Chapter Summaries

After the system finished loading, Su Bai learned that Heavenly Dao Sect needed a disciple to become a one-star sect and set off for the Hundred Sects Assembly in Cloudwater City. There, Zhuge Feng was rejected from Lingxiao Sect despite his top scores, leaving him to face a rigged system with no power to challenge it.

• Su Bai checked the system's status and learned that Heavenly Dao Sect had one dilapidated hall, and needed a disciple to upgrade.
• Su Bai traveled to the Hundred Sects Assembly in Cloudwater City to recruit a disciple.
• Steward Wang told Zhuge Feng that he had failed Lingxiao Sect's formal disciple evaluation despite placing first in all six tests.
• Steward Wang explained that Zhuge Feng lacked the family connections and money that had secured places for Senior Brother Gan and Junior Brother Han.
• Zhuge Feng left the office and saw wealthy youths who had already known they would pass, while ordinary applicants waited in line.
• Zhuge Feng resigned himself to his helplessness against the powerful sect and its cultivators.

Su Bai advertised the Heavenly Dao Sect at the Hundred Sects Assembly with a thirty-tael monthly salary, but crowds mocked his shabby sign and no one applied. Zhuge Feng, desperate after failing to advance at the Lingxiao Sect, noticed Su Bai’s promise of immediate cultivation and approached the booth.

• Su Bai set up a battered sign for the Heavenly Dao Sect, promising thirty taels of monthly silver and advertising one opening.
• Visitors mocked Su Bai’s offer and called him a scammer or fool, while he waited for hours without recruiting anyone.
• Zhuge Feng watched a Lingxiao Sect steward accept a bribe in exchange for a menial servant position and recalled the costs and hardships he had endured there.
• After failing his assessment and running out of money, Zhuge Feng saw Su Bai’s promise of food, lodging, and immediate access to Immortal Arts.
• Zhuge Feng overcame his doubts and walked toward the Heavenly Dao Sect’s sign.

Su Bai recruited Zhuge Feng into the Heavenly Dao Sect by promising him immediate access to Immortal Arts and letting him pay his thirty taels of silver at the end of the month. Xiao Lingxi accused Su Bai of being a scammer but followed them, determined to expose him.

• Zhuge Feng asked Su Bai whether new disciples could study Immortal Arts immediately, despite the crowd warning him that Su Bai was a scammer.
• Zhuge Feng admitted he had no money and asked to pay the thirty taels at the end of the month, and Su Bai agreed.
• Zhuge Feng joined the Heavenly Dao Sect and followed Su Bai, choosing to trust him despite the crowd's warnings.
• Xiao Lingxi confronted Su Bai and called him a scammer, but Zhuge Feng reaffirmed his trust in Su Bai.
• Xiao Lingxi followed Su Bai and Zhuge Feng, saying she would expose Su Bai and showing that she could protect herself with the sword at her waist.

Su Bai brought Zhuge Feng and Xiao Lingxi to the Heavenly Dao Sect, where his power and the sect’s transformation convinced Zhuge Feng to become his disciple. After the sect upgraded, Zhuge Feng received his first immortal art, and Su Bai was left with a mission to recruit more disciples and build up sect points.

• Su Bai led Xiao Lingxi and Zhuge Feng to the desolate Heavenly Dao Sect and used Shrinking the Earth to an Inch to reach its hut instantly.
• Zhuge Feng recognized Su Bai’s power, kowtowed, and became Su Bai’s eldest disciple and the sect’s senior brother.
• The system upgraded the Heavenly Dao Sect to one star, granting it a main hall, an Immortal Arts Pavilion, farmland, and a larger territory.
• Su Bai activated the upgrade, transforming the hill and its buildings while Zhuge Feng and Xiao Lingxi watched in shock.
• Zhuge Feng entered the Immortal Arts Pavilion and asked its Guardian Spirit to choose an immortal art for him.
• The Guardian Spirit selected the Dao Scripture: Qi Refining Chapter for Zhuge Feng, who accepted the scroll with excitement.

