Chapter Summaries

Shen Tianzhi arrived to confront the Withering and Flourishing Sect, but initially agreed to let them finish their business. After Shen Clan experts urged him to seize the four newcomers and pressure the sect, he set his sights on Qin Li and provoked a clash with Du Niansheng.

• Shen Tianzhi arrived through the teleportation array, and Shen Clan experts greeted their vice clan leader.
• Shen Tianzhi told Du Niansheng to leave, then agreed when Du said the sect would go after finishing its task.
• Shen Clan experts privately urged Shen Tianzhi to capture the four newcomers and force the Withering and Flourishing Sect to back down.
• Shen Tianzhi noticed Qin Li and changed his mind, while Du Niansheng warned him not to touch her.
• Shen Tianzhi tried to seize Qin Li, but Du Niansheng blocked the attack and raised a spatial barrier between them.
• Shen Tianzhi threatened war with the Withering and Flourishing Sect for stopping him.

Du Niansheng restrained the Shen Clan experts and declared that the Withering and Flourishing Sect would protect Qin Li and her companions, but Qin Li chose to handle Shen Tianzhi herself. As the factions watched and speculated about Shen Tianzhi’s motives, Gu Chen suddenly reacted to a new supplementary quest.

• Du Niansheng overwhelmed the Shen Clan experts and offered Qin Li the choice to kill or spare Shen Tianzhi.
• Qin Li thanked Du Niansheng but said she would resolve the matter herself, so he sealed off the area and declared the sect’s protection for the four companions.
• The immobilized Shen Clan experts resented their humiliation and questioned why Shen Tianzhi held such an important position.
• Lin Xiao and Du Niansheng considered Shen Tianzhi’s behavior and the risks of revealing the Liu Clan disciple’s identity.
• Gu Chen’s expression changed in surprise when he saw the supplementary quest.

Gu Chen received a task to challenge Shen Clan juniors, while Lu Changzhi discovered that the Shen Clan had triggered tasks for several disciples. Xiao Ye learned that Shen Wenxi’s family had stolen her bloodline and promised to help her reclaim it, leaving them to plan their next move.

• Gu Chen received a task to challenge at least one hundred Shen Clan juniors and defeat the clan’s prodigies within ten years.
• Lu Changzhi found that Qin Li’s actions had triggered One Loving Nest to assign tasks targeting Shen Tianxun, Shen Tianzhi, and the Shen Clan.
• Lu Changzhi confirmed that Shen Wenxi came from the Shen Clan and saw Xiao Ye’s task to help her sever ties with it.
• Xiao Ye asked Shen Wenxi about the Shen Clan, and she revealed that her mother had taken her bloodline and merged it into her older brother’s.
• Xiao Ye learned that Shen Wenxi still feared losing her present life, promised to help her reclaim her bloodline, and agreed to plan before acting.

Lu Changzhi observed new missions assigned to Xiao Ye and Mu Fan, while Mu Fan’s system malfunctioned before forcing him to accept a mission to attack Shen Tianxun. Meanwhile, Zhong Ming received a tempting lead on the tomb of a Shen Clan half-emperor ancestor.

• Lu Changzhi noticed that Xiao Ye’s mission to cut Shen Wenxi’s ties with the Shen Clan overlapped with the group’s mission, while requiring Xiao Ye to reclaim Shen Wenxi’s belongings and collect interest.
• Mu Fan’s Idle System froze, resumed after an alarm, and issued him a mission to inflict substantial physical damage on Shen Tianxun within a month.
• Mu Fan hesitated over the mysterious mission until the system added a penalty that would reverse his idling and send him back to his former life, so he decided to accept it and stay close to Lu Changzhi.
• Lu Changzhi questioned whether Mu Fan’s mission was too difficult for someone who had only recently entered the Saint Realm, but left the mission unchanged after the system described it as a trial.
• Zhong Ming discovered that his system had marked the location of a half-emperor ancestor’s tomb in the Misty Clear Realm and eagerly shook his shovel.

Lu Changzhi learned the disciples’ missions in the Shen Clan and decided to help them, while Shen Tianxun grew increasingly uneasy over his persistent frown as he waited for Shen Tianzhi. The chapter ended with Shen Tianxun still unable to stop his brow from furrowing.

• Lu Changzhi learned that Zhong Ming had to excavate the tomb of a Shen Clan Half-Emperor ancestor and received mission details for the other disciples.
• The system explained that Qin Li had to make a powerful, masterless Beast Race member acknowledge a master, Luo Ling'er had to demolish the Shen Clan Ancestral Shrine with physical strength, and Jin Fugui had to till a plot of land in the Shen Clan.
• Lu Changzhi learned that he was responsible for overseeing the group missions and went back to Hidden Origin Peak with the Black Tortoise egg to plant it.
• Shen Tianxun examined his reflection and worried that his unusually deep frown signaled trouble, but he could not identify the cause.
• Shen Tianxun waited for Shen Tianzhi and resisted going to check on him, then found that his brow was still furrowed after another incense stick had passed.

