Chapter Summaries

Chen Sheng mastered Thunder Breathing and lightning authority during his fight with Venerable Elder, then overwhelmed the Elder’s avatar with a devastating series of punches. The chapter ended with Venerable Elder’s avatar dead in a massive crater.

• Chen Sheng spent 970 Skill Points to learn Thunder Breathing, while Venerable Elder trapped him in mud and sand and gathered Xiao Hei into a ball of Black Liquid.
• Lightning struck Venerable Elder and disrupted his power, allowing Chen Sheng to break free and awaken to lightning authority.
• Chen Sheng shattered Venerable Elder’s barrier with a lightning-enhanced punch and sent him flying across the river.
• Xiao Hei absorbed the excess electricity, returned to the appearance of the young Tribal Chief, and agreed to look after Shen Ziming.
• Chen Sheng pursued Venerable Elder and relentlessly battered him until the Elder’s avatar died, leaving a vast crater behind.

Chen Sheng endured the final stage of his Thunder Breathing upgrade while weakened, using a Spirit Seed tile to replenish his energy as lightning repeatedly struck him. From a distant mountain, Shen watched Chen Sheng survive and regarded him with interest.

• Chen Sheng withdrew from his Black Tortoise Transformation as Thunder Breathing’s upgrade continued, then warned Shen Ziming to stay back from the approaching lightning.
• Xiao Hei covered Shen Ziming with Black Liquid and absorbed the stray electricity while Chen Sheng collapsed under a lightning strike.
• Chen Sheng asked Shen Ziming for the Spirit Seed tile, bit it apart, and swallowed it to restore his energy.
• A surge of heat from the tile flooded Chen Sheng’s body as successive lightning bolts struck him and forced him to convert the energy.
• Shen watched from a distant mountain, acknowledged the mission had failed, and studied Chen Sheng with growing interest.

After enduring the lightning, Chen Sheng shed his charred shell and awakened the Lightning Authority through Thunder Breathing. He and Shen Ziming left the Sealed Land to deal with the consequences of killing Zhao Zhenfeng and Venerable Elder.

• After the lightning and storm ended, Shen Ziming found Chen Sheng motionless and believed he was dead.
• Shen Ziming tried to heal Chen Sheng, but cracks spread across Chen Sheng's charred shell and the qi could not enter his body.
• Chen Sheng woke, shed the shell, and showed Shen Ziming his newly acquired ability to release lightning.
• Chen Sheng checked his improved attributes and Lightning Authority, then considered how Thunder Breathing would strengthen his cultivation and combat abilities.
• Chen Sheng appeared beside the wary Shen Ziming, and they decided to leave the Sealed Land and address the consequences of their killings.

Xiao Hei died and reappeared as a black ring on Chen Sheng’s finger, revealing himself to be a mysterious Authority. As Chen Sheng left the Sealed Land, he killed Shen’s apparent body and learned that the Venerable Elder he had defeated was only a clone, but he could not find Shen’s real body.

• Xiao Hei dissolved into Black Liquid, then merged with Chen Sheng as a ring that fed on lightning and appeared as a mysterious Authority on his panel.
• Chen Sheng left the battlefield at high speed with Shen Ziming and encountered Li Weiwen, whom he punched through the chest.
• Li Weiwen introduced himself as Shen, offered Chen Sheng a way to contact him, and claimed he could handle trouble from the Holy Church.
• Shen revealed that the Venerable Elder Chen Sheng had killed was only a clone, then Chen Sheng killed Shen’s apparent body.
• Chen Sheng returned twice to search for Shen’s real body but found no trace of him, then left with Shen Ziming.

After the Sealed Land, Chen Sheng agreed to Shen Ziming’s plan to place the Eagle Body Sect under the YiHe Sect’s protection, though he still had to get Zhou Li’s approval. Meanwhile, a researcher visited the severed head of the Venerable Elder, which had been preserved in an underground laboratory beneath the Martial Arts Association headquarters.

