Recaps

Ye Li killed Lin Ku and confronted Wei Ting, the Soulbirth Sect’s second elder, who offered to let Ye Li take Zhou Yan in exchange for covering up the incident. The chapter ended with Zhou Yan unexpectedly finding the prospect of belonging to Ye Li easier to accept.

• Ye Li reflected that Lin Ku’s soul-path techniques had been countered, leaving the defeated elder unable to withstand his assault.
• Wei Ting appeared and praised Ye Li for defeating Lin Ku, while Zhou Yan warned Ye Li that Wei Ting was the Soulbirth Sect’s second elder.
• Wei Ting said he had come to investigate the disturbance and claimed Lin Ku had brought about his own death by attacking Ye Li.
• Wei Ting warned that killing an elder could provoke demands for an accounting from the Heavenly Origin Ninth Heaven Pavilion, then offered to handle the fallout.
• Wei Ting proposed that Ye Li take Zhou Yan back with him, and Zhou Yan felt that being in Ye Li’s hands might be preferable to remaining with the Soulbirth Sect.

Ye Li learned that the Dragon Martial Prefecture would hold a husband-selection tournament open to outsiders and agreed to represent the Soulbirth Sect. He secured the first part of the sect’s Spirit-Nurturing method and prepared to enter the contest, where he hoped to raise his notoriety.

• While reviewing Lin Ku’s memories, Ye Li failed to find the Spirit-Nurturing method he wanted.
• Wei Ting told Ye Li about the Dragon Martial Prefecture’s open tournament to choose a husband for Long Ling’er and offered him a chance to represent the Soulbirth Sect.
• Ye Li demanded a valuable reward for participating and refused until Wei Ting offered him the first part of the Soulbirth Sect’s Spirit-Congealing Void-Transformation Method.
• Wei Ting gave Ye Li a cave abode, promised to conceal the news of Lin Ku’s death, and told him the tournament would begin in half a month.
• Ye Li accepted the opportunity and decided to use the tournament to increase his notoriety.

Wei Ting reported Ye Li’s talent and demands to Venerable Withered Glory, and the two discussed using him to advance the Soulbirth Sect’s plans against the Heavenly Origin Ninth Heaven Pavilion. Wei Ting arranged to test Ye Li through Zhou Yan and a planned assassin, while secretly deciding to flee if Ye Li proved too dangerous.

• Wei Ting told Venerable Withered Glory that Ye Li was an exceptionally talented fighter whose chances of winning the competition surpassed Lin Ku’s, though Ye Li demanded the Soulbirth Sect’s Spirit-Nurturing Method.
• Venerable Withered Glory threatened to punish Ye Li if he failed, but Wei Ting argued that the sect should preserve and cultivate him because of his potential.
• Wei Ting vowed to shield Ye Li from the Ninth Heaven Pavilion’s investigation, hoping Ye Li’s marriage alliance with the Dragon Martial Prefecture would help the Soulbirth Sect seize the Sea of Clouds Prefecture’s prized possession.
• Venerable Withered Glory promised Wei Ting control of the Ninth Heaven Pavilion’s territories if their plan succeeded, while warning him to investigate Ye Li’s background.
• Wei Ting revealed that he had assigned Zhou Yan to Ye Li as a test and planned to use an assassin if Ye Li’s behavior raised suspicions.
• Wei Ting privately resolved to escape if Ye Li survived the trap and revealed overwhelming strength.

Ye Li decided to keep Zhou Yan in his abode to preserve his place within the Soulbirth Sect while he searched for a way to conceal her virgin yin. He considered using his Malice Points to advance his cultivation, but held off ahead of his trip to Dragon Martial Prefecture, and Zhou Yan’s question interrupted his preparations.

• Ye Li abandoned his plan to send Zhou Yan away and resolved to keep her with him until he had drained the Soulbirth Sect’s resources.
• Ye Li worried that Wei Ting would discover the truth about Zhou Yan if anything seemed suspicious, and he searched for a way to protect his secret.
• Ye Li checked his Malice Points and considered using them to reach the Spirit Nurturing Realm, but postponed the breakthrough because of his upcoming trip to Dragon Martial Prefecture.
• Ye Li examined his spirit herbs and selected the Flowing Flame Golden Stamen, deciding he would have to rely on Malice Points for a major boost.
• Zhou Yan knocked on the side chamber and asked Ye Li how his recovery was going.

