Chapter Summaries

Yuchi Peng searched the Yin-Yang Road for Wei Gongxing while Muye warned Lu Xiao that Wei Gongxing could threaten King Chujiang’s plans. The chapter ended with Chen Qing sensing that the lead he had left in the capital had become relevant.

• Yuchi Peng rode the Ghost Horse through the Yin-Yang Road, hoping to find Wei Gongxing and learn the monsters’ weakness so Zhang Hao would join the fight.
• Muye ordered the evil spirits in the White Bone Forest to search for Wei Gongxing after the mortal’s suicide destroyed Muye’s vessel and sent him back to the Yin-Yang Road.
• Muye told Lu Xiao that Wei Gongxing had discovered the Ancient Demons’ weakness and rejected Muye’s offer to become a Ghost General by killing himself.
• Muye suspected Wei Gongxing could escape the Yin-Yang Road because he had felt no fear in the mortal’s emotions before his death.
• Muye reminded Lu Xiao that Chen Qing had escaped the Yin-Yang Road before, and called him the greatest obstacle to King Chujiang’s plans.
• In the Cloud Capital, Chen Qing sensed something while preparing to watch the third trial and touched the ring Ghost Child had left him.

Yuchi Peng reunited with Wei Gongxing on the Yin-Yang Road and learned that Muye’s Ancient Insects could make their hosts lose control. Chen Qing then told Shen Qi that the Ancient Demons’ rapid evolution came with a serious weakness: their own subjects had destroyed their dynasties.

• Yuchi Peng’s Ghost Horse carried him into a clearing on the Yin-Yang Road, where he found Wei Gongxing unharmed.
• Wei Gongxing explained that Nezha’s essence blood had driven away the surrounding evil spirits.
• Yuchi Peng asked whether Wei Gongxing had discovered the enemy’s weakness, and Wei Gongxing described insects that transformed hosts but could cause them to go mad.
• Wei Gongxing said Muye had killed two uncontrollable hosts and destroyed the insects inside them.
• Chen Qing told Shen Qi that Ancient Demons evolved rapidly but were vulnerable to losing control, and that their subjects had destroyed their dynasties.

The defenders in the palace temple debated whether to attack the rebels while they waited for news from Yuchi Peng. Yuchi Peng returned with the weakened Wei Gongxing, who warned that the rebels were waiting for them to leave the temple and revealed that they could not enter it.

• Xiao Ping asked the Yuchi family head about Yuchi Peng, while Liu Yu advised the defenders to hold their position and wait.
• Liu Yu suggested the defenders might be stronger beneath the midday sun, and the Marquis of Baoqing urged them to gamble on an attack.
• The Martial Souls stirred and the defenders prepared to charge, but Yuchi Peng arrived carrying Wei Gongxing, who warned them not to go outside.
• Wei Gongxing confirmed that he had sent Muye back and told the defenders that the rebels could not enter the temple.

Chen Qing explained that Ancient Demons were powerful parasites whose uncontrolled evolution made them lose their minds and attack their own kind. At the capital, Wei Gongxing warned Xiao Ping and the others that the enemy occupying the North Temple might be near collapse or already fighting among themselves, leaving them to decide whether to attack or wait.

• Chen Qing told Shen Qi that Ancient Demons once ruled the world but their uncontrolled evolution damaged their brains and made them devour their own kind.
• Wei Gongxing told Xiao Ping, the Marquis of Baoqing, Old Patriarch Yuchi, and Liu Yu that the red-eyed enemies relied on parasitic insects that could drive them into a deadly frenzy.
• Wei Gongxing explained that he had seen the monsters turn on one another during the attack on the North Temple, and that Muye had killed those who began losing control.
• Wei Gongxing warned that the enemy had taken the North Temple despite reaching its limit, making a direct assault on their Ghost Temple dangerous.
• Wei Gongxing presented two possibilities: the enemy might be waiting for nightfall to regain control, or it might already be fighting an internal collapse inside the North Ghost Temple.

King Chujiang and Quefeng weighed their weakened forces’ chances of taking the imperial palace Ghost Temple after the Ancient Demons went out of control. At the North Temple, Wei Gongxing inferred that the rebels were waiting for nightfall and whispered a plan to Liu Yu.

• King Chujiang sealed the out-of-control Ancient Demons at the Southeast Ghost Temple and discussed the coming assault with Quefeng, whose body could endure only a limited time.
• King Chujiang sensed that someone had gone to the North Temple.
• Xiao Ping, Liu Yu, and Wei Gongxing found the North Temple’s guards and attackers dead, confirming that the battle had exhausted both sides.
• Wei Gongxing reasoned that King Chujiang had contained the remaining Ancient Demons and planned to attack the imperial palace Ghost Temple after nightfall.
• Wei Gongxing warned against a rash attack and whispered his plan to Liu Yu.

