Chapter Summaries

Murong Qing, Si Ming, and He Qichang challenged the Tiger and Wolf Death School after its fighters defeated Yaozu Jewelry’s guards and claimed the ancient relic. Si Ming warned the passengers that the gang might kill witnesses, prompting them to arm themselves as the confrontation continued.

• The Tiger and Wolf Death School defeated all three of Yaozu Jewelry’s fighters, and the phantom thief agreed to hand over the ancient relic.
• Murong Qing challenged the gang for the relic, and Si Ming and He Qichang joined her.
• Si Ming offered to let the gang rest, then warned the passengers that they might attack everyone after losing.
• The passengers fetched weapons and prepared to defend themselves, leaving the gang leader unable to reassure them.

Si Ming, He Qichang, and Murong Qing faced three opponents in a contest against the leader’s group. Si Ming endured the sharkskin-clad man’s strongest lightning technique without injury, leaving his opponent terrified as the fight continued.

• Si Ming and He Qichang taunted their opponents, while Murong Qing took her stance and the leader sent forward the three fighters from the earlier battle.
• Si Ming provoked the sharkskin-clad man until the furious fighter struck him with the Military School’s Nine Heavens Stirring Thunder Fist.
• The sharkskin-clad man followed with Furious Thunder Shatters the Heavens, blasting Si Ming into the air and believing he had killed him.
• Si Ming landed on his feet unharmed, revealed the skintight suit beneath his scorched clothes, and mocked the man’s weak attack.
• The sharkskin-clad man panicked at Si Ming’s survival, and Si Ming prepared to teach him what a real massage was.

Murong Qing fought Old Du, a body-tempering martial artist from the Tiger and Wolf Death School, and overcame his strength with the Vast Cold Immortal Sword Art and Glacier True Qi. She severed both his arms and warned that moving recklessly would make him bleed to death, leaving his fate in his own hands.

• Murong Qing traded blows with Old Du and discovered that his body-tempering martial arts let him withstand her sword strikes.
• Old Du tried to provoke Murong Qing with lewd insults, but she stayed composed and turned his attempt to bait her into an opening.
• Murong Qing pressed Old Du with a rapid series of attacks and used Glacier True Qi to frost the wound at his waist, slowing him down.
• Old Du tried to distract Murong Qing by claiming Si Ming was near death, but she ignored the taunt and continued fighting.
• Murong Qing unleashed Nine Luminaries Sacred Radiance and severed both of Old Du’s arms.
• Murong Qing warned Old Du that his frozen wounds would prevent him from bleeding if he stayed still, but that forcing his power would cause severe blood loss.

Si Ming and He Qichang won their fights against the Tiger and Wolf Death School, forcing its leader to withdraw rather than risk a massacre. Back in the cabin, Zu Jiangchun explained the ancient relic’s uncertain origins, and Si Ming suspected that someone in her Lineage might have arranged the ambush.

• Si Ming overwhelmed the sharkskin-clad fighter with his punches and Sunflower Triple Strike, leaving him motionless at the edge of the deck.
• He Qichang used Demon Blade, Moon Eclipse to kill his opponent, and the Tiger and Wolf Death School’s leader restrained his anger and ordered his men to retreat with the defeated fighters.
• Si Ming examined the white, six-sided relic as Zu Jiangchun said researchers had estimated it was around 600 million years old and identified it as a protein polymer.
• Zu Jiangchun explained that she had brought the relic to Thousand Leaves Island to sell it to a buyer there, and that the sale had been her first major deal as an independent leader.
• Si Ming suggested that someone in Zu Jiangchun’s Lineage might have hired the Tiger and Wolf Death School to intercept her, while He Qichang questioned the theory and Si Ming argued that the leader’s explanation might have been only partly true.

Si Ming and Murong Qing uncovered a likely connection between the ancient relic’s buyer and the Primordial Ancestor Divine Cult, and Zu Jiangchun agreed to let them pose as her escorts. After reaching Thousand Leaves Island, Si Ming stopped Murong Qing from giving money to a beggar.

• Zu Jiangchun suspected a traitor in her family and paid Si Ming, Murong Qing, and He Qichang three hundred thousand for the ancient relic.
• Si Ming tried to inspect the six-sided crystal with True Qi, but an invisible barrier blocked him.
• Zu Jiangchun revealed that the buyer was named Shi Kelang, and Si Ming and Murong Qing recognized the name as belonging to the Primordial Ancestor Divine Cult’s leader.
• Zu Jiangchun agreed to let Si Ming and the others pose as her escorts, provided they waited until her transaction was complete before acting.
• Si Ming and Murong Qing reached Thousand Leaves Island, where an old woman begged for money, and Si Ming stopped Murong Qing from giving her any.

