Chapter Summaries

Pei Heng intervened at the yamen, secured Embroiderer's release, and forced Liao Jun to pay compensation after the officials failed to justify her arrest and torture. As news spread that Qin Ming had become a martial artist, Liao Jun learned Pei Heng had connections at the county yamen, then encountered a burned survivor who offered him a deal to kill Pei Heng.

• Pei Heng arrived and defended Qin Ming, while Li Shengnan helped the injured Lu Liu and praised Qin Ming for defeating the two yamen runners.
• Pei Heng challenged Liao Jun over Embroiderer's arrest and torture, and Liao Jun ordered her release after Wang Bo could not name a crime.
• Pei Heng demanded twenty taels for medical expenses, and Qin Ming took the silver and carried Embroiderer away for treatment.
• News of Qin Ming's martial arts breakthrough spread through Qingshan Town, prompting people who had ransacked his home to return his belongings and clean it.
• Liao Jun told Wang Bo that Pei Heng had connections at the county yamen and vowed revenge against him.
• A disfigured survivor approached Liao Jun and offered him a deal to kill Pei Heng.

Qin Ming formally entered the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy’s inner courtyard and secured a safe place for Embroiderer while she recovered. As rumors of his strength spread, Wang Shi prepared to flee with her savings, only to find someone standing behind her.

• Zhu Aoyu told Wang Hu and Huo Lan that Qin Ming had become a Martial Artist, and Huo Zheng dismissed the reports of Qin Ming’s strength as exaggerated rumors.
• Qin Ming received the Eight Trigrams Palm and Qi-Blood Powder upon joining the inner courtyard, while he sensed hostility from Yan Yangtian and heeded Lu Liu’s advice to focus on cultivation.
• Qin Ming reassured the recovering Embroiderer that they would stay at the academy until Yan Yue-Ren was dealt with, then quietly slipped away.
• Wang Shi packed her twenty taels of silver and prepared to flee to the county seat, but discovered someone standing behind her.

Qin Ming killed Wang Shi and discovered that killing with any martial art could increase its skill points, then dealt with the people who had wronged him and Xiao Xi. After several days of training, he reached initiation in the Fire Sand Palm, but Yan Yue-Ren’s three Skin-Refining Realm men arrived demanding Embroiderer.

• Qin Ming killed Wang Shi with the Fire Sand Palm and gained five skill points, confirming that killing flesh-and-blood creatures improved his martial arts.
• The shack-district residents apologized to Qin Ming with gifts, and he spared them before learning that Zhang Si had hurt Xiao Xi and coveted Embroiderer.
• Qin Ming ordered Zhang Si to watch for people asking about him and Embroiderer in Qingshan Town, then gave some of the gifts to Wang Shun’s family.
• Qin Ming trained for three days, reached initiation in the Fire Sand Palm, and gained Fire Poison as a Pig-Slaying Saber Technique bonus.
• Zhang Si returned with three Skin-Refining Realm martial artists, who demanded that Qin Ming hand over Embroiderer under orders from Incense Master Yan.

Qin Ming killed Duan Kun and his men when they came for Embroiderer, then learned that the roster he took from Duan Kun included Yan Yue-Ren's name. Realizing the Wild Wolf Gang would pursue the missing roster and that Yan Yue-Ren could overpower Pei Heng, Qin Ming decided he had to grow stronger and plan an escape with Embroiderer.

• Duan Kun's two men attacked Qin Ming, who killed them with Fire Sand Palm.
• Duan Kun wounded Qin Ming with his own Fire Sand Palm, but Qin Ming killed him with a saber strike and then killed Zhang Si.
• Qin Ming counted his gains, found a roster among Duan Kun's belongings, and learned that points came only from killing evildoers.
• Qin Ming asked Pei Heng about Yan Yue-Ren, and Pei Heng said the Wild Wolf Gang incense master was unlikely to come to Qingshan Town over Embroiderer.
• Qin Ming found Yan Yue-Ren's name in the roster and feared the Wild Wolf Gang would come after him, so he resolved to get stronger and find a way out with Embroiderer.

