Chapter Summaries

After accidentally breaking through to the middle stage of the Yuan Ting Realm, Xu Xiaoshou spent ten skill points to raise Countershock to Grandmaster Lv.1. He discovered that Resilience let him project his punch’s force without being hit first, and the chapter ended with him marveling at his newly extended attack range.

• Xu Xiaoshou realized that one Yuan Ting Pill had pushed him into the middle stage of the Yuan Ting Realm and inspected the expanded sea of spiritual energy it gave him.
• Xu Xiaoshou checked his Passive Value and decided to upgrade Countershock, spending ten skill points to raise it from Master Lv.1 to Grandmaster Lv.1.
• Xu Xiaoshou reasoned that Resilience could stop Countershock from knocking him backward when he punched empty space, potentially letting him strike at space itself.
• Xu Xiaoshou tested the idea with a punch and blasted a hole through the door.
• Xu Xiaoshou noticed that his punch had reached beyond his body and wondered whether his basic attacks now had a longer range.

After destroying his room while testing his abilities, Xu Xiaoshou spent his remaining Passive Values on the Awakening Pool and successfully awakened Countershock as Explosive Stance. He tested the new power in his room, leaving its effects poised to hit the door.

• The attendant found Xu Xiaoshou's room wrecked, and Xu Xiaoshou asked for a replacement while letting the attendant believe an enemy had attacked.
• Mu Zixi saw the damage and asked Xu Xiaoshou if he had wrecked something again, so he hurriedly pushed her back into her room.
• Xu Xiaoshou decided to save his remaining Passive Values for the Awakening Pool rather than raise Mastery of Culinary Arts before his alchemist badge examination.
• Xu Xiaoshou used an Awakening Stone on Countershock and successfully awakened it as Explosive Stance.
• Xu Xiaoshou released Explosive Stance, saw golden energy surge through his body, and turned toward the door.

Xu Xiaoshou accidentally unleashed the destructive power of Explosive Stance, then tricked the inn staff into chasing a nonexistent assassin. He left with Mu Zixi and considered how the new technique could amplify his other skills.

• Xu Xiaoshou tested Explosive Stance with a trembling finger, and the resulting air bead obliterated his door, part of the inn, and the corridor.
• The waiter arrived to investigate, and Xu Xiaoshou pretended to be gravely injured and claimed an assassin had fled with an array plate.
• The waiter and several others rushed off to pursue the supposed assassin while Mu Zixi sealed the room and helped Xu Xiaoshou maintain the act.
• Xu Xiaoshou woke, learned everyone had left, and persuaded Mu Zixi to leave with him while insisting they should compensate the inn for the damage.
• Xu Xiaoshou reflected on Explosive Stance's power and considered using it to augment the Five-Finger Seed Imprinting Technique and Great Fireball Technique.

Xu Xiaoshou rested at a new inn with Greed God and A-Jie, while reflecting on Ghost Beast hosts, the organizations pursuing them, and the forces shaping his life. He concluded that he remained powerless against the wider struggle of the Great Dao and stopped himself from dwelling on it further.

• Xu Xiaoshou returned to his room after agreeing with Mu Zixi to spend two more days resting and studying alchemy before taking the badge examination.
• Xu Xiaoshou recognized Greed God as a Ghost Beast and calmed A-Jie when it threatened the cat, then joked about the two being siblings.
• Xu Xiaoshou considered whether Ghost Beast hosts had formed their own organization and connected their secrecy to the threat posed by Holy Spirit Hall.
• Xu Xiaoshou reflected on Elder Sang's influence over his choices and realized that the old man had prepared countless paths to guide him.
• Xu Xiaoshou felt powerless before the world's wider forces and stopped himself from thinking further about the struggle of the Great Dao.

After three days of being kept waiting at the Zhang Clan, Lan Xinzi went to Zhang Taiying to ask to leave the slave registry. Zhang Taiying challenged her motives, leaving her request unresolved.

• He Yuxing said he would wait for Lan Xinzi and vowed to make the Zhang Clan pay for its treatment of her once he regained his strength.
• Lan Xinzi told He Yuxing to stay behind and went to meet Zhang Taiying through their master-servant mental communication.
• Zhang Taiying discussed preparations for the City Lord's Manor night banquet and the Zhang Clan's prospects for securing White Cavern slots.
• Lan Xinzi called out to Zhang Taiying and asked to leave the slave registry now that Zhang Xinxiong was dead.
• Lan Xinzi insisted she would have made the request even if nothing had happened to Zhang Xinxiong, and Zhang Taiying asked whether she had wanted to leave before his death.

