Chapter Summaries

Mu Chen endured scorn and isolation in the Mu Domain after his mother disappeared, while training and studying in hopes of growing strong enough to find her and change his family’s view of him. He continued to face hardship, but remained determined to rise and restore the Mu Domain’s former glory.

• Mu Chen lived in a neglected courtyard and was shunned by relatives who blamed him for the Mu Domain’s decline.
• Mu Chen trained alone each morning with few resources and studied old books to learn about the Great Thousand World.
• Mu Chen was repeatedly harassed by his peers and targeted during family sparring and competitions.
• At a family martial tournament, Mu Chen evaded his opponent’s concealed weapon, suffered an arm wound, and fought on.
• Mu Chen returned to his lonely courtyard, drew strength from thoughts of his mother, and vowed to find her and prove himself.

Mu Chen trained hard, passed the selection trials, and earned the right to enter the Spirit Road. After surviving its first dangers and forming a temporary alliance with other disciples, he entered an ancient ruin with them.

• Mu Chen trained his spiritual power and swordsmanship and studied accounts of the Spirit Road to prepare for selection.
• Mu Chen excelled in the spiritual power test, combat assessment, and knowledge exam, earning a place on the Spirit Road.
• Mu Chen entered the Spirit Road and fought off a swarm of poisonous bee-like demonic beasts.
• Mu Chen fell into a sealed trap in an ancient forest and used the runes on a strange stone to escape.
• Mu Chen formed a temporary alliance with other disciples, and they opened the doors of an ancient ruin to explore it.

Mu Chen and his companions faced phantoms, traps, and a guardian beast while exploring ancient ruins on the Spirit Road. After his growing spiritual-energy skill helped them survive and claim medicinal pills, Mu Chen’s reputation began to spread, and he continued onward toward greater challenges.

• Mu Chen fought spiritual-energy phantoms in the ruins’ great hall and rescued a companion before the group defeated them all.
• Mu Chen studied ancient murals and used a newly understood spiritual-energy technique to absorb a volley of black wind blades.
• When a companion triggered the traps in the next room, Mu Chen leaped to safety and pulled the others clear, then matched the barrier’s frequency to retrieve medicinal pills and shared them with the group.
• Mu Chen and his companions defeated a scaled guardian beast by targeting its weak belly, with Mu Chen landing the decisive strike.
• Stories of Mu Chen’s talent spread through the Spirit Road as he continued his trials.

Mu Chen and his companions entered a misty forest, where a powerful magical beast ambushed them and left them badly wounded. With help from a mysterious force, Mu Chen discovered the beast’s weak points and used the forest’s natural spiritual array patterns to defeat it, but he knew the Spirit Road still held further dangers.

• Mu Chen and his companions entered a forest filled with thick mist and encountered a massive, black-scaled magical beast.
• The beast injured several companions and overwhelmed Mu Chen’s attacks, knocking him into a tree and leaving him bleeding.
• A mysterious force briefly halted the beast and guided Mu Chen as he used a new spiritual-energy technique to crack its scales.
• Mu Chen noticed the cracks around the beast’s neck and abdomen and, guided by the mysterious force, discovered natural spiritual array patterns in the forest.
• Mu Chen activated the array patterns and combined their power with his spiritual energy to strike the beast’s weak points and kill it.
• Mu Chen collapsed from exhaustion after the battle, relieved to have survived but aware that more dangers awaited him on the Spirit Road.

Mu Chen awakened a mysterious golden power while fighting a magical beast on the Spirit Road, attracting the attention of powerful cultivators. He discovered a sealed cluster of golden light in his soul and suspected it was connected to his mother's disappearance, while continuing the trials and searching for answers.

• Mu Chen's hidden power awakened as the magical beast attacked, covering him in golden runes and letting him kill it with blasts of golden light.
• Mu Chen told his companions he did not know the power's origin and believed it had awakened when his life was in danger.
• A black-robed cultivator, a woman in green, and the leader of a powerful faction took notice of Mu Chen and ordered people to investigate him.
• Mu Chen examined his meridians and soul space, found a cluster of golden light surrounded by a seal, and suspected it was connected to his mother's disappearance.
• Mu Chen continued the Spirit Road trials, searching ruins and questioning cultivators for clues while taking care to avoid further scrutiny.

