Chapter Summaries

Meng Zhao fought Shi Jie beneath the river, using the Treasure Key’s Worldly Power to match him despite his superior martial cultivation. The battle left Meng Zhao injured and exhausted, but he gained new insight into martial arts as the duel continued.

• Meng Zhao attacked Shi Jie with Mountain Crushing Strike, and their Worldly Power clashed in an explosion that sent both fighters flying.
• Shi Jie recognized Meng Zhao’s remarkable progress but resolved to kill him, then rushed in to exploit what he saw as Meng Zhao’s weakness in close combat.
• Meng Zhao used the Sky-Illuminating Mirror-enhanced comprehension and Worldly Power to withstand Shi Jie’s close-range attacks, and they exchanged more than a hundred moves.
• Shi Jie was stunned that Meng Zhao could block him, while Meng Zhao suffered severe physical strain from matching the Innate Master.
• Meng Zhao laughed with exhilaration and incorporated techniques he had observed, including Yang Jiu’s bowstring-like strikes, into his martial arts.

Meng Zhao revealed that he had secretly poisoned Shi Jie and triggered the poison with the Green Plum, leaving Shi Jie weakened. Shi Jie refused to submit and began drawing on Worldly Power, suggesting the fight was not over.

• Shi Jie offered Meng Zhao a poison pill in exchange for submission, but Meng Zhao crushed it without moving.
• Shi Jie suddenly grew weak and realized he had been poisoned, then traced the trigger to the Green Plum Grove.
• Meng Zhao explained that the Green Plum had activated a poison he had slipped into one of the pills given to Shi Jie in Xinping County.
• Shi Jie cursed Meng Zhao and refused to submit, declaring that Meng Zhao did not understand the power of Worldly Power.
• Shi Jie summoned mysterious powers into his body, causing changes that Meng Zhao sensed.

Meng Zhao used the Treasure Key to command the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm’s Worldly Power and turn Shi Jie’s attack against him. The chapter ended with Meng Zhao revealing that he possessed two Treasure Keys.

• Meng Zhao unleashed Thousand Needle Rain, but Shi Jie absorbed Worldly Power to suppress his poison and repel the attack.
• Shi Jie used the power within his body to strike Meng Zhao and cut his shoulder.
• Meng Zhao stopped the bleeding and stood still, prompting Shi Jie to attack again.
• Meng Zhao commanded the realm’s Worldly Power to immobilize Shi Jie, whose body was nearing collapse from the backlash.
• Shi Jie realized Meng Zhao had a key, and Meng Zhao revealed two Treasure Keys.

Meng Zhao recalled how he had negotiated a partnership with Shen Tianci to open the Tuxiu Treasure and secure its contents. In the present, Meng Zhao used an invisible force to take Shi Jie's Treasure Key, leaving Shi Jie staring at the two keys in longing.

• Meng Zhao secretly hosted Shen Tianci and explained how he had rescued Shi Jie and obtained the third Treasure Key.
• Meng Zhao persuaded Shen Tianci that their interests in opening the treasure outweighed their grievances and that they needed to cooperate.
• Shen Tianci agreed to lend Meng Zhao his map and Treasure Key, claiming everything in the treasure's final hall for himself.
• Meng Zhao negotiated permission to obtain a rubbing of Tu Xiu's martial arts if it was in the final hall, and the two established an unspoken partnership.
• Back in the present, Meng Zhao used an invisible force to pull Shi Jie's Treasure Key into his hand.

Meng Zhao used the power of all three Treasure Keys to defeat Shi Jie, who died when the Worldly Power he had absorbed turned against him. Meng Zhao entered the next hall of the Tuxiu Treasure and discovered reliefs depicting Tu Xiu’s encounter with a living true dragon.

• Meng Zhao explained that the Treasure Keys let him command the Grotto-Heaven’s Worldly Power and told Shi Jie he had wagered with Shen Tianci about how many keys he would need to win.
• After Meng Zhao took Shi Jie’s Treasure Key, the Worldly Power inside Shi Jie ran wild and tore his body apart; Meng Zhao preserved his head for Shen Tianci.
• Meng Zhao joined his treasure map fragment with Shen Tianci’s, broke the hall’s mechanisms, and entered the next palace.
• Inside the nearly empty hall, Meng Zhao found a green Stone Tablet, wall reliefs, and a glowing pearl.
• Meng Zhao studied the reliefs and recognized a scene of Tu Xiu discovering a living true dragon chained beneath the Mi River.

Meng Zhao studied the reliefs depicting Tu Xiu’s life and discovered the Soaring Dragon Battle Method, a powerful movement art. The chapter left him eager to examine the final martial arts relief.

