Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• The Marquis of Northcloud warns Qin Shujian that the conflict in Thousand Mountains Prefecture is not merely between the imperial court and the rebels led by Gu Changqing. He believes the Demon Race is secretly supporting the rebellion.
• The Demon Race has become more active as rumors spread that the Human Emperor is nearing the end of his life. Qin, as an unusually young Array Dao Grandmaster, may be a target for assassination.
• The marquis gives Qin the option to withdraw, but Qin insists on going. His bravado is partly undercut by the fact that he has already consumed the valuable spirit objects paid to him in advance.
• Qin spends the night at the marquis’s manor, where he detects a powerful formation that he believes was made by an Array Dao Grandmaster.
• The next morning, the marquis assigns Su Mingyang to accompany Qin to Thousand Mountains Prefecture and protect him from the Demon Race. He orders Su to keep Qin safe at all costs.
• Qin and Su travel to Zongyang City’s public Teleportation Gate and set off for Thousand Mountains Prefecture.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian remains outwardly confident and patriotic, accepting the danger without hesitation. Privately, he is also motivated by the fact that he cannot return the payment he has already consumed. He trusts in his equipment and abilities to survive.
• The Marquis of Northcloud now treats Qin as an equal and shows concern for his safety. He is candid about the threat and provides a capable escort.
• Su Mingyang shifts from formal retainer to friendly companion, expressing admiration for Qin while taking his duty seriously. He warns Qin that a demonic attack would be dangerous and pledges to protect him.
• Qin and Su exchange quiet conversation using spiritual sense, keeping their discussion inaudible to passersby.

Significant themes

• Rising supernatural and political danger: The looming succession crisis around the Human Emperor emboldens the Demon Race and complicates the imperial campaign.
• Duty versus self-interest: Qin frames his decision as loyalty to humanity, though practical concerns also bind him to the mission.
• Respect earned through ability: Qin’s status as an Array Dao Grandmaster changes how powerful figures treat him and makes his safety a matter of regional importance.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Shujian and Su Mingyang travel to Yongchang City in Thousand Mountains Prefecture, changing teleportation gates five times over three days. Qin’s sect array can connect only within Liangshan Spirit Domain because the court supplied no broader coordinates.
• With the region in rebellion, city officials inspect arrivals closely. Su identifies himself as a retainer of the Marquis of Northcloud, and Qin presents his sect token. Learning Qin is an Array Dao Grandmaster, the officers treat him with marked respect; word of his arrival spreads quickly.
• Su takes Qin to meet Ming Jingshan, the imperial army’s accompanying Array Dao Grandmaster, before visiting General Yan Caizhe, who is overseeing the campaign.
• Yan learns of their choice and recognizes it as a pointed slight—likely arranged by Su on behalf of the Marquis of Northcloud, who took offense at Yan’s earlier request for help. Yan chooses not to react openly and expects Qin to meet him later.
• Qin and Su are welcomed at Ming’s court-provided residence. Ming arrives shortly afterward, greets them warmly, and praises Qin’s talent and reputation.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian is eager to meet another Array Dao Grandmaster, having previously heard of them but never encountered one. He approaches Ming respectfully and remains modest despite his growing renown.
• Su Mingyang handles introductions and subtly asserts the Marquis’s displeasure by taking Qin to Ming first. He also explains Ming’s family standing and the political context.
• Ming Jingshan appears courteous and genuinely impressed by Qin, openly admiring how young he is to have attained Grandmaster status.
• Yan Caizhe proves politically perceptive and composed. He understands the visit order as a veiled rebuke but does not let the slight distract him from the campaign.
• The exchange between Su’s party and the city officers shows how Qin’s title carries authority: his arrival is treated as significant to the war effort.

Significant themes

• The influence of reputation and rank: Qin’s status as an Array Dao Grandmaster immediately changes how officials and hosts treat him.
• Politics beneath formal courtesy: The order of visits conveys the Marquis’s displeasure without direct confrontation.
• Military necessity and cooperation: In a rebellion, a skilled array master may materially affect the balance of the campaign.
• Limits and logistics: Even powerful cultivators and advanced teleportation networks remain constrained by available connections and the need for rest.

Chapter Summary: “Sitting Together to Discuss the Dao”

Key plot points and events

• Qin Shujian and Array Dao Grandmaster Ming Jingshan spend three days and nights discussing arrays. Their exchange ends with both having gained valuable insights, especially Ming, whose long-standing problems are resolved.
• Su Mingyang sits through the entire discussion without understanding it and becomes increasingly bored, unable to leave or take part.
• Yan Caizhe, Yongchang City’s commanding general, learns that Qin has remained at Ming’s residence for three days. Though annoyed that Qin has not visited him, he sends someone to check on him rather than confront him directly.
• After the discussion, Ming explains that the two unfamiliar Array Dao Grandmasters serving rebel leader Gu Changqing were powerful enough to defeat him together. He suspects they are members of the Demon Race.
• Ming confirms that the imperial court knows demons are backing Gu, but lacks evidence to prove it publicly. Such proof could damage the rebels’ support and morale.
• Qin learns that the court plans to move against the rebels within the next few days, now that he has arrived to help counter their array experts. He then leaves Ming’s residence with Su.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian demonstrates array knowledge that matches—and may exceed—Ming’s. He prefers learning through discussion rather than spending the enormous amount of life source required to advance further.
• Ming Jingshan shifts from treating Qin as a younger peer to regarding him as an equal and seeking his guidance. Their mutual respect deepens, and Ming hopes they will discuss arrays again.
• Su Mingyang remains an outsider to the conversation. His frustration provides a comic contrast to the two grandmasters’ enthusiasm.
• Yan Caizhe is mildly offended by Qin’s extended stay without a visit, but remains measured and focuses on gathering information.
• Ming parts with Qin on friendly terms, while privately speculating that Qin may eventually reach the Second Grandmaster Realm.

