Recaps

Xiao Hua reunited with his family and met the many disciples now living in Myriad Thunder Valley. Cui Yingying remained shy and fearful around him, while the group prepared to welcome visiting Thunder Palace disciples.

• Dui Qimeng urged Cui Yingying to greet Xiao Hua, but the frightened girl clung to her mother and cried.
• Dui Qimeng left to join Cui Hongshen and their guests, and Yan Qinglian took Cui Yingying after Xiao Hua tried to support her.
• Xiang Zhili explained that he and Wu Qing had returned with eager Gen Lei Palace disciples, and Xiangyang introduced Xiao Hua to his and Yan Qinglian's eight disciples.
• Xiangyang and Yan Qinglian's other eight disciples, followed by Cui Hongshen and Dui Qimeng's disciples, paid their respects to Xiao Hua.
• Xiangyang explained that Thunder Control Sect had expanded its recruitment after the Dao Sword Great Battle and that Myriad Thunder Valley had opened an outer valley to house disciples and receive guests.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xiao Hua returns to Myriad Thunder Valley and reunites with his family and disciples.
• Zhuo ** reveals that Wu Nai is in seclusion and hasn't emerged yet.
• The Great Thunder Hall sends an order announcing the fall of Xuntian City and the capture of tens of thousands of Thunder Control Sect disciples, blaming Xiao Hua for the incident.
• Xiao Hua is ordered to be punished, but the specifics will be decided after Ganlei Zi emerges from seclusion.

Character Developments

• Xiao Hua is hailed as a hero upon his return but soon faces severe consequences due to the Great Thunder Hall's order.
• Zhuo ** shows concern for Wu Nai and supports Xiao Hua.
• Xiang Zhili remains mischievous and eager to learn about Xiao Hua's battles.
• Cui Yingying is depicted as shy and reserved.

Significant Themes

• The consequences of Xiao Hua's actions in the Dao Sword Great Battle catch up with him.
• The tension between Xiao Hua's heroic deeds and the severe punishment he faces highlights the complexities of war and its impact on individuals.
• The theme of family and unity is reinforced as Xiao Hua reunites with his loved ones.

Character Interactions

• Xiao Hua interacts with his family, including Zhuo **, Xiangyang, Xiang Zhili, and Cui Yingying, showcasing his affection and concern for them.
• Zhuo ** and Yan Qinglian discuss Xue Xue's rapid cultivation progress and her possible feelings for Xiao Hua.
• Xiao Hua shares a moment of understanding with Xiang Zhili about the importance of keeping some secrets.

After Great Thunder Hall issued a decree blaming Xiao Hua for the Thunder Control Sect’s losses, he reassured his worried companions that he would avoid punishment and began recounting the battle. At Thousand Thunder Mountain, Zhen Yue learned of the decree and doubted that Xiao Hua would actually be punished once the Sect Master emerged from seclusion.

• Cui Hongshen and Dui Qimeng arrived with other disciples, and Xiao Hua told them their former companions had all left.
• Xiao Hua reassured the disciples that his merits would prevent serious punishment, then invited them into the cave residence to hear his account of the Dao Sword Great Battle.
• Zhen Yue left Thousand Thunder Mountain and arrived at the peak where Wang Yunxiao and Zhen Yuqian told him Great Thunder Hall had issued a decree against Xiao Hua.
• Zhen Yue read the decree and criticized Myriad Thunder Valley, while Wang Yunxiao argued that Xiao Hua might offset his faults with merit.
• Zhen Yue agreed that the Sect Master would not truly punish Xiao Hua because of his great contributions to the Thunder Control Sect.

Zhen Yue met with Zhen Xiaoyang, the Vice Hall Master of the Hundred Refinements Hall, and learned why Xiao Hua would escape severe punishment for his alleged offense. They discussed the return of Gan Qinghuo and the doubts surrounding the Lightning Devouring Bead, leaving Zhen Xiaoyang concerned that the Sect Master might question its origin.

