Chapter Summaries

The Five Tiger Sect elders argued over whether to pursue Fang Yuan, while Li Qingwu left the meeting convinced they should befriend him. In Wushui Commandery City, Su Lingyue learned that Fang Yuan had appeared nearby after her cousin told her who he was.

• The Five Tiger Sect elders argued over Fang Yuan’s value and the risks of recruiting him as Li Qingwu reflected on his achievements.
• Li Qingwu left the Council Hall after deciding that the sect should befriend Fang Yuan, while Li Hanshan remained silent and stood by his earlier hesitation.
• Su Lingyue reviewed the expenses of her newly opened shop in East Market as Su Lingyao played nearby.
• The White-robed Young Master entered the shop and told Su Lingyue that he had just seen Fang Yuan.
• Su Lingyue remembered Fang Yuan from the caravan they had encountered on the road to the commandery city.

Su Lingyue heard that Fang Yuan had become a rising figure but doubted their paths would cross again, while Eunuch Cao returned with news that Shen Qianshan was pressuring Fang Yuan to withdraw from the Seven-Day Pact. The pact remained unchanged, but Eunuch Cao suspected Shen Qianshan had also arrested Fang Yuan’s fellow disciples to threaten him.

• Su Lingyue learned that Fang Yuan had accepted silver from the Myriad Treasures Pavilion and would duel Gu Changqing over Superior Resources in seven days.
• Su Lingyao remembered Fang Yuan’s Little Purple Sable and asked whether they would see him again; Su Lingyue promised they would.
• The White-robed Young Master urged Su Lingyue to meet commandery-city prodigies and consider Principal Clerk Wang’s son as a match who could help the Su Family.
• Eunuch Cao returned to the courtyard and told Fang Yuan that Shen Qianshan had offered him Medium Resources to withdraw from the Seven-Day Pact.
• Eunuch Cao refused Shen Qianshan’s offer, and Han Bao left the courtyard after realizing that the men needed to speak privately.
• Eunuch Cao suspected Shen Qianshan had arranged for several of Fang Yuan’s fellow disciples to be imprisoned as a warning, but he did not tell Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan recognized that powerful local factions were using both money and authority to keep him from the Superior Resource, and he realized his strength was insufficient for Wushui Commandery. After reaching a physical limit while practicing his prized saber arts, he decided to wait for the Seven-Day Pact before entering closed-door cultivation to break through.

• Fang Yuan told Eunuch Cao that Shen Qingwan had offered him gold, resources, and a personal favor if he gave up the Superior Resource.
• Eunuch Cao reacted angrily to Myriad Treasures Pavilion’s offer, while Fang Yuan understood that local powers were pressuring both him and Eunuch Cao.
• Fang Yuan concluded that his strength was no longer overwhelming in Wushui Commandery and that he needed to become stronger.
• Fang Yuan spent several days practicing the Breaking Wave Saber Art and Six Harmonies Defense in his courtyard.
• Fang Yuan stopped when his body could no longer keep up with his saber arts, despite having reached the initial gateway in both techniques.
• Fang Yuan decided to wait for the Seven-Day Pact to end, then enter closed-door cultivation and attempt a breakthrough to the fourth rank.

As the Seven-Day Pact approached, Eunuch Cao revealed that he had secretly secured Yin-Yang Force for Fang Yuan, bypassing the contest and its rivals. Fang Yuan took the pill and began attempting to break through, leaving his success unresolved.

• Han Bao noticed more than a dozen people openly watching Cao Mansion as rivals waited for Fang Yuan to leave.
• On the final day of the Seven-Day Pact, Eunuch Cao brought Fang Yuan a jade box containing Yin-Yang Force.
• Eunuch Cao explained that he had planned for Fang Yuan to use the resource and reach fourth rank before the contest, avoiding the fight over it.
• Fang Yuan opened the box, swallowed the Yin-Yang Force pill, and began absorbing its power.
• Fang Yuan sat cross-legged as black-and-white waves surged in his mind.

