Chapter Summaries

Lin Yu joined the army, where he clashed with Fusu and met fellow soldier Shi En while concealing his cultivation. He spent the night awake, sensing powerful spiritual energy throughout the camp that could help him refine essence blood.

• Lin Yu arrived at the military camp and was assigned a bunk among ordinary foot soldiers.
• Fusu attacked Lin Yu over the bunk, and Lin Yu pretended to be badly injured so a patrolling soldier would order Fusu to receive ten staff strikes.
• Lin Yu explored the camp, then secretly absorbed a drop of python essence blood while resting.
• Shi En questioned Lin Yu about his family and enlistment, while Lin Yu warned Fusu not to provoke him again.
• Lin Yu stayed awake through the night and sensed spiritual energy flowing throughout the camp.

Lin Yu fought in the battle, then killed a captured enemy soldier and took his identity to infiltrate the Flame Emperor’s army. He entered the enemy camp disguised as Bing Sheng and was treated for his wounds.

• Mo Ce led his troops into battle, and Lin Yu killed about forty enemy soldiers.
• Lin Yu captured Bing Sheng, took his armor, and killed him to prevent him from exposing the disguise.
• Lin Yu told his fellow soldiers he would disappear, then left camp after dark and headed for the enemy army.
• Lin Yu arrived wounded and claimed to be Bing Sheng; after the guards confirmed his identity, Zhang Shuai ordered that he be treated.
• A military physician bandaged Lin Yu’s wounds, and Lin Yu successfully infiltrated the enemy army.

After recovering from his injuries, Lin Yu overheard Zhang Shuai's generals plan an ambush and massacre of Tianling City, then escaped when he was nearly discovered. He left the camp unsure how he would explain himself to Mo Ce.

• Lin Yu woke after three days and spent the day recovering while camp comrades brought him porridge and cared for him.
• After nearly recovering, Lin Yu left the tent at night and found Zhang Shuai's conspicuous command tent.
• Yan Ting proposed deploying cultivators, but Zhang Shuai rejected the idea; Yan Fei then suggested attacking Tianling City from the surrounding mountains.
• Zhang Shuai ordered Yan Tian and Yan Ting to lead three thousand men in an ambush, with fireworks as the signal to massacre Tianling City in three days.
• Lin Yu made a noise outside the tent and vanished before the generals could find him, then left the camp worried about facing Mo Ce.

Lin Yu warned Mo Ce that an enemy ambush would destroy Tianling City and kill its soldiers and civilians, but the generals doubted his intelligence. The chapter left Lin Yu dragged from the commander's tent while Mo Ce asked his generals to assess the warning.

• Shi En questioned Lin Yu about his absence, but Lin Yu left to visit the commander's tent.
• The guards barred Lin Yu from entering until he called out to Mo Ce with urgent enemy intelligence.
• Lin Yu used the map to explain that the enemy planned to ambush troops and civilians from the mountains around Tianling City.
• Lin Yu described infiltrating the enemy camp, but Mo Ce doubted his story and dismissed his warning as information they had already considered.
• Lin Yu begged Mo Ce to protect the civilians, but Mo Ce ordered the guards to drag him out.
• Mo Ce asked the generals for their views, and one general said Lin Yu's account seemed unbelievable because the enemy's march would be too long.

Lin Yu challenged Mo Ce over the decision to keep Spirit Heaven City’s people in danger and defeated him before the generals. He accepted a military command warrant to evacuate the city’s people and kill the enemy commander, then left for the Flame Emperor Army camp.

• Mo Ce told Lin Yu the army would not withdraw from Spirit Heaven City, even if its people died.
• Lin Yu invoked the law allowing a soldier to challenge the commanding general and attacked Mo Ce.
• Lin Yu defeated Mo Ce before the generals, accusing him of abandoning the people.
• Lin Yu demanded that the city’s people be evacuated and accepted a military command warrant to take the enemy commander’s head.
• Hou Sheng warned Lin Yu that Mo Ce would hold a grudge, and Lin Yu left the military camp for the Flame Emperor Army camp.

Lin Yu tracked down the cultivators hidden beneath the military camp and killed all eight by poisoning them and fighting through their spirit array. He returned to question Zhang Shuai, then entered the mist again and heard a voice demanding to know who he was.

