Recaps

Li Qiming struggled as a low-ranking worker in Dragon Spring City, where Wang Ba stole the Qi Nourishing Pill meant for him and bullied him into chopping wood. After a powerful martial artist killed Wang Ba, Li Qiming discovered that touching the corpse had awakened a Golden Finger that let him choose rewards from revealed entries.

• Li Qiming practiced Tiger Roar Fist before work but saw no progress, and he hoped to receive a Qi Nourishing Pill at Shopkeeper Wang's birthday banquet.
• Wang Ba's lackeys blocked Li Qiming from collecting the pill, claiming Wang Ba had taken it for him, and forced him to chop wood.
• After the banquet, Li Qiming confronted Wang Ba, who admitted he had eaten the Qi Nourishing Pill and mocked him.
• A burly martial artist called Fourth Master killed Wang Ba with a saber, and Shopkeeper Wang ordered Li Qiming to dispose of the body.
• While dragging Wang Ba's corpse into an alley, Li Qiming unlocked a Golden Finger that revealed four selectable entries, including Tiger Roar Fist experience, silver, an identity, and a Fine Qi Nourishing Pill.

Li Qiming chose Tiger Roar Fist Entry Level from the corpse-search Entries, gaining martial arts experience and a Fine Essence-Nurturing Pill from Wang Ba. After Shopkeeper Wang promoted him to head servant, Li Qiming defeated Wang Ba’s lackeys and established himself as the courtyard’s new boss.

• Li Qiming chose Tiger Roar Fist Entry Level and instantly advanced after receiving years of training memories.
• Li Qiming used his free second Entry selection to obtain a Fine Essence-Nurturing Pill from Wang Ba’s corpse.
• Shopkeeper Wang recognized Li Qiming’s improvement and appointed him head servant, warning him not to follow Wang Ba’s example.
• Wang Ba’s lackeys challenged Li Qiming, but he knocked the long-faced and square-faced servants down with his fists.
• The servants accepted Li Qiming as their boss, and he resolved to focus on opening the Ren and Du Meridians and advancing to Blood Refining.

Li Qiming learned that his lack of Root Bone aptitude might explain why Tiger Roar Fist had stopped progressing, and he considered entering Dragon Roar Martial Hall. After a deadly fight broke out at Laifu Restaurant, he found a corpse and discovered it offered an Epic Root Bone entry.

• Li Qiming practiced Tiger Roar Fist but saw no progress and decided not to take the Fine Essence-Nurturing Pill.
• Zhang Mingshun explained that Root Bone aptitude determined martial arts potential and urged Li Qiming to compete for a Registered Disciple slot at Dragon Roar Martial Hall.
• Li Qiming considered the benefits of joining the martial hall but worried that his Root Bone aptitude was poor.
• Two martial artists fought in Laifu Restaurant, and one killed the other with a blade.
• Li Qiming ordered the restaurant staff to clean up and found half of the dead martial artist beneath a table.
• Li Qiming's Corpse Looting Entry Trigger revealed the corpse's identity, wealth, and an Epic Root Bone entry called Ape Arm Wasp Waist.

Li Qiming chose the Ape Arm Wasp Waist Root Bone, used his newfound aptitude and a Fine Essence-Nurturing Pill to advance into the early Blood Refining Realm. After Shopkeeper Wang called him to the front hall, he was stunned to discover Li Qiming’s breakthrough.

• Li Qiming rejected an identity and a wealth entry, then chose the Ape Arm Wasp Waist Root Bone to improve his martial arts aptitude.
• His body changed, and practicing Tiger Roar Fist quickly raised its experience; he then swallowed the Fine Essence-Nurturing Pill.
• With the pill and his new Root Bone, Li Qiming broke through to the early Blood Refining Realm and reached Minor Accomplishment in Tiger Roar Fist.
• Shopkeeper Wang gave Li Qiming ten taels to replace the restaurant furniture and explained that the Black Gang had paid compensation for the damage caused during the day's fight.
• Shopkeeper Wang saw Li Qiming after he turned to leave and exclaimed that Li Qiming had entered the Blood Refining Realm.

