Recaps

Jiangcheng City's Rankings Tournament began in Nightmare Town, where contestants had to earn daytime rewards while surviving nighttime threats. Yue Wen headed toward the dam after seeing the town's strict laws in action, then recognized Xing'er setting a shop on fire.

• Host Qian Yun and Elder Wei Ping introduced the Nightmare Town format, and Wei praised Hu Yunting while disparaging Yue Wen at the request of an unnamed patron.
• Yue Wen left his cabin and watched contestants overwhelm local residents until the town's security captain arrested one for harassment and warned the others about Nightmare Prison.
• Yue Wen avoided approaching residents and followed the newspaper's directions out of town toward the dam.
• A man was thrown from a burning shop, and Yue Wen recognized Xing'er inside as she smashed the store with a flaming silver staff.

After Zhao Xing'er earned Yang Fire Seeds by wrecking a shop for a local man, Yue Wen learned that the seeds could help protect them from Nightmare Wraith Creatures at night. At the Dream River embankment, the group compared ways to earn more, but Yue Wen and Xing'er clashed over whether to open an agency or scam other contestants.

• Zhao Xing'er told Yue Wen she had accepted an old man's task to punish a general-store owner, then revealed that the old man had given her five Yang Fire Seeds.
• Yue Wen realized Yang Fire Seeds were Nightmare Town's currency and could weaken Nightmare Wraith Creatures when used in lamps.
• Yue Wen and Xing'er went to the Dream River embankment, where Qi Dian explained that hauling stones for ten hours earned only two Yang Fire Seeds.
• Yue Wen proposed opening an agency, while Xing'er proposed having Qi Dian impersonate a local and trick contestants into smashing shops.
• Qi Dian rejected Xing'er's scheme, and Yue Wen suggested a vote as Xing'er insisted her plan was better.

Hu Yunting joined Nightmare Town’s Public Security Team to gain backing and paid work, while Yue Wen, Zhao Xing’er, and Qi Dian opened the Zhao Cultivation Agency and accepted a commission to hunt a Blackflame Bear. The group found the enormous beast outside town, and Xing’er charged it as Yue Wen and Qi Dian prepared to join the fight.

• Hu Yunting persuaded the Public Security Team Captain to let him patrol one block for ten Yang Fire Seeds a day without an official position.
• Yue Wen, Zhao Xing’er, and Qi Dian spent their Yang Fire Seeds opening the Zhao Cultivation Agency, with Xing’er as its boss and Yue Wen handing out flyers.
• An old man hired the Agency to hunt a Blackflame Bear for ten Yang Fire Seeds and promised to seek more customers for them.
• Yue Wen, Zhao Xing’er, and Qi Dian followed the river downstream and found a gigantic Blackflame Bear in the forest.
• Zhao Xing’er drew her flaming silver staff and charged the bear, urging Yue Wen and Qi Dian to attack with her.

Yue Wen and Xing'er killed a Blackflame Bear for an old man, while Ji Yang was tricked into mining Yang Fire Ore and arrested. After the old man warned them not to go out after dark, Yue Wen stayed in and encountered a bloodied woman’s head beneath his bed.

• Xing'er struck the Blackflame Bear, and Yue Wen killed it with his Giant Gate Sword Art, claiming its Evil-Suppressing Money.
• Ji Yang mined Yang Fire Ore after a foreman promised him wages, but a local accused him of stealing and the Public Security Team captain arrested him.
• Yue Wen, Qi Dian, and Xing'er shared the bear meat with the old man, who invited them to the mayor’s daughter Xiao Li’s Matchmaking Ceremony.
• The old man warned the three outsiders not to leave their lodgings after dark, calling the danger Nightmare Town’s greatest secret.
• Yue Wen saved his Yang Fire Seeds and cultivated at home until a bloodied woman’s head emerged from beneath his bed.

Yue Wen killed a Nightmare Wraith Creature, while other contestants fought the first night’s attacks and the livestream hosts commented on their performances. In Nightmare Prison, Ji Yang and the three Medicine Dragons were confronted by a familiar Nightmare Wraith Creature: a math homeroom teacher demanding they complete test papers before dawn.

