Chapter Summaries

Ding Ling consumed increasingly rare Great Medicines and raised his defense and constitution, while his strength reached a limit imposed by his breathing methods. He left the chapter considering that he might need the Inner Refining Breathing Method to break through that limit, as Zhao Yun finished gathering the century-old medicines.

• Ding Ling swallowed the three-hundred-year-old Great Medicines and increased his strength and defense.
• He consumed the four-hundred- and five-hundred-year-old medicines, bringing his strength to 30 and his defense to 24.3.
• Ding Ling ate the six-hundred-year-old medicines, which increased his defense and constitution instead of his strength.
• He concluded that his combined breathing methods could no longer raise his strength and thought he might need the Inner Refining Breathing Method to break through the limit.
• Ding Ling devoured the seven-hundred-year-old medicines, further increasing his defense and constitution, while Zhao Yun packed a sack of century-old Great Medicines and watched him with envy and admiration.

Ding Ling refined a Thousand-Year Great Medicine, toughening his skin enough to withstand a light poke from Zhao Yun’s spear, then followed Diao Chan deeper into the Yuan Clan residence to save Du Qingcheng. Their escape was interrupted when a powerful Yuan Clan elder blocked their way.

• Ding Ling ate the Thousand-Year Great Medicine and raised his defense to 29.4 and physique to 24.5.
• Ding Ling asked Zhao Yun to test his hardened palm with the Dragon Gall Bright Silver Spear, and the light jab left him unharmed.
• Ding Ling, Zhao Yun, and Diao Chan left the Armory with Yuan Yao and headed to find Du Qingcheng.
• Diao Chan led the group through the Yuan Clan inner courtyard, displaying remarkable speed and agility.
• A middle-aged man in a splendid robe confronted the group after Yuan Yao addressed him as his uncle.

Ding Ling overpowered Yuan Yin and Yuan Yao, then followed Diao Chan through the Yuan residence to find Du Qingcheng. The chapter ended with Diao Chan explaining that her sister’s beauty was diminished because she was near death and her power had receded inward.

• Yuan Yin threatened Ding Ling with the Yuan Clan’s influence, but Ding Ling drew his sword and captured him.
• Ding Ling forced Yuan Yin and Yuan Yao to lead the way while Diao Chan guided them through the residence.
• Diao Chan led the group to a desolate courtyard deep inside the Yuan residence.
• Diao Chan unlocked a decaying room and showed Ding Ling the unconscious Du Qingcheng.
• Diao Chan told Ding Ling that Du Qingcheng was her sister and only family, and that she was near death.

Ding Ling treated Du Qingcheng for a mixed poison and kept the group at the Yuan Clan’s estate until she recovered. After waking, Du Qingcheng learned what had happened and joined Diao Chan in thanking Ding Ling.

• Ding Ling diagnosed Du Qingcheng’s mixed poison and began treating her with acupuncture, medicine, and internal energy.
• Ding Ling told Zhao Yun that the group would stay until Du Qingcheng recovered, despite the Yuan Clan’s likely blockade, and accepted Diao Chan’s promise to follow him.
• Du Qingcheng’s condition improved after the treatment and medicine, and she woke several hours later.
• Diao Chan told Du Qingcheng what had happened, and Du Qingcheng developed goodwill toward Ding Ling before she and Diao Chan bowed to thank him.

Ding Ling treated Diao Chan after their sparring match left her internal organs and meridians injured, and he was stunned by her peerless beauty when her veil slipped. He prescribed medicine and arranged for her care, while Zhao Yun forced Yuan Yin to help; Diao Chan remained in Ding Ling’s residence recovering.

• Du Qingcheng showed deep gratitude to Ding Ling for saving her, and Ding Ling decided to let their relationship develop naturally while staying focused on his goal.
• Diao Chan coughed blood and explained that Ding Ling’s Ju Que Sword had injured her internal organs during their exchange.
• Ding Ling took Diao Chan’s pulse and saw her unveiled face, leaving him and the others stunned by her beauty.
• Diao Chan explained that her cultivation had made her natural charm difficult to restrain, and that her master had taken her from the imperial palace as she grew more beautiful.
• Ding Ling examined and massaged Diao Chan, prescribed several doses of medicine, and had Yuan Yin and Zhao Yun arrange the treatment.
• Yuan Yin refused to fetch supplies, so Zhao Yun threatened him with his spear until he agreed to go.

