Chapter Summaries

Meng Chuan borrowed the mountain’s momentum and unleashed a fist intent that sent an emerald dragon surging through the clouds, startling the monks across Shaoshi Mountain. Dharma Master Bai Bao stopped the display before it disturbed the heavens further, while Meng Chuan realized the punch had revealed the true power of a Third Limit Martial Arts Master.

• Meng Chuan gathered the mountain’s grass-and-tree essence and threw a punch that formed an emerald dragon of fist intent.
• Jueming watched in astonishment as the dragon climbed into the clouds, while Dharma Master Bai Bao explained Meng Chuan’s Martial Arts Imagery Realm and fist intent.
• The emerald dragon opened a brilliant jade-like fissure in the clouds, and Bai Bao quickly pulled it back before the display caused more trouble.
• Shaolin monks across the mountain saw the green mark in the sky and suspected Meng Chuan had caused it; Venerable Shi also sensed the disturbance.
• Meng Chuan examined his palm after the punch and recognized the immense power of a Third Limit Martial Arts Master.

Meng Chuan explored the limits of his newly awakened fist intent, then followed Jueming to the Hall of Heavenly Kings to pay his respects to Maitreya. The chapter ended as Jueming prepared to explain the hall’s customs before Meng Chuan entered.

• Meng Chuan tested ways to combine True Qi with fist intent, but Bai Bao told him to wait until he mastered Martial Arts True Gang.
• Bai Bao taught Meng Chuan Buddhist principles for two hours, while Jueming listened in and resolved to attend future lessons.
• Meng Chuan and Jueming passed the damaged Martial Monk Academy, and Meng Chuan reaffirmed that he intended to kill Huiyuan for making him die once.
• Meng Chuan asked Jueming to take him to the Mahavira Hall to apologize for the Jade Dragon incident, but Jueming suggested they visit Maitreya in the Hall of Heavenly Kings instead.
• Jueming explained the Four Heavenly Kings’ place in Buddhist faith and led Meng Chuan to the hall, where he stopped him at the entrance to explain its customs.

Meng Chuan learned from Jueming about Shaolin’s legend of the Dragon Flower Treasure Tree and the Future Buddha Fruit, which might grant an extraordinary Innate Buddha Heart. Intrigued, he planned to ask Master Bai Bao whether he could attempt to obtain it, while the Shaolin abbot remained difficult to reach.

• Jueming explained that Maitreya Buddha represented Buddhism’s future and described the legend of the Dragon Flower Treasure Tree linking the present to the future.
• Meng Chuan reasoned that obtaining the Future Buddha Fruit meant inheriting Maitreya’s role, and Jueming praised his understanding.
• Jueming said Shaolin’s abbot had been born with an Innate Buddha Heart, which represented the Future Buddha Fruit and could reveal the right path ahead.
• Meng Chuan considered whether he could obtain the fruit and concluded that he wanted to ask Master Bai Bao about trying.
• Jueming said he had only glimpsed the abbot once in fifteen years, and Meng Chuan considered seeking him at a future Buddhist gathering.
• Meng Chuan declined to offer incense, explaining his hesitation to Jueming, who said faith was not required to attain martial greatness.

Meng Chuan learned about the Four Heavenly Kings and strengthened his resolve to seek martial truth through his own practice. At Shaolin Temple, he selected several Arhat fist arts and began training the Arhat Stance, awakening a new force within himself.

• Jueming explained that Virudhaka guarded Jambudvipa while the other Four Heavenly Kings protected Buddhist lands, and said the Future Buddha could be seen by going to the future.
• Meng Chuan reflected that immortals and Buddhas arose from people's faith and offerings, which only firmed his commitment to cultivating himself and seeking truth through martial arts.
• Jueming brought Meng Chuan Shaolin's illustrated fist manual, and Meng Chuan chose Hand-Probing Broad Fist, Long-Brow Fist, Equality King Fist, and Vajra Demon-Subduing Palm.
• At Moon Terrace Garden, Meng Chuan practiced the Arhat Stance and mastered its eighteen movements in less than an hour.
• As Meng Chuan held the Arhat Stance, his blood and vital energy circulated and a warm breath arose within him, which the manual identified as Arhat Internal Force.