• Zhen Yue received a thunder-sound talisman and left his disciples; Zhen Yuqian returned to cultivate while Wang Yunxiao later went to Zhen Thunder Palace.
• Zhen Yue visited Zhen Xiaoyang, who said he was staying away from the gathering because Hall Master Heyu would use it to appear righteous and consolidate support.
• Zhen Xiaoyang revealed that Xiao Hua had brought Gan Qinghuo back from Luyang, a major merit that would prevent the Sect Master from punishing Xiao Hua severely.
• Zhen Xiaoyang warned Zhen Yue that the Sect Master might doubt the Lightning Devouring Bead’s origin and consider using it to replace the Min Lei Bead.
• Zhen Yue explained that he had secretly told Zhen Xie about the Lightning Devouring Bead decades earlier, but Zhen Xie and Kan Mingwei had vanished while pursuing Buddhist-related matters.

Zhen Xiaoyang and Zhen Yue discussed how the Lightning Devouring Bead had been used to protect Qiong Lei Peak’s formation and worried that the secret might be exposed. Meanwhile, Xiao Hua stopped recounting his past when Xun Shu arrived with news, leaving their reunion poised to continue.

• Zhen Xiaoyang explained that an unknown third party might have taken Zhen Xie and Kan Mingwei’s storage bags and corpses, but Zhen Yue doubted the trail could lead back to them.
• Zhen Xiaoyang told Zhen Yue that the Alliance Master had secretly supplied the Lightning Devouring Bead so the Sect Master could replace the Min Lei Bead and force a hidden Buddhist artifact to reveal itself.
• Zhen Yue realized the Lightning Devouring Bead might have helped save Qiong Lei Peak’s lightning formation, and Zhen Xiaoyang urged him to check for loopholes in their secret.
• Xiao Hua received a communication talisman while telling Xiang Zhili about rescuing Xiao Mao, then ended the story and promised to hear Xiang Zhili’s own experiences later.
• Xiao Hua went outside to meet Xun Shu, who said she had come early because she had received important news.

Xiao Hua reunited with Xun Shu and his fellow disciples after returning to Thunder Control Sect, but learned that bereaved Qi Refining disciples blamed him for the losses at Xuntian City and demanded that he die and leave Qiong Lei Peak. The cave fell into silence as the group considered the danger of confronting them, and Dui Ling arrived with an urgent message.

• Xiao Hua reunited with Xun Shu, who told him that Xue Xue had been repeatedly entering seclusion and had reached late Foundation Establishment.
• Zhen Minghui, Su Qing, Zhen Huo, Qiu Xu, and Bai Su Gu arrived to welcome Xiao Hua, and they gathered with Cui Hongshen and the others in the cave residence.
• Zhen Minghui told Xiao Hua that bereaved disciples at Zhen Thunder Palace blamed him for the deaths at Xuntian City and demanded that he commit suicide and leave Qiong Lei Peak.
• Xun Shu and the others warned Xiao Hua that he could not retaliate against the low-level disciples without risking trouble for himself and Myriad Thunder Valley.
• Dui Ling called for Xiao Hua from outside, and Dui Qimeng explained that she had yet to establish her foundation after returning from Xuntian City.

Dui Ling warned Xiao Hua that disciples from Dui Lei Palace were coming to Myriad Thunder Valley to demand an explanation, but Xiao Hua refused to avoid them. Xue Xue emerged from seclusion and asked to borrow Xiao Hua, explaining that she had sensed danger in Misty Mountain and wanted him to accompany her there.

• Dui Ling braved the Soundless Thunder to warn Xiao Hua that Dui Lei Palace disciples were coming, and Dui Qimeng treated her injuries.
• Xiao Hua said he would face the visiting disciples rather than hide, despite the concern of Zhuo, Dui Qimeng, and Cui Hongshen.
• Xue Xue arrived after leaving seclusion as a late Foundation Establishment cultivator and reunited with Xiao Hua.
• Xue Xue asked Zhuo to let her take Xiao Hua away for a few days, and Zhuo agreed.
• Xue Xue explained that she had sensed danger in Misty Mountain and wanted Xiao Hua to accompany her to protect her uncle and younger brother.

