Chapter Summaries

Three gold-masked assassins from the Blood Baleful Intent Tower attacked Shen Qianyue outside the poison hall, while Chu Yunfei realized they were testing whether Ling Zhantian had recovered. Ling Xueyao prepared to intervene but Chu Yunfei stopped her, and an unknown attacker arrived to strike one of the assassins.

• Three Divine Sea Realm experts attacked the palace, and Shen Qianyue was driven back and wounded while defending the formation.
• Chu Yunfei left the poison hall to observe the battle and identified the attackers as gold-masked assassins of the Blood Baleful Intent Tower.
• Chu Yunfei and Xiaoxiao Dragon inferred that the assassins were probing the imperial family to learn whether Ling Zhantian had awakened.
• When Ling Xueyao tried to leave the formation to help Shen Qianyue, Chu Yunfei stopped her and pointed out that the assassins were avoiding lethal blows.
• An azure streak entered the battlefield and blasted the sword-wielding assassin back with a fist imprint.

Chu Yunfei and Ling Xueyao tried to convince the Blood Baleful Intent Tower that Ling Zhantian was still poisoned, while the imperial Attendants fought off its gold-masked assassins. A deputy tower master appeared and unleashed a Dao Mysterious Realm attack on the palace hall, leaving Chu Yunfei and Ling Xueyao fleeing as a cold voice rang out from the imperial palace.

• Zhou Xuancheng arrived and helped Shen Qianyue confront the three gold-masked assassins while Chu Yunfei and Ling Xueyao returned to Ling Zhantian.
• Chu Yunfei explained that the assassins were testing whether Ling Zhantian had recovered, then restored the Soul-Devouring Nether Poison around the hall while shielding him from it.
• The remaining imperial Attendants arrived, but the gold-masked assassins stalled even after losing their chance to break through.
• A purple-masked deputy tower master appeared above the palace hall and gathered the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into a massive palm imprint.
• Xiaoxiao Dragon warned that the attacker was in the Dao Mysterious Realm, and Chu Yunfei carried Ling Xueyao away from the palace hall.
• As the palm imprint neared the hall, a cold voice from deep within the imperial palace shouted, "Insolence!"

Ling Changkong emerged from the imperial palace’s rear mountain and stopped the Blood Baleful Intent Tower deputy master from striking Ling Zhantian’s hall. After the attackers withdrew, Ling Changkong drove away the Divine Sea Realm observers probing the palace, then ordered everyone to withdraw.

• Ling Changkong appeared and shattered the deputy master’s palm imprint with a single punch, while Chu Yunfei shielded Ling Xueyao from the shock waves.
• Ling Xueyao identified the elder as her grandfather clan elder, Ling Changkong, and Chu Yunfei assessed his strength as Dao Mysterious Realm Second Stage.
• The deputy master confirmed the Soul-Devouring Nether Poison remained and Ling Zhantian had not awakened, then ordered the three gold-masked assassins to retreat.
• Ling Changkong stopped Zhou Xuancheng from pursuing the assassins, and the deputy master vanished after warning that they would meet again.
• Ling Changkong forced the Divine Sea Realm observers outside the palace to withdraw, then landed by the damaged hall and ordered everyone to withdraw.

After Chu Yunfei cured Ling Zhantian’s Soul-Devouring Nether Poison, Ling Changkong thanked him and vowed to guard the emperor while he recovered. Ling Changkong then revealed his past encounter with the Blood Baleful Intent Tower, leaving the extent of its power a pressing concern.

• Ling Xueyao gave Shen Qianyue a fifth-grade pill and introduced Chu Yunfei to Ling Changkong, explaining how he had protected her.
• Chu Yunfei removed the remaining Soul-Devouring Nether Poison from Ling Zhantian, and Ling Changkong confirmed the emperor’s body and divine soul were recovering.
• Ling Changkong thanked Chu Yunfei on behalf of the imperial family and promised to guard Ling Zhantian for the next three days.
• Shen Qianyue warned that the Blood Baleful Intent Tower’s assassins were highly organized, and Ling Changkong recalled fighting two of its deputy tower masters twenty years earlier.
• Ling Changkong said that one of the two deputy tower masters had died and the other had been wounded.

