Chapter Summaries

Lin Qingtong used her aerial Taiji technique to trap Si Ming, while Liu Qingqing’s intervention helped rescue Yu Shuying and turn the fight against Wei Chunxi’s group. The battle’s outcome hinged on Liu Qingqing, whom everyone had dismissed as the weakest.

• Si Ming fought Lin Qingtong with heavy factory equipment until she broke his weapon and used her speed and metallized fists to attack him.
• Lin Qingtong deflected Si Ming’s strength and spun him around with her aerial Taiji technique, leaving him unable to break free.
• Liu Qingqing shot Lin Qingtong, disrupting her technique and allowing Si Ming to escape through several walls.
• Zhu Hao struck Wei Chunxi, sending him beside Lin Qingtong as he complained that Liu Qingqing had ruined their near victory.
• Liu Qingqing rescued Yu Shuying and emerged as the overlooked figure who changed the course of the battle.

Lin Qingtong explained that her pursuit of the Illusory Moth Killing Art came from her fear of reaching her limits, while Liu Qingqing and the others prepared to fight her. Yu Shuying then revealed that Wei Chunxi's reinforcements were unlikely to arrive, and Wei admitted he had no one to call for help.

• Lin Qingtong defended her choice to practice the Illusory Moth Killing Art, arguing that ordinary effort could not overcome the limits that kept people from reaching Spirit Transformation.
• Liu Qingqing urged Lin Qingtong to turn back, but Lin Qingtong insisted that success justified her gamble and Lin Qingxiang said she could no longer be persuaded.
• Si Ming prepared to attack Lin Qingtong, but Yu Shuying warned Wei Chunxi that his reinforcements were not coming.
• Yu Shuying pointed out that Wei Chunxi's missing accomplice had likely left to deliver the Sea-Upholding Demon Dragon Art to the Demon Race, who had little reason to honor their agreement.
• Wei Chunxi claimed his organization could still help, but Yu Shuying argued that his accomplice had arranged the trap too quickly to summon anyone and that the Remote Heaven Society could not be trusted.
• Wei Chunxi conceded that he had no reinforcements to call on.

After Wei Chunxi and Lin Qingtong escaped, Si Ming was left with Metal Cells Liquid absorbed into his right arm. Doctors could not diagnose or treat the unusual condition, and Si Ming planned to use the setback to focus on improving his martial techniques.

• Lin Qingtong chose to retreat with Wei Chunxi, and Wei blinded the group with a flashbang before escaping with her.
• Si Ming blocked Wei Chunxi’s thrown Metal Cells Liquid with his right arm, and the liquid began merging into it.
• At the Black Earth Gang’s recovery room, a doctor told Si Ming that his silver-white arm was in a complex, dormant state that the hospital could not diagnose or treat.
• Liu Qingqing worried about Si Ming’s disabled dominant arm and its effect on his martial arts.
• Si Ming decided to work harder on technique, realizing his talent mastered complete martial arts but not basic, individual skills.

Si Ming and Yu Shuying completed their trial missions and prepared to leave, while Si Ming recognized the flaw in relying on his epiphany talent without developing his own understanding. In a parallel future branch, Lin Xiu and three Blood Gods waited amid a battle until a young woman arrived carrying Captain’s head and killed Blood-Handed Butcher.

• Si Ming realized his epiphany talent let him copy martial arts without truly understanding them, and saw why Yan Jinghong had urged him to exercise restraint.
• Si Ming and Yu Shuying agreed that their trial missions were complete and planned to leave without finding a cure for Rust Disease.
• Si Ming summarized their mission as a mixed result: they had uncovered the mastermind but failed to stop his escape.
• In the parallel future branch, Lin Xiu waited with Blood-Handed Butcher, Netherworld Blood Slave, and Yama Blood Child while the Mohist Knight Guard surrounded them.
• A young woman approached carrying Captain’s severed head, and the three Blood Gods only noticed her after Yama Blood Child detected her with a scanning device.
• The young woman ignored Yama Blood Child’s poison attack, then Blood-Handed Butcher’s headless body fell beside him.