Li Qiming learned that his Root Bone aptitude was Ape Arm Wasp Waist, and Shopkeeper Wang offered him support in exchange for looking after Wang Jie if he became a Registered Disciple. More than ten days later, Li Qiming watched an execution and suspected that the condemned young martial artist had been framed, but the youth was beheaded before he could learn the truth.

• Shopkeeper Wang recognized Li Qiming's Ape Arm Wasp Waist aptitude and explained how Root Bone affected martial talent.
• Shopkeeper Wang asked Li Qiming to look after Wang Jie if he passed Dragon Roar Martial Hall's assessment and became a Registered Disciple, then gave him time to train, food, and ten Qi Nourishing Pills.
• More than ten days later, Zhang Mingshun invited Li Qiming to watch an execution at the market, and Li Qiming went along.
• At the execution platform, Zhang Mingshun said a young martial artist and seven members of his family had been convicted of killing the youth's adoptive mother.
• The young martial artist screamed that he was innocent, and Li Qiming suspected he was telling the truth, but the executioner beheaded him.

After a demon possessed the executioners and turned the execution into a massacre, Li Qiming escaped with Zhang Mingshun and learned that the Prajna Evil Scripture Mask had caused the disaster. He rejected the dangerous artifact and grew more determined to become stronger.

• Li Qiming triggered corpse-looting Entries when Cao Xiaohu’s severed head bumped against his shoe.
• Black smoke entered the executioners, whose eyes turned red as they slaughtered the soldiers and supervising official.
• Li Qiming forced his way through the panicked crowd and fled with Zhang Mingshun, while a woman in white watched him with a strange smile.
• Back at Laifu Restaurant, Li Qiming sent for medicine after Zhang Mingshun developed a high fever, then reasoned that the demon had possessed the executioners.
• Li Qiming examined Cao Xiaohu’s Entries and learned that the Prajna Evil Scripture Mask contained an ancient demon’s remnant soul, so he refused to choose it.

Li Qiming chose and practiced Swallow Skimming Grass, then witnessed Murong Canghai defeat Li Fei over a Blood Dragon Pill. After Murong Canghai left, Li Fei tried to kill Li Qiming, but Li Qiming dodged the attack before Li Fei finally died.

• Li Qiming chose Swallow Skimming Grass and practiced the difficult lightness skill, improving his speed while exhausting his Blood Qi and stamina.
• Li Qiming trained in Tiger Roar Fist and Swallow Skimming Grass late into the night, then spotted two black-clad fighters approaching his courtyard.
• Murong Canghai demanded the Blood Dragon Pill from Li Fei and revealed his strength had reached the Organ Refining realm.
• Murong Canghai took the pill and struck Li Fei, then ordered Li Qiming to collect the corpse before leaving.
• Li Qiming touched Li Fei and realized he was still alive, dodged Li Fei's sudden saber slash, and watched him die moments later.

After killing Li Fei, Li Qiming obtained and swallowed the Blood Dragon Pill through his Entries, hoping to strengthen himself before the Dragon Roar Martial Hall assessment. Murong Canghai returned to his study expecting to use the pill, only to discover it was gone.

• Li Qiming cautiously confirmed Li Fei was dead and received Entries for the Horse Gang Third Elder and the Blood Dragon Pill.
• Li Qiming rejected the identity Entry and chose the Blood Dragon Pill Entry, making the pill appear in his robe.
• Li Qiming swallowed the pill and found his Blood Qi surging as he planned to refine it through martial arts practice.
• Li Qiming searched Li Fei's pouch, found about ten taels of silver, and left the corpse for servants to report.
• Murong Canghai returned to his study believing he had secured the Blood Dragon Pill, opened its box, and shouted in fury when it was missing.

