Chapter Summaries

Ye Weiming learned why his martial arts trial score was high, then helped Niu Zhichun understand why Ke Zhen'e had excluded him from the Seven Veins Martial Arts Gathering. Niu received a summons from the Quanzhen Sect, while Ye Weiming left after teasing him about their future match.

• Han Xiaoying explained that Ye Weiming's trial performance contributed to his score and that harder challenges earned more points.
• Ye Weiming left Han Xiaoying's room and found Niu Zhichun complaining that Ke Zhen'e had denied him the mission.
• Niu Zhichun told Ye Weiming that Ke Zhen'e had refused to let him in and then thrown him out, despite his learning the Demon Subduing Staff Technique.
• Ye Weiming explained that Niu Zhichun was Qiu Chuji's disciple, so the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan likely mistook him for an agent of the man they opposed in their wager.
• A carrier pigeon delivered Niu Zhichun a summons, and Ye Weiming predicted he would face him in a martial arts match before leaving the courtyard.

Dong Liu explained that work and business travel had limited his writing time, but promised to maintain two daily updates and usually add one extra chapter. He then recommended three novels and ended by returning to writing.

• Dong Liu said business travel, interruptions, and fatigue had reduced his output and exhausted his saved chapters.
• Dong Liu promised to keep up two daily updates and generally maintain one extra chapter each day, while avoiding promises beyond that.
• Dong Liu recommended "Urban Shapeshifting Druid" by Yi Shangqiuzhe and described its orange-cat druid premise.
• Dong Liu recommended Fei Yu's magical steampunk novel "Alchemy Notes," about a transmigrated alchemist using an emerald slate to improve alchemy.
• Dong Liu recommended the fantasy online-game novel "Full Output Frenzy" and then said he was going back to writing.

Ye Weiming rushed into Poison Sand Mountain to farm points after discovering that its monsters did not respawn and that other players had already overtaken him. He cleared large groups alone and continued toward the stronghold, leaving nearby players to speculate about his plans.

• Ye Weiming found that Poison Sand Mountain was a one-time dungeon map and that six players had passed him on the points leaderboard.
• Ye Weiming ignored party invitations and charged uphill, gathering monsters before killing them with a series of area attacks and finishing moves.
• Ye Weiming calculated that ordinary underlings gave 7 points and elite monsters gave 70, then continued toward the summit without stopping.
• Players from a nearby party watched Ye Weiming’s progress and wondered whether he intended to reach Li Biao, before deciding to focus on their own monster hunting.

Ye Weiming reached Poison Sand Stronghold and found five players already fighting Li Biao. He activated Tai Shan's Secret and asked them to keep Li Biao occupied while he prepared an ultimate move to steal the boss kill.

• Ye Weiming rushed to Poison Sand Stronghold, intent on killing Li Biao for the mission's presumed massive point reward.
• Ye Weiming found the stronghold gates open and a cleared path leading to the Hall of Brotherhood.
• Ye Weiming saw five skilled players had reduced Li Biao's health to less than half while fighting him together.
• Ye Weiming activated Tai Shan's Secret on Li Biao and told the five players to hold him off for about a minute while he prepared a supposedly lethal attack.

Ye Weiming waited for Tai Shan's Secret to activate, then charged into the Hall of Brotherhood and attacked Li Biao while the five players continued fighting the boss. After crippling Li Biao and leaving him nearly dead, Ye Weiming landed the finishing blow, and everyone waited to learn who the system would credit with the kill.

• Ye Weiming avoided attacking the five players first because he feared losing his quest rewards and tournament qualification.
• A Mount Hua Sect player recognized Ye Weiming's provocation and convinced the team to ignore him and focus on Li Biao.
• After Tai Shan's Secret activated, Ye Weiming rushed in and struck Li Biao with Wandering the World, then countered Poison Sand Palm and crippled Li Biao's arm.
• A female Mount Hua Sect player evaded Ye Weiming's reach and struck Li Biao with Ning's One Sword, while the team continued attacking the boss.
• Ye Weiming plunged his sword into Li Biao's Baihui Acupoint for a critical hit that killed him, and the players waited for the system to announce the killer.

After Li Biao's defeat, Ye Weiming discovered that the rewards were shared according to each player's contribution and collected a gold outfit and a strange waist token. Green Lamp Ghost Fire invited him to team up for more points, but Ye Weiming refused and left the Hall of Brotherhood.

