Recaps

Mu Fusheng and his group ambushed four scouts and fled toward the Black Tortoise Divine Dynasty, but a fast shuttle ship pursued them. As the pursuers closed in, Fang Qiong activated the Primordial Array against the ship’s defensive barrier while Shi Sheng prepared to strike.

• Mu Fusheng, Xiao Hei, Shi Sheng, and Fang Qiong killed four Ancestor Realm scouts in a coordinated attack, then fled with Tan Zongzhao toward the Black Tortoise Divine Dynasty.
• Nearby black-robed men detected the group and pursued them, while a peak Ancestor Realm shuttle ship rapidly gained on them.
• Mu Fusheng distributed speed-enhancing talismans, Fang Qiong prepared to counter the ship’s defensive array, and Shi Sheng gathered the power of the stars for an attack.
• After half a day, Fang Qiong turned and enveloped the shuttle ship in an array that began stripping away the rules sustaining its defensive barrier.

After the Chaotic Spirit Academy’s teams suffered heavy losses in an ambush, Mu Fusheng prepared to investigate their future opponents and take action at the academy exchange. Jiu Bailu reacted to news of the attack, while another master and disciple arrived in Black Tortoise City to learn about the continent’s factions.

• Shi Sheng used the Nine Stars of Heavenly Profundity to destroy the shuttle, allowing Mu Fusheng and the others to reach the Black Tortoise Divine Dynasty safely.
• At the academy’s gathering point, Vice Dean Ming told the survivors that four main competition students were missing and that Xiao Hei, Shi Sheng, and Fang Qiong would fill their places.
• Mu Fusheng asked Tan Zongzhao for information on the participating academies, then left the base alone to investigate.
• Jiu Xuan told Jiu Bailu that several academies had intercepted the Chaotic Spirit Academy, and Jiu Bailu vanished in alarm.
• A sweet-faced woman brought her master to Black Tortoise City to study the factions gathered for the academy exchange.

Mu Fusheng identified the Black Tortoise Divine Dynasty academies that had joined the attack on the Chaotic Spirit Academy and learned that the Nine Dragons Divine Dynasty would also attend the academy exchange. As the exchange began at the Martial God Tomb, the Black Tortoise Divine Dynasty’s emperor, Xuan Ye, arrived.

• Mu Fusheng traced the attackers’ soul marks and identified the Moon Gazing Academy, Tranquil Mountain Academy, and Black Tortoise Academy as participants in the encirclement.
• Jiu Bailu visited Mu Fusheng to check on him, and he pretended the Chaotic Spirit Academy’s losses had forced substitutes like him to compete.
• Mu Fusheng told Vice Dean Ming and the others about the academies involved, and they agreed to fight for as many exchange places as possible, aiming to secure at least five.
• The next day, the academy competitors gathered at the Martial God Tomb, where they would compete to remain on nine pillars for seven days.
• Xuan Ye, the emperor of the Black Tortoise Divine Dynasty, arrived atop a giant tortoise with two figures.

At the Black Tortoise Divine Dynasty’s academy exchange, Gu Sheng and Xiao Hei claimed pillars and fought off challengers, while Mu Fusheng confronted the Xuanming Holy Son. Mu Fusheng revealed that he could command lightning without relying on talismans, leaving their duel poised to begin.

• Xuan Ye opened the academy exchange, and Gu Sheng and Xiao Hei claimed the fifth and fourth pillars as rival students rushed to challenge them.
• Gu Sheng and Xiao Hei defeated their first attackers, prompting Vice Dean Ming to taunt the leaders of the Moon Gazing Academy and the Tranquil Mountain Academy.
• Jiu Xuan explained that Xiao Hei’s overwhelming display could deter challengers, while waiting too long to claim a pillar could cost the Chaotic Spirit Academy its chance.
• The Xuanming Holy Son confronted Mu Fusheng and insisted he would not let Mu use talismans, while Xiao Hei dominated a late-stage Ancestor Realm opponent.
• Mu Fusheng challenged the Xuanming Holy Son on the ninth pillar, then summoned dark clouds and lightning to show he had powers beyond talismans.

