Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• The first Supreme Academy trial, the Heavenly Ladder, tests talent, strength, and—most importantly—the steadiness of a cultivator’s Dao heart. Those whose hearts waver are forcibly thrown off.
• Most True Disciples cannot even step onto the ladder. Among Xuantian Holy Land’s disciples, only Qin Wuyou and Fang Han qualify; the Holy Sons and Maidens generally climb much higher.
• Fang Han nearly activates a secret technique after seeing Qin Wuyou race ahead. The Yellow Springs Demon Dragon warns him that the ladder’s Heavenly Dao power is unsettling his Dao heart. Fang Han steadies himself and continues without using the technique.
• Qin Wuyou reaches the thousandth step with ease, while Ling Yun climbs past the nine-hundredth and Fang Han keeps pace with several other elite contestants.
• Qin Wuyou judges Fang Han likely to pass, partly because he remembers Fang Han’s success in the tournament from his previous life. He also reflects that Lin Fan—another Child of Fortune—is dead, while Ling Yun’s fortune is less exceptional.
• As Qin Wuyou prepares to conclude the trial, the Supreme Academy’s Great Saint asks whether he wants to continue the challenge. Qin Wuyou asks what that means.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Han shows ambition and vulnerability: Qin Wuyou’s lead unsettles him, but Yama’s warning helps him regain control and trust his own ability.
• Yellow Springs Demon Dragon (Yama) acts as Fang Han’s guide, explaining how the ladder’s Heavenly Dao power affects the mind and advising him not to reveal his secret technique unnecessarily.
• Qin Wuyou remains composed and far ahead of the others. He assesses the contestants’ prospects using both their performance and his knowledge of past events.
• Bai Qianyu reassures the disappointed Xuantian disciples, explaining that failing to step onto the ladder reflects limited talent rather than personal disgrace.
• Ling Yun demonstrates exceptional ability, though Qin Wuyou doubts his fortune is strong enough to guarantee admission.

Significant themes

• Inner resolve matters as much as ability: talent and strength can carry contestants upward, but a wavering Dao heart can end their attempt.
• Heavenly power and human control: the ladder exposes how unseen forces can influence a cultivator’s emotions and choices.
• Fortune and merit: success is framed not only through skill but through destiny, with Qin Wuyou weighing who may inherit the opportunity left by Lin Fan.
• Composure under comparison: watching a rival advance can become a trial in itself, as Fang Han’s near-mistake shows.

Plot and events

• The Great Saint explains that the ladder trial will continue until the incense burns out, and that the Heavenly Dao will reward climbers according to how far they ascend.
• A golden Heaven-Climbing Ladder Rankings appears, listing the hundred highest records across the Great Worlds. The current record is Xiao Fentian’s 1,972 steps, set 100,000 years ago.
• The Great Saint reveals that the rankings appear in a world only when someone climbs past the thousandth step. No one from the Xuantian World has done so in 100,000 years.
• Qin Wuyou has crossed that threshold, bringing the rankings back into view and drawing attention to himself and the Xuantian Holy Land.
• With the incense already halfway burned, Qin immediately surges hundreds of steps higher, passing the current hundredth-place record of 1,356 steps.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Wuyou learns about the rankings for the first time. Rather than being satisfied with qualifying, he becomes determined to reach the top, chiefly because he wants the greatest Heavenly Dao reward.
• The Great Saint acts as guide, explaining the rankings and their significance to the crowd.
• Cultivators and Holy Lords are astonished by Qin’s achievement. Several Holy Lords congratulate Bai Qianyu, while the Azure Cloud Holy Land’s followers resent losing the glory they expected Ling Yun to claim.

Significant themes

• Ambition and striving: Qin refuses to settle for merely making the list and sets his sights on first place.
• Reputation and rivalry: His achievement suddenly elevates the declining Xuantian Holy Land and provokes envy from its rivals.
• A vast hierarchy of power: The rankings reveal that the ladder measures talent across the Lower Realm’s Great Worlds, making the Xuantian World’s achievement remarkable by comparison.

Plot points and events

• Qin Wuyou’s climb propels him onto the Heaven-Climbing Ladder Rankings, stunning the Supreme Academy envoy, Elder Li. Because the Xuantian World has produced no qualifying candidate in a hundred thousand years, Qin’s achievement could bring Elder Li substantial rewards.
• One prospective Academy student suspects Qin of cheating. Elder Li sharply rebukes him, defending the Xuantian World’s capacity to produce a genius. The student apologizes but secretly blames Qin and grows resentful.
• Qin ignores the rankings and focuses on reaching the summit and surpassing Xiao Fentian. He climbs past steps 1,576, 1,600, 1,700, and 1,800, repeatedly breaking records and drawing jubilant attention from the Xuantian cultivators.
• Ling Yun of the Azure Cloud Holy Land also passes step 1,000, but Qin’s spectacular climb eclipses his achievement. Ling Yun is eventually thrown from the ladder at step 1,300, just short of the rankings.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Wuyou remains single-mindedly ambitious, intent on claiming first place; his effortless-seeming progress makes him appear far beyond the other climbers.
• Elder Li shifts from expecting little of the Xuantian assessment to eagerly supporting Qin, both out of admiration and hope for professional benefits. He reprimands the doubting student.
• The prospective student moves from suspicion to fear after Elder Li’s rebuke, but his apology hides growing hostility toward Qin.
• Ling Yun struggles with the ladder’s overwhelming pressure and compares himself unfavorably with Qin. His shock, jealousy, and frustration deepen when he realizes he cannot match Qin’s pace and falls short of the rankings.
• The Xuantian cultivators celebrate Qin’s records as a shared victory, since his success brings recognition to their world.