Significant themes

• Learning through exchange: Discussion with a peer can resolve difficulties more quickly than years of solitary practice.
• Limits and advancement: Both grandmasters seek a level beyond their current mastery, though Qin must weigh insight against the cost of life source.
• Trust and political evidence: The court suspects demonic involvement but cannot act decisively without proof.
• Reincarnation and hidden potential: Ming interprets Qin’s exceptional abilities as evidence of his former power and anticipates his future rise.

Plot and key events

• Qin Shujian and Su Mingyang visit General Yan Caizhe in Yongchang City. Yan has been expecting Qin, and Qin is welcomed as an Array Dao Grandmaster. He meets Yan’s deputies, Ke Yucheng and Wu Tai, while the group exchanges polite but guarded remarks.
• Su Mingyang privately identifies the two deputies for Qin. Yan and his companions already know reports that Qin is a reincarnated powerhouse, though his former identity remains unknown.
• The Marquis of Thousand Mountains learns that Qin has joined the imperial campaign and that Ming Jingshan has recovered. With two Array Dao Grandmasters now supporting Great Zhao, the rebels’ former advantage is gone.
• After debate over assassination and defense, strategist Bu Tianhua proposes a surprise offensive: secretly gather the rebel forces, seize cities, and inflict heavy losses before Great Zhao can respond. He also urges the Marquis to ask other feudal lords to attack the court and divide its attention.
• The Marquis approves the plan but orders that it remain secret and that Otherworlders not be included, fearing their involvement could expose the operation.
• In private, the Marquis asks Bu whether Qin’s past identity can be uncovered. Bu says it would be difficult to divine, but is certain Qin is a reincarnated powerhouse because becoming an Array Dao Grandmaster requires fusing one’s soul with heaven and earth.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian remains composed and diplomatic, presenting himself as a helper while discreetly assessing Yan and the deputies. His reputation makes him a significant presence in the campaign.
• Su Mingyang acts as Qin’s guide and source of private intelligence, explaining the hierarchy and backgrounds of Yan’s officers.
• Yan Caizhe appears welcoming and eager to work with Qin, though the meeting’s courteous tone masks mutual scrutiny.
• The Marquis of Thousand Mountains responds pragmatically to his shrinking military advantage, choosing bold action over passive defense.
• Bu Tianhua establishes himself as a decisive and trusted strategist, recommending a high-risk plan and demonstrating confidence in his assessment of Qin.

Significant themes

• Shifting military balance: Qin’s arrival and Ming Jingshan’s recovery threaten the rebels’ key advantage.
• Strategy under pressure: With a direct confrontation looming, the rebels consider surprise, speed, and widening the conflict as ways to compensate for weaker forces.
• Secrecy and uncertainty: Both sides assess one another, while the Marquis’s concern about the Otherworlders shows how little he trusts the flow of information.
• Power and spiritual attainment: The chapter links the status of an Array Dao Grandmaster to extraordinary cultivation and a soul’s union with heaven and earth.

• Plot and events: Bu Tianhua argues that Qin Shujian must be the reincarnation of a powerful expert, since an Array Dao Grandmaster should need a soul strong enough to merge with heaven and earth. He does not know that Qin reached grandmaster rank by using Life Source to bypass that ordeal. The Marquis of Thousand Mountains orders Bu’s side to prepare a backup plan: if their surprise attack fails, the Marquis will kill Yan Caizhe swiftly. Both factions continue small skirmishes while secretly preparing for a larger conflict.
• Qin’s preparations and development: At his guarded residence in Yongchang City, Qin anticipates fighting two enemy Array Dao Grandmasters. He judges that his deeper array knowledge is offset by weaker spiritual-sense reserves, making a prolonged battle risky. To strengthen himself before war, he spends over four million Life Source advancing six cultivation methods into their Spirit Martial Volumes. The breakthrough increases his spirit god from twenty-five to just over twenty-six zhang and boosts his overall strength by roughly ten percent. He realizes that improving several lower-tier methods can be an effective stopgap when he lacks the resources for major cultivation breakthroughs, though advancing his realm remains essential.
• Interactions: Qin’s sudden breakthrough alarms the guards and Su Mingyang, who fear an assassination attempt. Qin reassures them, and Su congratulates him while suggesting he may soon reach the Divine Martial Realm. Qin downplays the progress, then tells Su that the prefecture’s unusual calm feels suspicious. Su dismisses the quiet as natural, since the weaker Gu Changqing would not dare initiate a war against the imperial court.
• Key themes: The chapter contrasts genuine cultivation with Qin’s unconventional shortcut, highlighting how others misread his abilities. It also emphasizes preparation, resource management, and the limits of incremental improvement. Finally, the outward calm amid secret military preparations creates a sense of impending conflict and possible deception.

