Chapter Summaries

Li Sining broke through to the primordial spirit realm before Li Chen challenged her to spar, and she fled to eat. Meanwhile, Li Yu received an order to take up his fief and met with Li Xian to discuss their opposition to Li Chen; Li Xian advised him to accept the order.

• Chu Ruoyan invited Li Chen to watch Li Sining break through at the Heavenly Evolution Martial Arena.
• Li Sining triggered a spectacular lightning-and-dragon phenomenon and successfully reached the primordial spirit realm, drawing congratulations from the consorts, Empress Elissa, and Mu Qingrou.
• Li Chen challenged Li Sining to a match, but she claimed she was hungry and ran off; Li Chen then took Elissa and her sister away to spar.
• Li Yu grew angry over Li Chen's edict ordering him to take up his fief, while his adviser warned that the Prince of the South might be maneuvering against him.
• Li Xian arrived in Green Mound City with powerful cultivators, and he and Li Yu set aside their rivalry to discuss opposing Li Chen.
• Li Xian read Li Yu's edict and advised him to agree to take up his fief.

Li Yu and Li Xian plotted to kill Li Chen by luring him into an ambush once the Sea Clan emerged, while Li Yu also continued a scheme to ensnare Li Chen with women. At the Orchid Palace, Yun Shang worked to attract Li Chen’s favor, and he regarded her as safe to approach now that the Crown Prince’s death had been explained.

• Li Xian persuaded Li Yu to accept Li Chen’s order to become a Vassal King while delaying the handover to avoid giving Li Chen a reason to attack.
• Li Yu and Li Xian planned to use a false report of a Saint Realm enemy to summon Li Chen, then separate him from his experts and kill him with an army and three Saint Realm fighters, including an Ascension-level powerhouse.
• After Li Xian left, Li Yu continued his plan to draw Li Chen’s attention to women carrying a hidden scheme and thought of Yun Shang, unaware that she was already spending time in the Imperial Harem.
• Li Chen visited the Orchid Palace to check on the Snow Leopard God and investigate the Sea Clan, finding Orchid Fairy and Yun Yuehua there.
• Yun Shang dressed to catch Li Chen’s eye and served him tea, while Li Chen decided that the Crown Prince’s death no longer made her too dangerous to approach.

Li Xian manipulated Jade-Washing Fairy into protecting him while planning to provoke a conflict between Li Chen and the Piaomiao Immortal Alliance. The chapter ended with Li Ran returning to the Imperial Capital carrying a special book.

• After discussing matters with Orchid Fairy, Li Chen carried Yun Shang into the palace, where she later begged for mercy and Orchid Fairy and Moonlight Fairy went to rescue her.
• Li Xian won Jade-Washing Fairy’s trust by pretending to fear that his presence as a wanted fugitive would endanger the Guixu Boundless Sect, and she agreed to protect and nurture him.
• Li Xian decided to create a conflict between Li Chen and the Piaomiao Immortal Alliance by secretly revealing that Li Yang was hiding there.
• Li Xian planned for the conflict to escalate until the Piaomiao Immortal Alliance removed Li Chen and restored the Imperial Throne to him.
• Li Ran returned to the Imperial Capital with a special book.

Li Ran delivered the fifth volume of the Emperor Dragon Sutra to Li Chen, who astonished him by mastering it in minutes and revealing his dragon qi. Li Ran left expecting Li Chen to reward him with military campaigns that would help him gain status and take revenge on his brothers.

• Li Ji told Li Ran he was investing his military reward in a fruit-growing venture rather than paying off his debts, then offered him a first-class Railway Train ticket, which Li Ran declined.
• Li Ran encountered Li Ling without speaking to her and continued to the Imperial Palace to deliver the fifth volume of the Emperor Dragon Sutra.
• Li Chen read the tome in minutes and told Li Ran he had already mastered the art, despite Li Ran's warning that it was dangerous and took years to learn.
• Li Chen demonstrated dragon qi, leaving Li Ran stunned by his power and by the revelation that he had practiced the first four volumes before receiving the fifth.
• Li Ran left the Imperial Palace expecting Li Chen to send him on military campaigns, where he hoped to gain status and take revenge on Second Brother and Third Brother.

