Chapter Summaries

Meng Zhao brought the unconscious leader of the Seven Freaks of Minshan to his residence and arranged for Han Lu to keep her hidden and alive while he was away. The Old Beggar collected his payment, and Meng Zhao prepared to leave in two days.

• Meng Zhao asked the Old Beggar whether anyone knew the woman’s identity and whether he could help control her, but the Old Beggar told him to find his own way.
• The Old Beggar explained that he valued Meng Zhao’s Special Physique and hoped to receive some of his blood after it awakened, then went with Lü Yue to collect his silver.
• Han Lu watched Meng Zhao carry the unconscious beauty onto a couch and struggled with jealousy and concern about the woman’s place beside him.
• Meng Zhao gave the woman two pills and instructed Han Lu to wash and care for her, keep her asleep on liquid food, and prevent outsiders from contacting her until he returned.

Meng Zhao entered secluded cultivation to complete his perfect foundation and awaken his bloodline, with Lü Zhong sealing him inside a prepared cave. After forming all nine crimson banners and expelling impurities, Meng Zhao began the dangerous final stage of tempering his meridians.

• Meng Zhao told Lü Zhong he was entering seclusion and asked him to prepare for the possibility that he might die.
• Lü Zhong encouraged Meng Zhao, then sealed the cave entrance after Meng Zhao entered.
• Meng Zhao spent two hours regulating his breathing as his body grew red-hot and burned away his clothes.
• Meng Zhao expelled a mouthful of corrosive black blood after the nine crimson banners had formed in his dantian.
• Meng Zhao swallowed three medicinal pills and began the final, most dangerous step of perfecting his foundation.

Meng Zhao used three protective pills to endure the dangerous Red Flag Order foundation-forging process and complete twelve cycles of inner force circulation. He emerged with a perfect foundation, greatly strengthened, and completely bald.

• Meng Zhao took the Water Dissipation Pill, the Qi Consolidation Pill, and the Life Restoration Pill before beginning to forge his foundation.
• Meng Zhao released his blazing inner force into his meridians and endured the scorching process as his hair burned away.
• The three pills eased the damage and kept Meng Zhao alive while toxins and impurities seeped from his body and hardened over his skin.
• Meng Zhao guarded the Mysterious Pass and followed his inner force through twelve circulation cycles until the heat subsided.
• Meng Zhao shattered the hardened filth covering him and found that his skin was flawless and all his hair had fallen out.
• Meng Zhao felt his surging inner force and realized that he had grown stronger while going bald.

After attaining a flawless Jade Body, Meng Zhao prepared to begin replacing his blood in a specially built bronze furnace. He entered the furnace and used a Blood Soul Pill and golden needles to start the dangerous procedure.

• Meng Zhao discovered that his skin had become nearly impervious and realized he had attained the Jade Body through his Pure Yang Child Qi and cultivation.
• Meng Zhao examined his denser, stronger body and wondered whether awakening his Purple Origin Dragon Body would destroy the Jade Body.
• Meng Zhao recovered from the Mystical Pass ordeal, gathered his pills and golden needles, and entered the bronze furnace built to protect him during blood replacement.
• Meng Zhao placed a Blood Soul Pill under his tongue and inserted golden needles into acupoints across his body to accelerate blood replacement and improve his safety.

Meng Zhao used the Blood Changing Method to drain the poisoned blood from his body, enduring severe weakness as he began the dangerous process of awakening his Purple Origin Dragon Body. Lü Zhong guarded the cave and watched Meng Zhao’s aura weaken, leaving his transformation’s outcome uncertain.

• Meng Zhao heated his body with the Blood Changing Method until he lost much of his sweat, strength, and resolve.
• Meng Zhao endured the draining of his blood, relying on the Blood Soul Pill and his plan to replenish it with fresh blood from his dormant dragon body.
• Dark, foul-smelling blood carrying tiny poisonous insects emerged through the golden needles, beginning the expulsion of Rouge Red.
• Lü Zhong guarded the cave and sensed Meng Zhao’s vitality weaken, worrying that his Young Master might fail to awaken his Special Physique.

Meng Zhao expelled the deadly Rouge Red poison as his Purple Origin Dragon Body awakened and revealed its overwhelming Dragon Might. Freed from Zhao Hun’s control, he began the second half of his blood replacement to recreate his dragon blood.

