Chapter Summaries

Duàn Yì recovered from his battle with Zhang Qingshan while Qin Xin and Ding Ran urged him to hide in the mountains now that his Human Skin Mask was destroyed. He planned to seek clues to the Dragon's Tooth of the Soaring Dragon in Lin'an County and deepen his cultivation, while the reason Ruyi Tower's master had spared him remained a mystery.

• Qin Xin learned how Duàn Yì had made an enemy of one of the Southern Demonic Cult's seven great Lineages and urged him to return to the mountain.
• Ding Ran agreed that Duàn Yì should avoid revealing himself and explained that his sister was contending for the elders' support within the cult.
• Duàn Yì drank Ding Ran's medicinal broth and quickly absorbed its strength to nourish his injured body.
• Duàn Yì asked whether Ding Ran's sister had replied about Yixin Temple, and Ding Ran said he had sent a message but had received no answer yet.
• Duàn Yì decided he still wanted to search Lin'an County for clues to the Dragon's Tooth of the Soaring Dragon and refine his martial arts after his battle with Zhang Qingshan.
• Ding Ran asked why the master of Ruyi Tower had spared Duàn Yì, but Duàn Yì said he did not know.

Duàn Yì recovered completely from his injuries and reached a new level of spiritual cultivation. As Xue Yang recognized his growth, Duàn Yì reflected on other powerful young geniuses and remained focused on surpassing his own limits.

• Over four days, Duàn Yì healed his burns, wounds, organs, and meridians, while his spirit advanced to a new realm.
• Duàn Yì stepped into the courtyard, where his fused spirit made him seem absent to anyone sensing him mentally.
• Xue Yang appeared and remarked that Duàn Yì had recovered and grown stronger, despite his recent injuries.
• Duàn Yì replied that other people might be improving faster and thought of Yan Chongtian and a young expert who had obtained the Blazing Plains Hundred Strikes.
• Duàn Yì dismissed Xue Yang's rivalry and resolved to keep advancing with humility and caution.

Xue Yang challenged Duàn Yì, who effortlessly caught and dismantled his attack while praising the insight behind it. After Xue Yang left, Ding Ran questioned why Duàn Yì had spared him, and Duàn Yì explained that Xue Yang could still be useful and asked whether Ding Ling had sent a reply.

• Xue Yang asked Duàn Yì to test his martial arts and launched a strand of sharpened white hair at him.
• Duàn Yì caught the attack with two fingers, praised Xue Yang's improved intent, and recognized that he had drawn inspiration from Duàn Yì's sword technique.
• Disheartened, Xue Yang left the courtyard without asking Duàn Yì for further advice.
• Ding Ran arrived carrying his blood saber and asked why Duàn Yì had spared Xue Yang despite the threat he posed.
• Duàn Yì said Ding Ling could keep Xue Yang under control and that Xue Yang might help them, then asked Ding Ran whether Ding Ling had sent a reply.

Duàn Yì learned that the Guo and Zhuang Families planned to marry Guō Qíng into an alliance, a scheme meant to lure him into a trap. He resolved to stop the marriage despite the danger, confident that his strength had grown since Ji County.

• Ding Ran gave Duàn Yì a message from Ding Ling announcing the Marriage Alliance between the Guo Family and the Zhuang Family, with Guō Qíng as the first choice.
• Duàn Yì reacted with killing intent when he learned Guō Qíng was the proposed bride, then recognized that Zhuang Shili was using her to force him to appear.
• Ding Ran warned Duàn Yì that Hundred Flowers Valley was likely a trap and suggested asking Qin Xin for help with the Heavenly Demonic Qin.
• Duàn Yì refused to put Qin Xin in danger and said he would handle the matter himself.
• Duàn Yì declared that Zhuang Shili could not know how much stronger he had become since Ji County, easing Ding Ran's concern.

Duàn Yì considered the dangers surrounding Guō Nuǎn and Guō Qíng and resolved to strengthen himself before going to Hundred Flowers Valley. Meanwhile, Wu Zhiyong’s unsettling intuition led him to enter the Treasure Vault alone.

• Duàn Yì weighed the Guo Family’s marriage alliance with the Zhuang family and feared it could drive a rift between Guō Nuǎn and Guō Qíng and their kin.
• Duàn Yì decided to increase his strength before traveling to Hundred Flowers Valley in Mengzhou.
• Wu Zhiyong, a wealthy and powerful outsider in Lin'an County, felt an unusually strong sense that danger was approaching.
• Wu Zhiyong dismissed his servants and went alone to his heavily guarded Treasure Vault.
• Wu Zhiyong unlocked the vault’s iron portcullis and stepped inside.

