Chapter Summaries

Chen Fan defied the Spirit God Dao Sect Patriarch’s phantom and killed Gu Tian, breaking through to the first level of the sword domain. As he went to find the wounded demoness, a Meteorite Formation ambushed him, and he shattered its core before collapsing amid the smoke and dust.

• Chen Fan saw through the Patriarch’s bluff, broke the phantom’s defenses, and beheaded Gu Tian despite the threats of karmic consequences.
• Killing Gu Tian broke Chen Fan’s inner shackles and solidified his sword domain, while he then destroyed the Patriarch’s remnant spirit.
• Chen Fan confirmed through the Star God Seal that the wounded demoness was still alive and set out to find her.
• A Meteorite Formation attacked Chen Fan, who entered his Berserk state and fought through the falling meteors toward the formation’s blood-red crystal core.
• Chen Fan shattered the crystal and stopped the meteor shower, then crashed to the ground as blood scattered around him.

Chen Fan defeated Qing Luo after the Star God Seal suppressed her power, then killed her and searched for the Dao artifact she had concealed. He discovered a vast storage crystal and activated a Bagua-shaped mirror, from which an eerie black figure emerged.

• Qing Luo attacked Chen Fan, but the Star God Seal suppressed her Dao Domain and left her unable to resist.
• Chen Fan broke through Qing Luo's defenses and killed her despite her threats about Ye Yunxin and his niece.
• Chen Fan searched Qing Luo's remains and burned her body, revealing a crystalline storage treasure inside her skull.
• Chen Fan refined the storage crystal and found Yu Hengcheng's long halberd and a Bagua-shaped mirror inside.
• Chen Fan blood-refined the mirror, releasing an evil aura and a half-real, half-illusory black figure.

Chen Fan destroyed the Sun-Covering Mirror’s invading spirit, absorbed its memories, and hurried toward the prefectural city to protect Yun Xin and the others. Meanwhile, the Pu Clan and Sun-Eating Peak reacted to the deaths of Pu Zhongyu and Gu Tian, and the Pu Clan’s forefather sought help from Yichan Palace to pursue revenge.

• Chen Fan used the Star God Seal to destroy the Sun-Covering Mirror’s spirit and absorb its soul power and memories, greatly expanding his sea of consciousness without yet attaining divine sense.
• Chen Fan learned the mirror’s concealment abilities and secret arts, then used it to hide the secrets of heaven and conceal a valuable Dao Artifact painting scroll.
• Worried that the demoness had sent people after Yun Xin and the others, Chen Fan left Yan Capital City for the prefectural city while treating his injuries and refining his spoils.
• The master of Sun-Eating Peak flew into a fury over Gu Tian’s death and rushed toward another mountain peak.
• At the Pu Clan, the forefather lamented Pu Zhongyu’s death and told her father he lacked the strength to avenge her, then resolved to ask Palace Master Xie of Yichan Palace for help.

Ye Chenxi was chosen to represent her class in a sparring tournament, then left the academy with Ye Yunxin and asked about Chen Fan. As Ye Yunxin reassured her that Chen Fan might still be alive, they encountered Senior Brother Hua, who continued pursuing Ye Yunxin despite her engagement.

• The instructor selected Ye Chenxi, Yun Feiyan, and Yu Haoran for the new disciples' sparring tournament, while a chubby classmate protested Ye Chenxi's selection.
• Ye Yunxin arrived to take Ye Chenxi home, and the two left the training ground together.
• Ye Chenxi asked whether there was news of Chen Fan, and Ye Yunxin said her eldest uncle believed he was alive but possibly trapped or captured.
• Ye Chenxi vowed to become a Grandmaster and bring Chen Fan back, while Ye Yunxin reflected on how unlikely that would be.
• Senior Brother Hua approached Ye Yunxin and Ye Chenxi, and Ye Yunxin rebuffed his advances by reminding him that she was engaged.

Hua Yunlan arranged an ambush against Ye Yunxin and Chen Xi, then staged a rescue to win Ye Yunxin’s favor. As the attack escalated, a woman in embroidered robes appeared and killed the black-clad assailants.