• As Meng Zhao’s aura vanished inside the blood cocoon, Lü Zhong feared for his safety but waited rather than interrupting the transformation.
• Dragon Might erupted from the cave, driving beasts and birds across the mountains to flee and filling Lü Zhong with visions of ancient true dragons.
• Meng Zhao awoke inside the bronze furnace, broke apart the blood cocoon, and coughed up the Rouge Red poison as a dying insect.
• Realizing he was free of the poison and Zhao Hun’s control, Meng Zhao struck open the furnace and swallowed the Blood Soul Pill.
• Meng Zhao sat down to meditate as powerful Blood Qi surged through his body, beginning the process of recreating dragon blood.

Meng Zhao awakened the dragon aspect of his Purple Origin Dragon Body, while the Ziwei Star’s brief disturbance drew the attention of Great Yong’s astrologers and emperor. He finished the transformation with a dragon mark on his back, but the physique remained only half-awakened.

• Purple scales spread across Meng Zhao’s body as his dragon body awakened and stirred the Ziwei Star Destiny.
• At the Star-Picking Platform, Celestial Master Zhang ordered a memorial about the Ziwei Star Lord and sent it to the Directorate of Ceremonial.
• The emperor sensed the Ziwei Star Lord’s descent and ordered a golden-armored warrior to find and bring the awakened person to him.
• Meng Zhao remained unaware of the upheaval as his body transformed, then returned to human form after a day and night with a purple dragon design on his back.
• Meng Zhao checked the Sky-Illuminating Mirror and saw that his physique was a half-awakened Purple Origin Dragon Body, with 150,000 energy points, while the Dragon Locking Skill and Iron Refining Hand still could not be fused.

Meng Zhao examined the changes after awakening his half-awakened Purple Origin Dragon Body and found that it had vastly strengthened his body while preserving the Jade Body’s purity. He left the stone cave confident that his new abilities could protect him as he continued along the martial path.

• Meng Zhao quenched his thirst and hunger with water, dry rations, and medicinal pills.
• Meng Zhao discovered that his Jade Body’s flawless skin and purifying aura had merged into his dragon body.
• Meng Zhao sensed a True Dragon Diagram on his back and found that his dantian, meridians, muscles, bones, and blood were vastly stronger than before.
• Meng Zhao recognized the Purple Origin Dragon Body’s Dragon Might, ability to manifest dragon scales, and enhanced vitality and recovery.
• Meng Zhao tested his blood and recovery, confirming that his half-awakened Purple Origin Dragon Body had greatly increased his ability to protect himself.

Meng Zhao replaced the Red Flag Order with the Crimson Dragon Heavenly Capital Secret Canon, reshaping his inner force around his Dragon Body and greatly strengthening his dantian. He then began using five rare Five Elements Spirit Items to condense the Five Qi in his chest, leaving the breakthrough underway.

• Meng Zhao dispersed the nine Crimson Banners and rebuilt his inner force with dragon qi from his Dragon Body.
• Twelve crimson true dragons formed in his dantian, stabilizing it and strengthening his inner force.
• Meng Zhao completed the change from the Red Flag Order to the Crimson Dragon Heavenly Capital Secret Canon.
• Meng Zhao arranged five spirit items, marked them with his blood, and cut openings over his five organs.
• Meng Zhao placed the spirit items against the matching cuts and began the Five Elements Spirit Seizing breakthrough.

Meng Zhao used Five Elements Spirit Seizing to draw essence from his five Spirit Items and form a balanced cycle around his five viscera, establishing the foundation of Five Qi Towards Origin. With his Dragon Body awakened and the secret art mastered, he prepared to open all six regular meridians.

• Meng Zhao began Five Elements Spirit Seizing, drawing the essence of five Spirit Items into his body and wrapping it around his five viscera.
• The five Spirit Items exhausted their essence and fell away, leaving them temporarily depleted and needing roughly ten years to recover.
• Meng Zhao practiced the Lesser Heavenly Cycle Fist and used its circulation to link and balance the five streams of essence into a closed cycle.
• Meng Zhao recognized the cycle as a foundation for Five Qi Towards Origin and considered how it could strengthen his cultivation and nourish his organs.
• After completing the fist routine thirty-six times, Meng Zhao sat down to prepare to break through and open all six regular meridians.

After nine days in seclusion, Meng Zhao emerged having awakened a Special Physique, but its visible traits threatened to draw attention. He decided to conceal the truth and build his strength quietly while Zhao Hun remained a danger.

