Recaps

Li Xuan gained a Mysterious Aura after Xu Yan’s battle and went looking for another promising disciple. In Yunshan County, he met the bald youth Meng Chong, who was wanted for a huge bounty and began explaining his revenge against the Meng Family.

• Li Xuan gained Hundred Battles Experience from Xu Yan’s victory and received a Mysterious Aura because Xu Yan had made his name resound.
• Li Xuan decided to seek more disciples and considered inviting the current Heavenly Mother of the Tianmu Cult to Yunshan County.
• Li Xuan encountered Shi Er chasing the bald youth Meng Chong, a fugitive wanted by Wu Kingdom for ten thousand taels of gold.
• Meng Chong told Li Xuan that he was the Tian Ping Meng Family’s direct heir, and that his relatives had branded him a jinx, seized his inheritance, and driven him out.
• Meng Chong explained that he suspected the Meng Family elders had murdered his parents and that he had vowed to take revenge.

Li Xuan learned how Meng Chong’s attempt to assassinate the Wu Emperor had sparked copycat attacks across Wu Kingdom. The Wu Emperor stopped traveling, officials and householders grew wary of their servants, and the bounty on Meng Chong rose to one hundred thousand taels of gold.

• Meng Chong explained that he had attacked the Wu Emperor to take revenge on the Meng Family, which led to the family’s execution while he escaped.
• Shi Er revealed that a servant copied Meng Chong by attacking the Wu Emperor after suffering abuse at the hands of the Minister of Personnel’s household, and the Minister’s family was executed.
• A nephew of the Vice Minister of War imitated Meng Chong to avenge his mother, prompting another assassination attempt and the execution of the Vice Minister’s family.
• Copycat attacks and fears of servant revenge spread through Wu Kingdom, and the Wu Emperor stopped going on imperial tours.
• The Wu Emperor and his officials raised the bounty for Meng Chong to one hundred thousand taels of gold.

Li Xuan took Meng Chong as his new disciple and ordered the Tianmu Cult to bring Precious Medicines for his cultivation. Meanwhile, Xu Yan subdued the cult’s experts in Donghe Commandery City and warned his parents to flee to Yunshan County if danger arose before his trip to the Capital City.

• Meng Chong proposed repeatedly collecting Wu Kingdom bounties by having Shi Er escort him between county offices and then recapture him.
• Li Xuan recognized Meng Chong’s unconventional thinking as suitable for a disciple, accepted him, and asked Shi Er to bring Precious Medicines and summon the Tianmu Cult’s young girl.
• Xu Yan beat Kou Ruozhi and the other Tianmu Cult experts until they could use only thirty percent of their martial strength, then demanded that Kou Ruozhi prove he was fully convinced.
• Xu Yan left the commandery’s potential threats subdued, kept the Xu Family’s guards at full strength, and told his parents to hide in Yunshan County if circumstances changed before he went to the Capital City.

After learning that Xu Yan had effortlessly defeated ten thousand soldiers, the Qi Emperor feared the Xu Family’s power and chose to protect Guo Rongshan rather than provoke them. Guo Rongshan returned home convinced that the emperor had lost his mind.

• The Qi Emperor read the report of Xu Yan’s victory and realized that executing Guo Rongshan’s family could bring about the Qi Kingdom’s destruction.
• The Qi Emperor summoned Guo Rongshan and the Third Prince to the Imperial Ancestral Temple, where he made the prince take Guo Rongshan as his master.
• The Qi Emperor declared Guo Rongshan his sworn brother, hoping the family ties would persuade Xu Yan to spare him.
• The Qi Emperor offered Consort Yun to Guo Rongshan, but withdrew the offer when Guo Rongshan mentioned his fierce wife.
• Guo Rongshan returned home dazed and told Guo Yunkai that the Qi Emperor seemed to have a brain ailment.

Xu Yan arrived in the capital on crimson dragons after the Qi Emperor had elevated Guo Rongshan and Guo Yunkai and made the Third Prince Crown Prince. His arrival revealed the reason for the emperor’s seemingly absurd decisions, but his display of power and a Tianmu Cult uprising sent Qi Kingdom into turmoil.

