Chapter Summaries

Martial Arts Association president Li Wuji warned the committee that Qi would peak within a month and urged them to unite the martial arts world before the Celestials awakened. The committee members began choosing whether to follow his request, while the square-faced man of the Force Sect rejected the idea of relying on humanity’s unity.

• Li Wuji arrived at the Martial Arts Association headquarters and told the committee that Qi would reach its peak within half a month to a month, awakening the Celestials.
• Li Wuji asked the sects to ease their control over spirit medicines and Breathing Techniques and peacefully unite martial arts schools across their assigned provinces.
• Li Wuji warned that humanity would face an ending worse than death if it failed to stand together against the Celestials, then left a sheet of provincial assignments and departed.
• The Giant Devour Sect's sect master accepted responsibility for his assigned area and left the hall.
• An elderly committee member accepted his assignment while trading insults with the square-faced man.
• The square-faced man dismissed humanity’s chances as ants fighting Celestials and claimed the strong could become powerful enough to devour the heavens and earth before taking responsibility for Fuhai Province.

Xiang Li ordered his son Xiang Zheng to travel to Fuhai Province and oversee local Martial Arts Association affairs, including selecting a new president and distributing tournament prizes. Xiang Zheng agreed to award Chen Sheng a nearly depleted Spirit Seed, and he and Zhao Zhenfeng were set to leave the next day.

• Xiang Li found Xiang Zheng training instead of handling Force Sect affairs and summoned him to his office.
• Xiang Li told Xiang Zheng that he would go to Fuhai Province to help bring local sects under the Martial Arts Association's supervision, with Zhao Zhenfeng accompanying him.
• Xiang Zheng discovered that the Force Sect now controlled Fuhai Province's association matters, including the selection of its next president and distribution of tournament prizes.
• Xiang Zheng tried to replace Chen Sheng's approved Spirit Seed prize, but Xiang Li stopped him and insisted that the promised prize be given.
• Xiang Li suggested using a Spirit Seed nearing the end of its energy, and Xiang Zheng sent the order before Xiang Li told him to prepare for their departure the next day.

Chen Sheng prepared to advance Profound Darkness True Martial after arranging Xu Ying’s entry into the Eagle Body Sect and brewing spiritual medicine for Zhou Li. The upgrade transported him to a storm-tossed sea, where he faced a Black Tortoise far larger than the one he had seen before.

• Chen Sheng told Xu Ying he would handle his Eagle Body Sect membership and collect the sect’s spiritual medicine allocation and tournament reward.
• After breakfast, Chen Sheng practiced while Zhou Li and Xu Ying prepared spiritual medicine, and he said he intended to break through that day.
• Chen Sheng drank the medicine and spent 50 Skill Points upgrading Profound Darkness True Martial to level one, but experienced no immediate physical changes.
• The sound of crashing waves surrounded Chen Sheng, and the courtyard disappeared as he found himself standing above a raging sea beneath black clouds.
• A colossal Black Tortoise lowered its head toward Chen Sheng, revealing itself as the Divine Beast he had seen during cultivation.

Chen Sheng completed his breakthrough in Profound Darkness True Martial, gaining a major increase in his attributes and discovering the Breathing Technique’s defensive armor and affinity for water. After testing his new abilities, he headed to the Martial Arts Association to collect resources and planned to train the technique toward perfection.

• Chen Sheng was swallowed by a giant serpent in an illusion and then pulled back into consciousness by Zhou Li and Xu Ying.
• Chen Sheng accidentally cracked the ground while pushing himself up and found his Strength, Agility, and Constitution had risen to around 56 after reaching Profound Darkness True Martial lv1.
• Chen Sheng activated Profound Darkness True Martial’s Breathing Technique, raising his attributes to 74, 73, and 74 and growing to two meters tall.
• Chen Sheng tested the Azure Tortoise Shell Pattern by punching himself and saw it disperse the force into the courtyard ground without seriously injuring him.
• Chen Sheng discovered that he could draw oxygen from water and that water or humid surroundings strengthened his body and armor, then went to the Martial Arts Association to collect resources.

