Recaps

Lu Zhen completed the third level of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation and killed Military Shadow with a thousand-sword azure dragon. As Lu Zhen entered the gray mist alone, the survivors rushed back to the outpost to report his feat, while Elder Crane decided to alert the Li Family.

• Lu Zhen evaded Military Shadow’s All-Encompassing Death Bind with Treading Air, astonishing Iron Mountain, Baldy, and Elder Crane.
• Lu Zhen completed the third level of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation and formed his thousand Azure Frost Flying Swords into an azure dragon.
• Lu Zhen’s azure dragon shredded Military Shadow, then he collected mutated bones from her remains and left alone for the gray mist.
• Black Crow, Iron Mountain, Chen Yuan, Liu Sanniang, and the others realized Military Shadow was dead and hurried back to camp to report the news.
• Elder Crane abandoned his plan to ambush Gu Chen and decided to report everything to the Li Family.

After learning that Gu Chen had killed Military Shadow in one strike, Pei Yuan hurried to Gray Mist Outpost to recruit him for Myriad Stars Tower, while Li Jue rejected the idea of making peace and went to consult his father. Meanwhile, Lu Zhen reflected on his sword mastery, sought a quiet place to comprehend Intent Realm, and found Guga awake and hungry.

• Pei Yuan and Su Ya learned that Gu Chen had killed Military Shadow and her ten deathsworn, prompting Pei Yuan to rush to Gray Mist Outpost and offer Myriad Stars Tower's support.
• Elder He told Li Jue that Gu Chen had slain Military Shadow in one move, but Li Jue decided against apologizing and went to ask his father what to do.
• Lu Zhen practiced controlling his thousand Azure Frost Flying Swords and considered how far he remained from the fourth level, entering Xuan.
• Lu Zhen recalled Military Shadow's oppressive force and decided to find a quiet place to digest his first glimpse of Intent Realm.
• Guga woke from its long sleep, told Lu Zhen it had grown stronger, and complained that it was hungry.

Lu Zhen exchanged the spoils from killing Military Shadow for points and a Star Token, then bought information about an ancient ruin that could help him comprehend the Intent Realm. Pei Yuan bet his future on Lu Zhen’s talent, while Lin Wanhe, fearing the danger Lu Zhen posed to the Lin Family, decided to summon the family ancestor.

• Lu Zhen sold demon python materials, Military Shadow’s bones, and five Blackwater Golden Thread Lotus Seeds to Pei Yuan for ten thousand points and received a first-tier Star Token.
• Lu Zhen spent ten thousand points on a sheepskin scroll identifying an ancient ruin with traces of the Intent Realm.
• After Lu Zhen left, Pei Yuan revealed that he had secretly contributed forty thousand points because he hoped Lu Zhen would become an A-grade talent and help him return to the main tower.
• Lin Wanhe learned that Lu Zhen had killed Military Shadow and ten Eastern Islander death warriors in a single strike, then decided to bring the Lin Family ancestor out of seclusion.

Lin Wanhe paid respects to the Lin Family’s Spirit Fusion ancestor as Eastern Island prepared to invade Jianghan Prefecture. Meanwhile, Lu Zhen fed Guga half his enlightenment bodhi seed and made her guide him through the gray mist to the Sword Washing Pool.

• Lin Wanhe knelt before the Lin Family ancestor, who had secluded himself to pursue the Domain Realm.
• Yamamoto Kazuo learned that Gu Chen had killed Military Shadow and ten imperial death warriors, then ordered the army to march on Jianghan Prefecture.
• Yamamoto Kazuo and Fujiwara Hanzo discussed the dragon-devouring plan and relied on Huaxia’s internal divisions to aid their invasion.
• Lu Zhen offered Guga a fourth-tier spirit medicine, but she refused it and demanded something more fragrant.
• Lu Zhen gave Guga half an enlightenment bodhi seed, then ordered her to guide him to the Sword Washing Pool.
• Guga agreed to lead Lu Zhen toward the fragrant scent, while bargaining for naps along the way.

Lu Zhen followed Guga through the dangerous gray mist and discovered an ancient giant’s corpse and a hidden medicinal garden. After collecting its rare treasures, he returned to the giant and let exhausted Guga sleep.

