Chapter Summaries

Huang Tian explored the Martial Guard Library Pavilion, studied the world's history and realms, and rapidly learned a vast number of ordinary martial arts. As he returned to the Guard Academy, Huang Qian confronted him outside Huang Rui's room.

• Chief Instructor Liu brought Huang Tian to the Library Pavilion and explained the privileges and rules of Xia Hong's silver token.
• Huang Tian read about the world's dynasties, martial realms, and five legendary Void Realm experts, and connected the Void Realm to the Primordial Spirit realm.
• Huang Tian began browsing the first-floor martial arts and mentally mastered them at remarkable speed.
• The Library Pavilion clerk warned Huang Tian that closing time was near, and Huang Tian left after spending the day reading.
• Huang Tian returned to the Jia-Class Zone, where Huang Qian called out to him outside Huang Rui's room.

Huang Tian rebuffed Huang Qian, who discussed waiting until Huang Tian left the Guard Academy before taking revenge. Huang Tian then used a Blood-Condensing Pill to accelerate his cultivation and planned to train through the night.

• Huang Qian confronted Huang Tian, but Huang Tian rejected his attempt to assert authority and returned to Jia-25 Room.
• Huang Qian scolded Huang Jian and Huang Rui for bullying Huang Tian, then said they would wait until Huang Tian left the Guard Academy to act against him.
• Huang Qian worried that Xia Hong’s favor and silver token would make it difficult to target Huang Tian.
• Huang Tian swallowed a Blood-Condensing Pill and practiced martial stances and techniques to refine his qi and blood.
• Huang Tian judged that he could reach eighth-rank within ten days and decided to train at night and study techniques in the Library Pavilion.

Huang Tian sparred with Luo Chan and demonstrated that he could learn martial techniques in the instant he saw them. The match left Luo Chan on the verge of breaking through to the eighth rank of the Martial Path, while Huang Tian suspected he might advance first.

• After an all-night training session, Huang Tian went to the Heaven-Class No. 1 Training Ground, where Chief Instructor Liu invited the students to spar.
• Luo Chan challenged Huang Tian, but Huang Tian evaded his first attack and used Yang Mo's Cloud-Turning Palm to redirect his next one.
• Huang Tian copied the Mountain-Collapsing Fist and Heaven-Supporting Palm, overpowering Luo Chan and knocking him to the ground.
• Chief Instructor Liu stopped Yang Mo from helping Luo Chan while Luo Chan reflected on the fight and found an opportunity to break through.
• Luo Chan thanked Huang Tian and promised to host a banquet after reaching the eighth rank, while Huang Tian doubted Luo Chan would advance before him.

Huang Tian sparred with the martial students, then reached a bottleneck in his qi and blood while following his daily training routine. At the Library Pavilion, he chose two exquisite martial arts and entered a state of profound inspiration after reading them.

• Huang Tian defeated Luo Chan and the short young man, using their own techniques to help them see their flaws while refining his skills.
• More than twenty martial students sparred with Huang Tian, and by the end of the morning they regarded him as their foremost peer.
• Huang Tian spent several days sparring and instructing students, reading at the Library Pavilion, and practicing through the night until his qi and blood neared a breakthrough.
• Huang Tian went to the Library Pavilion’s second floor and selected Returning Dragon Guide and Black Ape Moon-Plucking Fist from the exquisite martial arts collection.
• After reading both manuals, Huang Tian combined their principles with his accumulated martial knowledge and entered a state of profound inspiration.

Huang Tian developed the Five Elements and Five Images martial art, used it to reach the eighth rank of the Martial Path, and discovered he could absorb spiritual energy unusually early. He combined blood-and-qi power with true qi to create a devastating dragon-shaped attack and named his new art Five Elements Five Phenomena Cloud Dragon Scattered Hands.

• Huang Tian returned the manuals to his quarters and swallowed two Blood-Condensing Pills, then practiced forms distilled from many martial arts into the snake, tiger, crane, ape, and dragon images.
• Huang Tian matched each image with the true essence of one of the five elements and used the forms to break through to the second transformation of blood and qi, reaching the eighth rank of the Martial Path.
• Huang Tian realized his body could absorb spiritual energy before the third transformation, which he attributed to Thunder Sound body tempering combined with Tiger and Crane Force.
• Huang Tian drew spiritual energy into his body and formed true qi, then developed named techniques for each of the five images and merged them into a unified art.
• Huang Tian shaped blood-and-qi power and true qi into a small crimson-gold dragon capable of devastating force, then named his martial art Five Elements Five Phenomena Cloud Dragon Scattered Hands.

