Recaps

Hu Qi and Xie Fei took night-shift jobs at Peaceful Rest Cemetery to investigate the strange disappearances and rumors surrounding it. After Old Liu showed them around and left, Xie Fei warned Hu Qi that the old man seemed suspicious.

• Hu Qi and Xie Fei arrived at Peaceful Rest Cemetery and met Manager Wu, who hired them as night guards for 450 yuan per shift.
• Manager Wu denied the cemetery was haunted and said new surveillance cameras had been installed, then left the two with Old Liu.
• Old Liu explained the guards’ duties and warned Hu Qi and Xie Fei to protect themselves if anything unusual happened.
• Hu Qi asked Old Liu about the cemetery and learned that his grandson had failed to get into college.
• Old Liu gave Hu Qi and Xie Fei uniforms and left, after which Xie Fei told Hu Qi that something was wrong with him.

Hu Qi and Xie Fei investigated the cemetery’s missing corpses, suspecting a man who smelled of smoke and the cemetery staff. They waited overnight in the surveillance room for the Black Blood Species to return, while Hu Qi learned that Xie Fei had spent three years cultivating but was still far from becoming a Martial Dao Practitioner.

• Xie Fei explained that the suspicious man’s fingers showed no signs of long-term smoking, and Hu Qi told him to follow the man while he inspected the stolen-corpses graves.
• Hu Qi examined the graves listed in the work log but found no major clues, while Xie Fei confirmed that the man lived alone in a village one kilometer away.
• Hu Qi returned to the surveillance room and explained that he had corrected cameras with blind spots that cemetery staff could have exploited.
• Hu Qi and Xie Fei stayed up watching the surveillance feeds, expecting the Black Blood Species to seek food because the recent corpse had been stolen two days earlier.
• Hu Qi learned that Xie Fei had been in the Snake Heart Sect for three years and had reached the seventh level of Snake Form Stance, but was still far from becoming a Martial Dao Practitioner.

Xie Fei explained that Martial Dao Practitioners were rare, powerful beings whose dangerous breakthroughs could end in death or crippling. While Hu Qi and Xie Fei watched the cemetery cameras, Chen Fan and A Ling arrived seeking corpses, and A Ling attacked Hu Qi when they were discovered.

• Xie Fei told Hu Qi that Martial Dao Practitioners had transformed their life level, possessed extraordinary strength and longevity, and were exceedingly rare in the Snake Heart Sect.
• Xie Fei explained that failed breakthroughs could kill or cripple, while successful candidates needed the Sect Master's permission to receive the true Secret Martial Arts inheritance.
• Hu Qi and Xie Fei spotted Chen Fan and A Ling sneaking into the cemetery to feed on corpses, and heard A Ling urge Chen Fan to attack living people instead.
• Chen Fan refused A Ling's suggestion to eat the new guards, but the pair encountered Hu Qi and Xie Fei in the darkness.
• A Ling charged at Hu Qi, choosing him because his larger build promised more meat.

Hu Qi killed A Ling while Xie Fei subdued Chen Fan, one of the Black Blood Species. Chen Fan challenged their right to exterminate his kind, and Xie Fei questioned whether every Black Blood Species deserved to die.

• A Ling attacked Hu Qi, while Chen Fan transformed and fought Xie Fei.
• Hu Qi wounded A Ling until she collapsed, then killed her despite her plea for mercy.
• Hu Qi collected blood from A Ling's corpse and returned to find Xie Fei had captured Chen Fan alive.
• Hu Qi asked Xie Fei why he had spared Chen Fan, and Xie Fei questioned whether every Black Blood Species deserved to die.
• Chen Fan claimed that his kind only ate corpses to survive, then raised his head as a dangerous aura emerged from him.

Chen Fan transformed into a Black Blood Species after killing Xie Fei, then attacked Hu Qi in the graveyard. Hu Qi’s Cloud Iron Body withstood the assault, and he seized Chen Fan’s tail and began smashing him into the ground.

• Chen Fan pierced Xie Fei with his tail, drained his life, and healed as he began transforming.
• Hu Qi fled, but Chen Fan pursued him through the graveyard and attacked with his tail.
• Hu Qi realized he could not escape and charged Chen Fan, whose tail strikes barely harmed him because his Cloud Iron Body was fully activated.
• Hu Qi grabbed Chen Fan’s tail after it stalled, discarded his saber when it failed to cut through, and used the tail to swing Chen Fan into the ground.

