Chapter Summaries

Sikong Jing met Fu Miaoling privately at Holy Artisan Mountain and revealed that he wanted to ask about her family’s mechanical message birds and spatial power. He left her wary and confused after explaining that he belonged to no sect or faction.

• Fu Miaoling hid a dagger and prepared to endure Sikong Jing’s advances, but he instead examined her true qi and retrieved the weapon.
• Sikong Jing tossed several imperial artifacts around the room to form a barrier, explaining that Holy Artisan Mountain might monitor them.
• Sikong Jing introduced himself and asked Fu Miaoling how the Fu family’s mechanical message birds folded space.
• Fu Miaoling questioned his identity and sect, and Sikong Jing said he belonged to no sect or faction.

Sikong Jing questioned Fu Miaoling about why she had withheld the mechanism message birds’ secret from the Thousand Kings Holy Tower. After mistaking him for its envoy and attempting to kill him, Fu Miaoling offered to serve the tower if he rescued and resettled her family.

• Sikong Jing asked Fu Miaoling why she had not traded the mechanism message birds’ secret to the Thousand Kings Holy Tower for her family’s freedom.
• Fu Miaoling learned that Sikong Jing had discovered the secret from a force in Fire Artisan City and suspected they were descendants of escaped Fu family guards.
• Fu Miaoling attacked Sikong Jing with her dagger, but he caught it between two fingers.
• Fu Miaoling explained that she distrusted the Thousand Kings Holy Tower because it had imprisoned and tortured her younger brother, and she mistook Sikong Jing for one of its envoys.
• Sikong Jing realized Fu Miaoling had played the Unstringed Ethereal Melody to attract the Tyrant Heaven Chamber of Commerce’s help.
• Fu Miaoling offered to serve the Thousand Kings Holy Tower if Sikong Jing rescued her family and settled them somewhere safe.

Sikong Jing avoided being overheard by You Dan and had Fu Miaoling play the Unstringed Ethereal Melody while he studied her control of spatial power. After listening all night without touching her, he was escorted out, leaving Fu Miaoling uncertain about what would happen to her next.

• Sikong Jing sensed You Dan approaching, put away his Imperial weapons, and asked Fu Miaoling to play the Unstringed Ethereal Melody.
• You Dan and You Yao watched from outside as Fu Miaoling played and Sikong Jing listened; You Dan rebuked You Yao for involving an outsider in Fu Miaoling's punishment.
• You Dan left You Yao to guard the room and questioned the attendants, who said they had heard nothing because Sikong Jing's Imperial weapons had blocked the sound.
• Sikong Jing studied Fu Miaoling's control of true energy and spatial power while she played the same melody for five hours.
• You Yao grew irritated and ordered the attendants to end the performance, and Sikong Jing left without touching Fu Miaoling.

Sikong Jing returned to Fu Miaoling’s room, desperate to hear her Unstringed Ethereal Melody again so he could grasp spatial folding. When Holy Artisan Mountain exposed his stolen invitation and false identity, he effortlessly subdued its experts and threatened everyone present.

• You Yao warned Fu Miaoling that the You Family’s men would punish her again, while Fu Miaoling trusted that the Thousand Kings envoy would handle her situation.
• Sikong Jing rushed back to Fu Miaoling’s room and asked her to play the Unstringed Ethereal Melody once more.
• Holy Artisan Mountain’s Seventh Elder learned that Sikong Jing had stolen a Tian Family expert’s invitation card and impersonated Young Master Shen.
• The Tian Family expert identified Sikong Jing, and the Seventh Elder ordered his men to seize him.
• Sikong Jing pinned the attacking Holy Artisan Mountain experts in midair and asked Fu Miaoling whether any Emperor Martial Stage experts supported the Tyrant Heaven Chamber of Commerce.
• After Fu Miaoling said none did, Sikong Jing unleashed demonic intent and threatened to kill everyone present.

Sikong Jing revealed his terrifying strength at Ripple Lake, defeating Holy Artisan Mountain's Seventh Elder and fighting eight Venerable Realm experts at once. The crowd recognized him as Sikong Devil.

