Chapter Summaries

Lin Ke endured Wu Dao’s heartflame and broke apart his insect formation, forcing Wu Dao to transform and unleash a final strike. Lin Ke began fusing his Heaven-Supporting and Firmament-Commanding Method with the Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning Method as the battle reached its climax.

• Wu Dao’s heartflame scorched the arena and affected the watching disciples and presiding elder, but Lin Ke’s heartflame-tempered body resisted it.
• Wu Dao faltered in surprise, and Lin Ke combined his domains to expose the insect formation’s weak points, destroy its space, and kill countless Dry Ants.
• Wu Dao transformed into a gigantic Dry Ant figure and struck hard enough to shatter the formation and crack the arena barrier.
• Lin Ke and Wu Dao prepared to decide the battle with one final strike as Wu Dao advanced with power comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator’s.
• Lin Ke joined the wind, lightning, and earth-vein powers of his two methods, summoning a might that seemed capable of remaking heaven and earth.

Lin Ke combined Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning with Heaven-Supporting and Firmament-Commanding to unleash the World-Altering technique against Wu Dao. As Lin Ke and Wu Dao struck with their strongest attacks, a pillar of light engulfed the arena, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Lin Ke stirred the powers of wind, clouds, thunder, and earth-vein energy, forming a vast vortex above Year Festival Square.
• Hua Wujiang and the Golden Wing Sect elders recognized Lin Ke’s ability to borrow the powers of heaven and earth, while the disciples and contestants watched in awe.
• Qu Tong realized Lin Ke had held back when he defeated her, while Luo Ya’s desire to challenge him grew stronger.
• Zhuge Qi Tian watched the phenomenon from Arena One, and Zong Ya, Lin Quan-meng, and the others cheered for Lin Ke.
• Wu Dao transformed into a Dry Ant and unleashed Ant Devouring as Lin Ke used Approach, bringing down a vast pillar of light that swallowed the arena.

Lin Ke defeated Wu Dao, but the black hole created by their clash escaped Lin Ke’s control and threatened the Year Festival Square. Hua Wujiang contained the disaster and declared the battle over.

• Lin Ke and Wu Dao emerged battered from the ruined arena after Lin Ke’s attack formed a miniature black hole.
• The black hole’s suction suddenly intensified, and Lin Ke failed to suppress it despite trying to withdraw the Heaven-and-Earth Transformation Method.
• Lin Ke warned the disciples to retreat as the black hole tore up the square and shattered their protective barriers.
• Hua Wujiang stilled the distorted space, opened a spatial rift, and cast the black hole into it.
• Hua Wujiang dispersed the remaining storm and announced that the battle had ended.

Lin Ke survived his devastating battle with Wu Dao, earned the sect’s approval, and used the trial’s suspension to cultivate his understanding of the Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning intent. When the trial was set to resume, his friends gathered at his Cave Abode with good news about it.

• Lin Ke and Wu Dao accepted the outcome of their battle and agreed to fight again, while Zong Ya and the others checked Lin Ke’s injuries.
• Butterfly Transformation True Person scolded Lin Ke for his recklessness, then confirmed that he had only suffered superficial injuries.
• The sect suspended the trial for two days to repair Year Festival Square and did not penalize Lin Ke for the damage.
• Lin Ke recovered in his Cave Abode and spent two days contemplating the Intent of Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning.
• Zhu Qingge and Lin Ke’s other friends waited outside his Cave Abode and told him they had important good news about the trial.

Lin Ke learned that the updated Heavenly Prodigy Ranking had raised him to sixth place after his recent battle, crediting him with a powerful new semi-divine ability. He recognized that the ranking’s praise overstated his control and worried that his sudden prominence would attract dangerous attention.

• Lin Ke's companions gathered around him and had Zong Ya show him the updated Heavenly Prodigy Ranking.
• Lin Ke discovered that he had risen to sixth place after defeating Wu Dao.
• Lin Ke read his revised profile, which credited him with fusing two methods into the semi-divine ability World-Altering.
• Lin Ke recalled that World-Altering had been so uncontrollable that he might have killed himself and everyone in Year Festival Square without Hua Wujiang's intervention.
• Zhu Qingge asked why Lin Ke seemed worried, and Lin Ke said his high ranking could bring unwanted attention.

Lin Ke and his companions celebrated his rise to sixth place in the Genius Ranking and discussed their results in the Trial Conference. Zhu Qingge revealed that his Spirit Insect had helped him briefly enter the top hundred, but he kept its nature secret as the group arrived at Year Festival Square.

