Chapter Summaries

After Xu Taiping defeated Ye Feiyu, observers reconsidered his strength while discussing the hidden abilities of Chenglong Heaven’s Dongfang Yuejian and Zhu Qiongmo. The next match was announced as Dongfang Yuejian versus Gongshu Bai, and the Third Prince prepared to watch her closely as a possible future opponent.

• Mu Yuchen and Mu Yun discussed Xu Taiping’s victory and anticipated that Dongfang Yuejian might reveal her full strength against Gongshu Bai.
• Zhu Huai told the Third Prince that Dongfang Yuejian and Zhu Qiongmo had grasped true intent and wielded ancient Immortal Treasures.
• Zhu Huai warned the Third Prince that Xu Taiping’s Martial Dao Ultimate Intent could potentially lead to Domain Power, prompting him to abandon his disdain for Xu Taiping.
• Prefect Qiu Shanyuan announced Dongfang Yuejian’s match against Gongshu Bai, and Zhu Huai urged the Third Prince to focus on her as a likely next-round opponent.

Xu Taiping returned to watch the Golden Scale Assembly and learned that Dongfang Yuejian might have comprehended the true intent of spells. He watched as Gongshu Bai attacked her with powerful mechanical puppets, but the battle remained unresolved.

• Xu Taiping returned to the pavilion to watch more matches, and Chu Xiaoxiao declared him her own brother after winning again.
• Zhang Moyan told Xu Taiping that Western Liang elders had sensed the true intent of spells from Dongfang Yuejian.
• Xu Taiping learned that cultivators below the Transformation Realm could comprehend true intent and watched Dongfang Yuejian's match closely.
• Gongshu Bai sent two enormous humanoid puppets to attack Dongfang Yuejian with blazing saber strikes.
• A blue feather raised a wind wall that blocked the puppets' first attack, and Gongshu Bai followed with another strike from four sabers that engulfed Dongfang Yuejian in blade light.

Dongfang Yuejian used One Stroke Opens Heaven to pin Gongshu Bai’s two puppets beneath mountain talismans, revealing that she had inherited a rare Origin Law. The puppets broke free and attacked again, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Dongfang Yuejian’s feather shield shattered under the puppets’ saber strikes, and she drew mountain-character talismans with her brush.
• The mountain talismans forced Gongshu Bai’s two puppets to their knees, prompting Lu Rushuang and Zhang Moyan to recognize One Stroke Opens Heaven.
• Zhang Moyan explained to Xu Taiping that One Stroke Opens Heaven was a rare Origin Law preserved from Primordial Antiquity, and Lu Rushuang said Dongfang Yuejian had become its successor.
• Gongshu Bai’s puppets spat a rain of fire, while Dongfang Yuejian rode a Luan Bird phantom to evade the flames.
• The mountain talismans shattered, and the puppets rose again; Lu Rushuang noted Dongfang Yuejian’s shallow cultivation, while Zhang Moyan praised Gongshu Bai’s ability to control two Immortal Treasure-grade puppets.

Dongfang Yuejian used One Stroke Opens Heaven to paint the Purple-Sashed Immortal Garment and Immortal-Slaying Sword, defeating Gongshu Bai in the Golden Scale Assembly match. After his puppets went out of control and attacked her, she painted a three-zhang figure of Xu Taiping in his Dragon Whale Body to protect her.

• Xu Taiping said Dongfang Yuejian would make the remaining Golden Scale Assembly matches pointless if she could use One Stroke Opens Heaven at full power.
• Dongfang Yuejian painted the Purple-Sashed Immortal Garment and Immortal-Slaying Sword, then swept aside Gongshu Bai's flaming arrows and shattered his spherical chariot with a sword strike.
• Gongshu Bai yielded, and Dongfang Yuejian dismissed her painted relics after landing.
• Gongshu Bai's humanoid puppets suddenly went out of control and attacked Dongfang Yuejian as she was weakened.
• Dongfang Yuejian used her remaining True Essence to paint a towering figure of Xu Taiping, who shattered both puppets' blades with one punch.

After the fourth round, Mu Yun and Mu Yuchen discussed Dongfang Yuejian’s ability to draw a powerful copy of Xu Taiping and checked the fifth-round match roster. Xu Taiping and his companions also considered the puppet sabotage, while Mu Yun became alarmed that he could not remember Xu Taiping’s next opponent.