Huang Tian broke through to eighth grade and arrived at the Guard Academy expecting his achievement to draw attention. He revealed the breakthrough to Liu Kuo and Luo Chan, leaving them stunned by his progress.

• Huang Tian finished cultivating, realized he was close to seventh grade, and decided to announce his eighth-grade breakthrough at the training ground.
• At the training ground, Luo Chan celebrated his own breakthrough and invited Huang Tian to a banquet, which Huang Tian accepted.
• Chief Instructor Liu Kuo congratulated Luo Chan and worried that Huang Tian had neglected cultivation to study martial skills.
• Huang Tian announced that he had broken through too, and displayed the red glow of his qi and blood.
• Liu Kuo and Luo Chan were astonished that Huang Tian had advanced from ninth to eighth grade in ten days.

After Huang Tian reached the eighth rank, Commander Bai Yuanfu summoned him and Luo Chan, praised their progress, and awarded them resources. Huang Tian received a protected residence and support for cultivation as he pursued the seventh rank and, eventually, the Grandmaster realm.

• Liu Kuo suspended lessons and hurried to report Huang Tian's breakthrough to the government office.
• Liu Kuo brought Huang Tian and Luo Chan to meet Commander Bai Yuanfu, who praised Huang Tian's extraordinary talent and recounted Grand Commander Wan Shenyang's rise to power.
• Bai Yuanfu kept Huang Tian's rank as Chief Banner Officer but excused him from taking a post while he cultivated, providing supplies, five thousand taels of silver, and a residence near the government office.
• Bai Yuanfu rewarded Luo Chan with five bottles of Blood-Condensing Pills and two hundred taels of silver, then gave Huang Tian a jade token to use if he encountered trouble.

Huang Tian was promoted to eighth-rank Chief Banner, received a spacious residence and official rewards, and prepared to visit Huang Manor. News of his rapid breakthrough spread, leaving people at the Guard Academy and government office shocked, jealous, and afraid.

• Bai Yuanfu gave Huang Tian a jade token to support him amid trouble with the Huang Family, and Huang Tian and Luo Chan registered as Chief Banners.
• Luo Chan received a post in Zhenhua Ward, while Huang Tian received a title, Blood-Condensing Pills, silver, clothes, a badge, and the deed to Qinghui Garden.
• A clerk showed Huang Tian around Qinghui Garden, and Luo Chan reminded him about the next day's banquet before leaving.
• Huang Tian put away his rewards and decided to visit Huang Manor because his new residence needed caretakers.
• Instructor Xu praised Huang Tian's breakthrough as He Xu felt ostracized and jealous, while Huang Jian told injured Huang Rui that Huang Tian had reached the eighth rank.
• Huang Qian heard colleagues praising Huang Tian's aptitude and feared that his rapid progress made resistance futile.

Huang Tian returned to Huang Manor as a Martial Guard captain and told Aunt Qin and Heng'er to pack so they could leave for his new house. Huang Xunjiu arrived to see him, but Huang Tian greeted him formally as the head of the Huang Family.

• Huang Tian arrived at Huang Manor wearing a Martial Guard captain's uniform, and a servant hurried to tell Huang Xunjiu he had returned.
• Huang Xunjiu learned Huang Tian might have reached the eighth rank and rushed to the east wing.
• Huang Tian visited his old courtyard and reunited with Aunt Qin and Heng'er.
• Huang Tian told Aunt Qin and Heng'er to pack, saying he would terminate their service contracts and take them to his new house.
• Huang Xunjiu entered the courtyard with several stewards and servants, and Huang Tian invited him to sit as the head of the Huang Family.

Huang Tian returned to Huang Manor to take Aunt Qin and Heng'er away, while Huang Xunjiu tried to reconcile with him and persuade him to rejoin the family. He Yunrou arrived to confront Huang Tian but was overwhelmed by his martial will, leaving Huang Xunjiu furious.

• Huang Tian asked Huang Xunjiu for Aunt Qin and Heng'er's service contracts, and Huang Xunjiu ordered a steward to fetch them.
• Huang Xunjiu offered Huang Tian cultivation resources if he returned to the family, but Huang Tian said he already had access to plenty.
• He Yunrou arrived intending to confront Huang Tian over his past attacks on her sons, then recognized his eighth-rank General Banner Officer uniform.
• Huang Tian looked at He Yunrou and used his martial will to terrify her, causing her to shriek and fall to the ground.
• Huang Xunjiu recognized Huang Tian's use of martial will and cursed him as a rebellious son.

