Recaps

After Zhao Cheng failed the trials, Ying Wuxiu explained that he would be imprisoned beneath the Heaven-Watching Tower while Li Shun was cleared of corruption. At the Heaven Oversight Bureau’s Bing Province station, the Right Chancellor praised Li Shun’s resilience as leaders of several schools argued over his training and the Myriad Ages Legacy Book.

• Ying Wuxiu told Li Shun that Zhao Cheng had failed the first two trials and would be suppressed beneath the Heaven-Watching Tower, where he would recite the sages’ classics.
• Ying Wuxiu identified himself as the Heaven Oversight Bureau’s Left Junior Director of Fate and explained the role of the Danger Chamber Watchtower.
• Ying Wuxiu reported to the Right Chancellor that Li Shun showed no signs of corruption, while Zhao Cheng’s soul had fallen.
• The Right Chancellor praised Li Shun’s resilient spirit, and Ling Xuanji offered to train him before the Right Chancellor rebuked her.
• Ying Wuxiu announced that he would escort the Myriad Ages Legacy Book to the capital to replenish its pages, prompting Ling Xuanji and the School of Names representative to trade insults.

The Right Chancellor’s council decided to defend Great Qian while the Grand Arbiter was unable to descend, and assigned Li Shun to serve against the Outer Gods. Dong Chunqiu persuaded the Right Chancellor to send Li Shun to the Imperial Academy first, where Ying Wuxiu began explaining what it was.

• The Right Chancellor revealed that Taiyi Xuanpin’s incarnation remained sealed and learned that Bing Province would recover, while the Grand Arbiter could not descend for three years.
• The leaders of the Hundred Schools agreed to close the Celestial Array, retreat to defense, and gather strength against the Outer Gods.
• The Right Chancellor offered Li Shun a post in the Heaven Oversight Bureau, and Li Shun accepted.
• Dong Chunqiu argued that Li Shun should train at the Imperial Academy first, and the Right Chancellor agreed.
• Ying Wuxiu told Li Shun that the Imperial Academy taught knowledge beyond the mortal world.

Ying Wuxiu explained how the Imperial Academy studies Outer Heavenly Dao Marks, sends students’ souls into other worlds, and guards against Outworld Heavenly Demons. He revealed that students must also undertake Ancient Past Inquiry to seek a Sage’s guidance, leaving Li Shun wondering how the Academy recreates the age before Great Qian’s founding.

• Li Shun asked Ying Wuxiu about Outer Heavenly Dao Marks, and Ying Wuxiu explained their origins and their role in repairing the Great Qian Heavenly Dao.
• Ying Wuxiu described the Imperial Academy’s Outer-Heavenly Trial, in which students send a wisp of their soul into other worlds.
• Ying Wuxiu revealed that the Academy’s soul-traversal method came from an Outworld Heavenly Demon and explained why Great Qian feared such infiltrators.
• Ying Wuxiu told Li Shun that students had to complete Ancient Past Inquiry before graduating, entering the pre-Great Qian era to seek a Sage’s instruction.
• Li Shun asked Ying Wuxiu how Ancient Past Inquiry worked without the Heaven-Piercing Divine Mountain.

Ying Wuxiu explained to Li Shun how Great Qian was protected by the Celestial Array, what the Primordial Ancient Domain was, and why the court’s attempt to annex another world ended in catastrophe. After Ying Wuxiu left, Li Shun waited at the Heaven Oversight Bureau for Dong Chunqiu, reflecting on what he had learned.

• Li Shun asked Ying Wuxiu about Great Qian’s four deadly borderlands, and Ying Wuxiu explained that they were caused by powers from beyond the world eroding Great Qian.
• Ying Wuxiu described the Primordial Ancient Domain and showed how a doorway could connect distant worlds, while annexation meant making a nearby fragment world part of Great Qian.
• Ying Wuxiu revealed that Great Qian’s attempt to annex a neighboring realm drew Taiyi Xuanpin’s attention, leading to its descent and a catastrophe.
• Ying Wuxiu told Li Shun to wait at the Danger Chamber Watchtower until he returned from the Imperial Academy, then departed.
• An attendant led Li Shun to a quiet room, where he waited for Dong Chunqiu and pondered Ying Wuxiu’s explanation.

