Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Song Qing and Ye Zheng’an plan to infiltrate the Zhang Family’s birthday banquet in Yinhai City. They cannot safely claim their Origin Sect affiliation because the sect is openly at odds with the Marquis of Thousand Mountains, so they decide to approach the Zhang Family’s younger, more reckless members.
• Hoping to make their costly journey worthwhile, the pair target the banquet as an opportunity to strike more consequential members of the family.
• Song Qing and Ye Zheng’an join a drinking party hosted by Zhang Wenshi. Song Qing hints that Zhang Wenshi’s rival, Zhang Wenhua, may have obtained a Seventh-Tier Longevity-Extending Pill for the family ancestor. The rumor unsettles Zhang Wenshi, who fears being outshone at the celebration.
• Meanwhile, Qin Shujian remains at the Origin Sect, cultivating and accumulating life source. He expects the players’ attacks to cause disorder and weaken the Marquis’s forces: slain NPCs revive every three days, but each revival reduces their rank.
• Other Origin Sect players—Wang Jiu, Xu Kai, and Zhao Hua—are also pursuing the Zhang Family. They have already attached themselves to Zhang Wenhua, putting them ahead of Song Qing and Ye Zheng’an in gaining access to the banquet. Xu Kai suggests they may ultimately cooperate rather than interfere with Song Qing’s plan.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Qing uses his worldly experience and social manipulation to exploit Zhang Wenshi’s desire to impress the family ancestor.
• Ye Zheng’an is cautious about revealing the sect’s identity and supports Song Qing’s infiltration plan.
• Zhang Wenshi appears boastful and indulgent, but his concern for his family’s standing—and his rivalry with Zhang Wenhua—quickly surfaces when he hears about the possible pill.
• Qin Shujian shows confidence in the players’ disruptive potential, while recognizing that recruiting them is a risky, double-edged strategy.
• Xu Kai takes a pragmatic approach: he favors keeping their current connection to Zhang Wenhua intact and considers cooperating with Song Qing instead of sabotaging him.

Significant themes

• Indirect warfare: Qin Shujian uses players to destabilize a stronger rival without confronting him directly.
• Risk and divided loyalties: The players’ shared objective does not guarantee cooperation; competing plans could undermine one another.
• Status and family rivalry: Zhang Wenshi’s anxiety reflects the importance of the ancestor’s approval and the Zhang Family’s dependence on his power.
• Information as leverage: Song Qing’s rumor redirects the social gathering and may help provoke tension within the Zhang Family.

Plot and key events

• During the Zhang Family Ancestor’s birthday celebration, Zhang Wenshi demonstrates supposed life-extending “Dragon Saliva Incense.” It is actually poisonous, weakening the spirit gods of the powerful guests, including the Ancestor and Yinhai City’s lord.
• Wang Jiu, Xu Kai, Song Qing, and their companions exploit the poison to trap the gathering in overlapping arrays and attack. They kill the Zhang Family Ancestor and city lord, along with other targets, then escape amid the ensuing chaos.
• Song Qing confronts Wang Jiu over how to divide the quest reward. They settle on 12,000 contribution points for Song Qing, while Wang Jiu and his companions keep the rest after accounting for array costs.
• Song Qing and Ye Zheng’an leave Yinhai City, expecting it to be locked down and deciding to pursue other quests before the Marquis of Thousand Mountains’ forces become more vigilant.
• At the Marquis’s court, officials report that Origin Sect Otherworlders have carried out assassinations across the prefecture. The Marquis agrees to issue quests so local Otherworlders can hunt the Origin Sect’s people. A further report raises concern about a mysterious blade-wielder targeting true martial cultivators.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Jiu proves effective and opportunistic, coordinating the ambush and escaping. He has also advanced to the outer astral realm, making his experience gain part of the dispute over rewards.
• Song Qing asserts the value of his Four-Direction Ghost God Incense and negotiates a larger share. He recognizes the danger of lingering and persuades Ye Zheng’an to move on.
• Ye Zheng’an regrets leaving behind the Zhang Family’s Faction Token, but Song Qing rebukes him for risking their escape.
• The Marquis of Thousand Mountains shifts from planning further direct action against the Origin Sect to using Otherworlders against them, acknowledging the difficulty of tracking this immortal, widely infiltrated group.

Significant themes

• Immortality as both advantage and threat: Otherworlders can return after death, making them difficult to eliminate, but their attacks still cause political panic and cost victims levels and cultivation.
• Power and vulnerability: Even a manifestation-peak expert can be brought down when poisoned and caught in a prepared array.
• Pragmatism and self-interest: The attackers bargain over rewards even after a dangerous mission, while their targets and authorities respond to the consequences.
• Escalating conflict: The ambush signals retaliation between the Origin Sect and the Marquis’s forces, with Yinhai City likely to face tighter controls and wider unrest.

