Recaps

Sikong Jing forced the Space Sacred Key to acknowledge him as its master and used it to teleport north, hoping to reach the Desolate Sea Absolute Formation before his demonic corruption consumed his mind. He reached the Northern Wasteland but remained far from his destination, with his consciousness continuing to fade.

• Sikong Jing used his peak Saint Martial strength and demonic energy to force the Space Sacred Key to recognize him as its master.
• Sikong Jing filled the Sacred Key with Bright Core Crystals and began repeatedly teleporting north, while a pair of icy eyes recognized him as the new Lord of Ten Thousand Beasts.
• Sikong Jing’s Pure Spirit Heart shattered, but his fallen cultivation and efforts to suppress his demonization let him retain a trace of clarity.
• Sikong Jing crossed into the Northern Wasteland and continued teleporting, seeking forces powerful enough to blast away another major realm and weaken his demonic intent.

Sikong Jing sensed his parents’ secret realm in the Northern Wasteland, but pursuers waiting there attacked him with a lightning formation. The lightning restored his clarity, and he teleported away to continue toward the Desolate Sea Absolute Formation as the pursuers followed.

• Sikong Jing sensed the secret realm his parents had left in the Northern Wasteland and rushed toward it without using spatial teleportation.
• At the snowy peak, a formation’s lightning struck Sikong Jing and knocked his realm back to the fourth major realm of the Saint Martial Stage, restoring his clarity.
• Sikong Jing recognized the figures atop the cliff as his parents’ pursuers and struggled against his urge to devour them.
• Sikong Jing used the Space Sacred Key to teleport away, deciding to reach the Desolate Sea Absolute Formation and dispel his Magic Beast body first.
• The beast-pelt-clad old man ordered the pursuers to follow Sikong Jing into the spatial passage and seize his treasures.

Sikong Jing entered the Desolate Sea Absolute Formation to suppress his demonic state, but the old man in beast hide and his companions followed him and provoked him into attacking. After killing two of them, Sikong Jing forced himself deeper into the formation to keep the demonic intent at bay, while the three survivors prepared to pursue him again.

• Sikong Jing reached the Boundless Sea and entered the Desolate Sea Absolute Formation, whose power began consuming his demonic energy.
• The old man in beast hide and his companions followed Sikong Jing into the formation, intending to keep him in sight and claim his spatial sacred artifact.
• As the formation's bombardment weakened him, Sikong Jing's cultivation fell to the third great realm of Saint Martial, giving him hope of escaping demonhood.
• One of the pursuers demanded Sikong Jing hand over his spatial sacred artifact, reigniting his rage and prompting him to attack the group.
• Sikong Jing killed two pursuers, including one he devoured, then stopped at the formation's edge and turned back to go deeper.
• The three survivors blamed the man who had provoked Sikong Jing, but the old man in beast skins decided they would continue pursuing him.

Sikong Jing fled deeper into the Desolate Sea Absolute Formation to escape the old man in beast-hide clothing and his companions, then lost consciousness as the formation battered him. The pursuers assumed he had died and returned to the Sikong couple’s secret realm, while Sikong Jing drifted deeper under the protection of fish; elsewhere, Old Xiu’s group prepared a formation to help Yao Yulou’s fleeing allies.

• Sikong Jing charged deeper into the Desolate Sea Absolute Formation to escape the old man in beast-hide clothing and his two companions, who pursued him until the formation became too dangerous.
• The formation battered Sikong Jing down to the Emperor Martial Realm and knocked him unconscious, but nearby fish and demon beasts surrounded him and carried him onward.
• The old man in beast-hide clothing assumed Sikong Jing had been crushed to death, abandoned the search for his spatial sacred artifact, and returned with his companions to the Sikong couple’s secret realm.
• Yao Yulou’s group escaped Wind Thunder City under Everlasting Love Venerable’s guidance and reached a mountain forest beyond Thousand Kings’ territory.
• Old Xiu, He Congsheng, Qi Wuji, Old Fat Head, Su Yuexian, Jade Luan, and the Armor-Splitting Flying Scorpion gathered to join the Qianyuan Battle-Killing Formation.

Old Xiu’s Qianyuan Battle-Killing Formation forced Pei Kuang to retreat, allowing Yao Yulou and the others to escape Thousand King territory. They joined Tyrant Heaven Chamber of Commerce’s forces, and the two powers began an all-out war that ended in a deadlock.