Significant themes

• Ambition and surpassing limits: Qin’s determination to reach the top drives his climb.
• Unequal talent and rivalry: Ling Yun’s effort contrasts with Qin’s extraordinary ease, highlighting the gulf between them.
• Collective pride and recognition: Qin’s individual accomplishment becomes a source of prestige for the whole Xuantian World.
• Jealousy and resentment: Qin’s success inspires admiration but also provokes envy among those who feel overshadowed.

Key plot points and events

• Ling Yun reaches the thousandth step but falls, bitterly resentful that Qin Wuyou has outshone him.
• Fang Han arrives at the thousandth step using a secret technique. Though urged by the Yellow Springs Demon Dragon to continue, he stops to recover, judging that he cannot reach the rankings before his technique fades.
• Fang Han and Ling Yun join Qin Wuyou as the only three candidates to pass the first assessment. Ling Yun recognizes Fang Han as a fellow disciple of the Xuantian Holy Land and grudgingly concludes that the Holy Land is rising.
• Qin Wuyou, already beyond step 1,900, activates the God and Devil Tyrant Body Art to climb faster as the time limit approaches.
• On the final ten steps, he faces Heavenly Dao lightning tribulations. He effortlessly dispels each bolt and reaches the ladder’s 2,000th and final step—a record no one has set before.

Character developments

• Qin Wuyou shows overwhelming strength and confidence, revealing that he had climbed past step 1,900 without using his powerful technique. His achievement confirms him as an extraordinary, record-breaking talent.
• Fang Han demonstrates restraint and self-awareness, choosing preparation over a futile attempt to improve his ranking.
• Ling Yun shifts from frustration over his own failure to bitter recognition that Qin Wuyou—and the Xuantian Holy Land—have surpassed him.
• The Great Saint goes from pleased that three candidates passed to ecstatic excitement at discovering a record-setting genius.

Significant themes

• Ambition versus self-knowledge: Qin Wuyou pursues the top at any cost, while Fang Han recognizes his limits and prioritizes the next test.
• Strength and recognition: The ladder ranks candidates publicly, provoking awe, jealousy, and rivalry.
• Sudden ascent and institutional hope: The Xuantian Holy Land’s strong showing suggests a new era of prominence.
• Trials as proof of worth: The final lightning tests turn Qin Wuyou’s climb into a dramatic demonstration of his ability.

Character interactions

• The Yellow Springs Demon Dragon encourages Fang Han to keep climbing, but Fang Han rejects the temptation.
• Ling Yun questions Fang Han’s identity, then reacts with bitterness when he learns they share the same Holy Land.
• Candidates and observers watch Qin Wuyou’s rapid ascent with disbelief and jealousy; the Great Saint explains the lightning trials and celebrates Qin Wuyou’s record.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Wuyou reaches the final, 2,000th step of the Heaven-Climbing Ladder, taking first place and breaking a record that had stood for 100,000 years.
• The Heavenly Dao rewards him with heavenly dao power, which gathers around his Supreme Bone and begins to evolve it.
• His achievement draws attention across the Lower Realm’s two thousand great worlds, many of which have never heard of the forgotten Xuantian World.
• The Heavenly Dao rewards Xuantian World with 30% more fortune, spiritual energy, and spirit-stone veins. Spiritual rain revitalizes the world, while Qin—able to see its fortune with his Fortune Eye—also gains the increased fortune and spiritual energy.
• Qin converts the additional spiritual energy into cultivation, rising to the fourth level of the Great Saint Realm.
• His Supreme Bone absorbs power from a sea of lightning and changes from gold to purple-gold, gaining lightning power. Qin senses it has become hundreds of times stronger and may contain power from beyond this world. The chapter ends before its full nature is revealed.

Character development and interactions

• Qin shifts from mild confidence to exhilarated amazement as he discovers how valuable the rankings’ rewards are. He recognizes that accepting Bai Qianyu’s earlier request kept him from missing this opportunity.
• Bai Qianyu does not appear directly, but Qin’s decision to respond to her request is presented as important to his success.
• Across the Lower Realm, cultivators and powerful figures react with disbelief and curiosity. Their attention turns toward Qin and Xuantian World, which may now rise from obscurity.

Significant themes

• Merit and reward: Qin’s extraordinary achievement brings rewards both to himself and to his world.
• A forgotten world’s revival: One person’s accomplishment can restore a neglected realm’s standing and prosperity.
• Growth beyond established limits: The Supreme Bone evolves beyond its already exceptional state, suggesting even greater power lies ahead.

