Chapter Summaries

Li Bufan sorted through the resources given to him by Yun Niang, Lin Zhennan, and City Lord Zhao, and discovered that the wordless scripture contained the Five Elements Heaven Skill. He ended the night determined to repay his benefactors and began cultivating with a Great Qi and Blood Pill.

• Li Bufan inspected Lin Zhennan’s Storage Bag and found a pill furnace, precious herbs, pill-refining books, and City Lord Zhao’s martial skill, cultivation technique, and pills.
• Li Bufan activated the wordless scripture by circulating True Qi with the Spring and Autumn Needle Technique, and received the Five Elements Heaven Skill’s cultivation methods for three realms.
• Li Bufan learned that the Five Elements Heaven Skill required four conditions and suited his five-element Top-grade Cultivation Body, while its later methods would only become available at the Qi Sea Realm.
• Li Bufan examined Yun Niang’s chests and found one million taels in silver notes and five thousand taels in gold, then reviewed the pills and herbs supplied by his benefactors.
• Li Bufan sorted his resources into the two Storage Bags, vowed to help the Lin Family and Yun Niang if they faced trouble, and began cultivating after swallowing a Great Qi and Blood Pill.

Li Bufan sought Elder Chen’s guidance on speeding up his cultivation body’s progress and was told to perfect Stacking Waves Palm. After mastering the palm’s principle of fusing layers of force, he returned to Elder Chen, who confirmed the insight gave his cultivation body a direction but said it was not enough.

• Li Bufan asked Elder Chen how to hasten his cultivation body’s progress, and Elder Chen told him to perfect Stacking Waves Palm first.
• Li Bufan practiced the palm technique, using the Surging Waves Palm manual and sparring with Yang Kai and Lin Gong to study how its layers of force interacted.
• Li Bufan realized stacked force depended on fusion rather than simply adding layers, and he perfected Stacking Waves Palm after three days of practice.
• Li Bufan explained his insight to Elder Chen, who said it gave his cultivation body’s Great Mastery a direction but that the palm’s fusion alone was insufficient.
• Elder Chen told Li Bufan to watch carefully.

Elder Chen taught Li Bufan the Five Forms Fist, prompting him to fuse his body-tempering techniques into the Five Animal Frolics and advance his Five Elements Cultivation Body. After completing his breakthrough, Li Bufan was summoned to Lin Manor to prepare for the approaching State Competition.

• Elder Chen demonstrated the Five Forms Fist and gave Li Bufan its manual, warning him not to neglect the Hibernating Dragon Sleeping Pill Skill.
• Li Bufan studied the manual for seven days and practiced combining its five forms with Five Elements True Qi.
• Li Bufan fused his techniques into the Five Animal Frolics, shattered a Blue Stone with one punch, and advanced his Five Elements Cultivation Body to Mastery.
• Li Bufan discovered that an earth-yellow bead had formed outside his dantian and that his true qi had increased to two strands.
• Lin Gong told Li Bufan that the State Competition would begin in a little over half a month, and Li Bufan went with him to Lin Manor to prepare for departure.

After making progress in his cultivation, Li Bufan learned he would travel with Lin Zhiyan to the state competition while serving as bait in an ambush for Lie Jiaoyang at Green Mountain Ridge. The pair prepared to depart the next morning, with Lin Zhiyan entrusted with protecting him.

• Li Bufan told Lin Gong that Elder Chen had guided him in practicing the Five Forms Fist and that he had made progress.
• Lin Zhentian said he could not accompany Li Bufan to the state competition because of tensions in the Prefectural City, so Lin Zhiyan would lead the journey.
• Lin Zhiyan reported that her injuries had healed and her cultivation had stabilized in the qi sea realm.
• Lin Zhentian gave Lin Zhiyan a token for Wang Tianming in the state capital and outlined their route through Green Mountain Ridge, where they would ambush Lie Jiaoyang with Li Bufan as bait.
• Lin Zhennan gave Li Bufan Golden Silk Soft Armor, and Lin Zhiyan promised to protect him while giving him a Rejuvenation Pill.
• Li Bufan and Lin Zhiyan left the hall and prepared to set out at the hour of the dragon the next morning.