• Shen Ziming warned Chen Sheng that fleeing would make him a suspect and put people connected to him at risk.
• Shen Ziming offered the YiHe Sect’s protection and training opportunities if the Eagle Body Sect became a subsidiary sect.
• Chen Sheng accepted the proposal and called Zhou Li to seek his agreement, nervous because he had wrecked Zhou Li’s home.
• A researcher passed security checkpoints and entered an underground White Hall at the Martial Arts Association headquarters.
• The researcher called to the Venerable Elder’s preserved head, and it opened its eyes.

The Venerable Elder learned that Zhao Zhenfeng was unreachable and ordered compensation for the Force Sect, while Black Tortoise received orders from the Church Master to reclaim his authorities. Xiang Li learned that Zhao Zhenfeng was dead and Zhou Zheng and Xiang Zheng were missing, but held back from retaliating until the Force Sect’s plan was ready.

• The Venerable Elder heard the report on the operation and Zhao Zhenfeng’s disappearance, lamented the loss, and ordered Li Wuji to compensate the Force Sect.
• Black Tortoise visited the Church Master, reported that his Profound Darkness True Martial cultivation was near the extreme realm, and was told to reclaim his authorities and prepare for a task.
• Xiang Li watched the Force Sect’s disciples train as an elder reported that Zhou Zheng and Xiang Zheng were missing and Zhao Zhenfeng was dead.
• The Force Sect elder urged Xiang Li to attack Black Tortoise, but Xiang Li refused, saying the sect could not risk drawing attention before its plan was ready.
• Xiang Li vowed that within a month the Force Sect would become Hua Country’s strongest sect and that he would settle its grudges afterward.

Chen Sheng and Shen Ziming traveled to Kyoto to visit YiHe Sect, where the Eagle Body Sect would become an affiliated sect. They reached the sect’s mountain summit, where Shen Ziming said his master was waiting for them.

• Chen Sheng learned from Shen Ziming that the Martial Security Bureau would soon reveal the growing number of Qi Sense Users to the public.
• Chen Sheng and Shen Ziming took a taxi from Kyoto Airport to the outskirts, then flew into the mountains to find YiHe Sect.
• Chen Sheng discovered YiHe Sect’s stone stele and climbed the mountain stairs with Shen Ziming to show respect.
• Shen Ziming pointed out his second senior brother’s secluded wooden house and began to explain the senior brothers’ personalities before stopping himself.
• Chen Sheng and Shen Ziming reached the summit, where Shen Ziming said his master was waiting.

Chen Sheng met Sun Yihe, who confirmed that the Eagle Body Sect could affiliate with the YiHe Sect and offered him access to its martial arts library. Shen Ziming then brought Chen Sheng to meet Zhang Yu, whose strange condition and lecherous behavior left Chen Sheng wary.

• Chen Sheng visited Sun Yihe, whose confusing lapses gave way to a sharp warning to hold fast to his convictions after Chen Sheng admitted killing Zhao Zhenfeng.
• Sun Yihe confirmed the Eagle Body Sect’s affiliation and allowed Chen Sheng to browse the YiHe Sect’s martial arts manuals and Breathing Techniques.
• Shen Ziming led Chen Sheng to meet Sun Yihe’s Sixth Brother, Zhang Yu, at a villa where disturbing noises came from inside.
• Chen Sheng saw Zhang Yu’s unusually low attributes despite his Yaoguang Realm status, then noticed the unclothed people scattered inside the villa.
• Zhang Yu recognized Chen Sheng as Shen Ziming’s friend and hurried toward him with an eager, predatory look.

Chen Sheng visited the YiHe Sect with Shen Ziming and learned from Zhang Yu how Breathing Techniques and secret arts shaped martial artists’ realms. Zhang Yu could not explain Chen Sheng’s unusual cultivation, leaving him to seek answers from Sun Yihe while he learned that the Insightful Clarity Realm trained the heart and conviction.

