Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu and the Sword Guardian Battalion survived the assault on Absolute Sword City after the sixth prince, Long Xiang, arrived with the Valiant Dragon Army and killed Bo Mu. The next morning, Chen Mu treated the battalion’s wounded and was summoned to a meeting with Long Xiang and the city’s generals.

• Chen Mu, A Huo, and Mingye held back the ghost hands so the Sword Guardian Battalion could escape, until a powerful surge of Spiritual Power appeared.
• Long Xiang pursued and killed Bo Mu, while the Valiant Dragon Army drove the Otherworldly Demons from the forest and relieved the city.
• At a banquet, Bai Jinglong and other officers honored Long Xiang and Chen Mu, who left early amid the city’s grief over its heavy losses.
• Chen Mu built an Endlessly Renewing Healing Array to stabilize the wounded Sword Guardian Battalion, whose survivors included many seriously injured soldiers and Guo Tao, who had lost his cultivation.
• Ye Yunxin summoned Chen Mu to the city lord’s great hall, where Bai Jinglong offered him a seat near Long Xiang as the generals gathered.

At a victory ceremony, the Sixth Prince tried to seize Chen Mu’s talisman weapons by force, but Chen Mu’s master, Elder Ming, arrived just as Chen Mu was about to be arrested. The Sixth Prince abruptly called the confrontation a misunderstanding and tried to explain himself to Elder Ming.

• Bai Jinglong praised the Sword Guardian Battalion, and the Sixth Prince awarded Chen Mu ten fifth-grade spirit stones for his role in the victory.
• The Sixth Prince asked Chen Mu to hand over his talisman weapons to the Valiant Dragon Army, but Chen Mu claimed he needed his master’s permission.
• The Sixth Prince pressured Chen Mu and threatened to imprison him and the Sword Guardian Battalion when Chen Mu refused to surrender the weapons.
• A guard seized Chen Mu, while Bai Jinglong avoided intervening and Chen Mu accused him of abandoning a meritorious soldier.
• Elder Ming arrived at the city lord’s hall and challenged the Sixth Prince for trying to arrest his disciple.
• The Sixth Prince recognized Elder Ming and claimed he had only sought to borrow the weapons and investigate whether Chen Mu truly belonged to the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion.

Elder Ming rescued Chen Mu from the Sixth Prince and led him and the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion disciples out of Absolute Sword City. Back at the sect, Elder Ming prepared to pass Chen Mu a valuable inheritance, leaving its contents unrevealed.

• Elder Ming vouched for Chen Mu, secured his release, and took him from the city lord’s residence.
• Elder Ming explained that the pavilion was recalling its disciples because the front lines were suffering defeats, then gathered them to leave Absolute Sword City.
• Chen Mu distributed spirit stones among the Absolute Sword Battalion and entrusted Kong Yu with the shares for fallen soldiers’ families.
• Chen Mu warned Kong Yu that more than ten nearby cities had fallen, shared the location of Chen Village, and left with the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion disciples.
• Elder Qing Xue led the disciples away aboard a flying ship, and Chen Mu later returned to the pavilion with them.
• Elder Ming showed Chen Mu two inheritance jade slips and prepared to pass on the knowledge stored within them.

Elder Ming passed Chen Mu the Fate Dao of Talismans and Time Dao of Talismans inheritances and taught him to use xiangqi endgames to study both paths. After a week of rapid progress, Chen Mu received a message ordering this year’s training mission participants to gather at the Mission Hall.

• Elder Ming gave Chen Mu the two inheritance jade slips, and Chen Mu absorbed their vast knowledge and learned about the Eye of the Seer and Time Stasis soul skills.
• Elder Ming advised Chen Mu to master basic runes before attempting advanced applications, and explained how solving xiangqi endgames could help him understand fate and time.
• Elder Ming kept Chen Mu with him for several days and personally guided his cultivation of the two paths.
• After a week, Chen Mu had mastered several basic runes in fate and time, then received a Mission Hall message summoning the training mission participants to gather.

