Chapter Summaries

Xu Yang agreed to fight Du Ziming in a month and planned to conceal his hidden cultivation before then, while Sun Tao also accepted a challenge from Wan He. After preparing for the fight and keeping watch for his enemies, Xu Yang disguised himself as Lu Ren and left the Heavenly Strategy Academy to obtain supplies that would replenish his blood energy.

• Xu Yang set his fight with Du Ziming for a month later, and Jin Yu confirmed the challenge.
• Wan He secured the first challenge against Sun Tao, who scheduled their fight for a month later and planned to master the Purple Extremity Heaven-Burning Art.
• Xu Yang focused his cultivation on the Formless Thousand Illusions Art and the Black Tortoise Mountain-Suppressing Fist, while taking Tiger Essence Blood Marrow Pills to counter the Azure Dragon Tyrant Body's toll on his blood energy.
• Xu Yang decided to leave the academy for supplies despite fearing that his enemies might be watching him.
• Xu Yang transformed his face into Lu Ren's, walked out of the Heavenly Strategy Academy, and still carried his own waist token.

Xu Yang visited Wu Family Fort in disguise to buy spirit herbs and encountered Yang Zheng, the Crouching Tiger Gang leader who had placed a bounty on him. After leaving the market, Xu Yang was ambushed by three masked attackers and killed one with a single palm strike.

• Xu Yang changed his face, entered Wu Family Fort, and bought a hundred-year blood ginseng and several spirit herbs.
• Yang Zheng arrived with three subordinates, used his Heavenly Origin cultivation to intimidate the crowd, and forcibly took a treasure garment from its seller.
• Xu Yang recognized Yang Zheng as the Crouching Tiger Gang leader and left Wu Family Fort before him, noticing that several people were following him.
• Three masked attackers ambushed Xu Yang on the road, and he broke through their opening attack with a punch.
• Xu Yang evaded the lead attacker’s Spirit Weapon and killed him with a palm strike, while the other two attackers remained nearby.

Xu Yang killed three Heavenly Origin first-layer attackers, then confronted Gang Leader Yang Zheng over the bounty placed on him. After overpowering Yang Zheng in their exchange, Xu Yang pressed the attack even as Yang Zheng tried to call the confrontation a misunderstanding.

• Xu Yang killed three Heavenly Origin first-layer martial artists with single strikes and collected their money pouches and a Spirit Weapon short blade.
• Yang Zheng arrived with subordinates carrying a treasured robe and spirit herbs, and Xu Yang revealed that he had come because of the bounty.
• Xu Yang ambushed Yang Zheng, blasted him backward, and killed Yang Zheng’s marrow-cleansing subordinates in the shock wave.
• Xu Yang activated Eight Fiends Subduing Dragon Force and defeated Yang Zheng in a direct clash, badly injuring his arm.
• Yang Zheng recognized Xu Yang as the Alchemist who had killed Xie Jin and pleaded that the attack was a misunderstanding, but Xu Yang kept pursuing him.

Xu Yang killed Yang Zheng and looted his possessions, then raided the Crouching Tiger Gang while Yang Zheng’s freed Twin-Horned Tiger rampaged through its headquarters. After Fang Wei learned Yang Zheng was dead, he led others toward Wu Family Fort to investigate.

• Xu Yang overwhelmed Yang Zheng, tore off his arm, killed him, and took his coin pouch, treasured garment, and spirit herbs.
• After Yang Zheng’s death freed it from the Beast-Control Secret Art, the Twin-Horned Tiger broke loose and slaughtered Crouching Tiger Gang members.
• Xu Yang entered the gang’s headquarters, searched its treasury, and took its pills, herbs, and roughly four hundred spirit currency coins before escaping the tiger.
• Xu Yang counted his enlarged haul and decided he could not openly use the Black Tortoise Mountain-Suppressing Fist or the treasured garment.
• Fang Wei arrived at the Crouching Tiger Gang, identified Yang Zheng’s death as the cause of the tiger’s rampage, and flew with several others toward Wu Family Fort.

