Chapter Summaries

Chen Changsheng explained to Lin Tianlang and Lin Yuan how Dragon Gate City and the merchant associations exploited bandits and cultivators, calling this knowledge the Dragonslaying Art. He offered to teach Lin Yuan and said he could take the place of someone Chen had chosen if that person sincerely respected him and admitted he was stronger.

• Chen Changsheng told Lin Tianlang and Lin Yuan to stand when speaking to him and to call him Young Master.
• Lin Yuan estimated Tianlang Stronghold's earnings and Dragon Gate City's taxes, then explained how city officials profited from taxes and exchange losses.
• Chen Changsheng argued that the tax system and tolls exploited bandits, merchants, and cultivators while enriching the imperial court and merchant associations.
• Chen Changsheng called understanding this system the Dragonslaying Art and said Lin Yuan and Lin Tianlang would have to grasp its meaning themselves.
• Chen Changsheng offered to teach Lin Yuan and said he could take the place of the person Chen had chosen if Lin Yuan won that person's wholehearted respect and admission of defeat.

Chen Changsheng challenged Lin Yuan to prove that a king must win people’s wholehearted loyalty rather than rule through force, then ordered Lin Tianlang and Lin Yuan to prepare to meet the twenty-three escort agencies. In the capital, a man behind a curtain reacted to Chen Changsheng’s move, while the escort agencies gathered and received orders to depart with him the next morning.

• Lin Yuan asked Chen Changsheng whether he would help him if the person Chen had chosen tried to kill him, and Lin Tianlang apologized for his brother’s boldness.
• Chen Changsheng told Lin Yuan to defend himself but not strike first, explaining that a king had to earn people’s loyalty and face their challenges instead of eliminating rivals.
• Lin Yuan thanked Chen Changsheng for his instruction, and Chen sent Lin Tianlang to sort through Tianlang Stronghold’s assets before joining him to meet the twenty-three escort agencies.
• In the capital, a man behind a curtain read a letter, ordered someone to make contact, and wondered what Chen Changsheng would do next.
• At the joint encampment, Ling Siyuan greeted Chen Changsheng on behalf of all twenty-three escort agencies, and Chen ordered everyone to rest before departing the next morning.

Chen Changsheng displayed his wealth while questioning whether Ling Siyuan could escort him safely to the Nine Caves and Eighteen Forts. He rejected Teleportation Arrays, chose a dangerous route, and offered enough Divine Source to secure the escort agency’s compliance.

• Chen Changsheng arrived at the camp and impressed the escort masters with his extravagant meal and servants.
• Chen Changsheng asked Ling Siyuan whether he could guarantee a safe escort to the Nine Caves and Eighteen Forts, and Ling Siyuan explained the dangers of traveling without Teleportation Arrays.
• Chen Changsheng rejected the safer route and drew his own winding route across Ling Siyuan’s map.
• Chen Changsheng promised cultivation resources and extra Divine Source to secure the escort masters’ agreement and have younger members serve as his companions and groom Bai Ze.
• Bai Ze threatened an escort master who called him a demonic beast, revealing that he was an intelligent Demon King.
• Chen Changsheng told Ling Siyuan to recruit more manpower, saying that Thirty Million Divine Source was only the escort agencies’ limit, not his.

Chen Changsheng brought Lin Tianlang and the Silver Moon Wolf King along with the escort convoy, then gave Yan Qing the nickname “Rogue Yan Qing” and offered to help him break through to the Blood Moving Realm. As the convoy traveled, Chen Changsheng began teaching Yan Qing and the other young escorts about cultivation and energy absorption.

• Ling Siyuan warned Chen Changsheng that Lin Tianlang was the chief of Tianlang Stronghold, but Chen Changsheng insisted Lin was his attendant and told Ling to focus on the escort agency’s duties.
• At sunrise, Chen Changsheng renamed Yan Qing “Rogue Yan Qing” after learning that his martial-world nickname was “Little White Dragon.”
• Lin Yuan distributed divine source to the escorts, and Chen Changsheng warned Yan Qing to use his share before its energy dissipated.
• Yan Qing said he wanted to save his divine source for a breakthrough, and Chen Changsheng offered to help him reach the Blood Moving Realm immediately.
• As the convoy traveled through the air, Chen Changsheng taught the young escorts about cultivation, explaining the acupoint, meridian, and regulated-breathing methods of absorbing energy.

