Chapter Summaries

Wei He settled into his post at Heavenly Seal Hall while advancing his cultivation and exploring whether the Boundary-Breaking Pearl could enable him to create new martial arts. The chapter ended with Zhao Xingzheng traveling toward Donghe Workshop, where a black-clad man joined his carriage.

• Wei He arrived at Heavenly Seal Hall, met steward Zhuang Ping, and reviewed the branch's duties before setting aside most administrative work.
• Wei He began cultivating Iron Ridge Garment and continued advancing Overturning Rain Gathering Clouds Technique and Whale Flood Art, while the Boundary-Breaking Pearl gradually refilled.
• Wei He theorized that the Boundary-Breaking Pearl might follow his own logical deductions about a martial art's next level, potentially letting him devise new cultivation methods.
• Wei He trained with a massive metal stele and reflected on how Whale Flood Art had greatly increased his strength and his need for resources.
• In late March, Zhao Xingzheng left Heavenly Seal Hall for Donghe Workshop, and a black-clad man boarded his carriage along the way.

Wei He discovered that Zhao Xingzheng was secretly smuggling military weapons and other branch goods to the Incense Gathering Cult, then followed him to the handoff site. The chapter ended with Wei He confronting Zhao Xingzheng in the woods.

• Zhao Xingzheng and a black-clad man agreed to transfer a final shipment of stolen military arms to the Incense Gathering Cult and planned to blame Wei He if they were caught.
• Wei He studied vigor and found that his Overturning Rain Vigor conflicted with the Huishan Force; he also stamped documents Zhao Xingzheng had prepared, including one authorizing a shipment that night.
• Zhao Xingzheng led ox carts of concealed goods through the eastern gate using Wei He's sealed document as a guarantee.
• Wei He tracked Zhao Xingzheng with Soul Chasing Incense and found him at the woodland handoff, where he confronted him.

Wei He uncovered Zhao Xingzheng’s military-supply smuggling scheme and killed him and his accomplices, then faced two Martial Masters who demanded the goods and a letter. He killed Yao Hanlin in a sudden clash, leaving the green-robed Martial Master and the consequences of the shipment unresolved.

• Wei He exposed Zhao Xingzheng’s false story after noticing the supposed Jinfeng Escort Agency contacts were Incense Gathering Cult agents, and Zhao’s attempt to flee failed when pain forced him back.
• Wei He discovered military supplies hidden beneath medicinal herbs and killed the men escorting the carts as they tried to escape.
• A green-robed Martial Master attacked Wei He while Zhao Xingzheng fled, but Wei He struck Zhao down and recovered a letter and gold notes from his body.
• Yao Hanlin arrived with the green-robed Martial Master and demanded that Wei He hand over the letter and goods, threatening Wei Ying and Wei He’s friends.
• Wei He attacked Yao Hanlin, overwhelmed his Jiujiang Vigor, tore open his chest, and finished him with a blow to the head.

After killing Yao Hanlin and another Heavenly Seal Sect follower, Wei He hid the stolen goods and waited for the deaths to be discovered. Chen Zi'ang warned him to return what he had taken, while Wei He learned about Xuanjing City's major powers and the martial artists who could threaten the Heavenly Seal Sect.

• Wei He killed the fleeing green-robed man, destroyed the corpses, hid the stolen equipment and supplies, and returned to Xuanjing City.
• Five days later, Chen Zi'ang visited Wei He and warned him that an investigation team from the main sect would arrive to investigate the murders and missing goods.
• Wei He recognized that Chen Zi'ang was hinting that he should return a stolen item, and suspected that several Heavenly Seal Sect members were involved in Zhao Xingzheng's affairs.
• Wei He questioned Ding Yang about Xuanjing City's power structure and learned that the Three Great Families could outnumber the Heavenly Seal Sect's fighters.
• Ding Yang told Wei He that the Chijing Army was Xuanjing City's strongest force and named You Rong and Zhou Xingtong as formidable martial artists.

