Chapter Summaries

At a banquet, Zhuang Jin’s rising status drew marriage proposals from the Shen Family and Prefect Mu Yuantu, and he agreed to marry daughters from both households to strengthen their alliance. The three men planned to lure and kill Medicine King Gang Leader Shi Yong, while Zhuang Jin learned an Innate palm technique and quickly reached Minor Mastery in it.

• Chen Yun gave Ni Ying’s infant daughter Shen Tongning a gold longevity lock, and Shen Xuqing befriended Chen Yun while considering her as a potential match for Zhuang Jin.
• Zhuang Jin’s guests apologized and offered gifts, while Mu Mingxi recognized that Zhuang Jin’s strength might exceed the Eight Meridian Fetal Breath Realm.
• Mu Yuantu agreed to help Shen Xianhong and Zhuang Jin kill Shi Yong, provided Shen Xianhong cooperated fully, and requested that Zhuang Jin marry one of his daughters.
• Zhuang Jin accepted the marriage proposal, and the three men planned to lure Shi Yong to the prefectural yamen under the pretext of peace talks and kill him there.
• Zhuang Jin studied the Innate True Qi Realm and Yin Yang Two Forms Palm, then rapidly advanced the palm technique to Minor Mastery.

Shi Yong accepted Prefect Mu Yuantu’s invitation to peace talks, only to be ambushed by Shen Xianhong, Mu Yuantu, and Zhuang Jin, who had secretly reached the Innate Realm. After the three defeated Shi Yong, he detonated his Innate True Qi and died, and they set out to seize the Medicine King Gang’s Azure Origin Pot.

• Shi Yong mistook the invitation to negotiate as a sign that Shen Xianhong wanted peace and went to the prefectural office.
• A buried explosive detonated beneath Shi Yong, and Mu Yuantu accused the Medicine King Gang of attacking the prefectural office.
• Shi Yong realized Zhuang Jin had become an Innate Martial Practitioner as Zhuang Jin, Shen Xianhong, and Mu Yuantu surrounded and attacked him.
• Zhuang Jin disrupted Shi Yong’s defenses while Shen Xianhong and Mu Yuantu wounded him, and Shi Yong failed to escape.
• Shen Xianhong and Mu Yuantu struck Shi Yong through the shoulders, and he detonated his Innate True Qi, killing himself.
• Shen Xianhong and Mu Yuantu gave Shi Yong’s Dragon Scale Golden Armor to Zhuang Jin, then the three headed to seize the Medicine King Gang’s Azure Origin Pot.

Zhuang Jin helped Shen Xianhong and Mu Yuantu destroy the Medicine King Gang, then was named the Shen Family’s Supreme Attendant at an emergency meeting. As his Innate Ceremony and marriage were announced, all three eligible Shen sisters became willing to marry him, leaving Madam Shen to propose letting Zhuang Jin choose among them.

• Zhuang Jin stormed the Medicine King Gang with Shen Xianhong and Mu Yuantu, breaking through its defenses and killing seven Meridian Opening Martial Practitioners.
• Zhuang Jin spared Xie Feilong, who led the group to Shi Jie and the damaged Mid-grade Azure Origin Pot; they found Shi Jie dead after his failed attempt to break through to the Innate Realm.
• Shen Xianhong kept the Mid-grade Azure Origin Pot, gave Mu Yuantu the Shen Family’s Low-grade Azure Origin Pot, and the government took over West of the City.
• At the Shen Family’s High-level Meeting, Shen Xianhong named Zhuang Jin Supreme Attendant, announced the Medicine King Gang’s destruction and the end of the war, and scheduled Zhuang Jin’s Innate Ceremony and marriage for ten days later.
• Madam Shen asked Shen Xuyun, Shen Xujun, and Shen Xuhan which of them would marry Zhuang Jin, and all three said they were willing.
• Madam Shen joked that Zhuang Jin could choose his bride through a blindfolded heaven-collision marriage.

