Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Xuanyang explains how the Great Xia Northern Guardian Divine General was betrayed by the New Emperor. After conquering twelve Star Continents and nearing the Two Former Emperors, the general was recalled under threat, falsely accused, and killed. The Fallen Sky Dojo was his final legacy.
• Lu Zhen sees the dojo’s inheritance as a possible way to grow powerful enough to confront the Netherblood Sect. Xuanyang warns that becoming its direct disciple could draw the Immortal Court’s attention and bring overwhelming danger.
• Undeterred, Lu Zhen accepts the direct-disciple trial, which has two stages: survive all nine floors of the Asura Tower, then comprehend the Northern Guardian Heaven Stele.
• Lu Zhen enters the tower. Xuanyang awakens three surviving soul remnants—former Martial Hall generals—to witness the trial and explains Lu Zhen’s rapid rise in aptitude and cultivation.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Zhen responds to the risks with pragmatic defiance: he focuses on surviving the immediate crisis and growing stronger rather than worrying about distant threats. He confidently begins the trial.
• Xuanyang shifts from caution to support, impressed by Lu Zhen’s resolve and reminded of the fearless soldiers he once served.
• The three generals are skeptical that Lu Zhen can survive the tower. The burly general and blue-robed scholar doubt his chances, noting that even exceptional talents have failed.
• Hongfu, the silver-armored general, is conflicted: she longs for an heir to avenge her lord, but resents the thought of an outsider inheriting his mantle. Xuanyang reminds her that the trial—not their judgment—will determine Lu Zhen’s worth.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and injustice: The Northern Guardian’s fall exposes the cost of political fear and treachery.
• Legacy and succession: Lu Zhen must prove himself worthy of inheriting a fallen hero’s cause.
• Courage in the face of danger: He accepts severe risks because immediate survival and strength matter more than future fears.
• Hope versus doubt: The generals’ painful memories make them wary, while the possibility of a new heir rekindles hope.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Upon entering the Asura Tower, Lu Zhen learns that each floor recreates an ancient battlefield from the war between the Great Xia Immortal Dynasty and the Heavenly Wolf Demon Kingdom.
• The first seven floors are formation-generated simulations: Lu Zhen can retreat and retry, and the enemies cannot truly kill him. The eighth and ninth floors contain real demon soldiers, however, and death there is permanent. If he abandons the challenge while still trapped on a floor, the formation will erase him to protect the dojo’s secrets.
• Confident in his three upcoming settlement opportunities and his ability to use the Panel to master recorded laws, Lu Zhen decides to press on.
• On the first floor, more than a hundred Converging Stream Realm demon soldiers charge in disciplined formation. Their leader uses a military technique to combine their vitality into a blood shield, which withstands Lu Zhen’s first attack.
• Lu Zhen counters by drawing in the surrounding Light Law and unleashing his seventy-two flying swords, which tear through the entire force.
• He clears the second floor as well. There, he illuminates a swamp with his Law Domain, exposing hidden demon soldiers, then cuts them down with his flying swords.

Character developments

• Lu Zhen accepts the tower’s mortal risks rather than remain safely inactive. His confidence is grounded in both his own abilities and his expectation that the Panel can help him master laws.
• His combat style proves highly effective: he combines the Light Law, dark-gold flying swords, and dormant tribulation thunder, while adapting quickly when an enemy formation blocks his initial attack.
• Xuanyang warns Lu Zhen about the tower’s dangers and watches with cautious hope, while recognizing that many talented cultivators have failed to reach its higher floors.

Character interactions

• Xuanyang guides Lu Zhen through the tower’s rules and challenges him to demonstrate the substance behind his mid-A rating.
• Outside the tower, Xue Qinghou, Li Bashan, and Hongfu watch Lu Zhen’s progress. Xue Qinghou acknowledges the power of his Light-and-thunder attack, but Li Bashan and Hongfu caution that success on the first floor is not exceptional.
• The observers expect the middle floors to be far harder, with stronger enemies, military formations, and Demon Generals who have comprehended multiple Law Realms.

Significant themes

• Risk and ambition: Lu Zhen believes that avoiding danger can itself be dangerous, and that great rewards require confronting real threats.
• Talent versus endurance: Early victories establish Lu Zhen’s strength, but the observers emphasize that the tower tests more than raw power.
• Preparation and adaptation: Lu Zhen’s layered techniques and quick response to the blood shield show the value of flexible combat strategy.
• The limits of past achievement: Even celebrated geniuses have failed to clear the tower, leaving Lu Zhen’s ultimate prospects uncertain.

