Chapter Summaries

Tao Yu fought Huang Yaoshi, earned his respect, and learned that Titans had appeared on the grasslands. As Huang Yaoshi offered to teach him a top-tier martial art, Tao Yu accepted the chance to learn the Nine Yin Manual.

• Tao Yu’s roar disrupted Huang Yaoshi, but the two exchanged palm and claw strikes, and Huang Yaoshi admitted defeat before giving Tao Yu a Nine Flower Jade Dew Pill and a promise of martial techniques.
• Huang Yaoshi told Tao Yu that the grassland armies had withdrawn after man-eating giants appeared, and that refugees had brought ODM Gear from the north.
• Tao Yu and Huang Yaoshi discussed the danger posed by the giants, and Huang Yaoshi invited Tao Yu and Cheng Lixue to travel with him to Xiangyang.
• Huang Yaoshi examined Tao Yu’s resilient meridians and suggested an Internal Cultivation Method, but Tao Yu said he wanted the finest techniques because internal energy could conflict with other energies.
• Huang Yaoshi named the Innate Skill, the Nine Yin Manual, and the Yi Jin Jing as the world’s three best foundation-building methods, then offered the Nine Yin Manual, which Tao Yu accepted.

Tao Yu accepted Huang Yaoshi’s offer to teach him the Nine Yin Manual and became his disciple, mastering its foundational Beidou method during their voyage to Xiangyang. At the inn, he prepared to spend five thousand Wish Power to deify the technique.

• Tao Yu discovered that he could not understand the Nine Yin Manual and asked Huang Yaoshi to explain its Daoist teachings.
• Huang Yaoshi taught Tao Yu aboard the ship for half a month, and Tao Yu cultivated his first wisp of pure Nine Yin internal energy.
• Huang Yaoshi confirmed Tao Yu’s progress, while Cheng Lixue and Zhang Hao congratulated him on becoming Huang Yaoshi’s disciple.
• The group reached Xiangyang and went to an inn to rest, where Tao Yu decided to deify the Nine Yin Manual.

After Deifying Northern Dipper, Tao Yu discovered that it could draw on Big Dipper star power to refine his internal energy into true qi, and he accelerated the process with willpower. He explained his abilities and the Abyss to Huang Yaoshi, agreed to share his physical-force training method, and was joined by Huang Rong at the restaurant.

• Tao Yu Deified Northern Dipper and used willpower to accelerate his cultivation, drawing on Big Dipper star power to transform his internal energy into true qi.
• Tao Yu ate a huge meal and told Huang Yaoshi that Chosen Ones could use willpower to accelerate their progress in the Abyss.
• Tao Yu demonstrated his physical force against Huang Yaoshi, who judged its strengths and weaknesses and declined to learn it.
• Huang Yaoshi asked Tao Yu to teach the method to others, and Tao Yu agreed to start with his senior sister and brother-in-law in Xiangyang.
• Huang Rong arrived at the restaurant and greeted her father, Huang Yaoshi.

Huang Yaoshi brought Tao Yu, Cheng Lixue, and Zhang Hao to meet Huang Rong and Guo Jing in Xiangyang, where they discussed the giants threatening the Central Plains and the power gained by Chosen Ones. Huang Rong agreed to help Tao Yu meet the outsiders in her region, who might include other Chosen Ones.

• Huang Yaoshi introduced Tao Yu as his new disciple and introduced Cheng Lixue and Zhang Hao to Huang Rong.
• Tao Yu met Guo Jing, whose strength had increased after he killed three giants while investigating the Titan Calamity.
• Guo Jing explained what had happened, and Huang Rong described the giants near the Yellow River and the danger posed by displaced steppe tribes.
• Tao Yu explained the Chosen Ones to Huang Yaoshi, Huang Rong, and Guo Jing, and Huang Rong questioned him about the phenomenon.
• Tao Yu asked to meet the outsiders in Huang Rong's region, and she agreed, noting that some might also be Chosen Ones.

After Aaron's group escaped their Titan-overrun city and reached Xiangyang with Guo Jing's help, Tao Yu translated and questioned the 104th Training Corps about their world. He chose Armin, Historia, and Ymir to continue the discussion that night, while considering how Aaron's power might help resolve the crisis.

• The 104th Training Corps took refuge at the Beggars' Sect branch in Xiangyang after a strange lightning strike erased part of their city and let Titans enter from behind.
• Aaron grieved over Mikasa's disappearance, while Jean blamed him for failing to transform and Armin tried to keep the group together.
• Guo Jing and Huang Rong brought Tao Yu to meet the trainees, and Tao Yu used wish power to speak their language fluently.
• Tao Yu questioned the refugees about their world and journey, then asked Armin and Aaron to send representatives for a later discussion.
• When Aaron could not bring himself to attend, Historia volunteered and Ymir insisted on accompanying her, so Tao Yu selected them and Armin.
• Tao Yu recognized the Marley Trio and considered helping Aaron unlock his power to control Titans.

