Chapter Summaries

After the Martial Guard Bureau cleared Zhou Leng to move around again, he collected his scholarship and met with old friends, who discussed Tong Tianxia’s history and his ties to the Huangmeng Sect. The chapter ended with Xue Chengsong explaining how Tong became known as Tong the Invincible and disappeared from public records.

• Deng Zhijue explained Tian Wenhu’s likely punishment, the investigation into the demon-tainted people, and told Zhou Leng to keep his Apprentice Martial Guard badge.
• Zhou Leng collected his scholarship, returned ten Blood-Replenishing Pills to Deng Zhijue, and told Li Linhan about the incident; Li Linhan warned him about the Shuizhou Five Tigers.
• After Deng Zhijue said the matter was settled, Zhou Leng arranged to meet Xue Chengsong and warned Feng Wenhao to prepare for a possibly unusual monthly exam.
• Zhou Leng, Feng Wenhao, Xue Chengsong, Cao Jiajia, and Cui Mingcong reunited at Lao Rong Ji and discussed Tong Tianxia.
• Xue Chengsong said Tong Tianxia had been a peerless martial artist, had been taken in by the Huangmeng Sect after a conflict over his friend’s death, and had since been erased from online records.

Xue Chengsong explained that the planned 18-School Joint Examination in Water Continent Demon City could help students attract training camps and powerful factions, making strong results especially important for Zhou Leng. The group also learned that large-scale conflicts could generate treasures from the spiritual energy of the Ten Realms and Demon City.

• Xue Chengsong described the past slaughter at an Eagle Alliance gathering and said Demon Prison's involvement in recent events was still under investigation.
• Zhou Leng said the Mountains-Rivers-Lakes Joint Examination would likely be held in Water Continent Demon City, where the 7th Division would provide protection.
• Xue Chengsong urged everyone to stock up on pills and explained that joint examination rankings could serve as selection criteria for special training camps and draw the attention of powerful factions.
• Xue Chengsong said Zhou Leng's recent results had likely attracted the attention of instructors and the academy master, and urged him to aim for the top thirty or top ten.
• Xue Chengsong explained that large-scale battles among the Ten Realms and Demon City could stir spiritual energy and produce treasures.

Xue Chengsong warned Zhou Leng that he needed more Origin-Replenishing Pills before the joint exams. When Hu Yi called for help from 797 Nightclub, Zhou Leng and a large group of friends rescued him, beat Jiang Yan and his companions, and confronted them outside.

• Xue Chengsong told Zhou Leng to take more Origin-Replenishing Pills because his rivals would be physically stronger at the joint exams.
• Hu Yi called Zhou Leng from 797 Nightclub, saying Jiang Yan and his group had cornered him, so Zhou Leng gathered friends to help.
• Zhou Leng kicked Jiang Yan away from Hu Yi, and Cui Mingcong led the group in beating Jiang Yan, Tao Bing, Tu Rong, and the others.
• Outside the nightclub, Zhou Leng demanded an explanation, and Tu Rong apologized while revealing that Yan Fenggang was his eldest brother.
• Xue Chengsong offered to settle the matter if Tu Rong's group served tea and apologized, then left the decision to Zhou Leng.

Zhou Leng and Xue Chéngsong confronted Yu Baocheng over Jiang Yan’s attack on Hu Yi, but the dispute escalated into a feud between Xue Enterprise and Yan Fenggang’s men. Meanwhile, four intruders broke into Zhou Leng’s apartment looking for him, and Li Linhan knocked them down.

• Yu Baocheng offered to let the nightclub dispute go, but Zhou Leng demanded a guarantee that Jiang Yan would never trouble Hu Yi again.
• After consulting his father, Xue Chéngsong kicked Jiang Yan and demanded that the others kneel and serve tea or face Xue Enterprise; Yu Baocheng said Yan Fenggang accepted the challenge.
• Yu Baocheng told Tu Rong that Tiger Brother was being held after his younger brother Tian Wenbao died while cultivating demonic arts, prompting Jiang Yan to wonder if Zhou Leng was involved.
• Four young men picked the lock to enter Zhou Leng’s home, identified him in a photo album, and waited for him.
• Li Linhan confronted the intruders and smashed each of the four men’s heads into the wall.

Li Linhan confronted Tian Wenhu’s men and arranged to negotiate their grudge against Zhou Leng, while Zhou Leng’s friends discussed how the dispute might be settled through a wager duel. The chapter ended with Xue Chengsong warning that Tian Wenhu might pressure Zhou Leng through the school and force him into the ring.

