Chapter Summaries

Qi Yuansheng tried to hold off a Tianshan Sword Sect Grandmaster while Qingyuan Sect disciples went to aid Yan Jinfeng and Ji Feng. In his room, Yang Chan ambushed an Internal Refinement Grandmaster who had come to kill him, wounding him with poisoned hidden weapons.

• Qi Yuansheng struggled to pin down the Tianshan Sword Sect Grandmaster and ordered the Qingyuan Sect disciples to support Ji Feng and the others.
• The Tianshan Sword Sect Grandmaster taunted Qi Yuansheng, claiming three Internal Refinement Grandmasters would kill Yan Jinfeng, Ji Feng, and the other Qingyuan Sect members.
• Yang Chan hid in his room as a black-clad Grandmaster searched for him and threatened to kill him alongside Yan Jinfeng and the others.
• Yang Chan spoke from hiding and attacked the black-clad man with sharp weapon-grade hidden weapons and Plum Blossom Sleeve Arrows.
• The black-clad man dodged the fatal blows but was injured, then recognized that Yang Chan's Sky Feather Sword Flower was poisoned.

Yang Chan killed a poisoned Tianshan Sword Sect Grandmaster who had attacked him in Qingyuan Pavilion, then burned the body and hid the evidence. With fighting erupting nearby, he moved toward the battle site to assess whether he could escape the White Jade Capital.

• The man in black tried to purge the poison from his body and threatened Yang Chan, believing the Bronze Skin Pharmacist could not challenge him.
• Yang Chan summoned the Flood Dragon Demon Martial Imprint, used Demon Subduing Sword Intent, and beheaded the poisoned man in black.
• Yang Chan searched the corpse cautiously, took its banknotes, and left its jewelry, sharp weapon, and Tianshan Sword Sect identity token behind.
• When fighting and fires broke out near Elder Yan, Yang Chan poured wine over the corpse and burned it to erase traces of his sword technique.
• Yang Chan hid the weapon and identity token in the neighboring room, gathered his hidden weapons, and moved toward the battle site to judge the situation.

Yang Chan secretly intervened in the battle at White Jade Capital, using poisoned hidden weapons to help Ji Feng gain the upper hand against a black-clad Internal Refinement Grandmaster. Ji Feng pressed his advantage as the wider threat to Qingyuan Sect and the precarious fate of Xuanqing Palace remained unresolved.

• Yang Chan moved through the darkness, shooting hidden weapons at black-clad men fighting Qingyuan Sect disciples before reaching the battle between the four Internal Refinement Grandmasters.
• Yang Chan judged that Ji Feng’s fight mattered more than Yan Jinfeng’s because defeating Ji Feng’s opponent would decide the battle.
• Yang Chan waited until Ji Feng forced the black-clad man to take a powerful blow, then struck him with poisoned hidden weapons.
• Yang Chan warned Ji Feng that the hidden weapons carried deadly poison and fled using the Stepping Wind Steps.
• Ji Feng unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks as the poisoned man weakened and bled, while the prospect of reinforcements remained uncertain.
• The narration described Xuanqing Palace’s declining strength and its search in White Jade Capital for allies to preserve its legacy.

Ji Feng and Yan Jinfeng defeated the black-clad attackers, then joined Qi Yuansheng to kill another powerful enemy. The attack on the Qingyuan Sect ended in failure, though the missing Yan Zhenfeng and the reason the plan went wrong remained unexplained.

• The poisoned man in black called for Yan Zhenfeng while Ji Feng pressed his attack, but no reinforcements arrived.
• Yan Jinfeng held off another Internal Refinement Grandmaster, and Ji Feng killed the poisoned man before helping Yan Jinfeng defeat his opponent.
• Ji Feng and Yan Jinfeng cleared out the remaining black-clad attackers, then went to support Qi Yuansheng.
• Ji Feng joined Qi Yuansheng against a powerful black-clad fighter, and together they overwhelmed and killed him.
• Yang Chan stayed with Xu Gaocen and the Qingyuan Sect disciples as the surviving attackers were defeated, while the attackers’ plan ended in failure.

