Recaps

After the first-round evaluations, the academy announced ranking-battle rules that forced contestants to choose only one ranking tier, making each choice a risky gamble. Zhang Jing passed the first two stages and remained among sixteen contestants preparing to challenge for the top ten, surprising Senior Brother Liu with his Qi Refining Second Layer cultivation.

• Shen Qingqing defeated her opponent with a law technique that showed a trace of Dao rhyme, and Senior Brother Liu announced that fifty-three contestants had passed the first evaluation.
• Zhang Jing reflected that Shen Qingqing and Chen Xiandao had reached the third layer of Qi Refining, then met up with Chu Lingyun, Deng An, Wu Mingyuan, and Ji Bochang, who had all passed.
• Senior Brother Liu announced that contestants could enter only one of three ranking stages, with challenges determining ranks and no replacements for vacancies.
• Third-Grade contestants and then Grade B geniuses claimed the lower rankings, while Chu Lingyun and Deng An gave up on pursuing the top ten because the risk was too high.
• After the first stage awarded ten identity tokens, Ji Bochang entered the second stage while Zhang Jing chose to wait, revealing that he intended to compete for the top ten.
• Sixteen contestants remained for the final stage, and Senior Brother Liu noticed Zhang Jing among them and remarked on his Qi Refining Second Layer cultivation.

Zhang Jing challenged for the Third Demonstration Platform, defeating Xu Wan and then Xia Fangming with his powerful Law Techniques and Law Artifacts. He held the platform uncontested, leaving the other candidates to compete for the remaining places.

• Chen Xiandao defeated Shen Qingqing on the First Law-Performance Platform and took the second platform without challenge.
• Zhang Jing claimed the empty Third Demonstration Platform, then defeated Xu Wan with his Water Cloud Shield and Ice Condensation Edge-Forming Technique.
• Xia Fangming challenged Zhang Jing, attacking with a golden hammer, a bronze mirror, and three puppets.
• Zhang Jing's Ice-Light Incantation protected him from the hammer, and his sharp Ice Condensation Edge-Forming Techniques broke Xia Fangming's defenses and defeated his puppets.
• Xia Fangming conceded, and no one answered Senior Brother Liu's call to challenge Zhang Jing for the Third Demonstration Platform.

After placing third in the Dao Academy assessment, Zhang Jing received a special Identity Jade Pendant and drew the attention of several powerful Outer Court squads. Zhang Yangchu offered him generous support to join the Luodu Squad, and Zhang Jing accepted.

• Inner Academy disciples noticed Zhang Jing’s unusual talent for Law Techniques and discussed his potential to join their ranks someday.
• The third stage ended, and Zhang Jing and the other nine survivors received Identity Jade Pendants; Zhang Jing discovered his pale violet pendant had a vast storage space and a defensive Law Technique.
• Chu Lingyun and Deng An compared their pendants, and Deng An reflected on how far Zhang Jing had surpassed them.
• Leaders from several squads competed for the chance to recruit Zhang Jing, and Zhang Yangchu of the Luodu Squad approached him first.
• Zhang Yangchu offered Zhang Jing monthly Purple Spirit Pills, a chance to redeem a middle-grade inheritance, a cave abode, and no cut of his Dao Merit, and Zhang Jing agreed to join the Luodu Squad.

After placing third in the Dao Academy assessment, Zhang Jing prepared to return home while the Ji Clan moved to befriend his family. He learned that his parents were being forced to leave their pharmacy, but Master Liu and Ji Xianming arrived with news of his success and the Ji Clan’s gifts; by the next day, the family had received the deed to the Hundred Herbs Pavilion.

• Zhang Yangchu welcomed Zhang Jing to the Luodu Squad, gave him Purple Spirit Pills and a Communication Talisman, and suggested he visit home.
• Ji Bochang told his senior sister that Zhang Jing had placed third and contacted his elders, who set out to assist Zhang Jing’s family.
• At Zhangji Pharmacy, Zhang Father and Zhang Mother agreed to move after a representative of the Hundred Herbs Pavilion demanded that they vacate within two days.
• Master Liu received the results showing Zhang Jing ranked third and Ji Bochang fifteenth, then met Ji Xianming on the way to Zhang Jing’s home.
• Master Liu congratulated Zhang Father and Zhang Mother on Zhang Jing’s success, while Ji Xianming learned the Hundred Herbs Pavilion had pressured them over their property.
• The Ji Clan gave Zhang Jing’s parents valuables, farmland, and a residence, and the next day a man delivered them the deed to the Hundred Herbs Pavilion.

