Chapter Summaries

Wang Chen entered Red Cliff City with Shi Yan and sensed a faint trace of Heaven and Earth spiritual energy as they reached the city. After finding an inexpensive inn, Shi Yan gave Wang Chen bone coins from the village chief and prepared to tell him more about the city before returning to the village.

• Wang Chen followed Shi Yan along Huarong Road and saw True Script Runes carved into Red Cliff City's stone gates.
• Wang Chen and Shi Yan paid the entry fee, climbed the long stairs, and passed through the gates into Red Cliff City.
• Wang Chen briefly sensed a trace of Heaven and Earth spiritual energy, but he could not grasp it.
• Wang Chen and Shi Yan found a cheap inn, where Shi Yan paid for three days and gave Wang Chen a pouch of bone coins from the village chief.
• Shi Yan told Wang Chen he would return to the village the next day and began offering more information about Red Cliff City.

Wang Chen chose to join a martial arts school rather than sign a blood contract with a noble family, and Shi Yan brought him to Hongyi Martial Arts School. After Wang Chen challenged the disciples and defeated three at once, his chance to become a martial instructor hung in the balance.

• Shi Yan explained Red Cliff City's factions and told Wang Chen that noble families required long service under a blood contract, while martial arts schools offered more freedom.
• Wang Chen chose a martial arts school, and Shi Yan took him to Hongyi Martial Arts School the next morning.
• Shi Yan introduced Wang Chen to Master Liu as a fifteen-year-old Bone Refining Realm Martial Artist.
• Wang Chen claimed he could take on ten disciples, prompting Master Liu to offer him a martial instructor position if he defeated three.
• Master Liu selected Xiao Wu, Su Qi, and Chen Kui to test Wang Chen, and all three attacked him together.
• Wang Chen moved in a blur and sent Xiao Wu, Su Qi, and Chen Kui flying backward.

Wang Chen demonstrated his Blood Refining strength at the Hongyi Martial Arts School and impressed its headmaster. He declined to become the headmaster’s disciple but agreed to become his junior brother, joining the school as the second true disciple.

• Wang Chen defeated Xiao Wu, Su Qi, and Chen Kui with one move, then revealed to Master Liu that he had reached the Blood Refining stage.
• Master Liu brought Wang Chen and Shi Yan into the inner hall and summoned the headmaster, warning the school’s disciples to keep the incident secret.
• The headmaster tested Wang Chen by meeting his punch and, impressed by his strength, offered to take him as a personal disciple.
• Wang Chen hesitated because he did not want a master-disciple bond, so the headmaster offered to take him on behalf of his deceased master instead.
• Wang Chen accepted and greeted the headmaster as his senior brother, becoming the school’s second true disciple.

Wang Chen became Shao Hongcheng’s junior brother and the newest successor of Wuji Sect, receiving its cultivation manual, weapons, and resources. Shao Hongcheng left the sect’s revival and Hongyi Martial Arts School’s survival in Wang Chen’s hands, with the Battle of the Hundred Schools awaiting him at year’s end.

• Shi Yan returned to Little Stone Village with gifts and Shao Hongcheng’s promise to train three youths from the village each year for ten years.
• Shao Hongcheng held a private ceremony in which Wang Chen became his junior brother and a member of Hongyi Martial Arts School.
• Shao Hongcheng introduced Wang Chen to Wuji Sect’s founder and urged him to revive the nearly extinct sect.
• Shao Hongcheng gave Wang Chen the upper volume of the Wuji Profound Arts and explained that Transcendence and Dao Entry lay beyond the innate realm.
• Wang Chen chose a superior long saber and a bow and arrows from Wuji Sect’s treasury, and Shao Hongcheng gave him jade coins and the same cultivation resources he received.
• Shao Hongcheng told Wang Chen he must represent Hongyi Martial Arts School in the Battle of the Hundred Schools and win at least three matches to help the school avoid elimination.

Wang Chen used Hongyi Martial Arts School’s resources to rapidly advance to Marrow Refining, then defended the school when three men challenged it. After defeating all three, he ordered the disciples to throw them onto the street as a warning.

• Wang Chen moved into Hongyi Martial Arts School and trained with Shao Hongcheng’s resources, reaching the third level of Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma, completing Bone Tempering, Tendon Altering, Blood Burning Technique, beginning Wuji Profound Arts, and entering Marrow Refining.
• A servant told Wang Chen that challengers had injured Master Liu while Shao Hongcheng and two instructors were away.
• Wang Chen stopped the disciples from attacking the three gray-clad men and told them to take Master Liu for treatment.
• Wang Chen struck down the first challenger, then defeated the second with a palm strike and sent the fleeing third man flying.
• Wang Chen ordered the disciples to throw the three challengers onto the street so the neighbors could see the consequences of maliciously challenging the school.