• Lin Ke accepted his new ranking calmly, and the group toasted his sixth-place finish before setting off for Year Festival Square.
• Huang Fuqi told Lin Ke that he had lost several challenges and planned to focus on cultivation, and Lin Ke encouraged him.
• Lin Quan-meng and Shi Ping praised Zhu Qingge for reaching the top hundred, and Zhu Qingge said he had since fallen out of it.
• Zhu Qingge credited his Spirit Insect for helping him reach the top hundred but declined to reveal it or demonstrate its abilities.
• Han Fu joked about Zhu Qingge's mysterious background, and Zhu Qingge playfully promised to grant the group great domains before they reached Year Festival Square.

Lin Ke observed the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking updating in real time and saw that the top ten had settled into a tacit truce to avoid revealing their strongest techniques. On Arena Six, Nangong Rui confronted Lin Ke over the ranking that had pushed him from sixth to seventh, and the two appeared ready to fight.

• Lin Ke and the others arrived at Year Festival Square, where Rain Spider True Person updated the rankings on a huge stone tablet in real time.
• Lin Ke noticed fierce competition among the lower-ranked disciples but little movement among the top ten, who rested rather than challenge one another.
• Lin Ke went to Arena Six, while Zong Ya and the others left to watch battles elsewhere after no challengers appeared.
• Nangong Rui confronted Lin Ke, saying the arena spot was his and showing resentment over falling from sixth to seventh place.
• Lin Ke and Nangong Rui stood facing each other as their auras clashed, with a battle seemingly about to begin.

Lin Ke and Nangong Rui nearly fought, but Shen Wei stopped them, warning that a clash between the Top Ten would interfere with the sects’ plan. Lin Ke accepted the warning and resumed cultivating, and the arenas remained mostly quiet for the next day.

• Disciples gathered eagerly as Lin Ke and Nangong Rui prepared to fight, but both reined in their auras and sat down after Shen Wei intervened.
• Lin Ke recognized Shen Wei, the fifth-ranked prodigy known as Great Fiend Shen Wei, and thanked him for the reminder.
• Shen Wei explained that the Top Ten must not fight one another because it would affect the sects’ plan, then offered Lin Ke food and wine.
• Lin Ke inferred that the sects had a larger purpose for the Top Ten and returned to cultivating.
• A day passed with few challenges at the Top Ten arenas, and the tenth-ranked prodigy defeated the only challenger.

After the Trial Conference ended, Lin Ke placed sixth on the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking and joined the other top ten disciples for a briefing from Hua Wujiang. He learned that the Demon Race and Shu Frontier planned to interfere with the upcoming Heavenly Pride Gathering, which was less than two months away.

• Lin Ke spent the final days of the Trial Conference cultivating and getting to know the other top ten prodigies, especially Shen Wei.
• Rain Spider True Person finalized the rankings, and Hua Wujiang announced that the top hundred disciples would represent the Golden Wing Sect at the Heavenly Pride Gathering.
• The final ranking placed Zhuge Qi Tian first and Lin Ke sixth, and the sect disciples celebrated the selected participants.
• Hua Wujiang summoned the top ten prodigies and told them that the Sect Leader had an important matter to relay.
• Hua Wujiang revealed that the Demon Race and Shu Frontier planned secret actions against the great sects after the Heavenly Pride Gathering began.

Hua Wujiang and Grass Louse True Lord told Lin Ke, Shen Wei, and the other Golden Wing Sect prodigies that Shu Frontier had infiltrated the major sects and ordered them to identify and kill the spies at the Heavenly Pride Gathering. The group accepted the mission and left to prepare, knowing the gathering would become a covert hunt.

• Shen Wei asked Hua Wujiang and Grass Louse True Lord what the sects should do about the threats from the Demon Race and Shu Frontier.
• Grass Louse True Lord said the sect leaders would handle the Demon Race and tasked the prodigies with dealing with Shu Frontier's infiltrators.
• Hua Wujiang revealed that thirty to forty Shu Frontier spies had infiltrated Cloud Frontier's major sects, including the Golden Wing Sect's top hundred disciples.
• Grass Louse True Lord ordered the prodigies to expose and purge the spies during the Heavenly Pride Gathering, while Hua Wujiang commanded them to kill suspected infiltrators and keep the mission secret.
• Lin Ke, Shen Wei, and the others accepted the orders and withdrew to prepare for the gathering.

Lin Ke returned to Green Mulberry Garden and focused on strengthening his existing advantages before the Heavenly Pride Gathering, where he hoped to enter the Cloud Dragon Secret Realm with Lin Xuanyuan. He chose to keep cultivating World-Altering despite its risk and began opening more apertures to raise his physical limits.