Plot points and events

• Marquis of Thousand Mountains orders an investigation into a mysterious saber wielder who has killed hundreds of cultivators. If the man cannot be recruited, he is to be eliminated to prevent further disorder.
• The killer is Peng Qing. He massacres the Hidden Wasteland Sect, bringing his quest total to 5,781 kills, then loots valuables and leaves.
• Peng Qing has grown to the second level of the Spirit Martial Realm. He now hunts some Spirit God Realm cultivators, which count as ten True Martial Realm kills toward his quest.
• His weapon, the Bloodweeping Blade, has reached the Half-Step Dao Artifact stage. Blade Servant says a few more Spirit God Realm kills could restore it to a full Dao Artifact, powerful enough to threaten even Manifestation Realm cultivators without comparable weapons.
• Blade Servant urges Peng Qing to leave the area, since the sects are organizing a response. A large pursuit force—including Manifestation Realm cultivators—has been sent after him.
• Three Sky-Soaring Realm cultivators intercept Peng Qing. He fights them with powerful blade techniques, blocking their attacks despite being outnumbered and unable to fly. When reinforcements become a concern, he pretends to flee; as his pursuers lower their altitude to gain speed, he suddenly turns and attacks, catching them off guard.

Character developments

• Peng Qing is increasingly powerful, confident, and ruthless. He has moved from targeting True Martial cultivators to stronger prey, and his calmness in a dangerous fight shows his growing self-assurance.
• Blade Servant remains Peng Qing’s tactical adviser, warning him about danger and explaining the Bloodweeping Blade’s potential.
• The Marquis of Thousand Mountains responds pragmatically to the threat, treating Peng Qing as a destabilizing force to be controlled or removed.

Character interactions

• The Marquis gives his subordinates direct orders concerning Peng Qing.
• Peng Qing relies on Blade Servant’s advice, though he chooses to engage the three pursuers rather than retreat immediately.
• The three Sky-Soaring cultivators pursue Peng Qing as a group, underestimating his ability to counterattack after he appears to flee.

Significant themes

• Power and escalation: Greater strength brings access to stronger weapons and opponents, but also raises the stakes.
• Violence and its consequences: Peng Qing’s indiscriminate slaughter turns local sects against him and provokes a broad manhunt.
• Cunning versus raw advantage: Despite being outnumbered and unable to fly, Peng Qing uses timing and deception to challenge his stronger pursuers.

Plot points and events

• A search party discovers three cultivators killed by Peng Qing, each with a precise, rapid cut to the throat. Witnesses conclude that Peng Qing’s power has risen far beyond the Spirit God realm and may soon threaten every sect. Some suspect he is a reincarnated expert or possesses a rare treasure; they dismiss the idea that he is an Otherworlder because his victims do not revive.
• In the Liangshan Spirit Domain, the Origin Sect’s dominance is firmly established. Other sects submit a share of their profits, and the bloody defeat of the Eight Sects keeps rival factions from challenging it.
• Qin Shujian spends twenty million life source to extrapolate the twenty-eighth level of the Origin Return Ancestral Canon. He focuses on cultivating its Spirit Martial Volume, judging personal cultivation more important than further progress in his auxiliary disciplines of array-making and forging.
• The Origin Sect continues recruiting and training disciples, with its five branches—excluding the Demon Branch—now full.
• Shi Jianfeng breaks through to the fourth Spirit Martial layer, entering the Sky-Soaring realm. His sword technique also reaches a new level: he appears to draw on wind and clouds, then moves faster than the eye can follow. Zheng Fang visits to congratulate him.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian remains focused on strengthening his core cultivation, despite regretting how quickly his accumulated life source is spent. He recognizes that his array mastery cannot substitute for further personal advancement.
• Shi Jianfeng, once a Guest Elder and now an Outer Sect Elder, achieves a breakthrough through his own cultivation. His rise draws the attention and admiration of the disciples. A concealed coldness briefly appears beneath his composure before he turns to welcome Zheng Fang.
• Zheng Fang compares his steady, hard-won progress with Shi Jianfeng’s achievement. Though his own Sky-Soaring breakthrough was granted when the sect advanced, he respects Shi Jianfeng’s accomplishment and comes to offer congratulations.
• The gathered sect cultivators react to Peng Qing with fear and speculation, aware that his rapid growth could soon make him unstoppable.

Significant themes

• Power and escalating danger: Peng Qing’s sudden growth threatens the balance among the sects.
• Cultivation and self-reliance: Qin prioritizes personal realm and strength, while Shi Jianfeng’s breakthrough shows the rewards of individual effort.
• Dominance and submission: The Origin Sect’s control over Liangshan is maintained through overwhelming force and tribute.
• Recognition and status: Shi Jianfeng’s past feats and new achievement earn him respect within the sect.

Plot points and events

• Shi Jianfeng has broken through to the Sky-Soaring Realm. He asks Grand Elder Zheng Fang to watch over his four disciples while he leaves the sect, but gives no explanation for his destination: the Dragon Platform Spirit Domain.
• After several teleportations, Shi Jianfeng reaches a long-abandoned residence. There he finds his father Ji Jianxing’s memorial tablet, cleans the ruined mourning hall, pays his respects, and gathers the family tablets to carry with him. He declares that, after ten years, it is time to settle old matters.
• He travels to the Void-Stabilizing Sword Sect and destroys its entrance stele. When five guards attack, his protective Astral Qi breaks their swords, and his sword-intent-infused divine sense kills them instantly.
• Kuang Ning arrives and recognizes Shi Jianfeng as a survivor of the Ji Family. He mocks him and attacks, but Shi Jianfeng’s Sword Astral Energy overwhelms his. Kuang Ning counters with divine sense, only for Shi Jianfeng to reveal an even more formidable, sword-like divine sense. The chapter ends as Kuang Ning realizes the danger.

