Chapter Summaries

After hearing of a Water Ghost terrorizing fishing villages, Lu Sheng bought a strange green stone from Hu Laoda and watched it melt into green smoke in his hand. On the carriage ride home, he learned that a traveling daoist had destroyed the Water Ghost in the same way, leaving him to suspect the stone was connected to it.

• Lu Sheng visited Osmanthus Fragrance Workshop with Xiao Qiao, ate and drank while listening to a song, and noticed Zhou Que eyeing the young singer.
• Hu Laoda told the winehouse patrons that a Water Ghost had attacked fishing villages near Suiyang Lake and showed them a green stone he claimed it had left behind.
• Lu Sheng bought the stone from Hu Laoda for one tael of silver and watched it melt into dark-green slime that screamed, burst into smoke, and became an ordinary cobblestone.
• As Lu Sheng and Xiao Qiao rode home, city-gate officers said a traveling daoist had destroyed the Water Ghost with golden light, causing it to turn into green slime and vanish in smoke.

Lu Sheng returned to the Lu Estate and learned that Xu Daoran had been killed along with the entire Xu Family in a mysterious massacre. After his blood touched the strange pebble, a blue interface called the Deep Blue Skill Cheat appeared before him, listing his martial arts as none.

• Lu Sheng greeted Xu Daoran and Lu Yiyi at the Lu Estate, where Xu Daoran said he had recently killed a supposed Water Ghost case suspect and urged Lu Sheng to enter officialdom.
• The next morning, Xiao Qiao told Lu Sheng that the Xu Family had been wiped out, and Lu Sheng traveled with Lu Fang to see their bodies outside Nine Links City.
• Lu Sheng learned that the Xu Family members had been hanged with water weeds and that even the formidable Red Ridge Taoist had been killed.
• Lu Sheng tried to discard the scorching pebble, then picked it up again and cut his finger on Blade Grass, letting his blood fall onto it.
• A blue Deep Blue Skill Cheat interface appeared to Lu Sheng, showing his name and that he had no martial arts.

After the Xu Family was massacred, Lu Sheng investigated accounts of strange events in Nine Links City and decided to learn martial arts to protect himself. Zhao Dahu agreed to teach him and revealed his Black Tiger Saber Technique booklet.

• Lu Sheng told Head Constable Zhao about his conversation with Xu Daoran and learned that no Xu Family members had survived.
• Lu Quan'an canceled the Lu Family's engagement with the Xu Family, while the household fell into panic.
• Lu Sheng read local records describing mysterious deaths and supernatural events, concluding that the world held dangers beyond ordinary explanation.
• Lu Sheng sought out Zhao Dahu and asked to learn martial arts.
• Zhao Dahu warned Lu Sheng that martial arts could not defeat uncanny forces, then showed him the Black Tiger Saber Technique booklet.

Lu Sheng tested the Deep Blue Skill Modifier on the Black Tiger Saber Technique and unexpectedly raised it to a fourth layer, gaining complete mastery at the cost of severely depleting his qi and blood. After his family’s physician confirmed he would recover with rest, Lu Sheng was left to recuperate under his family’s care.

• Zhao Dahu lent Lu Sheng the Black Tiger Saber booklet and told him to study it and return it.
• Lu Sheng activated the Deep Blue Modifier and raised the Black Tiger Saber Technique from Not Initiated through its first three layers to a previously unknown fourth layer.
• The sudden advancement caused Lu Sheng severe pain, weakness, and a nosebleed, so he asked Xiao Qiao for nourishing porridge.
• Lu Sheng realized he had gained deep knowledge and practical understanding of the saber technique, including unfamiliar principles behind its fourth layer.
• Xiao Qiao brought porridge and summoned the Lu Estate physician, who diagnosed depleted qi and blood and prescribed ten days of tonic medicine.
• Lu Fang and Lu Quan'an arrived with Lu Sheng’s Second Mother and Third Mother, and Lu Sheng reassured them that he had only overexerted himself practicing martial arts.

