Chapter Summaries

Two hundred years after Great Zhou was founded, an Eagle Guard Leader disguised as a storyteller defended the Founding Emperor’s legacy against rebels who condemned his rule. When the rebels revealed their conspiracy to open the border to foreign invaders, the storyteller confronted them, and they launched a coordinated attack.

• The storyteller recounted how Li Qingshan founded Great Zhou, spread martial arts through the Great Zhou Martial Scripture, and established policies that he said brought prosperity to the realm.
• A middle-aged Confucian scholar accused Li Qingshan of seizing ancestral land, but the storyteller defended land reform and denounced powerful clans.
• A Green-robed Daoist, a White-browed Old Monk, and an Old Beggar entered and accused the Founding Emperor of destroying their sects and suppressing their beliefs.
• The storyteller revealed that he knew the group had conspired with the Regional Commander to open the border gates to foreign barbarians.
• The rebels claimed that members of the Imperial Court and Li Family supported their cause, then urged the storyteller to join them in seeking the Founding Emperor’s method of immortality.
• The storyteller unleashed his True Gang qi, and the Green-robed Daoist realized the audience had vanished; the three newcomers attacked the storyteller together.

Chen Cejun defeated four rebels who had conspired with the Western Barbarians, while Xu Yang failed to break through beyond True Gang and died after outlining a path toward Divine Gang and Embracing the Dan. A record then declared that Li Qingshan had shattered the void and ascended as a Martial Dao True Immortal.

• Chen Cejun used the Combat Scroll to defeat four attackers who had mistaken him for Su Changqing, then revealed his identity and exposed the rebels’ ties to the Western Barbarians and Great Zhou’s court.
• Secret Guard members arrested the four rebels as Chen Cejun ordered them to accompany the army and ensure the coming campaign against the Western Barbarians went smoothly.
• Three days later, Xu Yang failed to condense Gang Qi into a Dan because his Divine Strength could not control it, and he proposed Divine Gang as the realm above True Gang.
• Xu Yang told his followers he was going to die, urged them to carry on the work, and faded away as they mourned.
• A record stated that Li Qingshan shattered the void and ascended from Tianwu Cliff Top as a Martial Dao True Immortal.

Xu Yang returned from a three-hundred-year life in the Great Zhou World with vast knowledge and several powerful martial skill traits, though he had failed to complete his planned breakthrough. Back aboard the Black-awning Boat on Dongting Lake, he decided to settle real-world matters and recover before beginning another dreamlike life.

• Xu Yang awoke aboard the Black-awning Boat and reviewed the skills and traits he had gained during his life in Great Zhou.
• Xu Yang reflected on how he had used Great Zhou’s resources to establish the Great Zhou Martial Scripture and spread martial arts throughout the world.
• Xu Yang recalled that his attempt to advance beyond True Gang had failed because he had depleted his soul power transmitting skill traits.
• Xu Yang recognized that Martial Path Reaches Divinity had already given him the practical abilities of True Gang Condensing Spirit, despite his failed breakthrough.
• Xu Yang resolved to spend a few days handling real-world affairs, replenishing supplies, and adjusting before entering another dreamlike life.

Xu Yang attended a Golden Carp Gang gathering at the Fish Market, where a search for a missing man led the gang to question him. When Young Master Tie tested him, Xu Yang revealed his strength, killed the people on the platform, and escaped the market.

• Xu Yang kept a low profile at the Fish Market while reflecting on his years in Great Zhou and his decision to remain near Dongting Lake.
• The Golden Carp Gang summoned the market’s residents and announced that Third Miss and Young Master Tie were searching for a man who had passed through the area.
• A fisherman said Old Zhang Tou had taken the man and his family onto his boat, then disappeared after visiting Xu Yang.
• Chen Qi questioned Xu Yang, who claimed Old Zhang Tou had only asked him to adopt his second brother.
• Young Master Tie attacked Xu Yang with a silver ingot, and Xu Yang retaliated with hidden weapons and killed Young Master Tie, Third Miss, Chen Qi, and others on the platform.
• Xu Yang fled the Fish Market as the crowd panicked and the Golden Carp Gang members watched in terror.