Mu Fusheng revealed his Mid-Stage Ancestor Realm cultivation and used lightning to pierce the Xuanming Holy Son’s defenses. The Xuanming Holy Son was left scorched and stunned, realizing Mu Fusheng had hidden his strength.

• Mu Fusheng revealed his Mid-Stage Ancestor Realm presence, shocking the Xuanming Holy Son and the spectators.
• The Xuanming Holy Son spread his Xuanming Domain and charged at Mu Fusheng in his scaled, curled form.
• Mu Fusheng retreated while controlling lightning, then struck when the Xuanming Holy Son came within a hundred meters.
• Mu Fusheng’s lightning spread through the water droplets in the Xuanming Domain and struck the Xuanming Holy Son’s scales.
• The lightning faded, leaving the Xuanming Holy Son scorched and questioning why Mu Fusheng had not used the attack earlier.

Mu Fusheng revealed two kinds of ancient divine lightning to defeat the Xuanming Holy Son after the latter unleashed the Black Tortoise bloodline’s full power. The Xuanming Holy Son was left gravely injured, while Mu Fusheng regretted showing more strength than necessary.

• Xuan Ye warned the Xuanming Holy Son to remember that he represented the Black Tortoise Divine Dynasty, and the Holy Son promised an overwhelming victory.
• The Xuanming Holy Son released his bloodline power, manifested a colossal Black Tortoise phantom, and stomped toward Mu Fusheng.
• Mu Fusheng summoned Profound Yin Purple Lightning and Heavenly Punishment Divine Lightning, shocking the lightning-attribute cultivators and his fellow students.
• Mu Fusheng sent two lightning dragons into the Black Tortoise phantom, destroying it and striking through the Xuanming Holy Son’s defenses.
• The Xuanming Holy Son collapsed with faint breathing, and Mu Fusheng regretted revealing two kinds of ancient divine lightning.

Mu Fusheng defeated the Xuanming Holy Son and stalled another Late-Stage Ancestor Realm opponent with a cage of talisman lightning. As he held one pillar, Shi Sheng stepped onto another to fight, drawing an Early Ancestor Realm challenger.

• Mu Fusheng left the Xuanming Holy Son badly injured, making the other academies wary of challenging him.
• Mu Fusheng trapped a Late-Stage Ancestor Realm man inside a talisman-powered lightning cage and waited, buying time by keeping the pillar occupied.
• Jiu Xuan recognized Mu Fusheng’s plan to stall until the exchange ended, while Mo Yu and Lu Changsheng watched from the shadows.
• Shi Sheng decided to get some practice on an unoccupied pillar despite warnings that the other academies might gang up on him.
• An Early Ancestor Realm man leaped onto Shi Sheng’s pillar, eager to fight him alone.

Shi Sheng challenged Tong Yan at the Half-Step Ancestor Realm and used his star power, the Heaven-Suppressing Pagoda, and the Minghuang Mystic Axe to withstand Tong Yan’s flames. Their clash ended with Tong Yan retreating farther, and he swallowed a pill as the fight continued.

• Jiu Xuan wondered why Shi Sheng had taken a pillar so early, while Jiu Bailu speculated that his strong Power of Karma meant he had hidden trump cards.
• Shi Sheng faced Tong Yan of Moon Gazing Academy and opened his Starry Sky Dantian, suppressing Tong Yan with the Power of the Stars.
• Tong Yan struck Shi Sheng’s Minghuang Mystic Axe with his flaming fist, blasting Shi Sheng backward and burning his ear.
• Shi Sheng used the Heaven-Suppressing Pagoda to disrupt Tong Yan’s charge, then attacked with Nine Stars of Heavenly Profundity, the power of one star.
• Shi Sheng and Tong Yan clashed with their full strength, both spat blood, and Tong Yan retreated twenty steps to Shi Sheng’s eleven.
• Tong Yan looked displeased at his disadvantage and swallowed a pill.

Shi Sheng fought Tong Yan after Tong Yan took a forbidden pill and rose to the mid-stage Ancestor Realm. Rather than use Mu Fusheng’s Divine Talisman of Creation, Shi Sheng broke through to the Ancestor Realm during their clash and turned the fight against Tong Yan.

