Chapter Summaries

Liang Qu and his companions brought Xu Yuelong the still-living head of a Great Martial Master that had revived after death, prompting concern that other dead fighters might rise as well. After Xu Yuelong sent the head to Zhong Shi for examination, Liang Qu returned to his room and prepared to consume the Qilin Pill.

• Liang Qu, Xiang Fangsu, and Ke Wenbin showed Xu Yuelong a severed head that could still bite, and Xiang Fangsu explained that they had found it on the island.
• Xu Yuelong identified the head as a Great Martial Master killed by Yang Dongxiong and realized that Great Martial Masters could revive after death.
• Xu Yuelong recorded the discovery and worried that other dead fighters might also return as living corpses, then left further investigation to Wei Lin.
• Xu Yuelong ordered Xiang Fangsu to deliver the head to Zhong Shi, and the three visitors left the study.
• Liang Qu returned to his room, chose the Qilin Pill to consume before the Wither-Bloom Twin Lotus, and took the pill from its jade bottle.

Liang Qu consumed the Beast Head Great Pill, which remade his body, triggered a fourth blood replacement, and opened the fifth aperture of Galloping Horse. He gained Qilin Bright Spirit Force and suspected his fusion with the Marsh Ape had extended his lifespan far beyond that of an ordinary Martial Master.

• Liang Qu swallowed the Beast Head Great Pill and endured its searing medicinal power, repeatedly forming Water Membranes to contain the heat.
• The pill drained Liang Qu's blood before generating fresh blood, beginning his fourth blood replacement and further tempering his body.
• Liang Qu's surging Qi and blood broke open the Spinal Column Gate, the fifth aperture of Galloping Horse.
• The blood cocoon around Liang Qu shattered, and he discovered that his strength had increased and Qilin Bright Spirit Force had formed.
• Liang Qu considered his possible lifespan and suspected his fusion with the Marsh Ape had made him more than human.

After digesting the Qilin Great Pill, Liang Qu felt the effects of opening his Spinal Column Gate and waited to recover before taking another treasure. Five days later, Xiang Fangsu organized a spear-retrieval contest aboard the tower ship, where the competitors discovered that the fog had dispersed.

• Liang Qu examined his changed presence after the Qilin Great Pill opened his Spinal Column Gate and decided to wait before taking the Wither-Bloom Twin Lotus.
• Five days later, Xiang Fangsu announced a contest in which the first person to retrieve his spear would win a generous reward.
• Xiang Fangsu hurled the spear into a distant island, and the Martial Masters raced across the water to retrieve it.
• The leading competitor reached the cliff and spotted that the fog had dispersed.

The River Conservancy Office landed on the island, confirmed the black mist had dispersed, and began recovering supplies, processing bodies, and recording military merit. After reviewing Liang Qu’s many accomplishments, Xu Yuelong recommended him for the seventh-rank post of Dushui Official.

• The martial masters confirmed that the island was safe to enter and began tallying military merit, cremating their dead, and collecting their ashes.
• Wei Lin and Xu Yuelong inspected the underground hall, where Wei Lin realized someone had arrived before them; he ordered the supplies moved despite finding signs of Liang Qu and his companions’ presence.
• Liang Qu and Ke Wenbin struggled to carry the Black Dragon Myriad Square Cauldron out of the underground hall, relieved that moving the goods would erase their traces.
• Over the next several days, the River Conservancy Office transported supplies and recorded military merit.
• Xu Yuelong reviewed Liang Qu’s service record and recommended him for the seventh-rank post of Dushui Official.

Xu Yuelong strengthened Liang Qu’s recommendation by adding examples of his humble origins and virtue, potentially improving his promotion prospects. Meanwhile, Liang Qu searched the Great Marsh for treasure, then discovered that the Ze Cauldron’s red qi could produce a Spirit Fish capable of granting Sublimation of Favor, and considered upgrading the River Master Emperor Favor.

• Xu Yuelong added more than two hundred characters about Liang Qu’s hardships, generosity, and service as Chief Priest to his recommendation form.
• Xu Yuelong decided Liang Qu might be able to advance two ranks and joked that Liang Qu should treat him to a meal.
• Liang Qu searched farther across the Great Marsh, caught three unusual Treasure Fish, and headed back toward the Islet Region.
• At night, the Ze Cauldron announced that one strand of red qi could combine with ten thousand portions of Marsh Essence to produce a Spirit Fish that granted Sublimation of Favor.
• Liang Qu considered which of his three Favors to upgrade and focused on the River Master Emperor.

