Chapter Summaries

Meng Chuan trained beneath Nine Dragons Pool Waterfall, broke the limits of two fist techniques, and integrated them with Spirit Breath Fist into the Five Skandhas Universe Method. The integration unlocked the path to a fourth-tier core trait, and he prepared to add more five-element traits.

• Meng Chuan mastered the Giant Turtle Carapace Skill and continued worrying that the Tianshan Martial Assembly’s postponement and Chen Tuan’s seclusion signaled a major event.
• Meng Chuan combined Nine Palaces Step with his fist techniques, broke the limits of Earth-Bearing Four Symbols Fist and Generation-Restraint Silk-Entangling Hands, and created Ten Thousand Threads Return to Origin.
• Meng Chuan integrated those techniques and Spirit Breath Fist into the Five Skandhas Universe Method, using his Five Elements Dharma Body trait and martial principles to guide the process.
• Meng Chuan completed the integration, removed the pending-renaming label, and saw that Five Qi Towards Origin had become a Third-Tier Core with a path open to its fourth tier.
• Meng Chuan reviewed the restored Origin-Towards Beginning effect and the new Five Elements Control effect, then prepared to add more five-element traits.

Meng Chuan used his improved five elements control to manipulate the Nine Dragons Pool, then created the water-aspect True Technique Layered Wave Rock-Shattering Fist. He gained a major increase in qi and blood and began practicing the new art, leaving its perfection and limit break for later.

• Meng Chuan concluded that advancing Five Qi Towards Origin further would require integrating a True Technique, and possibly Divine Arts and Peerless Techniques at higher tiers.
• Meng Chuan tested how intermediate traits affected his Five Skandhas Universe Method and decided to create more True Technique fist arts to build qi and blood efficiently.
• Meng Chuan used his water-aspect qi to draw up, compress, and blast the Nine Dragons Pool’s water, demonstrating his enhanced five elements control.
• Meng Chuan practiced a hidden, layered form of water-aspect force that shattered a cliff and formed the new fist art Layered Wave Rock-Shattering Fist.
• Meng Chuan gained over two hundred qi and blood, bringing his star count to forty-eight, and recognized that his new fist art still needed practice to reach perfection.

Meng Chuan completed the Five Elements Fist arts and advanced Dao Heart Demon Seeding to level six, but discovered its growing appetite was limiting his qi and blood gains. He decided to take the initiative against Fang Jianxing while preparing more Five Elements techniques at Wudang.

• Meng Chuan created the Frost Spear ultimate and then developed the Earth and Wood fists, teaching Wang Ye the Silk-Winding Energy-Storing Fist in exchange for wine.
• Meng Chuan advanced Dao Heart Demon Seeding to level six, but found his qi and blood gains had not increased because the Dao Heart’s demands were growing.
• Meng Chuan concluded that fusing more fragmented chapters could ease the strain and suspected Fang Jianxing was watching him, so he resolved to lure Fang Jianxing out and strike first.
• After sparring with Jack, Meng Chuan created the Armor-Piercing Heart-Drilling Fist, completing his Five Elements Fists and setting his sights on condensing the Five Elements Dharma Wheel.
• Meng Chuan visited Wudang’s scripture repository, where an elderly Daoist urged him to seek the Xuanwu method, then borrowed four low-level True Technique fist arts and brought them to the beginner stage.

Meng Chuan advanced his fist arts and horizontal training, surpassed eleven thousand qi-blood, and prepared to break Giant Turtle Skill’s limit. As he practiced, Chen Tuan remained in seclusion before the Great Emperor’s statue, awakening the Demon-Severing Hero Sword.

• Meng Chuan completed River-Shaking Baji Fist and considered asking the Liu Family for guidance in stronger Baji arts.
• Meng Chuan measured over eleven thousand qi-blood, far surpassing Wang Ye and Jack, and estimated he might reach Martial Arts Master next year.
• Meng Chuan learned that Chen Tuan had entered seclusion shortly before Meng Chuan arrived at Wudang, then continued practicing his martial arts.
• Meng Chuan perfected Giant Turtle Carapace Skill, whose protective energy made him resemble Black Tortoise, and decided to begin pushing it toward a limit break.
• Chen Tuan sat in seclusion before the Great Emperor’s statue with the transformed Demon-Severing Hero Sword across his knees.

Meng Chuan was defeated after the mad old Daoist transformed into the Thunder Method Celestial Lord in the War Soul Space. He planned to copy the Daoist’s lightning-powered speed, but Luo Guanyun warned him to wait until he became a Third Limit master before trying to draw lightning into his body.