Xue Xue arrived at Myriad Thunder Valley and agreed to accompany Xiao Hua away, easing tensions over the angry Qi Refining disciples. The chapter ended as more than a thousand disciples gathered outside the valley, while Xiao Hua dismissed their protest and prepared to face the situation.

• Xue Xue agreed to travel with Xiao Hua, and Xun Shu left to ask her master for leave on her behalf.
• Xiangyang explained the dispute with the Qi Refining disciples, and Xue Xue urged Xiao Hua not to stoop to their level.
• Xiao Hua sent Xiang Zhili and the others to check the outer valley, then told them to secure the cave residences’ belongings.
• Xue Xue predicted that Wu Nai would form his Golden Core and emerge from seclusion that year, surprising Xiao Hua and reassuring Zhuo.
• Zhang Juan and Fan Yuming reported that over a thousand Qi Refining disciples had gathered outside Myriad Thunder Valley, and Xiao Hua condemned them for confronting the elders.

Xiao Hua faced growing anger from Thunder Control Sect disciples who blamed him for the losses in Xuntian City, while Myriad Thunder Valley prepared for the gathering crowd. The disciples charged toward the valley’s cave residence, but Xiao Hua arrived and subdued the attackers with his spiritual pressure and lightning.

• Dui Ling explained that Xiao Hua’s reputation among Thunder Control Sect disciples had grown through exaggerated stories, making the punishment order especially upsetting to his admirers.
• Disciples from across the Thunder Palaces gathered outside Myriad Thunder Valley, where Xiang Zhili confronted the increasingly hostile crowd.
• Cui Hongshen returned after obtaining leave for Xiao Hua, and the crowd wrongly concluded that Xiao Hua had fled, then surged toward Myriad Thunder Valley’s cave residence.
• Xiang Zhili moved to defend the cave residence as disciples threatened to attack him and called for the others to be beaten.
• Xiao Hua arrived with Xue Xue, summoned dark storm clouds and lightning, and used his spiritual pressure to knock down the attackers and several vocal disciples.

Xiao Hua drove thousands of Thunder Control Sect disciples away from Myriad Thunder Valley with his pressure and Lightning Drawing Technique, then left with Xue Xue. He expected the incident to discourage further challenges, but postponed proposing marriage to Xue Xue until the trouble passed.

• Xiao Hua restrained the Qi Refinement disciples who had gathered at Myriad Thunder Valley, blasted a boulder with lightning, and challenged their elders to face him at Thunder Competition Ground.
• Xiao Hua drove off the divine senses of hidden cultivators and flew to Qiong Lei Peak with Xue Xue, while the frightened disciples gradually dispersed.
• Xiang Zhili and Wu Qing discussed Xiao Hua’s Lightning Drawing Technique, and Xiang Zhili wondered whether anyone would dare provoke Myriad Thunder Valley again.
• Zhuo worried that Xiao Hua’s actions might cause more trouble and hoped Wu Nai would emerge from seclusion to take charge of Myriad Thunder Valley.
• Xiao Hua told Xue Xue that he would wait until the situation settled before going to Xun Lei Palace to propose marriage.

Xiao Hua and Xue Xue traveled to Misty Mountain after resolving the crisis at Myriad Thunder Valley, where Xue Xue hoped to visit her family. When Misty Mountain failed to respond to her communication talisman, they feared something had happened, and Xiao Hua began breaking its formation with lightning.

• Xiao Hua secretly helped Dui Ling establish her foundation, leaving her bewildered about what had happened.
• Xue Xue admitted she had brought Xiao Hua to Misty Mountain partly to protect him from possible trouble at Myriad Thunder Valley, though he had handled the crisis easily.
• Xiao Hua and Xue Xue agreed to wait until after the great battle to discuss his proposal and continued toward Misty Mountain.
• At Misty Mountain, Ling Zhengyi did not answer Xue Xue's communication talisman, and her growing concern led Xiao Hua to prepare to break the formation.
• Xiao Hua unleashed his Lightning Drawing Technique, sending bolts down over Misty Mountain.