Lan Xinzi provoked Zhang Taiying into releasing her from the Zhang Clan, surviving his devastating attack and the deaths of many servants. At last free, she left with He Yuxing and chose to go to the White Cavern inside Eight Palaces.

• Lan Xinzi confronted Zhang Taiying about his knowledge of her proposal, and he struck her before stopping a spiritual essence bead at her forehead.
• The bead exploded, devastating the hall and killing many servants, while Lan Xinzi survived with grave injuries.
• Zhang Taiying asked who had killed Zhang Xinxiong, learned the killer was Xu Xiaoshou, and ordered Lan Xinzi to take her people and belongings and leave.
• After Zhang Taiying departed, Lan Xinzi realized she was free and reflected on her love for Zhang Xinxiong and her desire for freedom.
• Lan Xinzi linked arms with He Yuxing and told him to take her to the White Cavern inside Eight Palaces.

After resting for two days, Xu Xiaoshou prepared to obtain an alchemist badge and discovered that Greed God could enter his Yuan Ting. He realized the red interface suppressed intruders there and left Greed God inside to absorb its life aura.

• Xu Xiaoshou woke refreshed and decided to get an alchemist badge.
• Xu Xiaoshou invited Greed God into his body, and it entered his Yuan Ting through his forehead.
• Xu Xiaoshou found Greed God incapacitated beneath the red interface and realized the interface suppressed beings that entered his Yuan Ting.
• Xu Xiaoshou left Greed God in his Yuan Ting to absorb life aura, warning it to stay away from the red interface.
• Xu Xiaoshou left his room and knocked on Mu Zixi's door to handle business.

Xu Xiaoshou and Mu Zixi visited the Alchemist Association to deliver Elder Sang’s letter to President Shi Ti, but a white-robed young master mistook their argument for harassment and tried to intervene. Xu Xiaoshou mocked the would-be hero, and Mu Zixi agreed that he was not good-looking.

• Xu Xiaoshou and Mu Zixi entered the Alchemist Association, where Xu Xiaoshou asked the receptionist for President Shi Ti.
• Xu Xiaoshou pulled Mu Zixi aside to demand what Elder Sang’s letter said, while she insisted she had not read it.
• A white-robed young master accused Xu Xiaoshou of mistreating Mu Zixi and drew his sword to play the hero.
• Xu Xiaoshou accused the young master of using a rescue as an excuse to approach Mu Zixi and called him scum.
• Mu Zixi called the young master shameless and said he was not good-looking.

Xu Xiaoshou provoked Fu Xing into accepting a duel, then proposed a Heavenly Dao Game based on hand gestures. Fu Xing recognized the rules before Xu Xiaoshou could finish explaining them.

• Xu Xiaoshou taunted Fu Xing until Fu Xing challenged him to a duel.
• A guard revealed that the young man in white was Fu Xing, the eldest young master of the City Lord's Manor.
• Xu Xiaoshou accepted the duel and proposed that Fu Xing call him Brother if he lost.
• Xu Xiaoshou offered Mu Zixi as the prize if he lost, and Fu Xing agreed to hear the rules.
• Xu Xiaoshou explained the hand gestures of the Heavenly Dao Game, but Fu Xing guessed the final gesture and left Xu Xiaoshou startled.

Xu Xiaoshou challenged Fu Xing to settle their conflict with one punch each, then let Fu Xing strike first. Fu Xing's Purple Dragon Chant attack failed to move Xu Xiaoshou and rebounded its force back at him.

• Fu Xing rejected Xu Xiaoshou's proposed games and demanded a duel.
• Xu Xiaoshou persuaded Fu Xing to settle their dispute with one punch each, and the guard allowed them to fight under his watch.
• Fu Xing formed a purple dragon with Purple Dragon Chant and punched Xu Xiaoshou in the chest.
• Xu Xiaoshou's Resilience absorbed the attack, leaving him unmoved as the punch's force rebounded.

Xu Xiaoshou reflected Fu Xing’s attack with Countershock, sending him blasting through the Pill Tower and setting off furnace explosions on the upper floors. The tower descended into chaos, and Xu Xiaoshou insisted to the stunned guard that he had not attacked.

• Fu Xing struck Xu Xiaoshou with Purple Dragon Chant, but Countershock sent Fu Xing flying through the spiritual essence barrier and several floors.
• The crowd and guard realized Xu Xiaoshou had not moved, while Xu Xiaoshou sighed that no one believed his attempts to avoid a fight.
• Mu Zixi sensed more destruction was coming and warned everyone to cover their ears.
• Explosions erupted above as Fu Xing crashed through the floors, startling alchemists and causing furnaces to explode.
• Fires and disorder spread through the Pill Tower, and Xu Xiaoshou told the guard that he had not made a move.