Fang Yuan began refining Yin-Yang Force in Cao Mansion, sensing that his first wisp of force was close to forming while Eunuch Cao worried he had forgotten key precautions. In the Imperial City, Eight Thousand Years Old questioned Cao the Fourth about resentment over the resource given to Cao the First, and Cao the Fourth admitted he felt it.

• Han Bao told Eunuch Cao through gestures that the Han Family Five Brothers had secured the manor and guarded every approach while Fang Yuan broke through.
• Fang Yuan recalled Eunuch Cao's explanation of the Force-Birth Realm as Yin-Yang Force transformed his meridians, bones, flesh, and blood.
• Eunuch Cao realized he had forgotten to warn Fang Yuan about precautions for refining Yin-Yang Force, but decided not to interrupt the breakthrough.
• Fang Yuan sensed that his first wisp of force was about to be born.
• Eight Thousand Years Old asked Cao the Fourth whether he resented the Yin-Yang Force being given to Cao the First, and Cao the Fourth admitted that he did.

Fang Yuan began transforming his Qi and blood into Force with the rare Yin-Yang seed, but his Nurturing Vitality Qi joined the process and sent the transformation spiraling out of control. Outside, dark clouds gathered over Cao Mansion as Eunuch Cao ordered the guards to secure the hall.

• Eight Thousand Years Old insisted that he had given Fang Yuan the resource and left the outcome to Eldest Brother's side.
• Major factions sent warnings toward Wushui Commandery after learning that a top-tier Celestial Phenomenon Force resource had been sent to Jiangyang Dao.
• Fang Yuan used the Yin-Yang Fish to compress and purify the Essence of Five Grains and Tiger Lord's Energy in his Dantian.
• Fang Yuan's Nurturing Vitality Qi ignored his attempts to control it and joined the fusion, turning the transformation into an unfamiliar process.
• Dark clouds formed above Cao Mansion, and Eunuch Cao ordered Han Bao and the others to guard every position while Fang Yuan remained absorbed in the uncontrolled changes within his body.

As Fang Yuan's three currents of qi collided during his force transformation, a storm gathered over Wushui Commandery and lightning struck his Dantian. The Nurturing Vitality Qi healed and strengthened his body, and the revived Yin-Yang Fish seemed to have broken free from their shackles.

• Shen Qianshan and Gu Changqing discussed the Superior Resource as dark clouds swallowed the daylight over Wushui Commandery.
• Gu Changqing focused on defeating Fang Yuan under the Seven-Day Pact and hoped for clear weather the next day.
• Fang Yuan's Yin-Yang Dual Qi, Essence of Five Grains, Tiger Lord's Energy, and Nurturing Vitality Qi tangled into a violent vortex in his Dantian.
• Eunuch Cao sensed the immense qi inside the Main Hall as dark clouds gathered and lightning struck through the roof into Fang Yuan's Dantian.
• The Nurturing Vitality Qi overwhelmed the Yin-Yang Fish, then healed and strengthened Fang Yuan's meridians, bones, and flesh.
• The Yin-Yang Fish revived and swam with new agility, as though they had broken free from some kind of shackles.

Fang Yuan successfully formed Yin-Yang Force after nine bolts of lightning, discovering that his force and body had transformed and that his Nurturing Vitality Qi had protected his cultivation. He also found a mysterious black figure in his Sea of Consciousness that moved in perfect synchronization with him, then answered Eunuch Cao at the door.

• Fang Yuan gained active control over the Yin-Yang Fish in his Dantian as he formed his first strand of force.
• Eunuch Cao counted nine lightning bolts and wondered whether Fang Yuan could surpass the Martial Saint, while Han Bao shrank under his glare.
• Fang Yuan saw the Yin-Yang Fish freely circulate within a taiji diagram, with Nurturing Vitality Qi forming a protective ring around it.
• Fang Yuan realized his previous Yin-Yang Force had been suppressed and suspected someone was preventing martial artists from cultivating the Health Cultivation Method.
• Fang Yuan discovered a slender, black figure holding a blade in his Sea of Consciousness and found that it mirrored his every movement.
• Eunuch Cao called to Fang Yuan with urgency and concern, and Fang Yuan headed for the door.

