Chapter Summaries

After awakening as Yu Huatian, governor of Ming’s West Depot, he received the Strongest Villain System and mastered the Sunflower Manual, advancing to the middle stage of the grandmaster realm. When he learned that Zhao Huaian had killed East Depot governor Wan Yulou, Yu Huatian planned to use the turmoil to crush both the East Depot and the martial heroes.

• Yu Huatian discovered that he had transmigrated into a chaotic Divine Continent where powerful martial factions and rival nations threatened his position.
• The Strongest Villain System awarded Yu Huatian complete mastery of the Sunflower Manual, and its cultivation raised him to the middle stage of the grandmaster realm.
• Yu Huatian learned from Tan Luzi that Zhao Huaian had killed Wan Yulou and rescued officials targeted by the East Depot.
• Tan Luzi reported that Deputy Superintendent Li Zhong and other East Depot members were hiding at the Great Enlightenment Temple.
• Yu Huatian ordered Tan Luzi to leak Li Zhong’s whereabouts so he could suppress the East Depot and eliminate the martial heroes in one move.

Zhao Huaian led assassins to Great Enlightenment Temple to kill Li Zhong and the Eastern Depot officials, who were hiding after Wan Yulou’s death. Yu Huatian arrived with West Depot forces after defeating Zhao Huaian’s companions, leaving Zhao facing him in the temple hall.

• Zhao Huaian agreed to investigate killing Li Zhong after his companions urged him to strike the Eastern Depot again.
• Li Zhong and the Eastern Depot officials decided to conceal Wan Yulou’s death and guard against rival factions and the West Depot.
• Zhao Huaian appeared in the temple hall and declared that he would kill the Eastern Depot officials.
• The fighting outside intensified, and Ling Guozhou and Lei Chongzheng were thrown into the hall, mortally wounded.
• Yu Huatian entered with West Depot forces as Zhao Huaian turned to confront him.

Yu Huatian confronted Zhao Huaian at the Great Enlightenment Temple and killed him in a duel, then allowed the East Depot agents to leave. He explained that Li Zhong could be useful and warned that the conflict was not over, while revealing his concern about Liu Xi.

• Yu Huatian arrived at the Great Enlightenment Temple with West Depot agents and admitted that he had lured Zhao Huaian there.
• Ma Jinliang fought Zhao Huaian briefly, but Yu Huatian ordered him to stand down and challenged Zhao Huaian himself.
• Yu Huatian overwhelmed Zhao Huaian with his swordsmanship and killed him.
• Yu Huatian let Li Zhong and the East Depot agents leave, explaining that Li Zhong was more useful alive while Zhao Jingzhong and Liu Xi remained influential.
• Yu Huatian told Tan Luzi that Liu Xi was a dangerous figure who knew the Energy-Absorbing Great Method, then ordered his agents to clean up the hall.

Yu Huatian bathed, examined his system rewards, and cultivated to convert his internal energy into Sunflower true qi. The next morning, Consort Wan summoned him again, and he headed to the palace while ordering Tan Luzi to watch the East Depot.

• Yu Huatian checked his system and spent five bronze draws, receiving four poisons and a Lesser Restoration Pill.
• Yu Huatian sent his maids away, then cultivated through the night to advance his Sunflower true qi conversion.
• Tan Luzi told Yu Huatian that Consort Wan had sent for him again.
• Yu Huatian ordered Tan Luzi to monitor the East Depot and report any movements, then left for the palace.

