Chapter Summaries

King Shiyu and the city lineages refused to surrender Shi State City to the Rebel Army, and King Shiyu proposed joining forces with Chu Qing to purge them. Meanwhile, Chu Qing continued opening the Heaven-Connecting Path at a remarkable pace, leaving the dean eager to see his potential.

• King Shiyu and the Heads of the House complained that the Rebel Army demanded Shi State City without offering benefits, and they agreed not to hand it over until the rebels proved their strength.
• King Shiyu learned that major city powers had moved up their plan to take Shi State because they feared Chu Qing might enter the Major City Martial Academy and challenge their influence.
• King Shiyu proposed joining forces with Chu Qing to purge the Rebel Army, stunning several of his allies.
• Chu Qing steadily opened more vertebrae on the Heaven-Connecting Path, progressing faster than the Cui Family Daughter had the previous year.
• The dean wondered whether Chu Qing could reach seventy-two great dragons and imagined pairing him with the Cui Family Daughter to create a powerful lineage.

As Shi State City faced famine and encirclement by the Rebel Army, its clans debated whether Chu Qing would lead them against the rebels. At Stone Ridge Mountain, Zheng Zhixiang underwent a brutal transformation using otherkin Golden Blood and human skin, then swore to kill Chu Qing.

• The Rebel Army seized every prefectural city under Shi State City, leaving the city isolated as ordinary people searched desperately for food.
• The female official failed to persuade the great clans to provide more grain, and they rejected her suggestion to wipe out the Rebel Army.
• King Shiyu argued that Chu Qing would retaliate against the Rebel Army and drag the clans into the conflict when he emerged from seclusion.
• At Stone Ridge Mountain, Zheng Zhixiang was bound with layers of human skin as otherkin Golden Blood entered his body.
• Zheng Zhixiang put on the skin of his younger brother, Zheng Xilong, inherited his power, and vowed to kill Chu Qing.

Zheng Zhixiang fused with thirty-six human skins and gained overwhelming power, then set out to kill Chu Qing. Meanwhile, Chu Qing opened the First Heaven-Connecting Path and discovered its formidable abilities.

• Zheng Zhixiang gained the bloodlines, talents, and abilities of thirty-six dead prodigies through the human-skin method.
• Zheng Zhixiang killed a Third Limit expert with one punch and ordered his people to prepare his armor and weapons for a journey to kill Chu Qing.
• Chu Qing opened the First Heaven-Connecting Path after killing the final great dragon with the Overbearing Spear.
• Chu Qing discovered that the path had increased the power and characteristics of his Four Great Realms tenfold and strengthened his ability to harm ghosts and gods.
• Chu Qing sensed that his martial talent had multiplied and that new bloodlines, constitutions, bones, and Otherkind traits were beginning to form within him.

After opening the Heaven-Connecting Path, Chu Qing discovered that his strength would continue to grow and set his sights on entering the Imperial Capital Martial Academy. The mysterious dean explained the fierce competition for its quotas, and Chu Qing declared that he would claim one.

• Chu Qing realized the Heaven-Connecting Path was nurturing his bones, physique, bloodline, and eventually Aberrant traits, and he wanted materials to open two more paths.
• Chu Qing considered pursuing a quota at the Imperial Capital Martial Academy, despite expecting the great families to oppose him.
• Chu Qing surprised the mysterious dean by appearing beside him at immense speed, then confirmed that he had opened the Heaven-Connecting Path.
• The mysterious dean celebrated Chu Qing’s achievement and promised to find a way to send him to the Imperial Capital Martial Academy, though he estimated Chu Qing’s chance at only one percent.
• The mysterious dean explained that applicants needed to have opened the Heaven-Connecting Path and competed for two hundred general quotas, and Chu Qing vowed to win one.

Chu Qing learned that admission to the Imperial Capital Martial Academy required mission tokens and recommendation letters, then declared he would destroy the Gongyang and Luo Families if they blocked his alternatives. The mysterious principal warned him about Principal Shi Ji’s plans and Zheng Zhixiang’s growing power as Chu Qing returned to the Shi Residence.

