Chapter Summaries

Fang Yun fought Great Demon King Xiong Huan in a clash that shattered his True Dragon Literary Platform and left him injured, while Xiong Huan was killed by Rat Hermit. Fang Yun recovered with medicine and turned to check on the other Grand Academicians.

• Fang Yun and Xiong Huan traded blows, and Xiong Huan warned that the True Dragon Ancient Sword was near its limit before launching a lightning-wreathed Sage Aspect Strike.
• Fang Yun summoned the True Dragon Literary Platform, whose Golden True Dragon struck Xiong Huan but was blasted away with cracks across its body.
• Xiong Huan's limbs were destroyed, and Rat Hermit swept through the crater and decapitated him.
• Fang Yun suffered internal injuries, took medicine and a divine substance, and went to check on Xun Pingyang and the other four Grand Academicians.

Fang Yun and the survivors returned to Myriad Prosperity Pass after Xiong Huan’s pursuit cost Grand Academician Kong Yan his life. Fang Yun proposed another strike on the Blood Demon Barbarian camp before their returning Great Demon Kings arrived, and the group prepared to set out.

• Xun Pingyang and Zeng Yue told Fang Yun how their raid succeeded before Xiong Huan pursued them and Kong Yan sacrificed himself to cover their retreat.
• Fang Yun and the others mourned Kong Yan, while Xun Pingyang insisted the raid had been a victory and that the humans had chosen to fight willingly.
• Fang Yun vowed that the debts of vengeance would be repaid and asked how soon the Blood Demon Barbarian Great Demon Kings would return to camp.
• Fang Yun proposed disguising Rat Hermit as a corpse being carried by a wounded Xiong Huan to deceive the camp’s guards and enable an assassination.
• Fang Yun agreed to withdraw immediately after one strike, and Rat Hermit promised to attempt the assassination as the group set out for the camp.

Fang Yun ambushed the returning Blood Demon Barbarians alongside King Rat Hermit, then faced Lion Ridge King's overwhelming Celestial Aspect Strike. He unleashed four linked war poems to defend himself, and the chapter left the attack descending into darkness.

• The Blood Demon Barbarians celebrated news that King Xiong Huan had supposedly killed King Rat Hermit and sent Lion Ridge King to welcome the wounded hero.
• Lion Ridge King discovered the returning Xiong Huan was an illusion as King Rat Hermit and Fang Yun launched a surprise attack.
• King Rat Hermit severed Lion Ridge King's right foreleg, while Lion Ridge King damaged Fang Yun's True Dragon Ancient Sword and charged at him.
• Lion Ridge King unleashed his Celestial Aspect Strike, summoning the Lion Race Ancestral God's colossal foreclaw against Fang Yun.
• Fang Yun activated Saint-Grade Swift Writing and inscribed four linked war poems, combining three Second Realm poems with Ode to Li Guang.

Fang Yun used linked War Poetry and the Three Capitals to withstand Lion Ridge King’s Celestial Aspect Strike, then joined forces with King Rat Hermit to bring the wounded Great Demon King down. The chapter ended with Lion Ridge King’s head severed.

• Fang Yun’s Fourfold Linked War Poetry shattered under Lion Ridge King’s Celestial Aspect Strike, but the Going Back on One’s Word Literary Heart struck Lion Ridge King with a counterattack.
• Fang Yun summoned the Rhapsody on the Three Capitals, whose sacred-bone brush strengthened it enough for Wei Capital’s foundations to withstand the strike.
• The Celestial Aspect Strike’s shock wave melted the snow and killed demon barbarians across a hundred miles, while four Great Demon Kings prevented Lion Ridge King’s allies from intervening.
• As Lion Ridge King fled, Fang Yun’s True Dragon Ancient Sword burned him with Dragon Flame, and King Rat Hermit severed one of his forelegs.
• Fang Yun’s Snow-Slaying Sword froze Lion Ridge King’s body, allowing King Rat Hermit to close in and cut off his head.

Fang Yun’s plan helped the star demon barbarians rout the blood demon barbarian army after he and Rat Hermit King killed Lion Ridge King. He returned to Myriad Prosperity Pass as the surviving blood demon barbarians fled toward Third Cold City.