Tao Yu discussed the possibility that the Colossal and Armored Titans were hidden among the representatives and proposed taking them to hunt Titans. Before setting out, he agreed to teach Guo Jing and Huang Rong techniques, then began planning how to turn martial arts instruction into a business as his wish power dwindled.

• Tao Yu told Huang Rong and the others that the Colossal and Armored Titans might be among the representatives, and Huang Rong suggested that some uncontrolled Titans could be humans who had lost their reason.
• Tao Yu proposed bringing the group along to hunt Titans so he could identify the Chosen One, and Guo Jing offered to go in his place.
• Huang Rong reminded Guo Jing that he needed to help organize a Martial Arts Tournament, so Tao Yu promised to teach him and Huang Rong techniques for harnessing force before departing.
• Guo Jing offered to teach Tao Yu the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, despite Huang Yaoshi's displeasure.
• Tao Yu considered collecting and teaching martial arts for profit, then noticed that practicing the Nine Yin Manual was rapidly consuming his wish power.

Tao Yu mastered the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms and sparred with Guo Jing to test their martial arts. The clash began with Tao Yu’s Dragon Appears on the Field neutralizing Guo Jing’s long-range attacks, leaving Guo Jing, Huang Rong, and Huang Yaoshi stunned by Tao Yu’s strength.

• Tao Yu mastered the fundamentals of all eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms in five days, impressing Guo Jing, Huang Rong, and Huang Yaoshi.
• Tao Yu reflected on the techniques’ strengths and costs, then asked Guo Jing to spar with him.
• Huang Yaoshi suggested that Tao Yu and Guo Jing use the martial arts they had taught each other, while warning them to show restraint.
• Tao Yu took a defensive Dragon Appears on the Field stance as Guo Jing advanced using Tiger Form and Ape Form.
• Tao Yu’s energy wall dispersed Guo Jing’s long-range attacks with barely a ripple, astonishing Guo Jing, Huang Rong, and Huang Yaoshi.

Tao Yu demonstrated how his true qi and fist intent let him defeat Guo Jing in a palm clash, then explained the danger posed by the Explorer company and urged the others to prepare. Huang Rong considered seeking weapons and supplies in the southern seas, while Tao Yu warned her about his pet there and offered to introduce them to his superior.

• Tao Yu combined Dragon Appears on the Field with Regretful Dragon to break through Guo Jing's defense and injure him with a palm strike.
• Tao Yu removed the lingering Big Dipper True Qi from Guo Jing, who recovered with Huang Rong's Nine Flower Jade Dew Pill.
• Tao Yu attributed his control over inner force to his Meditation Technique and warned that the company might invade if the world lacked strength.
• Huang Rong asked Tao Yu about obtaining guns, and he suggested organizing martial artists to scavenge supplies in the southern seas while warning them not to provoke his pet.
• Tao Yu offered to introduce Guo Jing and the others to his superior in the New Frontier, but stressed that they needed to become strong themselves.

Tao Yu led the 104th Training Corps north to find the Chosen One and encouraged Aaron by suggesting Mikasa might still be alive. He overheard Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie discussing their weakened Titan powers and shot their horses after they tried to flee.

• Huang Yaoshi gave Tao Yu the Azure Sea Tide Song and Finger Flicking Divine Skill and asked him to check on Guo'er if he passed by.
• Cheng Lixue and Zhang Hao discussed whether they were Chosen Ones and feared they might otherwise have to give up on the Martial World.
• Tao Yu explained the search for a Chosen One to the cadets and reminded Aaron that Mikasa might still be alive.
• Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie discussed their weakened Titan powers and considered acting against Tao Yu's group.
• Tao Yu appeared behind the three, revealed he had heard their plotting, and pursued them when they broke away.
• Tao Yu fired three shots that brought down the horses carrying Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie.

Tao Yu confronted the Marley Trio after discovering their Titan powers, quickly defeating Reiner and Annie while Aaron transformed to attack them. Annie and Bertholdt were captured, leaving the truth of their betrayal exposed to the 104th Batch.

• After Tao Yu shot down Annie and the others, the Armored Titan appeared, and Aaron realized that his comrades were responsible for his mother's death.
• Aaron transformed into the Attack Titan and charged, but Tao Yu dodged the Armored Titan's sweeping hand and struck its nape, bringing Reiner down.
• Bertholdt transformed into the Colossal Titan and unleashed a massive blast of steam as Annie became the Female Titan and fled.
• Tao Yu pursued Annie, shot her with the Warlord's Sidearm, and knocked her Female Titan to the ground.
• Aaron seized Bertholdt in the Attack Titan's hand while Tao Yu shattered the crystal at Annie's nape and pulled her out, capturing both of them.