Li Chen traveled to the Eastern Region to pursue a mission connected to the Sword Mound Inheritance and learned that the Eternal Sword Discussion Grand Gathering could lead him to it. After deciding the system’s requirement did not necessarily mean he had to compete, he planned to seek out the inheritance grounds himself.

• Li Chen saw the Empress Dowager sewing him a summer outfit, kept from interrupting her surprise, and later left Orchid Fairy unconscious for several days after visiting her.
• Li Chen rode east on the Saint Tiger with Wu Nanzhi, discussing how the Railway Train could help ordinary people travel.
• Li Chen and Wu Nanzhi crossed the Wild Ancient Plains and approached the Illusory Moon Labyrinth Forest as the Piaomiao Immortal Alliance prepared to host the Eternal Sword Discussion Grand Gathering.
• Li Chen learned that the tournament’s top ten could enter the Sword Mound and that the champion could enter the Sword God’s inheritance grounds.
• Li Chen concluded that the system had only required him to obtain the Sword Mound Inheritance, so he considered bypassing the tournament and forcing his way into the inheritance grounds.

Li Chen and Wu Nanzhi met Luo Yong at the Sword Debate Tournament grounds, where they heard about the celebrated Divine Son Jun Zhantian. As a powerful aura swept into the restaurant, Li Chen was left waiting to see who had arrived.

• Li Chen recognized Luo Yong from the Wilderness Secret Realm, and Luo Yong greeted him and learned Wu Nanzhi was his wife.
• Luo Yong invited Li Chen to enter the Sword Debate Tournament, but Li Chen said he was only there to look around and asked where the Sword Mound inheritance was located.
• Li Chen, Wu Nanzhi, and Luo Yong ate at a restaurant while Li Chen considered entering the tournament to learn the inheritance grounds' location.
• People entering the restaurant praised Jun Zhantian for carving an unprecedented mark into the Sword Stele and predicted he would win the tournament.
• Luo Yong told Li Chen that Jun Zhantian was the Guixu Boundless Sect's Divine Son, an innate saint-body prodigy who had never lost.
• A powerful aura swept toward the restaurant entrance, drawing the attention of Li Chen, Wu Nanzhi, and Luo Yong.

Jun Zhantian tried to approach Wu Nanzhi at a restaurant, but she rejected him and left with Li Chen and Luo Yong. After Li Chen revealed his identity as the emperor and tasked Luo Yong with investigating the Sword God's Inheritance Site, he and Wu Nanzhi prepared to retaliate against Jun Zhantian by targeting the women around him.

• Jun Zhantian approached Wu Nanzhi, but she rejected his advances and left the restaurant with Li Chen.
• Luo Yong followed Li Chen and Wu Nanzhi, warned them about Jun Zhantian, and learned that Li Chen was the emperor of the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty.
• Li Chen tasked Luo Yong with finding the Sword God's Inheritance Site or placing in the top ten of the Sword Debate Tournament to enter the Sword Mound.
• Li Chen detected Jun Zhantian's Guardian and the holy maiden following them, while Wu Nanzhi proposed using Li Chen's divine art to win over Jun Zhantian's women.

Xuan Ji confronted Li Chen and Wu Nanzhi after Wu Nanzhi rejected Jun Zhantian, intending to punish them for the insult. Bai Qianqian’s Heavenly Fate Eye revealed Li Chen’s overwhelming future power, but Xuan Ji ignored her warning and moved to seize Wu Nanzhi.

• Jun Zhantian’s Guardian, Xuan Ji, followed Li Chen and Wu Nanzhi into a secluded area with Bai Qianqian and threatened them for humiliating Jun Zhantian.
• Xuan Ji demanded that Li Chen and Wu Nanzhi call out their Guardians, but both remained composed before her pressure.
• Bai Qianqian’s Heavenly Fate Eye showed Li Chen seated on the Heaven and Earth Dragon Throne as countless beings, including the Ancient Giant God Race, bowed before him.
• Li Chen’s future self sensed Bai Qianqian’s gaze and struck her consciousness, forcing her Heavenly Fate Eye shut and leaving her injured and terrified.
• Bai Qianqian tried to warn Xuan Ji about Li Chen but could not explain what she had seen, and Xuan Ji dismissed her concern.
• Xuan Ji declared that Wu Nanzhi would have to come with her and vanished from her spot.

