Recaps

Aaron sealed the Mother Tree of Flesh and ended the apocalypse in the Mortal World, then waited for its madness to wear away so he could absorb its essence. After seeing humanity rebuild in his honor, he opened a passage back to the First History and encountered a Worm of All Histories, which bowed before him.

• Aaron imprisoned the Mother Tree of Flesh with the Power of Secret Source, and the Mortal World’s skies cleared as the Spirit Realm’s incursions ended.
• Ayi Fa and Inid led survivors back to the surface, and humanity began rebuilding civilization.
• Three years later, Ayi Fa’s Aaron City celebrated its first Hope Tree harvest while Inid wondered where Aaron was.
• Aaron explained that he would use the Power of Secret Source to wear away the imprisoned Mother Tree of Flesh and absorb its essence over time.
• Aaron opened the Gate of Multiple Histories to return to the First History, and a Worm of All Histories bowed when it sensed his fearsome aura.

After awakening completely, Aaron returned to Green Forest City, where he created flower fairies with true free will and reproduction. He planned to deceive the Ascension Ritual with a soul-splitting incarnation and prepare to advance while avoiding the Spirit Realm’s hostile Fate Controllers.

• Lilliat read a report describing the Red Moon Phenomenon’s worldwide pollution and its ongoing consequences before Aaron appeared and she recognized his complete awakening.
• Lin and Olivia revealed that Mother Nature had become January’s Age Controller and that another secret existence had taken February, while Aaron noted that Rancher had also escaped control.
• Aaron dismissed the temporary maid avatar and used Thought Alchemy to create flower fairies, then gave them souls that allowed them to act freely and reproduce.
• Aaron considered how to advance through the Creator path while remaining in the mortal world, then split off part of his soul to prepare an incarnation for the Ascension Ritual.

Aaron awakened in the body of Fang Yu, a poor sixteen-year-old fisherman, and killed Mangy Liu after sensing his hostility. He attempted a ritual on the lake but could not contact his true body, leaving him uncertain whether his Ascension had gone wrong.

• Aaron woke with his memories restored as Mangy Liu watched him suspiciously after they caught a Crimson Blood Carp.
• Aaron struck Mangy Liu in the groin and eyes, then killed him with a fish spear.
• Aaron recalled Fang Yu's impoverished life and reasoned that Mangy Liu's disappearance would not attract much notice.
• Aaron drew a ritual pattern with Mangy Liu's blood and invoked powerful entities in Spirit Language.
• Aaron failed to contact his true body and suspected something had gone wrong with the Ascension ritual.

After awakening in Fang Yu’s body, Aaron resolved to survive and grow stronger despite lacking the supernatural power to use his cheat system. He hid Mangy Liu’s body and a mysterious pictographic page, then sheltered from a storm and cooked the Crimson Blood Carp, leaving himself calmer about the long life ahead.

• Aaron examined his status panel, learned his Immortality talent could not protect him from injury or death, and discovered he could not use the system’s point-allocation function.
• Aaron hid Mangy Liu’s corpse and sank the boat, then searched the cabin and found a page covered in writing he could not read.
• Aaron steered his boat to a reed-filled harbor as a storm struck the lake and tied it securely to shore.
• Aaron decided not to risk selling the Crimson Blood Carp and cooked it into fish soup inside his cabin.
• Aaron ate amid the storm and felt his restlessness ease as he reflected that the rest of his life was long.

Aaron ate a Crimson Blood Carp and learned that the Cao Family had caused his parents’ deaths, then cautiously resumed life as the fisherman Fang Yu. After selling fish and buying salt at Three Waters Wharf, he observed the local market and tavern before returning to his boat.

