Chapter Summaries

Lin Shen climbed the Ascension Pool waterfall and discovered that the two flying fish were far more dangerous than they looked. After the black fish drenched him in pool water, his life bases absorbed the strange energy and transformed again, and he fled down the mountain once he recovered.

• The Heavenly Emperor sent Xiao Liuzi to reflect in the City of No Light, then stayed behind with his consort instead of watching Lin Shen climb.
• Lin Shen activated his Super Gene Form to resist the waterfall's attack on his spiritual consciousness and climbed rapidly toward the summit.
• Tian Xin tried climbing the waterfall again but slipped and fell after the strange power froze his thoughts.
• Lin Shen found two ordinary-looking flying fish in the summit pool and learned that its dense strange energy could not normally be absorbed.
• The black flying fish sprayed pool water at Lin Shen, freezing his body until the Ageless Sutra revived his consciousness and the Theory of Evolution absorbed the energy.
• Defier of Fate reached its fifth transformation and the Inheritance Fan its sixth, after which Lin Shen feigned death, recovered, and fled down the mountain.

Lin Shen struggled to understand Sixth Brother’s advice before receiving help for his future work at Celestial Master Academy and a Water Technique to improve his swimming. He offered Sixth Brother the Ashes of Reincarnation in return, and Sixth Brother reacted with surprise when he recognized them.

• Lin Shen found that the strange force in Ascension Waterfall had vanished, while Tian Xin and Wei Wufu continued their difficult attempts to reach the pool.
• Sixth Brother arrived and weakened the waterfall’s flow with a device, making it easier for Tian Xin to climb.
• Sixth Brother advised Lin Shen to remember that suffering losses was a blessing, while also telling him to claim the benefits due to him as head of Celestial Master Academy.
• Sixth Brother gave Lin Shen a sheet listing confidential contacts at Celestial Master Academy and a Water Technique he had devised.
• Lin Shen offered Sixth Brother the Ashes of Reincarnation, and Sixth Brother’s expression changed as he examined them.

Lin Shen learned from Sixth Brother that the Ashes of Reincarnation he found might have come from Jiang Zixuan, the only known cultivator of the terrifying True Extreme Demon-Slaying Divine Light. Lin Shen gave it to Sixth Brother anyway, strengthening Sixth Brother’s belief that the Heavenly Emperor was preparing Lin Shen for an important role at the Celestial Master Academy.

• Lin Shen asked Sixth Brother about the Ashes of Reincarnation he had found in the Flame Sea.
• Sixth Brother identified its Nirvana Attribute as the True Extreme Demon-Slaying Divine Light, which was associated with Eastern Extremity Emperor Jiang Zixuan of the Xuan Race.
• Sixth Brother explained Jiang Zixuan’s history and urged Lin Shen to use the Ashes of Reincarnation for Nirvana.
• Lin Shen refused to take it back, saying he had already given it to Sixth Brother and would keep his word.
• Sixth Brother recalled the Heavenly Emperor’s hints and concluded that Lin Shen’s generosity and performance supported his suspicion that the Heavenly Emperor was grooming him for the Celestial Master Academy.

Chief Steward An returned the Ashes of Reincarnation to Lin Shen and left for the City of No Light, while Lin Shen and his companions tested their progress at the Ascension Pool. After learning that An Liu was a near-invincible Nirvana expert, Lin Shen reconsidered the true strength of the Heavenly Emperor’s chief attendant.

• Chief Steward An returned the Ashes of Reincarnation to Lin Shen, urged him to remember that suffering losses was a blessing, and flew off for the City of No Light.
• Tian Xin reached Ascension Mountain’s summit, while Wei Wufu fought through the pool and waterfall and also made it to the top.
• Lin Shen examined the new forms of his six-reincarnation Inheritance Fan and told Tian Xin that his own life foundation had reached only six reincarnations.
• Wei Wufu revealed that he had reached nine reincarnations, and Tian Xun agreed that something might be wrong with the Ascension Pool.
• Tian Xun told Lin Shen that Chief Steward An was An Liu, the An Family’s sixth-ranked powerhouse, rumored to have undergone Nirvana eleven times without losing his humanity.

Lin Shen discovered that the Celestial Master Academy was a broke, nearly deserted institution staffed mostly by elderly officials, and he had no funds to fix its problems. He settled into the academy’s laid-back routine and introduced mahjong, which quickly caught on.

