Chapter Summaries

Li Xiao explained to Wu Lingshuang why the Three Origins Sect would likely refuse to mediate, though her second brother’s visit could still deter Fengyang. At the sect’s promotion ceremony, martial demonstrations began, and Wu Lingshuang grew eager to challenge the Iron Wire Peak champion.

• Li Xiao told Wu Lingshuang that the Three Origins Sect benefited from chaos and was unlikely to mediate, but her second brother’s presence could make Fengyang wary.
• The Three Origins Sect’s steward announced martial demonstrations, with disciples serving as arena champions and rewards offered for victories.
• Zhao Long and Wang Zhu fought in the outer-sect arena, and Wang Zhu won to become the new champion.
• Li Xiao watched the matches and observed three fourth-turn Inner Sect champions, each of whom had comprehended Martial Way True Intent.
• Wu Lingshuang focused on the Iron Wire Peak champion and told Li Xiao that she wanted to test his fists.

Wu Lingshuang challenged Iron Wire Peak's Fang Lie at the martial exhibition and defeated him with her spear, then won two more matches. After receiving two bottles of Viscera Refining Pills as her reward, she gave them to Li Xiao.

• Li Xiao encouraged Wu Lingshuang to enter the Arena, and she chose a Silver Spear to face Iron Wire Peak's Fang Lie.
• Wu Lingshuang countered Fang Lie's Iron Wire Fist and Martial Way True Intent, then wounded him with a three-part spear thrust and won the match.
• Wu Lingshuang defeated an Azure Wave Peak Inner Sect disciple and won three consecutive battles.
• The martial exhibition continued across the Arenas, with Three Origins Sect disciples winning more matches than they lost.
• After the Steward announced the victors and rewards, Wu Lingshuang gave her two bottles of Viscera Refining Pills to Li Xiao.

The Iron Wire Peak Master explained the stages of martial cultivation and how resolving inner knots could open the way to the Dao. After the ceremony, Li Xiao returned to his courtyard with Wu Lingshuang’s pills and the Seven Orifice Insect, realizing he needed to learn alchemy.

• The Iron Wire Peak Master lectured on body tempering, True Qi, Entering Subtlety, and the power of heaven and earth, describing how he overcame a knot in his heart to reach Sixth Turn.
• The lecture ended at dusk, and the crowd thanked the Iron Wire Peak Master before leaving the mountain.
• Wu Lingshuang was called away by her second brother, while Li Xiao left with Zhou Yuan, Cai Kuang, and Wang Zhirou, who asked how he had met her.
• Li Xiao returned to his courtyard, dismissed Qingluo and Bitao, and examined the two Jade Bottles Wu Lingshuang had given him.
• Li Xiao saw that the Seven Orifice Insect needed Pills to eat and decided he had to learn alchemy.

Li Xiao advanced his Martial Skills while cultivating in seclusion, then returned to Elder Gu’s Alchemy Room to test an improved pill. The pill’s pure Medicinal Power surged out of control through Li Xiao’s body, and the chapter ended as he struggled to endure it.

• Li Xiao reflected on the Iron Wire Peak Master’s lecture and resolved to keep cultivating the Flying Cloud Leg.
• Over several days, Li Xiao trained the Flying Cloud Leg, Swift Wind Thunderclap Arrow, and Sword Drawing Slash while the Seven Orifice Insect ran out of Viscera Refining Pills.
• A disciple told Li Xiao that Elder Gu had improved the pills and wanted him to test them again, so Li Xiao went to the Alchemy Hall.
• Elder Gu gave Li Xiao a smooth crimson pill and assured him that he had cleaned it and removed the problems from the previous batch.
• Li Xiao swallowed the pill, but its powerful Medicinal Power raced through his meridians, leaving him flushed, trembling, and struggling to control the force inside him.

Li Xiao endured a violent reaction during Elder Gu’s second Pill trial, exhausting himself before recovering in the Alchemy Room. He returned home to recuperate, while Elder Gu promised another trial and invited him to an Alchemy Hall lesson.

• Elder Gu took the out-of-control Li Xiao to the Martial Arts Training Ground, where Li Xiao vented the Pills’ power for four hours and collapsed.
• Elder Gu treated Li Xiao with two Pills and recorded the trial’s effects before Li Xiao woke up exhausted.
• Li Xiao asked Elder Gu to warn him next time, and Elder Gu promised another hundred Contribution Points and said another trial would come in ten days to half a month.
• Elder Gu invited Li Xiao to attend a lesson for new Disciples in two days, and Li Xiao left the Alchemy Hall after dark.
• Qingluo and Bitao cared for the sore Li Xiao at home, and he spent the next two days resting and regulating his breathing.

