Chapter Summaries

Zhong Lin learned that an imperial expert had captured Rebel Army leader Guo Yanhai, ending the siege of Black Mountain County. With the city restored to order, Zhong Lin and Old Man Xu’s family returned to their homes.

• Zhong Lin heard a Yamen clerk announce that Guo Yanhai had been captured and would be executed, then went to the open city gates to confirm the siege had ended.
• Zhong Lin reasoned that a powerful martial artist had defeated the Rebel Army and felt relieved that the county could return to peace.
• Zhong Lin told Old Man Xu that the war was over and that the clinic could reopen, and Old Man Xu celebrated by asking for his saved wine.
• The next day, Guo Yanhai and several Rebel Army Military Heads were beheaded, while most of the captured soldiers were released.
• The County Magistrate opened granaries, established relief stations, and organized repairs, restoring order as Old Man Xu’s family returned to their courtyard.

After County Magistrate Mei summoned Zhong Lin, he drew a highly accurate portrait of the Rebel Army strategist Han Jin from Xu Ruo’s description. The young man praised Zhong Lin’s work and asked whether he had painted portraits for courtesans, leaving Zhong Lin awkwardly admitting he had done so.

• Zhong Lin practiced the Crimson Sun Stance Skill and felt dissatisfied with his progress without medicinal pills.
• Old Zhou dragged Zhong Lin to the County Yamen because the County Magistrate wanted to see him.
• County Magistrate Mei ordered the imprisoned Xu Ruo to describe Han Jin so Zhong Lin could draw a portrait.
• Zhong Lin quickly completed a portrait that Xu Ruo confirmed was Han Jin.
• The young man praised Zhong Lin’s painting and teased him about painting portraits for courtesans, and Zhong Lin admitted he had done it out of necessity.

Zhong Lin impressed Master Yin with his three-dimensional painting and agreed to accompany him to Heavenly Sun County in three days. While waiting at Warm Fragrance Brothel, he listened as Mei Weixuan explained brothel rankings and the ranks of courtesans.

• Master Yin praised Zhong Lin's portrait, then asked him to paint an orchid and was astonished by the three-dimensional result.
• The woman agreed Zhong Lin was qualified to paint Master Yin's life's work, and Master Yin invited him to Heavenly Sun County in three days.
• Mei Weixuan escorted Zhong Lin to Warm Fragrance Brothel and praised how his painting skills could earn him favors at brothels.
• At the brothel, Mei Weixuan explained how brothels were ranked by their names and described the different ranks of courtesans.

Mei Weixuan told Zhong Lin that Master Yin, the Hall Master of Hundred Herbs Hall, wanted him to illustrate Dao Yan Materia Medica, a work cataloging the world’s medicinal herbs. Zhong Lin accepted his good fortune, then welcomed Fu Xiang and arranged for Green Calyx Girl to attend to Mei Weixuan.

• Mei Weixuan explained that Master Yin was Yin Daoyan, Hall Master of Hundred Herbs Hall, and an expert at Connecting Vessels Realm Rank 2.
• Mei Weixuan told Zhong Lin that Yin Daoyan was compiling Dao Yan Materia Medica and needed Zhong Lin’s Three-Dimensional Painting skills to illustrate its herbs.
• Zhong Lin praised the name Dao Yan Materia Medica before learning that Dao Yan was Yin Daoyan’s given name.
• Zhong Lin asked about Gu Yourong and learned that she and Mei Weixuan were only nominal disciples of Yin Daoyan.
• Fu Xiang entered with a group of dancing girls and embraced Zhong Lin, who greeted her warmly.
• Zhong Lin introduced Mei Weixuan to Green Calyx Girl as an important figure from the Prefecture City, and she served him wine.

Zhong Lin prepared to leave for Heavenly Sun County in three days to serve as a personal artist on Yin Daoyan’s Dao Yan Materia Medica, while worrying about taking Little Shi away from his new home. After hearing the news, Old Man Xu urged him to hurry off, recognizing the opportunity as a rare honor that could make his name endure.

