Chapter Summaries

Chen Fan revealed his Star God Seal authority to Zhongli Hongyi and ordered Lingyun Grotto to continue operating as Lingyun Sect while he helped his relatives and friends join the sect. As Lingyun Sect rebuilt and recruited disciples, Chen Fan trained Xiaoxi and considered the limits of how far he could advance his loved ones.

• Luo Fangyan doubted Chen Fan's claim that he could teach her the sword art, and Chen Fan told her to practice the first two levels while he mastered the third.
• Chen Fan acknowledged to Zhongli Hongyi that he possessed the Stellar Body Tempering Art and the Star God Seal, then ordered him to keep Chen Fan's identity secret and maintain Lingyun Grotto as Lingyun Sect.
• Chen Fan learned that Zhongli Hongyi was descended from an adopted orphan rather than related by blood to Zhongli Haocang or Zhongli Chenghe, and the two discussed the sect's future.
• Chen Fan released his relatives and acquaintances from Star Hall, used the Star God Seal and silence contracts to bind them, and arranged for them to join Lingyun Sect.
• Lingyun Sect rebuilt its mountain gate and began recruiting disciples near Canghai City, while Chen Fan supplied his relatives with resources and helped Fan Zhong and Tao Xian break through to Grandmaster.
• Chen Fan praised Xiaoxi's Blazing Fire Sword Art as she reached the third level of martial arts, though she had yet to reach the subtle realm or comprehend an artistic conception.

Chen Fan left Lingyun Sect after breaking through the second level of the Demon-Killing Eye and traveled to Canghai City to join the Heaven-Splitting Sword Sect. There he met Simo’s disciple, who offered to arrange his entry but warned that he could only become an inner disciple.

• Chen Fan broke through the Demon-Killing Eye’s second level, concealed its power, and decided it was time to leave Lingyun Sect and seek a breakthrough elsewhere.
• Chen Fan arrived in Canghai City and asked to join the Heaven-Splitting Sword Sect, but the sect’s outpost told him recruitment was not open.
• Chen Fan showed Simo’s token, prompting the outpost to consult its superiors while he waited.
• A powerful man in black entered the hall, saw through Chen Fan’s disguise, and questioned him about the token.
• Chen Fan showed the man a portrait of Simo and explained that he had received the token from him.
• The man in black revealed that Simo was his master and offered to arrange Chen Fan’s entry as an inner disciple, but said the sect’s rules prevented him from making Chen Fan a true disciple.

Chen Fan received a token from the Canghai Sword Emperor that let him join the Heaven-Splitting Sword Sect as an inner disciple and take the true disciple assessment, then traveled to the sect. His arrival coincided with the inner sect tournament, where Zongzheng Xiu learned that Chen Fan had been given an assessment spot ahead of the tournament’s winner.

• The man in black gave Chen Fan his token and explained that he could enter the Sword Sect as an inner disciple and take the true disciple assessment.
• Chen Fan traveled alone to the Heaven-Splitting Sword Sect headquarters, nearly ten thousand li north of Canghai City.
• Elder Lu told Yu Jin to receive Chen Fan and showed her his portrait.
• Chen Fan reached the Sword Sect’s mountain and headed toward its gates.
• Zongzheng Xiu defeated an opponent at the inner sect tournament and boasted that he would win the assessment opportunity.
• Zongzheng Xun told Zongzheng Xiu that the Canghai Sword Emperor had recommended Chen Fan directly into the inner sect and granted him an assessment spot.

Zongzheng Xiu learned that the Canghai Sword Emperor’s recommendation could threaten his chance to enter the Mystic Realm early, while Chen Fan was obstructed from entering the Heaven-Splitting Sword Sect. Chen Fan suspected the delays were deliberate and confronted the disciples guarding the sect.

• Zongzheng Xun warned Zongzheng Xiu that the Canghai Sword Emperor’s recommended genius might become a core disciple first, and urged him to complete the assessment quickly after winning the tournament.
• Chen Fan arrived at the Heaven-Splitting Sword Sect, but Senior Brother Ruan took his token for verification and sent him to wait at a distant inn.
• Senior Brother Ruan told the patrol squad that Senior Brother Zhan had ordered them to delay Chen Fan’s entry for two or three days.
• After waiting a day without news, Chen Fan returned to the sect and confronted the same patrol disciples.
• Chen Fan sensed that the leading disciple was hiding a guilty conscience and demanded a definite answer about his token.