Key events

• After the Heavenly Dao’s power transforms his Supreme Bone, Qin Wuyou senses an Immortal presence within it.
• The bone has gained Annihilation Immortal Lightning, an Immortal-level art. Realizing that revealing it could make him a target, Qin decides to keep it hidden until he can protect himself.
• His Supreme Bone’s golden runes have also grown stronger and unlocked another innate ability: the Samsara Gate. Qin now possesses three innate divine abilities, though he is unsure what grade his bone has become.
• Qin’s cultivation reaches the fourth level of the Great Saint Realm.
• The Heavenly Dao’s reward benefits the whole Xuantian World: spiritual energy, spirit-stone veins, and providence each increase by thirty percent. The rise in providence is expected to produce many more cultivators—and especially talented ones—in the future.
• Holy Lords from rival holy lands congratulate Bai Qianyu. He takes satisfaction in their sudden deference and praises the Grand Martial Ancestor as a celestial being.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin grows markedly more powerful but also more cautious. Remembering that Lin Qingxue and Lin Fan once stole his Supreme Bone, he resolves not to expose his new Immortal art or invite others to covet it.
• Qin’s immense gains leave him delighted, while the Holy Lords’ congratulations give Bai Qianyu a rare moment of triumph over those who usually looked down on his holy land.
• The rival Holy Lords approach Bai Qianyu with praise and thanks, recognizing the importance of the Heavenly Dao’s gift to their world.

Significant themes

• Power brings danger: Qin’s Immortal art is both a great advantage and a reason to conceal his strength.
• Betrayal and hard-won caution: His past loss of the Supreme Bone shapes how he handles his power in this life.
• Collective prosperity: The Heavenly Dao’s reward promises long-term growth for the entire world, not just individual advancement.
• Reversal of status: Bai Qianyu’s former critics now seek his favor, reflecting the influence of the Grand Martial Ancestor’s achievement.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Wuyou’s first place in the Heaven-Climbing Ladder Rankings earns him direct admission to the Supreme Academy, regardless of how he performs in the remaining trials. Elder Li Qingyuan also promises him priority training.
• Elder Li introduces the second trial: candidates must comprehend at least one technique or legacy from the Heaven-Comprehending Stele within the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Those who rank highly may receive a Heavenly Dao reward.
• Qin Wuyou’s interest revives when he learns this trial offers rewards. He and the other candidates are carried to the stele as the assessment begins.
• Fang Han pays Qin Wuyou the respect due to his Grand Martial Ancestor, then prepares to meditate on the inscriptions.
• Fang Han’s companion, the Yellow Springs Demon Dragon, recognizes the stele as the Yellow Springs Demon Stele, once one of the Yellow Springs Great Emperor’s three supreme treasures. Though its artifact spirit has been destroyed, the three thousand divine abilities stored within should remain.
• The Demon Dragon offers to teach Fang Han one or more of the abilities, hoping to help him place on the stele’s rankings. It begins choosing which techniques will give him the best result.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Wuyou learns that his exceptional ranking has already secured his place at the Academy. Though initially surprised, he accepts the privilege and becomes motivated by the prospect of another reward.
• Elder Li Qingyuan treats Qin Wuyou as an extraordinary recruit, welcoming him warmly and explaining both his admission and the next trial.
• Fang Han shows deference to Qin Wuyou and becomes excited when he realizes the stele may offer him a chance to rank highly.
• The Yellow Springs Demon Dragon reveals its knowledge of the stele’s hidden past and shifts from mockery of its current name to confidently guiding Fang Han.

Significant themes

• Merit and privilege: Extraordinary achievement can grant admission and advantages beyond the ordinary trial process.
• Hidden history: A celebrated Academy artifact may conceal a very different origin and purpose.
• Opportunity and ambition: The possibility of rankings and rewards turns the trial into a chance for Fang Han to advance as well as prove his comprehension.

Plot points and events

• The Yellow Springs Demon Dragon presents Fang Han with three powerful Heavenly Dao divine abilities: Great Slaughter, Great Cosmic, and Great Five Elements. Each can eventually lead to proving one’s Dao through its corresponding law.
• On the dragon’s advice, Fang Han chooses the Great Slaughter Divine Ability because it complements his sword art and his existing cultivation through slaughter. The Heaven-Comprehending Stele immediately shines a beam of light around him, marking him as the first to achieve a response.
• Li Qingyuan is surprised that Fang Han, whom he considers the least remarkable of the group, has drawn the stele’s recognition. Ling Yun is angered that Fang Han has taken the lead, but refocuses on studying the stele.
• Qin Wuyou studies the stele, and his Heavenly Dao-enhanced Supreme Bone reveals its hidden runes and the complete methods recorded upon it. He realizes it contains all three thousand Heavenly Dao divine abilities—potential paths to proving one’s Dao.
• Qin Wuyou briefly considers taking the stele, but senses the Heavenly Dao’s power and abandons the idea. Unable to study everything in the limited time, he turns to the most powerful abilities listed.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Han shows good judgment by accepting the Yellow Springs Demon Dragon’s tailored advice and quickly committing to a suitable ability.
• Yellow Springs Demon Dragon acts as Fang Han’s mentor, guiding his choice based on his sword training, slaughter aura, and the trial’s time limit.
• Ling Yun remains competitive and resentful after losing to Qin Wuyou in the previous trial; Fang Han’s early success briefly intensifies his frustration.
• Qin Wuyou reveals the extraordinary strength of his evolved Supreme Bone, which lets him perceive the stele’s hidden contents. His ambition surfaces when he imagines claiming the treasure, but he recognizes the Heavenly Dao’s authority and restrains himself.
• Li Qingyuan and the others react to Fang Han’s unexpected success, establishing him as a surprising rival in the trial.

