Chapter Summaries

After forty-one days in Chen Family Village, Chen Mo completed major cultivation advances and secretly left for Hequ County, where he raided the Black Market before returning to True Martial Arts School. He reunited with Yan Cheng and the others, and Yan Cheng was stunned by Chen Mo’s greatly increased strength.

• Chen Mo perfected the Indestructible Vajra Divine Technique, lost his Vital Point, greatly increased his defense and qi and blood, and advanced his fist techniques.
• Chen Mo left Chen Family Village at night, leaving Exotic Beast Meat for Chen Chao and a thousand-tael banknote for Chen Qun before heading to Hequ County.
• Chen Mo climbed into Hequ County before the gates opened and attacked the Black Market after its guards pretended not to recognize him.
• Chen Mo defeated the masked men who banded together against him at the Black Market, then climbed into True Martial Arts School and stored his meat in his underground hole.
• Chen Mo greeted the disciples and martial instructors, then met Yan Cheng in the backyard and surprised him by overpowering his punch with a forceful strike.

Chen Mo demonstrated strength powerful enough to crack Yan Cheng’s Qi and Blood Gauze, then learned how his abilities compared with stronger Qi and Blood martial artists. Yan Cheng gave him access to a top-tier second-rate cultivation technique, leaving Chen Mo ready to study it in the Cultivation Technique Pavilion.

• Chen Mo sparred with Yan Cheng and cracked his Qi and Blood Gauze with a punch, shocking Yan Cheng, Pu Jing Ming, and Jiang Ling Ling.
• Yan Cheng explained the strength increase between Qi and Blood transformations, and Chen Mo considered whether he could defeat Cao Hong.
• Yan Cheng offered Chen Mo a top-tier second-rate cultivation technique derived from the supreme inheritance of the True Martial Sect.
• Yan Cheng took Chen Mo to the fifth floor of the Cultivation Technique Pavilion and revealed the manual hidden behind a wall.
• Yan Cheng told Chen Mo to memorize the manual before leaving and arranged for meals to be delivered while Chen Mo studied.

Chen Mo studied the True Martial Spirit Condensing Art while Hequ County’s Guo and Yu families renewed their attacks on the Fan Family. After deciding to strike the families before they could threaten him and Chen Family Village, he infiltrated the Guo Family’s estate and killed an old Qi and Blood Realm martial artist.

• Yan Cheng gave Chen Mo the True Martial Spirit Condensing Art and warned him that it was difficult to cultivate and would help prepare for the Xiantian Realm.
• Chen Mo spent the New Year studying the technique and the Pharmacopoeia while using his Epiphany opportunities on the Fierce Tiger Bone Refining Fist.
• With County Lieutenant Cao Hong away and County Magistrate Miao Ren Jie soon to be transferred, the Guo and Yu families renewed their attacks on the Fan Family.
• After hearing about the families’ actions, Chen Mo decided to kill their Qi and Blood Realm martial artists, while planning to keep his involvement hidden and move Chen Ying and Chen Yuqi to the martial arts school.
• Chen Mo disguised himself, entered the Guo Family’s ancestral land, and killed an old man in a guarded courtyard before taking a long blade and escaping.

Chen Mo killed the Guo and Yu Families’ Qi and Blood Realm warriors, then forced the Fan Family to cooperate and hand over martial arts manuals and most of the confiscated wealth. He returned to the Martial Arts School with Chen Ying and Chen Yuqi, and began inspecting the Fan Family’s manual.

• Chen Mo infiltrated the Yu Family estate, searched its courtyards, and killed its Qi and Blood Realm warrior with two punches.
• Chen Mo went to the Fan Family estate and demonstrated his strength by hurling an artificial mountain into the Training Hall and defeating Great Elder Fan Zhengping with one punch.
• Chen Mo told the Fan Family that he had killed the Guo and Yu Families’ Qi and Blood Realm warriors and demanded their clan-protecting manuals and ninety percent of the Guo and Yu Families’ confiscated gains in banknotes.
• Fan Zhengping agreed to Chen Mo’s demands, and Chen Mo arranged to collect the manuals and banknotes in five days before taking the Fan Family’s manual.
• Chen Mo found Chen Ying and Chen Yuqi at their inn, brought them to the Martial Arts School, and began reading the Fan Family’s manual.

