Chapter Summaries

Li Xiaoya descended through the Steel-Mouthed Fish while matching his body temperature to the lake, then found and grabbed the Seven-Colored Ring at the lakebed. His escape was interrupted when a colossal Steel-Mouthed Fish King awakened and lunged at him.

• Li Xiaoya avoided the Steel-Mouthed Fish by turning invisible and adjusting his body temperature to match the water.
• Iron Lady, Du Chengfeng, and Dong Santong waited above the lake while Icy Daoist and Blazing Flame Daoist watched from a distance and discussed the trial.
• Li Xiaoya reached the lakebed and searched its fissures for the Seven-Colored Ring, wary that it might fall into a crack.
• Li Xiaoya spotted the Seven-Colored Ring and snatched it just before it dropped into a fissure.
• A giant mountain behind Li Xiaoya revealed itself as the Steel-Mouthed Fish King and lunged to bite him.

Li Xiaoya emerged from the lake and battled the Steel-Mouthed Fish King while Iron Lady and Du Chengfeng came to his aid. Dong Santong delivered the Seven-Colored Ring to the Blazing Flame Daoist, received the Jade Plaque for the final competition, then hurried back as the fight continued.

• The lake churned as Li Xiaoya burst out, pursued by Steel-Mouthed Fish, and he fought them off with golden punches.
• The enormous eighth-rank Steel-Mouthed Fish King attacked Li Xiaoya with its tongue, but he dodged its strike.
• Iron Lady hit the Fish King with her red ring while Du Chengfeng bound it with vines, giving the ring time to escape.
• Dong Santong handed the nearly vanished Seven-Colored Ring to the Blazing Flame Daoist, who gave him the Jade Plaque for the final competition.
• Dong Santong returned to help as the Fish King burned through Du Chengfeng’s vines and pursued Li Xiaoya.
• Li Xiaoya dove toward the Fish King, which blasted a stream of fiery-red liquid at him.

Li Xiaoya used his Dragon-Devouring Wave to kill the Steel-Mouthed Fish King after Icy Daoist froze the lake and stopped the beast from escaping. As the group prepared to claim the eighth-rank demon beast’s body, dozens of cultivators arrived, drawn by the explosion.

• Li Xiaoya blocked the Steel-Mouthed Fish King’s magma with Force Manifestation and struck its head, injuring it.
• The Steel-Mouthed Fish King began swelling its belly, but Icy Daoist warned Li Xiaoya that the beast could reflect attacks.
• The Steel-Mouthed Fish King tried to flee, so Icy Daoist froze the lake and caused it to crash onto the ice.
• Li Xiaoya hurled the Dragon-Devouring Wave at the fallen beast, blasting it apart and shattering the lake’s ice.
• Li Xiaoya claimed the attack had come from a Golden Fire Bead, and the group spotted the dead Steel-Mouthed Fish King floating on the lake.
• Icy Daoist noticed dozens of cultivators approaching, apparently drawn by the explosion.

Li Xiaoya and his companions finished the Du Household selection trial after luring out and defeating an eighth-tier Steel-Mouthed Fish King for Icy Daoist and Blazing Flame Daoist. He handed over the corpse in exchange for cultivation elixirs, then shared the reward with his companions before they headed toward the Final Contest.

• Li Xiaoya hid the Steel-Mouthed Fish King's corpse in his Heaven-and-Earth Bag before other cultivators could see it.
• Icy Daoist covered up the real reason for the attack and told Li Xiaoya and his companions they had passed the selection trial.
• Icy Daoist and Blazing Flame Daoist explained that they had used the trial to get Li Xiaoya's group to lure out the fish king, then asked for its corpse.
• Li Xiaoya gave the corpse to Icy Daoist and requested golden core stage cultivation elixirs, which both Daoists supplied.
• Blazing Flame Daoist directed Dong Santong toward the Final Contest Arena, and the Daoists flew away.
• Li Xiaoya distributed some of the elixirs to Iron Lady and his other companions.

