Chapter Summaries

Xu Yang took Li Chuyang’s group’s Azure Dragon Tokens and faced Li Yunfei, who had been hiding nearby and hoped to seize the tokens for himself. Xu Yang overpowered Li Yunfei in their fight, leaving Li Yunfei staggering after their boosted punches collided.

• Xu Yang repelled Li Chuyang with one palm strike, then chased down Chen Jian and took the bag of Azure Dragon Tokens from him.
• Li Yunfei revealed himself and ordered Li Chuyang’s group away before challenging Xu Yang for his tokens.
• Xu Yang and Li Yunfei exchanged punches, and Xu Yang’s first blow drove Li Yunfei backward despite Li Yunfei’s perfected comprehension.
• Li Yunfei used the Heavenly Astral Body-Tempering Formula and grappling techniques, but Xu Yang’s body resisted his hold and his punches broke through Li Yunfei’s defenses.
• Li Yunfei activated the Eight Fiends Subduing Dragon Force, but Xu Yang activated the same technique and struck him hard enough to crack his fist and stagger him backward.

Xu Yang defeated Li Yunfei, took his Azure Dragon Tokens, and hid until the Azure Dragon Blood Pool emerged. When the Azure Dragon Trial results were revealed, Qi Ning placed first and Xu Yang came second, securing a place among the ten cultivators eligible for the pool.

• Xu Yang used his perfected Eight Fiends Subduing Dragon Force and Diamond Great Hand Seal to defeat Li Yunfei, then took his Azure Dragon Tokens.
• Xu Yang gathered 183 Azure Dragon Tokens and hid to cultivate, but left his cave when the Azure Dragon Blood Pool appeared.
• Xu Yang arrived at the Blood Pool as other contestants gathered and Li Yunfei admitted that Xu Yang had defeated him; the group also learned that several Spirit Bone Prodigies had lost their tokens to rivals.
• Chu Nangui summoned the Ancient Stele, which listed Qi Ning in first place with 201 tokens and Xu Yang in second with 183.
• The stele named Leng Qiuyue, Duan Ming, Li Xun, Zhang Bo, Tu Gang, Lu Wei, Sun Tao, and Huo Xiaochен in the remaining top-ten places.

Xu Yang and the other qualifiers underwent cleansing in the Azure Dragon Blood Pool, where Xu Yang transformed his Dragon Qi and greatly improved his Bone Root. After Li Lingdu learned that Xu Yang had cost Li Chuyang his place, he and his allies discussed retaliation, while Li Lingdu secretly resolved to kill Xu Yang himself.

• Sun Tao celebrated placing ninth, while Li Chuyang blamed Xu Yang for taking the tokens that had cost him a place in the Blood Pool.
• Qi Ning entered the Azure Dragon Blood Pool first and emerged with a stronger Spirit Bone.
• Xu Yang entered the Blood Pool, transformed his Dragon Qi, increased his Bone Root from 120 to 191, and emerged with a tougher body.
• The remaining qualifiers underwent cleansing, and Huo Xiaochэнь complained that earlier entrants had absorbed most of the dragon power.
• Xu Yang returned home and gave Xu Qing the Scarlet Blood Lingzhi before she entered seclusion to refine it.
• Li Lingdu learned Xu Yang had taken Li Chuyang's tokens and defeated Li Yunfei, then secretly decided to kill Xu Yang despite warnings about his ties to Heavenly Strategy Academy and Grandmaster Tian.

After the Azure Dragon Trial, Xu Yang improved his martial arts and comprehension, while Lu Wei and Tu Gang each reached Fourth Heavenly Origin through different forms of cultivation. Xu Yang entered the Spirit Tower and upgraded his Azure Dragon Tyrant Body as he prepared to break through.

