Chapter Summaries

Xie Yuan brought Lin Cheng and Lin Zhen before Yunshan Sword Sect deacon Cui Zhi, who tested their aptitude and agreed to take both siblings back to Yunshan for further assessments. As they celebrated, Huang Zifeng insulted Xie Yuan and warned the siblings to avoid associating with him, leaving Xie Yuan to challenge his judgment.

• Xie Yuan introduced Lin Cheng and Lin Zhen to Cui Zhi, while deciding not to join the Yunshan Sword Sect because its three-year outer-sect requirement did not suit him.
• Cui Zhi tested the siblings with his Bone Detection Method; Lin Zhen endured the pain, and Lin Cheng asked to be tested again despite his blocked meridians.
• Cui Zhi praised Lin Zhen's sword aptitude and accepted Lin Cheng because of his exceptional perseverance, inviting both siblings to return to Yunshan with him in two days.
• Lin Cheng thanked Xie Yuan for arranging the introduction, and Cui Zhi explained that the siblings still had further assessments before formally entering the sect.
• Huang Zifeng told the siblings to avoid mediocre people like Xie Yuan, and Xie Yuan calmly challenged him to explain his insult.

Xie Yuan sold a load of processed Phoebe wood, then spent five taels on his first medicinal bath to accelerate his Iron Cloth training. As his progress climbed, a high-ranking disciple confronted him in the bathhouse, leaving the purpose of the visit unclear.

• Xie Yuan finished processing the Phoebe wood, hauled it to Coiling Dragon Town, and sold it to Boss Wan for twelve taels of silver.
• Xie Yuan divided the earnings among his four helpers and kept eight taels after accounting for his expenses.
• Xie Yuan bought a basic medicinal bath at Iron Clothes Gate and watched his Iron Cloth progress rise as he endured the painful soak.
• A brawny disciple entered Xie Yuan’s room and told him to come out, while Xu Yang stood outside with the medicine jar.

Xie Yi rescued Xie Yuan from the Yao Family and revealed that Xie Yuan was the son of the late Xie Xuan, making him Xie Yi’s nephew. Xie Yuan learned that Xie Lun was Xie Yi’s son, leaving his place in the family—and his relationship with the brother who raised him—newly complicated.

• Xie Yi fought the Autumn Wind Pavilion Master, then entered the study and demanded that Yao Yuzhi release Xie Yuan.
• Xie Yi and Yao Yuzhi negotiated over Xie Yuan, and Xie Yuan refused to swear away any secrets except those of the Great Golden River Skill.
• Yao Yuzhi let Xie Yuan leave with Xie Yi, while the Autumn Wind Pavilion Master condemned the Yao Family’s lack of backbone and said he could no longer remain there.
• Xie Yi told Xie Yuan that the Xie descendants had been scattered after the Eight Gates Rebellion and revealed that Xie Yuan was Xie Xuan’s only son and his own nephew.
• Xie Yuan asked about Xie Lun, and Xie Yi revealed that Xie Lun was his son.

Xie Yuan led the Chen Commandery Xie's New Year ancestral rites and banquet as the family head, while privately reflecting that his own name was absent from the Family Tree. At the banquet, Xie Zhi accused him of being an outsider impersonating Xie Xuan's son and claimed Xie Yi had arranged the deception.

• Xie Yuan led the ancestral rites and helped register the year's eligible children in the Family Tree, despite not being listed in it himself.
• Xie Yuan returned to the main courtyard and shared a peaceful New Year meal with Xie Lingyun, Cui Pingjun, and Mu Chaoyun.
• Xie Yuan hosted the Xie Family's New Year's Eve banquet, where clan elders toasted him and Mu Chaoyun.
• Xie Zhi praised Xie Yuan's achievements, then said he had known about a secret that could expose him.
• Xie Zhi publicly accused Xie Yuan of not being Xie Xuan's son and claimed Xie Yi had brought him back to impersonate a member of the Chen Commandery Xie.

Xie Yuan realized Cui Pingjun had stopped worshipping Buddha because she had received news that her missing son was dead, while Xie Lingyun grew closer to him and struggled with feelings she could not fulfill. As Xie Yuan continued seeking Buddhist Resonance and lettered Situ Qin, he won his twelfth clan challenge by defeating Xie Chun with a deceptive technique.

