Chapter Summaries

Xu Yang, a reincarnated fisherman with an Attribute Panel that strengthened his abilities, concealed his extraordinary health and skills while living cautiously on Dongting Lake. After reflecting on his long life and the risk that his age would attract suspicion, he brought fish ashore and headed for the Fish Market.

• Xu Yang recalled that he had lived in this world for forty-five years and had recovered his past-life memories at eighteen.
• Xu Yang reviewed his Attribute Panel, which had solidified his practiced activities into skills with powerful traits.
• Xu Yang decided to keep his abilities and wealth hidden because revealing them could bring danger and scrutiny.
• Xu Yang ate a pot of river delicacy porridge, then filled his basket with fish from a hidden net cage and released the remaining animals.
• Xu Yang paid the dock official several copper coins and carried his fish basket toward the Fish Market.

Xu Yang endured the Golden Carp Gang’s exploitation while selling fish and buying necessities at the Fish Market. Back on his boat, he accepted Zhang Cheng’s offer to make his son his adopted heir, then secretly retrieved a knife and began sharpening it.

• Xu Yang sold his catch at the Fish Market, paid Chen Qi’s fees, and endured the gang’s indirect extortion at Sanniang’s tavern.
• Xu Yang ignored the other drinkers’ insults and left the tavern after drinking until afternoon.
• Xu Yang returned to his boat, where Zhang Cheng arrived with two sons and proposed that his Second Brother take the Xu surname and care for him.
• Xu Yang agreed to the adoption but insisted that they hold a gathering with witnesses the next day.
• After Zhang Cheng and his sons departed, Xu Yang opened a hidden compartment, took out a pointed knife, and began sharpening it.

Xu Yang discovered that Zhang Cheng and his sons planned to exploit his death, so he decided to kill them before they could threaten him. After revealing his youthful appearance and using Old Six to locate their boat, Xu Yang prepared to attack from the dark waters of Dongting Lake.

• Zhang Cheng told his sons that they could use Xu Yang’s name to claim and sell his possessions after his death.
• Xu Yang sharpened his dagger and decided to kill Zhang Cheng and his sons that night.
• Xu Yang shed his old-fisherman disguise, revealing his strong youthful body and the traits behind his Disguise skill.
• Old Six arrived, confirmed that it had found the Zhang family, and guided Xu Yang toward their boat.
• Xu Yang swam to the natural harbor and chose to wait for one of the three men to come out before striking with a precise Flying Stone.

Xu Yang ambushed Zhang Cheng and his two sons, killed them, and sank their boat and bodies to hide the evidence. After discovering their hidden wealth, he realized his old identity and limited combat strength put him at risk, so he resolved to develop skills that could make him stronger.

• Xu Yang struck Zhang Cheng’s eldest son into the lake with a pebble, then let Zhang Cheng’s second son dive in after him.
• Xu Yang attacked Zhang Cheng with another flying stone and stabbed him to death, then recovered and killed both Zhang brothers.
• Xu Yang looted the cabin, punctured the boat, weighted the three corpses, and swam away as the boat sank.
• Xu Yang returned to the Cormorant, cleaned and hid his dagger, and counted the gold, silver, coins, and jade pendant he had taken.
• Xu Yang decided he could not safely spend the stolen wealth or keep his identity as Old Xu Tou, and he resolved to develop stronger combat skills.

Xu Yang discovered that the Dreaming skill had gained the golden trait Zhuang Zhou's Dream Butterfly, which let him cross into another world as Li Qingshan and share skills between bodies. After learning the clone could develop skills over a year while only a day passed in his original world, he left the dangerous cliff instead of trying to retrieve the herb.

• After sleeping, Xu Yang saw Dreaming (Zhuang Zhou's Dream Butterfly) appear as a new skill with a golden Four-Character Trait.
• Xu Yang used the trait to cross into Li Qingshan's body, which had died after he fell from a cliff while gathering an herb.
• Xu Yang learned that the trait could transfer soul power and skills between his main body and clone, and chose to give Li Qingshan the diet skill.
• Xu Yang discovered that time passed at a ratio of one day in his original world to one year in the clone's world.
• Xu Yang collected Li Qingshan's belongings and left the cliff without attempting to climb up for the herb.

Xu Yang returned to Xiao Huang Village and found Li Lao Jiu and the villagers feasting at his home while trying to claim his family’s land. He drove them out and recovered the Land Deed, but warned Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu that Li Lao Jiu might retaliate, then asked them to trust him and come with him.

