Chapter Summaries

The Xiang Clan left the Law Contemplation Gathering after Lu Changzhi’s influence drew threats from powerful factions and Huang Zhan repeatedly provoked Xiang Ge. With the Xiang Clan gone, everyone turned their attention back to Lu Changzhi and awaited his next move.

• Xiang Ge held back his anger as the Heaven-Piercing Sect patriarch and the Dark Hall master's decree reinforced the threats against the Xiang Clan.
• Huang Zhan mocked Xiang Ge, then quietly but audibly suggested that he and Xiao Ye could team up to set him up if he attacked.
• Huang Zhan challenged Xiang Ge to insult Lu Changzhi, and Xiang Ge remained silent.
• A deputy head announced the Xiang Clan's departure, and the clan left on its flying beast.
• Huang Zhan taunted Xiang Ge about Xiang Li, Shen Wenxi, and protecting Kong Mu, prompting Xiang Ge to threaten him.
• Huang Zhan asked Lu Changzhi about his plans, and the crowd focused its attention on him.

After Kong Mu’s victory disrupted the Xiang Clan’s plans, Lu Changzhi stayed at the Law Contemplation Gathering while the academy took Xiao Ye away to discuss his inheritance. As the Xiang Clan departed, Xiang Li vowed to repay Kong Mu for his humiliation and was urged to prepare for the inheritance of the Five Elements Sacred Physique.

• Lu Changzhi said the Law Contemplation Gathering would continue, and Duan Bo took Xiao Ye away with the academy’s experts to discuss his inheritance.
• The gathered powers discussed Lu Changzhi’s junior and the upheaval his actions had caused, while the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion linked him to the Prophet’s divination.
• Xia Hai regretted supporting the Xiang Clan and worried about the consequences of the Heaven-Piercing Sect and Dark Hall getting involved.
• Murong Xi urged Xiang Ge to avenge Xiang Li, but Xiang Ge warned her not to act recklessly because of the powerful forces backing Kong Mu.
• Xiang Li vowed to repay Kong Mu a thousandfold, and Xiang Ge encouraged him to treat the defeat as a trial and prepare for the Five Elements Sacred Physique inheritance.

Xiang Li took comfort in the prospect of claiming the Five Elements Sacred Physique's inheritance, while Lu Changzhi received a top-grade Human Dao Rank aptitude reward after Xiao Ye completed his mission. After the Law Contemplation Gathering ended, Lu Changzhi returned to his courtyard and considered taking one of Xiang Li's remaining opportunities involving a giant dragon.

• Xiang Ge told Xiang Li that only someone with the Five Elements Sacred Physique could claim its inheritance, giving Xiang Li something to look forward to after his defeat.
• The system told Lu Changzhi that Xiao Ye had completed the Rebellion mission and rewarded Lu Changzhi with a draw that yielded top-grade Human Dao Rank aptitude.
• Lu Changzhi learned that Xiao Ye's Tongtong was growing and might take human form, then joked with his system about its proposed transformation and service.
• After the Law Contemplation Gathering, Mu Fan and Lu Changzhi returned to their residences, and Lu Changzhi went to soak in a bath.
• Lu Changzhi checked Xiang Li's remaining fortuitous opportunities and considered taking the one involving a giant dragon for himself or Gu Chen.

Lu Changzhi delegated a task to Gu Chen to check in a hundred li beneath Sunken Peak Basin, planning to use Descent to join him there. Meanwhile, Huang Zhan visited Lu Changzhi with Huang Jiuzhao and presented him with a mid-grade Saint King Artifact bed.

• Lu Changzhi chose to delegate the distant dragon's burial ground task to Gu Chen so he could travel there using Descent.
• Gu Chen received the task to check in a hundred li beneath Sunken Peak Basin and left the Myriad Laws Academy to begin it.
• Lu Changzhi noticed the task's depth and praised Qi Zhan for finding something so far underground.
• Huang Zhan asked Huang Jiuzhao when to visit Lu Changzhi, then brought him to the courtyard the next day.
• Huang Zhan presented Lu Changzhi with a mid-grade Saint King Artifact bed, and Lu Changzhi thanked him for the thoughtful gift.