Zhang Jing exchanged a hidden, lethal cultivation method for Dao Merit and learned that a high-grade method cost far more than he could easily earn. On the journey home, Senior Brother Qiu introduced him to Immortal Dao crafts, and Zhang Jing arrived at Yong'an Academy to reunite with his family.

• Senior Brother Liu discovered that Zhang Jing’s Azure Sparrow Qi-Gathering Method was a trap designed to turn cultivators into a White Bone Three-Origin Great Elixir, and offered him three hundred Dao Merit for it.
• Senior Brother Liu told Zhang Jing that a high-grade cultivation method cost nine thousand Dao Merit and advised him to prioritize cultivation and reach the Inner Academy.
• Senior Brother Liu arranged for Zhang Jing to travel home aboard an Azure Firmament Spirit Crane, then identified the method as connected to the Three-Lives White Bone Dao and the Decaying-Bone Crow.
• Senior Brother Qiu praised Zhang Jing’s assessment performance and encouraged him to visit the Thousand Techniques Pavilion to learn about Immortal Dao crafts.
• The Azure Firmament Spirit Crane arrived at Yong'an Academy with Zhang Jing and more than a dozen failed assessors, and Master Liu welcomed Zhang Jing and urged him to go home to his parents.

Zhang Jing returned home after placing third in the Dao Academy assessment, accepted the Ji Clan’s support, and learned they had dealt with the threat from the Hundred Medicines Pavilion. After helping his parents settle into a new residence, he returned to Dragon Lake Dao Academy and arrived at the Luodu Squad’s island.

• Zhang Jing reunited with his parents and reassured them that the Ji Clan’s gifts and residence were offered in goodwill.
• Ji Xianming visited Zhang Jing, explained the Hundred Medicines Pavilion’s threats, and said the pavilion owner and the rogue cultivator backing him had been dealt with.
• Zhang Jing stayed home through the Chang'an Festival, moved his parents into their new residence, and watched his family become prominent in the city.
• Zhang Jing returned to Dragon Lake Dao Academy after a ten-day journey and contacted Zhang Yangchu for a pickup.
• Zhang Yangchu carried Zhang Jing by Flying Sword past the many Mission Team islands and brought him to the Luodu Squad’s vast island.

Zhang Yangchu brought Zhang Jing to Luodu Squad’s Merit Hall to register him and secure the promised cave abode and middle-grade inheritance voucher. Zhang Jing received both, and Tong Yao agreed to take him on a mission soon as Zhang Yangchu left.

• Zhang Yangchu explained that Luodu Squad’s strength came from its Inner Academy connections, but its members had to accept dangerous demon-suppression missions and train future disciples.
• Zhang Yangchu brought Zhang Jing to the Merit Hall, where Tong Yao registered him on the squad roster and gave him a jade slip about the Dao Academy and Luodu Squad.
• Zhang Yangchu told Tong Yao that Zhang Jing had placed third in an unusually difficult assessment, impressing her with his performance against exceptional candidates.
• Tong Yao gave Zhang Jing the key to West Cave Abode Twenty-Three and a voucher for a middle-grade inheritance after Zhang Yangchu confirmed the captains had approved them.
• Zhang Yangchu asked Tong Yao to take Zhang Jing on a suitable mission, reminded him to collect his Purple Spirit Pills on the first of each month, and departed.

Zhang Jing learned how the Luodu Squad handled Demon-Suppression Missions and decided that making talismans offered a better way to earn Dao Merit. He settled into West No. 23 Cave Abode, whose dense spiritual qi accelerated his cultivation, then set out to pursue a Talisman Making inheritance.

• Tong Yao explained the Luodu Squad's ranks, mission rules, and rewards to Zhang Jing.
• Zhang Jing decided solo missions would not earn Dao Merit quickly enough and planned to focus on Talisman Making.
• Zhang Jing used his Jade Key to find and open West No. 23 Cave Abode, discovering its dense spiritual qi and many facilities.
• Zhang Jing cultivated overnight in the cave abode and saw his progress toward the third level of Qi Refining accelerate.
• Zhang Jing took out his Middle-Grade Inheritance exchange voucher and headed out to pursue a Talisman Making inheritance.