• Meng Zhao inferred that Tu Xiu had swallowed the essence blood of ninety-nine snakes to gain dragon qi and qualify to learn a true dragon’s Martial Dao inheritance.
• Meng Zhao examined the reliefs showing Tu Xiu mastering martial arts, establishing the Supreme Alliance, and accepting the worship of thousands.
• Meng Zhao focused on the movement-technique relief and awakened its Martial Dao Divine Charm.
• Meng Zhao unconsciously practiced the technique for half an hour and gained a deep understanding of its combat, travel, and qi-restoring benefits.
• Meng Zhao read the art’s name, Soaring Dragon Battle Method, at the bottom of the relief.

Meng Zhao fused Ten Directions Step with the Soaring Dragon Battle Method to create Hundred Transformations of the Divine Dragon, then studied the reliefs describing four arts that could unite into Dragon Locking Skill. His attention turned to the chains binding the true dragon, and he was drawn into a vision where a burly man began reciting a mysterious teaching.

• Meng Zhao spent seven thousand energy points to fuse Ten Directions Step and the Soaring Dragon Battle Method into Hundred Transformations of the Divine Dragon.
• Meng Zhao examined Dragon Capturing Finger, Coiling Dragon Palm, Dragon Seizing Hand, and Dragon Binding Force, which could be unified into Dragon Locking Skill.
• Meng Zhao inferred that Tu Xiu had created Dragon Locking Skill by comprehending the chains that bound the true dragon in the relief.
• Meng Zhao concentrated on the carved chains and was drawn into a misty terrace, where a burly man recited three thousand words that Meng Zhao memorized.

Meng Zhao received Tu Xiu’s Martial Dao True Intent from the relief and comprehended the Dragon Locking Skill, an art formed from four dragon techniques. He left with the inheritance and its four component arts, then turned his attention to the hall’s central Stone Tablet and radiant pearl.

• Meng Zhao’s mind connected the Dragon Capturing Finger, Coiling Dragon Palm, Dragon Seizing Hand, and Dragon Binding Force into the Dragon Locking Skill, while he witnessed a vision of a dragon bound by golden chains and a majestic man in the clouds.
• Meng Zhao sensed the man’s presence and suspected he was Tu Xiu, then was forced out of the relief and felt his inner force, mind, and body grow stronger.
• Meng Zhao watched the relief’s engraved chains crumble, realizing Tu Xiu’s inheritance had passed to him and could no longer be received by another person.
• Meng Zhao studied the Dragon Locking Skill and learned that it normally required Innate True Qi, while its four component arts could be practiced in the Houtian Realm.
• Meng Zhao found that the Sky-Illuminating Mirror could not yet deduce or fuse the Dragon Locking Skill, and considered awakening his dragon body as a possible way to cultivate it.
• Meng Zhao shifted his attention from the reliefs to the bluish Stone Tablet and the radiant pearl, which he recognized as the hall’s true treasures.

Meng Zhao used the treasure pearl to unlock the writing on the azure Stone Tablet and received the Heavenly Capital Hidden Dragon Technique. He learned that the dragon art required dragon blood or dragon qi, while its final chapter remained incomprehensible to him.

• Meng Zhao found no way to read the Stone Tablet until he took down the pearl and directed his Mental Power into it while visualizing a true dragon.
• Black characters sprang from the Stone Tablet, passed through Meng Zhao's Energy Wall, and burrowed into his Sea of Consciousness, where he endured their forced transmission of knowledge.
• Meng Zhao used the Returning Elixir Method to steady his mind, then saw that the Stone Tablet's writing had vanished.
• Meng Zhao learned the Heavenly Capital Hidden Dragon Technique's origins, its requirements for dragon blood or dragon qi, and its broad chapters on cultivation, treasures, and physical transformation.
• Meng Zhao found that the technique's final chapter used the same mysterious characters as the Stone Tablet, which he still could not understand.

Meng Zhao studied the Heavenly Capital Hidden Dragon Technique and used the Sky-Illuminating Mirror to fuse it with the martial arts he already knew. The resulting Crimson Dragon Heavenly Capital Secret Canon promised a path toward commanding many kinds of dragon qi, though Meng Zhao still needed to develop it further.

• Meng Zhao learned that the Heavenly Capital Hidden Dragon Technique was a perilous divine art best suited to exceptional bodies and those connected to dragons, and he recognized that his Purple Origin Dragon Body would eventually be a perfect match.
• Meng Zhao used the Sky-Illuminating Mirror to compare fusions of the Heavenly Capital Hidden Dragon Technique with the Arhat Young Monk Skill and the Red Flag Order.
• Meng Zhao found that fusing the Red Flag Order with the Heavenly Capital Hidden Dragon Technique created powerful fire dragon qi but made cultivation deadly, even for the Purple Origin Dragon Body.
• Meng Zhao fused all three martial arts and discovered a more inclusive path in which different kinds of true qi became dragons ruled by an imperial dragon.
• Meng Zhao named the new martial art the Crimson Dragon Heavenly Capital Secret Canon and resolved to strengthen it by merging more divine arts in the future.