• Lin Ke skipped the celebration planned by Zong Ya, Lin Quan-meng, Shi Ping, and the other Great Wilderness Palace shareholders and shut himself away to cultivate.
• Lin Ke assessed his chances against the top prodigies and decided to focus on body tempering and mental killing moves rather than learning new methods before the gathering.
• Lin Ke weighed World-Altering's power against its danger of backlash and decided to continue improving it so he would not lack a powerful spell art in a crisis.
• Lin Ke gathered spiritual energy in his cave abode and used dragon-elephant force to batter open his apertures.
• Lin Ke recalled that opening apertures while cultivating the five-colored glazed body and Dragon-Elephant Prison-Suppressing Force could break his physical limits, though there was not enough time to open all 6,600 before the gathering.

Lin Ke advanced his body-tempering and practiced the second stage of the Great Void Spirit-Consolidation Method, gradually learning to shift his mental power between corporeal and incorporeal states. After five days, he mastered void-transforming and prepared to test several mental killing moves he had devised.

• Lin Ke tempered his body with heartflame and practiced combat techniques, while coordinating his recovery with spell arts cultivation.
• Lin Ke began training in void-transforming, repeatedly attempting to make his mental power shift between condensed and incorporeal states.
• After a day of practice, Lin Ke successfully transformed and gathered a vat-sized mass of mental power at will.
• Lin Ke continued cultivating for five days, steadily expanding the amount of mental power he could transform.
• Lin Ke transformed all the mental power in his sea of consciousness and fully mastered void-transforming.
• Lin Ke devised several possible mental killing moves and prepared to test them.

Lin Ke developed an invisible Mental Power barrier to defend against mental attacks, but the Dream-Eating Gecko’s Divine Mill shattered it with ease. Lin Ke prepared to form another barrier and asked the Dream-Eating Gecko to help identify its weaknesses.

• Lin Ke used the Great Void Spirit-Consolidation Method to condense an invisible, ellipsoidal Mental Power barrier around himself.
• Lin Ke summoned the Dream-Eating Gecko and asked him to test the barrier with a mental attack.
• The Dream-Eating Gecko struck the barrier with Divine Mill, which tore through it despite the attack being greatly weakened.
• The Dream-Eating Gecko stopped his attack before Lin Ke was hurt, and Lin Ke recognized that his barrier was far too weak.
• Lin Ke asked the Dream-Eating Gecko to watch as he formed another barrier and help him find the problem.

Lin Ke refined his mental defense method with guidance from the Dream-Eating Gecko, learning to circulate mental power through his body so it formed a stronger, seamless barrier. After successfully testing the new defense, he considered the method a success, and the Dream-Eating Gecko offered to name it.

• Lin Ke formed a mental power barrier, and the Dream-Eating Gecko pointed out that it was loose because Lin Ke treated mental power as an external force.
• The Dream-Eating Gecko demonstrated how he circulated mental power as naturally as breathing, forming a seamless defensive halo.
• Lin Ke changed his method, circulating mental power through his body before spreading it over his skin as a flowing membrane.
• The Dream-Eating Gecko attacked the new barrier with a Divine Mill, and the membrane held for ten breaths before shattering after draining much of the attack's power.
• The Dream-Eating Gecko declared Lin Ke's new barrier more than ten times stronger and offered to think up an imposing name for the spell art.

Lin Ke named his developing mental defense method the Void God Barrier and learned how the Illusionless Gu Sect refined themselves into Gu. The information ended with a revelation about another bizarre ability, leaving Lin Ke intrigued.

• Lin Ke accepted the Dream-Eating Gecko's suggestion to name his mental defense method the Void God Barrier.
• The Dream-Eating Gecko explained that its mental power instinctively defended it, and Lin Ke considered using that ability as a model for developing his spell art.
• Lin Ke practiced forming the Void God Barrier several more times, then stopped to avoid damaging his foundations.
• Lin Ke read Hua Wujiang's information about the Illusionless Gu Sect and learned that its cultivators refined themselves and other things into Gu using shamanic power.
• Lin Ke reached the end of the information and reacted with surprise to the sect's account of another bizarre ability.

Lin Ke visited Whitegrass Pond and learned that the Clam Maiden had grown stronger and mastered inherited arts after approaching Golden Core. She demonstrated Moon-Tide Draw, a water-domain ability that weighed down and suppressed those within its reach, and Lin Ke asked what else she could do.