Yang Chan and the Qingyuan Sect survivors dealt with the aftermath of the attack in Qingyuan Pavilion while suspecting other factions had also been targeted. They stayed put to treat their wounded and wait for information from undercover agents, leaving their next move undecided.

• Yang Chan watched the last Internal Refinement Grandmaster die as Qi Yuansheng and Ji Feng identified the dead attackers as members of the Tianshan Sword Sect and other factions.
• Yan Jinfeng and Ji Feng reasoned that the allied sects might also have been attacked, while Ji Feng doubted the alliance would help in a crisis.
• Qi Yuansheng decided the Qingyuan Sect should remain in Qingyuan Pavilion until their undercover agents sent information, and Yan Jinfeng ordered Yang Chan and Xu Gaocen to treat the wounded.
• Yang Chan and Xu Gaocen treated injured disciples and guest officials while other Qingyuan Sect disciples checked the pavilion and finished off surviving enemies.
• The inspection uncovered many severely wounded Qingyuan Sect disciples, and the survivors waited without further attacks as Qi Yuansheng and Ji Feng recovered.

After a night of violence in White Jade Capital, Yang Chan treated Qingyuan Sect’s injured disciples and tried to recover his strength while staying inconspicuous. The sect’s leaders prepared to leave the dangerous city, while Yang Chan continued his treatment work and cultivation routine.

• Yang Chan and Xu Gaocen treated the wounded through the night, but half of the severely injured disciples died, while Qingyuan Sect avoided losing any Internal Refinement Grandmasters or Pharmacists.
• Yang Chan returned to his residence to sleep, then invested all his Potential Points in Stepping Wind Steps so he could escape danger more easily.
• After two hours of rest, Yang Chan went back to treating the injured disciples, and learned that Elder Yan, Ji Feng, and Qi Yuansheng had left Qingyuan Pavilion to address the danger in White Jade Capital.
• Yang Chan ate a meal delivered from Qingyuan Pavilion, then continued examining the injured and using medicine to gain Potential Points.
• Ji Feng checked on the injured and told Yang Chan to let Xu Gaocen take over if he tired, while Yan Jinfeng and the others arranged for Qingyuan Sect to leave White Jade Capital.

The author recounted Tai Chi Health Cultivation Technique’s paid launch, its gradual subscription growth, and how writing from his hometown offered a quieter life than his former Beijing IT job. He planned to keep updating steadily while considering a move to Kunming after the new year.

• The editor told the author that Tai Chi Health Cultivation Technique would go premium with only five hours’ notice, and its first subscriptions came in far below his expectations.
• The author considered cutting the book but continued posting three times a day, and average subscriptions rose to 741 by the end of December.
• The author described leaving his IT job in Beijing and returning to his hometown, where writing gave him more peace and free time.
• Tai Chi Health Cultivation Technique received a Trendsetter recommendation, reached the bestseller list, and ended January with 1,349 average subscriptions.
• The author thanked readers, said he would continue steady updates, and planned to go to Kunming after the new year to consider finding a job.

Yang Chan learned that Elder Yan and Qi Yuansheng were leaving White Jade Capital while he and the other disciples had to stay behind amid the unrest. He planned to improve his Stepping Wind Steps and remain ready to flee as he waited for the danger in the imperial palace to pass.

• Yang Chan and Xu Gaocen learned that Elder Yan and Qi Yuansheng would leave overnight, while they and Elder Ji Feng would remain in White Jade Capital.
• Qi Yuansheng explained that eight Senior Alchemists had been killed and that taking the less powerful Yang Chan and the others on the journey could put them all at risk.
• Elder Ji Feng reassured Yang Chan and Xu Gaocen that the sects would support one another while the imperial palace remained under tight guard.
• Yang Chan decided not to reveal his cultivation and planned to invest Potential Points in Stepping Wind Steps so he could escape if the situation worsened.
• Yang Chan soaked in the Dragon Bone Medicinal Bath and considered whether the conflict in the imperial palace had ended, noting that some attackers had come from forces within White Jade Capital.

