Chapter Summaries

Lin Changqing devised a Visualization Method after other cultivation techniques failed, and visualized the Solar Star to cultivate his mind. He emerged transformed and used his gaze to make Lin Dashan forget his debt claim and leave his home.

• Lin Changqing reasoned that his body could not absorb energy through ordinary cultivation methods and decided to develop a Visualization Method.
• He chose the Solar Star as his object of visualization and began meditating on it.
• As Lin Dashan forced his way into the courtyard to demand repayment, Lin Changqing’s mind and spirit transformed during his visualization.
• Lin Changqing confronted Lin Dashan and questioned whether he had ever lent him money.
• Under Lin Changqing’s influence, Lin Dashan denied the debt and ordered his companions to leave without disturbing Changqing.

Lin Changqing reflected on the limits of using mind power and sought a way to earn money without betraying his principles. He chose to forge a Mortal Grade Ninth Rank Divine Weapon, hoping to fund his martial cultivation and living expenses.

• Lin Changqing revealed that he had hypnotized Lin Dashan with mind power but had spared him because using that power for evil could harm his cultivation.
• Lin Changqing concluded that he needed a martial cultivation method to balance his cultivation of Nature, but he lacked the money to attend a martial academy.
• Lin Changqing rejected robbery and decided to earn money by forging a Divine Weapon rather than ordinary weapons.
• Lin Changqing took Black Gold Iron from his father's workshop, intending to combine some of it with Hundred Refined Steel to forge a Mortal Grade Ninth Rank weapon.
• Lin Changqing began forging, confident that his Heaven-Defying Comprehension had already raised his skill far beyond his father's.

Lin Changqing completed a powerful Mortal Grade Nine blade and followed Lin Hu to hear Daoist Yunyang teach a martial skill. Though most villagers left after learning it was a Health Fist, Lin Changqing sensed Yunyang's formidable cultivation and stayed to watch.

• Lin Changqing forged a blade that cut through an iron platform and estimated it was worth at least a hundred gold.
• Lin Hu told Lin Changqing that the taoist rescued by the hunting party planned to teach the village martial arts, and Lin Changqing went with him to the Ancestral Hall.
• Clan Chief Lin Yuntang introduced Daoist Yunyang, who announced he would teach the Five Elements Health Cultivation Fist.
• Many villagers dismissed the Health Fist as useless and left, while Lin Hu urged Lin Changqing to go with them.
• Lin Changqing stayed after noticing that Daoist Yunyang's voice carried clearly across the crowd and sensing his furnace-like Qi and Blood.

Lin Changqing stayed to learn Daoist Yunyang’s Five Elements Health Cultivation Fist and proved far more capable than the other villagers. On Daoist Yunyang’s departure, Lin Changqing received a medical manuscript and learned the Nine Ranks of Flesh that make up the Great Body Realm, while the Martial Dao beyond it remained unknown.

• Lin Hu explained that Martial Dao had nine ranks, though he could not describe their divisions, and Lin Changqing decided to seek Daoist Yunyang’s guidance.
• Daoist Yunyang taught the Five Elements Health Cultivation Fist to the villagers, and Lin Changqing copied his movements with exceptional precision.
• Most students stopped attending over the next ten days, leaving Lin Changqing as Daoist Yunyang’s sole student by the end.
• Daoist Yunyang gave Lin Changqing his medical experience and explained how the Three Realms Nine Ranks formed the Great Body Realm.
• Daoist Yunyang said he knew nothing beyond the Great Body Realm and suggested Lin Changqing might seek ancient Martial Dao inheritances outside the Great Zhou Dynasty.

After perfecting the Five Elements Health Cultivation Fist, Lin Changqing entered the Body Tempering Realm as a Ninth Rank Martial Artist. He joined Green Mountain Village’s caravan to Fengle County Town to sell a saber and seek news of his missing father, Lin Yongfan.

• Lin Changqing perfected the Five Elements Health Cultivation Fist, greatly increased his Qi and Blood, and became a Ninth Rank Martial Artist.
• Lin Changqing decided he needed medicinal baths to advance further and planned to sell his Ninth Rank Battle Saber for the ingredients.
• Lin Changqing joined Lin Yongteng’s caravan to Fengle County Town and told Lin Hu he also hoped to learn what had happened to Lin Yongfan.
• Lin Changqing and Lin Hu rode in the goods cart as the caravan set out, while Lin Yongteng and the other members walked beside it.
• Lin Yongteng said the county had recently suppressed bandits, while Lin Changqing quietly surveyed the road and hoped to test his strength.

