Chapter Summaries

Gu Lingxiao killed the Barbarian Emperor and destroyed the Barbarian God's Phantom, while a mysterious ally stopped the Grand Shaman from intervening. After the battle, Gu Lingxiao and Gu Chenfeng waited at the Holy Pool, and the ally arrived in a bolt of lightning.

• Gu Lingxiao's sword strike engulfed the Barbarian God's Phantom, and Huyan Nushan cried out for the Grand Shaman to save him.
• The Grand Shaman sent a frost dragon toward the Sacred Mountain, but a giant Bronze Ancient Sword pierced it and destroyed it.
• Gu Lingxiao fell onto the Sacred Mountain Summit, subdued his damaged Severing Baleful Intent Sword, and had Wushu Lang help him up.
• Nalan Qing helped Gu Chenfeng up, and both she and Wushu Lang showed no resistance after witnessing Gu Lingxiao's victory.
• Gu Lingxiao told Gu Chenfeng that the Grand Shaman was an old monster and that the Bronze Ancient Sword's owner was his Granduncle-Master.
• A bolt of lightning struck the Sacred Mountain Summit, and a figure stepped out of it.

After the Barbarian Emperor’s defeat, Gu Chenfeng met his granduncle Mo Nancang and learned about his grandfather’s past. Empress Helian thanked Gu Lingxiao for helping her reclaim the throne, then warmly adopted Gu Chenfeng as her godson and gave him valuable gifts.

• Mo Nancang arrived after the lightning faded, greeted Gu Lingxiao and Gu Chenfeng, and boasted that he could deal with the Barbarian Tribe’s Grand Shaman.
• Mo Nancang explained that he and Gu Chenfeng’s grandfather had trained together before splitting over a task and taking different paths.
• A Futu Army officer reported that Empress Helian had come to pay her respects, and Gu Lingxiao allowed her procession to ascend the mountain.
• Empress Helian thanked Gu Lingxiao for helping her reclaim the throne and granted the Gu Lineage territory around the Sacred Mountain.
• After dismissing her attendants, Helian Na showed concern for Gu Lingxiao and asked him to call her Nana, then met Gu Chenfeng and declared herself his godmother.
• Helian Na gave Gu Chenfeng a Barbarian Emperor Token and Barbarian God’s Essence Blood, promising to let him choose treasures from the tribe’s treasury.

Gu Lingxiao and Mo Nancang treated Gu Chenfeng’s grave injuries in the Barbarian Tribe’s Holy Pool, using millennium spirit milk to rebuild his depleted foundation. Gu Chenfeng absorbed drop after drop at an alarming pace, leaving Mo Nancang to suspect something unusual.

• After Helian Na left, Gu Lingxiao denied having an improper relationship with her, while Mo Nancang and Gu Chenfeng teased him about it.
• Gu Chenfeng fainted, and Gu Lingxiao and Mo Nancang discovered that his bones, organs, meridians, and Primordial Spirit were badly damaged.
• Gu Lingxiao gave Gu Chenfeng healing pills and placed him in the Holy Pool, where its energy stabilized his vitality but did not restore his foundation quickly.
• Mo Nancang produced millennium spirit milk and explained that it could cleanse Gu Chenfeng’s essence and marrow and replenish his foundation.
• Gu Chenfeng rapidly absorbed more than a dozen drops of spirit milk, and Mo Nancang began to realize that his recovery was not normal.

After the Barbarian Tribe’s coup, Emperor Xuan connected the upheaval to Gu Lingxiao and recalled how his sworn younger brother had secretly shaped past battles and resisted imperial control. Convinced they no longer trusted each other, Emperor Xuan faced a difficult decision as he prepared to write an edict.

• The Barbarian Tribe announced Huyan Nushan’s death, installed Helian Na as its first female sovereign, and withdrew its army from the border.
• Emperor Xuan discussed Gu Lingxiao’s disappearance and the Barbarian Tribe’s upheaval with Chief Steward Hongxi.
• Emperor Xuan recalled that Gu Lingxiao’s mysterious actions had repeatedly turned crises in the ten-year-old war into victories for Great Li.
• Emperor Xuan revealed that the Futu Army’s commanders had refused his attempts to recruit them, and that they vanished after he ordered them eliminated.
• Emperor Xuan concluded that Gu Lingxiao had secretly influenced the Barbarian Tribe’s coup and no longer trusted him; he then began writing on a sheet of paper, which a falling drop of ink stained black.

