Chapter Summaries

Arro investigated what had triggered Claire’s quest, suspecting Claire’s status as a martial artist might be the key. He learned the Heaven Mending Technique and found that its scripture and principles matched his goals for teaching martial arts.

• Arro compared the two quests and wondered whether their emotional intensity or Claire’s status as a martial artist had triggered the Heaven Mending Last Wish quest.
• Arro decided to secure the quest’s Skill Points and used one Skill Point to learn the Heaven Mending Technique.
• Arro absorbed the technique’s meridian route and Mending Heaven True Scripture, which combined martial principles with a method for guiding apprentices’ character.
• Arro recited the scripture and began circulating qi through the Heaven Mending Technique.

Claire carved a stone slab to make the Heaven Mending Elder’s fictional story more real, then learned Arrow’s newly devised Vajra Finger martial art. He quickly opened its acupoints and began carving the slab with his finger.

• Claire used stones to make a slab and carve words into it as part of Cultivating Truth by Borrowing Falsehood.
• Arrow gave Claire the Vajra Finger Meridian Map and explained how finger training and life force could make carving stone possible.
• Claire studied the map while Arrow explained how knowing the meridians and opening the dantian helped locate acupoints.
• Claire used his Life Force Seed to open the Vajra Finger acupoints before Bevan’s clothes had dried.
• Claire picked up the stone slab and began carving it with one finger.

Arrow finished copying the Heaven Mending Technique and devised a training method for the Gecko Climbing Wall Technique while Claire rapidly trained Vajra Finger. After noticing Claire’s finger seemed to soften stone with life force, Arrow asked him to demonstrate the technique.

• Bevan struggled to learn the dantian acupoints while Claire practiced Vajra Finger and Arrow copied martial arts techniques.
• Arrow completed a training method and force application technique for the Gecko Climbing Wall Technique, then meditated to charge the Magic Sea Pendant.
• Arrow noticed his Mental Strength recovered faster than usual and wondered whether opening the dantian had caused the change.
• Bevan showed Arrow a stone fragment marked by Claire’s finger, and Arrow was surprised by how quickly Claire had learned to leave marks on stone.
• Claire returned with stones and firewood, explaining that Vajra Finger seemed to soften stone, so Arrow asked him to demonstrate it.

Claire tested how to coordinate physical force with Life Force, while Bevan explained that Life Force escaping through a finger could produce a faint glow. Arrow investigated whether that Life Force affected stone, but the chapter ended without confirming that it softened the surface.

• Claire broke a waste stone piece by striking it with his finger, then succeeded in leaving only a faint mark on another piece.
• Bevan explained how compressed Life Force traveling through Claire's finger could escape and create light when it collided with reality.
• Arrow asked Claire to release Life Force without physical force, but Claire could not mobilize it quickly that way.
• Claire tapped the stone as Arrow instructed, and a faint fluorescence appeared on his finger before flowing back into his body.
• Arrow touched the tapped spot, but he could not tell whether the stone had softened.

Arrow investigated why Claire’s Vajra Finger made stone seem soft and concluded that life force displaced the earth magic power within it, making the stone easier to break. He considered whether this interaction could be applied to martial arts against wizardry, while Claire struggled to follow the discussion.

• Arrow and Claire repeatedly tested Vajra Finger on a stone slab, but Arrow could not determine why it became easier to break.
• Arrow used Trip Spell to summon earth blocks for Claire to strike and observed that releasing life force rapidly exhausted him.
• After Claire could no longer use Vajra Finger, Arrow concluded that life force drove the stone’s sparse earth magic power toward its edges, reducing its compactness.
• Arrow explained that life force was Void Magic Power and could repel other magic power, while Bevan connected the idea to Demonic Beasts’ resistance to wizardry.
• Arrow and Bevan discussed whether life force’s effect on magic power could be applied in martial arts, leaving Claire confused by their conversation.

Arrow and Bevan explored whether martial arts could disrupt spells and whether long-term cultivation could transform Life Force into attribute-aligned internal force. Arrow asked Claire to help test the theory, but Claire refused to learn anything beyond the Heaven Mending Technique.

