Chapter Summaries

Key plot points

• Zhao Guizhen and his daughter, Zhao Yueling, visit Chen Mu to deliver a gift of thanks. During the visit, they witness a huge Ancient Saint Dragon emerge from the red clouds to hatch a fire dragon egg.
• Chen Mu calmly explains that the dragons belong to him. The sight convinces Zhao Guizhen and Zhao Yueling that Chen Mu’s power is godlike, and that pledging allegiance to him was far wiser than joining the Five Poisons Holy Land.
• After the guests leave, Ye Qingcheng explains that she serves as Chen Mu’s maid, attending to his daily needs. Zhao Yueling is astonished—and envious—while Zhao Guizhen sees the position as a potentially life-changing opportunity.
• Back inside, Chen Mu asks Ye Qingcheng what she thinks of the visitors. She mistakenly answers that Zhao Yueling seems romantically interested in him. Their conversation ends with Ye Qingcheng serving Chen Mu chilled fruit.
• The system completes an upgrade and unlocks God Rank Beast Taming. It offers unlimited draws, and the system assures Chen Mu that every beast obtained will be permanently and absolutely loyal, with disobedient creatures automatically erased. Chen Mu begins his first draw.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Guizhen is deeply humbled by Chen Mu’s power and becomes even more convinced that serving him would offer a brilliant future.
• Zhao Yueling is awed by the dragon, curious about Ye Qingcheng’s relationship with Chen Mu, and envious of Ye’s privileged position.
• Ye Qingcheng continues her attentive service to Chen Mu, responding politely to the guests and personally bringing him fruit. She misreads his question about the visitors as a request to comment on Zhao Yueling’s attraction to him.
• Chen Mu remains relaxed and self-assured, treating the dragons as ordinary possessions. The new system feature excites him with the prospect of instantly loyal beasts and unlimited draws.

Significant themes

• Overwhelming power and awe: Chen Mu’s dragons make him seem divine to those around him.
• Loyalty and ambition: The visitors view allegiance to Chen Mu as a path to safety and advancement.
• Service and status: Working in Chen Mu’s household is presented as an extraordinary privilege because of his influence.
• System-assisted power: The new feature promises to make Chen Mu’s already formidable position even stronger.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Mu’s Beast Taming system awards him the Moon-Devouring Wolf King, a loyal million-year Demon King—an almost unheard-of beast in the current era.
• Knowing the Wolf King’s release could devastate Qingyun Prefecture, Chen Mu opens a spatial portal to find a more suitable place. Ye Qingcheng joins him.
• They arrive instantly at the distant Falling Star Great Forest, where Ye Qingcheng recognizes that sect trials are underway.
• A thousand-year Wind-Chasing White-Tailed Tiger attacks, and Ye Qingcheng kills it with one sword strike.
• Seven Sky Sword Sect disciples confront Chen Mu and Ye Qingcheng, demanding the tiger and their valuables. After recognizing Ye Qingcheng as the sect’s Saintess, one disciple makes a lewd suggestion.
• Chen Mu annihilates all seven with a thought, destroying their bodies and souls. He and Ye Qingcheng then leave; she collects the tiger for the holy land’s use.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu is intrigued by his extraordinary new Demon King but remains practical, delaying its release to avoid collateral destruction. He shows casual, overwhelming power when the disciples threaten him and Ye Qingcheng.
• Ye Qingcheng is devoted to Chen Mu and eager to protect him, despite the vast gap in their strength. She displays her own combat skill by killing the tiger and is awed by Chen Mu’s effortless slaughter of the disciples.
• The disciples’ greed and arrogance turn their encounter with Chen Mu into a fatal confrontation. Their attempt to intimidate the pair—and one disciple’s lechery—seals their fate.

Significant themes

• Power and hierarchy: Chen Mu’s strength is so far beyond ordinary cultivators that even a group of armed disciples poses no challenge.
• Absolute loyalty and control: The Wolf King’s system-enforced obedience underscores Chen Mu’s authority over his new companion.
• Cruelty of sect trials: The assessments permit disciples to kill and plunder one another, normalizing predation among the weak and strong alike.
• Devotion and protection: Ye Qingcheng’s loyalty motivates her to accompany and defend Chen Mu, even though he needs no protection.

Plot points and events

• Seven disciples’ Life Tokens shatter outside the Falling Star Great Forest. An elder assumes they were killed by a ten-thousand-year demon beast, unaware that Chen Mu was responsible.
• A hundred-thousand-year beast erupts from the forest, prompting elders from several sects to end the assessment and work together to protect the remaining disciples.
• Chen Mu identifies the creature as a 130,000-year-old Icefire Lion-Tiger Beast, awakened and enraged. He and Ye Qingcheng head toward it.
• Several Inner Court prodigies have foolishly tried to subdue the beast. The elders’ attacks only distract it long enough for disciples to flee; the beast’s ice and flames kill some of them.
• An elder urges Chen Mu and Ye Qingcheng to run. Chen Mu instead protects them by releasing Imperial Might, dispersing the beast’s attack and throwing its enormous body hundreds of meters through the forest.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains calm in the face of overwhelming danger. He sees the beast as a chance to test the Moon-Devouring Wolf King and reveals power that identifies him as a Great Emperor.
• Ye Qingcheng recognizes the reckless prodigies and condemns their arrogance; she follows Chen Mu to the scene.
• The prodigy disciples go from confident challengers to terrified survivors, realizing their strength cannot match the beast.
• The elders initially coordinate a retreat and rescue, then react with shock and deference once they recognize Chen Mu’s Imperial Might.