• Lü Zhong watched the cave for nine days as Meng Zhao's aura steadily grew stronger.
• Meng Zhao shattered the stone blocking the cave and emerged taller, with purple strands in his hair and violet radiance in his eyes.
• Meng Zhao confirmed that he had succeeded but lamented that his concentrated bloodline power made its traits difficult to hide.
• Lü Zhong celebrated Meng Zhao's Special Physique and suggested explaining its visible traits as the effects of an unusual cultivation method.
• Meng Zhao chose to keep his physique secret, avoid attracting attention, and strengthen himself before confronting the threat Zhao Hun posed.

Meng Zhao returned to Nan'an Commandery City after improving his cultivation, but found the streets crowded with martial artists from elsewhere and bloody clashes breaking out. He reached the Western Residence of Meng Mansion and summoned Lü Yue and Han Pu to learn what had happened.

• Meng Zhao reflected on his Crimson Dragon Force, his opened meridians, and his prospects of reaching Postnatal Great Perfection and the Innate realm.
• Meng Zhao noticed unfamiliar martial artists gathering in great numbers as he approached Nan'an Commandery City.
• Meng Zhao witnessed numerous violent clashes and saw that the government soldiers and Heavenly Punishment Hall could barely control the martial artists.
• Meng Zhao hurried to the Western Residence of Meng Mansion and ordered a trusted servant boy to summon Lü Yue and Han Pu without drawing attention.

Meng Zhao learned that martial artists had flooded into Nan'an Commandery City because rumors claimed the destroyed Sun Family held clues and a token leading to the Flood Dragon’s lair in Cloud Mist Mountain. He suspected the Sun Family’s head had spread the story as revenge, and worried that the resulting scramble would ruin his chance to seize the Flood Dragon Eggs quietly.

• Lü Yue told Meng Zhao that martial artists from neighboring commanderies and major forces had gathered in Nan'an after the Sun Family’s destruction.
• Lü Yue explained that rumors claimed the Sun Family possessed clues and a token that could guide people safely toward the Flood Dragon’s lair.
• Han Pu said the rumors drew credibility from verifiable ties between the Sun Family, Fire Dragon Cave, and the Marquis of Julu, and suspected the Sun Family had spread them before its fall.
• Meng Zhao concluded that the old Sun Family head had set the Meng Family and Fire Dragon Cave against a wider scramble for the Flood Dragon Eggs.
• Meng Zhao worried that his Flood Dragon Scales and newly awakened dragon body would no longer give him a quiet advantage amid the influx of rival powers.

Meng Zhao returned to the Meng residence, ordered an investigation into the new martial artists in Nan'an, and reasoned that a Meng Family spy might hold the key to finding the Flood Dragons' nesting grounds. The chapter left him arriving at the room where Han Lu was secretly caring for the unconscious Min Shan Eldest Sister.

• Meng Zhao asked about events during his absence, and Han Pu told him that the family head had sought him once but accepted the explanation that he was cultivating in seclusion.
• Meng Zhao reassured Han Pu that Han Lu was safely helping him, then instructed Lü Yue and Han Pu to secretly identify powerful outsiders entering Nan'an.
• Meng Zhao considered whether a Meng Family spy had escaped the Sun Residence with a route map to the Flood Dragons' nesting grounds, and concluded that the Meng Family and Fire Dragon Cave would likely compete for control of the clue.
• Han Lu secretly fed and drugged the unconscious Min Shan Eldest Sister, then compared her own figure with the woman's and felt she could never match her.
• Han Lu heard people greet Meng Zhao outside the room and realized that he had returned.

Meng Zhao returned to find Han Lu had accidentally broken antiques, then helped wake Min Shan Eldest Sister with aged vinegar. The woman attacked him as soon as she awoke, and she left the chapter suspecting that someone had touched her while she slept.

• Meng Zhao found Han Lu cleaning up broken antiques and told her to gather the pieces without punishing her harshly.
• Meng Zhao asked Han Lu how to wake Min Shan Eldest Sister, and Han Lu used aged vinegar to rouse her.
• Min Shan Eldest Sister attacked Meng Zhao’s groin, but he caught her hand and restrained her.
• Han Lu tried to slap Min Shan Eldest Sister but stopped, leaving Meng Zhao to wonder what had happened between them.
• Min Shan Eldest Sister accused Meng Zhao of molesting her, then hesitated when he denied it and wondered whether someone else had touched her while she slept.

Meng Zhao discovered that Han Lu had touched Min Shan Eldest Sister while she was bedridden, mistook it for an attack, and then learned Han Lu had acted out of curiosity. After the misunderstanding was settled, Meng Zhao decided to build affection with Min Shan Eldest Sister and win her over as an ally.