Liang Qu considered how the River Master Emperor’s favor had doubled his Martial Dao Talent and wondered whether the new crimson qi in the Ze Cauldron came from the Black Emperor. With Marsh Essence scarce and Fragrant Township County offering few opportunities, he planned to seek one out himself before the tower ship prepared to return to Ping Yang County.

• Liang Qu reflected on his six Dharma Gates and how the River Master Emperor’s favor had helped him reach minor mastery in all of them within a year.
• Liang Qu examined the crimson qi in the Ze Cauldron and suspected it came from the Black Emperor, Emperor Zhuanxu.
• Liang Qu worried that he lacked enough Marsh Essence to evolve the Mirage Worm and considered seeking opportunities in Fragrant Township County after completing his second transaction with Toad.
• Liang Qu returned to the tower ship and learned that the Ghost Mother Sect matter was nearly settled and the group would return to Ping Yang County after that night’s sacrifice.

After the Ghost Mother Sect operation ended, Liang Qu learned how Martial Saint Profound Weapons had made victory possible and returned to Ping Yang County. At home, Old Giant Clam told him that a new beast had arrived.

• The River Conservancy Office soldiers burned the fallen men in a sacrifice, then the tower ship departed for Ping Yang County.
• Ke Wenbin explained to Liang Qu that Martial Saints could refine part of their roots into Profound Weapons, which had fought the Grandmasters and could deliver messages at great speed.
• Ke Wenbin told Liang Qu that his official appointment might be approved before August.
• After three days at sea, Liang Qu returned to Ping Yang County near the end of July and went home during curfew.
• Liang Qu checked on the pond and learned from Old Giant Clam that a new beast had arrived at his home.

Liang Qu welcomed a wounded family of river otters seeking refuge after losing a territorial fight and agreed to let them live by his pond. He then swallowed the Wither-Bloom Twin Lotus and began refining its medicinal power, causing the Marsh Essence in his Ze Cauldron to rise.

• Liang Qu inspected the beavers’ progress on the boat while Great Beaver brought six injured river otters to meet him.
• The Great River Otter asked to live at Liang Qu’s home and help guard it, and Old Giant Clam explained that the family had lost a territory fight and fled to seek refuge.
• Liang Qu accepted the river otters and Great Beaver’s gold, allowing them to settle by the pond.
• After bathing, Liang Qu swallowed the Wither-Bloom Twin Lotus and recited the Dragon Subduing Mantra and Tiger Taming Scripture as he refined its medicinal power.
• The Ze Cauldron shook as Marsh Essence spread and increased by 7427.

Liang Qu refined the Wither-Bloom Twin Lotus, strengthening his Golden Body and gaining Marsh Essence, but remained short of the amount needed to fuse a spirit fish. The next morning, he returned to Yi Xing Town and sent Fan Xinglai to check on a household in Yellow Mud Alley.

• Liang Qu used the Qilin Great Pill and the Wither-Bloom Twin Lotus to advance his cultivation, while the Old Monk sensed his progress.
• Liang Qu finished refining the lotus and found that his Marsh Essence had risen to more than 7,400 points.
• Liang Qu calculated that he still needed about 2,000 more points to fuse a spirit fish and planned to check what his Water Beasts had found.
• Liang Qu returned to his morning practice in Yi Xing Town and asked Fan Xinglai to visit a newly built house in Yellow Mud Alley.
• Liang Qu told Fan Xinglai to scare off anyone troubling the household by invoking his name, if trouble was present.

Liang Qu returned home, checked on Red Mountain and the pond’s growing shipbuilding project, and collected Marsh Essence from the aquatic creatures’ harvest. With his total at 8,310 and 1,400 more needed, he decided to enter seclusion.

• Liang Qu fed Red Mountain and tried to form a Mental Link, but the attempt failed, so he resolved to try again after obtaining a Grade-Raising Pill.
• Fan Xinglai checked the nearby household and reported that everything appeared safe before hurrying back to tend Red Mountain.
• Liang Qu visited the pond and saw that the Beaver Clan and Otter family were steadily building the Dragon Bone, while he considered upgrading his own boat and using otters as crew.
• The Fat Catfish, Cannot Move, Scarhead, and the other aquatic creatures brought Liang Qu nine Treasure Plants, which he ate for Marsh Essence.
• Liang Qu absorbed 306 Marsh Essence from the Old Giant Clam, bringing his total to 8,310, then decided to enter seclusion.

Liang Qu accepted Jian Zhongyi’s banquet invitation and headed to Sky Vessel Tower, planning to visit the Celestial Ship Merchant Guild to look for underwater Treasure Plants. At the guild, he read Jian Zhongyi’s celebratory announcement and new county policies, then heard rumors about the magistrate’s family and Imperial Examination past.