• Tong Yan swallowed a forbidden pill, raising his strength to the mid-stage Ancestor Realm, while Shi Sheng remained injured at the half-step Ancestor Realm.
• Mu Fusheng prepared talismans to protect Shi Sheng, and Lian Zhi and Jiu Bailu stood ready to intervene, but Shi Sheng chose to keep fighting.
• Tong Yan struck Shi Sheng repeatedly, and Shi Sheng met his next attack with both fists instead of using the Minghuang Mystic Axe.
• Shi Sheng’s presence surged as he broke through to the early Ancestor Realm, restoring his injuries and spent Power of the Stars.
• Shi Sheng’s newly strengthened Power of the Stars drove Tong Yan backward, leaving Tong Yan stunned by the turn of the fight.

Shi Sheng defeated Tong Yan and killed him after Tong Yan broke his surrender, then faced a late-stage ancestor realm opponent. Lu Changsheng secretly transferred power to Shi Sheng, Fang Qiong, and Xiao Hei, while Mu Fusheng received none because he was still hiding his strength.

• Shi Sheng used his Starry Sky Domain to crush Tong Yan's resistance and force him to concede.
• Tong Yan attacked Shi Sheng after conceding, so Shi Sheng cut off his arm and split his body and soul with an axe.
• Fang Qiong and Tan Zongzhao leaped onto other pillars, while the remaining personal disciples chose to wait.
• A late-stage ancestor realm rogue cultivator challenged Shi Sheng and wounded him with saber intent.
• Lu Changsheng asked Mo Yu about the competition's rules, then secretly transferred power to Shi Sheng, Fang Qiong, and Xiao Hei.
• Xiao Hei told Lu Changsheng he wanted to fight on his own, while Mu Fusheng asked why he had not received a power transfer.

Shi Sheng faced the saber-wielding external reinforcement from Tranquil Mountain Academy after his cultivation suddenly rose to the Late-Stage Ancestor Realm. He uncovered the hidden paths of the man's Hidden Moon Slash and countered nine concealed attacks with his starry sky domain.

• Xiao Hei's cultivation returned to the Mid-Stage Ancestor Realm while Shi Sheng and Fang Qiong rose from the Early Ancestor Realm to the Late-Stage Ancestor Realm, prompting Jiu Bailu to suspect someone was helping them.
• The saber-wielding man attacked Shi Sheng with Hidden Moon Slash, and Shi Sheng detected the first concealed strike and split it apart.
• The man hid six saber slashes in the moonlight's blind spots, and Shi Sheng blocked four before the remaining two cut deep gashes across his back.
• Shi Sheng noticed that the saber Qi traveled through patches of darkness and realized how the Hidden Moon Slash worked.
• The saber-wielding man launched nine more hidden slashes, but Shi Sheng spread his starry sky domain to illuminate the arena and shattered all nine with his axe.

Shi Sheng, Fang Qiong, Mu Fusheng, and Xiao Hei helped secure the Chaotic Spirit Academy’s victory in the pillar contest. After the group disappeared, they regrouped with Lu Changsheng in a hidden mountain forest, where he introduced Mo Yu as their junior sister.

• Shi Sheng illuminated his arena with his Starry Sky Domain, broke the scimitar-wielding man’s Hidden Moon Slash, and knocked him off the pillar with one star’s power.
• Fang Qiong defeated his opponent inside the darkness covering his pillar, while Mu Fusheng kept his opponent trapped among lightning spears and Xiao Hei continued defeating challengers despite his wounds.
• Over the following days, the remaining challengers were eliminated, leaving the Chaotic Spirit Academy’s team and its allies in control of seven of the nine pillars.
• The Chaotic Spirit Academy won first place, but Mu Fusheng and the others disappeared before Vice Dean Ming could thank them.
• Jiu Xuan suggested that Jiu Bailu wait for Mu Fusheng in Heaven-Reaching City, and she agreed to go there.
• In a hidden mountain forest, Mu Fusheng, Xiao Hei, and the others teased Lu Changsheng about Mo Yu before he introduced her as their junior sister.

