Chapter Summaries

After the black market withdrew Ji Xiu’s bounty, it made Zhou Changming pay the promised Spirit Armor to cover losses from failed bounty hunters, prompting him to head for the Purple Haze Sect Leader. At the Northern Cang Marquis Residence, Shi Popo began explaining how Duan Chenzhou met Xie Fuyun and revealed that Wang Xuanyang had been a strikingly handsome young martial artist whose face never aged and who arranged the marriage himself.

• Duan Chenzhou learned that the black market had withdrawn Ji Xiu’s bounty after Heavenly Darkness Star and Heavenly Sword Star died and Heavenly Killing Star disappeared.
• The Gold Consumption Den’s manager told Zhou Changming that Ji Xiu posed a Flawless-level threat and demanded the Sixth Grade Spirit Armor as compensation for the black market’s losses.
• Zhou Changming agreed to deliver the Spirit Armor, then left to confront the Purple Haze Sect Leader about the bounty’s failure.
• Huang Ai broke his pipe after receiving the black market’s letter, while Chen Jing decided to invite Ji Xiu to the Northern Cang Marquis Residence and prepare modest gifts.
• Shi Popo told Ji Xiu that Wang Xuanyang had been an exceptionally handsome youth, had ranked ninth on the Young Dragon Tablet, and had arranged Duan Chenzhou and Xie Fuyun’s marriage.

Shi Popo recounted Wang Xuanyang’s decisive role in defeating the Hundun Water Marsh, while Xiao Mingli learned of Ji Xiu’s invitation to meet Fishery Trade Master Chen Jing. Xiao Mingli openly backed Ji Xiu, and Chen Jing’s confidence faltered when he learned Shi Yue had accompanied him.

• Shi Popo told Ji Xiu and Xiao Mingli how Wang Xuanyang had slain the Red Beard Heavenly King and broken the Hundun Water Marsh during the campaign against the realm gate.
• Xiao Mingli questioned whether Ji Xiu’s master, Duan Chenzhou, could really have died so easily, then received Chen Jing’s invitation for Ji Xiu to attend a banquet.
• Ji Xiu suspected Chen Jing was disguising pressure as goodwill, but Xiao Mingli declared Ji Xiu her friend and ordered Shi Popo to accompany him and protect him from obstruction.
• Chen Jing grew angry at Xiao Mingli’s support for Ji Xiu, then planned to intimidate him with the Chen Family’s standing and influence at the Prefecture Academy.
• A Chen clansman reported that Shi Yue had arrived with Ji Xiu, and Chen Jing was stunned that Xiao Mingli’s elder had personally accompanied him.

Ji Xiu used Xiao Mingli’s backing to force Chen Jing to restore support for Lord Cangming and treat Ji as an honored guest, then extracted an extravagant spirit-cuisine feast. Lord Cangming received Ji’s message and returned to the Fishery Trade, while Chen Jing was left to reckon with the cost.

• Shi Popo accompanied Ji Xiu to the Chen Residence, where Chen Jing warmly welcomed him because of Xiao Mingli’s influence.
• Chen Jing struck Chen Chuan for accusing Ji Xiu and offered Ji authority to visit the ferries without obstruction.
• Ji Xiu asked Chen Jing to resume raising Lord Cangming, and Chen Jing agreed under pressure from Shi Popo.
• Ji Xiu persuaded Chen Jing to treat him to the Eight Wonders of Jianghuai, gaining cultivation progress from the spirit cuisine.
• Lord Cangming received Ji Xiu’s message, returned to the ferry, and found the Fishery Trade supporting him again.
• Lord Cangming submitted completely to Ji Xiu, while Chen Jing returned home and nearly coughed up blood over the expenses.

Wei Changkong agreed to attack Heavenly Saber Sect after Zhou Changming and Jiang Yue urged him to seize its inheritance and Golden Turtle Island. Crimson Scenery Daoist discovered that Wei had abandoned his advice to keep his head down, while Ji Xiu entered Jiangyin Prefecture Academy.

