Chapter Summaries

Xu Qingtong arranged for Du Siwen, disguised as Dongfang Hui, to enroll in the Academy’s Foundation Establishment Realm Martial Arts Society and stay at his cave abode. As he showed her around the Academy, their playful antics sparked rumors that Patrol Instructor Xu was henpecked.

• Shen Haotian told Xu Qingtong to arrange Dongfang Hui’s Academy enrollment and discussed Xu’s mysterious origins with the Grand Elder.
• Du Siwen chose the Martial Arts Society’s classes, and Xu Qingtong registered her with Wang Yuning, agreeing that she would stay at his cave abode.
• Du Siwen settled into Xu Qingtong’s cave abode while he continued studying Puppet Art in the Earthfire Chamber.
• Xu Qingtong took Du Siwen around the Academy the next morning, where they encountered Nangong Zhen.
• Du Siwen chased Xu Qingtong around the Academy after he boastfully praised himself, prompting rumors that Patrol Instructor Xu was henpecked.

After realizing he could use his incarnation to cultivate while he taught at the Academy, Xu Qingtong restored its lost lifespan and youthful appearance with a Lifespan-Extending Elixir. He gave Du Siwen a bottle of earth milk, and she began refining its powerful spiritual energy.

• Xu Qingtong remembered his incarnation and found that the Cursing Technique had left it looking old and cost it more than fifty years of lifespan.
• Xu Qingtong confronted Steward Cai about the tiger-patterned white jade lotus and bought a high-grade Lifespan-Extending Elixir after bargaining its price down by half.
• Xu Qingtong sent a Primordial Spirit into his incarnation and used the elixir to restore its youthful appearance.
• Du Siwen returned and teased Xu Qingtong about which body was her husband before he explained the elixir's effects.
• Xu Qingtong gave Du Siwen a bottle of earth milk, and she began refining the surge of spiritual power after tasting a drop.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen cultivated with earth milk, while Xu Qingtong’s renewed practice of the True Origin Scripture left him meditating for two days and missing his lecture. Rumors that he and Du Siwen had been engaging in dual cultivation followed them to class, and the chapter ended after Du Siwen returned from sparring with torn clothes as Xu Qingtong apologized for accompanying her.

• Du Siwen refined a drop of earth milk and advanced to the peak of the Foundation Establishment middle stage, while Xu Qingtong and his incarnation also cultivated with earth milk.
• Xu Qingtong practiced the True Origin Scripture and entered a profound meditative state that lasted two days, causing him to miss his lecture.
• Xu Qingtong received messages from Wang Yuning, the Grand Elder, and Nangong Zhen, whose teasing replies convinced him they had misunderstood his absence as indulgence in dual cultivation.
• Xu Qingtong accompanied Du Siwen to class, where Wang Yuning teased him about dual cultivation and Du Siwen sat close beside him, attracting gossip and glances.
• Xu Qingtong fled the Lecture Hall at noon, then worried that the misunderstanding would damage Du Siwen’s reputation.
• Du Siwen returned that evening with disheveled hair and slashed clothes after sparring, and Xu Qingtong apologized for accompanying her to class.

Du Siwen broke through to the Foundation Establishment late stage but worried that her relationship with Xu Qingtong could complicate his search for Dongfang Hui. Later, Sect Master Shen Haotian summoned Xu Qingtong and other Academy leaders to discuss choosing candidates for the upcoming Tianhua Ranking.

• Du Siwen reassured Xu Qingtong that she was willing to remain his Dao Companion, despite his concerns about her reputation.
• A year later, Du Siwen used Earth Milk to break through to the Foundation Establishment late stage while Xu Qingtong stood guard.
• Du Siwen grew sad thinking of Yu Tiancheng and warned Xu Qingtong not to return to Gloomwind Valley, then expressed concern that her status might cause trouble with Dongfang Hui.
• Xu Qingtong's Incarnation advanced to the Foundation Establishment middle stage, and his Shamanic Arts and divine abilities reached perfection in the Sorcerer Realm.
• Shen Haotian summoned Xu Qingtong, Ding Fanchen, Meng Zehai, and the elders to discuss selecting Juxian Academy's candidates for the Tianhua Ranking.

