Chapter Summaries

Qin Tiexin arrived at the Morning Star Training Ground and began the written examination for the Star Selection in Li Hall. He answered the questions he knew confidently and skipped uncertain ones as the examination continued.

• Qin Tiexin reached the Morning Star Training Ground, found his assignment to Li Hall, and passed the entrance inspection.
• Qin Tiexin took his station in the hall and noticed Ling Shuyao among the candidates.
• The Spirit-Locking Grand Array activated, restricting candidates' spiritual power while allowing them to use Divine Sense at their own stations.
• The prince announced the examination rules and started the test of three thousand randomly ordered questions.
• Qin Tiexin answered questions using his knowledge of artifact-refining materials, arrays, and military strategy, while skipping questions he could not confirm.

Qin Tiexin completed the Star Selection written exam and scored eight points, placing just outside the top thirty in Li Hall. After the exam, Ling Shuyao approached him and offered him her calling card and a discount at the Imperial Dao Arts Workshop.

• Qin Tiexin used ten strands of Divine Sense to work through the three thousand questions before the two-hour exam ended.
• The rankings showed Ling Shuyao in first place with ten points and Qin Tiexin, listed as Mingjue, with eight points.
• The results revealed that 832 of the 2,345 examinees had been eliminated from the Star Selection.
• Qin Tiexin left Li Hall and headed across the drill grounds toward the exit.
• Ling Shuyao caught up with Qin Tiexin, introduced herself by name, and offered him her calling card and a discount at the Imperial Dao Arts Workshop.

Qin Tiexin parted from Ling Shuyao after the exam and returned to the Lin Residence, while Ling Shuyao rode home with her aunt, Chen Yueling, who planned for her to take over the Imperial Dao Arts Workshop. Qin Tiexin decided to use the five-day break to consolidate his techniques and prepare to establish his foundation safely inside Ten Thousand Stars City.

• Ling Shuyao accepted a spirit tea from Chen Yueling and told her she had scored ten points on the exam.
• Chen Yueling said she would ask the emperor to let Ling Shuyao take over the Imperial Dao Arts Workshop after the Star Selection, and warned her to keep her distance from monks.
• Ling Shuyao called her interaction with Qin Tiexin a chance to forge a favorable connection, and Chen Yueling's carriage passed him on the way to the east gate.
• Qin Tiexin returned to the Lin Residence, where Ming'an eagerly asked how the exam had gone before resuming his sutras.
• Qin Tiexin reviewed his written-exam score of eight points and planned to spend the five-day break consolidating his martial techniques and preparing for Foundation Establishment.
• Qin Tiexin decided to rent a secure stone cultivation chamber in the city rather than risk traveling to a Spirit Vein convergence while Golden Summit Temple might be investigating him.

Qin Tiexin bought five-element Spirit Stones and Foundation Establishment Pills in Ten Thousand Stars City under Mingjue’s identity, unaware that the pill purchase revealed his location to three monks hunting him. After learning he was staying at the Lin Residence, the monks decided to use the Star Selection as a way to reach him.

• Qin Tiexin bought ten Middle-Grade Spirit Stones of each element at the Heavenly Star Pavilion for seven thousand five hundred Lower-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Qin Tiexin bought two bottles of Foundation Establishment Pills and registered Mingjue’s identity jade token as required by law.
• The Spirit Stone Bureau’s registration system relayed Mingjue’s purchase and address at the Lin Residence to an old monk at the Star Spirit Inn.
• The old monk told two other monks they had found Mingjue, the Zhaoming Temple survivor who had slipped through their net.
• The younger monk warned that attacking Mingjue in the city could draw the imperial family’s attention, and the middle-aged monk proposed using the Star Selection to reach him.

Golden Summit Temple arranged to have Mingjue killed during the upcoming secret realm trial, while Qin Tiexin prepared to establish his foundation after the Temperament Trial. At the trial, a candidate was caught using a Spirit-Stabilizing Anchor and was disqualified before the Heart-Questioning Mirror test began.

• Golden Summit Temple’s monks recruited six covert agents and bribed four rogue cultivators to ambush Mingjue in the secret realm.
• Qin Tiexin continued cultivating with Golden Core demon beast meat, nearing the sixty-percent essence blood threshold and preparing to establish his foundation after the trial.
• Qin Tiexin arrived at the Morning Star Training Ground for the Temperament Trial, where the prince explained that candidates would face illusions in the Heart-Questioning Mirror for up to three days.
• A deputy examiner discovered a Foundation Establishment candidate carrying a Spirit-Stabilizing Anchor that could preserve clarity in the illusion.
• The prince ordered the candidate’s identity jade token voided and permanently disqualified him from the Star Selection.

