Chapter Summaries

Xu Taiping broke through Ye Xuan’s Dragon Flame Art defenses with a carefully timed sequence of punches, but Ye Xuan revealed a stronger Dragon Flame Armor and emerged uninjured. Xu Taiping recognized that ordinary punches could no longer harm him, and the two faced off as he considered his next attack.

• Xu Taiping’s saber broke against Ye Xuan’s sword, and Ye Xuan’s Dragon Flame Art engulfed Xu Taiping in flames.
• Xu Taiping shed his Profound Ice Armor and continued punching, building Charging Ox Breaks the Formation to its hundred and eighth strike and blasting apart Ye Xuan’s protective dragon flame true Qi.
• Ye Xuan stopped his flight with his sword, then revealed Nether Gazing Realm aura and Dragon Flame Armor, having suffered no injuries.
• Xu Taiping recognized that ordinary punches could not penetrate Dragon Flame Armor, tore away his scorched silver silkworm silk cloth, and paced while considering another attack.

Xu Taiping endured Ye Xuan’s Ten Directions Sword and used the Mist-Borrowing Technique to launch a close-range counterattack. His blades failed to overcome Ye Xuan’s sword shadows and Dragon Flame Armor, so he attacked the armor’s momentary weakness with a rapid barrage of punches.

• Ye Xuan used the Ten Directions Sword to strike Xu Taiping repeatedly within a hundred feet, leaving him covered in wounds.
• Ye Xuan’s sweeping sword attack trapped Xu Taiping in a hundred-foot area, while the Cloud Tower disciples watched in shock.
• Xu Taiping used Wind Shadow Step to try to escape, but Ye Xuan’s sword broke his Profound Ice Armor.
• Xu Taiping enveloped Ye Xuan in mist with the improved Mist-Borrowing Technique and attacked with two blades.
• Ye Xuan’s sword shadows and Dragon Flame Armor stopped Xu Taiping’s blades, but Xu Taiping took the flames and struck Ye Xuan with a punch.
• Xu Taiping followed with a rapid barrage of alternating fists, using Charging Ox Breaks the Formation against Ye Xuan.

Xu Taiping broke Ye Xuan’s Dragon Flame Shield with the accumulated force of his punches and knocked him into the arena floor, but Ye Xuan rose at Nether Gazing Realm minor completion and demanded to continue. Ye Xuan invoked his Dao heart to pressure the sect leaders into letting the fight go on, leaving Xu Taiping abandoned as a sacrificial pawn.

• Xu Taiping’s final Charging Ox Breaks the Formation punch shattered Ye Xuan’s Dragon Flame Shield and smashed him into the arena.
• Qingxiao, Zhao Linglong, and Ziyan were stunned by Xu Taiping’s victory and his hidden cultivation and techniques.
• Ye Xuan climbed from the crater, revealed Nether Gazing Realm minor completion, and declared that the Sword Inquiry was not over.
• Zhao Linglong objected that Ye Xuan’s cultivation violated the rules, and First Peak’s Peak Lord told him to stop.
• Ye Xuan threatened that his Dao heart would find no peace unless he defeated Xu Taiping, and the sect leaders fell silent as Xu Taiping was left to face him.

Xu Taiping faced Ye Xuan after the Azure Profound Sect allowed their confrontation to continue and revealed that he had fought with at least two thousand jin of Ship-Ballast Iron strapped to his body. He challenged Ye Xuan to a Sword Inquiry, leaving their decisive fight about to begin.

• Zhao Linglong protested the unfairness, and Dugu Qingxiao left his seat intending to stop the Sword Inquiry.
• Master Qi urged Xu Taiping to concede, but the Sect Master pressured him to leave the arena; Xu Taiping thanked Master Qi for speaking up for him.
• Ye Xuan demanded that Xu Taiping face death, while Xu Taiping finished removing his scorched clothes and revealed the iron bars strapped around his body.
• Xu Taiping threw off the Ship-Ballast Iron and ankle shackles, and their crashes convinced the spectators that he had carried at least two thousand jin.
• Xu Taiping declared that his mortal bone meant he had to work harder, then formally challenged Ye Xuan to a Sword Inquiry.