• Fang Yun and Rat Hermit King escaped toward Myriad Prosperity Pass while a Fox Race Great Demon King’s illusion held the blood demon barbarian leaders back.
• The star demon barbarians attacked the blood demon camp as the gates of Seventh Cold City opened, and Fang Yun’s demonized war-poem soldiers advanced to Demon Marquis and Demon King strength.
• Four star demon barbarian Great Demon Kings attacked the three blood demon barbarian Great Demon Kings, who ordered their army to retreat toward Third Cold City.
• The blood demon barbarians routed, and Fang Yun abandoned his ambush and flew to Myriad Prosperity Pass.
• Hu Li told Fang Yun that three hundred thousand blood demon barbarians had died and praised his role in the victory; Fang Yun credited Rat Hermit King and the other Great Demon Kings.

Fang Yun and the others concluded that the Ice Clan was aiding the Blood Demon Barbarians to preserve the balance of power in the Ten Cold Ancient Land. After the Ice Clan of Fourth Cold City took a route that would intersect with the humans and Star Demon Barbarians, Fang Yun urged the humans to leave for the Ice Emperor Palace within three days, just as the earth began to shake.

• Xun Pingyang and Zeng Yue warned Fang Yun that his attack on the Blood Demon Barbarians had been dangerously reckless, and Fang Yun explained that he had judged their fear of the Sages would keep them from risking everything to kill him.
• Hu Li reported that the Ice Clan had stopped their pursuit of the Blood Demon Barbarians and used sacred medicine to treat their three Great Demon Kings, confirming suspicions that the Ice Clan was backing them.
• Fang Yun, Xun Pingyang, Zeng Yue, and Hu Li discussed how the Ice Clan manipulated the other races and restricted access to its secret grounds, including the Mist Pool.
• Hu Li reported that Fourth Cold City's Ice Clan was heading toward the Ice Emperor Palace along a route passing near Seventh Cold City, where its path would overlap with the Star Demon Barbarians' and humans'.
• Fang Yun urged the Six Second Saint Families to prepare and advised the humans to set out within three days, then the earth shook and the mountains rocked.

A violent earthquake and massive avalanche devastated Myriad Prosperity Pass as the Four-Directional Horns announced the beginning of Ancient Land Genesis Destruction. Fang Yun learned that the Ice Emperor Palace would soon emerge and agreed to take a secret passage with Xun Pingyang and Zeng Yue to pursue the Ice Ancestor Ruins and a Ten Cold King position.

• A powerful earthquake collapsed most of Myriad Prosperity Pass and its walls, while Star Demon Barbarians held back an immense avalanche; Fang Yun rescued three wounded Grand Academicians from the ruins.
• Four horn calls sounded from the cardinal directions as Snow Blade Mist sealed off the Ten Cold Ancient Land and began advancing toward the Ice Emperor Palace.
• Fang Yun recognized the Four-Directional Horns as a sign of encirclement and annihilation, while Hu Li explained that the Ice Emperor Palace would soon rise and draw every race toward it.
• Hu Li proposed dividing their forces and asked Fang Yun to take the secret passage toward the Ice Ancestor Ruins; Xun Pingyang and Zeng Yue urged him to prioritize winning a Ten Cold King position.
• Fang Yun agreed to go with Xun Pingyang and Zeng Yue, leaving the three wounded Grand Academicians in Myriad Prosperity Pass to recover until the main human force arrived.

Fang Yun and Hu Li led the group through a dangerous hidden water channel toward the Ancestral Emperor Ruins. They reached a crystal wall and waited for the Seventh Frost Lord, but another group of Demon Barbarians appeared first.

• Hu Li led Fang Yun and the others through a snow-buried entrance into a secret passage, which Fang Yun identified as an Ancient Demon water channel.
• The group overcame poisonous mist, concealed mechanisms, and an illusion-producing lake as they traveled deeper underground.
• Hu Li brought Fang Yun to a cavern with a seven-colored crystal wall, where a Dog Demon King and a Lion Demon King had been guarding the entrance.
• Hu Li told the others that Frost Lord planned to come with Demon Kings and enter the ruins while he still possessed the Imperial Crown.
• After an hour of waiting, Fang Yun noticed a group of Demon Barbarians had appeared.