After learning from Ying Wuxiu how the Chaos threatened Great Qian and the Primordial Ancient Domain, Li Shun sent Shentu Xin’s phantom beyond the Heavenly Dao Severed Sea. He discovered that the void branded travelers’ past selves, and continued toward the Martial World, sensing greater dangers ahead.

• Ying Wuxiu’s explanation helped Li Shun understand that the Chaos Outer Domain’s encroachment threatened Great Qian and the wider Primordial Ancient Domain.
• Li Shun considered whether Great Qian could learn to absorb other worlds like the Demon Beast World, but decided to focus first on exploring beyond the Heavenly Dao Severed Sea.
• Li Shun guided Shentu Xin’s phantom out of the Severed Sea and found himself in a crimson void filled with black lightning and eerie creatures.
• Li Shun saw multiple images of Shentu Xin appear behind the phantom as an unknown force engraved its past into the void.
• Li Shun realized that the branding power resembled what he had encountered in the Primordial Illusion Realm and continued toward the Martial World.

Li Shun explored the dangerous void of the Great Wilderness Ancient Domain before Cheng Yu took him through a hidden passage to the Imperial Academy. Waiting outside its ancient gate, Li Shun recognized its aura as belonging to the Ancient Heavenly Court.

• Li Shun continued exploring the void through Shentu Xin's phantom and learned that shifting time and sudden spatial rifts made the journey deadly.
• After the phantom vanished in a rift, Li Shun relied on the puppet's trace to resume the exploration, while the Martial World remained far away.
• Cheng Yu arrived at the Danger Chamber Watchtower and escorted Li Shun toward the Imperial Academy through a passage in the void.
• Cheng Yu explained that the Imperial Academy was hidden for security and contained rare treasures, including Outer Heavenly Dao Marks.
• At the towering white jade gate, Cheng Yu passed verification and told Li Shun to wait for the Grand Libationer's approval.
• Li Shun recognized the gate's familiar aura as that of the Ancient Heavenly Court.

Li Shun entered the Imperial Academy, where Cheng Yu explained its rules, staff, and purpose of uniting the Hundred Schools against the Outer Gods. After discovering the academy’s ties to the Ancient Heavenly Court and its abundant resources, Li Shun learned that students could request books and treasures through a jade tablet.

• Li Shun recognized the Ancient Heavenly Court’s aura at the Imperial Academy and wondered how Great Qian had transformed the ancient site.
• Cheng Yu brought Li Shun to the chief academic officer, who drew out a wisp of Li Shun’s soul and used it to grant him entry to the academy.
• The chief academic officer warned Li Shun that he could not leave without special circumstances, and Cheng Yu introduced the academy’s hierarchy and feared disciplinary officers.
• Cheng Yu explained that students could study the Hundred Schools because they shared the goal of resisting the Outer Gods, then led Li Shun to his private courtyard.
• Li Shun found that his courtyard held rich Primordial Qi and a jade tablet that let him browse and borrow resources, and he asked whether requests cost contribution points.

Li Shun studied the Imperial Academy’s rules, learning about its history-altering final examination and its origins atop the Ancient Heavenly Court Ruins. At his first class, he confronted a sleeping Confucian scholar and defended his decision to wake him as a matter of duty.

• Li Shun examined his jade token and learned about the academy’s ten-year program, including an Antiquity-Seeking Illusion Realm where students could restart up to three times and graduate by breaking its historical course.
• Li Shun learned that Emperor Gan had discovered the Ancient Heavenly Court Ruins and established the Imperial Academy there.
• Li Shun went to his first class at the Confucian School and found the young scholar asleep behind his desk.
• Li Shun woke the scholar, who scolded him for disturbing his rest.
• Li Shun cited the Sage’s teachings and argued that waking the scholar upheld the academy’s duty to teach and resist the Outer Gods.

Han Qi tested Li Shun’s resolve and asked how he regarded the Confucian Sage, then invited him to choose a school of study at the Imperial Academy. Li Shun became intrigued by the secretive Sole Righteousness lineage and returned to his courtyard with introductory texts to review before deciding.

