Recaps

Chu Qing studied anomaly materials while Cao Kun and the Hound Squad waited outside the Anomaly Division, intending to confront him over the Peach Blossom Mountain anomaly. After meeting Chu Qing, Cao Kun offered to speak with his uncle on his behalf, but Chu Qing challenged him to investigate his identity first.

• Chu Qing read books about anomalies and learned that materials left behind by anomalies were valuable resources for opening the Heaven-Connecting Path.
• The Hound Squad gathered outside the Anomaly Division, planning to capture Chu Qing, while Cao Kun insisted on meeting him first.
• Cao Kun waited through the night and concluded that Chu Qing was unusually capable and might have opened the Heaven-Connecting Path.
• At dawn, Cao Kun introduced himself to Chu Qing and explained that his uncle, the master of Peach Blossom Mountain, wanted Chu Qing captured.
• At a teahouse, Cao Kun offered to persuade his uncle not to trouble Chu Qing, but Chu Qing urged him to investigate his name and see whether his uncle dared move against him.

Chu Qing organized his new base in the Tenth Ring, recruited allies, and continued planning to breed anomalies for Peach Blossom Pearls. After Cao Kun showed Cao Jie Chu Qing’s violent record, Cao Jie decided he no longer wanted to be known as a ruthless man.

• Chu Qing proposed that Cao Jie cooperate with him to breed anomalies and create more Peach Blossom Fiends, and Cao Kun agreed to raise the idea with his uncle.
• Chu Qing returned to the Tenth Ring, where Mingyue, Zhao Wuji, and the twins had begun rebuilding the former Blood Saber Gang’s Earth Tower and organizing local youths.
• Chu Qing ordered Zhao Wuji to feed and train the youths, told Mingyue to contact Qing Feng and Ximen about joining forces, and gave them black gold to strengthen their cultivation.
• Chu Qing left to recruit Gray Robe livestock at the Anomaly Division and farm anomaly points.
• Cao Kun brought Cao Jie Chu Qing’s dossier from the Human World Organization, and Cao Jie was shaken by the account of Chu Qing’s past killings.
• Cao Jie told Cao Kun to stop describing him as cruel and ruthless, and Cao Kun promised to call him an honest man.

With 30 days left before the Martial Academy assessment, Chu Qing took ten Gray Robes to investigate an anomalous teahouse and tested suppression methods against it. His powerful blood and hidden intervention destroyed the anomaly, and he sent Number One to find the next one.

• Chu Qing recruited ten Gray Robes with a single secret manual each and chose a thirty-point mission involving a teahouse that reappeared after being destroyed.
• Chu Qing arranged suppression materials around the teahouse, then empowered them with his red-and-gold blood when the Gray Robes’ Golden Blood proved insufficient.
• Chu Qing ordered the Gray Robes to enter the teahouse, where they fought its humanoid anomalies as the building flickered between illusion and reality.
• As the Gray Robes grew exhausted, golden patterns spread across the teahouse and its anomalies, shattering them into black smoke.
• Chu Qing gathered the golden objects that returned to his robe and told Number One to find the next anomaly.

Chu Qing expanded his cannon fodder force and discussed producing Peach Blossom Baleful Intent with Cao Kun while insisting he would enter the Imperial Capital Martial Academy. Mingyue’s search for her missing companions failed, and the River Gang tracked her toward the Tenth Ring as Cao Kun predicted Chu Qing would abandon his ambition after seeing the competition.

• Chu Qing told Zhao Wuji to equip the cannon fodder with Two-handed Greatswords, and Zhao Wuji promised to arm them within three days.
• Mingyue learned the River Gang had seized her lineage’s residence and those of Qing Feng, Ximen, and the other prefectural-city lineages, whose members had disappeared.
• A neighbor secretly informed the River Gang about Mingyue, and its members began tracking her toward the Tenth Ring to bring the twins back before dawn.
• Chu Qing proposed using animal corpses from a pig farm to produce Peach Blossom Baleful Intent, and Cao Kun discussed the plan with him on behalf of his uncle.
• Cao Kun warned Chu Qing that he lacked the background to enter the Imperial Capital Martial Academy, but Chu Qing insisted he would get in.

