Chapter Summaries

Feng Ye and Xiao Hei fought on the Crown Prince Platform, with Xiao Hei matching her attacks despite her cultivation being suppressed. After Feng Ye used her Falling Flower Palm, Xiao Hei struck her from behind and urged her to use her true strength.

• Feng Ye opened the fight with a barrage of punches, and Xiao Hei met her with his own fist shadows.
• Xiao Hei combined Bloodline Entanglement and Bloodline Boiling, forcing Feng Ye to increase her speed.
• Feng Ye appeared behind Xiao Hei with a dangerous paired-finger strike, but he blocked it with a Devil God phantom and traded blows with her.
• Feng Ye used her self-created Falling Flower Palm, making Xiao Hei buckle as the ground sank into a lotus shape around him.
• Xiao Hei's Devil God phantom attacked Feng Ye from behind, and Xiao Hei appeared behind her and punched her down from midair.

Xiao Hei fought Feng Ye on the Crown Prince Platform, revealing a bloodline that strengthened him each time she struck him. As Feng Ye unleashed her full Half-Step Ancestor Realm power, Xiao Hei answered with Demon’s Descent, Heaven Breaker.

• Personal disciples watched the fight and speculated that Feng Ye had challenged Xiao Hei to restore the First Elder’s prestige by forcing a draw.
• Feng Ye restored her suppressed cultivation and struck Xiao Hei with Falling Flower Palm, breaking his arm before his rapid recovery surprised her.
• Xiao Hei unleashed his bloodline power, and Feng Ye felt her blood and heartbeat respond to it.
• Xiao Hei repeatedly charged Feng Ye, growing stronger and being knocked back less each time, while Feng Ye realized he was using her to cultivate.
• Feng Ye gathered the full power of her Half-Step Ancestor Realm palm as Xiao Hei unleashed Demon’s Descent, Heaven Breaker, forming a black millstone of Demonic Qi overhead.

Xiao Hei defeated Feng Ye with Demon's Descent, then recovered as news of his victory spread through the Chaotic Spirit Academy. After he rejected offers from the elders to become their disciple, Tan Zongzhao warned him that Feng Ye would keep challenging him to spar.

• Xiao Hei used Heaven Breaker to shatter Feng Ye's Falling Flower Palm and damage the Crown Prince Platform, and Feng Ye admitted defeat before Xiao Hei collapsed.
• Three days later, the second elder told He Xiangwang to stop provoking Xiao Hei's group and ordered him to offer Xiao Hei the position of final disciple.
• Xiao Hei recovered, and Tan Zongzhao told him that his victory had changed people's opinions and drawn offers from several elders.
• Shi Sheng showed Xiao Hei the elders' letters, but Xiao Hei rejected them all.
• Tan Zongzhao warned Xiao Hei that Feng Ye would repeatedly seek him out to spar, and Xiao Hei thought that suited him.

Tan Zongzhao warned Xiao Hei and the others against binding themselves to an elder and explained how they could earn contribution points. After Xiao Hei refused the Second Elder’s offer to become his final disciple, He Xiangwang left with killing intent, and Feng Ye proposed taking the group to higher-floor missions in exchange for a spar with Xiao Hei.

• Tan Zongzhao advised Xiao Hei and the others not to accept an elder’s invitation and described missions and Cloudsoaring Platform challenges as ways to earn contribution points.
• He Xiangwang arrived with onlookers and announced that the Second Elder wanted Xiao Hei as his final disciple.
• Xiao Hei rejected the offer and said the Second Elder was unworthy of taking him as a disciple, prompting He Xiangwang to release his killing intent and leave.
• Tan Zongzhao offered to help if the Second Elder’s disciples acted against them, then departed.
• Feng Ye asked Xiao Hei to spar, but Mu Fusheng explained that they needed to avoid attracting attention and Ye Qiubai said they planned to take missions.
• Feng Ye offered to take them to higher-floor missions if Xiao Hei agreed to spar with her afterward.

Xiao Hei and his companions entered the inner tower, where the Second Elder’s disciple Peng Dahai confronted them over Xiao Hei’s insult to his master. Mu Fusheng decided to use Peng Dahai’s attempt to follow their mission as an opportunity to eliminate him, while considering how to deal with the Second Elder if the conflict continued.