• Chen Sheng found Zhang Yu using the Seven Demon Heart Sutra to fill a villa with overwhelming desire, then watched Zhang Yu calm the guests and send them home.
• Zhang Yu guided Chen Sheng and Shen Ziming toward the library pavilion and heard that Chen Sheng claimed to be at Transforming Force despite having cultivated three Breathing Techniques past the Breathing State.
• Zhang Yu explained how martial artists excavated genetic potential through Breathing Techniques and described Hidden Origin Realm cultivation; Chen Sheng realized his Limitless Body might explain why he had not entered a realm.
• Zhang Yu told Chen Sheng and Shen Ziming that martial artists advanced through six realms and used secret arts after Hidden Origin, with the Insightful Clarity Realm cultivating the heart through conviction.
• Zhang Yu described how the YiHe Sect’s Seven Demon Heart Sutra used desire to strengthen the body and how the Force Sect’s Nuclear Fist claimed to use spiritual power to produce nuclear-fusion-like energy.

Zhang Yu explained how secret techniques used mental power to push the body beyond its limits, then guided Chen Sheng and Shen Ziming through the YiHe Sect library. Chen Sheng chose two Breathing Techniques and examined a horrifying secret art before Sun Yihe’s note dismissed it as impossible to master.

• Zhang Yu described the Insightful Clarity, Yaoguang, Yuheng, and Tianhe Realms, and said the Saint Realm was only a legend.
• Zhang Yu led Chen Sheng and Shen Ziming to the library, where Chen Sheng chose Bofu Fearless and Bo Swift as Lightning.
• Zhang Yu introduced the enormous Second Senior Brother, who burst through the stairway and smashed the bookshelves before the group continued upstairs.
• Zhang Yu warned Chen Sheng that secret arts could affect the mind and forbade him from approaching the deepest exhibits.
• Chen Sheng read about the Myriad Poisons Undying Body, a technique based on infecting the body with lethal viruses, then saw Sun Yihe’s comment calling it impossible to achieve.

Chen Sheng chose the Wither Bloom Scripture from the YiHe Sect library, while Zhang Yu explained how secret techniques related to the power of belief. The group left the library, and Chen Sheng declined Shen Ziming’s offer to live beside him, wary that the YiHe Sect might learn about his Thunder Breathing.

• Chen Sheng examined the library’s secret techniques and chose the Wither Bloom Scripture after Zhang Yu urged him to pick one and leave the overheated second floor.
• Zhang Yu explained that secret techniques used spirit, will, and conviction to influence the inner universe, and that their grand effects became easier at the highest realm.
• Chen Sheng thanked Zhang Yu for explaining why his master considered the techniques garbage, and Zhang Yu said the YiHe Sect would remember Chen Sheng’s favor to Shen Ziming.
• After recovering outside the library, Zhang Yu invited Chen Sheng to choose a place to live within YiHe Sect territory.
• Shen Ziming offered Chen Sheng a place beside his house, but Chen Sheng declined because he feared the YiHe Sect might discover his Thunder Breathing.

Chen Sheng left the YiHe Sect and settled in the mountains near Kyoto to hide while training. After setting up a camp and preparing to cultivate spirit herbs, he combined Thunder Breathing with heavy exercise and rapidly increased his attributes.

• Chen Sheng told Shen Ziming and Zhang Yu that he would leave, and asked the YiHe Sect to claim publicly that he and two others from the Eagle Body Sect were staying there.
• Chen Sheng departed after telling Shen Ziming to settle the others in, while Shen Ziming called Zhou Li and resolved to help him.
• Chen Sheng chose a mountain near Kyoto as his hideout, built a temporary camp, planted spirit herbs, and prepared medicinal soup.
• Chen Sheng made a barbell from heavy tree trunks and trained with it while using Thunder Breathing and absorbing the medicinal soup.
• Chen Sheng's Strength, Agility, and Constitution each rose by twenty-five points in just over four hours, and he expected to upgrade Profound Darkness True Martial the next day.

