Chapter Summaries

After Murong Qing and Liu Qingqing lamented that they could not all attend the same school, Si Ming decided to try for martial arts special admission at Tange No. 1 Middle School. At the examination, he learned that the first-round testers were members of the school martial arts team and was caught off guard.

• Murong Qing argued against believing in fate and resisted giving up on attending school with Liu Qingqing.
• Si Ming offered to apply for martial arts special admission, relying on the gains from three months of cultivation, and Murong Qing and Liu Qingqing encouraged him.
• Murong Qing said their homeroom teacher could handle the application procedures, and Si Ming vowed to beat whoever examined him.
• Murong Zhe announced that applicants would first compete against martial arts club members, with winners advancing to a test he would conduct himself.
• Si Ming saw that the first-round testers included school martial arts team captain Ke Chajing and vice captain Hu Jixian, and inwardly protested that the examination was not what he had expected.

Murong Zhe explained how the martial arts admission test would balance differences between candidates and testers, then began assigning candidates by lot. Si Ming drew a test against Ke Chajing and received challenge order B.

• Murong Zhe disqualified two candidates for breaking examination discipline, then explained how weighted vests and a magnetic array would reduce differences between testers and candidates.
• Murong Zhe said candidates would face testers in batches of twenty, with the magnetic force adjusted after each batch to account for tester fatigue.
• Two parents brought their disqualified children back and apologized to Murong Zhe, who let the candidates rejoin the drawing.
• Si Ming went to draw lots, declaring that he wanted to challenge the strongest expert.
• The lot checker told Si Ming that Ke Chajing was his tester and that his challenge order was B.

Si Ming drew Ke Chajing as his examiner and learned about her fighting style and weaknesses from Tao Chengsi. He chose to refresh his memory of the Nine Earth-Shattering Hammers before the assessment.

• Si Ming met Tao Chengsi, who had also drawn Ke Chajing, and agreed to cooperate with him.
• Tao Chengsi explained that Ke Chajing practiced the Iron Refining Hand and Blazing Sun Divine Art, making close contact dangerous.
• The candidates outside position A were sent to a side hall so they could not watch the assessments.
• Si Ming considered how to avoid Ke Chajing's heated hands and decided a direct, forceful weapon style suited him.
• Si Ming selected the Nine Earth-Shattering Hammers and began reviewing its techniques.

Si Ming faced Ke Chajing in the examination arena and used Nine Earth-Shattering Hammers to counter her Iron Refining Hand. After a powerful opening exchange, Ke Chajing unleashed more internal power and rushed at him faster than before.

• Si Ming reviewed the martial arts book before the referee called him to the arena.
• Ke Chajing advised Si Ming to choose a weapon and warned him that her previous opponent had lasted fewer than three moves.
• Si Ming selected a squash hammer and entered the arena against Ke Chajing.
• Ke Chajing activated Iron Refining Hand and attacked, but Si Ming met her with Nine Earth-Shattering Hammers and forced her to retreat.
• Ke Chajing marveled at Si Ming's strength, then raised her internal power and charged again at increased speed.

Si Ming defeated Ke Chajing in the first round by using a deceptive hammer attack and stopping his final strike just short of her. Ke Chajing accepted the result but challenged him to a rematch if he joined the school team.

• Si Ming used his Nine Earth-Shattering Hammers to keep Ke Chajing at bay, while she circled him and waited for him to tire.
• When Si Ming appeared to weaken, Ke Chajing rushed through a gap, but he launched one hammer at her and struck her with the other.
• Ke Chajing countered with a flurry of kicks, but Si Ming pursued her and halted his hammer just before it hit her face.
• The referee declared Si Ming the winner, and Si Ming reflected that his knowledge of Ke Chajing's techniques had helped him prevail.
• Ke Chajing asked whether Si Ming specialized in body refinement, wished him success in getting special admission, and challenged him to a fair rematch on the school team.

After the candidates passed the first round, Murong Zhe announced a surprise team-based challenge against teachers, with every member of a winning team qualifying for special admission. Si Ming and Tao Chengsi began recruiting teammates, while Si Ming considered approaching Xiong Aixin and Yun Yinmo.

