Chapter Summaries

After half a year of training, Jiang Che had reached the Mid-Stage Iron Skin Realm and awakened several powerful talents, while Abyss-Facing City grew more unstable under the horse bandit threat and the Zhao Family’s rising influence. With his parents still missing and the city’s future uncertain, he set out for the Mystic Pavilion to look for martial arts manuals.

• Jiang Che learned that horse bandits had seized farmland and forts around Abyss-Facing City, then paid Four Seas Pavilion one thousand taels to investigate his missing parents.
• During six months of training, Jiang Che reached the Mid-Stage Iron Skin Realm, perfected several martial arts, and gained talents including Stacked Force, Blade Momentum, Shape Shifting, and Enrage.
• Jiang Che went to the Martial Arts Hall, where Luo Kun warned him not to leave the city because the horse bandits might be planning a major attack.
• Luo Kun’s businesses and exotic beast meat supply had suffered as the Zhao Family consolidated power, while Gong Yulei had joined the Anti-Bandit Alliance and returned to his arrogant ways.
• Jiang Che took the Mystic Pavilion token and gold bars and headed out to buy secret manuals.

Jiang Che bought martial arts manuals and blank Human Skin Masks, uncovered and punished a group of Mystic Pavilion robbers, then learned his parents had been taken to Black Wind Mountain. He disguised himself as the wanted criminal Hu Bugui and infiltrated the stronghold, where he was brought before an adopted son of Tuoba Lie who had reached the Force-Entering Realm.

• Jiang Che bought the Iron Garment Skill, the Flying Leaf Sword Technique, and three blank Human Skin Masks at Xuanji Secret Market.
• Three Mystic Pavilion men tried to rob Jiang Che, but he knocked them unconscious, took their valuables, and crippled their Qi-Blood.
• Jiang Che received word from Four Seas Pavilion that mounted bandits had seized his parents and taken them to Black Wind Mountain.
• Jiang Che killed Hu Bugui, copied his face with a Human Skin Mask, and destroyed the evidence so he could assume the criminal's identity.
• Jiang Che claimed to be Hu Bugui at Black Wind Mountain's sentry post and was escorted into the stronghold.
• Jiang Che was brought before Fifth Master, one of Tuoba Lie's adopted sons, whose aura revealed that he was a Force-Entering Realm expert.

Jiang Che infiltrated Black Wind Mountain Stronghold as Hu Bugui to find his missing parents, but learned his father was likely with one of the forces attacking cities. After Fifth Master moved him from the Craft Hall into his Elite Guard, Jiang Che found a chance to deliver medicine to a field force and seek his father.

• Fifth Master tested Jiang Che's blade skills, accepted him into the stronghold, and ordered Zhang Wei to investigate his identity.
• Jiang Che chose internal work at the Craft Hall and became a carpenter overseer, hoping to locate his parents among the workers.
• Jiang Che found his father's name on a roster but discovered that the listed Jiang Dawu was an old man, and his father was absent from the carpenters' quarters.
• After Fifth Master learned Jiang Che had joined the Craft Hall, he transferred him to the Elite Guard, where Jiang Che organized messages about six city-attacking forces.
• Jiang Che volunteered to deliver medicine to the force led by Seventh Master, hoping the trip would bring him closer to his father.

Jiang Che tried to prevent Seventh Master's army from taking a fortress guarding Abyss-Facing City's western farmland, but the city sent no reinforcements and the fortress fell before the Seven Star Gang and government troops later retook it. As the city celebrated, Hu Biao fell deep into gambling debt and began considering the bandits' bounty as a way out.

• Jiang Che searched Seventh Master's camp for his parents, learned that a craftsman had heard of Jiang Dawu at the mountain stronghold, and overheard plans to attack the western farmland fortress.
• Jiang Che secretly warned the fortress commander of Seventh Master's planned attack, but the bandits captured the fortress and killed the commander after Abyss-Facing City failed to send reinforcements.
• A month later, the Anti-Bandit Alliance, the Seven Star Gang, and government troops retook the fortress, and Li Hanchuan severely wounded Seventh Master.
• Hu Biao lost his money at Gold Jade House, borrowed more until he owed fifty thousand taels, and took five thousand taels and jewelry from his sister toward the debt.
• Unable to find enough money to repay Gold Jade House, Hu Biao considered seeking the bandits' one-hundred-thousand-tael bounty and resolved to gamble one last time.