• Li Linhan questioned Tian Wenhu’s men, learned that they were investigating Zhou Leng over Ni San and Brother Leopard, and challenged Tian Wenhu to meet at Bada Pioneer Corporation the next evening.
• Li Linhan called Zhou Leng, heard how Ni San had tried to rob him at the Ghost Market, and told him not to worry while he rallied veterans from the Zhenhai Regiment.
• At a food stall, Zhou Leng’s friends discussed the threat from Tian Wenhu and learned that Li Linhan was a veteran of the Sea-Calming Army’s Hero Regiment.
• Xue Chengsong reported that his father had contacted Li Linhan and explained the rules for resolving disputes, including wager duels and the likely nine Blood-Circulating battles.
• Xue Chengsong warned that Tian Wenhu might exploit school connections to pressure Zhou Leng and would probably try to force him into the duel.

Zhou Leng received a third Divine Script Golden Page that taught him systematic methods for cultivating battle consciousness and martial will, then learned its contents as rumors spread about his possible gambling match. At Ru University, Ji Changnian dismissed Zhou Leng as a rival and focused on the upcoming monthly exam.

• Zhou Leng returned home, visited Uncle Li, then went to the Frost Giant Tree, where Big Yellow presented him with another Divine Script Golden Page.
• Zhou Leng studied the page’s teachings on observing the heart and self, battle instinct, battle experience, and the Purgatory Gate, then told Big Yellow about his recent progress and plans.
• Zhou Leng mastered the second Divine Script and began learning the third before going to school the next morning.
• Zhou Leng’s classmates told him that rumors of a gambling match with the Shuizhou Five Tigers had spread, while Chang Luan said Tao Bing would be bedridden for at least two months.
• Cao Jiajia told Xu Qingjin that Zhou Leng had scored ten to zero against her and might surpass Ji Changnian, and Xu Qingjin supported him.
• Ji Changnian overheard them, dismissed Zhou Leng as an opponent, and resolved to enter the first echelon in the monthly exam.

Tang Shiping tried to pressure Wang Boxiong over Zhou Leng’s dispute with Bada Pioneer Corporation, but Wang openly backed the student. Zhou Leng trained with the Mind-Observing Method and joined Li Linhan at negotiations with Tian Wenhu’s group, where the sides agreed to settle their dispute through the Nine Blood-Circulating Battles.

• Tang Shiping’s old friend offered him medicinal pill vouchers to influence Ru University’s Martial Academy on behalf of Bada Pioneer Corporation and its ally Tian Wenhu.
• Tang Shiping visited Wang Boxiong and learned that Wang had ordered Zhou Leng to challenge the Pioneer Corporation, then abandoned his attempt to interfere.
• Zhou Leng trained in the martial arts hall using the Mind-Observing Method and agreed to summon Feng Wenhao and the others if a wagered fight was arranged.
• Zhou Leng and Li Linhan arrived at Bada Pioneer Corporation, where Fan Haoshan and other veterans joined them for negotiations with Xue Tongming and Tian Wenhu.
• Zhou Leng, Li Linhan, and Tian Wenhu’s group argued over Zhou’s clashes with the corporation’s subordinates and Martial Guards.
• Tian Wenhu proposed the Nine Blood-Circulating Battles, and Li Linhan and Xue Tongming accepted.

Zhou Leng agreed to fight in a wager match against Eight Reaches Company and trained hard while preparing for the bout. He advanced his Wave-Stacking Palm to Qi Follows the Body, and the chapter ended with classmates gathering around him before the match at Bright River Martial Arts Hall.

• Zhou Leng agreed to enter the Early Blood-Circulating Stage match, securing an apology from Eight Reaches Company if his side won, and the groups scheduled the wager matches for the next night.
• Tian Wenhu learned that the Martial Guard Bureau had sealed three of his shops and decided to fight Zhou Leng fairly, intending to grind him into the mud.
• Zhou Leng practiced the Ten Inverse Beast Fist, calculated the high cost of replenishing his body, and reached Qi Follows the Body with his Wave-Stacking Palm.
• Zhou Leng tested his growing strength with one-handed pull-ups and ate fifteen rounds of breakfast at Ru University's cafeteria.
• Zhou Leng's classmates told him they had bought tickets to watch the wager match, and he said he might fight two opponents but was unlikely to take on three in a row.

