Chapter Summaries

Lin Xie resisted the Emperor Dao’s final trial, which tried to make him feel insignificant and inferior to ancient powerhouses. Lu Changzhi awakened high-grade sentience in the emperor artifact, and the resulting change caused Lin Xie to stumble across the finish line.

• Lin Xie faced shifting visions that made him feel insignificant and unable to match the powerful figures he saw, but he recognized the feelings as an influence of the trial and held to his own thoughts.
• The trial’s pressure struck Lin Xie, making his planted leg buckle while he struggled to lower his raised foot.
• At midnight, Lu Changzhi woke, saw that Lin Xie was near the end, and discovered that Luo Zhen had left the Emperor Dao.
• Lu Changzhi used the system to enlighten the emperor artifact, awakening high-grade sentience that thanked him as the Emperor Dao’s power fluctuated.
• The force blocking Lin Xie suddenly vanished, and he stumbled into the end of the Emperor Dao.

Lin Xie reached the end of the Emperor Dao and began using seals to summon the Emperor-Conferment Artifact’s true body. Lu Changzhi learned the artifact’s purpose, then ended his concealment and prepared to surprise the Liu Clan as the spectators wondered whether he could reclaim the spotlight.

• Lin Xie entered the final stretch of the Emperor Dao, drawing excitement from the spectators and concern from the Liu Clan.
• Chen Mingxuan warned Luo Zhen that the Liu Clan might target him for taking one of Lin Xie’s bodies, and Luo Zhen chose to consider both avoiding and helping Lin Xie.
• Lin Xie sat at the end of the Emperor Dao and formed seals to try to make the Emperor-Conferment Artifact’s true body appear.
• The Artifact Spirit told Lu Changzhi that the artifact sought to make people submit and that Lin Xie had reached the end because the Spirit had let him slip through.
• Lu Changzhi dispersed his illusion formation and revealed himself, prompting spectators to speculate about whether he could still steal the Liu Clan’s spotlight.

Lin Xie summoned a mysterious stone chair at the end of the Emperor Dao, but it rejected him and mocked his Emperor Body. The chair then flew to Lu Changzhi and respectfully invited him to sit.

• Lin Xie summoned a deep-cyan stone chair at the end of the Emperor Dao, astonishing the gathered experts with its aura.
• Lu Changzhi recognized the chair’s tempting sensation as part of the PUA and warned that it was meant to make people compromise.
• Lin Xie challenged Qin Li and lowered himself toward the chair, but an unseen voice stopped him and flung him away.
• Lin Xie tried again and boasted about his Emperor Body, but the chair called him trash and said he was unworthy.
• The stone chair flew behind Lu Changzhi and respectfully invited him to sit.

The stone chair rejected Lin Xie and went to serve Lu Changzhi, provoking Lin Xie's anger and stirring memories of his childhood sweetheart's betrayal. As Lin Xie's suppressed strength began to emerge, the people around him sensed an aura comparable to an Emperor Venerable's.

• The stone chair told Lin Xie to get lost and positioned itself behind Lu Changzhi, while onlookers and the Yue and Liu Clans reacted with shock.
• Yue Peng concluded that Lu Changzhi had been hiding his abilities, and Liu Xun wondered why the chair had chosen him.
• Lin Xie grew furious at the chair's rejection and remembered how his childhood sweetheart had betrayed him with his rival after he worked hard for her.
• Lin Xie recalled attacking the pair in a rage and swearing never to be humiliated that way again.
• A blood-red light appeared around Lin Xie as his aura surged, leading a youth to judge that he was at least an Emperor Venerable.

Lu Changzhi stopped Lin Xie with a spatial palm strike when Lin Xie attacked him over the imperial artifact. Lin Xie offered information about an Emperor's Tomb to survive, and the two exchanged contact details, leaving the onlookers stunned by Lu Changzhi's strength.

• Lin Xie attacked Lu Changzhi with a powerful shout and charged at him.
• Lu Changzhi trapped Lin Xie in a giant spatial palm that began to close around him.
• Lin Xie stopped resisting and offered detailed information about an Emperor's Tomb in exchange for his life.
• Lu Changzhi released Lin Xie and asked him to stay in touch, then accepted his communication jade.
• The onlookers marveled at Lu Changzhi's martial skill and questioned why Liu Xun seemed less convinced of his son's ability than they were.

Lu Changzhi demonstrated his mastery of the Grasp of Return to the Void, impressing the Liu Clan and earning praise as the Emperor's Son. After ejecting everyone from the Emperor Dao, he claimed it had belonged to the Liu Clan since ancient times and faced Yue Peng's objection.

