Chapter Summaries

Hong Ying used Lu Changsheng’s Power of Rules to perfectly inherit the talents of her nine past lives and reached peak Water Overflow Realm. After she agreed to cook for him, Qin Tiannan arrived and asked whether Lu Changsheng and his disciples were available.

• Hong Ying entered enlightenment and sparred with Ye Qiubai, displaying her greater mastery of Spear Intent while he showed his understanding of Sword Intent.
• Lu Changsheng used the system’s Power of Rules, prompting the willow tree and little bird to react and helping Ye Qiubai enter enlightenment.
• Hong Ying absorbed the Nine Revolutions Origin Return Pill, and her nine past-life souls merged with her as the Dao Law of Samsara emerged, bringing her to peak Water Overflow Realm.
• Hong Ying thanked Lu Changsheng, who asked her to cook; Ye Qiubai offered to help her.
• Qin Tiannan appeared and asked if Lu Changsheng and his disciples had anything to do, and Lu Changsheng said he was busy but his disciples were not.

Qin Tiannan sent Ye Qiubai and Hong Ying to the Blood Prison Trial, where Hong Ying hoped to find one of her former subordinates. As Ye Qiubai’s enemies prepared to kill him during the trial, the eldest prince ordered Shadow Kill to join the hunt.

• Qin Tiannan told Lu Changsheng that the Blood Prison Trial began the next day and offered places to Ye Qiubai and Hong Ying.
• Hong Ying agreed to enter the trial to look for one of her former subordinates, and Lu Changsheng sent her and Ye Qiubai.
• The Qiu Lineage ordered Qiu Libei to prepare to kill Ye Qiubai during the trial.
• Jiang Chan learned that Ye Qiubai would enter the trial and silently worried that the eldest prince would target him.
• The eldest prince ordered an operative to send assassins to the trial and enlist Shadow Kill to ensure Ye Qiubai’s death.

Ye Qiubai and Hong Ying arrived at the Blood Prison Trial, where the Confucian Academy elder named Zhong Wu to lead the team. After the sixth prince Tian Ming drew attention to Ye Qiubai’s past and killings, the arrival of Sunset Dynasty soldiers revealed that Jiang Chan was behind Tian Ming’s hostility, prompting Ye Qiubai and Hong Ying to harbor killing intent toward the dynasty.

• The Sword Hall elder escorted Ye Qiubai and Hong Ying to the Blood Prison Trial and tried to recruit Ye Qiubai to the Sword Hall.
• Xin Hongyi challenged Ye Qiubai to spar after the trial, while Qiu Libei threatened him and Hong Ying offered to deal with him.
• The Confucian Academy elder explained the Blood Prison’s dangers and opportunities, then appointed Zhong Wu to lead the team.
• Lin Ce approached Hong Ying and promised to protect her, while Huo Qingming identified him as a Formation Hall disciple pursuing her.
• Tian Ming brought up Ye Qiubai’s past and killings before the gathered crowd, intensifying the Qiu Lineage’s hostility toward him.
• Sunset Dynasty soldiers arrived, and Ye Qiubai realized Jiang Chan had influenced Tian Ming; he and Hong Ying resolved to target the dynasty.

The Sunset Dynasty's arrival at the Blood Prison Trial turned violent when its leader killed a Bright Yang Sect prodigy and the four Sunset Dynasty cultivators killed the sect's elder. After the Confucian Academy elder intervened and the Bright Yang Sect withdrew, the Heavenly Origin Dynasty prepared to open the Blood Prison Secret Realm.

• The Sunset Dynasty's leader insulted the Southern Region and challenged its cultivators, prompting a Bright Yang Sect prodigy to attack him.
• The Sunset Dynasty leader pierced the prodigy's Yang Flame Palm and killed him with one punch.
• The four Sunset Dynasty cultivators joined forces to kill the Bright Yang Sect elder, until the Confucian Academy elder scattered their blood-colored attack.
• The Confucian Academy elder stopped fighting after the Sunset Dynasty threatened retaliation, and the Bright Yang Sect left the trial.
• The Heavenly Origin Dynasty's old man announced that it was time to open the Blood Prison Secret Realm.

