Chapter Summaries

As Li Hongzhao advanced to the Third Heaven of the Grandmaster Realm and Great Jing lost a northern stronghold, Yujing City feared Chu Zhiyuan could not win their martial contest. Xiao Ruoling worried despite her calm words, while Chu Zhiyuan trained and studied the Great Heavenly Dragon Fist; the chapter ended with the Princess Consort arriving at his residence.

• News spread through Yujing City that Li Hongzhao had reached the Third Heaven of the Grandmaster Realm, leaving the public convinced Chu Zhiyuan would lose their contest.
• Word arrived that Great Jing had lost a military stronghold in the Northern Territory, deepening the city's despair and increasing its hopes for Chu Zhiyuan's victory.
• Xiao Ruoyu told Xiao Ruoling about Li Hongzhao's breakthrough, and Xiao Ruoling tried to reassure him while privately worrying about Chu Zhiyuan.
• Chu Zhiyuan trained in the Dragon Subduing Stance and contemplated the Great Heavenly Dragon Fist because he could not break through.
• Zou Fang announced that the Princess Consort had arrived at Chu Zhiyuan's new residence.

Chu Zhiyuan prepared to face Li Hongzhao despite his family’s worries, using the Dragon Fat Incense the Imperial Consort had sent to seek a breakthrough. As crowds gathered at Qitian Palace for their duel, Li Hongzhao and Chu Zhiyuan arrived before the assembled spectators.

• Bai Ningshuang gave Chu Zhiyuan two pieces of Dragon Fat Incense from the Imperial Consort, and he believed they would be enough for a breakthrough.
• Bai Ningshuang urged Chu Zhiyuan not to risk injuring himself, but he told her to watch the duel with Chu Minghou and his sister.
• Cheng Tianfeng and Mo Chunyu discussed Li Hongzhao’s recent breakthrough, and Cheng Tianfeng renewed his resolve to cultivate and win her over.
• Bai Ningshuang, Chu Minghou, Xiao Youping, Xiao Ruoling, and others gathered at Qitian Peak to watch the duel, while the Emperor stayed away.
• Li Hongzhao climbed the sheer northern cliff of Qitian Peak and landed before Qitian Palace, and Chu Zhiyuan appeared beside her.

Chu Zhiyuan faced Li Hongzhao in a public martial contest and overcame her powerful Phoenix Sword Art with his speed and swordsmanship. He won the match, leaving Li Hongzhao disarmed and bleeding at the wrist.

• Li Hongzhao taunted Chu Zhiyuan before the duel, while Cheng Tianfeng urged him to teach her a lesson.
• Li Hongzhao attacked with the Phoenix Sword Art, whose illusions and crimson sword light pressured Chu Zhiyuan.
• Chu Zhiyuan used the Qingying Sword to resist her spiritual attack and struck her repeatedly through her protective Gang Qi.
• Li Hongzhao unleashed a storm of crimson sword light, but Chu Zhiyuan evaded her strikes with the Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart Step.
• Chu Zhiyuan disarmed Li Hongzhao, cut her wrist, and conceded the honor after winning the contest.

Chu Zhiyuan defeated Li Hongzhao in a public match after breaking through to the Third Heaven, then discussed the victory and Li Hongzhao’s unusual healing ability with Xiao Youping. The chapter left Li Hongzhao’s Phoenix Cry Nine Heavens Technique as a potentially terrifying power as she grew stronger.

• Chu Zhiyuan revealed that he had reached the Third Heaven and credited Li Hongzhao’s challenge with pushing him to break through.
• The crowd celebrated Chu Zhiyuan’s victory, while Cheng Tianfeng and Mo Chunyu discussed his speed and the political consequences for Great Jing, Great Zhen, and Great Meng.
• Chu Zhiyuan checked on Li Hongzhao, then returned with his family and left the plaza amid the crowd’s excitement.
• Chu Zhiyuan escorted Xiao Ruoling’s family to Duke An’s Estate and told Xiao Youping that Li Hongzhao’s Phoenix Cry Nine Heavens Technique might let her heal and grow stronger when injured.