• Aaron ate the Crimson Blood Carp, recalled that the Cao Family had forced his parents into the water, and resolved to remember the grudge while keeping a low profile.
• Aaron struggled to fish with a net, used his rapier skills to spear fish, then practiced until he could catch them with a net again.
• Aaron brought his fish to Three Waters Wharf, paid the dock fee and Tiger Lord’s protection money, and sold some fish at the market.
• Aaron bought a jar of illicit salt and visited Yuyang Tavern, where he listened to the fishermen’s talk and met Fourth Lady.
• Aaron left the tavern at sunset and headed back toward the docks with his fish basket.

Months after arriving in the world, Aaron briefly connected with his original body and learned that rituals could not provide useful support. He continued surviving as a fisherman and began considering learning to read, while the story left him weighing his next steps in a world of martial masters.

• Aaron briefly saw his original body and realized that the ritual’s response had arrived after a long delay and could not establish a useful spiritual channel.
• Aaron counted his remaining money and decided to spend it on food rather than save it for marriage.
• Aaron visited Yuyang Tavern, where Old Yu and Little Chu discussed Mangy Liu’s disappearance and White Peony’s refusal to perform at Master Liu’s birthday banquet.
• Aaron reflected on what he had learned about Great Marsh Lake, the Forest Kingdom, and the martial world, then decided to prepare to learn how to read.

Aaron visited Great Marsh Prefecture City to buy New Year provisions, learn characters, and scout the local market and services. After he left, a Goldfish Gang lackey and a city guard discussed monitoring fishermen and replacing their missing informant, Mangy Liu.

• Aaron left his boat with Old Yu and Old Chu and traveled to Great Marsh Prefecture City after the first snowfall.
• While waiting to enter the city, Aaron studied the characters and wanted notices posted at the gate, then paid the entry fee.
• Aaron explored the eastern market, learned common characters, and bought tea dust and cured wild boar meat for the New Year.
• Aaron passed Green Mountain Martial Hall and Spring Return Hall, noting the martial arts training and the need to find medical care.
• At dusk, Aaron left the city with his purchases, and the guards searched his bundle before letting him go.
• After Aaron departed, a Goldfish Gang lackey told a city guard that Master Tiger wanted fishermen watched and lamented the disappearance of Mangy Liu; the guard advised finding a replacement informant.

After two years of fishing on Great Marsh Lake, Aaron sold a lucky catch of knife fish and heard how White Peony had fallen from her former status. He returned to his hideout and uncovered a strange recipe for fish bait that might explain Mangy Liu’s remarkable catches.

• Aaron caught three knife fish, sold them for sixty copper coins, and Lord Tiger took half the money.
• At Yuyang Tavern, Aaron avoided Fourth Madam’s teasing and shared a meal with Old Chu as the patrons discussed White Peony’s fall from favor.
• Niu Er drunkenly revealed that he had spent his family’s savings to visit White Peony and lamented his brief performance, provoking laughter in the tavern.
• Aaron returned to his reed-marsh hideout and dug up the unusual page he had buried two years earlier.
• Aaron deciphered the page’s instructions for making moonlit fish bait and suspected it had helped Mangy Liu catch so many fish.

Aaron completed the Incomplete Sea-Gathering Art and discovered its bait could summon vast numbers of fish, then cautiously planned how to benefit from it. At the Fisherman's Ocean Tavern, he lent Old Chu money to help Little Chu marry, while Old Yu warned him not to get entangled in whatever Old Chu might do next.

• Aaron finished refining the bait and, after waiting for a clear night, scattered it into the lake at midnight.
• A massive tide of many kinds of fish swarmed around Aaron's boat, and he filled his tanks before recognizing the bait's supernatural power.
• Aaron saw that his status panel listed the Incomplete Sea-Gathering Art, and he decided to sell only less valuable fish while saving money to practice martial arts.
• At the Fisherman's Ocean Tavern, Old Chu told Aaron he had sold Aaron's Dragon Yang Trout and asked for help paying for Little Chu's marriage.
• Aaron lent Old Chu money without interest, recalling Old Chu's earlier fishing advice.
• After Old Chu and Little Chu left, Old Yu warned Aaron that Old Chu might take risks for his son and advised him to stay out of it.

