Chapter Summaries

Zhao Li and Ye Yunsheng traveled through the Central Plains before reaching Starfall Pavilion to visit its master. Along the way, Ling Meng sensed a mysterious connection to Zhao Li, and the chapter ended with a Starfall Pavilion guard receiving the visitors cautiously but by the rules.

• Zhao Li and Ye Yunsheng left the platform and decided to explore the continent, while a young man reflected that the Path of the Golden Core could still progress by absorbing Rule Origin.
• Zhao Li and Ye Yunsheng wandered through a prosperous city, where Ling Meng sensed a faint summons from Zhao Li and set out to investigate the Profound Pill Great Grandmaster.
• Two years later, Zhao Li and Ye Yunsheng arrived at the Heavenly Star Mountain Range and identified the natural Formation leading to Starfall Pavilion.
• A Starfall Pavilion squad met Zhao Li and Ye Yunsheng, and its Dou Wang leader recognized Zhao Li's Bone Chilling Flame and escorted them to a station while a messenger reported their arrival.
• Zhao Li asked the guard whether he feared offending powerful visitors by following proper procedure, and the guard had yet to answer.

Zhao Li reunited with Yao Chen and offered him news of Han Shanshan as a congratulatory gift for his advancement to Dou Zun. He revealed that she was connected to Godfall Ice Plain, leaving Yao Chen anxiously asking whether she was still alive.

• Zhao Li praised a Starfall Pavilion disciple for faithfully following the pavilion's rules, and the disciple later realized Zhao Li was far more powerful than he had assumed.
• Yao Chen and Feng Xian welcomed Zhao Li and Ye Yunsheng into Starfall Pavilion after Yao Chen recognized Zhao Li as the senior he had known years earlier.
• Zhao Li congratulated Yao Chen on his fame and advancement to Dou Zun, then offered information about Han Shanshan as a congratulatory gift.
• Zhao Li told Yao Chen and Feng Xian that Han Shanshan was at Godfall Ice Plain and said only a true Dou Di might reverse the rule affecting her.
• Yao Chen recalled searching for Han Shanshan for years and asked Zhao Li whether she was still alive.

Zhao Li glimpsed a possible future in which Yao Chen found Han Shanshan but could not save her, and he suffered a backlash before he could explain. Unable to reveal more, he gave Yao Chen a wisp of Origin and a Soul Cultivation Method, leaving Yao Chen with a new path toward learning the truth.

• Yao Chen regained his composure and pressed Zhao Li to explain what he knew about Han Shanshan.
• Zhao Li sensed danger, glimpsed a possible future involving Yao Chen, Han Shanshan, and a black shadow, then spat blood from the backlash.
• Zhao Li told Yao Chen he could not reveal more and that only reaching Dou Di might let him reverse life and death.
• Zhao Li gave Yao Chen a wisp of Origin for the Bone Chilling Flame and a Soul Cultivation Method, saying an Emperor Realm Soul or Dou Di could reveal what he sought.
• Yao Chen's Bone Chilling Flame smoothly absorbed the Origin, and he entered the scroll's strange space before thanking Zhao Li.

Yao Chen accepted Zhao Li’s Soul Cultivation Method and described a strange Dou Di Ruins where he had found several techniques and scrolls. Zhao Li recognized the Flame Mantra and became intrigued by an unreadable scroll that might reveal how the method fused Heavenly Flames; the Ruins had collapsed, leaving him to seek another way to uncover its origin.

• Yao Chen accepted Zhao Li’s Soul Cultivation Method and promised to help him if needed.
• Zhao Li asked Yao Chen to watch for strange objects and recount mysterious discoveries from Ruins, so Yao Chen described the Dou Di space he had explored with Feng Xian.
• Yao Chen showed Zhao Li the Ruins’ Cultivation Methods and Dou Techniques, including the Flame Splitting Wave Eating Ruler and an unreadable scroll.
• Yao Chen produced a black scroll containing the Flame Mantra, and Zhao Li confirmed it could evolve by borrowing the Power of Origin.
• Zhao Li wondered how the Flame Mantra fused Heavenly Flames and suspected the unreadable scroll held an answer, but learned that the Ruins had collapsed.
• Zhao Li returned the other items to Yao Chen and kept the unreadable scroll, privately hoping his suspicion about it was wrong.

After learning that Zhao Li was the mysterious Ninth-Grade Alchemist, Yao Chen eagerly asked him to stay at Starfall Pavilion for guidance. Zhao Li agreed to remain for half a month, and Yao Chen gave him the pavilion’s highest-level Access Token the next day.

