Recaps

Lin Sheng killed Wang Jiu and used his body to deceive Ma Long into opening the door. He ambushed Ma Long with lime, poisoned weapons, and a rapid series of attacks, leaving Ma Long defeated against the wall.

• Lin Sheng killed Wang Jiu, hid his corpse on a carriage, and returned toward Yangping Town.
• Sun Kaixuan told Ma Long that Lin Sheng had left town, and Ma Long decided to pursue him with armed men.
• Lin Sheng, posing as Wang Jiu, told Ma Long that Lin Sheng had gone in the opposite direction.
• Ma Long opened the door, and Lin Sheng threw lime powder into his face before attacking him.
• Lin Sheng wounded Ma Long with a poisoned strike and continued attacking until a kick sent Ma Long crashing into the wall.

Lin Sheng killed Ma Long and returned to Lin'an County City, where he learned that the White Elephant Martial Arts School's old master had been murdered by the Black Wind Bandits. Meanwhile, Liu Yuanshan continued searching for his brother's killer and struggled to cultivate the Ape Fetus Technique without its secret medicine.

• Sun Kaixuan entered Ma Long's room and found a bloody scene, while Lin Sheng fled Yangping Town after killing Ma Long and Wang Jiu's trusted subordinate.
• Lin Sheng reflected on his ambush and returned by carriage to Lin'an County City, where a lean handyman from the Sun family agreed to leave early the day after tomorrow after a black-robed woman told him his association spot was confirmed.
• Lin Sheng passed a heavily guarded city gate and learned from vendors that the White Elephant Martial Arts School's old master and his party had been slaughtered by the Black Wind Bandits.
• Xie Chunniang told Liu Yuanshan that she had narrowed the search for his younger brother's killer to several streets on the western side of Crock Street, and he ordered her to find the murderer.
• Liu Yuanshan failed to cultivate the Ape Fetus Technique without secret medicine and resolved to have an apothecary prepare the medicine so he could develop it himself.

Lin Sheng returned home and reunited with his family, then learned that Lin Miao was leaving on a long journey and had arranged for him to care for their parents. After Lin Miao departed, Lin Sheng discovered he had hidden money in the courtyard, while Lin Miao met a mysterious associate who revealed his plans to pass his blood seed to Lin Sheng.

• Lin Sheng brought home goods and Pine Deer jerky, and his family shared a reunion dinner.
• Lin Sheng told Lin Miao he had become a martial artist and urged him to stop working for the Sun family; Lin Miao said he was leaving and entrusted the family to him.
• Lin Miao told Lin Sheng to seek Qi Ning at Fine Rain Tower in Prefecture City if he faced trouble, then left at dawn.
• Lin Sheng went to dig up the money Lin Miao had buried in the courtyard's north corner.
• Lin Miao met a sallow-faced man at a steamed bun stall, who learned Lin Sheng had reached early Tendon Forging; Lin Miao said he would give his brother his blood seed once his own bloodline was complete.

Lin Sheng discovered that Lin Miao had secretly left him a fortune in Great Yan Treasury Notes, which he planned to save while seeking third-rate martial arts through the black market. He then visited Wang Dehai to repay an old debt, but Wang refused and invited him to Tianxiang Tower to discuss what Lin Sheng wanted.

• After Lin Miao departed, a sallow-faced man agreed to help his younger brother if he came across the trouble and noticed two plain-clothed figures on the street.
• Lin Sheng found a stack of treasury notes worth more than a thousand taels hidden in a battered box and decided not to tell Xie Guilan or the others.
• Lin Sheng considered buying third-rate martial arts manuals through Lin'an County City's black market but chose to save the money for now.
• Lin Sheng told Xie Guilan and the other that Lin Miao had left, and they accepted his explanation.
• Lin Sheng visited Wang Dehai at the slaughterhouse to repay his debt, but Wang refused the money and invited him to Tianxiang Tower to talk.

Lin Sheng learned where to find Lin'an County City's black market and heard that the Black Wind Bandits had slaughtered White Elephant Martial Arts School members, prompting County Lieutenant Duan Tong to ride out. He returned home to prepare for the black market and found that the two men watching his house had disappeared.

