Chapter Summaries

Yang Tian was promoted to Deputy Commander after his achievements in battle and went on to earn greater authority and prestige through months of fighting. When he was brought to see Lan Rou again, she learned that his Thirty-Six Stratagems had gained the Holy Temple’s recognition and that he was likely to become Battalion Commander.

• Zhao Rong promoted Yang Tian to Deputy Commander after the Thirteenth Battalion praised his role in saving comrades during the battle.
• Li Jie approved Yang Tian’s promotion, and Yang Tian received a Military Token containing a little mithril and celebrated with the battalion.
• Yang Tian gave Gugu an emerald-green Magic Crystal, and she ate it before settling down beside him.
• Over the following months, Yang Tian used bold tactics to kill three hundred demons, protected the troops from stealthy enemies, and rose to Deputy Battalion Commander and commander.
• Yang Tian devised the Thirty-Six Stratagems, which the Holy Temple recognized and recorded.
• Lan Rou and Little Dai discussed Yang Tian’s growing reputation and his likely promotion to Battalion Commander.

After months of training and battles, Yang Tian reached level four and led the Thirteenth Battalion to a major victory over the demons. Half a year later, still struggling to reach level five, he decided to return to see Grandma and considered bringing her to the Holy City.

• Yang Tian broke through to level four after months of cultivation and continued serving as the Thirteenth Battalion's commander.
• Yang Tian and Zhao Rong led the battalion against the Zelin Race and exposed the Luke Race infiltrators with flour.
• Yang Tian ordered the warriors to retreat, then used his self-created Retribution skill, Radiance, Solar Illumination, to destroy half the demon force.
• Yang Tian reminded the victorious warriors not to grow complacent, while privately deciding they needed a lesson in caution.
• After another half year of battles, Yang Tian decided to return to Grandma, who still believed he was cultivating at the Branch Temple.

Yang Tian left Imperial Dragon Pass on two months’ leave, and the Thirteenth Battalion suffered injuries in its first battle without his protection. On the way toward the Holy City, Yang Tian stopped in Helan City when he saw He Xiaowu’s men abducting Mu Xin after beating her brother Mu Zhai.

• Yang Tian said goodbye to Zhao Rong, Cangu, and the Thirteenth Battalion before leaving for home.
• Zhao Rong warned the Thirteenth Battalion to stay alert, but the men entered battle overconfidently and several were wounded after Yang Tian and Li Jie were gone.
• Yang Tian traveled toward the Holy City with Little Nian’s help and noticed suspicious people in a grove near Helan City.
• He Xiaowu ordered his men to beat Mu Zhai and take Mu Xin with them, and Yang Tian confronted the group as they tried to pass.

Yang Tian rescued Mu Xin and her brother Mu Zhai from He Xiaowu, a powerful young noble who wanted to abduct Mu Xin. He Xiaowu fled to gather reinforcements, while Yang Tian gave Mu Zhai a healing fruit and remained concerned for the siblings.

• He Xiaowu ordered his guards to attack Yang Tian and threatened Mu Xin and her family when she pleaded for Yang Tian.
• Yang Tian dislocated the guards’ arms, lifted He Xiaowu with Thought Power, and beat him severely before releasing him with a warning.
• Mu Xin cautioned Yang Tian that He Xiaowu’s father was the city lord and his grandfather was Deputy Temple Master He Jun, then urged him to leave.
• He Xiaowu retreated with his injured guards and vowed to return with stronger fighters.
• Yang Tian returned to Mu Xin and Mu Zhai, gave them a Holy Light Fruit to help heal Mu Zhai, and stopped Mu Xin from kneeling to thank him.

Yang Tian was poisoned after Mu Xin was forced by He Xiaowu to betray him, triggering the backlash of his Spirit Furnace and causing him to unleash terrifying power on He Xiaowu and his grandfather. Li Jie caught Yang Tian as he collapsed, while Yang Tian left the Mu siblings and vowed only to help rescue their parents.

• Yang Tian considered how to deal with He Xiaowu and joked that he could tie him up and take him to his grandfather.
• Mu Xin served Yang Tian poisoned pastries, then admitted He Xiaowu had threatened her and pleaded for her parents’ release.
• Yang Tian’s Spirit Furnace backlash devoured his anger and unleashed overwhelming thought power, immobilizing Mu Xin and Mu Zhai.
• Yang Tian attacked He Xiaowu and his grandfather with emotion-distorting black energy, driving both men into madness.
• Yang Tian left the Mu siblings, saying he would help rescue their parents but would otherwise have nothing more to do with them.
• Yang Tian collapsed outside the courtyard, and Li Jie caught him and warned that his powerful Spirit Furnace was not under his control.