Li Xiao attended Alchemy Hall lessons and quickly mastered the fundamentals, then arrived as Zhou Ji began a practical lesson on refining Hui Chun Pills. The chapter ended as Zhou Ji finished explaining the ingredients and approached the Pill Furnace.

• Li Xiao recovered enough to leave his courtyard and attend an introductory alchemy lesson taught by Zhou Ji.
• Li Xiao introduced himself as Li Feiyu, a Fourth Turn Inner Sect disciple from Flying Cloud Peak, and Zhou Ji invited him to keep attending.
• Over the following days, Li Xiao studied alchemy each morning and cultivated each afternoon, learning quickly with his Herbal Mastery skill.
• Zhou Ji began a hands-on lesson, explaining that the class would refine Hui Chun Pills and describing how to select Hemostatic Grass, Green Spirit Flower, and Licorice.

Li Xiao learned to refine pills under Zhou Ji’s guidance and quickly mastered Hui Chun Pills, impressing his senior brother with his talent. He continued training in the Alchemy Hall as Zhou Ji taught him several other basic remedies.

• Zhou Ji demonstrated how to refine Hui Chun Pills, and Li Xiao watched his steps closely.
• Li Xiao refined three batches, improving from grayish pills to three jade-green Hui Chun Pills on his third attempt.
• Zhou Ji was surprised that Li Xiao had succeeded on his first day and praised his talent, advising him to keep the imperfect pills.
• Over the following days, Li Xiao practiced in the Alchemy Hall and soon produced high-grade Hui Chun Pills consistently.
• Zhou Ji taught Li Xiao to prepare Hemostasis Pills, Qi Nourishing Pills, and Heart Clearing Pills.

Li Xiao recorded the First-Turn Skin Refining Pill formula and began learning to refine it at the Alchemy Hall. His first attempt produced flawed pills but advanced his system entry, and he immediately started a second furnace.

• Zhou Ji gave Li Xiao the First-Turn Skin Refining Pill formula and told him to study it before practice the next day.
• Li Xiao recorded the formula with his system, which added the Skin Refining Pill entry to his panel.
• Zhou Ji demonstrated how to select the ingredients and refine First-Turn Skin Refining Pills for the disciples.
• Li Xiao followed the recorded steps and produced three cracked, blackened pills on his first attempt.
• Zhou Ji praised Li Xiao's result, and the system showed Skin Refining Pill progress at 3/10.
• Li Xiao began refining a second furnace.

Li Xiao rapidly improved his pill refining and advanced to Minor Accomplishment in First Turn Alchemy. Suspecting the panel might let him learn all pills of the same rank through one technique, he asked Zhou Ji to demonstrate another First Turn pill, and waited for him to return.

• Li Xiao refined three more batches of Skin Refining Pills, producing a low-grade pill in the fourth batch and advancing his panel to First Turn Alchemy: Minor Accomplishment.
• Zhou Ji praised Li Xiao's talent and offered to teach him another pill formula after he became more familiar with Skin Refining Pills.
• Li Xiao wondered whether improving First Turn Alchemy would let him master every First Turn pill without separately learning each formula.
• Li Xiao asked Zhou Ji to demonstrate another kind of First Turn pill, and Zhou Ji agreed to fetch the ingredients after warning him not to rush his studies.
• While Zhou Ji was away, Li Xiao answered the disciples' questions about controlling heat and timing ingredients.

Li Xiao discovered that his First Turn Alchemy skill let him master every First Turn Pill by successfully refining them, and he quickly became a prodigy in the Alchemy Hall. He continued learning and practicing new formulas under Zhou Ji, earning the awe of the other disciples.

• Zhou Ji demonstrated how to refine Bone Strengthening Pills and explained how to select their ingredients.
• Despite Zhou Ji’s warning, Li Xiao attempted the formula and produced four intact pills, including a low-grade pill, on his first try.
• Li Xiao saw his First Turn Alchemy experience rise and realized that improving the skill would let him master all First Turn Pills.
• Zhou Ji admitted that he had underestimated Li Xiao’s talent and encouraged the other disciples to learn from him.
• Over the next several days, Li Xiao learned and refined one First Turn Pill after another, while Zhou Ji and the disciples grew increasingly amazed by his progress.

