Recaps

Chu Qing sent letters requesting grain from the prefectural city and luminous pearls from Loulan, while Tang Wuming arranged to deliver them and personally went to Loulan. The prefectural city and Loulan’s city lord reacted with alarm and urgency to Chu Qing’s requests.

• Chu Qing wrote letters requesting grain from the prefectural city and strange luminous pearls from Loulan, then left to pursue the remaining half of the Lesser Thunderclap Sect's corpse.
• Tang Wuming sent a subordinate to deliver Chu Qing’s letter to the prefectural city, where a gatekeeper delayed it until the steward recognized Chu Qing’s name and ordered the gatekeeper and his family to swallow golden beans.
• Tang Wuming decided to travel to Loulan himself to secure luminous pearls for Chu Qing and used his cultivation to reach Loulan City by dawn.
• Gongyang Qing declared that he would kill Chu Qing to restore his family’s prestige, but he panicked when he saw Chu Qing’s name on the letter.
• Gongyang Qing ordered the city to search for luminous pearls and promised a top-grade secret transmission to anyone who found one.

Gongyang Qing rallied Loulan’s families to search for Tang Wuming’s lost pearl, and they soon delivered countless pearls to him. At Lesser Thunder Sound Mountain, Chu Qing and his companions found the anomaly too powerful to confront, but as they prepared to leave, a voice called them back.

• Gongyang Qing persuaded more than a hundred families and fifty-five state cities to search for Chu Qing’s lost pearl after learning of Chu Qing’s exploits and wanted status.
• The families sent Heaven-Reaching Experts to wipe out the Valley of Villains, then brought Tang Wuming countless pearls to inspect.
• Chu Qing, the Princess Consort, and Madam Shi roasted a lion at the foot of Lesser Thunder Sound Mountain before testing the mountain’s deadly white mist.
• The Princess Consort summoned the Human Emperor Banner to speak with the anomaly, but her hair was destroyed and she concluded she could not defeat it alone.
• Chu Qing’s blood qi also failed against the mist, so the three companions decided to leave until they could find another Otherkin.
• A voice from the mountain called out, asking the three honored guests to stay.

Chu Qing, the Princess Consort, and Madam Shi encountered a revived ghost god at Lesser Thunder Sound Mountain and escaped before it could capture them. After touring the Chimon Empire, Madam Shi left for the forbidden zone, while Chu Qing returned to the Imperial Capital and began opening his third Heaven-Connecting Path.

• The Princess Consort recognized the speaking smoke figure as a ghost god, and Chu Qing carried her and Madam Shi away at tremendous speed before it could seize them.
• The Princess Consort warned that ghost gods were terrifying and that defeating one had historically required sacrificing hundreds or thousands of strange people.
• Chu Qing and the two women traveled across the Chimon Empire, where the Princess Consort warned that the Millennial Tribulation would come in a little over ten years.
• Madam Shi failed to use the strange pearls to open her fourth Heaven-Connecting Path, then departed for the forbidden zone; the Princess Consort prepared to return to the Imperial Capital with Chu Qing.
• Chu Qing visited Tang Wuming at Stone Ridge Mountain, instructed him to plant more grain, and arranged for Zhao Hongxiu and the others to send him Silver Coin and retrieve the strange pearls.
• Chu Qing returned to the Martial Academy, swallowed a strange pearl, and began opening his third Heaven-Connecting Path without leaving his quarters.

Chu Qing received Zuo Qianqiu, who had been targeted by powerful factions after helping Chu Qing obtain a Recommendation Letter, and learned that his assessment mission had been sabotaged. Chu Qing lent him a divine weapon and equipped armor boots, then waited for the plotters to act against him.

• While Chu Qing cultivated in seclusion, Zuo Qianqiu waited outside and asked the maids to arrange a meeting.
• Chu Qing allowed Zuo Qianqiu to enter while opening his third Heaven-Connecting Path and tempering himself.
• Zuo Qianqiu explained that the great families, the Unique Association, and his own family had turned against him, and his companions had abandoned his assessment mission.
• Chu Qing realized the scheme against Zuo Qianqiu was meant to weaken him before his own assessment mission.
• Chu Qing lent Zuo Qianqiu a divine weapon longsword and equipped armor boots, and Zuo Qianqiu left confident he could complete the mission.
• Chu Qing remarked that he had lent out his equipment and wondered what ability his enemies had to scheme against him.