• Hua Yunlan dismissed Ye Yunxin’s engagement to the missing Chen Fan and arranged for concealed followers to track her and Chen Xi.
• Grandma Rong confronted masked attackers who ambushed the girls, while Ye Yunxin used a talisman to flee with Chen Xi.
• The attackers cornered Ye Yunxin and Chen Xi in an alley, where Hua Yunlan arrived and pretended to rescue them.
• Hua Yunlan fought off several attackers and shielded Ye Yunxin from a saber strike, but more black-clad men surrounded them.
• A woman in embroidered robes appeared above the alley and killed all the black-clad attackers with her silver saber.

After an attack on Ye Yunxin and Chen Xi, an Embroidered Garment Tower envoy rescued them and warned Granny Rong to beware of Hua Yunlan. Ye Wuji suspected the Hua Family had arranged the attack, while Hua Wenbin revealed he was moving to remove Ye Wuji from office and urged Hua Yunlan to seize the Ye women once their family fell.

• Hua Yunlan's hired assassins attacked Ye Yunxin and Chen Xi, but an Embroidered Garment Tower envoy killed them and rescued the girls.
• Constables escorted Ye Yunxin and Chen Xi back to the Martial Academy, where Ye Wuji learned that the envoy might have been Chen Fan's old friend.
• Granny Rong told Ye Wuji that the envoy had warned her to beware of Hua Yunlan, and Chen Xi and Ye Yunxin began to suspect his role in the attack.
• Ye Wuji ordered Ye Yunxin and Chen Xi to stay at the Martial Academy while he investigated the attack and considered whether the Hua Family was behind it.
• Hua Yunlan waited in vain for Ye Yunxin to visit him, then Hua Wenbin revealed his plan to oust Ye Wuji and told Hua Yunlan to claim the Ye women after the family declined.

Ye Wuji stepped down as vice dean under pressure from Hua Wenbin and the academy’s powerful families, while Chen Fan returned to the Martial Academy and learned Ye Yunxin and Chen Xi were safe. The chapter left Chen Xi facing an enforcement team that demanded to inspect and remove her, as Ye Yunxin and Zhang Fan resisted.

• Hua Wenbin and five vice deans submitted accusations against Ye Wuji, and Mao Wangchen persuaded him to resign to protect himself and the Ye Family.
• Ye Wuji planned to return to Yan Capital City after settling Ye Yunxin and Chen Xi’s affairs, but a communication talisman summoned him in fury.
• Chen Fan returned to the Martial Academy, reunited with Mao Wangchen, and learned that an Embroidered Garment envoy had saved Ye Yunxin and Chen Xi from an ambush.
• An enforcement team confronted Ye Yunxin and Chen Xi at their residence, claiming Chen Xi was not on the approved entry list.
• Zhang Fan argued that Vice Dean Ye Wuji had approved Chen Xi, but the crew-cut leader ordered the team to inspect her and send her away.

Hua Wenbin used the enforcement team to pressure Ye Wuji and force Ye Yunxin into marrying his grandson, but a young man returned after three years and interrupted the confrontation. Zhang Fan, Ye Wuji, and Ye Yunxin recognized the newcomer as Chen Fan.

• The enforcement team confronted Chen Xi and Zhang Fan, demanding that they hand her over, until Ye Wuji arrived and challenged their mission.
• Hua Wenbin appeared, overwhelmed Ye Wuji with his ninth-level pressure, and declared that Ye Wuji's special admission list no longer applied after he stepped down as vice president.
• Hua Wenbin offered Ye Wuji an admission slot in exchange for Ye Yunxin marrying his grandson, Hua Yunlan, and dismissed her betrothal to Chen Fan as meaningless.
• Ye Wuji refused Hua Wenbin's demand and said he would appeal to President Mao Wangchen, so Hua Wenbin threatened to punish him and attacked the people behind him.
• A young man arrived amid a gale, lifted the pressure on the crowd, and stunned Ye Wuji, Zhang Fan, and Ye Yunxin; Chen Xi asked whether Ye Yunxin saw him too.

Chen Fan returned to the Martial Academy and intervened when Hua Wenbin tried to expel his niece, Chen Xi. After Chen Fan defeated Hua Wenbin and Mao Wangchen stopped him from killing the vice principal, Mao Wangchen granted Chen Xi special admission to the academy.