Zhou Leng prepared for a gambling match after learning about his opponent and receiving guidance from Deng Zhijue, who reported his rapid progress to Wang Boxiong. The chapter ended with Tan Feikuo questioning Zhou Leng’s decision to lead off and explaining the gambling match’s dangerous format.

• Xue Chengsong warned Zhou Leng that Tian Wenhu had hired a talented second-year fighter whose qi and blood were suppressed, making their matchup crucial.
• Xu Qingjin brought Zhou Leng stewed beef from her mother and decided to watch his gambling match.
• Deng Zhijue told Wang Boxiong that Zhou Leng had achieved Qi Follows the Body, and Wang ordered him considered for increasingly demanding training programs.
• Zhang Xinglie filled out an application for the Dragon Kingdom Rising Youth Martial Arts Grand Fund at Yunhua Martial University.
• Zhou Leng arrived at Bright River Martial Arts Hall with his classmates and entered the lounge to prepare for the match.
• Tan Feikuo challenged Zhou Leng’s decision to lead off and explained that fighters remained on the platform until their side was defeated.

Zhou Leng demonstrated his skill in sparring and entered the wagered duel, where he decisively defeated Zhou Bohua in the first match. He then faced Wen Jianyuan, and the chapter ended as their opening fist and palm collided.

• Zhou Leng sparred with Tan Feikuo and easily read and countered his leg techniques, convincing the group that he was a formidable fighter.
• At the martial arts platform, the referee introduced the fighters and announced Zhou Leng's first match against Zhou Bohua.
• Zhou Leng struck Zhou Bohua with Wave-Stacking Palm, Great River Flows into the Sea, then broke his arms and knocked him unconscious with a series of kicks.
• The referee announced Zhou Leng's next match against Wen Jianyuan, while Xue Tongming offered the fighters extra rewards for winning.
• Wen Jianyuan began a speech about facing Zhou Leng, but Zhou Leng interrupted and attacked with Great River Flows into the Sea; their palm and fist collided.

Zhou Leng defeated Wen Jianyuan with relentless pressure and the power of Qi Follows the Body, leaving Wen badly injured. With no rest, he began his next match against Zhang Bojun and appeared to gain an opening with a sudden change of palm technique.

• Zhou Leng outpaced Wen Jianyuan with successive Wave-Stacking Palm strikes, broke down his momentum, and battered him in close combat.
• When Wen Jianyuan attempted a grappling takedown, Zhou Leng used Island Descends into the Sea and kicked him into the cage, leaving him severely injured.
• Tian Wenhu treated Wen Jianyuan and said he would be bedridden for at least a year, while Zhou Leng urged the others to save him.
• The referee immediately started Zhou Leng's third match against Zhang Bojun, and Zhou Leng tried to conserve strength by retreating as Zhang probed cautiously.
• Zhang Bojun pressed Zhou Leng toward the cage, but Zhou escaped with an Eight Trigrams Step and countered Zhang's feint by changing Wind Rises, Tide Surges into Rushing Tide Strikes Shore.
• Zhang Bojun raised his arm to block Zhou Leng's charge, and a crack sounded.

Zhou Leng swept the Early Blood-Circulating battles, helping Xue Tongming's side defeat Tian Wenhu's team and win a large payout. After the celebration, Zhou Leng recovered beneath the Frost Giant Tree and counted his pills, ending the chapter on September 25.

• Zhou Leng broke Zhang Bojun's wrist, wore him down, and knocked him unconscious to win the first battle in a one-against-three sweep.
• Zhou Leng's side won the Blood-Circulating Mid Stage battle as well, taking all nine battles and forcing Tian Wenhu's side to pay the pills and medical expenses.
• Tian Wenhu recognized the young Innate who had left through the side door and warned Yan Fenggang against seeking revenge.
• Xue Tongming and Xue Chengsong discussed whether to hire Zhou Leng as a freelance or joint Martial Dao Director once he reached the Force-Generating Stage.
• After the celebration, Zhou Leng recovered from his wounds beneath the Frost Giant Tree and counted his pills before checking the date: September 25.

As the joint examination approached, Zhou Leng intensified his training and began learning lightness skills while several people plotted against him. Deng Zhijue rejected Chang Yuanzhong and Chang Luan’s attempt to take Zhou Leng’s scholarship, leading to Chang Luan’s expulsion from the school; Zhou Leng then tested his speed with Flying Crane Movement.