• Mei Weixuan agreed that Zhong Lin could bring his five-year-old brother, Little Shi, when they left for the Prefecture City in three days.
• Zhong Lin found Little Shi at Old Man Xu’s home, where the boy had been playing and studying with Xiu Ge’er.
• Zhong Lin reflected on his slow cultivation and the need to seek medical books and pill-refining knowledge in Heavenly Sun County.
• Zhong Lin told Old Man Xu that he would leave soon to help Yin Daoyan compile the Dao Yan Materia Medica.
• Old Man Xu excitedly identified Yin Daoyan as Pill Doctor Grandmaster Yin and urged Zhong Lin to seize the chance to make his name known.

Zhong Lin and Little Shi left Black Mountain County with Master Yin's group, stopping first at Heavenly Eagle Stronghold in WuLing County. On the journey, Little Shi shared his picture book version of the Calabash Brothers story with Gu Yourong and caught Yin Daoyan's interest in its magical abilities and treasures.

• Little Shi mourned leaving Xiu Ge'er, and Zhong Lin promised they would return someday.
• Zhong Lin and Little Shi went to the County Yamen, where Mei Weixuan gave Little Shi a valuable jade pendant.
• The group left in a lavish carriage, and Mei Weixuan explained that they were traveling first to Heavenly Eagle Stronghold in WuLing County.
• Little Shi read his picture book in the carriage and invited Gu Yourong to hear the Calabash Brothers story.
• Gu Yourong and Yin Daoyan became absorbed in the picture book, with Yin Daoyan especially interested in its divine abilities and magical treasures.

Zhong Lin cooked a meal for the travelers, and Mei Weixuan and Gu Yourong recognized that he had reached Rank 6 in just three months. Yin Daoyan considered Zhong Lin as a possible disciple but said he would continue observing him; the next morning, the group set off again with Military Ration Pills for the horses.

• Zhong Lin cooked mushroom and preserved meat rice for the group at their riverside camp, and everyone enjoyed the meal.
• Mei Weixuan and Gu Yourong observed Zhong Lin’s cultivation and identified him as a sixteen-year-old Rank 6 Martial Artist who had advanced in three months.
• Gu Yourong asked why Yin Daoyan favored Zhong Lin, and Yin Daoyan said he valued talent and fortune but had not yet decided whether to accept him as a disciple.
• Zhong Lin accompanied Little Shi into the dark to relieve himself, then returned to camp, where Little Shi slept in the carriage to avoid the frost.
• The group set off the next morning, and Mei Weixuan fed the horses Military Ration Pills and explained that humans could also eat Bigu Pills.

Mei Weixuan explained Qi and Blood cultivation to Zhong Lin, gave him Qi and Blood Pills, and exposed how badly he had been overcharged at the Black Market. After strengthening his Qi and Blood and mastering Crimson Sun Palm, Zhong Lin arrived with the group at Heavenly Eagle Stronghold, where a grim middle-aged man came out to meet them.

• Mei Weixuan recognized Zhong Lin's sixth-rank cultivation and his Crimson Sun Stance Skill, then explained the importance of resources and gave him a bottle of Qi and Blood Pills.
• Zhong Lin learned the pills he had bought from the Ghost-Faced Man at the Black Market had cost far more than their usual price.
• With Qi and Blood Pills, Zhong Lin strengthened his Qi and Blood over half a month and mastered Crimson Sun Palm.
• Zhong Lin and the group approached Heavenly Eagle Stronghold, and Mei Weixuan explained that its trained eagles watched the surrounding area.
• Mei Weixuan announced that Old Yin of Hundred Herbs Hall had arrived for the appointment, and a guard went to report their arrival.
• A grim middle-aged man in luxurious robes rode out from Heavenly Eagle Stronghold.

