Chapter Summaries

Li Rui completed the Profound Water Body and began sensing Azure Wood Qi, then learned Wang Zhao was doing well in the Witch Kingdom and sent him a reply. In Qinghe, Regional Commander Zhou Dinghai arrived and praised Li Rui’s work, while Nie Siming warned him that Zhou’s subordinate Fu Tao might cause trouble.

• Li Rui mastered the Profound Water Body and decided to cultivate the Azure Wood Body next, keeping the Five Elements Body Refining Art secret.
• Liu Tiezhu gave Li Rui a letter from Wang Zhao, and Li Rui wrote a reply to be sent through Spring Breeze Hall.
• Zhou Dinghai arrived at Annan Garrison with Xue Gui and inspected the new military compound, which Li Rui had overseen.
• Zhou Dinghai praised Li Rui and settled into the new Regional Commander’s Manor, while Fu Tao introduced himself to Li Rui.
• Nie Siming warned Li Rui that Fu Tao was a smiling tiger and that Zhou Dinghai’s subordinates might target people connected to the Marquis Manor.

Si Feng recruited two Innate Martial Artists as Dao attendants and gave them cultivation methods, while Li Rui settled into his new role as a vice general. When Li Rui visited Anning Guard, he found Lu Jun had lost a fight against a challenger from Wild Ox Guard.

• Blood Shadow Old Ancestor brought Si Feng two people with upper middle-grade spiritual roots, and Si Feng appointed them Dao attendants rather than disciples.
• Si Feng gave the man the Blazing Flame Art and the woman the Profound Water Art, then told them to cultivate daily.
• Li Rui cultivated Azure Wood Qi with help from the Profound Water Body and moved into the vice general's residence in Clear River.
• Li Rui traveled to Anning Guard, where he found soldiers watching Lu Jun spar with a challenger from Wild Ox Guard.
• Lu Jun lost the fight as dust billowed across the drill ground.

Li Rui restored the Anning Guard's morale after Lu Jun lost a series of sparring matches, then ordered Cao Wei to make sure the soldiers won their next contests. Later, Li Rui met with Yuan Xiong and Fu Tao, where a friendly-looking banquet turned into a test of strength that ended with Fu Tao acknowledging Li Rui's power.

• Lu Jun admitted defeat to Liu Biao, and Li Rui praised Liu Biao before telling Lu Jun to win next time.
• Li Rui rallied the Anning Guard and ordered Cao Wei to ensure the troops only won for the next three months.
• Li Rui visited Ning Zhongtian, encouraged his cultivation, and promised to help him secure a military adviser post after he broke through.
• Fu Tao arrived at Li Rui's residence, where Yuan Xiong was also present, and Li Rui invited them to drink.
• Fu Tao tried to snatch Li Rui's wine bowl, and the two exchanged blows and Qi Forms without either gaining the upper hand.
• Yuan Xiong dispersed the shockwaves, and Fu Tao accepted the wine and praised its strength.

Li Rui received an Imperial Edict appointing him deputy commander of Annan Garrison and granting him the honorary title of Viscount. After the system awarded him achievement points, Yang Yong urged him to remarry so the title could be inherited, then teased him about Dongmei.

• Li Rui explained to Yuan Xiong that he had arranged the drinking contest to intimidate Fu Tao and keep Anning Guard from being pushed around.
• He Qiannian told Li Rui that the Dark Guard would not interfere with the Fallen Immortal unless it openly rebelled against Yu Kingdom.
• Zhou Dinghai and Xue Gui delivered the Imperial Edict granting Li Rui the title of Viscount alongside his appointment as deputy commander of Annan Garrison.
• The achievement system announced that Li Rui had completed the ennoblement mission and awarded him 30 Achievement Points.
• Yang Yong suggested Li Rui remarry so he could leave the viscountcy to an heir, then accused him of having been involved with Dongmei.

Li Rui mastered the Water Wood Combination Attack, visited Little White Flood Dragon to discuss the Purple Gold Palace’s growing power, and returned to Clear River for a military gathering. Regional Commander Zhou Dinghai announced that the coming military exercises would take place in the Ten Thousand Mountains, putting the Purple Gold Palace in their sights.

