Recaps

Xiao Zuo offered the teams a chance to pay for unlimited early testing of the competition puppets, but Yue Wen refused on behalf of River City. After Liu Yuanjun praised his integrity, Yue Wen admitted he had refused because he was too poor.

• Xiao Zuo explained that teams would score points by defeating puppets and offered unlimited early testing for five million per person through the Xiao Family’s connections.
• Yue Wen rejected the offer for River City, saying his team could not take part, while the others tried to persuade him that the arrangement was acceptable.
• The River City Team left Sea View Tower, and Xing'er declared they would make it to Realmguard Mountain.
• The remaining teams agreed to pay for early testing, and Xiao Chubei praised Yue Wen for keeping the secret.
• Liu Yuanjun apologized for misjudging Yue Wen and praised his character, but Yue Wen said poverty had made him refuse.

Yue Wen and his team attended the Ascendant Dragon Assembly draw, where the Li Family and Longdu City emerged as the strongest teams in the northern region. Jiangcheng City drew Group Eighteen, and its opponents welcomed the team with confidence that the Northern Sky teams would be easy to beat.

• Yue Wen and his teammates set aside the Xiao brothers' offer and traveled to Xinghai City's arena for the group draw.
• The contestants watched Li Guantang and Li Luoci arrive with the Central Plains Li Family team, while Longdu City's powerful team also drew attention.
• Yu Xiaobao drew Group Eight for Longdu City, and Li Guantang drew Group Twelve for the Li Family.
• Yue Wen drew Group Eighteen for Jiangcheng City, and Lan Zhi recorded that their group included five other Northern Sky teams, Ancient Flame City, and Copper Well City.
• Yue Wen's team entered Room Eighteen, where the other teams smiled at the prospect of facing supposedly weak Northern Sky opponents, and Xing'er remarked on how much they smiled.

Lan Zhi briefed the team on their strongest rivals before Qi Dian tested an eighty-point puppet and defeated it with a combination of heavenly thunder and a water sword. Yue Wen replenished Qi Dian’s power, and the staff member mistakenly interpreted their training routine as physical punishment.

• Lan Zhi explained the strengths of Ancient Flame City and Copper Well City, and the team discussed which rival to target in the competition.
• Qi Dian entered the training ground and faced an eighty-point puppet with thirty points each in soul and physique and twenty in supernatural powers.
• Qi Dian’s heavenly thunder failed to paralyze the puppet, but his Water Sword Concealing Thunder smashed its armor and won the challenge.
• Yue Wen used the Divine Sword Thunder-Controlling Art to restore Qi Dian’s energy, and Qi Dian prepared to attempt a ninety-point puppet.
• The staff member misunderstood their teamwork and concluded that people from River City were terrifying.

Qi Dian, Liu Yuanjun, and Xing'er tested their limits against increasingly powerful Puppet Sect training puppets, while Yue Wen analyzed their fighting styles. Yue Wen then challenged a two-hundred-point puppet and smashed through its body with a single empowered blow.

• Qi Dian defeated a ninety-point puppet with his rain-and-thunder technique but stopped his hundred-point challenge when his shield broke.
• Liu Yuanjun beat a balanced ninety-point puppet and an unbalanced hundred-point puppet, then narrowly defeated a hundred-and-ten-point puppet before declaring it his limit.
• Xing'er defeated puppets rated at 120, 140, and 160 points, overpowering the last with her Silver Staff despite its exceptional physique.
• Yue Wen entered the arena and challenged a two-hundred-point puppet with ninety points in divine soul, fifty in supernatural powers, and sixty in physique.
• Yue Wen blocked the puppet's Divine Soul Attack, stunned it with a Spirit-Striking Fist, and shattered its body with a strike empowered by his Three-Eyed Divine Dragon Dharma Form.

Yue Wen tested increasingly powerful puppets, studying their spiritual power cores and combat patterns as he pushed through a difficult fight against a 260-point puppet. After the River City Team left, Master Chen learned they were from Northern Sky and remarked on the region’s unexpected strength this year.