• Guo Rongshan told Guo Yunkai about the Qi Emperor’s unexpected teacher-student bond and sworn brotherhood with him, leaving them both convinced the emperor had lost his senses.
• The Qi Emperor made Guo Rongshan King of Qi and Imperial Tutor, appointed Guo Yunkai to command the Divine Might Army, and named Prince Ming Crown Prince, while publicizing the Guo family as loyal sages.
• Xu Yan rode two crimson dragons into the capital and crashed one into the palace square, terrifying the officials and prompting Guo Rongshan to introduce him to the Qi Emperor as his sworn brother.
• Xu Yan questioned how the Qi Emperor could be his grandfather’s sworn brother while corrupt officials had confiscated the family home, and the Qi Emperor forced a kindly smile.
• Tianmu Cult followers tried to use Xu Yan’s arrival to start a rebellion, so the Qi Emperor sent the imperial guards to hunt them down.
• News reached the court that Xu Yan had defeated ten thousand soldiers of the Divine Might Army in Donghe Commandery, explaining why the Qi Emperor had acted to appease the Guo family.

Xu Yan’s strength transformed the Qi capital, while the Qi Emperor used Guo Rongshan’s reputation to bind the Guo family to the throne. Meanwhile, Li Xuan learned that the Endless Mountains lay near Yunshan County and wondered whether they held the answers to the world’s mysteries.

• Xu Yan’s display of power sparked a capital-wide craze for finding reclusive experts, and officials flocked to the Qi Prince’s residence.
• Guo Rongshan explained to Guo Yunkai that the Qi Emperor had used honors and public praise to make rebellion costly to the Guo family’s reputation.
• Guo Rongshan told Guo Yunkai to gather cultivation resources for Xu Yan while the imperial family searched for an expert who could challenge him.
• Li Xuan brought Meng Chong home, assigned him a guest room, and told him to cook chicken soup.
• Shi Er delivered two Nine-Leaf Spirit Ganoderma and three stalks of Thousand-Year Ginseng, then told Li Xuan that the Endless Mountains began two hundred li from Yunshan County.
• Li Xuan wondered whether the Fire Mane Wolf came from the Endless Mountains and whether the region concealed the true strength of the world.

Li Xuan gained a stronger mysterious aura after Shi Er reacted with awe to his words, then began devising a new physical cultivation method for Meng Chong. He finished drafting the Great Sun Golden Bell Shield and planned to teach it to Meng Chong the next day.

• Li Xuan dismissed Shi Er’s worries about the Endless Mountains, and Shi Er became even more respectful of him.
• A system message reported that Xu Yan had shocked the Capital City of Qi Kingdom, strengthening Li Xuan’s mysterious aura.
• Li Xuan told Meng Chong to prepare Nine-Leaf Spirit Ganoderma chicken soup and decided to create a cultivation method suited to Meng Chong’s powerful physique.
• Li Xuan designed Body Cultivation Martial Dao, including the Great Sun Golden Bell Shield, which combined Skin Tempering, Bone Refining, and Organ Refining.
• Li Xuan completed his draft of the Great Sun Golden Bell Shield and planned to teach Meng Chong to grasp its intent rather than follow its written form blindly.

Li Xuan taught Meng Chong the Great Sun Golden Bell Shield, urging him to comprehend its principles and begin cultivating. Meanwhile, the Yunshan County officials learned of Xu Yan’s power and turned their attention from rebellion toward pleasing Li Xuan and pursuing the martial path.

• Li Xuan burned his draft of the Great Sun Golden Bell Shield after checking the cultivation method he had prepared for Meng Chong.
• Li Xuan explained the martial path and taught Meng Chong the Great Sun Golden Bell Shield as a body-cultivation method suited to his physique.
• Meng Chong memorized the method and began practicing a horse stance while trying to sense his Vital Energy, as Li Xuan advised him to stay calm and take breaks.
• Li Xuan told Meng Chong to seek Shi Er if he needed anything and reminded him to use Precious Medicine when stewing chicken.
• At the Yunshan County Office, the county magistrate and others discussed Xu Yan’s victory over the Divine Might Army and their renewed desire to become martial artists.
• Shi Er proposed giving Li Xuan more Nine-Leaf Spirit Ganoderma and Thousand-Year Ginseng in hopes of earning his favor and guidance.