Ling Changkong, Ling Xueyao, Shen Qianyue, and Chu Yunfei linked the Blood Baleful Intent Tower to the emperor’s poisoning, Lu Shaoyuan’s death, and possible danger surrounding the Seven Sects Grand Competition. Ling Xueyao and Chu Yunfei left the palace hall, where she asked him how it felt to hold her, and he began an ill-timed reply.

• Ling Changkong revealed that he had fought the Blood Baleful Intent Tower’s deputy tower master twenty years earlier and spent three years in seclusion recovering from his injuries.
• Chu Yunfei argued that the Tower’s palace intrusion showed concern about whether Ling Zhantian had awakened, and Ling Xueyao connected that possibility to her father’s poisoning.
• Ling Xueyao told Ling Changkong about Lu Shaoyuan’s final message, and the group concluded the Tower had infiltrated the seven sects and was building a wider scheme across the Eastern Continent.
• Chu Yunfei warned that the Seven Sects Grand Competition in the imperial capital might be part of the Tower’s plans, while Ling Xueyao decided she and Chu Yunfei would remain in the palace for three days.
• Ling Changkong stayed to guard Ling Zhantian as Ling Xueyao and Chu Yunfei departed, and Ling Xueyao asked Chu Yunfei how it had felt to hold her.

After surviving the Blood Baleful Intent Tower’s attack, Chu Yunfei thanked Ling Xueyao and returned to her chambers, where he prepared to cultivate. He refined a spiritual herb for Little Purple and examined the sealed stone stele, then resolved to break through before the imperial capital’s coming conflicts.

• Ling Xueyao confronted Chu Yunfei over his remark that she was soft, then thanked him for saving her and her father during the attack.
• Chu Yunfei secured the side courtyard and cultivation chamber, then refined the Purple Lightning Heart-Devouring Vine into a drop of essence for Little Purple to consume.
• Little Purple began a transformation that Chu Yunfei expected to raise it to at least the fourth level of the Heavenly Origin Realm.
• Chu Yunfei examined the nameless stone stele, but Xiaoxiao Dragon warned that its ancient seals required a far stronger soul to break.
• After sensing a faint presence from the stele, Chu Yunfei put it away and decided to break through, knowing the imperial capital’s turmoil was only beginning.

Chu Yunfei refined the soul-devouring nether poison and advanced to the third level of the Heavenly Origin Realm before beginning to cultivate the Great Heaven-Burning Art. As he practiced inside the Divine Cauldron of Heavenly Mandate, Xiaoxiao Dragon realized the secret art was saint-grade.

• Chu Yunfei refined the soul-devouring nether poison into dark gold essence and absorbed it, breaking through from the first to the third level of the Heavenly Origin Realm.
• Chu Yunfei decided he needed a trump card against stronger enemies and used three thousand spirit crystals to open the time space for practicing a secret art.
• Chu Yunfei told Xiaoxiao Dragon that the Great Heaven-Burning Art could briefly let him fight an early-stage Divine Sea Realm cultivator, though it left him weakened afterward.
• Chu Yunfei entered the Divine Cauldron of Heavenly Mandate and began adapting the Great Heaven-Burning Art’s three stages to his current body.
• Xiaoxiao Dragon watched Chu Yunfei practice and recognized the Great Heaven-Burning Art as a saint-grade secret art.

Chu Yunfei tried to master the Great Heaven-Burning Art, but its final yin-yang reversal spiraled out of control and threatened his life. Ling Xueyao entered the cultivation chamber to help him, only for the art to seize on her Flawless Spirit Physique and make him pull her into his arms.

• Chu Yunfei spent three days and over a hundred attempts learning to ignite the Great Heaven-Burning Art, eventually producing a strike nearly as strong as a seventh-level Heavenly Origin Realm cultivator's all-out attack.
• Chu Yunfei attempted the art's final yin-yang reversal, but his blood vitality reversed and the three origins began to backlash through his body.
• Xiaoxiao Dragon warned that only an external force of utmost yin and purity could stabilize the out-of-control burning momentum.
• Ling Xueyao heard the disturbance, dismissed the maids, and entered the cultivation chamber after Chu Yunfei failed to answer her warning.
• Ling Xueyao tried to steady Chu Yunfei's Qi, but the Great Heaven-Burning Art latched onto her Flawless Spirit Physique as a point of balance.
• Chu Yunfei, overcome by the art's madness, seized Ling Xueyao's wrist and pulled her into his arms.

