Chapter Summaries

Li Yan borrowed three Qin Han War Drums from He Jushi and began training in Divine Drum Cloud Thunder Sound ahead of the Life and Death Arena. Sha LiFei secretly went to Jinbao Gambling House to ask whether it was taking bets, where a pale, white-haired man emerged from an upstairs room.

• Wang Dao Xuan and Li Yan received three old Qin Han War Drums from He Jushi, who explained he planned to travel with his son and teach him Jianghu Rules.
• Li Yan practiced Divine Drum Cloud Thunder Sound, but he realized mastering the drumbeat, breath, and Hidden Strength in two days would be difficult.
• Sha LiFei left the courtyard by secluded routes and went to Paifang Street to visit Jinbao Gambling House.
• Sha LiFei ignored a Hua Family conman who had thrown a debt-ridden gambler out of the gambling house and entered to ask whether it was taking bets on the Life and Death Arena.
• A pale man with white eyebrows, beard, and unusually thick hair came out of an upstairs room surrounded by men in black.

Yuan Qu confronted Sha LiFei at Jinbao Gambling House, where Manager Wu opened betting on the coming Life and Death Arena match. After Sha LiFei escaped Yuan Qu’s attempt to draw him into debt, Yuan Qu investigated Li Yan’s connection to Zhang YuanShang and left his master’s residence with a roaring beast locked in an iron cage.

• Yuan Qu ordered his men to bring Sha LiFei over, but Manager Wu intervened and announced betting odds for Li Yan and Zhou Bai.
• Yuan Qu bet two thousand taels, while Sha LiFei wagered his modest savings on Yan XiaoGe and refused Yuan Qu’s offer of a loan.
• Sha LiFei left the gambling house, and the Hua Family Conman urged the crowd to bet as news of the match spread through Xianyang City.
• Yuan Qu learned that Li Yan had visited Zhang Clan Martial Hall and that Zhang YuanShang had made arrangements afterward, though no one had seen what they discussed.
• Yuan Qu ordered his men to summon Mister Chen and find Zhou Bai, then visited his master and departed with a red-covered iron cage containing a roaring beast.

Yuan Qu arranged for Zhou Bai to undergo Chen FaKui’s ritual with Zhou Pan’s macaque, making Zhou Bai take on the beast’s movements and ferocity before his upcoming match with Li Hu’s son. Meanwhile, Li Yan continued beating the drum through the night, and the people nearby unexpectedly slept peacefully as its sound changed.

• White Ape Gang members visited Chen FaKui at his puppet shop and discussed delivering the remaining items he had requested.
• Yuan Qu brought Zhou Bai to meet Chen FaKui and revealed Zhou Pan’s huge macaque, explaining that the sorcerer would help Zhou Bai gain its agility and ferocity.
• Chen FaKui used a Yellow Talisman and a Pellet Drum to link Zhou Bai with the macaque, causing Zhou Bai to imitate its movements and practice monkey fist.
• Yuan Qu praised Zhou Bai’s transformation while concealing his mockery.
• Wang Dao Xuan and Sha LiFei watched Li Yan beat the drum through the night, and the neighbors found its sound pleasant and slept peacefully.

Li Yan mastered Divine Drum Cloud Thunder Sound and prepared for his life-or-death arena fight with Zhou Bai. As the arena took shape on Paifang Street, Yuan Qu warned Zheng HeiBei not to interfere, hinting that the struggle could affect both of them.

• After practicing through the night, Li Yan used the dawn’s arrival to master Divine Drum Cloud Thunder Sound, shattered the war drum, and collapsed before recovering with his Great Luo Dharma Body.
• Zhang ShiTong told Li Yan that he would fight Zhou Bai at Shen Hour on Paifang Street under rules limiting the match to fists and feet on a small arena.
• Li Yan continued practicing the newly mastered sound and used a palm strike to shift Wang Dao Xuan’s stone fish trough without harming its fish.
• A short spy reported Li Yan’s constant drumming to Yuan Qu and Zheng HeiBei at Yuhe Teahouse, where Zheng suggested having a sorcerer curse Li Yan.
• Yuan Qu warned Zheng HeiBei against causing trouble and reminded him that neither gang leader would fare well if their master fell.
• Carpenters built the arena at the Paifang Street crossroads as curious onlookers gathered and speculated about the next day’s fight.

