Chapter Summaries

Lin Taichu mastered Profound Iron Strength in five days and passed the Scripture Pavilion's verification. He then chose the Thousand Mechanisms Hidden Weapon Manual and agreed to join the upcoming Inner Sect sparring session.

• Tang Chen and Tang Lie warned Lin Taichu that mastering Profound Iron Strength and passing its verification would be difficult.
• Lin Taichu cultivated Profound Iron Strength for several days, refining his internal energy until it became heavy, condensed, and explosive.
• Lin Taichu demonstrated his strength and precision to the Scripture Pavilion elder, who stamped his manual as qualified after he punched and pierced a wooden board.
• Lin Taichu returned Profound Iron Strength and selected the Thousand Mechanisms Hidden Weapon Manual to improve his hidden weapon techniques.
• Tang Feng praised Lin Taichu's progress and invited him to the Inner Sect sparring session, which Lin Taichu agreed to attend.
• Lin Taichu returned to his courtyard and began studying the twelve techniques in the Thousand Mechanisms Hidden Weapon Manual.

Lin Taichu demonstrated his hidden-weapon skill by defeating Tang Shi and Tang Chen in sparring matches. Watching the Inner Disciples afterward, he recognized how easily failed cultivation could stall someone’s progress and resolved to build a solid foundation.

• Lin Taichu practiced firing two Wind-Breaking Nails at once and mastered the technique before the sparring session.
• Lin Taichu defeated Tang Shi with techniques from the Thousand Mechanisms Hidden Weapon Manual, including the Triple Stack Form.
• Tang Chen challenged Lin Taichu, and Lin Taichu won after a hidden Wind-Breaking Nail numbed Tang Chen’s wrist and made him drop his weapon.
• Lin Taichu recovered while observing the Inner Disciples and noticed wide differences in their skill and cultivation.
• Tang Feng told Lin Taichu that one disciple had been stuck on the same cultivation method for three years, leading Lin Taichu to value steady progress and a firm foundation.

After mastering all twelve techniques in the Thousand Mechanisms Hidden Weapon Manual, Lin Taichu went to return it and witnessed Tang Xiong demanding an unauthorized exchange. The elder subdued Tang Xiong and warned the gathered Disciples that anyone who broke the Scripture Pavilion’s rules would be dealt with accordingly.

• Lin Taichu recovered from his sparring match with Tang Chen, then mastered all twelve techniques in the Thousand Mechanisms Hidden Weapon Manual in eight days.
• Lin Taichu went to the Scripture Pavilion to return the manual and found Tang Xiong arguing with the elder over his request to exchange the Torrential Pear Blossom Art before mastering it.
• The elder refused to make an exception, and Tang Xiong tried to reach for another Secret Manual by force.
• Tang Xiong threatened to attack the elder, then charged and fired poison needles at him.
• The elder deflected the needles, knocked Tang Xiong unconscious without harming his meridians, and declared that rule-breakers would be dealt with according to the rules.

Lin Taichu returned the Thousand Mechanisms Hidden Weapon Manual after demonstrating mastery, then chose the Hundred Poisons Scripture Commentary and began studying and applying its poison formulas. As his skills improved, he grew concerned about how the Scripture Pavilion Elder would test his mastery of poisons.

• The elder sentenced Tang Xiong to face the wall for one month and barred him from the Scripture Pavilion and Inner Disciple sparring matches.
• Lin Taichu demonstrated all twelve techniques in the Thousand Mechanisms Hidden Weapon Manual, passed the elder’s verification, and chose the Hundred Poisons Scripture Commentary.
• Lin Taichu studied poison formulas, refined poison needles and poisoned darts, and practiced combining them with hidden weapons.
• Tang Feng told Lin Taichu that Tang Xiong had reluctantly begun his punishment, while other disciples took the incident as a warning.
• Lin Taichu reflected on the Scripture Pavilion Elder’s overwhelming strength and worried about the strict test he might face when returning the poison manual.

Lin Taichu refined Bone-Penetrating Poison and discovered Tang Qi, Tang Yue, and three other Disciples secretly practicing the Five-Direction Formation. He left them to continue training and returned to the courtyard, reflecting on the Formation’s power and his own standing among the Inner Disciples.

• Lin Taichu adjusted poison formulas and refined Bone-Penetrating Poison for use on hidden weapons.
• Lin Taichu noticed the training grounds were unusually quiet and learned Tang Qi, Tang Yue, and three other Disciples had disappeared.
• Lin Taichu followed faint voices to an abandoned training room and secretly watched the five Disciples practice a Formation.
• Tang Qi and the others struggled to coordinate their internal energy while practicing the Five-Direction Formation.
• Lin Taichu left without disturbing them, returned to the courtyard, and considered the Formation’s potential and his own strength.