Huang Tian freed Aunt Qin and Heng'er from the Huang Family, using his standing with Bai Yuanfu to deter Huang Xunjiu from interfering. He left Huang Manor with them for Baoqing Ward, while Huang Xunjiu remained behind, bitter and enraged.

• Huang Xunjiu recognized Bai Yuanfu’s jade pendant on Huang Tian and realized the commander valued him, deepening his regret over how he had treated his fourth son.
• Huang Tian paid to terminate Aunt Qin and Heng’er’s servants’ contracts and collected the documents from the steward.
• Huang Tian called Aunt Qin and Heng’er out, and the three of them left Huang Manor despite Huang Xunjiu refusing to see them to the gate.
• Huang Xunjiu shattered the stone table in anger as Huang Tian and his companions departed.
• Huang Tian looked back at Huang Manor from the carriage, then rode with Aunt Qin and Heng’er toward Baoqing Ward.

Huang Tian settled into Qinghui Garden, handled a flood of congratulatory gifts, and continued cultivating after advancing to the eighth rank. When Xia Hong returned from his failed hunt for Zhang Yu, he learned of Huang Tian’s progress and began considering how to exploit Huang Tian’s feud with Huang Manor.

• Huang Tian put Aunt Qin in charge of Qinghui Garden and arranged for Heng'er and the future maids to learn to read and write.
• More than a hundred carriages brought gifts to Huang Tian, who accepted only modest presents and refused to meet wealthy clans and merchants.
• Luo Chan invited Huang Tian to a banquet at Crane Soaring Pavilion, where he paid the bill rather than accept a favor offered because of Huang Tian.
• Huang Tian continued cultivating while his vital energy neared fullness and his third transformation approached.
• Xia Hong returned from the county without catching Zhang Yu and learned that Huang Tian had advanced to the eighth rank.
• Xia Hong privately suggested to Thousand-Household Wang that they take action against Huang Manor because of its mistreatment of Huang Tian's birth mother.

Xia Hong recruited Thousand-Household Wang to organize Martial Guard and Six Gates officers against Huang Manor, while Huang Tian broke through to the seventh-rank Martial Path. Huang Tian went to the Registry Office to officially record his new realm.

• Xia Hong persuaded Thousand-Household Wang to help assemble officers to target Huang Manor.
• Huang Tian cultivated the Cloud Dragon Stance in Qinghui Garden and broke through to the third transformation of qi and blood, reaching seventh-rank Martial Path.
• Huang Tian judged that his strength now exceeded that of a fifth-rank martial artist and believed he could enter the middle three ranks in about half a month.
• Huang Tian washed, changed into his official uniform, and went to the Registry Office to report his breakthrough.

Huang Tian updated his Registry entry after advancing to the seventh tier, stunning Xia Hong with his rapid progress. As Xia Hong took him to see Commander Bai Yuanfu about a new post, Huang Qian resolved to use Qi-Gathering Pills to break through and regain an advantage.

• Huang Tian told the Registry clerk he had reached the seventh tier, and the clerk updated his record.
• Xia Hong arrived, learned Huang Tian had advanced again, and marveled at his talent and rapid breakthroughs.
• Huang Tian asked what post he should take, so Xia Hong decided to bring him to Commander Bai Yuanfu.
• Huang Qian overheard that Huang Tian had reached the seventh tier and lost his sense of superiority.
• Huang Qian decided to ask his father for Qi-Gathering Pills so he could try to break through to the sixth tier.

Huang Tian reached seventh rank, and Commander Bai Yuanfu offered him a choice between the provincial Martial Guard and a post in the prefecture. Huang Tian chose to stay, receiving an easy patrol assignment and access to martial manuals and secret records.

• Huang Qian decided he could no longer wait to advance and steeled himself to take a Qi-Gathering Pill.
• Bai Yuanfu was astonished when Huang Tian demonstrated that he had broken through to seventh rank.
• After consulting the other commanders, Bai Yuanfu offered Huang Tian a move to the provincial Martial Guard or a prefectural post.
• Huang Tian rejected the provincial capital and accepted an acting Hundred-Household Officer position patrolling Baoqing Ward.
• Huang Tian requested access to the second floor of the Library Pavilion, and Bai Yuanfu gave him a token granting access to its third floor as well.