Xu Yang returned to the Heavenly Strategy Academy, advanced his cultivation, and registered his breakthrough to Second Heavenly Origin. As he prepared for his coming duel with Du Ziming and began growing medicinal plants, Jiang Fan revealed how unlikely it was that his family’s dormant bloodline would awaken.

• Xu Yang cultivated with a Spirit Origin Pill, reached the beginner stage of the Spirit-Nurturing Art, and gained enough points to approach obtaining a Spirit Bone.
• Xu Yang perfected the Canglang Sword Art, registered his Second Heavenly Origin breakthrough at the Logistics Hall, and received forty-six academic credits.
• Xu Yang bought medicinal seedlings with academic credits and planted them in his courtyard.
• Du Ziming learned of Xu Yang’s breakthrough but remained confident, believing his earlier breakthrough and longer cultivation in the realm gave him an advantage.
• Sun Tao and Jiang Fan visited Xu Yang to congratulate him, and Jiang Fan explained that his family’s bloodline had gone seven or eight generations without awakening and that he had little hope of awakening it himself.

Xu Yang prepared for Du Ziming’s challenge while cultivating the Formless Thousand Illusions Art and seeking more martial arts he could use openly. At the arena, Du Ziming went first and called Xu Yang up to fight.

• Jiang Fan explained how the Jiang Family’s bloodline had once produced generations of geniuses but later limited its descendants to A-grade bone roots.
• Xu Yang’s classmates visited, and Gu Qingfeng warned him that Du Ziming had joined forces with Huo Xiaochен.
• Xu Yang reached minor accomplishment in the Formless Thousand Illusions Art, then tended his medicinal seedlings with the Spirit-Nurturing Art.
• On the day of the challenge, Huo Xiaochেন urged Du Ziming to teach Xu Yang a harsh lesson, while Du Ziming admitted he might not get an opening to strike viciously.
• Jin Yu led Junior Class A to the arena after teaching about growing spirit herbs, and Du Ziming leaped onto the platform and challenged Xu Yang.

Xu Yang fought Du Ziming in the arena while concealing the full extent of his cultivation, revealing his perfected Immovable King Body and matching Du Ziming’s combat-enhancing secret art. The fight continued as Du Ziming struck Xu Yang’s lower back, while Xu Yang’s sweeping hand closed in on Du Ziming’s face.

• Xu Yang entered the arena and decided to fight Du Ziming using his physical strength while concealing the Dragon Elephant Heart Sutra.
• Du Ziming launched a swift opening attack, but Xu Yang revealed his perfected Immovable King Body and tangible blood energy, then forced Du Ziming back in their first clash.
• Du Ziming activated the Heaven-Burning Battle Aura to double his combat power, and Xu Yang countered with the Eight Fiends Subduing Dragon Force.
• Xu Yang and Du Ziming collided again, and Xu Yang swept a huge hand toward Du Ziming’s face as Du Ziming attacked his lower back.

Xu Yang defeated Du Ziming after matching his speed with the Swimming Dragon Sky-Escaping Steps, while Jin Yu stopped Du Ziming from escalating the fight. Sun Tao then faced Wan He, whose opening attack met Sun Tao’s counterstrike.

• Xu Yang humiliated Du Ziming with a slap and endured his rapid attacks before using the Swimming Dragon Sky-Escaping Steps to strike him in the back.
• Du Ziming tried to unleash his intent realm, but Jin Yu intervened and ordered him to accept defeat; Huo Xiaochен and Kong Cheng helped him leave and treat his injuries.
• Jin Yu advised Xu Yang to learn a physical martial technique, and Wen Shan, Zuo Mu, Gu Qingfeng, and Sun Tao congratulated him after his victory.
• Jin Yu called Sun Tao and Wan He to the arena and ordered them not to injure or kill each other.
• Wan He activated the Beast-Control Secret Art and attacked Sun Tao, who released his own power and met Wan He’s palm with a counterstrike.

Sun Tao mastered the Purple Extremity Heaven-Burning Art and defeated Wan He, who then accepted Xu Yang’s challenge. Xu Yang and Wan He met palm to palm, and the clash left the outcome unclear.