After Mu Chen drove back the magical beasts, envious cultivators spread rumors and laid traps to hinder him in the Spirit Road. He overcame their ambushes and found loyal friends who stood by him as he prepared to face more challenges.

• Envious cultivators formed a loose alliance, spread rumors that Mu Chen’s mysterious power was corrupt, and made others wary of him.
• Mu Chen was ambushed in a valley by spiritual energy puppets while a barrier blocked his path.
• Mu Chen identified and shattered the puppets’ runic core, causing them to collapse.
• Mu Chen escaped a suction-filled marsh, defeated the demonic beasts there, and continued despite the obstacles to trading and gathering information.
• Mu Chen gained true friends who rejected the rumors and supported him against the schemes.

Mu Chen discovered a hidden valley on the Spirit Road and overcame its defenses to reach a mysterious crystal orb linked to the power within him. After defeating the orb’s guardian beast, he turned to face the secrets the orb might reveal.

• Mu Chen followed an unusual spiritual energy fluctuation into a concealed valley filled with rare spiritual plants and a stream rich in spiritual energy.
• Mu Chen studied the rune-covered light curtain sealing a cave and used his knowledge of ancient formations to open a way through.
• Mu Chen entered the cave and found a crystal orb whose power resonated with the mysterious power within his body.
• A golden, qilin-like guardian beast appeared and attacked Mu Chen as he approached the orb.
• Mu Chen exploited the beast’s sluggish movements, struck a dull scale on its abdomen, and defeated it.
• Mu Chen turned back toward the crystal orb, prepared to uncover its secrets.

Mu Chen explored the Spirit Road Secret Land after defeating its guardian beast, overcoming a series of traps and spiritual threats. He reached an ancient treasure chest but found it secured by a complex spiritual energy lock, leaving him to search for a way to open it.

• Mu Chen touched the crystal ball, absorbed its strange spiritual energy, and entered a passage that opened in the cavern wall.
• Mu Chen escaped a quicksand trap with a spirit vine and solved the spiritual energy puzzles blocking his way.
• Mu Chen used an ancient soul art to disperse the ghosts that attacked him in the passage.
• Mu Chen carefully crossed the rune formation in a circular hall, then dodged its spikes and spiritual energy beams to reach the treasure chest.
• Mu Chen discovered a complex spiritual energy lock on the chest and realized he needed to find a way to open it.

Mu Chen investigated mysterious runes in the hidden domain and discovered they might form an array linked to the ancient treasure chest. As he prepared to face a violent surge of spiritual energy, he remained unsure how to open the chest or what challenge was approaching.

• Mu Chen found glowing runes on the hall wall and sensed that they resonated with his spiritual energy and past experiences.
• Mu Chen saw visions of an ancient battlefield and a mysterious ritual, but the runes drained his spiritual energy until his awakened power helped him break free.
• Mu Chen studied the circular hall and inferred that its spiral runes formed an array centered on the treasure chest.
• Mu Chen followed the platform runes’ guidance to hidden holes in the chest and suspected that objects shown in the runes’ visions could open it.
• A violent surge of spiritual energy swept toward the hall, and Mu Chen prepared to face the approaching threat.

Mu Chen endured the Spiritual Energy Storm and resonated with the mysterious runes to obtain their power and techniques. He used his new abilities to break the storm and open the Treasure Chest, then left the secret site with its treasures to prepare for the dangers ahead.

• Mu Chen studied the mysterious runes while defending himself from the Spiritual Energy Storm with a Spiritual Energy Shield.
• Mu Chen found the runes' core fluctuations and resonated with them, gaining increased spiritual energy, a compression technique, and the ability to perceive hidden restrictions and traps.
• Mu Chen used his new technique to pierce the Spiritual Energy Storm and make it disperse.
• Mu Chen used his enhanced perception to dismantle the restrictions around the Treasure Chest and opened it.
• Mu Chen collected an Ancient Scroll, a Spirit Pearl, and rare spirit herbs and materials, then headed for the secret site's exit.

Jealous cultivators plotted to kill Mu Chen in a poisoned swamp, where their ambush trapped him and forced him to fight for his life. Mu Chen escaped the trap with help from a spirit pearl, but his enemies blocked his way and attacked.