• Liu Xun told Liu Duanyuan that Lu Changzhi's mastery of the technique was likely greater than he had admitted, then showed him what had happened to Lin Xie.
• Liu Xun praised Lu Changzhi's skill, and people across the gathering hailed him as a peerless talent.
• Lu Changzhi instructed the stone chair's Artifact Spirit to send everyone out of the Emperor Dao, then claimed the site belonged to the Liu Clan.
• Yue Peng argued that the Emperor Dao had long been a shared tradition of the Misty Clear Realm, but Lu Changzhi dismissed his objection and sat on the stone chair.

Lu Changzhi used the Emperor Dao gathering to display an overwhelming presence that the crowd recognized as the Aptitude of a Great Emperor, leaving the Misty Clear Realm's major forces worried about the Liu Clan's growing influence. He returned to the Withering and Flourishing Sect, while Liu Xun privately questioned whether Lu Changzhi was the right choice for the Liu Clan.

• Lu Changzhi sat on the stone chair, and his presence awed the crowd, compelling many cultivators below the Emperor Venerable realm to bow.
• Qin Li, Liu Xun, Liu Duanyuan, Lin Xie, Wu Xiao, and Yue Peng reacted to Lu Changzhi's overwhelming aura, with Yue Peng identifying it as the Aptitude of a Great Emperor.
• Lu Changzhi ended the display, put away the stone chair, and left with Gu Chen and the others as the crowd discussed the Liu Clan's advantage and the looming upheaval.
• Lu Changzhi told Liu Duanyuan he needed to rest, then teleported with his companions to the Withering and Flourishing Sect, privately admitting that his claims of exhaustion had been a special effect.
• Liu Xun asked Liu Duanyuan whether Lu Changzhi had left the stone chair behind, then privately wondered if Lu Changzhi was a suitable choice for the Liu Clan.

Lin Xie was ambushed and nearly killed by two men posing as Liu Clan experts, but Chen Mingxuan intervened and took him away to recover. Long Yang arrived afterward, found Lin Xie's trail had vanished, and lost his chance to settle their grudge.

• Lin Xie, wounded and pursued, was run through by a hidden sword and trapped by two attackers who claimed to belong to the Liu Clan.
• Lin Xie offered information about an emperor's tomb, but the attackers pressed him for more and prepared to strike his heart and dantian.
• Chen Mingxuan appeared, stopped the attackers, and warned them to leave; they recognized him and fled.
• Chen Mingxuan gave Lin Xie a healing spirit flower, questioned him about the attackers, and took him away after Lin Xie deduced they were only pretending to be from the Liu Clan.
• Long Yang arrived later, found Lin Xie's presence had disappeared, and cursed that he had lost track of him.

Lin Xie recovered his other body with help from Chen Mingxuan and accepted supplies to heal, while Chen Mingxuan asked him to guide Luo Zhen and treat him like a brother. Lin Xie realized Chen Mingxuan had approached him for information about the emperor’s tomb and confirmed that the information was true, though he had used it to stall his enemies.

• Long Yang failed to find the presence he had been seeking and decided to focus on winning over the dragon-human hybrid instead.
• Chen Mingxuan brought Lin Xie to a safe place, where Luo Zhen returned Lin Xie's damaged body.
• Lin Xie merged with his other body and grew weaker from his injuries, so Chen Mingxuan offered him supplies to recover.
• Chen Mingxuan asked Lin Xie to guide Luo Zhen and become close to him, and Luo Zhen introduced himself.
• Chen Mingxuan asked whether Lin Xie had mentioned an emperor’s tomb to delay the Liu Clan men, and Lin Xie confirmed the information was true.

Lin Xie shared detailed information about an Emperor's tomb with Chen Mingxuan, who agreed to accompany him. At the Liu Clan, Liu Xun examined the information and recognized its significance, while Lin Xie's plans against the Liu Clan's emperor's son remained in motion.

• Lin Xie offered Chen Mingxuan information about an Emperor's tomb, and Chen Mingxuan eagerly examined it.
• After seeing how detailed the information was, Chen Mingxuan agreed to accompany Lin Xie to the tomb.
• Lin Xie considered using Chen Mingxuan's strength to pursue the tomb and planned to expose the Liu Clan's emperor's son as a reincarnator.
• Two men reported Chen Mingxuan's intervention to Liu Xun and showed him Lin Xie's wisp of intent.
• Liu Xun examined the information, realized its importance, and left to discuss the matter.

Liu Duanyuan learned that Lu Changzhi had likely withheld information about an Emperor’s tomb and ordered the Liu Clan to investigate and spread the news. Meanwhile, Lu Changzhi gave his disciples the tomb information and sent them to prepare for an expedition, where Mu Fan received a new system quest.