Yang Chan stayed vigilant in Qingyuan Pavilion as Tianyi Water Palace and Taiyi Sword Sect arrived to reinforce the alliance of the Three Great Sects. With the wounded recovering and the night passing without trouble, he continued caring for the disciples and accumulating Potential Points while waiting for White Jade Capital’s unrest to unfold.

• Yang Chan sensed Tianyi Water Palace and Taiyi Sword Sect arriving, and noted that the Three Great Sects had stationed themselves apart while arranging patrols near Qingyuan Pavilion.
• Yang Chan added his Potential Points to Stepping Wind Steps, set warning devices and traps around his room, and slept after a night of fighting elsewhere in the city caused no trouble nearby.
• Yang Chan relieved Xu Gaocen, checked the injured disciples, and found that they had survived the most dangerous period, though some would need a long recovery.
• Yang Chan continued examining the wounded and taking medicine to gain Potential Points while disciples from the other sects kept away from the pharmacy.
• Yang Chan prepared a Dragon Bone Medicinal Bath and ate lunch while soaking in it, making use of the time to accumulate more Potential Points.

After another attack on Qingyuan Pavilion was repelled, Yang Chan treated the wounded while preparing a plan to hide if White Jade Capital became unsafe. In the imperial palace, Old Emperor Yang Yu revealed that he had secretly thwarted the princes’ coup and ordered those who had tried to seize his throne killed.

• An unfamiliar force attacked Qingyuan Pavilion, but the Three Great Sects drove it off; Ji Feng worried that Elder Yan and Qi Yuansheng had not sent word.
• Yang Chan treated the lightly injured disciples and prepared to hide in White Jade Capital if the crisis worsened.
• Xu Lianhua asked Old Emperor Yang Yu how he would deal with the Crown Prince and the other princes who had launched a coup.
• Old Emperor Yang Yu explained that his agents had infiltrated the princes’ forces and helped him suppress the coup.
• Old Emperor Yang Yu ordered the rebellious princes killed, frightening Xu Lianhua with his murderous aura.

Old Emperor Yang Yu crushed the coup and ordered the punishment of its supporters, while Helian Guang reported that sect members and promising alchemists had died amid the chaos in White Jade Capital. Yang Yu decided to let the losses weaken the sects, blame the Crown Prince and his allies, and restrain any sect that protested too strongly.

• Xu Lianhua left Taihe Hall after Yang Yu ordered him to handle the coup’s aftermath, and Yang Yu secretly instructed someone to eliminate everyone who knew about the matter.
• Yang Yu regretted that the Crown Prince and the others had not waited for him to break through and undergo rebirth through blood exchange, but insisted that the throne belonged to him.
• Helian Guang entered Taihe Hall and reported that sect members, Senior Alchemists, and promising Pharmacists had died during the turmoil in White Jade Capital.
• Yang Yu revealed that Helian Guang had captured Peng Kang, and that an old eunuch had suppressed Crown Prince Yang Gan as the rebellion quickly collapsed.
• Yang Yu ordered Helian Guang to allow some sect losses, blame the deaths on the Crown Prince and his allies, and warn any protesting sects without pushing them too far.

Old Emperor Yang Yu instructed Helian Guang to contain the White Jade Capital crisis while using it to punish his enemies and strengthen imperial control. Helian Guang left Taihe Hall understanding the plan, but feeling the strain of serving within the Emperor’s cage.