• Lin Yu trained with the soldiers to learn more about the people close to Bing Sheng.
• Lin Yu threatened Zhang Shuai, who revealed that cultivators were hiding beneath the military camp.
• Lin Yu poisoned the eight cultivators as they emerged, then fought through their spirit array and killed them.
• Lin Yu sensed a powerful aura in the camp and wondered whether its source had come for him.
• Lin Yu returned to Zhang Shuai, asked about other hidden experts, and secretly gave him more poison.
• Lin Yu entered the mist and told the voice questioning his powerful spiritual sense to get lost.

Lin Yu confronted Flame Dragon, the powerful cultivator who had stopped him from assassinating the generals, and learned that the old man wanted to teach him the principles of the Assassination Path. After Flame Dragon left, Lin Yu accepted the lessons and promised to end the battle soon.

• Lin Yu searched the military camp and confronted an aged cultivator who identified himself as Flame Dragon, a guest of the Flame Emperor.
• Flame Dragon stopped Lin Yu from attacking the generals, and their clash revealed that Lin Yu carried poison capable of harming them both.
• Flame Dragon questioned Lin Yu’s understanding of the Assassination Path and began teaching him its principles.
• Flame Dragon told Lin Yu to master speed, precision, ruthlessness, emotional control, and cold-bloodedness before leaving.
• Lin Yu thanked Flame Dragon and promised that the battle would end soon.

Lin Yu killed Zhang Shuai and other enemy commanders to break the army’s morale and bring the war to an end, then waited for Yan Ting and Yan Tian and killed them as well. As thousands of soldiers surrounded the command tent, Lin Yu faced the remaining threat and considered avoiding further slaughter.

• Lin Yu reached the fourth stage of Body Tempering and decided to kill enemy commanders during the moonless night.
• Lin Yu killed Zhang Shuai, then cut down more generals as funeral bells rang and the enemy army’s morale collapsed.
• Lin Yu revealed to the soldiers sharing the tent that he was an infiltrator, and he killed Zhang Qingchun after the old general accepted his death.
• Mo Ce’s camp learned that eighteen funeral-bell tolls signaled the enemy’s losses, while Yan Ting and Yan Tian rode toward the battlefield.
• Lin Yu killed Yan Ting and Yan Tian, dismissed the remaining soldiers, and found thousands of enemy troops surrounding the command tent.

Lin Yu arrived at the Ancient Imperial City with Mo Ce and challenged his account of the campaign before the Ancient Emperor. He accused Mo Ce of taking credit for his achievements and denying their past, leaving the dispute unresolved as Mo Ce continued to deny everything.

• Lin Yu teased Mo Ce during the journey and entered the Ancient Imperial City ahead of him.
• Mo Ce reported to the Ancient Emperor that Lin Yu had infiltrated the army and killed two men, while Lin Yu objected to Mo Ce's version of events.
• Lin Yu refused to kneel to the Ancient Emperor, who let the insult pass and asked whether Lin Yu was the suspected spy.
• Lin Yu accused Mo Ce of hiding his defeat, breaking his promise to Tianling City's people, and denying Lin Yu's military pledge.
• Lin Yu said Mo Ce's soldiers had seized him and taken the enemy commander's head, but Mo Ce denied knowing anything about it.

Lin Yu returned to the Ancient Imperial City as Mo Ce accused him of being an enemy spy and taking the heads of their own generals. Before the Ancient Emperor, Lin Yu challenged Mo Ce’s account and exposed contradictions, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Lin Yu arrived at the Ancient Imperial City with Mo Ce and mocked the general as they entered the city.
• Mo Ce reported to the Ancient Emperor that Lin Yu had infiltrated the army and killed one of their generals.
• Lin Yu refused to kneel to the Ancient Emperor, who laughed off his defiance and asked Mo Ce to explain the accusation.
• Lin Yu accused Mo Ce of taking credit for his deeds, hiding his defeat, and breaking his promise to let Tianling City’s people leave.
• Mo Ce denied Lin Yu’s claims, but Lin Yu pointed out that Mo Ce’s soldiers had seized the enemy commander’s head from him.

Lin Yu confronted Mo Ce over the order to arrest him, then used the missing enemy commanders’ heads to expose Mo Ce’s lies before the Ancient Emperor. After Lin Yu revealed the heads and six powerful cultivators he had killed, the Ancient Emperor ordered Mo Ce and his generals executed.