• Jealous cultivators from different factions joined forces and prepared a poisoned-swamp ambush for Mu Chen.
• Mu Chen studied an ancient scroll from the treasure chest and began cultivating a method that joined his spiritual energy with natural forces.
• The cultivators lured Mu Chen toward false treasures, where he triggered spiritual energy traps and was attacked by poisonous gas and venomous creatures.
• Mu Chen used the spirit pearl to disperse the gas, shattered the energy net, and charged toward the swamp’s edge.
• The tall man and the other cultivators emerged to block Mu Chen and launched attacks, and Mu Chen prepared to fight them.

Mu Chen was accused of stealing a treasure and recognized the accusation as a plot to frame him. As the crowd attacked despite his attempts to prove his innocence, he spotted a familiar cultivator he suspected was behind the scheme and pursued him for evidence.

• A black-robed cultivator accused Mu Chen of stealing a treasure, and a woman in white presented it as proof.
• Mu Chen denied the theft and argued that someone had lured him into the swamp trap and planted the treasure near him.
• Mu Chen pointed to fresh battle marks from the swamp as evidence, but his enemies altered the traces and dismissed his claim.
• Some cultivators attacked Mu Chen while he dodged and searched for a way to clear his name.
• Mu Chen spotted a familiar cultivator in the crowd, suspected him of masterminding the frame-up, and pursued him.

Mu Chen exposed the cultivators who framed him, cleared his name, and continued exploring the Spirit Road with new companions. They entered an ancient palace, defeated its guardian beasts, unlocked a crystal orb’s power, and gathered valuable cultivation resources before setting out again.

• Mu Chen followed a suspicious cultivator to Hidden Valley, where he found the conspirators guarding a cave containing evidence against them.
• Mu Chen broke the cave’s restriction, recovered the treasure used to frame him along with jade slips and letters, and showed the proof to the assembled cultivators.
• The crowd turned against the conspirators and prepared to hand them over to the Spirit Road administrators, while Mu Chen accepted the accusers’ apologies and continued his journey.
• Mu Chen and his new companions reached an ancient palace, studied its restriction, and opened a way inside by combining spiritual energy with natural forces.
• Mu Chen led his companions in defeating the palace’s guardian beasts, then helped decipher the crystal orb’s runes so they could safely absorb its power.
• Mu Chen and his companions collected ancient texts and cultivation methods before leaving the palace and continuing to explore the Spirit Road.

After learning about the Spirit Road Tournament and its valuable prizes, Mu Chen and his companions trained intensely, including fusing two cultivation methods and refining their combat skills. They arrived at the tournament, learned the rules, and drew lots, with Mu Chen preparing for his first match.

• Mu Chen and his companions decided to enter the tournament to gain resources and test their strength.
• Mu Chen trained in a secluded camp, successfully merging the ancient scroll’s cultivation method with his clan’s method.
• Mu Chen and his companions practiced sword techniques and sparred to prepare for the competition.
• Mu Chen and his companions arrived at the tournament plaza and heard that contestants would first compete in elimination matches, followed by a round-robin stage.
• Mu Chen drew a numbered token and steeled himself for his first battle.

Mu Chen defeated Black Rock in the first round of the Spirit Road tournament by evading his powerful attacks, finding his weakness, and striking when openings appeared. After leaving the arena, Mu Chen replenished his spiritual energy and watched the other bouts to prepare for the next round.

• Mu Chen drew Black Rock as his first-round opponent and ignored the crowd's doubts as he prepared for the bout.
• Black Rock charged with powerful punches, but Mu Chen dodged them and noticed that Black Rock's attacks lacked flexibility and disrupted his spiritual energy.
• Mu Chen struck Black Rock's abdomen with a spiritual energy blade, then continued exploiting openings as Black Rock attacked frantically.
• Mu Chen landed his strongest blow on Black Rock's chest, knocking him down and winning the bout.
• Mu Chen returned to the rest area, replenished his spiritual energy, and watched the other contestants to study their fighting styles.