• Master Chen inspected the damaged puppet and assured Yue Wen that the Puppet Sect would cover the repairs, while Yue Wen asked about its spiritual power core.
• Yue Wen fought a 240-point puppet with overwhelming supernatural attacks, stunned it with Spirit-Striking Fist, and broke its chest armor with his Dharma Form.
• Yue Wen tested himself against a 260-point puppet with strong divine soul and physique, enduring a prolonged battle before breaking its outer armor.
• The River City Team finished its tests and left through the passage reserved for teams not scheduled for interviews.
• At the interview platform, Wu Liegang and Meng Lan politely agreed that Ancient Flame City would take second place behind Copper Well City.
• Master Chen learned that the team was from Jiangcheng City and noted that Northern Sky had several unexpectedly strong teams.

The River City Team waited for its Group Eighteen matches while Yue Wen assessed the Ascendant Dragon Assembly’s scoring format and their chances of qualifying. The group stage continued, and the team remained optimistic about reaching the next round despite being treated dismissively.

• Host Chen Munniu introduced commentators Nangong Han and Chen Liuma, who discussed the puppet battle points system and concerns about fairness.
• Qi Dian grew nervous in the River City Team’s leaking lounge, and Wang Shoucai obtained a bucket after staff refused to move them to another room.
• Yue Wen observed that early contestants favored safe challenges, while later contestants took greater risks to catch up on points.
• Liu Yuanjun noted that the teams qualifying in the first three groups had scored around six hundred and fifty points.
• Yue Wen calculated that the River City Team could earn about six hundred and twenty points safely, or roughly six hundred and sixty with manageable risks, giving them a good chance to qualify.

The River City Team entered the group stage, and Yue Wen sent Zhao Xing'er out first to challenge a powerful puppet and pressure their rivals. As she stepped into the match, the Puppet Sect's Elder Chen dismissed her chances of defeating it.

• The Dragon Capital Team scored 820 points, demonstrating the strength of the championship contenders and shaking Qi Dian and Liu Yuanjun.
• The Central Plains Li Family team scored over 700 points, while the long competition left the venue nearly empty by the eighteenth group.
• Yue Wen drew third place for the River City Team, and Xing'er declared that she would not let Ancient Flame City and Copper Well City avoid pushing themselves.
• The Guyán Team's first contestant defeated a 120-point puppet using black sky netherfire to consume its soulflame and control its body.
• Yue Wen sent Zhao Xing'er out first to challenge a 180-point puppet, hoping to pressure the other teams into taking risks.
• Elder Chen doubted that Zhao Xing'er could defeat the 180-point puppet, while Nangong Han expressed confidence in her.

Zhao Xing'er won River City Team's opening match with 180 points, overwhelming her puppet opponent even after a Divine Soul Attack left her dazed. As the group matches continued, Liu Yuanjun chose a cautious 110-point challenge, leading other teams to suspect Xing'er's high score had been a bluff.

• Zhao Xing'er opened with a gunshot and a flurry of staff strikes, then counterattacked after a Divine Soul Attack and defeated the puppet; the Puppet Sect elder stopped her from continuing to beat it.
• Nangong Han revealed he recognized Xing'er because of his ties to the Heavenly Capital Zhao Family, correcting Elder Chen about his surname.
• After Xing'er's 180 points put pressure on the field, a Team Four contestant took a risky challenge, was knocked unconscious, and scored zero; Three Suns Team and Copper Well City secured steady scores.
• Meijiang Team, the Northern Sky team, Copper Well City, Three Suns Team, and Team Four continued their matches, with Copper Well City building a 290-point total and Team Four recovering to 140.
• Liu Yuanjun chose a 110-point challenge for River City Team, prompting snickers from the crowd and relief from Meng Lan, who called Xing'er a petty punk.

Liu Yuanjun and Qi Dian helped the River City Team stay in contention while the Guyán and Copper Well Teams climbed into the lead. The fourth round began with Zhang Xiaofan of the Meijiang Team astonishing the arena by challenging a 310-point puppet.

