Chapter Summaries

Li Hao met the eccentric elder Li Muxiu, who dismissed body refining and invited him to learn fishing instead. Li Muxiu took Li Hao to cook a monster fish at the Listening Rain Pavilion, leaving Li Fu unable to stop them.

• Li Fu introduced Li Hao to Second Uncle Li Muxiu, who criticized the family’s insistence that Li Hao refine his body and argued that Li Tiangang should improve his own abilities.
• Li Hao traded teasing remarks with Li Muxiu, who accepted the boy’s cheeky address as fair repayment for calling him a little thing.
• Li Muxiu showed Li Hao a small monster fish he had caught, and Li Hao asked him to teach him fishing.
• Li Muxiu agreed to take Li Hao fishing the next day, took the Dragon Spine manual away from him, and led him off to prepare the monster fish despite Li Fu’s protests.
• Li Muxiu brought Li Hao to cook on the terrace of the Listening Rain Pavilion’s Seventh Floor, where the Li Family stored its treasured manuals, and Li Hao learned his name.

Li Hao and Li Muxiu cooked and ate the defeated Fish Demon, then agreed to go fishing together. The next morning, Li Muxiu gave Li Hao a heavy fishing rod and questioned him about his body-refinement training.

• Li Muxiu killed the Fish Demon, sliced its flesh, and cooked it with the Demon Core while explaining how demons and their cores were used.
• Li Hao and Li Muxiu ate together, joked with each other, and enjoyed the peace of the night.
• Li Hao asked to learn fishing and challenged Li Muxiu to see who could catch more; Li Muxiu agreed to teach him the next day.
• At dawn, Li Muxiu woke Li Hao and handed him a heavy fishing rod suited to his strength.
• Li Muxiu noticed Li Hao could handle the rod easily and asked which body-refinement art he practiced and whether he had mastered it.

Li Hao accompanied Li Muxiu to a dangerous lake to learn fishing and discovered that fishing earned experience through his panel. After landing a powerful fish, he cast again and hooked something enormously heavy, leaving the catch unresolved.

• Li Muxiu took Li Hao fishing despite Li Fu’s protests that the boy should focus on Body Refining.
• Li Muxiu flew Li Hao to a vast lake, gave him a protective talisman and bait, and showed him where to fish.
• Li Hao gained fishing experience for casting and caught a massive Power Through Realm fish with Li Muxiu’s guidance.
• Li Muxiu shrank the fish and took it to the lake’s center as bait for his own fishing.
• After an hour without a bite, Li Hao’s float plunged underwater, and he lifted the rod against a tremendous force.

Li Hao caught and killed a powerful fish demon at Black Lake, then used his newly advanced fishing skills to catch more. Li Muxiu searched the lake for the hidden Old Dragon, found no trace of it, and returned to check on Li Hao.

• Li Hao reeled in a huge fish demon, advanced his Fishing Dao to stage one, and killed it after dodging its attack.
• Li Hao absorbed new fishing techniques, read the lake’s currents, and moved along the shore to find more prey.
• Li Hao caught and killed another fish demon, then continued fishing where he sensed more creatures underwater.
• Li Muxiu tried to lure the Old Dragon with a spiny fish demon but found no sign of it in Black Lake.
• Li Muxiu reeled in his bait, placed it in his basket, and flew back to see whether Li Hao had caught anything.

Li Hao revealed to Li Muxiu that he had secretly cultivated the Thousand Dragons Sacred Body and killed a Circulation Realm fish demon. After showing off Li Hao’s catch around the Divine General Residence, Li Muxiu returned with him to the Listening Rain Pavilion, where Li Fu delivered a letter from the Sword Hermitage, apparently from Miss Xue’er.

• Li Muxiu discovered that Li Hao had killed a Circulation Realm fish demon and watched him catch another demon while fishing.
• Li Hao admitted that he had secretly cultivated the Thousand Dragons Sacred Body to its second layer and hinted that someone in the residence had designs on him.
• Li Muxiu accepted Li Hao’s caution, promised to support him, and urged him to stop hiding his body-refining talent from him.
• Li Muxiu paraded Li Hao and his fish catch through the residence, showing the catch to the Military Elder, He Jianlan, and Gao Qingqing.
• Li Fu met Li Hao at the Listening Rain Pavilion and handed him a letter from the Sword Hermitage, apparently sent by Miss Xue’er.

Li Hao received a letter from the little girl at the Sword Hermitage, and Li Muxiu offered to teach him body tempering. Li Muxiu explained the Circulation Realm and the motives behind martial cultivation, while Li Hao said he would rather live forever than seek fame.

