Chapter Summaries

Li Qing used the Ancient Profound Hammer Technique to forge Ink Gold into the striking face of a massive hammer, earning three years of lifespan for creating the Fine Mortal Artifact Peerless Hammer. He discovered that forging it had also helped him reach Outer Strength, and he considered how his new strength might have qualified him for a Centurion’s post in the Wu Li Army, though he had no intention of returning.

• Li Qing reasoned that the Ancient Profound Hammer Technique was the key to forging Ink Gold and hammered the metal until it became malleable.
• Li Qing worked Ink Gold into the hammer’s striking face and completed the weapon, naming it the Peerless Hammer.
• Li Qing received a three-year lifespan reward for forging the Fine Mortal Artifact and saw that his remaining lifespan was 145 years.
• Li Qing lifted the 230-jin Peerless Hammer and realized his strength had increased enough for him to have entered the Outer Strength realm.
• Li Qing thought that his new realm might earn him a Centurion’s post in the Wu Li Army, but he had no intention of returning.

After a year of training in the Eternal Night World, Li Qing returned to Obsidian City as his food ran low and learned that the Yan family had driven Old Man An to desperation over his granddaughter. He refused to take An Xuan in but gave the pair his stored food, leaving them to wait and see whether the Yan family's pressure eased.

• Li Qing spent a year cultivating, advancing his Outer Strength and several techniques while the Turtle Breath Technique barely progressed.
• Old Man An arrived with his granddaughter, An Xuan, and asked Li Qing to take her in as a maid before he left the city to harvest Black Rye Mushrooms.
• Old Man An explained that Second Young Master Yan wanted An Xuan and had barred the family from doing business after Old Man An refused to send her to the Yan estate.
• Li Qing refused to keep An Xuan because he did not want to attract the Yan family's attention, and Old Man An started to leave with her.
• Li Qing stopped them and gave Old Man An the Black Rye Mushrooms he had stored, telling them to wait and see whether the Yan family's pressure passed.

Yan Gui'an arranged for the Righteous Gang to test Li Qing’s martial skills, while Li Qing discovered a gang thief searching his house and caught him. The captured thief begged for mercy as Li Qing held him by the neck.

• Yan Gui'an heard that Li Qing had defeated the Qi Family's Three Brothers and ordered Yan San to have the Righteous Gang test Li Qing’s strength.
• Uncle Jing judged that Li Qing was unlikely to have advanced far in martial arts and dismissed him as little threat.
• Li Qing heard quiet footsteps outside his courtyard and waited inside instead of returning to the Feng Kingdom.
• A thief sent by a gang leader entered Li Qing’s house, searched for food, and revealed that the gang wanted him to steal.
• Li Qing silently approached the thief and seized him by the back of the neck, leaving the man begging for mercy.

Li Qing questioned a thief named Wei Tian after catching him in his home, then went with him to confront the Righteous Gang’s leader, Tian Long. Tian Long said the break-in had not been his idea and named the Yan Family as the reason for the test.

• Li Qing caught Wei Tian and learned that Tian Long, leader of the Righteous Gang, had sent him to steal food.
• Wei Tian said he knew nothing about Li Qing’s past conflict with the gang and had never harmed anyone while stealing.
• Li Qing decided to meet Tian Long and made Wei Tian lead him to the Righteous Gang’s headquarters.
• Li Qing arrived armed with his Peerless Hammer and met Tian Long, who praised his Outer Strength.
• Tian Long told Li Qing that the Yan Family was behind the situation.

Li Qing met Tian Long, who revealed the Yan family’s strength and invited him to help overthrow them. Li Qing left undecided but became tempted by the Yan family’s medicinal wine recipes and martial arts collection.

• Tian Long admitted that he had sent Wei Tian to test Li Qing after the Yan family asked him to teach Li Qing a lesson.
• Tian Long asked Li Qing to join him in overthrowing the Yan family and promised to make him the Righteous Gang’s second-in-command.
• Tian Long said the Yan family had three Outer Strength experts and explained that its medicinal wine recipes once helped martial artists advance quickly.
• Li Qing grew interested in the medicinal wine and Yan family’s martial arts treasury, but asked for more time to decide.
• Li Qing left the Righteous Gang headquarters, and Tian Long noted that Li Qing’s Outer Strength talent was wasted in the current era.

Li Qing weighed the risks of joining Tian Long against the Yan family, then spent more than ten days training while waiting for the harvest to end. When the Righteous Gang sent Wei Tian to ask for his answer, Li Qing shared a plan and struck him to make their dispute public, leaving Old Man An worried about his safety.