Chen Mo learned the Fan Family’s Divine Movement of a Hundred Changes and reflected on how strength shaped his choices. While he slept, the Fan Family destroyed the Guo and Yu Families; afterward, Chen Mo brought Chen Ying and Chen Yuqi to join the True Martial Arts School, where Yan Cheng asked about his cultivation.

• Chen Mo studied the Fan Family’s Divine Movement of a Hundred Changes, then fell asleep as he considered the consequences of his actions and his plans to leave Hequ County.
• Fan Zhengping led the Fan Family in attacks on the Guo and Yu Families, which fell without their Qi and Blood Realm warriors; Miao Ren Jie chose not to intervene.
• The Fan Family began gathering the defeated families’ assets and techniques, while Chen Mo reflected on the risks of building a force without capable allies.
• Chen Mo took Chen Ying and Chen Yuqi to the True Martial Arts School, where Yan Cheng arranged jobs for them in the Canteen and access to cultivation techniques.
• Yan Cheng congratulated Chen Mo on bringing the two villagers and asked how his cultivation of the True Martial Spirit Condensing Art was going.

Chen Mo studied the True Martial Spirit Condensing Art and then collected wealth and techniques from the Fan Family after its victory over the Guo and Yu Families. He secured a share of the families’ special Exotic Beast Meat, leaving with resources to trade for cultivation supplies.

• Yan Cheng admitted he had barely studied the True Martial Spirit Condensing Art, so Chen Mo stayed at the Martial Arts School to study related books.
• Chen Mo met Fan Zhengping and Fan Junxiong and received over two million taels, two techniques, and three manuals about breeding special Exotic Beasts.
• Chen Mo followed Fan Zhengping and Fan Junxiong underground and inspected the Fan, Guo, and Yu Families’ meat-producing Exotic Beasts.
• Fan Zhengping offered Chen Mo seventy percent of the Exotic Beast Meat output, and Chen Mo accepted.
• Chen Mo left the Fan Family with the resources and techniques he could use to obtain cultivation supplies.

True Martial Sect Elder Sun arrived in Hequ County to test the recruited youths, while Chen Mo prepared to prove his strength and secure better opportunities within the sect. After an unusually difficult bone test, Sun Li rated Chen Mo’s bone quality Jia Middle.

• Yan Cheng taunted Lei Ming over losing Chen Mo to the True Martial Arts School, and Lei Ming decided against proposing the Eight Counties Small Competition because Chen Mo could defeat Qi and Blood Realm warriors.
• Two groups from the True Martial Sect and Fierce Tiger Sect arrived at Hequ County, and Chen Mo recognized that the sect visitors had come to recruit disciples.
• Elder Sun introduced himself to Chen Mo, then led the group back to the True Martial Arts School to begin testing the recruits.
• Elder Sun tested Pu Jing Ming and Jiang Ling Ling and rated both C Middle.
• Sun Li struggled to feel Chen Mo’s bones because of his Body Hardening Cultivation Technique, then rated his bone quality Jia Middle.

Chen Mo revealed Grade-A talent and overwhelmed the other county disciples in the practical combat test, winning the assessment with ease. He then asked Sun Li to spar so he could test his limits, and Sun Li accepted as Chen Mo launched his first attack.

• Sun Li announced Chen Mo's Grade-A talent and began the practical combat test, declaring that Chen Mo would be champion.
• Chen Mo challenged all the county disciples to fight him at once, and Sun Li allowed them to enter the arena together.
• Chen Mo swiftly knocked the assembled disciples unconscious, while the remaining youths, Pu Jing Ming, and Jiang Ling Ling surrendered.
• Sun Li praised Chen Mo's strength, and Chen Mo asked him for guidance in a fight.
• Sun Li agreed to spar with Chen Mo, who attacked immediately after inviting him to begin.

