Chapter Summaries

Alice explained the competition’s rules, and the contestants were teleported into the town to begin their matches. Qi Ling’s first opponent was Escanor, who joined him for wine before they prepared to fight.

• Alice said contestants would be randomly assigned five opponents, one match per day, and need four wins to advance; Zhen Hong, Kurumi, and Qian Jiyin received byes as the previous competition’s top three.
• Alice warned contestants not to fight anyone except their designated opponents and said defeating one of the three referees would also earn direct advancement.
• Qi Ling suggested the group meet at the town’s central clock tower before the contestants were teleported to random locations.
• Qi Ling found himself on a street, took wine from a shop, and relaxed in the sunshine while waiting for his opponent.
• Escanor arrived as Qi Ling’s first opponent, shared a jar of wine with him, and then agreed to begin their fight.

Qi Ling fought Escanor, whose overwhelming strength and durability had made him eager for a rematch. After blocking Escanor’s axe, Qi Ling challenged him to withstand one unarmed strike and unleashed a new rotational attack, leaving the result unresolved.

• Escanor demanded that his rematch with Qi Ling continue until one of them lost, then opened with his Divine Axe: Demon Breaking.
• Qi Ling caught Escanor’s axe with one hand and channeled its force into the ground, though the impact cracked the earth beneath him.
• Escanor refused to accept that Qi Ling might surpass him in strength and challenged Qi Ling to prove his power with an attack.
• Qi Ling offered to use only one punch and promised to admit defeat if Escanor remained standing ten seconds later.
• Qi Ling used his newly developed rotational force and struck with Tyrant Dragon Heaven-Spiraling Break.

Qi Ling defeated Escanor with a vortex-like punch, but Escanor rose again to deliver his final strike, Divine Axe: Glory, before collapsing. After earning a point, Qi Ling headed for the city center and discovered the clock tower was missing.

• Qi Ling struck Escanor with a vortex-like attack that left him unable to move, and Escanor questioned how Qi Ling had changed his body and the space around him.
• Escanor struggled back to his feet and insisted on making one final attack, so Qi Ling agreed to face it at full strength.
• Escanor used Divine Axe: Glory, a strike powered by his conviction and glory, but Qi Ling appeared unharmed as Escanor fell with a satisfied smile.
• Qi Ling reflected on the strength of the competitors, counted his first point, and found that the clock tower he planned to use as a meeting place had vanished.
• Qi Ling set off aimlessly toward the town center to search for the others.

Qi Ling faced Celeste, a hidden summoner who used creatures to fight from the forest. After destroying Celeste’s hornet swarm, Qi Ling began to understand how his opponent’s ability worked.

• Qi Ling saw Xiluo instantly subdue two contestants who broke the rule against fighting anyone but their assigned opponent.
• After resting overnight, Qi Ling found the ruined town restored and learned that his next opponent was Celeste, who was waiting in a forest.
• Celeste watched Qi Ling through an owl and declared that he was the forest’s ruler before summoning hornets to attack.
• Qi Ling struck down the hornets before they reached him, and they vanished, revealing a clue about Celeste’s summoning ability.

Qi Ling fought Celeste’s summoned creatures and destroyed a Hell Three-Headed Dog with his World-Destroying Black Flame. He then used a special skill from Dragon God Island to sense the forest and locate Celeste.

• Qi Ling used the Hou Yi Bow to shoot down Celeste’s summoned insects and ants, then destroyed his charging beasts with a dragon’s roar.
• Celeste summoned a Hell Three-Headed Dog, whose three heads attacked Qi Ling with ice and flames.
• Qi Ling discovered that his arrow passed through the dog without harming it, then summoned the World-Destroying Black Flame and devoured it.
• Celeste forced the three-headed dog to keep attacking, but Qi Ling destroyed it with the black flame.
• Qi Ling sharpened his senses with a skill from Dragon God Island and found Celeste in the forest.

Qi Ling confronted Celeste after Celeste summoned a Jade Dragon, whose attack turned the forest into purple crystal. When the Jade Dragon refused to attack because of the Dragon Clan’s pride, Qi Ling summoned a White Spirit Dragon and left Celeste shocked.

