Chapter Summaries

Zhuang Jin and Ji Tongxiu encountered a recruiter for the Mutual Aid Society, then fought off black-market pursuers after buying meteoric iron. Meanwhile, Ji Tongxiao resisted her father’s plan to offer her to Zhuang Jin, and Mu Bai learned that Ji Tongxiu had gone to Zhuang Jin’s residence and resolved to pursue Chu Jing instead.

• Zhuang Jin questioned the masked recruiter Little Carp about the Mutual Aid Society, and Ji Tongxiu warned him that similar groups had ended in scandals.
• Zhuang Jin and Ji Tongxiu found the black market full of low-grade goods and dishonest sellers, bought meteoric iron, and were followed by Qi Condensation Martial Practitioners.
• Ji Tongxiu killed the seven or eight pursuers, while Little Carp refused to help and fled; Zhuang Jin praised Ji Tongxiu and took her back with him.
• Ji Gongji ordered Ji Tongxiao to follow Zhuang Jin, but she objected because she loved Gong Bangrong; Ji Gongji agreed to meet Gong before secretly planning to turn her against him.
• Mu Bai learned that Ji Tongxiu had gone to Zhuang Jin’s residence with a change of clothes, then decided to pursue Chu Jing and dreamed that Zhuang Jin had already won her over.

Zhuang Jin rejected the Teng family after Teng Yuanzhu snubbed him, then explored the prefecture city and observed how its martial practitioners struggled under its contribution-point system. Meanwhile, Ji Gongji pressured Gong Bangrong to give up Ji Tongxiao for Zhuang Jin, but Zhuang Jin rejected Ji Tongxiao when she was brought to him that evening.

• Teng Yuanzhu left Zhuang Jin waiting after assuming he was a poor relative, so Zhuang Jin left the Teng family; when Teng Zushou learned who he was, he rushed out to catch up with him.
• Zhuang Jin visited an outpost tavern near the Funiu Mountain Range, where he watched Mu Bai and the Tongshan Five Righteous leave for the mountains and listened to martial practitioners discuss their hardships.
• Ji Gongji told Gong Bangrong that Ji Tongxiao had an opportunity to attach herself to an Innate Venerable and offered him a Meridian Opening Pill if he withdrew from their relationship.
• Gong Bangrong stayed silent, and Ji Tongxiao overheard his decision before declaring that she would never see him again.
• Ji Tongxiu brought Ji Tongxiao to Zhuang Jin, but he swept her out and told them to focus on completing missions; Ji Tongxiao wept outside.

Zhuang Jin completed a Mystic Serpent-level mission, earned a one-pattern Mystic Serpent Token, and discovered the privileges and hidden system it unlocked in Cang Prefecture City. The chapter left him realizing that the Sky Hanging Division used those privileges, including access to Ascension Pavilion, to manipulate Innate Martial Artists and exploit those below them.

• After the Teng Family supplied cultivation provisions and the Ji Family helped him complete eight missions, Zhuang Jin chose a Mystic Serpent-level Rank Token Mission instead of challenging the Hidden Dragon Ranking.
• With Ji Gongji’s lead, Zhuang Jin tracked the Mutual Aid Society to its underground outpost, defeated its defenders, and killed its president as he tried to escape.
• Zhuang Jin noticed that Little Carp had died in the raid, then submitted the president’s head to the Sky Hanging Division and received a one-pattern Mystic Serpent Token.
• The token’s activation revealed extensive privileges, including monthly certificates, property, and access to exclusive services, which Zhuang Jin recognized as benefits funded by the labor of lower-ranked Martial Artists.
• Zhuang Jin explored Ascension Pavilion’s listings and learned that prominent women were ranked and offered to Mystic Serpent Token holders, prompting him to understand how the system could undermine Innate Martial Artists’ values and resolve.

Zhuang Jin met Chu Jing for a private conversation, then rewarded the Ji Family for helping him obtain the Mystic Serpent Token and prepared to move into the Third Ring. He learned that the Tongshan Five Righteous had suffered a disastrous final mission, while Mu Bai sought his advice about pursuing Yu Linglong.