Key plot points and events

• Ju Dongyi senses danger despite reports that Mount Tai City is quiet. He realizes the threat may come from outside and suspects Gu Changqing’s rebel forces, whose recent clashes now seem like deliberate distractions.
• As Ju Dongyi orders the city’s commanders summoned, a barrier rises over Mount Tai City and fires and battles break out. Four masked Divine Martial Realm attackers ambush him in the City Lord’s Manor, killing his steward.
• Ju Dongyi holds off the attackers until his guards arrive. He kills one enemy cultivator and destroys the spirit god that tries to escape from the slain body.
• From above the city, he sees fires across the streets and rebels assaulting all four walls. He rallies the citizens and orders the city’s clans and factions to help the guards; prominent families and organizations obey.
• Ju Dongyi joins the defense at a wall, striking down many attackers and lifting the defenders’ morale. He orders the troops to hold their positions rather than risk a counterattack, expecting the rebels to withdraw if they cannot breach the city.

Character developments and interactions

• Ju Dongyi shifts from uneasy suspicion to decisive leadership. His battlefield experience and formidable strength help him defeat an attacker and coordinate the city’s defense.
• The City Lord’s Manor guards reinforce Ju Dongyi when he is ambushed, easing the pressure of fighting four opponents.
• Mount Tai City’s factions cooperate with the city guards, motivated both by their stake in the city’s survival and by Ju Dongyi’s threat of severe punishment for disobedience.
• The defenders regain confidence when Ju Dongyi appears and demonstrates his strength.

Significant themes

• Vigilance and intuition: Ju Dongyi’s premonition helps him recognize a coordinated threat before the city is fully overwhelmed.
• Leadership under pressure: He protects the city, issues clear orders, and prioritizes a disciplined defense over reckless glory.
• Collective survival and political authority: The city’s factions unite because their fortunes are tied to Mount Tai City—and because the imperial court’s power makes defiance dangerous.
• Deception and coordinated warfare: The rebel assault combines an attack on the walls, fires and street fighting, and an assassination attempt on the city lord.

Key events

• Rebel forces attack Mount Tai City, a strategically important border stronghold. City commander Ju Dongyi expects reinforcements within hours but suspects the Marquis of Thousand Mountains has a hidden advantage.
• The rebel camp’s Guo Tong explains that the assault must succeed within roughly eight hours, before reinforcements arrive. Two mysterious members of the Twelve Nether Envoys, Azure and Black, accompany the army.
• Black flies to the city and destroys its grand defensive formation with a single palm strike, revealing power Ju Dongyi believes belongs to a Heavenly Being.
• Rebel cultivators pour over the walls, and fighting breaks out throughout the city. Ju rallies the defenders, urging them to stand firm until the imperial army arrives and promising rewards for valor.
• Black leaves after breaking the barrier, judging the rebels’ assault sufficient to overwhelm the city. Ju, relieved of Black’s immediate threat, joins the fight against an enemy Divine Martial Realm cultivator inside the city.

Character developments and interactions

• Ju Dongyi remains cautious despite the sudden assault. Once the formation falls, he shifts quickly from guarding against Black to organizing resistance and personally entering the battle.
• Guo Tong is confident in the Nether Envoys’ strength, though Black’s power deepens his private unease.
• Azure calmly defers to Black, while Black displays overwhelming power and indifference to the lives on either side.
• Ju’s speech restores the defenders’ morale: they echo his vow to live or die with the city and renew their resolve to fight.

Significant themes

• Leadership and morale: Ju’s promises of honor and reward help turn panic into renewed resistance.
• The cost of war: Black treats casualties on both sides as irrelevant, contrasting with the defenders’ commitment to protect the city.
• Hidden power and uncertainty: The Nether Envoys’ mysterious origins and Black’s apparent Heavenly Being strength reveal that the rebels have far greater resources than Ju anticipated.
• Defiance against overwhelming odds: Even after losing the city’s main protective barrier, the defenders choose to fight on.

Plot and key events

• The Black Nether Envoy returns after breaking Mount Tai City’s formation, having made only one attack. Guo Tong is dissatisfied that he did not press the advantage, but recognizes he cannot command the Envoy. Guo Tong proceeds to confront the city’s lord while the Envoy and his companion oversee the battle.
• News reaches the imperial forces that the Marquis of Thousand Mountains, Gu Changqing, has captured eleven cities in three hours. The court has lost over a million troops—many of whom surrendered and joined the rebels—and fifteen Divine Martial Realm cultivators.
• Commander Yan Caizhe berates his generals, then accepts Ke Yucheng’s proposal to retake the cities quickly. He postpones dismantling the vast Heaven-Sealing Earth-Locking Formation, which Ming Jingshan says would take too long and face resistance from the rebels’ two Array Dao Grandmasters.
• Yan orders the Otherworlders, or players, to accompany the army and absorb casualties, recognizing that they can be used as expendable fighters. Qin Shujian notices how well Yan understands their unusual nature.
• The imperial army reaches the cities only to find that Gu Changqing’s forces have withdrawn after looting them. The civilians remain unharmed; Gu views the region as his own territory and wants to preserve its population and future stability.
• Gu Changqing rewards his commanders in principle, promising formal recognition after the prefecture is reclaimed. Bu Tianhua proposes an immediate surprise attack on the cities, arguing that their new imperial garrisons will be vulnerable. Gu and his generals see the plan as a chance to inflict another major loss and further narrow the balance of power.

