Chapter Summaries

Ying Ming Hao went out to explore Ascension City and encountered a girl seeking a seventh-grade Rejuvenation Pill to save her mother. After the crowd beat up Luo Bai for trying to deceive the girl, Ming Hao followed her as she left without help.

• Ying Ming Hao took Qing Yun, Qing Ying, Wang Yong, and Meng Yi sightseeing and eating along Main Street.
• Ying Ming Hao and his guards pushed through a crowd to watch a girl offering to sell herself for a seventh-grade Rejuvenation Pill to save her mother.
• Luo Bai tried to trick the girl, Yu Wanchuan, into going with him by claiming he could cure her mother, but the crowd exposed his lies.
• The crowd beat Luo Bai, and Ying Ming Hao and his guards joined in before leaving.
• Yu Wanchuan left dejected after failing to find anyone to help her mother, and Ying Ming Hao hesitated before following her.

Ming Hao and his companions found Yu Wanchuan starving as she tried to save her gravely injured mother, Lady Yu, and Ming Hao used two Seventh-Rank pills to heal her. After learning how Lady Yu had been attacked by a Sima Family disciple, Ming Hao told her the Sima Family had already been wiped out and arranged for her to become steward of the Fragrant Pavilion.

• Yu Wanchuan led Ming Hao and his companions to her bare home, where she begged them to save her unconscious mother.
• Qing Yun examined Lady Yu and said she needed a Seventh-Rank Rejuvenation Pill and a Seventh-Rank Flesh-Regenerating Pill to recover.
• Ming Hao gave Yu Wanchuan the pills and a roast goose, while Qing Yun helped Lady Yu absorb the medicine.
• After Lady Yu recovered, she and Yu Wanchuan offered to serve Ming Hao, and Lady Yu recounted how she and Yu Wanchuan's father had obtained a treasure before enemies attacked them.
• Lady Yu explained that a Sima Family disciple had beaten her and left her gravely injured, and Ming Hao told her the Sima Family had already been wiped out.
• Ming Hao arranged for Lady Yu to become steward of the Fragrant Pavilion, then called everyone to eat.

Ying Ming Hao visited Shui Furong at the Shui Residence, where he asked for a special admission place to the Misty Sect for Yu Wanchuan. Shui Furong agreed to ask her father, while firmly rejecting Ming Hao’s invitation to the night market.

• Meng Yi announced that Ying Ming Hao had come to visit Shui Furong, and she first ordered the servants to say she was out before inviting him to the pond pavilion with her cousins Shui Huo'er and Shui Ying'er.
• Ying Ming Hao flirted with Shui Furong and her cousins, and Shui Furong twice stamped on his foot when he tried to inch closer to Shui Ying'er.
• Ying Ming Hao asked Shui Furong whether the Shui Family had special admission places for the Misty Sect, and she explained that her family had ten.
• Ying Ming Hao asked Shui Furong to spare a place for Yu Wanchuan, and Shui Furong agreed to have Qiu'er ask the Family Head.
• Ying Ming Hao invited Shui Furong to the night market, but she refused.

Ying Ming Hao and Shui Furong’s group enjoyed a night outing until Mu Xiaoyuan’s boat drew alongside. Mu Xiaoyuan tried to approach Shui Ying'er and the two maids, but Ming Hao’s blunt answer left him stunned.

• Shui Furong told Ying Ming Hao that her father had offered him a special-admission disciple slot for free, and Ming Hao slipped a Storage Ring onto her finger despite her protests.
• Mu Xiaoyuan spotted the Shui Family’s boat and ordered his crew to bring their boat alongside, hoping Shui Ying'er was aboard.
• Shui Ying'er warned everyone that a boat was approaching, and Huo'er recognized Mu Xiaoyuan and mocked him for pursuing Ying'er.
• Mu Xiaoyuan claimed he had only come to greet them, invited Shui Ying'er to travel with him, and tried to introduce himself to Qing Yun and Qing Ying.
• Ming Hao announced that Qing Yun and Qing Ying were his bedchamber maids, leaving Mu Xiaoyuan dazed and Shui Furong disappointed.

Ming Hao skipped the Heavenly Prodigy gathering and turned a paper-boat stall into a lucrative spectacle at Crescent Bay. When Shui Furong returned with food, Ming Hao was nowhere to be found.

• Ming Hao declined Shui Ying'er and Shui Furong's invitation to the gathering and went to Crescent Bay with his companions.
• Ming Hao had Wang Yong beat up a vendor who grossly overcharged them, then took the man's stall and valuables.
• Ming Hao recruited Qing Yun, Qing Ying, Wang Yong, and Meng Yi to attract customers and sold paper boats for ten middle-grade spirit stones each.
• Shui Furong returned after the gathering with food for Ming Hao, but found the deck empty and dropped everything she carried.

