Chapter Summaries

Lu Yuan received the imperial reply about hunting grounds for the Spirit Sanctuary while Xue Qinghe impressed Xue Ye with her proposal for allocating Royal Academy resources. Xue Qinghe was tasked with redrafting the academy’s resource plan, and that evening its roster and quarterly review arrived at her residence.

• Ning Rongrong asked to try Lu Yuan’s newly heavier Abyss-Sinking Spear, but he refused.
• An attendant summoned Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi to the Imperial Study and told Lu Yuan that the sealed reply about the Spirit Sanctuary’s hunting grounds would be delivered to him.
• Xue Qinghe proposed keeping noble recommendations while allocating academy resources according to assessments, and Ning Fengzhi supported her plan.
• Xue Ye ordered Xue Qinghe to redraft the Royal Academy’s resource plan within three days and arranged for her to receive its quarterly resource reviews.
• Lu Yuan received the imperial reply, and he and Xue Qinghe exchanged formal farewells with Ning Fengzhi and Ning Rongrong at the palace gates.
• That evening, the Royal Academy’s roster and next quarter’s resource review arrived at Xue Qinghe’s residence.

Xue Qinghe investigated unequal resource allocations at the Royal Academy and won Xue Ye’s approval for a new merit-based policy for recommended students. The chapter ends with Xue Qinghe spotting a familiar name on the preliminary list for the upcoming young Spirit Master exchange.

• Xue Qinghe compared Luo Wei’s and Lin Qi’s records and learned that Luo Wei received extra training time after his family contacted the Academy.
• Xue Qinghe drafted rules giving recommended students basic resources for their first three months, followed by allocations based on their assessments.
• Xue Qinghe watched Lu Yuan defeat a stronger opponent but did not speak to him.
• Xue Ye approved Xue Qinghe’s new resource regulations and told him to attend next month’s young Spirit Master exchange.
• Xue Qinghe reviewed the exchange list and recognized a name at the bottom of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect section.

At a mixed sparring session, Lu Yuan eliminated Ning Rongrong first and explained that auxiliary Spirit Masters were prime targets in a real battle. Ning Rongrong chose to fight again without special protection, and her decision awakened her Destiny Node, Beyond the Sect.

• Ning Rongrong was matched against Lu Yuan and two Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disciples, who formed a protective wall around her.
• Lu Yuan broke through the disciples’ defense and eliminated Ning Rongrong before her first enhancement could take effect.
• Ning Fengzhi agreed with Lu Yuan’s criticism, and Ning Rongrong requested a rematch without her companions shielding her.
• Ning Rongrong repositioned and evaded Lu Yuan longer in the second match, though he eventually eliminated her again.
• Ning Fengzhi ended the special protection for Ning Rongrong’s combat training, and Ning Rongrong agreed to follow the rules for ordinary Auxiliary Type disciples.
• Ning Rongrong’s Destiny Node, Beyond the Sect, awakened, sending a wisp of Origin of Destiny into Lu Yuan.

Ning Rongrong chose to earn the reserve training spot herself and won it through her performance in the supplementary selection. Her decision led Ning Fengzhi to change her training arrangements, while Lu Yuan saw her destiny deviation deepen and the Abyss-Sinking Spear unlock a fourth evolution opportunity.

• After learning she had not been selected for the main training group, Ning Rongrong refused to use the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's resources to claim another place and chose the supplementary selection instead.
• During the reserve assessment, Ning Rongrong used her support and movement to help her unfamiliar teammates, though their team ultimately lost.
• Ning Rongrong was named the sole reserve selection and told Ning Fengzhi she had earned the spot herself.
• Ning Fengzhi decided to end Ning Rongrong's specially arranged sparring and have her train in randomly formed teams and external exchanges.
• Lu Yuan saw Ning Rongrong's destiny deviation deepen, gained Origin of Destiny, and discovered that the Abyss-Sinking Spear had unlocked its fourth evolution opportunity but needed a compatible material.

Lu Yuan searched for a material to evolve the Abyss-Sinking Spear and obtained Tide-Sealing Stone Marrow from Ning Fengzhi. He used it to complete the spear’s fourth evolution into the Sea-Sealing Spear, which could briefly delay a target’s movement after its tip struck.