Aaron refused Old Chu’s plan to sell rare fish outside the Goldfish Gang’s rules, choosing to save money and learn martial arts rather than risk punishment. In winter, Tiger Lord caught Old Chu and Little Chu selling fish in the city, punished them publicly, and severed two of Old Chu’s fingers.

• Aaron calculated how much he needed to save for martial arts lessons and considered hiding his earnings from the Goldfish Gang.
• Old Chu warned Aaron that refugees had become water bandits and asked him to help sell future rare catches in the city.
• Aaron refused to join Old Chu’s plan, fearing the gang’s retaliation more than he wanted money for marriage.
• Aaron spent the winter building his strength while Old Chu and several other families continued fishing for money.
• Tiger Lord arrived at Boat Village with Old Chu and Little Chu, accused them of breaking gang rules, and ordered his men to search Old Chu’s boat.
• Tiger Lord’s men found more than three hundred cash coins, and Tiger Lord cut off two of Old Chu’s fingers as punishment.

Aaron left fishing to join Green Mountain Martial Hall and began learning the martial path under Senior Brother Ding Shan. After establishing himself among his fellow apprentices, he learned that martial training began with controlling qi and blood, while the story left him facing the school’s first lessons.

• Aaron avoided Smiling Tiger’s invitation and left Great Marsh Lake to seek martial training in Great Marsh Prefecture City.
• Aaron paid ten taels to join Green Mountain Martial Hall, where Senior Brother Ding Shan accepted him as a student on Xue Qingshan’s behalf.
• Zhai Yong took Aaron to the communal quarters, where Huang Dacheng and the other apprentices rejected him because he was a fisherman.
• Aaron beat Huang Dacheng into submission, secured a place to sleep, and urged the apprentices to care for one another.
• Ding Shan explained that controlling qi and blood marked entry into the martial path, then demonstrated the strength of the Manifest Force realm by lifting a thousand-jin stone.

Ding Shan explained the martial realms and taught the apprentices the Flowing Sand Palm, while Aaron memorized the techniques and considered how martial arts might someday combine with spirituality. The chapter ended with Ding Shan praising Aaron’s precise movements and ordering the other apprentices to train harder.

• Ding Shan demonstrated his Black Sand Palm and explained that Bright Force followed skin-and-flesh training, while Dark Force followed bone training.
• Aaron recognized Cao Hongyan as his enemy and inferred that Hall Master Xue Qingshan might only have reached the Dark Force realm.
• Ding Shan warned that the apprentices had two months to grasp their blood and qi and pay their fees, then began teaching them the Flowing Sand Palm.
• Zhai Yong asked why mastering the forms had not let him grasp his blood and qi, and Ding Shan told him to spar with a stronger fist master.
• Ding Shan described medicinal sandbags and the Flowing Sand Palm’s guiding principle as the apprentices practiced.
• Ding Shan praised Fang Yu for accurately copying the Flowing Sand Palm and ordered Huang Dacheng and the others to double their training.

After a month of training, Aaron had only learned the basics of Flowing Sand Palm and worried that he would not control his qi and blood before his tuition ran out. He joined Huang Dacheng and Liang Wu in helping Li Qinglan practice her newly awakened Bright Force, and the chapter ended as she called Huang Dacheng forward after knocking Liang Wu down.

• Aaron reviewed his status and concluded that his martial talent was ordinary, while Song Sanjin had begun sensing his qi and blood.
• Huang Dacheng and Liang Wu told Aaron that Li Qinglan would pay one tael of silver for an evening of serving as a human dummy, and Aaron agreed to go with them.
• Li Qinglan demonstrated her uncontrolled strength by shattering a wooden post with a palm strike.
• Aaron volunteered first, struck Li Qinglan's palm, and was sent flying back by her Manifest Force.
• Li Qinglan swept Liang Wu to the ground while testing her footwork, then pointed at Huang Dacheng to take the next turn.

