Chapter Summaries

The Cangyun Sect’s formation held off a Nascent Soul attacker until the Thousand Net Sect Master arrived and helped break it, leaving the sect exposed to its enemies. As attackers rushed in, Qianluo was suddenly struck by an unknown sword wielder near the treasure pavilion.

• A powerful formation rose over the Cangyun Sect, and the Divine Firmament Sect’s Nascent Soul cultivator struggled to break through it.
• Lu Changsheng watched from hiding and kept puppets ready to rescue anyone in danger, while a crimson Law Artifact began weakening the formation.
• The Cangyun Sect Patriarch overwhelmed the Profound Heaven Old Ghost, who called for the Thousand Net Sect Master.
• The Thousand Net Sect Master claimed he had come to retrieve the Thousand Net Tower, then attacked the formation and helped shatter it.
• Lurking enemies charged into the Cangyun Sect, and Qianluo lost an arm to a sudden sword strike near the treasure pavilion.

Lu Changsheng saved the Cangyun Sect from the Profound Heaven Sect’s assault and then destroyed the Profound Heaven Sect and Thousand Net Sect, leaving the Cangyun Sect as Cang Province’s sole overlord. He returned to Qingyun Peak with their resources and looked forward to the sect’s growing territory.

• Lu Changsheng revealed his ninth-layer Sword Dao, killed the Divine Firmament Sect expert and Qianluo, and wiped out other attackers who had emerged from hiding.
• Lu Changsheng told Luo Tian to handle the remaining enemies, then departed with the two Nascent Soul corpses to attack the Profound Heaven Sect and Thousand Net Sect.
• The Cangyun Sect defeated the Profound Heaven Sect, while its patriarch killed Profound Heaven Old Ghost and Luo Tian killed the sect master.
• The Cangyun Sect found both rival sects already razed and looted, and concluded that Lu Changsheng had taken their treasures and resources.
• Lu Changsheng returned to Qingyun Peak with more than three hundred thousand Spirit Stones’ worth of spoils and anticipated the Cangyun Sect’s expansion.

After Cang Province settled, Lu Changsheng cultivated in secret while the sect prepared for the Dynasty War, where Zhou Qingyu was expected to secure a place in the Divine Firmament Sect. The chapter ended with Lu Changsheng learning that the patriarch had chosen him as a candidate too, leaving him upset about being forced to compete.

• The Cangyun Sect Patriarch wondered whether Lu Changsheng was the hidden Nascent Soul expert who had saved the sect, but dismissed the idea as absurd.
• The Divine Firmament Sect offered compensation for the actions of Zhao Jing and the others, while Lu Changsheng refined three hundred and fifty thousand Spirit Stones without advancing.
• Zhou Qingyu entered seclusion to form his core, and Ning Yuxin began suspecting that Lu Changsheng was the expert who had saved her.
• Lu Changsheng spent a month drawing Spiritual Qi from mountain ranges as the Dynasty War approached and planned to help Zhou Qingyu improve his Sword Dao.
• Ye Tianyi told Lu Changsheng that the patriarch had selected him as one of the Cangyun Sect's candidates for the Dynasty War, and Lu Changsheng tried to confront the patriarch.

Lu Changsheng tried to avoid competing in the Dynasty War, but the Cangyun Sect Patriarch forced him to accept a participation mark by claiming he had been selected through powerful connections. After Lu Changsheng left to prepare, the patriarch admitted to Lin Po that Luo Xianling had secured him a slot, though he was unlikely to pass the Divine Firmament Sect’s selection.

• Lu Changsheng met Luo Tian, who accused him of persuading the patriarch to give him a scarce competition slot, and Lu Changsheng denied wanting to go.
• The Cangyun Sect Patriarch told Lu Changsheng that he had faith in him and claimed a powerful backer had already secured his place in the Divine Firmament Sect.
• When Lu Changsheng doubted the story, the patriarch placed an irreversible participation mark on him and made clear that he had to compete.
• Lu Changsheng left for the mountains to prepare for the Dynasty War, deciding to improve his cultivation and treat the journey cautiously.
• The patriarch confessed to Lin Po that Luo Xianling had asked the Divine Firmament Sect’s supreme elder to arrange Lu Changsheng’s slot in exchange for compensation, and admitted he had lied to get Lu Changsheng to go.

Lu Changsheng returned to the Cangyun Sect after two months of cultivating across the mountains, only to learn that his Spiritual Qi depletion had sparked rumors of a great menace in Cang Province. He left again and encountered an injured black bird with Nascent Soul Realm cultivation that might be the real menace, then retreated rather than escalate the fight.

• The ancestor visited Qingyun Peak to bring Lu Changsheng resources, but learned he had been missing for several days and left the supplies behind.
• Lu Changsheng spent two months cultivating in the mountains, draining Spiritual Qi and driving Demon Beasts from their habitats.
• Ye Tianyi warned Lu Changsheng that a great menace had emptied the Hundred Thousand Mountains of Spiritual Qi and caused Demon Beasts to flee.
• Lu Changsheng realized the rumors might have been about him, then left the sect and traveled east to cultivate in a mountain range.
• Lu Changsheng found an injured black bird in a valley that competed with him for Spiritual Qi and attacked him with fireballs and feathers.
• Lu Changsheng sensed the black bird’s strength, suspected it was the great menace, and retreated to avoid drawing attention.