• The principal explained that Chu Qing needed mission-completion tokens and recommendation letters from the Imperial Capital’s departments to qualify for the Martial Academy.
• Chu Qing decided he would seek at least six recommendation letters and said he would destroy the Gongyang and Luo Families if they prevented him from entering the Major City Martial Academy.
• The mysterious principal revealed that Principal Shi Ji had once been a dazzling Imperial Capital prodigy and warned that he wanted to take Chu Qing to the Imperial Capital to wash it in blood.
• The principal warned Chu Qing that some people planned to attack him and his Senior Sister, and that Zheng Zhixiang might soon come looking for him.
• Chu Qing left for the Shi Residence as the mysterious principal predicted that Imperial Capital resources could help him open a second or even third Heaven-Connecting Path.

After emerging from seclusion, Chu Qing comforted Zhao Hongxiu and prepared to move against the Rebel Army, whose attacks on her had stopped. He gathered intelligence on rebel experts across fifty-five prefectural cities and summoned hidden reserves from the provincial city's aristocratic families, leaving them assembling at Hua Yu's estate.

• Zhao Hongxiu told Chu Qing that the Rebel Army had repeatedly tried to kill her and had injured Hua Qing, and Chu Qing promised to deal with them.
• Zhao Hongxiu gave Chu Qing the Copper Coins she had saved, and he told her to guard the Silver Coins because they could support a large logistics base.
• Chu Qing rested for several days as news of his return spread and the attacks on the Shi Residence and Martial Academy stopped.
• King Shiyu and the Heads of the House received Chu Qing's request to investigate Third Limit experts and prodigies across all fifty-five prefectural cities and feared he would attack a city.
• Chu Qing ordered every aristocratic family to send two hidden reserves, then collected the city intelligence and wrote letters summoning the reserves to Hua Yu's estate.

Chu Qing led aristocratic foundations in a lightning-fast campaign, striking cities to kill Third Limit masters and prodigies rather than massacre their populations. Zheng Zhisheng learned of the raids and gathered experts at Stone Ridge Mountain, where he planned to wait for Chu Qing and kill him.

• Chu Qing dressed for battle, warned the noblewomen to leave Hua Yu's estate, and set out with the gathered aristocratic foundations.
• Zheng Zhisheng received word that Chu Qing had raided Liuzhou, then armed himself and rushed there, expecting to kill Chu Qing and seize the prefectural city.
• After attacking Liuzhou, Chu Qing led the foundations onward, and they raced from city to city, killing Third Limit masters and prodigies while Chu Qing demolished government offices.
• Zheng Zhisheng learned that Chu Qing had moved on from Liuzhou and was striking masters in other cities, so he followed the trail of the raids.
• Zheng Zhisheng ordered the Rebel Army's experts to gather at Stone Ridge Mountain and declared that he would wait there to slay Chu Qing.

Chu Qing and the foundations of the great families slaughtered Rebel Army experts across several cities, while Zheng Zhixiang summoned reinforcements to Stone Ridge Mountain. After learning that the rebels had gathered there and that Zheng Zhixiang awaited him, Chu Qing set out for the mountain.

• Zheng Zhixiang ordered his bald Chief Subordinate to send carrier pigeons summoning experts to Stone Ridge Mountain, but many recipients fled toward the mountain instead of answering.
• Chu Qing and the foundations of the great families attacked a city, killing its Rebel Army prodigies and experts; Chu Qing used Eight Divine Hands: Peacock to make Blood Peacocks burst from several victims.
• Chu Qing found the next cities nearly empty and learned that their experts had raced to Stone Ridge Mountain, the Rebel Army's main camp where people searched for Stone Bamboo Pearls.
• A Second Limit Expert told Chu Qing that Zheng Zhixiang was at Stone Ridge Mountain and had grown stronger, then fled overnight after recognizing Chu Qing.