• Tao Chengsi told Si Ming that he had passed by revealing information about later candidates and exploiting Ke Chajing’s hesitation.
• Murong Zhe announced that the eighteen successful candidates could form teams of up to six to fight teachers, while anyone could also challenge alone.
• Si Ming suspected Tao Chengsi had anticipated the teamwork test, but Tao Chengsi explained that he had simply wanted to befriend a strong candidate.
• Si Ming and Tao Chengsi agreed to recruit teammates quickly, with Tao Chengsi planning to approach a friend from the Confucian School.
• Si Ming spotted Xiong Aixin and Yun Yinmo and proposed that he and Tao Chengsi try to recruit them.

Si Ming completed his six-person team for the second test by inviting Chen Shimi, a chuunibyou disciple of the School of Fiction who could control a sword with Qi. The examinees formed unevenly sized teams, and Tao Chengsi urged the group to draw lots before anyone could switch teams.

• Si Ming recruited Xiong Aixin and Yun Yinmo, then met Qian Yu, a Confucian School disciple who specialized in the judge's brush.
• With one team slot left, Si Ming approached the isolated Chen Shimi despite Tao Chengsi's concerns and invited him after learning he knew the Sword Manipulation Technique.
• Chen Shimi accepted Si Ming's invitation with an elaborate claim that he was a cursed child of destiny.
• The eighteen examinees formed teams of three, four, five, and six rather than three teams of six.
• Tao Chengsi urged Si Ming's full team to draw lots quickly so they could learn which teacher they would face and prevent members from switching teams.

After Chen Shimi drew Murong Zhe as the team’s examiner, the group accepted that they faced a formidable opponent and planned to fight together. Tao Chengsi outlined basic tactics, and Si Ming arranged for Xiong Aixin to take a bow so he could use his weapon choice for archery.

• Chen Shimi drew the lot naming Murong Zhe as the Creation Envoys Hundun Warriors Team’s examiner, and Yun Yinmo knocked him unconscious after he made a strange remark.
• Qian Yu explained Murong Zhe’s powerful Confucian School Six Arts Art and Thousand Accusing Fingers, leaving the team doubtful they could win.
• Si Ming encouraged the team to fight seriously despite the strength gap, and everyone agreed to plan for victory rather than give up.
• Tao Chengsi laid out basic team tactics and simple hand signals for attacking, defending, retreating, and committing to an attack.
• When Xiong Aixin said she had no useful weapon skills, Si Ming asked her to choose a bow and arrows so he could take that weapon and prepare to use it.

Si Ming used the Mindless Shot to cut Murong Zhe’s face during the team assessment, giving the other candidates hope that they could defeat him. The five renewed their coordinated assault while Yun Yinmo waited for an opening.

• Tao Chengsi, Qian Yu, Xiong Aixin, Chen Shimi, and Yun Yinmo attacked Murong Zhe, but he repelled them without moving from his spot.
• Si Ming used the Mindless Shot to fire an arrow that narrowly missed Murong Zhe but left a cut on his face.
• Murong Zhe recognized the Mindless Shot and remarked that Si Ming had missed his best chance to hit him.
• Si Ming explained that the arrow had achieved its purpose, and the other five candidates regained their fighting spirit.
• Tao Chengsi, Qian Yu, Xiong Aixin, Chen Shimi, and Yun Yinmo resumed their coordinated attacks, keeping Murong Zhe occupied from multiple angles.

Si Ming and the others worked together to attack Murong Zhe, but he easily repelled their assaults while remaining rooted in place. As Si Ming descended with a heavy hammer, Murong Zhe recognized their plan and decided to take the blow before praising them and revealing the assessment result.