Chen Mu and Elder Ming attended the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion's Mission Hall to collect rewards for the year's training missions, while He Xiao taunted them and waited to claim their wager. As the demon-hunting merit list was read out, He Xiao grew uneasy when Chen Mu's companions began appearing, and the chapter ended with Panxia stepping forward to collect her reward.

• Elder Ming brought Chen Mu to the Mission Hall, confident that Chen Mu's battle record would win their wager with He Xiao.
• He Xiao mocked Elder Ming and Chen Mu over the attack on Absolute Sword City, unaware of the Sword Guardian Battalion's role in defeating the Otherworldly Demons.
• Lin Jin announced that disciples would receive contribution points based on their demon-hunting merit and began distributing rewards.
• Chen Mu greeted Mingye, A Huo, Chen Duo, Yin Zhan, Zheng Fengdao, and other members of the Sword Guardian Battalion while he and Elder Ming waited for their names.
• He Xiao became uneasy when Chen Mu's companions remained in the hall, and Panxia went to a Wentian Compass after her name appeared.

Chen Mu's demon-hunting merits far exceeded Ge Yu's, seemingly settling Elder Ming and He Xiao's wager, but He Xiao challenged the result and demanded a Divine Soul contest between their disciples. Chen Mu agreed, and He Xiao set up a protective formation in the Mission Hall for the fight.

• Gu Panxia and other members of Chen Mu's circle collected their demon-hunting rewards as the Mission Hall watched the rankings.
• Ge Yu's 235,300 merits appeared, but Chen Mu's total of 1,281,512 stunned the crowd and enraged He Xiao.
• Elder Lin Jin explained that Chen Mu had earned the merits by leading the Sword Guardian Battalion in destroying over forty thousand Otherworldly Demons at Absolute Sword City.
• Elder Ming demanded that He Xiao hand over the Purple Lightning Heaven-Piercing Brush, but He Xiao questioned the results and proposed a Divine Soul contest between Chen Mu and his disciple.
• Chen Mu calmly agreed, and He Xiao formed a protective arena inside the Mission Hall as disciples gathered to watch.

Chen Mu defeated Ge Yu in a Divine Soul contest with a single purple punch, winning the wager between Elder Ming and He Xiao. After He Xiao left with Ge Yu, Elder Ming gave Chen Mu the Nine Heavens Blazing Sun Brush, which suited his cultivation.

• Ge Yu entered He Xiao's formation and revealed a Solid Realm Divine Soul, while He Xiao expected him to beat Chen Mu in a soul-only contest.
• Chen Mu refused to summon his Divine Soul, and Ge Yu attacked with his earth-grade Death Scythe soul skill.
• Chen Mu's purple fist shattered Ge Yu's Divine Soul and scythe in one blow, leaving Ge Yu screaming on the ground.
• He Xiao tried to strike Chen Mu, but Elder Ming blocked the attack and took the Purple Lightning Heaven-Piercing Brush as the wager.
• Elder Ming left the Mission Hall with Chen Mu and gave him the Nine Heavens Blazing Sun Brush, which Chen Mu accepted.

Chen Mu agreed to split the profits from the Floating Light and Fleeting Shadow Disc equally with Hou Tian in exchange for the Eight Directions Chamber of Commerce handling production and nationwide sales. After learning that Absolute Sword City had fallen to Otherworldly Demons, Chen Mu continued his research and improved his rune work with the Nine Heavens Blazing Sun Brush.

• Chen Mu learned that Chen Duo had reached the True Spirit Realm and planned to return to Chen Village in two months with Mingye and A Huo.
• Chen Mu resumed his research and Rune Core No. 3 work after returning to Treasure Arrival Peak.
• Hou Tian offered to expand sales of the Floating Light and Fleeting Shadow Disc nationwide, and Chen Mu agreed to a fifty-fifty profit split with the Eight Directions Chamber of Commerce handling production and piracy control.
• Chen Mu signed the contract and gave Hou Tian the master discs for the first four episodes.
• Hou Tian told Chen Mu that Liang Yu had moved away from Absolute Sword City before Otherworldly Demons captured it, and described the empire's reluctance to send legions to the border.
• A month later, Chen Mu was drawing runes faster and more powerfully with the Nine Heavens Blazing Sun Brush, though he had only obtained a third-grade talisman brush before it.

