Chapter Summaries

Zhou Qing left Yanlin Valley to travel among the major powers of Western Serenity Continent, beginning with the Northern Alliance, and found his Dao Heart deepening as he journeyed on foot through the wilderness. After two months, he encountered five young cultivators fighting ape-like demons and met Xiao Xiao, Lin Li, Yin Rong, Yin Chang, and Yin Hong.

• Zhou Qing declined Mu Zhuosha's offer to return to Azure Cloud Sect and explained that he wanted to temper his Dao Heart by visiting the major powers and establishing his prestige in Myriad Visions City.
• Zhou Qing told the Nine Sect Alliance cultivators that he planned to visit the Northern Alliance, the Three Sects and Six Schools, and the Southern Alliance, then flew toward Heavy Water Sect.
• Zhou Qing alternated between flying and traveling on foot, and after weeks in the wilderness he began to perceive heaven and earth with greater clarity.
• Two months into his journey, Zhou Qing found five young cultivators fighting a group of ape-like demons; the demons scattered when they noticed him.
• Xiao Xiao introduced himself as an Inner Disciple of Cloud Mist Valley, introduced Lin Li as his junior sister, and named the three Heavy Water Sect territory cultivators as Yin Rong, Yin Chang, and Yin Hong.

Zhou Qing traveled with Xiao Xiao, Lin Li, and the three Yin Family disciples to the Heavy Water Sect, where Xiao Xiao planned to challenge its disciples. After they found every inn full, an inn worker recognized Zhou Qing and invited the group inside, saying his young master would be delighted to see him.

• Zhou Qing introduced himself as a member of the Azure Cloud Sect, and Yin Rong eased the awkwardness between him and the Northern Alliance disciples.
• Xiao Xiao explained that they were traveling to the Heavy Water Sect so he could challenge its disciples, and Zhou Qing agreed to accompany the group.
• After more than ten days on the road, the six arrived at Heavy Profound Lake and explored the marketplace near the Heavy Water Sect.
• The group searched the crowded marketplace for lodging but found every inn full because cultivators had come to watch the challenges.
• An inn worker recognized Zhou Qing, ushered the group inside, and said his young master talked about Zhou Qing every day.

Zhou Qing reunited with Fang Yuhe at Dust Fate Inn, where Fang Yuhe had reserved the luxurious Grade A courtyard for him and his companions. As they arrived at the courtyard, Ming Ying challenged Zhou Qing over why he had been given the room Ming Ying wanted.

• Fang Butong welcomed Zhou Qing and his companions to Dust Fate Inn, where they learned the inn was renowned and usually served influential guests.
• Fang Yuhe reunited with Zhou Qing and revealed that he managed Azure Cloud Sect's shop in the market.
• Fang Yuhe arranged for Zhou Qing and the others to stay in the inn's Grade A courtyard, surprising his companions with the special accommodation.
• Fang Yuhe explained that the inn belonged to his family and had grown prosperous with Zhou Qing's support.
• Ming Ying confronted Fang Yuhe outside the Grade A courtyard, questioned Zhou Qing's right to stay there, and Zhou Qing replied that Ming Ying misunderstood.

Zhou Qing and his companions met Ming Ying, who challenged Xiao Xiao after his planned bout with Chen Xiao at the Heavy Water Sect. The group traveled to the sect’s combat island, where Ming Ying prepared to challenge Chen Xiao before the Sect Leader at noon.

• Ming Ying assessed Zhou Qing’s companions and challenged Xiao Xiao to spar after his fight with Chen Xiao.
• Xiao Xiao explained that Ming Ying had reached Qi Refining Ninth Level unusually early and might be close to Foundation Establishment.
• Zhou Qing and his companions left for the Heavy Water Sect with Ming Ying, who forced seven passengers off their boat to make room.
• The group arrived at the combat island and saw Chen Xiao presiding over the main arena and three Heavy Water Sect Outer Disciples leading other arenas.
• Ming Ying said he would challenge Chen Xiao before the Heavy Water Sect’s Sect Leader when the Sect Leader arrived at noon.