Chu Qing opened his third Heaven-Connecting Path, and his Aberrant Dragon Sinew devoured all three paths, greatly strengthening his body. He set his sights on opening more paths and went to the Library Pavilion to find First Limit-breaking methods.

• The Martial Academy's higher-ups decided to place Chu Qing's end-of-month assessment in the forbidden zone, believing he would stay for its resources.
• The Princess Consort spent her vital blood refining Tang Wuming's unusual pearls, and Chu Qing used them with the academy's resources to complete his third Heaven-Connecting Path.
• Chu Qing's Aberrant Dragon Sinew swallowed his first, second, and third Heaven-Connecting Paths, multiplying his strength and transforming his bones and body.
• Chu Qing resolved to open more Heaven-Connecting Paths and walked through the academy to the Library Pavilion.
• Chu Qing asked for First Limit-breaking methods, rewarded a maidservant with one thousand black gold, and began browsing the secret inheritances.

Chu Qing studied the limit-breaking methods, discovered the barriers and acupoints involved in reaching the Second Limit, and began testing both on himself. After breaking thirty-six barriers and opening his first acupoint, he planned to open them all before entering the Second Limit.

• Chu Qing read every limit-breaking secret teaching in the Library Pavilion and learned that the First Limit had up to seventy-two barriers, while opening acupoints could strengthen a martial artist’s foundation.
• Chu Qing tested two methods and broke his first two barriers, gaining the power of more than a hundred Golden Sinews and Golden Bones from each.
• Chu Qing broke thirty-six barriers overnight, then left the Library Pavilion as students discussed his strength and wondered whether they could ever catch up to him.
• Chu Qing returned to his residence, used acupoint resources to open his dantian, and found that his Spirit and Energy recovered roughly one thousandth faster.
• Chu Qing estimated that opening all seven hundred and twenty acupoints would take about thirty days and decided to break the barriers first, then open the acupoints before entering the Second Limit.

Chu Qing accepted an early assessment mission to escort armor, divine weapons, and a Ministry of Works expert into the forbidden zone. He joined a large military escort headed to the Ninth Princess, and chose to guard the carriage carrying the supplies.

• Chu Qing decided to use the Martial Academy’s resources to advance his cultivation after completing the assessment, and sent servants to accept a mission for him.
• The servants returned with three sticks of secret incense as a mission reward, and Chu Qing learned he had to escort goods into the forbidden zone.
• At the Armory Office, Chu Qing received three sets of full armor and three divine weapons and met Ying Honghua and the other members of an escort team from thirteen departments.
• Ying Honghua explained that the Empire sent supplies to the Ninth Princess every three months and that the masked Ministry of Works woman was vital because she could repair armor and divine weapons.
• When the escort carriages departed, Chu Qing chose to guard the carriage carrying the full armor and divine weapons.

Chu Qing traveled with Ying Honghua’s convoy through the Great Zhou and Rose Empires, learning how the Millennial Calamities devastated ordinary people and how surviving empires prepared for war. The convoy entered the resource-rich Eternal Night Empire, where Chu Qing found the land and sky unnaturally dim and its people eerily lifeless.

• Chu Qing guarded the convoy’s divine weapons and armor while quietly cultivating and opening acupoints during the journey.
• The convoy crossed the Great Zhou Empire and entered the frozen Rose Empire, where Chu Qing learned its calamity was nearing its end and the survivors were preparing for war.
• Ying Honghua explained how Millennial Calamities repeatedly reduced populations and allowed new empires to rise, then warned Chu Qing about the lawless experts near the restricted zone.
• Ying Honghua told Chu Qing that Eternal Night had abundant resources and many Heaven-Reaching Experts, but travelers often disappeared there.
• Chu Qing entered the Eternal Night Empire and saw that its border divided it from Rose into a dim, desolate world whose locals looked numb despite their brightly lit cities.