After escaping the Golden Carp Gang and Iron Lion Gang by fleeing across Dongting Lake, Xu Yang settled on a secluded island and entered Zhuang Zhou's Dream Butterfly to cultivate while sleeping. He awoke in a new life as a starving beggar, already frozen to death once.

• Xu Yang used his swimming trait to escape into Dongting Lake, deciding that the gangs' search was connected to Zhang Cheng's family's wealth and that he would leave it buried.
• Xu Yang gathered his emergency supplies and Cormorant Old Six, then moved far beyond the Golden Carp Gang's territory.
• Li Hengtong and the Iron Lion King ordered their men to search Dongting Lake for the person who killed their children, though their subordinates doubted they could find him.
• Three days later, Xu Yang settled on a remote island, bought a new boat and supplies, and resolved to grow stronger through martial cultivation and Zhuang Zhou's Dream Butterfly.
• Xu Yang entered the Dream Butterfly while his martial arts cultivated on their own and awoke in a snowy alley as a beggar who had frozen to death.

Xu Yang awoke in the body of a starving beggar in Great Sui and received unexpected help from a girl named Xuan'er and her veiled master. Although the master directed him to Jing'an Temple for shelter, Xu Yang decided his own resources made the temple unnecessary and left.

• Xu Yang recovered Agou's memories, learned he was in Pengcheng during Great Sui's Kaihuang 20th Year, and set out to find food, clothing, and shelter.
• Xuan'er gave Xu Yang hot meat buns and silver, but a gang of beggars tried to rob him before her veiled master drove them away.
• The veiled woman gave Xu Yang a letter for Jing'an Temple, promising the temple would take him in, and left with Xuan'er.
• As they walked through the snow, Xuan'er questioned her master's support for the emperor and vowed to choose a virtuous ruler when she grew up.
• After checking that nobody followed him, Xu Yang turned away from Jing'an Temple and chose to rely on his own resources.

Xu Yang killed the beggars who had harmed Agou, then used his medical skills to win the prefect’s support and secure permission and funding to open Bao'an Hall in Xuzhou City. Three months later, the hall opened, giving Xu Yang a foothold in the city.

• Xu Yang returned to the ruined temple and killed the beggar leader and his men after learning they had mistreated Old Whitehead and hearing of the prefect’s sick son.
• Xu Yang went to the prefect’s residence and persuaded the gatekeepers to let him see the prefect by identifying their health problems.
• Xu Yang examined the prefect’s son, prescribed a three-month course of medicine, and promised he would forfeit his life if the treatment failed.
• Xu Yang refused the consultation fee as payment and asked the prefect to support his plan to establish a medical hall.
• The prefect agreed, provided gold as startup capital, and approved the name Bao'an Hall.
• Three months later, Bao'an Hall opened in Xuzhou City.

Sixteen years after founding Bao'an Hall, Xu Yang had become Xuzhou's celebrated physician and a powerful martial artist while the Sui realm descended into rebellion. As the coming chaos and the struggle over the Longevity Art drew near, Xu Yang accepted that he could no longer stay out of the conflict and prepared to face it.

• Sixteen years after Yang Guang became Emperor Yang of Sui, Xu Yang was revered in Xuzhou for curing the sick, offering poor people free care, and supporting disciples and students.
• Xu Yang returned to Bao'an Hall, refused Han Gaitian's request for an examination, delegated Yun Yuzhen's appointment, and ordered his associates to handle the other reports and disputes.
• Xu Yang heard that rebellion was spreading, Emperor Yang Guang planned to travel south, Cihang Jingzhai's successor would soon enter the martial world, and the Longevity Art had reached Shi Long in Yangzhou.
• Xu Yang reviewed his panel and recognized that sixteen years of cultivation had restored his True Gang Realm strength, though he still lacked the foundation to break through to the next realm.
• Xu Yang concluded that the coming age of conflict would reach him and resolved to meet it rather than remain in hiding.

Xu Yang treated Fu Junzhuo, whose Cold Poison came from Yuwen Huaji’s Ice Profound Force, but warned that some poison remained. He demanded the Longevity Art as payment for completing her treatment, and her sons agreed to trade it for their mother’s life.