Plot points and events

• On the Asura Tower’s third floor, Lu Zhen faces 300 demon soldiers whose battle formation combines their power into a formidable Heavenly Wolf phantom. Their defenses blunt his strongest attack, and their coordinated counterstrikes nearly exhaust him.
• After an hour of fighting, Lu Zhen spots a brief weakness in the formation and sends his 72 flying swords into its core. With the formation broken, he defeats the soldiers and clears the floor—but barely.
• Outside the tower, the former generals watching doubt he can pass the next challenge. They lament their long confinement and their lost chance to avenge their lord.
• On the fourth floor, Lu Zhen finds himself amid battered Great Xia troops facing the Heavenly Wolf Demon Kingdom’s army. He challenges Huyan Zhuo, a rushing-river-realm demon centurion, but Huyan Zhuo’s single lance thrust shatters Lu Zhen’s attack and defeats him instantly.
• Lu Zhen wakes unharmed outside the tower. The watchers judge him unlikely to clear the floor within the month allowed. Rather than use his divine ability and expose all his strength, Lu Zhen decides to repeatedly challenge Huyan Zhuo and learn from him, expecting a later power boost from the tower’s monthly settlement.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Zhen proves resourceful and persistent on the third floor, using careful observation and precise sword control to overcome a superior formation. His defeat by Huyan Zhuo reveals the gap between his current abilities and a seasoned high-level fighter. Instead of despairing or relying on a desperate trump card, he treats the defeat as a learning opportunity.
• Huyan Zhuo is introduced as a powerful, confident opponent whose refined control of metal law and blood energy overwhelms Lu Zhen.
• Hongfu dismisses Lu Zhen as inadequate and doubts he can pass the fourth floor. Li Bashan and Xue Qinghou share that pessimism, though Xue offers a more sympathetic explanation of the power gap.
• Xuanyang remains uncertain but privately retains a small hope in Lu Zhen’s unusual growth. The former generals’ conversation also reveals their grief over their lord and their desire for revenge.

Significant themes

• Collective strength versus individual power: The demon soldiers’ formation shows how coordination can defeat a much stronger individual.
• Humility and learning through failure: Lu Zhen’s decisive defeat becomes a source of insight rather than a reason to quit.
• Endurance and hope: The generals’ despair contrasts with Lu Zhen’s confidence and willingness to keep improving.
• Preparation over reckless victory: Lu Zhen chooses to preserve his hidden abilities and train against Huyan Zhuo rather than force a costly win.

Key plot points and events

• Lu Zhen repeatedly challenges the Asura Tower’s fourth floor, where the Rushing River Realm demon general Huyan Zhuo defeats him. Over the course of the month, however, Lu Zhen improves from being unable to withstand one attack to trading dozens of blows with his opponent.
• The watching Martial Hall phantoms recognize Lu Zhen’s extraordinary persistence and growth, but they believe the gap between his realm and Huyan Zhuo’s is too large to overcome within the one-month deadline.
• Hongfu insists the rules cannot be bent because the Fallen Sky Dojo must remain secret. If Lu Zhen has not passed the trial by the deadline, she intends to kill him herself, though she promises to make it quick.
• After his latest defeat, Lu Zhen sits down with his eyes closed. The phantoms assume he has finally given up, but he is actually waiting for his monthly cultivation settlement.
• The settlement rewards his month of battles with enormous amounts of martial arts, movement, physique, and general experience. His rating rises to Fourth-Grade Low, multiplying his gains; he also receives a powerful Fourth-Tier Supreme Taiyi Annihilation Sword Talisman and a Fourth-Grade High Nine-Turn Soul-Recovery Herb.
• His Inner Landscape expands from thirty thousand to sixty thousand streams of power. Meanwhile, his clone’s killings on the Great Abyss Ancient Star trigger Martial Plunder, bringing in another 1.85 trillion General Experience.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Zhen demonstrates relentless resolve, using every defeat as a chance to study Huyan Zhuo’s techniques. His apparent exhaustion is not surrender: he has been patiently building toward the settlement and its rewards.
• Li Bashan, Xue Qinghou, and Xuanyang move from skepticism to admiration as they witness Lu Zhen’s growth. They sympathize with his impossible deadline, and Xuanyang asks to wait before acting.
• Hongfu briefly acknowledges Lu Zhen as a worthy prospect, reminded of fearless comrades from the Martial Hall. Still, her duty to protect the dojo outweighs her sympathy, and she remains prepared to enforce the deadline.
• The phantoms misread Lu Zhen’s silence as defeat, while the reader learns that his true purpose is only revealed through the system’s settlement.

Significant themes

• Persistence through failure: Lu Zhen turns repeated defeats into practical learning rather than letting them break his will.
• Limits of time and rules: The phantoms recognize his potential but are constrained by a rigid deadline and the need to protect a secret.
• Appearances versus reality: Lu Zhen looks defeated, but his pause marks the culmination of a month’s effort.
• Growth through hardship: Combat, observation, and endurance produce both skill development and substantial cultivation rewards.

Key plot points and events

• Lu Zhen reviews his immense strength and decides he needs a breakthrough to overcome the Asura Tower. His 420 Star Vortices and Inner Landscape give him a formidable foundation, but he still needs 600 vortices to enter the River-Rushing Realm.
• He spends experience to raise his Physique to level 30. It evolves into Inner Landscape Starry Heaven and grants the trait Faceless Star Abyss, which causes his inner cosmos to generate Star Vortices on its own and accelerates internal evolution.
• Using both chances for enlightenment, Lu Zhen deepens his understanding of the Grand Evolution Star God Sword Record. He then spends more experience to advance it to level 9, achieving Lawful Fusion: light and tribulation thunder now combine as one law rather than being wielded separately.
• Lu Zhen returns to the Asura Tower’s fourth floor. His observers believe he is making a desperate final attempt, but his newly fused technique overwhelms Huyan Zhuo and kills both him and his mount instantly.