Ye Li confronted Zhou Yan when she came to offer a way to restore his strength and break through his cultivation bottleneck. In a secluded chamber, she revealed that her Pure Yin Dao Body was a rare cauldron saint body and said she knew how to willingly transfer her primal yin.

• Ye Li ordered Zhou Yan to return to her room, but she knocked again and promised a method that could restore him and help him break through.
• Ye Li opened the gate, heard Zhou Yan insist they speak somewhere private, and transported them to a secluded cultivation chamber.
• Ye Li dismissed the idea that he wanted to exploit Zhou Yan’s Pure Yin Dao Body through essence-harvesting arts.
• Zhou Yan explained that her Pure Yin Dao Body was a rare cauldron saint body and revealed that she knew how to willingly transfer her primal yin.

Zhou Yan offered Ye Li her Pure Yin Dao Body’s accumulated essence in exchange for help escaping the Sea of Clouds Prefecture’s control. After she transferred it to him, Ye Li received a major cultivation boost, reduced Malice Points costs, and complete healing of his old Dao injuries.

• Ye Li questioned Zhou Yan’s motives after she offered to transfer her Supreme Yin Essence, and she explained that her Pure Yin Dao Body could help him break through the mortal-divine barrier.
• Zhou Yan revealed that she feared the Sea of Clouds Prefecture’s prefect, suspected the Ninth Heaven Pavilion had allowed her capture, and believed the prefect had placed a restriction in her.
• Zhou Yan pledged to help Ye Li and give him her primal yin if he would help her escape the prefect’s control and leave her a way to survive.
• Ye Li weighed Zhou Yan’s offer as she began the transfer, then a surge of pure yin power flowed into him.
• Ye Li acquired a buff that improved his future Spirit Nurturing Realm breakthrough foundation, reduced Malice Points consumption, and healed his old Dao injuries.

Zhou Yan left Ye Li’s cave residence weakened but sustained by his Origin Blood Qi, and prepared herself to face the consequences of being captured. Meanwhile, Xu Feng and Luo Yin located the residence and resolved to attack Ye Li before he and Zhanqing gained powerful backing.

• Zhou Yan recalled how Ye Li absorbed her Supreme Yin Essence and gave her Origin Blood Qi afterward, leaving her conflicted about him.
• Zhou Yan anticipated that news of her capture and the attack on the Heavenly Origin Ninth Heaven Pavilion’s disciples would disgrace her sect, then headed toward the side hall.
• Xu Feng and Luo Yin used a Scroll Artifact to confirm that Ye Li’s cave residence lay deep within the Sea of Clouds.
• Luo Yin insisted that they attack before Elder Lin emerged from seclusion and helped Ye Li and Zhanqing establish themselves.
• Luo Yin promised Xu Feng that they would split Ye Li’s essence blood and flesh to strengthen their cultivation.

Luo Yin persuaded Xu Feng to trap Ye Li and Zhanqing inside the cave abode, while Ye Li sensed the formation and summoned the soul of the slain Elder Lin Ku. Zhou Yan recognized the approaching attackers’ weak cultivation and tried to warn Ye Li, but a terrifying streak of black light shot from the main residence first.

• Luo Yin convinced Xu Feng that Zhanqing was hiding with Ye Li and gave him flags for the Soul-Locking Yin Fiend Formation.
• Luo Yin and Xu Feng sealed the cave abode with the formation and approached it.
• Ye Li sensed the isolation formation, mocked the attackers’ weakness, and summoned Elder Lin Ku’s soul.
• Zhou Yan sensed the attackers and feared they might possess a weapon capable of threatening Ye Li.
• Zhou Yan tried to warn Ye Li, but a terrifying streak of pitch-black light shot from the main residence.

Lin Ku killed Luo Yin and Xu Feng when they arrived at Ye Li’s cave, and Ye Li found evidence that someone had secretly manipulated them into learning about Lin Ku’s mission. Ye Li suspected Second Elder Wei Ting and began using his malice points to strengthen himself, determined to gain enough power to confront his schemers.

