Chapter Summaries

Jiang Chen cured Cheng Le and gave the gathered alchemists the detoxification method, earning their friendship and receiving his promised spiritual medicines. As Zhou Mei'er escorted him out, she flirted with him and challenged his lukewarm assessment of her beauty.

• The alchemists agreed to owe Jiang Chen a favor for the detoxification method, and Jiang Chen invited them to become friends.
• Cheng He learned that Cheng Le had awakened, and Jiang Chen advised Cheng Le to rest, avoid using true qi, and take recovery pills for two months.
• Cheng He paid Jiang Chen with the promised Purple Blood Ginseng and other spiritual medicines, and Jiang Chen shared the detoxification method before leaving.
• Zhou Mei'er escorted Jiang Chen out and teased him about his looks, but Jiang Chen said she was only all right.
• Zhou Mei'er questioned Jiang Chen's assessment, and he explained that he had met several women just as beautiful as her.

Jiang Chen left Beihai Prefecture for the royal capital and encountered the Dark Nether in an eerily empty town. The assassins surrounded him to silence him while hunting someone who possessed the life-restoring Nether Fruit.

• Zhou Mei'er gave Jiang Chen the residence deed from Cheng He, then returned inside as Jiang Chen prepared to leave.
• Ling Li cautioned Jiang Chen to keep a low profile in the royal capital, and the two parted ways.
• Jiang Chen spent three days studying formations and alchemy before leaving the prefectural city for the royal capital at a leisurely pace.
• Jiang Chen entered a deserted town and was surrounded by dozens of Dark Nether experts, including two Martial Emperor Realm fighters.
• The Dark Nether leader threatened to kill Jiang Chen because he had stumbled upon their operation to seize the Nether Fruit, after the assassins had already killed the townspeople.

Jiang Chen confronted assassins from the Dark Nether, the organization that had once targeted Xu Dinghan for his Heaven Master Dao inheritance. After the Dark Nether reinforcements arrived, Jiang Chen revealed his Martial Emperor Realm, Eighth Level cultivation and slaughtered them, leaving no survivors.

• Jiang Chen recognized the Dark Nether and recalled Xu Dinghan's warning to hide the Heaven Master Dao inheritance.
• When the Dark Nether assassins ordered their Martial King Realm fighters to kill him, Jiang Chen cut down dozens with one strike of the Demonic Soul Blade.
• Jiang Chen used the Magic Dragon Hand to defeat and gravely wound two Martial Emperor Realm, First Level assassins.
• A Dark Nether leader at Martial Emperor Realm, Seventh Level arrived with six other powerful experts and dismissed the wounded assassins' warning about Jiang Chen.
• Jiang Chen revealed his Martial Emperor Realm, Eighth Level cultivation, shattered the leader's palm attack, and killed the Dark Nether experts in an instant.

Jiang Chen entered the town and discovered Dark Nether slaughtering its residents while searching for Guan Ze, a wounded survivor of the Guan Lineage carrying four Nether Fruits. After eating one fruit and recovering, Guan Ze fought the assassins but was overwhelmed by Ding Shao and knocked into a crater.

• Jiang Chen absorbed the blood qi of the Dark Nether assassins he had killed, collected their storage bags, and entered the town in concealment.
• Dark Nether assassins slaughtered the townspeople while searching for Guan Ze, the last survivor of the Guan Lineage, who carried four Nether Fruits.
• Guan Ze ate one Nether Fruit, rapidly healed his injuries, and regained his strength as the assassins found his hiding place.
• Guan Ze rejected Ding Shao's demand for the Nether Fruits and fought back when Ding Shao ordered the assassins to attack.
• Ding Shao struck Guan Ze and sent him crashing into a crater.

Jiang Chen intervened when Ding Shao was about to kill the badly wounded Guan Ze and seize his Nether Fruits. After revealing that he had killed the Netherworld group sent to ambush him, Jiang Chen prepared to eliminate Ding Shao and the remaining assassins.

• Ding Shao overwhelmed Guan Ze and tried to take the three Nether Fruits, but Guan Ze attempted to destroy them rather than let the Netherworld have them.
• Ding Shao knocked Guan Ze and the Nether Fruits aside, then launched a Sword Qi Slash to kill him.
• Jiang Chen emerged from hiding and shattered the Sword Qi Slash, saving Guan Ze.
• Jiang Chen mocked Ding Shao for the Netherworld's robbery and revealed that he had killed the assassins sent to ambush him.
• Ding Shao and the other Netherworld assassins reacted in disbelief, while Jiang Chen declared that he would kill them all.