Character developments

• Lu Zhen becomes markedly stronger and gains a more self-sustaining path to growth through Faceless Star Abyss. His mastery also advances from controlling multiple laws separately to fusing them, giving him a decisive new weapon.
• Huyan Zhuo repeats his earlier boastful challenge, but his confidence ends abruptly when Lu Zhen’s fused attack proves far beyond his power.
• Li Bashan, Xue Qinghou, and Hongfu assume Lu Zhen is cornered and making a near-hopeless gamble; their expectations contrast with the breakthrough he has achieved.

Significant themes

• Growth through transformation: Lu Zhen’s level-30 Physique produces a qualitative change, not merely a numerical increase.
• Innovation and synthesis: True fusion of light and thunder surpasses simply using two laws side by side.
• Persistence and underestimated resolve: Others interpret Lu Zhen’s return as desperation, while his preparation has quietly changed the balance of power.
• Power versus pride: Huyan Zhuo’s arrogance is exposed by the gulf between his claimed strength and Lu Zhen’s attack.

Character interactions

• Lu Zhen’s internal calculations and deliberate choices show him weighing how best to spend experience before committing to Physique and sword-art advancement.
• The observers discuss his apparent last stand, with Xue Qinghou expressing conflicted respect and Hongfu silently tightening her grip on her sword.
• Huyan Zhuo taunts Lu Zhen and charges, but Lu Zhen answers with a single fused strike that ends the confrontation immediately.

Plot points and events

• Lu Zhen realizes that reaching level thirty and fusing the laws of light and thunder has multiplied his power enormously. His sword strike is strong enough to equal the combined force of roughly 192,000 newly advanced Rushing River Realm demons.
• In the Asura Tower, he instantly kills the Demon General on the fourth layer. The observers outside are stunned: he has advanced from being unable to withstand Huyan Zhuo a month earlier to mastering the Fourth Realm of the laws in battle.
• Lu Zhen clears the fifth and sixth layers with ease, then reaches the seventh, where he faces a powerful Heavenly Wolf royal-bloodline demon commander. The commander initially overwhelms him, but Lu Zhen uses his Gravity Field to slow the enemy for a moment and lands a fatal strike.
• Rather than risk entering the lethal eighth layer immediately, Lu Zhen withdraws from the tower to cultivate. He activates Source Devouring, drawing the laws of light and thunder from the dojo into himself to strengthen his affinity with them.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Zhen demonstrates dramatic growth, combining his fused laws, swordsmanship, and Gravity Field to overcome stronger opponents. His decision to postpone the eighth layer shows caution as well as ambition.
• Xuanyang sees Lu Zhen as a genuine hope after centuries of despair. He argues that even a small chance of success is worth embracing.
• Hongfu remains wary. Though impressed, she recalls past prodigies who failed or died on the eighth and ninth layers, and doubts that one breakthrough guarantees victory.
• Li Bashan and Xue Qinghou side with Xuanyang, driven by the hope of avenging their lord and fallen Martial Hall comrades.
• Lu Zhen’s use of Source Devouring shocks all four observers; even Hongfu recognizes the method’s extraordinary difficulty for someone at his cultivation level.

Significant themes

• Hope versus hard-earned skepticism: Lu Zhen’s progress revives hope, while Hongfu’s memories warn that the greatest trials remain.
• Growth through mastery and adaptation: Lu Zhen wins not through raw strength alone, but by combining his laws, sword formation, and Gravity Field.
• Risk and judgment: He chooses to cultivate rather than rush into a trial where death is real.
• Revenge and remembrance: The observers’ hopes are tied to avenging the Martial Hall’s dead and ending a long-standing blood feud.

Key plot points and events

• Lu Zhen spends more than twenty days in the lightless dojo devouring laws, dramatically strengthening his understanding of the fusion of light and thunder. The observers marvel that his cultivation speed keeps increasing.
• He enters the Asura Tower’s eighth floor and faces a Demon Kingdom Centurion who has been imprisoned for 36,000 years. The Centurion, desperate for freedom, charges with the strength of a peak Rushing River Realm cultivator.
• Lu Zhen’s Radiant Thunder sword formation overwhelms and kills the Centurion in one strike, clearing the eighth floor.
• The observers praise Lu Zhen’s power. Hongfu withdraws her earlier doubts and agrees that he has the right to challenge for the final inheritance. They estimate he has a 20–30% chance against the ninth floor’s half-step Nu River Realm Demon General.
• Rather than immediately pressing his advantage, Lu Zhen rests and continues cultivating. His Inner Landscape expands, his Star Vortices approach their limit, and his law amplification reaches one millionfold.
• Confident that his strength is now sufficient, Lu Zhen enters the ninth floor. Clearing it would give him control of the Fallen Sky Dojo and, he believes, allow him to deal with both the Nine Provinces Crisis and the Netherblood Sect.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Zhen grows from a powerful contender into someone whose strength astounds even the veteran observers. He remains disciplined, choosing recovery and further cultivation over an impulsive ninth-floor challenge.
• The Demon Centurion is revealed as a battle-hardened, long-imprisoned soldier consumed by hatred and longing for freedom. His death demonstrates the scale of Lu Zhen’s advantage.
• Hongfu changes her assessment of Lu Zhen, openly acknowledging his eligibility to pursue the inheritance.
• Li Bashan, Xue Qinghou, and Xuanyang react with amazement and discuss Lu Zhen’s chances against the final prisoner, recognizing that even a modest chance of success is remarkable.