• Arrow realized warriors could use concentrated Life Force to damage a spell's runic framework and recorded the technique in the Martial Arts Catalog as a possible Qi Breaking Style.
• Bevan proposed that focusing Mental Strength on Life Force while circulating the Great Heavenly Cycle could gradually shift its elemental affinity.
• Arrow recognized the proposed transformation as resembling internal force, but cautioned Bevan that both the mechanism and the concept remained unproven.
• Arrow asked Claire to verify whether repeated martial arts practice could change Life Force, and Claire refused to learn anything beyond the Heaven Mending Technique.
• Bevan urged his father to practice the Vajra Finger route repeatedly instead.

Arrow explained the limits and potential of the Heaven Mending Technique, while Claire committed to studying it and Bevan began researching ways to improve it. After two days, Claire prepared inscribed stone slabs for Arrow’s plan to leave clues in the pool, and they discussed what to do with the discarded practice slabs.

• Arrow explained why Vajra Finger had no return-flow meridians and how Claire could redirect its life force back into his dantian with the Life Force Seed.
• Claire decided to continue with the Heaven Mending Technique, and Arrow shared his ideas about its potential with Bevan, encouraging him to research its limits and hidden dangers.
• Bevan became more diligent in his studies, while Claire practiced Vajra Finger and Arrow gave Bevan books and reviewed his written questions.
• After two days, Claire brought Arrow several stone slabs inscribed with different scripts, and Arrow told him to keep one and throw the rest into the pool.
• Claire asked what to do with the discarded slabs, and Arrow said they could be dismissed as writings made by the Heaven Mending Elder while mad.

Arrow and Claire prepared to cross the Vasi Mountain Range to seek the Heaven Mending Elder’s legacy, while Claire entered the Beginner stage and developed an aura. Arrow established a martial artists’ fist-and-palm salute with Claire and Bevan, then unexpectedly advanced his Heaven Mending Technique to Beginner after laughing.

• Claire gathered fragments from the pool and agreed to continue the journey with Arrow rather than search alone.
• Arrow explained that the Viscountess might be hiding in the Vasi Mountain Range and argued that they should face the danger together.
• Claire’s killing intent and aura surfaced when Arrow asked what he would do if the Viscountess blocked his path, confirming that Claire had reached the Beginner stage of martial arts.
• Arrow taught Claire a fist-and-palm salute and named their group the Mending Heaven Sect; Bevan proposed Martial Arts Mountain as the name for their future martial arts sanctuary.
• Arrow’s Life Force began circulating as he laughed, and his Heaven Mending Technique advanced to Beginner.
• Arrow checked his system panel in the tent and realized that his laughter had saved him several days of cultivation.

Arro realized that reading the Heaven Mending Technique had opened its first meridians, forcing him to choose between abandoning it or spending many more Skill Points to adapt the Eight Extremes Method. As the group traveled upstream, Arro explained the Heaven Mending Technique’s principles and warned Bevan that Qi Deviation could become increasingly easy to trigger.

• Arro understood that he had reached Beginner level in the Heaven Mending Technique by nurturing its meridians and acupoints while reading, then decided he still wanted to pursue the Eight Extremes Method.
• Arro considered crippling his meridians or redesigning the Eight Extremes Method around the Heaven Mending Technique, but lamented that the latter would cost six additional Skill Points.
• Arro packed the tent after lunch and joined the group as they followed the water upstream toward the stone slab’s likely location.
• Bevan asked Arro what it meant to go against the Heaven Mending True Meaning, and Arro explained that Qi Deviation could result from shattered convictions and that the technique’s acupoints could help stabilize it.
• Arro warned Bevan that once Qi Deviation occurred, weakened psychological defenses and physical traces could make it recur more often and grow more severe.

Arrow explained the benefits and risks of Martial Dao True Meaning to Bevan, then respected Claire’s wish to complete his trial without interference. Arrow took Bevan ahead to provide Path Protection while Claire struggled onward, and he explained that Claire saw the journey as a test of his heart and will.

• Arrow told Bevan that Martial Dao True Meaning could accelerate cultivation but might cause harmful feedback if negative emotions recurred.
• Bevan asked about the requirements of Heaven Mending True Meaning, and Arrow explained that basic open-mindedness avoided its punishment mechanism.
• Claire refused Arrow’s offer to carry him, saying the hardships of his trial needed to remain his own.
• Arrow took Bevan ahead and promised to provide Path Protection without disturbing Claire’s cultivation.
• Bevan asked Arrow if he had done something wrong, and Arrow explained that Claire wanted to test his heart and temper his will.