After witnessing the costs and risks of medicine-assisted martial training, Aaron struggled to improve despite using a medicinal sandbag and concluded that Great Marsh Lake remained his fastest way to make money. Ten days later, Song Sanjin had sensed his qi and blood, while Huang Dacheng and Liang Wu still had not, and Aaron remained stuck at beginner level in Flowing Sand Palm.

• Li Qinglan defeated Huang Dacheng and sent him, Liang Wu, and Aaron to Spring Return Hall for treatment at her expense.
• Master Ge warned Aaron that his poor constitution made martial progress difficult, then offered the injured disciples Azure Dragon Life-Seizing Soup at one tael per bowl.
• Aaron and the others discovered that Song Sanjin was buying the soup, prompting Huang Dacheng to confront him for keeping its benefits secret.
• Aaron returned to the courtyard, received a medicinal sandbag from Li Qinglan, and continued training despite Ma Zhu's despair over their poor prospects.
• Ten days later, Song Sanjin had sensed his qi and blood, Liang Wu was packing to leave, and Huang Dacheng was borrowing money to keep training, while Aaron's Flowing Sand Palm remained at beginner level.

After failing to sense his qi and blood at Green Mountain Martial Hall, Aaron returned to fishing and confronted Master Hu at the fish market. He defended himself against accusations of secretly selling fish by producing a ledger proving he had paid the gang its share.

• Aaron failed to grasp his qi and blood after two months of training, so he left Green Mountain Martial Hall and returned to fishing.
• Aaron returned to the fish market, where Master Hu and several Goldfish Gang members confronted him.
• Aaron knocked down a lackey who tried to slap him, then admitted he had studied martial arts but had not entered Force.
• Master Hu accused Aaron of secretly selling fish to afford his training, and Aaron demanded proof.
• Aaron produced a ledger of his fish sales and payments to the gang, leaving Master Hu shocked that he could read and had kept accounts.

Aaron left the fish market after Tiger Lord backed down, then traveled with Old Yu into Great Marsh Lake. Old Yu told him that Old Chu had died and Little Chu had survived but lost the money meant for his marriage.

• Fang Yu explained that his ten taels of silver came from honest work and that he had paid his full tribute to the Goldfish Gang, leaving Tiger Lord unable to justify punishing him.
• Tiger Lord dismissed the crowd and ordered his lackey not to pursue Aaron, privately fearing that exposing Aaron would bring scrutiny to his own falsified accounts.
• Aaron bought wine and poached meat for Old Yu at Yuyang Tavern, where Fourth Sister teased him about learning martial arts.
• Aaron met Old Yu at the reed marsh and asked him to keep his distance in public to avoid Tiger Lord targeting his associates.
• On the boat across Great Marsh Lake, Old Yu told Aaron that Old Chu had died from his injuries and that Little Chu had survived, but his marriage plans were ruined after their money was stolen.

Aaron caught a Crimson Blood Carp and used its nourishing soup to sense and refine his qi and blood, entering the Bright Force realm. He went to Green Mountain Martial Hall to formally take a master, where Zhai Yong told him that Song Sanjin had entered force while Huang Dacheng had been expelled and seized by loan sharks.

• Aaron sold scarce fish at the market, paid Tiger Lord his dues, and privately resolved to kill him once he reached the Force realm.
• At Yuyang Tavern, Aaron saw Fourth Madam's daughter and encountered the ruined Little Chu, who drank alone before leaving.
• Two months later, Aaron caught a Crimson Blood Carp, cooked it on a deserted island, and used the warmth from its soup to sense his qi and blood.
• Aaron refined his qi and blood with Flowing Sand Intent and entered the Bright Force realm, then decided to seek a cultivation manual and settle his scores.
• Aaron arrived at Green Mountain Martial Hall to formally take a master, and Zhai Yong told him that Song Sanjin had entered force while Huang Dacheng had gone mad, been expelled, and been seized by loan sharks.

