Chapter Summaries

Xu Bai killed Yun Xiang, took the Nameless Swordsman’s sealed manual, and returned home to study it alongside Iron Calculation Immortal’s book. The next morning, he learned that the yamen had found the bodies and left to eat, unaware that a little girl would approach him at a roadside stall.

• Yun Xiang offered Xu Bai the Nameless Swordsman’s manual, but Xu Bai killed her and took the book, explaining that she would have died regardless.
• Xu Bai looted the corpses, destroyed the scene and his Ghost-Head Saber, and carved “Extreme Life Sect” into the ground before leaving.
• At home, Xu Bai compared the books’ progress bars and began reading Iron Calculation Immortal’s divination text through the night.
• The next morning, Xu Bai heard that the yamen had found the bodies but had no leads, and he believed the planted sect clue would divert suspicion from him.
• Xu Bai went to a roadside stall for steamed buns and mantou, where a timid little girl approached him.

Xu Bai met Xiao Yue and learned that the white-clad woman, Liu Xu, had studied at Nanhua Dao, a renowned center of Confucianism. He returned to his routine of eating, sleeping, and working through Iron Calculation Immortal's book, leaving Liu Xu's whereabouts unknown.

• Xu Bai ate breakfast at a street stall, where he met Xiao Yue and learned that Liu Xu had returned from two years at Nanhua Dao.
• Xu Bai considered the scholars' Righteous Qi, then set aside thoughts of Nanhua Dao and continued studying Iron Calculation Immortal's book.
• Xu Bai kept a steady daily routine, choosing regular sleep over grinding through the night so he would remain alert.
• Xu Bai grew familiar with Xiao Yue and ate breakfast at her stall each day, while Liu Xu did not appear again.
• Xu Bai left the stall after breakfast, intending to finish working through Iron Calculation Immortal's book that day.

Xu Bai completed Iron Calculation Immortal’s book, gained three Four Xun techniques, and discovered his golden finger could break occupational restrictions and fuse his abilities. He became an Eighth Rank Loose Cultivator and began studying Yun Xiang’s book, while the woman in white examined a case file at the Liu Family of Sheng County.

• Xu Bai finished studying the Wild Divination Scripture and gained the Four Xun Movement Technique, Four Xun Heart Sutra, and Four Xun Array Formation, becoming a Ninth Rank Diviner as well as a Ninth Rank Martial Artist.
• Xu Bai tested the Four Xun techniques and used the array to create flames, then recalled the danger Iron Calculation Immortal’s formation could have posed.
• Xu Bai’s golden finger fused his martial artist and diviner realms into a Ninth Rank Loose Cultivator, and he named the combined energy True Yuan Power.
• Xu Bai’s Severing Slaughter Heart Sutra and Four Xun Heart Sutra fused into the Four Directions Slaughter Heart Sutra, advancing him to an Eighth Rank Loose Cultivator.
• Xu Bai burned Iron Calculation Immortal’s already-comprehended book, then began studying the book he had obtained from Yun Xiang without opening it.
• At the Liu Family of Sheng County, the woman in white carefully read a case file.

Liu Xu, an eighth-rank scholar skilled in Paper Crafting, investigated a series of Sheng County murders linked to the Extreme Life Sect. After studying the case files, she brought a paper crane to life to pursue a clue about the weapon used.

• Liu Xu reviewed reports of recent murders and criticized the magistrate for mishandling cases involving the martial world.
• Liu Xu recalled how studying Paper Crafting Essentials had advanced her to the eighth rank and changed the nature of her Righteous Qi.
• Liu Xu pieced together the cases and suspected a martial artist had confronted the Extreme Life Sect.
• Liu Xu read the coroner's report describing a concealed blunt weapon about the size of a peanut.
• Liu Xu folded a paper crane, inked its eyes, and brought it to life.

Liu Xu followed a paper crane to a blacksmith shop while investigating the murder cases, but left without realizing its owners were hiding their crimes. The next morning, Xu Bai found a letter at his door.