• Lu Wei told Han Yi that he had fought Xu Yang to a standstill in the Secret Realm, and Han Yi vowed to confront Xu Yang himself later.
• Xu Yang claimed his Blood Pool reward, strengthened his Azure Dragon Tyrant Body, and gave Xu Qing the Asura Armor-Piercing Fist manual after she broke through.
• Xu Yang discovered that vanished students had raised his Battle Tower standing to fifty-fifth, then reached the eighth layer of the Hell-Prison Heaven-Slaying Art and exchanged for the Eight Desolations Demon-Subduing Fist.
• Xu Yang raised his comprehension to 302, making it easier to study martial arts, and advanced the Eight Desolations Demon-Subduing Fist while accumulating more points.
• Lu Wei reached Fourth Heavenly Origin, and Tu Gang later emerged from the Spirit Tower with fourth-level body tempering; Tu Gang challenged Xu Yang, who declined.
• Xu Yang entered the Spirit Tower and used his points to upgrade the Azure Dragon Tyrant Body, which was just short of its fourth level.

Xu Yang broke through to the fourth layer of the Azure Dragon Tyrant Body, then accepted missions and entered Jade Dragon Mountain while enemies plotted to kill him. In a cave, he advanced the Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture to its third stage and expanded his mental perception.

• Xu Yang consumed spirit herbs and absorbed the Spirit Tower's qi to break through to the fourth layer of the Azure Dragon Tyrant Body, then spent several days consolidating his strength.
• Qiu He invited Xu Yang to explore Jade Dragon Mountain, but Xu Yang refused; after Huo Xiaochен reached the fourth heavenly origin, the academy issued more mountain missions.
• Xu Yang accepted missions to gather starlight grass, flame marrow crystals, and Monkey Wine, prepared supplies, and set out for Jade Dragon Mountain.
• Lu Ren persuaded Shen Lian to join him in targeting Xu Yang, while Li Chuyang and Li Lingdu also left to hunt him down.
• Xu Yang traveled through Jade Dragon Mountain, gathered herbs, and stopped in a cave to advance the Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture and Golden Astral Skill.
• Xu Yang broke through the Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture to its third stage, extending his mental energy to perceive everything within five li.

Xu Yang awakened his mental will, killed a giant ape that proved to be a primordial variant beast, and used its blood to improve his bone root while refining its essence blood. As he cultivated in a cave, Xiao Ya and her companions attacked him with a Thunderfire Bomb, but the rubble burst outward with a terrifying aura.

• Xu Yang's mental will advanced enough to attack without touch and fly without relying on astral energy, while his cultivation and physical strength improved.
• Xu Yang found a fifty-five-year-old Scarlet Blood Lingzhi guarded by a giant ape and killed the beast with his saber techniques.
• Xu Yang collected the giant ape's essence blood and bathed in its ordinary blood, raising his bone root from 191 to 197 before settling in a cave to refine the essence blood.
• Xiao Ya, Zhang Hanzhou, Brother Wang, and Old Zhao plotted to kill Xu Yang and feed him to Xiao Ya's One-Horned Tiger-Striped Leopard.
• Brother Wang hurled a Thunderfire Bomb into Xu Yang's cave, collapsing it, but the rubble then exploded outward as a terrifying aura surged from within.

Xu Yang defeated and killed Xiao Ya and her companions after they ambushed him, then refined the Giant Ape’s essence blood and went to Moon Peak. There, Lu Ren and Shen Lian recognized his concealed saber and planned to attack him after nightfall, while Xu Yang assessed the mountain and left at dawn without encountering them.

• Xu Yang emerged from the cave and overwhelmed Brother Wang, Old Zhao, and Xiao Ya’s group, killing them after learning they had come to ambush him.
• Xu Yang collected essence blood and useful supplies from the bodies, then spent three days refining the Giant Ape’s essence blood and improving his Azure Dragon Tyrant Body.
• Lu Ren and Shen Lian recognized Xu Yang by the outline of his concealed saber as he approached Moon Peak, and decided to wait until night to strike.
• Xu Yang spent the night on Moon Peak observing its visitors and starlight grass, but neither found the people he sought nor harvested any grass.
• Xu Yang concluded that no formidable expert was present on Moon Peak and left at dawn, while Lu Ren noticed his departure.

