Chapter Summaries

Xiao Hua and Xue Xue began the Thunder Control Sect’s second-stage selection, a dangerous overnight crossing of Thunder Seeking Valley. After hearing the risks, Xiao Hua urged Xue Xue not to rush in with the other cultivators.

• Xiao Hua returned to Thunder Peak after passing the first-stage selection and told Xue Xue that he had met a Golden Core senior and destroyed another Spirit Seeker.
• Xue Xue told Xiao Hua that Thunder Seeking Valley was a dangerous trial ground for peak Qi Cultivation disciples, and they saw a cultivator struck dead by the sect’s restrictions for not wearing a numbered token.
• A mid-Foundation Establishment supervisor announced that candidates had to cross Thunder Seeking Valley safely by dawn and warned that the test could be fatal.
• The supervisor watched thousands of candidates enter the valley and predicted that many would die, then departed using Lightning Escape.
• Xiao Hua told Xue Xue to follow more slowly, arguing that they only needed to cross by dawn and did not need to race the crowd.

Xiao Hua and Xue Xue entered Thunder Seeking Valley, where an illusory formation separated them from other cultivators and made the scenery repeat. Xiao Hua used his perception to find Xue Xue and guide her through the formation, then realized they might be alone in the valley.

• Xiao Hua and Xue Xue set off into Thunder Seeking Valley after the other cultivators disappeared ahead.
• Xiao Hua noticed Xue Xue had vanished, discovered the valley’s repeated scenery, and realized they were trapped in an illusory formation.
• Xiao Hua tried to fly through the formation, but its spatial restriction returned him to his starting point.
• Xiao Hua used his perception to locate Xue Xue, who could hear him but could not see him, and guided her by holding her sleeve.
• Other trapped cultivators’ Fireball Talismans exploded nearby, and Xue Xue warned Xiao Hua against forcing their way through the formation.
• Xue Xue asked whether Xiao Hua had seen any other cultivators ahead, and Xiao Hua began to suspect there were none.

Xiao Hua and Xue Xue escaped Thunder Seeking Valley’s illusion array, then entered a dangerous trial passage. As lightning gathered around them, they unleashed fire talismans against the restriction.

• Xue Xue regained her senses after using a Spirit Cleansing Talisman, realizing the illusion array had stirred a heart demon and confused her feelings for Xiao Hua.
• Xiao Hua and Xue Xue found debris at the entrance to a trial passage and suspected an offensive array would test their strength while the identification plaques offered a way out.
• Xiao Hua and Xue Xue prepared with protective and offensive talismans, then flew into the passage together.
• Lightning struck the stone walls and released a net of purple electricity that descended toward Xiao Hua and Xue Xue.
• Xiao Hua and Xue Xue hurled fire talismans into the air to counter the lightning restriction.

Xiao Hua and Xue Xue struggled to escape Thunder Seeking Valley’s endlessly reforming lightning webs, only to find the passage sealed by another web. Xue Xue brought out Misty Mountain’s ancestral magical artifact, Jade Hollow, and used it to surround them with concealing mist as they prepared to get past the barrier.

• Xiao Hua blasted holes through successive lightning webs with premium-grade Fireball Talismans and flew with Xue Xue through the gaps.
• When lightning webs closed off their route, Xiao Hua carried Xue Xue upward, but bolts from the clouds forced them back down into the valley.
• Xiao Hua told Xue Xue to close her eyes and avoid using spiritual power while he flew them to a safer spot beyond the immediate webs.
• Xiao Hua and Xue Xue found a solid web of lightning sealing the passage, while more webs continued moving behind them.
• Xue Xue revealed Jade Hollow and used Misty Mountain’s ancestral yellow talisman to release white mist around herself and Xiao Hua.

Xiao Hua and Xue Xue crossed the lightning net with Jade Hollow until Xue Xue’s spiritual power failed, forcing Xiao Hua to use the lightning-absorbing pearl to clear their path. They reached a gathering of injured cultivators, where Xue Xue discovered Xiao Hua’s Wutuodan was a supreme-grade spirit pill, just as the cultivators began organizing and one approached Xiao Hua.