Fang Yuan successfully completed his breakthrough with the Yin-Yang Force but urged Eunuch Cao to keep it quiet until he had stabilized his strength and achieved more. Eunuch Cao remained confident about the Seven-Day Pact and agreed to pass off Fang Yuan’s Force as Ice Sculpture Force.

• Fang Yuan told Eunuch Cao that his breakthrough had worked, and Eunuch Cao sent Han Bao away before celebrating the news.
• Fang Yuan advised Eunuch Cao not to report the breakthrough to the Capital City yet, warning that they might be accused of exaggerating or wasting resources.
• Fang Yuan asked how they would handle the Seven-Day Pact, and Eunuch Cao told him to rest and promised that tomorrow’s arrangements were under control.
• Eunuch Cao warned Fang Yuan to conceal the Force he had condensed, and Fang Yuan offered to claim it was Ice Sculpture Force.
• Fang Yuan showed Eunuch Cao the Ice Sculpture Fruit, and Eunuch Cao accepted the cover story without asking where Fang Yuan had obtained it.

Fang Yuan concealed the nature of his new Yin-Yang Force from Eunuch Cao and went home to rest after his breakthrough. Meanwhile, Zhao Tie and Zhou Chen remained imprisoned in the Imperial City Security Department, and Fang Yuan woke the next morning noticing the effects of his transformed body.

• Fang Yuan reasoned that he could hide his Yin-Yang Force by using only its Yinrou aspect through the Wave-Breaking Saber Art, and Eunuch Cao sent him home to rest.
• Eunuch Cao remembered that Shen Qianshan had imprisoned Fang Yuan's senior brother and planned to demand the man back from the Imperial City Security Department.
• Zhao Tie and Zhou Chen recounted how they had been arrested for allegedly gathering a crowd and disrupting public order after their negotiations in Wushui Commandery succeeded.
• An old prisoner told Zhao Tie and Zhou Chen that he had been locked up for twenty years and warned that they might spend ten years in prison.
• Fang Yuan woke refreshed after a night with Wanwan, gained a hundred proficiency points in the Basic Health Preservation Method, and noticed his body had become more flexible.

Fang Yuan felt the bodily transformation granted by Yin-Yang Force and set out for the Seven-Day Pact, where he would challenge Gu Changqing. The commandery gathered to watch, and Murong Qing arrived hoping to judge Fang Yuan’s ability.

• Fang Yuan sensed Yin-Yang Force transforming his strength, flexibility, and coordination, then prepared to fulfill the Seven-Day Pact.
• Fang Yuan and Eunuch Cao departed the Imperial City Security Department in a carriage driven by Han Bao, drawing attention from factions across Wushui Commandery.
• A large crowd gathered outside the Imperial City Security Department to watch the coming contest.
• Shen Qingwan and Lu Chuan waited at the Training Ground beside Murong Qing, Yunzhong Commandery’s prodigy.
• Murong Qing asked whether Gu Changqing had arrived and explained that he had come to see what Fang Yuan could do.

At the Training Ground, onlookers predicted Gu Changqing would defeat Fang Yuan with ease, while Shen Qianshan and Gu Changqing waited for the promised duel to begin. After nearly half an hour, neither Fang Yuan nor Eunuch Cao had arrived, and people began to suspect Fang Yuan would not come.

