Recaps

After Liang Shi accidentally damaged No. 06’s program, Yi Xuan restored it and tested its enhanced computing power. Yi Xuan then began using No. 06 to simulate and optimize Liang Shi’s cultivation method, while No. 01 teased him with the name “Disciple No. 1.”

• Liang Shi apologized after Yi Xuan scolded him for secretly modifying No. 06 and turning it into an artificial idiot.
• Yi Xuan confirmed that No. 06 was restored, and it reported computing power forty-eight percent above expectations.
• Yi Xuan explained that No. 06 could simulate Liang Shi’s cultivation method and potentially help him advance faster.
• Yi Xuan had No. 01 retrieve Liang Shi’s physical data from No. 05 and display a model of his body, including the Qihai acupoint that served as his Dantian.
• No. 01 began simulating Liang Shi’s cultivation and called him “Disciple No. 1,” but Liang Shi chose not to ask Yi Xuan to alter its underlying code.

Yi Xuan used No. 01 to simulate Liang Shi’s cultivation and found that his method consumed True Qi instead of efficiently increasing it. After testing route adjustments, No. 01 began optimizing Liang Shi’s Cultivation Method under strict safeguards for his health.

• Yi Xuan had No. 01 visualize Liang Shi’s Dantian and simulate his cultivation.
• Yi Xuan discovered that Liang Shi gained only one-thousandth more True Qi per hour-long cycle, with red areas in his body consuming Qi.
• Yi Xuan tested the Azure Cloud Sect’s introductory Cultivation Method and found it yielded a slightly better result.
• Yi Xuan had No. 01 test ten small route adjustments, and three improved Liang Shi’s results.
• Yi Xuan approved iterative optimization and ordered No. 01 to reject any changes that could harm Liang Shi’s health.

Yi Xuan had No. 01 optimize Liang Shi’s Cultivation Method, dramatically increasing his cultivation speed, while construction of the Second Base uncovered a Spirit Stone mine. Yi Xuan dismissed Liang Shi’s fears of other sects claiming it and declared the mine his own.

• No. 01 completed and verified an optimized Cultivation Method that let Liang Shi circulate True Qi faster and gain far more with each cycle.
• Liang Shi cultivated with the new method, then traveled to the Second Base to find Yi Xuan overseeing construction.
• Yi Xuan had a six-legged robot drill into the ground, where it uncovered a Spirit Stone.
• Liang Shi warned that the mine could bring trouble from other sects, but Yi Xuan insisted no one would dare challenge him over his Household’s mine.

Yi Xuan discovered that the Gazing Immortal Sect was mining the Spirit Stone deposit above his underground base, so he informed the Azure Cloud Sect. The sect’s elders confirmed the mine and decided to attack the Gazing Immortal Sect’s operation.

• Yi Xuan showed Liang Shi a robot’s recording of the Gazing Immortal Sect mining the Spirit Stone deposit above them and planned to make the ore seem to run out before the miners reached his tunnels.
• Yi Xuan returned to the Azure Cloud Sect and told the grand elder about the mine, prompting the grand elder to rush him to the sect’s main hall.
• The enforcement elder, Cui Yan, and the grand elder listened as Yi Xuan confirmed he had seen the Gazing Immortal Sect mining the deposit.
• Yi Xuan led the elders to the mine, where the grand elder and enforcement elder confirmed the deposit was real and recently discovered.
• The enforcement elder urged the Azure Cloud Sect to attack and seize the mine from the Gazing Immortal Sect.

Yi Xuan witnessed the Azure Cloud Sect seize and strip a Spirit Stone vein from the Gazing Immortal Sect, then saw the conflict escalate when the Gazing Immortal Sect attacked with three Nascent Soul ancestors. With the mountain gate under siege and the cameras destroyed, Yi Xuan sent robots to investigate the battle.

