Chapter Summaries

Li Xiao examined the ancient Token Liu Qingyue had risked retrieving, but he could not determine its purpose. Liu Qingyue knew little about its origins beyond a family ancestor bringing it back from an ancient ruin, leaving the Token's secrets unresolved.

• Li Xiao praised Liu Qingyue's cooking, and she left to retrieve the Token while asking him to wait in the hall.
• Liu Qingyue returned with a square object wrapped in dark blue silk and placed it before Li Xiao.
• Li Xiao examined the Token's intricate patterns and faintly glowing markings, but could not read them.
• Li Xiao tested the Token's weight, hardness, and reaction to Qi and Blood Internal Force and Mental Power; it absorbed the force and faintly responded to his perception but revealed no information.
• Liu Qingyue said her family had no further records about Qi Cultivators or the Token, which an ancestor had brought back from an ancient ruin.

Li Xiao accepted Liu Qingyue’s unusual Token as payment for helping her escape the Feng Family, though they agreed she would hand it over only after she and her parents could leave Willow City safely. Back home, Li Xiao deflected his father’s matchmaking plans, and in the following days he visited the Martial Arts Hall less often.

• Li Xiao felt a brief wave of dizziness while examining the Token and realized it could affect him despite his strength.
• Li Xiao agreed to accept the Token from Liu Qingyue as payment for helping her.
• Liu Qingyue explained that she would wait for the family turmoil to ease, improve her strength, and leave Willow City with her parents before secretly giving Li Xiao the Token.
• Li Xiao and Liu Qingyue sealed their agreement with a high-five, and she wrapped up the Token and put it away.
• Li Youde asked Li Xiao about his visit to the Liu Family and became excited about a possible marriage, but Li Xiao urged him to wait.
• Li Xiao returned to his room after calming his father, then went to the Martial Arts Hall less often over the next few days.

Qian Li announced that the expedition against Black Wind Stronghold would begin in two days, then summoned Li Xiao, Zhao Hu, and Leng Feng to his study. As Qian Li warned them about Willow City’s dangers, Li Xiao sensed his mentor was secretly using a spiritual method to deepen their trust and guarded his mind while pretending to be affected.

• Li Xiao avoided the Martial Arts Hall’s Exotic Beast Meat because he suspected it caused subtle mental erosion, but came when Qian Li summoned the disciples.
• Qian Li announced that the allied forces would gather at the North City Gate at dawn in two days to march on Black Wind Stronghold.
• A steward disciple brought Li Xiao to Qian Li’s study, where he joined Zhao Hu and the stern Second-Turn Martial Master Leng Feng.
• Qian Li told the three disciples he had considered them inheritors of his mantle and recounted the dangers he had faced in the martial world.
• Qian Li warned that Willow City was threatened by tangled powers and ambitious men, while Li Xiao sensed a hidden spiritual technique meant to increase their dependence on Qian Li.
• Li Xiao guarded his spiritual will and feigned the unease shown by Zhao Hu and Leng Feng.

Qian Li warned his disciples that the campaign against Black Wind Stronghold concealed a larger plot, then named Li Xiao as his successor and assigned him to control Willow City's North City Gate. Li Xiao agreed while secretly planning to use the assignment for his own advantage.

• Qian Li warned Li Xiao, Zhao Hu, and Leng Feng that Zhu He's bandit-suppression campaign might conceal ulterior motives and that unexpected events could occur.
• Qian Li praised Li Xiao's talent and asked him to inherit his martial arts legacy, and Li Xiao professed loyalty to his master.
• Qian Li promised to help Li Xiao avenge the Lin and Zhu families, and Li Xiao performed anger and gratitude despite having no real feelings for Lin Yue.
• Qian Li ordered Li Xiao to lead Zhao Hu, Leng Feng, and trusted disciples in taking control of the North City Gate after the allied forces left Willow City.
• Li Xiao accepted the dangerous assignment, and after leaving the study, he resolved to exploit the turmoil for his own purposes.

Li Xiao was nearing a breakthrough to Fourth Turn Great Martial Master when a maid begged him to save Liu Qingyue from the Feng Family, forcing him to interrupt his training and go to the Liu Mansion. He arrived as the Feng Family tried to take Liu Qingyue by force with Liu Chengye’s cooperation.

• Li Xiao considered how Zhu He’s planned raid on Black Wind Stronghold would weaken Qian Li and decided to let the two men clash while he pursued the Zhu Family’s destruction.
• A Liu Family maid arrived at Li Xiao’s home and pleaded for him to save Liu Qingyue from the Feng Family.
• Li Youde urged Li Xiao to go to the Liu Mansion, and Li Xiao agreed despite being close to completing his Divine Intent Diagrams.
• At the Liu Mansion, Feng Family attendants restrained Liu Qingyue and her parents while Liu Chengye negotiated her marriage to the Feng Family Elder.
• Li Xiao arrived and ordered everyone to wait, giving Liu Qingyue and her parents hope while Liu Chengye and the Feng Family Elder regarded him warily.

