Chapter Summaries

Xu Yang upgraded his bone root into a spirit bone, transforming his body and gaining stronger vitality, comprehension, and affinity with the Dragon Elephant Heart Sutra. He successfully concealed his spirit bone and continued practicing so its fluctuations would not expose him, even in combat.

• Xu Yang spent four thousand points to upgrade his bone root, enduring a painful transformation that created a spirit bone throughout his body.
• Xu Yang discovered that his spirit bone absorbed spirit qi automatically, strengthened his cultivation, and raised his lifespan to three hundred years.
• Xu Yang saw that his bone root and comprehension had both reached 101, then spent ten points to raise each to 102.
• Xu Yang worried that others would hunt him for his spirit bone and began cultivating the concealment art from the Dragon Elephant Heart Sutra.
• Xu Yang concealed his spirit bone successfully and continued practicing in seclusion to prevent its fluctuations from leaking out during combat.

Huo Xiaochен cultivated dragon qi and celebrated his breakthrough, while Xu Yang concealed his spirit bone and discovered that his improved comprehension accelerated his martial training. Xu Yang then visited the Hall of Heroes to find a field-training mission and became interested in serving temporarily as a Demon Suppression Commandant.

• Huo Xiaochен told Xiao Hui that the dragon blood had helped him cultivate dragon qi, but he declined to challenge the Battle Tower and planned a banquet instead.
• Xu Yang's bone root and comprehension broke through their limits, earning him two thousand points, which he chose to save for learning Spirit Origin Pill refining.
• Xu Yang tested his spirit bone and found that his improved comprehension accelerated his martial techniques and made his Spirit-Nurturing Art far more effective.
• Xu Yang went to the Hall of Heroes to seek a field-training mission, avoiding assignments that required entering Jade Dragon Mountain.
• Xu Yang found a mission offering temporary field training as a Demon Suppression Commandant in the Imperial Court's Demon-Suppression Bureau.

Xu Yang accepted a safe assignment guarding the Jade Waters Cold Pool to earn academic credits while tempering his body. After arriving, he met the guards and discovered that Luo Zhao disliked him, leaving Xu Yang to begin the assignment under a hostile superior.

• Xu Yang chose the Jade Waters Cold Pool guarding assignment rather than work that risked exposing his spirit bone or taking him away from the academy.
• Huo Xiaochэнь learned Xu Yang had left for the pool, but refused Xiao Hui’s suggestion to have him killed in secret and said he would challenge him openly if he chose to act.
• Xu Yang traveled through Jade Dragon Mountain and reached the frozen pool, where Zhuang Tao checked his assignment token and led him to Luo Zhao.
• Xu Yang endured the pool’s strange, body-tempering chill and realized his powerful physique could withstand it.
• Luo Zhao recognized Xu Yang, rejected his greeting, ordered him to obey the rules, and sent Zhuang Tao to show him his lodging and the grounds.

Xu Yang made rapid progress while guarding the Jade Waters Cold Pool and rejected Zhang Cheng and Zhuang Tao’s attempts to lure him into stealing Blackwater Spirit Loaches. Luo Zhao then tried to humiliate him in front of Master Ma by ordering him to fetch water, but Xu Yang refused, leaving a clash with the respected Weapon-Forging Master poised to unfold.

• Xu Yang advanced his martial arts and body cultivation while spending more than ten days at the Jade Waters Cold Pool.
• Zhang Cheng and Zhuang Tao urged Xu Yang to steal Blackwater Spirit Loaches, but he refused and suspected they were acting for Luo Zhao.
• Zhang Cheng and Zhuang Tao reported their failure to Luo Zhao, who ordered them to keep trying to tempt Xu Yang.
• Master Ma arrived to collect cold-pool water, and Luo Zhao ordered Xu Yang to fill his bucket.
• Xu Yang refused Luo Zhao’s order, saying his mission was to guard the pool rather than fetch water for people.

At Jade Waters Cold Pool, the Blackwater Spirit Loach King emerged and killed two cultivators, while Ma Daxing and his white-clad accomplices launched a surprise attack on the group. Xu Yang fled toward his Signal Firework but was intercepted by a saber-wielding attacker.