Lu Changsheng encountered a group from the Divine Firmament Sect while searching for a place to cultivate and warned them about a powerful Demon Beast. They ignored his warning and headed toward it, leaving Lu Changsheng to watch from a nearby mountain peak.

• Lu Changsheng left the mountain range where an injured black bird had stopped attacking and encountered a young man, Zhao Huan, and a Nascent Soul cultivator.
• The young man apologized for Zhao Huan and the cultivator’s rude behavior, then explained that their group had come to find a Demon Beast for Zhao Huan to fight.
• Lu Changsheng told the group that a great fiend had driven away the Demon Beasts, but that he had just seen a powerful one nearby.
• Despite Lu Changsheng warning that none of them could handle the Demon Beast, the group headed in the direction he pointed, and the Nascent Soul cultivator threatened to return for him.
• Lu Changsheng settled on a mountain peak, and a sky-shattering commotion soon erupted where the group had gone.

Lu Changsheng killed Zhao Huan and the wounded Divine Firmament Sect cultivator, then took the surviving young man with him. As he headed back to the sect, the black bird led two pursuing figures straight toward him.

• The wounded young man warned Lu Changsheng to flee before a black feather struck him down, while Zhao Huan escaped through the forest.
• Lu Changsheng stopped Zhao Huan, learned he belonged to the Zhao Household, and killed him despite his threats.
• Lu Changsheng forced the Divine Firmament Sect cultivator to keep fighting the black bird, then killed him when he tried to escape; the bird withdrew without attacking Lu Changsheng.
• Lu Changsheng found little wealth on the two dead men, burned their bodies, and carried the surviving young man away.
• As Lu Changsheng headed back to the sect, the black bird approached with two black-clad pursuers close behind it.

Lu Changsheng rescued a wounded black bird while saving Ye Qingchen, then secretly bound the bird with eighteen restrictions as insurance against it refusing to pay its promised reward. The black bird woke and praised Lu Changsheng for saving it, but their conversation ended with him demanding payment.

• A wounded black bird crashed into Lu Changsheng and offered him a reward for saving its life before passing out, while two Nascent Soul cultivators pursued it.
• Lu Changsheng escaped the pursuers, returned to the sect with the injured Ye Qingchen, and removed a golden plume that was grinding away the black bird’s vitality with ninth-level Sword Intent.
• Lu Changsheng treated the black bird and Ye Qingchen, then told Ye Qingchen that the other two cultivators had died fighting the ferocious beast.
• The black bird woke inside Lu Changsheng’s robes, praised him for acting kindly, and learned that he had planted eighteen restrictions in its body.
• Lu Changsheng demanded the reward the black bird had promised, while the bird trembled at the restrictions and gave no answer.

Lu Changsheng freed the injured black chicken Ye Mitian, demanded payment, and concealed it from the Nascent Soul cultivators hunting it for a million spirit crystals. After Ye Qingchen left, Lu Changsheng learned the sect would depart for the competition in three days.

• Lu Changsheng demanded Spirit Stones and other valuables from the black chicken, then made it swear never to reveal anything about him before removing its eighteen restrictions.
• Several Nascent Soul cultivators searched Cangyun Sect for the black bird, and Lu Changsheng hid it in a King-grade Law Artifact furnace.
• The black chicken told Lu Changsheng its name was Ye Mitian, but he decided to call it Xiaohei and carried it away in the furnace.
• Lu Changsheng continued helping the Cangyun Sect Patriarch cultivate while Xiaohei recovered and wondered at Lu Changsheng's unusual talent and behavior.
• Ye Qingchen said farewell to Lu Changsheng and left to handle other matters before returning to the Divine Firmament Sect.
• Lu Changsheng planned to keep a low profile until the hunt for Xiaohei passed, but the sect announced it would leave for the competition in three days.

The Cangyun Sect and the Ning Household traveled to the royal capital for the Dynasty War, where Zhou Qingyu and Ye Tianyi received invitations to a royal gathering. Lu Changsheng settled in at the Ning Household manor, only to receive an unexpected invitation from Ye Qingchen.

• Luo Tian led the thirty selected Cangyun Sect participants toward the royal capital, and the Ning Household joined them aboard its warship.
• During the journey, Ning Yuxin spoke with Lu Changsheng while Zhou Qingyu occasionally checked her Sword Dao progress.
• The group arrived at the Ning Household manor, where Ning Yang, Ning Jing, and Ning Xiao welcomed Luo Tian and praised Ning Yuxin and Zhou Qingyu.
• The Yue Kingdom Royal Family invited Zhou Qingyu and Ye Tianyi to a Genius Exchange Conference, prompting Ye Tianyi to go find Zhou Qingyu.
• After Ye Tianyi left, Lu Changsheng received an invitation sent by Ye Qingchen.