Recaps

Aaron awakened in the body of Bai Zhu, an injured rebel who had fought against Great Xuan, and learned that his companions had seized the World-Shocking Book. He discovered that his cheat ability was missing just as he prepared to investigate the book’s arcane arts.

• Aaron woke in a ruined temple with Bai Zhu’s memories and realized the court’s forces had badly injured him during the rebels’ retreat.
• Xiao Huan tried to give Bai Zhu meat soup, but Ma Dang took it and dismissed Bai Zhu as doomed.
• Aaron assessed Bai Zhu’s recovering body and martial skills while deciding he wanted to escape the rebellion.
• Aaron asked Xiao Huan about the World-Shocking Book, which the Heaven and Earth Society had stolen from the county yamen.
• Aaron recalled that arcane arts caused contamination and thought his cheat ability could cleanse it, but found that the ability had vanished.

Aaron realized that the Heaven and Earth Society had used Ma Dang and the others as decoys, while his true body was waging a larger war against the Fate Controllers and the [Crimson Creator]. He prepared to leave with Xiao Huan, but Ma Dang challenged him, and Aaron struck him down.

• Xiao Huan told Ma Dang that Cheng Dongnan and the others had split up to escort the World-Shocking Book, and Ma Dang realized their group had been used as disposable decoys.
• Aaron sensed the conflict between his true body and the Fate Controllers and considered how the revived will of the [Crimson Creator] fit into his plans.
• Aaron invited Xiao Huan to leave with him, and she agreed despite Ma Dang's objections.
• Ma Dang accused Aaron of being a spy and attacked him, but Aaron used Tiger-Crane Dual Form to overpower him.
• Aaron kicked Ma Dang to the ground, then punched him in the temple when Ma Dang dared him to strike.

Aaron killed Ma Dang, left the Heaven and Earth Society, and wandered into a steam-era city in Great Xuan. He discovered Hawkins Wax Museum and sensed something abnormal inside as he entered.

• Aaron killed Ma Dang with a blow to the temple, then left the ruined temple after Xiao Huan refused to go with him.
• Aaron traveled alone, wondered where to go next, and reflected on the World-Shocking Book and the supernatural arts sought by martial artists.
• Aaron reached a dock and entered a city blending Eastern and Western styles, where he saw a national wanted notice for the Heaven and Earth Society.
• Aaron sensed something strange at Hawkins Wax Museum, went inside, and found a lifelike wax figure dressed as an attendant.

Aaron discovered that a wax figure of the martial artist Ding Hu had produced Corpse-Sealing Wax Oil, and his remaining supernatural ability modified its dangerous effects into a single-use talisman recipe. He gathered the required ingredients and began preparing it at an inn.

• Aaron touched Ding Hu’s wax figure and saw visions of the martial artist’s life, his practice of a mysterious wax scripture, and his transformation into a wax figure.
• Hawkins told Aaron that Ding Hu’s figure had been delivered to the museum as the work of an unknown artist.
• Aaron saw wax oil fall from Ding Hu’s eye, and his supernatural ability revealed a modified recipe for using it without side effects.
• Aaron made a baby cry with a lollipop to collect a pure-hearted tear, then picked pomelo leaves and went to an inn.
• Aaron cut his finger and collected three drops of blood in a porcelain bowl to begin preparing the talisman.

Aaron used a wax-leaf talisman to unleash the power of an Other, then was caught in a fight with Sun the Flying Yaksha and her Xuan Court troops. Wounded and surrounded, he activated the talisman, freezing Sun and her subordinates in place.

• Aaron examined the pomelo-leaf talisman and realized he had succeeded in wielding the power of an Other.
• The next morning, Aaron spotted Sun the Flying Yaksha and tried to flee, but she recognized him and pursued him into an alley.
• Aaron fought Sun with Tiger-Crane Double-Form Fist, landing a strike despite her superior martial rank.
• Sun's troops arrived with matchlocks and shot Aaron in the thigh, while another squad blocked his escape.
• Surrounded by Sun and her troops, Aaron activated the wax-leaf talisman, and a strange yellow light froze them in place.