Meng Chuan advanced rapidly in Arhat Fist while waiting for the Eighteen Arhats to appear, and he continued his training and lessons on Shaoshi Mountain. The chapter left him waiting for Master Bai Bao to return for the evening Buddhist doctrine lesson.

• Meng Chuan practiced Arhat Fist through the night, developed Hand-Probing Broad Fist and Long-Brow Fist, and wondered what their pending traits would do.
• Bai Bao noticed Meng Chuan had begun Arhat Fist and had him cook millet porridge, while praising his progress inwardly.
• Half a month later, Meng Chuan visited the Martial Monk Academy construction site and sparred with Liaochen, reflecting that he would not unleash himself beyond 300% while his mind remained at risk from the Inner Demon.
• Meng Chuan joined the Shaolin Five-Animal Fist practice grounds and traded techniques with Liaochen, who mentioned new Demon Nests in Yu Region and missions concentrated in Jin Region.
• At Moon Terrace Garden, Jueming described a Shaolin pole-and-weight training method, and Meng Chuan learned Bai Bao would not return until evening for their Buddhist doctrine lesson.

Meng Chuan advanced his Daoist Qi Refining Methods while training on Shaoshi Mountain, and Jueming grew eager to learn them. After Bai Bao gave Jueming permission to practice Daoist arts, Meng Chuan offered to teach him the Qi-Gazing Technique first.

• Meng Chuan practiced his punches, then used the Longevity and Peaceful Joy Method to strengthen his Essence Qi and advance its proficiency.
• Meng Chuan sensed that his Inner Scenery Land's Divine Mountains were becoming more solid as his cultivation approached harmony between form and spirit.
• Meng Chuan checked his Qi-Gazing Technique and found it close to breaking its limit, with the Spirit Scent trait already at beginner level.
• Jueming asked Meng Chuan about the Daoist method he had practiced, and Meng Chuan explained how ancient Qi Refining Methods worked.
• Bai Bao returned and told Jueming he could practice Daoist arts, promising to handle anyone who objected.
• Meng Chuan offered to teach Jueming the Qi-Gazing Technique before the more difficult Longevity and Peaceful Joy Method.

Meng Chuan studied the Diamond Sutra with Master Bai Bao and gained insight into how Buddhist teachings depended on inner understanding rather than attachment to words or forms. After Jueming helped him grasp the idea that the heart moved, Meng Chuan returned to his room enlightened and woke refreshed from the Inner Demon realm’s exhaustion.

• Meng Chuan offered to teach Jueming the Qi Refining Method, while Master Bai Bao declined and brought Meng Chuan a delivery from Quandutong.
• Meng Chuan, Jueming, and Master Bai Bao ate together before Bai Bao began explaining the Diamond Sutra.
• Bai Bao taught that the Buddha had not spoken a fixed Dharma, and Meng Chuan considered how understanding mattered more than clinging to scripture.
• Jueming explained that the wind-and-pine-tree question showed how perception arose in the heart, helping Meng Chuan understand Bai Bao’s lesson.
• Meng Chuan concluded that Buddhist principles required inner discernment, then slept and woke with his Jing-Qi-Shen restored by the medicinal bath.

Meng Chuan received a newly developed pill that could strengthen his spirit and improve Yuan Qi conversion, then discussed the upcoming Morning Dawn Martial Exercise with Shen Shuo. He agreed to promote Hanhai’s products at the competition and was urged to take the pill soon before its Spiritual Essence dissipated.

• Meng Chuan inspected the precious elixir and called Shen Shuo to learn that it could reinforce his spirit and improve Yuan Qi conversion efficiency.
• Shen Shuo told Meng Chuan the pill had not yet been named and was likely to be called the Three-Origin Brain God Pill.
• Meng Chuan recognized the confidential Morning Dawn Martial Exercise announcement and told Shen Shuo that his competition preparations would delay his entry into the Demon Nest.
• Shen Shuo explained the competition’s preliminary and main stages, and Meng Chuan offered to promote Hanhai’s products through endorsements and social media.
• Shen Shuo learned Meng Chuan’s current strength and told him to take the pill soon before its Spiritual Essence dissipated.

Meng Chuan secured Hanhai Company’s support for the Morning Dawn Martial Exercise and took a Three-Origin Brain God Pill to strengthen his spiritual foundation. As the pill’s effects began tempering his Sea of Consciousness, he waited to see how they would improve his cultivation.