Chu Qing’s convoy encountered a blockade by the Skeleton Society on the way to a restricted zone, and the travelers argued over whether to surrender a divine weapon or ask the Ministry of Works woman to repair armor. Impatient and determined to protect his mission, Chu Qing stepped forward to confront the giant blocking their path.

• The convoy traveled through the darkness using scripture-marked candles and gongs, while Ying Honghua warned Chu Qing that the restricted zone was a day and night away and that experts there were dangerous.
• The blind man played his erhu to challenge the killing intent ahead, but it grew stronger as the convoy approached.
• A masked giant from the Skeleton Society demanded that the travelers repair an armor set or surrender a divine weapon within one minute.
• Ying Honghua and the others argued over whether to hand over a divine weapon or have the Ministry of Works woman repair armor, while Chu Qing grew impatient.
• Chu Qing stepped across several hundred meters and appeared before the giant, intending to deal with the Skeleton Society himself.

Chu Qing confronted members of the Skeleton Society who tried to rob his group of a divine weapon and destroyed them both. He revealed that he was only escorting the divine weapon armor and had no intention of staying in the forbidden zone.

• Chu Qing arrived and challenged the giant, who demanded a divine weapon or armored gear on behalf of the Skeleton Society.
• The giant attacked Chu Qing with chains, but Chu Qing broke them, pierced the giant's chest, and killed him as a Blood Peacock burst from the corpse.
• A bowman fired metal pellets at Chu Qing, who destroyed the projectiles and pursued him despite the bowman's attempts to flee.
• The bowman tried to negotiate and then attacked with a bowstring whip, but Chu Qing struck him with the Eight Gods Method and shattered his body.
• Chu Qing said he had only been escorting the divine weapon armor and was not staying in the forbidden zone.

Chu Qing killed two Skeleton Society members who tried to rob the convoy, then continued toward the forbidden zone and learned how Fire Pits held back its darkness. At Wu Fortress, Skeleton Society president Wu Tiande prioritized a secret alliance with a Young Master from Great Gan over retaliating against Chu Qing.

• Chu Qing dismissed the threat of Skeleton Society retaliation, while the convoy members suspected his humble background was a disguise for powerful backing.
• The convoy encountered abandoned shelters and Fire Pits near the forbidden zone, and Ying Honghua explained how beast ashes could detect and destroy evil things and anomalies.
• Chu Qing collected some Fire Pit ashes to test their usefulness against anomalies and considered using them to conceal money and earn Anomaly Division points.
• At Wu Fortress, Wu Tiande urged Skeleton Society leaders to focus on cooperating with the Young Master of Great Gan and keep a low profile despite Chu Qing killing two of their members.
• Wu Tiande and the other leaders agreed they could deal with Chu Qing after their alliance was secured, possibly asking the Young Master to kill him.

Chu Qing’s convoy entered the forbidden zone, where increasingly dangerous beasts attacked them. After Chu Qing used his arrows to protect the guards, he persuaded the Heaven-Reaching Experts to help clear beasts and strengthen the fire pits as they traveled toward Desolate Valley.

• Chu Qing entered the forbidden zone with Ying Honghua’s group and learned that the fire pits marked roads deeper into the darkness.
• As the convoy advanced, fire pits grew farther apart and packs of powerful beasts caused severe casualties among the guards.
• Chu Qing borrowed arrows and killed the attacking beasts with precise, powerful shots, saving the guards from further injuries.
• A Heaven-Reaching Expert warned Chu Qing to conserve his strength for stronger threats, prompting the guards to feel humiliated and one to apologize.
• Chu Qing said he was clearing beasts to replenish the fire pits and aid the Empire, and Ying Honghua and the other experts agreed to help kill the beasts along the route.

Chu Qing’s convoy cleared beasts from the restricted area and gave their corpses to a one-eyed martial artist to fuel his Fire Pit. After learning how Fire Pits were built, Chu Qing led the convoy deeper into the darkness, while the martial artist hoped he would return alive.