• Sun Tao used the Purple Extremity Heaven-Burning Art and the Eight Fiends Subduing Dragon Force to send Wan He flying, and Wan He conceded.
• Xu Yang challenged Wan He to improve his ranking and earn more academic credits, despite warnings from Lu Ren and others.
• Wan He accepted Xu Yang’s challenge and entered the arena, while Jin Yu warned both fighters not to deliberately injure or kill each other.
• Wan He activated his secret art and Martial Dao Phenomenon, and Xu Yang activated the Immovable King Body and Eight Fiends Subduing Dragon Force.
• Xu Yang met Wan He’s palm head-on, and their collision shook the arena as spectators saw no clear victor.

Xu Yang defeated Wan He in a Cloud Ascension Rankings challenge by overpowering him with his physical strength and Golden Astral Skill. Jin Yu announced Xu Yang’s new nineteenth-place rank, leaving Wan He disgraced and Yuan Chengji embarrassed by his earlier doubts.

• Xu Yang and Wan He exchanged blows, and Xu Yang revealed his defensive Golden Astral Skill before standing firm against Wan He’s attack.
• Xu Yang pressed his advantage with a finger technique and repeated strikes, forcing Wan He to retreat as Du Ziming mocked him.
• Xu Yang landed a final punch that sent Wan He flying, and Jin Yu declared Xu Yang the winner.
• Jin Yu announced that Xu Yang had taken nineteenth place and Wan He had fallen to twentieth.
• Sun Tao confronted Yuan Chengji about having mocked Xu Yang, leaving Yuan Chengji flustered.

After defeating Wan He, Xu Yang consolidated his position in the Cloud Ascension Rankings and spent the following month cultivating, reaching great completion in his movement technique. The chapter left him preparing for future academy rankings and missions as Lu Ren arrived after forging a mid-grade spirit weapon.

• Xu Yang celebrated his victory with Junior Class A students, while Huo Xiaochén reassured his faction that he had mastered the Purple Extremity Heaven-Burning Art and could kill Xu Yang within ten moves.
• Xu Yang collected fifty academic credits, continued cultivating for a month, and received a panel reward for reaching nineteenth place on the Cloud Ascension Rankings.
• Xu Yang advanced his Swimming Dragon Sky-Escaping Steps to great completion and resolved to improve the Formless Thousand Illusions Art before the academy's six-month protection period ended.
• Xu Yang learned that Lu Ren had forged a mid-grade spirit weapon, and Lu Ren entered the classroom brimming with high spirits.

Xu Yang broke through to the initial stage of the Azure Dragon Tyrant Body by developing dragon qi, but his resources were running low. Sun Tao and Gu Qingfeng then warned him that Huo Xiaochен had also mastered the technique after the Xiao Family used flood dragon blood to improve his aptitude.

• Lu Ren gained his classmates’ respect after forging a mid-grade spirit weapon and offered them discounted forging.
• Xu Yang spent a month cultivating, then developed dragon qi and greatly increased his physical strength.
• Xu Yang checked his cultivation progress and considered revealing more of his talent to gain access to academy resources.
• Xu Yang tended his medicinal plants, which had flourished under the effects of his Spirit-Nurturing Art.
• Sun Tao and Gu Qingfeng told Xu Yang that Huo Xiaochен had mastered the Azure Dragon Tyrant Body after the Xiao Family refined his body with flood dragon blood.

Xu Yang faced growing isolation after Huo Xiaochэнь mastered the Azure Dragon Tyrant Body and gained support from their peers. He left the Heavenly Strategy Academy in disguise to buy blood-replenishing herbs and investigate the Crouching Tiger Gang, discovering that Zhang Hanzhou had fallen into a subordinate role.