• The enforcement elder sent three Golden Core elders and over two hundred disciples to seize the mine, and the Azure Cloud Sect extracted half the Spirit Stones before the Gazing Immortal Sect intervened.
• After a prolonged standoff, the enforcement elder sent five Golden Core True Persons led by Cui Yan, and eight Azure Cloud Sect Golden Core cultivators routed the Gazing Immortal Sect's camp.
• The Azure Cloud Sect mined the remaining Spirit Stones, but the Gazing Immortal Sect later attacked its mountain gate with three Nascent Soul ancestors.
• Yi Xuan learned from Liang Shi that the mountain-guarding formation was active and ordered No. 01 to check the outside cameras, finding that only eight damaged cameras still worked.
• Yi Xuan ordered No. 01 to send squads of robots toward the mountain gate to learn what was happening.

Yi Xuan deployed Nüwa No. 5 robots to secretly watch the Gazing Immortal Sect confront the Azure Cloud Sect. As the sects began fighting, the enforcement elder revealed he was a Nascent Soul cultivator and struck at the Gazing Immortal Sect's grand elder.

• Yi Xuan reviewed the Nüwa robot models and sent squads of camouflaged Nüwa No. 5 robots into the town through his underground tunnels.
• Yi Xuan and Liang Shi used the robots to survey the town and watch the Azure Cloud Sect face the Gazing Immortal Sect outside its protective formation.
• Yi Xuan relayed the robots' signals toward the sect and heard the Gazing Immortal Sect accuse the Azure Cloud Sect of stealing a Spirit Stone mine.
• The enforcement elder ignored the accusations and ordered the Azure Cloud Sect to strengthen its defenses.
• Three Nascent Soul cultivators of the Gazing Immortal Sect attacked the mountain-protecting formation, prompting the enforcement elder and grand elder to fight back.
• The enforcement elder revealed his Nascent Soul presence and struck at the Gazing Immortal Sect's grand elder.

The Gazing Immortal Sect attacked the Azure Cloud Sect, whose elders were outnumbered despite Li Yuntai's recent breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm. Yi Xuan deployed fifty Nüwa No. 6 robots to fire on the attackers, but the robots were destroyed and the video feed went down.

• Li Yuntai revealed that he had reached the Nascent Soul Realm and clashed with Liu Xun as three Nascent Soul cultivators pressed the Azure Cloud Sect's elders.
• The Gazing Immortal Sect's Golden Core cultivators attacked the mountain-guarding grand array while the Azure Cloud Sect's elders struggled to defend it.
• Yi Xuan deployed all fifty Nüwa No. 6 robots and ordered No. 01 to identify and target likely Golden Core cultivators.
• Yi Xuan ordered the robots to fire, killing eleven attackers, seriously wounding seventeen, and lightly wounding five.
• The Gazing Immortal Sect destroyed all fifty Nüwa No. 6 robots and seventeen Nüwa No. 5 robots, interrupting the video transmission.

Yi Xuan used his robots to kill five Golden Core cultivators and nearly wipe out the Gazing Immortal Sect disciples in the city, giving the Azure Cloud Sect time to recover. The enemy’s three Nascent Soul cultivators then pressed the two Azure Cloud Sect Nascent Soul cultivators, leaving them struggling to hold on.

• No. 01 reported that Yi Xuan’s attack had killed five Golden Core cultivators and six Grain Avoidance cultivators, including five Golden Core True Persons from the Gazing Immortal Sect.
• Yi Xuan used No. 5 robots to observe Gazing Immortal Sect disciples gathering in the city, then activated self-destruct mode on all No. 6 robots and wiped out nearly all of them with explosions.
• The surviving Gazing Immortal Sect elder flew back toward the main force, while Yi Xuan scolded Liang Shi for calling him wicked.
• Cui Yan organized the Azure Cloud Sect’s Golden Core cultivators into a counterattack after Yi Xuan’s attacks gave them room to recover.
• The two Gazing Immortal Sect Nascent Soul cultivators and their invited ally attacked the Azure Cloud Sect’s two Nascent Soul cultivators with all their strength, forcing them to hold on under mounting pressure.

Yi Xuan tried to save the Grand Elder from three Nascent Soul cultivators by arming two No. 1 Robots, but the attack revealed the location of the secret chamber. After the enemy destroyed it, Yi Xuan and Liang Shi fled underground, where a voice challenged the invaders in the Azure Cloud Sect’s name.