• Yue Wen avoided a Nightmare Wraith Creature’s feint and killed her with his Flying Sword, then began tidying his room.
• Li Flying Rosy Clouds destroyed a Child-Faced Wolf-Bodied Nightmare Wraith Creature with a beam from her eyes, while Hu Yunting killed a glutton ghost with his Liuli Flying Sword.
• Ji Yang shared a cramped cell with Big Ball, Second Ball, and Third Ball, who puzzled over why their local employer had gotten them arrested.
• A balding Nightmare Wraith Creature appeared at the cell window and ordered the prisoners to finish math test papers before dawn or die.
• Ji Yang recognized the Nightmare Wraith Creature as a math homeroom teacher as the test papers filled the cell.

Yue Wen, Qi Dian, and Xing'er attended Zhao Xiaoli's marriage selection ceremony, where they discovered the mayor's daughter had a lizard's head. When Xiaoli threw the embroidered ball, the contestants desperately kicked it away from themselves, and Yue Wen sent it soaring into the sky.

• Xing'er gave Qi Dian a bouquet of Purple Immortal Roses to present at Zhao Xiaoli's ceremony, and Yue Wen agreed to help Qi Dian compete.
• Yue Wen and the others gathered with the surviving contestants, where Dong Mengyao shared news about a valuable Fish-Dragon Stone and Hu Yunting's new authority with the Public Security Team.
• Zhao Dabao introduced his daughter Xiaoli, whose lizard head startled the contestants, then explained that her mother was a Great Demon and Xiaoli's bloodline was human.
• Xiaoli recognized the Purple Immortal Roses and thanked Qi Dian, who denied choosing them and tossed them aside before she retrieved them with her tongue.
• Zhao Dabao had Xiaoli throw an embroidered ball to determine her fiancé, and the contestants kicked it away from themselves like a soccer ball.
• Yue Wen kicked the ball high into the sky, and the contestants scattered as it began to fall.

Qi Dian was unexpectedly hit by Zhao Xiaoli’s Embroidered Ball, but she rejected him before he could refuse the engagement, leaving him humiliated. Back at the Agency, the group received a flood of commissions, and Yue Wen began considering how they could handle them all.

• Qi Dian was struck by the Embroidered Ball, and the Public Security Team escorted him back to the square for an engagement ceremony.
• Mayor Zhao Dabao threatened Qi Dian, but Zhao Xiaoli rejected him, saying he was not handsome enough and that she did not want the engagement.
• The townspeople laughed at Qi Dian after news spread that Zhao Xiaoli had rejected him, and Xing'er tried to explain why the lizard person could have standards.
• The Hotpot Old Man said Zhao Dabao had directed townspeople to bring commissions to the Agency as compensation for the failed engagement.
• Xing'er accepted outrageous requests to maim a mahjong cheater and beat up teachers, while Yue Wen worried the commissions could become evidence against them.
• Qi Dian remained distraught over Zhao Xiaoli’s rejection, and Yue Wen said he had an idea for dealing with the Agency’s workload.

Yue Wen and Xing'er turned the Zhao Cultivation Agency into a townwide task-distribution business, recruiting more than ten contestants and earning dozens of Yang Fire Seeds. On the second night, Yue Wen used one Yang Fire Seed to test his lamp, but a furious Delivery Nightmare Wraith appeared at his door and began seeping into the house.

• Yue Wen proposed dropping illegal jobs and recruiting workers to split task proceeds with the Agency, and Xing'er agreed to become Boss Zhao.
• Yue Wen and Xing'er recruited contestants around Nightmare Town, then distributed the Agency's tasks among more than ten Astral Realm cultivators for a fifty-fifty share.
• Elder Wei objected to the Agency's monopoly on the livestream, but the event organizers ruled that its methods did not violate competition fairness.
• Yue Wen placed a Yang Fire Seed in his lamp to test its effect and waited for a Nightmare Wraith Creature to arrive.
• A caller told Yue Wen to collect his delivery, and Yue Wen realized that the creature outside was a Delivery Nightmare Wraith that had grown furious after he ignored its knocks and call.
• The Delivery Nightmare Wraith's resentment overwhelmed the lamp's light as its yellow figure seeped through the door and threatened Yue Wen.

Yue Wen defeated two Nightmare Wraith Creatures after discovering that he could leave his cabin at night without immediate harm. He secretly explored Nightmare Town’s night market and realized the townspeople were reselling goods that contestants had gathered for tiny rewards.

