Chapter Summaries

Zhong Lin used a Pure Essence Pill to begin transforming his inner breath into true qi, then tested his newfound power. After bathing at a nearby waterfall, he spent the night with Madam Zhang, and the next morning she stayed away from breakfast, feeling unwell.

• Zhong Lin took a Pure Essence Pill and formed a small amount of ink-colored true qi, beginning his gradual entry into the Pure Origin Realm.
• Zhong Lin struck a bluestone with his true qi and made a palm print three feet deep, finding it far stronger than his former inner breath.
• Zhong Lin followed a guard to a waterfall pool and bathed there until Madam Zhang arrived and joined him in the water.
• The next morning, Lin Shihua told Zhong Lin that Madam Zhang was unwell and had a hoarse voice, while Xiao Lin An waited with them for breakfast.

Zhong Lin continued escorting Madam Zhang’s family while cultivating his true qi, and his encounters with Madam Zhang and Lin Shihua unsettled the household. When hundreds of bandits ambushed the convoy, Zhong Lin demonstrated his skill and confronted their leader.

• Madam Zhang stayed hidden in her carriage while Lin Shihua showed Zhong Lin affection, and Zhong Lin continued cultivating as the convoy traveled to a county town.
• Madam Zhang slipped into Zhong Lin’s room at night, and the next morning Lin Shihua hinted that Zhong Lin could turn to her instead of other women.
• Zhong Lin led the convoy through a dense forest and stopped it after sensing danger.
• Hundreds of bandits emerged and surrounded the convoy, frightening Madam Zhang, Lin Shihua, and Xiao Lin An.
• Zhong Lin shot an arrow into a bluestone beside the bandit leader, shaved off a lock of his hair, and challenged him for robbing travelers without martial rank.

Zhong Lin escorted the Lin family to Sky Sun City, reached Rank 1, and parted from Lin Shihua and Madam Zhang before returning to the city. There, he spotted XiaoXiang Pavilion, the establishment Mei Weixuan had once told him about.

• Zhong Lin drove off bandits and reflected on the growing unrest across Great Chen.
• Lin Shihua confronted Zhong Lin over his intimacy with Madam Zhang, then joined him in bed.
• Over the following month, Zhong Lin escorted the Lin family, trained Lin An, and advanced to Rank 1 Martial Artist.
• At Sky Sun City, Zhong Lin parted from the Lin family as Lin Shihua wept and Madam Zhang tried to comfort her.
• Zhong Lin entered Sky Sun City and recognized XiaoXiang Pavilion from Mei Weixuan's description.

Zhong Lin returned to Sky Sun City and revealed to Yin Daoyan that he had reached Rank 1, astonishing his master. After sharing his Silkworm Strength insights and learning that Sword Cauldron Sect had a cultivation-based path beyond Rank 1, he sat down with Yin Daoyan to recount his travels.

• Zhong Lin surprised Yin Daoyan at Hundred Herbs Hall and demonstrated the true qi of his Rank 1 cultivation.
• Yin Daoyan praised Zhong Lin's achievement and compared his talent favorably with Shi Yunyi's, whom he described as a genius pursuing the Supreme Sword Dao.
• Zhong Lin explained how Silkworm Strength had advanced his cultivation and gave Yin Daoyan a booklet of his insights.
• Yin Daoyan said Zhong Lin's notes improved his chances of opening the Ren and Du Meridians and urged him to return to the sect to learn its method for breaking through Rank 1.
• Zhong Lin brewed Ice Mist Tea and began telling Yin Daoyan about escorting Jiang Yuan to the Capital City.

Zhong Lin returned with the Mystic Ice Flower, bringing him and Yin Daoyan close to gathering the ingredients for a Barrier Breaking Pill. He then reunited with Gu Yourong and flirted with her, leaving her flustered in his embrace as he asked her to compensate him by giving herself to him.