Significant themes

• Power through specialization: Fang Han’s best path is the ability that fits his existing strengths, not necessarily the one with the highest rank.
• Comprehension and innate talent: Qin Wuyou’s Supreme Bone gives him access to knowledge hidden from others.
• Ambition constrained by higher authority: The stele’s immense value tempts Qin Wuyou, but the Heavenly Dao sets limits on what he can claim.
• Many paths to transcendence: The three thousand divine abilities represent distinct routes to proving one’s Dao and attaining ultimate power.

Chapter summary

• Faced with three thousand divine abilities on the Heaven-Comprehending Stele and only the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Qin Wuyou decides he must choose carefully. He settles on the Great Heavenly Mandate Supernatural Ability, the highest-ranked technique, which lets its master wield heavenly mandate and perceive the destinies of living beings.
• Qin’s Heavenly Destined Villain fortune and Supreme Bone-enhanced comprehension help him grasp the ability with remarkable speed. Fang Han and Ling Yun also show signs of gaining insights. Watching them, Li Qingyuan grows confident that all three will pass the trial.
• When the assessment ends, Ling Yun emerges first and demonstrates the Great Stellar Divine Ability. He has comprehended only half of it, but Li Qingyuan confirms that this is enough to pass and says Ling Yun may complete it at the Supreme Academy. Ling Yun’s disappointment at missing the rankings gives way to excitement at the prospect.
• Fang Han emerges next, radiating a powerful aura of slaughter. Li Qingyuan suspects he has comprehended the Great Slaughter Divine Ability, a technique among the top twenty and on par with the Great Stellar ability. Fang Han’s achievement is confirmed when golden writing appears on the stele, placing him thirty-second in its rankings.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Wuyou demonstrates ambition and practical judgment: though tempted by every technique, he commits to the ability best suited to his fortune and abilities.
• Ling Yun shifts from pride in his discovery to disappointment at only mastering half—then regains hope when Li Qingyuan promises another opportunity. He also learns how impressive Fang Han’s achievement is.
• Fang Han’s accomplishment surpasses Ling Yun’s visible result, earning a place on the rankings, though the chapter ends before his full reaction is shown.
• Li Qingyuan is generous and encouraging toward both candidates, explaining the significance of their techniques and reassuring Ling Yun about future opportunities.

Significant themes

• Opportunity and limitation: immense potential must be pursued under strict time constraints.
• Innate fortune and talent: Qin’s heavenly mandate fortune, alongside his comprehension, enables access to a rare ability.
• Partial success and perseverance: Ling Yun passes despite an incomplete mastery, with further growth still possible.
• Recognition and rivalry: the stele’s rankings provide public proof of achievement, setting Fang Han apart and underscoring the competitive nature of the trial.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Han places 32nd on the Heaven Comprehension Stele and receives a thousand years of cultivation. His power surges from the Void Training Realm to the seventh heaven of Saint Rank.
• His achievement earns Xuantian World another Heavenly Dao reward: a 10% increase in spiritual energy, bringing its energy level close to that of worlds in the top hundred. Its cultivators celebrate.
• Li Qingyuan congratulates Fang Han: ranking on the Stele secures him direct admission to the Supreme Academy, with greater status and benefits than ordinary students.
• While Qin Wuyou remains wrapped in the Stele’s light, Murong Feng suggests he may have failed or run out of time. Li Qingyuan rebukes him, explains that the light means Qin’s trial is still underway, and threatens to disqualify anyone who disrupts it.
• Qin completes his third supernatural ability, the Great Samsara Supernatural Ability, and the Heavenly Dao light around him disappears.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Han receives a major cultivation breakthrough, demonstrating unusually deep reserves: even a millennium of cultivation carries him only to the seventh heaven of Saint Rank.
• Qin Wuyou shows exceptional comprehension, mastering three abilities in succession: the Great Heavenly Mandate, Great Heavenly Dragon, and Great Samsara supernatural abilities. His inherited Nine-Turn Divine Dragon Art aids his progress with the second, while his Samsara Gate ability supports the third.
• Li Qingyuan is delighted by Xuantian World producing two ranked geniuses and firmly protects Qin’s trial from interference.
• Murong Feng, already hostile toward Qin, grows more jealous after Li rebukes him. He privately vows to make Qin pay at the Supreme Academy and watches for a chance to belittle his result.
• Qin remains focused on his trial and is unaware that Murong Feng has become an enemy.

Significant themes

• Talent and unequal status: Ranking on the Stele brings direct admission and privileges beyond those of ordinary candidates.
• The rewards of achievement: Individual success benefits both the cultivator and their world through cultivation and spiritual-energy rewards.
• Jealousy and rivalry: Qin and Fang’s success provokes resentment among less accomplished candidates, particularly Murong Feng.
• Exceptional potential: Fang Han’s modest advancement despite an enormous cultivation gift highlights his extraordinary power reserves; Qin’s ability to master multiple high-ranking techniques underscores his own talent.