After recovering from using the Modifier to master the Black Tiger Saber Technique, Lu Sheng secretly tested his growing strength and went out at night to lure a wild wolf. As he swung at a cold gust behind him, the chapter left the attacker unidentified.

• Lu Quan'an gave Lu Sheng permission to take medicinal ingredients and a monthly allowance, while Liu Cuiyu cautioned him about learning martial arts late.
• Lu Sheng realized the Black Tiger Saber Technique had engraved its experience into his body, but the Modifier had nearly exhausted his vitality.
• Over the next seven days, Lu Sheng recovered, grew sturdier, and developed a larger appetite while Uncle Zhao assumed he had abandoned saber practice.
• Lu Sheng secretly practiced alone and later left Nine Links City in disguise with a Pu Dao to test the technique.
• Lu Sheng used fresh pork to lure a wild wolf on the road toward Black Wind Ridge, and a black shadow snatched the meat.
• As Lu Sheng prepared to move, a cold gust struck his back, and he spun around to slash with his saber.

Lu Sheng fought off a group of wild wolves outside Nine Links City and realized his stamina was still limited. Seeking more martial arts manuals, he learned from Zheng Xianggui that an Internal Breathing Technique Manual would be auctioned at the Black Market Meeting, and decided to attend.

• Lu Sheng killed two wild wolves with his saber and drove the last one away, then returned to Nine Links City exhausted.
• Lu Sheng met his childhood friend Zheng Xianggui at the Goldfish Wine Shop and asked him to find martial arts manuals.
• Zheng Xianggui sold Lu Sheng a manual describing Shattered Jade Force, but Lu Sheng continued searching for an Internal Breathing Technique Manual.
• Zheng Xianggui revealed that an Internal Breathing Technique Manual would be auctioned at the Black Market Meeting.
• Lu Sheng asked Zheng Xianggui to arrange his entry to the Black Market Meeting.

Lu Sheng arranged to attend the Black Market Meeting, then encountered an impossible cosmetics cart and vanished children on a deserted street. He returned to the Lu Estate unsettled and learned that his father had gone to the yamen after being summoned by the Prefect, leaving what they were searching for unclear.

• Lu Sheng insisted that Zheng Xianggui arrange his invitation to the Black Market Meeting so he could obtain the item he wanted.
• Lu Sheng followed a Li Ji Cosmetics cart into a dead-end alley, but the cart disappeared and nearby children insisted they had seen no carts.
• The children vanished without a sound, and Lu Sheng hurried toward the Goldfish Wine Shop, where the street around him suddenly became lively again.
• Lu Sheng took a carriage to the Lu Estate and learned from Xiao Ba that his father had gone to the yamen after the Prefect summoned him to search for something.

Lu Sheng attended the Black Market Meeting with Zheng Xianggui, where he watched several items go up for auction and learned that the striking Duanmu Wan was considered dangerous. The second-to-last item, the internal cultivation manual Lu Sheng wanted, was brought out as the chapter ended.

• Lu Sheng heard that the Goldfish Wine Shop street had burned down and suspected the fire was connected to the strange route he had retraced.
• Lu Sheng avoided altering the Shattered Jade Force manual before the meeting and traveled with Zheng Xianggui to an underground cellar outside the city.
• Lu Sheng observed the masked guests at the Black Market Meeting and learned that the woman named Duanmu Wan had been linked to deadly duels among young masters.
• The red-haired burly man won the auction for the Ice Wolf Armor after its defenses were demonstrated.
• The auctioneer brought out the second-to-last item, an internal cultivation manual that Lu Sheng wanted.

Lu Sheng bought the Black Fiend Skill at the Black Market Meeting after outbidding Zhang Jundong, a member of the White Jade Zhang Family. As Lu Sheng left with the manual, Zhang Jundong ambushed him and attacked under his identity as a leader of the Wolf Bandits.