• Liu Yuanjun defeated a 110-point puppet, bringing the River City Team to 290 points alongside the Copper Well Team.
• Wu Liegang revealed his Netherfire Dharma Form and defeated a 200-point puppet, putting the Guyán Team in first place with 460 points.
• Qi Dian narrowly defeated a 90-point puppet, and the River City Team reached 380 points.
• The Three Suns Team reached 400 points, while the Copper Well Team took second place with 450 points after choosing a safe 160-point challenge.
• Zhang Xiaofan stepped forward as the Meijiang Team's final contestant and declared that he wanted to fight a 310-point puppet.

Zhang Xiaofan revealed his middle-stage Appearance Realm cultivation and scored 310 points by destroying his own Dharma Form to defeat a powerful puppet, raising Meijiang Team to 700 points and making them the group’s leading dark horse. His victory left Copper Well City’s captain Meng Lan under pressure to score at least 250 points to catch up.

• Zhang Xiaofan recalled how his strange blood-devouring short staff had helped him rise from an overlooked disciple to Meijiang City's strongest contender.
• Zhang Xiaofan challenged a 310-point puppet, entered his berserk state, and was trapped by its Vast Thunder Pool supernatural power.
• Zhang Xiaofan detonated his Demonic Pearl Dharma Form, destroyed the puppet’s armor, and secured the 310 points despite being badly injured.
• Elder Chen and Nangong Han praised Zhang Xiaofan’s talent and discussed the possibility of major sects recruiting him.
• Meijiang Team reached 700 points, while Team Seven finished with 500 and accepted that it would not qualify.
• Meng Lan realized Copper Well Team needed him to score at least 250 points to match Meijiang Team and doubted he could do it.

Meng Lan risked a 255-point challenge to secure Team Copper Well’s advancement, but the golden-armored puppet defeated him, leaving Team Guyán poised to qualify. Then Yue Wen shocked the arena by challenging a 360-point puppet.

• Meng Lan decided to keep Team Copper Well’s fate in his hands and challenged a 255-point puppet.
• Meng Lan used Yin Earth Poison, earth-based powers, and his Black Phoenix Dharma Form against the golden-armored puppet, but its Substitute Technique let it strike him from behind and defeat him.
• Wu Liezhu and the rest of Team Guyán celebrated Meng Lan’s failure, which left their qualification spot nearly assured.
• Wang Yang scored 160 points for the Three Suns Team, and the captain of Team Four scored 170 points as their teams finished their rounds.
• Yue Wen surprised the arena by announcing that he would challenge a 360-point puppet.

Yue Wen challenged a 360-point puppet to give the River City Team a chance at first place, then used his self-devised Bloodletting Style to evade it and slowly damage its armor. The chapter left him still fleeing and landing concealed scratches as the commentators predicted he would soon run out of strength.

• Yue Wen requested a 360-point puppet, hoping to raise River City’s score to 740 and secure first place in the group.
• Elder Chen dismissed Yue Wen’s challenge as a publicity stunt and insisted an early-stage Appearance Realm cultivator could not defeat such a powerful puppet.
• Yue Wen faced a puppet with 80 divine soul points, 120 supernatural power points, and 160 physique points, and was pleased that its strongest attribute was physique.
• Yue Wen explained his Bloodletting Style, which exploited the puppet’s attack and defense mechanics and its inability to recover damage or spiritual power.
• Yue Wen used Shadow-Shifting Talismans to evade the puppet’s halberd attacks while his concealed flying sword repeatedly scratched its Outer Armor.
• Elder Chen and Nangong Han doubted Yue Wen could win, and Elder Chen predicted the puppet would defeat him within three minutes.

Yue Wen wore down the halberd-wielding puppet by evading its attacks and striking its armor, frustrating spectators who wanted him eliminated. When the damaged puppet trapped him with a powerful follow-up attack, Yue Wen countered by targeting its soulflame with a Spirit-Striking Fist.