• He Xiangwang told the Second Elder that Xiao Hei had rejected his offer and insulted him, so the Second Elder ordered He Xiangwang to teach Xiao Hei and his companions a lesson.
• Feng Ye led Xiao Hei and the others to the seventh floor of the inner tower, where Yu Cheng questioned whether they were ready to take missions there.
• Peng Dahai, the Second Elder’s personal disciple, demanded that Xiao Hei kneel and apologize, but Xiao Hei refused and stood by what he had said.
• Peng Dahai followed Xiao Hei’s group as they chose a mission, and Xiao Hei privately told Feng Ye to let him continue.
• Mu Fusheng secretly supplied Xiao Hei’s threatening words and decided to kill Peng Dahai if he caused trouble, while considering a more dangerous plan against the Second Elder.

Mu Fusheng’s group accepted an escort mission to bring the Nine Dragons Divine Dynasty’s crown prince home, despite the risks of becoming entangled in the princes’ rivalry. Cheng Dahai joined the mission to oppose them, while the Second Elder prepared He Xiangwang to act against the special-admission students if they returned.

• Feng Ye considered a mission to hunt the Mystic Thunder Beast, but Mu Fusheng picked up an escort mission for the Nine Dragons Divine Dynasty’s ninth prince, who had been named crown prince.
• Feng Ye explained that the dynasty’s princes were rivals and that escorting the ninth prince could make the group enemies of several of them; Mu Fusheng tried to put the mission aside.
• Xiao Hei insisted they accept the mission because its rewards suited Mu Fusheng and the escort could give them a chance to deal with Cheng Dahai.
• Feng Ye, Xiao Hei, Mu Fusheng, and their companions registered for the mission, and Cheng Dahai added his name so he could prevent them from completing it.
• Cheng Dahai told Yu Cheng that the mission was part of a contest between the First Elder and the Second Elder, and promised to recommend Yu Cheng as a disciple if he earned merit.
• The Second Elder gave He Xiangwang a pill to help him advance in the Heaven Refining Tower and told him he would need to act if the special-admission students returned.

Xiao Hei and the others arrived in Azure Dragon City to escort the ninth prince to Nine Dragons City for his crown prince investiture. After meeting him and learning of the dangers on the route, Mu Fusheng judged that the approachable prince was deeply calculating.

• Cheng Dahai and the others accepted a mission to protect the ninth prince, drawing attention from students who suspected Cheng Dahai had joined deliberately.
• Xiao Hei and the others reached the guarded residence in Azure Dragon City, where the ninth prince personally welcomed them.
• Elder Lin questioned whether the group could protect the ninth prince, but the prince insisted that no additional help was needed.
• The ninth prince explained that he would leave for Nine Dragons City in three days to attend his formal investiture as crown prince.
• After receiving a map at their inn, Ye Qiubai and Mu Fusheng discussed the prince's hidden calculations, and Mu Fusheng revealed that he was also a prince.

The ninth prince explained why he had entrusted the escort mission to Xiao Hei’s group, while rival princes prepared to exploit his journey back to Nine Dragons City. As the procession set out, Mu Fusheng suspected the ninth prince had another purpose, and the prince suddenly ordered a change of route.

• The ninth prince told Elder Lin that he trusted Xiao Hei’s group because Feng Ye’s deference to some of them and Cheng Dahai’s hostility suggested they were more capable than they appeared.
• The third prince learned that the ninth prince would depart in three days and sent copies of his route to the fifth prince and eldest prince.
• The eldest prince ordered the Torch Dragon Army to prepare to depart and declared that he would take the crown prince’s seat.
• The ninth prince’s party and Xiao Hei’s group set out from Azure Dragon City overland, while Mu Fusheng suspected the prince had an ulterior purpose.
• Ye Qiubai and Mu Fusheng sensed something was wrong, but Fang Qiong reported that their monitoring arrays had found nothing unusual.
• The ninth prince suddenly ordered the procession to change course and continue northwest.

During the journey to Nine Dragons City, Mu Fusheng suspected the Ninth Prince was hiding his intentions, while Feng Ye warned him about Cheng Dahai. On the fourth night, attackers ambushed the army, and Elder Lin betrayed the Ninth Prince by disabling the cabin’s defensive arrays.