Zheng Zhixiang gathered Rebel Army experts and young prodigies on Stone Ridge Mountain, confident that his stolen human skins had made him strong enough to kill Chu Qing. As Chu Qing arrived with hundreds of awakened great-family foundations, he took Zheng Zhixiang on himself and sent the others to fight the remaining enemies.

• Zheng Zhixiang saw that experts from more than thirty cities had been killed and believed his human skins would soon let him enter the new realm and defeat Chu Qing.
• The young prodigies boasted that they could kill Chu Qing, while the wary Third Limit experts quietly prepared to flee.
• Chu Qing and the great-family foundations approached Stone Ridge Mountain, their killing intent and youthful convictions awakened by fighting at his side.
• Zheng Zhixiang unleashed killing intent that suppressed the great-family foundations, then ordered the prodigies to attack while claiming Chu Qing as his own opponent.
• Chu Qing told the foundations to handle the other enemies and declared that he would kill Zheng Zhixiang.

Chu Qing fought Zheng Zhixiang, who wielded the power and techniques of more than thirty-six human skins, but Chu Qing easily overpowered him. Zheng Zhixiang tried to flee and was struck by Chu Qing’s strange finger technique, leaving him wounded and questioning whether Chu Qing was still human.

• The Lineage elites and Rebel Army prodigies clashed in a brutal battle as Chu Qing focused on Zheng Zhixiang’s unusual, layered killing intent.
• Zheng Zhixiang confronted Chu Qing over his younger brother’s death and blamed him for losing face and cultivation resources.
• Zheng Zhixiang trapped Chu Qing with Nebula Chains, but Chu Qing broke them and knocked him back with a sun-and-moon fist.
• Zheng Zhixiang declared that his four Great Realms had reached Gold and that he had entered the Third Limit, but Chu Qing drove him into the ground with another punch.
• Zheng Zhixiang unleashed thirty-six sure-kill techniques, yet Chu Qing emerged unharmed and forced him to retreat with a finger attack.
• Zheng Zhixiang fled to seek the new realm, but a hole appeared in his forehead; he turned back and asked Chu Qing whether he was even human.

Chu Qing killed Zheng Zhixiang and discovered that his body concealed layers of human skin taken from missing prodigies. After destroying the Rebel Army’s stored resources, Chu Qing left for the provincial city while Human World and In the Red Dust’s experts headed toward the state city to seek an ally.

• Chu Qing killed Zheng Zhixiang, causing the Rebel Army’s experts and prodigies to flee as the Lineage foundations pursued them.
• Chu Qing peeled away more than thirty layers of human skin from Zheng Zhixiang, and the Lineage foundations recognized several faces as missing prodigies.
• Chu Qing destroyed the skins and ordered the corpses burned, then commanded the Lineage foundations to seize or burn the Rebel Army’s resources.
• Chu Qing’s group departed for the provincial city with the resources they could carry, while the Rebel Army’s soldiers and quarry workers watched the remaining supplies burn.
• Human World and In the Red Dust’s experts lamented Zheng Zhixiang’s death and their lost information, then set out for the state city to join a man conducting similar work.

Chu Qing examined the Rebel Army’s spoils, including strange bright pearls and an ancient Otherkind’s diary. The diary described mythological battles and ended with Bai’s account of her tribe’s destruction and the emergence of martial arts, leaving Chu Qing unsure whether it was history or fiction.

• Principal Shi Ji experimented on members of a skin-changing team, and the team vanished without a trace.
• Chu Qing discovered the oversized bright pearls could nourish flesh and blood, then began nourishing two of them with Spirit and Energy.
• Chu Qing registered Zheng Zhixiang’s top-tier secret transmissions as foundations and kept the black gold and Sun Gold Moon Jade among the spoils.
• Chu Qing read Bai’s diary, which described her eight-hundred-year life and a later hundred-year war in Central Court against creatures known from mythology.
• Bai’s diary ended with her tribe’s destruction and the traitors creating martial arts from her blood, flesh, and body; Chu Qing wondered whether the account was real.