• Sikong Jing said he had once belonged to the Tyrant Heaven Chamber of Commerce but no longer did, then punched Holy Artisan Mountain's Seventh Elder through the crowd and into the island's barrier.
• Holy Artisan Mountain's experts attacked Sikong Jing, but he killed them with a series of punches as Fu Miaoling and the guests watched in shock.
• The Seventh Elder called on the Venerable Realm experts among the guests to help kill Sikong Jing, and eight of them attacked him.
• Sikong Jing fought the eight Venerable Realm experts without falling behind, despite remaining at the peak of the Emperor Emergence Realm.
• The crowd realized Sikong Jing was a Third-Grade Holy Body and identified him as Sikong Devil.

At Ripple Lake, Sikong Jing revealed his identity and fought the forces surrounding him while Fu Miaoling played her Unstringed Ethereal Melody. During the battle, he began to comprehend spatial power and formed a spatial meridian, though he had not yet mastered space folding.

• Fu Miaoling realized the Black-Clothed Youth was Sikong Jing, and the Seventh Elder of Holy Artisan Mountain sent a Mechanism Messenger Bird for reinforcements.
• The Seventh Elder urged everyone to encircle Sikong Jing, while Fu Miaoling concluded he alone knew her secret about the Mechanism Messenger Bird.
• Fu Miaoling played her Unstringed Ethereal Melody, helping Sikong Jing seize a fading spark of inspiration as a Fifth Realm Venerable attacked him.
• Sikong Jing crushed the attack, rejected the crowd's jeers, and charged into the enemy ranks with the Seven Beast Mad Demon Sword.
• As Fu Miaoling's music folded through space, Sikong Jing formed a spatial meridian and began to understand how spatial energy might be used to fold distance.

Sikong Jing slaughtered the attackers on the central island and revealed to Fu Miaoling that he had learned to fold space from her music. He promised to save the Fu Family and her younger brother, but said the time was not right as a terrifying Emperor aura approached.

• Sikong Jing killed the Fourth Stage Venerable after the man refused to prove his pledge to support the Tyrant Heaven Chamber of Commerce.
• The survivors fled, while Sikong Jing killed Holy Artisan Mountain's Seventh Elder and blasted the Fifth Stage Venerable into a distant lake.
• Sikong Jing told Fu Miaoling he was not a Thousand Kings envoy and thanked her for playing the Stringless Melody through the night.
• Fu Miaoling asked Sikong Jing to take her away and then pleaded with him to save the Fu Family in exchange for building him a Mechanism Messenger Bird.
• Sikong Jing demonstrated that he had learned to fold space, then promised to save the Fu Family and Fu Miaoling's younger brother when the time was right.

After escaping into Ripple Lake, Sikong Jing left Fu Miaoling resolved to join his struggle against the Thousand Kings Holy Tower. Holy Artisan Mountain failed to find him, while You Dan realized Sikong Jing had used the Unstringed Ethereal Melody to uncover the Fu Clan’s spatial-folding secret.

• Sikong Jing told Fu Miaoling to protect the Fu Clan, keep their conversation secret, and meet him at the Thousand Kings Holy Tower before escaping into Ripple Lake.
• You Dan ordered Holy Artisan Mountain’s experts to search Ripple Lake, while Fu Miaoling deduced Sikong Jing wanted to free the Thousand Prison Tower’s captives and decided to follow him.
• You Dan and the returning guests failed to find Sikong Jing, and a badly wounded fifth-level Venerable Realm expert warned that Sikong Devil might surpass Su Old Devil.
• Fu Miaoling told You Dan that Sikong Jing had praised her spatial power and said he wanted to hear the melody again, leading You Dan to realize Sikong Jing had been studying the Unstringed Ethereal Melody.
• You Dan slapped You Yao for failing to recognize that Sikong Jing had been comprehending the melody’s secrets.

Fu Miaoling provoked You Yao and You Dan with claims about Sikong Jing, prompting You Dan to seal Ripple Lake and kill the guests so he could blame Sikong Jing. As Black Copper Manor fled Fire Artisan City, Sikong Jing appeared inside their carriage and revealed that the massacre had not killed every guest.

• You Yao slapped Fu Miaoling, who taunted her and told You Dan that Sikong Jing had threatened to steal the Mechanism Messenger Bird secrets.
• You Dan ordered the Fu Family moved to Holy Artisan Mountain under surveillance, then declared that the guests at Ripple Lake would be killed and blamed on Sikong Jing.
• You Dan killed all the guests at Ripple Lake and staged a grief-stricken outcry in Fire Artisan City, claiming Sikong Jing had slaughtered them.
• Black Copper Manor hurried away from Fire Artisan City, and its people realized they had directed Sikong Jing to Ripple Lake.
• Sikong Jing appeared inside Black Copper Manor's carriage and said he had not killed every guest at Ripple Lake.