Aaron used a talisman to transfer strange contamination to the Xuan Dynasty’s agents, melting them into wax, then left for Jinhu to seek strange arts and make a living. On the steamship, he gave Shi Mingsi a manuscript titled The Sword Immortals of Book Mountain, and Shi praised its vivid portrayal of a cultivation world.

• Aaron activated the talisman and transferred its power to the pursuing agents, leaving Old Madam Sun and the others to melt into wax in the sunlight.
• Aaron failed to make Mountain-Crossing Tiger’s wax statue shed another tear and decided to travel to Jinhu.
• Aaron met Shi Mingsi and his family again, introduced himself as Bai Shu, and learned that Shi was returning to Jinhu.
• Aaron boarded Shi Mingsi’s steamship and presented him with his manuscript, The Sword Immortals of Book Mountain.
• Shi Mingsi read the manuscript and praised its vivid depiction of the cultivation world, while Aaron claimed he might have dreamed it.

Aaron settled in Jinhu, signed a publishing contract for his novel, and planned to study the city’s martial arts. Meanwhile, Black-Clad Guard Sixth Chief arrived to investigate the Heaven and Earth Society and Old Madam Sun’s death, while recruit Yang Kui secretly vowed to survive training and take revenge.

• Aaron rented a room from Old Man Yu’s family and learned about Jinhu’s martial arts street, gangs, and detectives.
• Aaron signed a long-term publishing agreement with Shi Mingsi and handed him another hundred thousand characters of his novel.
• Aaron saw that Bai Xuan had risen to third on the wanted list and considered enrolling in martial arts schools to improve his skills.
• Sixth Chief arrived in Jinhu to find Cheng Dongnan and the World-Shocking Book and investigate the sorcery that killed Old Madam Sun.
• Sixth Chief decided to visit the Black-Clad Guard training camp, where Instructor forced recruits to practice the damaging Blood Chief Hand without its secret medicine.
• Yang Kui continued training and secretly swore that he would survive, become a grandmaster, and take revenge.

Aaron finished writing The Book Mountain Swordsman's Tale and broke through to the Tianquan Realm. He then went to Jinhu's ghost market hoping to find an item connected to sorcery.

• Aaron greeted Old Yu's children, Yu Qiu and Yu Yu, before returning to his attic to write several thousand words.
• Aaron practiced Tiger-Crane Double-Form Fist and advanced to the Tianquan Realm, where his inner force could knock over a teacup from a distance.
• Aaron hired Little Yu's rickshaw for the day and learned about Jinhu's ghost market.
• Aaron decided to visit the ghost market after dark, hoping to find an item that could help him enter sorcery.
• Aaron entered the market wearing a white-faced opera mask and saw stalls selling antiques, counterfeit dragon dollars, and people.

Aaron searched the Ghost Market for uncanny arts but found Nangong Miaomiao, a young girl protected by two powerful guards who recognized his unusual nature. After spotting a Heaven and Earth Society distress signal, he chose to flee Jinhu rather than risk getting caught in the Xuan Court’s pursuit of the World-Shocking Book.

• Aaron sensed uncanny power moving through the Ghost Market and traced it to Nangong Miaomiao, a young girl accompanied by two guards and a maidservant.
• Aaron tried to approach Nangong Miaomiao, but her guards blocked him and warned him to leave.
• Nangong Miaomiao called after Aaron, introduced herself, and asked his name; he answered that he was Bai Zhu and disappeared into the crowd.
• Aaron found a Heaven and Earth Society emergency signal scrawled on a wall and realized that nearby members needed support.
• Aaron decided the World-Shocking Book was not worth the danger, left the Ghost Market, and ran away.