• Lu Chuan asked Shen Qingwan how long Fang Yuan would last against Gu Changqing, and Murong Qing said Gu Changqing could end the fight whenever he wished.
• Green Vine worried that Fang Yuan might be badly hurt, while Qin Wan concealed her concern and waited to confront him about their abandoned agreement.
• Gu Changqing arrived with Shen Qianshan and took his place beside him as the crowd admired his appearance.
• Shen Qianshan and Gu Changqing waited for Eunuch Cao and Fang Yuan, but neither arrived after nearly half an hour.
• Onlookers questioned the delay and speculated that Fang Yuan was too afraid to appear.

Gu Changqing, Shen Qianshan, and the nobles waited at the Training Ground for Fang Yuan to appear for the Seven-Day Pact, while Zhou Zheng schemed to discredit him whether he came or not. Fang Yuan and Eunuch Cao finally left their hiding place, and their carriage headed toward the Imperial City Security Department, leaving their arrival at the grounds unresolved.

• Zhou Zheng planned to use Fang Yuan's absence or defeat to damage his reputation and make him seem unworthy of Superior Resource.
• Gu Changqing worried that Eunuch Cao might revoke the resource if Fang Yuan did not come, while Shen Qianshan waited for the envoy's intentions to become clear.
• Su Wan waited anxiously for Fang Yuan and brushed off the noblewomen teasing her about defending him.
• Fang Yuan questioned Eunuch Cao about hiding in the carriage, and Eunuch Cao insisted they were saving their entrance for the finale.
• Eunuch Cao told Han Bao to set off, and the carriage headed toward the Imperial City Security Department.

Fang Yuan arrived at the Imperial City Security Department with Eunuch Cao for the Seven-Day Pact, drawing the crowd’s attention. Eunuch Cao declared there would be no contest, and the chapter ended as Shen Qianshan demanded an explanation and Zhao Lingyun and Zhou Yanzhi arrived.

• Eunuch Cao and Fang Yuan arrived at the Training Ground, where the crowd and Zhou Zheng reacted to Fang Yuan’s appearance.
• Fang Yuan passed Su Wan, who blushed after realizing he had heard her speaking about him.
• Eunuch Cao greeted Shen Qianshan, while Fang Yuan and Gu Changqing faced each other before the Seven-Day Pact began.
• Eunuch Cao announced that the Seven-Day Pact would not be contested, shocking the crowd and prompting Shen Qianshan to demand why.
• Zhao Lingyun, Zhou Yanzhi, and others arrived at the Training Ground and heard Eunuch Cao’s announcement.

Eunuch Cao announced that Fang Yuan had already reached the fourth rank, ending the Seven-Day Pact before it began and shocking the gathered clans and dignitaries. He then disclaimed responsibility for the Superior Resources, leaving their distribution uncertain and drawing renewed interest from those present.

• Eunuch Cao taunted Shen Qianshan and told him to report the matter to the authorities when he demanded an explanation.
• Eunuch Cao revealed that Fang Yuan had broken through to the fourth rank, prompting astonishment from Shen Qianshan, Gu Changqing, Zhao Lingyun, and the others.
• Eunuch Cao declared the Seven-Day Pact unnecessary, and no one challenged Fang Yuan’s revealed rank.
• The crowd questioned how Fang Yuan had obtained Essence Force before the Superior Resources were distributed.
• Eunuch Cao said the Superior Resources had been intended for Gu Changqing and that Fang Yuan would not compete for them, stirring interest among the gathered factions.

Fang Yuan revealed that he had gained Ice Sculpture Force through an opportunity at Great Green Mountain, and Li Qingwu confirmed his account. As Shen Qianshan challenged Eunuch Cao over the Superior Resource, Zhao Honglie stepped forward to propose a sparring match with Fang Yuan.

• Eunuch Cao said Fang Yuan had earned his force resource independently, and Fang Yuan revealed that he had comprehended Ice Sculpture Force.
• Fang Yuan described finding the Ice Sculpture Fruit at Great Green Mountain and receiving it after his encounter with Li Qingwu.
• Li Qingwu confirmed that the events had happened and acknowledged that the opportunity had gone to Fang Yuan.
• Shen Qianshan confronted Eunuch Cao, demanding an explanation for the Superior Resource after Eunuch Cao refused to hold a contest.
• Zhao Honglie, the previous Martial Artist Arena champion among the noble circles, challenged Fang Yuan to a sparring match.