Xianyang’s Jianghu gathered to watch the Life and Death Arena challenge between Li Yan and the Divine Fist Society. Li Yan made an impressive entrance onto the arena, and Zhou Bai climbed up to face him.

• Crowds and Jianghu factions gathered around the arena, while Zhang YuanShang explained that he was backing Li Yan to weaken Zhou Pan’s influence if Zhou Bai lost.
• Li Yan arrived with Sha LiFei and Wang Dao Xuan and noticed that the Zhou family had made the arena’s sides slick and difficult to climb.
• Li Yan walked up a taut hemp rope, leaped onto the arena, and surveyed its surface as the crowd cheered.
• Zhou Bai leaped from a second-floor window and climbed the arena wall by digging his fingers into the wood.

Li Yan and Zhou Bai faced off on the Life and Death Arena, where Zhou Bai chose to attack with Red Fist but was quickly put on the defensive by Li Yan’s hard-hitting techniques. Both fell over the arena’s edge, clung to its wooden wall, and prepared to continue fighting.

• Zhou Bai challenged Li Yan to a fight using Red Fist, angering Zhou PeiDe and prompting Yuan Qu to defend him.
• Zhou Bai opened with White Tiger Washing Face, but Li Yan blocked and countered with Intercepting Hammer.
• Zhou Bai hooked Li Yan’s wrist and used a feinted kick to set up Sword-Hanging Leg, but Li Yan recovered with Nine Rolls Eighteen Falls and knocked Zhou Bai off balance.
• Li Yan drove Zhou Bai to the ground and battered him with a chain of cannon punches near the arena’s edge.
• Zhou Bai grabbed Li Yan’s clothing and rolled them both off the arena, but each clung to the wooden wall with clawed hands.
• Li Yan invited Zhou Bai to climb back up and fight, and Zhou Bai lunged at him like an ape.

Li Yan and Zhou Bai fought a fierce duel on the platform, trading Hidden Strength attacks and suffering injuries. Zhou Bai then used the Zhou Family Child Monkey Fist’s flowing circle to gain the advantage, leaving Li Yan bleeding from a claw strike.

• Zhou Bai attacked Li Yan with Child Monkey Fist, and Li Yan evaded him by breaking through the wooden wall and countering with a Hidden Strength Mountain-Piercing Ox Strike.
• Both fighters returned to the platform as the spectators cheered and watched the duel intensify.
• Zhou Bai caught Li Yan’s leg with Mischievous Monkey Pulling Snake and tore five holes in it, but Li Yan struck Zhou Bai’s shoulder with Hidden Strength and dislocated his arm.
• Zhou Bai reset his arm and attacked Li Yan using the Monkey Fist circle, circling through feints and clawing five bloody marks across Li Yan’s back.
• Li Yan tried a Yin-Kicking Strike, but Zhou Bai rolled away and rose screeching like a monkey.

Li Yan defeated Zhou Bai on the Life and Death Arena after using the Divine Drum Cloud Thunder Sound to disrupt the horse-monkey aura enhancing Zhou Bai’s Monkey Fist. The match left Zhou Bai gravely injured, Li Yan wounded, and the Divine Fist Society’s factions openly divided; afterward, a talisman hidden in a porcelain doll shattered as Li Yan broke Zhou Bai’s technique.

• Li Yan realized Zhou Bai’s ferocity came from a secret technique and used the Divine Drum Cloud Thunder Sound to disrupt his aura and Hidden Strength.
• Li Yan seized the opening, broke Zhou Bai’s hand and arms, and knocked him from the arena, leaving him motionless.
• Zhou PeiDe rushed to attack Li Yan, but Luo ShiHai blocked him and reminded him that interference after a Life and Death Arena match was forbidden.
• Wang Yao confirmed Zhou Bai was still breathing, and Zhou PeiDe carried him away as the two sides confronted each other and the crowd recognized their split.
• Li Yan pretended to faint and had Wang Dao Xuan and Sha LiFei carry him away, then told them he was fine.
• At the puppet shop, Li Yan’s technique breaking caused a porcelain doll to shatter, and Chen FaKui retrieved a Yellow Talisman that crumbled to ash.

