Chapter Summaries

Blue Star’s examinees were stranded in an unfamiliar wilderness after their ship made an emergency landing, and a Sky Curtain announced a deadly entrance exam. Zhao Wuji urged the group to obey the rules, while Chen Yan remained silent and watched the distant forest.

• Yu Qingmeng asked Zhao Wuji why he had joined the students, and he explained that Nine-Heads had sent him to protect them and continue cultivating.
• The ship lurched out of the wormhole and made an emergency landing beneath an unfamiliar gray sky, with Empire Envoy Kalan missing.
• Zhao Wuji led the East Continent group from the ship as the other passengers eyed one another warily and wondered whether Kalan had abandoned them.
• The examinees discovered that the wilderness had far richer spiritual energy than Blue Star’s.
• A Sky Curtain declared that the examinees had to survive alone for thirty days and would be executed if they joined forces.
• Zhao Wuji urged the others to follow the rules, while Chen Yan remained silent and Rhett Donovan welcomed the chance to prove himself.

After the other candidates scattered across the wilderness, Chen Yan sat down to awaken his First Soul, Tai Guang, while Kalan watched and discussed the trial with an unseen voice. Bai Lingshuang encountered a fire-resistant demonic beast in a scorched region and continued fighting it after her strongest attacks failed to bring it down.

• Leite and the other candidates left in separate directions, and White Dragon wished Chen Yan well before departing.
• Chu Feng, Yu Qingmeng, Bai Lingshuang, and Zhao Wuji each left Chen Yan alone in the wilderness.
• Chen Yan sensed the trial barrier suppressing his mental power, then began cultivating to awaken Tai Guang as Kalan watched from nearby.
• Bai Lingshuang entered a scorching red landscape and was ambushed by a fire-breathing demonic beast disguised as a rock.
• Bai Lingshuang dodged the beast's attacks, treated fire poison from its claws, and found that her sword strikes barely harmed it.
• Bai Lingshuang wounded the beast with Frost Flight, missed its head with Frost Fang Thrust, and prepared to use Frost Flight again.

Bai Lingshuang killed a Fire Spirit Beast and felt her Mystic Ice Jade Body adapt to the heat, but three more beasts appeared and forced her to flee. Watching through the surveillance array, Kalan recognized her breakthrough potential and continued observing her as the trial went on.

• Bai Lingshuang pushed her Mystic Ice Jade Body to its limit and killed the Fire Spirit Beast with a focused icy strike.
• A warm force flowed from the beast’s corpse into Bai Lingshuang, improving her body’s adaptation to heat and reducing resistance to her ice True Essence.
• Three more Fire Spirit Beasts appeared while Bai Lingshuang meditated, so she fled into the forest before they could overwhelm her.
• Kalan reviewed the candidates’ surveillance feeds and recognized that the Fire Spirit Beasts hunted in groups after one of them was killed.
• Kalan watched Bai Lingshuang’s life-and-death fight awaken her constitution’s potential and hoped she would survive the trial.

Chen Yan awakened Tai Guang after fully refining Ling Duo’s Spirit Core, gaining greater vitality and Ling Duo’s Soul-Bewitching Power. As he tempered his will against strange birds in the wilderness, Zhao Wuji and Chu Feng grew stronger by hunting monsters.

• Kalan watched several candidates die and lamented that their deaths reduced his reward, then considered that Blue Star had sent many candidates in hopes that a few would stand out.
• Chen Yan awakened Tai Guang after the last traces of Ling Duo’s Spirit Core were refined, gaining enhanced regeneration and the universe power Soul-Bewitching Power.
• Chen Yan compared Soul-Bewitching Power with other universe powers and reflected on how his own advancement differed from ordinary Planetary Rank life-forms.
• Chen Yan used the strange birds’ mind-affecting cries to temper his will, collected crystals left by birds that died, and worried about Yu Qingmeng.
• Zhao Wuji and Chu Feng hunted monsters together, adapting rapidly to the wilderness and becoming capable of taking on larger groups of beasts.

As the examination claimed more candidates, Kalan considered whether to let a powerful outsider open the Land of Enlightenment. Meanwhile, Chen Yan awakened his second soul and reflected on the difficult path ahead.

• Kalan observed Yu Qingmeng command vicious beasts and follow a scarlet beast toward the dangerous core of the examination ground.
• Kalan learned that a lord wanted to open the Land of Enlightenment and considered joining, weighing the surviving Blue Star candidates against stronger civilizations.
• Chen Yan reached the threshold for awakening his second soul after strengthening his willpower with strange birds over ten days.
• Chen Yan checked his system panel, noting his rising Combat Bonus and his ninety-percent progress in Immortality and Calamity Destruction.
• Chen Yan examined the two Life Planets in his sea of consciousness and reflected on the difficulty of mastering the supreme Great Daos of life and death.