Character developments and interactions

• Shi Jianfeng is restrained and purposeful: he accepts Zheng Fang’s praise without excitement, protects his disciples by arranging for their care, then confronts his past with quiet grief and resolve. His overwhelming strength shows how far he has advanced.
• Zheng Fang remains gracious but perceptive. He notices Shi Jianfeng’s secrecy, yet respects his choice not to explain.
• Kuang Ning begins confident and contemptuous, assuming Shi Jianfeng is still far weaker than himself. That confidence falters when Shi Jianfeng defeats his attack and matches his divine-sense technique.
• The personal exchange between Shi Jianfeng and Kuang Ning turns the attack on the sect into a confrontation rooted in the Ji Family’s history.

Significant themes

• The past and retribution: Shi Jianfeng’s visit to his family’s memorial hall leads directly to his vow to settle old matters.
• Grief and remembrance: His careful treatment of the tablets contrasts with the residence’s decay and the mourning hall’s collapse.
• Hidden strength and underestimated opponents: Shi Jianfeng’s calm demeanor conceals power that exceeds Kuang Ning’s expectations.
• Loyalty and responsibility: Though focused on a personal mission, Shi Jianfeng makes arrangements for his disciples before departing.

The speaker boasts about updating another 100,000 words and ranking fourth on the productivity leaderboard, then announces plans to post 12,000 more words shortly after midnight. They ask others to send them spare monthly tickets, explaining that their position on the monthly ticket rankings has fallen from 34th to 38th in two days and that they urgently need tickets.
Character development and interactions: The speaker presents themself as hardworking but anxious about losing rank, directly appealing to the audience for help.
Themes: Productivity, competition, and dependence on community support.

Plot and key events

• Shi Jianfeng attacks the Void-Stabilizing Sword Sect, beginning by killing Kuang Ning with a single sword strike. He announces that a member of the Ji Family has come to collect a debt.
• He slaughters the guards and disciples at the sect’s gates with precise, nearly unstoppable swordsmanship, then presses deeper into the sect.
• Grand Elder Yan Guan emerges from seclusion and confronts him. Shi reveals that the sect allegedly sought the Ji Family’s dao-artifact fragment ten years earlier and killed 173 of its members. He intends to kill Yan Guan and then Sect Master Hong Wenshan.
• As they fight, disciples discuss the Ji Family’s mysterious destruction. Some doubt the sect’s responsibility; others argue that Shi’s present-day killings make him an enemy regardless of the original grievance.
• Hong Wenshan orders the elders to join the fight and help kill Shi Jianfeng. The chapter ends as the battle is poised to escalate.

Character developments

• Shi Jianfeng is established as a formidable, controlled, and relentless avenger. He remains composed amid mass slaughter and pursues revenge without pausing to negotiate.
• Yan Guan shows himself to be a powerful and respected defender, initially checking Shi’s attack and rallying the disciples. Yet Shi matches him in a fierce, technically complex duel.
• Hong Wenshan responds pragmatically, choosing collective force over a one-on-one contest.
• The disciples shift from curiosity about the sect’s past to solidarity in the present, focusing on their fallen comrades and the threat Shi poses.

Significant themes

• Revenge and inherited guilt: Shi’s attack is driven by an alleged atrocity committed ten years earlier, while many of his victims may have had no part in it.
• Justice versus retaliation: The sect’s possible culpability remains uncertain, but the killings make reconciliation increasingly unlikely.
• Collective loyalty and moral conflict: Disciples defend their sect and mourn their peers even as they confront the possibility that it wronged the Ji Family.
• Power and escalation: Shi’s overwhelming skill forces the sect’s leadership to abandon restraint and mobilize its elders.

Character interactions

• Shi declares his grievance to Yan Guan, who acknowledges that the Ji Family’s destruction needs investigation but insists Shi must answer for the disciples he has killed.
• Their duel displays contrasting styles and imagery: Yan Guan’s righteous purple sword energy against Shi’s dark, unpredictable swordsmanship.
• The disciples debate the sect’s past, then unite around the immediate blood feud.
• Hong Wenshan directs the elders to reinforce Yan Guan, turning the confrontation into a coordinated defense of the sect.