Chu Qing returned to the Tenth Ring and found the River Gang threatening Mingyue and her companions. He annihilated the gang’s ambush in seconds and confronted its stunned experts, leaving their next move unresolved.

• Chu Qing thought he saw Red Robe’s Red Sedan Chair, but it vanished before he could follow it.
• The River Gang threatened Mingyue and her companions, but they refused to surrender, while the mysterious headmaster held back under Chu Qing’s instructions.
• Chu Qing noticed the Tenth Ring was unusually quiet and found blade-wielders and crossbowmen waiting to ambush him near the Earth Tower.
• When the gang’s forces attacked, Chu Qing smashed the street apart and killed them in a brief, devastating charge.
• Chu Qing appeared before the River Gang experts as blood mist and red snow fell behind him, leaving them stunned.

Chu Qing ordered Mingyue and the mysterious dean to wipe out the River Gang, then learned that the coming Martial Academy examination would involve missions connected to the forbidden zone. The chapter left Chu Qing at risk of being seized by powerful aristocratic families and used as cannon fodder because he had no faction backing him.

• Chu Qing told Mingyue to kill the River Gang members, and the twins slaughtered them while the mysterious dean restrained anyone who tried to flee.
• Chu Qing sent the mysterious dean and Mingyue to destroy the River Gang headquarters in the Seventh Ring, and they killed everyone inside without drawing interference.
• Cao Kun told Cao Jie that Chu Qing wanted to enter a Martial Academy, and Cao Jie warned that the Top Aristocratic Families might take his Anomaly Division points and block him.
• Cao Jie told Cao Kun that the Martial Academy examination would involve tasks related to the forbidden zone and that Chu Qing might be turned into cannon fodder.

After the River Gang’s destruction, Wen Feiwen used Yan Hui’s desire to enter the Yan Family’s direct line to launch a scheme that would inflame conflict between the family and its rivals. Meanwhile, Chu Qing focused on earning points and clearing anomalies, surpassing 2,000 with 20 days left before the assessment as others began to take notice.

• The Yan Family learned that the River Gang had been destroyed, and Wen Feiwen convinced Yan Hui that marrying the twins Mingyue and her sister could help him enter the direct line.
• Yan Hui ordered Wen Feiwen to mobilize his forces and bring the twins back, while Wen Feiwen secretly planned to use the operation to provoke conflict between the Yan Family and rival families.
• The Yan Family’s collateral branch began clashes with hostile forces under the pretext of searching for Mingyue, while Wen Feiwen’s aides planned to hide her and let tensions grow.
• Chu Qing told the mysterious dean to hold down the Earth Tower and focused on clearing Anomaly Division missions to earn points.
• With 20 days remaining before the assessment, Chu Qing had exceeded 2,000 points and gained a reputation for clearing anomalies at an extraordinary pace.
• Some people in the Anomaly Division became curious about Chu Qing’s goals, while others considered using him as a stepping stone.

Chu Qing noticed that most of the top Gray Robes had been replaced and suspected someone was setting a trap, but he chose them anyway. After a White Robe demanded his anomaly points for a Great Figure’s friend and threatened him, Chu Qing left and told him to wait until dusk to talk again.

• Chu Qing chose the first ten Gray Robes despite noticing that seven or eight familiar members had been replaced, and Number One warned the newcomers not to underestimate him.
• Chu Qing continued cultivating and clearing Great Dragons in the second Heaven-Connecting Path, noticing that it accelerated changes to his constitution and blood.
• A White Robe asked Chu Qing to give two or three thousand anomaly points to a friend, offering the friendship of a Great Figure instead of a concrete benefit.
• Chu Qing refused to hand over his points for free, challenged the White Robe’s threat, and pointed out that earning so many points so quickly proved his strength.
• Chu Qing left with Number One and the Gray Robes, telling the White Robe to wait for him at dusk so they could talk again.

Chu Qing led his team to clear a village anomaly and killed several new Gray Robes who had been sent to observe him. After earning enough points for a Recommendation Letter, he rode back toward the Imperial Capital, declaring that he was the Great Figure.