Xu Qingtong learned about the Tianhua Ranking and agreed to take part in its Foundation Establishment challenge, then asked Nangong Zhen for advice about which ranking to enter. Nangong Zhen explained how the Martial Arts Rankings worked, beginning with trials where challengers fought simulated versions of themselves.

• Sect Master Shen explained the Tianhua Ranking and assigned the elders and stewards to select candidates, while Xu Qingtong was asked to help with the Qi Refining Rankings and compete in the Foundation Establishment challenge.
• Xu Qingtong discovered that Nangong Zhen ranked fifth on the Foundation Establishment Martial Arts Rankings and later invited him to a meal at his cave abode.
• Xu Qingtong asked Nangong Zhen which rankings he should challenge, and Nangong Zhen said the Foundation Establishment Martial Arts Rankings were fiercely competitive.
• Nangong Zhen explained that Martial Arts Ranking challengers advanced by passing trials and that the first ten floors of Tianhua Tower made them fight simulated versions of themselves.

Xu Qingtong learned how Tianhua Tower worked and persuaded Du Siwen to challenge it with him. He defeated the first two floors, realized his displayed strength might affect later phantoms, and began testing that theory on the third floor.

• Nangong Zhen explained Tianhua Tower’s floors, rankings, and the merit required to attempt a challenge.
• Xu Qingtong teased Du Siwen about the Martial Arts Ranking competition, and she beat him for treating her like a maid.
• Xu Qingtong convinced Du Siwen to spend merit on a tower attempt, and they paid two thousand merit for two Jade Talismans.
• Xu Qingtong easily defeated his first-floor phantom, then faced a Foundation Establishment Early Stage phantom on the second floor.
• Xu Qingtong bound the second-floor phantom with Green Vines Technique and finished it with the Star Plucker Sword.
• Xu Qingtong considered whether his strength in each trial determined the next phantom’s strength, then placed his Jade Talisman into the third-floor pillar.

Xu Qingtong overcame the trials from the Third through Eighth Layers by adapting his tactics and confronting his fear, but he used nearly all his methods along the way. As he reached the Tenth Trial, he faced a Foundation Establishment Late Stage phantom with few options left.

• Xu Qingtong defeated the Third Layer phantom with Green Vines Technique and the Star Plucker Sword, then meditated before advancing.
• On the Fourth Layer, two phantoms overwhelmed Xu Qingtong until he used the Cloud-Howling Sword and his Foundation Establishment Middle Stage strength to win.
• Xu Qingtong overcame his fear on the Fifth Layer and defeated a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage phantom with the Houtu Seal and Cloud-Howling Sword.
• Xu Qingtong cleared the Sixth Layer by swiftly defeating one of two phantoms, then passed the Seventh Layer by trapping and defeating three phantoms with his Five Elements Divine Seals.
• On the Eighth Layer, Xu Qingtong used all Five Seals and Golden Light Slash to scrape through the trial.
• At the Tenth Trial, Xu Qingtong faced a Foundation Establishment Late Stage phantom after using nearly all his methods in the earlier trials.

Xu Qingtong survived the tenth-floor trial by using every technique and Biyue, then began facing the Phantom Shadow clones of Zhong Ziqing and Lü Wenqiu. As he advanced through the Qi Refining trials, he studied their skill and reached the forty-first floor with a new understanding of the Dao.

• Xu Qingtong used the Five Elements Divine Seals, Soul-Piercing Nails, Divine Sense attacks, and Biyue to defeat the three phantoms on the tenth floor.
• After reflecting on the dangerous battle, Xu Qingtong went to the eleventh floor and defeated Lü Wenqiu's First Qi Refining Layer clone after half an incense stick of dodging.
• Xu Qingtong studied Zhong Ziqing's movements while fighting his clone on the twelfth floor and deepened his understanding of the First Qi Refining Layer.
• Xu Qingtong completed the Qi Refining trials and reached the forty-first floor, realizing that understanding the method and principles made the Dao simple.