Key plot points

• Shi Jianfeng overwhelms Yan Guan, a peak Sky-Soaring Realm elder, despite Yan’s formidable cultivation. The Void-Stabilizing Sword Sect’s elders join the fight, hoping to defeat him by force of numbers.
• Shi Jianfeng unleashes the Ji Family’s divine-tier art, Seven Slayings of Gods and Ghosts, Reversing the Stars. His thirty-six afterimages confuse the defenders; Yan Guan and three other elders are pierced and fatally wounded.
• Shi Jianfeng reveals himself to sect master Hong Wenshan as the surviving son of the Ji Family, whose slaughter Hong ordered. He refuses Hong’s offer to end the feud, declaring that only the sect’s destruction will settle it.
• Hong attacks and calls on the disciples to help. Shi Jianfeng’s next use of the technique kills more than a hundred disciples in moments and sends a powerful strike toward Hong.
• Hong survives behind the Golden-Thread Nine-Cloud Garment, a half-step Dao artifact. Confident that the robe can withstand even Shi Jianfeng’s attack, he believes himself safe.
• Shi Jianfeng acknowledges the technique’s heavy energy cost but, undeterred, prepares to attack Hong again. The chapter ends as he invokes the art once more.

Character developments

• Shi Jianfeng is revealed as the Ji Family’s escaped heir, now vastly stronger than he was ten years earlier. His revenge has become cold and unwavering; he is willing to destroy the entire sect to avenge his family.
• Yan Guan shifts from confidence in his peak cultivation to alarm and confusion. He recognizes the attack as the Ji Family’s ancestral art but dies unable to understand how Shi Jianfeng has transformed it.
• Hong Wenshan moves from presumed victory to fear, then regains confidence when his protective robe withstands Shi Jianfeng’s strike. His willingness to sacrifice his disciples shows that preserving his own position—and the sect’s legacy—is more important to him than their lives.
• The disciples respond unevenly to Hong’s call: some fight out of loyalty, while others hesitate.

Significant themes

• Revenge and its cost: Shi Jianfeng sees the conflict as one that can end only with the Void-Stabilizing Sword Sect’s annihilation, while the battle quickly claims elders and hundreds of disciples.
• Power and transformation: Shi Jianfeng has taken a familiar ancestral technique beyond its known limits, making it almost impossible for experienced opponents to read or counter.
• Leadership and expendability: Hong treats the disciples as expendable while prioritizing his own survival and the preservation of the sect’s legacy.
• Escalation and uncertainty: Even after Shi Jianfeng’s overwhelming victories, Hong’s artifact creates a new obstacle, leaving the outcome unresolved.

Summary

Key events

• Shi Jianfeng overwhelms Void-Stabilizing Sword Sect leader Hong Wenshan with repeated strikes from the Gods and Ghosts Seven-Kill Reverse Star Dipper. The sect’s Golden-Thread Nine-Cloud Garment delays him, but eventually shatters.
• Before Shi Jianfeng can finish Hong, Great Expansion Sect Elder Shen Shi arrives and blocks the killing blow. Shen admires Shi’s power—and covets his martial art—while claiming he will take him away to answer for killing the sect’s disciples.
• Shi reveals an authentic token identifying him as an Elder of the Origin Sect. Shen’s confidence falters, since the Origin Sect’s prestige makes opposing it dangerous. Hong, desperate to secure Shen’s help, insists the token is fake.
• While Shen hesitates, Shi kills Hong and eliminates the Void-Stabilizing Sword Sect’s remaining senior cultivators. He declares the sect finished, takes Hong’s garment, and leaves the surviving disciples alive.
• Shen then kills every remaining disciple to erase witnesses and conceal his hesitation. He also loots the sect’s treasury before departing.

Character developments and interactions

• Shi Jianfeng demonstrates power approaching the Manifestation Realm, though Shen’s divine sense can still injure him. His Origin Sect identity shifts the balance of the confrontation, and his revenge ends with Hong’s death and the destruction of the sect’s leadership.
• Hong Wenshan moves from confidence in his protective garment to desperation when it fails. He appeals to Shen and challenges Shi’s claim, but dies when Shen’s hesitation gives Shi an opening.
• Shen Shi presents himself as an ally of the Void-Stabilizing Sword Sect, but his interest is self-serving: he wants Shi’s martial art and later the sect’s wealth. Once Shi leaves, Shen murders the survivors to protect his reputation and prevent witnesses.
• The surviving disciples briefly feel spared by Shi, only to become victims of Shen’s opportunism.

Significant themes

• Power and reputation: Shi’s Origin Sect affiliation restrains even a powerful rival, showing that institutional prestige can matter as much as individual strength.
• Hypocrisy and self-interest: Shen invokes alliance and justice while pursuing personal gain and covering up his own conduct.
• Revenge and its limits: Shi destroys the sect’s leadership but spares its ordinary disciples; Shen’s cruelty completes the massacre.
• The danger of weakness: The survivors’ lack of power leaves them unable to resist Shen after Shi departs.

Key plot points and events

• The Void-Stabilizing Sword Sect has been destroyed by Shi Jianfeng, an Origin Sect elder and Ji Family descendant. Other factions back away from exploiting the incident because of the Origin Sect’s support.
• Qin Shujian learns that Shi may have encountered people from the Great Expansion Sect. He orders Zhao Shanlin to track Shi’s movements and make sure he returns safely.
• Qin emerges from seclusion, reflecting on his rapid progress and the Origin Sect’s growth. While walking through the sect, he finds that its disciples show at least some loyalty and sense of belonging.
• Qin proposes a disciple assessment to measure cultivation, identify talent, and encourage effort. Disciples will compete in cultivation-based groups; top performers will earn rewards, and successful challengers can take the rank of the disciple they defeat.
• The elders approve the assessment and agree to hold it every three years.
• Qin collects spirit paper he had asked Xu Yuanming to buy.