• Mu Yun explained that Dongfang Yuejian could draw exact copies of cultivators and that her drawn Xu Taiping’s strength suggested the real Xu Taiping had held back against Ye Feiyu.
• Mu Yuchen and Mu Yun checked the fifth-round roster and were relieved that Ji Ye had avoided several powerful opponents.
• Mu Yun noticed Xu Taiping’s next opponent’s name and feared the person had used a curse to make everyone forget him.
• Xu Taiping asked Chu Tiancheng about Gongshu Bai’s runaway puppets and suspected someone had tampered with them, but Lu Rushuang warned him not to investigate further.
• Xu Taiping recalled the Seven-Kill Tribulation and wondered whether Dongfang Yuejian had suffered a similar curse as the Spirit Mirror began displaying the next match roster.

Xu Taiping learned that Zhou Yuanqing of the Mystic Blade Sect had been hidden from notice by a forbidden Mind-Blinding Curse, and prepared to investigate his next opponent. A delivered Moonshadow Stone then revealed that Duan Xiaoyu was imprisoned and being tortured by the sect, where she declared Xu Taiping her eldest brother.

• Chu Tiancheng read that Xu Taiping would face Zhou Yuanqing of the Mystic Blade Sect in the next round.
• Lu Rushuang explained that the Mystic Blade Sect had likely used a Mind-Blinding Curse to keep Zhou Yuanqing unnoticed, despite its devastating cost to the caster.
• Chu Tiancheng agreed to investigate Zhou Yuanqing before the match.
• A little girl delivered a cloth bag containing a Moonshadow Stone and a Voice Transmission Jade Slip to the Mysterious Cloud Martial Hall.
• Xu Taiping activated the Moonshadow Stone and saw Duan Xiaoyu being tortured in a prison cell.
• Duan Xiaoyu defied her captors and said that Xu Taiping was her eldest brother.

Xu Taiping and his companions linked Mo Yu to the threat against Duan Xiaoyu, and he confronted her through a Voice Transmission Jade Slip. Mo Yu demanded that he fight in the next round without true essence or protective dharma treasures, leaving Xu Taiping to face her threat and her furious denial that jealousy motivated her.

• Xu Taiping explained to Lu Rushuang and Chu Tiancheng that Mo Yu had taken Duan Xiaoyu after Mo Hai’s attempt to destroy the Heavenly Blade Sect was foiled.
• Lu Rushuang and Chu Xiaoxiao suspected the Mystic Blade Sect had planned to use Duan Xiaoyu to threaten Xu Taiping, and Lu Rushuang urged him to contact them.
• Xu Taiping contacted Mo Yu, who denied being involved with the Mystic Blade Sect and said she wanted him disgraced in the upcoming matches.
• Mo Yu threatened to have Duan Xiaoyu killed unless Xu Taiping fought using only blood qi and his physique, without true essence or protective dharma treasures.
• Xu Taiping suggested Mo Yu was driven by jealousy rather than rage, and she angrily told him to shut up.

Xu Taiping negotiated with Mo Yu to trade a match result for Duan Xiaoyu’s life, while secretly planning to use Bai Yu and Ping'an to locate her. Mo Yu agreed to provide Duan Xiaoyu’s location under a Blood Oath, then summoned Xu Taiping to a restaurant with a promised gift.

• Xu Taiping demanded proof that Mo Yu held Duan Xiaoyu and proposed written location details and a Blood Oath in exchange for forfeiting his match.
• Bai Yu and Ping'an told Xu Taiping they could locate Duan Xiaoyu by sensing her aura, so he accepted Mo Yu’s terms without explaining his plan to Lu Rushuang and the others.
• When Mo Yu refused to let him sense her blood qi, Xu Taiping threatened her with Mo Hai’s suffering soul, and Mo Yu agreed to his demands.
• The next day, Xu Taiping arrived alone at the Guest-Retaining Abode in the Southern Chu Imperial Capital, where Mo Yu directed him to a lavish gift in a third-floor room.
• Xu Taiping took Little Monkey and Bai Yu upstairs to see what Mo Yu had left for him.

At the Guest-Retaining Abode, Xu Taiping examined Mo Yu’s sealed message and learned the conditions she had set for the Golden Scale Assembly. He confirmed Mo Yu’s presence nearby and prepared to test whether she was truly acting on her own.

