Chapter Summaries

Chu Qing abandoned his plan to attack the noble families in the main city and returned toward Shi State City, killing a funeral procession of Gongyang and Luo Family retainers along the way. In Shi State City, five noble family heads debated backing him despite the powerful enemies he had made, hoping he could help them rise during the coming Millennial Tribulation.

• Chu Qing found the main city gates shut and newly repaired, so he gave up waiting for its experts and headed back to Shi State City.
• On the road, Chu Qing met a funeral procession whose mourners claimed their masters, Gongyang Zhanren and Luo Yong, had been killed; when they pleaded for help, Chu Qing killed them instead.
• After nightfall, illusory white figures rose from the dead retainers and continued their slow funeral procession, repeatedly looking back.
• Five noble family heads met in Shi State City and discussed Chu Qing's attacks on the Gongyang Family, Luo Family, and Martial Academy.
• The Hua Family head urged the others to keep supporting Chu Qing, arguing that he could survive in the main city and help their families gain power during the Millennial Tribulation.

Chu Qing returned safely from the main city, prompting King Shiyu and the lineage heads to abandon plans to confront him and keep their distance. Back at the Shi Residence, Chu Qing reunited with Madam Jin, Madam Shi, and Hua Yu, then exchanged rapid blows with Madam Shi while she sang opera.

• King Shiyu received news that Chu Qing had returned unharmed, and he urged the lineage heads to stay away from him while they waited for their chance to rise during the Millennial Tribulation.
• Chu Qing returned to the Shi Residence, where Madam Jin, Madam Shi, and Hua Yu checked that he was safe.
• Hua Yu scolded Chu Qing for killing people in the main city, but he defended his actions and said he would kill anyone who provoked him.
• Hua Yu left after Madam Shi gave her a hostile look, then turned back and found Madam Shi singing opera as she fought Chu Qing.
• Madam Shi praised Chu Qing's techniques after their fast-paced exchange ended, while Nangong argued that Chu Qing was already stronger than her.

Chu Qing searched Stone Ridge Mountain for Princess Consort and Hong Yi, hoping to trade with them for a top-tier Pelt Realm secret transmission. After following signs of fierce battles between otherworlders, he encountered Hong Yi, whose expression and gaze seemed to belong to someone else.

• Chu Qing reviewed the Pelt Realm secret transmissions offered by Hua Yu, Madam Shi, and Daughter of Stonemason Xu, but found none from the aristocratic families that matched the two-trait transmissions he wanted.
• Chu Qing left Madam Shi and the others and traveled to Stone Ridge Mountain to find Princess Consort and Hong Yi.
• Chu Qing searched deeper into the mountains, observing unusual animals and increasing numbers of Three-legged Golden Toads, but found no sign of the two otherworlders.
• Chu Qing followed traces of battles marked by red and golden blood, eventually finding ashes and golden blood where an otherworlder had likely died.
• As Chu Qing began returning, a vast crimson light swept toward him, and Hong Yi appeared with an expression and gaze that made her seem like a different person.

Chu Qing learned that strange folk were fighting over the Millennial Calamity, which Red Robe said threatened their kind, and he set out to find a two-trait secret inheritance and the Daoist Nun. At the desert inn, he discovered that the Daoist Nun’s companion belonged to the Azure Cloud Sect of Great Zhou, then faced Daoist Golden Toad’s challenge with a single raised finger.

• Red Robe told Chu Qing that no strange folk had a two-trait Pelt Realm secret inheritance and warned him to stay away from Stone Ridge Mountain because strange folk were battling over the Millennial Calamity.
• Chu Qing shared the desert diary’s warning about investigating the calamity, and Red Robe urged him to keep it secret before giving him a token and telling him to seek a secret inheritance in Great Zhou.
• Chu Qing returned to Madam Jin and the others for a day, then traveled to the desert to look for the Daoist Nun.
• The innkeeper told Chu Qing that the Daoist Nun’s companion Xiao Suo belonged to the Azure Cloud Sect, and Daoist Golden Toad explained that the sect was affiliated with Bai Yu Jing in Heaven and based in Great Zhou.
• Chu Qing asked the innkeeper and Daoist Golden Toad to pass the Daoist Nun a message if they encountered her, then Daoist Golden Toad claimed his strength had improved and asked how many of Chu Qing’s moves he could withstand.
• Chu Qing pointed one finger at Daoist Golden Toad’s forehead and declared that one finger was enough to kill him.

