Chapter Summaries

Qin Yao entered the arena burdened with a pile of weapons, drawing ridicule and concern before leaving them all behind. As Qi Huansu started the match, Wang Xieyi charged at the empty-handed Qin Yao.

• Qin Yao carried a longsword, saber, darts, spear, and gauntlets toward the arena while students mocked him and Qin Yuwei hoped Wang Xieyi would crush him.
• Liu Qingqing, Murong Qingquan, and others wondered why Qin Yao had brought so many weapons, while Qi Huansu warned him he could surrender if he was outmatched.
• Qin Yao thanked Qi Huansu, then dumped his weapons onto the arena and picked through them as Wang Xieyi boasted about his enormous sledgehammer.
• Wang Xieyi swung his hammer to impress the crowd and demanded that Qin Yao hurry up; Qin Yao retorted that Wang was eager to lose.
• Qi Huansu began the match after Qin Yao stood empty-handed, and Wang Xieyi charged at him like a released beast.

Qin Yao defeated Wang Xieyi by using darts that changed direction to strike his ears, then exploiting the opening to throw him out of the arena. The crowd was stunned by the swift victory, while Qin Yuwei feared what it meant for her.

• Wang Xieyi charged Qin Yao with his massive hammer, confident his attack would end the fight.
• Qin Yao threw two darts that curved around Wang Xieyi's hammer and struck both his ears.
• Qin Yao used the perfected Seven Star Steps and Soft Cloud Grappling Art to throw Wang Xieyi out of the arena.
• The spectators reacted with disbelief, while Liu Qingqing, Murong Qingquan, Lu Ciwu, Zhou Yuanqing, and Su Muzhi praised Qin Yao's skill.
• Zhao Wuji became so resentful that he spat blood and damaged his martial veins.
• Qin Yuwei realized Qin Yao had won easily and became shocked and frightened.

Qin Yao defeated Wang Xieyi and earned admission to Imperial Capital Academy, impressing instructors and students with his mastery of three first-rate martial skills. He chose to continue challenging students to earn more credits.

• Qin Yao defeated Wang Xieyi by throwing him off the arena, then offered to fight him in a life-and-death match.
• Dean Han deducted ten academic credits from Wang Xieyi and ordered him to admit defeat and apologize to Qin Yao.
• Qi Huansu declared Qin Yao the winner and confirmed his admission to Imperial Capital Academy.
• The instructors identified Qin Yao's mastery of the Bee-Sting Scorpion-Tail Hand, Seven Star Steps, and Soft Cloud Grappling Art.
• Teacher Mu warned the senior students that Qin Yao's skills could become even more formidable now that he could access better techniques.
• Qi Huansu asked whether Qin Yao would continue challenging others, and Qin Yao agreed so he could earn more credits.

After defeating Wang Xieyi, Qin Yao chose Mu Zican, the outer academy’s leading swordsman, as his next opponent. Despite warnings about Mu Zican’s overwhelming heavy swordsmanship, Qin Yao picked up an ordinary sword, and the match began with both fighters poised to attack.

• Older students discussed Qin Yao’s first victory and speculated about whom he would challenge next.
• Qin Yao selected Mu Zican, whose heavy sword techniques had earned him a reputation as the outer academy’s best swordsman.
• Mu Zican chose an enormous, blunted greatsword weighing hundreds of kilos, while Qin Yao picked an ordinary one-handed sword.
• Qin Yuwei hoped Qin Yao would win, and Murong Qingquan warned that Mu Zican seemed more troublesome than Wang Xieyi.
• Mu Zican advised Qin Yao to change weapons, but Qin Yao teased him and insisted on using a sword.
• Qi Huansu gave the signal to begin as Mu Zican raised his greatsword and Qin Yao stood motionless.

Qin Yao faced Mu Zican in the arena and evaded his escalating greatsword attacks before countering with a precise strike. He left Mu Zican injured and questioning Qin Yao’s sword technique.

• Mu Zican used nine Sword-Charging Steps to build power before sweeping his greatsword at Qin Yao.
• Qin Yao evaded Mu Zican’s successive attacks with Seven Star Steps, leaving the older students amazed by his movement technique.
• Mu Zican trapped Qin Yao beneath a wide field of sword shadows, but Qin Yao charged in and struck the spine of his greatsword, deflecting it.
• Qin Yao stabbed Mu Zican’s left forearm and forced him back more than ten paces.
• Mu Zican, with his arm injured, stared at Qin Yao and said his sword technique was wrong.

Qin Yao used his perfected Willow Breeze Bamboo Shadow Sword and Seven Star Steps to withstand Mu Zican’s fierce greatsword assault, then exploited an opening to throw him off the arena with the Soft Cloud Grappling Art. Mu Zican’s defeat left the spectators stunned and impressed by Qin Yao’s skill.