Huang Zhan offered Lu Changzhi a down quilt and asked him to guide Huang Jiuzhao in sparring. Lu Changzhi agreed, and Lu Yuan revealed to Huang Zhan that he wanted Lu Changzhi’s guidance because he was nowhere near Lu Changzhi’s equal.

• Huang Zhan offered Lu Changzhi a quilt made from the down of powerful flying beasts and suggested that Lu Changzhi spar with Huang Jiuzhao.
• Lu Changzhi received a system choice and chose to give Huang Jiuzhao pointers rather than ignore the request or beat him down.
• Huang Zhan urged Huang Jiuzhao to fight seriously and learn from Lu Changzhi.
• Lu Yuan asked Huang Zhan to arrange for Lu Changzhi to guide him as well, explaining that Lu Changzhi was far stronger than he was.

Lu Changzhi sparred with Huang Jiuzhao and exposed a startling number of flaws in his fighting, while Lu Yuan revealed that Lu Changzhi was eighteen and already stronger than Jiuzhao. Huang Jiuzhao received Lu Changzhi’s recent insights, and Huang Zhan promised to provide a good bed and quilt so his son could receive further guidance.

• Lu Changzhi let Huang Jiuzhao attack first and assessed his combat skills during their sparring.
• Lu Changzhi vanished and began striking Huang Jiuzhao’s many openings, leaving Huang Zhan and Jiuzhao shocked by the gap in their abilities.
• Lu Yuan told Huang Zhan that Lu Changzhi was eighteen, prompting Huang Zhan to realize how extraordinary his talent was.
• Lu Changzhi stopped the sparring and said he would offer more pointers after receiving a good bed and quilt, and Huang Zhan readily agreed.
• Lu Changzhi passed his recent insights to Huang Jiuzhao through the space between Jiuzhao’s brows.

Huang Jiuzhao thanked Lu Changzhi for his cultivation guidance, and Lu Changzhi spent the day receiving offers and invitations from powerful factions. He agreed to let Xiao Ye enter the Myriad Laws Academy, then wondered whether Ancestor Lin also wanted to meet him.

• Huang Jiuzhao thanked Lu Changzhi for identifying and addressing problems in his cultivation, then left with Huang Zhan.
• The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion offered Lu Changzhi a Purple-Gold Guest Token and invited him to learn about its history and undisclosed affairs.
• The Myriad Laws Academy discussed the engagement and Xiao Ye's admission, and Lu Changzhi agreed that Xiao Ye could enter despite the risks of his karma.
• After returning to the courtyard, Lu Changzhi told Liang Si that the day's social obligations had exhausted him and asked whether Ancestor Lin wanted to see him.

Gu Chen completed a deep-underground check-in, received a Saint Artifact Grave-Digging Shovel, and uncovered a giant dragon’s bone. He summoned Lu Changzhi, who arrived quickly and began examining the remains.

• After resting, Gu Chen followed the system’s guidance underground and completed the check-in, earning a cultivation increase, a mid-grade Saint Artifact Grave-Digging Shovel, and strength.
• Gu Chen used his new shovel to investigate an unusual presence and uncovered a massive bone that the system identified as belonging to a giant dragon.
• Concerned about handling the remains alone, Gu Chen contacted Lu Changzhi and asked for his advice.
• Lu Changzhi arrived above ground, joined Gu Chen by the bone, and asked him to explain what had happened.
• Lu Changzhi approached the remains to check whether the giant dragon’s remains were intact.

Lu Changzhi and Gu Chen found the Giant Dragon Marrow Crystals in an ancient dragon skeleton and removed them, improving Gu Chen’s prospects for strengthening his body. Their discovery erased the opportunity from Xiang Li’s system list, and Xiang Li sensed an indistinct change while cultivating at the Xiang Clan.