Ye Qiubai entered the Blood Prison secret realm, where the Nine Swords of the Heavenly Demon led him to a giant sealed cage and a mysterious swordsman. The swordsman recognized Ye Qiubai as a potential successor and began a trial that required him to kill a faceless horde.

• The Confucian Academy elder and other Water Overflow Realm experts opened the Blood Prison secret realm and warned entrants to leave within a month.
• Ye Qiubai and Hong Ying entered the realm, where she gave him a jade pendant that could block a powerful attack before they parted ways.
• Ye Qiubai followed the black Sword Qi of the Nine Swords of the Heavenly Demon across the wasteland to an enormous cage bound with golden chains.
• A skeleton inside the cage transformed into a white-robed swordsman, who recognized Ye Qiubai's cultivation and declared him a potential successor.
• The swordsman transported Ye Qiubai into a trial and ordered him to kill every member of a faceless crowd advancing with battered swords.

Ye Qiubai endured a trial that tested whether he could resist the killing intent of the Nine Swords of the Heavenly Demon, awakening his Clear Sword Heart and advancing his cultivation. The Heavenly Demon Sword Saint then discovered that Ye Qiubai’s master had taught him a perfected version of the sword art that surpassed the original.

• Ye Qiubai fought the endless faceless crowd for days, conserving Spiritual Qi until the slaughter filled his Sword Qi and gaze with bloodlust.
• Ye Qiubai recalled his sword path and Lu Changsheng’s teachings, circulated the Primordial Sword Scripture, and regained his Clear Sword Heart as he broke through to the Middle Stage of the Violet Palace Realm.
• The white-robed Heavenly Demon Sword Saint judged Ye Qiubai’s resolve sufficient and ended the trial, then offered to teach him the final five swords.
• Ye Qiubai revealed that Lu Changsheng had already taught him the final five swords, and the Heavenly Demon Sword Saint entered Ye Qiubai to witness him perform them.
• The Heavenly Demon Sword Saint discovered that Lu Changsheng’s version was more complete and powerful than his own, while Ye Qiubai described his master as young, lazy, and fond of eating.

Ye Qiubai received the sword Dark Demon from the white-robed man, who recognized the Azure Cloud Sword as far greater. Hong Ying found Yun Ce imprisoned in Blood Prison and renewed her promise to lead the Nine Heavens Division and the Cloud Phoenix Empire into battle against the heavens.

• The white-robed man gave Ye Qiubai the peak heaven-grade sword Dark Demon after learning that Ye Qiubai had already mastered the Nine Swords of the Heavenly Demon.
• Ye Qiubai showed the man his Azure Cloud Sword, then bowed and left as the white-robed man turned into a pile of bones.
• Hong Ying reached a golden cage bound by Soul-Locking Chains and heard Yun Ce recognize her as his returned empress.
• Hong Ying told Yun Ce she would free him and restore his body, offering him the choice to live as he wished.
• Yun Ce declared the Nine Heavens Division would follow Hong Ying into battle against the heavens again, and Hong Ying vowed they would succeed.

Ye Qiubai was surrounded by Qiu Libei and four Sunset Dynasty fighters, who attacked him with overwhelming blood-red killing intent. He fought back with the Dark Demon and cleaved their massive blood-red fist in two.

• Outside the Blood Prison secret realm, General taunted the gathered factions while the Heavenly Origin Dynasty defended its friendly ties with the Sunset Dynasty.
• Qiu Libei confronted Ye Qiubai and surrounded him with four armored Sunset Dynasty fighters.
• Ye Qiubai wounded Qiu Libei with a sword strike, then faced the four fighters' combined attack.
• Ye Qiubai brought out the Heaven Rank Dark Demon and unleashed the Third Sword of the Nine Swords of the Heavenly Demon.
• Ye Qiubai's black Sword Qi cleaved the four fighters' gigantic blood-red fist in two.