The Yin siblings were easily defeated by Heavy Water Sect disciples and recognized the gap between ordinary cultivators and great-sect geniuses. At the central arena, Ming Ying faced Chen Xiao, who tried to undermine his resolve, and Ming Ying remained silent as the crowd waited for the fight to begin.

• The Yin siblings challenged Heavy Water Sect disciples but were quickly defeated, convincing them that their skill could not match great-sect cultivators.
• Ming Ying reflected that only a few cultivators, including himself, Xiao Xiao, and Chen Xiao, could hope to reach the top of the immortal path.
• Three Mysteries True Person arrived at the central arena and began judging the day's challenges.
• Ming Ying accepted Xiao Xiao's offer to go first and introduced himself to Chen Xiao.
• Chen Xiao criticized Ming Ying's earlier challenges as a sign of timidity, and Xiao Xiao explained that Chen Xiao was trying to damage Ming Ying's Dao heart.
• Ming Ying closed his eyes and gave no response, while the waiting crowd grew impatient.

Ming Ying lost to Chen Xiao after a prolonged battle, and Chen Xiao appeared to stand above the younger generation of Western Serenity Continent. Zhou Qing then stepped onto the arena, saying he had come to visit Three Mysteries True Person rather than challenge Chen Xiao.

• Xiao Xiao explained that Ming Ying had used silence to regain the initiative in his exchange with Chen Xiao, while Zhou Qing reflected on the importance of psychological tactics in combat.
• Ming Ying and Chen Xiao fought, with Ming Ying using metal-element defenses and flying swords against Chen Xiao's cold, mist-filled water-element attacks.
• After half an hour, Ming Ying surrendered, and he and Xiao Xiao discussed Chen Xiao's prospects and the risks of challenging him.
• Chen Xiao asked whether anyone else would challenge him, and Zhou Qing stepped onto the arena despite having said he would not fight Chen Xiao.
• When Chen Xiao asked Zhou Qing's name, Zhou Qing looked toward Three Mysteries True Person instead of answering.

Zhou Qing sought out Three Mysteries True Person and challenged the Heavy Water Sect leader, revealing powerful Lightning Arts that tore through his defense. Three Mysteries True Person retaliated with freezing mist, and Zhou Qing answered by spreading iron powder through it and electrifying the entire arena.

• Zhou Qing introduced himself to Three Mysteries True Person and asked to learn from the Heavy Water Sect leader, astonishing the spectators who doubted a young disciple could challenge a Golden Core master.
• Three Mysteries True Person recognized Zhou Qing as an equal but initially told him to leave, warning that he would not spare a junior who provoked him.
• Zhou Qing attacked with Lightning Arts that shattered Three Mysteries True Person's protective spell and left his brocade robe in tatters without injuring him.
• Three Mysteries True Person accepted the challenge and released freezing mist that stiffened Zhou Qing's body.
• Zhou Qing scattered iron powder into the mist and unleashed lightning across the entire arena, turning it into a thunder zone.

Zhou Qing defeated Three Mysteries True Person in a shocking battle, then declared his intention to build an invincible reputation. As the stunned cultivators prepared to leave, Xiao Xiao asked what position Zhou Qing truly held in the Azure Cloud Sect.

• Zhou Qing destroyed Three Mysteries True Person’s mystic water mist with lightning, then pursued him into the clouds after a Five-Colored Divine Light forced him to evade.
• Zhou Qing used Heavenly Net to see through Three Mysteries True Person’s Cloud Illusion Art and struck him with ten iron pellets moving at thirty times the speed of sound.
• Zhou Qing followed the falling Three Mysteries True Person with lightning, leaving him unable to gather spiritual energy before he crashed to the ground.
• Three Mysteries True Person accused Zhou Qing of humiliating him, but Zhou Qing said he was suppressing the age and invited him to wait and see; Three Mysteries True Person then invited Zhou Qing to a banquet the next day.
• Zhou Qing asked Xiao Xiao and the others to return to the other shore with him, and Xiao Xiao asked what position he held in the Azure Cloud Sect.

