Chapter Summaries

Yue Feng captured Zhou Pengfei and forced him to answer Young Master Zhong's call, exposing Zhong's orders to seize the Lu family's businesses and target Yue Xiaofei and Ye Qingmei. After learning Yue Feng was the Darkness Emperor, Zhong heard Yue Feng promise to bury him in the Sin Mausoleum with an epitaph declaring he died at forty-two.

• Zhou Pengfei begged Yue Feng for mercy and blamed Young Master Zhong for the attacks on the Lu family and Yue Xiaofei.
• Young Master Zhong called Zhou Pengfei and ordered him to take over Lu Lanxin's businesses and find Ye Qingmei's grave.
• Young Master Zhong insulted Yue Feng until Zhou Pengfei warned him that Yue Feng was the Darkness Emperor.
• Yue Feng took the phone and asked Young Master Zhong his age; Zhong said he was forty-two.
• Yue Feng told Young Master Zhong he would bury him in the Sin Mausoleum and mark his gravestone, "Dead at forty-two!"

Yue Feng humiliated Young Master Zhong by revealing his secret scandals and declaring the entire Zhong Family foolish, prompting a death threat over the phone. After Bai Bing and Yue Xiaofei warned him about the Zhong Family’s power, Yue Feng hinted that his greatest trump card was not his identity as the Darkness Emperor.

• Yue Feng told Young Master Zhong that he would die at forty-two, and Young Master Zhong threatened him while boasting about the Zhong Family’s influence.
• Yue Feng exposed Young Master Zhong’s past business losses, overseas scam, and gambling debt, then insulted him and his family.
• Young Master Zhong threatened to kill Yue Feng and abruptly ended the call.
• Bai Bing and Yue Xiaofei warned Yue Feng that the Zhong Family’s power in Longdu made his actions dangerous.
• Yue Feng asked who had said his greatest trump card was his identity as the Darkness Emperor.

Yue Feng ordered Asura Hall to seize the Azure Alliance, locate Li Fei and Young Master Zhong, and investigate his mother Ye Qingmei, while arranging medical care for Yue Xiaofei. Young Master Zhong learned that powerful military and national authorities backed Yue Feng, then posted a ten-billion bounty on the Dark Web to have Yue Feng and Yue Xiaofei killed.

• Yue Feng ordered Seven Kills and Nether King to take control of the Azure Alliance and extract information about the Zhong Family from Third Master Du and Zhou Pengfei.
• Yue Feng sent Night King to find Li Fei and Young Master Zhong, and ordered Nether King to investigate Ye Qingmei’s death.
• Yue Feng summoned Modu’s best surgeon to treat Yue Xiaofei.
• Young Master Zhong called He Tianming to demand Yue Feng’s arrest, but He Tianming warned that Asura Hall had been escorted by Xiao Tian Ce’s fighters under orders from Jade Spring Mountain.
• Young Master Zhong rejected He Tianming’s warning and posted a ten-billion Dark Web bounty for Yue Feng and Yue Xiaofei’s deaths within twelve hours.

After a ten-billion bounty on Yue Feng and Yue Xiaofei triggered a rush by the Dragon Kingdom’s Underworld, underground factions sent attackers toward the Azure Alliance Headquarters, where they vanished without a trace. Yue Feng then appeared in a forced video call to the leaders of major factions, revealing that he had turned the hunt around and surrounded them.

• A ten-billion bounty funded by the Zhong Family appeared on the Dark Web, and intelligence networks found only a bare name for Yue Feng while uncovering Yue Xiaofei’s background.
• More than ninety percent of underground organizations accepted the bounty, while Nie Kuanglong, Duan Jiude, and the Queen of Hearts ordered their forces to wait and observe.
• Organizations near Modu sent successive waves of assassins and mercenaries toward the Azure Alliance Headquarters, but everyone who entered the five-kilometer area disappeared.
• Yue Feng appeared on a video invitation that forcibly reached the leaders of top underground factions, seated before a bloodstained throne and piles of corpses.

Yue Feng revealed to the Dragon Kingdom's Underworld that he was both the former [Heavenly Dragon] of Bureau 7 and the Hall Master of Asura Hall, the Darkness Emperor. He declared all of Modu off-limits and threatened death to anyone who entered.