• Xue Xue used Jade Hollow to shield herself and Xiao Hua from the lightning net, but the long crossing exhausted her spiritual power.
• Xiao Hua’s attempt to lend Xue Xue spiritual power disrupted her meridians, causing her to spit blood as Jade Hollow withdrew and their protective talismans shattered.
• Xiao Hua brought out the pearl, which absorbed the lightning net and opened a path, then he and Xue Xue flew onward before the net re-formed behind them.
• Xiao Hua gave Xue Xue a Wutuodan, and they found more than a thousand battered cultivators resting beyond the next bend.
• Xue Xue realized the Wutuodan was a supreme-grade spirit pill that was repairing her meridians, while Xiao Hua sat beside her pretending to recover.
• A group of high-level cultivators organized the others, and a cultivator around the tenth layer of Qi Cultivation approached Xiao Hua.

Xiao Hua rejected the Cultivation family disciples’ conditions for joining their organized advance through Thunder Seeking Valley, while Xue Xue recovered from her injuries. After the Thunder Control Sect altered the valley entrance, the other cultivators entered, and Xue Xue flew in despite Xiao Hua’s warning.

• Ma Miaoming invited Xiao Hua to join the Cultivation family disciples’ faction, which demanded obedience after entering the Thunder Control Sect and refused injured cultivators; Xiao Hua declined.
• Most cultivators joined the factions led by Jiang Mingxiao and the other eleventh-layer Qi Cultivation cultivators, while Xiao Hua and Xue Xue stayed behind.
• A thunderboat arrived and released violet light into the valley entrance, which Jiang Mingxiao called a test for the Thunder Control Sect elders to observe.
• Jiang Mingxiao and the other factions entered the valley, leaving Xiao Hua, Xue Xue, and more than a hundred injured cultivators in the clearing.
• Xiao Hua suggested that Xue Xue rest rather than risk worsening her injuries, but Xue Xue flew toward the valley entrance to continue the trial.

Xiao Hua entered Thunder Seeking Valley’s final trial and learned that contestants had to collect number plates to rank among the Thunder Control Sect’s hundred recruits. After taking a plate from a weaker cultivator, he watched an unknown hand seize it from underground.

• Xiao Hua followed Xue Xue into Thunder Seeking Valley, but the illusion array separated them and placed him in a vast mountain landscape.
• The illusion array’s announcement explained that all 1,218 contestants were scattered apart and that the hundred contestants with the most number plates by sunrise would become disciples.
• Xiao Hua saw fireworks signaling other contestants gathering, then flew off to collect plates himself.
• Xiao Hua intercepted a red-robed seventh-layer cultivator and shattered his flying sword talisman with Palm Thunder.
• The red-robed cultivator surrendered his number plate, but a hand reached out from underground and grabbed it as Xiao Hua waved him away.

Xiao Hua discovered that tokens kept their holders in the illusion array and that defeated cultivators were teleported out, then gathered tokens with ease. As Ma Miaoming, Jiang Mingxiao, and Wang Qiming surrounded him and fought over his allegiance and token, Xiao Hua refused to submit and prepared to face Jiang Mingxiao’s attack.

• Xiao Hua realized a cultivator was eliminated when his token moved more than ten feet away, then chased down the pointed-faced cultivator who had stolen it and took both tokens after striking him with his Profound Iron needle.
• Xiao Hua used Palm Thunder to defeat the pointed-faced cultivator, then collected tokens from two weaker cultivators who surrendered willingly.
• After failing to find more cultivators, Xiao Hua was surrounded by Ma Miaoming, Jiang Mingxiao, and their followers, and Jiang Mingxiao offered to spare him if he swore a blood oath of obedience.
• Wang Qiming arrived with his own group and demanded Xiao Hua’s token, while Jiang Mingxiao claimed Xiao Hua had already joined him.
• Xiao Hua refused to become Jiang Mingxiao’s servant, and Jiang Mingxiao drew an earth-yellow sword talisman to attack him.

Xiao Hua defeated Jiang Mingxiao and Wang Qiming, taking their number plates and driving off their followers. He punished Ma Miaoming for siding with Jiang Mingxiao, then exposed Ma’s attempt to deceive him as Ma vanished from the illusion array.