Key plot points and events

• After completing his cultivation at the Heaven-Comprehending Stele, Qin Wuyou is mocked by Murong Feng, who assumes he has gained nothing.
• Murong Feng boasts about his elite origins: he is the Young Lord of a powerful family in the top-three-hundred Radiant Great World, which he considers vastly superior to the Xuantian World.
• Qin Wuyou challenges Murong Feng to wager on whether he can make the rankings. They agree that the loser must kneel, apologize, and call himself an “ant” three times.
• Murong Feng mistakenly believes the Stele has not reacted because Qin Wuyou failed. In fact, Qin has been suppressing the auras of the abilities he comprehended; the Stele only responds once he reveals them.
• At Li Qingyuan’s prompting, Qin releases three distinct ability auras. He has comprehended three complete supernatural abilities, including the Great Heavenly Dragon Supernatural Ability.
• The Stele announces Qin Wuyou in first place, giving him the top position on both the Heaven-Climbing Ladder and Heaven-Comprehending Stele rankings.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Wuyou remains composed and confident under provocation. He turns Murong Feng’s contempt into a wager, deliberately baiting him while concealing his achievement.
• Murong Feng begins arrogantly, relying on his world’s rank and his family status. Once he realizes Qin may actually qualify, his confidence collapses into anxious denial.
• Li Qingyuan is impressed by Qin’s ability and understands that he has been holding back. He allows the wager to proceed, then prompts Qin to reveal what he learned.
• The exchange contrasts Qin’s self-assurance with Murong Feng’s status-driven pride; Qin’s success leaves the onlookers stunned.

Significant themes

• Merit versus inherited status: Murong Feng cites his family and world’s prestige, but Qin’s demonstrated ability eclipses those advantages.
• Hidden achievement and delayed judgment: The Stele’s silence leads to a false conclusion because Qin has not yet revealed his abilities.
• Exceptional talent and public recognition: Qin’s three rapid comprehensions and consecutive first-place rankings establish him as a seemingly extraordinary genius.
• Humility and arrogance: Murong Feng’s insult backfires, while Qin answers with confidence and proof rather than submission.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Wuyou takes first place on both the Heaven-Climbing Ladder and Heaven-Comprehending Stele rankings, while Fang Han also qualifies for the Supreme Academy.
• Murong Feng, unable to accept Qin’s victory, accuses him of cheating and challenges the Heaven-Comprehending Stele’s fairness. Li Qingyuan rebukes him, insisting that questioning the stele means questioning the Heavenly Dao.
• Forced to honor his wager, Murong Feng strikes his forehead on the ground three times and declares, “I am an ant.” Qin decides not to pursue him further, though he warns that another offense will have worse consequences.
• The Heavenly Dao rewards Qin with the Heavenly Dao Diagram. It also grants the Xuantian World a 30% increase in spiritual resources and fortune. Qin’s personal fortune rises by another 30%, bringing its total recent increase to 60%.
• Li Qingyuan congratulates Qin and Fang Han and gives them fifteen minutes to say farewell before departing for the Supreme Academy. Their official admission will depend on a third trial at the academy, though Qin and Fang are already considered students.
• The two return to the Xuantian Holy Land, where Bai Qianyu and the others welcome them with celebration.

Character developments

• Qin Wuyou strengthens his reputation as an exceptional prodigy. Though disappointed not to receive more Heavenly Dao power, he gains the mysterious Heavenly Dao Diagram and benefits greatly from the increase in fortune.
• Murong Feng is publicly humiliated and forced to submit. His resentment remains, but Qin chooses not to escalate the conflict for now.
• Li Qingyuan becomes openly invested in Qin and Fang’s success, seeing their achievements as a chance to earn recognition and return to the Upper Realm.
• Fang Han shares in the breakthrough, qualifying alongside Qin and bringing honor to the Holy Land.

Significant themes

• Merit and accountability: Murong Feng must accept the consequences of his wager after Qin’s achievement is confirmed.
• Heavenly recognition and fortune: Qin’s personal success brings material and spiritual benefits to his entire world.
• Ambition and opportunity: Li Qingyuan sees the pair’s success as a path to advancement, while Qin hopes to explore the stele’s many divine abilities.

Character interactions

• Li Qingyuan praises Qin, rejects Murong Feng’s accusations, and enforces the wager.
• Qin allows Murong Feng to fulfill his punishment without further retaliation, but makes clear that his patience has limits.
• Li Qingyuan grants Qin and Fang more farewell time than other candidates, showing how much he values them.
• Bai Qianyu and the Xuantian Holy Land members welcome the returning pair and celebrate their success.

