Chapter Summaries

On his first day managing the Cold Iron Mine, Lin Lin pushed the overseers for a larger share of the mine’s profits because he needed Sect Contribution Points to advance. He challenged their offer by pointing out that increasing production could bring much greater rewards from the sect.

• Lin Lin calculated that his guaranteed manager’s contribution points would take nearly six years to repay his debt, so he looked for ways to boost the mine’s output and earn more points.
• Lin Lin questioned Chi Bencheng and Shi You’s offer of two hundred Silver Taels a month.
• Chi Bencheng and Shi You explained the mine’s costs and wages, then offered Lin Lin five hundred taels while warning that further demands could disrupt production.
• Lin Lin recognized their offer as an attempt to entice him with profit and intimidate him with threats of trouble at the mine.
• Lin Lin told Chi Bencheng and Shi You that doubling or tripling the Cold Iron Mine’s output could earn substantial additional rewards from the sect.

Lin Lin persuaded Chi Bencheng and Shi You to let him test new methods for raising Cold Iron Mine productivity without extending the miners’ hours. After a day of cultivation and planning, he assigned the overseers their first tasks, and the changes began the next morning.

• Chi Bencheng and Shi You warned Lin Lin that longer hours would endanger the miners and hurt the mine, while Shi You suggested buying slaves to fill ghost-payroll positions.
• Lin Lin clarified that he wanted to motivate the miners and increase their productivity per hour, then asked to test his methods for a month.
• Chi Bencheng and Shi You agreed to follow Lin Lin’s instructions for a month, provided the mine returned to its old methods if his plan failed.
• Lin Lin spent the day mining and cultivating in the cold tunnels, then developed his plan to improve the mine’s efficiency.
• Lin Lin assigned tasks to the overseers after work, and his arrangements began the following morning.

Lin Lin introduced a new system of better meals, daily evaluations, and wage bonuses to motivate the miners in the Mining Area. After explaining his long-term plan to Shi You and Chi Bencheng, he left to go home, while the system’s success remained to be seen.

• The miners received improved meals and were not casually beaten, then A-grade workers were given certificates and special dishes at dinner.
• Chi Bencheng announced new meal standards, daily grades, Water Prison punishments, and wage penalties and bonuses based on evaluations.
• Lin Lin told Shi You and Chi Bencheng that the first day was meant to establish the new rules and that enforcing them would inspire miners to work harder.
• Lin Lin explained that improved morale and a good reputation would help recruit new miners and raise Cold Iron output, but warned that broken promises would destroy trust.
• Lin Lin left the high ground and went home.

Lin Lin’s new rules increased Cold Iron Mine output and earned him the managers’ admiration, while his authority as Chief Manager grew. With the mine running smoothly, he focused on cultivating by mining and tempering his body.

• The miners worked harder under Lin Lin’s rules, and Cold Iron output rose to eighty percent above its former level after half a month.
• The overseers praised Lin Lin and celebrated the prospect of higher salaries and rewards, while Lin shared food and encouraged them to keep working together.
• Da Niu and Shi Tou observed that Lin Lin’s prestige at the mine had grown since his lonely first days there.
• After lunch, Lin Lin concluded that the mine was running properly and that he could focus on cultivation while saving Sect Contribution and building his fortune.
• Lin Lin returned to his usual mining spot and continued striking Cold Iron Ore, using the cold energy and impact to temper his body.

Over more than four months of punishing cultivation in the Cold Iron Mine, Lin Lin rapidly opened his acupoints and mastered his Superior Martial Arts. With his Aperture Opening Realm cultivation complete and his Sword Intent perfected, he prepared to break through to the True Qi Condensation Realm.

• Lin Lin endured the cold and pain of mining while steadily increasing his cultivation, reaching his sixtieth illuminated acupoint just over a month after returning from his mission.
• Lin Lin used the medicinal pills and powders prepared from Old Ginseng to support his training, while his growing blood and qi strengthened his body, Inner Breath, and Mental Strength.
• Lin Lin consulted Elder of Teaching Skills Ji Yun and opened the acupoints needed to cultivate Cold Plum Swordplay and Azure Lotus Sway, then practiced them toward minor mastery.
• Lin Lin trained Immovable as a Mountain and used his Sword Finger against the Cold Iron Ore wall until his Sword Qi could cut through it and his arms could withstand its hardness.
• Lin Lin opened every acupoint required to complete his known Superior Martial Arts and Hundred Flowers Wither, while tempering his Sword Intent to perfection.
• After more than four months, Lin Lin completed his Aperture Opening Realm cultivation and became ready to pursue the True Qi Condensation Realm.