Ye Qiubai fought off four Sunset Dynasty cultivators in the Blood Prison Secret Realm, then drew out the hidden Shadow Kill assassins. He escaped their coordinated attack and raced away with all three assassins in pursuit.

• Ye Qiubai cleaved apart the Sunset Dynasty cultivators’ blood-colored fist attack, shocking Qiu Libei and the four attackers.
• Ye Qiubai unleashed the fourth sword of the Nine Swords of the Heavenly Demon, while the four Sunset Dynasty cultivators used their blood essence to strengthen a blood-colored god of slaughter.
• Ye Qiubai repeatedly struck the god of slaughter until it shattered, leaving the four cultivators injured by the backlash.
• Ye Qiubai intercepted a hidden Shadow Kill assassin’s attack, then faced three assassins who ambushed him from different directions.
• Ye Qiubai’s sword net began to dissipate against the assassins’ strange daggers, so he rushed at the assassin in front and vanished; the three assassins pursued him.

The Sunset Dynasty general revealed that Ye Qiubai was the target of its mission, while Ye Qiubai faced Shadow Kill inside the Blood Prison Secret Realm. Trapped in their Mist Concealment Killing Formation, Ye Qiubai abandoned his ordinary senses and used the Mind’s Eye to deflect an assassin’s strike.

• The general told the Hidden Dao Academy elders that the Sunset Dynasty had come to kill Ye Qiubai, provoking their anger and threats.
• Ye Qiubai fled across the blood-colored wasteland while using Lu Changsheng’s pill to restore his Spiritual Qi, with Shadow Kill, the armored men, and Qiu Libei pursuing him.
• The three Shadow Kill assassins burned their blood essence, caught up with Ye Qiubai, and surrounded him with the Mist Concealment Killing Formation.
• The formation cut off Ye Qiubai’s perception, but he dodged a surprise attack at the cost of a deep shoulder wound.
• Ye Qiubai closed his eyes and used the Mind’s Eye from the Primordial Sword Scripture to sense and deflect an assassin’s dagger.

Ye Qiubai saw through the Mist Concealment Killing Formation and killed the three Shadow Kill assassins, then defeated the Sunset Dynasty’s four armored men. He crippled Qiu Libei and left him alive, then reunited with Hong Ying as one day remained in the Blood Prison Trial.

• Ye Qiubai used his Mind's Eye and Sword Intent to expose the formation, then killed all three Shadow Kill assassins with one strike.
• Ye Qiubai killed one armored man with a finger through his forehead and slew the remaining two with a Sword Intent slash.
• Ye Qiubai collected the four armored men’s storage rings, then destroyed Qiu Libei’s dantian and left him crippled.
• With one day left before the Blood Prison Trial ended, Ye Qiubai met Hong Ying, who said she would go to war again once her strength returned and might call on him for help.

Ye Qiubai and Hong Ying left the Blood Prison secret realm with their companions, then faced threats from the Sunset Dynasty and the Qiu Lineage. Above the sealed realm, Lu Changsheng confronted a mysterious force that opposed Hong Ying’s plan to establish a new Heavenly Dao.

• Ye Qiubai and Hong Ying wandered through Blood Prison, encountered Huo Qingming, Lin Ce, Xin Hongyi, and Zhong Wu, and left through the teleportation exit when the realm closed.
• The Sunset Dynasty general accused Ye Qiubai of killing his men and threatened the Hidden Dao Academy, while Ye Qiubai vowed to visit the Sunset Dynasty one day.
• A Qiu Lineage elder confronted Ye Qiubai for crippling Qiu Libei, and Ye Qiubai said he would visit the Qiu Lineage before its party departed.
• The Confucian Academy elder led the Hidden Dao Academy group home and promised them rewards for their gains in Blood Prison.
• Lu Changsheng revealed that he was protecting Hong Ying from a powerful being who opposed her plans to establish a new Heavenly Dao, and the being unleashed lightning against him.

Lu Changsheng drove away a powerful face that promised to return with stronger cultivators, then worried about preparing for their arrival despite the willow tree’s confidence in his strength. Meanwhile, Huang Tian Ming ordered another attempt on Ye Qiubai’s life and threatened Jiang Chan when she showed concern for him.