Significant themes

• Arrogance and consequences: Talent and numbers cannot compensate for underestimating a vastly stronger opponent.
• Power and hierarchy: Chen Mu’s effortless intervention exposes the gulf between a Great Emperor and the assembled elders and disciples.
• Recklessness versus responsibility: The elders try to protect the disciples, while Chen Mu’s composure contrasts with the challengers’ panic.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Mu’s aura sends the hundred-thousand-year Icefire Lion-Tiger Beast crashing through the forest, convincing the onlookers that he is an invincible Great Emperor.
• When the beast charges again, Chen Mu releases his tamed Moon-Devouring Wolf King through the system’s God Rank Beast Taming feature.
• The Wolf King’s immense presence terrifies everyone. The Icefire Lion-Tiger Beast tries to flee, but the Wolf King kills it instantly with a blast of spiritual energy.
• The elders beg Chen Mu to destroy the apparent Demon King. He reveals it is already his tamed beast; the Wolf King obediently lowers itself for him to pet.
• The group is overwhelmed by the revelation, praises Chen Mu, and considers avoiding any conflict with the Tianyuan Holy Land. As Chen Mu prepares to return to Qingyun Prefecture, a sudden rumble interrupts him.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains calm and unimpressed by the Wolf King’s terrifying display. He uses it as a straightforward solution to the attacking beast and confirms the power of his system.
• Ye Qingcheng grows more devoted to Chen Mu, feeling honored to serve him and openly admiring his strength. Even she is frightened by the Wolf King’s arrival.
• The elders and other witnesses shift from fear and confusion to awe and submission. They mistake the Wolf King for a world-threatening Demon King, then realize Chen Mu commands it and begin considering allegiance to his sect.
• The Moon-Devouring Wolf King demonstrates overwhelming power and unquestioning obedience to Chen Mu.

Significant themes

• Overwhelming power and hierarchy: The contrast between the Wolf King and the Icefire Lion-Tiger Beast makes the difference in their strength unmistakable.
• Appearance versus reality: The witnesses assume the Wolf King is a threat, only to discover it is Chen Mu’s loyal tamed beast.
• Reverence and political influence: Chen Mu’s display of power transforms fear into admiration and may reshape how other sects relate to the Tianyuan Holy Land.

Plot and key events

• Chen Mu’s divine sense expands across the entire Falling Star Great Forest, revealing that the tremors come from an enormous Earthcore Flame Serpent emerging from underground.
• The serpent has 1.4 million years of cultivation, surpassing Chen Mu’s Moon-Devouring Wolf King by 400,000 years. The system says the Wolf King would inevitably lose to it within three moves.
• The serpent attacks Chen Mu, but he casually flicks a finger and sends its nearly thousand-meter body flying.
• While the serpent boasts and prepares another attack, Chen Mu discovers he can make ten consecutive Beast Taming draws. The results include eight beasts with one million years of cultivation, a five-million-year Double-Pupiled Qilin, and a ten-million-year Nine-Tailed Fox Demon.
• When the serpent blasts Chen Mu with lava, Ye Qingcheng warns him. Chen Mu releases the Mountain-Backed Black Tortoise, whose immense defense blocks the attack.
• The serpent condemns the tortoise and Wolf King for serving a human. In response, Chen Mu releases the other nine newly drawn beasts, setting up a show of overwhelming force.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains confident and casual, treating a powerful ancient monster as little more than an opportunity to test his new beasts. His ten-draw haul turns an already favorable confrontation into what he considers certain victory.
• The Earthcore Flame Serpent shifts from arrogant menace to surprise and unease after Chen Mu effortlessly knocks it aside and summons another million-year beast. It tries to shame Chen Mu’s tamed creatures, but they remain loyal and await his orders.
• Ye Qingcheng demonstrates concern for Chen Mu by warning him when the serpent attacks.
• The assembled cultivators react with escalating fear and awe, recognizing that Chen Mu’s strength and growing collection of powerful beasts leave him nearly impossible to oppose.

Significant themes

• Overwhelming power and confidence: Chen Mu’s effortless defense and expanding arsenal dwarf the serpent’s threat.
• Loyalty versus pride: The serpent sees serving a human as disgraceful, while Chen Mu’s beasts’ obedience underscores their bond and allegiance.
• Escalation and spectacle: Each new revelation—the serpent’s age, Chen Mu’s strength, and the ten rare draws—raises the stakes and heightens anticipation for the coming clash.

Plot points and events

• A host of ancient, powerful demonic beasts appears in the Falling Star Great Forest, including a Double-Pupiled Qilin with millions of years of cultivation and a ten-million-year Nine-Tailed Fox Demon. Their arrival terrifies the onlookers and leaves the Earthcore Flame Serpent with no hope of winning.
• When the serpent tries to escape, Chen Mu orders the beasts to stop it. The Azure Baleful Lion Beast bites its tail, drags it from its burrow, and the Demon Kings surround it.
• Chen Mu appears atop the Nine-Tailed Fox. Though bystanders assume he is in danger, Ye Qingcheng rebukes them for underestimating him. The serpent reveals that all the beasts obey Chen Mu, shocking the witnesses.
• The Earthcore Flame Serpent begs to submit. Chen Mu accepts, and his God Rank Beast Taming ability locks its loyalty at 100%.
• Chen Mu sends the serpent and the other beasts to a miniature world where cultivation advances a hundred times faster, hoping they will grow stronger through competition. He then opens a portal for Ye Qingcheng and departs; the crowd kneels to bid him farewell.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu demonstrates command over a formidable group of Demon Kings and adds the Earthcore Flame Serpent to his forces. He plans to strengthen his beasts rather than cultivate personally.
• The Earthcore Flame Serpent shifts from arrogance and attempted flight to fear, then submission, recognizing Chen Mu’s overwhelming power and the potential benefits of serving him.
• Ye Qingcheng fiercely defends Chen Mu against the crowd’s doubts, asserting her faith in his strength.
• The witnesses move from disbelief and condescension to awe and submission once they realize the beasts obey Chen Mu.