• Han Qi overwhelmed Li Shun with an illusion of crushing pressure, then praised him for standing firm and introduced himself as his teacher.
• Han Qi asked Li Shun how he regarded the Sage, and Li Shun declared that he would lead the way if no one else would help all beings become Sages.
• Han Qi showed Li Shun several Confucian lineages and explained that students could study branches beyond their own.
• Li Shun noticed a black, murderous sphere, and Han Qi explained that the hidden Sole Righteousness lineage pursued absolute orthodoxy and vengeance.
• Han Qi told Li Shun to read the schools’ introductory texts before choosing, and Li Shun requested them with his jade token after returning to his courtyard.

Li Shun read the Sole Righteousness Scripture and suffered a severe backlash when its doctrines conflicted with the foundation of his cultivation. The next morning, he went to the Confucian School training ground to ask Han Qi about the dangerous branch, where he found another disciple seeking guidance.

• Li Shun read the Sole Righteousness Scripture, whose teachings urged vengeance and the total eradication of evil.
• As Li Shun became immersed in the text, his Liqi ran wild and his Dao foundation grew unstable, forcing him to stop reading and recite the doctrines of the [Spring-Autumn Brush] branch.
• Li Shun realized that the shared Confucian lineage made the conflicting doctrines especially dangerous, and he suspected Han Qi knew how students could safely study the branch.
• Li Shun suppressed his urge to keep reading and put the Sole Righteousness Scripture away, but its contents continued surfacing in his thoughts.
• The next morning, Li Shun arrived at the Confucian School training ground and found a Celestial Phenomenon Realm disciple asking Han Qi for guidance.

Li Shun learned from Han Qi that his experience with the Sole Righteousness Scripture revealed a rare affinity for that lineage, but his established Spring-Autumn Brush foundation prevented him from changing paths. Han Qi confirmed that he himself came from the Sole Righteousness lineage.

• Li Shun watched Han Qi debate Chen Mo, a Celestial Phenomenon Realm disciple of the Investigate Things, Gain Knowledge lineage, as an equal.
• Han Qi told Li Shun that despite his profound insight, he was also in the Profound Insight Realm and explained that Heaven's will barred him from advancing.
• Han Qi asked Li Shun to choose a Confucian branch, and Li Shun described losing control while reading the Sole Righteousness Scripture.
• Han Qi explained that Li Shun's reaction showed Unity of Text and Spirit and that his decisive nature made him a chosen disciple of Sole Righteousness.
• Han Qi warned that Li Shun's Spring-Autumn Brush foundation could not be changed without damaging his cultivation, and he admitted he came from the Sole Righteousness lineage.

Han Qi explained why the Imperial Academy urged students to study multiple schools: diverse teachings could anchor their minds against the Outer Gods, though the methods risked weakening their main lineage. Li Shun began studying the Sole Righteousness Scripture and the Jade-Attacking Method under Han Qi.

• Han Qi told Li Shun that Great Qian confined the Sole Righteousness lineage to the Imperial Academy to prevent its ideals from spreading.
• Han Qi gave Li Shun the Jade-Attacking Method, which let him absorb other schools' theories at the cost of distorting and slowing his main cultivation.
• Li Shun asked why the Imperial Academy encouraged students to cultivate additional methods, and Han Qi explained that broad knowledge created anchors against the Outer Gods' corruption.
• Han Qi dismissed the Eclectic School as too shallow to provide effective anchors against the Outer Gods.
• Over the following days, Li Shun studied the Sole Righteousness Scripture and the Jade-Attacking Method while asking Han Qi questions.

Li Shun consulted the Ancient Web about the dangers he had faced and learned that the Imperial Academy stood on the remains of the Ancient Heavenly Court’s Thunder Jade Palace. He discovered that Threefold Self-Reflection still worked there, but its use could leave traces that might expose him.