Arro explained his speculation that a Formal Knight’s body continuously produces Life Force, which may prevent it from transforming into internal power. Bevan worried this would make his father’s martial arts practice pointless, but Arro reminded him the Eight Extremes Method did not depend on that transformation.

• Arro and Bevan moved away from Claire to roast meat while staying ready to support him if danger arose.
• Bevan asked whether Arro had used martial arts to carry him up the mountain, and Arro explained that he had used a variation of the Feather Fall Spell.
• Arro said martial arts might imitate the effect if Life Force could become internal power, but Bevan noted his father’s Life Force had not changed after practicing Vajra Finger.
• Arro speculated that a Formal Knight’s Life Force might already be fixed in form, prompting Bevan to fear his father’s martial arts practice was meaningless.
• Arro explained that Knight Training and the Knight’s Breathing Technique could strengthen the body’s ability to produce Life Force, and that this constant production might correct any changes caused by circulating the Great Heavenly Cycle.

Viscountess Corey learned that Claire was nearby and sent Crimson Great Bats to drive him away while Arro watched over Claire’s journey. Arro investigated the bats’ forest roost and spotted a likely location for Viscountess Corey, but had not yet confronted her.

• Viscountess Corey learned that Claire had been stripped of his position and ordered Crimson Great Bats to drive him away rather than capture him.
• Arro continued letting Claire travel and solve problems on his own while he and Bevan followed from a distance.
• Bevan spotted the Crimson Great Bats attacking Claire, but Arro judged that Claire was not in immediate danger and told Bevan to stay calm.
• Arro gave Bevan a gun and left him with the Wind Dragon Armor before sneaking toward the bats’ point of origin.
• Arro found a forest packed with ordinary bats bearing dried blood around their mouths and inferred that they were collecting blood for Viscountess Corey.
• Arro searched along the forest’s edge and spotted a place that seemed likely to be Viscountess Corey’s residence.

Arro infiltrated a mountain tunnel he believed might be Viscountess Corey's hideout, but Crimson Great Bats discovered him and swarmed toward him. Elsewhere, Claire struggled to survive against a coordinated pack until the bats abruptly scattered toward the tunnel entrance, where muffled explosions and tremors sounded.

• Arro found a concealed entrance near an abandoned cemetery and killed four Crimson Great Bats that rushed out at him.
• Arro drank Purification Potions and used Phoenix Spreading Wings and his flaming Blazing Greatsword to enter the Underground Tunnel, drawing a dense swarm of bats toward him.
• Claire fought a coordinated group of Crimson Great Bats without Life Force and considered wearing them down with his endurance.
• The Crimson Great Bats suddenly broke formation and flew toward the direction they had come from as explosions and tremors reached Claire.

Claire broke out of his assumed persona when Blood Red Bats attacked and fought them off with his martial arts. After reuniting with Bevan, he agreed to approach the source of the rumbling from a distance to check on Lord Arrow.

• Claire seized a diving Blood Red Bat, killed it with Vajra Finger, and used its corpse to drive off the bats attacking him.
• The leading bat rallied the swarm and flew away, while Claire finished off the injured bats left on the ground.
• Claire found Bevan alone beside an empty suit of armor and learned that Lord Arrow had gone to find the bat nest.
• Claire initially refused to leave Bevan, but agreed to go with him and observe the rumbling from far away.

Claire and Bevan waited outside the underground palace while Lord Arrow fought inside, and Bevan reconsidered his father’s calm resolve. As the explosions and rumbling subsided, Claire sensed danger and ordered Bevan to hide.

• Claire and Bevan found the underground palace entrance but could not see inside, where wounded Crimson Great Bats fled and other bats flew in.
• Bevan urged Claire to enter and help Lord Arrow, but Claire refused, explaining they had to wait until the situation became clear.
• Bevan challenged Claire’s caution, and Claire explained how he would act if Lord Arrow needed help and admitted he might have to leave Bevan behind.
• Bevan recognized something familiar in Claire’s renewed steadiness and accepted that his reasoning made sense.
• The underground rumbling and the bats’ activity gradually diminished, and Claire activated Qi Blood Rampage and told Bevan to hide.

Arrow killed Viscountess Corey again in the Underground Palace, rescued the surviving captives, and explained to Bevan why her knowledge of the area would not derail his plan to spread martial arts. He and Bevan left the next move to Bevan’s father while Claire cautiously searched deeper into the bloody palace.

