Chapter Summaries

Chen Fan entered the Neutral Zone, rejected Song Qingyun’s offer to join an alliance or trade for the Black Sword, and claimed a secluded resting place in a palace. He decided to spend most of the three-month preliminary period meditating and testing secret arts before hunting in the final days.

• Chen Fan considered farming points by ambushing martial artists but decided that hunting Longevity-level demonic beasts would be more worthwhile.
• Chen Fan entered the Neutral Zone and used his divine sense to survey its inhabitants, including a tenth-level martial artist.
• Song Qingyun invited Chen Fan to join his alliance, then offered to trade for the Black Sword, but Chen Fan refused both offers.
• Chen Fan entered a palace, claimed a prayer mat’s protected resting area, and examined the supplies placed there.
• Chen Fan settled down to meditate and focus on testing Nightmare Invocation and Divine Movement in the Illusory Dream Realm.

Chen Fan used Divine Movement to scout the Neutral Zone and discovered Song Qingyun leading a large group in a powerful battle formation. A ranked contestant named Molten Core broke through the Neutral Zone’s barrier and trapped its inhabitants in scorching fire clouds, leaving Chen Fan eyeing the third-place fighter as a target.

• Chen Fan’s split spirit left his body and followed Song Qingyun’s group out of the Neutral Zone, where they formed a giant spiritual-light battle formation.
• Chen Fan watched the formation demonstrate power near the second level of the Dao Domain before a thunderous impact drew everyone’s attention toward the Neutral Zone.
• A hundred-zhang crimson giant battered the Neutral Zone’s barrier until it shattered, then flooded the area with scorching clouds and declared its name as Molten Core.
• A martial artist identified Molten Core as the contestant ranked third, and Chen Fan checked the rankings to see its score exceeded fifty million points.
• Chen Fan recognized Molten Core as a valuable target and prepared to confront the intruder.

Chen Fan confronted Molten Core, a powerful Lava Giant who had attacked the neutral zone, and challenged his belief that the strong could kill the weak at will. As their battle began, Chen Fan prepared to reveal what he had gained from his recent cultivation.

• Chen Fan noticed Molten Core attacking the neutral zone and flew through the fire clouds to confront him.
• Molten Core spotted Chen Fan's Dao artifact, demanded it, and attacked, but Chen Fan evaded him with his flying sword and concealment ability.
• Chen Fan questioned Molten Core, who revealed that he was a Lava Giant ranked twenty-first on the Mountain-Sea Ranking and had attacked the neutral zone simply because he wanted to.
• Molten Core claimed that no one in the realm was stronger than him, so Chen Fan raised his sword and challenged him to a fight.
• Chen Fan's water dragons extinguished Molten Core's flames, and he declared that Molten Core deserved to die by his hand.
• Molten Core dismissed Chen Fan's chances and launched another attack, while Chen Fan prepared to show the results of his recent cultivation.

Chen Fan defeated the Molten Core with the Primordial Sword, but discovered that the creature’s true body had not been destroyed. After recovering outside the neutral zone, he killed Song Qingyun and his battle formation when they attacked him.

• Chen Fan used Nightmare Invocation to stun the Molten Core, then fought it with the Water Saint Sword and discovered its soul was weak.
• The Molten Core entered a berserk state that resisted Nightmare Invocation, so Chen Fan used the Primordial Sword to shatter its body and disperse the surrounding fire clouds.
• Chen Fan found that the Molten Core’s ranking points had not changed and suspected that its true body was elsewhere or that it had used a special method.
• The martial artists in the neutral zone began slaughtering one another after the Molten Core’s threat disappeared and the barrier was destroyed.
• Song Qingyun led a battle formation toward the neutral zone and tried to stomp Chen Fan, who was meditating outside it.
• Chen Fan cut the formation apart, killing Song Qingyun and the martial artists with him.