• Han Qi answered Li Shun’s questions and told him to focus on mastering the scriptures instead of worrying about his fate.
• Li Shun recounted his recent encounters to the Ancient Web, which warned him that facing Outer Gods had been reckless and dangerous.
• The Ancient Web identified the Imperial Academy’s ruins as part of the Thunder Jade Palace and warned that its active Thunder Pool could detect and destroy Li Shun because the Ancient Web was attached to him.
• Li Shun withdrew the Ancient Web into Square Inch, and the Thunder Pool’s lingering attention faded after nearly half a day.
• The Ancient Web confirmed Threefold Self-Reflection still worked in the ruins but warned that the Thunder Jade Palace could record anomalies; Li Shun asked whether his earlier uses had left traces.

Li Shun used the Ancient Web’s secret art to sense the Divine Power lingering in the Thunder Jade Palace Ruins beneath the Imperial Academy. He discovered a surviving Thunder Pool at the academy’s center and began cautiously drawing in a faint wisp near his courtyard.

• Li Shun realized the Imperial Academy might have recorded traces of his Threefold Self-Reflection and resolved to avoid using it while studying there.
• The Ancient Web taught Li Shun a soul-based method for sensing the remnants of Divine Power in the ruins.
• Li Shun followed the method and saw the Imperial Academy’s buildings give way to the ruins of the Ancient Heavenly Court.
• He spotted the surviving Thunder Pool at the heart of the academy and recognized that Divine Power restrained its destructive lightning.
• Li Shun focused on a faint wisp of Divine Power near his courtyard and patiently coaxed it toward his spiritual sense.

Li Shun learned that the Divine Power he absorbed could let him open a Primordial Illusion Realm by tracing the past, provided he had a temporal coordinate or a surviving object as a medium. Ancient Web withheld the ritual’s principles until Li Shun’s soul became strong enough, and it could not explain how Great Qian’s people had learned the art.

• Li Shun drew a faint thread of Divine Power into his body and found that it did not interact with his Liqi.
• Ancient Web explained that Divine Power could open a Primordial Illusion Realm without the conditions used at Dai Mountain.
• Ancient Web said each illusion needed a known year or an object from that time, or else blended eras could allow an Outer God to appear.
• Ancient Web refused to explain the ritual’s principles until Li Shun reached the Creation Stage, though it said he could follow the steps without understanding them.
• Li Shun asked how Great Qian learned the art, but Ancient Web said no one there appeared capable of it and that the question went beyond theory.

Li Shun learned how to use the trace of Divine Power within him to open the Primordial Illusion Realm, though mastering the technique proved difficult. After an Outer God’s passage shook the Imperial Academy Estate, the Ancient Web began explaining why Outer Gods invaded Great Qian.

• The Ancient Web warned Li Shun that Great Qian might conceal powerful experts and explained how to open the Primordial Illusion Realm.
• Li Shun spent more than a month studying Through the Present to the Ancient while his Sole Righteousness studies advanced rapidly under Han Qi’s guidance.
• An immense shadow passed beyond the sky, causing the Imperial Academy Estate to tremble and fall silent.
• The Ancient Web identified the disturbance as a trace left by an Outer God traveling through Chaos and said Chaos contained uncountable worlds and Outer Gods.
• Li Shun asked why Outer Gods wanted to invade Great Qian, and the Ancient Web began listing the reasons.

The Ancient Web explained that Outer Gods descended into worlds out of curiosity and to seek shelter from Chaos, leaving Li Shun dispirited by humanity’s weakness. Han Qi used a fading lamp to help Li Shun understand his response to darkness, but the lesson was left unresolved.

• The Ancient Web told Li Shun that Outer Gods visited worlds out of boredom and curiosity, and that their power overwhelmed mortals.
• Li Shun questioned why so many Outer Gods repeatedly invaded Great Qian, and the Ancient Web explained that they sought refuge from the dangers of Chaos.
• After learning what the Outer Gods were, Li Shun lost his desire to cultivate and remained distracted the next day.
• Han Qi noticed Li Shun’s mood and asked about his doubts, which Li Shun attributed to the dark clouds he had seen near the Imperial Academy.
• Han Qi darkened the training hall and dimmed a lamp, prompting Li Shun to say that watching its light fade filled him with sorrow.