• Xiao Hua overwhelmed Jiang Mingxiao with Fireball Talismans and killed him with the Profound Iron needle, collecting fourteen number plates.
• Xiao Hua shattered Wang Qiming’s Immobilization Technique with Palm Thunder, chased him down, and killed him with the Profound Iron needle through his gourd artifact’s green shield.
• Xiao Hua collected Wang Qiming’s eleven number plates and sent away the nearby cultivators who hoped to receive them.
• Xiao Hua ordered Ma Miaoming to surrender his number plates for supporting Jiang Mingxiao, and Ma handed over two plates.
• Xiao Hua stopped Ma Miaoming’s plates and sent them flying behind him, revealing that one had transformed into a snake-like monster as Ma disappeared.

Xiao Hua reflected on the secrets of cultivation families and decided to look for Xue Xue, but a group of cultivators led by Fellow Daoist Yuan and Fellow Daoist Min ambushed him for his number plates. After Xiao Hua fled underground, he killed Fellow Daoist Fan from below, and a cultivator who tried to seize Fan’s number plate faced Xiao Hua’s threat.

• Xiao Hua considered what he had learned about ancient talismanic curses and realized he had collected twenty-seven number plates.
• Thinking of Xue Xue and Fairy Hongxia, Xiao Hua decided to search for Xue Xue before the selection ended.
• Fellow Daoist Yuan, Fellow Daoist Min, and dozens of other cultivators confronted Xiao Hua, who evaded them by burrowing underground.
• Fellow Daoist Yuan and Fellow Daoist Min pursued Xiao Hua underground while the others stayed above and watched one another.
• Xiao Hua struck Fellow Daoist Fan from beneath the earth, causing Fan to vanish and his number plate to appear.
• A nearby cultivator reached for Fellow Daoist Fan’s number plate, and Xiao Hua warned him not to take it.

Xiao Hua gathered more number plates as the selection neared its end, then spotted Xue Xue in danger and rushed to save her. The chapter ended with Xiao Hua claiming the fallen number plates while Xue Xue calmly fixed her hair as attacks flew toward her.

• Xiao Hua eliminated the fat cultivator and another opponent, then refused to pursue Fellow Daoist Yuan and Fellow Daoist Min when they chose to let him go.
• Xiao Hua continued searching and gained thirteen more number plates while cultivators fought over their last chance to qualify.
• The illusion array forced Xue Xue aboveground, where the loud-voiced cultivator and several others attacked her for her number plates.
• Xiao Hua killed the loud-voiced cultivator with his Profound Iron needle just as the man’s bronze hammer neared Xue Xue.
• Xiao Hua claimed the fallen number plates, while Xue Xue ignored the incoming attacks to smooth her hair.

Xiao Hua rescued Xue Xue during the final trial, collected the remaining number plates, and met Wang Yunxiao as the candidates arrived at Gen Lei Palace. The Thunder Control Sect began registering the new disciples and testing their bone ages, while female cultivators were directed to a separate hall.

• Xiao Hua used Fireball Talismans and his Profound Iron needle to defeat the attackers around Xue Xue and collect twenty-two number plates.
• Xiao Hua gave Xue Xue three number plates and kept the other nineteen before the candidates were teleported out of Thunder Seeking Valley.
• Wang Yunxiao introduced himself to Xiao Hua aboard the thunder boat and warned Xue Xue to stop leaning on Xiao Hua once they landed.
• The thunder boat carried the candidates to Gen Lei Palace, where Gen Gen instructed them to register their number plates and have their bone ages tested.
• Female disciples from Dui Lei Palace told Xue Xue that female cultivators had to go to a different side hall.

Xiao Hua underwent the Thunder Control Sect’s bone-age test, which left the elder unable to determine his age. At the next checkpoint, Xiao Hua revealed that he had collected sixty-one number plates, astonishing the sect cultivators and apparently proving he had passed the third round.