• Chu Jing accepted Zhuang Jin’s Ascension Pavilion appointment and met with him for a private conversation, discussing the costs and benefits of her position.
• Zhuang Jin promised Ji Gongji the Ji Family’s White Deer Academy recommendation slot and offered the family a Third Ring shop to manage for twenty percent of its profits.
• Zhuang Jin gave Ji Tongxiu a Mystic Serpent-grade Sub-Card and asked her to arrange his move into a Third Ring residence.
• Mu Bai told Zhuang Jin that Wu Xiyong and Xue Kui had died, Jiang Quansheng had lost a leg, and the Tongshan Five Righteous had disbanded after their final mission.
• Mu Bai said he had stopped thinking about his cousin and had become interested in Yu Linglong, but Zhuang Jin warned him that she was beyond his reach.

Zhuang Jin accompanied Teng Zushou to confront the He Family over a failed housing project and secured the Teng Family’s deposit refund, loan cancellation, and compensation. He left after seeing other families struggle for similar relief, then learned that the Ascension Pavilion had tried to recruit Teng Zushou with Contribution Points and other benefits.

• Zhuang Jin offered the Teng Family one of his two Third Ring shops, and Teng Zushou explained that the He Family’s stalled housing project had trapped them with unpaid deposits and ongoing loan repayments.
• Zhuang Jin went with Teng Zushou to the He Family residence, where Steward He dismissed the families’ complaints and told them to seek help elsewhere.
• Steward He recognized Zhuang Jin and promised to return the Teng Family’s deposit, cancel its loan, and pay breach-of-contract compensation.
• Other families tried to use Zhuang Jin’s presence to obtain refunds, but he said he had come only for the Teng Family and watched as Steward He selectively granted withdrawals to those with powerful connections.
• The He Family accused a man who presented a questionable token of forging an Innate Venerable’s endorsement, and Zhuang Jin left with Teng Zushou.
• Zhuang Jin warned Teng Zushou to manage the shops faithfully, then asked about the Ascension Pavilion after learning it had offered Teng a contract with Contribution Points and other benefits.

Zhuang Jin reunited with Ning Tongxuan, whose failed attempt to reach Innate had left him diminished and alienated from his family, and agreed to help him secure a recommendation to White Deer Academy. Reflecting on the prefectural city’s systems of control, Zhuang Jin resolved to conceal his ambitions and present himself as an easygoing man who did not contend.

• Ning Tongxuan visited Zhuang Jin and explained that his failed breakthrough to Innate, exhausting work, and family pressures had depleted his Vital Energy and changed his standing at home.
• Ning Tongxuan explained that his family had delayed his breakthrough so he could keep the Hidden Dragon Ranking’s benefits, making the Spirit Gate harder to pass.
• Ning Tongxuan asked Zhuang Jin for a place at White Deer Academy, and Zhuang Jin promised to find another recommendation slot before the academy began in September.
• Ning Tongxuan offered Zhuang Jin a private map of Exotic Beast distributions in the explored portion of the First Layer, and Zhuang Jin accepted it.
• Zhuang Jin considered how the prefectural city’s rules exploited Martial Artists at every level and concluded that he needed to hide his ambitions, lower his profile, and avoid appearing threatening.
• Zhuang Jin decided to cultivate an image of indulgence and lack of ambition while quietly pursuing martial cultivation and longevity.

After refusing Hong Baoshu’s request to keep renting the East Third Ring shop, Zhuang Jin helped the Ji Family establish its Exotic Beast Meat Shop by hunting valuable prey. He captured a Purple Kangaroo Rat and decided to tame it, leaving its mission and his training as ongoing pursuits.