Ding Ling treated Diao Chan and Du Qingcheng at the Yuan Family Residence, and both women recovered under his care. After Du Qingcheng healed, Ding Ling prepared to leave with them, while Diao Chan’s gratitude and feelings for him deepened.

• Ding Ling directed the physicians and used a century-old Great Medicine to treat Diao Chan, impressing the physicians and unsettling Yuan Yao and Yuan Yin.
• Diao Chan recovered first, and a notification revealed her deep gratitude and growing feelings for Ding Ling.
• Ding Ling asked Diao Chan about her late Master, and Du Qingcheng explained that Qin Yilu had lured her to the Devil's Cave under the pretense of finding medicine for Hongchang.
• Du Qingcheng recovered after another day, with all the poison purged.
• Ding Ling prepared to leave the Yuan Family Residence with Diao Chan and Du Qingcheng, taking two fine Ferghana horses for them.

Ding Ling led his companions out of Yuan Shu's estate, where Sun Ce feigned defeat after discovering how overwhelmingly strong Ding Ling had become. Ding Ling cut down the soldiers who tried to stop him and continued forcing his way through the estate.

• Ding Ling's group left the inner courtyard in formation, with Yuan Yao and Yuan Yin leading them and Zhao Yun guarding the rear.
• Sun Ce confronted Ding Ling on Ji Ling's orders, but Ding Ling overwhelmed him in their exchange, and Sun Ce called for a retreat.
• The chapter explained that medicinal baths had strengthened Zhao Yun, Diao Chan, and Du Qingcheng, while Ding Ling's defense reached its limit after he consumed Diao Chan's eight-hundred-year Great Medicine.
• Ding Ling killed dozens of soldiers who charged him, frightening Yuan Yin, Yuan Yao, and the onlookers.
• Ding Ling received the Awe-inspiring Yuan Family Achievement Medal and continued galloping through the soldiers blocking his path.

Ding Ling slaughtered the hidden archers and confronted the army Yuan Shu had assembled to kill him and Zhao Yun. He realized Yuan Shu planned to exhaust them with repeated attacks while using Yuan Yin and Yuan Yao as hostages to limit his response.

• Ding Ling shielded himself and his Ferghana Horse from a volley of hidden arrows with the Ju Que Sword, then killed nearly all of the hundred archers with his sword and halberd.
• Ding Ling reached the gate, where Yuan Yin and Yuan Yao arrived in terror, and Yuan Yin opened it at Ding Ling’s command.
• Yuan Yin ordered the gathered troops to withdraw their archers, but two generals insisted they had orders from Yuan Shu to kill Ding Ling and Zhao Yun.
• Ding Ling told Yuan Yin to mount up and lead the way, while Diao Chan kept her spear aimed at Yuan Yao.
• When Yuan Yin’s command failed to move the archers, Ding Ling understood Yuan Shu intended to wear him and Zhao Yun down with successive attacks while their hostages restrained him.

Ding Ling fought through Yuan Shu’s troops with the Ju Que Sword and cut down the heavy cavalry sent to stop him. He killed Le Jiu with one strike and realized that Le Jiu had been a First-Class Expert.

• Ding Ling rode toward Yuan Yin while wielding the Ju Que Sword, cutting down the archers and soldiers blocking his way.
• Ji Ling watched Ding Ling defeat Xun Zheng in one blow and ordered the heavy cavalry to attack him.
• Le Jiu led the heavy cavalry against Ding Ling, but Ding Ling charged through their ranks and reached him.
• Ding Ling broke Le Jiu’s saber and beheaded him with a single sword strike.
• Ding Ling recognized that Le Jiu had been a First-Class Expert.

Ding Ling carved through Yuan Shu’s forces while Zhao Yun, Diao Chan, and Du Qingcheng followed behind him. He left the story having slain Le Jiu and Liang Gang, whose newly mastered Blade Lotus could not withstand his sword.

• Ding Ling killed Le Jiu with one sword strike and continued cutting down the heavy cavalry.
• Sun Ce watched Ding Ling’s fighting and resolved to take him as a model for his own martial cultivation.
• Zhao Yun escorted Du Qingcheng and Diao Chan as they followed Ding Ling through the battlefield, while Diao Chan killed an attacker with her spear.
• Ding Ling charged toward Ji Ling, forcing him to order Liang Gang and two thousand sword-and-shield soldiers to form a shield wall.
• Ding Ling smashed through successive shield walls with the Human Emperor Swordplay, causing the soldiers to panic and retreat.
• Liang Gang broke through his limits and mastered Blade Lotus, but Ding Ling split his technique and weapon before cutting off his arm and neck.