• Chu Qing and the Heaven-Reaching Experts killed beasts along the route, raising the guards’ spirits and speeding up the convoy.
• At a Fire Pit, the one-eyed martial artist mistook the approaching convoy’s smell of blood for signs of an ambush, then saw guards carrying beast corpses.
• Chu Qing ordered the guards to feed the corpses to the Fire Pit, strengthening its flames and giving the injured martial artist years of fuel.
• The one-eyed martial artist described the Fire Pit’s ancient Unorthodox Path origins and explained how to build one, which Chu Qing memorized.
• After resting and sharing a meal, Chu Qing led the convoy onward, and the one-eyed martial artist silently wished him a safe return.

Wu Tiande agreed to help Mr. Ji assassinate Ninth Princess at Mirror Moon Lake in exchange for two portions of New Realm secret medicine. When a convoy carrying Great Gan Empire Martial Academy students approached, Mr. Ji planned to kill Chu Qing after a resource handover and blame him for Ninth Princess’s death.

• Wu Tiande met Mr. Ji in Desolate Valley and agreed to bring the Skeleton Society’s experts to kill Ninth Princess at Mirror Moon Lake in three days.
• Wu Tiande demanded one portion of New Realm secret medicine in advance, but Mr. Ji persuaded him to trust Great Qian Young Master’s reputation and promised the medicine after the job.
• Wu Tiande asked to move the assassination away from Mirror Moon Lake, but Mr. Ji insisted they needed its anomaly to kill Ninth Princess.
• Wu Tiande’s scouts reported that an unmarked convoy had stopped nearby and one vehicle was heading toward the valley.
• Mr. Ji identified the arrivals as Great Gan Empire Martial Academy students and said he would complete a resource handover, then have Chu Qing killed and blame him for Ninth Princess’s death.

Chu Qing delivered the divine weapons and equipment to Mr. Ji at Desolate Valley, but sensed that Mr. Ji and the Skeleton Society intended to kill him. Chu Qing walked away to draw them out, while Mr. Ji prepared to pursue him and seize the goods for his young master.

• Ying Honghua invited Chu Qing to visit Mirror Moon Lake, where the Ninth Princess planned to build a base, and Chu Qing continued to Desolate Valley.
• Chu Qing found Mr. Ji and Wu Tiande of the Skeleton Society at Desolate Valley and demanded that Mr. Ji verify his identity and follow the handover rules.
• Mr. Ji considered altering the documents to divert the goods but completed the handover after Chu Qing insisted on the proper procedure.
• Chu Qing sensed killing intent, left Desolate Valley, and walked toward the restricted zone’s edge to lure his would-be attackers into making a move.
• Mr. Ji rejected Wu Tiande’s offer to help, picked up a divine weapon, and prepared to hunt down Chu Qing for his young master.

Mr. Ji went to kill Chu Qing but was badly beaten, and Wu Tiande’s men charged out of Desolate Valley to claim the kill, only to be slaughtered. Chu Qing emerged from the darkness, killed Mr. Ji, and left the valley’s survivors fleeing.

• Mr. Ji left Desolate Valley with a divine weapon, while Wu Tiande and his underlings decided to kill Chu Qing themselves and earn favor with Mr. Ji’s patron.
• Mr. Ji was hurled back into the valley, bloodied, and admitted that Chu Qing had defeated him in an ambush outside.
• Wu Tiande’s men charged the valley exit in successive groups, but Chu Qing killed them, prompting Wu Tiande and others to flee.
• Chu Qing emerged carrying divine weapons, confronted Mr. Ji, and rejected his pleas that he had only been testing Chu Qing for the Ninth Princess.
• Chu Qing grabbed Mr. Ji, told him to close his eyes so he would not be afraid, and tore off his head.

Chu Qing avenged Mr. Ji by hunting down Skeleton Society members and destroying their headquarters, while the Ninth Princess deduced what had happened and became interested in him. Chu Qing returned safely to the Imperial Capital Martial Academy, collected resources, and went back to Peach Blossom Dock as his enemies reeled at his survival.

