Chapter Summaries

Si Ming persuaded Zhao Jiaren to become his nominal disciple and secured the Origin Return Sect’s alliance with the Ming Cult. He introduced a contribution-point system for exchanging martial arts, leaving Zhao Donglai astonished by the alliance’s resources and opportunities.

• Si Ming explained that Zhao Jiaren’s frailty came from an unchanneled Innate Wood Virtue Physique and offered to teach him and Zhao Jiaren’s sister.
• Zhao Jiaren chose to practice martial arts, knelt before Si Ming, and accepted a provisional discipleship subject to proving his abilities.
• Si Ming required the Origin Return Sect to ally with the Ming Cult, and Zhao Donglai agreed to follow Si Ming as alliance leader.
• Si Ming showed Zhao Donglai a catalogue of martial arts and explained that alliance members could earn contribution points through tasks and exchange them for techniques.
• Zhao Donglai realized the welcome points could give every Origin Return Sect disciple access to basic martial arts, while Si Ming explained that higher-grade techniques required greater rank, trust, or contributions.

Si Ming established the Heavenly Martial Alliance and its rules, exchange system, and Soul Intent Diagrams, transforming the Origin Return Sect into a community of eager cultivators. The chapter ended with Zhao Jiaren gaining the upper hand in a spar against Zhao Yili after striking his wrist with Divine Firmament True Qi.

• Si Ming named the organization the Heavenly Martial Alliance and set rules for contribution points, martial arts access, and membership guarantees.
• The alliance offered martial arts, personal instruction, and Hongdou’s Soul Intent Diagrams, which accelerated members’ training and became highly sought after.
• The Origin Return Sect’s disciples began training intensely and competing to choose martial arts that would help them earn more contribution points.
• Zhao Jiaren and Zhao Yili began sparring, with Zhao Yili attacking using the Five Elements Lost Track Fist while Zhao Jiaren defended with Cloud and Mist Palm.
• Zhao Yili switched from Rising Flame Fist to Metal Splitting Fist, but Zhao Jiaren seized the opening and struck his wrist with a finger infused with Divine Firmament True Qi.

Si Ming faced Tian Baoqi and eight sect leaders who sought to bring the Heavenly Martial Alliance under the Three Rivers Gang’s control. When Tian Baoqi tried to retreat from Si Ming’s proposed test, Si Ming launched his punch, and Tian Baoqi met it with his gang’s secret palm technique.

• Zhao Jiaren defeated Zhao Yili in a sparring match with Startling Thunder Finger and Cloud and Mist Palm.
• Zhao Jiaren worried that the Three Rivers Gang leader and eight sect heads had come to challenge the Heavenly Martial Alliance, while Zhao Xiaohui trusted their master to handle them.
• Tian Baoqi argued that the Three Rivers Gang should partner with and gradually take control of the Heavenly Martial Alliance, offering protection from powerful clans in return.
• Si Ming pretended not to remember Tian Baoqi’s name and challenged him to take one punch, agreeing to Tian Baoqi’s demands if he could withstand it.
• Tian Baoqi tried to avoid the challenge by calling for peaceful discussion, but Si Ming attacked, forcing Tian Baoqi to block with Furious Flood Dragon Churning Clouds Palm.

Si Ming defeated Tian Baoqi and brought the Three Rivers Gang and eight sects into the Heavenly Martial Alliance by offering recommendation slots and contribution points. The alliance spread across Pingyuan Commandery, while Si Ming recognized that its contribution system gave him a way to mobilize its members.

• Si Ming knocked Tian Baoqi unconscious with one punch, and the eight sect leaders abandoned their support for the Three Rivers Gang leader.
• Song Yuliang declared the Three Rivers Gang would join the Heavenly Martial Alliance and asked Si Ming to return Tian Baoqi to the gang.
• The eight sect leaders also requested membership, and Si Ming offered them recommendation slots while granting Song Yuliang extra slots and private contribution points.
• The Three Rivers Gang and eight sects joined, prompting other martial sects in Pingyuan Commandery to follow and the alliance to spread outward.
• Si Ming considered how alliance contribution points could motivate members to complete tasks, and noted that the alliance had published five ways to earn them.