Ding Ling cut through Ji Ling's army, killing Liang Gang and more than a thousand elite death soldiers before defeating Ji Ling in a fierce duel. After he slew Ji Ling and cut down the central army's banner, he demanded the surrender of Yuan Shu's troops.

• Ding Ling killed Liang Gang with a single sword strike, causing the soldiers to fear and retreat from him.
• Ding Ling slaughtered more than a thousand elite death soldiers trained by Ji Ling and reached the central army.
• Ji Ling unleashed his strongest blade strike against Ding Ling, but Ding Ling parried it three times and cut off his head.
• Ding Ling obtained the achievements for subduing Ji Ling and trampling Wancheng as Yuan Shu's army began to lose hope.
• Ding Ling cut down the central army's banner and called on the surrounding troops to surrender.

Ding Ling routed the Yuan army at Wancheng, earning the achievement medal Renowned in all directions as spies witnessed his deeds. He left the chaotic city with Diao Chan’s group, reunited with Hua Tuo, and continued south while Yuan Yin and Yuan Yao followed.

• Ding Ling killed General Li Feng with three arrows after Li Feng ordered the archers to attack him.
• Ding Ling charged through the Yuan army, and the soldiers fled after Yuan Yin and Yuan Yao called for them to surrender.
• Spies in Wancheng witnessed Ding Ling’s victory, and he received the achievement medal Renowned in all directions.
• Ding Ling checked his progress toward defeating plane powerhouses and spreading his God of War Title, then led Diao Chan’s unit out of Wancheng.
• Ding Ling reunited with Hua Tuo and headed south, while Yuan Yin and Yuan Yao followed without finding a chance to escape.

Diao Chan shielded Ding Ling from a volley of poisoned arrows and was gravely wounded. Furious, Ding Ling pursued the black-clad attackers into the forest, where they turned and fired another barrage at him.

• Zhao Yun recounted the Wancheng battle to Hua Tuo as Ding Ling’s group continued away from the city with Yuan Yin and Yuan Yao still in custody.
• Ding Ling and Zhao Yun hunted game, and Diao Chan and Du Qingcheng prepared the meal by the roadside.
• More than a dozen arrows flew from the darkness, and Diao Chan blocked them with the Yu Chang Sword before collapsing from a poisoned wound.
• Ding Ling told Hua Tuo to save Diao Chan, grabbed the Ju Que Sword, and raced into the forest after the attackers.
• The fleeing black-clad men stopped and fired a volley of blue-glowing crossbow bolts at Ding Ling.

Ding Ling pursued the black-clad archer who had led the ambush and fought him through the forest. The archer revealed himself as Ma Zhong and claimed Ding Ling would die from his poisoned weapons as he planned to take Ding Ling’s corpse to Wancheng for a bounty.

• Ding Ling drove off the black-clad attackers and pursued their leader while the others fled in different directions.
• Ding Ling caught up with the leader, who failed to escape despite his speed and skill at crossing the mountains.
• Ding Ling blocked Ma Zhong’s crossbow bolts and endured his hidden Flying Needle Flower Rain attack.
• Ma Zhong revealed his identity and boasted that he was the foremost assassin, claiming Ding Ling would die from poison and that he would collect the Yuan Clan’s bounty.

Ding Ling deceived the assassin Ma Zhong into thinking poison had weakened him, then killed him with a forceful throw of the Ju Que Sword. Ma Zhong’s death earned Ding Ling an E-Rank Achievement Medal and recognition for surpassing the assassin at his own specialty.

• Ma Zhong revealed that he planned to kill Ding Ling and use the bounty to rise from his low status.
• Ding Ling pretended to succumb to poison, convincing Ma Zhong that he was close to death.
• As Ma Zhong lowered his guard, Ding Ling hurled the Ju Que Sword into his abdomen and pinned him to a boulder.
• Ding Ling pulled the sword free, removed Ma Zhong’s face covering, and watched him die.
• Ding Ling received an E-Rank Achievement Medal for winning Ma Zhong’s awe.

Ding Ling killed the assassin Ma Zhong and found a hidden-needle weapon, valuable gear, and an antidote among his belongings. He returned to Hua Tuo with the antidote for Diao Chan, leaving her fate in the physician’s hands.