• Zhou Leng planned to spend heavily on pills and medicinal meals for two weeks of intensive training, while Ji Changnian doubted the rumors about Zhou Leng and looked ahead to the joint examination.
• After Tian Wenbao’s funeral, Tian Chengchang and Yan Fenggang agreed to cripple Zhou Leng when they could strike outside the city, and they decided to enlist Chang Luan to cause him trouble.
• Chang Yuanzhong asked Deng Zhijue to make Zhou Leng give his best scholarship to Chang Luan, but Deng severed ties with the father and son and reported them to Wang Boxiong.
• Wang Boxiong ordered Chang Luan to transfer schools or be expelled, and Chang Luan left Class 01 that morning; Wei Hong was elected the new class monitor.
• Zhou Leng practiced Cloud-Treading Leap and Flying Crane Movement, reaching more than twenty-five meters per second before his true qi ran out after just over a minute.

Zhou Leng collected his Elite Freshman Award and challenged the first level of the Eighteen Bronze Men Formation, defeating its bronze puppet despite taking injuries. After learning he would have to wait to attempt the second level, he encountered classmates and Chang Luan at the Martial Arts Bureau.

• Deng Zhijue told Zhou Leng that his Bronze Man Formation reservation had succeeded and issued his Elite Freshman Award; Zhou Leng took the Great Supplement Pills and gave Deng Zhijue the Origin-Replenishing Pill.
• Zhou Leng arrived at the Ru City Martial Arts Bureau and met Cao Jiajia, Xu Qingjin, and other students waiting to challenge the formation.
• Zhou Leng entered the No. 3 formation, learned the bronze man's attack patterns, and defeated the first-level puppet while sustaining bruises and other injuries.
• The formation staff told Zhou Leng that someone else was using the second level, so Zhou Leng chose to recover his true qi and wait for his turn.
• Xu Qingjin and Cao Jiajia asked Zhou Leng about his fight, and Cao Jiajia said no one from her class had passed the first level yet.
• Zhou Leng exchanged nods with Chang Luan, who privately thought Zhou Leng had driven him away through underhanded tricks and was pretending nothing had happened.

Zhou Leng cleared the second level of the Two-Yi Bronze Man Formation, raised his Freshman Ranking, and discovered a Purgatory Gate hidden beneath the Frost Giant Tree. The gate pulled him into a strange realm before the Inverted Lotus Giant.

• Zhou Leng defeated the Two-Yi Bronze Man Formation’s second level by protecting his head, managing his pain, and attacking carefully, then collected his pills and consecutive-victory reward.
• Zhou Leng met the injured Xu Qingjin and Cao Jiajia, gave Xu Qingjin a Great Supplement Pill, and shared advice about fighting the bronze men.
• Ji Changnian surrendered at the first level and doubted Zhou Leng’s reported success, while Zhou Leng’s class learned he had risen to 209th on the Ru City Freshman Ranking.
• Zhou Leng saw that the Eighteen Bronze Men Formation had unlocked, then entered the mysterious world and found Big Yellow dragging a golden doorframe from the earth near the Frost Giant Tree.
• Zhou Leng recognized the frame as the Purgatory Gate, which opened a blue vortex and pulled him inside, where he saw the enormous Inverted Lotus Giant.

After surviving the Purgatory Gate’s tenth layer, Zhou Leng entered its first layer and endured 1,791 weapon strikes before the trial killed him and sent him back. He recovered with his Martial Will strengthened, then learned that the 18-School Joint Examination’s initial assessment was that day and headed to the martial arts hall.

• Zhou Leng woke after the tenth-layer trial and realized the Frost Giant Tree’s light had helped him recover, while his Martial Path Perception and Martial Will had grown stronger.
• Zhou Leng entered the Purgatory Gate’s first layer, where weapons repeatedly attacked him until he died after enduring 1,791 strikes.
• Zhou Leng woke a day later, learned that he had reached 1,791 out of the 10,000 strikes required to pass the Land of Blades, and replenished his body with medicinal pills.
• Zhou Leng returned to Xiaoru Village, checked the messages he had missed, and received Deng Zhijue’s news about the joint examination and his scholarship.
• Zhou Leng ate a more substantial breakfast and went to the martial arts hall, where his classmates discussed the 18-School Joint Examination and its potential rewards.

