Chapter Summaries

Chen Yu struggled to cultivate the Earth-Warding Art during seclusion until he discovered that burying himself in soil let him make progress. Lü Yanyan arrived with news that his Heavenly Union Association arrangements were settled, and Chen Yu was close to breaking through to the sixth layer of Qi Refining.

• Chen Yu began a week of seclusion after deciding to wait for Lü Yanyan to arrange his Heavenly Union Association assessment.
• For several days, Chen Yu failed to make progress with the Earth-Warding Art and grew discouraged.
• Chen Yu discovered that burying himself in a pit allowed him to cultivate the Earth-Warding Art, bringing his level to 59 out of 60 toward the sixth layer of Qi Refining.
• Lü Yanyan completed the Heavenly Union Association arrangements and visited Chen Yu while disciples watched outside his room.
• Lü Yanyan found Chen Yu buried up to his neck, and he explained that he had been cultivating.
• Chen Yu held off on breaking through while Lü Yanyan was present, then asked whether she had news from the Heavenly Union Association.

Chen Yu took the Heavenly Union Association assessment after Lü Yanyan led him to the Affairs Pavilion. When he finished, Xiang Baiwei appeared, grabbed his answer sheet, and called him hopelessly stupid.

• Lü Yanyan used the Heavenly Union Association token to clear a path for Chen Yu and took him to the Affairs Pavilion.
• Lü Yanyan explained that Chen Yu needed to answer at least seventeen of twenty questions correctly to pass the assessment.
• Senior Brother Yan gave Chen Yu the question sheet and left him alone to complete the assessment.
• Chen Yu struggled with the questions and guessed at several answers as the half hour passed.
• Xiang Baiwei appeared in place of Senior Brother Yan, snatched Chen Yu's answer sheet, and called him hopelessly stupid.

Chen Yu used Xiang Baiwei’s pride to get her to correct three answers on his assessment, then learned that he had passed and qualified for membership in the Heavenly Union Association. After he left, Xiang Baiwei realized he might have tricked her into helping him.

• Chen Yu challenged Xiang Baiwei to prove she could solve the assessment questions, and she correctly explained several answers he had gotten wrong.
• Xiang Baiwei grew angry when Chen Yu kept disputing her answers, then pointed out question seventeen and gave its answer as D.
• Chen Yu pretended to be impressed, apologized, and quietly corrected three mistakes before leaving with his answer sheet.
• Senior Brother Yan marked Chen Yu’s paper as seventeen correct and three wrong, confirming that he had passed the Heavenly Union Association assessment.
• Lü Yanyan congratulated Chen Yu, and Senior Brother Yan told him to collect his membership token the next morning.
• After Chen Yu left, Xiang Baiwei realized something was wrong and suspected she had been tricked.

After passing the Heavenly Union Association’s assessment, Chen Yu explored the Immortal Ruins and found that he could enter them freely, but he remained wary of revealing their value. He returned to Emerald Cloud Peak and found a disdainful-looking female disciple waiting outside his residence.

• Lü Yanyan admired Chen Yu’s many strengths, gave him a Heavenly Union Association token, and reminded him to collect his Identity Token the next day.
• Chen Yu went to Little Bamboo Peak and used his Jade Pendant to enter the Immortal Ruins without encountering the skeleton guards.
• Chen Yu found six sealed side-hall doors in the main hall and could not open them.
• Chen Yu searched the familiar side hall, found two Qi Refining Pills, a magical longsword, and unidentified material, and kept only the pills.
• Chen Yu returned to his residence and found the other disciples gone, with one Emerald Cloud Peak woman waiting outside his door.

Chen Yu confronted Xiang Baiwei about her threat to expose his use of her answers, then spent the night cultivating with Qi Refining Pills and broke through to the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining. After announcing that he had passed the Heavenly Union Association assessment, he headed to its Emerald Cloud Peak branch to collect his identity token.

• Xiang Baiwei accused Chen Yu of using her answers to pass the Heavenly Union Association assessment and threatened to expose him, but left after he reminded her of his old method.
• Chen Yu cultivated the Earth-Warding Art with two Qi Refining Pills, raising his experience until he had enough to advance.
• Chen Yu spent his experience and reached the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining, then tested his ability to create a flame with the Flame Transformation Art.
• Chen Yu decided to collect his Heavenly Union Association identity token and learn about the Outer Sect Genius Ranking.
• Chen Yu told the Emerald Cloud Peak disciples gathered outside his home that he had passed the assessment, and they dispersed.
• Chen Yu went to the Heavenly Union Association Emerald Cloud Peak Branch in the administrative pavilion.