Chen Yun chose Shen Xujun as Zhuang Jin’s Shen Family wife, while Mu Qing prepared to marry him on the fifteenth of the eighth month and brought Yu Qingjun into her entourage. After the Medicine King Gang’s destruction reshaped Diannan City, Zhuang Jin’s Innate Ceremony and marriages became a citywide grand gathering, where Ruan Yongqi was unexpectedly escorted from the Outer Courtyard into the Inner Courtyard.

• Chen Yun assessed Shen Xuyun, Shen Xujun, and Shen Xuhan, then Zhuang Jin and Shen Xianhong settled on Shen Xujun as Zhuang Jin’s Shen Family wife.
• Mu Qing told Mu Yuantu she understood the political purpose of her marriage to Zhuang Jin and arranged for Yu Qingjun to accompany her as part of her dowry entourage.
• News of the Medicine King Gang’s destruction spread, and the Shen Family expanded its influence as officials and Martial Artists returned to Diannan City to compete for positions and spoils.
• The Shen and Mu Families made the Shen Family compound the venue for Zhuang Jin’s Innate Ceremony and marriages, drawing powerful figures from across the city on the fifteenth of the eighth month.
• Ruan Yongqi entered the Outer Courtyard with his invitation, then Yue Song personally escorted him into the Inner Courtyard after discovering it was the wrong invitation tier.

Ruan Yongqi witnessed the splendor of Zhuang Jin’s wedding, while Zhuang Jin settled into married life with Shen Xujun and Mu Qing and built up his faction within the Shen Family. After discussing the Azure Origin Pot and the risks of staying entangled in family politics, Zhuang Jin agreed to travel through the counties with his household, and Shen Xianhong and Mu Yuantu ordered their local forces to support him.

• Ruan Yongqi attended the Inner Courtyard feast, tasted Exotic Beast Meat and fruit wine, and was astonished by the gathering and the bridal procession.
• Zhuang Jin received the Shen Family’s Void Sword Art and the Mu Family’s Azure Lotus Sword, and found that Shen Xujun and Mu Qing both exceeded his expectations as wives.
• Zhuang Jin’s household settled into a lively routine as Shen Xujun and Mu Qing traded subtle verbal challenges while respecting Chen Yun’s position.
• Lin Hong told Zhuang Jin that his trusted subordinates had taken key posts and that the Shen Family’s lower-ranking Martial Artists had ended Martial Student Recruitment.
• Mu Qing proposed that Zhuang Jin take the household to tour the counties, and Zhuang Jin agreed after the women discussed the Azure Origin Pot and life beyond the Prefecture City.
• Shen Xianhong established the Supreme Attendant’s Inspector Envoy post, while Mu Yuantu ordered county offices to cooperate with Zhuang Jin.

After more than two years of travel, Zhuang Jin broke through to the second level of the Innate True Qi Realm and improved his Void Sword Art before returning with his wives to the Prefecture City. Shen Xianhong offered him the Innate Martial Skill Carefree Wind Riding, and Zhuang Jin asked what the Family Head wanted in return.

• Zhuang Jin broke through to the second level of the Innate True Qi Realm, demonstrated his power with the Azure Lotus Sword, and told the women they would return to the Prefecture City.
• Ten days later, Zhuang Jin met Shen Xianhong while Chen Yun, Shen Xujun, and Mu Qing visited their families.
• Shen Xujun shared travel gifts and paintings with her family, while Shen Xuhan felt jealous of her elevated status and adventures.
• Mu Yuantu welcomed Mu Qing home, praised her fox-fur cloak, and said he would look for a suitable Innate Martial Skill movement technique for Zhuang Jin.
• Shen Xianhong offered Zhuang Jin the Innate Martial Skill Carefree Wind Riding, and Zhuang Jin asked him to state his request.