Li Chen subdued Xuan Ji when she attacked Wu Nanzhi, and Bai Qianqian surrendered after recognizing his overwhelming power. Wu Nanzhi accepted Bai Qianqian as her maid, and Li Chen took both women to a Heavenly Sound Sect estate, while Jun Zhantian waited for Xuan Ji to return.

• Li Chen restrained Xuan Ji with his aura and knocked her unconscious with a snap of his fingers.
• Bai Qianqian revealed that her Heavenly Fate Eye had shown her Li Chen's future identity, then offered to become his maid.
• Wu Nanzhi gave Bai Qianqian the choice to serve her or die, and Bai Qianqian agreed after learning Li Chen was the emperor of the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty.
• Bai Qianqian led Li Chen and Wu Nanzhi to the Heavenly Sound Retreat and served them tea before Li Chen spent time with her in its hot spring.
• Wu Nanzhi prepared the unconscious Xuan Ji for Li Chen, who spent the night with her, while Jun Zhantian wondered why his Guardian had not returned.

Jun Zhantian waited for Xuan Ji to return, then accepted Qin Meng’s explanation and planned to show off at the Sword Debate Tournament. Meanwhile, Li Chen enslaved Xuan Ji and set out with Bai Qianqian to investigate the Guixu Boundless Sect.

• Jun Zhantian waited for hours for Xuan Ji and Bai Qianqian, while spectators stayed to watch what he would do.
• Qin Meng arrived, told Jun Zhantian that Xuan Ji had likely taken the offending woman back to the sect, and reminded him of the sect master’s upcoming birthday.
• Qin Meng suggested that Jun Zhantian judge the Sword Debate Tournament and challenge its top finishers, and he agreed to spend the night there.
• Bai Qianqian saw that Xuan Ji had become Li Chen’s obedient slave and concluded that Li Chen was far stronger than Jun Zhantian.
• Li Chen told Bai Qianqian that they were going to inspect the Guixu Boundless Sect and asked whether she knew it.

Li Chen entered the Guixu Boundless Sect with Xuan Ji and Bai Qianqian, then reached Jun Zhantian’s residence while Jun Zhantian was away. Mistaken for Jun Zhantian’s friend, Li Chen was warmly welcomed by his mother, Luo Zixi, and considered whether he could win her over.

• Bai Qianqian explained the Guixu Boundless Sect’s influence and its branches to Li Chen.
• Xuan Ji opened a spatial gateway, leading Li Chen and Bai Qianqian into the Ancient Immortal Sect.
• Jun Zhantian announced that the Sword Debate Tournament’s top ten contestants could challenge him for a chance to cultivate in the Guixu Boundless Sect.
• Li Xian failed to notice Li Chen passing the entrance to the Spirit Peach Garden as he pondered how to provoke conflict between Li Chen and Jun Zhantian.
• Li Chen arrived at Jun Zhantian’s residence, where Luo Zixi mistook him for her son’s friend and invited him inside.
• Luo Zixi and Jun Zhantian’s female followers treated Li Chen warmly, and he wondered whether he could win Luo Zixi over another way.

Li Chen comforted Jun Zhantian’s mother, Luo Zixi, after telling her that Luo Water Manor had been destroyed and that he had defeated the Wang Family. The two became lovers, but after Nangong Yao overheard them, Luo Zixi worried that Jun Zhantian might find out.

• Luo Zixi told Li Chen about Jun Zhantian’s lonely childhood and her own origins in Luo Water Manor.
• Li Chen revealed that Luo Water Manor had been destroyed and that he had rescued Luo Qimeng and wiped out the Wang Family, leaving Luo Zixi shocked and grieving.
• Luo Zixi hosted a banquet for Li Chen, became drunk, and spent the night with him.
• Luo Zixi learned from Nangong Yao that their private encounter had been overheard, then worried about Jun Zhantian discovering it.
• Li Chen told Luo Zixi to be honest, but she hoped to keep the affair from Jun Zhantian.