Si Ming and Murong Qing learned that the Primordial Ancestor Divine Cult was exploiting islanders’ grief and preparing a major ceremony in three days. After Zu Jiangchun’s deal with the cult leader was postponed, the group decided to gather more information about the ceremony.

• Si Ming offered a begging old woman a meal, and Murong Qing followed him while He Qichang stayed with Zu Jiangchun.
• The old woman ate a large meal, teased Murong Qing about being Si Ming’s sweetheart, and warned them that the island had become dangerous.
• The old woman said the Primordial Ancestor Divine Cult was operating in the island’s southeast and persuading believers that their dead loved ones could enjoy the afterlife.
• She warned that the cult would hold a grand sacrificial ceremony in three days and said she planned to leave the island.
• Zu Jiangchun’s meeting with the cult leader was delayed until the next day, and Murong Qing and He Qichang agreed to investigate the ceremony.

Zu Jiangchun proposed telling ghost stories, but Si Ming's tale ended with a joke and Liu Qingqing startled everyone by appearing at the window. After learning Liu Qingqing had studied archery, Zu Jiangchun urged her to join the Liu School as a phantom thief, and Liu Qingqing hesitated over stealing.

• Zu Jiangchun complained about the island and suggested that everyone tell ghost stories.
• Murong Qing admitted she was slightly afraid of ghosts but agreed to take part.
• Si Ming told a suspenseful story that ended with a traffic-safety sign, frustrating Zu Jiangchun and Murong Qing.
• Liu Qingqing appeared at the window, making Zu Jiangchun cry out in fright.
• Zu Jiangchun praised Liu Qingqing's talent and urged her to join the Liu School as a phantom thief, but Liu Qingqing hesitated because she was uncomfortable with stealing.

Zu Jiangchun tried to recruit Liu Qingqing into the Liu School as a phantom thief, but Si Ming’s questions exposed the risks to Qingqing and she slipped away. The next day, Zu Jiangchun met Shi Kelang at his lavish religious palace, while Murong Qing and Liu Qingqing accompanied her as guards.

• Zu Jiangchun argued that the Liu School stole rare treasures from corrupt rich people to help the poor, and urged Liu Qingqing to join her.
• Si Ming challenged Zu Jiangchun over how the Yaozu Jewelry Store would protect Liu Qingqing if the mission went wrong, and Zu Jiangchun said she would need to become the Lineage head first.
• Zu Jiangchun realized Liu Qingqing had quietly returned to her room, then praised her stealth as perfect for the Liu School.
• The next day, Zu Jiangchun brought Murong Qing and Liu Qingqing to meet Shi Kelang in his extravagant religious palace.
• Murong Qing recognized Shi Kelang as a convincing-looking cult leader and recalled that he had abruptly left his medical career, sold his home, and severed contact with his old friends.

Murong Qing and her companions prepared to assassinate Shi Kelang during his sacrificial ceremony after Zu Jiangchun completed a deal with him. They arranged an escape boat, and Murong Qing assigned He Qichang to launch a close-range attack while she and Liu Qingqing sniped from separate positions.

• Zu Jiangchun paid Shi Kelang five million for an unidentified ancient relic, and Murong Qing refrained from attacking him during the deal.
• Si Ming urged Zu Jiangchun to leave Thousand Leaves Island before Shi Kelang's sacrificial ceremony, and she agreed to depart by boat that afternoon.
• Zu Jiangchun arranged for a small boat to wait near the landing dock and planned to bring it ashore late the following night.
• Murong Qing told Liu Qingqing and He Qichang that Shi Kelang could not be captured alive and proposed striking when he ascended the altar alone at dawn.
• Murong Qing assigned He Qichang to make a close-range surprise attack while she and Liu Qingqing sniped from different angles, with both attacks intended to draw attention.

He Qichang ambushed Shi Kelang during the Primordial Ancestor Divine Cult’s sacrificial ceremony, but Shi Kelang blocked his strike and exposed his disguise. The guards surrounded He Qichang as he launched another attack.

• He Qichang joined Murong Qing and Si Ming in planning an ambush against Shi Kelang.
• At the ceremony, Shi Kelang warned the believers of a coming calamity and urged them to follow the cult.
• Shi Kelang lit a ten-meter-tall blue flame that gave off no heat, puzzling Si Ming.
• He Qichang drew a blade from his scroll and struck Shi Kelang with Demon Blade: Rushing Thunder.
• Shi Kelang blocked the attack with his disguised alloy staff, recognized He Qichang by his movements, and had guards surround him.
• He Qichang unleashed Demon Blade: Red Lotus against the surrounding guards.

