Recaps

Li Qiming returned to save Qin Yu, killing the tower-like brute with a surprise attack and revealing his disguise. After looting the brute’s corpse, Li Qiming decided to hold off on choosing its dangerous Blood Qi Entry until his body could handle it.

• Li Qiming pulled Qin Yu out of the tower-like brute’s hammer strike and pretended to share a secret before stabbing the brute through the neck.
• Li Qiming revealed himself to Qin Yu, explaining that he had returned after choosing ten additional years of Blood Qi cultivation and reaching the peak of the Blood Refining Realm.
• Qin Yu took a Blood Recovery Pill and began recovering while Li Qiming stood guard.
• Li Qiming looted the brute’s corpse and saw Entries for twelve years of Blood Qi, a Demon Sect identity, and Strength of a Tiger.
• Li Qiming rejected the dangerous Blood Qi Entry and the Demon Sect identity, realizing that he could save the Entries and choose one later.

Li Qiming used the Strength of a Tiger entry to defeat Big Iron Tower, then chose a stronger talent from his corpse. The immense power and pain of gaining it overwhelmed him, leaving him unconscious.

• Li Qiming held onto the Strength of a Tiger entry until Big Iron Tower arrived and attacked him.
• Big Iron Tower claimed he was born with Divine Power and could defeat Bone Refining cultivators, then charged Li Qiming with his spiked club.
• Li Qiming chose Strength of a Tiger, gained enough strength to wound Big Iron Tower with one punch, and killed him with a dagger.
• Li Qiming examined Big Iron Tower's corpse entries and chose Strength of Two Oxen and One Tiger over silver or Wise Brain.
• The new talent flooded Li Qiming with immense strength and unbearable pain, and he passed out.

After awakening the Strength of an Elephant and realizing he could wield tremendous force, Li Qiming joined the battle with Qin Yu. He killed a Demon Sect Bone-Refining warrior with one punch and saved Brother Wang, leaving the nearby fighters stunned.

• Li Qiming woke beside the defeated Big Iron Tower, and Qin Yu was knocked backward when he tried to help him up.
• Li Qiming’s Strength of a Tiger and Strength of Two Oxen and a Tiger talents merged into Strength of an Elephant, giving him ten thousand catties of force.
• Li Qiming and Qin Yu headed toward the fighting, checking bodies along the way and collecting only low-level Entries.
• They found Brother Wang badly wounded and battling a Demon Sect Bone-Refining warrior, and Li Qiming rushed in despite Qin Yu’s warning.
• Li Qiming’s punch pierced the warrior’s protective Gang Qi and killed him, saving Brother Wang and shocking Qin Yu and the surrounding fighters.

Li Qiming gained the rare Blade Like Wind talent from a Demon Sect martial artist he killed, then accepted a mid-stage Bone Refining Realm fighter’s challenge. The other Demon Sect fighters had boosted their strength with demonic blood, and the battle remained fierce around them.

• Li Qiming’s kill shifted the forest battle’s balance, but several Demon Sect fighters used demonic blood to overwhelm escort-agency martial artists.
• Li Qiming secretly touched the corpse and chose the Blade Like Wind talent over the dead martial artist’s assets.
• Li Qiming picked up the Full Moon Scimitar and felt his blade handling improve, though he realized the talent was weaker than Shadow Blade’s.
• A square-faced mid-stage Bone Refining Realm martial artist challenged Li Qiming to a one-on-one blade fight, and Li Qiming agreed.
• Li Qiming moved without warning as the duel began.

Li Qiming killed Demon Sect fighters with overwhelming strength, prompting Chen Ajiu to challenge him. The chapter ended with Li Qiming taunting Chen Ajiu after beheading the wounded Liu Yuantian, as Chen Ajiu erupted in rage and Blade Momentum.