Li Xiao confronted the Feng Family as its members tried to take Liu Qingyue away, then summoned Qian Li for support. Feng Yan tried to buy Li Xiao’s cooperation, but the chapter left the confrontation unresolved.

• Li Xiao challenged Liu Chengye and the Feng Family Elder over the forced marriage agreement and Liu Qingyue’s unwillingness.
• A Feng Family Female Attendant attacked Li Xiao, but he evaded her strike and struck her wrist, forcing her to retreat.
• Li Xiao assessed Feng Yan as a Third-Turn Martial Master and secretly sent a maid to summon Qian Li.
• After Liu Chengye revealed Li Xiao’s identity, Feng Yan offered him two First-Turn women to persuade him to leave.

Li Xiao stalled Feng Yan while waiting for Qian Li, then refused to let the Feng Family take Liu Qingyue. When Feng Yan attacked him, Qian Li arrived and shattered Feng Yan’s arm with a single punch, hurling him through the Liu Family gates.

• Li Xiao pretended to consider Feng Yan’s offer while giving Qian Li time to arrive and Liu Qingyue’s maid time to carry a message.
• After Feng Yan’s half-incense-stick deadline expired, Li Xiao declared that he would protect Liu Qingyue and fought the two Female Retainers as they tried to force her into the carriage.
• Feng Yan struck Li Xiao from behind, then lunged to kill him when Li Xiao appeared unable to evade.
• Qian Li arrived just before Feng Yan’s claws reached Li Xiao and punched Feng Yan, breaking his arm and smashing him through the Liu Family gates.

Qian Li rescued Li Xiao and Liu Qingyue from the Feng Family, killing Feng Yan with a single punch and declaring the conflict unfinished. Back at the martial arts school, Qian Li reassured Li Xiao that he would protect him, while Li Xiao later reunited with a grateful, anxious Liu Qingyue.

• Qian Li struck Feng Yan into the gatehouse ruins, then led Li Xiao and Liu Qingyue and her parents away from the Liu Family compound.
• Qian Li arranged for Liu Qingyue and her parents to stay in a secluded guest room at the martial arts school, then took Li Xiao to his study.
• Qian Li privately recognized Feng Yan's death as advantageous but reproached Li Xiao for provoking the Feng Family.
• Li Xiao described his past helplessness against the Zhu Family and claimed he had acted to protect Liu Qingyue, winning Qian Li's sympathy.
• Qian Li promised to take responsibility for the conflict with the Feng Family and urged Li Xiao to cultivate until he could protect what he valued.
• Li Xiao visited Liu Qingyue and her parents, where Liu Qingyue thanked him and Qian Li and worried that she had caused them trouble.

Li Xiao brought Liu Qingyue and her parents to his home for safety, where Li Youde and Li Yu misunderstood their relationship. After reassuring Liu Qingyue and training for the night, Li Xiao prepared for the important day ahead, with his Iron Wire Fist Divine Intent Diagram at 96%.

• Li Xiao led Liu Qingyue and her parents back to his home to protect them from the Feng Family.
• Li Youde enthusiastically welcomed Liu Qingyue's family, mistaking their visit as a sign of a relationship with Li Xiao.
• After dinner, Liu Qingyue apologized for the misunderstanding, and Li Xiao told her family they could stay until the Feng Family matter was resolved.
• Li Xiao practiced the Dragon-Snake Illusory Body and gained experience.
• Li Xiao sensed that his Iron Wire Fist Divine Intent Diagram had reached 96% comprehension before going to rest.

Li Xiao fully comprehended the Iron Wire Fist’s Martial Way True Intent and broke through to Fourth Turn Great Martial Master. His Wind Listening ability expanded dramatically, and he realized the Exotic Insect was also strengthening his vitality.

• Li Xiao completed the Iron Wire Fist Divine Intent Diagram, reaching 100% and comprehending its Martial Way True Intent.
• The True Intent ignited Li Xiao’s Qi and Blood, allowing him to break through into Fourth Turn Viscera Refining.
• Li Xiao tested his new strength and Internal Force, confirming that he had become a Fourth Turn Great Martial Master.
• Li Xiao activated Wind Listening and sensed every movement within a hundred zhang.
• Li Xiao realized that the Wind Listening Exotic Insect evolved alongside his breakthroughs and nourished his body in return, then rested as he awaited daybreak.

Li Xiao reached the Fourth Turn Great Martial Master realm and arrived at the Iron Wire Fist Martial Arts School, where Qian Li had left him in command of a force of Martial Masters. As Zhu He prepared to lead the bandit suppression, Li Xiao’s group stood ready to follow his orders.