Meng Zhao left the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm without opening its final hall after his instincts and the Sky-Illuminating Mirror warned him of danger. He reunited with Lü Zhong, confirmed the treasure hunt had succeeded, and offered Shi Jie's head as an explanation to Shen Tianci.

• Meng Zhao inspected the hall containing Tu Xiu's martial arts inheritance, then headed toward the final hall, wondering what it concealed.
• Near the final hall, Meng Zhao felt a deadly warning from his instincts and the Sky-Illuminating Mirror and decided to leave its contents to Shen Tianci.
• Meng Zhao exited the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm and greeted Lü Zhong, promising to take him inside later to inventory the treasures.
• Meng Zhao revealed that the bloody head he had brought was Shi Jie's and said it would help settle matters with Shen Tianci.

Meng Zhao hosted Shen Tianci and described the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm he had explored, learning that it might evolve into a small world whose Dao principles could aid cultivation. He concealed the full potential of Tu Xiu’s inheritance, while considering the Sky-Illuminating Mirror’s possible use in comprehending the Dao.

• Meng Zhao presented Shi Jie's severed head to Shen Tianci, who examined its lingering Worldly Power and confirmed its identity.
• Meng Zhao described the landscapes of the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm, and Shen Tianci explained how it could become a small world and help martial artists comprehend Dao principles.
• Meng Zhao wondered whether the Sky-Illuminating Mirror might help him understand Dao principles if he reached the Heavenly Human realm.
• Meng Zhao admitted that he had obtained Tu Xiu's fundamental cultivation technique but claimed it only reached the Grandmaster realm and concealed its greater potential.
• Shen Tianci doubted Meng Zhao's account but showed little concern because he possessed powerful inherited techniques of his own.

Meng Zhao and Shen Tianci cooperated to explore the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm, where Shen Tianci entered the final hall and emerged with an undisclosed gain before returning to Jinling. After Shen Tianci’s departure, Meng Chuan asked Meng Zhao to spar, and Meng Zhao agreed, promising to show off his new Martial Dao insights.

• Meng Zhao accompanied Shen Tianci into the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm, and Shen Tianci entered the final great hall alone while Meng Zhao waited outside.
• Shen Tianci emerged a day and night later looking weary but exhilarated, kept his discoveries secret, and left the treasure’s armor and weapons to Meng Zhao.
• Two days later, Shen Tianci departed Nan'an by water for the Jinling Shen Family, prompting relief among some local young men and regret among admirers.
• Meng Chuan complained that Shen Tianci had left before he could challenge him and asked Meng Zhao to spar in his place.
• Meng Zhao agreed to train with Meng Chuan and said his recent Martial Dao insights would make Meng Chuan’s jaw drop, though Meng Chuan doubted him as he lounged while Han Lu massaged him.

Meng Rong confronted Meng Zhao over Shen Tianci’s sudden departure from Nan’an, but Meng Chuan’s teasing revealed that she admired Shen Tianci. The siblings’ joking left Meng Rong’s crush plain, while Meng Zhao stopped teasing before embarrassing her further.

• Meng Rong entered in a huff and blamed Meng Zhao for meeting Shen Tianci and causing him to leave Nan’an by boat.
• Meng Chuan wondered aloud whether Meng Zhao had defeated Shen Tianci, making Meng Rong laugh and forget her anger.
• Meng Zhao teased Meng Rong about caring so much for Shen Tianci, and she blushed while admitting she had met him more than once.
• Meng Chuan realized Meng Rong liked Shen Tianci, while Meng Zhao recognized her growing affection and chose not to tease her further.

Meng Zhao teased Meng Rong and Meng Chuan about forging ties with Shen Tianci through a marriage alliance, only to discover that Meng Rong already admired him and believed he was promised to a princess. The siblings calmed down, and Meng Rong decided she did not want to marry or leave home yet.

• Meng Zhao told Meng Chuan that Shen Tianci's visit had nothing to do with him and claimed he had hoped to make an acquaintance for the family's benefit.
• Meng Zhao suggested marrying Meng Rong to Shen Tianci to build an alliance with the Jinling Shen Family, provoking Meng Chuan's angry refusal and Meng Rong's embarrassment.
• Meng Rong revealed that Shen Tianci had reportedly been promised to a royal princess since birth, and she wept over the prospect of losing her chance with him.
• Meng Chuan offered to have their father sound out the Shen Family if Meng Rong truly wanted Shen Tianci, while Meng Zhao tried to calm them and reconsidered the risks of a marriage alliance.
• Meng Rong stopped crying and said she did not want to marry or leave home yet.