Significant themes

• Relentless cultivation and self-mastery: Lu Zhen’s strength comes from sustained effort, not merely a single breakthrough.
• Power and its limits: His victory on the eighth floor is overwhelming, yet the ninth-floor opponent remains a formidable, uncertain test.
• Recognition earned through action: Lu Zhen wins the observers’ respect through demonstrated ability, particularly changing Hongfu’s opinion.
• Freedom and vengeance: The Centurion’s charge reflects the torment of imprisonment, though his desire for liberation ends in defeat.

Key plot points and events

• Lu Zhen faces Tuoba Kuang on the Asura Tower’s Ninth Layer. Tuoba, a brutal former general of the Heavenly Wolf Demon Kingdom, has been imprisoned for 36,000 years and remains convinced Great Xia has fallen.
• Though Tuoba’s half-step Nu River Realm cultivation, powerful law mastery, and seemingly indestructible armor make him a formidable opponent, Lu Zhen unleashes power equal to 792,000 tribulations. His seventy-two flying swords destroy Tuoba’s weapon and armor, then kill him with one strike.
• Outside the tower, the four spectral former generals are stunned by Lu Zhen’s victory. They see it as a chance to avenge their lord and revive the Fallen Sky Dojo.
• Lu Zhen passes the martial assessment. To become the dojo’s Direct Disciple, he must next pass the scholarly trial: within one month, he must comprehend at least an embryonic branch of the Great Dao from the Northern Guardian Heaven Stele.
• The stele draws Lu Zhen’s consciousness into a starry realm of interweaving laws. He realizes that the Law-Merging Realm is only a foundation: mastering the Great Dao requires combining many different laws into branches and ultimately uniting those branches.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Zhen remains calm and understated after an extraordinary victory, then turns his attention to the more intellectually demanding trial. His understanding of cultivation deepens as he studies the stele.
• Tuoba Kuang, consumed by hatred and delusions after millennia of imprisonment, attacks Lu Zhen while proclaiming Heavenly Wolf’s dominance. His confidence collapses when Lu Zhen’s strength overwhelms him.
• Xuanyang, Xue Qinghou, Li Bashan, and Hongfu move from anxious hope to exhilaration after witnessing Tuoba’s death. Their renewed faith in Lu Zhen gives them hope that their lord’s blood debt may be avenged and the dojo restored.
• Xuanyang congratulates Lu Zhen and explains the scholarly trial. Hongfu tempers the group’s excitement by pointing out that Lu Zhen still must prove his insight into the Great Dao.

Significant themes

• Hope after long suffering: Lu Zhen’s victory rekindles the former generals’ hopes after 36,000 years of desolation.
• Power and humility: Lu Zhen’s immense strength contrasts with his casual assessment of the feat, underscoring how little he grasps its significance to others.
• The limits of martial prowess: Passing the combat test is not enough; becoming a Direct Disciple also demands deep understanding.
• The difficulty of transcendence: Reaching the Great Dao requires uniting laws beyond the natural affinities of one’s body and soul—a challenge Lu Zhen recognizes as nearly defying heaven.

Key plot points and events

• The Northern Guardian Heaven Stele demands that Lu Zhen bring one fusion of laws to the Fourth Realm, then derive an embryonic Great Dao branch. He has only a month, and the stele offers paths such as Tribulation Light (light and thunder).
• Lu Zhen already has light and thunder at the required fusion level, but finds the stele’s Great Dao patterns too obscure to understand through ordinary study.
• Rather than ask for help, he uses his final epiphany opportunity while studying the stele’s trajectories. After more than ten days of preparation, the stele’s guidance amplifies the epiphany and lets him derive an embryonic Great Dao of Tribulation Light.
• He spends General Experience to overcome the last sliver of the bottleneck. The Panel records Tribulation Light as an embryonic Great Dao branch, and Lu Zhen demonstrates it before the stele.
• The Northern Guardian Heaven Stele trembles, and a mighty figure appears, signaling its response to his success.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Zhen remains confident despite the deadline and difficulty, relying on his Panel, Source Devouring, and epiphany rather than conventional cultivation. He proves that his unusual tools can turn a seemingly impossible trial into success.
• Li Bashan, Xue Qinghou, Hongfu, and Xuanyang watch anxiously from above. They believe Lu Zhen is wasting precious time by sitting silently before the stele and doubt he can create a Great Dao without centuries of preparation.
• Their concern reveals that they now value Lu Zhen as a rare, powerful fighter. Hongfu, who previously looked down on him, especially wants him to succeed. Xuanyang recognizes that no outsider can meaningfully assist with a trial so directly tied to the Great Dao.

Significant themes

• Ingenuity over brute force: Lu Zhen succeeds by matching his epiphany to the stele’s guidance rather than relying on prolonged study.
• Exceptional talent and unequal opportunity: What looks like a small final breakthrough to Lu Zhen could trap even the greatest ordinary cultivators for life.
• Perseverance under pressure: Despite others’ doubts and a strict deadline, Lu Zhen stays focused and sees the trial through.
• The source of power: Tribulation Light is not a simple stacking of light and thunder; it emerges from their deeper shared principle—the first destructive ray at the birth of heaven and earth.