• Lin Sheng asked Wang Dehai where the black market was and learned it operated at Old Zhang's Grocery Store on Furong Street.
• Wang Dehai told Lin Sheng that the Black Wind Bandits, led by the possibly Blood Circulation-level Black Blind Man, had killed the old master of White Elephant Martial Arts School and his party.
• Lin Sheng and Wang Dehai saw carriages carrying more bodies from White Elephant Martial Arts School, and Lin Sheng suspected the Black Wind Bandits had attacked the funeral party as well.
• County Lieutenant Duan Tong, a Blood Circulation Practitioner, rode toward the city gates with mounted officers to confront the Black Wind Bandits.
• Lin Sheng returned home intending to prepare for the black market and noticed that the two men from Beast Hunter Hall who had watched his house were gone.

Xie Chunniang used her weasel Little Yellow to track the person who killed Liu Ergou, despite the Tooth Gang members’ hostility. Little Yellow led her to the street where Lin Sheng lived, leaving Ding Wu to decide whether to search it.

• Xie Chunniang ordered Ding Wu to investigate nearby residents, but he and the Tooth Gang members mocked and threatened her.
• Little Yellow caught a scent and ran ahead, prompting Xie Chunniang and the gang members to follow it.
• Lin Sheng retrieved his spoils, including the White Ape Leg Technique manual, and decided to sell the technique at the black market.
• Little Yellow stopped on the street where Lin Sheng lived, and Xie Chunniang urged Ding Wu to search for residents who had clashed with Liu Ergou.
• Ding Wu hesitated after Xie Chunniang threatened to report the discovery to Liu Yuanshan.

Xie Chunniang and Ding Wu searched Qinghe Street for the killer of Liu Ergou, using a weasel and a list of Body Tempering martial artists. After the weasel found nothing at the final house, Ding Wu had Xie Chunniang seized and left the household angry.

• Ding Wu sent Old Eight to fetch the Tooth Gang’s information while Xie Chunniang searched the street with the weasel.
• Xie Chunniang found four Body Tempering martial artists on Qinghe Street who might be connected to Liu Ergou’s killer.
• The weasel showed no reaction at the first three targets’ homes, so Xie Chunniang and Ding Wu went to Bai Sanqiang’s house.
• Ding Wu kicked open Bai Sanqiang’s gate and ordered the Tooth Gang to search the courtyard despite the Zhao family escort’s objections.
• The weasel found nothing, so Ding Wu ordered his men to drag Xie Chunniang away and took a money pouch from the escort.

Lin Sheng urged his parents to move from Crock Street to the safer inner city and noticed a faint mark beside the Horned Eagle pattern on his chest. Meanwhile, Xie Chunniang’s weasel reacted to a trail, and Ding Wu’s gang followed it in search of the person she had been tracking.

• Lin Sheng persuaded Lin Hong and Xie Guilan to move into the inner city, then decided to look for a house the next day.
• Ding Wu ordered Er Mazi to take Xie Chunniang to his home before bringing her to the Second Gang Leader.
• Little Yellow reacted to a scent, and Xie Chunniang persuaded Ding Wu to let it lead them toward a narrow alley.
• Lin Sheng practiced Raging Bull Fist while exploring the changed void space and spotted a faint red mark beside the Horned Eagle pattern on his chest.

Lin Sheng discovered a new mark and suspected it could eventually allow another assimilation, but a Tooth Gang crew tracked him to his home and attacked. After killing them, he fled Crock Street with his parents, while Wang Laojiu arrived at the house and found the aftermath.

• Lin Sheng guessed the new mark might be activated by large amounts of exotic beast blood and decided to test it after returning to Yangping Mountain.
• A weasel led Xie Chunniang and Ding Wu’s Tooth Gang members to Lin Sheng’s courtyard, where they tried to capture him.
• Lin Sheng killed Xie Chunniang and the gang members who entered, then dragged in and killed the guards outside before learning what they knew.
• Lin Sheng decided his family could not stay and left the county town by carriage with Xie Guilan and Lin Hong.
• Wang Laojiu followed Wang Er Mazi to Lin Sheng’s house and found the bloody scene inside.