• Ding Ling waited until Ma Zhong was dead, then took his poisoned-needle weapon and searched his corpse.
• Ding Ling found a secret manual, a small box of potions, and Heavenly Silkworm Silk shoes, then put on the shoes and discarded Ma Zhong’s body in a ravine.
• Ding Ling discovered that the potions included an antidote and hurried back through the mountains.
• Du Qingcheng worried that Hua Tuo could only stabilize Diao Chan until morning, so Ding Ling gave Hua Tuo the antidote he had found.
• Hua Tuo confirmed that the potion was the antidote and prepared to give it to Diao Chan.

Diao Chan recovered after Ding Ling and Hua Tuo treated her with the antidote, and Ding Ling urged her to protect herself in the future. Afterward, Ding Ling found the Yuan Clan's lavish bounty on his life and realized more assassins might come.

• Hua Tuo treated Diao Chan with the antidote, and she expelled a stream of poisonous blood before he confirmed she would recover.
• Diao Chan awoke, and Ding Ling thanked her for protecting him while asking her not to risk her life again.
• Diao Chan vowed to protect Ding Ling as his follower, and Ding Ling asked her to treat herself as his teammate and take care of her safety.
• Ding Ling examined Ma Zhong's secret manual and found the Yuan Clan's bounty, which promised wealth, status, and power to whoever killed him.
• Zhao Yun worried that assassins would keep coming, while Diao Chan asked whether the Yuan Clan feared Ding Ling might kill Yuan Yin and Yuan Yao.

Ding Ling studied the assassin manual and learned three techniques while keeping Yuan Yin and Yuan Yao under guard after an assassination attempt. He mastered Sleeve Arrow and Shadowy Hiding Archery, then prepared for the possibility of more assassins.

• Ding Ling reasoned that Ma Zhong had fled because he needed to capture him without harming Yuan Yin and Yuan Yao, and the two men begged Ding Ling not to kill them.
• Diao Chan proposed making Yuan Yin and Yuan Yao unarmored night sentries and human shields, and Ding Ling agreed.
• Ding Ling read the assassin-training section and warned his group that the organization might send more killers, ordering everyone except Yuan Yin and Yuan Yao to stay armed and armored.
• Ding Ling mastered the Shadowy Hiding Breathing Technique and Sleeve Arrow, though Sleeve Arrow did not increase his attributes.
• Ding Ling mastered Shadowy Hiding Archery, gaining 0.3 Agility and 0.2 Constitution.

Ding Ling mastered Shadowy Hiding Archery and demonstrated how its hidden force made arrows nearly silent. After sharing the Assassin Manual with his companions, he offered to teach them the technique, while Hua Tuo warned that the assassins would likely seek revenge for Ma Zhong’s death.

• Ding Ling learned Shadowy Hiding Archery, then fired an almost silent arrow that sank into a tree.
• Hua Tuo examined the Assassin Manual and warned that Ma Zhong’s death could provoke the assassin organization.
• Ding Ling passed the manual to Zhao Yun, Diao Chan, and Du Qingcheng so they could study the assassins’ methods.
• Diao Chan and Du Qingcheng marveled at Ding Ling’s rapid mastery, while Yuan Yao and Yuan Yin doubted he had learned the technique so quickly.
• Hua Tuo identified Ma Zhong’s Shadowy Hiding Archery as having reached the Transformation Realm, and Diao Chan said she had not sensed his arrow.
• Ding Ling offered to teach Shadowy Hiding Archery to Diao Chan, Zhao Yun, and Du Qingcheng.

Ding Ling taught Diao Chan, Zhao Yun, and Du Qingcheng Shadowy Hiding Archery while Yuan Yao and Yuan Yin argued over their earlier actions. After the group resumed their journey, Ding Ling returned to reality to test whether he could bring his learned martial arts with him without using Achievement Medals.

• Hua Tuo praised Ding Ling's mastery of Shadowy Hiding Archery, then went to hunt and gather food while Ding Ling taught Diao Chan, Zhao Yun, and Du Qingcheng.
• Yuan Yao and Yuan Yin privately doubted Ding Ling before Yuan Yin confronted Yuan Yao for mocking his decision to accompany him.
• Ding Ling explained Shadowy Hiding Archery and related techniques, and Diao Chan and Du Qingcheng admired his instruction.
• The next morning, Ding Ling and his group ate, mounted their Ferghana Horses, and continued their journey.
• At noon, Ding Ling returned to reality to test whether he could bring martial arts back without Achievement Medals.