Chapter Summaries

Sang Ying learned that the Mara Gate’s Foundation Establishment disciples had badly injured several Ten Thousand Daos Born contestants, and she headed to face their Holy Maiden in the competition. Meanwhile, an unconscious man was rescued from an underground river and brought before someone who recognized him.

• Elder Gu and Jiulian told Sang Ying about Buddha Sound Temple’s Buddha Son, Jingshui, whose cultivation had stalled at Golden Core because his temperament had not matured.
• The individual competition began, and Dong Fuzhu and Bai Kejin each won their matches while some Ten Thousand Daos Born disciples were defeated.
• Sang Ying found several badly injured Foundation Establishment disciples and learned that the Mara Gate’s fighters had all appeared to possess Single Spirit Roots.
• Sang Ying set off to fight the Mara Gate’s newly appointed Holy Maiden, carrying the Floating River Sword and brimming with anger.
• A group pulled an unconscious man from an underground river and brought him to their Master, whose familiar voice recognized him as someone known.

Su Fuyun tried to secure a forfeit against the absent Sang Ying, but Sang Ying arrived just before the deadline and forced Elder Luo to follow the rules. The match between the two old enemies began with sharp remarks about their injuries.

• Elder Luo claimed Sang Ying had only ten breaths to appear, despite the rules allowing a quarter of an hour, and dismissed Ten Thousand Daos Born's objections.
• Dong Fuzhu, Lan Fusheng, and Bai Kejin grew anxious as Elder Luo counted down, while Su Fuyun expected her stolen fortune to ensure victory.
• Sang Ying arrived moments before Elder Luo finished counting, and he declared that Su Fuyun had won by forfeit.
• Sang Ying challenged Elder Luo's ruling and invoked Sect Master Jimo, forcing Elder Luo to begin the match properly.
• Su Fuyun greeted Sang Ying and congratulated her on healing her Dantian, and Sang Ying retorted that Su Fuyun's face still had not recovered.

Sang Ying fought Su Fuyun, whose stolen luck repeatedly turned aside Sang Ying’s attacks, but eventually unleashed a powerful sword technique that destroyed the platform. Despite Su Fuyun lying in the rubble and Sang Ying standing over her, Elder Luo declared Mara Gate the winner.

• Sang Ying and Su Fuyun began their match, and Sang Ying noticed her sword strikes mysteriously veering away from Su Fuyun.
• Sang Ying trapped Su Fuyun in ice, but a fluctuation of luck freed her and replenished her Spiritual Qi.
• Su Fuyun refused to draw more than thirty percent of the luck she had absorbed, then cut Sang Ying with her white silk.
• Sang Ying summoned a vast Spiritual Qi vortex and used a sword strike that blasted Su Fuyun away and shattered the fighting platform.
• Elder Luo declared Mara Gate the winner, despite Sang Ying standing over Su Fuyun in the rubble.

Sang Ying challenged Elder Luo’s verdict that Su Fuyun had won after the arena collapsed. She revealed that she had remained on a floating fragment of the arena, leaving Su Fuyun to face that she had still lost despite using tricks.

• Elder Luo replayed the match and declared Su Fuyun the winner because Sang Ying had landed outside the arena first.
• Su Fuyun mocked Sang Ying for losing, while Sang Ying questioned whether Su Fuyun truly believed she had won.
• Elder Luo demanded that Sang Ying produce evidence if she wanted him to change the verdict.
• Sang Ying stepped off a floating fragment from the center of the arena, showing that she had remained within its bounds.
• Sang Ying told Su Fuyun that even after resorting to tricks, she still could not beat her.

Sang Ying defeated Su Fuyun, warned her fellow disciples about the Mara Gate’s tricks, and led Ten Thousand Daos Born through the individual matches. As the finals filled, the Mara Gate’s Elder Xu complained about their losses and was mocked again by Jiulian.

