Recaps

Lin Xuan began expounding the Sword Dao at the Great Cosmos Holy Academy while students and holy teachers doubted his qualifications. As he argued that sword cultivators should master more than nine Sword Daos to return to simplicity and truth, the audience reacted with scorn.

• Students at the Great Cosmos Holy Academy mocked Lin Xuan and praised Senior Brother Shi, while Wu Qing chose to enter the hall and hear the discourse.
• Lin Xuan watched students and hostile holy teachers gather, including a holy teacher with a Half-Step Sword Domain who planned to suppress him with Sword Intent.
• Lin Xuan began his discourse, teaching that sword cultivators should forge ahead fearlessly, remain adaptable, and avoid clinging to individual moves and forms.
• The holy teachers dismissed Lin Xuan's opening principles as obvious and impractical.
• Lin Xuan claimed that comprehending more than nine Sword Daos could bring enlightenment and a chance to return to simplicity and truth, provoking further disbelief.

Lin Xuan faced the Holy Masters’ disbelief about his claim to have comprehended many sword Daos by demonstrating the Annihilation Sword Dao. The Holy Masters recognized his sword intent and were left stunned by his control over it.

• The Holy Masters mocked Lin Xuan’s claim that he had comprehended forty-nine Great Daos and gained insights from senior sword cultivators in the Sword Pool.
• Holy Master Gong challenged Lin Xuan, citing his own eighteen hundred years of cultivation and mastery of only three sword Daos.
• Lin Xuan calmly offered to demonstrate the sword he had comprehended during his three days in the Sword Pool.
• Lin Xuan drew his sword and released terrifying sword Qi that made the students and Holy Masters recoil in fear.
• The Holy Masters recognized Lin Xuan’s sword intent as the Annihilation Sword Dao and were astonished that he controlled its killing intent so precisely.

Lin Xuan silenced the Holy Masters by demonstrating thirty-seven supreme sword intents and unveiling his own sword domain, Edgeless. He asked whether he could now sit and expound the Dao, leaving Holy Master Gong and the others stunned by the gulf between their abilities.

• Lin Xuan used great sun sword intent to dispel the annihilation sword intent and astounded the Holy Masters.
• Lin Xuan demonstrated thirty-seven kinds of sword intent, including those of several renowned Sword Saints.
• Lin Xuan named his own sword intent Edgeless and unleashed a sword domain that overwhelmed everyone present.
• Holy Master Gong realized Lin Xuan's sword domain surpassed the Taiyu Divine Dynasty Sword Saint's and regretted his earlier arrogance.
• Lin Xuan put away his sword and asked the Holy Masters whether he could sit and expound the Dao.

Lin Xuan delivered a Sword Dao discourse at the Great Cosmos Holy Academy, answering questions and helping instructors and students gain insights and breakthroughs. After Wu Qing asked whether someone with poor talent could cultivate the Sword Dao, Lin Xuan recognized her sword heart and gave her a pair of supreme-grade Emperor Weapons, a Sword Dao cultivation method, and a Sword Pavilion jade token, leaving her with a chance to seek him out as his disciple.

• The holy instructors apologized to Lin Xuan and asked him to guide them, and he agreed to deliver a discourse and answer questions.
• Lin Xuan’s explanations gave the instructors and students new insights, and several cultivators began breakthroughs during the discourse.
• Wu Qing asked Lin Xuan whether someone without sufficient talent could cultivate the Sword Dao, and he answered that a strong sword heart could overcome poor aptitude.
• Lin Xuan recognized Wu Qing’s perseverance and gave her two supreme-grade Emperor Weapons, the Saint Realm True Explanation of Sword Dao, and a Sword Pavilion jade token.
• Wu Qing thanked Lin Xuan tearfully and promised to master what he had taught her.

After a day of Lin Xuan’s Dao lecture, Liu Xing broke through his long-standing barrier and told Shi Qingyan’s circle that Senior Lin’s teaching had transformed his Sword Dao. His companions, who had mocked the lecture, were left questioning whether Lin Xuan was the princess’s guest.

• Lin Xuan lectured on the Dao from sunrise to sunset, and students and Holy Masters became absorbed in his teaching.
• Shi Qingyan and the other prodigies mocked Lin Xuan’s lecture while drinking at Floating Cloud Hall.
• Liu Xing arrived and stunned the group by revealing that he had broken through.
• Liu Xing credited Senior Lin’s lecture for his sudden enlightenment and seventh-level sword intent, saying he believed eighth-level sword intent was now within reach.
• One of the prodigies asked whether Senior Lin was the man invited by the princess.