Chen Fan confronted Heaven-Splitting Sword Sect disciples who tried to stop him, but Yu Jin arrived and defeated Ruan Hongliang before revealing she had been assigned to receive Chen Fan. After Chen Fan severed Ruan Hongliang’s arm, Yu Jin took him toward the sect, leaving the reason for the disciples’ attempt to delay him unresolved.

• Chen Fan intimidated the martial artists blocking his path, and Ruan Hongliang arrived and attacked him without hearing his explanation.
• Yu Jin intervened, struck Ruan Hongliang down, and told Chen Fan she had been assigned to receive him.
• Yu Jin accused Ruan Hongliang and the patrolling disciples of scheming to delay Chen Fan, and they fell silent.
• Yu Jin invited Chen Fan to take revenge on the incapacitated Ruan Hongliang, and Chen Fan severed one of his arms.
• Yu Jin praised Chen Fan, identified him as favored by the Canghai Sword Emperor, and flew with him toward the Heaven-Splitting Sword Sect.

Chen Fan learned that Zhan Jianming’s faction had delayed him because his true disciple assessment could interfere with Zongzheng Xiu’s chance to enter the Enlightenment Pool before a major gathering. Suspecting the Canghai Sword Emperor had drawn him into a dispute with Zhan Jianming, Chen Fan resolved to claim the opportunity and followed Yu Jin to a palace.

• Chen Fan asked Yu Jin why they had handled the faction’s obstruction privately, and she explained that reporting it could damage Zhan Jianming’s standing, since Ruan Hongliang served under him.
• Yu Jin told Chen Fan that the obstruction was meant to delay him and explained that newly admitted true disciples could enter the Enlightenment Pool, which took years to replenish.
• Yu Jin revealed that Zongzheng Xiu, Zhan Jianming’s favored candidate, was expected to win the ongoing inner sect competition and wanted to enter the Enlightenment Pool before a special gathering three years later.
• Chen Fan suspected the Canghai Sword Emperor had granted him the assessment opportunity to provoke Zhan Jianming, but decided he would not give up the Enlightenment Pool.
• Yu Jin led Chen Fan deeper into the Sword Sect and stopped her flying sword before a towering palace.

Chen Fan completed the Sword Sect’s entry procedures and settled into his new residence, then asked to begin the true disciple assessment. Yu Jin warned him that the test was difficult and could be attempted only once, but took him to the Sword Pavilion to apply.

• Elder Lu examined Chen Fan and learned that he had not yet reached the tenth level, then explained the Sword Sect’s entry requirements.
• Chen Fan completed the procedures and followed Yu Jin to his spacious courtyard, where she explained how to use his disciple token and warned him about conflicts with higher-ranked disciples.
• Chen Fan asked to take the true disciple assessment, and Yu Jin cautioned that most successful candidates were above the tenth level and that failed attempts were hard to repeat.
• Yu Jin described her own assessment mission, which had required killing three tenth-level Demon Kings in Western Liang Mountain, and Chen Fan realized how demanding the test was.
• Yu Jin brought Chen Fan to the Sword Pavilion, where they were led into a room and found a figure sitting inside.

Chen Fan insisted on taking the Heaven-Splitting Sword Sect’s true disciple assessment despite Chen Qingru’s warning about its difficulty. His assigned mission sent him to Jialan Kingdom to investigate Haunting Demon attacks and kill three tenth-level enemies, leaving him reminded of the Primordial Demon Sect’s invasion of Great Qian.

• Chen Fan met Chen Qingru, who explained the difficulty and rarity of the true disciple assessment and advised him to wait until his cultivation improved.
• Chen Fan chose to take the assessment immediately so he could become a true disciple and enter the Mystic Realm sooner.
• Chen Qingru escorted Chen Fan to the Law Enforcement Hall, where he drew lot number twenty-four under the witness of three law enforcement elders.
• Chen Qingru told Chen Fan to travel to Jialan Kingdom, kill three tenth-level enemies, and investigate the Haunting Demons’ attacks on a Profound Gold mine.
• Chen Fan reacted to hearing about the Haunting Demons and recalled the Primordial Demon Sect’s invasion of Great Qian.