Chen Fan protected weaker martial artists in the neutral zone, then hid in a city to study Nightmare Invocation and Divine Movement. After two months, a tenth-layer expert attacked his tower, and Chen Fan defeated him before asking what he would offer in exchange for his life.

• Song Qingyun regretted that Chen Fan had rejected his invitation, then joined the battle in the neutral zone.
• Chen Fan killed several tenth-layer experts who were slaughtering weaker martial artists, raising his points above two million.
• Chen Fan found a concealed tower beside a swamp and spent two months studying Nightmare Invocation and Divine Movement while scouting with his spirit clone.
• A black-clad tenth-layer expert searching for another martial artist smashed into Chen Fan's tower and attacked him.
• Chen Fan blocked the man's golden spear, pursued him as he fled, and pinned him to a pagoda.
• The wounded man pleaded for his life and explained that he needed points for the Ice Extreme Sect, so Chen Fan asked what he could offer in return.

Chen Fan killed an Ice Extreme Sect martial artist who threatened him, then refused to shelter an injured young man he had saved. The young man returned with news that the Seven Saints Alliance was targeting the city, and Chen Fan became interested after learning the alliance was suppressing rivals to control their points.

• Chen Fan killed the black-clothed martial artist after the man threatened him, then declared that anyone trespassing on his pavilion would be slain.
• The martial artist reappeared unharmed elsewhere and admitted he had exaggerated the Ice Extreme Sect's influence to frighten Chen Fan.
• Chen Fan refused the injured young man's request to stay in the pavilion, then checked the rankings and noted Duo Ge's billion-plus points and Molten Core's decline.
• The young man returned and warned Chen Fan that the Seven Saints Alliance had targeted the city.
• The young man explained that the alliance hunted and controlled outsiders to stop them earning points, and Chen Fan became interested when he heard that desperate competitors might trade valuable treasures for a chance to advance.

Chen Fan learned how the Seven Saints Alliance captured powerful martial artists and forced them into contracts, then chose to confront them rather than flee. He encountered one of their squads, which demanded his Black Sword and planned to recruit him by force.

• The black-clothed young man explained that the Seven Saints Alliance repeatedly killed captured experts to drain their points, then coerced them into contracts and made them hunt new targets.
• Chen Fan realized his exceptional divine sense could let him use the same tactic against powerful opponents, and he decided to target the Seven Saints Alliance instead of escaping.
• The black-clothed young man fled while Chen Fan waited in the pavilion, then dark clouds and approaching fighters signaled that the Alliance had arrived in the city.
• A squad of seven or eight fighters blocked Chen Fan, and their richly dressed leader demanded his Black Sword and ordered him to come with them.
• Chen Fan recognized the squad as Seven Saints Alliance members and noticed that most of its fighters appeared controlled; the old Daoist said the Alliance wanted Chen Fan because of his strength and high points.

Chen Fan killed a group of Seven Saints Alliance fighters with his soul attack, then faced Luo Yingtian, a Slaughter Dao expert from the Primordial Demon Sect. After they clashed evenly, Chen Fan revealed that he was from the Heaven-Splitting Sword Sect, surprising Luo Yingtian.

• Chen Fan used his soul attack to kill Young Master Ban's companions and Daoist protector, while Young Master Ban respawned and reported encountering a powerful expert.
• A masked black-robed man arrived, and Chen Fan recognized him as a Dao Fruit expert of the Slaughter Dao.
• The man attacked Chen Fan with blood-colored dragons, and Chen Fan countered with the Slaughter Dao and his Seven-Kill Sword.
• The black-robed man identified himself as Luo Yingtian of the Primordial Demon Sect and questioned Chen Fan's identity.
• Chen Fan introduced himself as a member of the Heaven-Splitting Sword Sect, leaving Luo Yingtian astonished that the sect had produced such a fighter.

Chen Fan fought Luo Yingtian in the Illusory Dream Realm, revealing powerful sword techniques and multiple Dao Domains. After a feather-robed woman intervened, Chen Fan killed her with a soul attack and flying sword, then challenged Luo Yingtian to continue.