Lu Changsheng introduced Mo Yu as his new disciple, and she revealed that her father led the powerful Mo Clan. Her senior brothers welcomed her with lavish gifts, then returned to their academy group while Lu Changsheng warned her to stay away from their troublemaking.

• Fang Qiong offered to help Mo Yu, but she revealed that her Mo Clan already carried great influence on the Heavenly Mystery Continent.
• Mo Yu gave Mu Fusheng and the others her identity token and explained that her father was the Mo Clan's head.
• Mu Fusheng gifted Mo Yu a spatial ring filled with talismans, and Fang Qiong gave her another filled with formation scrolls.
• Xiao Hei offered to fight for Mo Yu, while she appreciated the warm bond among her new senior brothers.
• Xiao Hei and the others returned to meet the academy group, and Lu Changsheng told Mo Yu to avoid senior brothers who stirred up trouble.

The academies and the Black Tortoise Divine Dynasty secretly agreed to wait until the qualifying competition ended, then seize the winning academy’s place by force. In Heaven-Reaching City, the competitors explored the crowded streets as Lu Changsheng noticed something at a stall.

• Tranquil Mountain Academy’s vice dean persuaded the gathered factions not to attack Chaotic Spirit Academy before the qualifying competition, since none of them could confidently replace it.
• Moon Gazing Academy’s grand elder proposed combining their strongest students into one academy after they seized the winning academy’s token, and the Black Tortoise Divine Dynasty’s emperor supported the plan.
• The students explored Heaven-Reaching City’s many stalls while Tan Zongzhao explained how the city’s merchants reserved Ancestor Realm treasures for auctions.
• Jiu Bailu invited Mu Fusheng away from the others, and he reluctantly agreed to go with her.
• Mo Yu persuaded Lu Changsheng to walk through the market, and Lu Changsheng stopped at a stall marked “No haggling.”

Lu Changsheng acquired the battered bronze ancient sword after identifying it as a medium for reforging a heart into a sword heart, while the mysterious old seller vanished without a trace. He then took Mo Yu outside Heaven-Reaching City to teach her a lesson about displaying wealth, where a group of greedy people confronted them.

• A man mocked the battered bronze ancient sword, but Lu Changsheng sensed it held something profound and Mo Yu offered to buy it.
• The old man repeatedly raised the price, so Lu Changsheng offered to identify and use the sword instead of paying.
• Lu Changsheng recognized that the sword could reforge a heart into a sword heart, and the old man gave it to him before disappearing completely.
• Lu Changsheng tried to follow the old man with his divine soul but could find no trace of him, leaving him worried that someone was watching him.
• Lu Changsheng took Mo Yu outside Heaven-Reaching City and began teaching her not to display wealth, as more than a dozen greedy people appeared around them.

Lu Changsheng used Mo Yu’s encounter with a group of robbers to teach her to kill decisively and erase every trace. After they returned to Heaven-Reaching City, Mu Fusheng accompanied Jiu Bailu, disguised as a man, as she browsed the street while supposedly investigating rival academies.

• Lu Changsheng sealed the area and killed the leather-armored robber and another attacker to reinforce his lesson about leaving no threats alive.
• When the remaining robbers fled, Lu Changsheng crushed them by twisting the space around them, destroying their bodies and souls.
• Lu Changsheng burned away the corpses and souls, then removed the surrounding land to eliminate every trace; Mo Yu reluctantly agreed that she understood.
• Lu Changsheng and Mo Yu returned to Heaven-Reaching City while Ye Qiubai sneezed in a distant mountain range.
• Mu Fusheng questioned why Jiu Bailu had brought him to investigate rival academies by browsing street stalls, and she told him not to spoil the mood.

Mu Fusheng and Jiu Bailu visited a Mo Clan trading house so Mu Fusheng could study the puppets used by the Mechanism Academy, but they were told to leave. Mo Xing invited Jiu Bailu to an auction, and after she chose to attend with Mu Fusheng, Mo Xing warned his attendant not to antagonize him.