Aaron killed a Black-Clad Guard who discovered him near the Ghost Market, then returned to Old Yu’s home and considered leaving Jinhu. After Heaven and Earth Society leader Cheng Dongnan gave him a counterfeit World-Shocking Book to carry away, Aaron deciphered its strange writing and found that it seemed to connect several occult arts before a cool sensation interrupted him.

• Aaron used his hard qigong to endure the Black-Clad Guard’s attacks, killed him, and escaped before the Sixth Chief arrived with reinforcements.
• Aaron returned to Old Yu’s home, treated his wounds, and resolved that he might need to leave Jinhu.
• Five days later, Aaron met a Heaven and Earth Society contact, boarded a boat, and reunited with Cheng Dongnan, who asked about Ma Dang’s death.
• Aaron told Cheng Dongnan that Ma Dang had tried to kill him and accepted the World-Shocking Book, while suspecting it was a counterfeit meant to make him a scapegoat.
• Aaron returned home and deciphered the book, identifying references to the Wax Oil Corpse Scripture, the Paper Garment Technique, and the Black Blood Art before a cool sensation washed over him.

Aaron learned that reading the copied World-Shocking Book could mutate his body, so he planned to turn it into talismans before leaving Shanghai. Meanwhile, disguised as Wukong, he challenged the Golden Gate Martial Arts Hall and defeated its senior disciple and aging master.

• Aaron discovered that direct study of the copied World-Shocking Book could cause bodily mutations and decided to make talismans from it instead.
• Aaron bought materials for making talismans and a monkey-head mask.
• Aaron, disguised as Wukong, entered the Golden Gate Martial Arts Hall and shattered its plaque with a pebble.
• Aaron defeated Ling Lun, the hall's senior disciple, by knocking him down and then striking his neck unconscious.
• Lu Gonglu confronted Aaron, but Aaron exchanged blows with him and left after the aging master spat blood.

Aaron returned to Old Yu’s home on the full-moon night and found Force Gang thugs extorting Old Yu’s family over Yu Qiu’s affair. After Aaron lent Old Yu fifteen dragon dollars, the thugs planned to exploit the family and target Aaron, so he killed them and decided he would have to eliminate their leaders as well.

• Aaron returned to Old Yu’s home and found Force Gang thugs demanding compensation over Yu Qiu’s affair with a married woman.
• Old Yu asked Aaron for a loan, and Aaron lent him fifteen dragon dollars.
• Toad Three and his lackeys left with the money and planned to extort Old Yu’s family again and investigate Aaron as a new target.
• Aaron followed the thugs, heard them discuss targeting him, and killed them in the street.
• Aaron resolved to drink the talisman water that night and kill the gang’s leaders to prevent further trouble.

On the full-moon night, Aaron used the Human Effort Triumphs Over Heaven Method to push his martial arts beyond their ordinary limits and become a Deviant. He then attacked Thunder Dragon's heavily guarded residence, leaving the gang boss and his surviving defender staring at his monstrous strength.

• Aaron drank talisman water made from the World-Shocking Book and learned the Three Great Laws of Occult Arts before acquiring the Human Effort Triumphs Over Heaven Method.
• Aaron chose Tiger-Crane Double-Form Fist for the method, rapidly advancing his martial arts to the Heavenly Pivot realm.
• Aaron transformed Tiger Form Fist into the Tiger Demon Body-Tempering Fist and Crane Form Fist into the Feathered Ascension Immortal Art, then gained enough spiritual control to manage his altered body.
• Thunder Dragon learned that people from the capital had arrived and warned his men to avoid provoking the Black-Clad Guard, while privately considering the Heaven and Earth Society and secret arts.
• Aaron entered Thunder Dragon's residence after killing Force Gang's higher-ups, then defeated Ming Kun, Yang Tingzhen, and the Indian ascetic monk and survived Thunder Dragon's gunshot.
• Thunder Dragon called Aaron a monster, while Aaron insisted that his feats were martial arts.