• Xu Yang hurried home after learning that people were holding a funeral feast there and dividing his family’s property.
• Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu told Xu Yang that the villagers had taken their food and that Li Lao Jiu had taken their Land Deed.
• Xu Yang killed Li Lao Jiu’s dog, beat Li Lao Jiu, recovered the Land Deed and coins, and forced the feastgoers to pay dues before driving them out.
• Xu Yang ate with Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu, then warned them that Li Lao Jiu might retaliate and asked them to come with him.

Xu Yang sold his land, house, and freedom, along with his siblings, to the Lu Family to gain protection from the Li Family and buy time to develop his skills. After briefly returning to the real world to eat, he sought work as a butcher apprentice in the Dream Butterfly World.

• Xu Yang sold the family’s land and house and entered the Lu Family’s service with Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu.
• Xu Yang reassured his siblings that he had a plan and explained that the Lu Family’s protection would give him time to cultivate skills using his Attribute Panel.
• Xu Yang woke in the real world, ate raw rice, and returned to the Dream Butterfly World, where he set out to find work.
• Xu Yang rejected the idea of becoming a Lu Family guard servant because his background made him unsuitable for the position.
• Xu Yang gave Zhang Fu a pouch of money and secured a place as a butcher’s apprentice.

Xu Yang secured work as a butcher to obtain meat and practice skills, then began training archery with crude bamboo weapons. By nightfall, his shots had improved enough to pierce and stick into the earthen wall.

• Xu Yang joined the Lu Family as a butcher and bought pig offal to bring home.
• Xu Yang went into the mountains to hunt but returned with bamboo after failing to find prey.
• Xu Yang made crude bamboo bows and arrows, hoping to develop archery and bow-making skills.
• Xu Yang shared a meal of rice and offal soup with Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu.
• Xu Yang practiced shooting at the courtyard wall until his arrows began piercing the mud and sticking in it.

Three years after Xu Yang arrived, he had made a comfortable life for the Li siblings while working for the Lu Family and hunting in the mountains. The chapter ended with neighbors gossiping that the Lu Family might take him in as a live-in son-in-law.

• Xu Yang expertly butchered a pig at the Lu Family mansion and took pork bones and liver home for his siblings.
• Li Hong Yu prepared lunch while Li Qing He showed Xu Yang a rabbit he had shot with his bamboo bow.
• After lunch, Xu Yang made Li Qing He play their daily hide-and-seek game, which the boy failed to win before Xu Yang revealed himself.
• Xu Yang and Li Qing He went hunting on Little Yellow Mountain and returned that night with a large haul of game.
• Their neighbors admired the brothers’ hunting success, complained about Xu Yang’s past conflict with the Li clan, and speculated that Steward Lu planned to make him a live-in son-in-law.

Xu Yang used his concealed night skills to steal books from the Lu Family’s study, then read martial arts manuals and assessed the power of the dream world. He decided to develop martial arts skills there to strengthen himself and ultimately support his main body in the real world.

• Xu Yang finished archery practice and considered how his skills and traits had improved his body and standing in the village.
• Xu Yang used his stealth, movement, and lockpicking traits to enter the Lu Family residence and take a bundle of books from its study.
• Xu Yang read the stolen books, using his deciphering and memory traits to learn about the world’s history, martial arts, and the Lu Family’s collection.
• Xu Yang concluded that martial arts in this world were weak, but his skill traits could make even basic techniques valuable.
• Xu Yang chose to keep practicing the rudimentary martial arts manuals and develop their skills and traits before seeking more profound martial arts.

Xu Yang slaughtered the Lu Family’s livestock and awakened the Butchering the Ox trait, which let him perceive bodies, predict movements, and identify weaknesses. When Lu Ming challenged him over taking beef, Xu Yang’s baleful presence left Lu Ming and his guards unable to stop him, and Xu Yang walked away.

• Xu Yang used his Butchery skill to slaughter and swiftly dismantle a Yellow Ox, frightening the butchers with his knife work and gaze.
• Xu Yang slaughtered the remaining animals until his Butchery skill evolved from Blade Mastery into the Four-Character Trait Butchering the Ox.
• Xu Yang realized the trait let him perceive bodily structures, predict movements, and spot physical weaknesses, then took beef and bones from the slaughterhouse.
• Lu Ming and Manager Zhang arrived, and Lu Ming accused Xu Yang of stealing from the Lu Family and ordered his guards to search his basket.
• Xu Yang dumped the meat and bones on the ground, but his gaze frightened Lu Ming and stopped the guards, allowing Xu Yang to leave.

