Recaps

After recovering from the battle in Centipede Valley, Zuo Xiaoduo stored a demon king's leg and the Space Rings he had collected in the Annihilation Sky Pagoda. He began roasting the leg beside the Blazing Sun Heart, while people outside searched for him and found none of the rings.

• Zuo Xiaoduo recovered his cultivation and noticed that his control over Origin Qi had become more effortless after his fight with the centipede.
• Zuo Xiaoduo asked Longlong whether the demon king's leg was edible, and Longlong explained that its meat was nourishing but its shell and hairs were poisonous.
• Zuo Xiaoduo placed the centipede leg beside the Blazing Sun Heart to roast it.
• People who went to Centipede Valley to look for Space Rings found that they had all been taken; Zuo Xiaoduo had collected 211 rings there.
• Zuo Xiaoduo arranged his 222 Space Rings near the Blazing Sun Heart and complained about the number.

Zuo Xiaoduo collected more Space Rings and approached the Soul-Tempering Vermilion Fruit, the treasure needed to help Vice Principal Liu recover. Underground, he and Little Dragon discovered a giant earthworm heading toward them.

• Zuo Xiaoduo left the Annihilation Sky Pagoda and, with Little Dragon scouting, ambushed two groups of bounty hunters and took seven Space Rings.
• Zuo Xiaoduo rewarded Little Dragon with a drop of Fortune Points and continued toward the Soul-Tempering Vermilion Fruit.
• Zuo Xiaoduo gathered meteor chunks for his father’s shop and dug underground to approach the fruit unseen.
• Little Dragon warned Zuo Xiaoduo that the fruit might have a guardian spirit beast, then detected something moving underground.
• Zuo Xiaoduo and Little Dragon saw an enormous earthworm approaching through the soil, and Little Dragon said it had little fighting power.

Zuo Xiaoduo defeated the creature guarding the Soul-Tempering Vermilion Fruit and unearthed the tree, while Little Dragon explained the fruit’s power to strengthen and divide the soul. After learning how valuable the fruit was, Zuo Xiaoduo questioned whether he should take the entire tree rather than leave it behind.

• Zuo Xiaoduo burned off the giant earthworm’s head, causing its body to split into segments that fled, and he picked up a strange bead from the ground.
• Zuo Xiaoduo dug farther down and uncovered a Soul-Tempering Vermilion Fruit tree bearing nine fruits.
• Little Dragon explained that the fruit could heal and strengthen the soul, and let someone split off a soul that might survive if their original body died.
• Zuo Xiaoduo wondered whether taking only the fruits and leaving the tree would waste a heavenly treasure.

Zuo Xiaoduo transplanted the Soul Tempering Fruit Tree into the Annihilation Sky Pagoda and stripped the valley of meteorites, triggering a massive collapse. The Four Swords of the Kingly Way, healing in a cave below, were buried and plunged into a vast cavern.

• Little Dragon told Zuo Xiaoduo that the Soul Tempering Fruit Tree could survive in the Annihilation Sky Pagoda if planted by the new Dragon Vein, though it would need more Earth Veins and Star Soul Jade Powder to thrive.
• Zuo Xiaoduo collected the tree’s nine fruits and transplanted the tree, roots and soil included, into the Annihilation Sky Pagoda.
• After Little Dragon pointed out that meteorites had gathered in the valley, Zuo Xiaoduo collected thousands of rocks and removed a huge meteorite from beneath the fruit tree.
• The valley collapsed, and Zuo Xiaoduo dug his way out and fled.
• The Four Swords of the Kingly Way, badly wounded and poisoned, were trapped in their underground healing cave when the mountains collapsed around them.
• The four fell through the collapsing ground into a vast cavern, unable to fly free while their True Essence was occupied fighting the poison.

The four Guixuan-level supreme experts were trapped beneath a collapsed mountain, where falling rocks disrupted their efforts to purge the Centipede King's poison. As hundreds of people dug toward them, the brothers activated their life-soul protection and fought their way out, leaving with the poison in their heart meridians and no idea who had set them up.

• Falling rocks struck the four brothers and caused the Centipede King's poison to surge back into their bodies.
• People searching for Zuo Xiaoduo found a tunnel and began digging through the rubble toward the trapped experts.
• The eldest told his brothers to activate their life-soul protection, despite the permanent damage it would cause to their cultivation and lifespans.
• The four brothers burst out of the ground in the form of golden dragons, killing more than a dozen diggers and injuring others.
• The brothers vowed revenge and fled to find somewhere else to treat their injuries and poison.