The chapter explained how the Heavenly Martial Alliance rewarded members and followed Qiu Dahu as he raced to report a suspected Monster Race creature in Longxiang Commandery. Si Ming considered a promotion for the alliance but agreed with Si Jingyu that he could not openly challenge the jianghu sects until he was strong enough.

• The Heavenly Martial Alliance offered contribution points for treasures, teaching, martial arts manuals, missions, and especially verified Anomaly reports and captures.
• Qiu Dahu sparred with a friend and credited his rapid improvement to the Ink Void Palm Technique and intensive practice with a Soul Intent Diagram, but chose to delay telling his friend about the alliance.
• Qiu Dahu learned that a powerful creature at the commandery governor’s residence had nearly killed the Fish Dragon Gang leader and was suspected to belong to the Monster Race.
• Qiu Dahu urged his friend to delay the governor from hiring an exorcist, then rode toward Pingyuan Commandery to claim the creature for the Heavenly Martial Alliance.
• Si Ming proposed a martial arts discount promotion, while Si Jingyu warned him against pushing the alliance beyond what the jianghu sects and Monster Race would tolerate; Si Ming agreed to wait until he had greater strength.

Si Ming traveled to Longxiang Commandery after learning of a Monster Race sighting, hoping to gain enough Blazing Sun True Qi to restore his cultivation body. He arrived with Zhao Jiaren and Zhao Xiaohui, and Tong Qingshan introduced them to the commandery governor before the planned attempt to eliminate the monster.

• Si Ming planned a lightness-technique discount day and escaped Si Jingyu’s suggestion that they hold a grand wedding.
• Si Shuiyun reported news of the Monster Race, and Si Ming confirmed it with Qiu Dahu before setting out for Longxiang Commandery.
• Si Ming brought Zhao Jiaren and Zhao Xiaohui, while explaining that natural harmony and sufficient cultivation were key to suppressing monsters.
• At the commandery governor’s residence, guards tried to turn Si Ming and his companions away because exorcists from the Six Paths Temple had already been invited.
• Qiu Dahu confronted his sworn brother Tong Qingshan, who had failed to delay the exorcists’ invitation but secured the group’s entry.
• Tong Qingshan escorted the group to the commandery governor and presented them as volunteers who could help eliminate the monster.

Si Ming and his companions entered the governor’s residence to confront a Monster Race threat, where Six Paths Temple exorcists Duan Jinsu and Feng Liancheng prepared a formation. The creature emerged as a Hairy Zombie with at least five hundred years of cultivation, and Feng Liancheng’s sword struck it as the fight began.

• The governor warned Si Ming and his companions that the monster was dangerous, then led them to the Yin Qi-filled rear courtyard.
• Duan Jinsu and Feng Liancheng dismissed the group as a hindrance while the governor explained their ties to the Six Paths Temple and the Three Great Holy Lands.
• Si Ming discussed the Six Paths Temple with the governor and Qiu Dahu, while Zhao Jiaren explained why its disciples were treated as heroes despite their varied conduct.
• Duan Jinsu formed the Supreme Unity Sin-Removing Demon-Slaying Formation, drawing a Hairy Zombie out of the ground.
• Duan Jinsu’s wind-and-thunder spell barely affected the Hairy Zombie, and Feng Liancheng used his ancient sword to cut its black Qi and strike it.

Si Ming easily defeated a Hairy Zombie and absorbed its origin, but a second, far stronger zombie emerged from a linked pearl and sent him crashing beneath the prefect's rockery. The others faced the newly arrived Flying Zombie as Si Ming's fate remained uncertain.

• The Hairy Zombie broke through the Supreme Unity Sin-Removing Demon-Slaying Formation and attacked Si Ming, who battered it into submission and devoured its origin.
• Duan Jinsu explained why zombies were classified as monsters, and Si Ming joked about their legendary origins.
• A Mother-Child Heart-Linking Pearl appeared in the Hairy Zombie's ashes, and Si Ming shattered it before a figure attacked him.
• The attacker sent Si Ming through the prefect's residence and buried him beneath an ornamental rockery.
• A beautiful female Flying Zombie appeared, leaving Feng Liancheng and Qiu Dahu despairing while Zhao Jiaren rushed to find Si Ming.