• The Grand Elder and the enforcement elder struggled to hold off three Gazing Immortal Sect Nascent Soul cultivators, and Yi Xuan worried that the Grand Elder would fall.
• Liang Shi reminded Yi Xuan that two No. 1 Robots remained, so Yi Xuan had No. 01 build weapon systems for them.
• Liang Shi mounted the weapons, and Yi Xuan ordered the robots to fire Barrett bullets at a Nascent Soul Cultivator attacking the Grand Elder.
• The Barretts knocked the robots over, and the Nascent Soul Cultivator sensed the transmitter beneath Yi Xuan’s courtyard and called Yi Xuan a little bug.
• Yi Xuan cut the signal, but No. 01 reported that the equipment in the secret chamber had disappeared, so Yi Xuan and Liang Shi fled toward the subway.
• As Yi Xuan and Liang Shi boarded the subway, a voice called out, “Do you think the Azure Cloud Sect has no one left?”

Xiao Anhe emerged from seclusion and confronted Liu Xun and the Gazing Immortal Sect after they attacked the Azure Cloud Sect. He destroyed Liu Xun’s Spirit Artifact and forced the invaders to retreat, then vowed the Azure Cloud Sect would visit them another day.

• Yi Xuan recognized the white-robed man above the ruined courtyard as his master, Xiao Anhe, and told Liang Shi that Xiao Anhe had emerged from seclusion.
• Xiao Anhe confronted Liu Xun, who proposed that the Azure Cloud Sect hand over the Spirit Stones from the mine in exchange for the Gazing Immortal Sect’s withdrawal.
• Xiao Anhe attacked Liu Xun with two spirit swords, and the strikes destroyed Liu Xun’s fifth-grade Spirit Artifact.
• Liu Xun and the other Nascent Soul cultivators withdrew with their disciples after Xiao Anhe stopped the enforcement elder from pursuing them.
• Xiao Anhe called after Liu Xun and promised that the Azure Cloud Sect would visit him another day, prompting Liu Xun to flee faster.

After the Gazing Immortal Sect's attack, Yi Xuan was summoned to the Azure Cloud Sect's main hall and questioned about his grenade and No. 6 robot. The sect appointed him a Sect Protector, a new role requiring him to help when the sect was in trouble.

• Yi Xuan reassured Liang Shi and went to the main hall, where Xiao Anhe, the Grand Elder, the Law Enforcement Elder, and Cui Yan were waiting.
• Xiao Anhe chatted with Yi Xuan about his courtyard and whether he had been injured before the Law Enforcement Elder interrupted them.
• The Law Enforcement Elder showed Yi Xuan a grenade and the wreckage of a No. 6 robot, and Yi Xuan confirmed they were his.
• Yi Xuan explained that the robot could fatally harm Golden Core experts but was less effective against opponents who were prepared.
• Xiao Anhe and the elders decided against making Yi Xuan a sect elder and appointed him as the Azure Cloud Sect's new Sect Protector.
• Cui Yan explained that Yi Xuan had no specific duties beyond helping the sect when it was in trouble, and Yi Xuan accepted the position.

After Cui Yan became sect master, he named Yi Xuan the Azure Cloud Sect's Sect Protector, and Yi Xuan withdrew into secluded cultivation to find a way to defend himself against Nascent Soul experts. No. 01 designed an enormous laser emitter that could destroy a Nascent Soul cultivator, leaving Yi Xuan to reconsider whether the weapon needed to be miniaturized.

• The Azure Cloud Sect's three Nascent Soul cultivators visited the Gazing Immortal Sect, where Liu Xun accepted the law enforcement elder's demands.
• Cui Yan received the sect master's authority from Xiao Anhe and later announced Yi Xuan's appointment as Sect Protector.
• The sect elders congratulated Yi Xuan, while the disciples who had mocked him feared he might take revenge.
• Yi Xuan secluded himself to develop a weapon capable of resisting Nascent Soul experts, whose speed and power made firearms and artillery ineffective.
• No. 01 generated a huge laser emitter design and simulated it reducing a Nascent Soul cultivator to ash in 0.01 seconds, prompting Yi Xuan to reconsider miniaturization.