• Lu Changzhi used his control over earth to clear a path through the buried giant dragon skeleton, and he and Gu Chen reached its skull.
• Lu Changzhi found a fatal wound between the dragon’s eyes and concluded that someone had slain it but left its brain behind.
• Lu Changzhi noticed the dragon’s horns and likely hide had been taken, then used the system’s guidance to locate crystals along its spine.
• Lu Changzhi explained the rarity and value of the Marrow Crystals and told Gu Chen that refining them would improve his physical strength.
• Lu Changzhi removed the Marrow Crystals, causing the opportunity to disappear from Xiang Li’s system list.
• Xiang Li opened their eyes while cultivating at the Xiang Clan and sensed an unclear change that seemed to vanish.

Xiang Li asked Xiang Ge about ways to strengthen his body, while Xiang Ge worried that the Law Contemplation Gathering had weakened his son’s momentum and sought dragon-related resources from the Xia Clan. Lu Changzhi and Gu Chen returned to Myriad Laws Academy with dragon bones, where Xiao Ye introduced Shen Wenxi over a meal.

• Xiang Li asked Xiang Ge about body cultivation and recalled a dragon transformation method, but Xiang Ge explained that it required rare Dragon Race resources.
• Xiang Ge told Xiang Li that the Five Elements Sacred Physique inheritance should appear within days and resolved to ensure nothing went wrong.
• Xiang Ge sent a message asking the Xia Clan to help search for Dragon Race resources.
• Gu Chen finished collecting the dragon bones, and Lu Changzhi used Descent to bring them both back to Myriad Laws Academy.
• Xiao Ye brought Shen Wenxi to Lu Changzhi’s courtyard, where Mu Fan teased them about their engagement and Shen Wenxi said things between them were still pure.
• Lu Changzhi shared a meal with Xiao Ye and Shen Wenxi and considered what gift to give her.

Shen Wenxi learned that Xiao Ye regularly enjoyed the food at Lu Changzhi’s home, while factions at Myriad Laws Academy awaited news about Kong Mu and the inheritances. Huang Zhan asked Lu Changzhi about the coming Five Elements Saint Emperor’s inheritance and left believing Lu Changzhi could claim it, as an unidentified figure also investigated the Academy’s hidden secret.

• Shen Wenxi asked Xiao Ye about his meals, and Xiao Ye offered to bring her food from Lu Changzhi’s home.
• The factions at Myriad Laws Academy discussed the Academy’s pending announcement and the upcoming Five Elements Saint Emperor’s inheritance, which seemed destined for Xiang Li.
• Huang Zhan told Lu Changzhi that the Huang Clan planned to avoid Xiang Ge’s retaliation after the Xiang Clan claimed the inheritance.
• Lu Changzhi hinted that the inheritance might not go as expected, and Huang Zhan concluded that Lu Changzhi could lift it.
• An unidentified person at Myriad Laws Academy wondered why a Land Without Dao had a Five Elements Sacred Physique and resolved to investigate its secret.

The Xia Clan discussed how to appease the Xiang Clan and decided to attend Xiang Li’s inheritance ceremony in force. Meanwhile, Lu Changzhi skipped the Academy’s feast and followed his system’s navigation to a site tied to the Five Elements Sacred Physique’s inheritance, where he asked how to enter.

• Xia Hai and the Xia Clan leaders worried that the Xiang Clan would retaliate after their recent losses and humiliation.
• The Xia Clan considered using praise to ease tensions again, this time by celebrating Xiang Li’s acquisition of the Five Elements Saint Emperor’s inheritance.
• Xia Hai decided that the Xia Clan, young and old, would attend the inheritance ceremony to show sincerity and congratulate the Xiang Clan.
• The Myriad Laws Academy announced its marriage alliance and Kong Mu’s admission, but Lu Changzhi avoided the feast and the crowd seeking to meet him.
• Following the system’s navigation, Lu Changzhi reached a lively site marked by a statue of the young Chen Wangdao and asked the system how to enter.

Lu Changzhi used the Peak Human Dao Rank aptitude near the Five Elements inheritance site, drawing the attention of powerful figures as his aptitude rose to Middle-Grade Earthly Dao Rank. Xiang Ge’s father sensed a major change at the site and suspected Xiang Li had caused it.