After defeating Three Mysteries True Person, Zhou Qing returned to the shore of Heavy Profound Lake, where news of his identities spread throughout the marketplace. As Xiao Xiao and the others learned more about his standing and rapid rise, they struggled to comprehend the gulf between him and their generation.

• Zhou Qing revealed that he was the Head Arrayist of Azure Cloud Sect and urged Xiao Xiao and the others to treat him as an equal.
• Xiao Xiao and his companions returned to the shore with Zhou Qing, and word of his victory spread through the Heavy Water Sect marketplace.
• Zhou Qing went to the Eight Sect Alliance's shop to meet Fang Yuhe, while Xiao Xiao and the others returned to Dust Fate Inn and sent the Yin Family siblings to gather information.
• Yin Rong reported that Zhou Qing was also the Arrays Association President, Alliance Leader of the Eight Sect Alliance, and next Sect Leader of Azure Cloud Sect.
• Ming Ying and the others learned that only thirteen years had passed since Zhou Qing began cultivating, and they fell silent as they considered the vast distance between him and themselves.

Three Mysteries True Person decided to publicize Zhou Qing’s victory and send him off ceremoniously, hoping the Dharma Dissemination Dojo would focus on Zhou Qing instead of his planned Nascent Soul breakthrough. Zhou Qing explained that he had deliberately made himself a target to use the Dharma Dissemination Dojo as a whetstone for his Dao heart, leaving Fang Yuhe and the other cultivators awed and worried about his path.

• Long Xiang urged Three Mysteries True Person to eliminate Zhou Qing, but Three Mysteries True Person said the attempt would be too costly and proposed drawing the Dharma Dissemination Dojo’s attention to Zhou Qing instead.
• Three Mysteries True Person ordered the Elders to prepare a banquet and host Zhou Qing the next day.
• Zhou Qing told Fang Yuhe that he had challenged Three Mysteries True Person to shift the Dharma Dissemination Dojo’s attention away from the Sect Leader’s Nascent Soul breakthrough.
• Zhou Qing said he intended to use the Dharma Dissemination Dojo’s threat to temper his Dao heart, while Fang Yuhe warned him that the plan would put him in great danger.
• Zhou Qing reassured Fang Yuhe that Heavy Water Sect would treat him courteously as long as Zhou Qing remained alive, then returned to Dust Fate Inn, where the other cultivators reacted to him with reverence.

Zhou Qing attended a banquet at the Heavy Water Sect, where its young disciples challenged him to ascend a stairway of flying swords. He suppressed each sword’s owner with ease as he began climbing, leaving the sect’s disciples stunned.

• Zhou Qing sought to broaden his understanding of people while pursuing the strongest Dao Heart, then went to the Heavy Water Sect’s banquet.
• Chen Xiao warned the disciples not to insult Zhou Qing, but Gan Ning proposed that he ascend a Sword Mountain to reach Heaven One Pavilion.
• The Heavy Water Sect’s disciples arranged their flying swords into a stairway, with Chen Xiao’s sword at the highest step.
• Zhou Qing stepped onto the first flying sword and overpowered its owner’s control, then continued upward as each disciple grew pale and despondent.

Zhou Qing impressed Heavy Water Sect with his control over the disciples’ flying swords, then left for Cloud Mist Valley. On the road, a group of minor cultivators cornered him, claiming his strength came from formations and demanding he hand them over.