Hu Qi fought Chen Fan in the cemetery and nearly fell under Chen Fan’s Bewitchment, but he regained control and killed him. Afterward, Hu Qi realized the encounter had advanced his Ghost Slaying Blade to Beginner level.

• Hu Qi battered Chen Fan against the cemetery’s tombstones until Chen Fan appeared dead.
• Chen Fan used Bewitchment to make Hu Qi hesitate while secretly recovering and preparing a tailbone strike.
• Hu Qi resisted the Bewitchment, regained his senses, and split Chen Fan’s head with his saber.
• Hu Qi hacked Chen Fan’s body apart, then recognized the strange ability that had almost controlled him.
• Hu Qi checked his panel and saw that Ghost Slaying Blade had reached Beginner level.

After completing the cemetery mission and reporting Xie Fei’s death, Hu Qi gave his account to Zhu Xi and learned the Blood Slave had been close to transforming into a Lower-tier Black Blood Species. Xie Guang confronted Hu Qi over his son’s death, but Yang Mo confirmed the Blood Slave was responsible, and Xie Guang let Hu Qi leave with a veiled threat.

• Hu Qi called Zhu Xi to report that the cemetery mission was complete and that his teammate had died, then collected some of Chen Fan’s blood.
• Zhu Xi’s Cleaners arrived to handle the cemetery, and intelligence officer Yang Mo brought Hu Qi to Zhu Xi for questioning.
• Hu Qi told Yang Mo how the Blood Slave had been killed, crediting Xie Fei’s earlier injuries for weakening it.
• Yang Mo thanked Hu Qi, acknowledged the Intelligence Department’s oversight, and said the mission reward would be adjusted.
• Xie Guang confronted Hu Qi about Xie Fei’s death, but Yang Mo said the Blood Slave had killed his son and warned Xie Guang against attacking a fellow Zhu Xi member.
• Xie Guang stepped aside and warned Hu Qi that going out at night was dangerous.

After confronting Xie Guang, Hu Qi returned to Anshan Academy and received his reward for completing the Black Blood Species mission. He spent most of it on a Cold Iron Saber and the incomplete White Whale Stance, then opened his door to two people in black uniforms.

• Hu Qi warned Xie Guang that he had nothing to lose and left after Xie Guang fell silent.
• Yang Mo cautioned Hu Qi that Xie Guang was dangerous despite Zhu Xi's rules against attacks without cause.
• Hu Qi returned to his dormitory, fed the Camphor Tea Duck, and slept while recovering from a headache.
• Hu Qi found the mission marked complete and received three hundred thousand yuan and sixty points.
• Hu Qi exchanged fifty-five points and two hundred thousand yuan for a Cold Iron Saber, then spent ten points and thirty thousand yuan on the White Whale Stance.
• Two people in black uniforms knocked on Hu Qi's door.

Hu Qi received a Cold Iron Saber and an incomplete White Whale Stance manual, which he memorized and confirmed could appear on his Scarlet Modifier panel. He then retrieved the blackish-red blood he had hidden near Peaceful Rest Cemetery and checked into a hotel with it and a Camphor Tea Duck.

• Hu Qi tested the Cold Iron Saber against his Cloud Iron Body and found its sharpness and chilling effect could wound him and slow his healing.
• Hu Qi read and memorized the incomplete White Whale Stance manual, then saw it listed on his Scarlet Modifier panel.
• Hu Qi wondered whether a Secret Martial Artist could cultivate two Stance Cultivations and tore up the manual after memorizing it.
• Hu Qi left Anshan Academy and retrieved the bottle of blackish-red blood he had hidden near Peaceful Rest Cemetery.
• Hu Qi took the bottle and Camphor Tea Duck to a hotel and checked into a room.

Hu Qi tested whether Black Blood would transform Camphor Tea Duck, then stayed at Anshan Academy while it slept and improved his strength. When he prepared to modify Ghost Slaying Blade, Crimson warned him that mastering the incomplete technique would erode his will and turn him into a killing machine.

• Hu Qi fed Black Blood to Camphor Tea Duck, which transformed beneath a cloud of black mist before falling asleep.
• Hu Qi encountered Xie Guang at Anshan Academy’s gate and later stayed inside to guard against a possible attack.
• Hu Qi confirmed that Camphor Tea Duck’s changes were linked to Black Blood and waited for it to recover.
• Song Jian found a muscular gray rabbit, and Hu Qi had it delivered and ate it, raising his Modification Points to six.
• Hu Qi prepared to improve Ghost Slaying Blade, but Crimson warned that the incomplete technique would gradually erode his will.

