Chapter Summaries

Lu Chenzhou prepared to compete in the youth division of the Pingjiang District Martial Arts Academy Exchange Tournament while learning that a fellow student had been killed by cultists. The random draw matched him against Rien Smith, the formidable son of Giant Elephant Rikett, in the first round.

• Lu Chenzhou shared his Black Tiger Fist breakthrough insights with Liu Quanhai, then advanced his Swallow Return Fist and Sea-Skimming Body practice that night.
• Lu Chenzhou read that cultists and a Fourth Stage Black Warrior had killed a Third Stage student, and recalled that he had wisely called the police from a distance during his own encounter.
• Lu Chenzhou arrived at the tournament, where Ji Xuantong warned him about Rien and his parents urged him to prioritize safety.
• The youth division began with twenty-four contestants, and the random draw matched Rien Smith of Giant Elephant Martial Hall against Lu Chenzhou of Flying Swallow Martial Hall.

Lu Chenzhou faced the formidable Rien in the tournament’s first round and defeated him in five seconds, revealing his Fourth Stage strength and mastery of Hidden Force. The chapter ended with Rien accepting his loss after being knocked out of the ring.

• Du Men defeated Liu Yong with a Flying Swallow Chain Strike, earning cheers from Flying Swallow Martial Hall.
• Lu Chenzhou and Rien took the arena as their martial halls and supporters cheered them on.
• Rien charged with an Elephant Tusk Straight Punch, and Lu Chenzhou met it head-on with Black Tiger Slams the Mountain.
• Lu Chenzhou blocked Rien’s follow-up, struck him with a Tiger Tail Kick, and sent him flying from the ring.
• Rien realized Lu Chenzhou had reached the Fourth Stage and comprehended an intermediate internal force technique, then admitted defeat.

Lu Chenzhou dominated the youth martial arts competition, defeating Rien, Wang Chong, and the other finalists to claim the championship and its 100,000-yuan prize. Du Men secured third place, while Lu Chenzhou celebrated the start of his championship journey.

• Lu Chenzhou knocked Rien out of the competition with a powerful punch, stunning the crowd and delighting his parents and Flying Swallow Martial Hall.
• The second round paired Lu Chenzhou with Wang Chong, whom he defeated after a one-sided fight; Du Men also advanced to the top six.
• Lu Chenzhou beat a Wandering Dragon competitor, while Du Men narrowly defeated Gao Fei to reach the top three.
• Lu Chenzhou defeated Du Men, then beat Liu Qingyuan; Liu Qingyuan defeated Du Men, establishing Lu Chenzhou as champion, Liu Qingyuan as runner-up, and Du Men in third place.

Lu Chenzhou’s victory at the youth division tournament earned praise for Flying Swallow Martial Hall, while Shi Ruyu won the youth championship after defeating Lin Jianxing. After celebrating, Lu returned to school through the rainy evening, leaving his parents in Shi Ruyu’s care.

• River-Crossing Jiao, Dancing Sky Lion, and Rikett congratulated Ji Xuantong and praised Lu Chenzhou after the youth division matches ended.
• Du Men offered Lu Chenzhou his twenty-thousand-yuan prize, but Lu refused it.
• Shi Ruyu defeated her opponents and advanced to the ranking match against Lin Jianxing, where she used Star Kui Pointing to the Dipper to knock him off the stage and claim first place.
• Ji Xuantong celebrated both Flying Swallow Martial Hall champions, and Ji Feiyan congratulated him over the phone.
• Lu Chenzhou said goodbye to Ji Xuantong and Shi Ruyu, who offered to take his parents home, then left for school in the rain.

Lu Chenzhou was caught in a police chase and killed a prosthetic-equipped cultist while defending himself. An officer confirmed the death was legitimate self-defense and told him to wait for the others.