After dealing with Zhao Xingzheng, Wei He considered how the Boundary-Breaking Pearl might help him improve techniques and reduce the harm of dispersing cultivation. As he hurried from the city toward Thousand Bat Water Pavilion, three men from Plum Blossom Manor pursued him, and their leader, Song Qing, attacked him in the forest.

• Wei He reflected on his thin Vigor and realized the Boundary-Breaking Pearl might let him use powerful exotic beasts as catalysts to improve techniques and devise a safer Dispersal Technique.
• Wei He told Ding Yang to oversee the branch division, then left Heavenly Seal Hall to return to Thousand Bat Water Pavilion and address his mixed-blood problem.
• Several men followed Wei He through Yubei Town; after he left the city, three more pursued him openly, so he led them into a forest.
• Wei He waited beside a pool and questioned the three pursuers, whose leader introduced himself as Song Qing of Plum Blossom Manor.
• Song Qing said Wei He displeased him and launched a powerful leg strike, which Wei He met with the Heart Severing Seals.

Wei He avoided revealing his strength after Song Qing and a masked Green-clothed Woman confronted him, then searched for a way to disperse his cultivation without harming his foundation. After two months of waiting and studying Cloud Smoke Transformation, he prepared to test whether his plan would work.

• Song Qing defeated Wei He in a staged fight, and Wei He fled after sensing the hidden Green-clothed Woman.
• Song Qing and the Green-clothed Woman discussed the missing Heavenly Seal Sect item and withdrew without pursuing Wei He.
• Zhou Yugui invited Wan Qingqing to meet Yumo and Bufan, while considering how to persuade her toward the engagement he wanted.
• Wei He found Cloud Smoke Transformation, a Dispersal Technique requiring the rare Cloud Smoke Bird, and memorized its method.
• After two months, the Boundary-Breaking Pearl refilled, the sect dismissed Zhao Xingzheng as a traitor, and investigators found no trace of Yao Hanlin's body.
• Wei He finished studying Cloud Smoke Transformation and decided to test his idea.

Wei He successfully dispersed Five Ridges Palm with Cloud Smoke Transformation and went to Yuxing Workshop to observe the flow of information. There, he spotted a man in green secretly adding a slow-acting toxin to wine and tested the contaminated drink on three birds.

• Wei He used Cloud Smoke Transformation and the Boundary-Breaking Pearl to disperse Five Ridges Palm, strengthening his blood and qi without injury.
• Wei He went to Yuxing Workshop, where he listened to conversations and watched the town from his usual seat.
• Wei He saw a man in green send a thread of water into a wine flask being carried to Du Lei, a steward of the Wang Family's third branch.
• Wei He took the flask from the servant, identified its contents as a likely slow-acting toxin, and carried it outside.
• Wei He caught three small birds and gave each one some of the wine.

Wei He confronted the poison-wielding Wang Shaojun in a bamboo grove, and the two reached a tentative deal to exchange their knowledge. After they helped a poisoned singing girl, they exchanged names and agreed to meet again, with Wei He hoping to learn more about Wang Shaojun’s poison.

• Wei He dodged Wang Shaojun’s silver needles and accused him of poisoning him, while Wang Shaojun revealed he knew Wei He was a Martial Master.
• Wei He and Wang Shaojun agreed that Wang Shaojun would share his mixed poison in exchange for Wei He keeping the attack secret.
• A poisoned singing girl collapsed nearby, and Wang Shaojun brought her to safety while Wei He said he had neutralized the poison.
• Wei He and Wang Shaojun exchanged names and agreed to meet again so Wang Shaojun could learn Wei He’s method of destroying poison.

Wei He investigated Wang Shaojun, dispersed his Huishan Fist, and continued cultivating the Whale Flood Art. At Yuxing Workshop, Wang Shaojun arrived with news about the matter Wei He had asked him to investigate.