• A seven-colored feather-robed woman appeared and offered to help Luo Yingtian, but he insisted on fighting Chen Fan alone.
• Chen Fan and Luo Yingtian clashed with their swords, and Luo Yingtian unleashed his Demon-Killing Eye, wounding Chen Fan with black-red threads.
• Chen Fan added the Fire Saint Sword’s power to his strike and blasted Luo Yingtian backward, forcing the feather-robed woman to attack with a crystal bow.
• Chen Fan survived her arrow by revealing the Dao Domain of Earth, then used a soul attack and flying sword to kill her and free the martial artists she had restrained.
• Chen Fan turned back to Luo Yingtian and challenged him to continue, while Luo Yingtian realized Chen Fan had Boundless-level divine sense and a powerful soul-attack art.

Chen Fan used his spiritual consciousness to survive Luo Yingtian’s devastating Demon Eye Slaughter and forced him to explain how Nightmare Dream controlled the Seven Saints Alliance. As Cai Yu arrived with a red-haired reinforcer, Chen Fan restrained them and pierced both with his flying sword.

• Luo Yingtian unleashed Demon Eye Slaughter, piercing Chen Fan’s avatar and leaving his own body weakened.
• Chen Fan separated his spirit from his body, restrained Luo Yingtian with spiritual consciousness, and questioned him instead of killing him.
• Luo Yingtian explained that Nightmare Dream had repeatedly killed him, forced him into a contract, and built the Seven Saints Alliance by controlling other cultivators.
• Luo Yingtian said Cai Yu had known Nightmare Dream outside the Illusory Dream Realm and called her Miss.
• Cai Yu arrived with a burly red-haired man, and Chen Fan used the Black Sword to pierce both and bring them before him.

Chen Fan repeatedly killed Cai Yu in the Illusory Dream Realm, stripping away her points until she could no longer pass the preliminaries and forcing her to answer his questions. Cai Yu revealed that she and Nightmare Dream came from the Imperial Crow Family and that her Miss had reached the second level of the Longevity Realm.

• Chen Fan used his soul attack and Black Sword to defeat Cai Yu and the red-haired man, then demanded information about the Seven Saints Alliance and Nightmare Dream.
• Cai Yu refused to cooperate, so Chen Fan repeatedly killed her after each revival, draining her points and rising to forty-second place in the rankings.
• Chen Fan reassured Luo Yingtian and the red-haired man that he would spare them if they cooperated, then pressed Cai Yu for answers.
• Cai Yu said she and her Miss came from the Imperial Crow Family in the far western lands, and revealed that her Miss was at the second level of the Longevity Realm.

Chen Fan learned that Nightmare Dream was a powerful second-level Immortality Realm cultivator and went to confront her at the Seven Saints Alliance headquarters. His ambush failed, and the chapter ended as Nightmare Dream counterattacked with a black-smoke monster.

• Chen Fan restored his body, kept Luo Yingtian from reviving, and had Cai Yu and the others hidden as leverage.
• Chen Fan reached the Seven Saints Alliance headquarters and approached the city gates under Void Concealment.
• Chen Fan attacked Nightmare Dream with Marauder's Sword, but she dispersed into black smoke and reformed unharmed.
• Nightmare Dream offered to ransom Cai Yu, while Chen Fan accused the Seven Saints Alliance of harming martial artists and attacked with Nightmare Invocation.
• Nightmare Dream resisted Nightmare Invocation, summoned a black-smoke monster that blasted Chen Fan backward, and swept a spear across the sky.

Chen Fan fought Nightmare Dream’s black monster before negotiating with her for Cai Yu’s release. After they agreed on compensation and swore a contract, Nightmare Dream asked Chen Fan to help with a matter involving Duo Ge of the Ice Extreme Sect.