• Lu Chenzhou deposited his prize money, then headed for the subway when the rain made rideshares unavailable.
• Police pursued a fleeing cultist in a black car, and Lu Chenzhou jumped from a bridge to avoid the gunfire.
• The cultist escaped into the river channel and attacked Lu Chenzhou, who recognized his Black Tiger Fist and prosthetic leg.
• Lu Chenzhou used Black Tiger Throws the Ox to slam the cultist into the ground, killing him.
• A pursuing officer confirmed the dead man was a cultist and reassured Lu Chenzhou that he had acted in legitimate self-defense.

After Lu Chenzhou killed a cultist in self-defense, the police questioned him while his family, master, and teacher arrived to support him. The case was quickly ruled legitimate self-defense, and Lu Chenzhou returned to school with a warning to be cautious around technologically enhanced fighters.

• Police officers secured the scene and identified Lu Chenzhou as a sixteen-year-old Fourth Stage student from Dragon City High School.
• Li Xianghua and Lu Guoping arrived at the police station, where Shi Ruyu reassured them that the deceased was a cultist and surveillance footage supported Lu Chenzhou's self-defense claim.
• Ji Xuantong arrived as Lu Chenzhou's master, and Yu Zheng came from Dragon City High School to support him.
• The police told Lu Chenzhou that the procuratorate had accepted the killing as legitimate self-defense and that he would receive judicial assistance money.
• Ji Xuantong and Yu Zheng advised Lu Chenzhou to resume his studies and training while staying alert to Black Warriors with potentially dangerous cybernetics.

After killing a Black Warrior, Lu Chenzhou found that the experience triggered Fortune-Touched Insight and advanced his Black Tiger Fist. With the school supporting his recovery and training, he focused on strengthening his skills and protecting himself from future attacks.

• Lu Chenzhou returned to the dormitory after the police kept the Black Warrior incident quiet, and he used ointment Yu Zheng had obtained for his bruises.
• At Tiger Garden, Lu Chenzhou watched Black Tiger and entered Fortune-Touched Insight while practicing Black Tiger Fist, raising it to Mastery (43%).
• Wang Jidao concluded that Lu Chenzhou’s killing experience had changed his bearing and likely triggered the insight.
• Lu Chenzhou received a 100,000-yuan judicial assistance reward and exchanged part of it for qi-boosting supplements.
• By June 1st, Lu Chenzhou had received counseling and extra training from Winged Tiger, and he planned to combine martial arts with protective equipment to avoid another serious injury.
• Winged Tiger praised Lu Chenzhou’s progress in Tiger Venerable Fist and told him to keep practicing Black Tiger Fist; Lu Chenzhou reflected that the Martial Dao Tree might prevent him from forgetting Basic Fist Art.

Lu Chenzhou celebrated a breakthrough in his movement technique and opened his sixth acupoint while preparing to earn money as a boxing coach. Meanwhile, Lu Fang discovered that the cultists Lu Chenzhou killed had mutated hearts and ordered an investigation into what might be a new cult.

• Lu Chenzhou’s classmates watched a popular video of him winning the academy exchange tournament, and he discussed Old Zhang’s Mortal Bone App and a potential coaching job.
• Lu Chenzhou advanced Sea-Skimming Body to Minor Accomplishment, opened his sixth acupoint, and found that his practice had become more efficient.
• Lu Chenzhou saw that Shi Ruyu had posted about her birthday, then trained at Tiger Garden and increased his Black Tiger Fist proficiency.
• Lu Chenzhou asked Yu Zheng to teach him the seventh acupoint, and Yu Zheng began instructing him in opening the Fish Border Acupoint.
• Lu Fang examined the two dead cultists’ mutated hearts, ordered them transferred to a containment facility, and directed officers to search for the other cult members.

Lu Fang learned from Gong Jiu that the heart lesions in the cultists were tied to the Worryfree Matriarch and the Void Realm, and resolved to pursue both cult suppression and ideological education. Lu Chenzhou continued his stance training and defeated Liu Quanhai in a spar, drawing Chen Yuan’s interest in his Tiger-Swallow Twin Forms.

