Chapter Summaries

Zhang Rongfang began learning Boda Gan Script from Gong Shuyin while a separate account showed Golden Wing Tower’s men abducting three sisters and killing their father in Lan Ying County. A month later, Zhang Rongfang had advanced his Guanxu Skill to the Seven Revolutions Core Formation Realm and practiced concealed weapons.

• Zhang Rongfang visited Gong Shuyin, identified characters from the Secret Scripture Scroll as Boda Gan Script, and began lessons after paying her.
• Golden Wing Tower’s men dragged three young sisters into a carriage and beat their father to death over a debt he denied owing.
• A blade warrior wanted to rally resistance against Golden Wing Tower, while Brother Hu warned that the tower’s Spirit Envoy and ties to the Huang Family made it dangerous.
• Over the next month, Zhang Rongfang gained three Attribute Points and raised his Guanxu Skill to the Seven Revolutions Core Formation Realm.
• Zhang Rongfang tested his improved strength with two consecutive Double Heavy Mountain palm strikes and practiced throwing an Iron Cross Star Shuriken.

Zhang Rongfang tested his growing strength and considered how to reach Super Grade, while Qing Su uncovered repeated emergency deployments by the Wushan Death Warrior System. White Eagle Xiang Ling then persuaded Zhang Rongfang to mobilize the death warriors against attackers targeting Golden Wing Tower.

• Zhang Rongfang broke a wooden post with Double Heavy Mountain, confirmed he could repeat the technique without strain, and planned to spar with Ninth Grade fighters.
• Qing Su examined the encrypted archives with Duan Gu and found records of three emergency deployments to defend the Wushan headquarters within half a year.
• Qing Su questioned why the Golden Wing Tower headquarters faced repeated attacks and pressed Duan Gu about the attackers' identities and motives.
• White Eagle Xiang Ling told Zhang Rongfang that skilled attackers were intercepting Golden Wing Tower members and asked him to mobilize the death warriors.
• Zhang Rongfang agreed to send orders and told Xiang Ling to handle the matter, while she privately judged him easy to fool.

Zhang Rongfang ordered Golden Wing Tower to mobilize against Sea Dragon’s strongholds in Wushan Prefecture, beginning with Heavenly Fragrance Beauty Pavilion. As his deathsworn dispersed toward the city, he prepared to attack the pavilion despite Tong Xin’s warning about its powerful connections.

• Xiang Ling left Zhang Rongfang’s courtyard, and he sent a message by Xiao Hong Bird before Wei Li reported that the Zhengming Society opposed Golden Wing Tower and that Sea Dragon had three strongholds in Wushan Prefecture.
• Zhang Rongfang ordered Wei Li to notify Qing Su and mobilize forces against Sea Dragon, declaring that the prefecture would hear of his arrival.
• Duan Gu received Zhang Rongfang’s orders, assembled more than 190 deathsworn with Qing Su, and sent them toward the Prefectural City in disguise.
• At Heavenly Fragrance Beauty Pavilion, Zhong Qinglian guarded the top floor while Zhang Rongfang and his masked companions watched from a nearby building.
• Tong Xin warned Zhang Rongfang that attacking the pavilion was risky, but Zhang Rongfang silenced him and pressed ahead.

Zhang Rongfang ordered Golden Wing Tower to annihilate the Heavenly Fragrance Beauty Pavilion, defeated Zhong Qinglian, and forced Tong Xin and Xiang Ling to help kill him. After the raid, Zhang Rongfang led them toward a second target, the Dream Boat Society, as Duan Gu and Qing Su arrived.

• Zhang Rongfang ordered Tong Xin and Xiang Ling to raid the Heavenly Fragrance Beauty Pavilion and leave no one alive, then signaled the attack with a firework.
• Golden Wing Tower assassins stormed the pavilion, killed its defenders, and looted its wealth while Zhang Rongfang watched.
• Zhong Qinglian attacked Zhang Rongfang, who crippled his wrist with one move and ordered Tong Xin and Xiang Ling to finish him.
• The Golden Wing Tower forces withdrew with their spoils, and Zhang Rongfang noticed Tong Xin's distress as they walked through the city.
• Duan Gu and Qing Su arrived, and Zhang Rongfang announced that the next target was the Dream Boat Society.

Zhang Rongfang led Golden Wing Tower to raid Dream Boat Society, while Xiang Ling secretly tried to warn its people. The underground operation began evacuating, but Zhang Rongfang ordered the Meng Residence burned before the group could find its hidden entrance.