• Meng Chuan asked Shen Shuo for Pulse-Moistening Spirit Pills, and Shen Shuo agreed to seek company approval for enough to last three months.
• Meng Chuan concluded that Great Chu’s preparations for the Morning Dawn Martial Exercise might mean the Grand Luotian Rite was expected to succeed, and wondered whether Great Sage Zhao would break through to the eighth level.
• Meng Chuan decided that reaching the Third Great Limit before the competition could give him a chance to contend for global First of the Generation.
• Meng Chuan swallowed the Three-Origin Brain God Pill and used Internal Breath to digest it, drawing its essence into his Sea of Consciousness.
• The Brain God Pill’s medicinal effects began boiling and tempering Meng Chuan’s Sea of Consciousness as he practiced the Core Method and watched for changes.

After taking the Brain God Pill, Meng Chuan discovered that his spiritual foundation had strengthened and his Yuan Qi conversion efficiency had permanently increased by nearly twenty percent. Five days later, he continued cultivating the Molten Core Flame-Burst Fist and advanced it to 96% mastery, nearing Limit Breaking.

• Meng Chuan finished refining the pill and found that his foundation of divinity had strengthened by twenty percent.
• He practiced several fist techniques and confirmed that his Yuan Qi conversion efficiency had risen by around twenty percent, accelerating his progress toward the Second Limit’s full vitality and blood capacity.
• Meng Chuan called Shen Shuo, who confirmed that a second dose would cause strong drug resistance and warned him against trying it.
• Five days later, Meng Chuan continued training the Molten Core Flame-Burst Fist, bringing its mastery from 95% to 96% while awaiting Limit Breaking.

Meng Chuan trained at Shaolin, helped Jueming advance in the Qi-Gazing Technique, and studied the Heart Sutra with Master Bai Bao. He then asked to try for Buddhist fruition beneath the Dragon Flower Tree, and Bai Bao explained that Maitreya had been chosen to represent the future.

• Meng Chuan realized that the Five Elements Fist's Limit Breaking would require a treasured ground and saw that his Hand-Probing Broad Fist was nearing Limit Breaking.
• Meng Chuan practiced the True Martial Demon-Subduing Nine Forms as Jueming arrived and excitedly reported that he could smell the qi of all things.
• Meng Chuan tested Jueming's Qi-Gazing Technique at the chicken coop, confirmed his progress, and learned that Jueming had bought the Heart-Soul Wood bracelet for fifty million.
• Master Bai Bao taught Meng Chuan and Jueming the Heart Sutra and explained its path from affliction to liberation.
• Meng Chuan asked to try for Buddhist fruition beneath the Dragon Flower Tree, and Bai Bao explained that Maitreya had been designated to represent the future and attain Buddhahood there.

Meng Chuan learned that he could pursue the future Buddha fruit through his own conviction rather than relying on Abbot Xuan Mou’s prophecy, and asked whether it could protect Yong'an. Meanwhile, in the Taihang Mountains, the Mountain Range Divine Lord created a duplicate of the Heavenly King of Great Hearing and ordered it sent toward Shaoshi Mountain as an informant.

• Bai Bao explained that Meng Chuan could break free of dependence on prophecy by resonating with the Dragon Flower Tree through his own true heart and agency.
• Bai Bao told Meng Chuan that Shaoshi Mountain was protected by a Buddha realm and the Six Desires Heaven Grand Formation, which the ancient sages had created to repel Heavenly Demons.
• Meng Chuan asked whether the Buddha fruit could bring peace to Yong'an, and Bai Bao quietly explained the defenses surrounding Shaoshi Mountain.
• In the Taihang Mountains, Great Hearing asked the Mountain Range Divine Lord to spare a young clansman who had descended near Shaoshi Mountain and use him as an informant.
• The Mountain Range Divine Lord used investiture to create a duplicate of Great Hearing from an incense-faith umbrella, and Great Hearing planned to send the duplicate and a Heavenly King’s skin to its clansman’s territory.

Great Sage Zhao Linyuan gathered the human race’s Seven-Limit experts to discuss his martial art and the mysterious giant shadow beneath the Dragon Flower Tree, which Abbot Xuanmou could not clearly foresee. At Shaolin, Meng Chuan continued studying Buddhist doctrine, encouraged Jueming to keep practicing a Daoist method, and received his Heart-Soul Wood bracelet.