• Claire found Arrow after hearing the commotion, and Arrow told him that he had killed Viscountess Corey again and that survivors remained below.
• Arrow went to Bevan, who worried that Viscountess Corey and her associates could expose the Heaven Mending Ruins plan.
• Arrow argued that powerful groups dismissing the ruins would help martial arts spread among ordinary people, and Bevan accepted his reasoning.
• Arrow noted that clearing the Underground Palace had earned him more than twenty thousand Experience Points, roughly two-thirds of a skill point.
• Arrow told Bevan that their work as Path Protectors was finished and that they should watch his father’s performance.
• Claire continued deeper into the Underground Palace, cautiously passing its bloody corridors and frightened bats.

Claire explored the Underground Palace, questioned the wounded Burlihan, and found several surviving girls who had been held there. He arranged for the girls to stay in nearby village ruins while Arrow and Bevan watched, and Arrow revealed that Claire had found the Heaven Mending Technique.

• Claire found Burlihan injured in the Underground Palace and learned that Arrow had left him alive, then pressed him for information about Viscountess Corey and the imprisoned girls.
• Burlihan admitted that the surviving girls were in the Black Prison and claimed he had bought them from bandits, but Claire dismissed his offer to send them home.
• Arrow told Bevan that Burlihan might provide useful information about Viscountess Corey's allies, while leaving the decision to keep him alive to Claire.
• Claire met the imprisoned girls, refused their request to be taken farther away, and told them to gather supplies and stay in nearby village ruins under his watch.
• Arrow told Bevan that Claire carried food for the girls and revealed that he had found the Heaven Mending Technique in the Underground Palace.

Claire persuaded Lord Arrow to establish Martial Arts Mountain near the Heaven Mending Ruins, arguing that its location would help spread martial arts and that the nearby supplies could support construction. Lord Arrow agreed, allowing the orphaned girls to stay there if they had nowhere else to go.

• Bevan asked about the books that inspired Lord Arrow to create the Heaven Mending Technique, and Lord Arrow said he would let Bevan read them later.
• Claire built several stone houses and a fenced courtyard in the Ruins.
• Claire visited Lord Arrow in his camouflaged tent and asked him to consider establishing Martial Arts Mountain on a nearby mountain.
• Claire argued that the location would attract learners from nearby territories and kingdoms, while Viscountess Corey's Magic Den could supply the initial construction.
• Lord Arrow agreed to establish Martial Arts Mountain there and said the girls could stay if they had nowhere else to go.

Claire planned to place the Heaven Mending Ruins near the Saint Fernando Empire's army camp so its people would discover them, while Lord Arrow questioned how the discovery would unfold. Their discussion of Knight Breakthrough Potions led Lord Arrow to suspect that official potion merchants might be spreading the claim that Wandering Wizards' potions were cursed, and he realized that promoting martial arts could threaten a powerful system.

• Claire asked Lord Arrow to protect Bevan and teach martial arts while she continued upstream to carve the Heaven Mending Ruins, and Bevan suggested building them on Martial Arts Mountain.
• Claire explained that the ruins could not be placed on Martial Arts Mountain because visitors would disrupt the sect, and she proposed setting them near the Saint Fernando Empire's army camp.
• Claire said she would expose her tracks so young Formal Knights would follow her to the ruins, and she explained how noble sons could buy Knight Breakthrough Potions and earn baronial titles.
• Lord Arrow reconsidered the claim that Wandering Wizards' Knight Breakthrough Potions were cursed and suspected official potion merchants might be adding curses or spreading the story.
• Lord Arrow concluded that the martial path could face greater obstacles because it might threaten the system built around Knight Breakthrough Potions.

Lord Arrow planned a separate sect for women, aimed at noblewomen and built around the Yin Character Technique and refined arts. He explained that martial artists would not simply replace Knights because Formal Knights held a higher status and were backed by powerful interests.

• Lord Arrow considered using divisions between men and women to draw support and decided the Girls needed a separate sect rather than joining Martial Arts Mountain.
• Lord Arrow outlined the new sect’s public principles, martial training, and lessons in zither, song, dance, and calligraphy to attract noblewomen and build connections among the upper class.
• Claire asked whether the sect would abandon the Middle Class and then worried that its appeal would crush the Knight profession.
• Lord Arrow argued that Knights had long-standing social status and that martial artists’ lower entry threshold would not automatically grant them nobility.
• Lord Arrow said Formal Knights stood at a much higher level than ordinary martial artists and remained a powerful path for those who could afford it.