• Xiang Ling sent a coded signal from the rear of Zhang Rongfang's group, and a red bird carried a warning to Dream Boat Society.
• Red Sister delivered Xiang Ling's message to Xiao Chengyi, who agreed to close the underground entrance and evacuate through the Fifth Gate.
• Qing Su led Zhang Rongfang and the Golden Wing Tower death warriors to the Meng Residence, where they found the courtyard empty.
• Zhang Rongfang ordered his men to spread fire oil around the residence and prepare to burn it despite Xiang Ling's objections.
• Zhang Rongfang carried a torch out of the Meng Residence as the others withdrew, leaving the hidden Dream Boat Society at risk of destruction.

Zhang Rongfang attacked the Meng Residence, exposed Xiang Ling’s role in the Dream Boat Society, and spared her after Duan Gu stabbed her and betrayed her. At Golden Wing Tower headquarters, Zhang ordered Xiang Ling to reveal the Society’s network and considered using her to lure and poison her formidable lover.

• Zhang Rongfang’s group set the Meng Residence on fire, and Xiao Chengyi escaped after fighting Zhang Rongfang and Xiang Ling.
• Zhang Rongfang struck Xiang Ling when she failed to stop Xiao Chengyi, while Xiang Ling secretly planned to recruit allies to kill him.
• Duan Gu stabbed Xiang Ling and revealed that she had founded the Dream Boat Society; Zhang Rongfang ordered her kept alive for questioning.
• An old man told his companion that Zhang Rongfang’s subordinates’ fates had been decided from the moment he arrived, because subordinates could never surpass their superiors in money or power.
• At Golden Wing Tower headquarters, Zhang Rongfang ordered Xiang Ling to disclose the Dream Boat Society and help rescue its captives, then suggested using her as bait for her powerful lover.
• Duan Gu volunteered to help Zhang Rongfang lure and poison Xiang Ling’s lover.

Huang Zhenyi and Qing Jiao agreed to join forces against Golden Wing Tower’s new Spirit Envoy, Zhang Rongfang, after his raids crippled their businesses. Zhang learned that Sea Dragon was gathering experts and prepared to strike first while testing the loyalty of his subordinates.

• Huang Zhenyi ordered Huang Huixian to approach the Prefectural government and Huang Lanxin to contact Sea Dragon after Heavenly Fragrance Beauty Pavilion and the Dream Boat Society were destroyed.
• Qing Jiao arrived at the Huang Family’s council hall and agreed to take Xiangling’s share, provided the Huang Family helped him surround and kill Zhang Rongfang.
• Zhang Rongfang counted the wealth seized from the two businesses, including more than fifty thousand taels in gold and silver.
• Wei Li told Zhang Rongfang that the Prefectural government was staying neutral and that Sea Dragon was gathering personnel and experts.
• Zhang Rongfang told Qing Su to withdraw and summoned Duan Gu to accompany him as he prepared to act against Sea Dragon and the Huang Family.

Zhang Rongfang lured the Huang Family and Sea Dragon’s men to Shu Family Fortress, then attacked the Sea Dragon party after the Huang Family rushed to defend its ancestral grounds. The chapter ended with Zhang Rongfang standing over the slain men and facing Qing Jiao alone.

• Zhang Rongfang learned that 367 Dream Boat Society captives had been rescued and ordered them cared for while arranging a meeting at Shu Family Fortress.
• Huang Yixi and Huang Lanxin arrived at the fortress and found the mutilated Xiang Ling tied to a stake, with no sign of Zhang Rongfang or his people.
• Qing Jiao and his masked experts arrived, and Huang Yixi argued with him about Zhang Rongfang’s plans.
• A signal firework warned that the Huang Family’s ancestral grounds were under attack, so Huang Yixi’s party took Xiang Ling and hurried back.
• Zhang Rongfang ambushed Qing Jiao’s group, using his movement and sword to kill or disable everyone but Qing Jiao.
• Qing Jiao called for negotiations, but Zhang Rongfang asked what he had said while standing over the bodies.

Zhang Rongfang fought Qing Jiao and defeated him with the help of the Scale Light Treasure Armor and poison hidden in his nails. Huang Yixi returned too late to save Qing Jiao and dodged Zhang Rongfang’s attack.