Aaron defeated Thunder Dragon, extracted information about the Heaven and Earth Society and the supernatural ranks, then decided to kill the Black-Clad Guard’s Sixth Banner Head. The chapter ended with Yang Kui and other recruits receiving orders to watch the rebels at Tanka Harbor.

• Aaron killed Thunder Dragon’s remaining Ming Kun and rejected his offers to buy his life.
• Aaron used the Feathered Ascension Immortal Art to shatter Thunder Dragon’s mind, then questioned him about the Black-Clad Guard and the Heaven and Earth Society.
• Thunder Dragon revealed that rebels led by Cheng Dongnan were at Tanka Harbor and that the Sixth Chief and Prince Pingyang planned to act against them.
• Aaron learned that Altered Ones were ranked Art, Dharma, and Dao, and concluded that he was likely at the Art Rank.
• Aaron decided to kill the Black-Clad Guard’s Sixth Banner Head that night and vanished into the darkness.
• The Sixth Banner Head assigned Yang Kui and other newly graduated recruits to surveil the rebels at Tanka Harbor.

Aaron attacked the Black-Clad Guard headquarters in the form of a monstrous tiger and killed the Sixth Chief. The next morning, Yang Kui returned to find the garrison devastated and was warned to leave the matter to the Prince of Pingyang.

• After Yang Kui and the other newcomers left, the Sixth Chief said he had sent them to Tanka Harbor as expendable bait to expose the enemy.
• Aaron stormed the Black-Clad Guard headquarters, where his demonic-tiger form tore through the guards and killed the Sixth Chief.
• Aaron left after the surviving Black-Clad Guards fled.
• Yang Kui returned the next morning and learned that one vicious man, possibly an aberrant, had killed the Sixth Chief and caused chaos at the garrison.
• Yang Kui's superior told him that aberrant affairs had been handed to the Prince of Pingyang and warned him not to get involved.

Aaron left Old Yu’s house and went to Tanka Harbor to deal with Cheng Dongnan and obtain the World-Shocking Book. There, he encountered Nangong Miaomiao as King Pingyang arrived to challenge Cheng Dongnan.

• Aaron told Old Yu that he could repay the loan through Shi Mingsi at Hongshang Publishing House, then left for his hometown before deciding to head to Tanka Harbor.
• A newspaper announced that Thunder Dragon and his entire household had been killed, while Aaron listened to townspeople speculate about the deaths.
• At Tanka Harbor, Cheng Dongnan showed Xiao Huan the World-Shocking Book and described his theories about the Tanka people, strange arts, and the origins of the Gifted.
• Cheng Dongnan frightened Xiao Huan by blocking her attempt to leave, then prepared to delay King Pingyang when he heard the Adept was approaching.
• Aaron reached Tanka Harbor, where Nangong Miaomiao recognized him from the Ghost Market; he subdued her attendants and learned she had come to watch her father, Nangong Wusheng.
• Aaron and Nangong Miaomiao turned toward the docks as fishing boats exploded across the harbor.

Prince of Pingyang Nangong Wusheng led the court forces to attack the Heaven and Earth Society at Tanka Harbor, where he confronted its leader, Cheng Dongnan. Cheng revealed his strange Gifted art and launched a barrage of centipede legs at Nangong, leaving their battle unresolved.

• Yang Kui followed the Black-Clad Guard to Tanka Harbor, where the court forces prepared to surround the Heaven and Earth Society.
• Nangong Wusheng flew across the harbor and killed a gunman and two martial artists who tried to stop him.
• Cheng Dongnan emerged to face Nangong, who recognized that Cheng had become a Law-level Gifted.
• Cheng detonated a gunpowder trap beneath Nangong, but Nangong survived the blast with his robe, beard, and hair scorched.
• Cheng summoned house centipedes with Myriad Insect Command and sent their severed legs flying toward Nangong.