After finding Other Redclad’s hidden room, Chu Qing read her diary and learned that she had fought anomalies and feared the Millennial Tribulation. He left her belongings untouched and prepared to seek more secret transmissions at the Martial Academy, giving Madam Shi a token to shelter her household if danger came.

• The Daoist gave up training after comparing himself with Chu Qing and decided to plant trees instead.
• Chu Qing went to Other Redclad’s manor and opened her black-gold secret chamber with her token.
• Chu Qing found Redclad’s diary, which described her anomaly-clearing work, her fear that her other self would awaken, and her conflict with groups seeking to kill Others.
• Chu Qing returned to the Shi Residence without taking anything and gave Madam Shi Redclad’s token as a possible refuge.
• Chu Qing said he would visit the Martial Academy for more secret transmissions, while Madam Shi and Madam Jin teased him about seducing Other Redclad.

Chu Qing discovered that the Martial Academy’s assessment tasks centered on the Empire’s new reforms and decided to take them all for the secret transmissions. He threatened the noble houses with a choice between giving him transmissions and letting him mobilize the city to carry out reforms that would undermine their power.

• Chu Qing accepted the Library Pavilion’s assessment to teach Qingshui Street’s residents about the new legal system and learned that the reforms were being poorly communicated.
• Chu Qing returned to the Martial Academy and inspected the assessment tasks, finding that nearly all concerned reforms inspired by his earlier letter to the Princess.
• Chu Qing realized that the noble-born students would avoid tasks that threatened their houses’ interests, leaving him free to claim hundreds of secret transmissions by completing them.
• Chu Qing told the old scholar to take his ultimatum to the Heads of the House: each house could give him five Skin Marrow Realm secret transmissions, or he would complete every task and claim the Academy’s transmissions.

Chu Qing explained that he wanted hundreds of Pelt Realm secret inheritances to fuse into a new one, while warning aristocratic families he would rally the public or kill opposing Heads of the House. After learning that seventy-two Heads of the House would gather at King Shiyu's Mansion, he decided to meet them, claiming he would avoid violence.

• The old teacher warned Chu Qing that aristocratic families would resist land distribution and free education, but Chu Qing said he wanted secret inheritances to create a new one.
• Chu Qing described two ways to overcome the families' resistance: stir public support for reform or kill the Heads of the House who opposed him.
• The old teacher spread Chu Qing's intentions, prompting aristocratic families to debate whether to support, oppose, or kill him.
• Chu Qing asked five allied Heads of the House to watch King Shiyu's faction and repeated that he wanted secret inheritances, not a place in the Reformists or conservatives.
• The allies learned that seventy-two Heads of the House would attend a night banquet at King Shiyu's Mansion, and Chu Qing decided to go speak with them without resorting to violence.

King Shiyu and the assembled family heads agreed to kill Chu Qing and stall the reforms, believing they could stop the Reformists by eliminating him. The Head of the Cheng Family arrived with a box that revealed a severed head, leaving the banquet hall stunned.

• The family heads gathered at King Shiyu's Mansion and denounced Chu Qing's land and education reforms, with the Head of the Qi Family urging them to pool their hidden reserves and kill him.
• King Shiyu explained that Chu Qing's demand for secret transmissions was an excuse and that he was acting as a weapon for the Reformists and the Princess.
• The family heads agreed to kill Chu Qing and delay the reforms for ten days, expecting the Reformists to back down if they could not implement them.
• King Shiyu noticed that the Heads of the Liu and Cheng Families had not arrived, then welcomed the Head of the Cheng Family when he appeared carrying a tray and a box.
• The Head of the Cheng Family insisted on handing the box to King Shiyu himself, then said he wanted to go home.
• King Shiyu opened the box, and a severed head rolled out, silencing the banquet hall.