Lin Qingluo confronted her father, Lin Xiu, and learned the truth about the Dark Maiden and the Scroll of Darkness. After Lin Xiu gained the upper hand, Lin Qingluo revealed a hidden technique and prepared to use it against him.

• Lin Qingluo killed the Netherworld Blood Slave and Yama Blood Child before facing Lin Xiu.
• Lin Qingluo accused Lin Xiu of killing her family, and he admitted he had treated his followers and the Blood Pupil Society as chess pieces.
• Lin Qingluo explained that she had accepted the Dark Maiden trial, whose candidates disguised themselves as Grandmaster candidates to protect the true Grandmaster.
• Lin Xiu wounded Lin Qingluo and urged her to retreat, claiming she could not defeat him until she reached Spirit Transformation.
• Lin Qingluo revealed that the Scroll of Darkness was complete and that its hidden contents appeared in the shadowy state.
• Lin Qingluo began using Return to the Dark Realm as Lin Xiu watched with interest.

Lin Qingluo defeated Lin Xiu in the Void Dark Realm, then reunited with Yu Shuying and joined the fight against the Blood Pupil Society remnants. Six months later, Si Ming trained with Pan De, who taught him how top experts combined hardness and softness.

• Lin Qingluo used her experience fighting in the Void Dark Realm to overcome Lin Xiu, who vanished into the darkness.
• Yu Shuying treated Lin Qingluo's injuries while Si Ming urged them to help clear out the Blood Pupil Society remnants.
• Yu Shuying and Si Ming traded insults and blows before charging into the remaining battle together.
• Six months later, Si Ming sparred with Pan De at the Mohist Knight Guard base and used soft techniques to deflect his attacks.
• Pan De explained that experts could combine hardness and softness, then challenged Si Ming with a sequence of attacks that tested his ability to counter both.

Si Ming learned the principles of Xingyi, Bagua, and Taiji from Pan De, then went home and promised Auntie Liu he would write a new novel. The chapter ended as he announced a Three Kingdoms spin-off idea, before turning to the modest readership of Ghosts and Gods Metropolis.

• Si Ming used Phoenix Nods and As If Plunged into a Sea of Mist to defeat Pan De's combination of hard and soft force without relying on internal cultivation.
• Pan De explained the principles of Taiji, Bagua, and Xingyi, then taught Si Ming the Bear Form and advised him to begin with Xingyi.
• Si Ming returned home after six months focused on boxing and foundation training instead of cultivating the True Scripture of Great Number Decay and Rupture.
• Auntie Liu pressed Si Ming to start a new book, and he promised to deliver one within a week.
• Si Ming proposed Ghosts and Gods Three Kingdoms: Wu Kingdom Arc as his next book.
• The narration noted that Ghosts and Gods Metropolis had ended at eight hundred thousand Chinese characters and had gained few fans despite showing promise.

After Xiao Xuan founded the People's Republic of Xuan Soil, political pressure forced Si Ming to abandon Ghosts and Gods Metropolis and plan a fantastical Three Kingdoms series. His advice to Auntie Liu about Liu Qingqing's talents instead pushed her toward testing the Divine Dao, leaving Si Ming worried he had steered Qingqing's future.

• Xiao Xuan exposed the Su State's leaders and founded the People's Republic of Xuan Soil, triggering a public dispute that ended with Ghosts and Gods Metropolis banned.
• Two months later, Xiao Xuan and the Exalting Unity Society shifted their struggle into the shadows, while Si Ming began planning a fantastical Three Kingdoms series centered first on Wu.
• Auntie Liu confronted Si Ming about leading Liu Qingqing astray, and Si Ming urged her to redirect Qingqing's talent for hiding her presence rather than suppress it.
• Auntie Liu rejected archery as too close to assassination and decided Qingqing should pursue the Divine Dao instead.
• Auntie Liu approved Si Ming's new novel plan and hurried off with Qingqing to the Mohist hall for a Divine Dao aptitude test, while Si Ming worried that Qingqing might blame him.