• After several minutes of fighting, Tao Chengsi, Xiong Aixin, Qian Yu, and Chen Shimi began to tire, while Murong Zhe remained composed.
• Si Ming fired two arrows in succession as Tao Chengsi, Yun Yinmo, Xiong Aixin, and Chen Shimi coordinated attacks, but Murong Zhe shattered the arrows and drove Xiong Aixin and Chen Shimi out of the arena.
• Tao Chengsi, Qian Yu, and Yun Yinmo struck Murong Zhe with six palms, but he redirected their force and temporarily paralyzed them.
• Si Ming leapt at Murong Zhe and swung down the heavy square hammer he had chosen for himself.
• Murong Zhe understood that the other five had been creating an opening for Si Ming's hammer strike and decided to catch it before encouraging the students and telling them they had passed.

Si Ming's group defeated Murong Zhe in the second assessment and earned special admission, while Murong Qing and Liu Qingqing celebrated with him at the food street. The three encountered someone unexpected as they were about to leave.

• Si Ming and his five companions forced Murong Zhe back three steps, and he declared that they had passed the second assessment.
• The three-person team also passed, leaving only nine candidates admitted from more than a hundred applicants.
• Si Ming met Murong Qing and Liu Qingqing after leaving the martial arts hall, and Murong Qing excitedly remarked on her father's injury.
• Murong Qing took Si Ming and Liu Qingqing to the food street to celebrate their admission.
• As they prepared to leave the food street, the three encountered someone unexpected, whom Murong Qing called Dad.

Si Ming visited the Mohist Knight Guard research institute, where the doctor presented two radically modified spirit guns designed to threaten powerful martial artists. Si Ming tested them and judged their performance promising but not yet epoch-making, as the doctor defended firearms research against those who dismissed weapons as external objects.

• The doctor introduced White Eagle, a powerful short-range gun, and Spirit Sparrow, a fast-firing, silenced gun with a longer range.
• The doctor explained that firearms struggled to penetrate experts' True Qi and that martial artists' speed and instincts made conventional guns and heavy weapons difficult to use against them.
• Si Ming tested both guns at the shooting range and found their complementary strengths useful, but said they fell short of the doctor's claims.
• The doctor complained that prejudice against external objects hindered firearms research, and Si Ming explained that firearms did not grow more powerful with their users' cultivation.

Si Ming received the doctor’s transforming Eagle-Sparrow Sniper Rifle and prepared to travel with Murong Qing. After teasing them at Tange City’s station, Yao Bilian watched them depart by train for their martial journey.

• The doctor demonstrated how the White Eagle and Spirit Sparrow combined into a sniper rifle and explained its True Qi-powered ammunition.
• Si Ming accepted the rifle and a data collector, then asked the doctor to prepare materials for a Mohist School Profound Armor.
• At the train station, Yao Bilian teased Si Ming and Murong Qing about eloping and predicted they would fall in love.
• Si Ming called Yao Bilian Auntie Yao, then hurried Murong Qing aboard the train before they missed it.
• Yao Bilian waved goodbye and told them to return safely as the train left Tange City.

Murong Qing searched a train for thieves but found no suspicious passengers, so she publicly taunted the Liu School and flaunted a valuable watch to provoke them. A young thief wanted to retaliate, but his old master stopped him and questioned whether the Liu School could avoid ridicule either way.

• Murong Qing searched the train for thieves for two hours but drew suspicion from an attendant instead.
• Murong Qing shouted insults at the thieves and challenged them to steal her six-thousand-yuan Dragon Diagram Time Wheel Meter.
• A young man in the last row tried to get up and confront Murong Qing, but his old master restrained him.
• The young man argued that the Liu School would become a laughingstock if it let the insult pass, and the old man asked whether it was not already a laughingstock.

Murong Qing prepared to face the Liu School after challenging the thieves, while Si Ming warned that the most dangerous thieves were the ones who stayed hidden. A hunchbacked old man and a young woman came to their compartment and proposed that Murong Qing and Si Ming get off at the next station, but Murong Qing refused.

• The old man advised his apprentice to ignore Murong Qing’s provocation, though he suggested that other thieves might take up the challenge.
• Murong Qing wondered if she had gone too far, but Si Ming reassured her and explained why the Liu School might avoid acting openly.
• Murong Qing revealed that her Dragon Diagram Time Wheel Meter was worth far more than the six thousand she had claimed.
• A hunchbacked old man and a beautiful young woman visited Murong Qing and Si Ming, proposing that they leave the train at the next station to preserve everyone’s reputation.
• Murong Qing refused the proposal, and Si Ming silently made clear that he agreed with her.