Qin Ming took Embroiderer shopping for New Year supplies and confronted Huo Lan after she insulted her, forcing Huo Lan to apologize at knifepoint. Huo Lan left vowing to reach the Late Skin-Refining Realm that night and take revenge on Qin Ming.

• Liao Jun learned Zhang Long and Zhao Hu had only a thirty percent chance of recovering and planned revenge on Pei Heng and Qin Ming at the upcoming tournament.
• Pei Heng chose Ye Wei, who had reached beginner-level Eight Trigrams Palm, to represent the academy in the tournament, while Qin Ming declined to compete.
• Qin Ming and Embroiderer went shopping, and Li Fugui apologized for previously overcharging Qin Ming by letting Embroiderer choose several sets of clothes.
• Qin Ming bought a pale-blue padded coat for Embroiderer despite Huo Lan's claim that someone had ordered it, then slapped Huo Lan when she insulted Embroiderer.
• Qin Ming threatened Huo Lan with a butcher's knife and made her apologize to Embroiderer before leaving with her.
• Huo Lan ordered Xiaocui and Li Fugui to keep quiet about the incident and vowed to break through to the Late Skin-Refining Realm that night to get revenge.

Qin Ming broke through to the mid-stage Skin-Refining Realm and prepared to escort a shipment with the Weiyuan Escort Agency. Yan Yangtian accepted a Human Pill and set out to kill Li Kui during the escort, murdering a young beggar who witnessed the exchange.

• Qin Ming used his last Qi-Blood Powder to advance his Eight Trigrams Stake Skill and reach the mid-stage Skin-Refining Realm.
• Qin Ming collected centipede-scale Inner Armor and bamboo arrows from a smithy to prepare for the escort.
• Qin Ming told Li Shengnan about his breakthrough, and she agreed to raise his pay by five taels after the escort.
• Yan Yangtian learned that Li Kui would join the escort party and received a Human Pill from a hidden ally to strengthen himself.
• Yan Yangtian killed a young beggar who had witnessed the exchange, then left the alley.

Qin Ming noticed a suspicious bank of fog approaching the caravan and warned Li Shengnan and Li Kui, but the Li Lineage’s elders and Chen Yue dismissed the danger. The fog soon engulfed the forest, and Zhu Qing’s scream left the caravan under attack.

• Qin Ming prepared poisoned arrows in the carriage, and Li Shengnan told him that the escort agency was transporting a Li Lineage client’s cargo without knowing what it was.
• At the forest campsite, Chen Yue insulted Li Shengnan’s family and the Weiyuan Escort Agency, and Li Kui stopped the argument while Chen Yue challenged her to fight at the Two-Academy Showdown.
• Qin Ming spotted a dense bank of fog moving toward the camp and alerted Li Shengnan, who informed Li Kui.
• Li Kui warned the Li Lineage’s people and ordered extra guards, but Zhu Qing and Chen Yue dismissed the fog as ordinary and went back to rest.
• The fog rapidly covered the forest, and Zhu Qing suddenly screamed.

Clearwind Stronghold ambushed the Li family and the Weiyuan Escort Agency, leaving their escorts dead or scattered as Bloodhand and Viper Elder cornered Li Kui. Qin Ming cut through the attackers and found Li Shengnan badly wounded, while the bandits uncovered spiritual herbs and martial arts in the Li family's cargo.

• Li Kui recognized the ambushers as Clearwind Stronghold and faced Bloodhand and Viper Elder while the attackers overwhelmed the Li family guards and the Weiyuan Escort Agency.
• Bloodhand and Viper Elder pressed Li Kui, and Bloodhand demanded Savage Bull Strength as the price for sparing Li Shengnan and the others.
• Qin Ming killed scores of attackers and raised his Pig-Slaying Saber Technique to 470/500 before rushing toward the sound of Li Shengnan's capture.
• Qin Ming found Li Shengnan bloodied and unable to open her eyes as Chen Yue fled and the remaining Tiger Academy disciples were killed.
• Bloodhand ordered his men to kill Qin Ming first, and Clearwind Stronghold's attackers discovered spiritual herbs and martial arts in the Li family's cargo.