• Zhou Changming urged Wei Changkong and the Purple Radiance masters to strike at Heavenly Saber Sect and claim Golden Turtle Island and Wang Xuanyang's inheritance.
• Qi Yue pressed Wei to stop hesitating, and Jiang Yue offered Dragon Elephant True Sect's support in exchange for help finding Ye Wenjiang's remains and securing the Dao Child position.
• Wei Changkong decided to fight Heavenly Saber Sect and demand its plaque and Golden Turtle Island, dismissing Crimson Scenery Daoist's old warning to keep his head down.
• Crimson Scenery Daoist's Purple Haze Destiny Talisman turned to ash, and he realized Wei had acted before the two days he had expected him to wait.
• Ji Xiu received his Prefecture Student qualification from Gu Baichuan and entered Jiangyin Prefecture Academy.

Ji Xiu arrived at Jiangyin Prefecture Academy and absorbed the divine resonance of its Martial Stele and Divine Stele. Both steles awarded him Top Grade assessments and empowered his cultivation, while his name was proclaimed throughout the academy.

• Ji Xiu studied the steles' inscriptions and recalled how the Profound Monarch's words had shaped his ambitions.
• The Primordial Dao Talisman responded to the steles, and Ji Xiu began absorbing their essence to strengthen his divine soul and Dao cultivation.
• Cai Ling'er and Ye Ningzhi arrived, recognized Ji Xiu, and hurried over to greet him as onlookers speculated about his identity.
• A Prefecture Academy instructor announced the cultivation requirements for candidates and explained that applicants had to test themselves against the Martial Stele and Divine Stele.
• The steles reacted to Ji Xiu, judged him Top Grade in both assessments, and poured the accumulated essence of twenty-one generations of headmasters into him.
• Ji Xiu's Divine Soul Thoughts, Divine Talisman Fire, and Rainbow Skirt Scroll advanced as his name was proclaimed throughout the Prefecture Academy.

Ji Xiu received double first-class ratings at Jiangyin Prefecture Academy, broke its sixty-year entrance record, and entered without further examination. As Gao Ye arrived seeking the steles’ accumulated essence, the academy head prepared to introduce Ji Xiu to Xu Longxiang, a Titled Martial Saint who had returned after sixty years to investigate his missing disciple’s last trail in Anning.

• Ji Xiu absorbed the Martial Stele and Divine Stele’s essence, and Ye Ningzhi told him he had broken the academy’s sixty-year record with double first-class ratings.
• The merchant-house youths crowded around Ji Xiu to make his acquaintance, while Yao Hong silenced them and invited Ji Xiu to consider him as a Mentor.
• Yao Hong admitted Ji Xiu and the other examination-exempt students to the academy, explaining that Ji Xiu would not need to take the remaining tests.
• Gao Ye of the Danshan Gao Clan arrived with his family crest, earned double first-class ratings, and wondered why the steles gave him no essence.
• The Jiangyin academy head discussed the missing disciple Wen Jiang with Xu Longxiang, who revealed himself as a Titled Martial Saint and agreed to meet the new talent.

Ji Xiu entered Jiangyin Prefecture Academy and faced a hostile challenge from Gao Ye, whose noble clan made the academy’s mentors wary of taking Ji Xiu as a student. Prefect Official Ye Luan offered to take him in, while the Martial Saint Xu Longxiang recognized something in Ji Xiu’s technique that stirred old memories.

• A student of Teaching Prefect Qin Chuan invited Ji Xiu to become Qin’s student, while Cai Ling’er advised him to choose a mentor carefully and offered to introduce her second granduncle.
• Gao Ye of the Danshan Gao Clan entered the hall and attacked Ji Xiu, but Ji Xiu countered with Ye Longxiang’s Head and stood his ground.
• Gao Ye cited his noble status and the academy’s rules to intimidate Ji Xiu, prompting Qin Chuan’s representative to withdraw his offer and other students to distance themselves.
• Cai Ling’er identified Gao Ye as an heir of an Enfeoffed Noble Clan, and Ye Ningzhi called out to her master, Prefect Official Ye Luan.
• Ye Luan declared that she would take Ji Xiu as her student, silencing the hall and embarrassing Gao Ye.
• Academy Head Pei Daoran praised Ji Xiu’s skill, while Martial Saint Xu Longxiang recognized Ji Xiu’s technique and was reminded of an old disciple.

