Chapter Summaries

Li Qing returned to Wo Niu Village after many years and found his family preparing to flee an approaching bandit attack. He watched them leave without revealing himself, then headed toward the bandits to confront them.

• Li Qing arrived at Wo Niu Village, where villagers were burning their crops and preparing to escape the advancing bandits.
• Li Qing told Rice Bucket to hide in a mountain hollow and roar if the bandits attacked, then entered the village unseen.
• Li Qing heard his parents discussing the flight and remembered his brother Li Er Niu, who had died after being conscripted into the army.
• Rice Bucket's roar sparked panic, and the villagers fled through a secret passage led by the village chief.
• Li Qing watched his family depart in their cart without acknowledging them, then turned toward the village entrance to attack the bandits.

Li Qing defended Wo Niu Ridge from three groups of grassland bandits while his family fled, then secretly found them and left them money before departing with Rice Bucket. His family recognized the silver as a sign that Er Niu had returned, while Li Qing disappeared into the mountains.

• Li Qing and Rice Bucket killed the first group of bandits attacking Wo Niu Village, and Li Qing stayed at Wo Niu Ridge to protect his family's escape.
• Li Qing guarded the ridge for three days, killing two more scouting groups and wiping out about half the bandits in the Qing Shi Town region.
• Li Qing followed his family's trail, erased their tracks, and found the exhausted family sleeping in a hidden mountain forest.
• Li Qing slipped four thirty-tael silver ingots into his family members' luggage, but fled when Mother Li woke and called out to Er Niu.
• Li Qing's family found the silver and concluded that Er Niu had returned, while Li Qing left the area with Rice Bucket.

As the Feng Kingdom court fled south, Emperor Taiwen’s corrupt Grand Councilor Gao Yudong escaped with stolen wealth and later joined the new grassland regime. Tuwahaer captured Sheng Tian and founded Great Wu, then issued orders to hunt Martial Artists and find or forge divine weapons.

• Emperor Taiwen ordered the court to evacuate south after the fall of Cloud Prefecture, while news broke that Grand Councilor Gao Yudong had embezzled army funds and sold strategic resources.
• Qian Hong found more than thirty thousand taels of silver in Gao Yudong’s empty estate and ordered the Maple Guard Department to pursue him.
• Gao Yudong fled toward the grassland bandits with his son and stolen treasure, planning to offer tribute and secure an official post.
• Tuwahaer captured the undefended Sheng Tian, while the Feng Kingdom court relocated its capital to Jiangzhou.
• Tuwahaer founded Great Wu, and Gao Yudong became an official in the new regime.
• In the first year of Taiyuan, Tuwahaer ordered the capture and killing of Martial Artists and the search for divine weapons, and he offered rewards to capable blacksmiths.

In the third year of Kaiyuan, Tuwahaer faced escalating attacks by jianghu martial cultivators and considered renewing his crackdown and attacking Southern Feng. He learned that the Yellow Robe Old Monster planned to leave the Wu Dynasty, leaving Tuwahaer without the immortal cultivator he relied on for protective talismans.

• Tuwahaer heard that King Pingyun’s sons had been killed by martial cultivators and that King Pingyun had survived an attack only because of a protective talisman.
• Gao Yudong urged Tuwahaer to place bounties on famous martial cultivators, pit them against one another, and consider sending troops against Southern Feng.
• Tuwahaer approved the bounty plan but postponed a decision on invading Southern Feng.
• Tuwahaer asked the Yellow Robe Old Monster for more protective talismans, but the immortal would trade only for Prototype Magical Artifacts and special materials.
• The Yellow Robe Old Monster announced he would leave to seek a spiritual vein, and Tuwahaer accepted that he could not force him to stay.

After four years of secluded cultivation in Little Cui Ridge, Li Qing had reached the peak of Internal Energy and nearly mastered the Golden Body Technique’s fourth layer, though the Divine Intent Realm remained just out of reach. He decided to leave the mountains to seek a breakthrough, leaving Rice Bucket behind until he could return as a grandmaster.