• A shop assistant gave Xu Taiping a wooden box containing a Bronze Casket, an elephant-bone bracelet, and an oath contract bearing Mo Yu’s bloody handprint.
• Mo Yu explained that the Bronze Casket concealed Duan Xiaoyu’s location and Bai Yu said it could see through the casket, though doing so would consume Demonic Power and Blood Qi.
• Mo Yu swore the location in the casket was accurate until the competition ended, and the oath contract burned to confirm that her vow had taken effect.
• Mo Yu demanded that Xu Taiping wear the bracelet, which grew heavy by absorbing his Blood Qi, and wait half an incense stick after the match began before conceding.
• Xu Taiping sensed Mo Yu’s Qi and Blood three or four li northeast of the Guest-Retaining Abode, then asked whether her demands had been planned by her or the Mystic Blade Sect.

Xu Taiping learned that Su Chan was connected to Duan Xiaoyu’s abduction and discovered that Xiaoyu was being held at Mad Wolf Stronghold in the Cloud Emergence Kingdom. With the competition looming, he prepared to ask the kingdom’s major temples for help, while Monk Chongde suggested Xu Taiping had enough influence to persuade them.

• Ping'an relayed the abducting woman’s thoughts, revealing that Su Chan had anticipated Xu Taiping might discover the truth, and Bai Yu confirmed she was the woman who had abducted Duan Xiaoyu.
• Xu Taiping refused to pursue the woman, fearing he would endanger Xiaoyu and lose his lead on Su Chan; Ping'an then reported that she planned to have Xiaoyu killed when the competition began.
• Bai Yu used his Heavenly Eye Ability to locate Xiaoyu at Mad Wolf Stronghold, a former Mystic Blade Sect branch hall that had pledged allegiance to the Heavenly Wolf King.
• Xu Taiping told Lu Rushuang and Chu Tiancheng that he would seek help from friends, then received from Monk Chongde a Jade Disc that could contact the major temples in the Cloud Emergence Kingdom.
• Monk Chongde told Xu Taiping that the temples would give his request more weight than his own.

Xu Taiping used a Message Jade Disc to ask the Cloud Emergence Kingdom’s Five Great Buddhist Temples for help rescuing his friend from Mad Wolf Stronghold. After learning more about the temples’ strained relationship with the Imperial Court, he contacted all five abbots and asked them to send help before the hour of the rooster the day after tomorrow.

• Chu Tiancheng explained that the Imperial Court had suppressed the Chan School and that Goddess of War Jiang Cuicui distrusted Chan cultivators.
• Monk Chongde said the Five Great Buddhist Temples had lost heart after years of hostility and were reluctant to send monks to their deaths.
• Lu Rushuang warned that Cloud Emergence Kingdom could become a demon domain unless Jiang Cuicui lifted the kingdom-sealing edict.
• Xu Taiping activated the Message Jade Disc and saw the names of the five temples appear on it.
• Xu Taiping sent all five abbots a request for help rescuing his imprisoned friend from Mad Wolf Stronghold before the hour of the rooster the day after tomorrow.

Xu Taiping sought Buddhist allies to help rescue Xiaoyu from Mad Wolf Stronghold and learned that Xuanzhi had reached the Diamond Realm. Xuanzhi agreed to join the mission with eighteen Scripture Guardians from Cloud-Hidden Temple, leaving Chongde astonished.

• Xu Taiping sent messages to the five major temples in the Cloud Emergence Kingdom and contacted Xuanzhi for help.
• Xu Taiping told Chongde and Lu Rushuang that Xuanzhi had reached the Diamond Realm after drawing Demonic Beasts away at Tianhai Pass.
• Xuanzhi replied that Cloud-Hidden Temple would send him and eighteen Scripture Guardians to help rescue Xiaoyu.
• Chongde reacted with shock at the number of Scripture Guardians, while Xu Taiping asked whether eighteen was a lot.

Xu Taiping learned that Cloud-Hidden Temple had sent all eighteen Scripture Guardians to help rescue Xiaoyu, and the Five Great Buddhist Temples soon pledged their abbots and resources as well. The chapter ended with Lu Rushuang and Chu Tiancheng questioning how Xu Taiping had earned such extraordinary support.

