Chapter Summaries

Jun Zhantian agreed to move after Qin Meng proposed a new place, while Nangong Yao kept his women hidden at the Heavenly Sound Retreat. At the Martial Arena, Luo Yong held off five opponents until one broke the rules, and the Green-Robed Sword Cultivator stepped in to protect him.

• Jun Zhantian proposed guarding the melee’s final stage but accepted the chief judge’s rejection and agreed to preserve his mystique.
• Nangong Yao and Qin Meng concealed their competing plans, and Qin Meng persuaded Jun Zhantian to rest somewhere else.
• Luo Yong learned the five contestants planned to target him, and he told the Green-Robed Sword Cultivator to stay by his side.
• The five contestants attacked Luo Yong with a sword formation, but Luo Yong broke through it and held the circle for five minutes.
• One sword cultivator exceeded the permitted cultivation realm and attacked Luo Yong, so the Green-Robed Sword Cultivator struck him down.

Fang Qian and Luo Yong advanced to the finals, but a Sea Clan ambush trapped the tournament’s elite inside a barrier and turned the venue into a battlefield. As the Sea Clan attacked the panicking spectators, the trapped sword cultivators faced a sudden assault in the rain.

• Fang Qian and Luo Yong advanced to the finals after the other contestants avoided challenging them.
• Li Chen suspected Fang Qian could defeat Luo Yong, who wielded a sliver of Li Chen’s sword intent.
• As Fang Qian and Luo Yong entered the arena for the finals, a storm broke out and mysterious figures raised a barrier around the tournament’s central grounds.
• The head judge recognized the attackers as the Sea Clan, whose ambush trapped the Five Great Sword Sects’ masters, the judges, Luo Yong, and Fang Qian.
• Sea Clan members revealed their true forms and attacked spectators while the tournament grounds descended into chaos.

The Sea Clan trapped the Five Great Sword Sects and other cultivators inside the Demon God Blood Refining Array, where Jingtun Hai suppressed them and threatened to refine them all. Luo Yong damaged the array with Li Chen’s sword intent, but as Jingtun Hai moved to kill him, a mighty figure appeared and told him to leave the rest to them.

• Jingtun Hai appeared inside the Demon God Blood Refining Array and explained that he intended to trade his life for the destruction of the Five Great Sword Sects’ elite.
• Ye Wushang attacked Jingtun Hai but was overwhelmed by the array and badly injured, while the other sect masters struggled to find a way to survive.
• Luo Yong rose and drove his sword into the ground, using Li Chen’s sword intent to tear a faint fissure in the array.
• The five sect masters combined their sword intents to open a sword domain, but the array’s backlash made them spit blood and their attack failed.
• Jingtun Hai rushed toward Luo Yong to eliminate him, but a majestic figure appeared and told Luo Yong to leave the rest to them.

Li Chen entered Jingtun Hai’s barrier to rescue the trapped fighters and revealed that Jingtun Hai could not control the space as he claimed. He killed Jingtun Hai by tearing his body and soul apart with distorted black holes.

• Li Chen appeared beside Fang Qian and Luo Yong, dispelling the negative energy that had suppressed them and blasting Jingtun Hai away from Luo Yong’s sword.
• Ye Wushang warned Li Chen that the barrier eroded attacks released from a distance, and Jingtun Hai recognized Li Chen as the emperor of the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty.
• Li Chen confirmed his identity and asked Jingtun Hai about the Sea Clan’s attack, but Jingtun Hai instead vowed revenge for his brother and hid inside the black mist.
• Li Chen released a surge of Heavenly Dao aura that dispelled the mist and exposed Jingtun Hai.
• Li Chen twisted the space around Jingtun Hai, drawing him into black holes that crushed his body and soul until he vanished.

Li Chen defeated the Sea Clan’s attack on the Piaomiao Immortal Alliance, earning the Eastern Region’s respect and completing his quest at the Sword God’s inheritance grounds. Luo Yong won the Sword Debate Tournament and received the Sword God’s Sacred Sword inheritance, while the Third Prince’s faction learned of the Sea Clan invasion.

• Li Chen’s Void Shackles Domain Formation overwhelmed the weakening Demon God Blood Refining Array, and the assembled experts subdued the surviving Sea Clan members.
• The five sect masters thanked Li Chen, and he warned them that the Sea Clan was stirring in the Eastern Region; the sect leaders agreed to help defend it.
• Li Chen’s deeds spread throughout the Eastern Region, while Jun Zhantian left to report the attack to his master.
• Luo Yong defeated Fang Qian in the tournament’s final match and became champion; Li Chen declined the Sword God’s Sacred Sword, allowing Luo Yong to inherit its opportunity.
• The Third Prince’s faction received intelligence about the Sea Clan invasion.