Hu Qi perfected his Cloud Iron Body while holding off on improving his stance. Elsewhere, Xiao Ya and two fellow assassins accepted a lucrative Ice Weapons bounty targeting a Snake Heart Sect disciple, and they prepared to investigate the target.

• Hu Qi found that he lacked enough Modification Points to perfect the Ghost Slaying Blade and decided to wait before improving his Snake Form Stance.
• Hu Qi used Modification Points to raise Cloud Iron Body to completion, making his body tougher without changing his skin's color when he circulated Blood Qi.
• Xiao Ya visited Tea and Rice No Thoughts and collected a concealed bounty message from the Ice Weapons staff.
• Xiao Ya returned to a van with the Bearded Man and a thin young man, and the three learned that the bounty targeted a Snake Heart Sect disciple.
• The Bearded Man persuaded the others to accept the eight-figure bounty, and they agreed to pursue the job.

After more than a month of training and caring for the Camphor Tea Duck, Hu Qi used his accumulated Modification Points to advance his Snake Form Stance and transform the Ghost Slaying Blade into the Seven Fiends Blade. With his strength improved, he chose a mission on Zhu Xi's website and prepared to hunt alone.

• Hu Qi kept to the academy for over a month, practicing Stance Cultivation and walking the duck, while the Camphor Tea Duck recovered and began laying larger eggs that provided nearly one Modification Point each.
• Hu Qi spent four Modification Points to raise the Snake Form Stance to its ninth layer, gaining the Berserk trait and a Blood Qi Orb in his chest.
• Hu Qi spent twenty Modification Points to transform the Ghost Slaying Blade into the first layer of the Seven Fiends Blade, then used more points to advance it to the second layer.
• Hu Qi decided to leave the academy, searched for a suitable mission on Zhu Xi's website, and planned to complete it alone.

Hu Qi noticed that assassins were following him and led them to an exhibition center, where he ambushed them during a heavy rainstorm. He killed Xiao Ya, while the Bearded Man and Skinny Monkey remained alive.

• Skinny Monkey spotted Hu Qi leaving Anshan Academy and alerted the Bearded Man that their target was on the move.
• Hu Qi noticed a gray van following his bus and decided to use the pursuers to test his strength.
• The Bearded Man, Xiao Ya, and Skinny Monkey followed Hu Qi to an exhibition center, where the Bearded Man and Xiao Ya entered while Skinny Monkey waited in the van.
• Hu Qi disguised himself as a black-robed, pink-haired girl and attacked the Bearded Man and Xiao Ya inside the exhibition center.
• The Bearded Man and Xiao Ya fired at Hu Qi, but he dodged their shots and killed Xiao Ya with a blow to the throat.

Hu Qi killed the attackers at the convention center, then interrogated and killed Skinny Monkey to learn who had sent them. He left as the rain worsened, and a woman at the Tea and Rice No Thoughts shop finished a new drink just before someone entered.

• Hu Qi killed the Bearded Man and the woman who had attacked him, while bystanders panicked and security called the police.
• Hu Qi approached Skinny Monkey’s car, crushed his hands, forced him to reveal who had sent the attackers, and snapped his neck.
• Hu Qi left the roadside car as the rain grew heavier.
• A female employee at the Tea and Rice No Thoughts shop named her new drink Rainveil Tea Fragrance.
• Someone opened the shop’s glass door, making its wind chime ring.

Hu Qi disguised himself as a scarred man to interrogate Ice Weapons and learned that Xie Guang had placed the bounty, then killed the assassin-platform manager. He confronted Xie Guang at his apartment, where a blue blade tore through the security door.

• Hu Qi, disguised as a scarred man, killed the woman at Ice Weapons and overpowered its manager.
• Hu Qi interrogated the manager, learned that Xie Guang had posted the bounty and that Ice Weapons was backed by the Holy Rain Sect, then snapped the manager's neck.
• Xie Guang waited for news from Ice Weapons while vowing to avenge his son, Xie Fei, and eliminate Hu Qi.
• Hu Qi arrived at Xie Guang's apartment and announced that he had come to send him on his way.
• Hu Qi cleaved through Xie Guang's security door with a blue blade.

Hu Qi killed Xie Guang after surviving his gunfire and escaped the high-rise, promising to kill Xie Guang’s entire family. Elsewhere, a young man standing on a lake absorbed the surrounding rain and water before striking at the sky.

