Recaps

Lin Hai explained how the Ten Renowned Clans formed their forces and described the power structure of Cloud Sun City. Jiang Liu learned that the imperial court’s Martial Prohibition Hall was the city’s strongest force and promised to act more carefully.

• Lin Hai named the Ten Renowned Clans and explained that their disciples and followers had formed several forces, including Sword Worship Villa and Hundred Fists Gate.
• Lin Hai said that forces established by the Ten Renowned Clans faced opposition from other factions, while three Saints continued to wander alone.
• Jiang Liu reflected on the dangers of Jianghu, and Lin Hai offered to explain Cloud Sun City’s distribution of forces.
• Lin Hai explained that the East District housed the City Lord’s Mansion and Martial Prohibition Hall, which the imperial court had established to suppress Jianghu forces.
• Jiang Liu realized the imperial court managed Jianghu affairs and told Lin Hai he would be more careful.

Lin Hai explained the gangs and powerful families controlling Cloud Sun City to Jiang Liu, then the three men drank together. The next morning, Jiang Liu practiced his fist and shattered a massive boulder, reflecting on how Bone Tempering had strengthened his body.

• Lin Hai described the chaos among West City's minor gangs, and Jiang Liu recalled how dangerous life had been in Flowing Cloud Alley before Master Lin took him in.
• Lin Hai warned Jiang Liu about South City's rival gangs and explained the influence of North District's Six Great Families, including their family factions and the Pan Family ancestor's declining health.
• Lin Hai, Jiang Liu, and Uncle Hai drank together until late, after which disciples helped Jiang Liu and Lin Hai back while Uncle Hai stayed in the Medicine Hall.
• At dawn, Jiang Liu woke with a thirst and practiced Five Elements Fist in the courtyard.
• Jiang Liu shattered his training boulder with a punch and considered how Bone Tempering let him circulate qi and blood through more of his body.

Jiang Liu continued cultivating while the apprentices rushed to reach Bone Tempering before next month’s assessment. At Hunting Eagle Hall, Master Lin planned to use testimony implicating Zheng Lang to damage his reputation, since it was not enough to punish him directly.

• Master Ma announced that apprentices who had not reached Bone Tempering by next month’s assessment would be transferred to Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, prompting them to cultivate intensely.
• Jiang Liu asked Wang Zhuang about his progress, learned he had tempered three bones, and returned to his courtyard to cultivate after reflecting on his own progress.
• Lin Hai told Master Lin that witnesses had confessed Zheng Lang ordered the cheating before the New Year, but Master Lin said the testimony could not bring down a Grade Five martial artist.
• Master Lin ordered Lin Hai to deliver the people and their statements to Punishment Hall publicly, then have Wind Hall spread word throughout the Fallen Blossom Gang to damage Zheng Lang’s reputation.

The apprentices underwent a detailed assessment, and Master Ma dismissed five who had failed. He urged the remaining apprentices to focus on cultivation, while Jiang Liu returned to his courtyard to train with the help of his Auxiliary System.

• Master Ma sent the apprentices to the testing room, where Feng Buping examined their physical condition and realms.
• After reviewing the results, Master Ma sent Pei Ling, Han Ji'an, Zhao Dongfan, Gan Tianfang, and Cheng Yu to Miscellaneous Affairs Hall.
• Master Ma encouraged the remaining apprentices to reach Entry Grade before turning twenty and warned them to avoid distractions.
• Jiang Liu checked his Auxiliary System and began his daily cultivation routine in his courtyard.
• Master Ma told Xiao Qing to ask Miscellaneous Affairs Hall to find decent arrangements for the five dismissed apprentices.

Jiang Liu perfected the Five Elements Fist and discovered its qi-and-blood-generating trait, which accelerated his Bone Tempering. Meanwhile, Zheng Lang learned that rumors had spread throughout the gang and ordered an investigation while seeking an accountant for Scattered Eagle Hall.

• Jiang Liu perfected the Five Elements Fist and gained the trait of generating qi and blood.
• Jiang Liu found that the fist technique helped restore his qi and blood while he tempered his bones, speeding his progress toward Blood Exchange.
• Zheng Lang angrily confronted Jiang Hao about rumors damaging his reputation and learned that Jiang Hao had warned him about them earlier.
• Zheng Lang ordered Jiang Hao to trace the rumors without alerting their source and told him to watch for threats against Scattered Eagle Hall.
• Zheng Lang decided to post a notice recruiting an accountant, then listened as Jiang Hao reported the hall's monthly income and expenditures.

