Chapter Summaries

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.

Lin Sheng commissioned Mu Niu to sell the Silver-patterned Black Crocodile materials and learned more about Dark Star’s ranks, missions, and benefits. After three days of gathering beast blood and hearing that spirit beast materials had become a lure for buyers, Lin Sheng integrated the crocodile into his body and began sensing its Earth Affinity talent.

• Lin Sheng showed Mu Niu the spirit beast materials, agreed to a ten-percent commission, and learned that he would receive the proceeds in ten days.
• Mu Niu told Lin Sheng to visit the Dark Star outpost in Tongzhi County to select a second-rate martial art.
• Lin Sheng read and burned Dark Star’s booklet, learning about its ranks, merit requirements, missions, and organizational benefits.
• Lin Sheng bought more beast blood from Song's Pharmacy, raising his second mark’s activation progress to 73%.
• As news spread that two spirit beasts had fought at Yangping Mountain, Lin Sheng suspected that buyers offering high prices for spirit beast materials were setting a trap.
• Lin Sheng integrated the Silver-patterned Black Crocodile into his body and focused on sensing its Earth Affinity talent.

Lin Sheng tested the Earth Affinity talent he gained from absorbing the Silver-patterned Black Crocodile and then traveled to Tongzhi County to choose a second-rate cultivation technique. The chapter also showed Town Mountain Tower’s convoy being ambushed, and it left Lin Sheng at Tongming Academy.

• Lin Sheng activated Earth Affinity, gaining a major temporary boost to his strength and Constitution and sensing ground vibrations as far as five li away.
• Lin Sheng decided to focus on activating his second mark and left home to travel to Tongzhi County, while Da Huang broke into a room and stole Silver-patterned Black Crocodile jerky.
• A group of attackers ambushed a Town Mountain Tower convoy on the road to Lin'an County, killed its guards, and took the carriages and goods.
• Lin Sheng reached Tongzhi County ahead of schedule, entered the city, and asked a breakfast stall owner for directions to Tongming Bookstore.
• Lin Sheng followed the directions to the end of Fugui Street and arrived at Tongming Academy.

Lin Sheng visited a Dark Star base to claim a martial arts manual and learned that the organization was founded by the Former Dynasty Royal Family and remained on Great Yan’s wanted list. He chose the dangerous Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm, then inspected the available missions and considered a spirit-beast hunt.

• Lin Sheng met Yellow Dog at the Clear Moon Academy, showed his Dark Star Emblem, and learned that Dark Star was wanted because of its Former Dynasty Royal Family ties.
• Yellow Dog showed Lin Sheng a list of second-rate martial arts, and Lin Sheng chose the dangerous Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm despite warnings about its deadly side effects.
• Yellow Dog retrieved the long-neglected Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm manual for Lin Sheng.
• Yellow Dog revealed a hidden chamber displaying Dark Star missions, including a long-standing order to kill King Zhao Hongzhang of Yan.
• Lin Sheng examined a Gray Star mission to kill a Green-striped Golden-eyed Leopard in Yangping Mountain and judged it a difficult hunt.

Lin Sheng returned from Tongzhi with little high-grade Mortal Beast blood, then learned that ruthless attacks on transport convoys had thrown Lin'an County into turmoil. At home, he began studying and cultivating the poisonous Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm, believing his beast-derived poison resistance would help him endure it.

• Yellow Dog warned Lin Sheng against taking gray-star missions and cautioned him about cultivating the Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm.
• Lin Sheng bought and absorbed the available high-grade Mortal Beast blood in Tongzhi, raising his second mark’s activation progress to 77%.
• On the road home, Lin Sheng passed a large convoy relocating from Lin'an County and later returned to Yangping Town.
• Xiao Shi told Lin Sheng that several transport convoys and other groups had been robbed, with their escorts killed, and that the attackers had not been identified.
• Lin Sheng worried that unrest could disrupt the supply of high-grade Mortal Beast blood and soaked in a medicinal bath to support his Ape Fetus Technique cultivation.
• Lin Sheng studied the Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm, decided his integrated beasts could help him withstand its poisons, and began cultivating by eating a petal from a poisonous flower.

Ouyang Yuan investigated the attack on Town Mountain Tower’s transport teams and suspected the Black Wind Bandits, while Lin Sheng cultivated the Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm by absorbing deadly poisons. Lin Sheng broke through its first layer and discovered he could fuse the poisons into a corrosive attack, but he had run out of poisonous herbs.

• Ouyang Yuan heard Chai Lu blame the Black Wind Bandits for the attacks, then agreed with Tian Hu and his gray-robed guards to wait for Ouyang Shan before confronting them.
• Ouyang Yuan ordered the Beast Hunter Hall to suspend nonessential transport and double escorts for necessary deliveries.
• Lin Sheng absorbed cold poison from Frost Flower petals and corrosive poison from Black Corpse Grass, using the Green Flower Python and Black Tiger Ape to survive their effects.
• Lin Sheng repeated his poison cultivation cycle through the night and broke through the first layer of the Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm.
• Lin Sheng fused the poisons in his palms and corroded part of a wooden table, then considered expanding the technique by absorbing a third poison.
• Lin Sheng stopped cultivating after using up his poisons and decided he might hire a servant to handle household chores.