Chapter Summaries

Lin Ke successfully raised nine Mystic Flame Horned Beetle Sovereigns to full development and tested their mystic flame, which burned through a Golden Core monster beast with ease. He planned to seek Hua Wujiang’s support, but a sharp fall in his Heavenly Prodigy Ranking forced him to reconsider.

• Lin Ke watched nine Mystic Flame Horned Beetle Sovereigns emerge from their shells with stronger auras and sun-shaped markings, then saw them produce pure white mystic flame.
• Lin Ke had the nine beetles burn through a Golden Core One-Horned Iron Boar corpse, confirming that their flames could pierce its hide, flesh, and bones in moments.
• Lin Ke decided to offer the sect some fully developed beetles for research and ask Hua Wujiang for more resources after the next day’s trial.
• Lin Ke returned to his arena intending to defeat one challenger before meeting Hua Wujiang, but discovered his ranking had fallen from fifty-sixth to ninety-sixth.

Lin Ke accepted a challenge from Azure Lightning Peak disciples who were trying to probe his abilities, but he sent out the Dream-Eating Gecko and Lin Xuanyuan to defend the arena. After two hours of defeats, he asked whether anyone else wanted to challenge him.

• Lin Ke realized his ranking had fallen nearly forty places and accepted a fight to protect his spot among the prodigies.
• An Azure Lightning Peak disciple challenged Lin Ke, but Lin Ke sent the Dream-Eating Gecko and Lin Xuanyuan to defend the arena while he cultivated.
• The Dream-Eating Gecko knocked the first challenger unconscious with Divine Mill and threw him out of the arena.
• Lin Xuanyuan defeated Zhao Ming and his lightning-covered Leopard-Shaped Spirit Beast with a single attack.
• The Dream-Eating Gecko and Lin Xuanyuan defeated the Azure Lightning Peak challengers one after another for two hours.
• Lin Ke opened his eyes, saw the defeated disciples outside the arena, and asked whether anyone else wanted to challenge him.

Lin Ke prepared to end the arena matches after defeating the Azure Lightning Peak disciples, but Luo Ya of Ghost-Suppressing Peak arrived and insisted on challenging him. Lin Ke reluctantly asked what Luo Ya would wager, and Luo Ya produced a dark wooden box.

• Lin Ke offered to call a truce after the Azure Lightning Peak disciples fell silent and prepared to leave.
• Luo Ya leaped onto the stage, taunted the Azure Lightning Peak disciples, and introduced himself as a challenger from Ghost-Suppressing Peak.
• The Azure Lightning Peak disciples recognized Luo Ya as the renowned Battle Maniac and left with their unconscious companions.
• Luo Ya explained that Ghost-Suppressing Peak had ordered him to defeat Lin Ke, though he mainly wanted a chance to fight a strong opponent.
• Lin Ke refused the challenge at first, but Luo Ya proposed a winner-takes-all wager and pulled out a dark wooden box.

Lin Ke accepted Luo Ya’s wager for the Jade Gourd Seed and began fighting him while his companions faced Luo Ya’s mutated Red Hou. The battle remained unresolved as Luo Ya used a force art to interrupt Lin Ke’s advance.

• Luo Ya offered Lin Ke the Jade Gourd Seed of the Three Luminaries Divine Water Vine in exchange for Lin Ke’s ranking, and Lin Ke accepted the wager.
• Luo Ya summoned his mutated Red Hou, Big Red, and sent it against the Dream-Eating Gecko and Lin Xuanyuan.
• The Dream-Eating Gecko’s Divine Mill failed to affect Big Red, which also matched Lin Xuanyuan’s strength and forced the pair to fight cautiously.
• Lin Ke and Luo Ya exchanged powerful strikes, with their attacks colliding evenly.
• Luo Ya cast Force Anchoring a Thousand Jun to halt Lin Ke’s offensive.

Lin Ke and Luo Ya fought fiercely, with Lin Ke gaining the advantage through his physical strength and sword techniques while mental attacks failed to affect Luo Ya. Luo Ya then unveiled the Nascent Soul-level Divine Ability-Black Sun, leaving the arena spectators and presiding elder alarmed.

• Luo Ya used Force Anchoring a Thousand Jun to pin Lin Ke down, but Lin Ke unleashed Dragon-Elephant Prison-Suppressing Force and overpowered him in a fist clash.
• Lin Ke summoned three flying swords and attacked Luo Ya with Heaven and Earth Sword Net, while Luo Ya merged with the Red Hou and countered with baleful flames.
• Luo Ya turned his flames pitch-black and clashed with Lin Ke, whose Divine Mill and Mirage Scene had no effect on him.
• Lin Ke maintained the advantage with his accumulated power and Five-Colored Glazed Body, so Luo Ya retreated and formed a hand seal.
• Luo Ya used Divine Ability-Black Sun to compress his baleful flames into a black sphere with Nascent Soul-level power, shocking the spectators and presiding elder.