• Wei He learned that the Wang Family had revealed little about Wang Shaojun and heard that the Shanhui Gang was robbing wealthy households near Yubei Town.
• Wei He used the Boundary-Breaking Pearl to disperse his Huishan Fist, retaining his physical foundation and gaining more qi and blood.
• Wei He reflected that the Whale Flood Art was nearing another breakthrough and that dispersing an art consumed one-third of the Boundary-Breaking Pearl's progress.
• Wei He met Zhang Wuyang at Yuxing Workshop and assigned him to wait on him there.
• Wang Shaojun joined Wei He at Yuxing Workshop and said he had news about the matter Wei He asked him to investigate.

Wei He learned that Lishan Sect was pressuring Wan Qingqing into a marriage alliance and promised to help her if she needed him. After a month of secluded cultivation, he returned to Heavenly Seal Sect having advanced his Whale Flood Art, but Wan Qingqing concealed the full extent of her troubles from him.

• Wei He exchanged an antidote with Wang Shaojun, who told him that Jiang Su managed meat fields while Zhang Qi had reached Second Blood, and revealed that Yan Jiuhai was pursuing Wan Qingqing for something she possessed.
• Wang Shaojun warned Wei He that Lishan Sect would likely act after October, prompting Wei He to plan to return to Heavenly Seal Sect and help Wan Qingqing if he could.
• Wei He spent a month cultivating, filled his Boundary-Breaking Pearl, and broke through to the second level of the Whale Flood Art.
• Wei He met Wan Qingqing by Heavenly Seal Lake and promised to help her if she ever had nowhere else to turn, but she denied having serious trouble and said only that she had failed to reach Bone Forging.
• After Wan Qingqing left, Wei He resolved to test his increased strength against an opponent and considered checking on goods he had hidden away.

Wei He approached the cave where Plum Blossom Manor had set an ambush, and Song Qing mistook his feigned weakness for a chance to drive him away. After Wei He secretly killed the ambushers, he confronted Song Qing again and revealed the strength he had hidden.

• Two Plum Blossom Manor men spotted someone approaching the cave and sent word to the others.
• Wei He encountered Song Qing and pretended to be injured and outmatched, then retreated when Song Qing let him go.
• Song Qing realized Wei He might be connected to the earlier robbery and found that Wei He had killed the men at the ambush points.
• Song Qing attacked Wei He, but Wei He caught his leg with ease and revealed that he had been feigning weakness.

Wei He killed Song Qing and his wife, searched the ambush site, and interrogated a surviving attacker, learning that the Heavenly Seal Sect’s Protector Army was behind the operation. Meanwhile, a strategist arrived at the corpses, blamed outsiders for the attack, and ordered his people to move the remaining shipments along other routes.

• Wei He killed Song Qing and his wife with overwhelming strength after discovering the woman hiding in a tree.
• Wei He collected the valuables and medicinal herbs, carried them to a hidden bandit cave, and interrogated the surviving attacker.
• The survivor identified the Heavenly Seal Sect’s Protector Army as the force behind the ambush, leaving Wei He grave at the revelation.
• A black-clad strategist and two subordinates arrived at the scene and concluded that an outsider with unusual strength had killed Song Qing and his wife.
• The strategist suspected the Demon Faction, vowed to hunt down the attacker, then ordered his group to prepare another shipment and use the remaining routes.

Wei He considered creating a hidden base for his experiments and training, warned Wan Qingqing about a poison that could affect Martial Masters, and continued searching the wilderness near Xuanjing City for a suitable site. He found an abandoned clearing with a chessboard and hut, and cautiously approached it.