Fang Yun and the Seventh Frost Lord agreed to unite the humans and Star Demon Barbarians for the journey to the Ice Emperor Palace, and discussed relocating the Star Demon Barbarians beyond the Ten Cold Ancient Land. The Seventh Frost Lord warned Fang Yun to beware of the Ice Clan as they prepared for the palace’s emergence.

• Fang Yun greeted the Seventh Frost Lord, who thanked him for helping the Star Demon Barbarians escape the siege.
• The Seventh Frost Lord said he had ordered the forces at Myriad Prosperity Pass to withdraw with the humans and join the Star Demon Barbarians at Seventh Cold City.
• Fang Yun and the Seventh Frost Lord discussed relocating the Star Demon Barbarians, who were considering the Bloodmang Realm or the Saint Origin Continent.
• Fang Yun suggested the Nu Zhi Tribe’s settlement as a possible destination, and the Seventh Frost Lord said his people would decide after the genesis destruction battle.
• The Seventh Frost Lord warned Fang Yun that he suspected the Ice Clan had ill intentions.
• Fang Yun observed that eleven Demon Kings had gathered, while the strongest Demon Kings and Great Scholars would have to enter the Ice Emperor Palace as soon as it emerged.

Fang Yun and the Star Demon Barbarians encountered a powerful Ice Clan group in the cave, and both sides disputed who had discovered the site first. Ice Bone demanded that the newcomers leave, but Fang Yun insisted the Ice Clan prove its claim, leaving the standoff unresolved.

• The cave trembled as more than a hundred Ice Clan members led by the Great Demon King Ice Bone arrived.
• The Ice Clan and Star Demon Barbarians argued over who had discovered the site first, while Fang Yun and the other humans waited.
• The Seventh Frost Lord challenged Ice Bone over his past treatment of the Star Demon Barbarians and his current claim to the site.
• Fang Yun asked the Ice Clan to provide evidence that it had arrived first, and Hu Li mentioned the beast's head once seen on the ice wall.
• Ice Bone dismissed Hu Li's claim and demanded that the Star Demon Barbarians leave, while offering Fang Yun a possible concession in the Frost Lord contest.
• Fang Yun invoked the rule that whoever makes a claim must prove it, winning the Star Demon Barbarians' support and leaving the Ice Clan temporarily unable to answer.

Fang Yun confronted Ice Bone King after the Ice Clan claimed the Ice Gate and refused to let the humans and Star Demon Barbarians enter the ruins. He decided to answer the Ice Clan’s contempt by adding a secret about their ancient history to the History of the Ancient Demons, but admitted he had no immediate solution to their blockade.

• Ice Bone King rejected Fang Yun’s proposed adjudication and said the Ice Clan would claim the Ice Ancestor’s relics for itself.
• The Ice Clan blocked the Ice Gate and insulted the humans and Demon Barbarians, prompting Fang Yun to conclude that they had no sincere interest in cooperation.
• Fang Yun told Xun Pingyang and Zeng Yue that he would add a newly uncovered Ice Clan secret to the History of the Ancient Demons and publish the relevant chapter before leaving the Ten Cold Ancient Land.
• Hu Li asked Fang Yun whether he had found a way past the Ice Clan, and he admitted that he had no solution against their Great Demon King and more than a hundred Demon Kings.

Fang Yun and Hu Li discussed the Ice Clan’s provocations and their uncertain plans for the Ice Ancestor Ruins. After the Frost Lord Imperial Crown opened the ruins, the Ice Bone King offered the outsiders a deal, and Fang Yun suddenly claimed he had to return to investigate something.

• Fang Yun told Hu Li that the Star Demon Barbarians should retaliate against the Ice Bone King’s insults rather than blame themselves.
• Hu Li explained that the Star Demon Barbarians hoped to find treasures or decrees in the ruins to help them claim Frost Lord positions.
• The Frost Lord Imperial Crown rose from the Seventh Frost Lord, froze everyone, then vanished as the ice wall opened to reveal a vast passage.
• The Ice Bone King offered the outsiders half of any treasure they found, except that they must surrender a human-sized Ice Crystal Ball to the Ice Clan.
• As the hundred breaths neared their end, Fang Yun suddenly shouted at Xun Pingyang that he had to go back and investigate what Xun Pingyang had failed to do.