Ji Xiu’s confrontation with Gao Ye at the Prefecture Academy drew the attention of academy head Pei Daoran, who questioned him about Ye Longxiang’s Head. The revelation brought Xu Longxiang, an old acquaintance of Ye Wenjiang, to Ji Xiu, and the chapter ended with Ji Xiu accepting him as his Mentor.

• Ye Luan protected Ji Xiu from Gao Ye, while Huang Hong offered to mentor Gao Ye and encouraged him to let the dispute go.
• Gao Ye challenged Ji Xiu to compete in the Five Thresholds, but Pei Daoran arrived and reprimanded Gao Ye before summoning Ji Xiu.
• Pei Daoran asked Ji Xiu about the secret martial art he had used, and Ji Xiu named it Ye Longxiang’s Head.
• Xu Longxiang appeared and seized Ji Xiu, then learned that the senior who passed down the art had died and identified himself as Ye Wenjiang’s old acquaintance.
• Xu Longxiang offered to mentor Ji Xiu and teach him the art’s true martial essence, and Ji Xiu accepted before asking his Mentor’s honored name.

Ji Xiu accepted Xu Longxiang as his Mentor and received a Martial Saint’s rebirth empowerment, which brought his Rainbow Skirt Scroll to full completion. Meanwhile, Gao Ye received his own rebirth from the Danshan Gao Clan’s Old Ancestor, broke the Third Threshold, and set out to seize the academy’s Five Thresholds champions’ positions, beginning with Ascend Martial Tower.

• Ji Xiu agreed to become Xu Longxiang’s student, while Pei Daoran recognized Xu Longxiang as a Dragon Elephant True Sect Martial Saint and suspected he meant to make Ji Xiu a True Sect Dao Child.
• Xu Longxiang asked Pei Daoran for a cultivation room and began personally giving Ji Xiu a rebirth using the academy’s Blessed Land.
• Pei Daoran explained that only the champions of the Five Thresholds could enter the Prefecture Examination, and asked which threshold Ji Xiu would pursue first.
• Gao Ye told Huang Hong that Ji Xiu had disrupted his plans for the Prefecture Examination, then used his clan’s Martial Saint essence to break the Third Threshold and condense a purple seal.
• Gao Ye vowed to claim all five champion positions and make Ji Xiu kneel before him, then headed for Ascend Martial Tower to challenge the martial dao title.
• Xu Longxiang’s empowerment rapidly advanced Ji Xiu’s Rainbow Skirt Scroll to full completion, leaving Ji Xiu shocked by the power of the rebirth.

After Xu Longxiang empowered Ji Xiu with Metamorphosis, he discovered that Ji Xiu’s martial arts came from a True Martial Mountain inheritance and warned him that the Heavenly Pillar was his mortal enemy. Ji Xiu vowed to face whatever came and set out to win a Prefecture Academy threshold championship; meanwhile, Gao Ye arrived at the Ascend Martial Tower, where Chen Zhi surpassed his own record.

• Xu Longxiang realized that Ji Xiu’s Tortoise Snake Great Pillar came from True Martial Mountain’s Sinew Threshold Secret Record, and Ji Xiu explained that Wang Xuanyang had passed it down to the Heavenly Saber Sect.
• Xu Longxiang revealed that his many True Martial Mountain connections were all mortal enemies and warned Ji Xiu not to claim him as a mentor if he encountered a True Martial heir alone.
• Ji Xiu said he would face the dangers ahead and promised to win Xu Longxiang a threshold championship in return for the Metamorphosis empowerment.
• Xu Longxiang recognized Ji Xiu as a potential next-generation Dao Child of the Dragon Elephant True Sect, while Ji Xiu headed toward the academy’s contests.
• Gao Ye climbed the Ascend Martial Tower in a Purple Ribbon Immortal Garment, and Chen Zhi responded by raising the tower’s light to nine zhang, surpassing his previous record.