After Wan Yulou’s death, Zhao Jingzhong and Liu Xi both moved to claim the East Depot director’s position, while Yu Huatian met Consort Wan at Cining Palace. Consort Wan revealed that the emperor planned to leave the palace soon, and Yu Huatian saw the trip as an opportunity to gain control of the East Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

• Wei Ting told Zhao Jingzhong that Wan Yulou had died, and Zhao Jingzhong ordered his people to prepare to kill Li Zhong and pursue the director’s position.
• Wei Ting reported that Zhao Huaian had killed Wan Yulou but had been killed by Yu Huatian after failing to assassinate Li Zhong.
• Zhao Jingzhong decided to enlist Lu Wenzhao and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to help eliminate Li Zhong and Wan Yulou’s remaining followers.
• Liu Xi learned of Wan Yulou’s death and ordered his men to move that night, confident he could defeat Zhao Jingzhong for the director’s position.
• Consort Wan warned Yu Huatian about his involvement with the East Depot and told him the emperor planned to leave the palace for Ming Lake.
• Yu Huatian considered the emperor’s trip a chance to take control of the East Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Yu Huatian assessed the East Depot’s factions and ordered his agents to wait for them to fight before intervening. He recruited Ding Xiu to kill Zhao Jingzhong that night, leaving Ding Xiu considering service under the West Depot commander.

• Tan Luzi reported that Zhao Jingzhong and Liu Xi were gathering forces, while Li Zhong commanded four Xiantian experts from Wan Yulou’s faction.
• Yu Huatian ordered Tan Luzi to monitor the East Depot and move in once its factions began fighting.
• Zhao Jingzhong hired Ding Xiu to kill Li Zhong and threatened to kill Ding Xiu’s junior martial brother if he fled.
• Yu Huatian offered Ding Xiu two thousand taels to kill Zhao Jingzhong, and Ding Xiu accepted.
• Yu Huatian invited Ding Xiu to serve under him, then instructed him to follow Zhao Jingzhong and strike when Yu Huatian appeared.

Zhao Jingzhong led an attack on Li Zhong at the East Depot to seize power after Wan Yulou’s death. Ding Xiu killed Li Zhong, and as Zhao Jingzhong’s group fought to escape, West Depot forces arrived, leaving Ding Xiu eyeing Zhao Jingzhong’s head as a two-thousand-tael bounty.

• Li Zhong planned to take over as East Depot commander after His Majesty left the palace, but Zhao Jingzhong arrived with Lu Wenzhao and armed men to kill him.
• Zhao Jingzhong and Li Zhong’s Xiantian experts fought while Li Zhong sent up a signal for reinforcements.
• Ding Xiu joined the battle, cut down Li Zhong’s attendants, and killed Li Zhong with a single saber strike.
• Zhao Jingzhong called for a withdrawal, but his group had to fight through the East Depot reinforcements blocking the exit.
• West Depot forces attacked outside, and Ding Xiu remembered his agreement with Yu Huatian and the two-thousand-tael reward for Zhao Jingzhong’s head.

Yu Huatian and Ma Jinliang watched the battle at the East Depot's Commander's Residence as Liu Xi confronted Zhao Jingzhong and the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Liu Xi gained the upper hand with his grandmaster strength and Energy-Absorbing Great Method, but Yu Huatian arrived to face him.

• Yu Huatian told Ma Jinliang to leave the others alive if they cooperated and to spare Shen Lian, while Ma Jinliang reported that their experts were in position.
• Liu Xi entered the residence and accused Zhao Jingzhong and his allies of murdering Li Zhong, then revealed he had reached the grandmaster realm.
• Ding Xiu demanded extra payment to fight Liu Xi, accepted Zhao Jingzhong's silver, and wounded Liu Xi by breaking through his protective aura.
• Liu Xi's reinforcements joined the battle, and he used the Energy-Absorbing Great Method to drain Wei Ting and recover his strength.
• Yu Huatian struck Liu Xi from behind, forcing him back and revealing himself to the startled deputy commander.

Yu Huatian arrived with the West Depot and took control of the East Depot power struggle, then attacked Liu Xi and ordered his men to join the battle. The chapter ended with Ding Xiu attacking Zhao Jingzhong from behind and knocking his spear away.