The Head of the Liu Family traveled toward King Shiyu's Mansion with Liu Yidao as his guard, but Chu Qing intercepted them and demanded secret manuals. Chu Qing defeated Liu Yidao and beheaded the Liu family head, leaving Liu Yidao fleeing with the corpse as he called on the Cheng family head to save him.

• The Head of the Liu Family summoned Liu Yidao to escort him to King Shiyu's Mansion, despite his growing unease.
• Chu Qing blocked the Liu family's convoy and demanded that the Head of the Liu Family quietly return and provide fur-and-hide secret manuals.
• The Head of the Liu Family ordered his guards and several Third Limit experts to attack Chu Qing, who used the Peacock technique to daze them and snap their necks.
• Liu Yidao attacked Chu Qing with Seven Flashes in the Wind, but Chu Qing's sound-wave attack shattered his afterimages and forced him to flee with the Head of the Liu Family.
• Liu Yidao ran past the Cheng family convoy and called for the Cheng family head to save him, while Chu Qing beheaded the Head of the Liu Family and left Liu Yidao carrying the headless corpse.

After Chu Qing killed the Head of the Liu Family, he forced the Head of the Cheng Family to deliver the head to King Shiyu and demand secret manuals from the aristocratic houses. The killing frightened many leaders into retreat, while King Shiyu secretly ordered his Forbidden Army to eliminate the Head of the Duan Family.

• Chu Qing ordered the Head of the Cheng Family to deliver the Head of the Liu Family to King Shiyu and demand five hundred secret manuals from the aristocratic houses.
• The Head of the Cheng Family carried the box into King Shiyu's Mansion, where the head fell out before the banquet guests.
• The Head of the Cheng Family admitted he feared Chu Qing and said he would give him secret manuals and implement his new laws.
• Many heads of aristocratic houses hurried away, while the remaining leaders urged King Shiyu to organize an attack on Chu Qing.
• The Head of the Duan Family vowed to target Chu Qing's loved ones and Stone Rock County, but King Shiyu disavowed him.
• After the guests left, King Shiyu ordered his Forbidden Army to wipe out the Head of the Duan Family.

King Shiyu blamed Chu Qing for the deaths of several great-house heads, while the Liu Family discovered that Chu Qing had secretly trapped Liu Yidao with a deadly hidden trick. Their old ancestor concluded that Chu Qing was exceptionally powerful and proposed having him leave a descendant for the Liu Family.

• King Shiyu learned that his Imperial Guards had killed the Duan Family head after Chu Qing killed the Jiang Family head, and he blamed Chu Qing for both deaths.
• Liu Yidao returned to the Liu Family with the Head of the Liu Family's headless corpse and claimed he had not noticed Chu Qing take the head.
• Liu Yidao reenacted his Seven Flashes in the Wind technique, and the Lion's Roar elder's attack triggered a hidden trick that killed him.
• The Liu Family's old hidden foundation examined Liu Yidao's corpse and determined that Chu Qing had planted the hidden trick.
• The old ancestor praised Chu Qing's abilities and suggested finding a way for him to leave a descendant for the Liu Family.

Chu Qing claimed hundreds of top-tier Pelt Realm secret manuals as his reward for promoting the Empire’s new laws, then rapidly read them while trying to find manuals he could fuse. His actions changed the Princess’s view of the reform, and she ordered her treasury’s Pelt Realm manuals sent to him by eagle.

• Chu Qing told the old teacher that he had completed his assessment task and demanded his secret manuals.
• Chu Qing rapidly read through the manuals in the Library Pavilion, registering each in his Profession Slot while the old teacher questioned his approach.
• Aristocratic houses argued over whether to keep promoting the new laws, with some members fearing Chu Qing’s retaliation.
• The female official reported Chu Qing’s success to the Princess, who marveled that he had achieved what the Reformists could not.
• The Princess ordered every Pelt Realm secret manual in her treasury delivered to Chu Qing by eagle.