• Yao Chen lamented that his Alchemy Technique had stalled and said he had missed the chance to seek guidance from a mysterious Ninth-Grade Alchemist.
• Yao Chen realized that Zhao Li was the alchemist he had hoped to meet and asked whether the rumors were true.
• Zhao Li confirmed that he was the Nine-Grade Alchemist Grandmaster and said he had hidden to avoid the attention his alchemy had attracted.
• Yao Chen congratulated Zhao Li and invited him to stay at Starfall Pavilion, and Zhao Li agreed to remain for half a month.
• The next morning, Yao Chen gave Zhao Li Starfall Pavilion’s highest-level Access Token and invited him to explore its sights.

Zhao Li taught Yao Chen the principles behind Grade 8 pills and the path toward Grade 9, then left him to comprehend. After Yao Chen emerged from seclusion, Zhao Li and Ye Yunsheng returned to the Great Qian Empire, where war and refugees had spread across the land, and headed straight for the Imperial Family.

• Yao Chen gave Zhao Li an Access Token and left to organize his questions before seeking guidance.
• Zhao Li explained how spiritual energy, Spirit Infusion, and the relationship between pills and heaven and earth shaped pill refinement, then passed Yao Chen the method for refining a Ninth Grade Profound Pill.
• Yao Chen comprehended in seclusion for half a month and emerged confident he could refine a peak Eighth Grade pill and eventually reach Great Grandmaster.
• Yao Chen learned from Feng Xian that Zhao Li and Ye Yunsheng had already left, then asked whether Starfall Pavilion had treated them well.
• Zhao Li and Ye Yunsheng returned to the Great Qian Empire after a Jade Slip was crushed and saw widespread war, refugees, and corpses on their journey toward the Imperial Capital.
• Zhao Li descended directly upon the Imperial Family after reaching the area near the Imperial Capital.

Zhao Li saw the devastation spreading through Great Qian and regretted not unifying the Eastern Region sooner. As Shangguan Yan confronted Great Qian’s leaders, Lin Lan refused his demand for Danyuan Sect’s loyalty, leaving the standoff unresolved while Zhao Li remained absent.

• Zhao Li traveled across war-ravaged lands and blamed himself for not unifying the Eastern Region earlier.
• The Old Qian Emperor asked Zhao Yannian whether he could contact Zhao Li, and Zhao Yannian said he had already informed his master but they would have to hold out on their own.
• Shangguan Yan arrived above the imperial city and demanded that the Qian Emperor come out to receive him.
• Lin Lan led the others out to face Shangguan Yan, who offered to preserve Danyuan Sect’s status if Lin Lan pledged loyalty to Great Yan.
• Lin Lan corrected Shangguan Yan about who led Danyuan Sect and refused to pledge loyalty to him.

Lin Lan refused Shangguan Yan’s demand for loyalty, and their confrontation was interrupted when Zhao Li and Ye Yunsheng appeared. Zhao Li killed Lin Feng and forced Qin Hao to kneel, then turned to Qin Wushuang and asked whether he would kneel too.

• Shangguan Yan tried to persuade Lin Lan to submit to Great Yan, but Lin Lan refused and challenged him to fight.
• Shangguan Yan unleashed his aura at Great Gan’s side, and Lin Lan blocked it while realizing Shangguan Yan had become a powerful high-level Dou Venerate.
• Zhao Li and Ye Yunsheng appeared, and Zhao Li’s pressure nearly forced Shangguan Yan to kneel before one of Shangguan Yan’s companions dispelled it.
• Qin Hao revealed himself to Zhao Li, while Lin Feng recognized Ye Yunsheng and taunted her.
• Zhao Li silently killed Lin Feng, prompting Qin Hao to kneel.
• Zhao Li looked at Qin Wushuang and asked, “Aren't you going to kneel?”

Zhao Li forced Qin Hao, Qin Wushuang, and their allies to reveal how they had used women and the Blood Burning Realm Breaking Technique to rise in power. After Shangguan Yan died, Zhao Li found a Life Devouring Pill in Lin Feng’s Storage Ring and began sensing how it was made.

• Zhao Li pressured Qin Wushuang and Qin Hao into kneeling, then demanded an account of how they had risen so quickly.
• Qin Hao confessed that Qin Wushuang, Shangguan Yan, and Lin Feng had used pills and harvested women to restore their strength and reach Half-Saint.
• Zhao Li compared the others’ answers with Qin Hao’s confession, then asked about the pills and the Evil Technique.
• Shangguan Yan begged Zhao Li to spare him, but his Dou Qi rampaged through his body and killed him.
• Qin Hao blamed Lin Feng for creating the Life Devouring Pills, and Zhao Li found a blood-colored pill in Lin Feng’s Storage Ring.

