Chapter Summaries

Nie Chao awakened Sword Qi and helped kill the Qilin Lord, then accepted the sword-robed Daoist as his master. He learned the qilin had been possessed by a Devil Cultivator and chose to keep his ordinary iron sword, naming it Sacrificial Qilin Lord.

• The Qilin Lord threatened Nie Chao, but he refused to yield and awakened Sword Qi through his ordinary iron sword.
• A fat beggar struck the Qilin Lord with a chicken bone, revealed himself as a sword-robed Daoist, and defeated it with Azure Sword Qi.
• Nie Chao killed the wounded Qilin Lord with a thrust through its brow and agreed to become the Daoist’s disciple.
• The Daoist explained that a Devil Cultivator had possessed the true Qilin Lord, whose Demon Beast Core had been shattered by Nie Chao’s grandmaster a hundred years earlier.
• Nie Chao decided to keep his iron sword and named it Sacrificial Qilin Lord.

Song Yan learned the body-refining method Nie Chao had inherited from the sword-robed Daoist, then left the Two-Pole Realm and hurried toward the center of the Sword-Wiping Realm as his Spirit Marks faded. At Flowing Cloud Cliff, three Tongchen Peak disciples prepared to ambush a lone cultivator entering the safe area, only to recognize Song Yan.

• Song Yan discovered that the Two-Pole Realm had passed on the body-refining method used by Nie Chao to refine Demon Beast Essence Blood.
• Song Yan decided to wait until the Sword-Wiping Assembly ended before practicing the method, then woke and saw that Xiao He had been waiting for him.
• Song Yan checked his fading Spirit Marks, bowed to the autobiography on the cavern wall, and hurried toward the central region with Xiao He.
• Three Tongchen Peak disciples hid at Flowing Cloud Cliff and planned to ambush an approaching cultivator.
• The disciples saw Song Yan approaching through the mist and recognized his Sword-Wiping Peak robes and Sword Case.

Song Yan entered the restriction and defeated three cultivators, taking their Spirit-Pattern Jade Tokens and raising his recorded number to twenty-six. With the assembly nearly halfway over, he realized that finding more opponents would become increasingly difficult.

• Song Yan returned to the restriction with five layers on his spirit marks and found three cultivators waiting on Flowing Cloud Cliff.
• The three cultivators attacked Song Yan, but he used Azure Sword Qi and sword shadows to counter their spells and Flying Sword.
• Song Yan eliminated the two Qi Refining seventh-layer cultivators and absorbed their spirit marks, raising his count to eighteen.
• Song Yan broke through the cultivator surnamed Guo's spiritual shields and eliminated him, increasing his count to twenty-six.
• Song Yan considered how many participants avoided fighting or had already been eliminated outside the restriction, and concluded that he had little time or prey left.

Gu Qingqing ran into Song Yan after helping teleport him away and ended up leading him toward Li Pang. Outside the Grotto-Heaven Realm, Qin Xijun and the elders watched the Sword-Wiping Assembly as the remaining contestants prepared for more intense battles.

• Gu Qingqing watched Song Yan defeat his ambushers, tried to slip away, and was caught by him in the bushes.
• Song Yan questioned Gu Qingqing about the teleportation talisman, and she blamed Li Pang before revealing he had fled north toward the maple woods.
• Song Yan made Gu Qingqing lead him along a quieter path, and she asked to hide when they found Li Pang.
• At Sword-Wiping Peak, Qin Xijun worried that Song Yan was not hurrying through the event while the elders discussed Li Yi and Yuwen Yao as leading contenders.
• The elders reviewed the top twenty-two standings, which listed Song Yan in seventeenth place, as 128 contestants remained in the restriction.

Li Yi searched the Sword-Wiping Assembly for opponents and eagerly fought a disciple he encountered. Later, Gu Qingqing lured Chen Youcai and Bai He into an ambush, where Song Yan appeared and took their Spirit Marks.

• Li Yi complained that the central district was empty and charged southeast when someone appeared on his map.
• Li Yi ignored the disciple's introduction and demanded a bout, while the disciple pleaded for mercy.
• With only about seventy cultivators left, Gu Qingqing walked alone through a forest and drew the attention of Chen Youcai and Bai He.
• Chen Youcai and Bai He approached Gu Qingqing, hoping to take the Spirit Marks from her token.
• Gu Qingqing called for her Senior Brother Song, and an empowered Unmoored Boat cut down the two men's protective Spiritual Qi and knocked their jade tokens loose.
• Song Yan appeared behind Chen Youcai and Bai He and asked to borrow their Spirit Marks.

