Chapter Summaries

After work, Qin Shi reviewed his plans and used Combat Rewind to turn a remembered spar into a mental training space. He practiced until his movements came together, then repeatedly defeated the replay of Li Yuan to sharpen his fighting skills.

• Qin Shi joked with Li Yuan and Xie Yucheng about being Old Liang's disciple, then treated them to a late-night snack with money from Cheng Ze.
• Qin Shi returned home, completed Exhaustion Training to meet the [Muscle Memory] achievement condition, and planned his next steps before falling asleep with [Deep Sleep].
• Qin Shi activated Combat Rewind and discovered he could move and train inside the vivid replay of his spar with Li Yuan.
• Qin Shi practiced basic movements repeatedly in the mental space until his punches and footwork formed a coordinated rhythm.
• Qin Shi resumed the replay, countered Li Yuan's high kicks, and knocked him down with a strike to the knee before following up with an elbow.
• Qin Shi reset the replay and eagerly prepared to fight Li Yuan again.

Qin Shi recovered quickly after a night of meditative training and continued his routine at Ninth High School, where Old Liang revealed his sincere desire to train him. The chapter ended with Old Liang offering to help Qin Shi break through four of the Seven Limits of the Physical Body.

• Qin Shi woke refreshed, found his bruises healed, and saw his Muscle Memory achievement had reached 72%.
• After breakfast with Qin Lan, Qin Shi went to Ninth High School and found Old Liang waiting alone amid alcohol bottles and cigarette butts.
• Old Liang told Qin Shi he wanted to teach him everything he knew and explained that Qin Shi's rapid progress made him unlike his other students.
• Old Liang described his past failures and said Qin Shi had reignited his will to keep teaching.
• Old Liang introduced the Seven Limits of the Physical Body and said he could help Qin Shi break through four gates.

Qin Shi learned the history and risks of the Seven Great Limits of the Physical Body from Old Liang and agreed to train in Old Martial Arts. He left the conversation determined to seize an opportunity and change his fate.

• Qin Shi asked Old Liang about the Seven Great Limits, and Old Liang explained their connection to the First Martial God, Yan Haishan, and the Old Martial Arts tradition.
• Old Liang said Old Martial Arts training required physical talent, fighting skill, a strong foundation, and luck, and he described the unequal circumstances of He Lanzhan and Qi Wuxiang.
• Qin Shi asked whether breaking the limits could shorten his life, and Old Liang explained that overcoming them could replenish Life Force and extend life.
• Qin Shi agreed to become Old Liang’s disciple despite the risks, saying that people on Old Factory Street had to fight for opportunities to change their fate.

Qin Shi became Old Liang’s disciple in the Hongsheng sect and learned that its lineage was a minor branch with no powerful backing. Old Liang began teaching him about Old Martial Arts and explained that access to its greatest techniques depended on exceptional Life Force.

• Old Liang welcomed Qin Shi as an initiate of Hongsheng and said they would make the apprenticeship official with incense and kowtowing that night.
• Old Liang explained that Hongsheng was a modest branch of Hongmen and joked that he was its only Martial Arts Association member.
• Old Liang recounted how the state crushed the uncooperative Hongmen, Qingmen, and Daomen in a counterterrorism campaign, while Marshal Yang spared some members who surrendered.
• Qin Shi worried that Hongsheng might be tied to a rebellion, but Old Liang reassured him that his government-approved job proved otherwise.
• Old Liang took Qin Shi out to teach him about Old Martial Arts, explaining that Life Force—not secret manuals—was the main barrier to advancement.
• Old Liang told Qin Shi that studying Martial God Ning Yuanhai’s True Scripture of All Ages required amateur rank one, age twenty, and Life Force above a hundred points.

Old Liang took Qin Shi to buy Indian Golden Elixir, a traditional medicine said to help practitioners break the body's limits. After explaining how it was used to nourish sinews, Old Liang prepared to put Qin Shi through the painful Burning Sinews method.

• Qin Shi asked Old Liang for pills or treasures to speed up his progress, and Old Liang said they would focus on breaking the Sinew and Bone limits.
• Old Liang brought Qin Shi to Gu Nanting's shop and bargained for two bottles of genuine Indian Golden Elixir.
• Gu Nanting advised Old Liang to boil the Golden Elixir into a hot paste, apply it to Qin Shi's body, and heat him in a bathtub to perform Burning Sinews.
• Old Liang told Qin Shi that Golden Elixir came from a Three-Eyed Crocodile and that he was close to developing Bee Waist Ape Arm Mantis Leg, though Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone would take more suffering.
• Qin Shi eagerly urged Old Liang to put him through the painful training.