Fang Yun left the Ice Ancestor Ruins after suspecting the Ice Clan planned to use the Star Demon Barbarians and insisting he had urgent matters to handle. As he traveled back toward the Human Race forces, Hu Li realized his departure had another reason and asked him to explain.

• Fang Yun refused to enter the Ice Ancestor Ruins, citing the danger, the Ice Clan’s intentions, and urgent matters involving Xun Pingyang’s assignment.
• Hu Li followed Fang Yun through the secret passage and challenged him for abandoning their agreement to cooperate.
• Fang Yun revealed that a traitor in the Seventh Cold City had exposed the secret passage, and Hu Li apologized for the breach.
• Hu Li questioned Fang Yun’s claim that Xun Pingyang’s failure forced him to leave, while Xun Pingyang explained that the Ice Emperor Palace’s early appearance had disrupted the plan.
• Fang Yun, Xun Pingyang, Zeng Yue, and Hu Li reached the Human Race’s marching column, where Hu Li asked why he had made her leave the ruins.

Fang Yun explained why he had left the Soul-Suppressing Corridor and why he had saved Hu Li rather than the Star Demon Barbarians who chose to enter it. Hu Li decided to join the Genesis Destruction Battle, and the group encountered Great Scholar Yan Ningxiao as they flew onward.

• Fang Yun told Hu Li and Xun Pingyang that the place behind them was the Soul-Suppressing Corridor, a maze that imprisoned the souls of powerful figures, and said he had left once he recognized it.
• Hu Li challenged Fang Yun for abandoning the Star Demon Barbarians, but he explained that they had chosen their own dangerous course and that helping them would have exposed everyone to the Ice Clan’s trap.
• Fang Yun said he had saved Hu Li because she was a Moon God priestess and because the Human Race needed her leadership; Hu Li thanked him and continued following him.
• Hu Li explained that she would join the Genesis Destruction Battle because the Seventh Frost Lord and his Demon Kings were likely in grave danger, and Fang Yun agreed to look after her if he could.
• Great Scholar Yan Ningxiao called out to Fang Yun, asking why he had returned so soon.

Fang Yun told the Great Scholars why he had refused to enter the Soul-Suppressing Corridor, while the Ice Clan began evacuating as snow consumed the Ten Cold Ancient Land. The chapter ended with the scholars questioning what the corridor contained and what the Ice Clan hoped to find there.

• Nine Demon Half-Sages absorbed power from a sun during their journey to find the Bloodmang Realm and discussed Fang Yun and the Plague Lord.
• Eagle Sage spotted a streak of starlight, while Ao Zhou rested inside the Dragon Race's Starfire Armillary Mirror near a sun.
• The snow blade mist engulfed more of the Ten Cold Ancient Land, forcing the Ice Clan to migrate toward the Ice Emperor Palace after the ten Frost Cities lost their power.
• Fang Yun recounted his experiences to six Great Scholars, and Yan Ningxiao praised him for resisting the temptation to enter the Ancestral Emperor Ruins.
• Fang Yun said the Soul-Suppressing Corridor would trap him unless he obtained the Heaven-Watching Edict, and estimated that the Ice Clan would suffer casualties but lose no more than sixty percent.

Fang Yun explained the dangers of the Ice Ancestor Ruins and traveled with the human procession toward the Ice Emperor Palace. His example inspired the marchers to study, while the immense migration remained a perilous journey in which fewer than one in ten were expected to return.

• Fang Yun said the Soul-Suppressing Corridor likely held sealing treasures tainted by whatever was imprisoned there, though the Ice Ancestor Ruins could not contain an Ancestral Emperor.
• Meng Jingye and Yan Ningxiao discussed the Human Race’s hope of securing a Frost Lord position and warned that the Ice Clan’s changing attitude made the Genesis Destruction Battle more uncertain.
• Fang Yun observed the hundreds of thousands of humans marching through the blizzard and reflected on their sacrifices to defend the Ten Cold Ancient Land.
• Kong Yinghai’s Third Realm Expedition Poem strengthened the procession, enabling the people to travel through the harsh cold.
• Fang Yun studied and wrote throughout the march, inspiring more people to recite and practice, while the scholars and Grand Academicians carried out their duties.
• Fang Yun continued his work as an inspector, walking through the procession every five days to examine conditions and write a detailed report.