Song Yan reached Deer-Chasing Plain and intervened when Li Qingfeng was cornered by the Kong brothers over a Golden-Vein Spirit-Dispersing Herb. He claimed the herb and Li Qingfeng’s Spirit Marks, then faced Kong You’s stare.

• Song Yan and Gu Qingqing continued toward Deer-Chasing Plain, where they met Cen Qinghe and two other disciples, who handed over their Spirit Marks before leaving.
• Song Yan and Gu Qingqing spotted Li Qingfeng fleeing through the Ancient Vine Forest with a Golden-Vein Spirit-Dispersing Herb while Kong You and Kong Yun pursued him.
• Li Qingfeng counterattacked Kong Yun with the Heaven-Swallowing Art, then absorbed Kong You’s lightning strike before collapsing and dropping the herb.
• Song Yan caught the herb, took Li Qingfeng’s Spirit-Pattern Jade Token, and sent him out of the restriction, raising his own total to sixty-nine Spirit Marks.
• Song Yan stored the herb in a medicinal case and found Kong You staring at him.

Song Yan and Kong You faced off in the Ancient Vine Forest, where their powerful sword and thunder techniques shook the battlefield. The duel remained unresolved as Li Yi watched without intervening.

• Song Yan and Kong You sent Gu Qingqing and Kong Yun away before preparing to fight one-on-one.
• Kong You unleashed purple lightning, while Song Yan dodged and attacked with Azure Sword Qi and eighteen Sword Shadows.
• Song Yan merged the Sword Shadows into a condensed streak of sword light that met Kong You's lightning and blasted away the mist.
• Li Yi arrived and watched the duel, choosing not to attack either fighter.

Song Yan defeated Kong You by combining his flying sword with Sword Qi, then took Kong You’s Spirit-Pattern Jade Token. His score rose to 116 as the watching cultivators struggled to understand the victory.

• Kong You used Thousand-Fathom Rain, but Song Yan unleashed Tide-Severing and shattered the water blades and thunderclouds.
• Song Yan sent Unmoored Boat through Kong You’s flowing-water cocoon, causing the defensive technique to collapse.
• Song Yan sat down to recover while Unmoored Boat returned carrying Kong You’s Spirit-Pattern Jade Token.
• Song Yan transferred Kong You’s 47 points to his own token, raising his score from 69 to 116.

Song Yan and Li Yi fended off cultivators who tried to seize their spirit marks as the Sword Trial selection entered its final moments. Li Yi cleared the Ancient Vine Forest while Song Yan’s total rose to 152, leaving the two still set to settle their strength on the Sword-Discussion Platform.

• Li Yi refused to attack Song Yan while he was vulnerable and challenged him to a later fight on the Sword-Discussion Platform.
• When disciples ambushed Song Yan, Li Yi drove them off and eliminated four Taiping Peak disciples by taking their tokens.
• Song Yan used Void-Viewing and two flying swords to defeat more attackers, raising his spirit marks to 152.
• Li Yi fought off the cultivators converging on him as the restrictions pressed inward, while Xiao He collected tokens for Song Yan.
• Song Yan watched Li Yi’s powerful halberd techniques but gained little insight into his methods.

The Sword-Wiping Domain selection ended, and Xu Ziqing announced the twenty-two disciples advancing to the next stage, with Li Yi first and Song Yan second. Song Yan prepared for the duels in three days while Yang Wenxuan resolved to investigate him further.

• Yang Wenxuan discussed Song Yan with a young female disciple and decided he would accompany her to approach him later.
• Lin Qing watched Song Yan and wondered whether he was a friend or foe, while Yuwen Yao kept her distance as the restriction contracted.
• Xu Ziqing announced the end of the selection after fewer than twenty-two disciples remained, and the jade tokens transported everyone to the Sword-Discussion Platform.
• Xu Ziqing named the twenty-two advancing disciples, including Li Yi with 424 spirit marks, Song Yan with 191, and Sun Zhengfu.
• Li Yi praised Song Yan's swordsmanship and challenged him to a duel in three days, then left Sword-Wiping Peak.
• Song Yan, Gu Qingqing, Li Qingfeng, Cen Qinghe, and Sun Zhengfu talked before Song Yan and Sun Zhengfu left to prepare for the deciding matches.

Song Yan finished refining the Sacrificial Qilin Lord and considered how he would use it alongside his other Flying Swords. Elder Yang Wenxuan and his disciple Qin Sheng visited to congratulate him, then Yang asked what he knew about the South Chu Qin Clan, leaving Song Yan to weigh his poor impression of the clan.