Key plot points and events

• Yue Canghai, the Northern Guardian Divine General, appears as an aware afterimage before Lu Zhen and his four commanders, reunited after 36,000 years.
• He praises Lu Zhen for passing the Northern Guardian Heaven Stele’s trial and offers him the chance to become his Direct Disciple. Lu Zhen accepts, becoming heir to the Fallen Sky Dojo.
• Yue reveals that he was betrayed and executed by the New Emperor and Immortal Court faction after resisting their orders and trying to restore the former rulers. He warns Lu Zhen that inheriting his mantle puts him in danger.
• Yue’s final regret is that he never reclaimed Great Xia’s homeland. He asks Lu Zhen to remember him if the royal army ever returns to the old capital, then fades away.
• Hongfu asks whether Lu Zhen will avenge Yue. Lu Zhen vows to pursue the blood debt, even centuries later and at the cost of his life. The four commanders kneel and accept him as their lord.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Zhen moves from worthy candidate to Yue Canghai’s chosen disciple and the commanders’ accepted leader. His respect for Yue becomes a firm commitment to carry on his cause and vengeance.
• Yue Canghai appears as a heroic, compassionate leader: proud of Lu Zhen, concerned for his safety, and still devoted to restoring his homeland despite his own death.
• Xuanyang, Li Bashan, Xue Qinghou, and Hongfu are overcome by seeing their former lord again. After testing Lu Zhen’s resolve, they pledge themselves to him.
• The meeting between master and disciple is respectful and solemn; the commanders’ grief gives way to loyalty once Lu Zhen declares his intentions.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and sacrifice: Yue gave his life protecting the dynasty and its people, while Lu Zhen accepts the dangers of inheriting his legacy.
• Betrayal and political corruption: Yue’s account exposes the Immortal Court and New Emperor as threats more treacherous than the invading demon kingdom.
• Legacy and vengeance: Lu Zhen inherits both Yue’s dojo and an unresolved blood debt, binding the past to the future.
• Mortality and purpose: Yue’s parting words urge Lu Zhen not to waste his life, even as they emphasize how brief a life can be beside history.

Key plot points and events

• Lu Zhen meets the four surviving elders of the Fallen Sky Dojo, who explain that they are only fragments of souls sustained by the dojo’s core formation. Gathering for his trial has drained them, so three return to rest while Xuanyang stays to guide him.
• Xuanyang reveals that the dojo is a supreme-grade magic treasure, made exceptionally durable by mysterious matter from beyond the heavens. Its reserves and many functions were damaged in an ancient battle, and Lu Zhen will need to reach the Fifth Realm before he can activate it as a flying vessel.
• The dojo’s treasures are restricted by cultivation level: Lu Zhen may claim one item for each major realm he reaches. The rule both protects him from attracting danger and discourages dependence on external power.
• Xuanyang passes on the former master’s devastating signature offensive art, warning Lu Zhen not to use it casually: the Immortal Court or old traitors might recognize it and hunt him down.
• Xuanyang shows Lu Zhen the first treasury level, a vast world filled with weapons, artifacts, and pills. Lu Zhen chooses a Calamity-Substitute Puppet, which can unleash power comparable to a peak Third Realm expert, withstand one strike from a newly advanced Fourth Realm cultivator, and carry him to safety.
• Lu Zhen reveals that his Star Vortex is already complete and he can soon advance to the Rushing River Realm, prompting Xuanyang to stare in astonishment.

Character development and interactions

• Lu Zhen is respectful toward the elders and accepts the treasury restrictions as sensible. His choice of a defensive puppet shows practical caution: he values survival more than impressive weapons or pills. He also displays confidence in his rapid progress by immediately anticipating another reward after advancing.
• Xuanyang acts as mentor and guardian, balancing pride in the dojo’s legacy with concern for Lu Zhen’s safety. His warnings show the danger attached to inheriting the former master’s techniques.
• The elders show relief and loyalty toward Lu Zhen, addressing him as their lord, while their exhaustion underscores the cost of preserving the dojo’s legacy.

Significant themes

• Inheritance and responsibility: Lu Zhen receives powerful treasures and techniques, but must use them carefully and earn access through advancement.
• Caution and survival: The puppet and Xuanyang’s warning emphasize that staying alive—and avoiding unwanted attention—can matter more than raw power.
• Cultivation and self-reliance: The staged treasury system encourages Lu Zhen to strengthen himself instead of relying too heavily on external tools.
• A legacy damaged but enduring: Though the dojo and its guardians have suffered greatly, they preserve the former master’s knowledge and continue to support his successor.