• Li Qing emerged from waterfall training and demonstrated the power he had gained through four years of cultivation.
• Rice Bucket brought Li Qing the mountain stag king after hunting it for more than three years, and Li Qing praised the tiger before preparing the stag.
• Li Qing reflected on reaching the peak of Internal Energy, his progress in the Golden Body Technique, and his belief that forging weapons could preserve his youth.
• Li Qing told Rice Bucket he planned to leave the mountains to pursue the grandmaster realm and asked the tiger to remain behind.
• Li Qing prepared a jar of Bitter Ginseng Deer Antler Wine using the remaining Bitter Profound Ginseng and the stag king’s antlers.

Li Qing returned to Luoyun City after four years in the mountains and learned how the Wu Dynasty had changed. After deciding to investigate the people with the highest martial-world bounties, he set out for the imperial capital.

• Li Qing saw grasslanders mistreating a pastry vendor, gave the vendor extra silver, and learned his antlers were not medicinal Deer Antler.
• Li Qing paid a medicinal shopkeeper to recount events since the Wu Dynasty was founded, including its renewed pursuit of lawbreaking martial cultivators and suspicions of Southern Dynasty involvement.
• Li Qing recalled that Commander Qian had uncovered the person behind the military-pay embezzlement, but the suspect had escaped and gained the Wu Dynasty's protection.
• Li Qing decided to travel to Sheng Tian to learn who held the highest bounties, bought a horse, and concealed the stag king's antlers in the Eternal Night World.
• The next day, Li Qing rode out of Luoyun City toward the imperial capital.

Li Qing arrived in Sheng Tian and learned from an information broker why several martial artists had been placed under bounties by Wu Dynasty. He confirmed Qi Kang cultivated the Life-Extinguishing Art and heard how the Black Lotus Sect Master had rescued the Purple Lotus Protector from a cavalry pursuit.

• Li Qing found Sheng Tian under a cloud of fear, with Wanted Posters and their large bounties displayed throughout the city.
• At Taoyuan Restaurant, Li Qing learned that Winter Plum Wine and braised beef were no longer available and ordered other food and liquor instead.
• An information broker explained that bounty amounts depended on strength and the harm a wanted martial artist had caused.
• The broker said Qi Kang's bounty reflected his slaughter of grassland tribesmen and the court's interest in the Life-Extinguishing Art, which Li Qing recognized as Qi Kang's cultivation method.
• The broker explained that the court pursued Nine Lotus Sect for its martial inheritances and divine weapons, then described how the Black Lotus Sect Master had killed hundreds of cavalrymen while saving Purple Lotus.
• Li Qing admired the Black Lotus Sect Master's strength, ate his meal, and praised the wine.

Li Qing infiltrated Sheng Tian’s inner city at night to kill grassland officials and learned where Gao Yudong lived. After killing a grassland warrior and moving the unconscious woman to a brothel, he headed for Gao Yudong’s estate.

• Li Qing read the wanted notices, then slipped past the inner-city patrols under cover of night.
• He entered a grassland warrior’s estate and seized the man in his bedroom, knocking the woman there unconscious with a pebble.
• Li Qing forced the warrior to reveal that Gao Yudong lived on Pingxing Street, then killed him.
• Li Qing wrapped the unconscious woman in a quilt and left her at a brothel on Xiliu Street.
• Li Qing set out for Gao Yudong’s estate, intending to kill the corrupt official.

Li Qing overheard Gao Yudong and Gao Liang discussing a Life-Preserving Talisman, then followed Qian Hong after she abandoned her attempt to attack Gao Yudong. Qian Hong recognized Li Qing when he revealed himself, and she was astonished by how close his martial cultivation was to the Grandmaster realm.