After becoming a Probationary Hundred-Man Commander, Huang Tian registered his new post and used his consciousness to observe people’s feelings toward him. He discovered Bai Yuanfu was arranging secret protection for him as threats and envy gathered around his rapid rise.

• Xia Hong congratulated Huang Tian on his appointment, warned him to stay cautious, and gave him a gift before leaving.
• Huang Tian registered his position, collected his uniform and waist token, then returned to Qinghui Garden and practiced the Cloud Dragon Stance while taking a Blood-Condensing Pill.
• Huang Tian used his consciousness to view Huang Jian and Huang Rui’s murderous hatred, along with He Xu’s intense jealousy and resentment.
• Huang Tian observed Bai Yuanfu ask Nie Kun to protect him in secret, and heard Bai Yuanfu decide to find another fifth-grade martial artist as backup.

Huang Tian visited the Martial Guard’s Library Pavilion and rapidly comprehended its collection of martial arts and manuscripts. He studied the Heavenly Human Ranking, which left him contemplating the immense distance between his current cultivation and the Heavenly Human realm.

• Huang Tian reflected on Bai Yuanfu’s effort to arrange two fifth-grade martial artists to protect him, then went to the Library Pavilion the next morning.
• Huang Tian told Nie Kun he wanted to read every martial art on the second floor and quickly comprehended more than a hundred techniques.
• Nie Kun learned that Huang Tian had comprehended the techniques rather than merely memorizing them, and invited him to the third floor.
• Huang Tian examined five peak-level martial arts and more than twenty manuscripts, but found the collection too small to provide enough inspiration.
• Huang Tian read the Heavenly Human Ranking, which named Yin Fenghai as its top-ranked Heavenly Human.

Huang Tian studied the Heavenly Human Ranking, then visited the Baoqing Ward Martial Guard Garrison before taking up his new post. He discovered that Luo Chan had been transferred there to serve alongside him.

• Huang Tian read Yin Fenghai’s history and learned how the Heavenly Heart Holy Venerable had defeated the Mountain-Carrying Arhat and held the martial world in awe for sixty years.
• Huang Tian finished memorizing the books and martial techniques in the Martial Guard Library Pavilion and considered finding a way into the Six Gates’ collection.
• Elder Guan watched Huang Tian leave and judged that his strong foundation and comprehension made becoming a Grandmaster nearly certain.
• Huang Tian visited the Baoqing Ward Martial Guard Garrison, where he was due to take up his post as centurion the next day.
• Luo Chan greeted Huang Tian and explained that he had been transferred from Zhenhua Ward after learning Huang Tian would lead the Baoqing Ward Centurion Office.

Huang Tian took office as probationary centurion of the Baoqing Ward and began learning about his new post. While listening to a clerk, he overheard a plot by Flying Swan Sect covert operative Fang He to have him killed.

• Luo Chan briefed Huang Tian on the Centurion Office and its personnel, including deputy chief Qi Hong and merit recorder Huang Qian's plan to take a Qi-Gathering Pill.
• Huang Tian practiced after returning to Qinghui Garden, then went to the Centurion Office at dawn and was greeted by Qi Hong and the assembled staff.
• Qi Hong, Tang Fu, Tang Gui, and Luo Chan introduced themselves and described their martial skills to Huang Tian.
• As a clerk explained Baoqing Ward, Huang Tian followed a black line of sound to an inn, where Zhang Yu discussed hiding after killing a county magistrate and county commandant.
• Fang He gave Zhang Yu medicine and told him the Flying Swan Sect had ordered him to help kill Huang Tian.

Fang He told Zhang Yu that the Flying Swan Sect wanted Huang Tian killed because of his rapid advancement and extraordinary talent, and they planned to gather more information before attacking. Huang Tian learned of the plot and continued cultivating, confident that he would soon grow strong enough to face even greater threats.

• Fang He explained Huang Tian's rapid progress and talents to Zhang Yu, who agreed to investigate him and wait for the Flying Swan Sect's hired martial artists before making a move.
• Fang He planned to communicate with Zhang Yu only through secret messages and promised to create a disturbance to aid their escape after the assassination.
• After Fang He left, Zhang Yu changed his appearance, gathered supplies, and disappeared into the crowded street.
• Huang Tian considered capturing Zhang Yu or reporting the plot to Xia Hong, but decided he could wait while he advanced toward the sixth rank.
• Huang Tian practiced the Cloud Dragon Stance as Old Clerk continued explaining the situation in Baoqing Ward.