Chu Zhiyuan prepared to deliver an imperial decree to the Northern Territory, where he would travel with King Ying to Gaoling Town. After receiving ten pieces of Dragon Fat Incense, he chose Grandmaster Song Feiqiong as his escort, while Bai Ningshuang and the others began preparing for his departure.

• Xiao Youping and Chu Zhiyuan discussed the danger Chu Zhiyuan might face on the return journey, and Xiao Youping urged him to take more guards.
• Chu Zhiyuan helped Xiao Ruoling advance toward the Eighth Layer through their joint cultivation, and she said she wanted to visit Ninth Princess Li Hongzhao.
• Huang Cheng delivered ten pieces of Dragon Fat Incense and told Chu Zhiyuan to depart the next day with King Ying for Gaoling Town, near Fuyuan Town.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked about his escort and chose Grandmaster Song Feiqiong after learning she was the Emperor's choice.
• Chu Zhiyuan hurried back to cultivate with the Dragon Fat Incense, while Bai Ningshuang and the others prepared for his departure.

Chu Zhiyuan left Yujing City on a heavily provisioned journey, escorted by King Ying, Song Feiqiong, and a large force. After King Ying admired the formation used by Chu Zhiyuan’s guards, Chu Zhiyuan gave him a booklet explaining it.

• Chu Zhiyuan watched the Prince Qing's Estate prepare six carriages and a large escort for his departure.
• Chu Zhiyuan’s party traveled through the outer city, where he sensed many hostile and cultivated people and considered reporting them to the Supervisory Department.
• Outside the southern gate, Chu Zhiyuan met King Ying, Chu Mingrui, Song Feiqiong, and two palace eunuchs who had gathered to accompany him.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Mingrui discussed the Four Spirits Formation maintained by Chu Zhiyuan’s guards and compared it with the Wind Chasing Cavalry’s formation.
• Chu Zhiyuan handed Chu Mingrui a booklet detailing the Four Spirits Formation.

Chu Zhiyuan studied Chu Mingrui’s Lightning Spear Formation and agreed to help train a group of cavalrymen in exchange for a Fifth Grade Merit. By the end of the day, he had made strong progress teaching eighteen Wind Chasing Cavalry elites to move in formation.

• Chu Mingrui explained why armies relied on established formations and why his two battalions had abandoned their new one after he returned to court.
• Chu Zhiyuan suggested building large formations from smaller units, and Chu Mingrui offered him the Lightning Spear Formation to study.
• After examining the formation diagram, Chu Zhiyuan agreed to train a group, and Chu Mingrui promised to request a Fifth Grade Merit if they succeeded.
• At camp, Chu Zhiyuan selected eighteen Wind Chasing Cavalry elites and marked six sets of numbered positions on a cleared patch of ground.
• Chu Zhiyuan guided the eighteen men through the formation’s movements, correcting their pace and coordination as they made rapid progress over the day.

Chu Zhiyuan trained Chu Mingrui’s personal guards to master the Lightning Spear Formation, then joined them on a forced march toward Gaoling Town. On the ninth day, he sensed approaching cavalry and identified them as Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry.

• By the fifth day, Chu Zhiyuan had taught the first eighteen youths to master the Lightning Spear Formation on horseback, and Chu Mingrui prepared more groups for training.
• Chu Zhiyuan trained two groups at once, and by the seventh evening all two hundred-plus of Chu Mingrui’s personal guards had learned the Lightning Spear Formation.
• Chu Mingrui proposed that he and Chu Zhiyuan lead a small squad to test the formation’s power, and Chu Zhiyuan agreed.
• The cavalry forced their pace for two days, rotating between horses as they rode toward Gaoling Town.
• On the ninth evening, Chu Zhiyuan sensed distant riders; Chu Mingrui confirmed there were over a hundred, and Chu Zhiyuan identified them as Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry.