• Gao Yudong scolded Gao Liang for his drunken excesses and warned him to stay home until the Sage Monarch's fiftieth birthday.
• Gao Liang revealed that he had a Life-Preserving Talisman and protection from people sent by the Sage Monarch.
• Li Qing overheard their conversation and decided to delay capturing the father and son so he could learn more about the talisman.
• Li Qing recognized Qian Hong as she followed Gao Yudong, but she abandoned her attack and left the courtyard.
• Li Qing followed Qian Hong beyond the inner city, revealed himself, and reunited with her after four years.
• Qian Hong was delighted to see Li Qing and asked if his martial cultivation had nearly reached the Grandmaster realm.

Li Qing learned that the Maple Guard Department was planning to assassinate the Sage Monarch during his fiftieth-birthday banquet but lacked a Grandmaster to overcome the ruler’s protective talismans. He declined to join the operation for now, offered Qian Hong a Lotus Token, and later discovered that the marquis he had killed was the Sage Empress’s younger brother.

• Qian Hong told Li Qing that the Maple Guard Department was secretly fueling resistance and asked him to help its planned attack on the Sage Monarch.
• Qian Hong explained the Wind-Walking and Golden Shield Talismans and described how the Nine Lotus Sect leader had broken a Golden Shield Talisman with seven full-powered strikes.
• Li Qing asked about recruiting the Nine Lotus Sect, then realized Shen Lianyi’s purple-lotus token might grant access to the sect.
• Li Qing promised to give Qian Hong something at Taoyuan Restaurant in three days and left using Shadow-Seeking Footwork.
• News spread that a marquis had died, and Li Qing learned the dead man was the Sage Monarch’s brother-in-law and the Sage Empress’s younger brother.

Li Qing traded the Lotus Token to Qian Hong and received a Wind-Walking Talisman from her, while the Wu Dynasty’s military campaign and levies brought hardship to the people. Qian Hong left Li Qing with her veil after sharing a charged farewell, and he wondered why the blacksmith shop felt so hot.

• Li Qing gave Qian Hong the Lotus Token, which she accepted on behalf of the Maple Guard Department.
• The Wu Dynasty sent more than ten thousand cavalrymen toward Little Cui Ridge and imposed heavy taxes and forced labor to fund the campaign and Sage Monarch Tuwahaer’s birthday banquet.
• Li Qing witnessed the suffering caused by compulsory labor and felt troubled by the people’s hardship.
• Qian Hong gave Li Qing a Wind-Walking Talisman and told him she might have to leave to pass information to the Southern Dynasty and visit the Nine Lotus Sect.
• Qian Hong asked Li Qing to remove her veil, then left it with him and departed from the blacksmith shop.

Shen Lianyi and the Black Lotus Sect Master refused to join Qian Hong’s operation against the Wu Dynasty, but Shen Lianyi agreed to accompany her with the Red Lotus Blade. In Shengtian City, Li Qing discovered that crafting a concealed weapon with Outer-Heaven Meteorite Iron had earned him two months of lifespan.

• Qian Hong asked the Nine Lotus Sect to help the Maple Guard Department overthrow the false dynasty, but the Black Lotus Sect Master said his injuries prevented him from fighting.
• The Black Lotus Sect Master agreed to lend Qian Hong the Red Lotus Blade and sent Shen Lianyi to assist her.
• Shen Lianyi learned that Qian Hong had received the Purple Lotus Token from Li Qing and realized he was Wu Chong, whom she had known under a false name.
• Qian Hong and Shen Lianyi set out for Shengtian City to join the operation.
• Li Qing finished crafting the Death-Ending Nail from a Bone-Piercing Nail mixed with Outer-Heaven Meteorite Iron and gained two months of lifespan.

Li Qing learned that Sage Monarch Tuwahaer was searching Little Cui Ridge for an immortal cultivator, then resolved to forge a dagger capable of killing a monarch as Qian Hong prepared to act. At Tuwahaer's lavish fiftieth birthday banquet, Qi Kang attacked the emperor, who had anticipated the assault and surrounded him with his own Martial Artists.

