Chapter Summaries

After Wang Yuan killed Zhao Zhenyue and Shi Kaishan, news of the battle spread through Chongde Prefecture and earned him the feared name Poison Hand Yama. At the Drunken Immortal Residence, a storyteller recounted the fight and warned that the prefecture’s power balance was about to change.

• Escaped members of the Zhao Family and Iron Fist Sect spread word that Wang Yuan had killed Zhao Zhenyue and Shi Kaishan at Cangmang Mountain.
• Martial artists debated Wang Yuan’s use of poison, and his reputation grew as the nickname Poison Hand Yama spread through Chongde Prefecture.
• The Zhao Family and Iron Fist Sect issued a joint bounty of fifty thousand taels of gold and a High-grade Martial Arts Technique for Wang Yuan’s head.
• At the Drunken Immortal Residence, Mr. Sun dramatically retold the battle, describing Wang Yuan’s poison, movement, and lethal counterattacks.
• Mr. Sun predicted that the Zhao Family and Iron Fist Sect would weaken and warned people to flee if they encountered Wang Yuan riding a White Horse.

After a month of secluded cultivation, Wang Yuan reached Peak Force Entry and integrated the essence of Profound Ice Finger and Iron Rock Qi into his Primordial Chaos Qi Force, greatly increasing his strength. He left the cave as spring arrived, with the Four Great Sects of Chongde Prefecture about to begin their annual disciple-selection ceremony.

• Wang Yuan consumed all twelve Iron Bone Pills and reached Peak Force Entry while strengthening his bones.
• Wang Yuan refined the core properties of Profound Ice Finger and Iron Rock Qi into Profound Ice True Intent and Iron Rock True Intent.
• Wang Yuan merged both True Intents into his Primordial Chaos Qi Force, gaining Profound Ice and Iron Rock states.
• Wang Yuan tested the new states, freezing and piercing rock with one and pulverizing a boulder's interior with the other.
• Wang Yuan left seclusion in spring as the Four Great Sects of Chongde Prefecture prepared to accept disciples.

Wang Yuan arrived at Kaoshan Sect’s entrance test in Chongde Prefecture City and joined the line for the bone aptitude screening. A Zhao Family disciple recognized him as Poison Hand Yama and accused him of murder, leaving the test deacon uncertain whether to let him proceed.

• Wang Yuan entered the crowded Four Symbols Altar area and joined the queue for Kaoshan Sect’s entry test.
• Wang Yuan waited as candidates were screened for bone aptitude and comprehension, then stepped up to the Bone Testing Stone.
• A Zhao Family disciple recognized Wang Yuan and shouted that he was Poison Hand Yama, the murderer of the Zhao Family head and Sect Master Shi of Iron Fist Sect.
• The crowd recoiled in fear as the Zhao Family disciple urged Kaoshan Sect to seize Wang Yuan and avenge the dead.
• Wang Yuan calmly asked the deacon whether the test could begin, while the Zhao Family disciple protested that he should be arrested.

Wang Yuan underwent the Kaoshan Sect’s Entry Stage bone structure test and revealed a rare Dragon and Tiger Phenomenon, earning the status of a Core Disciple Candidate. He followed a sect elder inside, while the Zhao Family disciple watched in fear.

• A Kaoshan Sect elder stopped the Zhao Family disciple from interfering and ordered the deacon to test Wang Yuan according to the rules.
• Wang Yuan infused the Bone Testing Stone with Mountain Rock Force, causing it to shine blue and manifest roaring dragon and tiger phantoms.
• The deacon declared Wang Yuan’s bone structure superior and assessed him as a Core Disciple Candidate after witnessing the Dragon and Tiger Phenomenon.
• The elder escorted Wang Yuan inside the mountain gate and said the sect would consider his other affairs.
• Wang Yuan glanced at the stunned Zhao Family disciple before continuing into the sect.

