Chapter Summaries

Zhang Lingshan learned that the Red Thread Fist’s strength came from applying its forms as combat techniques, then trained against Hong Zhengdao and lost. Hong Zhengdao sent him to the Backyard to build strength safely and explained the Four Stages of Strength Refinement.

• Zhang Lingshan reached Entry Level in the Red Thread Fist but discovered that its strength boost required performing the forms first.
• Hong Zhengdao demonstrated the fist’s combat techniques, and Zhang Lingshan understood how to turn its training stances into attacks.
• Zhang Lingshan struck Hong Zhengdao by mistake while practicing, then failed to touch him during their sparring and conceded defeat.
• Hong Zhengdao told Zhang Lingshan to refine his strength and spar with peers in the Backyard rather than stronger practitioners like Shi Lei.
• Hong Zhengdao explained the stages of Skin Grinding, Flesh Refining, Tendon Changing, and Bone Forging, and Zhang Lingshan asked what level his master had reached.

Zhang Lingshan trained at the Hong Clan Martial Hall and used his sister’s six taels of silver to buy Spirit Root Grass, raising his energy to 56.6. The Panel offered him a breakthrough in the Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture rather than the Red Thread Fist, and he tried to advance it beyond Greater Accomplishment.

• Hong Zhengdao told Zhang Lingshan that he had reached the Tendon Changing Realm and advised him to train patiently.
• Zhang Lingshan watched Shi Lei and the other Senior Brothers train, then practiced alternating postures with a fifty-pound Stone Lock.
• During a peaceful month on Hongwu Street, Zhang Lingshan’s energy rose to 20, but the Red Thread Fist showed no sign of breaking through.
• Zhang Lingyu gave Zhang Lingshan six taels of silver to buy Hall Master Hong a gift, and he decided instead to spend it on Spirit Root Grass.
• After another month of training and taking Spirit Root Grass, Zhang Lingshan saw that the Panel marked the Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture for advancement and urged it to break through.

Zhang Lingshan completed a breakthrough to the Perfection Realm in the Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture, gaining strength and height while resolving to earn money for his family. Testing the posture’s Momentum, he awakened a powerful Fire Momentum that crushed a weak Cold Ice presence within him.

• Zhang Lingshan endured intense bodily changes during cultivation, then slept until the next afternoon and awoke hungry.
• Zhang Lingyu and Mother Zhang worried outside his room, and Zhang Lingshan reassured them that he had made another breakthrough.
• Seeing his mother and sister working to support him, Zhang Lingshan felt guilty and decided he needed to find a way to earn money.
• Zhang Lingshan measured his height, found he had grown several centimeters, and discovered his strength and Red Thread progress had increased substantially.
• Zhang Lingshan assumed the Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture and felt its Fire Momentum rise within him.
• A weak Cold Ice presence surfaced in Zhang Lingshan, but the Fire Momentum suppressed and shattered it.

Zhang Lingshan used the Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture to burn away the Greedy Ghost inside him, gaining 30 Energy and finally sleeping peacefully. The next day, he lifted a two-hundred-pound Stone Lock at the martial arts school, showing that he was ready to begin Skin Grinding.

• Zhang Lingshan realized his Fire Momentum was scorching the Greedy Ghost and continued practicing until the Evil Spirit vanished, earning 30 Energy from the Panel.
• Zhang Lingshan considered confronting Li Fu's family of three but decided to wait until he understood how to destroy Evil Spirits more safely.
• Zhang Lingshan slept soundly without the Greedy Ghost and woke at noon feeling stronger and more energetic.
• Zhang Lingshan lifted a two-hundred-pound Stone Lock at the martial arts school, surprising the other students and reaching the threshold to begin Skin Grinding.
• Da Zhuang congratulated Zhang Lingshan, while Lü Feng questioned whether he had truly lifted the Stone Lock and Shi Lei looked bitter.

Zhang Lingshan completed the Red Thread Fist requirements for Skin Grinding and began tempering his skin with Iron Sand and medicinal baths. As he endured the slow process, he asked Song Dazhuang about earning money, and Song Dazhuang offered him a five-tael Silver Note.