Quefeng’s spatial trap separated the palace guards from the mindless Ancient Demons, but Xiao Ping escaped his fragment using Flying Star. King Chujiang realized that Chen Qing had given the enemy a way out, leaving Quefeng’s army in danger.

• Quefeng warned his deputy general that the enemy could still attack before nightfall and prepared for an assault.
• The palace forces attacked, and Quefeng shattered the Ghost Temple into spatial fragments that trapped them with Ancient Demons.
• Xiao Ping struggled against a disfigured Ancient Demon, then escaped his fragment with a burst of white light.
• Quefeng realized that the other trapped soldiers were escaping the fragments in the same way.
• King Chujiang identified the technique as Flying Star and linked it to Chen Qing.

Liu Yu used Flying Star to bring more than a thousand soldiers to Quefeng, who offered him a place among those promised eternal life. Liu Yu rejected him, exposed the plot to restore the Warlock Dynasty, and realized that Quefeng and King Chujiang were Reincarnators working with the Ancient Demons before Quefeng threatened to kill him.

• Liu Yu transported the soldiers from the spatial fragments to the Ghost Temple with Flying Star.
• Quefeng praised Liu Yu's skill and offered him a place among those granted eternal life, but Liu Yu refused.
• Liu Yu identified the Ancient Demons' plan to take over the factions and restore the Warlock Dynasty.
• King Chujiang said the Ancient Demons planned to take every faction as hosts that night and claimed Chen Qing had no place left in the world.
• Liu Yu deduced that Quefeng and King Chujiang were Reincarnators, and Quefeng threatened him for standing so close.

Quefeng tried to kill Liu Yu, but Liu Yu escaped with the spatial array Ziyue had left on him. Outside the southeast gate, Zhang Hao refused to risk his Imperial Guards, leaving the standoff unresolved until an unexpected figure appeared.

• Quefeng struck at Liu Yu with his poisoned dagger, but a spatial array stopped the blade and Liu Yu escaped using Flying Star.
• King Chujiang ordered Quefeng to kill everyone who remained, despite the danger of using Quefeng's secret technique.
• Liu Yu tried to persuade Zhang Hao to act against the enemy, but Zhang Hao questioned how Xiao Ping's force had been persuaded to enter the city.
• Wei Gongxing urged Zhang Hao to seize the chance to break the deadlock, but Zhang Hao refused to risk his men.
• An unexpected figure appeared near Liu Yu, Zhang Hao, and Wei Gongxing, and Liu Yu said he had expected it.

Quefeng and King Chujiang were trapped in the capital after Quefeng burned his essence blood to defeat the temple guards, and Zhang Hao’s Imperial Guards attacked before nightfall. When Quefeng was driven into a desperate fight, the emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty suddenly appeared and struck him with overwhelming speed and strength.

• Quefeng admitted that defeating the guards had badly damaged his body, while King Chujiang warned that their escape route was cut off.
• King Chujiang argued that Quefeng could evade the Imperial Guards until nightfall, when their allies could take control of the soldiers’ bodies.
• Zhang Hao’s Imperial Guards arrived on Dragon Horses and attacked Quefeng, forcing him to dodge while he struggled to conserve his strength.
• A powerful attacker ambushed Quefeng, and their collision shattered the surrounding space and sent Quefeng flying.
• Quefeng and King Chujiang recognized the attacker as the emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty and were stunned by his presence.

The emperor revealed that she was the hidden Yin Crow twin of Xiao Mingyue’s brother, and that their complementary bloodlines preserved the Xiao Household’s fortune. King Chujiang understood why he had misjudged the lineage, while Quefeng warned that the West Sea Army threatened the capital.

• King Chujiang recognized that the emperor before him was a Yin Crow rather than the emperor he had encountered on the Yin-Yang Road.
• The emperor revealed that she was Xiao Mingyue’s twin sister, hidden as a servant because her mother feared her extraordinary talent would make her a target.
• She explained that the King of Qin had recognized her brother’s wisdom and helped him overcome his poor bloodline aptitude.
• King Chujiang realized that the twins’ complementary Golden Crow and Yin Crow bloodlines had preserved the Xiao Household’s fortune and could continue its lineage.
• Quefeng threatened to destroy the Ghost Temples and claimed the returning ghost army would help defeat the emperor’s forces.
• The emperor dismissed the threat until Quefeng revealed that a hundred thousand West Sea Army troops were in Jiangnan.

The empress revealed that Tian Heng hated man-eating demons and wagered that he would not betray Chen Qing and the West Sea Army. Meanwhile, Chen Baifeng learned that the South Sea was trapped and that trouble had also broken out in Jiangnan, leaving the gathered forces in Cloud Capital facing a near-dead end.