Lin Taichu studied formations to broaden his understanding of the Hundred Poisons Scripture Commentary and watched Tang Qi’s group practice the Five-Direction Formation. When Tang Chen’s lackeys attacked them and broke the formation, Lin Taichu drove the attackers away.

• Lin Taichu read about combining poisons with formations and learned the basics of the Tang Sect’s Five-Direction Formation.
• Lin Taichu watched Tang Qi and four others practice the formation at the abandoned training hall.
• Tang Chen’s three lackeys confronted Tang Qi’s group, mocked their training, and attacked them with hidden weapons.
• Tang Qi’s group used the Five-Direction Formation to deflect the attacks, but the lackeys targeted Tang Yue and cracked his jade pendant, collapsing the formation.
• Lin Taichu struck one attacker with a Wind-Breaking Nail and threatened the others until they fled.

Lin Taichu helped Tang Qi and the other four improve their Five-Direction Formation and combined it with a slow-acting poison. After they passed the Scripture Pavilion elder’s assessment and regained their borrowing privileges, Lin Taichu resolved to continue mastering the Hundred Poisons Scripture Commentary.

• Lin Taichu pointed out weaknesses in Tang Qi and the others’ Five-Direction Formation and taught them to rotate the core position and synchronize their inner energy.
• Lin Taichu developed a stable method for spreading Bone-Penetrating Poison through the Formation’s ring of light using the five men’s jade pendants.
• Over the following days, Lin Taichu guided Tang Qi and the others as they practiced, and they mastered the Formation and its poisonous effects.
• Tang Qi and the other four demonstrated the Formation to the Scripture Pavilion elder, who approved them and restored their permission to borrow secret manuals.
• Lin Taichu watched them pass and reflected on his own slower progress in studying the Hundred Poisons Scripture Commentary.

Lin Taichu mastered the Hundred Poisons Scripture Commentary, including Qianji Powder, and learned why the Scripture Pavilion elder could not verify his mastery. He chose to consolidate his skills through sparring, and the chapter left him facing Tang Shi as Tang Shi opened with a new hidden weapon technique.

• Lin Taichu refined Qianji Powder on his thirty-first attempt and mastered the poisons and antidotes in the Hundred Poisons Scripture Commentary.
• Lin Taichu brought the manual to the Scripture Pavilion, where the elder explained that he could not verify it because it had been written by a former Outer Disciple and its advanced teachings were beyond his own understanding.
• Lin Taichu returned the manual and decided to strengthen his foundation by integrating his internal cultivation, hidden weapons, and Poisonous Arts before studying more secret manuals.
• Lin Taichu went to the training ground, where the elder allowed him to use poison in sparring and Tang Shi challenged him to a rematch.
• Tang Shi attacked with five darts using Meteor Style, while Lin Taichu judged their paths using his improved understanding of internal energy circulation.

Lin Taichu won sparring matches against Tang Shi, Tang Zhi, Tang Feng, and five other inner sect Disciples, sharpening his control of internal energy and poison. Though Tang Feng urged him to challenge Tang Chen, Lin Taichu chose to focus on consolidating his skills.

• Lin Taichu defeated Tang Shi by numbing his wrist with a lightly poisoned Wind-Breaking Nail, then gave him the antidote and advice on his internal energy control.
• Tang Zhi challenged Lin Taichu to test their Poisonous Arts, but Lin Taichu used Qianji Powder to temporarily disrupt Tang Zhi's internal energy and then gave him the antidote.
• Tang Feng challenged Lin Taichu to compare Gale Strength with Profound Iron Strength, and Lin Taichu won after enduring his attacks and striking his shoulder with a Wind-Breaking Nail.
• Lin Taichu completed eight sparring matches without a loss, and the fights helped resolve questions he had about the Hundred Poisons Scripture Commentary.
• Tang Feng urged Lin Taichu to challenge Tang Chen, but Lin Taichu said he wanted to consolidate his foundation and integrate the skills he had learned.

Lin Taichu prepared to enter the Scripture Pavilion’s third floor, but an emergency summons revealed that a force of trained Death Warriors had infiltrated the forests near Tang Sect. He was appointed Deputy Captain of the second team, which set out to help eliminate the intruders and recover stolen Identity Tokens.

• Lin Taichu consolidated his cultivation and advised Tang Qi and the others on improving their Five-Direction Formation.
• An emergency bell summoned every Inner Disciple to the council hall, where Tang Xuan announced that at least twenty hostile infiltrators had killed three sentries and stolen their Identity Tokens.
• Tang Xuan ordered five teams to search the forest, eliminate the intruders, recover the tokens, and investigate their purpose.
• Lin Taichu was assigned as Deputy Captain of the second team, and Steward Li asked him to use concealed weapons coated with Qianji Powder to disrupt the enemy vanguard.
• The second team departed for the left hillside and advanced through the forest in formation, awaiting the first team's signal.