• Li Qiming killed a square-faced mid-stage Bone Refining martial artist with one slash.
• Chen Ajiu urged Liu Yuntian to use a Blood Demon Pill, and Liu Yuntian killed his Bone Refining great-perfection opponent before attacking Li Qiming.
• Li Qiming blocked Liu Yuntian’s empowered strike, sending him flying and leaving him unable to fight.
• Chen Ajiu persuaded Elder Ji to release him, and he confronted Li Qiming in the forest.
• Li Qiming cut off the wounded Liu Yuantian’s head, then beckoned Chen Ajiu to attack.
• Chen Ajiu erupted with Blade Momentum and shouted at Li Qiming in fury.

Li Qiming used two Entries to boost his Blood Qi and blade comprehension, then faced Chen Ajiu’s overwhelming Feather Blade attack. He broke through the pressure with One Blade Style, killed Chen Ajiu with a lightning-fast strike, and left the surrounding fighters stunned.

• Chen Ajiu gravely wounded Li Qiming with his nascent Blade Momentum, but Li Qiming used the Innate Blade Sense and Twenty Years of Blood Qi Power Entries he had obtained from two defeated Bone Refining Realm fighters.
• Chen Ajiu unleashed his Feather Blade finisher, and Li Qiming deflected the storm of blades with the Shield Blade Art from the Nine Style Blade Art.
• Qin Yu recognized the technique, while Mo Su and the other fighters watched Li Qiming’s astonishing blade work.
• Chen Ajiu bit down on the Blood Demon Pill, doubled his strength, and brought down a colossal phantom saber on Li Qiming.
• Li Qiming moved with a flash of purple lightning and beheaded Chen Ajiu before sheathing his blade.

Li Qiming killed Chen Ajiu and looted the Demon Sect disciples’ corpses, gaining several powerful entries while the silver-haired old woman fled toward the Ancient Temple. He left the choice between two blade-related entries unresolved and prepared to face whatever danger remained.

• Li Qiming killed Chen Ajiu with a sudden slash, and Jiang Lianyue drove off the silver-haired old woman before pursuing her toward the Ancient Temple.
• Li Qiming considered his recent growth, then looted Chen Ajiu’s corpse and received the Feather Blade Momentum Prototype and Centennial Swordsman entries.
• Li Qiming left both blade entries unclaimed, cleared out the remaining Demon Sect disciples, and collected entries totaling Twenty Years of Blood Qi Power.
• Li Qiming checked his status panel and thanked the Demon Sect disciples for helping him grow stronger.

After killing Ah Jiu and turning the battle around, Li Qiming sent the wounded Martial Hall disciples back and headed for the Ancient Temple, where Organ Refining experts were fighting. About fifteen minutes later, a woman in white wearing a Bronze Mask arrived at the battlefield and recognized traces of a saber prodigy.

• Qin Yu, Mo Su, and Wang Liang were astonished by Li Qiming's strength and mourned the fellow disciples killed in the battle.
• Li Qiming urged Qin Yu and the others to return to the Martial Hall while he went to investigate the Ancient Temple.
• Qin Yu led the Martial Hall group down the mountain after giving the Qi Family Escort Agency warriors Blood Recovery Pills; the escort warriors stayed behind to protect the goods.
• A woman in white wearing a Bronze Mask arrived at the battlefield, sensed the lingering traces, and identified the place as the work of a saber prodigy.

A masked woman in white learned that Li Qiming had killed Chen Ajiu and set out to hunt him down, while inside the Ancient Temple Chen Shuang awakened the rudiments of Blade Momentum and prepared to kill Murong Canghai and Shen Changsheng. Murong Canghai then claimed he had one blade left that could slay an Organ-Refining warrior.

• The woman in white discovered Chen Ajiu’s corpse and killed an escort-agency warrior when he could not explain how Chen Ajiu died.
• The escort-agency warriors told the woman in white that Li Qiming had killed Chen Ajiu and had gone to the Ancient Temple.
• The woman in white slaughtered the escort-agency warriors, drained their Blood Qi, and headed after Li Qiming.
• Under Murong Canghai’s Blade Momentum, Chen Shuang grasped its rudiments and gained a surge of power.
• Liu Yun urged Chen Shuang to kill Murong Canghai and Shen Changsheng, while Shen Changsheng stood between them and Murong Canghai.
• Murong Canghai told Shen Changsheng to let him take over, claiming he still had one blade capable of slaying an Organ-Refining warrior.

