy favored the spirit beasts’ physical strength.
• Mu Chen spotted Zhan Cheng and Zhan Xiong watching him, and the brothers introduced themselves as members of the Zhan Clan from the Northern Heavens Continent.
• After the Zhan brothers warned him that contestants could steal points from each other, Mu Chen declared that he would rob them and demanded their points.
• Zhan Cheng charged Mu Chen with his sword, but Mu Chen sent him flying and shattered his weapon.
• Zhan Xiong attacked with his Wolf Fang, but Mu Chen disarmed him and knocked him down, then pinned his head underfoot.

Mu Chen defeated the Zhan brothers, then continued hunting Spirit Beasts on the Spirit Road. After reaching the peak of the first level of his spiritual body, he prepared to use his Demon-Subduing Staff against a powerful Mountain Bear.

• Mu Chen took the Zhan brothers’ five points and broke their limbs, leaving them badly injured and effectively eliminated from the selection.
• On his fifth day in the Spirit Road, Mu Chen killed two Blood Pig-Tigers and absorbed their Spirit Beast Essences.
• Mu Chen realized his spiritual body was close to advancing to the second level and set out to hunt a powerful beast.
• Mu Chen found a Mountain Bear nearing the intermediate Spirit Beast ranks and decided he would need a divine weapon to defeat it.
• Mu Chen summoned the Demon-Subduing Staff, a quasi-divine artifact forged for him by his father, Mu Feng.

Mu Chen hunted spirit beasts on the Spiritual Road Plane and broke through to a second-level spirit body. Looking for a place to bathe, he tried to steal a mysterious woman's Blood-Colored Token and clothes, then fled when she attacked him.

• Mu Chen killed a Mountain Bear and absorbed its spiritual energy, advancing to a second-level spirit body.
• Mu Chen found a stream and spotted a naked woman bathing beside a Blood-Colored Token and folded clothes.
• Mu Chen decided the token was unprotected, crept to the bank, and picked it up while introducing himself as Zhou Yuan of Bailing.
• The woman noticed Mu Chen, called him a lecher, and submerged herself in the water.
• Mu Chen grabbed the woman's clothes and backed away, but she leaped from the stream with a Crescent Moon Blade and charged at him.
• Mu Chen turned and ran from the furious woman.

Mu Chen fled from Wu Yingying after she mistook him for a thief, but their fight ended with him overpowering and knocking her down. Wu Yingying was left defeated on the ground.

• Zhou Yuan sneezed in another part of the Spiritual Road Plane and wondered where His Highness the Heir was.
• Mu Chen tried to escape from the red-dressed woman as she pursued him with a Crescent Moon Blade.
• Mu Chen learned that his pursuer was Wu Yingying, the granddaughter of Heavenly King Wu and a gifted fighter from Wu Ling Academy.
• Wu Yingying continued attacking Mu Chen, and he fought back when he realized she meant to kill him.
• Mu Chen disarmed Wu Yingying and struck her abdomen with his elbow, leaving her crumpled on the ground.

Mu Chen subdued Wu Yingying, then continued hunting across the Spiritual Road until he found a Red Cloud Crimson-Refining Fruit guarded by a powerful spirit beast. He faced the beast, unsure how to overcome it, while the chapter ended with the author asking readers not to send recommendation-ticket red packets.

• Mu Chen stopped spanking Wu Yingying when she cried, but deflected her hidden dagger, stripped her, and tossed her into a river with her Blood-Colored Token.
• Wu Yingying discovered Mu Chen had erased the more than one hundred points she had saved and roared that she would kill him.
• Mu Chen spent the next half year hunting across the Spiritual Road, raising his Blood-Colored Token score to nearly a thousand without entering a sanctuary.
• Mu Chen found a Red Cloud Crimson-Refining Fruit that could help him advance beyond his Level 4 Spirit Body.
• Mu Chen drew out the fruit's guardian, a Level 5 Lion-Bodied Snake-Dancing Beast, and realized its strength and thick hide would make it difficult to defeat.

Mu Chen killed the Lion-Bodied Snake-Dancing Beast, advanced to Level 5 Spirit Body, and obtained the ripe Red Cloud Crimson-Refining Fruit. As he prepared to leave, a group of youths confronted him and demanded the fruit, and Mu Chen considered taking their points instead.

• Mu Chen fought the Lion-Bodied Snake-Dancing Beast with his Demon-Subduing Battle Staff and cut off all eight of its tentacles.
• Mu Chen killed the wounded beast, refined its Spirit Beast Essence, and broke through to Level 5 Spirit Body.
• The beast's blood helped ripen the Red Cloud Crimson-Refining Fruit, which fell into Mu Chen's palm.
• A black-clad youth arrived with several companions and claimed the group had planted the fruit, demanding that Mu Chen hand it over.
• Mu Chen asked whether defeating the group would push his score past a thousand, provoking an angry response.

Mu Chen defeated Ge Hai and his four underlings, but Ge Hai escaped with them in a bizarre human pyramid. Mu Chen then retreated to a sealed cave and began refining the Red Cloud Crimson-Refining Fruit, strengthening his Level 5 Spirit Body.

• Ge Hai claimed he had been selected by the Northern Heavens Academy and ordered Su Cheng, Zeng Qi, and two others to attack Mu Chen, but an invisible barrier knocked them back.
• Mu Chen punched Ge Hai repeatedly, interrupting his attempts to use the Ge Family Torrent Fist and leaving him badly battered.
• Ge Hai stacked his four underlings onto himself and fled down the mountain with them, warning Mu Chen that they would meet again.
• Mu Chen decided not to pursue Ge Hai and went to a remote cave to refine the Red Cloud Crimson-Refining Fruit.
• The fruit's scorching energy spread through Mu Chen's body, further strengthening his Level 5 Spirit Body.