• Zhong Lin showed Yin Daoyan the Mystic Ice Flower and explained that it was one of the remaining ingredients for the Barrier Breaking Pill.
• Yin Daoyan revealed that he had found Seven Star Grass and knew where to find a Heaven Essence Fruit guarded by an exotic beast, which would ripen within two months.
• Zhong Lin and Yin Daoyan agreed to prepare carefully before setting out to retrieve the fruit.
• Gu Yourong arrived, overjoyed to see Zhong Lin, and Yin Daoyan sent the two young disciples out together.
• Zhong Lin teased Gu Yourong about missing him, pulled her into his embrace, and asked her to give herself to him as compensation for sending away the maids in his courtyard.

Zhong Lin and Yin Daoyan traveled deep into Black Wind Forest toward Heaven Essence Valley, where Yin Daoyan had once found Heaven Essence Fruit. After stopping to roast a bear, they heard a group of people approaching and prepared for danger.

• Zhong Lin spent the morning with Gu Yourong, then learned that Yin Daoyan knew about their relationship and was told to treat her well.
• Zhong Lin explored Sky Sun City and encountered Mei Haiqing, who tried to get closer to him and arrange an apology from Mei Haiming.
• Half a month later, Zhong Lin and Yin Daoyan set out alone for Black Wind Forest, leaving Gu Yourong behind.
• After traveling through the forest for half a month, Zhong Lin asked how Yin Daoyan had discovered Heaven Essence Valley, and Yin Daoyan said he had stumbled upon it while chasing an exotic beast two years earlier.
• Zhong Lin caught a black bear and roasted it with honey for himself and Yin Daoyan.
• As they ate, Zhong Lin heard several people approaching, and Yin Daoyan extinguished the fire and warned him to stay on guard.

Zhong Lin and Yin Daoyan encountered Xu Kelin, Xu Sijin, and their armed party in Black Wind Forest. Xu Kelin judged Yin Daoyan to be a powerful martial artist and chose to avoid a confrontation, though he would fight if they contested the Vermilion Fruit.

• Yin Daoyan called out to the approaching group, and eight figures emerged with six guards protecting Xu Kelin and Xu Sijin.
• Zhong Lin used Sound Transmission into Secrecy to tell Yin Daoyan that the guards were Middle Rank 3 Martial Artists and Xu Kelin was an Upper Three Ranks Qi Refining Martial Artist.
• Xu Kelin introduced himself and his son, then asked why Yin Daoyan and Zhong Lin were in the forest; Yin Daoyan rebuked him, and Xu Kelin apologized before leaving.
• Xu Kelin praised Xu Sijin for keeping his composure and explained that the extinguished fire suggested Yin Daoyan was an expert.
• Xu Kelin said they should avoid trouble unless Yin Daoyan and Zhong Lin tried to contend with them for the Vermilion Fruit.

Yin Daoyan and Zhong Lin reached the hidden valley and found two Heaven Essence Fruits, but a Golden Horned Python appeared and threatened to devour them. Zhong Lin attacked the beast, leaving the fight unresolved as he pressed forward with his blade.

• Yin Daoyan identified the departed Xu Family father and son and chose to prioritize the Heaven Essence Fruit over the Vermilion Fruit.
• Yin Daoyan and Zhong Lin reached the valley and found a tree bearing two Heaven Essence Fruits beside a cold pool.
• A Golden Horned Python entered the valley, and Yin Daoyan realized it had changed from violet to gold since his last visit.
• Zhong Lin recognized that the python intended to eat the Heaven Essence Fruit and hurled a boulder at it.
• Zhong Lin wounded the Golden Horned Python with a powerful Blade Qi strike, then leaped forward and hacked at it again.

Zhong Lin defeated the Golden Horned Python and helped Yin Daoyan collect the Heaven Essence Fruits. He then investigated the Strange Cold Pond and discovered jade-like stones containing vast power at its bottom.