• Zhang Lingshan demonstrated the Red Thread Fist with a two-hundred-jin Stone Lock, and the steward arranged Iron Sand and medicinal baths for him.
• Song Dazhuang helped Zhang Lingshan rub Iron Sand into his back as Zhang Lingshan began Skin Grinding.
• Zhang Lingshan noticed that his skin had thickened after ten days but knew he remained far from completing Skin Grinding.
• Song Dazhuang explained that Skin Grinding usually took three months and described the Ox Skin, Stone Skin, and Copper Hide levels.
• Zhang Lingshan asked Song Dazhuang about finding work because he was short on money, and Song Dazhuang offered to lend him a five-tael Silver Note.

Zhang Lingshan reached the Skin Grinding Realm and discovered that his Ox Skin was still no match for a Stone Skin practitioner. Feng Shaolong offered him a paid position at Feng Family Pharmacy as a Herb Gathering Guard, giving him access to experienced sparring partners.

• Zhang Lingshan accepted Song Dazhuang’s five taels of silver and focused on grinding his skin and cultivating Red Thread Fist.
• Zhang Lingshan broke through to the Skin Grinding Realm and found that his skin had become tough enough to resist an ordinary blade.
• Several martial hall seniors noticed Zhang Lingshan’s breakthrough, and Feng Shaolong invited him to spar.
• Zhang Lingshan attacked Feng Shaolong but could not injure him, while Feng Shaolong’s counterattack left him with a fist mark on his chest.
• Feng Shaolong praised Zhang Lingshan’s strength and offered him a twenty-tael monthly position as a Herb Gathering Guard at Feng Family Pharmacy.

After succeeding in Skin Grinding, Zhang Lingshan considered several job offers and joined the Feng Family Pharmacy as a Herb Gathering Guard. At the Feng estate, he chose a Hand Axe to practice with and met the acquaintance Tie Feng as he left the guards’ courtyard.

• Feng Shaolong offered Zhang Lingshan work with the Feng Family Pharmacy, while Lü Feng offered him outside-support jobs with the Zhenwei Escort Agency.
• After discussing the offers with Song Dazhuang, Zhang Lingshan chose the Feng Family Pharmacy for its flexible work and potential access to medicinal ingredients.
• Feng Shaolong brought Zhang Lingshan to the Feng estate, introduced him to the Stone Skin Martial Practitioners in his group, and showed him the Herb Gathering Guards’ courtyard.
• Zhang Lingshan chose a Hand Axe and watched Uncle Tie demonstrate an awkward swing before sparring with A Lei, who easily redirected his attacks and advised him on using force.
• As Zhang Lingshan left the courtyard at dusk, he spotted Tie Feng.

Zhang Lingshan joined Feng Family Pharmacy’s herb-gathering expedition to Cold Moon Mountain, where his team gathered medicinal ingredients before rushing to help Feng Shaolong. The chapter ended as the guards faced a huge Demon Rabbit whose aura had disabled Feng Shaolong, while Zhang Lingshan eagerly considered the value of its meat.

• Tie Feng met Zhang Lingshan and reflected on how far Zhang Lingshan had surpassed him; Tie Feng later learned that Feng Shaolong had recruited another Hong Clan Martial Hall disciple.
• Zhang Lingshan used his Brass Token to buy discounted Spirit Root Grass and spent the following days training and sparring with Feng Family guards.
• Feng Shaolong led an expedition to Cold Moon Mountain, where Zhang Lingshan joined Yu Mengyuan’s team and helped Old Zhao gather herbs from a cliff.
• As the teams descended, they heard that Feng Shaolong had been attacked, so Yu Mengyuan and Zhang Lingshan’s group hurried to his aid.
• Feng Shaolong revealed that a huge Demon Rabbit had struck him with Demon Aura and urged the guards to use him as bait and kill it for its nourishing meat.

Zhang Lingshan fought a Demon Rabbit after it ambushed the Herb Gathering Guards and cornered their group. His perfected Red Thread Fist left him exhausted and injured, while the Demon Rabbit lay bloodied on the ground and the others stared at him in shock.