Chu Yunfei lost control when the Great Heaven-Burning Art sent his blood and spiritual power into turmoil, and he pulled Ling Xueyao into an embrace. Her Flawless Spirit Physique created a yin-yang cycle that steadied him, but he regained his senses while still holding her and could not let go without risking both their lives.

• Chu Yunfei’s cultivation backlash overwhelmed his reason, and he grabbed Ling Xueyao while Xiaoxiao Dragon urged him to use her Flawless Spirit Physique.
• Ling Xueyao reached for her sword but hesitated because Chu Yunfei’s condition seemed dangerous, then her physique began sending pure yin power into him.
• The exchange of yin and yang power stabilized Chu Yunfei and began increasing both their cultivation, leaving Ling Xueyao too weak to pull away.
• Chu Yunfei regained his senses and realized where his hand had landed, but he told Ling Xueyao that separating would kill him and gravely injure her.
• As their powers continued to harmonize, Chu Yunfei’s hand moved again, and Ling Xueyao threatened to kill him.

Chu Yunfei absorbed Ling Xueyao’s backlash to save her, but the force drove him into madness and he forced himself on her. After they recovered, the Dragon and Phoenix Dao Yellow Scripture linked their cultivation, leaving them together in the cultivation chamber as Chu Yunfei accelerated the technique and Ling Xueyao protested in embarrassment.

• Ling Xueyao struggled against Chu Yunfei’s embrace, shattering the balance of their spiritual power and suffering a backlash.
• Chu Yunfei drew the fatal backlash into his own body, losing his reason again as Ling Xueyao was left too injured to resist.
• Chu Yunfei tore Ling Xueyao’s clothes, and the Dragon and Phoenix Dao Yellow Scripture activated as their energies intertwined.
• Chu Yunfei regained his senses and saw Ling Xueyao beneath him, injured and humiliated, while their cultivation remained linked.
• Chu Yunfei accelerated the technique to circulate their shared energy, and Ling Xueyao complained that he could not go slower before he teased her and increased its pace.

Chu Yunfei and Ling Xueyao recovered after their uncontrolled cultivation session, and Ling Xueyao discovered she had advanced to the Divine Sea Realm while Chu Yunfei reached the fourth layer of the Heavenly Origin Realm and mastered the Great Heaven-Burning Art. Chu Yunfei then pulled Ling Xueyao back into his embrace and tried to continue, despite her protests.

• Ling Xueyao confronted Chu Yunfei about taking liberties with her, and he openly admitted he had desired her.
• Ling Xueyao discovered that she had advanced from the ninth layer of the Heavenly Origin Realm to the Divine Sea Realm.
• Chu Yunfei reached the fourth layer of the Heavenly Origin Realm, neared the fifth, and fully mastered the Great Heaven-Burning Art.
• Chu Yunfei asked Ling Xueyao to go again, and when she tried to get away, he caught her as she toppled over.
• Chu Yunfei kissed and restrained Ling Xueyao despite her protests, then teased her by claiming their affections were mutual.

The Blood Baleful Intent Tower's young tower master learned that Ling Zhantian remained poisoned and decided to use Chu Yunfei to inflame tensions between the imperial family and the seven sects. He ordered his people to spread news of Chu Yunfei before the Seven Sects Grand Competition, leaving him as the scheme’s intended spark.

• Ling Xueyao and Chu Yunfei resumed circulating the Dragon and Phoenix Dao Yellow Scripture in the cultivation chamber.
• The purple-masked deputy tower master reported that Soul-Devouring Nether Poison remained in the palace, and the young tower master concluded Ling Zhantian had not awakened.
• The young tower master ordered Chu Yunfei investigated but rejected killing him, fearing it would alert Ling Changkong and waste a useful pawn.
• The young tower master revised the Blood Baleful Intent Tower's plan to use Chu Yunfei's status as Ling Xueyao's future consort to provoke the imperial family and the seven sects.
• The young tower master ordered his deputy to spread stories about Chu Yunfei to the sect prodigies gathered in the imperial city.

Ling Chengyuan learned that Ling Zhantian was poisoned and still unconscious, then planned to use three visiting sect Holy Sons to test Chu Yunfei and undermine Ling Xueyao. He arranged a banquet in Jingyuan Hall for the following noon and invited Ling Xueyao to attend with Chu Yunfei.