• Chu Qing rode with his team to a village where ropes hung overhead, dismissing Number One’s warning that his growing points had attracted attention.
• When the new Gray Robes refused to enter and admitted a Great Figure had sent them to observe Chu Qing, he threw them into the anomaly’s hanging ropes.
• The trapped Gray Robes could not use their powers, so Chu Qing killed them with flying stones; Number One and the remaining old member then tested the anomaly.
• Chu Qing used Golden Toad Money to burn the ropes and free Number One and the other old member, then left with them.
• After clearing three anomalies in one day, Chu Qing neared three thousand points and told Number One that he was the Great Figure.

Chu Qing returned to the Anomaly Division after securing his points and Recommendation Letter, where a White Robe waited to seize his points for a Great Figure. Chu Qing crippled the White Robe with a hidden technique and entered the hall, while a Gold Robe recognized him as a Heaven-Connecting Martial Artist and warned others not to offend him.

• A White Robe planned to forcibly conscript Chu Qing and take his points, despite warnings from a maid and others in the Anomaly Division.
• Chu Qing rode back to the Anomaly Division through the snow with two Gray Robes, and Gray Robe One offered to hold off the waiting White Robe.
• As the White Robe charged toward Chu Qing, his shoulder suddenly exploded, and he fell screaming.
• Chu Qing rode past the injured White Robe and entered the hall, saying he only talked to the living, not the dead.
• A Gold Robe identified the White Robe's wound as Chu Qing's doing and warned the others that Chu Qing was a Heaven-Connecting Martial Artist from the countryside.

Chu Qing secured a Recommendation Letter to the Imperial Capital Martial Academy after his three anomaly missions were approved and his points were credited. He asked two Gold Robes to conceal that he had obtained the letter, and they considered his request.

• A Gold Robe revealed that Chu Qing was a Heaven-Connecting Martial Artist, prompting the Anomaly Division staff to treat his mission reviews as urgent.
• Chu Qing waited while reviewers checked his three missions, then received 3,150 points and offered the staff a favor in return for their help.
• A Red Robe offered to trade with the staff for Chu Qing's promised favor.
• Chu Qing exchanged his identity token for a Recommendation Letter, which the two Gold Robes prepared in thirty seconds.
• Chu Qing told the Gold Robes he was from Loulan City and asked them to conceal that he had exchanged for a Recommendation Letter.

Chu Qing left the Anomaly Division after arranging to hear about possible Recommendation Letter trades, while the Gray Robes warned one another not to provoke him. Cao Kun learned that Cao Jie had investigated Chu Qing and set out to explain, as Yan Hui ordered his men to bring in the Black Robe connected to Mingyue.

• Chu Qing told two gold-robed men to watch for anyone willing to trade a Recommendation Letter and then went to the third floor to read.
• Number One said seven or eight Gray Robes had died on Chu Qing's anomaly-clearing trip and warned the others that Chu Qing had crippled a White Robe.
• An old Gray Robe claimed the Number Two position and urged the others to stop serving Great Figures who had put their followers in danger.
• Cao Jie sent Cao Kun a letter about the dead Gray Robes, and Cao Kun decided to visit Chu Qing and explain that he had not approved the investigation.
• Yan Hui received reports tracing Mingyue through several destroyed groups and ordered his men to bring him the Black Robe connected to her.

Chu Qing continued clearing anomalies with the Gray Robes, collecting points and strange materials while earning a reputation in the Imperial Capital. After returning to the Anomaly Division, he met Cao Kun, who reported that Peach Blossom Mountain was being rebuilt and apologized for Cao Jie’s investigation of Chu Qing.

• Chu Qing led the Gray Robes through a day of anomaly-clearing, prioritizing strange materials even though his points grew slowly.
• Number One offered Chu Qing her Daughter's Red wine, but he postponed tasting it until their next mission because he planned to read that night.
• At Vermilion Bird Gate, Jiang Wu urged a group from the Top Aristocratic Families to yield the road to Chu Qing, and one family decided to watch him before seeking his points for a Recommendation Letter.
• Cao Kun told Chu Qing that his uncle was rebuilding Peach Blossom Mountain according to Chu Qing’s plan and preparing to cultivate Peach Blossom Fiends.
• Cao Kun explained that Cao Jie had sent Gray Robes to investigate Chu Qing’s secrets and apologized on his uncle’s behalf; Chu Qing listened in silence before opening his eyes.