Zhang Jing rented a Spirit Crane and exchanged his Middle-Grade Inheritance voucher for the Ninefold Evolution Spirit Star Talisman Canon. He then rode to the Thousand Techniques Pavilion to look for Talisman Making materials.

• Zhang Jing rented a Spirit Crane for two Spirit Stones after learning that buying one would cost a hundred Dao Merit.
• Zhang Jing exchanged his Middle-Grade Inheritance voucher for the Ninefold Evolution Spirit Star Talisman Canon, despite Senior Brother Liu urging him to focus on cultivation.
• Senior Brother Liu gave Zhang Jing the Jade Slip, which contained Talisman Making methods and instructions for nearly twenty kinds of talismans.
• Zhang Jing rode his Spirit Crane to the Thousand Techniques Pavilion and followed the other disciples through its great gate.

Zhang Jing explored the Thousand Techniques Pavilion and studied the prices and quality of talismans, deciding that making and selling them could earn him substantial Dao Merit. After buying talisman-making supplies, he left the pavilion with barely a hundred Dao Merit remaining.

• Zhang Jing entered a talisman shop and examined the prices of low-, mid-, and high-grade talismans, noting the strong demand and potential profits.
• Zhang Jing concluded that his Jade Talisman's skill proficiency and the [Ninefold Evolution Spirit Star Talisman Canon] could eventually help him make valuable talismans to sell.
• A senior brother pulled Zhang Jing to a stall offering cheaper talismans, but Zhang Jing questioned their quality, tried to bargain, and left without buying any.
• Zhang Jing visited a shop for talisman-making materials and spent most of his remaining Dao Merit on spirit ink, brushes, and blank spirit paper.
• Zhang Jing found his Spirit Crane outside the Thousand Techniques Pavilion and flew away on its back.

Zhang Jing set up a talisman-making room and began learning the Spirit Star Nine Evolutions method by drawing Star-Attracting Talismans. After repeated failures, he produced a superior-quality talisman and raised his technique to level one, gaining the intermediate Talisman Source Nurturing trait.

• Zhang Jing returned the Spirit Crane and went to his cave abode after deciding to buy talisman-making supplies at the Thousand Techniques Pavilion.
• Zhang Jing cleared a chamber and arranged it as a talisman-making room, then studied the Spirit Star Nine Evolutions method in the Ninefold Evolution Spirit Star Talisman Canon.
• Zhang Jing chose to make a Star-Attracting Talisman and failed his first attempt, gaining one experience point in the technique.
• Zhang Jing used the Mind's Eye state on his second attempt and drew half the talisman's patterns before failing, raising his experience to seven out of seventy.
• On his eleventh attempt, Zhang Jing completed a superior-quality Star-Attracting Talisman and reached level one in the Ninefold Evolution Spirit Star Talisman Canon, awakening the intermediate Talisman Source Nurturing trait.

Zhang Jing discovered that Talisman Source Nurturing could eventually make talisman production far more reliable, then spent a month cultivating and making talismans. He advanced to the Qi Refining Third Layer and prepared to sell his finished talismans and restock supplies.

• Zhang Jing realized that successful talisman-making could help him condense source talismans, allowing him to reproduce talismans without failure once he had enough spiritual power.
• After two days of testing, Zhang Jing found that his ordinary success rate for Star-Attracting Talismans was about ten percent, rising to around thirty percent when he activated the Mind's Eye Dao seed.
• Zhang Jing tried to infuse a Star-Attracting Talisman with Nether Flood Dragon Devouring the Void Dao Rhythm, but the lower-grade spirit paper disintegrated before he finished it.
• After a month of cultivation and talisman-making, Zhang Jing advanced to the Qi Refining Third Layer, and his Five-Law Spirit River gained room for twelve law technique fish.
• Zhang Jing reviewed his cultivation progress, then planned to visit the Thousand Techniques Pavilion to sell some of his talismans and buy more spirit paper and spirit ink.