Fang Yun patrolled the Human Race’s procession toward the Ice Emperor Palace as distrust grew between the humans and Star Demon Barbarians over the missing Seventh Frost Lord. When Xun Ye and Xiao Yetian challenged Fang Yun over his alliance with the Star Demon Barbarians, Fang Yun defended his actions and threatened to execute anyone who disrupted the journey.

• Fang Yun noticed that Hu Li was under suspicion from the Star Demon Barbarians, who believed she and Fang Yun had conspired to kill the Seventh Frost Lord and keep the Ice Ancestor Ruins’ treasures.
• Fang Yun patrolled the long human procession, scanning travelers and listening for trouble.
• Fang Yun encountered the Zong Family, whose members included Ji Mengxian, Zong Chengbing, Zong Xiangcheng, and Xiao Yetian, as well as his old enemy Xun Ye.
• Xun Ye criticized Fang Yun for leading the alliance with the Star Demon Barbarians and demanded that he apologize for the injuries suffered by three Grand Academicians.
• Fang Yun mocked Xun Ye’s reliance on the Blood Demon Barbarians’ declaration, drawing laughter from the people nearby.
• Xiao Yetian called Fang Yun discourteous, and Fang Yun defended the alliance’s achievements before warning that he would execute anyone who provoked him during the journey.

Fang Yun confronted the Zong Family members who had insulted his deeds, while Xun Pingyang punished Xun Ye and took him away under family law. As Fang Yun continued inspecting the procession, he heard people arguing over whether studying mattered when they faced possible death.

• Fang Yun used his Great Scholar power to silence the Zong Family members and warned them against insulting his achievements again.
• Xun Pingyang held Xiao Yetian at swordpoint, slapped Xun Ye, and ordered two elderly Metropolitan Graduates to take him away for punishment.
• Fang Yun resumed his inspection as the procession denounced the Zong Family and praised the Xun Household.
• A young child greeted Fang Yun, who smiled and nodded in response.
• Fang Yun overheard people arguing about whether studying was worthwhile when they might soon die.

Fang Yun intervened in an argument among scholars marching toward the Ice Emperor Palace, allowing them to voice their fears while defending the need for self-control. He then explained that Confucian principles had answered the Human Race’s most urgent needs in an age of chaos, leaving the scholars to consider what those needs had been.

• Fang Yun stopped the arguing scholars, reprimanded them for causing a disturbance, and assigned them to help prepare meals and light fires.
• Fang Yun defended Fang Xingyan’s right to express his fear while distinguishing free expression from disagreement with someone’s ideas.
• Fang Xingyan admitted that he feared entering the Ice Emperor Palace and could not calm himself as Fang Yun could.
• Fang Yun asked why Confucian classics emphasized benevolence, righteousness, and ritual propriety, then argued that they met the Human Race’s most desperate needs.
• Fang Yun described the disorder of the late Spring and Autumn period and asked whether food and clothing mattered most when people lacked peace and security.

Fang Yun explained how the Confucian Sacred Way had answered the Human Race’s changing needs, then admitted that he was not calm: he was studying with the hope of saving people and leading the Human Race through the Ice Emperor Palace. He left Fang Xingyan and the gathered scholars moved by his resolve.

• Fang Yun traced how Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi emphasized benevolence, righteousness, and ritual in response to the hardships of their eras.
• Fang Yun argued that history had chosen the Confucian School because its Sacred Way best represented the needs of society, and honored it as a guiding light for the Human Race.
• Fang Xingyan acknowledged that he had lost control of his anger but asked whether Fang Yun could truly read without fear or agitation.
• Fang Yun admitted that his blood surged and his Literary Palace roared as he studied, because he hoped to clear obstacles, reach the Ice Emperor Palace, and save more people.
• Fang Yun declared that he would shoulder the hopes of everyone in the Ten Cold Ancient Land, and Fang Xingyan wept as he watched him leave.