• A second Demon Rabbit ambushed the guards, injuring one, while Uncle Tie shielded Zhang Lingshan.
• Yu Mengyuan led the group in attacking the Demon Rabbit, but it knocked down one guard and drove another toward Zhang Lingshan.
• Zhang Lingshan focused on the charging beast, entered the Apex Sun Form of the Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture, and struck with the Red Thread Fist.
• The punch buried Zhang Lingshan's legs in the soil and left his hands bloody and numb, but he suffered no serious injury.
• Zhang Lingshan saw the Demon Rabbit lying wounded in the dirt as the others stared at him in shock.

After a Demon Rabbit was killed, Zhang Lingshan credited his strength and received special treatment while the group dealt with the severe casualties. Feng Shaolong led the survivors back with two Demon Beast corpses, pleased by the haul and intrigued by Zhang Lingshan’s feat.

• Zhang Lingshan realized the Demon Rabbit had been finished off by Yu Mengyuan and the others after his punch created an opening, and reflected on the brutal injuries and deaths caused by the battle.
• Feng Shaolong ordered the group to tend to the wounded and return before nightfall, while Yu Mengyuan arranged for Uncle Tie to carry the exhausted Zhang Lingshan down to the carriage.
• Zhang Lingshan told the grooms that a Demon Rabbit had caused severe casualties, then ate dried meat as he rested in the carriage.
• The survivors emerged from the mountain with the wounded and dead, and Yu Mengyuan ordered the groom to help load them.
• Feng Shaolong led the group home with the Demon Rabbit corpses and thought about telling his father that Zhang Lingshan had withstood the beast’s strike.

After surviving the Demon Rabbit attack, Zhang Lingshan recovered at the Feng Family and collected rewards while Feng Shaolong and Feng Ji sought to recruit him into their Hunting Squad. Zhang Lingshan realized his performance against the Demon Rabbit had made the Feng Family value him more, though he remained focused on securing money, food, and other benefits.

• Zhang Lingshan learned that the wounded man in the next bed had died overnight, then received medicine and Solid Essence Tea from the Feng Family.
• Feng Shaolong praised Zhang Lingshan for his bravery and explained why people were not warned about Demon Beasts, while Zhang Lingshan pretended to agree and said he might quit if they appeared again.
• Zhang Lingshan asked for a raise, and Feng Shaolong gave him a twenty-tael Silver Note and promised him Demon Rabbit meat.
• Zhang Lingshan drank bowl after bowl of Solid Essence Tea, increasing his Energy Points by 3, while Feng Shaolong privately looked down on his eagerness to take free benefits.
• Feng Ji asked whether Zhang Lingshan had agreed to join the Hunting Squad, ordered Feng Shaolong to keep trying and to conceal Zhang Lingshan's actions against the Demon Rabbits, and left.
• Zhang Lingshan concluded that Feng Shaolong treated him better because his stand against the Demon Rabbit had shown the Feng Family his value.

After using Energy Points to advance Red Thread Fist to Minor Accomplishment, Zhang Lingshan gained Stone Skin and greater strength. Tie Feng then brought him silver and the Three-Move Axe Technique in gratitude for saving his father, and began teaching him its chant.

• Zhang Lingshan spent Energy Points to cultivate Red Thread Fist to Minor Accomplishment and endured a powerful physical reaction.
• Zhang Lingshan tested his new Stone Skin by punching a tree and considered seeking another Stance Skill to strengthen himself further.
• Tie Feng visited Zhang Lingshan and warned him that Feng Shaolong had ordered everyone to keep Zhang's actions from the previous day secret.
• Tie Feng thanked Zhang Lingshan on behalf of his father, who had sent him ten taels of silver and the Three-Move Axe Technique.
• Tie Feng explained the diagrams and began teaching Zhang Lingshan the axe technique's mnemonic chant.