• Wang Yunxiao explained that the Thunder Control Sect rejected cultivators over thirty-five unless they had reached Foundation Establishment, making Xiao Hua fear his unknown age might disqualify him.
• A Foundation Establishment elder tested Xiao Hua’s bones but found his bone age seemed to range from several hundred or over a thousand years to as young as four or five, or eighteen.
• The elder recorded Xiao Hua’s information without telling him his age, and Xiao Hua left the hall worried he would be rejected.
• At the next checkpoint, Xiao Hua learned the left door led to Thunder Peak and the right door was for cultivators who had passed the third round.
• Xiao Hua revealed sixty-one number plates, and the stunned cultivators confirmed they were genuine and ordered a disciple to collect them.

Xiao Hua passed the Thunder Control Sect’s selection and entered Spring Thunder Hall with the other new disciples. After learning that the sect had accepted ninety-four disciples and that they would be provisional for a year, he waited as Foundation Establishment cultivators prepared to choose apprentices, while Golden Core cultivator Xun Ming arrived to observe.

• Xiao Hua entered the hall, reunited with Xue Xue, and formally met Yuan Bo and Min Ge after passing the illusion trial.
• Gen Gen announced that ninety-four candidates had passed and explained that they would spend a year as provisional disciples before becoming official members of the sect.
• Gen Gen described the two rounds in which Foundation Establishment cultivators would select apprentices and remaining disciples would be assigned instruction through the Dharma Transmission Hall.
• More than a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators entered and examined the new disciples, but Xiao Hua’s perception suggested they were overlooking him.
• Xun Ming arrived at Spring Thunder Hall, received the Foundation Establishment cultivators’ greetings, and told them to continue their business.

At the Thunder Control Sect’s disciple selection, Xun Ming accepted Xue Xue as her disciple, while Wu Nai arrived too late to claim the disciple he had marked. Gen Gen named Xiao Hua as the selection’s top performer and presented him as a possible disciple for Wu Nai.

• Several Foundation Establishment cultivators selected disciples, including Xue Xue’s prospective master and Xiao Hua’s companions.
• Xun Ming interrupted Xue Xue’s acceptance ceremony and persuaded the beautiful middle-aged woman to yield her to become Xun Ming’s disciple.
• Wu Nai arrived late, discovered that his marked disciple had already been taken, and refused Gen Gen’s offer to choose from the remaining disciples.
• Xun Ming urged Wu Nai to choose a disciple, and he agreed to wait for the second round.
• Gen Gen announced that Xiao Hua had won sixty-two number plates, ranking first among the ninety-four disciples.

Xiao Hua was nearly rejected as a disciple because his scattered cultivation techniques had left his foundation flawed, but Wu Nai changed his mind after learning Xiao Hua had a rare Hidden Fire Physique. As Xiao Hua was accepted into the Myriad Thunder Valley lineage, the restriction on his Minghua Pill suddenly broke, and Wu Nai began trying to save him.

• Wu Nai questioned Xiao Hua's age and learned he was a twenty-five-year-old Rogue Cultivator who had used three incomplete cultivation techniques.
• Wu Nai explained that Xiao Hua's weak foundation could make a Foundation Establishment breakthrough impossible, and Xiao Hua accepted the risk.
• Gen Gen revealed that Xiao Hua had a rare Hidden Fire Physique, which had burst the Spirit Seeker during testing.
• Wu Nai accepted Xiao Hua as his disciple and prepared to take him to the Jade Slip Hall with Xun Ming.
• The restriction on Xiao Hua's Minghua Pill broke, flooding his meridians with medicinal liquid, and Wu Nai immediately used incantations to treat him.

Wu Nai brought Xiao Hua to Dry Thunder Palace to report an urgent matter, hoping the Sect Master might accept him into a different lineage. At Great Thunder Hall, they encountered True Person Leixiao, who recognized Xiao Hua from Thunder Accumulation Cave.