Chu Qing threatened Cao Kun during their confrontation, then left him shaken when his attempt to remove Chu Qing’s hidden force caused more than a hundred people to die. Back at the Anomaly Division, Chu Qing continued reading and hoped the Cao Family would keep cultivating the peach tree anomaly for its Peach Blossom Pearls.

• Chu Qing threatened Cao Kun and dismissed his boasts about having a hundred ways to scheme against him.
• Cao Kun went to the Martial Academy, where an old Cao Family servant begged him to save his son-in-law’s family.
• Cao Kun learned that the family had fallen ill after the servant’s granddaughter mocked Chu Qing at the Vermilion Bird Gate.
• Cao Kun tried to remove Chu Qing’s force from the family members, but each attempt caused another person to die, until more than a hundred bodies lay around him.
• Cao Kun feared Chu Qing’s methods, while Chu Qing read at the Anomaly Division and hoped the Cao Family would keep cultivating the peach tree anomaly.

Chu Qing met with the Red Robe Ying Hongzhu, who asked him to kill an Imperial Palace eunuch in exchange for a favor and the seventh move of the Eight Divine Hands. He learned that Ying Hongzhu was Ying Hongzhuang’s blood sister and wondered how Principal Shi Ji knew her.

• Chu Qing ordered Zhao Wuji to tighten control over the Tenth Ring and monitor everyone entering and leaving it.
• A Gold Robe invited Chu Qing to meet a Red Robe, and Chu Qing agreed to receive the visitor at the Anomaly Division.
• Ying Hongzhu asked Chu Qing to kill an Imperial Palace eunuch and offered him the Heavenly Dipper move as additional payment.
• Chu Qing demanded to see the Red Robe’s identity, and Ying Hongzhu revealed that she belonged to the Ying family.
• Chu Qing recognized Ying Hongzhu’s name and learned that Ying Hongzhuang was her blood sister.
• Chu Qing accepted the scroll containing Heavenly Dipper and questioned how Principal Shi Ji knew Ying Hongzhuang.

Chu Qing agreed to help Ying Hongzhu deal with a Heaven-Connecting eunuch, then ignored the Yan Family’s summons and clashed with Wen Feifei. As the Anomaly Division argued over the Yan Family’s demand for an apology, Chu Qing left the Imperial Capital with the gray-robed people and asked what they thought he should do next.

• Chu Qing agreed to fight the eunuch Ying Hongzhu described in exchange for a secret inheritance from the Eight Divine Hands, and Ying Hongzhu promised to contact him the next night.
• A golden-robed man summoned Chu Qing to meet Yan Hui of the Yan Family, but Chu Qing said he would go when he had time and left with the gray-robed people.
• Wen Feifei tried to force Chu Qing to go with him, and Number One kicked Wen Feifei down before Chu Qing rode out of the Imperial Capital.
• Wen Feifei used the attack to demand an apology from the Anomaly Division, whose golden-robed officials argued over whether to hand Chu Qing over.
• Ying Hongzhu rejected the Yan Family’s demand, while Chu Qing asked the gray-robed people whether he should visit the Yan Family or avoid them.

Chu Qing forced the Gray Robes to choose between obeying him and opposing the Yan Family while they fought a flying-head anomaly, then continued toward the next anomaly site with the five survivors. He returned to the Imperial Capital at dusk, where Jiang Wu mistook the survivors’ wary looks for fear that he would take their positions.

• Chu Qing sent ten Gray Robes into the first anomaly area to study the flying-head anomalies while he waited outside.
• When Gray Robe Number One promised to help him deal with Yan Hui of the Yan Family, Chu Qing used a coin to save her and other Gray Robes who agreed to obey him.
• Five Gray Robes refused to oppose the Yan Family and died; Chu Qing destroyed the anomalies and ordered the survivors to send the dead men’s families and relatives to join them in the underworld.
• The five survivors agreed to follow Chu Qing, who continued with them toward the next anomaly site.
• At dusk, Chu Qing returned to the Imperial Capital, and Jiang Wu laughed at the Gray Robes for fearing the anomalies before deciding their wary looks meant they feared he would take their positions.