• The empress told Quefeng that Tian Heng’s mother and elder sister had been eaten by demons, and argued that he would turn against the Ancient Demons for their sake.
• The empress wagered with King Chujiang that Tian Heng would not betray Chen Qing, offering to surrender if the West Sea Army reached the capital and asking King Chujiang to serve her if it did not.
• Chen Baifeng learned from Chen Qing that the South Sea had been trapped by the South Sea Dragon Palace, with only seven days before the situation became critical.
• Chen Qing said the Four Saints Guard made escape from Cloud Capital difficult and revealed that trouble had also broken out in Jiangnan.
• Chen Qing warned that the forces in Cloud Capital could not win a direct fight and were nearly doomed without outside help.

Chen Qing and Chen Baifeng suspected the Four Saints Guard and the Celestial Master Mansion’s third trial concealed a larger scheme, and they decided to seek the emperor before acting. The emperor revealed to King Xiang that his twin sister secretly ruled alongside him and trusted Chen Qing to protect Jiangnan as the palace’s plan unfolded.

• Chen Baifeng noticed the Four Saints Guard soldiers seemed lifeless yet immensely powerful, and Chen Qing suspected they were humans controlled by Ancient Demons with a fatal limitation.
• Chen Baifeng warned that the Celestial Master Mansion had a larger plan, and Chen Qing agreed to avoid rash action and find the emperor in the Heaven and Earth Hall.
• The emperor told King Xiang that he had a twin sister who secretly shared rule over the Central Plains with him.
• The emperor remembered his genuine love for the empress and the pain of allowing Thousand-Faced Fox to kill her as part of their undertaking.
• King Xiang offered to help the emperor escape, but the emperor declined and said Chen Qing would not let Jiangnan fall.

Shen Yuan entered the third trial at White Tiger Palace, where he faced the famed Zhang Zhiyun. Zhang Zhiyun expected him to withdraw, but Shen Yuan declared that he had some confidence in himself.

• Chen Baifeng and Chen Qing greeted the emperor, who regarded Chen Qing as a dangerous echo of the King of Qin.
• The third trial began with Shen Yuan chosen to challenge Zhang Zhiyun at White Tiger Palace.
• Chen Qing defended Shen Yuan as one of Jiangnan Academy’s best students, surprising the family elders who believed Shen Yuan was ordinary.
• Zhang Zhiyun recalled intelligence portraying Shen Yuan as an unremarkable assistant and offered him the chance to withdraw.
• Shen Yuan greeted Zhang Zhiyun and said that claiming he had no confidence would be an exaggeration.

Zhang Zhiyun darkened the sky with the Heaven Follows the Cloud Form and prepared a devastating lightning strike against Shen Yuan. Shen Yuan reasoned that the technique relied on siphoning elemental power and asked Zhang Zhiyun to attack so he could confirm his theory.

• Zhang Zhiyun darkened the sky, astonishing the sorcerers in the Heaven and Earth Hall with his control over the weather.
• Chen Qing recognized the technique as similar to one used by a player who had discovered a way to wield lightning before spiritual energy was abundant.
• Shen Yuan questioned how Zhang Zhiyun could use such power despite Cloud Capital's limited spiritual energy.
• Zhang Zhiyun gathered a vast charge of lightning in the clouds and challenged Shen Yuan to explain what he had figured out.
• Shen Yuan theorized that Heaven Follows the Cloud Form siphoned elemental power to form thunderclouds, then asked Zhang Zhiyun to strike so he could confirm his idea.
• Zhang Zhiyun agreed and sent a powerful bolt of lightning crashing down from the clouds.

Shen Yuan saw through Zhang Zhiyun’s apparent lightning technique and explained how he had used spatial techniques to store water vapor and unleash it. Zhang Zhiyun restored the White Tiger Palace and revealed that he had reached the King Level, leaving Shen Yuan facing a far more dangerous opponent.

• Zhang Zhiyun sent lightning crashing down on the White Tiger Palace, but Shen Yuan recognized a flaw and the palace shattered before the strike could land.
• Shen Yuan explained that Zhang Zhiyun had stored water vapor in a spatial fragment and used spatial techniques to create the lightning display.
• Zhang Zhiyun applauded Shen Yuan’s reasoning and restored the White Tiger Palace with a spatial technique.
• Zhang Zhiyun said the world could not bear a King Level being but revealed that he had reached that realm, then told Shen Yuan he was still too green.

Shen Yuan refused to surrender to Zhang Zhiyun and revealed that he had mastered the Heavenly Wind Thread, turning the White Tiger Palace’s spatial fragments into a trap. The chapter ended with Shen Yuan pressing his advantage and the revelation that he was Jiangnan Academy’s strongest fighter.