Chen Yan used Combat Simulation to spar with Kalan and rapidly refine his boxing technique. When the survivors returned from the wilderness trial, Kalan announced that they had qualified for Terra Academy and offered them a choice between the dangerous Land of Enlightenment and entering the academy directly.

• Chen Yan repeatedly lowered Kalan's simulated rank until he could spar with him, then studied his precise boxing technique to improve his own.
• After the month-long trial, nine survivors returned to the clearing, including Chu Feng, Bai Lingshuang, White Dragon, Chen Yan, Zhao Wuji, and Leite; White Dragon had broken through to the ninth rank.
• Kalan appeared and announced that ten people had qualified for Terra Academy, though Yu Qingmeng was missing from the clearing.
• Kalan revealed that Yu Qingmeng had entered the Land of Enlightenment and offered the survivors the choice of risking that dangerous opportunity or entering the academy directly.

Chen Yan, Rhett Donovan, and three others chose to enter the Land of Enlightenment, while Zhao Wuji, Chu Feng, Bai Lingshuang, White Dragon, and the others received Star Rings and were sent toward the academy. Kalan brought the volunteers to a forest and directed them through a light gate into the Land of Enlightenment, with Chen Yan entering last.

• Chen Yan declared that he would enter the Land of Enlightenment to bring Yu Qingmeng back, and Rhett Donovan and three others volunteered as well.
• White Dragon refused to go because his recent breakthrough had left his foundation unstable.
• Kalan gave Star Rings to Zhao Wuji, Chu Feng, Bai Lingshuang, White Dragon, and the others who had chosen not to enter, then sent them away in blue light.
• Kalan brought Chen Yan, Rhett Donovan, and the other three to a dim forest and told them to pass through a light gate into the Land of Enlightenment.
• Rhett Donovan and the other three entered the light gate before Chen Yan, who stepped through last.

Nine-Heads spent much of Blue Star’s funds on a planetary defense system and cultivation methods, then learned that White Dragon and three others had entered Terra Academy. At the Land of Enlightenment, Chen Yan learned that Yu Qingmeng was alive but that checking her situation would cost 100,000 Fortune.

• Nine-Heads spent 100 million Terra Coins to deploy the Planet Security Defense System and its supporting civilization intelligence.
• Nine-Heads learned that Zhao Wuji, Chu Feng, Bai Lingshuang, and White Dragon had passed Terra Academy’s assessment, raising Blue Star’s ranking by 32 places.
• Nine-Heads purchased cultivation methods from the Terra Empire Cultivation Library for Blue Star’s younger generation.
• Chen Yan arrived in the Land of Enlightenment, where a mechanical voice warned him to conceal his identity and avoid trusting others.
• Chen Yan tried to deduce Yu Qingmeng’s situation and learned that the deduction would cost 100,000 Fortune, suggesting she was still alive.

Chen Yan explored the Land of Enlightenment and learned that it was the Cloud Ruins Alliance’s public recruitment channel. An elder explained that humans gain strength by using external forces and that reaching the Planetary Rank could awaken a unique Void Star Sign or grant a Vessel, while a blank light screen appeared overhead.

• Chen Yan entered a vast hall filled with thousands of beings from different civilizations.
• An elder appeared and announced that the Cloud Ruins Alliance required Trans-Limit Rank talent, while a four-armed giant explained the Alliance’s status and benefits.
• The elder asked what defined humanity, and several attendees proposed strength, emotion, and the ability to learn before he explained that humanity relied on wisdom and external things.
• The elder revealed that those who reached the Planetary Rank could awaken a Void Star Sign, while others might receive a Vessel.
• Chen Yan quietly considered the revelations as an enormous, blank light screen appeared above the hall.

The Cloud Ruins Alliance began its trial on the Three Thousand Cloud Ladders, where candidates had to endure a test of willpower and reach the hundredth step to become external members. As the first group climbed and one candidate died, Chen Yan waited for his turn, wondering what the ladders tested.

• The elder transformed the hall into the Three Thousand Cloud Ladders and explained that reaching the hundredth step would qualify candidates for help awakening their Void Star Sign.
• The elder said the alliance cultivated only those with potential to become Great Star Domain Rank life-forms, then ordered candidates numbered one through one hundred to climb first.
• The first candidates climbed as black mist seeped into them and tested their willpower.
• A pale green, one-horned youth fell from the ninth step and died, and the elder calmly removed his body.
• Chen Yan watched from the waiting crowd, noted that his number was 9527, and wondered how to climb the Cloud Ladders.

Chen Yan asked the elder about a bright-eyed girl and learned she possessed the legendary Void Dao Pupils, while the elder also judged his Indestructible Body a pity. After Chen Yan’s murderous pressure frightened Number 7788, the elder took Chen Yan to a hidden chamber for a private conversation as the next group began climbing.