• Li Qing considered the Yan family's strength and the Righteous Gang's motives before deciding he needed a cautious plan and time to improve his combat power.
• Li Qing stayed home for more than ten days to train with the Ancient Profound Hammer Technique as the black rye mushroom harvest ended.
• Wei Tian visited Li Qing to ask whether he had accepted the gang leader's proposal, and Li Qing told him his plan.
• Li Qing struck Wei Tian with a controlled Palm Strike, sending him through the courtyard gate, and Wei Tian fled while threatening him.
• News of the clash spread through the neighborhood, and Old Man An urged Li Qing to leave Obsidian City with him and his granddaughter.
• Li Qing refused to flee and told Old Man An that he knew what he was doing.

Tian Long and the Righteous Gang came to Li Qing’s home, where he secretly tested his strength against their leader before pretending to be defeated and bound. As the gang prepared to take Li Qing away, An Xuan and Old Man An tried to protect him, but Tian Long threatened them and left with his captive.

• Yan Gui'an heard that Li Qing had driven Wei Tian away and discussed the state of martial arts with Uncle Jing.
• Tian Long led the Righteous Gang to Li Qing’s courtyard, kicked down the gate, and challenged him to fight.
• Li Qing blocked Tian Long’s attacks, then quietly reminded him to conceal his true strength and pretended to be defeated.
• Wei Tian tied Li Qing up, but An Xuan rushed forward to stop the gang from taking him.
• Li Qing invoked the Yan family to curb the gang’s behavior, and Old Man An offered Black Rye Mushrooms to beg for Li Qing’s release.
• Tian Long refused, threatened Old Man An and An Xuan, and had the gang take Li Qing away.

Li Qing and Tian Long discussed how to draw the Yan family into a confrontation, and Tian Long revealed the Righteous Gang’s secret force of revenge-driven fighters. The chapter ended with Li Qing more confident that he, Tian Long, and the Seven Kill Squad could take on the Yan family.

• Li Qing was brought to the Righteous Gang’s headquarters and saw Tian Long reject a would-be recruit by slashing him, while the youth thanked him.
• Tian Long freed Li Qing and asked how to proceed against the Yan family, and Li Qing advised waiting for them to come asking for him.
• Li Qing warned Tian Long that they might face more Outer Strength experts than expected, and Tian Long said he had another source of strength.
• Tian Long summoned the Seven Kill Squad, revealing thirteen trained fighters whose hatred of the Yan family had driven them to seek revenge.
• Li Qing accepted Tian Long’s plan and judged that their combined forces had a strong chance of defeating the Yan family.

Li Qing waited in the Righteous Gang’s prison for the Yan family to make a move, confident that Second Young Master Yan would eventually try to rescue him. Yan San arrived with an offer of mushrooms, and Tian Long agreed to deliver Li Qing to the Yan estates, while Li Qing warned that the main event was still ahead.

• Li Qing rejected Tian Long’s suggestion to approach the Yan family and told him to wait, believing Second Young Master Yan wanted to rescue him after making him suffer.
• Yan San visited the Righteous Gang’s headquarters on Second Young Master Yan’s orders and asked about Li Qing.
• Tian Long threatened to turn Li Qing into a human stick, prompting Yan San to offer half a jin of Blood Jade Mushrooms, ten jin of White Meat Mushrooms, and fifty jin of Black Rye Mushrooms for him.
• Tian Long accepted the trade and said he would personally escort Li Qing to the Yan estates.
• Tian Long went to the prison with Wei Tian and told Li Qing that events had unfolded as predicted; Li Qing urged him to prepare tools to make him look near death.

Feng Xianglin struggled under the Yan family's increased demands as Tian Long brought the bound blacksmith Li Qing into the Yan estate to meet Second Young Master Yan Gui'an. Yan Gui'an received Tian Long with Jing Tai, one of the Yan family's Guest Elders, standing behind him.

• The Yan family raised its share of the tenant farmers' Black Rye Mushroom harvest from seventy percent to eighty percent, leaving Feng Xianglin worried about hunger and unable to resist.
• Feng Xianglin saw Tian Long and the Righteous Gang arrive at the Yan estate with Li Qing bound, while the Seven Kill Squad waited in concealed positions nearby.
• Tian Long demanded entry and asked Yan San whether the promised Blood Jade Mushrooms and White Meat Mushrooms were ready.
• Yan San assured Tian Long that the mushrooms were prepared and led him and his men inside the estate with Li Qing.
• Yan Gui'an greeted Tian Long, while Jing Tai stood behind the second young master and watched the visitors.