• Yue Wen repeatedly dodged the puppet’s attacks while using the True Dragon Method to replenish his true essence and landing measured strikes with his flying sword.
• The puppet increased its power as it took damage, briefly injuring Yue Wen, but Yue Wen healed himself with the vitality Dao rhythm and resumed evading.
• After an hour of attrition, Yue Wen’s attacks covered the puppet in cracks, prompting Nangong Han and Elder Chen to analyze his endurance while Zhao Xing'er defended his shameless tactics.
• Yue Wen shattered a piece of the puppet’s armor, causing it to unleash a stronger attack with its great halberd and then close in with a punch as Yue Wen’s talisman art was spent.
• As the puppet’s fist descended, Yue Wen calmly targeted its soulflame and struck with a Spirit-Striking Fist.

Yue Wen defeated the 360-point puppet with a grueling, evasive strategy and impressed the Northern District’s powerful figures, who competed to recruit him. As the Guyán Team’s final contestant, Wutenglan, stepped up, she looked numb.

• Yue Wen used his Spirit-Striking Fist and Three-Eyed Divine Dragon Dharma Form to damage the puppet, then kept evading its attacks until his Divine Sword Thunder-Controlling Art defeated it.
• Yue Wen erased his injuries and cleared the challenge unscathed, leaving the arena audience impressed despite his underhanded fighting style.
• Tang Dinghai, Chen Zhi, and Li Lingkong watched Yue Wen’s match while Perfected One Nagiko defended his talent and declared she would make him her first Personal Disciple.
• Tang Dinghai and Li Lingkong offered Yue Wen work and introductions, but Perfected One Nagiko said none of them could snatch him away.
• Elder Chen acknowledged Yue Wen’s unexpected victory, and the commentary turned to Wutenglan of the Guyán Team as she prepared to fight.

After Yue Wen scored 360 points by wearing down a puppet, Wutenglan tried to imitate his tactics to help Guyán Team advance. Her black mist and dodges could not overcome the puppet before her energy ran low, and she was defeated, leaving the team’s prospects uncertain.

• Yue Wen returned to River City Team, where his teammates praised and mocked his tactics while Lan Zhi took notes.
• Wutenglan recalled her cultivation, her tribe’s hopes, and Wu Liegang’s plan to keep her as a surprise contender.
• Wutenglan challenged a 241-point puppet and used her black-cloud Dharma Form, Yin Water insight, and teleportation to evade its attacks and slowly corrode its armor.
• Wutenglan’s true qi dwindled, so she used a Black Ice Thorn to pierce the puppet’s head, but the puppet entered its later phases and struck her down.
• Wutenglan lost consciousness, blaming Yue Wen for forcing her into a fight she could not win.

Yue Wen’s River City Team qualified first in Group Eighteen, and Yue Wen’s time-wasting tactic spread through the tournament. In the elimination draw, River City was paired with the formidable Luo River Team, which commentators predicted would deliver the Northern District’s most predictable upset.

• The River City Team finished first in Group Eighteen with 740 points, while the Meijiang Team took second with 700.
• Yue Wen’s drawn-out fighting style spread to later groups, extending the group stage as competitors tried to copy his tactic.
• The Northern District’s fifty qualifying teams were divided into upper and lower brackets and drew opponents for the elimination round.
• Yue Wen drew the Luo River Team, whose lineup included two early Appearance Realm competitors and two peak Astral Realm competitors.
• The commentators judged River City the weakest group winner and Luo River the strongest runner-up, predicting River City’s defeat.

The River City Team returned home after advancing to the Elimination Tournament, where they would face the Luo River Team in a Wasteland Zone Ignition Battle. River City celebrated Yue Wen’s achievement, and after returning to the Agency, he discovered that the Mystic Spirit Astral Qi Transformation Grass had finished growing.

• Perfected One Nagiko rewarded each River City competitor five million and explained that the first Elimination Tournament round would begin in seven days.
• Yue Wen read forum posts predicting that the Luo River Team would defeat River City, but he remained confident that their opponents might underestimate them.
• The Flying Boat landed in River City, where crowds celebrated the team and especially praised Yue Wen for leading the city past the group stage.
• Yue Wen, Xing'er, and Qi Dian escaped the crowds and returned to the Agency, while Liu Yuanjun went back to the Mysterious Wind Temple.
• Yue Wen inspected the spirit plants in the Immortal Dew Valley and found that the Mystic Spirit Astral Qi Transformation Grass had finished growing.

