Chapter Summaries

Lin Qing learned that Sunset Glow Valley had expelled him and the Great Qi Sect Management Alliance had made him a wanted criminal, while three powerful patrons secretly offered to help him escape. After selling Pinecloud Abbey’s spoils and preparing for the journey ahead, he decided to infiltrate Autumn Mountain Sect for a Sixth-Tier cultivation technique.

• Lin Qing reached Anzhou City and Manager Ping informed him that Sunset Glow Valley had expelled him, the Alliance had revoked his examination slot, and a nationwide warrant would be issued.
• Manager Ping revealed that the Sun Family, the Great Qi Imperial House, and Sunset Glow Valley had each commissioned the trading association to help Lin Qing secretly leave Great Qi.
• Lin Qing understood why Shen Yurong had distanced Sunset Glow Valley from him and let go of his resentment toward her.
• Lin Qing sold most of his seized supplies, bringing his Spirit Stone reserve to more than eighty thousand, and bought a regional map, a mid-grade spirit sword, and all three bottles of Sixth-Tier Spirit Gathering Pills.
• Lin Qing decided against openly confronting Autumn Mountain Sect and instead planned to infiltrate it to obtain a Sixth-Tier cultivation technique.

Lin Qing infiltrated Autumn Mountain Sect, used the Soul Search Technique to steal an inner disciple’s identity, and learned that a Sixth-Tier cultivation method was in the hands of a disciple’s master’s wife. He reached her courtyard and knocked her and her Sixth-Tier elder husband unconscious, leaving him poised to take the jade slip.

• Lin Qing disguised himself as an outer disciple and entered Autumn Mountain Sect while avoiding its divine-sense warning array.
• Three inner disciples led by Xu Kun tried to extort Spirit Stones from Lin Qing, so he knocked them unconscious and searched their souls.
• Lin Qing learned the sect’s layout and discovered that Wang Meng’s master’s wife had received a Sixth-Tier cultivation method.
• Lin Qing disguised himself as Wang Meng, reached the courtyard, and knocked the Sixth-Tier elder unconscious before entering the house.
• Lin Qing found the master’s wife studying a jade slip and knocked her unconscious before she could raise an alarm.

Lin Qing used Soul Search Technique on two unconscious Sixth-Tier cultivators and discovered that the woman was an alchemist while her Dao companion was a spy for the Darknight Demon Court, coerced through threats against her. He left them alive and departed the Autumn Mountain Sect, alarmed by the Demon Court’s deep infiltration and the prospect of a wider war.

• Lin Qing took the jade slip and Storage Rings, then searched the woman's memories and learned of her difficult past as an alchemist who had returned to Great Qi and married her former senior brother.
• Lin Qing searched the burly man's memories and confirmed that he had infiltrated the Autumn Mountain Sect for the Darknight Demon Court after its agent threatened his wife.
• Lin Qing learned that the Darknight Demon Court had planted spies in nearly all six top factions in Great Qi and suspected that war between top sects was approaching.
• Lin Qing laid the two unconscious cultivators beside each other, left them alive, and slipped out of the Autumn Mountain Sect disguised as Wang Meng.

After looting Great Qi’s major sects and clans for Sixth-Tier techniques, Lin Qing crossed the Ten-Thousand Mountains toward other nations, killing any Sixth-Tier Monster Beasts that attacked him. His display of power caught the attention of an ancient man in the Cloudrise Immortal Sect, who had just awakened and spread his divine sense across the region.

• Lin Qing’s wanted notices spread across Great Qi, but the Sun Family’s explanation that he had concealed his cultivation at the Heavenly Prodigy Tournament quieted the search frenzy.
• Lin Qing disguised himself to infiltrate Great Qi’s major clans and sects, stealing Sixth-Tier techniques and treasures as the bounty on his head rose to five hundred thousand Spirit Stones.
• Lin Qing perfected his collected techniques, integrated them into his cultivation system, learned two mid-tier spells, and reduced his breakthrough time to three hundred days.
• Lin Qing traveled through the Ten-Thousand Mountains, killing Sixth-Tier Monster Beasts that attacked him and pausing to rest as he journeyed toward other nations.
• An ancient, white-haired man in the Cloudrise Immortal Sect awoke after centuries and spread his divine sense across the surrounding lands, including the Ten-Thousand Mountains.

Lin Qing met Juechenzi, a Divine Realm powerhouse whose Primordial Spirit recognized Lin Qing’s five opened Spirit Veins and his Five-Element theory. Juechenzi accepted Lin Qing as his disciple, while the Cloudrise Immortal Sect discovered that another patriarch had left the ancient stone hall.