Fu Xing was badly injured after his attack rebounded on him inside the Pill Tower, and President Shi Ti healed him with a Lesser Body-Restoring Pill. Shi Ti demanded an explanation for the damage, and Fu Xing began to reveal that he had only wanted to hit someone.

• Fu Xing crashed into a pill furnace after suffering severe injuries from the countershock of his attack.
• Fu Xing asked the old alchemist for pain relief, and President Shi Ti gave him a Lesser Body-Restoring Pill that restored his arm and healed his wounds.
• Shi Ti demanded to know why Fu Xing had caused trouble and damaged the Pill Tower.
• Fu Xing admitted he had only wanted to hit someone, prompting Shi Ti to ask who had dared attack him in the Pill Tower.

After Fu Xing admitted that a mid-stage Yuan Ting realm cultivator had been involved in the damage, Shi Ti carried him down to confront the supposed culprit. Xu Xiaoshou was stopped from leaving, then clung to Shi Ti and begged him for help, leaving the crowd stunned.

• Fu Xing told Shi Ti that the incident involved a mid-stage Yuan Ting realm cultivator and said Countershock had caused the destruction.
• Shi Ti insisted Fu Xing confront the culprit and carried him down through the hole in the Pill Tower.
• Xu Xiaoshou tried to leave with Mu Zixi, but a guard kept him there to account for what happened.
• Shi Ti arrived with Fu Xing and asked Xu Xiaoshou if he was the culprit.
• Xu Xiaoshou burst into tears, grabbed Shi Ti's leg, and cried, "Chairman, save me!"

Xu Xiaoshou portrayed himself as a victim after Fu Xing punched him inside the Pill Tower, winning the crowd’s sympathy with his taunts and accusations. Shi Ti questioned the damage to the building and Xu Xiaoshou’s part in the fight, while Xu Xiaoshou ended by blaming the guard and Fu Xing for the confrontation.

• Xu Xiaoshou clung to Shi Ti and accused Fu Xing of coveting his junior sister and punching him, while Shi Ti’s robe became a handkerchief.
• Fu Xing admitted that he had punched Xu Xiaoshou, and the onlookers confirmed that Xu Xiaoshou had not fought back.
• Shi Ti pointed out the hole in the ceiling and the charred pill cauldron, but Xu Xiaoshou denied responsibility and mocked Fu Xing for being unable to hurt him.
• The crowd laughed at Xu Xiaoshou’s insults, and Fu Xing was left humiliated.
• Shi Ti challenged Xu Xiaoshou for attacking inside the Pill Tower, and Xu Xiaoshou blamed the guard for allowing the fight and Fu Xing for throwing the punch.

Xu Xiaoshou persuaded the Pill Tower crowd that Fu Xing was responsible for the damage and secured his agreement to pay for it. After President Shi Ti dismissed everyone, Xu Xiaoshou revealed he had come to take the alchemist badge assessment and asked whether Shi Ti remembered Elder Sang by Big Goose Lake.

• Mu Zixi recognized Xu Xiaoshou's feigned helplessness, but stayed quiet after he warned her with a look.
• Xu Xiaoshou won the crowd's sympathy, and witnesses blamed Fu Xing for starting the incident.
• Xu Xiaoshou defended the guard while suggesting Fu Xing's weak cultivation had caused the trouble, then demanded that Fu Xing compensate the Pill Tower and honor their wager.
• President Shi Ti sent the crowd away, kept the guard on duty, and told Fu Xing to collect his little sister and leave.
• Xu Xiaoshou announced that he had come to take the alchemist badge assessment, then handed Shi Ti a letter and asked if he remembered Elder Sang by Big Goose Lake.

Xu Xiaoshou used Elder Sang’s letter to calm President Shi Ti, who recognized Sang and considered taking Mu Zixi as his personal disciple. Mu Zixi refused, and Shi Ti turned them away until he read Sang’s cryptic letter and noticed the damage to the Pill Tower.