• Lin Yu challenged Mo Ce about ordering his arrest, and the Ancient Emperor summoned them to explain the matter in the main hall.
• Mo Ce learned that twenty headless corpses had been found among the scattered enemy army and ordered his men to search for the missing heads.
• Lin Yu told the Ancient Emperor that the eighteen heads were tied to his military order, while Mo Ce denied that any such order existed.
• The Ancient Emperor changed the contest to a race to find the heads, and Lin Yu revealed where one was buried beneath a locust tree.
• After the first head arrived, Lin Yu produced the other seventeen heads along with six heads belonging to powerful cultivators.
• The Ancient Emperor ordered Mo Ce and the generals under his command executed, and Mo Ce was dragged away despite a plea for mercy.

Lin Yu refused the Ancient Emperor’s offer of office, a marquisate, and Princess Linglong’s hand, insisting he wanted a quiet life with his arranged fiancée. The Ancient Emperor made him Great General and ordered him to stay in the capital, and Lin Yu realized the appointment was meant to expose officials who had colluded with the former Great General.

• A eunuch brought Mo Ce’s severed head before the Ancient Emperor, who dismissed him and used the scene to warn the court.
• The Ancient Emperor offered Lin Yu the post of Spirit-Pacifying General, but Lin Yu refused and explained that he wanted to find the woman he loved and avoid official life.
• The Ancient Emperor offered Princess Linglong as Lin Yu’s bride, but Lin Yu refused and said his Lineage had already arranged a fiancée for him.
• Lin Yu challenged the Ancient Emperor’s authority, saying he and his Lineage could leave the Ancient Kingdom, and guards restrained him until the Ancient Emperor ordered them to stand down.
• The Ancient Emperor appointed Lin Yu Great General and ordered him to remain in the capital to teach the lessons of the battle.
• Lin Yu understood that the appointment would expose officials who had colluded with the former Great General, then returned to his residence and found its staff replaced.

Lin Yu was summoned by the Ancient Emperor, who appointed him temporary Grand General, prompting Lin Yu to decide he should resign and return home. At the grand court assembly, he appeared in white and formally asked permission to leave office.

• The Ancient Emperor summoned Lin Yu and asked whether he had adjusted to serving as a general.
• The Ancient Emperor offered Lin Yu the temporary post of Grand General until a suitable replacement could be found, and Lin Yu accepted.
• Lin Yu returned to Lin Residence and told Nu Sheng to leave him alone before falling asleep.
• Princess Linglong arrived late at night, but Lin Yu refused to see her and sent her away.
• At the grand court assembly on the fifteenth, Lin Yu wore plain white and asked the Emperor to let him resign and return home.

Lin Yu secured permission to resign and leave the capital, but the Ancient Emperor secretly arranged to have him killed. On the road home, Lin Yu slaughtered sixteen assassins before a new group confronted him, and his attack disappeared into dust and poisonous mist.

• Lin Yu asked the Ancient Emperor to let him resign and return home, and several officials and Princess Linglong supported his request.
• The Ancient Emperor allowed Lin Yu to leave, and Lin Yu told Nu Sheng to pack their things.
• The Ancient Emperor consulted Elder Gu, who advised him to kill anyone who refused to serve him.
• Lin Yu and Nu Sheng were attacked on the road, and Lin Yu killed all sixteen assassins.
• A Ninth-Order Body Tempering cultivator confronted Lin Yu and said someone had paid a great price for his life.
• Lin Yu launched an attack that raised dust and poisonous mist around him.

Lin Yu killed Liu Cun and the other attackers after Liu Cun’s flying sword failed against the Nine World-Ending Swords. The Ancient Emperor learned of the massacre and Lin Yu’s threat, while Elder Gu warned that killing One Sword’s eldest disciple would bring a heavy price.

• Lin Yu fought Liu Cun while Nu Sheng held off the other three attackers.
• Lin Yu used the Nine World-Ending Swords to break Liu Cun’s Spirit Artifact and then killed him.
• Lin Yu killed two more attackers and Cheng Kun, then sent a warning to the Ancient Emperor through a survivor.
• The black-clad messenger told the Ancient Emperor that Lin Yu had killed the attackers and threatened to take his head if the pursuit continued.
• The Ancient Emperor considered sending a ninth-rank cultivator, and Elder Gu warned him to consider the consequences of killing One Sword’s eldest disciple.

Lin Yu learned from Nu Sheng about the vanished Three Great Sects and the World-Shaking War, then was ambushed by Yan Baiping, an assassin sent by the Ancient Emperor. Lin Yu fought back with his sword and blood essence but was overwhelmed by Yan Baiping’s Half-Step Netherpassage strength as the battle continued.