• Qin Yao identified his sword technique as the Willow Breeze Bamboo Shadow Sword, while Mu Zican doubted that the first-rate technique could be so powerful.
• The spectators and Qi Huansu recognized that Qin Yao had displayed four technique arts at the Perfection Realm and marveled at his swordsmanship.
• Mu Zican attacked again, and Qin Yao used the Willow Breeze Bamboo Shadow Sword and Seven Star Steps to evade and counter him through dozens of exchanges.
• As Mu Zican grew tired and made broader attacks, Qin Yao used Wind-Cutting Willow Gleam to force him to block and expose an opening.
• Qin Yao discarded his sword, seized Mu Zican with the Soft Cloud Grappling Art, and threw him off the arena.
• Mu Zican crashed onto the bluestone ground, and the stunned spectators fell silent as Qin Yao retrieved and put away his sword.

Qin Yao defeated Mu Zican in the arena, earning the respect of his opponent and impressing the spectators with his swordsmanship. Qi Huansu confirmed that Qin Yao had qualified to enroll at Imperial Capital Academy, and Qin Yao prepared to continue his gauntlet for academic credits.

• Qin Yao defeated Mu Zican by disarming him and throwing him from the arena after exchanging more than fifty sword strikes.
• Mu Zican admitted defeat, praised Qin Yao’s swordsmanship, and asked to spar again after Qin Yao finished his matches.
• Zhang Xiaoqi praised Qin Yao while Qin Yuwei hid her face and struggled to conceal her feelings.
• Qi Huansu mistakenly announced fifty academic credits, but Han Yongshi reminded her that credits would be awarded only after Qin Yao’s third match.
• Qi Huansu confirmed that Qin Yao had officially qualified to enroll at Imperial Capital Academy, and Qin Yao said he would begin earning credits with his third match.

Qin Yao chose Yang Luxue as his next opponent, and their match began with her relentless dual-blade assault against his single saber. After defending through her opening attacks, Qin Yao countered with the perfected Wave-Splitting Waterfall-Cleaving Saber, leaving the upperclassmen astonished at his skill.

• Qin Yao selected Yang Luxue, who flirted with him before choosing her Mandarin Duck Blades.
• Qin Yao picked a broad-bladed saber, prompting the upperclassmen to speculate that he was deliberately matching his opponents' weapons.
• Yang Luxue launched a rapid, coordinated series of attacks, forcing Qin Yao to retreat and defend.
• Qin Yao blocked Yang Luxue's strikes and studied her rhythm as she pressed her attack.
• Qin Yao unleashed his perfected Wave-Splitting Waterfall-Cleaving Saber and turned the defense into a fierce exchange.
• The upperclassmen watched in disbelief as Qin Yao held his ground against Yang Luxue's dual blades.

Qin Yao defeated Yang Luxue by disrupting her inner force with Broken Bridge Finger and throwing her out of the arena, earning fifty academic credits. He chose to continue challenging, leaving the match series still underway.

• Yang Luxue taunted Qin Yao while her Mandarin Duck Blades kept him pinned down, but he discarded his saber and attacked with Broken Bridge Finger.
• Qin Yao struck Yang Luxue's Qi-Dispersing Acupoint, disrupting her inner force and disabling her Boneless Hundred-Zhang Root.
• Qin Yao used the Soft Cloud Grappling Art to throw Yang Luxue out of the arena, and she blushed after her shouted complaint made the crowd laugh.
• Qi Huansu declared Qin Yao the winner and awarded him fifty academic credits.
• Qin Yao accepted Qi Huansu's offer to continue challenging.

Qin Yao countered Yang Luxue’s Boneless Hundred-Zhang Root with Broken Bridge Finger and defeated her, earning fifty academic credits. After the arena laughed at Yang Luxue’s embarrassed complaint, Qin Yao chose to continue his challenge.

• Qin Yao used Broken Bridge Finger to disrupt Yang Luxue’s inner force, then threw her out of the arena with the Soft Cloud Grappling Art.
• Yang Luxue complained that Qin Yao’s strike had hurt her, blushed at how her words sounded, and fled to hide in the stands.
• Qi Huansu declared Qin Yao the winner and awarded him fifty academic credits, prompting the students to marvel at his earnings.
• Qi Huansu offered Qin Yao the choice to continue challenging opponents, and he immediately accepted.

Qin Yao’s perfected Broken Bridge Finger had disrupted Yang Luxue’s inner force and won him his third match, impressing the instructors and spectators. He chose to continue fighting, leaving the crowd to wonder how much strength he had left and Han Yongshi curious about his hidden cultivation method.