Aaron became Xue Qingshan’s formal disciple and received the first three levels of Black Sand Palm, then tested Azure Dragon Life-Seizing Soup and found its benefits were not worth the cost to his lifespan. He left with his cultivation progressing slowly and continued to favor fishing and self-study over seeking favor at the martial hall.

• Aaron learned that Ma Zhu had suddenly left the martial hall, though he remained suspicious and did not investigate further.
• Aaron explained to Xue Qingshan that eating a Crimson Blood Carp had helped him enter the Force realm, and Xue accepted him as a formal disciple.
• Xue Qingshan gave Aaron the first three levels of Black Sand Palm after Aaron offered an apprenticeship gift, and Aaron bought five days’ worth of medicinal sand.
• Aaron visited Spring Return Hall and spent his last tael of silver on a bowl of Azure Dragon Life-Seizing Soup.
• Aaron used Flowing Sand Intent after drinking the soup and judged that its small gain in cultivation did not outweigh the years of lifespan it cost.

During winter in Boat Village, Aaron learned that the Goldfish Gang had punished Zhang Heihu and executed Old Yu for secretly selling Crimson Blood Carp. Little Chu asked Aaron to help him take revenge on Zhang Heihu, but Aaron refused, and Little Chu set out to act alone.

• Aaron reflected on his life in Boat Village, his progress in martial arts, and his plan to kill Zhang Heihu when the chance arose.
• A gong summoned the villagers, where they saw Zhang Heihu being whipped by another Goldfish Gang member.
• Wang Hua announced that Zhang Heihu had been stripped of his market-manager position and punished for neglecting his duties and allowing private fish sales.
• Wang Hua displayed Old Yu’s severed head as a warning against violating gang rules, and Aaron poured wine beneath the pole to honor his friend.
• Little Chu asked Aaron to help him kill Zhang Heihu, but Aaron refused, and Little Chu vowed to take revenge himself.

Aaron learned that Little Chu killed Zhang Heihu with help from a hidden stone thrower, then fled to join the rebel groups on Great Marsh Lake. Half a month later, Aaron visited Old Ge to build ties and ask about martial arts, ending by asking whether any unorthodox arts offered rapid progress at the cost of lifespan.

• Aaron learned that Old Yu had been captured after the Goldfish Gang discovered he sold a Crimson Blood Carp outside the city, and Fourth Sister joined Aaron for drinks.
• Little Chu broke into Zhang Heihu’s home to avenge his father, and Aaron secretly knocked Zhang Heihu off balance with a stone so Little Chu could kill him.
• Little Chu fled to Great Marsh Lake, thanked the hidden Aaron, and said he intended to join the rebel army in the water strongholds.
• Duan Lang investigated Zhang Heihu’s death, ordered the gang to hunt down Little Chu, and offered Aaron control of the fish market if he joined the Goldfish Gang; Aaron refused.
• Half a month later, Aaron brought dried fish to Old Ge, discussed Great Marsh families’ martial arts, and asked about unorthodox arts with dangerous side effects.

Aaron learned that training Black Sand Palm without medicinal sand could shorten his life, but his immortality let him train beyond ordinary limits. Three years later, as drought and famine spread, he lived comfortably at the fish market and heard how the crisis had changed fishermen’s fortunes.

• Old Ge warned Aaron that Black Sand Palm without medicinal sand could damage the body and recounted how Little Whirlwind trained into the Dark Force realm before aging to death in his twenties.
• Aaron trained Black Sand Palm through the night at Great Marsh Lake, discovered his immortal body could keep producing qi and blood, and decided to train three shichen a day while leaving time for fishing and leisure.
• Three years later, during a devastating drought, Aaron gave his remaining fish to a little girl and went to Yuyang Tavern, where he helped the waiter explain rising wine prices.
• Little Six’s father invited Aaron to his son’s wedding and explained that fishermen could live on fish while farming families faced hunger, making a farmer’s daughter willing to marry Little Six without a bride price.
• Aaron lamented that Old Chu had not lived to see Little Chu’s prospects improve, and Little Six’s father agreed that no one could have foreseen the change.