• Tian Xun recognized Lin Shen’s Water Technique as Chief Steward An’s exclusive self-created technique and urged him to take up his post quickly.
• Lin Shen arrived at the Celestial Master Academy and found only a small group of staff, most of whom were elderly, absent, or disengaged.
• Lin Shen held a meeting and learned from An Sai that the academy had unpaid bills and pension contributions dating back hundreds of years.
• Lin Shen admitted he had no immediate funding, then distracted An Sai by helping her improve her knitting.
• Lin Shen joined the academy’s staff in drinking tea, playing games, and chatting, then taught several officials to play mahjong, which soon spread through the academy.

Lin Shen discovered Celestial Master Academy's abandoned Golden Star and traveled there to investigate its harsh environment and resources. He left off after the Defier of Fate killed a mutated nine-revolution Adamantine Bull, revealing the creature's strength and the value of its Adamantine Horn Blade.

• Tian Xun took Tian Xin back to Giant Ring Star, while Wei Wufu stayed with Lin Shen and continued studying Nirvana.
• Lin Shen learned Shrimp Slide and Crab Step from Chief Steward An's book and considered incorporating them into his Surging Wave Fist.
• Sai Aunt told Lin Shen that Golden Star was an academy property with extreme gravity and toxic air, and Lin Shen realized he could survive there using the Theory of Evolution and the Ageless Sutra.
• Lin Shen used the academy's Teleportation Device to reach Golden Star and found that its gravity slowed his attacks against a golden bull.
• Lin Shen summoned the Defier of Fate, who killed the bull, and his watch identified it as a mutated nine-revolution Adamantine Bull and revealed its Adamantine Horn Blade.

Lin Shen searched Golden Star for Ascension Creatures and discovered that its creatures could be almost microscopic. Meanwhile, An Rong warned An 4 that the Emperor might be using A Tian to reorganize the Celestial Master Academy, and An 4 ordered the academy’s debts collected.

• Lin Shen collected the Adamantine Bull’s concentrated Gene Mutation Fluid and gave its nine-revolution spirit base to the Defier of Fate, who began reincarnating again.
• Lin Shen searched Golden Star for hours, finding no other Ascension Creatures as the Theory of Evolution worked to deal with the metal toxin in his body.
• An Rong told An 4 she suspected the Emperor was secretly cultivating A Tian to reorganize the Celestial Master Academy, but An 4 dismissed her concerns and told her to return to the imperial palace.
• After An Rong left, An 4 ordered a subordinate to collect the Celestial Master Academy’s debts and vowed not to let the Emperor discard him.
• Lin Shen found tiny Golden Calves emerging from burrows, then began shrinking as the calves rapidly grew larger.

Lin Shen discovered that Golden Star had shrunk him and that its Adamantine Bulls were mutated creatures. He confirmed that the nearby herd was also mutated and set out to collect their Ascension Fluid and valuable metal horns.

• Lin Shen killed a Two-Revolution Mutated Metal Bull with the Inheritance Fan and discovered its Adamantine Horn Blade spirit foundation.
• Lin Shen examined the blade and learned that its Adamantine Imperishable talent greatly increased its hardness and toughness.
• Lin Shen watched three Adamantine Bulls search for unusual golden fragments, then killed all three with his light sword.
• Lin Shen confirmed that the bulls were all mutants, collected their Ascension Fluid and horn blades, and planned to use the blades to help the Defier of Fate advance.

Lin Shen reached the Adamantine Bull Nest and discovered that the bulls became immobile in the night cold, even inside their caves. He followed rhythmic hammering deeper into the nest and reached a stone grotto, where he saw a strange sight.

• Lin Shen watched the Adamantine Bulls gather at their nest and chose not to hunt the many bulls below.
• After night fell, Lin Shen found that Adamantine Bulls caught outside the nest had frozen in place.
• Lin Shen entered a cave and discovered that even the bulls inside were motionless.
• Lin Shen heard rhythmic metallic sounds like iron being forged and followed them through the cave.
• Lin Shen reached a stone grotto and looked inside at a strange sight.

Lin Shen discovered a Red Adamantine Bull forging and transporting metal blocks inside the Adamantine Bull Nest, then encountered a Golden Rhinoceros Beetle devouring stranded bulls outside. He fled the nest, but the beetle took flight and pursued him.

• Lin Shen watched a Red Adamantine Bull heat, fold-forge, and hammer special metal fragments into blocks, then load one onto a cart pulled by a golden Adamantine Bull.
• Lin Shen left the nest and saw a Golden Rhinoceros Beetle tearing apart and eating Adamantine Bulls stranded outside.
• As the bulls regained their mobility at dawn, Lin Shen flew away from the cave to avoid the beetle and a possible fight.
• The Golden Rhinoceros Beetle abandoned its unfinished meal and flew after Lin Shen.

