Chapter Summaries

The Fourth and Fifth Elders, an Inner Tower elder, and Elder Fen intervened as the Second Elder tried to keep the special recruits imprisoned and discredit the First Elder. The Law Enforcement Hall halted its torture, but Xiao Hei refused to accept its apology, and Elder Fen entered in flames, condemning the hall.

• The Fifth Elder joined the Fourth Elder in challenging the Law Enforcement Hall elder for imprisoning Fang Qiong and the others without evidence.
• The Second Elder ordered the interrogation to continue, believing the Fourth and Fifth Elders could not force him to back down.
• An Inner Tower elder publicly delivered the Nine Dragons Divine Dynasty’s commendation to Mu Fusheng, Feng Ye, Ye Qiubai, Xiao Hei, Shi Sheng, and Fang Qiong.
• Elder Fen arrived at the Law Enforcement Hall, and the hall master stopped the interrogation after failing to reach the Second Elder.
• The hall master offered Xiao Hei pills and apologized, but Xiao Hei rejected them and demanded that the interrogation produce a result.
• Elder Fen burned through the Law Enforcement Hall’s doors and declared that the hall had no reason to exist if it operated this way.

Elder Fen exposed the Law Enforcement Hall's unjust treatment of Xiao Hei and his companions, forcing the hall master to leave the academy and overturning the Second Elder's scheme. The First Elder rewarded the group with contribution points, flawless Primordial Stones, and a place in Heaven Character Courtyard No. 1 as they prepared to enter seclusion.

• Elder Fen challenged the hall master's accusations, expelled him from the academy, and sent Xiao Hei and his companions to Tan Zongzhao.
• The Fourth and Fifth Elders praised the group, and the Fifth Elder invited Fang Qiong to discuss the Array Dao.
• Tan Zongzhao explained that the First Elder had turned the Second Elder's power play against him and toppled the Law Enforcement Hall's influence.
• The First Elder gave Xiao Hei and his companions contribution points and flawless Primordial Stones, while Tan Zongzhao assigned them Heaven Character Courtyard No. 1.
• Ye Qiubai said the group would enter seclusion, and the First Elder predicted they would soon become renowned throughout the Chaos Realm.

After the upheaval at the Law Enforcement Hall, Xiao Hei and the others entered the inheritance secret realms for a second time and climbed the rankings at a startling pace. They stopped at positions suited to their breakthroughs, and all of them advanced in cultivation.

• A vice dean took charge of the rebuilt Law Enforcement Hall while the Second Elder stayed in seclusion and ordered an investigation into the true culprit.
• Xiao Hei and the others entered the inheritance secret realms instead of accepting the elders’ invitations, with Elder Fen warning Xiao Hei not to push too far in the Heaven Refining Tower.
• On their first day, Xiao Hei, Ye Qiubai, Shi Sheng, and Fang Qiong rose rapidly through their secret realm rankings, while Mu Fusheng still did not appear on the rankings.
• Over the next month, Xiao Hei reached thirteenth place, Ye Qiubai reached fourteenth, Shi Sheng reached twelfth, and Fang Qiong reached tenth.
• Feng Ye and Tan Zongzhao discussed how Mu Fusheng was hiding his strength and agreed that the Second Elder had deserved to pay for his actions.
• After a month without further ranking changes, Xiao Hei and the others continued to cultivate at places suited to breakthroughs, and all of them advanced.

Xiao Hei overwhelmed Feng Ye in their rematch, while Hong Ying and Ning Chenxin decided Azure Firmament Academy needed better cultivation methods and asked Lu Changsheng to provide them. Lu Changsheng bristled at being asked to create dozens of methods, as Liu Ziru was dragged back into Mu Wan'er’s pill testing.