• Ye Weiming checked the point rankings and realized everyone who had helped attack Li Biao received points, even though he had not received credit for the kill.
• Ye Weiming looted Li Biao's body and obtained King of the Mountain's New Clothes and a waist token marked for Yingu County Zhou Ji Tea House.
• Ye Weiming stepped aside so the five other players could loot Li Biao, and they also obtained strange tokens.
• Green Lamp Ghost Fire showed Ye Weiming an identical token and invited him to join the team to collect more points.
• Ye Weiming declined Green Lamp Ghost Fire's invitation and left the Hall of Brotherhood.

Ye Weiming searched the bandit stronghold, found pills that increased his internal energy limit, and followed a clue to Yingu County. There, he discovered a dead snake catcher and began investigating the strange deaths troubling the residents.

• Green Lamp Ghost Fire invited Ye Weiming to join his party, but Ye Weiming refused because he still aimed to win the championship.
• Ye Weiming explored the stronghold and found a Snake Room, where he acquired ten Snake Gallbladder Pills and increased his Internal Energy Limit by 500.
• Ye Weiming returned to the Hall of Gathering Righteousness, collected Li Biao's corpse, and obtained Palm Technique Insights and Medical Arts Insights.
• Ye Weiming used the waist token as a reason to investigate Yingu County, arriving at dusk and noticing the residents' grief and fear.
• Ye Weiming followed the townspeople's movements to a secluded alley, changed out of his official robe, and learned that the dead old man was a snake catcher surnamed Qin.

After learning that corrupt County Magistrate Li Kulou had driven Old Qin to his death and abducted Miss Qin, Ye Weiming decided to confront him openly. As Ye Weiming headed for the county yamen, the party watching from Zhouji Teahouse saw him attack and the city patrol guards arrive.

• Ye Weiming learned that Li Kulou had extorted snakes from Old Qin, seized Miss Qin, and beaten Old Qin until he died.
• Ye Weiming questioned bystanders, collected Old Qin's body, and received Snake-Catching Insights ×1.
• Ye Weiming put on official robes and declared that he would bring Li Kulou to justice.
• Green Lamp Ghost Fire predicted Ye Weiming would scout the county yamen and wait until nightfall, but the Shaolin Sect player saw him attack the yamen and the city patrol guards appear.

Ye Weiming used the Imperial Sword’s authority to surround the county yamen and entered alone to confront its corrupt magistrate. Inside, he discovered Qin Nanqin bound and in danger, leaving him to face the magistrate and rescue her.

• Ye Weiming ordered the city patrol guards to surround the county yamen while he dealt with the magistrate inside.
• Green Lamp Ghost Fire persuaded his teammates to wait, expecting the guards to withdraw if Ye Weiming failed or the mission to be over if he succeeded.
• Ye Weiming knocked out the yamen staff without killing them and made his way to the rear courtyard.
• Ye Weiming heard the magistrate threaten Qin Nanqin, who refused to submit to him.
• Ye Weiming kicked open the room and found Qin Nanqin bound; she recognized him and begged him to save her.

Ye Weiming disguised his rescue of Qin Nanqin as an imperial execution, but Li Kulou saw through the ruse and attacked him. As Li Kulou used an antidote to recover from their clash, Qin Nanqin handed Ye Weiming another antidote, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Qin Nanqin called for Ye Weiming, so he accused her of plotting to assassinate the Emperor and pretended to execute her with the Imperial Sword.
• Ye Weiming cut Qin Nanqin's bonds, prompting Li Kulou to realize the constable was rescuing her and launch a surprise Poison Sand Palm attack.
• Ye Weiming countered with Hidden Dragon, Do Not Act, damaging Li Kulou and reflecting some of the poison back onto him.
• Li Kulou retreated into the courtyard and took an antidote, rapidly recovering from the poison.
• Qin Nanqin gave Ye Weiming a medicine bottle and said it contained an antidote.

Ye Weiming and Qin Nanqin fought Li Kulou, who was revealed as the real Li Biao, while their poisons weakened both sides. The battle turned in Ye Weiming’s favor when Li Biao began suffering from Soul Severing Paste.

• Qin Nanqin gave Ye Weiming a snake venom antidote that partially restored his attributes and explained how it could counter Poison Sand Palm.
• Li Kulou attacked again, and Ye Weiming protected Qin Nanqin while identifying him as the real Li Biao through the waist token and his mastery of Poison Sand Palm.
• Li Biao admitted his identity, destroyed the token, and intensified his assault on Ye Weiming.
• After their poisoned attributes worsened in a clash, Ye Weiming revealed a bloodstained steel needle and said he had poisoned Li Biao with Soul Severing Paste.