• Lin Ku appeared before Luo Yin and Xu Feng and killed both Waterborn Peak disciples for slandering Ye Li.
• Ye Li captured their souls and examined their Memory Scrolls, discovering that they had learned Lin Ku was holding Heavenly Origin Master without any identifiable source.
• Ye Li suspected that Second Elder Wei Ting had arranged the incident to test his strength and stance.
• Ye Li set aside his suspicions for the moment and began spending malice points to improve his martial arts level.

Wei Ting reported that Luo Yin and Xu Feng had died after revealing Ye Li’s soul techniques and Zhou Yan’s lost primal yin. The Soulbirth Sect’s elders decided to let Ye Li compete to marry into the Dragon Martial Prefecture before pursuing his soul method, and Wei Ting prepared safeguards for him.

• Wei Ting watched Luo Yin and Xu Feng’s life-soul imprints fade and criticized Waterborn Peak’s disciples for failing to test Ye Li properly.
• Wei Ting told Venerable Withered Glory that Ye Li had made Lin Ku into a powerful soul servant who retained his former abilities, suggesting Ye Li possessed an unknown Soul Path Great Divine Ability.
• Venerable Withered Glory grew eager to obtain Ye Li’s method, but Wei Ting warned him that Ye Li was essential to the Soulbirth Sect’s plan for the Dragon Martial Prefecture’s son-in-law selection.
• Venerable Withered Glory agreed to let Ye Li compete first and said the sect could seize his treasures and search his soul if he failed.
• Wei Ting said Ye Li had a good chance of winning and planned to give him the lifesaving trump cards originally prepared for Lin Ku.

With Zhou Yan’s help, Ye Li advanced to the peak of the ninth stage of the Eternal Life Realm but held back from breaking into the Spirit Nurturing Realm so he could qualify for the Dragon Martial Tournament. After learning about Long Ling’er and the Dragon Martial Prefecture, he prepared to see the situation for himself.

• With Zhou Yan assisting him, Ye Li consumed Malice Points and rose three stages to the peak of the ninth stage of the Eternal Life Realm.
• Zhou Yan mistook Ye Li’s overwhelming aura for a breakthrough into the Spirit Nurturing Realm and wondered whether he would disrupt the Dragon Martial Tournament.
• Ye Li decided to delay his breakthrough because he lacked a suitable Spirit-Nurturing Method and might be disqualified from competing as a Divine Lord.
• Ye Li asked Zhou Yan about the Dragon Martial Prefecture, and she explained that its Lord was a powerful Dao Lord who cherished his daughter Long Ling’er.
• Zhou Yan described Long Ling’er as a peerless beauty and formidable martial heroine who had defeated and punished cultivators who opposed her.
• Ye Li questioned why Long Ling’er would accept an arranged marriage, then decided to visit the Dragon Martial Prefecture and find out for himself.

The Dragon Martial Prefecture Lord and his wife discussed the suitors competing for Long Ling’er’s hand, including Chang Leyou, and worried that their daughter would resist their plans for marriage. Long Ling’er revealed that she intended to defeat the tournament’s winner herself and refused to let anyone decide her future.

• The Dragon Martial Prefecture Lord’s wife listed the prominent tournament applicants and praised Chang Leyou’s background, talent, and devotion to Ling’er.
• The Dragon Martial Prefecture Lord said he would help Chang Leyou attain Spirit-Nurturing if he won and welcomed the prospect of an alliance with Violet Firmament Prefecture.
• The Dragon Martial Prefecture Lord and his wife worried that Long Ling’er would reject their plans for her future.
• Long Ling’er told her maid she would publicly defeat the tournament’s winner rather than accept him as her husband.
• Long Ling’er declared that no man could pin her down and strode toward the courtyard exit.

Ye Li set out for Dragon Martial Prefecture with Zhou Yan, carrying artifacts from Wei Ting that secretly tracked him and could explode. At the Dragon Martial Tournament, Li Xuantong earned a golden aptitude badge, drawing attention from the gathered contestants.