Lin Ke countered Luo Ya’s Nascent Soul-level Black Sun with the Net Sword Gang and Dragon-Elephant Prison-Suppressing Force, then defeated him as his power ran low. Luo Ya conceded, and Lin Xuanyuan’s group had also defeated the Red Hou.

• Luo Ya unleashed his Black Sun, and Lin Ke met it with the Heaven and Earth Sword Net’s Net Sword Gang.
• Luo Ya used Devouring Annihilation to drain the sword gang, but Lin Ke suppressed the Black Sun with Dragon-Elephant Prison-Suppressing Force and broke its devouring power.
• The clash exploded against the arena barrier, and the presiding elder opened a gap to release the surging energy.
• Lin Xuanyuan and the others brought down the Red Hou while Lin Ke and Luo Ya continued fighting.
• Luo Ya ran low on Spirit Power, took Lin Ke’s punch to the chest, and conceded.

Lin Ke defeated Luo Ya in the arena and won the jade gourd seeds, while Lin Xuanyuan and the Dream-Eating Gecko recovered from their bruising fight against the Red Hou. He then asked Supreme Elder Hua Wujiang for more Fire Essence and revealed that nine of his Mystic Flame Horned Beetle Sovereigns could consistently produce Mystic Flame.

• Luo Ya admitted defeat to Lin Ke, who collected the jade gourd seeds and brought his injured spirit beasts into his Niwan Palace to recover.
• The Dream-Eating Gecko apologized for failing to affect the Red Hou with his mental abilities, and Lin Xuanyuan urged him to learn from the setback.
• Lin Ke left the arena and asked Hua Wujiang to speak privately about his Mystic Flame Horned Beetle Sovereigns.
• Lin Ke requested more Fire Essence, explaining that the beetles had consumed the previous supply as they grew.
• Lin Ke revealed that nine of his Mystic Flame Horned Beetle Sovereigns could consistently produce Mystic Flame, shocking Hua Wujiang.

Lin Ke showed Hua Wujiang that his Mystic Flame Horned Beetle Sovereign could produce pure mystic flame, and Hua agreed to seek sect resources for him after consulting the other Supreme Elders. Lin Ke returned to cultivation and won ten challenges, then faced the start of his match against Qu Tong, a clash between two Lineage Branches.

• Lin Ke showed Hua Wujiang his mature Mystic Flame Horned Beetle Sovereign, which demonstrated its pure mystic flame without harming Hua Wujiang.
• Hua Wujiang agreed to report Lin Ke's request for resources to the Sect Leader and the other Supreme Elders, while warning Lin Ke to prepare for the sect trials and rival disciples.
• Lin Ke returned to the Green Mulberry Garden, checked on Lin Fusang, and cultivated while the Dream-Eating Gecko trained to overcome its weakness in mental techniques.
• Lin Ke won all ten challenges that day, and the Azure Lightning Peak disciples left him alone.
• Lin Ke's match against Qu Tong began, setting up a contest between two Lineage Branches.

Lin Ke and Qu Tong began their arena challenge as Azure Lightning Peak disciples jeered at Lin Ke and backed Qu Tong. Qu Tong trapped him between her lightning net and Swift Lightning Thousand-Bird, but Lin Ke used earth techniques to block both attacks and maneuver through the stone forest before striking the ground.

• Azure Lightning Peak disciples mocked Lin Ke while gathered to support Qu Tong, and the adjudicating elder began their challenge.
• Qu Tong retreated and cast Azure Lightning Net Domain, then sent her Swift Lightning Thousand-Bird to attack Lin Ke from the front.
• Lin Ke used the Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning Method to raise a stone wall that slowed the bird and a stone forest that held up Qu Tong's lightning net.
• Lin Ke slipped through the stone forest to avoid the lightning net's main range, then struck the ground with Earth Thrust Spikes and Turn Earth to Steel-Hardening.

Lin Ke used the Heaven-Supporting and Firmament-Commanding Method to overwhelm Qu Tong and her Swift Lightning Thousand-Bird in their arena battle. Qu Tong revealed the Abyssal Thunder Eyes as she prepared to turn the fight around.

• Lin Ke blocked Qu Tong’s Thunder Quake with the Dragon-Elephant Prison-Suppressing Force and forced her back.
• Qu Tong and the Swift Lightning Thousand-Bird attacked together, but Lin Ke evaded their strikes and unleashed Wind Arises to create a powerful storm.
• Qu Tong countered with Azure Lightning-Thousand-Feather Thunderstorm, but Lin Ke combined Wind Arises and Clouds Flow to suppress her thunderstorm.
• Qu Tong formed hand seals, revealed a lightning mark in her left eye, and rose into the air as the Azure Lightning Peak disciples recognized the Abyssal Thunder Eyes.