Qin Tiexin experienced a life in Ink City in which he sold his blacksmith shop, rebuilt his fortunes in Qingzhou, and rose to become a respected imperial craftsman. At seventy-five, he returned to Ink City with his wife and children.

• Qin Tiexin accepted Zhao Ming's offer of six hundred taels and left the family blacksmith shop in Soot Alley.
• Qin Tiexin rebuilt his grandfather's grave in Qingzhou and buried a ring and a lump of iron with him.
• Qin Tiexin opened a custom blacksmith shop on South Street, where his skill earned him prominent clients.
• Qin Tiexin married Fang-shi, who managed the shop's accounts as their business expanded.
• A vice minister of the Ministry of Works selected Qin Tiexin for the Artisan Manufacturing Bureau, and he moved his family to the capital.
• At seventy-five, Qin Tiexin returned to Ink City with his wife and children.

Qin Tiexin saw through an illusion of a prosperous family life and entered a second illusion in which he accepted a military commission at Xinyang Pass. The illusion followed his rise from commandant to one of the Great Xuan Dynasty’s youngest generals.

• Qin Tiexin realized that the perfect life at the Qin residence was not what he wanted, and the first layer of the illusion shattered.
• Qin Tiexin recognized that he was inside an illusion and watched as a new scene appeared at Xinyang Pass.
• Li Xun appointed Qin Tiexin Cavalry Commandant, and Qin Tiexin accepted the silver seal and chose to remain in the army.
• Qin Tiexin led three hundred soldiers to defeat eight hundred Northern Di cavalry with fewer than twenty casualties.
• Qin Tiexin rose through the ranks, expanded Xinyang Pass’s territory, and became a general at twenty-five.

Qin Tiexin built a family and a long military career after his marriage to Shen Wan, but in old age a visit to Xinyang Pass brought back vivid memories of the battle and the comrades he had lost. The chapter ended with him remembering Lin Feng’s sword lying alone in the snow.

• Qin Tiexin married Shen Wan, and they had a son, Qin An, and a daughter, Yue'er.
• Qin Tiexin returned to his hometown with Shen Wan and Qin An, saw how Soot Alley had changed, and left without going inside the teahouse built on the site of his old shop.
• Qin Tiexin rose to Deputy Commander of the North, while Qin An joined the army and became a capable commandant; Qin Tiexin hung Edgeless in his study and stopped practicing with his saber.
• Qin Tiexin agreed to let Yue'er pursue the Minister of Revenue's youngest son after first asking her to wait two years, then settling on one.
• At seventy-five, Qin Tiexin visited Xinyang Pass with a young Vice Minister of War and remembered the battle at Black Wind Valley and the comrades who had died there.
• Qin Tiexin remembered Lin Feng's sword lying alone in the snow.

Qin Tiexin rejected an illusion of a peaceful life, then escaped True Person Xueying’s blood pool and helped save the captive cultivators. A second, more perfect illusion also began to fracture when he recognized that his real path required finding Duan Xuan and traveling to the Heavenly South Domain.

• Qin Tiexin rejected the life he had lived in Mirror the Heart and Seek the Dao, and the illusion shattered.
• Qin Tiexin escaped the blood pool with the mysterious severed arm, leaving Duan Xuan and the other captives behind while promising to find help.
• A Nascent Soul True Lord killed True Person Xueying and destroyed the blood pool, allowing Qin Tiexin and the cultivators of Wind and Snow Pass to rescue more than two hundred survivors.
• Qin Tiexin fought in the battle against the Devil Race, received rewards, and remained at Wind and Snow Pass to cultivate and hunt devils.
• Qin Tiexin recognized that his intact right hand and peaceful life were another illusion, and cracks began spreading across the false world.

Qin Tiexin escaped the Temperament Trial’s three illusions, earned full marks, and left the Morning Star Training Ground with his cultivation bottleneck loosened. Near the eastern gate of Purple Jade Ward, he sensed killing intent and felt his Fire of Life surge.

• Qin Tiexin held to his Dao heart and shattered the final illusion, awakening in the Morning Star Training Ground’s main hall.
• Qin Tiexin learned that he had earned ten points for the Temperament Trial and that the Secret Realm Trial would begin in ten days.
• Qin Tiexin reflected on the three illusions and felt his bottleneck at the Peak of Qi Refining loosen.
• Qin Tiexin left the hall and headed toward the eastern gate of Purple Jade Ward to plan his cultivation.
• Qin Tiexin stopped near the gate when he sensed killing intent and his Fire of Life began pulsing violently.