• Li Xiao woke stronger than before, having advanced to Fourth Turn Great Martial Master, and set out carrying his Black Iron Heavy Bow and Refined Iron Arrows.
• At Willow City's North City Gate, Zhu He assembled martial arts school disciples, clan scions, and yamen constables for an assault on Black Wind Stronghold.
• Zhu He instructed Zhu Wenhuan to guard Willow City and protect its vital locations while the suppression force went into the countryside.
• Li Xiao arrived at the Iron Wire Fist Martial Arts School and found Zhao Hu, Leng Feng, and a dozen other Martial Masters waiting for him.
• Zhao Hu told Li Xiao that Qian Li had ordered him and the others to follow Li Xiao's arrangements, and the assembled Martial Masters agreed to obey.

Li Xiao led Iron Wire Fist Martial Arts School fighters in seizing the North City Gate and ordered them to conceal the takeover. At Black Wind Stronghold, Lu Meng and the stronghold’s elite bandits had been gone for several days, with no word of their return.

• Li Xiao invoked Qian Li’s authority and demanded that the North Gate defenders hand over control, but the Chief Constables refused and prepared to resist.
• Li Xiao ordered his Martial Masters to take the gate, and Zhao Hu, Leng Feng, and the others defeated the defenders before they could raise an alarm.
• Li Xiao ordered the North Gate kept shut, the blood cleaned up, and disguised men posted to delay anyone who came to investigate.
• Black Wind Stronghold was unusually quiet because Lu Meng had taken its strongest Headmen, elite bandits, and Martial Masters to raid a supposedly wealthy caravan several days earlier, and none had returned or sent word.

Hu Kui prepared Black Wind Stronghold to defend against government soldiers and martial artists while Lu Meng’s elite forces waited in ambush with Qian Li and the Yellow Robe Cult Master. The allied forces then set out for Willow City to destroy the Feng Family.

• A scout warned Hu Kui that hundreds of government soldiers and martial artists were climbing toward Black Wind Stronghold.
• Hu Kui ordered the bandits to man the defenses and bring hostages from the dungeon to weaken the attackers.
• In a hidden valley, Lu Meng and Wu Tieshan waited with Black Wind Stronghold’s elite men under Qian Li’s command.
• The Yellow Robe Cult Master arrived with roughly a hundred Yellow Robe Guards and praised the strength of Black Wind Stronghold’s elites.
• Qian Li and the Yellow Robe Cult Master reaffirmed their agreement to destroy the Feng Family, then led their forces toward Willow City.

Li Xiao opened Willow City's North Gate for Qian Li and the Yellow Robe Cult's forces, who marched into the city to attack the Feng Family. As Li Xiao remained behind to guard the gate, he sensed that the masked Yellow Robe Cult Master was even more powerful than Qian Li.

• Li Xiao opened North Gate and welcomed Qian Li's Black Wind Stronghold elites and the Yellow Robe Cult's forces into Willow City.
• The Yellow Robe Cult Master recognized the Black Wind Stronghold elites and Iron Wire Fist disciples as Qian Li's hidden forces, and Qian Li explained why he had concealed their connection.
• Qian Li and the Yellow Robe Cult Master agreed to attack the Feng Family while Willow City's defenders were away, and Qian Li ordered Li Xiao to guard North Gate.
• Qian Li and the Yellow Robe Cult Master led their forces into Willow City, leaving Li Xiao and his martial masters at the gate.
• Li Xiao used Wind Listening to assess the two leaders and sensed that the Yellow Robe Cult Master's Qi and Blood surpassed Qian Li's and exceeded his own.

Li Xiao hid his strength and secured the North City Gate while he cultivated the Swift Wind Thunderclap Arrow Divine Intent Diagram to completion, gaining a second Martial Way True Intent. Meanwhile, Qian Li and the Yellow Robe Cult Master advanced through the Outer City and reached the abandoned Inner City gates.

• Li Xiao recognized the Yellow Robe Cult Master as a Great Martial Master and decided to conceal his strength while waiting for the rival forces to weaken each other.
• Li Xiao ordered Zhao Hu to watch the official road and Leng Feng to make the North City Gate appear loosely guarded.
• Li Xiao meditated in a stone room and completed the Swift Wind Thunderclap Arrow Divine Intent Diagram, gaining Wind Thunder Arrow Intent alongside his Iron Wire Fist True Intent.
• Li Xiao felt his Qi and Blood, Internal Force, and physique strengthen as the two True Intents fused within him.
• Qian Li and the Yellow Robe Cult Master's forces met little resistance and reached the Inner City gates, which the guards had abandoned.

Qian Li led the Yellow Robe Cult Master and his forces to the Feng Family, revealing that his campaign was driven by a blood feud over the destruction of his household. Feng Yuxiang gathered the family’s martial masters and defenses, and the chapter ended as Qian Li smashed through the gates and faced him.