Lin Lin questioned whether he should open more acupoints before breaking through to True Qi Condensation, despite being ready to advance. After his parents explained why disciples were advised to prioritize survival and rapid combat strength, he visited Ji Yun, who began a demonstration to answer the question.

• Lin Lin asked Lin Yue and Zhang Fei whether opening all of his acupoints before breaking through conflicted with the advice to advance after opening seventy-two.
• Lin Yue explained that True Qi could strengthen opened acupoints far more efficiently than opening new ones, making an early breakthrough the safer way to increase combat strength.
• Lin Lin remained uncertain and visited Ji Yun at the Skill Transmission Hall, paying Sect Contribution Points to ask for guidance.
• Ji Yun agreed that the sect offered both kinds of advice to help disciples survive, then held out his left hand and asked Lin Lin what he saw.

Ji Yun explained how Heaven and Earth Essence Qi strengthened martial artists and why opening more acupoints before True Qi Condensation could build a stronger foundation. Lin Lin chose to pursue that path, and Ji Yun offered him the Hundred Flowers Secret Records to help.

• Ji Yun showed Lin Lin Heaven and Earth Essence Qi and explained how it empowered Super First-Rate experts and aided cultivation.
• Ji Yun said opening more Major and Hidden Acupoints before True Qi Condensation could bring a Rebirth and Transformation and strengthen a future breakthrough into the Heaven and Human Realm.
• Lin Lin weighed his resources and talent against the lack of acupoint cultivation methods, then decided to pursue the pinnacle of the martial path and asked Ji Yun to teach him.
• Ji Yun offered Lin Lin the Hundred Flowers Secret Records, a manual containing methods for cultivating and nourishing Heavenly Cycle and Hidden Acupoints.

Lin Lin accepted the Hundred Flowers Secret Records despite owing more than three hundred thousand Sect Contribution Points, hoping to become a top martial artist. At the Cold Iron Mine, he considered using explosives to boost production but abandoned the plan because he feared their military value would fuel an arms race.

• Lin Lin learned that the Hundred Flowers Secret Records cost three hundred thousand Sect Contribution Points and that he would need to repay his debt within ten years.
• After Ji Yun praised the status of Heaven and Human Realm experts, Lin Lin took the jade book and began memorizing its contents.
• Lin Lin left the Skill Transmission Hall burdened by his debt and considered ways to increase the Cold Iron Mine's output without disrupting his cultivation.
• Lin Lin recalled how to make Black Powder and nitroglycerin and considered using them to mine Cold Iron.
• Lin Lin decided the explosives could be seized and used for warfare during the Era of Upheaval, so he abandoned the plan.

Lin Lin steadily cultivated in the Cold Iron Mine until his strength reached the level of a First-Rate Expert, while he discovered general methods for nourishing different kinds of acupoints. After wondering why the Hundred Flowers Secret Records documented only 533 acupoints despite his Attribute Panel showing over a thousand, he was struck by a sudden flash of insight.

• Lin Lin set aside his worries about earning Sect Contribution Points and focused on cultivating while keeping the Cold Iron Mine running.
• As his martial arts, Inner Force, and physical strength grew, Lin Lin crossed into the ranks of First-Rate Experts despite not reaching True Qi Condensation.
• Lin Lin continued illuminating acupoints, prioritizing those that increased Inner Force and Inner Breath, and his cultivation progressed at nearly one acupoint per day.
• Lin Lin's growing appetite for Medicinal Cuisine and need for Cultivation Secret Medicines strained his family's finances.
• After recognizing three broad methods for nourishing acupoints, Lin Lin questioned why the Hundred Flowers Secret Records listed only 533 of the more than one thousand acupoints shown on his Attribute Panel, then experienced a sudden flash of inspiration.

Lin Lin used the principles in the Hundred Flowers Secret Records and his Attribute Panel to discover and open a Hidden Acupoint, convincing himself that he could build an unprecedented foundation by cultivating every acupoint in his body. After celebrating his breakthrough with his family and neighbors, he began investigating the next Hidden Acupoint.

• Lin Lin realized that the Attribute Panel could help him uncover ways to cultivate acupoints beyond the 533 recorded in the Hundred Flowers Secret Records.
• Lin Lin tested the three methods of opening acupoints and found a way to open, nourish, and light up a new Hidden Acupoint.
• Lin Lin laughed at his breakthrough, drawing his family and neighbors outside, and explained that he had made progress in martial arts.
• Chai Guanglin and Zhao ChuXue left with dark expressions as a neighbor praised Lin Lin and urged Chai Guanglin to learn from him.
• Lin Lin told his parents he was in a great mood, then resolved to cultivate all 1,440 acupoints and began searching for a method to open the next one.