Xu Yang’s former rivals Shen Lian and Lu Ren ambushed him in the mountains, but he revealed his true cultivation and overwhelming martial arts, killed them, and left before anyone could investigate. Other Heavenly Strategy Academy students later found the ruined mountainside and dismissed the dead men as failed bandits.

• Shen Lian and Lu Ren followed Xu Yang into a deserted stretch of mountains and revealed themselves as they prepared to kill him.
• Xu Yang recognized Shen Lian, learned that the pair had tracked him by his Heavenly Star Saber, and faced Shen Lian’s attack with his own High-Grade Spirit Weapon.
• Xu Yang revealed his fourth Heavenly Origin cultivation, Azure Dragon Tyrant Body, and mastery of the Dragon Elephant Heart Sutra, then defeated Shen Lian and Lu Ren with the recoil from their saber clash.
• Xu Yang rejected Shen Lian’s offer of wealth and killed him, then ignored Lu Ren’s pleas and beheaded him as well.
• Xu Yang took the two men’s weapons and belongings, destroyed their bodies, and fled the area.
• Zuo Mu, Wen Shan, and other Heavenly Strategy Academy students found the devastated mountainside and left without identifying the corpses.

Xu Yang hid Lu Ren’s and Shen Lian’s weapons, then tried to gather starlight grass on Moon Peak while learning that powerful experts avoided the mountain for unknown reasons. After finally seizing a nearly forty-year-old stalk, he fled from the martial artists who pursued him, revealing his concealed Fourth Heavenly Origin cultivation.

• Xu Yang buried Lu Ren’s Mid-Grade Spirit Weapon and Shen Lian’s High-Grade Spirit Weapon, then resumed cultivating in the mountains.
• Li Lingdu explained to Li Chuyang that experts avoided Moon Peak and used a Heavenly Strategy Academy waist token to sense other academy members as they entered Flame Prison Gorge.
• Xu Yang repeatedly failed to gather starlight grass with his mental power, but eventually uprooted a ten-year-old stalk from close range and continued cultivating for several days.
• At Moon Peak, Xu Yang overheard martial artists discuss suspected Heaven-Burning Sect abductions and blood-seed cultivation in Jade Dragon Mountain.
• Xu Yang seized a nearly forty-year-old stalk of starlight grass that appeared beside him and escaped as the nearby martial artists attacked and gave chase.
• Xu Yang revealed his concealed Fourth Heavenly Origin cultivation while fleeing, causing some pursuers to return to Moon Peak while several continued after him.

Xu Yang fought off the cultivators pursuing his forty-year-old starlight grass, revealing the power of the Azure Dragon Tyrant Body and killing them one by one. When Fifth Heavenly Origin cultivator Zhang Chengze arrived and demanded the grass, Xu Yang defeated him in a brutal head-on clash.

• Wen Shan asked the Heavenly Strategy Academy students whether they wanted to join the scramble, but Zuo Mu warned them that their cultivation was too low.
• Xu Yang stored the starlight grass in a Spirit Box and led his pursuers away from Moon Peak as they attacked him on the way.
• The pursuers turned on one another, and Xu Yang revealed his strength, killing five fourth heavenly origin cultivators and the wounded Bronze-Skinned Man.
• Zhang Chengze arrived with a Mid-Grade Spirit Weapon and demanded the starlight grass, but Xu Yang struck his saber away with a bare-handed punch.
• Xu Yang overpowered Zhang Chengze, broke his arms and chest, then seized him by the ankle and slammed him into the ground.

Xu Yang killed Zhang Chengze over the forty-year-old starlight grass, then traveled toward Flame Prison Gorge disguised as a third heavenly origin cultivator. There, Li Lingdu and Li Chuyang attacked him, and Xu Yang revealed his fourth heavenly origin cultivation, spirit bones, and extraordinary martial arts as he faced Li Lingdu’s full power.