• Chen Wude explained to Lu Sheng and Zheng Xianggui how internal and external martial arts differed in cultivation, strength, and longevity.
• Lu Sheng bid against Zhang Jundong for the Black Fiend Skill and won it for one thousand eight hundred taels.
• Zhang Jundong left the auction furious after Lu Sheng refused to yield the manual to him.
• Lu Sheng left the Black Market Meeting with the manual and headed for the carriage with three guards.
• Zhang Jundong ambushed Lu Sheng, wounded the guards, and charged at him with a short blade.

Lu Sheng killed Zhang Jundong after the man attacked him, then traveled toward Nine Links City and shared his carriage with Duanmu Wan. She revealed that she had seen his skills at the Black Market Meeting and asked whether he needed an inner cultivation manual.

• Zhang Jundong attacked Lu Sheng, who disarmed him and killed him with his Pu Dao.
• Lu Sheng left the village with his guards and privately reckoned with having killed someone and exposed his martial skill.
• A fast, unlit white carriage overtook Lu Sheng's carriage, and Duanmu Wan asked to travel beside it by the horse lanterns' light.
• Lu Sheng invited Duanmu Wan into his carriage, where she pretended to stumble into his arms before they continued toward Nine Links City.
• Duanmu Wan said she had seen Lu Sheng at the Black Market Meeting and asked whether he was seeking an inner cultivation manual.

Lu Sheng accepted Duanmu Wan’s offer to seek internal art manuals while investigating her intentions and continued practicing the incomplete Black Fiend Skill. After concealing his saber ability less and training with Uncle Zhao, he was offered introductions to other martial arts masters.

• Duanmu Wan offered to find Lu Sheng internal art manuals for the same price as the Black Fiend Skill, and Lu Sheng agreed if she could obtain them.
• Zheng Xianggui visited Lu Sheng to apologize for the Black Market Meeting, urged him to tell Uncle Lu about the Zhang Family, and agreed to investigate Duanmu Wan.
• Zheng Yu'er arrived and dragged Zheng Xianggui home after he stood her up for an outing.
• Lu Sheng practiced the Black Fiend Skill, then stayed at the Lu Estate for several days while training his saber and letting others know he had been practicing martial arts.
• Lu Sheng sparred with Uncle Zhao, used Tiger's Ferocity, and earned praise for his progress.
• Uncle Zhao offered to introduce Lu Sheng to masters who could teach him other martial arts.

Lu Sheng agreed to learn the Heart Piercing Palm and the Eighty-Four Swallow Chasing Wind Saber from Uncle Zhao’s impoverished old friends. Duanmu Wan visited with three internal arts for Lu Sheng to inspect, leaving him pleased by how easy they supposedly were to begin.

• Lu Sheng decided that mastering many martial arts could make up for his lack of powerful manuals.
• Uncle Zhao offered to arrange lessons with Zhang Xun and another old friend, and Lu Sheng promised each of them twenty taels of silver per month.
• Lu Sheng practiced the Black Tiger Saber Technique until a servant told him Duanmu Wan had arrived.
• Lu Sheng received Duanmu Wan in the reception hall after his younger brother Lu Chenxin and Fifth Mother left.
• Duanmu Wan presented the Azure Pine Single-Minded Art, Jade Crane Skill, and Yin-Yang Guiding, claiming each could produce a sensation of qi after one day of cultivation.

Lu Sheng bought the Jade Crane Skill from Duanmu Wan and used the Deep Blue Modifier to cultivate it, reaching its first level before the strain warned him against advancing too quickly. Meanwhile, Prefect Song Duanchi and Nine Links City’s family heads discussed disappearances and the unresolved Xu Family and Wang Family Village cases.