Lin Ke and Qu Tong unleashed their strongest techniques in a clash between his Five Images Spell Art and her Abyssal Thunder Eyes. The fight remained unresolved as Lin Ke’s Spell Art held the Divine Ability at bay, leaving the spectators stunned.

• Qu Tong invoked her Abyssal Thunder Eyes, gathering azure lightning into a storm that stalled Lin Ke’s attack.
• Lin Ke pushed the Heaven-Supporting and Firmament-Commanding Method to its limit and summoned its remaining forms.
• Qu Tong cast Abyss Thunder-Suppress All Evil, sending a massive lightning cage crashing down on Lin Ke.
• Lin Ke summoned the Five Images, combining wind, clouds, lightning, thunder, and rain into a raging domain.
• The two domains collided, and Lin Ke’s Spell Art held Qu Tong’s Divine Ability in a stalemate, shocking the spectators.

Lin Ke fought Qu Tong’s Abyssal Thunder Eyes with his Five Images Spell Arts, then overcame her second Divine Ability, Azure Lightning Body, with a close-range counterattack. He sealed Qu Tong’s acupoints and swallowed her lightning, ending the fight with her defeat.

• Lin Ke’s Heaven-Supporting and Firmament-Commanding Method withstood and began suppressing Qu Tong’s Abyssal Thunder Eyes.
• Qu Tong merged with Swift Lightning Thousand-Bird and activated her second Divine Ability, Azure Lightning Body, greatly increasing her speed and strength.
• Qu Tong overwhelmed Lin Ke with a rapid assault, but Lin Ke tracked her movements with his Mental Power and waited for an opening.
• Lin Ke struck Qu Tong with Gold-Shattering Cry, disrupting her vision and Spirit Power, then sealed her acupoints with Dragon-Elephant Prison-Suppressing Force.
• Lin Ke warned Qu Tong that forcing her sealed meridians could cripple her, then engulfed her lightning and declared that she had lost.

Lin Ke defeated Qu Tong by sealing her acupoints with condensed dragon-elephant qi, and she accepted the loss after learning he had only used what he needed to win. The presiding elder declared Lin Ke the winner, and Lin Ke released Qu Tong from the seal.

• Lin Ke explained that he had devised his acupoint-sealing technique by using dragon-elephant qi to suppress the flow of spirit power.
• Qu Tong asked why Lin Ke had not used his Sword Control Technique, and he said he had only needed to use enough strength to win.
• Qu Tong calmly conceded and told Azure Lightning Peak’s disciples to stop disputing the result.
• The presiding elder announced Lin Ke as the winner of the match.
• Lin Ke unsealed Qu Tong’s acupoints and thanked her for her guidance.

After defeating Qu Tong, Lin Ke received fire essence from Hua Wujiang and returned to Green Mulberry Garden to raise more Mystic Flame Horned Beetle Sovereigns. The Dream-Eating Gecko revealed that he had learned to manipulate objects with Mental Power to counter strange creatures like the Red Hou.

• Lin Ke inherited Qu Tong’s thirty-first-place ranking, and Hua Wujiang praised his use of the Giant Strength Fire Prison Sect’s Body Tempering technique.
• Hua Wujiang gave Lin Ke three jade bottles of fire essence and warned him not to waste the hard-won supply.
• Lin Ke returned to Green Mulberry Garden and began feeding the Mystic Flame Horned Beetle Sovereigns to prepare another batch for raising as Gu.
• The Dream-Eating Gecko demonstrated his new ability, lifting and circling nearby stones with Mental Power.
• The Dream-Eating Gecko explained that object manipulation would help him fight strange creatures like the Red Hou, whose kind resisted his direct mental attacks.

The Dream-Eating Gecko developed a way to store Divine Mill in objects, combining mental attacks with object manipulation. Lin Ke raised and refined Mystic Flame Horned Beetle Sovereigns, then successfully formed them into a battle formation using the Myriad Insects Heavenly Calamity Formula.

• The Dream-Eating Gecko demonstrated how he stored Divine Mill inside floating stones to combine mental attacks with object manipulation, though he could not sustain the technique for long.
• Lin Ke continued nurturing Mystic Flame Horned Beetle Sovereigns and eventually raised nearly five hundred whose fire essence was almost full.
• Lin Ke released the beetles on Golden Silkworm Peak, where they fought for two hours and produced forty-eight Adult Mystic Flame Horned Beetle Sovereigns, bringing his total to fifty-seven.
• Lin Ke began training the fifty-seven adult beetles with the Myriad Insects Heavenly Calamity Formula to prepare for the Trial Conference.
• Lin Ke guided the beetles into formation, and their linked fire auras formed a battle formation in midair.