• Old Xiu used the Qianyuan Battle-Killing Formation to counter Pei Kuang’s ambush and drive him, Madam Raccoon, and the Golden Storm War Dragon away.
• Pei Kuang blamed Madam Raccoon for failing to stop Yao Yulou and demanded an explanation about Pei Yusheng’s ability to devour bodies of the same origin.
• Yao Yulou and the others broke out of Thousand King territory, while Pei Kuang ordered his main army to pursue them.
• Yao Yulou’s force joined Murong Jianyun and Tyrant Lotus Venerable’s Tyrant Heaven Chamber of Commerce troops, and Pei Kuang launched an attack.
• Tyrant Lotus Venerable, Murong Jianyun, the Dark Wing Dragon Eagle, and Bei Cang Heavenly Decider revealed their Saint Martial strength as both sides entered an all-out war.
• Major sects joined either Thousand Kings Holy Tower or Tyrant Heaven Chamber of Commerce, and their reinforcements brought the fighting to a deadlock.

After a month of war, Sikong Jing remained missing, though Murong Jianyun and a few others knew he was alive. Sikong Jing awoke in a hut on Demon-Scale Island, where a scaled girl treated his demonic appearance as ordinary.

• The Tyrant Heaven Chamber of Commerce and the Thousand Kings Holy Tower withdrew their forces, while both sides kept troops stationed between them.
• Rumors spread that Sikong Jing and the Humanoid Fierce Beast had died, but Murong Jianyun kept Sikong Jing’s survival secret from all but trusted allies.
• Sikong Jing awoke in a thatched hut after recalling that strange black fish had carried him through the sea.
• A young girl brought Sikong Jing medicinal broth and showed no fear of his demonic scales.
• The girl revealed her own scales and horns and told Sikong Jing that they were ordinary demonfolk from Demon-Scale Island.

Sikong Jing awakened on Demon-Scale Island after surviving the Desolate Sea Absolute Formation and found himself severely injured, still covered in demonic scales. As he began investigating his condition, he discovered a mass of black mist inside his Spirit Platform Sea of Consciousness.

• Yinlu left with Big Ox to meet the village elders, while Big Ox told Sikong Jing to return to his own village once he could get out of bed.
• Sikong Jing realized he had drifted to Demon-Scale Island, where the scaled inhabitants had mistaken him for one of their own.
• Sikong Jing examined his body and found his dantian nearly empty, his meridians shattered, and lingering Magic Beast energy throughout him.
• Sikong Jing entered his Spirit Platform Sea of Consciousness and found his beast-shaped spiritual shadow destroyed and his humanoid shadow nearly invisible.
• Sikong Jing learned from the beasts in the Ten Thousand Beasts Heavenly Prison that more than a month had passed since he was blasted into the sea.
• Sikong Jing noticed a mass of black mist in his Spirit Platform Sea of Consciousness and wondered whether Magic Beast energy had invaded it.

Sikong Jing discovered that a demonic spirit shadow might be forming, then awakened his suppressed dual dark Emperor Veins after taking medicine. He decided to cultivate a separate human meridian with the Wild Sea Sacred Rock Art to balance his Emperor Bloodline against his beast bloodline, while Pei Kuang celebrated unlocking the Golden Crystal Orb.

• Sikong Jing suspected the black demonic mist in his Spirit Platform was forming a third spirit shadow, but the Divine Turtle warned that it could be dangerous.
• Sikong Jing took a mild restorative pill, and its medicinal power triggered his suppressed dual dark Emperor Veins to erupt and try to seize his body.
• Sikong Jing consulted the beasts in the Ten Thousand Beasts Heavenly Prison, and they advised him to make his Emperor Bloodline and beast bloodline coexist in balance.
• Sikong Jing chose to open a human main meridian and began cultivating the Wild Sea Sacred Rock Art to strengthen his Emperor Bloodline without overwhelming his beast bloodline.
• Pei Kuang returned to Thousand Kings Holy Tower, where Madam Raccoon had fully unlocked the Golden Crystal Orb and revealed its Saint-grade cultivation arts and martial skills.