Zhang Jing sold forty superior-quality Star-Attracting Talismans to the Thousand Techniques Pavilion for eighty Dao Merit and received a Communication Talisman for future sales. As he explored the market, a stranger offered an unusually high price for more talismans, making Zhang Jing wary.

• Zhang Jing visited the Thousand Techniques Pavilion's talisman shop to sell his superior-quality talismans.
• Ruan Xing'er called Senior Brother Zhu after Zhang Jing said he had dozens of low-grade superior-quality talismans.
• Senior Brother Zhu bought forty of Zhang Jing's Star-Attracting Talismans at two Dao Merit each and gave him a Communication Talisman for future sales.
• A middle-aged man in blue robes stopped Zhang Jing and offered forty Dao Merit for ten defensive and ten offensive talismans.
• Zhang Jing questioned the man's unusually high offer and suspected he had an ulterior motive.

Zhang Jing sold a small batch of talismans to a Jiaya Squad member who tried to recruit him, then spent Dao Merit on cultivation pills and talisman materials. He left the Thousand Techniques Pavilion determined to return and make more talismans.

• A Jiaya Squad member offered Zhang Jing a place in his squad while buying ten superior-quality talismans for twenty Dao Merit.
• Zhang Jing declined the recruitment offer because he was already in the Luodu Squad, and the man asked him to provide twenty talismans each month.
• Zhang Jing checked his Dao Merit and realized the Heavenly Craft Pavilion had deducted one merit for his Spirit-Concentrating Meditation Cushion.
• At the pill shop, Zhang Jing bought two bottles of Purple Spirit Pills and one expensive Origin Water Pill.
• Zhang Jing bought spirit paper and spirit ink, then left the Thousand Techniques Pavilion on a Spirit Crane, thinking he should hurry back to make talismans.

The Inheritance Pavilion announced that Myriad Gods Lesser Void Heaven would open in eighteen months to help disciples compete for places in Clear Firmament Mysterious Bright Heaven, and ordered the Outer Court’s qualified youngsters to join. Chen Xiandao and Zhang Jing prepared to leave on demon-slaying assignments with support and guidance from their senior fellow disciples.

• The Pavilion Master told the Inner Academy disciples that Clear Firmament Mysterious Bright Heaven would open in five years and that Dragon Lake would open Myriad Gods Lesser Void Heaven in eighteen months to help them prepare for the True Spirit Ranking.
• Senior Brother Jia told Chen Xiandao that the Coiling Dragon Squad would supply him with high-grade spirit pills and cultivation guidance, aiming to help him reach the tenth level of Qi Refining within a year and a half.
• Chen Xiandao insisted on completing his own assignment and said he would leave the next day to slay demons in Langya Commandery, Yun Province.
• Senior Sister Nanshu arranged for a Mistglow Squad junior sister to join a demon-slaying assignment and reminded her to collect Green Grain Spirit-Boosting Pills.
• Tong Yao gave Zhang Jing two Golden Armor Talismans and a Wind Sword Talisman for his first assignment, then told him they would be slaying demons.

Zhang Jing prepared for a long mission to help suppress a demonic uprising in Langya Commandery, Yun Province, and used an Origin Water Pill to strengthen his cultivation before departing. He and his companions reached the ravaged region, where streams of demonic qi rose across the land.

• Tong Yao told Zhang Jing that their squad would hunt low-level demons in Langya Commandery and instructed him to meet at the Spirit Crane Garden.
• Zhang Jing failed to inscribe Dao rhythm onto medium-grade spirit paper, then cultivated overnight with an Origin Water Pill and greatly strengthened his spiritual power.
• Zhang Jing met Senior Brother Ding, Xia Yuan, and Zhou Zhi at the Spirit Crane Garden before setting out with Tong Yao.
• The five Spirit Cranes carried the group to Yun Province after a day and a half of travel.
• Zhang Jing saw the cities and settlements of Langya Commandery beneath streams of demonic qi as the Spirit Cranes descended.

Zhang Jing and the Dao Academy disciples arrived in Black Mountain County to investigate reports of demons, though the county appeared peaceful. The county magistrate revealed that three gray-robed cultivators had recently cleared the demons, and Senior Brother Ding went to meet them.