Gao Ye broke Chen Zhi’s Ascend Martial Tower record, prompting Chen Zhi to challenge him for the chief seat. Ji Xiu then entered the tower and surpassed them both, leaving the crowd wondering what awaited at the summit.

• Gao Ye entered the Ascend Martial Tower and reflected a nine-zhang martial phenomenon, breaking Chen Zhi’s record and drawing a crowd.
• Chen Zhi, urged on by Zhou Tong, entered the tower and matched Gao Ye’s nine-zhang phenomenon, renewing their contest for the chief seat.
• Ji Xiu entered the tower, reached the ninetieth step, and reflected a nine-zhang phenomenon despite not having broken the Three Limits.
• After Gao Ye and Chen Zhi emerged, Ji Xiu’s martial phenomenon rose further to nearly nine zhang nine, shocking them and the gathered Prefecture Students.
• Chen Zhi wondered what lay beyond the sages’ remnants at the end of the tower’s ninety-nine steps.

Ji Xiu climbed the Ascend Martial Tower, overcame its trials, and endured the pressure of Northern Cang Marquis Xiao Pingnan’s imprint. He received a Martial Dao Seed and was named a champion of Jiangyin Prefecture Academy, leaving him qualified for the Prefect Official Grand Examination.

• Ji Xiu learned that the tower’s trials tested realm and potential, then shattered the imprints on the steps as he climbed.
• Ji Xiu defeated the imprints of current champion Chen Zhi, Gao Ye, Academy Head Pei Daoran, and other past sages, reaching the ninety-ninth step.
• Ji Xiu faced Xiao Pingnan’s imprint and withstood its pressure for ten breaths, earning the tower’s highest evaluation in three hundred years.
• The tower awarded Ji Xiu a Martial Dao Seed, and the imprints made way for him as he descended.
• Pei Daoran named Ji Xiu a champion qualified for the Prefect Official Grand Examination and promised to protect him from anyone who made trouble for him.

Ji Xiu accepted the Courier Trade’s offer of support, then encountered a mysterious old man who recognized his Great Five Decays Sky Saber and promised to teach him its complete form. Ji Xiu decided to go to Golden Turtle Island, where the Purple Haze Sect Leader Wei Changkong arrived to demand the Heavenly Saber Sect surrender the island and its ancestral inheritance.

• Zhao Jiu hosted Ji Xiu and their companions at an extravagant Delicacies Trade banquet to celebrate Ji Xiu’s success.
• Di Yuan, Cai Ling'er, and Ye Ningzhi offered Ji Xiu support on behalf of their families, and Ji Xiu accepted Di Yuan’s offer to establish a transport route from Anning County.
• A disheveled old man barged into the banquet, recognized Ji Xiu’s Great Five Decays Sky Saber, and said he would teach him the rest before slipping back into confusion.
• Ji Xiu stopped Zhao Jiu from confronting the old man and announced he would visit Golden Turtle Island to meet Chen He and investigate the stranger’s identity.
• Wei Changkong led the Purple Radiance Sect onto Golden Turtle Island and demanded that the Heavenly Saber Sect be abolished and the island’s inheritance come under his control.

The Purple Radiance Sect attacked the Heavenly Saber Sect over Golden Turtle Island and its hidden inheritance, while Chen He revealed that he had concealed his formidable strength. Ji Xiu arrived with a bedraggled old man, and both Chen He and Wei Changkong recognized him as Wang Xuanyang.