Murong Canghai realized an unseen expert had taken the Blood Dragon Pill, then dismissed the possibility that the servant he had noticed during the fight posed any threat. At Laifu Restaurant, Li Qiming saved a waiter from Qi Weiwei’s attack, setting himself against the Dragon Roar Martial Hall disciples.

• Murong Canghai concluded that the person who stole the Blood Dragon Pill was an expert above the Organ Refining Realm and felt relieved to have survived.
• The next morning, Qin Yu, Qi Weiwei, and two other Dragon Roar Martial Hall disciples discussed the demon that had escaped three Organ Refining experts at Laifu Restaurant.
• Qi Weiwei slapped a waiter for looking at her and tried to stab out his eyes with chopsticks.
• Li Qiming pulled the waiter out of danger, and the waiter begged his boss to protect him.
• Qi Weiwei demanded to know who Li Qiming was, and he introduced himself as the restaurant’s head of servants.

Li Qiming helped Zhang Mingshun with money to protect his daughter from the Black Snake Gang, then joined a huge crowd of servants arriving at Dragon Roar Martial Hall for its martial arts assessment. The assessment began as the wealthy candidates arrived.

• Qin Yu stopped Qi Weiwei from attacking Li Qiming and congratulated him on nearing the point of becoming a fellow disciple.
• Li Qiming gave an injured servant silver for medicine and learned that Ah Kun of the Black Snake Gang threatened Zhang Mingshun over a supposed debt.
• Zhang Mingshun came to Li Qiming for help, and Li Qiming lent him five taels of silver after learning his wife had died and the gang threatened to sell his daughter.
• Seven days later, Li Qiming joined a vast crowd of servants heading to Dragon Roar Martial Hall for the assessment.
• Wealthy young candidates arrived at the martial hall, and a bell rang as the servant martial arts assessment began.

Li Qiming and the other finalists endured Elder Jiang Daoming’s Blood Qi pressure in the second assessment. Wang Liang voluntarily left the platform, leaving Li Qiming and a wealthy youth in white robes to compete for first place.

• Jiang Daoming summoned the thirty-five remaining servants to the platform and explained that the last person standing would win the second Blood Qi Assessment.
• Jiang Daoming abruptly unleashed his Blood Qi, knocking more than twenty servants off the platform, while Li Qiming and four others stayed composed.
• As Jiang Daoming steadily increased the pressure, servants collapsed until only Li Qiming, Wang Liang, and three wealthy contestants remained.
• Jiang Daoming doubled the pressure, eliminating a wealthy young master and a wealthy young lady, then doubled it again, leaving Li Qiming, Wang Liang, and a white-robed youth standing.
• Wang Liang urged Li Qiming to beat the white-robed youth, then shuffled off the platform and collapsed, leaving the two youths competing for first place.

Li Qiming won the Blood Qi Assessment after the young master in white collapsed, then recovered for the final Fist Technique Assessment. As the Tiger Roar Fist round began, the young master in white blocked Li Qiming and challenged him.

• Jiang Daoming increased the Blood Qi pressure at the young master's request, and Li Qiming asked him to raise it again, causing the young master to collapse.
• Jiang Daoming declared Li Qiming the sole victor of the Blood Qi Assessment and told the contestants to rest for an hour before the final round.
• Jiang Daoming told the young master that he had also reached his limit and had lost because his resolve was weaker than Li Qiming's; the young master angrily left after Li Qiming pointed out that he had used the young master's own tactic.
• Li Qiming recovered his Blood Qi and stamina with the help of his Flood Dragon Bloodline while Ah Kun discussed the importance of comprehension in the upcoming round.
• Chu Weiying began the Tiger Roar Fist Assessment, and the young master in white blocked Li Qiming and boasted that he would show him true fist technique.