• Meng Chuan dodged the old Daoist’s lightning attacks, broke through his lightning nets, and charged up the mountain with Storm Sovereign.
• The old Daoist transformed into the Thunder Method Celestial Lord and defeated Meng Chuan with overwhelming speed and thunder.
• After waking, Meng Chuan saw that Five Thunders Striking the Peak had advanced to 71% mastery and concluded that his lack of speed was the main obstacle to victory.
• Meng Chuan called Luo Guanyun to ask how to use lightning to accelerate his body.
• Luo Guanyun explained that the method required imprinting a lightning anchor point and warned Meng Chuan not to attempt it until he became a Third Limit master.

Meng Chuan and Luo Guanyun planned to lure Fang Jianxing into a fight after Meng Chuan left Shaolin, while Meng Chuan prepared to use natural lightning to improve his strength. His training paid off when he broke the limit of the Giant Turtle Carapace Skill and gained the Turtle Back trait.

• Meng Chuan asked Luo Guanyun about drawing real lightning into his body, and Luo Guanyun cautioned him while explaining how to use lightning-aspected qi.
• Luo Guanyun said the snow lotus and Buddhist scriptures had eased the resentment in his lingtai, then urged Meng Chuan to seek out Dharma Master Bai Bao at Shaolin.
• Meng Chuan and Luo Guanyun agreed to target the Parasite Society after Fang Jianxing was dealt with, and Meng Chuan proposed luring Fang Jianxing out after he left Shaolin.
• Meng Chuan said he expected an eighty percent chance of defeating Fang Jianxing and planned to trap him so he could not escape with the incomplete volumes.
• Meng Chuan trained harder, learned to activate the old Daoist's second stage in eighteen different ways, and obtained a Nine Heavens Thunder-Slaying Talisman to draw in lightning.
• Training beneath the Nine Dragons Waterfall, Meng Chuan broke the limit of the Giant Turtle Carapace Skill and gained the low-level Turtle Back trait.

Meng Chuan learned about Sect Leader Chen Tuan’s secluded communion with the True Martial Great Emperor and suspected Wudang was preparing for a major operation against Ultimate Darkness. After repeatedly defeating Zhao Huanzhen and watching him spar with Wang Ye, Meng Chuan asked what the Great Emperor’s Dharma Realm was like.

• Meng Chuan tested his new Swimming trait at Nine Dragons Pool and discovered he could breathe underwater and swim faster.
• Zhao Shousui told Meng Chuan that Chen Tuan’s seclusion involved communicating with the Great Emperor, whose power Chen Tuan could borrow.
• Meng Chuan suspected Wudang’s preparations and the suspended Tianshan Martial Assembly were connected to a campaign against Ultimate Darkness, and considered how to ensure Fang Jianxing could not escape.
• Meng Chuan consulted Wang Ye about a Daoist scripture, then defeated Zhao Huanzhen in their sparring match; Zhao Huanzhen went on to challenge Wang Ye.
• Meng Chuan asked Zhao Huanzhen and Wang Ye about the True Martial Great Emperor’s Dharma Realm, and Zhao Huanzhen described its palace, attendants, celestial generals, and five divine dragons.

Meng Chuan was caught in the Demon-Breaking Divine Thunder that Chen Tuan summoned with the Demon-Severing Hero Sword, and the strike drew his spirit into the True Martial Great Emperor’s Dharma Realm. He arrived on a bone-lined road and suspected that the realm might be connected to a Solid Heavenly Demon.

• Zhao Huanzhen and Wang Ye told Meng Chuan about their ties to True Martial Great Emperor and their plans to explore his Dharma Realms.
• Chen Tuan emerged from Jade Void Palace and wielded the Demon-Severing Hero Sword to unleash Demon-Breaking Divine Thunder.
• Meng Chuan’s Nine Heavens Thunder-Slaying Talisman drew the lightning to him, leaving him scorched and sending his spirit into the Dharma Realm.
• Chen Tuan and Zhao Shousui found Meng Chuan alive and concluded that the Emperor’s power had pulled his spirit into the Dharma Realm, while Cheng Miaochang joined them to wait for him.
• Meng Chuan traveled through darkness into the Dharma Realm, reached a bone-lined stone road, and recognized the ribs as belonging to a Solid Heavenly Demon.

