Chapter Summaries

Mu Yang enhanced a Qi-Storing Crystal, equipped new dantian and meridian methods, and fed Little Black scraps from powerful demons. Little Black broke through to late second rank and began transforming into a rare Cloud-Scaled Horse, while Mu Yang wondered whether it could eventually become a true dragon.

• Mu Yang used sixteen Qi-Storing Crystals to create a +2 crystal that increased his dantian's true qi capacity by one thousand wisps, then equipped it.
• Mu Yang equipped the Mystic Ice and Green Bag dantian construction methods and the Green Bag Meridian Clearing Method, gaining new true qi attributes and opening three Auxiliary Meridians.
• Mu Yang fed Little Black meat and demon blood from the Green-Shelled Mother Crab and Little Flood Dragon.
• Little Black's cultivation rose to late second rank, and its scales, armored hooves, and cloud mist revealed its Cloud-Scaled Horse bloodline.
• Mu Yang wondered aloud whether Little Black could one day become a true dragon, leaving the horse confused.

After Sancha County’s people thanked Mu Yang for destroying the demon threat, he departed with Little Black to hunt another demon. Little Black detected a Pangolin Demon before the Demon-Seeking Compass did, and Mu Yang killed it with a Wind Blade, permanently solidifying several pieces of equipment.

• Huang Can and Fu Rui reported the next steps to Mu Yang, and Fu Rui explained that the confiscated assets had been allocated as Mu Yang’s spoils.
• Mu Yang meditated overnight, then found Sancha County’s residents gathered outside the County Office to thank him for ridding them of the demon scourge.
• Mu Yang left Sancha County with Little Black and headed for a Fourth Rank demon marked on the Escort Agency’s map.
• Little Black sensed the demon aura before the Demon-Seeking Compass reacted and led Mu Yang to a mountain riddled with holes.
• A Pangolin Demon emerged from the ground, and Mu Yang killed it with a Fifth Rank Wind Blade, triggering several equipment solidifications.

Mu Yang equipped the Pangolin Demon Corpse and discovered that its Earth Escape trait let him travel underground and bring Little Black along. He then filled his remaining equipment slots with two martial arts and decided to learn more about the Thunder Sect before considering any conflict with it.

• Mu Yang equipped the Pangolin Demon Corpse, gained its physical and digging benefits, and tested Earth Escape underground.
• Mu Yang found that he could see the nearby soil and surface underground, though his movement speed was slower than on land.
• Mu Yang brought Little Black underground with him and discovered that carrying it more than doubled his True Qi consumption.
• Mu Yang placed Water-Seeking Demon-Tracking Technique and Thunder Body in his remaining Equipment Slots.
• Mu Yang decided to investigate the Thunder Sect and gather portraits of its leaders before deciding whether to confront it.

Mu Yang returned to Qinghe Prefecture City after ten days of demon-slaying and registered his missions and spoils with Elder Liang. His haul included a Flood Dragon horn and so many demon tokens that Elder Liang was stunned, and Mu Yang left with a substantial bounty of merit.

• Mu Yang told Elder Liang that he had completed his three missions in Sancha County and presented proof of killing a Turtle Demon, a Tiger Demon, and a Fish Demon.
• Mu Yang produced a Flood Dragon horn and explained that he had killed the Flood Dragon he encountered near Sancha River while dealing with the crab demon pretending to be the River Goddess.
• Elder Liang appraised the Flood Dragon horn as a fifth-tier demon and recorded five merits for it.
• Mu Yang explained that a map from Pingwei Escort Agency had helped him locate demons, then brought out a large cache of demon tokens.
• Elder Liang appraised the tokens and registered four Mystic Grade Inferior merits, nine Mystic Grade Superior merits, and seven Earth Grade Inferior merits for Mu Yang.

Mu Yang declined to sell the Flood Dragon corpse and learned that only five days remained before the Blessed Land Grand Selection. He exchanged Merits for several Meridian Clearing Methods, a Blazing Fire Dantian Construction Method, and Qi-Storing Crystals, then left with a larger reserve of resources and a reminder not to sell the martial arts privately.

• Elder Liang offered Mu Yang eight Earth Grade Inferior Merits for the Flood Dragon's corpse, but Mu Yang claimed he had already eaten it.
• Elder Liang reminded Mu Yang that the Blessed Land Grand Selection was five days away and advised him to stay in the city.
• Mu Yang exchanged six Earth Grade Inferior Merits for the Breath-Earth, Mystic Ice, and Blazing Fire Meridian Clearing Methods, then spent another on the Body-Nourishing Meridian Clearing Method.
• Mu Yang spent three Mystic Grade Superior Merits on the Blazing Fire Dantian Construction Method and considered how its effects might stack with his existing fire-attribute method.
• Mu Yang exchanged his remaining Mystic Grade Merits for thirty-two Qi-Storing Crystals, bringing his total to 113.
• The middle-aged armory attendant warned Mu Yang that martial arts from the Demon Slayer Bureau could not be sold privately, and Mu Yang acknowledged the warning.