Character developments and interactions

• Guo Tong is ambitious and frustrated by the Black Nether Envoy’s restraint, but knows the Envoy is outside his authority.
• Yan Caizhe reacts angrily to the disastrous losses, then shifts to practical measures: recovering territory, using players as expendable troops, and commanding even powerful specialists through his official authority.
• Ke Yucheng urges a rapid counterattack, while Ming Jingshan cautions that breaking the enormous formation is too difficult to do quickly. Qin Shujian remains outwardly impassive but recognizes Yan’s growing awareness of the players.
• Gu Changqing appears confident and strategic, balancing military gains against the need to preserve civilians. Bu Tianhua takes an aggressive role by advocating an immediate second strike, and the generals rally behind his proposal.

Significant themes

• Military momentum and shifting power: The rapid capture of eleven cities weakens the court while strengthening Gu Changqing through prisoners, plunder, and surrendered troops.
• Pragmatism in war: Both sides prioritize advantage—Yan treats players as expendable, while Gu withdraws after looting and considers the long-term value of civilians.
• Authority and obligation: Yan’s command authority compels even powerful figures to obey, while the Envoys’ independence limits Guo Tong’s control.
• The players’ integration: Their unusual resilience is increasingly understood and exploited by the established powers.

Key events

• Mount Tai City lies quiet after the rebel leader Gu Changqing’s forces seized it overnight. City Lord Ju Dongyi is dead, and the city’s powerful clans and government resistance have been devastated. Most buildings and ordinary residents were spared, though some civilians died in the fighting.
• Qin Shujian examines the traces of the ruined citywide defensive array. He concludes that someone with exceptional strength must have broken it, but says it would be easier to question the Otherworlders—players who witnessed the fighting—than to rely on speculation.
• A bounty quest quickly brings players to the city lord’s residence. Their account describes a hooded figure in black breaking the array. Wu Tai suspects the figure was a half-step Heavenly Being or a Heavenly Human expert, likely supplied by the Demon Race, which is believed to be backing Gu Changqing.
• Wu Tai denounces both the rebels and the Demon Race, though the others recognize that attacking the Demon Race’s vast stronghold in the Endless Mountains would be far from simple.
• With the rebels gone, the army decides to hold Mount Tai City overnight, reassure its shaken population, and use the city as a base for future operations.
• Wu Tai asks Qin Shujian to repair the city’s defensive array. Qin agrees, confident that his strengthened Spirit God gives him enough divine sense to handle the large-scale work.
• Wu Tai orders martial law and a strict network of sentries outside the city, warning that the rebels could return.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian shows his expertise by reading clues in the broken array and proposing a practical way to gather information. He also accepts responsibility for restoring the city’s defenses.
• Su Mingyang listens to Qin’s reasoning, recognizes that “asking around” means consulting the Otherworlders, and participates in the military council as a representative of the Marquis of Northcloud’s Manor.
• Wu Tai emerges as the army’s senior commander in Yan Caizhe’s absence. He is openly hostile toward the Demon Race and insists on cautious security measures, even when others question the need for them.
• The officers defer to Wu Tai’s authority, while Qin and Su remain present but do not join in accepting his orders.

Significant themes

• War’s costs: Even civilians who were not deliberately targeted suffered casualties from the devastation of battle.
• Caution amid uncertainty: The army must make decisions with incomplete information and prepare for the possibility of a renewed attack.
• Power and hidden alliances: The mysterious attacker suggests that Gu Changqing’s rebellion may be backed by forces far beyond his own troops.
• Knowledge through observation: Qin combines technical insight, battlefield evidence, and information from the Otherworlders to reconstruct what happened.

Key events

• Concerned that Gu Changqing might attack again, General Wu Tai considers all possible threats and commissions Qin Shujian to fortify Mount Tai City.
• Qin chooses to build the defense from eighteen array disks rather than inscribe a vast array directly in the air, which would consume too much energy and exceed his spiritual-sense range.
• Using Wisdom King Karmic Fire, Qin forges eighteen low-grade spirit-weapon disks. Heavenly thunder tempers them, drawing attention, so he has Su Mingyang reassure the city that he is forging weapons.
• Qin then inscribes each disk with runes, pausing to replenish his spiritual sense with eighth-rank Soul-Nourishing Pills. He realizes restorative pills could be useful despite his usual reliance on his Domain Lord cultivation benefits, and resolves to begin making them himself.
• Qin tells Wu Tai that, once placed at key points, the disks will form a defensive array capable of resisting powerful Heavenly Being cultivators. He stresses that they must be hidden or heavily guarded: if even one is lost, the array’s security is compromised.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian demonstrates mastery of both forging and arrays, and recognizes a practical use for his alchemy skills. He is confident but serious about protecting the array’s components.
• Su Mingyang is startled by the karmic fire’s threat to even a Divine Martial Realm cultivator and impressed by Qin’s rapid creation of spirit weapons. He follows Qin’s instructions and helps manage the alarm caused by the thunder.
• Wu Tai responds enthusiastically to the completed disks and asks what support Qin needs, then receives a firm warning about safeguarding them.

Significant themes

• Preparedness in warfare: Wu Tai’s experience teaches him not to dismiss even unlikely threats.
• Skill and resourcefulness: Qin adapts his method to his limitations and combines several disciplines to produce a powerful defense.
• Security and vulnerability: The array’s strength depends on its physical foundations; protecting each disk is as important as creating the array.

