Chapter Summaries

Sun Fei endured a ten-move fight with a mysterious master whose strength and control over Dou Qi far surpassed his own. After recognizing the man as the expert who had pursued the assassin at the Twenty-Li Encampment, Sun Fei learned that he would return the following night.

• The mysterious master forced Sun Fei out of hiding with his Arrow Move, then attacked him with a Finger Move that Sun Fei could only partly break with his strongest fist technique.
• After completing all ten moves, the mysterious master left Sun Fei badly injured, with his Diablo World armor destroyed and turbulent blue Dou Qi damaging his channels.
• Sun Fei recognized the mysterious master as the expert who had pursued the super assassin at the Twenty-Li Encampment and sensed that he was a friend rather than an enemy.
• The mysterious master drew the blue Dou Qi out of Sun Fei and said he would return the next night before vanishing.
• Sun Fei wondered why the master had challenged him, then collapsed from exhaustion after deciding the man meant him no harm.

After recovering from his battle, Sun Fei gained insight into the mysterious expert’s techniques and trained before returning to camp. He advanced his Barbarian to level 49 in the Diablo World, then returned to find two groups of distinguished guests arriving.

• Sun Fei used healing potions after his exhausting battle and pondered what he had missed about the mysterious expert’s fighting style.
• Sun Fei practiced punching through the night, then trained his spiritual power outside the battlefield’s protective magic array.
• Sun Fei returned to the encampment, spent time with Angela and Jima, and entered seclusion to seek a breakthrough.
• Sun Fei traveled with Elena to [Kurast Docks], fought monsters, and raised his Barbarian to level 49 while buying new magic equipment.
• Sun Fei returned to the real world in the evening as two groups of distinguished guests arrived at the camp.

Red Beard Granero and Ziyan delivered treasures from the Blood Blade Mercenary Corps on behalf of the second prince Dominguez and eldest princess Tanasha, while assuring Sun Fei that the Knights' Hall would not retaliate. After distributing some of the wealth, Sun Fei returned at night to the giant-pit battlefield, where he found a powerful figure standing amid the Fist Intent Spiritual Imprints.

• Red Beard Granero delivered six carriages of Blood Blade treasure and told Sun Fei that Dominguez had ensured the Knights' Hall matter was over.
• Ziyan brought six more carriages on behalf of Tanasha and conveyed the same assurance about the Knights' Hall.
• Sun Fei's receipt of the princes' gifts sparked speculation among the vassal states about which side he supported.
• Sun Fei gave some of the treasure and weapons to Constantine, the Urban Management, and the Saints, then sealed the rest in the treasury.
• Sun Fei used Assassin Mode to return to the giant-pit battlefield, where he saw a majestic figure among the Fist Intent Spiritual Imprints.

Sun Fei met the mysterious expert in the crater battlefield and tested his strength against him. The expert demonstrated how control could greatly increase the power of the same move, gave Sun Fei a book, and vanished.

• Sun Fei crossed a powerful magic array without triggering it, surprising the mysterious expert.
• The mysterious expert asked Sun Fei to punch him, and Sun Fei attacked with Heavenly Frost Fist: One-Hit Kill.
• The expert blocked Sun Fei’s strike with Palm Move, then warned that Sun Fei’s strength was growing too quickly.
• The mysterious expert demonstrated his own version of One-Hit Kill and showed how precise control made it far more powerful.
• Sun Fei identified control as the difference between their attacks, and the expert gave him a book before disappearing.

Sun Fei read Emperor Yassin’s manuscript on Dou Qi power and fine control, gaining a clearer understanding of how to use his strength. He returned to the Chambord camp before the Martial Combat Competition and improved his control while leveling his Barbarian to level 51.

• The mysterious master left Sun Fei a manuscript on Dou Qi power exertion and fine control, which Sun Fei discovered had been written by the former First Prince Yassin.
• Sun Fei read the manuscript for two hours and gained new insight into martial power and controlling his strength.
• Sun Fei returned to the Chambord camp before dawn and slept beside his fiancée.
• After breakfast, Sun Fei discussed preparations for the Martial Combat Competition with the Chambord Expeditionary Army leaders, then entered the Diablo World to train.
• Sun Fei practiced the manuscript’s techniques while fighting monsters and raised his Barbarian to level 51.

As the imperial Martial Combat Competition approached, Sun Fei prepared Chambord City’s contestants and learned that they would compete in Northern War Zone No. 8. In the Moro Mountains, he mastered minute control and received a second manual from the mysterious expert, though he still wondered why the man was helping him.