• Zhang Rongfang killed Sea Dragon’s elite experts and faced Qing Jiao, who activated Limit State to counter his speed.
• Qing Jiao’s attacks initially pressured Zhang Rongfang, but the Scale Light Treasure Armor deflected a blow and let Zhang Rongfang wound Qing Jiao’s waist.
• Zhang Rongfang pursued Qing Jiao after he fled, blocked his surprise counterattack, and tore open his abdomen despite a dart striking his armor.
• Zhang Rongfang revealed that poison coated his nails had entered Qing Jiao’s wounds, leaving him kneeling and near death.
• Huang Yixi returned after discovering the signal flare had been used to trick him, rushed to Qing Jiao, and dodged Zhang Rongfang’s reaching Eagle Claw.

Zhang Rongfang and Huang Yixi fought while the Golden Wing Tower ambushed the Huang Family on the road, and Zhang Rongfang confronted Huang Yixi after Huang Lanxin was killed. Meanwhile, Zhang Rongyu and Lu Mei Sha grew closer, leaving Lu Mei Sha thinking of someone from her past.

• Zhang Rongfang drove Huang Yixi back during their fight, and the antidote was knocked away and scattered.
• Huang Yixi treated the wounded Qing Jiao, then learned the others were in danger and rushed toward them.
• Duan Gu led the Golden Wing Tower attack on Huang Lanxin’s party, killed Huang Lanxin, and broke the remaining servants’ resistance.
• Zhang Rongfang waited on the road and challenged the enraged Huang Yixi, who charged him with Limit State: Turning Bell as Zhang Rongfang gathered his strength.
• Zhang Rongyu and Lu Mei Sha talked in the garden, where Lu Mei Sha gave her an Emerald Fragrance Pill and accepted her embrace.
• Lu Mei Sha felt Zhang Rongyu’s touch stir a strange familiarity and thought of a long-dead figure from her memories.

Zhang Rongfang led Golden Wing Tower forces in destroying the Huang Family, defeating Huang Yixi and arranging for Duan Gu and Tong Xin to face Huang Zhenyi. As the battle left the Huang patriarch defeated and his forces scattered, Huang Zhenyi offered to reveal why Sea Dragon’s upper ranks captured beautiful virgins.

• Zhang Rongfang killed Huang Yixi after explaining that Tan Xiao was unlikely to risk a war for the Huang Family, then learned Qing Jiao was dying near Shu Family Fortress.
• Zhang Rongfang and Golden Wing Tower forces attacked the Huang Family compound, where Zhang killed Huang Huixian and let the fighting purge members implicated in the family’s crimes.
• Duan Gu and Tong Xin reported their victories, and Zhang ordered them to fight Huang Zhenyi without interference.
• Huang Zhenyi charged Duan Gu and Tong Xin, and the three fought until all were gravely wounded and Huang Zhenyi was blinded and crippled.
• Huang Zhenyi admitted defeat and offered Zhang Rongfang a secret about why Sea Dragon’s upper ranks captured beautiful virgins.

Zhang Rongfang wiped out the Huang Family in Wushan Prefecture and dealt Sea Dragon a major blow, then turned to rebuilding Golden Wing Tower while continuing his Locked Script studies. After an ambiguous lesson with Gong Shuyin, he ordered an investigation into the Dream Boat Society’s members and went to examine the Huang Family’s secret materials.

• Zhang Rongfang exposed Huang Zhenyi’s concealed needle trap, assigned Qing Su to replace White Eagle, and ordered Xiang Ling punished and left with the doomed Huang Family.
• In March 1185, the Huang Family was exterminated, Sea Dragon suffered a crushing blow, and the Government Office credited Yue Hanquan with the victory; Zhang Rongfang began rebuilding Golden Wing Tower.
• Gong Shuyin advised Zhang Rongfang about worries and ultimate bliss before teaching him Locked Script, then agreed to go somewhere quiet with him.
• Zhang Rongfang questioned Bao Ning about Gong Shuyin’s background and ordered Dream Boat Society members assessed and recruited, with Dream Nectar kept from outside circulation.
• Bao Ning reported that the Huang Family’s secret technique materials had been moved, and Zhang Rongfang went to inspect them.

Zhang Rongfang examined the Huang Family’s seized records and discovered clues about the Western Sect’s methods for breaking through to Super Grade. He left determined to pursue his own breakthrough and strengthen himself before Sea Dragon’s leaders could retaliate.