Chen Mu completed Rune Core No. 3 and used it to upgrade the Chess Position Solver, which solved a chess endgame far faster than before. Inspired by Elder Ming’s view of fate as a chess game, Chen Mu decided to adapt the device to calculate patterns of fate and help him comprehend the Fate Dao of Talismans.

• Chen Mu’s Fire Essence Spirit recovered inside the Nine Heavens Blazing Sun Brush, and Chen Duo named it Little Blue and often took it out to play.
• Chen Mu finished four Rune Core No. 3 units using Void Stone, giving them vastly greater computing power than Rune Core No. 2.
• Chen Mu replaced the Rune Core in the Chess Position Solver and found that it solved a randomly chosen endgame in less than the time it took an incense stick to burn.
• Chen Mu recalled Elder Ming’s comparison of fate to a chess game and resolved to turn the solver into a Fate Deciphering Device.
• Chen Mu chose to focus on the Fate Dao of Talismans and planned to translate fate’s patterns into algorithms for Rune Core No. 3 to analyze.

Chen Mu returned to the Wilderness with Mingye and A Huo after developing Fate Vision and making progress in comprehending the Fate Law. They reached Wilderness Border City, where the Sword Guardian Demon Hunting Corps had established its headquarters.

• Chen Mu showed Chen Duo Fate Vision, a crystal lens that gathered fate patterns and helped him use Eye of the Seer, though it consumed much Soul Power.
• Chen Mu, Mingye, A Huo, and their companion left the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion, declining Zheng Fengdao's request to accompany them and bidding farewell to Long Yin at the mountain gate.
• Chen Mu and the others flew to Wilderness Border City, arriving by evening.
• After the Sword Guardian Battalion disbanded, Kong Yu formed the Sword Guardian Demon Hunting Corps and moved its headquarters to Wilderness Border City to protect members' families and pursue missions.

Chen Mu reunited with the Sword Guardian Demon Hunting Corps in Wilderness Border City, then survived a dangerous flight through the Wilderness and returned to Chen Village. He found the village greatly expanded and learned that Landuo had built new talisman arrays using the insights he had left behind.

• Chen Mu met Kong Yu and the Sword Guardian Demon Hunting Corps, celebrated with them, and caught up with Guo Tao.
• Kong Yu warned Chen Mu that troubled times were coming and promised the corps would answer his call; Chen Mu then set off for Chen Village with his companions.
• Chen Mu faced repeated demon-beast attacks during two days of flight through the Wilderness, using the flying ship's spatial runes to escape danger.
• Chen Mu reunited with Chen Hongjie and his relatives at Chen Village, and introduced Mingye as a friend and companion.
• Chen Mu saw that Chen Village had expanded into inner and outer rings, housing several tribes and conquered slaves.
• Landuo told Chen Mu that she had built the outer-ring talisman arrays after studying the Dao of Talismans insights he had left behind.

After returning to Chen Village, Chen Mu heard that the clan had grown stronger and gained a third mine, and he agreed to discuss expanding its territory. He then visited the talisman-making room and told Landuo he planned to build a teleportation array.

• Landuo told Chen Mu he had found two talented young disciples, including Chen Ju, and Chen Mu asked him to teach them well.
• Chen Mu reunited with his family over a feast and learned that the Chen Clan had grown in strength and secured a tungsten-iron mine.
• Chen Mu agreed with Chen Hongjie that Chen Village should expand and said they would discuss plans the next day.
• Landuo showed Chen Mu a mechanical puppet that could match the Middle Stage of the Qi Nourishing Realm, and Chen Mu saw potential in Landuo's attempt to imitate his programming logic.
• Chen Mu told Landuo to clear the talisman-making room so he could build a teleportation array, leaving Landuo astonished.