• Wei He reviewed his martial arts and poison research, worried about the slow progress of the Whale Flood Art, and decided he needed a private training and experimental site.
• After discovering colorless, odorless poisons that could affect Martial Masters, Wei He sent Wan Qingqing a warning letter about the danger of being drugged.
• Wan Ling told Wan Qingqing that their departure for Zhongling Mountain Villa had been moved forward, and Wan Qingqing agreed to prepare to confront Yan Jiuhai.
• Wei He searched the wilderness near Xuanjing City for a hidden base and found an abandoned clearing with a stone chessboard and thatched hut.
• Wei He approached the hut cautiously, suspecting that the person who had once lived there was no ordinary cultivator.

Wei He learned that Wan Qingqing had gone to Zhongling Mountain Villa for her marriage martial contest and prepared to travel there in disguise. As Zhou Yugui schemed to use Shu Yumo to drug Wan Qingqing, Wan Qingqing avoided drinking the wine, leaving the plan uncertain on the eve of the contest.

• Wei He received Wang Shaojun's warning that Wan Qingqing had left for Zhongling Mountain Villa and decided to go there, concealing his identity with a mask and loose robes.
• At Zhongling Mountain Villa, Zhou Yugui told Yan Jiuhai that he had arranged for the other chief disciples not to interfere with Yan's contest against Wan Qingqing.
• Zhou Yugui had pressured Shu Yumo to help change Wan Qingqing's mind and supplied her with drugged Ten Thousand Flower Dew.
• Shu Yumo urged Wan Qingqing to reconsider marrying Yan Jiuhai, but Wan Qingqing insisted she wanted to choose her own life and believed she could win the contest.
• Wan Qingqing noticed Shu Yumo had not drunk and questioned her, then decided to save her own cup of wine until after the contest.

Wei He traveled toward Zhongling Mountain Villa, met two Heavenly Seal Sect women who joined his party, and learned of growing unrest beyond the martial world. At the villa, Wan Ling prepared to begin her daughter’s marriage tournament by appointing selectors to screen its participants.

• Wei He checked his preparations on the carriage ride and noticed that many travelers were heading toward Zhongling Mountain Villa.
• At a roadside tea stall, Wei He heard people discuss Chijing Army riders, rebel advances, and the worsening political situation.
• Zhang Lingxu and Meng Qing recognized Wei He, and the three agreed to travel together with the women’s household guards.
• At Zhongling Mountain Villa, Wan Ling, Zhou Shun, Xiao Qingyu, and other guests gathered to arrange Wan Qingqing’s marriage tournament.
• Wan Ling announced that three selectors would screen the many participants before they could face Wan Qingqing.

Wei He attacked Yan Jiuhai at Shanhe Tower, beat him unconscious, and left a message accusing him of killing Wei He's daughter. Back at Wan Qing Court, news of the attack interrupted Wan Qingqing's marriage contest, and Zhou Shun and Wan Ling rushed to investigate.

• Wan Ling found that the three agreed examiners and Wan Qingqing's Inner Court juniors refused to step forward, leaving Wan Qingqing to face the wheel battles alone.
• Wei He disguised himself in black, ambushed Yan Jiuhai at Shanhe Tower, and overwhelmed him in a series of blows.
• Yan Jiuhai's father, Yan Junshan, arrived as Yan Jiuhai collapsed unconscious, and Wei He escaped after changing back into his usual clothes.
• Wan Qingqing accepted that no one would help her and agreed to proceed with the contest despite her disappointment.
• A disciple reported that Yan Jiuhai had been attacked and critically injured, prompting Zhou Shun and Wan Ling to rush to Shanhe Tower.

Wei He arrived at Zhongling Mountain Villa and found that Yan Jiuhai had been badly injured in a revenge attack, leaving Shanhe Tower damaged. He accompanied Wan Qingqing away from the crowd, where she confided her disappointment in her friends and helped him experience the fourth level of Overturning Rain Vigor.