While undercover on Black Wind Mountain, Jiang Che killed Hu Biao after learning how he had accused him, then investigated the bandits’ six units without finding his father. He left the mountain and planned to take Jiang Ling away, but news of an imminent assault on the bandits and Zhao Kang’s breakthrough made him decide to wait a few more days; meanwhile, Jiang Dawu and Madam Zhou were revealed to be imprisoned in the Zhao Family’s weapons workshops.

• Fifth Master sent Jiang Che, disguised as Hu Bugui, to investigate Hu Biao’s claim that Jiang Che had murdered Eighth Master.
• Jiang Che drugged Hu Biao with Hallucinogenic Poison, learned how he had reported him, and killed him before returning to tell Fifth Master the accusation was fabricated.
• Over the next three months, Jiang Che investigated all six units but found no trace of Jiang Dawu, so he decided to leave with Jiang Ling.
• Jiang Dawu and Madam Zhou were shown working as captive craftsmen in the Zhao Family’s arsenal workshops, where the Zhao Family secretly manufactured military equipment.
• Jiang Che escaped Black Wind Mountain, returned to Abyss-Facing City, and told Luo Kun he intended to take Jiang Ling away.
• Luo Kun told Jiang Che that the Anti-Bandit Alliance and city forces planned a full-scale attack, and that Zhao Kang had broken through above the Force-Entering Realm and fought Li Hanchuan to a draw.

Jiang Che reported the Black Wind Mountain bandit cavalry’s deployment to Li Hanchuan and grew suspicious of Zhao Kang as the Anti-Bandit Alliance prepared its final assault. The battle began at Black Wind Mountain, where Li Hanchuan confronted Tuoba Lie, a Bone-Forging martial arts master.

• Jiang Che learned that Zhao Kang belonged to a True Art lineage and had recently advanced beyond the Force-Entering Realm.
• Jiang Che told Li Hanchuan about the bandit cavalry’s deployment, and Li Hanchuan rewarded him and promised to help find his parents.
• Jiang Che cultivated his martial arts, mastered several techniques, and developed Sword Momentum through the Flying Leaf Sword Technique.
• At the city gate, Jiang Che sensed faint hostility from Zhao Kang and warned Li Rushan to watch him closely.
• The Anti-Bandit Alliance army attacked Black Wind Mountain, and Li Hanchuan confronted Tuoba Lie after knocking back his Black Beast tiger, Luna.
• Li Hanchuan and Tuoba Lie exchanged blows and recognized each other as formidable opponents, with Tuoba Lie wielding Bone-Forging Force.

Jiang Che rescued Li Hanchuan from Zhao Kang’s betrayal, but Li Hanchuan died after entrusting him with a True Arts manual and warning him to flee Abyss-Facing City. Jiang Che tried to evacuate with Jiang Ling, but Zhao Family fighters surrounded the Martial Arts Hall after severely injuring Luo Kun.

• Zhao Kang betrayed Li Hanchuan and Tuoba Lie, killed Tuoba Lie, and left Li Hanchuan crawling toward a cliff.
• Jiang Che rescued Li Hanchuan by carrying him into a hidden chamber beneath the cliff, then learned that Zhao Kang and the Zhao Family were plotting to seize power.
• Li Hanchuan gave Jiang Che the first volume of the Moon-Shifting Flower Shadow Art, explained the cultivation realms, and died from his old injuries.
• Jiang Che buried Li Hanchuan, warned Zhang Jinghuai through a hidden note, and told Jiang Ling that they needed to leave Abyss-Facing City.
• Shao Jianbo returned carrying the badly injured Luo Kun and said Zhao Family fighters had hurt him under the pretense of a sparring match.
• Jiang Che, Jiang Ling, Shao Jianbo, and Luo Kun tried to leave the Martial Arts Hall, but more than a dozen black-clad Martial Artists surrounded the gate.

Jiang Che rescued Luo Kun and others from the Anti-Bandit Alliance’s city blockade, then learned how the Zhao Family had attacked Abyss-Facing City and forced the Shao Family to flee. As the group headed for Tai Prefecture, the Black Water Twin Fiends caught up with them, and Jiang Che confronted the two Force-Entering martial masters with Blade Momentum.