• Gu Qingfeng, Sun Tao, and Xu Yang agreed to stand together against Huo Xiaochэнь, while Xu Yang said Huo still could not match the Spirit Bone Prodigies.
• Huo Xiaochэнь’s banquet drew Xiao Yun, Wu Xiuyuan, and others, and Xu Yang noticed former acquaintances distancing themselves from him and Sun Tao.
• Huo Xiaochэнь confronted Xu Yang in class, but Xu Yang mocked Du Ziming as a lapdog, and Huo went to his seat without escalating the dispute.
• Jin Yu announced that the new students’ six-month period would soon end and that they would have to challenge the Battle Tower for places on the Heavenly Strategy Wind and Cloud Rankings.
• Xu Yang left the academy in Lu Ren’s disguise, learned that the Crouching Tiger Gang still operated for the Fang Family, and bought a blood-replenishing herb at Wu Family Fort.
• Xu Yang spotted Zhang Hanzhou following a middle-aged man like a lackey and continued searching for herbs.

Xu Yang bought pills, cultivated until his Formless Thousand Illusions Art reached great completion, and prepared to conceal his aura during the Battle Tower challenge. As the new students began competing for places on the Heavenly Strategy Wind and Cloud Rankings, Qi Ning entered the tower and quickly reached its second floor.

• Xu Yang bought forty Tiger Essence Blood Marrow Pills and forty Spirit Origin Pills from Yan Bing, then returned to his courtyard to cultivate.
• Xu Yang used his panel to advance the Formless Thousand Illusions Art to great completion, allowing him to disguise the Dragon Elephant Heart Sutra's aura as other cultivation arts.
• Xu Yang gained one hundred Martial Dao Longevity Points and decided to wait until after the Battle Tower challenge before developing a spirit bone.
• Jin Yu announced that the new students would challenge the Battle Tower, and Xu Yang joined his classmates as they headed to the tower and the Heavenly Strategy Wind and Cloud Rankings.
• Qi Ning entered the Battle Tower, and his name appeared on the Ancient Stele before he advanced from the first floor to the second in a single breath.

Qi Ning and the other Spirit Bone Prodigies reached the Battle Tower's eleventh floor and claimed high positions on the Heavenly Strategy Wind and Cloud Rankings, while the other top students stopped at the tenth. Huo Xiaochен entered next, with everyone watching to see whether his two top-tier techniques would let him reach the eleventh floor.

• Qi Ning reached the eleventh floor, then emerged injured and ranked forty-first on the Heavenly Strategy Wind and Cloud Rankings.
• Leng Qiuyue, Li Xun, Zhang Bo, Xiao Yun, and Duan Ming also reached the eleventh floor, with their rankings ranging from forty-second to forty-eighth.
• Lu Wei failed to advance past the tenth floor, emerged badly wounded, and ranked sixty-ninth; Jin Yu warned everyone not to fight stubbornly when outmatched.
• Tu Gang, Yang Ao, Gu Qingfeng, Wu Xiuyuan, and Li Yunfei also stopped at the tenth floor, reinforcing the divide between them and the Spirit Bone Prodigies.
• Huo Xiaochен entered the Battle Tower, and the onlookers expected his Azure Dragon Tyrant Body and second top-tier technique to help him reach the eleventh floor.

Huo Xiaochен failed to break through the Battle Tower’s tenth floor, while Sun Tao reached it and earned eighty-third place on the Heavenly Strategy Wind and Cloud Rankings. Xu Yang entered the tower and overwhelmed its first guardian, leaving his eventual ranking undecided.

• Huo Xiaochен reached the tenth floor but was expelled without entering the eleventh, placing seventy-second on the Heavenly Strategy Wind and Cloud Rankings.
• Sun Tao reached the tenth floor but was knocked out almost immediately, earning eighty-third place on the rankings.
• Liu Gao, Fan Yi, and Wu You achieved lower placements after reaching only the eighth, eighth, and seventh floors, respectively.
• Wan He entered the tower seeking to surpass Xu Yang, and Xu Yang followed after Gu Qingfeng urged him not to overexert himself.
• Xu Yang fought the first-floor guardian, shattered its attacks with a punch, and broke its energy-formed arms with a palm strike.

Xu Yang concealed his strength in the Battle Tower while testing its guardians and using his saber techniques to advance. After reaching the sixth floor, he left the onlookers wondering how far he would go.