• The kingdoms prepared for the Martial Combat Competition, whose war-zone rankings and challenges would determine their standing and select competitors for the imperial finals.
• Sun Fei sent Petr Čech to draw Chambord City’s lot, and Čech returned with Northern War Zone No. 8.
• Sun Fei chaired a Chambord City meeting, praised the expeditionary army, and organized contestants for the individual and group ranking matches.
• At the Moro Mountains crater, Sun Fei demonstrated a punch that surpassed the speed of sound and showed he had reached the Realm of Minute Subtlety and advanced toward the Seven-Star Class Middle Stage Peak.
• The mysterious expert gave Sun Fei Emperor Yassin’s manual on spiral force and hidden-force stacking, then vanished and invited Sun Fei to return the next night.
• Sun Fei understood that the manual built on his new control of strength, but remained uncertain about the mysterious expert’s reasons for helping him.

After a night of cultivation, Sun Fei led Chambord City’s formidable force to the Martial Combat Competition’s military review, where their arrival drew attention from the other kingdoms. The assembled armies awaited Emperor Yassin’s customary ceremony, but the chapter ended by noting that this year’s proceedings seemed different.

• Sun Fei studied spiral force and hidden force techniques through the night, then tempered his spiritual power before returning to the Chambord camp.
• Sun Fei appeared before his prepared troops, rallied them with a cry of “Victory,” and ordered them to march.
• Sun Fei led Chambord’s force, including Black Whirlwind, the Heng and Ha Generals, and fifty Saints, toward the review grounds while Frank Lampard stayed behind at camp.
• Observers from other kingdoms admired Chambord’s strength and equipment, while some warned that established powers might challenge its rising prominence.
• The subsidiary kingdoms assembled at the central grounds, where the usual imperial sacrifice ceremony was expected to begin, though this year seemed different.

Sun Fei watched the vassal states gather for the Martial Combat Competition as Emperor Yassin arrived on a Drake, concealed on his throne. The white bull waited beside the emperor while the crowd awaited the start of the ceremony.

• Sun Fei surveyed the 244 vassal states and compared their forces with Chambord's well-equipped party.
• A Drake carried Emperor Yassin's throne to the command platform, escorted by four Six-Star Class royal grand mages.
• The grand mages landed beneath First Prince Arshavin and Second Prince Dominguez and activated a barrier around the platform.
• Sun Fei saw that Emperor Yassin's figure was hidden by hazy red energy and wondered whether the emperor was concealing his failing health.
• The white bull lounged on the ninth level, unaware that it was to be sacrificed for divination.

Emperor Yassin abruptly left the Martial Combat Competition ceremony, heightening Sun Fei’s concern about the emperor’s failing health. Chambord City then faced the Good Kingdom in its first ranking match, and Petr Čech took the platform as the duel began.

• Emperor Yassin ordered the ceremony to begin, then departed for the imperial capital after leaving the proceedings to his two princes.
• Sun Fei heard Emperor Yassin coughing and breathing with difficulty, and worried that the empire’s founding emperor was gravely ill.
• After the ceremony, Chambord City was paired against the Good Kingdom, whose prince Drenthe was known as Black Wolf.
• A bearded Good warrior challenged Chambord City on sword-testing platform 44, and several Chambord warriors volunteered to fight him.
• Sun Fei chose Petr Čech for Chambord’s first match and told him to win quickly without killing his opponent.
• Čech swiftly took the platform as the Good warrior charged and swung his two spiked clubs at him.

Petr Čech and five other Chambord masters overwhelmed the Good Kingdom in the masters’ contest, drawing loud acclaim from the spectators. Their victories also attracted the attention of imperial nobles looking to recruit Chambord’s warriors.

• Petr Čech stopped the Good warrior’s attack with two fingers, shattered his iron-spiked clubs, and forced him to concede.
• The referee declared Čech the winner, and the crowd and Chambord’s Saints cheered for him.
• VIP spectators discussed Čech’s strength and plotted to recruit Chambord’s masters for the empire’s powerful nobles.
• The Heng and Ha Generals, Fernando Torres, Warden Oleg, and Philip Inzaghi each defeated a Good Kingdom opponent.
• Prince Drenthe fought Torres for more than twenty minutes before an arrow wounded his left shoulder and forced him to concede.
• Spectators celebrated the Chambord masters’ performances as bards gave them impressive nicknames.

Chambord City crushed Good Kingdom and advanced to the northern war zone’s winners’ bracket as the first day of the Martial Combat Competition ended. The chapter recounted major results across the other war zones and closed with Chambord celebrating its victory at a lavish camp feast.