Chen Sheng trained in seclusion, studied the Wither Bloom Scripture, and gathered enough Skill Points to prepare for a breakthrough. After buying salt in Datian Village, he encountered a little girl whose heightened senses recognized that he was no ordinary person.

• Chen Sheng unleashed devastating punches by the river as fear of Xiang Li and the Force Sect drove him to push himself harder.
• Chen Sheng read the Wither Bloom Scripture and learned that it could store energy through cycles of bodily decline and recovery, then decided to ask the YiHe Sect about cultivating conviction power.
• Chen Sheng trained through the night and increased his attributes, then trained again the next morning until he had enough Skill Points to upgrade Profound Darkness True Martial.
• Chen Sheng went to Datian Village to buy salt and noticed that the little girl Chen Dangui had unusually high attributes and could sense his extraordinary nature.
• Chen Sheng left the shop and vanished, leaving Chen Dangui and her father behind.

Chen Sheng upgraded Profound Darkness True Martial to level four, gaining greater control over Water Essence and a fivefold Strength increase from Black Tortoise Transformation. After testing the transformation by smashing through a mountain, he returned to camp exhausted and began brewing another pot of spiritual herbs.

• Chen Dangui and Chen's Father visited Uncle Fu's grocery store, then headed into the mountains to gather herbs.
• Chen Sheng upgraded Profound Darkness True Martial to level four, raising all his attributes above 400 and greatly improving his Water Essence control and Black Tortoise Transformation.
• Chen Sheng activated Black Tortoise Transformation and reached 2,105 Strength, frightening the wildlife across the surrounding mountains.
• Chen Sheng leapt into a mountain and punched through it, destroying nearly a quarter of its peak.
• Chen Dangui sensed the fleeing animals and urged Chen's Father to leave the mountains, so they returned to the village early.
• Chen Sheng's transformation ended, leaving him drained; he rested by the river and began brewing more spiritual herbs.

Chen Dangui went into the mountains at night to prove to her village friends that the Mountain God was real, but she encountered a dangerous beast and fled. As Chen Sheng heard her cries and rushed toward them, an enormous White Tiger caught up with her.

• Chen Dangui startled the village children, fought them after they mocked her, and vowed to photograph the Mountain God.
• Chen Dangui visited her rabbit friends in the mountains, but abandoned her plan to go deeper after they warned her of danger.
• Chen Dangui found enormous footprints and a faint breathing sound near the cave, then fled when a beast roared.
• Chen Dangui’s father discovered she was missing, and Datian Village searched for her as the roar alarmed its residents.
• Chen Sheng heard Chen Dangui crying from several kilometers away and vanished toward the sound.
• The enormous White Tiger caught Chen Dangui and turned her over, leaving her frozen with fear.

Chen Sheng rescued Chen Dangui from the White Tiger, then brought the unusually intelligent beast back to his mountain refuge. After two days of training, he reached 701 Strength and tried to upgrade Profound Darkness True Martial, but the panel began flickering before the upgrade took effect.

• The White Tiger nearly ate Chen Dangui, but Chen Sheng appeared and subdued it before carrying her through the air back toward the village.
• Chen Sheng asked Chen Dangui to keep their meeting secret, and she returned to her parents without revealing that she had met the Mountain God.
• Chen Sheng returned to the White Tiger, declared that it would follow him, and took it to his riverside refuge to study it.
• Over two days, Chen Sheng trained and raised his attributes as the White Tiger grew accustomed to life with him.
• After drinking Spirit Herb Soup, Chen Sheng spent his Skill Points to upgrade Profound Darkness True Martial, but the panel began flickering unexpectedly.