Li Xuan accepted gifts of Precious Medicine from the Tianmu Cult, while Xu Yan continued entering the Imperial Palace to temper his state of mind and gained a vague insight into the Innate Realm. The Qi Emperor punished the ministers for their suggestive looks after Xu Yan left the inner palace.

• The County Magistrate of Yunshan and Tianmu Cult experts brought Li Xuan gifts of Precious Medicine, which he accepted while warning himself not to let the cult misuse his name.
• Shi Er delivered a chicken to Meng Chong, and Li Xuan considered whether to take him on as a servant.
• The Qi Emperor seethed as Xu Yan repeatedly visited the inner palace, while Xu Yan believed the Qi Emperor was helping him cultivate by having the consorts dance.
• Xu Yan left the inner palace feeling his state of mind had improved and gained a vague insight into the cultivation method of the Innate Realm.
• The ministers gave Guo Rongshan strange looks after Xu Yan left, so the Qi Emperor ordered Guo Yunkai to have them all beaten with twenty strokes of the board.

The Qi Emperor blamed the First Prince for the trouble surrounding Xu Yan and ordered him beaten, while Xu Yan continued comprehending his cultivation technique. After gaining the Clear Mind State, Li Xuan watched Meng Chong discover a way to cultivate the Great Sun Golden Bell Shield, and Meng Chong began tempering his body from the outside in.

• The Qi Emperor ordered the First Prince to receive thirty strokes of the rod for losing his virtue, and the First Prince inwardly cursed his father.
• Xu Yan focused on comprehending the Innate Realm cultivation technique at the Prince of Qi's residence.
• Li Xuan gained the Clear Mind State after learning that Xu Yan had entered the Qi Emperor's harem to temper his state of mind.
• Meng Chong watched the sun, realized how to approach the Great Sun Golden Bell Shield, and began cultivating beneath it.
• Meng Chong used the sunlight to stir his qi and blood, tempered his bones and organs, and felt his body become as seamless as a great bell.

Meng Chong successfully began cultivating the Great Sun Golden Bell Shield after using the sun's heat to sense Vital Energy, while Li Xuan wondered whether sunlight was truly necessary. After Meng Chong explained his insight, Li Xuan challenged him to figure out how to cultivate at night or on cloudy days, leaving him reconsidering his understanding of the technique.

• Li Xuan watched Meng Chong strengthen his physique and sense Vital Energy while cultivating beneath the sun.
• Meng Chong completed three tempering cycles, then joined Li Xuan for a meal of chicken soup prepared by Shi Er.
• Li Xuan asked Meng Chong to explain how he had comprehended the Great Sun Golden Bell Shield, and Meng Chong described using the sun's heat to sense Vital Energy.
• Li Xuan asked how Meng Chong would cultivate without sunlight, prompting him to question his understanding of the technique.

Meng Chong struggled to cultivate the Great Sun Golden Bell Shield at night until he comprehended its intent and began strengthening his body. Li Xuan recognized his progress and planned the next stages of Meng Chong’s physical cultivation and martial techniques.

• Meng Chong tried cultivating at night but initially sensed only faint Vital Energy, prompting Li Xuan to wonder whether the method worked better in sunlight.
• Meng Chong reconsidered the meaning of the Great Sun and realized that its intent could exist within his heart even when the sun was not visible.
• Meng Chong’s heart and Vital Energy began resonating in a rhythmic cycle, and he comprehended the Great Sun Golden Bell Shield as his body formed a unified, bell-like whole.
• Li Xuan observed Meng Chong’s body growing stronger and decided his talent suited the physical-body path.
• Li Xuan planned to teach Meng Chong about Diamond Glazed Bone and prepare fist techniques, movement training, and later stages of the Body Cultivation Martial Dao.

As Xu Yan’s success sparked a commandery-wide search for reclusive masters, he visited the Qi Kingdom’s imperial treasury and claimed nearly all its treasures. The chief eunuch arranged to pack them up and secretly sent word to the Qi Emperor.

• Dandies and idle young men across Donghe Commandery searched the mountains for masters after seeing Xu Yan’s strength.
• Xu Yan found an extraordinary sword and a heavy, blood-patterned saber in the imperial treasury and took both.
• Xu Yan decided to take valuables and artworks that might suit his master, while excluding decorative stones he considered useless.
• Xu Yan insisted that the Qi Emperor had allowed him to take whatever he fancied, and the frightened chief eunuch agreed to empty the treasury.
• The chief eunuch ordered the treasures packed and sent someone to report the matter to the Qi Emperor.