• Xie Guang shot Hu Qi, but the bullets only pierced Hu Qi’s skin, and Hu Qi cut off Xie Guang’s arms.
• Hu Qi revealed his identity, snapped Xie Guang’s neck, and promised to kill his entire family.
• Hu Qi beheaded Xie Guang, then escaped the building by climbing down its exterior and disappearing into the rainy night.
• A young man in white stood on the lake, drew in the rain and nearby water, and struck upward at the sky.

Wu Yu demonstrated his Cloud Pinching Hand before Han Luan brought him news of the crisis at Heavenly Pool and an attack linked to the Snake Heart Sect. A week after dealing with Xie Guang and the Ice Weapons assassin, Hu Qi advanced his White Whale Stance to the Third Layer using his remaining Modification Points.

• Wu Yu used the Cloud Pinching Hand to punch a hole through the storm clouds, then told Han Luan he had not yet mastered the technique.
• Han Luan said Heavenly Pool faced an urgent threat from several Mid-tier Black Blood Species and that Wu Yu was to lead reinforcements there.
• Han Luan reported that an Ice Weapons stronghold in Anshan City had been destroyed by an attacker likely connected to the Snake Heart Sect, and Wu Yu told her to demand an explanation from them.
• Hu Qi practiced the White Whale Stance, having broken the legs of Xie Guang's two remaining sons but spared his elderly mother.
• Hu Qi used his remaining Modification Points to raise the White Whale Stance from the First Layer to the Third Layer.

Hu Qi continued improving his martial skills while considering how to become a Martial Dao Practitioner and whether stronger Black Blood could further transform his Camphor Tea Duck. Days later, he killed a Black Blood Species in a villa and discovered that its death left behind Killing Intent, which could not strengthen him.

• Hu Qi spent three Modification Points raising his White Whale Stance by two levels and reflected on his progress toward opening the Divine Treasury.
• Hu Qi recalled that one of Zhu Xi’s assignments had failed, while he had killed another Blood Slave whose Black Blood did not further transform the Camphor Tea Duck.
• Hu Qi considered hunting a powerful Lower-tier Black Blood Species after becoming a Martial Dao Practitioner, but decided to wait until he was stronger.
• In a villa, Hu Qi cornered a pregnant Black Blood Species after it pleaded for its life and tried to escape.
• Hu Qi slammed the woman to the floor and killed her with his blade after dismissing her plea for her child.
• Hu Qi sensed Killing Intent leaving the woman’s body and realized that, unlike Modification Points, it could not strengthen him.

Hu Qi killed the Black Blood Species hidden in a villa, then resumed his training and revealed he had reached Qi and Blood Transformation Three. At Zhu Xi headquarters, Herlinta defeated Han Luan in an apparent illusion and held her blade at Han Luan’s forehead, leaving the Holy Rain Sect representative at her mercy.

• Hu Qi killed a Black Blood Species mother and her newborn cub, took the valuables hidden in the villa, and returned to kill the boy who had survived upstairs.
• Hu Qi went back to training and missions, then announced that he had entered Qi and Blood Transformation Three.
• Han Luan confronted Herlinta at Zhu Xi headquarters, accusing the Snake Heart Sect of destroying the Holy Rain Sect’s Ice Weapons branch.
• Herlinta challenged Han Luan to a sword fight and seemed to kill her with a single strike.
• Han Luan opened her eyes to find Herlinta’s blade stopped just short of her forehead, realizing the fight had been an illusion that could have become real.

Herlinta drove Han Luan away, then summoned Hu Qi and accepted him as a personal disciple on the Sect Master's behalf. She introduced him to the Snake Heart Sect's history and warned him about the dangers of the martial world before explaining how Martial Dao Practitioners opened the Divine Treasury.

• Herlinta forced Han Luan to apologize and leave, then watched her go without pursuing her.
• Three days later, Herlinta told Hu Qi that the Sect Master had instructed her to accept him as a personal disciple because he had reached Qi and Blood Transformation Three within three months.
• Herlinta led Hu Qi to the ancestral altar, where he paid respects to the patriarch and became the Snake Heart Sect's sixth-ranked disciple.
• Herlinta told Hu Qi that her seniority had risen because the disciples above her had died, and warned him that talent alone could not keep a Secret Martial Artist alive.
• Herlinta explained that breaking through to become a Martial Dao Practitioner required opening the body's Divine Treasury, a reserve of hidden potential that could sometimes open briefly in emergencies.

Herlinta explained how Secret Martial Artists unlocked the body's Treasuries and showed Hu Qi the Snake Heart Sect's Divine Intent Diagram, where its Red Snake Secret Martial Arts were recorded. Hu Qi used Spirit Condensing Incense to comprehend the diagram, endured a terrifying vision of a colossal serpent, and emerged with the Three-Eyed Yuan Snake Spirit Devouring Diagram in his mind.