• Xiao Hua asked Wu Nai to seal the Minghua Pill in his meridians again and speak with him privately, then revealed an important matter in a side hall.
• Wu Nai told Xun Ming he had to take Xiao Hua to Dry Thunder Palace to report to the Sect Master, and flew there with him.
• Wu Nai explained that Xiao Hua’s service might earn him a place in Dry Thunder Palace, though Xiao Hua insisted he would remain Wu Nai’s disciple.
• At Great Thunder Hall, Wu Nai learned the Sect Master was absent and Ancestor Miyou was on duty, while a guard objected to Xiao Hua entering as a Qi Refining disciple.
• True Person Leixiao arrived and recognized Xiao Hua from Thunder Accumulation Cave, then learned Xiao Hua had passed the selection and joined Wu Nai’s branch.
• Xiao Hua explained that his cultivation had been damaged when Leixiao met him, and Wu Nai began to remind Leixiao that Xiao Hua had come to report an urgent matter.

Xiao Hua reported Gan Qinghuo’s message to the Thunder Control Sect’s leaders and presented the Lightning Devouring Bead, whose power shocked the Great Thunder Hall and nearly set off the mountain’s restrictions. Ganlei Zi accepted Xiao Hua’s trust regarding Gan Qinghuo, while Shanghua Sect cultivators continued watching the mountain for him.

• True Person Leixiao heard Xiao Hua mention Gan Qinghuo and summoned Sect Master Ganlei Zi to receive the report.
• Ganlei Zi brought Xiao Hua and the others into the Great Thunder Hall, where Xiao Hua recounted his encounter with Gan Qinghuo.
• Xiao Hua took out the Lightning Devouring Bead, which absorbed lightning from the hall’s restrictions before Ganlei Zi seized and contained it.
• Ganlei Zi explained that Gan Qinghuo was hiding his vitality and that other sects were searching for him, and Xiao Hua pledged his trust in the Thunder Control Sect.
• Ganlei Zi briefly released the bead’s power, causing dark clouds and lightning to gather over the Lei Mo Mountain Range, then suppressed it before damage occurred.
• Senior Brother Gao and Junior Sister Qi continued monitoring the mountain, unaware that Xiao Hua had already entered the Thunder Control Sect.

Xiao Hua returned the Lightning Devouring Bead to the Thunder Control Sect, where Ganlei Zi explained its importance to the sect’s lightning-powered formations. The sect leaders praised Xiao Hua and heard his account of how he had carried the bead back, while Ganlei Zi left the implications for the Thunder Pool unresolved.

• Junior Sister Qi and Senior Brother Gao saw lightning appear over the Lei Mo Mountain Range and warned the other sects that the Lightning Devouring Bead had fallen into the Thunder Control Sect’s hands.
• Ganlei Zi showed Gensheng and the gathered cultivators the Lightning Devouring Bead and explained its connection to the Lightning Evolution Method and the sect’s formations.
• Ganlei Zi revealed that the bead could disable the Thunder Control Sect’s formations, and Fairy Xuanhua raised the possibility that it could affect the Thunder Pool.
• Ganlei Zi deferred discussion of the Thunder Pool and invited Xiao Hua to recount his journey with the bead.
• Xiao Hua described retrieving and hiding the bead, escaping pursuers, and returning it to the sect; the elders reacted with sympathy and delight at his survival.

Xiao Hua received rewards from Ganlei Zi for his service to the Thunder Control Sect, while remaining Wunai’s disciple in Zhen Thunder Palace. The sect leaders then discussed protecting Gan Qinghuo’s recovery and the results of disciple recruitment.

• Ganlei Zi offered to transfer Xiao Hua to Dry Thunder Palace, but Xiao Hua affirmed his loyalty to Wunai, and Ganlei Zi let him remain in Zhen Thunder Palace.
• Xiao Hua requested access to cultivation manuals, so Ganlei Zi gave him a token to study methods in the Eight Great Thunder Palaces and doubled his allowance of spirit stones and pills.
• Ganlei Zi also authorized Xiao Hua to copy Dry Thunder Palace’s Lightning Escape Technique for Wunai to teach him.
• After Xiao Hua and Wunai left, Ganlei Zi told Gen Sheng to ease the sect’s watch around Xihuang Town and spread word that Gan Qinghuo had returned while he recovered.
• Duijie reported that ninety-four disciples had been recruited, and the sect leaders discussed Xiao Hua’s past encounter with Heaven’s Abandonment.