Chapter Summaries

Jiang Che heard that Tuoba Lie had turned the horse bandits into a settlement recruiting Martial Artists, and he worried that turmoil might reach Abyss-Facing City. He returned to his training, then went to the Shao Family patriarch’s birthday celebration with a gift of Century-Old Snow Ginseng.

• Jiang Ling served Jiang Che her strange Gold Jade Balls, prompting him to suspect the neighbor had influenced her cooking.
• Jiang Che overheard customers at Hou's Noodle Shop say Tuoba Lie had built Black Wind Fort, recruited talented people, and offered generous pay and land.
• Jiang Che worried about the horse bandits’ growing power and the imperial court’s weakness, then returned home to practice.
• Jiang Che bought Century-Old Snow Ginseng for one hundred taels and set off for the Shao Family patriarch’s birthday celebration.
• Jiang Che arrived at the Shao Estate and joined the guests gathering at its entrance.

Jiang Che arrived at the Shao Estate’s celebration with a modest gift and received a warm welcome from Steward Hu and Shao Shiliu. He met Shao Shiliu’s father and found his master, Luo Kun, drinking with her elder brother, Senior Brother Shao.

• Jiang Che watched wealthy merchants present lavish gifts, then Steward Hu greeted him warmly and personally escorted him into the estate.
• Jiang Che offered Shao Shiliu’s father a packet of Century-Old Snow Ginseng and explained his birthday blessing when the man questioned its reference to the Southern Mountain.
• Shao Shiliu brought Jiang Che into the hall and introduced him to her father, Master Shao.
• Shao Shiliu led Jiang Che to a table where he found his master, Luo Kun, drinking with a handsome young man.
• The young man identified himself as Shao Shiliu’s elder brother and greeted Jiang Che, who respectfully addressed him as Senior Brother Shao.

At a banquet at the Shao Estate, Jiang Che learned from Luo Kun’s drunken words that the Azure Cloud Sect could cultivate immortals and that a True Person might live for two hundred years. After taking Luo Kun to rest, Shao Jianbo reflected on the threats and political pressures facing his family.

• Jiang Che sampled rare Treasure Fish and Treasure Shrimp that replenished Qi-Blood, and Shao Jianbo offered to send some home with him.
• Luo Kun drunkenly reminisced about his daughter and worried about her unhappy marriage and future.
• Luo Kun urged Shao Jianbo to join the Azure Cloud Sect, revealing that True Persons could live for two hundred years, but Shao Jianbo refused because of his own difficulties.
• Shao Jianbo took Luo Kun to rest, then sat alone by the lake and thought about the Zhao Family’s opposition, covert sabotage, and the Shao Family’s vulnerability when the old gentleman in the capital retired.

Shao Jianbo learned that the Zhao Family was secretly meeting with Black Wind Fort and sent Mountain Sparrow to infiltrate the bandits. Meanwhile, Jiang Che received his stipend and Mid-Grade Exotic Beast Meat, whose potent effect left him eager to use it to strengthen his Qi-Blood.

• Mountain Sparrow reported that a masked Iron Skin Realm expert had visited the Zhao Estate and then traveled to Black Wind Mountain, suggesting the Zhao Family was colluding with Black Wind Fort.
• Shao Jianbo ordered Mountain Sparrow to infiltrate Black Wind Fort and gather intelligence, while warning him to return alive.
• After reflecting on the possibility of cultivating immortality through the Azure Cloud Sect, Jiang Che left the Shao Estate and collected his stipend and Mid-Grade Exotic Beast Meat.
• Jiang Che opened the package at home and discovered it contained several foul-smelling dried insects.
• Jiang Che ate one dried insect and found that it produced nearly the same Qi-Blood-replenishing effect as half a jin of Low-Grade Exotic Beast Meat.

