Chapter Summaries

Zhang Ming gave Lin De the Mighty Bull Cultivation Method and entrusted him with the Mine before returning to Yang City. Old He sent Niu Kangshao a message revealing Zhang Ming had left, prompting Niu Kangshao to move against him.

• Zhang Ming gave Lin De Demonic Beast Meat and the Mighty Bull Cultivation Method, urging him to cultivate and serve the Zhang Family in the future.
• Zhang Ming told Lin De he would return to Yang City and left him in charge of the Mine.
• Old He recalled how Zhang Ming had improved conditions for the miners, but sent a carrier pigeon because Niu Kangshao threatened his mother.
• Niu Kangshao received Old He's message, learned Zhang Ming had left the Mine, and ordered his men to move out and attack him.

Zhang Ming encountered Niu Kangshao and his armed group in Qingmang Mountain and slaughtered the men who attacked him. Niu Kangshao fled, and Zhang Ming pursued him.

• Zhang Ming spotted Niu Kangshao leading more than a dozen armed men through the mountains and decided to make them his first targets on his return to Yang City.
• Niu Kangshao revealed that he had come looking for Zhang Ming, then threatened to make him suffer before killing him.
• Zhang Ming attacked first and killed two lackeys with his Refined Iron Ring-Pommel Great Saber.
• Niu Kangshao panicked at Zhang Ming's speed and strength and ran while Zhang Ming cut down the remaining lackeys.
• Zhang Ming finished the group, then set off after the fleeing Niu Kangshao.

Zhang Ming chased down Niu Kangshao and forced him to reveal the superior cultivation method behind the Mighty Bull martial arts. Niu Kangshao survived the encounter for now, but Zhang Ming learned the name of the method: [Mighty Bull Cultivation Method].

• Zhang Ming caught Niu Kangshao in the mountains and deduced that He Fu, a Mine employee who owed Niu Kangshao money, had informed him of Zhang Ming’s departure.
• Niu Kangshao attacked Zhang Ming with Mighty Bull Fist, but Zhang Ming shattered his right arm with a single punch.
• Zhang Ming threatened Niu Kangshao and cut him with a Ring-Pommel Great Saber until he agreed to answer questions.
• Niu Kangshao revealed that the superior Cultivation Method was [Mighty Bull Cultivation Method] and began reciting its contents.

Zhang Ming killed Niu Kangshao after extracting information from him, then shared Demonic Beast Meat with his parents and discussed the Mine’s mysterious weapons buyer with Zhang Yongfeng. They suspected King Guang but recognized that the Zhang Family could not resist whoever was behind the purchases, leaving Zhang Ming determined to grow strong enough to resolve the threat.

• Zhang Ming learned that the weakened Mighty Bull Cultivation Method could serve ordinary servants, questioned Niu Kangshao for details about the Martial Arts Hall and Yang City’s gangs, and killed him as he tried to leave.
• Zhang Ming served Demonic Beast Meat to Zhang Yongfeng and Li Su at a family banquet and told them about his spice plantation and plans for hybrid fruits.
• Zhang Ming told Zhang Yongfeng that a Mysterious Buyer had been buying a hundred sets of armor, weapons, and Strong Crossbows each month at the Mine.
• Zhang Yongfeng and Zhang Ming considered possible buyers, including King Guang, and noted that King Guang’s wealth and strength made him a plausible suspect.
• Zhang Yongfeng warned that the Zhang Family was vulnerable because the buyer wanted Zhang Ming, and Zhang Ming promised to resolve the danger after gaining strength.

Zhang Ming told Zhang Yongfeng that his Postnatal strength would let him deal with Yang City's rival factions, and warned that disasters and unrest were coming. He began with the Mighty Bull Martial Arts School and poisoned its leader, Niu Kangsheng, leaving him certain to die.

• Zhang Ming asked Zhang Yongfeng about the family's livestock and medicinal herb operations, then revealed that he had become a Postnatal Martial Artist.
• Zhang Ming told Zhang Yongfeng that he planned to deal with Yang City's gangs, martial arts halls, and officials, and said he would start with the Mighty Bull Martial Arts School.
• Zhang Ming asked Fang Hongbo to help him take control of the Mighty Bull Martial Arts School by killing Niu Kangsheng.
• Niu Kangsheng grew uneasy in his study, then realized he had been poisoned and that his guards were absent.
• Zhang Ming entered Niu Kangsheng's study, revealed his identity, and told him that the poison had already reached his organs.