Ming Hao and his companions began the Misty Sect's final trial, a ten-thousand-step climb through increasing gravity. While they advanced with ease, Luo Bai was distracted by fantasies and fell off the stairs.

• Qing Ying complained that her hands were swollen from folding paper boats, and Ming Hao gently massaged them.
• A Misty Sect elder announced that the final trial was a gravity test, with spiritual-energy rewards for the top finishers.
• The contestants rushed onto the stairs, where the crush and fighting injured or eliminated many before they could begin climbing.
• Ming Hao led Qing Yun and the others up the steps, steadily overtaking Heavenly Prodigies as they passed the five-thousandth step.
• Qing Yun, Qing Ying, and the maids comfortably tended to Ming Hao while other contestants rested and recovered along the climb.
• Luo Bai fantasized about winning the trial and claiming beauties, then lost his footing and was ejected from the stairs.

Ming Hao sent Qing Yun, Wang Yong, and his other attendants ahead on the Ten-Thousand-Step Stairway while he stayed behind to avoid attracting attention. As the attendants raced through the rankings and the elders discussed Ming Hao’s mysterious background, he stopped to feast with Su Mei and shared food with the starving siblings Lin Qi and Lin Xue.

• Ming Hao ordered Qing Yun and Wang Yong to climb ahead so they could earn better rankings, while he held back despite having strength to advance.
• Qing Yun and the other attendants surged past hundreds of competitors, prompting amazement from the climbers and elders.
• The elders speculated that Ming Hao and his attendants came from a secluded Lineage in the Ten-Thousand-Mile Snow Mountains, and decided they posed no concern unless they threatened the Misty Sect.
• Long Chen led the stairway’s front group, with Jun Mo and Wang Teng ahead of Luo Shuihan, while Chen Dong felt disheartened by the competition.
• Ming Hao set up a meal at the eight-thousand-five-hundredth step and shared it with Su Mei and the hungry siblings Lin Qi and Lin Xue.

Ying Ming Hao and Su Mei climbed the Stone Steps at their own pace after Long Chen and the other contenders reached the summit. The Misty Sect announced the trial scores and admissions, and Ming Hao reassured his servants that they should pursue their own cultivation after entering the sect.

• Long Chen claimed first place, followed by Jun Mo, Wang Teng, Wang Yong, Luo Shuihan, Qing Ying, and Qing Yun.
• After finishing their meal, Ying Ming Hao and Su Mei leisurely climbed to the summit and absorbed the spiritual energy there.
• The presiding elder announced the trial’s scoring system and how contestants’ scores determined their sect ranks.
• The elders announced the results: twelve of Ming Hao’s companions became personal disciples, while Ming Hao scored 70 points and entered as an inner disciple.
• Ming Hao told Qing Yun and the others not to worry about his rank and ordered them to focus on cultivation and accept suitable masters without asking his permission.

After the sect announced the recruitment results, powerful figures competed to take disciples, and Qing Yun, Qing Ying, Wang Yong, and the others chose masters of their own. They left Ming Hao to begin cultivating independently, while he watched them go.

• The sect announced the recruitment results, and elders and other powerful figures rushed to choose disciples.
• Long Chen, Jun Mo, Luo Shuihan, and other outstanding Personal Disciples drew crowds of prospective masters.
• Qing Yun and the others refused to decide before consulting Ming Hao, and they rebuked powerful figures who insulted him.
• Ming Hao told them to choose their own masters and pursue their paths, and the sect ancestor apologized for the others' behavior.
• Qing Yun, Qing Ying, Wang Yong, and the rest selected sect ancestors, hall masters, and Peak Masters as their masters.
• Qing Yun and the others said farewell and left with their new masters, while Ming Hao watched them disappear.

Ming Hao and the other Inner Disciples arrived at the Misty Sect, where an elder explained the sect’s rules, resources, classes, and benefits for new disciples. After registration, Ming Hao received his assigned residence and supplies, then left with a senior brother to be shown around.

• The elders led the Inner Disciples toward their area while other disciple groups were called to assemble.
• Ming Hao and the newcomers flew through the Misty Sect and landed at a vast plaza filled with waiting disciples.
• An elder explained the rules on fighting, monthly resources and missions, classes, and new disciples’ opportunities to choose cultivation methods and a weapon.
• The registration elder assigned Ying Ming Hao Residence 308,888 in Zone B and granted him second-class benefits.
• Ying Ming Hao received his Inner Disciple Token, uniforms, pills, sect rules, and the Misty Immortal Art, then followed a senior brother toward his residence.