Li Chen attended a banquet at the Piaomiao Immortal Alliance headquarters, where Luo Yong and Fang Qian discussed his influence and Mo Wulei reconsidered his alliance with Li Yu. When the sect leaders learned the Sea Clan had invaded Yan Hai, they asked Li Chen to lead them into battle, and he agreed.

• Li Yu planned to send weak troops against the Sea Clan and summon Li Chen from the Imperial Capital, unaware that Li Chen was nearby.
• At the Piaomiao Immortal Alliance banquet, Luo Yong told Fang Qian that Li Chen had given him pointers, while Fang Qian considered seeking a court post.
• Mo Wulei regretted agreeing to help Li Yu usurp the throne and looked for a way to earn Li Chen's trust.
• A steward reported that the Sea Clan had invaded Yan Hai and a local sect was in danger.
• Mo Wulei and the other four sect masters asked Li Chen to command them against the Sea Clan, and Li Chen agreed to march with them.

Li Chen led over forty thousand sword cultivators to Green Mound City after hearing that the Eastern Region’s Fourth Army Group was losing ground against the Sea Clan. There, he stripped Li Yu of his military authority and ordered him to leave for his fief as King of Anxin.

• Li Chen led a force of more than forty thousand sword cultivators toward the Eastern Coastal Region after news spread that he was personally joining the campaign.
• An administrator reported that the Fourth Army Group was being driven back, and Mo Wulei urged Li Chen to investigate Green Mound City.
• Li Chen’s forces entered Green Mound City, where Li Yu had kept his main army inside while the Sea Clan’s ambush waited outside for him to deploy.
• Li Yu arrived at the commander’s hall and found Li Chen on the dais, with Mo Wulei and the other great Sword Sect leaders standing beside him.
• Li Chen relieved Li Yu of command and told him to leave for Anxin City as its vassal king, and Li Yu submitted.

Li Xian struggled with his failed schemes while the Jade-Washing Fairy planned to secure his place in the Guixu Boundless Sect, and Jun Zhantian vowed revenge on the Sea Clan. In Green Mound City, Li Chen approved a defense plan for the eastern coast and led the troops out in armor secretly made by Li Yu.

• Li Xian worried that Li Chen had ruined his plans to pit Jun Zhantian against him and feared he could not provide experts for Li Yu.
• The Jade-Washing Fairy resolved to investigate Li Xian's background and arrange for him to become a formal disciple of the Guixu Boundless Sect.
• Jun Zhantian learned that Xuan Ji had taken his mother and the other women away, then vowed to avenge himself on the Sea Clan.
• Sun Zhen and the sect masters proposed troop deployments to defend Tide-Sound City, Azure-Mist Harbor, and Jade-Wave Bay, and Li Chen approved their plan.
• Li Chen rode out of Green Mound City in golden armor that Li Yu had secretly made for him.

Li Chen turned the Sea Clan invasion into an opportunity for cultivators across the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty to gain resources and strength, while planning a broader leveling system for humanity. After a month of fighting, the eastern coast had become a bustling hunting ground, and High Person Clear Void invited Li Chen to join a team of saint realm cultivators underwater.

• Li Chen led the main force to reinforce Tide-Sound City after the army defeated a Sea Clan ambush, while the cultivators and soldiers claimed the spoils.
• Cultivators, sects, and families flocked to the eastern coast to fight the Sea Clan, trade supplies, and organize hunting parties, prompting Li Chen to consider mapping out routes for leveling up.
• Li Chen reasoned that the Sea Clan could provide resources for humanity and planned to strengthen cultivators before the dungeons of the myriad races became accessible.
• After a month, 430,000 cultivators had reached the coast, where the Fourth Army Group maintained order and merchants built a growing trade in seafood and supplies.
• High Person Clear Void invited Li Chen to join a party of saint realm cultivators on an underwater expedition.

Li Chen agreed to join High Person Clear Void, Late Breeze True Person, and Helan Xuan on an expedition into a deep-sea forbidden zone, and the four prepared tools for the journey. When they met to compare their crafts, Li Chen revealed a simple-looking talisman and a mysterious pill that surpassed the others’ creations.

• High Person Clear Void invited Li Chen to explore a deep-sea forbidden zone with him, Late Breeze True Person, and Helan Xuan, and Li Chen agreed after deciding to prepare carefully.
• The four arranged to meet three days later, and High Person Clear Void, Late Breeze True Person, and Helan Xuan each set out to display their secondary crafts.
• High Person Clear Void presented water-repelling talismans, Late Breeze True Person showed sea-adapting pills, and Helan Xuan demonstrated a sword that split the seawater.
• Li Chen revealed a rough-paper talisman that made water elements bow and caused High Person Clear Void’s talisman to burn to ash.
• Li Chen offered Late Breeze True Person a Return-to-Sea Pill, which the alchemist swallowed and found let him merge with the sea.