Chen Changsheng’s escort party discussed the danger of his hidden strength while he and Bai Ze argued over their cultivation and pushed themselves to improve. Outside the carriage, Lin Yuan insisted on competing for a chance to become stronger, despite Lin Tianlang warning that he could provoke Chen Changsheng’s displeasure.

• Ling Siyuan told an old man that Lin Tianlang’s deference to Chen Changsheng and the concealed strength of Bai Ze made the escort party’s situation dangerous, so he planned to report it to the Escort Guild.
• Chen Changsheng teased Bai Ze for cultivating desperately, and Bai Ze revealed that Chen Changsheng had secretly studied powerful techniques and had undergone a profound transformation.
• Chen Changsheng placed three Beast Hide Pouches around Bai Ze to feed it Divine Source Power, then began cultivating more seriously after worrying Bai Ze might surpass him.
• Lin Tianlang questioned Lin Yuan’s determination to compete with Chen Changsheng, warning that it could earn the young master’s displeasure.
• Lin Yuan told Lin Tianlang that their family’s deaths proved that high cultivation alone could not protect them, and he refused to abandon his effort to become someone like Chen Changsheng.

Lin Yuan explained why he hoarded Divine Source and told Chen Changsheng that he wanted enough power to avoid being crushed by those above him. Chen Changsheng wagered that he could settle the threats against Lin Yuan and his brother within twelve shichen, leaving Lin Yuan alone with his old sense of helplessness.

• Lin Yuan declined to spend his Divine Source, explaining that he and his brother had grown up with little and treasured what they had.
• Chen Changsheng served Lin Yuan bitter tea, and Lin Yuan described his family’s slaughter and his childhood begging with his infant brother.
• Lin Yuan said he wanted to become someone who could decide his own fate, even if that meant serving Chen Changsheng rather than another master.
• Lin Yuan outlined three possible ways Chen Changsheng might handle the threats against him and his brother, while arguing that Chen Changsheng lacked deep roots in the region.
• Chen Changsheng wagered that the escort agency and Lin Yuan’s former master would move against them at the next city, and that he would settle matters within twelve shichen.
• Chen Changsheng revealed that he had deliberately drawn out the Escort Guild and knew the convoy’s actions, then returned to his carriage as Lin Yuan felt powerless again.

Chen Changsheng left the escort team and met Baling County Prefect He Youguang, who offered him Gao Ming’s punishment notice. Chen Changsheng challenged the decision and offered to take over Gao Ming’s work, then proposed giving He Youguang three hundred thousand Divine Source to repair his residence.

• Ling Siyuan learned that Escort Guild experts were coming and ordered the escorts to keep Chen Changsheng and the box safe, fearing a failed mission would cost them ninety million Divine Source.
• Chen Changsheng took Lin Yuan and Bai Ze into Baling County, where Lin Yuan worried that his brother would be killed when the Escort Guild arrived.
• A servant invited Chen Changsheng to meet Prefect He Youguang at the Drunken Immortal Inn, and Chen Changsheng accepted the invitation.
• He Youguang gave Chen Changsheng a notice stating Gao Ming had been charged with dereliction of duty, but Chen Changsheng insisted Gao Ming deserved a reward instead.
• He Youguang said higher-ups wanted Gao Ming punished because Chen Changsheng had been attacked in Gao Ming’s jurisdiction, and Chen Changsheng offered to handle Gao Ming’s work.
• Chen Changsheng offered He Youguang three hundred thousand Divine Source to repair his dilapidated residence, but He Youguang refused.

Chen Changsheng negotiated with He Youguang to secure Lin Yuan and his brother temporary protection and replacement identity documents, then met with another enemy seeking their lives. He traded a Mystic Green Crystal Stone for their exile from the capital, leaving Lin Yuan stunned by Chen Changsheng’s knowledge of the secret hidden in his body.

• Chen Changsheng agreed to leave He Youguang nine million eight hundred thousand Divine Sources for the house and scarce pills, and He Youguang issued Gao Ming’s execution notice.
• Chen Changsheng paid He Youguang two hundred thousand Divine Sources to obtain replacement identity documents for Lin Yuan and his brother.
• Chen Changsheng told Lin Yuan that the nine million eight hundred thousand Divine Sources bought them one month, then went to negotiate with the masked man seeking their lives.
• Chen Changsheng forced the masked man to open a gift box containing a Mystic Green Crystal Stone, and the man agreed that Lin Yuan and his brother could no longer appear in the capital.
• Chen Changsheng revealed that he knew about the Mystic Green Crystal Stone hidden inside Lin Yuan’s body.