Tao Yu killed Bertholdt and Annie after learning that the Founding Titan could control most Titans, then led the 104th Batch cadets into the mountains to search for powerful Wish Power snakes. The cadets began combing the forest in groups while Tao Yu stayed ready to support them.

• Tao Yu pulled the Wish Power from Reiner's spinal cord as Aaron and the cadets watched.
• Bertholdt revealed that he, Annie, and Reiner had come from Marley to steal the Founding Titan's power, which could control Titans with a royal-blooded inheritor.
• Tao Yu shot Bertholdt and Annie, then urged Aaron to learn to control his Titan power.
• Tao Yu told the cadets about the powerful horned snakes in the mountains and warned them to work together because the creatures could resist blades and bullets.
• Armin, Aaron, and other capable cadets led groups into the forest to search for the snakes while Tao Yu offered to support them.

Tao Yu spent half a month hunting Bodhi Serpents with the 104th Batch Training Corps, harvesting their valuable gallbladders and developing his abilities. After discovering the giant condor, he planned to investigate Dugu Qiubai’s place and prepare to return to sell his finds, while Aaron, Cheng Lixue, and Zhang Hao were confirmed as Chosen Ones.

• Tao Yu killed a Bodhi Serpent and took its gallbladder while the Training Corps trainees skinned and butchered the creature.
• Tao Yu explained the value of Bodhi Serpent gallbladders, meat, and hides, and hoped researchers could find a way to breed the serpents.
• Tao Yu arrived as a giant condor fought a Bodhi Serpent and killed the snake with a Finger Flicking Divine Skill attack.
• Tao Yu harvested and ate the gallbladder, reflected on how his Deified techniques worked together, and worried that his Willpower was running low.
• Tao Yu decided to investigate Dugu Qiubai’s place and later return to sell his finds; Aaron, Cheng Lixue, and Zhang Hao were confirmed as Chosen Ones.

After taming the ugly bird and honoring Dugu Qiubai, Tao Yu set out for Shaoshi Mountain to seek Shaolin’s martial arts and resources. On the road, he encountered refugees fleeing south and explained that stopping the Titan Calamity was the only lasting solution, though Shaolin might shelter some of them.

• Tao Yu implanted a mental seed in the ugly bird, buried Dugu Qiubai, and kept the Mysterious Iron Heavy Sword while planning to sell the Green Light Sword.
• Tao Yu reviewed his Wish Power and cultivation priorities, deciding to Deify the Myriad Flow Breathing Technique before Beidou and Demonization.
• Tao Yu left the Condor to guard the mountains and headed for Shaolin Temple to seek the Nine Yang Divine Skill, the Yi Jin Jing, and the Seventy-Two Ultimate Skills.
• Tao Yu and the other trainees saw refugees streaming south, while Zhang Hao asked Tao Yu whether he could help them.
• Tao Yu said that ending the Titan Calamity was the only way to solve the crisis at its root and suggested Shaolin might shelter some refugees.

Tao Yu challenged Shaolin after seeing its monks turn away starving refugees while grain filled the temple’s fields. As Master Wuse led him up the mountain, Tao Yu learned that Wuse shared his anger at the temple’s situation and would not oppose his challenge.

• Tao Yu and his fifty riders found Shaolin monks blocking refugees from passing, and a monk said Shaolin had given Young Prince Huodu five thousand shi of grain.
• Tao Yu used Ghost Prison Yin Wind to announce his challenge to Shaolin, frightening the monks with the force of his voice.
• Master Wuse arrived, invited Tao Yu up the mountain, and told him that Shaolin’s public claims about karma and Heaven hid his desire to fight the grassland army and giants.
• Tao Yu threatened to tear down Shaolin’s gates and plaque, while Wuse admitted the temple had weakened and said Tao Yu could do as he pleased.

Tao Yu visited Shaolin and offered information about the Abyss, the northern giants, and people from beyond this world in exchange for Shaolin knowledge. He left the monks stunned and began pressing his request for access to the sutras and the Seventy-two Arts.

• Wuse told Tao Yu that the Prairie Tatars had invaded the Central Plains and that Shaolin had accommodated Huo Du to avoid trouble.
• Tao Yu left his Mysterious Iron Heavy Sword with Zhang Hao and entered Shaolin alone with Wuse.
• Abbot Tianming and the Shaolin masters received Tao Yu in the Grand Hall, where he explained that the world had fallen into the Abyss and described the Abyssal Rift and the Titan Calamity.
• Tao Yu asked to exchange his information for Shaolin's sutras and Seventy-two Arts, prompting one monk to accuse him of coveting the temple's teachings.
• Tao Yu dismissed the monk's protest and replied that times had changed.