• Lu Changsheng repelled the lightning dragons and refused the face’s offer to send him out of the universe, prompting it to vow to return with stronger cultivators.
• Lu Changsheng returned to the Cottage and fretted about how to prepare, while the willow tree and the little bird doubted anyone could threaten him.
• Ye Qiubai and Hong Ying arrived, and Lu Changsheng ordered them to cultivate until they became Great Emperors; Xin Hongyi later challenged Ye Qiubai to spar as Hong Ying continued cultivating.
• Lu Changsheng gave up on figuring out how to cultivate and decided to sleep and rely on signing in for rewards.
• The general reported to Huang Tian Ming that Ye Qiubai had survived and the Shadow Kill assassins and his personal guards had died; Huang Tian Ming ordered the general to receive punishment in the Prison Forest and told Shadow Kill to send more assassins.
• Huang Tian Ming confronted Jiang Chan, warned her not to interfere, and threatened to show no mercy even though she was his future wife and the empress of Sunset.

Lu Changsheng’s Cottage prepared for the four-region academy exchange, and Ye Qiubai joined the Southern Region team bound for the Northern Region. There, Lu Changsheng approached a young scholar who had just left a village where he had taught children and offered to take him as his disciple.

• Qin Tiannan visited the Cottage, explained the academy exchange, and invited Ye Qiubai to compete in the Northern Region; Ye Qiubai agreed, while Hong Ying said she would travel there later.
• The next day, Qin Tiannan led Ye Qiubai, Huo Qingming, Lin Ce, Zhong Wu, Xin Hongyi, and Huang Yuan from the Hidden Dao Academy to the Northern Region.
• Qin Tiannan and the Confucian Academy elder explained the martial Dao and Confucian Dao exchanges and entrusted the Southern Region students with the academy’s honor.
• The other regional academies discussed their prospects, with the Northern Region expecting to win and the Eastern and Western Regions regarding the Southern Region as the weakest.
• A young scholar left a little Northern Region village after teaching its children for several months, and Lu Changsheng appeared and offered to take him as his disciple.

Lu Changsheng found Ning Chenxin in the Northern Region and guided him into the Dao through Confucianism, then accepted him as a disciple. Ning Chenxin stayed behind to temper himself, while Huang Tian Ming prepared to target Ye Qiubai at the Northern Region's academy exchange.

• Lu Changsheng met Ning Chenxin and invited him to become his disciple, prompting Ning Chenxin to ponder what the Dao was for four days.
• Ning Chenxin explained that he read to enlighten the world and rid it of war, then formed his Dao heart and entered the Dao through Confucianism.
• Lu Changsheng accepted Ning Chenxin as his disciple, gave him the Dao Scripture, and told him about Ye Qiubai and Hong Ying.
• Ning Chenxin chose to remain in the mortal world to gain experience, so Lu Changsheng gave him a jade pendant with a sword formation and a way to contact his senior siblings.
• Lu Changsheng returned to the Cottage and lamented that Ning Chenxin would not be there to cook for him.
• In the Sunset Dynasty, Huang Tian Ming learned that Ye Qiubai had come to the Northern Region for the academy exchange and ordered preparations with Shadow Kill and the Northern Region's Hidden Dao Academy.

Ye Qiubai and the Southern Region’s delegation arrived at the more oppressive Northern Region Hidden Dao Academy, where its disciples looked down on them. At a banquet that turned choosing a seat into a test of strength, one guest claimed a place near the seat of honor and challenged anyone who wanted it.

• Nie Qing welcomed Ye Qiubai and the others to the Northern Region Hidden Dao Academy, where nearby disciples mocked the Southern Region’s delegation.
• Huo Qingming and Xin Hongyi reacted angrily to the insults, but Ye Qiubai persuaded Xin Hongyi to save her strength for the martial Dao exchange.
• A group invited the delegation to a banquet, and Huang Yuan warned everyone to hide their trump cards and Ye Qiubai to restrain himself if people from the Sunset Dynasty attended.
• At the banquet, the guests were told to earn their seats by competing if they wanted the same table.
• A man claimed a table just below the seat of honor and challenged anyone who wanted to take it, while others began choosing seats without contesting them.