• Chambord City defeated Good Kingdom in all ten matches, while King of Good accepted the loss and resolved that his kingdom would not be used against the King of Chambord again.
• The first day’s qualifiers ended, and Chambord City advanced to the northern war zone’s winners’ bracket.
• In the southern war zone, Constantine led the sixth-tier Kingdom of Byzantium to an upset victory over the Kingdom of Krypton.
• In the eastern war zone, Hulk and Kanute led the Kingdom of Gudong’s Barbarians to defeat the Kingdom of Gabon and emerge as dark horses.
• The Kingdom of Metz defeated the Kingdom of Dick in the western war zone, while the central war zone saw its first-tier kingdoms advance and the Kingdom of Ghana pull off an upset.
• Chambord held a lively victory feast, where the King of Chambord had invited expensive beauties from the imperial capital’s pleasure houses.

Sun Fei hosted a lavish celebration for Chambord’s soldiers, then returned to his routine of studying and leveling up in Diablo. A mysterious veiled madam watched him with strange interest as the chapter ended with his Barbarian reaching level 54.

• Sun Fei arranged for women from the imperial capital’s pleasure houses to entertain Chambord’s soldiers, and the initially shy soldiers eventually joined the dancing.
• Sun Fei sat with Angela and watched the festivities, while a veiled madam with four armored guards drew his curiosity.
• Sun Fei gave Čech instructions and left the celebration with Angela, unaware that the veiled madam kept her gaze on him.
• Sun Fei returned to the king’s tent, spent time with Angela, and then entered Diablo to train after she fell asleep.
• Sun Fei studied with the nun and Cain before killing monsters with Elena, improving his Five Forms of Heavenly Frost Fist and raising his Barbarian to level 54.

Sun Fei met the mysterious expert at the Giant Pit Battlefield after his strength had rapidly increased, prompting the expert to question whether helping him was wise. The two sat down together, and Sun Fei explained why he had chosen forceful responses to his enemies.

• Sun Fei left the guarded Chambord camp in Assassin Mode and crossed the magic arrays into the Moro Mountains.
• The mysterious expert watched Sun Fei cross the battlefield's powerful array and recover, then realized Sun Fei's strength had increased dramatically.
• The mysterious expert wondered whether Sun Fei's growth might threaten the empire, but Sun Fei's trust and warmth toward him made him hesitate.
• The mysterious expert invited Sun Fei to sit with him, and Sun Fei offered back Emperor Yassin's journals after saying he had memorized their techniques.
• The mysterious expert returned the journals to his possession and asked why Sun Fei had handled his conflicts so forcefully; Sun Fei said that backing down would invite others to press him further.

Sun Fei told the mysterious expert that the weak survived through resistance and the courage to risk everything, prompting the expert to recall Emperor Yassin and warn Sun Fei not to become like him. The next day, Chambord City beat the Kodi Kingdom and advanced to the northern zone’s top twelve, while Sun Fei secretly watched a western-zone match with Angela.

• Sun Fei argued that the weak needed the courage to resist, and the mysterious expert connected his words to Emperor Yassin.
• The mysterious expert confirmed that he had known Emperor Yassin, then solemnly warned Sun Fei not to be like him before challenging him to ten moves at full strength.
• Chambord City defeated the Kodi Kingdom in all ten matches and advanced to the northern zone’s top twelve.
• Crowds gathered to watch Chambord City’s fighters, whose victories and restraint won the admiration of many spectators.
• Sun Fei, disguised and accompanied by Angela, watched the western-zone match between the Kingdom of Metz and Rodi, where Metz suffered a crushing defeat.

One Sword entered the match against Pranjic, but before facing him, he killed sixteen Rodi soldiers who had jeered at the Metz crowd. Pranjic boosted his strength with a berserk potion and advanced on One Sword as Sun Fei recognized the potion’s risks.

• Pranjic, the Rodi Kingdom’s Five-Star swordsman, taunted the Metz experts, while Sun Fei and Angela watched from the crowd.
• One Sword emerged from the Metz rest area and stepped onto the platform, silencing the spectators with his reputation.
• One Sword sent sword qi into the crowd and beheaded sixteen Rodi soldiers who had led the jeering.
• Sun Fei cleared the corpses and blood away, and One Sword turned his gaze toward him and Angela.
• Pranjic increased his strength with what Sun Fei recognized as a berserk potion, then advanced on One Sword.

One Sword defeated Pranjic with a single strike and challenged Sun Fei, who crushed his sword qi and told him to qualify for the empire's ranking tournament first. After leaving the arena with Angela, Sun Fei heard an arrogant young warrior boast that he could defeat both men.