• Feng Ye warned the Ninth Prince that Cheng Dahai might act against the mission, but the prince said Cheng Dahai had promised only to compete for the reward.
• Mu Fusheng observed the Ninth Prince’s guarded behavior and suspected he was carrying out an impressive maneuver.
• After several uneventful days, Elder Lin cautioned the Ninth Prince that an attack might come before they reached Nine Dragons City.
• Three seemingly dull-eyed demonic wolves appeared, and attackers sprung an array ambush that killed many soldiers and cost the Ninth Prince nearly thirty percent of his guards.
• Three old men demanded the Ninth Prince surrender, and Elder Lin revealed that he had accepted their terms and used his token to disable the defensive arrays.

Elder Lin revealed that he had betrayed the Ninth Prince, but the Ninth Prince had anticipated the treachery and used the journey to Azure Dragon City to uncover spies. The Third Prince’s men then revealed they had tracked the Ninth Prince’s location through the presence carried by his voice-transmission jade pendant.

• Elder Lin admitted he had betrayed the Ninth Prince for the promised reward, shocking Feng Ye and the guards.
• Ye Qiubai explained that he and the others had suspected the Ninth Prince’s actions and Elder Lin’s role did not add up.
• The Ninth Prince revealed he had left the wooden house and used the map and formation to confirm Elder Lin’s identity and identify the Third Prince as the recipient of the map.
• The Ninth Prince offered to forgive Elder Lin if he atoned through meritorious service, then told his brothers’ men to withdraw and said he did not blame them.
• The Third Prince’s elder declared that the Third Prince had anticipated the Ninth Prince’s schemes, and a man with a compass claimed he had traced the Ninth Prince’s location from the jade pendant’s lingering presence.

Cheng Dahai revealed that he had secretly accepted the Third Prince’s mission to infiltrate the Ninth Prince’s side, but the Ninth Prince unveiled hidden allies and a Mo Clan puppet army. The balance of power shifted as the Ninth Prince prepared to face the Third Prince’s forces.

• Feng Ye accused Cheng Dahai of betraying the Chaotic Spirit Academy, but Cheng Dahai showed her a mission scroll proving he had accepted the Third Prince’s undercover mission instead of the Ninth Prince’s escort mission.
• Cheng Dahai ordered Yu Cheng to use a compass to find the Ninth Prince, but the Ninth Prince emerged from the nearby forest and acknowledged that Cheng Dahai had outmaneuvered him.
• The Ninth Prince revealed that he had suspected Elder Lin was a spy and had secretly enlisted the Ghost Ancestor, Heavenly Thicket Sword Ancestor, and Golden Spear Ancestor to hold off the enemy Ancestor Realm experts.
• The Ninth Prince unfurled scrolls and unleashed a puppet army from the Mo Clan, giving his forces strength to stand against the three princes’ personal guards.
• Mu Fusheng remarked that the tables had turned, while Ye Qiubai, Xiao Hei, Shi Sheng, and Fang Qiong silently judged Mu Fusheng’s own hidden resources to be greater still.

The Ninth Prince defeated the Third Prince’s attempt to eliminate him, exposed Elder Lin’s betrayal, and thanked Xiao Hei and the others for helping his secret preparations. As the group traveled toward Nine Dragons City, Mu Fusheng slipped away to intimidate Cheng Dahai and the others by invoking his master’s reputation.

• The Third Prince’s forces retreated after the Heavenly Thicket Sword Ancestor, Ghost Ancestor, and Golden Spear Ancestor revealed their support for the Ninth Prince and his ties to the Mo Clan.
• The Ninth Prince ordered Elder Lin’s execution, and the three Ancestors killed him after he begged for mercy.
• Peng Dahai and Yu Cheng apologized to the Ninth Prince and departed, while Feng Ye and the others learned that their mission had helped conceal his strength from his rivals.
• The Ninth Prince invited Xiao Hei and the others to Nine Dragons City to receive their mission stamp and hospitality.
• Mu Fusheng secretly left the group to intimidate Cheng Dahai and the others, planning to borrow his master’s reputation.