Chen Sheng completed Profound Darkness True Martial and gained the Water Authority after the Black Tortoise’s breakthrough power was mysteriously taken from him. The Black Tortoise showed Chen Sheng the Authority’s power and warned him about the awakening Celestials before Chen Sheng returned to consciousness beside the river.

• Chen Sheng’s Profound Darkness True Martial reached its maximum level, and he collapsed as the Black Tortoise gained the Water Authority by taking power nurtured in the bodies of gifted cultivators.
• The Black Tortoise’s newly gained Authority began draining away, and he cried out that someone was stealing his power.
• Chen Sheng entered the Black Tortoise’s presence, asked about the Celestials, and heard that they were thieves who could notice anyone learning too much about them.
• The Black Tortoise swallowed Chen Sheng, who entered its body and used the Water Authority to raise enormous waves and summon a storm.
• The Black Tortoise warned Chen Sheng that humans would have to face the Celestials without strange beasts and hoped to see a new human world before sending him back.
• The White Tiger stayed beside Chen Sheng on the riverbank until Chen Sheng regained consciousness.

Black Tortoise lost his Authority and ordered his followers to search for the person who took it, then sought Vermillion Bird's help. Meanwhile, Chen Sheng used Water Authority to create a thunderstorm for Thunder Breathing training, and Black Tortoise arrived at Vermillion Bird's residence in Kyoto.

• Black Tortoise lost his Authority, and White Tiger cut off his arm when he refused to let go and left to report to the Church Master.
• Black Tortoise ordered Snake Face and the Holy Church members to use Water Essence beads to locate the Authority holder, promising to accept the successful finder as his disciple.
• Chen Sheng checked his increased attributes and used Water Authority to gather moisture, create thunderclouds, and summon lightning for his training.
• Black Tortoise decided to seek Vermillion Bird's help after ruling out White Tiger and being unable to find Azure Dragon.
• At Champs Elysees Garden, Shen recognized Black Tortoise and escorted him toward the elevators to meet Vermillion Bird.

Black Tortoise begged Vermillion Bird to help him reclaim the Water Authority, enduring an hour of burning before Vermillion Bird healed and empowered him. Vermillion Bird bound Black Tortoise with a fire seed and sent him to pursue Chen Sheng, while secretly planning to use their confrontation to recruit Chen Sheng.

• Black Tortoise knelt before Vermillion Bird and begged him for help, enduring flames that nearly burned him to death.
• Vermillion Bird restored Black Tortoise’s body with fire and offered him a Physical Enhancement Drug made from the Church Master’s blood.
• Vermillion Bird made Black Tortoise swallow a fire seed that let him control Black Tortoise’s life, then promised to delay the Church Master and White Tiger for two days.
• Vermillion Bird told Black Tortoise to contact Shen and use Sensing Pearls to search for the person who took his Water Authority.
• After Black Tortoise left, Shen told Vermillion Bird he suspected Chen Sheng had taken the Authority, and they planned to watch Black Tortoise and recruit Chen Sheng when he confronted him.

Chen Bi endured menial work and mockery at the Seven Kill Fist Sect while secretly serving the Holy Church as a rapidly advancing martial artist. After learning that his sister had nearly been attacked in the mountains, he planned to return home, but a Holy Church search mission gave him a new assignment and left him with only the YiHe Sect grounds to search.

• Chen Bi was ordered around and mocked by the Seven Kill Fist Sect’s senior disciple while he worked as a menial disciple.
• Chen Bi learned from his mother that Chen Dangui had sneaked into the mountains to train and had nearly encountered a wild beast, so he arranged to return to his village.
• Sha Po Lang delivered Lord Black Tortoise’s order for Holy Church members to use Sensing Pearls to find someone capable of activating them within two days.
• Chen Bi learned that the mission’s reward could earn him a Breathing Technique, which he had been waiting for.
• Sha Po Lang assigned Chen Bi the YiHe Sect grounds to search and approved his one-day leave, leaving Chen Bi to resume cleaning before his trip home.