Zhang Ming poisoned Niu Kangsheng, concealed his death, and discovered that the Hundred Beasts Sect might seek revenge, giving him about half a year to prepare. He then eliminated Yang City's martial arts and gang leaders, gathered their techniques, and planned to improve his skills while postponing his search for a way to cultivate immortality.

• Zhang Ming watched Niu Kangsheng die from Crane Top Red, searched his study, and dissolved his body with Bone Dissolving Water.
• Zhang Ming found the Mighty Bull Martial Arts School's techniques and letters revealing Niu Kangsheng's ties to the Hundred Beasts Sect, so he resolved to prepare for possible revenge within half a year.
• Zhang Ming killed the leaders of Yang City's martial arts schools, gangs, and gray forces over several days, causing limited unrest that the Zhang Family contained.
• Zhang Ming sorted the techniques he had collected and planned to fuse them into his cultivation method, combat skills, and movement techniques using Ignite Comprehension.
• Zhang Ming wondered how to find Spiritual Energy and cultivate immortality, then decided to focus on ruling Yang City and strengthening his Martial Dao for now.

Zhang Ming and Zhang Yongfeng planned how the Zhang Family would control Yang City by reorganizing its gangs and dealing with obstructive clerks. Zhang Yongfeng then secured the County Magistrate’s cooperation through money, higher tax revenue, and a promise of help with his career.

• Zhang Ming proposed putting gang members to work building roads, mining, raising pigs, or farming, and said the Zhang Family needed to consult the County Magistrate before acting against clerks.
• Zhang Yongfeng agreed to handle the County Magistrate and Assistant County Magistrate while Zhang Ming dealt with the disobedient clerks.
• Zhang Yongfeng told Zhang Ming that the Old Steward had died after his son cast him out, and asked Zhang Ming to visit the Old Steward’s grave.
• Zhang Yongfeng met the County Magistrate and presented a roster of clerks who had obstructed the Zhang Family.
• Zhang Yongfeng offered the County Magistrate two thousand taels, promised a thirty-percent increase in the Zhang Family Merchant Guild’s taxes, and suggested his son’s connections could help advance the Magistrate’s career.
• The County Magistrate agreed to deal with the listed clerks, claiming he would enforce the law impartially.

Zhang Ming killed the county yamen officials who plotted to destroy the Zhang Family, then discussed with Zhang Yongfeng whether the family might rebel. Zhang Ming left the possibility open as his confidence and circumstances changed.

• The county yamen officials plotted to hire Mountain Bandits to attack the Zhang Family and seize its wealth.
• Zhang Ming found the officials' secret residence, ordered his guards to attack, and the officials died as the residence burned.
• Zhang Ming told Wang Song to select ten loyal guards for a task and include himself.
• Zhang Yongfeng learned that Zhang Ming had considered killing the County Magistrate, but Zhang Ming said he would not do so for now.
• Zhang Yongfeng asked whether Zhang Ming intended to rebel, and Zhang Ming neither confirmed nor denied it.

Zhang Ming secured the Zhang Family’s control of Yang City and planned sweeping economic and administrative reforms while warning his father about the danger of the family’s salt and iron trade. A month later, Yang City was changing rapidly, and Zhang Ming had integrated his collected techniques into his Martial Dao system, reaching 13% of Postnatal Martial Artist cultivation.

• Zhang Ming told Zhang Yongfeng that the Empire could destroy the Zhang Family if it discovered their salt and iron businesses, and urged the family to grow powerful enough to deter it.
• Zhang Ming left Zhang Yongfeng to quietly handle the families and relatives of people the Zhang Family had killed, then assessed the family’s control over Yang City.
• Zhang Ming drafted plans to seize and reorganize land, improve roads and irrigation, expand work opportunities, and strengthen the Zhang Family’s forces and administration.
• Over the next month, Yang City’s gangs, brothels, and gambling dens disappeared, while nearby villagers found plentiful, better-paid work.
• Zhang Ming integrated the cultivation methods and combat techniques he had collected and recorded his cultivation at 13% of Postnatal Martial Artist, with several abilities at Grand Completion.

Zhang Ming assessed the limits of his current cultivation and received manuals from Jiang Yingxue, including the mysterious Formless Witness Technique. He proposed trading phosphate fertilizer for Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, and Jiang Yingxue left to report the offer.

• Zhang Ming concluded that improving his cultivation and Martial Skills would be difficult without stronger manuals and wondered whether the Mysterious Buyer had found any for him.
• Jiang Yingxue delivered the cultivation manuals Zhang Ming had requested, and he complained that most were duplicates or too low-grade.
• Jiang Yingxue gave Zhang Ming the Formless Witness Technique, an ungraded manual that trained eyesight and spiritual power and promised fearsome effects when mastered.
• Zhang Ming asked Jiang Yingxue to bring Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures for their next transaction and offered phosphate fertilizer in exchange.
• Zhang Ming explained that phosphate fertilizer could multiply crop yields, and Jiang Yingxue said she would report the offer because she could not decide on it herself.