Pei Kuang explained that the Golden Crystal Orb was a reward from a Vast Sea Great Sect that was using him to investigate an ancient prison within the Desolate Sea Absolute Formation. He revealed how the prison and its wardens worked, then left Madam Raccoon alarmed by the existence of natives who could help outsiders pass through the formation.

• Pei Kuang valued the ultimate saint-grade inheritance in the Golden Crystal Orb and expected it to help him reach the fourth major realm of the Saint Martial Stage and crush the Tyrant Heaven Chamber of Commerce.
• Madam Raccoon thanked Pei Kuang for not blaming her and Desire Saint, then asked where he had obtained the Golden Crystal Orb.
• Pei Kuang told Madam Raccoon that the prison had been left by an ancient mighty expert and later occupied by a great sect from Boundless Sea, whose War Puppets still guarded it.
• Pei Kuang explained that the great sect had sent him a transmission stone to summon powerful prisoners and test the wardens, while the Golden Crystal Orb was his reward for cooperating.
• Madam Raccoon asked whether the Vast Sea Great Sect could easily enter the Desolate Sea Forbidden Land, and Pei Kuang said natives within the formation could help outsiders pass through it.

Pei Kuang revealed his theory about the Desolate Sea Absolute Formation and plotted to strengthen the Thousand Kings Holy Tower by targeting the Sikong couple’s pursuers. Meanwhile, Sikong Jing opened a second dantian and began rebuilding his human-race cultivation from the beginning.

• Pei Kuang told Madam Raccoon that the Desolate Sea Absolute Formation and its prison may have been built by an ancient power, and that controlling the prison could grant them control of the formation.
• Pei Kuang urged Madam Raccoon to find and capture or kill other pursuers of the Sikong couple, especially those in the Northern Wasteland, and lure them to the Thousand Kings Holy Tower.
• Pei Kuang revealed that he planned to use a disciple’s blood to create a Fierce Charm Sacred Body and devour him.
• Sikong Jing opened a second dantian so his human-race and beast-race powers could remain balanced.
• Sikong Jing began forming his human-race main meridians and rebuilding his cultivation from the Martial Enlightenment Stage, progressing rapidly with his King Realm body.

Sikong Jing discovered that Yinlu had been raised as a sacrifice to the true humans and vowed to destroy the practice. As Yinlu began explaining where she would be taken, a group of demonfolk arrived to seize her.

• Sikong Jing stopped his cultivation when he heard Yinlu crying and went outside to thank her for saving him.
• Yinlu told Sikong Jing that people had cared for her because she was being raised as a sacrifice for the true humans.
• Sikong Jing said he would crush the practice and asked Yinlu where the true humans were and where she would be taken.
• A white-scaled woman arrived with several demonfolk, mocked Yinlu as a sacrificial offering, and ordered them to take her away.

Sikong Jing protected Yinlu from Huilu and learned that the islands’ demons were forced to send workers and sacrifices to Gods and Devils Island every three years. The chapter ended with Yinlu revealing that its center was a prison holding many humans, leaving Sikong Jing shaken.

• Huilu ordered her men to drag Yinlu away, but Sikong Jing stepped in and drove them off with a few punches.
• Huilu threatened Yinlu and Sikong Jing before fleeing to report them to the village elders.
• Yinlu urged Sikong Jing to leave, but he stayed and asked her about the humans and the sacrifice system.
• Yinlu explained that outsiders controlled the demon islands and sent their people to work on Gods and Devils Island every three years.
• Yinlu revealed that the center of Gods and Devils Island was a prison holding many humans, and Sikong Jing reacted with shock.

Sikong Jing learned that Gods and Devils Island was connected to a prison, then confronted Gray-Scale Village after Huilu falsely accused Yinlu of planning to elope. The village turned against Yinlu, and Sikong Jing began his promised “reasoning” by slapping Huilu.

• Yinlu told Sikong Jing that humans sent village women into the prison to be abused by its prisoners.
• Huilu accused Yinlu of wanting to elope with Sikong Jing, and the village elder ordered the villagers to surround them.
• The villagers cursed Yinlu, while Huilu revealed she wanted to marry Big Ox after Yinlu became a sacrifice.
• Big Ox challenged Sikong Jing, and the village elder threatened to kill him for interfering with the sacrifice.
• Sikong Jing told Yinlu he would reason with the villagers, then appeared before Huilu and slapped her.