Yan Jinghong visited Si Ming, arranged for him to protect the Si Clan of Water Mirror as a Grandmaster Trial task, and assessed his martial arts progress. He explained how Si Ming could broaden his training and suggested that mastering the Si Clan’s Water Moon Precious Mirror could let him learn many styles without hindering his cultivation.

• Yan Jinghong asked Si Ming to protect the Si Clan’s holdings in the Nation of Beauty and impersonate the current young patriarch’s abducted younger brother.
• Si Ming agreed to take the assignment, which Yan Jinghong planned to submit as his Grandmaster Trial task.
• Yan Jinghong tested Si Ming’s martial arts and praised his progress, while warning him not to rely on shortcuts at the expense of a firm foundation.
• Yan Jinghong advised Si Ming that learning many martial arts was worthwhile if he could master them, and said his foundation could support thirty or forty styles.
• Yan Jinghong told Si Ming that the Si Clan’s Water Moon Precious Mirror could let him learn other martial arts without burdening his cultivation, and that earning the clan’s trust might win him access to it.

Si Ming checked on his transformed right hand and tested his newly learned Blood-Burning Finger on Jiang Zhengtai. Jiang then gave him the Xiang Family’s Stem-Snapping Hand manual, and Si Ming questioned how Jiang had obtained it.

• Si Ming learned from Jiang Zhengtai that his right hand had not changed and would have to finish transforming on its own.
• Si Ming used his newly learned Blood-Burning Finger on Jiang Zhengtai, who cooled himself with medicine and remarked on Si Ming’s rapid progress.
• Jiang Zhengtai gave Si Ming a manual for the Stem-Snapping Hand, an Xiang Family technique that targeted sensitive acupoints.
• Jiang Zhengtai explained the technique’s use in combat and its connection to the Xiang Family’s Posturing Hall, while Si Ming wondered how Jiang had acquired it.
• Jiang Zhengtai began to answer Si Ming’s question about the manual’s origins.

Si Ming discussed Jiang Zhengtai and Yao Bilian’s marriage before choosing new martial arts to complement his existing skills. After learning the Stem-Snapping Hand, he began reviewing the Mohist Knight Guard’s manuals and started taking stock of his martial arts.

• Jiang Zhengtai invited Si Ming to his wedding to Yao Bilian and explained that they planned to marry for their parents while keeping their lives independent.
• Si Ming and Jiang Zhengtai argued about social acceptance and discrimination, and Si Ming told him that his arrangement left him better off than most people.
• Si Ming learned the Stem-Snapping Hand from Jiang Zhengtai, then went to the Mohist Knight Guard’s martial arts library to choose manuals using Yan Jinghong’s Chivalry Points.
• Pan De suggested the Pig-Slaughtering Divine Fist Saber and the Buried Love Thousand Threads Hand, but Si Ming rejected both as unsuitable or redundant.
• Si Ming began listing his existing martial arts, including the Blazing Yang Battle Art, the Jade-Clad Dharma Body, and Hundred Birds Frolics.

Si Ming accepted Pan De’s recommendations for additional martial arts after questioning his motives. The story then moved to Yao Bilian and Jiang Zhengtai’s lavish wedding, where the guests celebrated a marriage that was only an act.

• Pan De recommended several martial arts for Si Ming, including the Nine Heaven-Splitting Hammers and techniques from Daoist sects.
• Si Ming grew suspicious that Pan De’s unusually generous help concealed a scheme, but accepted his explanation and thanked him.
• The wedding ceremony for Yao Bilian and Jiang Zhengtai began in a lavish hall filled with guests and festive decorations.
• Yao Bilian and Jiang Zhengtai walked to the stage as the guests applauded, though their marriage was fake and Jiang Zhengtai appeared uncomfortable.
• The master of ceremonies recited the wedding vows and blessings for the couple.