• Liu Xun told Liu Duanyuan about the Emperor’s tomb and why he suspected Lu Changzhi already knew about it.
• Liu Duanyuan investigated the information, judged it plausible, and ordered Liu Xun to spread the news so the Liu Clan could pursue the tomb.
• Liu Duanyuan sent Tianming to join the expedition and told Liu Xun to keep him guarded against calamities without letting him reveal himself too soon.
• At Hidden Origin Peak, Lu Changzhi finished using the Emperor Conferment Chair and summoned Gu Chen and the others to share the tomb information.
• Lu Changzhi told his disciples to prepare for the expedition as a trial, and Mu Fan received a new system quest.

Mu Fan and Gu Chen received missions tied to Xu Tiancheng's emperor's tomb, while Lu Changzhi considered the tomb's inheritance and its owner. Liu Tianming agreed to appear under his true identity when the inheritance could be claimed, but accepted Lu Changzhi as a temporary stand-in and asked where the stone chair was.

• Mu Fan received a system mission to dig deep into Xu Tiancheng's tomb, and Gu Chen received a mission to claim the emperor's tomb inheritance.
• Lu Changzhi told Mu Fan, Gu Chen, and Zhong Ming to prepare, then returned to the stone chair with Zhong Ming.
• Liu Xun told Liu Tianming that the Liu Clan had information about an emperor's tomb and explained why the clan wanted him to remain hidden until the inheritance became available.
• Liu Tianming insisted he would face any trouble under his true identity, and Liu Xun said Lu Changzhi had been chosen as his stand-in until then.
• Liu Tianming learned of Lu Changzhi's achievements, deemed him qualified to be his stand-in, and asked Liu Xun where the stone chair was.

Liu Tianming revealed that he had mastered the Grasp of Return to the Void and reassured Liu Xun that he could match his stand-in. Meanwhile, news of an Emperor Tomb spread through the Misty Clear Realm, and the Yue Clan decided to spread rumors across other realms to disrupt the Liu Clan’s plans.

• Liu Tianming demonstrated the Grasp of Return to the Void, and Liu Xun praised his skill.
• Liu Tianming told Liu Xun that the stand-in was not him and warned his father against doubting his own strength.
• A young man who had missed the Emperor Dao learned about the coming Emperor Tomb and decided to go there.
• The Yue Clan’s leaders suspected the Liu Clan was using the Emperor Tomb news as part of a game, possibly based on information from Lin Xie.
• Yue Peng ordered the Yue Clan to spread rumors in other realms to muddy the waters and disrupt the Liu Clan’s control.

In the Misty Clear Realm, Chen Mingxuan and Lin Xie discussed the Emperor’s Tomb and the danger of its location in the Mystic Yang Realm becoming known. Chen Mingxuan went to visit old acquaintances, while Luo Zhen resolved to go to the tomb and Long Yang prepared to summon the dragons to confront Lin Xie.

• Chen Mingxuan explained that news of the Emperor’s Tomb had spread and that competing factions would make seizing its inheritance difficult.
• Lin Xie revealed that the tomb was in the Mystic Yang Realm, which likely had an Emperor Realm expert, and warned that visitors seeking resources could themselves be targeted.
• Chen Mingxuan left to visit old acquaintances, and Luo Zhen decided to go to the tomb partly to improve his standing with Peak Master Lu.
• Lin Xie said he was going to add some firewood for the Liu Clan.
• After Gu Chen declined Long Yang’s invitation to spar again, Long Yang blamed Lin Xie, resolved to summon the dragons, and headed toward a nearby faction to learn where the tomb was.

Liang Si warned Lu Changzhi about the dangers of the emperor's tomb, while the ancestors discussed arranging support for his journey to the Mystic Yang Realm. Meanwhile, Lin Xie visited the Myriad Treasures Pavilion to spread information as a rumor.

• Liang Si visited Lu Changzhi, tried his stone chair, and fell asleep before discussing the emperor's tomb rumors.
• Liang Si warned Lu Changzhi that Lin Xie was not the same person as the fool from the Lin Clan and urged him to be cautious at the emperor's tomb.
• Lu Changzhi said he planned to go, and Liang Si reminded him to run first and call for help if danger arose.
• After Liang Si returned, the ancestors agreed that Lu Changzhi would go and discussed making arrangements in the Mystic Yang Realm.
• Lin Xie reached the Myriad Treasures Pavilion and asked to spread information, choosing to present it as false information.

Lin Xie visited the Myriad Treasures Pavilion to spread a rumor about the Liu Clan’s imperial son, and accepted the Pavilion’s exaggerated story plan despite its high cost. Unable to pay, he qualified for a loan and agreed to borrow the full amount, but the room suddenly filled as the contract process began.