Liu Xing’s account of Senior Lin’s lecture was confirmed by a flood of messages reporting breakthroughs and enlightenment. Shi Qingyan realized that his attempt to mock a rival had helped him seize the opportunity Shi Qingyan himself had missed, while Wu Qing had gained Senior Lin’s favor and treasured gifts.

• Liu Xing defended Senior Lin and described how his guidance helped students break through, praised Wu Qing’s Sword Heart, and bestowed an Emperor Weapon upon her.
• People in the hall received messages from friends confirming Senior Lin’s Sword Domain, the many kinds of Sword Intent he displayed, and the breakthroughs his lecture inspired.
• Shi Qingyan heard a message from his sworn rival thanking him for mentioning the lecture and learned that the rival had broken through.
• Shi Qingyan regretted mocking his rival and missing the lecture, imagining that Senior Lin might have chosen him instead.
• Shi Qingyan crushed his voice transmission jade token as further messages reminded him that Wu Qing had surpassed him and won Senior Lin’s favor.

After sensing Wang Yan inside the Great Cosmos Holy Academy’s Stele Forest, Lin Xuan rushed there and found him enduring tribulation lightning while challenging its trials without resources. Lin Xuan intervened by shattering a spiritual spring core to flood the forest with Spiritual Qi, leaving the onlookers stunned as Wang Yan’s challenge continued.

• Lin Xuan sensed Wang Yan’s presence and left his quarters to find him.
• At the Stele Forest, Wang Yan pressed on through its trials while tribulation lightning battered him, and the watching Holy Masters criticized him for lacking support.
• Dongfang Muxue arrived and told Lin Xuan that Wang Yan was the prodigy she had wanted to introduce to him.
• Wu Qing argued that Wang Yan would not be in such danger if he had received more resources, and Lin Xuan decided it was not too late to help him.
• Lin Xuan shattered a spiritual spring core and sent its Spiritual Qi through the Stele Forest, where it revived the vegetation and astonished everyone watching.

Lin Xuan used precious array discs and an immense supply of Spirit Stones to protect Wang Yan as he cultivated inside the Stele Forest. He reflected on Wang Yan's long loyalty and resolved that no one would bully his disciple again.

• Lin Xuan crushed the spirit spring's core and set up numerous thearch grade array discs, including a half-saint disc, around Wang Yan.
• The spectators and Dongfang Muxue wondered why Lin Xuan was spending so much to protect Wang Yan.
• Lin Xuan saw that Wang Yan's presence had stabilized and recalled how Wang Yan had stayed at Starfall Peak despite years of hardship.
• Lin Xuan vowed that his disciples would never suffer oppression under his protection again.
• Lin Xuan summoned a mountain of Spirit Stones, which onlookers estimated at ten billion, and sent them surging toward Wang Yan.

Lin Xuan poured ten billion Spirit Stones into the Stele Forest to save Wang Yan, who had been on the verge of death during his breakthrough. Reassured by his master’s arrival, Wang Yan shattered his tribulation lightning, reached the Thearch Realm, and walked out to thank Lin Xuan.

• Lin Xuan supplied the Stele Forest with vast Spiritual Qi, giving the injured Wang Yan the power he needed to survive.
• Wang Yan saw Lin Xuan outside the forest and heard his master tell him to steady his mind and break through.
• Wang Yan raised his damaged sword and shattered the tribulation lightning with a single slash.
• Wang Yan reached the Thearch Realm and the seventh level of sword intent, then walked out of the Stele Forest.
• Wang Yan bowed before Lin Xuan and thanked his master for coming to guard his path.

Wang Yan reunited with Lin Xuan, who helped him consolidate his breakthrough and strengthen his sword intent during half a month of secluded cultivation. Wang Yan then went with Lin Xuan to challenge the Pagoda of a Hundred Saints, where Gongsun Xie proposed they enter together.

• Wang Yan revealed that Lin Xuan was his master, and the holy teachers who had mistreated him hurriedly apologized and returned the resources they had withheld.
• Lin Xuan learned about Wang Yan’s hardships and Li Hong’s soul injury, then took Wang Yan into seclusion to consolidate his cultivation and improve his strength.
• After half a month, Wang Yan’s cultivation remained at the Thearch Realm, but his presence had grown stronger and his sword intent had reached the peak of the eighth level.
• Wang Yan asked Lin Xuan to accompany him to the Pagoda of a Hundred Saints so he could test his strength and potential to reach the Saint Realm.
• At the pagoda, Gongsun Xie, a peak Great Emperor Realm prodigy preparing to challenge it, offered to enter alongside Wang Yan.