Li Bufan returned home to tell Doctor Liu and Li Ping'an that he would leave for the state capital to compete, then shared his discovery of the Five Elements Heaven Skill and taught them the Five Animal Frolics. He prepared for the journey and settled into cultivation, determined to return safely.

• Li Bufan came home, sparred with Li Ping'an, and told him and Doctor Liu that he would leave the next day for the State Competition, likely for about a month.
• Li Bufan explained that he had deciphered the wordless scripture and discovered the Five Elements Heaven Skill, which he believed was connected to Doctor Liu's ancestors and Divine Doctor Valley.
• Li Bufan wrote out the Five Animal Frolics and gave the cultivation method to Doctor Liu, recommending that he and Li Ping'an practice it to strengthen their bodies.
• Doctor Liu praised Li Bufan's achievement, while Li Ping'an promised to train hard and urged his brother to win first place.
• Li Bufan promised himself he would return safely, checked his travel supplies, and began cultivating the Hibernating Dragon Sleeping Pill Skill.

Li Bufan and Lin Zhiyan traveled to Green Mountain Ridge to confront Lie Jiaoyang, who ambushed them at their campsite with far greater cultivation than expected. Their battle left both women injured, while Li Bufan waited for promised support that had not appeared.

• Li Bufan and Lin Zhiyan left the Prefectural City on fine horses and rode toward Green Mountain Ridge.
• They camped in a concealed hollow at the foot of the ridge and rested through the evening.
• At midnight, Lin Zhiyan sensed Lie Jiaoyang approaching, and Li Bufan readied his Green Scale Saber.
• Lie Jiaoyang revealed Acupoint Realm cultivation and attacked Lin Zhiyan, leaving Li Bufan uncertain why Tianxiang Tower's promised support had not arrived.
• Lin Zhiyan unleashed Wind Rising, Clouds Surging, and Lie Jiaoyang answered with Overlord Sun, sending both women flying and injuring them.

After Lie Jiaoyang vanished and triggered a trapped array, a strange red mist overwhelmed Lin Zhiyan while Li Bufan discovered it increased his cultivation skill proficiency. The chapter ended with Lin Zhiyan, overcome by the mist, throwing herself into his arms and begging him to kill her.

• Lie Jiaoyang disappeared into white mist, which turned red after a glowing red droplet fell into it.
• Lin Zhiyan recognized the array and tried to fight the tracking mist and break its core, but it entered her body and destabilized her.
• Li Bufan found he could neither escape the array nor break the unusually hard ground, so he sat down.
• A cloaked woman watched from the cliff and dropped a blue liquid onto Li Bufan, drawing some of the red mist toward him.
• The red mist entered Li Bufan, sharpened his senses, and raised his Hibernating Dragon Sleeping Pill Skill proficiency.
• Lin Zhiyan succumbed to the mist, staggered into Li Bufan's arms, and begged him to kill her.

Li Bufan tried to treat Lin Zhiyan after red mist drove her out of control, but a woman in black intensified the poison and forced them into a cave. The next morning, Li Bufan and Lin Zhiyan woke together, and their eyes met in stunned silence.

• Lin Zhiyan absorbed the red mist and became feverish and uncontrollable, so Li Bufan tried to cool her and treat her with golden needles.
• A woman in black watched Li Bufan's treatment, then sent a stronger red droplet that struck him and made the red mist in both of them surge.
• Li Bufan carried the unconscious Lin Zhiyan to a hidden cave as the red mist clouded his mind, and they spent the night together.
• At dawn, Li Bufan woke beside Lin Zhiyan and remembered what had happened before she opened her eyes and met his gaze.

