Recaps

Hu Qi met Lin Tong and Herlinta, who tested his strength and gave him a valuable medicinal paste as compensation. The group then headed to Hanlin Garden to investigate the Black Blood Species, while Herlinta vowed to punish them for hunting in her territory.

• Hu Qi judged that Lin Tong had likely told the truth about the situation, then met him and Herlinta by the roadside.
• Herlinta suddenly attacked Hu Qi to test him, and he blocked her claw with a punch before staggering back with a numb arm.
• Herlinta recognized Hu Qi's near-limit physique and perfected Cannon Fist, then gave him Snow Snake Paste as compensation.
• Lin Tong explained that the scarce paste would aid Hu Qi's future cultivation and was worth over a hundred thousand.
• Herlinta led Hu Qi and Lin Tong toward Hanlin Garden to inspect the scene and threatened the Black Blood Species hunting in her territory.
• Hu Qi explained that the struggling Camphor Tea Duck in his bag was his pet, and it fell silent after Herlinta suggested eating it.

Hu Qi returned to Hanlin Garden with Lin Tong and Herlinta, where they found the aftermath of a massacre caused by two Blood Slaves. After learning Hu Qi had killed both attackers, his Core Class seniors were astonished by his strength.

• A black-dressed woman learned her two servants had been killed by Hu Qi and decided to leave the matter alone because a dangerous blond-haired, red-eyed man was in Qirong City.
• Lin Tong brought Hu Qi and Herlinta to Hanlin Garden, where police had cordoned off Building Eight.
• Wang Li, Zhang Lian, and Qin Yuan greeted Lin Tong and Herlinta, then accompanied them to Hu Qi's former apartment floor.
• Wang Li explained that the two Blood Slaves had killed 139 residents across 101 households and began analyzing the bodies.
• Lin Tong revealed that Hu Qi had killed both Blood Slaves, leaving Wang Li, Zhang Lian, and Qin Yuan astonished.

After confirming that a recently transformed Black Blood Species had caused the deaths in the residential complex, Herlinta sent Lin Tong to take Hu Qi away. Hu Qi checked into a hotel and read Lin Tong’s file, learning about the Black Blood Species’ origins and strength.

• Zhang Lian tested the corpse’s blood, and Herlinta concluded that the Lower-tier Black Blood Species might still be in Qirong City and ordered the group to find it.
• Herlinta had Lin Tong take Hu Qi from the residential complex, and Lin Tong offered him a place to stay before driving him to a hotel near the Red Scale Club.
• Hu Qi checked into a hotel, washed up, and opened the file Lin Tong had sent him.
• Hu Qi read how miners uncovered an underground world beneath a gold mine and how monsters with dark blood emerged and were named the Black Blood Species.
• Hu Qi learned that the Black Blood Species ranged from Blood Slaves to upper-tier beings, and that Krolov, a Lower-tier specimen, had required tanks and nearly a thousand soldiers to kill.

Hu Qi learned that the Black Blood Species included powerful monsters from an Underground World and that Secret Martial Artists fought them, leaving him worried about how weak he was. After a restless night, he woke near noon and found more than a dozen missed calls and video calls on his phone.

• Hu Qi read that a Mid-tier Black Blood Species named Tailor had devastated Morning Light City before Secret Martial Artists and missiles killed it.
• Hu Qi learned that Secret Martial Artists cultivated Secret Martial Arts and that the Black Blood Species came from an Underground World beneath the earth.
• Hu Qi reflected on the danger posed by the Black Blood Species and decided that only greater strength could make him feel safe.
• Hu Qi woke near noon after sleeping only five or six hours and discovered his phone had more than a dozen missed calls and video calls.

Hu Qi settled into a training routine after the Hanlin Garden incident and steadily increased his strength, but ordinary Combat Techniques no longer helped him improve. With his Core Class report date arriving the next day, he remained eager to learn about Limit-Breaking Methods.

• Hu Qi reassured Hu Leimei that he had survived the Hanlin Garden incident and told her he would soon train at the Red Scale Fighting Club's Core Class in Anshan City.
• Hu Qi took his lethargic Camphor Tea Duck for walks and spent the following days training at the Red Scale Extreme Fighting Club.
• Hu Qi suspected that the blond, red-eyed Second Senior Sister was connected to an explosion that destroyed villas in northern Qirong City, though he had no proof.
• Hu Qi mastered Eagle Claw Hand, Iron Body Skill, One Inch Punch, and Krav Maga, and his punching power reached 509 kg.
• Hu Qi realized his progress from ordinary Combat Techniques had nearly stopped and wondered about Limit-Breaking Methods, which Lin Tong had refused to explain before his Core Class report the next day.
• Red Scale Club trainees and coaches greeted Hu Qi warmly after learning he had defeated Sims, while Li Yi was away preparing to begin university.