After triggering a landslide, Zuo Xiaoduo disguised himself, robbed six more pursuers, and crossed into the overlapping territory of the Tiger King and Snake King. He continued exploring rather than returning to safety, convinced the scheme involving him had not yet ended because no one had explained it.

• Zuo Xiaoduo fled the landslide site and disguised himself as an old man to travel aboveground.
• Zuo Xiaoduo turned the tables on people who tried to rob him and gained six Space Rings, bringing his total to two hundred and thirty-five.
• Zuo Xiaoduo avoided returning to Centipede Valley and crossed into the no-man's-land between the Tiger King's and Snake King's spheres of influence.
• Zuo Xiaoduo noticed that his spiritual intuition and mental strength were improving as he sensed dangers ahead, with Little Dragon confirming them.
• Zuo Xiaoduo considered returning safely with help from Ye Changqing, Wen Xingtian, or Zhan Xiaofei, but chose to keep searching because he believed the scheme involving him was still ongoing.

As Bounty Hunters turned on one another in the Star Radiance Mountain Range, Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian led Hidden Dragon High Martial in robbing them while searching for Zuo Xiaoduo. Their plundering expedition began, with the scale of the havoc they would cause still unknown.

• Impatient Bounty Hunters began fighting and killing one another after failing to find Zuo Xiaoduo.
• Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian split Hidden Dragon High Martial into two teams and raided weaker groups, taking their Space Rings while searching for and rescuing Zuo Xiaoduo.
• Wen Xingtian persuaded Ye Changqing that robbing the Bounty Hunters would fund the school and weaken their enemies.
• Ye Changqing warned Wen Xingtian to keep finding Zuo Xiaoduo their priority, and Hidden Dragon High Martial launched its plundering expedition.

Zuo Xiaoduo entered a clearing where two injured groups were resting, discovered that Scarface carried a Void-melding Stone, and offered to help them catch him without revealing his identity. When Scarface suddenly attacked, Zuo Xiaoduo countered with his training hammers and struck him in the chest.

• Zuo Xiaoduo stumbled upon thirteen wounded fighters from two groups facing each other and wondered how they had escaped his and Little Dragon's detection.
• Little Dragon identified a Void-melding Stone in Scarface's possession as the reason the groups had remained hidden.
• Scarface questioned Zuo Xiaoduo, who pretended to be an old man and offered liquor before suggesting they work together to capture Zuo Xiaoduo.
• Scarface suddenly attacked Zuo Xiaoduo and ordered the others to kill him first.
• Zuo Xiaoduo blocked Scarface's saber, shattered the fingers of his claw hand, and slammed his other training hammer into Scarface's chest.

Ren Zhonglong killed Scarface and seized his Space Ring, then recounted how he found a stone that concealed his presence and began using it to steal from his neighbors. The chapter left Ren Zhonglong starting to test the power of his supposed cheat.

• He pulverized Scarface's breastbone, cut off his fingers with the Dragon Blood Flying Knife, and took his Space Ring.
• Ren Zhonglong believed the scar on his face and a meteorite that struck his family home proved he was the protagonist.
• He spent two years breaking down the meteorite and found a stone hidden inside it.
• He discovered the stone could conceal him so completely that people nearby forgot he was there.
• Ren Zhonglong began experimenting with the stone by following neighbors home and stealing their money.

Yu Moyan recalled how his undetectability let him become the famed Ghost Assassin, then accepted a lucrative bounty on Zuo Xiaoduo. Zuo Xiaoduo defeated and killed him, and Yu Moyan realized his treasured stone and written insights had only made him a deliveryman for the true protagonist.

• Yu Moyan recounted using his ability to go unnoticed to steal, rise through the martial realms, and become an ace assassin known as the Ghost Assassin.
• Yu Moyan accepted the unusually generous bounty on Zuo Xiaoduo, believing its rewards were meant for him.
• Yu Moyan and his underlings entered the area unnoticed, and Yu Moyan found Zuo Xiaoduo and fought him.
• Zuo Xiaoduo defeated Yu Moyan, smashed his chest with a hammer, and took his ring.
• Yu Moyan realized the stone and his written insights were intended for Zuo Xiaoduo, then died reflecting that he had only delivered them to him.

Zuo Xiaoduo killed the feared Ghost Assassin, took the rings from his companions, and obtained a Void-Transforming Stone that concealed his presence completely. He kept collecting rings as Yu Moyan reached the border of Guandong, pursued by High Martial School teachers.