Li Shun overcame his despair through Han Qi’s lesson on the meaning of defending life, then returned to studying Sole Righteousness. Meanwhile, puppet Fang Han developed a sudden killing intent that stirred the entire Martial World, and Li Shun took control of him after noticing the change.

• Han Qi taught Li Shun that resisting death gave life meaning, dispelling Li Shun’s despair and helping him reenter the state of Unity of Text and Spirit.
• Puppet Fang Han continued analyzing the warriors of the Inner World as the sacred tree grew and the Martial World’s Mystic Yellow Qi yield stabilized at more than four hundred wisps a year.
• Fang Han suddenly spoke of avenging a feud across generations, and a powerful killing intent rose within him.
• The heavens responded to Fang Han’s killing intent with blood-red clouds, crimson lightning, and a murderous aura that swept through the Martial World.
• Li Shun noticed the puppet’s change, took control of Fang Han, and told Han Qi that lingering Outer God fluctuations had briefly distracted him.

Li Shun learned that Fang Han’s desire for revenge came from his stolen cultivation and decided to help him settle the score against the Fan Clan and Shao Lingxu. He visited the Yin-Yang Daoist Grounds to gather information, where a scholar’s angry criticism of the school’s teachings caught his attention.

• Li Shun discovered that the Fan Clan had stolen Fang Han’s Creation Realm cultivation and offered it to Shao Lingxu in exchange for Fan Cheng’s discipleship.
• Li Shun decided to let Fang Han take revenge on the Fan Clan and Shao Lingxu, but resolved to plan carefully because Fang Han’s strength and taboo Witch Clan arts posed risks.
• Li Shun requested leave from Han Qi and went to the Yin-Yang Daoist Grounds to learn about Shao Lingxu.
• Li Shun observed the lively grounds and listened to the visitors, searching for useful information without drawing attention.
• Li Shun heard a Yin-Yang School disciple condemn the school’s focus on relations between men and women and praise the older understanding of yin and yang as Heaven and Earth’s ceaseless turning.

Li Shun learned about the Yin-Yang School’s branches, Shao Lingxu’s history, and Ling Xuanji’s rumored role in the school’s rise. After Qiu Tianchi emerged from a private meeting with his bearing transformed, Wang Zheng explained the likely reason, while Li Shun remained intrigued by the mysteries of the Yin-Yang Mutual-Birth Art.

• Wang Zheng told Li Shun that the Yin-Yang School had several powerful branches and that a rumor credited Ling Xuanji with helping its Creation Stage cultivators advance.
• Wang Zheng explained how Shao Lingxu’s Five Virtues Transformation lineage had once legitimized Great Qian’s founding but later lost influence because its doctrine conflicted with the dynasty’s claim of enduring forever.
• Wang Zheng praised Shao Lingxu for living among ordinary people and secretly using his cultivation to protect the land and its people.
• Qiu Tianchi emerged from the residence after an hour with a calmer bearing and praised the senior sister’s understanding of Yin-Yang.
• Wang Zheng privately told Li Shun that Qiu Tianchi had likely changed because he had lost his virginity, while Li Shun suspected the Yin-Yang Mutual-Birth Art held deeper mysteries.

Li Shun rejected the shortcut of the Yin-Yang Dual Cultivation Art after Wang Zheng explained how it could block the path to the Cosmos Realm. He resolved to avenge Fang Han by investigating the Fan Clan and Shao Lingxu, and Fang Han’s phantom vanished after ordering Fei to guard the world.

• Li Shun learned that Shang Qingqiu was Ling Xuanji’s direct disciple and the Grand Primordial Unity lineage’s successor.
• Wang Zheng warned Li Shun that dual cultivation could undermine a cultivator’s foundation and declared his resolve to become a Cosmos Saint.
• Li Shun and Wang Zheng exchanged contact details after spending the day talking.
• Li Shun decided to begin avenging Fang Han by targeting the Fan Clan while investigating Shao Lingxu’s possible role in stealing Fang Han’s Creation Realm.
• Li Shun’s resolve caused Fang Han’s blood-red thunderstorm and killing intent to cease.
• Fang Han ordered Fei to guard the world, then vanished.