• Helian Guang asked whether to pursue the sect members who escaped White Jade Capital, and Yang Yu ordered him to abandon the fugitives and kill the captured members.
• Yang Yu ordered Helian Guang to secretly arrest Xu Chuan if he tried to flee, blaming him for the failed Earth Origin Supreme Saint Pill refinement and claiming his possessions as compensation.
• Yang Yu explained that he needed to secure a Pillar-Supporting Martial Saint for the Great Zhou Dynasty before its aging protector died, while limiting the power of the sects and Alchemist Alliance.
• Yang Yu directed Helian Guang to secretly target aristocratic families aligned with the Crown Prince and other Imperial Princes, and to restore order in White Jade Capital within seven days.
• Helian Guang accepted the assignments and left Taihe Hall, wiping sweat from his forehead as he reflected on the pressure of serving the Old Emperor.

Yang Chan watched White Jade Capital’s forces attack Qingyuan Pavilion again, but the attackers withdrew before the battle became decisive. As the wounded were treated, he overheard Ji Feng and the others planning to recruit more sects into an alliance.

• Yang Chan sensed that the attackers had returned with six Internal Refinement Grandmasters and prepared to use concealed weapons and traps if the fighting turned deadly.
• Ji Feng’s side met the attack with six Grandmaster-level experts, and both sides fought cautiously before the attackers retreated.
• Yang Chan left his hiding place and helped Xu Gaocen treat the wounded, while each sect separately cared for its own disciples.
• Yang Chan overheard Ji Feng and the others debating which sects to recruit into an alliance against the growing threat.
• Xu Gaocen examined Ji Feng’s group and treated the Grandmasters’ minor injuries.

Yang Chan inspected the injured disciples, then returned to his room to take medicine, bathe, and strengthen his escape technique while waiting for news of the palace turmoil. He remained wary of the unstable situation in White Jade Capital and planned to rest before relieving Xu Gaocen.

• Yang Chan cultivated the Purple Qi Body Cultivation Technique before Xu Gaocen arrived to take over the ward watch.
• Yang Chan and Xu Gaocen inspected the injured disciples, found no serious problems, and Yang Chan returned to his room.
• Yang Chan soaked in a Dragon Bone Medicinal Bath, took medicine, and hoped the palace turmoil would end soon.
• Yang Chan wondered whether a third party was exploiting the conflict and decided to watch and wait because he could not safely investigate.
• Yang Chan added Potential Points to the Stepping Wind Steps, then dried off, changed clothes, and prepared to rest before relieving Xu Gaocen.

Yang Chan prepared fresh medicinal pastes, secured his room, and was summoned to the infirmary after Cai Kun’s condition worsened. Meanwhile, Ji Feng and the other sect leaders built a loose alliance of sects in White Jade Capital.

• Yang Chan applied Bear Gallbladder Skin Tempering Paste and Cold Fragrance Bone Nourishing Paste, set traps around his room, and went to sleep.
• Fanyin Battle Pavilion complained that Qingxuan Fanlou had refused to join the alliance, while Ji Feng noted that Qingyou Pavilion had agreed.
• Tianyi Water Palace reported that Suoyue Tower had also agreed to join, as more sects accepted the alliance and a few refusals formed their own group.
• Yang Chan heard that two disciples were critically injured and went to the infirmary after an Elite Disciple told him Cai Kun’s condition had worsened.
• Yang Chan recalled Cai Kun’s serious injuries and hurried to examine him.

Yang Chan treated Cai Kun and another gravely injured disciple whose wounds had been infected by dormant Jing Power, then kept watch at Qingyuan Pavilion through the night. A new, unusually brutal force attacked, and Yang Chan watched as the allied disciples rushed to defend the pavilion.

• Yang Chan treated Cai Kun's infected wound and gave him Qi Replenishing Body Nourishing Soup, while Xu Gaocen confirmed that only two disciples had the dangerous condition.
• Yang Chan and Xu Gaocen discussed the growing disorder in White Jade Capital and the likely involvement of several forces before Xu Gaocen left to rest.
• Yang Chan checked on the wounded and stayed awake to guard Qingyuan Pavilion, expecting another nighttime attack and worrying that Pharmacists would be targeted.
• After Yang Chan heard fighting erupt, he hid and observed a new force attack with unusually vicious, battlefield-like tactics.
• Disciples from the various sects rushed to support the defenders, and Yang Chan was glad Elder Ji Feng had recruited more forces.

