Chapter Summaries

Meng Zhao studied Cai Qi’s original Wind Blade Tribulation and obtained the government’s Raging Waves Art, combining their wind principles to create Divine Wind Force. As he developed plans to strengthen his martial arts, a series of mysterious abductions and beatings unsettled Kaiyan County.

• Meng Zhao asked Cai Qi for a high-quality sword and studied the original Wind Blade Tribulation manuscript Cai Qi brought him.
• Meng Zhao decided to combine Wind Blade Tribulation with the government’s Raging Waves Art and asked Cai Qi to obtain the technique and Startling Wind Pills.
• Cai Qi delivered the Raging Waves Art and five bottles of Startling Wind Pills, and Meng Zhao analyzed them and created an internal cultivation method called Divine Wind Force.
• Meng Zhao consumed a Startling Wind Pill, formed an incomplete wind seed that intertwined with his Cloud Seed, and considered developing Three Points Return to Origin further.
• Meng Zhao secretly gathered information on cloud, wind, and cold arts while the Huang and Zhao Family’s young masters were separately abducted and beaten, then stayed inside their homes.

Meng Zhao and Cai Qi ambushed Xiong Fei on a road outside the county town, hoping to assassinate him while he traveled alone. Cai Qi revealed that his attack was a personal act of vengeance, and the chapter ended as he asked Xiong Fei how he would have survived an eleventh move from Zheng Lie, Fire from the Heavens.

• Meng Zhao obtained the Huang Family's and Zhao Family's inherited martial arts, and Cai Qi helped him clear away traces of his deeds before they became allies.
• Cai Qi brought Meng Zhao to an ambush near a temple, where they waited for Xiong Fei to return alone.
• Xiong Fei sensed an ambush, and Cai Qi confronted him while Meng Zhao stayed hidden as support.
• Xiong Fei's iron fists shattered Cai Qi's Saber Light and gave him the upper hand, but he recognized Cai Qi's Wind Blade Tribulation and tried to resolve the conflict.
• Cai Qi said he sought revenge because Xiong Fei had killed the man who once saved his life, then asked how Xiong Fei would have faced an eleventh move from Zheng Lie, Fire from the Heavens.

Cai Qi and Meng Zhao joined forces against Xiong Fei, whose Mixed Iron Gang Body overwhelmed Cai Qi’s Wind Blade Tribulation. Meng Zhao pierced Xiong Fei’s apparent weak point with a wind-infused sword, but discovered that the attack had not broken his defense.

• Xiong Fei explained that Zheng Lie had lost to the old Fang Family patriarch because the patriarch had swallowed a Cold Crystal before their fight, and Cai Qi attacked him.
• Xiong Fei used Mixed Iron Gang Body to suppress Cai Qi’s Wind Blade Tribulation and endure his relentless saber assault.
• Meng Zhao studied Xiong Fei’s defenses, identified apparent weak points, and spread Cloud Concealment Mist across the road as Cai Qi withdrew.
• Meng Zhao concealed himself in the mist and attacked Xiong Fei with the Cold Moon Sword after Xiong Fei cleared the mist with a sound wave.
• Meng Zhao’s wind-infused sword pierced Xiong Fei’s Tanzhong Acupoint and drew blood, but Xiong Fei’s Mixed Iron Gang Body held, revealing the weak point as a deception.

Meng Zhao defeated Xiong Fei with a concealed silver needle, allowing Cai Qi to finish the wounded warrior and avenge himself. Cai Qi gave Meng Zhao the promised Wind Blade Tribulation formula and medicine before the two agreed to part ways.

• Meng Zhao fought Xiong Fei with swift swordsmanship, then used a hidden silver needle to pierce Xiong Fei's eye and send him into a berserk state.
• Meng Zhao told Cai Qi that Xiong Fei's martial arts had been broken, and Cai Qi advanced to face his weakened enemy.
• Cai Qi cut Xiong Fei's back, causing his surging qi and blood to pour out, then beheaded him.
• Cai Qi thanked Meng Zhao and gave him the Wind Blade Tribulation secret medicine formula and a bottle of medicine.
• Cai Qi said he would leave Kaiyan County and asked Meng Zhao to act as though they had never met.

After Xiong Fei's death, Meng Zhao hid his wealth, refined the Divine Wind Force and Void Cloud Force through secret experiments, and recognized Three Points Return to Origin as a path suited to his body. He secretly began maneuvering to obtain the Fang Family's Seven Revolutions Cold Toad Swallowing Spirit Skill, while Fang Han cultivated the Cloud Gathering Skill despite knowing he had been used as an experimental subject.

