Chapter Summaries

Huining offered Fang Yuan the Pure Dust Nourishing Viscera Cultivation Method on the condition that he join the Formless Temple, but Fang Yuan refused because of his wife, daughter, and responsibilities. After Huining left, Fang Yuan resolved to investigate the White Lotus Sect and the Health Cultivation Method’s dangers; then a young woman arrived claiming she had a fated opportunity to discuss with him.

• Huining told Fang Yuan that the Pure Dust Nourishing Viscera Cultivation Method could help cleanse dangers left by his current Health Cultivation Method.
• Huining offered to recommend Fang Yuan for the method if he took refuge in Buddhism and entered the Formless Temple, but Fang Yuan refused because he could not abandon his family and worldly obligations.
• Huining left and told Fang Yuan he would be staying beside the White Lotus Sect's porridge stall at the city gate.
• Fang Yuan decided to investigate the White Lotus Sect and the origins and alterations of the Five Tiger Health Cultivation Method while monitoring Black Heart Tiger and the Prefect's wife.
• A Wang Family gatekeeper reported that a young lady had arrived seeking Fang Yuan and claimed to have a fated opportunity for him.

Fang Yuan accepted an invitation from the Prefectural Office’s First Madam, hoping to learn more about Black Heart Tiger’s forces and negotiate for resources. He rode with Green Vine toward the meeting, leaving their conversation for later.

• Fang Yuan considered his cultivation bottlenecks and planned to fuse the Breaking Wind Saber Technique and Entangling Silk Saber Technique into his Basic Saber Technique.
• Green Vine arrived at the Martial Arts School and respectfully invited Fang Yuan to speak with her madam.
• Fang Yuan agreed to go, suspecting the First Madam was anxious about Black Heart Tiger and might offer something valuable.
• Fang Yuan told the gatekeeper to save him a meal and then left with Green Vine in a discreet carriage.
• Fang Yuan rested silently by the carriage window while Green Vine grew increasingly uncomfortable.

Fang Yuan traveled with Green Vine to a secluded residence where the Prefect's wife was staying. He entered the main hall to meet her, but the chapter ended before their conversation began.

• Green Vine studied Fang Yuan and complained that Qinghe County was uncomfortable and far less prosperous than the prefectural city.
• Fang Yuan asked whether ordinary people in the prefectural city could afford to eat their fill, leaving Green Vine unable to answer honestly.
• The carriage stopped at a quiet residence, and Green Vine explained that her Madam had chosen it to avoid crowds and prying eyes.
• An old servant opened the gate, and Fang Yuan sensed that the man was a trained fighter of at least third rank.
• Green Vine announced Fang Yuan's arrival, and he entered the main hall after the Madam told them to come in.

Fang Yuan negotiated with Prefect Zhao’s First Madam over dealing with Black Heart Tiger, resisting her attempt to intimidate him and establish a low price. She revealed that she had chosen him because she believed his true strength exceeded what he had shown, and the negotiation remained open.

• Fang Yuan met Prefect Zhao’s First Madam, who seated him on a low stool and warned that her influence had held Black Heart Tiger back temporarily, but that Fang Yuan was neither her only option nor entitled to an exorbitant price.
• The First Madam’s old servant entered and silently threatened Fang Yuan, while Green Vine grew frightened.
• Fang Yuan calmly pointed out that the First Madam had still come to him, since he was the strongest viable choice in Qinghe County.
• The First Madam relented, called Fang Yuan sharp-tongued, and shifted from intimidation to negotiation.
• The First Madam cited Fang Yuan’s record, including his victory over Huangfu Ying, and said she believed he had concealed his true strength; Fang Yuan replied that he would not disappoint her.

Fang Yuan negotiated with First Madam over payment for a dangerous task, rejecting an Iron Cloth Pill because its force might not suit his cultivation and asking instead for a health method and a saber art. He accepted the old servant’s Lesser Nourishing Origin Method, while First Madam made clear that she wanted Black Heart Tiger dead.

• First Madam offered Fang Yuan an Iron Cloth Pill, and Green Vine explained that it was a Fourth Rank resource for helping Third-Rank Martial Artists break through.
• Fang Yuan refused the pill because he did not yet need it and did not know whether its Iron Step Force suited his physique and cultivation path.
• When First Madam asked what payment he wanted, Fang Yuan requested a Middle-grade saber art and a method to nourish his internal organs and strengthen his foundation.
• The old servant gave Fang Yuan the Lesser Nourishing Origin Method, which Fang Yuan examined and accepted as genuine and useful.
• First Madam took back the Iron Cloth Pill and demanded that Fang Yuan kill Black Heart Tiger, promising further assistance if he agreed and threatening consequences if he failed.