Fang Yuan accepted Zhao Honglie’s challenge to test his strength against the seasoned Rank Four fighter. The chapter ended as Zhao Honglie attacked with Stone Splitting and Fang Yuan met him with Undercurrent.

• Zhao Honglie challenged Fang Yuan to a match, forcing Eunuch Cao to consider how to answer.
• Eunuch Cao prepared to send Han Bao, but Fang Yuan stopped him and stepped onto the stage himself.
• Zhao Honglie mocked Fang Yuan and drew his broad saber while onlookers, including Su Wan, Murong Qing, and Gu Changqing, watched.
• Zhao Honglie unleashed the first form of the Raging Tide Saber Art, Stone Splitting, aiming to kill Fang Yuan with one blow.
• Fang Yuan welcomed the attack and countered with the first form of the Wave-Breaking Saber Art, Undercurrent.

Fang Yuan fought Zhao Honglie at the Training Ground and revealed the power of his Wave-Breaking Saber Art and Ice Sculpture Force. He defeated Zhao Honglie, who lay badly wounded and struggled to understand how Fang Yuan had struck him.

• Fang Yuan matched Zhao Honglie's opening strike and impressed the onlookers by using the first stance of the Wave-Breaking Saber Art.
• Fang Yuan told Zhao Honglie that their conflict would end there, while Shen Qianshan silently signaled Zhao Honglie to kill him.
• Zhao Honglie attacked with Mountain Collapse, the second stance of the Raging Tide Saber Art, powered by Stone-Shattering Force.
• Fang Yuan countered with Giant Wave and released his Ice Sculpture Force, sending Zhao Honglie flying and inflicting several deep saber wounds.
• Zhao Honglie failed to stand and asked whether Fang Yuan's technique was a prized saber art.

Fang Yuan crippled Zhao Honglie in their tournament match, silencing the nobles and proving himself a formidable fourth-rank martial artist. With no one else willing to challenge him, the contest halted, while Shen Qingwan began to question the true extent of his strength.

• Fang Yuan defeated Zhao Honglie with a single slash, leaving him unconscious with shattered bones and severed tendons.
• Gu Changqing realized Fang Yuan had far surpassed him, while Shen Qianshan watched in anger and Eunuch Cao praised Fang Yuan.
• A woman criticized Fang Yuan for striking too viciously, but the crowd ignored her and she withdrew in embarrassment.
• Fang Yuan returned to Eunuch Cao, who announced a challenge to anyone else; no one stepped forward.
• Shen Qingwan reconsidered her assumptions about Fang Yuan and wondered whether Ice Sculpture Force alone explained his strength.

After Fang Yuan crippled Zhao Honglie with one slash, Shen Qianshan announced that the Jiangyang Dao Imperial City Security Department had appointed him an Investigative Captain tasked with the dangerous Black Calamity. Eunuch Cao tried to pull Fang Yuan away, but Fang Yuan stood firm, leaving his response uncertain.

• Shen Qingwan and Murong Qing recognized Fang Yuan's overwhelming strength, while Lu Chuan trembled and Shen Qingwan resolved to make him abandon his misguided ambitions.
• Eunuch Cao prepared to leave with Fang Yuan after Fang Yuan's decisive victory over Zhao Honglie, but Shen Qianshan stopped them.
• Shen Qianshan announced an order from the Jiangyang Dao Imperial City Security Department appointing Fang Yuan a Principal Seventh Rank Investigative Captain.
• Han Bao warned Fang Yuan that the post involved the Black Calamity, carried immense authority, and had a high death rate.
• Eunuch Cao angrily tried to drag Fang Yuan away from the appointment, but Fang Yuan did not move.