After Wang Chen revealed that he had reached the Marrow Refining peak, Shao Hongcheng gave him the Blood Marrow Pills he had saved for his own breakthrough and urged him to reach the Houtian realm before the Martial Arts School Competition. The two prepared for possible schemes now that Wang Chen’s strength could no longer remain hidden.

• Shao Hongcheng returned to Hongyi Martial Arts School and learned that Wang Chen had defeated the challengers, then suspected they had targeted Wang Chen ahead of the Martial Arts School Competition.
• Wang Chen displayed his strength, and Shao Hongcheng realized he had reached the Marrow Refining peak.
• Shao Hongcheng gave Wang Chen his five Blood Marrow Pills, explaining that he wanted Wang Chen to break through to the Houtian realm and place among the top three in the competition.
• Wang Chen promised to place in the top three and said he would meet any schemes with sufficient strength.

Wang Chen consumed all five Blood Marrow Pills and broke through to the Houtian Great Realm, rapidly condensing and stabilizing his true qi. After emerging from seclusion, he went to see Shao Hongcheng, who was shocked by his transformation and recognized his new realm.

• Wang Chen swallowed the first Blood Marrow Pill and used the Wuji Profound Arts to refine its medicinal power.
• Wang Chen took the second pill and began condensing martial true qi, opening and expanding his Dantian.
• Wang Chen swallowed the third and fourth Blood Marrow Pills, refining their power before stabilizing his newly formed true qi.
• Wang Chen took the final pill to nourish his body, then checked his cultivation and saw that he had reached Houtian.
• Wang Chen bathed, changed clothes, and visited Shao Hongcheng, who dropped his brush in shock and identified Wang Chen as Houtian.

After Wang Chen reached the Houtian Great Realm, he told Shao Hongcheng he planned to reach Innate before the Martial Arts School Competition. Shao Hongcheng gave him the Wuji Mirror and made him the Wuji Sect’s new Sect Leader, and Wang Chen began activating the mirror with Heaven and Earth spiritual energy.

• Wang Chen told Shao Hongcheng he had reached the Houtian Great Realm and promised to win first place in the Martial Arts School Competition.
• Wang Chen said he wanted to reach Innate before the competition and asked Shao Hongcheng for the later portions of the Wuji Profound Arts instead of an Innate Pill.
• Shao Hongcheng gave Wang Chen the Wuji Mirror, declared him the Wuji Sect’s new Sect Leader, and offered him the sect’s remaining assets.
• Wang Chen examined the Wuji Mirror and concluded it was a third-rank Magic Treasure likely left by a Nascent Soul cultivator.
• Wang Chen infused the Wuji Mirror with Heaven and Earth spiritual energy, and it burst into dazzling radiance.

Wang Chen activated the Wuji Mirror and acquired the remaining portions of the Wuji Profound Arts, improving his prospects of reaching Xiantian while revealing his need for cultivation resources. After Shao Hongcheng moved him to a secluded residence for safety, Wang Chen headed into the mountains to hunt vicious beasts.

• Wang Chen endured the information released by the depleted Wuji Mirror and learned its stored contents were the middle and lower portions of the Wuji Profound Arts, along with instructions for refining and controlling the treasure.
• Wang Chen studied the middle portion for three days and reached beginner mastery, but realized he needed food and other resources to replenish his vitality and blood.
• Shao Hongcheng moved Wang Chen from Hongyi Martial Arts School to a secluded residence because enemies were watching the school, and he gave Wang Chen a token for freely entering and leaving Red Cliff City.
• Wang Chen decided to repay Shao Hongcheng and, the day after moving, went into the mountains behind Red Cliff City to hunt vicious beasts.
• Wang Chen sensed the Wuji Mirror from the mountains through their subtle Divine Soul connection, despite having hidden it at his residence.

Wang Chen entered North Mountain and ambushed the hunters pursuing him, killing several with his bow. When their leader confronted him with a Black Scale Whip, Wang Chen seized it and revealed strength that terrified the middle-aged martial artist, who tried to flee.