• Lu Zhen hid from a distant demon king and rested in a concealed cave before spending General Experience to advance Eight Wastes Wandering Dragon Step to Profound Entry.
• Lu Zhen used his new movement technique to evade a two-headed demonic wolf and followed Guga deeper into the canyon ruins.
• Lu Zhen found a throne bearing a giant corpse thousands of meters tall, then followed Guga into a maze behind it.
• Lu Zhen discovered an ancient medicinal garden and collected more than a dozen rare plants into his storage ring.
• Lu Zhen followed Guga back through the maze to the giant’s corpse, where Guga fell asleep.

Lu Zhen realized the Intent Realm came from resonating with heaven and earth rather than controlling them, then gradually mastered it beneath the ancient giant’s remains. After more than twenty days of training with rare medicinal treasures, he awakened his Five Qi Returning to Origin Wings and entered the Dharma Heaven Realm, leaving himself close to late-stage Transformation Force.

• Lu Zhen struggled to understand the difference between the Intent Realm and the Palm Realm until a settlement critical transformed an ancient herb into Nine-Star Bright God Grass.
• After consuming the grass, Lu Zhen perceived the flows of heaven and earth and briefly gathered his Azure Frost Flying Swords through natural resonance.
• Lu Zhen examined the transformed medicinal treasures in his storage ring and began tempering his body with phoenix-holding ganoderma and Mystic Ice Marrow Fruits.
• After twenty days, Lu Zhen released his mental power and drew the power of heaven and earth toward him, finally entering the Intent Realm.
• Lu Zhen manifested his Five Qi Returning to Origin Wings and reached the Dharma Heaven Realm, while his accumulated experience left him close to late-stage Transformation Force.

After twenty days of refining medicinal treasures in the ancient ruins, Lu Zhen used his accumulated experience to strengthen his Physique and spirit and break through to late-stage Transformation Force. With his power established and the ruins' resources exhausted, he set out to return and claim the blade the Fang Family was forging.

• Lu Zhen reviewed the settlement rewards and panel gains he had accumulated during twenty days of cultivation.
• He spent most of his general experience to advance Glazed Jade Bones to level fifteen and gain Blood Drop Rebirth, then raised the Nameless Spirit-Refining Art to level ten.
• Lu Zhen poured his remaining experience into the Bright God Martial Canon and used the Intent Realm to break through to late-stage Transformation Force, manifesting a Dharma Body thousands of meters tall.
• He assessed his strength at a maximum of 3,300 dragons, realized the Blood-Burning Secret Art no longer amplified him, and concluded he would need a higher-grade explosive secret art.
• After confirming that his medicinal resources were exhausted, Lu Zhen recalled the blade infused with seventh-tier innate Geng metal baleful qi that the Fang Family was forging and left through the ruins' passage.

Lu Zhen returned to Three Sects City, collected the Fang Family’s newly forged saber, and learned that Eastern Island forces had reached Jianghan Prefecture. Despite warnings that the battle was deadly and the sect had not called for him, he set out to defend Huaxia, leaving Fang Rou to watch him go.

• Lu Zhen visited the Fang Family and received a horse-cleaving saber infused with innate Geng metal baleful qi, which could disrupt an enemy’s mind.
• Fang Zhenhai told Lu Zhen that Eastern Island forces had reached Jianghan Prefecture and that martial artists, including much of the Mystic Sword Sect’s elite, had gone to reinforce it.
• Fang Zhenhai warned Lu Zhen that the battle was too dangerous and suggested the sect wanted him to stay alive, but Lu Zhen resolved to go to Jianghan Prefecture.
• Fang Rou watched Lu Zhen leave and told Xiao Cui that he had chosen to do what must be done, even when it seemed impossible.

Lu Zhen decided to enter the war against Eastern Island under the identity of Faceless Asura and seek work through Yaksha. In Han River City, southern sect leaders confronted their disadvantage against Eastern Island’s experts and pooled resources to post bounties, while the northern Heavenly Pool Sect remained absent.