• Elder Gu celebrated Sang Ying’s victory, and Jiulian taunted Elder Xu for being unable to accept a loss.
• Sang Ying warned Su Fuyun to protect her Dantian, then left the platform to cheers from her fellow disciples.
• Sang Ying told Ten Thousand Daos Born’s disciples to stay cautious against Mara Gate, and they quickly defeated their Mara Gate opponents.
• Sang Ying beat her remaining opponents with ease, while Jimo Xuan watched and left after she reached the finals.
• After several days, Ten Thousand Daos Born secured thirty percent of the Foundation Establishment Realm final spots but only eight or nine Golden Core Realm spots.
• Elder Xu accused Ten Thousand Daos Born of ruthless methods, and Jiulian again mocked him for complaining about a loss.

Jingshui learned that scarlet, corrupted fortune came from stealing another person's fortune, and he suspected it was connected to Sang Ying's escape from Su Fuyun. At the Mara Gate courtyard, Jing He was robbed of his pills and forced to submit to his fellow disciples, leaving him feeling that he had lost something vital.

• A Buddha Sound Temple elder told Jingshui that scarlet, malignant fortune was karmic corruption caused by stealing someone else's fortune, and warned him to avoid such schemes.
• Jingshui recalled seeing scarlet, Sha Qi-tainted wisps of fortune help Sang Ying escape after Su Fuyun trapped her in ice, then decided the grand competition would be troubled and resumed cultivating.
• Jing He found that his high-grade pills were missing and discovered the empty bottle under a roommate's bed.
• Jing He's fellow disciples mocked his damaged Spirit Root and declining cultivation, beat him, and admitted taking the pills, which they claimed were wasted on him.
• Jing He refused to report them to an elder, then obeyed when the leading disciple ordered him to tidy the room.

After the finalists were announced, Sang Ying learned that Mara Gate’s Chi Yan had injured Lan Fusheng with a fire formation that seemed to bewitch him, and she began to suspect the sect’s changing spirit roots. Meanwhile, the defeated Su Fuyun summoned Chi Yan to speak with her, leaving their connection unexplained.

• Chi Yan mocked Ten Thousand Daos Born and said it was no longer the greatest sect, prompting other cultivators to learn that he had transformed from three spirit roots to a single fire spirit root and reached the Golden Core Late Stage.
• Dong Fuzhu gave Lan Fusheng a high-grade spirit pill, and Sang Ying questioned him about his severe injuries.
• Lan Fusheng told Sang Ying that Chi Yan had used a bewitching fire formation to lure him into danger, and Sang Ying told him to keep the matter quiet while she informed the elders.
• Sang Ying recognized that Chi Yan’s hostility and fire spirit root might make him a threat to her as an ice spirit root cultivator, and resolved to investigate Mara Gate’s changing spirit roots.
• After losing to Sang Ying, Su Fuyun shut herself away in her courtyard, then asked a maidservant to bring Chi Yan to meet her.

Su Fuyun ordered Chi Yan to cripple the chief disciple of Ten Thousand Daos Born in the individual competition final, while Sang Ying warned her disciples not to risk injury. The arena-holding final began, with Sang Ying taking the third platform and starting a winning streak.

• Su Fuyun told Chi Yan to win first place for Mara Gate, and Chi Yan blamed her for Jing He's damaged Spirit Roots.
• Su Fuyun ordered Chi Yan to cripple Ten Thousand Daos Born's chief disciple, and he agreed.
• Sang Ying urged Ten Thousand Daos Born's finalists to avoid pushing themselves beyond their limits.
• An Azure Feather Sect elder announced that the Golden Core Realm final would use twenty arenas, with arena holders who lasted until the end taking the top ten places.
• Ten Thousand Daos Born disciples claimed three Golden Core Realm platforms, and Sang Ying took the familiar third platform.
• Sang Ying welcomed her first opponent as Su Fuyun watched with a gradually ashen face.