Jiang Liu heard rumors accusing Zheng Lang of selling out the Fallen Blossom Gang, while Qian Luoying learned they stemmed from a dispute between Scattered Eagle Hall and Hunting Eagle Hall. Qian Luoying ordered the rumors stopped and both halls punished, while Lin Hao interpreted the decision as Qian Luoying balancing rival factions.

• Jiang Liu heard gang members gossiping that Zheng Lang was a coward toward outsiders and had betrayed the Fallen Blossom Gang.
• Shadow told Qian Luoying that rumors about Zheng Lang originated with Hunting Eagle Hall after Scattered Eagle Hall interfered with gambling houses on Fu Rong Street.
• Qian Luoying ordered Shadow to tell Lin Hao and Zheng Lang to end the conflict, suspended both halls' supplies for three days, and banned further rumor-spreading.
• Jiang Liu ate and practiced Wandering Steps three times in his courtyard.
• Lin Hai complained about the supply suspension, and Lin Hao explained that Qian Luoying was keeping the halls balanced so they would continue serving him.

Zheng Lang suspected Jiang Hao or someone else had framed him after Scattered Eagle Hall was blamed for spreading rumors, while two conspirators discussed changing their plan. Jiang Liu continued cultivating and studying medicine, then found Uncle Hai furious with apprentice Xing Jie for ruining medicinal ingredients.

• Zheng Lang learned that Lin Hao was behind the rumors and ordered Jiang Hao to obtain supplies from the treasury after headquarters suspended Scattered Eagle Hall's supplies for three days.
• Zheng Lang wondered whether Jiang Hao had acted behind his back or someone else had framed him.
• Two black-clad conspirators met in an abandoned house and revealed that they had deliberately exposed their mole to point suspicion at Scattered Eagle Hall.
• Jiang Liu improved his Bone Tempering and Wandering Steps proficiency, then went to Medicine Hall to seek advice from Uncle Hai.
• Uncle Hai told Jiang Liu that Xing Jie had ruined a pot of valuable medicinal ingredients.

Jiang Liu visited Uncle Hai to learn how physicians and medicines were ranked and about the Physician Pavilion. Uncle Hai agreed to teach him after he completed his year at the Training Hall, and Jiang Liu left determined to join the Pavilion once his rank advanced.

• Jiang Liu asked Uncle Hai how medicinal herbs and physicians were classified, and Uncle Hai explained their grades, ranks, and the Physician Pavilion's influence.
• Jiang Liu learned that Uncle Hai had once belonged to the Physician Pavilion and was now a Fifth Rank Physician, the highest rank in Cloud Sun City.
• Uncle Hai explained that advancing required a master, high-rank medicinal herbs, and practical experience, which smaller cities often lacked.
• Jiang Liu asked to study medicine under Uncle Hai, who told him to return after completing his year at the Training Hall.
• Jiang Liu bade Uncle Hai farewell, returned to his courtyard, and resolved to join the Physician Pavilion when his physician rank advanced.

After the Pan Family’s Sixth-Rank Old Ancestor died, the family faced growing pressure from the Hu Family and Ma Family over their Cloud Crystal Mine cooperation. Pan Yunlong summoned the family elders to discuss the dispute, and revealed the issue to them as the chapter ended.

• Jiang Liu heard that the Pan Family’s Old Ancestor had died and realized Cloud Sun City might soon fall into chaos.
• The Pan Family revealed that the Old Ancestor had actually died three days earlier, and that the Hu Family and Ma Family had discovered his death and were taking advantage of them.
• Pan Yunlong dismissed the family elders’ willingness to help, but agreed to summon them after Pan Yunyi warned that keeping them uninformed could worsen the conflict.
• Pan Yunbao notified the family elders, who gathered with the seven siblings in the council hall.
• Pan Yunlong told Pan Qi that he had summoned the elders to discuss the Pan Family’s cooperation with the Hu Family and Ma Family to mine the Cloud Crystal Mine.

The Hu and Ma Families plotted to weaken the Pan Family after its Old Ancestor died, while the Pan elders struggled to protect their interests and decided to help Pan Yunlong break through. As negotiations over the Cloud Crystal Mine stalled, the Pan Family remained unaware that the Hu and Ma Families had already set a larger plan in motion against them.