• Qi Kang visited Li Qing, explained that he planned to storm the Imperial Palace with the Maple Guard Department, and revealed that Tuwahaer was seeking an immortal cultivator in Little Cui Ridge.
• Qi Kang gave Li Qing the Life-Extinguishing Art and asked him to return it to the Tomb Mansion in Little Cui Ridge.
• Qian Hong told Li Qing that the Nine Lotus Sect's grandmaster could not fight and that the people could not wait any longer, prompting Li Qing to decide to forge a monarch-slaying dagger.
• Li Qing began forging the dagger from Outer-Heaven Meteorite Iron and Ink Gold as rebellion spread and Tuwahaer prepared his extravagant birthday celebration.
• At Tuwahaer's birthday banquet, Qi Kang descended into the Imperial Palace and attacked the emperor, who revealed that he had been expecting the martial cultivators and ordered his own Martial Artists to surround Qi Kang.

After forging the Dragon-like Dagger, Li Qing reached the Divine Intent Realm and broke into the inner city. As Qian Hong and Qi Kang faced the giant Nuchik in the chaotic Imperial Palace, Li Qing arrived and struck Nuchik with a Death-Ending Nail.

• Li Qing forged and sharpened the Dragon-like Dagger, then underwent a transformation that brought him into the Divine Intent Realm.
• Li Qing vowed to confront the injustice in the world and crossed into the inner city, deflecting guards’ arrows with a sweep of his sleeve.
• At the Imperial Palace, Qian Hong attacked Tuwahaer’s Golden Light Barrier while Qi Kang fought the grassland soldiers around them.
• Tuwahaer summoned Nuchik, whose immense strength overwhelmed the martial artists and sent Qi Kang flying.
• Nuchik drove Qian Hong back, but Li Qing pierced his fist with a Death-Ending Nail and announced that he had come for Tuwahaer.

Li Qing revealed his Grandmaster strength, defeated Nuchik, and pursued Sage Monarch Tuwahaer through the imperial grounds. He shattered Tuwahaer’s talisman barrier and captured him alive, preparing to question him.

• Li Qing arrived during the battle and knocked Nuchik down with a single hammer strike, revealing that he had reached the Grandmaster realm.
• Li Qing attacked Tuwahaer, but the golden barrier protecting him withstood the Peerless Hammer.
• Li Qing caught the Demonic Blade - Crimson Lotus and the Green Rainbow Sword, then pursued Tuwahaer as he fled using a Wind-Walking Talisman.
• Li Qing used Transforming Energy to break Tuwahaer’s Golden Light Barrier and severed both of his hands.
• Li Qing held a dagger to Tuwahaer’s throat and demanded answers, and Tuwahaer agreed to answer while asking for a quick death.

Li Qing questioned Tuwahaer and learned how a yellow-robed immortal cultivator had helped him rise to power, as well as the locations and secrets of a cultivation method. After killing Tuwahaer, Li Qing set his sights on exploring the Cultivation World and headed toward the palace, intending to search the sleeping palace.

• Li Qing took Tuwahaer's unused talismans and learned that a yellow-robed immortal cultivator had helped Tuwahaer become a bandit leader and later trade peerless weapons for talismans, pills, and a Cultivation Method.
• Tuwahaer revealed that the Cultivation Method was in a secret chamber in his sleeping palace and said he had sent cavalry into Little Cui Ridge to seek stronger Immortal Cultivators.
• Tuwahaer explained that Spirit Roots were required to cultivate and mocked Li Qing for possibly lacking one.
• Li Qing slit Tuwahaer's throat with the Dragon-like Dagger, killing him beside the imperial palace lake gardens.
• Li Qing took the Green Rainbow Sword and Demonic Blade - Crimson Lotus and walked toward the main hall while planning to search the sleeping palace.