• Liang Qu accepted the third invitation to Jian Zhongyi’s homecoming banquet and decided to stop at the Celestial Ship Merchant Guild to look for underwater Treasure Plants.
• Liang Qu took more than five thousand taels in Silver Notes, mounted Red Mountain, and rode toward Sky Vessel Tower as the banquet preparations filled the streets.
• Liang Qu read Jian Zhongyi’s celebratory prose and notices announcing refugee amnesty, aid for planting, plans for four towns, and the creation of temples in Ping Yang County.
• Liang Qu wondered whether the planned Water God Temple might increase the Favorability from his sacrifices, while Ke Wenbin praised Jian Zhongyi’s writing and Xiang Fangsu noted his difficult rise.
• Ke Wenbin shared rumors about Jian Zhongyi’s birth mother and a Grandmaster ancestor, and Xiang Fangsu said Jian Zhongyi had reportedly been changed from the expected top scholar to Second Place in the Imperial Examination.

Liang Qu attended Jian Zhongyi’s lavish banquet, then bought underwater Treasure Plants and used them to replenish his Marsh Essence. He merged ten thousand Marsh Essence with crimson Qi to create a Spirit Fish, which could Sublimate his Marsh Spirit’s Favor, and chose River Master Emperor.

• Jian Zhongyi hosted a four-level banquet for heroes and officials, where Liang Qu sat with guests of lesser strength or background and listened through the formal toasts.
• Liang Qu endured the banquet for more than two hours, then bought more than eight hundred taels’ worth of underwater Treasure Plants from the Celestial Ship Merchant Guild.
• Liang Qu swallowed the Treasure Plants in the Jiang Huai Great Marsh and gained eight hundred Marsh Essence.
• Liang Qu ate more than thirty Cockscomb Fruit and replenished ten thousand Marsh Essence.
• Liang Qu merged the Marsh Essence with crimson Qi in the Ze Cauldron and created a Spirit Fish that could Sublimate Marsh Spirit’s Favor.
• Liang Qu selected River Master Emperor as the Favor to Sublimate.

Liang Qu entered the Ze Cauldron and endured a vision of the River Master Emperor slaying a Flood Dragon, gaining profound martial insight. He emerged with his Yang Thunder Seal advanced and several techniques greatly improved.

• Liang Qu entered the Ze Cauldron and watched a Divine General of light merge into his body, subjecting him to intense pain.
• Liang Qu witnessed the River Master Emperor's Chuan Lord Slaying Flood Dragon strike from the Flood Dragon's perspective and grasped its underlying Dao.
• Liang Qu awakened the second level of the Yang Thunder Seal and fully comprehended all three strikes of the Azure Dragon Spear Technique.
• Liang Qu combined Thunder Step with Wandering the Six Voids to move swiftly underwater.
• Liang Qu received the River Master Emperor's Favor Sublimation, raising Martial Dao Divinity to the second level and increasing his martial talent and damage against water-attributed Demon Beasts.

After slaying the flood dragon, Liang Qu spent several days exhausting himself while studying the lingering divine charm, then discovered he had grown taller and gained another wisp of red qi. Just as the flood dragon’s resonance faded, Li LiBo arrived with news of a water monster causing trouble.

• Liang Qu spent the night deducing martial arts from the flood dragon’s lingering resonance, then woke exhausted and ate baskets of buns before falling asleep in the courtyard.
• The Old Monk examined Liang Qu and found no injuries, while Fan Xinglai left him undisturbed as he slept until evening.
• Liang Qu woke to find much of the flood dragon’s divine charm had faded, then continued studying what remained and stayed home for several days.
• Liang Qu discovered he had grown one cun taller, reaching five chi six cun.
• Liang Qu received another wisp of red qi on the twentieth Bing Fire Day and decided to save it rather than use it for sublimation.
• Li LiBo arrived at Liang Qu’s home and reported that a water monster was causing trouble.

After a three-zhang water monster attacked fishing boats near Yi Xing Town, Liang Qu learned that smaller creatures had also appeared during the Bing Fire Curfew and went to investigate. He asked the injured fisherman A Liang to lead him to the monster’s last known location.

• Li LiBo told Liang Qu that a water monster had smashed two fishing boats seven li from shore and injured one fisherman.
• Liang Qu learned that Li LiBo and Chen Jiechang had dealt with twelve or thirteen smaller creatures during the past half month.
• At Shang Rao Wharf, fishermen gathered around Liang Qu and praised him, while he warned that he needed to find the monster before he could catch it.
• Chen Jiechang returned with A Liang, and Liang Qu asked him to lead them to where he had encountered the monster.