At Jiang Zhengtai and Yao Bilian’s wedding, a childhood acquaintance tried to take the groom away, but the ceremony proceeded after the bride comforted her. Si Ming then discussed the dangerous power affecting his hand with Chen Shimi and traded teasing remarks with Yao Bilian at the banquet.

• A girl interrupted Jiang Zhengtai and Yao Bilian’s wedding by declaring her love for Jiang Zhengtai and asking him to leave with her, but he rejected her.
• Yao Bilian’s parents and Jiang Zhengtai’s parents held back their anger, and the wedding went ahead as Yao Bilian comforted the girl.
• Chen Shimi told Si Ming that the power of Hundun in their hands had begun resonating and nearly released his second personality.
• Si Ming explained that his bandaged right hand concealed metal cells, but Chen Shimi misunderstood and insisted they shared the same affliction.
• Yao Bilian toasted Si Ming and Chen Shimi, then asked Si Ming whether her new status as a married woman made her more attractive; Si Ming dismissed the idea.

Si Ming stopped an assassin from attacking Yao Bilian and pursued him, only to be drawn into a fight against a second killer as well. After Si Ming overwhelmed both attackers, the first revealed that the attempted attack on the bride had only been a diversion to lure Si Ming away.

• Yao Bilian left the table after greeting the guests, and Yu Shuying sensed killing intent among the people toasting her.
• Si Ming rushed over as an assassin drew a blade and attacked Yao Bilian, then struck the killer with the True Yang Vermilion Blaze Saber and the Drought God Palm.
• The killer escaped from the banquet, and Si Ming chased him with Carefree Wandering before slowing him with an exploding maple leaf.
• Si Ming recognized the killer's Forward and Reverse Heaven-Surging Palm and clashed with him, but a second assassin ambushed Si Ming with a sword.
• Si Ming countered both killers, breaking the second assassin's sword and injuring the first with the Blood-Burning Finger.
• The first killer told Si Ming that the attack on Yao Bilian had been a diversion to lure him away.

Si Ming captured two Tiger and Wolf Death School assassins and learned that Hongdou was targeted over a possible inheritance treasure. The middle-aged assassin also offered information about the Crimson Eye Society, while Si Ming discovered why the school had not retaliated against him before.

• Si Ming received a call from Yu Shuying, who confirmed that the other accomplice had escaped and asked him to keep one assassin alive for questioning.
• One assassin revealed that the Crimson Eye Society had hired the Tiger and Wolf Death School to kill Hongdou, whose missing parents had left a valuable item with the Divine Might Escort Agency.
• The middle-aged assassin explained that the unknown client might be a relative of Hongdou or the Divine Might Escort Agency, and offered information about an upcoming Crimson Eye Society meeting in the Nation of Beauty.
• The middle-aged assassin said the Tiger and Wolf Death School had taken the job under pressure from the Crimson Eye Society and now hoped to curry favor with the Mohist Knight Guard by betraying its former ally.
• Si Ming asked why the school had not retaliated after he disrupted its operation against the Yuezheng Lineage, and the assassin said he feared angering Si Ming's master, Yan Jinghong.

Kang Buping met with Captain, a former Crimson Eye Society member, and learned that they were cooperating with the Mohist Knight Guard and other forces to bring down the organization. As Kang Buping prepared to leave, Qiu Lai challenged Captain’s guard and was stunned when the guard broke his sword technique with a single strike.