• Liu Xu used Paper Crane Tracking and drew a map that led her to a blacksmith shop.
• Liu Xu questioned the proprietress, who denied making anything beyond farm tools, and then returned to the Liu Residence without finding a clue.
• After Liu Xu left, the proprietress and her blacksmith husband revealed that they had forged Iron Beads for a dangerous man and discussed profiting from him.
• The proprietress showed her husband a hidden compartment full of newborn infants' bones and said she needed money for sinister artifacts and yin food.
• Xu Bai woke the next morning, noticed his progress bar had increased, and found a letter at his feet.

Xu Bai received a blackmail letter from the Blacksmith Shop about the people he had killed and agreed to pay them, while deciding not to show mercy again. The proprietress and blacksmith planned to kill him after collecting the money, unaware of what he intended.

• Xu Bai read a letter threatening to expose his killings and realized the blacksmiths knew about the wounds left by his hidden weapons.
• Xu Bai burned the letter and resolved not to soften his heart again.
• Xu Bai met the proprietress and blacksmith at the Blacksmith Shop and gave them one silver ingot, claiming he needed a day to retrieve a hundred more.
• Xu Bai asked whether they were people of the martial world and left after they agreed to wait one day.
• The blacksmith and proprietress grew wary of Xu Bai's calmness and agreed to watch him and kill him after collecting the money.

Xu Bai prepared to deal with the blacksmith and the proprietress after they tried to extort him. He lured them out of Sheng County to a clearing and revealed that he intended to bury them there.

• Xu Bai decided that giving in to the blacksmith and the proprietress would only let their greed grow, and planned to eliminate the threat at its root.
• Xu Bai bought hemp rope and used it to strap the Wooden Box of Iron Beads to his back while the proprietress secretly watched him.
• That night, Xu Bai left Sheng County carrying the box, and the blacksmith and the proprietress followed him into the wilderness.
• Xu Bai stopped in a clearing, called the pair out of the woods, and told them the soil was suitable for burying people.

Xu Bai fought the blacksmith and proprietress after they discovered his hidden weapons, killing the proprietress with the Four Xun Array Formation’s flames. He outlasted the blacksmith’s iron armor by heating it from within, then struck as the blacksmith opened his helmet.

• Xu Bai attacked the blacksmith and proprietress with Iron Beads, but the blacksmith transformed an iron chest into armor and blocked them.
• Xu Bai revealed that he planned to kill the pair and conceal the Iron Beads, then used the Four Xun Array Formation to burn the proprietress to death.
• The blacksmith charged Xu Bai in his iron armor, but Xu Bai dodged his attacks and used flames to heat the armor.
• After enduring the heat, the blacksmith opened his helmet for relief, and Xu Bai rushed toward him with the Ghost-Head Saber.

Xu Bai killed the blacksmith and proprietress, buried their charred bodies, and hid the Iron Beads before returning to Sheng County. Liu Xu investigated the Blacksmith Shop and found a concealed chamber filled with corpses.

• Xu Bai beheaded the blacksmith, burned his body, and buried him with the proprietress.
• Xu Bai buried the Iron Beads several miles away, then returned to the Blacksmith Shop for farming tools.
• Liu Xu concluded that the proprietress had lied about the Blacksmith Shop and returned there at night to investigate.
• Liu Xu searched the empty shop and discovered a hollow wall concealing a chamber.
• Liu Xu broke through the wall and found it filled with corpses.

Liu Xu found the children’s bones hidden in the Blacksmith Shop and suspected the wanted Nether Blacksmith and Yin Chef were connected to the murders, though she believed another person had been involved. The next morning, Xu Bai searched for materials for his hidden-weapon skill and learned that the couple had driven the county’s other blacksmiths away, then began considering what he could use instead.

• Liu Xu discovered a hidden compartment filled with children’s bones and identified the Blacksmith Shop’s owners as the wanted Nether Blacksmith and Yin Chef.
• Liu Xu connected the couple to the murders but concluded that someone else had also taken part, and decided to investigate before the Bureau of Surveillance arrived.
• Xu Bai found Xiao Yue’s breakfast stall closed and went to the outskirts to look for materials for Maple Leaves Like Rain.
• Xu Bai bought a rusty iron needle and a bamboo stool from a stall owner, who told him the other blacksmiths had left after the Blacksmith Shop opened.
• Xu Bai realized needles were impractical to collect in quantity and wondered what other hidden weapons he could use.