Gu Chenfeng replenished his origin power in the Holy Pool, consuming Mo Nancang’s entire bottle of Millennium Spirit Milk. After learning how extraordinary Gu Chenfeng’s abilities were, Mo Nancang decided to recruit him to Central Province, while Gu Lingxiao insisted the choice would be Gu Chenfeng’s.

• Gu Chenfeng absorbed the last of the Millennium Spirit Milk and stabilized his condition after three days in the Holy Pool.
• Mo Nancang realized Gu Chenfeng had consumed an entire bottle of his precious spirit milk and asked what made the boy absorb so much.
• Gu Lingxiao explained that Gu Chenfeng had reached the three-star Source Core realm and early-stage peak of the Diamond realm, condensed powerful divine sense, and broken through the first level of Azure Dragon Transformation.
• Mo Nancang praised Gu Chenfeng’s talent and recalled how he and Gu Beiwu had once called Gu Lingxiao’s talent average to persuade him to go to Central Province, only for Gu Lingxiao to refuse.
• Mo Nancang suggested Gu Chenfeng travel with him to Central Province, and Gu Lingxiao agreed that the boy should decide for himself after waking.
• Mo Nancang silently vowed to take Gu Chenfeng to Central Province.

While Gu Chenfeng remained unconscious at the Holy Pool, his consciousness cultivated inside the Phantom Martial Divine Ruins as he absorbed vast life energy and rapidly advanced his physique, source qi, and divine sense. Mo Nancang and Gu Lingxiao witnessed the transformations, and Mo Nancang resolved to bring Gu Chenfeng to the Central Province.

• Gu Chenfeng regained control of his recovering body inside the Phantom Martial Divine Ruins and used the Heaven-Opening Creation Art and Azure Dragon Transformation Technique to absorb the life energy around him.
• Gu Chenfeng advanced his physical cultivation from the early Diamond Realm to the late Diamond Realm as the Azure Dragon Transformation Technique grew stronger.
• Gu Chenfeng cultivated the Heaven-Opening Creation Art and advanced his source qi from the three-star to the seven-star Source Core Realm.
• Gu Chenfeng tempered his growing divine sense by making its condensed forms clash, causing it to begin taking shape.
• Mo Nancang and Gu Lingxiao watched Gu Chenfeng's advances manifest at the Holy Pool, and Mo Nancang decided he would take him to the Central Province.

Gu Chenfeng refused to leave for Central Province and pressed Gu Lingxiao and Mo Nancang to explain the Gu Lineage’s danger. Mo Nancang revealed the Four Symbols Divine Sect’s destruction and began recounting the past of himself and his senior fellow disciple, ending with their decision to part ways.

• Gu Chenfeng rejected Mo Nancang’s offer to take him to Central Province and challenged Gu Lingxiao to reveal the truth about the Gu Lineage’s situation.
• Mo Nancang explained that a mysterious expert destroyed the Four Symbols Divine Sect a century earlier to seize its supreme treasure.
• Mo Nancang recounted how a one-armed old man rescued him and his senior fellow disciple after bandits massacred their village, then trained them for nearly twenty years.
• When blood-red light engulfed their mountain, the old man revealed his past, gave his senior disciple a token and a task, and sent both disciples away while he faced the threat alone.
• The senior disciple repeatedly risked his life to save Mo Nancang during their escape, damaging his Dao Foundation, and afterward stayed in Yan Province while Mo Nancang went to Central Province.

Mo Nancang explained how the Four Symbols Divine Sect was destroyed and how its four halls became the Four Great Sects, who sought the sect master's token held by Gu Chenfeng’s grandfather. He revealed that the grandfather’s fate was unknown after the Four Great Sects joined forces against him, leaving Gu Chenfeng alarmed.

• Mo Nancang told Gu Chenfeng that he and Gu Chenfeng’s grandfather had been disciples of the Four Symbols Divine Sect’s sect master, who died after the sect was destroyed.
• Mo Nancang explained that survivors fought over the sect’s legacy and formed the four powers that became the Four Great Sects.
• Mo Nancang confirmed that Gu Chenfeng’s grandfather possessed the sect master’s token, which could establish a legitimate successor and was rumored to lead to a hidden treasure trove.
• Mo Nancang said Gu Chenfeng’s grandfather’s damaged Dao Foundation prevented him from refining the token, and the Four Great Sects eventually sensed its location.
• Mo Nancang revealed that the Four Great Sects attacked Gu Chenfeng’s grandfather together and left his fate unknown, prompting Gu Chenfeng to ask what had happened to him.