Ming Hao settled into the protected residence assigned to him at Misty Immortal and learned more about the sect from Senior Brother Zhang. The next morning, Zhang arrived to guide him to breakfast and then to the halls where he would choose a cultivation method and weapon.

• Senior Brother Zhang showed Ming Hao around the sect, and Ming Hao gave him a bottle of pills in thanks for his guidance.
• Zhang explained that Misty Immortal had over a million Inner Disciples and advised Ming Hao to keep a low profile.
• Zhang helped Ming Hao open the formation around his residence and explained its protections before promising to take him to the Hall of Cultivation Method and Hall of Weapons the next morning.
• Ming Hao inspected his residence, memorized the Inner Disciple version of the Misty Immortal Art, stored his Sixth-Rank Breakthrough Pills, and read the sect rules.
• The next morning, Zhang met Ming Hao outside his residence and offered to take him to the Dining Hall before they visited the Hall of Cultivation Method.
• Ming Hao and Zhang reached the Dining Hall, where dozens of queues had already formed.

Ming Hao chose three cultivation methods at the sect’s Hall of Cultivation Method, including two incomplete manuals, despite an elder’s warning. He left with the jade slips and reassured Fatty Zhang that he had found suitable methods.

• Fatty Zhang treated Ming Hao to breakfast, and Ming Hao shared his more expensive meal with him.
• Fatty Zhang told Ming Hao to choose three methods from the Hall of Cultivation Method’s first six floors, preferably from the sixth floor.
• Ming Hao selected the incomplete Ice River World after reading that it could freeze everything within sight.
• Ming Hao accidentally collided with Lin Qinqin while browsing, apologized with flattering words, and watched her hurry away in embarrassment.
• Ming Hao chose Ethereal Movement Technique and the incomplete Tathagata Divine Palm, then insisted on keeping all three choices after the registration elder warned him about their difficulty.
• Ming Hao took the three cultivation jade slips and left the hall, where Fatty Zhang questioned how quickly he had chosen.

Ming Hao visited the Hall of Weapons to choose a magic weapon and selected the infamous, bloodthirsty Burial Life Blade despite warnings that its previous wielders had all died. Fatty Zhang offered to escort him back, concerned that new disciples could be robbed.

• Senior Brother Zhang warned Ming Hao about choosing incomplete cultivation methods and urged him to choose a weapon carefully.
• Ming Hao encountered Lin Qinqin and her two maids in the queue at the Hall of Weapons.
• On the sixth floor, Ming Hao examined many weapons before sensing danger from the Burial Life Blade and picking it up.
• The blade cut Ming Hao's hand, absorbed his blood, and then healed the wound, seemingly acknowledging him.
• The registration elder and nearby disciples warned Ming Hao that the Burial Life Blade had driven its past wielders to madness and death, but Ming Hao kept it.
• Fatty Zhang asked whether Ming Hao had found a suitable weapon and offered to escort him back to protect him from robbers.

Ming Hao paused his cultivation to attend a rare lecture on cultivation fundamentals at the Misty Sect. He learned about the history and ranks of worlds, the cultivation realms, and the regions of the Xuanhuang World before leaving with Fatty Zhang to find food.

• Ming Hao stopped cultivating after Fatty Zhang told him that the elders were holding a rare lecture for the disciples.
• Ming Hao and Fatty Zhang reached the Inner Gate Plaza, where several thousand elders set up amplification and projection formations for the audience.
• The Second Elder explained that the Xuanhuang World was a fragment of the shattered Nine Heavens and Ten Lands and described the ranks of worlds and cultivation realms.
• The Second Elder explained how spiritual energy shaped the starting cultivation levels and advantages of people from different worlds.
• The disciples identified the eight regions of the Xuanhuang World, and the lecture continued until sunset.
• Ming Hao and Fatty Zhang headed to the Dining Hall, with Ming Hao offering to treat his senior brother.

After mastering his cultivation methods, Ying Ming Hao struggled to cook and went to the Hall of Missions to choose his first sect mission. He failed to claim a nearby spirit-bee mission and continued searching among the three-star listings.

• Ying Ming Hao spent seven days mastering three cultivation methods and refining the Burial Life Blade, then repeatedly burned his attempt at cooking before eating at the Dining Hall.
• Ying Ming Hao entered the Hall of Missions and chose to look for a one-star mission, but he could not squeeze through the crowd.
• Ying Ming Hao tried the two-star area, found it even more crowded, and then moved to the less packed three-star area.
• Ying Ming Hao chose a mission to retrieve a spirit bee hive from the Back Mountain Range, but the steward told him a senior sister had already taken it.
• Ying Ming Hao continued searching and read listings for missions involving the South Sea, Heavenly Sun City, and a snowy mountain.