Li Qiming faced Mo Su in the final Tiger Roar Fist assessment after Mo Su impressed the crowd with his Proficient-level technique. Li Qiming’s punch produced a thunderous tiger’s roar, revealing that his skill was nearing Perfection as his Blood Qi bottleneck began to loosen.

• Mo Su demonstrated his Proficient-level Tiger Roar Fist, drawing praise from Chu Weiying, Long Wuhui, and the True Disciples.
• Shopkeeper Wang arrived, saw Mo Su’s performance, and left believing Li Qiming would lose.
• Mo Su called Li Qiming’s assessment average and challenged him to prove his own skill.
• Li Qiming stepped onto the platform and introduced himself as sixteen years old with one year of fist training.
• Li Qiming’s punch rang out like a tiger’s roar, astonishing the audience and revealing that he was nearing Perfection while his Blood Qi bottleneck began to loosen.

Li Qiming perfected the Tiger Roar Fist, broke through to the mid-stage of the Blood Refining Realm, and won first place in Dragon Roar Martial Hall’s assessment. As he celebrated at Laifu Restaurant before moving into the hall, gang leaders sought his backing, but he declined to join them.

• Li Qiming completed the perfected Tiger Roar Fist and broke through to the mid-stage of the Blood Refining Realm, stunning Mo Su and the other workers.
• Long Wuhui announced Li Qiming as the assessment’s first-place winner and named him a Registered Disciple of Dragon Roar Martial Hall.
• Shopkeeper Wang celebrated Li Qiming’s success at Laifu Restaurant, where Li Qiming promised to remember the menial workers and look after Shopkeeper Wang’s grandson.
• Yuan Biao offered Li Qiming two taels of silver a month to lend his name to the Black Gang, but Li Qiming politely declined.
• Ah Kun returned the five taels Zhang Mingshun had borrowed from Li Qiming and said he wanted to avoid offending the new Registered Disciple.

Li Qiming joined Dragon Roar Martial Hall, exchanged his servant status for a Registered Disciple’s gray robes, and learned that the Hall’s contribution points came from assignments. Wang Jie told him the world beyond Dragon Spring City was far more dangerous than he had imagined, leaving Li Qiming shaken by the Hall’s duty to protect people.

• Li Qiming left Laifu Restaurant and went to Dragon Roar Martial Hall, hoping to grow stronger and stay safe within its walls.
• Wang Jie met Li Qiming and offered to help him register at the Martial Hall.
• Li Qiming changed from the Lowly Registry to the Martial Registry and received the gray robes of an ordinary Registered Disciple.
• Wang Jie explained that Registered Disciples could earn contribution points by completing assignments and use them to obtain weapons, manuals, and pills.
• Wang Jie described the demons, demonic cultivators, bandits, and eerie phenomena threatening the world, and said Dragon Roar Martial Hall was founded to uphold order.
• Wang Jie reassured the shaken Li Qiming that the Hall would not force him to take assignments he could not complete.

Li Qiming entered the Scripture Pavilion to choose his first martial art and decided to seek out a blade technique. He chose the powerful but notoriously difficult One Blade Style, believing his Flood Dragon Bloodline might let him use its all-or-nothing slash twice in succession.

• Wang Jie showed Li Qiming his room and guided him to the Scripture Pavilion, where new disciples could choose one martial art for free.
• Li Qiming entered the pavilion, met Elder Huang, and learned that he had only half an hour to choose a manual from the first floor.
• Li Qiming browsed the blade techniques, rejected Single Blade Style because it required a left-handed wielder, and asked Elder Huang for the strongest technique available.
• Elder Huang gave Li Qiming the One Blade Style manual and warned that its single slash consumed all the user's Blood Qi and had never been mastered by a disciple.
• Li Qiming considered learning One Blade Style because he believed his Flood Dragon Bloodline could restore his Blood Qi and let him use the technique twice in a row.

Li Qiming chose the One Blade Style and discovered that its mysterious Thunder Breathing Method was the key to mastering it. After meeting the other new disciples and copying their blade manuals, he refused Mo Su’s challenge and kept his intentions hidden.