Chen Mo sparred at full strength with Sun Li, whose superior Qi and Blood Realm skills overwhelmed him while revealing Chen Mo’s extraordinary power and toughness. After the session ended, Chen Mo, Pu Jing Ming, and Jiang Ling Ling were set to travel with Sun Li to the True Martial Sect’s Mountain Entry Grand Competition, and Chen Mo asked Sun Li for guidance on the True Martial Spirit Condensing Art.

• Chen Mo attacked Sun Li with his strongest Fierce Tiger Bone Refining Fist techniques, but Sun Li blocked and redirected every strike with ease.
• Sun Li judged that Chen Mo’s strength exceeded thirty thousand jin and that he could defeat opponents at Qi and Blood Four Transformations, while surviving those at Five or Six Transformations.
• Chen Mo became distracted during the spar and Sun Li kicked him into a crater, but Chen Mo leaped out unharmed and accepted Sun Li’s warning.
• Sun Li ended the sparring session, and Chen Mo, Pu Jing Ming, and Jiang Ling Ling were designated to join him for the True Martial Sect’s Mountain Entry Grand Competition.
• Chen Mo accompanied Yan Cheng and Sun Li to the fifth floor of the Cultivation Technique Pavilion, listened to their discussion, and asked Sun Li for guidance on the True Martial Spirit Condensing Art.

Chen Mo prepared to leave Hequ County for the True Martial Sect, improving his combat skills with Sun Li and continuing to study the True Martial Spirit Condensing Art. After settling his affairs and reaching the limit of his body’s growth, he departed with Sun Li’s group, while Yan Cheng vowed to meet him at the sect.

• Sun Li shared his experience with the True Martial Spirit Condensing Art, and Chen Mo’s questions deepened Sun Li’s own understanding.
• Chen Mo sparred with Sun Li during the group’s stay in Hequ County and learned about his fellow travelers.
• Yan Cheng repeatedly tried to arrange a contest with the Fierce Tiger Martial Arts School, but they refused.
• Chen Mo reviewed his cultivation, supplies, and plans before leaving Hequ County, believing he was nearing his body’s limit.
• Chen Mo said goodbye to Yan Cheng, Chen Ying, and Chen Yuqi, then rode away with Sun Li’s group toward Lin Chang Commandery.
• Yan Cheng watched Chen Mo depart and said he would see him at the sect.

Chen Mo’s group encountered a low-grade Weird outside an abandoned temple, but Sun Li drove it away before anyone was harmed. After several uneventful days of travel, Chen Mo perfected the Fierce Tiger Bone Refining Fist, and the group arrived at Lin Chang Commandery.

• Sun Li warned the group to stay inside the abandoned temple at night because they had left the Safe Zone.
• Two female disciples went outside before dawn, where a human face appeared and frightened them; Sun Li rushed out and repelled it with his Qi and Blood Power.
• Sun Li explained that Weird entities lacked physical bodies and could be harmed mainly with Qi and Blood Power, which left Chen Mo eager to learn how to wield it.
• The group left the temple at daybreak and traveled without further encounters with inhuman beings.
• Chen Mo perfected the Fierce Tiger Bone Refining Fist, and Sun Li’s confidence in his chances of taking first place increased.
• Chen Mo and the group saw more travelers and merchant caravans as they approached the city walls of Lin Chang Commandery.

Chen Mo arrived in Lin Chang Commandery with Sun Li and learned that Sun Li’s rival had made him and his companions targets in the upcoming Grand Competition. After settling in and preparing to cultivate, Chen Mo was told that opponents had come looking for a fight, and he went to confront them.