Key plot points and events

• After leaving the Xuantian World, Elder Li Qingyuan offers Qin Wuyou and Fang Han direct admission to the Supreme Academy, regardless of the third trial. He also offers to personally arrange their Identity Tokens.
• Qin Wuyou asks about the trial’s rewards and learns it is a practical combat assessment held in the Trial Grounds.
• The Heavenly Dao awards points for performance. Students may qualify for several rankings:
  • Points Ranking, based on accumulated points.
  • Combat Power Ranking, which records a student’s greatest combat power and allows rewards to be claimed once, at a time of the student’s choosing.
  • Records Ranking, which rewards record-breaking feats immediately—and grants further rewards if someone later breaks their own record.
• Intrigued by the rankings and their rewards, Qin Wuyou decides to take the third trial. Fang Han follows his lead.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Wuyou remains focused on opportunities to gain Heavenly Dao rewards. He quickly recognizes the strategic advantage of delaying his Combat Power Ranking reward claim and sees the Records Ranking as another potential source of rewards.
• Fang Han shows deep respect for Qin Wuyou, whom he regards as his Grand Martial Ancestor. He credits Qin with helping him advance his cultivation and obtain the Yama Heaven-Devouring Diagram, and defers to Qin’s decision about the trial.
• Li Qingyuan treats Qin and Fang Han with unusual favor and becomes curious about their relationship after seeing Fang’s deference. He also explains the trial system and cautions Qin about claiming Combat Power Ranking rewards too early.
• Other prospective students envy Qin and Fang’s direct-admission eligibility, though it was earned through their own strength.

Significant themes

• Merit and envy: Qin and Fang’s achievements earn them privileges that provoke jealousy among their peers.
• Strategy and ambition: Success depends not only on strength but on understanding when and how to claim rewards.
• Respect and loyalty: Fang’s gratitude and reverence toward Qin shape his choices, even after entering the same academy.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Li Qingyuan encourages Qin Wuyou and Fang Han to enter the third-stage trial, warning them that it is far more dangerous than the earlier stages and that deaths are inevitable. He reminds them they can crush their numbered tokens to escape and gives them cultivation resources.
• While the Heaven and Earth Treasure Ship travels between worlds, Qin Wuyou seals his cultivation room with formations and examines the Heavenly Dao Diagram he won for ranking first on the Heaven-Comprehending Stele.
• Its powerful aura awakens Elder Xuanji, who recognizes it as a Heavenly Dao supreme treasure and realizes it is Qin Wuyou’s reward for his achievement.
• Qin Wuyou quickly refines the diagram. His primordial spirit enters the world contained inside it, where he discovers vast, starry rivers that represent Heavenly Dao laws.
• He learns the diagram can ultimately contain all three thousand Heavenly Dao laws and, if fully developed, may create three thousand worlds. Even without doing so, it could serve as a path to attaining the Dao.

Character developments

• Qin Wuyou shifts from disappointment in the reward to exhilaration as he realizes its extraordinary potential. His rapid success in refining it reinforces his exceptional talent.
• Elder Xuanji is awed and envious, but also acknowledges that Qin Wuyou’s first-place achievement was deserved.
• Li Qingyuan shows deep concern for Qin Wuyou and Fang Han, balancing hopes for their success with fear for their safety.

Significant themes

• Ambition and risk: The third-stage trial promises prestige but carries real danger, forcing participants to weigh advancement against survival.
• Hidden value and discovery: A reward that first seems disappointing is revealed to be far more powerful than expected.
• The scale of cultivation: The diagram links mastery of Heavenly Dao laws to the creation of worlds and the possibility of producing future Great Emperors.

Character interactions

• Li Qingyuan advises and supplies Qin Wuyou and Fang Han, emphasizing that they should retreat if the trial becomes too dangerous.
• Elder Xuanji reacts to Qin Wuyou’s treasure with surprise, then admiration and envy, while Qin Wuyou remains focused on exploring and understanding it.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Wuyou discovers that the Heavenly Dao Diagram can absorb Heavenly Dao divine abilities. He believes that, fully developed, it could rival—or surpass—the Gate of Creation, his long-term tool for pursuing immortality despite the severed Immortal Road.
• Developing the diagram seems more practical than refining the Gate of Creation, which still requires Qin to gather and refine the remaining Nine Heavens Supreme Treasures. He decides to study the three thousand Heavenly Dao abilities recorded on the Heaven-Comprehending Stele at the Supreme Academy.
• Inside the diagram, Qin releases the Great Heavenly Dragon, Great Heavenly Mandate, and Great Samsara abilities. All three merge effortlessly into its starry sky, strengthening the diagram and expanding its inner world.
• Qin settles inside the diagram to cultivate, where spiritual energy is unusually concentrated. After several hours, he stabilizes his recent gains and approaches the Great Saint peak.
• He reflects on the formidable barrier between the Great Saint and Supreme realms: advancement requires comprehending Heaven and Earth laws and surviving deadly laws divine thunder. He suspects that even his talent will not let him reach the Supreme Realm immediately.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin grows more confident in the Heavenly Dao Diagram after seeing how easily it absorbs abilities. He resolves to complete its set of three thousand divine powers and regards the treasure as a major future asset.
• He remains ambitious despite recognizing his limits. Though he expects to spend time in the Great Saint Realm, he refuses to accept that becoming a twenty-year-old Supreme is impossible.
• Qin’s thoughts reveal his view of Elder Li Qingyuan: Li is an elderly Great Saint who has sought opportunities at the Supreme Academy for thousands of years, yet still fears the risks of attempting the breakthrough. No direct conversation occurs in this chapter.