• Duanmu Wan warned Lu Sheng that the available internal arts were health-preserving techniques and advised him against cultivating the incomplete Black Fiend Skill.
• Lu Sheng paid his remaining savings for the Jade Crane Skill, then watched Duanmu Wan leave while feeling wary of her.
• At the prefectural office, Zhao Shide and the other family heads confronted Song Duanchi about missing people and the strange cases troubling Nine Links City.
• The family heads agreed to contribute rewards for an expert investigating the cases, while Song Duanchi explained that the Wang Family Village concubine's body had vanished from the well.
• Lu Sheng practiced the Jade Crane Skill until he sensed internal energy, then used the Deep Blue Modifier to raise it to the first level.
• Lu Sheng tried to advance the skill again, but coughing, thirst, and heat warned him that rapid cultivation was harming his body.

Lu Sheng met his younger sister Lu Qingqing, who returned to investigate Xu Daoran’s death, then learned the Heart Piercing Palm from Zhang Xun. After returning home, he used Deep Blue to raise his Jade Crane Skill to the First Layer and planned to strengthen it further before modifying his external martial arts.

• Lu Qingqing returned to the Lu Estate and told Lu Sheng she would investigate Xu Daoran’s death and find his murderer.
• Lu Sheng rode with Uncle Zhao to visit Zhang Xun, who agreed to teach him the Heart Piercing Palm in exchange for finding successors for the art.
• Zhang Xun taught Lu Sheng the Heart Piercing Palm’s techniques and principles, emphasizing that hesitation kept a fighter’s strength from reaching its full potential.
• Lu Sheng spent the day learning the Heart Piercing Palm, then returned home and used Deep Blue to raise his Jade Crane Skill from Beginner to the First Layer.
• Lu Sheng drank Jade Dipper Dendrobium tea to ease the internal qi’s heat and decided to improve his Jade Crane Skill before modifying his other martial arts.

Lu Sheng trained in several martial arts while searching for new techniques, then rushed to find Lu Qingqing after she vanished during a fight with two supposed caravan guards. After she returned with two wanted murderers, he resumed his routine and used the Modifier to raise the Jade Crane Skill to level two.

• Lu Sheng studied the Heart Piercing Palm, Swallow Chasing Wind Saber, Eight Treasures Step, and Double Diamond Saber while spending heavily on medicines to strengthen his body.
• A servant reported that Lu Qingqing had fought someone on Flower Willow Street and could not be found, so Lu Sheng and Uncle Zhao went to investigate.
• Lu Sheng discovered that Lu Qingqing had chased two wanted murderers out of the city, then met her returning with both men bound behind her horse.
• Lu Sheng returned to his training routine and, after ensuring his surroundings were quiet, used the Modifier to raise the Jade Crane Skill from level one to level two.
• Lu Sheng felt hollow and feverish as the skill upgrade took effect.

Lu Sheng advanced the Jade Crane Skill and learned that Lu Qingqing was investigating a series of cases while he focused on gathering martial arts and strengthening the Lu Family. The chapter ended with Lu Quan'an offering to send Lu Sheng to Yan Mountain City to seek powerful martial arts from Central Plains masters.

• Lu Sheng reached the Jade Crane Skill’s Second Layer and planned to test its effects and seek more inner skills from Duanmu Wan, but discovered she had checked out of the Ten Thousand Blessings Inn.
• A Zhang Family envoy confronted Lu Quan'an over accusations against Lu Sheng, and Lu Quan'an angrily rejected the claims.
• Lu Quan'an told Lu Sheng that Lu Qingqing had been investigating the Wang Family Village well-jumping case and bringing suspects to the yamen.
• Lu Sheng proposed recruiting orphans to build the Lu Family’s strength, but Lu Quan'an worried about provoking other families.
• Lu Sheng practiced martial arts through the day, then Lu Quan'an suggested he travel to Yan Mountain City, where famous Central Plains masters had opened their doors to teach.