• Qi Ling tracked down Celeste and fired an arrow from the Hou Yi Bow, but Celeste completed his spell and escaped onto a summoned Jade Dragon.
• Celeste boasted of the Jade Dragon’s power and used it to turn the forest into purple crystal before ordering it to attack Qi Ling.
• The Jade Dragon stopped before biting Qi Ling, who explained that the Dragon Clan’s pride had resisted Celeste’s control.
• Qi Ling used Dragon Soul Summoning to call forth a White Spirit Dragon, and Celeste was astonished that the supposedly extinct dragon appeared.

The White Spirit Dragon killed the Jade Dragon and chased down Celeste, while Qi Ling watched. He then witnessed Chu Ling defeat Qian Xunji, whose concession left Qi Ling wondering how he would respond in the same situation.

• The Jade Dragon attacked the White Spirit Dragon, which won their battle and killed it.
• Celeste fled from the White Spirit Dragon, but it chased him down and swallowed him.
• Qi Ling left the forest and found Chu Ling and Qian Xunji fighting with spears.
• Chu Ling used the Thirty-Six Forms of the Long Hatred Spear to force Qian Xunji onto the defensive, then stopped his final strike at Qian Xunji's neck.
• Chu Ling offered to end the match to spare Qian Xunji an injury, and Qian Xunji conceded.
• Chu Ling glanced toward Qi Ling as he left, and Qi Ling wondered whether he would concede or fight on if faced with the same choice.

After Qi Ling finished another match, eliminated contestants tried to kill a referee so they could qualify, but the blindfolded man effortlessly killed their attackers. The organizers then changed the rules so eliminated contestants could still be considered among the twenty-nine who advanced.

• Qi Ling watched as contestants who had lost eligibility planned to ambush a referee and force their way into the competition.
• A blindfolded referee arrived to stop a staged fight, and the eliminated contestants surrounded him and attacked.
• The referee killed six attackers with a single, barely visible movement, then warned the hidden attackers and spectators not to challenge him.
• After the referee left, the organizers decided that twenty-nine contestants would advance and that eliminated contestants could fill any remaining places.

Qi Ling killed an assassin who broke into his room, then faced Xiluo, the referee, who questioned him about his feelings for Luna. Xiluo admitted she loved Luna and said Luna seemed devoted to Qi Ling, but she pressed him to answer whether he loved Luna.

• An assassin entered Qi Ling's room and tried to kill him with a dagger, but Qi Ling's defenses stopped the attacks.
• Qi Ling froze the assassin in place with his space-time ability and killed him for attempting to take his life.
• Xiluo appeared at Qi Ling's window, and Qi Ling asked how she would rule on the forbidden private fight.
• Xiluo admitted she loved Luna romantically and believed Luna's thoughts were filled with Qi Ling.
• Xiluo again asked Qi Ling whether he loved Luna.

Qi Ling faced Xiao Ye and discovered that her Night Owl and Night Kite daggers could vanish and attack in ways that threatened even his defenses. After he saw through her phantom and the two struggled to find an opening, Qi Ling began manipulating the space before him, leaving Xiao Ye astonished.

• Xiao Ye explained that her daggers, Night Owl and Night Kite, changed form and could disappear, then one of them mysteriously cut Qi Ling’s clothes.
• Qi Ling summoned his Divine Dragon Emperor Martial Soul, Dragon God Armor, and Demon God Halberd before using Nine Heavens Dragon Roar.
• Xiao Ye evaded the roar with a phantom, but Qi Ling recognized the deception and defended himself while searching for her real body.
• Xiao Ye searched for a way through Qi Ling’s defenses but found no safe opening for an attack.
• Qi Ling began moving his hands over empty space as a strange power made the surrounding space tremble, astonishing Xiao Ye.