Nangong Wusheng overwhelmed Cheng Dongnan during the battle at Tanka Harbor, while Aaron turned back to rescue Xiao Huan from the Black-Clad Guards. Aaron’s intervention left Yang Kui facing a mysterious adept, and Nangong Miaomiao believed her father was about to lose again.

• Nangong Wusheng used Strange Art: Flying Dragon Dots Stars to grow stronger and smash Cheng Dongnan into a covered boat.
• Aaron prepared to leave the harbor, but Nangong Miaomiao said she believed her father could not win.
• Yang Kui and the Black-Clad Guards attacked Heaven and Earth Society members, and Yang Kui disarmed Xiao Huan.
• Aaron recognized Xiao Huan’s voice, returned to the fight, and attacked the guards with black qi.
• Yang Kui found his superior and colleagues dead and steeled himself to fight the mysterious adept.

Aaron discovered that Yang Kui carried the Turn Misfortune into Blessing Art and tried to uncover the force behind it, while Yang Kui awakened the Crimson Creator’s will. Their clash erupted across Tanka Harbor, and a fleeing streak of sunlight struck Nangong Wusheng as he fought Cheng Dongnan.

• Yang Kui begged Aaron for his life, but Aaron detected the passive influence of the Turn Misfortune into Blessing Art and rejected it.
• Aaron attacked Yang Kui with the Feathered Ascension Art and his demonic tiger, while Yang Kui’s map fragment burned and awakened the strange art within him.
• Black-Clad Guard musketeers fired at Aaron, who shielded Xiao Huan and the others before killing the attackers with his tiger’s claw.
• Yang Kui fled toward Nangong Wusheng, but Aaron caught him and demanded that the Crimson will awaken.
• Yang Kui merged with the crimson sun in his dream and transformed into a sun-wreathed figure, then clashed with Aaron’s enormous demonic tiger.
• A streak of sunlight fled the battle and scorched half of Nangong Wusheng’s body as he fought Cheng Dongnan.

A blood-red sun appeared, and Aaron pursued Yang Kui into the sea, where Yang Kui drew on the Crimson Creator’s spirituality to fight back. After Aaron struck him down, Nangong Miaomiao rescued her wounded father, Nangong Wusheng, who noticed white lights rising from everyone toward the sky.

• Nangong Miaomiao looked at the Scarlet Sun with her Three Realms Dharma Eye, bled from her eyes, and realized her father was in danger.
• Aaron pursued Yang Kui out to sea and attacked him with the Winged Demonic Tiger’s claw.
• Yang Kui drew spirituality from the Crimson Creator, animated seawater into giants, and faced Aaron’s counterattack.
• Aaron invoked a majestic name, and Yang Kui repeated “Spirit of Unknown Void” in the ancient Spirit Language.
• Nangong Miaomiao had Nangong Wusheng pulled from the river, and he confirmed the battle had gone beyond exotic arts.
• Nangong Wusheng noticed white specks of radiance rising from himself, Nangong Miaomiao, and those around them toward the sky.

After celestial anomalies shook Great Xuan, Aaron arrived in Broad South Prefecture to check on Bai Zhu’s family and learned that Huang Laohu was challenging local martial artists to deadly duels. Aaron concealed the mark left by his battle with the Crimson Creator, whose imprisoned will had left him with a dangerous affliction.

• Nangong Miaomiao mourned the loss of a mysterious light as a giant black-robed figure appeared in the sky, prompting her and Nangong Wusheng to suspect a clash between powerful beings.
• In the ninety-first year of Great Xuan, celestial anomalies stirred people to rebel, but the court’s Adepts crushed the uprisings.
• Aaron arrived in Broad South Prefecture in the ninety-second year and asked a waiter whether anything had happened to Bai Zhu’s family.
• The waiter told Aaron that Huang Laohu had killed several martial artists in life-or-death arena matches and that the Feng Family and Bai Family had yet to accept his challenge.
• When the waiter glimpsed the sun-shaped mark on Aaron’s forehead, Aaron used mysterious power to bind him to secrecy.
• Aaron recalled summoning his main body to imprison part of the Crimson Creator’s will, an act that transferred Yang Kui’s former affliction to him.