Zhang Lingshan learned the Mountain Splitting Axe Technique’s mnemonic from Tie Feng and discovered that its first move trained the whole body by exhausting his strength. He also arranged to seek instruction in a leg technique, while far away a woman in red worried that her elder sister had not arrived.

• Tie Feng recited the Mountain Splitting Axe Technique mnemonic and offered to ask his father about martial arts instructors for Zhang Lingshan.
• Zhang Lingshan wrote down the mnemonic, then questioned Su Mu about its acupoints and meridians through the night.
• Zhang Lingshan practiced the axe technique’s first move, collapsed from exhaustion, and realized it was meant to train strength; the Panel recorded the technique.
• Tie Feng told Zhang Lingshan that Wu Zheng would teach him a leg technique for fifty taels, and Zhang Lingshan asked to negotiate installments and learn its prerequisite stance.
• In a dilapidated Mountain God Temple far from Jin City, a woman in red fretted that her elder sister had not arrived and feared something had happened to her.

Li Ziming divined that Fang Qiuyue’s sister had encountered trouble somewhere in Fang Qiuyue’s direction and agreed to search with her the next day. In Jin City, Zhang Lingshan paid Wu Zheng to learn the Wind Stabilizing Posture, while declining Wu Zheng’s offer to train with him.

• Li Ziming used Fang Qiuyue’s hairpin to divine her sister’s whereabouts, but the hairpin broke, an ill omen that suggested her sister had met with calamity.
• Li Ziming divined that Fang Qiuyue’s sister had encountered trouble in her direction and agreed to accompany Fang Qiuyue on the search the next day in exchange for an Evil Spirit.
• Tie Feng introduced Zhang Lingshan to Wu Zheng, and they signed a contract for Wu Zheng to teach Zhang Lingshan the Stance Skill in exchange for twenty taels upfront and a thirty-tael IOU.
• Wu Zheng taught Zhang Lingshan the Wind Stabilizing Posture and explained that mastering it required staying rooted while evading and counterattacking.
• Wu Zheng offered to spar with Zhang Lingshan for an additional fee, but Zhang Lingshan refused, leaving Wu Zheng confident that the difficult posture would bring him back.

Zhang Lingshan trained Tie Feng, then attended a feast celebrating the demon rabbit hunt and collected his reward. Feng Shaolong offered him a place in the Feng Family Pharmacy’s Hunting Squad so he could eat demon beast meat regularly, but Zhang Lingshan refused because the work was too dangerous.

• Zhang Lingshan practiced the Wind Stabilizing Posture with Tie Feng and promised to teach him the Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture in return.
• Tie Feng mastered the Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture, and Zhang Lingshan received permission to teach him the Red Thread Fist while Hong Zhengdao remained away.
• Zhang Lingshan attended Feng Shaolong’s demon rabbit meat feast, where he praised Uncle Tie for helping him during the hunt.
• Feng Shaolong awarded Zhang Lingshan eighty taels of silver for his contribution to the hunt.
• Feng Shaolong offered Zhang Lingshan a place in the Feng Family Pharmacy’s Hunting Squad, but Zhang Lingshan declined because it was too dangerous.

Zhang Lingshan raised his Wind Stabilizing Posture to Entry Level, trained to improve his combat skills, and planned his spending while waiting for new work. As he walked, a Daoist in a high crown appeared with a broken hairpin head pointing at him and said, "Hey, found you."

• Zhang Lingshan used Energy to raise Wind Stabilizing Posture to Entry Level, gaining stronger calves and greater flexibility.
• Zhang Lingshan decided to delay learning Wu Zheng's leg techniques, save money, and buy Snow Silver Flower to build up Energy.
• Over the next four days, Zhang Lingshan accumulated Energy and sparred with martial artists and herb-gathering guards to improve his combat experience.
• Zhang Lingshan checked that his Energy had reached 19.7, worried that Mountain Splitting Axe Technique still could not be raised, and considered New Year gifts for his family.
• A tall Daoist appeared before Zhang Lingshan with a broken hairpin head pointed at him and said, "Hey, found you."