Lin Yuan overcame his despair over the Mystic Green Crystal Stone and resolved to repay Chen Changsheng by reclaiming it and the Divine Source, as well as avenging his family. Meanwhile, Chen Changsheng recruited Yan Qing for a larger undertaking while a confrontation over Lin Tianlang loomed at the inn.

• Lin Yuan broke down after learning Chen Changsheng had casually given away the Mystic Green Crystal Stone, then calmed down and asked how he could repay him.
• Chen Changsheng rejected Lin Yuan's offer of lifelong servitude and urged him to stand tall, prompting Lin Yuan to vow to stop wallowing in self-pity and prove Chen Changsheng had not misjudged him.
• Chen Changsheng told Lin Yuan to retrieve the nine million eight hundred thousand Divine Source and Mystic Green Crystal Stone, and to avenge his family; Lin Yuan promised to do so.
• Yan Qing found Chen Changsheng outside the Drunken Immortal Inn and reported that the Escort Guild's escorts were preparing to kill Lin Tianlang because Wu Fangfang had identified him in the recent massacre.
• Chen Changsheng refused to hurry back, recruited Yan Qing for his plan to gather troops and talent, and warned that joining his pirate ship would make it hard to leave.

Chen Changsheng used his wealth and influence to rebuke the three Crimson Gold Escorts who confronted Lin Tianlang, then paid them to smooth over the misunderstanding. Back in his room, he explained to Bai Ze that lavish spending helped keep powerful people distracted while he built strength in the Greenwood Epoch, though Bai Ze was eager to fight.

• Chen Changsheng arrived at the inn and challenged the three Crimson Gold Escorts for their rude treatment of Lin Tianlang.
• Chen Changsheng threatened the escorts with his wealth and influence, then presented identity certificates showing that Lin Tianlang was not the wanted criminal they sought.
• Chen Changsheng paid for the escorts’ expenses and gave each Crimson Gold Escort One Million Divine Sources before returning to his room.
• Bai Ze criticized Chen Changsheng for spending nearly a hundred million Divine Sources, and Chen Changsheng explained that his spending kept ambitious people from watching him too closely.
• Bai Ze accepted Chen Changsheng’s reasoning but complained that he could barely restrain himself from picking a fight.

Chen Changsheng explained why he planned to seize control of the Greenwood Epoch cautiously, then revealed how he had developed a way to cultivate through four Heavenly Soul doubles. He left Bai Ze stunned by the extent of his efforts to avoid meditating.

• Chen Changsheng told Bai Ze that their greatest danger was drawing the attention of enemies from the Chang Sheng Epoch and the Pill Epoch, not the Greenwood Epoch's experts.
• Chen Changsheng explained that Jiang Shan's limited connections with the Chang Sheng Epoch's leaders would help keep the Greenwood Epoch under the radar and allow them to return through its passage unnoticed.
• Chen Changsheng said he would personally oversee the Virtual World plan, but admitted that his cultivation might not catch up within ten thousand years.
• Chen Changsheng claimed his risky solution was to cultivate an extra half hour each day, then explained that he had devised a system for autonomous cultivation to avoid meditating.
• Chen Changsheng described turning four doubles into Heavenly Souls using the Heavenly Soul System and techniques he had learned from Ye Yongxian and Wang Hao, leaving Bai Ze incredulous.

Chen Changsheng recruited Yan Qing and agreed to give Wu Fangfang a chance to make the Wu Family remembered by turning her into Ghost Rakshasa. He forged a mask that granted power at the cost of her life, leaving her future tied to killing and the mask’s growing red color.

• Bai Ze questioned Chen Changsheng about wasting a cultivation method capable of reaching the Great Emperor Realm, and Chen Changsheng admitted he had made it to avoid cultivating laboriously.
• Lin Tianlang and Lin Yuan arrived with Yan Qing and Wu Fangfang, and the Lin brothers reaffirmed their loyalty to Chen Changsheng.
• Yan Qing explained that he wanted to serve Chen Changsheng for the chance to grow stronger, and Chen Changsheng accepted him.
• Wu Fangfang revealed that she had disfigured herself to punish herself and wanted an opportunity to give her death value by restoring the Wu Family’s honor.
• Chen Changsheng agreed to help Wu Fangfang, named her Ghost Rakshasa, and forged a mask that increased her power while consuming her life and becoming redder as she killed.