Zhuang Jin agreed to join Shen Xianhong in hunting a Wind Valley Thunder Ape that would break through to the Five Viscera Realm after consuming the Shen Family’s Vermilion Fruit. He spent two months training Carefree Wind Riding amid rising tensions in Diannan City, then left with Shen Xianhong in March.

• Shen Xianhong explained the risks of awakening Innate Spiritual Light through different medicines and invited Zhuang Jin to help seize a Wind Valley Thunder Ape after it ate the Vermilion Fruit.
• Zhuang Jin accepted Shen Xianhong’s offer of Carefree Wind Riding and Five Viscera Realm Exotic Beast Meat, agreeing to delay the operation until March so he could train first.
• Zhuang Jin stayed in the Prefecture City and cultivated Carefree Wind Riding while Chen Yun, Shen Xujun, Mu Qing, and the other women explored the city dressed as men.
• The Shen and Mu Families’ rivalry intensified, while visitors and political factions tried to draw Zhuang Jin into their affairs; he withdrew from visitors to focus on cultivation.
• After two months, Zhuang Jin left the Prefecture City with Shen Xianhong to begin the operation.

Zhuang Jin and Shen Xianhong entered a hidden valley to capture the Wind Valley Thunder Apes and harvest the Vermilion Fruits, but discovered that a Wind Winged Thunder Tiger had taken control of the valley. The tiger attacked as the fruit ripened, and Zhuang Jin intervened when Shen Xianhong was left badly injured and unable to defend himself.

• Shen Xianhong and Zhuang Jin crossed the dangerous magnetic-field region in the ravine and subdued the Wind Valley Thunder Apes without killing them.
• Shen Xianhong began ripening the Vermilion Fruits with Azure Origin Liquid, while Zhuang Jin found three pools of Monkey Wine in the apes’ cave.
• After learning that the apes’ unusual diligence might mean a powerful beast had subdued them, Shen Xianhong and Zhuang Jin collected the Monkey Wine and kept watch as the fruit ripened.
• A Wind Winged Thunder Tiger descended into the valley, and Shen Xianhong and Zhuang Jin realized it had forced the apes to serve it.
• The Wind Winged Thunder Tiger struck Shen Xianhong with tracking ball lightning and a Tiger Phantom, leaving him injured and unable to gather his True Qi.
• As the Wind Winged Thunder Tiger lunged at Shen Xianhong, Zhuang Jin rushed in with a sword attack.

Zhuang Jin fought the Wind Winged Thunder Tiger, seized two half-ripe Vermilion Fruits, and trapped the wounded beast in a storm of wind and lightning before escaping with Shen Xianhong. When they returned, they learned that Mu Yuantu had seized half of North of the City while they were away, leaving Shen Xianhong furious and injured.

• Zhuang Jin drew the Wind Winged Thunder Tiger away from Shen Xianhong and attacked the Vermilion Fruit Tree to force the beast to defend it.
• Zhuang Jin took both remaining Vermilion Fruits before they ripened and evaded the Wind Winged Thunder Tiger's claw with his Dragon Scale Golden Armor.
• Zhuang Jin used lightning and a wind tornado to injure the Wind Winged Thunder Tiger and trap it below, then escaped with Shen Xianhong.
• Shen Xianhong and Zhuang Jin returned to the Shen Family, where Mu Mingxi reported that Mu Yuantu had seized half of North of the City.
• Shen Xianhong dismissed the report's bearers, struck a table in anger, and worsened his injuries by coughing up blood.

After Mu Yuantu seized half of North of the City, Zhuang Jin became the key figure in the brewing negotiations between the Mu and Shen Families. As the families prepared for a three-party discussion, Zhuang Jin gave both Vermilion Fruits to Mu Qing, easing her condition and deepening her devotion to him.