Duàn Yì confronted Wu Zhiyong in his residence’s storeroom and tested the merchant’s martial arts. Wu Zhiyong evaded the hidden weapons, but Duàn Yì recognized his White Lotus Sect technique and hinted that its use could bring dangerous attention.

• Wu Zhiyong entered the storeroom and found Duàn Yì waiting among his treasures.
• Wu Zhiyong questioned Duàn Yì but did not summon his retainers, judging that they could not threaten the intruder.
• Duàn Yì triggered poisoned needles hidden in a chair, and Wu Zhiyong dodged them with the Treading Waves Walk.
• Duàn Yì praised Wu Zhiyong’s movement technique and identified it as one recorded in the White Lotus Sect’s secret canon.
• Wu Zhiyong grew furious and wary as he wondered who Duàn Yì was and why he had come.

Duàn Yì confronted Wu Zhiyong about his ties to the Wu Family of Tomb Robbers and the Dragon's Tooth of the Soaring Dragon. After taking the Nine Dragon Jade Cup from Wu's storeroom, Duàn Yì demanded the truth and promised to leave once he got what he wanted.

• Duàn Yì questioned Wu Zhiyong about the Wu Family, the prince's robbed tomb, and the Dragon's Tooth of the Soaring Dragon.
• Wu Zhiyong hid his panic, denied understanding Duàn Yì, and threatened to report him to the authorities.
• Duàn Yì used his inner force to pull the Nine Dragon Jade Cup from a wooden box and examined it.
• Duàn Yì explained that the Nine Dragon Jade Cup and the Dragon's Tooth had both come from the prince's tomb robbed by the Wu Family.
• Duàn Yì told Wu Zhiyong he did not want to harm him and asked him to reveal everything.

Duàn Yì resisted the temptation to take the Nine Dragon Jade Cup and challenged Wu Zhiyong to attack him three times if he wanted to test his strength. Wu Zhiyong’s first two attacks failed to hurt Duàn Yì, leaving him awed by the vast gap between their abilities.

• Duàn Yì controlled his desire to kill Wu Zhiyong for the Nine Dragon Jade Cup and reflected on the danger of indulging evil thoughts.
• Wu Zhiyong admitted his connection to the Wu family but refused to reveal more without testing Duàn Yì’s martial arts.
• Duàn Yì placed the Nine Dragon Jade Cup aside and offered to let Wu Zhiyong attack him three times without dodging or striking back.
• Wu Zhiyong’s Shattered Jade Fist Techniques stopped at an invisible wall of Duàn Yì’s qi and failed to injure him.
• Wu Zhiyong struck Duàn Yì with Flowing Cloud Flying Sleeves, but Duàn Yì redirected the force and remained unharmed.

Wu Zhiyong launched Shaolin Temple’s One Strike, Two Separations Palm Technique at Duàn Yì, but Duàn Yì used Mental Martial Arts to disrupt his mind and make the palm miss. Wu Zhiyong was left powerless and learned that Duàn Yì had defeated the strike by creating a flaw in his heart.

• Wu Zhiyong gathered his strength and launched One Strike, Two Separations at Duàn Yì.
• Duàn Yì opened his eyes and used Mental Martial Arts to suppress Wu Zhiyong’s mind.
• Wu Zhiyong’s body stiffened, redirecting his palm into an antique celadon vase and reducing it to powder.
• Wu Zhiyong asked whether Duàn Yì’s ability was martial arts or sorcery.
• Duàn Yì explained that he had created a flaw in Wu Zhiyong’s heart, disrupting his bodily control and causing the strike to miss.

Duàn Yì questioned Wu Zhiyong about how he freely wielded martial arts from different schools, and Wu Zhiyong explained that the Ruyi Green Coin had taught him Ruyi True Qi. Wu Zhiyong offered to share its cultivation method, leaving Duàn Yì intrigued by the art and newly aware of Wu Zhiyong’s merchant-like motives.

• Duàn Yì asked how Wu Zhiyong could combine Shaolin, Wudang, and other sects’ martial arts without conflict.
• Wu Zhiyong explained that his techniques came from ten secret diagrams on the Ruyi Green Coin, found with the Dragon's Tooth of the Soaring Dragon and Nine Dragon Jade Cup in a tomb.
• Duàn Yì asked how Wu Zhiyong reconciled the opposing styles, and Wu Zhiyong credited Ruyi True Qi, an art that fused Buddhist, Daoist, and mixed-school strengths.
• Wu Zhiyong offered to teach Duàn Yì the cultivation method, treating him as an honored guest and potential friend.
• Duàn Yì realized Wu Zhiyong was pursuing a practical exchange like a merchant and began considering the secrets of Ruyi True Qi.

Wu Zhiyong told Duàn Yì how the Wu Lineage robbed a prince’s tomb and how the Nine Dragon treasures were divided among the survivors. He believed Dragon's Tooth of the Soaring Dragon had ultimately ended up with Wu Kaiming's Lineage.