Yi Xuan discovered that firing the laser emitter required a High-Grade Spirit Stone, making a test too expensive for now. He asked No. 01 for another way to stand against a Nascent Soul Cultivator and received an exoskeleton mecha plan inspired by Iron Man.

• Liang Shi questioned whether the bedroom-sized laser emitter could defeat a Nascent Soul expert, and Yi Xuan prepared to test it.
• No. 01 told Yi Xuan the emitter required a High-Grade Spirit Stone for one shot, so Yi Xuan put it into storage.
• Yi Xuan asked No. 01 to recommend a product capable of standing against a Nascent Soul Cultivator.
• No. 01 presented an exoskeleton mecha plan modeled partly on Iron Man's appearance and explained that the movie's suit was implausible.
• Yi Xuan asked No. 01 to explain the exoskeleton mecha plan.

Yi Xuan oversaw the creation of Black Tortoise No. 1, a mech combining technology with cultivation formations and designed to withstand Golden Core attacks. After days of inscribing its formations, he learned that No. 01 had finished testing the built-in computer, which was ready to install.

• No. 01 showed Yi Xuan a mech design with armor and a formation-based energy shield that could defend against Golden Core attacks and briefly withstand a Nascent Soul Cultivator.
• Yi Xuan named the mech Black Tortoise No. 1 and ordered No. 01 to begin manufacturing it.
• No. 01 asked Yi Xuan to authorize a blank soul for the built-in computer, and Yi Xuan approved the request.
• The base assembled the mech’s body, and Yi Xuan spent more than ten days inscribing its formations, damaging several components along the way.
• No. 01 told Yi Xuan that testing of Black Tortoise No. 1’s built-in computer was complete and it could be installed.

Yi Xuan installed Black Tortoise No. 1's onboard computer and tested its movement, hovering, and energy consumption, then took it to the valley above No. 2 Base for a flight test. After flying at up to Mach 1.5, he landed in the valley to begin testing its weapons.

• Yi Xuan installed the onboard computer, and No. 01 ran Black Tortoise No. 1 through a self-diagnostic, correcting its initial difficulty controlling its strength.
• No. 01 tested the mecha's movements and low-altitude hovering, then estimated that combat would consume ten to twenty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones per hour or more.
• Yi Xuan took Black Tortoise No. 1 by subway to the uninhabited valley above the construction site for No. 2 Base.
• Yi Xuan climbed into the cockpit and piloted the mecha across the valley, reaching one and a half times the speed of sound during its first flight.
• Yi Xuan landed in the center of the valley and prepared to test the mecha's weapons.

Yi Xuan tested the Black Tortoise’s weapons and discovered that recoil could injure him despite its energy shield, leaving his physical weakness as a limit on his strength. Xiao Anhe told him that martial arts could improve his body without requiring a Spirit Root.

• Yi Xuan equipped the Black Tortoise with a shoulder-mounted Gatling stored in a Storage Bag and tested its weapons, finding them powerful but ammunition-hungry.
• Yi Xuan discovered that a Barrett’s recoil passed through the energy shield and injured his internal organs, so he stopped testing and returned to the base.
• Yi Xuan wandered to the Azure Cloud Sect’s main hall while brooding over his weak physique, where Xiao Anhe found him.
• Yi Xuan explained that, as a Rootless Person, he could not readily improve his physical strength through cultivation.
• Xiao Anhe advised Yi Xuan to practice martial arts, explaining that martial artists did not need a Spirit Root.

Yi Xuan traveled to the Origin Return Sect with a letter from the Azure Cloud Sect’s former master, hoping to learn martial arts and strengthen his physique. Elder Zhong Hongzhi recognized the Azure Cloud Sect’s standing and welcomed him onto the mountain.