Li Xiaoya and the Du Household arrived at the Core Family selection and registered as contestant thirty-four. They encountered Ji Fazi and his sister Ji Xingzi, who proposed that their households avoid facing each other in the first two rounds, then remarked that Li Xiaoya was pleasing to the eye.

• The Icy Daoist and Blazing Flame Daoist discussed Li Xiaoya’s strength and potential, then celebrated their chance to advance with the Steel-Mouthed Fish King.
• Li Xiaoya and his companions reached the selection arena and spotted Ji Fazi among the waiting cultivators.
• Du Chengfeng explained that Ji Fazi’s household was trying to regain its former Core Family status, while Li Xiaoya suspected Ji Fazi’s blue-and-white-haired companion was their strongest member.
• A Mystic Heaven Way cultivator registered the Du Household and returned their Passage Plaque marked with the number thirty-four.
• Ji Xingzi introduced herself to Li Xiaoya and asked Du Chengfeng to avoid matching their households against each other in the first two rounds.
• After Ji Xingzi returned to her group, she told Ji Fazi that Li Xiaoya was rather pleasing to the eye.

Li Xiaoya and Dong Santong waited with the Du Household for the final combat contest of the Mystic Heaven Way selection. After the organizers prepared the arena and announced the drawing of lots, Du Chengfeng sent the Du Household’s token toward a bamboo slip.

• Dong Santong laughed at Ji Xingzi’s name, while Li Xiaoya said her aura seemed familiar.
• Bai Longfei greeted Du Chengfeng and Iron Lady, praised Li Xiaoya and Dong Santong, and learned that the Du leaders had advanced their cultivation.
• Li Xiaoya and Dong Santong heard how the other lineages had passed the first two rounds while they waited for the contest to begin.
• Icy Daoist and Blazing Flame Daoist returned, and Nine Profound Fairy announced the start of the final combat contest.
• Golden-Armored Cultivators formed a barrier around the pit, and Nine Profound Fairy scattered bamboo slips for the lineages to draw their lots.
• Du Chengfeng sent the Du Household’s qualifying token toward a bamboo slip.

The Du Household learned it would face the Xu Household in the third match as Nine Profound Fairy explained the selection rules and the tournament began. The first match between the Zhao Household and the Shangguan Household became a close contest, ending with the purple-faced Zhao fighter turning his head to fire a golden beam at his opponent.

• Du Chengfeng learned that his lineage had drawn the third match and number seventy-one, while Nine Profound Fairy explained that each lineage needed two victories to advance.
• Nine Profound Fairy revealed the pairings, including the Du Household's match against the Xu Household, and called the Zhao Household and Shangguan Household to begin the first match.
• The Shangguan Household sent out a black-robed old man, while the Zhao Household chose a purple-faced burly man; both fighters were mid Golden Core cultivators.
• The black-robed old man attacked with golden treasures and the Golden Escape Technique, while the burly man countered with giantification, powerful saber strikes, and close-combat techniques.
• After the fighters remained evenly matched, the burly man anticipated the old man's attack from behind, twisted his head around, and blasted a golden beam at him.

The Du Household prepared for its tournament match after Li Xiaoya realized that the earlier bouts had been decided by strategic contestant order. As the Du Household faced the Xu Household, Du Chengfeng unexpectedly entered the first bout, surprising Madam Golden Flower.

• The purple-faced burly man defeated the black-robed elder, giving the Zhao Household the first bout, but the Shangguan Household won the next three and took the match.
• Li Xiaoya recognized the Shangguan Household’s strategy of matching its strongest cultivators against the Zhao Household’s remaining fighters, and the Iron Lady revised her team’s order.
• The second pairing ended tied after four bouts, and an additional tiebreaker determined its winner.
• The Du Household advanced to face the Xu Household of Golden Flower City, whose members were all at the middle golden core stage.
• Madam Golden Flower sent Xu Shao into the first bout, but Du Chengfeng also entered, prompting her to wonder whether the Du Household had given up.

Du Chengfeng and Xu Shao fought in the tournament, trading wood-based magic and summons. Xu Shao sent a barrage of green liquid toward Du Chengfeng as the battle continued.