• Li Hao read the little girl's letter describing life at the Sword Hermitage and her longing to return to him.
• Li Muxiu criticized Sword Wudao for taking Sword Lan's prodigious daughter in exchange for only a body-refining manual, then told Li Fu he would teach Li Hao body tempering.
• Li Muxiu watched Li Hao demonstrate his technique, confirmed he had reached the tenth layer of the Power Through Realm, and explained how supreme qi circulation methods worked.
• Li Muxiu described how factions guarded powerful techniques and argued that most martial artists pursued fame, status, wealth, and rewards rather than slaying demons.
• Li Hao said he would choose to live forever if he could, rather than seek fame.

Li Muxiu explained the Circulation Realm arts and the advantages of top-tier cultivation methods to Li Hao, then left him to study. Li Hao used two Art Skill Points to advance his Path of the Physical Body and discovered that his low-grade Body-Tempering Arts had reached a level called True State.

• Li Muxiu described the Listening Rain Pavilion’s Circulation Realm arts, the Imperial Clan’s superior art, and the importance of choosing methods suited to one’s aptitude.
• Li Muxiu explained how top-tier Meridian Opening arts could give practitioners far more meridians and noted that Li Hao’s blocked meridians might slow his progress.
• Li Muxiu served Li Hao fish, told him to practice alone, and vanished into the sky.
• Li Hao studied the Hundred Battles Heavenly Circulation Art and the Dragon River Divine Meridian, then spent both Art Skill Points on the Path of the Physical Body.
• Li Hao saw that his major body-tempering arts had advanced and that Stone Skin Hundred Refinements and other low-grade arts had reached True State.
• Li Hao practiced Wild Bull Strength at True State, felt its power multiply, and then began practicing the Thousand Dragons Sacred Body.

Li Hao advanced into the Circulation Realm, fused the circulation methods from his body-tempering arts, and dramatically increased his strength. After synchronizing his body with dozens of techniques, he began searching for information about the Yin Meridian.

• Li Hao opened his first great meridian, entered the first layer of the Circulation Realm, and advanced his Primordial Beginning practice to the Profound Passage Body.
• Li Hao opened the Profound Meridian, also called the Yin Meridian, and combined its circulation method with the Hundred Dragons Body to reach 132 circuits in one breath.
• Li Hao perfected the Crouching Dragon Body and estimated that his physical strength had reached about 50,000 jin, with Qi Strength Unification letting him unleash roughly 100,000 jin of force.
• Li Hao fused the Dragon Cicada Vacuum Body's circulation method into his practice, raising his circulation speed to 143 circuits in one breath.
• Li Hao practiced his remaining body-tempering arts, gained about 15,000 jin of physical strength, and began searching the building for information on the Yin Meridian.

Li Hao reached full mastery of the Hundred Dragons Body and learned from Li Muxiu about the Yin and Yang Great Meridians. After half a month of studying manuals, he recorded three top-tier arts and unlocked the Imperial Dao attribute.

• Li Hao demonstrated his full mastery of the Hundred Dragons Body, astonishing Li Muxiu.
• Li Muxiu warned Li Hao against spreading his efforts across too many disciplines and explained the Yin and Yang Great Meridians.
• Li Muxiu told Li Hao that his blocked meridians might limit his cultivation and urged him to focus on the Thousand Dragons Sacred Body.
• Li Hao spent the following half month fishing with Li Muxiu and studying cultivation manuals in the tower.
• Li Hao recorded three top-tier manuals in his panel, unlocking the Imperial Dao attribute and prompting him to consider learning painting and cooking for more Art Skill Points.

Li Hao used painting to gain Painting Dao skill and surprised Li Fu and Uncle Zhao with his portraits. Half a year later, he fished and cooked beside Li Muxiu and the Thief Saint Feng Boping at Blackwater Demon Lake, where they called him Little Mouse.

• Li Hao demonstrated the second level of the Dragon Body to Li Fu and persuaded him to let him paint instead of training constantly.
• Li Hao advanced his Painting Dao from Stage 0 to Stage 1 and painted lifelike portraits of Li Fu and Uncle Zhao.
• Li Hao spent half a year fishing with Li Muxiu and met the Thief Saint, Feng Boping, who promised to seek medicine to open Li Hao’s meridians.
• Li Hao cooked a fish demon by Blackwater Demon Lake while fishing with Li Muxiu and Feng Boping, who called him Little Mouse.

Li Hao caught and effortlessly killed a powerful Shrimp Demon while fishing with Li Muxiu and Feng Boping, then refused an invitation to train at the Martial Arts Arena. After hearing that a letter had arrived from Northern Yan, he asked He Jianlan to reassure his parents that he was safe and well.

