Chapter Summaries

Ling Wuyuan observed the two surviving fighters and the hidden wolf pack, then used a lightweight arrow to startle the wolves into revealing themselves. The fighters noticed the pack as it burst from hiding.

• Ling Wuyuan accelerated his perception and watched the three men fight, predicting that the weakest would be killed by the other two.
• The two stronger men killed the weakest, then resumed fighting while searching for the wolf pack.
• Ling Wuyuan spotted the wolves concealed in the distant grass and considered how their presence could affect the fight.
• Ling Wuyuan fired a lightweight arrow that pierced a wolf’s foreleg without killing it.
• The wounded wolf howled, startling the pack into the open, and the two fighters noticed the wolves.

Ling Wuyuan watched Che Xianwei and Wen Changyu fight to the death, then prepared his special arrows as Che Xianwei appeared to win. Che Xianwei’s victory was interrupted by a sudden barrage of arrows, while Wen Changyu threw his saber to block his escape.

• Ling Wuyuan watched the two men kill the wolf pack and then resume their duel, using their fight to learn about the costs of combat.
• Che Xianwei lost his left hand but stabbed Wen Changyu in the abdomen and withdrew rather than risk a final counterattack.
• Che Xianwei planned to claim the treasure and inherit his companions’ estates as Wen Changyu collapsed from his wounds.
• Che Xianwei stopped retreating and declared that he had won as Wen Changyu glared at him helplessly.
• Several arrows suddenly whistled toward Che Xianwei, and Wen Changyu hurled his saber to block one of his possible escape routes.

After Wen Changyu died, Ling Wuyuan kept the badly wounded Che Xianwei at a distance and chose to wait for his injuries and blood loss to finish him. Che Xianwei could not reach Ling Wuyuan, leaving him trapped with no clear way to escape.

• Wen Changyu died after throwing his saber, which blocked Che Xianwei's escape and let Ling Wuyuan land three arrows.
• Che Xianwei picked up Wen Changyu's saber, but injuries to his abdomen and left leg left him badly wounded and unable to pursue Ling Wuyuan.
• Ling Wuyuan rested on a tree branch and decided to let Che Xianwei's wounds and blood loss wear him down.
• Che Xianwei tried to provoke Ling Wuyuan into approaching, but Ling Wuyuan taunted him to curse louder from a safe distance.
• Che Xianwei's anger and continued cursing worsened his pain and made him cough up blood, so he fell silent and considered how to escape.
• Ling Wuyuan watched Che Xianwei bleed, confident that his opponent could no longer turn the situation around.

Ling Wuyuan killed Che Xianwei after wearing him down with stones and overcoming his feigned death with a sudden dagger attack. With Che Xianwei dead, Ling Wuyuan looked forward to claiming the spoils from the battle.

• Ling Wuyuan spent hours harassing Che Xianwei with stones until blood loss left him barely conscious.
• Ling Wuyuan struck Che Xianwei in the eye with his final stone, then approached and attacked him with his sword.
• Che Xianwei sprang up and cut through Ling Wuyuan's sword, but Ling Wuyuan used tenfold acceleration to stab him with a dagger and carve open his abdomen and chest.
• Che Xianwei admitted he had been pretending to be dead, then died from his wounds.
• Ling Wuyuan shook the blood from his dagger and celebrated the spoils awaiting him.

Ling Wuyuan returned to the White Crow Gang after hunting wolves and collecting spoils from three dead men, hiding their high-grade weapons along the way. At home, he inventoried his gains and discovered the treasure map that had driven the trio to kill one another.

• Ling Wuyuan buried a saber and two swords because he could not safely carry the high-grade weapons back to the gang.
• Ling Wuyuan told the guards he had gotten lost, encountered a wolf pack, and lost his sword while escaping; he gave the smoking old brother a piece of wolf meat.
• Ling Wuyuan returned to his residence and unpacked nearly a hundred pounds of wolf meat, the Wolf King's heart, and bottles of wolf heart's blood.
• Ling Wuyuan regretted leaving the other wolf corpses and their valuable pelts behind, wishing he had a spatial storage item.
• Ling Wuyuan examined the spoils from the unknown trio: five cultivation manuals, money, medicines, and the treasure map they had fought over.