• Xu Yang held back while clearing the first three floors, then struggled against the fourth floor’s four guardians and their strength-borrowing battle formation.
• Xu Yang drew Blazing Separation, used the Hell-Prison Heaven-Slaying Art to break the fourth-floor formation, and defeated its guardians.
• Xu Yang faced five guardians wielding saber intent on the fifth floor, unleashed his Slashing Through Illusions saber intent, and defeated them while keeping most of his strength concealed.
• Qiu He was eliminated after reaching the seventh floor, while Wan He was eliminated on the sixth; both learned they had failed to make the Heavenly Strategy Wind and Cloud Rankings.
• Wan He and the others assumed Xu Yang would fail to reach the sixth floor, but Zuo Mu announced that Xu Yang had advanced to it.

Xu Yang used the Azure Dragon Tyrant Body to defeat the guardians on the sixth, seventh, and eighth floors of the Battle Tower, reaching the ninth floor and securing a place on the Heavenly Strategy Wind and Cloud Rankings. His progress shocked the watching students, while Huo Xiaochен remained dismissive of his potential.

• Xu Yang activated the Azure Dragon Tyrant Body and smashed the sixth-floor guardians, then entered the seventh floor.
• Jiang Fan challenged Lu Ren for belittling Xu Yang as Xu Yang defeated the seventh-floor guardians and advanced to the eighth floor.
• Xu Yang's name on the Heavenly Strategy Wind and Cloud Rankings changed to the eighth floor, surprising the crowd and worrying Lu Ren.
• Xu Yang endured the eighth-floor guardians' attacks before using the Black Tortoise Mountain-Suppressing Fist to break their formation and defeat them.
• Xu Yang reached the ninth floor, prompting shock and praise from the crowd, while Huo Xiaochен continued to underestimate him.

Xu Yang concealed his strength after reaching the ninth floor of the Battle Tower, earning praise and a place on the Heavenly Strategy Wind and Cloud Rankings. After Jin Yu announced new assignments and rewards, Xu Yang decided to choose his own mission later and went to the Martial Repository Hall to obtain the final portion of the Eight Fiends Subduing Dragon Force.

• Xu Yang feigned exhaustion and conceded after reaching the ninth floor, then appeared at the Battle Tower entrance and received praise from Jin Yu and his classmates.
• Huo Xiaochэнь told Du Ziming that Xu Yang was advancing through cultivation with academic credits rather than secret faction support, while Wan He felt ashamed of his weaker result.
• Jin Yu announced upcoming academy missions, cultivation rewards, and Battle Tower rewards before dismissing the class.
• Xu Yang considered his need for academic credits and decided to develop his spirit bone before choosing a mission, but first he would obtain the final portion of the Eight Fiends Subduing Dragon Force.
• Xu Yang exchanged a hundred academic credits for the perfection-stage instructions and met the old man in the Book Repository, who noticed that Xu Yang had cultivated dragon qi.

Xu Yang studied the perfection section of the Eight Fiends Subduing Dragon Force after persuading Elder Mu not to probe his secrets, while news of his Battle Tower ranking unsettled his rivals and drew Li Lingdu's attention. After preparing to awaken his Spirit Bone, Xu Yang spent his accumulated points to enhance his Bone Root.

• Xu Yang told the old man that probing his cultivation without permission was offensive, and the old man promised to stop before introducing himself as Elder Mu and giving Xu Yang the Eight Fiends Subduing Dragon Force manual.
• Han Yingjie learned that Xu Yang had reached the ninth floor and ranked eighty-fifth on the Heavenly Strategy Wind and Cloud Rankings, then stopped Yin Jian from openly suggesting an attack.
• Li Lingdu celebrated Li Chuyang reaching the seventh floor, but grew serious when he learned Xu Yang had reached the ninth and asked Qi Xuancheng to tell him more about Xu Yang.
• Xu Yang studied the manual, heard that his ranking remained unchanged and Li Chuyang had nearly made the rankings, then tended his medicinal plants and prepared to awaken his Spirit Bone.
• After midnight, Xu Yang received only fifty points for his ranking and suspected it had attracted ill will before commanding the panel to enhance his Bone Root.