• Lu Fang described the cultists’ abnormal hearts to Gong Jiu, who connected the lesions to the Heartjoy Church and the Worryfree Matriarch.
• Gong Jiu warned Lu Fang that powerful Void Realm beings fed on human mental energy and that cults spread fear and faith in them.
• Lu Fang thanked Gong Jiu and concluded that Su City needed both ideological education and suppression of cults.
• Lu Chenzhou trained his Heaven Stance, advanced his seventh acupoint to two percent, and exchanged messages with Shi Ruyu.
• Lu Chenzhou defeated Liu Quanhai in a spar, and Chen Yuan observed that his Swallow Form was improving and wondered whether he would pursue Tiger-Swallow Twin Forms.

Lu Chenzhou returned home, earned a boxing coach certificate, and visited Flying Swallow Martial Arts Hall, where he sparred with Du Men and discussed coaching work with Old Zhang. Ji Xuantong gave him a costly championship gift pack and asked whether he still wanted to learn Hard Qi Training.

• Lu Chenzhou told Li Xianghua and Lu Guoping that he planned to take the boxing coach exam and support himself by teaching part-time.
• Lu Chenzhou passed the boxing coach assessment and received his certificate.
• Lu Chenzhou defeated Du Men in a sparring match in thirteen seconds, then advised him on his footwork.
• Old Zhang encouraged Lu Chenzhou to charge six hundred per coaching class, and Lu Chenzhou agreed to try that price.
• Ji Xuantong gave Lu Chenzhou a Martial Medicine Factory No. 6 championship gift pack and asked if he still wanted to learn Hard Qi Training.

Lu Chenzhou asked Ji Xuantong to teach him Hard Qi Training, and Ji explained its drawbacks and how it could help lay a foundation for later cultivation. Lu Chenzhou began learning the Arhat Skill and left with a modest goal of improving his resistance to blows.

• Lu Chenzhou asked Ji Xuantong why Hard Qi Training was no longer widely taught, and Ji explained its difficulty, risks, and limited usefulness against modern weapons.
• Ji Xuantong described how Hard Qi Training could help prepare the body for cultivation after the First Shackle Breakthrough and named Lu Fang as a renowned practitioner.
• Ji Xuantong taught Lu Chenzhou the basics of the Arhat Skill, and Lu Chenzhou listened and learned for three hours.
• Ji Xuantong demonstrated his resistance by letting Lu Chenzhou stab his chest, then explained that most of his toughness came from his First Shackle Breakthrough.
• Lu Chenzhou saw that the Martial Dao Tree had recorded Arhat Skill at Beginner (2%) and left hoping to improve his strike resistance.
• Shi Ruyu visited Ji Xuantong, and they agreed that Lu Chenzhou could try Hard Qi Training as long as it did not interfere with his regular cultivation.

Lu Chenzhou began practicing Arhat Skill with help from his teachers and a body-tempering robot, Little Heng. After his first session, the Martial Dao Tree showed rapid progress, and he resolved to keep training so he could face cybernetic fighters with his own body.

• Yu Zheng questioned Lu Chenzhou about practicing Hard Qi Training, then allowed him to try it and directed him to Teacher Hong for equipment.
• Hong Fu lent Lu Chenzhou Little Heng, a body-tempering robot, and advised him to use Black Jade No. 1 Ointment after training.
• Lu Chenzhou took Little Heng to his dormitory, studied its manual, and completed half an hour of Arhat Skill impact training.
• Lu Chenzhou treated his bruises and saw his Arhat Skill progress rise from 2% to 5% on the Martial Dao Tree.
• Lu Chenzhou decided to continue the daily practice and imagined using his tempered body against a cybernetic Black Warrior.

Lu Chenzhou began earning money as a fist art coach, teaching Lin Ruojun and a second student. Lin Ruojun and her father approved of him, while her mother remained wary, and Lu Chenzhou left with a new client and confidence in his growing income.