Fang Qiuyue and Li Ziming brought Zhang Lingshan to his old family residence while investigating her sister’s death, then Fang Qiuyue killed him despite learning he was not the murderer. The two prepared to investigate the Zhao Family Residence, while Zhang Lingshan lay unable to move.

• Li Ziming used the Hairpin to trace Fang Qiuyue’s sister’s murder to the Zhao Family Residence on Qinghe Road.
• Li Ziming forced Zhang Lingshan to lead him and Fang Qiuyue to his old family residence on Changning Street.
• Li Ziming noticed the resentful spirits in the neighboring haunted house and accused Zhang Lingshan of harming its dead family of three.
• Fang Qiuyue compelled Zhang Lingshan to recount his encounter with her sister and the discovery of her body at the Zhao Family Residence.
• Fang Qiuyue drove a Steel Nail into Zhang Lingshan’s chest, and Li Ziming questioned her because Zhang Lingshan had not killed her sister.
• Fang Qiuyue and Li Ziming decided to investigate the Zhao Family Residence, leaving Zhang Lingshan unable to move.

Zhang Lingshan used the Panel to heal the fatal wound Fang Qiuyue had inflicted, then killed her when she returned to his room. After frightening Li Fu away, he changed out of his bloody clothes and entered Li Fu’s home, where the family of three cowered before him.

• Zhang Lingshan waited until Li Ziming and Fang Qiuyue left, then spent Energy Points to repair the wound in his heart.
• A yamen runner said Fang Qiuyue would die from Fire Poison and pursued Li Ziming, while Fang Qiuyue stumbled into Zhang Lingshan’s room.
• Zhang Lingshan ambushed Fang Qiuyue and stabbed her throat until she died, leaving her shocked to discover he was alive.
• Li Fu appeared and fled when Zhang Lingshan confronted him with his bloodied face and Fire Momentum.
• Zhang Lingshan searched Fang Qiuyue’s belongings, changed out of his bloody clothes, and entered Li Fu’s home, where Li Fu’s family of three huddled in fear.

Zhang Lingshan examined the belongings he had taken from Fang Qiuyue, then tested how his Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture worked against Li Fu’s family of yin ghosts. After refining all three ghosts for Energy, he regained his confidence and resolved to grow strong enough to confront Li Ziming and Fang Qiuyue.

• Zhang Lingshan changed into Li Fu’s clean clothes and inspected the two hundred taels, two porcelain bottles, and unreadable booklet he had taken from Fang Qiuyue.
• Zhang Lingshan tried to grab Li Fu but discovered that his ghostly body hurt him with yin energy instead of being physically catchable.
• Zhang Lingshan burned Li Dong and Li Fu’s wife with the Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture, but neither provided Energy because he destroyed them outside his body.
• Zhang Lingshan tricked Li Fu into entering his body, then refined him with the Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture and gained 40 Energy Points.
• Zhang Lingshan checked his Panel, saw that his Energy had risen to 49.7, and renewed his resolve to become strong enough to face Li Ziming and Fang Qiuyue.

Zhang Lingshan covered up Fang Qiuyue’s death by burning his family’s old house, then used Energy Points to advance the Mountain Splitting Axe Technique and endured a dangerous recovery. As he planned to seek news of his father and younger brother, he learned that Hong Zhengdao had returned badly injured.

• Zhang Lingshan burned his old house to destroy evidence, blamed the fire on Fang Qiuyue, and persuaded Ma Hong that the blaze was likely an accident.
• Zhang Lingshan secretly buried the remaining bones in the ashes while neighbors helped clear the ruins, then returned to the martial hall and spent forty Energy Points to advance the Mountain Splitting Axe Technique.
• The technique rapidly refined Zhang Lingshan’s muscles, splitting his skin; he took medicinal baths and drank Snow Silver Flower decoction until he healed in four days with greatly increased strength.
• Zhang Lingshan bought treats for Mother Zhang and Zhang Lingyu, then thought about rescuing Zhang Lingfeng from the Jiang Family and locating his father at Golden Light Temple.
• The next day, Zhang Lingshan heard that Hong Zhengdao had returned with one arm crippled and his strength greatly diminished.