• Meng Zhao saw Min Shan Eldest Sister bedridden and asked Han Lu who had taken liberties with her.
• Han Lu confessed that she had touched Min Shan Eldest Sister, leaving Meng Zhao and Min Shan Eldest Sister shocked.
• Han Lu explained that she had acted from curiosity and wanted to see when she would grow to look like Min Shan Eldest Sister.
• Meng Zhao teased Min Shan Eldest Sister into apologizing, and their conversation eased the tension between them.
• Meng Zhao decided to approach Min Shan Eldest Sister through friendship and romance rather than recruiting her as a subordinate.

Meng Zhao deceived Min Shan Eldest Sister about how she came to his estate, then acted like a domineering noble who intended to keep her as a chamber woman. After putting her to sleep, he told Han Lu to conceal that he knew her identity and to grow closer to her.

• Meng Zhao claimed an Old Beggar had delivered Min Shan Eldest Sister to him in exchange for silver and said her weakened condition came from drugs prepared by his physician.
• Min Shan Eldest Sister believed much of his story and felt flustered by his admiration, but remained wary and demanded to know where she was and who he was.
• Meng Zhao identified himself as a member of the Meng Family and said she was in the Western Residence of his Meng Mansion, shocking her into demanding that he let her go.
• Meng Zhao insisted she would eventually belong in his chambers, kissed her, and tapped an acupoint to put her to sleep.
• Meng Zhao told Han Lu to forget his earlier claims about knowing Min Shan Eldest Sister's identity and to treat her as a beauty he liked, while getting close to her and learning from her martial arts.

Meng Zhao learned that Fire Dragon Cave and the Spear King Zhao Family had arrived together at the Meng Mansion, raising questions about their intentions and why the First Branch wanted him to meet them. He prepared to join the reception while weighing the danger posed by the powerful visitors.

• Meng Zhao kept Liang Muqiu under his care for three days while Lü Yue and Han Pu expanded the Second Branch's intelligence network and maintained its businesses' safety.
• A First Branch servant summoned Meng Zhao to meet distinguished guests who had come to the Meng Mansion.
• Meng Zhao learned that four Innate Masters and twelve disciples from Fire Dragon Cave had arrived, including his acquaintances Shi Siming, Zheng Xie, and Tang Ling'er.
• Meng Zhao learned that Zhao Kang and the two young experts Zhao Wujiu and Zhao Wuxin represented the powerful Spear King Zhao Family.
• Meng Zhao, Lü Yue, and Han Pu questioned why Fire Dragon Cave and the Zhao Family had arrived together and worried that their visit might threaten the Meng Family.

Meng Zhao learned from Liu Qiankun that Fire Dragon Cave and the Zhao Family were pressuring the Meng Family over the Cloud Mist Mountain dispute, not targeting him. Liu Qiankun sent him to meet their younger disciples and gave him permission to defend himself, leaving Meng Zhao to head for the side hall.

• Meng Zhao went to the main hall after Meng Jizu summoned him and encountered Liu Qiankun outside.
• Liu Qiankun explained that Fire Dragon Cave and the Zhao Family had joined forces to challenge the Meng Family over the Sun Family matter and test Meng Jizu.
• Liu Qiankun told Meng Zhao to receive the visitors' younger disciples in the side hall and said he could cripple anyone who provoked him, as long as he killed no one.
• Liu Qiankun noticed Meng Zhao's changed appearance and said he believed Meng Zhao could fulfill his father Meng Zhengan's lifelong ambition.
• Liu Qiankun reminded Meng Zhao that his father had once been friends with the Zhao brothers' father and asked him to treat the brothers well.
• Meng Zhao left for Sweet-Potato Pavilion, where the younger visitors were waiting.

Meng Zhao attended a gathering in the Meng Family side hall, where guests watched his recent transformation and he explained it to Meng Wen and Meng Chuan. As he began to meet the Zhao brothers, Shi Siming challenged him to fight again.

• Meng Zhao entered the side hall and noticed the varied reactions of the guests, including Shi Siming's resentment and Zheng Xie's suspicion.
• Meng Chuan quietly asked about Meng Zhao's changed appearance, and Meng Zhao said he had advanced in cultivation, gained a martial art, and grown stronger.
• Zhao Wujiu and Zhao Wuxin introduced themselves and approached Meng Zhao to make his acquaintance.
• Shi Siming publicly challenged Meng Zhao to another contest and vowed to avoid him in the future if he lost.