• Li Rui read Lin Hai’s letter reporting that the Holy Emperor had decided to send troops against Eastern Wu, then burned it and completed his cultivation of the Azure Wood Body.
• Li Rui tested the Water Wood Combination Attack at Wild Duck Lake, startling Little White Flood Dragon, who explained that the Purple Gold Palace had transformed the Ten Thousand Mountains and driven Old Flood Dragon away.
• Li Rui warned Little White Flood Dragon against raiding the Purple Gold Palace and learned more about the situation in the Ten Thousand Mountains before returning to Clear River.
• Nie Siming and Yuan Xiong escorted Li Rui to a meeting at the Regional Commander’s Manor, where Zhou Dinghai announced military exercises in ten days to suppress the demon calamity in the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Li Rui led the Anning Guard into the Ten Thousand Mountains for Annan Garrison’s training exercises, while the Blood Shadow Old Ancestor ordered Qi Tong and Zhu Yun to watch the Yu Kingdom troops. As Li Rui and the other deputy generals observed their soldiers fighting a Crimson Flame Wolf, a Demon Tide surged toward them.

• Li Rui and the Annan Garrison army reached the Ten Thousand Mountains and settled into camps before beginning the exercises.
• Li Rui told Nie Siming he expected the Anning Guard to place second-to-last, while the other deputy generals competed for a better showing.
• The Blood Shadow Old Ancestor ordered Qi Tong and Zhu Yun to monitor the Yu Kingdom troops and kill anyone who entered Purple Gold Palace territory.
• Qi Tong told Zhu Yun he wanted to meet Li Rui, though she warned him not to cause trouble in Yu Kingdom territory.
• Li Rui, Nie Siming, and Yuan Xiong watched Lu Jun’s squad fight a Crimson Flame Wolf and praised the soldiers’ discipline.
• A beastly roar shook the mountains, and Nie Siming spotted a Demon Tide approaching.

Li Rui rescued soldiers from a Demon Tide driven by the Purple Gold Palace, then confronted Qi Tong, a cultivator of the Five Elements Body Refining Art sent to capture him. Qi Tong blocked Li Rui’s powerful strike with a golden bell formed from a Jade Scepter.

• Li Rui sensed that the Demon Tide had been deliberately driven, rescued Lu Jun and his soldiers, and ordered them to retreat.
• Li Rui saved Guan Xinrong and another garrison commander, then used True Dragon Qi to frighten the surrounding demon beasts into fleeing.
• A young man named Qi Tong emerged and revealed that he cultivated the Five Elements Body Refining Art and intended to capture Li Rui for the Palace Master.
• Qi Tong attacked Li Rui with fireballs, but Li Rui evaded them and charged with Flood Dragon Slayer.
• Qi Tong conjured a golden bell from his Jade Scepter just as Li Rui’s strike came down, and the blade slammed into its barrier.

Li Rui killed Qi Tong, a Purple Gold Palace disciple, and secretly hid the broken Jade Scepter before returning to the army. After the Demon Tide passed, the military training ended, and Ning Zhongtian looked forward to using his merits to break through.

• Li Rui shattered Qi Tong's golden barrier, extinguished his Blazing Body with the Profound Water Body, and beheaded him.
• Li Rui suspected the Jade Scepter was an Immortal Treasure and buried it with a vine so it would be difficult to trace.
• Li Rui returned to Qinghe Enclosure without revealing Qi Tong's death, and Fu Tao thanked him for saving his distant nephew.
• Annan Garrison resumed training after the Demon Tide weakened, then withdrew after seven days when the demon beasts had been cleared from the mountains.
• Ning Zhongtian celebrated earning eighteen major merits and said he expected to break through.

Li Rui warned Ning Zhongtian and Cao Wei to prepare for a possible war against Eastern Wu, then advanced his Blazing Body cultivation and discovered it strengthened his Heart Refining. By summer, Spring Breeze Hall was expanding into Jiangzhou, and Lin Lang told Li Rui that the emperor planned to send an envoy to the Witch Kingdom.