Meng Zhao comforted Meng Rong after she rejected the idea of marriage, then agreed to take her and Meng Chuan on a discreet outing. He arranged for skilled guards to protect them secretly, and the siblings set out in simpler clothes.

• Meng Chuan and Meng Zhao teased Meng Rong and promised they would not let a future husband mistreat her.
• Meng Rong cheered up and asked Meng Zhao to take her on an outing as compensation for the teasing.
• Meng Rong and Meng Chuan revealed they had come to Meng Zhao's Western Residence to escape their usual escorts.
• Meng Zhao agreed to take them out but arranged for second-branch fighters to guard them in secret.
• Meng Zhao had Meng Rong change into simpler clothes, and the three siblings headed out.

Meng Zhao, Meng Chuan, and Meng Rong headed to the South Market’s Hundred Beasts Garden to see a rare Red-tailed Spirit Fox. When Meng Rong grew tired on the journey and asked to be carried, Meng Zhao passed the request to Meng Chuan, who refused and urged him to do it instead.

• Meng Zhao learned that Meng Rong wanted to visit the Hundred Beasts Garden to see a rare Red-tailed Spirit Fox from her friend Huang Ning'er.
• Meng Zhao reflected on the Meng Family’s partnership with the Huang Family, which bred Black Scale Horses and supplied ferocious beast materials.
• Meng Zhao, Meng Chuan, and Meng Rong set out on foot for the distant South Market, and Meng Rong persevered because she wanted to see the fox.
• Halfway there, Meng Rong refused a carriage and asked Meng Zhao to carry her after she grew tired.
• Meng Zhao, wary of exposing his back, asked Meng Chuan to carry Meng Rong, but Meng Chuan refused and told him to take the opportunity himself.

Meng Zhao accompanied Meng Rong and Meng Chuan to the Hundred Beasts Garden after agreeing to carry his little sister there. At the garden, the steward explained its layout and introduced the Red-tailed Spirit Fox Meng Rong had come to see.

• Meng Zhao let Meng Rong ride on his back and carried her to the southern market with Meng Chuan beside them.
• Lü Zhong secretly followed and felt reassured by the siblings’ affectionate behavior.
• Meng Rong led Meng Zhao and Meng Chuan into the Hundred Beasts Garden, where a steward recognized her and welcomed them.
• Meng Zhao questioned the steward and asked him to show Meng Rong the newly captured ferocious beasts.
• The steward explained the garden’s inner and outer sections, its safeguards, and the Red-tailed Spirit Fox housed in Cage Number Three.

Meng Zhao and Meng Chuan toured the Huang Family’s collection of rare ferocious beasts, and Meng Rong asked for a Red-tailed Spirit Fox. As Meng Zhao considered whether it was safe to bring home, a familiar-sounding woman arrived with a companion and asked him to buy the same fox for her.

• The steward showed Meng Zhao the Golden Lion and explained its extraordinary bloodline, abilities, and fate as a gift to Emperor Beitang Sheng.
• Meng Zhao learned about the other rare beasts and heard that the seemingly modest Red-tailed Spirit Fox could seek treasures, move swiftly, and breathe fire as an adult.
• Meng Rong fell in love with the fox, and Meng Chuan agreed to buy it for the Meng Family.
• Meng Zhao questioned whether the fox could be dangerous, and the steward assured him it would become as docile as a pet with careful care and medicine.
• A woman arrived with a male companion and asked her Senior Brother to buy the Red-tailed Spirit Fox for her.

Meng Rong and a visiting Daoist both wanted the Red-tailed Spirit Fox, and Meng Zhao refused to let the Daoist pressure his sister into giving it up. The dispute stalled when Steward Li left to find someone with authority to decide.

• The Daoist warned Meng Rong that the Red-tailed Spirit Fox might injure her, but Meng Zhao dispelled his mental intimidation and she insisted on keeping it.
• The Daoist asked Meng Zhao to give up the fox, but Meng Zhao said the decision belonged to Meng Rong and rejected his attempt to negotiate.
• The Daoist revealed a token showing that Huang Jing had invited him and demanded that the Huang Family name a price for the fox.
• Steward Li found himself caught between the Daoist and the Meng siblings, while Meng Chuan stood protectively beside Meng Rong.
• Meng Zhao told Steward Li to find someone who could decide, and Steward Li left to seek help as the Daoist wondered whether he would lose face before his junior sister.