Murong Canghai’s final slash was stopped by Liu Yun, Elder Ji, and Chen Shuang, but Jiang Lianyue intervened when Liu Yun attacked the exhausted survivors. Li Qiming revealed himself as the one who killed Chen Ajiu, and just as Liu Yun moved to capture him, a powerful woman in white named A-Lian entered and attacked Liu Yun while shouting Li Qiming’s name.

• Murong Canghai unleashed his Great Accomplishment Blade Intent, but Liu Yun, Elder Ji, and Chen Shuang joined forces to withstand the slash.
• Liu Yun attacked the exhausted Murong Canghai and Shen Changsheng, and Jiang Lianyue intercepted his palm but was wounded.
• Elder Ji told Chen Shuang that Chen Ajiu was dead, then identified Li Qiming as the killer when he appeared outside the temple.
• Chen Shuang vowed to avenge Chen Ajiu, and Liu Yun prepared to capture Li Qiming as Li Qiming considered fleeing.
• A woman in white introduced herself as A-Lian, pointed her blade at Liu Yun, and attacked him while shouting that Li Qiming would die.

A-Lian attacked the Demon Sect elders while searching for Li Qiming, killing Elder Ji and driving Liu Yun and Chen Shuang to flee. Back in the Ancient Temple, Murong Canghai claimed to be Li Qiming and asked A-Lian to spare the others.

• A-Lian mistook Liu Yun for Li Qiming and wounded him, then attacked the silver-haired old woman after she tried to correct her.
• A-Lian killed Elder Ji, and Liu Yun used a Blood Shield Talisman to escape with Chen Shuang through a divine-and-demonic maw.
• A thousand miles away, Liu Yun urged Chen Shuang to retreat to the Demon Sect, while Chen Shuang vowed to avenge his brother by killing Li Qiming.
• At the Ancient Temple, Li Qiming realized A-Lian was the woman in white who had previously appeared at the market and learned that she was hunting him.
• Murong Canghai stepped forward, claimed to be Li Qiming, and asked A-Lian to kill him while sparing the others.

A-Lian searched for Li Qiming among the survivors, but Han Tianjun arrived and drove her off before she could attack the sedan. After Yun'er blamed the escort party for failing to protect her and Xia Bingbing, Han Tianjun threatened them, but Xia Bingbing intervened and secured their release.

• A-Lian deduced that Li Qiming was not among the people present and turned her attack toward the sedan, while Yun'er revealed that Li Qiming was the gray-robed youth outside the broken wall.
• Han Tianjun appeared before the sedan and dispersed A-Lian's Black Demon Blade with a strike of Sword Qi, gravely wounding her.
• Xia Bingbing stepped out of the sedan and greeted Han Tianjun as her cousin, and A-Lian fled into the night after Han Tianjun attacked her.
• Murong Canghai recognized Han Tianjun as the seventh-ranked prodigy, and Han Tianjun thanked the party for escorting Xia Bingbing.
• Yun'er accused the escorts of abandoning her and Xia Bingbing, prompting Han Tianjun to threaten them, but Xia Bingbing defended the party and Han Tianjun ordered them to leave.

Li Qiming and the others returned safely to Dragon Spring City, where Murong Canghai gave Shen Changsheng the Canglan Blade Art and went back to the Qi Family with his martial foundation failing. Jiang Lianyue urged Shen Changsheng and Li Qiming to consider joining the Demon Catchers, and the two headed back to the Martial Hall with a cryptic warning about the Great Yan Dynasty.