Xu Yan emptied the Qi Emperor’s treasury, then left the Capital City for Donghe Commandery with carts of treasures. Back in Donghe, Xu Junhe arranged his local power and asked Kou Ruozhi to help search for experts.

• A eunuch told the Qi Emperor that Xu Yan had emptied the imperial treasury and taken the Nine-Leaf Spirit Ganoderma, so the Qi Emperor permitted him to take goods from the state treasury as well.
• Xu Yan returned to Guo Rongshan with two carts of treasures, discussed the Tianmu Cult and ordinary people learning his martial path, and prepared to leave for Donghe Commandery.
• Xu Yan cultivated in the Capital City and sensed that he was close to the peak of the Qi and Blood Realm and to comprehending the Innate Realm method.
• After Xu Yan left, the Qi Emperor ordered court officials to replenish the treasury with their own treasures.
• Xu Junhe discussed the vacant Prefect position with Jiang Pingshan and Kou Ruozhi, kept Jiang responsible for Donghe’s security, and appointed Kou as a strategist.
• Xu Junhe told Kou Ruozhi to watch for experts in Donghe Commandery, noting that the expert was in Yunshan County and should not be disturbed.

Xu Yan returned with treasures from the imperial palace and met his new junior disciple, Meng Chong. Li Xuan explained the differences between orthodox martial cultivation and Body Cultivation Martial Dao, then allowed Xu Yan to teach martial cultivation to his family.

• Xu Yan returned and presented Meng Chong with a broadsword and Li Xuan with treasures taken from the imperial palace treasury.
• Xu Yan told Li Xuan about Qi Emperor and Kou Ruozhi's attempt to make him Great Sage Heavenly Duke.
• Li Xuan explained that Xu Yan cultivated orthodox martial arts while Meng Chong followed Body Cultivation Martial Dao, whose supreme foundation was a Diamond Glazed Bone.
• Xu Yan and Meng Chong agreed to spar once Meng Chong entered the field, and Li Xuan said neither martial path was inherently stronger.
• Xu Yan asked to teach martial cultivation to his family, and Li Xuan gave him permission while warning that talent varied.

Xu Yan taught martial cultivation methods to his family and the Xu Family’s guards, then reached great completion in the Qi and Blood Realm while staying at the Prince of Qi’s residence. He fully comprehended the Innate Realm technique, leaving him ready to pursue the next breakthrough once his Qi and Blood reached completion.

• Xu Yan returned home to teach his parents and the Xu Family’s core guards martial cultivation methods, then traveled to the Capital City to teach his maternal relatives.
• Li Xuan made Shi Er his servant and taught him the Skin Tempering method, leaving him to find out whether he could sense Vital Energy and enter cultivation.
• Xu Yan stayed at the Prince of Qi’s residence and broke through to great completion in the Qi and Blood Realm, unleashing a hundred-zhang scarlet dragon of Vital Energy.
• The Qi Emperor, the princes, and the ministers reacted to Xu Yan’s breakthrough by urgently seeking martial experts and famous teachers.
• Xu Yan meditated after his breakthrough and fully understood how to cultivate the Innate Realm, including opening the Heaven and Earth Bridge and the Dantian Sea of Qi.

Li Xuan watched Meng Chong and Shi Er cultivate while Xu Yan advanced rapidly, then received the Innate Realm cultivation method through the golden finger when Xu Yan comprehended it. Li Xuan broke through into the Innate Realm and estimated that martial artists could live for centuries, with Innate experts living over a thousand years.

• Li Xuan judged Meng Chong's progress toward tempering Golden Bone and considered how to help him break through to Diamond Glazed Bone.
• Li Xuan observed that Shi Er had sensed Vital Energy but cultivated more slowly than Meng Chong and Xu Yan.
• Xu Yan reached great accomplishment in the Qi and Blood Realm, doubling Li Xuan's Vital Energy.
• Xu Yan comprehended the Innate Realm cultivation method, and the golden finger immediately advanced Li Xuan into the Innate Realm.
• Li Xuan opened his Heaven and Earth Bridge and Sea of Qi, condensed Innate True Qi, and transformed his body.
• Li Xuan estimated that Qi and Blood martial artists could live for centuries and that Innate experts could live for over a thousand years.