• Jiang Che defeated the Anti-Bandit Alliance fighters who came to arrest Luo Kun, then fought his way through the guards and forced open the city gate.
• Jiang Che recognized Yin Yingying and let her join the group as they left the city with Shao Jianbo leading them toward his carriage convoy.
• Shao Jianbo explained that the Zhao Family had colluded with mounted bandits, raised private soldiers, and used Zhao Ran to attack the city’s martial arts leaders.
• The Black Water Twin Fiends pursued the group and threatened Jiang Ling and Yin Yingying, while Luo Kun urged Jiang Che to escape.
• Jiang Che drew the Kunji Blade and revealed his Blade Momentum, startling the Black Water Twin Fiends.

Jiang Che killed the Black Water Twin Fiends, then fought two Force-Entering Major Accomplishment assassins who had posed as carriage drivers. After turning the battle in his favor, he moved behind the short assassin as the man tried to bargain with a Formless Alliance token.

• Jiang Che defeated and killed the Black Water Twin Fiends, then found silver, Qi-Replenishing Pills, and the Black Water Technique on their bodies.
• Jiang Che sensed danger near the carriages and exposed two Force-Entering Major Accomplishment assassins posing as drivers.
• Jiang Che transformed into his Black Armor Form and fought both assassins, regenerating his severed hand while weakening them with poison and repeated attacks.
• Jiang Che overheard the assassins planning to attack Luo Kun and stopped the short assassin from reaching him.
• The tall assassin lost an arm, and the short assassin offered a Formless Alliance token in exchange for escape; after Luo Kun warned Jiang Che not to trust him, Jiang Che vanished from the assassin’s sight.

Jiang Che killed the Formless Alliance members Five and Six, then subdued the Heart of the Black Abyss and learned that reaching the Complete Truth Realm could help him resist its influence. With the Zhao Family and the Formless Alliance threatening him, he set out for the Azure Cloud Sect to continue cultivating, parting ways with Luo Kun and Shao Jianbo.

• Jiang Che killed Five and Six, then threatened the Heart of the Black Abyss until its remnant consciousness explained that reaching the Complete Truth Realm could suppress his inner demon.
• Jiang Che searched the bodies and learned from Luo Kun that the Formless Alliance could mark their killers and track them down.
• Luo Kun urged Jiang Che to enter the Azure Cloud Sect and gave him a Black Jade Token, explaining that their White Cloud Martial Hall was an affiliated outpost and introducing Xu Qingshan as a contact.
• Jiang Che agreed to travel to Cang Prefecture with Jiang Ling and Yin Yingying, while Luo Kun and Shao Jianbo headed to Tai Prefecture.
• Jiang Che and his companions parted from Luo Kun and Shao Jianbo at the fork in the road, taking the route toward Cang Prefecture.

Jiang Che reached Cang Prefecture Capital, learned about the Azure Cloud Sect and the city’s major powers, and used Luo Kun’s token to enter the sect. He arrived at Cloud Sea Courtyard and met its dean, Xu Qingshan, who left his prospects for admission uncertain.

• Jiang Che brought Yin Yingying to her parents, accepted Father Yin’s gift of one hundred taels of gold, and then set out for the Azure Cloud Sect with Jiang Ling.
• At an inn, Jiang Che learned about the Three Great Sects, the Azure Cloud Sect’s seven courtyards, and the other major powers in Cang Prefecture Capital.
• Jiang Che presented Luo Kun’s token at the Azure Cloud Sect’s mountain gate, and Cheng Yuzhi escorted him past the admission line after learning he knew Xu Qingshan.
• Cheng Yuzhi explained that the sect assessed candidates’ physique, comprehension, background, and temperament, and that each courtyard valued these qualities differently.
• Jiang Che reached Cloud Sea Courtyard, presented his token, and was brought to Xu Qingshan, who asked whether he was Senior Brother Luo’s disciple.

Xu Qingshan placed Jiang Che in the outer sect and gave him one year to reach the Force-Entering Realm before he could enter the Cloud Sea Courtyard. Jiang Che settled into the Azure Cloud Sect, stocked up on cultivation supplies, and learned that Ye Lianzhen had become interested after hearing he was Luo Kun’s disciple.