• Wang Chen hurried into North Mountain while a nine-man team of hunters followed his trail.
• Wang Chen shot the old hunter through the throat and killed several more hunters as the team scattered.
• The middle-aged martial artist charged Wang Chen with his Black Scale Whip after closing the distance.
• Wang Chen caught the whip tip barehanded, and the middle-aged martial artist realized he faced a Houtian martial artist.
• The middle-aged martial artist abandoned his whip, begged Wang Chen for mercy, and sprang backward to escape.

Wang Chen killed the hunters sent after him, discovered he could trade Vitality and Blood points for True Qi, and continued deeper into North Mountain to hunt high-tier ferocious beasts. After he left, he returned to kill two surviving hunters with arrows.

• Wang Chen used the Black Scale Whip and his palms to kill the middle-aged Martial Artist, gaining 1000 Vitality and Blood points.
• Wang Chen examined his panel, learned that he could exchange Vitality and Blood points for True Qi, and decided to reserve at least 1000 points for emergencies.
• Wang Chen headed deeper into North Mountain to hunt high-tier ferocious beasts.
• A young hunter and an older hunter found the middle-aged Martial Artist's corpse and realized they could not return to Red Cliff City.
• Wang Chen shot the two hunters with his longbow from the forest and departed.

During his fifth day hunting in North Mountain, Wang Chen killed a fifth-tier Gray Giant Bear and shared its roasted paws and spiritual wine with a mysterious old man. The old man spoke the language of the Immortal Realm, and Wang Chen accidentally revealed that he came from Thousand Stars Immortal City.

• Wang Chen killed a Gray Giant Bear and roasted its paws in the beast’s cavern.
• A white-haired old man appeared without Wang Chen noticing and asked for half a bear paw.
• Wang Chen gave the old man the roasted paw, which he quickly devoured.
• The old man offered Wang Chen a gourd of wine, and Wang Chen discovered it contained spiritual energy.
• The old man asked which immortal city Wang Chen came from, and Wang Chen answered Thousand Stars Immortal City before realizing the old man had spoken the language of the Immortal Realm.

Wang Chen learned that Old Yao was the true founder of the Wuji Sect, a Nascent Soul True Immortal who had been trapped in the Mist Mountain Realm for nearly three thousand years and survived twelve reincarnations. Old Yao passed his true spirit into the Reincarnation Pearl and entrusted Wang Chen with bringing it back to the Haotian Realm in exchange for a Cave Mansion.

• Old Yao told Wang Chen that he had spent nearly three thousand years in the Mist Mountain Realm through twelve reincarnations.
• Old Yao revealed that he had scattered Magic Treasures, including the Wuji Mirror, to find newcomers from the Haotian Realm.
• Wang Chen explained how he had entered the Mist Mountain Realm with the World-Asking Bell, and Old Yao realized why his Magic Treasures had gone untouched.
• Old Yao revealed himself as the true founding patriarch of the Wuji Sect and asked Wang Chen to help him return to the Haotian Realm.
• Old Yao aged and transformed into a Reincarnation Pearl, lodging his true spirit inside and promising Wang Chen a Cave Mansion if he brought it back.

Wang Chen killed a sixth-rank Cloud Patterned Leopard and used its remains to strengthen himself. After a month of hunting and training with Old Yao’s guidance, he sensed an opportunity to advance from the Acquired realm to the Innate realm.

• Wang Chen pursued the wounded Cloud Patterned Leopard and killed it with a saber strike after evading its attack.
• Wang Chen noted that his weapon was nearly ruined after a month of hunting high-rank ferocious beasts and improving his cultivation.
• Wang Chen carried the Cloud Patterned Leopard to his ninth temporary residence and skinned it, preserving its valuable pelt.
• Wang Chen extracted the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy from the leopard’s spine and fed it to the Reincarnation Pearl to sustain Old Yao’s true spirit.
• Wang Chen ate the roasted leopard meat and absorbed its blood marrow as the Wuji Profound Arts filled his Dantian with true qi.
• Wang Chen sensed that he was ready to break through from the Acquired realm to the Innate realm.

Wang Chen sealed himself in a cave and risked his life to break through from Houtian to Innate. He emerged with a perfect Innate body and hurried back to Red Cliff City with only three days left before the Martial Arts School Competition.

• Wang Chen sealed the cave entrance with boulders and began his Innate breakthrough under Old Yao’s guidance.
• Wang Chen circulated the Wuji Profound Arts and opened his meridians in an uninterrupted process.
• Wang Chen emerged from the cave after nine days, having entered the Innate Great Dao and forged a perfect body.
• Wang Chen learned that three days remained before the Martial Arts School Competition and set out for Red Cliff City.
• Wang Chen reached the walls of Red Cliff City in less than a day.