• A bearded instructor explained that the perfected Broken Bridge Finger could disrupt the inner force of martial artists in the Blood Aperture Realm and below, but not opponents in the Mystic Gathering Realm.
• The instructors praised Qin Yao for adapting to Yang Luxue’s Boneless Hundred-Zhang Root and finding a way to defeat her.
• Han Yongshi admired Qin Yao’s six perfected first-rate martial arts and wondered what primary cultivation method had brought him to the Ninth Layer of the Blood Aperture Realm.
• Qin Yao said he would continue, shocking the spectators and prompting them to question whether he had enough inner force for a fourth match.
• Liu Qingqing worried about Qin Yao’s reserves, while Murong Qingquan judged that he still seemed far from his limit and Su Muzhi acknowledged the gap between them.
• Zhao Wuji grew jealous and furious that Qin Yao kept winning by throwing opponents out of the arena.

Qin Yao faced Fang Jingmian, who surprised the audience by using a steel-wire serpent whip to bind them together and neutralize Qin Yao’s movement and saber techniques. Fang Jingmian believed the close-range setup put him in an unbeatable position and prepared to attack with his Hundred Beasts Mountain-Smashing Fist.

• Qin Yao chose Fang Jingmian as his opponent, and Fang Jingmian selected gauntlets and a steel-wire serpent whip for the match.
• Fang Jingmian opened with fast whip strikes, which Qin Yao dodged before leaping in with the Wave-Splitting Waterfall-Cleaving Saber.
• Fang Jingmian wrapped the whip around Qin Yao’s waist, then clamped its handle in his teeth to bind them together.
• Fang Jingmian explained that the binding would restrict Qin Yao’s movement and saber, then declared that his Hundred Beasts Mountain-Smashing Fist would finish the fight.

Qin Yao turned Fang Jingmian’s battle-of-attrition strategy against him with a perfected Vajra Stacked-Breath Fist, then escaped Fang’s attempt to tie them together with a Steel Wire Serpent Whip. Fang fell from the arena, leaving Qin Yao victorious as the spectators marveled at his skills.

• Fang Jingmian attacked Qin Yao with the Hundred Beasts Mountain-Smashing Fist, believing Qin Yao had already spent much of his internal energy.
• Qin Yao dropped his Ten Shadow Palm feint and struck Fang Jingmian with the perfected Vajra Stacked-Breath Fist, blasting him backward toward the arena’s edge.
• Fang Jingmian revealed that the Steel Wire Serpent Whip tied him to Qin Yao and claimed they would both fall if Qinao forced him out of the arena.
• Qin Yao shrank his body with his perfected Disguise skill, slipped free of the whip, and left Fang Jingmian hanging beyond the arena.
• Fang Jingmian lost his balance and crashed to the ground, while Qin Yao remained in the arena.

Qin Yao overcame Fang Jingmian’s arena trap by switching from palm strikes to the Vajra Stacked-Breath Fist, then using his perfected Disguise skill to shrink free of the Steel Wire Serpent Whip. Fang Jingmian fell outside the arena, leaving Qin Yao victorious.

• Fang Jingmian pressed Qin Yao with the Hundred Beasts Mountain-Smashing Fist, believing Qin Yao would lose a battle of attrition.
• Qin Yao abandoned the Ten Shadow Palm and struck Fang Jingmian with the perfected Vajra Stacked-Breath Fist, knocking him beyond the arena’s edge.
• Fang Jingmian used the Steel Wire Serpent Whip tying them together to pull himself back and threatened to force a draw if Qin Yao tried to win.
• Qin Yao shrank his body with an effect of his perfected Disguise skill and slipped free of the whip.
• Fang Jingmian lost his balance and fell to the ground outside the arena, while Qin Yao remained inside.

Qin Yao defeated Fang Jingmian by instantly using the Bone-Shrinking Technique, earning praise and one hundred academic credits. Though he had already won four consecutive matches and earned 150 credits, he chose to keep challenging opponents so he could earn more.

• Qin Yao broke free from Fang Jingmian’s soft whip with the Bone-Shrinking Technique and sent him off the arena.
• Instructors and students marveled at Qin Yao’s mastery of the Bone-Shrinking Technique and his Perfection Realm martial techniques, while Zhao Wuji seethed with jealousy.
• Fang Jingmian admitted defeat but insisted Qin Yao had not truly beaten him, and Qi Huansu declared Qin Yao the winner and awarded him 100 academic credits.
• Qin Yao considered the credits insufficient for his goal of finding treasures to turn his false meridians into true meridians.
• Qi Huansu asked if Qin Yao wished to continue challenging others, and Qin Yao answered that he would continue.