Xu Taiping overwhelmed Ye Xuan with his extraordinary physical speed and strength, then revealed Nether Gazing Realm cultivation and broke through Ye Xuan’s sword-qi defenses. The chapter ended with Xu Taiping’s Steel-Breaking slash cleaving open Ye Xuan’s protective sword qi.

• Ye Xuan attacked Xu Taiping with the Ten Directions Sword’s Torrential Rain, but Xu Taiping struck him from behind with a series of powerful punches.
• Xu Ziyan realized Xu Taiping’s speed and strength came from years of tempering his body with two thousand jin of ship-ballast iron.
• Xu Taiping drew his saber and attacked a gap in Ye Xuan’s Dragon Flame Armor, but Ye Xuan used Draw Sword to Make a Prison to block the blow and shatter the saber.
• Ye Xuan launched the Ten Directions Sword again, and Xu Taiping revealed Nether Gazing Realm cultivation while defending with sword shadows and ice-crystal armor.
• Xu Taiping circled behind Ye Xuan and struck with Three Kills, Steel-Breaking, cleaving open Ye Xuan’s protective sword qi.

Xu Taiping revealed that he had reached the Nether Gazing Realm and overwhelmed Ye Xuan in their fight on the Sword-Suppressing Sword Platform. He left Ye Xuan barely protected by a failing Azure Profound Sect barrier, with the battle poised to end in a final blow.

• Xu Taiping knocked Ye Xuan down with a saber strike, and the crowd realized that he had reached the Nether Gazing Realm.
• Ye Xuan attacked again, but Xu Taiping dodged and shattered Ye Xuan's Dragon Flame Armor with a blood-colored ice saber.
• Ye Xuan unleashed his flying sword to kill Xu Taiping, but it only grazed Xu Taiping's neck before Xu Taiping punched Ye Xuan in the forehead.
• An azure barrier from Ye Xuan's life-preserving restriction blocked Xu Taiping's punch, so Xu Taiping hammered it with Charging Ox Breaks the Formation.
• Xu Taiping landed his hundred-and-seventh punch, splitting the rune on Ye Xuan's forehead and leaving the barrier nearly transparent as Ye Xuan groaned in pain.

Xu Taiping defied the Sect Master's order and threw his final punch at Ye Xuan, striking the Sect Master's flying sword and suffering grievous injuries. The collision let Xu Taiping glimpse the Heavenly Dao mountain and a new path to cultivation, leaving him determined to climb it.

• Xu Taiping gathered his strength for his 108th punch as Xu Ziyan sensed that he was nearing the Peak Perfection Realm.
• The Sect Master ordered Xu Taiping to stop, but Xu Taiping chose to protect his true heart and continued his attack on Ye Xuan.
• The Sect Master's flying sword intercepted Xu Taiping's punch, and its sword intent shattered his armor and tore open his arm.
• The collision sent Xu Taiping flying and left him vomiting blood, but he smiled after glimpsing a path toward the Heavenly Dao.
• Xu Taiping vowed to climb the mountain for his grandfather and struggled to rise.

Xu Taiping refused to admit fault after the Sect Master pressured him for defeating Ye Xuan, and Fairy Lingyue urged him to leave the Azure Profound Sect. Ninth Uncle returned and overruled the confrontation, telling the Seven Peaks to begin choosing disciples.

• The Sect Master demanded that Xu Taiping admit fault, but Xu Taiping asked what wrong he had done and stayed silent under the flying sword's pressure.
• Fairy Lingyue urged Xu Taiping to leave the Azure Profound Sect, while Dugu Qingxiao stepped between Xu Taiping and the Sect Master's sword to defend him.
• Xu Taiping resolved to leave with Fairy Lingyue, but an ancient flying sword descended and swept away the Sect Master's sword might.
• Ninth Uncle, also known as Grand Martial Uncle Lü Daoxuan, appeared and was greeted deferentially by Sect Master Zhou and the Seven Peak Lords.
• Ninth Uncle told the Seven Peak Lords to begin choosing disciples, asking whether Xu Taiping was beneath them.