Xu Qingtong climbed Tianhua Tower, using battles against Spirit Transformation cultivators’ Phantom Shadows to deepen his mastery of Five Elements Spells. After reaching the Golden Core trials, he found he could no longer gain new insights and committed himself to fighting Lü Wenqiu’s Clone Phantom.

• Xu Qingtong spent six hours clearing the forty-first through fiftieth floors and meditated on what he learned from the Phantom Shadows’ Five Elements Spells.
• Xu Qingtong reached the sixtieth floor the next morning, where his Dao Heart Seeds had grown and his Golden Light Slash had become faster and stronger.
• Zhong Ziqing and Lü Wenqiu watched Xu Qingtong’s progress and remarked that he was an unusually clever trial-taker.
• Xu Qingtong discovered that his stronger Five Elements Spells let him defeat the late Foundation Establishment Phantom Shadows on the sixty-first and sixty-second floors.
• Xu Qingtong pushed past a bottleneck and reached the seventy-first floor, where he fought Lü Wenqiu’s Golden Core Clone Phantom but gained no new insight.

Xu Qingtong emerged from Tianhua Tower after reaching the seventy-sixth stage, then spent a month refining what he had learned. After helping select Qi Refining Ranking candidates, he was invited to compete for a place on the Martial Arts Rankings.

• Xu Qingtong left Tianhua Tower after clearing the seventy-sixth stage, and Du Siwen told him she had reached the sixty-second stage.
• The tower steward revealed Xu Qingtong’s result and said Nangong Zhen had reached only the seventieth stage on his first attempt.
• Xu Qingtong requested a month of leave and entered seclusion, while Du Siwen trained intensely with the Martial Arts Society.
• After assimilating his gains and studying the Five Elixirs Origin Refinement Art, Xu Qingtong taught Qi Refining disciples and helped finalize candidates for the Ranking Challenge.
• The Grand Elder told Xu Qingtong that Senior Zhong wanted him to compete for a place on the Martial Arts Rankings.

Xu Qingtong received cultivation insights from Senior Zhong and Senior Lü and agreed to compete in three rankings, while Shen Haotian arranged free access to Tianhua Tower for his preparation. Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen entered the tower together after he secured her permission to accompany him.

• Shen Haotian gave Xu Qingtong Jade Slips from Senior Zhong and Senior Lü and asked him to compete in the Talisman Crafting, artifact refining, and martial arts ranking competitions.
• Xu Qingtong accepted, and Shen Haotian excused him from teaching for three months, offered to cancel his debt if he placed in the martial arts top three, and granted him free access to Tianhua Tower.
• Xu Qingtong told Du Siwen about the free tower challenges, then remembered his relatives in Bingzhou and refused to leave before completing the Ranking Challenge.
• After studying the Jade Slips overnight, Xu Qingtong explained to Du Siwen how to learn from the two seniors’ Phantom Shadows and invited her to challenge the tower with him.
• The tower steward initially refused Du Siwen entry, but Xu Qingtong insisted and the steward eventually let them both enter.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen repeatedly challenged Tianhua Tower, learning from the Spirit Transformation masters’ phantom clones until Xu reached the seventy-first floor. Impressed by their progress, Zhong Ziqing and Lü Wenqiu arranged for Du Siwen to enter the Martial Arts Rankings’ Rank-Challenging Competition, though she worried she was not ready.

• Xu Qingtong studied the masters’ techniques as he fought through Tianhua Tower, reaching the sixty-second floor before retreating to recover.
• Xu returned to the tower and advanced to the sixty-eighth floor, where he met Du Siwen, who had reached the same floor and returned to her cave abode to reflect.
• Zhong Ziqing and Lü Wenqiu praised Xu and Du Siwen’s potential, and Xu continued challenging the tower until he reached the seventy-first floor a month later.
• Lü Wenqiu suggested that Du Siwen participate in the Martial Arts Rankings, and Zhong Ziqing agreed to speak with Shen Haotian.
• Shen Haotian summoned Du Siwen to Cloudwater Retreat and told her that the two seniors had granted her permission to enter the Rank-Challenging Competition.
• Du Siwen thanked Shen Haotian but said she still needed to absorb what she had learned and feared she might damage the Academy’s reputation.