• Li Hao caught a ninth-layer Circulation Realm Shrimp Demon and killed it with a single sword strike.
• Feng Boping guessed that Li Hao had reached minor mastery in the Li Family's Dragon River Divine Meridian, while Li Hao knew he had already reached perfection.
• Xue Jian invited Li Hao to practice at the Martial Arts Arena, but Li Muxiu refused on his behalf.
• Li Hao learned that a letter had arrived from Northern Yan and hurried with Li Fu to see He Jianlan.
• He Jianlan told Li Hao that the letter reported on the fighting and provisions in Northern Yan and relayed his parents' questions about his health and daily life.
• Li Hao asked He Jianlan to write back that he was safe, eating well, practicing body tempering, and looking forward to cooking for his parents when they returned.

Li Hao received a letter from the Sword Hermitage and wrote back before his young relatives visited him for stories and pastries. The chapter left him beginning to entertain the three children as their self-appointed Child King.

• He Jianlan privately lamented that Li Hao’s parents in Northern Yan had not sent him more letters, while Xue Jian realized He Jianlan had invented their concern for him.
• Li Hao read a letter from the Sword Hermitage girl, learned she had reached the fifth level of the Circulation Realm and opened twenty-one meridians, then wrote her a reply.
• Li Hao resumed painting, and Li Yuanzhao, Li Yun, and Li Zhining arrived at the Mountains and Rivers Courtyard.
• Li Hao accepted the pastries Li Zhining brought, shared them among the children, and told them to fetch stools so he could continue his unfinished story.

Li Hao read about the Soul Succession Realm and assessed how his many cultivated paths could help him reach it. He planned to seek an inheritance from the Li Family’s ancestors, while his combined supreme circulation arts had already raised his qi circulation to 248 circuits.

• Li Hao entertained Li Yun, Li Zhining, and Li Yuanzhao with a story, then sent them home before continuing to paint.
• Li Hao read that martial artists inherited heroic spirits through places such as the Martial Temple, the army, renowned mountains, or ancestral halls.
• Li Hao reviewed his panel and recalled how embedding Chess Heart had helped his Path of the Physical Body advance, while his Body-Tempering Arts had transformed and strengthened him.
• Li Hao learned that the fourth levels of his Thousand Dragons Sacred Body and Dragon Cicada Vacuum Body required dragon souls and true dragon blood essence, and that these methods alone offered only a mediocre Soul Succession inheritance.
• Li Hao decided to seek the Li Family’s Ancestral Hall for a powerful soul inheritance and to deepen his strength before advancing.
• Li Hao combined two supreme Qi Circulation Methods, raising his qi circulation to 248 circuits, surpassing the Imperial Clan’s All Heavens Heavenly Circulation Art.

Li Hao opened the Yang Meridian and created the fourth level of the Primordial Beginning Art, Flawless Body, nearly doubling his already immense strength. After finding a white fox whose mother had been killed, he brought it back to Qingzhou City.

• Li Hao used his physical-body insights to open the dangerous Yang Meridian and unite it with the Yin Meridian, creating Flawless Body, the fourth level of the Primordial Beginning Art.
• Li Hao reached major mastery of Flawless Body and found that its power let him coordinate all his meridians, bringing his doubled strength close to nine million jin.
• Li Hao searched for Second Master at Blackwater Demon Lake, but Second Master returned without finding traces of the Old Dragon.
• Li Hao found a little white fox near the lake and waited for its parents, but Second Master discovered the mother fox's blood and fur, showing that a demonic beast had eaten her.
• Li Hao took the orphaned fox back to Qingzhou City.

Li Hao revealed that he had perfected the Circulation Realm at age eight and asked Li Muxiu to take him to the Ancestral Shrine to attempt Soul Succession. Li Muxiu agreed, and the chapter ended with an elder at the shrine questioning whether Li Hao was truly ready for Soul Inheritance.

• Li Hao killed a Fish Demon, cooked it for Li Muxiu and Feng Boping, and announced he was ready to attempt the Soul Succession Realm.
• Li Hao activated his 54 Great Meridians, convincing Li Muxiu and Feng Boping that he had perfected the Circulation Realm.
• Li Hao said his meridians had cleared after he dreamed of cultivating, and Li Muxiu accepted that he did not want to pursue military honors.
• Li Muxiu took Li Hao to the Li Family Ancestral Hall to seek the ancestors' approval for Soul Inheritance.
• An old man playing chess among the ancestral tablets saw Li Hao and questioned whether the child was truly ready for Soul Inheritance.