• Xiao Hei reached the late God Emperor realm and suppressed Feng Ye during their full-strength spar, but Feng Ye fled after claiming her master had given her a mission.
• Azure Firmament Academy grew stronger through the Fusheng Diagram and Ancient Battlefield legacies, and Hong Ying asked Ning Chenxin whether those cultivation methods could match Lu Changsheng’s.
• Hong Ying proposed asking Lu Changsheng for cultivation methods, while Ning Chenxin warned that powerful resources could outpace students’ character; they agreed to screen cultivators and oversee their progress.
• Hong Ying and Ning Chenxin took Liu Ziru to the Changsheng Realm, where Mu Wan'er welcomed him back to test another pill.
• Hong Ying asked Lu Changsheng to create dozens of growth-type cultivation methods, and he objected to being treated like a tool.

Lu Changsheng created dozens of powerful cultivation techniques for Azure Firmament Academy and forced Liu Ziru to test a cauldron of his new pills. Hong Ying and Ning Chenxin brought the techniques back to the academy, where a teacher marveled at the students’ future prospects.

• Hong Ying blamed Liu Ziru for suggesting they ask Lu Changsheng for help, and Lu Changsheng made Liu Ziru eat a handful of his new pills.
• Liu Ziru collapsed as the pills triggered major changes in his body and began loosening his cultivation bottleneck.
• Hong Ying and Ning Chenxin asked Lu Changsheng to create cultivation techniques for Azure Firmament Academy’s students, and he produced dozens of Creation-grade techniques.
• Lu Changsheng told Hong Ying and Ning Chenxin to take the techniques back to the academy and have the students assessed for character and trustworthiness.
• A teacher at Azure Firmament Academy wondered whether Lu Changsheng’s techniques could make the academy the strongest in the Six Realms.

Azure Firmament Academy began its student assessment while, in the Chaos Realm, He Xiangwang challenged Xiao Hei after reaching the Ancestor Realm. Before Xiao Hei could respond, the Ninth Prince of the Nine Dragons Divine Dynasty requested the group’s help, and they agreed to take the mission.

• Hong Ying, Ning Chenxin, the Teacher, and the elders watched the Ancient Battlefield assessment and agreed to wait until its final stage before choosing personal disciples.
• Ye Qiubai and Shi Sheng advanced in their cultivation and rankings, while Mu Fusheng trained in the Raging Lightning Sea, Xiao Hei sparred on the Cloudsoaring Platform, and Fang Qiong exchanged Array Dao insights with the Fifth Elder.
• He Xiangwang reached the ninetieth floor of the Heaven Refining Tower, broke through to the Early Ancestor Realm, and challenged Xiao Hei while offering to suppress his cultivation.
• The Inner Tower announced that the Ninth Prince had asked Chaotic Spirit Academy for help against the Third Prince, Fifth Prince, and Eldest Prince, specifically requesting Mu Fusheng, Xiao Hei, and the others.
• Ye Qiubai and the others gathered at Heaven Character Courtyard No. 1 and agreed to accept the mission, though Mu Fusheng suspected the Ninth Prince had sought him out for a particular reason.

Xiao Hei, Mu Fusheng, and Fang Qiong traveled to Nine Dragons City and accepted the Crown Prince’s request to represent his force in the God Emperor division of the Military Martial Exhibition. With seven days before the event, Xiao Hei and Fang Qiong prepared to cultivate while Mu Fusheng went out to investigate the city.

• Xiao Hei, Mu Fusheng, and Fang Qiong arrived in Nine Dragons City and were escorted to the Azure Dragon Courtyard by Elder Chu.
• The Crown Prince explained that he wanted them to compete in the Military Martial Exhibition to help him gain influence over the military, and offered them one hundred thousand flawless Primordial Stones and a Heaven-Burning Pill.
• Mu Fusheng and the others agreed to compete, and the Crown Prince gave them a token and arranged their lodging before leaving for the imperial palace.
• After they reached their lodgings, Xiao Hei and Fang Qiong chose to cultivate while Mu Fusheng disguised and concealed himself before going out to gather information.

Mu Fusheng investigated Nine Dragons City’s factions and learned that the crown prince faced long odds in the military exercises, while Jiu Bailu’s unexplained absence from public reports made him wary. Jiu Bailu intercepted him, revealed her identity, and left him determined to complete the mission and leave the city quickly.