• Chu Qing killed ten fleeing Skeleton Society members, then gathered the divine weapons and armored gear and vowed to destroy the society.
• Chu Qing traveled to the Eternal Night Empire and slaughtered the Skeleton Society at its headquarters, driving its surviving members into hiding.
• Wu Tiande returned to find the Skeleton Society in ruins, fled across several empires, and became a farmer.
• The Ninth Princess's party found Mr. Ji's remains in Desolate Valley, and she heard Ying Honghua's account of Chu Qing before ordering them to go to Mirror Moon Lake.
• Chu Qing returned alive to the Imperial Capital Martial Academy, where his survival alarmed the Young Master's allies and pleased those concerned with the Academy's rules.
• Chu Qing completed an assessment, collected special and regular resources, and returned to Peach Blossom Dock carrying his supplies and gear.

At Peach Blossom Dock, Chu Qing explained that he had obtained the Ninth Princess’s divine weapons and armor in the forbidden zone, then declared that he wanted to become an overlord and act without restraint. After rapidly breaking through all 720 First Limit barriers, he prepared to claim Second Limit resources, only to learn that the Martial Academy required him to pass a test first.

• The Princess Consort questioned Chu Qing about the six sets of divine weapons and armor, and he explained that he had obtained them in the forbidden zone.
• Chu Qing told the Princess Consort that he wanted to increase his strength, become an overlord, and eventually act without restraint; he failed to harm her when she dared him to try.
• After settling matters at Peach Blossom Dock, Chu Qing wrote to Madam Shi, Madam Jin, and Tang Wuming, then cultivated at the Martial Academy for more than half a month.
• Chu Qing opened all 720 acupoints and broke through 720 First Limit barriers, discovering that his Aberrant profession had given him far more barriers than expected.
• Chu Qing chose to pursue the resource-intensive Second Limit path and ordered his servants to claim his resources, but they told him he first had to pass a test confirming his First Limit breakthrough.

Chu Qing went to the Martial Academy's testing grounds to challenge a First Limit Stone Man and prove he could claim Second Limit resources. As the other students mocked him for supposedly abandoning the second Heaven-Connecting Path, he ignored them and called a Stone Man to fight.

• Chu Qing learned how Stone Men assessed students and saw Second Limit students struggling against a First Limit Stone Man.
• The Martial Master told Chu Qing that a Stone Man would confirm his breakthrough after using one hundred and eight secret legacies.
• Other students mocked Chu Qing, assuming he had given up on opening the second Heaven-Connecting Path, while one woman suggested he might have completed it already.
• Chu Qing ignored the students, chose a Stone Man, and challenged it to fight.

Chu Qing challenged Stone Man and shattered it, shocking the Martial Academy’s young prodigies. He then threatened Wang Fan, who avoided being killed by claiming Chu Qing was his brother-in-law.

• Wang Fan approached Chu Qing and tried to explain the rules for challenging Stone Man, but Chu Qing ignored him and attacked the stone guardian.
• Chu Qing used the Eight Gods secret art to strike Stone Man’s head, then returned to Wang Fan and demanded that he repeat what he had said.
• Stone Man cracked apart and collapsed, leaving Martial Master and the young prodigies stunned before its fragments began to fuse and recover.
• Chu Qing gave Wang Fan ten seconds to continue speaking and prepared to kill him when Wang Fan stumbled over his words.
• Wang Fan finally said he was worthy to speak for Chu Qing because he was Chu Qing’s brother-in-law.

Chu Qing shattered the Martial Academy's Stone Man in thirty-seven moves, shocking the academy's New Realm martial artists. He left demanding resources for the Second Limit, and the academy's leaders decided to grant him special privileges and protection.