Liang Qu searched the Great Marsh for the dark green spirit serpent that had attacked A Liang’s fishing boat. After recovering the sunken boat and returning it to A Liang, Liang Qu found the serpent and struck it with the mastered first form of the Azure Dragon Spear Technique.

• Liang Qu guided the houseboat to the attack site and sent his water beasts underwater to search for the missing fishing boat.
• Round Head found the sunken boat, and Liang Qu brought it to the surface so A Liang could repair and use it again.
• Liang Qu’s water beasts located a massive dark green serpent resting on a rock as it prepared to shed its skin.
• Liang Qu surrounded the serpent, summoned the Divine General’s faint phantom, and struck its head with Leaping Abyss, Mastery.

Liang Qu killed the great snake threatening the marsh and returned to shore with its body. After confirming the danger had passed, he sent A Liang home and went to sleep.

• While Liang Qu stayed underwater, Li LiBo and Chen Jiechang waited on the houseboat with A Liang, then rushed toward a distant underwater boom that stirred up huge waves.
• Liang Qu’s spear split the great snake’s skull, and he realized he had achieved major mastery of Azure Dragon Spear, First Form.
• Liang Qu surfaced and told the others the monster was dealt with, explaining that the waves came from its body thrashing after the fatal blow.
• Liang Qu returned underwater, cut off the still-twitching snake’s head, and had Fat Catfish and the other beasts drag its body ashore.
• Liang Qu sent A Liang home to care for his injured father, left Li LiBo and Chen Jiechang to handle the cleanup, and went home to sleep.

After Liang Qu’s snake-slaying feat strengthened his reputation in Yi Xing Town, the parent serpent worried about its missing offspring but hesitated to cross into human territory. Later, Liang Qu received his reward for helping destroy the Ghost Mother Sect branch: promotion to seventh-rank Dushui Official, along with a Dragon Blood Horse Grade Four Pill and recorded merits.

• A Liang’s father confirmed that Liang Qu had killed the giant serpent, and the people of Yi Xing Town praised Liang Qu for keeping their waters safe.
• The giant serpent suspected that something had happened to its two offspring in the Shallow Water Area, but it decided to wait rather than risk drawing human experts’ attention.
• The Three Suns in the Sky ended, the curfew lifted, and Liang Qu returned to the River Conservancy Office when officials were summoned to receive rewards for the Ghost Mother Sect operation.
• An envoy from Southern Zhili announced the River Conservancy Office’s merits and named Liang Qu for promotion to seventh-rank Dushui Official, awarding him a Dragon Blood Horse Grade Four Pill, two Great Merits, and 103 minor merits.

Liang Qu received a promotion to seventh rank and a fourth-rank Dragon Blood Horse Grade-Raising Pill, drawing resentment from some River Conservancy Office members. He learned that his Pinyin Method had spread across Southern Zhili and had earned him the reward, leaving him to wonder what further benefits might follow.

• Some River Conservancy Office members objected to Liang Qu's rapid promotion and rewards, but Wei Lin silenced the crowd with his killing intent.
• The envoy from Southern Zhili finished reading the decree and departed to deliver rewards to the Demon Subduing Division.
• Liang Qu received his official documents, robes, and Dragon Blood Horse Grade-Raising Pill, then asked how the pill should be fed to his horse.
• A Record Keeper told Liang Qu that the Pinyin Method had spread through academies across Southern Zhili and was the reason for his pill reward.
• Liang Qu realized the Pinyin Method was bringing him lasting benefits and wondered whether more rewards would come.

Liang Qu watched Red Mountain consume a Grade-Raising Pill and advance to the fourth rank, growing crimson scales and gaining tremendous speed. After testing the horse’s strength, Liang Qu successfully subdued it with a blood-drawn water character.

• The Groom Official admired Red Mountain’s condition, and Liang Qu calmed the horse when it lunged for the Grade-Raising Pill.
• The Groom Official fed Red Mountain the pill, and the horse endured a fiery transformation as crimson scales emerged across its head, chest, and shoulders.
• The Groom Official confirmed Red Mountain had reached the fourth rank and praised its exceptional conformation.
• Liang Qu rode Red Mountain to Shang Rao Wharf at astonishing speed, reaching it from the River Conservancy Office in under a minute.
• Liang Qu drew the character for water on Red Mountain’s forehead with his blood and established a Mental Link, successfully subduing it.