Du Siwen refused Shen Haotian’s request to enter the Rank-Challenging Competition, while Xu Qingtong struggled with his feelings for her and Dongfang Hui. After spending time together, Xu Qingtong was summoned to meet Senior Zhong, leaving the reason for the summons unknown.

• Du Siwen refused to challenge the rankings, and Shen Haotian let her return to her cave abode.
• Xu Qingtong lost to Lü Wenqiu’s Clone Phantom on the seventy-first layer and returned home exhausted after more than a month of challenges.
• Du Siwen told Xu Qingtong that Shen Haotian wanted her to challenge the Martial Arts Rankings for two Spirit Transformation seniors, and she planned to leave the Academy in a month.
• Xu Qingtong told Du Siwen he would leave if she did, and they spent the next half month together as he prepared for the rankings.
• Shen Haotian summoned Xu Qingtong and escorted him to Senior Zhong’s secluded cave abode, where Xu Qingtong went inside to meet the elder.

Xu Qingtong met with Zhong Ziqing and Lü Wenqiu, who recognized clues to his origins but accepted his reasons for hiding them. Zhong gave him insights into the Golden Core Stage to help him prepare for the Tianhua Ranking, and Xu returned to tell Du Siwen she could reveal her true identity.

• Zhong Ziqing and Lü Wenqiu questioned Xu Qingtong about his background, his Five Elements Divine Seals, and his relationship with the girl who had challenged the tower.
• Zhong Ziqing revealed that he knew about the hidden passage into Bingzhou and the conflict with the Soul Devouring Sect, prompting Xu Qingtong to explain that he had concealed his identity to protect Qing and Bing Provinces.
• Xu Qingtong admitted that the girl was his senior sister, Du Siwen, and Lü Wenqiu urged him to treat her well.
• Zhong Ziqing gave Xu Qingtong a jade slip containing his insights into the Golden Core Stage and warned him to reach the top three in the Tianhua Ranking competition.
• Xu Qingtong returned to Du Siwen and told her she could stop pretending to be Hui'er and use her true name.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen studied cultivation insights before returning to Tianhua Tower, where Xu found a way to exploit the clone phantoms' weakness and climbed far higher than before. He reached the eighty-third floor, where stronger mid-stage Golden Core opponents finally stopped his progress.

• Xu Qingtong gave Du Siwen two jade slips containing Spirit Transformation masters' insights, and she studied them before reading Zhong Ziqing's Golden Core insights with him.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen returned to Tianhua Tower, where Steward Zhou told Xu that the previous rankings champion, Yuwen Kui, had reached the eighty-sixth floor at peak Foundation Establishment cultivation.
• Xu Qingtong disrupted the surrounding power of heaven and earth and chained together five-element spells to exhaust Lü Wenqiu's clone phantom, while Du Siwen advanced to the seventieth floor.
• Xu Qingtong used this method to reach the seventy-eighth floor, matching Nangong Zhen's result, and then climbed to the eighty-first floor despite facing mid-stage Golden Core strength.
• Xu Qingtong pushed on to the eighty-third floor, where the clone's greater magic power and ability to harness the surrounding power of heaven and earth defeated his strategy.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen continued challenging Tianhua Tower, improving their results through combat practice and Xu Qingtong’s guidance. After Du Siwen reached the seventy-fourth layer, Xu Qingtong persuaded Shen Haotian to let her enter the Rank-Challenging Competition, and he revealed that he had reached the eighty-third layer.

• Xu Qingtong left Tianhua Tower after reaching the eighty-third layer, while Du Siwen continued fighting and later emerged after reaching the seventy-first layer.
• Xu Qingtong recounted his tower challenge to Du Siwen, then cultivated with earth milk as she returned to Tianhua Tower alone.
• Du Siwen used Xu Qingtong’s guidance to reach the seventy-fourth layer, while Xu Qingtong advanced his cultivation by refining three drops of earth milk.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen asked Shen Haotian to let Du Siwen enter the Rank-Challenging Competition, and Shen Haotian granted her another chance.
• Du Siwen reported reaching the seventy-fourth layer, and Xu Qingtong told Shen Haotian he had reached the eighty-third.

