Chapter Summaries

Xie Yi explained the Xie Family Martial Repository’s history, its vast collection of martial arts, and the trials required to access its higher floors, while Xie Yuan worried about Mu Chaoyun’s lifespan and the mystery of the Mu Family’s destruction. Xie Yuan began his trial at the repository, declaring that he would challenge every division on the first floor.

• Xie Yi told Xie Yuan that the Xie Family’s Martial Repository held ten supreme manuals and offered paths suited to talents across many martial arts.
• Xie Yuan learned that cultivating Heaven’s Secret Arts could shorten a person’s lifespan, worried about Mu Chaoyun, and heard Xie Yi’s suspicions about who might have destroyed the Mu Family.
• Xie Yi explained the repository’s floor-by-floor trials and suggested that its fifth floor held powerful external training techniques, so Xie Yuan decided to begin the trial the next day.
• Xie Lingyun and her parents discussed Xie Yuan’s upcoming climb, while Xie Yi predicted that he could reach the fifth floor despite the difficult guards.
• Xie Yuan arrived at the crowded Martial Repository, and Uncle Thirteen placed enormous bets on him reaching the seventh floor in seven days and clearing every division through the fifth floor.
• When the steward asked which division he would challenge first, Xie Yuan said he would start with the first floor and attempt all eight divisions.

Xie Yuan and Mu Chaoyun used dual cultivation to suppress the Demonic Core’s power, heal their injuries, and help Xie Yuan break through to Bridge to Heaven. As they prepared to leave the mountain temple, Xie Yuan sensed a wounded young man being cornered by Autumn Wind Pavilion assassins, and the young man called to a senior inside the temple for help.

• Mu Chaoyun guided Xie Yuan through dual cultivation, suppressing the Demonic Core’s spiritual power and restoring their bodies.
• Xie Yuan broke through to Bridge to Heaven, strengthening his divine sense, cultivation, and martial skills.
• Xie Yuan and Mu Chaoyun discussed their recovery and prepared to leave the temple, but Xie Yuan heard movement in the mountains.
• A wounded young man followed a medicinal fragrance to a porcelain bottle lodged in a rock, took its healing pills, and was caught by five Autumn Wind Pavilion assassins.
• The Heaven Rank Assassin disarmed the young man and demanded an item, so the young man shouted for the senior in the temple to help him.

Xie Yuan mastered the Great Golden River Skill and passed the Autumn Wind Pavilion Master's test, securing his identity as Yao Tianchuan. As he prepared for the Ten Thousand Demons Mountain Hunt, Mu Chaoyun hinted at a rapid way to advance his Heaven Concealing Art and asked whether he trusted her.

• Xie Yuan read Yao Tianchuan's annotated Great Golden River Skill manual, learned its cultivation method, and converted his other Inner Strengths to reach its seventh level.
• Xie Yuan demonstrated his Great Golden River Skill to Mu Chaoyun, then shared how his Nourishing Body Skill allowed him to convert Inner Strength.
• Xie Yuan spent a day learning Shadowless Step from the Autumn Wind Pavilion Master, who praised his progress and approved his return to the Yao Family.
• Xie Yuan considered the dangers of the upcoming Ten Thousand Demons Mountain Hunt and visited Mu Chaoyun to ask whether he needed to reach Great Accomplishment in the Heaven Concealing Art.
• Mu Chaoyun said a rapid method might be possible, then asked Xie Yuan whether he trusted her.

After waking in the body of an impoverished woodcutter, Xie Yuan struggled to survive in a dangerous world where martial artists held power. While chopping wood, he discovered that the fortune slip he drew in his previous life had given him a system for learning skills, beginning with Chopping Wood.

• Xie Yuan remembered his previous life and the memories of his orphaned woodcutter life, including how Li Mazi had knocked him unconscious and taken his brother's coat.
• Xie Yuan assessed his poverty and the village bullies' protection by Zhang Lao Er's martial-artist brother, and considered becoming a martial artist himself.
• Xie Yuan went outside to split firewood and remembered his elder brother's instructions for chopping.
• Xie Yuan used the instructions to split a log cleanly and saw the fortune slip's message and a new Chopping Wood skill entry appear.

Xie Yuan accepted Lin Tao’s recommendation to fight for the Iron Clothes Gate and defeated opponents from the Divine Weapon Hall and Black Tiger Fist Hall with single punches. As the other halls hesitated to challenge him, Fang Wei sent A Jin into the arena.

• Lin Tao recommended Xie Yuan, who agreed to fight after Liu Heshang promised a generous reward for victory.
• Xie Yuan defeated the Divine Weapon Hall disciple with a sudden, fast punch and Liu Heshang praised it as a killing move of Iron Cloth Long Fist.
• Xie Yuan defeated the Black Tiger Fist Hall disciple in a direct exchange, leaving him unconscious and badly injured.
• Xie Yuan challenged the remaining disciples, who hesitated to step forward as the Iron Clothes Gate cheered.
• Fang Wei ordered A Jin to enter the arena.