• Lu Chenzhou visited Lin Bin’s villa to teach Lin Ruojun a trial lesson in Basic Fist Art.
• Lin Ruojun’s mother worried about Lu Chenzhou’s character, but she held back her warning after his intimidating presence unsettled her.
• Lu Chenzhou taught Lin Ruojun and judged that her comprehension could help her reach the completion realm in fist art by her second year of high school.
• A new student, Mr. Zhang, bought twenty classes from Lu Chenzhou, earning him more than eight thousand yuan after deductions.
• Lin Ruojun told her parents that Little Teacher Lu was good, and Lin Bin encouraged her to learn from him and aim for Pingjiang Martial University.

Lu Chenzhou advanced his movement and fist techniques while demonstrating his early progress in Hard Qi Training to Yu Zheng. He met Wang Gang, a fellow practitioner from Star River High School, and the two began resistance training together.

• Lu Chenzhou reached Minor Achievement in Mountain-Crossing Body, improving his Black Tiger Fist, and Yu Zheng recognized that he had made progress in Hard Qi Training.
• Yu Zheng considered that Lu Chenzhou might have talent in both internal and external arts and planned to keep observing him for his aptitude assessment.
• Liu Huan introduced Lu Chenzhou to Wang Gang, who contacted him to discuss Hard Qi Training and arranged to meet at Dragon City High School.
• Lu Chenzhou advanced Tiger Venerable Fist from Beginner to Skilled and met Wang Gang on the training field.
• Lu Chenzhou and Wang Gang agreed to practice resistance training regularly, and Wang Gang began striking Lu Chenzhou with his Great Strength Vajra Palm.
• Winged Tiger watched them train and thought Lu Chenzhou might become another Ghost-Headed Evil Tiger.

Lu Chenzhou perfected Black Tiger Fist, formed the Tiger Enters the Mountains Divine Seed, and reached the Fifth Stage before the summer exam. His outstanding assessment convinced the principal to approve his promotion for headquarters review and consider him for the Genius Class after the winter exam.

• Lu Chenzhou trained with Wang Gang, received a new block of lessons from Lin Bin, and continued cultivating while preparing for the summer exam.
• Lu Chenzhou perfected Black Tiger Fist, formed the first-rank Tiger Enters the Mountains Divine Seed, and discovered that its comprehension effects sped up his progress in other fist arts.
• Lu Chenzhou measured at the Fifth Stage and ranked fifth in the written exams before demonstrating his perfected Black Tiger Fist and other skills in the martial arts assessment.
• The teachers submitted Lu Chenzhou for Grade A review, while he told Shi Ruyu, Ji Xuantong, and Du Men about his results and Du Men shared his special-admissions success.
• Principal Zuo Shancang approved Lu Chenzhou for headquarters reassessment and ordered the school to keep watch on his potential, with a possible Genius Class transfer after the winter exam.

Wang Jidao offered to take Lu Chenzhou as his disciple at Xinghe Martial University, but Lu Chenzhou chose Dragon City University of Martial Arts. After sharing a farewell banquet with classmates who had been eliminated, Lu Chenzhou fought off two escaped lions on his way back to the dormitory.

• Yu Zheng and the teachers celebrated Lu Chenzhou’s expected Grade A rating, and Hong Fu vowed to protect him and restore Tiger Form’s glory.
• Wang Jidao visited Lu Chenzhou at Tiger Garden, offered to make him his disciple at Xinghe Martial University, and accepted his decision to attend Dragon City University of Martial Arts.
• Lu Chenzhou treated his classmates to a farewell banquet for the six students eliminated from the school, and Liu Huan learned that Lu Chenzhou had already paid the bill.
• On the way back to his dormitory, Lu Chenzhou dodged an attack by an escaped lioness and used his Black Tiger Hidden Force to badly injure Scar Bro, the male lion.
• Wang Jidao watched the fight, arranged for the zoo staff to retrieve the lions, and ordered ten boxes of Qi-boosting supplements sent to Lu Chenzhou as compensation.

Lu Chenzhou learned that his father had lost his job and sought legal advice about the unpaid severance, while quietly recording the names of the company owner and his martial artist relative. After learning he would compete in the Su City Hundred-Halls Exchange Tournament for a chance at a valuable car, Lu Chenzhou left confident that he could contend for first place.