• Xu Yang killed Zhang Chengze, collected the battlefield spoils, and suspected that Moon Peak used old starlight grass to lure martial artists into deadly fights.
• Xu Yang left Moon Peak and traveled toward Flame Prison Gorge while Li Lingdu and Li Chuyang waited there, hoping to ambush him before he entered the Middle Court.
• Li Lingdu and Li Chuyang mistook the disguised Xu Yang for their target and attacked him; Xu Yang dodged Li Lingdu’s Diamond Great Hand Seal and revealed his fourth heavenly origin cultivation.
• Xu Yang and Li Lingdu clashed with Diamond Great Hand Seal, and Li Chuyang recognized that Xu Yang had mastered the Dragon Elephant Heart Sutra and Azure Dragon Tyrant Body.
• Li Lingdu summoned his Heaven-Shaking martial dao phenomenon, but Xu Yang unsealed his spirit bones and drew the gathered power of heaven and earth toward himself.
• Li Lingdu rushed Xu Yang and unleashed the Three Yin Silver Palace Profound Astral True Art as Xu Yang’s spirit bones shone.

Xu Yang fought Li Lingdu, used his hidden armor and abilities to turn the battle around, and killed him with the Heavenly Star Saber. He also killed Li Chuyang, then took their belongings and left.

• Xu Yang matched Li Lingdu’s fists and wounded him with Dragon and Elephant First Appear.
• Li Lingdu struck Xu Yang, but Xu Yang’s high-grade spirit weapon inner armor absorbed most of the blow, allowing him to counterattack and shatter Li Lingdu’s chest.
• Li Lingdu doubled his strength with the Eight Fiends Subduing Dragon Force, but Xu Yang reinforced himself with mental will and endured the clash.
• Xu Yang used the Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture to stun Li Lingdu, then cut him in two with the Heavenly Star Saber.
• Li Chuyang attacked Xu Yang in a rage, but Xu Yang knocked him down, confronted him with Li Lingdu’s corpse, and beheaded him.
• Xu Yang searched both men, took Li Chuyang’s waist token, destroyed the corpses, and left.

Xu Yang recovered from his fight with Li Lingdu and spent half a month cultivating in Flame Prison Gorge before killing a Han Family pursuer and escaping two sixth heavenly origin experts. After finding desiccated victims and encountering Shen Juelin of the Heaven-Burning Sect, Xu Yang revealed himself as a Spirit Bone Prodigy and began a fierce battle.

• Xu Yang recovered his strength, returned to Flame Prison Gorge, and refined the Giant Ape's essence blood while collecting flame marrow crystals.
• Xu Yang seized a supreme flame marrow crystal and killed a fifth heavenly origin member of the Han Family, then escaped his two sixth heavenly origin brothers by hiding his aura in the forest.
• Xu Yang finished refining his blood energy and headed toward Thousand Monkey Ridge, where he found desiccated human and beast corpses that he recognized as victims of the Heaven-Burning Sect.
• Shen Juelin, a candidate true disciple of the Heaven-Burning Sect, attacked Xu Yang and tried to plant a blood seed in him.
• Xu Yang fought back, revealed his true appearance and Spirit Bone Martial Art, and struck Shen Juelin with Elephant Suppresses the Eight Desolations as Shen Juelin answered with Southern Bright Demonfire Palm.

Xu Yang killed Shen Juelin and escaped the Heaven-Burning Sect’s pursuit with a mysterious seed, then reached Thousand Monkey Ridge seeking Monkey Wine and the Iron-Arm Monkey King’s essence blood. As another hunter fought the king and its troop, Xu Yang spotted an opportunity to sneak into the Monkey Wine cave.

• Xu Yang overcame Shen Juelin’s demonic techniques with the Eight Desolations Demon-Subduing Fist, killed him, and destroyed the Karma-Flame Mark with his saber, though its lingering energy escaped.
• Two Heaven-Burning Sect members found Shen Juelin’s remains and missing Bodhi Swordheart Seed, while Shen Juefeng traced the killer’s martial arts to a Spirit Bone Prodigy from the Heavenly Strategy Academy and set out for the Cloud Province Branch Altar.
• Xu Yang searched Shen Juelin’s bag, destroyed the cruel Southern Bright Demonfire Palm manual, and kept a mysterious seed before continuing toward Thousand Monkey Ridge.
• Xu Yang found the Iron-Arm Monkey King drinking Monkey Wine and eating spirit iron, then watched another cultivator launch a surprise sword attack against it.
• The Iron-Arm Monkey King shattered the attacker’s sword strike and led its troop in surrounding him, giving Xu Yang a chance to approach the cave where the Monkey Wine was stored.

