Chapter Summaries

Ye Tianming killed Zhao Xiu after the Zhao Family tried to use official business to seize his family’s estate and Guanxuan Academy admission, then prepared to leave for the academy and confront Zhao Yu. An Qi broke off their childhood bond and advanced to the Myriad Law Realm, while An Yan warned his father that the An Clan’s treatment of Ye Tianming could bring disaster.

• Ye Tianming stabbed Zhao Xiu, and Ye Nan killed Zhao Xiu and ordered the guards’ bodies disposed of after Ye Family fighters killed them.
• Ye Tianming said he would leave for Guanxuan Academy the next day and kill Zhao Yu, then encountered a strand of Great Dao Fortune that he could not grasp.
• An Qi watched Ye Tianming fail to obtain the fortune and decided to sever ties with him, believing he had no future.
• An Xiao offered Ye Tianming three Qi Drawing Pills to repay his debt to An Qi, and An Qi told Ye Tianming they were unsuited before he left without looking back.
• An Qi broke through to the Myriad Law Realm, and An Xiao celebrated her engagement to Nanling Yun as well as her advancement.
• An Yan objected to how the An Clan had treated Ye Tianming and warned An Xiao that leaving him alive could bring great disaster.

Ye Tianming created a cultivation technique that drew Spiritual Qi into him without limit, advancing him to the Myriad Law Realm. As he prepared to leave for Guanxuan Academy and confront Zhao Yu, his family sent him off with support and confidence in his future.

• Ye Tianming completed his technique and absorbed so much Spiritual Qi that he passed out, while secretly advancing from the True Law Realm to the Myriad Law Realm.
• After waking, Ye Tianming packed for Guanxuan Academy in Qingzhou, intending to confront Zhao Yu before the Zhao Family could retaliate.
• Li E gave Ye Tianming a storage ring containing supplies and nine hundred spirit crystals, and he bid farewell to her and Ye Nan.
• An old man warned Ye Nan that Ye Tianming's strength might threaten his position, so Ye Nan struck him down and ordered him killed for sowing discord.
• Ye Zong told the younger generation to stop overworking themselves and promised to raise the whole clan once he became a great emperor.

Ye Tianming traveled toward Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy and encountered Nanling Zhao, an inspector investigating Zhao Xiu’s death and the exploitation of the Ye Family. Nanling Zhao ultimately burned Ye Tianming’s wanted notice and let him go, while Ye Tianming resolved to take control of his fate and began seeking new ways to cultivate.

• Ye Tianming discarded Zhao Xiu’s storage rings in a river before meeting Nanling Zhao, who confronted him about the killings but found no evidence and let him leave.
• Nanling Zhao investigated the Ye Family’s underpaid demolition compensation and learned that the exploitation ran through several layers of businesses and powerful clans.
• Nanling Zhao ordered Zhou Yuan and the Immortal Treasure Pavilion’s steward to punish the Zhao Family and compensate the Ye Family, but Zhou Yuan and Old Mo decided to stall while discreetly helping the Ye Family.
• Nanling Zhao caught up with Ye Tianming, burned his wanted notice, and told him they were both trying to make it through a dark world.
• Ye Tianming realized Nanling Zhao could have killed him and committed himself to mastering his own fate, refining his Heavenly Mandate Art, and experimenting with energies beyond Spiritual Qi.

Ye Tianming arrived at Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy to claim his special-admission place, but the Xiao Family pressured the academy to cancel it for one of their own. Fang Xiao challenged the order and appealed for fairness, while Xiao Yuan planned to force Ye Tianming to give up the slot; the chapter ended before Ye learned what was happening.

• Ye Tianming arrived at Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy and presented his special-admission papers to Zhang Nan.
• A black-clad youth summoned Zhang Nan away, and he learned that the Xiao Family had ordered the academy to cancel a special-admission student's place.
• Fang Xiao refused to carry out the order and told Elder Yu that he would appeal to higher authorities to defend Ye Tianming's place.
• Elder Yu met Xiao Yuan, who proposed making Ye Tianming voluntarily surrender his slot or forcing him to leave without dignity.

Ye Tianming refused Xiao Nu’s demand for his special admission slot and was threatened by the Xiao Family, while Fang Xiao defended him and was punished with a transfer. After learning that the Fang Family had also been targeted, Ye Tianming charged onto the Guanxuan Dao to seek an audience with the Guanxuan Sword Master, activating it for the first time in a hundred years.