Wang Chen returned to Hongyi Martial Arts School before the Martial Arts School Competition and revealed that he had reached the Innate realm. Though Shao Hongcheng warned him to hide his strength and avoid provoking Zhao Zhenxuan, Wang Chen insisted on competing openly, and Shao Hongcheng agreed to stand with him.

• Shao Hongcheng worried that Hongyi Martial Arts School lacked a capable competitor and feared Wang Chen would not return from training in North Mountain.
• Wang Chen arrived at the school, promised to compete, and demonstrated True Qi Projection to Shao Hongcheng.
• Shao Hongcheng realized Wang Chen had become an Innate expert and warned that revealing his cultivation might provoke Zhao Zhenxuan.
• Wang Chen insisted on entering the competition without concealing his realm and said he could deal with Zhao Zhenxuan if necessary.
• Shao Hongcheng agreed to follow Wang Chen's decision and take the risk alongside him.

The Red Cliff City Martial Arts School Competition began as Shao Hongcheng wagered Hongyi Martial Arts School against Wu Lei’s thirty thousand Jade Coins, staking everything on the young Wang Chen. The competition opened under the authority of Zhao Zhenxuan, while the crowd anticipated whether Wang Chen could justify Shao Hongcheng’s confidence.

• Tens of thousands gathered for the competition, where schools had to earn victory tokens to avoid losing their right to operate.
• Shao Hongcheng confidently told nearby school masters that Hongyi Martial Arts School would secure enough victory tokens.
• Wu Lei mocked Shao Hongcheng, who challenged him to wager Hongyi Martial Arts School against thirty thousand Jade Coins; Wu Lei accepted and they signed a contract.
• The representatives learned that Hongyi Martial Arts School had entered only Wang Chen, a sixteen-year-old who had reportedly reached Marrow Refinement.
• Zhao Zhenxuan took the central stage and addressed the gathered Martial Artists as the competition began.

Wang Chen entered the Red Cliff City Martial Arts School Competition and revealed his Innate strength after defeating Mu Feng with one palm. The City Lord's Mansion steward confirmed Wang Chen was eligible to compete, leaving the crowd stunned by his revelation.

• Old Yao explained that Zhao Zhenxuan had sacrificed his chance to pursue Mortal Transformation by becoming Red Cliff City's lord.
• The Martial Arts School Competition began, and Wang Chen volunteered to take the stage first.
• Mu Feng of Shanhe Martial Arts School challenged Wang Chen and was sent flying by a single palm strike.
• Wang Chen invited the martial artists below to attack him together, then used True Qi Projection to slap a heckler from afar.
• The City Lord's Mansion steward asked whether Wang Chen was an Innate expert, and Wang Chen confirmed that he was.

After revealing himself as a sixteen-year-old Innate expert, Wang Chen secured the Martial Arts School Competition championship for Hongyi Martial Arts School and returned with Shao Hongcheng. Zhao Zhenxuan visited to assess the young rival, and their meeting began under a tense, unspoken threat.

• Wang Chen revealed his Innate cultivation, causing Wu Lei to faint and leaving the martial arts masters in awe.
• The City Lord's Mansion steward declared Hongyi Martial Arts School the competition champion, and Wang Chen left the arena with Shao Hongcheng.
• Wang Chen dismissed Shao Hongcheng's worries about Zhao Zhenxuan and waited for the City Lord at Hongyi Martial Arts School.
• Zhao Zhenxuan arrived and tested Wang Chen with his aura, while Wang Chen remained composed.
• Zhao Zhenxuan acknowledged Wang Chen's Innate realm, concealed his killing intent, and sat down as Shao Hongcheng withdrew to make tea.

Wang Chen learned about Taiwu Holy Land and the World Martial Ranking but chose to remain in Red Cliff City. After Zhao Zhenxuan left, Old Yao asked Wang Chen to help Shao Hongcheng break through and unseal a hidden treasure vault that could provide the resources for his advancement.

• Zhao Zhenxuan asked Wang Chen about his lineage and learned that he came from the Wuji Sect.
• Zhao Zhenxuan explained Taiwu Holy Land, the World Martial Ranking, and how Innate experts could qualify to become city lords, while concealing that they could also seize a rank by defeating another Innate expert.
• Wang Chen declined to leave Red Cliff City, and Zhao Zhenxuan offered him an estate and welcomed a future alliance.
• Old Yao asked Wang Chen to help Shao Hongcheng reach the Houtian Great Realm by unsealing a hidden treasure vault, promising Wang Chen the remaining treasures, including a divine weapon.