Hu Qi bought and ate a rare crimson Dragon Horn Fish, gaining nearly six Modification Points, then rested at the hotel. The next morning, he joined the others outside the Red Scale Extreme Fighting Club as a coach bus arrived.

• The lobby manager showed Hu Qi an injured crimson Dragon Horn Fish, and he bargained its price down to eight hundred.
• Hu Qi ate the steamed Dragon Horn Fish and saw his Modification Points rise to 7 (12%).
• Hu Qi returned to his room, showered, and went to bed after several busy days of training.
• The next morning, Hu Qi arrived at the Red Scale Extreme Fighting Club with breakfast and Camphor Tea Duck in his backpack.
• A gray coach bus arrived in front of the Red Scale Fighting Club as Hu Qi finished breakfast.

Hu Qi and the other Red Scale Fighting Club students traveled from Qirong City to Anshan Academy, where Ye Li explained that the Core Class was the Snake Heart Sect. They arrived and met Wang Luo, who would teach them the Limit-Breaking Method.

• Hu Qi boarded the coach with the other students and sat beside Ye Li as it picked up students from another branch.
• The coach reached Anshan City and traveled along the coast to Anshan Academy.
• Ye Li told Hu Qi that the Red Scale Fighting Club's Core Class was the Snake Heart Sect's true student body.
• Hu Qi added Ye Li as a friend before the students left the coach and gathered at the academy.
• Lin Tong left the students waiting, and Wang Luo arrived with other Snake Heart Sect members and introduced himself as their Limit-Breaking Method teacher.

Hu Qi toured the Snake Heart Sect’s university-like grounds, received his Level One Martial Arts Uniforms, and settled into his private dormitory. After reading about the sect and its apparently long-lived master, Jiang Zuo, he grew curious about the world’s secrets and headed to the cafeteria for lunch.

• Wang Luo led Hu Qi and the other new students on a tour of the sect’s grounds and explained the three Core Class levels and their uniforms.
• Hu Qi collected his two Martial Arts Uniforms and moved into a private studio apartment.
• Hu Qi read the Basic Information Handbook and learned about the Snake Heart Sect, its purpose, and its founder, Jiang Zuo.
• Hu Qi suspected Jiang Zuo was still alive despite the sect’s age and wondered whether supernatural power could extend a person’s lifespan.
• Hu Qi fed the Camphor Tea Duck, left it food and water, and went to the cafeteria when he grew hungry.

Hu Qi met Ye Li and her cousin Ye Lan in the cafeteria, then attended his first Core Class lesson, where Wang Luo introduced the Snake Heart Sect and the purpose of the Limit-Breaking Method. The lesson ended as Wang Luo demonstrated the red glow produced by his blood and qi.

• Hu Qi ate with Ye Li and Ye Lan, who remained distant while Ye Li urged him to read the basic handbook.
• After Hu Qi left, Ye Lan told Ye Li to focus on cultivation instead of befriending him, and Ye Li clarified that she wanted to build a useful connection.
• Hu Qi dismissed romance and ordinary ambitions, deciding to pursue the extraordinary and grow stronger.
• The next morning, Hu Qi joined Sims and Liu Ping in a spacious classroom for the Core Class, where Wang Luo explained the Snake Heart Sect's schools and the Limit-Breaking Method.
• Wang Luo said the method stimulated blood and qi to strengthen the body, then made his arm swell as a visible red light appeared beneath his skin.

Wang Luo taught the Core Class the principles and stages of Stance Cultivation, then demonstrated the Snake Heart Sect’s Snake Form Stance and breathing method. As the students practiced the Static Stance, he warned that those who failed to generate qi and blood within a year would be expelled, and a student asked about the sect’s fastest initiation record.

• Wang Luo explained qi and blood, the path of Secret Martial Artists, and how Stance Cultivation used breathing and movement to strengthen the body.
• Wang Luo introduced the Snake Heart Sect’s Snake Form Stance, demonstrated its coiled serpent and Serpentine Movement postures, and warned the students to report discomfort.
• Hu Qi watched Wang Luo closely and began to understand how the breathing method and movements circulated qi and blood.
• Wang Luo had the students practice the Static Stance and explained that they could progress to the Dynamic Stance after feeling qi and blood flow.
• Wang Luo warned that students who could not stimulate qi and blood within a year would be expelled from the Core Class.
• An unfamiliar young man asked Wang Luo about the fastest initiation record in the Snake Heart Sect.