• Lu Changzhi failed to find a way into the Five Elements Sacred Physique inheritance and chose the site to attract a potential disciple who might be drawn to graveyards.
• Lu Changzhi concealed himself, used the Peak Human Dao Rank aptitude, and received a second fortune-influenced improvement that raised his aptitude to Middle-Grade Earthly Dao Rank.
• Lin Tongtian emerged from the ancestral graves in his coffin after sensing an unusual change, then returned when a message told him there was no need to come alive.
• A scrawny old man failed to divine the source of the change, worked out who he could not divine, and sent a message telling someone not to come alive.
• Xiang Ge’s father appeared before him, discussed his cultivation, and said the Five Elements inheritance site had experienced a powerful change in Qi activity.
• Xiang Ge suggested that Xiang Li, who had been cultivating, might have caused the change.

Xiang Qingcang learned that the Five Elements Sacred Physique’s inheritance had stirred up the factions and decided the Xiang Clan would focus on claiming it. As the factions gathered at the inheritance site, Lu Changzhi gave Mu Fan a Fortuitous Opportunity Token to help him pursue a fire-related opportunity.

• Xiang Ge told Xiang Qingcang about the Law Contemplation Gathering, Lu Yuan’s return, and the powerful junior who had appeared in the Five Continents; Xiang Qingcang chose to pursue the Five Elements Saint Emperor’s inheritance instead of the Myriad Laws Saint Emperor’s.
• Xiang Qingcang told Xiang Ge to make the Xiang Clan’s arrival a grand affair and asked him to have Murong check whether her mother was available.
• Liang Si contacted Lu Changzhi about the commotion at the inheritance site, while Lin Tongtian concluded that Lu Changzhi had reached Dao-Rank Aptitude and then left through a formation.
• The Xiang Clan explained that Xiang Li’s resonance with the inheritance had caused the unusual changes, and factions and cultivators gathered at the inheritance site.
• Mu Fan told Lu Changzhi that he wanted to seek a fire-related opportunity, and Lu Changzhi gave him a Fortuitous Opportunity Token.

Lu Changzhi waited for the Five Elements Saint Emperor’s inheritance to open, hoping to draw out the person he was seeking. As the Xiang Clan’s Saint Emperors arrived and Xiang Li’s inheritance ceremony approached, Huang Zhan pressured Xia Hai to make a boastful prediction.

• Lu Changzhi calculated that the inheritance would open in less than a day and considered how he would stall Xiang Li when the opportunity came.
• Xiang Qingcang and Murong Jing arrived, and Lu Changzhi recognized Xiang Qingcang as a genuine Saint Emperor while Murong Jing studied him.
• Xia Hai praised Xiang Li and offered the Xia Clan’s help, but Xiang Ge cut him off and told him to say less.
• Huang Zhan urged Xia Hai to declare that Xiang Li would definitely obtain the inheritance without anything going wrong.
• Huang Zhan threatened to visit the Xia Clan, and Xia Hai realized he was being used as a spear.

Xiang Qingcang welcomed competition for the Five Elements Saint Emperor’s inheritance while Huang Zhan deflected attention toward the Xia Clan. As the factions waited, the inheritance began to appear at night, and Lu Changzhi recognized its relevance to Chen Wangdao’s Five Elements Sacred Physique.

• Xia Hai declared that Xiang Li would obtain the inheritance, and Huang Zhan used his words to needle Xiang Ge.
• Xiang Qingcang invited all cultivators to compete for the inheritance and praised the Huang Clan’s talent, drawing admiration for his measured response.
• Huang Zhan pointed out the Xia Clan’s supposed auspicious signs, leaving Xia Hai afraid to answer.
• The Academy’s people arrived without Kong Mu, and Lu Changzhi waited through the day without finding a disciple who met his mission’s requirements.
• At night, the ground trembled and five lights appeared in the sky, prompting Lu Changzhi to study the inheritance’s connection to the Five Elements Sacred Physique.