• Chen Fan arrived during Ye Wuji's standoff with Hua Wenbin and revealed himself as Ye Wuji's long-missing ally.
• A flat-headed enforcement-team member accused Chen Fan of distorting the academy's rules, and Chen Fan killed him with a single sword strike.
• Hua Wenbin attacked Chen Fan, but Chen Fan overwhelmed him with lightning sword strikes and demanded to know why he had targeted Ye Yunxin and Chen Xi.
• Chen Fan moved to strike Hua Wenbin again, but Mao Wangchen intervened with his domain and ordered him to stop.
• Chen Fan asked Mao Wangchen whether his niece could remain at the Martial Academy, and Mao Wangchen made her a specially recruited disciple.

Chen Fan returned to the Martial Academy and revealed enough strength to frighten Hua Wenbin, then tracked him beyond the prefectural city and killed him. Chen Fan took a mysterious necklace from Hua Wenbin’s body and returned to the city.

• Mao Wangchen made everyone except Chen Fan swear a blood oath to keep the events at the Martial Academy secret, then let them leave.
• Chen Fan told Ye Wuji and the others he had been trapped in a special place for three years, learned how Hua Wenbin had targeted Ye Wuji and harmed Yun Xin, and left the Martial Academy.
• Chen Fan followed Hua Wenbin out of the prefectural city using the Spirit Attachment Technique he had planted on him.
• Chen Fan caught up with Hua Wenbin, trapped him in his Sword Domain, and killed him with sword qi.
• Chen Fan took Hua Wenbin’s Sumeru Ring and a special necklace, then returned to the prefectural city.

After returning to the prefectural city, Chen Fan reported his kills to Cheng Caiying and learned she had protected Ye Yunxin and Chen Xi while waiting for him. He killed Hua Yunlan at the Hua Family’s estate, then began investigating the strange crystal Hua Wenbin had carried.

• Chen Fan met Cheng Caiying at the Embroidered Garment Tower branch, handed over the Seamless Gate assassins, and learned the Crown Prince had ordered her to watch for his return.
• Cheng Caiying told Chen Fan she had protected Ye Yunxin and Chen Xi and killed anyone who tried to harm them.
• Chen Fan went to the Hua Family’s summer retreat, killed its guards, and found Hua Yunlan.
• Chen Fan killed Hua Yunlan and burned his body after Hua Yunlan revealed his guilt by denying that he had harmed Ye Yunxin.
• Chen Fan examined Hua Wenbin’s necklace and recognized that the patterns on its black crystal formed a miniature formation concealing its power.

Chen Fan discovered that Hua Wenbin’s crystal could improve comprehension, then killed Peng Wansha for selling information about him to the Seamless Gate. At the Martial Academy’s second-day assessment, Guan Longping tested new recruits, including a youth who admired Chen Fan, and defeated him in one strike.

• Chen Fan used his True Essence to undo the crystal’s formation seal and found that observing it could improve comprehension, though doing so consumed spiritual power and weakened the stone’s aura.
• Chen Fan searched the place where he had killed Hua Wenbin, but the crystal showed no reaction, then went to the Martial Academy with Mao Wangchen’s token.
• Chen Fan entered Peng Wansha’s room in the Myriad Illusions Hall, accused him of selling information to the Seamless Gate, and killed him before burning his corpse to ashes.
• At the second-round recruitment assessment, a feather-fan youth told the other recruits that their examiner, Guan Longping, came from Yan Capital City and had once studied at the White Cloud Martial Academy.
• The youth told Guan Longping that he had traveled to Clear River Commandery because he admired Chen Fan, but Guan Longping refused to give him special treatment.
• Guan Longping struck the youth in the chest with his wooden sword, sending him flying and ending his assessment.

Chen Fan returned to the Martial Academy, killed Guan Longping for secretly monitoring him and passing information to Peng Wansha, then helped conduct the entrance assessment. The next day, he agreed with Mao Wangchen to let the Hua Family matter end after Hua Wenbin's confirmed death.