Sikong Jing exposed Huilu’s lie and confronted Gray-Scale Village for mistreating Yinlu, who was meant to be sacrificed. He took Yinlu into the hut and barred the villagers from entering, leaving them to face the consequences of losing their offering.

• Sikong Jing knocked down the Gray-Scale Village elders and villagers, then told Big Ox he wanted to settle things through reason.
• Sikong Jing dragged Huilu over and struck her until she admitted the claim that Yinlu planned to elope was a lie.
• Sikong Jing stopped the chief village elder from accusing Yinlu and condemned the villagers for blaming her instead of sympathizing with her fate.
• When Huilu and her supporters dismissed Yinlu as a lowly sacrifice, Sikong Jing declared that Yinlu had chosen not to be the offering.
• Sikong Jing swept Yinlu into her hut, threatened to kill anyone who entered, and carved a sword trench before the door.
• The villagers feared Sikong Jing and worried that without Yinlu as the offering, Gray-Scale Village would have to send more people to work on Gods and Devils Island.

Sikong Jing learned that Gray-Scale Village had deceived Yinlu about the sacrifice and promised to protect her while investigating the Gods and Devils Archipelago. Meanwhile, in Overlord Heaven City, Hua Meixi reported that Yao Yulou had disappeared, and the leaders rushed to search for him.

• Sikong Jing realized Gray-Scale Village wanted Yinlu sacrificed to spare its villagers from dangerous work on Gods and Devils Island.
• Yinlu struggled with guilt over the villagers’ possible deaths, but Sikong Jing told her he would not let her become the sacrifice.
• Sikong Jing stayed in the hut to cultivate and learn more about the archipelago, while Yinlu chose to trust him.
• At the Heavenly Judgment Hall, Bei Cang Heavenly Decider asked why Yao Yulou had not arrived for the war meeting.
• Hua Meixi announced that Yao Yulou had said goodbye to his parents and vanished, fearing he had gone to find her deceased Mother.
• Murong Jianyun ordered everyone to head to Chaos-Shaking City to search for Yao Yulou.

Fu Miaoling offered to teach Tyrant Lotus Venerable the Fu Family’s Spatial Folding Technique so they could catch Yao Yulou and deliver Sikong Jing’s entrusted item. Meanwhile, Sikong Jing emerged from the thatched hut on Demon-Scale Island to face the Island Master and a crowd who questioned his black scales.

• Fu Miaoling revealed that Sikong Jing had entrusted her with something for Yao Yulou and offered to teach Tyrant Lotus Venerable the Spatial Folding Technique so they could catch up to him.
• Tyrant Lotus Venerable took Fu Miaoling toward Chaos-Shaking City, and Hua Meixi followed them.
• Tie Binghun started a martial exchange in the Heavenly Judgment Hall, prompting others to share their insights while Bei Cang Heavenly Decider wondered when Sikong Jing would return.
• Huilu and the Great Village Elder accused Sikong Jing of defying the Island Master and seeking his position, rousing the crowd outside the hut.
• Sikong Jing stepped out to face the Island Master and the gathered demons, who began questioning whether his black scales belonged to anyone from Demon-Scale Island.

Sikong Jing defeated the Demon-Scale Island lord and the gathered demons to protect Yinlu from being sacrificed. After learning that the humans required ten sacrifices every three years, he realized the islanders were hiding their motives, then sensed a Divine Shuttle Ship arriving.

• The Demon-Scale Island lord demanded Yinlu as a sacrifice, and Sikong Jing challenged him to a fight.
• Sikong Jing knocked the island lord flying with one punch, then defeated the assembled demons, including Huilu.
• Sikong Jing asked the island lord whether he would reason with him, and the lord said the humans controlled the sacrifice demands.
• The island lord explained that Demon-Scale Island had to provide ten sacrifices every three years or send its young and able-bodied people to work on Gods and Devils Island.
• Sikong Jing realized the islanders were lying about the humans' ability to find Yinlu and sensed a Divine Shuttle Ship arriving.

Sikong Jing confronted the human officials who arrived to collect sacrifices and workers from Demon-Scale Island. He seized the island lord’s position and claimed there were no sacrifices, but Huilu exposed Yinlu as one.