Lin Shen fought a powerful Golden Rhinoceros Beetle whose golden skills countered his attacks, then tested the newly reborn Defier of Fate. He weakened the beetle with the Inheritance Fan’s Sway technique as it tried to flee.

• Lin Shen lured the Golden Rhinoceros Beetle away from the Adamantine Bull nest and stopped to fight it.
• The beetle’s golden halo and forked horn blocked Lin Shen’s light swords and Surging Wave attacks, and it knocked away his concentrated light sword.
• The Defier of Fate completed its rebirth at seven rebirths, then fought the beetle but could not gain an advantage and was repeatedly suppressed by a Golden Mountain.
• Lin Shen used the Inheritance Fan’s Sway technique to weaken the Golden Mountain, allowing the Defier of Fate to smash one corner apart.
• The Golden Rhinoceros Beetle tried to escape, but Lin Shen sent shadowy glyphs through its dimming golden halo and onto its body.

Lin Shen killed the Ten Revolutions Mutated Gold Devouring Rhinoceros Beetle and found a Pet Egg, which Fei Zai swallowed before undergoing a spectacular evolution. Fei Zai’s radiant flames produced a universe-spanning phantom of a white bird, leaving people across the stars stunned and speculating about its identity.

• The Defier of Fate smashed the Golden Mountain and killed the Ten Revolutions Mutated Gold Devouring Rhinoceros Beetle, then returned to Lin Shen’s body.
• Lin Shen collected the beetle’s Ascension Fluid and cut open its abdomen, discovering a Pet Egg.
• Fei Zai swallowed the Pet Egg, then became enveloped in a light cocoon as white flames consumed the surrounding Cosmic Rainbow Light.
• Fei Zai’s evolution formed a towering mountain of radiant flames that pierced the clouds and illuminated nearly half the planet.
• A snow-white bird phantom emerged from the flames and appeared throughout the universe, where people began spreading legends about the White Phoenix.

Lin Shen secretly explored deeper into the Adamantine Bulls’ nest and discovered a Celestial working beside a furnace in a hidden cavern. The Celestial’s presence left Lin Shen astonished as he watched from the passage above.

• Lin Shen questioned Fei Zai about its rank, then tried to make it attack an Adamantine Bull, but Fei Zai hid in his backpack.
• Lin Shen practiced Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals and Condemned by Thousands while he waited for nightfall.
• Lin Shen sneaked into the Adamantine Bulls’ nest and followed cart ruts through its branching passages, marking the walls as he went.
• Lin Shen heard a man cursing and cautiously followed the voice away from the cart tracks.
• Lin Shen peered into a cavern and saw a muscular Celestial with Angel Wings working beside a blue-flamed furnace.

Lin Shen watched a white-haired Celestial forge and discard powerful red-patterned blades while searching for the flaw in his attempt to create the Ten Directions Ghost God Spirit Severing Blade. The Celestial began a new blade blank using repeated layers of forged metal, whose blood patterns grew denser with each iteration.

• Lin Shen discovered a muscular white-haired Celestial snapping red-patterned blades and throwing them into a furnace in a cavern inside the Adamantine Bull nest.
• A golden bull delivered metal forged by Red Adamantine Bulls, and the Celestial hammered it into a blade blank before rejecting it as defective.
• The Celestial explained that his Blood-Patterned Gold Essence, Iterative Forging Technique, and Ancient Method quenching were correct, then destroyed a blade that could slice through the metal materials with ease.
• Lin Shen realized the discarded blades were only defective attempts at the Ten Directions Ghost God Spirit Severing Blade and wondered how powerful the genuine weapon would be.
• The Celestial poured molten metal into troughs, stacked and repeatedly forged ten blocks together, and began shaping the increasingly blood-red metal into a new blade blank.

Lin Shen watched the white-haired Celestial Race man forge and discard a powerful blade, then met him and learned he was a Knife Forger who had forgotten his name. The Knife Forger invited Lin Shen into the cavern to hear about the outside world, leaving Lin Shen to answer questions about the Celestial Race.

• Lin Shen watched the Knife Forger quench and sharpen the Blood Blade, which the man dismissed as scrap.
• The Knife Forger appeared before Lin Shen as he tried to leave and questioned him about his race and work.
• Lin Shen identified himself as the dean of the Celestial Master Academy and showed his Identity Card, then explained how the Academy had fallen.
• The Knife Forger revealed that Lin Shen could not teleport out of the cavern and invited him inside to talk.
• The Knife Forger said he had forgotten his name and asked Lin Shen about the Celestial Race outside.