• Kang Buping told Si Ming he had passed information about the Crimson Eye Society to the Mohist Knight Guard, then left with the young swordsman.
• Kang Buping met Captain in the Hide-and-Seek Forest and discussed their plan to destroy the Crimson Eye Society and take advantage of its collapse.
• Captain admitted that the Blood Pupil Society also hoped to grow by absorbing members and territory from the Crimson Eye Society.
• Qiu Lai sensed sword intent from Captain’s white-clad guard and challenged him to a match.
• The guard broke Qiu Lai’s Cross Shuttle Sword with a black flash of sword light and cut a lock of his hair.

Xia Guanxue defeated a young swordsman, but Kang Buping used the encounter to teach his nephew about hard work and restraint. Captain urged Xia Guanxue to study diplomacy so he could take revenge on Yan Jinghong, then recruited a grieving widower into the Blood Pupil Society by turning his grief into a desire for vengeance.

• Xia Guanxue defeated the young swordsman, who was left questioning his talent after learning his opponent had deliberately waited to overcome his strongest move.
• Kang Buping told the young swordsman that the white-robed guard’s relentless practice explained his superior skill, then warned him against comparing himself to others.
• Captain cautioned Xia Guanxue against making enemies and told him to study diplomacy because he needed a way to stop Yan Jinghong from escaping.
• Captain persuaded a widower mourning his murdered wife to live for revenge and offered to help him take it if he joined the Blood Pupil Society.
• The widower agreed to join the Blood Pupil Society and work for Captain in exchange for help avenging his wife.

Si Ming prepared for his training assignment to the Nation of Beauty, receiving upgraded weapons and learning that Hongdou might join him as an exchange student. The story then shifted to Water Mirror Manor, where the Si Clan’s usually quiet domain was disturbed.

• The doctor gave Si Ming his assignment orders, an upgraded slashing-mode psionic gun, and the Spring and Autumn Saber Art.
• The doctor refused Si Ming’s request to bring Hongdou abroad immediately, but said she might later attend Luofu Academy as an exchange student.
• Si Ming learned that he would protect two young ladies of the Si Clan at the girls’ school and protested the idea of disguising himself as a girl.
• The scene moved to Water Mirror Manor on Weiyang Lake, where the lake’s quiet was broken.

The Si Clan held Si Jingxi’s elaborate funeral as hostile guests watched, waiting for the clan to lose its protection. Si Jingyue and Si Jingyu performed the rites and set the pyre alight, leaving the clan grieving as its uncertain future loomed.

• Si Jingxi’s funeral drew the Si clanspeople and uninvited guests who came to confirm the matriarch’s death and assess the clan’s vulnerability.
• Si Jingyue opened the coffin, placed soft jade in Si Jingxi’s mouth, recited a funeral song, and led the procession around Water Mirror Manor.
• The Si Clan carried Si Jingxi’s coffin to the cremation pyre and prepared it with offerings, fragrant oils, spices, and wreaths.
• Si Jingyue recited an elegy, then Si Jingyu recited another that suggested the hostile guests would soon celebrate the clan’s decline.
• Si Jingyue and Si Jingyu threw their torches onto the pyre, and the clanspeople cried out and mourned as the flames spread.

At the Si Clan funeral feast, the Jiazhuan Pavilion demanded shares in twenty-three shops under an expired contract, putting Clan Head Si Jingyue in a difficult position. Young Clan Head Si Jingyu challenged the contract’s authenticity and postponed any decision until after an investigation, leaving the other powers waiting to press their own claims.

• Si Jingyue and the clan mourned their deceased ancestor before the funeral feast began.
• Nan Botu warned the other guests that conflict was coming, though most dismissed his remarks.
• Zhou Zhao presented a contract requiring Water Mirror Manor to return the Jiazhuan Pavilion’s shares in twenty-three shops and pay two years of profits.
• Si Jingyue acknowledged the agreement and began to accept its terms, fearing the consequences of refusing.
• Si Jingyu disputed the contract’s authenticity, dismissing its documents, witnesses, signature, and seals as unreliable.
• Si Jingyu proposed a joint investigation after the seventh day of mourning and promised to return the shares and profits if the contract proved genuine.