Zhang Ming mastered the [Formless Witness Technique] and realized its final layer could help him study medicine and poison on a microscopic level. He then considered ways to accelerate his breakthrough to the Innate Realm, including correcting the Mighty Bull Great Medicine prescription.

• Zhang Ming hoped he could exchange Phosphate Fertilizer for Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, then turned his attention to cultivating the [Formless Witness Technique].
• After five days, [Ignite Comprehension] raised Zhang Ming's [Formless Witness Technique] to Grand Completion, revealing its three layers: Brightvision, Darkvision, and Microvision.
• Zhang Ming realized Microvision could let him observe microorganisms and greatly improve his medical and poison skills, potentially allowing him to poison even a Martial Saint.
• Zhang Ming decided he needed to reach the Innate Realm faster than the three years normal training would take and considered strengthening the [Mighty Bull Cultivation Method] or using external help.
• Zhang Ming examined the Mighty Bull Great Medicine prescription and considered correcting it, refining pills, or combining pills with Demonic Beast Meat.

Zhang Ming optimized the Mighty Bull Great Medicine with Demon Beast ingredients and returned to the Qingmang Mountain Mine to hunt for them. Meanwhile, a corpse-eating creature killed Wang Er in Yang City and set its sights on the Zhang Family.

• Zhang Ming used Ignite Comprehension twice to create a Mighty Bull Great Medicine that was ten times more effective and included Demon Beast blood, flesh, and bones.
• Wang Er, a newly hired night watchman, heard strange noises and found a corpse-eating humanoid figure in an alley.
• The figure killed Wang Er, ate his heart, and muttered a venomous threat against the Zhang Family.
• Zhang Ming returned to the Qingmang Mountain Mine and praised Lin De's progress with the improved Mighty Bull Cultivation Method.
• Zhang Ming told Lin De that Yang City had stabilized and become Zhang City, then asked him to show him around the Mine.

Zhang Ming inspected the Mine, rewarded its guards, and entered Mine Cave No. 13 alone equipped with heavy armor and weapons. A huge Demon Beast ambushed him underground, but his shield absorbed its strike and let him withstand the impact.

• Zhang Ming confirmed that the Mine was operating smoothly and learned from Lin De that Mine Cave No. 13 remained undisturbed.
• Zhang Ming doubled the guards’ monthly wages and entered the cave alone after Lin De prepared his armor and weapons.
• Zhang Ming donned heavy scale armor, took a great saber and shield, and carried short spears into the mine.
• Zhang Ming traveled deep underground and waited alertly near the site of his previous Demon Beast attack.
• A massive Demon Beast suddenly attacked Zhang Ming with its Demon Tongue, and he blocked the blow with his shield.

Zhang Ming killed a powerful Demon Beast in Mine Cave No. 13, escaped the pursuing beasts, and had the corpse dissected for transport to the Zhang Family. On the way back to Yang City, he turned away from his convoy to attend to an unspecified task.

• Zhang Ming used his armor to withstand the Demon Beast's charge, then stabbed it with three spears and killed it with a saber strike.
• Zhang Ming dragged the Demon Beast's corpse out of the mine while throwing spears behind him to slow the pursuing beasts.
• Zhang Ming ordered the soldiers to reseal Mine Cave No. 13 after no beasts emerged into the light.
• Zhang Ming dissected the Demon Beast and packed its parts into crates for transport to the Zhang Family.
• Zhang Ming left Qingmang Mountain Mine and, near Yang City, sent his convoy ahead while he rode off in another direction.

At Old Steward’s grave, Zhang Ming discovered that his corpse had been stolen and suspected it had transformed into a zombie seeking revenge against the Zhang Family. The zombie attacked the family’s guards, and after Wang Song was badly wounded, a spear-wielding Young Master intervened, but the creature kept fighting.

• Zhang Ming found footprints leading to Old Steward’s opened coffin and saw that the corpse was missing.
• Zhang Ming suspected Old Steward had become a zombie and might be heading for the Zhang Family in Yang City.
• A zombie attacked the Zhang Family’s armored guards, whose crossbows and weapons barely harmed it.
• Wang Song wounded the zombie with his saber, but it struck him through a wall and charged at him.
• An unseen Young Master hurled a spear through the zombie and pinned it to a wall, but the creature pulled the spear free and attacked again.