• Hong Baoshu offered to rent the East Third Ring shop at a higher price and introduce Zhuang Jin to Innate practitioners, but Zhuang Jin honored his promise to let the Ji Family manage it.
• Hong Baoshu agreed to move out within three days and leave the shop’s lower-level Exotic Beast meat supply channels, while taking the Hong Family’s Bone Forging Realm channels.
• Zhuang Jin promised to hunt high-end prey for the Ji Family’s shop, then brought back six Bone Forging Realm Exotic Beasts in half a day.
• Zhuang Jin spotted and captured a Purple Kangaroo Rat, found Wild Purple Bamboo Fruit in its pouch, and chose to tame it rather than submit it for a mission.
• Zhuang Jin hunted in the mountains each afternoon and cultivated each morning as the shop gained a reputation, while his nightly efforts to tame the rat continued with mixed results.

Zhuang Jin’s low-priced Exotic Beast meat sales drew Hong Baoshu’s Innate circle to invite him into their gathering, where he gained equal standing and access to better ways to earn Contribution Points. He learned that Ascension Pavilion had caused several of the circle’s members deep personal losses, while the group’s treatment of martial practitioners below the Innate Realm left him uneasy.

• Ji Tongxiu warned Zhuang Jin that nearby shops were unhappy with his Exotic Beast Meat Shop’s low prices, and he gave her thirty thousand Contribution Points.
• Hong Baoshu’s Innate circle invited Zhuang Jin to Cen Manor, where he displayed his cultivation at the Innate True Qi Realm Second Layer and met Cen Zhanshan, Feng Qingyin, Leng Kui, He Zhaoyi, Min Zhongmin, and Bi Boyi.
• Cen Zhanshan offered to help Zhuang Jin sell his Innate privileges through the circle’s channels, and Zhuang Jin agreed to reduce the shop’s supply and raise its prices.
• Zhuang Jin listened as the Innate Venerables spoke dismissively of martial practitioners below their realm and recognized how the city’s social order had shaped their attitudes.
• Hong Baoshu told Zhuang Jin that Feng Qingyin, Leng Kui, and Min Zhongmin had each suffered painful experiences involving Ascension Pavilion and its promoted women.

Zhuang Jin strengthened his standing in the prefectural city, while Ji Tongxiu used his Mystic Serpent Token Sub-card to gain status among her friends. After Zhuang Jin advanced his token and indulged in Ascension Pavilion, the Sky Hanging Division rated him a low threat and ordered continued observation.

• Zhuang Jin won the approval of Cen Zhanshan's circle and gathered information during their gathering.
• Ji Tongxiu showed her friends the Mystic Serpent Token Sub-card Zhuang Jin had given her, then used it to buy exclusive clothing and outshine Jin Qiaohua.
• Zhuang Jin advanced to a Two-Pattern Mystic Serpent Token, earned another White Deer Academy recommendation slot, and sent Ji Tongxiu's younger brother and a Ning family junior to the academy.
• Zhuang Jin spent lavishly at Ascension Pavilion, where he and Bi Boyi visited the Ninth Floor and Zhuang Jin spent the night with Chu Jing and Miao Yunzhen.
• The Sky Hanging Division assessed Zhuang Jin as a Class D threat, citing his limited cultivation prospects, indulgence, and lack of hostility, and ordered reports every six months.

Zhuang Jin kept a low profile while serving a month-long garrison task, then fought Shangguan Yun Chang at Taiyuan Lake after she used Mu Bai to draw him out. Their duel ended in a near draw, and Shangguan Yun Chang remained suspicious of his true motives as she considered the coming year's end and the small Qi Tide.

• Zhuang Jin accepted a safe Two-Pattern Mystic Serpent garrison task in the Fifth Ring East District and handled it with minimal effort.
• A steward reported a dispute at Taiyuan Lake involving Mu Bai and an Innate Venerable, so Zhuang Jin went to the scene.
• Shangguan Yun Chang challenged Zhuang Jin, and the two fought across the lake before their final sword strikes ended in a draw.
• Zhuang Jin recognized that Shangguan Yun Chang had come to test him and suspected she was pursuing merit in the Shangguan Family succession.
• Shangguan Yun Chang reviewed Zhuang Jin's conduct but remained unsure whether he was as straightforward as he appeared, and she thought about the approaching small Qi Tide.