• Wei Ting saw Ye Li off with two artifacts, which Ye Li recognized as tracking devices, one rigged to self-destruct.
• Wei Ting claimed he had to remain behind because of trouble with the Heavenly Origin Ninth Heaven Pavilion and hinted that the Soulbirth Sect master might attend the tournament.
• Ye Li took Zhou Yan aboard his Star Skiff and departed for Dragon Martial Prefecture, while Wei Ting hoped he would stir up trouble there.
• Contestants gathered at Dragon Martial Prefecture's outer sect Training Ground for the Dragon Martial Tournament's aptitude tests.
• Li Xuantong of the Divine Firmament Dao Sect produced a golden beam, received a golden identification badge, and attracted envious attention.

Li Xuantong’s gold-tier talent was overshadowed when Chang Leyou revealed red-tier potential and taunted him. As the Dragon Martial Dao Lord pressed Long Ling'er to accept Chang as a worthy match, an even more powerful blood-red pillar erupted at the mountain gate, shaking the Dragon Martial Prefecture.

• Li Xuantong received a gold Dragon-Pattern Badge and claimed that talent alone would not decide the tournament.
• Chang Leyou of the Violet Firmament Prefecture triggered a red pillar of talent light, astonishing the crowd and eclipsing Li Xuantong’s display.
• Chang Leyou mocked Li Xuantong and the Young Valley Master of the Scarlet Flame Valley, while Li Xuantong held back his anger.
• The Dragon Martial Dao Lord praised Chang Leyou’s talent and urged Long Ling'er to regard him as a suitable match.
• Long Ling'er recalled that she usually defeated Chang Leyou in private sparring and tried to leave, but a massive blood-red pillar erupted near the mountain gate before her father could stop her.

Ye Li’s blood-red fortune display revealed him as a rare Myriad Forms talent, prompting the Dragon Martial Dao Lord to favor him despite his ties to the Soulbirth Sect. After Ye Li provoked Chang Leyou and Long Ling’er, the Dao Lord stopped Chang’s attack and secretly offered Ye Li help with the first trial, while Long Ling’er vowed to make him pay.

• Ye Li’s fortune-testing display shattered the stone pillar and astonished the Dragon Martial Dao Lord, Long Ling’er, and the elders with its blood-red brilliance.
• The registration elder identified Ye Li as a Soulbirth Sect cultivator, but the Dragon Martial Dao Lord declared that the Dragon Martial Prefecture would protect him and treated him as a righteous talent seeking refuge.
• Chang Leyou confronted Ye Li and asked him to withdraw from competing for Long Ling’er, but Ye Li promised to stand up and pound her, earning Malice Points from both of them.
• Chang Leyou attacked Ye Li with a purple divine sword, but the Dragon Martial Dao Lord subdued him and privately offered Ye Li a map and shortcut for the Ten Thousand Beasts Valley trial.
• The Dragon Martial Dao Lord rebuked Chang Leyou for drawing a weapon, while Long Ling’er vowed not to spare Ye Li any dignity when they met again.

Liu Jingci discovered that the Myriad Forms Seed was the Soulbirth Sect cultivator who had abducted Zhou Yan and rushed back to warn the Heavenly Origin Ninth Heaven Pavilion. Meanwhile, the Dragon Martial Dao Lord discussed the trials with the Jade Purity Pavilion Master, who asked for help identifying the man who had ruined a wedding in his name before requesting to meet the Myriad Forms Seed.

• Liu Jingci learned that Zhou Yan's Soul Lamp still burned and hoped to use her captivity as evidence against the Soulbirth Sect.
• A disciple showed Liu Jingci a recording of the Myriad Forms Seed, and Liu Jingci recognized him as the man who had abducted Zhou Yan.
• Liu Jingci abandoned the ceremony and flew back to the Heavenly Origin Ninth Heaven Pavilion to alert its pavilion master.
• The Dragon Martial Dao Lord explained that contestants had to defeat rivals and find Bright Yellow Flowers hidden in the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest, while the Jade Purity Pavilion Master questioned the trial's difficulty.
• The Jade Purity Pavilion Master told the Dragon Martial Dao Lord that his niece had been abducted and a wedding held in his pavilion's name had been wrecked by an untraceable man.
• The Dragon Martial Dao Lord agreed to help divine the wedding disruptor's origins, and the Jade Purity Pavilion Master asked to see the Myriad Forms Seed.

