Chapter Summaries

Zhao Hongming entered Great Wei’s Royal Martial Repository Pavilion to choose an Immortal Martial Arts Technique, relying on his Heaven’s Reward Martial Arts Panel to overcome cultivation bottlenecks. After learning that some ancient techniques required rare conditions to practice, he asked Eunuch Feng to introduce the eighteen techniques suited to the present age.

• Eunuch Feng escorted Zhao Hongming into the Royal Martial Repository Pavilion under the Jian'an Emperor’s edict.
• Zhao Hongming chose to go directly to the third floor, where the Immortal Martial Arts Techniques were kept.
• Zhao Hongming noticed that the pavilion’s guards and stewards were powerful Martial Warriors, and he recognized Eunuch Feng as an expert as well.
• Eunuch Feng explained that the pavilion held thirty-five Immortal Martial Arts Techniques, but only eighteen had been reorganized for practical cultivation.
• Eunuch Feng described the Thunder Annihilation Method, which required dragon-kind blood that was nearly impossible to obtain.
• Zhao Hongming abandoned the impractical techniques and asked Eunuch Feng to introduce the eighteen suitable options.

Zhao Hongming examined Great Wei’s eighteen Immortal Martial Arts Techniques and rejected options that conflicted with his preferences or demanded too many resources. He chose the Eight Desolations Eternal Youth Technique, whose slow progress and low resource needs suited his Heaven’s Reward ability.

• Feng Dabao explained how Immortal Martial Arts differed from Jianghu techniques and described their difficulty and potential.
• Feng Dabao introduced the Indestructible Divine Skill and the Essence Gathering Immortal Scripture, but Zhao Hongming rejected both as unsuitable.
• Feng Dabao described the resource-intensive Five Elements Secret Canon, which Zhao Hongming kept under consideration while continuing to review the techniques.
• Zhao Hongming rejected other options, including the Hundred Poisons True Scripture and the Killing Scripture, after Feng Dabao explained their methods.
• Feng Dabao presented the Eight Desolations Eternal Youth Technique, and Zhao Hongming chose it because it required few resources and was difficult to cultivate.

Zhao Hongming chose the Eight Desolations Eternal Youth Technique and began studying it in the Martial Repository Pavilion. Meanwhile, Jian'an Emperor Zhao Yongxu questioned Feng Dabao about the imperial succession and ordered Minister Chen’s Daughter to guide Zhao Hongming in cultivation.

• Feng Dabao explained that Zhao Hongming had to study Immortal Martial Arts Techniques inside the Martial Repository Pavilion and refused the jade pendant Zhao Hongming offered.
• The pavilion steward brought Zhao Hongming the Eight Desolations Eternal Youth Technique and several sets of annotations, and Zhao Hongming began studying them.
• Feng Dabao reported Zhao Hongming’s choice to Zhao Yongxu, who asked why he had selected the technique and heard that it suited his studies of the ancient sages.
• Zhao Yongxu asked Feng Dabao which prince should inherit the throne, but Feng Dabao avoided giving an opinion and was docked two Wish Stones from his salary.
• Zhao Yongxu ordered Feng Dabao to summon Minister Chen’s Daughter to the palace the day after tomorrow to guide Zhao Hongming in cultivation.

After studying the Eight Desolations Eternal Youth Technique, Zhao Hongming returned to his residence and went to the Imperial Academy the next morning. There, Zhao Hongguang gave him a Wish Stone to aid his cultivation, leaving Zhao Hongming with a valuable new resource.

• Zhao Hongming raised his progress in the Eight Desolations Eternal Youth Technique by twenty percent and left the Martial Repository Pavilion after agreeing to return if he had questions.
• Zhao Hongming returned to Clear Breeze Pavilion with Chang Wubing and slept before his early Imperial Academy lessons.
• Wang Bao woke Zhao Hongming at the Yin Hour, and he went to the Imperial Academy with Chang Wubing.
• Zhao Hongguang asked which martial art Zhao Hongming had chosen, then gave him a Wish Stone from his mother.
• Zhao Hongming thanked Zhao Hongguang and remarked that he seemed taller, prompting Zhao Hongguang to eagerly ask him to measure his height.