• Zhong Lin used the Crouching Earth Seal to withstand the Golden Horned Python's attacks, then wounded it with his blade until it fled underground.
• Yin Daoyan stopped Zhong Lin from pursuing the Python, and Zhong Lin explained that he had learned the Crouching Earth Seal from Cotton Palm.
• Yin Daoyan placed the two Heaven Essence Fruits in a Jade Box while Zhong Lin decided to investigate the Strange Cold Pond.
• Zhong Lin dived to the pond's bottom and found several jade-like stones beneath dead branches and silt.
• Zhong Lin picked up a fist-sized white stone and sensed immense power inside it.

Zhong Lin found eleven stones beneath the pool that supplied pure energy directly to his true qi, and he and Yin Daoyan agreed to call them spirit stones. After worrying that the sect might seize them, Zhong Lin told his master about the stones, and Yin Daoyan agreed they should keep the discovery to themselves for now.

• Zhong Lin examined the energy stone and wondered whether his martial world concealed a cultivation path and whether the remnant soul in his Black Iron Ring could explain its mysteries.
• Zhong Lin found eleven spirit stones beneath the pool and decided to share the discovery with Yin Daoyan despite fearing the sect might claim them.
• Zhong Lin emerged from the pool, and Yin Daoyan teased him about his body before Zhong Lin showed him the stones.
• Yin Daoyan tested a spirit stone, confirmed its pure energy could strengthen his inner breath, and praised the discovery.
• Zhong Lin asked Yin Daoyan not to inform the sect, and Yin Daoyan agreed they should keep the spirit stones for themselves for now.

Yin Daoyan returned the spirit stones to Zhong Lin so he could strengthen himself before they refined the Barrier Breaking Pill, warning that the elders would covet it. As they neared the edge of the Black Wind Forest, they encountered the fleeing Xu Family Father and Son and a Long-Armed Golden-Backed Ape, and Zhong Lin unleashed a powerful blade strike.

• Yin Daoyan told Zhong Lin that spirit stones were nonrenewable, then gave him back the five stones so he could reach Rank 1 Peak and help guard the Barrier Breaking Pill.
• Yin Daoyan warned Zhong Lin that the Three Grand Elders and the other eight elders might seize the pill, and said he would help Zhong Lin enter the Grandmaster realm first.
• Zhong Lin absorbed the spirit stones’ energy at full speed as he and Yin Daoyan continued through the Black Wind Forest toward a path out.
• Zhong Lin sensed danger, and the wounded Xu Family Father and Son fled from the jungle with a Long-Armed Golden-Backed Ape pursuing them.
• Xu Kelin led Xu Sijin toward Yin Daoyan, while Zhong Lin drew his Horse Chopping Blade and unleashed Sweep Through Thousands of Troops at the ape.

Zhong Lin saved Xu Kelin and Xu Sijin from the Long-Armed Golden-Backed Ape, while Yin Daoyan treated their injuries and revealed his interest in the Vermilion Fruit. Xu Kelin handed over the fruit in exchange for a Marrow Cleansing Pill, and the encounter ended with the Xu family father and son alive but wary of their powerful rescuers.

• Zhong Lin killed the Long-Armed Golden-Backed Ape with a blade strike, startling Xu Kelin and Xu Sijin with his Rank 1 strength.
• Yin Daoyan helped Xu Kelin up, revealed his own strength, and gave healing pills to Xu Kelin and Xu Sijin.
• Yin Daoyan told Xu Kelin that he had intended to claim the Vermilion Fruit, and Xu Kelin offered him the five fruits in his Jade Box.
• Yin Daoyan offered a Marrow Cleansing Pill in exchange, and Xu Kelin accepted it and handed over the Vermilion Fruit.

Zhong Lin and Yin Daoyan returned from Black Wind Forest with rare fruits and advanced their cultivation in seclusion. After Yin Daoyan reached Rank 1 Pure Origin and Zhong Lin completed Rank 1, they returned to the Sword Cauldron Sect to prepare for Zhong Lin’s breakthrough, where Sect Leader Yu Jinglei confirmed his strength.