Sang Ying, Bai Kejin, and Dong Fuzhu claimed fighting platforms and built winning streaks, while Jiulian trapped Elder Xu into wagering two orange-grade Spirit Artifacts against Ten Thousand Daos Born. The chapter ended with Chi Yan leaving his platform to attack Bai Kejin, as Sang Ying exchanged a knowing look with Su Fuyun.

• Sang Ying, Bai Kejin, and Dong Fuzhu claimed platforms, and Chi Yan and other disciples from Mara Gate and the Azure Feather Sect took the remaining spots.
• Jiulian baited Elder Xu into wagering two orange-grade Spirit Artifacts against Ten Thousand Daos Born, and Elder Xu accepted.
• Sang Ying defeated seven opponents, while Bai Kejin and Dong Fuzhu each defeated five, making Elder Xu increasingly uneasy.
• Chi Yan defeated six opponents on the first platform, then leaped over to challenge Bai Kejin on the fourth platform.
• Sang Ying noticed Su Fuyun watching her and exchanged a provocative look with him.

Sang Ying watched Bai Kejin and Dong Fuzhu face Mara Gate opponents who used hidden power to injure them, then saw both juniors unleash powerful Spiritual Qi vortices. Bai Kejin was defeated by Chi Yan’s strange fire array, and Sang Ying headed to the fourth arena to avenge him.

• Sang Ying defeated a Mara Gate disciple, while Dong Fuzhu and Bai Kejin struggled against their opponents.
• Jiulian recognized Mara Gate’s strategy of matching stronger and weaker cultivators, but insisted that Ten Thousand Daos Born had sent its strongest fighters to the arenas.
• The Mara Gate cultivators suddenly unleashed powerful attacks, injuring Dong Fuzhu and Bai Kejin.
• Dong Fuzhu used her Spiritual Qi vortex to hurl weapons at her opponent and knock him off the arena.
• Bai Kejin and Chi Yan clashed inside a combined vortex, which exploded and left Bai Kejin badly injured while Chi Yan remained standing.
• Bai Kejin told Sang Ying that Chi Yan’s fire array had used someone else’s technique, and Sang Ying entrusted him to Jiang Qi before going to challenge Chi Yan.

Sang Ying challenged Chi Yan on the fourth fighting platform, while Jiulian accepted Elder Xu’s wager that put Ten Thousand Daos Born’s Golden Core cultivators at risk of visiting Mara Gate. The match began with Chi Yan declaring he would take Sang Ying’s Golden Core, and the two faced off with fire against frost.

• Sang Ying climbed to the fourth platform to challenge Chi Yan, while Bai Kejin refused to leave the stands and watched with Jiang Qi.
• Elder Xu proposed raising the wager: if Sang Ying won, Ten Thousand Daos Born would take the Spirit Artifacts; if she lost, its Golden Core cultivators would visit Mara Gate as guests.
• Jiulian accepted the wager, and Elder Xu gathered the other sect elders as witnesses.
• Chi Yan told Sang Ying he had expected to fight her after dealing with Bai Kejin, and Sang Ying replied that he did not know her well enough and that she held grudges.
• Chi Yan revealed his hostility and declared that Sang Ying’s Golden Core would be his, then the gong sounded and the match began with his flames facing her frost.

Sang Ying fought Chi Yan, who trapped her inside a fire array that absorbed her Spiritual Qi. She broke out by destroying much of the fighting platform, leaving Chi Yan down and herself standing amid the fading red mist.

• A spectator confirmed that Sang Ying ranked fifteenth on Heaven's Chosen Ranking, prompting a young Mara Gate cultivator to flee in shock.
• Sang Ying and Chi Yan clashed until Chi Yan's fire array trapped her and concealed her from the spectators.
• Bai Kejin recognized the fire array and struggled to intervene, while Jiang Qi restrained him and forced him to take medicine.
• Sang Ying tried to counter the flames with ice-attribute Spiritual Qi, then attacked the array with her sword as the red mist shrank.
• Elder Xu claimed Chi Yan had won, but an explosive crash destroyed much of the platform and left Chi Yan lying on the ground as Sang Ying stood revealed.