• Lu Yuan tested numerous materials at the Royal Academy but found none compatible with his Abyss-Sinking Spear.
• Ning Fengzhi told Lu Yuan about Tide-Sealing Stone Marrow in the Seven Treasure Trading Association’s Heaven Dou City warehouse and arranged for it to be delivered.
• The Abyss-Sinking Spear reacted to the Tide-Sealing Stone Marrow, confirming it as an extremely compatible material.
• Lu Yuan used Origin of Destiny to evolve the Abyss-Sinking Spear into the Sea-Sealing Spear and gained the Position-Sealing trait.
• Lu Yuan tested the new trait on a falling leaf and saw that the spear could briefly slow its movement after contact.

Three years after Xue Qinghe began taking on imperial responsibilities, a court official raised the question of appointing an heir, and a forged military supply order threatened to implicate her before the next session. Lu Yuan recovered the supplies and rescued the witnesses, then told Qian Renxue to let her opponents impeach her the following day.

• A senior official urged Xue Ye to appoint Xue Qinghe heir apparent, and Xue Ye said the matter would be discussed again tomorrow.
• Lu Yuan saw Xue Qinghe's Destiny Node change to Heir Apparent and detected a Destiny Disturbance as news arrived that military supplies had vanished under a forged order bearing her residence's seal.
• Qian Renxue stayed at the residence while Lu Yuan followed the carts to an abandoned quarry, where he defeated the attackers and saved the surviving escort supervisor.
• The supervisor revealed the attackers planned to leave the supplies and bodies as evidence for the next day's court session, and Lu Yuan learned the name of one conspirator.
• Lu Yuan arranged for the supplies and surviving witnesses to be taken into Tiangou Spirit Hall custody, then told Qian Renxue not to stop her opponents from impeaching her.

Xue Qinghe allowed Earl Morris to accuse her over the missing military supplies, then exposed the plot with the recovered wagons, a surviving convoy supervisor, and men caught searching the quarry. Xue Ye named Xue Qinghe worthy of becoming heir, while Lu Yuan learned that the Second Prince would return to the palace that night with an unexpected companion.

• Earl Morris accused Xue Qinghe of using her residence's seal to divert seven wagons of military supplies and urged Xue Ye to delay naming an heir.
• Xue Qinghe agreed to search the Old Quarry, where the Royal Knights found only wagon tracks and signs of fighting; West Camp then confirmed that all seven wagons had already been returned.
• Xue Qinghe summoned the wounded convoy supervisor, who described the fake release document, the ambush, and the plot to frame the First Prince's Residence.
• Royal Knights brought in three men caught searching the quarry, including a West Camp inspector, and Xue Ye ordered Earl Morris and others connected to the transfer detained.
• Xue Ye asked Ning Fengzhi whether Xue Qinghe was worthy of becoming heir, and Ning Fengzhi declared that he was.
• Lu Yuan saw Qian Renxue's destiny deviation deepen and received a note saying the Second Prince would enter the palace that night with someone unexpected.

Xue Qinghe chose the longer supply route after warning that disputes between two noble estates would obstruct the shorter one, while Lu Yuan recovered an intercepted military report. Ge Long backed Xue Qinghe as Crown Prince, and the chapter ended with an imperial decree ordering Xue Qinghe to accompany the royal ancestral sacrifice in three days.

• Xue Qinghe and the Second Prince argued over the Northern Border supply routes, and Xue Qinghe chose the longer route because the noble estates along the shorter one were likely to delay the grain.
• After learning the second urgent report had not arrived, Lu Yuan pursued the attackers, fought off their leader, and recovered the sealed bronze tube before the Royal Knights arrived.
• Xue Ye read the report, which confirmed the short route had been blocked while the relay stations on Xue Qinghe’s chosen route were ready to send supplies.
• Ge Long declared that he chose Xue Qinghe for Crown Prince, and the Second Prince offered no further objection, though Xue Ye postponed announcing a decision.
• Xue Qinghe told Lu Yuan that Ge Long had chosen her, and Lu Yuan showed her the Destiny Deviation had reached critical.
• A palace attendant delivered an imperial decree ordering Xue Qinghe to accompany the emperor’s procession to the royal ancestral sacrifice in three days.