After realizing the Lu Family had cast him aside to secure an alliance with the rising Li Family, Xu Yang armed himself and fled toward Little Yellow Mountain with Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu. He left them at his mountain hideout and set out alone to confront the danger.

• Xu Yang armed himself, ordered Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu to prepare their gear, and led them toward Little Yellow Mountain.
• Li Lao Jiu confronted them with a group, and Xu Yang shot down the attackers before capturing the wounded Li Lao Jiu.
• Xu Yang forced Li Lao Jiu to reveal that Li Qingyun had returned from the Hundred Swords Sect and that the Li and Lu Families were arranging a marriage alliance after the Li Family gained a noble patron.
• Xu Yang killed Li Lao Jiu and explained that the Lu Family had discarded him to reconcile with the Li Family.
• Xu Yang hid Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu in his secret Bamboo Hut, told them to wait three days, and left alone.

Xu Yang attacked the Lu Family Mansion, killed Lu Guan, Lu Ming, Li Qingyun, and Lu Ying, and stole books and supplies before escaping to the hidden Bamboo Hut. He reunited with Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu and began studying martial arts manuals while recovering from the strain of his attack.

• Lu Guan told Lu Ming he planned to join forces with the Li Family to search for Li Qingshan, but Xu Yang killed them both and set fire to the study.
• Xu Yang ambushed Li Qingyun and Lu Ying with his bow, using Butchering the Ox to predict their movements and kill them with a barrage of arrows.
• Xu Yang left the Lu Family Mansion burning and carried stolen supplies and books toward the Li Family residence before returning to the hidden Bamboo Hut.
• Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu opened the door for Xu Yang, who told them the danger had been dealt with and that they would need to ration their supplies.
• After treating his injured shoulders and eating, Xu Yang read the Three Yang Stance and other martial arts manuals while Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu slept.

Five years after establishing himself as a martial artist, Xu Yang had turned Qing Feng Village into a powerful stronghold and received a marriage-and-alliance offer from Liang San Jiang. Xu Yang rejected it and declared that he would go to King's Peak in three days to kill Liang San Jiang.

• Zhou Da Niu brought his family to Qing Feng Village to escape debts imposed by the Zhang Family, and Li Qing He recognized him and offered them refuge.
• Xu Yang continued training the stronghold’s fighters while Li Hong Yu told him that a visitor had arrived from Hundred Broken Mountain.
• The chapter recounted how Xu Yang had mastered many skills, cultivated Inner Force, taken Qing Feng Village, and built his influence by recruiting fugitives and teaching martial arts.
• A Middle-aged Scholar delivered three martial arts manuals from Liang San Jiang and proposed a marriage alliance between their families.
• Li Hong Yu angrily refused to marry Liang San Jiang’s third son, and Xu Yang told the scholar to prepare Liang San Jiang’s coffin before ordering him to leave.

Xu Yang ambushed and killed Liang San Jiang, then seized Hundred Broken Mountain and its stronghold. With control of a major north-south trade route, he planned to expand his wealth and strength and overcome the bottleneck in his martial arts.

• At King's Peak, Liang San Jiang and his leaders dismissed the Middle-aged Scholar's warnings and ordered an attack on Qing Feng Village.
• Xu Yang infiltrated the Hall of Righteous Gathering and shot Liang San Jiang with a series of arrows, killing him.
• Xu Yang fought through the remaining leaders and took control of King's Peak, leaving the Middle-aged Scholar alive to guide him to Liang San Jiang's private vault.
• Xu Yang learned that Hundred Broken Mountain's storehouse held ordinary goods while Liang San Jiang's private vault contained rare treasures, weapons, and Martial Arts Manuals.
• Xu Yang reflected that controlling Hundred Broken Mountain's defenses and trade route would help him expand his stronghold, grow richer, and seek methods for cultivating True Qi.

Hundred Broken Mountain hosted a crowded banquet for Heavenly King Li's hundredth birthday, but leaders of major martial sects arrived to confront him over disputed crimes and challenge his reputation. As Zhou Hai and Li Qingshan's followers clashed verbally with the guests, Li Qingshan remained absent, and a light laugh sounded from outside the hall.