Character developments and interactions

• Shi Jianfeng has grown into a formidable sword cultivator, with sword intent far beyond what he possessed when he joined the sect. His victory establishes his strength but leaves him exposed to retaliation.
• Qin Shujian shows concern for Shi’s safety and takes a more active role in the sect’s development after ending his retreat.
• Xu Yuanming contributes to the assessment discussion, suggests a three-year interval, and supplies Qin with the purchased spirit paper.
• Zheng Fang supports the assessment as a way to counter stagnation. The other elders agree, while Niu Dali remains silent because his Demon Branch has no formal disciples.

Significant themes

• Power and protection: The Origin Sect’s backing shields Shi Jianfeng from opportunistic factions, though stronger enemies may still threaten him.
• Merit and competition: The new assessment system rewards achievement and gives disciples a direct route to advancement, while encouraging them to keep improving.
• Institutional growth: Qin’s focus shifts from personal cultivation to building systems that can guide and strengthen a growing sect.
• Belonging and loyalty: The disciples’ loyalty is still developing, but the sect has begun to give them a shared identity.

The chapter announces that the original fan group has been disbanded for undisclosed reasons, leaving some members without a place to discuss the plot or chat. It introduces a new regular group for those who were uncomfortable with the existing V group, and lists both groups’ IDs: the new regular group is 951578438, while the V group for members with 1,500 fan points is 1105669567.
There are no character developments, interactions, or broader themes beyond the practical goal of providing fans with alternative group spaces.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Shujian recognizes that the Origin Sect lacks a complete legacy of its own, despite its growing reputation.
• Using Spirit Paper and his spiritual energy, he records the Origin Return Ancestral Canon’s Martial Entry, True Martial, and Spirit Martial stages. The papers preserve not just the text but some of his understanding, though that spiritual insight will fade as they are studied.
• He also writes down his personal expertise in formations and forging, creating legacies designed to teach practitioners at every level up to grandmaster.
• Qin spends one million Life Source to advance the Azure Alchemy Talisman to master level. After quickly absorbing the knowledge of a Grand Alchemist, he records his alchemy insights as well.
• The three specialist halls—alchemy, forging, and formations—now each have a legacy capable of training practitioners to master level. Qin places the cultivation canon in the Library Pavilion, but leaves the other disciplines’ inheritances with their respective halls.

Character development

• Qin acts as both sect leader and teacher, taking responsibility for building the Origin Sect’s foundations rather than relying on other sects’ traditions.
• His expanding expertise and stronger divine sense let him absorb advanced alchemy knowledge with remarkable speed.
• He shows strategic foresight: he knows that written inheritances alone cannot create experts and that the sect must also provide guidance and incentives to attract skilled practitioners.

Character interactions

• Qin’s main interactions are with the institutions he leads: he places the cultivation legacy where disciples can find it and entrusts each specialist hall with its own inheritance.
• The chapter also highlights the sect’s reliance on—and difficulty retaining—outside Array Masters and Forge Masters, who want access to advanced techniques but may not be willing to pass on their own knowledge.

Significant themes

• Building a lasting legacy: A powerful sect needs knowledge of its own, not merely a prestigious name or borrowed traditions.
• Knowledge requires mentorship: Manuals and inheritances can guide learners, but capable seniors are still needed to help disciples avoid mistakes and reach mastery.
• Talent and incentives: The Origin Sect must offer meaningful benefits if it hopes to attract and keep high-level experts.
• Limits of preservation: Spirit Paper can carry profound insight, but unlike crystal inheritances, its spiritual knowledge gradually fades.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Shujian gives Shen Yuhua, the Alchemy Hall’s High-Grade Alchemist, an Alchemy Grandmaster’s handwritten notes for the hall’s legacy. He explains that a Grandmaster would strengthen the sect and improve its reputation in the pill trade.
• Shen is thrilled and confident the notes will help her reach Grandmaster level. She assumes Qin obtained them through his rumored past life as a powerful cultivator, rather than considering that he might himself be an alchemy expert.
• Qin then visits the Forging Hall and gives Shen Yuqing his notes, before heading to the Array Hall.
• There, he presents Hall Master Xiang Haoqian with his array insights, written on spiritual paper. Xiang is deeply moved: he joined the sect partly hoping to learn from Qin, but Qin’s seclusion had kept them from meeting.
• Qin says the notes may be studied within the Array Hall but must never leave it. He also directs Xiang to train promising recruits from the Marquis of Northcloud’s Manor, aiming for at least two to become Upper-Grade Array Masters within three years.
• Before leaving, Qin uses his Spirit Eye to check Xiang’s loyalty and sees it has risen to 83. Xiang feels a chill as Qin departs, unsure why.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian acts as a patron of the sect’s specialist halls, distributing advanced knowledge to develop future experts and strengthen the Origin Sect. He shows confidence in Shen’s potential and trust in Xiang’s leadership.
• Shen Yuhua moves from astonishment to determination, viewing the notes as the opportunity she needs to become an Alchemy Grandmaster. Her belief in Qin’s reincarnated identity explains his access to rare knowledge.
• Xiang Haoqian, a respected Upper-Grade Array Master and Divine Martial Realm cultivator, is grateful and excited to receive the notes. He pledges to protect them and accepts responsibility for training the recruits.