Xu Yang returned from Jade Dragon Mountain carrying Monkey Wine and was ambushed by Ma Daxing and his companions, whom he defeated with his concealed Fourth Heavenly Origin cultivation and Azure Dragon Tyrant Body. Yang Hongliang revealed that a hidden figure called Young Master Jade had directed them, and Xu Yang entered the Heavenly Strategy Academy after claiming the bounty and disguising his breakthrough as recent.

• Xu Yang stole Monkey Wine from the Iron-Arm Monkey King’s cave, then continued toward Moon Peak while avoiding the area where he had killed Shen Juelin.
• Ma Daxing learned from Young Master Jade’s letter that Xu Yang was in Jade Dragon Mountain and led his companions to ambush him on his route back to the Heavenly Strategy Academy.
• Xu Yang revealed his Fourth Heavenly Origin cultivation and Azure Dragon Tyrant Body, defeating Ma Daxing’s group in a clash of High-Grade Spirit Weapons that killed the other ambushers.
• Yang Hongliang accused Young Master Jade of using them to eliminate the Blackwater Spirit Loach plot’s witnesses, while Ma Daxing killed Yang Hongliang and then died after Xu Yang captured him too late.
• Xu Yang collected the ambushers’ heads and Ma Daxing’s High-Grade Spirit Weapon, altered the battlefield to suggest a prolonged fight, and disguised his breakthrough as recent.
• Xu Yang entered the Heavenly Strategy Academy, where the students stopped and stared at his newly displayed Fourth Heavenly Origin aura.

Xu Yang returned from Jade Dragon Mountain as a Fourth Heavenly Origin cultivator and reported the ambush by Ma Daxing’s group to the academy, revealing their link to someone called Young Master Jade. The academy suspected Han Yu but found no proof, while Xu Yang returned to his courtyard, gave Xu Qing Giant Ape essence blood, and prepared to show her another treasure.

• Xu Yang revealed his breakthrough to Fourth Heavenly Origin at the academy and visited Teacher Jin Yu with the severed heads of Ma Daxing’s group.
• Xu Yang told Jin Yu and Dean Chu Nangui that Ma Daxing’s group had ambushed him and that their hidden patron was called Young Master Jade.
• Chu Nangui and Jin Yu suspected Han Yu of the Han Family, but found no evidence at the battlefield and decided to investigate secretly.
• Xu Yang returned to his courtyard, learned that Su Jingxing had tried to buy his essence of earth, and promised Xu Qing an alchemy furnace.
• Xu Yang gave Xu Qing the Giant Ape’s essence blood to improve her bone root, then told her he had another treasure for her.

Xu Yang divided his spoils with Xu Qing, submitted missions for academic credits, and raised his bone root to 300 after returning to the academy. He then went to the Pill Pavilion to exchange for a pill recipe, where he encountered Ye Qiuling.

• Xu Yang gave Xu Qing Monkey Wine, identified the Bodhi Swordheart seed with her, and handed her forty-year-old starlight grass and other spirit herbs.
• Xu Yang submitted his missions, earned 570 academic credits, collected his Wind and Cloud Rankings rewards, and celebrated with Zuo Mu, Wen Shan, Jiang Fan, and Jiang Yan.
• Xu Yang learned that experts above the sixth heavenly origin avoided Moon Peak, then returned home and found Xu Qing unconscious after drinking Monkey Wine.
• Xu Yang increased his bone root to 300 using his points and overheard rumors about a mystic treasure on Jade Dragon Mountain.
• Xu Yang entered the Pill Pavilion to exchange for the Dragon-Tiger Profound Connection Pill recipe, and Ye Qiuling noticed him with hostility.