The Five Elements Saint Emperor's legacy opened, and Xiang Li and cultivators from several factions entered as Lu Changzhi and Mu Fan followed. As older experts projected the legacy space for everyone to watch, a mysterious figure on a broom spotted the distant light and flew toward the site, eager to explore the tomb.

• The Five Elements Sacred Physique's presence gathered power until a spatial rift stabilized into an entrance to the Five Elements Saint Emperor's legacy.
• Xiang Ge sent Xiang Li toward the legacy, and disciples from the Church of Light, Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, the Academy, and the Huang Clan rushed inside.
• Lu Changzhi took Mu Fan toward the entrance, while observers speculated about whether Lu Changzhi would interfere or claim the legacy.
• Xiang Qingcang studied the limited information about Lu Changzhi and recalled sensing a faint, uncertain trace when he entered.
• Elder experts from major factions gathered around a statue and projected the legacy's interior into the air for the world to watch.
• Far away, a figure riding a broom saw the distant light, wondered whether it marked a Saint Emperor's tomb, and flew toward it.

Lu Changzhi bypassed the palace’s puppet guards and modest staircase trial, then entered the hall and activated the inheritance’s formation. A remnant of the Five Elements Saint Emperor’s intent appeared and recognized him as a bearer of the Five Elements Sacred Physique.

• Lu Changzhi entered the inheritance space, received a protective mark, and followed the light of opportunity toward the palace.
• He used the Nonhuman Plaque to approach the palace, but the puppets detected him, so he vanished past them while Xiang Li wondered if someone else was nearby.
• Xiang Li and the younger Xiang Clan members fought their way through the attribute puppets, and Xiang Li prepared to battle the dark-gold puppet.
• Lu Changzhi leaped across the 108 steps, reached the palace gates, and used a formation disk to create an identical image of them.
• He opened the gates, entered the hall, and sat on the cushion indicated by the light of opportunity.
• Lu Changzhi activated the surrounding formations, whereupon the Five Elements Saint Emperor’s remnant intent appeared and welcomed another bearer of the Five Elements Sacred Physique.

Chen Wangdao warned Lu Changzhi that the Five Elements Sacred Physique was not simply a blessing, but a trait desired by the Will of Heaven and Earth, which could cultivate its bearers for its own purposes. He urged Lu Changzhi to stay vigilant and prepare ways to escape, then cautioned that other worlds might be even more dangerous.

• Chen Wangdao told Lu Changzhi that the Five Elements Sacred Physique's true abilities mattered to cultivation and control over heaven and earth, but could also bring calamity.
• Chen Wangdao explained that Heavenly Daos and the Wills of Heaven and Earth had their own inclinations and plans, and that the Five Elements Sacred Physique was certainly something this world's Will of Heaven and Earth wanted.
• Lu Changzhi connected this explanation to Xiang Li's talents, reasoning that the Will of Heaven and Earth was cultivating him and supplementing his luck and opportunities.
• Chen Wangdao warned Lu Changzhi to stay vigilant and secure escape routes so he would not become helplessly trapped in the Will of Heaven and Earth's plans.
• Lu Changzhi asked why they did not leave for another world, and Chen Wangdao replied that another Will of Heaven and Earth or Heavenly Dao could pose an even greater danger.

Lu Changzhi learned that the Will of Heaven and Earth had been secretly strengthening him and collected the Five Elements origin power and Chen Wangdao’s inheritance. Xiang Li reached the palace gates as observers wondered about strange fluctuations affecting the Xiang Clan, and he prepared to open the gates.

• Chen Wangdao warned Lu Changzhi that the Will of Heaven and Earth was aiding him and urged him to judge its assistance carefully.
• Chen Wangdao disappeared, and Lu Changzhi collected the sealed Five Elements origin power and absorbed the orb containing Chen Wangdao’s insights and inheritance.
• Xiang Li felt the mysterious sensation again while approaching the palace, and Xiang Qingcang and Murong Jing sensed unusual fluctuations affecting the Xiang Clan.
• Xiang Li climbed all eighty-one steps and reached the palace gates, drawing praise from the observers.
• Xiang Li regretted that Kong Mu was absent, then raised his hand and pushed against the palace gates.