Jiang Che found ways to eat Mid-Grade Exotic Beast Meat and shared the banquet dishes with Jiang Ling, whose health improved as they finished the food. Meanwhile, Gong Yulei returned to the Gong Estate after reaching Stone Skin, but his father withheld the promised meat allotment, leaving him to hear his family dismiss him as an outsider.

• Jiang Che ground dried worms into seasoned paste, endured the taste, and resolved to buy Treasure Fish and Treasure Shrimp for Jiang Ling.
• Servants from the Shao Estate delivered banquet dishes, and Jiang Che invited Jiang Ling to eat; she devoured the Treasure Fish and apologized for eating it all.
• Jiang Che and Jiang Ling finished the delivered food over three days, while Jiang Che's Qi-Blood neared eighty percent and Jiang Ling's complexion and strength improved.
• Gong Yulei returned to the Gong Estate to report that he had reached Stone Skin and request the Mid-Grade Exotic Beast Meat his father had promised.
• Gong Taining postponed Gong Yulei's allotment, then Lady Liu and Gong Zining criticized Gong Yulei and secured more meat for Gong Zining.

Jiang Che saw Gong Yulei return to the Martial Arts Hall and resume special lessons after joining the Fish Dragon Gang, while he continued training his body and building Qi-Blood. At the Fish Market, Zhao Xisheng struggled to pay for his sick father’s medicine and recognized Gong Yulei arriving with the gang.

• Jiang Che learned Gong Yulei had joined the Fish Dragon Gang for access to Mid-Grade Exotic Beast Meat and had brutally injured a rival gang member.
• Gong Yulei left the Martial Arts Hall after a scolding, then returned ten days later and reconciled with Luo Kun, who resumed giving him special lessons.
• Jiang Che practiced Body Tempering until it reached Minor Accomplishment and found that iron-rod blows barely hurt him.
• Zhao Xisheng’s father fell gravely ill from the Treasure Fish’s bite, forcing Zhao Xisheng to spend the money from selling the fish on medicine and abandon plans for farmland and marriage.
• Zhao Xisheng recognized Gong Yulei arriving at the Fish Market beside Li San of the Fish Dragon Gang.

After two months, Jiang Che reached the Perfection Realm in Body Tempering, unlocked Rejuvenation, and discovered that his strength rivaled a Stone Skin Realm Martial Artist despite not having broken through. The chapter ended with him examining the talent’s ability to regenerate flesh.

• Gong Yulei dismissed Zhao Xisheng as a fellow disciple, and Li San’s gang beat Zhao Xisheng until he could barely move.
• Two months passed, during which Zhang Xiong and Lin Xue'er reached Stone Skin while Jiang Che’s Qi-Blood accumulation reached ninety percent.
• Jiang Che completed Body Tempering and unlocked the Rejuvenation talent, which increased his physical strength and recovery and allowed limited Flesh Regeneration.
• Jiang Che’s Qi-Blood rose to ninety-five percent, and he lifted a five-hundred-jin stone lock for three breaths.
• Jiang Che opened his panel to examine the extent of Rejuvenation’s Flesh Regeneration.

Jiang Che tested his healing and defensive abilities, then searched for master calligraphy to improve his skills. He found the city increasingly deserted and sought help from Shao Jianbo, who asked whether his koi were happy.

• Jiang Che used a Secret Iron Hand Spike to test his skin and healing, finding that a minor wound healed in under a minute while a deep puncture took two days.
• Jiang Che realized his growing Qi-Blood required far more Exotic Beast Meat and that he needed better calligraphy to make progress.
• Jiang Che found West Market Street nearly empty and Wonderful Heart Studio abandoned, then learned from an old man that people had been disappearing for months.
• Jiang Che discovered that the city’s calligraphy shops sold only poor imitations, so he decided to ask Shao Estate for access to genuine works.
• Shao Jianbo welcomed Jiang Che at the lakeside and asked whether the koi, safe from hunger but confined to the lake, were happy.