Significant themes

• Power and perception: The crowd misjudges Chen Mu until the serpent exposes his authority over the beasts.
• Submission through overwhelming strength: The serpent’s surrender is driven by both survival and the hope of gaining from Chen Mu’s unusual abilities.
• Strategic growth: Chen Mu uses the accelerated miniature world to make his beasts stronger with minimal effort.

Key events

• The cultivators who witnessed Chen Mu and Ye Qingcheng depart realize that Tianyuan’s rise is driven not by the Demon Kings, but by Chen Mu himself. They discuss the Southern Region’s political shift: the Eastern Pole Holy Land has already submitted, and other sects may have to follow—or leave.
• Back in Qingyun Prefecture, Ye Qingcheng tells Chen Mu she has stalled in the Trial Tower, where she can withstand only three sword strikes from the remnant of the famed swordsman Chen Shu.
• Chen Mu opens a portal to his hundredfold cultivation pocket world. He explains that its immense spiritual energy lets her cultivate a hundred times faster, gives her a Rune to return, and leaves her there to train. Ye Qingcheng quickly breaks through her stalled minor realm and resolves to keep cultivating.
• Chen Mu watches her progress through the Heaven-Peering Mirror and jokes that everyone around him is too driven. The System suggests his strength puts pressure on them; Chen Mu takes pride in becoming the “other people’s child.”
• Jian Jianghe, sect master of the Hehuan Sect and Chen Mu’s uncle by marriage, visits. After jokingly complaining that his wife has been interrogating and pinching him since Chen Mu exposed a past matter, he reveals his real purpose: he wants Chen Mu to take over as sect master.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains relaxed and powerful, casually offering Ye Qingcheng extraordinary training while preferring leisure himself. His growing influence is reshaping the Southern Region and even prompting a possible change in Hehuan Sect leadership.
• Ye Qingcheng shows complete trust in Chen Mu and an intense commitment to improving. The pocket world gives her a major opportunity to advance.
• Jian Jianghe maintains a humorous, familiar rapport with Chen Mu, but his offer marks a serious transition: he is prepared to hand the sect’s leadership to his nephew by marriage.
• The surrounding cultivators recognize that Chen Mu—not merely Tianyuan Holy Land—is the decisive force behind the region’s new order.

Significant themes

• Power and political realignment: Chen Mu’s strength changes the balance among sects and holy lands.
• Cultivation and ambition: Ye Qingcheng’s eagerness to improve contrasts with Chen Mu’s preference for comfort, while his presence motivates others to push themselves.
• Trust and influence: Ye Qingcheng accepts Chen Mu’s help without hesitation, and others increasingly orient their choices around his power.
• Succession and responsibility: Jian Jianghe’s proposal raises the prospect of Chen Mu inheriting authority over the Hehuan Sect.

Plot points and events

• Jian Jianghe offers Chen Mu the position of Hehuan Sect’s next sect master, arguing that he distrusts the other candidates and believes Chen Mu can reform the sect. He also hopes the role will shield Chen Mu from pressure to become Holy Lord.
• Chen Mu initially resists, seeing both positions as burdensome. A newly unlocked system feature—one-click automated sect management—changes his mind, and he accepts the jade token.
• Chen Mu shares Top-Grade Enlightenment Tea with Jian Jianghe. The tea rapidly advances Jian Jianghe’s swordsmanship, and Jian repays him with his unnamed, exceptionally powerful sword technique. Chen Mu comprehends it perfectly at once.
• Chen uses the system to inspect the Hehuan Sect’s nearly 4,000 members, then activates automated management and leaves the system to handle the sect.
• Later, awakened by the smell of food, Chen encounters an unfamiliar, alluring woman who calls him “Sect Master.” He realizes she must be from the Hehuan Sect and asks the system to identify her; the chapter ends before the result appears.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu reluctantly takes on leadership, but his willingness depends on the system making the responsibility effortless. His extraordinary cultivation and instant mastery of the sword technique are reinforced.
• Jian Jianghe reveals that his reluctance to remain sect master is driven partly by fear of his formidable wife, Chen Hui. He trusts Chen Mu with both the sect’s future and his prized technique.
• Chen and Jian exchange favors: Chen provides the tea, while Jian gives Chen his strongest sword strike. Their conversation mixes sincere concern about the sect with comic relief about Jian’s domestic troubles.

Significant themes

• Power and responsibility: Chen accepts authority only when he can delegate its practical demands.
• Trust and reform: Jian sees Chen as a trustworthy leader capable of restoring the Hehuan Sect’s reputation.
• Supernatural convenience: The system and enlightenment tea turn daunting work and difficult training into near-instant achievements.
• Comedy beneath serious stakes: Jian’s fear of his wife contrasts with the importance of the sect-master succession.