Lin Lin explored new methods for cultivating Hidden Acupoints and theorized that combining their most efficient circulation routes could create a Mythical Martial Art surpassing a Peerless Divine Art. He decided to study more inner power techniques and headed to the Hall of the Elder of Teaching Skills to build his martial arts knowledge.

• Lin Lin increased the pace at which he discovered Hidden Acupoint cultivation methods, while nourishing and illuminating the acupoints needed for Hundred Flowers True Qi.
• Lin Lin found that higher-grade inner power techniques required more Mental Strength and could be less effective before a martial artist reached the appropriate cultivation stage.
• Lin Lin theorized that an inner power technique using all his Hidden Acupoints and the most efficient circulation routes could become a Mythic-Grade skill leading to invincibility.
• Lin Lin consulted Zhang Fei and Lin Yue and studied the other inner power techniques they had acquired as reference materials, increasing his Sect Contribution debt limit by five thousand points.
• Lin Lin confirmed his theory through study and headed to the Hall of the Elder of Teaching Skills to learn more martial arts.

Lin Lin reported that he had discovered methods for opening and cultivating dozens of previously undocumented Hidden Acupoints based on the Hundred Flowers Secret Records. Ji Yun verified Lin Lin’s claim and reacted with astonishment and delight, while Lin Lin asked for permission to study more martial arts so he could continue improving the secret record.

• Lin Lin told Ji Yun that he had learned the Wither Bloom True Qi from his father for reference and reported it to the sect.
• Ji Yun teased Lin Lin about his large Sect Contribution Point debt and warned him to focus on repaying it.
• Lin Lin remained confident and asked how the sect rewarded martial arts innovations.
• Lin Lin claimed he had discovered methods for cultivating dozens of new Hidden Acupoints and offered his pulse for Ji Yun to verify.
• Ji Yun hurried to examine Lin Lin and praised him excitedly after realizing the potential importance of the discovery.

After Ji Yun learned that Lin Lin had discovered thirty-five new Hidden Acupoints, he and Hundred Flowers Valley’s other leaders recognized the value of Lin Lin’s talent and offered him broad access to their martial arts and resources. Lin Lin welcomed the support, which secured both his immediate and future needs.

• Ji Yun realized Lin Lin’s thirty-five discoveries far surpassed the Hidden Acupoint methods added to the Hundred Flowers Secret Records over decades and reconsidered his earlier assumptions about him.
• Ji Yun offered Lin Lin access to every manual and ultimate art in the Skill Transmission Hall, and said the Valley Master might also allow him to study Hundred Flowers Valley’s Peerless Divine Art.
• Cui Ximing, Yan Wenfang, and Mo Long arrived and promised Lin Lin access to all three of the sect’s Peerless Divine Arts, guidance in the Hundred Flowers Divine Art, and top-grade armor and weapons.
• Lin Lin recognized the leaders’ offers as a solution to his short-term and long-term resource needs.

Lin Lin revealed a new Hidden Acupoints cultivation method to Hundred Flowers Valley’s leaders and was granted access to the sect’s highest martial arts and cultivation resources. Valley Master Cui Ximing then asked Lin Lin to become his disciple, seeing him as a future leader who might help end the Era of Upheaval.

• Lin Lin explained his new Hidden Acupoints cultivation method to Elder of Teaching Skills Ji Yun, hoping to earn martial arts study privileges and resources.
• Cui Ximing and the three Elders granted Lin Lin unrestricted access to Superior Martial Arts, the Sect's Supreme Skill, and three Peerless Divine Arts.
• Lin Lin thanked the leaders and bowed sincerely, recognizing their generosity and his own belonging to Hundred Flowers Valley.
• Cui Ximing asked Lin Lin to take him as his master, surprising Lin Lin and the three Elders.
• Cui Ximing privately told the Elders that Lin Lin could surpass Cui Hao, become Valley Master, and perhaps help end the Era of Upheaval.

Lin Lin accepted Cui Ximing’s offer to become his disciple after realizing how highly Hundred Flowers Valley valued his potential and his discovery of Hidden Acupoints. With his parents’ approval, he formally became Cui Ximing’s disciple at a ceremony the next day.

• Cui Ximing asked Lin Lin to become his disciple, and the elders showed their support for the offer.
• Lin Lin considered the value of his Hidden Acupoint Method and agreed to become Cui Ximing’s disciple with a formal bow.
• Cui Ximing told Lin Lin to seek his parents’ consent and prepare for a formal apprenticeship ceremony.
• Lin Lin told Lin Yue and Zhang Fei about the offer, and they gladly approved.
• Lin Lin offered tea to Cui Ximing at the ceremony in the courtyard behind Hundred Flowers Hall, formally establishing their master-disciple relationship.