• Shi Ti recognized Elder Sang’s name and learned that Xu Xiaoshou and Mu Zixi came from the Tiansang Spirit Palace.
• Shi Ti noticed Mu Zixi’s talent and asked her to become his disciple, but Mu Zixi refused and declared Elder Sang the best master for her.
• The crowd realized Elder Sang was the Alchemist Association’s honorary vice president, and Shi Ti angrily told Xu Xiaoshou and Mu Zixi to leave the Pill Tower.
• Xu Xiaoshou handed Shi Ti Elder Sang’s letter, which urged tolerance and magnanimity.
• Shi Ti sensed orthodox Jin Zhao power in the letter, then saw the shattered hole in the Pill Tower and wondered whether Elder Sang had anticipated everything.

Shi Ti agreed to let Xu Xiaoshou and Mu Zixi take the alchemist badge assessment after reading Elder Sang’s letter, then led them to the seventh floor of the Alchemist Association. There, Xu Xiaoshou teased Fu Xing about their wager before Fu Yinhong emerged from an alchemy room, and Xu Xiaoshou greeted her as Fu Xing’s little sister.

• Shi Ti asked Xu Xiaoshou what Elder Sang meant to him, then invited Xu Xiaoshou and Mu Zixi upstairs to take their assessments.
• The crowd speculated about Elder Sang and Shi Ti, and Shi Ti carried Xu Xiaoshou on his shoulder when Xu Xiaoshou lingered to question a bystander.
• Shi Ti led the group to the seventh floor, where Mu Zixi grew nervous about the alchemy test and Xu Xiaoshou encountered Fu Xing.
• Xu Xiaoshou teased Fu Xing about their wager to call him big brother, but Fu Yinhong came out of an alchemy room before Fu Xing answered.
• Xu Xiaoshou and Fu Xing both slapped Fu Yinhong’s shoulders and asked whether she had passed the assessment.

Xu Xiaoshou turned Fu Xing’s wagered loss into an excuse to call Fu Yinhong his little sister and Fu Xing his little brother. After Fu Xing publicly called him Brother, Xu Xiaoshou insisted the wager was binding and declared that Fu Xing would remain his little brother.

• Xu Xiaoshou recognized Fu Yinhong as Fu Xing’s little sister and teased her by insisting she call him Brother.
• Fu Yinhong drew her sword at Xu Xiaoshou, but Shi Ti ordered her to put it away.
• Fu Yinhong demanded an explanation, and Fu Xing admitted that he had lost a one-punch wager to Xu Xiaoshou.
• Fu Xing loudly called Xu Xiaoshou Brother in front of the gathered Alchemist Association members.
• Xu Xiaoshou rejected Fu Xing’s claim that the fight had been a joke and insisted the wager made Fu Xing his little brother.

Xu Xiaoshou’s clash with Fu Xing revealed that he had Innate Sword Intent and the real Ten-Stage Sword Finger, though his counterattack blasted Fu Xing through the Pill Tower’s wall. Fu Xing returned, unharmed and captivated, and begged Xu Xiaoshou to teach him.

• Xu Xiaoshou stopped Fu Xing’s sword with his own Sword Intent, shocking everyone in the hall with his Innate Sword Intent.
• Fu Xing attacked Xu Xiaoshou with a Sword Finger, and Xu Xiaoshou countered with the Ten-Stage Sword Finger.
• Xu Xiaoshou’s sword qi sent Fu Xing through the alchemy room’s door and the Pill Tower’s outer wall, while Shi Ti shielded Mu Zixi.
• Xu Xiaoshou apologized to Shi Ti for the damage as Shi Ti struggled to contain his anger.
• Fu Xing returned with a jade pendant protecting him, recognized Xu Xiaoshou’s move as the real Ten-Stage Sword Finger, and begged him to teach it.

Xu Xiaoshou and Fu Xing were reprimanded by Chairman Shi Ti after their fight damaged the Pill Tower, then Xu Xiaoshou began his alchemy assessment. He learned that the seventh-floor assessment was meant for advanced alchemists, leaving Yunhe to wonder whether Xu Xiaoshou was a self-taught prodigy.

• Fu Xing begged Xu Xiaoshou to teach him the Ten-Stage Sword Finger, while Chairman Shi Ti scolded them for causing trouble in the Pill Tower.
• Fu Xing pressured Fu Yinhong to retake her failed assessment so he could stay with Xu Xiaoshou, and Chairman Shi Ti led Mu Zixi to another alchemy room.
• Yunhe explained that the seventh floor usually assessed advanced alchemists, and Xu Xiaoshou revealed that Fu Xing called him brother.
• Yunhe told Xu Xiaoshou to begin at tenth grade by refining a pill, with three chances to produce one of high grade using Pill Tower ingredients.
• Xu Xiaoshou asked to use his own pill cauldron and earth fire, leading Yunhe to suspect he had practiced alchemy on his own for years.