The Shen Clan experts managed to send a message for reinforcements, but Du Niansheng destroyed their teleportation array without easing his suppression. As the statue’s inheritance ended, Gu Chen reached Huang Jiuzhao’s coffin and opened it, leaving the two facing each other.

• The Shen Clan experts noticed Du Niansheng’s suppression briefly weaken and joined forces to disrupt it.
• Shen Tianzhi sent two flashes of light to summon help; Du Niansheng caught one but failed to stop the other.
• Shen Tianzhi declared that the Shen Clan’s experts would soon arrive, and Du Niansheng destroyed the distant teleportation array.
• The statue’s presence receded into the long coffin, ending the inheritance.
• Du Niansheng sent Gu Chen to the statue’s palm, where Gu Chen shut the coffin lid just as Huang Jiuzhao began to open his eyes, then opened it again and greeted him.

Gu Chen and Huang Jiuzhao left the Huang Clan Ancient Coffin after Du Niansheng drove off Shen Tianzhi and the Shen Clan experts. Shen Tianxun chose not to intervene after his brow seemed to resist his decisions, while Shen Tianzhi led his group home—until he spotted two women fighting and rushed over to cheer them on.

• Huang Jiuzhao emerged from the long coffin with a newly imposing presence, and Gu Chen joined him in returning to the others.
• Du Niansheng dismissed Shen Tianzhi's demands, suppressed him, and led the Withering and Flourishing Sect away with Huang Jiuzhao.
• Shen Tianxun received Shen Tianzhi's message but repeatedly found his brow painfully tightening whenever he decided to go, so he stayed behind.
• After Du Niansheng's suppression faded, Shen Tianzhi told the Shen Clan experts that the clan could not come and led them back.
• Shen Tianzhi spotted two women fighting and hurried over, shouting encouragement for them to tear at each other's clothes.

Shen Tianzhi and the Shen Clan experts approached a fight between two women, but Shen Tianzhi was killed by Wei Minmin's peach-blossom technique. The survivors fled and decided to leave the deputy clan leader's death to their clan leader.

• Shen Tianzhi urged the Shen Clan experts to watch the duel, and they recognized Wei Minmin as Life-Claiming Peach Blossom.
• Wei Minmin attacked Shen Tianzhi with a cluster of peach blossoms after he urged her to show a real move.
• The blossoms shredded Shen Tianzhi into pieces, shocking the Shen Clan experts.
• Wei Minmin dismissed the Shen Clan's status, and the other woman resumed their fierce fight.
• The Shen Clan experts retreated thousands of miles and decided to let their clan leader handle the consequences.

Gu Chen planned to strike at the Shen Clan’s younger generation after learning the clan was powerful, while Qin Li confirmed that Shen Wentian’s sister Shen Wenxi was Junior Brother Xiao’s Dao companion. Gu Chen decided to challenge at least a hundred Shen Clan prodigies, and the chapter ended with the system announcing that his mission reward had been issued.

• Gu Chen told Qin Li he would gather information about the Misty Clear Realm and the Shen Clan, and Du Niansheng offered to help.
• Gu Chen proposed targeting the Shen Clan’s younger generation, and Du Niansheng suggested Shen Wentian as the best target.
• Qin Li confirmed that Shen Wentian’s younger sister was Shen Wenxi, Junior Brother Xiao’s Dao companion, leaving Du Niansheng worried that his earlier actions might backfire.
• Gu Chen chose Shen Wentian and said he would challenge at least a hundred Shen Clan prodigies.
• After Du Niansheng left, Gu Chen checked the system, which announced that his mission reward had been issued.

Gu Chen received and fused the Frenzied Battle Bloodline, while Lu Changzhi received rewards from his disciple’s mission and began Super Gentle Physical Body Refinement by transferring its pain to Luo Zhen. Gu Chen found that his new bloodline was powerful but made him feel reckless, and he prepared to try his body-refinement reward.

• Gu Chen discovered that his mission rewards included the Frenzied Battle Bloodline and Gentle Physical Body Refinement.
• Gu Chen fused the bloodline and found that activating it made him powerful but somewhat reckless.
• Lu Changzhi learned of Gu Chen’s rewards and received an expert bloodline draw and Super Gentle Physical Body Refinement from the system.
• Lu Changzhi chose to transfer the refinement’s pain to Luo Zhen, then buried the Black Tortoise egg and began the process.
• Gu Chen sat down to try his Gentle Physical Body Refinement.