Xue Qinghe was formally appointed Crown Prince of Tiangou and received new authority, while Lu Yuan was rewarded for recovering military equipment and a Northern Border report. At Qian Renxue’s residence, Lu Yuan’s spear evolved after absorbing Vein-Severing Dark Gold, gaining the ability to disrupt Soul Power circulation and interrupt forming Soul Skills.

• Xue Ye appointed Xue Qinghe Crown Prince, and the officials and Second Prince bowed to her.
• Xue Ye expanded the authority of the Crown Prince’s Residence and summoned Lu Yuan to reward him for recovering the military equipment and intercepted report.
• Lu Yuan chose Vein-Severing Dark Gold from the Royal Treasury after the Sea-Sealing Spear reacted to it.
• Qian Renxue’s Heir Position destiny node was rewritten after Lu Yuan met her at the Crown Prince’s Residence.
• Lu Yuan fused the Vein-Severing Dark Gold into the Sea-Sealing Spear, evolving it into the Tidebreaker Spear with the Flow Interception trait.

Two years after beginning her training, Ning Rongrong encountered Shrek Academy but declined to enroll, believing she had already found her own path outside the sect. Back in Tiangou, she told Lu Yuan about the academy and Tang San as her destiny changed from entering Shrek to being rewritten.

• Ning Rongrong watched Shrek Academy's admissions test and demonstrated her Soul Power and quick judgment when she helped rescue a child from a falling wooden frame.
• Flender invited Ning Rongrong to stay at Shrek, but she declined and continued traveling with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect group.
• Half a month later, Ning Rongrong returned to Tiangou and told Lu Yuan about Shrek and why she had chosen not to enroll.
• Lu Yuan saw Ning Rongrong's destiny change from entering Shrek Academy to being rewritten.
• Ning Rongrong told Lu Yuan that one of the impressive Spirit Masters she had seen at Shrek was named Tang San.

Lu Yuan learned that the Tidebreaker Spear’s sixth evolution required the convergence of ice and fire, leading him to seek the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well in Sunset Forest. With Qian Renxue’s help, he met Dugu Yan at the Royal Academy and warned her that the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison harming her would be even more dangerous for her grandfather, Dugu Bo.

• The Origin of Destiny unlocked the Tidebreaker Spear’s sixth evolution and revealed that it required a convergence of ice and fire.
• Lu Yuan decided to travel to Sunset Forest, then asked Qian Renxue to help him locate Dugu Bo’s residence.
• Qian Renxue found Dugu Yan’s name on a Royal Academy roster and brought Lu Yuan to meet her.
• Lu Yuan told Dugu Yan that her Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison was accumulating in her body and causing occasional numbness.
• Lu Yuan warned Dugu Yan that Dugu Bo had accumulated poison for a lifetime and should already be in pain.

Lu Yuan revealed Dugu Bo’s accumulated poison and proposed using Soul Bones to contain it, then bargained for access to Dugu Bo’s Herb Garden. Dugu Bo brought him to the Ice-Fire Convergence, where Lu Yuan’s Tidebreaker Spear reacted and matched its sixth evolution condition.

• Lu Yuan told Dugu Yan that Dugu Bo’s poison was worsening, and she left to ask her grandfather about it.
• Dugu Bo came to meet Lu Yuan, who explained how the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor poison had accumulated and warned that Dugu Yan was developing symptoms too.
• Lu Yuan advised Dugu Bo to guide small amounts of poison into Soul Bones, then offered to explain more in exchange for entering his Herb Garden.
• Dugu Bo agreed to let Lu Yuan inspect the Herb Garden, and Qian Renxue asked Lu Yuan to return to the Crown Prince’s Residence afterward.
• Dugu Bo took Lu Yuan to a valley in Sunset Forest, where the Ice-Fire Convergence triggered the Tidebreaker Spear’s sixth evolution condition.