• Li Qiming chose the One Blade Style despite Elder Huang’s warning and began copying its manual, discovering that it contained the Thunder Breathing Method created by Long Yingtian.
• Wang Liang, Mo Su, and two other former examination candidates entered, and Elder Huang’s pressure stopped them until Li Qiming spoke in his place.
• Wang Liang befriended Li Qiming, while Mo Su declared that he would work hard to surpass him.
• Li Qiming and the four newcomers finished copying their manuals and found that all five had chosen blade techniques.
• Mo Su challenged Li Qiming to compare their blade styles, but Li Qiming admitted defeat and returned the One Blade Style manual, leaving Mo Su feeling insulted.

After becoming a Registered Disciple, Li Qiming joined Qin Yu on a mission and received the Nine Style Blade Art as a backup to the notoriously difficult One Blade Style. He practiced both arts for nine days but made no progress, leaving him to suspect he had no talent for the blade.

• Li Qiming met Qin Yu and Qi Weiwei outside the Scripture Pavilion, learned that the eight True Disciples competed for contribution points, and agreed to join Qin Yu on a mission.
• Qin Yu warned Li Qiming that no one in the Martial Hall’s three-hundred-year history had mastered One Blade Style and gave him the Nine Style Blade Art.
• Li Qiming bought a steel saber and practiced One Blade Style for two hours each day before working on Nine Style Blade Art, while other disciples mocked his repetitive training.
• Li Qiming shared a meal with Wang Liang, and the two became ordinary friends.
• After nine days of practice, Li Qiming had made no progress in either blade art and concluded that he lacked blade talent.

Li Qiming joined a Weiyuan Escort Agency mission with Dragon Roar Martial Hall, only to discover that Murong Canghai, the man whose Blood Dragon Pill he had stolen, was leading the escort. The group set out to escort two women to Zhennan Commandery, while Li Qiming suspected the supposedly routine mission was more dangerous than Qin Yu had claimed.

• Qin Yu recruited Li Qiming for a Weiyuan Escort Agency mission that would earn him contribution points.
• Li Qiming saw Murong Canghai leading the escort party and recognized him as the man from whom he had stolen the Blood Dragon Pill.
• Shen Changsheng arrived, and the group learned that the carriage held two women who were the mission's cargo.
• Murong Canghai promised the Dragon Roar Martial Hall the Canghai Blade Art and ten thousand taels of silver in exchange for its help.
• Qin Yu told the newcomers they were traveling about two hundred li to Zhennan Commandery, and the escort set out.

Li Qiming and the escort party struggled across a mountain while carrying Miss Xia’s sedan chair, then took shelter from a storm in an abandoned temple. As Qin Yu explained the Bone Refining Realm, armed martial artists burst into the temple.

• Murong Canghai ordered four Blood Refining Realm escorts to carry Miss Xia’s sedan chair over the mountain after her maid refused to let her walk.
• The party made slow progress and reached an abandoned temple after nightfall, where they sheltered from a torrential downpour.
• Mo Su asked Qin Yu about the Bone Refining Realm, and Qin Yu described its power and the difficulty of reaching it.
• A group of black-clad martial artists carrying steel sabers burst through the temple’s door.

Chen Shuang and Elder Liu Yun led ten Bone Refining martial artists to the ruined temple, seeking Xia Bingbing, who had fled after Chen Shuang slaughtered the Xia Family. Shen Changsheng first tried to withdraw with his junior brothers, but Chen Shuang challenged him and Murong Canghai to fight and refused to let anyone leave.