• Grand Elder Xu told Madam Golden Flower that Xu Shao could defeat Du Chengfeng and that the Golden Flower City cultivators lacked magic treasures.
• Du Chengfeng attacked Xu Shao with his Green Staff, but Xu Shao summoned a Wooden Warrior to shield him.
• Du Chengfeng bound the Wooden Warrior with a vine and pressured Xu Shao, interrupting his attempt to summon a second one.
• Iron Lady explained to Li Xiaoya and Dong Santong that Xu Household summoners could not move while casting their summoning spells.
• Xu Shao escaped Du Chengfeng's whirlwind, recalled the Wooden Warrior into his staff, and launched it at Du Chengfeng.
• Du Chengfeng blasted the Wooden Warrior away, and Xu Shao fired green-skinned spheres that burst into flowers spraying green liquid toward him.

Du Chengfeng won the first bout, and Iron Lady defeated the Xu Household’s second fighter, leaving Dong Santong to face the Xu Grand Elder in the decisive round. The Grand Elder used his Spirit Eye Divine Ability to search for Dong Santong after he vanished, but still could not find him.

• Du Chengfeng defeated Xu Shao, giving the Du Household an opening victory.
• Iron Lady countered the white-robed elder’s Metal-Type Spells with Fire Element spells and won the second bout.
• Dong Santong entered the arena as the Du Household’s fighter for the deciding round, and the Xu Grand Elder volunteered to face him.
• The Xu Grand Elder prepared his vine armor, shield, and staff while Dong Santong watched and mocked his turtle-like appearance.
• Dong Santong vanished with the Shadow Body Art, but the Xu Grand Elder’s Spirit Eye Divine Ability could not locate him.

Dong Santong fought Grand Elder Xu in the arena, using his Shadow Body Art and many copies to evade and attack him. Grand Elder Xu struck Dong Santong’s real body with the Wooden Shield Ancient Treasure, then sent a wooden dragon after him as Dong Santong gathered power to counterattack.

• Grand Elder Xu used an expanding green barrier to reveal Dong Santong, but the figure he caught was a false body that exploded.
• Grand Elder Xu repeatedly searched for Dong Santong with his barrier, then waited behind his ancient treasure while Dong Santong stayed hidden.
• Grand Elder Xu taunted Dong Santong into appearing, and Dong Santong created sixteen copies that charged at him.
• Grand Elder Xu’s Withered Tree Hands crushed several copies, but they re-formed and kept attacking.
• A real Dong Santong appeared behind Grand Elder Xu and was blasted away by the Wooden Shield Ancient Treasure, leaving him badly injured.
• Grand Elder Xu transformed his short staff into a wooden dragon and sent it after Dong Santong, who flew upward and gathered power in his hands.

Dong Santong overwhelmed Grand Elder Xu with his Light Element Spells, but Xu transformed his wooden dragon with a golden talisman and launched a counterattack. Dong Santong’s Light Net destroyed the dragon and left Grand Elder Xu in mortal danger, until an enormous Ice Shield appeared in front of him.

• Dong Santong used clones to lure Grand Elder Xu’s wooden dragon away, then battered Xu’s Wooden Shield Ancient Treasure with volleys of light beams until it shattered.
• Grand Elder Xu rode his wooden dragon to evade Dong Santong’s attacks, then used a golden talisman to transform it into a larger, more powerful golden wooden dragon.
• After Li Xiaoya told him it was almost dark, Dong Santong stopped firing beams and began forming a spell with his sixteen clones.
• Grand Elder Xu’s golden wooden dragon attacked Dong Santong’s Light Net, but its Crescent Light Blades sliced apart the dragon and sent Xu tumbling from the sky.
• As Crescent Light Blades threatened to kill Grand Elder Xu, a burst of blue light formed a huge Ice Shield in front of him.

Icy Daoist halted Dong Santong’s match against Grand Elder Xu, sparking a dispute over whether his intervention unfairly favored the Du Household. Li Xiaoya challenged Madam Golden Flower’s accusation by claiming Dong Santong had never meant to kill Grand Elder Xu, then hinted that the Crescent Light Blades could turn.