Qin Ming used his newly mastered Pig-Slaying Saber Technique to slaughter the bandits and escaped with Li Shengnan, the Blood Ginseng, and the Swimming Dragon Step manual. Bloodhand caught up on the road to Qingshan Town, and Qin Ming turned to meet his attack with three arrows.

• Qin Ming pretended to succumb to poison, then broke through to major mastery of the Pig-Slaying Saber Technique and killed the surrounding bandits.
• Qin Ming found a Blood Ginseng and the Swimming Dragon Step manual in the looted chest, then carried Li Shengnan away in a carriage.
• Bloodhand pursued Qin Ming after Viper said his snake venom would kill the poisoned Li Kui.
• Qin Ming cut the carriage loose and fired arrows at Bloodhand as they raced toward Qingshan Town, but Bloodhand closed the distance and leaped at them.
• Qin Ming turned and released three arrows from his greatbow as Bloodhand struck toward him and Li Shengnan.

Qin Ming killed Bloodhand with poisoned arrows and a pig-slaughtering knife, then learned Savage Bull Strength was his if he agreed to protect Shengnan from seeking revenge. Li Kui died after warning Qin Ming to leave Qingshan Town before the seventh day of the first month, and Qin Ming rode off to find Shengnan and return to the academy for Embroiderer and the others.

• Bloodhand poisoned by Qin Ming's centipede venom and Fire Sand Palm, Qin Ming crippled his hand and later killed him with repeated attacks.
• Qin Ming took Bloodhand's belongings and destroyed the corpse so Clearwind Stronghold would not identify it.
• Li Kui arrived gravely wounded, saw Bloodhand's remains, and asked Qin Ming to stop Shengnan from attacking Clearwind Stronghold.
• Qin Ming agreed, and Li Kui gave him silver and the Savage Bull Strength cultivation method before dying.
• Li Kui warned Qin Ming to stay away from Qingshan Town and leave before the seventh day of the first month; Qin Ming rode away to find Shengnan and then return for Embroiderer and the others.

After the ambush, Chen Yue blamed Qin Ming and the Weiyuan Escort Agency for the escort party’s destruction, while Lu Liu and Embroiderer held out hope that Qin Ming and Li Shengnan were alive. Hidden beneath a waterfall, Qin Ming reached the late Skin-Refining Realm and minor mastery in Savage Bull Strength, then decided to return to Qingshan Town on the seventh day of the first month.

• Viper Elder found Li Kui and Bloodhand’s remains, let his giant snake devour them, and left without finding the treasures.
• Chen Yue told Lu Liu, Huo Zheng, Pei Heng, and the Li Lineage that Qin Ming’s mistakes had caused the ambush, while the Li Lineage vowed to investigate who had leaked the escort route.
• Lu Liu and Embroiderer refused to give up hope for Qin Ming and Li Shengnan because their bodies had not been found.
• Qin Ming trained under the waterfall with Li Shengnan watching and used the Blood Ginseng to advance his martial arts.
• Qin Ming broke through to the late Skin-Refining Realm and minor mastery in Savage Bull Strength, gaining a dramatically stronger and larger body.
• Qin Ming and Li Shengnan prepared to return to Qingshan Town on the seventh day of the first month.

Yan Yue-Ren continued searching for Duan Kun and the stolen roster while abusing his captives in Pingyang County. At Qingshan Town’s Twin Martial Arts Academies Tournament, Yan Yangtian challenged the Tiger Martial Arts Academy and threatened to kill Li Yang, leaving the match about to begin.

• Yan Yue-Ren demanded that Wu Yong find Duan Kun and recover the roster, and ordered him to bring Embroiderer back as well.
• Yan Yue-Ren tortured two women and their husbands, then handed the women over to his underlings.
• At the tournament, the Tiger Martial Arts Academy won the first match and took two of the next three, leaving Pei Heng grim.
• Yan Yangtian entered the platform and challenged the Tiger Martial Arts Academy, alarming Lu Liu with his bloodthirsty demeanor.
• Huo Zheng sent senior disciple Li Yang to face Yan Yangtian, who threatened to beat him to death.