• Zuo Xiaoduo killed Ren Zhonglong, the Ghost Assassin, with one hammer blow, frightening the remaining fighters into surrendering their Space Rings.
• Zuo Xiaoduo left the group and forced open Ren Zhonglong's ring, finding and using the Void-Transforming Stone to conceal his aura.
• Zuo Xiaoduo tested the stone's concealment and gained eight more Space Rings, bringing his total to two hundred and fifty-six.
• Zuo Xiaoduo thought about selling the Void-Transforming Stone to Yu Moyan on harsh terms.
• Yu Moyan approached the boundary between the Central Plains and Guandong as High Martial School teachers caught up with him after pursuing him for thousands of li.

Yu Moyan was unable to reach Zuo Xiaoduo, so he resolved to endure Hell Eighteen Trays to become strong enough to help him in the future. In Capital City, Zhou Yunqing told Long Yusheng and Wan Lixiu that the Former Principal had ordered Shuicheng First High School graduates to rescue or avenge Zuo Xiaoduo, but Long Yusheng refused to go.

• Luo Yanling caught Yu Moyan as he headed west to help Zuo Xiaoduo and warned that his cultivation was too weak to be of any use.
• Yu Moyan asked Luo Yanling to arrange Hell Eighteen Trays, accepting the dangerous eighteen-month method so he could become strong enough to fight beside Zuo Xiaoduo next time.
• Luo Yanling suggested Yu Moyan post his support on the Underground World, but he refused because he could not go in person.
• Zhou Yunqing found Long Yusheng and Wan Lixiu after their sparring and announced the Former Principal’s orders to rescue Zuo Xiaoduo or avenge him.
• Zhou Yunqing said he was going to the Star Radiance Mountain Range, but Long Yusheng told him that he and Wan Lixiu would not go.

Long Yusheng and Wan Lixiu restrained themselves from rushing to help Zuo Xiaoduo, choosing to train until they were strong enough to fight beside him. Zuo Xiaonian raced toward him after learning about the bounty, but Minister Nan intercepted her and refused to let her continue.

• Long Yusheng and Wan Lixiu explained to Zhou Yunqing that rushing to the fight would make them a burden and could give the bounty hunters leverage against Zuo Changlu.
• Long Yusheng and Wan Lixiu worried over Zuo Xiaoduo’s fate, then vowed to train until they could stand beside their friends.
• Zuo Xiaonian learned about the bounty on Zuo Xiaoduo and raced south using the Heavenly Origin Escape Technique, drawing spiritual qi from Top-Grade Star Soul Jade.
• Minister Nan caught up with Zuo Xiaonian after pursuing her for two thousand five hundred li, then told her he would stop her from going to save Xiao Duo.
• Zuo Xiaonian gripped the Spirit-Seizing Sword’s hilt as she eyed Minister Nan suspiciously.

Zuo Xiaonian tried to reach Xiao Duo, but Uncle Nan stopped her and had Zuo Changlu reassure her by video call that Xiao Duo was safe. Meanwhile, Qin Fangyang raced toward the Star Radiance Mountain Range to protect the children, while Li Chenglong turned back Xiang Chong and Meng Changjun, who wanted to rush to the scene.

• Uncle Nan stopped Zuo Xiaonian from going to Xiao Duo and called Zuo Changlu to prove that Xiao Duo was safe.
• Zuo Changlu spoke with Zuo Xiaonian by video call, reassured her, and blacklisted Uncle Nan after he asked to speak again.
• Uncle Nan escorted Zuo Xiaonian back to the city, then hurried away before she could question him further.
• Qin Fangyang flew toward the Star Radiance Mountain Range, vowing to protect the children and Qianqian.
• Li Chenglong scolded Xiang Chong and Meng Changjun for wanting to rush off and told them to return to their duties.

Li Chenglong resolved to grow stronger while Zuo Xiaoduo continued evading the bounty hunters in the Star Radiance Mountain Range. As the search narrowed around the Three Demon Kings’ domains, Ye Changqing claimed the best lookout peak for Hidden Dragon High Martial and confronted Tian Wujiang.

• Li Chenglong sent the others back, vowed to avenge Zuo Xiaoduo if necessary, and entered the Gravity Room for six hours of training.
• Bounty hunters traced Zuo Xiaoduo’s movements around the Three Demon Kings’ domains and concentrated their search there.
• Ye Changqing led Hidden Dragon High Martial to the range’s highest peak as the narrowing search made Zuo Xiaoduo more likely to be found.
• Ye Changqing threatened the bounty hunters with the consequences of openly opposing Hidden Dragon High Martial, the Martial Education Department, and the nation.
• Ye Changqing ordered Tian Wujiang to leave the summit and reached for his sword when Tian Wujiang hesitated.

Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian drove Tian Wujiang’s group from the mountain and confronted Sang Jiuxuan for joining the hunt for Wen Xingtian’s student, Zuo Xiaoduo. Sang Jiuxuan defended his choice by citing his family’s needs, but Wen Xingtian disowned him and returned to the summit, where Ye Changqing consoled him.

• Tian Wujiang questioned Ye Changqing’s conduct, but Ye mocked him with a false rumor, and Tian agreed to leave the place to Hidden Dragon High Martial.
• Wen Xingtian stopped Sang Jiuxuan and demanded his personal details, accusing him of being a Witch Alliance spy.
• Sang Jiuxuan admitted he had joined the hunt for Zuo Xiaoduo despite knowing Zuo was Wen Xingtian’s student, explaining that he needed money to support his family.
• Wen Xingtian condemned Sang Jiuxuan for disgracing their former comrades and ordered him to leave, then declared they no longer knew each other.
• Sang Jiuxuan left with Tian Wujiang, while Ye Changqing consoled Wen Xingtian at the summit.

Wen Xingtian defended Hidden Dragon High Martial’s killings and looting, then warned the gathered bounty hunters that attacking before Zuo Xiaoduo emerged would count as high treason. He kept repeating the rules to the assembled killers, leaving them furious and frustrated.

• A sinister voice accused Wen Xingtian, Principal Ye, and Hidden Dragon High Martial of shamelessly killing and robbing bounty hunters.
• Wen Xingtian argued that the hunters had come to kill a student for a bounty and that Hidden Dragon High Martial was justified in defending itself and taking their Space Rings.
• Wen Xingtian declared that anyone who attacked Hidden Dragon High Martial before Zuo Xiaoduo appeared would be committing high treason and face pursuit by the continent’s military and government departments.
• When a hunter complained about Wen Xingtian shouting, Wen Xingtian challenged him to fight and mocked him for being raised by a stepmother.
• Wen Xingtian repeatedly explained the rules governing the bounty, while the thousands of gathered killers grew increasingly furious at his lecture.

Zuo Xiaoduo sneaked into the Snake King's territory to steal the Snake Soul Fruit, hoping the Void-Transforming Stone would hide him. Vice Principal Cheng was also inside the territory, lying in wait after discovering that his old enemy She Wang had appeared there.

• Zuo Xiaoduo decided to ignore Wen Xingtian's advice and use the Void-Transforming Stone to steal from the great demon kings.
• Little Dragon warned Zuo Xiaoduo that the Snake Soul Fruit was useless to humans and that provoking the Snake King was dangerous.
• Zuo Xiaoduo crept into the Snake King's territory with an antidote pill, uncertain whether the Void-Transforming Stone could conceal him from the Snake King.
• Vice Principal Cheng hid in the swamp within the Snake King's territory after arriving to protect Zuo Xiaoduo and encountering his lifelong enemy, She Wang.

Vice Principal Cheng followed She Wang and the Five Great Snake Venerables into the Snake King's territory, where they renovated the lair while he hid in the marsh and waited for a chance to avenge his granddaughter. During their rest, Cheng watched She Wang nourish six snake-like grasses with True Essence and sunlight, and one Snake Venerable asked how he had discovered the place.

• Vice Principal Cheng recognized She Wang and the Five Great Snake Venerables and followed them into the Star Radiance Mountain Range, driven by his granddaughter's death.
• She Wang and the other five entered the Snake King's territory, while Cheng hid in a marsh after the Snake King attacked him with lightning.
• For five days, Cheng watched the six renovate the Snake King's cave entrances and dump stones into the marsh where he was concealed.
• She Wang and the other five rested in the valley's sunlight, where She Wang placed six emerald-green grasses on a rock and fed them True Essence Qi.
• The grasses unfurled and wriggled like little snakes, and one Snake Venerable asked She Wang how he had discovered the place.

She Wang recounted how the Snake Ancestor transformed him, how he and the Five Snake Venerables rose to power, and how the Central Plains King recruited them after their imprisonment. He then revealed that the King had assigned them a mission involving two Cheng Family girls, while Vice Principal Cheng secretly listened and wondered whether the Central Plains King was behind everything.