Chu Qing gathered nearly two hundred Third Limit experts and led them in wiping out five wealthy Lineages that had sided with the Yan Family. He then arrived at Yan Hui’s residence, where Yan Hui and Wen Feifei were discussing how to locate Mingyue, and revealed himself surrounded by masked fighters.

• Chu Qing ordered five gray-robed figures to apply for leave so others would believe they had carried out the coming purge.
• Chu Qing forced Number One Gray Robe and the other Lineage leaders to gather nearly two hundred Third Limit experts to eliminate five Lineages he branded as traitors.
• Chu Qing’s group killed everyone in the Gu Family and then wiped out the other four wealthy households.
• Chu Qing led the masked fighters to Yan Hui’s residence in the Third Ring, where they silently killed the guards and entered the estate.
• Yan Hui asked Wen Feifei for news about Mingyue, and Wen Feifei said they could use the Anomaly Division to find her; Chu Qing then appeared in the hall with his armed followers.

Chu Qing killed Yan Hui and Wen Feiwen after learning they had targeted Mingyue, then ordered the Masked Men to strip the estate. As the Imperial Capital investigated the massacres, officials identified Chu Qing but hesitated to pursue him because he was a Heaven-Connecting Martial Artist and feared setting a precedent.

• Chu Qing killed Yan Hui after dismissing his appeal to the Yan Family, then killed Wen Feiwen for his threats and arrogant demands.
• Chu Qing ordered Number One and the other Masked Men to strip Yan Hui's estate clean.
• News spread that five wealthy households and Yan Hui's branch of the Yan Family had been exterminated, prompting demands for an investigation.
• The Martial Enforcement Division and Patrol House formed a joint task force, which traced the killings to Chu Qing and his conflict with Wen Feiwen.
• After reviewing Chu Qing's record and learning he was a Heaven-Connecting Martial Artist, the two department heads chose to follow procedure rather than risk intervening.

The Yan Family failed to persuade its Heaven-Connecting Martial Artist to pursue Yan Hui’s killer, while the Yan Family Head ordered a less powerful search instead. Chu Qing continued clearing anomalies and cultivating, unaware that the Princess was trying to secure him a place at the Martial Academy, until he returned to the Anomaly Division and learned that a gold-robed official wanted to see him.

• The Martial Enforcement Division and Patrol House disbanded their joint investigation into Chu Qing and warned their elites to keep the matter secret.
• After learning the departments would follow procedure, the Yan Family sent an elder to recall a Heaven-Connecting Martial Artist, who refused and stormed out.
• The Yan Family Head told the elder not to risk their strongest people and authorized him to search with other personnel and reserves.
• The Princess worried that Chu Qing’s conflict with the Yan Family would jeopardize his Martial Academy prospects and tried to accelerate the forging of his armor.
• Chu Qing continued clearing anomalies and cultivating, planning to trade his Recommendation Letter and anomaly points for Heaven-Connecting materials.
• After clearing three anomalies, Chu Qing returned to the Anomaly Division, requested that his points be issued, and learned that a gold-robed official wanted to meet him.

Chu Qing and Ying Hongzhu prepared to assassinate Eunuch Mao Shisan as he returned to the Imperial Capital, with Chu Qing planning to exploit his lowered guard inside the city. They chose the boundary between the Fifth and Sixth Rings as the attack site, and Chu Qing ordered Ying Hongzhu to send the other fighters home.

• A gold-robed man told Chu Qing that someone wanted to trade a Recommendation Letter once Chu Qing had three thousand points, and Chu Qing agreed while offering the man a reward of one hundred points.
• Ying Hongzhu gave Chu Qing information about Mao Shisan and the Eight Diamond Guardians, including their formidable fighting records and Mao Shisan’s return to the Imperial Capital at dawn.
• Ying Hongzhu said she would hold Mao Shisan off while Chu Qing dealt with his eight guards, and Chu Qing argued they should attack after Mao Shisan entered the city, when his vigilance would drop.
• Chu Qing and Ying Hongzhu surveyed the Azure Dragon Gate area and selected the boundary between the Fifth and Sixth Rings for the assassination.
• Chu Qing told Ying Hongzhu that only the two of them needed to act and that she should send the more than one hundred cannon fodder home.