Plot points and events

• Lu Zhen breaks through to the Rushing River Realm, transforming the channels linking his thousand Star Vortexes into rivers of law and forming a Void Core in each. His foundation reaches 118,800 River Tribulations, far beyond that of ordinary cultivators at his level.
• Confident that his strength and mastery of Primordial Origin Light let him defeat ordinary Rushing River experts, Lu Zhen nevertheless recognizes that he is not ready to confront the Great Xia Immortal Dynasty’s emperor.
• From the treasury, he chooses the Voidlight Shuttle, a second-grade exotic treasure that provides exceptional speed and protection against soul attacks. He intends to use it to escape powerful enemies and break karmic pursuit. He plans to keep it—and his other trump cards—secret.
• Xuanyang reveals that a sealed opportunity in the dojo can be opened only by someone who reaches the Fourth Realm, Calm Lake Realm. He urges Lu Zhen to cultivate carefully, warning that talent alone does not ensure survival.
• With his three-month deadline under the Life-and-Death Contract approaching, Lu Zhen leaves the dojo to return to the Supreme Unity Mystic Sect. He plans to attract the sect leadership’s attention, gain their support, and then seek help rescuing Senior Hongwu and Lord Yu from the Netherblood Sect.
• On the return vessel, Lu Zhen studies Yue Canghai’s War Canon of Martial Mu, discovering it is a first-grade attack technique. The Panel records it, but upgrading it requires an enormous amount of experience. Because the technique is taboo and traceable, Lu Zhen decides to use it only as a last resort—and not even in the Void Realm.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Zhen emerges from his breakthrough vastly stronger, but remains pragmatic: he plans around enemies he cannot yet defeat, conceals his aura and treasures, and accepts Xuanyang’s warning to be patient. He is also shaken by the War Canon’s immense cost, though he is willing to build toward mastering it over time.
• Xuanyang is stunned by Lu Zhen’s sudden advancement, then shifts into a mentor’s role, revealing the dojo’s hidden opportunity and cautioning him against overconfidence.
• Xu Jiao is visibly awed by Lu Zhen’s changed presence, which now feels as vast and transcendent as a starry sky. After he reins in his aura, she resumes attending to him with increased deference.

Significant themes

• Power versus readiness: Lu Zhen’s extraordinary foundation does not erase the danger posed by ancient, stronger opponents.
• Caution and concealment: Survival depends on hiding rare abilities and treasures until the right moment.
• Long-term ambition: Lu Zhen’s immediate goals—earning sect support and rescuing allies—are part of a broader commitment to keep cultivating and eventually confront greater powers.
• The cost of power: The War Canon offers immense potential, but mastering it demands staggering resources and carries serious risks.

As the sect-wide life-and-death duel between Lu Zhen and Qi Xuan approached, bettors and Qi Xuan’s family prepared for Lu Zhen’s defeat. On the final day of his three-month journey, Lu Zhen received an enormous settlement that upgraded his escape treasures and brought him closer to the duel.

• Yu Sanniang lowered Mengpin House’s odds on Lu Zhen and secretly wagered half its available funds on his victory.
• Qi Yuan gave Qi Xuan the Law-Binding Golden Lock and ordered him to use it to kill Lu Zhen in the arena.
• Lu Zhen’s monthly settlement awarded him vast amounts of experience and upgraded his Calamity-Substitute Puppet into the Bloodfiend Substitute Death Puppet.
• The Voidlight Shuttle broke through to become the lower-tier first-grade Void-Escaping Shuttle, which could evade most spatial seals and conceal itself from heavenly divination.
• Lu Zhen’s Martial Plunder trait awarded him another 8.5 trillion general experience from powerful enemies slain by him and Ye Chen.

Lu Zhen upgraded his techniques and merged the Chaos Star Core, greatly strengthening his Gravity Field and Ancient God phantoms. He returned to Supreme Unity Mystic Sect for his Life-and-Death Arena match against Qi Xuan, while Pavilion Master Soaring Dragon hinted that Lu Zhen could earn a place in the sect’s expedition to a newly discovered Primeval Star.

• Lu Zhen raised the Black Heaven God-Subduing Record by two levels and the Grand Luo Myriad Phenomena Star-Devouring Record by one level.
• Lu Zhen’s clone merged the Chaos Star Core and gained a Gravity Field powerful enough to rival his original body’s full-force output.
• Lu Zhen’s original body sensed that it could use part of the field’s power, bringing its combat strength close to the Nu River Realm.
• Xu Jiao praised Lu Zhen’s chances against Qi Xuan, and Lu Zhen left the Void-Piercing Shuttle to return to Supreme Unity Mystic Sect.
• Lei Wanche explained that the sect had only three Rushing River Realm places for the Primeval Star expedition, and Pavilion Master Soaring Dragon suggested Lu Zhen might win one after his match.

Lu Zhen revealed that he had comprehended the Great Dao tribulation light branch during his life-and-death match with Qi Xuan, forcing Lei Wanche and Pavilion Master Soaring Dragon to intervene and cancel the fight. After Lu Zhen left the arena, the two powerful figures brought him to a mountaintop and introduced themselves.

• Qi Xuan unleashed his Metal Law Domain against Lu Zhen while spectators, including Xu Jiao, watched and argued over the outcome.
• Lu Zhen revealed the Great Dao tribulation light branch, startling Lei Wanche and Pavilion Master Soaring Dragon.
• Lei Wanche stopped both attacks and canceled the contest, then silenced Qi Xuan when he protested.
• Lu Zhen left the arena, while Leng Qiu suspected his recent disappearance had led to a major breakthrough.
• Lei Wanche and Pavilion Master Soaring Dragon transported Lu Zhen to a mountaintop and introduced themselves.

Lu Zhen accepted the Supreme Unity Mystic Sect’s dangerous mission to explore a newly discovered Primordial Ancient Star, hoping to earn leverage to rescue Hongwu and Lord Yu from the Netherblood Sect. The chapter ended with Lei Wanche offering Lu Zhen the chance to choose his Nu River Realm partner from the sect’s top disciples.