Jiang Chen used his recovered Martial Emperor Realm, Eighth Level cultivation to defeat Dark Nether’s assassins and take two of Guan Ze’s Nether Fruits. After giving Guan Ze healing pills, Jiang Chen prepared to leave, but Guan Ze asked to follow him as a bodyguard and Jiang Chen refused.

• Jiang Chen revealed his cultivation and killed the Dark Nether assassins with Magic Wind Blade, while Ding Shao escaped.
• Jiang Chen pursued Ding Shao with Ghost Shadow Steps, pierced him with the Demonic Soul Blade, and killed him with a palm strike.
• Guan Ze told Jiang Chen that Dark Nether had destroyed his Lineage over the Nether Fruits and that he had three left.
• Jiang Chen took two Nether Fruits, gave Guan Ze two Grade Six Top-tier healing pills, and warned him to leave and keep the incident secret.
• Guan Ze asked to become Jiang Chen’s bodyguard, but Jiang Chen refused because Guan Ze was weaker and might bring Dark Nether trouble.

Jiang Chen accepted Guan Ze's three-hundred-thousand-year-old Earth Flame Lingzhi in exchange for protection until the Great Zhou Martial Competition ended. They settled in Pingfu City, where Jiang Chen began refining Lingzhi Earth Flame Pills to strengthen himself before the competition.

• Guan Ze offered Jiang Chen the Earth Flame Lingzhi to stay under his protection, and Jiang Chen agreed to let him follow as a masked guard for a little over a month.
• Guan Ze gave Jiang Chen the rare herb, and they traveled to Pingfu City while Dark Nether's surviving assassins vowed to track them down and reclaim the Nether Fruit.
• Jiang Chen rented a courtyard and told Guan Ze to recover there before they continued toward the royal capital.
• Guan Ze traded spiritual herbs with Jiang Chen for healing and cultivation pills.
• Jiang Chen began refining sixth-grade Lingzhi Earth Flame Pills with the Earth Flame Lingzhi, Purple Blood Ginseng, and spiritual energy extracted from spirit stones.

Jiang Chen refined hundreds of powerful Lingzhi Earth Flame Pills and used them to break through to the Martial Emperor Realm, Ninth Level. After helping Guan Ze advance as well, Jiang Chen prepared to travel to the Great Zhou Dynasty for the martial competition, where he planned to take revenge on Ye Yuntian and Liu Yun.

• Jiang Chen spent seven days refining more than five hundred Grade Six Top-tier Lingzhi Earth Flame Pills.
• Jiang Chen devoured more than one hundred and thirty pills and broke through to the Martial Emperor Realm, Ninth Level, causing damage to his room.
• Jiang Chen gave Guan Ze fifty Lingzhi Earth Flame Pills and explained their potency and ingredients.
• Guan Ze used the pills to break through to the Martial Emperor Realm, Third Level, and thanked Jiang Chen.
• Jiang Chen told Guan Ze to prepare to travel to the Great Zhou Dynasty for the martial competition and resolved to defeat Ye Yuntian and cripple Liu Yun.

Jiang Chen traveled toward the Great Zhou capital while hiding his true cultivation, as Dark Nether pursued clues about its dead assassins. Three hundred li from the capital, he encountered Leng Bailong's bandits extorting a merchant caravan, and the confrontation escalated when Leng Bailong demanded the caravan's women as well as its wealth.

• Jiang Chen kept his cultivation suppressed at Martial King Realm, Eighth Level, and continued traveling with Guan Ze, who served as his guard while receiving shelter.
• Dark Nether traced the deaths of Ding Shao and its other assassins to the town and headed toward the Great Zhou capital to search for the culprit and Nether Fruit.
• Jiang Chen and his companions neared the capital as the final stage of the Great Zhou Martial Competition drew crowds and travelers to the region.
• Leng Bailong's bandits surrounded a Luoji Merchant Guild caravan despite its having already paid a passage fee, and demanded all its wealth.
• The Luoji Merchant Guild's middle-aged leader refused to surrender goods worth two billion spirit stones, and Leng Bailong threatened to kill the caravan and take its women.

Leng Bailong’s bandits attacked the Luoji Merchant Guild caravan, seeking its wealth and women, while Jiang Chen decided to intervene. The guild suffered heavy losses, and Luo Zheng was left near death as a bandit charged to finish him.

• Luo Zheng recognized the captives as members of the Luoji Merchant Guild, including guild master’s daughter Luo Yuelan, but Leng Bailong ordered his bandits to attack and seize the women.
• The bandits and guild guards clashed, and the outnumbered guild suffered heavy casualties.
• Jiang Chen told Guan Ze to attack the bandits, judging them a scourge and their plunder worth claiming.
• Three Martial Emperor Realm bandits overwhelmed Luo Zheng, and one struck him hard enough to send him flying and seriously injure him.
• A bandit charged at Luo Zheng with his sword, while Luo Yuelan cried out for her Seventh Uncle and the guild members feared he would die.