• Lin Xie told a man at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion that the Liu Clan’s imperial son was a reincarnator with multiple Emperor Artifacts and would leave for the Mystic Yang Realm within half a month.
• The man proposed claiming that the imperial son had been a candidate for Human Emperor, slept for ten thousand years, and returned to reclaim what was his; Lin Xie agreed to spread the rumor.
• The man quoted Lin Xie a fee more than twenty times his estimate, so Lin Xie said he would abandon the rumor.
• The man offered installments and then a loan; Lin Xie placed his hand on a bead, which projected a number showing he could borrow the full amount.
• Lin Xie agreed to take the loan, and the man led him to the wall to sign the contract; after the man made hand seals, the empty room suddenly became packed full.

Lin Xie signed a contract at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion and created a portrait of Lu Changzhi, though his recollection was inaccurate. In the Mystic Yang Realm, Liu Clan experts discovered their ancestor-summoning incense worked outside the Misty Clear Realm and planned to test it after Tianming obtained the Emperor's Tomb inheritance.

• Lin Xie struggled to read the Myriad Treasures Pavilion's lengthy contract, then signed it.
• Lin Xie recalled Lu Changzhi's appearance to create a portrait and confirmed it was correct, unaware that his memory had led him astray.
• Liu Clan experts found that their supposedly useless ancestral incense changed when they were in the Mystic Yang Realm.
• A Liu Clan expert traveled to the Misty Clear Realm and back, confirming the incense stopped working there and changed again outside it.
• Liu Clan experts decided to wait until Tianming obtained the Emperor's Tomb inheritance before lighting the incense to summon their ancestor.

Rumors of an emperor tomb and a reborn Human Emperor candidate spread through the Mystic Yang Realm, drawing factions toward the site. Yue Peng learned that others were stirring the rumors and decided the Yue Clan would push the Liu Clan into action.

• A disguised man and his accomplices spread claims that people from the Misty Clear Realm were seeking an emperor tomb in the Mystic Yang Realm.
• The Ye Clan patriarch dismissed the Human Emperor candidate story as a rumor but ordered his clan to choose the emperor tomb and seize whatever benefits it offered.
• The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion’s news prompted factions across the Mystic Yang Realm to prepare for the tomb, while a young man set out to find Liu Tianming and harvest him as a potential protagonist.
• A Yue Clan member told Yue Peng that new rumors about a returnee and Human Emperor candidate were spreading faster than expected.
• Yue Peng worried that the Liu Clan might become more cautious and decided the Yue Clan would enter the fray and give them a push.

The Liu Clan and Lu Changzhi's group prepared to enter the emperor's tomb in the Mystic Yang Realm, where Liu Tianming would also take part. Lu Changzhi met Liu Tianming before their departure, and Liu Duanyuan wondered whether Lu Changzhi had noticed something beneath Liu Tianming's dismissive attitude.

• The Yue Clan set off for the Mystic Yang Realm, while Liu Xun revealed that the Liu Clan would teleport there the next day and contacted Liu Duanyuan.
• Lu Changzhi warned Gu Chen, Mu Fan, and the others that help might not reach them in the distant Mystic Yang Realm, then took them to the Liu Clan.
• Liu Duanyuan gave Lu Changzhi's group records about the emperor's tomb and tasked Lu Changzhi with drawing attention away from Liu Tianming, promising him the same opportunities in the tomb.
• Liu Duanyuan brought Lu Changzhi to meet Liu Tianming, who questioned why Lu Changzhi was hiding his unusual qualities and said they should not waste time before departing the next day.
• Lu Changzhi responded with a cryptic remark, leaving Liu Duanyuan uncertain whether he had meekly accepted Liu Tianming's slight or had noticed something.

Lu Changzhi considered how Liu Tianming’s talents made tribulations and danger from others beneficial to him, and concluded that the Emperor Tomb would likely help him. Meanwhile, Liu Tianming urged Liu Xun not to send Lu Changzhi in his place, but Liu Xun defended the ancestors’ cautious plan to protect the clan’s chance at the Emperor Road.

• Lu Changzhi realized Liu Duanyuan had stayed behind to watch him, then reviewed Liu Tianming’s talents and found their effects formed a closed loop in which danger and tribulations could benefit him.
• Lu Changzhi concluded the Emperor Tomb would probably be a good thing for Liu Tianming, though it might involve a tribulation, and decided to go anyway.
• Liu Tianming told Liu Xun that Lu Changzhi was unworthy of impersonating him and that he should not be sent in his place.
• Liu Xun explained that the ancestors insisted on the plan because they had to guard against tribulations and protect the Liu Clan’s chance at the Emperor Road.
• Liu Tianming argued that he should face his own tribulations, but Liu Xun maintained that Lu Changzhi could still be useful as a shield against calamity.