Xie Yuan traded Iron Poplar firewood for meat and shared a meal with Li Lan, Wang Lei, and Huwa, then rejected the Zhang Family Brothers’ offer to take him to the county town. After trading more firewood for game and hearing that a tiger had been spotted, he was chopping wood when an unexpected visitor brought up an earlier proposal.

• Xie Yuan gave Li Lan a mountain chicken and firewood, and the family shared a meal together.
• Xie Yuan firmly rejected the Zhang Family Brothers’ offer to take him to the county town, suspecting it was a trap.
• Xie Yuan traded Iron Poplar firewood with Zhu Dongming for wild game and was warned that a tiger had been spotted near the village.
• Xie Yuan chopped another Iron Poplar in his courtyard and checked his progress toward advancing his wood-chopping ability.
• A brash visitor entered Xie Yuan’s courtyard and asked whether he had reconsidered the matter they had discussed earlier.

Xie Yuan stalled the Wang clan’s proposed marriage alliance by demanding that their Sage’s relic be moved to the Xie Family, then concealed most of his strength when Wang Qiwen forced a spar. As pressure from the Wang clan mounted and Xie Yuan advanced his cultivation, he learned Yun Xing had ambushed Wang Qiwen; she then came to collect on a debt.

• Xie Yuan accepted Wang Qiwen’s marriage proposal in principle but demanded the Wang clan’s Sage Tome as dowry in exchange for opening the Xie Family Martial Repository, forcing both sides into prolonged negotiations.
• Wang Qishi told Xie Yuan she had agreed to the alliance willingly and would support him, while Xie Yuan decided he could not accept the marriage and used the relic demand to buy time.
• Before leaving, Wang Qiwen provoked a spar and discovered that Xie Yuan had reached at least the tenth layer of the Great Golden River Skill, while Xie Yuan hid his breakthrough to the eleventh layer.
• Xie Yuan resumed training, advanced his Golden Bell Cover to the sixth layer, and faced Wang clan pressure on Xie businesses as dissenting Xie Grandmasters defied his defensive strategy.
• Xie Yuan learned Wang Qiwen and Wang Qishi had been ambushed on their way back to Langya, then Yun Xing admitted she had attacked them and said she had come to collect compensation from him.

Xie Yuan began learning Iron Clothes Gate’s Iron Cloth and quickly grasped the Stance Training techniques, then secretly practiced at home until his progress reached 18 points. The next morning, Huo Da watched the new disciples demonstrate their training and focused his attention on Xie Yuan.

• Xie Yuan understood the key points of Iron Cloth’s Stance Training during Huo Da’s demonstration, despite struggling to perform the movements with his frail body.
• Cao Shan explained the stages of Iron Cloth, warned the new disciples not to practice unsupervised, and told them to return the next day.
• Xie Yuan bought a roast chicken to celebrate his first day of martial arts training and shared it with Li Lan and Huwa.
• After resting, Xie Yuan practiced the Stance Training alone in his courtyard and raised his Iron Cloth progress to 18 out of 100.
• The next morning, Huo Da asked the five new disciples to demonstrate what they had learned, then fixed his attention on Xie Yuan.

Xie Yuan faced continued intimidation from Zhang Er's thugs while advancing his Chopping Wood skill. Zhu Dongming recruited him to join a tiger hunt after revealing he knew about Xie Yuan's secret, leaving Xie Yuan five days to prepare.

• Xie Yuan drove off one of Zhang Er's thugs, who had been loitering near his home and Li Lan's door.
• Xie Yuan chopped wood until his Chopping Wood progress reached 821/1000.
• Zhu Dongming visited Xie Yuan and asked him to join a village team hunting the tiger prowling the mountain.
• Zhu Dongming hinted that he knew Xie Yuan had killed prey before and had cleaned up the scene, then promised to keep it secret.
• Xie Yuan agreed to join the hunt but asked for five days to prepare, then resumed chopping wood.

After mastering the Three-Pronged Axe, Xie Yuan joined Zhu Dongming and three village hunters on a mountain expedition, partly to investigate a tiger and the beast tracks connected to his brother’s death. The group found the tiger sleeping in a forest clearing, while Xie Yuan focused on the valuable-looking tree above it.