Si Ming fought the Flying Zombie after she threatened Zhao Xiaohui, and both claimed to have held back during their initial clash. He proved his strength by catching her sixty-percent-power attack and launching her away with a devastating palm strike.

• Duan Jinsu summoned a golden-armored divine being to attack the Flying Zombie, but it was destroyed, leaving Duan Jinsu collapsed.
• The Flying Zombie attacked Zhao Xiaohui, and Si Ming intercepted her, revealing that his sealed Cultivation Body had been fully unshackled.
• Si Ming and the Flying Zombie fought fiercely, damaging much of the prefectural governor’s residence before both were blasted backward.
• The Flying Zombie offered to make Si Ming her adopted son if he became a zombie, but Si Ming refused and claimed he had used only fifteen percent of his strength.
• The Flying Zombie said she had used thirty percent of her strength, then attacked at sixty percent, but Si Ming caught her claw and struck her with Scorched Earth for a Thousand Li, sending her flying.

Si Ming overwhelmed the Flying Zombie with his martial skill and unleashed power, forcing her to retreat. She escaped after revealing her name as Zhu Mei, leaving Si Ming at the ruined commandery governor’s residence.

• Si Ming used Sevenfold Heaven to batter the Flying Zombie and withstand her Black Flames Fill the Firmament.
• The Flying Zombie recognized that Si Ming’s earlier enhancement had increased only his strength, and Si Ming activated Solar Prominence Eruption to raise all his abilities.
• Si Ming cut through Zhu Mei’s corpse Qi and used the Sea-Upholding Demon Dragon Art to scatter her Netherfire Immersion.
• Si Ming struck Zhu Mei with Dragon Whale Raises a Hundred Tides, shattering her right forearm and cracking half her body.
• Zhu Mei identified herself and fled, while Si Ming declined to pursue her and apologized to the commandery governor for the destruction.

After Si Ming rescued the prefect and treated Duan Jinsu’s injuries, he learned that the Six Paths Temple was a branch of the Six Paths Sect, a once-evil sect that had reformed under new leadership. Si Ming persuaded Duan Jinsu and Feng Liancheng to consider joining the Heavenly Martial Alliance, and Duan Jinsu ultimately requested to join so he could access Soul Intent Diagrams.

• The prefect thanked Si Ming for saving lives, while Qiu Dahu marveled at his strength and Zhao Xiaohui complained that her master had not taught her more powerful martial arts.
• Si Ming rejected Zhao Xiaohui’s plea for protection from discipline, then gave Duan Jinsu a Nine Treasures Bright Jade Pill to heal his injuries.
• After recovering, Duan Jinsu told Si Ming that the Six Paths Temple was a branch of the Six Paths Sect, whose disciples practiced many different arts and traveled the Barbarian Continent as heirs to its legacy.
• Duan Jinsu explained that the Six Paths Sect’s new leader had imposed strict rules against evil, transforming the sect into a force that fought demons, ghosts, and monsters.
• Si Ming invited Duan Jinsu and Feng Liancheng to join the Heavenly Martial Alliance, and explained its martial arts exchange system and the benefits of Soul Intent Diagrams.
• After learning how to obtain a Soul Intent Diagram, Duan Jinsu decided to join the Heavenly Martial Alliance and asked Si Ming to accept him.

Si Ming expanded the Heavenly Martial Alliance across the Western Martial World while guiding Zhao Jiaren toward becoming a more practical martial artist. As Si Ming reached the peak of level nine by devouring Anomalies and Monster Race beasts, Si Jingyu reported that the Jin Lineage had destroyed the alliance branch in Donglang County and killed everyone there.

• Si Ming appointed Qiu Dahu to lead a Longxiang County branch and offered him rewards for bringing most of its sects into the alliance.
• Si Ming urged Zhao Jiaren to develop a martial artist’s edge by robbing corrupt officials, and Zhao Jiaren reluctantly accepted the idea.
• Over the following months, the Heavenly Martial Alliance expanded rapidly, reaching one-sixth of the Western Martial World and drawing martial artists to its headquarters in Pingyuan Commandery.
• Si Ming devoured a Monster Race beast’s anomalous origin and reached the peak of level nine after killing more than a thousand Anomalies and over a dozen Monster Race members.
• Si Jingyu told Si Ming that the Jin Lineage had destroyed the Donglang County branch, leaving no survivors.