Sang Ying resisted Chi Yan’s fire array by rejecting its illusion of her parents and defeating the flames. She won the match for Ten Thousand Daos Born, while Chi Yan collapsed and the sect’s supporters celebrated.

• Sang Ying struggled against the fire array until it conjured figures resembling her parents and lured her toward them.
• Sang Ying recognized the illusion because her mother had never called her “Yingying,” then cut down both figures with the Floating River Sword.
• Sang Ying unleashed her full strength against the fire array, breaking its connection to Chi Yan and causing him to lose consciousness.
• The fighting platform burst apart, and the elder announced Sang Ying of Ten Thousand Daos Born as the winner.
• Jiulian thanked Elder Xu for the Mara Gate’s Spirit Artifacts, while the crowd cheered Sang Ying’s victory.

Sang Ying and the other top cultivators received rewards after the individual competition, including access to Azure Feather Sect’s spirit spring. Elsewhere, a mysterious man noticed that Sang Ying had disrupted his plans and told Yan Chen to send her back to the Twin Orchid Realm.

• Sang Ying finished first in the Golden Core Realm rankings, while Dong Fuzhu took third and Jingshui took second.
• Sect Master Jimo awarded the top twenty cultivators palace feathers and promised each of the top ten a chance to cultivate in the Azure Feather Sect’s spirit spring.
• Hua Yaoyu resented Elder Luo’s earlier refusal to grant the Seven Emotions Pavilion access to the spirit spring and reconsidered her sect’s ties to the Mara Gate.
• A fiery red glazed bead shattered beside a mysterious man, and its blood altered the game board he was studying.
• The mysterious man called Sang Ying an interesting variable, removed several failed pieces from the board, and told Yan Chen it was time to send her back to the Twin Orchid Realm.

After Chi Yan was knocked unconscious, Su Fuyun coerced the Mara Gate’s medical cultivator into using a pill that would let him fight at the cost of his life. Sang Ying and Dong Fuzhu celebrated their victory and prepared for the sect competition, unaware that the Mara Gate was setting a trap for them.

• Su Fuyun learned that Chi Yan’s internal injuries would keep him from the sect competition and pressured the medical cultivator to use a deadly pill on him.
• The medical cultivator warned that the pill would consume Chi Yan’s Essence Blood and kill him within ten days, but Su Fuyun threatened his family until he agreed.
• Su Fuyun had the medical cultivator give Chi Yan the pill and ordered him to conceal Chi Yan’s recovery until the sect competition.
• Elder Gu rewarded Sang Ying and Dong Fuzhu with Spirit Artifacts and warned them to keep the disciples prepared for the competition in five days.
• Sang Ying and her companions made plans for the sect competition without knowing that the Seven Emotions Pavilion and other sects had already begun plotting.

Hua Yaoyu ordered Shen Yu of the Seven Emotions Pavilion to make Sang Ying infatuated with him before the sect competition ended. Shen Yu encountered Sang Ying and Dong Fuzhu on the way back from the spiritual spring, but Sang Ying dismissed his advances and left him behind.

• Hua Yaoyu told Shen Yu that Sang Ying was his target and instructed him to win her over before the sect competition ended.
• Sang Ying set new cultivation plans for her junior brothers and sisters, then cultivated at the Azure Feather Sect's spiritual spring with Dong Fuzhu.
• Sang Ying and Dong Fuzhu encountered Shen Yu after he was shoved toward them while trying to break up a quarrel.
• Shen Yu offered to take responsibility for Sang Ying, but she said the incident was nothing and prepared to leave.
• Dong Fuzhu reacted coldly when Shen Yu identified himself as a disciple of the Seven Emotions Pavilion, and she pulled Sang Ying away without giving him her name.