Sikong Jing arranged for Black Copper Manor to contact Fu Clan descendants and moved on to recruit and monitor other Thousand Prison Tower pawns as the Tyrant Heaven Chamber of Commerce gained support through its Qianyuan Battle-Killing Diagram auctions. Alarmed that the Chamber was using the delay to study the complete diagram, Pei Kuang ordered the Thousand Kings Holy Tower to gather its troops and attack.

• Sikong Jing asked the Black Copper Manor elder to contact Fu Clan descendants and help the Tyrant Heaven Chamber of Commerce rescue the Fu Clan and destroy Holy Artisan Mountain.
• Sikong Jing helped Black Copper Manor escape Fire Artisan City, then traveled to another city and subdued its City Lord while arranging for a demon beast to monitor him.
• Over the following month, Sikong Jing returned to the eastern Central Plains as rumors about the Sikong Devil spread and the Tyrant Heaven Chamber of Commerce's Qianyuan Battle-Killing Diagram auctions drew factions away from the Thousand Kings Holy Tower.
• Pei Kuang concluded that the Tyrant Heaven Chamber of Commerce was using the auctions to buy time and study the complete diagram, which he believed Sikong Jing had obtained.
• Pei Kuang ordered his subordinates to gather the Thousand Kings Holy Tower's troops and attack the Tyrant Heaven Chamber of Commerce.

Pei Kuang launched a campaign to isolate the Tyrant Heaven Chamber of Commerce and force Central Plains factions to submit, while seeking the remaining Qianyuan Fragment Maps. As the siege of Overlord Heaven City began and war spread, Sikong Jing prepared to counter by opening sales of part of the Qianyuan Battle-Killing Diagram.

• Pei Kuang ordered the Thousand Kings Holy Tower to surround Overlord Heaven City, block its trade routes, and use subordinate forces to destroy factions that opposed him.
• Pei Kuang ordered Pei Yugong to obtain the Thoughtless Sacred Sect’s Qianyuan Fragment Map and set out with Madam Raccoon and Pei Yusheng to demand the map from the Heavenly Dao Sacred Land.
• Pei Kuang vowed to visit Su Old Devil’s grave and break the sword formation there after his trip to the Heavenly Dao Sacred Land.
• The Thousand Kings Holy Tower sealed Overlord Heaven City, and several factions launched small attacks as fighting spread elsewhere in the Central Plains.
• Duanmu Chun asked Sikong Jing how long Overlord Heaven City could hold out, and Sikong Jing said Murong Grand Heaven Duel would switch part of the Qianyuan Battle-Killing Diagram from auction to direct purchase.

Sikong Jing planned to delay an all-out war by using direct sales of the Qianyuan Battle-Killing Diagram, while preparing the Eastern Tyrant Branch to respond to a coming siege. He donned the Dark Wing Mask and prepared to lead the branch toward Ancient Sacred Peak as Chang Ao and the defected factions moved against them.

• Sikong Jing told Duanmu Chun that direct sales of the Qianyuan Battle-Killing Diagram could force the major powers to challenge the Thousand Kings Holy Tower’s blockade.
• Sikong Jing received Ling’er’s warning that the Thoughtless Sect Master planned to hand the Qianyuan Fragment Map to Pei Yugong, and he instructed the group to avoid rash action and stall any attack on the Tyrant Heaven Chamber of Commerce.
• Sikong Jing asked Duanmu Chun to handle the Thousand Prison Tower pawns while he led the Eastern Tyrant Branch toward Ancient Sacred Peak, which faced an impending assault.
• Sikong Jing put on the Dark Wing Mask so he could act as the Dark Wing Commander without publicly linking the campaign to his identity as the Sikong Devil.
• Duanmu Chun sensed hostile intent near the Weapon Formation Masters Guild, and Sikong Jing identified its president, Chang Ao, as a defector who would command an attack on Dongba.
• Sikong Jing ordered the Tyrant Heaven Battle Team summons and told Duanmu Chun to prepare for battle, then leave Chaos-Shaking City to subdue the Thousand Prison Tower’s pawns.