Chen Mu completed a secret teleportation array in Chen Village and outlined an expansion plan that would make the village a high-level tribe and target the Flame Blessing Tribe. Chen Zihu then presented a detailed strategy beginning with the Rock Peace Tribe, leaving Chen Mu confident in the village's preparations.

• Chen Mu built a teleportation array in Chen Village and gave Landuo four spatial coordinate stones, instructing her to keep the room sealed and the array secret.
• At a luncheon with Chen Hongjie and the village leaders, Chen Mu proposed skipping the intermediate tribe stage and becoming a high-level tribe directly.
• Chen Mu showed the leaders a Rune Gun No. 2 and a Handheld Rune Cannon, proposing Spear and Cannon Squads to support the expansion alongside Chen Hongjie's elite cavalry.
• Chen Mu declared that Chen Village would expand toward the Flame Blessing Tribe, and Chen Hongjie said the village already supported confronting them.
• Chen Zihu presented a detailed expansion plan that began with using the troubled Rock Peace Tribe as a springboard, reassuring Chen Mu about the village's preparations.

Chen Mu agreed to let A Huo return to his hometown alone, where A Huo confronted the Qi Mountain Tribe and its chief, Meng Hongyun. After revealing his identity as Meng Wu, A Huo demanded to know where Liu Ruyan was.

• Mingye told Chen Mu that she had reached a bottleneck in cultivating the Seven-Colored Heavenly Art because she could not understand its emotions.
• A Huo announced that he would return to his hometown alone, and Chen Mu agreed to let him go while telling him to stay in touch.
• A Huo reached the Qi Mountain Tribe and demanded to see its chief, Meng Hongyun, but the guards tried to stop him.
• A Huo broke through the tribe's gate and fought his way to the chief's hall, where Meng Hongyun and a woman recognized him as Meng Wu.
• A Huo demanded to know where Liu Ruyan had gone.

A Huo fought Liu Ruyan and Meng Hongyun while memories of Meng Wu’s tragic childhood revealed why he had returned to the Qi Mountain Tribe. As Chen Mu and Chen Duo watched from the mountainside, A Huo reconsidered the meaning of justice and began to understand the heart of the Justice True Heart Sword.

• Liu Ruyan and Meng Hongyun joined forces with the Qi Mountain Tribe’s warriors to trap A Huo in the Dragon-Locking Formation and attack him.
• A Huo remembered how Liu Ruyan had tormented his mother, Qi Xiaoping, and driven him from the Qi Mountain Tribe, beginning the hardships that led him to Chen Mu.
• Chen Duo tried to go help A Huo, but Chen Mu stopped her and said she might disrupt his Sword Dao.
• As he fought Liu Ruyan and Meng Hongyun, A Huo recalled his master’s words and realized the Justice True Heart Sword rested on carrying justice in his heart and staying true to his conscience.

A Huo awakened his Justice True Heart Sword, avenged his mother, and took her ashes from the Qi Mountain Tribe to Chen Village with Chen Mu and the others. At Chen Mu’s home, he shared a farewell meal before announcing that he would travel the world with his master for several years.

• A Huo broke the Dragon-Locking Formation, killed Liu Ruyan, crippled Meng Hongtian, and dealt with the people who had bullied him in the Qi Mountain Tribe.
• A Huo took Meng Hongyun to Qi Xiaoping’s grave and forced him to kneel there overnight while he mourned his mother.
• Chen Mu, Chen Duo, and Mingye visited A Huo, bowed to Qi Xiaoping’s grave, and persuaded A Huo to move her ashes to Chen Village.
• Meng Hongtian cursed Qi Xiaoping after the others departed, then fled into the mountains rather than return to the tribe.
• Chen Mu cooked a feast for everyone at his home, and A Huo announced that he would travel with his master for several years to temper his sword heart.