Wang Yuan entered the Kaoshan Sect’s comprehension test after his exceptional bone aptitude caused a stir among the other candidates. He deeply understood the first test’s ancient painting, and the chapter ended as he stepped forward to explain his insight.

• Wang Yuan followed a Kaoshan Sect elder into the sect and waited with the other candidates who had passed the bone aptitude test.
• The elder warned Wang Yuan to behave during the test, while the candidates whispered about his talent and the powerful enemies he had made.
• The elder introduced three comprehension tests: interpreting the Mountain Intent Flowing Water Diagram, identifying changes in Force Power, and completing a fragment of the Bedrock Force cultivation art.
• Wang Yuan used his Penetrating Wisdom and Spiritual Clarity talent to perceive the painting’s dynamic mountain-and-water artistic conception and its methods of circulating Force Power.
• After the candidates gave shallow or uncertain interpretations, Wang Yuan stepped forward to share his understanding.

Wang Yuan demonstrated extraordinary insight in all three comprehension tests, earning the rank of Core Disciple alongside his transcendent bone structure. His success silenced his critics and left the Zhao Family disciple who had mocked him isolated and humiliated.

• Wang Yuan interpreted the martial principles hidden in a landscape painting and received a high score on the first test.
• Wang Yuan identified Yin Soft Penetration in the Basic Force Transformation Fist and explained its use and signs of activation.
• Wang Yuan completed the Bedrock Force fragment, identified hidden dangers, and improved the cultivation method, impressing the deacon.
• The elder ranked Wang Yuan first overall and announced that his transcendent bone structure and comprehension qualified him as a Core Disciple.
• The crowd switched from scorning Wang Yuan to praising and courting him, while the Zhao Family disciple was shunned and mocked for his earlier insults.

After earning recognition for his extraordinary Bone and Comprehension, Wang Yuan faced Elder Chen’s questions about his bloody past and his feud with the Bitao Sect. He presented a token and letter from his master Zheng Shan, and Elder Chen realized Wang Yuan was the disciple of a former Kaoshan Sect genius.

• The youths on the Training Ground discussed Wang Yuan as he left with Elder Chen, while the Zhao Family disciple was left behind, despairing over their widening gap.
• Elder Chen questioned Wang Yuan in a secluded hall about his killings, his enmity with the Bitao Sect, and whether his ruthless methods suited the Kaoshan Sect.
• Wang Yuan explained that he had killed to defend himself, his master, his academy, and Gaoye City, and said he would make the same choices again.
• When Elder Chen demanded proof that Wang Yuan was worth the risk of accepting, Wang Yuan presented a letter from Zheng Shan and an Ink Jade Token for Elder Mu.
• Elder Chen recognized the Ink Cloud Token and learned that Wang Yuan was Zheng Shan’s personal disciple, changing his view of Wang Yuan.

Wang Yuan presented Elder Chen with Elder Mu’s token and Zheng Shan’s letter, prompting Chen to take him to the Scripture Hall. Elder Mu recognized Zheng Shan’s token, learned about Wang Yuan and his conflict with the Bitao Sect, and promised the Kaoshan Sect would protect him, leaving Wang Yuan with a secure foothold in the sect.

• Elder Chen recognized Elder Mu’s token and Zheng Shan’s letter, then hurriedly took Wang Yuan to meet Elder Mu.
• Elder Mu recognized the Ink Cloud Token as one he had given Zheng Shan and read Zheng Shan’s letter about Wang Yuan.
• Wang Yuan told Elder Mu about Zheng Shan’s health and recounted how he killed Danxia and the other Bitao Sect members after they threatened Gaoye City.
• Elder Mu judged Wang Yuan’s actions justified and assured him that the Kaoshan Sect would handle the Bitao Sect and protect him.

Elder Mu gave Wang Yuan access to powerful cultivation resources and challenged him to prove himself in upcoming sect competitions. Wang Yuan settled into Listening Brook Cottage and met his Core Disciple neighbors, who appeared to recognize his name.