• A Divine Shuttle Ship arrived over Gray-Scale Village, and the Demon-Scale Island Lord planned to tell the humans that Sikong Jing was hiding a sacrifice.
• Big Ox urged Sikong Jing to flee with Yinlu, but Sikong Jing promised to protect them and waited for the humans.
• Two humans and a beast demon stepped off the ship, and the young man demanded to know whether the sacrifices and workers were ready.
• Sikong Jing declared himself the island lord, knocked the Demon-Scale Island Lord down, and told the humans that everyone would go to Gods and Devils Island because there were no sacrifices.
• Huilu pointed out Yinlu and accused Sikong Jing of deceiving the humans.

Sikong Jing refused to provide sacrifices to the humans aboard the Divine Shuttle Ship and defeated their Golden Body Realm thug with ease. When Elder Ruan attacked him, the Tiger Demon Zhan Hu intervened and persuaded the elder to let him handle Sikong Jing and the sacrifices.

• Sikong Jing told the humans that Demon-Scale Island would not provide sacrifices for three years.
• Elder Ruan ordered a Golden Body Realm thug to kill Sikong Jing, but Sikong Jing seized him by the throat and tossed him back onto the ship.
• Elder Ruan recognized Sikong Jing's Peak Martial Enlightenment Stage strength and attacked him with an Emperor Martial palm strike.
• Zhan Hu stopped Elder Ruan's attack with a tiger claw and argued that Sikong Jing could prove useful to the elder.
• Elder Ruan spared Sikong Jing, gave Zhan Hu a quarter of an hour to prepare the sacrifice, and returned inside the ship.

Sikong Jing gambled that Zhan Hu would stop Elder Ruan from killing him, then used the chance to learn about the Gods and Devils Archipelago and Cangyu Sect. He sought a way to keep Yinlu out of the prison, but Zhan Hu said Sikong Jing might only have a chance after the Absolute Formation Gate opened again in three years.

• Sikong Jing revealed that he had prepared the Army-Slaying Formation and Beast Slaughter Array, but had gambled that Zhan Hu would intervene.
• Zhan Hu stopped Elder Ruan, and Sikong Jing explained that Yinlu and Big Ox had rescued him after he was swept in from the depths of Boundless Sea.
• Zhan Hu told Sikong Jing that Cangyu Sect controlled the Gods and Devils Archipelago and warned him not to challenge human authority.
• Sikong Jing refused to leave Yinlu behind or let her enter the prison, and asked Zhan Hu how he could earn a protected spot by raising Elder Ruan's standing.
• Zhan Hu said he had no available spots for Sikong Jing's group and judged that Sikong Jing might have a chance when the Absolute Formation Gate opened in three years.

Sikong Jing revealed to Zhan Hu that he had already opened his Spirit Platform sea of consciousness and formed a spirit shadow, then claimed he could reach the Spirit Martial Stage before their ship reached Gods and Devils Island. Zhan Hu agreed to explain how Sikong Jing could raise Elder Ruan’s status after they boarded, while Sikong Jing turned to deal with Demon-Scale Island’s people and sacrifices.

• Zhan Hu told Sikong Jing that he needed to reach the Spirit Martial Stage to gain Elder Ruan’s attention, and Sikong Jing learned they would reach Gods and Devils Island in half a month.
• Sikong Jing rapidly broke through from the peak of the Martial Enlightenment Stage to the Dao Inquiry Realm, leaving Zhan Hu stunned.
• Sikong Jing demonstrated his Spirit Platform sea of consciousness and a faint spirit shadow, then explained that he had reached the Spirit Martial Stage before falling into the sea and was rebuilding his martial path.
• Sikong Jing asked Zhan Hu how he could raise Elder Ruan’s status, and Zhan Hu promised to explain after they boarded the ship.
• Sikong Jing ordered the Demon-Scale Island demons to gather, and they obeyed after Zhan Hu glared at them.

Sikong Jing forced the Demon-Scale Island Lord, Huilu, and the Gray-Scale Village elders to travel to Gods and Devils Island, then caused a fight aboard the Divine Shuttle Ship. When Elder Ruan noticed Sikong Jing had reached the Dao Inquiry Realm of the War Martial Stage, Sikong Jing credited Zhan Hu, who backed up his claim.