Fang Han returned to Great Qian to take revenge for the theft of his Creation Blood, openly using the Primordial Ten Blessings despite the danger of revealing himself. His use of Azure Wood Invocation provoked Great Qian’s Heavenly Dao into summoning a terrifying lightning tribulation, while Li Shun sensed a connection between the tribulation and the Imperial Academy’s Thunder Pool.

• Fei watched the Inner World martial artists train frantically and wondered when Fang Han would lead them back to the Main World.
• Fang Han returned to Great Qian in East Mountain Town and resolved to pursue revenge openly, despite his incomplete body and the risk of exposing himself.
• Fang Han used Azure Wood Invocation to travel toward Qingyuan County, drawing in Great Qian’s vitality and sensing an ancient consciousness calling for help.
• Great Qian’s laws recognized Fang Han as an outsider, severed his connection to the ancient consciousness, and summoned a powerful lightning tribulation against him.
• Li Shun sensed the tribulation through his puppet and suspected that Great Qian’s heavenly lightning came from the Imperial Academy’s Thunder Pool.
• Observers challenged Fang Han but did not intervene, so he cried out and sped onward beneath the gathering storm.

Fang Han faced the Great Qian thunder tribulation, repeatedly dying and being reborn with a stronger body that absorbed lightning and gained Witch Markings. After enduring nine purple-gold bolts, he confronted a final, world-ending Annihilation Mystic Thunder.

• Fang Han drained vitality from sacred lands across Great Qian to strengthen himself, provoking the Heavenly Dao to strike him with purple-gold lightning.
• The first bolt reduced Fang Han to ashes, but he regenerated and discovered that his body drew in vitality more efficiently.
• Further bolts shattered Fang Han again, and he reassembled with arcane Witch Markings that let him absorb vitality at an even greater rate.
• Fang Han absorbed threads of tribulation lightning, recalled Wu Peng bathing in heavenly thunder, and stood firm against three rounds of lightning totaling nine bolts.
• The thunderclouds collapsed into a black point and released an Annihilation Mystic Thunder toward Fang Han.

Fang Han was annihilated by black heavenly lightning that carved a vast void into Great Qian, while Li Shun learned that the lightning was a weapon against Outer Gods and might have been deliberately controlled. The Ancient Web revealed the names and purpose of the Primordial Ten Blessings but said Li Shun could not learn them without a witch’s inheritance.

• Black heavenly lightning destroyed Fang Han and left a bottomless void dozens of miles wide in Great Qian.
• The Imperial Academy’s Thunder Pool reacted to the lightning, but a phantom alchemical furnace absorbed the escaping power and calmed the pool.
• Li Shun asked the Ancient Web about the black lightning and learned it was an absolute destructive response to Outer God invasions, which someone may have deliberately controlled.
• The Ancient Web explained that Fang Han’s totem helped him absorb life force through the Azure Wood Invocation.
• The Ancient Web named the Primordial Ten Blessings and said they let the Ten Shamans command fundamental laws of Heaven and Earth.
• The Ancient Web refused to teach Li Shun the other Blessings, explaining that only a witch’s inheritance could pass on witch power.

Li Shun learned that Fang Han’s inheritance might help locate the other Primordial Blessings and that gathering all ten could restore the Witch God Gu’s power. He also asked Han Qi about the Outworld Trial and learned how dangerous soul descent could be, though he remained eligible to face it soon.

• The Ancient Web explained that the ten Blessings came from the fallen Primordial Witch God and offered Li Shun a Source-Tracing Secret Art to detect other inheritances through Fang Han.
• Li Shun considered the legends of Gu and agreed that even a slim chance of attaining the Witch God’s power was worth pursuing.
• The Ancient Web derived the secret art, but Li Shun had to wait for the injured Fang Han to recover before testing it.
• Li Shun asked Han Qi whether the previous day’s disturbance was an Outer God’s work, and Han Qi confirmed it was not while withholding the reason until Li Shun passed the Outworld Trial.
• Han Qi explained the risks and advantages of bodily travel through Gates of Stars and soul descent, noting that only about three percent of Imperial Academy students completed the trial.
• Li Shun recalled that he himself had once crossed into Great Qian as a laborer and understood how much success could depend on luck.