• Icy Daoist rescued Grand Elder Xu and stopped Dong Santong’s attack, prompting the spectators to debate how the match should be judged.
• Icy Daoist asked Grand Elder Xu whether the match should continue, and Grand Elder Xu insisted he was willing to die for an Xu Household victory.
• Madam Golden Flower argued that Icy Daoist’s rescue had also saved the Du Household from disqualification and demanded that the match not resume.
• Ke Longqin supported Madam Golden Flower and called for the Du Household to be disqualified, while Nine Profound Fairy noted that his household could benefit from the ruling.
• Li Xiaoya told Madam Golden Flower that Dong Santong had only intended to trap Grand Elder Xu, then confirmed Ke Longqin’s suggestion that Dong Santong’s light blades could turn.

Li Xiaoya proposed a final deciding match between the Du Household and Madam Golden Flower’s household, then defeated her Wooden War God Giant Ape with one punch and secured victory. Elsewhere, a purple-robed cultivator learned the Righteous Path was holding a selection contest at the Steel-Mouthed Fish Lava Lake and set out to attack it.

• Dong Santong trapped Grand Elder Xu with Crescent Light Blades, and Li Xiaoya proposed that the earlier matches be voided so one final bout would decide the contest.
• Icy Daoist approved the compromise, and Madam Golden Flower agreed to fight Li Xiaoya.
• Li Xiaoya let Madam Golden Flower summon her Wooden War God Giant Ape before the match began.
• Madam Golden Flower sent the giant ape to attack, but Li Xiaoya shattered its arm with one punch and forced her to concede.
• A black-clad cultivator told the purple-robed young master that the Righteous Path was holding a selection contest at the Steel-Mouthed Fish Lava Lake, and the young master left to attack it.

Li Xiaoya’s victory secured the Du Household a place as a Core Family, and the cultivators stayed to watch more matches after the arena was lit. Ji Xingzi then surprised Du Chengfeng by asking whether she would make a suitable marriage match for Li Xiaoya and proposing an alliance between their households.

• Li Xiaoya defeated Madam Golden Flower, and the Golden-Armored Cultivator declared the Du Household the winner of its match.
• The Ke Household and its opponent both forfeited, making the Du Household the first Core Family in the competition.
• The Golden-Armored Cultivators lit the arena so the remaining selection matches could continue after dark.
• Bai Longfei learned that the Ji Household would face his Bai Household in the thirty-fourth match and left to avoid speaking with an opponent.
• Ji Xingzi asked Du Chengfeng whether she would suit Li Xiaoya and proposed joining their households through marriage.

Ji Xingzi and Bai Longfei fought the deciding match between the Ji and Bai Households, with Ji Xingzi gaining the upper hand and unleashing a powerful sword attack. Elsewhere, powerful cultivators discussed a dangerous expedition and sent a masked woman to interfere with it.

• Ji Xingzi coyly proposed a marriage alliance with Du Chengfeng, but left with her companions after Iron Lady enthusiastically endorsed the match.
• A purple-robed cultivator aboard a black flying vessel discussed provoking a possible war and a cultivator with a light-attribute immortal root with a black-robed old man.
• A masked female cultivator received a purple token and orders from a throne-seated cultivator to catch up with a group from the Hunting Hall and either seize their opportunity or turn them back.
• Ji Xingzi pressed Bai Longfei with ice attacks in the final match, while Li Xiaoya and his companions watched and Dong Santong said the Ji Household had deliberately lost an earlier match.
• Ji Xingzi ended their stalemate and unleashed a giant blue sword; Bai Longfei transformed his armor into a bronze sphere as the sword descended toward him.

Ji Xingzi won her match against Bai Longfei after he conceded at the last moment, while a demonic force prepared to attack the tournament. Blue Ice traveled across the Origin Continent seeking an artifact refiner, and the chapter ended as Li Xiaoya and Dong Santong tried to leave and heard a strange howl approaching.