Key plot points and events

• Su Mei, the Hehuan Sect’s saintess, visits Qingyun Prefecture to meet Chen Mu and see his power firsthand. She praises him and, over dinner, warns that demoted elders may secretly turn against the sect.
• Chen Mu uses the Heaven-Peering Mirror to reveal several disgruntled elders plotting rebellion or planning to plunder the sect’s treasury and flee.
• Rather than send evidence to the Enforcement Pavilion, Chen Mu tests the Nameless Sword Strike he recently learned from Jian Jianghe. A single finger-slash sends sword energy across the distance, erasing the elders and Heartbinding Peak while sparing everyone else.
• Su Mei is stunned by the demonstration. As they resume eating, a Teleportation Gate opens and Ye Qingcheng arrives. Chen Mu notices that she has reached the Innate Martial Master Realm.

Character developments

• Chen Mu shows confidence in his authority and control: he identifies threats, eliminates them instantly, and is pleased with the sword technique’s power.
• Su Mei begins the visit respectfully but becomes deeply awed by Chen Mu’s abilities. Her concern for the Hehuan Sect’s stability also shows her sense of responsibility.
• Ye Qingcheng appears at the end having made a major cultivation breakthrough, suggesting her circumstances may be changing.

Significant themes

• Power and authority: Chen Mu’s overwhelming strength lets him resolve a political threat in an instant.
• Loyalty and reform: The elders’ resentment over losing privileged positions contrasts with the sect’s effort to place capable people in meaningful roles.
• Perception versus reality: The conspirators believe their plans are secret, unaware that Chen Mu has already exposed them.
• Transformation and potential: Ye Qingcheng’s unexpected advancement hints that a person written off as powerless may still rise.

Character interactions

• Su Mei respectfully voices her concerns to Chen Mu, who reassures her through the mirror’s revelations and his decisive response.
• Chen Mu invites Su Mei to dine with him, balancing casual hospitality with unmistakable authority.
• Ye Qingcheng’s arrival shifts the scene from the elders’ destruction to her personal progress, which Chen Mu immediately recognizes.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Qingcheng returns from cultivating in Chen Mu’s Pocket World and reveals she has reached the Innate Martial Master realm—an astonishing leap from her previous cultivation level.
• Su Mei realizes Ye’s rapid progress came from the Pocket World, where cultivation is exactly one hundred times faster. Her assumption that Ye was a hostage or discarded pawn is overturned: she now sees the arrangement as an extraordinary blessing.
• Ye learns that Chen Mu has become sect master of the Hehuan Sect. She reacts awkwardly, disapproving of the sect’s poor reputation, but eagerly praises the Pocket World’s benefits.
• Su Mei, overwhelmed by Chen Mu’s power and the revelations about the Pocket World, leaves to return to the Hehuan Sect and reassure its members.
• Chen Mu opens a spatial portal that instantly carries Su Mei home. There, disciples ask about the portal, the destruction of Heartbinding Peak, the dead elders, and the new sect master. Su Mei calls the destruction deserved, then produces a Recording Stone, apparently preparing to explain or show what happened.

Character developments

• Ye Qingcheng has grown dramatically stronger and remains openly delighted by her cultivation progress. Her devoted, familiar care toward Chen Mu contrasts with her former image as a proud, formidable martial artist.
• Su Mei shifts from disbelief and suspicion to awe and submission before Chen Mu’s overwhelming abilities. She also recognizes a chance to earn his favor while fulfilling her responsibility to the sect.
• Chen Mu displays effortless authority through his Pocket World and instant spatial travel, while handling Ye’s discomfort about the Hehuan Sect with a change of subject.

Significant themes

• Power beyond ordinary understanding: Chen Mu’s abilities leave even accomplished cultivators feeling insignificant.
• Opportunity hidden in apparent misfortune: What Su Mei thought was Ye’s captivity proves to be the source of extraordinary advancement.
• Reputation versus reality: Ye’s discomfort reflects the Hehuan Sect’s tarnished image, despite its members not all fitting that reputation.
• Loyalty and ambition: Su Mei seeks both to steady her sect and to gain Chen Mu’s approval.

Character interactions

• Su Mei compares her own progress with Ye’s and recognizes that she is now vastly outclassed.
• Ye serves Chen Mu affectionately, while Su Mei watches in surprise at the contrast with Ye’s former pride.
• Chen Mu supports Su Mei’s return by providing instant transport.
• Back at the Hehuan Sect, Su Mei faces a crowd of curious disciples and begins to address the rumors and recent calamities.

Plot points and events

• Su Mei shows the Hehuan Sect disciples a recording of elders plotting to overthrow the sect. The footage also reveals a terrifying sword strike that killed the conspirators.
• She identifies the strike as Chen Mu’s and praises him as a supreme Great Emperor. She speculates that he has the Space Saint Body, prompting disciples to wonder whether he also possesses the rumored Myriad Thunder Dao Body.
• Deputy Sect Master Bai Yun announces a major reform: the Inner Court will abandon its former cultivation practices for a method that lets disciples cultivate by absorbing yang energy without sexual relations. The Outer Court’s separate, pragmatic role—including its brothels, income, connections, and intelligence network—remains unchanged.
• At Tianyuan, Chen Mu considers the danger of a complete Devouring Art, then receives it through the system as a sign-in reward. He instantly reaches full comprehension.
• Looking for a test subject, Chen Mu decides to visit Tianyuan Holy Land’s dungeon and use its prisoners. He invites Ye Qingcheng to accompany him.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Mei acts as the messenger and staunchly promotes Chen Mu’s reputation, calling him the greatest Great Emperor.
• The disciples react with outrage at the conspiracy and awe at Chen Mu’s power; the possibility that he has multiple Saint Bodies leaves them stunned.
• Bai Yun steps in as an authoritative administrator, explaining how the sect’s reforms preserve a distinction between its respectable Inner Court and its commercially useful Outer Court.
• Chen Mu is curious and opportunistic: once he gains the Heaven-Devouring Art, he immediately seeks prisoners as test subjects, though he rules out using his trusted companions.
• Ye Qingcheng approaches Chen Mu while carrying water for him and is invited along.