Xu Yang studied the Dragon-Tiger Profound Connection Pill and its secret alchemy arts, while Xu Qing improved her talent with starlight grass. After Xu Yang cultivated in the Spirit Tower, he learned that Shen Juefeng was hunting for his brother’s killer, unaware that Xu Yang had killed Shen Juelin and escaped the Karma-Flame Mark’s tracking.

• Xu Yang exchanged academic credits for the Dragon-Tiger Profound Connection Pill recipe and three secret alchemy arts, then began studying them.
• Xu Qing consumed starlight grass and raised her bone root to A-Grade Upper and her comprehension to A-Grade Lower.
• Xu Yang mastered all three secret alchemy arts, entered the Spirit Tower, and spent half a month cultivating.
• Han Qian identified Xu Yang as a suspect in his third brother’s death, while Shen Juefeng arrived at Jade Dragon Mountain, killed one subordinate, and ordered another to find Shen Juelin’s killer within two months.
• Xu Yang collected extra bounty credits for killing Ma Daxing’s gang and heard that Shen Juefeng was searching Cloud Province for his brother’s killer.
• Jiang Fan explained that the Karma-Flame Mark could identify Shen Juelin’s killer if any part of it remained, and Chen Jian, Lu Jiang, and others insisted the academy could oppose Shen Juefeng.

Xu Yang learned that Lu Ren, Shen Lian, Li Chuyang, and Li Lingdu had died, then collected academic credits and chose new techniques at the Martial Repository Hall. He revealed his fourth Heavenly Origin cultivation to Elder Mu and said he would move to the Middle Court after settling his affairs in the Lower Court.

• Jiang Fan rebuked Liu Gao for blaming Shen Juelin's killer, and Xu Yang's warning about hidden agents made the dining hall suspect Liu Gao.
• A student announced that Lu Ren and Shen Lian were dead, and then revealed that Li Chuyang and his father, Li Lingdu, were missing and presumed dead.
• Xu Yang trained Xu Qing in combat, while Qi Xuancheng left the Li Family seeking refuge and learned that Zhang Hanzhou had died in Jade Dragon Mountain.
• Ye Qiuling divided Lu Ren's and Li Chuyang's academic credits among herself, Xu Yang, and Jiang Fan, then agreed to deliver their belongings.
• Xu Yang spent academic credits to obtain the Void Dragon Steps, the Spring Silkworm Salvation Art, and the remaining portions of the Eight Desolations Demon-Subduing Fist and the Primordial Dragon Elephant Fist.
• Xu Yang showed Elder Mu that he had reached Fourth Heavenly Origin, said he would enter the Middle Court after handling Lower Court matters, and offered him Monkey Wine.

Xu Yang prepared for dangers connected to the Han Family by gaining a Thunderfire Bomb, tempering his body, and forging two spirit weapon alchemy furnaces. He learned the Dragon-Tiger Profound Connection Pill and set out to find its ingredients.

• Elder Mu warned Xu Yang that the Han Family was protected by its imperial ties and that he would eventually have to face Han Yu himself; Xu Yang studied several arts and gained enough points to enhance the Dragon-Tiger Profound Connection Pill.
• Xu Yang asked Jiang Fan and Jiang Yan to turn his supreme flame marrow crystal into a Thunderfire Bomb capable of killing a ninth-heavenly-origin expert, then spent twelve days refining the Scarlet Blood Lingzhi and strengthening his body.
• Xu Yang learned that the Han Family suspected him of killing Han Feng and that other factions were investigating several deaths connected to him.
• Su Jingxing offered Xu Yang an unfavorable trade for his essence of earth, but Xu Yang refused and went to forge two spirit weapon alchemy furnaces.
• Chu Nangui decided not to intervene in Han Jun and Han Qian's investigation, while arranging for Xu Qing to remain at the academy for protection.
• Xu Yang gave Xu Qing one of the finished furnaces, used his points to master the Dragon-Tiger Profound Connection Pill, and went to look for its ingredients.