• Lin Qing killed a Sixth Tier demonic beast and encountered Juechenzi’s Primordial Spirit in the valley.
• Juechenzi questioned Lin Qing about his five Spirit Veins, and Lin Qing explained how he had devised the Five-Element Generation and Restraint theory.
• Juechenzi offered to take Lin Qing as his disciple and explained why possession would not extend his lifespan or allow him to advance further.
• Lin Qing accepted Juechenzi as his master, and Juechenzi promised to bring him useful things while his true body traveled to meet him.
• An elder at the Cloudrise Immortal Sect saw an ancient stone hall open and warned the Sect Master that another patriarch had run away.

Juechenzi revealed that he was a Cloudrise Immortal Sect ancestor and took Lin Qing back to the sect as his disciple. After arriving, Lin Qing asked to avoid a grand ceremony, so Juechenzi ordered the sect to acknowledge him and announce the new master-disciple relationship.

• Lin Qing told Juechenzi how he had been disqualified from the entrance examination and wanted to explore a broader cultivation world.
• Juechenzi gave Lin Qing a ring containing over ten million Spirit Stones and a mark that could conceal his condition and call for help.
• Lin Qing chose to return to the Cloudrise Immortal Sect with Juechenzi, and they shared roasted demon beast meat and wine before departing.
• Juechenzi carried Lin Qing across the sky to the Cloudrise Immortal Sect, where two elders were arguing over which ancestor had left.
• Juechenzi introduced Lin Qing as his new disciple and ordered the elders to announce his identity, but dropped the idea of a formal ceremony at Lin Qing's request.

Lin Qing settled into Juechen Island and learned how the Cloudrise Immortal Sect’s contribution system worked as he planned to study cultivation arts, especially formations. Meanwhile, Duan Chengyu prepared for the entrance examination six months away and vowed to take revenge on Duan Qinghuan if they met.

• Lin Qing settled into Juechen Island after Juechenzi left to travel and settle old debts, while assuring him he could ask for help if powerful enemies acted.
• Lin Qing learned that sect-exclusive resources required contribution points, which disciples earned through missions, rankings, and specialized skills.
• Lin Qing dismissed the Heaven Ranking competition and decided to study alchemy, artifact forging, formations, and talismans, with special interest in formations.
• Duan Chengyu reflected on surviving his encounter with Lin Qing and realized the assassins he had sent after him had likely died.
• Duan Chengyu blamed Duan Qinghuan for arranging his fight with Lin Qing and vowed not to spare her if they met during the Immortal Sect examination.
• Duan Chengyu entered his meditation chamber to make a final effort toward the examination six months away.

Lin Qing studied the foundational principles of formations in the Scripture Repository and, finding few formation diagrams available, went to the Dao Transmission Hall to learn. After a guard disciple tried to overcharge him, Lin Qing revealed his True Disciple Token and forced the guard to let him attend for free.

• Lin Qing read Heavenly Cycle Formation Essentials and learned that every formation had a flaw that a formation master concealed, reinforced, or sought out.
• Lin Qing found that the Scripture Repository offered few formation diagrams because formation inheritances were rarely made public, so he went to the Dao Transmission Hall for instruction.
• At the registration desk, a guard disciple demanded two hundred contribution points for a lesson listed at one hundred, and Lin Qing slapped him to the ground.
• The guard disciple saw Lin Qing's True Disciple Token, apologized, and let him enter Yellow Room Number Three without paying contribution points.

Lin Qing spent half a year mastering cultivation skills and advanced to the Seventh Tier, but rising costs strained his contribution points. The sect master summoned him to lead an expedition into the Prodigy Secret Realm and was stunned to learn of Lin Qing’s realm.

• Lin Qing studied alchemy, artifact refinement, formations, talismans, and other cultivation skills, using the system to build proficiency.
• Over half a year, Lin Qing raised his common cultivation skills to Fifth Tier perfection, though his studies consumed contribution points faster than he earned them.
• With the sect’s Spirit-Gathering Formations supporting him, Lin Qing broke through to the Seventh Tier, the Spirit Pill Realm.
• The sect master summoned Lin Qing and asked him to lead the sect’s disciples in the Prodigy Secret Realm examination expedition.
• Lin Qing revealed that he had just reached the Seventh Tier, shocking the sect master and elders.

After revealing that he had reached the Seventh Tier Spirit Pill Realm before thirty, Lin Qing was put in charge of Cloudrise Immortal Sect's entrance assessment and secured access to valuable techniques and spells. Meanwhile, Darknight Demon Court's disguised disciples prepared to enter the assessment, confident that the sect would not expose them.