Zhao Li uncovered how Shangguan Yan’s forces used the Life Devouring Pill and Blood Burning Realm Breaking Technique, then announced his plan to unify the Eastern Region. He left Ye Yunsheng to handle the aftermath in Great Gan while he went to dismantle the remaining forces.

• Zhao Li learned from Qin Hao that the army had been taught the Blood Burning Realm Breaking Technique under the guise of a military method, then sealed him for later questioning.
• Qin Wushuang attempted to Self-Destruct, but Zhao Li contained the blast and converted its energy back into the world.
• Zhao Li told Great Gan’s leaders that he intended to unify the Eastern Region and ordered them to choose whether to join Great Li or dissolve.
• The former Imperial Lord invited Zhao Li into the palace, but Zhao Li declined and asked Ye Yunsheng to manage the situation while he dealt with the forces left behind.
• Ye Yunsheng reassured Lin Lan that Zhao Li’s plan was justified, and Lin Lan accepted that they should make their own decisions.

Zhao Li contained the Life Devouring Pill and Blood Burning Realm Breaking Technique threats, then entrusted the Eastern Region’s recovery to Great Li. Twenty years later, Great Li had unified and transformed the Eastern Region under the work of its Jade Capital Scholars.

• Zhao Li erased an Alchemist’s memory of the Life Devouring Pill formula and used Qin Hao to locate the other Alchemists, temporarily ending the pill’s spread.
• Zhao Li trapped the army in a Heart Purifying Formation, giving its members half a month to repent, and left Qin Hao behind.
• Zhao Li sent Great Li’s trained scholars throughout the war-struck Eastern Region to rebuild villages and cities and overcome local opposition.
• The scholars, graduates of the Great Li Imperial Advisor’s academy, became known as Jade Capital Scholars and linked communities across the region.
• After ten years, Great Li unified the Eastern Region, and ten years later it had brought the region under good governance and transformed it.

After spending years unifying and reforming Great Li, Zhao Li visited Jade Capital Academy’s Qian Capital entrance assessment disguised as an ordinary traveler. He arrived at Danxia Mountain with Yang Di and waited among the prospective students as the assessment approached.

• Zhao Li traveled toward Danxia Mountain, where crowds had gathered for Jade Capital Academy’s assessment.
• Yang Di invited Zhao Li into his carriage, and the two introduced themselves and discussed their backgrounds.
• Yang Di explained that the academy recruited students once every five years and that qi cars made travel across Great Li much easier.
• Zhao Li and Yang Di left the carriage when the crowd blocked the road and made their way to the mountain’s foot.
• Yang Di greeted two acquaintances while a girl focused quietly, and the group waited for the assessment to begin.

Zhao Li reunited with his Eldest Disciple, Zhao Yannian, at Jade Capital Academy’s assessment and addressed the aspiring candidates. He reminded them that the academy could provide resources, but their own choices and effort would determine their futures.

• Zhao Yannian recognized Zhao Li among the gathered juniors and greeted him as his master, revealing Zhao Li’s identity as the Imperial Advisor to the crowd.
• Zhao Li praised Zhao Yannian for reaching Dou Sect Peak and entrusting him with the academy, then agreed to address the candidates.
• Zhao Yannian introduced Zhao Li, prompting the crowd to cheer for the Imperial Advisor.
• Zhao Li told the candidates that Jade Capital Academy was only a platform and that entering it alone would not fulfill their ambitions.
• Zhao Li wished the candidates success and jokingly urged them to remember meeting him before they became powerful.

Zhao Li watched the academy examination and saw Ye Liangcheng understand his connection to the people below the mountain. He then traveled by Great Li’s newly developed Armored Carriage and contacted Ye Yunsheng.

• After Zhao Yannian began the examination, the applicants climbed Danxia Mountain to face three illusion trials, and most were eliminated over three days.
• Ye Liangcheng passed the examination, looked down at those still below, and understood Zhao Li’s words about remembering where he came from and serving the mortal world.
• Zhao Li observed the applicants and left Danxia Mountain, satisfied that the younger generation would carry the future forward.
• Zhao Li boarded an Armored Carriage and praised how Great Li’s work with artifacts and formations had made travel between its regions faster.
• Zhao Li used a Jade Slip to contact Ye Yunsheng, who greeted him joyfully and asked how his seclusion had gone and where he was.

After a year apart, Zhao Li reunited with Ye Yunsheng in Qian Capital and joined her as she reviewed essays for the Imperial Examination System. Their affection turned intimate, but Zhao Li sensed he was pressuring her and promised not to make things difficult for her.