• Xiao Nu offered Ye Tianming fifteen Qi Drawing Pills for his special admission slot, then threatened his family when he refused.
• Ye Tianming cursed Xiao Nu, and Fang Xiao intervened, trying to have him arrested for threatening an academy student.
• Elder Yu destroyed Ye Tianming’s Cloud Recorder and issued a transfer order removing Fang Xiao from his Inspectorate post.
• Fang Lian told Fang Xiao something that made him accuse Elder Yu and the Xiao Family of interfering with the Fang Family, and Fang Xiao left with Ye Tianming.
• Ye Tianming turned back and charged onto the Guanxuan Dao, declaring that he had suffered a grave injustice and sought an audience with the Guanxuan Sword Master.
• The Guanxuan Dao enveloped Ye Tianming in golden light and activated, shaking Qingzhou and the ten thousand continents.

Ye Tianming entered the Guanxuan Dao after the academy and Xiao Family left him no other path, drawing attention across Wan Prefecture. In the first trial, he used the ten opponents’ divine lightning to break through to the Minor Tribulation Realm, but the opponents began advancing as well.

• Elder Yu realized Ye Tianming’s challenge could ruin his political future, while Xiao Nu noted that the first trial required defeating ten opponents at the same realm and failure meant death.
• The Guanxuan Dao’s activation was broadcast across Wan Prefecture, and crowds gathered to watch Ye Tianming; Chief Steward Yuan demanded three spirit crystals from spectators at the Immortal Treasure Pavilion.
• Ye Tianming told Little Pagoda he wanted to ask the Guanxuan Sword Master whether he knew how dark the world had become, then entered the trial and faced ten Myriad Law Realm opponents.
• Ye Tianming drew on their divine lightning, using the Heavenly Mandate Art to absorb some of it while the rest tempered his body.
• Ye Tianming reached the Minor Tribulation Realm and knocked two opponents away, but the ten illusory figures’ strength began rising toward the same realm.

Ye Tianming passed the first trial of the Guanxuan Dao by defeating the copied experts and discovering that he could stack the Heaven-Slaying Sword-Drawing Technique, though the move badly injured him and destroyed his weapon. He entered the second trial, where his examiner asked whether the Guanxuan Sword Master should exist.

• Ye Tianming defeated seven Myriad Law Realm phantoms, then fought the three that had advanced to the Minor Tribulation Realm and studied their copied techniques.
• Ye Tianming stacked two Heaven-Slaying Sword-Drawing Techniques, destroying the three phantoms but also his sword and sheath and severely injuring his right arm.
• Little Pagoda admitted that it had not taught Ye Tianming to stack the technique, and Ye Tianming left the first trial to find a second gate waiting outside.
• Elder Yu warned Xiao Nu against attacking Ye Tianming in front of the watching crowd, though both remained uneasy about his progress.
• Ye Tianming entered the second trial and met a woman who identified herself as his examiner; after leading him to tea, she asked whether the Guanxuan Sword Master should exist.

Ye Tianming passed the second stage of the Guanxuan Dao by arguing that the Guanxuan Sword Master should exist only as an ideal, then discussed privilege and reform with his examiner, Sister Sang. She awarded him a golden seal marked “God” before a woman in purple arrived.

• Sister Sang asked Ye Tianming whether the Guanxuan Sword Master should exist, and Ye Tianming argued that people should follow the Sword Master's ideals instead of relying on a living savior.
• Sister Sang asked whether the Sword Master's ideals could be realized, and Ye Tianming said beautiful faith could be acceptable as long as people stayed clear-headed and were not enslaved by it.
• Sister Sang invited Ye Tianming to eat and began testing his views on the sects and aristocratic families of the Guanxuan Universe.
• Ye Tianming blamed the Yang Family and the established privileged groups for blocking social mobility, then said reform could not eliminate inequality on its own.
• Sister Sang ended their conversation, told Ye Tianming he had passed, and gave him a golden seal marked “God.”
• A woman in a purple dress entered the courtyard and greeted Sister Sang.

Ye Tianming passed the Guanxuan Dao’s second trial, triggering Qingzhou’s self-investigation and a sweeping response from its officials and guards. As Ye Tianming was escorted to safety, the Xiao Family scrambled to contain the fallout and considered targeting the Fang Family for supporting him.