• Yue Feng hijacked a video feed reaching underground leaders across the Dragon Kingdom and introduced himself as a former Bureau 7 agent.
• Yue Feng revealed that he had served in the [Reverse Scale] squad under the code name [Heavenly Dragon], shocking the leaders watching.
• Yue Feng said he had left [Reverse Scale] five years earlier and joined Asura Hall.
• Yue Feng turned the camera toward Asura Hall's Four Great Kings, Ten Great War Generals, and tens of thousands of warriors as they knelt and hailed him as Hall Master.
• Yue Feng declared himself the Darkness Emperor and proclaimed all of Modu off-limits, threatening to kill anyone who entered.

After Yue Feng’s video frightened the Dragon Kingdom’s Underworld, the organizations hired to kill him canceled their missions, leaving Young Master Zhong furious and searching for another way to retaliate. He settled on asking his brother-in-law, Hou Liangbing, for help.

• Nie Kuanglong ordered the Ten Dragons Association to disband and announced that he would return home to grow sweet potatoes.
• After learning Xiao Tian Ce had escorted Yue Feng, Duan Jiude suspended the Sky-Blasting Gang’s operations and turned it toward poverty relief.
• The Queen of Hearts canceled Night Rose’s mission and declared Yue Feng her idol.
• Young Master Zhong learned that every organization hired through the [Dark Web] had canceled its mission, and he realized Yue Feng had frightened the Underworld into backing down.
• Young Master Zhong ruled out asking his father or sister for help, then thought of seeking assistance from Hou Liangbing.

Young Master Zhong enlisted his brother-in-law Hou Liangbing to target Yue Feng, and Hou ordered the [Reverse Scale] squad to capture their former captain. When Hou threatened to fire the squad, its members resigned one after another, leaving him stunned.

• Young Master Zhong called Hou Liangbing and falsely portrayed Yue Feng as a threat to the Zhong Family, prompting Hou to promise to deal with him.
• Hou Liangbing recalled Yue Feng as the former [Reverse Scale] captain [Heavenly Dragon] and decided to use the squad against him.
• Hou ordered [Reverse Scale] to go to Modu and capture Yue Feng alive, but [Man-Rat] refused to obey.
• Hou threatened to fire the squad, and [Man-Rat] resigned and cut the connection.
• [Spirit Snake], [Jade Rabbit], [Stone Monkey], [Ugly Ox], and the other [Reverse Scale] members resigned in turn, leaving Hou Liangbing with a busy tone.

After Hou Liangbing forced [Reverse Scale] to resign, Bureau 7 suffered a series of crises that exposed how vital its members were. Zhang Beihai ordered Hou to bring them back and explained that they followed Yue Feng because he had once risked everything to rescue [Man-Rat], leaving Hou confronted with the loyalty behind [Heavenly Dragon]'s legend.

• Hou Liangbing learned that [Reverse Scale] had resigned en masse and vowed to replace the team.
• A breach of Bureau 7's intelligence network and an exposed undercover agent revealed the consequences of [Man-Rat] and [Spirit Snake] resigning.
• A fatal failure in the 'Black Tortoise' combat system required [Stone Monkey] and [Ugly Ox], who had also resigned.
• Zhang Beihai ordered Hou Liangbing to bring all eleven members of [Reverse Scale] back and told him they obeyed only their captain, [Heavenly Dragon].
• Zhang Beihai recounted how Yue Feng had defied orders and rescued [Man-Rat] from an enemy prison, asking Hou what it meant for a sovereign to save his people.

Hou Liangbing learned why [Reverse Scale] remained fiercely loyal to [Heavenly Dragon] and was ordered by Zhang Beihai to bring the eleven members back within half an hour. He kowtowed to [Man-Rat] under threat of exposure, but the rest of the team still refused to return.

• Zhang Beihai told Hou Liangbing how [Heavenly Dragon] rescued [Man-Rat] from the Black Prison, killing tens of thousands of enemy troops and earning the saying, “Better to cross the King of Hell than the Heavenly Dragon!”
• Zhang Beihai gave Hou Liangbing half an hour to get all eleven [Reverse Scale] members back, and Hou Liangbing apologized to the team through its private channel.
• [Man-Rat] mocked Hou Liangbing and demanded that he kowtow on video, then threatened to send the secrets from his phones to his wife in the Zhong Family.
• Hou Liangbing kowtowed three times and begged [Man-Rat] for mercy, prompting the system to announce that [Man-Rat] had returned to the team.
• [Spirit Snake], [Jade Rabbit], [Stone Monkey], and [Ugly Ox] made clear that Hou Liangbing's kowtows had not persuaded them to return.