Yin Daoyan arrived at Heavenly Eagle Stronghold and examined Shen Xuexin and thirteen others who had fallen into a strange, spreading unconsciousness. He determined they had been poisoned with a complicated mixed poison and began investigating how to cure them.

• Shen Xuefeng welcomed Yin Daoyan and led his group into the heavily guarded Heavenly Eagle Stronghold.
• Shen Hongyu told Yin Daoyan that his son Shen Xuexin and thirteen others had fallen unconscious with identical symptoms.
• Yin Daoyan examined the patients and asked Shen Hongyu to clear the room, while Mei Weixuan told Zhong Lin to stay and Little Shi to look around.
• Yin Daoyan revealed that the condition was poison, not an illness, and that someone had poisoned Heavenly Eagle Stronghold.
• Yin Daoyan warned that the mixed poison would be difficult to identify and cure, and Shen Hongyu pleaded with him to save his son.

Yin Daoyan confirmed that Shen Xuexin had been deliberately given a chronic mixed poison, and Zhong Lin reasoned that the plot likely stemmed from conflict within Heavenly Eagle Stronghold. Shen Hongyu vowed to protect his son, while Shen Xuefeng learned Yin had arrived and began plotting to secure the stronghold for himself.

• Yin Daoyan told Shen Hongyu that Shen Xuexin had been poisoned with a deliberate mixture designed to keep him alive rather than kill him quickly.
• Zhong Lin suggested the poisoning likely arose from interests within Heavenly Eagle Stronghold and advised Yin Daoyan to focus on treating Shen Xuexin rather than interfering in family affairs.
• Shen Hongyu promised his unconscious son that he would uncover the plot and make the stronghold safe for him to inherit.
• Shen Xuefeng told a masked man that Yin Daoyan’s arrival threatened their plans, but the masked man refused to act while Yin was present and ordered Shen Xuefeng to watch Shen Hongyu.
• After the masked man left, Shen Xuefeng declared that he trusted neither Shen Hongyu nor his supposed ally and intended to see who would be fooled.

After Yin Daoyan left Heavenly Eagle Stronghold with the antidote prepared, Zhong Lin and Mei Weixuan secretly returned to the stronghold, suspecting trouble was brewing. They arrived to find Shen Hongyu confronting his eldest son, Shen Xuefeng, over a plot to seize the family property and harm his younger brother.

• Mei Weixuan told Zhong Lin he had spotted black-clad figures sneaking around Heavenly Eagle Stronghold, but Zhong Lin dismissed him and shut the door.
• Yin Daoyan gave Shen Hongyu an antidote and advised him to take one pill daily for seven days and avoid fighting while he recovered.
• After leaving with Yin Daoyan, Zhong Lin and Mei Weixuan secretly doubled back toward Heavenly Eagle Stronghold while the others continued toward Heavenly Sun County.
• Zhong Lin practiced the Crimson Sun Stance Skill and felt his Qi and blood strengthen his arm, then washed at a river before rejoining Mei Weixuan.
• The two masked men entered the brightly lit stronghold and found Shen Hongyu confronting Shen Xuefeng, who accused his father of favoring his younger brother despite his own work managing the stronghold.

Shen Xuefeng turned against Shen Hongyu and enlisted black-clad experts to fight for control of Heavenly Eagle Stronghold. While the battle raged, Mei Weixuan and Zhong Lin sneaked away to find the stronghold’s treasure but ended up at its Skill Transmission Pavilion.

• Shen Xuefeng revealed that he had colluded with outsiders, and three black-clad men appeared to support him.
• Shen Hongyu fought a black-clad Rank 3 Martial Artist, displaying his powerful eagle-claw techniques as Zhong Lin watched with Mei Weixuan.
• Mei Weixuan explained the difference between Rank 3 and Rank 2, then led Zhong Lin toward the stronghold’s suspected treasure location.
• Mei Weixuan and Zhong Lin defeated the pavilion guards without killing them and entered the building.
• Mei Weixuan discovered that they had reached Heavenly Eagle Stronghold’s Skill Transmission Pavilion rather than its treasure.