• Zhu Yun told Blood Shadow Old Ancestor that Qi Tong had not returned, while keeping her suspicions about Li Rui to herself to protect her own position.
• Li Rui visited the Anning Guard and told Ning Zhongtian and Cao Wei that the Imperial Astronomical Bureau’s Three Stars in a Line omen pointed to a possible campaign against Eastern Wu.
• Li Rui cultivated the Blazing Body to completion and found that cultivating Immortal Techniques accelerated his Heart Refining by working in concert with the Five Elements Body Refining Art.
• By summer, Liu Tong and Lin Lang’s niece had left to explore business opportunities in Jiangzhou as Spring Breeze Hall expanded beyond Cloud Province.
• At the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, Lin Lang told Li Rui that the emperor intended to send an envoy to the Witch Kingdom.

Li Rui learned that Vice Minister Wang would lead an embassy to the Witch Kingdom and was chosen to escort the mission alongside Nie Siming and Yuan Xiong. As the delegation prepared to negotiate with a divided Witch Kingdom, Vice Minister Wang asked Li Rui about his connections there.

• Xue Gui announced that Vice Minister Wang would lead an embassy to the Witch Kingdom, and Li Rui considered whether the mission could earn him merit.
• Iron Madman told Li Rui that their sparring had loosened his bottleneck and that he expected to break through soon.
• A month later, Nie Siming revealed that Vice Minister Wang had specifically named Li Rui for the escort delegation, while Li Rui knew he was also assigned to investigate Fallen Immortals in the Witch Kingdom.
• Xue Gui said Li Rui, Nie Siming, and Yuan Xiong would escort Vice Minister Wang with thirty elite soldiers, while Mister Liu would follow secretly.
• Vice Minister Wang warned that the Witch Kingdom was internally divided and asked Li Rui whether he had connections there.

Li Rui joined Vice Minister Wang’s diplomatic delegation to the Witch Kingdom, where his connections were expected to help the mission. After crossing Rock Mist Mountain, the delegation met the Black Shaman Guard and its feared commander Qin Huo, who revealed that Li Rui was already well known at the Wu Court.

• Vice Minister Wang recruited Li Rui to use his Witch Kingdom connections, and Xue Gui welcomed the chance for Li Rui to earn credit on the mission.
• After seven days of preparation, Vice Minister Wang led a delegation of more than thirty officials and guards from Clear River toward the Witch Kingdom.
• At Rock Mist Mountain, Li Rui guided the delegation across the iron-chain bridge and spotted cavalry waiting on the far bank.
• The Black Shaman Guard escorted the delegation on Mountain-Carrying Oxen, and its commander Qin Huo introduced himself to Yuan Xiong and Li Rui.
• Qin Huo told Li Rui that many people at the Wu Court knew of him and wished to meet him, leaving Nie Siming and Yuan Xiong astonished.

Li Rui reached the Wu Court Capital with the Yu Kingdom delegation and met Xia Xiaotang and the Great Shaman, who welcomed him as a friend of the Witch Clan. The Great Shaman asked Li Rui to stay for the grand sacrifice and give the Witch Clan’s restoration-minded youths a shock.

• The Yu Kingdom delegation arrived safely in the Wu Court Capital and settled into the Bureau of Receptions.
• Xia Xiaotang visited Li Rui and explained that Qin Huo opposed Yu Kingdom intervention in the Witch Kingdom’s internal conflict.
• The Great Shaman appeared and joined Li Rui and Xia Xiaotang in soaking their feet.
• The Great Shaman asked Li Rui about the Great Soul Pill, praised his potential, and told him to keep the Black Dragon Token as a sign of friendship with the Witch Clan.
• The Great Shaman invited Li Rui and the delegation to attend the Witch Clan’s grand sacrifice and asked Li Rui to shock the restoration-minded youths.

At the Witch Kingdom’s grand sacrifice and Saimu Tournament, a burly warrior challenged the Yu Kingdom delegation, and Li Rui accepted after recognizing the confrontation as a ploy to sway opinion against the Yu Kingdom’s planned intervention. Just as the fight was about to begin, a Witch Kingdom official invoked an ancestral custom and called for the Emperor Listening Drum.