• Su Beixuan told Xu Yang that the injured visitors had arrived and that his third disciple was treating them.
• The Cold Poison overwhelmed the green-robed doctor, but Xu Yang drove the frost from her hand and took over treating Fu Junzhuo.
• Xu Yang used Pure Yang Life-Returning Divine Qi to expel some of Fu Junzhuo’s poison and recognized it as Yuwen Huaji’s Ice Profound Force.
• Fu Junzhuo woke, and Xu Yang warned her that residual Cold Poison still threatened her life.
• Xu Yang asked for the Longevity Art as his consultation fee, and Fu Junzhuo’s sons handed him the book in exchange for saving their mother.

Xu Yang accepted the Longevity Art and told Fu Junzhuo that he would continue treating her after she recovered. Fu Junzhuo realized the mysterious force might have lured Yuwen Huaji to Xuzhou for reasons beyond the book, leaving her terrified of the danger surrounding them.

• Xu Yang verified the Longevity Art and told Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling that Fu Junzhuo needed to recuperate before he could finish treating her cold toxin.
• Fu Junzhuo warned Xu Yang that Yuwen Huaji was pursuing them, and Xu Yang promised to protect them in exchange for the book.
• Li Suwen assured Fu Junzhuo that Xu Yang could protect her even from the Three Grandmasters.
• Fu Junzhuo realized the mysterious force might have been leading Yuwen Huaji to Xuzhou as part of a larger plan.
• Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling worried when Fu Junzhuo grew pale, but she stopped Kou Zhong from fetching Xu Yang and said she was fine.

Yuwen Zhiji and Yuwen Shiji arrived in Xuzhou and discussed Xu Qingyang’s growing influence, suspecting he might be preparing to rebel. After learning that three men carrying the Longevity Art had fled to Xuzhou and likely sought treatment at Bao'an Hall, they changed their plans and prepared to destroy it.

• Yuwen Zhiji and Yuwen Shiji observed Xuzhou’s prosperity and connected its people’s well-being to Xu Qingyang and Bao'an Hall.
• Yuwen Zhiji proposed stirring conflict between Xu Qingyang and Xuzhou’s great clans, then using the clans to expose and attack him.
• Yuwen Zhiji received a letter saying three men carrying the Longevity Art had escaped into Xuzhou with help from a Mysterious Force.
• Yuwen Zhiji concluded that the wounded fugitives were likely at Bao'an Hall and ordered messengers to summon the great clans and troops to prepare for its destruction.

Yuwen Huaji sealed Xuzhou and demanded that Xu Yang hand over the fugitives and the Longevity Art. Xu Yang refused, demanded the Ice Profound Force Manual in return, and the confrontation remained unresolved.

• Yuwen Huaji entered Xuzhou with the Yuwen Clan's private troops and Xiaoguo Imperial Guards, then sealed the city with local forces.
• Xu Yang cured Fu Junzhuo of the Cold Poison and gave Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling copied versions of the Longevity Art, intending to observe their cultivation and test whether they had a Protagonist Halo.
• Yuwen Huaji arrived at Bao'an Hall and demanded that Xu Yang surrender the three wanted fugitives, threatening to storm the medical hall.
• Xu Yang emerged to meet Yuwen Huaji, while Fu Junzhuo, Kou Zhong, and Xu Ziling appeared on the wall and declared the matter had nothing to do with him.
• Yuwen Huaji demanded the Longevity Art, and Xu Yang offered to spare his life if he handed over the Ice Profound Force Manual.

Xu Yang effortlessly defeated Yuwen Huaji after dissolving his Ice Profound Force and striking him with the Dragon Subduing Palm, while Bao'an Hall's forces launched a coordinated ambush in Xuzhou. Outside the city, Yuwen Zhiji discovered that the aristocratic family heads accompanying him were Bao'an Hall agents, and realized Xuzhou had changed hands long ago.