Zhuang Jin declined to join his small circle’s Qi Tide expedition and stayed safely in the Third Ring while the Funiu Mountain Range’s Qi Tide unfolded. The Sky Hanging Division dismissed suspicions about him, and he ended the year celebrating his increased earnings at Ascension Pavilion.

• Cen Zhanshan proposed that the small circle enter the Funiu Mountain Range together, but Zhuang Jin refused, explaining that he had no need to risk himself for resources.
• Feng Qingyin and Min Zhongmin also withdrew, while Bi Boyi and three others joined Cen Zhanshan to practice the Ten Directions Invincible Formation.
• The Qi Tide began on the first day of the twelfth month, and Ning Tongxuan told Zhuang Jin that he planned to enter the mountains the next day to support his family.
• Zhuang Jin stayed inside the Third Ring for the entire month-long Qi Tide, while the Sky Hanging Division concluded that his decision was consistent with his cautious nature and abandoned its reexamination.
• Zhuang Jin’s Third Ring Shop and other income streams profited from the Qi Tide, and he celebrated the year’s end by hiring thirty-six entertainers at Ascension Pavilion.

At the start of Year 60, Zhuang Jin heard Bi Boyi’s account of the Small Qi Tide and its dangers, while the Ji Family’s New Year gathering revealed how Zhuang Jin’s status had changed the fortunes and relationships around him. The chapter ended with the gathering displaying the varied faces of Cang Prefecture City society.

• Zhuang Jin asked Bi Boyi about the Small Qi Tide, and Bi Boyi described the dangers of hunting Exotic Beasts and the substantial gains he had made.
• Bi Boyi warned Zhuang Jin about He Zhaoyi’s remarks and discussed how the Sky Hanging Division and family ties constrained Innate practitioners.
• The Ji Family’s relatives flocked to see Zhuang Jin, but he stayed away, leaving Ji Gongji and Ji Tongxiu at the center of attention.
• Ji Tongxiu enjoyed her new standing while Ji Tongxiao regretted rejecting the opportunities she once had and remembered Gong Bangrong’s humiliating plea.
• Ji Tongwei praised White Deer Academy and Zhuang Jin, while Mu Bai used his auction invitation to gain attention among the Ji Family’s guests.

Zhuang Jin attended the Star Picking Tower auction and reflected on how the Sky Hanging Division used scarce high-end resources to pressure Innate Martial Practitioners into accepting stagnation. As he returned from the auction, explosions erupted across the Third Ring.

• Mu Bai and Yan Xiuxian took their seats at Star Picking Tower, where Zhuang Jin and his companions gathered for the auction.
• Yu Linglong opened the auction with medicines and pills, while Zhuang Jin studied how certificates and Contribution Points made advancement costly for martial practitioners.
• Innate Venerables bid heavily on a Condensing True Pill, and Zhuang Jin reasoned that the ruling families encouraged Innate Martial Practitioners to lie flat rather than compete for scarce resources.
• Zhuang Jin transferred his remaining Contribution Points to Cen Zhanshan, who still failed to win the final Condensing Gang Pill and returned the loan.
• As Zhuang Jin returned with Bi Boyi after the auction, explosions shook several locations in the Third Ring.

Zhuang Jin watched the Sky Hanging Division suppress the Alliance Cult after its Lantern Festival attack, then hosted the eastern district dragon boat race, where Feng Yuanzhen died attempting to break through to the Innate Realm. The Alliance Cult leader Feng Qingyin later died in an attack on the Cen Family, and after months of quiet, Zhuang Jin completed his accumulation for the Third Layer of the Innate True Qi Realm.

• Zhuang Jin and Bi Boyi returned to his residence during the Lantern Festival attack and learned that the Alliance Cult had used explosives to create chaos across the provincial city.
• The Sky Hanging Division rapidly crushed most of the Alliance Cult, but its suspected Innate leader escaped capture.
• Zhuang Jin hosted the eastern district dragon boat race and offered a Beast Core, secret medicine, and an Ice Berry as prizes.
• Feng Yuanzhen won the race, used his prizes to attempt an Innate breakthrough before the crowd, and died after failing at the latter two gates.
• Zhuang Jin learned that Feng Qingyin had led a second Alliance Cult attack and died raiding the Cen Family residence, though he suspected someone might have manipulated him.
• Several months later, the provincial city had returned to peace, and Zhuang Jin completed his accumulation for the Third Layer of the Innate True Qi Realm.