Tang Sect members investigated the deaths of three hidden sentries, but the scene yielded no obvious clues. Lin Taichu discovered they had been secretly poisoned before their wounds were inflicted, then concealed his finding and decided to investigate alone.

• Steward Li halted the five squads at the scene, where Tang Xuan and the elders examined the three dead sentries without finding traces of the killer.
• Tang Xuan found fatal-looking wounds and chaotic inner force in the corpses, but the Tang Sect's poison tests detected nothing.
• Lin Taichu examined the bodies with a Silver Needle and sensed traces that revealed the sentries had been poisoned before the killer added their wounds.
• Lin Taichu concluded that the rare poison had silently sealed the sentries' meridians and could not be detected by ordinary Tang Sect methods.
• Lin Taichu suspected an insider had revealed the sentries' location and kept his discovery from Tang Xuan, deciding to investigate alone.
• When Tang Xuan asked what he had found, Lin Taichu claimed he had found no signs of poisoning or useful clues.

After the sect elders halted the open investigation into the hidden enemy, Lin Taichu secretly analyzed the poison and searched the medicinal herb warehouse for clues. He found three suspicious large herb withdrawals and saw Tang Kun and Tang Li carrying a bundle toward the rear mountain.

• Tang Xuan and the other elders ended the public investigation and ordered the disciples to watch discreetly for suspicious activity.
• Lin Taichu analyzed the poison secretion and identified two common medicinal herbs used as its base.
• Lin Taichu checked the warehouse records and found unusually large withdrawals of both herbs by Tang Kun, Tang Li, and Tang Mei.
• Steward Wang said the three had claimed they were making Healing Pills for their teams, but Lin Taichu recorded their names for secret observation.
• Lin Taichu watched the three disciples' nearby residences, then saw Tang Kun and Tang Li leave together with a bundle and head toward the rear mountain.

Lin Taichu confirmed that Tang Kun and Tang Li were involved in the poisoning and that an Elder was directing them. To approach the conspirators without raising suspicion, he recruited Tang Yun to stage a falling-out, and the chapter ended with Lin Taichu explaining how to begin the act.

• Lin Taichu overheard Tang Kun and Tang Li discuss an undetectable poison and an Elder pressuring them to prepare for the right moment.
• Lin Taichu secretly watched Tang Kun, Tang Li, and Tang Mei visit the abandoned training hall and concluded that following them could lead him to the Elder.
• Lin Taichu decided to feign isolation and befriend the conspirators rather than confront them without evidence.
• Lin Taichu visited Tang Yun and told him about the poisoning and the suspected traitorous Elder.
• Tang Yun agreed to help, and Lin Taichu told him to start an argument at the training ground the next morning.

Lin Taichu and Tang Yun staged a public falling-out to make their estrangement believable and draw Tang Kun and his companions toward Lin Taichu. After several days of acting like enemies, Lin Taichu met Tang Kun and Tang Li in a bamboo grove and began building their trust over wine.

• Lin Taichu instructed Tang Yun to stage an argument over their last spar and keep their plan secret from everyone else.
• At the training grounds, Tang Yun accused Lin Taichu of looking down on him, then publicly declared their relationship over and walked away.
• Lin Taichu and Tang Yun ignored each other over the following days, while Tang Kun and his companions secretly watched Lin Taichu.
• Lin Taichu went to the bamboo grove with wine and pretended to be troubled until Tang Kun and Tang Li approached him.
• Lin Taichu poured wine for Tang Kun and Tang Li, who offered to help him with anything he needed.

Lin Taichu won Tang Kun, Tang Li, and Tang Mei’s initial trust while secretly investigating the elder behind them and the rare poison. Tang Li invited him to the abandoned training room on the back mountain, and Lin Taichu prepared for the possibility of a trap before setting out.

• Lin Taichu feigned regret over his falling-out with Tang Yun and promised Tang Kun and Tang Li support, then welcomed Tang Mei into their gathering.
• After drinking with the three, Lin Taichu returned to his courtyard and recorded their fear of the elder and their lack of cultivation resources.
• The next morning, Tang Li gave Lin Taichu a bundle of herbs and concealed weapons and invited him to a gathering in the abandoned training room.
• Lin Taichu accepted the invitation, suspecting the gathering could reveal clues about the poison or be a trap set by the elder.
• Lin Taichu hid Wind-Breaking Nails coated with Qianji Powder, gathered antidotes and other weapons, and left Tang Yun a note to deliver to Supreme Elder Tang Xuan if he failed to return.

Lin Taichu discovered that Tang Song was behind a plan to seize the Scripture Pavilion’s secret manuals and the back mountain’s hidden realm, then pretended to submit to him. He returned to his courtyard with Tang Song’s identity and the three-day deadline recorded in his hidden note, and remained cautious while waiting for his next move.