• Zhou Qing crossed Sword Mountain by stepping on the Heavy Water Sect disciples’ flying swords, then demonstrated his control over dozens of them before greeting the Sect Leader and Elders in Heaven One Pavilion.
• At the banquet, Heavy Water Sect praised Zhou Qing, and he suspected they hoped to provoke the Dharma Dissemination Dojo into targeting him.
• Back at Dust Fate Inn, Zhou Qing told Xiao Xiao he planned to visit Cloud Mist Valley; Xiao Xiao and Lin Li agreed to travel there separately, while the Yin Family siblings continued their journey.
• After Xiao Xiao and Lin Li left, Zhou Qing set out for Cloud Mist Valley and noticed more than a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators following him.
• The cultivators surrounded Zhou Qing and demanded his formations, claiming his power depended on them; Zhou Qing asked where they had learned this.

Zhou Qing uncovered a scheme targeting him as he traveled, then met Li Qiushui, who had staged an injury to infiltrate his side. He feigned concern and chose not to expose her, leaving her plan poised to begin.

• Zhou Qing defeated Rogue Cultivators who demanded his formations and suspected someone was spreading rumors to lure attackers toward him.
• He used Relay Stations to track a Golden Core-level pursuer who killed the Rogue Cultivators after questioning them and kept roughly fifty li behind him.
• For half a month, Zhou Qing let the pursuer follow him and watched him dispose of successive groups of attackers.
• When the pursuer moved ahead, Zhou Qing changed his route repeatedly to toy with him before heading toward his location.
• Zhou Qing found Li Qiushui beside several corpses, pretending to be gravely injured, and chose to act concerned rather than expose her plan to approach him.

Zhou Qing traveled with the injured Li Qiushui while covertly investigating her ability to suppress her Spirit Pressure and suspecting her ties to the Demonic Path. When a group led by a fat old man confronted him over an alleged killing, Zhou Qing challenged them to a strange bet that left Li Qiushui wondering how he could win without moving or using his abilities.

• Zhou Qing took Li Qiushui toward her home and probed her Spirit Pressure, concluding that she used a secret technique to suppress her emotions and might belong to the Demonic Path.
• After half a month, a large, organized group blocked Zhou Qing and Li Qiushui on the road.
• A young cultivator accused Zhou Qing of killing his elder brother, while Zhou Qing recognized the accusation as part of Li Qiushui's scheme to observe him in battle.
• Zhou Qing admitted the killing and proposed that he would let the group take his life if anyone remained standing after an incense stick burned, despite his not moving or using any abilities.

Zhou Qing defeated the people of Wang Family Fortress without moving by using an unseen infrasound attack, leaving Li Qiushui shaken by methods she could not understand. They continued traveling together, passing Wang Family Fortress and stopping to rest after nightfall.

• Li Qiushui recalled how she had investigated Zhou Qing and realized she could not fathom his intentions or methods.
• The Wang Family Fortress cultivators accepted Zhou Qing’s challenge, believing he could not defeat them while standing still and using no spells or divine abilities.
• Zhou Qing activated the Relay Station’s infrasound system and used a magnetic field to shield himself and Li Qiushui.
• The infrasound caused the Wang Family Fortress cultivators to collapse before one-third of an incense stick had burned, fulfilling Zhou Qing’s challenge.
• Li Qiushui feared that her growing dread of Zhou Qing could become a heart barrier, then continued traveling with him.
• Zhou Qing and Li Qiushui passed Wang Family Fortress and stopped to rest after traveling another eighty li.

Zhou Qing confronted Li Qiushui, exposed her scheme, and let her leave after revealing his plan to challenge the age’s favored geniuses. Li Qiushui decided to seek out Bai Yujing, while Zhou Qing recognized that his invincible mindset had begun to take shape and flew toward Cloud Mist Valley.

• Zhou Qing told Li Qiushui that he had known she was tracking him and had incited cultivators to attack him, then stopped her escape with a bolt of lightning.
• Zhou Qing explained that he had spared Li Qiushui and other favored geniuses because he intended to suppress them and watch them struggle to surpass him.
• Li Qiushui identified herself as the Saintess of the Path of Extreme Emotion, left, and later resolved to find Bai Yujing so they could exchange information about Zhou Qing.
• Zhou Qing watched Li Qiushui fly away through the Relay Station and realized his invincible mindset had begun to grow.
• After dawn, Zhou Qing rode his sword toward Cloud Mist Valley and saw many cultivators waiting ahead on flying swords.