Sikong Jing refused to assassinate Chang Ao and prepared to unleash the Qianyuan Battle-Killing Formation in Chaos-Shaking City to demonstrate its power. As Chang Ao’s allied forces gathered to besiege the Eastern Tyrant Branch, Sikong Jing took command and readied the Tyrant Heaven Battle Team to fight.

• Sikong Jing told Duanmu Chun that the Qianyuan Battle-Killing Formation had to prove its power publicly, so the world would rush to buy the formation diagram.
• Duanmu Chun assembled the Tyrant Heaven Battle Team and Eastern Tyrant dominators, then departed after ordering them to obey the Dark Wing Commander.
• As night fell, eastern powers’ Divine Shuttle Ships converged on the Eastern Tyrant Branch, and Chang Ao called for Duanmu Chun to come out.
• Sikong Jing remained silent inside the Tyrant Judgment Tower and ordered the core figures to return to the Tyrant Heaven Battle Team and accept his Army-Slaying Formation patterns.
• Sikong Jing vowed to answer Chang Ao’s siege with weapons, and the Eastern Tyrant core figures joined his formation command.

Duanmu Chun visited Ancient Sacred Peak and told them that the Thousand Kings’ forces had surrounded their Peak Master, while Sikong Jing was preparing to lead the Eastern Tyrant Branch to help. Ancient Sacred Peak agreed to secure Chaos-Shaking City after they left, and Duanmu Chun declared that Chang Ao would die that night.

• Chang Ao accused Duanmu Chun of activating the Army-Slaying Formation as he threatened the Eastern Tyrant Branch.
• Ancient Sacred Peak’s disciples worried that Chang Ao would attack them next and lamented that they had joined forces with Sikong Jing.
• Duanmu Chun arrived at Ancient Sacred Peak and revealed that the Thousand Kings’ allies had surrounded Peak Master Tie Binghun and were preparing to destroy the sect.
• Duanmu Chun explained that Sikong Jing would lead the Eastern Tyrant Branch to support Ancient Sacred Peak, leaving the branch empty, and asked them to restore order in Chaos-Shaking City afterward.
• The Ancient Sacred elder accepted the task, and Duanmu Chun predicted Chang Ao would die that night.
• The elder reminded his people that their choice to stand against the Thousand Kings had brought them to this crisis, and ordered them to fight for survival and stop slandering Sikong Jing.

Sikong Jing answered Chang Ao’s siege of the Eastern Tyrant Branch by rallying its warriors and revealing the Qianyuan Battle-Killing Formation. After turning back Chang Ao’s attack and smashing the forces surrounding the city, he ordered Eastern Tyrant’s warriors to charge and sweep away the enemy.

• Chang Ao surrounded the Eastern Tyrant Branch with the Thousand Kings defectors and unleashed his battle-killing formation after receiving no answer from Duanmu Chun.
• Sikong Jing emerged from Tyrant Judgment Tower, insulted Chang Ao and the Thousand Kings defectors, and helped Eastern Tyrant’s warriors overcome their fear by joining in the taunts.
• Chang Ao flew into a rage and sent a barrage of military-form arrows toward the Eastern Tyrant Branch.
• Sikong Jing commanded the Qianyuan Battle-Killing Formation to freeze the arrows and send them back at Chang Ao.
• Sikong Jing summoned Wolf Shadows that destroyed Divine Shuttle Ships and scattered the surrounding forces.
• Sikong Jing ordered Eastern Tyrant’s warriors to charge out and sweep away the enemy.

Sikong Jing led the Eastern Tyrant forces in a crushing assault against Chang Ao, revealing enough of his skill for everyone to recognize the masked commander as the Sikong Devil. As Chang Ao’s army retreated, Sikong Jing shot him through the back, shattering his protective artifacts.

• Sikong Jing ordered the Tyrant Heaven Battle Team to charge and suppressed Chang Ao’s battle-killing formation.
• Chang Ao recognized the masked commander as the Sikong Devil, while Sikong Jing identified himself as the Dark Wing Commander of the Eastern Tyrant Branch.
• Sikong Jing led the Eastern Tyrant forces northward, breaking Chang Ao’s formations and routing his troops.
• Sikong Jing explained that Chang Ao’s poor leadership, divided forces, and inexperience in war had doomed him despite his numerical and formation advantages.
• As Chang Ao prepared to withdraw, Sikong Jing shot an arrow through his back, shattering his imperial protective artifacts.