After returning to Qinghe Prefecture, Mu Yang reunited with Lei Sai and met Lei Xing, who looked like a little girl but was actually Lei Sai’s great-aunt and a powerful sect expert. Mu Yang and Lei Sai headed to find Qin Yuan, while Lei Jiaojiao was left to face Lei Xing’s punishing training.

• Mu Yang ate at Jixiang Restaurant with Little Black, then visited Dai Wang the next morning.
• Mu Yang ran into Lei Sai, Lei Jiaojiao, and the little girl Lei Xing, and suspected Lei Xing was far older than she appeared.
• Lei Xing revealed through her behavior that she had authority over Lei Sai and Lei Jiaojiao, while Lei Jiaojiao privately dreaded her harsh training.
• Mu Yang invited Lei Sai to dinner, and they set off to look for Qin Yuan and the rest of their squad.
• Lei Sai told Mu Yang that Lei Xing was his great-aunt, but Mu Yang calmly assumed her appearance came from a cultivation technique.

Mu Yang and his companions gathered for dinner, where Qin Yuan explained the factions and martial arts involved in the Blessed Land Grand Selection. The chapter left Mu Yang prepared to face the competition, with Qin Yuan wishing the contestants victory.

• Mu Yang, Qin Yuan, Zhou Yao, Lei Sai, and Ma Xuan met for dinner at Jixiang Restaurant.
• Qin Yuan described the Canglan Sect, Windcloud Sect, Water-Splitting Sect, and Gongsun Clan, and warned Mu Yang to study his rivals.
• Qin Yuan explained the Water-Splitting Sword and Windcloud Leg, and said Mu Yang had a good chance of placing in the top three.
• Zhou Yao said she would do her best, while Ma Xuan noted that he was too old to compete.
• Qin Yuan raised his cup and wished the contestants victory in the Grand Selection.

Mu Yang brought a drunken Lei Sai home, where Lei Jiaojiao and Lei Xing forced him into a punishing river-training exercise. Later, Mu Yang used Zhimeng to search the area and found a large light point outside the city, belonging to someone enduring a terrible nightmare.

• Mu Yang escorted the heavily intoxicated Lei Sai back to the Lei Family residence and found Lei Jiaojiao bruised and purple-faced.
• Lei Jiaojiao complained that Lei Xing had made her suffer all afternoon, but Lei Xing appeared and gave her medicine for her injuries.
• Lei Jiaojiao persuaded Lei Xing to put Lei Sai through the same training, and they dragged him outside and threw him into the river with orders to swim five li out and back.
• Mu Yang returned to the County Office courtyard and used Zhimeng to contact light points across the populated Prefecture City.
• Mu Yang spotted an unusually large light point outside the city and realized its owner was likely suffering from a terrifying nightmare.

Mu Yang witnessed members of the Six Fan Gate humiliating a Demon Slayer Bureau captain before Han Kuang intervened. As the factions’ rivalry surfaced, Mu Yang stayed out of the dispute, while Yu Sheng revealed that a hidden threat had made him leave the scene.

• Mu Yang found no nearby demon assignments with enough time to complete before the Blessed Land Grand Selection and rode back toward the city.
• Mu Yang secretly watched a Six Fan Gate youth overpower a Demon Slayer Bureau captain until Han Kuang arrived and drove him back.
• Yu Sheng appeared and led the Six Fan Gate youths away, while Han Kuang condemned their growing boldness.
• Mu Yang connected the confrontation to Fu Rui’s warning about the Demon Slayer Bureau’s precarious position and privately considered the emperor’s motives.
• Yu Sheng told his companions they would challenge the Demon Slayer Bureau publicly, though he had fled because he sensed a terrifying presence in the woods.

Shen Chongyuan explained that Six Fan Gate was a growing imperial force whose duties overlapped with the Demon Slayer Bureau, and warned Mu Yang that the rivalry between them could destabilize the realm. Mu Yang learned that the visiting group was in Qinghe Prefecture for the Blessed Land Grand Selection and was left anticipating the chance to obtain unfamiliar martial arts manuals.

• Mu Yang asked Dai Wang about Six Fan Gate, and Shen Chongyuan arrived to explain its origins and duties of monitoring officials and killing demons.
• Shen Chongyuan described Six Fan Gate's growing influence and warned that conflict with the Demon Slayer Bureau could distract both forces from fighting demons.
• Shen Chongyuan told Mu Yang that Six Fan Gate's constables would stay at the Prefecture Office and advised him to be careful around them.
• Mu Yang asked about sixth-stage martial artists and learned that a purple-patterned, bronze-badged constable led the group but was staying elsewhere.
• Shen Chongyuan offered to host Mu Yang, but Mu Yang declined and looked forward to the visitors' different martial arts manuals.