Gongsun Xie challenged the Pagoda of a Hundred Saints and became the first Great Cosmos Holy Academy student in nearly a thousand years to enter its top hundred. Wang Yan entered after him and advanced slowly, leaving his true progress uncertain as Gongsun Xie emerged ranked seventy-fourth.

• Gongsun Xie warned Wang Yan to act within his limits, then entered the Pagoda of a Hundred Saints determined to break into the top hundred.
• Wang Yan reunited with Lin Xuan, received his master's encouragement, and entered the pagoda after Gongsun Xie.
• Gongsun Xie's white light climbed rapidly while Wang Yan's black light advanced slowly, prompting onlookers to doubt Wang Yan's abilities.
• Gongsun Xie's light faltered at the forty-ninth floor before reaching the fiftieth, and his name appeared on the Hundred Saints Ranking.
• Gongsun Xie continued to the fifty-eighth floor, emerged from the pagoda, and took seventy-fourth place on the ranking.

Gongsun Xie emerged from the Pagoda of a Hundred Saints ranked seventy-fourth, earning praise from the Great Cosmos Holy Academy. Lin Xuan predicted Wang Yan would claim first place, and when black light surged from the tower after Wang Yan cleared the twelfth floor, his presence startled everyone and unsettled Gongsun Xie.

• Gongsun Xie emerged from the Pagoda of a Hundred Saints ranked seventy-fourth and accepted congratulations from the crowd.
• The dean praised the Great Cosmos Holy Academy's talent, while Lin Xuan agreed that Gongsun Xie had performed well.
• Gongsun Xie asked Lin Xuan how far Wang Yan would go, and Lin Xuan predicted that Wang Yan would take the top spot.
• The dean doubted Wang Yan could claim first place, but Lin Xuan said Wang Yan had been studying the tower and was ready to advance.
• Black light and a powerful presence erupted from the Pagoda of a Hundred Saints, and Wu Qing announced that Wang Yan had cleared the twelfth floor.
• Gongsun Xie sensed that Wang Yan's presence surpassed his own and felt a premonition of trouble.

Wang Yan surged through the Pagoda of a Hundred Saints, surpassing Gongsun Xie and reaching second place on the Hundred Saints Ranking at the ninety-eighth floor. As everyone watched him approach the record of the legendary imperial preceptor, Lin Xuan remained calm and seemed to have expected Wang Yan’s ascent.

• Gongsun Xie doubted Wang Yan could climb far, believing his Secret Method would soon fail.
• Wang Yan raced past the twentieth, thirtieth, fortieth, and fiftieth floors without slowing.
• Wang Yan reached the fifty-eighth floor, appeared above Gongsun Xie on the ranking, and stunned the academy’s teachers and students.
• Wang Yan continued climbing until he reached the ninety-eighth floor and second place on the Hundred Saints Ranking.
• The crowd looked to Lin Xuan, whose calm satisfaction led the sage teachers to suspect he had truly expected Wang Yan to reach the top.

Wang Yan reached the ninety-ninth floor of the Pagoda of a Hundred Saints and claimed the top position in its rankings, astonishing the Great Cosmos Holy Academy. Afterward, he apologized to Lin Xuan for taking too long and compared himself unfavorably to his Sword Pavilion seniors and juniors, before Lin Xuan said they would soon return to Primordial Holy Heaven.

• The sage instructors regretted not helping Wang Yan earlier, while Dongfang Muxue and the crowd watched him remain on the ninety-eighth floor.
• The Pagoda of a Hundred Saints hummed as its black light moved to the ninety-ninth floor and every floor lit up.
• The stone stele placed Wang Yan first in the rankings at the ninety-ninth floor, and Gongsun Xie abandoned his jealousy after seeing the gap between them.
• Wang Yan emerged from the teleportation formation with little sign of exhaustion and apologized to Lin Xuan for taking so long.
• Wang Yan said he could not compare with his Sword Pavilion senior and junior sisters, and Lin Xuan reassured him that he had done well and said they would soon return to Primordial Holy Heaven.

Lin Xuan learned that his ancestor Zhiruo’s traces led to the Taiyu Divine Dynasty, while the spirit sword connected to her had shattered again. Dongfang Muxue revealed a new lead at the Forgotten River Prince's Mansion, where a small world would soon open, and Lin Xuan decided to investigate.