Li Qing and Tian Long sprang their ambush on Yan Gui'an and the Yan family, turning a planned deception into a sudden assault. As the Righteous Gang stormed the estate, Jing Tai lay near death and Yan Gui'an was held at knifepoint.

• Tian Long distracted Jing Tai while Zhao Kou and Wei Tian began untying Li Qing, whose concealed Peerless Hammer was revealed.
• Li Qing broke free and charged Jing Tai as Tian Long slashed him with the Golden Ring Saber.
• Wei Tian opened the Yan estate gates and signaled the Righteous Gang, whose fighters rushed the mansion.
• Li Qing crushed Jing Tai's forearm with the Peerless Hammer, leaving him gravely wounded.
• Two Yan family Guest Elders charged into the fight while a young boy held Yan Gui'an at knifepoint.

The Righteous Gang attacked the Yan estate, where Tian Long and Li Qing fought the Yan family's Guest Elders while Zhao Kou held Yan Gui'an hostage. As hidden assailants joined the battle, Yan Qitian used a worn Yellow Talisman Paper to protect himself from three Seven Kill Squad death warriors.

• Feng Xianglin arrived at the Yan estate for farm tools and cowered as the Righteous Gang attacked its guards.
• Tian Long demanded that Yan Xu and Mo Nan each cut off an arm to spare Yan Gui'an, but Yan Qitian ordered the Guest Elders to fight instead.
• Li Qing fought Yan Xu with his Peerless Hammer while Tian Long struggled against Mo Nan's powerful Internal Energy.
• Tian Long called out hidden allies, and more than ten figures emerged from the estate's shadows to join the battle.
• Three Seven Kill Squad death warriors charged Yan Qitian, who activated a worn Yellow Talisman Paper and stopped them with a Golden Light Barrier.

Li Qing and the Seven Kill Squad defeated the Yan family’s defenders, broke the patriarch’s Golden Light Barrier, and killed him. With the patriarch dead, the Yan family’s forces fled and Mo Nan ended his fight with Tian Long.

• Yan Xu overpowered Li Qing until five Seven Kill Squad dead soldiers attacked him, allowing Li Qing to smash Yan Xu’s shoulder and later kill him.
• Mo Nan held off Tian Long and the Seven Kill Squad with his Iron Cloth Technique while the Yan family patriarch relied on his Golden Light Barrier.
• Three dead soldiers shattered the barrier and killed Yan Qitian before Li Qing could question him about the talisman.
• Li Qing announced the patriarch’s death, and Zhao Kou killed Second Young Master Yan as the Yan family’s guards and thugs fled.
• Tian Long and Mo Nan stopped fighting, and the Yan family’s long-standing power in Obsidian City collapsed.

After the Yan family fell, Li Qing learned that they had repeatedly sent people and food to the mysterious Heavenly Measure Mountain. At a victory feast, Tian Long offered him the Righteous Gang’s second-in-command position, but Li Qing chose to remain a Guest Elder and keep his freedom.

• Tian Long ordered the Seven Kill Squad to find Yan Guifu, while Master Mo Nan’s plea to spare the Yan family’s women was rejected and screams soon came from the estate’s side chambers.
• Li Qing accepted the possibility that surviving Yan family members might seek revenge, then went to speak with the dying Jing Tai, who admitted he had chosen the three martial arts techniques given to Li Qing.
• Li Qing questioned Mo Nan about the golden light around Yan Qitian, and Mo Nan revealed that the Yan family had often sent people and food to Heavenly Measure Mountain.
• Tian Long ordered the Righteous Gang to claim the Yan estate, and Zhao Kou and Wei Tian replaced the Yan family’s plaque with the gang’s plaque.
• At the victory feast, Tian Long offered Li Qing the position of second-in-command, but Li Qing refused and asked to remain a Guest Elder.

After the Righteous Gang defeated the Yan family, Li Qing received two medicinal wine recipes and secured access to the gang’s martial arts treasury. Tian Long took control of Obsidian City and reduced the Black Rye Mushroom levy, winning the residents’ support.

• Wei Tian brought Tian Long the two medicinal wine recipes, which Tian Long gave to Li Qing.
• Li Qing examined the Five Poisons Blood Activating Wine and Tiger Bone Health Preserving Wine recipes and learned how difficult their ingredients and brewing would be to obtain.
• Tian Long promised to have the Righteous Gang gather the ingredients and let Li Qing study the Yan family’s martial arts manuals; Li Qing accepted a Guest Elder position but refused to become Second-in-Command.
• The Righteous Gang replaced the Yan family in Obsidian City, while Master Mo Nan also became a Guest Elder and Zhao Kou and Wei Tian received rewards.
• News of the Yan family’s destruction spread through the city, and Old Man An rejoiced that he could resume his old trade but worried that Li Qing might have died.
• Tian Long reduced the levy on Black Rye Mushroom harvests from seventy percent to sixty percent, prompting the residents to cheer for the Righteous Gang.