• Pan Yunlong told the Pan elders that the Hu and Ma Families were demanding a redistribution of the Cloud Crystal Mine’s profits, and the elders protested that they could not afford another concession.
• Hu Dake and Ma Sihai secretly agreed to exploit the Pan Family’s weakness, including cutting off its pill supply through Hu Dake’s connection to the Physician Pavilion.
• Ma Sihai left the Hu Family’s residence privately thinking that his family also held a grudge against the Hu Family.
• The Pan elders decided to devote the Lineage’s resources to helping Pan Yunlong break through to Rank 6.
• The Hu and Ma Families summoned the Pan Family to negotiate the mine profits, and the talks continued for half a month without agreement.
• Pan Yunhu lost his temper during the negotiations, while the Pan Family failed to notice the Hu and Ma Families’ broader scheme closing around them.

Jiang Liu mastered Wandering Steps, improved his Five Elements Fist, and continued Bone Tempering while the Pan Family lost most of its businesses and struggled to secure a breakthrough. In Horn Alley, a silent procession distributed rice and White Lotus Sacred Mother flyers, inviting people to gather with those who shared the faith.

• Jiang Liu mastered Wandering Steps, blended Tiger's Roar in the Mountain Forest into his Five Elements Fist, and advanced his Bone Tempering to 140.8/206.
• The Chen, Li, and Wang Families pressured the Pan Family, which lost most of its businesses to the Hu and Ma Families.
• Pan Qi lamented the Pan Family's losses, while the elders said Pan Yunlong remained secluded and had not broken through.
• The Pan Family elders worried that its dwindling supply of Grade Five Breakthrough Pills and the Physician Pavilion's delay would worsen its crisis.
• A black-clad procession distributed rice and White Lotus Sacred Mother flyers to households in Horn Alley.

On Guanyin's Birthday, the White Lotus Sect held a grand ceremony outside Cloud Sun City's West Gate, drawing tens of thousands and strengthening its presence in the city. The Martial Prohibition Hall took notice, and Yu Heming ordered Lin Pingfan to keep watching the sect as he went to the secret chamber.

• The White Lotus Sect staged a Birthday of the White Lotus Sacred Mother ceremony outside Cloud Sun City's West Gate, where the Saintess appeared before tens of thousands of kneeling commoners.
• The ceremony continued until the city gates were nearly closing, while some attendees were taken behind the platform and later emerged excited.
• Lin Pingfan warned Yu Heming that the White Lotus Sect had made unusual moves in Cloud Sun City.
• Yu Heming told Lin Pingfan to monitor the sect and report any further unusual activity, then went to the secret chamber.

Jiang Liu revealed that he had completed Bone Tempering in just over four months, while his Blood Exchange progressed steadily. Meanwhile, the White Lotus Sect’s new branch altar in Cloud Sun City alarmed several local forces, leaving them to prepare or dismiss the threat according to their priorities.

• Jiang Liu sparred with Wang Zhuang and fought him to a standstill without breaking a sweat.
• Jiang Liu admitted that he had completed Bone Tempering, shocking Wang Zhuang, who returned to his courtyard determined to catch up.
• Jiang Liu checked his system and saw that his Blood Exchange had reached sixteen percent; he planned to clear his meridians as he progressed.
• Qian Luoying learned from Shadow that the White Lotus Sect had opened a branch altar outside Cloud Sun City’s West City Gate and ordered him to watch its actions and the Martial Prohibition Hall’s response.
• The Vast Ocean Gang, Sky Roc Gang, and Chen, Li, and Wang Families investigated the White Lotus Sect, while the Hu and Ma Families focused on the Pan Family and the Pan Family ignored the news.

Jiang Liu completed his year in the main hall’s Training Hall and returned to pursue his plan to study medicine under Uncle Hai. The chapter ended with Lin Hai asking how many bones Jiang Liu had tempered.

• Master Ma congratulated the thirty apprentices who remained and urged them to reach Entry Grade before twenty as their Training Hall term ended.
• Jiang Liu and Wang Zhuang returned to their courtyard, and Jiang Liu went to Medicine Hall to begin learning from Uncle Hai.
• Uncle Hai gave Jiang Liu the Hundred Cures Compendium to assess his aptitude, and Jiang Liu’s system registered Medicine as not yet initiated.
• Lin Hai found Jiang Liu outside Medicine Hall, cautioned him not to neglect martial cultivation, and asked how many bones he had tempered.

After completing Bone Tempering, Jiang Liu joined Lin Hai for a meal at Drunken Immortal Pavilion, where Lin Hai explained the status and supposed benefits of its limited Immortal Brew. The two remained on the second floor because Lin Hai could not get them access to the third.