Lu Yuan consumed the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, completing his body tempering and evolving the Tidebreaker Spear into the Return-to-Ruin Spear. He demonstrated its ability to reverse an opponent’s Soul Power flow to Dugu Bo, and the chapter ended with one evolution remaining before the spear’s final evolution.

• Lu Yuan identified the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot and persuaded Dugu Bo to let him take them in exchange for helping Dugu Yan avoid poison buildup.
• Lu Yuan consumed both herbs and entered the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to balance their extreme medicinal powers.
• The Tidebreaker Spear connected Position-Sealing and Flow Interception, while the spring tempered Lu Yuan’s body and meridians.
• The Tidebreaker Spear evolved into the Return-to-Ruin Spear, whose Yin-Yang Return to Ruin trait could reverse part of an opponent’s Soul Power flow on a second strike.
• Lu Yuan tested the spear on Dugu Bo, who confirmed that its backlash grew more dangerous when an opponent urgently activated a Soul Skill.
• Gray light revealed that the Return-to-Ruin Spear had one evolution remaining before its final evolution.

Lu Yuan completed his deal with Dugu Bo and chose an Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid for Qian Renxue. As she absorbed it in a hidden cultivation chamber, the herb refined her body and meridians, and her suppressed Soul Power barrier began to loosen further.

• Lu Yuan explained how Dugu Bo could gradually transfer poison into Soul Bones and advised him on herbs for treating Dugu Yan.
• Lu Yuan selected the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid for Qian Renxue because it could strengthen her foundation and replenish her vitality.
• Dugu Bo escorted Lu Yuan out of the poison formation after Lu Yuan marked useful herbs and answered questions about Dugu Yan's cultivation.
• Lu Yuan brought the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid to Qian Renxue at the Crown Prince's Residence and explained its effects.
• Qian Renxue absorbed the herb in her hidden cultivation chamber, refining her body and meridians while suppressing the urge to advance her Soul Power.
• The Six-Winged Angel's aura grew purer as Qian Renxue's Soul Power barrier loosened again.

Qian Renxue and Lu Yuan decided to move against the imperial court before Spirit Hall’s planned timetable, preparing a palace coup as Xue Ye’s health declined. Qian Renxue would handle the palace while Lu Yuan prepared to confront the forces outside it.

• Qian Renxue absorbed the remaining power of the eight-petal immortal orchid while Lu Yuan kept watch, then spent the following year adjusting to her gains.
• Tang San visited Dugu Bo’s Herb Garden and discovered that several rare plants had been taken years earlier, but Dugu Bo would not tell him who had received them.
• Five years later, Qian Renxue reviewed the affairs of the Crown Prince’s Residence with Lu Yuan and read Spirit Hall’s instruction to keep waiting until Xue Ye could no longer govern.
• Lu Yuan saw Qian Renxue’s destiny as remaining undercover for twenty years, and Qian Renxue declared that she would no longer wait that long.
• Qian Renxue and Lu Yuan marked out a palace-coup plan, identifying Ning Fengzhi and Dugu Bo as people to negotiate with and the eastern knights’ camp and imperial enshrined elders as obstacles.
• Lu Yuan agreed to handle the forces outside the palace while Qian Renxue handled the palace, and the destiny node for the palace coup began to glow gold.

Qian Renxue revealed her identity to Ning Fengzhi before entering the palace to launch the coup, while Lu Yuan blocked the imperial knights at a bridge. As Spirit Hall ordered the operation stopped and Qian Renxue faced Xue Ye, Lu Yuan chose to keep the newcomers from reaching her.

• Qian Renxue revealed herself to Ning Fengzhi and asked the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to stay out of the palace; Ning Fengzhi agreed to close its doors for the night.
• Lu Yuan secured Dugu Bo’s promise to stay out of the Imperial City, and Qian Renxue warned him Spirit Hall might intervene before they parted with a brief kiss.
• Xue Qinghe entered the palace, where Ge Long’s faction began taking over the gates, while Lu Yuan blocked Xue Ye’s direct knights at the Stone Bridge and damaged the bridge to stop their advance.
• Qian Renxue revealed herself to Xue Ye in his bedchamber and told him she had handled the Crown Prince’s duties for years.
• Lu Yuan saw Qian Renxue’s Palace Coup destiny node marked for failure, then faced Spirit Hall Spirit Masters who ordered the coup halted and demanded Qian Renxue come out.