• The woman explained to Ye Tianming that rulers tolerated greedy subordinates as a trade-off, then said he passed because he dared to speak the truth; Ye Tianming replied that people also needed to listen to it.
• Ye Tianming questioned why the Guanxuan Dao was so difficult if the Guanxuan Sword Master wanted ordinary people to live better, and the woman urged him not to lose hope before he returned to the trial path.
• The third gate vanished and the word “investigate” appeared above Ye Tianming, announcing Qingzhou’s self-investigation; Zhou Yuan and Old Mo hurried to release Ye Lin.
• Guanxuan Guards and Realm Guardians gathered to protect Ye Tianming, who asked them to secure his family before agreeing to go to Guanxuan Hall with Fang Xiao.
• Qingzhou’s officials and academy personnel mobilized as the Xiao Family prepared for the investigation; Xiao Feng ordered relatives to seek allies and intercede with the Outer Pavilion.
• Xiao Qun advised Xiao Feng to isolate the Fang Family from Ye Tianming and threatened to destroy them if they continued to support him.

Ye Tianming warned Fang Xiao that the Xiao Family would retaliate against them, and Fang Xiao sent a confidential memorial to the Inspection Court before returning to his family. When the academy's deputy head tried to dismiss the attempted seizure of Ye Tianming's admission slot as a misunderstanding, Ye Tianming demanded justice and threatened to kill himself in Guanxuan Hall.

• Xiao Qun and Xiao Feng decided to prepare for a fight if they could not reach an agreement with the Fang Family.
• Ye Tianming told Fang Xiao that the Xiao Family might threaten his family and target Fang Xiao, and Fang Xiao agreed that the Xiao Family would likely move against them.
• Fang Lian summoned Fang Xiao back to the family, while Fang Xiao revealed that he had sent a confidential memorial about Ye Tianming's case to the Inspection Court.
• Fang Xiao advised Ye Tianming to find a powerful backer, but Little Pagoda told Ye Tianming that he had to rely on himself.
• The academy's deputy head claimed the Xiao Family's attempt to buy Ye Tianming's special admission slot had been a misunderstanding, but Ye Tianming demanded severe punishment for everyone involved.
• Ye Tianming drew his sword and cut his neck, threatening to die if he could not get justice, and Zhou Qing rushed in to stop him.

After Ye Tianming threatened to kill himself, Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy’s leaders debated how to contain the scandal without exposing their own corruption. They decided to pressure him into dropping the case by threatening his family and relying on the Xiao Family to carry out the threat.

• The deputy academy master withdrew after Ye Tianming threatened to slit his throat, and Zhou Qing promised not to let anyone enter without permission.
• Ye Tianming said he would rather die and drag down the Xiao Family, but Zhou Qing urged him to survive and seek a powerful mentor.
• At the Qingzhou Inspection Institute, an elder argued that punishing the Xiao Family could expose corruption among academy leaders and their predecessors.
• Elder Ling proposed letting Ye Tianming die, but Yuan Qi warned that his death could cost them their positions or land them in prison.
• Yuan Qi proposed forcing Ye Tianming to abandon the case by threatening his family and allowing the Xiao Family to carry out the threat.

Ye Tianming refined the Heavenly Mandate Art with Little Pagoda’s help until Yuan Qi arrived to present the Xiao Family’s terms and threaten his family. Just as Ye Tianming chose to fight back, Nanling Zhao stopped him and took him toward the Guanxuan Realm to seek justice, escorted by guards from other provinces.

• Ye Tianming and Little Pagoda improved the Heavenly Mandate Art and agreed to name it the Heavenly Mandate Pagoda Ancestor Art.
• Yuan Qi told Ye Tianming that the academy would not oppose the Xiao Family and offered him compensation and conditional protection in exchange for settling the matter.
• Yuan Qi revealed that Xiao Family experts were approaching and threatened that the Ye Family would be killed if Ye Tianming resisted.
• Ye Tianming set his flesh and soul ablaze and drew the Sword of Upholding the Dao, but Nanling Zhao arrived and stopped him.
• Nanling Zhao summoned Hu Pan and Liu Yan with several thousand Guanxuan Guard experts, then led Ye Tianming toward the Guanxuan Realm to present a petition to the throne.