• Chu Tiancheng and Lu Rushuang explained that Cloud-Hidden Temple had eighteen Scripture Guardians, and Xu Taiping confirmed that Xuanzhi had sent them all at the abbot’s command.
• Lu Rushuang said Cloud-Hidden Temple’s aid could ease their burden and might let them rescue Xiaoyu before the Golden Scale Assembly.
• Dharma Master Chongde anxiously waited for replies from the Five Great Buddhist Temples while Xu Taiping reassured him that the temples’ wartime limits were understandable.
• The Jade Disc displayed messages from the abbots of Vairocana Temple, Prajna Temple, Brahma Sound Temple, Mercy Relief Temple, and White Horse Temple, each promising help against Mad Wolf Stronghold.
• Chongde wondered whether these were really the abbots he knew, while Lu Rushuang and Chu Tiancheng asked Xu Taiping whether he had truly done them only a few small favors.

As Xu Taiping prepared to face Zhou Yuanqing in the fifth round of the Golden Scale Assembly, his allies discussed the formidable contenders and searched for Mo Yu and Su Chan. Lu Rushuang reported that the rescue team had reached Mad Wolf Valley but needed more time to protect Xiaoyu.

• Dugu Qingxiao, Jiang Zhi, Xu Ziyan, and Lin Buyu discussed Chu Yinan's concealed strength and Zhu Qiongmo's power.
• Zhao Linglong and the others noted that Xu Taiping had drawn Zhou Yuanqing and could reach the top fifteen, while Jiang Zhi warned against underestimating his opponent.
• Bai Yu and Ping'an failed to find Mo Yu at the Golden Scale Platform as Lu Rushuang contacted Xuanzhi about Xiaoyu's rescue.
• Qiu Shanyuan announced Xu Taiping's match against Zhou Yuanqing, and the steward recited the Golden Scale Ranking's rules.
• Lu Rushuang told Chu Tiancheng that Xuanzhi and the Buddhist rescue team had reached Mad Wolf Valley but were waiting for the Mind-Cleansing Bell's Killing-Stopping Mantra to be cast.

Xu Taiping fought Zhou Yuanqing on the Golden Scale Platform while his allies tried to rescue Duan Xiaoyu, and Mo Yu threatened him against using True Essence. After Zhou Yuanqing easily knocked him down, Xu Taiping recognized how much he had relied on protective treasures and invited his opponent to strike again.

• Lu Rushuang told Chu Tiancheng to signal Xu Taiping that the rescue was progressing but still needed time, and Chu Tiancheng displayed the agreed gesture with Little Monkey Ping'an on his head.
• Xu Taiping saw the signal and prepared to endure the match, knowing the Elephant Demon Bone Bracelet suppressed his qi and blood and restricted his physique.
• Mo Yu warned Xu Taiping not to use True Essence and threatened that Duan Xiaoyu would die if he disobeyed.
• Zhou Yuanqing challenged Xu Taiping to a fist contest and struck him down twice while Xu Taiping was unable to defend himself effectively.
• Xu Taiping got back up, realized he had relied too heavily on protective qi and treasures, and beckoned Zhou Yuanqing to punch him again.

The five abbots of the Cloud Emergence Kingdom prepared to enter Mad Wolf Stronghold and rescue Duan Xiaoyu, suspecting that a powerful danger inside was behind Cloud-Hidden Temple’s involvement. After discussing Ancient Buddha Kasyapa’s possible test, they armed themselves for a violent assault.

• Hongci completed the Killing-Stopping Mantra, which would suppress faint killing intent in Mad Wolf Stronghold for only a short time.
• Qingde warned the other abbots that Cloud-Hidden Temple’s arrival might be a test from Ancient Buddha Kasyapa and could threaten their lineage’s blessings.
• Guangji argued that the true danger lay in Mad Wolf Stronghold, where something powerful enough to concern Ancient Buddha Kasyapa had captured Miss Xiaoyu.
• Hongci, Qingde, and Huiming revealed the weapons and armor they would bring into the stronghold.
• Guangji told the abbots to show no mercy to anyone who resisted, then raised his Kṣetra Banner and uprooted trees with its wind.

The abbots of the Cloud Emergence Kingdom’s Five Great Chan Temples attacked Mad Wolf Stronghold, convinced something was wrong there and determined to rescue Miss Xiaoyu. They found her likely location underground and nearly destroyed the stronghold’s Transformation realm defender in a combined strike.