• Yuwen Huaji attacked Xu Yang with the Ice Profound Force, but Xu Yang dissolved it with Qi Transforms Three Thousand.
• Xu Yang struck Yuwen Huaji with the Dragon Subduing Palm, shattered his Ice Tiger Devouring Roar, and blasted him into a wine house.
• Yuwen Clan troops fired arrows at Xu Yang, who swept them back into their ranks with True Gang qi.
• A horn sounded as ten thousand Mysterious Armored Martial Guards emerged in Xuzhou and surrounded the Yuwen Clan troops and Xiaoguo Imperial Guards.
• Yuwen Zhiji heard the horn outside Xuzhou, then discovered that the family heads beside him were impostors who had captured him.
• Yuwen Zhiji realized Bao'an Hall had replaced Xuzhou's aristocratic families and demanded to know who the disguised agents were.

Three days after the battle in Xuzhou, Kou Zhong wanted to become Xu Yang’s disciple, but Fu Junzhuo warned him and Xu Ziling away from the dangerous man. Meanwhile, Xu Yang negotiated Yuwen Huaji’s ransom and planned to release him, accepting that his methods in Xuzhou might eventually make him an enemy of the great clans.

• Kou Zhong declared that he wanted to return to Bao'an Hall and ask Xu Yang to take him as a disciple, but Fu Junzhuo warned him that Xu Yang was dangerous.
• Xu Ziling persuaded Kou Zhong to obey Fu Junzhuo and focus on cultivating the Longevity Art instead of returning to Xu Yang.
• Xu Yang offered to trade Yuwen Huaji’s freedom and the captured Yuwen Clan forces for martial arts manuals, gold, silver, grain, and fodder.
• Yuwen Huaji agreed to write to the Yuwen Clan and arrange the ransom, while Xu Yang left the dungeon after securing the deal.
• Xu Yang decided that releasing Yuwen Huaji for profit was preferable to killing him, and expected him to avoid further conflict after returning to the Yuwen Clan.
• Xu Yang acknowledged that his secret control of Xuzhou might provoke the great clans, but believed his position was strong enough to withstand their hostility.

Yuwen Huaji fled Xuzhou while plotting to seize the Sui throne and avenge his defeat, as rival factions investigated Xu Qingyang’s growing power and the Longevity Art. The chapter ended with a Buddhist woman in Jing'an Temple questioning Xu Qingyang’s identity after receiving a letter.

• Yuwen Huaji refused to rest despite his wounds and hurried toward Jiangdu, believing he could use imperial power and the Buddhist Sect to build a new dynasty and repay Xu Qingyang.
• A woman in pink learned that the Goguryeo Rakshasa Woman had possessed the Longevity Art and that Xu Qingyang had defeated Yuwen Huaji and captured the Four Great Masters of the Yuwen Clan.
• The woman’s subordinate reported that Xu Qingyang had secretly infiltrated Xuzhou’s families, martial sects, and trade networks, leading her to compare him to Heavenly Saber Song Que.
• The woman learned that Xu Qingyang had likely acquired the Longevity Art and that the Rakshasa Woman and her two adopted boys had already left Xuzhou.
• At Jing'an Temple, a blue-green-robed Buddhist woman read a letter and wondered whether Xu Xian and Xu Qingyang were the same person and who he really was.

After studying the four manuals Yuwen Huaji had surrendered, Xu Yang realized that he could use the Martial Dao—and himself—as the focus of his visualization. He broke through into the Spirit Condensation Realm with a powerful Martial Dao Divine Intent, and left weighing whether he could challenge the world’s Grandmasters.

• Xu Yang studied the manuals’ methods of Spirit Condensation and considered which Dao to visualize.
• Xu Yang realized that the human body and Martial Dao could serve as his Dao, then visualized himself and began absorbing qi, blood, spiritual energy, and medicinal essence.
• Xu Yang broke through into the Spirit Condensation Realm, destroying the cold jade bed as his Martial Dao Divine Intent filled the quiet room.
• Xu Yang understood how his self-cultivated Martial Path Reaches Divinity could combine with his skill trait and strengthen his power.
• Xu Yang considered challenging the Three Grandmasters but decided to wait before confronting the Buddhist Sect’s four famous elders.