Hu Qi learned about the sect’s cultivation aids and asked Wang Luo about the Nourishing Origin Breathing Method, discovering that it came from the vanished Giant Whale Sect. The chapter left Hu Qi with a clearer sense of the sect’s history and the method’s incomplete inheritance.

• Wang Luo explained the sect’s initiation records, lit Spirit Gathering Incense, and introduced Spirit Snake Paste to the students.
• After class, Hu Qi approached Wang Luo and revealed that he had practiced the Nourishing Origin Breathing Method since childhood.
• Wang Luo identified the method as an inheritance of the Giant Whale Sect, once an overlord-class school.
• Wang Luo explained that the Giant Whale Sect’s fighters had died defending their country against foreign enemies, leaving its inheritance incomplete and the sect extinct.
• Wang Luo added that many schools had declined in the same way and shared a rumor that the Snake Heart Sect had once been an overlord-class school.

Hu Qi struggled to initiate Snake Form Stance after three days of practice, so he decided to use the rare Snow Snake Paste Herlinta had given him. Meanwhile, Wang Luo and Lin Tong wagered on how quickly Hu Qi would cultivate qi and blood, leaving Hu Qi enduring the paste’s intensifying cold as he practiced.

• Wang Luo gave Hu Qi two bottles of Spirit Snake Paste, and Hu Qi took the gift as a sign that Wang Luo valued his potential.
• Wang Luo told Lin Tong that Herlinta was searching for a Lower-tier Black Blood Species in Qirong City and described Hu Qi’s strong physique and experience with the Nourishing Origin Breathing Method.
• Lin Tong bet that Hu Qi would cultivate qi and blood within ten days, while Wang Luo guessed within eighteen days.
• After three days without mastering Snake Form Stance, Hu Qi washed off the Spirit Snake Paste and chose to use the Snow Snake Paste Herlinta had given him.
• Hu Qi spread Snow Snake Paste over his body, assumed the Snake Form Stance, and endured a cold that grew more intense as he practiced.

Hu Qi generated Qi and Blood through Snake Form Breathing Method and Serpentine Movement, then used Crimson to raise Snake Form Stance to the third layer. After undergoing Qi and Blood Transformation One, he discovered his strength had surged enough to shatter a mirror and crack the wall.

• Hu Qi practiced Serpentine Movement with Snake Form Breathing Method, guiding heat from his feet through his body until Qi and Blood began circulating.
• Hu Qi confirmed that Snake Form Stance had reached Beginner and spent Modification Points to raise it to the third layer.
• Hu Qi's Qi and Blood surged, heating his body and expelling grime as he entered Qi and Blood Transformation One.
• Hu Qi crushed a stainless-steel showerhead, then washed and noticed his skin had become smoother and fairer.
• Hu Qi gathered Qi and Blood into his arm and shattered the bathroom mirror, cracking the tiled wall beside it.

Hu Qi tested the physical enhancement from raising Snake Form Stance to the third level and recovered from the temporary weakness caused by condensing too much qi and blood. Seven days after learning the technique, he revealed his breakthrough to Wang Luo, who recognized him as having reached Qi and Blood Transformation One.

• Hu Qi examined his enhanced strength and durability, then used the Scarlet Panel to confirm that Snake Form Stance had reached the third level with one Modification Point remaining.
• Hu Qi nearly collapsed from qi-and-blood depletion after the breakthrough, but circulated his qi and blood and recovered after resting.
• Over the next two days, Hu Qi adjusted to life at Anshan Academy and tried feeding and walking Camphor Tea Duck, which still had not laid an egg.
• Four days after condensing qi and blood, Hu Qi demonstrated his power to Wang Luo, who recognized the first level of Snake Form Stance and marveled that Hu Qi had advanced in seven days.
• Hu Qi credited Second Senior Sister’s Snow Snake Paste for helping him get started, while Wang Luo explained that it could aid a breakthrough but could not generate qi and blood on its own.

After Hu Qi displayed qi and blood in the training room, Wang Luo took him to Zhu Xi and explained the agency’s role in fighting the Black Blood Species. Hu Qi questioned why Secret Martial Arts were not taught to everyone, and Wang Luo explained that schools guarded their Inherited Secret Martial Arts.