Chu Zhiyuan led the Wind Chasing Cavalry into battle against 120 Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry and used the Lightning Spear Formation to break through their ranks. The enemy formation collapsed, and Chu Zhiyuan wheeled around to charge again.

• Chu Zhiyuan recognized the approaching riders as Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry, and Chu Mingrui decided they would meet the force head-on.
• Chu Zhiyuan joined the eighteen riders as the Lightning Spear Formation's spearhead despite Chu Mingrui's warning.
• Chu Zhiyuan killed the golden eagle guiding the enemy cavalry with the Imperial Sword Art.
• Chu Zhiyuan spotted a weakness in the Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry's formation, adjusted his riders' positions, and led them into the gap while avoiding five Gang Breaking Divine Weapons.
• Chu Zhiyuan and the eighteen riders broke through the enemy ranks, cutting down many cavalrymen and shattering their formation before turning to charge again.

Chu Zhiyuan and eighteen riders used the Lightning Spear Formation to rout the Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry, then reached Gaoling Town with Chu Mingrui. Chu Zhiyuan proclaimed the edict stripping Li Haoyuan of his post, and Chu Mingrui began taking over the town’s military command.

• Chu Zhiyuan led eighteen riders in the Lightning Spear Formation, charging through the Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry twice and killing many of them before returning unharmed to Chu Mingrui.
• Chu Zhiyuan reflected on the formation’s influence on his mind and the ease with which he had killed, then set aside his discomfort and continued toward Gaoling Town.
• Chu Mingrui and Chu Zhiyuan arrived at Gaoling Town, where General Zhenyuan Li Haoyuan and twenty-three officers and soldiers came out to meet them.
• Chu Zhiyuan proclaimed the imperial edict stripping Li Haoyuan of his generalship and ordering him back to the capital to await further command.
• Chu Mingrui began the handover with Li Haoyuan at the government office, taking the tiger tally, accounts, and soldier roster while the twenty-three men glared at Chu Zhiyuan.

Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Mingrui received Li Haoyuan’s records and discussed the hidden truth behind Fuyuan Town’s fall. Li Haoyuan left after warning his men to keep silent, while Chu Mingrui tasked Chu Zhiyuan with asking around in Jade Capital about the possible conspirators.

• Li Haoyuan angrily silenced his men when they tried to reveal an inside story about Fuyuan Town’s fall.
• Chu Mingrui examined the rosters and confirmed that Li Haoyuan had not falsified the army payroll, then promised to report the facts truthfully.
• Li Haoyuan entrusted Fuyuan Town to Chu Mingrui and warned his men to keep quiet before leaving the government office.
• Chu Mingrui told Chu Zhiyuan that collusion had enabled Fuyuan Town’s fall and that Secret Agents needed to be purged.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Mingrui considered whether one of the Four Great Sects or Four Great Demonic Sects was involved, and Chu Mingrui asked him to investigate in Jade Capital.
• Chu Zhiyuan returned to the post station and avoided a middle-aged man waiting outside.

Chu Zhiyuan investigated the disguised Grandmaster waiting outside the post station and learned that the twenty-three people under Li Haoyuan had once served under Commander Li. The man was identified as Zhou Chengen, a low-profile clerk whose origins remained unclear.

• Chu Zhiyuan watched the middle-aged man outside Ping'an Restaurant and sent Liang Guanjie to investigate him and Li Huchen.
• Chu Zhiyuan avoided meeting the man, ate at the restaurant, and later settled into an official room at the post station.
• Chu Zhiyuan absorbed the last of his Dragon Fat Incense but chose not to risk a breakthrough while traveling.
• Liang Guanjie reported that the twenty-three people had all served under Commander Li, including Deputy General Li Huchen.
• Liang Guanjie identified the middle-aged man as Zhou Chengen, Commander Li's discreet clerk and distant relative, but could not uncover his origins.

Chu Zhiyuan examined a mysterious wooden Gang Breaking Divine Weapon and compared it with the ornate Evil Slaying Sword. He wondered whether the wooden sword was from Great Meng as he awaited other weapons for comparison.