• Yu Huatian surrounded the residence with West Depot forces, rebuked the factions, and declared that the West Depot would act with imperial authority.
• Yu Huatian offered leniency to those who left, and Lu Wenzhao's group and Li Zhong's four Innate experts withdrew.
• Yu Huatian attacked Liu Xi with a Three-Pronged Sword and wounded him with his cold sword qi.
• Ma Jinliang, Tan Luzi, and Zhao Tong engaged the opposing fighters as the West Depot archers supported them, and Zhao Jingzhong joined the melee.
• Zhao Jingzhong lunged at Zhao Tong, but Ding Xiu struck from behind and knocked Zhao Jingzhong's spear away.

Yu Huatian’s forces defeated Liu Xi’s side, and Yu Huatian killed Liu Xi despite Duan Tianya’s attempt to intervene. He asserted the West Depot’s authority over the Dragon Guard Mountain Villa and left Duan Tianya and Guihai Yidao to report back to Zhu Wushi.

• Ding Xiu killed Zhao Jingzhong, and Zhao Tong seized Wei Ting’s distraction to fatally stab her before joining Tan Luzi in defeating Liu Xi’s remaining experts.
• Ma Jinliang killed Liu Xi’s last innate expert while Yu Huatian continued fighting Liu Xi.
• Duan Tianya tried to stop Yu Huatian from killing Liu Xi, but Yu Huatian killed Liu Xi and dismissed the newcomers’ objections.
• Yu Huatian identified Duan Tianya and Guihai Yidao, challenged the Dragon Guard Mountain Villa’s authority over the West Depot, and threatened them against further disrespect.
• Yu Huatian ordered his personnel to withdraw and told the two agents to inform Zhu Wushi that Liu Xi had been killed; Duan Tianya and Guihai Yidao left to report to him.

Yu Huatian recruited Ding Xiu into the West Depot after hearing his reasons for opposing the Iron Courage Divine Marquis’s ambitions. The chapter ended with Duan Tianya and Guihai Yidao arriving before Zhu Wushi at Dragon Guard Mountain Villa.

• Ding Xiu revealed that his junior martial brother, Ding Xian, had become Jin Yichuan and that he had come to the capital to take him back.
• Ding Xiu told Yu Huatian that Zhu Wushi was secretly gathering evidence against generals to seize control of the realm’s armies, and said he wanted to prevent the realm from falling into turmoil.
• Yu Huatian warned Ding Xiu that his master Ding Baiying and martial uncle Lu Wenzhao were plotting something that could destabilize the Ming, and Ding Xiu asked him to give them a chance to change course.
• Yu Huatian accepted Ding Xiu into the West Depot as second chief and promoted Tan Luzi to deputy director, while Ma Jinliang resolved to reach Grandmaster first.
• Yu Huatian returned to cultivate, hoping to break through to Late Grandmaster, while Duan Tianya and Guihai Yidao arrived at Dragon Guard Mountain Villa and greeted Zhu Wushi as their foster father.

Zhu Wushi learned that Yu Huatian had killed Liu Xi and disrupted his plans to control the East Depot, while the emperor summoned Yu Huatian after news of the turmoil and Wan Yulou’s death reached court. Yu Huatian broke through to the late-stage Grandmaster realm and calmly set out to meet the emperor.

• Duan Tianya reported that Yu Huatian had intervened in the East Depot conflict and killed Zhao Jingzhong and Liu Xi, foiling Zhu Wushi’s plan to install Liu Xi as governor.
• Zhu Wushi dismissed the loss of Liu Xi, said he would discuss the East Depot with the emperor, and resolved to leave Yu Huatian alone unless he threatened Ming.
• Officials petitioned the emperor to disband the East Depot, but the emperor ordered an investigation and summoned Yu Huatian after learning the West Depot was involved.
• Yu Huatian broke through to the late-stage Grandmaster realm and saw that he had accumulated 6,588 points of plundered fate.
• Tan Luzi warned Yu Huatian that the emperor might call him to account, but Yu Huatian calmly went to answer the summons.

Yu Huatian faced Emperor Tianqi over the East Depot’s collapse and admitted guilt, but the emperor appointed Cao Zhengchun as its new director and ordered the two eunuchs to cooperate. Yu Huatian left the palace determined to endure the emperor’s authority for now, while preparing to investigate foreign martial artists entering Ming territory.