• Lin Ke put aside the Illusionless Gu Sect’s cryptic warning and went to Green Mulberry Garden to check on his Spirit Insects.
• Lin Ke visited Whitegrass Pond and found that Wu Yu had expanded and cared for it while he was away.
• The Clam Maiden told Lin Ke she was content living in the pond and had increased her strength through accumulated cultivation.
• The Clam Maiden revealed her natal Clam Pearl and explained that she had begun mastering her race’s inherited arts.
• The Clam Maiden used Moon-Tide Draw to create a domain that pulled down the water and hindered Lin Ke’s movement and Spirit Power.
• Lin Ke praised the ability and asked the Clam Maiden whether she had any others.

The Clam Maiden showed Lin Ke her newly cultivated healing ability, Ode to Life, and explained how it worked and when it could harm her vital essence. Lin Ke praised her progress and considered bringing her to the Heavenly Pride Gathering once she mastered the ability.

• The Clam Maiden demonstrated Ode to Life, which gathered powerful life-healing energy in her clam pearl.
• The Clam Maiden explained that ordinary healing used refined power she could replenish, while treating severe or Dao-level injuries could require burning her vital essence.
• Lin Ke questioned her about the risks and felt relieved when she regained her strength after the demonstration.
• The Clam Maiden apologized for having cultivated only two inherited abilities, and Lin Ke reassured her that her progress was enough.
• Lin Ke recognized the value of Ode to Life and considered taking the Clam Maiden to the Heavenly Pride Gathering after she mastered it.

Lin Ke prepared his companions and spirit insects for the Heavenly Pride Gathering, gathering mosquitoes and checking on the Ghost Titan Spiders. At Golden Silkworm Peak, he found Lin Fusang close to becoming an origin plant and checked whether the Giant Sun Dragonfly had gained new abilities.

• Lin Ke told the Clam Maiden to master both abilities before the Heavenly Pride Gathering and asked what Golden Core Stage resources she needed, but she said she could cultivate without them for now.
• Lin Ke collected a thousand Flesh-Stiffening Blood-Devouring Mosquitoes and five hundred Soul-Hunting Mosquitoes to prepare for the gathering.
• Lin Ke checked the Ghost Titan Spider nest and saw that Fang Tong and the others had helped it grow to at least fifty spiders with substantial silk production.
• Lin Ke visited Lin Fusang, whose golden patterns nearly covered his body, and encouraged him as he approached the Origin Tier.
• Lin Ke checked the Giant Sun Dragonfly living with Lin Fusang to see whether it had gained abilities he could use after his breakthrough to the Golden Core Stage.

Lin Ke discovered that the Giant Sun Dragonflies had gained Yang Pupil, an ability that revealed the world’s energy flows. After activating it himself, he saw the underlying energies in the landscape, the Cloudglow Formation, and his own body, leaving him eager to explore what the ability could uncover.

• Lin Ke examined a Giant Sun Dragonfly and learned that it had gained the Yang Pupil ability alongside Sun Gathering and Dash.
• Lin Ke activated Yang Pupil through the Moisture-and-Egg Transformation Method, and his ordinary vision gave way to darkness.
• Lin Ke focused on the darkness until points of light revealed the energy currents surrounding him.
• Lin Ke used Yang Pupil to perceive Lin Fusang, the Mulberry Tree grove, the Dragonfly swarm, and the Cloudglow Formation as patterns of energy.
• Lin Ke looked within his own body and saw his Spirit Power, Mental Power, internal energy circuits, Five Viscera and Six Bowels, and Cinnabar Field.

Lin Ke tested his newly acquired Yang Pupil by observing the Dream-Eating Gecko and Lin Xuanyuan spar as they used different abilities. He confirmed that the pupil could reveal how power circulated in both physical enhancement arts and mental illusions, leaving him confident he could anticipate opponents’ methods.

• Lin Ke asked the Dream-Eating Gecko to test whether Yang Pupil could see through illusions, then called Lin Xuanyuan to spar so he could observe them in combat.
• Lin Ke warned the Dream-Eating Gecko and Lin Xuanyuan to keep their spar controlled and use their abilities without hitting too hard.
• Lin Ke watched the Dream-Eating Gecko use Divine Mill and Lin Xuanyuan use Gold-Shattering Cry, observing how each gathered and directed power before attacking.
• Lin Ke had Lin Xuanyuan use Strength Amplification and the Dream-Eating Gecko use Mirage Scene, then saw how their power flows differed.
• Lin Ke concluded Yang Pupil could reveal the workings of both body-enhancing arts and mental illusions, giving him confidence that he could anticipate opponents’ methods.