Mu Yang encountered Yu Sheng and the Six Fan Gate group at the Prefecture Office, where Yu Sheng stopped Wei Duoduo from provoking him. Meanwhile, Nie Chi challenged Yuan Yin to let the Blessed Land Grand Selection decide whether the Cold Pool Blessed Land belonged to the Six Fan Gate or the Demon Slayer Bureau.

• Mu Yang waited in the courtyard and watched Jiang Zhao escort Yu Sheng, Wei Duoduo, and four other Six Fan Gate members to nearby lodgings.
• Wei Duoduo questioned why Mu Yang was staying there, but Yu Sheng stopped her and led the group away before Mu Yang could act.
• Yu Sheng wondered whether someone from the Demon Slayer Bureau was secretly watching the Six Fan Gate.
• Nie Chi visited Yuan Yin in his study and proposed that the Blessed Land Grand Selection determine control of the Cold Pool Blessed Land.
• Yuan Yin accepted Nie Chi's challenge, agreeing that the top three from each rank group would decide which organization controlled the land.

Mu Yang arrived at the valley for the Blessed Land Grand Selection and met contestants and members of several factions, including Hao Ben, Lei Xing, Lei Jiaojiao, and Lei Sai. The Six Fan Gate arrived with two unfamiliar sixth-rank martial artists, as the selection was about to begin.

• Mu Yang rode Little Black to the valley and found several factions already gathered for the Blessed Land Grand Selection.
• Hao Ben greeted Mu Yang and admitted he was worried about competing against the Canglan Sect, the Gongsun Clan, and the Windcloud Sect.
• Lei Xing arrived with Lei Jiaojiao and Lei Sai, and Hao Ben learned that Mu Yang was only twenty years old and might compete against him.
• Hao Ben told Di Ren that Mu Yang could be his opponent, leaving Di Ren relieved that he was not competing.
• Mu Yang joined the Demon Slayer Bureau's lively encampment, where local contestants including Mei Cao and Lei Jiaojiao had gathered.
• The Six Fan Gate arrived with eight members, including two unfamiliar sixth-rank martial artists bearing antique bronze tokens.

The Blessed Land Grand Selection began as the fourth- and fifth-tier martial artists drew lots and fought their opening matches. Mu Yang drew number one in the fifth-tier group and watched the first fourth-tier bouts reveal an unexpected Windcloud Sect contender.

• Yuan Yin introduced Liang Qing, who explained the tournament rules and said only the top ten in each group could enter the Cold Pool Blessed Land.
• Lei Sai drew number fourteen and Zhou Yao drew number four in the fourth-tier group, while Mu Yang drew number one in the fifth-tier group.
• A Demon Slayer Bureau captain defeated a Water-Splitting Sect disciple in the first fourth-tier match through greater combat experience.
• Mu Yang predicted the Windcloud Sect disciple would win before the fighter swiftly defeated Ji Chang, revealing late Condensing Qi Realm cultivation.
• Lei Sai was stunned by the Windcloud Sect disciple's strength, and Zhou Yao laughed at his mistaken assessment.

Zhou Yao faced Ji Bucheng of the Six Fan Gate in the Fourth Rank group, despite being outmatched in strength and cultivation. Ji Bucheng repeatedly paused to let her recover before attacking again, and Lei Sai realized he was deliberately humiliating her.

• The Six Fan Gate contestant defeated the Water-Splitting Sect contestant in the third match.
• Zhou Yao drew Ji Bucheng, a Late Condensing Qi Realm Six Fan Gate constable, and wagered with Lei Sai that she would last longer than him.
• Ji Bucheng overpowered Zhou Yao in their opening exchanges, but withdrew instead of finishing her.
• Mu Yang recognized that Ji Bucheng had paused on purpose, while Yuan Yin condemned his conduct.
• Ji Bucheng resumed his attacks and again stepped back when Zhou Yao neared exhaustion, making Lei Sai realize that he was humiliating her.

Zhou Yao fought Ji Bucheng in the fourth-tier division, wounded him, and was rescued before his retaliatory strike landed. The referee awarded the match to the Six Fan Gate, then disqualified Lei Sai for entering the battleground without permission, leaving another Six Fan Gate contestant as the winner of Lei Sai’s match.

• Ji Bucheng relentlessly pressed Zhou Yao to make her concede, but she charged him and stabbed his waist with her sword.
• Ji Bucheng knocked away Zhou Yao’s sword and swung the flat of his blade at her, but Liang Qing stopped the attack while Lei Sai caught her.
• Liang Qing declared the fourth-tier division’s fourth match a win for the Six Fan Gate, and Ji Bucheng objected before retreating.
• Nie Chi pointed out that Lei Sai had entered the battleground before the result was announced, and Yuan Yin asked Liang Qing to apply the rules.
• Lei Sai accepted disqualification, and Liang Qing declared his opponent from the Six Fan Gate the winner of the fourteenth match.