• Yin Daoyan traded a Marrow Cleansing Pill to Xu Kelin for five Vermilion Fruits, and he and Zhong Lin left Black Wind Forest with their gains.
• Yin Daoyan and Zhong Lin cultivated in seclusion for a month after returning to Hundred Herbs Hall, with Yin Daoyan refining the fruits into Essence Enhancing Pills.
• Yin Daoyan broke through to Rank 1 Pure Origin, while Zhong Lin revealed that he had reached complete Rank 1 and sensed a membrane separating him from the Grandmaster Realm.
• Yin Daoyan decided to return to the Sword Cauldron Sect to use its Medicine King Cauldron and ingredients to refine a Barrier Breaking Pill for Zhong Lin.
• Yin Daoyan, Zhong Lin, and Gu Yourong traveled for half a month and returned to the sect, where Zhong Lin demonstrated his power to Sect Leader Yu Jinglei.
• Yu Jinglei confirmed Zhong Lin’s complete Rank 1 Pure Origin cultivation and celebrated the arrival of another Heaven’s Chosen at the Sword Cauldron Sect.

Zhong Lin learned that reaching the Grandmaster Realm required breaking the body's membrane and opening the Bridge of Heaven and Earth. Yin Daoyan revealed that he and Zhong Lin had found two Heaven Essence Fruits, and the Sword Cauldron Sect gathered its senior figures to discuss refining Barrier Breaking Pills.

• Yu Jinglei explained to Zhong Lin and Yin Daoyan how Grandmasters drew in Heaven and Earth Essence and refined Innate True Qi.
• Yu Jinglei learned that Yin Daoyan had found a Heaven Essence Fruit and prepared to summon the sect's senior figures.
• Yin Daoyan revealed that he had found two Heaven Essence Fruits and requested that one resulting Barrier Breaking Pill be reserved for Zhong Lin.
• Yu Jinglei agreed that Yin Daoyan should distribute one pill and summoned the Three Grand Elders, Shi Yunyi, and Elder Lian Shan.
• Several powerful figures entered the great hall after being summoned by Yu Jinglei.

Yin Daoyan presented two Heaven Essence Fruits to the Sword Cauldron Sect, and the Grand Elders learned that Zhong Lin had reached Rank 1 before turning eighteen. Yu Jinglei reminded them that he had promised one resulting Barrier Breaking Pill to Zhong Lin.

• Yu Jinglei summoned the Grand Elders and learned that Shi Yunyi remained in seclusion until he could break through to the Grandmaster Realm.
• The Grand Elders reacted with overwhelming pressure to news of the Heaven Essence Fruit, and Zhong Lin shielded Yin Daoyan until Yu Jinglei calmed them.
• Yu Jinglei introduced Zhong Lin as a Rank 1 Martial Artist and Rank 4 Pill Refiner, shocking the elders and prompting Elder Lian Shan to try to trade a pill for him.
• Yin Daoyan revealed two Heaven Essence Fruits and said Zhong Lin had helped him obtain them from a Golden Horned Python in the Black Wind Forest.
• Yin Daoyan offered the fruits to the sect for Barrier Breaking Pills, and Yu Jinglei reminded the Grand Elders that he had promised one pill to Zhong Lin.

After Zhong Lin helped secure two Heaven Essence Fruits, the Sword Cauldron Sect agreed to refine them into Barrier Breaking Pills and give him one. Zhong Lin chose to remain a True Disciple and was assigned a mountain to consider, but Grand Elder Men Qingan challenged him, and Yu Jinglei threw them both outside.

• Yu Jinglei agreed that one Barrier Breaking Pill would go to Zhong Lin, and Elder Lian Shan took Yin Daoyan to select the ingredients for refining the pills.
• Yu Jinglei explained the choices available to Zhong Lin after reaching the Upper Three Ranks, and Zhong Lin chose to remain a True Disciple.
• Yu Jinglei offered Zhong Lin the choice of a mountain residence, and Elder Lu Ming advised him to choose a place suited to his cultivation method.
• Elder Lu Ming recommended Black Magnetic Mountain for Zhong Lin's metal-attribute Flying Spirit Sword Sutra, while Men Qingan warned that its Ferromagnetic Wind was dangerous.
• Men Qingan challenged Zhong Lin to test his strength, and Yu Jinglei threw them both out of the hall.