Lin Changqing arrived in Fengle County Town and went alone to Divine Weapon Pavilion to sell his Mortal Grade Nine saber. After the shopkeeper took the saber for inspection, Lin Changqing followed him into the backyard and waited.

• Lin Changqing declined to accompany Lin Yongteng and Lin Hu while they delivered goods, and agreed to meet them at the city gate around the Hour of the Monkey.
• Lin Changqing entered Divine Weapon Pavilion, looked over its weapons, and asked whether the shop bought ranked weapons.
• Lin Changqing told the waiter he had a Mortal Grade Nine saber to sell, so the waiter summoned shopkeeper Chen San.
• Lin Changqing showed Chen San the saber, whose clear blade hum impressed the shopkeeper.
• Chen San sent the saber to Master Yun for inspection and invited Lin Changqing to wait with him in the backyard.

Lin Changqing sold his exceptionally sharp saber to Divine Weapon Pavilion for two hundred gold, then went to buy medicinal ingredients to support his cultivation. Shopkeeper Chen San arranged for men to follow him, hoping to find the Divine Weapon Forgemaster he believed had made the saber.

• Chen San offered Lin Changqing twenty gold for his saber, but Lin Changqing rejected the offer after overhearing the appraisal.
• When Chen San tried to negotiate, Lin Changqing demanded two hundred gold, and Chen San agreed to buy the saber.
• Lin Changqing requested one hundred taels of silver and the rest in gold, then left with his payment.
• Lin Changqing went to Hundred Herbs Hall to buy ingredients for Returning Origin Powder and Qihuang Black Ginseng Soup.
• Chen San ordered Du Hu and Du Bao to watch Lin Changqing and uncover his identity, intending to recruit the Divine Weapon Forgemaster he believed was behind the saber.

Lin Changqing bought ingredients for medicinal training, sought information about his father and martial arts methods, then discovered Divine Weapon Pavilion was following him to recruit the supposed forgemaster behind his weapon. He left the city after deciding to keep a lower profile and stop selling forged weapons for now.

• Lin Changqing spent twenty gold on ingredients for Returning Origin Powder and Qihuang Black Ginseng Soup, then went to the county yamen to seek news of Lin Yongfan but sensed a powerful Martial Cultivation expert and left.
• Lin Changqing investigated the county city's martial arts schools, rejected joining one, and decided he might create a cultivation method based on the Five Elements Fist.
• Lin Changqing noticed two men following him from Hundred Herbs Hall and used his mind power to lure them into an alley with an illusion.
• Lin Changqing hypnotized the men and learned that Chen San of Divine Weapon Pavilion had sent them to investigate him and recruit the supposed Divine Weapon Forgemaster behind his weapon.
• Lin Changqing knocked the two men unconscious, decided not to forge weapons for sale for now, and headed for the city gate.

After returning to Green Mountain Village, Lin Changqing tested a medicinal bath and began refining the Five Elements Fist into a method for Great Body Realm cultivation. He left the chapter practicing a newly adjusted form, using his Heaven-Defying Comprehension and mental power to perfect its body-tempering effects.

• Chen San ordered his subordinate to uncover Lin Changqing's identity within ten days and warned him not to touch the young man.
• Lin Changqing returned to Green Mountain Village, hid the gold, and prepared three packets of Returning Origin Powder and a medicinal bath.
• After practicing the Five Elements Fist until exhausted, Lin Changqing entered the bath and felt its medicinal power strengthen his flesh, blood, and skin membrane.
• Lin Changqing decided to create a stronger Martial cultivation method by refining the Five Elements Fist for Great Body Realm cultivation.
• Lin Changqing spent the night deducing and adjusting his fist movements, using his mental power to assess how each change tempered his body.

Lin Changqing perfected the Five Elements Technique, broke through to Martial Dao Eighth Rank, and awakened Spiritual Perception. When the Divine Weapon Pavilion’s people arrived at his courtyard looking for him, he chose to face them rather than hide.

• Lin Changqing completed his new Five Elements Technique and broke through the limits of Ninth Rank, advancing to Martial Dao Eighth Rank.
• Lin Changqing refined his visualization method and sensed that Lin Hu would arrive before Lin Hu came to warn him about the Divine Weapon Pavilion.
• Lin Hu urged Lin Changqing to hide from the Divine Weapon Pavilion, but Lin Changqing sensed its people were already approaching and refused to flee.
• Lin Dashan led Master Liu and the Divine Weapon Pavilion’s guards to Lin Changqing’s courtyard, while Lin Changqing told Lin Hu he would handle them himself.