Significant themes

• Reform versus tradition: The Hehuan Sect changes its Inner Court practices while retaining the Outer Court’s established, utilitarian role.
• Power and reputation: The recording turns Chen Mu’s distant intervention into a source of awe and speculation.
• Moral ambiguity: Chen Mu views dungeon prisoners as convenient experimental subjects, raising questions about how power shapes his sense of responsibility.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Mu and Ye Qingcheng visit the Tianyuan Holy Land’s heavily fortified Heavenly Prison, where escape is considered nearly impossible.
• The prison commander, Chen Wuxin—Chen Mu’s uncle—welcomes him warmly. Chen Mu explains that he wants to test a new cultivation art on a prisoner rather than risk harming fellow disciples. Chen Wuxin agrees and leads them inside.
• Ye Qingcheng is unnerved by the prison’s oppressive atmosphere, its brutal restraints, and the dangerous prisoners.
• Chen Wuxin selects an imprisoned “madman” who once suffered cultivation deviation and killed more than thirty Tianyuan disciples. The man’s cultivation, at the Martial Saint Realm’s third layer, is sealed by chains through his shoulders.
• When the prisoner suddenly lunges at Chen Mu, Chen Mu remains calm and stops Ye Qingcheng from intervening. He grabs the man’s face and activates the Heaven-Devouring Art, which offers him a choice of devouring the prisoner’s cultivation, life force, or memories.

Character developments

• Chen Mu is shown as composed, confident, and willing to test his new art on a dangerous criminal. His invincible domain and apparent control of the situation reinforce his overwhelming power.
• Chen Wuxin is affectionate and approving toward his nephew, readily helping him and treating the experiment as a form of punishment for the prisoner.
• Ye Qingcheng reflects on her former pride and recognizes how extraordinary Chen Mu’s talent and self-control are. Her confidence falters in the prison, where she senses the inmates’ danger.
• The madman shifts from appearing subdued and helpless to suddenly revealing his violent, unpredictable nature.

Significant themes

• Power and security: The Heavenly Prison’s arrays, restraints, and guards make freedom virtually unattainable.
• Confidence versus danger: Chen Mu’s calm contrasts with Ye Qingcheng’s fear and the prisoners’ threats.
• Punishment and experimentation: The chapter presents the prisoner’s suffering as both retribution and an opportunity for Chen Mu to test his cultivation art.
• Talent and humility: Ye Qingcheng admires that Chen Mu remains composed despite his immense gifts and background.

Character interactions

• Chen Mu and Chen Wuxin share a familiar, affectionate uncle-nephew relationship, though Chen Mu gently asks him to drop the formality.
• Chen Wuxin’s authority silences the mocking prisoners when they jeer at Chen Mu.
• Ye Qingcheng tries to protect Chen Mu when the madman attacks, but Chen Mu stops her and handles the threat himself.
• The chapter ends at a pivotal moment: Chen Mu must choose what to devour from the prisoner.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Mu discovers that his perfected Heaven-Devouring Art can extract not only cultivation, but also vitality and memories, with no apparent limit. The System confirms he can choose what to devour—and repeat the process while anything remains to take.
• He devours everything from a deranged prisoner: the man’s third-level Martial Saint cultivation, vitality, and memories. The System removes impurities from the cultivation, which Chen Mu suspects caused the prisoner’s cultivation deviation.
• The prisoner briefly regains his senses, then panics as his cultivation is stolen. After Chen Mu finishes, the man collapses as a brittle, emaciated corpse.
• The other prisoners are horrified and accuse Tianyuan Holy Land of practicing evil arts. Chen Mu challenges their claims, arguing that in their world the strong rule and that power is not evil merely because others fear or cannot understand it.
• When the prisoners turn on Chen Wuxin for protecting Chen Mu, he openly backs his nephew and invokes Chen Mu’s status as the future Tianyuan Young Master. The prisoners realize Chen Mu is the prodigy who became the Southern Region’s second living Great Emperor before age twenty.
• One prisoner continues insulting Chen Mu, prompting Ye Qingcheng to defend her young master. Chen Mu ignores the dispute, leaves the cell, and prepares to use the art on everyone at once.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu learns the full scope and practical uses of his art, including its value for extracting intelligence. He remains calm and unapologetic despite others’ fear, and his confidence in his power is reinforced.
• Ye Qingcheng is shaken by what she witnesses—especially after previously offering to be Chen Mu’s test subject—but becomes fiercely protective when others insult him.
• Chen Wuxin firmly chooses family loyalty over the prisoners’ accusations and appears amused by Ye Qingcheng’s devotion to Chen Mu.
• The prisoners shift from outrage to fear once they understand what Chen Mu can do; their appeals to justice are undermined by their own fear of becoming his next victims.