Chu Qing read hundreds of secret arts brought by the Martial Academy and a group of soldiers, denying that he was trying to create a new one. Back in his room, he secretly celebrated his many Profession Slot fusions and discovered that his latest secret art could combine with Eight Divine Hands.

• The Princess gave Chu Qing hundreds of top-tier Skin Marrow Realm secret arts to repay his help with the reform.
• Chu Qing read the Martial Academy's secret arts as envious students and the old master watched, then ordinary soldiers arrived with several hundred more.
• After finishing the books, Chu Qing said he had gathered secret arts to establish a Lineage someday, and left without claiming to have created a new art.
• Alone in his room, Chu Qing revealed that he had fused several dual-trait secret arts through his Profession Slot.
• Chu Qing's latest fusion produced a secret art related to the Feng Shui and Earth Fire moves of Eight Divine Hands, which he fused again.

Chu Qing discovered that the limit-breaking Eight Gods secret transmission could reforge the Pelt Realm, chose defense for all three traits, and began cultivating it. His training was interrupted by Liu Xuer, who offered the Liu Family’s friendship and herself as a way to win him over.

• Chu Qing realized Eight Gods had no realms or special material requirements and could let him choose three Pelt Realm traits, but decided to keep the secret transmission to himself.
• He chose defense for all three traits and cultivated Eight Gods, strengthening his skin and hair as his hair grew longer, darker, and hard enough to pierce wood.
• Liu Xuer visited Chu Qing and explained that the Liu Family was divided between revenge and her elder brother’s wish to befriend him.
• Liu Xuer said her husband belonged to the Bai Family of the Imperial Capital and offered to stay at Chu Qing’s disposal during her year-long visit.
• Chu Qing protested that he was not a shameless scoundrel, but Liu Xuer took his hand and pressed it to her chest, insisting that the Liu Family sincerely wished to befriend him.

Chu Qing settled into seclusion at the Shi Residence, using the aristocratic families’ resources and Madam Jin’s support to rapidly advance his Pelt Realm. As copper-like pathways emerged beneath his skin, he wondered whether the immense formations he had seen might belong to a gigantic living creature.

• Chu Qing rejected Liu Xuer’s offer of empty-handed sincerity, promised not to take revenge on the Liu family, and told her she could visit him at Hua Yu’s estate.
• Madam Jin advised Chu Qing to complete the Pelt Realm and open at least one Heaven-Connecting Path, and Chu Qing agreed to cultivate at the Shi Residence.
• Chu Qing trained with the Eight Gods Secret Transmission, consumed secret medicines and Copper Coins, and studied under Madam Jin’s strict routine.
• After five days, Chu Qing reached Iron Grade in the Pelt Realm, faster than Madam Shi had expected, and she celebrated by singing opera for him.
• Over the next ten days, Chu Qing’s hair became iron-hard and his pelt began advancing toward Copper Grade, with copper-like threads spreading beneath his skin and linking his pores to his body hair.
• Chu Qing noticed that the threads resembled pathways beneath Stone Ridge Mountain and Extreme Cold Lake, then asked Madam Jin how large mythical creatures could grow.

Chu Qing completed bronze-grade pelt in a month while the five great lineages backed his cultivation and land reforms unsettled the Rebel Army. He began pursuing silver-grade pelt and planned to reach gold grade before the New Year, while Madam Shi prepared to leave for the Armored Soldier Sect without him.

• The five great lineages supplied Chu Qing with resources, while their descendants schemed to produce a bloodline descendant with him.
• The prefectural city began distributing land and absorbing refugees, prompting the Rebel Army to blame Chu Qing and plan his assassination.
• Rebel Army higher-ups discussed how to kill Chu Qing despite Madam Shi's strength and his cautious routine, and one of them proposed a plan.
• After a month of intense training, Chu Qing completed bronze-grade pelt and told Madam Shi he had practiced several thousand Limit-Breaking Skills.
• Chu Qing said he wanted gold-grade pelt before the New Year so he could seek Martial Academy resources and open the Heaven-Connecting Path.
• Madam Shi decided to return to the Armored Soldier Sect, but refused Chu Qing's offer to accompany her.