Significant themes

• Knowledge as institutional legacy: Qin’s notes are meant to benefit the sect beyond any one individual.
• Talent and opportunity: Shen’s ability may be exceptional, but access to the right teachings could make the difference between potential and achievement.
• Reputation and power: A Grandmaster’s standing can boost the sect’s influence and commercial success, not merely its technical skill.
• Trust and responsibility: Qin entrusts valuable teachings to his hall leaders while setting clear expectations for their use and the sect’s development.

Key plot points and events

• Origin Sect announces a Sect Tournament in three months. The rewards and rules excite the disciples, but Personal Disciple Wang Gang panics: losing a challenge could cost him his rank—and the ten thousand contribution points he spent to obtain it.
• Players’ use as assassins escalates the conflict in Thousand Mountains Prefecture. Their ability to revive makes them unusually effective: they can disrupt enemy operations, though each death costs them a cultivation realm and leaves them absent for three days.
• Players from the Origin Sect and the court overwhelm the Marquis of Thousand Mountains, Gu Changqing. He lacks enough players to retaliate, while defending against them damages his own territory.
• In Yongchang City, court commanders discuss exploiting Gu Changqing’s disorder to crush his rebellion. They worry that his two Array Dao Grandmasters could inflict heavy losses.
• General Yan Caizhe asks Kou Ziping to approach the Marquis of Northcloud about getting Qin Shujian’s help. Kou agrees to pass along the request but makes no promise.
• Yan notes that Grandmaster Ming is recovering and expects him to return to action soon. He also warns that players are becoming a powerful, unpredictable resource because competing factions can recruit them with rewards.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Gang shifts from pride in his new status to anxiety over the tournament’s challenge system, which could let others take his rank and benefits.
• Yan Caizhe emerges as a pragmatic, forceful commander. He pushes to seize the moment against Gu Changqing, explores recruiting Qin Shujian, and recognizes the strategic value of players.
• Kou Ziping remains cautious: he will relay Yan’s request but avoids promising cooperation.
• The court generals agree that Gu Changqing is vulnerable but fear his array specialists. Their frustration with sects that refused to assist reveals tension between the court and cultivation sects.

Significant themes

• Power and insecurity: Rank and privilege can be lost when challenged, making advancement risky as well as rewarding.
• The strategic value of players: Their numbers and revival make them formidable despite weak discipline and the cost of death.
• Escalating conflict: Each faction’s use of players prompts retaliation, turning a regional struggle into a widening cycle of attacks.
• Limits of control: The court considers harnessing players, but their vast numbers and independence make them difficult to command.

Plot points and events

• After receiving intelligence from Thousand Mountains Prefecture, the Marquis of Northcloud convenes his commanders. The imperial court wants him to send an Array Dao Grandmaster to help suppress Gu Changqing’s rebellion.
• His advisers argue that Northcloud’s close ties with the Origin Sect should make Qin Shujian willing to help. They also conclude that the Demon Race is likely backing Gu Changqing.
• The Marquis agrees to invite Qin Shujian to Northcloud and orders preparations for a wider military campaign.
• In private, Feng Wende urges the Marquis to avoid fighting and preserve Northcloud’s strength for the power struggle he expects after the aging Human Emperor dies.
• The Marquis rejects this plan. He believes Gu Changqing’s rebellion is a probe to test the imperial court, and that the Demon Race is holding back because the Human Emperor still rules. By joining the campaign, Northcloud can both obey the court and test the Demon Race’s strength.
• The chapter ends with the Marquis accusing Feng Wende of having been sent by someone else. Feng Wende immediately tries to flee.

Character developments

• The Marquis of Northcloud emerges as a strategic, perceptive ruler. Though outwardly mild, he sees the campaign as an opportunity to gather intelligence and pressure his rivals. He is also decisive—and willing to act without much proof.
• Feng Wende shifts from trusted adviser to suspected infiltrator. He argues for Northcloud’s future advantage, but the Marquis interprets his counsel as evidence of outside influence.
• Zang Hailong and the other commanders recognize the importance of Qin Shujian’s assistance and the potential threat posed by the Demon Race.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and political ambition: Service to the imperial court competes with the prospect of seizing power after the Human Emperor’s death.
• Caution and strategic testing: The rebellion may be less a straightforward bid for territory than a way to gauge the court’s remaining strength.
• Power and uncertainty: The Demon Race and other hidden forces shape events from behind the scenes.
• Suspicion and decisive action: The Marquis treats political counsel as possible evidence of conspiracy, reflecting the chapter’s emphasis on acting before certainty is available.