• Duàn Yì asked Wu Zhiyong again about Dragon's Tooth of the Soaring Dragon, prompting Wu Zhiyong to recount the Wu Lineage’s tomb robbery fourteen years earlier.
• Wu Zhiyong explained that Wu Kaiming had revealed the location of a prince’s tomb and secretly wanted its nine dragon-shaped treasures.
• Wu Zhiyong described the Nine Dragons Returning Soul tomb and identified the Nine Dragon Jade Cup as the foremost of its nine treasures.
• After the tomb’s dangers killed most of the group, the surviving Wu Lineage members turned on one another over the treasure.
• Wu Zhiyong said the old ancestor gave him the Nine Dragon Jade Cup and Ruyi Green Coin before dying, while an uncle took the dragon treasures.
• Wu Zhiyong concluded that his uncle had served Wu Kaiming and that Dragon's Tooth of the Soaring Dragon likely went to Wu Kaiming's Lineage.

Duàn Yì learned that Dragon's Tooth of the Soaring Dragon was likely held by Wu Kaiming's powerful family in Linfen, not Wu Zhiyong. He left with a difficult target and little time to obtain it before the Guō and Zhuang families' marriage alliance forced him to act.

• Wu Zhiyong described how the Wu Lineage had split and explained that he had secretly investigated Wu Kaiming while hiding with the Nine Dragon Jade Cup.
• Wu Zhiyong told Duàn Yì that Wu Kaiming had powerful court connections and that his family had become a dominant force in Jinzhou.
• Wu Zhiyong revealed that he hoped Duàn Yì would draw Wu Kaiming's attention away from him or strike a blow against the family.
• Duàn Yì concluded that Wu Zhiyong did not possess Dragon's Tooth of the Soaring Dragon and that it was likely with Wu Kaiming's family.
• Duàn Yì recognized that obtaining the treasure would be difficult and urgent because he still had to resolve Guō Qíng's matter before the Guō and Zhuang families' marriage alliance.

Duàn Yì set aside the prospect of obtaining the Dragon's Tooth of the Soaring Dragon and examined the martial arts recorded in the Ruyi Green Coin. Studying Ruyi True Qi gave him new insight into his own cultivation, and he left the chapter quietly pondering its possibilities.

• Wu Zhiyong suggested that Duàn Yì could trade the Nine Dragon Jade Cup to the Wu family for the Dragon's Tooth of the Soaring Dragon.
• Duàn Yì declined to pursue the trade and asked Wu Zhiyong to show him the Ruyi Green Coin's martial arts.
• Wu Zhiyong retrieved the Ruyi Green Coin from a hidden compartment and drew out eighteen secret diagrams for Duàn Yì.
• Duàn Yì examined the diagrams, which included the Mad Sand Blade Technique, Flowing Cloud Flying Sleeves, and the mental cultivation method of Ruyi True Qi.
• Duàn Yì realized that Ruyi True Qi could circulate through different tiny meridians to support martial arts from many schools.
• Duàn Yì returned the diagrams and quietly pondered as the true qi in his body began to transform with new agility.

Duàn Yì tested Wu Zhiyong’s Ruyi True Qi and discovered that Wu had cultivated the Ruyi Green Coin’s martial arts incorrectly, leaving a dangerous flaw that could cause Qi Deviation when he reached the True Essence realm. After Duàn Yì helped stabilize his cultivation, Wu was left with a chance to avoid the hidden danger.

• Duàn Yì emerged from comprehending the Ruyi Green Coin with stronger, denser true qi, while Wu Zhiyong hesitated to ask what he had learned.
• Duàn Yì grabbed Wu Zhiyong’s shoulder and disrupted his Ruyi True Qi to inspect how it circulated through his meridians.
• Duàn Yì guided Wu Zhiyong’s scattered qi with a thread of pure vital essence, stabilizing it and advancing his cultivation.
• Duàn Yì found that Wu Zhiyong felt needle-like pain at several acupoints and explained that he had taken the wrong path while practicing the Ruyi Green Coin’s martial arts.
• Duàn Yì warned Wu Zhiyong that the flaw could make his cultivation scatter and cause Qi Deviation when he reached the True Essence realm.

Duàn Yì explained that Wu Zhiyong’s flawed foundation and incorrect qi circulation had put him at risk of Qi Deviation. He gave Wu Zhiyong a corrected cultivation route, leaving him hopeful of recovering and deepening his martial arts.