Yang Tian brought He Xiaowu to Helan City's Knight Main Hall and confronted Temple Master He Gandang over his son's crimes. The crowd called for He Xiaowu's death, while Yang Tian held a sword to his throat and awaited He Gandang's response.

• Li Jie comforted Yang Tian, who said He Xiaowu had made him take Soft Spirit Powder, and Yang Tian left the Mu Family with He Xiaowu.
• Yang Tian brought the bound He Xiaowu to the Knight Main Hall, where his Spirit Furnace absorbed the crowd's anger as Thought Power.
• He Gandang demanded an explanation and ordered two Earth Knights to seize Yang Tian, but Yang Tian threatened He Xiaowu and stopped them.
• Yang Tian accused He Xiaowu of robbery, murder, and forcing a child to poison him, while He Gandang denied the charges.
• He Xiaowu's mother tried to approach Yang Tian, but he threatened her and pressed a Magic-Grade Longsword to He Xiaowu's neck.
• Yang Tian asked the crowd whether He Xiaowu should be punished, and the spectators began shouting for his death.

Yang Tian exposed He Xiaowu’s crimes and proposed sending him to the military to face the Demon Race instead of executing him. With Li Jie’s support, the townspeople agreed, and Yang Tian planned to take He Xiaowu to the Holy City after three days.

• An old man and other townspeople accused He Xiaowu of murder, arson, abduction, and plunder, and Yang Tian struck him when he showed no remorse.
• Yang Tian offered to conscript He Xiaowu, take him to Imperial Dragon Pass, or have the Holy Knight Commander strip him of his cultivation.
• He Gandang inspected Yang Tian’s Military Token and agreed to let He Xiaowu join the military, despite He Xiaowu and his mother protesting.
• Li Jie spoke in support of giving He Xiaowu a chance to atone by fighting demons, and the townspeople agreed.
• Yang Tian decided to stay for three days before taking He Xiaowu to the Holy City and then bringing him to the military camp.

Yang Tian rescued a little deaf girl from three demons and treated her wound as he took her toward an Assassin Branch Temple. She warmed to him, while her great-grandfather and Li Jie watched from a distance and let them spend time together.

• Yang Tian spotted the veiled girl fighting three Di Ke Clan demons and killed them with three streaks of white light.
• The girl accepted Yang Tian's hand, and he carried her away on his horse; her great-grandfather and Li Jie let them go.
• Yang Tian stopped to clean and bandage the girl's wounded arm, then learned that she could read lips and sense vibrations because she could not hear.
• Yang Tian tried to warn the girl about demons by acting one out, making her laugh for the first time in years.
• Yang Tian asked whether he should take the girl back, while she realized she still did not know his name.

Yang Tian met Cai'er, comforted her after she cried, and was confronted by her great-grandfather, Saint Moon. Before they parted, Yang Tian and Cai'er exchanged gifts and promised to become brother and sister, leaving open the possibility that they would meet again at Dream Paradise.

• Yang Tian told Cai'er that he could not stay with her forever because he had duties and people to protect, and Cai'er began to cry.
• Saint Moon attacked Yang Tian with overwhelming pressure, but Li Jie stepped in to shield him and explained that Yang Tian had not bullied Cai'er.
• Yang Tian recognized Cai'er and told her that people had to fight the Demon Race, prompting Cai'er to ask Saint Moon to stop.
• Yang Tian and Cai'er exchanged a healing powder and a valuable storage ring, but Yang Tian refused to keep the ring and told her to give it to someone she liked in the future.
• Yang Tian promised to treat Cai'er as his little sister, and they hooked their little fingers before Cai'er and Saint Moon left.

Yang Tian returned to his rural home and reunited with his grandmother after spending the night in the fields. He introduced her to Gugu, whose gentle affection helped ease her sorrow over Demon Beasts.

• Yang Tian spent the night outside, where Li Jie watched him levitate while reading.
• Yang Tian and Li Jie walked into town and reached Yang Tian's grandmother's house, where Auntie Li recognized him and chatted with him.
• Yang Tian embraced his grandmother, who welcomed him home and led him inside.
• Yang Tian told his grandmother about Gugu, and Gugu nuzzled her affectionately on her shoulder.