Xu Qingtong set a new record in Tianhua Tower while Du Siwen improved her cultivation and reached the seventy-sixth floor. As the Five Great Sects gathered at Juxian Academy for the Rank-Challenging Competition, Nangong Zhen visited Xu Qingtong and learned that he and Du Siwen would both compete in the Martial Arts Rankings.

• Xu Qingtong encouraged Du Siwen to use Earth Milk to advance her cultivation, and she reached the middle tier of the late stage of Foundation Establishment.
• Xu Qingtong climbed to the eighty-eighth floor of Tianhua Tower, setting the best result in two hundred years, while Du Siwen reached the seventy-sixth floor.
• The leaders of the Five Great Sects brought their competitors to Juxian Academy, where the academy's Law Enforcement Team put a stop to fights among the disciples.
• Shen Haotian presented the competition categories, venues, rules, and schedule to the five sect leaders, who argued over the details.
• Nangong Zhen visited Xu Qingtong before the competition, and Du Siwen said she would enter the Martial Arts Rankings competition.

Xu Qingtong learned the Tianhua Ranking competition rules and decided to compete in talisman crafting first, artifact refining second, and martial arts last. The competition began the next morning, with Xu Qingtong arriving at the Talisman Crafting Pavilion as the contestants gathered.

• Nangong Zhen told Xu Qingtong that the sect leaders were still settling the schedule, and said Jade Spring True Person had succeeded Luo Yichen as Anyang Sect leader.
• Shen Haotian and the sect leaders agreed to let contestants in multiple rankings compete at staggered times, then Shen announced the rules and rewards at the Assembly Hall.
• Several disciples left the Academy to represent other sects, and Shen Haotian told the remaining contestants they would represent Juxian Academy.
• Xu Qingtong reviewed the three competitions and chose to enter talisman crafting first, artifact refining second, and martial arts last, aiming for a top-three martial arts placement.
• Du Siwen woke Xu Qingtong the next morning, and he went to the Talisman Crafting Pavilion, where contestants had gathered around the prepared tables.

Xu Qingtong won the Foundation Establishment Realm Talisman Crafting Rankings by crafting five high-grade Chance Talismans, then hurried to the Artifact Refining Pavilion to begin the next contest. He entered an Earthfire Chamber and started the twenty-four-hour artifact-refining challenge.

• Steward Li announced the talisman contest rules and revealed the Chance Talisman guide, which Xu Qingtong studied and practiced inside his Niwang Palace.
• Xu Qingtong waited until less than two hours remained before attempting the talisman, and his first sheet of paper burned as spectators doubted him.
• Xu Qingtong successfully crafted eight Chance Talismans, including five high-grade ones, with only two failures.
• The judges ranked Xu Qingtong first in the Foundation Establishment Realm Talisman Crafting Rankings, and he left for the Artifact Refining Pavilion.
• Shen Haotian's arrangements kept Xu Qingtong from being disqualified for arriving late, and Xu Qingtong entered an Earthfire Chamber with the contest materials.

Xu Qingtong completed the artifact refining challenge, placing sixth, then entered the Martial Arts Rankings tower challenge. He reached the eighty-eighth layer before using his jade talisman to return, delighting the Grand Elder.

• Xu Qingtong refined a metal-fire dual-attribute flying sword and submitted it to the Artifact Refining Pavilion steward without using the hundred-year moist wood.
• Xu Qingtong went to Tianhua Tower, where he learned he had won first place in the Talisman Crafting Rankings and later received sixth place in the Artifact Refining Rankings.
• Xu Qingtong recovered his magic power and divine sense while waiting for the second round of tower challenges to begin, then entered Tianhua Tower with Nangong Zhen.
• Xu Qingtong advanced through the tower and reached the eightieth layer, drawing notice from Shen Haotian and the leaders of the Five Great Sects.
• Xu Qingtong stopped at the eighty-eighth layer after a day and crushed his jade talisman to return to the tower entrance, where the Grand Elder praised him.