• Senior Brother Ding explained that the group would clear demons across nine counties and warned Zhang Jing to be cautious on his first mission.
• County magistrate Shen He hosted three gray-robed men and offered them young women, while the black-mole man agreed to go with Shen He to greet the arriving Dao Academy disciples.
• Senior Brother Ding told Tong Yao that the group had come to the county offices because the peaceful county contradicted the Dao Academy's demon-suppression mission.
• Shen He claimed Black Mountain County had been peaceful because several other cultivators had driven the demons into hiding.
• Senior Brother Ding looked at the Rogue Cultivators outside the door and said the Dao Academy group would take its leave.

Zhang Jing spent the night at the county office making talismans and cultivating, while three rogue cultivators plotted to ambush the Dao Academy disciples in a supernatural fog. After killing a disguised demon at his door, Zhang Jing spotted the three conspirators and pursued them, confident in his preparations.

• Senior Brother Ding accepted the County Magistrate’s offer to stay at the county office, and Zhang Jing continued making talismans and cultivating through the night.
• Three rogue cultivators discussed killing the Dao Academy disciples before they could expose Lord Yin, planning to use the fog and a law artifact to ambush them.
• A bailiff warned Zhang Jing that demons were inside the county office, then revealed himself as a demon that burst out of its human skin and attacked.
• Zhang Jing blocked the demon with the Ice-Light Incantation and killed it with the Ice Condensation Edge-Forming Technique.
• Zhang Jing recognized three Early Qi Refining rogue cultivators in the fog and pursued them, trusting his layered defenses and talismans.

Zhang Jing defeated three rogue cultivators who ambushed him and learned that Lord Yin controlled the deadly fog and Changpi Ghosts in Black Mountain County. After his fellow Dao Academy disciples discovered he had reached the third Qi Refining layer, an approaching mass of footsteps surrounded the group.

• Zhang Jing killed the old rogue cultivator and resisted the mole-faced man's knife Law Artifact with his protective spiritual light.
• The mole-faced man surrendered and told Zhang Jing that Lord Yin lived in an underground palace beneath Black Mountain County, reached through a secret passage near the eastern city wall.
• Zhang Jing killed the mole-faced man and found only a few Spirit Stones and battered Law Artifacts in the rogue cultivators' Storage Bags.
• Senior Brother Ding, Senior Sister Tong, and the others arrived, and Senior Sister Tong reproached Zhang Jing for acting alone.
• Zhang Jing confirmed he had reached the Qi Refining third layer, astonishing his companions.
• Footsteps surged toward the group from every direction, and Senior Brother Ding and the others prepared for danger.

Zhang Jing joined Senior Brother Ding and the others in tracking Lord Yin, a black tiger Yaomo, into the Underground Palace beneath the county city. When Lord Yin broke through to the Qi Refining fifth layer and lunged at Zhang Jing’s group, Zhang Jing unleashed his techniques and talismans, blasting the tiger backward.

• Senior Brother Ding, Senior Brother Zhou, and Senior Brother Xia slaughtered the Changpi Ghosts while Zhang Jing replenished his Law Techniques.
• Lord Yin sensed the deaths of the Changpi Ghosts, collected its Scarlet Liquid and other belongings, and prepared to flee the Underground Palace.
• Zhang Jing led the group to an entrance beneath the county city, and Senior Brother Liu led them into the Underground Palace.
• A gigantic tiger ambushed Senior Brother Ding, who identified it as the Yaomo they were hunting and hurried deeper into the tunnels.
• Senior Brother Ding told the others to retreat after Lord Yin broke through to the Qi Refining fifth layer, but the tiger lunged at Zhang Jing and the others.
• Zhang Jing unleashed three Ice Condensation Edge-Forming Techniques and thirty Scorching Sun Talismans, blasting Lord Yin backward.

Zhang Jing and Senior Brother Ding killed the Black Tiger Demon after Zhang Jing’s Scorching Sun Talismans blasted it back. The group discovered Zhang Jing had made the talismans himself and found a valuable Demon Core in the tiger’s remains.