Plot points and events

• Qin Shujian secretly buries eighteen Array Disks at carefully chosen sites around Mount Tai City. Only Wu Tai knows their locations, and he receives instructions for activating them.
• Wu Tai’s army plans to march on Yongfeng City the next morning, but the Demon Race’s possible involvement remains a major concern.
• An alarm flare reveals an enemy attack on Mount Tai City. Qin Shujian activates the Array Disks, raising a City-Protecting Grand Array just as rebel forces approach from all four directions.
• Scouts estimate the attacking army at at least 200,000 troops; Wu Tai judges it likely numbers around 300,000. The rebel commander, Guo Tong, presses on despite losing the element of surprise, believing Mount Tai City is poorly defended.
• Qin Shujian suggests using the city’s players as expendable defenders. Wu Tai issues them a quest offering experience and merit points, instantly raising their enthusiasm and improving morale.
• As Guo Tong’s army nears the city, he spots the newly erected barrier and is stunned.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian shows careful secrecy in placing the Array Disks and strategic insight by urging Wu Tai to mobilize the players.
• Wu Tai remains confident and forceful. He reassures his officers that the imperial court is aware of the Demon Race’s interference, then responds decisively to the attack and adopts Qin Shujian’s suggestion.
• Guo Tong is bold enough to continue the assault after discovery, trusting his numerical and elite-force advantages—but the unexpected protective array undermines his assumptions.
• The players shift from resentment about being dragged into battles without rewards to eager participation once offered experience, merit, and the prospect of official rank.
• Wu Tai and Qin Shujian work together pragmatically: Qin supplies expertise and advice, while Wu Tai commands the troops and controls the quest rewards.

Significant themes

• Preparation and secrecy: The array’s hidden placement gives the defenders a crucial advantage.
• Warfare and uncertainty: The Demon Race’s involvement and the rebels’ strength complicate the imperial army’s plans.
• Motivation through reward: Players’ willingness to fight depends less on fear than on whether combat offers tangible benefits.
• Unexpected reversals: Guo Tong expects a weakened, unprotected city, only to find its defenses restored at the critical moment.

Plot points and events

• Guo Tong discovers that Mount Tai City’s previously shattered protective array has been restored. He and the Azure Nether Envoy suspect an Array Dao Grandmaster is inside, but decide they cannot retreat as Wu Tai’s army is already coming out to meet them.
• Wu Tai asks Qin Shujian to remain in the city and intervene if the imperial army needs help. Wu then challenges Guo Tong, and the two generals lead their forces into battle.
• Nearly a million soldiers clash around the city. Players fighting for the imperial side do not use military formations; instead, they act as skirmishers, striking vulnerable enemies and withdrawing.
• Wu Tai quickly gains the upper hand over Guo Tong. Guo’s warning that he has backup alerts Wu Tai, who suspects the Demon Race.
• Two hooded Demon Race experts suddenly attack Wu Tai, sending him flying. Qin Shujian recognizes them as the powerful figures who previously broke the city array.
• Qin directs Su Mingyang to assist Wu Tai and traps one Demon Race expert in an array himself. The captive, the Black Nether Envoy, realizes an Array Dao Grandmaster has ensnared him. The chapter ends as a storm of saber qi fills his void-like prison.

Character developments

• Wu Tai is shown as a confident, formidable commander and fighter. He dominates Guo Tong but is forced to face the Demon Race’s intervention.
• Qin Shujian takes a measured, tactical approach: he stays out of the army’s main clash, assesses the risks of fighting the Demon Race, and uses an array to isolate one opponent.
• Guo Tong remains resentful of past defeats and relies on hidden allies when his strength proves insufficient.
• The Black Nether Envoy shifts from pursuing Wu Tai to confronting the danger of being trapped by an Array Dao Grandmaster.

Themes and character interactions

• The scale and brutality of warfare: Vast armies, military formations, cultivators, and players all fight differently in a chaotic battlefield.
• Power has limits: Even a restored city array can eventually fail, while individual strength is complicated by armies, allies, and hidden trump cards.
• Strategy and judgment: Qin avoids overconfidence, assigns help where it is needed, and separates the two dangerous opponents rather than fighting them both.
• Rivalry and escalation: Wu Tai and Guo Tong trade taunts rooted in their history of repeated battles, but their duel is interrupted when Guo’s Demon Race allies reveal the conflict’s greater threat.

Plot points and events

• Qin Shujian traps the Black Nether Envoy in a succession of arrays. The Envoy breaks each one by concentrating his attacks on a single point, but Qin keeps laying new arrays while replenishing his spiritual sense with a pill.
• Qin’s real strategy is to delay and exhaust his opponent with nested trapping arrays. After the Envoy spends a treasured weapon to destroy one array in a single blow, Qin finally confronts him directly inside the remaining array.
• The Black Nether Envoy attacks Qin with the weapon’s rainbow radiance. Qin activates a prepared formation, causing both men to vanish from view as the array erupts.
• Meanwhile, the Azure Nether Envoy tries to break away from his fight with Wu Tai and Su Mingyang. He unleashes a powerful Heavenly Being-level attack, but Wu Tai counters with the phantom of Great Zhao’s Ancestral Weapon.
• The Azure Nether Envoy uses two Heavenly Human Edicts to weaken the Ancestral Weapon’s strike, then burns through his True Essence to defend himself. The chapter ends as the strike bears down on him.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian shows patience, precision, and confidence, relying on layered arrays rather than trying to overpower the Black Nether Envoy outright. His calm praise and taunts frustrate his opponent.
• The Black Nether Envoy proves far stronger than an ordinary Divine Martial cultivator, possessing a weapon capable of unleashing a Heavenly Being-level attack. His frustration grows as Qin repeatedly traps him; he ultimately uses up the weapon’s power to escape.
• The Azure Nether Envoy is revealed to have powerful emergency techniques, but his arrogance gives way to alarm when confronted by the Ancestral Weapon.
• Wu Tai and Su Mingyang work together to hold off the Azure Nether Envoy, while Wu Tai’s connection to Great Zhao’s Ancestral Weapon gives them a decisive counterattack.