• Zhang Rongfang inspected the Huang Family’s seized materials at Ten Thousand Mile Villa and asked Bao Ning to retrieve a secret stash from the underground vault.
• Zhang Rongfang waited outside the vault while Bao Ning entered, then studied the vault’s layout before Bao Ning returned with a stack of booklets.
• Zhang Rongfang read decades-old letters from Sea Dragon Qing Jiao to Huang Zhenyi and learned that the Western Sect used Zen Heart Spirit Replenishing Liquid and a destined spiritual partner to aid breakthroughs to Super Grade.
• Zhang Rongfang ordered Bao Ning to sort and assess the Huang Family’s Martial Arts Manuals, then left the vault to plan how he could protect himself from Sea Dragon’s expected revenge.
• Zhang Rongfang decided to finish cultivating Talisman Art before trying movement arts from the Huang Family’s collection if reaching the Golden Core Stage did not help him break through to Super Grade.

During Wushan Prefecture’s Witch Festival, Zhang Rongfang advanced his Guanxu Skill and began practicing the Soul Fixing Talisman, while Sweeping Mountain Tiger and his bandits prepared to attack the city that night. The chapter left Zhang Rongfang training alone in his courtyard as the bandits planned to strike the Thief-Catching Prefecture first.

• At the Witch Festival, Zhang Rongyu and Suda Heqi discussed finding Zhang Rongfang a match and asked about his martial arts training, while Zhang Rongfang focused on reaching Super Grade.
• Zhang Rongfang used his new Attribute Point on the Guanxu Skill, reached the Fourth Realm’s Golden Core, Eight Revolutions, and considered searching the Great Dao Sect’s records for Super Grade breakthrough methods.
• Sweeping Mountain Tiger and his men watched Wushan Prefecture from a hill and planned to enter that night, kill Chief Constable He Xinhong, then attack the Prefectural Office.
• After helping protect the festival, Zhang Rongfang returned to his courtyard, practiced the Soul Fixing Talisman without pain, and began considering how to research Ninth Grade techniques.

Zhang Rongfang experimented with combining and sustaining Breaking Limit Skills, then went on a first meeting with Jin Xiu at Huining Academy. He returned home without escorting her, leaving Jin Xiu stunned outside his gate.

• Zhang Rongfang combined Shrink Step with Heavy Mountain and found that dividing his vital blood reduced the strain, though it also weakened the burst.
• Lu Mei Sha recruited Xiu Xiu to meet Zhang Rongfang, offering her a box of Bao Yin Pills, meals, and fifty taels for her mother's Maple Pill.
• Zhang Rongyu persuaded Zhang Rongfang to meet a girl at Huining Academy and arranged for him to go there that afternoon.
• Zhang Rongfang met Jin Xiu, and they chatted pleasantly as they walked back to his home in Xi Creek District.
• Zhang Rongfang said goodbye and hurried inside, leaving Jin Xiu shocked that he had not escorted her home or arranged another meeting.

Jin Xiu grew closer to Zhang Rongfang while probing his home and weighing him as a practical match who could help her escape her family and pay for her mother's treatment. Their growing association continued as Wu Mountain imposed martial law after Chief Constable He Xinhong was murdered, and Jin Xiu defended her choice to Lu Mei Sha and their friends.

• Jin Xiu entered Zhang Rongfang's courtyard, snooped through his room, and found a stack of high-value Treasure Notes, but Zhang later confirmed nothing was missing.
• Jin Xiu repeatedly invited Zhang Rongfang on outings, and he eventually accompanied her on boat rides along the Wujiang after Elder Sister scolded him for refusing.
• Chief Constable He Xinhong died in his residence, prompting martial law across Wu Mountain while Zhang Rongfang and Jin Xiu continued growing closer.
• At Fragrant Gathering Pavilion, Lu Mei Sha questioned why Jin Xiu was pursuing Zhang Rongfang, and Jin Xiu argued that he was a capable, ranked warrior with better prospects than Lu believed.
• Jin Xiu explained that she wanted a wealthy, capable man who could help protect her from her family and pay for her mother's care, while Lu Mei Sha left upset.

The Sweeping Mountain Tiger trio attacked the Yue Clan Grounds, where Ding Yu killed Yue Shenwei in a single blow before realizing he had slain the very master he came to challenge. As the trio fled, Zhang Rongfang learned that the Yue Family was burning and heard that two Super Grade experts lived in Wushan Prefecture.