• Master Ma refused Luo Zhao's offer to fetch water, and the Blackwater Spirit Loaches began surging out of the pool as he prepared to leave.
• The golden Blackwater Spirit Loach King killed a second heavenly origin cultivator and Chen Yong by piercing them and consuming their hearts.
• Ma Daxing struck Zhang Cheng with the iron bucket and ordered his white-clad accomplices to kill everyone and prevent them from signaling for help.
• Xu Yang fled as Luo Zhao and the others came under attack, while Luo Zhao was caught by a concealed second strike after he repelled a saber wielder.
• A white-clad attacker sprang from the frost and brought a saber down on Xu Yang as he reached for his Signal Firework.

Xu Yang escaped Ma Daxing’s ambush by killing a Third Heavenly Origin cultivator and setting off a Signal Firework. After Ma Daxing’s group fled and An Yuan pursued them, Xu Yang returned to the Jade Waters Cold Pool, where the Blackwater Spirit Loaches had been left unattended.

• Xu Yang unleashed his full strength and killed the white-robed Third Heavenly Origin cultivator with the sixth-level Hell-Prison Heaven-Slaying Art, then broke out of the encirclement.
• Xu Yang set off a Signal Firework while Zhuang Tao was killed and Luo Zhao was gravely wounded; Ma Daxing ordered his men to stop pursuing Xu Yang and capture the Blackwater Spirit Loaches.
• Ma Daxing’s group failed to catch the Blackwater Spirit Loach King, took a net full of ordinary Blackwater Spirit Loaches, and fled with Fifth Brother’s body as the Heavenly Strategy Academy’s teachers approached.
• An Yuan arrived, heard from Xu Yang that Ma Daxing had escaped with hundreds of Blackwater Spirit Loaches, and flew after the criminals.
• Xu Yang noticed the Jade Waters Cold Pool was unattended and turned back toward it, intending to take one or two Blackwater Spirit Loaches.

Xu Yang secretly ate a Blackwater Spirit Loach, refined its vital essence, and killed the wounded Luo Zhao before Heavenly Strategy Academy reinforcements arrived. After concealing his gains and reporting that Ma Daxing's group had attacked the pool, he continued guarding it until his teacher Jin Yu arrived.

• Xu Yang cooked and ate a Blackwater Spirit Loach, then repelled the Blackwater Spirit Loach King as it attacked him.
• Xu Yang refined the loach's vital essence and found the badly wounded Luo Zhao, whom he pressured until he bled to death.
• Xu Yang disguised his condition and told Sun Hao and the arriving students that Ma Daxing had attacked to capture the Blackwater Spirit Loach King.
• Sun Hao sent students to report and pursue Ma Daxing while Xu Yang stayed at the pool and continued refining the loach's vital essence.
• Xu Yang's Azure dragon tyrant body progress rose to 7401/10000 before his teacher Jin Yu arrived with a group.

Xu Yang recounted the attack at the Jade Waters Cold Pool to Jin Yu, who confirmed the water had been drugged and brought him back to the Heavenly Strategy Academy. Back at the academy, Xu Yang faced Wan He's accusations, then resumed cultivating and planned how to secure the resources needed for his next breakthroughs.

• Xu Yang told Jin Yu how Ma Daxing's men had drugged the cold pool, triggered the Blackwater Spirit Loach King, and attacked the guards; Jin Yu confirmed the water had been drugged and credited Xu Yang with protecting the king.
• Jin Yu said Ma Daxing's supposed family was false and that the attackers had escaped with one of their dead accomplices; he then took Xu Yang back to the Heavenly Strategy Academy while others stayed to guard the pool.
• At the Dining Hall, Xu Yang briefly described the attack, and Wan He accused him of being an inside man; Xu Yang rebuked him, and Zuo Mu warned Xu Yang to be careful around Wan He.
• Xu Yang returned to his courtyard, tended his medicinal plants, and cultivated until he used up the spirit qi in his quiet chamber.
• Xu Yang estimated that he could reach the third level of the Dragon Elephant Heart Sutra within three months if he secured enough resources, then continued refining the vital essence from the Blackwater Spirit Loaches.