Significant themes

• Ambition against precedent: Qin is determined to surpass historical limits, even while acknowledging the danger and difficulty involved.
• The cost of transcendence: Reaching the Supreme Realm demands not just strength and talent, but profound insight and a potentially fatal trial.
• Preparation and long-term cultivation: Qin pursues immortality through careful investment in both the Gate of Creation and the evolving Heavenly Dao Diagram.

Plot points and events

• Qin Wuyou declares his ambition to become the youngest Supreme, Great Emperor, and even Immortal.
• After traveling through more than a dozen worlds, Li Qingyuan brings the prospective students to the Supreme Academy, a vast, self-contained world.
• Li announces that the third assessment begins in three days. It is an elimination trial in which students earn points by killing demonic beasts; only the top half will be admitted. His vague response to a question about teamwork suggests that forming teams is allowed.
• Prospective students receive temporary tokens that let them explore most of the academy and visit Dao Enlightenment Cliff.
• Li gives Qin Wuyou and Fang Han his personal elder tokens, granting them broader access, and again confirms their determination to take the trial.
• Qin and Fang visit Dao Enlightenment Cliff, where Qin is astonished to find tens of thousands of divine abilities and Dao arts, many accompanied by detailed cultivation notes.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Wuyou remains supremely confident and ambitious. Although impressed by the cliff, he is more interested in finding the Heaven-Comprehending Stele, preparing for the trial, and possibly locating Lin Qingxue.
• Fang Han continues to defer respectfully to Qin, asking whether they should visit the cliff and accompanying him.
• Li Qingyuan is pleased to have recruited two ranked geniuses. His special treatment of Qin and Fang—especially giving them personal tokens—shows how highly he values them.
• The prospective students shift from self-assurance to anxiety when they learn that half will be eliminated, then begin considering whether they can cooperate.

Significant themes

• Ambition and confidence: Qin’s grand goals define his outlook.
• Competition and cooperation: Admission depends on ranking, creating pressure while leaving room for teamwork.
• Unequal privilege and recognition: Qin and Fang receive special access because of their talent and Li’s favor.
• Abundant knowledge: Dao Enlightenment Cliff symbolizes the academy’s extraordinary resources and the value it places on learning.

Chapter summary

• Qin Wuyou examines the Dao Enlightenment Cliff and finds records of many techniques, including the Great Firmament and Great Azure Cloud divine abilities. He realizes these are only written methods, not the Divine Ability Origin Diagrams needed to cultivate them. The cliff’s Dao arts can be learned, but the divine-ability records are mostly unusable to ordinary cultivators.
• The Yellow Springs Demon Dragon tells Fang Han not to waste time on the cliff’s “empty” divine-ability records. Instead, Fang Han practices abilities and Dao arts he already received from Yama, using the cliff to improve his comprehension.
• Fang Han asks whether Qin Wuyou can learn those techniques too, but Yama refuses: showing Qin the Origin Diagrams could reveal Yama’s existence. Fang Han reluctantly keeps the secret, despite feeling he owes his Grand Martial Ancestor.
• Yama says Qin Wuyou has already reached the Great Saint Realm and may be in its middle stage, having advanced after receiving two Heavenly Dao rewards. This shocks Fang Han and rekindles his determination to grow stronger.
• To prepare him for the upcoming third trial, Yama gives Fang Han a rare Yellow Springs Golden Pill containing centuries of cultivation. Fang Han swallows it and begins refining it while continuing his training.
• Qin Wuyou decides the cliff offers him little and prepares to leave—but someone suddenly steps in front of him.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Han shifts from excitement over his recent progress to renewed humility and ambition when he learns how far ahead Qin Wuyou is. He remains loyal and concerned about his Grand Martial Ancestor, but accepts that protecting Yama’s secret must come first.
• Yama acts as Fang Han’s mentor and secret-keeper. He deliberately uses Qin’s strength to motivate Fang Han, then gives him a valuable pill to help him prepare for the trial.
• Qin Wuyou is discerning: despite his initial interest in the cliff’s records, he recognizes their limitations and chooses not to waste time.

Significant themes

• Knowledge versus usable power: Records alone cannot replace the foundations and insight required to cultivate divine abilities.
• Secrecy and loyalty: Fang Han wants to help Qin but must protect the hidden source of his techniques.
• Ambition and comparison: Learning of Qin’s strength pushes Fang Han to work harder and aim for the Saint King Realm.
• Preparation for trials: Yama’s pill and Fang Han’s training underline the importance of using limited opportunities to build strength.