• Lin Qing shocked the hall by revealing his Seventh Tier Spirit Pill Realm cultivation, and the Sect Master assigned him to oversee the entrance assessment.
• Lin Qing claimed he lacked time to take charge without a matching cultivation technique, prompting the Sect Master to grant him access to all Seventh-Tier techniques and high-grade spells.
• Lin Qing negotiated to receive his reward in advance, securing the privileges by invoking his status as Juechen Ancestor's disciple.
• Darknight Demon Court replaced candidates from infiltrated kingdoms and dynasties with its own disciples, most of whom had reached at least the Fifth-Tier Mid Stage.
• A disguised disciple asked Fang Shuo whether Cloudrise Immortal Sect could detect them, and Fang Shuo assured him that only a Divine Realm expert could expose their disguises.
• Fang Shuo's disciple boasted that their group had a Sixth-Tier powerhouse under thirty, and looked forward to the assessment candidates' despair.

Lin Qing prepared for the Cloudrise Immortal Sect entrance examination, then explained its rules and opened the secret realm to the gathered candidates. As the prodigies entered, he spotted the familiar Fang Chao among them.

• Lin Qing reviewed the examination secret realm’s records and spent the remaining days coordinating plans with the elders and disciples overseeing the trial.
• Tens of thousands of candidates gathered in Cloudrise City, including Darknight Demon Court disciples plotting to cause a massacre.
• Lin Qing arrived with the Cloudrise Immortal Sect elders and announced that he was in charge of the examination.
• Sun Shaoping recognized Lin Qing, while Duan Chengyu panicked because he had previously sent people to assassinate him.
• Lin Qing explained the examination’s survival-and-points system, declared it underway, and watched the candidates enter the secret realm.
• Lin Qing spotted Fang Chao among the candidates entering the secret realm.

Lin Qing entered the secret realm, activated a surveillance Divine Artifact, and patrolled while searching for a man who resembled Fang Chao. He found a Demon Court disciple attacking a contestant and intervened just as the contestant faced death.

• Lin Qing entered the secret realm and activated a Divine Artifact that let people outside observe the participants.
• Lin Qing patrolled the realm with his divine sense, noticed Gu Yunjing and the other Great Qi participants had advanced in cultivation, and saw Duan Chengyu keeping a low profile.
• Lin Qing spotted a Demon Court disciple defeat a Fifth-Tier Early Stage contestant and reveal plans to kill the assessment participants.
• Lin Qing appeared above the Demon Court disciple before he could kill the fallen contestant.

Lin Qing uncovered Darknight Demon Court’s infiltration of the secret realm and hunted down its leader, Fang Shuo. After revealing Fang Shuo was Fang Chao’s son, Lin Qing faced him as the chapter ended.

• Lin Qing subdued a Demon Court disciple, used the Soul Search Technique, and learned that infiltrators wore Storage Rings on their left thumbs and were led by Fang Shuo.
• Lin Qing warned all disciples through a Communication Token to identify and kill the infiltrators, then healed an injured prodigy and resumed patrolling.
• Over two days, Lin Qing found and killed dozens of Demon Court disciples but failed to locate Fang Shuo.
• Lin Qing sensed an unusual energy fluctuation deep underground but set aside his investigation to pursue Fang Shuo, who was targeting Duan Chengyu.
• Lin Qing confronted Fang Shuo, who begged for mercy and offered his treasures before recognizing Lin Qing as the killer of his father, Fang Chao.

Lin Qing killed Fang Shuo and used his memories to hunt down the remaining Darknight Demon Court disciples in the secret realm. After confirming the realm was secure, he investigated a hidden space beneath the earth, where touching a mysterious five-colored sphere sent him crashing into a rock wall.

• Lin Qing searched Fang Shuo’s soul, learned the Demon Court disciples’ identities and retreat plan, and killed him with wind blades.
• Lin Qing used Fang Shuo’s information to help the Immortal Sect disciples purge the secret realm of Demon Court infiltrators and powerful demonic beasts.
• After confirming the secret realm was stable, Lin Qing traveled a thousand li underground to a concealed, vast space.
• Lin Qing examined a floating five-colored sphere and touched it after testing it with a Spirit Armament.
• The sphere erupted with force, hurled Lin Qing into a rock wall, and made him cough up blood.

After healing from the World Core’s attack, Lin Qing spent days cultivating until he completed his Seventh Tier methods and high-level spells, gaining the Words Follow the Law talent. He identified the five-colored sphere as the Independent Secret Realm’s World Core and began cultivating the Origin Visualization Art instead of risking an attempt to take it.

• Lin Qing healed his injuries, examined the five-colored sphere, and chose to strengthen himself rather than keep investigating it.
• He completed his Seventh Tier cultivation methods after seven days of seclusion, then turned to practicing high-level spells.
• Lin Qing mastered his spells and discovered that the system had replaced the spell sections with the Words Follow the Law talent.
• He saw that the system had recorded the Origin Visualization Art and deduced that the sphere was the secret realm’s World Core.
• With around ten days left in the entrance examination, Lin Qing began cultivating the Origin Visualization Art rather than trying to collect the World Core.