• Xiao Anhe explained martial arts and their realms to Yi Xuan, who set out for the Origin Return Sect carrying his handwritten letter.
• Yi Xuan drove a Spirit Stone-powered SUV to the capital in five days, attracting curious looks from passersby.
• Origin Return Sect disciples surrounded Yi Xuan’s SUV and summoned Elder Zhong Hongzhi to investigate.
• Yi Xuan introduced himself as an Azure Cloud Sect protector and explained that he had come to ask a favor with a letter from the sect’s former master.
• Zhong Hongzhi welcomed Yi Xuan and escorted him up Origin Return Mountain.

Yi Xuan brought Xiao Anhe’s letter to the Origin Return Sect, where Sect Master Fang Jun asked him to help face a powerful challenger. After learning that the challenger had reached the Great Grandmaster realm and that the emperor would attend the match, Yi Xuan stayed at the sect to await him.

• Zhong Hongzhi led Yi Xuan to the Origin Return Sect’s main hall, where Fang Jun welcomed him and read Xiao Anhe’s letter.
• Yi Xuan offered to help the Origin Return Sect with its troubles, and Fang Jun explained that an undefeated martial artist had challenged the sect to a match.
• Fang Jun said the challenger had defeated sects across the Western Jiang Kingdom and that the emperor planned to watch the match.
• Yi Xuan learned that the challenger had advanced from Grandmaster to Great Grandmaster, and that even the Origin Return Sect’s supreme elder lacked confidence in facing him.
• Yi Xuan stayed at the Origin Return Sect overnight to wait for the challenger’s arrival the next day.

Yi Xuan met the emperor and empress of the Western Jiang Kingdom at the Origin Return Sect, then faced Zhuo Ning, the martial-world expert who had challenged the sect. After learning Yi Xuan was only at Qi Refining, Zhuo Ning attacked him, leaving their fight about to begin.

• Ying Tiantai and the empress greeted Yi Xuan, and he explained Xiao Anhe's abdication and discussed governance with the emperor.
• Sect Master Fang told Yi Xuan that Zhuo Ning had arrived to challenge the Origin Return Sect.
• Yi Xuan went outside and offered to fight Zhuo Ning as the Azure Cloud Sect's protector.
• Zhuo Ning asked Yi Xuan's cultivation level and laughed when he heard it was Qi Refining.
• Zhuo Ning accused cultivators of looking down on others, drew his sword, and charged at Yi Xuan.

Yi Xuan used the Black Tortoise No. 1 armor to stop Zhuo Ning from attacking him and make clear that Zhuo Ning could not defeat him. After Yi Xuan explained that the armor was unique and that he could never advance beyond Qi Refining Realm, Zhuo Ning accepted defeat before Yi Xuan entered the main hall.

• Zhuo Ning nearly struck Yi Xuan, but Yi Xuan summoned Black Tortoise No. 1, which blocked the sword and forced Zhuo Ning back.
• Ying Tiantai stopped his guards from intervening, and Yi Xuan identified the armor as his Law Treasure.
• Zhuo Ning launched a second attack while Yi Xuan spoke with the emperor, but Black Tortoise No. 1 caught his sword and flung him away.
• Yi Xuan told Zhuo Ning that the armor was the only one of its kind and that his own cultivation could never leave Qi Refining Realm.
• Yi Xuan put away the armor and entered the main hall as Zhuo Ning declared that he had been defeated by the Origin Return Sect.

Yi Xuan studied the Origin Return Sect’s Martial Dao manuals and decided he needed a martial artist’s practical experience to guide No. 01’s simulations. He summoned Zhuo Ning, who had spent four days kneeling in the sect’s square, intending to recruit him as a collaborator.

• Yi Xuan learned that Zhuo Ning had continued kneeling in the square and refused the meals delivered to him.
• Yi Xuan reflected on the differences between immortal cultivation and the Martial Dao while reviewing the sect’s manuals.
• Yi Xuan used the Black Tortoise’s scanning system to copy the sect’s Martial Dao texts for No. 01 to analyze.
• Yi Xuan realized theoretical simulations alone would be unreliable without a martial artist’s practical cultivation experience.
• Yi Xuan chose Zhuo Ning as a potential collaborator and ordered a disciple to bring him to the Scripture Pavilion.