• Wang Luo took Hu Qi from the training room and drove him to Zhu Xi’s headquarters in Anshan Science and Technology Park.
• Staff on the seventieth floor greeted Wang Luo and changed their attitude toward Hu Qi after learning he was a newcomer.
• Wang Luo gave Hu Qi the Zhu Xi Confidentiality Manual and Application for Joining and explained that Zhu Xi recruited Secret Martial Artists to hunt the Black Blood Species.
• Hu Qi asked why the Federation did not make Secret Martial Artist cultivation methods public.
• Wang Luo explained that schools guarded their Inherited Secret Martial Arts and only taught them to people who met strict requirements and passed review.

Hu Qi learned about Zhu Xi and signed its contract, then chose the difficult Ghost Slaying Blade Qi and Blood Technique. After Wang Luo reported Hu Qi’s seven-day Blood Qi achievement, Lin Tong realized the news could bring him rewards and a chance to break through.

• Wang Luo explained Zhu Xi’s role, the dangers of secret martial arts, and the benefits and duties of joining.
• Hu Qi read the contract, decided Zhu Xi’s information and benefits were worth joining for, and signed it.
• Wang Luo showed Hu Qi a tablet of Qi and Blood Techniques and explained that he could initially choose only one.
• Hu Qi chose Ghost Slaying Blade despite Wang Luo’s warning that it was difficult and had drawbacks.
• Lin Tong learned from Wang Luo that Hu Qi had generated Blood Qi in seven days and felt excited about the rewards he might receive.

Hu Qi practiced the Ghost Slaying Blade, whose great power consumed Qi and Blood rapidly, then used the Scarlet Modification Panel to raise Snake Form Stance to Level 4 and enter the Qi and Blood Second Change. He decided to conceal his progress for now and studied the handbook to plan how to present himself as a genius without drawing dangerous scrutiny.

• Hu Qi chose the Ghost Slaying Blade because its power suited him, its Qi and Blood cost was manageable, and Herlinta had demonstrated it.
• Hu Qi practiced the blade technique repeatedly in a private training room, exhausting nearly all his Qi and Blood without initiating the skill.
• After two days, Hu Qi used a Modification Point to upgrade Snake Form Stance from Level 3 to Level 4, entering the Qi and Blood Second Change.
• Hu Qi decided to hide his cultivation progress because revealing it so soon could attract suspicion and harsh questioning.
• Hu Qi picked up the basic information handbook and turned to a page.

Hu Qi planned when to reveal his next breakthrough, then went to meet Song Jian, who had found an Exotic Beast for him. Song Jian asked Hu Qi to help investigate his missing mother, a former Snake Heart Sect disciple, and Hu Qi agreed without promising results.

• Hu Qi studied the recorded advancement times of the Sect Master's disciples and decided to reveal his Qi and Blood Second Change between the seventeenth and twenty-fourth day.
• Song Jian called Hu Qi to say he had obtained an Exotic Beast, and Hu Qi went to Tangxi Garden to meet him.
• Song Jian explained that his family had developed the villa complex and that he had studied in Qirong City to compete at the Red Scale Club.
• Hu Qi released his aura after suspecting Song Jian had investigated him, and Song Jian explained that his mother had been a Snake Heart Sect disciple who disappeared when he was ten.
• Song Jian admitted he wanted Hu Qi's help finding traces of his mother, and Hu Qi agreed while warning that he could not guarantee results.

Hu Qi visited Song Jian’s villa, subdued a two-horned goat, and suggested keeping it for breeding and milk. After Song Jian paid him and asked for help finding his mother, Hu Qi sensed that someone else had been watching him but decided not to worry about it unless they caused trouble.

• Song Jian led Hu Qi to a villa courtyard, where Hu Qi inspected and subdued a large goat with two pairs of horns.
• Hu Qi told Song Jian to keep the female goat and find a male for breeding, hoping it might produce offspring or milk.
• Song Jian gave Hu Qi information and a photograph of his mother, along with one hundred thousand yuan, and Hu Qi offered him pointers on combat technique.
• Song Jian’s father emerged after Hu Qi left and praised Song Jian for befriending Hu Qi, while warning that Hu Qi was cold-natured and should only be approached with benefits and good intentions.
• In the taxi, Hu Qi recalled the day’s odd details and concluded that another person had watched him, but he chose not to care as long as no one plotted against or provoked him.

Hu Qi effortlessly defeated Cai Shizhu after Cai challenged him, astonishing the students who witnessed the fight. Three days later, Sims achieved Qi and Blood Transformation One, only to hear that Hu Qi had already reached Qi and Blood Second Change.

• Cai Shizhu confronted Hu Qi by the lake and challenged him to a fight.
• Hu Qi broke Cai Shizhu’s wrist and punched him into the lake with a single blow.
• Ye Li watched Hu Qi leave and regretted missing her chance to befriend him.
• On the nineteenth day of training, Sims cultivated Qi and Blood and resolved to surpass Hu Qi.
• Sims heard students say that Hu Qi had reached Qi and Blood Second Change in nineteen days.