Fang Yuan obtained Black Heart Tiger’s file and learned about his fourth-rank Iron Cloth Force, while probing Green Vine about the First Madam. The chapter ended with Green Vine revealing that her Madam’s name was Qin Wan.

• Fang Yuan asked the First Madam for Black Heart Tiger’s fourth-rank Cultivation Method and his connection in the Prefectural Office, and she gave him a file and warned that Black Heart Tiger was tied up in a Military Supply Case until after the Qinghe Arena.
• Green Vine questioned why Fang Yuan had chosen a Health Cultivation Method over the Iron Cloth Pill, but he praised her for asking questions without explaining his choice.
• Fang Yuan read that Black Heart Tiger practiced Iron Cloth Force, a defensive style with limited explosive power and endurance, and noted that the file omitted his Prefectural Office connection.
• Fang Yuan considered the military-resource scheme behind Black Heart Tiger’s case and suspected that the First Madam’s influence reached beyond an ordinary household dispute.
• Fang Yuan asked Green Vine for the First Madam’s name, and she revealed that her maiden name was Qin Wan.

Fang Yuan left Green Vine’s carriage in secret and slipped toward the County yamen to investigate those plotting against him and Chen Zhengyang. After observing the heavily guarded gate, he sneaked along the yamen’s side wall and deeper inside.

• Fang Yuan vanished from the carriage at a fork in the road, leaving Green Vine to continue toward Zhengyang Martial Arts School.
• Fang Yuan used Treading Snow Without Trace to cross Qinghe County unseen, suspecting that trouble was gathering in the town.
• Fang Yuan reached the County yamen and observed its constables and Stone Camp soldiers guarding the entrance.
• Foolish Egg sensed someone watching the patrol, but Third Brother dismissed his concern.
• Fang Yuan waited until the soldiers looked away, then slipped along the County yamen’s side wall.

Fang Yuan infiltrated the county yamen to seek out County Lieutenant Wu, while Qin Wan questioned Uncle Qin about giving Fang Yuan the Lesser Nourishing Origin Method. Uncle Qin promised to deal with Black Heart Tiger himself if necessary, leaving Qin Wan worried that the old servant would sacrifice his life.

• Fang Yuan silently crossed the county yamen wall after Foolish Egg sensed someone nearby but Third Brother dismissed his concerns.
• Fang Yuan slipped through the busy front courtyard and into the more lightly guarded rear courtyard, where County Lieutenant Wu stayed.
• Qin Wan asked Uncle Qin why he had given Fang Yuan the rare Lesser Nourishing Origin Method.
• Uncle Qin said he would personally kill Black Heart Tiger if the Military Supply Case failed to bring him down.
• Qin Wan warned that fighting Black Heart Tiger, a Fourth-Rank Martial Artist, could cost Uncle Qin his life, and she accepted the tea he brewed without drinking it.

Qin Wan found comfort in Uncle Qin while County Lieutenant Wu faced a growing wave of missing-person cases and feared the consequences. After receiving a summons from the County Magistrate, Wu secretly sent a message by carrier pigeon, unaware that something lurked nearby.

• Qin Wan drank the tea Uncle Qin had brought and rested, reassured by his presence.
• County Lieutenant Wu reviewed reports of dozens of missing people and worried that the cases could ruin his prospects for advancement.
• Wu noticed a shadow outside his room, but found only a servant who delivered the County Magistrate’s summons.
• Wu wrote a secret message, attached it to a carrier pigeon, and sent it north of the city before leaving for the front hall.
• Something stirred in the darkness near the wall where Wu had released the pigeon.

Fang Yuan intercepted a carrier pigeon and discovered that County Lieutenant Wu had arranged to meet someone at Willow Street Lane at midnight. After scouting the alley and planning to return to Zhengyang Martial Arts School before the meeting, Fang Yuan left the rest of his plan for that night unresolved.

• Fang Yuan saw County Lieutenant Wu react to a servant with murderous intent and realized Wu was dangerously suspicious of being watched.
• Fang Yuan caught the carrier pigeon, read its note directing a midnight meeting at Willow Street Lane, and returned the note and bird without leaving obvious traces.
• Fang Yuan concluded County Lieutenant Wu was in contact with a hidden force or individual and considered the secluded meeting a safer place to act than the county yamen.
• Fang Yuan scouted Willow Street Lane, identified the old willow tree as the likely meeting point, and memorized the surrounding terrain and escape routes.
• Fang Yuan left the alley and headed for Zhengyang Martial Arts School so his return in the woman's carriage would preserve his cover.

Fang Yuan returned to Zhengyang Martial Arts School after secretly rejoining Green Vine’s carriage, while she decided not to report his movements to First Madam unless something suspicious happened. At lunch, he saw Chen Yin grieving Chen Zhengyang’s disappearance and considered how to protect the Martial Arts School, whose leadership and strength were vulnerable.