After Lin Sheng fled Crock Street with Lin Hong and Xie Guilan, Liu Yuanshan pursued them toward Yangping Mountain. Lin Sheng detected the riders and ambushed them, leaving Liu Yuanshan and a few gang members on foot as the chapter ended.

• Liu Yuanshan learned that Lin Sheng's family had fled toward Yangping Mountain and rode after them with Wang Laojiu and several skilled Tooth Gang members.
• Lin Sheng told Lin Hong and Xie Guilan how the Tooth Gang had targeted their family, then killed Xie Chunniang's yellow weasel and recorded it in the Mountain Sea Scroll.
• Lin Sheng stopped the carriage when he sensed riders approaching, left his parents waiting, and moved into the woods to meet the pursuers.
• Liu Yuanshan ordered his men to attack the carriage and seize Lin Hong and Xie Guilan, but Lin Sheng's projectiles killed five riders and struck the remaining horses' legs.
• Liu Yuanshan leaped clear while Wang Laojiu and another gang member were thrown from their horses.

Lin Sheng ambushed the Tooth Gang’s pursuers and defeated Liu Yuanshan, then killed the two gang members who escaped. As he returned to the carriage, a mysterious black-robed figure appeared and vanished behind him, launching an unseen attack.

• Lin Sheng revealed himself to Liu Yuanshan and fought him, initially relying on Raging Bull Fist but struggling against Liu Yuanshan’s White Ape Leg Technique.
• Lin Sheng used the White Ape Leg Technique himself, overwhelmed Liu Yuanshan, and chased him into the forest.
• Liu Yuanshan tried to destroy his manuals, but Lin Sheng struck him down and took the surviving booklet before Liu Yuanshan died.
• Lin Sheng tracked down Wang Laojiu and the other fleeing gang member, knocked them from their horses, and killed them.
• A black-robed figure appeared near Lin Sheng without being detected, then vanished and attacked him from behind.

Lin Sheng encountered a powerful black-robed man who tested him for bloodline power and found none, then returned with his parents to Yangping Town. After settling them and checking his spoils, Lin Sheng discovered that Liu Yuanshan had left him a complete second-rate martial art, the Ape Fetus Technique.

• Lin Sheng evaded the black-robed man's attacks, but the man immobilized him and examined him for bloodline power before concluding that he had none.
• Lin Sheng learned that Lin Miao had sought out the black-robed man, and the man left him a message on black silk before disappearing.
• Lin Sheng returned to the carriage and brought Lin Hong and Xie Guilan to Yangping Town, where he rented them a furnished courtyard and kept his old one for cultivation.
• Lin Sheng fed Da Huang, his yellow stray dog, and counted more than one hundred and twenty taels of silver taken from the pursuers.
• Lin Sheng found the complete second-rate Ape Fetus Technique among his spoils and began studying it.

Lin Sheng used Beast Integration with a white ape to enter the gate of the Ape Fetus Technique, though he discovered that his qi and blood remained slightly restless. A black-robed man revealed the technique’s deadly limits and its origins in the far greater Six Intent Ape Demon Heart Sutra, then asked whether Lin Sheng would join his group.

• Lin Sheng found that the Ape Fetus Technique caused dangerous physical reactions without its secret medicine, so he switched Beast Integration from the Horned Eagle to the white ape.
• Lin Sheng cultivated with the white ape and entered the gate of the technique in two hours, but noticed his qi and blood stayed restless afterward.
• Lin Sheng invited the black-robed man, who had been watching nearby, to share wine and food; the man examined the technique and warned that reaching Blood Circulation with it would cause fatal deviation.
• The black-robed man explained that the Ape Fetus Technique was an incomplete offshoot of the Six Intent Ape Demon Heart Sutra, a true art once used by Southern Qi’s Ape Demon Sect.
• The black-robed man speculated that Lin Sheng had a faint ape-like bloodline and asked him to join his group, despite Lin Sheng’s brother opposing the idea.

Lin Sheng joined the mysterious Dark Star organization, returned to Beast Hunter Hall, and led a new team into Yangping Mountain to pursue his plans for the mark on his chest. Meanwhile, Tooth Gang leader Meng Hongsheng sought help from Chen Wantian after his men vanished while pursuing Lin Sheng.