Chu Qing and Ying Hongzhu disagreed over using cannon fodder to attack Mao Shisan, while Mao Shisan and the Eight Diamond Guardians approached the Imperial Capital expecting danger. They passed through the city gates without incident, but Mao Shisan stayed wary as they rode toward the Imperial Palace.

• Ying Hongzhu proposed using cannon fodder to hold back the Eight Diamond Guardians while Chu Qing secretly killed them, but Chu Qing argued that a direct attack before they became alert would be safer.
• Mao Shisan and the Eight Diamond Guardians stopped three hundred li from the Imperial Capital to take secret medicine, change horses, and put on armor.
• Mao Shisan warned that enemies might attack even at the city gates and said they only needed to charge through rather than fight.
• The Eight Diamond Guardians prepared for an ambush at the Azure Dragon Gate, but no attackers appeared when the gates opened.
• Mao Shisan and the Eight Diamond Guardians entered the Imperial Capital and rode toward the Imperial Palace, with Mao Shisan insisting they stay alert.

Chu Qing and Ying Hongzhu ambushed Kui Thirteen and his party at the boundary between the Fifth and Sixth Rings. Chu Qing destroyed the Eight Diamond Guardians in seconds, then met Kui Thirteen in battle, where their matching techniques left them evenly matched.

• Kui Thirteen sensed killing intent near the Fifth and Sixth Rings, while Chu Qing and Ying Hongzhu prepared to attack him.
• At five hundred meters, Ying Hongzhu launched a surprise strike against Kui Thirteen as Chu Qing descended on the Eight Diamond Guardians.
• Chu Qing crushed the Eighth Diamond Guardian’s hammer and defeated the other guardians in a few seconds, foiling their signal flare.
• Kui Thirteen abandoned Ying Hongzhu and charged Chu Qing, believing Chu Qing had exhausted himself fighting the guardians.
• Chu Qing and Kui Thirteen exchanged the Thirteen Needles of the Ghost Mother and Heavenly Finger techniques, meeting each other evenly.

Chu Qing and Ying Hongzhu killed Mao Shisan after a fierce battle, then escaped as men in black seized the bodies and shadowy figures investigated the scene. Back at the Anomaly Division, Chu Qing received Eight Divine Hands: Heavenly Gang while Ying Hongzhu read the letter and handed him Mao Shisan’s belongings.

• Chu Qing fought Mao Shisan, matching his secret transmissions before overwhelming him with Eight Divine Hands: Thousand Arms.
• Ying Hongzhu blocked Mao Shisan’s escape, and Chu Qing killed him with the Thirteen Needles of the Ghost Mother.
• Chu Qing and Ying Hongzhu gathered the spoils and left, while men in black arrived, seized Mao Shisan’s and the Eight Diamond Guardians’ bodies, and fled.
• Shadowy figures inspected the battlefield and returned to the Imperial Palace after the soldiers reported what had happened.
• At the Anomaly Division, Ying Hongzhu gave Chu Qing Eight Divine Hands: Heavenly Gang and read the letter, then handed him the rest of Mao Shisan’s belongings.

Chu Qing sorted the spoils and learned that the white jade box was an ancient Jade Casket that only certain Others could open. He kept it to pursue greater benefits, then asked Ying Hongzhu whether Ying Hongzhuang was in danger and whether a letter concerned her.

• Chu Qing gave Ying Hongzhu secret transmissions and sorted hidden weapons, medicines, and other spoils.
• Ying Hongzhu identified a Colored Smoke Jade, abnormal-material beads, and a white jade box as a Jade Casket.
• Ying Hongzhu explained that Jade Caskets could contain precious Strange Arts or Great Medicine and that many Others had died or disappeared over one.
• Chu Qing decided to keep the Jade Casket and seek greater benefits from it rather than give it to the Princess Consort or Red Robe.
• Ying Hongzhu prepared to leave, and Chu Qing asked whether Ying Hongzhuang was in danger and whether the letter concerned her.