Ling Wuyuan counted the wealth and manuals he had taken from the three men, deciding to cultivate the Iron Statue Body Tempering Technique alongside his current method. He studied an ancient treasure map but could not decipher most of it, though he learned the treasure might be hidden in a lake beside a Black Observatory.

• Ling Wuyuan counted more than thirty low-grade crystal coins, one hundred and thirteen gold coins, and banknotes worth tens of thousands of gold coins.
• Ling Wuyuan examined five high-grade martial arts manuals and decided the Iron Statue Body Tempering Technique was especially valuable for strengthening his innate ability.
• Ling Wuyuan learned that medicines taken from the corpses were needed to cultivate the Iron Statue Body Tempering Technique.
• Ling Wuyuan studied the incomplete, thousand-year-old treasure map but could not understand its place names or terrain.
• Ling Wuyuan concluded that the map pointed to a lake with a Black Observatory on its shore, where a statue on the lake bottom concealed the treasure.

Ling Wuyuan remained with the White Crow Gang because its safe environment let him grow without drawing unwanted attention. While helping prepare for the Gang Competition, he watched other newcomers train and pushed himself to circulate his Qi and Blood faster.

• Ling Wuyuan reflected that his wealth could support an independent life, but his young age made the White Crow Gang’s protection valuable.
• Ling Wuyuan and the other newcomers carried supplies up White Crow Mountain to prepare for the Gang Competition.
• A newcomer declared that he could enter the [Body Tempering Realm] within a year, and his companion doubted that his strength was sufficient.
• The newcomer explained that he trained his Qi and Blood late into the night, prompting Ling Wuyuan to increase his own circulation speed.
• Ling Wuyuan continued managing the overlapping circulation of the [Iron Statue Body Tempering Technique] and the [Tiger Bone Body Strengthening Technique].

Ling Wuyuan reflected on the risks and promise of cultivating two martial arts techniques at once, then joined the newcomers touring the White Crow Gang’s mountaintop training ground. He recognized a black observatory from his treasure map and wondered whether the Gang had already found the treasure or had moved the observatory without knowing its significance.

• Ling Wuyuan considered how his abilities and strengthened meridians might let him accelerate Qi and Blood circulation, but worried that his body would need enough nutrition to keep up.
• A steward led the newcomers to the training ground, where they watched the Gang’s buildings and members preparing for the Gang Competition.
• Ling Wuyuan spotted a black observatory near a building and recognized its patterns from the treasure map he had been searching for.
• Ling Wuyuan wondered whether White Crow Mountain had once been a lake or whether the White Crow Gang had found the treasure and moved the observatory.
• Ling Wuyuan realized the treasure might still be waiting to be found if the Gang had moved the observatory without knowing its significance.

Ling Wuyuan watched the White Crow Gang Competition while pondering the origins of the black observatory. A seventeen-year-old Young Gang Leader dominated a sword match, and the newcomers discussed his talent and prospects as a future leader.

• Ling Wuyuan considered looking through the White Crow Gang's historical records to learn where the black observatory came from.
• The Young Gang Leader outmatched an older swordsman, appearing calm while his opponent struggled and grew exhausted.
• A newcomer explained that the seventeen-year-old Young Gang Leader had reached the Bone Forging Realm at fifteen and was expected to enter the Blood Strengthening Realm soon.
• The newcomers discussed the Young Gang Leader's chances of inheriting leadership, and Ling Wuyuan noted that he had heard no rumors of unfair favoritism toward him.

After Yang Zutao won the Gang Competition, Ling Wuyuan reflected on his own cultivation and the unusual ways his body developed. He concluded that his innate ability [Abyssal Divine Speed] was reshaping him for speed and named its passive effect [Divine Speed Optimization].

• Yang Zutao easily won the Gang Competition, and the White Crow Gang's higher-ups praised the proud Gang Leader.
• Ling Wuyuan dismissed the competition's glory and thought about the Black Observatory while assessing his own strength and cultivation.
• Ling Wuyuan explained that his physical growth exceeded ordinary cultivators' limits and that he advanced realms when his body was ready.
• Ling Wuyuan used [Inner Vision] to observe Qi and Blood strengthening and modifying his body, especially its speed-related abilities.
• Ling Wuyuan attributed his exceptional movement, attack, and reaction speed to [Abyssal Divine Speed] and named its passive body-optimization effect [Divine Speed Optimization].