Wu Fangfang put on a scorching iron mask to gain power, while Chen Changsheng prepared Lin Yuan for training. In the Chang Sheng Epoch, Chen Feng left to retrieve something he believed could revive Chen Changsheng, and Lu Mingyu confronted Wei Guang and Shui Yue over Wei Guang’s words about their teacher.

• Wu Fangfang put on the iron mask, and Chen Changsheng warned Lin Yuan that it could turn its wearer into a bloodthirsty monster before ordering him to take Wu Fangfang away.
• Chen Changsheng told Lin Yuan that he would begin training him the next day because Lin Yuan was not yet qualified to work for him.
• At the Imperial Preceptor's Tomb, Lu Mingyu asked Chen Feng to help bring Chen Changsheng’s body to the Pill Epoch, but Chen Feng insisted that their teacher might still be alive.
• Chen Feng declared that he would retrieve something to bring Chen Changsheng back, and Lu Mingyu let him leave despite warning that his departure could destabilize both epochs.
• Lu Mingyu visited Wei Guang and Shui Yue, then injured Wei Guang with a shout after Wei Guang said Shui Yue had not been Chen Changsheng’s possession.

Lu Mingyu confronted Wei Guang and Shui Yue about their decision to hide from the world, then visited Ten Thousand Races Academy and insisted that Teacher was still alive. The chapter left Lu Mingyu continuing his search while Chen Changsheng played mahjong in the Greenwood Epoch.

• Wei Guang told Lu Mingyu that he and Shui Yue could not appear before the world without tarnishing Teacher's name, and Lu Mingyu left them in the ruins.
• Lu Mingyu asked Xu Qianzhui about Ten Thousand Races Academy, and Xu warned that Teacher's plan might collapse without its missing key component.
• Lu Mingyu refused to abandon Teacher's plan and left to pursue another lead that might bring Teacher back to life.
• After leaving Xu Qianzhui's perception, Lu Mingyu wondered where Teacher was hiding and concluded that Teacher was still alive.
• In the Greenwood Epoch, Chen Changsheng won a round of mahjong against Lin Yuan and the others.

Chen Changsheng tried to train Lin Yuan, Yan Qing, and Lin Tianlang by testing their ability to learn cultivation manuals, then scolded them for falling short. Lin Yuan defied him, insisting his Hundred Poisons Life Lamp proved his talent was not inferior to the geniuses Chen Changsheng described.

• Chen Changsheng told his followers that relying on resources to grow stronger was unwise and urged them to find their strengths.
• Chen Changsheng laid out ten first-rate cultivation manuals and gave Lin Yuan, Yan Qing, and Lin Tianlang two hours to learn at least one to the beginner level.
• After two hours, Lin Tianlang admitted he had only barely learned to use the Whirlwind Art, and none of them had reached the beginner standard.
• Chen Changsheng harshly scolded Lin Yuan for defending his elder brother and criticized the group for their lack of talent and foundation.
• Lin Yuan declared that he did not believe his talent was inferior to the geniuses Chen Changsheng had described and cited his Hundred Poisons Life Lamp.

Chen Changsheng arranged a wager in which Yan Qing would train for an hour and then try to defeat Lin Yuan’s Hundred Poisons Life Lamp with his Glass Life Lamp. He exposed Yan Qing’s secret plan to serve both the rebels and the imperial court, then promised to help Yan Qing’s cousin rise through the ranks.

• Chen Changsheng challenged Lin Yuan to wager that Yan Qing could break the Hundred Poisons Life Lamp after an hour of instruction, with Lin Yuan agreeing to walk upside down for three days if he lost.
• Chen Changsheng stopped Lin Tianlang from defending Lin Yuan and explained that Lin Yuan needed hardship to temper his character.
• Chen Changsheng told Yan Qing to study carefully and warned that he would suffer if he lost to Lin Yuan.
• Chen Changsheng confronted Yan Qing about concealing his dissatisfaction and intending to serve both the rebels and the imperial court.
• Yan Qing revealed that his older cousin was the Piaoqi General of Water Cloud Zhou, and Chen Changsheng promised to secure the cousin’s promotion within twenty years.