• Chen Shuang and Elder Liu Yun revealed themselves as the leaders of ten Bone Refining martial artists and identified themselves as members of the Demon Sect.
• Chen Shuang disclosed that he had slaughtered the Xia Family while searching for Xia Bingbing, tenth on the Beauty Ranking, who was hiding among the young elites.
• Murong Canghai explained Xia Bingbing's identity to Shen Changsheng, who told the Demon Sect to take her and refused to risk his group for the mission.
• Shen Changsheng ordered Li Qiming, Qin Yu, and the other junior brothers to leave with him, but Chen Shuang challenged Shen Changsheng and Murong Canghai and declared that the Demon Sect would leave no survivors.

Li Qiming and the others escaped the Ancient Temple as Murong Canghai and Chen Shuang prepared to clash, but a Demon Sect ambush blocked their path down the mountain. Chen Ajiu unleashed a deadly blade attack, leaving the group facing a strike no one among them seemed able to withstand.

• Shen Changsheng killed ten black-clad Bone Refining Realm martial artists with one sword strike, giving Li Qiming and the others an opening to flee.
• Chen Shuang challenged Murong Canghai, hoping to form his Blade Momentum by killing him, while Liu Yun intercepted Shen Changsheng.
• Li Qiming and the others saw a distant surge of Blade Momentum from the Ancient Temple, then Qin Yu split the group’s plan between seeking help at the Martial Hall and Zhennan Prefecture City.
• A Demon Sect ambush led by Chen Ajiu and a gray-robed Organ Refining Realm woman surrounded the fleeing group.
• Chen Ajiu declared his unmatched Blade Dao talent and unleashed dozens of blood-red blade phantoms at Li Qiming and the others.

Jiang Lianyue intervened to stop Chen Ajiu from killing Li Qiming and his companions, then declared Chen Ajiu and the Demon Sect disciples demons and attacked them. As the valley descended into battle, Li Qiming fled down the mountain, and Chen Ajiu sent the assassin Shadow Blade after him.

• Jiang Lianyue revealed herself as a Silver Badge Demon Catcher and saved Li Qiming and the others from Chen Ajiu's blade.
• Jiang Lianyue claimed Chen Ajiu had fallen to the demonic path and fought him and the Organ Refining old woman.
• Chen Ajiu ordered the Demon Sect disciples to kill everyone while Jiang Lianyue battled the old woman.
• Li Qiming escaped down the mountain as Qin Yu and the others fought the Demon Sect disciples.
• Chen Ajiu ordered Shadow Blade, a Blood Refining assassin, to pursue and kill Li Qiming.

Li Qiming fled Shadow Blade through the forest, using his Flood Dragon Bloodline to survive the pursuit. After exhausting Shadow Blade in a long chase, Li Qiming recovered completely and charged at him.

• Shadow Blade shattered Li Qiming’s Seven Taels steel saber, but Li Qiming threw the broken pieces at him and ran.
• Shadow Blade caught up on the winding path and nearly killed Li Qiming, who used his Flood Dragon Bloodline to dodge and flee into the forest.
• Li Qiming ran through thorny brambles while Shadow Blade pursued him, and both pushed themselves to their limits for half an hour.
• Shadow Blade stopped in exhaustion and realized Li Qiming had been drawing out the chase, while Li Qiming also reached his limit.
• Li Qiming’s aura rose as his wounds healed and his stamina and blood qi returned, and he charged at Shadow Blade.

Li Qiming killed Shadow Blade and considered which corpse-looting reward would help him survive and grow stronger. Elsewhere, Qin Yu struggled against a powerful martial artist at the same realm, and his blade shattered under the man’s hammer strike.

• Li Qiming struck Shadow Blade down and killed him with his scabbard, then steeled himself against the reality of taking a life.
• Li Qiming looted Shadow Blade’s corpse and found entries for blade talent, assassin experience, and ten years of Blood Qi cultivation.
• Li Qiming weighed the rewards and considered returning to the battlefield to loot more corpses, but had not yet chosen an entry.
• Qin Yu fought a towering black-clad martial artist who claimed he had never lost at their realm.
• The man shattered Qin Yu’s blade with his twin hammers and sent him flying, blood spilling from his mouth.