Chen Sheng left Xu Ying in charge of the grocery store and ran to the Martial Arts Association, where his speed terrified a couple in a car. After collecting his tournament prize and nine spirit medicines, he found that the supposed Spirit Seed was a cracked, faintly glowing stone.

• Chen Sheng told Xu Ying to watch the grocery store while he went to the Martial Arts Association.
• Chen Sheng ran so fast that a couple in a sedan mistook him for a ghost and sped through a red light to escape.
• Martial artists at the association recognized Chen Sheng as the tournament champion and crowded around him.
• Chen Sheng collected nine spirit medicines and the tournament prize from the association staff member.
• Chen Sheng opened the prize box and questioned whether the cracked, nearly lifeless stone inside was really a Spirit Seed.

Chen Sheng discovered that the Spirit Seed awarded to him was nearly depleted and forced Gao Sheng to reveal how it had been replaced. Learning that Force Sect had taken control of Fuhai Province, Chen Sheng called a contact at the Haizhou City Martial Arts Association to learn more.

• Chen Sheng inspected the gray Spirit Seed and summoned Gao Sheng to explain why it lacked the glow of the other spirit herbs.
• Gao Sheng recognized that the Spirit Seed was nearly exhausted but claimed the association had stored it untouched and offered to show the security footage.
• Chen Sheng threatened Gao Sheng privately, and Gao Sheng admitted that the Spirit Seed had been deliberately replaced by Force Sect.
• Chen Sheng left the association, realized Force Sect would likely send people to Fuhai Province, and called a Haizhou City Martial Arts Association contact for details.

Chen Sheng traveled toward Haizhou after learning the Force Sect’s representative had arrived, intending to test the sect’s disciples after his prize was exchanged for a nearly depleted item. In Haizhou, Zhao Zhenfeng sent Xiang Zheng to visit local martial arts schools, setting the stage for clashes with Fuhai Province’s martial artists.

• Zhou Li directed Xu Ying to prepare a patch of soil for spirit herbs, and Chen Sheng buried the Spirit Seed he had collected.
• Chen Sheng told Zhou Li he was going to Haizhou, then left the Grocery Store and raced toward the city.
• Zhou Qiming’s information revealed that a Force Sect representative had arrived in Haizhou and was heading to the Fuhai Province Martial Arts Association.
• Zhao Zhenfeng scolded Xiang Zheng for his conduct and told him to visit Haizhou’s martial arts schools to establish the Force Sect’s authority.
• Xiang Zheng eagerly took the list of school addresses and left, while Zhao Zhenfeng privately derided him.

Chen Sheng discovered that Zhao Zhenfeng’s attributes were beyond his ability to read, then spotted Xiang Zheng on the commercial street and decided to grow stronger before confronting the Force Sect. As Xiang Zheng transformed and the crowd fled, he caught Chen Sheng by the shoulder and said he had found him.

• Zhao Zhenfeng sensed someone watching him near the Martial Arts Association, searched the woods, and warned Xiang Zheng to kill any watcher he encountered.
• Xiang Li messaged Zhao Zhenfeng that the Force Sect had discovered a new Celestial Being Seal site and was investigating it.
• Chen Sheng used the Eye of Truth to view Zhao Zhenfeng’s attribute panel, found every stat unreadable, and realized he was far stronger than expected.
• Chen Sheng spotted Xiang Zheng on the commercial street, assessed his attributes, and decided to return to Spring River to strengthen himself before fighting him.
• Xiang Zheng entered a Breathing Technique state, causing the crowd to flee, then grabbed Chen Sheng by the shoulder and said he had found him.