Nanling Zhao defied Qingzhou Academy and fought her way out with Ye Tianming, resisting Ji Shi’s attempt to keep him under Qingzhou’s jurisdiction. As she confronted Xiao Family assassins in the sky, they threatened to slaughter the Ye Family unless Ye Tianming went with them.

• Nanling Zhao took Ye Tianming toward the Guanxuan Realm, but Ji Shi and Qingzhou forces tried to stop them; Hu Pan and Liu Yan brought their guards to support her.
• Nanling Zhao fought through the encirclement, overcame Ji Shi’s Qingzhou Academy Master’s Seal with her Inspector’s Seal, and escaped with Ye Tianming.
• Black-clad experts ambushed Nanling Zhao and Ye Tianming in the sky, and she drove them back with the Inspector’s Seal.
• Nanling Zhao rejected the Xiao Family’s offer to withdraw, while Ye Tianming asked to face the danger himself and she told him she was defending justice.
• The black-clad leader revealed that his men had surrounded the Ye Family and threatened to kill everyone there unless Ye Tianming went with them.

Ye Tianming swore revenge on the Xiao Family as its men threatened his family, but Nanling Zhao and her allies intervened to rescue him. After fleeing with Ye Tianming and suffering a severe wound, Nanling Zhao learned about his self-created cultivation technique and how he passed the Guanxuan Dao trials.

• Ye Tianming rejected the Xiao Family leader’s threats and swore that he would make the Xiao Family suffer if he survived.
• Nanling Zhao revealed that she had sent academy friends to protect the Ye Family, then used the Inspector’s Seal to help her escape with Ye Tianming.
• A Saint Realm spear attack pierced Nanling Zhao, but Pei Buleng arrived from the Sword Sect and held off the Xiao Family’s men.
• Nanling Zhao collapsed with Ye Tianming in a mountain range, where he treated her wound and she apologized for not investigating the Qingzhou City events further.
• Ye Tianming showed Nanling Zhao the cultivation technique he had created and explained how he passed the second and third Guanxuan Dao trials.

Nanling Zhao recovered from her wounds while Ye Tianming carried her to a secluded cave to avoid an attack by the Xiao Family. She explained the Immortal Treasure Pavilion’s Martial Pavilion and its pursuit of Realm-Ignoring techniques, then reassured Ye Tianming that her allies and clan were protecting his family.

• Nanling Zhao praised Ye Tianming’s courage and told him they would travel to the Guanxuan Realm by teleportation array once she had recovered.
• Ye Tianming carried Nanling Zhao to a cave, understanding that staying hidden would keep them safe from the Xiao Family while they waited for reinforcements.
• Nanling Zhao urged Ye Tianming to seek entry to the Immortal Treasure Pavilion’s Martial Pavilion and explained its role in developing martial arts and pursuing Realm-Ignoring creations.
• Nanling Zhao described the Martial Pavilion’s scarce, politically contested places and how membership could protect Ye Tianming from powerful families.
• Nanling Zhao told Ye Tianming that her friends were looking after the Ye Family and that her clan had sent experts to Qingzhou City; Ye Tianming began thanking her.

Ye Tianming earned a place in the Sword Sect and learned that officials were preparing to punish the Xiao Family, but powerful orders abruptly ended the investigation and withdrew his protectors. He resolved to win the Myriad Provinces Grand Competition and confront the Guanxuan Sword Master.

• Nanling Zhao explained the Xiao Family’s arrogance and the lawlessness she had witnessed, while warning Ye Tianming to protect himself after he criticized the lack of oversight.
• Nanling Zhao arranged for Pei Buleng to test Ye Tianming, and his Heaven-Slaying Sword-Drawing Technique impressed her enough that she accepted him as a Sword Sect outer disciple.
• As Ye Tianming and his allies reached the teleportation array, officials and guards gathered to protect them, while Xiao Feng knelt before a young man at the Ye Residence and was told the Xiao Family would be spared.
• The young man revealed himself as a sixteen-year-old Great Emperor with the Mad Demon Bloodline and Qingxuan, and declared that the Yang Family would unite the universe.
• Zeng He suspended Nanling Zhao and ordered the case dropped, while Pei Buleng’s master took back Ye Tianming’s Sword Sect token and all the assembled forces withdrew.
• Ye Tianming decided to take first place in the Myriad Provinces Grand Competition so he could meet the Guanxuan Sword Master and question his order.