Key events

• Hou Liangbing obeys the remaining Reverse Scale members’ demand that he kowtow to each of them. He completes thirty humiliating kowtows, injuring his forehead, and the squad members rejoin the team.
• Furious at Zhong Xiaofeng for causing the crisis, Hou calls him, reports that the entire squad resigned over Yue Feng, and warns he will personally drag Zhong to apologize if he provokes Yue again.
• Zhong, stunned and enraged by Hou’s insults, smashes a bottle. But the news that the elite squad backed Yue—and that Hou had kowtowed to win them back—shakes his confidence.
• Yue phones Zhong and reveals he has located Zhong’s supposedly secret safe house. He reiterates that Zhong will die before turning forty-two and dismisses the protection of the Zhong Family.
• Terrified but unwilling to ask his father for help, Zhong decides to retaliate. He resolves to seek the Ning family’s aid, believing they can defeat Yue.

Character developments and interactions

• Hou Liangbing goes from rage and humiliation to exhausted relief after the squad returns, then directs his anger at Zhong. His fear of professional ruin and exposure outweighs his pride.
• Zhong Xiaofeng shifts from arrogant certainty to fear and loss of control when he learns of Yue’s influence and receives Yue’s threat. His pride prevents him from turning to his father, pushing him toward a new alliance instead.
• Yue Feng remains calm and intimidating. His knowledge of Zhong’s location and blunt dismissal of the Zhong Family establish him as a formidable threat.
• The chapter’s key confrontations occur through phone calls: Hou confronts Zhong over the damage he caused, and Yue confronts Zhong with his vulnerability.

Significant themes

• Humiliation and power: Hou’s kowtows show how fear can force even a powerful official to surrender his dignity.
• Loyalty and influence: The Reverse Scale squad’s united resignation demonstrates its allegiance to Yue and the reach of his reputation.
• Pride versus survival: Zhong’s refusal to seek help from his father leaves him vulnerable, even as fear drives him to plot revenge.
• Threats and escalation: Yue’s death sentence pushes Zhong toward involving the Ning family, setting up a larger conflict.

Young Master Zhong called in the Zhong Family’s favor with the Ning family and begged Ning Hongye to eliminate Yue Feng and his brother. Ning Hongye agreed to send someone, dismissing Yue Feng’s overseas power and invoking the Dragon Kingdom’s Heaven Ranking.

• Young Master Zhong took out the Ning family token and called Ning Hongye, the family’s blind young heir.
• Young Master Zhong falsely portrayed Yue Feng and his brother as lawless villains and asked the Ning family to kill them in repayment of its favor.
• Ning Hongye asked whether the brothers’ surname was Yue and said she would not act personally but would send someone.
• Young Master Zhong described Yue Feng’s Dark List rank, Asura Hall, and fighter jets, but Ning Hongye remained unconcerned.
• Ning Hongye declared that the Dragon Kingdom’s Heaven Ranking surpassed the overseas Dark List and that Dragon Kingdom martial arts were second to none.

Plot points and events

• Young Master Zhong learns that the Ning family is sending Heaven Ranking experts after Yue Feng. He is thrilled, believing Yue Feng will finally be destroyed.
• In a secluded valley, blindfolded Ning Hongye orders three people to go to Modu and kill two targets, using three ancient tokens to summon them.
• The token-bearers set out: Zhang Huaiyu, Dragon Tiger Mountain’s young Taoist prodigy and tenth-ranked Heaven Ranking expert; Qi Canghai, a ferocious martial artist ranked ninth; and Feng Tianhao, leader of the Heavenly Society, ranked eighth.
• At Modu First People’s Hospital, Yue Xiaofei has recovered enough to speak with Yue Feng, who offers only a brief, grim account of his violent years away.
• Seven Kills warns that the three Heaven Ranking experts are approaching and that Sea King cannot stop them. Yue Feng hands Xiaofei his liquor and prepares to meet them, declaring that he is going to kill.

Character developments

• Young Master Zhong shifts from fear and humiliation to vindictive confidence when he learns powerful fighters have been dispatched.
• Ning Hongye is revealed as calm, authoritative, and connected to formidable martial artists; her purpose is to collect a debt owed to her family.
• Zhang Huaiyu, Qi Canghai, and Feng Tianhao are introduced as elite fighters with distinct temperaments: dutiful, bloodthirsty, and composed.
• Yue Feng remains controlled despite the approaching threat, but his sudden, overwhelming murderous aura shows how dangerous he is.
• Yue Xiaofei is out of danger and reconnects with his brother, sensing the violent history behind Yue Feng’s understated answer.
• Seven Kills acts as a loyal, urgent messenger, warning Yue Feng of the incoming danger.