• Chu Zhiyuan gave Liang Guanjie a middling evaluation and promised to arrange for Supervisory Department experts to teach the group intelligence gathering.
• Chu Zhiyuan examined the wooden short sword and discovered that it glowed with purple radiance, accelerated his swings, and changed length under the Sword Washing Art.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked Chu Mingrui to lend him Gang Breaking Divine Weapons, and Chu Mingrui gave him the Evil Slaying Sword to inspect.
• Chu Zhiyuan sensed that the wooden sword could damage the Evil Slaying Sword, then asked Chu Mingrui to bring him weapons from Great Meng.
• Chu Zhiyuan compared the swords and found that their different materials produced distinct kinds of qi, each capable of breaking Gang Qi.

Chu Zhiyuan examined the Gang Breaking Divine Weapons he had taken during the cavalry charge, accepted the Evil Slaying Sword from Chu Mingrui, and studied thirteen powerful formation manuals. He prepared to return without an escort, while Chu Mingrui stayed behind to deal with Li Haoyuan’s loyal subordinates.

• Chu Zhiyuan examined the Gang Breaking Divine Weapons and explained that he had taken the purple short sword during the charge against the Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry.
• Chu Mingrui gave Chu Zhiyuan the Evil Slaying Sword as a personal gift, and Chu Zhiyuan accepted it for his future Heir Apparent's Consort.
• Chu Zhiyuan read the thirteen formation booklets Chu Mingrui had collected and recognized their immense power and the difficulty of training such formations.
• Chang Dexi brought a fitted scabbard for Chu Zhiyuan’s short sword, which Chu Zhiyuan praised and tested.
• Chu Zhiyuan declined Chu Mingrui’s offer of troops for the journey home, saying he would train formations along the way and rely on Mr. Song if danger arose.
• Chu Zhiyuan warned Chu Mingrui that winning over Li Haoyuan’s loyal subordinates would be difficult, and Chu Mingrui solemnly agreed.

Chu Zhiyuan chose the Four Symbols Soul-Punishing Formation for his guards and set out from Gaoling Town with Li Haoyuan. When he spotted a Great Meng golden eagle scouting their party, he sent Liang Guanjie to track it and killed it with the Heart-Questioning Blade.

• Chu Zhiyuan selected the difficult but powerful Four Symbols Soul-Punishing Formation and ordered twenty guards and Guo Chi's four men to begin training.
• After practicing the Violet Sun True Scripture, Chu Zhiyuan left through the North City Gate with Li Haoyuan and their party.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Li Haoyuan discussed Great Meng's failed assassination attempt against King Ying and whether King Ying could retake Fuyuan Town.
• Chu Zhiyuan spotted a golden eagle in the sky and sent Liang Guanjie and four Eagle Soaring Camp experts to track it.
• Chu Zhiyuan struck the golden eagle with the Heart-Questioning Blade, killing it in front of Li Haoyuan.

Chu Zhiyuan survived a Great Meng ambush and learned from Li Haoyuan how deeply its spies had infiltrated Great Jing. He used himself and the Prince's Manor guards as bait for the approaching Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry, while King Ying's troops waited in ambush to the south.

• Chu Zhiyuan and Li Haoyuan discovered that a concealed weapon had killed the golden eagle sent to track them, and Li warned that Great Meng had long-term spies throughout Jade Capital.
• Chu Zhiyuan ordered the party to camp and revealed that he planned to lure the Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry into an ambush laid by Chu Mingrui's guards fifteen li to the south.
• Chu Zhiyuan trained the Prince's Manor guards in the Four Symbols Soul-Punishing Formation, and Li Haoyuan watched as they rapidly improved under his guidance.
• Chu Zhiyuan spotted the approaching Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry and led the Prince's Manor guards into formation, urging them to hold their positions as the enemy charged.