• Zhao Linyuan welcomed the assembled Great Sages to the island and asked them to help complete his Heaven Abyss Calamity-Cleaving Sky-Subduing Dao-Union Art.
• Zhao Linyuan questioned Abbot Xuanmou about his vision of the Dragon Flower Tree, and Xuanmou described an immense, indistinct shadow circling it.
• The Sword Saint suspected the shadow might be someone Sui Chunqiu had mentioned, but he set the thought aside and joined the discussion.
• Meng Chuan reflected on Buddhist doctrine as part of his preparations to meet the requirements for Dragon Flower Tree Enlightenment.
• Jueming told Meng Chuan that he would continue practicing the Daoist qi cultivation method despite his master’s objections.
• Jueming gave Meng Chuan his Heart-Soul Wood bracelet, and Meng Chuan put it on and examined it.

Meng Chuan visited Shaolin’s Cultivation Rooms with Jueming and learned that his Lesser Tathagata Manifested Body might be tied to a forbidden Hinayana tradition. Jueming warned him about its connection to the Arhat Fruition, and Meng Chuan ended the chapter asking an old monk to borrow a room for martial practice.

• Meng Chuan bought a soulwood bracelet from Jueming for fifty million to protect his soul from Inner Demons while it left his body.
• Jueming guided Meng Chuan through Shaolin’s ancient Western Sage Hall and explained its history and the restricted Vairocana Pavilion.
• Meng Chuan asked Jueming about the Lesser Tathagata Manifested Body, and Jueming warned him not to mention the term at Shaolin because it was associated with Hinayana practitioners and the Arhat Fruition.
• Meng Chuan wondered whether his Precious Appearance Golden Venerable Technique carried karmic risks and resolved to ask Bai Bao’s master about its taboos.
• Jueming led Meng Chuan to the modern Cultivation Rooms building, where Meng Chuan asked the old monk at the front desk to borrow a room.

Meng Chuan rented a fire-element cultivation room at Shaolin and used it to push his Flame-Burst Fist through Limit Breaking. He gained the Fire Radiance Dharma Body trait, while Jueming’s master confronted him about teaching Jueming a Qi Refining Method.

• Meng Chuan showed the old monk his Zen Jade Disc, borrowed a cultivation room, and followed Jueming upstairs.
• Jueming explained how the cultivation rooms’ symbols matched different martial arts, and Meng Chuan entered a fire-element room to train.
• Meng Chuan considered the cost of building a treasure ground that could support all five elements before focusing on his boxing.
• The old monk told Jueming that Meng Chuan’s conduct leaned toward the Lesser Vehicle and accused him of secretly learning a Qi Refining Method from Meng Chuan.
• Meng Chuan’s Flame-Burst Fist underwent Limit Breaking, granting him the Fire Radiance Dharma Body trait with fire resistance and enhanced comprehension of fire-element fist techniques.

Meng Chuan completed a major fire-aspect breakthrough at Shaoshi Mountain, strengthening his Five Elements cultivation and mental power while growing closer to Jueming. A month later, the Fengdeng garrison prepared to blockade a low-level Demon Nest, and Prince Fanluo of Loulan arrived at Shaolin Temple.

• Meng Chuan added the Fire Radiance Dharma Body to his Five Elements Wheel, raised his Five Skandhas Universe Method to 20%, and expanded his Sea of Consciousness.
• Meng Chuan left the cultivation chamber with a greatly strengthened aura, thanked the old monk for the temple’s treasured grounds, and departed with Jueming.
• Meng Chuan and Jueming discussed Buddhist teachings on their return, and a month passed while Meng Chuan continued training at Shaoshi Mountain.
• Shi Cheng reported to Eastern Warden Cui Yunyu that the crimson-ferocity Demon Nest near Fengdeng was only Level Two, and Cui Yunyu ordered the garrison to maintain a blockade while the nest became a national mission.
• Prince Fanluo, the twenty-two-year-old heir of Loulan and son of the Esoteric Sect’s Twin Saints, arrived at Shaolin Temple with his attendants and was met by senior monks.

Prince Fanluo arrived at Shaolin, where Elder Shi received him, while Meng Chuan continued cultivating and considered whether his Buddhist understanding could qualify him to learn a Shaolin heart-sutra method. Fanluo spoke with the King of Loulan and introduced his guard, Grandmaster Duo-Mo, as Meng Chuan prepared to attend a lesson on Xingyi Arhat Fist.