• Yue Wen killed a powerful yellow-robed Nightmare Wraith Creature and noticed that stepping outside his cabin caused no immediate danger.
• Yue Wen pursued and destroyed a tiger Nightmare Wraith Creature and its thrall ghosts, then followed the lights and sounds toward a nearby square.
• Yue Wen found a night market illuminated by Yang Fire Stones, where townspeople traded goods under the protection of the stones.
• Yue Wen recognized the old man with the hot pot and the woman from the Flower Shop selling items that contestants had gathered for them during the day.
• Yue Wen watched a Diamond Arowana sell for six pieces of Yang Fire Gold after its seller had bought it for eighteen Yang Fire Seeds.
• Yue Wen concluded that the townspeople had forbidden contestants from going out at night to keep them from discovering how much the townspeople profited from their work.

After discovering that Nightmare Town’s Yang Fire Seeds were cheap and that his luck was extraordinary, Yue Wen went fishing in the Dream River and caught a haul of valuable dragonfish. He demanded thirteen yang fire gold coins from the fishmonger, leaving the sale unresolved.

• Yue Wen realized the townspeople had misled contestants about the value of Yang Fire Seeds and planned to avoid being exploited.
• Yue Wen caught four koi in a row with the Dragon Pool Carp-Pincering Art and decided to fish in the Dream River.
• Du Shuai and his brothers opened the Thunderclap Agency, then accepted a mining task from a man in a hard hat.
• Yue Wen caught several valuable dragonfish, while Hu Qingting and the other anglers watched and praised him as the Fishing God.
• Yue Wen used dragon breath in his bait to attract dragonfish and brought his catch to the fishmonger, demanding thirteen yang fire gold coins.

Hu Yunting traded his Heavenly Radiance Gold Lock Armor for a powerful Yang Fire Steel saber, while Yue Wen used Yang Fire Gold to forge the Blazing Sun Fist. When the third night's Nightmare Wraith Creature appeared, Yue Wen greeted it with a blazing punch.

• Hu Yunting exchanged his Heavenly Radiance Gold Lock Armor for the Weapon Shop owner's strongest saber, forged with Yang Fire Steel and Yang Fire Gold.
• Wei Ping praised Hu Yunting's decision and predicted he would defeat Yue Wen in the elimination rounds, while Yue Wen entered the Weapon Shop.
• Yue Wen paid the Weapon Shop owner to forge his Yang Fire Gold into brass knuckles suited to his Thunder Tiger Shakes the Heavens Fist.
• Yue Wen named the finished reddish-gold knuckle weapon the Blazing Sun Fist.
• A powerful Nightmare Wraith Creature in a red dress appeared in Yue Wen's hut, and Yue Wen struck it with the Blazing Sun Fist.

Yue Wen used the Blazing Sun Fist to kill a Nightmare Wraith Creature, then entered the Yin Qi Tide and charged into the cave where it originated. The next morning, the remaining contestants learned they would become honorary residents of Nightmare Town and compete in their final trial inside the Extreme Yin Cavern.

• Yue Wen destroyed the Red-Skirt Nightmare Wraith Creature with the Blazing Sun Fist and went out to hunt more creatures in the Yin Qi Tide.
• Yue Wen followed the Yin Qi Tide to a pitch-black cave and entered it with his sword.
• Seven contestants gathered for Nightmare Town’s welcoming ceremony, and they wondered why Yue Wen had not appeared.
• Zhao Dabao awarded the contestants Yang Fire Stone identification medals and explained Nightmare Town’s origins and its Yang Fire Ore trade.
• Zhao Dabao announced that the contestants would visit the Extreme Yang Cave before holding their final contest in the connected Extreme Yin Cavern.

Yue Wen followed the Yin Qi tide into a cavern and fought his way through hordes of Nightmare Wraith Creatures. He entered a sealed region of extreme Yin and Yang, where he began collecting Yang Fire Stones and battling powerful creatures.