• Xie Yuan reached one thousand in Chopping Wood and comprehended the Three-Pronged Axe, then demonstrated its powerful strikes by splitting the logs in his courtyard.
• Xie Yuan arranged to hunt with Zhu Dongming and told Li Lan he might be gone for two days; Li Lan worried about the dangers, but he reassured her and left.
• At the mountain pass, Xie Yuan met Zhu Dongming, Zhou Feng, Wu Lao Si, and Chen Yun, who warned him to stay behind and avoid panicking.
• As they entered the forest, Zhu Dongming told Xie Yuan that his elder brother had never joined their hunts because he worried about leaving Xie Yuan alone, and said no tiger tracks had been found near his brother’s body.
• The hunters spotted a tiger sleeping beneath a tree in a green forest clearing, while Xie Yuan wondered how much the beautiful tree would sell for if he cut it down.

Liu Heshang rejected Xie Yuan as a Core Disciple because his frail, depleted body would require costly nourishment, and Huo Da warned him that training too hard could harm him. Xie Yuan refused to give up and, practicing through the night, unexpectedly reached the point of sensing Blood Qi and getting started.

• Liu Heshang told Huo Da that Xie Yuan’s weak constitution made him too costly to nurture and unlikely to advance, so he would not take him as a Core Disciple.
• Xie Yuan accepted that he had not been chosen, while Tao Jielin continued to support him and the other new disciples grew distant.
• Huo Da advised Xie Yuan to train less and explained that restoring his body with medicinal nourishment would cost fifty or sixty taels, while a rare Nourishing Method could strengthen him from within.
• Xie Yuan returned home, practiced Iron Cloth beneath the moon, and raised his progress from 78 to 100.
• Xie Yuan felt a faint wisp of Blood Qi in his chest and realized he had gotten started.

Xie Yuan received the Nourishing Body Skill from the Taoist Master and used his comprehension to learn it, improving his health and advancing his Iron Cloth training. After selling Yellow Phoebe wood and returning to the Iron Clothes Gate, he found Tao Jielin waiting with an uneasy expression.

• The Taoist Master gave Xie Yuan a newly altered Inner Strength method called the Nourishing Body Skill and left for the mountains.
• Xie Yuan studied the booklet at home, understood its instructions after gaining insight, and began practicing the skill.
• After ten days of training, Xie Yuan’s health improved, and he resumed Iron Cloth practice while balancing inner and outer cultivation.
• Xie Yuan felled and delivered half of a Yellow Phoebe tree to Boss Wan, who paid him seven taels, including a deposit for the rest.
• Xie Yuan visited the Iron Clothes Gate and greeted Tao Jielin, who told him he had finally come.

Xie Yuan found a fragrant Spirit Fruit beneath the tree that had accelerated his cultivation, but a huge black bear arrived and fixed its attention on the fruit. The bear charged at him as he prepared to fight alone.

• Xie Yuan picked up the jade-green fruit that had fallen from the tree and realized its fragrance was making him crave it.
• Xie Yuan checked his cultivation progress and concluded that the tree was a spirit tree and its fruit might be a rare treasure.
• Xie Yuan tucked the fruit inside his coat and tried to leave the clearing, but spotted a huge black bear staring at his chest.
• Xie Yuan gripped the Tiger Bone Axe and braced himself as the bear bared its teeth and charged.

Huo Da tried to persuade Liu Heshang to take Xie Yuan in as a Core Disciple, but Liu refused because the martial hall was short on money. After Xie Yuan defeated Xu Yang with one move, Huo Da rushed back to change his master's mind, while Xie Yuan returned to training and was struck by a falling Bluish-Green Fruit.

• Huo Da reported Xie Yuan's breakthrough to Liu Heshang and suggested making him a Core Disciple, but Liu scolded him and refused because the martial hall lacked silver.
• Huo Da returned to the Martial Arts Field and learned that Xie Yuan had defeated Xu Yang in a single move.
• Huo Da hurried back to the Inner Courtyard, determined to make Liu Heshang accept Xie Yuan as a Core Disciple.
• Xie Yuan went home, considered how to keep improving his martial arts, and the next morning traveled into the forest to train.
• As Xie Yuan practiced beneath the trees, a Bluish-Green Fruit fell from the canopy and hit him on the head.

Xie Yuan recruited Zhu Dongming, Chen Yun, and Zhou Feng to help fell valuable Camphor and Phoebe trees, promising to teach them and arrange the sale. As his training accelerated, Li Lan rushed over with news that Wang Lei had been detained in the county seat.

• Li Lan complained that Wang Lei rarely returned home, and Xie Yuan asked her to tell him about a new job cutting trees.
• Xie Yuan gathered Zhu Dongming, Chen Yun, and Zhou Feng and proposed felling Camphor and Phoebe trees, explaining that he would teach them and arrange sales in town.
• The hunters agreed to join Xie Yuan's logging team after learning a Phoebe Wood tree could sell for ten taels of silver.
• Xie Yuan prepared the team and discovered that his Iron Cloth progress had surged, reaching 658 of 800 in three days.
• Li Lan rushed to Xie Yuan and told him that Wang Lei had been detained in the county seat.