Su Bai welcomed Zhuge Feng into the Heavenly Dao Sect, offering its Immortal Arts and cultivation without fees or daily labor. Zhuge Feng began cultivating, and Xiao Lingxi was stunned by the speed of his practice.

• Xiao Lingxi realized Su Bai was capable after Zhuge Feng emerged with an Immortal Art and asked its price.
• Su Bai told Zhuge Feng that Heavenly Dao Sect disciples could cultivate its Immortal Arts for free, and Zhuge Feng kowtowed in gratitude.
• Su Bai said Zhuge Feng's only task was to cultivate diligently, prompting Zhuge Feng to leave and practice outside the great hall.
• Zhuge Feng began cultivating, drawing spiritual energy into a silver radiance around his body.
• Xiao Lingxi counted Zhuge Feng completing a Zhou Tian cycle in twenty breaths and stared in shock at his cultivation speed.

Xiao Lingxi tried to join Su Bai’s Heavenly Dao Sect after witnessing its powerful Immortal Arts, but Su Bai refused to accept her without her parents’ permission. She stayed anyway, cleaned the sect grounds, and cooked a meal so salty that both she and Su Bai fled after tasting it.

• Xiao Lingxi asked to join the Heavenly Dao Sect after learning its Immortal Arts completed one hundred Zhou Tian cycles per shichen, and Su Bai teased her about previously suspecting him of being a scammer.
• Su Bai forgave Xiao Lingxi for her earlier disrespect but refused to accept her, explaining that the sect did not take minors; Xiao Lingxi said she had just turned sixteen.
• Su Bai told Xiao Lingxi to return with her parents if she wanted to join, then went inside and shut the door, leaving her outside.
• The next morning, Su Bai found the hilltop spotless and a table of food prepared by Xiao Lingxi, including braised pork belly.
• Su Bai tasted Xiao Lingxi’s cooking and hurried away for water, while Xiao Lingxi tasted it herself and discovered it was overwhelmingly salty.

After Zhuge Feng broke through to First-Level Qi Refinement, Xiao Lingxi discovered he possessed a Heavenly Spiritual Root and had been cheated out of a Lingxiao Sect disciple spot because he lacked silver. Xiao Lingxi asked Su Bai how she could join the Heavenly Dao Sect, but a group searching for her arrived at the sect.

• Su Bai learned that Zhuge Feng had broken through to First-Level Qi Refinement, which also raised Su Bai's cultivation to Third-Level Qi Refinement and earned the sect ten points.
• Xiao Lingxi tested Zhuge Feng's Spirit Root and found that he had a Heavenly Spiritual Root despite failing the Lingxiao Sect examination.
• Zhuge Feng explained that Lingxiao Sect stewards controlled the examination results and had rejected him because he could not pay Three Hundred Taels of Silver.
• Xiao Lingxi revealed that her father had arranged a Lingxiao Sect spot for her and apologized in case it had been Zhuge Feng's place.
• Xiao Lingxi asked Su Bai what she needed to do to join the Heavenly Dao Sect, and Su Bai noticed a group approaching the mountain.
• The group arrived at the Heavenly Dao Sect and called out to Xiao Lingxi.

Su Bai protected Xiao Lingxi by killing a Lingxiao Sect steward and four cultivators who had come to take her away. He accepted Xiao Lingxi as his disciple, learned that she possessed a Primordial Yin Physique, and sent her to choose an immortal art.

• A Lingxiao Sect steward ordered Xiao Lingxi to return with him and commanded his men to kill Su Bai and Zhuge Feng.
• Su Bai forced the four cultivators to their knees, killed the steward and his men with flames, and took the steward’s storage pouch.
• Su Bai refused Zhuge Feng’s suggestion to relocate the sect and said he would slaughter anyone from the Lingxiao Sect who came after them.
• Su Bai accepted Xiao Lingxi as his disciple and discovered that she had a Superior Yin Spiritual Root and Primordial Yin Physique.
• Su Bai told Xiao Lingxi to choose an immortal art and begin Qi Refining, and she hurried to the Immortal Arts Pavilion.