During morning lessons, Zhao Hongming received a Marrow Cleansing Pill from Zhao Hongli, who used the gift to display brotherly virtue before their tutor. Zhao Hongming accepted the pill while planning to use his time in the palace to strengthen his cultivation before being sent away to govern a distant territory.

• Zhao Hongsheng watched Zhao Hongming with envy before returning to his studies as Scholar Sun began the Imperial Study's lessons.
• Scholar Sun taught the princes about illuminating bright virtue and bringing harmony to the nine clans, while Zhao Hongming remained uninterested.
• Zhao Hongli presented Zhao Hongming with a Marrow Cleansing Pill, and Zhao Hongming accepted it after politely noting its great value.
• Zhao Hongguang complained that Zhao Hongli had made a show of his gift, and Zhao Hongming teased him about giving a gift of his own.
• Zhao Hongming reflected on his demanding royal duties and resolved to use the palace's resources to raise his cultivation before leaving to establish a manor.

Zhao Hongming was repeatedly denied an audience at court, while Chen Xuerong agreed to teach him Martial Arts after her father warned her to treat the overlooked prince carefully. Zhou Bochuan then visited Zhao Hongming to urge him not to neglect his imperial studies, leaving the Crown Prince’s response to the prince’s Martial Dao ambitions in motion.

• Zhao Hongming paid his respects at Qianping Palace, Cining Palace, and Kunan Palace but saw only the Empress Dowager, who gave him pastries and silver.
• Chen Xuerong demonstrated her strength with a Three Stone Bow and told Chen Cheng'an that she would follow the Imperial Edict to teach Zhao Hongming.
• Chen Mou explained that the order might be a warning tied to the Crown Prince and the Empress's Zhou Clan, then told Chen Xuerong to bring Zhao Hongming a precious bow.
• Chen Mou scolded and beat Chen Cheng'an for neglecting his lessons.
• Zhou Bochuan visited Zhao Hongming with Confucian books and urged him not to neglect his imperial studies.

Zhao Hongming dismissed Zhou Bochuan’s shallow attempt to spur him on, then awaited Chen Xuerong, whom the Jian'an Emperor had assigned to guide his cultivation. After learning how to take the Marrow Cleansing Pill, Zhao Hongming swallowed it and prepared to begin cultivating the Eight Desolations Eternal Youth Technique.

• Zhao Hongming sent Zhou Bochuan away after recognizing the Crown Prince’s classics as a superficial attempt to influence him, then ordered Wang Bao to place them by his bed for daily recitation.
• Zhao Hongming waited for Chen Xuerong, the martial arts instructor appointed by the Jian'an Emperor, and received her in the rear courtyard.
• Chen Xuerong explained that she had opened her first meridian in about a month and reached the ninth grade of Meridian Opening in a year and a half.
• Chen Xuerong asked Zhao Hongming to dismiss Chang Wubing before discussing cultivation methods, and Zhao Hongming ordered him outside to keep watch.
• Chen Xuerong explained the Marrow Cleansing Pill’s effects and precautions, and Zhao Hongming swallowed it.

Zhao Hongming cleansed his marrow with a Marrow Cleansing Pill, then learned the Meridian Opening stage of the Eight Desolations Eternal Youth Technique from Chen Xuerong. After she left, he began cultivating the technique and prepared to test Heaven's Reward.

• Zhao Hongming endured the Marrow Cleansing Pill's intense pain and saw his physique improve to Good on Heaven's Reward's Attribute Panel.
• Chen Xuerong explained the Eternal Youth Technique's slow, steady cultivation method and answered Zhao Hongming's questions until dusk.
• Chen Xuerong gave Zhao Hongming a fine bow from her father and left Clear Breeze Pavilion.
• Zhao Hongming dismissed his servants, sat cross-legged in his bedroom, and began condensing Longevity True Qi with Heaven's Reward.

Zhao Hongming practiced the Eight Desolations Eternal Youth Technique and opened his first meridian in a single day. He discovered that National Luck Suppression weakened his true qi, but resolved to keep cultivating and overcome it.