Ye Weiming killed Li Biao and claimed his loot, including the Heavenly Kui Jade Ring, before escorting Qin Nanqin home and burying Old Man Qin. Qin Nanqin rewarded him with the All Snake Banquet recipe.

• Ye Weiming used a poison needle to weaken Li Biao, then killed the level 65 BOSS and earned 100,000 event points.
• Ye Weiming looted Li Biao's corpse and equipped the Heavenly Kui Jade Ring for its cultivation and NPC favorability bonuses.
• Ye Weiming placed Li Biao's body in a Yellow Birch Coffin to preserve Qin Nanqin's gratitude, gaining three insight manuals.
• Ye Weiming escorted Qin Nanqin home, buried Old Man Qin, and earned her trust as she began calling him Brother Ye.
• Qin Nanqin gave Ye Weiming the All Snake Banquet recipe as thanks for saving her.

Ye Weiming collected Qin Nanqin’s cookbook and a strangely marked letter before discovering that other players had burned Poison Sand Stronghold to the ground. He used the fire to study several manuals, dispose of both Li Biaos’ corpses without losing Chivalry Points, and headed away to await the Seven Veins Martial Arts Gathering quest’s end.

• Qin Nanqin gave Ye Weiming an extensive cookbook, then kissed the letter documenting his help and returned it to him as extra insurance.
• Ye Weiming hurried to Poison Sand Mountain but found Poison Sand Stronghold engulfed in flames, with its buildings and inhabitants apparently destroyed.
• Ye Weiming studied the fake Li Biao’s Medical Arts Insights and raised Medical Arts to Level 6.
• Ye Weiming studied the real Li Biao’s Poison Arts Insights, raising Poison Arts to Level 7 and greatly increasing his poison resistance.
• Ye Weiming read Qin Nanqin’s cookbook and raised his Cooking to Level 5, then burned both Li Biaos’ corpses without losing Chivalry Points.
• Ye Weiming left the mountain and looked forward to retrieving his Green Bamboo Staff and discovering the Level 10 secret of Moon Maiden Swordplay.

Ye Weiming received the Green Bamboo Staff from Han Xiaoying and learned he had qualified for the Misty Rain Tower tournament, but postponed investigating the staff’s secret after Sanyue reported progress on the Guild Founding Token auction. He consigned the token to Shen Wansan, who then offered him the quest “Treasure Gathering Basin.”

• Han Xiaoying gave Ye Weiming the Green Bamboo Staff, reset his quest points, and told him he had to attend the Misty Rain Tower tournament.
• Ye Weiming declined to activate the staff’s hidden state in public and learned Wang Yan had also qualified for the tournament and wanted to cooperate.
• Sanyue told Ye Weiming that Wansan Auction House would promote the Guild Founding Token auction, so Ye Weiming hurried to meet its owner, Shen Wansan.
• Shen Wansan offered to promote the token auction for a five percent fee, and Ye Weiming completed the consignment procedures.
• Shen Wansan asked whether Ye Weiming knew how Guild Founding Tokens were obtained, then issued him the quest “Treasure Gathering Basin.”

Ye Weiming accepted Shen Wansan’s quest to obtain or auction Guild Founding Tokens in exchange for a use of the Treasure Gathering Basin, whose expensive upgrades could improve equipment. After leaving Wansan Auction House, Ye Weiming headed back to the Divine Constable Bureau to consult Venerable Huang or Commander You Jin and study the Poison Sand Palm manual.

• Shen Wansan offered Ye Weiming a five-star quest that rewarded a use of the Treasure Gathering Basin for finding a Guild Founding Token or auctioning three tokens.
• Shen Wansan showed Ye Weiming the basin’s abilities: it upgraded equipment to Gold or Treasure grade at a cost of 1,000 or 10,000 gold.
• Sanyue criticized the Treasure Gathering Basin’s high prices, while Ye Weiming asked Shen Wansan about the quest deadline, failure conditions, and whether he could save the reward for later.
• Ye Weiming accepted the quest after Shen Wansan confirmed it had to be completed before anyone else obtained a Guild Founding Token and that its reward could be kept indefinitely.
• Ye Weiming told Sanyue he valued the basin’s ability to improve personally significant equipment, then set off for the Divine Constable Bureau to seek martial arts advice and study the Poison Sand Palm manual.

Ye Weiming asked Venerable Huang whether he should cultivate the Poison Sand Palm, but Huang advised him to give it to Sanyue instead. Huang also explained the unique benefits of being first to perfect a martial art, prompting Ye Weiming to spend his cultivation points and raise Eight-Step Toad Leap to Level 10.