Jiang Chen and Guan Ze intervened when Leng Bailong’s bandits attacked Luo Zheng and the Luoji Merchant Guild. Jiang Chen killed Leng Bailong in a single strike, leaving the bandits stunned as the battle continued.

• Guan Ze intercepted a bandit’s attack and saved the wounded Luo Zheng.
• Jiang Chen arrived, identified himself, and refused to back down when Leng Bailong challenged him.
• Leng Bailong sent three bandits to hold off Guan Ze and charged at Jiang Chen to capture him.
• Jiang Chen entered a demonic state and pierced Leng Bailong through with the Demonic Soul Blade.
• The bandits reacted in shock as Leng Bailong asked how Jiang Chen could be so powerful.

Jiang Chen and Guan Ze defeated the mountain bandits attacking the Luoji Merchant Guild caravan, then agreed to travel with the survivors to the royal capital. Luo Zheng warned that someone in the capital backed the bandits and might target them for their defeat.

• Jiang Chen killed Leng Bailong and three Martial Emperor Realm bandits, then routed the remaining attackers while Guan Ze killed more than twenty.
• Jiang Chen declined to pursue the fleeing bandits, and Luo Zheng and Luo Yuelan thanked him and Guan Ze for saving the caravan.
• Luo Yuelan praised Jiang Chen and asked about his plans for the Great Zhou Martial Competition, and Jiang Chen confirmed he was heading to the royal capital.
• Luo Zheng invited Jiang Chen and Guan Ze to accompany the weakened caravan, and Jiang Chen agreed to travel with them.
• Luo Zheng warned Jiang Chen that a powerful person in the royal capital supported the mountain bandits and could retaliate against them.

Jiang Chen and Guan Ze reached the Great Zhou Royal Capital with the Luoji Merchant Guild after defeating bandits protected by a powerful figure in the dynasty's army. Jiang Chen promised to deal with the bandits' backer if they retaliated, then entered the city as the Great Zhou Martial Competition approached.

• Jiang Chen learned that a powerful figure in the dynasty's army backed the bandits who had robbed the Luoji Merchant Guild.
• Jiang Chen promised Luo Zheng and Luo Yuelan that he would handle the bandits' backer if they targeted the guild.
• Jiang Chen, Guan Ze, Luo Zheng, and Luo Yuelan traveled without further trouble and reached the royal capital after a full day.
• Luo Zheng offered Jiang Chen and Guan Ze lodging and meals at the Luoji Merchant Guild, and Jiang Chen accepted while noting they might stay elsewhere.
• Jiang Chen and the others paid the entrance fees and entered the bustling Great Zhou Royal Capital, where the Great Zhou Martial Competition Finals were due to begin in just over twenty days.
• Luo Zheng warned Jiang Chen about trouble among the gathered forces, and Jiang Chen said he would handle any conflict himself.

Jiang Chen’s group was caught in a destructive fight between Xuanyang of Senluo Sect and Shui Yuanshuang of Ziyan Mansion, and Guan Ze blocked an attack before demanding an explanation. Jiang Chen refused Luo Zheng’s suggestion to let the matter go and stepped forward to confront them.

• Xuanyang and Shui Yuanshuang fought through the street, injuring and killing bystanders as they approached Jiang Chen’s group.
• Xuanyang’s Flying Star Earth Emperor Force swept toward the group, and Guan Ze broke it with his Wind Thunder Palm.
• Guan Ze rebuked the fighters for endangering people, prompting them to stop and reveal their identities as elders of Senluo Sect and Ziyan Mansion.
• Luo Zheng urged the group to avoid trouble with the powerful sects, but Jiang Chen insisted that the fighters owed them an explanation.
• Shui Yuanshuang challenged Guan Ze, and Jiang Chen identified himself as a disciple of Tianyun Sect in Beihai Prefecture and asked whether he was unqualified to demand an explanation.

Jiang Chen confronted Xuanyang and Shui Yuanshuang after they rejected his demand for apologies and compensation. He stepped forward to face them alone and shattered Xuanyang’s Heaven-Pounding Hand, leaving the crowd shocked and Xuanyang enraged.