Jiang Che impressed Shao Jianbo with his calligraphy, earning permission to practice in Master Shao’s study and sell his copybooks. He then asked where he could buy low-level martial arts manuals, and Shao Jianbo began to explain that such manuals were difficult to obtain.

• Jiang Che’s saying about fish intrigued Shao Jianbo, who invited him to explain why he had come.
• Shao Jianbo took Jiang Che to Master Shao’s study, where Jiang Che studied a famous work and wrote an impressive copybook.
• Jiang Che gained five points of Calligraphy Proficiency, and Shao Jianbo offered him fifty taels for each copybook.
• Jiang Che agreed to write in the study every day and sell his copybooks to Shao Jianbo.
• Jiang Che asked about buying low-level martial arts manuals, and Shao Jianbo said they were rarely available outside Martial Arts Halls.

Jiang Che received Shao Jianbo's mask and learned that Mystic Pavilion secretly hosted a masked trading market. After earning money from his calligraphy, Jiang Che entered the market to seek martial arts manuals and spotted a Black Beast cub.

• Shao Jianbo gave Jiang Che a membership mask and explained Mystic Pavilion's secret trading market and its rules.
• Jiang Che's calligraphy advanced to Major Accomplishment Realm, and Shao Jianbo praised his work and raised its price to one hundred taels.
• Jiang Che earned one thousand taels from selling his calligraphy and set out for Mystic Pavilion's monthly trading event.
• Jiang Che used the code phrase Xuan, cabinet number three, donned the silver mask, and entered Xuanji Secret Market.
• Jiang Che browsed the crowded market's stalls and discovered a Black Beast cub in an iron cage.

Jiang Che spent most of his money buying a complete set of martial arts manuals, including Eight Sufferings Vajra Zen and twelve basic techniques that required no Qi-Blood. Back home, he studied the manuals and began weighing which technique to practice first.

• Jiang Che browsed a market stall selling Mystic Rabbit cubs and learned that the cubs were valuable but guarded by packs of adult Black Beasts.
• Jiang Che asked an elderly vendor about poison and found Rotting Firefly Powder too expensive, while Bone-Melting Water was cheaper but still beyond his current budget.
• Jiang Che bought Eight Sufferings Vajra Zen and all twelve of the vendor’s basic martial arts manuals for seven hundred and forty taels.
• At home, Jiang Che studied the manuals and compared the strengths and weaknesses of external training, saber arts, swordsmanship, fist techniques, and movement techniques.
• Jiang Che was delighted to find the Wave-Skimming Step movement manual, but ended the chapter unsure which martial art to practice first.

Jiang Che trained Mountain-Colliding Force to strengthen himself and quickly reached Major Accomplishment. He learned from Chief Constable Liu Hai that a Blood Beast created by the Blood Spirit Cult had begun killing constables in the East District, and he feared what might happen if the cult's Evil God descended.

• Jiang Che chose to train Mountain-Colliding Force first and began ramming his body into an iron bell.
• Jiang Ling teased Jiang Che about his training and offered him a bowl of Ink-Gall Spring Snow Soup.
• Jiang Che advanced Mountain-Colliding Force to Major Accomplishment while practicing Calligraphy at the Shao Estate.
• Jiang Che met the troubled Liu Hai and invited him to Hou's Noodle Shop, where they noticed rising food prices and discussed recent killings.
• Jiang Che told Liu Hai about his encounter with the Green-Eyed Monster, and Liu Hai identified it as a Blood Beast made by the Blood Spirit Cult from living people.

Jiang Che learned that the Blood Spirit Cult might be behind his parents’ disappearance and that the Blood Beast had grown into a threat stalking the East District. After ten days of training, he perfected Mountain-Colliding Force and strengthened his Rejuvenation talent, but as he reached his courtyard gate at dusk, [Omen] triggered.