• Lin Sheng accepted the black-robed man's invitation to join Dark Star and learned that Blood Circulation Practitioners could assess martial artists' qi and blood without touching them.
• Wang Sanyang told Lin Sheng that Ma Long had been killed at home, and Lin Sheng kept his involvement concealed while considering how to hide his cultivation from Blood Circulation Practitioners.
• Lin Sheng met three newcomers assigned to his sub-squad, recognized two former Slaughterhouse workers, and learned that Wu Gang had joined another Ninth Squad sub-squad.
• Lin Sheng led his team into Yangping Mountain to activate the second mark on his chest and search for information about ape-like exotic beasts.
• Meng Hongsheng learned that Liu Yuanshan and many Tooth Gang fighters had disappeared, reviewed Lin Sheng's connection to Beast Hunter Hall, and went to report the matter to Chen Wantian.
• Meng Hongsheng told Chen Wantian that his men had suffered heavy losses while tracking Lin Sheng and warned that Town Mountain Tower might have discovered something.

Lin Sheng led his team through Yangping Mountain, escaped a sudden Red Stone Ant swarm, and returned to town. Seeking a faster way to gather blood for his cultivation and second mark, he bought beast blood from pharmacies, but found no high-grade ape-type blood.

• Lin Sheng killed a Three-Eyed Wolf and absorbed it, then decided to hunt alone after completing the team’s mission.
• Lin Sheng heard danger approaching and led the team away from a massive Red Stone Ant colony that had appeared unusually close to the mountain’s outer region.
• After returning to town, Lin Sheng decided to seek beast blood from pharmacies instead of hunting every needed beast himself.
• Lin Sheng visited Song's Pharmacy and asked for blood from high-grade ape-type beasts and other beasts, but Song Chuan said the shop had no high-grade ape blood in stock.
• Lin Sheng visited other pharmacies and clinics, bought more Red Mane Horse blood, and returned home after checking that nobody was following him.

Lin Sheng integrated a Red Mane Horse and discovered that high-tier beast blood advanced the ring-shaped mark more than mid-tier blood, prompting him to seek ways to earn money by hunting in Yangping Mountain. After seeing multiple badly wounded groups fleeing the mountain, he continued into Black Soil Forest to search for Black Tiger Apes.

• Lin Sheng integrated the Red Mane Horse, tested its boosts, and found its agility favored long-distance acceleration and its stamina suited extended travel.
• Lin Sheng confirmed that absorbing the Red Mane Horse's blood had slightly advanced the ring-shaped mark and concluded that high-tier beast blood was more effective than mid-tier blood.
• Lin Sheng decided to make money by hunting, entered Yangping Mountain, and saw a badly injured White Cloud Martial Hall team and another battered group fleeing the mountain.
• Lin Sheng suspected a beast tide might be approaching but continued into the mountain, where he killed and harvested a Gray Rock Lizard.
• Lin Sheng reached Black Soil Forest to search for a high-tier Black Tiger Ape during mating season, hoping to find two valuable ape beasts.

Lin Sheng found an injured Black Tiger Ape in Black Soil Forest and began fighting it after surviving its ambush. He landed five darts on the beast, but the fight remained unresolved.

• Yan Feng led Huang Lao Ba and six armed men into Black Soil Forest to find the Black Tiger Ape, warning them to keep the information secret.
• Lin Sheng gathered poisonous plants and herbs while searching Black Soil Forest for a Black Tiger Ape.
• Lin Sheng heard the ape’s ghostly cries, tracked them to an injured Black Tiger Ape, and cautiously approached it.
• The Black Tiger Ape ambushed Lin Sheng, but he dodged its claw and chose to confront it head-on.
• Lin Sheng exchanged blows with the faster, stronger ape and then struck it with five darts after it narrowly dodged his first two.

Lin Sheng killed and integrated a Black Tiger Ape, gaining greater agility and poison abilities, then left the Black Soil Forest to hunt elsewhere. Meanwhile, Yan Feng’s group found the ape’s drained corpse and pursued the unknown killer, who was Lin Sheng.