Meng Chuan was pulled from Fengdu Great Cavern into the True Martial Dharma Realm and persuaded the True Martial Great Emperor to test his martial talent rather than send him away. The Emperor summoned a conceptual Heavenly Demon and armor to create a heavenly soldier for Meng Chuan to fight.

• Meng Chuan sensed countless living Conceptual Heavenly Demons in Fengdu Great Cavern, but his probing thread struck a powerful presence and drew the True Martial Great Emperor’s attention.
• The Emperor pulled Meng Chuan into his hall and demanded to know how he had entered Fengdu Great Cavern.
• Meng Chuan explained that a lightning strike had brought him there by accident and cited his connections to Chen Tuan, Zhao Huanzhen, and Wang Ye.
• When the Emperor offered to send him out, Meng Chuan asked to learn martial arts and displayed his completed Giant Ao Hard Art.
• Meng Chuan declared that he bowed to neither immortals nor Buddhas and sought truth through fists and feet, so the Emperor summoned a conceptual Heavenly Demon and armor for a martial test.

Meng Chuan passed True Martial Great Emperor’s trial by destroying a Conceptual Heavenly Demon disguised as a heavenly soldier. When Zhenwu offered him the Black Tortoise Method but refused to teach the Demon-Sweeping Divine Ability without a reason, Meng Chuan offered to bind his fate to Wudang’s lineage in exchange.

• Meng Chuan recognized that immortals and Buddhas could use incense power to control Conceptual Heavenly Demons, and watched Zhenwu create a heavenly soldier from one.
• The heavenly soldier attacked Meng Chuan, who answered with a full-strength blast of Bing Fire Yang Thunder that burned through its defenses.
• Meng Chuan finished the badly damaged heavenly soldier with a kick that destroyed its head and ended the demon’s life.
• Zhenwu agreed to grant Meng Chuan the Black Tortoise Method, but said Meng Chuan could not learn the Demon-Sweeping Divine Ability without meeting the patriarchs’ rules.
• Meng Chuan offered to bind his fate to Wudang’s lineage in exchange for the Demon-Sweeping Divine Ability, arguing that the Black Tortoise Method had been offered to secure his Martial Dao fortune.

Meng Chuan persuaded True Martial Great Emperor to pass on the Mystic Heaven Zhenwu Demon-Sweeping Scripture and received a method-imparting seal. Black Tortoise then branded three seals upon Meng Chuan, but vanished into starlight after giving him the transmission, leaving him worried about the cost.

• Meng Chuan insisted that True Martial Great Emperor impart the Demon-Sweeping method despite the need for faith and visualization.
• Zhenwu agreed to imprint the Mystic Heaven Zhenwu Demon-Sweeping Scripture in Meng Chuan's mind and warned that its seal would allow only one attempt to learn it.
• Meng Chuan received the Seal of Zhenwu in his Sea of Consciousness and saw Black Tortoise approach to impart power.
• Meng Chuan touched the Turtle and Snake Generals, and seven star threads branded three seals upon his body while a Daoist verse was transmitted.
• Black Tortoise dissolved into starlight, and Meng Chuan wondered whether imparting the three seals had exhausted Him.

Meng Chuan received Xuanwu’s martial arts in the True Martial Dharma Realm, then awoke at Wudang with severe internal injuries from the Imperial Sovereign Divine Thunder. As Wudang prepared for a vast Grand Luotian Rite in the Taihang Mountains, Meng Chuan discovered a dangerous bolt of lightning still lodged in his chest.

• True Martial told Meng Chuan to cultivate Xuanwu’s methods and said he was not yet qualified to have Xuanwu reside within him.
• Meng Chuan began to vanish from the Dharma Realm before he could finish thanking True Martial.
• Zhao Shousui overheard Chen Tuan and Cheng Miaochang discuss the Grand Luotian Rite and realized the assembled forces planned to encircle and kill Mountain Whisper.
• Chen Tuan and Zhao Shousui gave the injured Meng Chuan a Wudang healing pill, and Cheng Miaochang departed to organize the factions for the meeting.
• Chen Tuan brought Meng Chuan and Zhao Shousui back to Zhao Shousui’s home using Shrinking the Earth into an Inch.
• Meng Chuan found that the healing pill was restoring his scorched organs, but a vicious bolt of lightning remained lodged above his Danzhong Acupoint.