Yang Chan used hidden traps to stop infiltrators from reaching the infirmary during a fierce battle, then helped Xu Gaocen treat the wounded until dawn. Ji Feng announced that the Old Emperor had retaken military authority and imprisoned the Crown Prince and other Imperial Princes, raising hopes that White Jade Capital would return to peace.

• Yang Chan set concealed ground spikes and animal traps along likely routes to the infirmary, injuring infiltrators and alerting the sects to the ambush.
• Ji Feng led Qingyuan Sect disciples to defend their infirmary and killed infiltrators while the sects fought off the black-clad attackers.
• After the black-clad men retreated, Yang Chan and Xu Gaocen treated the wounded through the night, prioritizing lightly injured disciples who could return to battle.
• Ji Feng told the disciples that the Old Emperor had reclaimed military authority and imprisoned the Crown Prince and other Imperial Princes.
• The Qingyuan Sect disciples wept with relief and looked forward to returning home.

Yang Chan learned that White Jade Capital would remain sealed while authorities hunted the remaining forces tied to the imperial princes, then went to rest with Xu Gaocen. In Taihe Palace, Old Emperor Yang Yu approved Helian Guang’s plan to reopen the capital in three days and keep the sects divided.

• Ji Feng told Yang Chan and the others that White Jade Capital would remain sealed until the remaining forces were captured and sent to the Heavenly Prison.
• Ji Feng said there was still no news from Yan Jinfeng or Qi Yuansheng, and Yang Chan decided to stay alert despite their silence.
• Yang Chan and Xu Gaocen excused themselves to eat, bathe, and rest after working through the night.
• Imperial Tutor Helian Guang reported that the capital would remain sealed for three more days while the authorities captured the remaining remnants.
• Old Emperor Yang Yu approved Helian Guang’s plan and ordered him to prevent the sects from uniting, while Six Gates patrols restored order in White Jade Capital.

Old Emperor Yang Yu ordered Helian Guang to publicly eliminate the remaining forces tied to the princes, then discussed the looming marriage alliance with the Golden Meng Empire. After Helian Guang left, Yang Yu weighed the external threat against his failed attempt to reach the Pillar-Supporting Martial Saint realm and placed his hopes on Lu Qianfan refining another Earth Origin Supreme Saint Pill.

• Old Emperor Yang Yu told Helian Guang to make a public show of arresting the remaining remnants, and Helian Guang agreed to finish the purge.
• Helian Guang warned Yang Yu that envoys from the Golden Meng Empire would arrive in two months to discuss a marriage alliance, but Yang Yu said he already had arrangements and ordered him to focus on the capital.
• After Helian Guang withdrew, Yang Yu reflected that the coup had disrupted his plans and that completing the marriage alliance could remove the external threat.
• Yang Yu recalled that his previous attempt to break through to the Pillar-Supporting Martial Saint realm had failed and had harmed his spirit and lifespan.
• Yang Yu decided he would need the Alchemist Alliance leader Lu Qianfan to refine another Earth Origin Supreme Saint Pill, since he no longer trusted Xu Chuan.

Yang Chan checked on the injured Qingyuan Sect disciples after waking to news that the imperial court had begun purging White Jade Capital’s powers. Cai Kun had survived, though another disciple had died, and the survivors had a few days to recover before leaving.

• Yang Chan heard that the imperial court had raided and exterminated some powers in White Jade Capital.
• Yang Chan found the injured disciples stable, and learned that Cai Kun had passed the critical stage while another disciple had died.
• Yang Chan told Cai Kun he was recovering and would likely be able to move around before they left, then stopped him from sitting up to thank him.
• Cai Kun recalled how Yang Chan’s treatment had restored his will to live and promised to thank him properly once he recovered.
• Yang Chan examined the other injured disciples to ensure their conditions remained stable.