Tao Yu overwhelmed Shaolin’s senior monks with a single palm strike and demonstrated AT200, forcing Abbot Tianming to accept their earlier agreement. With the confrontation settled, Tao Yu proposed another deal with the temple.

• A burly Shaolin monk challenged Tao Yu, who struck him from a distance with Shocking the Hundred Miles and sent him crashing into Abbot Tianming and the two hall heads.
• Tao Yu’s palm force and pure internal energy forced Abbot Tianming, the Dharma Hall Head, and the Arhat Hall Head to retreat and suppress the energy in their bodies.
• When Shaolin monks warned that their numbers could overwhelm him, Tao Yu used a sound technique to make them recoil.
• Tao Yu summoned AT200 from his shadow and split the Great Buddha Hall’s plaque with a burst of armor-piercing rounds.
• Abbot Tianming said Shaolin would honor its agreement with Tao Yu and blamed the misunderstanding on his junior brothers.
• Tao Yu praised Abbot Tianming and proposed a new deal with Shaolin.

Tao Yu secured Shaolin’s tentative cooperation, learned several martial arts, and arranged for Zhang Hao to become a Shaolin lay disciple. With his new skills enhanced, Tao Yu prepared to return for five days and report that he was safe.

• Tao Yu persuaded Abbot Tianming to consider cooperation by revealing the threats Shaolin faced and offering contact with the powerful pioneer overseeing the region.
• Shaolin agreed to exchange instruction in the Seventy-Two Ultimate Skills for future cooperation, and Tao Yu obtained the Nine Yang Divine Skill, the Yi Jin Jing, and other manuals.
• Tao Yu chose the Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill and Flower Flicking Finger, then learned their basics from Shaolin’s martial monks in three days.
• Tao Yu introduced Zhang Hao as a Chosen One, and Zhang Hao agreed to become a Shaolin lay disciple and train while hunting giants for Wish Power.
• Tao Yu infused Wish Power into his two chosen skills, strengthening his defenses and making his finger attacks silent, then prepared to return for five days.

Tao Yu returned to the Outer City, reunited with his family, and saw his home being repaired and Tao Tong recovering his legs. He then contacted Sun Shiyu about valuable goods he could not safely keep, and planned to go to the Inner City while waiting for her associate to meet him.

• Tao Yu returned home and found neighbors helping Tao Long repair the family house.
• Tao Long welcomed Tao Yu and warned him about missing Inner City pioneers in the New Frontier.
• Tao Tong showed Tao Yu that his legs had regrown to his knees and said his new ability could improve his speed and reflexes.
• Tao Yu spent time with his family, then left after dinner while Tao Long planned repairs to his room.
• Tao Yu contacted Sun Shiyu and asked whether her side could handle goods he could not keep under wraps.
• Sun Shiyu said Shiqing would find Tao Yu soon, and Tao Yu planned to go to the Inner City in the meantime.

Tao Yu headed into the Inner City to turn in a mission and pursue a profitable Shaolin martial arts venture, while planning to teach basic internal martial arts to his family. After Zechuan and Tao Hu realized Tao Yu had been the mysterious Intermediate Partner, Zechuan reassessed his potential and ordered the Outer City's new gang leaders to clean up their territory.

• Tao Yu planned to sell his goods, visit Inner City martial arts schools, and work with the little rich girl to establish a Shaolin martial arts school.
• Tao Yu met Uncle Hu and Captain Zechuan near the Security Team family residences and said he was heading to the Inner City.
• Zechuan offered Tao Yu connections and asked about his plans, but Tao Yu ended the conversation and put on the cloak and mask he had used before.
• Zechuan and Tao Hu recognized Tao Yu as the Intermediate Partner from the New Frontier, and Zechuan marveled at how quickly he had risen.
• Zechuan told Tao Hu he should take over as captain when Zechuan stepped down, then ordered him to make the new leaders of the Wild Wolf Gang and Skull Gang clean up the Outer City.

Tao Yu asked Wang Goudan where he could sell three valuable Wisdom Titan spinal-fluid skills, and Wang Goudan recommended the Inner City Auction House. Tao Yu weighed whether to wait for targeted advertising before selling them.

• Tao Yu decided to postpone turning in the Chosen One task and planned to have Sun Shiqing handle it when they met.
• Tao Yu contacted Wang Goudan by radio and arranged to meet beneath a bar billboard for advice on selling his goods.
• Tao Yu met Wang Goudan, who learned that the three items were bloodline skills worth more than a hundred thousand each.
• Wang Goudan recommended the Auction House, explaining that it charged a ten-percent commission but could target potential buyers with advertisements.
• Tao Yu considered waiting a day or two so the Auction House could advertise the skills to interested buyers.