• Fanluo entered Shaolin through the Formless Gate, and Elder Shi welcomed him and arranged his lodging and a vegetarian meal.
• Fanluo privately called the King of Loulan, who warned him that the Western Regions would need Central Plains martial support against the growing Demon Nests; Fanluo then summoned Grandmaster Duo-Mo to speak with his father.
• Meng Chuan missed a mission for a newborn Demon Nest, cultivated Dao Heart Demon Seeding to ninety percent, and reviewed his martial arts progress and the limits of his Arhat Fist plans.
• The next day, Meng Chuan headed to the Martial Monk Academy with Jueming and asked whether his grasp of Buddhist principles could pass Master Bai Bao’s test for the Medicine Master Pure Six Faculties Perception Method.
• Jueming explained that the method required deep Buddhist understanding, and Meng Chuan judged that his remaining gaps in bodily and mental perception were manageable.

Meng Chuan and Jueming visited Shaolin’s new Martial Monk Academy, where Meng Chuan comforted Jueming about his background and met the new instructor, Shi Nan. Meng Chuan then challenged Liaochen to spar without transforming, and the monks cleared space for their match.

• Jueming told Meng Chuan that Fanluo, the Third Prince of the Western Regions, was visiting Shaolin with a powerful bodyguard, and Meng Chuan comforted Jueming when he grew sad about his own lack of family.
• Meng Chuan and Jueming entered the new training ground and saw Shi Nan disciplining the Shaolin disciples while praising Meng Chuan’s approach to learning.
• Meng Chuan greeted Shi Nan and said he wanted to build a foundation in the Arhat arts before deciding whether to learn the True Technique Arhat Fist.
• Meng Chuan invited Liaochen to spar, and Liaochen proposed that Meng Chuan grow larger first; Meng Chuan refused and agreed to fight normally.
• Meng Chuan and Liaochen checked that the reinforced training ground could withstand their fight, and the watching monks cleared an open space for them.

Meng Chuan fought Liaochen in a fierce contest at Shaolin Temple, displaying his powerful Imagery Realm and eventually tearing apart Liaochen’s Azure Dragon form. Prince Fanluo arrived with Duo-Mo to watch, while Fanluo continued searching for the remaining core objects of Great Brahma.

• Shi Nan created a cloud-walled arena and set the rules for Meng Chuan and Liaochen’s contest.
• Liaochen offered a fifty-year-old Snake Scale Fruit as the stake, and Meng Chuan offered two hundred million in cash if he lost.
• Meng Chuan and Liaochen unleashed their martial forms and battled across the arena, with Meng Chuan’s strength impressing the watching monks.
• Fanluo and Duo-Mo arrived and discussed the search for the remaining core objects of Great Brahma before turning their attention to the fight.
• Meng Chuan seized Liaochen’s Azure Dragon form and tore its body in two, scattering its scales across the sky.

Meng Chuan defeated Master Liaochen in a fierce arena match, using Golden Thunder to overcome Liaochen’s Dragon Form Fist and Dragon Monk transformation. He kept the Snake Scale Fruit and then discussed martial principles with Liaochen while the Martial Monk Academy’s disciples dared not challenge him.

• Meng Chuan tore apart Liaochen’s Yellow Dragon dharma manifestation, prompting Liaochen to attack with the Heaven-Ensnaring Earth-Covering Palm.
• Meng Chuan broke Liaochen’s Mind-Intent Magnetic Field and blocked the palm with his hardened body, then unleashed Golden Thunder and drove Liaochen toward the edge of the arena.
• Liaochen transformed into a Dragon Monk, but Meng Chuan struck him with Crescent Moon Heaven-Piercer and sent him through the cloud wall, winning the match.
• Liaochen admitted defeat and named Meng Chuan’s technique as the Shenxiao Sect’s Thunder of the Inner Heart, while Meng Chuan offered him the Snake Scale Fruit and Liaochen refused it.
• The Martial Monk Academy’s disciples discussed who should challenge Meng Chuan, but Senior Brother Fei fled and no one else stepped forward.
• Meng Chuan kept the Snake Scale Fruit and joined Liaochen to discuss martial principles as Jueming listened in.