• Jiang Liu told Lin Hai that he had completed Bone Tempering and was beginning Blood Exchange, and Lin Hai accidentally hurt his shoulder while congratulating him.
• Lin Hai invited Jiang Liu to eat and check in at their hall, but Jiang Liu learned that Wang Zhuang had likely gone ahead to Hunting Eagle Hall.
• Lin Hai took Jiang Liu to Drunken Immortal Pavilion and ordered Immortal Brew and several dishes.
• Lin Hai explained that Immortal Brew was scarce, supposedly helped martial practitioners, and was served to select customers on the upper floors.
• Jiang Liu asked why they did not go to the third floor, and Lin Hai admitted that he could not get access.

Jiang Liu joined Lin Hao at the Hunting Eagle Hall headquarters, where his rapid progress earned him increased benefits. He perfected Wandering Steps and planned to complete Blood Exchange the next day, but still could not improve his Medicine proficiency.

• Jiang Liu tasted Immortal Brew with Lin Hai and realized that dining in the martial practitioner's world was expensive.
• Lin Hai brought Jiang Liu to Hunting Eagle Hall, where Jiang Liu reported that he had begun Blood Exchange.
• Lin Hao confirmed Jiang Liu's progress and raised his benefits to ten taels, ten Blood Growth Pills, and thirty jin of Exotic Beast Meat each month.
• Lin Hai helped Jiang Liu update his Identity Jade Token and settle into a residential courtyard at the headquarters, where Jiang Liu resumed training.
• On the morning of August 28, Jiang Liu perfected Wandering Steps and saw the change reflected in his Auxiliary System.
• Jiang Liu expected to complete Blood Exchange the next day but wondered why reading the Hundred Cures Compendium had not improved his Medicine proficiency.

After completing Blood Exchange, Jiang Liu received the Five Elements Heart Sutra from his upgraded system and learned that he needed a heart sutra to advance as a Ranked Martial Practitioner. Unsure whether to cultivate the rankless, five-element method, he went to seek Master Lin’s advice.

• Jiang Liu completed Blood Exchange after enduring the painful expulsion of waste blood and found that his meridians had cleared.
• The system upgraded and rewarded Jiang Liu with the Five Elements Heart Sutra, while its interface showed him as a Martial Practitioner who was not yet ranked.
• Jiang Liu learned how heart sutras and techniques worked and discovered that martial practitioners were ranked by stored essence qi and technique mastery.
• Jiang Liu worried that cultivating all five elements would take too long and questioned the value of a rankless heart sutra.
• Jiang Liu decided to ask Master Lin for a suitable heart sutra and headed to the council hall.

Jiang Liu told Master Lin that he had completed Blood Exchange and asked which Entry Grade heart sutra to cultivate. Master Lin explained how to choose an attribute and warned Jiang Liu that cultivating multiple attributes would hinder his progress, leaving him unsure whether to pursue the Five Elements Heart Sutra.

• Jiang Liu entered the meeting hall and found Master Lin celebrating the Pan Family’s downfall with Hunting Eagle Hall’s leaders and managers.
• Master Lin cleared the hall so Jiang Liu could speak privately, and Jiang Liu revealed that he had completed Blood Exchange and wanted advice on choosing a heart sutra.
• Master Lin examined Jiang Liu’s meridians, confirmed they were all open, and praised his rapid progress before offering him a reward.
• Master Lin explained that Jiang Liu could choose an attribute based on natural affinity or test all nine attributes by cultivating their heart sutras.
• Jiang Liu asked about cultivating multiple attributes, and Master Lin said it took much longer and kept cultivators from reaching high grades.
• Jiang Liu wondered whether to pursue the system-rewarded Five Elements Heart Sutra despite its five-attribute requirements.

Jiang Liu received nine cultivation manuals and began testing which heart methods suited him, discovering that each formed an Essence Particle. He failed to cultivate the methods together, injured himself, and remained determined to keep trying.

• Jiang Liu received five Five Elements Spirit Arts and four special-attribute cultivation arts from the Technique Hall and registered them on his Identity Jade Token.
• Jiang Liu cultivated the Five Elements Heart Sutra and formed an Essence Particle after completing its full circulation cycle.
• Jiang Liu recorded Lightning Guiding Art, Thunderclap Art, Wind Rise Art, and Frost Art, then formed an Essence Particle by circulating each art separately.
• Jiang Liu tried to cultivate all five heart methods together, but chaotic qi-and-blood circulation made him spit up blood.
• Jiang Liu refused to give up and resolved to continue experimenting.

Jiang Liu discovered how to combine his heart sutras into a cycle that followed the body's major meridians, then used it to gather Essence Particles and begin opening his dantian. The particles reached their peak, triggering another cleansing of his body, while he still had not officially reached Entry Grade.