• Guan Longping defeated an examinee harshly, but Chen Fan arrived and revealed Peng Wansha's head.
• Chen Fan accused Guan Longping of serving as Peng Wansha's contact and killed him despite Guan Longping's pleas.
• Chen Fan showed Mao Wangchen's token and offered to help with the assessment; he gave Tang Wenbin a passing B rating, and word of his return spread through the academy.
• Mao Wangchen told Chen Fan that Hua Wenbin had been confirmed dead, and Chen Fan agreed to end the matter with the Hua Family.

Chen Fan accepted Mao Wangchen’s offer to become a special consultant in exchange for doubled resources, full Martial Academy access, and training with the Myriad Forms Gourd. The next day, he appeared before the new disciples to challenge the Myriad Forms Illusory Realm, while students and older disciples speculated about how high he would rank.

• Mao Wangchen reinstated Ye Wuji as vice principal and offered Chen Fan a special consultant post, academy privileges, and access to the Myriad Forms Gourd’s power if he gave a speech.
• Chen Fan agreed and accepted Mao Wangchen’s plan for him to challenge the Myriad Forms Illusory Realm publicly, aiming to enter the top ten while concealing part of his strength.
• Mao Wangchen told Ye Wuji to publicize Chen Fan’s challenge, and Ye Wuji understood that the academy intended to build Chen Fan’s reputation.
• At the final new disciples’ assessment, Chen Fan stood beside Mao Wangchen at Myriad Forms Plaza as the gathered disciples and older students watched.
• Zhan Yi predicted Chen Fan could reach the top fifteen, but Jian Ganyu judged that the top fifteen would be difficult and refused Zhan Yi’s wager.

Chen Fan demonstrated his strength in the Myriad Forms Illusory Realm, defeating waves of powerful beasts and earning fifth place while concealing much of his ability. His performance inspired the new disciples, and news of his return spread throughout the commanderies.

• Chen Fan entered the Myriad Forms Illusory Realm and effortlessly defeated waves of seventh- and eighth-level demonic beasts, using the Ninefold Thunder Blade against ten seventh-level beasts.
• Chen Fan reached the top ten and then pretended to struggle against ninth-level beasts, ultimately placing fifth after secretly using his Sword Domain to end the trial.
• The gathered disciples chanted Chen Fan's name, and Chen Xi resolved to become as strong as he was.
• The entrance examination ended with more new disciples leaving their names on the Myriad Forms Gourd, and He Hongshan passed the examination.
• News of Chen Fan's fifth-place ranking and apparent defeat of a ninth-level beast spread through Clear River Commandery and neighboring commanderies, overshadowing reports of Hua Wenbin's death.

Mao Wangchen showed Chen Fan the Myriad Forms Gourd’s true body and authorized him to challenge the recorded geniuses of Great Qian in its illusory realm. Chen Fan fought his way to fifth place without using Berserk, eager to test himself against the strongest opponents.

• Mao Wangchen brought Chen Fan to the sealed pavilion and revealed that the jade gourd inside was the true body of the Myriad Forms Gourd’s subsidiary artifact.
• Mao Wangchen explained the illusory realm and showed Chen Fan the Great Qian rankings, where Le Shaoyuan ranked twenty-first and the Imperial Capital General Academy dominated the top ranks.
• Mao Wangchen granted Chen Fan permission to enter the Myriad Forms Illusory Realm and challenge the phantoms of ranked disciples.
• Chen Fan first challenged Le Shaoyuan, winning more easily with the Transformation Technique and then struggling more after forbidding himself from using it.
• Chen Fan challenged opponents up the rankings and reached fifth place without using Berserk, though he could not defeat the tenth-level expert ranked there.

Chen Fan advanced to the Earth Tower after passing the Embroidered Garment Tower’s review, then visited the Star Sect Underground Palace to demonstrate his completed third level of the Spirit Tempering Art. He learned that he could not exchange its fourth-level reward for the Azure-Water Azure-Thunder Soul, while a destroyed mountain gorge raised suspicions about Zhongli Haocang’s secrets.