After the Xiao Family escaped consequences, Ye Tianming lost his place at Qingzhou Academy and struggled with his exile from home. Nanling Zhao convinced him to join her in going to Yongzhou so he could enter the Myriad Provinces Grand Competition, and they left Qingzhou together.

• Xiao Feng warned the Xiao Family elders not to openly pursue Ye Tianming and proposed having someone else kill him.
• Ji Shi revoked Ye Tianming's admission to Qingzhou Academy and told him Fang Xiao had resigned and could never return.
• Zhao Yu slapped his younger brother for suggesting they kill Ye Tianming and ordered the Zhao Family to return the Ye Family's land and leave Qingzhou.
• Nanling Zhao offered to take Ye Tianming to Yongzhou for the Myriad Provinces Grand Competition, and he accepted her help in exchange for a future favor.
• Huo Yan let Ye Tianming use the Immortal Treasure Pavilion's teleportation array despite his blacklist, blaming Nanling Zhao to protect himself.

Deputy City Lord Zhou Yuan and Old Mo decided to report the injustice against the Ye Family to the Guanxuan Realm's Outer Pavilion, while Ye Tianming and Nanling Zhao sought support at Yongzhou Guanxuan Academy. Yang Jie refused to accept Ye Tianming, warning Nanling Zhao about the political risks and social prejudice surrounding him.

• Zhou Yuan proposed that he and Old Mo lodge a complaint with the Outer Pavilion about abuses in the Ye Family's demolition and relocation case, and Old Mo agreed to join him.
• On their way to Yongzhou Guanxuan Academy, Nanling Zhao explained how provincial rankings worked and warned Ye Tianming that power and status often made people dismiss those beneath them.
• At the academy gate, Nanling Zhao went to meet Yang Jie while Ye Tianming waited outside.
• Yang Jie refused Nanling Zhao's request to take Ye Tianming into the academy, citing the Xiao Family and Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy's likely retaliation.
• Yang Jie warned Nanling Zhao that her closeness to Ye Tianming could bring trouble from her own Lineage, and said Ye Tianming's weakness and lack of backing were his greatest wrongs.

Nanling Zhao sought support for Ye Tianming at Panzhou Guanxuan Academy, but its head refused to risk conflict with Qingzhou Academy and the Xiao Family. As they traveled toward Wu Province, Nanling Zhao explained the Myriad Provinces competition’s stakes, including Destined Fortune and a chance to represent the Guanxuan Universe.

• Nanling Zhao left Yang Jie after he explained why he could not protect Ye Tianming, and she took Ye Tianming to Panzhou Guanxuan Academy.
• Nanling Zhao told Ye Tianming about first-class lineages and distant powers within the Guanxuan Universe as they climbed to the academy.
• Huo Gu refused Nanling Zhao’s request to accept Ye Tianming, saying Panzhou could not risk a fight with Qingzhou Academy and the Xiao Family without a first-class lineage backing him.
• Ye Tianming cultivated outside the academy and absorbed Spiritual Qi at a startling rate, making Nanling Zhao reconsider the power of his technique.
• Nanling Zhao and Ye Tianming traveled to Wu Province, where she explained the competition’s Destined Fortune, rewards, and opportunity to compete in the Ancestral Universe.

Ye Tianming and Nanling Zhao failed to find an academy willing to shelter him from the Xiao Family, and she was summoned back to her family. Alone and despairing, Ye Tianming finally asked the little tower for guidance, and it was eager to help.

• Yan Sui explained to Wei Ling that the Xiao Family and Qingzhou Academy were wrong to persecute Ye Tianming, but Wu Province Academy could not afford to take him in.
• Nanling Zhao and Ye Tianming traveled to You Province, where the academy refused to shelter him rather than risk offending Qingzhou Academy and the Xiao Family.
• Ye Tianming asked Nanling Zhao how the Myriad Provinces compared to the Sword Sect, then told her he would continue alone and thanked her for helping him.
• Nanling Zhao was ordered to return to her family, gave Ye Tianming her inspector's seal, and promised she would come back for him.
• Ye Tianming sat on the mountain steps, worried that the Xiao Family would kill him and that his fate would endanger the Ye Family, then asked the little tower for advice.
• The little tower teased Ye Tianming for finally remembering it and said it was its turn to show off.