• Zhao Yuangeng told Ling Chengyuan that the Blood Baleful Intent Tower had attacked Shen Qianyue and Ling Changkong had revealed himself to block the deputy tower master's strike.
• Zhao Yuangeng reported that poisonous mist still seeped from Ling Zhantian's damaged seclusion palace, leading Ling Chengyuan to conclude that his father remained poisoned and unconscious.
• Zhao Yuangeng told Ling Chengyuan that Qin Hao, Yue Chenzhou, and Wu Changge had submitted visiting cards after Chu Yunfei offended Qin Hao at the Pill Pavilion.
• Ling Chengyuan decided to use the three Holy Sons to test Chu Yunfei and put pressure on Ling Xueyao.
• Ling Chengyuan arranged a banquet for noon the next day and ordered an attendant to invite Ling Xueyao and Chu Yunfei.

After a night with Ling Xueyao, Chu Yunfei discovered that both of them had grown stronger and assessed his new combat strength. When the eldest prince invited them to a banquet with the seven sects’ prodigies, Chu Yunfei decided to attend despite expecting a trap.

• Ling Xueyao woke in Chu Yunfei’s arms, noticed her improved cultivation, threatened him with her sword, and left the cultivation chamber in embarrassment.
• Chu Yunfei examined his strengthened body and cultivation, tested the Great Heaven-Burning Art, and concluded he could now challenge powerful Divine Sea Realm opponents.
• Chu Yunfei considered the threats posed by the second prince, Han Kui, Qin Hao, and Nangong Wuhen, and vowed to kill Nangong Wuhen in the imperial capital.
• A maid told Chu Yunfei that Ling Xueyao had secluded herself and that the eldest prince, Ling Chengyuan, had invited them to a noon banquet at Jingyuan Hall.
• Chu Yunfei accepted the invitation and prepared to face the gathered sect prodigies, while Xiaoxiao Dragon warned him of the danger.

Ling Xueyao prepared for the banquet while hiding the marks and weakness left by her night with Chu Yunfei, then joined him at Jingyuan Hall. Their arrival brought the gathered princes and sect Holy Sons’ attention onto Chu Yunfei, and Ling Chengxuan declared that the fire had arrived.

• Ling Xueyao dressed for the banquet and learned that Chu Yunfei still planned to attend, so she decided to go with him despite her soreness.
• Chu Yunfei teased Ling Xueyao as they met at the side courtyard, and the two walked to Jingyuan Hall together.
• Ling Chengyuan prepared to use the banquet to test Chu Yunfei, while Qin Hao, Yue Chenzhou, Wu Changge, and Wu Mingyue waited in the hall.
• Chu Yunfei and Ling Xueyao entered Jingyuan Hall side by side, drawing the attention of everyone present.
• Qin Hao and Ling Chenglie reacted with anger, Wu Mingyue showed interest in Chu Yunfei, and Ling Chengxuan smiled and said, “The fire is here...”

At a banquet hosted by Ling Chengyuan, Chu Yunfei faced veiled insults and attempts to provoke jealousy among the sect prodigies over his status as Ling Xueyao’s prince consort. When Qin Hao offered a Heavenly Origin Realm Fifth Layer disciple as a sparring opponent, Chu Yunfei dismissed him as unworthy, leaving the hall awaiting what would happen next.

• Ling Chengyuan questioned Chu Yunfei’s standing as prince consort, and Chu Yunfei said Ling Zhantian could judge his qualifications after emerging from seclusion.
• Ling Chengyuan disparaged Chu Yunfei’s background and revealed that he lived in Ling Xueyao’s bedchamber, provoking Qin Hao, Yue Chenzhou, and Wu Changge.
• Ling Xueyao understood Ling Chengyuan was trying to turn the sect prodigies against Chu Yunfei, but Chu Yunfei signaled her to stay silent.
• Qin Hao challenged Chu Yunfei to spar with a Cangyun Sect true disciple at the Heavenly Origin Realm Fifth Layer.
• Chu Yunfei called the disciple a clay chicken and pottery dog and said he was unworthy of sparring with him.

At Jingyuan Hall, Chu Yunfei accepted a spar with Cangyun Sect disciple Lin Yue and killed him with one punch, stunning the gathered nobles and sect members. As the Cangyun Sect faced the consequences of its own promise not to retaliate, Puppet Sect holy son Yue Chenzhou challenged Chu Yunfei, who agreed despite Ling Xueyao’s warning.