At a banquet in the Northern Region, Ye Qiubai recognized that the Sunset Dynasty was using the Northern Region's Hidden Dao Academy to provoke him and force him into conflict. After defeating Qiu Yu, he openly challenged a watching prodigy, leaving their confrontation about to begin.

• People plotting beside the banquet arranged for someone to provoke Ye Qiubai and make him an enemy of the Northern Region's Hidden Dao Academy.
• When Qiu Yu reached for Ye Qiubai's shoulder, Ye Qiubai's Sword Qi wounded him, and Ye Qiubai accused him of acting as someone else's dog.
• Qiu Yu attacked Ye Qiubai, but Ye Qiubai shattered his refined iron gauntlets and sent him flying with a sword strike.
• Ye Qiubai challenged the gathered guests, then confronted a man at the sixth seat whom he had noticed watching him.
• The man questioned whether Ye Qiubai could challenge the Northern Region's prodigies, and Ye Qiubai unleashed threatening black Sword Qi and asked if he was worthy now.

Ye Qiubai fought Liao Meisheng, a half-step Qi Sea Realm sword cultivator sent to kill him, and overpowered him with the Nine Swords of the Heavenly Demon. Jian Chaomian intervened before Ye Qiubai could finish Liao Meisheng, then ordered Liao Meisheng to face the wall at Sword Peak for ten years.

• Liao Meisheng attacked Ye Qiubai, but their swords initially clashed without either gaining the advantage.
• Ye Qiubai used the Nine Swords of the Heavenly Demon to overwhelm Liao Meisheng's sword light and break his Swallow Reversal technique.
• Ye Qiubai pressed his attack as Liao Meisheng struggled to defend, and the onlookers thought Liao Meisheng was about to be killed.
• Jian Chaomian stepped between them and blocked Ye Qiubai's strike with sword power that drew on the threshold of Sword Intent.
• Jian Chaomian reprimanded Liao Meisheng for letting others use him and ordered him to face the wall at Sword Peak for ten years.

Ye Qiubai defeated Liao Meisheng and drew the attention of hidden observers, while Hong Ying rescued Yun Ming from an icy prison using the Samsara Spear Technique. The chapter left Yun Ming free but weak, and powerful figures watching the four regions.

• Jian Chaomian defended his independence as a sword cultivator, then left after acknowledging Ye Qiubai's strength.
• A man in brocade robes said Ye Qiubai's fight had only been a probe and that someone else would deal with him.
• Huang Yuan criticized Ye Qiubai for exposing his ability, but Ye Qiubai remained calm and Zhong Wu reminded him how much the exchange mattered to Huang Yuan.
• Hong Ying descended into an icy rift and found Yun Ming bound in chains, then used the Samsara Spear Technique to break his restraints.
• Hong Ying escaped with Yun Ming as the rift collapsed, and Yun Ming pledged to fight alongside her again while he recovered.
• Several figures with unfathomable presences observed the four regions.

Four mysterious figures learned that an expert in the sealed, ruined world had mastered Dao Laws and set out to eliminate him. Meanwhile, the four-region academy exchange began, and Ye Qiubai entered the Azure Flame Mountain Range, where he earned his first points by killing a Devil Beast.

• The four figures discussed the unknown expert, suspected he had come from a higher-dimensional world, and decided to send projections to deal with him.
• Huang Yuan explained the first round’s points rules and told Ye Qiubai to stay hidden while he held off the other teams’ leaders.
• The four deans opened a teleportation array, and the martial exchange participants entered it; Qin Tiannan urged Ye Qiubai to do his best.
• Ye Qiubai arrived in the Azure Flame Mountain Range, sensed its pure Demon Qi, and found that his points stone showed zero.
• A four-legged Devil Beast charged Ye Qiubai, but he dodged its attack and killed it with a sword strike, raising his points to ten.