• Fang Yuan startled Green Vine by slipping back into her carriage and warned her not to forget their supposed agreement.
• After reaching Zhengyang Martial Arts School, Fang Yuan left the carriage, and Green Vine decided to wait before telling First Madam what had happened.
• Fang Yuan returned to his courtyard, joked with the gatekeeper’s servant, and joined Liu Wanwan, Little Bean Sprout, Little Purple Sable, and Chen Yin for lunch.
• Fang Yuan comforted Chen Yin by putting food in her bowl as she mourned the lack of news about Chen Zhengyang.
• Fang Yuan considered the Martial Arts School’s weak leadership and the threat posed by outside forces and suppliers.

Fang Yuan reassured Chen Yin that he would protect the Zhengyang Martial Arts School, then studied the Lesser Nourishing Origin Method and failed to grasp its qi-and-blood technique. As winter’s cold worsened, the chapter ended on a bitter night in Outer City’s Willow Street Lane.

• Fang Yuan told Chen Yin that the martial arts school had him to rely on, and she steadied herself and ate.
• Fang Yuan studied the Lesser Nourishing Origin Method, suspecting it might come from a Daoist tradition such as Shouyi Temple.
• Fang Yuan attempted the method’s breathing and qi-and-blood practice at the Training Ground but could not sense the state described in the manual.
• Fang Yuan recalled Chen Zhengyang and Monk Huining as masters of health cultivation and considered the methods’ possible effects on life and lifespan.
• Fang Yuan checked his and Liu Wanwan’s internal cultivation, found no sign of Huining’s warned-of danger, and set the concern aside.
• The chapter shifted to Willow Street Lane, where a bitter wind made the night colder despite the approaching Beginning of Spring.

Fang Yuan overheard the County Lieutenant meeting a member of a hidden organization beneath the Old Scholar Tree, where they discussed the rising number of disappearances and the spread of the Five Tiger Health Cultivation Method. The County Lieutenant agreed to recruit Fang Yuan as a candidate, while the shadow warned him against asking about the organization’s aims.

• A night watchman spotted a motionless shadow beneath the Old Scholar Tree but obeyed the old rules and left without investigating.
• The County Lieutenant met the shadow and complained that the County Magistrate was scrutinizing him over the growing number of disappearances.
• The shadow threatened the County Lieutenant and asked how the Five Tiger Health Cultivation Method was spreading on behalf of the Guardian.
• Fang Yuan, hidden nearby, realized that a powerful organization stood behind the method and heard that the County Lieutenant had once found a promising candidate in Luoshui Village.
• The County Lieutenant proposed approaching Fang Yuan as a new candidate, and the shadow told him to act quickly.
• When the County Lieutenant questioned the method’s purpose, the shadow brought up Chen Zhengyang and reminded him that he had accepted Peiyuan Pills and depended on the organization.

Fang Yuan confronted County Lieutenant Wu after overhearing his meeting with a mysterious member of an organization tied to the White Lotus Sect. Wu revealed how the Peiyuan Pill drew him into their control and confessed his past friendship with Fang Yuan’s teacher, Chen Zhengyang, before Fang Yuan struck again as Wu reached for his sleeve.

• A mysterious man warned County Lieutenant Wu not to send another trivial message and threatened to report him to the Guardian.
• Fang Yuan revealed that he had been hiding nearby since the Hour of the Rat, and Wu attacked him with the aura of a Third-Rank Martial Artist.
• Fang Yuan drew his Ghost Head Saber and wounded Wu with a strike faster and stronger than Wu expected.
• Wu told Fang Yuan that he and Chen Zhengyang had been friends and that the White Lotus Sect’s entry into the city was ordered by the people he served.
• Wu explained that the Peiyuan Pill had helped him advance from Second-grade to Third Rank, then reached toward his sleeve as Fang Yuan asked if he was finished.
• Fang Yuan saw Wu’s movement and struck again with his saber.

Fang Yuan killed County Lieutenant Wu after learning that the Five Tiger Health Cultivation Method was tied to a dangerous conspiracy, then left the body for the County yamen to find. As Willow Alley was sealed off for the investigation, Fang Yuan woke at the Martial Arts School and gained proficiency in the Basic Health Preservation Method.

• Fang Yuan killed County Lieutenant Wu, searched him, and left his body and identity token untouched in the alley.
• Fang Yuan decided to avoid the mysterious organization and focus on cultivating before taking his family to the prefectural city after the Qinghe Arena.
• A peddler discovered County Lieutenant Wu's corpse at dawn, and constables sealed off Willow Alley and ordered the County yamen notified.
• Fang Yuan woke beside Liu Wanwan and received eight proficiency points in the Basic Health Preservation Method.