After Xu Taiping’s performance at the Seven Peaks Selection, the Peak Lords competed to recruit him with generous offers. The chapter ended with them waiting for Xu Taiping to choose a peak.

• Zhao Qian offered to take Xu Taiping into the Seventh Peak, prompting the other Peak Lords to object and make their own offers.
• Meng Qingqiu invited Xu Taiping to Mysterious Maiden Peak and promised him ample cultivation pills.
• Ninth Uncle healed the wound on Xu Taiping’s right hand from a distance, and Peak Lords from the Fifth, Third, and Second Peaks also tried to recruit him.
• Jin Yue invited Xu Taiping to the First Peak and offered him a choice between the Dragon Flame Art and the Heaven Frost Art.
• The Peak Lords fell silent and waited for Xu Taiping to decide which peak to join.

Xu Taiping rejected Jin Yue’s offer to join First Peak and reaffirmed his promise to ascend Seventh Peak, even after Lü Daoxuan offered to make him his final disciple. Lü Daoxuan claimed the offer had been a test and sent Xu Taiping to Seventh Peak, though he secretly vowed to make him ask for instruction later.

• Xu Taiping declined Jin Yue’s invitation to join First Peak, prompting the other peak lords to renew their interest.
• Lü Daoxuan offered to take Xu Taiping as his final disciple, stunning the sect and causing Ye Xuan to spit blood in anger.
• Lü Daoxuan promised to teach Xu Taiping everything he had learned, and the Seven Peaks lords backed down in deference to him.
• Xu Taiping explained that he had promised Qingxiao and Zhao Linglong three years earlier that he would join Seventh Peak.
• Lü Daoxuan said his offer had been a test, praised Xu Taiping for staying true to his choice, and left while secretly planning to make him seek discipleship.

After choosing the Seventh Peak, Xu Taiping left the Sword Inquiry with Zhao Linglong and Qingxiao to recover, while Lin Buyu’s cryptic remark made him suspect she recognized him from the Red Maple Forest. Meanwhile, Zhou Tong told Jin Yue that White Rainbow might soon reach the Demon Venerable Realm and hinted that he would sacrifice the West Wind Pavilion’s Pavilion Master and the Peacock to answer for their role in the plot against White Rainbow.

• Ninth Uncle told Zhou Tong to return to the Main Peak after the remaining Sword Inquiries and question him thoroughly.
• Zhao Qian celebrated Xu Taiping’s choice of the Seventh Peak, while Meng Qingqiu warned him he might regret it after the Seven Peaks Grand Competition.
• Zhao Linglong welcomed Xu Taiping as a senior sister and offered to take him to recover and explore the Seventh Peak.
• Lin Buyu corrected Xu Taiping’s greeting to “See you again,” prompting him to wonder whether she had recognized him in the Red Maple Forest.
• Qingxiao took the badly weakened Xu Taiping back to the Seventh Peak for treatment.
• Zhou Tong told Jin Yue that White Rainbow might soon break through to the Demon Venerable Realm and said he would make the West Wind Pavilion’s Pavilion Master and the Peacock answer for the plot against him.

Zhou Tong and Jin Yue plotted to eliminate Baihong and send Xu Taiping on a dangerous sect trial, while Zhou Tong revealed his resentment toward White Spirit Bones and Su Chan. At Zhao Qian’s residence, Lü Daoxuan made clear that he wanted Xu Taiping to become his own disciple.

• Zhou Tong told Jin Yue that Baihong was injured and that his vow against drawing his sword on fellow sect members left him vulnerable, then ordered Jin Yue to arrange a sect trial for Xu Taiping in the White Tree Kingdom.
• Zhou Tong warned Jin Yue to punish Xu Taiping only within the sect’s rules and explained that he despised Xu Taiping’s potential because he believed White Spirit Bones should not challenge the Heavenly Dao Laws, citing Su Chan as an example.
• At Zhao Qian’s residence, Lü Daoxuan asked the bruised Zhao Qian what he had done wrong, and Zhao Qian guessed it was his eagerness to take Xu Taiping as his disciple.
• Lü Daoxuan declared that Xu Taiping should become his disciple instead, leaving Zhao Qian astonished.