Xiao Lingxi chose the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra in the Heavenly Dao Sect’s Immortal Arts Pavilion and discovered that it enabled one hundred Zhou Tian circulation cycles per hour. As Su Bai considered recruiting another disciple to meet the sect’s upgrade requirements, a furious young master in Lingxiao Sect ordered his stewards to find Xiao Lingxi and bring her back.

• The Immortal Arts Pavilion’s Guardian Spirit gave Xiao Lingxi the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra, chosen to suit her personality and physique.
• Xiao Lingxi began cultivating, while Zhuge Feng also returned to cultivation; Su Bai realized both disciples’ loyalty had risen to 85 and that he needed another disciple to upgrade the sect.
• Xiao Lingxi discovered that the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra allowed one hundred Zhou Tian circulation cycles per hour without needing to purify the spiritual energy, and admired Su Bai for sharing such powerful arts.
• Three days later, a pale-faced young man in Lingxiao Sect raged that Xiao Lingxi had escaped and ordered his stewards to search for her.
• After the stewards left, the young man vowed to find Xiao Lingxi and make her his plaything.

Xiao Lingxi and Zhuge Feng advanced in cultivation while Su Bai brought them to Cloudwater City to buy supplies. There, Su Bai witnessed Xiao Yan being mocked after Liu Yanran broke off their engagement, and Xiao Yan ended up weeping in an alley as someone approached him with an encouraging saying.

• Xiao Lingxi reached Second-Level Qi Refinement, Zhuge Feng advanced to Third-Level Qi Refinement, and Su Bai's cultivation rose to Sixth-Level Qi Refinement.
• Su Bai took Xiao Lingxi and Zhuge Feng to Cloudwater City and gave them silver to buy necessities, urging Xiao Lingxi to buy Zhuge Feng new clothes.
• Su Bai saw Liu Yanran mock Xiao Yan, announce their engagement was over, and leave him after declaring their difference in status and cultivation.
• Xiao Yan challenged Liu Yanran to face him in three years, then fled the jeering crowd and broke down in a dead-end alley.
• An unseen speaker approached Xiao Yan and asked whether he had heard the saying, "Do not bully the poor young man!"

Su Bai encouraged Xiao Yan to find his own path and invited him to join the Heavenly Dao Sect so he could challenge Liu Yanran in three years. At the Hundred Sects Assembly, Su Bai brought Xiao Lingxi and Zhuge Feng to recruit disciples, where Xiao Lingxi found a wanted poster bearing her portrait and the sect’s high fees deterred applicants.

• Su Bai gave a disabled beggar ten copper coins and explained to Xiao Yan why giving him a tael of silver would put his life in danger.
• Su Bai told Xiao Yan that no one was born useless and invited him to follow the Heavenly Dao Sect, promising he could prove himself in three years.
• Su Bai arrived at the Hundred Sects Assembly, where he found Xiao Lingxi and Zhuge Feng waiting for him.
• Xiao Lingxi spotted a wanted notice with an unflattering portrait of her, and Su Bai stopped her from tearing it down.
• Zhuge Feng displayed the Heavenly Dao Sect’s new signboard, but prospective disciples turned away after seeing its thirty-tael monthly base pay.

Zhuge Feng’s former fellow disciples mocked him and Heavenly Dao Sect, prompting him to attack them after Su Bai encouraged him to defend his sect. He defeated the group with his Qi Refinement strength, and they fled to report him to Lingxiao Sect’s elders.

• Gan Hua and the other Lingxiao Sect disciples taunted Zhuge Feng for failing the assessment and choosing Heavenly Dao Sect, and Gan Hua admitted he had taken Zhuge Feng’s place.
• Su Bai stopped Xiao Lingxi from intervening and told Zhuge Feng to strike back, promising to take responsibility.
• Zhuge Feng kicked Gan Hua and beat the other disciples after they continued insulting Heavenly Dao Sect.
• Gan Hua realized Zhuge Feng had reached Qi Refinement despite leaving Heavenly Dao Sect only days earlier.
• The injured disciples fled to report Zhuge Feng to Lingxiao Sect’s steward and elders, while onlookers reacted in shock.