Ming Hao accepted a mission to protect Lin Hao and the other Inner Disciples from the groups that robbed them of their monthly stipends. After proving his strength in sparring, he learned about the robbers and the Brawl Arena, then left to return in seven days for the escort.

• Ming Hao assured Lin Hao and the others that he was at the Nascent Soul Realm and had accepted their protection mission.
• Ming Hao demonstrated his strength by defeating a fifth-level and a ninth-level Nascent Soul Realm disciple in sparring.
• Ming Hao fought Lin Yong, a peak Nascent Soul Realm body cultivator, for a hundred exchanges before knocking him back.
• Lin Hao explained that robbery teams led by more than twenty peak Nascent Soul Realm disciples targeted the stipend collectors and described the Brawl Arena.
• Ming Hao said he understood the situation, took his leave, and promised to return in seven days.

Ming Hao advanced to the fifth level of the Nascent Soul Realm before collecting his monthly stipend with Lin Hao, Lin Yong, and the others. When Xu Shu’s gang ambushed them to steal their resources, Ming Hao defeated several attackers and prepared to face Xu Shu’s reinforcements.

• Ming Hao cultivated for seven days and advanced from the third to the fifth level of the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Ming Hao collected one hundred lower-grade spirit stones, two Eighth-Rank Soul-Concentrating Pills, and one hundred sect contribution points, then left the Finance Department with Lin Hao, Lin Yong, and the others.
• Xu Shu and his gang ambushed the disciples inside the battered area, and Lin Yong, Lin Hao, and the others fought to protect their stipends.
• Ming Hao swiftly defeated multiple attackers, including several at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm, and helped Lin Yong overcome his opponents.
• Ming Hao told Lin Yong to support Lin Hao and the others while he held off Xu Shu’s arriving reinforcements.

Ming Hao fought off Xu Shu and dozens of disciples while Lin Yong, Lin Hao, and the others defeated their own opponents. Afterward, Ming Hao robbed the defeated disciples and seized the betting winnings, leaving the remaining spectators fleeing.

• With Lin Yong joining Lin Hao and the others, their side gained momentum and routed its opponents.
• Xu Shu gathered dozens of disciples and ordered them to attack Ming Hao, who charged into the crowd and fought using the Ninefold Body Refining Art and Ethereal Movement Technique.
• Ming Hao used a female disciple as a weapon until Xu Shu and three others seized an opening and knocked him down.
• Ming Hao emerged from the dust with Xu Shu in his grasp, then beat the remaining disciples into submission.
• Ming Hao collected more than two hundred Monthly Stipend Pouches and took the betting winnings from a spectator.

Ming Hao divided the seized monthly stipends among the disciples he had escorted home, then set out to intercept more groups with Lin Yong, Lin Hao, and Lin Zihan. After ambushing and defeating their fourth group, they collected the stipends and took pills to recover before the next fight.

• Ming Hao shared the seized Monthly Stipend Pouches among Lin Yong, Lin Hao, Lin Zihan, and the other disciples before escorting them back to their residences.
• Lin Yong asked Ming Hao to organize a team to intercept other disciples, but Ming Hao refused and left.
• Lin Yong, Lin Hao, and Lin Zihan caught up with Ming Hao and offered to help him, and the four returned to the Brawl Arena together.
• Ming Hao and the others ambushed and defeated their fourth group, with Ming Hao knocking out the strongest opponent and taking his storage pouch.
• Lin Zihan and the others gathered the defeated disciples' Monthly Stipend Pouches, and Ming Hao gave each of his companions a pill to recover before the next interception.

Ming Hao and his companions were lured into a trap by nearly fifty powerful disciples and fought while badly outnumbered. Ming Hao escaped his encirclement with the Tathagata Divine Palm and charged toward Lin Yong, Lin Hao, and Lin Zihan, who remained trapped.

• Ming Hao and his companions ambushed a group they believed to be exhausted, only to discover that their opponents had staged the fight to lure them into a trap.
• Lin Yong, Lin Hao, and Lin Zihan defended themselves back-to-back against more than twenty disciples, while Ming Hao was surrounded by over a dozen others.
• Luo Junhang and Wang Baishun demanded that Ming Hao hand over the stipends he had stolen, and Hao Wu cautioned against continuing the fight.
• Wang Baishun and Luo Junhang attacked Ming Hao as Hao Wu and other disciples blocked his escape.
• Ming Hao charged two disciples, struck them down with the Tathagata Divine Palm, and broke through the encirclement toward Lin Yong and the others.