• Elder Mu granted Wang Yuan the first three levels of Nine Heavens Mountain and promised further rewards if he placed highly in the Minor Competition and Yunzhou Martial Gathering.
• Wang Yuan vowed to meet Elder Mu's expectations, and Chen Yuan escorted him to the Core Disciple Area.
• Chen Yuan assigned Wang Yuan the secluded Listening Brook Cottage and said his Identity Token, robes, and monthly pills would be delivered.
• Wang Yuan entered the cottage, settled in, and was soon greeted by neighbors Zhou He and Liu Qingqing.
• Liu Qingqing recognized Wang Yuan's name and began to comment, but stopped herself.

After Wang Yuan joined the Kaoshan Sect as a Core Disciple, news of his supreme-grade Bone and Comprehension and the Dragon and Tiger Phenomenon shook Chongde Prefecture City. The Bitao Sect and Zhao Family seethed over his protection, while other factions watched him cautiously.

• Wang Yuan confirmed to Zhou He and Liu Qingqing that he was the notorious Poison Hand Yama from Gaoye City, and they welcomed him as a neighbor in the sect.
• Wang Yuan returned to the Quiet Room while reports of his exceptional assessment spread through Chongde Prefecture City.
• The Bitao Sect steward learned that Wang Yuan had become a Kaoshan Sect Core Disciple and ordered an investigation into his token and connection to Elder Mu.
• Zhao Tianxiong vowed to avenge his father and ordered contact with the Iron Fist Sect and the Star Picking Tower to target Wang Yuan outside the sect.
• Chiyan Valley, Tingyu Tower, and the Cao and Li Families ordered information gathered on Wang Yuan while avoiding provoking him for now.

Wang Yuan received the resources allotted to a Core Disciple and learned the first three layers of Nine Heavens Mountain, resolving to cultivate its first layer. Meanwhile, Elder Li Wanjun objected to the resources Wang Yuan had received and planned to use concerns about fairness and sect unity against him.

• A steward disciple delivered Wang Yuan two Core Disciple robes, an Identity Token, Crimson Blood Pills, Sharp Gold Powder, and the Mountain Pattern Iron Plate.
• Wang Yuan activated the Mountain Pattern Iron Plate with his Vital Blood and absorbed the inheritance of Nine Heavens Mountain’s first three layers.
• Wang Yuan studied the technique’s Mountain Base Force, Mountain Collapse Force, and Mountain Range Force, then planned to reach Major Accomplishment in the first layer within three months.
• Elder Li Wanjun received intelligence about Wang Yuan’s test, Elder Mu’s meeting with him, and his new resources.
• Elder Li Wanjun argued that Wang Yuan’s generous allocation would provoke resentment among other Core Disciples and ordered his confidant to support that criticism.

Li Wanjun arranged for the Punishment Hall to slow Wang Yuan’s resource claims and burden him with inconvenient tasks without openly breaking sect rules. Feng Chong interrupted Wang Yuan’s cultivation to verify his supplies and present him with two difficult assignments, including an investigation into the Lu Family Massacre.

• Li Wanjun instructed his Confidant Deacon to use reviews, procedures, and delays to obstruct Wang Yuan while staying within sect regulations.
• Wang Yuan began cultivating with a Crimson Blood Pill, but Feng Chong arrived to verify his resources and explain his sect task obligations.
• Feng Chong confirmed that Wang Yuan had received all his listed resources and recorded Wang Yuan’s Vital Blood imprint.
• Feng Chong offered Wang Yuan a task to clear Corpse Bone Miasma in Black Marsh Forest and collect Heart Calming Grass.
• Feng Chong presented an investigation into the Lu Family Massacre in Qinghe Town, noting that Lu Yu was the sole surviving daughter and that the task carried medium-high danger.