Madam Shi took Madam Jin to the Armored Soldier Sect, leaving Chu Qing at the Shi Residence to continue cultivating and reading. As Chu Qing settled into life without them, suspicious activity and a servant’s disappearance suggested that danger was gathering around the residence.

• Chu Qing persuaded Madam Shi to take Madam Jin with her, and Madam Shi warned him that the trouble in the Armored Soldier Sect’s Lineage might be intended to draw her away and target him.
• Madam Shi’s convoy departed in the rain with Madam Jin, who worried about Chu Qing and resolved to awaken her Otherkin bloodline by reading.
• After Madam Jin left, Chu Qing stayed at the Shi Residence, continued cultivating, and began reading while Zhao Hongxiu managed the household and pursued her own cultivation.
• Zhao Hongxiu worried that floods and drought might leave Shi State City without food, and Chu Qing told her they could move to a larger city if necessary.
• A man in black visited homes near the Shi Residence, while killing intent gathered toward it in the rain.
• After a servant disappeared while buying supplies, Zhao Hongxiu told Chu Qing, who ordered her not to recruit anyone else even if the remaining servants died.

As servants vanished from Shi Residence, Chu Qing killed a group of suspected infiltrators who arrived seeking work and urged Zhao Hongxiu to build her courage. He declared that he would kill anyone he suspected, including members of the rising Rebel Army, and his words stirred the state city.

• Zhao Hongxiu found more than a dozen suspicious people outside Shi Residence asking to become servants and warned Chu Qing.
• Chu Qing ordered Zhao Hongxiu to kill the applicants, and he killed those who tried to flee; the group was wiped out at the residence gate.
• Chu Qing told Zhao Hongxiu to stop shopping outside and asked the Cui Family to bring necessities with its resource deliveries.
• The five Heads of the House warned Chu Qing that killing Rebel Army members who had not attacked him could give his enemies grounds to act against him.
• Chu Qing insisted that suspicion was reason enough to kill and challenged the Rebel Army to attack him openly.
• Chu Qing's declaration spread throughout the state city, which stirred with gathering tensions.

As the great families abandoned their resource deliveries and the Rebel Army kept targeting him, Chu Qing prepared to leave the Shi Residence to seek the rebels in occupied prefectural cities. He reassured Zhao Hongxiu that he would return, though she sensed his departure might be a parting of life and death.

• Black-robed guards and strongmen from the five great families fortified the Shi Residence while Chu Qing continued cultivating and Zhao Hongxiu stayed by his side.
• The Rebel Army attacked Chu Qing's resource convoys, and after the Cui family failed to locate the rebels, the families stopped sending supplies.
• Chu Qing dressed in white, told Zhao Hongxiu to keep the Copper Coins and protect herself, and said he would search occupied prefectural cities for the Rebel Army.
• Zhao Hongxiu bit Chu Qing's neck before he left, while he insisted he would return the next morning and she feared he was going to his death.

Chu Qing reached Feng City and found Zheng Qingcang facing an assassination attempt while Zheng Zixuan guarded him. After defeating Zheng Zixuan, Chu Qing asked the Rebel Army for food so he could continue killing.

• Chu Qing entered a tavern outside Feng City and watched white-haired martial artists promise to help a young man kill Zheng Qingcang, while suspecting they meant to frame him.
• Zheng Qingcang discussed the Millennial Calamity with Zheng Zixuan, then summoned his niece and forced her to serve him.
• Zheng Zixuan left to fight attackers, killing the apparent heroes who turned out to be skinners from In the Red Dust.
• Chu Qing descended from a rooftop and fought Zheng Zixuan in a clash marked by spring thunder and a peacock-shaped shadow.
• Zheng Qingcang opened the door after hearing a knock, and Zheng Zixuan fell motionless as Chu Qing appeared and asked the Rebel Army for food.