Significant themes

• Strategy versus strength: Qin uses preparation and repeated restraints to challenge an enemy with far greater raw power.
• The cost of power: The Black Nether Envoy’s treasured weapon dims with use, while the Azure Nether Envoy exhausts his limited trump cards.
• Escalating stakes: Both battles reveal forces approaching or matching Heavenly Being-level power, leaving the outcomes uncertain.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Tai’s attack shatters the Azure Nether Envoy’s disguise, revealing a severely wounded woman. She burns through her True Essence to resist his spear, then escapes while Wu Tai turns his attention back to the battlefield.
• Qin Shujian completes a grandmaster-level formation powered by Thousand Mountain Blood, trapping the Black Nether Envoy. The envoy reveals his demonic form: a massive silver eagle with steel-like wings.
• The Black Nether Envoy attacks Qin, but the Fourth-Grade Golden Lotus blocks his strike. Qin then uses the formation’s blade qi and falling pillars of starlight to badly injure him.
• Qin notices something heating inside his Storage Ring but cannot investigate while the fight continues.
• Qin engulfs the injured envoy in Wisdom King Karmic Fire. The envoy begs to serve him, but Qin refuses, doubting he could control such a powerful subordinate and anticipating political consequences. The demon is consumed, leaving a Fire Lotus behind.

Character developments

• Qin Shujian demonstrates the full strength of his formation mastery and artifacts, while remaining cautious and pragmatic: he resists the temptation to recruit a half-step Heavenly Being he cannot reliably control. He also distinguishes between fighting humans and consuming them, which he finds repellent.
• The Black Nether Envoy shifts from confident attacker to desperate captive, abandoning his pride and status to beg for his life.
• The Azure Nether Envoy shows determination and survival instinct, countering Wu Tai’s attack long enough to escape despite her grave injuries.
• Wu Tai remains focused on the larger battle rather than pursuing the fleeing envoy.
• Guo Tong is shown to be outmatched by the stronger combatants, leaving him unable to intervene meaningfully.

Significant themes

• Power and its limits: Even formidable experts can be overwhelmed by superior preparation, artifacts, and tactics.
• Pragmatism and trust: Qin rejects a powerful ally because strength without reliable control could become a danger.
• The cost of warfare: Both envoys suffer devastating injuries, while the armies continue fighting around them.
• Humanity and morality: Qin is willing to kill enemies but recoils from consuming humans, despite treating them as NPCs.

Character interactions

• Wu Tai attacks the Azure Nether Envoy, who resists and escapes.
• Qin and the Black Nether Envoy clash directly: Qin’s defenses and formation wear the demon down, and the envoy’s pleas for submission go unanswered.
• Guo Tong remains sidelined by the strength gap, while Wu Tai prioritizes the ongoing battle over the wounded envoy.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Shujian’s Wisdom King Karmic Fire consumes the giant silver eagle, a Half-Step Heavenly Being of the Demon Race, and forms a Fire Lotus. Absorbing it raises his Spirit God from just over twenty-six zhang to thirty zhang, restores and strengthens his spiritual sense, and adds a million points of life source. He is unsure why this yields far more energy than the Heavenly Being Evil Fiend he killed earlier.
• Qin dismantles his array and emerges alone, revealing that he defeated the Black Nether Envoy. Guo Tong orders his army to retreat, but Wu Tai launches a pursuit.
• Qin uses battlefield arrays to trap and slaughter enemy troops, killing thousands at a time and throwing the retreat into disorder. Guo Tong reaches Yongfeng City with fewer than a quarter of his original force; many abandoned soldiers are killed outside the walls.
• The imperial army returns to Mount Tai City with a decisive victory: it lost about fifty thousand troops while killing more than two hundred thousand and capturing supplies. Wu Tai plans to rest briefly, then attack the weakened Yongfeng City the next day. Scouts are also sent to assess control of other cities.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian grows stronger and sees how effectively his Array Dao can harvest life source in battle, though he keeps this motive to himself. He politely downplays his contribution when Wu Tai credits him.
• Wu Tai recognizes Qin’s crucial role in killing the Half-Step Heavenly Being and turning the battle, reports his service to the imperial court, and presses the advantage by preparing an immediate campaign against Yongfeng City.
• Guo Tong shifts from hoping the Black Nether Envoy might secure victory to ordering a retreat once Qin appears. He returns to the city facing a devastated army and likely anger from his superior.
• Wu Tai and Su Mingyang, along with the watching forces, wait anxiously for the array to fall; Qin’s emergence settles the outcome and rallies the imperial troops.

Significant themes

• Individual power reshaping warfare: Qin’s mastery of arrays turns him into a force capable of destroying large formations and breaking an army’s morale.
• The costs and rewards of victory: The imperial army wins overwhelmingly, but still suffers substantial losses; Qin’s personal gains in power and life source contrast with the human toll.
• Seizing the moment: The defeat of Yongfeng City’s garrison creates a narrow opportunity, prompting Wu Tai to attack before the rebels can rebuild their defenses.