• Zhang Zhiyun offered to let Shen Yuan leave safely if he admitted defeat, but Shen Yuan refused to give up on behalf of Jiangnan Academy.
• Shen Yuan fractured the palace’s space again, and Zhang Zhiyun discovered that he could no longer control or repair it.
• Shen Yuan shaped wind into threads and explained that the Heavenly Wind Thread was developed to cut through the East Sea Dragon Palace’s Thousand Mechanism Thread.
• Shen Yuan revealed that he had filled the space around Zhang Zhiyun with threads capable of cutting anything, forcing the spectators to watch as the advantage shifted.
• Chen Qing recalled Shen Yuan’s work mastering the technique, and the chapter revealed that Shen Yuan was Jiangnan Academy’s strongest fighter.

Shen Yuan used the West Sea’s Heavenly Wind Thread to trap Zhang Zhiyun, whose attacks were repeatedly disrupted as the threads split the space around him. Both fighters faced the technique’s limits, and Shen Yuan knew he had to win quickly and survive to return to his mother.

• Zhang Zhiyun identified the threads’ spatial and wind-based construction and marveled at the immense resources Jiangnan had spent on the technique.
• Zhang Zhiyun struggled to gather energy for larger attacks as Shen Yuan’s threads repeatedly split the spaces around him, forcing him to rely on the Thunder Traversal Technique.
• Shen Yuan considered the technique’s high energy cost and its intended use against large-scale attacks, while recognizing that this confined duel gave him a strong advantage.
• Chen Qing watched from outside and concluded that Shen Yuan still had the best chance of defeating Zhang Zhiyun, despite the opponent’s powerful physique.
• Shen Yuan resolved to win and return alive, thinking of his mother and his standing in Jiangnan.

Zhang Zhiyun seemed to have Shen Yuan on the verge of defeat after turning his spatial trick against him, but a hidden Heavenly Wind Thread severed Zhang Zhiyun’s head while his guard was down. The chapter ended with Zhang Zhiyun realizing Shen Yuan had somehow survived the spatial suction and struck first.

• Zhang Zhiyun calmly avoided Shen Yuan’s Heavenly Wind Threads while Shen Yuan’s energy weakened.
• Shen Yuan used the threads to distort space and bring himself within three feet of Zhang Zhiyun.
• Zhang Zhiyun collapsed the folded space with a spell, drawing both men toward its center with spatial suction.
• Zhang Zhiyun noticed the threads following them and prepared to dodge them with the Thunder Traversal Technique.
• Zhang Zhiyun suddenly lost control of his body and realized a Heavenly Wind Thread had severed his head.
• Zhang Zhiyun wondered how Shen Yuan could have attacked while being pulled into the spatial backflow without protection.

Shen Yuan defeated Zhang Zhiyun with a carefully calculated spatial trap, but he exhausted himself and fainted before the match was fully resolved. Zhang Zhiyun spared him, only for a gigantic black hand to descend and seize Zhang Zhiyun’s head.

• Shen Yuan explained to Zhang Zhiyun that he had used the collapsing spatial fold to draw him into a trap and win their duel.
• Zhang Zhiyun accepted his defeat and reflected that he and his clan might have underestimated the people around them.
• Shen Yuan bowed to Zhang Zhiyun, then fainted from exhaustion before he could celebrate his victory.
• Zhang Zhiyun moved beside the unconscious Shen Yuan but chose not to bite him, deciding to leave him alive as a vessel for his compatriots.
• A gigantic black hand descended from the sky and grabbed for Zhang Zhiyun’s head.

At the Four Saints Palace, Zhang Zhiyun and Zhang Xiaoyun discussed the Celestial Master Trial as the first two matches ended, leaving the Black Tortoise Palace match between White Plain and Murong Ziyi to begin. Murong Ziyi revealed the Black Tortoise Spell, deepening Chen Qing’s suspicions about the purpose of the Four Saints Palace.

• Zhang Xiaoyun mocked Zhang Zhiyun for losing to Shen Yuan, and Zhang Zhiyun warned that Chen Ying might still defeat him.
• Yun Ke’er lost to Master Ziyue in the Vermilion Bird Palace match, leaving the trial tied at one win each.
• The onlookers speculated that the trial’s results could affect the Celestial Master Mansion’s control of the situation.
• White Plain entered the Black Tortoise Palace to face Murong Ziyi, who said her physical fighting skills made her a difficult opponent.
• Murong Ziyi summoned a torrent of water with the Black Tortoise Spell, and Chen Baifeng and Chen Qing recognized it as one of the Four Saints Spells.