After the Righteous Gang took control of Obsidian City, Li Qing searched the Yan family's martial arts repository and found the time-consuming Golden Body Technique, which suited his long lifespan. He decided to leave the city, entrusting Tian Long with the care of the An family and urging him to remember the Seven Kill Squad's roots.

• Li Qing browsed the Yan family's martial arts collection, dismissed several techniques, and discovered the Golden Body Technique being used to prop up a shelf.
• Li Qing learned that the technique required decades to master and could only be cultivated after age sixteen, but took it because he had more than a hundred years to live.
• Li Qing told Tian Long he planned to travel and asked him to protect the old man and granddaughter of the An family.
• Li Qing urged Tian Long not to forget the Seven Kill Squad's contribution and to treat Obsidian City's people well.
• Tian Long promised to remember Li Qing's advice, ordered a portrait of him enshrined in the gang, and brought the An family under its protection.

Li Qing returned from the Eternal Night World to the war-torn Feng Kingdom border and headed for Wangyuan City, where he needed a way past the guards. When Golden Mountain Stockade bandits drove refugees toward their stronghold, Li Qing challenged them, apparently using the confrontation as an opportunity to enter the city.

• Li Qing returned to the Feng Kingdom and found himself on a battlefield littered with corpses after the Border Army had withdrawn.
• Li Qing recognized a Liang Kingdom flag and decided to leave the border region for Wangyuan City rather than risk staying near the war.
• Li Qing reached Wangyuan City but realized he could not easily enter without identification and might be mistaken for a spy.
• Golden Mountain Stockade bandits drove a group of refugees along the official road, claiming they were taking them to safety.
• Li Qing blocked the road and taunted the bandits until one charged at him with a whip.

Li Qing defeated the bandits from Golden Mountain Stockade and questioned them about how their stockade got supplies from Wangyuan City. When the bandits could not reveal how to enter the city, a beggar child offered to show Li Qing a way in.

• Li Qing used his Outer Strength to defeat the four bandits who were driving away refugees.
• Li Qing questioned a wounded bandit and learned that Golden Mountain Stockade got grain through contacts with a city guard, but the bandit did not know how they entered Wangyuan City.
• Li Qing killed the bandit and questioned the others, but none knew how to get into the city during wartime.
• A frail young man among the refugees told Li Qing that he knew a way into Wangyuan City.
• Li Qing offered the young man a horse in exchange for explaining how to enter the city.

Li Qing accepted Qi Kang’s offer to guide him into Wangyuan City and entered through a hidden fissure beneath the city wall. He and Qi Kang emerged inside the city, resealed the entrance, and set off toward its buildings.

• Qi Kang asked Li Qing to take him as a disciple and offered to serve him, while Li Qing gave the refugees three horses to divide among themselves.
• Li Qing rode toward Wangyuan City as Qi Kang explained that a hidden entrance had been sealed after people used it to avoid the entry tax.
• At night, Qi Kang led Li Qing to a narrow fissure where the city wall met the mountains and told him that a board and stone slab blocked the way inside.
• Li Qing used Outer Strength to lift the board and millstones, then climbed out of the fissure into Wangyuan City.
• Li Qing resealed the entrance, and he and Qi Kang headed toward the distant buildings.

Li Qing resupplied in Wangyuan City and learned that Sheng Tian, the imperial capital, was his best next destination for finding rare medicinal ingredients. After Qi Kang reported that the Wu Li Army was defending the city, Li Qing decided to leave the following day, while Qi Kang confessed he had mistaken him for a Liang Kingdom spy.

• Li Qing bought the few ingredients available at Hundred Herbs Hall and learned that Quanshan City and Sheng Tian were the best places to find more.
• Li Qing visited other medicine shops but found only one additional ingredient, strengthening his decision to travel to Sheng Tian.
• Qi Kang reported that the Wu Li Army had fought Liang Kingdom's forces and that residents could still leave through the western gate.
• Li Qing told Qi Kang they would leave Wangyuan City the next day, and Qi Kang admitted he had thought Li Qing was a Liang Kingdom spy.
• Li Qing told Qi Kang to buy two horses and said they would not stay in Wangyuan City any longer.