Plot points and events

• The imperial forces repel most of the rebels’ surprise attacks, though two cities are overrun. Both sides suffer heavy losses, including the death of the Black Nether Envoy, a Half-Step Heavenly Being.
• The Twelve Nether Envoys investigate his death and identify Qin Shujian as the likely Array Dao Grandmaster behind the powerful flames that killed him. Fearing Qin’s potential as a reincarnated expert, they decide to target him through the Sky Eagle Clan’s Heavenly Demon Guard rather than risk acting openly.
• The Marquis of Thousand Mountains punishes Guo Tong for the failed attack with three hundred lashes, sparing his life because the rebel army is short of generals. Strategist Bu Tianhua recommends abandoning exposed frontline cities and drawing the imperial army toward prepared arrays.
• The rebels withdraw from several cities. The imperial court occupies them and advances rapidly, reclaiming most of Thousand Mountains Prefecture. In half a month, the Marquis’s territory shrinks to about one-fifth of the prefecture.
• At Dingxiang City, Yan Caizhe’s commanders review the campaign. The imperial army has nearly surrounded the remaining rebel territory, but its forces are stretched thin by the need to garrison each captured city. With Gu Changqing’s retreat nearly exhausted, a decisive battle appears imminent.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian becomes a strategic target after the demons recognize his formidable array skills and feared future potential.
• Guo Tong accepts responsibility for the disastrous surprise attack and gratefully accepts the Marquis’s severe but life-sparing punishment.
• Bu Tianhua remains confident in his plan to lure the imperial forces into arrays laid by two grandmasters, despite the failure of his earlier strategy.
• The Marquis of Thousand Mountains shifts from punishing his commander to withdrawing and conserving strength, trusting Bu Tianhua’s proposed trap.
• Yan Caizhe, Ke Yucheng, Qin Shujian, and Ming Jingshan assess the imperial advance and its logistical weakness as they prepare for the likely final confrontation.

Significant themes

• Strategic cost and responsibility: Military failures bring harsh consequences, while leaders must weigh lives, territory, and future chances of victory.
• Power and political restraint: The demons fear Qin’s potential but avoid direct action because the Human Emperor limits their freedom.
• Momentum versus overextension: The imperial court’s rapid victories are impressive, yet each captured city demands troops, creating a vulnerability the rebels may exploit.
• The looming decisive conflict: Both sides reposition after the failed surprise attack, turning the campaign toward a potentially trap-filled final battle.

Plot and key events

• The rebels, surrounded by the Imperial Court’s army, have little choice but to fight. Their leader, Gu Changqing, challenges the Imperial forces to a decisive battle in the Shang River Region in half a month.
• Yan Caizhe accepts. He expects a direct confrontation to crush the rebels, and the pause will also give the Imperial army time to secure the many cities it has captured and stabilize its rear.
• News of the coming battle spreads widely.
• Qin Shujian, meanwhile, assesses his cultivation progress. He has accumulated just over thirty million life source, but needs at least forty million to advance the Origin Return Ancestral Canon. He chooses to save his resources rather than spend them on other techniques, believing further progress in the Ancestral Canon will benefit him more.
• A masked attacker ambushes Qin in his residence. The attacker breaks through the Fourth-Grade Golden Lotus’s protection and Qin’s formation, but retreats when Su Mingyang arrives. Qin survives, though his chamber is destroyed.
• Su Mingyang suspects the attack was arranged by Gu Changqing: the public challenge may have been meant to lull the Imperial side into lowering its guard while a Demon Race expert tried to eliminate Qin before the battle.

Character developments and interactions

• Yan Caizhe remains confident and accepts the challenge, balancing battlefield strategy with the need to consolidate newly captured territory.
• Qin Shujian shows patience and confidence in his cultivation, conserving life source instead of pursuing marginal gains. The assassination attempt leaves him coldly aware of how dangerous the coming conflict may be.
• Su Mingyang acts swiftly to protect Qin and quickly identifies a likely connection between the attack and the rebels’ strategy.
• Gu Changqing is presented as cornered but still potentially dangerous, using a formal challenge that may conceal a more underhanded plan.
• The silver-masked attacker’s overwhelming strength—at least that of a half-step Heavenly Being—raises the stakes. The chapter ends as others rush toward the scene.

Significant themes

• A battle with no retreat: Both armies move toward a decisive confrontation, with the rebels facing a final stand.
• Deception beneath honor: The challenge appears to promise an open battle, but may mask an assassination plot.
• Preparation and strategic restraint: Yan accepts the challenge to secure his rear, while Qin conserves resources for a more meaningful breakthrough.
• Escalating danger: The attacker’s strength suggests the Demon Race remains a serious threat despite its recent apparent inactivity.