Zhou Qing arrived at Cloud Mist Valley and insisted that Valley Master Shao Mingxi accept his challenge despite the sect’s plans to avoid a fight. Shao Mingxi began battling him, while Mu Zhenren secretly prepared to ambush Zhou Qing.

• Shao Mingxi and Cloud Mist Valley’s elders welcomed Zhou Qing, but Zhou Qing refused their invitation and demanded a fight.
• Xiao Xiao asked Zhou Qing why he was pressing Cloud Mist Valley, and Zhou Qing explained that he intended to challenge sects across both continents rather than single them out.
• Shao Mingxi accepted Zhou Qing’s challenge and sent the others away; he and Mu Zhenren planned for Mu Zhenren to attack Zhou Qing by surprise.
• Shao Mingxi activated his Celestial Fire True Body and circled Zhou Qing at tremendous speed before charging straight at him.

Zhou Qing used the Heavenly Net and iron pellets to counter Shao Mingxi’s Celestial Fire True Body, then swept away the Fire Crow Array with a Plasma Beam. As Shao Mingxi was cut in two, he felt a heat beyond anything a fire cultivator could imagine and seemed to glimpse the Great Dao.

• Zhou Qing entered the first stage of Withered Wood Revives and used the Heavenly Net to track Shao Mingxi’s movements.
• Zhou Qing struck Shao Mingxi with iron pellets, shattering his head and limbs before Shao Mingxi’s True Body regenerated.
• Shao Mingxi summoned thousands of fire crows and hid among them to attack Zhou Qing.
• Zhou Qing swept through the Fire Crow Array with a Plasma Beam and cut Shao Mingxi in two.
• Shao Mingxi felt terrifying heat from the Plasma Beam and seemed to glimpse the Great Dao.

Zhou Qing defeated Shao Mingxi, who conceded and welcomed him to Cloud Mist Valley. After three days of hospitality, Zhou demonstrated his plasma technique for the valley’s cultivators and departed.

• Zhou Qing defeated Shao Mingxi with a Plasma Beam, and Shao Mingxi intercepted Mu Zhenren’s attempted sneak attack before the two conceded to Zhou Qing.
• Shao Mingxi and Mu Zhenren invited Zhou Qing to Cloud Mist Valley, where he discussed learning from one another and joined them for three days of hospitality.
• Shao Mingxi asked Zhou Qing to guide Cloud Mist Valley in fire-element cultivation, and Zhou Qing agreed to demonstrate his self-created method.
• Zhou Qing created a blazing mass of plasma at the Scripture Transmission Plaza and launched it through the valley’s mist.
• Zhou Qing thanked Cloud Mist Valley for its hospitality and departed to attend to his unfinished business.

Zhou Qing traveled from Cloud Mist Valley toward the Profound Glory Sect with Xiao Xiao and Lin Li, attracting cultivators who tested him along the way. At the Profound Glory Sect, Wu Shizhong conceded without a fight, but Zhou Qing refused to accept the concession and insisted on proving his vow to beat the world into submission.

• Shao Mingxi sent Xiao Xiao and Lin Li to accompany Zhou Qing, and the three left Cloud Mist Valley together.
• On the journey to the Profound Glory Sect, Zhou Qing fought or turned away cultivators who challenged him while Xiao Xiao and Lin Li gained experience from meeting talented cultivators.
• Zhou Qing, Xiao Xiao, and Lin Li arrived at Profound Glory Mountain, where thousands had gathered to witness his challenge.
• Wu Shizhong greeted Zhou Qing and conceded, saying he knew he was no stronger than Three Mysteries True Person or Shao Mingxi.
• Zhou Qing told Wu Shizhong that he would not accept the concession and insisted on beating the world into submission.