Lin Qing claimed the World Core and discovered that it had settled safely in his dantian, greatly accelerating his cultivation. After the assessment ended and he returned to Cloudrise City, the secret realm began to decline, while Sun Shaoping’s score surged to the top of the rankings.

• Lin Qing completed his Origin Visualization Art and cautiously touched the World Core, which accepted his Five-Element Spiritual Power and caused no harm.
• An ordinary Storage Ring shattered when Lin Qing tested it, but the World Core entered his dantian on its own and began nourishing his Spirit Core.
• Lin Qing realized the World Core had raised his cultivation efficiency to its current limit, then returned to the surface and waited for the assessment to end.
• The one-month period expired, and Lin Qing was teleported back to Cloudrise City as the secret realm began slowly losing its life force without the World Core.
• Assessors submitted their points, and Sun Shaoping’s score rose to the top of the rankings, making his entry into the Cloudrise Immortal Sect nearly certain.

After the entrance examination, Sun Shaoping placed fifth and five thousand candidates became Cloudrise Immortal Sect disciples, while more than ten thousand died in the secret realm. Lin Qing reported the Darknight Demon Court’s infiltration to the sect, and Fang Mingyuan ordered him placed at the top of the Court’s must-kill list.

• Sun Shaoping finished fifth overall, Jiang Yuewu qualified for the Cloudrise Immortal Sect, and more than ten thousand candidates died in the secret realm.
• Lin Qing welcomed the five thousand selected candidates and led them into the Cloudrise Immortal Sect, where they registered and received their assignments.
• Lin Qing reported the Darknight Demon Court’s infiltration to the sect master and elders, who discussed intensifying their counterattacks.
• Fang Mingyuan blamed his intelligence department for failing to identify Lin Qing and learned that Fang Shuo had died at Lin Qing’s hands.
• Fang Mingyuan ordered Lin Qing placed at the top of the Darknight Demon Court’s must-kill list and commanded his followers to kill him at any cost.

Lin Qing visited Sun Shaoping at Spirit-Opening Lodge and gave him a Communication Token so he could ask for help while cultivating. As they caught up, Sun Shaoping told him Sunset Glow Valley was safe, with both the Sun Family and Sixth Princess Duan Qinghuan secretly protecting it.

• Lin Qing returned to Cloudrise Immortal Sect and went to Spirit-Opening Lodge to find Sun Shaoping.
• Elder Li summoned Sun Shaoping, who greeted Lin Qing excitedly, and Lin Qing invited him to tea.
• At Cloud Gathering Market, Lin Qing gave Sun Shaoping a Communication Token and promised to help if he faced trouble.
• Sun Shaoping asked whether Lin Qing was an immortal reincarnated, and Lin Qing denied it as they reminisced about their past.
• Sun Shaoping told Lin Qing that the Sun Family had secretly watched over Sunset Glow Valley and that Duan Qinghuan had also protected it.

Great Qi’s leading factions visited Sunset Glow Valley to make amends after learning Lin Qing had risen to prominence in Cloudrise Immortal Sect, while Lin Qing continued gathering cultivation skills and drew the suspicion of Heaven Ranking disciples. As those disciples confronted him, Sun Shaoping urgently reported that something had happened at Sunset Glow Valley.

• The Sun Family Head and other Great Qi faction leaders visited Sunset Glow Valley, and Shen Yurong learned that Lin Qing had entered Cloudrise Immortal Sect and gained a distinguished status.
• Sunset Glow Valley hosted a feast where the visiting leaders offered goodwill and agreed to collaborate with the sect.
• Lin Qing exchanged contribution points and Spirit Stones for skills from Cloudrise Immortal Sect elders, including a Sixth Tier formation diagram.
• Middle-ranking Heaven Ranking true disciples grew suspicious of Lin Qing’s growing influence and decided to confront him.
• Several hostile true disciples challenged Lin Qing as he left an elder’s residence, but he answered Sun Shaoping’s Communication Token and heard that something had happened at Sunset Glow Valley.

Lin Qing learned that an alliance of six factions had turned against Sunset Glow Valley and rushed to help, knocking out the disciples who tried to stop him. As enemy forces closed in, Shen Yurong ordered the valley’s disciples to flee or retreat into the Ten-Thousand Mountains.

• Sun Shaoping told Lin Qing that the King of Qi and four other factions had agreed to destroy Sunset Glow Valley and were sending armies toward it.
• Lin Qing attacked the Heaven Ranking disciples who blocked his departure, leaving them unconscious in a crater, then paid to activate the Teleportation Array to the Northern Chen Empire.
• Shen Yurong informed Sunset Glow Valley’s elders that allied factions and Sixth Tier experts were approaching.
• Yuan Kun rejected surrender and urged the sect to disband so its disciples could escape.
• Shen Yurong ordered lower-ranked disciples to disguise themselves and flee, while the others would retreat with her and draw the enemy into the Ten-Thousand Mountains.