• Xu Qingshan judged Jiang Che’s aptitude bones below average but agreed to consider him for the Cloud Sea Courtyard if he reached the Force-Entering Realm within a year.
• Senior Brother Xiao helped Jiang Che complete his outer court registration, and Jiang Che rented a private courtyard for himself and Jiang Ling.
• Cheng Yuzhi explained the sect’s resource shops, cultivation rooms, Scripture Repository, and newsletter, and Jiang Che paid for a subscription.
• Jiang Che inspected the sect Marketplace, then bought three months of cultivation supplies from a reputable medicine shop outside the mountain gate.
• Xu Zhouzi ordered the sect to monitor the Demon Sect and prevent it from disrupting the Cloud Stair Dao Inquiry Assembly.
• Xu Qingshan told Ye Lianzhen that Jiang Che was Luo Kun’s disciple, and Ye Lianzhen reacted with sudden interest.

Jiang Che received three Origin Marrow Pills from Ye Lianzhen, then reached the Force-Entering Realm after six months of cultivation and became Xu Qingshan’s disciple. Xu Qingshan introduced him to his Eldest Senior Brother, Xiao Mingqian, who took him to receive the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Art.

• Ye Lianzhen gave Jiang Che three Origin Marrow Pills and recalled her history with his master, Luo Kun.
• Tang Qiaoqiao confronted Ye Lianzhen over the pills and her relationship with Xie Xingwen; Ye Lianzhen slapped her, and Tang Qiaoqiao ran away.
• Jiang Che saved the pills and, after half a year of cultivation, used a Force-Energy Pill to begin breaking through to the Force-Entering Realm.
• Jiang Che converted all his Qi-Blood into Force Energy over three days and went to Cloud Sea Courtyard to report his breakthrough to Xu Qingshan.
• Xu Qingshan accepted Jiang Che as his disciple and introduced him to Xiao Mingqian, who took him to receive the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Art.

Jiang Che paid his tuition, moved into the Azure Cloud Sect’s inner courtyard, and began cultivating the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Art. After entering its first level and discovering how much it improved his Force Energy, he ran low on money and decided to seek sect missions instead of hunting Black Beasts.

• Jiang Che paid one hundred taels of gold for tuition and received his inner courtyard identity plaque, the first level of the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Art, sect rules, and a uniform from Xiao Mingqian.
• Xiao Mingqian explained the cultivation realms and the limits of the sect’s arts, then told Jiang Che that inner courtyard rent was included in his tuition.
• Jiang Che moved into the inner courtyard, met Mu Jun, Shu Yaxin, Yan Hanpeng, and Yun Weiwei, and agreed to meet them at a tavern another day.
• Jiang Che entered the first level of the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Art after five days of practice and used its techniques to strike an iron training post far harder than before.
• After his money and cultivation supplies nearly ran out, Jiang Che asked Xiao Mingqian about hunting Black Beasts, learned that the Cloud Sea Courtyard’s territory offered little profit, and headed to the Affairs Pavilion to look for missions.

Jiang Che accepted a night patrol job in the Golden Leaf Forest and discovered that two patrolmen were Demon Sect infiltrators who had lured Xiang Wei away from the Blood Amber Flower Field. He fought them to let Xiang Wei return to defend the flowers, then revealed he had been pretending to bargain with the infiltrators; the battle remained unresolved.

• Jiang Che chose the Golden Leaf Forest patrol despite hearing rumors of a huge, unseen creature called Big Foot, and patrol captain Xiang Wei assigned him to the forest.
• When Big Foot supposedly attacked the Iron-Horned Deer Garden, Xiang Wei found Jin Hao and Shi Chen posing as injured guards; they blocked his return to the Blood Amber Flower Field and revealed their Bone-Forging strength.
• Xiang Wei recognized Jin Hao and Shi Chen as Demon Sect infiltrators, but their coordinated saber techniques and poison kept him from breaking away.
• Jiang Che arrived, pretended to be tempted by Jin Hao's money, then attacked the infiltrators and urged Xiang Wei to rush back to the Blood Amber Flower Field.
• After Jiang Che held off Jin Hao and Shi Chen long enough for Xiang Wei to leave, he said that acting with them had been boring, leaving the infiltrators stunned.

Jiang Che transformed into a Black-Armored Giant and killed the Demon Sect spies Jin Hao and Shi Chen, then staged the scene to make their deaths look like Bigfoot’s work. He convinced Xiang Wei that Bigfoot was real, leaving his own role in the killings concealed.

• Jiang Che used Black Abyss Form to withstand Jin Hao and Shi Chen’s attacks and beat both Bone-Forging spies to death.
• Jiang Che devoured an Iron-Horned Deer, found the Withered Cicada Scripture and other loot, and discovered wooden giant feet and a horn hidden in a hut.
• Jiang Che destroyed the wooden props, altered the scene, injured himself, and told Xiang Wei that Bigfoot had killed the spies.
• Xiang Wei inspected the wrecked Deer Garden and believed that Bigfoot was real.