• Xiong Fei's assassination alarmed Kaiyan County City's major forces, and Meng Zhao moved part of his wealth to Little Cold Village before returning to the city.
• Meng Zhao created the Wind God's Leg and Cloud Dispelling Palm, then secretly gave martial arts and experimental secret medicine formulas to twenty young people.
• After three months, the authorities and major forces linked a rash of young people's Qi Deviation deaths to someone testing martial arts, but they left the matter alone.
• Meng Zhao refined the Divine Wind Force and Void Cloud Force and their secret medicine formulas, then concluded that Three Points Return to Origin suited his body and began seeking the Fang Family's Seven Revolutions Cold Toad Swallowing Spirit Skill.
• Fang Han secretly practiced the Cloud Gathering Skill and used its secret medicine, knowing an unknown expert had given it to him to test its flaws, but he continued cultivating.

Fang Han met the masked Meng Zhao, who claimed the Cloud Gathering Skill came from an ancient divine martial art and recruited him to help obtain the Fang Family’s cold-style technique. The chapter left Fang Han asking whether Meng Zhao planned to target Fang Zijun for the Seven Revolutions Cold Toad Swallowing Spirit Skill.

• Fang Han secretly bought more herbal ingredients on the black market and met a masked expert in a dark alley on his way home.
• Meng Zhao revealed that Fang Han’s Cloud Gathering Skill was a cultivation method derived from the Cloud Dispelling Palm, one of the Three Absolutes.
• Meng Zhao explained that he hoped to combine the Three Absolutes with a cold-style martial art to cultivate the Three Points Return to One Qi.
• Fang Han proposed that the Fang Family’s Seven Revolutions Cold Toad Swallowing Spirit Skill could replace the lost Heavenly Frost Fist, and Meng Zhao confirmed it could.
• Meng Zhao told Fang Han he had chosen him because he was a Fang Family servant and asked him to prepare to help obtain the technique.
• Fang Han identified Fang Zijun as a likely target and asked whether Meng Zhao intended to start with him.

Fang Han agreed to help Meng Zhao obtain the Fang Family’s Seven Revolutions Cold Toad Swallowing Spirit Skill in exchange for becoming his disciple and learning the Three Absolutes Divine Skill. After training Fang Han in the Cloud Dispelling Palm, Meng Zhao considered a plan to lure Fang Zijun away from his guard, Uncle Wen.

• Fang Han described Fang Zijun’s cruelty and warned Meng Zhao that the young master was protected by a mysterious guard called Uncle Wen.
• Meng Zhao offered to take Fang Han as his disciple and teach him the Three Absolutes Divine Skill, and Fang Han accepted.
• Meng Zhao taught Fang Han the Cloud Dispelling Palm and answered his questions about martial arts.
• Fang Han proposed using a beautiful married woman to lure Fang Zijun out of the Fang Family so they could capture him and obtain the skill’s secrets.
• Meng Zhao told Fang Han not to rush the plan and said he would investigate Uncle Wen before they acted.

Meng Zhao disguised himself as Uncle Yang and joined Fang Han to recruit Qi Fang for their plan against Fang Zijun, offering her money and a new identity in exchange for her help. Qi Fang cautiously considered their proposal, while Meng Zhao began thinking about keeping her in Little Cold Village.

• Fang Han showed Meng Zhao the beautiful Qi Fang and explained how her gambler husband had been trapped and how Fang Han had secretly protected her.
• Meng Zhao told Fang Han that he had killed Xiong Fei and assured him that he could handle Uncle Wen if their plan succeeded.
• Qi Fang mistook the men for lechers until Fang Han explained their offer and brought her with them into her tidy courtyard.
• Qi Fang rejected the offer, suspecting they might deceive her or leave her vulnerable with money and no protection.
• Meng Zhao identified Qi Fang's concerns, offered her bearer notes worth five hundred taels, and proposed hiding her in the countryside while arranging a new identity and household registration.

Qi Fang accepted Meng Zhao and Fang Han’s offer after asking them to kill her Gambling Husband and Boss Zhu, then agreed to help them capture Fang Zijun despite fearing the Fang Family. Meng Zhao later revealed his true age and offered to teach her martial arts, leaving her shaken by the possibility of gaining control over her own fate.