After the night of the mysterious red mist, Li Bufan insisted on taking responsibility for what happened with Lin Zhiyan and asked whether he might marry her once he had earned the standing to do so. They traveled toward Qingzhou City, where they discovered the mist had strengthened their cultivation and suspected someone had deliberately trapped them.

• Lin Zhiyan said she would treat the night as repayment for Li Bufan saving her three times, but warned him to keep it secret; Li Bufan refused to dismiss what happened and asked about her feelings and whether he could marry her in the future.
• Lin Zhiyan told Li Bufan to handle the important matter first, and they rode toward the state city to meet Martial Uncle Wang Tianming.
• During a rest beside a stream, Lin Zhiyan said the red mist seemed alive and had eroded her consciousness, while Li Bufan discovered his true qi and cultivation had increased.
• Li Bufan and Lin Zhiyan suspected someone had deliberately trapped them with the formation and red mist, and Lin Zhiyan vowed to investigate after their immediate business was settled.
• The two reached a mountain peak overlooking Qingzhou City, where Lin Zhiyan said Songhe Gate selected disciples; Li Bufan declared he would work hard, and they headed down to enter before nightfall.

Li Bufan advanced rapidly during ten days of secluded cultivation, then learned the beginnings of saber intent while sparring with Lin Zhiyan. The two met Wang Tianming, who began explaining how the upcoming state competition would differ from previous years.

• Li Bufan cultivated for ten days at the Songhe Martial Arts School and discovered his cultivation had surged, his skills had reached great mastery, and his blood beads had increased to four.
• Lin Zhiyan demonstrated her swordsmanship and challenged Li Bufan to spar, using basic techniques to expose weaknesses in his saber work.
• Lin Zhiyan revealed the beginnings of saber intent in Li Bufan's strongest attack, and her demonstration helped him awaken Saber Intent: Initiation.
• Li Bufan practiced the Basic Saber Technique for two hours and raised his saber-intent proficiency to 15/500.
• A disciple summoned Li Bufan and Lin Zhiyan to meet Wang Tianming, who praised their abilities and said the state competition would be different from previous years.

Wang Tianming explained that the State Competition would take place in Jingzhou’s Imperial City Secret Realm, where only disciples with condensed true qi could survive. After recognizing Li Bufan’s Five Elements Cultivation Body and setting their departure for the next morning, Wang Tianming watched as Li Bufan agreed to spar with the Songhe Martial Arts School’s disciples; a burly disciple stepped forward to challenge him.

• Wang Tianming told Li Bufan and Lin Zhiyan that disciples from all nine states would compete in Jingzhou’s Imperial City Secret Realm, which required participants to have condensed true qi.
• Wang Tianming explained the secret realm’s dense primordial energy and its connection to the Songhe Gate’s founding in Qi State, and praised Lin Zhiyan’s cultivation.
• Wang Tianming recognized Li Bufan’s Five Elements Cultivation Body and told the group to gather at the school entrance the next morning to travel to Jingzhou.
• At a white-haired elder’s suggestion, Lin Zhiyan declined to spar and asked Li Bufan to take her place, and Li Bufan agreed to a match without serious injury.
• Deputy Schoolmaster Zhao led Wang Tianming and the others to the training grounds, where a burly young disciple volunteered to spar with Li Bufan.

Li Bufan defeated Zhao Qian in a spar at the Songhe Martial Arts School, ending the disciples’ resentment over his and Lin Zhiyan’s arrival. Wang Tianming offered Li Bufan a martial technique from the Library Pavilion as compensation, and Zhao Qian took him there.

• Zhao Qian challenged Li Bufan after revealing that he had formed his spirit crane cultivation body, and Wang Tianming arranged their spar.
• Li Bufan dodged Zhao Qian’s attacks, caught his wrist, and sent him stumbling back with a palm strike.
• Zhao Qian admitted he had challenged Li Bufan out of resentment over the state competition, and Li Bufan clarified that he would represent Yingtian Prefecture rather than take a state capital place.
• The disciples accepted Li Bufan after seeing his strength, and Wang Tianming ended the dispute.
• Wang Tianming offered Li Bufan a martial technique from the Library Pavilion, then assigned Zhao Qian to escort him there.