Aaron visited Old Ge in Great Marsh Prefecture City as unrest grew around the Yellow Ant Rebels and Song Shentong. After reviewing his martial progress, he decided he needed Green Mountain Martial Hall’s Dark Force method but would stay low until an opportunity arose.

• Aaron noticed the city guards were armed and alert as he entered Great Marsh Prefecture City with dried fish for the cats.
• Old Ge urged Aaron to learn medicine and asked him to look after his son if he ever rose to prominence, then warned him that Song Shentong and the Yellow Ant Rebels threatened to plunge the world into chaos.
• Aaron reviewed his status and found that his Black Sand Palm had reached the third layer’s peak, while his Incomplete Sea-Gathering Art had barely advanced.
• Aaron reflected that his reluctance to join Green Mountain Martial Hall’s fights had made its members consider Fang Yu weak and unambitious, though he had reached the peak of Bright Force in secret.
• Aaron concluded that he needed a Dark Force cultivation method from Green Mountain Martial Hall but could not risk drawing attention or being conscripted, so he left and resolved to wait for an opportunity.

Aaron refused Green Mountain Martial Hall’s call to join the campaign against the Yellow Ant Rebels and stayed at Great Marsh Lake while the prefectural army was destroyed. When the rebels and their allied water bandits threatened Great Marsh Prefecture City, Aaron entered the city and listened for news, considering how to help his acquaintances and obtain martial manuals amid the chaos.

• Li Qinglan and Song Sanjin visited Aaron at Yuyang Tavern and urged him to join the martial hall’s campaign, but he refused.
• Ding Shan volunteered to lead Green Mountain Martial Hall’s forces, and Song Sanjin joined him.
• A month later, Aaron learned that the prefectural army had been wiped out and that Fourth Lady had left for the city after her man died.
• Aaron decided to head to Great Marsh Prefecture City, hoping to help Old Ge and Fourth Lady and seek martial manuals amid the disorder.
• Water bandits attacked Three Waters Wharf as Aaron entered the city, and the gates were shut against the fleeing people.
• Aaron learned that Song Shentong had taken control of Twelve Linked Forts and was advancing on the city by land and water.

Aaron killed the aging Golden-Eyed Divine Constable, Jin Rusong, and took his gold leaves and booklets. As Aaron left the residence, the city fell to the Yellow Ant Rebels and descended into chaos.

• Aaron learned that Jin Rusong had been recalled to help keep order and found out where he lived by interrogating a constable.
• Aaron used sleeping incense to enter Jin Rusong's home, where he killed Jin Qing and struck down Jin Rusong with the Black Sand Palm.
• Jin Rusong pleaded for Aaron to spare his family, then died before Aaron could question him.
• Aaron searched Jin Rusong's bundle and took ten gold leaves and two booklets containing investigation methods, disguise techniques, and bone-shrinking skills.
• Aaron heard that the city had fallen, then walked into the streets as constables fled and looters ransacked homes.

After Great Marsh Prefecture City fell, Aaron rescued Fourth Madam and Nannan before heading to Green Mountain Martial Hall, where he found Old Ge dying. He recovered Old Ge’s hidden valuables and medical manuscript, then left with a renewed resolve to protect himself.

• Aaron killed several looters who attacked him and rescued Nannan and Fourth Madam from thugs in their home.
• Aaron hid Fourth Madam and Nannan in a cellar, covering its entrance with a millstone before leaving for Green Mountain Martial Hall.
• Aaron found Green Mountain Martial Hall under attack and killed the men who had murdered Old Ge’s son and wounded Old Ge.
• Old Ge died after entrusting Aaron with the valuables hidden beneath a stone table.
• Aaron found gold, jewelry, and a handwritten copy of Supplement to the Azure Satchel Classic beneath the table, then collected Old Ge’s body.