Significant themes

• Power and morality: The chapter challenges the boundary between strength and “evil,” with Chen Mu arguing that society condemns what it cannot control.
• Fear of the unknown: The witnesses label the art wicked largely because of its terrifying effects and their inability to resist it.
• Loyalty and protection: Chen Wuxin’s family allegiance and Ye Qingcheng’s defense of Chen Mu contrast with the prisoners’ self-preservation.
• Power without restraint: Chen Mu’s final intention to devour everyone raises the stakes and suggests the art’s immense strength may also enable indiscriminate violence.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Mu uses the Heaven-Devouring Art on the chained prisoners, draining their cultivation, vitality, and memories until they become dried corpses.
• He explains that his Infinite Dantian lets him keep growing stronger even though the Great Emperor Realm has no recognized higher levels. He expects the revelation to deter challengers—or provide him with more power if they come anyway.
• Chen Wuxin warns that teaching the art could unleash widespread chaos, since people might be tempted to gain strength by devouring others. Chen Mu assures him the Southern Region will remain safe.
• A violent tremor signals another escape attempt by a prisoner deep in the Heavenly Prison. Chen Wuxin explains that the prisoner has the immortal lotus root Saint Body, which lets him recover even after being chopped to pieces.
• Chen Mu asks to meet the prisoner. Chen Wuxin agrees, curious to see whether the Heaven-Devouring Art can consume a Quasi-Emperor’s cultivation—or even affect a Saint Body.
• At the dungeon’s deepest chamber, array masters are reinforcing the prisoner’s spherical barrier. After the prisoner threatens them, Chen Mu sends the array masters away and steps forward.

Character developments

• Chen Mu reveals the scale and versatility of his power, displaying confidence in his ability to grow stronger and control the consequences. His curiosity leads him to confront a notoriously resilient prisoner.
• Chen Wuxin is shaken by the Heaven-Devouring Art and worries about its danger to the wider world, but trusts Chen Mu to prevent chaos. He remains protective of his nephew even as curiosity draws him toward the prisoner.
• Ye Qingcheng is stunned by the art’s ability to steal memories and vitality as well as cultivation, and is overwhelmed by the prisoner’s Quasi-Emperor-level roar.

Significant themes

• Power and its consequences: The Heaven-Devouring Art could destabilize society if widely used, making restraint as important as strength.
• Limitless growth: Chen Mu’s unusual cultivation foundation challenges the accepted limits of the Great Emperor Realm.
• Resilience and containment: The prisoner’s regenerative Saint Body makes ordinary execution ineffective, forcing the authorities to rely on sealing him.

Character interactions

• Chen Wuxin questions Chen Mu about his art, warns him against sharing it, and ultimately affirms his confidence in him.
• Ye Qingcheng silently witnesses Chen Mu’s power and reacts with awe to both the devouring and the prisoner’s roar.
• Chen Mu and Chen Wuxin discuss the prisoner’s repeated escape attempts and unusual body before agreeing to meet him; Chen Mu then takes charge of the encounter.

Plot points and events

• An elderly formation master, who regards Chen Mu like a grandson, anxiously urges him to stay safe before leaving.
• Lin Dongqing mocks Chen Mu and offers to help him claim the Tianyuan Holy Lord’s position if Chen Mu frees him. Ye Qingcheng bristles at the insult, while Chen Mu ignores it.
• Chen Mu’s system identifies Lin Dongqing as an 876-year-old Quasi-Emperor with an Immortal Lotus Root Saint Body, which can regenerate him but costs vitality and cultivation.
• Lin Dongqing has been pretending to talk while secretly weakening the Dragon-Trapping Formation. Once it breaks, he charges at Chen Mu and strikes, expecting to kill him.
• Chen Mu releases overwhelming Emperor’s Might. Lin Dongqing and the others are pinned down, and the floor cracks beneath the captive.
• Lin Dongqing assumes Chen Mu must be an ancient Chen-family ancestor in disguise. Chen Wuxin corrects him: Chen Mu is the family’s young master and the future Holy Lord, a prodigy who reached the Great Emperor Realm before twenty.
• Chen Mu ignores Lin Dongqing’s disbelief and focuses on a new system option that allows him to devour a Saint Body. He chooses to proceed.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains calm under insult and attack, revealing the vast gap between his Great Emperor power and Lin Dongqing’s Quasi-Emperor strength. His attention quickly shifts to the system’s new ability.
• Lin Dongqing goes from smugly manipulating the others to being crushed by Chen Mu’s presence. Unable to accept Chen Mu’s age and power, he clings to the theory that Chen Mu is an ancient disguised ancestor.
• Ye Qingcheng is protective of Chen Mu and visibly angered by Lin Dongqing’s insults; she and the others are initially unable to intervene when Chen Mu’s pressure descends.
• Chen Wuxin openly defends and identifies Chen Mu, confidently praising his talent.
• The elderly formation master’s concern underscores his affectionate, grandfatherly bond with Chen Mu.

Significant themes

• Power and expectation: Lin Dongqing’s assumptions about age, rank, and who can claim authority collapse when he encounters Chen Mu.
• Underestimation and arrogance: Lin Dongqing’s contempt leads him to misjudge Chen Mu and attack with disastrous results.
• Family affection and loyalty: The formation master’s care and Chen Wuxin’s defense show the warmth and loyalty surrounding Chen Mu.
• System-driven advancement: Chen Mu’s ability to absorb a Saint Body introduces a new path for gaining power—and potentially inheriting its costs.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Mu uses his Heaven-Devouring Art to strip Lin Dongqing of the Immortal Lotus Root Saint Body. Lin is furious, but Chen Mu silences him by pinning his head into the ground.
• Since Chen Mu already has the superior Undying Immortal Saint Body, he offers the stolen body to his uncle, Chen Wuxin. Wuxin initially urges him to keep it for the sake of the family, but accepts after Chen Mu explains that he has no need for it.
• Chen Mu transfers the saint body to Wuxin. The system guarantees a safe, rapid fusion, and Chen Mu explains that the body can regenerate from severe injuries, though extreme damage may cost cultivation and vitality.
• The system rewards Chen Mu with 100 Custom Saint Bodies, letting him choose any physique from the Three Thousand Physique Rankings. He imagines equipping the whole Tianyuan Holy Land with powerful saint bodies.
• Eager to test his new ability, Wuxin chops off his own hand. Blood-like tendrils reconnect the severed limb, and it begins healing immediately.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu shows confidence in his own near-immortality and generosity toward his family. He treats the saint body as more valuable in Wuxin’s hands than his own and discovers that gifting it brings an extraordinary system reward.
• Chen Wuxin shifts from selfless hesitation to joyful acceptance. His reckless, front-line fighting style makes the body especially useful—and he immediately demonstrates his enthusiasm by testing its regeneration.
• Ye Qingcheng admires Chen Mu’s generosity and the supportive, uncompetitive family culture around him, which she envies.
• Lin Dongqing loses his saint body and is left powerless to protest effectively.
• The formation master reacts with alarm when Wuxin begins testing his new powers.