• Ye Weiming presented the Poison Sand Palm manual to Venerable Huang for advice.
• Venerable Huang discouraged Ye Weiming from cultivating poison arts and suggested that Sanyue use Poison Sand Palm alongside Heart Shattering Palm.
• Ye Weiming accepted Huang's reasoning that poison arts would not lower Sanyue's already limited martial arts potential in the same way they could hinder his own.
• Venerable Huang told Ye Weiming that the first person to perfect a martial art gained a stronger Max Level effect than later cultivators.
• Ye Weiming returned to his apartment and used his cultivation points to raise Eight-Step Toad Leap from Level 9 to Level 10.

Ye Weiming entered the Green Bamboo Secret Realm and fought his way through increasingly powerful monkeys, whose swordsmanship resembled Moon Maiden Swordplay. After defeating nine of them, he faced the Red-buttocked Monkey and discovered that the first-tier boss was far more formidable than its appearance suggested.

• Ye Weiming perfected Eight-Step Toad Leap and used Palm Technique Insights to raise Tai Shan's Secret by a level through Cross-Discipline Comprehension.
• Ye Weiming activated the Green Bamboo Staff and entered the Green Bamboo Secret Realm, confirming his attributes, techniques, and equipment remained unchanged.
• Ye Weiming defeated the monkeys that appeared every ten steps, discovering that each one was four levels stronger than the last and that their swordsmanship echoed Moon Maiden Swordplay.
• After Ye Weiming defeated nine monkeys, the level 40 Red-buttocked Monkey appeared as the secret realm's first gatekeeping boss.
• Ye Weiming exchanged the All Things Born salute with the Red-buttocked Monkey, then was surprised by how difficult its attack was to handle.

Ye Weiming defeated the first-stage guardian of the Green Bamboo Secret Realm and improved his Moon Maiden Swordplay, but learned he could not enter the next stage until he trained it further. After leveling up and preparing to grind before the Guild Founding Token auction, he received Yin Bukui’s invitation to a Wudang Sect quest.

• Ye Weiming fought the Red-buttocked Monkey with several sword styles before defeating it with his superior attributes and clearing the first-stage trial.
• The trial increased Ye Weiming’s Reaction and raised Moon Maiden Swordplay’s grade, while the Green Bamboo Staff revealed that he needed to reach level 10 in the art to challenge the next stage.
• Ye Weiming gave Sanyue the Poison Sand Palm and Ghostly Gloves, then trained until he reached level 38.
• Yin Bukui invited Ye Weiming to join a Wudang Sect quest that offered high-level martial arts rewards, explaining that the Grand Master wanted him along because he had found the Black Jade Bone-Setting Paste.

Ye Weiming and Yin Bukui accepted Zhang Sanfeng’s quest to find a physician for Yu Daiyan, with an advanced Wudang martial art as the reward. Ye Weiming explained why the quest included a severe penalty, then asked Yin Bukui about Guo Xiang’s other admirer.

• Zhang Sanfeng asked Ye Weiming and Yin Bukui to find a renowned physician to treat Yu Daiyan and offered an advanced Wudang martial art as the reward.
• Ye Weiming and Yin Bukui accepted the seven-star quest despite its penalty of being hunted by Zhang Sanfeng for three days if they failed.
• Ye Weiming explained that the quest’s risk balanced its valuable reward and that Zhang Sanfeng had combined the rewards for the medicine and finding a physician.
• Ye Weiming urged Yin Bukui to find the best physician, then asked who Guo Xiang’s other admirer was.
• Yin Bukui told Ye Weiming to watch his words, and Ye Weiming misunderstood the phrase as a possible name.

Ye Weiming and Yin Bukui sought Ping Yizhi’s help treating their Third Martial Uncle and accepted his rule that they must kill someone in exchange. Ping Yizhi randomly chose Tian Boguang as their target, leaving them with a difficult assignment they could not change.

• Yin Bukui explained that Ping Yizhi required patients to kill a target, and Ye Weiming rejected his plan to murder Ping Yizhi’s mother-in-law’s family.
• Ye Weiming reassured Yin Bukui that he could call on powerful friends if their target proved too difficult.
• Ye Weiming and Yin Bukui visited Ping Yizhi’s clinic in Bianjing City and asked for his help.
• Ping Yizhi randomly selected Tian Boguang as the man they had to kill.
• Yin Bukui asked to change the target, but Ping Yizhi refused because his rules did not allow it.