Ling Siyuan worried that Chen Changsheng was studying the escort trade and might threaten escort agencies, while Yan Qing prepared to spar with Lin Yuan after receiving Chen Changsheng’s guidance. The battle began, with Chen Changsheng and Bai Ze expecting Yan Qing to win even if Lin Yuan used the Hundred Poisons Life Lamp.

• Ling Siyuan and a Crimson Gold Escort discussed Yan Qing’s chances against Lin Yuan and Ling Siyuan’s decision not to risk Jinshan Escort Agency by attempting a breakthrough.
• The Crimson Gold Escort explained that the Escort Guild had no information about Chen Changsheng and advised avoiding involvement with him; Ling Siyuan feared he might eventually destroy the escort trade.
• Chen Changsheng returned to the viewing platform, and Bai Ze kicked away the approaching Silver Moon Wolf King before trading barbs with Chen Changsheng.
• Yan Qing declined time to absorb Chen Changsheng’s guidance and agreed with Lin Yuan to spar while showing appropriate restraint.
• Lin Yuan and Yan Qing began fighting, while Bai Ze explained how their cultivation methods compared and Chen Changsheng predicted Yan Qing would win and wondered if Lin Yuan would become depressed afterward.

Chen Changsheng and Bai Ze critiqued Lin Yuan and Yan Qing’s combat, then decided that ordinary cultivators in a conventional combat legion would need the Hell Training Method. Yan Qing defeated Lin Yuan by cracking his Hundred Poisons Life Lamp, leaving Lin Yuan wondering what advice had helped Yan Qing win.

• Bai Ze complained that Lin Yuan and Yan Qing fought inefficiently, and Chen Changsheng explained the limits of their combat methods and described how he would use poison strategically.
• Lin Yuan and Yan Qing took their duel into the air and exchanged spells, prompting Bai Ze to criticize their aerial tactics.
• Chen Changsheng concluded that a conventional combat legion could not rely on talented cultivators and would need to use his Hell Training Method.
• Yan Qing struck Lin Yuan’s Hundred Poisons Life Lamp and cracked it, ending the duel as Ling Siyuan caught the falling fighters.
• Lin Yuan asked what Chen Changsheng had taught Yan Qing, and Yan Qing said Chen Changsheng had only given him a few pointers.

Chen Changsheng explained how he had guided Yan Qing to defeat Lin Yuan by exploiting his impatience and the Hundred Poisons Life Lamp’s weaknesses, then taught the group about combat and the lamp’s potential. He assigned everyone a vast collection of books to memorize as part of their training.

• Yan Qing explained that Chen Changsheng had anticipated Lin Yuan’s desperate use of the Hundred Poisons Life Lamp and won by stalling until Lin Yuan could no longer move.
• Chen Changsheng told Lin Yuan to detoxify Yan Qing and announced that the group’s devilish training would begin.
• In the carriage, Chen Changsheng taught everyone to find an opponent’s weaknesses and explained that the Hundred Poisons Life Lamp’s power depended on how its bearer cultivated and used it.
• Chen Changsheng described the lamp’s potential to produce poison capable of corroding anything, then revealed a collection of roughly one hundred and thirty thousand books.
• Chen Changsheng ordered everyone to memorize every word in the books, leaving the group stunned.

Chen Changsheng imposed a grueling curriculum on Lin Tianlang, Yan Qing, and Lin Yuan, requiring them to memorize and copy cultivation manuals within thirty months. The chapter left them studying arithmetic and practical knowledge for leadership after Chen explained how it could help them manage armies, formations, and unfamiliar enemies.

• Chen Changsheng told the group that specialized Peerless Cultivation Methods existed for higher realms and ordered them to memorize the books within thirty months, with daily assignments and frequent tests.
• Chen Changsheng assigned each person one thousand books to copy in six shichen, tripling Lin Tianlang's workload, and revealed that he had compiled the books himself.
• Yan Qing found that some books covered combat scenarios, while Volume One contained basic arithmetic problems; Chen Changsheng explained how arithmetic could help cultivators manage military expenses, formations, and battlefield calculations.
• Lin Yuan questioned a book's lesson about identifying a cultivator's region from their clothing, and Chen Changsheng explained how clothing and customs could reveal a person's background and help leaders assess unfamiliar places and people.