Chapter Summaries

Wei He survived Xiao Heng’s attack and was offered a place with the You family, then suspected a second ambush as he and his companions stopped at a riverside food stall. He drugged the stall’s food, leaving Xiao Heng weakened and his companions unconscious as the two faced off.

• You Zhuang tested Wei He’s skill, warned him about his limitations, and offered him a position with the You family, but Wei He declined.
• After Wei He explained the incident, Wang Yuanling hurried away, and Wei He left with Wang Chong and Yang Xue for treatment.
• Xiao Heng hid near the riverside and planned to kill Wei He on his way back, despite being warned to avoid You Zhuang.
• Wang Chong insisted that the group stop at a grilled fish stall, where Wei He grew suspicious and ordered extra-spicy food.
• Wei He revealed that he had secretly dosed the food with sedatives, and Yang Xue, Wang Chong, and the stall owner collapsed as Xiao Heng attacked.
• Xiao Heng confronted Wei He but became dizzy after inhaling the sedatives.

Wei He fought Man-Faced Tiger Xiao Heng, using hidden sedatives and a breakthrough in the Flying Dragon Technique to wound him and drive him off. Suspecting Wang Chong was an insider, Wei He crippled him, took valuables from him and Yang Xue, and left.

• Wei He’s sedatives barely affected Xiao Heng, so he fought him openly and tested the limits of his strength.
• Xiao Heng’s force injured Wei He, who pretended to surrender before the sedative on his discarded clothes made Xiao Heng dizzy.
• Wei He used the opening to strike Xiao Heng, broke through to the fourth level of the Flying Dragon Technique, and smashed Xiao Heng’s injured waist.
• Xiao Heng fled, and Wei He cleaned up traces of his drugs before checking Wang Chong and discovering his injuries had been faked.
• Wei He broke Wang Chong’s ribs, hands, and legs, then took money from Wang Chong and Yang Xue to make the scene look like a robbery.

After Wei He robbed Wang Chong and Yang Xue, he returned to the Heavenly Seal Sect and repaid Wan Qingqing. He settled down to cultivate as news of rebellion reached Xuanjing City and the body of Human-Faced Tiger Xiao Heng was found.

• Wang Chong, Wei He, and Yang Xue woke injured and discovered their gold was missing; Wei He blamed the theft on a villain who had drugged them.
• The yamen dismissed the robbery, Wang Chong's fellow constables carried him home, and Wei He recovered the hidden gold notes and returned to the Heavenly Seal Sect.
• Wei He repaid Wan Qingqing, who warned him to avoid traveling because rebel troops in Jinzhou were drawing near.
• Wei He returned home and focused on practicing the Flying Dragon Technique and the Overturning Rain Gathering Clouds Technique.
• The corpse of Human-Faced Tiger Xiao Heng was found in a ditch, and Wei He kept quiet about how Xiao Heng had died while regretting that he had missed the inheritance.

Wei He continued cultivating the Overturning Rain Gathering Clouds Technique but worried that a breakthrough would draw attention, then attended a Wan Qing Court gathering at Moonlight Tower. The gathering ended with Yao Hansheng describing how two military deputy generals had defeated him, as the attendees argued about the growing unrest.

• Wei He nearly completed the first level of the Overturning Rain Gathering Clouds Technique and considered how to explain a rapid breakthrough despite his average aptitude.
• Yang Guo invited Wei He to visit Thousand Bat Water Pavilion, but he declined because Wan Qing Court was holding a gathering for newcomer Zhou Xing Su.
• Wei He traveled to Moonlight Tower, where members of Wan Qing Court argued about rebellions, the Incense Gathering Cult, and whether martial artists could stand against military forces.
• Yao Hansheng said two Entering Force deputy generals had each defeated him within thirty exchanges.

At a Wan Qing Court gathering, Wei He heard Yao Hansheng warn that firearms and disciplined armies could threaten martial artists and sects. Zhao Wanzhu then drew Wei He into conversation, accurately describing his background and urging him to establish a family as he spent the next nine years in the Inner Court.

• Yao Hansheng described how firearms and military formations had killed martial artists and warned that armies contained many trained fighters.
• Yao Hansheng said rebel troops had destroyed the Golden Feather Saber and Qi Fengming Light Fist, prompting Zhou Xing Su to reassure the gathering about Heavenly Seal Sect’s strength.
• Zhou Xing Su toasted the guests and offered help through his family’s connections, attracting the attention of several female disciples.
• Zhao Wanzhu told Wei He that Yang Guo had mentioned him and discussed his age, family circumstances, and prospects in the Inner Court.
• Wei He agreed that the nine years he could remain in the Inner Court was a long time.

Wei He learned about the Purple Bamboo Society’s martial-artist sponsorships and kept working while waiting for a sponsor. After breaking through the Overturning Rain Gathering Clouds Technique and sparring with Yang Guo, he learned she was engaged and would no longer train with him as often.