• Herlinta described Stance Cultivation, Blood Qi, and the requirements for becoming a Martial Dao Practitioner, then demonstrated Blood Qi Projection.
• Herlinta brought Hu Qi to the Divine Intent Diagram and lit Spirit Condensing Incense to help him comprehend the Red Snake Secret Martial Arts.
• Hu Qi studied the painting until he found himself in a blood-colored world facing a colossal serpent.
• Hu Qi accepted the system's offer to consume Modification Points for a perfect inheritance as black mist transformed the serpent and shattered the vision's world.
• Hu Qi woke in the dim room and received the Three-Eyed Yuan Snake Spirit Devouring Diagram in his mind.

Hu Qi received the Three-Eyed Yuan Snake Spirit Devouring Diagram inheritance, became a direct disciple and Zhu Xi department head, and investigated Exotic Beasts. After Song Jian invited him over, Hu Qi told him that his mother, Qin Lu, had run off with someone else.

• Hu Qi received the Three-Eyed Yuan Snake Spirit Devouring Diagram and learned from Herlinta that he would need to view the Divine Intent Diagram again after waiting a week.
• Herlinta told Hu Qi that he had become a direct disciple and would serve as a department head at Zhu Xi.
• Hu Qi reviewed research linking Exotic Beasts to the Underground World and instructed Dai Shu to acquire any Exotic Beasts she found.
• Song Jian invited Hu Qi to see another Exotic Beast, and Hu Qi found information indicating that Qin Lu had run off with someone else.
• Hu Qi told Song Jian that his mother had run off with someone else, leaving Song Jian stunned.

Hu Qi learned that his mother had left the Snake Heart Sect for love and was killed, then a masked swordswoman named Han Luan ambushed him on the road. Hu Qi wounded Han Luan in their clash but escaped, while she recovered and recognized that he had injured her.

• Hu Qi told Song Jian and his father that Song Jian’s mother had betrayed the Snake Heart Sect for a Seal Wolf Sect disciple and had been killed, while the disciple had been crippled.
• Song Jian drove Hu Qi home, but Han Luan stopped their car with one hand and asked Hu Qi if he was Hu Qi.
• Hu Qi fled into the alleys, and Han Luan pursued him with her sword.
• Hu Qi activated his Blood Qi Orb and struck Han Luan with the Seven Fiends Blade, wounding her wrist before escaping over a wall.
• Han Luan’s wound began to heal, and she grimly noted that Hu Qi had injured her.

After Hu Qi wounded a powerful Martial Dao Practitioner, he hid in a stairwell until Herlinta came to help him and explained the Holy Rain Sect’s presence. He stayed inside the academy afterward, where his Blood Qi neared its limit as he prepared to break through.

• The wounded Martial Dao Practitioner questioned whether she was trash after a Qi and Blood Realm Secret Martial Artist injured her.
• Hu Qi hid in a stairwell with a severe chest wound, then contacted Herlinta and learned Song Jian had only suffered superficial injuries.
• Herlinta arrived, heard Hu Qi’s account, and told him that Bai Ri and Han Luan of the Holy Rain Sect had come to the area.
• Herlinta promised to inform Master and seek Federation pressure on the Holy Rain Sect, while advising Hu Qi to avoid going out.
• Hu Qi remained in the academy and watched his Blood Qi approach its limit as five Stance Cultivations strengthened him.

Hu Qi met his fellow disciples, completed his disciple-acceptance ceremony with Jiang Zuo, and learned about the dangerous passage beneath Heavenly Pool. The chapter ended with Jiang Zuo coughing up dark blood after everyone else had left.

• Hu Qi continued building his qi and blood, planning to reach perfection before attempting to become a Martial Dao Practitioner.
• Herlinta introduced Hu Qi to Han Yuan, Lin Yao, and Lin Tu, and Hu Qi won Lin Yao and Lin Tu over with flattery.
• Jiang Zuo returned with First Senior Brother Du Wang and formally accepted Hu Qi as his disciple, giving him a Lower-tier Black Blood Species skullcap and warning him about the Ghost Slaying Blade's killing intent.
• Jiang Zuo told the disciples that the passage beneath Heavenly Pool had been suppressed, then explained how it had expanded and brought Mid-tier Black Blood Species to the surface.
• After the meal, Jiang Zuo stayed behind with Du Wang and Herlinta, then coughed up dark red blood.