• Qiao Qi confessed that he had revealed the Heavenly Saber Ancestral Hall's secrets to the Purple Radiance Sect so he could improve his prospects in the Tea Trade.
• Chen He offered to surrender Golden Turtle Island but refused to expose the Ancestral Hall, prompting Wu Hong to dismiss the Heavenly Saber Sect as powerless.
• Chen He transformed into a towering, Flawless martial artist, struck Wu Hong away, and fought Wei Changkong atop the Saber Forging Platform.
• Ji Xiu arrived with a bedraggled old man as Chen He and Wei Changkong fought, and both recognized the newcomer as Wang Xuanyang.

Ji Xiu brought a disheveled old man to the Heavenly Saber Sect, where the crowd recognized him as the legendary Wang Xuanyang. Wei Changkong tested Wang Xuanyang, decided he was crippled, and moved to overpower Chen He and recruit Ji Xiu, but Xu Longxiang arrived and confronted him.

• Wei Changkong and Chen He recognized the disheveled old man as Wang Xuanyang, shocking Ji Xiu and the Heavenly Saber Sect disciples.
• Jiang Yue questioned whether the old man could really be Wang Xuanyang, and Wei Changkong struck at him to test his condition.
• Wei Changkong concluded Wang Xuanyang was crippled, manifested his Purple Haze Dragon Tiger phenomenon, and suppressed Chen He.
• Wei Changkong demanded that Ji Xiu surrender the Heavenly Saber inheritance and join the Purple Haze Sect.
• Xu Longxiang arrived atop the waves with the Ancient Dragon Elephant behind him and challenged Wei Changkong to bow and chant his title.

Xu Longxiang arrived at the Heavenly Saber Sect and revealed himself as the Dragon Elephant Martial Saint, declaring Ji Xiu his student and favored candidate for Dragon Elephant Dao Child. As Jiang Yue challenged the choice, Chen He recognized that Wang Xuanyang might be pursuing a rare path leading directly to Human Immortality.

• Xu Longxiang crossed to Golden Turtle Island in his Martial Saint Dharma Body, and Wei Changkong realized he could not oppose him.
• Jiang Yue recognized Xu Longxiang as the Dragon Elephant Martial Saint and explained that he had come to investigate Ye Wenjiang's death and recover his remains.
• Xu Longxiang told Jiang Yue that Ji Xiu was his student and the future Dragon Elephant Dao Child he favored.
• Jiang Yue urged Xu Longxiang to reconsider, arguing that Ji Xiu was still at the Strength Threshold and had not become a Qi Refining Expert.
• Wang Xuanyang boasted that Ji Xiu could surpass any True Sect by learning his Great Five Decays Sky Saber and Reincarnation Heavenly Art.
• Chen He recognized Wang Xuanyang's words and secretly told Ji Xiu that his grandmaster might be following a path leading directly to Human Immortality.

Xu Longxiang backed Ji Xiu as Dragon Elephant Dao Child, crushed Wei Changkong, and bargained with Crimson Scenery Daoist for Six Yao Numerology. After the Purple Haze Sect’s defeat, Xu Longxiang struck Wang Xuanyang, whose saber intent suddenly enveloped them both.

• Xu Longxiang ordered Jiang Yue to summon the Three Vein Venerables to Jiangyin Prefecture and warned them not to plot against Ji Xiu.
• Xu Longxiang attacked Wei Changkong and nearly killed him, but Crimson Scenery Daoist intervened and offered Xu Longxiang one use of Six Yao Numerology in exchange for sparing Wei.
• Xu Longxiang let Wei Changkong escape, declared that the Purple Radiance Sect would be destroyed, and challenged anyone who objected to meet him at the Dragon Elephant True Sect’s mountain gate.
• Ji Xiu subdued Qiao Qi and brought him before Chen He, then thanked Xu Longxiang, who urged him to visit the Prefecture Academy and seek a reading from Crimson Scenery Daoist.
• Xu Longxiang suddenly struck Wang Xuanyang, triggering a fierce saber-intent domain that concealed both men from everyone else.