Fang Yuan found that the Entangling Silk Saber Technique could expand his Basic Saber Technique’s potential, while the Breaking Wind Saber Technique offered no further gains. As unrest over County Lieutenant Wu’s death made entry to the commandery city nearly impossible, he suspected the restrictions were connected to the Black Calamity.

• Fang Yuan concluded that the Breaking Wind Saber Technique could not improve his already advanced Basic Saber Technique, but the Entangling Silk Saber Technique raised its proficiency cap to 60,000.
• Fang Yuan resolved to seek a genuine middle-grade saber technique by passing Qinghe Arena and joining a great sect.
• County Lieutenant Wu’s murder sparked panic in Qinghe County, and rumors spread that the Hanshan Commandery Rebel Army might counterattack.
• Wang Fugui told Fang Yuan that entry to the commandery city had become extremely difficult as people from nearby counties rushed there.
• Fang Yuan suspected the heightened entry restrictions were meant to address the threat of the Black Calamity.

Fang Yuan considered how Great Yin limited the spread of the Black Calamity and kept his connection to Luoshui Village secret. After learning that prefectural-city young masters were seeking local ties to enter the Qinghe Arena, he resolved to rely on his own strength and make a name for himself there.

• Fang Yuan realized that returning from Luoshui Village could make him seem like a Black Calamity spreader and jeopardize his future with the Imperial City Security Department.
• Wang Fugui told Fang Yuan that the Wang Family had cared for Sun Meng's mother and recruited the remaining gang members, paying them to keep silent.
• Wang Fugui reported that young masters from the prefectural city had tried to join the Wang Family genealogy to qualify for the Qinghe Arena as locals.
• Fang Yuan inferred that the Qinghe Arena offered a special opportunity for martial artists from small county towns and warned Wang Fugui that accepting the young masters could bring trouble.
• Fang Yuan approved of the Wang Family's refusal and decided to make his name at the Qinghe Arena through his own strength.

After County Lieutenant Wu was murdered, County Magistrate Liu ordered Constable Zhao to identify and arrest the killer within three days. Liu and Yan Wen Zheng privately considered who could have killed a powerful Third-Rank Martial Artist, but neither could find a likely culprit.

• County Magistrate Liu ordered Constable Zhao to identify and apprehend County Lieutenant Wu’s killer within three days.
• Constable Zhao questioned Ji Kun about his whereabouts the previous day, and Ji Kun said colleagues could confirm he had stayed in the county yamen.
• Ji Kun left the courtroom worried that his master’s death had left him without protection.
• Yan Wen Zheng met with County Magistrate Liu, and they considered whether the gangs or major families had killed Wu.
• Yan Wen Zheng and County Magistrate Liu concluded that the killer remained unknown and that Wu’s silent death was deeply unsettling.

County Magistrate Liu and Yan Wen Zheng considered whether County Lieutenant Wu’s murder was tied to hidden forces or the Rebel Army, then moved to suppress unrest in Qinghe County. At Zhengyang Martial Arts School, Wang Fugui told Fang Yuan what he had learned about Yan Wen Zheng’s household, leaving Fang Yuan still uncertain about the stolen xiucai title.

• Yan Wen Zheng suggested County Lieutenant Wu had gone to Willow Alley to meet someone connected to his killer, and County Magistrate Liu considered the possibility of forces beyond his control.
• County Magistrate Liu and Yan Wen Zheng discussed whether the Rebel Army was behind the murder, and Liu ordered Stone Camp brought into the city to curb the unrest and stop wealthy households from leaving.
• County Magistrate Liu hinted that people had been talking about Yan Wen Zheng, then dismissed the matter, relieving Yan Wen Zheng.
• Wang Fugui told Fang Yuan that Yan Wen Zheng’s eldest son had repeatedly failed to pass as a xiucai and that his household’s former Third-Rank servant was now old.
• Fang Yuan concluded that Yan Wen Zheng might lack the influence to help his son, but continued questioning how the previous owner’s xiucai title had been taken.

Fang Yuan decided to keep a low profile and focus on training after considering the risks of investigating Academic Official Yan and the destruction of Myriad Treasures Pavilion's stronghold. At Drunken Moon Restaurant, Zhou Jin provoked Huangfu Ying into drawing his sword, but Zhou Zhan stopped the confrontation and ordered Zhou Jin to apologize.

• Fang Yuan decided not to investigate Academic Official Yan yet and to train for the Qinghe Arena while avoiding attention.
• At Drunken Moon Restaurant, Zhou Jin mocked Huangfu Ying for losing to a country bumpkin in Qinghe County.
• Huangfu Ying tried to leave, but Zhou Jin grabbed his sleeve and insulted him until Huangfu Ying drew his sword.
• Zhou Jin prepared to fight Huangfu Ying as several young men gathered behind him.
• Zhou Zhan ordered everyone to disperse, and Zhou Jin immediately obeyed and apologized to Huangfu Ying.