Chen Sheng fought Xiang Zheng after the Force Sect martial artist confronted him on a commercial street, and overwhelmed him with his superior strength and defense. Zhao Zhenfeng arrived after the battle and found Xiang Zheng dead, while Chen Sheng had already disappeared.

• Xiang Zheng accused Chen Sheng of spying on the Force Sect and refused to let him leave.
• Chen Sheng struck Xiang Zheng and pursued him into a building, activating Harpy Form, Rabbit Form, and Profound Darkness True Martial.
• Xiang Zheng used Ant's Breathing to fight Chen Sheng, but Chen Sheng's attacks proved stronger and his Tortoise Shell Pattern left him unharmed.
• Chen Sheng seized Xiang Zheng and beat him into the ground until the road collapsed and Xiang Zheng stopped moving.
• Zhao Zhenfeng reached the battlefield and found Xiang Zheng dead, but Chen Sheng was nowhere to be seen.

Chen Sheng escaped Haizhou City after killing Xiang Zheng and learned from Xiang Zheng’s phone that Zhao Zhenfeng was investigating a new Sealed Land. Back in Quanjin City, Chen Sheng trained hard and began considering returning the Eagle Body Sect leadership to Zhou Li so his ties would not endanger them.

• Chen Sheng fled Haizhou City, took Xiang Zheng’s phone, and read Zhao Zhenfeng’s message about a newly discovered Sealed Land before crushing the phone.
• Zhao Zhenfeng reported the attack to Xiang Li and watched as the supposedly dead Xiang Zheng revived through a powerful medicine.
• Chen Sheng returned to Yinghui Grocery Store, assessed the fading Spirit Seed, and resolved to grow stronger before Zhao Zhenfeng or other threats caught up with him.
• Chen Sheng drank Spirit Herb Soup and trained with Profound Darkness True Martial until his Strength, Agility, and Constitution all exceeded sixty, though his spirit herbs were nearly depleted.
• Chen Sheng considered giving the Eagle Body Sect leadership back to Zhou Li so the sect’s members would not become vulnerabilities, and decided to discuss it with him the next day.

Zhao Zhenfeng met with Haizhou City's martial arts gym leaders to announce the Force Sect's new oversight rules for Fuhai Province. Xiang Zheng arrived injured and accused Li Hengkong of attacking him, while the meeting ended with Zhao revealing that most martial arts gyms and sects would lose access to spiritual medicine.

• Zhou Qiming, Zhao Zhenfeng, Xiang Zheng, and the three gym owners gathered at the Martial Arts Association, with Li Hengkong accompanying Qi Ming.
• Xiang Zheng accused Li Hengkong of ambushing him and tried to charge, but Zhao Zhenfeng ordered him to stop and explained that his junior brother was recovering from his injuries.
• Zhao Zhenfeng said the Force Sect would oversee registered martial arts gyms and sects in Fuhai Province under an order from Li Wuji.
• Zhao Zhenfeng announced that Grade B, Grade C, and Grade D organizations would lose spiritual medicine resources, while Grade A organizations would need to pass the Force Sect's test to qualify for resources.

Zhao Zhenfeng offered the three powerful Fuhai Province martial arts gyms a place as Force Sect affiliates in exchange for their obedience and help finding talented Qi Sense Users. He set a simple combat test at the meeting venue, leaving the gym masters poised to choose who would fight.

• The Turtle Fist Sect master challenged Zhao Zhenfeng’s proposed rules, but Li Hengkong calmed him and invited Zhao to continue.
• Zhao Zhenfeng said the Force Sect would redirect resources toward talented martial artists and promised affiliated Grade A gyms authority, Breathing Techniques, spirit medicine, and other support.
• The three gym masters were tempted by the offer as Zhao Zhenfeng explained that the Force Sect wanted their help identifying and recruiting talented Qi Sense Users.
• Qi Ming asked how the gyms would be tested, and Zhao Zhenfeng said one person from each gym would fight him.
• Zhao Zhenfeng pointed at the floor beneath his feet and declared it the testing venue.