Zhong Lin fought Men Qingan in a fierce sparring match and defeated him with the Crouching Earth Seal after Men Qingan used Mount Buzhou Divine Palm. Yu Jinglei praised Zhong Lin, who joked that the sect leader should leave some talented disciples for his master.

• Men Qingan and Zhong Lin exchanged hundreds of blows, devastating the mountaintop and sending nearby disciples fleeing.
• Men Qingan struck with Mount Buzhou Divine Palm, but Zhong Lin shattered it with Crouching Earth Seal and overwhelmed him.
• Men Qingan crashed into the ground, suffered broken ribs and other wounds, and lost consciousness after Zhong Lin withdrew his strength.
• Qi Qingfeng and Lu Ming rebuked Zhong Lin, but Lu Ming confirmed Men Qingan had no serious injuries and apologized on his behalf.
• Zhong Lin criticized Men Qingan's state of mind, and Yu Jinglei praised Zhong Lin before laughing at his teasing about leaving talented disciples for his master.

Zhong Lin revealed that he had mastered the Crouching Earth Seal through the Skill Transmission Pavilion and received the sect leader’s secret method for reaching the Grandmaster Realm. After reuniting with Shi Tou and Gu Yourong, he studied the manual and realized it explained how Five Elements Mutual Generation could lead to a breakthrough.

• Zhong Lin told Yu Jinglei that he had derived the Crouching Earth Seal from the Cotton Palm and presented him with a manual of the technique.
• Yu Jinglei praised Zhong Lin’s talent, explained that the Crouching Earth Seal was a Grandmaster-level skill, and gave him the sect’s secret method for breaking through to the Grandmaster Realm.
• Zhong Lin quickly understood the secret method and asked to enter seclusion to study his insights.
• Zhong Lin reunited with Shi Tou at Spirit Medicine Peak, then shared a meal with Shi Tou and Gu Yourong.
• Zhong Lin studied the secret method in his chamber and discovered that its breakthrough principle lay in the mutual generation of the Five Elements.

Zhong Lin used the Twin Birth Secret Technique to cultivate the wood-attribute "Withered Wood Divine Art," then integrated it into the "Five Elements Mixed Origin Skill." He began cycling through all five elements, preparing to use the technique’s power to break through.

• Zhong Lin reasoned that the Five Elements Mixed Origin Skill could let him cultivate mutually generating attributes and attempt a breakthrough.
• He converted his water-attribute true qi into wood-attribute true qi and cultivated the "Withered Wood Divine Art" to completion, enduring severe pain as his injuries healed.
• Zhong Lin merged the Withered Wood Divine Art into the Five Elements Mixed Origin Skill, completing its five-element cycle without suffering the wood technique’s lasting bodily side effect.
• After restoring his true qi, Zhong Lin circulated metal, water, wood, fire, and earth attributes in succession, ending with all five circulating in balance.

Zhong Lin fused his Five Elements True Qi and broke through to the Grandmaster Realm, transforming his body with Heaven and Earth Essence. His breakthrough destroyed the meditation chamber and drew the Sword Cauldron Sect elders, who recognized him as an eighteen-year-old Grandmaster.

• Zhong Lin fused his five types of True Qi using the Five Elements Mixed Origin Skill, enduring intense pain as his power transformed into Innate True Qi.
• Heaven and Earth Essence poured into Zhong Lin, cleansing and transforming his body and filling his Acupoints.
• Zhong Lin released his surging power with a strike that blew apart the meditation chamber's roof and formed a massive tornado above Spirit Medicine Peak.
• Yu Jinglei and the elders rushed to the scene, while Yin Daoyan tried to save Zhong Lin from the tornado.
• Lu Ming told Yin Daoyan that Zhong Lin had broken through to the Grandmaster Realm, leaving Yin Daoyan stunned that his disciple had advanced before the Barrier Breaking Pill was refined.