• Yuan Xiong and Nie Siming joined Vice Minister Wang and Li Rui at the Witch Kingdom’s grand sacrifice, where Li Rui saw the Twelve Ancestral Gods’ statues and the Witch Country New Emperor leading the ceremony.
• After the two-day sacrifice, the Saimu Tournament showcased the Witch Kingdom’s young warriors and impressed Vice Minister Wang with their strength.
• Tu Xuan defeated his opponent, challenged the Yu Kingdom delegation, and singled out Li Rui when Nie Siming and Yuan Xiong were clearly unsuitable targets.
• Li Rui accepted Tu Xuan’s challenge, understanding that Witch Kingdom commanders had staged the confrontation to build opposition to the Yu Kingdom sending troops.
• A young Witch Kingdom official objected to fighting an envoy with weapons and proposed following ancestral custom by inviting the Emperor Listening Drum.

At the Witch Kingdom’s grand sacrifice, Li Rui entered a contest to resonate with the Emperor Listening Drum and astonished the crowd by making its sound carry eight hundred li. The achievement earned him 40 points, bringing his total to 90/100.

• Yuan Xiong explained that the Emperor Listening Drum measured a martial artist’s strength by how far its sound traveled, and the ruler approved Li Rui’s challenge.
• Tu Xuan struck the drum and achieved a distance of three hundred li before provoking Li Rui to compete.
• Li Rui quietly resonated with the drum, avoiding the Five Elements Body Refining Art so he would not reveal his origins.
• Li Rui’s Dragon Form true qi emerged as he focused, and the Emperor Listening Drum began sounding across Wu Court City.
• The recording official announced that Li Rui’s drumbeats had carried eight hundred li, and Li Rui received 40 Achievement Points.

Li Rui shattered the Emperor Listening Drum's record, strengthening his body and mind while helping the Witch Kingdom agree to join Yu Kingdom in suppressing the rebels. He met Dark Guard agent Feng Jing to discuss a suspected Fallen Immortal, but Sheng Daoren attacked Feng Jing at the merchant house and shattered his signal token.

• Li Rui made the Emperor Listening Drum sound for eight hundred li, breaking the Witch Kingdom's thousand-year record and earning praise from the King and the Great Shaman.
• Li Rui reflected on the drum's effects, then learned from Nie Siming and Yuan Xiong that the Witch Kingdom's opposition to the military alliance had weakened.
• Li Rui met Feng Jing, a Dark Guard agent investigating the Witch Kingdom's late emperor and a possible Fallen Immortal tied to the Purple Gold Palace.
• Vice Minister Wang announced that the Witch Kingdom had issued an edict to join Yu Kingdom in suppressing the rebels, crediting the Great Shaman's support and Li Rui's reputation.
• Sheng Daoren entered Spring Breeze Hall with Zhu Yun, killed the shop assistant, seized Feng Jing, and shattered his Dark Guard jade token.

After Feng Jing and a branch of Spring Breeze Hall were destroyed, Li Rui left the Witch Kingdom with the Yu Kingdom delegation. On the return journey, Qin Huo revealed that a Fallen Immortal had killed Feng Jing and proposed sharing intelligence against the growing threat.

• Nie Siming told Li Rui that the delegation would depart at noon, and Xia Xiaotang promised to have the Ministry of Justice investigate the Spring Breeze Hall fire.
• Vice Minister Wang led the Yu Kingdom delegation out of the Witch Kingdom, where Qin Huo and the Black Shaman Guard accompanied them for part of the journey.
• After five days of uneventful travel, Qin Huo privately confronted Li Rui about his Dark Guard identity, and Li Rui recognized Qin Huo as the Witch Kingdom's counterpart.
• Qin Huo told Li Rui that a Fallen Immortal had killed Feng Jing and explained that his investigation had exposed Feng Jing as a Dark Guard agent.
• Li Rui and Qin Huo agreed to share information about the Fallen Immortals, and Qin Huo gave Li Rui a sealed letter for Lord He.

Li Rui returned from the Witch Kingdom, delivered Qin Huo’s message about the Fallen Immortal and Feng Jing’s death to He Qiannian, and learned that Yu Kingdom was preparing for war against Eastern Wu to suppress the Immortal Chaos. After six months of cultivation, Li Rui achieved Great Accomplishment of Innate and gained far greater control over his true qi.

