Chapter Summaries

Lu Chen met the Black Kill Pavilion’s assassins and learned that Li Jun had hired them to kill him. When Elder Ning exposed Li Jun’s suspicions about his father and offered a different deal, Li Jun refused, and Lu Chen prepared to act.

• Lu Chen asked Elder Ning about cultivation methods and learned that he would need Black Kill Coins and approval from Headquarters to study them at a Prefectural City branch.
• Xiong Pi and Lang Gou arrived, and Swordsman and Ghost Hand brought Li Jun into the courtyard.
• Li Jun demanded to know where Lu Chen was, then recognized him and accused the Black Kill Pavilion of deceiving him.
• Elder Ning revealed Li Jun’s secret investigation into his mother’s death and suggested killing his father instead, but Li Jun rejected the offer.
• Lu Chen recalled Li Jun’s violent crimes and turned to face him; Li Jun threatened him by invoking his father’s identity.

Lu Chen killed Li Jun after stopping his attempt to escape, then joined the Black Kill Pavilion assassins for wine while pretending to get drunk. As the gathering turned tense, Lu Chen spilled wine on the swordsman and struck Lang Gou with his elbow.

• Li Jun tried to flee by charging at Lu Chen, who caught his punch and killed him with two blows.
• Lu Chen asked Elder Ning to let him pursue Li Ziren, but Elder Ning told the others to celebrate the newcomer instead.
• Lang Gou and the others pressured Lu Chen to drink, and Lu Chen pretended to become drunk.
• Lu Chen insulted the group and asked to make amends with Crippled Blade, but Elder Ning said Crippled Blade was resting.
• Lu Chen tipped his wine over the swordsman's head, then drove his elbow into Lang Gou's chest.

Lu Chen fought off the Black Kill Pavilion branch members who had poisoned and ambushed him, killing several while resisting their attacks. Xiong Pi finally trapped Lu Chen in a crushing hold as Elder Ning approached with silver needles.

• Lu Chen ambushed Lang Gou, injured Swordsman and Ghost Hand, and evaded Xiong Pi’s attacks.
• Lu Chen killed Swordsman with a flying knife, stabbed Xiong Pi, and ruined Lang Gou’s crossbow while resisting Ghost Hand’s poison.
• Lu Chen killed Ghost Hand through the round table with an Iron Pellet, and Elder Ning realized Lu Chen was immune to poison.
• Lu Chen tore flesh from Xiong Pi’s waist, then killed Lang Gou with a kick to the neck.
• Xiong Pi seized Lu Chen in a crushing hold and called for Elder Ning to kill him, so Elder Ning emerged with silver needles.

Lu Chen killed the Black Kill Pavilion assassins who ambushed him, then looted their hidden base and found information about Li Ziren. He prepared for another attack and headed to Li Ziren’s residence to continue his trial mission.

• Lu Chen broke free from Xiong Pi’s hold, used him to knock Elder Ning aside, and killed Elder Ning and Xiong Pi.
• Lu Chen found that the person in the bed was gone and stabbed Crippled Blade as he tried to crawl away.
• Lu Chen received Fate Value and Luck Value, searched the corpses, and carried the Black Kill Pavilion’s valuables and intelligence back to his rented house.
• Lu Chen studied the information on Li Ziren, repaired his protective mirror, replenished his weapons, and dressed in black.
• Lu Chen visited the Black Kill Pavilion, then left for Li Ziren’s residence.

Lu Chen infiltrated Li Ziren’s home with another would-be assassin, and the two agreed to kill him after learning he had murdered children rescued by Lord Hu. After Lu Chen killed Li Ziren and looted the room, he blamed the Flying Eagle Horse Gang and led his uneasy companion to search the study.

• Lu Chen entered Li Ziren’s mansion at night and encountered a masked man sneaking in to kill Li Ziren.
• Lu Chen and the masked man agreed to cooperate after the man said Li Ziren had killed several children rescued by Lord Hu.
• The masked man filled Li Ziren’s bedroom with knockout smoke, and Lu Chen stabbed Li Ziren and cut his throat.
• Lu Chen searched the bedroom for valuables, and the masked man joined him after Lu Chen argued that he was returning stolen wealth to the people.
• Lu Chen wrote that the Flying Eagle Horse Gang had killed Li Ziren, then led the masked man to search the study.

Lu Chen escaped after killing Li Ziren and looting his study, while Hu Bufan investigated the fire and discovered that the Black Kill Pavilion had been wiped out. The next morning, Lu Chen prepared valuables and left Sand Lake County Town, leaving his siblings to attend class.