Li Chen explained how he made powerful deep-sea tools from ordinary materials and gave their methods to three Saint Realm cultivators to share with everyone. The Heavenly Strategy Dynasty prepared to extend its fight against the Sea Clan into the ocean.

• High Person Clear Void, Late Breeze True Person, and Helan Xuan guessed that Li Chen's talisman, pill, and dagger were made from rare dragon materials, but Li Chen revealed their ordinary ingredients.
• Li Chen showed how seashells, kelp, and fish bones could be used effectively, explaining that understanding materials mattered more than their rarity.
• High Person Clear Void, Late Breeze True Person, and Helan Xuan praised Li Chen's insights and accepted his methods for making the three tools.
• Li Chen told the three cultivators to distribute the methods so ordinary cultivators could study and improve them.
• Li Chen planned to make the tools, along with his improved Water-Avoidance Art, available to cultivators, threatening the Sea Clan even in the ocean.

Li Chen led cultivators into the deep-sea forbidden zone, where he swiftly killed three Saint Realm sea beasts and enabled the followers who joined him to claim valuable spoils. His generosity and strength further increased his reputation, while cultivators who had missed the hunt vowed to stay close to him next time.

• Cultivators used Li Chen’s freely shared underwater tools and arts to pursue the Sea Clan into the sea.
• Li Chen led High Person Clear Void, Late Breeze True Person, Helan Xuan, and tens of thousands of cultivators toward the deep-sea forbidden zone.
• Li Chen killed the Giant Squid Monster with a single strike before his companions could finish planning an attack.
• Cultivators swarmed the squid’s corpse and claimed its valuable materials.
• Li Chen killed three Saint Realm sea beasts that day, and the followers who shared in the spoils helped spread his fame as their numbers grew to over a hundred thousand.

Li Chen returned from the coast to the Imperial Capital as the railway brought more cultivators to Tide-Sound City. There, Luo Zixi considered remaining in the palace, while Luo Yong and Fang Qian began government service and Luo Yong met his old enemy Xu Zifeng.

• Li Chen left Tide-Sound City after finding the coastal defenses secure and traveled by railway from Green Mound City to the Imperial Capital.
• Luo Zixi reunited with Luo Qimeng, who urged her to stay in the Imperial Palace rather than rely on the Jun Family or the Guixu Boundless Sect.
• Luo Zixi considered staying in the palace, though she worried about her husband and son.
• Luo Yong introduced Fang Qian to the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty's development during their journey to the Imperial Capital.
• Luo Yong and Fang Qian passed the assessments and joined the Ministry of Personnel, where Luo Yong encountered Xu Zifeng.

Fang Qian began working at the Ministry of Personnel with Luo Yong and clashed with Xu Zifeng after Xu knocked Luo Yong aside. The two friends were assigned to the Archives Office, unaware of the full extent of the changes unfolding across the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty.

• Fang Qian stayed with Luo Yong's family, impressed Luo Yong's parents with his modesty, and taught Luo Yi swordsmanship.
• Luo Yong and Fang Qian arrived for their first day at the Ministry of Personnel and were directed to the Merit Assessment Bureau.
• Xu Zifeng tried to enter the ministry with his subordinates, and Luo Yong confronted him over an earlier assault.
• Xu Zifeng shoved Luo Yong, so Fang Qian grabbed Xu Zifeng and fought him until the head of the Merit Assessment Bureau separated them.
• Luo Yong explained Xu Zifeng's position and the Prince of the South's influence, then the bureau head reprimanded Luo Yong and Fang Qian.
• Luo Yong and Fang Qian reported to the Archives Office, where they were assigned to organize and verify officials' records.

Li Chen returned to the Imperial Capital, reviewed his mission rewards, and assigned Li Ji to oversee the Prince of the South’s response to attacks on neighboring coastal nations. Li Ji accepted the risky order and went to seek advice from Li Ran.

• Lin Mo’s railway work and floating-rock research advanced, while Tang Shan plotted to overthrow the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty with the remnants of the Wang Family.
• Li Chen received rewards for the Sword Mound Inheritance mission and learned of a time-limited mission to slay ten Void-Insight Realm Demon Beasts during a Beast Tide.
• Li Chen read aid requests from the Chenla Kingdom and two other coastal nations, then planned to send the Prince of the South to handle the crisis.
• Li Ji asked Li Chen for a chance to earn military merits after losing money on an overproduced fruit-tree investment.
• Li Chen ordered Li Ji to go alone, outrank the Prince of the South, and supervise his campaign against the Sea Clan.
• Li Ji accepted the decree and went to consult Li Ran about how to handle the Prince of the South.