Zhong Lin and Mei Weixuan raided Heavenly Eagle Stronghold’s pavilions for martial arts manuals, then encountered a giant mutated eagle and fought their way into another pavilion. They found weapons and ores instead of the stronghold’s prized inheritance, leaving them to continue searching for its hidden secrets.

• Zhong Lin gathered dozens of martial arts manuals from the Skill Transmission Pavilion while Mei Weixuan urged him to move on.
• A colossal black eagle attacked a black-clad man, and Mei Weixuan identified it as a mutated beast kept by Heavenly Eagle Stronghold.
• Zhong Lin and Mei Weixuan reached another pavilion, where a white-clad old man attacked them with Eagle Splitting Poison Claw.
• Mei Weixuan engaged the old man while Zhong Lin struck him in the chest, and together they broke his arm and knocked him unconscious.
• Zhong Lin and Mei Weixuan searched the pavilion and found weapons and ores rather than the Heavenly Eagle Soaring Sky Skill or the eagle-training arts.

Zhong Lin and Mei Weixuan escaped Heavenly Eagle Stronghold with a treasured sword, an Ebony Bow, and other martial techniques as a battle raged behind them. On the road, they spotted two surviving men in black, and Mei Weixuan suggested they take a bigger risk.

• Mei Weixuan urged Zhong Lin to choose weapons before they fled, and Zhong Lin took a sharp treasured sword infused with Blood Pattern Steel.
• Zhong Lin found an Ebony Bow, struggled to draw it, and recognized its potential for training his muscles and tendons.
• Zhong Lin and Mei Weixuan took the bow and refined-steel arrows, then escaped Heavenly Eagle Stronghold while a giant eagle fought in the plaza.
• The two traveled through the night, with Zhong Lin pleased by their haul and Mei Weixuan demanding a drink at XiaoXiang Pavilion.
• Zhong Lin and Mei Weixuan hid as two of the three men in black raced past, and Mei Weixuan asked Zhong Lin if he wanted to play for bigger stakes.

Mei Weixuan persuaded Zhong Lin to ambush two wounded men in black, claiming Yin Daoyan was testing Zhong Lin for a chance to become his disciple. Zhong Lin and Mei Weixuan killed the pursuers, but Mei Weixuan was badly injured in the fight.

• Mei Weixuan urged Zhong Lin to attack the wounded men in black, and Zhong Lin agreed after hearing that Yin Daoyan might take him as a disciple.
• Zhong Lin shot one man in black through the chest with his Ebony Bow, killing him.
• Mei Weixuan attacked the surviving third-rank martial artist, who struck him away and left him gravely hurt.
• Zhong Lin shot the surviving man in black through the heart and found him dead.
• Zhong Lin called to Mei Weixuan, who answered that something was broken and asked for help.

Zhong Lin and Mei Weixuan found manuals and valuable pills on the slain Shadow Platform assassins, then returned to camp and set out the next morning. Zhong Lin began studying the manuals and practicing Wind Thunder Swordplay, but asked Mei Weixuan for a Basic Sword Technique.

• Zhong Lin and Mei Weixuan found the Golden Muscle Jade Bone Skill, Seven Treasures Heart Protecting Pills, and a Mind Clarity Pill among the assassins’ belongings.
• Mei Weixuan explained the pill grades and asked for the Mind Clarity Pill, and Zhong Lin agreed in exchange for a treat at XiaoXiang Pavilion.
• The two returned to camp, where Gu Yourong continued cultivating without drawing attention to herself, and they rested until morning.
• On the road, Mei Weixuan advised Zhong Lin to focus on the Primal Chaos Stance Skill and only a few martial techniques.
• Zhong Lin practiced Wind Thunder Swordplay with a branch, then asked Mei Weixuan whether he had a Basic Sword Technique.