• Lin Taichu overheard Tang Kun and the others discuss a poison and a plan to seize the Scripture Pavilion’s manuals and the hidden realm in three days.
• Tang Li invited Lin Taichu into the abandoned training hall, where Lin Taichu recognized the elder as Tang Song, the Tang Sect’s disciplinary elder.
• Tang Song offered Lin Taichu a chance to submit, and Lin Taichu agreed while asking him not to harm innocent disciples.
• Tang Song sent Lin Taichu away with Tang Kun and the others, ordering him to stay put and await a message.
• Lin Taichu added Tang Song’s identity and the plan to his hidden note, checked himself for poison, and spent the next few days keeping a low profile.

Lin Taichu passed Tang Song’s loyalty test by killing a poisoned prisoner whom Tang Song claimed was a condemned criminal, then learned he would help hold back guards at the Scripture Pavilion during the coming operation. He secretly recorded the new information and planned how to get it to Supreme Elder Tang Xuan without being detected.

• Lin Taichu tracked Tang Song and Tang Kun’s preparations while waiting for a chance to inform Tang Xuan.
• Tang Li summoned Lin Taichu to the abandoned training hall, where Tang Song ordered him to kill a hooded prisoner to prove his loyalty.
• Lin Taichu killed the prisoner, and Tang Song revealed the man was a major criminal taken from the Tang Sect prison for the test.
• Tang Song told Lin Taichu that the operation would proceed after the medicinal herb inventory check in two days and assigned him to hold back the Scripture Pavilion guards.
• Lin Taichu recorded the test and the operation’s division of tasks, then considered how to reach Tang Xuan while Tang Song watched him.

Lin Taichu secretly warned Tang Yun that Tang Song planned to raid the Scripture Pavilion and the secret realm, then pretended to help Tang Song prepare for the operation. As Tang Song set his plan in motion with a fire at the medicinal herbs storehouse, Lin Taichu stopped near the Scripture Pavilion, leaving his next move unresolved.

• Lin Taichu staged an argument with Tang Yun at the training grounds and secretly told him to warn Tang Xuan about Tang Song’s plan.
• Tang Kun delivered hidden weapons and Healing Medicine from Tang Song, and Lin Taichu prepared nonlethal weapons coated with Qianji Powder.
• Lin Taichu scouted the Scripture Pavilion with Tang Kun, Tang Li, and Tang Mei, memorizing its defenses and the planned route.
• Tang Song’s watchers reported that Lin Taichu had stayed in his courtyard, and Tang Song grew confident in him.
• Tang Song’s followers started a fire at the medicinal herbs storehouse to draw away guards, then ordered Lin Taichu and the others to restrain the Scripture Pavilion’s outer guards.
• Lin Taichu stopped as the group neared the Scripture Pavilion, and Tang Kun asked what was wrong.

Lin Taichu helped Tang Xuan expose Tang Song’s plot to seize the Scripture Pavilion’s manuals and the back mountain secret realm. Tang Song escaped the Tang Sect with Tang Kun as a hostage, while elders pursued them and Tang Li and Tang Mei begged for mercy.

• Tang Xuan confronted Tang Song at the Scripture Pavilion and revealed evidence of his secret dealings, poison ingredients, and conspiracy with Tang Kun and two others.
• Tang Song seized Tang Kun and threatened to kill him unless the elders opened a path out of the sect.
• Tang Xuan ordered the disciples to stand aside, allowing Tang Song to leave with Tang Kun.
• After Tang Song and Tang Kun fled into the mountains, Tang Xuan sent two elders and disciples to track them and rescue Tang Kun.
• Tang Xuan and the Scripture Pavilion Elder praised Lin Taichu for exposing Tang Song’s scheme, while Tang Li and Tang Mei knelt and pleaded for their lives.

Lin Taichu and Tang Yun tracked Tang Song into the forest, where they found him holding Tang Kun hostage. Tang Song was surrounded but threatened to kill Tang Kun rather than surrender.

• Tang Xuan sentenced Tang Li and Tang Mei to lose half their inner strength and their Inner Sect status, then ordered the disciples to strengthen the sect's defenses.
• Lin Taichu received permission to track Tang Song and rescue Tang Kun, and Tang Yun joined him with an enhanced antidote for Qianji Powder.
• Lin Taichu used the lingering toxin to lead the tracking group deeper into the forest, where they found Tang Song resting beside the bound Tang Kun.
• Lin Taichu urged the group to wait for a chance to rescue Tang Kun before attacking, while Tang Song told Tang Kun he planned to reunite with his companions and return for revenge.
• Tang Song sensed the pursuers and was surrounded, then seized Tang Kun and held a Short Blade to his throat as the disciples demanded his surrender.