Qin Tiexin sensed an unseen assassin in the woods and forced the cultivator to withdraw, then returned to the Lin Residence after passing his exam with full marks. He prepared to cultivate for the Secret Realm Trial, aware that he needed greater strength to face whoever was hunting him.

• Qin Tiexin sensed killing intent from a hidden cultivator in the woods and turned to face the threat with his iron staff.
• The concealed cultivator withdrew after recognizing Qin Tiexin's keen perception, while Qin Tiexin stayed on the road and wondered which faction had sent him.
• Qin Tiexin returned to the Lin Residence, where Ming'an asked about his exam and learned he had earned full marks.
• Ming'an showed Qin Tiexin an unfinished Buddha statue he was carving to pray for his safety, and Madam Lin served them honey spirit cakes.
• Qin Tiexin remembered the assassin and began preparing to cultivate for the Secret Realm Trial in ten days.

Qin Tiexin prepared a secluded cultivation chamber and began his Foundation Establishment attempt using a five-phase formation, Spirit Stones, and Foundation Establishment Pills. After his nine Qi vortices shattered under the first pill’s power, a new whirlpool suddenly formed at their center.

• Qin Tiexin left the Lin Residence in disguise and rented a secluded cultivation chamber in Cloud Ford Ward.
• Qin Tiexin secured the chamber against spying and arranged fifty Middle-Grade Spirit Stones into a five-phase cycle, then surrounded himself with a thousand Lower-Grade Spirit Stones and twenty Foundation Establishment Pills.
• Qin Tiexin released his nine suppressed Qi vortices and circulated the Primordial Unity Instruction to draw in Spiritual Qi and push them toward their limit.
• Qin Tiexin swallowed a Foundation Establishment Pill, which shattered all nine vortices and sent their spiritual power surging through his Dantian.
• A new whirlpool unexpectedly condensed at the center of Qin Tiexin’s shattered vortices.

Qin Tiexin’s Foundation Establishment was disrupted by the sudden appearance of a tenth Qi vortex that consumed Spiritual Qi and threatened his first drop of spiritual liquid. He kept the process going by supplying the vortex with ordinary Spirit Stones and Foundation Establishment Pills while reserving the Five Elements Spiritual Qi for liquefaction.

• Qin Tiexin discovered a tenth Qi vortex forming in his Dantian and watched it drain Spiritual Qi, including nearly thirty percent of the power meant to become spiritual liquid.
• Qin Tiexin added five thousand Lower-Grade Spirit Stones to stabilize the vortex and took three Foundation Establishment Pills to continue Foundation Establishment.
• Qin Tiexin used additional Foundation Establishment Pills and crushed Lower-Grade Spirit Stones as the tenth vortex grew larger than the other nine combined.
• Qin Tiexin maintained a balance between the tenth Qi vortex and the accumulating spiritual liquid, which gradually liquefied the nine shattered Qi vortices.
• Qin Tiexin swallowed his ninth Foundation Establishment Pill and directed its medicinal power to the tenth vortex while reserving the Five Phases Spiritual Qi for liquefaction.

Qin Tiexin completed Foundation Establishment, reaching the Middle Stage after the mysterious tenth Qi vortex consumed most of his resources and settled as a platinum bead in his Dantian. He left the stone chamber to find Lin Chuan waiting outside, while an unknown observer high above Ten Thousand Stars City wondered why a Qi Refining Tenth Layer presence had vanished.

• Qin Tiexin used pills and Spirit Stones to liquefy his nine Qi vortices, then broke the enormous tenth vortex into a platinum bead that sank into his Dantian.
• Qin Tiexin completed Foundation Establishment with spiritual liquid filling about thirty-five percent of his Dantian, placing him in the Middle Stage.
• Qin Tiexin assessed his stronger spiritual power and estimated that further training with Golden Core Demon Beast meat could bring him near the Late Qi and Blood Realm.
• Qin Tiexin collected his remaining supplies, left the stone chamber at noon, and found Lin Chuan waiting at the alley entrance.
• An unknown voice high above Ten Thousand Stars City wondered why the Qi Refining Tenth Layer presence it had sensed suddenly disappeared.

After completing Foundation Establishment, Qin Tiexin returned with Lin Chuan and agreed to join his team for the Star Selection’s Secret Realm Trial. They reached the Lin Residence, where Ming'an ran to greet Qin Tiexin after waiting anxiously for him.

• Lin Chuan found Qin Tiexin outside a cultivation chamber and explained that he had searched for him after he failed to return.
• Qin Tiexin told Lin Chuan that Zhaoming Temple had been destroyed and that he would enter the Star Selection to shoulder its affairs.
• Lin Chuan offered the Lin Residence’s help with the investigation and explained why Qin Tiexin could have used its recommendation slot.
• Lin Chuan invited Qin Tiexin to join his team for the Secret Realm Trial, and Qin Tiexin agreed after considering the team’s composition.
• Qin Tiexin and Lin Chuan returned to the Lin Residence, where Ming'an stopped chanting and ran to greet Qin Tiexin.