Jiang Che counted the riches he had gained from the Golden Leaf Forest incident, then joined his neighbors for dinner, where Mu Jun invited Yun Weiwei and Shu Yaxin to accompany him on the Cloud Mist Ridge Trial. As Mu Jun considered whom to take in his final slot, everyone turned to Jiang Che.

• The Azure Cloud Sect uncovered two Demon Sect spies, destroyed their stronghold, rewarded Jiang Che and the others, and failed to find the giant called Bigfoot.
• Jiang Che resigned from forest patrol, counted his gold and rewards, sold the spies' life-draining pills, and learned that the Withered Cicada Scripture could conceal his cultivation.
• At dinner, Mu Jun dismissed rumors that a Force-Entering Realm disciple had fought Bone-Forging spies, while Jiang Che kept quiet about his own battle.
• Mu Jun revealed that he had a place in the Cloud Mist Ridge Trial and invited Yun Weiwei and Shu Yaxin to join him, hoping to win Yun Weiwei's favor.
• Mu Jun agreed to let Yan Hanpeng come as well, leaving one slot and drawing everyone's attention to Jiang Che.

After discovering that his mixed Qi-Blood prevented him from advancing, Jiang Che learned from Xu Qingshan that he might need to disperse his other cultivation arts, risking damage to his foundation. He went to the Scripture Repository to find a suitable method and found three Arts of Dispersing Cultivation.

• Jiang Che declined to join Yan Hanpeng on the Blood Amber Flower expedition, then left the awkward dinner and decided to focus on his own strength.
• Jiang Che found that much of his Qi-Blood could not be refined into Force Energy and waited for Cloud Sea Courtyard's monthly assessment to ask for guidance.
• Xu Qingshan told Jiang Che that practicing many cultivation arts had made his Qi-Blood impure and could prevent him from reaching Bone-Forging, but dispersing the other arts might give him a chance.
• Xu Qingshan directed Jiang Che to the Scripture Repository to find an Art of Dispersing Cultivation and advised him to use medicine to protect his foundation.
• Jiang Che visited the Scripture Repository, learned about its floors and manuals, and found three Arts of Dispersing Cultivation on the third floor.

Jiang Che learned that the Sun-Eroding Scripture could increase pure Qi-Blood when he dispersed cultivation, but its poisonous catalyst normally shortened lifespan. He obtained Withered Soul Grass and tested a small amount, leaving the story with him waiting to see whether Black Abyss Form would neutralize the poison.

• Jiang Che chose to buy the Sun-Eroding Scripture and discovered that its catalyst was Withered Soul Grass, which grew only in Cloud Mist Ridge.
• Jiang Che asked Cheng Yuzhi to find a harvester, then paid a deposit after Xiao Mingqian confirmed the quoted price was reasonable.
• A month later, Mu Jun and the others returned from Cloud Mist Ridge, and Cheng Yuzhi delivered ten stalks of Withered Soul Grass to Jiang Che.
• Jiang Che chewed a tiny fragment of a Withered Soul Grass leaf and meditated until he felt a strange sensation in his Qi-Blood.
• Jiang Che realized he had been poisoned and silently invoked Black Abyss Form to see whether it could dispel the poison.

Jiang Che dispersed his martial arts to convert Qi-Blood into Force Energy, reaching the Force-Entering Late-Stage Realm before running out of Withered Soul Grass and money. Meanwhile, Yin Yingying's family struggled with gang harassment of their cloth shop, and she began thinking of Jiang Che as a possible solution.

• Jiang Che transformed to clear the strange sensation caused by Withered Soul Grass, then dispersed his martial arts and converted the resulting Qi-Blood into Force Energy.
• Jiang Che used his final stalk of Withered Soul Grass to disperse another lightness art and break through to the Force-Entering Late-Stage Realm.
• After months of slow progress and dwindling funds, Jiang Che decided to take missions to earn money before Cloud Mist Ridge opened again.
• Yin Yingying learned that gangs were harassing the Yin Family Cloth Shop, while the authorities failed to stop them.
• Zhu Shichang offered to connect Yin Rong with powerful sect experts for thousands of taels of gold, leaving Yin Rong uncertain about hiring them.
• Yin Yingying thought of Jiang Che as a possible person to help protect the cloth shop.