Yang Tian returned to town and spent breakfast with his grandmother and Li Jie, the Knight assigned to protect him. Later, he reunited with Yaya and defended her from townspeople’s gossip before the crowd gathered around him.

• Yang Tian invited Li Jie to breakfast, where Li Jie apologized to his grandmother for failing to save Yang Tian’s parents seven years earlier.
• Yang Tian’s grandmother served breakfast and packed honey brew for his travels without asking about his life away from home.
• Yang Tian greeted Grandma He and then recognized his childhood friend Yaya, who was surprised by how much he had changed.
• Yang Tian and Yaya talked about her being unable to become a professional and about the dangers posed by the Demon Race.
• When townspeople mistook them for sweethearts and mocked Yaya’s appearance, Yang Tian smeared dust on his face and told everyone she was like his big sister.

Yang Tian returned to the Odin Sub-Temple, reunited with Balza, and learned how Long Haochen and his former classmates were progressing. He discovered that Long Haochen had his old wooden sword and then met him again as the children trained.

• Yang Tian visited Balza at the Odin Sub-Temple and gave him light-attribute fruits to help with cultivation.
• Balza told Yang Tian that Li Jieyuan and Zhang Hu had passed the Squire assessment and joined the Haoyue Branch Hall.
• Balza said Long Haochen trained before and after class because he wanted to protect his mother.
• Yang Tian learned that Long Haochen had his old wooden sword and considered making a new set of swords for himself.
• Long Haochen recognized Yang Tian during training, and Balza introduced him to the children as a former student who had become a Knight.

Yang Tian returned to Odin Town and found matchmakers urging his grandmother to arrange a marriage for him, but she rejected them all and let him choose when he was older. After spending time with his grandmother, Yang Tian resumed cultivating and began gathering green bamboo on Mount Odin.

• Yang Tian said goodbye to Long Haochen, then returned home and found matchmakers proposing wealthy families’ daughters as possible brides.
• Yang Tian's grandmother turned down the matchmakers because Yang Tian was only eight and should choose his own partner.
• Yang Tian helped escort the matchmakers out, and his grandmother teased him about bringing her a granddaughter-in-law someday.
• Yang Tian spent the evening talking with his grandmother and reading before practicing the Void God Spell and Nine-Turn Spirit Tempering Technique after she fell asleep.
• The next day, Yang Tian stood in a bamboo grove on Mount Odin beside a second-level demon beast and decided to gather more tough green bamboo.

Yang Tian gathered fragrant agarwood and purple bamboo on Mount Odin, then crafted and tested a Purple Bamboo Sword with Li Jie. After sensing a sinister presence in Odin Black Valley, he returned home and left the chapter planning to make more swords.

• Yang Tian cut century-old fragrant agarwood and green bamboo on Mount Odin, discovered a thousand-year-old purple bamboo shoot, and chose not to uproot it.
• Yang Tian heard voices calling Odin and retreated from the mountain as Odin Black Valley began to breathe and a dark presence spoke of escaping.
• Yang Tian spent the following weeks at home carving the agarwood into wooden swords and fashioned a Purple Bamboo Sword from the rare bamboo.
• Li Jie tested the Purple Bamboo Sword and praised its resilience, while warning Yang Tian that seventh-rank opponents could decide a fight in an instant.
• Yang Tian accepted Li Jie's warning and continued preparing swords, deciding to make more Purple Bamboo Swords for future use.

Yang Tian left Odin Town for the Holy City and stopped in Haoyue City to visit his teacher, Ye Hua. He told Ye Hua that he had reached Level 4 Grand Knight and was continuing his trials after time off.

• Yang Tian said goodbye to his grandmother and friends in Odin Town, then rode away with Gugu.
• Yang Tian arrived in Haoyue City and entered the Knight Temple's Haoyue Branch Hall after showing his Grand Knight badge.
• Yang Tian greeted Ye Hua at the training grounds and explained that he had stopped by while returning to the Holy City.
• Yang Tian told Ye Hua that he was a Level 4 Grand Knight with over eleven hundred internal spiritual power, though the Nine-Turn Spirit Tempering Technique had slowed his progress.
• Ye Hua praised Yang Tian's progress and urged him to keep working hard, while the training knights listened in surprise.