Xu Bai learned that the struggling Fulong Escort Agency was for sale and considered buying it so he could openly keep copper coins for hidden weapons. After hearing about the Young Escort Chief’s strange nightly behavior, Xu Bai went to inspect the agency and found the exhausted young man lying in its courtyard.

• Xu Bai decided to use copper coins as concealed weapons but realized he needed a way to exchange for more without arousing suspicion.
• Xu Bai met Liu Er, who told him the Fulong Escort Agency had lost business and the Young Escort Chief was willing to sell it for fifty taels of silver.
• Liu Er described how the Young Escort Chief wandered around the agency at night and ignored anyone who spoke to him, leaving the escorts frightened.
• Xu Bai chose to inspect the agency, and Liu Er eagerly led him there, hoping Xu Bai would take it over and keep the escorts employed.
• Xu Bai entered the agency’s courtyard and saw the dark-circled Young Escort Chief lying on a bench, staring blankly at the sky.

After five days of strange incidents around a tree at the Fulong Escort Agency, Lin Song decided to sell the property and escape. Xu Bai offered twenty taels, and Lin Song agreed, but Xu Bai asked to inspect the back courtyard before closing the deal.

• Lin Song recalled how his father's death, the agency's declining business, and strange nighttime episodes had left him desperate to sell the Fulong Escort Agency.
• Lin Song said he would sell the agency cheaply rather than remain near the tree that frightened away prospective buyers.
• Xu Bai arrived with Liu Er, and Lin Song learned that Xu Bai wanted to buy the agency.
• Xu Bai offered twenty taels, while Lin Song initially asked for fifty before agreeing to sell.
• Xu Bai asked to inspect the back courtyard before finalizing the purchase.

Xu Bai bought Lin Song’s escort agency after discovering a golden progress bar above the Chinese scholar tree in its back courtyard. After moving in, he gathered the escorts and proposed a way to deal with the unspent money they had taken from Fierce Tiger Stronghold, leaving them nervous about what he intended.

• Xu Bai saw a golden progress bar above the escort agency’s tree and decided to buy the property despite Lin Song’s warnings.
• Lin Song explained that a former courtesan had planted the tree and sold the property to his father before disappearing.
• Xu Bai and Lin Song signed the deeds, and Lin Song left Sheng County while Xu Bai moved into the agency with help from the escorts.
• Xu Bai asked the escorts whether they had spent the money from Fierce Tiger Stronghold, and they admitted they had hidden it away.
• Xu Bai gathered the escorts and said he had acquired the agency to help them use their money, then pointed to the house behind him.

Xu Bai persuaded the escort guards to become partners in the escort agency so they could spend their suspicious money as legitimate wages, then made them swear to keep the arrangement secret. He returned to his bedroom and continued grinding the Nameless Saber Scripture, hoping to complete it that night.

• Xu Bai explained that the escort guards could legitimize their money by jointly owning the escort agency and paying themselves wages.
• Liu Er agreed first, and Xu Bai’s warning that latecomers would miss out led every escort guard to accept the partnership.
• Xu Bai ordered the guards to keep the arrangement secret, then sent Liu Er to exchange silver for copper coins and collect the others’ money.
• Xu Bai returned to the rear courtyard, considered his need for a close-combat saber technique, and began working on the Nameless Saber Scripture again.

Xu Bai completed the Nameless Saber Scripture and fused it with the Bone Severing Blade Technique to create Severing Armor One Style, then returned to bed after sensing something strange about the Chinese scholar tree. Meanwhile, Liu Xu identified the Nether Blacksmith couple among the dead and concluded that the killer was a powerful martial artist whose trail she could no longer follow.

• Xu Bai finished observing the Nameless Saber Scripture and comprehended the incomplete Armor Piercing Twenty-Four Styles.
• Xu Bai fused the new technique with the Bone Severing Blade Technique, creating Severing Armor One Style, and absorbed its knowledge.
• Xu Bai burned the Nameless Saber Scripture and noticed that the Chinese scholar tree caused a sudden, powerful drowsiness.
• Xu Bai resisted the tree’s influence with True Yuan Power and went back to bed, deciding to investigate it after completing its progress bar.
• Liu Xu examined an Iron Bead and the charred corpses outside Sheng County, identifying the Nether Blacksmith couple among the dead.
• Liu Xu concluded that a highly skilled martial artist had killed the Nether Blacksmith couple, the Bureau of Surveillance clerk, and members of the Extreme Life Sect, then decided to wait for the Bureau of Surveillance to send someone.