Lin Changqing rejected the Divine Weapon Pavilion's offer to pay him one thousand taels of silver for an introduction to the Divine Weapon Forger. After Liu Yantao threatened him, Lin Changqing revealed his overwhelming strength and left him injured, warning him to tell Chen San not to provoke him again.

• Lin Dashan led Liu Yantao and the Divine Weapon Pavilion's men to Lin Changqing, who refused to speak with Liu Yantao in private.
• Liu Yantao offered Lin Changqing one thousand taels of silver to introduce the Divine Weapon Forger behind him to the Pavilion.
• Lin Changqing demanded that Liu Yantao deal with Lin Dashan first, and Liu Yantao kicked Lin Dashan away and had guards drag him off.
• Lin Changqing refused the offer, saying he treated money like dung, and rejected Liu Yantao's threat to make the Pavilion his enemy.
• Lin Changqing struck Liu Yantao with Tiger Fist, breaking his arm and sending him flying.
• Lin Changqing ordered Liu Yantao to tell Chen San that the attack was only a lesson and drove the Pavilion's men away.

After Lin Changqing revealed that he had Entered the Ranks of Martial Dao, he offered to teach Lin Hu his Five Elements Technique and asked him to buy medicinal ingredients in the city. Lin Changqing stayed in the village and forged an Eighth Grade Divine Weapon, naming the saber Startled Insects.

• Lin Changqing confirmed to Lin Hu that he had Entered the Ranks of Martial Dao and offered to teach him the Five Elements Technique in three days.
• Lin Changqing gave Lin Hu fifty taels of gold and a list of medicinal ingredients, instructing him to buy them from several shops and keep the money discreet.
• Lin Hu, Lin Yongteng, and the others left the village for the city the next day while Lin Changqing returned to his Small Courtyard.
• Lin Changqing designed and forged a long saber from Black Gold Iron and Hundred Refined Steel, completing an Eighth Grade Divine Weapon.
• Lin Changqing tested the saber's sharpness and named it Startled Insects.

Lin Changqing perfected the Five Elements Severing Steel Saber Technique he had created, then rode out to search for the missing convoy. He found Lin Hu and the surviving convoy members cornered by the Black Mountain Bandits, and arrived just as their leader was about to kill Lin Hu.

• Lin Changqing practiced his self-created Five Elements Severing Steel Saber Technique until he mastered it in half a day.
• Worried that the convoy had not returned, Lin Changqing borrowed a horse from Lin Yuntang and rode toward Fengle County Town.
• At the foot of Clear Wind Mountain, Lin Changqing found the convoy surrounded by bandits, with only seven of its fifteen members still alive.
• The bandit leader Whiskers swung his saber at Lin Hu, but Lin Changqing appeared beside him and severed Whiskers' saber arm.

Lin Changqing slaughtered the Mountain Bandits who attacked the Green Mountain Village caravan and tortured their leader until he revealed that Liu Yantao of Divine Weapon Pavilion had arranged the robbery. After returning to Green Mountain Village, Lin Changqing promised to avenge the dead and began distributing compensation to the survivors.

• Lin Changqing killed the Mountain Bandits, then used Thousand Cuts Torture to force Whiskers to name Liu Yantao of Divine Weapon Pavilion as the person behind the attack.
• Lin Changqing killed Whiskers and led Lin Hu, Lin Yongteng, and the surviving caravan members back to Green Mountain Village with the eight dead.
• Lin Yuntang arranged for the dead to be placed in the Ancestral Hall while the wounded caravan members received treatment.
• Lin Changqing told the survivors he would collect the debt from Divine Weapon Pavilion and handed Lin Hu fifty taels of gold for compensation and burial costs.

After eight Green Mountain Village caravan members were killed, Lin Changqing went alone to Fengle County Town to confront the Divine Weapon Pavilion. He discovered that Chen San had not known Liu Yantao helped the Black Mountain Bandits, and the chapter ended as Chen San called for someone to answer for the crime.

• Lin Changqing offered incense for the eight fallen caravan members and left for Fengle County Town to seek revenge.
• Lin Hu tried to chase after Lin Changqing, but Lin Yongteng persuaded him to wait and hope Lin Changqing would return safely.
• Lin Changqing entered the Divine Weapon Pavilion openly and had a waiter lead him to Chen San.
• Lin Changqing told Chen San that Liu Yantao had disclosed the caravan's valuable medicinal cargo to the Black Mountain Bandits and had previously threatened him.
• Chen San denied knowing about Liu Yantao's actions, and Lin Changqing's mental power confirmed that he was telling the truth.
• Chen San promised to give Lin Changqing an explanation and called for someone.