Chu Qing studied the ancient red-copper diary, chose the Great Serpent Seal as his next Martial Arts Secret Transmission, and quickly mastered it and many others. He planned to pursue more Heaven-Connecting Paths and wondered why the Rebel Army had not retaliated against him.

• Chu Qing read the diary of the Otherfolk Bai and decided that its account of ancient martial artists and the Heaven-Connecting Paths was probably real.
• Chu Qing chose Zheng Zhixiang's Great Serpent Seal as his next Martial Arts Secret Transmission and brought it to Perfection within days.
• Chu Qing began perfecting other secret transmissions, including the Lion's Fearless Great Hand Seal and the Blood Hand Seal, and mastered all the secret transmissions gifted by the Princess and the great clans in a little over three months.
• Chu Qing considered whether perfected secret transmissions could help him advance after breaking his limits and planned to obtain resources and open a second or third Heaven-Connecting Path.
• Chu Qing reread the diary and wondered why the Rebel Army had not come after him despite his killing Zheng Zhisheng and many Rebel Army experts.

After Chu Qing’s assault destroyed the Stone Province Rebel Army, the Princess Consort and the Others deterred the Luo Family from sending a new-realm martial artist to kill him. The Major City Martial Academy then barred Chu Qing from admission, leaving his path to the academy closed.

• Chu Qing’s killing of the Rebel Army’s leaders and the destruction of its supplies left its remaining troops leaderless, and the rebellion collapsed across Stone Province within months.
• King Shiyu worked with the prefectural city’s great families to drive out rebels, while the Princess ordered the remaining rebels to surrender their weapons and become farmers.
• The Zheng Family abandoned the Stone Province Rebel Army, but Major City families plotted to assassinate Chu Qing, and the Luo Family prepared to send a new-realm martial artist.
• After the Others returned from Stone Ridge Mountain, the Princess Consort brought several Others to stand outside the Luo Family’s gates, and the Luo Family abandoned its assassination plan.
• The Luo Family declared that Chu Qing must be kept out of the Major City Martial Academy, and the Academy barred him, citing his slaughter of Feng City.

Chu Qing faced rejection from the Major City Martial Academy and considered asking the Princess Consort for help before attempting the Imperial Capital Martial Academy. The Princess Consort welcomed him, warned his major-city enemies not to kill him for three to five years, and thanked him for saving her twice.

• The Cui Family, the Hua Family, and other lineages asked Chu Qing what he planned to do after the Major City Martial Academy rejected him, and he said he would visit the major city at the end of the month.
• The Head of the Hua Family suggested Chu Qing kill major-city prodigies, but Chu Qing refused to attack without cause.
• Chu Qing took the Princess Consort's token and gifts to visit her after learning she had returned to the residence.
• King Shiyu grew furious when he learned the Princess Consort had invited Chu Qing into her rear courtyard.
• The Princess Consort told Chu Qing she had warned his major-city enemies not to send experts after him for three to five years, and said she owed him for saving her twice.

Chu Qing asked the Princess Consort about entering the Imperial Capital Martial Academy, and she explained how fierce the competition would be. His claim that he had perfected more than three hundred secret inheritances left her baffled, while Chu Qing wondered whether his Fish Dragon Tendon explained his rapid progress.

• Chu Qing asked the Princess Consort to help him enter the Major City Martial Academy, but she said its dean would not accept him.
• Chu Qing decided to pursue the Imperial Capital Martial Academy instead, and the Princess Consort warned that he would have to rely on himself.
• The Princess Consort described the many Heaven-Connecting Heavenly Prides competing for Imperial Capital places, but Chu Qing remained confident in his ability.
• Chu Qing revealed that he had perfected more than three hundred secret inheritances since opening the Heaven-Connecting Path at the end of Qiyue.
• The Princess Consort struggled to explain Chu Qing's extraordinary progress, and he wondered whether his Fish Dragon Tendon was the cause.