Lin Lin completed the ceremony to become Cui Ximing’s true disciple and received valuable gifts from Hundred Flowers Valley’s elders. Cui Hao accepted that Lin Lin had surpassed him and become his junior martial uncle, though his frustration remained.

• Cui Ximing gave Lin Lin a Mystic Sun Warming Jade pendant that could improve his cultivation.
• Ji Yun presented Lin Lin with a Horse Whistle for a Dragon Scale Horse, and Yan Wenfang gave him property deeds worth two hundred thousand taels.
• Mo Long gifted Lin Lin the Nether Spring Light-Containing Sword, inner armor, and heavy outer armor, explaining their abilities.
• Cui Yushi gave Lin Lin Essence Yuan Pills and encouraged him to cultivate diligently.
• Cui Hao let go of his resentment after recognizing Lin Lin’s achievements, but he still felt frustrated about his new junior martial uncle’s rise.

After becoming Hundred Flowers Valley’s Personal Disciple, Lin Lin kept his Cold Iron Mine post to continue tempering himself. He received the swift Dragon Scale Horse Azure Jade from Ji Yun and rode it to the mine, where he resumed cultivation.

• Lin Lin changed into his Personal Disciple robe, gave his parents the armor and property deeds, and decided to continue managing the Cold Iron Mine.
• Hundred Flowers Valley increased patrols near the mine to protect Lin Lin.
• Lin Lin summoned Azure Jade and realized the horse could run faster than many First-Rate Experts.
• Lin Lin rode Azure Jade through the Mountain Gate to the Cold Iron Mine and told it to roam nearby until dark.
• Lin Lin began his daily cultivation as the Outer Sect Disciples of Affairs congratulated him on becoming the Valley Master's Personal Disciple.

Zhao ChuXue and her companions waited at the Mountain Gate to challenge Lin Lin, but learned he had already passed them on his way to the Cold Iron Mine. They suspected the unseen expert who had sped past them might have been Lin Lin, a possibility Chai Guanglin vehemently rejected.

• Zhao ChuXue, Chai Guanglin, Luo Kang, and Zhou Yuhu waited at the Mountain Gate, planning to use their Four Seasons Sword Formation to take revenge on Lin Lin.
• The four discussed their year of training and believed their formation could defeat Lin Lin, who they thought had not yet condensed True Qi.
• An expert raced past so quickly that the guards and the four could barely track the movement, and Zhao ChuXue estimated the expert was an outstanding First-Rate Expert.
• A Patrolling Disciple told the four that miners had greeted Lin Lin at the Cold Iron Mine more than half an hour earlier.
• Zhou Yuhu wondered if Lin Lin had used an invisibility technique, while Luo Kang guessed the fast-moving expert might have been Lin Lin; Chai Guanglin insisted that was impossible.

Zhao ChuXue and the other three waited at the Mountain Gate to challenge Lin Lin, but his status as the Valley Master's Personal Disciple and his overwhelming presence shattered their confidence. Lin Lin ignored them and began studying the sect's martial arts manuals to develop Mythical Martial Arts.

• Zhao ChuXue rallied the other three to prepare for a fight against Lin Lin, and they spent the day honing their Four Seasons Sword Formation.
• At dusk, the four sensed Lin Lin approaching and readied themselves to avenge their humiliation.
• Lin Lin rode past them on Azure Jade wearing the uniform of a Valley Master's Personal Disciple, and the four drew back in fear.
• Lin Lin continued his routine at the Cold Iron Mine and worked on a new cultivation method for Hidden Acupoints, dismissing the four as no threat.
• After washing and eating, Lin Lin went to the Skill Transmission Hall to study martial arts manuals, including Peerless Divine Arts.

Lin Lin trained under four Hundred Flowers Valley masters, growing in martial skill and knowledge while earning their trust and repaying their support with new Hidden Acupoint methods. News of his place as Cui Ximing’s successor spread, inspiring lower-ranking disciples but provoking envy among mediocre geniuses.

• Lin Lin trained at the Cold Iron Mine, studied martial arts, and sought guidance from Ji Yun, Cui Ximing, Yan Wenfang, and Mo Long.
• Cui Ximing taught Lin Lin leadership and worldly affairs, Yan Wenfang refined his combat ability, and Mo Long supplied cultivation resources.
• Lin Lin’s humility and dedication won over his teachers and Cui Hao, who accepted him as Hundred Flowers Valley’s next successor.
• Lin Lin repaid his teachers’ support by producing new Hidden Acupoint cultivation methods, strengthening their mutual trust.
• Word spread through Hundred Flowers Valley and the martial world that Lin Lin was Cui Ximing’s Personal Disciple and successor.
• Lower-ranking disciples admired Lin Lin, while mediocre geniuses envied him and believed they could have surpassed him.