Cheng Dahai and Yu Cheng were killed by Heavenly Thicket Sword Ancestor after they failed to intercept Xiao Hei and the others. Mu Fusheng, who had secretly watched the encounter, left the bodies behind and erased his own traces to avoid implicating his group.

• On the way back to Chaotic Spirit Academy, Cheng Dahai and Yu Cheng discussed reporting their failed mission and feared the Ninth Prince might retaliate.
• Heavenly Thicket Sword Ancestor intercepted Cheng Dahai and Yu Cheng, ignored Cheng Dahai’s appeal to Chaotic Spirit Academy, and destroyed his attempt to send a message.
• Heavenly Thicket Sword Ancestor killed Cheng Dahai and Yu Cheng with a single sword strike, annihilating their souls.
• A black-robed woman watched Heavenly Thicket Sword Ancestor depart, then examined the bodies before vanishing.
• Mu Fusheng returned with the Heavenly Lightning Escape Talisman and Eight Peaks Thunder Prison, revealed himself, and decided to leave the corpses while erasing his own presence.

Mu Fusheng concealed his meeting with Cheng from the Ninth Prince, who suspected he was behind the powerful presence that had killed Cheng Dahai and Yu Cheng. The group reached Nine Dragons City, where the Ninth Prince handed Feng Ye the Nine Dragons He Shi Bi and persuaded them to stay for a banquet and sparring.

• Mu Fusheng told Ye Qiubai and the others that he had reported the mission to the academy, then denied the Ninth Prince's suggestion that he had met Cheng.
• The Ninth Prince told the Heavenly Thicket Sword Ancestor that Mu Fusheng was probably connected to the overwhelming presence and decided to build a relationship with him.
• The Second Elder and three Law Enforcement Hall elders examined Cheng Dahai's and Yu Cheng's corpses and concluded that a Sword Dao Ancestor Realm expert had killed them.
• The Ninth Prince returned to Nine Dragons City and gave Feng Ye the sealed mission scroll and the dragon-shaped jade pendant containing the Nine Dragons He Shi Bi.
• The Ninth Prince invited Feng Ye and the others to a banquet and suggested they spar with talented young people, and Feng Ye agreed.

After returning to Nine Dragons City, the Ninth Prince hosted a banquet as rival princes weighed how to respond and Jiu Bailu quietly supported him from afar. The banquet began with the Third and Fifth Princes arriving to exchange veiled threats, while Ye Qiubai and the others watched.

• The Ninth Prince’s return drew ministers to the Azure Dragon Courtyard, and his banquet invitation angered the Third Prince, who decided to attend with a gift.
• The First Prince rejected the invitation and left to cultivate, while the Fifth Prince decided to go.
• Jiu Bailu learned that the Ninth Prince had returned and sent a gift instead of attending so she would not steal attention from him before he was named crown prince.
• The next day, Ye Qiubai and his companions took the first five seats at the crowded banquet, and Mu Fusheng explained that the important guests had not yet arrived.
• The Third and Fifth Princes arrived and exchanged friendly-sounding remarks with the Ninth Prince about his dangerous journey, while Mu Fusheng was left exasperated by Feng Ye’s confusion over their rivalry.

At the Ninth Prince’s banquet, gifts from powerful officials and the Second Princess strengthened his political position, while the Third and Fifth Princes arranged a martial contest to challenge his allies. Xiao Hei accepted Lan Yao’s challenge after Lan Yao provoked him, leaving their spar about to begin.

• The Third and Fifth Princes exchanged veiled threats with the Ninth Prince, and the Third Prince tried to recruit Ye Qiubai and his companions.
• Officials presented gifts to the Ninth Prince, including the Second Princess’s mysterious ice spirit rhinoceros bamboo, prompting more guests to reconsider their loyalties.
• The Fifth Prince proposed a sparring contest, and Feng Ye and Xiao Hei eagerly agreed to represent the group.
• Lan Yao of the Seven Kills Divine Sect challenged the group, mocked Xiao Hei’s strength, and prompted Xiao Hei to volunteer to fight first.

Xiao Hei fought Lan Yao despite their cultivation gap, using his powerful body and rapid healing to withstand the axes and suppress Lan Yao with relentless attacks. As Lan Yao prepared a powerful axe strike and Xiao Hei formed a black millstone phantom, the fifth prince ordered Lan Yao to withdraw.