Xiao Hua and Xue Xue entered Misty Mountain and found its disciples injured by a fire ape-like monster. Xiao Hua subdued the monster and the fire ape, then took the monster’s demon core, leaving Ling Zhengyi and Ling Feiyun safe but the mystery of the monster unresolved.

• Xiao Hua opened a path through Misty Mountain’s restriction with heavenly lightning, and he and Xue Xue found the disciples suffering on the stone steps.
• Xiao Hua blocked the monster’s fire attack with a Nascent Soul hand and caught its fire bead after striking it with lightning.
• Xue Xue rescued Ling Zhengyi and Ling Feiyun, while Xiao Hua beat the monster until it stopped resisting.
• Xiao Hua released the fire ape wearing the Sun Moon Crown, and the monster and fire ape recognized one another before Xiao Hua stored them both.
• Xiao Hua examined the fire bead and identified it as the monster’s demon core, then received Ling Zhengyi and Ling Feiyun’s thanks.

Xiao Hua rescued Ling Zhengyi and Ling Feiyun from a monster at Misty Mountain and brought the fire ape there so Xue Xue could remove the final soul imprint from the Sun Moon Crown. They reunited in the old palace, but Xue Xue postponed the ritual and rested beside Xiao Hua, who promised to stay with her.

• Xiao Hua denied using a Nascent Soul hand and asked Ling Zhengyi what had happened at Misty Mountain.
• Ling Zhengyi explained that a monster had appeared near the ancestral hall, injured the disciples, and captured him and Ling Feiyun before Xiao Hua arrived.
• Xiao Hua said Xue Xue had prompted their return and revealed that he had brought the fire ape to help remove the Sun Moon Crown's final soul imprint.
• Ling Zhengyi and Ling Feiyun began repairing Misty Mountain's damaged restrictions while Xiao Hua and Xue Xue went to the rear palace.
• Xiao Hua and Xue Xue spoke of building a life together in the palace, but Xue Xue said she was tired and asked to rest with her head on his lap.

Xiao Hua and Xue Xue spent a night together at Misty Mountain, where Xue Xue shared her concerns about her family and gained a new perspective on her own cultivation. After Xiao Hua studied the jade pendant’s strange method for unlocking the Sun Moon Crown, Xue Xue left him to speak with Ling Feiyun, who urged her to hold a dual cultivation ceremony and warned her about Fairy Hongxia.

• Xiao Hua promised to ask Master's Wife to propose marriage at Xun Lei Palace and to protect Misty Mountain and Ling Feiyun.
• Xue Xue fell asleep beside Xiao Hua, and she later said she had not slept so peacefully since childhood.
• Xue Xue reflected on fortune and accepted that her path differed from Xiao Hua’s before giving him her ancestral jade pendant.
• Xiao Hua studied the pendant’s secret arts and found a strange blood shadow method for breaking the Sun Moon Crown’s final restriction.
• Xue Xue left Xiao Hua to speak with Ling Feiyun, who said the mountain formation would take about four more days to repair.
• Ling Feiyun urged Xue Xue and Xiao Hua to hold a dual cultivation ceremony and warned her that Xiao Hua seemed improperly involved with Fairy Hongxia; Xue Xue defended him.

Xue Xue entrusted Ling Feiyun with a jade slip for Fairy Hongxia, then returned to the palace as Xiao Hua used the Sun Moon Crown to refine the fire ape’s blood and Xue Xue’s heart’s blood. The fire ape and thunder beast blood shadows emerged, and the Crown’s golden and silver lights erupted in a burst of thunder and lightning.