• Han Tianjun drove Murong Canghai away without giving him the promised Origin Pill, and Murong left in anger.
• Li Qiming drove the injured group to Dragon Spring City, where Murong Canghai handed Shen Changsheng the Canglan Blade Art and departed for the Qi Family.
• Jiang Lianyue encouraged Shen Changsheng to join the Demon Catchers so he could temper his sword through combat, and invited Li Qiming to consider joining as well.
• Shen Changsheng thanked Jiang Lianyue and said he would think over her offer, while Li Qiming decided to rest before making plans.
• Jiang Lianyue warned the two that advancing in martial arts would require the Great Yan Dynasty, and they returned to the Martial Hall.

After returning from the mission, Li Qiming rested and shared a meal with Shen Changsheng, Qin Yu, Wang Liang, and Mo Su. He resumed training that night, but A-Lian suddenly appeared in his room and demanded to know how he had killed Chen Ajiu.

• Shen Changsheng said Li Qiming was strong enough to become an Elite Disciple or challenge for True Disciple, but Li Qiming declined to pursue the latter for now.
• Li Qiming returned to the Martial Hall, reunited with Qin Yu, Wang Liang, and Mo Su, and collapsed into bed from exhaustion.
• Shen Changsheng and the others waited for Li Qiming to wake, then shared a meal and drinks with him; Wang Liang said Yang Mang had reached Bone Refining.
• Shen Changsheng told Li Qiming he had decided to join the Demon Catchers, and Li Qiming accepted his choice without argument.
• Li Qiming trained with the Nine Saber Forms, but A-Lian appeared and put a blade to his throat while questioning how he had killed Chen Ajiu.
• A-Lian agreed to let Li Qiming demonstrate, and he vanished in a burst of speed before she finished speaking.

A-Lian discovered that Li Qiming had used a Blade Dao Limit-Breaking Technique and gave him a fragment of an ancient divine blade manual to test his talent. As Li Qiming struggled to comprehend it, he used an Entry and learned that identical Entries could be combined to strengthen them.

• A-Lian intercepted Li Qiming as he tried to escape and recognized his blade technique as a Limit-Breaking Technique.
• Li Qiming told A-Lian he had practiced the blade for a little over ten days, but she suspected he was lying.
• A-Lian planted the first fragment of the Kunlun Mountain Demon Extermination Blade Technique General Outline in Li Qiming's mind and ordered him to comprehend it or die.
• Li Qiming struggled to understand the manual while A-Lian watched, then selected the Centennial Swordsman Entry to improve his comprehension.
• Li Qiming saw a prompt asking whether identical Entries could be combined to strengthen them.

Li Qiming merged his talents into the rare Blade of Peerless Brilliance and partially executed the first form of the Demon Extermination Blade, stunning A-Lian. After she set him a three-year deadline to master the technique, he returned to the Martial Hall and learned that he had been promoted to Chief Elite Disciple.

• Li Qiming merged his blade talents and quickly grasped enough of the Demon Extermination Blade's first form to unleash half a slash at A-Lian.
• A-Lian recognized Li Qiming's exceptional Blade Dao talent and gave him three years to reach peak Organ Refining and fully comprehend the technique fragment.
• A-Lian departed, and Li Qiming resolved to grow stronger before resting from the exhausting technique.
• The next day, Li Qiming met Long Wuhui and his returning party at the Martial Hall gate, where Long Wuhui promoted him to Chief Elite Disciple.
• Long Wuhui told Li Qiming that Yang Mang would become a True Disciple at a ceremony the following day.

After collecting the benefits and robes of a Chief Elite Disciple, Li Qiming found Wang Jie being humiliated by Wu Tianlong and his followers. Li Qiming intervened, but Wang Jie was too afraid of Wu Tianlong to stand up.

• Li Qiming collected his Chief Elite Disciple robes and learned he could claim ten Essence Boosting Pills and a monthly meal allowance.
• Li Qiming considered how to afford the pills and food he needed to prepare for Bone Refining.
• Li Qiming spotted Wang Jie kneeling in the Martial Arts Arena while Wu Tianlong and his followers bullied him.
• Wu Tianlong slapped and kicked Wang Jie, demanding that he imitate an elephant to earn a place on a mission.
• Li Qiming stepped between Wu Tianlong and Wang Jie, but Wang Jie continued making animal sounds because he feared Wu Tianlong.