Xu Bai noticed that Xiao Yue was distressed and discovered a ligature mark on her neck after she said she was going to die. Liu Xu promised to help her and took her home, while Xu Bai followed them secretly to learn what was happening.

• Liu Xu decided to wait for the Bureau of Surveillance to arrive before dealing with the aftermath of the clerk's death.
• Xu Bai visited Xiao Yue's food stall and noticed that she was unusually dejected.
• Xiao Yue told Xu Bai that she had dreamed of her dead grandmother inviting her to join her and believed she was going to die.
• Xu Bai spotted a ligature mark on Xiao Yue's neck and watched her leave the stall.
• Liu Xu met Xiao Yue in an alley, said her illness could be cured, and took her home while Xu Bai followed in secret.

Xu Bai discovered that Xiao Yue and her parents had been dead for some time, while Liu Xu and County Magistrate Zhang discussed the concealed circumstances of their deaths. Liu Xu sent a letter to Azure Cloud Academy, then used a book to summon three beams of light.

• After Liu Xu and Xiao Yue left, Xu Bai entered the crude house and found Xiao Yue and her parents hanging dead from a beam.
• Xu Bai suspected their deaths were not ordinary and hid on a nearby roof when yamen officials arrived.
• County Magistrate Zhang had the bodies taken away and told Liu Xu he would announce the cause and punishment in two days, but refused to explain further.
• Xu Bai decided to wait three days for the announcement and left the alley.
• Liu Xu wrote to her teacher at Azure Cloud Academy and sent the letter by carrier pigeon.
• Liu Xu opened a book that emitted white light and summoned three beams of light to the floor.

Liu Xu discovered that Xiao Yue and the middle-aged couple were spirits nearing transformation into monstrosities, and she painfully released them. Two days later, Xu Bai went to the County Office after hearing a crowd had gathered there and read a notice that darkened his expression.

• Liu Xu explained that Xiao Yue and the middle-aged couple were dead spirits who would become monstrosities as their memories returned.
• The middle-aged couple accepted their fate and asked Liu Xu to release them without seeking revenge.
• As Xiao Yue and the couple began turning into monstrosities, Liu Xu used the character "Suppress" to erase them.
• Two days later, Xu Bai left the escort agency and followed a crowd to the County Office.
• Xu Bai read the notice posted outside the County Office, and his expression grew darker.

After learning that County Magistrate Zhang had suspended Lin Fenghua’s sentence for driving Xiao Yue’s family to suicide, Xu Bai decided to take justice into his own hands. Liu Xu also rejected her teacher’s order to stay out of the matter and set out in disguise.

• Xu Bai read the County Office notice sentencing Lin Fenghua to ten years while suspending the sentence until he recovered, and suspected County Magistrate Zhang was protecting him.
• Xu Bai brooded over Xiao Yue’s suffering, then disguised himself, took an ordinary saber, and left the escort agency for the Lin Residence.
• Liu Xu read her teacher’s letter telling her not to interfere and condemned County Magistrate Zhang’s decision.
• Liu Xu changed into black clothes, concealed her identity, and vaulted out of her rear window.

Xu Bai and Liu Xu independently entered the Lin Residence to kill Lin Fenghua, then agreed to work together after discovering his crimes and arrogance. Xu Bai proposed giving Lin Fenghua a way to die without leaving traces.

• Liu Xu flew into the Lin Residence and encountered the masked Xu Bai, but they silently went their separate ways.
• Xu Bai and Liu Xu crossed paths several times while searching for Lin Fenghua, then agreed to work together when they met outside his room.
• They looked through a window and saw Lin Fenghua with a woman while he bragged about bribing the county magistrate and described abusing a young girl.
• Liu Xu urged Xu Bai to kill Lin Fenghua, but Xu Bai warned that they would leave traces and promised to give him a way to die.