Li Qing helped defeat the Wu Dynasty by killing Tuwahaer, then searched the Sage Monarch’s secret chamber and found the injured thief Ning Yuan. He saved Ning Yuan from the poison and took the Earth Origin Art and Immortality Token, then carried him out of the chamber.

• Li Qing announced Tuwahaer’s death, ending the battle as Purple Lotus celebrated her aunt Crimson Lotus’s vengeance.
• Li Qing returned the Green Rainbow Sword and Crimson Lotus Demonic Blade, and Qian Hong and Zhao Yuan thanked him for his help.
• Li Qing searched the Sage Monarch’s bedchamber and found Ning Yuan wounded by the secret chamber’s hidden mechanisms.
• Ning Yuan revealed the location of his treasure vault and confessed his feelings for the First Rank Princess Consort of Prince Yu’s Mansion while Li Qing purged the poison from him.
• Li Qing took Ning Yuan’s Immortality Token and the Earth Origin Art, then carried him out of the secret chamber.

After a month of failing to understand the Earth Origin Art, Li Qing received help from Ning Yuan and successfully cultivated his first trace of mana, confirming that he had a Spirit Root. Ning Yuan was left bitterly envious of Li Qing’s many talents.

• Li Qing studied the Earth Origin Art in seclusion while forging weapons and increasing his lifespan.
• Ning Yuan tried to steal Li Qing’s Dragon-like Dagger, then joined him for Winter Plum Wine.
• Ning Yuan told Li Qing that he had failed to sense spiritual energy and suspected he lacked a Spirit Root.
• After learning that Li Qing had not even begun cultivating, Ning Yuan guided him through one cycle of the Earth Origin Art.
• Li Qing sensed World Spiritual Energy, drew it into his meridians, and formed a trace of mana in his dantian.
• Ning Yuan realized Li Qing could cultivate immortality and lamented how unfairly gifted he was.

Li Qing abandoned slow Qi Refining to plan for entering the Cultivation World and created the Limitless Art, then forged three weapons bearing its inheritance. He brought the weapons to Sheng Tian to discuss a deal with Miss Qian of the Maple Guard Department.

• After seven days of Qi Refining, Li Qing judged his progress too slow and resolved to seek a place rich in spiritual energy, considering Little Cui Ridge, the Eternal Night World, and the Red Fish Merchant Guild.
• Li Qing planned to keep blacksmithing and ask the Maple Guard Department to help gather unusual ores, while developing a martial art to offer in a lasting exchange.
• By winter, Li Qing completed the Limitless Art, combining his martial knowledge into a discipline that trained the body first and accumulated Internal Energy later.
• Li Qing forged Dance of Fine Snow, Shadowless Staff, and Calamity-Breaking Spear from ordinary iron, engraving a separate section of the Limitless Art onto each weapon.
• Li Qing carried the three weapons to Sheng Tian and told Miss Qian he had come to discuss a deal.

Li Qing arranged for Qian Hong and the Maple Guard Department to secretly gather rare ores in exchange for divine weapons, then shared a farewell with Qian Hong before setting out to seek the Cultivation World. He left the Calamity-Breaking Spear at his master Gu Tianxing’s grave and departed the martial world.

• Li Qing offered Qian Hong two divine weapons as a deposit in return for the Maple Guard Department secretly collecting unusual ores, and explained that he planned to pursue traces of Immortal Cultivators.
• Li Qing gave Qian Hong the incomplete Earth Origin Art, and the two shared an intimate farewell before he left with the Calamity-Breaking Spear.
• Li Qing drank through the night with Ning Yuan, then bought a fast horse and rode east toward Little Cui Ridge.
• Li Qing visited his master Gu Tianxing’s grave outside ruined Wangyuan City, demonstrated the Calamity-Breaking Spear, and left it there for a fated person who would also tend the grave.
• Li Qing departed, ending his journey through the martial world.