Character interactions

• The Marquis consults his commanders, listens to their assessment of the Origin Sect and Demon Race, and then directs Xiao Hong to invite Qin Shujian.
• In private, Feng Wende challenges the Marquis’s decision, urging him to conserve strength for the coming succession crisis. The Marquis counters with his broader reading of the rebellion and the Human Emperor’s continuing influence.
• Their conversation turns abruptly confrontational when the Marquis questions who sent Feng Wende; Feng Wende’s attempted escape confirms that the exchange is more than a policy disagreement.

Key plot points and events

• After Feng Wende urges the Marquis of Northcloud to oppose the imperial court, the marquis recognizes him as a covert agent of another faction and kills him with divine sense.
• The marquis orders the Feng Family’s three generations exterminated. Li Guang’an and the Chaosblood Army attack the family estate, killing Feng Hong and the rest of the clan, then confiscating its wealth.
• News of the Feng Family’s destruction shocks onlookers and exposes how powerless even a wealthy, influential clan is before the imperial court. Other factions begin eyeing the family’s abandoned businesses and resources.
• Meanwhile, at Liangshan Summit, Qin Shujian cultivates the eighth level of the Origin Return Ancestral Canon. His Spirit God grows from 210 to 220 feet, astonishing those who witness it.

Character developments and interactions

• Marquis of Northcloud reveals his ruthless loyalty to the imperial court. He knows Feng Wende’s alleged Demon Race treachery may not be the full story, but considers defiance enough to warrant death and seeks to discover who backed him.
• Feng Hong tries to invoke his son’s standing and demand an audience with the marquis. When the marquis confirms the order, Feng Hong fights desperately but is overwhelmed by Li Guang’an and three other Divine Martial Realm cultivators.
• Li Guang’an carries out the marquis’s command without hesitation, leading the assault and directing the army to seize the Feng Family’s assets.
• Qin Shujian remains absorbed in cultivation. His growing Spirit God signals extraordinary foundations, though he has not yet reached the Divine Martial Realm. Xiang Haoqian and other observers recognize the significance of his progress.

Significant themes

• Imperial authority and its cost: The court can erase a powerful clan with a single command, while local factions have little ability to resist.
• Justice versus political expediency: The marquis treats the entire Feng Family as guilty without examining individual responsibility, illustrating how power can replace proof.
• Power and ambition: Feng Wende’s hidden allegiance and the scramble for the family’s assets show the dangers of factional maneuvering and the opportunism it leaves behind.
• Cultivation and potential: Qin Shujian’s unusual Spirit God growth foreshadows his future strength and contrasts with the sudden collapse of the Feng Family.

Qin Shujian’s attempted breakthrough nearly reaches the eighth level of the Spirit Martial Realm, but his Spirit God exceeds the realm’s twenty-zhang limit, drawing brief attention from the sect’s powerful cultivators. He decides to rest rather than force another cultivation session, estimating that he will break through within ten days to half a month.
In the following days, the sect resumes its routine, and returning disciples submit missions from Thousand Mountains Prefecture. Qin Shujian is impressed that players—despite having only Outer Astral Realm strength—managed to assassinate a Divine Martial Realm cultivator, likely through outside assistance. He recognizes their enormous potential but also sees them as a threat, so he continues cultivating an image of invincibility to discourage them from challenging him.
Xiao Hong, the Marquis of Northcloud’s representative, visits with a request: the imperial court wants Qin Shujian to help defeat the rebels under Gu Changqing, the Marquis of Thousand Mountains. Otherworlder-led assassinations have disrupted the rebels’ rear, creating an opportunity for a major offensive, but Gu Changqing’s two Array Dao Grandmasters have repeatedly thwarted the imperial army. Qin suspects there are additional complications behind the stalled campaign, though Xiao Hong does not explain them.
Qin agrees in principle, citing his gratitude to the marquis, but asks what compensation the imperial court will provide. His willingness is also driven by a private motive: battlefield casualties could yield the life source he needs for future cultivation and advancement.
Character developments and interactions: Qin shows patience in cultivation, strategic caution toward players, and practical self-interest in negotiations. Xiao Hong is cordial but purposeful, acting on the marquis’s behalf; Qin’s blunt question about payment catches him off guard. The two maintain polite relations while negotiating the terms of Qin’s involvement.
Themes: The chapter contrasts discipline with ambition, highlights the players’ unpredictable potential, and shows how alliances blend gratitude, political necessity, and personal gain.

Plot points and events

• Imperial envoy Xiao Hong asks Qin Shujian to help the court, and Qin insists on compensation. He requests spirit stones and their associated jade stones, plus Dao Artifacts or Xiantian Spirit Objects.
• Xiao Hong agrees to present the request to the Marquis, recognizing that recruiting an Array Dao Grandmaster is worth a substantial price.
• Qin reflects that the rewards would strengthen the Origin Sect: formation materials could help compensate for the sect’s lack of powerful fighters, while rare treasures could boost his own cultivation.
• He begins a long-planned formation project on Liangshan, inscribing runes in the air to create a large formation covering the Origin Sect. Its effect is to concentrate spiritual energy, raising its density from one measure to at least three.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian is shown as pragmatic and self-assured: he negotiates bluntly for valuable resources, weighs their usefulness carefully, and demonstrates the scale of his mastery by constructing a formation in front of the sect.
• Xiao Hong remains diplomatic and respectful. Though unable to promise the requested rewards himself, he pledges to convey them to the Marquis.
• The Array Hall members, especially Xiang Haoqian and Zuo Jin, watch Qin’s work as a rare learning opportunity. The runes overwhelm observers according to their skill: novices and lower-grade masters must look away, while Zuo Jin holds on through eleven runes and Xiang Haoqian through twenty-three.