Daoxuan told Zhao Qian that he planned to secretly teach Xu Taiping swordsmanship, explaining that Xu Taiping’s integrity reminded him of Su Chan, whose fall into demonic ways he still could not understand. More than ten days later, Qingxiao took the recovered Xu Taiping to the Ten Thousand Scrolls Tower to choose his rewards for the Seven Peaks Selection.

• Daoxuan asked Zhao Qian to arrange an identity for him on the Seventh Peak so he could teach Xu Taiping without formally taking him as a disciple, and Zhao Qian objected that the plan violated sect rules.
• Daoxuan explained that Xu Taiping’s conduct on Sheep Deer Mountain had convinced him to teach him, and he showed Zhao Qian his unusually straight, plain longsword.
• Daoxuan urged Zhao Qian to retrieve the sword he had thrown beneath the cliff, leaving Zhao Qian shaken and awake through the night.
• More than ten days later, Qingxiao brought the nearly healed Xu Taiping to the Ten Thousand Scrolls Tower and told him he could choose one Profound Rank spell and one Profound Rank mind method.

Xu Taiping visited the Ten Thousand Scrolls Tower to choose cultivation techniques and reunited with Elder Qi, who verified his reward of two hundred thousand merit. After finding the Profound Rank techniques disappointing, Fairy Lingyue decided she might modify spells herself, and Xu Taiping suggested looking among the Yellow Tier techniques instead.

• Qingxiao reminded Xu Taiping to choose the Rosy Dawn Scripture because it was the complete version of the Setting Sun Glow Art.
• Xu Taiping met Elder Qi at the tower, and Qi Haoran verified his identity and granted him two hundred thousand merit for his performance at the Seven Peaks Assembly.
• Fairy Lingyue judged the Profound Rank techniques to be poor choices because many lacked lasting potential or could harm Xu Taiping's cultivation.
• Fairy Lingyue decided she might modify some spells for Xu Taiping if they could not find suitable techniques, since his performance had dispelled her wariness of him.
• Xu Taiping suggested they inspect the Yellow Tier techniques, and Fairy Lingyue advised him not to settle for inferior spells.

Xu Taiping discovered that the unimpressive Shadow-Splitting Technique manual concealed the Taiqing Profound Origin Clone Technique. Fairy Lingyue identified the hidden spell, though the manual appeared to contain only its first three levels.

• Xu Taiping found the Shadow-Splitting Technique among the Azure Profound Sect's spell manuals and considered learning it if he found nothing better.
• Fairy Lingyue noticed that the manual's handwriting and meridian diagram were unusually masterful despite the spell's ordinary instructions.
• Xu Taiping spotted that the diagram's hands were drawn backward and held the page up to the window as Fairy Lingyue instructed.
• The reversed diagram aligned with words on the front of the page, revealing that it concealed another spell's meridian pattern.
• Fairy Lingyue identified the hidden spell as the Taiqing Profound Origin Clone Technique and explained that its clones could attack with part of Xu Taiping's cultivation power.
• Fairy Lingyue said the manual likely contained only the clone technique's first three levels.

Xu Taiping chose the Rosy Dawn Formula and two yellow-tier spells, including the Flame-Flicking Finger, which Fairy Lingyue planned to improve. After Elder Qi advised him to buy a saber, Xu Taiping met Zhao Linglong and Qingxiao, then recognized the young woman calling for him as Liu Zijin.

• Xu Taiping and Fairy Lingyue searched the Ten Thousand Scrolls Tower but found no more hidden spells, and Fairy Lingyue explained how she could strengthen the Flame-Flicking Finger.
• Xu Taiping chose the Rosy Dawn Formula because it suited his Setting Sun Glow Art and shared roots with other cultivation techniques.
• Xu Taiping presented Elder Qi with three jade slips, and Elder Qi objected to his choice of two yellow-tier spells before noting he had ten thousand merit points left for a saber.
• Xu Taiping left the counter and met Zhao Linglong and Qingxiao downstairs.
• A young woman in green called Xu Taiping from outside the Ten Thousand Scrolls Tower, and he recognized her as Liu Zijin.