Qin Shi endured Old Liang’s painful Golden Elixir treatment and fell asleep while his body continued training. He woke the next morning with strengthened sinews, nearly at the First Limit, and unlocked the Overgrowth achievement.

• Old Liang explained Golden Elixir’s benefits and side effects, and Qin Shi chose to undergo the treatment.
• Old Liang spread the heated Golden Elixir over Qin Shi’s back, and Qin Shi endured the agony until he activated Deep Sleep and Muscle Memory.
• Qin Shi fell asleep while his energy continued circulating, impressing Old Liang, who applied the rest of the Golden Elixir to his body.
• Qin Shi woke the next morning as Yan Shuang told him he had slept through the treatment and observed that Qin Shi had nearly entered the Sinew Gate.
• Qin Shi noticed his strengthened sinews and unlocked the Basic Achievement Overgrowth.

After enduring the Golden Elixir, Qin Shi woke with greatly improved strength and stamina, then rushed back to save his assistant-teacher job. At the Youth Palace, he met the new Martial Arts teacher, Lin Yunqing, who remarked that he smelled nice.

• Qin Shi admired the physical improvements from Burning Sinews, while Yan Shuang told him Teacher Liang had left instructions for him to rest and return to class.
• Qin Shi learned Yan Shuang came from Smoke City and worked at Jinse Impression to support his mother, then remembered he had missed his Youth Palace shift and hurried out.
• Qin Shi persuaded Old Xu to count his missed shift as leave, preserving his job and attendance bonus.
• At the Youth Palace, Brother Zhang said he had covered Qin Shi's shift and tried to take over his assistant-teacher job after seeing the new teacher.
• Lin Yunqing introduced herself as the new Martial Arts teacher and told Qin Shi that he smelled nice.

Qin Shi started work as an assistant teacher at the Youth Palace, where Lin Yunqing recognized signs of his Old Martial Arts training and became interested in testing him. After completing his Muscle Memory achievement during Qi Sensation practice, Qin Shi unlocked Internal Vision and saw a glowing image of his body marked in red and white.

• Qin Shi met Lin Yunqing at the Youth Palace and invited her to join him and Brother Zhang for a meal, but she declined and discussed preparing their classes.
• Lin Yunqing identified Qin Shi’s fragrance as the scent of a secret body-transforming medicine and resolved to challenge him with New Martial Arts training.
• Qin Shi ate five Nutritional Meals, chatted with Brother Zhang, and declined Lin Yunqing’s offer of a ride before agreeing to show her around Old Factory Street for a fee.
• Back at his shack, Qin Shi reviewed his growth status and practiced Grasping Qi Sensation, which left him hungry as his body consumed its energy and nutrients.
• Qin Shi reached 100% Muscle Memory, unlocked Internal Vision, and saw a glowing figure of his body covered in red and white patches.

Qin Shi refined his Qi Sensation and Internal Vision, then went to work at the Midnight Palace, where he learned that the night’s advertised fights were a buildup to a real death match. The chapter left him summoned to a private room by Brother Ze.

• Qin Shi completed a Lesser Heavenly Cycle, observed his Qi Sensation grow, and naturally opened the Eight Sections and Nine Joints.
• Qin Shi used Internal Vision to study Xie Yucheng’s breathing and muscles while they rode to the Midnight Palace.
• Qin Shi arrived at the club and learned from Li Yuan that Black Lonnie and Bitter Monk were fake fighters, while the real event would be a death match for wealthy guests.
• Qin Shi served customers at the Midnight Palace until Manager Yu told him that Brother Ze wanted him in a private room upstairs.

Qin Shi watched Cheng Ze expose how the Midnight Palace rigged a fight and learned that Cheng Ze wanted to recruit him, but he refused in favor of his studies. After witnessing the brutal Death Match Arena and Cheng Ze’s clash with Brother Luo over the Righteous Fist Society’s members, Qin Shi saw Cheng Ze’s restrained demeanor give way to frightening intensity.

• Cheng Ze explained that Black Lonnie and Bitter Monk had both been drugged, and Bitter Monk appeared to win before Black Lonnie made a surprise comeback and was declared the winner.
• Cheng Ze asked Qin Shi to work for him, but Qin Shi cited his promise to his Eldest Sister to study and attend university; Cheng Ze accepted his refusal.
• Cheng Ze showed Qin Shi the Death Match Arena, where two Righteous Fist Society fighters fought to the death for a promised payment to their families.
• Brother Luo praised the spectacle and proposed further cruel attractions, while Cheng Ze asked him to care for the society’s injured and sick members.
• After Brother Luo dismissed Cheng Ze’s plea and left, Cheng Ze warned Qin Shi to study hard and avoid becoming a punk.