• Qi Fang asked Meng Zhao and Fang Han to kill her Gambling Husband and Boss Zhu in exchange for her help.
• Meng Zhao assigned Fang Han to carry out the killings and explained that Qi Fang’s cooperation would help them capture Fang Zijun.
• Qi Fang agreed to help with their plan against the Fang Family, while Fang Han worried she might betray them or flee with the silver.
• Meng Zhao promised Fang Han another hidden weapon technique and urged him to cultivate courage and confidence in his abilities.
• Meng Zhao returned to Qi Fang’s home, washed off his disguise, and revealed that he was a boy of fourteen or fifteen.
• Meng Zhao demonstrated his power, challenged Qi Fang to rely on strength rather than beauty, and offered to teach her martial arts.

Meng Zhao persuaded Qi Fang to become his woman by promising to teach her martial arts and give her a secure place in his plans. He began training her to evade danger while Fang Han investigated the gambler husband and Boss Zhu and prepared to kill them.

• Qi Fang accepted Meng Zhao’s offer to teach her martial arts and agreed to belong to him, reassured by his promises of protection, beauty-preserving cultivation, and a future family.
• Meng Zhao planned to take Qi Fang to Little Cold Village under the identity of a concubine from his invented family, and taught her Void Cloud Force and Void Cloud Step to help her escape danger.
• Meng Zhao stayed the night at Qi Fang’s home, while her gambler husband did not return.
• Fang Han used the Fang Family’s information network to learn the gambler husband’s routine and investigate Boss Zhu’s connections.
• Fang Han discovered that Boss Zhu had only learned the Blue Flame Saber Technique, but recognized that he needed to avoid being surrounded and choose his moment carefully.

Fang Han won Fang Zijun’s favor by offering to introduce him to Qi Fang, a married beauty, while hiding his own ambitions. Fang Zijun promised to teach Fang Han a martial art if the meeting pleased him, and Fang Han agreed to arrange it.

• Fang Han brought Qi Fang the heads of her gambler husband and Boss Zhu, and Qi Fang agreed to follow his and Meng Zhao’s orders.
• Fang Han visited Fang Zijun, who approved a marriage between Fang Han and Jin Zhu despite intending to keep her as his own plaything.
• Fang Han flattered Fang Zijun and offered to bring him to meet Qi Fang, describing her as a peerless married beauty.
• Fang Zijun questioned Fang Han about Qi Fang’s marriage and ordered him to arrange a visit when her gambler husband was home.
• Fang Zijun promised to teach Fang Han a Three Yin Hand Martial Art technique if Qi Fang pleased him, and Fang Han eagerly accepted.

Fang Zijun investigated Qi Fang and decided to visit Dragon Pool Temple to take her and her gambler husband, despite the danger of an assassin targeting him. He summoned Fang Han, who concealed his martial arts and injuries while presenting himself as a loyal opportunist.

• Fang Zijun ordered Fang Hao and Fang Yong to investigate Qi Fang, and they reported that she and her husband had taken refuge at Dragon Pool Temple after Boss Zhu was killed.
• Fang Hao said Fang Han showed no signs of martial arts, while Fang Zijun weighed the temple’s protection and the risk of an assassin like the one who killed Xiong Fei.
• Fang Zijun decided to bring guards and go to Dragon Pool Temple to take Qi Fang and her husband.
• Fang Han appeared bruised and hunched before Fang Zijun but did not complain about Fang Hao and Fang Yong beating him.
• Fang Han claimed the beating was a minor misunderstanding and said he wanted to serve Fang Zijun, convincing the others that he was a self-interested but dependable follower.

Meng Zhao and Qi Fang were forced to leave Dragon Pool Temple’s farmhouse after the Fang Family pressured the temple, but Meng Zhao found a valuable martial arts manual before they departed. On the road to Kaiyan County, Fang Zijun intercepted them and openly tried to claim Qi Fang, while Meng Zhao’s plan remained poised to unfold.

• Master Baohong told Qi Fang that the temple had ordered her and Meng Zhao to leave the farmhouse after the Fang Family intervened.
• Meng Zhao reassured Qi Fang and uncovered the Bitter Heart Zen Skill manual and its secret medicine prescription beneath the farmhouse floor tiles.
• Meng Zhao and Qi Fang left the tenant farmers’ settlement at night and met Fang Zijun’s party blocking the road.
• Fang Zijun admired Qi Fang and offered her wealth and comfort if she would leave her gambler husband and serve him.
• Fang Han secretly prepared to flee if the confrontation went wrong, while Qi Fang remained on Meng Zhao’s side despite her fear.