Shen Tianxun discovered that his younger brother Shen Tianzhi was dead and sought answers from a yellow-robed old man, who fled after warning him to ask his father about past sins. His father then revealed that Shen Tianxun’s mother was also his older sister and his wife was both his niece and younger sister.

• Shen Tianxun found Shen Tianzhi’s soul lamp dark and confirmed that no image appeared when he tested it in the well.
• The yellow-robed old man said Shen Tianzhi was dead, warned Shen Tianxun to ask his father about his sins, and fled after sacrificing some of his strength to escape a calamity.
• Shen Tianxun confronted his father about Shen Tianzhi’s death and the old man’s warning.
• Shen Tianxun pressed his father to explain what he had hidden from him, and his father said that Shen Tianxun’s mother was his older sister and his wife was his niece as well as his younger sister.

Shen Tianxun learned that his father had shaped the Shen Clan through experiments with close-kin bloodlines and intended to use Shen Wenxi for further testing. He agreed to find her, while his father sent him to investigate who had killed Tianzhi.

• Shen Tianxun learned that his mother had been his older sister and his wife his younger sister, and his father explained that the Shen Clan’s bloodline came from experiments with close relatives.
• Shen Tianxun questioned the killing of inferior children, but his father defended his methods and said Old Huang had linked Tianzhi’s survival to the Shen Clan’s prosperity.
• His father told Shen Tianxun to investigate who had killed his brother, and Shen Tianxun left feeling reassured by his father’s dismissal of Old Huang’s warnings.
• His father asked whether Shen Wenxi had returned and revealed that her survival after her bloodline was extracted made her useful for further testing.
• Shen Tianxun agreed to bring Shen Wenxi to his father if he found her, despite his father’s warning not to use excessive force.

Shen Tianxun learned that Shen Tianzhi had died after provoking Luo Taoyao and blamed Du Niansheng for destroying the Withering and Flourishing Sect’s teleportation array, threatening the sect with a seven-day ultimatum. Elsewhere, a mysterious figure rescued a nearly destroyed survivor, while Lu Changzhi returned to Hidden Origin Peak and planned to ask Qin Li to help the Shen Clan eliminate an unstable factor.

• A newcomer told Shen Tianxun that Luo Taoyao had killed Shen Tianzhi, and showed him the brief scene that revealed Shen Tianzhi had caused the confrontation.
• After hearing that Du Niansheng had destroyed the teleportation array, Shen Tianxun ordered the Withering and Flourishing Sect to explain itself within seven days or face a blood debt, while struggling to control his furrowed brows.
• A mysterious figure found a mangled but living person at a battlefield, concluded that the survivor might be one of a certain group, and took him away to recover.
• Lu Changzhi tested his strengthened body with a Saint King Artifact spear, discovered that its tip had broken, and decided to seek Qin Li’s help with the Shen Clan’s unstable factor.

After Gu Chen returned from the trip with a strengthened body, Mu Fan and Zhong Ming volunteered to deal with the Shen Clan for bullying Qin Li. Lu Changzhi had Luo Ling'er demonstrate her strength, ending with her destroying a Zhong Clan ancestor with one punch.

• Gu Chen told Lu Changzhi that the body-tempering process had been agonizing but had left him much stronger.
• Mu Fan offered to confront the Shen Clan after learning its vice patriarch had disrespected Qin Li.
• Lu Changzhi summoned Zhong Ming and told him the Shen Clan had bullied his senior sister, prompting Zhong Ming to vow to dig up the clan's tombs.
• Mu Fan suggested that Luo Ling'er could contribute because she was strong, and Zhong Ming asked to see her power.
• Luo Ling'er struck the summoned Zhong Clan ancestor with her Sleep-Aiding Fist and shattered his head.

Lu Changzhi assigned his disciples tasks concerning the Shen Clan, then borrowed a fake Wu Clan identity from Liang Si to help pressure them. Meanwhile, Du Niansheng learned the Shen Clan was using Shen Tianzhi’s assassination as a pretext to cripple the Withering and Flourishing Sect and resolved to strike first.

• Luo Ling'er demonstrated her formidable physical strength, and Lu Changzhi told her to wait for her assignment.
• Gu Chen planned to approach the Shen Clan’s younger generation, and Lu Changzhi asked him to consult Xiao Ye about the matter.
• Lu Changzhi borrowed a jade token bearing the Wu character from Liang Si and considered what else he needed to make his false identity convincing.
• Du Niansheng and Xiao Qian discussed the Shen Clan’s possible connections to the person with the Aptitude of a Great Emperor.
• Du Niansheng learned that the Shen Clan blamed the Withering and Flourishing Sect for Shen Tianzhi’s assassination and threatened to attack unless given an explanation.
• Du Niansheng decided the sect should make a major commotion and strike first to prevent other forces from taking advantage.