Xie Yuan rushed to help Zhu Dongming, Wang Lei, and Chen Yun after Zhang Lao Er tried to steal their phoebe wood, then defeated Zhang Lao Er’s gang and captured their leader. He learned Zhang Yu Feng was in Yun Zhao County and began beating Zhang Lao Er despite his threat of retaliation.

• Zhou Feng told Xie Yuan that Zhang Lao Er and his lackeys had blocked the timber crew and tried to take their phoebe wood.
• Xie Yuan grabbed his axe and went with Zhou Feng to the forest clearing, where Zhang Lao Er demanded the log from Zhu Dongming, Wang Lei, and Chen Yun.
• Xie Yuan confronted Zhang Lao Er and chopped down an Iron Poplar, using it to scatter the charging lackeys.
• Xie Yuan beat the gang and knocked Zhang Lao Er down after dodging his flying kick.
• Xie Yuan learned Zhang Yu Feng was in Yun Zhao County, then stood Zhang Lao Er up and punched him in the stomach.

Xie Yuan refused to leave his medicinal bath when Lin Tao and Xu Yang confronted him, and defeated Lin Tao without getting out of the barrel. After making Xu Yang return his clothes and carry Lin Tao away, Xie Yuan continued tempering his skin in the bath.

• Xie Yuan declined Lin Tao's demand to leave the medicinal bath and accused him of taking silver or favors from Xu Yang.
• Lin Tao challenged Xie Yuan to another spar while Xu Yang taunted him and threw his clothes aside.
• Lin Tao tried to pull Xie Yuan from the barrel, but Xie Yuan overpowered him with his grip and knocked him unconscious.
• Xie Yuan made Xu Yang restore his clothes and help Lin Tao out of the bathhouse.
• Xu Yang fled, and Xie Yuan returned his attention to tempering his skin in the medicinal liquid.

Xie Yuan defeated Yu Jin, Divine Weapon Hall’s Closed-Door Disciple, in an unarmed match, but Fang Wei refused to accept the result and demanded that Yu Jin fight again with a spear. The Iron Clothes Gate protested as Xie Yuan calmly produced an axe.

• Fang Wei defended Yu Jin’s participation by changing the rules to allow anyone below Great Accomplishment in Skin Tempering, and Liu Heshang reluctantly accepted.
• Xie Yuan declined Yu Jin’s offer to rest, then broke free from Yu Jin’s grappling hold and overwhelmed him with a rapid barrage of punches.
• Xie Yuan stopped a decisive punch against Yu Jin’s chest and won the match, prompting cheers from the Iron Clothes Gate disciples.
• Fang Wei gave Yu Jin a short spear and ordered him to continue fighting, while Liu Heshang angrily accused Fang Wei of cheating.
• Xie Yuan stood calmly in the arena holding an axe, leaving Liu Heshang and the others stunned.

Xie Yuan planned to advance his martial arts and eventually leave Coiling Dragon Town for Yun Zhao County, while seeking Core Disciple status and a breakthrough. The Iron Clothes Gate faced a threat to its medicinal supplies, and Zhou Feng arrived with news that Zhang Lao Er had intercepted Zhu Ge and the others.

• Huo Da told Xie Yuan that the Soaring Dragon Escort Agency dominated Yun Zhao County under Shen Longteng, while the Vajra Gate contested its influence.
• Xie Yuan decided to build his strength, earn Core Disciple privileges, prepare to enter Yun Zhao County, and keep Zhang Yu Feng's threat in view.
• Huo Da read a letter from the Black Tiger Fist Hall and Divine Weapon Hall announcing that they would withhold the Iron Clothes Gate's share of medicinal supplies, and Liu Heshang warned that the sect might have to leave Coiling Dragon Town.
• Several days later, Xie Yuan practiced Iron Cloth Long Fist and noted rumors that someone would challenge the martial hall.
• Zhou Feng told Xie Yuan that Zhang Lao Er had stopped Zhu Ge and the others while they were hauling timber in the forest.

Xie Yuan defeated Yu Jin and destroyed his spear with his Logging Axe, securing victory for Iron Clothes Gate in the three-hall martial contest. Fang Wei recognized the skill in Xie Yuan’s Firewood-Chopping Axe Technique and left with Divine Weapon Hall, while Iron Clothes Gate celebrated its victory before the watching townspeople.

• Yu Jin challenged Xie Yuan again, and Xie Yuan refused to change weapons before they began their final bout.
• Xie Yuan used his Three-Pronged Axe to break Yu Jin’s Short Spear in a single exchange and declared him defeated.
• Fang Wei asked about Xie Yuan’s technique, then left with Divine Weapon Hall’s disciples as Wang Black Tiger led his people away.
• Iron Clothes Gate’s disciples cheered Xie Yuan, and Cao Shan announced his victories to the townspeople and urged them to enroll.