Qi Ling forced Xiao Ye out of hiding, but she trapped him in a magic array that prevented him from moving or using his skills. Xiao Ye’s secret art pierced Qi Ling’s chest with ease, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Qi Ling used Space Tremor to reveal Xiao Ye and thrust at her with the Demon God Halberd.
• Xiao Ye restrained Qi Ling with a spiderweb-shaped magic array that disabled his skills.
• Xiao Ye prepared a powerful attack and warned Qi Ling that he might die, while he chose to endure it without defending himself.
• Xiao Ye approached Qi Ling as a phantom woman appeared behind her, then slowly thrust her dagger toward his heart.
• Xiao Ye’s dagger pierced Qi Ling’s chest, passing through his formidable defenses as if they were paper.

Qi Ling survived Xiao Ye’s soul-destroying attack because his Dragon Soul was undying. After learning that Xiao Ye had risked giving up her powers to spare him, they discussed how he had died and come back to life.

• Xiao Ye stopped her dagger just before killing Qi Ling, but he insisted she complete the attack.
• Xiao Ye drove the dagger into Qi Ling’s heart, and the Ritual Offering to the Holy Mother of Darkness drained his life force until he appeared dead.
• The phantom of the Holy Mother of Darkness embraced Qi Ling, and he suddenly rose again, startling Xiao Ye.
• Xiao Ye explained that she could have ended the ritual by sacrificing her powers and the Holy Mother’s acceptance.
• Qi Ling revealed that his soul had died but returned because the Divine Dragon Emperor’s Dragon Soul was undying.

Qi Ling defeated Xiao Ye, who admitted she had lost but later advanced through the substitute contest. The thirty-two contestants were divided into groups for a team competition, and Qi Ling teamed up with Kurumi as Qian Xunji, Xue Qinghe, and the other group members quietly reached an agreement.

• Xiao Ye told Qi Ling she could no longer fight because the disrupted ritual had stripped away her battle markings and temporarily blocked her Night Clan secret arts.
• Xiao Ye later advanced through the contest for substitute spots, while Ye Mingzhu and Ye Mingyue were eliminated and Ye Jiangming and Luna qualified.
• Alice announced that the thirty-two contestants would be split into four groups, where contestants would form pairs and compete for two advancement places per group.
• Qi Ling chose Kurumi as his teammate, and she agreed to work with him.
• Qian Xunji and Xue Qinghe, who had already partnered up, saw that Qi Ling was in their group and exchanged glances with the other contestants, apparently making an agreement.

Qi Ling and the other contestants learned that their first competition in the Devil Realm would take place in a beast arena, where they would earn points by defeating demonic beasts of increasing difficulty. The chapter ended with the teams receiving a strength guide and having to choose their opponents without knowing what beasts awaited them.

• The remaining contestants formed two teams, and Qi Ling asked Kurumi whether she knew anything about them; she said they were not worth her attention.
• Xiluo arrived as the group's examiner and led the contestants through a portal to a crowded beast arena.
• Xiluo explained that each team would challenge Devil Realm demonic beasts and earn points according to the difficulty of the monsters they defeated.
• Qi Ling asked whether contestants could inspect the beasts beforehand and whether losing meant death; Xiluo said beast information was confidential and a loss ended their run.
• Xiluo handed each team a guide ranking beast difficulty from 1 to 100, with even a level 1 beast matching a level 99 Limit Douluo.

Qi Ling and Kurumi waited while the other teams chose their magical beasts, then watched Duolong and Shaliwa challenge a level 5 Solid Wall Porcupine. After the porcupine injured Duolong, Shaliwa struck it with an arrow that killed it instantly, leaving the team and spectators astonished.

• Qi Ling decided to wait for the other teams to choose before selecting a magical beast, and Kurumi agreed to follow his judgment.
• Qian Xunji and Xue Qinghe also waited, while the other two teams chose level 5 and level 7 magical beasts.
• Duolong and Shaliwa faced the level 5 Solid Wall Porcupine, and Duolong's first attack trapped his saber before the beast's spikes wounded him.
• Shaliwa told Duolong to attack again, and the porcupine trapped his twin sabers and launched another spike attack.
• Shaliwa's arrow pierced the Solid Wall Porcupine, which immediately fell dead.

Shaliwa’s precision shot helped Duolong and him defeat their magical beast, and they stopped after earning five points. The next team faced the Holy Weeping Mantis, but Xiluo rescued them and offered them a chance to withdraw.