After months of fighting, Mu Chen reached the Sanctuary to gather news and exposed a fraudulent entry tax scheme run by Chu Qi’s men. As Mu Chen prepared to enter the city, Chu Qi appeared and praised his footwork.

• Mu Chen defeated the Fire Spirit Ape King and headed for the Sanctuary after months without news.
• At the Sanctuary gate, Xiao Wu and the other guards demanded a spirit beast essence as an invented entry tax.
• Mu Chen defeated the guards, slapped Xiao Wu, and forced him to reveal that Chu Qi had ordered the extortion to collect essences and advance to Level 6.
• Mu Chen let Xiao Wu and his gang go, then encountered Chu Qi above the gate as Chu Qi applauded him.

Mu Chen beat Chu Qi, took his Blood-Colored Token points, and exposed the brutal logic behind the Spirit Road’s rules. After spending his final days in the Sanctuary gathering information, he still had not found any news about Luo Li.

• Chu Qi proposed an alliance, but Mu Chen attacked him, broke his arms, and hurled him outside the Sanctuary city.
• Mu Chen explained that the guardians tolerated Chu Qi’s rule-breaking because it tested other geniuses, then took the points from Chu Qi’s Blood-Colored Token.
• Three mysterious figures on the city wall praised Mu Chen’s talent and discussed his potential.
• Mu Chen learned about the other Sanctuaries and their potential King Rank contestants while searching for information about Luo Li.
• On his last day in the Sanctuary, Mu Chen questioned a young stall owner at the market about whether any other impressive figures had appeared.

Mu Chen searched the trading area for Luo Li, then bought a mysterious sheet of black paper from Zhou. Shi Hao confronted him and challenged him to a fight, leaving Mu Chen facing a newly arrived rival.

• Mu Chen asked a stall owner if he knew the name of a silver-haired swordswoman, but left without finding Luo Li.
• Mu Chen spotted a mysterious black paper at Zhou's stall and bought it for five mid-grade Spirit Beast Essences.
• Shi Hao arrived with his followers and tried to buy the paper, but Zhou told him Mu Chen already owned it.
• Shi Hao revealed his identity as a king-level contender and challenged Mu Chen to fight.
• Shi Hao recited what he knew about Mu Chen's past battles and cultivation, while Mu Chen listened with a knowing smile.

Mu Chen defeated Shi Hao in a public fight outside the Sanctuary and took all the points from his Blood-Colored Token. As Mu Chen left to continue his journey, the Zhou-surnamed vendor was revealed to be the king-level figure Zhou Ling.

• The Zhou-surnamed vendor stopped Mu Chen from attacking Shi Hao inside the trading market, so Mu Chen challenged Shi Hao to fight outside the city.
• Shi Hao summoned his Heavy Heaven Hammer, then tossed it aside and called for a fair fight.
• Mu Chen charged Shi Hao with an ancient battle staff and knocked him unconscious with one blow.
• Mu Chen searched Shi Hao's Blood-Colored Token and transferred all of his points before leaving the Sanctuary.
• Shi Hao's lackey tried to attack the Zhou-surnamed vendor, but the vendor subdued him, and the crowd recognized him as Zhou Ling.

Mu Chen learned that Luo Li had been wounded in the Black Demon Forest and was being hunted by Zhao Tiandu and four Half-Step Kings. He set out to find her after hearing she was still evading them.

• Mu Chen recalled that the black paper was an Immortal Record fragment containing the cultivation method for the Great Solar Undying Body.
• Mu Chen overheard two travelers discussing a silver-haired swordswoman being pursued in the Black Demon Forest and asked whether she was Luo Li.
• Mu Chen gave the wiry traveler ten Spirit Beast Essences in exchange for information about Luo Li.
• The traveler explained that Luo Li had been gravely wounded after killing a Golden Armored Dragon Tiger Beast cub, then hunted by Zhao Tiandu and his four sworn brothers.
• The traveler told Mu Chen that Luo Li was still holding her own against the five pursuers, though he secretly altered parts of his account.

Mu Chen discovered that Rong had lied about Luo Li and had pointed him in the wrong direction, then confronted Rong and Old Shi. The chapter left Mu Chen appearing beside them again after Rong thought he had escaped.

• Mu Chen trusted Rong’s directions and hurried off to help the injured Luo Li.
• After Mu Chen left, Rong admitted he had deceived him and mocked him, while Old Shi condemned his friend’s selfishness.
• Mu Chen appeared near the two men and questioned them about their laughter, but Rong and Old Shi made up excuses.
• Rong told Mu Chen to head north to reach the Black Demon Forest, and Mu Chen vanished into the darkness.
• After Rong celebrated sending Mu Chen the wrong way, Mu Chen’s voice suddenly sounded beside him again.

Mu Chen punished Brother Rong for trying to kill him, then questioned Old Shi about Luo Li’s whereabouts. He learned that Luo Li was badly injured in the Black Demon Forest and hurried west to find her.

• Brother Rong fled when Mu Chen confronted him, but Mu Chen stopped him and ignored his pleas for mercy.
• Brother Rong attacked Mu Chen with a Spirit Soldier, which Mu Chen twisted apart before tearing out his tongue and breaking his limbs.
• Mu Chen fed Brother Rong to a pack of ravenous beasts, fulfilling the four wishes Brother Rong had made.
• Old Shi woke after pretending to be unconscious, but Mu Chen was still nearby and questioned him about Luo Li.
• Old Shi revealed that Luo Li was badly injured and that the Black Demon Forest lay five days west; Mu Chen gave him a storage pouch and left in a hurry.
• Old Shi took the pouch and fled the camp, afraid Mu Chen might return.