Murong Qing and Si Ming confronted two thieves on the train, and Si Ming attacked before they could escape and exploit their stealth. They captured the old man and the woman, but the woman warned that other experts were on the train.

• Murong Qing attacked the old man with Thousand Accusing Fingers, but he countered with Yellow Dog Urinates and nearly injured her leg.
• Murong Qing's finger force disrupted the old man's kick, and he threatened her before preparing to leave with the woman.
• Si Ming struck first with Wild Ball Fist, overpowering the old man and knocking him unconscious.
• Murong Qing used Thousand Accusing Fingers to paralyze the woman.
• The woman warned Si Ming and Murong Qing that other experts were on the train.

Murong Qing and Si Ming subdued two thieves aboard the train and handed them over to an attendant after the woman threatened to sue them for assault. Afterward, the attendant returned with a pocket watch found on one of the thieves and asked whether it belonged to them.

• Murong Qing removed the woman's human skin mask and kept it after Si Ming warned that returning it would let her deceive people again.
• Si Ming proposed handing the thieves to the train police, but the woman threatened to claim medical expenses and accused them of assault.
• Si Ming frightened the woman by threatening to throw her off the train, and she agreed to turn herself in.
• A young attendant arrived, heard Murong Qing's account, and took the thieves away.
• Murong Qing and Si Ming discussed whether catching the pair would deter the other thieves aboard the train.
• The attendant returned with a pocket watch found on one of the thieves and asked whether it belonged to Murong Qing or Si Ming.

Si Ming suspected the train attendant of being an impostor and exposed her as a disguised fighter. After she escaped, a masked woman identified herself as a disciple of the Liu School and challenged Si Ming’s accusations against the school.

• Murong Qing realized she had misplaced the Time Wheel Meter, and Si Ming reminded her he had kept it safe.
• Si Ming questioned the attendant’s reaction and knowledge, then attacked when her answers failed his test.
• The attendant shed her disguise and fought Si Ming, but escaped after Murong Qing struck at her with Command the Fierce Wind.
• Si Ming and Murong Qing pursued the woman and found her masked at the other end of the carriage.
• The woman said she was a disciple of the Liu School and condemned the petty thieves, while Si Ming argued that the school shared responsibility for its scoundrels.

Si Ming and Murong Qing learned about the Liu School’s principles before confronting the masked woman over the Time Wheel Meter. The woman stole the meter and escaped onto the train roof, leaving Murong Qing blaming herself for failing to stop her.

• The masked woman explained that the Liu School valued motion and balance, and Si Ming acknowledged his prejudice before declaring her their enemy.
• Si Ming attacked the masked woman, who threw a pellet that filled the carriage with dust and forced Murong Qing to defend herself.
• The masked woman broke through Murong Qing’s Confucian School Six Arts Art-Counting the Stars and used Deft Hands Leave Nothing to steal the Time Wheel Meter.
• The masked woman deflected Si Ming’s Bullet Fist, escaped through the window onto the train roof, and taunted him as she fled.
• Si Ming decided not to pursue her, and Murong Qing apologized for being too slow and feeling that she had held him back.

Si Ming and Murong Qing failed to recover the Time Wheel Meter, but Si Ming stole a treasure map from the masked woman and they traveled to Qingzhou. After learning their destination was a forbidden zone with a deadly history and nearby demonic beasts, they prepared to investigate.

• Si Ming revealed that he had stolen a map disguised as a dudou from the masked woman, and Murong Qing examined it for clues to the treasure.
• The masked woman never returned to negotiate, and Si Ming worried that she had gone ahead to claim the treasure before abandoning the search.
• Si Ming and Murong Qing arrived in Qingzhou, checked their route, and traveled to the town nearest their destination.
• Si Ming contacted the local Mohist Knight Guard branch, where a middle-aged guard warned them that the area was known as a forbidden zone.
• The guard described how past explorers had died under mysterious circumstances or failed to return, and said that recent demonic beast sightings had discouraged further expeditions.