• Mu Fusheng gathered information about the princes, the six ministries, and the military exercises, learning that the first, third, and fifth princes had joined forces against the crown prince.
• Mu Fusheng learned that the sovereign relied on an imperial guard while allowing the princes to compete for power, and he wondered about Jiu Bailu, the second-ranked imperial child, whose activities were unknown.
• Jiu Bailu intercepted Mu Fusheng in a peach grove, introduced herself, and said she wanted to see what made him different.
• Mu Fusheng returned to the courtyard and told Xiao Hei and Fang Qiong what he had learned, then pleaded with Xiao Hei not to help him pursue Jiu Bailu.

Mu Fusheng, Xiao Hei, and Fang Qiong attended a banquet in the Nine Dragons Imperial Palace before the military exercises. After the emperor allowed them to remain standing, Jiu Bailu hinted that she had come because she was curious about someone, leaving Mu Fusheng worried she meant him.

• Mu Fusheng, Xiao Hei, and Fang Qiong traveled to the imperial palace for the emperor's banquet and took seats behind the crown prince.
• The eldest prince demanded that the three kneel before the emperor, but the emperor allowed the Chaotic Spirit Academy talents to remain standing.
• The emperor asked his officials about preparations for the upcoming military exercises and noticed that Jiu Bailu had attended the banquet.
• Jiu Bailu said she had come because she was curious about someone, and Mu Fusheng sensed that she was looking at him.

At a banquet held alongside the Nine Dragons Divine Dynasty’s military drills, the Third Prince proposed a sparring contest, and Cang Ming challenged the crown prince’s side. When Mu Fusheng tried to avoid fighting, Jiu Bailu singled him out, drawing the attention of the emperor and the Black Tortoise Holy Son.

• The Black Tortoise Holy Son praised Jiu Bailu, while Mu Fusheng said he wanted to avoid her and would only seek a Dao companion once he was beyond danger.
• The Third Prince asked the emperor to hold a sparring contest for the visiting factions, and the emperor approved it with a fief and a seat as the prize for the winner of every match.
• Cang Ming of Canghua Mountain Villa challenged someone under the crown prince, aiming to test the crown prince’s strength and prestige.
• The crown prince asked his companions to take the field, but Xiao Hei declined and Mu Fusheng pretended not to hear.
• Jiu Bailu said she was curious about Mu Fusheng’s strength, causing the crown prince, the emperor, and the Black Tortoise Holy Son to focus on him.

Mu Fusheng accepted Cang Ming’s challenge after deciding to disguise his true strength and mislead those probing him. Their spar began in the imperial hall, where Cang Ming shattered Mu Fusheng’s lightning attacks and questioned why Jiu Bailu had noticed him.

• Jiu Bailu’s request for Mu Fusheng to spar with Cang Ming drew the crown prince, the third prince, and the Xuanming Holy Son into a dispute over whether he should fight.
• Mu Fusheng agreed to meet Cang Ming, intending to make his hidden strength seem limited without using his trump cards.
• Cang Ming drew his bloodstained Bloodtooth Saber and charged Mu Fusheng with a blood-reeking attack.
• Mu Fusheng used the Eight Peaks Thunder Prison and a talisman to form lightning attacks against Cang Ming.
• Cang Ming split a lightning peak and shattered the lightning spear, then challenged Mu Fusheng’s worthiness of Jiu Bailu’s attention.

Mu Fusheng appeared to struggle against Cang Ming’s Blood Shadow Mad Saber, then trapped him in a lightning net and detonated talismans hidden among the lightning peaks. After Cang Ming accused him of using underhanded tricks, Mu Fusheng revealed more talismans around his feet and challenged him to withstand them.

• Cang Ming shattered Mu Fusheng’s lightning peaks with his Blood Shadow Mad Saber while Mu Fusheng acted as though he was being overwhelmed.
• As Cang Ming destroyed the remaining peaks, Mu Fusheng’s talismans formed a lightning net that trapped Cang Ming.
• Mu Fusheng detonated the talismans, dissipating Cang Ming’s blood shadow and leaving both fighters wounded.
• Cang Ming accused Mu Fusheng of relying on external aids, but Mu Fusheng said he had inscribed the talismans himself.
• Cang Ming claimed he could still strike again, and Mu Fusheng revealed talismans surrounding Cang Ming’s feet.