• Yu Huatian entered the Palace of Heavenly Purity and waited while Emperor Tianqi ignored him, sharpening his desire to gain enough strength to escape others’ control.
• Emperor Tianqi questioned Yu Huatian about Wan Yulou’s death and the East Depot’s internal strife, and Yu Huatian defended his actions before admitting guilt.
• Emperor Tianqi appointed Cao Zhengchun as the East Depot’s acting director and revealed that Cao Zhengchun had passed down the Boy Skill practiced by seal-bearing eunuchs.
• Emperor Tianqi ordered Cao Zhengchun and Yu Huatian to cooperate, keep the palace secure during his upcoming tour, and investigate martial artists from other dynasties entering Ming territory.
• Yu Huatian left the palace recognizing that Cao Zhengchun’s appointment had blocked his plans to control the East Depot.

Yu Huatian received Su Huirong at the West Depot and learned that she was pregnant with the Tianqi Emperor’s child. Though he offered to help her leave the palace or make her empress, she chose to stay and keep the child, and Yu Huatian promised to honor her in this life and love her in another.

• Yu Huatian returned to the West Depot and found Su Huirong waiting with Zhao Tong.
• Su Huirong told Yu Huatian she was pregnant, and he realized the child had been conceived during her single encounter with the Tianqi Emperor.
• Yu Huatian offered to help Su Huirong leave the palace or raise her to empress, while letting her decide whether to keep the child.
• Su Huirong chose to stay in the palace and keep the child, explaining that she would do anything for Yu Huatian and asking whether they could love each other in another life.
• Yu Huatian promised to find Su Huirong in another life, embraced her, and arranged for her safe return to the palace.

Yu Huatian ordered the West Depot to avoid a confrontation with the newly appointed East Depot governor, Cao Zhengchun, while seeking control of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Prince Xin learned that his attempt to take over the East Depot had failed and began plotting around the emperor’s planned tour.

• Yu Huatian learned that East Depot supervisor Zheng Yuan wanted to defect and ordered Tan Luzi to take him in under Zhao Tong.
• Yu Huatian told Tan Luzi to withdraw surveillance of the East Depot because Cao Zhengchun had been appointed its governor, and directed him to win over the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
• Zhu Youjian learned from Lu Wenzhao that Cao Zhengchun had taken charge of the East Depot, ending his plan to control it through Zhao Jingzhong.
• Zhu Youjian told Lu Wenzhao to investigate the emperor’s upcoming tour, hinting that it could provide an opportunity.
• Lu Wenzhao agreed to investigate, resolved to find another way to survive, and left Zhu Youjian’s residence.

Yu Huatian learned that the Great White Upper Kingdom’s buried treasure had emerged in the northwestern desert and reported it to the Tianqi Emperor. Zhu Youxiao ordered Yu Huatian and the West Depot to recover it, with help from Dragon Guard Mountain Villa, leaving Yu Huatian to face a dangerous contest for the treasure.

• Tan Luzi told Yu Huatian that martial artists were converging on the northwestern desert over rumors of the Great White Upper Kingdom’s treasure.
• Yu Huatian recognized the treasure legend from Blackwater City and decided to report it to the emperor rather than investigate further.
• Yu Huatian dismissed a young eunuch’s summons from Consort Wan and said he would visit Cining Palace after seeing His Majesty.
• Yu Huatian informed Zhu Youxiao that the treasure was likely real and had drawn martial artists from other countries.
• Zhu Youxiao ordered Yu Huatian’s West Depot to retrieve the treasure and promised assistance from Dragon Guard Mountain Villa, with troops to follow if foreign courts intervened.

Yu Huatian pursued his plan to strengthen the West Depot while Tan Luzi and other agents forced the Northern Pacification Office’s commanders to join a West Depot mission. The West Depot eliminated resisters and secured obedience across the capital, while Lu Wenzhao worried that his compliance would disrupt Prince Xin’s plans.