• Sikong Jing ordered the former Demon-Scale Island Lord, Gray-Scale Village elders, and Huilu to go to Gods and Devils Island with the other demons.
• Zhan Hu brought Sikong Jing, Yinlu, and the others aboard the Divine Shuttle Ship, then told Elder Ruan that Sikong Jing had fallen in line.
• Sikong Jing knocked down a Golden Body Realm thug who attacked him, then sent him flying again while pretending to defend himself in panic.
• Elder Ruan stopped the Cangyu Sect thugs from attacking Sikong Jing and asked how he had reached the Dao Inquiry Realm of the War Martial Stage.
• Sikong Jing said Zhan Hu had guided him, and Zhan Hu confirmed that Sikong Jing had made a tremendous breakthrough after a few pointers.

Sikong Jing learned from Zhan Hu how the Cangyu Sect oppressed the devilmen and prevented them from reaching the Saint Martial Stage. Zhan Hu also explained the mysteries of the Gods and Devils Archipelago, leaving Sikong Jing to realize that unknown guardians—not the Cangyu Sect—were responsible for containing Ba Zhun and the Six-Clawed Hybrid Beast.

• Elder Ruan accepted Zhan Hu’s explanation for Sikong Jing’s attack and ordered Zhan Hu to nurture him while warning him not to lose control again.
• Sikong Jing told Zhan Hu that he refused to submit to oppression, and Zhan Hu admitted that he had once shared Sikong Jing’s hopes of freeing the devilmen.
• Zhan Hu revealed that the Cangyu Sect barred devilmen from reaching the Saint Martial Stage and had killed a devilman who broke through the realm lock.
• Sikong Jing asked Zhan Hu to explain the Gods and Devils Archipelago, the Absolute Formation Gate, the Desolate Sea Absolute Formation, and the prison.
• After hearing Zhan Hu’s account, Sikong Jing realized that the archipelago’s guardians—not the Cangyu Sect—kept Ba Zhun and the Six-Clawed Hybrid Beast in check.

Sikong Jing pieced together the rules of the Desolate Sea Absolute Formation and Cangyu Sect’s experiments, then suspected the formation was created to protect the Ten Thousand Beasts Heavenly Prison and the previous Lord of Ten Thousand Beasts’ bloodline inheritance. He found no answers from the beasts and left determined to investigate Gods and Devils Island.

• Sikong Jing reasoned that Cangyu Sect used a devilish human and a teleportation stone to test ways of controlling Gods and Devils Island, confirming the sect could threaten the Central Plains.
• Sikong Jing learned that the island’s creator was revered by the devilish humans, while the mindless guardians protected the island’s center and stopped pursuing intruders who returned to the prison.
• Sikong Jing suspected the Desolate Sea Absolute Formation protected the Ten Thousand Beasts Heavenly Prison and the previous Lord of Ten Thousand Beasts’ bloodline from human powers and the Five Heavenly Emperors.
• Sikong Jing entered the Ten Thousand Beasts Heavenly Prison and shared his theory with the ferocious beasts and divine beasts, but they could not identify a beast that might have stolen the prison and inheritance.
• Sikong Jing withdrew from the Ten Thousand Beasts Heavenly Prison and resolved to investigate the formation’s secrets on Gods and Devils Island.

Sikong Jing arrived at Gods and Devils Island with the Cangyu Sect’s fleet, where demonfolk were forced to work gathering valuable crystals and Yinlu was taken as a sacrifice. The group reached the demonfolk inheritance ground, and Elder Ruan brought several talented youths forward while Zhan Hu explained that Ruan’s standing had declined.

• Sikong Jing cultivated during the journey, determined to reach the Spirit Martial Stage and protect Yinlu from becoming a sacrifice.
• After half a month, Elder Ruan’s fleet arrived at Gods and Devils Island, where Zhan Hu explained the demonfolk’s role in carrying out Gods and Devils Crystals for the Cangyu Sect.
• The demonfolk went ashore and headed toward the island’s center as Yinlu was escorted with the sacrifices and Huilu mocked Sikong Jing.
• Sikong Jing felt a strange familiarity with Gods and Devils Island, reassured Yinlu, and continued with the group to a cliffside inheritance ground.
• Saint Martial Stage elder Bu Tun summoned talented demonfolk to receive the inheritance, and Elder Ruan brought several youths from his group.
• Zhan Hu told Sikong Jing that Elder Ruan’s status had fallen because his cultivation had advanced slowly and his recent trips had achieved little.