Yan Yangtian betrayed the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy during its contest with the Tiger Martial Arts Academy, revealing his ties to Clearwind Stronghold. Yuan Lie surrounded the injured fighters with bandits and ordered everyone killed to draw out Pei Heng's junior brother.

• Yan Yangtian revealed his Perfected Skin-Refining Realm strength and nearly killed Li Yang in their match.
• Huo Lin defeated Yan Yangtian, but Yan Yangtian used a forbidden art to grievously injure him.
• Huo Zheng and Pei Heng fought while intervening and both suffered injuries.
• Huo Lin identified Yan Yangtian's technique as Clearwind Stronghold's Bloodthirsty Forbidden Art, and Yan Yangtian stabbed Pei Heng with an Armor-Piercing Saber.
• Yuan Lie arrived with Clearwind Stronghold's bandits and surrounded the gathering.
• Yuan Lie said he had come for Pei Heng because his junior brother had captured Yuan Lie's elder brother, then ordered everyone killed.

Clearwind Stronghold’s bandits attacked Qingshan Town while the Wild Wolf Gang tried to abduct Embroiderer from the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy. Elder Wei rescued her, revealed his overwhelming strength, and gave Qin Ming a token recommending him to Wangjing Prefecture before disappearing; as Qin Ming reunited with Li Shengnan and Lu Liu, bandits closed in on the academy.

• Yuan Lie led Clearwind Stronghold’s bandits in a massacre, badly wounding Huo Zheng and forcing Lu Liu and the academy disciples to retreat.
• Li Shengnan rescued Lu Liu from two bandits, then told him that Qin Ming had already gone to the academy.
• Wild Wolf Gang members abducted Embroiderer from the academy, but Elder Wei killed all three attackers before Qin Ming arrived.
• Qin Ming freed Embroiderer, and Elder Wei recognized his progress in Savage Bull Strength and tested his powerful strike.
• Elder Wei revealed himself as a perfected Blood Refining Realm expert, gave Qin Ming a token for Wangjing Prefecture, and vanished.
• Li Shengnan and Lu Liu reunited with Qin Ming as bandits shouted that no one from the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy should escape.

Qin Ming fought through Clearwind Stronghold’s bandits and reached the arena, where Yuan Lie had defeated Pei Heng and Huo Zheng with the eighth-rank Xingyi Fist. As the executioners prepared to kill the captured disciples, Qin Ming appeared and shouted for them to stop.

• Qin Ming rescued Ye Wei, Lu Liu, and the others from a group of Clearwind Stronghold bandits, then left to save Master.
• Li Shengnan and Lu Liu followed Qin Ming toward the arena while Ye Wei and the others prepared to gather valuables.
• Qin Ming fought his way through the bandits as Huo Zheng and Pei Heng struggled against Yuan Lie and four Early Flesh-Refining Realm fighters.
• Yuan Lie revealed that he had mastered the eighth-rank Xingyi Fist and defeated Huo Zheng and Pei Heng, then ordered the captured disciples executed.
• Qin Ming appeared at the end of the street and shouted for the executioners to stop.

Qin Ming arrived at the square and cut through the Clearwind Stronghold bandits’ forces, shocking the town by killing a perfected Skin-Refining fighter and an Early Flesh-Refining protector. As he fought Yuan Lie’s remaining protectors, Lu Liu warned him to watch his back.

• Clearwind Stronghold’s bandits attacked Qingshan Town, killed nearly seventy percent of its people, and herded the survivors into a ring of haystacks.
• Qin Ming rushed to the square after Wang Shun warned him to flee, then killed two Mid-Stage Skin-Refining bandits with a single swift attack.
• Black Wolf charged Qin Ming with his Twin Blades Strangulation technique, but Qin Ming killed him with one strike to the throat.
• Yuan Lie ordered his Second Brother to kill Qin Ming, but Qin Ming beheaded the Early Flesh-Refining fighter as Pei Heng tried to protect him.
• Yuan Lie sent three more Early Flesh-Refining protectors to surround Qin Ming; Qin Ming severely injured one and fought the other two until Lu Liu shouted a warning from behind.