Luo Zixi drugged Nangong Yao and the other women to keep them from revealing what happened, then persuaded them to leave the Guixu Boundless Sect with Li Chen. After they reunited at the Heavenly Sound Retreat, Li Chen learned Luo Yong had reached the Sword Debate Tournament’s top hundred and strengthened his sword for the official competition.

• Luo Zixi proposed that Li Chen win over the six women who might expose her, and Li Chen demonstrated that he was stronger than Xuan Ji.
• Luo Zixi drugged the women at dinner, while Bai Qianqian took an antidote and carried them to Li Chen; Xuan Ji pretended to be a victim as part of Li Chen’s plan.
• Luo Zixi convinced the women to follow Li Chen and leave before Jun Zhantian returned, and Li Chen led them toward the Heavenly Sound Retreat.
• At the retreat, Nangong Yao and the other women stopped holding back, while Bai Qianqian later reported that Luo Yong had qualified for the official competition.
• Li Chen refined Luo Yong’s sword and infused it with his sword intent, telling him to channel energy into the hilt whenever he could not win.

The Eternal Sword Discussion Grand Gathering began at the Heavenly Sword Mountains, drawing contestants and spectators from across the region. Luo Yong entered the tournament carrying a sword refined by His Majesty Li Chen, drew the first lot, and prepared to fight under strict rules.

• The five great sword sect masters gathered at the arena and traded pointed remarks about their disciples' prospects.
• Luo Yong steadied his nerves with encouragement from a friendly turquoise-robed sword cultivator and remembered Li Chen's instructions for using his sword.
• Jun Zhantian declared that he would defeat the top ten contestants to prove his strength, while Qin Meng encouraged his boast.
• The hundred contestants drew lots, and Luo Yong drew number one while his turquoise-robed acquaintance drew number fifty.
• A judge announced rules requiring sword intent, forbidding pills and fatal attacks, and limiting contestants to the Primordial Spirit Realm; Luo Yong vowed not to disappoint Li Chen.

Luo Yong faced the celebrated Gao Jingnian in the Sword Debate Tournament’s first match and unexpectedly won after Li Chen’s sword intent took control of his swordsmanship. The crowd and sect leaders were left surprised, while Luo Yong wondered how much of Li Chen’s sword intent his sword had unleashed.

• Luo Yong took the arena against Gao Jingnian, who provoked Jun Zhantian and mocked the other contestants before challenging Luo to surrender.
• Gao Jingnian overwhelmed Luo Yong at first and declared that he would finish him within three moves.
• As Gao Jingnian attacked, Luo Yong’s swordsmanship suddenly changed and began countering every move with uncanny precision.
• Luo Yong disarmed Gao Jingnian and won the match, stunning the spectators and the five great sword sect masters.
• Gao Jingnian accepted his defeat and left the arena, while Luo Yong realized that Li Chen’s ability had controlled his sword.

Luo Yong defeated Wei Yuanping in the second round, relying on the sword Li Chen had refined after his own swordsmanship proved insufficient. Though the tournament audience celebrated him as a master of deception, Luo Yong left troubled by his victories and explained his doubts to Li Chen.

• Luo Yong recovered between matches and entered the second round, where he faced the second-seeded Wei Yuanping.
• Wei Yuanping's sorrowful sword intent suppressed Luo Yong, then he accused Luo Yong of pretending to be weak and demanded that he show his real ability.
• Luo Yong activated the sword Li Chen had refined, defeated Wei Yuanping, and advanced as the audience praised his supposed hidden strength.
• The head judge announced Luo Yong's victory and stopped the other judges from openly competing to recruit him; Jun Zhantian remained confident he would win the tournament.
• After the day's matches reduced the field to twenty-five, Luo Yong emerged dejected, and rumors claimed he was disappointed that his opponents were too weak.
• At a restaurant, Luo Yong told Li Chen he felt unworthy of the praise because he had won with Li Chen's power rather than his own.