Su Bai offered to take the rootless Ye Qingyao into the Heavenly Dao Sect after she knelt at the Hundred Sects Assembly seeking a chance to cultivate. The chapter ended with Ye Qingyao stunned that anyone would accept her despite her Mortal Body.

• Zhuge Feng worried that his actions against a Lingxiao Sect disciple would scare away recruits, but Su Bai praised him and urged him to stand firm against bullies.
• Xiao Lingxi watched Su Bai and Zhuge Feng and praised Su Bai's decisiveness.
• Ye Qingyao arrived at the Hundred Sects Assembly and begged for immortal arts, though the crowd said she had no Spirit Root and could not cultivate.
• Xiao Lingxi asked Su Bai to take pity on Ye Qingyao, but Su Bai had already approached the girl and asked her name.
• Ye Qingyao introduced herself, and Su Bai invited her to join the Heavenly Dao Sect despite her Mortal Body.

Su Bai accepted Ye Qingyao, a girl with a Mortal Body, as his personal disciple and protected his other disciples from bandits on the road. At sunset, Xiao Yan and Xier prepared to join the Heavenly Dao Sect together.

• Su Bai encouraged Ye Qingyao to pursue immortality despite her Mortal Body, accepted her as his personal disciple, and caught her when she fainted.
• Xiao Lingxi and Zhuge Feng carried Ye Qingyao toward the Heavenly Dao Sect while Su Bai secretly followed them.
• Four men tailed Xiao Lingxi and Zhuge Feng, hoping to capture them for a reward and seize Xiao Lingxi's Storage Ring.
• Su Bai stopped the four men and defeated them after they attacked him with Immortal Arts.
• Xiao Yan told Xier he wanted to join the Heavenly Dao Sect and grow strong enough to defeat Liu Yanran, and Xier decided to accompany him.

Su Bai brought Xiao Yan and Xiao Xier to the Heavenly Dao Sect, where Xiao Yan became his third personal disciple. Xiao Yan headed to the Immortal Arts Pavilion to investigate his inability to cultivate, while Su Bai stopped Xiao Xier from entering because she was not a sect disciple.

• Xiao Xier learned that Uncle Ying could not see through Su Bai's cultivation and had found no records of the Heavenly Dao Sect or its master.
• Su Bai agreed to let Xiao Xier accompany Xiao Yan to the Heavenly Dao Sect, where Zhuge Feng and Xiao Lingxi welcomed them.
• Su Bai told Xiao Yan that taking him as a master would make him a member of the sect, and Xiao Yan formally became his third personal disciple.
• Xiao Yan offered silver for his entrance fee, but Su Bai explained that food and lodging were free and directed him to the Immortal Arts Pavilion to learn why he could not cultivate.
• Xiao Xier followed Xiao Yan toward the pavilion, but Su Bai blocked her and said that non-disciples could not enter.

Xiao Yan learned that his Heaven-Abandoned Body left him without a dantian, but the Immortal Arts Pavilion’s Guardian Spirit offered him a body refinement technique suited to his constitution. Outside, Su Bai exposed Xiao Xier’s hidden cultivation and her Nascent Soul bodyguard, leaving her to consider whether he could protect Xiao Yan from future dangers.

• The Guardian Spirit identified Xiao Yan’s constitution as a Heaven-Abandoned Body and explained that restoring his dantian would require a Ninth Transformation Golden Core or a Dao-Proving expert.
• The Guardian Spirit told Xiao Yan he could cultivate through body refinement and gave him the Primordial Body Refinement Art: Fleshly Body Chapter.
• Xiao Yan accepted the technique and vowed to defeat Liu Yanran in three years.
• Xiao Xier warned Su Bai that she would hold him responsible if anything happened to Xiao Yan, and Su Bai revealed he had seen through her Foundation Establishment cultivation.
• Su Bai also detected Xiao Xier’s hidden Nascent Soul Realm bodyguard and warned that the Cloud Heaven Sect might have a Spirit Transformation expert who could threaten Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan began training with the Primordial Chaos Body-Refining Art, while Xiao Xier discovered the extraordinary Immortal Arts cultivated by Heavenly Dao Sect disciples and asked to join. Su Bai refused because her sect loyalty was below sixty, leaving him close to having enough points to upgrade the sect.