Key plot points and events

• Following an assassin’s failed attempt on Qin Shujian, Yan Caizhe reinforces security around him and Ming Jingshan. Qin becomes vigilant again, recognizing that the attacker bypassed existing defenses and that a stronger enemy could still threaten him.
• While Qin is cultivating, a system notification announces that the Human Emperor has died. News soon reaches Su Mingyang through the Directorate of Celestial Observations, confirming the report.
• Qin and Su realize the Emperor’s death could remove the restraints that kept the Demon Race from acting openly. Thousand Mountains Prefecture—and Qin himself—may now face far more dangerous attacks.
• Yan Caizhe summons the campaign’s commanders to the City Lord’s residence. He explains that the Human Emperor died after a failed attempt to break through to a higher realm, which exhausted his remaining lifespan.
• Because no Crown Prince was appointed, Yan warns that the imperial princes will fight over succession, bringing bloodshed to the Imperial City and potentially plunging Great Zhao into turmoil.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian becomes more cautious after the assassination attempt. He conceals that he learned of the Emperor’s death first through his system, and he considers how vulnerable he would be to a powerful Heavenly Human Realm attacker.
• Su Mingyang urgently informs Qin of the news and stresses the danger it poses to their campaign and province.
• Yan Caizhe takes practical steps to protect key figures, then gathers the commanders to explain the situation and prepare them for its consequences.
• Ming Jingshan and the commanders question the suddenness of the Emperor’s death, prompting Yan to share the official account.

Significant themes

• The fragility of political order: The Human Emperor’s authority has held Great Zhao together; his death threatens to unleash succession struggles and regional unrest.
• Rising vulnerability and uncertainty: Qin’s defenses may not be enough against stronger enemies, especially now that the Demon Race may act without restraint.
• Information and power: Qin’s private system notification gives him advance knowledge, while the Directorate’s rapid announcement shows how quickly news can travel among the ruling powers.

Key events and plot

• The Human Emperor, Xi Yingtian, dies, throwing Great Zhao’s stability into doubt. Yan Caizhe’s officers question whether to continue fighting Gu Changqing, but Yan insists the court remains legitimate and orders them to prepare for their agreed battle in ten days.
• Yan warns Qin Shujian that demons may target him. Qin says his residence is protected by a powerful array, then strengthens its defenses further.
• Gu Changqing learns of the Emperor’s death through spies he secretly planted in the imperial court. He predicts that Great Zhao’s regional rulers will eventually turn against one another, forcing Yan’s army to divide or return to defend the court. Gu orders his forces to rest and wait for the chance to reclaim Thousand Mountains Prefecture.
• In the Endless Mountains, Sage Ze uses divination to confirm the Emperor’s death. The Demon Race’s leaders consider the moment an opportunity to reclaim the human realm, but decide against an immediate invasion: they expect human factions to weaken one another first. They allow restless demons to enter Great Zhao as probes.

Character developments and interactions

• Yan Caizhe remains disciplined and loyal to the court, but recognizes that the Emperor’s death could unleash rebellion even within his own faction. He sternly warns his officers against disloyalty and protects Qin by offering him a safer residence.
• Qin Shujian responds to the new danger by reinforcing his already formidable defensive array, showing caution and confidence in his abilities.
• Gu Changqing demonstrates strategic patience and political insight. Rather than celebrating prematurely, he plans to exploit Great Zhao’s likely internal conflicts. Bu Tianhua initially assumes the Emperor’s death guarantees victory, then realizes how far ahead Gu is thinking.
• Sage Ze confirms the Emperor’s death and counsels restraint. The blue-robed Demon leader is eager for conquest but accepts the argument that an exhausted human realm will be easier to defeat.

Significant themes

• Power and political legitimacy: The Emperor’s personal authority had held Great Zhao together; his death exposes how fragile that unity may be.
• Patience and strategic advantage: Gu Changqing and the Demon leadership both see that waiting for their enemies to weaken may be wiser than attacking immediately.
• Uncertainty and divided loyalties: With the central ruler gone, factions must reassess their allegiances, while hidden agents and independent demons complicate the political landscape.

Plot points and events

• The Human Emperor’s death triggers Warlord Mode for all players. Players can become warlords by capturing a city, opening a path to rival NPC powers and potentially claim the throne.
• The opportunity excites players, but most recognize that city garrisons and powerful defenders make conquest difficult.
• The Wang Family, led by Wang Renbin, moves quickly to secure a foothold. It commands more than 50,000 players and has cultivated ties with small sects and NPCs.
• Wang Renbin proposes targeting a city in a Mortal Domain, where defenses are weaker and the area is less strategically important. He selects Thousand Mountains Prefecture, already destabilized by war between the imperial court and the Marquis of Thousand Mountains.
• Mortal Domain cities also lack Teleportation Gates, reducing the risk of an immediate imperial counterattack. The Wang Family agrees to scout a suitable target before striking.
• Elsewhere, other players are already making their moves. In Ganhua City, a group of players infiltrates the city lord’s residence, kills its lord, and fights the garrison outside. Cui Yiming retrieves and uses the City Lord Token, apparently claiming the city.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Renbin emerges as a cautious but ambitious strategist, balancing the desire to act first against the risks of attacking a heavily defended city. He persuades his allies by laying out the advantages of a remote, war-torn target.
• The Wang Family’s partners initially worry that a failed assault could cripple their forces, but accept the plan once its lower risks become clear.
• Cui Yiming takes direct action in Ganhua City, coordinating with the attacking players and securing the City Lord Token after the city lord’s death.
• The city lord’s guards and garrison resist the player uprising, but the lord is overwhelmed by a coordinated group of equally powerful players.

Significant themes

• Ambition and competition: Warlord Mode turns the Human Emperor’s death into a race for territory and power.
• Strategy over brute force: The Wang Family seeks a vulnerable foothold rather than risking an attack on a major city.
• Game power and real-world consequences: Players believe rulership could bring immense cultivation gains in reality, making the contest potentially life-changing.
• Unrest and opportunity: Political turmoil in the game creates openings for players to seize power, while established authorities struggle to respond.