Gu Chenfeng learned that Gu Beiwu had vanished after a battle with the Four Great Sects, though a secret signal suggested his life was not in danger. He refused to leave Yan Province for Central Province and chose to return to the Imperial Capital, with Mo Nancang offering to accompany and protect him.

• Gu Lingxiao told Gu Chenfeng that Gu Beiwu had disappeared after several Grandmaster-level experts from the Four Great Sects attacked him at a Source Crystal Vein outside the Imperial Capital.
• Gu Lingxiao said a secret signal from Gu Beiwu indicated he was probably alive, and explained that Yan Shuang had refused to leave the Imperial Capital while she searched for him and protected the Gu Lineage.
• Gu Lingxiao and Mo Nancang urged Gu Chenfeng to go to Central Province, but Gu Chenfeng insisted on returning to the Imperial Capital until he knew Gu Beiwu was safe.
• Gu Chenfeng argued that he would not abandon his family while Gu Beiwu was missing, Yan Shuang was holding the Imperial Capital, and Gu Lingxiao was injured; Gu Lingxiao accepted his decision.
• Mo Nancang volunteered to accompany Gu Chenfeng to the Imperial Capital and protect him from the Four Great Sects.

Gu Chenfeng strengthened his cultivation on the journey back from the Barbarian Tribe Sacred Mountain and received the Five Elements Sacred Origin Art from Gu Lingxiao. As they headed toward the Border Pass, Gu Lingxiao revealed that Gu Chenfeng’s identity and achievements had been made public, and vowed to defend the Gu Lineage if its enemies moved against it.

• Gu Chenfeng assessed his improved strength and discovered that reaching the seven-star Source Core Realm let him wield some Heaven and Earth Power, while the Heart Demon remained weakened after their battle.
• Gu Chenfeng asked Gu Lingxiao about the Barbarian Tribe’s Five Great Protectors and their five-element joint-attack Secret Art.
• Gu Lingxiao gave Gu Chenfeng the ancient beast-hide book containing the Five Elements Sacred Origin Art, which Gu Chenfeng quietly stored away.
• Gu Chenfeng asked whether he should avoid the Border Pass because his masked martial artist identity and Deputy Thousand-Household Commander Li Zicheng identity might be connected.
• Gu Lingxiao explained that he had already publicized Gu Chenfeng’s identity as the Third Young Master of the Gu Family, promoted his military rank, and requested rewards from His Majesty.
• Gu Lingxiao promised to protect Gu Chenfeng in the Imperial Capital and warned that he would fight back if the Huangfu Faction threatened the Gu Lineage; Gu Chenfeng vowed to safeguard his family and wait for his Grandfather’s return.

After Gu Chenfeng’s identity as Li Zicheng was announced and he was promoted to Deputy Commander, soldiers and officers at the Border Pass questioned whether he had stolen another man’s military achievements. At a council meeting, Gu Lingxiao confirmed Gu Chenfeng’s appointment and ordered him to return to the Imperial Capital, while Li Yuanqi arranged to travel with him; just as Gu Chenfeng hoped to avoid trouble by leaving, Zuo Yutang arrived requesting to see him.

• Border Pass soldiers criticized the announcement that Gu Chenfeng had earned Li Zicheng’s military honors and been promoted to Deputy Commander.
• Xiao Lie and Li Yuanqi questioned the announcement, but learned Gu Lingxiao had issued it and left without answers.
• At a meeting in Heavenly Journey City, Gu Lingxiao confirmed Gu Chenfeng’s achievements and assigned him to lead a delegation back to the Imperial Capital for rewards.
• Li Yuanqi volunteered to accompany Gu Chenfeng, intending to investigate him during the journey, and Gu Chenfeng accepted calmly.
• As Gu Chenfeng planned to leave for the Imperial Capital the next day, a soldier reported that Blackwater Army Thousand Household Commander Zuo Yutang had come to see him.

Gu Chenfeng met Zuo Yutang outside Heavenly Journey City, where her trick exposed him as the masked warrior from Blackwater City. After they reconciled and exchanged farewells, Gu Chenfeng continued west toward the Imperial Capital while Zuo Yutang returned east to Blackwater City.