After learning that Luo Zhao died at the Jade Waters Cold Pool, Huang Yi blamed Xu Yang and worried that the academy would deny her compensation. Meanwhile, Young Master Jade ordered Ma Daxing and his men into hiding, and Xu Yang suspected the failed attack had left him facing further trouble.

• Peng Lianyun told Huang Yi that Luo Zhao and six other guards had died after Ma Daxing drugged the Jade Waters Cold Pool, and that the academy blamed Luo Zhao's negligence and offered no compensation.
• Huang Yi accused Xu Yang of lying about Luo Zhao and planned to report him, but Peng Lianyun urged her to identify Luo Zhao's remains and wait until Ma Daxing was caught.
• Young Master Jade punished Ma Daxing for failing to capture the Blackwater Spirit Loach King, then ordered him and his companions to hide and cultivate while the search continued.
• Xu Yang checked his panel and saw points for killing Luo Zhao, obtaining a Blackwater Spirit Loach, and leaving the Jade Waters Cold Pool, but none for his meritorious service.
• Xu Yang concluded that Ma Daxing's powerful backer might retaliate and left his quiet chamber expecting more trouble.

After selling a saber taken from Ma Daxing’s group for three hundred Spirit Currency, Xu Yang rejected Gu Qingfeng’s offer to help search for the fugitives. Jin Yu then cleared Xu Yang of Huang Yi’s accusation and gave him the choice of a cultivation art or five hundred academic credits, and Xu Yang chose the art.

• Students crowded Xu Yang in the Dining Hall for information about Ma Daxing, and Yang Ao offered to buy a clue from him.
• Xu Yang sold the saber taken from one of Ma Daxing’s men to Yang Ao for three hundred Spirit Currency and told him its owner had been called “Fifth Brother.”
• Gu Qingfeng offered Xu Yang a share of the mission rewards if he joined the search, but Xu Yang said Ma Daxing’s group could not be found and declined.
• Zuo Mu summoned Xu Yang to see Jin Yu, who told him Huang Yi had accused him of slandering her late husband, Luo Zhao.
• Jin Yu confirmed the dean had approved a reward and offered Xu Yang either a cultivation art from the Martial Repository Hall or five hundred academic credits.
• Xu Yang chose the cultivation art, accepted Chu Nangui’s written authorization, and left Jin Yu’s office.

Xu Yang considered which cultivation method to buy, collected his ranking reward, and searched the Martial Repository Hall for the Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture. He found the scripture’s Heavenly Origin Chapter, priced at two thousand academic credits, and was deciding whether to exchange for it.

• Xu Yang decided to compare Spirit Bone martial techniques with the continuation of the Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture and suspected Huang Yi might cause trouble.
• Huang Yi confronted Jin Yu over Xu Yang’s accusations against her dead husband Luo Zhao, but Jin Yu affirmed Xu Yang had told the truth and ordered her to leave.
• Huang Yi left with intense hatred for Xu Yang and told Peng Lianyun she would seek justice against Heavenly Strategy Academy.
• Xu Yang collected fifty academic credits for his Heavenly Strategy Wind and Cloud Rankings reward and went to the Martial Repository Hall.
• Xu Yang found the Primordial Dragon Elephant Fist but chose to search for the Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture, which Wu You helped him locate in the inner cultivation method section.
• Xu Yang saw that the scripture’s Marrow-Cleansing Chapter cost six hundred credits and its Heavenly Origin Chapter cost two thousand, while Wu You expressed surprise that Xu Yang could afford it.

Xu Yang used his reward for the Jade Waters Cold Pool incident to choose the Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture, then quickly reached its introductory stage. After recovering from the strain, he headed to the Spirit Tower to cultivate.