Chapter summary

Key plot points

• Qin Wuyou encounters Qianqian, a striking but hot-tempered girl, who confronts him for taking first place in both academy rankings. He ignores her and leaves.
• Qianqian pretends to be hurt when the vice dean’s grandson asks what happened, provoking him into pursuing Qin and promising to force an apology. She secretly enjoys manipulating him.
• Onlookers identify Qianqian as the dean’s granddaughter, nicknamed the “little she-devil,” and her ally as the vice dean’s grandson—both powerful figures students are warned not to offend.
• Fang Han, worried about the trouble Qin may face, reports the incident through their communication treasure.
• Qin resents being targeted but recognizes that killing the dean’s granddaughter would be suicidal: the dean is likely a Supreme, far beyond his strength.
• Feeling uneasy about the threat, Qin enters the Thousand Illusion Mask and tells Elder Xuanji he will teach him a secret technique to strengthen his Primordial Spirit, provided he swears not to share it.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Wuyou remains proud and defiant, but his awareness of the dean’s overwhelming power reveals a practical sense of danger. He responds by investing in Xuanji’s growth.
• Qianqian appears fiery and vindictive, and proves deliberately manipulative: she feigns victimhood to set the vice dean’s grandson against Qin.
• The vice dean’s grandson is eager to defend Qianqian and threatens Qin, relying on status and force.
• Fang Han shows loyalty and concern by promptly warning Qin.
• Elder Xuanji respects Qin as his benefactor and master, bound by a Heavenly Dao oath; Qin offers him a path to greater strength.

Significant themes

• Status and danger: In the academy, family connections can make even talented outsiders vulnerable.
• Power and restraint: Qin is willing to fight back, but understands the limits imposed by the Supreme Academy’s hierarchy.
• Manipulation and loyalty: Qianqian exploits others’ devotion, while Fang Han and Xuanji demonstrate loyalty to Qin.
• Secrets and cultivation: Qin’s offer of a powerful, restricted technique underscores the value of trust and guarded knowledge.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Wuyou offers Elder Xuanji a cultivation technique. Expecting to receive Qin’s extraordinary devouring art, Xuanji swears a Heavenly Dao Oath never to reveal it.
• Qin transmits the Heaven-Defying Spirit-Seizing Art, an incomplete technique derived from the Heaven-Seizing Creation Art.
• Xuanji discovers it can preserve at least seventy percent of a seized primordial spirit’s cultivation—far beyond the roughly fifty-percent maximum of known techniques.
• He warns Qin that anyone who learns of the art will be hunted, since powerful cultivators would fear having their life’s work stolen.
• Qin explains that he is building a core group of followers because returning to the politically unstable Qin Family is too dangerous. He considers Xuanji and the Xuantian Holy Land suitable allies.
• After hearing Xuanji’s warning, Qin recognizes the danger of the technique and wonders whether the Mysterious Empress may once have suffered a similar fate.

Character developments

• Elder Xuanji moves from eager anticipation to astonishment and alarm. His understanding of the art’s power also makes him reflect on how fortunate he was to submit to Qin rather than be killed.
• Qin Wuyou shows growing strategic awareness: he is no longer relying solely on himself and is willing to share a fragment of his secret art to cultivate loyal allies. He also begins to grasp the political consequences of possessing it.

Significant themes

• Power and fear: A technique that can steal most of another’s cultivation threatens the established order and invites retaliation.
• Trust and loyalty: Xuanji’s oath and Qin’s decision to share the art mark a deepening alliance.
• Secrecy and survival: Qin’s precarious position within his family and the danger of exposing the technique make discretion essential.
• Ambition and historical mystery: Qin’s final thought links the art’s dangers to the possible fate of the Mysterious Empress.

Character interactions

• Qin gives Xuanji the technique only after Xuanji voluntarily swears secrecy.
• Xuanji responds with reverence and warns Qin about the threat the art poses.
• Qin listens, acknowledges the danger, and considers its implications for both his own safety and the Mysterious Empress’s past.

Plot points and events

• Qin Wuyou realizes the Heaven-Seizing Creation Art may be dangerous: powerful figures could recognize it, and the Mysterious Empress’s past defeat may be connected to the art. He resolves to keep it secret, especially at the Supreme Academy, where he may encounter Supreme-level beings.
• He considers disguising the art’s effects by learning the Great Devouring Mystical Power, but first needs to find the Heaven-Comprehension Stele.
• Before he can ask for directions, Fang Jianhao confronts him. Fang is the vice dean’s grandson and an admirer of the “little she-devil” Qin recently offended.
• Fang challenges Qin’s double first-place ranking, accusing him of cheating. He is particularly upset that a Lower Realm cultivator topped the Heaven-Comprehension Stele, something few Upper Realm students have managed.
• Qin decides to use the confrontation to make trouble and draw the attention of the little she-devil—and perhaps Lin Qingxue, whom he is eager to provoke with news of his achievements and revenge.

Character development

• Qin Wuyou becomes more cautious about revealing the source of his power, while also showing his calculating, vengeful side. His memories of betrayal by Lin Qingxue still fuel his desire to make her suffer.
• Fang Jianhao is introduced as an insecure, status-conscious admirer. His disbelief in Qin’s ability reflects his resentment that someone from the Lower Realm has surpassed Upper Realm cultivators.

Themes

• Power and secrecy: Extraordinary abilities can attract dangerous attention, making concealment as important as strength.
• Prejudice and status: Upper Realm students resent a Lower Realm newcomer’s achievement, treating it as an affront to their standing.
• Unrequited devotion and betrayal: Qin contrasts Fang’s one-sided infatuation with his own former devotion to Lin Qingxue, which ended in betrayal and revenge.

Character interactions

• Fang approaches Qin with contempt, inspecting him and questioning whether he cheated.
• Qin recognizes Fang as the little she-devil’s lackey and views him as a potential pawn in a larger attempt to provoke her.