Mu Fusheng defeated Cang Ming with a talisman trap, then watched tensions rise when Xiao Hei challenged the Xuanming Holy Son. The emperor halted the brewing fight, and the banquet ended with the military exercises still ahead.

• Cang Ming conceded after the Xuanming Holy Son explained how Mu Fusheng had trapped him with talismans, and Mu Fusheng put them away.
• The emperor praised Mu Fusheng’s victory, while Cang Ming left in disgrace and the third prince watched with a gloomy expression.
• The Black Tortoise Holy Son criticized victories based on schemes, prompting an argument between the ministers and the Xuanming Holy Son over strength and tactics.
• Xiao Hei smashed a table and challenged the Xuanming Holy Son, who accepted after Xiao Hei taunted him.
• The emperor stopped the fight because the banquet and upcoming military exercises made further sparring unwise.
• Jiu Bailu left ahead of Mu Fusheng, Xiao Hei, Fang Qiong, and the crown prince, who invited them to discuss the military exercises at his residence.

Mu Fusheng left the Azure Dragon Courtyard and met Jiu Bailu in a secluded courtyard after she summoned him. She told him that an unbreakable thread of karma seemed to connect them.

• The crown prince explained the three stages of the military exercises to Xiao Hei and Fang Qiong, describing the Nine Dragons Mountain Range dragon-soul contest and warning them about the stronger armies.
• Xiao Hei and Fang Qiong accepted the assignment, and the crown prince promised them the reward whether they won or lost.
• After returning to their courtyard and finding Mu Fusheng absent, Xiao Hei and Fang Qiong assumed he had an important reason to leave.
• Mu Fusheng went to Jiu Bailu's secluded courtyard, where she had dismissed everyone, including the hidden sentries.
• Jiu Bailu asked Mu Fusheng whether he believed in karma, then said an unbreakable thread of karma seemed to connect them.

Jiu Bailu revealed that her Golden Pupils of Fate let her see karmic connections and refused Mu Fusheng’s requests to keep their relationship secret. She asked him to help her younger brother, the crown prince, during the military exercises, and Mu Fusheng later joined the Azure Dragon Army as the third stage approached.

• Jiu Bailu explained that her eyes could see rough karmic connections and more of a person’s strength, and said she and Mu Fusheng were not enemies.
• Mu Fusheng asked Jiu Bailu to avoid meeting him, act as if she did not know him, and keep him secret, but she refused.
• Jiu Bailu told Mu Fusheng to help the crown prince in the military exercises and revealed that he was her only family and younger brother.
• Mu Fusheng and his companions watched the first two stages and assessed the armies, identifying the eldest prince’s Torch Dragon Army and Reverse Scale Army and the third prince’s Scarlet Dragon Army as the strongest threats.
• After gathering intelligence and inscribing talismans, Mu Fusheng and his two companions went with the crown prince to the Azure Dragon Army on the final day before the third stage began.

Mu Fusheng and the other two joined the Azure Dragon Army as outside help, while the crown prince ordered the army to heed their advice. At the Nine Dragons Mountain Range, the emperor announced a reward for the victorious army, and the crown prince wagered his position against control of the first and third princes’ armies.

• The crown prince introduced Mu Fusheng and the other two to the Azure Dragon Army and ordered the soldiers and commander to listen to their suggestions.
• Mu Fusheng asked whether the crown prince’s order might cause rebellion, and the crown prince told them to earn the army’s trust by accomplishing something early in the third stage.
• The emperor announced that the victorious army could keep the dragon souls it retrieved and enter the Divine Weapons Pavilion and the Scripture Pavilion.
• The crown prince declared that he would step down if the Azure Dragon Army failed to take first place.
• The crown prince wagered that, if the Azure Dragon Army won, the first and third princes would hand over the Reverse Scale Army and Scarlet Dragon Army, and both princes accepted.