• Xie Yuan learned that Cui Pingjun had donated her Golden Buddha Statue and stopped worshipping Buddha after hearing news about her missing son, while Cui Pingjun planned to build a cenotaph for him.
• Xie Lingyun urged Cui Pingjun to treat Xie Yuan as her closest brother, then visited Xie Yuan and teased him about the letter he was writing to Situ Qin and his possible future with her.
• Xie Yuan remained unable to advance the Pre-Qin Alchemist's Notes or Buddhist Resonance, while his eleven consecutive sparring victories drew attention and wagers across the Xie Clan.
• Xie Chun challenged Xie Yuan, wagering a protective jade pendant and demanding that Xie Yuan give up resources if he lost.
• Xie Chun's powerful lance kept Xie Yuan at bay until Xie Yuan charged into the lance shadows, used a deceptive technique to evade the strike, and placed his sword against Xie Chun's neck.

Jin Tiannan gave Xie Yuan an ancient Cyan Cube, which Mu Chaoyun opened to reveal a map pointing to a hidden place in Five Elements Mountain. After Mu Chaoyun deciphered the mountain’s natural formation, the group descended into a mist-filled chasm and encountered a lantern-bearing girl who said they had finally arrived.

• Jin Tiannan offered Xie Yuan the Cyan Cube and explained that it had gathered Spiritual Qi and helped him build Golden Gate; Xie Yuan accepted it and warned him to keep his agency within bounds.
• Mu Chaoyun used her Spiritual Sense to open the cube and copy the hidden map, locating its marked destination in Five Elements Mountain.
• Xie Yuan, Mu Chaoyun, Situ Qin, and Xie Lingyun left Luoyang and searched the mountains for the destination.
• Mu Chaoyun recognized Five Elements Mountain as a vast natural formation, calculated how to pass through it, and found the mist-shrouded valley beneath the formation.
• The four descended into the lifeless chasm, where a young girl holding a lantern appeared and told them they had finally come.

Xie Yuan crushed the bandit ambush, killed several Vajra Gate disciples, and forced two survivors and the wounded bandit chief to obey him. Days later, the escort team returned with the captives, and Shen Longteng led them to the County Office to beat the complaint drum.

• Xie Yuan killed two Third Level of Practice fighters, scattering the bandits and severing the bandit chief's calf with a thrown axe.
• Xie Yuan killed two Vajra Gate disciples and spared two others after they begged for their lives and agreed to obey him.
• Xie Yuan ordered Niu Dachun to bring over the wounded bandit chief, then threatened the captives into submission.
• Several days later, the escort team completed its delivery and returned to the escort agency with the captives.
• Shen Longteng led the escort agency's men and the three captives to the County Office and began beating the great drum.

Xie Yuan and Situ Qin infiltrated the Black River Boat Gang and the County Office, confirming that Meng Hesheng and Yao Zhizhang were involved in trafficking people and that a powerful Mister Qian stood above them. After hearing the innkeeper’s warning about the case’s far-reaching influence, they prepared for danger in Situ Qin’s room, where they sensed a group of experts arriving.

• Xie Yuan disguised himself as County Magistrate Yao and tricked Meng Hesheng into revealing that a mysterious Mister Qian controlled the abducted people.
• Xie Yuan and Situ Qin disguised themselves again to visit Yao Zhizhang, who recognized the Prince of Western Peace’s daughter as a possible target and agreed to seek out Mister Qian.
• The real Meng Hesheng arrived at the County Office and exposed Xie Yuan’s impersonation, allowing Yao Zhizhang to realize he had been deceived.
• Xie Yuan and Situ Qin learned from the innkeeper that previous investigators, including a Yunshan Sword Sect disciple, had failed to stop the trafficking and that the case reached powerful forces beyond the region.
• Xie Yuan and Situ Qin shared a room and prepared for a possible attack, then heard a group of skilled intruders arrive.