Dou Tianming attended a secret meeting where fifteen sect leaders criticized Si Ming’s destruction of the Donglang Jin Lineage and agreed to demand a greater role in the Heavenly Martial Alliance. After Xue Huang heard of their plan, he warned Dou Tianming that the other leaders lacked the confidence to confront Si Ming openly.

• Dou Tianming arrived at Kou Feng’s secret meeting in place of Xue Huang and heard the sect leaders condemn Si Ming’s power and the Jin Lineage’s destruction.
• The sect leaders agreed to visit headquarters together and demand protections for their sects and a say in managing the Heavenly Martial Alliance.
• Dou Tianming recognized that the leaders were also seeking access to the alliance’s martial arts manuals and a share of its power.
• After Xue Huang emerged from seclusion, Dou Tianming told him about the meeting and its plan to pressure Si Ming.
• Xue Huang warned Dou Tianming that the leaders’ delay showed they lacked confidence, and pointed out that they were afraid even to say Si Ming’s name.

Xue Huang and Dou Tianming went to meet Si Ming and discovered that thirteen other sects had already pledged allegiance to the Heavenly Martial Alliance. Si Ming rewarded the allied sects with opportunities to cultivate high-grade martial arts, granting the Mysterious Sword Sect three places and each of the other fourteen sects one.

• Xue Huang explained that Dai Wen's rapid mastery of the fifth move of the Ananda Saber Technique showed how formidable Si Ming was, then took Dou Tianming to the alliance headquarters.
• Si Ming received Xue Huang and Dou Tianming and told them the others had been waiting.
• Si Ming led them to a meeting hall, where Dou Tianming saw that thirteen other sects had also come to pledge allegiance.
• Kou Feng justified his earlier scheme as an effort to protect the alliance, and the other sect masters condemned the Mount Kun Sect and promised loyalty to Si Ming.
• Si Ming gave each of the fourteen allied sects one place to cultivate a high-grade martial art and awarded the Mysterious Sword Sect three places.

After Si Ming let the Mount Kun Sect leave the Heavenly Martial Alliance, most of its disciples defected to the alliance, leaving the sect greatly weakened. The Six Great Aristocratic Families arrived with a monk from the Glazed Temple, and Si Ming turned their visit into a public accusation of foreign interference.

• Si Ming let the Mount Kun Sect part amicably from the Heavenly Martial Alliance, and ninety percent of its disciples left to join the alliance.
• Si Ming learned that the Six Great Aristocratic Families had assembled and initially refused to meet them, but changed his mind after hearing that a prominent monk was with them.
• Shen Wumian introduced the families’ representatives, and the monk identified himself as Wuguo of the Glazed Temple.
• Si Ming accused the families of colluding with the Glazed Temple to control the Western Martial World and declared that the Heavenly Martial Alliance would defend it.
• Kou Feng echoed Si Ming’s declaration, and the alliance’s followers joined the show of force.

Si Ming defended the Heavenly Martial Alliance against Shen Wumian and the aristocratic families, arguing that it represented martial artists’ shared interests and had been freely chosen by its members. Wuguo urged both sides to seek peaceful coexistence, leaving Si Ming to consider a path toward peace.

• Shen Wumian challenged Si Ming’s origins and argued that the Heavenly Martial Alliance relied on profit and would crumble if its power waned.
• Si Ming declared that the alliance represented the advancement of martial arts and the interests of ordinary martial artists, then criticized the aristocratic families for serving their own clans.
• The Zhou Clan representative challenged Si Ming, but Si Ming argued that the alliance served everyone and that its members had elected him as their representative.
• Kou Feng and the alliance members affirmed their support for Si Ming, and their collective Martial Dao Will nearly knocked the Zhou Clan head down.
• Wuguo asked Si Ming why he sought to eliminate the aristocratic families, and Si Ming said they were welcome in the alliance but that some families were coercing their relatives to leave it.
• Wuguo apologized and asked Si Ming to show goodwill toward the six great aristocratic families and seek peaceful coexistence.