Zhao Zhenfeng secured the allegiance of three Grade A martial arts gyms and prepared to let them take over Fuhai Province’s martial arts world. Li Hengkong separately targeted Chen Sheng as a threat, while Zhou Qiming made a secret phone call.

• Li Hengkong conceded defeat to Zhao Zhenfeng after the three Grade A gyms passed his test, and the gyms agreed to join the Force Sect.
• Zhao Zhenfeng ordered the gym masters to recruit or subdue the province’s other martial arts groups, while making clear the Force Sect would not support them with its resources.
• Li Hengkong suggested Chen Sheng might be the attacker Zhao Zhenfeng sought, hoping to provoke Xiang Zheng into confronting him, but Zhao Zhenfeng stopped Xiang Zheng from going.
• Zhao Zhenfeng warned Li Hengkong not to provoke Xiang Zheng again, then left with Xiang Zheng; Li Hengkong decided to eliminate Chen Sheng as a threat and took Qi Ming to Quanjin City.
• After the others left, Zhou Qiming hesitated, then called someone to share important information.

Chen Sheng trained to strengthen himself while preparing to leave the Eagle Body Sect, but Zhou Qiming warned him that two fighters from Kongming Fist Gym were coming to kill him. Chen Sheng sent Zhou Li and Xu Ying away and prepared to face the threat as rain began to fall.

• Chen Sheng trained at Yinghui Grocery Store, raising his attributes and hoping to unlock the second level of Profound Darkness True Martial.
• Xu Ying gave Chen Sheng the bank card and documents for transferring the Eagle Body Sect’s leadership, and Chen Sheng told him to stay with the sect while Zhou Li recovered.
• Zhou Qiming told Chen Sheng that Xiang Zheng was alive and that two Kongming Fist Gym fighters, including Li Hengkong, were on their way to Quanjin City to kill him.
• Chen Sheng asked Xu Ying to brew two portions of Spirit Herb Soup and continued training while considering how to use the limited time before the fighters arrived.
• Chen Sheng had Zhou Li and Xu Ying leave the grocery store, then took the Spirit Herb Soup outside as the Kongming Fist Gym fighters set off from Haizhou City and Qi Ming noticed that it was raining.

Li Hengkong ordered Qi Ming to have the two remaining Eagle Body Sect members killed, then recalled how ambition and violence had shaped his rise from a poor farming family to a powerful martial arts gym owner. He urged Qi Ming to embrace the struggle for dominance, naming Chen Sheng and the Eagle Body Sect as Kongming Fist Gym’s first target as it sought to grow stronger.

• Li Hengkong ordered Qi Ming to kill the two remaining Eagle Body Sect members but not to monitor Chen Sheng.
• Li Hengkong recalled how his father’s beating by a noble awakened his anger at the unequal world and led him to leave home.
• After Li Sheng was nearly killed by a noble, Li Hengkong murdered the noble’s family, bought protection with stolen wealth, and later rose to take the noble’s place.
• Li Hengkong remembered meeting someone who prompted him to retreat into the mountains and cultivate his body and mind until Qi Ming invited him back during the Tide Rising Era.
• Li Hengkong told Qi Ming that martial artists had to contend and that Kongming Fist Gym must swallow others to avoid being swallowed itself.
• Li Hengkong declared that Chen Sheng and the Eagle Body Sect would be the first step in Kongming Fist Gym’s rise.

Chen Sheng killed a disguised observer at Old Ji's Home-Style Cooking and discovered that rain strengthened him while he trained Profound Darkness True Martial. He upgraded the skill to level two, then collapsed as his body began transforming in the downpour.