Xie Yuan impressed Huo Da with his rapid progress in stance training and learned that the Sect Master would soon inspect the new disciples. After Tao Jielin warned him about wealthy disciple Xu Yang, Xie Yuan returned to the village thinking about the money martial arts required and remembered the trees at Tiger Hunter's place.

• Xie Yuan completed all six stance training sets, and Huo Da praised his effort before explaining the techniques in detail.
• Xie Yuan's Iron Cloth progress rose to 31/100, and Huo Da told Cao Shan to pay special attention to him as a possible Core Disciple.
• Tao Jielin told Xie Yuan that the Sect Master would inspect the disciples after three days of training and might choose Core Disciples.
• Tao Jielin warned Xie Yuan that Xu Yang was wealthy, had advanced through expensive medicines, and had beaten a disciple who insulted him.
• Xie Yuan headed back to the village, reflected on the cost of martial arts training, and remembered the trees at Tiger Hunter's place.

Xie Yuan reflected on surviving the black bear and asked Zhu Dongming and the other hunters to retrieve its body. After the villagers mistook his martial arts training for mastery, Xie Yuan returned home to examine the jade-green Spirit Fruit he had kept hidden.

• Xie Yuan treated his leg, left the bear’s body in the woods, and limped back to Small Stone Village to ask Zhu Dongming for help.
• Xie Yuan found Zhu Dongming, Chen Yun, Zhou Feng, and Wu Lao Si gathered at Zhu Dongming’s home and told them he had killed a blind bear.
• Zhu Dongming and the other hunters followed Xie Yuan to the woods, found the bear, and helped carry it back to the village.
• The villagers hailed Xie Yuan for killing another large animal, and he told them his recent martial arts training had changed him.
• Xie Yuan asked Zhu Dongming to sell the bear, then returned home and examined the jade-green fruit he had carried back.

Xie Yuan used First-Class Merit Points to obtain a Purple Dragon Vine and rapidly advanced his cultivation with its medicinal power. After three days of practice, he broke through to the second layer of the Golden Bell Cover.

• Xie Yuan chose the Purple Dragon Vine, and the Old Pharmacist prepared it for one hundred and seven taels of silver.
• Xie Yuan collected the medicine the next morning and drank the first of its three portions.
• Xie Yuan practiced the Luohan Stance as the medicine strengthened his Blood Qi and tendons.
• Xie Yuan used the Purple Dragon Vine alongside the Nourishing Body Skill and Golden Bell Cover to train rapidly.
• Xie Yuan broke through to the Golden Bell Cover's second layer after three days.

Xie Yuan cleared the fifth floor of the Xie Family Martial Repository and began the sixth, seeking an external training technique compatible with his Golden Bell Cover. After reaching the seventh floor, he met Martial Guardian Elder Xie Fu, who offered him access to eighth-floor cultivation arts in exchange for recording his Axe Technique, illusion arts, and stealth method.

• Xie Yuan defeated the fifth-floor external training guard through skillful use of the Golden Bell Cover, then discovered the Indestructible Golden Body Heart Sutra required him to remain a virgin and rejected the technique.
• Xie Yuan passed all eight sections of the fifth floor, and Xie Lingyun was astonished by his progress when they met outside the repository.
• Xie Yuan and Xie Lingyun witnessed the Clan Law Hall expel Thirteenth Granduncle for gambling and driving his wife to her death.
• Xie Yuan reached the sixth floor, passed its external training trial by demonstrating his control of the Golden Bell Cover, and easily passed the Inner Strength section with the Great Golden River Skill.
• Xie Fu identified himself as the Martial Guardian Elder and offered Xie Yuan permission to study an eighth-floor cultivation art if he recorded his Axe Technique, illusion arts, and stealth method for the repository.

Xie Yuan discovered a mysterious black mark and the Black Heaven Book on his cultivation panel, then focused on training and broke through to the third layer of the Nourishing Body Skill. At the Soaring Dragon Escort Agency, Shen Longteng agreed to the Vajra Gate’s challenge to compare their newly recruited disciples.