Sikong Jing killed Chang Ao and used the battle against the gathered factions to master the Qianyuan Battle-Killing Formation, wiping out their forces in Chaos-Shaking City. He then led the Eastern Tyrant north toward Ancient Sacred Peak, while witnesses debated whether his ruthlessness made him like Su Old Devil.

• Sikong Jing killed Chang Ao after condemning his service to Thousand Kings Holy Tower.
• The surviving factions split into separate battle-killing formations, and Sikong Jing used the battle to practice the Qianyuan Battle-Killing Formation.
• Sikong Jing pursued and slaughtered the fleeing forces, explaining that he was learning the formation and identifying himself as the Dark Wing Commander of the Eastern Tyrant Branch.
• Sikong Jing ordered the Eastern Tyrant forces to pursue their enemies toward Ancient Sacred Peak, leaving Shaking One District silent and bloodstained.
• Witnesses compared Sikong Jing to Su Old Devil and argued over whether his enemies deserved to be exterminated.

After Sikong Jing defeated Chang Ao, Tie Bingxing used his lingering prestige to defend Ancient Sacred Peak and the Eastern Tyrant Branch in Chaos-Shaking City. As Sikong Jing’s forces continued north toward Ancient Sacred Peak, he sensed a top-tier Emperor ahead and challenged them to declare whether they were friend or foe.

• Supporters of Sikong Jing and the Thousand Kings Holy Tower argued over whether Sikong Jing or the tower deserved to be called evil.
• Tie Bingxing struck down a man who insulted Ancient Sacred Peak, then invited its enemies to attack the Eastern Tyrant Branch.
• Tie Bingxing’s people moved into the branch and guarded it, while he confronted Canggu’s people for doubting Sikong Jing.
• Sikong Jing received news of Tie Bingxing’s actions and approved of how he was building the Tyrant Heaven Chamber of Commerce’s influence.
• Sikong Jing’s forces continued north, and he sensed a top-tier Emperor ahead, offering a welcome if they were a friend and death if they were an enemy.

Sikong Jing confronted Golden Tiger Emperor, who had come seeking the Qianyuan Battle-Killing Formation and guidance for the Hundred Tigers Sacred Grotto. Sikong Jing laid out the choices available to him and said his ambitions lay beyond ruling the Central Plains, in reaching the highest realms of martial arts.

• Golden Tiger Emperor appeared aboard Sikong Jing's ship, and Sikong Jing calmly said he did not fear a surprise attack.
• Sikong Jing recognized Golden Tiger Emperor and guessed that he wanted the Qianyuan Battle-Killing Formation and guidance on the Hundred Tigers Sacred Grotto's future.
• Sikong Jing told Golden Tiger Emperor that supporting the Tyrant Heaven Chamber of Commerce would let the grotto obtain part of the formation, while staying undecided meant fighting to buy it through the Thousand Kings Holy Tower's blockade.
• Golden Tiger Emperor asked whether Sikong Jing planned to conquer the Central Plains after defeating the Thousand Kings Holy Tower.
• Sikong Jing said he sought the peak of martial arts, including Saint Martial, Divine Martial, and realms beyond them.

Sikong Jing continued north toward the besieged Ancient Sacred Peak, declaring that he would not force factions to support him but would reward those who fought alongside him. The Golden Tiger Emperor chose to aid him, and Sikong Jing arrived near Eastern Spirit City with a much larger force than expected.

• Sikong Jing explained to the Golden Tiger Emperor that his goals were family, martial arts, and repaying the beasts of the Ten Thousand Beasts Heavenly Prison, not conquering the Central Plains.
• The Golden Tiger Emperor decided that Sikong Jing’s confidence and willingness to auction the Qianyuan Battle-Killing Formation were worth betting on, and ordered the Hundred Tigers Sacred Grotto to march ahead to help defend Ancient Sacred Peak.
• Sikong Jing led his forces north, breaking through obstacles with the Qianyuan Battle-Killing Formation and attracting sect powerhouses to join the Eastern Tyrant ranks.
• After half a month, Sikong Jing reached the area near Eastern Spirit City with a vast force, where Weng Ting and the Zhang Duiyi siblings came to welcome him.
• Weng Ting told Sikong Jing that Ancient Sacred Peak was in grave danger as more forces joined the Thousand Kings Holy Tower’s siege.