Chen Yu collected his Identity Token and visited the Heavenly Union Association headquarters to learn about the Outer Sect Prodigy Rankings. There, a group of disciples invited him to join a mission to capture a debtor, revealing how the Association served the elders.

• Yan Junfei gave Chen Yu his Identity Token and told him the Emerald Cloud Peak branch handled newcomer assessments while the headquarters was on Purple Bamboo Peak.
• Chen Yu went to Purple Bamboo Peak and entered the Heavenly Union Association headquarters after showing his Identity Token.
• A Jade Yao Peak disciple directed Chen Yu to the reference room, but the door did not open when he inserted his token.
• Four disciples asked Chen Yu to join their team in capturing Xu Xingyao, a Heavenly Flame Peak disciple who had failed to repay a loan.
• The team leader explained that Chen Yu needed one contribution point to enter the reference room and could earn it by completing the mission.

Chen Yu joined a Heavenly Union Association mission to bring Xu Xingyao before Elder Zheng over his unpaid debt. Xu Xingyao attacked the group on the way to Jade Yao Peak, seeking survival through a rule that made association members he killed his assets.

• Chen Yu joined four Heavenly Union Association members on a mission to escort Xu Xingyao from Heavenly Flame Peak to Elder Zheng.
• The group waited for Elder Hao's lecture to end, then confronted Xu Xingyao outside the Lecture Hall.
• Xu Xingyao agreed to go with the group after saying he still had a month to repay Sun Zheng Credit.
• As the group climbed Jade Yao Peak, Xu Xingyao suddenly punched a fifth-layer disciple and knocked him unconscious.
• Xu Xingyao declared that killing Heavenly Union Association members would make them his assets, giving him a last chance to survive.

Chen Yu helped the Heavenly Union Association senior brothers defeat Xu Xingyao by distracting him and setting his robe on fire during the fight. After Xu Xingyao was bound and captured, Chen Yu grew closer to the senior brothers, and the group headed for the summit of Jade Yao Peak.

• Xu Xingyao attacked the Heavenly Union Association members, hoping to capture them and repay his debt to Elder Zheng.
• Chen Yu distracted Xu Xingyao by pretending to greet Elder Zheng, letting Ren Shaohua punch him in the face.
• Chen Yu warned Xu Xingyao about his back and used a small flame to distract him, allowing the three senior brothers to knock him unconscious.
• Ren Shaohua thanked Chen Yu, who explained that he cultivated the True Origin Mystic Canon.
• Chen Yu and the senior brothers woke their injured companion, bound Xu Xingyao, and headed for the summit of Jade Yao Peak.

Chen Yu and the Heavenly Union Association members brought Xu Xingyao to Elder Zheng, who turned the indebted disciple into spirit essence. After learning how Bliss Pills ensured the transformation, Chen Yu parted from Ren Shaohua and headed off on his own, still wondering about Ah Zhen’s low-grade spirit essence and the mysterious key.

• Ren Shaohua kept Xu Xingyao unconscious during the journey to Jade Yao Peak and delivered him to Elder Zheng.
• Elder Zheng checked Xu Xingyao’s token, confirmed he could not repay his 2,470-point debt, and gave him a Bliss Pill before refining him into supreme spirit essence.
• Elder Zheng awarded the five Heavenly Union Association members contribution points and ordered them to take Xu Xingyao’s remains to the Mass Burial Grounds.
• Ren Shaohua explained to Chen Yu that Bliss Pills and Bliss Incense helped people produce spirit essence, prompting Chen Yu to connect the fragrance to Little Bamboo Peak.
• Chen Yu declined to go to the Mass Burial Grounds with Ren Shaohua, parted from the group, and considered Ah Zhen’s spirit essence and the key he had inherited.

Chen Yu inspected the Immortal Ruins’ refreshed treasures, then researched the Outer Sect Genius Ranking before beginning seclusion. He discovered that Xu Xingyao was the ranked disciple Elder Zheng had refined into Supreme Spirit Essence and learned that Xu Xingyao faced enormous debts and imminent liquidation.

• Chen Yu found one Qi Refining Pill and two unknown materials among the Immortal Ruins’ treasures, then resolved to cultivate toward the Foundation Establishment Realm.
• Chen Yu visited the Heavenly Union Association’s records room to look up the Outer Sect Genius Ranking.
• Chen Yu discovered that Xu Xingyao ranked tenth, was a sixth-layer Qi Refining disciple, and matched the appearance of the man Elder Zheng had refined.
• Chen Yu read that Xu Xingyao had borrowed thousands of Contribution Points and signed a Wager Agreement requiring him to reach the Qi Refining Seventh Layer and become an Inner Sect Disciple within three years.
• Chen Yu calculated that Xu Xingyao owed 6,612 Contribution Points in total and learned that Liu Jun would take his ranking if Xu Xingyao were liquidated.