• Chen Fan spent a week fighting phantom opponents in the Myriad Forms Gourd, improving his combat skills but failing to defeat Shen Yuansi even with Berserk.
• Mao Wangchen explained that will and state of mind were essential to reaching the Tenth Layer and condensing a Dao Fruit, so Chen Fan went to the Heart-Questioning Hall and climbed to its ninetieth step.
• Chen Fan learned that his mission review had passed and he had officially advanced to the Earth Tower, where he could choose a supreme secret canon by visiting the imperial capital.
• Three years later, amid worsening chaos across Great Qian, Chen Fan found that the mountain peak near the Star Sect Underground Palace had become a gorge and suspected someone had betrayed Zhongli Haocang.
• Chen Fan demonstrated his completed third level of the Spirit Tempering Art to the golden-armored man in the Star Hall and tried to exchange for the Azure-Water Azure-Thunder Soul, but his reward was insufficient.

Chen Fan used the Star God Seal to obtain the Azure-Water Azure-Thunder Soul, then spent three months cultivating in Star Hall before returning to Clear River Commandery. At the Martial Academy, Mao Wangchen told him someone from the Embroidered Garment Tower had been waiting for him.

• Chen Fan revealed the Star God Seal to the golden-armored guardian, who recognized him as Sect Master and allowed him to exchange items of equivalent value for the Azure-Water Azure-Thunder Soul.
• Chen Fan absorbed the spirit item and gained an initial grasp of water artistic conception, but could not fit the Water Saint Sword into his occupied auto-training slots.
• Chen Fan stayed in Star Hall for three months, improving his artistic conceptions and gaining an initial grasp of earth artistic conception while progressing in the Spirit Tempering Art and Four Saint Swords.
• Chen Fan left the Star Sect Underground Palace and returned to the Martial Academy in Clear River Commandery.
• Mao Wangchen told Chen Fan that someone from the Embroidered Garment Tower had been waiting for him, and Chen Fan wondered if Cheng Caiying had come with a private matter.

Wen Siyuan invited Chen Fan to the imperial capital on the Crown Prince’s orders and warned him that the Spirit God Dao Sect’s Dao Child, Liu Hanyin, had come to seize him over Pu Zhongyu’s death. Chen Fan accepted Wen Siyuan’s protection, and Liu Hanyin appeared at the Martial Academy to challenge him.

• Chen Fan met Wen Siyuan, the Crown Prince’s martial arts teacher and chief retainer, who invited him to the imperial capital and offered to resolve his troubles.
• Wen Siyuan explained that the Spirit God Dao Sect had sent its Dao Child, Liu Hanyin, to take Chen Fan back for a Soul-Searching Technique because Pu Zhongyu and a sect genius had died in Clear River Commandery.
• After learning Liu Hanyin had waited nearly three months in Qinghe Prefecture City, Chen Fan agreed to accompany Wen Siyuan to the imperial capital.
• Wen Siyuan unleashed a vast silver Dao Domain and declared that Chen Fan was under the Crown Prince’s protection.
• Liu Hanyin arrived above the Martial Academy and asked Wen Siyuan whether he intended to stop him; Wen Siyuan warned him not to become another person’s weapon.

Wen Siyuan drove Liu Hanyin away and assured Chen Fan that the Crown Prince’s Residence would protect him, while Chen Fan remained wary of the Crown Prince’s motives. Before heading to the imperial capital, Chen Fan spent time with his family and friends, trained in the Yuan Shang Secret Realm, and failed the third-level Battle Hall challenge.

• Wen Siyuan defeated Liu Hanyin, who vowed to challenge him again after breaking through to the Dao Fruit realm.
• Wen Siyuan told Chen Fan that joining the Crown Prince’s Residence would protect him and his loved ones, and Chen Fan asked to stay in Yan Capital City a few more days.
• Chen Fan questioned why the Crown Prince valued him so highly, then spent time with his family and friends while practicing with the Myriad Forms Gourd.
• Chen Fan completed the eighth-layer assessment in the Yuan Shang Secret Realm, received Sword-Breaking Form, and killed the alien creature in the second-level Battle Hall challenge.
• Chen Fan attempted the third-level Battle Hall challenge, but the powerful three-eyed humanoid killed him after his Berserk duration ended.