• Jiu Bailu led Mu Fusheng through the market and showed him the Mo Clan trading house, where he examined the puppets on display.
• A stern shop manager stopped Mu Fusheng from touching a puppet and ordered him and Jiu Bailu to leave because the shop barred disguised visitors and distrusted the Chaotic Spirit Academy.
• Mo Xing recognized Jiu Bailu and invited her to the next day's auction with a distinguished guest token.
• Jiu Bailu declined to attend with Mo Xing and said she would go with Mu Fusheng instead.
• After Mu Fusheng and Jiu Bailu left, Mo Xing told his attendant that antagonizing Mu Fusheng would harm his standing with Jiu Bailu.

Mu Fusheng learned about the academies competing in the qualifying tournament, then accompanied Jiu Bailu to buy a defensive shawl before they attended Heaven-Reaching City's auction. The auction began with the competing academies and Lu Changsheng's group in separate rooms, as they prepared to see what the others would bid on.

• Jiu Bailu explained that Holy Light Academy had recruited reinforcements and sent all three of its Dao Law of Light cultivators to the qualifying tournament.
• Jiu Bailu asked Mu Fusheng to repay a favor by buying her a snow-white Ancestral Artifact gauze shawl, and he agreed.
• Jiu Bailu teased Mu Fusheng for pretending he had bought the shawl only because it was effective defensive equipment, then left the second favor undecided.
• The City Lord's Manor restricted auction attendance and gave special rooms to select factions and golden-token holders; Gu Sheng led Chaotic Spirit Academy's group to one of them.
• Mo Yu revealed that she had obtained a golden token for Lu Changsheng, who settled in to watch the auction, while she promised to bid on items for her senior brothers.

The auction opened with the Nine-Cord Thunderclap Chain, a lightning-attributed Demigod-rank item that Shuozhou Academy and Holy Light Academy drove to an exorbitant price. Just as Mu Fusheng prepared to bid, Jiu Bailu entered the contest, prompting his companions to tease him about her interest.

• Lu Changsheng identified the covered first lot as a lightning-attributed chain before the auctioneer revealed the Nine-Cord Thunderclap Chain.
• Shuozhou Academy resolved to obtain the chain, while Miao Youzhi and Holy Light Academy decided to raise its price and Mo Xing and Mo Ling declined to compete.
• Shuozhou Academy and Holy Light Academy raised their bids until Shuozhou Academy offered two hundred and thirty thousand flawless primordial stones.
• The auctioneer warned Shuozhou Academy's grand elder to restrain himself after thunder rumbled from his presence.
• Jiu Bailu bid two hundred and forty thousand just as Mu Fusheng was about to raise his hand, and his companions teased him about her.

Jiu Bailu and Mo Yu competed over the Nine-Cord Thunderclap Chain, which Jiu Bailu won for Mu Fusheng, while Mo Yu later won lightning-attribute shoes for him. On the auction’s final day, the last lot was revealed as Ancestral Dragon bones, and bidding was about to begin.

• Jiu Bailu bid against a disguised Mo Yu for the Nine-Cord Thunderclap Chain, eventually winning it for 330,000 Flawless Primordial Stones.
• Lu Changsheng stopped Mo Yu from raising her bid further after the auction house required more verification, and Mu Fusheng thanked Jiu Bailu for the chain.
• Mo Yu won a pair of Peak Ancestor Realm lightning-attribute shoes for 90,000 Flawless Primordial Stones after Shuozhou Academy and Holy Light Academy drove up the price.
• Mo Yu, Mu Fusheng, Jiu Bailu, and the others made no further bids over the next four days, then watched as the final lot was revealed to be Ancestral Dragon bones.

The Mo Clan won the Ancestral Dragon's skeleton at auction, while Lu Changsheng chose not to bid because the prize would draw danger and offered little benefit to his disciples. As the Mo Clan left the city under the watch of hostile factions, Lu Changsheng followed with Mo Yu and prepared to intervene if necessary.