• Zhuang Jin learned that Mu Yuantu had seized half of North of the City and recognized that both families were watching his stance.
• Mu Qing returned to the Mu Family but avoided discussing the dispute; Mu Yuantu later invited Shen Xianhong and Zhuang Jin to a three-party discussion.
• Shen Xianhong, still grievously injured, considered concealing his condition and rejected using the Shen Family's old Jade Scroll to seek outside aid.
• Zhuang Jin welcomed Mu Qing, Chen Yun, and Shen Xujun home and shared Monkey Wine and Vermilion Fruits with them.
• Zhuang Jin gave both Vermilion Fruits to Mu Qing after discovering they could ease her cold-attribute constitution, and Mu Qing resolved never to fail him.

Zhuang Jin mediated a dispute between the Shen and Mu Families by crushing an artificial mountain with one palm, revealing his strength and restoring the balance between them. After the families reconciled and publicized his feat, he prepared to leave the Prefecture City with his family and continue traveling.

• Zhuang Jin returned home and spoke with Chen Yun about Shen Xujun's loyalty and the household's family bonds.
• Mu Qing warned Zhuang Jin about the Mu and Shen Families' deep foundations and proposed a plan to balance their interests without taking over Southern Dian.
• Shen Xianhong and Mu Yuantu argued over North of the City, then agreed to let Zhuang Jin settle the dispute by striking an artificial mountain.
• Zhuang Jin shattered the artificial mountain with a palm strike, prompting Shen Xianhong and Mu Yuantu to abandon their fight and restore the previous division of North of the City.
• Zhuang Jin told the two family heads that he would leave the Prefecture City with his family, and the three sides shared a banquet before his departure.
• The Shen and Mu Families spread news of Zhuang Jin's feat, causing his mountain-shattering deed to become a sensation throughout the city.

Xiang Qichen and Xiong Lei learned that Zhuang Jin had helped secure the Shen and Mu Families’ reconciliation, while reflecting on how their old lives and ambitions had changed. Zhuang Jin accepted the Shen Family’s Wind Thunder Shock Art and set out with his companions to travel beyond the Prefecture.

• Xiang Qichen and Xiong Lei heard that the Mu Family would return half of North of the City, then worried that the settlement would still shift local interests.
• Xiang Qichen admitted that he regretted his past pride and urged Xiong Lei to marry and settle down.
• Zhuang Jin gave Shen Xianhong a Thunder Origin Stone as compensation and accepted the Wind Thunder Shock Art, promising to limit its use to himself, Chen Yun, and Shen Xujun.
• Zhuang Jin learned that the Innate Realm comprised True Qi, Gang Qi, and Corpse Slaying, then asked Chen Yun and Shen Xujun to cultivate the Wind Thunder Shock Art.
• Zhuang Jin and his companions boarded a boat that evening and departed the Prefecture City to continue their travels.

Zhuang Jin's family left Prefecture City by boat the night before, leaving a crowd of people waiting to see them off the next morning. Shen Xianhong rejected Shen Xujing's scheme against Zhuang Jin and the Mu Family, then chose Shen Xuchen as the next heir, who entered the brutal training required to pursue the Innate Realm.

• Shen Xujing, Shen Xuchen, and others gathered outside Zhuang Manor to see Zhuang Jin off, but learned from the gatekeeper that Zhuang Jin and the ladies had departed the previous night.
• Shen Xianhong summoned Shen Xujing and asked what he would do as family head; Shen Xujing proposed placating the Mu Family, using Zhuang Jin against them, and eventually killing Zhuang Jin.
• Shen Xianhong judged Shen Xujing's plan too dangerous, destroyed his meridians, and confined him to the secret chamber for the rest of his life.
• Shen Xuchen advised maintaining a balance among the Shen Family, the Mu Family, and the prefectural government, and said Zhuang Jin would likely leave before his ten-year term ended.
• Shen Xianhong chose Shen Xuchen as heir and warned him that the family head's training had driven many candidates to madness or suicide; Shen Xuchen accepted.
• Shen Xuchen entered the secret chamber to begin his training, determined to keep striving to catch up with Zhuang Jin.