• Xie Yuan found a black tattoo on his arm that he suspected the Black Robed Figure had placed there, and he resolved to keep cultivating despite the unexplained mark and Black Heaven Book.
• Xie Yuan spent the next several days training his internal arts, Iron Cloth stance, saber, and fists while helping Li Lan and Huwa.
• Xie Yuan broke through to the third layer of the Nourishing Body Skill, strengthening his Inner Breath, and planned to use escort agency merit for medicinal broth to improve his external training.
• Xie Yuan left his cottage, sent Wang Lei to deliver lumber to Boss Wan, and traveled to Yun Zhao County and the Soaring Dragon Escort Agency.
• Peng Jie and Yu Chunsheng brought Vajra Gate disciples and County Office men to challenge the escort agency to a contest between this year’s recruits, and Shen Longteng accepted.

Xie Yuan used Lu Hong’s enhanced Advanced Medicinal Bath to make rapid progress in Iron Cloth and then asked Liu Heshang for the method to break through the First Stage. As Liu Heshang searched for notes, Xie Yuan noticed a gold-edged booklet depicting what looked like an Arhat.

• Lu Hong gave Xie Yuan an enhanced Advanced Medicinal Bath in recognition of his contribution to the martial hall.
• Xie Yuan used Blood Qi and Inner Strength to endure the bath and raised his Iron Cloth progress to 907/1000.
• Xie Yuan told Liu Heshang how the conflict with Lin Tao began and insisted he had acted fairly.
• Xie Yuan asked Liu Heshang for the method to break through the skin-training barrier and complete the First Stage.
• Liu Heshang went to find a book of notes, and Xie Yuan noticed a white, gold-edged booklet with an Arhat illustration.

After using a medicinal bath to boost his Iron Cloth practice, Xie Yuan returned to Small Stone Village, paid the Logging Team, and continued building his timber business. When he visited the Iron Clothes Gate, Huo Da noticed how much stronger he had become and was stunned by his progress.

• Xie Yuan combined Inner Breath cultivation with a medicinal bath, raising his Iron Cloth progress to 181/1000 and resolving to avoid relying too heavily on supplements.
• Xie Yuan paid Zhu Dongming, Chen Yun, Zhou Feng, and Wang Lei one tael each and sent them back into the mountains to gather timber.
• Zhou Feng wondered how much Xie Yuan earned, but Zhu Dongming warned him that Xie Yuan’s processing and connections—not merely chopping trees—were the key to the business.
• The Logging Team delivered two Phoebe Wood trees, reassuring Xie Yuan that his supply line was secure, and he processed and hauled the timber to Panlong Town.
• At the Iron Clothes Gate, Huo Da asked Xie Yuan to demonstrate Stance Training and was shocked by his strength and surging Blood Qi.

Xie Yuan resisted Wu Daoji’s attempt to seize his body, exposed the candlestick anchoring the old Grandmaster’s spirit, and destroyed him with the Black Heaven Book’s power. The victory greatly strengthened Xie Yuan’s Spiritual Sense, and he examined the candlestick afterward.

• Xie Yuan saw through Wu Daoji’s mind illusion and resisted his attempt to frighten and possess him.
• Xie Yuan identified the candlestick as Wu Daoji’s true body and used his sword to repeatedly damage the remnant soul.
• Wu Daoji made a final attempt to seize Xie Yuan, but Mu Chaoyun’s seven flames weakened him as he charged through their light.
• Wu Daoji entered Xie Yuan’s Sea of Consciousness, where Xie Yuan used the Black Heaven Book and Mountains and Rivers Cauldron to annihilate him.
• Xie Yuan discovered that his Sea of Consciousness had expanded and his Spiritual Sense had nearly doubled, then inspected the candlestick.

Shen Longteng and Xie Yuan brought evidence of Vajra Gate’s collusion with bandits before the Yun Zhao County Magistrate, but County Commandant Yu Chunsheng was tasked with investigating himself. As they returned to the escort agency, Shen Longteng revealed that the County Magistrate wanted Yu Chunsheng brought down even more than they did.

• Shen Longteng sounded the Grievance Drum and accused Vajra Gate disciples of colluding with bandits during an attack on Xie Yuan’s escort run.
• Xie Yuan presented Xiang Zhuo’s head, and the County Magistrate verified his identity with the coroner and Yu Chunsheng.
• The bandit leader and two Vajra Gate disciples testified that they had joined the ambush through an introduction tied to Vajra Gate.
• Yu Chunsheng cast doubt on the bandit’s testimony, and the County Magistrate ordered him to investigate and report back within three days.
• Xie Yuan concluded that the County Magistrate was protecting Yu Chunsheng, but Shen Longteng said the County Magistrate wanted Yu Chunsheng removed.