Du Niansheng accepted the risk of a wager match with the Shen Clan, hoping the Withering and Flourishing Sect could gain support through Lin Xiao, the disciple of someone with the Aptitude of a Great Emperor. The declaration drew widespread attention, and Shen Tianxun welcomed the chance to use Shen Tianwen to crush the sect and planned to involve the Liu Clan.

• Du Niansheng proposed wagering the Withering and Flourishing Sect's future on its disciple challenging the Shen Clan's younger generation, and Xiao Qian trusted his judgment.
• Du Niansheng issued the sect's declaration of a wager match, and Lin Xiao reflected on the danger of confronting Shen Tianwen.
• The declaration spread widely, prompting powers and observers to debate whether the Withering and Flourishing Sect was bluffing or hiding strength.
• Shen Tianxun dismissed the sect's challenge but decided Shen Tianwen should use it to establish his prestige and claim all the benefits at stake.
• Shen Tianxun resolved to block the Withering and Flourishing Sect's retreat and identified the Liu Clan as the top power to involve.

Shen Tianxun secured the Liu Clan's support for the Withering and Flourishing Sect's wager battle by offering it exclusive possession of the sect's martial legacy and asking it to praise his son Shen Tianwen. As the wager battle drew widespread attention, Gu Chen said he planned to challenge the Shen Clan's juniors in half a month, leaving Mu Fan panicked about his unfinished plans.

• Shen Tianxun offered the Liu Clan a share of the gains and then exclusive possession of the Withering and Flourishing Sect's martial legacy in exchange for its involvement.
• Shen Tianxun asked the Liu Clan's representative to praise Shen Tianwen after he won the wager battle, and the representative agreed.
• The Liu Clan's decision to witness the wager battle spread widely, making people across the Misty Clear Realm pay attention to it.
• Gu Chen told Qin Li that the wager battle needed a time and place, since the Liu Clan's presence could not be disregarded.
• Mu Fan claimed he wanted to stand up for Qin Li, then learned from Gu Chen that the challenge against the Shen Clan's juniors was in half a month and panicked about his task.

Shen Tianxun showed Shen Wentian how the Faith-Forging Field could amplify his strength and revealed that the upcoming wager battle would serve as a public display of his might. Shen Wentian planned to make the Withering and Flourishing Sect appear formidable and hoped to break through during the fight.

• Shen Tianxun told Shen Wentian about the Faith-Forging Field, an ancestral artifact used as the Shen Clan's training ground.
• Shen Tianxun demonstrated the field's power, and Shen Wentian shattered a barrier that he had barely moved before.
• Shen Wentian asked whether the field could be used against prodigies from rival factions, but Shen Tianxun explained that broader constraints limited such contests.
• Shen Wentian concluded that the wager battle should establish his reputation and proposed presenting the Withering and Flourishing Sect as a powerful opponent.
• Shen Wentian said he would not end the fight in one blow and hoped to break through during it, making the battle more convincing.

Shen Tianxun agreed to Shen Wentian’s plan to break through during the wager battle and decided to promote him afterward as having the “Aptitude of a Superlative Hero.” At Hidden Origin Peak, Qin Li revealed to Mu Fan that she intended to help Gu win, while Mu Fan concluded that their Master was secretly intervening.

• Shen Wentian asked Shen Tianxun to raise his opponent’s strength so he could break through during their fight, and Shen Tianxun agreed.
• Shen Tianxun considered how a fierce battle and breakthrough could build Shen Wentian’s reputation, then chose the title “Aptitude of a Superlative Hero.”
• Qin Li told Mu Fan she had visited Shen Wenxi to verify her ties to the Shen Clan and to help Eldest Senior Brother win the wager battle.
• Qin Li warned Mu Fan that the Shen Clan could control the fight’s outcome on its own grounds, but said she knew ways to thwart them.
• Mu Fan accepted Qin Li’s claim that their Master had shared the information and decided to rely on him to complete his task.

The Liu Clan discussed finding and testing Lu Changzhi as a possible imperial son's substitute, while the Shen Clan’s wagered battle drew attention throughout the Misty Clear Realm. Gu Chen advanced into the Saint King Realm as he prepared to face Liu Wentian, and Qin Li congratulated him.

• The Liu Clan assigned Liu Duanyuan to seek out Lu Changzhi and assess whether he met the requirements to serve as the imperial son's substitute.
• The Shen Clan’s invitations brought widespread attention to its wagered battle against the Withering and Flourishing Sect, with the Liu Clan set to witness it.
• Du Niansheng worried that events had slipped beyond the Withering and Flourishing Sect’s control and hoped the imperial son's disciple would win.
• Gu Chen broke through into the Saint King Realm on Hidden Origin Peak and hoped the advance would improve his odds against Liu Wentian.
• Qin Li appeared before Gu Chen and congratulated him on his breakthrough.