After three years of searching without success, Zhuang Jin broke through to the Third Layer of the Innate True Qi Realm and discovered an empty Immortal Ruin containing a character that clarified his pursuit of immortality. Back in Diannan City, Mu Qing urged him to go alone to a prefecture city and gave him her notes on the aristocratic families’ control of power.

• Zhuang Jin and the women searched Southern Dian, Donghu, and Huaihua for Immortal Ruins, but found nothing until Zhuang Jin’s breakthrough revealed a cave behind a waterfall near Changning County.
• Zhuang Jin completed the Third Layer of the Innate True Qi Realm, perfected Carefree Wind Riding and the Void Sword Art, and saw a glowing “Dao” character in the cave that led him to recognize immortality as his true goal.
• Zhuang Jin brought Chen Yun and the other women into the empty ruin, where they found no treasure beyond the character on the wall.
• On the ship home, Mu Qing warned Zhuang Jin that prefecture city aristocrats would suppress anyone who threatened their power and gave him her notes on the city and a possible path through their blockade.
• Mu Qing revealed that Chen Yun had also guessed that Zhuang Jin possessed exceptional talent, and Zhuang Jin agreed to be more cautious before the group returned to Diannan City.

Zhuang Jin returned to Diannan City, where Shen Xuchen celebrated his breakthrough to the Innate Realm, then prepared to leave the people and comforts he loved behind to pursue true longevity. He departed quietly for the provincial city, while his family and friends watched a swan goose fly toward the open sky.

• Zhuang Jin reunited with Shen Xianhong, Mu Yuantu, and the newly Innate Shen Xuchen, then learned Shen Xianhong had given the Thunder Origin Stone to his son instead of using it to extend his own life.
• Zhuang Jin hunted and killed the Wind Winged Thunder Tiger after it refused to submit.
• Zhuang Jin told Chen Yun, Mu Qing, Shen Xujun, Ping Yongfeng, Wu Hao, and others that he would leave Diannan City for the provincial city.
• Zhuang Jin departed with a merchant caravan on the first day of the fifth month, leaving without a public farewell.
• Mu Yuantu, Shen Xianhong, Shen Xuchen, Chen Yun, Mu Qing, Shen Xujun, and Wu Hao each reflected on Zhuang Jin's departure as he turned toward the road ahead.

Zhuang Jin subdued the Black Fiend Tiger and continued toward the prefecture city with the Ji Family caravan. Ji Tongxiu offered him the Ji Family’s help securing a Mystic Serpent Token in exchange for a White Deer Academy recommendation for her younger brother, then became his lover; the caravan neared its destination as Mu Bai remained oblivious to their relationship.

• Ji Tongxiu warned Zhuang Jin that the Black Fiend Tiger at Tiger Leap Gorge blocked the caravan’s route.
• Zhuang Jin chased down and subdued the Black Fiend Tiger, then rode it back to the caravan.
• Ji Tongxiu offered to help Zhuang Jin obtain a Mystic Serpent Token if he gave her younger brother his White Deer Academy recommendation quota.
• Ji Tongxiu offered herself to Zhuang Jin, and he accepted her proposal as a transaction.
• Mu Bai continued courting Ji Tongxiu without realizing she had become Zhuang Jin’s lover.
• After another ten days of travel by land and water, the caravan neared the prefecture city.

Zhuang Jin traveled with Ji Tongxiu’s convoy to Cang Prefecture City, where his displayed Innate aura deterred pursuers and protected the Tongshan Five Righteous. After entering the city, he learned how the Hanging Sky Mirror divided and governed its districts, then witnessed a Flying Fish Robe woman kick a Martial Artist in black through the air.