Character interactions

• Zhong gratefully appeals to Ning Hongye, though she ends the call without responding.
• Ning Hongye commands the three token-holders, who each accept or act on the summons.
• Yue Xiaofei asks Yue Feng about his missing years; Yue Feng answers briefly and shares his liquor with him.
• Seven Kills reports the imminent attack, prompting Yue Feng to leave Xiaofei’s bedside and prepare to fight.

Significant themes

• Power and hierarchy: The Heaven Ranking represents a legendary pinnacle of martial strength, and even its lower-ranked members are presented as overwhelming forces.
• Debt and obligation: Ning Hongye’s order is framed as repayment of a debt to the Ning family.
• Brotherhood amid violence: Yue Feng’s quiet reunion with Xiaofei contrasts with the looming battle.
• Calm before conflict: Yue Feng’s measured words and casual gesture with the liquor sharply contrast with the lethal confrontation about to begin.

Yue Feng faced three powerful fighters outside the hospital and defeated Zhang Huaiyu in a one-on-one battle, leaving Yue Xiaofei stunned by the existence of warriors beyond ordinary human limits. Qi Canghai then stepped forward to challenge Yue Feng.

• Qi Canghai, Feng Tianhao, and Zhang Huaiyu confronted Yue Feng outside the hospital and demanded that he surrender.
• Zhang Huaiyu challenged Yue Feng to a one-on-one fight, and the two clashed at superhuman speed as Yue Xiaofei watched in shock.
• Zhang Huaiyu used the Golden Light Spell, but Yue Feng shattered his attack with Dragon Raises Its Head and sent him flying.
• Zhang Huaiyu admitted defeat, and Yue Feng spared him and told him to leave.
• Qi Canghai eagerly stepped forward and challenged Yue Feng to fight.

Yue Feng overwhelmed ninth-ranked Heaven Ranking fighter Qi Canghai with his Eight Extremes Fist and forced him to his knees, but Feng Tianhao intervened before Yue Feng could finish him. Qi Canghai admitted defeat, then insisted that his mission required Yue Feng’s death and called on Feng Tianhao to attack together.

• Qi Canghai charged Yue Feng with Prairie Blaze Force and Eight Thunderclap Forms, but Yue Feng blocked his punch and evaded every strike.
• Yue Feng used King of Hell’s Three-Point Hand to break Qi Canghai’s arms, then overpowered him with Fierce Tiger Climbs the Mountain and Overlord Breaks the Reins, forcing him to his knees.
• Yue Feng launched Sky-Piercing Cannon at Qi Canghai, but Feng Tianhao stepped in and met the punch, stumbling backward while Yue Feng remained unmoved.
• Qi Canghai admitted defeat and praised Yue Feng’s Eight Extremes Fist, then declared that his mission still required Yue Feng’s death.
• Qi Canghai asked Feng Tianhao to abandon a fair duel and attack Yue Feng together.

Yue Feng faced attacks from Feng Tianhao, Qi Canghai, and Zhang Huaiyu, three Heaven Ranking masters who joined forces against him. After making them believe they had cornered him, he declared the fight a warm-up and revealed black, dragon-engraved shackles on his arms and ankles.

• Feng Tianhao drew the ancient divine weapon Kunwu Blade and attacked Yue Feng, while Qi Canghai and Zhang Huaiyu joined the assault.
• Yue Xiaofei urged the Seven Kills General to help, but the general insisted Yue Feng could not be driven into a corner.
• The three masters coordinated their attacks and appeared to trap Yue Feng with a blade strike and Zhang Huaiyu’s fly whisk.
• Yue Feng evaded Feng Tianhao’s blade and broke the strands around his legs, then announced that his warm-up was over.
• Yue Feng tore open his shirt and revealed strange black shackles engraved with dragon patterns, shocking Yue Xiaofei and the three masters.

Yue Feng removed the Dragon-Suppressing Lock, revealing an overwhelming power that shook the three Heaven Ranking experts. After taking up the Asura Warblade, he promised Yue Xiaofei that his next strike would be incredible.