Li Qiming accepted Wu Tianlong’s Life-Death Order after Wu challenged him over protecting Wang Jie. Meanwhile, Chief Constable Yan met Yang Mang at the Martial Hall and handed him silver for supposed contributions to the Yamen.

• Li Qiming urged Wang Jie to stand and promised to take him on missions, despite Wu Tianlong forbidding him to get up.
• Wu Tianlong learned Li Qiming was the new Chief Elite Disciple, then dismissed his rank as undeserved and challenged him to a Life-Death Order.
• Wang Jie warned Li Qiming that the duel could end with one of them dead, but Li Qiming calmly accepted Wu Tianlong’s challenge.
• Chief Constable Yan waited at the Martial Hall with Luo Wen for Yang Mang, who arrived drunk and surrounded by Elite Disciples.
• Chief Constable Yan gave Yang Mang a bag of silver as his share of the villagers’ gratitude for helping the Yamen, confusing Luo Wen.

Yang Mang rushed to save Li Qiming from Wu Tianlong’s Life-Death Order, only to witness Li Qiming kill the Bone Refining martial artist with one punch. The crowd recognized Li Qiming as the Chief Elite Disciple and the strongest beneath the True Disciples, while Yang Mang and Luo Wen were left shaken by the gap in their strength.

• Chief Constable Yan congratulated Yang Mang on his prospects of becoming a True Disciple after Yang Mang broke through to the Bone Refining Realm.
• A disciple told Yang Mang that Li Qiming had accepted Wu Tianlong’s Life-Death Order, so Yang Mang hurried to the arena to try to save him.
• Wu Tianlong taunted Li Qiming in the ring, but Li Qiming killed him with a single punch before he could attack.
• The gathered disciples realized Li Qiming was the Chief Elite Disciple and the strongest martial artist beneath the True Disciples.
• Yang Mang abandoned his thoughts of recruiting Li Qiming, while Yan Wu urged Luo Wen to befriend Li Qiming or avoid offending him.

Li Qiming discovered that Wu Tianlong had been controlled by a parasitic Soul-Devouring Rat and killed the demon before it could spread. Long Wuhui revealed that the city’s demon-detection defenses were temporarily compromised, then rewarded Li Qiming for preventing a catastrophe.

• After Wu Tianlong’s head exploded, Li Qiming looted entries from his body and realized a Soul-Devouring Rat had parasitized and controlled him.
• Li Qiming found the small white Soul-Devouring Rat nearby, killed it, and discovered its corpse could yield entries.
• Long Wuhui and Chu Weiying explained that mature Soul-Devouring Rats could spread through their hosts and cause mass deaths.
• Jiang Daoming explained that Artificers usually used the Qi Gazing Technique to detect demons, but Dragon Spring City’s Artificer was badly injured.
• Long Wuhui said demons had recently slaughtered a city and villages near Dragon Tooth Mountain, leaving the city’s defenses unable to monitor for demons.
• Long Wuhui rewarded Li Qiming with a free weapon, a second-rate martial art, and 1,000 contribution points.

After Li Qiming collected his rewards, he visited the Scripture Pavilion and told Elder Huang he had reached Entry Level in One Blade Style. Elder Huang opened his Domain and asked Li Qiming to strike him, then explained how Gang Qi could stop the blade.

• Li Qiming asked how people kept demons in check without Artificers, and Shen Changsheng described the Demon Suppression Division, special weapons, and the True Martial Pagoda.
• Long Wuhui encouraged Li Qiming to work toward becoming a True Disciple, though Li Qiming was not yet qualified.
• Li Qiming collected ten Essence Boosting Pills and went to the Scripture Pavilion to use Long Wuhui's token to visit the second floor.
• Elder Huang recognized Li Qiming and was astonished when he said he had reached Entry Level in One Blade Style.
• Elder Huang brought Li Qiming into his Domain and asked him to attack; Li Qiming's blade struck an invisible Gang Qi barrier above Elder Huang's head.
• Elder Huang explained that sufficiently deep Blood Qi and essence could make Gang Qi strong enough to resist blades and spears.