• Zhou Hai welcomed birthday guests from across the martial world, including Kunlun Sect Leader He Tianchong and Kongtong Sect Leader Chen Longfei, whose arrivals stirred suspicion.
• Leaders and disciples from numerous major sects and gangs filled the hall, prompting Zhou Hai to begin the birthday feast.
• He Tianchong demanded that Li Qingshan appear and explain himself, while Chen Longfei insisted on speaking with him face-to-face.
• Miao Fang and Wang Tang warned the visiting leaders not to disrupt Li Qingshan's birthday, and Master Kongjian accused Wang Tang of destroying the Dragon Gate Escort Agency.
• Hundred Broken Mountain's followers and the visiting sects traded accusations over Li Qingshan's deeds, banditry, and the Dragon Gate killings as the banquet grew close to violence.
• An unidentified speaker laughed from outside the hall, calling the gathering lively.

Princess Qing Ping and the real Li Shao Bai each accused the other of plotting to seize Hundred Broken Mountain, while both claimed Imperial Court and Sacred Fire Cult forces surrounded the mountain. At King's Peak, Li Hong Yu died beside Xu Yang, who left determined to grow stronger and seize control of his fate.

• Princess Qing Ping, disguised as Li Shao Bai, arrived at Hundred Broken Mountain with unorthodox followers and proposed an alliance between the Sacred Fire Cult and the mountain.
• A second Li Shao Bai appeared, exposed Princess Qing Ping's identity, and accused her of trying to turn the martial sects against Hundred Broken Mountain.
• Princess Qing Ping and Li Shao Bai each blamed the other for plotting against Hundred Broken Mountain and claimed that troops had surrounded the mountain.
• Li Hong Yu told Xu Yang she wanted to be his little sister again in another life, then died as the Li Family members wept.
• Xu Yang closed Li Hong Yu's eyes and left, resolving to become stronger and take hold of power and fate.

Xu Yang revealed himself as the rejuvenated Heavenly King Li and confronted the martial arts sects, the Imperial Court, and the Sacred Fire Cult at his birthday gathering. After recalling his past victories and rejecting their accusations, he challenged all three sides to attack him together.

• Xu Yang entered the Hall of Righteous Gathering, sat in the Dragon Head Chair, and was identified as Heavenly King Li by Zhou Hai.
• Kong Jian confirmed Xu Yang's identity and praised his rejuvenation, while Xu Yang's disciples congratulated him on completing his divine skill.
• Xu Yang accused the martial arts sects, Princess Qing Ping, and Li Shao Bai of being unable to tolerate him and recalled his victories over their predecessors.
• Kong Jian and the assembled factions insisted that they would not submit to Xu Yang's force, and Xu Yang challenged them to attack him together.

Xu Yang challenged the factions gathered at the Hall of Righteous Gathering and revealed overwhelming power after sealing the exits and forcing them to fight. He unleashed six dragon-shaped strikes against their combined assault, leaving the hall and King's Peak shaking amid mass casualties.

• Xu Yang sent Hundred Broken Mountain's people outside, triggered the hall's mechanisms, and sealed every exit.
• Chen Jixuan tested Xu Yang with Dragon Subduing Palm, but Xu Yang's own dragon-shaped strike hurled him into the entrance wall.
• Kong Jian and three Shaolin monks used the Vajra Demon Subduing Formation, but Xu Yang's Golden Bell Shield repelled them.
• Yi Feng pierced Xu Yang's protective aura with sword qi, but Xu Yang shattered his sword and sent him flying.
• The gathered factions launched their ultimate techniques together, and Xu Yang answered with six Dragon Shadows that tore through the crowd.

Xu Yang defeated Yi Feng and the attackers at Hundred Broken Mountain, then spared the surviving nobles and martial leaders who begged for mercy. Below the mountain, a Li Family army plotted to seize the region, but Xu Yang’s forces ambushed it with a rain of arrows.

• Xu Yang explained that his martial arts had transcended the mortal realm, though his cultivation remained at Gang Qi Realm, and Yi Feng died after hearing that no higher realm existed.
• Princess Qing Ping, Li Shao Bai, and the other survivors pleaded with Xu Yang to spare them and offered their allegiance, but Xu Yang left without answering.
• A Li Family commander explained to his Third Brother why the family had to contend for power and planned to take Hundred Broken Mountain.
• A Black Arrow killed the Third Brother, and arrows and armed forces from the mountains launched an ambush against the Li Family army.