After kneeling for four days, Zhuo Ning convinced Yi Xuan to meet him and asked to become his attendant. He revealed that he was a prince of the Blazing Sun Immortal Kingdom, and the chapter ended with Yi Xuan telling him, “Weakness is a sin!”

• Zhuo Ning followed a disciple to the Scripture Pavilion after Yi Xuan agreed to see him, then offered to serve as Yi Xuan’s attendant.
• Yi Xuan tested Zhuo Ning with a martial arts manual, and Zhuo Ning dismissed it as mediocre.
• Yi Xuan asked why Zhuo Ning wanted to follow him, and Zhuo Ning explained that Yi Xuan had defeated him while still in the Qi Refining Realm.
• Zhuo Ning revealed that he was the one hundred and twenty-fifth prince of the Blazing Sun Immortal Kingdom in the Central Continent.
• Zhuo Ning described how his family had scorned him for having a first-grade Spirit Root and being unable to cultivate.
• Yi Xuan told Zhuo Ning, “Weakness is a sin!”

Yi Xuan tested Zhuo Ning’s usefulness and agreed to let him follow temporarily, while withholding his trust. As they neared Azure Cloud Sect, Zhuo Ning offered to let Yi Xuan control his soul, shocking him.

• Yi Xuan challenged Zhuo Ning to explain what value he could offer, and Zhuo Ning realized his strength and knowledge of the Central Continent were of little use to him.
• Yi Xuan said Zhuo Ning’s martial arts experience could help with his studies and allowed him to follow temporarily, but warned that he would never fully trust him without proof.
• Zhuo Ning eagerly kowtowed until Yi Xuan used the Black Tortoise to lift him and stop him.
• The next morning, Yi Xuan took Zhuo Ning in his SUV toward Azure Cloud Sect, and Zhuo Ning spent the journey thinking in silence.
• Several days later, near Azure Cloud Sect territory, Zhuo Ning told Yi Xuan he was willing to let him control his soul so they could be on the same side, leaving Yi Xuan shocked.

Yi Xuan brought Zhuo Ning to the Azure Cloud Sect and sought his master’s advice about Zhuo Ning’s request to have his soul controlled. Xiao Anhe accepted the idea once he learned it was Zhuo Ning’s own choice, then took Yi Xuan to consult Supreme Elder Li Yuntai about the technique.

• Zhuo Ning offered to let Yi Xuan control his soul, but Yi Xuan postponed his decision until he could ask his master.
• Yi Xuan left Zhuo Ning in Liang Shi’s courtyard and hurried to the sect’s forbidden grounds to find Xiao Anhe.
• Xiao Anhe offered Yi Xuan one request as compensation for sending him to help the Origin Return Sect.
• Yi Xuan asked to learn the Soul Control Technique, alarming Xiao Anhe until Yi Xuan explained that Zhuo Ning had proposed it.
• Xiao Anhe agreed that Zhuo Ning’s willing choice posed no problem and took Yi Xuan to Supreme Elder Li Yuntai for advice.

Yi Xuan learned Supreme Elder Li’s Soul Control Technique and used it on Zhuo Ning after Zhuo Ning agreed to be controlled. The technique succeeded, leaving Yi Xuan with control over Zhuo Ning’s life and death.

• Supreme Elder Li taught Yi Xuan the Soul Control Technique and explained that righteous and evil depended on how a technique was used, not on its label.
• Yi Xuan mastered the technique and returned to Liang Shi’s courtyard, where Liang Shi complained that Zhuo Ning had ignored him.
• Zhuo Ning agreed without hesitation when Yi Xuan warned him that soul control would place him under Yi Xuan’s control for life.
• Yi Xuan instructed Liang Shi to guard the courtyard, then pressed his palm to Zhuo Ning’s forehead and entered his mind with his Divine Sense.
• Yi Xuan cut a small piece from Zhuo Ning’s soul, sealed it with Method Formulas, and completed the Soul Control Technique.