Meng Zhao and Fang Han lured Fang Zijun into a trap at a ruined Land God Temple, where Meng Zhao revealed his strength and captured him. When Uncle Wen charged in through Meng Zhao’s mist and found the guards dead, he faced Meng Zhao, who stood revealed as a formidable martial artist.

• Qi Fang pretended to resist Fang Zijun’s advances, while Fang Han persuaded him to take her and Meng Zhao to a ruined Land God Temple.
• Uncle Wen questioned Fang Han, praised his martial talent, and warned him to remain loyal to the Fang Family.
• Inside the temple, Meng Zhao broke free, subdued Fang Zijun, and hid him while Qi Fang followed their plan.
• Meng Zhao filled the temple with mist, then killed the eight guards who entered with Uncle Wen.
• Uncle Wen dispersed the mist with his palm force and saw Meng Zhao standing before him with the bearing of a Martial Arts Grandmaster.

Meng Zhao demanded the Fang Family’s Seven Revolutions Cold Toad Swallowing Spirit Skill as a model for creating a martial art, while Uncle Wen tried to bargain for Fang Zijun’s safe return. When negotiations failed, they fought outside the Land God Temple, where Meng Zhao studied Uncle Wen’s Vortex Qi and Cold Seed.

• Uncle Wen realized Fang Zijun and the woman were missing, suspected Meng Zhao’s group had targeted the Fifth Young Master, and demanded to know what they wanted.
• Meng Zhao revealed that he sought the Seven Revolutions Cold Toad Swallowing Spirit Skill to help create a new martial art, and refused Uncle Wen’s offers of other techniques and supplies.
• Uncle Wen concluded that Fang Zijun was still hidden inside the Land God Temple and decided to take him back by force.
• Uncle Wen attacked Meng Zhao with his Vortex Qi and icy power, and Meng Zhao countered with the Cloud Dispelling Palm.
• Meng Zhao and Uncle Wen fought their way out of the temple, while Fang Hao and Fang Yong watched from a safe distance.
• Meng Zhao deliberately kept the battle going to study Uncle Wen’s internal cultivation method, which he believed could help him create Three Points Return to One Qi.

Meng Zhao defeated Uncle Wen and killed Fang Hao, Fang Yong, and Fang Han after the plan to capture Fang Zijun succeeded. He and Qi Fang prepared to flee with Fang Zijun and Uncle Wen before the Fang Family discovered what had happened.

• Uncle Wen tried to turn Fang Hao and Fang Yong against Fang Han and divert Meng Zhao, but Fang Han attacked the two guardians to buy time.
• Meng Zhao used his speed and silver needles to break through Uncle Wen’s defenses, seal his meridians, and defeat him.
• Fang Hao and Fang Yong fled after seeing Uncle Wen fall, but Meng Zhao caught and killed them.
• After Fang Han celebrated the successful capture of Fang Zijun, Meng Zhao killed him to silence him.
• Meng Zhao carried the disabled Uncle Wen into the ruined temple, where Qi Fang had brought Fang Zijun, and told her to leave with them before the Fang Family arrived.
• Qi Fang realized Meng Zhao had killed Fang Han and chose not to question his decision.

Meng Zhao and Qi Fang held Fang Zijun and Uncle Wen in a hidden cave to obtain their martial arts, and Meng Zhao studied Uncle Wen’s Vortex Qi to improve his plans for creating Three Points Return to One Qi. Fang Zijun resisted giving up the Seven Revolutions Cold Toad Swallowing Spirit Skill, leaving their negotiations tense as Meng Zhao threatened him.

• Meng Zhao and Qi Fang brought Fang Zijun and Uncle Wen to a concealed cave, where Meng Zhao demanded the Fang Family’s Seven Revolutions Cold Toad Swallowing Spirit Skill and Uncle Wen’s Vortex Qi formulas and medicine prescription.
• Uncle Wen recited the Vortex Qi cultivation formula and explained its principles, while Meng Zhao questioned him and studied the art for insights into Three Points Return to One Qi.
• Meng Zhao learned that the Water Bloom Flower was essential to Vortex Qi and assessed the art’s ability to restrain, absorb, and digest force.
• Fang Zijun said he could not provide the complete Seven Revolutions Cold Toad Swallowing Spirit Skill and offered the Fang Family’s Frost Sky Skill instead, but Meng Zhao refused and insisted on the inherited art.
• When Fang Zijun resisted, Meng Zhao threatened to make him unable to be a man, prompting Fang Zijun to invoke the Fang Family and its Ancestral Court while still refusing to give up the martial art.