• Xu Yang exchanged the dean’s authorization for the Heavenly Origin Chapter of the Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture, despite other students mocking his choice.
• Elder Mu approved Xu Yang’s decision, learned that the Blackwater Spirit Loach King had nearly been captured, and led him to a chamber to study the scripture.
• Wu You told Wan He, Lu Ren, and Ge Zhiwen about Xu Yang’s choice, and Wan He insisted Xu Yang could never master the scripture.
• Xu Yang reached the introductory stage of the Heavenly Origin Chapter, then returned to the Courtyard and slept to recover from mental exhaustion.
• After gaining academic credits and cultivation points, Xu Yang prepared provisions and headed to the Spirit Tower.

Xu Yang used his three-day Spirit Tower reward to accelerate his cultivation and watched Leng Qiuyue and the other Spirit Bone Prodigies break through to third heavenly origin. After another month of steady progress and Sun Tao’s return from Jade Dragon Mountain, Xu Yang headed back to the Spirit Tower to attempt his own breakthrough.

• Xu Yang spent three days cultivating in the Spirit Tower, raising his Dragon Elephant Heart Sutra progress to 7661/10000.
• Leng Qiuyue emerged from the Spirit Tower at third heavenly origin, and Li Xun, Zhang Bo, Xiao Yun, and Duan Ming broke through over the following days.
• Xu Yang cultivated for another month until both his Azure Dragon Tyrant Body and Dragon Elephant Heart Sutra progress exceeded nine thousand, while news of the Jade Waters Cold Pool incident faded.
• Sun Tao returned from Jade Dragon Mountain and told Xu Yang that his gains would soon let him reach second heavenly origin perfection; Xu Yang asked him about the mountain.
• After several more days of cultivation, Xu Yang took his waist token and went to the Spirit Tower to attempt third heavenly origin.

Xu Yang cultivated in the Spirit Tower and broke through to third Heavenly Origin, greatly increasing his physical and mental strength. After concealing his new cultivation, he left for the Battle Tower to test his combat ability.

• Xu Yang encountered Leng Qiuyue and Li Xun in line at the Spirit Tower, where Li Xun accused him of pursuing her and cut ahead of him.
• Xu Yang entered a private chamber on the seventh floor and cultivated until the Dragon Elephant Heart Sutra neared its limit.
• After recovering, Xu Yang used his insights to break through to third Heavenly Origin, transforming his power and strengthening his body.
• Xu Yang checked his improved cultivation and techniques, then spent the remaining four hours consolidating his breakthrough.
• Xu Yang concealed his spirit bone and cultivation, left the Spirit Tower, and headed to the Battle Tower to test his strength.

Xu Yang went to the Battle Tower after his ranking fell, where Li Chuyang challenged him to a spar and Xu Yang refused. Xu Yang entered the tower and confronted a third-heavenly-origin guardian, releasing his hidden strength as the fight began.

• Xu Yang registered for the Battle Tower and saw that his ranking had dropped from eighty-fifth to eighty-eighth as other students advanced.
• Xu Yang met Zuo Mu and Wen Shan, then watched Li Chuyang reach the ninth layer and claim eighty-fourth place on the rankings.
• Li Chuyang challenged Xu Yang to spar, but Xu Yang refused, and Lu Ren and Du Ziming mocked him for avoiding the fight and attempting the Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture.
• After waiting an hour, Xu Yang entered the Battle Tower while Li Chuyang watched and wondered how much he had improved.
• Xu Yang faced a third-heavenly-origin-perfection guardian on the first layer and met its punch with his own, unleashing his strength and the power of the Dragon Elephant Heart Sutra.

Xu Yang fought his way through the Battle Tower after breaking through to third heavenly origin, while onlookers mistook his pace for a lack of progress. He entered the ninth layer determined to reclaim his ranking and faced nine guardians arrayed in a battle formation.

• Xu Yang vented his battle lust by smashing through the guardians on the first two layers with overwhelming punches.
• Xu Yang defeated the third-layer guardians after more than twenty exchanges, while Lu Ren, Li Chuyang, Du Ziming, Zuo Mu, and Wen Shan watched from outside and debated his apparent lack of progress.
• Wen Shan explained that Xu Yang pursued difficult cultivation methods because he aimed to compete with the Spirit Bone Prodigies, leaving the onlookers silent.
• Xu Yang cleared the fifth through eighth layers using the Immovable King Body, Black Tortoise Mountain-Suppressing Fist, Azure Dragon Tyrant Body, and Eight Fiends Subduing Dragon Force.
• Xu Yang entered the ninth layer, where nine guardians stood in an intricate battle formation beneath a heavy pressure.