Qin Ming survived Yuan Lie’s ambush, then reached Perfection in the Pig-Slaying Saber Technique and unlocked Cook Ding Dissects the Ox. After killing Clearwind Stronghold’s four guardians, he faced Yuan Lie in a final clash, using his new skill to expose Yuan Lie’s weaknesses.

• Yuan Lie struck Qin Ming from behind with Xingyi Fist, badly injuring him, but Qin Ming broke free of the rubble and realized the technique had amplified Yuan Lie’s strength.
• Qin Ming killed bandits to raise his saber technique’s proficiency, then a guardian with a severed hand attacked him alongside the two remaining guardians.
• Qin Ming hurled his saber into the severed-hand guardian, killing him and advancing the Pig-Slaying Saber Technique to Perfection, which unlocked Cook Ding Dissects the Ox and increased his strength.
• Qin Ming swiftly killed the two remaining guardians, leaving Yuan Lie as the last opponent.
• Yuan Lie charged with Xingyi Fist’s Tiger Fist, and Qin Ming activated Cook Ding Dissects the Ox to reveal Yuan Lie’s weaknesses before unleashing a decisive saber strike.

Qin Ming killed Yuan Lie and the remaining bandits, then learned that the Clearwind Stronghold's Ninth Boss might be near and urged the survivors to flee to Qingyang County. While looting the bodies, he found a parchment in Yuan Lie's boot that might contain the Xingyi Fist.

• Qin Ming disrupted Yuan Lie's Xingyi Fist, causing its force to rampage through Yuan Lie's body until he exploded and died.
• Qin Ming killed the fleeing bandits alongside the martial artists from the two academies, advancing his Fire Sand Palm to Greater Mastery.
• Embroiderer, Li Shengnan, Huo Zheng, and the survivors thanked Qin Ming for saving them.
• Pei Heng warned that the Ninth Boss was near the perfected Flesh-Refining Realm, so Qin Ming urged everyone to leave for Qingyang County.
• Pei Heng ordered the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy to depart, and Huo Zheng decided the Tiger Martial Arts Academy would leave as well.
• Qin Ming looted the corpses and found a parchment in Yuan Lie's boot that might contain the Xingyi Fist.

Qin Ming joined the evacuation convoy to Qingyang County after the battle, while Liao Jun secretly suspected he had taken the Li Lineage's Blood Ginseng and coveted the convoy's wealth. Yan Yangtian summoned the Ninth Boss to pursue them, but a creature in the fog killed one of the bandits and sent the Ninth Boss fleeing back to Qingshan Town.

• Qin Ming found parchment copies of the Xingyi Fist's Tiger Fist and Snake Fist, and Pei Heng reset his broken arm before the convoy left Qingshan Town.
• Liao Jun and the yamen runners joined the convoy, and Liao Jun suspected Qin Ming had taken the Blood Ginseng and the Li Lineage's rare martial arts technique.
• A skeletal hand emerged from a grave near the road as Yan Yangtian killed the people searching the corpses and stole their silver.
• The Ninth Boss arrived with his men, learned from Yan Yangtian that Qin Ming had killed Yuan Lie, and led a pursuit of the convoy.
• White mist enveloped the pursuers, a creature bit off one bandit's head, and the Ninth Boss ordered his men to retreat to Qingshan Town.

Qin Ming and the others were swallowed by Ghost Fog, where spirits devoured the Qi and blood of everyone they encountered. As Liao Jun sacrificed Embroiderer to escape, Qin Ming lunged to confront the ghost pursuing her.

• Qin Ming noticed a human-shaped figure floating in the fog, and Li Shengnan recalled warnings from her father about supernatural threats.
• Qin Ming raised the alarm, and Huo Zheng identified the phenomenon as Ghost Fog that fed on living people’s Qi and blood.
• A ghost dragged a martial artist into the fog and later threw out his corpse, while Huo Zheng and the others fled as the fog spread over the camp.
• A female ghost lured young men to their deaths, and more spirits emerged to drain the martial artists and their horses.
• Liao Jun abandoned his horse, seized Embroiderer from Wang Shun’s carriage, and hurled her toward a ghost as Qin Ming rushed to grab it.