• Lin Xuan reflected on clues linking his ancestor to the Taiyu Divine Dynasty and found that his repaired sword had shattered again.
• The Vast Sea Saint King examined the sword and said its original spirit and its owner's lingering spirituality were nearly gone.
• Xia Mengyao told Lin Xuan that Dongfang Muxue had found a lead on Ji Zhenyi and wanted to see him.
• Dongfang Muxue explained that Ji Zhenyi may have entered a small world at the Forgotten River Prince's Mansion, where no one had returned.
• Lin Xuan learned that the small world would soon open and that his shattered sword trembled at the news, so he agreed to investigate.

Ji Zhenyi guarded A Lin, the amnesiac girl whose emotions stirred the Sword Qi throughout the Forgotten River Small World, while searching for a way to escape. When trapped cultivators gathered to kill A Lin, their Half-Saint leader challenged Ji Zhenyi to admit whether she wanted to get out.

• Ji Zhenyi reflected on how A Lin’s emotions shaped the Sword Qi and how the girl’s lost memories prevented her from explaining or controlling it.
• After A Lin fell asleep, Ji Zhenyi noticed armed cultivators at the valley entrance, set out formation disks, and went to confront them.
• The gathered cultivators declared that they intended to kill A Lin, believing the girl was connected to the small world’s strange conditions.
• Their Half-Saint leader pointed out that A Lin was asleep and asked Ji Zhenyi whether she wanted to escape.

Ji Zhenyi refused to help the Half-Saints kill A Lin, even as they threatened her and demanded freedom from the small world. When they attacked, Ji Zhenyi shielded A Lin and was gravely wounded, leaving A Lin grieving and beginning to hate her attackers and herself.

• Ji Zhenyi argued that she would not kill an innocent person for a chance to escape, though the others feared remaining trapped after a hundred years.
• The Half-Saint leader threatened Ji Zhenyi, demanding she step aside or die with A Lin.
• A Lin woke, found Ji Zhenyi, and asked what everyone was doing as the Half-Saints prepared to attack.
• The Half-Saint leader ordered everyone to kill A Lin, and Ji Zhenyi threw herself in front of her.
• The Half-Saints' attacks broke through Ji Zhenyi's protection and left her badly injured as she shielded A Lin.
• A Lin wept over Ji Zhenyi and felt hatred toward the attackers and self-loathing at her own helplessness.

Lin Xuan arrived in the small world as A Lin’s memories began to return, then killed the leading Half-Saint for attacking members of the Lin Household. The surviving attackers begged for mercy, but Lin Xuan prepared to kill them as well.

• The leading Half-Saint attacked A Lin, but an unknown force of Sword Qi shielded her and Ji Zhenyi.
• Lin Xuan tore open the small world with his sword and descended to protect A Lin and Ji Zhenyi.
• Lin Xuan called A Lin his ancestor, triggering memories that made her faint.
• Lin Xuan checked A Lin’s pulse, then killed the leading Half-Saint with one sword strike.
• The remaining Half-Saints begged Lin Xuan to spare them, but he rejected their pleas and declared they would die.

Lin Xuan found Ji Zhenyi in the Forgotten River Small World and proved his identity with Dean Bai’s jade pendant. He learned that she had spent over a hundred years protecting the amnesiac Lin Zhiruo, and prepared to bring them back to the Primordial Holy Heaven.

• Lin Xuan killed the Half-Saints blocking his way after forcing a path through the Forgotten River Small World’s sword intent, leaving his spiritual power nearly depleted.
• Lin Xuan introduced himself to Ji Zhenyi and showed her Dean Bai’s jade pendant, convincing her that he had been sent to find her.
• Ji Zhenyi explained that she had been trapped for over a hundred years with the amnesiac girl she called A Lin.
• Lin Xuan recognized A Lin as his Lin Household ancestor, Lin Zhiruo, and learned that she had lost her memories and could not use her power.
• Lin Xuan invited Ji Zhenyi to return with him through the passage he had opened, and she eagerly agreed.

While Lin Xuan cared for the memoryless Lin Zhiruo, he learned that restoring her might require an immense supply of medicines and resources. He agreed to attend the Taiyu Divine Dynasty’s announcement of its next ruler, where he hoped to see the dynasty’s Great Saint ruler.

• Lin Xuan watched over Lin Zhiruo, who had lost her memories and insisted on sleeping beside him, while Ji Zhenyi indulged her.
• Lin Xuan asked the Vast Sea Saint King about restoring Lin Zhiruo’s memories, and the Saint King explained that her injuries would require vast quantities of powerful medicines.
• Lin Xuan worried about finding resources for Lin Zhiruo, his disciples, his little deer, and his injured eldest brother.
• The princess’s residence invited Lin Xuan to attend the announcement of the Taiyu Divine Dynasty’s next ruler in seven days.
• Lin Xuan accepted the invitation after learning that the dynasty’s Great Saint ruler would personally invest the successor.