Wang Yuan accepted the dangerous Lu Family Annihilation Case after Feng Chong gave him a choice between it and a hazardous Black Marsh Forest mission, suspecting the Punishment Hall was trying to suppress him. Zhou He and Liu Qingqing recognized the assignment as unusually risky and questioned why it had been given to a new Core Disciple.

• Feng Chong told Wang Yuan that only the Lu Family Annihilation Case and a Black Marsh Forest mission remained, and that delaying would risk restricted resources and a violation of sect rules.
• Wang Yuan chose to investigate the Lu Family Annihilation Case, and Feng Chong gave him the dossier and a one-month deadline.
• After Feng Chong left, Wang Yuan suspected Elder Li and the Punishment Hall were using the mission to hinder or endanger him.
• Zhou He and Liu Qingqing visited Wang Yuan, and he showed them the dossier.
• Liu Qingqing said the case had a moderately high danger rating and that two Inner Disciples had fallen seriously ill after investigating it, while Zhou He questioned the assignment.

Wang Yuan accepted a dangerous mission to Qinghe Town despite suspecting that Elder Li was obstructing him over an old grudge against his master. After Zhou He and Liu Qingqing supplied rare metal ores, Wang Yuan absorbed the Black Pattern Iron Essence to strengthen his body and resolved to break through to Transformation Force that night.

• Zhou He and Liu Qingqing warned Wang Yuan to beware of the mission’s dangers and possible attacks from the Bitao Sect, the Zhao Family, and the Punishment Hall.
• Wang Yuan asked Zhou He and Liu Qingqing for high-quality metal ores to support his cultivation technique.
• Zhou He gave Wang Yuan a piece of Black Pattern Iron Essence, while Liu Qingqing traded him Crimson Copper Marrow for four Crimson Blood Pills.
• Wang Yuan returned to the Quiet Room and used his Melting Gold Eating Copper talent to absorb the Black Pattern Iron Essence, strengthening his bones and tendons.
• Wang Yuan resolved to break through to Transformation Force that night.

Wang Yuan used the Crimson Copper Marrow and Crimson Blood Pills to break through to Transformation Force, fusing his existing powers into Primordial Chaos Force. Confident in his new strength, he prepared to investigate the Lu family's extermination in Qinghe Town and left the mountain, stopping at the sect's mission meeting point.

• Wang Yuan absorbed the Crimson Copper Marrow and Crimson Blood Pills, pushing his Vital Blood to the threshold of a breakthrough.
• Wang Yuan fused his four strands of Force Power with the essence of Nine Heavens Mountain and formed Primordial Chaos Force, reaching Transformation Force.
• Wang Yuan assessed his new strength and reviewed the case file on the Lu family's extermination in Qinghe Town.
• Wang Yuan packed his supplies, weapons, identity token, and mission file before leaving Listening Brook Cottage.
• Wang Yuan passed the Kaoshan Sect mountain gate and went to the nearby Small Plaza where disciples gathered for missions.

Wang Yuan met Li Dashan and Lin Xiaoyu, two low-ranking disciples assigned to investigate the Lu Family Annihilation Case, and agreed to let them join his mission. The three left Kaoshan Sect for Qinghe Town, with the investigation and its dangers ahead.

• Wang Yuan found Li Dashan and Lin Xiaoyu waiting at the plaza and learned the Punishment Hall had recruited them for the dangerous mission.
• Li Dashan and Lin Xiaoyu explained that Steward Feng had persuaded them to accept the mission without revealing its danger.
• Wang Yuan warned the pair that following him might not keep them safe, but agreed to take them along if they obeyed his orders.
• Wang Yuan told Li Dashan and Lin Xiaoyu to call him Big Brother Wang and keep a low profile during the investigation.
• Wang Yuan collected a chestnut horse, and Li Dashan and Lin Xiaoyu took yellow-maned horses before the three rode toward Qinghe Town.