Qin Yao prepared to fight Li Xiaoli after winning four consecutive matches, prompting the spectators to realize he had hidden his core cultivation method and true strength. Li Xiaoli offered him pills and time to recover, but Qin Yao refused, and the two were about to begin their match.

• An older student pointed out that Qin Yao had used only perfected first-rate martial skills and must still be hiding the ranked cultivation method behind his Ninth Layer of the Blood Aperture Realm.
• The spectators and Han Yongshi reassessed Qin Yao, speculating that his hidden cultivation method might be a rare Profound Rank treasure.
• Qin Yao chose Li Xiaoli as his fifth opponent, and the students recalled Li's decisive victories and reputation as a likely candidate for the Inner Academy.
• Li Xiaoli stepped onto the arena and offered Qin Yao pills and a quarter-hour to recover after four matches.
• Qin Yao refused to rest, and Li Xiaoli said that losing without recovering would at least give him an excuse to save face.

Qin Yao faced Li Xiaoli, a formidable spear fighter whose family technique and battlefield skill made him the crowd’s favorite. As both men raised their spears and revealed their spear intent, the spectators and Dean Han anticipated a suspenseful match.

• Li Xiaoli taunted Qin Yao, saying a loss would at least give him an excuse to save face.
• Li Xiaoli selected a black spear and demonstrated its power by driving it into the cast-iron platform.
• Qin Yao drew a matching spear and released a presence that made Zhao Wuji realize Qin’s spear mastery surpassed his own.
• Qin Yao calmly challenged Li Xiaoli to test whether his spear was merely decorative, and the two locked eyes as the crowd awaited their fight.
• Dean Han considered Li Xiaoli’s inherited Upper Profound Rank spear technique and Qin Yao’s undisclosed trump cards, then looked forward to the uncertain battle.

Qin Yao concealed his strength while struggling theatrically against Li Xiaoli’s fierce spear attacks. Li Xiaoli unveiled his family’s inherited Phantom Edge Soaring Current Spear, leaving the watching students convinced Qin Yao was about to lose.

• Li Xiaoli launched a rapid series of spear strikes, and Qin Yao evaded them with Seven Star Steps while pretending to be pressed.
• Qin Yao counterattacked for the first time, and the two exchanged more than thirty moves.
• Li Xiaoli acknowledged Qin Yao’s skill and announced that he would show him his family’s inherited spear technique.
• Li Xiaoli’s spear abruptly changed direction toward Qin Yao’s throat, but Qin Yao narrowly dodged the Phantom Edge Soaring Current Spear.
• The senior students declared that Li Xiaoli’s signature technique would end the match and that Qin Yao had no chance of winning.

Qin Yao turned the spear duel against Li Xiaoli around by unleashing the Thunder Dragon Halberd, overwhelming Li Xiaoli’s Phantom Edge Soaring Current Spear with sheer force. The fight reached a standstill, leaving the outer academy students and instructors stunned by Qin Yao’s strength and mastery.

• Qin Yao blocked Li Xiaoli’s strange spear thrust and countered with a powerful strike that forced Li Xiaoli to retreat.
• Qin Yao pressed his attack with the Thunder Dragon Halberd, forcing Li Xiaoli from offense into defense.
• The students recognized Qin Yao’s style as battlefield halberd techniques, while the instructors identified it as the top-grade mortal-tier Thunder Dragon Halberd.
• The instructors concluded that Qin Yao had exceptional physical strength and had perfected the Thunder Dragon Halberd.
• Qin Yao’s overwhelming strikes constrained Li Xiaoli’s Phantom Edge Soaring Current Spear, and the duel became a standstill that astonished the spectators.

Qin Yao overwhelmed Li Xiaoli with brute force, then adapted when Li Xiaoli targeted his spear and secretly used Acting to disguise his condition. After nearly a hundred exchanges, the instructors expected Qin Yao to tire first because he had already fought four matches.

• Qin Yao repeatedly smashed Li Xiaoli’s spear aside, forcing him to block until Li Xiaoli dodged and attacked Qin Yao’s spear shaft with precise strikes.
• Qin Yao drove Li Xiaoli back with a powerful sweep while pretending that his hands and arms were badly weakened.
• Qin Yao’s Acting skill reached the Mastery Realm, granting him System Coupons and a flood of performance knowledge.
• Qin Yao and Li Xiaoli continued fighting until they had exchanged nearly a hundred moves and battered the refined iron platform.
• The instructors praised Qin Yao’s foundation, strength, and endurance but predicted that his earlier matches and forceful style would make him tire first.