• One Sword ignored Pranjic's charge, then cut through his greatsword, armor, and body without fully drawing his sword, killing him on the Sword Testing Platform.
• One Sword sent sword qi toward Sun Fei and declared that he looked forward to fighting him; Sun Fei caught and crushed it with his bare hand, then told One Sword to earn a place in the empire's ranking tournament.
• Spectators recognized Sun Fei as One Fist Spanning the Heavens, and he left the crowd with Angela while the cloaked figures who had watched the matches vanished.
• One Sword led the Kingdom of Metz to win its remaining matches against the Rodi Kingdom, securing a place in the western war zone's top twelve.
• Sun Fei and Angela wandered through the camp before entering the eastern war zone, where a young man in silver armor boasted that he could crush Sun Fei and One Sword.

Sun Fei and Angela watched several duels as they walked through the battle zones, including Constantine’s victory with the Seven Injuries Fist. They then heard that Xindi of the Bulan Kingdom was about to fight and headed toward her platform.

• Sun Fei left the sword-testing platform with Angela rather than challenge the arrogant warrior in magnificent armor.
• Sun Fei and Angela witnessed a purple-clad fighter cruelly cut his opponent to death with twin sabers, then moved on.
• Sun Fei watched Constantine defeat a hammer-wielding warrior with the Seven Injuries Fist and recognized the technique’s progress and risks.
• Constantine returned to Isabella and collected his defeated opponent’s hammers, while Sun Fei and Angela watched from the crowd without approaching.
• Sun Fei and Angela heard that Xindi, the Bulan Kingdom’s famed goddess princess, was about to fight on platform fourteen.

Sun Fei watched the celebrated Bulan princess Xindi fight and judged her strong enough to contend for the empire’s top three. The chapter ended with news that the Spartak Empire had shattered Zenit’s southern front and was advancing toward the imperial capital.

• Sun Fei and Angela joined the crowd at the Number Fourteen Sword-Testing Platform, where spectators discussed Princess Xindi’s rise to fame after she defeated a powerful opponent.
• Xindi appeared in magical battle armor and used a detection spell on Sun Fei, but she could not discern his strength.
• Sun Fei left the platform with Angela, convinced Xindi could reach the top three in the imperial rankings.
• Horns sounded from four imperial legions, warning that all-out war had broken out, and Sun Fei hurried back to the Chambord camp.
• News spread that the Spartak army had captured Razor Town, wiped out the Night Snow Legion, and overrun Zenit’s three southern provinces, leaving the imperial capital threatened.

As the Spartak Empire’s invasion threw the capital and affiliated kingdoms into panic, Emperor Yassin ordered Andrei Arshavin to lead an army south and redirected the Martial Combat Competition toward forming a new legion. Sun Fei sent Zola and Modrić away on a private mission, and they soon appeared as two leaders of the mysterious Letters and Visits Office, protected by a masked powerhouse.

• Rumors of military defeat and Emperor Yassin’s illness spread through the capital and affiliated kingdoms, while southern kings asked to return home and fight the Spartak Empire.
• Many people rallied behind Andrei Arshavin as Emperor Yassin’s illness and the war weakened Dominguez’s position in the struggle for the throne.
• Sun Fei sent Chambord’s eager generals away and expected the kingdom to remain out of the fighting for now.
• Emperor Yassin ordered Andrei Arshavin to take the Iron-Blooded Camp and two main legions south, then the military headquarters rejected the southern kings’ requests to withdraw from the competition.
• The military headquarters canceled the second-stage war zone challenge matches and announced that the affiliated kingdoms would form a legion after the competition, with military merit determining kingdom ranks.
• After a two-hour private meeting, Sun Fei sent Zola and Modrić away, and the two later ran the Letters and Visits Office alongside a silent, masked protector.

Sun Fei met Her Highness Tanasha before First Prince Andrei Arshavin’s relief army left for the southern front and gave her healing and restoration potions. The imperial rankings were set to begin the next day, while Sun Fei kept his true potion formulas secret and remained apart from Arshavin’s faction.

• The Letters and Visits Office used the Five-Colored Masked Man and generous funding to absorb small underground groups and begin expanding beyond the imperial capital.
• Chambord City swept the northern regional competition, placing eight fighters among the region’s ten strongest and winning the team battles without casualties.
• The five regions’ strongest fighters and teams prepared for the imperial rankings, which would determine command of a new legion drawn from the 244 affiliated kingdoms.
• First Prince Andrei Arshavin led three legions, royal mages, and four Judgment Knights toward the southern front to reinforce the empire’s forces against Spartak.
• Sun Fei met Her Highness Tanasha and handed her potions for the campaign, while she told him that mages had struggled to reproduce the effects of his potion formulas.
• Sun Fei kept silent about the altered formulas and diluted potions, and he avoided joining the faction of Arshavin, whom Tanasha supported.