Ling Wuyuan reflected on why he no longer needed to stand out in the White Crow Gang’s competition and chose to keep building strength quietly. As the top contestants received their rewards, a spectacular Heavenly Change appeared in the sky, and the gang hailed it as an auspicious omen.

• The newcomers discussed Hu Wei, who had secretly reached the Body Tempering Realm and competed in the Gang Competition before leaving the training grounds.
• A newcomer suggested that others in Ling Wuyuan’s class might also be hiding their strength, and several people turned to question likely candidates.
• Ling Wuyuan recognized that some classmates were close to the Body Tempering Realm but continued watching the competition’s top three receive their rewards.
• Ling Wuyuan recalled that his unexpected haul of resources meant he no longer needed to rise through the gang, so he planned to grow stronger in silence.
• A thunderous Heavenly Change filled the sky with streams of light, and members of the White Crow Gang celebrated it as an auspicious omen.

After finding no clues about the Black Observatory in the White Crow Gang’s records, Ling Wuyuan deduced that its original location had been near White Crow Mountain. He searched the lake beside his dormitory and found a buried statue, then began digging it out.

• Ling Wuyuan found no mention of the Black Observatory in the White Crow Gang’s historical records and concluded the gang had likely treated it as a mere ornament.
• Ling Wuyuan reasoned that whoever moved the Observatory would not have hauled it far, and identified the lake beside his dormitory as the closest likely location.
• Ling Wuyuan searched the lake at night, diving to the bottom and inspecting the silt for a statue.
• Ling Wuyuan found a brown stone statue buried in the middle of the lake and began digging around it to uncover its base.

Ling Wuyuan recovered a heavy metal box from a statue buried in the lake and used the treasure map to open it. He found a mysterious ring and discovered that a blood-binding ritual actually worked, leaving him wondering what kind of world he lived in.

• Ling Wuyuan excavated the statue, opened a hidden compartment in its pedestal, and took the metal box before burying the statue again.
• Ling Wuyuan compared the box’s movable surface patterns with the treasure map and restored their original arrangement, opening the box.
• Ling Wuyuan found a dark-red ring engraved with beasts and birds inside the box, but could not determine its purpose.
• Ling Wuyuan tried a blood-binding ritual on the ring, and it worked.

Ling Wuyuan discovered that the metal ring was a spatial ring and found a trove of books and records stored inside. A letter revealed that the collection belonged to the long-lost Azure Lake White Stream Palace, whose secret vault might still hold its supreme mysteries and final treasure.

• Ling Wuyuan blood-bound the metal ring and discovered its sealed twenty-meter storage space.
• Ling Wuyuan tested the ring and found that seeds and eggs could be stored but died inside, while stored objects decayed very slowly.
• Ling Wuyuan sorted thousands of books from the ring, including cultivation manuals, medical texts, and histories.
• Ling Wuyuan read Duan Qidong's letter, which explained that the Third Palace Master had hidden the Azure Lake White Stream Palace's treasures as a safeguard against looming disasters.
• Ling Wuyuan recognized the Southern Mist Country as the predecessor of his own country and realized the ring and the palace were roughly four thousand years old.

Ling Wuyuan examined the map to Azure Lake White Stream Palace’s Secret Vault but decided to wait until he was older before attempting the distant journey. He sorted the inherited books, kept several powerful manuals for cultivation, and recognized how greatly the inheritance had enriched him.

• Ling Wuyuan studied the map and learned that the Secret Vault lay beneath the Azure Lake White Stream Palace Ruins in Cloud Ridge Province.
• Ling Wuyuan decided not to travel to the Secret Vault yet, since he was too young and others might already have claimed its contents.
• Ling Wuyuan returned most of the books to the spatial ring and kept several martial manuals to cultivate.
• Ling Wuyuan reviewed the cultivation realms and recalled that Azure Lake White Stream Palace had once been among Southern Mist Country’s strongest sects.
• Ling Wuyuan realized that inheriting even part of the sect’s assets had made him extraordinarily fortunate.