Li Xiao had advanced his First Turn Alchemy and caught the attention of the Alchemy Hall's elders, but he had not decided whether to refine Pills full-time. Elder Gu gave him a third improved Blood Explosion Pill to test, and Li Xiao headed to the Martial Arts Training Ground after finding its power was strong but controllable.

• Li Xiao's First Turn Alchemy reached Great Accomplishment, and news of his success spread through the Alchemy Hall.
• Elder Gu summoned Li Xiao and told him that several elders wanted him to become their full-time disciple, but Li Xiao said he had not decided.
• Elder Gu gave Li Xiao his third improved Blood Explosion Pill, which caused him to suffer a bout of foul-smelling flatulence.
• The Pill's Medicinal Power surged through Li Xiao without overwhelming his consciousness, and he said he could control it.
• Li Xiao went with Elder Gu to the Martial Arts Training Ground to test the Pill's effects.

Li Xiao tested an improved Blood Explosion Pill by practicing Flying Cloud Leg, gaining substantial experience without losing control or suffering serious side effects. Elder Gu identified it as a Fifth Turn pill, and the chapter ended with Li Xiao arriving the next morning as Elder Gu refined another batch.

• Li Xiao used the Blood Explosion Pill's surging medicinal power to practice Flying Cloud Leg while Elder Gu observed and recorded his performance.
• After an hour, the medicinal power faded, and Li Xiao's Flying Cloud Leg experience rose to 1450/1800 Perfection.
• Elder Gu judged the pill's effects successful but asked Li Xiao to report whether he suffered a weak period after the effects wore off.
• Elder Gu explained that the Blood Explosion Pill was based on a Fifth Turn pill made with heart meat from a Fifth Turn Demonic Beast, and Li Xiao returned home to rest.
• Li Xiao woke the next morning fully recovered and went to the Alchemy Hall, where he watched Elder Gu refine more Blood Explosion Pills.

Li Xiao learned that the Blood Explosion Pills were already improved and that his earlier side effects came from failing to digest their medicinal power. Elder Gu gave him pointers on Flying Cloud Leg, and Li Xiao saw his skill experience rise sharply.

• Elder Gu swallowed all three Blood Explosion Pills and explained that Li Xiao’s previous side effects had come from excess Qi and Blood, not faulty medicine.
• Elder Gu admitted he had used Li Xiao to test the Pills to protect his reputation, then took him to the Martial Arts Training Ground.
• Elder Gu evaded Li Xiao’s Flying Cloud Leg attacks and corrected his aim, balance, and ability to retract his kicks.
• Li Xiao trained under Elder Gu until the lesson ended, raising Flying Cloud Leg to 1520/1800 Perfection.

After receiving four hundred Contribution Points for his pill-testing work, Li Xiao visited the Exchange Hall to consider what to buy. He found that an official copy of Iron Wire Fist cost two thousand points, leaving him unable to legitimize the technique Qian Li had taught him.

• A menial disciple delivered Li Xiao a wooden plaque worth four hundred Contribution Points from the Alchemy Hall.
• Li Xiao decided to visit the Exchange Hall and brought the plaque with him.
• At the Exchange Hall, Li Xiao examined cultivation methods and noticed that Iron Wire Fist cost two thousand Contribution Points and included a Divine Intent Diagram.
• Li Xiao realized he needed an official copy of Iron Wire Fist to avoid questions about learning it from the traitor Qian Li, but his four hundred points were not enough.

Li Xiao completed Flying Cloud Leg at Perfection and went to Elder Feng to ask about advancing the technique with a Divine Intent Diagram. Elder Feng instead invited him to the Martial Arts Training Ground to demonstrate his skill before Elder Wang, while warning him to keep cultivation ahead of pill refining.

• Li Xiao examined the Exchange Hall listings and left after realizing he was still 1,600 Contribution Points short of his goal.
• Li Xiao spent the following days refining pills and cultivating, then swallowed his final Viscera Refining Pill and completed Flying Cloud Leg at Perfection.
• Li Xiao decided to ask Elder Feng about the Divine Intent Diagram and visited him at his residence, where he met Elder Wang.
• Elder Feng praised Li Xiao's pill-refining talent but cautioned him to prioritize the Martial Dao over pill refining.
• Elder Feng took Li Xiao and Elder Wang to the Martial Arts Training Ground to guide Li Xiao's Flying Cloud Leg, praising his cultivation and Dual True Intent on the way.

Li Xiao demonstrated his Flying Cloud Leg for Elder Feng and Elder Wang, shocking them by revealing that he had reached Perfection in less than a month. Elder Feng rewarded him with a copy of the Flying Cloud Leg's Divine Intent Diagram and took him back to explain it.