Meng Chuan recovered from the lightning strike and learned that the lightning inside him was precious true-rhyme qi, while Chen Tuan gave him an Immortal Tears Gold and promised to teach him the Demon-Sweeping methods. At Longhu Mountain, Wudang’s Dao Lords arrived as Martial Heavenly Kings gathered to settle the rules for the Grand Luotian Rite and discuss the Taihang matter.

• Meng Chuan asked Chen Tuan about the lightning qi in his body, and Chen Tuan explained that it was true-rhyme qi formed from Incense Divine Power and natural lightning.
• Meng Chuan told Chen Tuan and Zhao Shousui that the Great Emperor had passed him the Black Tortoise series and the Mystic Heaven Zhenwu Demon-Sweeping Scripture.
• Chen Tuan agreed to teach Meng Chuan the Demon-Sweeping methods after he recovered and gave him a piece of Gold of Immortal Tears.
• Meng Chuan returned to recover, while Zhao Shousui warned him not to use a lightning talisman so recklessly again.
• Zhang Jingshi and Zhang Ziyu arrived at Longhu Mountain, where Luo Qin saw his master Ziyang True Monarch greet them.
• Martial Heavenly Kings gathered at Crane Crying Stream Valley to discuss regulations for the Grand Luotian Rite and the Taihang matter.

The Daoist leaders and allied factions debated when to hold the Grand Luotian Rite to counter Mountain Whisper, while Zhang Daoling and Xu Daoxian reflected on humanity’s struggle against the Heavenly Demon Realm. The date remained under discussion as Meng Chuan continued his long journey of cultivation on Wudang Mountain.

• Zhang Jingshi welcomed Daoist Lord Wuyang and invited him to cultivate at Wudang, but Wuyang said he could not leave his duties in Yong'an.
• The Longhu Celestial Master gathered the factions to choose between the Day of Obscurity and next year's New Year's Eve for the Grand Luotian Rite.
• Yi Lan urged the group to choose next year's New Year's Eve, saying Sui Chunqiu might achieve the Seventh Breakthrough and join the fight against Mountain Whisper.
• Zhang Daoling and Xu Daoxian emerged from the Three Pure Ones Dharma Realm and discussed humanity's growth, past sacrifices, and need to defeat the Demon Gods.
• Zhang Daoling and Xu Daoxian returned toward camp to bring the waiting Daoists news, while Meng Chuan spent time talking with friends and family from Yong'an on Wudang Mountain.

While recovering at Wudang, Meng Chuan cultivated his martial and mental foundations and learned that the Gold of Immortal Tears had helped him reach the Foundation of Mysterious Iron. The chapter left him preparing to test how his solidified mental power would interact with the strange black bead.

• Meng Chuan spoke with Xue Na and Meng Yongzhi, promised to attend his sister’s wedding, and returned to cultivation while recovering from Sect Leader Chen Tuan’s strike.
• Great Chu evacuated six towns near the Taihang Mountains and placed them under military control, while Demonic Path powerhouses gathered near the Jin Region.
• Zhou Yun monitored Mountain Whisper at the Mountain Whisper observation post and judged that Zhao Linyuan could not escape the Demon Nest without reaching level eight.
• At Wudang, Meng Chuan mastered the Nine Palaces Taiji Force by walking blindfolded along a cliff while practicing its steps and balance.
• Meng Chuan’s Dao Heart finished forging the Gold of Immortal Tears, spreading golden threads through his Mysterious Iron mental foundation and setting him on the path toward the Amber Foundation.
• Meng Chuan summoned the strange black bead to test the abilities of his newly strengthened mental power.

After modifying a hidden black bead into an explosive weapon, Meng Chuan recovered enough to resume combat training while his internal injuries still prevented him from using several techniques. He fought Ma Hongju with only his fist and foot arts, leaving Wang Ye, Jack, and Zhao Huanzhen stunned by the battle’s destructive force.

• Meng Chuan used mental power to make the black bead explode outward through a boulder, then stored it as a concealed weapon for future battles.
• Two weeks later, Meng Chuan’s injuries had mostly improved, but pain in his organs kept him from practicing Five Elements Fist and the Horizontal Training Method.
• Meng Chuan advanced his Longevity and Peaceful Joy Method to 43% proficiency and noted that reaching Mastery would take over a hundred days.
• Wang Ye arranged for Meng Chuan to spar with Ma Hongju, a formidable fighter nearing the Third Limit, while Meng Chuan was still unable to use hard arts.
• Ma Hongju hurled a boulder at Meng Chuan, who stopped it with True Qi and moved it aside before charging into close combat.
• Meng Chuan and Ma Hongju exchanged devastating fist and foot attacks, while Jack marveled at their power and Zhao Huanzhen struggled to answer him.