Mu Chen faced the formidable Su Ling in the Spirit Road competition’s second round, struggling against his opponent’s unusual spiritual energy and relentless techniques. After breaking free with rune power, Mu Chen committed his remaining strength to an unfinished sword technique as Su Ling prepared to meet his attack, leaving the duel unresolved.

• Mu Chen began his second-round match against Su Ling, whose attacks forced him onto the defensive.
• Mu Chen discovered that Su Ling’s spiritual energy hindered his circulation and slowed his movements.
• Mu Chen counterattacked with Wind-cleaving Slash, but Su Ling blocked it and bound him with draining spiritual energy threads.
• Mu Chen used rune power from the hidden grounds to loosen the threads and escape.
• Su Ling summoned spiritual energy phantoms, and Mu Chen fought them with a defensive sword technique as both combatants grew exhausted.
• Mu Chen unleashed an unfinished sword technique with his remaining spiritual energy and soul power, while Su Ling prepared to counter the decisive strike.

Mu Chen defeated Su Ling in a hard-fought Spirit Road competition battle, winning the cheers of the spectators. Exhausted but supported by his companions, he left the grounds ready to face the next challenges.

• Mu Chen broke through Su Ling’s Spiritual Energy Shield and evaded Su Ling’s counterattack, kicking him in the abdomen.
• Su Ling recovered and launched a barrage of palm imprints, but Mu Chen dodged them and noticed flaws in Su Ling’s attacks.
• Mu Chen seized an opening and struck Su Ling in the chest with his remaining strength, leaving Su Ling unable to stand.
• Mu Chen collapsed to one knee as spectators applauded and his companions helped him to his feet.
• Mu Chen left the competition grounds with his companions, prepared to face the next round.

Mu Chen fought Lin Yu, a trap-and concealed-weapon specialist, and suffered multiple injuries before a sudden attack from outside the arena struck his shoulder. He swallowed a healing pill and prepared to face Lin Yu again as the match reached a life-or-death moment.

• Mu Chen faced Lin Yu, who used traps and concealed weapons to wound him during their match.
• Lin Yu enveloped Mu Chen in black smoke and stabbed him in the back, but Mu Chen counterattacked with a palm strike that forced Lin Yu back.
• A beam of spiritual energy shot from outside the arena and severely injured Mu Chen, while the guards stopped his companions from reaching him.
• Lin Yu rushed toward the fallen Mu Chen to deliver a fatal blow, but Mu Chen swallowed a healing pill and prepared to fight again.

Mu Chen drew on herbs, spirit jade marrow, and the arena’s formation to recover while fighting Lin Yu, eventually defeating him with a powerful strike. Afterward, he healed and refined his techniques, preparing for the next round of the Spirit Road competition.

• Mu Chen used a blood spirit herb and spirit jade marrow to stabilize his injuries, then tapped energy from an arena formation to recover.
• Lin Yu attacked Mu Chen, who dodged and countered while gathering herbs and drawing more energy from the formation.
• Mu Chen formed a spiritual energy vortex that pulled Lin Yu in, but Lin Yu escaped with a life-saving skill that left him depleted.
• Mu Chen struck Lin Yu with his full power, defeating him and leaving himself near collapse.
• Mu Chen recovered using Spirit Road resources and a formation of his own design while studying his battle and refining techniques from the ancient scroll.
• Mu Chen healed and grew stronger, then stood ready for the approaching next round.

Mu Chen faced Ling Yu in the Spirit Road finals, trading powerful attacks as each fighter tested the other's strength. After Mu Chen injured Ling Yu with a rune-enhanced counterattack, Ling Yu began preparing a family secret technique while Mu Chen readied himself to meet the coming blow.

• Mu Chen and Ling Yu began the final match, and Ling Yu launched a fierce spear assault that Mu Chen initially blocked and evaded.
• Mu Chen found an opening and struck back, but Ling Yu unleashed the Star-Breaking Spear Technique and cut Mu Chen's arm despite his defenses.
• Mu Chen fused rune power with his spiritual energy, clashed with Ling Yu's spear, then used spiritual energy threads to land a powerful palm strike on Ling Yu's shoulder.
• Angered and injured, Ling Yu drove his spear into the ground and began preparing his family's secret technique as Mu Chen gathered his spiritual energy and soul power for the final attack.