Chen Qingru explained that Haunting Demons came from Demon God Remnants and that someone might be targeting the Sword Sect’s valuable Black Gold Vein. Chen Fan accepted an assessment with two possible objectives and headed to Jialan Kingdom, followed by a Sword Pavilion elder.

• Chen Qingru explained the origins of Haunting Demons and Demon God Remnants, and described the Demon God Kings and their remains.
• Chen Qingru said the attack on the Black Gold Vein might have been orchestrated by a demon sect, including the Hate Heaven Demon Cult, the Primordial Demon Sect, or the Heaven-Penetrating Demon Gate.
• Chen Qingru told Chen Fan he could pass the assessment either by uncovering the truth or by killing three tenth-level enemies.
• Chen Fan accepted the assessment, received a map and intelligence, and left the Sword Sect with Little Butterfly while a Dao Fruit-level Sword Pavilion elder followed.
• Chen Fan reached Jialan Kingdom within half a day and approached the attacked Black Gold Vein.

Zongzheng Xiu learned that Chen Fan had entered the Heaven-Splitting Sword Sect and accepted a true disciple assessment, while Yu Jin had injured Ruan to stop their interference. Chen Fan arrived in the Jialan Kingdom as the Sword Sect’s envoy and was welcomed at the royal palace, where he awaited Queen Jialan.

• Zongzheng Xun told Zongzheng Xiu that Chen Fan had registered with the sect and left to take a true disciple assessment.
• Zongzheng Xun explained that Yu Jin had severed one of Ruan’s arms after learning they had delayed Chen Fan, and warned Zongzheng Xiu not to act against him further.
• Zongzheng Xiu accepted his brother’s warning but hoped he could still become a true disciple before Chen Fan.
• Chen Fan arrived in the Jialan Capital and received a warm welcome from the kingdom’s martial artists.
• Gong Huanxiang introduced herself to Chen Fan as the state preceptor and escorted him to meet Queen Jialan.

Chen Fan met Queen Jialan and learned that Haunting Demons had attacked the Jialan Kingdom’s Black Gold Vein, killing miners and stealing Mystic Gold. Other Sword Sect disciples arrived and questioned Chen Fan’s identity, but verified his token before wondering why the sect had sent him as an extra envoy.

• Queen Jialan complained that the Sword Sect had sent only Chen Fan, then decided to assess his abilities while he investigated the Black Gold Vein attacks.
• Chen Fan asked Queen Jialan for details, and she explained that Haunting Demons had attacked nearly half the mine shafts, killed hundreds or thousands of people, and stolen Mystic Gold.
• Queen Jialan said she had ordered Jialan’s elite martial artists to guard the remaining mine shafts against further attacks.
• Gong Huanxiang brought in twenty to thirty more Sword Sect disciples, including several true disciples, and Chen Fan recognized that they had arrived after him.
• A bearded true disciple challenged Chen Fan’s identity, but Junior Sister Zhao confirmed that his token belonged to a Sword Sect inner sect disciple.
• The bearded disciple returned Chen Fan’s token and questioned why the sect had sent him as an extra envoy.

Chen Fan and the Sword Sect envoys were sent to investigate attacks on the Black Gold Vein, but Mine Shaft Number Three was destroyed before they arrived. The Queen of Jialan learned that the attackers had left no clues, leaving Chen Fan and the others to face an elusive threat.

• Senior Brother Mo warned Chen Fan to obey orders, then dismissed the Haunting Demons as a minor problem and urged the group to head for the Black Gold Vein.
• A female official reported that Mine Shaft Number Three had been destroyed, most of its miners killed, its Black Gold stolen, and four of the five tenth-level experts at another shaft slain.
• Liu Yunfei introduced himself to Chen Fan during the journey and learned that Chen Fan had recently joined the Sword Sect and belonged to no academy.
• Chen Fan, Senior Brother Mo, and the others arrived at the ruined Mine Shaft Number Three, where the Queen of Jialan questioned a tenth-level woman in black about clues.
• The woman in black said the Haunting Demons had vanished without a trace and that the survivors had seen no one else.