Li Bufan chose Dragon Roaming Steps from the martial arts school's Library Pavilion and began cultivating the difficult movement technique. By nightfall, he had reached beginner level and prepared for his departure to Jingzhou, while Lin Zhiyan watched his room from her window.

• Lin Zhiyan left Wang Tianming and Li Bufan after saying she was tired and needed to rest.
• Zhao Qian took Li Bufan to the Library Pavilion, where Li Bufan selected the Dragon Roaming Steps manual.
• Wang Tianming approved Li Bufan's choice, gave him the inheritance jade slip, and reminded him not to share the school's techniques with outsiders.
• Li Bufan studied Dragon Roaming Steps and reached beginner level after practicing its first stage for two hours.
• Li Bufan practiced until deep into the night, raising his progress to 13/500, then cultivated the Hibernating Dragon Sleeping Pill Skill to prepare for the trip to Jingzhou.
• Lin Zhiyan watched Li Bufan's room from her window, sighed, and returned to bed to cultivate.

Li Bufan cultivated through the night, strengthening his Five Elements Cultivation Body and nearing the breakthrough to the Qi Condensation Realm before departing for the State Competition. He arrived in the capital aboard a flying boat, where the competition, secret realm, and Songhe Gate awaited.

• Li Bufan practiced the Five Elements Cultivation Body through the night and sensed his meridians beginning to loosen.
• Lin Zhiyan and Li Bufan joined Wang Tianming and the other competitors, and Wang Tianming took them aboard a flying boat bound for the capital.
• Lin Zhiyan explained that Origin Stones powered flying boats and were valuable resources for cultivation.
• Li Bufan spoke with Zhao Ce about the Dragon Roaming Steps and the upcoming State Competition during the journey.
• Wang Tianming warned the group to follow his instructions in the capital, and Li Bufan stepped off the landed flying boat, ready to begin his journey there.

Li Bufan and the others arrived in Jingzhou for the State Competition and settled into the Songhe Martial Arts School, where he was struck by the gathering of young martial artists. He spent the next three days cultivating in seclusion, with a fifth, water-attribute blood bead beginning to condense.

• Wang Tianming led Li Bufan and the others through Jingzhou's bustling streets to the Songhe Martial Arts School.
• The group entered the crowded training grounds, where Li Bufan saw the State Competition had drawn young martial artists from across Qi State.
• Wang Tianming brought the disciples to their quiet compound and entrusted them to chief disciple Cai Songyuan before leaving.
• Cai Songyuan assigned rooms, and Li Bufan and Lin Zhiyan chose two quiet rooms beside each other.
• Li Bufan cultivated for three days, bringing his fourth blood bead close to completion as a fifth, water-attribute bead began to form.

Li Bufan perfected his Five Elements Cultivation Body, formed a Primal Chaos Blood Bead, and broke through into the Qi Condensation Realm by opening three meridians. After demonstrating his improved strength, he joined his fellow disciples to hear Wang Tianming explain the State Competition rules, leaving ready for the contest to begin the next day.

• Li Bufan merged his five Blood Beads into a Primal Chaos Blood Bead and used Primal Chaos Qi to open three meridians, entering the Qi Condensation Realm.
• Li Bufan tested his improved strength with the Surging Waves Palm, Dragon Roaming Steps, and saber technique before restoring himself with the Hibernating Dragon Sleeping Pill Skill.
• Cai Songyuan met Li Bufan outside his room, learned that he had opened three meridians in four days, and accompanied him to the main hall.
• Li Bufan told Wang Tianming and the gathered disciples that he had opened three meridians, astonishing everyone in the hall.
• Wang Tianming explained the dangers, rules, and one-month duration of the Imperial City Secret Realm competition, and Li Bufan prepared for its opening the next day.