• Elder Wei celebrated Yue Wen’s apparent elimination, but the host reported that Yue Wen was still somewhere in Nightmare Town.
• Yue Wen entered a cavern at the source of the Yin Qi tide and used his fists and Yang Fire to destroy the swarming Nightmare Wraith Creatures.
• Yue Wen burned through a giant mass of wraiths and passed through a wall of black mist into a formation that sealed in Yin Qi.
• Yue Wen found Yang Fire Stones among rivers of lava and gray mists, then killed a six-winged Bone Bird that attacked him.
• Yue Wen collected another Yang Fire Stone and charged into a new patch of gray mist, where he fought a Nightmare Wraith Creature covered in blood-red eyes.

Mayor Zhao Dabao led the seven contestants into the Extreme Yang Cave and explained the final trial, but they found the Yin-Yang Chaos Land empty and devastated. Yue Wen emerged from the black mist after fighting through the area, and the chapter ended with him revealing that he had mistaken the trial’s staged stones and creatures for wild ones.

• Zhao Dabao showed the contestants the Extreme Yang Cave and explained that the final trial would pit them against stronger Nightmare Wraith Creatures for yang fire stones.
• The seven contestants charged into the Yin-Yang Chaos Land, where they found no stones or creatures, only signs of a recent battle.
• Yue Wen emerged from the black mist, and he and the contestants verified one another’s identities with questions.
• Yue Wen explained that he had entered the cave the previous night and fought his way through, collecting stones and defeating Nightmare Wraith Creatures.
• After learning the area was meant to be the final trial, Yue Wen said he had thought its stones and creatures were wild.

Yue Wen shocked the contestants and viewers by accidentally killing every Nightmare Wraith Creature in the final trial, forcing officials to pause the Rankings Tournament and reconsider how to proceed. Perfected One Nagiko learned that Yue Wen had used his Blazing Sun Fist and explained that the new trial format was designed to keep Dragon Medicine contestants from dominating the rankings.

• Yue Wen emerged from the mine with the other contestants and revealed that he had killed all the Nightmare Wraith Creatures, leaving them and the livestream audience stunned.
• Zhao Dabao contacted the Supernatural Affairs Bureau, and Perfected One Nagiko arrived to handle the disrupted trial.
• The commentators concluded Yue Wen’s kills could not count toward his ranking, questioned whether he had used prohibited methods, and recommended repeating the final trial.
• Perfected One Nagiko privately asked Yue Wen about his weapon, and he showed her the Blazing Sun Fist and explained that he had earned money by fishing and found Nightmare Town’s night market.
• Perfected One Nagiko told Yue Wen that she had introduced the new format to limit the advantage of Dragon Medicine contestants backed by the Hu Family and Putuo Sect.
• Yue Wen asked why cultivation drugs were not banned, and Perfected One Nagiko explained that they might be useful if the human realm faced another large-scale invasion.

Perfected One Nagiko offered Yue Wen a deal to protect the tournament format and her position: he would take the blame for disrupting the trial and start at the bottom of the Breakout Tournament, while she secured the Blazing Sun Fist for him and taught him the Divine Sword Thunder Command Art. Yue Wen accepted, and Nagiko began transmitting the sword art to him.

• Perfected One Nagiko explained that Yue Wen’s success in Nightmare Town had drawn criticism of the tournament format and threatened her position in River City.
• Nagiko offered to rerun the Final Trial or punish Yue Wen by placing him at the bottom of the Rankings Tournament; in exchange for accepting the punishment, she would help him keep the Blazing Sun Fist and teach him the Divine Sword Thunder Command Art.
• Yue Wen considered the disadvantages of starting at the bottom of the Breakout Tournament, then accepted Nagiko’s deal and said he would do it to help her.
• Yue Wen privately reflected that he had deliberately disrupted the trial to earn 2,950 Evil-Suppressing coins, bringing his total to 3,349, and welcomed the chance to gain the weapon and sword art.
• Perfected One Nagiko thanked Yue Wen, touched his brow, and sent a visualization of the Divine Sword Thunder Command Art into his mind.

After Yue Wen was expelled from the Rankings Tournament, he studied the Divine Sword Thunder-Controlling Art while the remaining contestants completed the trial. Li Feixia took first place, Hu Yunting came second, and Zhao Xing'er placed third, leaving Elder Wei to eat the commentary desk as promised.