• A tourist secretly watched Chen Sheng at Old Ji's Home-Style Cooking, but Chen Sheng grabbed him by the neck and killed him.
• Chen Sheng carried the tourist away and dumped three bound corpses into the river at the sewage discharge area.
• As the rain intensified, Chen Sheng's attributes rose, and he drank the remaining Spirit Herb Soup before training Profound Darkness True Martial.
• After an hour of training in the downpour, Chen Sheng reached 102 Skill Points and upgraded Profound Darkness True Martial to level two.
• Chen Sheng collapsed from intense pain as blue Tortoise Shell Patterns appeared across his skin and strange waves stirred in the surrounding river.

Chen Sheng faced Black Tortoise’s drowning trial in an illusion while his body underwent a strange transformation in the rain. At Yinghui Grocery Store, Li Hengkong threatened to report Chen Sheng and endanger his associates, and Chen Sheng called Qi Ming.

• Chen Sheng met Black Tortoise again in the breakthrough illusion, where rising water overwhelmed him and he lost consciousness.
• Chen Sheng’s body remained in the Sewage Discharge Area as azure patterns solidified on his skin and rainwater pooled around him.
• Li Hengkong entered Yinghui Grocery Store with Qi Ming and announced to a surveillance camera that Chen Sheng was wanted for attacking Xiang Zheng and fleeing with the Eagle Body Sect.
• Li Hengkong threatened to report Chen Sheng to the Martial Security Bureau and Martial Arts Association headquarters, warning that his associates would suffer.
• Chen Sheng called Qi Ming from the phone of one of the people who had tailed them and angrily reminded him that he had once saved his life.

Qi Ming and Li Hengkong followed Chen Sheng’s address to the Sewage Discharge Area, where Li Hengkong confronted Chen Sheng. Their first exchange of blows shattered the ground, leaving the battle’s outcome uncertain.

• Qi Ming and Li Hengkong agreed to go to Chen Sheng’s location, though both suspected he might be setting a trap.
• Li Hengkong told Qi Ming he had used only about half his strength against Zhao Zhenfeng and assured him that greater power was attainable.
• At the Sewage Discharge Area, Li Hengkong spotted Chen Sheng inside the drainage pipe and approached as his aura intensified.
• Chen Sheng emerged in his massive transformed form, and he and Li Hengkong exchanged status checks and faced off in the rain.
• Chen Sheng attacked first, and Li Hengkong met his fist with a punch, collapsing the ground around them and sending a shockwave across the area.

Chen Sheng defeated Li Hengkong, who recognized him as the one who had attacked the Force Sect Disciples and fled toward the river. The river’s crushing pressure dragged Li Hengkong underwater, leaving his fate uncertain as he sank.

• Qi Ming retreated from the shockwaves of Chen Sheng and Li Hengkong’s fight and waited for Chen Sheng to die.
• Chen Sheng tore off both of Li Hengkong’s arms and withstood his attack on Chen Sheng’s vital spot.
• Li Hengkong recognized Chen Sheng as the attacker of the Force Sect Disciples and tried to bargain before fleeing.
• Li Hengkong sprinted past Qi Ming and ran across the river, hoping to escape and warn Zhao Zhenfeng.
• The river’s pressure grew until Li Hengkong sank beneath the surface and could no longer move or breathe.

Chen Sheng tested the second-level abilities of Profound Darkness True Martial, which gave him powerful defenses and control over water. He killed Qi Ming as he walked toward the riverbank, while Li Hengkong remained missing beneath the river.

• Chen Sheng reflected on how the second level of Profound Darkness True Martial strengthened his attributes and gave his Tortoise Shell Pattern the ability to absorb and rebound attacks.
• Chen Sheng recalled how he had accepted the water currents during his breakthrough and gained the ability to communicate with and control water.
• Chen Sheng explained that rain dramatically boosted his attributes, so he had restrained his strength after injuring Li Hengkong and asked the water to pursue him instead.
• Qi Ming saw Chen Sheng alive and tried to flee and call the Martial Arts Association, but water pressure forced him to his knees.
• Chen Sheng walked past Qi Ming, whose head burst apart under the pressure, and continued toward the riverbank.