• Liu Hai told Jiang Che that the Blood Spirit Cult had run a branch altar in Abyss-Facing City and that its escaped Blood Beast was growing stronger, while Jiang Che suspected Li Estate in Hengsha City was another altar tied to his parents’ disappearance.
• Liu Hai warned Jiang Che that a Blood Spirit Cult altar could be guarded by powerful martial artists and urged him not to investigate alone; he also said the Blood Beast had reached Early-Stage Iron Skin Realm and hunted martial artists.
• Ten days later, Jiang Che perfected Mountain-Colliding Force, enhanced his Rejuvenation talent, and discovered that completing a body-tempering martial art had increased his Qi-Blood limit.
• Jiang Che tested his improved recovery and defense, then planned to buy more Mid-Grade Exotic Beast Meat and poison at Xuanji Secret Market.
• Jiang Che ate at Hou's Noodle Shop as rumors kept customers away, hurried home after dark, and felt every hair stand on end when [Omen] triggered at his courtyard gate.

Jiang Che fled a Blood Beast to the Yamen, where Liu Hai treated his severe injuries and helped him bring Jiang Ling to safety. After Liu Hai warned him to stay indoors until the beast was caught, Jiang Che decided to enter seclusion.

• Jiang Che lured the pursuing Blood Beast away from his home and reached the Yamen after it wounded him, but the beast stopped short of the gates and fled.
• Jiang Che found Liu Hai, who identified the Blood Beast as an early Iron Skin Realm creature and was astonished when Jiang Che's injuries rapidly healed.
• Jiang Che asked Liu Hai to accompany him home, and they brought Jiang Ling to stay safely with them.
• Liu Hai returned to the Yamen the next day and warned Jiang Che not to go out until he found a way to capture the Blood Beast.
• Jiang Che postponed his calligraphy practice with Shao Jianbo and decided to enter seclusion.

After ten days of seclusion, Jiang Che perfected Iron Wood Body, broke through to the early Stone Skin Realm, and gained strength and defense comparable to the early Iron Skin Realm. At the White Cloud Martial Hall, Luo Kun warned his disciples to stay home after a mysterious hunter began killing Martial Artists across the city.

• Jiang Che bought a month's worth of supplies, warned Jiang Ling about dangerous Martial Artists, and stayed indoors to cultivate Iron Wood Body.
• Jiang Che perfected Iron Wood Body in ten days, filled his dantian with Qi-Blood, and strengthened his Rejuvenation talent.
• Jiang Che overturned an eight-hundred-jin bell with one hand, demonstrating Iron Skin Realm-level strength despite having only recently entered the Stone Skin Realm.
• Gong Yulei, Zhang Xiong, and Lin Xue'er discussed the city's disappearances and Jiang Che's absence when Luo Kun summoned them.
• Luo Kun told the disciples to avoid going out for half a month and explained that a mysterious person with at least early Iron Skin Realm strength had killed more than ten Martial Artists in the East District.

Luo Kun warned the martial artists that Iron Skin Realm experts were exceptionally rare and speculated that the killer might be sacrificing people to pursue a breakthrough. Jiang Che agreed to serve as bait for the Yamen’s Blood Beast trap, but the chapter ended with Li Rushan questioning whether the newly promoted Stone Skin Realm fighter was fit for the job.

• Luo Kun explained the vast gap between the Stone Skin and Iron Skin Realms and suggested the killer might be using human sacrifices to seek the Force-Entering Realm.
• Luo Kun reassured Zhang Xiong that Jiang Che knew about the danger, then dismissed the group and told them to go home.
• Liu Hai asked Jiang Che to lure the Blood Beast toward an ambush, offering exotic beast meat as payment and a firework signal for emergencies.
• Jiang Che accepted, motivated by the reward, his desire to protect his sister, and his wish to avenge the Blood Beast’s earlier attack.
• At the Yamen, Liu Hai introduced Jiang Che to Seven Star Gang expert Li Rushan, who objected that Jiang Che was too inexperienced to serve as bait.