• Zhao Hongming practiced the Eternal Life Breathing Technique until he could control his breathing and feel his body grow more vigorous.
• Zhao Hongming cultivated until his progress reached 101/100 and commanded a breakthrough.
• Zhao Hongming opened his first meridian, advancing the Eight Desolations Eternal Youth Technique to First Rank Meridian Opening.
• Zhao Hongming sensed National Luck Suppression slowing the flow of his eternal youth true qi and realized it weakened the imperial family's martial strength.
• Zhao Hongming resolved to cultivate beyond the suppression and saw two lines urging unceasing self-improvement and deep virtue.

Zhao Hongming maintained his cautious routine in the palace while rapidly advancing his cultivation, and Emperor Zhao Yongxu made plans to strengthen Great Wei’s ties with the Zhengyi Sect. The chapter ended with Zhao Hongming reaching Second Rank Meridian Opening and wondering how to afford the food and supplements his training required.

• Zhao Hongming chose to keep his usual schedule and conceal his growing strength, then began reading the classics sent by the Crown Prince.
• Emperor Zhao Yongxu arranged for Princess Wu Yin to marry Lan Liangchen and ordered Feng Dabao to carry the plan to the Zhengyi Sect.
• Feng Dabao reported the princes’ recent actions, and Zhao Yongxu increased Zhao Hongming’s stipend while arranging monthly martial arts exchanges with the Chen family’s eldest daughter.
• After three days of cultivation, Zhao Hongming broke through to Second Rank Meridian Opening and realized his meals could not satisfy his growing hunger.
• Wang Bao told Zhao Hongming that his stipend would be available for collection the next day.

Zhao Hongming noticed signs that the Jian'an Emperor was urgently strengthening ties with the Zhengyi Sect and felt a growing need to prepare himself. After receiving an increased stipend and a Wish Stone from Zhao Hongguang, he secretly sent Chang Wubing to buy supplements and began refining two Wish Stones.

• Zhao Hongming learned that Princess Wu Yin had been promised in marriage to the Zhengyi Sect's Elder's Son, and he suspected the Jian'an Emperor was preparing for a threat to Great Wei.
• Zhao Hongguang gave Zhao Hongming a Wish Stone and asked him to support him in the future, and Zhao Hongming agreed.
• Zhao Hongming discovered that the Jian'an Emperor had added fifty taels of patterned silver to his monthly stipend, and Langzhong Qin hinted that Feng Dabao had helped secure the increase.
• Zhao Hongming secretly sent Chang Wubing out of the palace with three hundred taels to buy supplements that replenished a Martial Warrior's vital essence.
• Zhao Hongming swallowed two Wish Stones and began refining them.

Zhao Hongming refined a Wish Stone and discovered that it greatly accelerated his cultivation, then received medicinal supplements Chang Wubing had bought to replenish his Qi and blood. The chapter ended with Zhao Hongming testing a Small Revitalizing Pill after Chang Wubing had first tested the other medicines.

• Zhao Hongming used the Longevity True Qi in his meridians to refine a Wish Stone, drawing in vital essence and rapidly increasing his Eight Desolations Eternal Youth Technique's progress.
• After the Wish Stone was exhausted, Zhao Hongming recognized that he still needed ways to replenish his Qi and blood and kept his remaining Wish Stone unused.
• Chang Wubing returned with Small Revitalizing Pills and Divine Wood Ganoderma Grass, and Zhao Hongming told him to keep the purchase secret.
• Zhao Hongming offered Chang Wubing a Pill and a stalk of grass as a reward, and Chang Wubing realized he was being asked to test the medicine and consumed both without hesitation.
• After refining the medicines, Chang Wubing felt hopeful about serving Zhao Hongming, while Zhao Hongming watched him leave and then swallowed a Small Revitalizing Pill himself.

Zhao Hongming replenished his depleted essence with medicinal herbs and pills, raising his Talent Enhancement to 1.4 and increasing his cultivation speed. Meanwhile, intelligence reached Jian'an Emperor Zhao Yongxu that Chu Country was courting Han and Zhao, prompting him to summon his ministers to discuss the threat.