• Zhao Wanzhu explained the Purple Bamboo Society’s sponsorship contracts, and Wei He and Qian Rui agreed to have identity plaques made for potential sponsors.
• Zhao Wanzhu hinted that the Round Seal Society offered another way to make money after sponsorship efforts failed.
• Wei He took a letter-delivery job, earned several hundred gold, and waited until his Boundary-Breaking Pearl was full enough to advance his Overturning Rain Gathering Clouds Technique.
• Wei He sparred with Yang Guo at Heavenly Seal Lake and lost after fifty exchanges when she struck his chest.
• Yang Guo told Wei He she was engaged and would avoid sparring with him to prevent her fiancé’s side from objecting.

After Yang Guo ended their friendship to pursue marriage, Wei He completed the first layer of the Overturning Rain Gathering Clouds Technique and devised a way to conceal his other martial arts. He prepared to collect the second layer once the Purple Bamboo Society’s notice arrived, leaving the success of his plan to be tested.

• Yang Guo told Wei He she would no longer visit often because she had chosen a husband, and they parted amicably.
• Wei He completed the first layer of the Overturning Rain Gathering Clouds Technique and decided to explain his progress by pretending to disperse interfering cultivation.
• Wei He searched Tianya Tower and bought the Five Spirits Breath Technique and Fixed Diagram Dispersal with most of his remaining money.
• Wei He mastered the Five Spirits Breath Technique and used it with the active Imprinted Blood of his primary technique to hide the traces of his other martial arts.
• Wei He planned to collect the second layer at Wan Qing Court after the Purple Bamboo Society’s notice arrived.

At the Purple Bamboo Society, Lin Xiaoxiao chose Wei He to protect Rushui Workshop, valuing his combat experience and character over his potential. Wei He accepted her three-year sponsorship contract and took her available gold notes, leaving Lin Xiaoxiao stranded until Wen Lian reluctantly gave her travel money and an outer robe.

• Zhao Wanzhu hosted the Purple Bamboo Society, where merchants and gang leaders chose among eight Heavenly Seal Sect Inner Court disciples.
• Lin Xiaoxiao selected Wei He, reasoning that his journey from Yun Province with his sister and his willingness to patrol Xuanjing City showed the strength and character Rushui Workshop needed.
• Wei He met Lin Xiaoxiao at Buzui Tower, agreed to a three-year contract worth up to two thousand gold per month, and accepted her available gold notes.
• Wen Lian scolded Lin Xiaoxiao for handing over her liquid funds, then gave her gold notes for travel and pushed her out of the restaurant.
• Wen Lian reopened the door to drape an outer robe over Lin Xiaoxiao before hurrying back inside.

Wei He tested the Five Spirits Breath Technique, obtained the second layer of the Overturning Rain Gathering Clouds Technique, and began researching the effects of cultivating multiple martial arts. After Rushui Workshop summoned him to deal with its troubles, he arrived at the shop as Lin Xiaoxiao and Wen Lian waited to greet him.

• Wei He used his ten thousand taels from the Purple Bamboo Society to buy Water Bear Meat and test the Boundary-Breaking Pearl’s effects.
• Wei He received the second-layer manual from Wan Qingqing, and Wan Ling believed he had dispersed his cultivation after the Five Spirits Breath Technique concealed his martial arts.
• Wei He studied records at Tianya Tower to investigate the consequences of cultivating multiple martial arts together.
• Lin Xiaoxiao and Wen Lian reviewed the repeated vandalism and theft at Rushui Workshop, while Wen Lian complained about the fee paid to Wei He.
• A clerk told Lin Xiaoxiao that Wei He had arrived, and Lin Xiaoxiao went with Wen Lian to greet him.

Wei He investigated the attacks on Rushui Workshop and confronted White Snake Gang Leader Xiao Yurong, who denied responsibility. After pretending to leave, Wei He revealed that he had drugged the gang members and attacked Xiao Yurong, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Wei He studied Lin Xiaoxiao’s records and map, identified the White Snake Gang and Xuan Shui Gang as nearby suspects, and went to investigate them.
• Xiao Yurong told his subordinates to continue targeting Rushui Workshop and claimed he did not fear Wei He because the Zhou Family backed the gang.
• Wei He confronted Xiao Yurong, who blamed the Xuan Shui Gang and swore he had not attacked Rushui Workshop.
• Wei He repeatedly reappeared at the hall’s window to ask Xiao Yurong for his address and discovered that Xiao Yurong resisted the knockout drugs he had used.
• Xiao Yurong noticed the other gang members growing drowsy, realized Wei He had drugged them, and charged at him with his iron claws.