• Jiang Liu experimented with different starting points and discovered that the Five Elements Heart Sutra could connect the four special-attribute heart sutras into a complete cycle.
• Jiang Liu realized the combined circulation routes formed the body's major meridians and decided to keep his discovery secret until he became stronger.
• Jiang Liu checked his Auxiliary System and saw that he was close to Entry Grade, with his heart sutra proficiency increasing.
• Jiang Liu circulated his designed route until an airflow vortex formed in his lower abdomen and began drawing in Essence Particles.
• Jiang Liu's vortex pulled in the last Essence Particles in his meridians, then the particles reached a peak and his body began expelling impurities.

After opening his dantian, Jiang Liu cultivated the Five Elements Heart Sutra for a month and advanced to Rank Two, but he still lacked techniques. He returned the borrowed heart method manuals and went to the Technique Hall, where his Identity Jade Token allowed him to choose manuals from any floor for ten days.

• Jiang Liu opened his dantian, reached Martial Practitioner Rank One, and planned to show Master Lin that he suited the wind attribute.
• Jiang Liu spent each day completing three long heart-method circulations, leaving no time to study medicine.
• A month later, Jiang Liu's Data Panel showed that he had reached Rank Two and still had no techniques.
• Jiang Liu returned nine heart method manuals and his Identity Jade Token to the Technique Hall warden.
• The Technique Hall warden told Jiang Liu that he could choose manuals from any floor and keep them for ten days, and Jiang Liu entered the hall.

Jiang Liu explored the Eagle Hunting Hall's Technique Hall, recorded several Mystic High-Grade manuals, and selected two more techniques to practice. He headed to the meeting hall to tell Master Lin that he had reached Entry Grade, where a loud bang greeted him.

• Jiang Liu found few manuals in the Technique Hall, then recorded Wind Walk, Mountain Splitter Palm, and Tiger Subduing Fist from the third floor.
• The system merged Wind Walk with Wandering Steps and Tiger Subduing Fist with Five Elements Fist, retaining their progress and traits.
• Jiang Liu took Storm Art and Whirlwind Kick from the second floor and registered his manuals with the clerk.
• Jiang Liu went to the meeting hall to share his breakthrough to Entry Grade with Master Lin.
• As Jiang Liu approached the meeting hall, he heard someone slam a hand on a table.

Jiang Liu entered Entry Grade after opening his dantian in only a month, and Master Lin confirmed his exceptional progress. After Jiang Liu returned to cultivating, Lin Hai warned him to stay away from his former home in West City because chaos there was spreading toward South City.

• Jiang Liu announced his breakthrough to Master Lin, who checked his dantian and praised its remarkable size.
• Jiang Liu told Master Lin that he was compatible with the wind attribute and showed him the heart method and Wind Walk manuals he had obtained.
• Jiang Liu recorded the manuals in his system and realized that training Wind Walk and a heart method would make cultivation more demanding.
• Lin Hai visited Jiang Liu and warned him not to return to his old home in West City because unrest there was spreading toward South City.
• Lin Hai said Master Lin had ordered martial law in response to the growing chaos.

Jiang Liu went to West City after hearing the White Lotus Sect had taken control amid famine and unrest. He found strangers occupying his house and attacked their leader, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Lin Hai told Jiang Liu that drought, hunger, and harsh taxes had driven more than a hundred thousand people to join the White Lotus Sect in West City.
• Jiang Liu disguised himself as a commoner and slipped past armed guards into West City.
• Jiang Liu saw that his house in Flowing Cloud Alley was occupied and punched Big Dog, apparently killing him.
• The five remaining occupants offered to leave and called the matter even, but Jiang Liu refused and attacked their leader with Tiger Subduing Fist and Wind Walk.

Jiang Liu defeated a Third Rank Heaven River Gang helmsman, but White Lotus Sect forces arrived and killed the remaining gang members. He escaped West City and reached an inn in South City, deciding he could not return home for now.

• Jiang Liu used Wind Walk, a tiger's roar, and his ice and lightning abilities to defeat the Third Rank leader, then snapped his neck with Tiger Subduing Fist.
• Jiang Liu killed Skinny Monkey after he falsely claimed the men belonged to the White Lotus Sect, and the other three revealed they were members of the Heaven River Gang.
• Jiang Liu spotted White Lotus Sect members surrounding the courtyard and hid in an alley as they killed the three remaining Heaven River Gang members.
• The White Lotus Sect searched the courtyard and ordered a search of the area, so Jiang Liu fled Flowing Cloud Alley.
• Jiang Liu returned to South City, avoided going home or to the Training Hall, and found an inn using his Fallen Blossom Gang identity.