• Zhang Jing’s talismans blasted the Black Tiger Demon back, giving Senior Brother Ding the chance to kill it with his Jade-Green Bamboo Staff.
• Senior Brother Ding offered Zhang Jing the tiger’s remains and promised to repay him for the talismans, but Zhang Jing said he had made them himself and the materials covered their cost.
• Tong Yao, Senior Brother Xia, Senior Brother Zhou, and Senior Brother Ding reacted with shock when Zhang Jing revealed his talisman-making skill and the quality of his talismans.
• Senior Sister Tong found a Demon Core in the Black Tiger Demon’s remains and said it could sell for at least fifty Dao Merit.
• Senior Brother Ding explained how Demon Cores were used to refine spirit pills, and Zhang Jing put the core away.

Zhang Jing examined the demon tiger’s Storage Bag and found sinister inheritances and strange liquids that suggested cultivators were being raised for harvest. After reaching the devastated Yinshan County City, he and his companions learned that Yaomo had starved the city and traded grain for people, then set out to attack their hideout.

• Zhang Jing found a scarlet Millstone, two inheritances, and two mysterious liquids in the demon tiger’s Storage Bag, and suspected the cultivators were being raised for their essence, qi, and spirit.
• Zhang Jing and the others emerged from the Underground Palace to find Yinshan County City silent, its streets haunted by the dried skins of its victims.
• Tong Yao, Senior Brother Xia, Senior Brother Zhou, and Senior Brother Ding bought Star-Attracting Talismans from Zhang Jing.
• Three days later, Senior Brother Zhou and Senior Brother Xia reported that Yaomo had burned the city’s grain stores, colluded with aristocratic clans, and driven residents to sell one another for food.
• Senior Brother Ding learned that the Yaomo leader was a Pig Demon suspected to be at middle Qi Refining, then led the group toward the hideout.

Zhang Jing and his fellow Dao Academy disciples reached Langya Commandery City, where he discovered that his Pure Origin Breath-Absorbing Visualization Method had gained the intermediate-grade Crimson Spirit Light trait. After using it to cleanse a Demon Core of its lingering resentment, Zhang Jing was summoned to meet Deputy Captain Senior Brother Li.

• Zhang Jing and the others arrived in Langya Commandery City after a difficult half-month journey and found an inn to rest.
• Rogue cultivators in the inn discussed the Dao Academy’s growing presence and the opportunity to hunt demons for guidance and resources.
• Zhang Jing’s Pure Origin Breath-Absorbing Visualization Method reached level four and gained the intermediate-grade Crimson Spirit Light trait.
• Zhang Jing realized Crimson Spirit Light could clear distracting thoughts and tested it on the Black Tiger Demon’s Demon Core, purifying it of resentment.
• Senior Brother Ding told Zhang Jing that Deputy Captain Senior Brother Li wanted to see him, and Zhang Jing set out to meet him.

Zhang Jing met Senior Brother Li, who offered the Luodu Squad’s support for his talisman-making and promised protection and resources for his talent. After Zhang Jing revealed that all his successful Lower-Grade Talismans were superior quality, Senior Brother Li took him to meet the squad’s talisman masters so his abilities could be verified and he could become a high-level member.

• Senior Brother Ding told Zhang Jing that Senior Brother Li wanted to meet him after learning he could make talismans.
• Senior Brother Li offered to supply Zhang Jing with materials and buy his Lower-Grade Talismans, and urged him not to hide his abilities.
• Zhang Jing told Senior Brother Li that his success rate was around forty percent and every successful talisman was superior quality.
• Senior Brother Li praised Zhang Jing and took him to meet the Luodu Squad’s other talisman masters for a demonstration and high-level membership verification.
• Senior Brother Li explained that high-level members could use the squad’s resource repository and exchange for cultivation resources at a discount.

Zhang Jing proved his talisman-making skill and was promoted to a high-level member of the Luodu Squad. After Senior Brother Yan gave him market access and free materials, Zhang Jing decided to sell talismans in Langya Commandery City to obtain demon cores and turn them into Dao Merit.

• Senior Brother Li brought Zhang Jing to Senior Brother Yan and two other talisman masters to verify his lower-grade talisman-making success rate.
• Zhang Jing made talismans that astonished the observers, and Senior Brother Li arranged for his promotion to high-level member.
• Senior Brother Yan offered Zhang Jing a market shop key and address and provided him with five hundred sheets of spirit paper and spirit ink each month.
• Zhang Jing learned that talismans were in high demand in Langya Commandery City's temporary markets and decided to sell them for demon cores instead of hunting demons with Senior Brother Ding and the others.