• Ji Tongxiu explained the dangers of the Funiu Mountain Range, and Zhuang Jin chose the shorter route along its edge.
• The Tongshan Five Righteous fled pursuers with a hunted Wind Chasing Deer, and their leader recognized the approaching Ji Family convoy.
• The pursuing group retreated after its leader sensed an Innate Venerable in the convoy; Zhuang Jin declined the deer offered by Lu Tai and let the five depart.
• The Tongshan Five Righteous discussed their hopes of earning a Silver Carp Token and improving their lives through safer work in the city.
• The Ji Family convoy reached Cang Prefecture City, where Ji Tongxiu explained the Hanging Sky Mirror and the city’s ring districts to Zhuang Jin.
• A long-legged woman in a Flying Fish Robe kicked a Martial Artist in black flying as Zhuang Jin watched the city commotion.

Zhuang Jin arrived in the prefectural city with Ji Tongxiu and accepted the Ji Family's invitation to stay while they helped him advance his Sky Hanging Division rank. As Ji Tongxiu showed him the Third Ring and its token-based network, he reached the Sky Hanging Division beneath the Hanging Sky Mirror and reacted to what he encountered inside.

• Zhuang Jin watched Divine Constable Chu Jing arrest the flower-plucking bandit, then accepted Ji Tongxiu's invitation to stay with the Ji Family.
• Ji Tongxiu described the crowds gathered around Yu Yuxian's tofu stall and Miao Yunzhen's free consultations as the caravan traveled toward the Ji Family estate.
• Ji Gongji welcomed Zhuang Jin and arranged for him to stay with the Ji Family until he obtained a Mystic Serpent Token, in exchange for a White Deer Academy recommendation quota.
• Zhuang Jin asked Ji Tongxiu to show him the Third Ring and handle his Sky Hanging Division token, leaving Mu Bai behind with Ji Gongji.
• Ji Tongxiu explained how tokens used the Hanging Sky Mirror's local network for payments and described the rings' shops, ranks, and rules.
• Zhuang Jin and Ji Tongxiu reached the Sky Hanging Division beneath the Hanging Sky Mirror, where Zhuang Jin's expression changed at what he saw inside.

Zhuang Jin obtained a Bronze Carp Token and toured Cang Prefecture City with Ji Tongxiu, whose invitation from Cen Hua Kun led him to reveal his strength as an Innate Venerable. Shangguan Yun Chang intervened, and the chapter left her jokingly making the teahouse crowd declare that she was a man.

• Zhuang Jin received his Bronze Carp Token after Ji Tongxiu reserved a mechanical beast, then quickly explored its functions.
• Ji Tongxiu took Zhuang Jin around the Three Rings and brought him to Tongfu Teahouse, where they discussed its mysterious proprietor, Yu Linglong.
• Cen Hua Kun invited Ji Tongxiu to dine on the seventh floor, but she declined and said she already belonged to someone.
• Zhuang Jin stopped Cen Hua Kun from leaving and struck his forehead with a teacup, revealing an aura that made Cen Hua Kun recognize him as an Innate Venerable.
• Shangguan Yun Chang explained that the Cen Family would not retaliate against Zhuang Jin for harming Cen Hua Kun, then asked people in the teahouse to call her a man.

Zhuang Jin learned how the Innate Realm shaped Cang Prefecture City's rules while meeting Tongfu Teahouse proprietor Yu Linglong and watching Shangguan Yun Chang rein in her younger brother. After touring the city with Ji Tongxiu, he asked to see a black market and was approached by a masked martial artist offering information about the Mutual Aid Society.

• Cen Hua Kun transferred 39,729 Contribution Points to Ji Tongxiu's token and fled after Zhuang Jin spared him.
• Shangguan Yun Chang explained how an Innate Venerable's retaliation against the Zhou Family had led the prominent families to teach their children to respect the strong.
• Yu Linglong charmed Shangguan Yunhong, and Shangguan Yun Chang confronted her before dragging her younger brother away.
• Shangguan Yun Chang told Zhuang Jin he would soon learn why Yu Linglong seemed wary of her Mystic Serpent Token, then left with Shangguan Yunhong.
• Zhuang Jin and Ji Tongxiu toured the city, visited a black market at his request, and were approached by a masked martial artist promoting the Mutual Aid Society.