Qin Tiexin returned to find Ming'an worried for him and carrying a carved wooden Buddha meant to protect him. Lin Chuan briefed Qin Tiexin on his Star Selection teammates, but Lin Wei arrived hoping to recruit him for her own team.

• Qin Tiexin comforted Ming'an, who had feared his senior brother had abandoned him.
• Ming'an gave Qin Tiexin a carved Buddha pendant, explaining that he hoped it would protect him and bring him back safely.
• Qin Tiexin accepted the pendant and told Lin Chuan that Ming'an might be the only family he had left.
• Lin Chuan showed Qin Tiexin details about Du Heng, Liu Suifeng, and Xu Ying and explained their team's roles.
• Lin Wei invited Qin Tiexin to join her team's Star Selection, but he said he had already found teammates.

Lin Wei confronted Lin Chuan after learning that Qin Tiexin had joined his team, but accepted Qin’s reasons for choosing it. The group discussed the upcoming Star Capital Imperial Market auction, and Lin Chuan gave Qin a key to the Lin Household’s cultivation chamber so he could prepare for the Secret Realm Trial.

• Lin Wei attacked Lin Chuan for recruiting Qin Tiexin, then listened as Qin explained that his fighting style and circumstances suited Lin Chuan’s team better.
• Lin Wei asked Qin to help her team if it encountered trouble, and Qin agreed to do his best.
• Lin Chuan and Lin Wei explained that the Star Capital Imperial Market would open for cultivators before the Secret Realm Trial and that they planned to attend its auction.
• Lin Chuan invited Qin to join them at the auction, and Qin agreed because he needed supplies and wanted to improve his combat techniques.
• Lin Chuan gave Qin a key to the Lin Household’s reinforced cultivation chamber, and Qin accepted it while resolving to repay the family’s kindness.

Qin Tiexin prepared Golden Core Wind-Rending Tiger meat and spirit bones while spending the evening with Ming'an in the Lin Residence courtyard. After cultivating his Qi and Blood, he left for the woods, telling Ming'an not to wait up.

• Qin Tiexin agreed to travel with Lin Chuan and Lin Wei to the Star Capital Imperial Market in two days.
• Qin Tiexin removed two spirit bones from the Wind-Rending Tiger's foreleg and stored them beside Edgeless so it could absorb their Sha Qi.
• Qin Tiexin stewed the tiger foreleg with spirit medicines and offered Ming'an a piece, but Ming'an refused the meat and ate the butler's vegetarian meal instead.
• Qin Tiexin ate the tiger foreleg and broth, then circulated the True Fire Furnace Scripture to refine its Qi and Blood.
• Qin Tiexin told Ming'an he was going to cultivate in the woods and left the courtyard carrying his refined iron staff.

Qin Tiexin practiced the Heavy Mountain Saber Technique with Edgeless in the Lin Household's secret chamber. He mastered the flow of its first five forms but could not yet comprehend the sixth, Heavy Mountain Returns to the Origin.

• Qin Tiexin opened the secret chamber with the jade token and activated its protective formations.
• Qin Tiexin reunited with Edgeless and practiced Bear the Mountain, Suppress the Mountain, Mountain Shattering, and Sever the Mountain.
• Qin Tiexin practiced Shatter the Mountain and found that the powerful strike consumed nearly a tenth of his spiritual power.
• Qin Tiexin attempted Heavy Mountain Returns to the Origin but could not overcome the resistance blocking his understanding of saber intent.
• Qin Tiexin put Edgeless away, confident that the first five forms were ready for combat, and accepted that comprehending the sixth would take time.

Qin Tiexin tested his martial techniques in a secluded chamber after reaching Foundation Establishment, finding that his improved stamina and strength let him practice for hours. He finished his review and settled down to cultivate before the auction.

• Qin Tiexin tested Mountain-Shaking Steps and the Five Phases Gang Steps, switching between them smoothly despite having only his left hand.
• Qin Tiexin practiced Savage Mountain Leg Technique and shattered a stone slab with Heavy Savage Chop, while noting that his leg bones still could not safely withstand his full strength.
• Qin Tiexin practiced Stone-Shattering Staff Technique and bent his refined iron staff, realizing it was too light for his strength and deciding to hold back when using it.
• Qin Tiexin reviewed his martial techniques after practicing for more than half a day without resting or eating.
• Qin Tiexin stopped training and sat down to cultivate in the chamber before the auction.