He Qichang used the altar’s sacred flames and Demon Blade: Torrent to hold Shi Kelang in place while Murong Qing prepared a sniper shot. Murong Qing killed Shi Kelang, allowing He Qichang to escape as she fled toward the docks.

• Shi Kelang attacked the wounded He Qichang, who countered with Demon Blade: Torrent and trapped him in a ring of blade energy.
• Liu Qingqing fired a Silent Skyfall Arrow at Shi Kelang, but the spear-wielding guard knocked it off course.
• Shi Kelang broke through He Qichang’s blade defense and struck him hard enough to cause internal injuries before the guards intervened.
• Murong Qing shot Shi Kelang in the head with a spirit gun, killing him in front of the stunned believers.
• He Qichang escaped into the woods with Demon Blade: Gale, while Murong Qing left the tree and ran toward the docks.

Si Ming and Murong Qing fought the creatures unleashed by the formation and learned that a green crystal inside each one served as its core. The giant monster formed from Shi Kelang's corpse remained active as the battle continued.

• Murong Qing returned to Si Ming's side as the formation's pressure vanished and the alien creatures began attacking the fleeing believers.
• Si Ming fired a tearing round at the giant monster formed from Shi Kelang's corpse, but its wound quickly healed.
• Murong Qing froze and shattered the smaller creatures, while Si Ming blasted another apart with Bullet Fist.
• Si Ming tested a creature's regeneration by tearing off its arms, then watched it regrow them and shrink in size.
• Si Ming broke the creature's head but saw it continue moving, so he searched its body and pulled out a green six-sided crystal, causing it to become motionless.

Si Ming discovered that the otherworldly creatures died when their six-sided cores were destroyed, then fought the enormous monster Shi Kelang had become. After his attacks failed to finish it and it began regenerating, Heart Moon Fox revealed herself as a Spirit Transformation expert.

• Si Ming found and crushed an otherworldly creature's six-sided core, then explained its weakness to Murong Qing, Liu Qingqing, and He Qichang as they protected the believers.
• Si Ming charged the giant creature, blasted holes in its body, and located its core, but a bone claw struck him and a beam attack forced him to dodge.
• Si Ming raced along the giant creature's vines and landed a powerful punch, but its cross-shaped explosion hurled him into the earth and cracked his skin.
• Murong Qing helped Si Ming up as the giant creature regenerated, and they decided to retreat and call for a Spirit Transformation expert.
• The disguised old woman revealed herself as Heart Moon Fox, and Murong Qing recognized her as the fox demon who had attacked the snow peak.

Xiao Xuan rejoined Si Ming and the others with newfound resolve and used his immense True Qi Domain to destroy mutant creatures as he advanced. He confronted the giant mutant, nearly destroying its body, but it gathered Primal Qi and fired a powerful beam at him.

• Si Ming recognized Xiao Xuan’s transformation and suspected his martial uncle had made another breakthrough in cultivation.
• Xiao Xuan advanced through the mutant creatures, exploding them with his True Qi Domain and leading the survivors to safety behind him.
• Heart Moon Fox explained that she had transferred her allegiance to Xiao Xuan and revealed that human martial arts had helped her conceal her Yao Qi.
• Xiao Xuan challenged the giant mutant, seized its vines with his True Qi Domain, and pulled it to the ground before blasting apart nearly half its body.
• The giant mutant rose, gathered Primal Qi, and fired a concentrated red beam at Xiao Xuan.

Xiao Xuan defeated the giant mutant and extracted a living white crystal, then explained that it was a Primordial Core connected to the Primordial Species and the cult’s resurrection scheme. Si Ming recognized the creatures’ survival process as self-assembly evolution, while the others struggled to follow the explanation.

• Xiao Xuan crushed the giant mutant with a cloud palm and black flames, then tore a living white six-sided crystal from its body.
• The believers worshipped the Primordial Ancestor Great Immortal, while Murong Qing and Si Ming discussed their faith and the state’s responsibility for the cult’s influence.
• Xiao Xuan admitted he had guided Shi Kelang’s sacrificial ritual to activate the Primordial Core and explained that a fallen ancient mighty figure sought resurrection through the Divine Dao.
• Xiao Xuan identified the giant creatures as Primordial Species, and Si Ming connected their crystals to molecular chaperones and self-assembly evolution.
• Murong Qing understood some of the explanation, while He Qichang and Liu Qingqing remained confused and Heart Moon Fox counted the hairs on her tails.