• The organizers expelled Yue Wen from the final trial and assigned him last place in the Rankings Tournament, while the other contestants were ordered to compete again that night.
• Elder Wei dismissed Yue Wen's chances of qualifying, and viewers protested that the punishment was unfair and suspected the Hu Family of rigging the tournament.
• Li Feixia reached the end of the trial ahead of Hu Yunting by freezing Nightmare Wraith Creatures and shattering them with palm strikes.
• Yue Wen watched a visualization of a city siege ending in a massive lightning strike, then inferred that Heavenly Thunder consisted of tiny Thunder Particles gathering and flowing through gaps.
• Yue Wen opened the livestream and saw the final placements: Li Feixia first, Hu Yunting second, Zhao Xing'er third, and Qi Dian seventh.
• Elder Wei chewed pieces off the commentary desk after Li Feixia won, while the host tried to keep a straight face and viewers laughed.

Yue Wen bought two combat arts and upgraded his flying sword in the Black-Gold Great Hall to prepare for the City Heroes' Battle. Meanwhile, Qi Dian returned to the agency boasting that he had ranked seventh in Jiang City.

• Yue Wen asked Da Long for ways to raise his immediate combat strength and examined the Raging Dragon Blood-Burning Technique, the Flame-Pupil Qi-Illuminating Method, and the Golden Dragon Hegemonic Body Formula.
• Yue Wen bought the Raging Dragon Blood-Burning Technique and the Flame-Pupil Qi-Illuminating Method, but declined the Golden Dragon Hegemonic Body Formula because he could barely sustain it.
• Da Long offered to improve Yue Wen's Azure-Purple Flying Sword, and Yue Wen paid him to inlay it with a Dragon Pattern.
• Da Long transformed the Azure-Purple Flying Sword into a Dragon-Pattern Sword, and Yue Wen sensed its enhanced sharpness and spirituality.
• Zhao Xing'er and Qi Dian returned to the agency, where Qi Dian loudly announced that he had placed seventh in the first round of Jiang City's City Heroes' ranking battle.

After crowds gathered outside the Yue Family Cultivation Office to see its famous residents, Qi Dian went out to address them and was struck by heavenly lightning summoned by Yue Wen. The lightning left Qi Dian charred but unexpectedly energized him, while Yue Wen realized his new technique had worked.

• A large crowd gathered outside the Yue Family Cultivation Office, preventing its residents from leaving or receiving deliveries.
• Qi Dian used spells to create a dazzling entrance, then asked the crowd to clear the street and answered questions about the City Heroes' Battle.
• When Qi Dian began hinting that he had held back in the Rankings Tournament, heavenly lightning struck him outside the Agency.
• Xing'er dragged the charred Qi Dian inside, and Yue Wen admitted he had summoned the lightning while cultivating the Divine Sword Thunder-Controlling Art.
• Qi Dian recovered quickly and said the lightning had filled him with power, while Yue Wen suspected it shared an origin with Qi Dian's heavenly lightning.

Yue Wen rejected He Tang’s offer to fix a Breakout Tournament match and focused on preparing to win his way through the bracket. Meanwhile, Hu Yunting recognized the Divine Sword Thunder-Controlling Art in a video, and Hu Hanyi quietly checked on a plan against Yue Wen.

• Qi Dian’s lightning-strike video went viral, and Yue Wen and Xing'er discussed how heavenly lightning could recharge Qi Dian’s Heavenly Thunder Power.
• Dong Mengyao introduced Yue Wen to He Tang, a Fortune Sect disciple running a gambling house, who asked Yue Wen to lose a high-odds match in the Breakout Tournament.
• Yue Wen refused He Tang’s match-fixing proposal and said he would keep preparing to advance through the tournament.
• Yue Wen planned to cultivate three divine abilities before the Breakout Tournament, while Xing'er, Qi Dian, and Big White debated who could make lunch.
• Hu Yunting recognized the Divine Sword Thunder-Controlling Art in the video of Qi Dian, and Hu Hanyi reassured him about Yue Wen and Li Flying Rosy Clouds.
• After Hu Yunting left to cultivate, Hu Hanyi called someone to ask whether their plan was proceeding smoothly.

Li Flying Rosy Clouds awakened memories that convinced her she had been a righteous cultivator, while Zhang Putuo resolved to win a City Heroes Tournament seat to deal with his debts. Three days later, Yue Wen and his companions arrived at the breakout tournament, where Ji Yang declared he would not lose again before reporters rushed off to cover Yue Wen.