• Xue Xue gave Ling Feiyun a jade slip for Fairy Hongxia and advised him to rely on his own resolve to overcome his cultivation bottleneck.
• Xiao Hua and Xue Xue stayed at Misty Mountain until Ling Zhengyi repaired its array, then Xue Xue returned to the palace alone.
• Xiao Hua refined a drop of the fire ape’s blood with the Divine Fire Art, drawing out a fire ape phantom before sealing the beast in his spirit beast pouch.
• Xiao Hua asked Xue Xue for a drop of her heart’s blood, and refining it produced a thunder beast phantom that embarrassed her.
• The Sun Moon Crown’s two artifacts glowed with golden and silver light, then released a thunderous roar and a brilliant bolt of lightning.

Xue Xue received a thunder beast inheritance from the Sun Moon Crown and awoke after nine days. Xiao Hua then opened a hidden entrance beneath Thunder Roar Hall, and the two descended to discover what lay below.

• Xiao Hua activated the Sun Moon Crown with the fire ape and thunder beast, causing its soul seal to shatter and a black shadow to enter Xue Xue’s brow as an inheritance.
• Xiao Hua found a bone joint from the Sun Moon Crown and told Ling Zhengyi that Xue Xue had obtained the inheritance; Ling Zhengyi celebrated and sent word to Flying Phoenix Ridge.
• Xue Xue awoke after nine days, and Xiao Hua explained that the bone joint recorded information about Thunder Roar Hall using soul sense.
• Xiao Hua and Xue Xue agreed to keep the inheritance and hall’s secrets from Ling Zhengyi because revealing them could endanger Misty Mountain.
• Xiao Hua used soul-cultivation characters to reveal a hidden entrance beneath the palace doors, then led Xue Xue down the steps.

Xiao Hua entered Thunder Roar Hall with Xue Xue, learned the Thunder Roar Technique, and found an ancient Lightning Refining Technique among the hall’s records. After studying it, he discovered that only its first half was there and suspected the rest was at Luofeng Mountain.

• Xiao Hua and Xue Xue entered Thunder Roar Hall, where Xiao Hua learned the Thunder Roar Technique from the green seal script.
• Xiao Hua and Xue Xue found nine inscribed stone walls, including one that recorded the Lightning Refining Technique, an ancient method for refining artifacts with heavenly lightning.
• Xue Xue agreed that Xiao Hua could study the inherited techniques and asked whether he could let Ling Feiyun enter the hall, but Xiao Hua explained that entering it consumed lifespan.
• After half a day, Xiao Hua summoned Xue Xue back and told her the Lightning Refining Technique was incomplete and its second half was likely at Luofeng Mountain.
• Xue Xue said Luofeng Mountain had become Misty Mountain’s territory, while Xiao Hua worried his requested leave might not last long enough.

Xiao Hua and Xue Xue discovered the passage connecting Thunder Roar Hall to Lightning Flash Palace, where Xiao Hua learned the Lightning Flash Technique and studied the Lightning Refining Technique. With his leave ending and Myriad Thunder Valley under pressure, Xue Xue urged him to take the inheritance with him before she entered her final seclusion.

• Xue Xue recalled a hidden passage in Thunder Roar Hall, and Xiao Hua opened it with green seal script.
• Xiao Hua and Xue Xue crossed the passage and found Lightning Flash Palace beneath Flying Phoenix Ridge.
• Xiao Hua learned the Lightning Flash Technique and then studied the latter half of the Lightning Refining Technique while Xue Xue watched.
• Xue Xue urged Xiao Hua to take the Lightning Refining Technique with him because Myriad Thunder Valley needed his help.
• Xue Xue told Xiao Hua she also needed to enter seclusion, and he questioned whether her earlier words at Myriad Thunder Valley had been meant to make him take leave.

Xiao Hua and Xue Xue returned from Misty Mountain to the Thunder Control Sect, where unusual reactions from the disciples signaled trouble in Myriad Thunder Valley. As Xiao Hua hurried there, the Dao Sect gathered in Tongmu City awaiting news of Xuntian City and the likely outcome of the Dao Sword Great Battle.