• Zhao Li contacted Ye Yunsheng through a Jade Slip and told her he had left seclusion and was in Qian Capital.
• Ye Yunsheng told Zhao Li where she was, and he appeared in her room.
• Ye Yunsheng showed Zhao Li the students' Policy Essays while reviewing them, and he stroked her thigh as he sat beside her.
• Ye Yunsheng admitted that she had missed Zhao Li but said she preferred to wait until night, and Zhao Li embraced her.
• Zhao Li realized he had been making things difficult for Ye Yunsheng and promised he would not do so from then on.

Zhao Li and Ye Yunsheng shared a tender morning after a night together, then headed to the great hall. Ye Yunsheng revealed that she had adapted Zhao Li’s ideas within the Imperial Palace, helping Great Li cultivate more geniuses.

• Zhao Li and Ye Yunsheng spent the night together, and he told her how he had refined the Ninth Grade Golden Pill.
• The next morning, Zhao Li dressed Ye Yunsheng, helped her put on her shoes and socks, and offered to do her makeup.
• Zhao Li and Ye Yunsheng walked toward the great hall and greeted palace maids who bowed to them without kneeling.
• Zhao Li remarked that the palace maids seemed more confident than officials outside the palace.
• Ye Yunsheng explained that she had copied and adapted Zhao Li’s ideas at the Jade Capital Academy, increasing the number of geniuses in Great Li by ten percent.

Zhao Li reflected on how he had changed, and Ye Yunsheng reassured him that he had stayed true to his aspirations. The couple reviewed Imperial Examination papers until one submission caught their attention, and Ye Yunsheng summoned someone from the shadows.

• Zhao Li asked Ye Yunsheng whether he was still the same person he had been, and she explained how he had changed while keeping his aspirations.
• Zhao Li accepted that change, cheered up, and teased Ye Yunsheng as they returned to review Exam Papers.
• Overwhelmed by the papers, Zhao Li suggested abolishing the Imperial Examination System, but Ye Yunsheng defended it and described her efforts to guide Great Li’s development.
• Zhao Li and Ye Yunsheng flirted and joked about having an heir before she handed him another Exam Paper to review.
• Zhao Li questioned the identity, origins, and timeline described in the paper, and Ye Yunsheng lifted the Space Lock and summoned a figure from the shadows.

Zhao Li and Ye Yunsheng traveled to Wang Sheng’s village to investigate the River God he had mentioned in his exam paper. Wang Sheng recognized the pair as the Emperor and Imperial Advisor, but before he could explain, an old man angrily demanded to know what he had done to Lord River God.

• Zhao Li and Ye Yunsheng suspected that a River God and local officials were causing trouble, then obtained the exam-paper author’s information and set out to find Wang Sheng.
• They arrived in the countryside and asked a child riding a water buffalo to lead them to Wang Sheng’s home.
• The child brought them to the village, where an old man sent for Wang Sheng and villagers watched the visitors warily.
• Zhao Li showed Wang Sheng his exam paper and asked what was happening with the River God.
• Wang Sheng realized that Zhao Li and Ye Yunsheng resembled the Emperor and Imperial Advisor, while the old man angrily accused him of doing something to Lord River God.

Zhao Li and Ye Yunsheng arrived at Wang Family Village to investigate the River God’s oppression, but the villagers’ fear and forced submission made Zhao Li reconsider his demand that they stop kneeling. The Eighth Tier Demonic Fish appeared, leaving Zhao Li facing the threat that had controlled the village for seven years.

• Wang Sheng recognized Zhao Li and Ye Yunsheng, bowed to them as the Emperor and Imperial Advisor, and the villagers knelt when they learned who they were.
• Wang Sheng explained that the River God had demanded Spiritual Rice and young women for seven years, while the local authorities had failed to protect the village.
• A dark shape arrived over the village, and the villagers identified it as the River God; the Demonic Fish transformed into a burly man and questioned Zhao Li.
• Zhao Li ordered the villagers to stand, but none rose because they feared the River God would kill them.
• Seeing the villagers’ conflicted expressions, Zhao Li understood that survival had forced them to kneel and stopped blaming them.

Zhao Li subdued the Batfish, who had terrorized a village as its river god, and learned that it served the Overturning Sea Demon Saint. He took the Batfish with him to meet its master, while the villagers hailed him as their savior.

• Zhao Li reflected that the villagers needed the confidence to resist the river god, not merely its defeat.
• Zhao Li struck the Batfish with his Dou Qi Ribbon, leaving it alive but unable to move.
• Zhao Li questioned the Batfish about its Eighth Tier strength, and it revealed that it was one of the Overturning Sea Demon Saint’s Thirteen Protectors, sent to collect offerings.
• Zhao Li released the Batfish’s control over its body and ordered it to take him to the Overturning Sea Demon Saint.
• Zhao Li shrank the Batfish into his palm, and Wang Sheng led the villagers in praising the Imperial Advisor.