Lu Yuan blocked the Spirit Hall and imperial forces at East Bridge while Qian Renxue tried to secure control of the palace. Xue Ye revealed a hidden enshrined elder and sent a Crimson-Gold Imperial Edict to mobilize troops, leaving Lu Yuan racing after the dispatch as the outcome still showed failure.

• Lu Yuan refused to let the Spirit Hall Spirit Masters cross East Bridge, while Qian Renxue confronted Xue Ye in the palace.
• The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and Dugu Bo declined to intervene, and Lu Yuan blocked the Eastern Suburban Direct Knights Camp at the bridge.
• Xue Ye revealed a hidden white-haired elder and sent a young guard away with a Crimson-Gold Imperial Edict to summon troops from the West Camp, North Camp, and outside garrisons.
• Qian Renxue confronted the white-haired elder as Lu Yuan's Eye of Destiny identified the Crimson-Gold Imperial Edict as the critical failure point.
• Lu Yuan used Return-to-Ruin to wound the gray-robed elder and destroy East Bridge, trapping the direct knights across the river.
• Lu Yuan turned toward the west and pursued the escaping dispatch while the Eye of Destiny still showed the original outcome as failure.

Lu Yuan stopped the Crimson-Gold Imperial Edict from reaching the West Camp, while Qian Renxue defeated the consecrated elder and rejected the Papal Hall’s order to abandon the coup. With Xue Ye’s expected reinforcements unable to arrive, Qian Renxue confronted him as the palace coup remained unresolved.

• Lu Yuan pursued the courier while Qian Renxue fought the white-haired consecrated elder in Xue Ye’s bedchamber.
• Qian Renxue defeated the elder, refused the Papal Hall’s command to withdraw, and declared that she would take Tiangou that night.
• Lu Yuan hurled the Return-to-Ruin Spear into the Crimson-Gold Imperial Edict tube before the West Camp general could receive it, then destroyed the edict and escaped the camp’s pursuit.
• Lu Yuan’s actions invalidated the original failure outcome and greatly rewrote Qian Renxue’s fate, but his spear showed that its final evolution opportunity had not yet arrived.
• Lu Yuan returned to the palace and told Qian Renxue that the edict was destroyed and the eastern knights were blocked; she asked Xue Ye who else he was waiting for.

Qian Renxue secured Xue Ye’s Regency Edict and Imperial Seal, then took control of Heaven Dou Empire’s government as Crown Prince Regent. Lu Yuan’s destiny changed, while Qian Renxue ended the Tiandou Plan and declared she would take power openly.

• Qian Renxue persuaded Xue Ye to issue a Regency Edict and hand over the Imperial Seal, while Lu Yuan’s destiny messages recorded two rewritten nodes.
• The court accepted Xue Qinghe as Crown Prince Regent, with Ge Long and Ning Fengzhi leading the ministers in paying respect.
• Ning Rongrong questioned Lu Yuan about destroying East Bridge and intercepting the Imperial Edict, then checked his injured hand.
• Qian Renxue burned the Papal Hall’s Secret Letter and told its Spirit Masters that the Tiandou Plan was over.
• Qian Renxue began reviewing reports as regent and said she no longer needed to remain undercover because she was taking power.

After the Palace Coup, Qian Renxue finished securing the palace and asked Lu Yuan to stay with her for the night. Their destinies intertwined, fulfilling the Return-to-Ruin Spear’s seventh evolution condition and beginning its evolution.

• Qian Renxue sealed the imperial palace’s secret passages and reassigned those who knew how to operate them.
• Qian Renxue shed her Xue Qinghe disguise and asked Lu Yuan to stay with her that night.
• Lu Yuan and Qian Renxue spent the night together while he carefully avoided her injuries.
• The Eye of Destiny showed Lu Yuan and Qian Renxue’s paths overlapping and their destiny bond changing into linked paths.
• The Return-to-Ruin Spear’s seventh evolution condition was met, and its seventh evolution began.