• Chen Mo compared Lin Chang Commandery’s fortified walls with Hequ County’s and learned from Sun Li that Imperial Observatory Runes strengthened them and blocked Weird invasions.
• Chen Mo and Sun Li entered the city and met the scarred elder Song, who was Sun Li’s rival; Sun Li revealed that he had given Song his scar.
• Sun Li warned Chen Mo that Song’s disciples might target their group in the Grand Competition and urged him not to hold back if they met.
• Chen Mo settled into the True Martial Sect’s inn, ate dinner with Pu Jing Ming and Jiang Ling Ling, then returned to his room to prepare to cultivate the True Martial Spirit Condensing Art.
• Pu Jing Ming told Chen Mo that people had come looking for a fight, and Chen Mo opened the door and went to face them.

Chen Mo crushed the disciples who had provoked his group, establishing his strength before the Mountain Entry Grand Competition. Sun Li became confident in Chen Mo’s prospects, while Elder Song warned Kou Rong and the others not to challenge him.

• Chen Mo entered the inn’s training ground and defeated the opposing disciples in under half a minute, then warned their strongest fighter and led his group back to their rooms.
• The other youths recognized Chen Mo as a likely contender for the Grand Competition, while his teammates felt discouraged about their own abilities.
• Chen Mo returned to his room, ate some Exotic Beast Jerky, and began cultivating the True Martial Spirit Condensing Art with a new sense of progress.
• Sun Li learned that Elder Song’s strongest disciples had stayed away and judged Chen Mo capable of placing among the Grand Competition’s top contenders.
• Elder Song told Kou Rong, Ding Jun Liang, and the other man to avoid challenging Chen Mo and focus on passing the preliminary round.

As Sun Li led Chen Mo and the other disciples toward the True Martial Sect, Chen Mo studied the competition field and learned that two powerful Bloodline Warriors were expected to enter. He set his sights on placing in the top two, while Sun Li explained that the sect might bend its rules to recruit exceptional Bloodline Warriors as True Disciples.

• Elder Song kept Kou Rong and the other two away from Chen Mo, then sought information from others who might challenge him.
• Sun Li refused to reveal Chen Mo's secrets despite accepting gifts and invitations from people trying to gather intelligence.
• On the third day in Lin Chang Commandery, Sun Li led Chen Mo, Pu Jing Ming, and the others toward the True Martial Sect before the competition began.
• Chen Mo read a ranking booklet and learned about Wu Yuan and Gong Fengyu, two Bloodline Warriors ranked ahead of him.
• Sun Li told Chen Mo that Wu Yuan and Gong Fengyu were likely already chosen as True Disciples, and Chen Mo resolved to contend for first place.

Chen Mo arrived at the True Martial Sect’s market town with Pu Jing Ming and Jiang Ling Ling before the Mountain Entry Grand Competition. After learning that elixirs required Contribution Points and could not be bought with silver, he resolved to pursue the status needed to obtain them.

• Chen Mo and his companions reached the True Martial Sect’s market town, where Sun Li left to report their arrival and advocate for Chen Mo within his faction.
• Chen Mo took Pu Jing Ming and Jiang Ling Ling to a restaurant and reassured them that they could qualify for the Outer Sect if they worked hard.
• Chen Mo learned the sect’s requirements for Outer, Inner, True, and Personal Disciples, and Pu Jing Ming and Jiang Ling Ling understood that he had arranged a path for them to join the Outer Sect.
• Chen Mo explored the market town with his companions and bought Grain Pills after learning that elixirs were sold only within the sect for Contribution Points.
• Chen Mo concluded that he needed sufficient status to acquire Contribution Points and resolved to become a True Disciple.

Chen Mo explored the market town, rejected the high cost of commissioning a Treasure Weapon-grade longsword, and returned to the inn to cultivate before the Mountain Entry Grand Competition. Meanwhile, Sun Li persuaded a True Martial Sect elder to consider taking Chen Mo as a disciple, though the elder planned to judge him after watching the competition.