Zhou Leng returned from training with sharper battle instincts, then dominated the school assessment despite scoring poorly in several running events. After he earned perfect scores in most strength and qi events and survived the Striking Device with a perfect score, malfunctioning equipment left the instructors worried as the class checked its new rankings.

• Zhou Leng explained that he had studied combat recordings and battlefield experiences, while Wei Hong described the joint examination’s collective first tier and its real-combat dangers.
• Deng Zhijue questioned Zhou Leng about his recent training, and Zhou Leng said Uncle Li had helped him reflect on the battlefield after the Bronze Man Formation.
• Zhou Leng scored 100 in the sprint and several strength and qi events, but earned low scores in the evasion, weighted, obstacle, and destructive-intensity events.
• The Destructive Intensity Meter showed malfunction lights again, so Huang Jingqiu stopped its use and went to find the hall master.
• Zhou Leng endured the Striking Device until it awarded him 100 points, then emerged badly injured but conscious while Wei Hong entered the next wave.
• Deng Zhijue announced that the new score sheet had been posted, and the injured students opened the class group chat to check their results.

After Zhou Leng ranked 98th in Ru City and 3079th nationally, Wang Boxiong deduced that Zhou Leng had an Extraordinary Body whose power the testing equipment could not measure. As Zhou Leng prepared for the 18-School Joint Examination, he entered the Purgatory Gate and was thrown back unconscious.

• Wang Boxiong reviewed the test footage and Bronze Man Formation maintenance records, then concluded that Zhou Leng had awakened an Extraordinary Body with unusually high attack intensity.
• Zhou Leng saw that he ranked 98th in Ru City and 3079th nationally, and he exchanged messages with Zhang Xinglie, who had climbed to 96th nationally.
• Ji Changnian questioned whether Zhou Leng was stronger than him and resolved to settle it at the 18-School Joint Examination in Water Continent Demon City.
• Tian Chengchang noted Zhou Leng's rapid rise and decided he had to act before the joint examination.
• Students in Ru City reacted angrily to a West Sea Martial University student's provocative forum post on Shanhe Yuan's behalf.
• Zhou Leng bought thirty boxes of Meat Medicinal Diet, went beneath the Frost Giant Tree, and entered the Purgatory Gate, which soon threw him back unconscious as Big Yellow watched in confusion.

After receiving an internal Martial Guard Department award, Zhou Leng used its rare pills to strengthen his true qi and Martial Will, then endured more of the Purgatory Gate and advanced the Standing Elephant Chapter to thirty-six cycles. The chapter left him visibly thinner but still hungry, heading into the Ru University cafeteria for breakfast.

• Zhou Leng signed for the Martial Guard Department’s internal Hidden Dragon Award and received pills from Deng Zhijue, while Wang Boxiong remembered Ma Xingkong secretly helping him years earlier.
• Zhou Leng took an Origin-Embracing Pill and a Spirit-Concentrating Pill, compressing and purifying his true qi and strengthening his Martial Will through visualizing the Frost Giant Tree.
• Zhou Leng entered the Purgatory Gate and endured 2,307 blades before losing consciousness, then woke after eight hours with a faster recovery.
• Zhou Leng practiced the first move of the Standing Elephant Chapter until he reached thirty-six cycles, unlocking the second move and consuming large quantities of pills and medicinal food to recover.
• Zhou Leng watched Deng Zhijue’s video and learned to control the Qi Extraordinary Body in his dantian, then went to the Ru University cafeteria, where staff panicked at how thin he looked.

Zhou Leng prepared for the 18-School Joint Examination, traveling with his classmates to Water Continent Demon City while discussing the dangers and possible rewards. As the students approached the examination site, a monitoring station detected abnormal spatial fluctuations near point 1053, where a group of Demonic Beasts led by a Candlebearer advanced.

• Zhou Leng ate thirty plates of food and realized the Standing Elephant Chapter had strengthened his body and digestive system.
• On the morning of the joint examination, Zhou Leng sensed that his body had grown far stronger than that of an ordinary Early Blood-Circulating Stage martial artist.
• Zhou Leng traveled by bus with students from Ru University, while they discussed Zhao Tong's arrival, the examination's rewards, and the dangers of Water Continent Demon City.
• A monitoring station detected level-one abnormal spatial fluctuations at monitoring point 1053 and noted that the site had previously preceded a Demonic Beast invasion.
• More than thirty Demonic Beasts advanced near monitoring point 1053, led by a Candlebearer with candle-covered arms and candle flames for eyes and mouthparts.