Li Ji sought Li Ran’s advice on surviving his mission to the Southland, and Li Ran told him to invoke Li Chen’s authority while avoiding needless confrontation with the Prince of the South. Afterward, Li Chen visited Li Sining and watched her demonstrate her cultivation.

• Li Ji told Li Ran about his assignment to the Southland and asked how to handle the Prince of the South.
• Li Ran warned Li Ji that the Prince of the South was dangerous and advised him to make clear that he represented Li Chen, playing dumb whenever he encountered something he did not understand.
• Li Ran decided to focus on cultivating toward the Saint Realm instead of accompanying Li Ji.
• Li Chen finished his work, went to Consort Yi’s palace, and asked Li Sining about her cultivation.
• Li Sining described the consorts’ guidance and began demonstrating her martial techniques to Li Chen, unleashing a surge of spiritual energy.

Li Chen trained Li Sining and then spent the night with Consort Yi, while Xiao Ming unknowingly helped Wei Manying establish the Former Dynasty Remnants in Shanghe City. Wei Manying revealed that she was manipulating him as her family prepared to resurrect the Dragon Emperor, unaware that another group also had plans for the Dragon Emperor.

• Li Chen coached Li Sining in combining poison and lightning, sparred with her, and gave her a Heaven-Grade Soul-Nourishing Pill and the Thunder God Tyrant Body Art.
• After Li Sining left to visit the Empress Dowager, Li Chen ate with Consort Yi and went to the bedroom with her.
• Xiao Ming helped Wei Manying bring the Former Dynasty Remnants into Shanghe City and establish the Wei Family estate as their base.
• Wei Manying asked Xiao Ming to invite Lin Yue'e to meet her, but Xiao Ming refused because he feared the women would compete over him.
• The Saint Remnant Soul warned Xiao Ming that Wei Manying might be using him, but Xiao Ming insisted she was different.
• Wei Manying told Yuan Gang that Xiao Ming was easy to manipulate, while her mother urged her to focus on the Dragon Emperor's planned resurrection; Yuan Gang admitted he was advancing the plan because the Li emperor was too powerful.

After Li Yu lost his military authority and was made King of Anxin, Li Xian visited him with a plan to exploit a conflict between Li Chen and the Dragon Emperor. The brothers agreed to prepare in secret and try to seize power while their enemies fought.

• Li Chen removed Li Yu from command of the Fourth Army Group and appointed Han Wu in his place, leaving Li Yu with only a few dozen followers.
• The Prince of the South realized Li Chen had become too powerful to oppose, while Li Xian grew angry that Li Yu could no longer carry out their plans.
• Li Xian visited the drunken Li Yu and told him they still had a chance to challenge Li Chen.
• Li Xian revealed that Li Yang had told him the sleeping Dragon Emperor and the former dynasty's Flying Dragon Legion were still alive.
• Li Xian and Li Yu planned to prepare in secret and wait for Li Chen and the Dragon Emperor to weaken each other before taking advantage.

Li Yang lured Li Ling to the Eastern Coastal Region and asked her to retrieve a palace key that could awaken the Dragon Emperor. Chen Xuannan agreed to help, and Li Ling reluctantly followed, while the reason for Chen Xuannan’s agreement remained unclear.

• Li Ling persuaded Chen Xuannan to travel east after Li Yang claimed he could reveal the identity of the Mysterious Man who had secretly helped her.
• Chen Xuannan and Li Ling took the railway to Green Mound City, then rode toward Tide-Sound City, where Li Yang and his guards ambushed them.
• Li Yang revealed himself and led the siblings and Chen Xuannan to his hideout, where he asked Li Ling to steal a key from the palace to awaken the Dragon Emperor.
• Li Ling feared that awakening the Dragon Emperor would plunge the continent into chaos, but Chen Xuannan agreed to help, and she reluctantly did the same.
• After Li Yang hosted a feast, Li Ling questioned Chen Xuannan about his decision, and he whispered that refusing might have kept Li Yang from letting them leave.

Li Ling and Chen Xuannan devised a way to stall Li Yang’s request while visiting the Coastal Region, where Li Yang showed them the thriving cultivation camps and praised Li Chen’s reforms. Li Ling questioned why Li Yang was still rebelling, and he said he had no way to turn back.

• Li Ling realized Li Yang intended to involve her in his plans, and Chen Xuannan advised her to return to the Imperial Capital and make excuses to delay him.
• Li Ling told Li Yang she wanted to visit the Coastal Region and hunt for treasure, and he agreed to show her around.
• Li Yang explained that cultivators had flocked to the coast and that sects needed government permission to build encampments.
• Li Yang showed Chen Xuannan cultivation materials distributed by Li Chen, and Chen Xuannan recognized their value for ordinary cultivators.
• Li Yang recounted Li Chen’s accomplishments to Li Ling, who asked why he continued rebelling; Li Yang replied that he had already gone too far to turn back.