• Xiao Hua removed all nine stone walls from Lightning Flash Palace and took Xue Xue through the passage to Flying Phoenix Ridge before they returned to Misty Mountain.
• Xiao Hua and Xue Xue discussed the strange soul inheritance, the netherworld, and their future marriage before agreeing that Xue Xue would enter seclusion for no more than two years.
• After returning to the Thunder Control Sect, Xiao Hua noticed the rotating disciples' strange expressions and hurried toward Myriad Thunder Valley, while Xue Xue watched him leave in tears.
• Xun Shu urged Xue Xue to warn Xiao Hua about the trouble, but Xue Xue declined and entered Xun Lei Palace to seclude herself.
• Dao Sect cultivators gathered in Tongmu City's Council Hall, fearing defeat and waiting for the Gate Tower to reveal the outcome of the Dao Sword Great Battle.

Xunyunzi ordered the Dao Sect to begin its final assault on Xuntian City by activating the immense Qiankun Liangyi Seal Demon Great Formation. As the formation’s black-and-white radiance absorbed the Tianyi Green Light Sword Array’s attacks, Zuo Ming flew out to test its power.

• Xunyunzi received a communication talisman and told Xuan Jing to begin the final battle against the sword cultivators.
• Xuan Jing raised a command token, and the Qiankun Liangyi Seal Demon Great Formation emerged around Xuntian City with immense tremors and strange phenomena.
• Chong Taixu urged the sword cultivators to activate the Tianyi Green Light Sword Array and repel the Dao Sect’s formation.
• The sword array’s azure light repeatedly struck the black-and-white radiance but was absorbed without effect.
• Chong Taixu sent Zuo Ming, carrying the Taiyi Azure Light Sword, to attack the mysterious formation.
• As Zuo Ming flew beyond the sword formation, its terrifying aura began disrupting his thoughts.

Zuo Ming’s Taiyi Azure Light Sword failed to destroy the Universe Two Forms Sealing Demon Array, and he warned that its forces could tear apart even powerful swordsmen. Chong Taixu convinced the Sword Domain leaders to risk a coordinated attack when the array shifted from defense to offense, as its black and white radiance continued closing around Xuntian City.

• Zuo Ming struck the array with the Taiyi Azure Light Sword, but black mist quickly swallowed the cut and the lingering azure light.
• Qi Liandie urged an immediate attack, while Chong Taixu argued that the array would be weakest as it began to close and persuaded Cheng Minghua to gamble on victory.
• Chong Taixu hinted that powerful hidden seniors could ensure the Sword Domain’s escape, though Cheng Minghua could not sense their true strength.
• Zuo Ming returned and reported that the array contained deadly forces and that all five Green Light Swords would need to attack its eastern, western, northern, and southern sections together.
• The Sword Domain swordsmen gathered their strength as Xuan Jing and True Person Pin Xuan directed the array’s black and white radiance to close toward the center of Xuntian City.

Xunyunzi and True Person Pin Xuan believed the Qiankun Liangyi Seal Demon Great Formation would seal Xuntian City, but the sword cultivators launched their five Green Light Swords against it. As the formation repaired the damage and continued closing, it unexpectedly revealed a flaw.

• Xunyunzi and True Person Pin Xuan joined Xuan Jing and True Person Pin Xuan at the formation eyes as the black-and-white radiance began closing around Xuntian City.
• Xunyunzi and True Person Pin Xuan realized the Qiankun Liangyi Seal Demon Great Formation was a sealing method, and worried over the fate of True Person Miyou, Ganlei Zi, and Mosang Old Man's disciples.
• When gray light appeared in the sky, Chong Taixu, Zuo Ming, Cheng Minghua, Ruotian, and Qi Liandie unleashed five Green Light Swords from the Tianyi Green Light Sword Array.
• True Person Pin Xuan hurried to close the formation, and Ruotian recognized that the descending black-and-white wheel was a seal.
• Chong Taixu combined the five Green Light Swords into an enormous azure dragon that struck the gray seal, briefly cracking it before its rotation began repairing the damage.
• As the formation continued to close, discordant cracking sounds revealed an unexpected flaw in the Qiankun Liangyi Seal Demon Great Formation.