• The Yellow Robe Cult Master asked Qian Li about his hatred for the Feng Family, and Qian Li vowed to avenge his exterminated household before committing himself to the Cult Master’s affairs.
• Qian Li and the Yellow Robe Cult force approached the Feng Family, whose patriarch Feng Yuxiang was supported by five Third-Turn Martial Masters and assembled guards.
• Feng Yuxiang led his fighters to the front courtyard and prepared to greet the attackers as the Feng Family’s layered defenses took position.
• Qian Li smashed open the Feng Family’s gates with a punch and confronted Feng Yuxiang while the Yellow Robe Guards spread out to block interference and escape.

Feng Yuxiang revealed that Qian Li was the surviving Chen Feng, who had spent years preparing to avenge the Chen Family’s destruction. He then questioned whether Chen Feng knew the full truth and brought a frail old man before him, whose identity stunned Qian Li.

• Feng Yuxiang deduced that Qian Li had secretly controlled Black Wind Stronghold and confronted him over the attack on the Feng Family.
• A Third Rank Elder reminded Feng Yuxiang that his family had destroyed Chen Family Fort after Feng Yulong sought to take Chen E as a concubine.
• Qian Li revealed that he was Chen Feng, the sole survivor of the Chen Family, and vowed to avenge its 137 dead by wiping out the Feng Family.
• Feng Yuxiang suggested that Chen Feng might not know the full truth about the massacre and ordered a confidant to bring someone from the residence.
• The confidant brought a frail, elderly man before Qian Li, whose pupils contracted when he recognized him.

Qian Li confronted Feng Yulong, who revealed that he had been a scapegoat and that Chen E’s death was tied to a hidden secret, but the Lean Elder killed him before he could explain. Feng Yuxiang then disclosed that the Feng Family had destroyed the Chen Family to use Chen E’s rare constitution to hatch an Exotic Insect, leaving Qian Li devastated by the truth.

• Qian Li recognized Feng Yulong as one of the men involved in the Chen Family’s destruction and demanded repayment for the blood debt.
• Feng Yulong claimed he had been a scapegoat and warned Qian Li to flee, beginning to explain that Chen E’s death was not what Qian Li believed.
• The Lean Elder crushed Feng Yulong’s throat before he could finish, and Feng Yuxiang dismissed his words as the ramblings of a madman.
• Feng Yuxiang revealed that Chen E had a rare constitution that attracted Exotic Insects and could serve as a womb to hatch the Feng Family Old Ancestor’s insect egg.
• Feng Yuxiang admitted that the Feng Family had used Feng Yulong’s marriage as a pretext to seize Chen E and had wiped out the Chen Family to conceal its plan.

Qian Li rejected Feng Yuxiang’s explanation for the Chen Family massacre and led the Black Wind Stronghold elites into battle against the Feng Family. The Yellow Robe Cult Master betrayed him, revealed himself as Feng Fu, and left Qian Li gravely wounded as the battlefield learned the Feng Family Ancestor had survived.

• Feng Yuxiang claimed the Chen Family had been destroyed because its members possessed the Exotic Insect Egg, but Qian Li renewed his vow to kill the Feng Family and ordered the attack.
• The Black Wind Stronghold elites charged the Feng Family Guards while Lu Meng and Wu Tieshan fought through the crowd.
• As Qian Li charged Feng Yuxiang, the Yellow Robe Cult Master struck him from behind with a powerful fist, sending him crashing into a courtyard pillar.
• Feng Yuxiang revealed that the Yellow Robe Cult Master was a member of the Feng Family and bowed to him as the Old Ancestor.
• The Yellow Robe Cult Master removed his Brass Mask, revealing himself as Feng Fu, the supposedly deceased Feng Family Ancestor.

Qian Li learned that Feng Fu had prolonged his life with an Exotic Insect hatched using Chen E, and realized his years of planning had helped the Feng Family. Gravely wounded, Qian Li fled while ordering his forces to retreat, as Feng Fu pursued him and the Black-Clad Elites were routed.

• Feng Fu revealed that the Mysterious Yin Spirit Nurturing Gu Worm had extended his lifespan and that Chen E's body had helped it hatch.
• Feng Yuxiang told Qian Li that his actions had helped the Feng Family empty Willow City and purge it.
• Qian Li unleashed his Martial Way True Intent, ordered his subordinates to break out, and fled the courtyard after evading Feng Fu and Feng Yuxiang's attacks.
• Feng Yuxiang ordered the pursuit, and Feng Fu set off after the badly wounded Qian Li.
• Lu Meng and Wu Tieshan fought their way out with several loyal Junior Brothers, while the Feng Family and Yellow Robe Cult overwhelmed the remaining Black-Clad Elites.