Jiang Che proved his martial arts skill to Li Rushan and joined him and Liu Hai in a plan to capture the Blood Beast. While searching East District at night, Jiang Che discovered the beast was carrying a dead man and imitating his speech.

• Li Rushan doubted Jiang Che could face the Blood Beast until Jiang Che demonstrated his Layered Cloud Fist, Flying Swallow Steps, and Major Accomplishment Realm body-tempering art.
• Li Rushan accepted Jiang Che as qualified, and Liu Hai warned him to use a firework tube if the Iron Skin Realm Blood Beast became too dangerous.
• Jiang Che patrolled East District for over two hours while Liu Hai and Li Rushan hid nearby, waiting for the Blood Beast.
• Jiang Che approached a man muttering about evil spirits, but Omen warned him that the apparent drunk was a source of danger.
• Jiang Che entered the Flow State and saw that the Blood Beast was holding up a corpse, probing its head with its fingers, and imitating its speech.

Jiang Che fought the Blood Beast alone, using his Layered Cloud Fist and Rejuvenation talent to survive its copied techniques and gradually overpower it. After killing it with the Secret Iron Hand Spike, he collapsed, but something began moving beneath the beast’s chest.

• Jiang Che fought the Blood Beast with his Layered Cloud Fist and Secret Iron Hand Spike, discovering that his improved strength and Rejuvenation talent let him withstand its attacks.
• The Blood Beast grew stronger and imitated Jiang Che’s fighting style, striking him hard enough to crack his chest and break his arm.
• Jiang Che traded injuries with the Blood Beast, repeatedly healing while breaking its arm and battering its face until it was driven into the ground.
• The Blood Beast echoed the final words of people it had eaten, and Jiang Che pierced its brain with the Secret Iron Hand Spike to silence it.
• Jiang Che collapsed beside the dead Blood Beast, then saw something moving beneath the flesh of its chest.

After the Blood Beast’s flesh entered Jiang Che’s body, he encountered the Lord of the Black Abyss inside his consciousness, but the Proficiency Panel isolated the Evil God’s will and returned him to the alley. Jiang Che discovered that the flesh had activated the Heart of the Black Abyss, which could store power and transform him into Black Abyss Form.

• The Blood Beast’s flesh crawled into Jiang Che’s body and began beating beside his heart, knocking him unconscious.
• Jiang Che crossed a vast stone bridge and entered an enormous castle, where the Lord of the Black Abyss revealed that he was inside its consciousness.
• The Lord of the Black Abyss offered Jiang Che divine power and claimed it had chosen him because his soul was flawless, then noticed something unusual about his soul.
• The Proficiency Panel warned that the Evil God’s will was attacking Jiang Che, isolated it, and returned him to the alley beside the Blood Beast’s corpse.
• Jiang Che discovered that the flesh inside him had activated the Heart of the Black Abyss, which could store power and grant him Black Abyss Form.

Jiang Che tested the Heart of the Black Abyss, transformed into a powerful armored form, and defeated an Iron Skin Realm Blood Beast. After returning to Li Rushan and Liu Hai, he accepted Li Rushan’s offer to join the Seven Star Gang as an affiliate.

• Jiang Che activated the Heart of the Black Abyss and transformed into a heavily armored warrior with strength near the Early-Stage Iron Skin Realm.
• Jiang Che sensed a dangerous urge to destroy while transformed, ended the form, and decided to keep the ability secret as a trump card.
• Li Rushan and Liu Hai waited in ambush on Government Front Street, then saw Jiang Che arrive dragging the Blood Beast’s corpse.
• Li Rushan confirmed the Blood Beast had reached the Iron Skin Realm, while Liu Hai praised Jiang Che for defeating it.
• Li Rushan offered Jiang Che an affiliate position in the Seven Star Gang, with freedom to act independently and a monthly stipend.
• Jiang Che accepted Li Rushan’s offer after Liu Hai explained how exceptional the terms were.