• Lu Zhen decided to conceal his Gu Chen identity, travel toward Jianghan Prefecture as Faceless Asura, and take Yaksha contracts for resources.
• In Han River City, martial artists and sect leaders worried about factional divisions and the absence of the northern Heavenly Pool Sect.
• Jiang Li reported that Eastern Island had sent eight Dharma Heaven Realm experts, including four ranked on the Awakening of Insects Ranking.
• Zhou Shouxu and the Mystic Sword Sect's grand elder explained that Spirit Fusion Realm experts could not intervene without triggering an all-out war.
• Zhou Shouxu proposed pooling sect resources to post Yaksha bounties on the Eastern Island experts, and several sects pledged treasures and pills.

Lu Zhen disguised himself as Faceless and visited Yaksha’s Gold Province Branch to take contracts against Eastern Island experts on the Awakening of Insects Ranking. After proving his strength with a Profound Entry saber slash, he qualified for Heaven-Class missions and received dossiers on four targets in Jianghan Prefecture.

• Lu Zhen put on a mask, changed his appearance, and decided to use his saber to kill Eastern Islanders.
• Lu Zhen arrived at Yaksha’s pawnshop in Gold Province City and asked the branch manager for contracts targeting experts in Jianghan Prefecture.
• Withered Wood arranged a strength assessment, and Lu Zhen’s saber slash frightened the three assessors and demonstrated Profound Entry-level technique.
• Withered Wood accepted Lu Zhen as qualified for Heaven-Class contracts and presented dossiers on Blood Demon Ito, Demon Slayer Kaburaki, and the brothers Kuroda and Shibata.

Lu Zhen accepted the challenge of four Eastern Island experts and flew openly toward the battlefield in Azure Wave Prefecture. As Shibata was ordered to capture Plain River City, the Eastern Island commanders believed Huaxia’s forces would not dare leave Azure Water City to stop him.

• Lu Zhen accepted all four dossiers and said he would kill whichever opponent he encountered on the battlefield.
• Withered Wood ordered headquarters to raise Faceless Asura’s combat assessment to the Awakening of Insects Ranking and grant him Heaven-Class clearance.
• Lu Zhen flew toward Azure Wave Prefecture with his Five Qi Returning to Origin Wings, inspiring the people who saw him pass.
• Ito and the other Eastern Island commanders discussed how occupying cities would weaken Huaxia’s national destiny and reduce the enemy’s home-ground advantage.
• Ito ordered Shibata to take his mech battalion and capture Plain River City, dismissing the possibility that Huaxia’s forces would ambush them.

Plain River City’s defenders faced an Eastern Island invasion led by Shibata, a martial artist fused with a two-thousand-meter War Machine. Jiang Li engaged Shibata while the city’s fighters joined the battle, but she struggled to damage his Xuan-class armor and could only try to hold him off.

• Jiang Li ordered Jiang Linchuan and the Snow-Listening Cliff disciples to defend the west gate as Yan Kuan, Yan Min, Lei Zhen, Fang Wen, and other martial artists prepared for battle.
• A massive War Machine led the Eastern Island forces toward Plain River City, and Jiang Li recognized its pilot as Shibata, ranked ninety-fifth on the Awakening of Insects Ranking.
• The defenders overcame their fear and arguments over traditional and alienated martial arts, uniting to fight the invading forces.
• Jiang Li charged Shibata and locked his War Machine in combat while Jiang Yun, Yan Kuan, Jiang Linchuan, and the other powerful defenders joined the battle outside the city.
• Jiang Li used her Lesser Thousand Sword Formation to attack Shibata’s armor, but his strength scattered her flying swords, leaving her to bind his limbs and stall him.

As Plain River City’s defenders were overwhelmed by Shibata’s forces, Jiang Linchuan fled and Azure Water City’s leaders refused to send reinforcements, fearing an attack on their own city. Just as Jiang Li’s Dharma body shattered and Plain River seemed lost, a dharma heaven realm grandmaster arrived.

• Jiang Linchuan abandoned the west gate, leaving Yan Min and the others to fight on as the defenders fell back.
• News of Plain River’s desperate battle reached Azure Water City, where Zhao Yan urged the Mystic Sword Sect to send help.
• Zhou Shouxu warned that Plain River was bait and that leaving Azure Water City exposed it to an attack by Ito and Kaburaki.
• The Grand Elder ordered that no reinforcements be sent and told Jiang Li to withdraw if she could.
• Jiang Li’s Dharma body shattered, but the broadcast announced the arrival of a dharma heaven realm grandmaster bearing Five-Colored Returning-to-Origin Wings.