A Huo left Chen Village to pursue the Sword Dao, while Chen Mu prepared for his eventual reunion with his father in the Flame Blessing Tribe. Chen Mu, Chen Duo, Mingye, and A Huo returned to the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion by teleportation, where a law enforcement disciple stopped them over an unpaid fee.

• A Huo announced his decision to leave, and Chen Mu, Chen Duo, Mingye, and the others drank to see him off.
• Chen Mu reviewed what he had learned about his father, Chen Haoran, and planned carefully to bring his parents back from the Flame Blessing Tribe.
• A Huo, Chen Duo, and Mingye trained Chen Village's new squads, while Chen Mu upgraded the village's defenses.
• Chen Mu took A Huo, Chen Duo, and Mingye back to the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion through his teleportation array after making several upgrades to Chen Village.
• The group verified their identities and arrived at the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion, where a law enforcement disciple demanded more spirit stones because Chen Mu had not paid enough.

Chen Mu and his companions clashed with Yao Xinghan after the Law Enforcement Squad demanded an increased teleportation fee, and Chen Mu defeated him before leaving. Later, the pavilion master summoned the hall masters and elders to recommend candidates for the inner pavilion, and they began naming disciples.

• Yao Xinghan demanded a tenfold teleportation fee from Chen Mu and his companions, then tried to seize Chen Duo when she protested.
• A Huo intimidated the surrounding law enforcement disciples with a powerful sword strike, and Chen Mu snatched Yao Xinghan’s communication tablet before beating him down.
• Chen Mu led his companions away after the law enforcement disciples cleared their path.
• Yao Xinghan complained to Wang Jun, who acknowledged He Xiao’s fee increase was wrong but said Chen Mu would still be punished for injuring a law enforcement disciple.
• A female disciple informed Wang Jun that the pavilion master had summoned the hall masters and elders to discuss selecting inner pavilion disciples.
• The hall masters and elders began recommending candidates, including Ge Yu, Ye Tianlan, and Niu Buqu.

Chen Mu was excluded from the Inner Pavilion selection and sentenced to face the wall at Black Wind Cliff for half a year after injuring a Law Enforcement Hall disciple. He accepted the punishment, said goodbye to A Huo, Chen Duo, and Mingye, and settled in at the bleak cliff with his research supplies.

• The master of the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion rejected He Xiao’s explanation for omitting Chen Mu from the recommendations but ordered Chen Mu to face the wall at Black Wind Cliff for half a year.
• Wang Jun told Chen Mu about the punishment, which Chen Mu accepted without protest.
• A Huo left with Cao Lingxiao to pursue his Sword Dao, while Chen Duo and Mingye departed with their masters to prepare for the Inner Pavilion assessment.
• Chen Mu packed his research equipment and traveled to Black Wind Cliff with a Law Enforcement Hall disciple.
• Chen Mu inspected the desolate cliff and arranged his talisman supplies and books in the stone hut.

During his confinement on Black Wind Cliff, Chen Mu reconsidered his research and shifted from building combat devices to using scientific methods to investigate the world’s fundamental principles. His Divine Soul advanced quickly, while his Spiritual Power remained at the peak of the Early Stage of the True Spirit Realm.

• A Law Enforcement Hall disciple ordered Chen Mu to remain on Black Wind Cliff for six months and explained how to request food before leaving.
• Over five months passed, during which the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion recruited six inner pavilion disciples, including Mingye, Chen Duo, Yin Zhan, and Zheng Fengdao.
• Chen Mu concluded that science and the Dao of Talismans both sought to uncover the principles of heaven and earth, and that scientific thinking—not knowledge carried over from Earth—was his greatest advantage.
• Chen Mu stopped focusing on combat talisman devices and built equipment to analyze materials, energy, and mechanics with help from Rune Core No. 3.
• While studying talisman paper transforming into a temporary knife, Chen Mu considered whether energy could be converted into real matter, then cultivated his Divine Soul.
• Chen Mu reached the Second Level of the Solid Realm but remained at the peak of the Early Stage of the True Spirit Realm.