Xu Yang fought the nine guardians on the Battle Tower’s ninth layer but surrendered after their combined saber attacks overwhelmed him. His ranking rose to eighty-fourth on the Heavenly Strategy Wind and Cloud Rankings, pushing Li Chuyang down to eighty-fifth.

• Xu Yang confronted the nine guardians’ combined saber attack with the Black Tortoise Mountain-Suppressing Fist, and their clash split his fist and sent him flying.
• The guardians attacked in formation again, and Xu Yang punched through their saber net before enduring several blows that strained his body.
• Xu Yang surrendered as the guardians launched another combined attack, and he reappeared at the Battle Tower entrance looking battered.
• The Heavenly Strategy Wind and Cloud Rankings changed, raising Xu Yang from eighty-ninth to eighty-fourth and dropping Li Chuyang to eighty-fifth.
• Zuo Mu and Wen Shan helped Xu Yang away from the entrance, while Lu Ren and Du Ziming reacted with disbelief and dismay.

Xu Yang consolidated his new cultivation while Zuo Mu and Wen Shan entered the Heavenly Strategy Wind and Cloud Rankings. After learning that Ye Qiuling had fallen out with Wu Xiuyuan, Xu Yang found her waiting at his courtyard, asking to borrow fifty academic credits.

• Xu Yang watched Zuo Mu and Wen Shan enter the Heavenly Strategy Wind and Cloud Rankings, with Wen Shan taking ninety-ninth place and Zuo Mu becoming the gatekeeper at one hundredth.
• Chu Nangui defended Xu Yang’s determination to pursue the Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture despite doubts that he had mastered it.
• Xu Yang advanced to third heavenly origin, consolidated his cultivation, and continued studying his martial techniques.
• Zuo Mu warned Xu Yang and Sun Tao that Wu Xiuyuan had declared anyone helping Ye Qiuling his enemy after she rejected his romantic advances.
• Ye Qiuling visited Xu Yang and asked to borrow fifty academic credits to enter seclusion in the Martial Tower and comprehend an intent.

Xu Yang refused Ye Qiuling’s plea for academic credits, then learned how her dispute with Wu Xiuyuan had worsened as he trained and prepared to buy more resources. At Wu Family Fort, he heard that Pang Xiong’s Crouching Tiger Gang had begun openly robbing villagers, and Xu Yang headed off with the gang’s treasury in mind.

• Xu Yang rejected Ye Qiuling’s request for fifty academic credits and threw her out of his courtyard.
• News spread that Wu Xiuyuan had refused to keep supplying Ye Qiuling and had exposed her dealings after she demanded more credits.
• Xu Yang cultivated the azure dragon tyrant body, spent his remaining resources on spirit herbs, and left the academy without disguising himself.
• Fang Xu urged Huo Xiaochен to kill Xu Yang, but Huo Xiaochен refused to act secretly, so Fang Xu decided to consult his lineage.
• At Wu Family Fort, Xu Yang learned that Pang Xiong’s Crouching Tiger Gang had seized a spirit herb from an old farmer and resolved to target the gang’s treasury.

Xu Yang infiltrated the Crouching Tiger Gang compound and learned that Pang Xiong had been ordered by the Fang Family to kill him. He ambushed the gang with a devastating punch, then confronted Pang Xiong as the gang leader struck back.

• Xu Yang watched the Crouching Tiger Gang compound and discovered that the Twin-Horned Tiger had grown stronger and was still alive.
• Xu Yang followed three gang members carrying stolen spirit herbs and overheard Pang Xiong tell them the Fang Family wanted Xu Yang killed.
• Pang Xiong sent the three men to find Xu Yang, boasting that he could kill him in two moves.
• Xu Yang launched an enormous punch into the hall, killing the three men and destroying much of the compound.
• Pang Xiong slashed toward Xu Yang, who evaded the saber and charged at him.