Chu Qing demonstrated that he could rapidly master the Princess Consort’s Four Great Realms secret teachings, and she resolved to help him enter the Imperial Capital Martial Academy. King Shiyu grew resentful after learning Chu Qing had spent the night in the rear courtyard with the Princess Consort.

• The Princess Consort doubted Chu Qing’s claim that he could quickly perfect secret teachings, so she brought him four manuals to test him.
• Chu Qing perfected Thunderclap Hand in an hour and struck the Princess Consort, but his attack could not harm her clothes.
• Chu Qing mastered the other secret teachings increasingly quickly, and the Princess Consort concluded that each one improved his aptitude.
• The Princess Consort decided to use all her strength to help Chu Qing reach the Imperial Capital Martial Academy and promised he would receive an Outsider Bone and Phoenix Blood there.
• King Shiyu learned that Chu Qing had spent the night in the rear courtyard while the Princess Consort watched him practice, and he angrily questioned Chu Qing’s intentions.

After mastering the Princess Consort’s secret teachings, Chu Qing returned to the Shi Residence while the Princess Consort and the headmaster discussed supporting his trip to the Imperial Capital. Chu Qing planned to leave for the capital in a few days, and Zhao Hongxiu agreed to go with him.

• Chu Qing mastered more than a hundred secret teachings during his three days with the Princess Consort, who told him she would seek the headmaster’s support for his trip to the Imperial Capital.
• The Princess Consort learned that the headmaster had already agreed to support Chu Qing and that the Princess had also offered to help him enter the Imperial Capital.
• The headmaster told the Princess Consort that Chu Qing and the Princess were pen pals and that the Princess had acted on his advice for the Reformists’ land and infrastructure reforms.
• The Princess Consort resolved to support Chu Qing despite worrying that the Princess might receive the credit for helping him, and the headmaster said she would take him to the Imperial Capital in three to five days.
• At the Shi Residence, Chu Qing ate and drank while thinking about Madam Jin and Madam Shi, then told Zhao Hongxiu he planned to go to the Imperial Capital.
• Zhao Hongxiu agreed to accompany Chu Qing and said they might meet her father, Qing Feng, Ming Yue, and the others there.

Mingyue and the others struggled to survive after moving to the Imperial Capital, while Chu Qing decided to write them letters and travel there himself. Human World intercepted the letters and began speculating about his plans, unaware whether he had connected to Heaven.

• Mingyue and the others refused the River Gang’s demand that they perform sword dances, despite their worsening hardship in the Imperial Capital.
• Madam Shi used Chu Qing’s leaked letter and reputation to strengthen her position in the Armored Soldier Sect, and Madam Jin said he would not mind.
• After learning that Qing Feng, Mingyue, and the others had gone to the Imperial Capital without seeking him out, Chu Qing listened to Zhao Hongxiu’s explanation and decided to write them letters.
• Chu Qing sent letters to Qing Feng, Mingyue, Ximen, Wang Yinyang, and the others, hinting that he would soon travel to the Imperial Capital.
• Human World intercepted and read the letters, then debated whether Chu Qing planned to compete for the Imperial Capital Martial Academy and whether he had secretly connected to Heaven.

Chu Qing prepared for his planned trip to the Imperial Capital, received a heartfelt letter from Nangong, and wrote her a reply. The Princess Consort and the woman in red agreed to support his entry into the Imperial Capital Martial Academy, while the mysterious dean arranged help for the trip.

• Chu Qing caught several dozen Three-legged Golden Toads, bringing the number under his command to one hundred and eight.
• Nangong Yu delivered Nangong's letter, which described her progress in the Thousand Eyes Alliance and asked Chu Qing to help with her acupoints when she returned.
• Chu Qing rewrote his reply to fit Nangong's three-sheet limit, then declined Nangong Yu's request to dance for him.
• The Princess Consort and the woman in red agreed to give Chu Qing an Outsider Bone and Phoenix Blood to support his entry into the Imperial Capital Martial Academy.
• The mysterious dean sent a letter to his old friend in the Imperial Capital asking for lodging and assistance, and the old friend wondered why he was bringing provincial city students.