Significant themes

• Family loyalty and generosity: Chen Mu shares power rather than hoarding it, and Wuxin initially prioritizes the family over himself.
• Power and immortality: The Undying Immortal Saint Body establishes Chen Mu as extraordinarily difficult to kill, while Wuxin’s new body offers powerful regeneration.
• Escalating rewards and ambition: The system’s rebate turns one gift into the possibility of granting saint bodies throughout the holy land.
• Recklessness versus restraint: Wuxin’s eagerness to test his body contrasts with Chen Mu’s warning that regeneration still has limits.

Plot points and events

• Chen Mu’s group witnesses the successful, near-instant transplant of Lin Dongqing’s Saint Body into Chen Wuxin, confirming its compatibility. Lin Dongqing realizes what he has lost and begs to return to Tianyuan Holy Land in exchange for service.
• Chen Mu refuses and devours Lin Dongqing’s cultivation, storing it instead of absorbing it himself. He gives it to Ye Qingcheng, whose cultivation surges from Innate Martial Master all the way to the middle stage of the Quasi-Emperor Realm.
• The gift triggers a hundredfold return for Chen Mu, raising him to the twelfth layer of the Great Emperor Realm. He then drains Lin Dongqing’s vitality, killing him.
• Chen Mu returns to Qingyun Prefecture and sends Ye Qingcheng to the Trial Tower so she can adjust to her new power. His ability to open gates without formations leads Chen Wuxin and the formation masters to suspect he also possesses the Space Saint Body.
• At the Trial Tower, onlookers praise Ye Qingcheng’s diligence and Chen Mu’s judgment. They fail to notice that Song Wanjun, the Great Wu Dynasty’s eldest princess, is nearby.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu demonstrates ruthless pragmatism, treating Lin Dongqing as a source of resources rather than someone worth negotiating with. He also shows strategic generosity by giving Ye Qingcheng cultivation to maximize his own hundredfold return.
• Ye Qingcheng advances beyond anything she once thought possible and responds with deep gratitude. She immediately seeks to train at the Trial Tower to master her new realm.
• Lin Dongqing shifts from arrogant defiance to desperate pleading, then fury, before Chen Mu kills him.
• Chen Wuxin benefits from the Saint Body transplant and is astonished by Chen Mu’s suspected Space Saint Body and extraordinary power. His envy deepens, though he still hopes his descendants might inherit even a fraction of Chen Mu’s talent.
• The formation masters and spectators are awed by Chen Mu and Ye Qingcheng, while their dismissive talk about the Great Wu princess creates an ironic contrast with Song Wanjun’s unnoticed presence.

Significant themes

• Power and its exploitation: Chen Mu can strip away bodies, cultivation, and vitality, turning even a powerful enemy into resources.
• Merit and favoritism: Ye Qingcheng’s trust in Chen Mu is rewarded with a life-changing gift, while observers interpret her advancement as proof of his judgment.
• Escalating wonder and envy: Each revelation of Chen Mu’s abilities leaves witnesses more amazed and makes even modest comparisons to his strength seem inadequate.

Plot and events

• Song Wanjun overhears people mock her feelings for Chen Mu. Though stung, she accepts that gossip is inevitable and turns her attention to the Trial Tower, where Ye Qingcheng is making a striking climb.
• Ye Qingcheng reaches the 120th layer with ease. Facing a formidable opponent, she unleashes her Quasi-Emperor-level Emperor’s Might, overwhelming the spectators and confirming her immense strength.
• Song Wanjun realizes how far she is from Chen Mu and Ye Qingcheng, then quietly returns to Book Mountain to devote herself to Confucian cultivation.
• Ye Qingcheng’s tower run is preserved as a difficult, high-reward phantom challenge for other disciples.
• Chen Mu watches Ye Qingcheng’s performance and is pleased. He also checks on Zhang Shengcai, whose Golden Bell Tyrant Body Art is approaching mastery, and gives Li Chengzun and Mo Yuan guidance on reviving the Confucian Dao.
• Zhao Zhitong arrives at the mountain with his guards. He insists that, after repaying the money he owed, he is entitled to reclaim the family heirloom he pawned: the Three Thousand Scrolls of the Grand Confucian. He plans to rely on a token from Chen Juexin and Tianyuan’s reputation to press his claim.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Wanjun acknowledges her affection for Chen Mu but channels her disappointment into renewed study rather than resentment. Her admiration for Ye Qingcheng is mixed with envy and a sharper awareness of the gap between them.
• Ye Qingcheng demonstrates confidence and extraordinary power, using her Quasi-Emperor cultivation and Emperor’s Might to dominate the Trial Tower.
• Chen Mu remains a generous teacher and patron, supporting both martial cultivation and the Confucian revival.
• Zhang Shengcai continues to show exceptional talent in body refinement.
• Li Chengzun and Mo Yuan seek Chen Mu’s instruction and benefit from his brief but insightful guidance.
• Zhao Zhitong is determined to reclaim his heirloom despite his guards’ fear of offending Chen Mu, setting up a potentially tense confrontation.