• Zhao Hongming found that a Small Revitalizing Pill was quickly absorbed by his depleted body, so he ate Divine Wood Ganoderma Grass and noticed his Talent Enhancement rise to 1.3.
• Zhao Hongming swallowed more Small Revitalizing Pills until his essence was saturated, raising his Talent Enhancement to 1.4.
• A spy told Jian'an Emperor Zhao Yongxu that the Red River Palace Master had reached the First Rank of Creation and Chu's ruler Xiong Tuo had been sending envoys to Han and Zhao.
• Minister Wang warned Zhao Yongxu that Chu intended to join forces with Han and Zhao against Wei.
• Zhao Yongxu ordered Feng Daban to summon the Left and Right Prime Ministers to the Celestial Secrets Pavilion.

On his birthday, Zhao Hongguang invited Zhao Hongming to fish for Silver Spirit Fish in a hidden well in the Imperial Garden. Zhao Hongming caught an extraordinary silver fish that appeared close to becoming a dragon, and the brothers hurried to hide it.

• Zhao Hongguang invited Zhao Hongming to spend his birthday fishing, and Zhao Hongming gave him a jade pendant as a gift.
• Zhao Hongguang led Zhao Hongming and their guards to an old well in the Imperial Garden where he had seen Silver Spirit Fish.
• Zhao Hongguang and Zhao Hongming baited their fishing rods with rice and waited by the well.
• Zhao Hongming caught a silver fish with whiskers and horn-like bulges, stunning Li Shanyong and Chang Wubing.
• Zhao Hongguang urged Zhao Hongming to cook the unusual fish in secret, and the brothers gathered their gear and left the well.

Zhao Hongming cooked and drank an unusual fish from an ancient well, discovering that its soup weakened National Destiny's restraints on him and helped his Longevity True Qi circulate more smoothly. After the fish vanished from the well, he returned to the palace, where Feng Dabao suspected he had reached Second Rank Meridian Opening but dismissed the possibility.

• Zhao Hongming brought the Eighth Prince to his Inner Kitchen and ordered the fish cooked whole into soup.
• Zhao Hongming drank the soup and found that it reduced National Destiny's suppression of him by at least thirty percent, though drinking more had no further effect.
• Zhao Hongming took the remaining soup from Zhao Hongguang, told him to deny knowing about the fish, and returned to the ancient well with Chang Wubing.
• Zhao Hongming tried fishing again with his Longevity True Qi circulating, but the fish did not return, so he gave up and left the Imperial Garden.
• Zhao Hongming thanked Feng Dabao for arranging his stipend, and Feng Dabao noticed his vigorous Qi and Blood but convinced himself he had mistaken it for Second Rank Meridian Opening.

Zhao Hongming reached Meridian Opening Seventh Grade and learned from Chen Xuerong that war threatened Great Wei and the palace might be targeted over the Jian'an Emperor’s God-Demon Weapon. He decided to choose a Martial Skill for self-defense, and Chen Xuerong asked whether he preferred evasion or offense.

• Zhao Hongming trained for half a month, broke through to Meridian Opening Seventh Grade, and demonstrated his strength by firing four arrows into a distant bullseye with a Two Stone Bow.
• Wang Bao told Zhao Hongming that Chen Xuerong had arrived to teach him Martial Arts.
• Zhao Hongming asked Chen Xuerong whether the Eight Desolations Eternal Youth Technique included Martial Skills, and she explained that its Orifice Opening Chapter contained the movement technique Eight Desolations Secret Travel.
• Chen Xuerong told Zhao Hongming that Chu Country was exchanging envoys with the Han and Zhao Two Countries and might soon join them in attacking Great Wei.
• Chen Xuerong also relayed rumors that the Jian'an Emperor was forging a God-Demon Weapon, prompting Zhao Hongming to seek a Martial Skill for self-defense.
• Chen Xuerong asked Zhao Hongming whether he preferred a skill for evading enemies or an offensive skill.

Zhao Hongming chose the Heaven and Earth Severing Slash as his offensive Martial Skill and began studying it alongside the Eight Desolations Eternal Youth Technique. Meanwhile, the Jian'an Emperor's court learned that news of Great Wei's God-Demon Weapon had been deliberately spread, raising the prospect of war with Chu and its allies.