• Shaliwa struck the magical beast’s only weak point, and he and Duolong won their match.
• Shaliwa persuaded Duolong to stop challenging beasts, and they earned five points.
• The next pair faced a level-seven Holy Weeping Mantis that vanished from sight and severed one man’s arm.
• The Holy Weeping Mantis broke the other man’s weapon and cornered both fighters.
• Xiluo blocked the mantis’s scythe, subdued it, and asked the men whether they would use their one chance to withdraw.

Qian Xunji and Xue Qinghe challenged a level-ten magical beast, the Death Flame Phoenix, after deciding they could not match Qi Ling. Xue Qinghe struggled to restrain the phoenix’s deadly flames while Qian Xunji prepared to attack with his refined demonic spear.

• Qi Ling observed that the Holy Weeping Mantis relied on charged attacks and spatial power, but the two challengers withdrew from their match.
• Qian Xunji decided to take the arena before Qi Ling and chose a level-ten magical beast for his team to face.
• The arena gate opened, and a Death Flame Phoenix emerged, its black flames carrying the power of death.
• Qian Xunji sent Xue Qinghe, transformed into the Evil Dragon, to test the phoenix’s strength.
• Xue Qinghe restrained the phoenix but was badly burned by its flames and warned Qian Xunji to hurry.
• Qian Xunji unfurled six pairs of black wings, donned his black battle armor, and summoned his refined demonic spear.

Qian Xunji and Xue Qinghe fought the Death Flame Phoenix, using their powers to suppress its healing and black flames. After it completed its nirvana, the phoenix unleashed a deathly attack and charged at them, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Qian Xunji pierced the Death Flame Phoenix with Fallen Heaven Strike, but it began healing the enormous wound.
• Black markings from Qian Xunji's spear spread over the phoenix, stopping its healing and suppressing its flames.
• Qian Xunji and Xue Qinghe combined their attacks until the phoenix's flames died and it became a black egg.
• Qian Xunji warned Xue Qinghe that attacking the egg would provoke the phoenix's strongest flames, so they waited as it completed its nirvana.
• The reborn Death Flame Phoenix erupted in black flames, then charged at Qian Xunji and Xue Qinghe.

After Qian Xunji and Xue Qinghe defeated the Death Flame Phoenix, Qi Ling chose to challenge a level 20 Devil Realm beast, the Abyssal Crocodile King. He began fighting it with Kurumi’s support, but his first attack failed to penetrate its defenses.

• Qian Xunji and Xue Qinghe escaped the Death Flame Phoenix’s attack through a spatial rift and defeated it in a costly final clash.
• Qi Ling chose a level 20 demonic beast despite Xiluo’s warning that it would require the strength of a Two-Ring True God.
• Xiluo identified Qi Ling’s opponent as the Abyssal Crocodile King, ruler of the Death Swamp, and it emerged from the arena gate.
• Kurumi explained that she could rewind Qi Ling’s time to restore him, though the ability was limited and dangerous to her.
• Qi Ling charged the Abyssal Crocodile King with his Demon God Halberd, but the beast’s body took no damage and the impact numbed his hands.

Qi Ling fought the level-20 Abyssal Crocodile King, unveiling the God-Demon Body and striking it with his strongest technique, Annihilation in All Ten Directions. Although he badly wounded the beast, it answered with an unavoidable icy beam that shattered his Dragon God Armor, pierced his shoulder, and left his right arm frozen and immobile.

• The Abyssal Crocodile King dragged Qi Ling toward its jaws with spatial suction, but Qi Ling stabbed its mouth with the Demon God Halberd and escaped before its tail slammed him into the arena wall.
• Qi Ling activated the God-Demon Body, using his understanding of samsara to bear the strain of its opposing powers.
• Xiluo recognized Qi Ling's rare nature and remarked that Luna should hold on to him.
• Qi Ling unleashed Demon God Battle Skill: Annihilation in All Ten Directions, carving a deep cross-shaped wound into the Abyssal Crocodile King's back armor.
• The wounded Abyssal Crocodile King fired a white laser that shattered Qi Ling's Dragon God Armor, pierced his shoulder, and froze his right hand.