• Xiao Yan chose the Primordial Chaos Body-Refining Art for free and began its punishing physical training after Su Bai reminded him he wanted to defeat Liu Yanran.
• Su Bai told Zhuge Feng and Xiao Lingxi to cultivate openly, and Xiao Xier witnessed their Immortal Arts circulating spiritual energy at a legendary speed.
• Xiao Xier asked Su Bai if she could join Heavenly Dao Sect, but he refused because her loyalty was below sixty.
• Xiao Xier accepted the refusal, while Su Bai noted that the disciple-recruitment mission was complete and he needed only ten more sect points to upgrade the sect.

Su Bai welcomed Ye Qingyao as his fourth disciple and helped her begin cultivation despite her Rootless Mortal Body. As Ye Qingyao received her first Immortal Art, a formidable group arrived at the foot of the mountain, apparently seeking Xiao Lingxi.

• Zhuge Feng whipped Xiao Yan as Xiao Yan trained through the pain and vowed to prove himself to Liu Yanran in three years.
• Xiao Lingxi told Su Bai that Xiao Xier had left and suspected her identity was unusual, but Su Bai said he knew her origins.
• Ye Qingyao woke in the main hall, learned Xiao Lingxi had changed her clothes, and accepted Su Bai as her master and the warmth of the sect.
• Xiao Lingxi led Ye Qingyao to the Immortal Arts Pavilion, where Guardian Spirit confirmed she could cultivate and gave her the 'Mortal's Immortal Cultivation Formula: Qi Refining Chapter.'
• A large group gathered at the foot of the mountain, and Xiao Lingxi recognized that they had come for her.

The Jade Spirit Sect arrived at the Heavenly Dao Sect to claim Xiao Lingxi and confront Su Bai over the disciples he had killed. Su Bai shattered their attack with a finger and forced the entire group, including their Foundation Establishment elder, to kneel.

• Xiao Lingxi explained that the Jade Spirit Sect was a powerful vassal of the Lingxiao Sect, but Su Bai remained untroubled as they approached.
• The Jade Spirit Sect elder demanded that Xiao Lingxi go to the Lingxiao Sect and questioned Su Bai about the sect disciples killed outside Cloudwater City.
• Su Bai admitted to killing the disciples and declared that he would wipe out the Jade Spirit Sect if it provoked his sect.
• The elder ordered his more than one hundred cultivators to attack and raze the Heavenly Dao Sect, sparing only Xiao Lingxi.
• Su Bai flicked a finger to shatter the Jade Spirit Sect's attacks, then pressed down with one hand and forced the entire group, including the elder, to kneel.

Su Bai suppressed the Jade Spirit Sect’s Foundation Establishment elder and killed more than a hundred Jade Spirit Sect cultivators who threatened the Heavenly Dao Sect. After declaring that anyone who offended his sect would be killed without mercy, he divided the elder’s forty Spirit Stones among Xiao Lingxi, Zhuge Feng, Xiao Yan, and Ye Qingyao.

• Su Bai revealed that he was the Heavenly Dao Sect’s sect master and overwhelmed the Jade Spirit Sect’s Foundation Establishment elder, stunning the onlookers.
• The Jade Spirit Sect’s cultivators threatened Su Bai and invoked the Lingxiao Sect, but he dismissed their warnings and declared that anyone who offended the Heavenly Dao Sect would die.
• Su Bai commanded Heavenly Fire to burn the elder and more than a hundred Jade Spirit Sect cultivators to ashes.
• Su Bai collected the cultivators’ Storage Bags and the elder’s Storage Ring, finding forty Spirit Stones inside.
• Su Bai gave ten Spirit Stones each to Xiao Lingxi, Zhuge Feng, Xiao Yan, and Ye Qingyao.