• Elder Feng brought Li Xiao to a quiet corner of the Martial Arts Training Ground and asked him to demonstrate the Flying Cloud Leg.
• Li Xiao performed the technique with such speed and control that Elder Wang noticed he had reached Perfection.
• Li Xiao confirmed that he had practiced the Flying Cloud Leg for less than a month, leaving Elder Feng and Elder Wang astonished.
• Elder Feng gave Li Xiao a copy of the Flying Cloud Leg's Divine Intent Diagram as a reward.
• Elder Feng warned Li Xiao that comprehending the diagram would depend on his own ability, then invited him back to explain it.

Elder Feng showed Li Xiao the Flying Cloud Leg Divine Intent Diagram and taught him the True Intent behind its movements. He lent Li Xiao the diagram and urged him to master its True Intent in time for the Inner Sect Grand Competition in two months, while Li Xiao began studying it with the Jade Pillow.

• Elder Feng dismissed Elder Wang and brought Li Xiao to his study, where he revealed the Flying Cloud Leg Divine Intent Diagram.
• Li Xiao recorded the diagram with the Panel, and Elder Feng explained the True Intent behind each movement as the Panel's progress reached eight percent.
• Elder Feng lent Li Xiao the diagram and told him he could enter the Inner Sect Grand Competition if he comprehended Flying Cloud Leg True Intent within two months.
• Elder Feng explained that the competition offered Contribution Points and Pills, and that demonstrating the True Intent could attract the higher-ups' attention.
• Li Xiao returned to his courtyard, placed the diagram in his room, and used the Jade Pillow to study its movements through the night.

Li Xiao discovered that his cultivation panel was upgrading and spent the morning practicing the Sword Drawing Technique. He then accepted Zhou Yuan’s invitation to a fellowship gathering and began meeting disciples from the Three Peaks.

• Li Xiao found a message saying his panel was undergoing a one-day upgrade, so he practiced drawing and slashing with the Green Frost Sword.
• An Outer Sect disciple invited Li Xiao to Zhou Yuan’s fellowship gathering, and Li Xiao agreed to attend.
• Li Xiao arrived at Zhou Yuan’s courtyard, where disciples from Flying Cloud Peak, Iron Wire Peak, and Azure Wave Peak had gathered.
• Zhou Yuan introduced Li Xiao to the group, and Zhao Qian and Li Bing greeted him and spoke with him about cultivation and alchemy.

Li Xiao attended a Three Peaks exchange gathering, learned from other disciples, and cautiously avoided being drawn into a faction. As the gathering ended, Zhou Yuan recruited volunteers for a sect mission to investigate the Tang Family of Changning Prefecture, which might have ties to the Imperial Court.

• Fang Lie invited Li Xiao to spar, and Lin Qingyin offered to discuss pill refinement with him.
• Disciples shared advice on the Azure Wave Palm, Collapsing Force, and other cultivation problems while Li Xiao listened and learned.
• Li Xiao politely deflected disciples who tried to befriend or recruit him, following Elder Feng's warning not to join a faction too soon.
• Zhou Yuan told the gathering that the Sect wanted disciples to investigate the Tang Family, whose ancestor was attempting a Breakthrough Fifth Turn and was rumored to have Imperial Court connections.
• Zhou Yuan said the mission could lead to wiping out the Tang Family, which had three Fourth Turn cultivators, including an Old Ancestor at Fourth Turn Peak.

Li Xiao declined Zhou Yuan’s mission to preserve his cultivation progress, then discovered his Panel had gained a function to fuse identical martial arts of the same realm. Seeking Contribution Points for Pills and cultivation methods, he took the Green Frost Sword to the Exchange Hall, where a Steward recognized it as a Treasure Weapon and asked where it came from.

• Li Xiao refused to join Zhou Yuan’s mission, and Zhou Yuan gathered five other disciples to meet at the Merit Affairs Hall in three days.
• Li Xiao practiced Swift Wind Thunderclap Arrow and Flying Cloud Leg, then saw that his Panel had simplified its display and added a martial-art fusion function.
• Li Xiao realized Flying Cloud Leg and Dragon-Snake Illusory Body might qualify for fusion, but Flying Cloud Leg had not yet reached sufficient progress.
• Wanting Contribution Points for Pills and cultivation methods, Li Xiao decided to exchange the unused Green Frost Sword.
• At the Exchange Hall, the Steward examined the sword, identified it as a Treasure Weapon, and asked Li Xiao where he had obtained it.