The Jade Purity Pavilion Master recognized Ye Li as the cultivator who had humiliated his pavilion and demanded that the Dragon Martial Dao Lord hand him over for thirty years. The Dao Lord refused and warned him against acting recklessly, but the Pavilion Master left intent on making Ye Li pay.

• The Dragon Martial Dao Lord showed the Jade Purity Pavilion Master a portrait of Ye Li, and the Pavilion Master recognized him as the cultivator who had disgraced his pavilion in Snow God City.
• The Jade Purity Pavilion Master explained that Ye Li's past humiliation had stained his Dao heart and offered a Myriad Forms treasure and three supreme-grade spirit veins in exchange for thirty years with him.
• The Jade Purity Pavilion Master proposed making Ye Li kneel at the Jade Purity Pavilion's Ancestral Cliff for thirty years, but the Dragon Martial Dao Lord rejected the bargain to protect Ye Li and the prefecture's reputation.
• The Dragon Martial Dao Lord warned the Jade Purity Pavilion Master not to use underhanded tricks in the Dragon Martial Prefecture.
• The Jade Purity Pavilion Master left into the night, vowing that Ye Li would pay even if the Dragon Martial Prefecture stood in his way.

Ye Li sensed the Jade Purity Pavilion's leader watching him and decided to focus on gaining a breakthrough before confronting him. He then showed Zhou Yan his detailed map of the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest and planned to collect every Bright Yellow Flower, leaving the other contestants with no way forward.

• Ye Li sensed the Jade Purity Pavilion's leader's killing intent and realized he was wary of acting inside the Dragon Martial Prefecture.
• Ye Li rejected relying on the Dragon Martial Prefecture Lord and resolved to obtain a suitable cultivation method and break through.
• Zhou Yan mistakenly thought Ye Li wanted to recover through her and began removing her robe, but Ye Li stopped her.
• Ye Li showed Zhou Yan a map marking the Bright Yellow Flowers, demonic beasts, and shortcuts in the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest.
• Ye Li said he would collect every Bright Yellow Flower before the other contestants, and Zhou Yan warned that they might all attack him to steal one.

The Dragon Martial Tournament’s first round began as contestants entered the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest to hunt Bright Yellow Flowers and survive their rivals. The Dragon Martial Dao Lord watched the trial begin, wondering how Ye Li’s combat talent would compare with his cultivation talent.

• The Dragon Martial Dao Lord explained the forest trial’s rules and the Tracking Compass’s warning and flower-detection functions.
• Long Ling'er resented Ye Li but admitted he was her favored contestant when her father asked.
• Ye Li surveyed the contestants and sensed hostile divine consciousness from several seeded rivals.
• The Dragon Martial Dao Lord activated the phantom painting, and tens of thousands of contestants entered the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest.
• The Dragon Martial Dao Lord noted that the Soulbirth Sect master had skipped the tournament and wondered how Ye Li would perform in combat.

Chang Leyou and Li Xuantong gathered over two thousand Eternal Life Realm cultivators to ambush Ye Li in the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest. Ye Li faced the encirclement after collecting far more Bright Yellow Flowers than required to clear the stage.

• Chang Leyou used the Violet Firmament Prefecture's Breath-Tracking Star-Locking Compass to pursue Ye Li and coordinate with Li Xuantong.
• The Dragon Martial Dao Lord discovered the planned hunt but chose not to interfere, trusting Ye Li to adapt or leave with his Clearance Tokens.
• Ye Li collected his twenty-ninth Bright Yellow Flower and sensed more than a thousand cultivators converging on him.
• Chang Leyou appeared and revealed the first force of over a thousand cultivators surrounding Ye Li.
• Li Xuantong activated an array disc, transporting another thousand-plus cultivators to complete the encirclement.
• Chang Leyou taunted Ye Li as the surrounding army filled the sky, and Ye Li's expression turned ugly.

Ye Li revealed Spirit Nurturing-level power and overwhelmed the Southern Region cultivators who had gathered to kill him. After crippling Chang Leyou and Li Xuantong, he began slaughtering the trapped contestants, intent on leaving no one alive.