Lin Changqing negotiated a weapons-supply deal with Chen San of the Divine Weapon Pavilion and asked him to investigate his missing father. Chen San agreed to both requests, while Xu Zhan went to retrieve Liu Yantao.

• Chen San summoned Xu Zhan to bring him Liu Yantao, then told Lin Changqing that Liu had deceived him and that he had only wanted to recruit the forgemaster behind Lin Changqing.
• Chen San explained that the Divine Weapon Pavilion’s forgemaster was unavailable and its existing stock of divine weapons was running low.
• Lin Changqing offered to supply two divine weapons per month if the Pavilion provided the materials, and Chen San accepted.
• Chen San promised three thousand taels in compensation for the eight caravan men killed, and Lin Changqing accepted the payment on behalf of their families.
• Lin Changqing asked Chen San to investigate his father’s disappearance, and Chen San promised to use his Yamen connections to find out what happened.

Lin Changqing returned to Green Mountain Village after helping Chen San deal with Liu Yantao and discovering that someone from the Wei Family had followed him. He gave Lin Hu three thousand taels in compensation to distribute among the caravan members and planned to rely on him for future affairs.

• Lin Changqing left Liu Yantao and the waiter in Chen San’s hands, and Chen San ordered Xu Zhan to deal with them without leaving loose ends.
• An expert followed Lin Changqing, then withdrew when he left Fengle County; the Wei Family’s young master ordered his men to investigate Lin Changqing and his connection to the Divine Weapon Pavilion.
• Lin Changqing returned to Green Mountain Village and told Lin Hu and Lin Yongteng that Liu Yantao had arranged the Black Mountain Bandits’ ambush, which had killed eight caravan members.
• Lin Changqing gave Lin Hu three thousand taels from Chen San to distribute privately among the families of the dead and the surviving injured caravan members.

Lin Changqing advanced his Spiritual Power into the Still Mind realm and used it to perfect his Five Elements Technique, reaching the Eighth Rank limit and cultivating Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound. After recovering in a medicinal bath, he prepared Qihuang Black Ginseng Soup to further increase his Qi and Blood.

• Lin Changqing absorbed moonlight while visualizing the cosmic galaxy and broke through to the Still Mind realm.
• Lin Changqing used his new Spiritual Power to monitor and refine his body as he practiced the Five Elements Technique.
• Lin Changqing's Qi and Blood surged through his sinews and bones, allowing him to reach the Eighth Rank limit and produce Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound.
• Lin Changqing recovered in a Returning Origin Powder medicinal bath and reflected on the high cost of his cultivation.
• Lin Changqing went to the kitchen to prepare Qihuang Black Ginseng Soup to increase his Qi and Blood.

After his Spiritual Perception awakened, Lin Changqing prepared medicinal cuisine and began teaching Lin Hu his revised Five Elements Technique. Lin Hu quickly learned its Basic Chapter, while Lin Changqing considered training more villagers and finding a way to fund their cultivation.

• Lin Changqing sensed that Lin Hu would arrive within five minutes and prepared two portions of medicinal cuisine.
• Lin Hu arrived, and Lin Changqing promised him medicinal cuisine after martial arts practice.
• Lin Changqing explained that his revised Five Elements Technique had a Basic Chapter and a Flesh Chapter, then began teaching Lin Hu the Basic Chapter.
• Lin Changqing used his Spiritual Power to observe Lin Hu's movements and adjust his instruction to suit him.
• Lin Hu grasped the Basic Chapter's movements in less than an hour, and Lin Changqing considered teaching more Green Mountain Village residents.

Lin Changqing gave Lin Hu Qihuang Black Ginseng Soup and considered how to learn more about martial cultivation before Chen San arrived with news about his father. Chen San said Lin Changqing’s father was safe but could not return soon, so Lin Changqing offered a Ninth Rank Divine Weapon in exchange for bringing him home within five days.

• Lin Changqing gave Lin Hu medicinal cuisine, told him to limit his training, and examined how its effects on his own body had weakened.
• Lin Changqing sensed Chen San’s arrival and welcomed him to discuss divine weapon materials and news about his father.
• Chen San reported that the Imperial Court had recruited Lin Changqing’s father to forge weapons, that he was safe, and that he likely could not return for several months.
• Lin Changqing asked whether a Ninth Rank Divine Weapon could secure his father’s return within three days.
• Chen San said three days was too rushed but promised to bring Lin Changqing’s father back safely within five days.