Yang Tian returned to the Haoyue Branch Hall and reunited with Lin Jun, Li Jieyuan, and Zhang Hu. After inviting his friends to join his Thirteenth Battalion when they became Knights, he left their future plans open.

• Yang Tian met Lin Jun, who escorted him to the Squires and was shocked to learn Yang Tian had reached Grand Knight level.
• Lin Jun arranged for Yang Tian to meet Li Jieyuan and Zhang Hu in the waiting hall.
• Yang Tian joked with his friends and learned that Li Jieyuan planned to enlist after becoming a Knight, with Zhang Hu intending to go with him.
• Yang Tian invited Li Jieyuan and Zhang Hu to join his Thirteenth Battalion, and both friends reacted to the mention of it.

Yang Tian reunited with Zhang Hu and Li Jieyuan, then faced Li Xin, who attacked him over his rejection of Lin Jialu and the strain it caused between the two women. After Yang Tian let Li Xin wound him and pleaded for her forgiveness, she told him to explain himself to Lin Jialu, and he went to find her.

• Yang Tian chatted with Zhang Hu and Li Jieyuan and offered to help them join the Thirteenth Battalion.
• Li Xin recognized Yang Tian at the Branch Temple and attacked him with her unicorn and longsword.
• Yang Tian apologized for running away from Lin Jialu's confession and admitted he had few romantic feelings for her.
• Yang Tian stopped defending himself and let Li Xin cut his shoulder, then begged her to kill him if she was still angry.
• Li Xin relented and told Yang Tian to explain himself to Lin Jialu, while warning that his injury might not win her sympathy.
• Yang Tian treated his wound and went to find Lin Jialu.

Yang Tian left Haoyue City after failing to reconcile with Lin Jialu, then returned to the Holy City and resumed his journey to Imperial Dragon Pass with Li Jie and He Xiaowu. The group reached Imperial Dragon Pass, where Yang Tian planned to take He Xiaowu to fight demons.

• Yang Tian apologized to Lin Jialu and left after she refused to speak with him, while Li Xin and the others waited outside.
• Yang Tian advised Li Xin to keep arguing with Lin Jialu and suggested that someone else might eventually help them reconcile.
• Yang Tian said goodbye to his friends and rode to the Holy City, where Han Qian welcomed him and kept He Xiaowu under supervision.
• Yang Tian, Li Jie, and He Xiaowu set out for Imperial Dragon Pass, and Yang Tian asked He Xiaowu to join him in fighting demons.
• He Xiaowu revealed that he had a level-six Bright Sun Eagle, and Yang Tian flew alongside it with Gugu as they reached Imperial Dragon Pass.

Yang Tian returned to the Thirteenth Battalion with He Xiaowu and led the soldiers into battle against the Zelin Race. After a Tier 6 Flying Demon attacked during a defensive rotation, Yang Tian fought it alone and broke through to Level 5 Grand Knight.

• Yang Tian introduced He Xiaowu as a new member of the Thirteenth Battalion and told him to atone for his sins by fighting demons.
• The battalion assembled on the ramparts to defend against the Zelin Race, and He Xiaowu drew attention by wearing Glorious Grade Equipment.
• Yang Tian saved He Xiaowu from a Luke Race demon and warned him to stay alert as the battle overwhelmed him.
• A Tier 6 Flying Demon ambushed Yang Tian, Zhao Rong, and He Xiaowu during the defense rotation, and Yang Tian protected them with his guardian skills.
• Yang Tian fought the Flying Demon in the air and broke through to Level 5 Grand Knight.

Yang Tian fought a sixth-rank flying demon with his newly learned Instant Slash, badly wounding it before Li Jie killed it. After recovering, Yang Tian urged He Xiaowu to stand on his own and fight demons, while He Xiaowu asked whether Yang Tian would protect him after the next year and a half.

• Yang Tian used Holy Radiance Cross Slash and Instant Slash, severing a wing and an arm from the sixth-rank flying demon before exhausting his spiritual power.
• Li Jie killed the wounded demon as it tried to leap from Dragon Pass, and Yang Tian collapsed from weakness.
• Yang Tian woke a day later in his tent and told He Xiaowu to fight demons rather than turn against his own people.
• He Xiaowu thanked Yang Tian, declared that he wanted to stand on his own, and saluted him.
• He Xiaowu asked whether Yang Tian would keep him safe after the next year and a half, prompting the others to grin.