• Qin Huo saw Vice Minister Wang’s delegation through the border pass and asked Li Rui to deliver a letter to He Qiannian.
• Vice Minister Wang praised Li Rui, Nie Siming, and Yuan Xiong to General Xue, who rewarded Li Rui with ten days of leave.
• Li Rui gave He Qiannian Qin Huo’s letter and reported that Feng Jing had died in a fire at Spring Breeze Hall, apparently killed by a Fallen Immortal.
• Nie Siming told Li Rui that the Holy Emperor had ordered three garrisons to campaign against Eastern Wu, while Li Rui recognized the true target as the Purple Gold Palace.
• Li Rui cultivated for half a year, advanced his Heart Refining, and achieved Great Accomplishment of Innate, gaining precise control over Immortal Profound Qi.

Li Rui broke through the Heart Refining Barrier and discovered the embryonic form of a Dao Embryo in his Immortal Court, then revealed his progress to He Qiannian. After Flood Dragon Slayer developed a weapon spirit, an old friend arrived at Li Rui’s residence.

• Li Rui completed Heart Refining, reached Great Accomplishment of Innate, and found a Peach Blossom tree forming within his Immortal Court.
• He Qiannian watched Li Rui practice Great Horizontal Training, learned that he had crossed the Heart Refining Barrier, and urged him to keep the breakthrough secret.
• He Qiannian told Li Rui that Jiang Linxian would soon travel south to Clear River to take command after the Purple Gold Palace appeared and a Fallen Immortal intervened.
• Li Rui, Iron Madman, and Liu Tiezhu examined Flood Dragon Slayer after it developed a weapon spirit, and Iron Madman judged it a high-grade Immortal Blade.
• A man dressed in white appeared at Li Rui’s gate and greeted him as Brother Li.

Jiang Linxian arrived in Clear River to pursue the Fallen Immortal and brought Li Rui Phoenix Marrow as the Holy Emperor’s reward. As Annan Garrison prepared to build forts around Purple Gold Palace, Li Rui joined Nie Siming and Yuan Xiong and traveled to Army Breaker Fortress, where he planned to dig a deeper secret passage.

• Jiang Linxian asked to stay at Li Rui’s manor and told him he had come to track the Fallen Immortal, whom he suspected of causing several disasters and killing his wife.
• Jiang Linxian gave Li Rui Phoenix Marrow, the reward for his mission to the Witch Kingdom, which Li Rui recognized as a material for the Spirit Ascension Method.
• Xue Gui announced that the three garrisons would attack Purple Gold Palace and that Annan Garrison would build seventy-two high forts to contain it.
• Nie Siming proposed that he, Yuan Xiong, and Li Rui build their forts together, and Li Rui accepted their offer of support.
• Li Rui and the other generals traveled to Army Breaker Fortress, where Li Rui inspected his courtyard and decided to dig his secret passage deeper using the Thick Earth Body.

Li Rui discovered an underground cave abode rich in spiritual qi, mastered the Five Elements Body, and learned that a Dark Guard Guest Elder had arrived in Cloud Province. After a fortress was massacred for its martial artists’ Living Souls, Nie Siming and Yuan Xiong realized Army Breaker Fortress could be the next target.

• Li Rui found an ancient cave abode beneath the Ten Thousand Mountains and made it his secret chamber after discovering that its dense spiritual qi made cultivation more than three times as effective.
• Li Rui completed the Five Elements Body Refining Art, fused its five spiritual qis with Immortal Profound Qi, and tested a Five Elements Shield that stopped his full-strength strike.
• Nie Siming told Li Rui that a western fortress had been massacred by a powerful expert, then rode with Yuan Xiong to investigate.
• Sheng Daoren dismissed Si Feng’s warning and secretly planned to collect martial artists’ Living Souls to refine a Hundred Souls Banner.
• Li Rui received He Qiannian’s letter reporting that reinforcements were coming and a Dark Guard Great Guest Elder had reached Cloud Province, then resumed cultivating.
• At the massacred fortress, Liu Qing deduced that the killer had harvested high-level martial artists’ Living Souls, prompting Yuan Xiong to fear that Army Breaker Fortress was in danger.