• Duàn Yì explained how generations of accumulated martial knowledge had helped him avoid the errors that threatened Wu Zhiyong.
• Wu Zhiyong learned that his years of cultivation had taken the wrong path and feared he would lose his cultivation or die.
• Wu Zhiyong knelt, kowtowed, and begged Duàn Yì to save his life, offering him all his wealth and possessions.
• Duàn Yì said Wu Zhiyong could correct the problem by following the qi-circulation route he had shown him for forty-nine cycles each morning and evening for less than three months.
• Duàn Yì warned Wu Zhiyong that his medicinal tonics carried hidden dangers and urged him to cultivate steadily instead.
• Wu Zhiyong recognized that only a few subtle details differed from his usual method and felt grateful and hopeful.

Duàn Yì returned with the Nine Dragon Jade Cup and told Qin Xin how he had obtained it from Wu Zhiyong. Curious about its legendary properties, they enlisted Ding Ran to provide wine so they could test it that night.

• Duàn Yì came home late carrying the Nine Dragon Jade Cup that Wu Zhiyong had given him in gratitude.
• Qin Xin waited for Duàn Yì, and he explained his visit to Wu Zhiyong and the jade cup’s connection to the Nine Dragons Returning Soul tomb array.
• Duàn Yì and Qin Xin washed the jade cup and went looking for fine wine to reveal its properties.
• Duàn Yì woke Ding Ran and asked to borrow wine, and Ding Ran produced a jar of twenty-year Daughter Red.

Duàn Yì, Ding Ran, and Qin Xin poured Daughter Red into the Nine Dragon Jade Cup and witnessed nine dragon-shaped apparitions moving through the wine. The sight left Ding Ran and Qin Xin wondering whether the cup’s legends were true, while Duàn Yì considered how different elements could combine to produce extraordinary effects.

• Duàn Yì, Ding Ran, and Qin Xin returned to the main hall with the Nine Dragon Jade Cup and a jar of Daughter Red.
• Ding Ran criticized the wine as merely passable and told Duàn Yì to pour it into the cup.
• Duàn Yì filled the Nine Dragon Jade Cup, and nine phantom Divine Dragons appeared to swim through the jade-green wine.
• Ding Ran and Qin Xin marveled at the display and considered whether the cup’s legends might be true.
• Duàn Yì suspected the effect came from the jade, its carvings, and the wine, and reflected on how combined elements could produce powerful results in martial arts.

Duàn Yì gained a breakthrough in his understanding of martial arts while Ding Ran and Qin Xin watched. Qin Xin resolved to secretly follow him to Hundred Flowers Valley, and Ding Ran hoped she would return safely.

• Duàn Yì deepened his understanding of the relationship between humanity, heaven, and earth, achieving a qualitative breakthrough in martial insight without increasing his cultivation.
• Ding Ran wanted to borrow the Nine Dragon Jade Cup, but Qin Xin stopped him from disturbing Duàn Yì as he contemplated.
• Ding Ran and Qin Xin left Duàn Yì alone and talked in the rear courtyard about his coming journey to Hundred Flowers Valley.
• Qin Xin told Ding Ran she would secretly follow Duàn Yì and help him, whatever danger he faced.
• Ding Ran wished Qin Xin a safe return, and Qin Xin quietly said she was the fortunate one.

Duan Yi cultivated with insights from Wudang martial arts and practiced Taiji Fist before Qin Xin offered him the benefit promised by her master. He refused it, saying their friendship mattered more than any reward.

• Ding Ran borrowed the Nine Dragon Jade Cup and sent two Demon Cult experts to kill Song Gaoxuan, Gao Zhewu, and Wu Dewei for Qin Xin.
• Duan Yi studied Flowing Cloud Flying Sleeves and Wudang Soft Palm, then used the latter’s mental method to practice Taiji Fist.
• Qin Xin watched Duan Yi practice and gave him a yellow-cloth-wrapped object, explaining that her master had prepared it as the promised benefit.
• Duan Yi returned the object to Qin Xin and said he would not turn what he had done for a friend into a transaction.

Qin Xin gave Duàn Yì a booklet left for him by her master, Jue Ming, before leaving. Reading the handwritten Mysterious Skill Manual by Ying Woqiu transformed Duàn Yì’s qi and left him grasping the manual’s profound meaning.

• Qin Xin insisted that Duàn Yì accept the yellow bundle because her master had instructed her to deliver it, then departed.
• Duàn Yì opened the bundle and found a booklet whose writing explained the principles of qi cultivation and martial arts.
• As Duàn Yì studied the booklet, his true qi transformed into primordial qi that filled and purified his body.
• Duàn Yì’s qi shifted through several cultivation methods, including Ice Profound Energy, Severing Pulse Sword Qi, and Wudang Cotton Palm, reaching the Seventh Layer Realm.
• Duàn Yì read the final page and realized the booklet was Ying Woqiu’s handwritten Mysterious Skill Manual, which had conveyed its meaning directly to him.