Lin Ke completed his Mystic Flame insect battle formation and tested its power, confirming that it could destroy both Golden Core Late Stage Demon Beast bodies and Low-Grade Spirit Artifacts. With the trial nearing its end, he decided to fight openly to defend his ranking and secure a place in the top hundred, and the Year Square had already become far more violent.

• Lin Ke ordered his fifty-seven Mystic Flame Horned Beetle Sovereigns to attack a rhinoceros-like Golden Core Late Stage Demon Beast corpse, which the formation quickly dissolved.
• Lin Ke tested the Mystic Flame on a Low-Grade Spirit Artifact saber, and the formation melted through its protective barrier and destroyed it.
• Lin Ke put away the insect formation and decided to use his full strength in the trial's final days to defend his ranking and claim a top-hundred spot.
• Lin Ke arrived at the Year Square and saw disciples fighting and shouting amid an atmosphere of intense competition.

As the trial neared its end, Wu Dao challenged Lin Ke, and the disciples expected the seasoned Golden Core prodigy to win. The match began with Lin Ke immediately unleashing Dragon-Elephant Prison-Suppressing Force.

• Wu Dao, a disciple of True Lord Dry Ant who had slain a Nascent Soul Demon King while still at Golden Core late stage, challenged Lin Ke on the arena.
• Wu Dao praised Lin Ke's talent and Frontline achievements, while Lin Ke prepared cautiously for what he recognized as his strongest trial opponent yet.
• The disciples watching the arena overwhelmingly favored Wu Dao, and Zong Ya and the others worried that Lin Ke might be injured.
• The presiding elder started the match, and Lin Ke and Wu Dao attacked at the same time.
• Lin Ke opened the fight with Dragon-Elephant Prison-Suppressing Force.

Lin Ke and Wu Dao fought on the arena platform, matching each other in physical strength until Wu Dao unleashed a tide of Dry Ants. Lin Ke’s sword net failed to halt the insects, and their strange heat and visions began overwhelming his senses.

• Lin Ke and Wu Dao traded physical blows, and the disciples marveled that Lin Ke’s physique rivaled Wu Dao’s.
• Lin Ke used the Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning Method to trap Wu Dao in an Earth Prison and bombard him with metalized fragments.
• Wu Dao struck his Rattle Drum and unleashed a Dry Ant tide that dissolved Lin Ke’s prison and filled him with feverish heat and hunger.
• Lin Ke summoned his Sword Pellet and sent eighteen Low-Grade Flying Swords against the ants, but the attack only intensified his visions and burning sensation.
• As Wu Dao’s drumbeats grew distant, Lin Ke felt the world fall silent while the Dry Ants’ strange effects overtook him.

Lin Ke resisted Wu Dao’s insect tide and launched a Sword Formation counterattack, but Wu Dao then trapped him in the Insect Formation, Mirage Corpse: No Interstice. Lin Ke began probing the formation with his Mental Power and prepared to test it with his Sword Formation.

• Lin Ke used the Divine Mill to destroy the strange consciousness and grind away the Dry Ants at the front of Wu Dao’s insect tide.
• Lin Ke gathered his eighteen Low-Grade Flying Swords into the Heavenly Net and Earthly Boundary, destroying part of Wu Dao’s insect tide.
• Wu Dao split the remaining insects around the platform and used their rhythmic hum to create the Mirage Corpse: No Interstice Formation, distorting Lin Ke’s perception of the world.
• Wu Dao explained the formation and agreed to concede if Lin Ke could break it.
• Lin Ke closed his eyes and spread his Mental Power through the formation, then made the Heavenly Net and Earthly Boundary blaze to test it.

Lin Ke battled Wu Dao's insect formation by combining his domains, lightning, and sword rain to destroy the dry ants supporting it. Wu Dao then ignited desiccating heartflame inside Lin Ke, but Lin Ke recognized it from his cultivation and found it far weaker than the heartflame he had endured before.

• Lin Ke's sword light vanished into Wu Dao's formation, which answered with illusory magma pillars hiding blasts of spirit power.
• Lin Ke shattered the fire serpents and merged his sword domain with wind and clouds to resist the formation's attacks.
• Lin Ke unleashed lightning and sword rain, killing dry ants and destabilizing the insect-formed space.
• Wu Dao caused dark-red desiccating fire to ignite inside Lin Ke's body, attacking his blood, spirit power, mind, and soul.
• Lin Ke recognized the fire as heartflame similar to what he had faced while cultivating the second refinement of the five-colored glazed body, and found Wu Dao's version only tickled him.