• Lin Sheng killed the Black Tiger Ape with hidden darts, a kick, and an iron spear, then integrated its blood to gain Agility Boost 3, Poison Augmentation 1, and Constitution Boost 1.
• Lin Sheng tested his new speed and poison, killing a wild chicken with his poisoned hand, and noticed that the second mark on his chest had advanced slightly.
• Lin Sheng left the Black Soil Forest to search another area for a high-grade Mortal Beast before descending the mountain.
• Yan Feng, Huang Lao Ba, and their companions found the Black Tiger Ape’s drained corpse and concluded that one human had killed it.
• Yan Feng judged the unknown killer to be a late Muscle Forging expert and ordered the group to track him down, suspecting he had taken the thing they sought.
• Lin Sheng studied his map as he traveled through the forest, planning to hunt one more high-grade Mortal Beast before leaving Yangping Mountain.

Lin Sheng killed Huang Lao Ba and his three companions after they ambushed him in Black Soil Forest, then confronted the Iron Fan Scholar Yan Feng. Their fight left Lin Sheng on the defensive, while Yan Feng was shocked to discover that his opponent was only an early Muscle Forging fighter.

• Huang Lao Ba ambushed Lin Sheng with three hunters and demanded the goods he had collected from the Black Tiger Ape.
• Lin Sheng feigned surrender, killed Huang Lao Ba’s three companions and mortally wounded Huang Lao Ba, then searched their belongings and fled.
• Yan Feng appeared ahead of Lin Sheng and revealed that he had watched Lin Sheng kill the group without intervening.
• Lin Sheng identified Yan Feng as the fifth-ranked Ten Tiger of Lin'an and tried to placate him by offering his belongings.
• Yan Feng attacked Lin Sheng with his bladed iron fan, and their rapid exchange forced Lin Sheng backward.
• Yan Feng realized Lin Sheng could nearly match his speed and was astonished to sense that Lin Sheng was only at early Muscle Forging.

Lin Sheng fought Yan Feng, using concealed strength, thrown objects, and poison to overcome the stronger martial artist. Yan Feng collapsed after his burst secret art and the poison took effect, and Lin Sheng left him unconscious.

• Yan Feng recognized Lin Sheng's talent and pursued him, intending to kill him before he could escape.
• Lin Sheng threw a bundle of lime and darts to hinder Yan Feng, then fought him with his spear until Yan Feng's iron fan cut it in two and wounded him.
• Lin Sheng struck Yan Feng with a sudden surge of strength, pierced his shoulder, and forced him to fight at a disadvantage.
• Yan Feng activated Green Smoke Force, but Lin Sheng retreated and repeatedly threw darts and other objects to keep him from catching up.
• After Lin Sheng ran out of things to throw, Yan Feng realized poison had spread through his body and collapsed as the poison and secret-art backlash overwhelmed him.
• Lin Sheng kept his distance and knocked Yan Feng unconscious with a pebble.

Lin Sheng killed Yan Feng and learned that Yan Feng's group had entered the Black Soil Forest to capture a Silver-patterned Black Crocodile cub. He began searching for the cub and, after sensing something familiar, followed a warning growl deeper into the forest.

• Lin Sheng confirmed Yan Feng was dead, treated his wounds, and hid when Yan Feng's men approached.
• Lin Sheng killed two of the hunters, injured Fifth Brother, and learned that their group sought a lost Silver-patterned Black Crocodile cub.
• Lin Sheng verified the hunters' story with a surviving companion, then killed both survivors and searched their belongings.
• Lin Sheng decided to find the cub, reasoning that the Black Tiger Ape he had killed might have been fighting over it.
• Lin Sheng searched near the Black Tiger Ape's territory, switched to its form, and hurried toward a familiar sensation after hearing a threatening hiss.

Lin Sheng defeated an injured Black Tiger Ape and found a dead Young Silver-Striped Black Crocodile cub in its nest. After integrating the Spirit Beast, he gained powerful physical enhancements and left Black Soil Forest, while a mysterious man entered the forest after him.