• The Seven Kills General explained that Yue Feng's four Dragon-Suppressing Lock shackles each weighed over a thousand jin, leaving Yue Xiaofei stunned by his brother's strength.
• Yue Feng removed the shackles, and their impact on the concrete and his sudden surge of killing intent shocked Yue Xiaofei and the three Heaven Ranking experts.
• Qi Canghai denied that Yue Feng's strength was real, while Feng Tianhao and Zhang Huaiyu reacted with fear and uncertainty.
• Yue Feng ordered the Seven Kills General to bring his blade, and the general threw him the Asura Warblade.
• Yue Feng caught the Asura Warblade, joined with it as his presence rose, then told Yue Xiaofei to watch his next strike.

Yue Feng overwhelmed Feng Tianhao, Qi Canghai, and Zhang Huaiyu with the Heaven-Opening Slash but spared them, believing they served the Zhong Family. The three denied working for the Zhong Family and revealed that Ning Hongye had sent them to kill him.

• Yue Feng unleashed the Heaven-Opening Slash, making Feng Tianhao, Qi Canghai, and Zhang Huaiyu believe they were about to die.
• Yue Feng stopped short of killing the three Heaven Ranking experts, leaving only shallow cuts across their throats.
• Yue Xiaofei watched Yue Feng's display in awe and hoped to learn the Heaven-Opening Slash from him.
• Yue Feng offered to spare the three if they stopped serving the Zhong Family, but they denied being the family's lackeys.
• Feng Tianhao revealed that Ning Hongye had ordered them to kill Yue Feng.

Yue Xiaofei revealed that his grandmother was the Lu family’s eldest daughter and that he had a marriage contract with the Ning family, stopping Feng Tianhao and the others from carrying out their mission. Ning Hongye set the contract aside for now but warned Yue Xiaofei that entering Longdu would nearly cost him his life.

• Feng Tianhao explained that the Ning family had ordered Yue Feng’s death, and Yue Xiaofei claimed he might know Ning Hongye through a marriage contract.
• Yue Xiaofei showed the contract bearing the Lu and Ning family seals and explained that his grandmother, Lu Lanxin, was the Lu family’s eldest daughter.
• Feng Tianhao called Ning Hongye and reported that Yue Xiaofei was her betrothed through the Lu family.
• Ning Hongye asked Yue Xiaofei whether he accepted the marriage contract, but he rejected the idea of an arranged marriage and tried to pass it to Yue Feng.
• Ning Hongye agreed to set the marriage contract aside for now if Yue Xiaofei stayed out of Longdu for three years, then warned him that entering the capital would mean barely escaping alive.

Ning Hongye warned Yue Xiaofei that going to Longdu could endanger his life and declared that the Zhong family would fall. When she offered to answer one question as compensation, Yue Xiaofei asked where his mother, Ye Qingmei, was, and Ning Hongye named Changbai Mountain’s Cloudtop Heavenly Palace.

• Ning Hongye told Yue Xiaofei that traveling to Longdu could put his life in danger, but he doubted her warning.
• Yue Xiaofei asked how Ning Hongye would deal with the Zhong family and Zhong Xiaofeng, and she declared that the Zhong family would fall.
• Ning Hongye offered to answer one question, and Yue Xiaofei chose to ask where his mother, Ye Qingmei, was.
• Ning Hongye told Yue Xiaofei that Ye Qingmei was at Changbai Mountain’s Cloudtop Heavenly Palace.

After Ning Hongye revealed that Yue Xiaofei’s mother might be in the Cloudtop Heavenly Palace, Yue Feng learned that it was a legendary deadly land and resolved to go there. Meanwhile, Ning Hongye suffered a severe backlash after using her foresight to give Yue Xiaofei the clue, and she told Xiao Huan to keep her sacrifice secret.

• Yue Feng and the others explained that the Cloudtop Heavenly Palace appeared on Changbai Mountain and that no one who entered was known to have returned.
• Zhang Huaiyu revealed that Ning Hongye could foresee events and that her words were priceless, making Yue Xiaofei realize she had given him a rare clue.
• Feng Tianhao, Zhang Huaiyu, and Qi Canghai gave Yue Feng tokens representing their factions, and Yue Feng passed them to Yue Xiaofei for protection.
• Yue Feng declared that he would leave at daybreak to search for his mother in the Cloudtop Heavenly Palace, despite the three masters’ warnings.
• Ning Hongye coughed blood after a zither string snapped, and Xiao Huan said she had sacrificed ten years of her life to glimpse heaven’s secrets for Yue Xiaofei.
• Ning Hongye told Xiao Huan to keep the sacrifice secret because she owed Yue Xiaofei.