Fang Zijun negotiated with Meng Zhao over the Seven Revolutions Cold Toad Swallowing Spirit Skill, securing promises to keep the matter secret, protect the Fang Family’s techniques, and not attack the family over their weaknesses. Meng Zhao obtained and verified the genuine formulas, while Fang Zijun pointed him toward the Fang Family Ancestral Court and its superior Nine Revolutions art.

• Fang Zijun agreed to teach Meng Zhao the Seven Revolutions Cold Toad Swallowing Spirit Skill in exchange for three conditions.
• Meng Zhao promised to keep their encounter secret, avoid spreading Fang Family martial arts, and not provoke the Fang Family unless it troubled him first.
• Meng Zhao tempted Fang Zijun with help in seizing the Fang Family leadership, but Uncle Wen interrupted, and Fang Zijun rejected the offer.
• Fang Zijun revealed that the Seven Revolutions art came from the Nine Revolutions Cold Toad Swallowing Moon Skill and suggested Meng Zhao seek it at the Fang Family Ancestral Court.
• Fang Zijun recited the Seven Revolutions art and its secret medicine prescription, and Meng Zhao questioned him until he confirmed the formulas were genuine.
• Meng Zhao assessed the Seven Revolutions art as the strongest internal cultivation method he had encountered, with power to freeze everything within thirty feet after reaching great completion.

After Meng Zhao released Fang Zijun and Uncle Wen, Fang Zijun secretly told Old Master Fang that a mysterious martial artist had captured him and taken the Fang Family’s inherited skill. Old Master Fang advised against revenge while the man’s identity and strength remained unknown, and trusted that the Fang Family could eventually improve its martial art beyond what he had stolen.

• Meng Zhao confirmed there was no obvious problem with the martial arts manual and secret medicine formula, then released Fang Zijun and Uncle Wen before leaving with Qi Fang.
• After their seals wore off, Fang Zijun ordered Uncle Wen to conceal the deaths at the Land God Temple from the family, but decided to tell his father in secret.
• Fang Zijun visited Old Master Fang and recounted how Fang Han had lured him into a trap, how he had been captured and forced to reveal the Seven Revolutions Cold Toad Swallowing Spirit Skill, and how the mysterious man had killed Fang Han.
• Old Master Fang questioned Uncle Wen’s assessment and learned that the man seemed young, highly skilled, and possibly responsible for killing Xiong Fei.
• Fang Zijun urged his father to respond to the theft and killings, but Old Master Fang warned that pursuing an unknown and ruthless opponent could endanger the family.
• Old Master Fang explained that generations of Fang practitioners had continually refined their inherited martial arts, so the family could eventually surpass the version the mysterious man had obtained.

Meng Zhao developed Three Points Return to Origin, creating the Origin Seed and a matching cultivation medicine called the Origin Returning Pill. After months of refining his martial arts, he returned to Little Cold Village, where Qi Fang had settled into life by his side.

• Old Master Fang revealed that Zheng Lie's Nine Heavens Sun Radiance Skill had helped him improve the Fang Family's inherited martial arts, and he urged Fang Zijun to strengthen his cultivation.
• Meng Zhao stayed hidden after Fang Zijun kept his kidnapping secret, then gathered ingredients to cultivate the Seven Revolutions Cold Toad Swallowing Spirit Skill.
• After harmonizing the Cold Seed, Wind Seed, and Cloud Seed, Meng Zhao traveled through nearby county cities with Qi Fang to obtain wind and cloud martial arts and their secret medicine ingredients.
• Meng Zhao created new cold, cloud, and wind arts, combining them with Vortex Qi and Bitter Heart Zen Skill to form Three Points Return to Origin and its Origin Seed.
• Meng Zhao developed the Origin Returning Pill as a secret medicine for Three Points Return to One Qi and trained in his rebuilt manor in Little Cold Village.
• Qi Fang watched Meng Zhao practice and had grown devoted to him, while San Gouzi's merchant caravan prospered under Meng Zhao's protection.