Chen Yu studied the Outer Sect Genius Ranking, learned about Liu Jun’s many martial skills, and decided to raise his cultivation before challenging him. Back at his residence, he invited Lü Yanyan inside after she came to visit.

• Chen Yu read the ranking’s debt records and learned that promoted inner sect disciples had their accrued interest cleared and thirty years to repay the principal.
• Chen Yu noted that many ranked geniuses remained stuck at the sixth-layer peak of Qi Refining, then decided he would avoid borrowing because his current manuals and skills gave him a strong advantage.
• Chen Yu learned that Liu Jun had at least eight known martial skills and concluded that he should reach the seventh layer of Qi Refining before challenging him.
• Chen Yu returned to his Emerald Cloud Peak residence and found Lü Yanyan waiting at his door.
• Lü Yanyan corrected Chen Yu for calling her Senior Sister Lü, and Chen Yu invited her inside.

Lü Yanyan warned Chen Yu to be cautious amid the disappearances of indebted disciples and offered to bring him meals, while Chen Yu cultivated and investigated why the Earth-Warding Art had stopped gaining experience. He concluded that he needed to cultivate the Flame-Transforming Art, but he had run out of chili peppers when Lü Yanyan arrived.

• Lü Yanyan told Chen Yu she had nearly passed the Heavenly Union Association assessment and asked him for pointers.
• Lü Yanyan warned Chen Yu that desperate indebted disciples might target him because he had earned 140 Contribution Points, and Chen Yu said he planned to cultivate in seclusion.
• Lü Yanyan offered to bring Chen Yu food from the Dining Hall, and he accepted before returning to cultivation.
• Over the next three days, Chen Yu cultivated, shared meals with Lü Yanyan, visited the Immortal Ruins, gained two Qi Refining Pills and the Flying Sword Art, and reached 20/70 experience in the sixth layer of Qi Refining.
• Chen Yu realized the Earth-Warding Art had temporarily reached its limit and concluded he needed to cultivate the Flame-Transforming Art, but he had run out of chili peppers.
• Lü Yanyan arrived just as Chen Yu was considering how to resume cultivating the Flame-Transforming Art.

Chen Yu cultivated through the night, used his experience points to reach the qi refining sixth-layer peak, and prepared to enter the Immortal Ruins for newly refreshed treasures. He left Emerald Cloud Peak confident he could challenge Liu Jun, while a resentful neighbor watched him from behind her door.

• Lü Yanyan brought Chen Yu spicy food and told him Xu Xingyao had been refined into spirit essence, leaving Liu Jun in tenth place on the Outer Sect Genius Ranking.
• Chen Yu learned that Liu Jun had held his position against challengers, and Lü Yanyan warned him not to challenge the strong new ranking holder rashly.
• Chen Yu cultivated with the Flame-Transforming Art, chilies, and Ah Zhen until the early hours, then spent forty-nine experience points to reach qi refining sixth-layer peak.
• Chen Yu planned to gain one more experience point with the Heavenly Blade Art and master the Wind-Riding Art and Flying Sword Technique before challenging Liu Jun.
• At one in the morning, Chen Yu left for the Immortal Ruins after their treasures refreshed, while his neighbor watched him from a crack in her door.

Chen Yu sensed someone following him down Emerald Cloud Peak and escaped after throwing Glowing Jade behind him. After meeting Ren Shaohua and learning about Liu Jun, he collected two Qi Refining Pills from the Immortal Ruins and returned home, unaware that someone was still watching him from next door.

• Chen Yu felt a sinister gaze following him downhill, threw Glowing Jade around a bend, and left the sensation behind.
• Chen Yu met Ren Shaohua, who said the available missions were gone and described losing to Liu Jun, whose cultivation neared the peak of the sixth layer of qi refining.
• Ren Shaohua warned Chen Yu not to challenge Liu Jun at night because Liu Jun had poor eyesight.
• Chen Yu entered the Immortal Ruins, collected two Qi Refining Pills, and left the other refreshed treasures behind.
• Chen Yu returned to his residence and hurried inside after sensing another gaze, while a hidden watcher next door watched him through a door crack.

Chen Yu mastered the Wind-Riding Art and Flying Sword Technique by using a rope to simulate their training, while a passing disciple mistook his practice for a series of gruesome scenes. He ended the chapter planning to cultivate the Heavenly Blade Art for one more experience point.