Meng Chuan defeated Ma Hongju in a fierce close-combat match, then used the battle to grasp the Rhyme of his fist and foot techniques. His breakthrough released new qi and blood, lit nearly fifteen stars in his Martial Firmament, and transformed his body as River-Shaking Baji advanced.

• Meng Chuan overwhelmed Ma Hongju with relentless Baji attacks and sent him flying with the Heaven-Piercing Palm.
• Meng Chuan broke through Ma Hongju's defenses with a final palm strike, and Ma Hongju admitted defeat.
• Meng Chuan asked Wang Ye, the other onlookers, and Ma Hongju to move back while he tested what he had learned about the Rhyme of his combat arts.
• Meng Chuan understood that he needed to forget fixed forms and unite intent with his body's natural responses, then practiced an instinctive mix of techniques.
• Meng Chuan's breakthrough awakened hidden qi and blood, lit nearly fifteen stars in his Martial Firmament, and triggered a surge of more than fifteen hundred qi-and-blood points.
• Meng Chuan's River-Shaking Baji advanced, causing his muscles to swell and contract in rolling waves.

Meng Chuan broke River-Shaking Baji's limit and entered the Rhyme Realm of Combat Arts, gaining a surge in strength and Qi-Blood. Zhao Shousui explained how combat arts draw on heaven and earth's Yuan Qi, while Meng Chuan continued to seek a deeper understanding of his new realm.

• After his battle with Ma Hongju, Meng Chuan broke River-Shaking Baji's limit and acquired the River-Overturning trait, which strengthened his tendons and improved his understanding of Baji and water-attribute fist techniques.
• Meng Chuan tested his Qi-Blood at Wudang Martial University and discovered it had reached 14,606; he told Wang Ye, Jack, and Zhao Huanzhen that he had comprehended the Rhyme of Combat Arts.
• Wang Ye invited Meng Chuan to attend his master's lecture, and the next morning Zhao Shousui agreed to explain the principles of the Rhyme Realm to him.
• Zhao Shousui explained that entering the Rhyme Realm let Meng Chuan obtain some of heaven and earth's True Rhyme and draw Yuan Qi that became Qi-Blood.

Meng Chuan learned from Zhao Shousui about Yuan Qi, Primordial Qi, and the three steps of the Rhyme Realm, then asked how to use his Mysterious Iron mental power in combat. Zhao Shousui began teaching him Wudang’s method of attaching mental power to his body and weapons.

• Meng Chuan asked Zhao Shousui about Yuan Qi and Primordial Qi, and Zhao explained their nature and the role Primordial Qi had played in the ancient martial era.
• Zhao Shousui described the Rhyme Realm’s three steps as Self-Recognition, Recognition of Heaven and Earth, and Recognition of Origin, while admitting he was still working on the first step.
• Meng Chuan asked how to use his Mysterious Iron mental power to attack, and Zhao Shousui explained methods used by Wudang, the Celestial Master Mansion, and the Wutai Buddhist Sect.
• Meng Chuan asked about condensing a mental-power flying sword, and Zhao Shousui identified it as the Quanzhen Heart Light Method and said it required True Gang.
• Zhao Shousui took out a Kanglong Mace, coated it with pale blue radiance, and began teaching Meng Chuan to attach mental power to his fists, feet, and weapons.

Meng Chuan learned Wudang’s method for imbuing attacks with mental power from Zhao Shousui and tested his growing strength in combat. After the lesson, he returned to his room and opened United University’s online Hidden Martial Pavilion.

• Zhao Shousui explained how mental power could harm Conceptual Heavenly Demons and taught Meng Chuan to channel it into his fists and feet.
• Zhao Shousui unfolded his Imagery Realm, and Meng Chuan attacked him while practicing the technique and gauging his strength.
• Zhao Shousui judged that Meng Chuan could defeat someone newly at the Third Limit, then sparred with him as he practiced imbuing attacks with mental power.
• Meng Chuan synchronized with Zhao Shousui’s attacks and struck the blue light in his palm with Spirit Fire, eroding some of Zhao Shousui’s mental power.
• Zhao Shousui advised Meng Chuan on developing his mental power and weapons technique, then ended the lesson after nearly ten hours.
• Meng Chuan greeted Wang Ye, returned to his room, and opened United University’s online Hidden Martial Pavilion.