Wei He killed Xiao Yurong and looted the White Snake Gang, gaining the White Jade Skill and enough money to consider his next cultivation technique. Lin Xiaoxiao received Wei He's message that Rushui Workshop's troubles were resolved, but Wen Lian remained unaware and planned to seek help from Jian Zhe Temple.

• Wei He fought and killed Xiao Yurong after suppressing his Tiger Claw Style force, then took more than three thousand gold notes from his body.
• Wei He searched the White Snake Gang headquarters, found the White Jade Skill and Tiger Claw Style manuals, and seized money and drugs from the gang's leaders.
• Wei He left with more than eight thousand gold notes and considered which supplementary cultivation technique to choose next.
• Lin Xiaoxiao received Wei He's letter saying the threat to Rushui Workshop had been resolved and that she could contact him in Heavenly Seal Town.
• Wen Lian urged Lin Xiaoxiao to seek help from Jian Zhe Temple, repeatedly talked over her attempt to show Wei He's letter, and left before reading it.

Wen Lian learned that Wei He may have killed the White Snake Gang and Xuan Shui Gang leaders, while Wei He studied defensive martial arts at Tianya Tower and chose Whale Flood Art to increase his qi and blood. He left the chapter with the technique’s promise of enormous strength—and the problem that its rare catalysts were largely extinct.

• Wen Lian heard that four gang leaders had died, including the White Snake Gang and Xuan Shui Gang bosses, and wondered whether Wei He had killed them.
• Lin Xiaoxiao gave Wen Lian a letter, which Wen Lian unfolded.
• Wei He reflected on earning ten thousand gold notes from the Rushui Workshop affair and on Wan Ling declining his offer of half the money.
• Wei He went to Tianya Tower’s second floor and searched its manuals for defensive martial arts.
• Wei He selected Whale Flood Art, which could multiply his qi and blood, but whose breakthrough catalysts were nearly impossible to obtain.

Wei He completed the second level of the Overturning Rain Gathering Clouds Technique with the Boundary-Breaking Pearl’s help and continued advancing the Whale Flood Art. He attended a banquet for the new Inner Court disciples, where he found the sect’s prominent disciples already gathered.

• Wei He chose the Whale Flood Art and memorized its first level, then practiced it while rumors about his fight in Xuanjing City gradually faded.
• Over six months of intensive cultivation and eating exotic beast meat, Wei He filled the Boundary-Breaking Pearl and refined six apertures of the Overturning Rain Gathering Clouds Technique.
• Wei He used the Boundary-Breaking Pearl to complete the technique’s second level and prepared to pursue the third level and Entering Force.
• A messenger invited Wei He to the new disciples’ banquet at Moonlight Tower, and Wei He told Wei Ying to share their meal with their neighbors, Xue Rong and Xue Jiu'er.
• Wei He arrived at Moonlight Tower and found Zhang Husheng hosting, with Zhou Xing Su, Chen Lin, and Wan Qingqing among the gathered Inner Court disciples.

Wei He attended a Wan Qing Court gathering, discussed his cultivation and future prospects with fellow disciples, and learned that Xiao Yurong’s daughter Xiao You had joined the Heavenly Seal Sect. He left considering how to protect Second Sister from possible retaliation.

• Wei He greeted Wan Qingqing, Zhao Wanzhu, and host Zhang Husheng before sitting with Sun Yi and discussing his decision to disperse his former Martial Arts Cultivation.
• Wei He explained the first level of the Overturning Rain Gathering Clouds Technique and revealed that he had already obtained the secret manual for the second level.
• Chen Huan, Zhao Yuerou, and Jiang Xiaochuan discussed leaving the court and finding livelihoods, while Wei He listened.
• Wei He and the others watched disciples of Four Directions Staff and Shadowing Blade fight in the street below Moonlight Tower.
• Chen Huan warned Wei He that Xiao Yurong’s daughter Xiao You had joined the Outer Court and might seek revenge for her father’s death.
• Wei He accepted that Xiao Yurong’s family might come after him and decided to find bodyguards for Second Sister.

After the feast, Wei He told Wan Qingqing that he had completed the second level of the Overturning Rain Gathering Clouds Technique, and she verified his progress. She gave him the third-level secret manual and explained its cultivation, leaving Wei He to study the path to transforming his Imprinted Blood into vigor.

• After the gathering ended, Wei He approached Wan Qingqing and asked for the next Overturning Rain Gathering Clouds Technique manual.
• Wan Qingqing tested Wei He's arm and confirmed that he had completed the second level despite having dispersed his previous cultivation.
• Wan Qingqing offered to tell her mother about Wei He's damaged foundation, but Wei He refused and asked her not to trouble their master.
• Wan Qingqing retrieved the third-level secret manual at Wan Qing Court and warned Wei He not to reveal its Fundamental Diagram to outsiders.
• Wan Qingqing explained how the third level refined Imprinted Blood into vigor, and Wei He returned home to study the manual and its diagram.