At the succession ceremony, Lin Xuan learned that Dongfang Muxue’s faction had defeated the eldest prince’s, and the ruler of the Taiyu Divine Dynasty appeared to announce the next Divine Lord. The chapter ended with him naming Dongfang Muxue as his successor.

• Lin Xuan listened as guests discussed Dongfang Muxue’s rise and the eldest prince’s declining influence.
• Lin Xuan learned that Dongfang Muxue’s mansion had won its latest clash with the eldest prince while Lin Xuan was away.
• The eldest prince glared at Lin Xuan, while the Vast Sea Saint King pointed out his hostility and Lin Zhiruo glared back.
• The ruler of the Taiyu Divine Dynasty appeared on the Ascension Platform, and Lin Xuan recognized him as a Great Saint.
• The ruler announced that Dongfang Muxue would succeed him as Divine Lord.

The ruler of the Taiyu Divine Dynasty named Dongfang Muxue as his successor, but the Eldest Imperial Prince rejected the decision and called for an attack. He summoned the remnants of the Mingli Divine Dynasty, who broke through the dynasty’s spatial seal and appeared in the eastern sky.

• The ruler of the divine dynasty announced that Dongfang Muxue would succeed him.
• The Eldest Imperial Prince objected, accused his father of unfairness, and challenged Dongfang Muxue’s right to inherit the throne.
• The ruler rebuked Dongfang Muze, saying the prince had lost under the rules and had no right to dispute the decision.
• The Eldest Imperial Prince ordered everyone to attack and crushed the snake-shaped jade pendant at his waist.
• Powerful cultivators emerged through spatial rifts in the eastern sky, and witnesses recognized them as remnants of the Mingli Divine Dynasty.

Dongfang Muze summoned the Mingli Divine Dynasty’s remnants and demanded that his father, Dongfang Ji, die. As Dongfang Ji battled their Great Saint, Lin Xuan chose to wait and watch, until two more Great Saints joined the attack.

• Dongfang Muze revealed that he had colluded with the Mingli Divine Dynasty and declared that he wanted Dongfang Ji to die.
• The Mingli remnants sealed the imperial capital with the Zhoutian Star Dou Grand Formation, and their Great Saint attacked Dongfang Ji.
• Dongfang Muxue retreated from the Ascension Platform while Lin Xuan declined the Vast Sea Saint King’s offer to intervene.
• Dongfang Ji held his own against the Mingli Great Saint, who then called forth two more Great Saints.

The Taiyu Divine Lord faced three Great Saints after two of his own allies betrayed him and sided with Mingli. As the Divine Lord neared defeat, Lin Xuan and the Vast Sea Saint King arrived to turn the tide.

• Two Taiyu Great Saints revealed their betrayal and joined the Mingli Great Saint in demanding the Dragon Qi from the Taiyu Divine Lord.
• The Taiyu Divine Lord refused to surrender the Dragon Qi, and the three Great Saints attacked him together.
• The eldest prince watched from among the Mingli remnants as the Taiyu Divine Lord fell under pressure and the Taiyu subjects feared defeat.
• Lin Xuan and the Vast Sea Saint King appeared, forcing back the three attacking Great Saints.

Dongfang Ji prepared to use his Taiyu Secret Method against three Great Saints, but the Vast Sea Saint King intervened and shattered their combined attack. His strength stunned the defenders and enemies alike, revealing that Lin Xuan’s companion was powerful enough to contend with Great Saints.

• Dongfang Ji told Lin Xuan and the Vast Sea Saint King not to intervene as he prepared to use his Secret Method against the attackers.
• The Mingli Great Saint ordered Yuwen Ming and Xi Lian to kill Dongfang Ji, while the Eldest Imperial Prince hoped his father would die without passing on the Secret Method.
• The Vast Sea Saint King objected to Dongfang Ji facing the three Great Saints alone and decided to intervene on behalf of the Taiyu Divine Dynasty and the Sword Pavilion.
• The Vast Sea Saint King summoned his great halberd and tore through the attackers’ combined strike, making the grand formation tremble.
• Dongfang Ji, Dongfang Muxue, and Xia Mengyao were shocked by the Vast Sea Saint King’s strength, and Xia Mengyao marveled at the Sword Pavilion.