Significant themes

• Power and proper compensation: Even the imperial court must offer rewards when seeking the aid of influential cultivators.
• Knowledge has limits: The runes reveal profound Dao mysteries, and attempting to comprehend more than one’s cultivation allows can harm the spirit.
• Building a lasting foundation: Qin prioritizes resources and formations that strengthen both himself and the Origin Sect, while the new formation promises better cultivation conditions for everyone.

Plot points and events

• Qin Shujian completes a Spirit-Gathering Formation across Liangshan, doubling the sect’s spiritual energy—an extraordinary feat compared with the limited formations most sects can afford.
• He then spends a full day constructing a hidden defensive formation that uses Liangshan and its underground earth veins as its foundation. It can withstand attacks from a powerful Heavenly Being.
• Qin gives Zheng Fang, Zhang Tieniu, and Niu Feng three rune stones to activate the formation in a true emergency, emphasizing that they should not use it lightly.
• After recovering from the strain, he installs smaller gathering and defensive formations at the sect’s other branches, including the Demon Branch.
• Xiao Hong returns with the imperial court’s offer for Qin’s assistance: ten spirit stones, a thousand jin of companion jade, and three Xiantian Spirit Objects comparable to High Grade Spirit Weapons. Qin accepts, asking to receive the three spirit objects first. Xiao says they will arrive within three days and invites Qin to Zongyang City in seven days to meet the Marquis of Northcloud.
• Qin’s need for the spirit objects is practical: he can use Wisdom King Karmic Fire to burn them into Fire Lotuses and strengthen his Spirit God, helping address the limits on how often he can deploy powerful formations.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian demonstrates both the scale of his Array Dao skill and its limits: despite his grandmaster-level expertise, the formations heavily exhaust his spiritual sense. He remains protective of the sect and strategically secures valuable resources before undertaking the imperial court’s task.
• Zheng Fang, Zhang Tieniu, and Niu Feng respond solemnly to the responsibility of holding the activation stones, reflecting Qin’s trust in them as the sect’s senior leaders.
• Xiao Hong acts as the imperial court’s negotiator, presenting a generous offer and arranging Qin’s future meeting with the Marquis. Their exchange is cordial and businesslike.

Significant themes

• Power and its costs: Qin’s exceptional formation abilities depend on his cultivation and spiritual strength; skill alone cannot overcome physical limits.
• Security and responsibility: The formations protect a powerful but unevenly defended sect, while access to their full strength is reserved for dire circumstances.
• Value of expertise and resources: The imperial court’s immense payment highlights how rare and valuable an Array Dao Grandmaster’s assistance is.
• Practical ambition: Qin balances prestige and opportunity against effort, risk, and the resources needed to sustain his power.

Key plot points and events

• Xiao Hong returns after three days and gives Qin Shujian three high-grade Xiantian spirit objects: a sword, saber, and spear. Qin imprisons them and burns away their spiritual cores with Wisdom King Karmic Fire, leaving them as ordinary weapons.
• The absorbed spiritual energy strengthens Qin’s spirit god and breaks the bottleneck in his Origin Return Ancestral Canon. His spirit god briefly grows to twenty-five zhang, astonishing Xiao Hong and onlookers. Qin’s technique reaches perfection, its current limit.
• Qin decides to travel to Thousand Mountains Prefecture and takes the Dao Artifact Heaven and Earth Bow, along with the Cloud-Piercing Arrow, for protection.
• He and Xiao Hong travel via teleportation to Zongyang City, Northcloud Prefecture’s capital, and visit the Marquis of Northcloud’s Manor.
• The Marquis welcomes Qin, praises his achievements as an Array Dao Grandmaster, and begins discussing the situation in Thousand Mountains Prefecture—the reason for Qin’s visit.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian grows substantially stronger, reaching the peak of his current cultivation method, and demonstrates his practical, unsentimental attitude by destroying powerful spirit weapons rather than accepting their submission.
• Xiao Hong acts as Qin’s guide and intermediary, treating him with respect and introducing him to the Marquis.
• The Heaven and Earth Bow recognizes the danger of Qin’s flames and obeys when ordered to accompany him.
• The Marquis of Northcloud shows genuine appreciation for Qin and speaks to him as an important ally, while turning the meeting toward the brewing crisis.

Significant themes

• Power and advancement: Rare spiritual resources allow Qin to break through an exceptional bottleneck, while his twenty-five-zhang spirit god marks him as unusually formidable.
• Pragmatism and hierarchy: Qin values Dao Artifacts over lesser spirit weapons, and the manor’s servants illustrate the Marquis’s immense influence and the region’s rigid status structure.
• Political responsibility and alliance: Qin’s journey and the Marquis’s opening remarks set up cooperation over the growing trouble in Thousand Mountains Prefecture.