The crown prince secured his brothers’ agreement to a high-stakes wager over the military exercise, while Mu Fusheng warned the Azure Dragon Army that their rivals would target them before searching for dragon souls. He proposed using that expected attack to lure the other princes’ forces into an ambush around a dragon soul.

• The third prince and eldest prince accepted the crown prince’s wager, and the emperor tacitly approved it.
• Jiu Bailu watched Mu Fusheng through Mirror Flower, Water Moon, drawing the Xuanming Holy Son’s jealous attention.
• The Azure Dragon Army’s commanders studied the map, and Mu Fusheng offered to sense Dragon Qi without revealing the Nine Dragons He Shi Bi.
• Mu Fusheng argued that the rival princes would attack the crown prince’s army first and proposed laying an ambush near a dragon soul.
• The commanders reconsidered Mu Fusheng’s plan after recognizing that his reasoning was sound.

Mu Fusheng led the Azure Dragon Army into an ambush while secretly using its exposed deployment to lure three rival armies into range. The enemy attack was blocked by hidden talismans and a formation, but the chapter ended as lightning surrounded the armies and three swords of destruction appeared overhead.

• The Azure Dragon Commander agreed to follow Mu Fusheng's instructions, deciding that the army had little to lose either way.
• Mu Fusheng located the dragon soul, then had the Azure Dragon Army conceal itself while he and Fang Qiong prepared talismans and formations.
• Mu Fusheng, Fang Qiong, and Xiao Hei recognized that spies were among the Azure Dragon Army and discussed using them against the enemy.
• The Torch Dragon, Reverse Scale, and Scarlet Dragon Armies learned the Azure Dragon Army's location and marched to surround its ambush position.
• The three armies attacked the exposed positions, but hidden talismans and Fang Qiong's formation formed a lightning net that canceled their strikes.
• Lightning erupted around the armies as three swords radiating the Power of Destruction appeared above them.

Mu Fusheng, Fang Qiong, and Xiao Hei ambushed the Torch Dragon Army, Reverse Scale Army, and Scarlet Dragon Army on Azure Dragon Mountain, routing them with hidden talismans and the Lesser God-Slaying Sword Array. The Azure Dragon Army trusted Mu Fusheng after the victory, and he planned to gather more dragon souls while rooting out spies.

• Mu Fusheng activated hidden talismans as Fang Qiong unleashed the Lesser God-Slaying Sword Array and Xiao Hei charged the Torch Dragon Army.
• The three enemy armies retreated, losing nearly twenty percent of their strength, while the Azure Dragon Army suffered no losses.
• The crown prince mocked his brothers and the Xuanming Holy Son after their prediction of an Azure Dragon Army defeat proved wrong.
• The Azure Dragon Commander and his deputies apologized to Mu Fusheng and pledged to follow his orders.
• Mu Fusheng ordered the Azure Dragon Army to secure the Azure Dragon Soul, seek dragon souls on other mountains, and deal with suspected spies.

Mu Fusheng, Xiao Hei, and Fang Qiong drove suspected spies from the Azure Dragon Army and persuaded its commanders to ambush the other armies at White Dragon Mountain. Xiao Hei absorbed the Azure Dragon Soul and advanced to the half-step Ancestor Realm, while the spectators realized the Azure Dragon Army planned to trap its rivals.

• Mu Fusheng and Xiao Hei identified seven suspected spies in the Azure Dragon Army, and the trio sent them out of the Nine Dragons Mountain Range.
• After learning the armies would eventually converge at White Dragon Mountain, Mu Fusheng proposed skipping the other dragon souls and preparing an ambush there.
• Fang Qiong convinced the Azure Dragon commanders that his and Mu Fusheng’s arrays and talismans could offset the other armies’ numerical advantage, and the commanders accepted the plan.
• Xiao Hei charged into the Azure Dragon Soul and absorbed it, advancing from the late stage of the God Emperor Realm to the half-step Ancestor Realm.
• The Azure Dragon Army headed for White Dragon Mountain to prepare its ambush, and the spectators realized it intended to catch the other armies in one net.