Significant themes

• Ambition and perseverance: Song Wanjun chooses continued cultivation despite painful comparisons.
• Power and social distance: Ye Qingcheng’s dramatic advancement underscores the enormous gap separating ordinary cultivators from Chen Mu and his circle.
• Mentorship and renewal: Chen Mu’s support helps cultivate talent and revive the Confucian Dao.
• Reputation and obligation: Zhao Zhitong frames his demand as a matter of repayment, fairness, and Tianyuan’s honor.

Plot points and events

• Zhao Zhitong insists on retrieving the Three Thousand Scrolls of the Grand Confucian, which he believes is essential to advancing his cultivation. Though anxious about opposing the powerful Tianyuan Holy Land, he climbs to Qingyun Prefecture with Chen Juexin’s token.
• At the entrance, Zhao hears a young man teaching Confucian doctrine to two elders. He is astonished by the depth of the lessons, but dismisses the rumor that Chen Mu has reached the Sage realm.
• The door opens, revealing Li Chengzun, a Great Confucian Zhao recognizes as his ancestral master. Li explains that Chen Mu revived him and that he now serves Tianyuan to restore the Confucian tradition.
• Inside, Zhao is stunned to find Mo Yuan as well. Both renowned Great Confucians treat Chen Mu with humility and admiration, prompting Zhao to realize Chen Mu has no need to seize a manuscript they themselves could reproduce.
• Chen Mu presents the scroll. Zhao bows anxiously, identifies himself, and offers the token in exchange.

Character developments

• Zhao Zhitong begins determined but apprehensive, then becomes increasingly overwhelmed by evidence of Chen Mu’s influence. His suspicion gives way to deference and a sense of how mistaken his fears were.
• Chen Mu is shown as both a formidable figure and a teacher of the Confucian Dao, with the extraordinary power to restore the dead and win the loyalty of legendary scholars.
• Li Chengzun and Mo Yuan appear not merely as eminent Confucians but as devoted, respectful followers of Chen Mu.

Significant themes

• Power and reverence: Chen Mu’s authority rests not only on strength but on the genuine admiration of accomplished elders.
• The renewal of tradition: Chen Mu’s teaching and the service of the resurrected Great Confucians suggest a revival of the Confucian Dao.
• Humility before the unknown: Zhao’s assumptions collapse as he encounters realities far beyond his expectations.
• The value of knowledge: The scroll is vital to Zhao’s personal advancement, yet nearly incidental to Chen Mu, who has access to its original compilers.

Character interactions

• Zhao’s guards refuse to risk opposing Tianyuan, underscoring the Holy Land’s intimidating reputation.
• Li greets Zhao as a descendant of his lineage, then explains his bond with Chen Mu; despite being Zhao’s ancestral master, he follows Chen Mu’s lead.
• Zhao bows to Chen Mu as a Great Emperor, while Chen Mu calmly offers the scroll, turning a potentially tense retrieval into a respectful exchange.

Summary

Key events

• Zhao Zhitong visits Chen Mu, who explains how the Three Thousand Scrolls of the Grand Confucian was used and destroyed during events involving Li Chengzun and Mo Yuan.
• Rather than resent the loss, Zhao says sacrificing a copy for the revival of Confucianism was worthwhile. As compensation, he asks to enter Tianyuan and climb Book Mountain; Chen Mu agrees.
• After leaving, Zhao asks why the two renowned Confucian scholars defer to Chen. They reveal they have advanced to the Half-Saint Realm and that Chen is a Confucian Sage, whose blessing helped them break through.
• Zhao realizes that the Southern Region’s calls to resist Tianyuan are futile against a power led by Chen. He concludes that Tianyuan and its Young Master are invincible.
• Later, Chen wakes from a nap and hears that Ye Qingcheng cleared 200 floors of the Trial Tower but struggled beyond them. He encourages her to keep training.
• Zhang Shengcai serves an elaborate meal made in a giant monster-beast eggshell. Chen notices Zhang was injured gathering the ingredient and uses his system to investigate it.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Zhitong shows sincere commitment to restoring Confucianism and willingly accepts the loss of the text. Learning Chen’s true stature transforms his uncertainty into complete confidence in Tianyuan.
• Chen Mu acts generously and pragmatically: he compensates Zhao, mentors Li and Mo, and supports Ye’s training, while remaining relaxed and somewhat amused by the awe he inspires.
• Li Chengzun and Mo Yuan disclose their Half-Saint breakthroughs and openly acknowledge Chen’s overwhelming standing as a Sage.
• Ye Qingcheng recognizes her limits after the Trial Tower and vows to improve. Chen’s approval matters deeply to her; she is increasingly devoted to him.
• Zhang Shengcai demonstrates loyalty through the effort he takes to prepare an exceptional meal, despite being hurt.

Significant themes

• Reverence for exceptional authority: Chen’s combined status as Great Emperor and Confucian Sage reshapes how others view the balance of power.
• Sacrifice for a greater cause: Zhao values the revival of Confucianism above preserving a single copy of a sacred text.
• Ambition and perseverance: Ye accepts her shortcomings and commits to continued growth.
• Loyalty and devotion: Characters express dedication through obedience, training, and service, while Chen’s casual demeanor contrasts with the immense pressure his presence creates.