• Wang Fan claimed the Princess Consort was his elder sister and called Chu Qing his brother-in-law, persuading Chu Qing to spare him.
• Chu Qing shattered the Stone Man, and the Martial Master blew the whistle to summon the academy's leaders.
• The arriving New Realm martial artists suppressed everyone at the training grounds, but Chu Qing remained standing and challenged them.
• The Martial Master told the leaders that Chu Qing had shattered the Stone Man in thirty-seven moves, leaving them stunned.
• Chu Qing departed after demanding resources for the Second Limit, and the leaders agreed to provide whatever he wanted, protect him outside the academy, and exempt him from its rules.

After Chu Qing gained unrestricted privileges in the Martial Academy by smashing a Stone Man, the empire’s Lineages and Young Master considered how to deal with him. Young Master chose to focus on overthrowing the dynasty and dismissed Chu Qing as a minor threat.

• Martial Academy prodigies failed to break the Stone Man and accepted how far Chu Qing surpassed them, while Wang Fan blocked those who wanted to confront him.
• News of Chu Qing’s privileges spread across the Great Gan Empire, leaving the top Lineages debating whether to kill him or win him over.
• The Lineages turned to Young Master for a solution because Chu Qing was difficult to kill or recruit.
• Young Master’s advisers argued over whether to target Chu Qing or prioritize contacting the Hidden Dragons and overthrowing the dynasty.
• Young Master decided to focus on overthrowing the court and let Chu Qing act as he pleased.

Chu Qing rejected efforts by powerful families to recruit him, insisting that he already had everything they could offer and needed no alliance. The families left unable to meet his demands, and word spread that even their vast resources could not persuade him.

• Chu Qing dismissed his servants' suggestion that he use his abundant cultivation resources to win over noble scions, telling them to leave if they might delay his training.
• More than a dozen Heaven-Piercing Heavenly Prides visited Chu Qing and proposed an alliance to establish power in the Imperial Capital, but he refused.
• Chu Qing challenged the visitors to name benefits he lacked, rejected their offers, and declared that even emperors would one day bow before him.
• After the visitors left empty-handed, other great families tried to approach Chu Qing, but he told them to exceed the earlier offers before seeking a meeting.
• The families discovered that the previous offers were already immense and fell silent, wondering why Chu Qing's expectations were so high.

Chu Qing refused the aristocratic families’ offers and became famous across the Great Gan Empire and beyond, while Cui Moyang and Nangong pursued their own paths to greater strength. At the Imperial Capital Martial Academy, Old Lady Five Absolutes visited Chu Qing and praised his unprecedented achievement.

• News spread that Chu Qing had refused the joint offers of more than a dozen aristocratic families, and people across the empire discussed his decision.
• In Great Zhou, Cui Moyang heard of Chu Qing’s growing fame and resolved to open a third Heaven-Connecting Path, possibly more, as she continued forging her foundation through assassinations.
• Nangong received letters from Chu Qing and Cui Moyang about cultivation secrets, learned of Chu Qing’s achievements, and resolved to pursue a path involving dragon sinews.
• Nangong read her Lineage’s plans and set out to trade with a Forbidden Zone creature for a treasure tied to her Lineage and her New Realm path.
• At the Imperial Capital Martial Academy, Chu Qing reflected that the aristocratic families’ gifts would make him dependent on them, then prepared to cultivate.
• Old Lady Five Absolutes visited Chu Qing, praised him for blowing apart the Stone Man, and called his refusal of the families’ offers an unprecedented feat.

Chu Qing rejected the Martial Academy’s offer of resources and secret techniques unless it could provide him with materials to become an Outsider. Old Woman Wu Jue warned that warriors who became Outsiders often met a miserable fate.

• Old Woman Wu Jue told Chu Qing that his rejection of the great clans made him the first person in recorded history to resist their recruitment.
• She asked Chu Qing to become a pillar of the Martial Academy, explaining that it needed powerful experts to survive the Millennial Tribulations.
• Old Woman Wu Jue offered him secret knowledge and showed him an ancient method for building a Divine Treasury that could potentially become a strange treasure.
• After examining the method’s immense material costs, Chu Qing said he wanted materials to become an Outsider instead.
• Old Woman Wu Jue hesitated, then warned Chu Qing that many warriors who became Outsiders never lived to see the end of their glory.