• Li Flying Rosy Clouds told Liu Yuanjun about memory fragments of fighting demon beasts, leading righteous cultivators, and feeding medicine to patients, and they went to report them to their master and the Supernatural Affairs Bureau.
• Zhang Putuo reviewed his debts and losses and decided he had to win a City Heroes Tournament seat to earn enough money to repay them.
• Three days later, Yue Wen, Qi Dian, and Xing'er rode the Little E-Scooter to the breakout tournament venue.
• Ji Yang told reporters he would not lose another match and would qualify directly.
• When someone called Yue Wen the ruthless guy, the reporters abandoned Ji Yang and rushed to interview Yue Wen, leaving Ji Yang complaining that he had paid them three thousand for only two questions.

Yue Wen entered the Breakout Tournament, while commentators Su Xun and Wei Ping wagered over whether he could win eight straight matches. Ji Yang, newly advanced to the Middle Astral Realm and eager to restore his reputation, found Xuefeng waiting as his first opponent.

• Yue Wen avoided reporters, registered for the tournament, and prepared to fight his way through the competition course.
• The tournament’s commentators, Su Xun and Wei Ping, chose to follow Yue Wen’s match and bet on whether he could qualify with eight consecutive wins.
• Ji Yang reflected on his breakthrough to the Middle Astral Realm and entered the arena determined to make a comeback.
• Ji Yang saw Xuefeng emerge as his opponent and cursed, realizing his hoped-for easy victory had vanished.

Yue Wen defeated Ji Yang in their arena match by seeing through his fire-based disguise and striking his true body with one punch. He then entered the Sixth-Ranked Challenger’s arena and faced the Dragon Medicine called Two Balls.

• Elder Wei and Elder Su argued over whether Ji Yang could reveal Yue Wen’s strength, while contestants and viewers watched the match.
• Yue Wen and Ji Yang began their fight, and Ji Yang used Hidden Dragon Pool’s fire-based supernatural power to conceal his true body among several fireballs.
• Yue Wen used the Flame-Pupil Qi-Illuminating Method to find Ji Yang, dodged the incoming attacks, and knocked him into the arena wall with one punch.
• The referee declared Yue Wen the winner, and Yue Wen declined to rest before heading to the next arena.
• Yue Wen met Two Balls, a late Astral Realm Dragon Medicine, and their next match began.

Hu Hanyi and Mai Yaode plotted to use Second Ball to kill Yue Wen, while Hu Hanyi sought the Taiji Eight Desolations Sect’s protection through an ancient secret realm. In the arena, Yue Wen dodged Second Ball’s enhanced assault and defeated him with a single punch, leaving the audience stunned by his strength.

• Hu Hanyi and Mai Yaode discussed their plan to unleash Second Ball’s stored medicinal power and make his death seem like the cost of a rampaging medicine dragon.
• Hu Hanyi explained that he needed the Taiji Eight Desolations Sect’s backing because Yue Wen had taken the Fox Demon Legacy and the Hu Family had lost its chance to secure clues to an ancient secret realm.
• Second Ball drove three Dragon-Release Needles into his acupoints, surged to the peak Astral Realm, and charged Yue Wen with his Mountain-Shaking Fist Gauntlets.
• Yue Wen activated the Raging Dragon Blood-Burning Technique, used a Shadow Talisman and Perfect Evasion to avoid Second Ball’s attack, then struck with the Giant Gate Sword Art.
• Yue Wen followed with an upward punch that burst Second Ball’s body into a cloud of blood, shocking the audience with his strength.

Yue Wen defeated Medicine Dragon with one punch, then faced Zhang Wei in his third tournament match. Zhang Wei faked a stomach emergency and withdrew, leaving Yue Wen with three consecutive wins.

• Yue Wen knocked Medicine Dragon unconscious with a single punch, and the medical workers struggled to keep him alive because his modified body absorbed their medicine into his muscles.
• The referee warned Yue Wen to show mercy when possible, and he apologized before moving on to his next match.
• Elder Wei worried that Yue Wen had revealed many abilities, while Elder Su pointed out that they did not know the full extent of his skills.
• Zhang Wei grew terrified after watching Yue Wen's first two fights, then asked Yue Wen for a photo when they met in the arena.
• Yue Wen drew his sword and prepared to fight Zhang Wei, who claimed his stomach hurt and withdrew before the match began.