• Song Yan examined the Sacrificial Qilin Lord, confirmed it had no hidden secret, and decided to keep it in the Useless Sword Case with Joined Branches.
• Song Yan reflected on the Sword-Robed Daoist’s words about Senior Nie Chao’s grandmaster going to a faraway place and planned to study Sword Formations after the Sword-Wiping Grand Assembly.
• Elder Yang Wenxuan and Qin Sheng arrived at Song Yan’s cave abode, and Yang congratulated him on his performance at the Sword-Wiping Grand Assembly.
• Yang introduced Qin Sheng as his disciple, and Song Yan noticed that she resembled Senior Sister Qin Ying.
• Yang asked Song Yan whether he had heard of the South Chu Qin Clan, and Song Yan recognized it as one of the Four Great Immortal Clans while recalling his poor impression of its conduct.

Yang Wenxuan tried to recruit Song Yan for the Qin Lineage, then attacked him and searched his belongings under the pretext of investigating possible Devil Cultivator ties. The search ended with Yang Wenxuan taking the Mysterious Calamity Spirit-Worshipping Veil and the Evil Cultivator Notes from Song Yan's Heaven and Earth Bag.

• Yang Wenxuan introduced Qin Sheng as Qin Ying's younger clan sister and hinted that the Qin Lineage could support Song Yan's cultivation.
• Song Yan declined to join the Qin Lineage's faction, citing his mediocre aptitude and gratitude to Senior Qin Xijun.
• Yang Wenxuan questioned how Song Yan had advanced so quickly and defeated powerful opponents, then bound Song Yan and Xiao He with Spiritual Power.
• Yang Wenxuan searched Song Yan's Heaven and Earth Bag but did not recognize the Two-Pole Bead's secret.
• Yang Wenxuan removed the Mysterious Calamity Spirit-Worshipping Veil and the Evil Cultivator Notes from the bag.

After Yang Wenxuan searched Song Yan’s belongings and warned him against opposing the Qin Lineage, Song Yan told Qin Xijun what had happened and learned of her history with the clan. Qin Xijun revealed that the lineage’s recent Spirit Pill could improve cultivation aptitude, leaving Song Yan wondering whether it was connected to a pill he had once found.

• Yang Wenxuan returned Song Yan’s belongings after inspecting them, then warned Qin Sheng that Song Yan’s unusual Spiritual Power might contain Sword Qi and ordered her to report the encounter to the clan elders.
• Song Yan told Qin Xijun that Yang Wenxuan had searched his Heaven and Earth Bag, and he said he wanted to handle any future conflict himself.
• Qin Xijun revealed that she had been born into the Qin Lineage and left her position as an elder after rejecting its increasingly sordid methods of recruiting allies.
• Qin Xijun said the Qin Lineage had developed a Spirit Pill that could improve cultivation aptitude and had helped Qin Ying cultivate unusually quickly.
• Song Yan recalled the Spirit-Transforming Blood Pill he had once obtained from Devil Cultivators and wondered whether it was related to the Qin Lineage’s pill.

Song Yan learned of Qin Xijun’s suspicion that the Qin Lineage’s aptitude-enhancing pill was tied to the demonic path, then returned to his cave abode to begin refining his body with Qilin blood. The chapter left him enduring a painful medicinal bath as the blood began reshaping his flesh.

• Qin Xijun told Song Yan that children with poor aptitude had disappeared or died and that she suspected their deaths were connected to a mysterious pill and the demonic path.
• Song Yan learned that Yang Wenxuan was responsible for investigating such incidents in the Dongyuan Sect, and Qin Xijun warned him to keep his distance from the Qin Lineage.
• Song Yan resolved to grow stronger and join Demon-Exorcising Peak, then visited Lingyuan Marsh Market to buy spirit medicines.
• Song Yan prepared a medicinal bath with Qilin precious blood, spirit medicines, and a drop of his own essence blood.
• Song Yan entered the cauldron and circulated spiritual Qi through his meridians as the scorching medicinal liquid began reshaping his body.

Song Yan completed a body-tempering session that strengthened his body and meridians, letting him wield his Sword Qi more freely. On the day of the decisive contest, he arrived at Sword-Wiping Peak as spectators gathered and Ju Luyi watched from the western stands.

• Song Yan absorbed the demon blood and medicinal liquid over thirty-six hours, strengthening his body, meridians, and Sword Mansion of the Dao-Subduing.
• Song Yan tested his increased strength and Sword Qi, then buried the medicinal dregs and practiced before the contest.
• Ju Luyi arrived at Sword-Wiping Peak with the Seamless Heavenly Garment group and was told by their leader to stop handling the embroideries and help set up.
• Song Yan entered the arena with the other finalists, including Li Yi, while spectators praised his earlier victory and a Taiping Peak disciple mocked his chances against Li Yi.
• Song Yan noticed Ju Luyi in the western spectator area and nodded to greet her.