After Li Yan returned to Asking Dao Pavilion, he explained how he planned to avoid becoming a pawn in the conflict between Zhang YuanShang’s group and the Zhou family. As Sha LiFei spread word of Li Yan’s grave injuries, Manager Wu secretly met with the White-Clothed Concubine.

• Li Yan concealed his healed internal injuries and told Sha LiFei to collect the gambling winnings, spread word that he was gravely wounded, and buy medicinal herbs.
• Li Yan told Wang Dao Xuan that Zhou Bai had used a Puppet Technique, and Wang Dao Xuan explained that Xianyang’s protective forces made secret attacks dangerous for the Zhou family.
• Li Yan decided to remain at home and wait for an opportunity to expose the truth about the past, while Wang Dao Xuan warned him that Zhou Pan had reached Transformed Strength.
• Sha LiFei acted worried as he visited Jinbao Gambling House, where Manager Wu gave him one hundred taels of silver after hearing that Li Yan was badly injured.
• After Sha LiFei left with food and money, Manager Wu opened a secret passage, and the White-Clothed Concubine emerged from it.

Li Yan and his companions repelled a night raid by Evil Beggars, while a hidden force captured the attackers and warned the Beggars' gang to stay away from Xianyang. At the Zhou residence, Zhou Bai was left unable to practice martial arts, and Zhou PeiDe confronted Yuan Qu before an elder claimed responsibility.

• Manager Wu reassured an injured woman that the missing Branch Master was likely delayed and said Xianyang's coming chaos could help them.
• Li Yan urged Wang Dao Xuan to build his cultivation first, and Wang Dao Xuan explained that the first floor would cost at least a thousand taels.
• Li Yan detected Evil Beggars outside the Asking Dao Pavilion and used the Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coin Sword Tassel to turn their venomous snakes and scorpions against them.
• The Man in Sheepskin Jacket captured the fleeing Evil Beggars, learned they had raided Li Yan, and ordered a warning sent to the Beggars' gang.
• Wang Yao said Zhou Bai's injuries would likely prevent him from practicing martial arts again, and Zhou PeiDe seized Yuan Qu before an elder announced that he had ordered what happened.

Zhou Pan explained that the conflict with the Zhou family was tied to the imperial court’s appointment of Shaanxi’s next Administration Commissioner, then announced his retreat to avoid provoking his enemies. Li Yan learned the political stakes and proposed killing Lu Kang, but Zhang ShiTong urged him to follow the rules; Li Yan resolved to strengthen himself and investigate the Eight Great Vajras.

• Zhou Pan stopped the Eight Great Vajras from arguing, made Yuan Qu cover Zhou Bai’s expenses, and explained that the struggle in Xianyang stemmed from the court’s decision to replace Lu Qing.
• Zhou Pan ordered his disciples to announce that he had entered seclusion and warned them to conceal any wrongdoing while he waited for the larger political contest to settle.
• Zhang ShiTong visited Li Yan and Sha LiFei, reporting that Zhou Pan had withdrawn and explaining how Lu Kang’s possible appointment could empower the Zhou family.
• Li Yan suggested finding experts to kill Lu Kang, but Zhang ShiTong warned that it would break the rules and said evidence against the Zhou family could help Li Siyuan’s side take power.
• After Zhang ShiTong left, Li Yan told Sha LiFei to focus on improving their strength and gathering travel money, and asked him to find intelligence on the Eight Great Vajras.

Li Yan and his companions visited Hearing Sound Pavilion to arrange a Great Cloud Thunder Drum, and Manager Wan proposed making it from thunderstruck jujube wood. After witnessing unrest spreading through Xianyang, they decided to retrieve the wood and use the turmoil to evade the Zhou family.

• Wang Dao Xuan brought Li Yan and Sha LiFei to Hearing Sound Pavilion to find a craftsman for the Great Cloud Thunder Drum.
• Manager Wan recognized Li Yan’s Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coin and offered to make the drum as an artifact if they retrieved thunderstruck jujube wood.
• Sha LiFei negotiated with Manager Wan until he agreed to craft the drum for free in exchange for the wood.
• Li Yan and his companions saw disguised martial artists provoke fights with the White Ape Gang and observed further violence across the city.
• Li Yan decided the group would retrieve the wood, secure their important items, and use the city’s turmoil to disappear from the Zhou family’s sight.