Lu Zhen arrived at Plain River City and revealed a Dharma manifestation over three thousand meters tall, then destroyed Shibata’s heavy mech and the Eastern Island army’s war machines. He left the surviving defenders to pursue the routed enemy as news of the victory spread to Azure Water City.

• Jiang Li’s Dharma manifestation shattered under Shibata’s attack, and the defenders feared Plain River City would fall.
• Lu Zhen arrived using Five-Colored Returning-to-Origin Wings and revealed a dark-gold Dharma manifestation over three thousand meters tall.
• Lu Zhen’s saber strike destroyed Shibata’s mech and killed him, then a second slash cut apart the other war machines.
• Lu Zhen collected mech cores and Shibata’s head, ordered the defenders to pursue the remaining enemy while watching for ambushes, and flew away.
• Yan Kuan and the other defenders launched an attack as the Eastern Island army routed toward Falling Goose Slope.
• The radio broadcast Lu Zhen’s victory in Azure Water City, where martial artists and civilians celebrated.

Lu Zhen revealed his overwhelming power by killing Shibata and his mech, then descended alone on the Eastern Island headquarters at Falling Goose Slope. He began his assault on the hundred-thousand-strong army as Ito and Kaburaki prepared to face him.

• At the former Governor's Mansion, Zhou Shouxu and the sect leaders learned that Faceless Asura had killed Shibata with a single slash and judged his strength to rank among the top fifty on the Awakening of Insects Ranking.
• Ito received news that Shibata and the mech battalion had been destroyed, blamed his intelligence staff, and ordered an encrypted request for Fujiwara Clan reinforcements.
• After the request was sent, Lu Zhen appeared above Falling Goose Slope, prompting an air-raid alarm and panic throughout the Eastern Island headquarters.
• Ito, Kaburaki, and Kuroda rushed outside, where Kaburaki drew Ghost Cry and challenged Lu Zhen.
• Lu Zhen formed a three-thousand-meter dharma body, declared that he would slaughter the invaders, and plunged toward the headquarters.

Lu Zhen attacked the Eastern Islanders' headquarters at Falling Goose Slope and slaughtered its troops and commanders despite their battle array. He killed Kuroda, Kaburaki, and Ito, while Zhou Shouxu and other Huaxia fighters rushed from Azure Water City to help.

• Lu Zhen descended on Falling Goose Slope and carved a bloody path through the hundred-thousand-strong Eastern Island formation with his saber.
• In Azure Water City, Zhou Shouxu heard that Lu Zhen was attacking alone and led the Dharma Heaven Realm fighters toward Falling Goose Slope.
• Ito, Kuroda, and Kaburaki combined the army's battle array to attack Lu Zhen, but his Gilded Armor protected him as he broke through their formation.
• Lu Zhen cleaved Kuroda and his mech in two, then pursued the fleeing Kaburaki and killed him with a saber strike.
• Lu Zhen overtook Ito and killed him with one slash, collecting his aberrant core and shriveled head.

After Lu Zhen’s victory at Falling Goose Slope shattered the Eastern Island army, Huaxia forces launched a counterattack and people across the country celebrated. Fearing retaliation against Lu Zhen’s family, Xiao Zhengyan ordered the Xiao Family and Lu Zhen’s relatives to evacuate Ocean City for Three Sects City.

• Zhou Shouxu found the Eastern Island army routed and its three Awakening of Insects Ranking commanders dead, then ordered Huaxia forces to attack and reclaim the occupied cities.
• News of the victory spread across the Divine Land, prompting celebrations and protests while the Heavenly Pool Sect’s leaders regretted their failed plan to exploit the battle.
• Sister Shen, Lu Fang, Lu Wan, and Chu Yunshu learned from the news that Lu Zhen was the Faceless Asura who had won at Falling Goose Slope.
• Xiao Yuqing heard from Xiao Ran that Lu Zhen had split an Eastern Island heavy mech and slain three grandmasters, and she marveled at how far he had come.
• Xiao Zhengyan warned Xiao Changlin that the Eastern Islanders would retaliate against Lu Zhen and ordered the Xiao Family and Lu Zhen’s family to leave Ocean City secretly for Three Sects City.