Yue Wen arranged funding to refine Astral Qi Boosting Pills for the River City Team and sought Qi Sea Tide Immortal Fruits from Hidden Dragon Pool. The sect offered to provide the fruits and a sponsorship fee in exchange for exclusive sponsor recognition.

• Yue Wen found his Mystic Spirit Astral Qi Transformation Grass mature and asked Perfected One Nagiko to reimburse the costs of refining Astral Qi Boosting Pills.
• Yue Wen collected the funds from Perfected One Nagiko and visited Hidden Dragon Pool to discuss obtaining its Qi Sea Tide Immortal Fruits.
• Ji Yang, Su Renxue, and other disciples welcomed Yue Wen, who met grand elder Su Qinghe and proposed listing Hidden Dragon Pool as a team sponsor in exchange for the fruits.
• Su Qinghe offered the fruits and an additional sponsorship fee if Yue Wen refrained from seeking sponsorship from other sects.

Yue Wen arranged for Old Bai to refine Astral Qi Boosting Pills for his teammates, securing a promise that the pills would be safe. He then gave the Formation Masters detailed demands for the tournament secret realm and asked Perfected One Nagiko to inspect the evil spirits selected for its demon domains.

• Yue Wen bought the Qi Sea Tide Immortal Fruit and other ingredients, then persuaded Old Bai to refine the pills without charging him, provided Old Bai guaranteed their safety.
• Perfected One Nagiko summoned Yue Wen to review the secret realm plans with the Formation Masters.
• Yue Wen proposed spreading out the demon domains and choosing a forested site, leaving the Formation Masters with extensive revisions to make.
• Yue Wen told Perfected One Nagiko that Old Bai would finish the pills in a couple of days and reported that he had discussed sponsorship with Hidden Dragon Pool.
• Yue Wen asked to inspect the evil spirits that Perfected One Nagiko had brought from the Demon-Locking Secret Realm.

Yue Wen inspected the demon beasts chosen for the Elimination Tournament, killing them as he tested their strength and replacing the whole batch. He used the opportunity to earn Evil-Suppressing Money and, after returning to the Agency, called on Da Long to bring out the Heavenly Circuit Transfer Device.

• Yue Wen explained that he needed to assess the demon beasts so River City's competitors would face a fair challenge, then went to the Demon-Locking Secret Realm to help Wang Shoucai choose them.
• Yue Wen entered the first formation and killed a six-winged ape with two punches, deciding it was too weak for the tournament.
• Yue Wen killed a hundred-legged python and several other demon beasts, dismissing them for being ugly, stupid, or otherwise unsuitable.
• Yue Wen killed all of Wang Shoucai's initial selections, chose another batch, and stopped only when the staff refused to let him kill more.
• Yue Wen revealed that the demon beasts had earned him over three thousand Evil-Suppressing Money coins, then returned to the Agency and asked Da Long for the Heavenly Circuit Transfer Device.

Yue Wen bought a Heavenly Circuit Transfer Device and three co-cultivation seals, then used them on Qi Dian and Xing'er to gain cultivation from their efforts. He caught himself wanting to push them harder for profit and instead brought them Qilin Melon, while still telling them to cultivate until dawn at the latest.

• Yue Wen spent two thousand pieces of Evil-Suppressing Money with Da Long to obtain the transfer device and three co-cultivation seals.
• Yue Wen applied a seal to Qi Dian while encouraging him, and the device began turning Qi Dian's cultivation into gains for Yue Wen.
• Xing'er announced she had reached the Late Astral Realm, and Yue Wen applied a seal to her as well.
• Yue Wen realized he was becoming eager to make his teammates cultivate for his own benefit, so he suppressed the thought and brought Xing'er and Qi Dian Qilin Melon.
• Yue Wen told Xing'er and Qi Dian to replenish their qi and blood and not cultivate past dawn.