• Ding Yu, Xu Xin, and Sun Xiaohui infiltrated the Yue Clan Grounds and set fires to draw out its defenders.
• Ding Yu fought Yue Shenwei, broke both his arms, and killed him with a blow that crushed his breastbone.
• Ding Yu learned that the man he had killed was Yue Shenwei, then lost interest in Wushan Prefecture and left with Xu Xin and Sun Xiaohui.
• Zhang Rongfang saw the fire at the Yue Clan Grounds while Bao Ning and Qing Su reported on the Golden Wing Tower.
• Bao Ning told Zhang Rongfang that Thousand Mountain Sword Tan Xiao and an unidentified expert who had defeated Huang Yixi and Qing Jiao were the strongest fighters in Wushan Prefecture.

Zhang Rongfang reached the Nine Revolutions Golden Core, formed a Golden Core, and began practicing a new Talisman Art that could take him beyond Ninth Grade. Meanwhile, Sweeping Mountain Tiger challenged Wu Mountain’s ranked experts, and Zhang Rongfang ended the chapter wondering whether the True Great Dao Sect had a hidden counterpart.

• Zhang Rongfang praised Bao Ning, named his sustained combination of Shrink Step and Heavy Mountain the Critical State, and noticed Ding Yu and his companions passing below.
• Ding Yu started toward Zhang Rongfang but turned away when an officers’ signal firework appeared, and the three men left the area.
• Yue Hanquan learned that Sweeping Mountain Tiger had killed Yue Shenwei and challenged Wu Mountain’s ranked experts, threatening the region’s trade routes if no one answered.
• Zhang Rongfang ignored the unfolding Sweeping Mountain Tiger affair and used his final Attribute Point to advance Guanxu Skill to the Nine Revolutions Golden Core.
• Zhang Rongfang formed a Golden Core, gained memories and insights about higher cultivation stages, and completed the Soul Fixing Talisman without pain.
• Zhang Rongfang began practicing the Soul Fixing Talisman and wondered whether the True Great Dao Sect had a secret counterpart called the False Great Dao Sect.

Zhang Rongfang tested his Golden Core-enhanced endurance in the Critical State and practiced stacking Heavy Mountain techniques, then reviewed research on martial artists’ physical improvements. Meanwhile, the Sweeping Mountain Tiger Ding Yu challenged Wushan Prefecture’s leaders to fight him together after evading their attempts to capture him.

• Zhang Rongfang used the Critical State and found he could sustain it for about one minute after breaking through to the Golden Core.
• Zhang Rongfang stacked Heavy Mountain three times and cut through three wooden posts, assessing how the techniques suited pursuit, escape, and breaking defenses.
• Xiao Hong Bird delivered Qing Su’s research on martial artists’ physical improvements, which Zhang Rongfang studied to refine his Attribute Panel’s assessments.
• Ding Yu stood in an arena outside Wushan Prefecture and taunted the gathered spectators after repeatedly escaping the authorities’ ambushes by diving into the river.
• Ding Yu invited Shangguan Qingrong and Shangguan Hao to fight him together, and Shangguan Qingrong asked whether he meant the challenge.

Sweeping Mountain Tiger Ding Yu defeated the Zhou Brothers and faced Shangguan Qingrong and Shangguan Hao, while Zhang Rongfang dealt with threats to Golden Wing Tower and learned that Sea Dragon had sent a Jiaoren to Wushan. Far away, a swordsman reunited with a woman who discussed a dangerous plan to protect the Imperial Tutor, with Saint Emperor Meng Qian’s disappearance leaving their hopes uncertain.

• Sweeping Mountain Tiger Ding Yu shattered the Zhou Brothers’ arms in a single move, then faced Shangguan Hao and Shangguan Qingrong when they challenged him together.
• Zhang Rongfang defeated Qing Su and Bao Ning in fewer than ten moves and ordered them to find promising recruits for Golden Wing Tower.
• Qing Su told Zhang Rongfang that Saint Heart Envoy Xiao Yurong was hunting Silver Masked Cicada, and Bao Ning reported that Sea Dragon had sent a Jiaoren to investigate Qing Jiao’s disappearance.
• Zhang Rongfang ordered Golden Wing Tower to stay concealed and said he would face the Jiaoren if necessary.
• A swordsman on the Bright Water River reunited with a woman in white, and they spoke of a risky plan to protect the Imperial Tutor and the possibility that Saint Emperor Meng Qian was their land’s only remaining hope.