Aaron returned to the Bai Family and was confined to its ancestral hall, where he discovered that Bai Huasheng and Miao Fang were secretly preparing a rebellion against the Xuan Court. After learning that Prefect Liu was obstructing their plans, Aaron decided to deal with him himself.

• Bai Huasheng deflected martial artists’ requests to confront Huang Laohu, then ordered Aaron to reflect in the ancestral hall after he returned home.
• Madam Bai tested Aaron’s martial arts and found that he had reached the Heavenly Rank, while Bai Ling welcomed her brother back.
• Aaron left a flawless double in the ancestral hall, slipped through the Bai Family’s guards, and used divination to find Bai Huasheng’s secret chamber.
• Aaron overheard Bai Huasheng and Miao Fang discuss their rebellion, their ties to the previous dynasty’s Imperial Guards, and their need to endure Prefect Liu’s probing.
• Aaron decided to help Bai Huasheng by dealing with Prefect Liu.

Aaron infiltrated the Broad South Prefecture yamen and discovered that the Xuan Court had bound its adept Horse King God with curse-power chains. After Aaron shattered the chains, Horse King God turned against Prefect Liu Yong and killed him.

• Prefect Liu Yong learned from Huang Laohu that Bai Zhu had returned and promised Huang an official post after the Bai Family was captured.
• Aaron entered the yamen, killed Huang Laohu with a single strike, and faced Liu Yong's supernatural-art ambush.
• Aaron avoided the ice blades and seized Horse King God, an imperial court adept, while preventing anyone outside from noticing the confrontation.
• Aaron used spiritual vision to find curse-power chains binding Horse King God and shattered them.
• Horse King God raged against the Xuan Court and killed Liu Yong with flying ice shards.

Aaron set out to erase the curse power that bound the Others, while Bai Huasheng launched a rebellion against Xuan. The curse power then vanished across Great Xuan, leaving the Others free and the court facing upheaval.

• Aaron told Bai Ling that Old Ma could stay with the family, then considered using his power to free the Others from their restraints.
• After hearing that Prefect Liu Yong had died, Bai Huasheng raised the banner of rebellion and seized Broad South Prefecture.
• Bai Huasheng sent Madam Bai, Bai Ling, and Bai Zhu away by ship, warning Bai Zhu not to return or provoke supernaturals.
• Aaron told Old Ma that he would erase the curse power from the Others' bloodlines and ordered him to protect the Bai family.
• Aaron's consciousness spread across Great Xuan, and the sun turned blood-red as the curse power dissipated.
• Nangong Wusheng realized that the Great Xuan Progenitor's curse power had vanished and celebrated the Others' freedom.

A blood-red celestial event freed superhumans from the Ji clan’s control, but Ji Shengshi crushed most rebellions until Bai Zhu appeared and killed him, allowing the Bai family to found the Yue dynasty. Later, Aaron learned his true body was preparing for a Fate Controllers’ War and decided to send his Second Nascent Soul to ascend and scout the way.

• Adept broke free of the Ji clan’s restraint during the crimson sun and offered to join King of Han’s rebellion.
• Shi Pokong attacked Ji Shengshi after the Founding Ancestor’s curse lifted, but Ji Shengshi nullified his powers and had him killed.
• Ji Shengshi suppressed the superhuman rebellions across Great Xuan, eventually surrounding Bai Huasheng’s forces at Broad South City.
• Bai Zhu arrived at Broad South City and struck Ji Shengshi and his army with a demonic tiger attack, killing the emperor and scattering his troops.
• The Bai Family army captured the capital two years later and founded the Yue dynasty.
• Aaron learned his true body needed him to prepare for the Fate Controllers’ War, so he ordered his Second Nascent Soul to ascend and scout the way.