• Lei Wanche and Pavilion Master Chu secretly granted Lu Zhen Direct Disciple status and promised him entry to a high-grade Dao Origin Pool.
• Lei Wanche and Pavilion Master Chu explained that the sect wanted Lu Zhen to explore a Primordial Ancient Star, locate its Core Passage Node, and establish a Guidance Formation.
• Lu Zhen agreed to go, asking the sect to help rescue Hongwu and Lord Yu from the Netherblood Sect.
• Pavilion Master Chu explained that the sect’s blood feud with the Netherblood Sect made a rescue difficult, but Lu Zhen’s success on the Ancient Star could give the sect leverage to negotiate.
• Lei Wanche assured Lu Zhen that he could use laws on this Primordial Ancient Star, then offered him the right to choose his Nu River Realm partner.

Key plot points

• Leng Qiu discovers that she and Lu Zhen have been selected as partners for the Primordial Ancient Star expedition. Surprised by Lu Zhen’s inclusion, she suspects Hall Master Lei has a special connection to him.
• Across Supreme Unity Mystic City, gamblers protest after Lei Wanche’s intervention voids Lu Zhen and Qi Xuan’s Life-and-Death Arena match. Although wagers are refunded, many bettors are left with crippling debts from loans taken to fund their bets.
• At Void Peak, Lu Zhen enters the High-Grade Dao Origin Pool. Using his Star Vortexes and the Grand Luo Myriad Phenomena Star-Devouring Record, he absorbs both spiritual energy and Law Fragments. After more than ten days, he reaches the late stage of the Rushing River Realm.
• The sect announces its expedition roster. Lu Zhen’s selection alongside established experts sparks resentment among disciples and rival academy elders, who accuse Hall Master Lei of favoritism and argue that Lu Zhen is wasting a precious place.
• Liu Bowen warns Lu Zhen that the Blood Butcher Old Fiend has begun his ritual early and may have uncovered the secret of the Primordial True Blood. Hongwu and Lord Yu remain alive but are being held for blood research.
• Lu Zhen reasons that the greedy Fourth Realm fiend will keep the discovery secret for himself rather than report it or try to buy the Nine Provinces Small World. He tells Liu Bowen to keep the Nine Provinces calm, promises to rescue the captives, and goes to the Martial Punishment Hall to ask Lei Wanche how small-world ownership is bought and sold.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Zhen demonstrates rapid advancement and clear-headed strategic thinking. Rather than panic at the threat to the Nine Provinces, he assesses the enemy’s motives and takes responsibility for helping Hongwu and the others.
• Leng Qiu moves from confusion about Lei Wanche’s intervention to delighted surprise at her expedition selection and private anticipation about traveling with Lu Zhen.
• Liu Bowen initially fears the worst but is reassured by Lu Zhen’s analysis and agrees to maintain order in the Nine Provinces.
• Rival disciples and academy elders resent Lu Zhen’s selection, interpreting it as favoritism and fearing that an inexperienced entrant will squander the opportunity.
• The gamblers respond angrily to the canceled match, showing how the arena’s spectacle has created financial consequences beyond the fighters themselves.

Significant themes

• Power and opportunity: Lu Zhen’s training breakthrough and expedition appointment bring him closer to extraordinary opportunities, while provoking envy and political friction.
• Greed and self-interest: Lu Zhen’s prediction that the Blood Butcher will hide his discovery relies on the selfishness of demonic cultivators.
• Responsibility under pressure: Faced with danger to his homeland and allies, Lu Zhen acts decisively and tries to prevent panic.
• Favoritism and fairness: Lu Zhen’s unexplained selection, following Lei Wanche’s intervention in the arena, fuels accusations that merit has been bypassed.

Key plot points and events

• Lu Zhen asks Hall Master Lei Wanche how to purchase his home, the Nine Provinces Small World. Lei explains that buying a small world requires years of review, a dynasty-granted title, and enormous wealth.
• Lu Zhen reveals that two elders have been captured by the Netherblood Sect’s Blood Butcher Old Fiend. He fears the fiend may pursue the Nine Provinces Small World, though he withholds his deeper reason for concern.
• Lei reassures him that the fiend lacks both the means and the required title. He promises to monitor applications through his contacts at the Heavenly Pivot Institute.
• Lei tells Lu Zhen that the Primordial Ancient Star expedition is already underway and gives him a Star-Piercing Talisman, warning that it is essential for both entering and returning.
• Lu Zhen and Leng Qiu use the talisman to cross the Void Sea. During the journey, they observe the visible laws of the world and try to understand them.
• They arrive on the Primordial Ancient Star, a vast continent rather than a conventional star. Lu Zhen finds that his Void Terminal still works and joins the expedition’s private forums.
• Lei explains how the forums coordinate the sect’s teams and allow them to trade discoveries with other factions, including the dynasty.
• Messages from earlier arrivals reveal that the ancient world’s inhabitants are far stronger than people in the Nine Provinces: even ordinary hunters have cultivation comparable to the outsiders’ first realm, while higher realms are relatively common.
• Lu Zhen and Leng Qiu decide to seek an inhabited area and learn where they have landed.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Zhen shows concern for his elders and the safety of his home world, but keeps his full motives secret. He is cautious and resourceful, relying on Lei’s help and expedition reports before acting.
• Lei Wanche demonstrates strong protectiveness toward Lu Zhen. He offers practical support, secures his passage, and advises him on communication and trading information.
• Leng Qiu remains composed and observant, recognizing the Void Sea’s resemblance to the Great Wilderness and urging Lu Zhen to study the manifest laws. Though curious about Lei’s special attention to him, she does not ask in his presence.
• Lu Zhen and Leng Qiu cooperate throughout the journey, sharing observations and plans; Lu Zhen takes her wrist to ensure they travel together when activating the talisman.