Wang Yuan and Lin Xiaoyu arrived in Qinghe Town to investigate the massacre of the Lu family and found the sole survivor, Lu Yu. Lu Yu began describing what she had seen when she returned, but the chapter ended before she could continue.

• Wang Yuan learned from the inn proprietor that all seventy-two members of the Lu family and their guards had been killed seven days earlier, and that Lu Yu had survived because she was away.
• Wang Yuan told Li Dashan and Lin Xiaoyu about Lu Yu and assigned Li Dashan to watch the inn while he and Lin Xiaoyu went to find her.
• Wang Yuan and Lin Xiaoyu reached Lu Yu's maternal family's courtyard, where Wang Yuan showed her his Kaoshan Sect token and she let them inside.
• Wang Yuan asked Lu Yu what she remembered about the massacre, and she said she had not been there but had seen something when she returned.

Wang Yuan questioned Lu Yu about the massacre of her family and learned that a locked Purple Sandalwood Box and a mysterious black-robed visitor might be connected to the killings. He returned to Qinghe Inn with Lin Xiaoyu, where the group discussed possible supernatural or demonic causes and planned to investigate the residence by daylight.

• Lu Yu told Wang Yuan that her family and the Lu estate's martial artists had died in bizarre ways, with some drained of blood, others twisted or covered in frost, and a faint riverbed-like stench lingering at the scene.
• Lu Yu revealed that her father's locked Purple Sandalwood Box was missing and that a black-robed stranger had visited him about half a month before the massacre.
• Wang Yuan warned Lu Yu to stay cautious, then told Lin Xiaoyu he would wait until daylight before approaching the Lu family residence.
• An inconspicuous man in gray watched Wang Yuan and Lin Xiaoyu pass before slipping into a narrow alley.
• At Qinghe Inn, Wang Yuan briefed Lin Xiaoyu and Li Dashan, who speculated about ghosts, demon beasts, and Demonic Cultivators as possible causes of the massacre.

Wang Yuan investigated the Lu Family Annihilation Case through the authorities and discreet inquiries, finding little about Black Robe but uncovering a suspicious purchase of cold-yin herbs. He recognized the combination as potentially connected to the killer and was left with a promising new lead.

• Wang Yuan decided to consult the County Office while Li Dashan and Lin Xiaoyu discreetly questioned people around the Lu family’s residence.
• Wang Yuan examined the case files and learned that Black Robe had visited Master Lu two weeks before the massacre, but authorities had found no useful description or witnesses.
• Li Dashan reported that an old night watchman had heard strange whimpering near the Lu family’s rear courtyard a few days before the incident.
• Lin Xiaoyu reported that a man in gray clothes and a bamboo hat had bought cinnabar, sulfur, and unusual herbs from an apothecary about ten days earlier.
• Wang Yuan learned that the herbs included yin condensing grass and bone rot flower, recognized them as nonmedicinal cold-yin substances, and focused on the purchase as a possible lead.

Wang Yuan investigated a suspicious herb buyer and caught a man tailing his group, who revealed that Liu Youcai had hired him to watch them. The trail led to Liu Mansion, where Wang Yuan found a wedding celebrating Liu Youcai’s son joining Bitao Sect and marrying a steward’s daughter.

• Wang Yuan questioned a Jishitang Pharmacy clerk, who recalled a grey-clothed hat guest buying unusual herbs with silver marked by dried blood and heading toward the Old Forest.
• Wang Yuan sensed someone watching the group, chased a grey-clothed man into an alley, and captured him.
• The man admitted that Master Liu Youcai had paid him to monitor Wang Yuan, Li Dashan, and Lin Xiaoyu.
• Wang Yuan ordered the man to lead them to Liu Mansion, and Li Dashan and Lin Xiaoyu flanked him as they went.
• At Liu Mansion, the group found a grand wedding underway for Liu Youcai’s son, who had joined Bitao Sect and was marrying a sect steward’s daughter.