Recaps

Ye Li used a Century Ginseng Pill to break through to the middle stage of Body Tempering, then began learning Star-Shifting Nine-Palace Step. By applying his existing martial arts experience to the technique, he rapidly gained insight.

• Ye Li refined the Century Ginseng Pill and broke through to the middle stage of Body Tempering without encountering a bottleneck.
• Ye Li carved a joking tribute to Madoka Kaname into the courtyard’s bluestone wall, while Li Liang marveled at his talent and resolved to protect him.
• Ye Li retrieved the Star-Shifting Nine-Palace Step and Snake-Boa Force manuals from the Martial Armory.
• Ye Li read Star-Shifting Nine-Palace Step and gained an initial point of insight as its movements and principles were imprinted in his mind.
• Ye Li used his previous martial arts experience to verify Star-Shifting Nine-Palace Step, gaining repeated bursts of insight.

Ye Li rapidly analyzed and practiced the Star-Shifting Nine-Palace Step, while Li Xi returned to Li Mansion to discuss his betrothal to the Yan Family’s young lady. Li Xi entered the reception hall and was horrified to see someone he recognized.

• Ye Li used his cultivation insights to analyze the Star-Shifting Nine-Palace Step, then practiced its forms in the courtyard as Li Liang watched in astonishment.
• Four days passed, and Tang Jian struck a wooden post, proud that his training was bringing him closer to the Body Tempering Realm.
• Li Xi left the Azure Dragon Gang’s newcomer district injured and vowed revenge on Ye Li and his family.
• Li Fu told Li Xi that the Yan Family’s young lady and other honored guests had arrived, and that the family head wanted to discuss Li Xi’s betrothal.
• Li Xi returned to Li Mansion, entered the reception hall, and reacted with fury when he saw who was there.

Ye Li visited the Li Family during its marriage-alliance meeting with Yan Ruyu and revealed that its gift had helped him advance. When Li Xi arrived and recognized Ye Li, Ye Li pretended they were close friends and the Li Family invited everyone to a banquet.

• Li Zhan praised Ye Li’s talent, and Ye Li said the Li Family’s Century Ginseng Pill had helped him reach the middle stage of Body Tempering.
• Li You admitted he had taken the pill from the family treasury and given it to Ye Li, angering Li Zhan.
• Yan Ruyu praised Ye Li’s achievements, and Li Zhan mentioned that Li Xi was to discuss a marriage arrangement with her.
• Li Xi entered the hall, recognized Ye Li, and angrily demanded to know why he was there.
• Ye Li laughed and claimed that he and Li Xi shared a close friendship, while Li Zhan explained that Zheng had made Ye Li his personal disciple.
• Li Zhan invited the guests to a banquet, and Ye Li decided to enjoy it at Li Xi’s expense.

Ye Li exposed Li Xi’s past attacks and threats at the Li Family banquet, turning the gathering against Li Xi and strengthening Yan Ruyu’s resolve to end their engagement. As Ye Li left, Yan Ruyu raised the marriage alliance with Li Zhan, while Ye Li resolved to crush Li Xi again if he tried to rise.

• Ye Li toasted Li Xi and recounted how Li Xi had insulted and attacked him after Ye Li took first place in an assessment.
• Ye Li revealed that he had broken both of Li Xi’s arms and that Li Xi later hired gang members to kill him, shocking the Li and Yan Families.
• Ye Li described Li Xi’s threats against his family, angering the Li Family elders and further lowering Yan Ruyu’s opinion of Li Xi.
• Li You acted as peacemaker and won Ye Li’s praise, while Ye Li finished the banquet and left the hall.
• Yan Ruyu told Li Zhan that she wanted to discuss the marriage alliance, and Ye Li resolved to stop Li Xi if he showed signs of rising again.

Ye Li left the Li Family compound after humiliating the family and went to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion to buy armor and the Essence-Locking Yuan Technique. The Li Family accepted Yan Yu’s broken engagement, while Li You and Li Zhan decided to keep Li Xi from cultivating or seeking revenge.