Chen Fan investigated the attacks on the Black Gold Vein and chose to guard the mines that had not yet been hit, hoping to encounter a powerful Haunting Demon. When Mines Six and Seven were attacked, he rushed to Mine Six and confronted a hidden tenth-level Haunting Demon deep underground.

• The Sword Sect disciples found no evidence at the attacked mines, and Chen Fan suspected the Haunting Demons' appearance and theft of Mystic Gold concealed a larger secret.
• Zhao Youzhu led a team to inspect previously attacked mines, while Chen Fan stayed with the guards at Mine Number One after Senior Brother Mo assigned him to investigate with her.
• A day later, Senior Brother Mo reported that Mines Six and Seven were under attack, and Chen Fan hurried to Mine Six on Little Butterfly.
• Chen Fan found the mine overrun by Haunting Demons and spotted a powerful one hiding deep underground, so he charged in to fight it himself.
• The tenth-level Haunting Demon confronted Chen Fan and expanded a field of black aura around itself as it attacked with its spear.

Chen Fan killed a Haunting Demon in Mine Tunnel No. 6 and prepared to investigate the strange attacks while the Sword Sect elder watched him. Meanwhile, Zongzheng Xiu won the Heaven-Splitting Sword Sect competition but received a dangerous demon-hunting task for his true disciple assessment, and Zongzheng Xun learned that the Canghai Sword Emperor had returned.

• Chen Fan killed a tenth-level Haunting Demon with one sword strike, stored its corpse, and left Mine Tunnel No. 6 for Mine Tunnel No. 7.
• Chen Fan found that the battle in Mine Tunnel No. 7 had ended without any demonic sect disciples appearing, then returned to Mine Tunnel No. 1 and used the Painting Scroll to conceal his preparations.
• A Sword Sect elder watched Chen Fan and noted his formidable swordsmanship, while dismissing the possibility that Jialan Kingdom’s Black Gold Vein hid a serious problem.
• Zongzheng Xiu won the Heaven-Splitting Sword Sect’s triennial grand competition and received a chance to take the true disciple assessment.
• Zongzheng Xiu learned that his assessment required him to kill either three early tenth-level demon beasts or one mid tenth-level beast, then left the Sword Sect to attempt it.
• Zongzheng Xun received a message from Senior Brother Zhan, who told him that the Canghai Sword Emperor had returned to the sect.

Canghai Sword Emperor told the Sword Sect that Sword Emperor Si was still alive and explained that Chen Fan had brought him Simo's token. As the sect weighed Chen Fan's place among them, Chen Fan investigated a Haunting Demon and suspected Demon God remnants were hidden near the Black Gold Vein; he was then summoned to a strategy meeting.

• Canghai Sword Emperor gathered the Sword Sect's elders and senior disciples and revealed that Sword Emperor Si was alive and trapped somewhere special.
• Canghai Sword Emperor disclosed that Chen Fan had brought him Simo's token and received a place in the true disciple assessment, prompting Zhan Jianming and Chen Qingru to discuss Chen Fan.
• Elder Lu told Yu Jin that Chen Fan was not Canghai Sword Emperor's disciple, and Yu Jin messaged Chen Fan after reconsidering her expectations of him.
• Chen Fan used the Sun-Covering Mirror to learn that a recently infected Haunting Demon had been created nearby and suspected Demon God remnants were concealed around the Black Gold Vein.
• A martial artist summoned Chen Fan to Senior Brother Mo's strategy meeting after Senior Sister Zhao and the others returned.

Chen Fan challenged Senior Brother Mo’s order to send him to remote Mine Cave No. 27, insisting on a more dangerous assignment for his true disciple assessment. He suspected Mo was acting on someone else’s instructions, and Mo’s reaction suggested the confrontation was part of a larger scheme.

• Zongzheng Xiu learned that Chen Fan had entered the Sword Sect through luck and lost his wariness toward him.
• Chen Fan attended a meeting where Senior Brother Mo reassigned the guards, then was ordered to Mine Cave No. 27.
• Chen Fan refused the assignment and asked to guard Mine Cave No. 1 or No. 2, prompting Senior Brother Mo to insist that he obey.
• Zhao Youzhu urged Senior Brother Mo to let Chen Fan choose, but Mo claimed he needed to preserve his authority as mission leader.
• Chen Fan accused Senior Brother Mo of deliberately obstructing his true disciple assessment and warned that a Sword Pavilion elder was supervising it.
• Senior Brother Mo denied knowing about the assessment, but Chen Fan noticed a fleeting look of delight beneath his anger.