• Lan Yao attacked Xiao Hei with both axes, intending to sever his arms, but Xiao Hei blocked the blades with his fists and stopped them between his bones.
• Lan Yao tried to force the axes through Xiao Hei’s hands, but Xiao Hei kicked at him and made him retreat as his wounds healed rapidly.
• Xiao Hei vanished, caught Lan Yao’s axes in his palm, and launched a reckless assault that temporarily suppressed Lan Yao.
• Xiao Hei kept attacking as his bloodline power, healing, and Demon Qi grew stronger, alarming Lan Yao and exciting Feng Ye.
• Lan Yao gathered a powerful presence in his axes while Xiao Hei formed a black millstone phantom, and the fifth prince ordered Lan Yao to withdraw.

At the Ninth Prince’s banquet, Xiao Hei and Feng Ye fought spars against the dynasty’s heavenly prides, demonstrating Chaotic Spirit Academy’s strength. After Zheng Xingrang openly challenged the Ninth Prince’s suitability as crown prince and stormed out, the academy group prepared to leave, but the Ninth Prince hinted that he and Mu Fusheng would meet again soon.

• Lan Yao admitted he had not used his full strength, but the Fifth Prince ended his spar with Xiao Hei and praised Chaotic Spirit Academy’s students; the Ninth Prince toasted Xiao Hei.
• Feng Ye defeated a Half-Step Ancestor Realm opponent, and no one else from the dynasty challenged the academy students during the remaining spars.
• At the banquet’s end, Zheng Xingrang, the Minister of War, argued that the Ninth Prince lacked the experience to become crown prince, then left after the Ninth Prince rebuked him.
• Mu Fusheng, Ye Qiubai, and Feng Ye discussed how Zheng Xingrang’s defiance had undermined the Ninth Prince’s banquet before deciding to return to the academy.
• The Ninth Prince saw Feng Ye and the others off and told Mu Fusheng they would meet again soon, leaving Mu Fusheng worried that he had revealed flaws.

After returning to Chaotic Spirit Academy, Feng Ye, Ye Qiubai, Mu Fusheng, and the others were arrested by the Law Enforcement Hall over Cheng Dahai and Yu Cheng’s deaths. The hall master questioned them and threatened them with torture, while the First Elder prepared to let them endure the ordeal before helping them establish their standing.

• On the journey back, Mu Fusheng reflected on how the Ninth Prince had noticed his absence and resolved to ask his master for help concealing his movements.
• Mu Fusheng warned Feng Ye and the others that the Law Enforcement Hall would likely target them over Cheng Dahai and Yu Cheng’s deaths, and Feng Ye planned to seek her master’s support.
• Elders from the Law Enforcement Hall arrested Feng Ye, Ye Qiubai, Mu Fusheng, and their companions as soon as they returned to Chaotic Spirit Academy.
• Tan Zongzhao urged the First Elder to rescue them, but the First Elder told him to prepare healing medicines and wait outside the Law Enforcement Hall.
• The hall master questioned Feng Ye and the others about the deaths, and Xiao Hei argued that the bodies’ wounds could prove they were not responsible.
• The hall master accused them of remaining suspicious and threatened to have the deacons torture them with barbed iron whips.

Xiao Hei and the others endured the Law Enforcement Hall’s soul-piercing torture while refusing to confess to Cheng Dahai and Yu Cheng’s deaths. The Fourth Elder arrived and waited outside, saying his presence alone was not enough to build momentum, just as another old man approached.

• The hall master exempted Feng Ye from suspicion but ordered the special admissions students tortured with barbed whips until they confessed.
• Xiao Hei and the others recognized Xiao Hei’s plan and put away their sword formation jade pendants as they endured the whipping.
• News of the students’ arrest spread, and He Xiangwang and Liang Qing came to watch, expecting the students to suffer lasting soul injuries.
• Feng Ye returned with the Fourth Elder, who sat outside the Law Enforcement Hall and said his presence alone was not enough to build momentum.
• As Xiao Hei and the others continued to be whipped, another old man approached and greeted the Fourth Elder.