Li Chen explained to Luo Yong that the world was unfair and urged him to use the sword Li Chen had given him without guilt, helping him regain confidence before the next competition. Meanwhile, Jun Zhantian stayed at the Heavenly Sound Retreat and complained about the noisy couple next door, unaware that Li Chen and his mother Luo Zixi were responsible.

• Li Chen asked Luo Yong whether he had a Saint Body and explained that cultivators faced unequal advantages, encouraging him to accept the sword Li Chen had given him.
• Luo Yong recalled his setbacks, including his defeats by Xu Zifeng and Wei Yuanping, and understood that using Li Chen's sword was not something to feel guilty about.
• Luo Yong thanked Li Chen for his guidance, regained his resolve, and left to prepare for the next day's competition.
• Qin Meng brought Jun Zhantian to the Heavenly Sound Retreat, where he refused her hot-spring invitation and grew irritated by the commotion from next door.
• Jun Zhantian wondered how the man next door had such stamina, unaware that Li Chen was with Luo Zixi, who had come to welcome their intimacy.
• Jun Zhantian got up early to serve as a judge while Li Chen and Luo Zixi remained asleep next door.

Luo Yong continued through the Sword Debate Tournament, defeating Zhao Dou in one move with Li Chen’s power and drawing another first match in the next round. He defended the Green-Robed Sword Cultivator’s string of byes, only to learn that the man had not fought a single match throughout the competition.

• The head referee delayed the second day's competition until Luo Yong arrived, and the spectators and competitors watched him with admiration.
• Luo Yong drew lot number one and defeated Zhao Dou in one move after Zhao Dou challenged him to show his real strength.
• The Green-Robed Sword Cultivator received a bye, and Luo Yong mistook his calm manner for a sign of hidden strength.
• Luo Yong drew lot number one again for the round of thirteen, while the Green-Robed Sword Cultivator received another bye into the top ten.
• Luo Yong defended the Green-Robed Sword Cultivator against accusations, but the man explained that disqualifications and forfeits had kept him from fighting any matches.

Luo Yong advanced after Liu Chuan panicked and surrendered without Luo Yong knowingly attacking him, leading the audience and sword sect masters to mistake his inaction for overwhelming sword intent. As the sect masters fought over recruiting him, Jun Zhantian looked forward to challenging Luo Yong the next day.

• The contestants and spectators demanded a match to see Luo Yong's abilities, but the head referee defended the tournament's lot-based matchups and dismissed Gao Jingnian and Wei Yuanping's challenge.
• Luo Yong faced Liu Chuan, the son of swordsmanship grandmaster Liu Yihui, who felt pressured but resolved to fight.
• Liu Chuan imagined Luo Yong's movements as terrifying sword attacks, dodged frantically, cut himself, and surrendered while Luo Yong stood bewildered.
• The audience credited Luo Yong with invisible, overwhelming sword intent, and five sect masters argued over taking him as a disciple.
• Jun Zhantian told the head referee he expected to defeat Luo Yong the next day, while the referee worried about the fallout if Luo Yong won.

After winning his matches, Luo Yong discussed the Green-Robed Sword Cultivator's mysterious training and his own plan to serve the imperial court. Li Chen heard about the tournament's likely free-for-all final, while the Green-Robed Sword Cultivator watched him pass by the Sword Stele.

• The Green-Robed Sword Cultivator asked Luo Yong about his supposed Formless Sword Qi, and Luo Yong denied knowing the technique as others sold diagrams analyzing his sword intent.
• The Green-Robed Sword Cultivator said he learned swordsmanship and cultivation arts from a teacher in his dreams, and Luo Yong suspected they both had cheats.
• Luo Yong said he intended to serve the imperial court, prompting the Green-Robed Sword Cultivator to decide to visit the Imperial Capital as well.
• Luo Yong asked the Green-Robed Sword Cultivator to wait by the Sword Stele, where Li Chen passed him on the way to their meeting.
• Luo Yong reported his victories and described the possible free-for-all format for the next day's matches, and Li Chen told him that losing would be acceptable.