• Chen Yan used the system to learn that climbing the Cloud Ladders required staying true to his heart and remembering who he was.
• Chen Yan asked the elder about a bright-eyed girl and said he needed to look after her because they were both from the Blue Star Civilization.
• The elder identified the girl as possessing the Void Dao Pupils and called Chen Yan’s postnatally formed Indestructible Body a pity.
• Number 7788 disparaged Chen Yan, but Chen Yan’s murderous pressure froze him until the elder’s bell dispelled it.
• The elder transported Chen Yan to a hidden chamber, where Chen Yan said he would handle Number 7788 if he sought revenge, and the second batch began climbing.

Chen Yan learned that the Indestructible Body was generally limited to Planetary Rank Perfection and unlikely to awaken a Void Star Sign. After confirming the limit, he discovered that deducing techniques beyond the Stellar Rank required 300,000 Fortune, leaving him a difficult but possible path forward.

• The elder explained that Cloud Ruins Alliance members needed at least thirty percent of a Star Domain Life's mental will and said special constitutions were more likely to awaken Void Star Signs.
• The elder warned Chen Yan that the Indestructible Body usually stopped at Planetary Rank Perfection and urged him to become a Dao Protector for the girl with the Void Dao Pupils.
• Chen Yan thanked the elder and left the quiet room for the Three Thousand Cloud Ladders.
• Chen Yan asked his system whether the elder's claims were true, and it confirmed them.
• Chen Yan tried to deduce techniques beyond the Stellar Rank, but the system reported that he needed 300,000 Fortune.
• Chen Yan decided to keep cultivating the Indestructible Body after learning that a path beyond the Stellar Rank existed, though it would be difficult.

The Cloud Ruins Alliance watched Number 7788 and Chen Yan attempt the Cloud Ladder, testing their willpower against its black mist. Number 7788 reached the hundredth step and fixed his attention on Chen Yan, while Chen Yan continued climbing through terrifying hallucinations.

• A younger Cloud Ruins Alliance member questioned why the elder had given Chen Yan a chance, and the elder said Chen Yan might awaken a Star Constellation of the Indestructible Body.
• Number 7788 climbed quickly through the first fifty steps, then pushed onward despite the black mist slowing him.
• Number 7788 reached the hundredth step, spotted Chen Yan in the hall, and silently resolved to settle their earlier clash after the assessment.
• Chen Yan stepped onto the Cloud Ladder and was engulfed by black mist that brought on visions of powerful monsters.
• Chen Yan fought through the hallucinations and climbed to the fortieth step without retreating.

Chen Yan overcame a vivid illusion on the fiftieth step of the Cloud Ladder and continued climbing faster. As he advanced, a young woman failed the trial at the eighty-third step and was rescued because of her ties to the Cloud Ruins Alliance.

• On the fiftieth step, Chen Yan was drawn into an illusion of a massage parlor where Bai Lingshuang tried to distract him.
• After realizing he was taking the Three Thousand Cloud Ladders trial, Chen Yan broke the illusion and found himself on the fifty-first step.
• Chen Yan noticed that climbing became easier after the fiftieth step and continued upward at an increasing pace.
• The elder observed Chen Yan's accelerating progress while the younger Cloud Ruins Alliance member wondered why his pace had changed.
• On the eighty-third step, a young woman nearly fell as the black mist overwhelmed her, and the elder used an invisible force to carry her safely down.
• The younger Cloud Ruins Alliance member identified the woman as a descendant of Martial Uncle Xue Mu, and she realized her connections had saved her life.

Chen Yan overcame the Cloud Ladder’s illusions, reached the hundredth step, and passed the Cloud Ruins Alliance test. He was sent to the Nine Tribulations Mortal-Shedding Pool, where Yu Qingmeng’s unexpected appearance left him confronting his changed feelings toward her.

• A young woman who stopped at the eighty-third step accepted her failure and resolved to strengthen her will before seeking another chance.
• Chen Yan reached the ninety-ninth step, resisted an illusion featuring Bai Lingshuang, Yu Qingmeng, and a mermaid, and shouted for the illusion to disperse.
• Chen Yan reached the hundredth step as the only candidate in his group to do so, while the elder ended the test and announced that ninety-five candidates had survived and ninety-four had passed.
• The elder sent three Apprentice Eighth Rank candidates to the Nine Tribulations Mortal-Shedding Pool and the other ninety-one to the Sea of Enlightenment, and explained that Chen Yan received a place partly because Yu Qingmeng valued him.
• Chen Yan was transported to a meditation chamber with an emerald pool, where Yu Qingmeng surfaced naked; after she put on a sheer robe, Chen Yan realized he now saw her as a grown woman.