• Nu Sheng told Lin Yu about One Sword, Beyond Heaven, and Immortal Ascension, and recounted the World-Shaking War that had destroyed many sects.
• Lin Yu dismissed the danger posed by the sects and urged Nu Sheng onward toward the Lin Residence.
• Yan Baiping attacked Lin Yu with an arrow, revealed that he had been ordered to kill him, and demanded his storage ring.
• Lin Yu sent Nu Sheng ahead and fought Yan Baiping with his earth-grade Spirit Artifact, but Yan Baiping’s Half-Step Netherpassage strength sent him flying.
• Lin Yu used the Body-Slaying Sword and blood essence against Yan Baiping, then replenished his spiritual energy with Spirit Stones before Yan Baiping charged again.

Lin Yu fought Yan Baiping while Poison Slayer watched from a distance, relying on his sword and the poison secretly spreading through Yan Baiping’s body. The poison weakened Yan Baiping, who stopped resisting it and begged Lin Yu to spare him.

• Yan Baiping caught Lin Yu’s sword barehanded but failed to break it after discovering its pattern inscriptions.
• Lin Yu fought Yan Baiping, who repeatedly knocked him around while demanding to know where his master was.
• Poison Slayer watched the fight and left after confirming Lin Yu was not seriously injured.
• Lin Yu revealed that he had poisoned Yan Baiping during their fight, and Yan Baiping realized his strength was fading.
• Yan Baiping tried to resist the poison, coughed up black blood, then gave up and asked Lin Yu to spare his life.

Lin Yu learned from the Blood Commands that the undead he had killed gathered in the Undead Trial Grounds, where he fought their endlessly reviving souls. After returning, he used his blood to suppress Yan Baiping’s poison and tried to make him submit, but Yan Baiping’s assassin instincts made him resist, so Lin Yu forcibly took control of him.

• Lin Yu told Yan Baiping he would spare him if he combined the spiritual power and poison in his body.
• The Blood Commands summoned Lin Yu, explained that his first act of Life-Slaying had created them, and brought him to the Undead Trial Grounds.
• Lin Yu fought the souls of dead cultivators, discovering that they revived after he cut them down, while the Blood Commands judged him weak.
• Lin Yu returned to find Yan Baiping’s poison still active and gave him a drop of his blood, suppressing the poison for about half a year.
• Yan Baiping said he would submit but secretly resisted, so Lin Yu forcibly brought him under control.

Lin Yu returned to the Lin Residence with Nu Sheng after confronting the general’s forces, while Yan Baiping told the Ancient Emperor and Elder Gu that Lin Yu had defeated and poisoned him. Lin Yu reunited with his family and went to see his mother, leaving Nu Sheng to settle into a small room at the residence.

• Yan Baiping told the Ancient Emperor he was no match for Lin Yu because Lin Yu had poisoned him with a hidden poison that spiritual power could not expel.
• Elder Gu examined Yan Baiping and said the poisoning was not too deep, though he admitted he had never encountered that poison before.
• Lin Yu arrived at the Lin Residence with Nu Sheng and reminded Lin Bai that the household’s servants should not be treated harshly.
• Lin Yu introduced Nu Sheng to Lin Huan, then put off explaining what had happened at the general’s residence.
• Lin Yu sent Nu Sheng to stay in a small room and went to visit his mother, Wang Cheng, who welcomed him and urged him to stay home longer.

After returning from his mother Wang Cheng’s palace, Lin Yu’s battle wounds worsened, so he began recovering in seclusion. Lin Huan learned that the Ancient Emperor had ordered six attempts on Lin Yu’s life and left to inform Wang Cheng, while Lin Yu wondered whether he could use the Purple Yuelan’s remaining spiritual power in his vegetable garden.

• Lin Yu declined Wang Cheng’s suggestion that he move out of his wooden cabin and returned to his room, where his injuries caused him to cough up blood.
• Lin Yu began healing with the Purple Yuelan and told Nu Sheng to explain what had happened to Lin Huan and Wang Cheng.
• Nu Sheng told Lin Huan that the Ancient Emperor had appointed Lin Yu Grand General, then pursued him with six assassination attempts, the last involving a Half-Step Netherpassage expert.
• Lin Huan blamed the Ancient Emperor and warned that the Lin Family would retaliate if Lin Yu was harmed, then left to inform Wang Cheng.
• Nu Sheng reflected that Lin Yu valued his strength, while Lin Yu considered putting the Purple Yuelan’s remaining spiritual power into his vegetable garden.