• Bai Longfei withdrew his defenses and conceded just before Ji Xingzi’s sword struck, forcing her to stop the attack and win the match.
• Li Xiaoya explained Bai Longfei’s tactic to Dong Santong as the tournament continued into the night.
• A purple-robed cultivator assembled demonic elders and Golden Core cultivators, then led them toward the tournament to launch an ambush.
• Blue Ice recounted her journey to the Origin Continent, where she had gathered materials for a magic treasure and set out to find an artifact refiner.
• After the tournament’s first round neared its end, Li Xiaoya felt uneasy and followed Dong Santong as they tried to leave; a strange howl approached and startled Li Xiaoya.

The Heavenly Earth Demon Sect attacked Mystic Heaven Way’s lineage selection with the Demon Gang Formation, trapping the cultivators behind a powerful demonic barrier. Icy Daoist and Blazing Flame Daoist launched a combined attack as Li Xiaoya and the others sheltered inside the competition grounds’ protective formation.

• Icy Daoist and Nine Profound Fairy recognized the approaching black curtain as the Demon Gang Formation, and Blazing Flame Daoist warned the cultivators to prepare defenses.
• Icy Daoist attacked the formation with an ice spike and his glaive, but it withstood both blows; he reported that five Nascent Soul Realm cultivators had set it up.
• Li Xiaoya led Du Chengfeng and the others into the competition grounds, and Nine Profound Fairy ordered the Diamond Guards to reinforce the Diamond Spirit-Guarding Grand Formation.
• A balding old man on a distant peak directed the Demonic Path cultivators to pour more magic power into the advancing formation.
• Icy Daoist and Blazing Flame Daoist combined their blue and red glaives into a spinning beam of ice and flame and sent it toward the barrier.

Icy Daoist and Blazing Flame Daoist repeatedly battered the Demon Gang Formation, and the Nine Profound Fairy helped them break through its barrier. They flew out to confront the attackers while Du Chengfeng, Li Xiaoya, and the others remained trapped inside, uncertain whether their seniors would return.

• Icy Daoist and Blazing Flame Daoist struck the pitch-black barrier with their combined ice-and-fire attack, forcing it to stop and nearly rupture before it began repairing itself.
• The purple-robed cultivator ordered the Tenth Elder and the second squad to reinforce the formation, while Icy Daoist and Blazing Flame Daoist prepared and launched another combined attack.
• Icy Daoist and Blazing Flame Daoist’s second strike opened cracks in the barrier, but a black beam began repairing them faster than their follow-up attacks could spread them.
• The Nine Profound Fairy hurled her fiery spear through the weakened barrier, opening a hole that let her, Icy Daoist, and Blazing Flame Daoist escape.
• The purple-robed cultivator and the Fourth Elder moved to confront the three escaped cultivators, while the Iron Lady told Du Chengfeng and Li Xiaoya that remaining inside the formation was safer.
• Li Xiaoya asked the Iron Lady about the Demon Gang Formation and worried that the seniors might abandon them, while Dong Santong remained unconcerned.

Li Xiaoya and Dong Santong left the trapped cultivators to find a way to break the Demon Gang Formation. After discovering that the Black Demon Young Master was holding Nine Profound Fairy at bay, they lured four black-armored pursuers away, only for Li Xiaoya to detect a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator ahead as they prepared to attack.

• Iron Lady explained that the Demon Gang Formation repaired itself and could be weakened by attacking the cultivators maintaining it, while Nine Profound Fairy and the two Daoists were kept busy fighting outside.
• As the black barrier pressed against the five-colored barrier, Li Xiaoya and Dong Santong used white-glowing elixirs to pass through the formation and emerge outside.
• Li Xiaoya recognized the purple-robed cultivator fighting Nine Profound Fairy as the Black Demon Young Master of the Heavenly Earth Demon Sect, while a black-shrouded Nascent Soul late-stage cultivator fought Icy Daoist and Blazing Flame Daoist.
• The Black Demon Young Master ordered four black-armored cultivators to pursue Li Xiaoya and Dong Santong, who fled to draw them away from the Nascent Soul Realm battles.
• After detecting a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator ahead, Li Xiaoya told Dong Santong to attack and blazed with golden light.