The Qiankun Liangyi Seal Demon Great Formation and the Tianyi Green Light Sword Array reached a dangerous stalemate, leaving neither side able to withdraw. Chong Taixu and Xunyunzi negotiated over the war’s outcome, but Xunyunzi balked at Chong Taixu’s proposal to decide victory in a duel.

• True Person Pin Xuan warned that the Immortal Music Sect’s formation could not balance the Ascension Gate’s yin energy, so Xunyunzi and True Person Liukong used their power to stabilize the seal.
• Chong Taixu, Xunyunzi, and the other cultivators and swordsmen remained locked in place, with the five Green Light Swords and the sealing formation in delicate balance.
• Chong Taixu and Xunyunzi revealed powerful spirit phantoms and discussed their cultivation, the war, and the prospect of reinforcements reaching Xuntian City.
• Chong Taixu and Xunyunzi explained their respective formations and the five Green Light Swords, then acknowledged that neither side could safely dismantle its formation first.
• Chong Taixu proposed that they withdraw their formations and settle the war with a duel, but Xunyunzi refused to risk making the Dao Sword Great Battle depend on his uncertain chance of victory.

Xunyunzi and Chong Taixu negotiated a gambling duel to decide the Dao Sword Great Battle while their formations remained locked in place. They agreed to three matches between Huan Kingdom swordsmen and cultivators from Xi Kingdom, Lian Kingdom, and Meng Kingdom, with the first match set to begin in half an hour.

• Chong Taixu revealed that the innate Green Light Sword could destroy both the bodies and Nascent Souls of Dao Sect cultivators, but Xunyunzi refused to be provoked into fighting him.
• Xunyunzi offered a gambling duel to protect the captives from the Thunder Control Sect and Mosang Mountain, and Chong Taixu agreed only if they were released after the Universe Two Forms Sealing Demon Array was withdrawn.
• Xunyunzi proposed nine matches between Sword Transformation second grade swordsmen and mid-Nascent Soul cultivators, but Chong Taixu rejected the number and agreed only that third-grade swordsmen and late Nascent Soul cultivators would not participate.
• Chong Taixu insisted on three matches, with one sect each from Xi Kingdom, Lian Kingdom, and Meng Kingdom facing three Huan Kingdom swordsmen, and Xunyunzi accepted.
• Xunyunzi and Chong Taixu clashed their enormous palms in the sky, then agreed to send contestants for the first match in half an hour.

Xunyunzi and Zhu Chenghe arranged the Dao Sect’s contestants for the wagered battle, expecting True Person Yuqing to face a Sword Transformation swordsman. The Sword Domain instead sent the artifact cultivator True Person Tengjiao, and the chapter ended with Xunyunzi challenging whether Tengjiao qualified as a swordsman under their agreement.

• Xunyunzi ordered Zhu Chenghe to prepare the Dao Sect’s contestants and chose True Person Yuqing for the first round.
• Zhu Chenghe told Xunyunzi that Yuqing, Yun Mengzi, and Heping were the available mid-Nascent Soul cultivators, and explained why Yuqing was assigned to fight first.
• True Person Yuqing met a golden figure outside Xuntian City, and Chong Taixu identified the fighter as True Person Tengjiao.
• True Person Tengjiao revealed that he was an artifact cultivator from Meng Kingdom who had joined the Sword Domain after Dao Sect cultivators hunted him.
• Xunyunzi recognized that Yuqing might rely on a Taiqing Sect spirit artifact to avoid defeat, while Yuqing tried to persuade Tengjiao to return to the Dao Sect.
• Xunyunzi accepted Tengjiao’s Sword Transformation second-grade cultivation but questioned whether an artifact cultivator counted as a swordsman under the wager’s rules.