Li Xuan anticipated compiling a cultivation method beyond the Innate Realm, while Meng Chong tested the strength of his Copper Bone and found that even a Peak Jianghu Expert’s full-powered blade could not hurt him. Later, Li Xuan watched a fake white-bearded man sell martial arts manuals to wealthy young men in Yunshan County.

• Li Xuan decided to prepare a cultivation method for the realm beyond the Innate Realm and expected Xu Yan to reach the Innate Realm within two months.
• Meng Chong had Shi Er punch and slash his chest, demonstrating that his Copper Bone could withstand Shi Er’s full strength and break a steel blade.
• Meng Chong urged Shi Er to keep cultivating toward Diamond Glazed Bone, and Shi Er resumed his training.
• Li Xuan saw a fake white-bearded man sell a martial arts manual to a rich young master for one hundred taels, then approach another wealthy young man with the same pitch.

Li Xuan considered when to spread martial arts cultivation as wealthy young men searched the Endless Mountains for hidden experts. There, the injured Xue Wuxin entered the Border Wasteland, intending to grow stronger by draining its people, and began slaughtering a party that mistook him for a master.

• Li Xuan discovered that Tianmu Cult experts were posing as con men and selling martial arts manuals to wealthy young men in Yunshan County.
• Li Xuan decided to wait before spreading martial arts cultivation more widely, until he knew who could cross the martial arts threshold.
• A party of more than a hundred young nobles and guards searched the Endless Mountains for a hidden expert.
• Xue Wuxin fled from the Inner Domain into the Border Wasteland and planned to devour people’s Essence Blood to recover and advance his strength.
• The search party mistook the flying Xue Wuxin for a martial arts expert and begged him to accept them as disciples.
• Xue Wuxin attacked the kneeling party with thin strands of energy that pierced their hearts and drained their blood.

Xue Wuxin drained more than a hundred people in the Endless Mountains and fled, leaving their bodies behind. After Xu Yan inspected the corpses, he suspected an unknown demon creature and hurried back to ask his master what it was and whether he could hunt it.

• Xue Wuxin devoured the victims’ Essence Blood, then flew away to recover and plan his revenge.
• A group searching for a master found the shriveled corpses, recognized several prominent victims, and brought some bodies back to the Capital City.
• After hearing that the Minister of War’s son and the others had died, Guo Rongshan sent Xu Yan a flying-eagle message.
• Xu Yan returned to the Capital City and examined the corpses, ruling out the legendary Corpse Boar after finding no bite wounds or corpse poison.
• Xu Yan discovered a tiny puncture at a victim’s heart and suspected a blood-drinking demon creature, then left to ask his master about it.

Xue Wuxin slaughtered everyone at a relay station and planned to recover his strength through a citywide blood sacrifice, but Xu Yan arrived and confronted him. The two fought amid their mutual confusion about each other’s martial arts, and Xue Wuxin ended the chapter striking down at Xu Yan from above.

• Xue Wuxin killed the relay-station clerks, judged their Essence Blood impure, and resolved to sacrifice a city and raise Blood Disciples so he could return to the Inner Domain within ten years.
• Xu Yan rushed from Capital City toward Yunshan County, stopped at the relay station, and sensed danger when he found a clerk’s dried corpse.
• Xue Wuxin attacked Xu Yan with Blood Devouring Ghost Silk, but Xu Yan’s Dragon Subduing Palm destroyed it and sent Xue Wuxin evading through the air.
• Xu Yan and Xue Wuxin exchanged attacks, each puzzled by the other’s strength, as their battle reduced the relay station to ruins.
• Xue Wuxin used Blood Devouring Ghost Silk to hinder Xu Yan’s dragon-shaped palm attacks, then seized an opening and thrust his saber down at him from above.

Xu Yan nearly fell to Blood Wuxin’s saber but comprehended Shape-Shifting Evasion, then advanced the Dragon Subduing Palm to its second layer during their battle. Blood Wuxin escaped into the air and attacked from beyond Xu Yan’s reach, but his injuries and dwindling strength left him struggling to outlast Xu Yan.