Eight-year-old Li Hao visited the Li Family Ancestral Shrine, where the founding ancestor offered him Soul Inheritance in exchange for two binding Heart Oaths. Li Hao hesitated over the obligations and left without accepting, while Li Muxiu encouraged him to think it over.

• Li Muxiu brought Li Hao to the Ancestral Shrine and revealed that the eight-year-old had reached perfection in the Circulation Realm.
• The ancestral Heroic Souls appeared, and the founding ancestor, Li Tianyuan, offered Li Hao his inheritance if he swore to protect the Li Family and Great Yu unto death.
• Li Hao questioned the oaths’ limits, and Li Tianyuan explained that they safeguarded the family’s continuity and helped it endure without provoking the imperial family.
• Li Hao remained unsure, so Li Tianyuan withdrew and left him to consider; Li Muxiu led him out of the shrine.
• As they left, Li Hao gave the long-browed elder a chess move, and the elder reacted with surprise while studying the board.

At nine years old, Li Hao comprehended the cooking Dao heart and advanced to the fourth stage of the Imperial Dao, discovering how to inherit the soul of heaven and earth. He entered the Soul Succession Realm, and five years passed as he continued his leisurely pursuits until he turned fourteen.

• Li Hao comprehended the cooking Dao heart while sharing fish soup with Feng Boping and Li Muxiu.
• Li Hao advanced his Imperial Dao to the fourth stage and realized he could establish his soul by giving heaven and earth form through himself.
• Li Hao withstood the overwhelming pressure of heaven and earth and entered the Soul Succession Realm.
• Li Fu and Uncle Zhao sensed a disturbance, found Li Hao's room disordered, and accepted his explanation that he had gained insight while practicing.
• Li Hao continued fishing, cooking, painting, playing chess, studying poetry, and learning the zither as five years passed and he turned fourteen.

Li Hao spent his days playing chess at the Divine General Residence while his white fox Xiao Rou caused trouble, and Fifth Master Li Qingzheng criticized Li Hao for inheriting a demon dragon soul. The First Madam sent Li Hao an invitation to Tan Palace Academy, but he casually set it aside.

• Li Hao defeated Fifth Master Li Qingzheng at chess while Xiao Rou returned smelling of medicinal herbs after knocking over the First Madam’s beauty tonic.
• Li Hao told Qingzhi to apologize to the First Madam with Perilla Cake and asked her to buy Cotton Jade Crisps.
• Li Qingzheng scolded Li Hao for delaying Soul Inheritance and inheriting a demon dragon soul, which had lowered his potential.
• Xue Jian delivered Li Hao an invitation to Tan Palace Academy on the First Madam’s behalf.
• Li Hao thanked Xue Jian and tossed the invitation beside the mat.

Li Hao reluctantly agreed to attend Tan Palace Academy to pursue the famous Oil Pastry and join Li Yuanzhao, Li Yun, and Li Zhining on the trip. The chapter ended as Li Yun criticized Li Yuanzhao for relying on their family invitations instead of earning admission through ability.

• Xue Jian relayed Madam’s threat to punish Li Hao if he refused to attend, and Li Qingzheng urged him to go for Black White Hall’s supreme art and Tan Palace Academy’s instruction.
• Qingzhi reported that Oil Pastry vendor Uncle Liu had moved his stall near Tan Palace Academy, prompting Li Hao to prepare for the trip.
• Qingzhi told Li Hao that Li Yuanzhao was waiting outside, and Li Hao set out with Uncle Fu and Qingzhi.
• Li Hao boarded the carriage with Li Yuanzhao and the siblings Li Yun and Li Zhining, who had grown distant from him.
• Li Yun told Li Yuanzhao that they should earn admission through their own abilities rather than depend on their family invitations.

Li Hao and the other young members of the Li Family traveled to Tan Palace Academy, where they faced the attention their family’s prestige attracted. The chapter ended with Li Hao leading Li Yuanzhao toward food instead of the academy entrance.

• Li Yuanzhao asked Li Yun to settle their old rivalry, while Li Yun secretly resented Li Hao for beating him years earlier.
• Li Yuanzhao asked about Bian Ruxue’s expected return and her progress toward the Spirit Wandering Realm, and Li Hao confirmed she would likely reach it by age fifteen.
• The Divine General Residence’s Flood Dragon Lion carriage drew attention and cleared a path through Qingzhou City as it carried Li Hao, Li Yun, Li Zhining, and Li Yuanzhao to Tan Palace Academy.
• Li Yun and Li Zhining left the carriage and entered the crowd while onlookers discussed the Li Family’s prestige and the academy’s limited places.
• Li Hao jumped down from the carriage and headed toward nearby food, telling Li Yuanzhao that he knew the academy was in the other direction.