• Ye Li told Li Liang that he would spare Li Xi for now because a living enemy could suffer more than a dead one.
• After Ye Li left, Yan Yu broke off her engagement, and Li Zhan questioned Li You about knowing Li Xi’s situation in advance.
• Li You promised to keep Li Xi from martial arts and revenge, while Li Zhan accepted that his younger son would have to live as an ordinary person.
• Ye Li visited the Hundred Treasures Pavilion and met Jiang Xiyue again, asking to buy two sets of armor and the Essence-Locking Yuan Technique.
• As Jiang Xiyue passed Ye Li, his Fate-Measuring Bell displayed a warning that it might die too.

Ye Li’s traits caused Jiang Xiyue’s Fate-Measuring Bell to malfunction, making him realize he needed a way to conceal them. After borrowing the Essence-Locking Yuan Technique, he learned that the winner of the Guangming Grand Tournament would receive a rare aptitude-improving manual.

• When Ye Li approached Jiang Xiyue, her Fate-Measuring Bell entered a paradox and emitted a piercing hum.
• Jiang Xiyue revealed that the bell detected traits, but Ye Li convinced himself that it had not exposed his actual traits.
• Ye Li concluded that his growing collection of traits made it urgent to find a technique that could conceal them.
• Jiang Xiyue brought Ye Li the Essence-Locking Yuan Technique, which he borrowed for two hundred taels for a month.
• When Ye Li asked about aptitude-improving techniques, Jiang Xiyue told him that the winner of the Guangming Grand Tournament would receive the Marrow-Cleansing Tendon-Changing Manual.

Ye Li learned that the National Destiny Arena Tournament could change the Xia Kingdom’s fortunes, while Jiang Xiyue urged him to aim for the Guangming Grand Tournament. Elsewhere, Tang Jian discovered Ye Li had become the Azure Dragon Gang leader’s disciple, and a team in the Ji Kingdom prepared for a dangerous battle in the Southern Barbarian Region.

• Jiang Xiyue explained that the Immortal Gate held a tournament every ten years, rewarding kingdoms whose young competitors won admission into its sects.
• Jiang Xiyue told Ye Li that the Xia Kingdom had lost repeatedly, leaving its spiritual energy depleted and Guangming City at risk of being ceded; she encouraged him to compete in the Guangming Grand Tournament.
• Ye Li asked Jiang Xiyue to arrange delivery of two suits of armor and find a presence-concealing cultivation method, then left the Hundred Treasures Pavilion resolved to keep improving.
• Tang Jian returned to the Azure Dragon Gang hoping to earn a Body Tempering Pill, but learned that Ye Li’s Apprenticeship Banquet would be held early next month and that Ye Li had become the gang leader’s final disciple.
• A team returned to a higher-dimensional space after a dangerous mission, and their black-clad leader warned them to strengthen themselves for an upcoming team battle in the Southern Barbarian Region and avoid bringing technological weapons.

Ye Li arranged paid sparring matches with Body Tempering martial artists from Guangming’s martial halls to improve his martial arts experience. At the Yunjin Street grounds, he challenged ten mid-stage opponents at once and faced an angry Li Yicheng, who volunteered to fight first.

• Azure Dragon Gang students visited Chuangyuan Martial Hall to recruit Body Tempering martial artists as sparring partners for Ye Li, offering silver for attendance and each fight.
• Wei Chi decided to take a sparring slot because he needed money for cultivation pills, while Hall Master Zhuang Chuang let his students choose for themselves.
• Ye Li explained that he had arranged the matches to test whether combat could accelerate his Star-Shifting Nine-Palace Step experience.
• More than twenty martial artists gathered at Yunjin Street, where Ye Li arrived and said he would begin by fighting ten mid-stage Body Tempering opponents.
• Li Yicheng angrily stepped forward and challenged Ye Li to the first match.