After news of Hu Qi’s breakthrough to the Qi and Blood Second Change spread, he improved his defensive Cloud Iron Body while remaining unable to initiate Ghost Slaying Blade. A classmate arrived to tell him that Teacher Wang wanted to see him.

• Two students discussed Hu Qi’s breakthrough, and Sims overheard them and despaired of ever avenging his humiliation.
• News of Hu Qi’s Qi and Blood Second Change spread through the school, and the newcomers began respectfully calling him Senior Brother Hu.
• Hu Qi used a Modification Point to advance Cloud Iron Body to Proficient and tested its strengthened defense with a fork.
• Hu Qi reflected that actual combat might help him initiate Ghost Slaying Blade, since he had not yet grasped the technique’s missing insight.
• A short-haired classmate told Hu Qi that Teacher Wang wanted to see him, and he thanked her before closing the door.

Hu Qi met Snake Heart Sect Master Jiang Zuo, who offered to make him a personal disciple if he reached the third transformation of blood and qi within three months. After warning Hu Qi about the sect’s enemies, Jiang Zuo left Herlinta in charge while he dealt with trouble at Heavenly Pool.

• Hu Qi visited Wang Luo’s office and met Jiang Zuo and Herlinta, then learned Jiang Zuo had noticed his rapid progress in Snake Form Stance.
• Hu Qi guessed that Jiang Zuo wanted to take him as a disciple, and Jiang Zuo promised to accept him as a personal disciple if he reached the third transformation of blood and qi within three months.
• Jiang Zuo advised Hu Qi to take Zhu Xi’s missions to gain life-and-death combat experience and make progress in the Ghost Slaying Blade.
• After Hu Qi left, Jiang Zuo secretly warned him that his aptitude could attract trouble because the Snake Heart Sect had many enemies.
• Jiang Zuo told Herlinta that Heavenly Pool’s crisis was only temporarily contained and left her in charge of the Snake Heart Sect while he was away.

Hu Qi searched Zhu Xi’s mission listings for a nearby Blood Slave he could fight for experience and accepted a cemetery investigation in Anshan City. The chapter left him deciding whether to recruit teammates or handle the mission alone.

• Herlinta’s killing intent surged, and Jiang Zuo suppressed it before warning her to master the Ghost Slaying Blade and remain at the academy to recite scriptures.
• Hu Qi logged into Zhu Xi’s exclusive website and reviewed its missions, rankings, and discussion forum.
• Hu Qi narrowed the listings to Donglin Province and chose a mission at Anxin Cemetery involving a corpse that had disappeared from a recently disturbed grave.
• Hu Qi accepted the mission and was prompted to choose whether to form a team or proceed alone.

Hu Qi failed to breed the unusual goat and roasted it, gaining Modification Points from eating the meat. He left Song Jian after promising to investigate his mother’s affairs once he became a direct disciple, and wondered what determined how many Modification Points an Exotic Beast yielded.

• Hu Qi selected the first option for his mission team and continued practicing the Snake Form Stance while waiting for the team to assemble.
• Song Jian told Hu Qi that attempts to breed the goat had failed because its genes differed from ordinary goats, so Hu Qi decided to roast it.
• Hu Qi cooked and ate a third of the goat, gaining more than three Modification Points, and packed up the rest rather than sharing it with Song Jian.
• Hu Qi guided Song Jian in the Comprehensive Combat Technique, revealed that the Sect Master of the Snake Heart Sect intended to take him as a disciple, and promised to investigate his mother's affairs after gaining the authority to do so.
• Hu Qi checked his panel and speculated that Modification Points depended on factors other than an Exotic Beast's weight.

Hu Qi used his Modification Points to strengthen his Snake Form Stance and Cloud Iron Body before meeting his teammate Xie Fei for a mission. They drove toward the site where a recently transformed Black Blood Species was believed to be hiding.

• Hu Qi accepted Xie Fei’s request to join Zhu Xi’s mission team and arranged to set out the next afternoon.
• Hu Qi raised his Snake Form Stance from Level Five to Level Eight, increasing his qi and blood, explosive force, and reaction speed.
• Hu Qi used his remaining Modification Points to advance Cloud Iron Body to Great Mastery.
• Hu Qi met Xie Fei at Anshan Science and Technology Park and learned that Xie Fei had completed three missions.
• Hu Qi and Xie Fei drove toward their destination while discussing the Black Blood Species they had been assigned to capture.