Li Yan and his companions set out with Zhao the Donkey to find Thunderstruck Jujube Wood on YeTai Mountain, while Li Yan uncovered a Zhou family plot against him. In Chunhua County, a worker warned them that the mountain was troubled by something called Red Hair Blood Face.

• Zhao the Donkey refused to enter Sha LiFei’s courtyard because of his ancestral rule, and Li Yan secretly left to confront a watcher sent by Zhou PeiDe.
• Li Yan wounded the watcher, learned that Zhou PeiDe had hired a knife-wielder to ambush him outside Xianyang, and left him alive.
• Li Yan met Wang Dao Xuan, Sha LiFei, and Zhao the Donkey outside the city, and they rode toward YeTai Mountain to seek Thunderstruck Jujube Wood.
• Zhao the Donkey told the group about the Mountain Guiding People and the different Treasure Hunter lineages.
• After reaching Chunhua County, the group arranged to leave their horses and organize transport for the timber.
• A cart-shop worker warned Li Yan and the others that YeTai Mountain was not peaceful and asked whether they had heard of Red Hair Blood Face.

Li Yan and his companions learned that the Red Haired Red Faced Ones were linked to a possible tomb, but Zhao the Donkey suspected bandits were using the legend to conceal their hideout. They entered YeTai Mountain to retrieve a Thunderstruck Jujube Wood, and the chapter ended when Li Yan smelled corpses near the bandits’ territory.

• Wang Dao Xuan questioned a worker about the Red Haired Red Faced Ones, and Zhao the Donkey explained their connection to ancient tombs and vengeful spirits.
• Zhao the Donkey revealed that Yan Lao Jiu, known as Skinning Yama, and his bandits were hiding in the mountains and likely faking the sightings.
• Li Yan agreed to search for the Thunderstruck Jujube Wood in Leopard Gully, and he told Sha LiFei to prepare Meat Caltrops for the leopards there.
• The group entered YeTai Mountain after Zhao the Donkey worshiped at an old shrine and warned them to follow his mountain taboos.
• At a fork in the road, Li Yan smelled a strong odor of corpses coming from the direction of the bandits’ lair.

Li Yan and his companions discovered that Yan Lao Jiu’s bandits had been slaughtered and learned from the blinded, mutilated Zhao Cheng that a Swallow Gate con artist named Yu Lian had betrayed the Lu household while bandits sought an ancient painting. Zhao Cheng revealed that the attackers had gathered at the order of a capital figure called Master Luo, then died after sharing the truth; Li Yan’s search of the stronghold uncovered a chest of gold bars.

• Li Yan led Wang Dao Xuan and the others to the bandit stronghold, where they found poisoned and mauled corpses and discovered that the sole survivor was the mutilated Zhao Cheng.
• Zhao Cheng explained that Yu Lian, the White-Clothed Concubine, had stolen the ancient painting and worked with Yan Lao Jiu’s bandits, who had forced Zhao Cheng and Cui Lan to cooperate.
• Zhao Cheng said the bandits had gathered at the order of someone in the capital called Master Luo, then struck his head against a stone and died.
• Zhao the Donkey suggested a Cockscomb Snake had killed the bandits, while Wang Dao Xuan urged the group to leave the stronghold.
• Li Yan sensed something buried near the main hall, and Sha LiFei dug up a chest filled with Small Gold Bars.

Li Yan and his companions reached Leopard Gully to retrieve the Thunderstruck Jujube Wood, learning that they needed Earthly Metal to restrain the treasure. As Zhao the Donkey began the ritual, two unusually clever leopards attacked, leaving Li Yan and the others to face them.

• Sha LiFei insisted on carrying the heavy chest of gold as the group continued toward Leopard Gully.
• Zhao the Donkey explained that the Thunderstruck Jujube Wood required Earthly Metal and Heavenly Thunder, then assigned everyone roles before Zi Hour passed.
• Wang Dao Xuan located the West Metal position, and Li Yan used Nose Mystical Power to find Iron Clothes buried underground.
• Zhao the Donkey took the Iron Clothes rope and slipped into the forest to snare the treasure while the others waited.
• Li Yan sensed two approaching leopards, scattered blood-soaked meatballs to draw them away, and prepared to defend the group.
• The leopards ignored the bait and charged after sensing the Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coin Sword Tassel.