• Zuo Yutang led Gu Chenfeng to a grove and questioned whether he was the masked warrior from the Blackwater City battlefield.
• Gu Chenfeng tried to hide his identity, but Zuo Yutang's sudden saber slash made him reveal that he had fought her before.
• Gu Chenfeng apologized for their earlier fight, and Zuo Yutang forgave him and credited him with saving Blackwater City.
• Zuo Yutang asked whether Gu Chenfeng would return from the Imperial Capital, and he answered that it depended on his Lineage.
• Gu Chenfeng gave Zuo Yutang pills for Zhou Bin's brother and cultivation pills, then rode west as Zuo Yutang headed east and asked him to visit their old friends.

Gu Chenfeng traveled toward the Imperial Capital under heavy guard while listening to Mo Nancang describe Central Province and the Four Symbols Sect he had founded. The chapter left Gu Chenfeng asking how his grandfather’s injuries could be treated.

• Gu Chenfeng’s guarded party traveled south from the Border Pass, while Li Yuanqi grew resentful of Gu Chenfeng’s comfortable carriage and postponed testing him until they reached the Imperial Capital.
• Mo Nancang advised Gu Chenfeng to beat Li Yuanqi, but Gu Chenfeng avoided provoking the First Prince because he feared accidentally killing him.
• Mo Nancang told Gu Chenfeng about Central Province’s powerful sects and dynasties and revealed that he had founded a Four Symbols Sect there.
• Mo Nancang said Gu Chenfeng’s second sister, Gu Qingxuan, was the Four Symbols Sect’s chief disciple and stayed behind to guard it, partly because she resented Gu Chenfeng’s father over his mother.
• Gu Chenfeng asked Mo Nancang about his grandfather’s injuries and how they could be treated.

Mo Nancang told Gu Chenfeng that Gu Beiwu was a Great Grandmaster weakened by a powerful curse and gave him a pill to restore some of his vitality and soul. As Gu Chenfeng’s procession reached the Flame Capital, it clashed at the gate with a hunting party led by the Second Prince.

• Mo Nancang explained that Gu Beiwu had reached the Source King Realm but had been weakened by a curse that devoured his vitality and primordial spirit.
• Mo Nancang gave Gu Chenfeng a seventh-grade pill that could restore some of Gu Beiwu’s vitality and strengthen his soul, though it could not break the curse.
• After nine days of travel, Gu Chenfeng learned from Li Yuanqi that the Four Great Sects were organizing the Dragon Abyss Gathering near the capital.
• Gu Chenfeng’s procession reached the Flame Capital’s north gate and hurried to enter so he could visit his eldest sister before the victory banquet.
• A hunting party led by the Second Prince tried to cross the Futu Army’s path at the gate, and a soldier reported the clash to Gu Chenfeng.

Li Yuanrui’s hunting party clashed with the returning Futu Army at the Imperial Capital’s north gate after someone destroyed its military standard. With the two sides separated, Li Yuanrui demanded to speak with Gu Chenfeng, while Li Yuanqi watched from behind, waiting to see how the dispute unfolded.

• Li Yuanrui agreed to let the Futu Army enter ahead, but Zhang You secretly signaled someone in his party to act.
• An unidentified person used a talisman to hurl a fireball at the Futu Army’s Gu banner, setting it ablaze and provoking the soldiers to fight the nobles’ party.
• Luo Heng ordered the Futu Army to keep their weapons sheathed, but the soldiers beat many of the nobles and their attendants with their bare hands.
• Li Yuanrui and his guards forced the sides apart, and Li Yuanrui demanded that Gu Chenfeng come speak to him.
• Li Yuanqi refused to intervene, anticipating that Gu Chenfeng might be humbled by Li Yuanrui.

Gu Chenfeng confronted the second prince, Li Yuanrui, over the clash outside the Imperial Capital and refused to accept blame for the Futu Army. He ordered the noble scions who had attacked his troops punished, and the chapter ended with Li Yuanrui's guards moving to intervene as Gu Chenfeng ordered his army to prepare to charge.

• Gu Chenfeng appeared before Li Yuanrui and said he had been asleep because of his wounds when the clash occurred.
• Li Yuanrui demanded that Gu Chenfeng apologize and punish the Futu Army soldiers, but Gu Chenfeng pointed out that Li Yuanrui's men had cut the line and destroyed the army's banner.
• When the noble scions insulted Gu Chenfeng and demanded compensation, he told them to step forward, then ordered them seized for thirty strokes and thirty slaps each.
• Luo Heng and the Futu Army carried out Gu Chenfeng's order, beating the noble scions as they cried for help.
• Li Yuanrui ordered his personal guards to stop the punishment, and Gu Chenfeng ordered his troops to prepare to charge.