Yue Wen gave the River City Team Old Bai’s improved Astral Qi Boosting Pills, and the teammates’ cultivation began to rise through repeated qi sea impacts. Meanwhile, Gu Tianyu arrived in River City and learned from Hu Yunting that Yue Wen was far more dangerous than his team’s analysis suggested.

• Old Bai explained that his Daily Fifty Astral Qi Boosting Pills delivered many small, safe impacts, and Yue Wen collected the pills for his teammates.
• Xing'er, Qi Dian, and Liu Yuanjun took the pills, braced against their recurring qi sea impacts, and began advancing their astral cultivation.
• Gu Tianyu arrived in River City with the Luo River Team and met Hu Yunting, who told him his father and family had been destroyed after the Supernatural Affairs Bureau’s investigation.
• Gu Tianyu dismissed the River City Team as an easy opponent, but Hu Yunting warned that Yue Wen was more powerful than he appeared and that underestimating him had doomed the Hu Family.

River City and Luo River’s teams prepared for their Elimination Tournament match as their commentators made a bizarre bet over the outcome. The chapter ended with the teams meeting in the arena and trading barbs before the match began.

• Qian Yun introduced Su Xun and Yuan Ze, who predicted opposite outcomes and agreed that the loser would eat a stainless steel security door.
• Yuan Ze accepted the bet and loudly urged the Luo River Team to dominate River City.
• Xing'er, Yue Wen, Qi Dian, and Liu Yuanjun entered the arena, where Yue Wen encouraged Liu Yuanjun to trust their special training.
• Gu Tianyu, Ning Xiaoyao, Xu Baichen, and Liang Yan emerged for the Luo River Team to cheers from their supporters.
• Gu Tianyu told Yue Wen he would prove River City had made a mistake by leaving Hu Yunting out, and Xing'er mocked Gu Tianyu’s hairstyle.

Yue Wen’s River City Team entered the Wasteland Zone to face the Luo River Team while Perfected One Nagiko wagered with Dragonkin envoy Ao Weisheng over the Azure Dragon Burial Ground. The chapter ended with Liu Yuanjun charging into the forest to begin the team’s plan.

• Ao Weisheng arrived at the arena as the Four Seas Dragon Palace envoy, and Yue Wen saw him among his Dragon Servants.
• Perfected One Nagiko and Ao Weisheng argued over the Azure Dragon Burial Ground before agreeing to wager three Jade Marrow Dragonheart Lotus seeds against half the Secret Realm.
• Yue Wen and his teammates entered the Wasteland Zone and inspected the competition grounds and fire pool.
• Yue Wen explained that the River City Team would exploit the Luo River Team’s tendency to split up and eliminate its members one by one.
• Liu Yuanjun charged into the forest after training with the Daily Fifty Astral Qi Boosting Pill, and Xing'er urged the team to show the results of their training.

The Luo River Team split up to search for Starfire Stones, and Xu Baichen ambushed Liu Yuanjun near a Demon Domain. Yue Wen’s specially coached bait act lured Xu Baichen into the River City Team’s ambush, which began with the Heavenly Thunder Earthly Fire Jet.

• Gu Tianyu ordered the Luo River Team to divide the map, avoid Yue Wen, and target Liu Yuanjun or Zhao Xing'er if they encountered them.
• Xu Baichen found Liu Yuanjun near a Demon Domain and used Lesser Heavenly Foot Travel to catch up with him as he fled.
• Yue Wen, Xing'er, and Qi Dian followed Liu Yuanjun in secret after Yue Wen predicted the Luo River Team would split into four search areas.
• Yue Wen, Xing'er, and Qi Dian recalled how they had trained Liu Yuanjun to act as bait, improving his performance at pretending to flee.
• Xu Baichen cornered Liu Yuanjun, but the Heavenly Thunder Earthly Fire Jet charged out of the bushes as Yue Wen’s group launched their ambush.