Qin Shi swiftly defeated Li Yuan and Xie Yucheng, then reviewed his growing abilities and learned from Old Liang how martial artists awaken Life Force. Old Liang gave Qin Shi Golden Elixir and prepared to help him burn through his great sinews, leaving Qin Shi poised to pursue the first physical limit.

• Qin Shi knocked Li Yuan aside with a kick, blocked Xie Yucheng's hook, and slammed him into the floor.
• Qin Shi checked his Monument Panel, noted his improving Physique and Spirit, and considered how to advance his achievements.
• Old Liang explained that martial artists stoked their Life Force by pushing their bodies and spirit beyond ordinary limits.
• Old Liang gave Qin Shi two bottles of Golden Elixir and said they would burn through his great sinews to break the first limit.
• Old Liang told Qin Shi that forging twelve sinews would let him nurture a dragon in his mortal body.

After Qin Shi endured the Golden Elixir’s Body Burning, he awoke with powerful dragon sinews and overflowing Qi Strength. Old Liang discussed his past and his former student Cheng Ze before revealing Hong Sheng’s signature finishing method, Hundred Forms Cultivating Momentum.

• Qin Shi used Deep Sleep to endure the Golden Elixir’s Body Burning and awoke with twelve major sinews and stronger Qi Strength.
• Old Liang marveled at Qin Shi’s easy transformation and asked how he felt; Qin Shi said his hands were itching to fight.
• Old Liang told Qin Shi about his youth in underground boxing rings and praised him for resisting the urge to seek fights.
• Qin Shi asked about Cheng Ze, and Old Liang explained that he had once taught him but thought the Old Martial Arts path did not suit him.
• Old Liang revealed that Hong Sheng’s signature finishing technique was Hundred Forms Cultivating Momentum, which He Lanzhan had learned.

Qin Shi learned about Hong Sheng’s spirit-cultivation method and He Lanchán’s mastery of its four forms, while Old Liang explained the importance of building momentum gradually. After Qin Shi’s Sinew Gate breakthrough, his Growth Value reached 0.010%.

• Qin Shi wondered whether Old Liang had a prestigious connection to the First Generation Ten Prodigies, but Old Liang explained that He Lanchán had studied under many masters and had only briefly trained at Hong Sheng.
• Old Liang told Qin Shi that He Lanchán mastered Hong Sheng’s four forms of momentum and later developed Myriad Forms Annihilation and thousands of other forms.
• Old Liang explained that Hundred Forms Cultivating Momentum was a difficult Spirit Cultivation method and told Qin Shi to build his foundation before aiming too high.
• Old Liang promised to teach Qin Shi true Spirit Cultivation after his Life Force passed twenty points and explained how momentum appeared in both old and new martial arts.
• Qin Shi asked which momentum Old Liang favored, and Old Liang joked that age and a lost leg had left him out of practice.
• Qin Shi checked his Monument Panel and saw that his Growth Value had reached 0.010% after breaking through the Sinew Gate limit.

Qin Shi entered the rebirth stage after breaking his physical limits and spent five days training, eating Nutritional Paste, and sleeping. He raised his Life Force above fifteen points, nearing the Eighth Rank amateur threshold, and realized he was approaching the twenty points required for Hundred Forms Cultivating Momentum.

• Old Liang warned Qin Shi that the rebirth stage would greatly increase his appetite and advised him to eat more Nutritional Paste.
• Qin Shi spent over a thousand yuan on Nutritional Paste, then trained at home and ate six boxes at a time to satisfy his hunger.
• After a day of training and rest, Qin Shi's Physique rose from 10.5 to 11.2 and his Spirit rose from 10.1 to 10.9.
• Qin Shi continued his training and recovery routine for five days while Qin Lan worried that he had fallen into despair over a romantic rejection.
• Qin Shi's Life Force surpassed fifteen points, his cultivation and fighting style improved, and he recognized that he was nearing the threshold for Hundred Forms Cultivating Momentum.

Qin Shi worked his shift at the Youth Palace as Lin Yunqing drew the attention of a gang of delinquents who claimed they wanted to enroll in her martial arts class. After they assaulted Brother Zhang and pressured Lin Yunqing to meet their boss, she began a lesson by brutally attacking their ringleader, A'kun.

• Qin Shi arrived for his weekly assistant-teacher shift, and Lin Yunqing guessed that his rapid improvement came from an Old Martial Arts Faction.
• A group of delinquents came to the Youth Palace demanding to enroll in Lin Yunqing's class, while their boss waited in a convertible outside.
• A'kun slapped Brother Zhang and sent him flying when he tried to drive the delinquents away.
• Lin Yunqing accepted their enrollment fees, demanded that they cover Brother Zhang's medical expenses, and told Qin Shi to lead them to the meeting room.
• Lin Yunqing changed into a tracksuit, started class, and slammed A'kun's head into the wall before dragging his face along it.