Si Ming learned that Xiao Xuan had recognized the communist ideas in his novel and urged him to write more, before Murong Qing confronted Xiao Xuan over the ritual’s casualties. Xiao Xuan admitted he had accepted the deaths as necessary sacrifices and declared that the compassionate hero he once was had died.

• Xiao Xuan praised the communist ideas in Si Ming’s Ghosts and Gods Metropolis and identified its capitalism as a reworking of Yang Zhu’s thought.
• Si Ming told Xiao Xuan he could not develop the theory further, and Xiao Xuan said he would not force him.
• Murong Qing pointed out that civilians had died during the ritual and asked whether Xiao Xuan had known the disaster would happen.
• Xiao Xuan admitted he had anticipated casualties but had been delayed before he could subdue the Primordial Species’ mother body.
• Xiao Xuan called the deaths a necessary sacrifice and said the former hero Xiao Xuan had died, then unleashed a terrifying pressure that frightened Murong Qing, Heart Moon Fox, He Qichang, and Si Ming.

Xiao Xuan explained his vision of a fearless Grandmaster before leaving to help the injured on Thousand Leaves Island. While treating survivors, Si Ming and the others discovered a prophetic painting depicting the supposedly destroyed Primordial Species, raising questions about what Shi Kelang knew.

• Xiao Xuan declared that young people should be able to become Grandmaster without being ruined by plots, then left with Heart Moon Fox.
• Si Ming, Murong Qing, and their companions helped treat the injured, finding that Xiao Xuan had sealed their wounds with Primal Qi.
• Si Ming noticed a prophetic painting carried by He Qichang, who explained that Shi Kelang had given it to the Dharma Kings.
• Si Ming unrolled the painting and found an army of monsters resembling the Primordial Species.
• He Qichang confirmed he had received the painting before the ceremony, and Murong Qing wondered whether Shi Kelang had encountered the Primordial Species before.

Si Ming and the others found paintings depicting a demon invasion and a war involving different styles of Profound Armor, raising fears of a coming world war. At Minggui Orphanage, Ying Zhou angrily rejected Murong Wu’s request to learn from him, but Murong Wu explained that he wanted to become manly like Ying Zhou.

• Si Ming, Murong Qing, and He Qichang found two intact paintings and the burned remains of a fourth, including one showing a demon army advancing from the sea.
• Si Ming determined that the opposing armies in another painting used different Profound Armor designs, leading Murong Qing and He Qichang to fear a war between nations.
• The group could not identify the burned painting and wondered whether the Primordial Ancestor Divine Cult knew that troubled times were coming.
• After drumming and practicing Internal Cultivation, Ying Zhou confronted Murong Wu, who had been waiting nervously to speak to him.
• Ying Zhou snapped at Murong Wu and refused to teach him, while Murong Wu insisted that he wanted to become manly like Ying Zhou.

On the boat back, Murong Qing and Si Ming discussed the consequences of reporting Xiao Xuan’s actions and his chances of avoiding arrest. Their conversation was interrupted when the passenger boat lurched violently, and He Qichang warned that the weather might be changing despite the clear sky.

• Murong Qing worried that Ying Zhou might have led Murong Wu astray while she was away.
• Si Ming explained that the deaths linked to Xiao Xuan’s scheme could give the authorities grounds to issue a warrant, though Xiao Xuan remained powerful and well connected.
• Si Ming told Murong Qing that Xiao Xuan was unlikely to lead a revolution, but might pursue reform or a mutiny.
• The boat pitched sharply, and the passengers steadied themselves with martial arts stances.
• He Qichang came out of the control room and warned that the weather might change, while Si Ming questioned him because the sky was clear.

Si Ming and his companions took shelter from a storm on an island occupied by Li State soldiers, who attacked them despite Old Wang's explanation. Si Ming claimed the group were Mohist Knight Guards connected to powerful martial artists, and General Liu halted the fighting, but Murong Qing challenged his excuse for the ambush.

• Old Wang steered the boat toward a nearby island as a storm approached, with Murong Qing supplying True Qi to the engine.
• Liu Qingqing spotted the island and warned that many people were on it, but Si Ming insisted they land to escape the storm.
• Soldiers surrounded the boat, and Old Wang explained that they were travelers seeking shelter from the weather.
• General Liu's soldiers suddenly attacked the group, and Si Ming blocked their weapons with his Iron Bone Soldier body.
• Si Ming claimed they were Mohist Knight Guards and invoked Yan Jinghong and Murong Qing's master to deter the soldiers.
• General Liu stopped Old Ji from attacking and apologized, saying the army was on a secret mission, while Murong Qing accused him of being willing to kill innocent people.