• Chen Fan battled Nightmare Dream’s black monster, then stopped fighting when she withdrew it.
• Nightmare Dream revealed herself as a young girl and asked Chen Fan to discuss Cai Yu.
• Chen Fan demanded compensation, and Nightmare Dream offered a Saint-grade Dao Essence Pill and the resources promised by two contracted Dao Fruit cultivators.
• Chen Fan and Nightmare Dream made a contract and swore oaths to secure their agreement.
• Nightmare Dream asked Chen Fan to cooperate with her and brought up Duo Ge of the Ice Extreme Sect.

Chen Fan agreed to help Nightmare Dream target Duo Ge, an Ice Extreme Sect Dao Son, after learning about his strength and the rewards he sought. He joined the Seven Saints Alliance, then toured its peaceful outer city with Luo Yingtian.

• Nightmare Dream explained that Duo Ge was a second-level Longevity Realm Dao Son of the Ice Extreme Sect and that she wanted a treasure he possessed.
• Chen Fan agreed to join Nightmare Dream’s plan to kill Duo Ge and negotiate after reducing his points, and she said she would make preparations before they acted in a few days.
• Chen Fan returned to the Seven Saints Alliance base with Cai Yu and Luo Yingtian, where Nightmare Dream announced that Chen Fan was now one of the alliance’s people.
• Cai Yu apologized to Nightmare Dream for failing to handle Chen Fan, and Nightmare Dream told her she still had use for him.
• Luo Yingtian showed Chen Fan the alliance’s peaceful outer city, where a martial artist greeted Luo Yingtian as Senior Brother.

Chen Fan and Luo Yingtian toured the alliance city, where Chen Fan reunited with Sikong Qing, a former enemy who was shocked by how much stronger he had become. Luo Yingtian showed Chen Fan the inner city’s execution zone and guarded battlefields, and the chapter ended as a person began materializing nearby.

• Luo Yingtian explained that many Demon Sect disciples had joined the Seven Saints Alliance and that he hoped Chen Fan would reduce the price he owed.
• Chen Fan and Luo Yingtian encountered Sikong Qing, whose father had failed to become a Demon Emperor after Zhu Xiang’s death.
• Sikong Qing recognized Chen Fan as her old opponent from Great Qian and was stunned by his immense progress.
• Chen Fan dismissed Sikong Qing, and Luo Yingtian took him from the outer city to the inner city.
• Luo Yingtian explained that the inner city held an execution zone for disobedient martial artists and was guarded by powerful fighters.
• A ripple appeared in the sky beside Chen Fan, and a person began taking shape from motes of light.

Chen Fan learned that Duo Luo Duo, a powerful human-Rakshasa hybrid, had joined Nightmare Dream’s alliance and discovered that she was imprisoning talented competitors who would not surrender their treasures. After Nightmare Dream gave him the means to free them, Chen Fan negotiated payment from most prisoners and began sparring with Luo Yingtian to advance his Slaughter Dao Domain, ending by cutting Luo Yingtian in half.

• Duo Luo Duo captured a fleeing martial artist and threatened Luo Yingtian before leaving with his prisoner.
• Luo Yingtian told Chen Fan that Duo Luo Duo was a human-Rakshasa hybrid and an Emperor-class fighter who had killed him in ten breaths.
• Chen Fan found Nightmare Dream’s prison, learned its captives were being held over their points and treasures, and persuaded Nightmare Dream to give him the stone that broke its seal.
• Chen Fan freed the prisoners and secured treasure promises from most of them through threats, inducements, and oaths.
• Chen Fan offered to reduce Luo Yingtian’s payment if he helped train Chen Fan’s Slaughter Dao Domain, and the two began sparring.
• Luo Yingtian used his Demon-Killing Eye, but Chen Fan avoided it; Chen Fan then struck Luo Yingtian in half with his Black Sword.

Chen Fan spent several days fighting Luo Yingtian, then joined Nightmare Dream, Duo Luo Duo, and Zhu Shan in a plan to kill Duo Ge. After Nightmare Dream empowered the group with black lotuses, Zhu Shan confronted Duo Ge, who defended himself against their ambush.