Chen Yan and Yu Qingmeng discussed her place in the Cloud Ruins Alliance and their chances of awakening Void Star Signs, then decided to make the most of the opportunity together. As Yu Qingmeng prepared to reach Apprentice Ninth Rank and Chen Yan nurtured his souls, they waited for the Sea of Enlightenment to open.

• Yu Qingmeng told Chen Yan that the Cloud Ruins Alliance had placed her in the Nine Tribulations Mortal-Shedding Pool because of her Void Dao Pupil Physique and its interest in her Void Star Sign.
• Yu Qingmeng said she might stay with the Cloud Ruins Alliance to develop her abilities, while Chen Yan explained that he might have to return to Terra Academy because of his Indestructible Body.
• Chen Yan's system confirmed that the Indestructible Body would not affect his chances of awakening a Void Star Sign, but could not precisely deduce those odds because of his Chaos Dao Body.
• Chen Yan and Yu Qingmeng agreed to try to awaken Void Star Signs, and Chen Yan took her hand as they expressed hope for their relationship to grow closer.
• Yu Qingmeng continued absorbing Tribulation Power in the pool while preparing to break through to Apprentice Ninth Rank, and Chen Yan nurtured his two awakened souls and the third forming planet as they awaited the Sea of Enlightenment.

The Blue Star students arrived at the Terra Academy and saw how vast and advanced it was compared with their home. White Dragon exchanged some ore for Terra Coins, reached his basic lodging, and realized that nearly every upgrade and cultivation resource cost money or credits.

• The spacecraft brought the students to Starlight Island, where they saw the Terra Academy’s enormous city and its many academies.
• Zhao Wuji advised the Blue Star group to exchange rare treasures for Terra Coins without spending their credits.
• The Blue Star students checked their Star Rings and separated to find their assigned lodgings.
• White Dragon exchanged some ore for Terra Coins and followed his Star Ring’s directions to his room.
• White Dragon inspected his basic cubicle and learned that better lodgings and academy resources required Terra Coins or credits.
• White Dragon decided he needed to find a way to earn money and credits as soon as possible.

Chen Yan experienced the full integration of his Indestructible Golden Body Dharma Image before the Sea of Enlightenment summoned him and other Apprentice Ninth Ranks. At the gathering, a Cloud Ruins Alliance representative gave them scriptures intended to improve their chances of awakening a Void Star Sign or Star Vessel.

• Chen Yan assessed his perfected Indestructible Body and Indestructible Soul, then manifested and merged his Indestructible Golden Body Dharma Image with himself.
• Yu Qingmeng appeared in Chen Yan's quiet room, and his power returned the distorted surroundings to normal when he took her hand.
• A voice announced that the Sea of Enlightenment was opening, and white light transported Chen Yan away from Yu Qingmeng.
• Chen Yan arrived in a vast hall filled with Apprentice Ninth Ranks and saw that Yu Qingmeng was not among them.
• A Cloud Ruins Alliance representative welcomed the gathering and distributed scriptures that could increase their chances of awakening a Void Star Sign or Star Vessel.

Chen Yan read the Cloud Ruins Alliance’s scripture on cultivating in the Sea of Enlightenment and considered how to use the rare opportunity despite having comprehended several kinds of cosmic power. As the other apprentices entered the sea, Chen Yan prepared to follow them.

• Chen Yan read that cultivators should focus on understanding and applying cosmic power, and that deeper waters in the Sea of Enlightenment offered stronger enlightenment.
• Chen Yan wondered how to choose a suitable depth because he had comprehended several kinds of cosmic power, unlike the other apprentices.
• Apprentices began entering the Sea of Enlightenment at their own pace, while Chen Yan noticed Yu Qingmeng was absent.
• Number 7788 exchanged a hostile look with Chen Yan, then hurried into the sea as if trying to prove himself.
• Chen Yan set aside thoughts of Number 7788 and started down the slope toward the Sea of Enlightenment.

Chen Yan and Number 7788 entered the Sea of Enlightenment, where Number 7788 advanced into the second layer while Chen Yan stopped in the first. Chen Yan used the dense sap to review the Power of Five Elements, unaware that Number 7788 had developed murderous intent toward him.

• The burly man crossed the first boundary, stopped about forty meters in, and began absorbing the sap.
• Chen Yan and Number 7788 strode past the burly man and advanced through the first layer, drawing the attention of the shore observers.
• Chen Yan stopped at the edge of the second layer, while Number 7788 crossed into it and settled down to cultivate.
• Number 7788 dismissed Chen Yan as a future target and resolved that the Cloud Ruins Alliance would not punish him for killing him.
• Chen Yan sat in the first layer and reviewed the balanced interplay of the five elements in his sea of consciousness.