Chen Fan discovered that Senior Brother Mo Chengkong had pretended to oppose him to appease Zhan Jianming’s subordinate, then arranged to help him during the assessment. When Mine No. 2 came under attack despite its formation remaining intact, Chen Fan rushed there, but could not reach Mo Chengkong or Liu Yunfei and found Zhao Youzhu arriving as well.

• Mo Chengkong privately told Chen Fan that he had acted hostile to delay the assessment at the request of one of Zhan Jianming’s trusted subordinates, while trying not to offend either side.
• Chen Fan asked Mo Chengkong to alert him if an enemy above the tenth level appeared, and the two exchanged disciple-token communications.
• Chen Fan kept watch over Mine No. 1 until Mo Chengkong messaged that Mine No. 2 was under attack.
• Chen Fan flew to Mine No. 2 and found Haunting Demons fighting inside its still-functioning formation, raising the possibility of a hidden breach or help from an insider.
• Chen Fan failed to reach Mo Chengkong or Liu Yunfei and hesitated outside the formation as Zhao Youzhu arrived.

Chen Fan entered the sealed Black Gold Vein to investigate the Haunting Demons and found the mine overwhelmed by a vast horde, including dozens of tenth-realm demons. He rescued Liu Yunfei, slew two powerful Haunting Demons, and completed his true disciple assessment as he continued fighting through the mine.

• Zhao Youzhu tried to contact the missing disciples, but when the ground shook, Chen Fan entered the formation in her place, relying on the supervising elder for protection.
• Chen Fan discovered that the formation allowed entry but not exit, and sensed the mine was filled with hundreds or thousands of Haunting Demons, including thirty or forty at the tenth realm.
• Chen Fan realized the demons might have attacked in waves to target the Sword Sect disciples and rushed toward the nearest powerful Haunting Demon.
• Chen Fan killed the tenth-realm Haunting Demon threatening Liu Yunfei, freeing him and the nearby martial artists from its influence.
• Chen Fan advanced through the mine, slaughtering low-level Haunting Demons with his sword domain and killing a second tenth-realm Haunting Demon, thereby completing his true disciple assessment.

Chen Fan killed Haunting Demons during the mine invasion until a Dao Fruit-level Heavenly Demon appeared and the supervising elder, Su Changqing, stepped in to face it. Chen Fan continued fighting elsewhere, then rescued Mo Chengkong from a disguised alien monster and killed it.

• Chen Fan killed several tenth-level Haunting Demons, easing the pressure on the human martial artists.
• A giant hand and then a Dao Fruit-level Heavenly Demon emerged; Su Changqing told Chen Fan to keep killing Haunting Demons while he fought the demon.
• A hidden observer remarked that Su Changqing alone would not be enough and wondered whom the Sword Sect would send if he died.
• In the mine tunnel, Chen Fan stopped an alien monster from killing Mo Chengkong, who had mistaken it for Junior Brother Zhang.
• Chen Fan shut his eyes to avoid the monster's sensory trick and cut it apart with a close-range sword strike.

Chen Fan defeated a mine monster and encountered Hu Jiuguang, a powerful demon from the Heaven-Penetrating Demon Gate. Su Changqing intervened to hold Hu Jiuguang off while Chen Fan escaped to warn the sect.

• Chen Fan killed the monster that had threatened Mo Chengkong, then asked him to keep his strength secret.
• A violent demon aura stirred in the mine, and Hu Jiuguang emerged; Mo Chengkong recognized him, crushed a talisman, and fled.
• Hu Jiuguang attacked Chen Fan with nine tails, but Su Changqing arrived and blocked them with his flying sword.
• Su Changqing told Chen Fan to escape and report Hu Jiuguang's appearance to the sect, then stayed behind to fight.
• Chen Fan rushed out of the mine as Su Changqing and Hu Jiuguang clashed, and Hu Jiuguang roared that he would kill Su Changqing.