• The factions weighed the Ancestral Dragon's skeleton's value, but Lu Changsheng decided it was not worth bidding for and would not suit his disciples.
• The Mo Clan raised the price to one million flawless primordial stones, outbidding Holy Light Academy and Chaotic Spirit Academy before winning the skeleton.
• The auctioneer warned Mo Ling that others might seize the skeleton despite the Mo Clan's power, and Mo Ling said his clan had prepared for that risk.
• Mo Ling and Mo Xing left the auction house on enormous puppets as countless presences followed them out of the city.
• Mo Yu asked Lu Changsheng to help the Mo Clan, so Lu Changsheng cloaked him and followed, telling him not to act rashly and promising to step in if needed.

Mo Xing and Mo Ling were ambushed outside Heaven-Reaching City by rogue cultivators seeking the Ancestral Dragon's bones, while an isolation array cut them off from reinforcements. Lu Changsheng intervened and killed the attackers, and the chapter ended with Mo Yu running to him as Mo Clan elders arrived.

• Mo Xing and Mo Ling were intercepted by rogue cultivators and other factions outside Heaven-Reaching City as they transported the Ancestral Dragon's bones.
• The attackers trapped the pair inside a Demigod-level isolation array created by Divine Array Master Wutian and destroyed most of their puppets.
• Lu Changsheng left Mo Yu hidden in a spatial rift, entered the battle, and killed the attackers with Sword Qi, palm strikes, and a spatial fragment.
• Array Master Wutian fled when the array dissipated, and three Mo Clan elders arrived to find the attackers dead.
• Mo Yu ran to Lu Changsheng, prompting him to ask why she was there.

Lu Changsheng agreed to accompany Mo Yu back to the Mo Clan after rescuing her and her companions. Elsewhere, the factions blamed the Mo Clan for the deaths outside Heaven-Reaching City, while Jiu Bailu gave Mu Fusheng a treasured gift and left him conflicted about her affection.

• Mo Ling and Mo Xing learned that Lu Changsheng was Mo Yu's master, and Mo Xing was silenced when he questioned the arrangement.
• The Mo Clan elders apologized to Lu Changsheng and invited him to meet the clan head, and Lu Changsheng agreed to go with them and Mo Yu.
• Holy Light Academy and the other factions suspected the Mo Clan had killed the people found outside the city, leaving Lu Changsheng's involvement undiscovered.
• Jiu Bailu gave Mu Fusheng the Nine-Cord Thunderclap Chain and told him she valued the shawl he had given her just as much.
• Jiu Bailu teased Mu Fusheng about visiting the Nine Dragons Divine Dynasty, then left him wrestling with her affection and the favors he owed her.

Lu Changsheng accompanied Mo Yu to the Mo Clan, where the elders cautiously treated him as a powerful expert despite learning he knew nothing about puppetry. After Mo Yu introduced him to her father, the patriarch asked whether Lu Changsheng was accomplished in the Dao of puppetry.

• Mo Xing apologized to Lu Changsheng after the elders warned him to hide the Mo Clan's pride and respect the powerful guest.
• Lu Changsheng said he had never studied puppetry, while Mo Yu offered him access to her family's library.
• The group reached the Mo Clan, where the first elder led them through its towers to meet the patriarch.
• Mo Hanlin asked Lu Changsheng about his origins and purpose, and Mo Yu defended her master.
• Lu Changsheng explained that Mo Yu had talent and a fated connection with him, and Mo Hanlin asked if he was accomplished in puppetry.

Mo Hanlin challenged Lu Changsheng’s ability in the Dao of Puppetry and agreed to let him study the Mo Clan’s basic books. Lu Changsheng entered the library and used his soul power to rapidly absorb the fundamentals, while the elders waited to see what he could accomplish.

• Mo Yu defended Lu Changsheng, but Mo Hanlin insisted that her master must have solid skills in the Dao of Puppetry.
• Lu Changsheng admitted he had never studied puppetry and asked to read the Mo Clan’s basic books as his only condition.
• Lu Changsheng said Mo Yu could continue cultivating under him if he successfully learned the Dao of Puppetry, and Mo Hanlin took him to the library.
• Lu Changsheng entered the library’s first floor, where Mo Hanlin permitted him to read but forbade him from taking books or going upstairs.
• Lu Changsheng set up an isolation formation and used his soul power to open and rapidly read every book on the first floor.