Li Yan and his companions recovered the Thunderstruck Jujube Wood and brought it to Shangyi Village, where Manager Wan planned to use it for a major ritual commission. Manager Wan warned them that Xianyang City had descended into chaos after Zheng Xianhuai and his household were killed.

• Li Yan and Sha LiFei fought off two leopards while Zhao the Donkey completed the treasure-hunting work, then they retrieved the Thunderstruck Jujube Wood.
• Zhao the Donkey explained the wood’s value and how it could become a powerful magical-implement material after enduring heavenly lightning.
• Li Yan and the others hauled the wood out of YeTai Mountain and returned to Xianyang City with it.
• Manager Wan brought them to Shangyi Village, where villagers gathered to help prepare the wood for a set of Ritual Music Instruments for the Doumu Institute’s Tai Bai Prefecture.
• Manager Wan warned Li Yan and the others to stay out of Xianyang City because Zheng Xianhuai, one of the Eight Great Vajras, and his entire household had been killed, and the opposing sides had abandoned their rules.

Li Yan and his companions learned that an unknown killer had murdered Zheng Xianhuai’s household with a Guanshan Knife, leaving them wanted suspects who had to hide in Shangyi Village. Meanwhile, Zhou PeiDe sought revenge for Zhou Bai and agreed to Yuan Qu’s plan to lure Li Yan out, despite its grisly price.

• Manager Wan told Li Yan, Sha LiFei, and Wang Dao Xuan that Zheng Xianhuai’s family had been slaughtered and the authorities were treating them as suspects.
• The three men stayed in Shangyi Village, suspecting someone had arranged the murders to profit from the turmoil.
• Zhou Bai woke crippled and demanded that his father avenge him, while Zhou PeiDe quarreled with Jia Shi before leaving the compound.
• Zhou PeiDe met Yuan Qu, who revealed that Li Yan and his companions were hiding in Shangyi Village and warned that the Craftsmen’s Guild made a direct attack risky.
• Yuan Qu proposed using a ritual expert to lure Li Yan out so knife wielders could ambush him, and Zhou PeiDe accepted after learning the expert demanded a virgin boy and girl.

Yuan Qu persuaded Zhou PeiDe to help gather suitable boy and girl sacrifices for Master Chen’s plan, while secretly plotting to protect his own fortune and power. Li Yan received an improved sword tassel from Manager Wan and was preparing to visit Zhao the Donkey when a man arrived begging for help after Zhu Zi was kidnapped.

• Yuan Qu convinced Zhou PeiDe to bring him the village youth registers, promising that Master Chen might be able to treat Zhou Bai’s injuries.
• Yuan Qu and Zheng HeiBei discussed their fear that Master would sacrifice them to protect himself, and Yuan Qu revealed that he controlled the saber-wielders.
• Sha LiFei woke to find the carpenters and others eating breakfast in the courtyard, then joined them.
• Manager Wan showed Li Yan the Thunderstruck Jujube Wood war drum in progress and explained that its smaller size would be safer for him to use.
• Manager Wan reforged Li Yan’s sword tassel with spiritually endowed Rhinoceros Hide, concealing the Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coin and enhancing its power.
• As Li Yan prepared to visit Zhao the Donkey, a burly man rushed in and begged Manager Wan to save Zhu Zi, who had been kidnapped.

Li Yan tracked the abducted Zhu Zi using his mystical sense of smell and confronted two armed kidnappers on the road near Menggu Village. He defeated them and found three unconscious children hidden beneath hay, but the chapter ended before Zhu Zi was identified among them.

• A craftsman told Manager Wan that a peddler had drugged several children and abducted Zhu Zi.
• Sha LiFei suspected the kidnapping was an act of revenge, so Manager Wan asked Li Yan to track the child using a personal belonging.
• Li Yan followed Zhu Zi's scent past Xianyang City and toward Menggu Village, then uncovered the kidnapper's false trail through a river.
• Li Yan encountered a peddler and a woman with a donkey cart, dodged the peddler's Flick Sleeve Arrow, and fought both attackers.
• Li Yan killed the peddler, knocked the woman unconscious, and discovered three sleeping children beneath the hay.