The sects traveled to White Duckweed Island for the grand competition, where Sang Ying formed alliances with Buddha Sound Temple and the Taotie Gate before leading Ten Thousand Daos Born into the small world. The competition began, and Ten Thousand Daos Born immediately rose to the top of the rankings.

• The sects departed for White Duckweed Island, and Sang Ying welcomed the Taotie Gate and Buddha Sound Temple aboard Ten Thousand Daos Born's ship.
• Chi Yan and Su Fuyun discussed Ten Thousand Daos Born's alliances, while Su Fuyun privately anticipated Chi Yan's downfall.
• The elders opened White Duckweed Island, and Elder Gu reminded Ten Thousand Daos Born's disciples to prioritize their safety over winning.
• Jingshui asked to ally Buddha Sound Temple with Ten Thousand Daos Born, and the Taotie Gate's eldest senior brother agreed to follow Sang Ying's arrangements as well.
• Sang Ying led the disciples into the small world, and the sect rankings appeared with Ten Thousand Daos Born in first place.

Sang Ying and her companions fought Demon Beasts in the small world, then found shelter and cooked a hearty meal from Demon Beast meat and Demon Plants. Meanwhile, Su Fuyun and her companions faced danger, and Chi Yan threatened to report her to the gate master.

• A Gu cultivator wagered nearly half his fortune on Ten Thousand Daos Born after the Grand Sect Competition betting stalls opened.
• Sang Ying and her companions entered the small world, killed a Demon Beast for points, and fought off a horde drawn by its blood.
• Sang Ying suggested eating Demon Beasts, and Dong Fuzhu proposed Demon Plants for Jingshui; the group convinced Taotie Gate's eldest senior brother to cook.
• Sang Ying found a safe cave, where the cooking cultivators served Demon Beast meat soup and the Buddhist cultivators enjoyed Demon Plant dishes.
• Chi Yan fought through a Demon Beast horde with Su Fuyun's group and threatened to report her to the gate master, while Su Fuyun ignored him.

A Gu cultivator watched Ten Thousand Daos Born surge up the sect competition rankings, while a veiled senior brother restrained three Rogue Cultivators who mocked the sect. He expressed confidence in Sang Ying, the new chief disciple, as she continued fighting in the White Water-Clover Island Small World.

• A Gu cultivator overheard Rogue Cultivators dismiss Ten Thousand Daos Born and praise the Mara Gate’s lead in the rankings.
• Ten Thousand Daos Born’s score soared from fifth place to second, startling the Rogue Cultivators who had bet on the Mara Gate.
• A pink-clad female cultivator rebuked the three men for insulting Ten Thousand Daos Born, and they argued with her.
• The veiled senior brother used his pressure to subdue the three Rogue Cultivators, made them apologize, and forced them to stay and await the competition’s result.
• The female cultivator asked her senior brother about his confidence, and he praised the new disciples and said Sang Ying was a rare sword cultivator.
• Sang Ying sneezed in the White Water-Clover Island Small World, startling the low-tier Demon Beasts before her.

Sang Ying found Shen Yu wounded and separated from his sect, then agreed to bring him back to Ten Thousand Daos Born. Though Shen Yu secretly scattered tracking powder and planned to help eliminate the other sects, Sang Ying had already noticed his actions.

• Sang Ying hunted Demon Birds with Yun Tun and the Taotie Gate disciples, then followed a trail of human blood into the grass.
• Sang Ying found Shen Yu hiding there, listened to his account of being separated from the Seven Emotions Pavilion during a Demon Beast rampage, and agreed to take him in temporarily.
• Shen Yu followed Sang Ying back while secretly scattering tracking powder from his sleeve, but Sang Ying noticed his left hand.
• Shen Yu saw the crowded, comfortable camp inside the cave and resolved to help eliminate the other sects, unaware that Sang Ying was watching him.