Lin Yunqing beat a gang of delinquents at the Youth Palace, then tried to make Qin Shi take the blame before attacking him herself. Qin Shi overpowered her, and a strange hunger prompted him to see her as edible.

• Lin Yunqing knocked Kun and the other delinquents unconscious in the meeting room, then told Qin Shi to call the police and claim he had saved the day.
• Qin Shi refused to lie to the police, and Lin Yunqing dropped her gentle facade and lunged at him.
• Qin Shi dodged Lin Yunqing's attacks until she cornered him against a wall.
• Qin Shi charged Lin Yunqing with his full strength and sent her crashing into the wall, then punched and broke her glasses.
• A sudden stream of information identified Lin Yunqing as edible and said eating her could increase Qin Shi's Life Force.

After Qin Shi’s hunger trait briefly made him terrifying to Lin Yunqing, he learned that her Three Emperors Cannon Fist combined Old Martial Arts with Military Boxing, Bionic Style. Lin Yunqing called her brother to deal with the thugs, and Qin Shi ended the chapter asking whether her family could install equipment to test his Life Force.

• Qin Shi realized Overgrowth made him sense Lin Yunqing as high-energy food, briefly seized her by the neck, then regained control and helped her up.
• Lin Yunqing apologized and explained that her family’s Three Emperors Cannon Fist blended Old Martial Arts with Military Boxing, Bionic Style, which imitated modern weapons.
• Lin Yunqing called her brother, Lin Xiaohan, and identified the thug who had brought men to the Youth Palace as Wang Long, a subordinate of Qin Lihao.
• Lin Xiaohan learned that Qin Lihao’s company was pursuing redevelopment projects and planned a university debate and media coverage about land seizures and forced demolitions.
• Lin Yunqing told Qin Shi she had handled the trouble, invited him to her family’s home, and offered to arrange Life Force testing equipment after he asked about it.

Qin Shi visited Lin Yunqing’s villa, learned about state sponsorship for Martial Artist students, and considered his future university options. Lin Yunqing urged him toward Qiguang Hengda University while plotting to stir up trouble there, then agreed to lend him her life-force tester.

• Lin Yunqing brought Qin Shi to her family’s villa in Nanjiang District and explained her family’s background and the spread of prominent surnames across Hengzhou.
• Lin Yunqing described Education Department loans and grants for Martial Artist students, and Qin Shi became eager to learn what support he might qualify for.
• Qin Shi said he would wait for the Rank-Placement Exam before choosing a school, while Lin Yunqing encouraged him to apply to Qiguang Hengda University.
• Lin Yunqing privately imagined Qin Shi humiliating the New Martial Arts faction at Qiguang Hengda University and broke into laughter.
• Qin Shi asked to borrow Lin Yunqing’s life-force tester, and she offered to take him to the basement.

Lin Yunqing tested Qin Shi’s physical abilities and discovered that his Life Force had soared to fifteen, revealing extraordinary potential. She decided to invest heavily in him, while Qin Shi asked to have his Mental Strength tested.

• Lin Yunqing set up a Life Force test for Qin Shi and secretly sold his photos and report to Lightning Whirlwind Chop for 48,888.
• Qin Shi entered the testing chamber, and Lin Yunqing saw that his physique and Life Force fluctuations were unusually strong.
• Qin Shi’s Life Force rose from eight to fifteen during the test, astonishing Lin Yunqing with the scale of his potential.
• Lin Yunqing decided to spend nearly half her savings supporting Qin Shi, while joking with Lightning Whirlwind Chop about his supposed death.
• Qin Shi asked Lin Yunqing to test his Mental Strength, and she eagerly agreed.

Qin Shi completed the Mental Strength test, and his unusually high score led Lin Yunqing to realize he might be a rare talent with both strong vitality and spirituality. She sought advice on how to fund his future, then learned from her brother that the universities would recruit him specially if his scores rose further.

• Qin Shi tracked targets, dodged lasers, and completed a series of Mental Strength tests while Lin Yunqing watched his readings climb.
• Lin Yunqing realized Qin Shi's Mental Strength might indicate he was a natural-born practitioner of the mind, making him a potential mechanic or Psionicist as well as a Martial Artist.
• Lin Yunqing asked her group chat how to afford developing a rare talent, then tried to persuade Lightning Whirlwind Chop to invest in Qin Shi.
• Lin Yunqing sent Qin Shi's test results to Lightning Whirlwind Chop, then blocked and deleted her.
• Lin Yunqing asked Lin Xiaohan how much financial aid a student like Qin Shi could receive, and he said the Four Great National Universities would recruit him specially if he reached higher scores.
• Lin Yunqing watched Qin Shi emerge from the testing pod and realized he might possess the rare union of spirit and flesh.