• Chen Yu tied himself to a tree and practiced the Wind-Riding Art until he mastered it, then tested how it let him move swiftly through the air.
• Chen Yu began training the Flying Sword Technique by tying his sword to a rope, while a frightened disciple returned with Brother Wang and found him apparently wiping a sword.
• Chen Yu mastered the Flying Sword Technique and used spiritual power to make his sword rise and fly toward his waist.
• The timid disciple returned once more, mistook Chen Yu's rope-guided sword practice for a fatal attack, and ran off screaming.
• Chen Yu dismissed the scream and decided to cultivate the Heavenly Blade Art to gain one more experience point.

Chen Yu discovered that the Heavenly Blade Art could be cultivated by sensing a sword’s icy sharpness against his dantian, and he used a Qi Refining Pill to rapidly accumulate experience. He ended at the brink of the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, excitedly preparing to add his stored experience points.

• Chen Yu tested the Wind-Riding Art and Flying Sword Technique, then returned to his residence to study the Heavenly Blade Art.
• Lü Yanyan visited with food and told Chen Yu she had caught a disciple violating the rules, easing her monthly assignment burden.
• Chen Yu heard that the Heavenly Union Association had nearly settled matters with indebted disciples and told Lü Yanyan he might no longer need her daily visits.
• Chen Yu pressed his flying sword against his dantian and discovered that the Heavenly Blade Art cultivation method earned him experience.
• Chen Yu took a Qi Refining Pill and cultivated for two hours, reaching 69/70 experience toward the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.
• Chen Yu sheathed the flying sword and used his stored experience points.

Chen Yu broke through to the seventh layer of Qi Refining and prepared to challenge Liu Jun while concealing his true cultivation and exploiting Liu Jun’s night blindness. He reached Jade Yao Peak and began the challenge, only to discover that Liu Jun also stuttered.

• Chen Yu absorbed the experience points from the Heavenly Blade Art and advanced to the seventh layer of Qi Refining.
• Chen Yu concealed his cultivation, blackened his longsword, and set out to challenge Liu Jun using his night blindness as part of his plan.
• Chen Yu felt someone watching him on the way to Jade Yao Peak, but the sensation vanished after he used the Wind-Riding Art.
• Chen Yu found Liu Jun at the Jade Yao Inn and challenged him, and Liu Jun accepted.
• Chen Yu and Liu Jun went to a secluded spot, where Liu Jun stuttered as he announced the fight would begin.

Chen Yu challenged Liu Jun and used the darkness, a flash of light, and his blackened robe to outmaneuver the higher-ranked disciple. Liu Jun surrendered after Chen Yu secretly stabbed him in the back.

• Chen Yu accepted Liu Jun’s challenge, and Liu Jun attacked him with a punch that Chen Yu easily dodged.
• Liu Jun drew his sword, but Chen Yu blinded him with a Glowing Jade and made him crash into a tree.
• Chen Yu hid in his ink-blackened robe while Liu Jun searched for him and threatened to counterattack.
• Chen Yu told Liu Jun to look behind him, then stabbed him in the lower back with a pitch-black sword.
• Liu Jun shouted that he surrendered.

Chen Yu forced Liu Jun to sign a Forfeit Agreement and arranged to collect his monthly Contribution Points while letting him keep his tenth-place ranking. Back at Emerald Cloud Peak, Chen Yu began cultivating as Xiang Baiwei grew suspicious of his hidden abilities and the strange aura around him.

• Chen Yu made Liu Jun agree to transfer his Outer Sect Genius Ranking Contribution Points each month, and Liu Jun signed and fingerprinted a Forfeit Agreement.
• Chen Yu decided to let Liu Jun retain tenth place so he could collect the points without drawing challenges or attention.
• Chen Yu checked his balance of 209 Contribution Points, returned to his residence, and resolved to find whoever had been following him.
• Chen Yu washed, cleaned his sword, and began cultivating with a Qi Refining Pill instead of visiting the Immortal Ruins that night.
• Xiang Baiwei wondered how Chen Yu had shaken her off and whether he had learned the Qi-Concealing Art, then recalled sensing a key seal aura in his room.

Chen Yu learned that new disciples would enter the Dao Sect in three days and hurried to the Heavenly Union Association to avoid being assigned to help receive them. He arrived too late: Ren Shaohua told him that his name had already been submitted for the mission.

• Chen Yu finished three days of cultivation, gained three Qi Refining Pills and an alchemy book, and found that his stutter had disappeared.
• Lü Yanyan told Chen Yu that new registered, ordinary Outer Sect, and noble-status disciples would soon join the Dao Sect.
• Chen Yu learned that the Heavenly Union Association would likely assign him to the initiation mission and rushed to Purple Bamboo Peak to object.
• Ren Shaohua told Chen Yu that he had already been selected to help receive the new disciples for five contribution points and one contribution credit.