• The Divine Firmament Dao Sect vice sect master and the Violet Firmament Prefecture Supreme Elder defended Li Xuantong and Chang Leyou for rallying the contestants against Ye Li.
• Ye Li welcomed the more than two thousand cultivators surrounding him, then sealed the area and revealed his Spirit Nurturing realm aura.
• Ye Li struck Chang Leyou with the Soul-Seizing Divine Spear, then detonated it and grievously injured Chang Leyou and hundreds of nearby cultivators.
• Li Xuantong coordinated a combined attack from more than a thousand cultivators, but Ye Li erased it with five-colored divine light and broke Li Xuantong with one punch.
• Ye Li realized none of the trapped contestants had a Bright Yellow Flower and began killing them as he charged through their ranks.

Ye Li slaughtered the Southern Region prodigies in the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest, while the Dragon Martial Dao Lord refused to stop him. The Violet Firmament Prefecture Lord rescued Chang Leyou, but Li Xuantong remained trapped as the Divine Firmament Dao Sect's deputy sect master failed to win anyone's help.

• Ye Li's massacre shocked the spectators, and the Dragon Martial Dao Lord's daughter-in-law Long Ling'er realized how far his strength exceeded her expectations.
• The Divine Firmament Dao Sect's deputy sect master and the Violet Firmament Prefecture's Supreme Elder begged the Dragon Martial Dao Lord to stop the competition, but he said the contestants had accepted the risk and that Ye Li's retaliation was deserved.
• The Violet Firmament Prefecture's Supreme Elder tore open a decree, summoning the Violet Firmament Prefecture Lord's avatar, which pulled Chang Leyou's wounded true spirit out of the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest.
• The Violet Firmament Prefecture Lord exchanged a brief, private message with Ye Li before his avatar vanished, while the Dragon Martial Dao Lord allowed the rescue.
• The Divine Firmament Dao Sect's deputy sect master pleaded with other sect leaders to help save Li Xuantong, but they refused and said his fate was his own.

After Ye Li annihilated his enemies in the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest, the trial ended early and Dragon Martial Dao Lord declared him champion. As Long Ling'er saw her chance to challenge him and assert her choice in marriage, she stepped forward to ask her father for one more favor.

• The Violet Firmament Prefecture Lord's avatar threatened Ye Li before vanishing, and Ye Li vowed to visit him once he reached the Myriad Manifestations Realm.
• Ye Li gained more than twelve billion Malice Points, then killed the wounded Li Xuantong with Five-Colored Divine Light.
• Dragon Martial Dao Lord ended the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest trial early, and Ye Li returned to the Dragon Martial Prefecture square.
• Dragon Martial Dao Lord announced that Ye Li had defeated 2,312 participants and won most of the Bright Yellow Flowers, then declared him champion.
• Long Ling'er resolved to challenge the weakened Ye Li and stepped forward to ask her father for one more favor.

Long Ling'er defied her parents and demanded a final-round duel with Ye Li to decide the tournament. Ye Li accepted, and the Dragon Martial Dao Lord prepared a battlefield as Long Ling'er challenged him with her spear.

• Long Ling'er rejected her mother's warning and insisted that she had the right to speak and refuse the marriage.
• Long Ling'er challenged Ye Li to fight her, promising to accept the marriage if he defeated her, and Ye Li agreed.
• The Dragon Martial Dao Lord approved the duel as the tournament's finale and privately asked Ye Li to discipline Long Ling'er without killing her.
• Long Ling'er descended to the battlefield, summoned her crimson iron spear, and warned Ye Li that she would show no mercy.

Ye Li decisively defeated Long Ling'er in the Dragon Martial Tournament, overpowering her True Dragon Manifestation and leaving her badly injured and humiliated. The Dragon Martial Dao Lord declared the tournament concluded and took charge of the remaining wedding arrangements.

• Long Ling'er attacked Ye Li with her Divine Spear and True Dragon Manifestation, but he stopped her strike with his bare palm.
• Ye Li disarmed Long Ling'er, destroyed her dragon phantom with a punch, and slammed her into the ground until she could no longer resist.
• Long Ling'er's invincible heart nearly collapsed as she lay defeated in the crater.
• The Dragon Martial Dao Lord acknowledged Ye Li as the victor, ordered Long Ling'er taken away, and said he would handle the remaining wedding arrangements.