• Chen Mo visited several weapon shops and learned that a Treasure Weapon-grade longsword would cost more than three hundred thousand taels, with no guarantee of success.
• Chen Mo decided to develop skills in forging and alchemy, then ordered clothes and shoes before returning to the inn.
• Chen Mo cultivated the True Martial Spirit Condensing Art in his room while waiting for the next day's competition.
• Sun Li told a gentle-looking elder that Wu Yuan and Gong Fengyu were difficult to approach because Elder Zhangsun and Elder Ouyang were watching them closely.
• The elder said he would consider taking Chen Mo as his disciple after seeing him compete, and Sun Li hoped to win Chen Mo over to their side.

Chen Mo arrived at the True Martial Sect’s preliminary trials, where he impressed several Innate Grandmasters by meeting their gaze. He received the Number One Ring token and took his place as a ring holder, facing Wu Yuan on the neighboring ring.

• Sun Li led Chen Mo and the other newcomers to the Outer Sect Training Ground and warned Chen Mo to avoid challenging the Bloodline Warriors Wu Yuan and Gong Fengyu too soon.
• Five powerful elders arrived and tested the new disciples with their auras; Chen Mo endured the stare of one elder without looking away.
• The elder in the middle announced that challengers had to win ten battles or hold a ring unchallenged for one incense stick, and that everyone had two chances.
• Chen Mo caught the jade token marked One and learned that eight token holders would take assigned rings while newcomers could claim the remaining two.
• Chen Mo entered the Number One Ring and saw Wu Yuan standing in the Number Two Ring, then privately declared himself stronger.

Chen Mo advanced without a fight and prepared to bet on himself, while Wu Yuan vowed to defeat him in the next round. Sun Li revealed that Elder Bai of the Law Enforcement Hall was backing Chen Mo, and the elders agreed that Elder Bai would take him as a disciple if he reached the top three, exchanging him for Gong Fengyu, whom Elder Yi considered unsuited to alchemy.

• No one challenged Chen Mo before the time limit, so he advanced without fighting; Wu Yuan and Gong Fengyu also advanced unchallenged.
• Wu Yuan confronted Chen Mo and declared that he would defeat him in the next round, and Chen Mo dismissed his boast.
• Sun Li told Chen Mo that Elder Bai of the Law Enforcement Hall was their ally and urged him to aim for the top three.
• The elders discussed Chen Mo, Wu Yuan, and Gong Fengyu, and Elder Bai agreed to take Chen Mo as his disciple if he placed in the top three.
• Elder Yi offered to exchange Gong Fengyu for Chen Mo, and Elder Bai accepted with the other elders as witnesses.

Chen Mo watched the preliminary arena matches and learned that the True Martial Sect's second assessment would require each new disciple to endure against a Demon or Exotic Beast for the time it took an incense stick to burn. Curious and confident, he headed with the others to the creatures' holding grounds, eager to see whether killing one could earn a reward.

• Chen Mo watched Jiang Ling Ling fight and encouraged Pu Jing Ming, who had won one match and lost another but had still qualified for the Outer Sect.
• Chen Mo observed the remaining arena battles as three Qi and Blood Realm champions advanced, while another was worn down by repeated challengers.
• Sun Li led Chen Mo to a resting area, where he sat apart from the five other advanced disciples as they watched him warily.
• An elder announced that the twenty-seven new disciples would face a Demon or Exotic Beast alone and had to endure for the time it took an incense stick to burn.
• Chen Mo ate at the Inner Sect Canteen, recovered, and followed an elder and the other disciples to the place where the True Martial Sect kept Demons and Exotic Beasts.

Chen Mo entered Demon Suppression Prison with Wu Yuan for a joint assessment against two demons. Chen Mo killed his demon with a single blade strike, while Wu Yuan brutally defeated his opponent and then charged at Chen Mo in a frenzy.

• An elder brought the candidates to Demon Suppression Prison and explained that the assessment allowed them to choose weapons.
• Chen Mo, Wu Yuan, and Gong Fengyu volunteered to go first, and Chen Mo and Wu Yuan agreed to face two demons together.
• Chen Mo drew a blade and killed the black-skinned demon with one strike, splitting the ground beneath it.
• Wu Yuan transformed and battered his demon to death, then charged at Chen Mo with a roar.