Chapter Summaries

Zuo Xiaoduo remained trapped under the Centipede King's control, repeatedly fishing for rings while the Centipede King turned it into a game. Meanwhile, Ye Changqing and the others continued searching for him, and Wen Xingtian and Zhan Xiaofei discussed the deaths of those seeking the bounty.

• The Centipede King immobilized Zuo Xiaoduo and forced him to resume dragging rings with a thread, cutting it whenever it reached ten meters.
• Over four hours, Zuo Xiaoduo acquired nine rings as the Centipede King repeatedly let him take a few, while other people who tried to steal rings were killed and added to the pile.
• Zuo Xiaoduo realized the Centipede King was toying with him and feared that his apparent gains were only bait, but he remained trapped and unable to leave.
• Ye Changqing and the others wondered where Zuo Xiaoduo had hidden, though they were certain he was still somewhere in the Star Radiance Mountain Range.
• After another person screamed near the Centipede King, Wen Xingtian blamed Zuo Xiaoduo, and Zhan Xiaofei argued that the victims had been bounty hunters caught in Zuo Xiaoduo's trap.

Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian realized Zuo Xiaoduo might be heading for the Space Rings guarded by the Centipede King, and hurried back to find him. They left in separate teams to avoid revealing Zuo Xiaoduo’s location, while Tian Wujiang was left behind after Ye Changqing warned him off.

• Wen Xingtian and Zhan Xiaofei discussed how the Centipede King had lured more than a hundred people to their deaths with the Space Rings left behind by earlier victims.
• Wen Xingtian and Ye Changqing realized Zuo Xiaoduo might be unable to resist the rings and feared he would confront the Centipede King.
• Ye Changqing split the group into small search teams and told them to gather at the centipede when they heard his signal.
• Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian flew back toward the centipede, anxious that Zuo Xiaoduo might still be there.
• Ye Changqing threatened Tian Wujiang when they passed him, and Tian Wujiang decided to search elsewhere.

Zuo Xiaoduo remained trapped with the Centipede King, who forced him to make ropes while killing anyone who tried to approach. The Centipede King’s game was interrupted when a powerful newcomer survived his attack and made him recoil.

• Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian collected Space Rings from the people they killed, and Wen Xingtian eventually handed Ye Changqing forty of his spoils.
• Bounty hunters avoided Hidden Dragon High Martial because they feared being killed without a pretext to justify the fight.
• Zuo Xiaoduo continued twisting ropes from clothing while the Centipede King broke them for amusement, and the pile of Space Rings grew to a hundred and thirty.
• The Centipede King left his post and ambushed people who approached the rings, killing each one who tried their luck.
• A newcomer plunged into the pit and survived the Centipede King's kick, knocking the enormous centipede backward.
• The Centipede King struck at the newcomer with two legs in the next clash.

Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian watched the Centipede King’s territory, hoping to find Zuo Xiaoduo among the poisonous mist and the vast heap of Space Rings. They discovered that Zuo Xiaoduo was alive and playing with the rings, though they remained unable to understand the strange game.

• A powerful newcomer fled after failing to defeat the Centipede King, and Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian approached no closer than two thousand meters.
• Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian spotted the enormous heap of Space Rings and concluded that Zuo Xiaoduo was probably still alive nearby.
• A thin red thread dragged a ring away from the heap until it snapped, then an emerald-green thread repeated the maneuver.
• The Centipede King sent the displaced rings flying back onto the main heap, and another thread reached out again.
• After watching for two hours, Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian realized that Zuo Xiaoduo and the Centipede King seemed to be playing.

Zuo Xiaoduo remained trapped in a bizarre ring-snatching game with the Centipede King while Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian watched. Ye Changqing then recognized the Golden Dragon Sword attackers as the four enemies who had crippled his cultivation, and the old grudge resurfaced.

• Zuo Xiaoduo dragged rings toward his side as the Centipede King repeatedly snapped the line and carried them away, though Zuo managed to keep three rings.
• Four cultivators secretly entered the area and decided to steal the rings rather than pursue the bounty on Zuo Xiaoduo because Ye Changqing was present.
• The Centipede King watched Zuo Xiaoduo make more rope and became eager to take the furry source of its threads.
• Three figures launched a coordinated Golden Dragon Sword attack at the Centipede King.
• Ye Changqing recognized the attackers as the four cultivators who had trapped him years earlier and severely damaged his heart meridians.