Chu Zhiyuan used the Four Symbols Soul-Punishing Formation to break through the Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry, then helped the Wind Chasing Cavalry destroy them. After killing four grandmasters sent to assassinate Li Haoyuan, he ordered everyone to say that King Ying’s guards had carried out the attack.

• The Four Symbols Soul-Punishing Formation heightened Chu Zhiyuan and his twenty-four guards’ strength and focus, allowing them to pierce the Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry’s formation.
• Chu Zhiyuan led the guards through the Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry, and the Wind Chasing Cavalry charged in afterward and routed the scattered riders without casualties.
• Chu Zhiyuan ordered his guards to kill the survivors, take the armor and horses, and bury the bodies, then killed four wounded grandmasters with the Qingying Sword.
• Chu Zhiyuan told Li Haoyuan that the four grandmasters had come to assassinate him, and Li Haoyuan warned that Great Meng would continue targeting Chu Zhiyuan.
• Chu Zhiyuan instructed everyone to claim that King Ying had sent his personal guard army to destroy the Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry, and the group agreed.

After the Prince’s Manor guards defeated and buried two hundred Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry, Li Haoyuan revealed that the Eternal Spirit Divine Cult was behind the danger surrounding him. He stunned Chu Zhiyuan further by claiming that Prince Jing was a reincarnated Spirit Child of the cult.

• The Prince’s Manor guards finished burying the defeated Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry and continued their journey with Li Haoyuan.
• Li Haoyuan praised Chu Zhiyuan for the victory, while Chu Zhiyuan explained that their success depended on timing, terrain, and the Wind Chasing Cavalry’s ambush.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked who might try to silence Li Haoyuan, and Li Haoyuan secretly named the Eternal Spirit Divine Cult.
• Li Haoyuan claimed that he was a disciple of the cult and that Prince Jing was one too, identifying him as a Spirit Child who had awakened memories from a previous life.
• Chu Zhiyuan wondered whether he might also be reincarnated.

Chu Zhiyuan learned that Prince Jing was the Eternal Spirit Divine Cult’s Spirit Child and refused Li Haoyuan’s offer to teach him the Eternal Spirit Secret Manual. His resolve to pursue immortality through his own methods triggered a breakthrough to the fourth level of the Grandmaster Realm.

• Chu Zhiyuan questioned Li Haoyuan about the Eternal Spirit Divine Cult, its Spirit Children, and how its disciples recovered past-life memories.
• Li Haoyuan revealed that Prince Jing was the current Spirit Child, leading Chu Zhiyuan to connect the cult to Prince Jing’s confinement and his father’s punishment.
• Li Haoyuan offered to teach Chu Zhiyuan the Eternal Spirit Secret Manual, but Chu Zhiyuan refused because he did not want to risk entanglement with the cult.
• Chu Zhiyuan resolved to pursue an imperishable soul and body through his own cultivation, and his Super Sensation expanded from two hundred meters to three hundred.
• Chu Zhiyuan used twelve streams of thought to break the third level of the Bronze Tower and advanced to the fourth level of the Grandmaster Realm, leaving Li Haoyuan bewildered.

Chu Zhiyuan broke through to a new realm while instructing Li Haoyuan, then continued training the Prince Qing's Estate guards in the Four Symbols Soul-Punishing Formation. Xu Suying and her young disciple Xu Yingying arrived to meet him, and Xu Suying hinted that she had another matter to discuss.

• Chu Zhiyuan reflected on his unexpected breakthrough and refused Li Haoyuan's renewed invitation to join the Eternal Spirit Divine Cult.
• Chu Zhiyuan trained the Prince Qing's Estate guards in the Four Symbols Soul-Punishing Formation as the group traveled rapidly across the grasslands.
• Xu Suying, a Great Grandmaster of the Nine Li Divine Cult, approached Chu Zhiyuan with her disciple Xu Yingying, whose cultivation was close to his despite her youth.
• Xu Yingying asked Chu Zhiyuan to spar, but he declined, saying he was not curious about her swordsmanship.
• Xu Suying said she had one more small matter to discuss with Chu Zhiyuan.