Zhang Ming stopped the Zombie with a spear through its head and ordered it preserved in the Dungeon for study. After rewarding the defenders, he told his parents what had happened and questioned whether the Zombie had truly returned to seek revenge.

• Zhang Ming returned from the Cemetery and found Wang Song and the others confronting the Zombie.
• Zhang Ming hurled a spear through the Zombie's head, pinning it to a wall and slowing it until it stopped moving.
• Zhang Ming ordered the Zombie taken to the deepest part of the Dungeon as long as the spear remained in its head.
• Zhang Ming rewarded the defenders and promised lifelong support for those left crippled or injured, along with compensation for the families of the dead.
• Zhang Ming told Zhang Yongfeng and Li Su what he suspected, and he suggested the Zombie might be acting on instinct rather than deliberate revenge.

Zhang Ming persuaded his parents to keep the Zombie intact and preserve two captives for possible use in studying it. Late that night, he went to the Dungeon with improvised medical tools, eager to investigate the Zombie and advance his medical knowledge.

• Zhang Ming convinced Zhang Yongfeng and Li Su not to burn the Zombie, promising to restrain it in a special iron cage and shackles.
• Zhang Ming persuaded Zhang Yongfeng to imprison the old man’s son and daughter-in-law instead of killing them, since they might be useful in testing the Zombie.
• After dinner, Zhang Ming went alone to the Dungeon and dismissed the Armored Soldiers guarding the Zombie.
• Zhang Ming put on a mask and unpacked baijiu, knives, an alcohol lamp, and containers he had prepared as medical tools.
• Zhang Ming considered the Zombie a rare opportunity to investigate what traditional medicine and his previous medical education could not explain.

Zhang Ming dissected the Zombie and recorded its rotted interior, weakening defenses, and rapid healing while planning experiments into its powers and origins. The next day, he ordered guards to secure the Cemetery so he could investigate whether another Zombie could be created.

• Zhang Ming dissected the Zombie and found that its blood had stopped flowing, its muscles had died, and its organs had decayed into black liquid and maggots.
• Zhang Ming theorized that Corpse Qi might explain the Zombie’s ability to move and planned experiments involving time, fresh blood, poison, folk remedies, and infection.
• Zhang Ming noticed the Zombie’s incision healing and began testing whether removing the spear lodged in its skull could restore its strength.
• Wang Song reported that guards had sealed off the Cemetery, and Zhang Ming ordered him to keep it undisturbed.
• Zhang Ming kept the Cemetery secured as he investigated whether the Old Steward’s transformation had been accidental or caused by particular conditions.

Zhang Ming brewed and consumed the New Mighty Bull Great Medicine, whose powerful effects accelerated his cultivation and strengthened his hopes of reaching the Innate Realm. As he considered turning to Zombie research for more resources, rumors spread through Yang City portraying the Zhang Family as demons responsible for the Zombies’ attack.

• Zhang Ming brewed the New Mighty Bull Great Medicine and drank the entire bowl, triggering an intense surge of medicinal power.
• Zhang Ming practiced the [Mighty Bull Cultivation Method] for several hours to absorb the medicine, then concluded that its improved effects allowed him to dose himself once every two days.
• Zhang Ming worried that he had exhausted Yang City’s Martial Dao resources, then identified the Mysterious Buyer and the Zombies as remaining sources of opportunity.
• Zhang Ming resolved to devote more resources to Zombie research and wondered how much the new medicine would enhance [Ignite Comprehension].
• Rumors spread through Yang City accusing the Zhang Family of being demons and arguing that the Zombies had attacked them because something was wrong with the family.

Zhang Ming’s family consolidated its control over Yang City and decided to kill the remaining dissenters. He continued investigating a Zombie, found that its poison killed but did not create more Zombies, and activated Ignite Comprehension to seek a way to combine Zombie research with Vital Energy Martial Dao.

• Zhang Ming and Zhang Yongfeng decided to execute the captured dissenters, since the Zhang Family no longer needed them for labor.
• The Zhang Family’s influence in Yang City continued to grow, with control of many shops, farmland, and tenant farmers.
• Zhang Ming spent several days studying the Zombie and extracted Corpse Poison, which rapidly killed tested animals but did not turn victims into Zombies.
• Zhang Ming tested Black Dog Blood and Willow Branches and found them less effective against the Zombie than striking its head with a wooden stick.
• Zhang Ming drank the New Mighty Bull Great Medicine and activated Ignite Comprehension to seek new ways to study Zombies through Vital Energy Martial Dao.