Ye Changqing recognized the three swordsmen attacking the Centipede King as the men who had once damaged his heart meridians, and he and Wen Xingtian waited to identify all four before settling their feud. When the hidden fourth man rushed for the Space Rings, the centipede revealed its Nine-Headed Centipede true form and struck to intercept him.

• Ye Changqing told Wen Xingtian that the three attackers were among the four men who had once ganged up on him and injured his heart meridians.
• Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian watched the three Guixuan Peak experts battle the Centipede King, judging that it was stronger than Feitian level and still holding back.
• The three attackers combined their Sword Qi into a golden dragon and severed seven or eight of the centipede's legs.
• The hidden fourth man raced across the clearing and reached for the pile of Space Rings.
• The centipede revealed its Nine-Headed Centipede true form and sent one head to intercept the fourth man with a dense cloud of poisonous mist.

Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian witnessed the Four Swords of the Kingly Way battle the Centipede King, while the Space Rings and a severed leg mysteriously vanished. Ye Changqing recognized the four as old friends who had secretly caused his past injury, but chose to protect Zuo Xiaoduo rather than pursue them.

• The Centipede King struck the Four Swords of the Kingly Way as one of them tried to retrieve the Space Rings, but found only dirt where the rings and a severed leg had been.
• The Centipede King wounded and poisoned the masked man, who fled after shouting for his companions to leave.
• Wen Xingtian urged Ye Changqing to pursue the wounded men, but Ye Changqing refused, prioritizing Zuo Xiaoduo's safety.
• Ye Changqing identified the four attackers as the Four Swords of the Kingly Way, the Central Plains King's attendants and his former friends.
• Ye Changqing realized that the four men who had once searched for a cure for him were the ones who had gravely wounded him years earlier.

Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian realized the Central Plains King's Manor was connected to Old Cheng's encounter, while the Centipede King unleashed his full strength against the Four Swords of the Kingly Way. Zuo Xiaoduo seized the distraction to steal the rings and a severed centipede leg, then escaped deeper underground.

• Ye Changqing reminded Wen Xingtian of Old Cheng's report and warned that the connection to the Central Plains King's Manor required careful planning.
• The enraged Centipede King unleashed his poisonous mist, divine ability, and many limbs, forcing the Four Swords of the Kingly Way into a desperate defense.
• The leader of the four called for Golden Dragon Four Directions Return to Position and ordered the group to unite and withdraw after one move.
• Zuo Xiaoduo waited for the hidden man's second attack, then collapsed the ground beneath the rings and swept the rings, soil, and a severed centipede leg into the Annihilation Sky Pagoda.
• Zuo Xiaoduo plunged down his deep tunnel unnoticed as the battle continued above.

Zuo Xiaoduo escaped with 211 Space Rings and a severed centipede leg, then imagined returning to loot the battle. The Four Swords of the Kingly Way escaped the Centipede King after a fierce clash, leaving him wounded but able to regrow his legs.

• Zuo Xiaoduo fled underground with the rings and centipede leg, pleased with his haul.
• Zuo Xiaoduo told Little Dragon about his gains and speculated that he could return to collect more spoils.
• The Four Swords of the Kingly Way combined their sword attack and injured the Centipede King, but his venomous counterattack grievously wounded them.
• The Four Swords of the Kingly Way fled, while the Centipede King regrew his severed legs after landing.

Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian escaped the Centipede King and concluded that Zuo Xiaoduo had slipped away while it kept him captive. Zuo Xiaoduo continued toward the Soul-Tempering Vermilion Fruit, resting in the Annihilation Sky Pagoda after his prolonged contest with the centipede.

• The Centipede King found the rings and Zuo Xiaoduo gone, then returned to the cliff where the Dragon Soul Ginseng was nearly ripe.
• Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian realized they had narrowly escaped and inferred that the Centipede King had toyed with Zuo Xiaoduo before he got away.
• Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian set off to search for Zuo Xiaoduo, following the tunnel route even though he had already turned elsewhere.
• Zuo Xiaoduo headed for the Soul-Tempering Vermilion Fruit and entered the Annihilation Sky Pagoda to recover.
• Zuo Xiaoduo replenished his depleted energy with the Dragon Blood Flying Knife, draining its stored power and deciding it needed recharging.

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.