• Chen Fan and Luo Yingtian repeatedly fought and revived over several days, with Chen Fan killing Luo Yingtian more often and improving their combat arts.
• Nightmare Dream summoned Chen Fan to a meeting with Duo Luo Duo and Zhu Shan, explaining that he had confirmed Duo Ge's location and movements.
• Nightmare Dream gave the group black lotuses that greatly increased their strength, and Chen Fan, Duo Luo Duo, and Zhu Shan absorbed them.
• Duo Ge defeated a one-eyed giant and complained that monster kills offered too few points compared with killing competitors.
• Zhu Shan appeared before Duo Ge and trapped him in a spherical water prison, while a black flying sword struck the icy barrier Duo Ge formed to defend himself.

Chen Fan, Nightmare Dream, Zhu Shan, and Duo Luo Duo joined forces to attack Duo Ge, but his newly awakened power overwhelmed them. Chen Fan’s Primordial Sword checked Duo Ge’s storm, and Nightmare Dream proposed using it to create an opening for her to kill him.

• Chen Fan ambushed Duo Ge with the Fire Saint Sword, and Duo Luo Duo joined the fight, but Duo Ge blocked the Rakshasa prince and sent him crashing into a cliff.
• Nightmare Dream appeared and asked Duo Ge for an object; when he refused, Chen Fan struck with Nightmare Invocation and the group launched a coordinated assault.
• Duo Ge unleashed Extreme Cold Storm, destroying Duo Luo Duo and Zhu Shan and forcing Chen Fan and Nightmare Dream to face the storm alone.
• Chen Fan used a sixfold Primordial Sword to erase the ice crystals, but Duo Ge emerged from the shattered barriers nearly unharmed.
• Duo Ge revealed that his realm had crossed the Great Dao threshold without reaching the Third Layer, and Nightmare Dream asked Chen Fan to defend her while she tried to kill him.

Chen Fan and Nightmare Dream teamed up to defeat Duo Ge with the Primordial Sword and Nightmare Dream’s eight black shadows, but Duo Ge resurrected and attacked them again. After Chen Fan blocked two more Extreme Cold Storms at great cost, Nightmare Dream sent the shadows after Duo Ge once more.

• Nightmare Dream offered Chen Fan the Seven Saints Alliance’s treasures and resources in exchange for his help, then summoned eight black shadows to fight Duo Ge.
• Duo Ge’s crystal phoenix destroyed the shadows, but Chen Fan’s Primordial Sword erased the phoenix while Nightmare Dream sent black smoke after Duo Ge.
• The restored black shadows overwhelmed Duo Ge, shattered his ice sword, weakened him, and beat him to death.
• Duo Ge resurrected and charged back, but Chen Fan used the Primordial Sword to stop his blizzard attacks, draining much of his life force.
• Nightmare Dream summoned the eight black shadows again and sent them charging toward Duo Ge.

Chen Fan and Nightmare Dream repeatedly killed Duo Ge while pursuing the mysterious thing he held, leaving him with only a fraction of his points. After their relentless pursuit wore down his resistance, Duo Ge agreed to Nightmare Dream’s terms, though she demanded additional compensation.

• Chen Fan and Nightmare Dream used their attacks and a surprise strike to kill Duo Ge, then escaped as he revived and chased them.
• Chen Fan concealed himself while Nightmare Dream offered to let Duo Ge regain his points if he handed over the thing; Duo Ge refused and attacked her.
• Chen Fan and Nightmare Dream ambushed Duo Ge, killed him again, and chased him after he split into eight identical bodies to flee.
• Nightmare Dream tracked Duo Ge down, and she and Chen Fan defeated him repeatedly until he stopped running.
• Duo Ge asked whether Nightmare Dream’s offer still stood, and after she demanded additional compensation, he agreed to her terms.