Lu Sheng searched the burned street near the Goldfish Wine Shop for Lu Qingqing after she disappeared and found evidence that she had fought there. He confronted the men who had abducted her, and his first strike killed Er Tou, leaving him facing the others.

• Lu Sheng agreed to travel to Yan Mountain City and spent the next several days recovering and practicing martial arts at home.
• Several hunters vanished near the Goldfish Wine Shop, and Xiao Qiao told Lu Sheng that Lu Qingqing had gone there at night and had not returned.
• Lu Sheng rode to the burned street and followed sword marks and footprints into a backyard, where he found a one-eyed man who said Lu Qingqing had been taken to a mountain stronghold.
• The one-eyed man, Lin Hongshui, summoned Er Tou and San Tou to attack Lu Sheng, and the three threatened him.
• Lu Sheng used the Eighty-Four Swallow Chasing Wind Saber to kill Er Tou with a single slash.

Lu Sheng killed San Tou and fought Lin Hongshui and Lin Shuanghuo, defeating the two Power Through Realm brothers after his saber broke. Injured but victorious, he searched their belongings and waited for the Lu Estate to arrive.

• Lu Sheng killed San Tou and challenged Lin Hongshui, then fought him with the Swallow Chasing Wind Saber Technique.
• Lin Shuanghuo arrived and joined Lin Hongshui against Lu Sheng, who countered their attacks with the Black Tiger Saber Technique.
• Lin Shuanghuo threw lime powder at Lu Sheng, and Lu Sheng's saber broke when he used Tiger's Roar against both brothers' choppers.
• Lu Sheng killed Lin Hongshui with the Heart Piercing Palm, then struck Lin Shuanghuo down with three more palm strikes.
• Lu Sheng took banknotes and a worn black booklet from the brothers, assessed his injuries, and waited for people from the Lu Estate.

After rescuing Lu Qingqing from the Ghost Head Saber Brothers, Lu Sheng concealed the circumstances of her capture and returned with her to the Lu Estate. The family praised his victory and reprimanded Lu Qingqing, while Lu Sheng rested and considered how to improve his fighting skills.

• Lu Sheng found Lu Qingqing bound and barely clothed, freed her, and helped her dress before telling her to claim they had fought the criminals together.
• Lu Sheng and Lu Qingqing rejoined Uncle Zhao and the guards, then returned to the Lu Estate while some men stayed behind to deal with the Government Office officials.
• Lu Sheng told Uncle Zhao what had happened, concealing Lu Qingqing's capture, and went to bed as the Jade Crane Skill rapidly healed his injuries.
• Lu Sheng reviewed the battle and considered practicing external martial arts to improve his strength and fighting technique.
• Uncle Zhao reported the victory to Lu Quan'an, who praised Lu Sheng and scolded Lu Qingqing, then threatened to arrange her marriage.
• The physician said Lu Sheng's injuries were superficial, and Lu Quan'an wondered whether he would still go to Yan Mountain City to study martial arts.

After defeating two Power Through masters, Lu Sheng recovered while deciding he needed to strengthen himself before investigating the Xu Family tragedy. As strange incidents unsettled Nine Links City, Lu Quan'an came to ask whether Lu Sheng was ready to leave for Yan Mountain City.

• Lu Qingqing visited Lu Sheng and urged him to investigate the Xu Family tragedy, while he reflected on how narrowly he had beaten the two Power Through masters.
• Lu Sheng asked Lu Qingqing about internal arts and, disappointed that her master knew no combat-focused practitioners, began practicing the incomplete Black Fiend Skill.
• More eerie incidents struck Nine Links City, and Lu Quan'an returned from a tense meeting at the Prefectural Office before conferring privately with Lu Anping.
• Uncle Zhao's guard reported that Xiao Ba had been found in a house where he had collapsed after fleeing, though Lu Sheng found the account strange.
• Lu Quan'an arrived with travel funds and asked the recovering Lu Sheng if they could set out that day.