• Xu Yan used a newly comprehended Shape-Shifting Evasion to dodge Blood Wuxin’s saber and counterattacked with the Dragon Subduing Palm.
• Xu Yan reached Great Completion in the Dragon Subduing Palm, then understood how to unleash its force with a burst of “fury” and broke through to the second layer.
• Xu Yan’s eighteen dragon-shaped palm forces repeatedly combined and exploded, battering Blood Wuxin and forcing him to defend.
• Blood Wuxin spread Blood Devouring Ghost Silk to distract Xu Yan and escape into the air, then attacked from a distance where Xu Yan could not pursue him effectively.
• Blood Wuxin tried to wear Xu Yan down with airborne saber attacks, but Xu Yan’s Vital Energy remained strong while Blood Wuxin’s injuries and exhaustion worsened.

Xu Yan gained new combat techniques while fighting Xue Wuxin, prompting Li Xuan to fly toward Donghe Commandery before returning to Yunshan County. Xue Wuxin reached the county seeking to restore his strength by devouring Meng Chong, but his first attack failed to pierce Meng Chong’s body.

• Xu Yan comprehended Shape-Shifting Evasion and advanced Dragon Subduing Palm during his battle with Xue Wuxin, while Xue Wuxin fled toward Yunshan County.
• Li Xuan received his disciple’s gains, flew to Donghe Commandery to check on the Xu Family, then returned to Yunshan County after finding no sign of danger there.
• Xue Wuxin arrived above Yunshan County, sensed Meng Chong’s vigorous blood vitality, and attacked him with Blood Devouring Ghost Silk.
• Meng Chong’s Copper Bone broke through its bottleneck amid the surge of Vital Energy, and he snapped the strand after it failed to pierce his heart.
• Xue Wuxin was shocked by Meng Chong’s resilience and launched two more strands of Blood Devouring Ghost Silk.

Li Xuan returned just in time to save Meng Chong from Xue Wuxin, an injured demonic martial artist who had fled from the Inner Domain. After learning about the Inner Domain and its martial ranks, Li Xuan killed Xue Wuxin and taught his disciples to leave no trace of hostile enemies.

• Xue Wuxin pierced Meng Chong's fists with Blood Devouring Ghost Silk, triggering Meng Chong's breakthrough to Golden Bone tempering, then launched a stronger attack at his chest.
• Li Xuan arrived and bound Xue Wuxin with a golden dragon, saving Meng Chong; Xu Yan soon returned and explained how he had fought Xue Wuxin after discovering blood-drained corpses at a relay station.
• Li Xuan recognized Xue Wuxin as a demonic cultivator and questioned him about his origins, while Xu Yan asked about the Inner Domain and its martial world.
• Xue Wuxin explained that martial artists came from the Inner Domain beyond the mountains and described its nine grades and Grandmaster Realm; Li Xuan concluded his own strength was comparable to or greater than a Grandmaster's.
• Li Xuan crushed Xue Wuxin and scattered his ashes, then advised Xu Yan and Meng Chong to erase every trace of hostile enemies to avoid future trouble.

Xu Yan and Meng Chong concluded that the Inner Domain followed a weaker False Martial Dao, while Li Xuan compared its cultivation system with his own and planned to expand his martial path. The chapter ended with Li Xuan finding Xue Wuxin’s cultivation manual and two Spiritual Qi-filled crystals.

• Xu Yan and Meng Chong interpreted Li Xuan’s advice and concluded that the Inner Domain cultivated the False Martial Dao.
• Li Xuan compared the Inner Domain’s grades and Grandmaster Realm with his own Qi and Blood and Innate Realms, then considered developing cultivation methods beyond the Innate Realm.
• Li Xuan explained that Xu Yan could use himself as a bridge to connect with heaven and earth, and Xu Yan realized he could pursue the Innate Realm despite the Border Wasteland’s lack of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy.
• After Li Xuan warned that Inner Domain Martial Artists might come to the Border Wasteland, Meng Chong resolved to enter the martial path, and Xu Yan asked to learn swordsmanship before returning to Donghe Commandery for his sword.
• Li Xuan planned to spread his martial path through the Border Wasteland and found Xue Wuxin’s cultivation manual and two Spirit Crystals in his bag.