Li Qiming received another copy of the Demon Extermination Blade Technique and claimed the Old Ancestor’s discarded blade after discovering he could wield it without being harmed by its Blade Intent. He broke through to the Bone Refining stage, then met Wang Jie at the Contribution Hall and learned that his actions had changed Wang Jie’s fortunes.

• Elder Huang sent Li Qiming a fragment of the Demon Extermination Blade Technique, and Li Qiming went to the Weapon Hall to look for a blade.
• Li Qiming drew the Old Ancestor’s discarded blade without being attacked by its Blade Intent, while the steward was struck down when he tried to grab it.
• Li Qiming trained, broke through to Bone Refining, and used his stored Blood Qi cultivation power to reach the middle stage.
• Li Qiming realized his Inferior Root Bone limited his progress and decided he needed to loot corpses to improve his aptitude.
• At the Contribution Hall, Wang Jie told Li Qiming that his reputation had earned Wang Jie support from other disciples and five hundred contribution points.

Li Qiming began work as a corpse collector at the Yamen and gained a powerful Root Bone aptitude from a dead young master. While inspecting bodies, he discovered that Soul-Devouring Rats had appeared in the city and found three rare gifted-eye Entries on dead Arcanist Apprentices.

• Li Qiming arrived at the Yamen as a Martial Hall disciple assigned to collect corpses, and Old Yuan tried to make him carry a huge body alone.
• Li Qiming lifted the corpse with one hand, selected its Tiger Back Bear Waist Entry, and stabilized his cultivation as his Blood Qi surged.
• Li Qiming learned that a Soul-Devouring Rat had killed the young master’s stepmother and that the demon had been slain by a guard warrior.
• Li Qiming found no useful Entry on the stepmother’s corpse and continued checking the bodies around the Corpse Inspection Room.
• Li Qiming discovered Golden Pupil, Black and White Eye, and Yin Yang Eye Entries on three dead Arcanist Apprentices from the Demon Suppression Division.

Li Qiming gained the Demon Subduing Eye and spent a week working in the Corpse Inspection Room before joining the investigation of a massacre by Rat Demons. At Squire Li’s residence, he used his new eyes to identify the female survivors as Rat Demons.

• Li Qiming fused three Divine Pupil talents into the Demon Subduing Eye, which let him see great distances, through walls, and through demons.
• Li Qiming worked diligently for seven days in the Corpse Inspection Room, but found few useful Entries among the old corpses.
• Clerk Wang summoned Li Qiming and the Filth Workers to collect bodies after Rat Demons slaughtered more than seventy people at Squire Li’s residence.
• Li Qiming met Shen Changsheng, Jiang Lianyue, Yan Wu, and Luo Wen at the massacre scene, where the factions had formed a Rat Catcher Squad.
• Li Qiming pointed to the huddled female survivors and said they were all Rat Demons.

Li Qiming exposed eight surviving women as Soul-Devouring Rat demons despite Clerk Wang’s objections and an Arcanist Apprentice’s mistaken examination. The women’s heads exploded to reveal rat heads, leaving Clerk Wang’s accusation against Li Qiming disproven.

• Li Qiming identified the eight surviving women as Rat Demons, but Clerk Wang dismissed his claim and summoned an Arcanist Apprentice to examine them.
• The Arcanist Apprentice declared the women human, and Clerk Wang accused Li Qiming of slander and threatened to arrest him.
• Li Qiming hurled stones at the women to expose their true bodies, but Clerk Wang deflected them and Shen Changsheng protected Li Qiming.
• Li Qiming said the women could not be protected, and all eight of their heads suddenly exploded.
• Jiang Lianyue stopped Clerk Wang from attacking Li Qiming, and everyone saw white-furred rat heads inside the women’s corpses.