Xu Yang learned that Fu Junzhuo had died protecting Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, then concluded that any force of destiny could only work through plausible events. He continued studying the Longevity Art and planned to integrate it into the Martial Scripture by teaching it to others, while preparing to spread martial arts across the world.

• Su Beixuan reported that Zhu Yuyan had killed Fu Junzhuo during an ambush, while Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling escaped by jumping into a river.
• Xu Yang dismissed the need to search for Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling and returned to studying the Longevity Art.
• Xu Yang reviewed his progress after a month of consolidating Spirit Condensation Dao Integration and deciphering the Longevity Art.
• Xu Yang decided not to cultivate the Longevity Art directly because it conflicted with his existing Inner Force, and instead planned to master its principles and merge them into the Martial Scripture.
• Xu Yang resolved to spread martial arts through Universal Martial Arts Deployment, using the insights of his followers to accelerate his own development.

Two years after the Sui Dynasty fell, Golden Jade Full Hall held a major auction aboard its treasure ship on the Huai River, drawing the realm’s leading clans and factions. The auction opened with Hundred Refined Mysterious Armor, and Li Xiuning withdrew after realizing Song Zhi’s bid was tied to the Eight Forms of the Heavenly Saber.

• Yuwen Huaji murdered Emperor Yang Guang, proclaimed himself emperor, and founded the state of Xu, leaving the realm in turmoil.
• Crowds gathered on the Huai River as prominent clans, martial sects, Rebel Kings, and other factions arrived for Golden Jade Full Hall’s auction.
• Onlookers discussed Xu Qingyang’s martial power and influence, including his conflict with Yuwen Huaji and his threat to challenge Song Que.
• Jin Wuming announced the auction rules and opened bidding with two hundred sets of Hundred Refined Mysterious Armor.
• Li Xiuning and Song Zhi bid against each other until Li Xiuning recognized the value of the Eight Forms of the Heavenly Saber and conceded the armor to Song Zhi’s bid of four hundred fifty thousand silver taels.
• Jin Wuming introduced the next item, the King Yama Returns Life Pill.

At Golden Jade Full Hall’s auction, rival martial families fought over powerful manuals, showing how the sale of secret arts had fueled a cycle of violence and ruin. Li Xiuning and Song Hui suspected Cihang Jingzhai might soon meet with the Martial King, while the auction continued to set factions against one another.

• Jin Wuming auctioned the Yuwen Clan’s Ice Profound Force, and two rival families drove the price to 150,000 taels before the ice-aspected family won it.
• The narrator described how Golden Jade Full Hall’s martial manual auctions had sparked a race to acquire techniques and led enemies to kill or imitate one another.
• Jin Wuming immediately offered Bi Xuan’s incomplete Blazing Sun Marvelous Skill, prompting the rival families and other factions to resume bidding.
• Li Xiuning questioned how long Golden Jade Full Hall could keep provoking the martial world, and Song Hui speculated that Cihang Jingzhai might soon approach the Martial King.

At the auction’s final lot, Jin Wuming presented the Longevity Art, prompting disbelief, intrigue, and a confrontation with a disguised envoy of the Heavenly Lotus Sect. After all seventy copies sold, he revealed that Golden Jade Full Hall was also selling an unverified clue to Duke Yang’s Treasury, drawing the assembled powers toward the side hall.

• Jin Wuming introduced the Longevity Art and defended its authenticity, explaining its cultivation requirements and promising refunds and free treatment for Qi Deviation.
• A middle-aged man accused Golden Jade Full Hall of stirring up strife, but Jin Wuming exposed him as an Eight Demon Envoy of the Heavenly Lotus Sect and sent him away injured with a threat for An Long.
• Jin Wuming offered seventy copies of the Longevity Art, and Song Zhi, Li Xiuning, Dugu Feng, and other buyers secured all of them.
• Jin Wuming announced that Golden Jade Full Hall was selling an unverified clue to Duke Yang’s Treasury for ten taels per copy.
• Li Xiuning led her attendants toward the side hall, followed by the other clans, Rebel Kings, and fierce bandits.