• Lu Chen and the gentleman on the wall searched Li Ziren's study, and Lu Chen took the Vajra Body cultivation method before fleeing amid the fire.
• The gentleman on the wall gave Lu Chen a jade pendant and left; Lu Chen returned home and sorted the intelligence, medicines, money, poisons, and other spoils he had taken.
• Hu Bufan learned that seven bodies, including Li Jun and members of the Black Kill Pavilion, had been found at the fire scene, where a blood-written message blamed the Flying Eagle Horse Gang.
• Hu Bufan ordered an investigation into why Li Jun had visited the Black Kill Pavilion as Meng Ping and Wang Xiong waited for Li Ziren.
• The next morning, Lu Chen packed valuables and Vajra Body and left Sand Lake County Town while Lu Ming and Lu Tang joined class.

After studying the Black Kill Pavilion’s intelligence, Lu Chen gained the Vajra Body Trait and tested its strong defensive power. In Shahu County, a prefectural inspection team arrived to investigate the murders, and Wang Xiong returned home to find a black-clad figure waiting in his study.

• Lu Chen learned about Great Qian’s weakening rule, unrest in the north, and the country’s borders from the Black Kill Pavilion’s intelligence.
• Lu Chen practiced the Vajra Body until he gained the entry-level Trait, then tested how well it resisted a dagger.
• Zhan Ping, Zhao An, and Song Qi arrived in Shahu County to investigate Li Ziren’s murder and were ordered to solve the case within seven days.
• Meng Ping hosted the inspectors at a banquet, while Wang Xiong noticed someone flash past and left early.
• Wang Xiong returned home, entered his study, and found a black-clad figure sitting there.

Wang Xiong received orders from the Azure Lord to find the Black Pole Gang’s killer, replace a missing quota of fifty children within five days, and rebuild the gang. Meanwhile, Zhou Chu’s Flying Eagle Horse Gang arrived in Shahu County and planned to take control, while two Black Kill Pavilion agents considered extorting them rather than pursuing the mysterious killer.

• The Azure Lord told Wang Xiong to identify who destroyed the Black Pole Gang, supply fifty children to Shanyang within five days, and establish a new gang in Shahu County.
• Wang Xiong decided to seek help from Hao Cheng in Yuncheng County and sent a trusted subordinate with a letter, while considering framing Zhuo Li if he could not find the real culprit.
• Ma Jun told Zhou Chu that the Black Pole Gang and Black Kill Pavilion had been destroyed, and that blood-written messages had framed the Flying Eagle Horse Gang for both attacks.
• Ma Jun reported that one person skilled with hidden weapons and the Bao Household’s Ox-Cleaving Saber Technique might have committed the killings, prompting Zhou Chu to consider whether the Bao Household was targeting his gang.
• Zhou Chu ordered his men to bring Shahu County’s gangs under his command, recruit blacksmiths and miners, restart the Green Bamboo Gang’s iron mine, and collect fees from shops and villages.
• Two Black Kill Pavilion agents judged that the killer might be Xiantian and decided to consider extorting Zhou Chu’s Flying Eagle Horse Gang instead of searching for the killer.

Zhou Chu paid the Black Kill Pavilion thirty thousand taels to keep it from interfering with the Flying Eagle Horse Gang’s plans for an iron mine, while Lu Chen received Fate Value from villagers’ martial arts progress but remained short on Luck Value. The chapter left Lu Chen unable to upgrade his Ox-Cleaving Saber Technique.

• Bai Sha and Hei Po accused Zhou Chu’s Flying Eagle Horse Gang of destroying the Black Kill Pavilion branch and demanded an explanation.
• Zhou Chu offered thirty thousand taels in exchange for the Black Kill Pavilion not interfering with the gang’s plans or reporting them to its superiors.
• Bai Sha and Hei Po accepted the silver and left, while Zhou Chu explained that he wanted to avoid a fight and intended to raise the money from Shahu County’s residents if needed.
• Zhou Chu warned his brothers not to act recklessly and said the iron mine was their priority.
• Lu Chen received 1,039 Fate Value as villagers advanced in martial arts, bringing his total to 3,803, but he lacked the Luck Value needed to upgrade his saber technique.

Lu Chen and the people of Qingshan Village confronted the Flying Eagle Horse Gang, which claimed Shahu County and demanded protection money. Lu Chen chose to have the village pay for now, intending to deal with the gang later after visiting a county seat.

• Lu Chen considered seeking Luck Value in neighboring counties while continuing his cultivation.
• Lu Chen heard riders approaching, warned Lu Huaiyi and the others, and rushed to the village entrance.
• Lu Xiande and the villagers blocked the Flying Eagle Horse Gang, led by Wang Feng, as its men threatened them and mocked their resistance.
• Wang Feng announced that the gang controlled Shahu County and demanded payment in exchange for protection.
• Lu Chen quietly spoke with Lu Xiande, who asked Wang Feng how much the village owed; Wang Feng demanded two taels per person, counting the village as having a thousand people.