After Xie Yuan fought the mysterious Torchbearer Envoy and helped recover the Great Jade Buddha, his reputation spread through the Xie Family, while the family buried Xie Lun and warned Xie Yuan to stay in Chen Commandery. Situ Qin learned that Xie Yuan had written to explain their families’ history and decided to visit him; the chapter ended when Xie Yuan received Xie Dun’s challenge for three days later.

• Xie Yi rescued Xie Yuan and Xie Lingyun, then carried the Great Jade Buddha back to Jade Buddha Temple, where Master Fa Zhi gifted Xie Yuan a string of Buddhist prayer beads.
• Xie Yuan gained Buddhist Resonance, reviewed his fight with the Torchbearer Envoy, and improved his martial arts through training; rumors exaggerated his victory throughout the Xie Family.
• Xie Yi and the Xie family buried Xie Lun, and Xie Yi told Xie Yuan to postpone visiting his adoptive parents until the Demon Sect’s intentions became clear.
• Situ Qin read Xie Yuan’s letter explaining his identity and their families’ past, realized he feared she would blame him for the old feud, and decided to go see him.
• Xie Yuan continued training and strengthening his Golden Bell Cover before the gatekeeper delivered Xie Dun’s challenge to fight in three days.

After returning to Heaven Beyond Heaven, Xie Yuan learned that Mu Chaoyun had died bringing him home and received her final gift: the Xuanyuan Axe. He defeated threats across the human world, then entered the Tower to Heaven with Situ Qin and Xie Lingyun, where he rejected its prescribed trials and forced his way upward as the Great Grandmasters gathered on the Thirty-Third Heaven.

• Xie Yuan and Xie Lingyun returned to Heaven Beyond Heaven, where Xie Yuan reunited with Situ Qin and met his son, Xie JunGui.
• Situ Qin told Xie Yuan that Mu Chaoyun had died creating an array to help him return, and that she had left him a map to her final gift.
• Xie Yuan followed the map to the Human Emperor's Mausoleum, received the Xuanyuan Axe, and watched Mu Chaoyun's remaining apparition fade away.
• Xie Yuan confronted the Mist Origin Demon Kingdom's dragon, forced the Fengdu Ghost Emperor back into his grave, and ordered the Nine Hells Realm Lord to remain behind the sealed gate.
• Xie Yuan returned to Situ Qin and Xie Lingyun, prepared to face the breach in the sky, and later led them into the Tower to Heaven.
• Xie Yuan refused to follow the tower's trials and charged past the Realm-Suppressing Beast; on the Thirty-Third Heaven, he burst into the gathered Great Grandmasters' presence.

Xie Yuan defeated Hou Zhen with his perfected Yunshan Sword Style, drawing the attention of several Grandmaster Elders who tried to recruit him. He refused them by citing Li Xingtuo’s order to remain in the Inner Courtyard, then settled into cultivation as time passed.

• Xie Yuan defeated Hou Zhen in a single exchange, and Lu Liangdong learned that Xie Yuan had perfected the Yunshan Sword Style on Sword Peak.
• Lu Pei lectured the Inner Disciples, then privately offered to teach Xie Yuan the Flying Sword Technique, but Xie Yuan declined by invoking Li Xingtuo’s instruction to stay in the Inner Courtyard.
• Luo Shuang called Xie Yuan and Lin Zhen to a tea room, proposed arranging a marriage, then offered to make Xie Yuan Moon Invitation Peak’s first male disciple; Xie Yuan again cited Li Xingtuo’s order and refused.
• Grandmaster Elders repeatedly summoned Xie Yuan and attempted to recruit him, but he continued to refuse, while Lin Zhen entered Moon Invitation Peak.
• After the elders stopped visiting, Xie Yuan cultivated on Into the Clouds Peak, used the Blood Ganoderma and other medicines, and made rapid progress.