Significant themes

• Power and inequality: The Primordial Ancient Star’s ordinary people surpass the experts of Lu Zhen’s homeland, signaling how dangerous and unfamiliar this world is.
• Knowledge as currency: Information about ruins, hazards, and treasures can be exchanged for spirit crystals or rare items.
• Loyalty and protection: Lei’s support highlights the bonds within the sect, while Lu Zhen’s fear for his elders and home reflects his responsibilities beyond personal advancement.
• Discovery and adaptation: Lu Zhen and Leng Qiu enter a new realm, study its laws, and seek local knowledge before proceeding.

Plot points and events

• Lu Zhen and Leng Qiu travel across Godfiend Ancient Star, their unleashed powers drawing a First Law Realm Demon Leopard. Leng Qiu subdues it with her Beast Taming Art, and they ride it together.
• Leng Qiu explains their assigned mission: locate the Core Passage Node and establish a guiding formation. Afterward, they can search for ancient relics and treasures. Lu Zhen privately knows success could help him persuade the sect to secure someone’s release from the Netherblood Sect.
• Lu Zhen proposes they pose as Dao companions to avoid unwanted attention while traveling. Leng Qiu questions the idea but does not object.
• They reach Golden Leaf City, learning along the way that the locals are unusually strong and the region draws cultivators, merchants, and powerful beasts.
• Near the city, they see a True Core human expert walking with a tiger-headed, half-beast cultivator of similar strength. At the gate, both groups enter through a privileged passage reserved for important visitors.
• The Golden Leaf guards’ formation detects three Third Realm cultivators. Their leader, Jin An, mistakes Lu Zhen for Leng Qiu’s attendant and pays particular deference to her, visibly captivated by her presence.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Zhen is unusually preoccupied with the Nine Provinces Crisis, initially missing his usual flirtatious cues. He later regains his composure, casually putting his arms around Leng Qiu while they ride. He is practical and strategic in suggesting both their route and their cover identity.
• Leng Qiu remains outwardly cool, but her hesitation about inviting Lu Zhen to ride with her—and her silence when he embraces her—suggest growing ease or unspoken attraction. She stays focused on the mission.
• Jin An shifts from a confident, practiced smile to genuine fascination when he sees Leng Qiu, though he manages to restore his courteous manner.

Significant themes

• Duty amid danger: Lu Zhen’s personal mission is shaped by the wider crisis threatening the Nine Provinces.
• Power and status: Cultivation rank determines how people move through the world, from the strong residents of the Ancient Star to privileged city access for powerful visitors.
• Appearance and influence: Leng Qiu’s striking beauty and mysterious bloodline affect how others respond to her.
• Unspoken intimacy: The Dao-companion proposal and shared ride introduce romantic tension beneath the pair’s formal mission.

Plot and events

• In Golden Leaf City, Jin An notices Leng Qiu’s beauty and True Core Realm strength. Though he knows he cannot approach her himself, he considers reporting her to the powerful young master Jin Yuanbai in hopes of earning a reward.
• Lu Zhen and Leng Qiu explore the rough, dangerous city, where cultivators trade in beast parts and use Wild Source as currency.
• With no usable local funds, they sell their Blackwind Leopard for 300 low-grade Wild Source.
• At the Wild Source Pavilion, they learn there is only one premium room available. Lu Zhen calls Leng Qiu his “Dao companion” and suggests they share it; she acts annoyed but agrees.
• While they rest, Leng Qiu questions an attendant about the region. Golden Leaf City belongs to the Golden Leaf Clan, which serves the Black Mountain Tribe, ruled by a Primordial Spirit Realm ancestor. Traveling to its main city by flying beast costs 500 mid-grade Wild Source per person—far beyond their means.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Zhen is playful and flirtatious, teasing Leng Qiu in the inn and presenting them as a couple. His humor seems to reassure her.
• Leng Qiu remains cool and guarded, but accepts Lu Zhen’s familiar teasing and shares a room with him. She takes charge of gathering information.
• Jin An is opportunistic: he weighs the danger of approaching Leng Qiu against the possible benefits of alerting Jin Yuanbai.
• The inn attendant treats Leng Qiu with deference after sensing her strength, while underestimating Lu Zhen as her lesser-ranked companion.

Significant themes

• Survival and adaptation: The newcomers must learn local customs, currency, and dangers.
• Power and status: Strength shapes how people are treated, from the attendant’s deference to Jin An’s cautious scheming.
• Companionship and trust: Lu Zhen’s teasing and Leng Qiu’s quiet acceptance suggest growing ease between them.
• The cost of progress: Reaching the region’s center offers a potential path forward, but the dangerous journey and steep fare make it inaccessible for now.