• Lin Sheng beat the injured Black Tiger Ape, killed it, and absorbed its blood to raise his second mark’s activation to 8.5%.
• Lin Sheng discovered the dead Young Silver-Striped Black Crocodile in the ape’s nest and learned that integrating it would grant major boosts and weak Earth Affinity.
• Lin Sheng integrated the crocodile, endured a painful transformation, and gained Constitution Boost 4, Strength Boost 3, and Stamina Boost 3.
• Lin Sheng tested his new toughness against Yan Feng’s blade and found it could barely injure his arm, while his second mark’s activation rose to 58.5%.
• Lin Sheng took the crocodile’s body and the Black Tiger Ape’s poison sac and fangs, then hurried away from Black Soil Forest to avoid the adult Spirit Beast.
• More than half an hour later, a tall, thin man carrying an iron staff entered Black Soil Forest.

Black Blind Man searched for the Silver-patterned Black Crocodile cub but encountered the injured adult beast and was forced to flee, losing his weapon. Lin Sheng secretly descended Yangping Mountain with the crocodile’s corpse and returned home, where Da Huang panicked at its smell.

• Black Blind Man found the corpses of Yan Feng and his companions, then tracked signs of the Silver-patterned Black Crocodile to the Black Tiger Ape’s nest.
• The Silver-patterned Black Crocodile ambushed Black Blind Man, who struck it with his strongest move before fleeing toward the forest’s edge and losing his club.
• The wounded Silver-patterned Black Crocodile searched its nest, then turned toward a powerful howl and fought elsewhere in Black Soil Forest.
• Black Blind Man reached the foot of Yangping Mountain, learned his men had expected him to capture a cub, and ordered them to leave after slapping one man.
• Lin Sheng chose a dangerous route down the mountain, carried the crocodile’s corpse into Yangping Town, and returned home.
• Da Huang smelled the bundle on Lin Sheng’s back, yelped, and hid in the woodpile.

Lin Sheng advanced the Ape Fetus Technique to its second layer after cultivating with the Black Tiger Ape’s influence and eating Silver-patterned Black Crocodile meat. He learned that the spirit beast’s battle with the Mysterious Fang Python had closed Yangping Mountain’s central region, while Ouyang Shan investigated the hatchling’s death and found a dark iron staff.

• Lin Sheng tested the Ape Fetus Technique’s moving arts and found that assimilating the Black Tiger Ape had nearly erased the technique’s drawbacks and improved his cultivation.
• Lin Sheng ate Silver-patterned Black Crocodile meat, cultivated through the night, and reached the second layer of the Ape Fetus Technique.
• Lin Sheng left Da Huang some scraps and went to Beast Hunter Hall, where Wang Sanyang warned him that the Silver-patterned Black Crocodile and Mysterious Fang Python had fought near Black Soil Forest and that central-region missions were suspended.
• Ouyang Shan, Chai Fang, and Tian Hu investigated the wreckage at Black Soil Forest, and Ouyang Shan identified blood from the crocodile’s hatchling and concluded it was dead.
• Ouyang Shan found a dark iron staff among the wreckage and reacted with a cold, recognizing glare.

Lin Sheng bought high-grade Mortal Beast blood to advance his second mark, strengthened his parents with crocodile-meat soup, and cultivated the Ape Fetus Technique while planning to sell his remaining materials. After receiving a summons, he met Mu Niu and joined Dark Star as a Gray Star Emissary, learning he could choose a second-rate martial art.

• Lin Sheng bought five kinds of high-grade Mortal Beast blood from Yangping Town pharmacies and asked them to keep sourcing more.
• Lin Sheng reassured Lin Hong and Xie Guilan about his safety, then gave them nourishing soup made with Silver-patterned Black Crocodile meat.
• Lin Sheng absorbed enough blood to meet another beast's ingestion requirements, gaining the Blue Flower Snake's effects and bringing his second mark's progress to sixty-five percent.
• Lin Sheng decided to sell the Silver-patterned Black Crocodile materials and cultivate the Ape Fetus Technique while avoiding Yangping Mountain until danger subsided.
• Lin Sheng followed a message bearing a dark star-shaped symbol to the forest and met Mu Niu, who accepted him into Dark Star as a Gray Star Emissary under the codename Ghost Face.
• Mu Niu explained Dark Star's ranks and benefits, including a Gray Star Emissary's right to choose one second-rate martial art, then tossed Lin Sheng a small booklet.