Zhuang Jin broke through to the Innate Gang Qi Realm and planned to hunt a Five Viscera Realm Perfection Exotic Beast during the coming Qi Tide to earn a higher-ranked token. When the small circle gathered, his new strength stunned its members, and he chose not to join their team as they prepared to enter the mountains.

• Zhuang Jin cultivated at Star Picking Tower and transformed his Innate True Qi into Innate Gang Qi, reaching the First Layer of the Innate Gang Qi Realm.
• Zhuang Jin tested his new strength, formed an Innate Gang Qi protective shield, and decided to seek a Five Viscera Realm Perfection Exotic Beast during the Qi Tide to qualify for a Black Python Token.
• The Sky Hanging Division detected Zhuang Jin's breakthrough and reassessed his threat rating as lower C.
• Zhuang Jin revealed his breakthrough to Cen Zhanshan, Hong Baoshu, Leng Kui, Bi Boyi, He Zhaoyi, and Min Zhongmin, shocking the group.
• Cen Zhanshan, Hong Baoshu, Leng Kui, He Zhaoyi, and Bi Boyi formed their team without Zhuang Jin, while Min Zhongmin stayed behind.
• December arrived, and the Qi Tide began.

During the Small Qi Tide, Zhuang Jin and the Purple Kangaroo Rat gathered treasures in the Funiu Mountain Range before discovering a Heaven and Earth Origin Essence guarded by five Five Viscera Realm Exotic Beasts. Zhuang Jin drove the beasts back, but a Fire Phoenix Bird attacked, forcing him to retreat and leave the treasure behind.

• Zhuang Jin entered the Funiu Mountain Range during the Small Qi Tide and released the Purple Kangaroo Rat to find treasures near the First Layer Danger Zone.
• The Purple Kangaroo Rat led Zhuang Jin to medicinal treasures, and he collected hundreds of thousands of Contribution Points' worth while avoiding unnecessary fights.
• Zhuang Jin lured in and killed a Five Viscera Realm Exotic Beast, then followed the Purple Kangaroo Rat to a forming Heaven and Earth Origin Essence near Biyun Mountain.
• Five Five Viscera Realm Exotic Beasts attacked Zhuang Jin, and he repelled them with a single burst of Innate Gang Qi.
• A Fire Phoenix Bird from the Second Layer Death Zone attacked with Meteor Fire Rain, so Zhuang Jin fled with the Purple Kangaroo Rat and left the Heaven and Earth Origin Essence behind.

Zhuang Jin learned that Bi Boyi’s group had been devastated by a Fire Phoenix Bird and refused to help the He Family after He Zhaoyi’s death. He then advanced to a Black Python Token, exchanged for the complete Innate Gang Qi Realm Black Fiend Art and two martial skills, and continued hunting to afford the second.

• Bi Boyi told Zhuang Jin that a Fire Phoenix Bird had killed He Zhaoyi, maimed Leng Kui, and badly injured the rest of their group while they pursued a Coiled Dragon Wood Heart.
• He Tong'a arrived seeking Zhuang Jin’s help for the He Family, but Zhuang Jin refused to meet him and gave Bi Boyi Jade Dragon Ginseng for his injuries.
• Zhuang Jin reflected on the fates of his former companions and concluded that the Sky Hanging Division encouraged advancement below the Innate level but restrained ambitious Innate practitioners.
• On the thirteenth day of the Qi Tide, Zhuang Jin hunted a Five Viscera Realm Exotic Beast at Great Perfection, completed his mission, and advanced from the Mystic Serpent Token to the Black Python Token.
• Zhuang Jin exchanged tokens and Contribution Points for the complete Innate Gang Qi Realm Black Fiend Art and Carefree Wind Riding - Gang Qi Chapter, then spent over ten more days hunting to afford Meridian Severing Divine Sword: Gang Qi Chapter.