Lin Shen learned that the Micro Celestial Realm had miniaturized him and agreed to help Old Dao forge iron for a hundred days in exchange for removing the Miniaturization Power. Old Dao tested Lin Shen's strength and endurance by having him lift materials and hammer a heated metal block.

• Lin Shen asked Old Dao how to restore his body, and Old Dao explained that he needed someone capable of breaking the Micro Celestial Realm's power.
• Old Dao offered to remove the Miniaturization Power if Lin Shen forged iron for him for a hundred days, which would amount to only a few days outside.
• Lin Shen accepted the deal and moved a heavy piece of material into the furnace.
• Old Dao praised Lin Shen's strength and asked him to lift a great hammer, which Lin Shen found far heavier than the materials.
• Lin Shen used his Super Gene Form to hammer heated metal repeatedly, impressing Old Dao with his endurance.

Lin Shen learned to forge and fold-forge materials under Old Dao, adapting a rod-casting technique to control his hammer. Old Dao described the Three Respects Blade Technique as the ideal behind his blades, though Lin Shen had never heard of it.

• Old Dao showed Lin Shen how to swing a hammer, but Lin Shen struggled until he used Fisherman's rod-casting technique and improved his accuracy and control.
• Lin Shen learned to coordinate his strikes with Old Dao and helped him forge and temper blades for several days.
• Old Dao taught Lin Shen to fold-forge materials, and Lin Shen practiced with discarded materials and blades.
• Lin Shen asked Old Dao what made a blade qualified, and Old Dao explained the Three Respects Blade Technique and its three cuts.

Lin Shen learned why Old Dao wanted to forge a blade worthy of the Three Respects Blade Technique and heard the history of its nameless Xuan Race swordsman. Old Dao then demonstrated a slash so overwhelming that Lin Shen could neither move nor defend himself.

• Old Dao explained that none of his many forged blades possessed the spirit and artistic conception he sought.
• Old Dao revealed that the Three Respects Blade Technique belonged to a nameless Xuan Race swordsman whose blade intent he had once witnessed in an image.
• Lin Shen agreed to help Old Dao forge a blade worthy of the technique and asked him to describe the swordsman.
• Old Dao recounted how the swordsman battled countless rivals before the Ancient World King defeated him, despite retreating from his final slash.
• Old Dao wielded a blade, and Lin Shen felt trapped beneath its overwhelming slash, unable to move or defend himself.

Lin Shen tried to persuade Old Dao to forge from his own blade comprehension, then offered Ashes of Reincarnation as payment for a blade made specifically for him. Old Dao recognized the relic as derived from the True Extreme Demon-Slaying Divine Light and activated it, filling the cave with blackish-purple light that affected Lin Shen’s thoughts.

• Old Dao demonstrated a strike inspired by the Three Respects Blade Technique and told Lin Shen that the technique was a state of mind, not three separate strikes.
• Lin Shen continued helping Old Dao forge blades, and his Gene Mutation Rate rose to sixty-three as the intense labor improved his digestion.
• Lin Shen urged Old Dao to forge using his own blade intent, but Old Dao refused, insisting his understanding could not match the Peerless Swordsman’s.
• Lin Shen asked Old Dao to forge a blade specifically for him, then offered Ashes of Reincarnation as payment.
• Old Dao examined the Ashes of Reincarnation, recognized its origin, and pressed it to his forehead to activate it.
• Blackish-purple light filled the cave, and Lin Shen felt a strange power affecting his thoughts as if he had become a wisp of light.

Lin Shen experienced a vision of light traveling from the cosmic scale into a fish’s microscopic structure, where a changed streak of light struck points of matter and triggered explosions across a planet and nebula. He returned to the stone cave and helped Old Dao feed materials into the furnace while Old Dao frantically hammered them into a smaller, blood-red piece.

• Lin Shen’s perspective traveled from a crowded universe through galaxies and a planet toward a leaping fish, then into the gaps between its matter.
• Lin Shen realized the light streams could not touch anything until his streak changed course and pierced a point of matter, triggering explosions throughout the fish and planet.
• The explosions spread across planets and destroyed the nebula before Lin Shen’s vision ended and he found himself back in the stone cave.
• Old Dao frantically hammered red-hot material and ordered Lin Shen to put more materials into the furnace.
• Lin Shen fed the furnace as Old Dao repeatedly folded and hammered the material until it became smaller and blood-red.