Gu Chenfeng used the imperial edict to force the Second Prince to admit he was right to punish those who obstructed the Futu Army, then led the troops into the Imperial Capital. A hidden observer vowed revenge and watched Gu Chenfeng, who briefly sensed a familiar presence nearby.

• Gu Chenfeng ordered the Futu Army to ready its weapons, then invoked the imperial edict to defend his punishment of those who had obstructed the returning troops.
• The Second Prince admitted Gu Chenfeng had not been wrong, while Gu Chenfeng ordered Zhang You seized and both his legs broken.
• The Second Prince left with his guards by the western gate, and Li Yuanqi approved of Gu Chenfeng's handling of the confrontation.
• Gu Chenfeng led the Futu Army into the Imperial Capital, where officials and commoners welcomed them with celebration.
• A hidden figure watched Gu Chenfeng enter the city and vowed to destroy him, while Gu Chenfeng noticed a fleeting white figure at a tavern window.

Gu Chenfeng returned to the Imperial Capital and reunited with Gu Yanshuang, learning that the Gu Lineage was under mounting attack while their grandfather remained missing. He vowed to help defend the family and prevent its faction from collapsing.

• Gu Chenfeng entered the Imperial Capital with a thousand soldiers, then went to the Gu Residence after the procession.
• Gu Yanshuang ambushed Gu Chenfeng with a spear, and the siblings tested each other's strength before greeting one another.
• Gu Chenfeng praised Gu Yanshuang's rapid cultivation progress and asked about their grandfather and the Imperial Capital's situation.
• Gu Yanshuang told Gu Chenfeng that the Four Great Sects were hunting their missing grandfather and the Huangfu Lineage was attacking the Gu Lineage and its allies.
• Gu Chenfeng reassured Gu Yanshuang that he would fight their enemies and keep the Gu Lineage from falling.

In the Prime Minister’s Residence, Gu Chenfeng revealed the Gu Lineage’s hidden strength to Gu Yanshuang and learned that the Sea-Calming King had returned to the capital with an army. As they prepared to attend the Imperial Palace victory banquet, Gu Chenfeng resolved to proceed carefully amid the Sea-Calming King’s old rivalry with his father.

• Gu Chenfeng told Gu Yanshuang that he and Gu Lingxiao had been captured by the Barbarian Tribe, that Gu Lingxiao had killed the Barbarian Emperor, and that their forces had defeated the Barbarian Emperor’s troops.
• Gu Chenfeng revealed that Gu Lingxiao commanded a hundred thousand soldiers and had secretly allied with Empress Helian, while Mo Nancang was investigating the mine battlefield and watching the Four Great Sects.
• Gu Yanshuang agreed to support Gu Chenfeng and explained that the Sea-Calming King had returned to the capital with experts and tens of thousands of Sea-Shaking Army soldiers for the Dragon Abyss Gathering.
• Gu Yanshuang told Gu Chenfeng that the Sea-Calming King had an old grievance with Gu Lingxiao, including a past rivalry over their mother, and warned that he might target Gu Chenfeng at the victory banquet.
• Gu Chenfeng understood that the Gu Lineage’s allies could lose confidence if he performed poorly and told Gu Yanshuang they should leave for the Imperial Palace banquet.

At the Imperial Palace victory banquet, Gu Chenfeng entered the court’s factional struggle as officials watched to see how he and the Sea-Calming King would affect the balance of power. Shangguan Qingfeng warned him that the Sea-Calming King might target him, and Left Chancellor Huangfu Hong approached to congratulate him on his battlefield exploits.

• Gu Chenfeng and Gu Yanshuang arrived at the banquet in ceremonial armor, drawing the attention of the gathered officials.
• Ouyang De and Huang Quan greeted Gu Chenfeng, who exchanged courteous greetings with them and spotted Ouyang Cai among their group.
• Neutral officials, including Shangguan Qingfeng, greeted Gu Chenfeng, and Shangguan Qingfeng privately warned him about the Sea-Calming King and relayed Shangguan Bingxin’s message.
• Gu Chenfeng considered asking about Shangguan Bingxin but held back when Shangguan Qingfeng watched him warily.
• Huangfu Hong congratulated Gu Chenfeng on killing the Barbarian Tribe’s Sixth Prince, and Gu Chenfeng modestly replied that he had only done his duty.