Si Ming rejected Master Wuguo’s plea for compromise and proposed a seven-match contest between the Heavenly Martial Alliance and the great clans to avert war. After Wuguo agreed to hold both sides accountable for honoring the wager, Si Ming named Zhao Jiaren and Liang Zhenhuan among his fighters.

• Si Ming argued that the Heavenly Martial Alliance and the great clans had incompatible interests, and Shen Wumian prepared to leave with his people.
• Wuguo tried to kneel to plead for peace, but Shen Wumian supported him with his scabbard and declared that the clans would not accept humiliation.
• Si Ming offered a contest of seven fighters, with the first side to win four matches taking the victory, and set the match for half a month later at a venue Wuguo would choose.
• Si Ming asked Wuguo to ensure the loser honored the wager, and Wuguo vowed that anyone who broke it would become an enemy of the Glazed Temple.
• Si Ming named Zhao Jiaren and Liang Zhenhuan as the first two fighters for the Heavenly Martial Alliance, surprising both sides with his choices.

Si Ming chose the Heavenly Martial Alliance’s seven fighters for its wagered contest against the aristocratic families and promised to train them before the match. Fifteen days later, the contest began at Butterfly Valley, where the crowd doubted the alliance’s chances and Si Shuiyun challenged Si Ming over his apparent effort to sway public opinion.

• Feng Liancheng and Kou Feng volunteered to fight, and Si Ming filled the remaining places with himself, his second wife, and his maid.
• Shen Wumian accepted the choices and set the contest for half a month later, while Master Wuguo agreed to find a venue within ten days.
• Zhao Jiaren worried that her brief martial training would not prepare her for the aristocratic families’ experts, so Si Ming promised her and Liang Zhenhuan special guidance.
• Kou Feng asked Si Ming to help complete the Mysterious Star Sword Technique, and Si Ming agreed to examine it.
• More than ten thousand martial artists gathered at Butterfly Valley to watch the contest, while many spectators predicted the Heavenly Martial Alliance would lose.
• Si Shuiyun accused Si Ming of using a reverse public opinion trick after hearing the crowd’s pessimistic talk.

Si Ming and Master Wuguo set the rules for the first contest between the Heavenly Martial Alliance and the Aristocratic Family Alliance, and Liang Zhenhuan faced Chen Feiyan in the bamboo grove. Their match began with Liang using palm force and Chen relying on superior lightness skill, and the outcome remained undecided.

• Si Ming reassured Si Shuiyun that winning the wager mattered, while Hongdou explained why Si Shuiyun had trained so hard.
• Master Wuguo announced a bamboo-grove contest in which a fighter lost if both feet touched the ground, and both alliances accepted the rules.
• The Heavenly Martial Alliance chose Liang Zhenhuan, while the Aristocratic Family Alliance sent Chen Feiyan, whose lightness skill was exceptional.
• Chen Feiyan identified Liang Zhenhuan's poor control of his recently increased cultivation and predicted his loss.
• Liang Zhenhuan attacked with palm force, but Chen Feiyan dodged and struck from behind; Liang evaded her by stepping onto another bamboo stalk.

Chen Feiyan and Liang Zhenhuan fought across a bamboo grove in a match decided by who landed first. Although Chen Feiyan believed she had won, Master Wuguo declared victory for the Heavenly Martial Alliance after Liang Zhenhuan landed balanced upside down on his hands.

• The Dragon and Tiger School master questioned Zhao Donglai about the Four Symbols Orthodox and Unorthodox Steps, and Zhao revealed that the alliance leader had restored the technique and helped him break through a cultivation bottleneck.
• Chen Feiyan and Liang Zhenhuan exchanged attacks above the bamboo grove, with Liang using the Five Elements Lost Track Fist and the surrounding Spiritual Qi to power his strikes.
• Chen Feiyan launched her Divine Eagle Thunder Strike, but Liang countered with a technique that redirected her force, injuring himself and sending them both into a final exchange.
• Chen Feiyan and Liang were sent falling through the broken bamboo, and Chen slowed her descent with her sleeves as they landed nearly simultaneously.
• Master Wuguo announced that the Heavenly Martial Alliance had won, and Gu Changsheng showed Chen Feiyan that Liang had landed upside down on his hands.