• Abbot Guangji drove the Werewolf Demons away from Mad Wolf Valley’s entrance and told Master Xuanzhi to hold the valley while the abbots went to rescue Miss Xiaoyu.
• Huiming shattered Mad Wolf Stronghold’s gate with the Hayagriva Vidyaraja Seal after guards revealed that the Profound Saber Sect occupied the stronghold.
• The abbots attacked the Mystic Blade Sect cultivators after sensing that an elder was lying about their affiliation.
• Abbot Qingde detected a gravely wounded woman in a dungeon beneath the stronghold and suspected she was Miss Xiaoyu.
• A Transformation realm expert attacked with a massive blade shadow, but the five abbots’ combined artifacts shattered it and nearly destroyed him.

Abbot Guangze and the other abbots continued attacking the Mystic Blade Sect elder’s protected Primordial Spirit while Xuanzhi rescued Duan Xiaoyu from the dungeon. After Xuanzhi confirmed she was safe, Lu Rushuang told Chu Tiancheng that Xu Taiping could finally act without restraint.

• Abbot Guangze and the other abbots struck the Mystic Blade Sect elder’s Primordial Spirit again, determined to destroy it despite its protection.
• Xuanzhi entered Mad Wolf Stronghold with the Eighteen Cloud-Hidden Temple Scripture Guardians and led them underground to rescue Duan Xiaoyu.
• Xuanzhi defeated a dungeon guard, confirmed Duan Xiaoyu’s identity, and used Xu Taiping’s voice on a Communication Jade Slip to reassure her.
• Duan Xiaoyu broke down sobbing after Xuanzhi told her Xu Taiping had sent him to bring her home.
• Xuanzhi told Senior Lu that Duan Xiaoyu had been found and asked her to tell Xu Taiping he could cut loose.
• Lu Rushuang told the anxious Chu Tiancheng that Duan Xiaoyu had been rescued.

Xu Taiping endured Zhou Yuanqing’s attacks on the Golden Scale Platform while secretly testing how well the Mountain-Bearing Form could redirect force. As Xu Taiping recognized that his fist technique had not reached great completion, his companions suspected Zhou Yuanqing’s Mystic Blade Sect might be using Duan Xiaoyu to threaten him.

• Xu Taiping asked Zhou Yuanqing for another punch and blocked it with the Mountain-Bearing Form, but the blow sent him tumbling and spectators began to suspect foul play or a secret deal.
• Mu Yuchen accused Xu Taiping of deliberately losing, while Mu Yun said the Golden Scale Ranking would punish any willing surrender and noted that the two men had no known connection.
• At Profound Seclusion Abode, Lin Buyu insisted Xu Taiping would not make a deal, and Jiang Zhi and Dugu Qingxiao recalled that a Mystic Blade Sect cultivator had abducted Duan Xiaoyu years earlier.
• Zhao Linglong suspected the Mystic Blade Sect might be using Duan Xiaoyu to threaten Xu Taiping, and Dugu Qingxiao contacted Huang Que for information.
• Zhou Yuanqing battered Xu Taiping with punches and kicks, but Xu Taiping used the Mountain-Bearing Form to divert some of a punch’s force and realized his fist technique had not reached great completion.

Xu Taiping endured Zhou Yuanqing’s overwhelming attacks and refined his fist technique by borrowing the force of Zhou’s blows. After Xu landed a counterpunch that impressed the watching martial artists, Zhou drew his saber and slashed him across the back, leaving Xu’s survival uncertain.

• Zhou Yuanqing enlarged his body with blood qi and battered Xu Taiping, while spectators began to believe Zhou had a way to suppress Xu’s power.
• Mu Yuchen feared Xu’s injuries would ruin his physique, but Mu Yun realized Xu’s fist technique was improving with every exchange.
• Xu Taiping used his body and the Golden Scale Platform to redirect Zhou Yuanqing’s force, then borrowed it to strike Zhou in the chest.
• Mu Yun praised Xu’s counterpunch, and Martial God Zhu Huai told the Third Prince, Chu Yinan, to defeat Xu fairly on his behalf.
• Zhou Yuanqing drew his saber and cut a long wound across Xu Taiping’s back, prompting the Third Prince to add, “Provided he survives.”