• Zhao Hongming asked Chen Xuerong to compare defensive and offensive Martial Skills, then chose the Heaven and Earth Severing Slash and accepted her offer to help him master it.
• Zhao Hongming obtained the Heaven and Earth Severing Slash from the Martial Repository Pavilion and studied the Aperture Opening Realm section of the Eight Desolations Eternal Youth Technique.
• The Jian'an Emperor summoned senior officials after news of the God-Demon Weapon spread through Daliang and attracted Martial Arts Forces.
• Feng Dabao reported that two Chu merchants had first spread the news and that the Imperial City Division had arrested others who amplified it.
• Yu Hezheng and Xiao Boling predicted a coming war with Chu, possibly joined by Zhao and Han, while Hong Daowen proposed defenses, diplomatic efforts, and border deployments.
• The Minister of Revenue warned that drought and a strained treasury limited mobilization, while Zhang Qian urged the court to seek help from Martial Arts Forces; Zhao Yongxu weighed their advice.

Zhao Hongming cultivated the Heaven and Earth Severing Slash and broke through to the Aperture Opening Realm despite the pressure of Imperial Dynasty Fortune. The next day, rumors of an attack on the Jian'an Emperor and the assassination of a consort spread through the palace.

• The Wei court issued an edict granting Martial Arts Forces stationed in the Three Borderlands city revenues and half its official posts after two years, drawing forces from across Wei Country.
• Zhao Hongming judged the edict dangerous to his future fief and focused on cultivation, advancing the Heaven and Earth Severing Slash to its sixth level.
• Zhao Hongming used the Heaven's Reward Martial Arts Panel to break through to the Aperture Opening Realm, with its mysterious force stabilizing his Heaven and Earth Bridge against Imperial Dynasty Fortune.
• Zhao Hongming began cultivating the Eight Desolations Secret Travel after attaining the new realm.
• Two powerful auras appeared near Qianqing Palace at midnight, and a rumor spread that a Martial Warrior from Han Country had injured the Jian'an Emperor in an assassination attempt.
• After the rumor was suppressed, news emerged that a newly elevated consort had been assassinated in the palace, alarming Daliang's palace residents.

Zhao Hongming mastered Eight Desolations Secret Travel and used it to explore the palace undetected. After noticing that his residence had far fewer guards than the other princes’ and princesses’ residences, he suspected he was being deliberately singled out and went to investigate.

• Great Wei officials discussed the Han assassins in the palace and Prime Minister Xiao warned that Chu might use an alliance with Han to weaken Great Wei before destroying Han.
• Zhao Hongming trained Eight Desolations Secret Travel for a month until he reached minor mastery, gaining silent, traceless movement that could improve with his Eight Desolations Eternal Youth Technique.
• Chang Wubing told Zhao Hongming that two palace guards had been assigned to his residence because security had been strengthened, and Zhao Hongming decided to explore the palace.
• Zhao Hongming overheard the new guards complain that his residence received far fewer guards and rewards than the Crown Prince’s, then used his new Martial Skill to wander through the princes’ and Imperial Princesses’ palaces unnoticed.
• Zhao Hongming saw that security arrangements varied greatly and suspected he was being singled out, so he headed to the General of the Right Imperial Guards.

Zhao Hongming discovered that an assassin disguised as Miao Muwang had killed Dai Gongzheng and planned to murder him. He ambushed and killed the assassin, deciding to strike first against anyone who sought his life.

• Miao Muwang drugged Dai Gongzheng during a private meeting and killed him after learning the palace night guards had been reassigned.
• Zhao Hongming overheard the meeting and saw Miao Muwang transform his face to match Dai Gongzheng’s.
• The disguised assassin revealed that he planned to kill a prince to warn Daliang and had chosen Zhao Hongming as his target.
• Zhao Hongming realized the assassin was a Han Country operative who had infiltrated the palace and targeted him because his defenses were weak.
• Zhao Hongming attacked the assassin as he left Memorial Palace and cut him in two with Heaven and Earth Severing Slash.