• Yu Huatian left Cining Palace resentful of his dependence on Consort Wan, returned to the West Depot, and entered secluded cultivation to transform his True Qi before the Great White Upper Kingdom treasure hunt.
• Tan Luzi confronted Lu Wenzhao with a Northern Office transfer order and ordered him, Lu Jianxing, Shen Lian, and Jin Yichuan to assemble at the West Depot in three days.
• Ma Jinliang attacked Jing Tianluo when he refused the transfer order, and the West Depot agents killed him after overwhelming him.
• Ding Xiu threatened Jiang Yifan with his Imperial Guard Saber until Jiang agreed to obey the transfer order and attend the mission.
• Over the next three days, West Depot agents coerced or killed Northern Pacification Office commanders across the capital, while the palace and Cao Zhengchun failed to intervene in time.

Cao Zhengchun learned that Yu Huatian had taken control of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and resolved to consolidate the East Depot while building his own forces. After completing his cultivation breakthrough, Yu Huatian assembled his West Depot party and the transferred Northern Office commanders, then led them out toward the Northwestern Desert.

• The White-Browed Man told Cao Zhengchun that Yu Huatian had won over the Northern Office and taken the capital's Thousand-Household Commanders to seek the Great White Upper Kingdom's treasure.
• Cao Zhengchun rejected the White-Browed Man's plan to attack the Embroidered Uniform Guard and ordered him to secure the East Depot and train the Black-Clad Archery Squad.
• Yu Huatian finished converting his Sunflower Manual true qi, reached the peak of the grandmaster realm, and considered the threat posed by Zhu Wushi.
• Ma Jinliang, Ding Xiu, Zhao Tong, Zheng Yuan, and six Northern Office guardians gathered at the West Depot to join Yu Huatian's mission.
• Yu Huatian warned the Northern Office commanders to obey his orders, then led the assembled group out for the Northwestern Desert.

Zhu Youxiao learned that Yu Huatian had left for the northwestern desert to seek the Great White Upper Kingdom’s treasure, while Zhu Wushi sent Shangguan Haitang, Duan Tianya, and Guihai Yidao to assist. On the way to Dragon Gate, Yu Huatian killed Tian Boguang and Linghu Chong after Tian Boguang insulted him, then left the stunned restaurant behind.

• Zhu Youxiao approved Yu Huatian’s use of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and ordered palace servants to silence rumors about missing maids.
• Zhu Wushi told Shangguan Haitang, Duan Tianya, and Guihai Yidao to secretly follow the West Depot and bring back the treasure.
• Yu Huatian learned that many orthodox sects, demonic sects, and assassin groups were heading to the desert, and he ordered Zhao Tong to prepare the Dragon Gate garrison.
• Tian Boguang arrived at the restaurant with Linghu Chong and Yilin, then insulted Yu Huatian and provoked him.
• Yu Huatian killed Tian Boguang with a chopstick and then killed Linghu Chong when he challenged the killing.
• Yu Huatian left with Zhao Tong and Ding Xiu, while Yilin and the restaurant patrons were left shocked by the deaths.

After killing Tian Boguang and Linghu Chong, Yu Huatian spent his journey to Dragon Gate mastering the Thirteen Life-Taking Swords with plundered destiny. He began to glimpse a path toward creating a Fourteenth Sword before his ship arrived at Dragon Gate.

• Abbess Dingxian took Yilin away, Yue Buqun retrieved Linghu Chong's body, and the authorities collected Tian Boguang's body as the martial world debated the killings.
• Yu Huatian used ten thousand strands of plundered destiny to draw the Thirteen Life-Taking Swords and received its teachings from the system.
• Yu Huatian discovered that destiny could improve martial arts and spent 5,200 strands to master all thirteen swords.
• Yu Huatian studied the sword art during the voyage and reasoned that the Fourteenth Sword must be rooted in killing and Yan Shisan's desire to prove himself.
• Zhao Tong told Yu Huatian that the ship had reached Dragon Gate, interrupting his thoughts.