• Qin Hao and Lin Yue pressed Chu Yunfei to spar, promising that the Cangyun Sect would not hold him responsible even if Lin Yue died.
• Chu Yunfei fought Lin Yue bare-handed and killed him with a single punch.
• Chen Xuanhai moved to attack Chu Yunfei, but Shen Qianyue blocked his pressure and reminded him that Qin Hao and Lin Yue had accepted the risk.
• Chu Yunfei taunted Qin Hao over the outcome, and Yue Chenzhou rose to challenge him.
• Ling Xueyao warned Chu Yunfei about Yue Chenzhou’s Yin Soul Art, but Chu Yunfei agreed to face him.

At the imperial banquet, Wu Changge challenged Chu Yunfei and offered to suppress his cultivation to match him, but Chu Yunfei told him to fight at full strength. Chu Yunfei then revealed that he had reached the fifth layer of the Heavenly Origin Realm, stunning everyone in Jingyuan Hall.

• Ling Xueyao blushed when Chu Yunfei privately called himself her man, then felt reassured by his composure as Yue Chenzhou stepped forward.
• Wu Changge interrupted Yue Chenzhou and claimed the chance to fight Chu Yunfei first, while Yue Chenzhou returned to his seat and watched.
• Wu Changge suppressed his eighth-layer Heavenly Origin Realm cultivation to the first layer, but Chu Yunfei told him to attack with full strength.
• Ling Chenglie taunted Chu Yunfei, who challenged him to wager, but Ling Chengyuan stopped their exchange and reminded Wu Changge to end the spar once the outcome was clear.
• Wu Changge restored his full cultivation, and Chu Yunfei drew the Abyss-Devouring Sword and revealed his fifth-layer Heavenly Origin Realm cultivation, shocking the hall.

Chu Yunfei revealed his fifth-layer Heavenly Origin Realm cultivation and fought Wu Changge at the banquet, forcing the Divine Martial Sect Holy Son to concede. Yue Chenzhou and Qin Hao then both challenged him, and Chu Yunfei invited them to attack him together.

• Ling Chengxuan, Ling Chenglie, Qin Hao, and Shen Qianyue reacted to Chu Yunfei's revealed cultivation, while Shen Qianyue knew he had advanced four levels in only a few days.
• Wu Changge attacked Chu Yunfei, and the two exchanged dozens of blows without either gaining an advantage.
• Chu Yunfei used two strikes of the Sea-Overturning Ninefold Sword to break Wu Changge's Mountain-Subduing Fist and force him back seventeen steps.
• Wu Changge admitted defeat and praised Chu Yunfei as a worthy opponent.
• Yue Chenzhou and Qin Hao both stepped forward to challenge Chu Yunfei, each claiming the right to fight him.
• Chu Yunfei told Yue Chenzhou and Qin Hao to attack him together because he was in a hurry.

Chu Yunfei accepted Qin Hao and Yue Chenzhou’s challenge to fight them both, then faced their coordinated attacks in Jingyuan Hall. He broke Yue Chenzhou’s puppet weapons and Soul-Locking Threads, traded blows with Qin Hao, and left the Cangyun Holy Son questioning the depth of his spiritual power.

• Ling Chengyuan encouraged Qin Hao and Yue Chenzhou to fight Chu Yunfei together, while Chen Xuanhai warned Qin Hao that Chu Yunfei’s strength was unusual.
• Ling Xueyao urged Chu Yunfei to withdraw, but he reassured her and stood his ground as Yue Chenzhou deployed a Heavenly Origin Realm Ninth Layer battle puppet.
• Qin Hao and Yue Chenzhou attacked Chu Yunfei from opposite sides, but he used the Divine Movement Art to evade their opening strikes.
• Chu Yunfei shattered several of the puppet’s serrated scimitars, and the Divine Cauldron of Heavenly Mandate destroyed Yue Chenzhou’s Soul-Locking Threads, triggering a backlash that made Yue spit blood.
• Qin Hao struck at Chu Yunfei with the Cangyun Spirit Transformation Sword and an icy palm, but Chu Yunfei’s counterattack forced Qin Hao back three steps while he retreated only one.