• She Wang explained that, after mercenaries attacked him, he fell onto the Snake Ancestor and spent five years in Snake Valley, where Snake Spirit Grass changed his body and the Snake Ancestor taught him.
• She Wang said he later found and exterminated the mercenary squad's families, cultivated the Spirit Snake Heart Method, and met his future gang members a hundred years later.
• She Wang recalled that the Central Plains King had them imprisoned, then offered them a choice between dying and working for him.
• She Wang said the Central Plains King gave them the Heavenly Snake Soul Art and later assigned them a mission involving two Cheng Family girls.
• Vice Principal Cheng listened from the swamp and recognized She Wang as another pawn of the Central Plains King, while the Five Snake Venerables lewdly reminisced about the girls.

Zuo Xiaoduo sneaked into Snake Valley while Vice Principal Cheng overheard She Wang and the Five Great Snake Venerables discussing their secret ties to the Central Plains King. The chapter ended with Zuo Xiaoduo spying on the enormous Snake King and fantasizing about the fortune its body could bring.

• Vice Principal Cheng overheard She Wang and the Five Great Snake Venerables reminiscing about their past and realized they were involved in the plot linked to the Central Plains King.
• She Wang gave the five Snake Venerables Snake Spirit Grass and told them to eat it and cultivate their Heavenly Snake Movement Technique.
• The Snake King rose toward the sun and used his Snake Bead to absorb its light.
• Zuo Xiaoduo crept into Snake Valley unnoticed and saw the enormous Snake King.
• Zuo Xiaoduo imagined selling the Snake King's scales, meat, and other treasures, while Little Dragon dismissed his hope that the snake would kill itself.

Zuo Xiaoduo used the Void-Transforming Stone to sneak into the Snake King’s cave and steal the Snake Soul Fruit tree, retreating into the Annihilation Sky Pagoda. She Wang and his five brothers arrived just in time to witness the theft.

• Little Dragon told Zuo Xiaoduo that the Snake Soul Fruit was inside the cave and would ripen in about a month.
• Zuo Xiaoduo decided to uproot the fruit tree and plant it in the Annihilation Sky Pagoda Space.
• He rushed into the cave, dug up the tree with a large chunk of soil, and stored it in the pagoda.
• Zuo Xiaoduo buried the pagoda deep underground and entered it himself.
• She Wang and his five brothers descended into the cave and saw the tree and the thief vanish.

The Snake King returned to find the Snake Soul Fruit and its tree missing, with She Wang and five others standing beside the empty pit. Mistaking their presence for evidence of theft, he confronted them in a fury, leaving the six unable to explain what had happened.

• She Wang and the other five saw that the treasure was gone and feared the Snake Ancestor would blame them.
• She Wang urged the group to flee, but they found the Snake King blocking the cave entrance.
• The Snake King discovered the empty pit and spotted the six subordinates beside it.
• The Snake King demanded to know where the treasure was, and the six stood speechless.
• The enraged Snake King roared and plunged toward the six.

She Wang and the five Snake Venerables fought the enraged Snake King after he accused them of stealing his Snake Spirit Grass. The five sacrificed themselves to wound the Snake King, while She Wang escaped with the treasure, leaving the King in pursuit.

• The Snake King charged the six men, and She Wang ordered them to fight while insisting they had not stolen his treasure.
• She Wang abruptly halted as the five Snake Venerables attacked the Snake King, leaving them to take the brunt of his assault.
• The five Snake Venerables wounded the Snake King with their broken weapons, then detonated themselves to fulfill their duty as brothers.
• The blast collapsed the cliff and hurled the wounded Snake King beneath falling rubble.
• She Wang escaped with two handfuls of Snake Spirit Grass, and the Snake King tore free and lashed his tail after him.

She Wang escaped the Snake King’s attack by sacrificing his right leg and desperately fleeing while the mountain collapsed behind him. The Snake King remained trapped beneath the rubble, furious and vowing to pursue him, while She Wang still had no idea who had framed him or stolen the Snake Soul Fruit tree.

• She Wang struck the Snake King’s tail with his sword and palms, but the collision sent him flying and broke most of his bones.
• The Snake King sprayed venom across a wide area, and She Wang escaped most of it before the venom reached his right ankle.
• She Wang cut off his right leg at the thigh to stop the venom from spreading, then hopped away while staunching his wounds.
• As he fled, She Wang wondered who had framed him and stolen the Snake Soul Fruit tree, and mourned the five Venerables who had died.
• The Snake King remained pinned beneath the collapsing mountain, broke one of its fangs in rage, and vowed not to let She Wang escape.