At the Ji Family’s New Year banquet, guests witnessed Zhuang Jin’s growing influence, while Ji Tongxiu reflected on how meeting him had transformed her fortunes and Ji Tongxiao struggled with envy and regret. Mu Bai chose to keep quiet about a secret concerning Xiu Xian, and the next day Bi Boyi told Zhuang Jin he was leaving the provincial city to return to his family.

• Qiu Jude brought his son Qiu Fengyi to the Ji Family banquet, where they saw the guests honor Zhuang Jin and Ji Tongxiu give Qiu Fengyi a generous New Year’s gift.
• Ji Tongxiu reflected on how Zhuang Jin’s status had raised her own standing and felt grateful that she had met him.
• Ji Tongxiao envied Ji Tongxiu’s honor and regretted that her feelings for Zhuang Jin had come to nothing, though her connection to him gave her unusual freedom within the Ji Family.
• Mu Bai told Zhuang Jin that he had learned a secret about Xiu Xian, but decided to forgive her and keep the secret to himself.
• Zhuang Jin left the banquet in the falling snow, and Ji Tongxiu agreed to return after it ended.
• The next day, Bi Boyi told Zhuang Jin that he was leaving the provincial city to return to his family after a recent event made him reconsider his life there.

Zhuang Jin watched Bi Boyi leave the prefectural capital, then dealt with Hong Baoshu’s explanation of the He Family’s downfall and agreed to trade Beast Cores for an introduction to the Innate Gang Qi circle. At the Xi Residence, he met several eccentric Venerables whose martial skills served up a lavish fish feast, leaving him wondering what talent he should display.

• Bi Boyi told Zhuang Jin he was returning to his prefecture city, and Zhuang Jin saw him off while reflecting on their scattered former circle.
• Hong Baoshu explained how he had joined in dividing the He Family’s holdings while preserving a collateral branch, and Zhuang Jin said he held no grievance.
• Hong Baoshu offered to introduce Zhuang Jin to the Innate Gang Qi circle in exchange for Beast Cores, and Zhuang Jin agreed to the trade.
• Hong Baoshu brought Zhuang Jin to meet Li Tingguan, who used his forebears’ favor to introduce him to the gathering at Xi Guiling’s residence.
• Xi Guiling, Cui Pangui, Shentu Biao, Zong Dai, Li Tingguan, and Qin Douzhan combined their skills to catch, prepare, and serve a Five Viscera Realm Spirit Fish.
• Watching the Venerables display their unusual talents, Zhuang Jin wondered what skill he could show in turn.

Zhuang Jin joined Xi Guiling’s circle of Innate Gang Qi Realm Martial Practitioners after impressing them with his skill, then learned about Cang Prefecture City’s martial hierarchy and the obstacles to advancing. He left the gathering considering how to find Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures—or strengthen his Treasure Seeking Rat—to help with his own cultivation.

• Zhuang Jin chilled the wine with precise sword qi, creating a Dragon and Phoenix Bring Auspiciousness omen that impressed Li Tingguan, Xi Guiling, and the others.
• Xi Guiling, Li Tingguan, Shentu Biao, Zong Dai, Cui Pangui, Qin Douzhan, and Zhuang Jin sat down to share food and wine, accepting Zhuang Jin into their circle.
• Li Tingguan told Zhuang Jin that Cang Prefecture City had forty-nine Innate Gang Qi Realm Martial Practitioners and explained how the Sky Hanging Division and prominent families shaped their prospects.
• Li Tingguan and Xi Guiling explained that advancing to the Innate Gang Qi Realm Third Layer required rare attribute-matching treasures or Beast Cores from powerful Exotic Beasts, which were difficult for practitioners outside the prominent families to obtain.
• Zhuang Jin realized that his lack of a bottleneck made the drawbacks of condensing multiple Beast Cores less concerning, but decided to seek Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures first and considered raising his Treasure Seeking Rat to the Five Viscera Realm.
• The group moved on from cultivation talk to gossip and strange tales as they continued enjoying the gathering.