• Wei He entered Zhongling Mountain Villa with Zhang Lingxu and Meng Qing, then followed the Heavenly Seal Sect members to the damaged Shanhe Tower.
• Zhang Lingxu learned that a girl's father had attacked Yan Jiuhai over Yan Jiuhai's past crime, and Wei He saw the damage from the fight he had caused.
• Wei He greeted Wan Qingqing and offered to accompany her, while she kept Zhou Yugui, Shu Yumo, and You Bufan at a distance.
• Wan Qingqing thanked Wei He for his earlier letter and described how the crisis had revealed that her friends were not as loyal as she had believed.
• Wei He and Wan Qingqing practiced together by Rainbow Peacock Lake, and she demonstrated the fourth level of Overturning Rain Vigor so he could study it.

After learning how much Bone Forging martial artists could counter him, Wei He trained, joined the Hundred Victories Society, and prepared for the New Year. When Zhen Qi took Wei Ying away for the holiday, Wei He visited his mountain hideout and met a mysterious, one-armed man, whose chess games lifted his spirits.

• Wei He learned Wan Qingqing had reached Bone Forging and transferred to oversee a branch outpost, then concluded that his strength and defenses still left him vulnerable to Bone Forging martial artists.
• Wei He spent two months raising Iron Ridge Garment to Three Blood, improved his vigor training with Wan Qingqing's advice, and joined the Hundred Victories Society to study how different types of vigor countered each other.
• On New Year's Eve, Wei He learned Zhen Qi had taken Wei Ying away for three days and, feeling irritated, left town for his secret mountain hideout.
• Wei He found a one-armed man in a blue robe studying the chessboard and agreed to play him, repeatedly losing fast games while secretly testing him with different drugs.
• The blue-robed man grew angry at Wei He's excuses and tricks, then vanished into the shadows; Wei He stayed behind with a noticeably improved mood.

Wei He celebrated the New Year, accepted Lin Xiaoxiao’s younger brother as a nominal disciple, and returned to Heavenly Seal Sect to help choose a new chief disciple. Meanwhile, Zhou Yugui brought detective Xia Houji to investigate Yan Jiuhai’s attack, and Xia Houji concluded that the masked attacker was likely hiding a distinctive identity or physique.

• Wei He welcomed Lin Xiaoxiao and her brother at the branch helm, then agreed to take Lin Yuan, also called Lin Xiaohu, as a nominal disciple.
• Wei He received New Year’s visits from Zhang Lingxu, Meng Qing, Hu Zicheng, and merchants under his jurisdiction.
• Wei He returned to Heavenly Seal Sect and joined the other martial masters in choosing Yao Hansheng as Wan Qing Court’s new chief disciple.
• Zhou Yugui brought Xia Houji to Shanhe Tower to investigate the attack that had left Yan Jiuhai unconscious and worsened tensions between Lishan Sect and Heavenly Seal Sect.
• Xia Houji examined the scene and reasoned that the attacker’s disguise concealed a distinctive physique as well as his face.

Xia Houji explained how investigators could narrow down the search for Yan’s attacker, while Wei He resumed his chess games with Old Man Nine Shadows and learned about the unorthodox and Demonic paths. The two remained wary of each other but continued meeting, and Nine Shadows warned that the Chaos God Cult and the Incense Gathering Cult were dangerous entanglements.

• Xia Houji told Zhou Yugui to investigate the forest and villa gate records to narrow the attacker’s possible identity to a few dozen people.
• More than a month later, Wei He played chess with the old man in blue robes and asked whether he had seen the creatures in Wei He’s cages.
• Wei He and the old man revealed that they had investigated each other, identifying the old man as Old Man Nine Shadows and recognizing that neither could safely judge the other’s strength.
• Wei He asked about the unorthodox path, and Nine Shadows described it as relying on external means such as poison, mechanisms, concealed weapons, and insect arts.
• Nine Shadows explained that the Demonic Path referred broadly to martial artists who followed their desires, then warned Wei He about the Chaos God Cult and the Incense Gathering Cult’s ties to the Daoist Sect’s Spirit River Dao.