• Lu Chenzhou visited home, learned Lu Guoping had lost his job, and gave Li Xianghua thirty thousand yuan for household expenses.
• Lu Chenzhou warned Lu Guoping against a lending-company job and asked Lin Bin for advice about Baokang Machinery's unpaid severance.
• Lin Bin found that company owner Wang Kang had connections to Xihe Martial Hall and its master, Wang Jian, so Lu Chenzhou recorded their names and urged his father to pursue legal remedies.
• Lu Chenzhou congratulated Du Men on passing a special admissions examination and met with Qin Zheng and the other students at Flying Swallow Martial Hall.
• Ji Xuantong told Lu Chenzhou that he, Du Men, and Shi Ruyu would compete in the Su City Hundred-Halls Exchange Tournament, whose top prize was a Way-Seeking 9 Smart Car.
• Lu Chenzhou decided that his progress might let him win the tournament and planned to sell the car for money.

Lu Chenzhou received a Grade-A martial arts talent rating and learned that keeping it through the Winter Examination could let him skip a grade and enter university early. As the Dragon City Martial Arts Tournament approached, he assessed the remaining contestants and began to believe he could finish in the top ten.

• Ji Xuantong promised Lu Chenzhou and Ruyu cash rewards for placing in the Dragon City Martial Arts Tournament and warned Lu Chenzhou to hide his cultivation progress from outsiders.
• Yu Zheng told Lu Chenzhou he had earned a Grade-A rating and could apply to let him enter university without examinations if he maintained the rating in the Winter Examination.
• Lu Chenzhou kept his rating secret from Liu Huan and continued Hard Qi Training with Wang Gang, who showed strength suggesting he had reached the Sixth Stage.
• Many senior students withdrew from the upcoming tournament to avoid injuries before the martial arts college entrance examination, leaving sixty contestants.
• Lu Chenzhou studied the contestant list and decided that a top-ten finish seemed possible.

Lu Chenzhou discovered that opening his Laogong Acupoints sharpened his mind, then entered the school martial competition and revealed his successful Hard Qi Training. He defeated Li Yuanhua to advance into the top fifteen, leaving him pleased with the power of his hard-bodied Tiger Form style.

• Lu Chenzhou felt Spirit Condensation from his opened Laogong Acupoints and found that it helped him practice the Tiger Venerable Fist without becoming mentally fatigued.
• Yu Zheng praised Lu Chenzhou's progress and advised him to seek Teacher Hong Fu when he was ready to learn a first-rate martial art.
• At the July 30 martial competition, Lu Chenzhou defeated Wang Yang, while Liu Huan defeated Wen Tiange, and both advanced from the first round.
• Lu Chenzhou drew Li Yuanhua in the second round and initially used Black Tiger Fist against his opponent's nimble Spirit Monkey techniques.
• Lu Chenzhou revealed his Hard Qi Training, withstood Li Yuanhua's attacks, and dislocated Li Yuanhua's arm with a Black Tiger Hidden Force strike.
• Lu Chenzhou advanced into the top fifteen and reflected that Hard Qi Training suited his forceful Tiger Form fighting style.

Lu Chenzhou advanced through the tournament after receiving a bye, then faced Huo Tianyu in the quarterfinals. He defeated her by exploiting her hesitation, securing a place in the semifinals.

• Lu Chenzhou received a bye in the third round and advanced toward the top ten.
• Liu Huan defeated Yuan Zhigang with Bear King Pulls Pine to reach the semifinals.
• Huo Tianyu challenged Lu Chenzhou, confident her Sixth Stage cultivation would give her the advantage.
• Lu Chenzhou endured Huo Tianyu’s attacks and fought back through more than a hundred exchanges.
• Lu Chenzhou grabbed Huo Tianyu’s ankle, took her down, and restrained her until she conceded the match.
• Yuan Zhigang comforted Huo Tianyu, telling her to learn from her defeat.