Zhong Lin mastered the Basic Sword Technique almost instantly, impressing Yin Daoyan enough to accept him as a disciple. Yin Daoyan then revealed his ties to the powerful Sword Cauldron Sect and began teaching Zhong Lin its methods.

• Mei Weixuan demonstrated the Basic Sword Technique and guided Zhong Lin through its forms.
• Zhong Lin used the System to raise the Basic Sword Technique to Max Level and stunned Mei Weixuan and Gu Yourong with his sword mastery.
• Yin Daoyan demonstrated the Thousand Mist Swordplay, and Zhong Lin used the System to master it after watching once.
• Yin Daoyan accepted Zhong Lin as his disciple, while Little Shi became his registered disciple.
• Yin Daoyan told Zhong Lin that he was an elder of the Sword Cauldron Sect and began teaching him the Heavenly Origin Treasure Stance and Five Animal Frolics.

Yin Daoyan explained the nine cultivation ranks to Zhong Lin and taught him the Sword Cauldron Sect’s Heavenly Origin Treasure Stance and the Five Animal Frolics. Zhong Lin quickly mastered both through the System and began building his qi and blood.

• Yin Daoyan described the nine cultivation ranks, explained that realms existed above Rank 1, and gave Zhong Lin the Heavenly Origin Treasure Stance booklet.
• Zhong Lin learned the Heavenly Origin Treasure Stance and used the System to raise it to max level, impressing Yin Daoyan with his sudden proficiency.
• Zhong Lin circulated qi and blood through his arms while practicing, but Yin Daoyan stopped him from rushing and began teaching him the Five Animal Frolics.
• Yin Daoyan demonstrated the Five Animal Frolics, and Zhong Lin recognized the movements from his previous life and memorized them after one viewing.
• Zhong Lin used the System to bring the Five Animal Frolics to max level and began practicing its animal forms.

Zhong Lin continued practicing the Five Animal Frolics as he traveled with Yin Daoyan’s party to Heavenly Sun County, where he arrived at Hundred Herbs Hall. Yin Daoyan learned that sect members were waiting at Miraculous Hand Garden over traces of the Blood Soul Pill and left to meet them.

• Mei Weixuan dismissed the Five Animal Frolics as a simple health-preserving art, while Zhong Lin kept practicing after learning it could improve his aptitude and lead to another technique.
• Three days later, Zhong Lin and the others reached the bustling city of Heavenly Sun and entered through its gates.
• Mei Weixuan greeted Deng Yunsheng at Hundred Herbs Hall, and Gu Yourong introduced Little Shi as the party arrived.
• Deng Yunsheng told Yin Daoyan that people from the sect were waiting at Miraculous Hand Garden and asked whether the Blood Demon Sect had risen again.
• Yin Daoyan said they had only found traces of the Blood Soul Pill, asked Deng Yunsheng to arrange lodging for Zhong Lin, and headed to Miraculous Hand Garden.
• Yin Daoyan introduced Zhong Lin to Deng Yunsheng as his newly accepted disciple.

Yin Daoyan introduced Zhong Lin as his newly accepted disciple, making him the Young Master of Hundred Herbs Hall. Zhong Lin settled into a lavish estate with Little Shi and appointed Yun Xiu to manage the maidservants and care for his younger brother.

• Yin Daoyan revealed that Zhong Lin was his disciple, and Deng Yunsheng respectfully welcomed him as Hundred Herbs Hall's Young Master.
• Yin Daoyan went to Wonder Hand Garden while Zhong Lin stayed behind to learn about Hundred Herbs Hall and its divisions from Deng Yunsheng.
• Deng Yunsheng showed Zhong Lin and Little Shi their new estate, which Little Shi happily agreed to make their home.
• Deng Yunsheng presented a group of maidservants and offered to replace them if Zhong Lin was dissatisfied, but Zhong Lin accepted them and requested Qi and Blood Pills for training.
• Zhong Lin appointed Yun Xiu to manage the maidservants and instructed her to take good care of Little Shi.