Ling Wuyuan surveyed the immense wealth and resources in Azure Lake White Stream Palace’s spatial ring, then chose four beginner-friendly manuals suited to his current strength. With his material needs met, he planned to cultivate harder while keeping his exceptional talent concealed.

• Ling Wuyuan opened chests of valuables and delighted in the vast fortune Azure Lake White Stream Palace had left behind.
• After sorting through the spatial ring, Ling Wuyuan kept Light Wind White Flow Body, Wolf Tiger Leopard Body Forging Technique, Flowing Clouds Flowing Water Fist, and Flying Swallow Circling Steps as manuals suited to him.
• Ling Wuyuan recognized that Wolf Tiger Leopard Body Forging Technique could replace Tiger Bone Body Strengthening Technique and let him rebuild his foundation.
• Ling Wuyuan recalled that the apothecary tracked his medicine purchases to identify talented people, a practice that threatened to draw attention to his concealed exceptional talent.
• With his resources, cultivation methods, and environment secured, Ling Wuyuan resolved to cultivate more diligently.

Over two years, Ling Wuyuan painstakingly rebuilt and refined his foundation, cultivating more than ten techniques at once with support from Azure Lake White Stream Palace. By his fourth year in the White Crow Gang, his body had gained extraordinary resilience, recovery, and Dark Vision.

• Ling Wuyuan spent two years integrating his resources and repeatedly retraining parts of his foundation.
• At fourteen, Ling Wuyuan cultivated more than ten techniques simultaneously, using precise control over his Qi and Blood to manage them.
• Ling Wuyuan chose to prioritize a solid foundation because he had no urgent mission, blood feud, or pressing enemy.
• Ling Wuyuan's refined foundation gave him exceptional physical abilities, resistance to heat, cold, and injury, and greatly accelerated recovery.
• Glimmer Vision advanced into Dark Vision, allowing Ling Wuyuan to see in complete darkness.

At Black Fall Mountain, Ling Wuyuan watched the miners begin their work and reflected on how he had settled into his life in this world. A fellow White Crow Gang manager tried to arrange a marriage for him, leaving Ling Wuyuan wondering whether his growing reputation would force him to leave the gang.

• Ling Wuyuan observed the miners heading into the shafts and thought about how few young people had better prospects than hard labor.
• A middle-aged White Crow Gang manager asked Ling Wuyuan if he was interested in women and offered to introduce him to his pretty niece.
• The manager praised Ling Wuyuan's looks, maturity, and cultivation talent, while Ling Wuyuan politely refused the match.
• After finally sending the man away, Ling Wuyuan sighed over his reputation attracting more matchmakers and considered leaving the gang, though he felt embarrassed by the reason.

Ling Wuyuan asked Qi Xingjian for leave to visit Wucha Town, and his coworkers at Black Falling Mountain Mining Camp added several errands to his trip. He agreed to their requests, leaving the camp’s easygoing routine undisturbed.

• Ling Wuyuan told Qi Xingjian that he planned to visit Wucha Town and buy a few things.
• Qi Xingjian approved the leave and asked Ling Wuyuan to bring back a copy of the News Report.
• The other camp members asked Ling Wuyuan to pick up supplies and arrange food deliveries from Wucha Town.
• Ling Wuyuan accepted the errands, and the group finished their meal together.

Ling Wuyuan collected a large order of medicinal ingredients from Wucha Town’s apothecary, leaving Steward Li uneasy about his wealth and confidence. The chapter revealed Ling Wuyuan planned to use the ingredients to refine cultivation medicines and powerful nutritional supplements for his demanding training.

• Ling Wuyuan rode to Wucha Town and went to its largest apothecary to collect the medicinal ingredients he had ordered.
• Steward Li showed Ling Wuyuan the ginseng, He Shou Wu, animal bones, and pangolin shells, and Ling Wuyuan paid for the goods.
• Steward Li wondered how Ling Wuyuan could afford such large purchases but decided against investigating him, fearing the consequences.
• Ling Wuyuan intended to refine medicines for cultivating his techniques and for maintaining his body’s nutrition.
• Ling Wuyuan needed special supplements because cultivating more than ten techniques would otherwise require him to eat forty or fifty kilograms of ordinary meat each day.