Chen He explained that Wang Xuanyang was undergoing the Reincarnation Heavenly Art’s tribulation, and Xu Longxiang’s intervention helped him defeat one of the lingering thoughts possessing him. Wang Xuanyang awakened transformed, promptly knocked Xu Longxiang unconscious, and left the Heavenly Saber Sect with a stunned witness to the Dragon Elephant Martial Saint’s defeat.

• Chen He pulled Ji Xiu, Qin Zhuo, and Yu Zhai out of Wang Xuanyang’s saber domain, while Qiao Qi was consumed by the saber qi.
• Chen He explained Peerless Art, Martial Dao Will, and the Reincarnation Heavenly Art’s Three Calamities, revealing that Wang Xuanyang was enduring a contest against the lingering thoughts of three powerful beings.
• The Saber Forging Platform collapsed, and a demonic presence briefly took control of Wang Xuanyang before Xu Longxiang destroyed it; the presence cursed Xu Longxiang and threatened that Wang Xuanyang’s descendants would settle the debt.
• Wang Xuanyang’s body transformed as the lingering thought perished, and Xu Longxiang realized his intervention had helped Wang Xuanyang overcome part of his tribulation.
• Wang Xuanyang, still confused, sneaked up and knocked Xu Longxiang unconscious with a blow to the back of the head.
• Xu Longxiang awoke at Jiangyin Prefecture’s Prefecture Academy and vowed revenge, while Pei Daoran stared in disbelief at the lump on the Martial Saint’s head.

Xu Longxiang named Ji Xiu his Dao Child and asked him to challenge True Martial Mountain’s contemporary Heavenly Pillar Walker, while Ji Xiu accepted and obtained the Yellow Millet Dream Dao Talisman, which could advance his Primordial Dao Talisman. At the Northern Cang Marquis Residence, Jiang Li heard someone proclaim that the Emperor Lord had returned from a hundred years later and asked where the Three Bright Lamps had been buried.

• Xu Longxiang explained that he wanted Ji Xiu to become his Dao Child and eventually challenge True Martial Mountain’s contemporary Heavenly Pillar Walker; Ji Xiu accepted.
• Xu Longxiang promised to support Ji Xiu’s cultivation and said he would take him to Anning County to recover Ye Wenjiang’s remains.
• Ji Xiu asked for the Dragon Elephant True Sect’s Yellow Millet Dream Dao Talisman, and Xu Longxiang gave it to him.
• Ji Xiu’s Primordial Dao Talisman detected that Yellow Millet Dream could advance it and gain an advancement ability.
• Jiang Li arrived at the Northern Cang Marquis Residence with gifts for Ji Xiu and heard someone declare that the Emperor Lord had returned from a hundred years later.
• Jiang Li asked where the people had buried the Three Bright Lamps she had ignited with her essence, qi, and spirit.

Ji Xiu successfully refined the Yellow Millet Dream Dao Talisman, advancing the Primordial Dao Talisman and gaining the ability to enter dreams to comprehend martial arts and Dao techniques. Xu Longxiang warned him to keep his unusual talent secret, then gave him the Heavenly Pillar Level True Martial World Suppression Demon Subduing Profound Art to cultivate.

• Ji Xiu accepted the Yellow Millet Dream Jade Talisman, and its butterfly entered his brow as the Primordial Dao Talisman advanced to Tier Three.
• Xu Longxiang guarded Ji Xiu while he comprehended the Yellow Millet Dream and discovered its Entering Dreams endowment.
• Ji Xiu learned that the Primordial Dao Talisman could use Divine Talisman Fire as an anchor to improve his martial arts and Dao technique attainments through dreams.
• Xu Longxiang cautioned Ji Xiu that no one in Great Xuan's recorded history had comprehended two Dao Talismans and told him to conceal the Yellow Millet Dream.
• Xu Longxiang gave Ji Xiu the Heavenly Pillar Level True Martial World Suppression Demon Subduing Profound Art, intended to help him form an Absolute Peak Qi Sea.