The fourth-tier group concluded with the Six Fan Gate taking first place, while the Demon Slayer Bureau’s best finish was fourth. Mu Yang then faced Wei Duoduo in the first fifth-tier match and defeated her swiftly, giving the Demon Slayer Bureau the victory.

• Mu Yang teased Lei Sai and Zhou Yao, then turned his attention back to the ongoing matches.
• Ji Bucheng and Fan Ji fought to a draw in the second round and were both eliminated.
• The Six Fan Gate took first place in the fourth-tier group, while the Demon Slayer Bureau placed fourth and sixth.
• Huo Xing predicted Yu Sheng would defeat the Demon Slayer Bureau’s Yuan Family contestant, but Nie Chi remained noncommittal.
• Wei Duoduo challenged Mu Yang, but he seized her by the neck and struck her with Chilling Corpse Poison, knocking her unconscious.
• Liang Qing declared Mu Yang the winner, prompting an uproar from the crowd.

Lei Xing learned that Mu Yang had defeated the flood dragon and considered asking Yuan Yin for help with the Water-Splitting Sect’s demon crisis. At the tournament, the Canglan Sect won its match, and Hao Ben advanced by defeating Gongsun Heng.

• Lei Xing questioned Di Ren about the flood dragon and heard that Mu Yang had once killed the Water Transport Gang’s chief in an underwater fight.
• Lei Xing said she would speak with Yuan Yin about helping the Water-Splitting Sect, whose local Demon Slayer Bureau was also occupied with trouble.
• The Canglan Sect disciple defeated the Windcloud Sect disciple in the second match of the fifth-rank group.
• Hao Ben used three Water-Splitting Swords to overwhelm Gongsun Heng and win the third match.

The fifth-tier group’s final match began between Han Kuang and Yu Sheng, whose spatial magical treasure gave him the advantage. Yu Sheng launched a three-bead attack at Han Kuang’s dantian, leaving the outcome unresolved as Liang Qing rushed to intervene.

• Yuan Yuan defeated a Canglan Sect woman by keeping out of range of her punches and wearing her down with flying needles.
• Lei Jiaojiao lost to a faster Windcloud Sect disciple, while Mei Cao won with the Mei Family Halberd.
• Han Kuang confronted Yu Sheng over the earlier attack on his colleagues and charged him with his Water-Fire Staff.
• Yu Sheng stopped Han Kuang’s opening strike with a glazed bead, then used all three Void-Speed Glazed Beads to attack Han Kuang’s dantian.
• Liang Qing rushed toward the fighters as Yu Sheng’s beads formed a triangle and shot at Han Kuang.

Yu Sheng nearly defeated Han Kuang with the Void-Speed Glazed Beads, but Yuan Yin intervened with Heaven-Seizing Hand and the rules awarded the bout to the Six Fan Gate. The Fifth-Rank group’s first round ended, and seven contestants prepared for a second-round draw with one bye advancing directly to the top four.

• Yu Sheng’s Void-Speed Glazed Beads knocked the Water-Fire Staff away and threatened Han Kuang’s dantian and groin.
• Yuan Yin stopped the beads with Heaven-Seizing Hand and returned them to Yu Sheng.
• Huo Xing accused the Demon Slayer Bureau of violating the rules, but Liang Qing explained that Han Kuang’s side had forfeited because Yuan Yin entered the battle area.
• Han Kuang accepted the decision, and Nie Chi said the Six Fan Gate had no objections to Liang Qing’s ruling.
• Liang Qing declared the Six Fan Gate the winner of the seventh match and announced the second-round draw, where one of seven contestants would receive a bye to the top four.

The fifth-tier group’s second round narrowed the Blessed Land Grand Selection to Yuan Yuan, Mu Yang, Yu Sheng, and Hao Ben. After the next lots paired Mu Yang with Hao Ben, Hao Ben was relieved to face Yuan Yuan instead of Yu Sheng.

• Hao Ben celebrated drawing the bye lot, while Mei Cao drew number two and learned he would face Mu Yang.
• Yuan Yuan defeated Gongsun Ting with her ranged attacks, earning the Demon Slayer Bureau the first win of the round.
• Mu Yang knocked Mei Cao out with one punch, securing another victory for the Demon Slayer Bureau.
• Yu Sheng defeated Xu Hong with his Void-Speed Glazed Beads, and Liang Qing stopped him from striking near Xu Hong’s dantian.
• The remaining contestants drew lots, and Hao Ben was assigned Yuan Yuan while Mu Yang drew Yu Sheng.