Fujiwara Munehide ordered Chiba to hunt down Faceless Asura, while Jiang Li punished Jiang Linchuan for abandoning his post at Plain River. Lu Zhen collected his Yaksha bounties and prepared to use the rewards to strengthen himself further.

• Yamamoto Kazuo raged over the imperial army’s defeat, but Fujiwara Munehide stopped him and ordered Chiba to take a Blood-Seeking Compass to Huaxia and kill Faceless Asura.
• A crowd demanded that the Mystic Sword Sect answer for Jiang Linchuan’s desertion, and Jiang Li barred him from Snow-Listening Cliff and sent him to the Punishment Hall for punishment.
• Jiang Li studied the enormous saber fissure outside Plain River and suspected Faceless Asura might be the young man who carried a sword case.
• Lu Zhen opened his Yaksha bounty boxes and received bearer gold notes, a supreme-grade sixth-tier weapon, three medicinal treasures, a fragment of the Heavenly Gang Fiend-Invoking Secret Art, and an incomplete seventh-tier spirit pill.
• Lu Zhen resolved to use the rewards to make a major leap in strength.

Lu Zhen received his daily settlement, which upgraded his medicinal treasures and restored a damaged pill into a top-grade seventh-tier spirit pill that enhanced comprehension. He studied the Heavenly Gang Fiend-Invoking Secret Art and discovered it could progress beyond Profound Entry, but its final stage remained unexplained in the incomplete manual.

• Lu Zhen received 200,000 experience in martial skills, physique, and general growth, while his medicinal treasures and damaged pill underwent a twenty-fivefold quality upgrade.
• Lu Zhen found that the damaged seventh-tier pill had become a complete top-grade spirit pill that sharpened comprehension and perception.
• Lu Zhen reviewed his status and calculated that his five days of settlements had earned him one million experience in each category.
• Lu Zhen read the Mortal Tier layers of the Heavenly Gang Fiend-Invoking Secret Art and judged that his physique could withstand its strength-boosting effects.
• Lu Zhen learned that the secret art's Profound Entry stages could draw on Heavenly Gang fiendish energy, create fiend armor and an absolute domain, and culminate in the cryptic phrase “Become heaven's ultimate pole!”

Lu Zhen trained with the Heavenly Gang Fiend-Invoking Secret Art, reached nearly ten thousand dragons of force, and searched for a way to fuse with heaven and earth. Downstream, Chiba and the Eastern Island First Prince tracked Faceless Asura along the river, unaware that Lu Zhen was nearby.

• Lu Zhen learned the Heavenly Gang Fiend-Invoking Secret Art and used a blood-red ginseng and a damaged seventh-rank pill to sharpen his comprehension before practicing by the river for three days.
• Lu Zhen spent forty million experience to raise the secret art to Lv.3 (Vein-Burning), giving him the ability to unleash nearly ten thousand dragons of force.
• Lu Zhen considered the gap between Transformation Force and Spirit Fusion, then walked along the river searching for a chance to fuse with heaven and earth.
• Aboard a black ironclad vessel, Chiba led the Eastern Island First Prince and several late-stage Transformation Force experts upriver in pursuit of Faceless Asura.
• The First Prince explained that they had traced Faceless Asura through the medicinal herbs and damaged seventh-rank pill he had collected, and said his trackers would search the riverbank for signs of blood energy.

Lu Zhen faced Chiba, a Spirit Fusion Realm master, and survived his attacks with the Gilded Armor while striking back at Chiba’s allies. He killed the First Prince and several Transformation Force elders, then formed his ten-thousand-meter Dharma body again as Chiba’s next attack landed.

• Lu Zhen contemplated the river until the First Prince arrived with Chiba and identified him as the Faceless Asura.
• Chiba summoned his ten-thousand-meter golden body and struck Lu Zhen, but the Gilded Armor protected him and his Dharma body re-formed.
• Lu Zhen decided he could not defeat Chiba and redirected his saber toward the First Prince and the accompanying elders.
• Chiba attacked Lu Zhen from behind, but Lu Zhen’s saber swept through the First Prince and several late-stage Transformation Force experts, killing them.
• Chiba’s follow-up attack shattered Lu Zhen’s Dharma body, but Lu Zhen formed it again above the river.

