Chapter Summaries

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.

After recovering from the Soul Control Technique, Zhuo Ning joined Yi Xuan’s base and struggled to learn modern science, prompting No. 01 to break down. He proved far more capable at martial arts research, producing a cultivation manual for Yi Xuan and beginning to optimize his own Martial Dao.

• Yi Xuan welcomed Zhuo Ning to No. 1 Base after Liang Shi brought him there five days after he regained consciousness.
• Liang Shi showed Zhuo Ning the base and its technology, but Zhuo Ning’s many questions exhausted him and left Zhuo Ning overwhelmed.
• Zhuo Ning studied under No. 01 for ten days until No. 01 complained that he could not grasp basic science, and Yi Xuan ended his lessons.
• Yi Xuan found that Zhuo Ning could operate the simulation system and optimize martial arts, so he assigned him to research cultivation methods.
• Zhuo Ning gave Yi Xuan a Jade Slip containing a manual tailored to his cultivation and asked to use the simulator to improve his own Martial Dao.

Yi Xuan began cultivating the Clear Origin Body Tempering Instruction and visited the completed No. 2 Base to inspect his aircraft design. He revealed the Firmament No. 1, a high-speed aircraft inspired by the Xuannü, and left its construction as his next project.

• Zhuo Ning optimized a gentle body-tempering technique for Yi Xuan by incorporating the Clear Essence Art, and Yi Xuan successfully began cultivating it.
• Yi Xuan confirmed that Martial Dao internal power circulated through the body rather than the meridians, then felt refreshed after his first session.
• Yi Xuan traveled to No. 2 Base and asked its central control AI, No. 07, how the facility was operating.
• Yi Xuan ordered No. 07 to display the Firmament No. 1 design, revealing an aircraft modeled on the Xuannü.
• Yi Xuan reviewed the Firmament No. 1's upgraded propulsion and weapons systems, noting that it could cruise at Mach 8 and reach nearly Mach 9.

Yi Xuan completed the parts for the Firmament but found that none of his Nüwa robots could adapt well enough to assemble it, so he began considering a capable bionic robot. After Zhuo Ning emerged from deep cultivation with greatly increased strength, he recognized Yi Xuan’s bionic-robot idea as the Puppet Technique.

• Yi Xuan used No. 07 to simulate the Firmament, ordered Liang Shi to buy materials, and created its components, but discovered that no Nüwa robot could assemble the aircraft.
• Yi Xuan decided he needed an adaptable bionic robot and, unsure how to develop one, returned to No. 1 Base to check on Zhuo Ning.
• Yi Xuan found Zhuo Ning cultivating and was thrown back when Zhuo Ning’s powerful presence erupted, but he used the Black Tortoise to land safely.
• Zhuo Ning explained that the Martial Arts Simulation System had helped him optimize his Cultivation Method, greatly improving his strength in less than three days.
• Yi Xuan told Zhuo Ning about his bionic-robot problem, and Zhuo Ning asked why he did not simply use the Puppet Technique.

Yi Xuan searched unsuccessfully for a Puppet Master to help with his bionic robot design while his body-tempering practice triggered a breakthrough to the Qi Refining Realm Hundredth Layer. After making peace with Fatty Lin, Yi Xuan returned home and found a dark figure waiting at his door.

• Zhuo Ning explained that Puppet Masters controlled flexible puppets, and Yi Xuan decided to seek one out to aid his bionic robot design.
• Yi Xuan spent half a month asking people around the Azure Cloud Sect about Puppet Masters but found no leads, while mastering the basics of the Clear Origin Body Tempering Instruction and entering the Houtian realm.
• Yi Xuan's strengthened physique accelerated his True Qi circulation and caused him to break through to the Qi Refining Realm Hundredth Layer, widening his meridians more than tenfold.
• Yi Xuan visited Fatty Lin, apologized for repeatedly pressing him about Puppet Masters, and shared a banquet with him.
• Yi Xuan walked home after drinking and found a dark figure waiting at his door.

Yi Xuan learned that the Azure Cloud Sect’s old supreme elder was secretly a Puppet Master and agreed to receive his inheritance. The elder led Yi Xuan into a hidden cave in the back mountain’s forbidden grounds.

• The old supreme elder told Yi Xuan to visit him the next morning, hinting that he knew about Puppet Masters.
• Yi Xuan cultivated through the night and broke through to the Qi Refining Realm Hundred and Fifth Layer.
• The old supreme elder explained that he had information about Puppet Masters and asked whether Yi Xuan would accept a Puppet Master's inheritance.
• Yi Xuan realized the old supreme elder was the Puppet Master and learned that no one else in the Azure Cloud Sect knew his secret.
• The old supreme elder led Yi Xuan to a cave in the forbidden grounds and used Method Formulas to make them both vanish.