Wei He investigated Xiao You and undermined her support by persuading Hu Zicheng that opposing him was too dangerous. Hu Zicheng withdrew from Xiao You’s affairs, leaving her isolated in the Heavenly Seal Sect’s Outer Court.

• Wei He spent five days uncovering Xiao You’s situation and learned she had entered the Heavenly Seal Sect’s Outer Court through Hu Zicheng’s connections.
• Xiao You trained in the Outer Court and confided in Hu Zicheng that she feared Wei He, while privately plotting to avenge her father and target Wei He’s sister.
• Hu Zicheng received Wei He’s letter and met him at Heavenly Seal Lake, where they exchanged twenty moves.
• After realizing Wei He could have killed him several times, Hu Zicheng decided not to make an enemy of him and left without returning to Xiao You.
• Hu Zicheng ignored Xiao You’s later attempts to contact him and treated their arrangement as though it had never happened.

Xiao You and Xiao Li lost their money, suffered a grave injury, and disappeared, while Hu Zicheng concluded that Wei He had engineered their ruin and invited him to join a new martial arts school. Wei He accepted, then spent half a year advancing his cultivation until only the final step toward the Entering Force realm remained.

• Xiao You ran out of money, was badly injured on an assignment, and was taken away by Xiao Li from the Heavenly Seal Sect.
• Hu Zicheng confronted Wei He with records of the siblings’ downfall, but Wei He denied responsibility for Xiao Yurong’s death.
• Hu Zicheng invited Wei He to help establish a martial arts school in a county, and Wei He agreed to consider joining him.
• Wei He returned to his cultivation and, after half a year, refined all the Imprinted Blood in his body into force, leaving only the final step of joining it into a whole.

Wei He entered the Entering Force realm by mastering Overturning Rain Vigor, then reflected on how to balance martial cultivation with personal relaxation. After choosing to remain with Heavenly Seal Sect, he received congratulations and learned about the benefits and responsibilities awaiting him.

• Wei He used his understanding of the Fundamental Diagram to make the Imprinted Blood of Overturning Rain Gathering Clouds Technique vanish and awaken Overturning Rain Vigor.
• Wei He tested his new force in the rain, glided across Heavenly Seal Town, and encountered Wan Qingqing playing a flute on a boat at Heavenly Seal Lake.
• Wei He discovered that shaping and then destroying a sand boat relaxed him, and he recognized that destruction was what he truly enjoyed.
• News of Wei He's breakthrough spread through the Nine Courts, and Wan Qing Court gathered to congratulate him three days later.
• Wan Qingqing explained Wei He's options and the benefits of staying, and Wei He chose to remain with Heavenly Seal Sect.

After entering force, Wei He received an assignment as Yubei Town’s resident Martial Master and used the Boundary-Breaking Pearl to break through the first bottleneck of the Whale Flood Art. He began planning how to combine different kinds of vigor and manage the Imprinted Blood produced by his many martial arts.

• Wan Ling arranged for Wei He to meet her niece for a marriage match, and Wei He reluctantly agreed while refusing to decide his elder sister’s marriage for her.
• Wei He passed Yang Guo by the lakeshore as she stood with the man she was preparing to marry, and the two exchanged only a brief greeting.
• Wan Qingqing assigned Wei He to serve as resident Martial Master of Yubei Town, near Rushui Workshop, and he noticed that his digestion had become faster.
• Wei He practiced beside the lake until the Whale Flood Art reached its first bottleneck, then used the Boundary-Breaking Pearl to complete its first level and form an Imprinted Blood sac.
• Wei He planned to test other kinds of vigor and wondered whether a martial art could absorb the Imprinted Blood produced by his other arts.

Wei He studied the Autumn Deer Art and used it with the Boundary-Breaking Pearl to test complementary martial arts while seeking a way to resolve mixed blood. After taking up his post as helmsman in Yubei Town, he met the branch members and heard that firearms had killed the powerful martial artist Water Soaring Tie Zheng.

• Wei He found the Autumn Deer Art, which let Entering Force martial artists test different Imprinted Bloods and Force structures through their earlobes.
• Wei He began testing martial arts with the Autumn Deer Art and Boundary-Breaking Pearl while cultivating the Whale Flood Art and searching for a way to resolve mixed blood.
• Wei He moved Second Sister into his room, made arrangements with Wan Qingqing and the sect leadership, and departed for Yubei Town to take up his appointment.
• Wei He attended a welcoming banquet at Golden Nine Workshop, where Zhao Xingzheng and the other branch members greeted him as their new helmsman.
• Zhao Xingzheng told Wei He that Zhou Zhanbo's group had used firearms to kill Water Soaring Tie Zheng, an experienced Entering Force martial artist.