Lu Zhen fled after killing the First Prince, while Chiba pursued him with Spirit Fusion power across thousands of miles. Chiba eventually abandoned the chase, alarmed by Lu Zhen’s immense vitality and the possibility that he was another Hongwu Emperor.

• Chiba demanded Lu Zhen’s armor and secret technique, but Lu Zhen fled at full speed and Chiba pursued him.
• Distant martial artists and intelligence spies watched the battle and recorded that Lu Zhen had survived Chiba’s Golden Body and killed an Eastern Island prince.
• Chiba used the Heavenly Water Killing Prison to attack Lu Zhen, but the Gilded Armor and Lu Zhen’s powerful body let him break through and keep running.
• Lu Zhen and Chiba raced across thousands of li for a day as Chiba repeatedly attacked and Lu Zhen’s Dharma body re-formed.
• Chiba stopped pursuing when his strength was depleted and feared that Huaxia’s Spirit Fusion experts might intervene.
• Chiba withdrew, threatening that the Great Eastern Island Empire would kill Lu Zhen, while suspecting Lu Zhen was young enough to become another Hongwu Emperor.

After escaping Chiba, Lu Zhen realized his youth and strength could make him a target, but he stood by his decision to defend Huaxia and returned to his Gu Chen disguise. News of the battle spread, and Fujiwara Munehide ordered the Eastern Island Military Department to rally the eight great powers for an invasion aimed at destroying Huaxia.

• Lu Zhen reflected on the danger of Chiba revealing his youth and potential, then resumed his Gu Chen disguise and headed for Three Sects City.
• Martial artists across the world spread news of Chiba’s pursuit and the Faceless Asura’s survival, stirring widespread excitement.
• Chiba told Eastern Island officials that the Faceless Asura’s armor, regeneration, and youthful blood and qi had allowed him to escape.
• Fujiwara Munehide suspected the Faceless Asura could become another Hongwu Emperor and argued that the Western powers would fear Huaxia’s rise.
• Fujiwara Munehide ordered the intelligence shared with the eight great powers and called for an Eight-Nation Alliance to launch a full-scale offensive against Huaxia.

On his journey back, Lu Zhen learned that Guga had come from the Great Void Abyss as an egg left by a divine beast, and he made her his partner. After returning to Three Sects City, he read that foreign forces were massing at Huaxia’s borders and the Mount Tai Debate had been moved up to next month, where calls to abolish traditional martial arts threatened the nation’s cultivation resources.

• Lu Zhen walked through Shu, roasted fish, and heard Guga explain that she was an egg left behind by a divine beast in the Great Void Abyss.
• Lu Zhen promised Guga food and treasures in return for guiding him and finding treasure, then reviewed his limited cultivation gains and remaining spoils.
• Lu Zhen returned to Three Sects City and read that the Eight-Nation Alliance was assembling at Huaxia’s borders with alienated legions and heavy War Machines.
• Lu Zhen read Chen Zhiqiu’s call to abolish traditional martial arts and use their resources to mass-produce alienated martial artists.
• Lu Zhen learned that the Three-Year Pact had been annulled and that the Mount Tai Debate would begin ahead of schedule next month.

Lu Zhen confronted a gang of thugs who blamed the Faceless Asura for the looming war, and Guga swiftly beat them after their leader threatened him. The thugs fled to fetch Captain Wang, while Lu Zhen reassured a frightened blind man and his granddaughter that he was ready for the confrontation.

• Lu Zhen read that Traditional Martial Arts and Alienated Martial Arts would settle their rivalry in a life-or-death battle atop Mount Tai next month, and worried about the contest's rules and his own strength.
• A gang of thugs blamed the Faceless Asura for provoking the Western nations, and Lu Zhen challenged them for condemning those who fought the enemy.
• The gang's burly leader threatened to have Lu Zhen arrested as a spy and tried to take Guga, but Guga knocked him and the other thugs down.
• The burly leader threatened to fetch Captain Wang, and the thugs and diners fled the tavern.
• A blind old man and his granddaughter warned Lu Zhen to escape, but Lu Zhen told them not to fear and welcomed the thugs bringing more people.