Xu Taiping revealed to Liu Zijin that her sister Qingmei had become a Tiger Wraith's Ghost Servant and gave her the Dust-Seeking Incense that could expose Lu Chen's crimes. The chapter ended with Liu Zijin receiving both remaining sticks despite Xu Taiping's warning not to watch them.

• Liu Zijin recognized Xu Taiping as the young man who had fought the Tiger Demon in the Red Maple Forest, and he confirmed it.
• Liu Zijin asked whether Xu Taiping's warning about Lu Chen had been connected to her sister's disappearance, and he confirmed that Qingmei had sent it.
• Xu Taiping told Liu Zijin that Qingmei had become a Tiger Wraith's Ghost Servant, and Liu Zijin realized Lu Chen might be responsible.
• Xu Taiping gave Liu Zijin one stick of Dust-Seeking Incense and advised her to take it to the Seven Discipline Hall.
• Liu Zijin deduced that Xu Taiping had another stick because she had given Qingmei four, and he eventually gave her the last one too.
• Xu Taiping warned Liu Zijin not to watch the incense and told her she could seek his help at the Seventh Peak.

Xu Taiping watched Liu Zijin leave with the Dust-Seeking Incense to seek justice for her sister, then traveled with Zhao Linglong and Dugu Qingxiao to his new home on the Seventh Peak. He settled into Moon Perching Pavilion on Evening Drum Mountain, while Lu Chen's fate remained uncertain.

• Liu Zijin insisted she would avenge Liu Qingmei alone, thanked Xu Taiping for helping her sister, and departed with the Dust-Seeking Incense.
• Fairy Lingyue reminded Xu Taiping that Liu Zijin had more influence on the mountain than he did, and Zhao Linglong called him over to see his new courtyard.
• Dugu Qingxiao told Xu Taiping that Lu Chen might only be expelled and later return, but Liu Zijin's rare profound fire bone could affect the Seven Discipline Hall's judgment.
• Zhao Linglong and Qingxiao brought Xu Taiping to Moon Perching Pavilion on Evening Drum Mountain and showed him its successive courtyards, study, bedroom, and training ground.

Xu Taiping settled into Moon Perching Pavilion on Evening Drum Mountain, where he planned to cultivate and tend the medicinal grounds while preparing for a future breakthrough. As Zhao Linglong and Qingxiao visited, his initiation training assignment arrived, requiring him to descend the mountain alone in his third month as a disciple.

• Xu Taiping toured Moon Perching Pavilion and its medicinal garden with Zhao Linglong and Qingxiao, and Fairy Lingyue discussed the mountain’s dense spiritual energy and his future preparations.
• Xu Taiping decided to cultivate the medicinal fields himself, while Fairy Lingyue offered to help tend them with Ping'an.
• Qingxiao told Xu Taiping the Seven Peaks Grand Competition was six months away and gave him a jade flute for sending messages by spirit crane.
• A spirit crane delivered Xu Taiping’s initiation training assignment and reminded him to prepare for it.
• Zhao Linglong and Qingxiao gathered beside Xu Taiping to see what assignment he had received.

Xu Taiping prepared for an escort mission to protect White Tree Country’s sixth princess and discussed his cultivation plans with Fairy Lingyue. The chapter ended with Fairy Lingyue teaching him the Heaven Rank Red Crow Golden Flame Formula for burning the Earth Fruit’s seed.

• Xu Taiping read Empress Qi’s request to escort White Tree Country’s sixth princess safely to Wujiao Country and back, and Dugu Qingxiao advised him to investigate both countries.
• Xu Taiping practiced the Rosy Dawn Formula with Fairy Lingyue and reported that it had improved his defenses and cultivation speed.
• Xu Taiping and Fairy Lingyue planned how to earn merit points and obtain supplies for his cultivation and the Earth Fruit.
• Fairy Lingyue offered to teach Xu Taiping a spell for tempering True Fire, and he agreed to use it only for the Earth Fruit’s seed or in life-threatening danger.
• Fairy Lingyue passed Xu Taiping the Red Crow Golden Flame Formula, which he recognized as a Heaven Rank cultivation technique.