Song Yan listened as the final stage’s rules were announced, then watched the opening knockout matches begin. Shao Sichao won his bout with a technique called Shewang, while Song Yan waited for his own match.

• Ju Luyi realized Song Yan had been greeting Senior Sister Zhao, while Xiang Zhaoling teased Song Yan and sparked Sun Zhengfu’s suspicion.
• Luo Xiaming announced that the opening round would reduce twenty-two contestants to eleven, followed by a round-robin tournament to determine the top ten and two reserves.
• Daoist Li Jun arrived, and the final stage officially began as the contestants received their drawn numbers.
• Song Yan drew number seventeen and watched the first bouts, focusing on Shao Sichao’s match against a Taiping Peak disciple.
• Shao Sichao used Shewang to break his opponent’s protective spiritual Qi and paralyze him, winning the bout.

Song Yan won his first-round match on the central Sword-Discussion Platform, then watched Xiang Zhaoling reveal her Gu Arts and defeat Zhai Yin. Her victory reminded the spectators that she was a formidable fighter.

• Song Yan used the Void-Viewing Sword Eye to suspect that Shao Sichao had restricted his opponent's Spiritual Power and blood circulation with poison.
• Song Yan defeated the round-faced Qi Refining Eighth Layer cultivator with Azure Sword Qi, and the opponent conceded.
• Li Yi noticed that Song Yan's Sword Qi seemed stronger than it had been in the Grotto-Heaven Realm.
• Xiang Zhaoling used a moon-white Gu insect to send crescent blades at Zhai Yin, then released a black-and-purple butterfly Gu that left him dazed.
• Xiang Zhaoling pushed Zhai Yin off the platform, and Daoist Li Jun recognized her display as the uncanny Gu Arts of the Southern Border.

Song Yan watched the Sword-Discussion bouts and grew concerned as Sun Zhengfu faced the aggressive Ye Tian. When Ye Tian’s heavy sword closed in, Sun Zhengfu used a golden rune from his bamboo slips and stopped the attack with a single word.

• Xiang Zhaoling told Song Yan that her Gu insects came from a Southern Border cultivation lineage and mentioned a crudely named insect.
• Li Yi’s opponent conceded, while Lin Qing quickly defeated number twenty-one with an ink-like Law Technique.
• Song Yan suspected that Lin Qing might be the person called Che Ning, who had explored Lin Qinglong’s tomb with them.
• Sun Zhengfu faced Ye Tian, whose heavy sword attack swept across the platform but failed to knock him off.
• Remembering Song Yan’s relentless progress, Sun Zhengfu resolved to show his own spirit and said, “Stop,” halting Ye Tian’s sword with a golden rune.

Sun Zhengfu defeated Ye Tian with the Bamboo Slip’s Confucian Dao power, then collapsed from the strain. After the first elimination round ended, the round-robin tournament began, opening with Song Yan facing Yuwen Yao.

• Sun Zhengfu used the words “Disperse” and “Retreat” to weaken Ye Tian and knock him off the platform, winning their match.
• Sun Zhengfu collapsed unconscious after his victory, and the officiating elder announced the first round’s eleven advancing disciples.
• After a two-hour rest, the round-robin tournament began, with the eleven disciples set to face one another for points and rankings.
• The officiating elder paired Song Yan against Yuwen Yao on the central platform while the other matches began elsewhere.
• Yuwen Yao proposed that Song Yan win by enduring her three strongest palm strikes, and Song Yan agreed.

Song Yan faced Yuwen Yao in a sword-testing duel and endured her first two powerful palm strikes. He defeated her final azure dragon seal with a burst of Sword Essence, leaving the spectators stunned.

• Yuwen Yao struck Song Yan with Azure Dragon Explores with Its Claws and slammed him into the platform, but he emerged from the dust cloud unharmed.
• Yuwen Yao launched two handprints with Roaming the Heavens, and Song Yan countered them with Tide-Severing.
• Yuwen Yao drank wine to restore her Spiritual Power and unleashed her final palm strike, High Wilderness, which formed an enormous azure dragon.
• Song Yan drove Unmoored Boat into the platform and poured out his Sword Qi to withstand the dragon's attack.
• Song Yan released Sword Essence from his fingertip, pierced the azure dragon seal, and brought the duel to a close as the spectators fell silent.