• Jiang Chen demanded that Xuanyang and Shui Yuanshuang apologize and each pay one hundred million spirit stones.
• Xuanyang and Shui Yuanshuang agreed to join forces against Jiang Chen and his companions.
• Jiang Chen told Guan Ze to stand aside and faced the two Martial Emperor Realm experts alone.
• Xuanyang attacked Jiang Chen with the Heaven-Pounding Hand, a Fifth-tier High-grade Martial Skill.
• Jiang Chen shattered the Heaven-Pounding Hand with a slash of his blade and remained unharmed.
• Xuanyang flew into a rage after his attack failed to injure Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen overpowered Xuanyang and Shui Yuanshuang after they joined forces against him, then took both of their storage bags and warned them not to seek revenge. The City Guard arrived as the fight ended and challenged those present for fighting in the streets.

• Shui Yuanshuang urged Xuanyang to join forces against Jiang Chen, and they attacked him with their martial skills.
• Jiang Chen shattered both attacks with his fists and blasted Xuanyang and Shui Yuanshuang backward.
• Jiang Chen kicked Xuanyang far across the ground, then slapped Shui Yuanshuang and seized her storage bag.
• Jiang Chen beat Xuanyang again when he resisted and took his storage bag, then warned both opponents that he was sparing their lives for now.
• The City Guard arrived and its captain questioned the crowd about the forbidden street fight.

Jiang Chen paid off the City Guard after defeating Shui Yuanshuang and Xuanyang, then took their storage bags and left with Luo Zheng and Luo Yuelan for the Luoji Merchant Guild. He arrived at the guild’s courtyard, where Luo Yuelan called out to her father.

• Jiang Chen gave the City Guard captain a hundred million spirit stones and asked him to compensate the injured and handle the damage.
• Jiang Chen took Shui Yuanshuang and Xuanyang’s storage bags as punishment and warned them not to provoke him again.
• Luo Zheng and Luo Yuelan praised Jiang Chen, while Luo Zheng warned that Ziyan Mansion and Senluo Sect might retaliate.
• Jiang Chen said he welcomed their retaliation as an excuse to seize their wealth, then followed Luo Zheng toward the Luoji Merchant Guild.
• After half an hour, Jiang Chen arrived at the guild’s large courtyard, and Luo Yuelan called out to her father.

After returning to the royal capital, Jiang Chen and Guan Ze received a generous reward from Luo Fu for saving the Luoji Merchant Guild’s caravan. Jiang Chen left for his nearby house, promising to help if the guild faced trouble because of the mountain bandits.

• Luo Zheng told Luo Fu that mountain bandits had killed half the caravan’s people, but Jiang Chen and Guan Ze had saved the survivors and goods.
• Luo Zheng reported that Jiang Chen and Guan Ze had killed several Martial Emperor Realm bandit leaders and more than a hundred other bandits, though some had escaped.
• Luo Fu gave Jiang Chen and Guan Ze five hundred million spirit stones, which Guan Ze accepted at Jiang Chen’s direction.
• Luo Fu offered Jiang Chen a courtyard, but Jiang Chen explained that he already had a house two li away and promised to help the guild if his actions brought it trouble.
• Jiang Chen and Guan Ze departed, and Luo Fu began asking about them after they were gone.

Luo Fu and Luo Zheng decided to befriend Jiang Chen while preparing other safeguards for the Luoji Merchant Guild. Jiang Chen and Guan Ze reached the spacious royal-capital house Cheng He had provided, and Jiang Chen planned to rest there before exploring the city.

• Luo Fu sent Luo Yuelan away, and Luo Zheng told him how Jiang Chen had defeated bandits and two powerful sect elders.
• Luo Zheng advised Luo Fu to befriend Jiang Chen, and Luo Fu agreed while resolving to make additional preparations.
• Jiang Chen and Guan Ze arrived at the house listed on Jiang Chen's property deed and met its steward, Liu Ce.
• Liu Ce showed Jiang Chen and Guan Ze around the house, and Jiang Chen assigned Guan Ze a room and said they would explore the royal capital the next day.

Jiang Chen and Guan Ze visited the He Family Mansion so Jiang Chen could see He Yushi, whom he had not seen since people believed he had died. He Yushi happily welcomed him and revealed his survival to An Qingyue, who was surprised and curious about him.

• Jiang Chen and Guan Ze hired a beast carriage to travel to the He Family Mansion in the Royal Capital.
• Jiang Chen told the guards he was He Yushi’s friend and asked them to pass on his visit.
• He Yushi learned Jiang Chen was outside and told An Qingyue that he had survived after someone rescued him.
• He Yushi and An Qingyue went to the gates, where He Yushi greeted Jiang Chen warmly.
• An Qingyue sized up Jiang Chen and sensed that Guan Ze was too powerful for her to gauge.