Li Bufan and the other contestants gathered at the imperial city for Qi State’s competition, where the Crane Cry Bell served as the first trial. After nearly a hundred contestants failed and were eliminated, Li Bufan followed the survivors inside for the second test.

• Li Bufan prepared for the competition overnight with Surging Waves Palm and the Hibernating Dragon Sleeping Pill Skill, then joined Lin Zhiyan and the Songhe Martial Arts School disciples at dawn.
• Cai Songyuan led the disciples to meet Wang Tianming and Lu Zheng, and delegations from all nine states marched together to the imperial city.
• The Crane Cry Bell rang nine times, leaving some contestants unshaken while nearly a hundred suffered injuries and failed the first trial.
• Lu Zheng silenced the protesters and explained that those unable to withstand the bell would face deadly danger in the secret realm.
• Lu Zheng led the successful contestants through the opened imperial city gates to begin the second test.

Li Bufan climbed the White Jade Steps, which tested contestants with increasing gravity, wind blades, and mental attacks. He reached the final stretch, where Lin Zhiyan’s voice suddenly threatened to kill him and made him falter.

• Lu Zheng announced that only the first three hundred climbers would enter the secret realm, and Li Bufan began ascending the White Jade Steps.
• Li Bufan endured rising gravity and sped past other contestants, then used Explosive Steps and Dragon Roaming Steps to pass through the wind blades and improve his movement technique.
• At the seven hundred and first step, a rhythmic drumbeat attacked the climbers’ minds, but Li Bufan used the Hibernating Dragon Sleeping Pill Skill to stay focused.
• Li Bufan reached the nine hundredth step among the remaining contestants and stepped onto the nine hundred and first.
• Lin Zhiyan’s voice sounded in Li Bufan’s heart, threatening to kill him for ruining her purity, and his footsteps faltered.

Li Bufan overcame the White Jade Steps’ reality-blending illusion and reached the 999th step, where he received token 218 and learned that he had qualified for the Starry Sky Secret Realm. After the secret realm opened, he entered a dense forest and found that its abundant Vital Energy could greatly aid his cultivation.

• Li Bufan recognized Lin Zhiyan’s attack as an illusion, used the Hibernating Dragon Sleeping Pill Skill to break free, and discovered he had fallen back to the 870th step with real wounds.
• Li Bufan climbed again, passed the now-vanished trials, and reached the 999th step, where he received a Secret Realm token numbered 218.
• Li Bufan identified the different social groups on the platform, greeted Lin Zhiyan and Zhao Zhiqing, and introduced himself to Lei Meng and other martial arts school Warriors.
• Lu Zheng explained the Starry Sky Secret Realm’s point competition, dangers, and means of escape before opening the gate and sending the qualified entrants inside.
• Li Bufan arrived in a dense forest, sensed the secret realm’s unusually rich Vital Energy, and absorbed it by circulating the Five Elements Heaven Skill.

Li Bufan explored the secret realm while observing other Warriors’ martial skills and cultivating, then learned of Myriad Laws Cave and followed two young men to its entrance. After watching the Heart Questioning Bridge’s trial, he stepped onto it, where the scene before his eyes suddenly changed.

• Li Bufan passed over a chance to claim Qi Condensation Grass and continued exploring, hoping to find martial skills while learning from others’ fights.
• For three days, Li Bufan observed Warriors’ techniques by day and cultivated in hidden places at night, improving his strength and martial skill proficiency.
• Li Bufan overheard two richly dressed young men discussing Myriad Laws Cave and secretly followed them to the valley entrance.
• The inscription revealed that entrants had to cross the Heart Questioning Bridge, pass the Trial Forest, and choose an inheritance in the Inheritance Hall.
• After seeing some people fail and Young Master Wang of the Jingzhou Wang Family cross successfully, Li Bufan stepped onto the bridge, and the scene before him changed.