Ye Li defeated Li Yicheng with one punch, then faced nine middle-stage Body Tempering martial artists to practice his footwork. He dodged their attacks and gained experience in Star-Shifting Nine-Palace Step.

• Ye Li instantly defeated Li Yicheng, sending him into a brick wall, and explained that his solid foundation and footwork had made the spar effortless.
• Ye Li invited the other middle-stage martial artists to challenge him and promised to block and dodge without striking back.
• Five martial artists surrounded Ye Li and attacked, but he slipped through their blows with nimble footwork.
• Four more martial artists joined the fight, bringing the number of opponents to nine, while Ye Li continued evading their attacks.
• Ye Li gained one point of experience in Star-Shifting Nine-Palace Step and realized that fighting helped him improve the technique faster than solo practice.

Ye Li improved his Star-Shifting Nine-Palace Step by sparring with paid warriors and continued his demanding cultivation. As preparations began for his Apprenticeship Banquet, he learned that Poison Wolf Gang leader Zou Tu planned a rival banquet on the same day.

• Ye Li sparred for hours with Body Tempering warriors, paid them fairly, and invited Wei Chi to return for double pay.
• Ye Li checked his progress and discussed his training plans with Zheng Tong, who urged him to challenge warriors from other schools.
• Zheng Tong received troubling news from the Poison Wolf Gang, and over the following weeks Ye Li continued cultivating toward late-stage Body Tempering.
• As the Azure Dragon Gang prepared for Ye Li’s Apprenticeship Banquet, its members learned that the Poison Wolf Gang was arranging a banquet of its own.
• Li Liang told Ye Li that Zou Tu had scheduled the Poison Wolf Gang’s Apprenticeship Banquet for the exact same day.

Ye Li learned that the Poison Wolf Gang had scheduled an apprenticeship banquet for Lu Xiuyuan ahead of the Azure Dragon Gang’s event, forcing Guangming’s factions to choose sides. Rejecting the idea of enduring the insult, he entered the council hall and urged Zheng Tong to attack the Poison Wolf Gang.

• Li Liang told Ye Li that the Poison Wolf Gang had arranged an earlier apprenticeship banquet and planned to make Guangming’s factions choose sides.
• Li Liang revealed that Zou Tu would take Lu Xiuyuan as his disciple, and Ye Li learned that Lu Xiuyuan’s trait made him valuable for cultivating hard-body techniques.
• Ye Li asked about the Poison Wolf Gang’s strength and the city’s politics, then decided he would not tolerate the gang’s provocation.
• Ye Li stormed into the Azure Dragon Gang’s council hall and shouted to Zheng Tong that they should charge into the Poison Wolf Gang and kill them.

Ye Li urged the Azure Dragon Gang to retaliate against the Poison Wolf Gang before his Apprenticeship Banquet, and Zheng Tong agreed to accompany him. As the rival gang celebrated in West City and the Azure Dragon Gang simmered with resentment, Ye Li resumed cultivating for the coming confrontation.

• Ye Li demanded that Zheng Tong lead an assault on the Poison Wolf Gang, dismissing the elders’ warnings about the danger and the city’s fragile balance.
• Ye Li explained his plan and said the attack was worth it because it would be cool; Zheng Tong agreed to accompany him at the Apprenticeship Banquet half a month later.
• The Poison Wolf Gang decorated West City for its celebration while the Azure Dragon Gang prepared for the banquet under a cloud of humiliation and anger.
• Ye Li returned to cultivation to prepare for the confrontation at the Apprenticeship Banquet.

As the Poison Wolf Gang and Azure Dragon Gang drew public attention toward their rivalry, Ye Li ignored the gossip and perfected the Essence-Locking Yuan Technique, choosing a trait that strengthened his cultivation. He prepared to make his footwork training harder with heavy iron rings and received the Breath-Concealing Art from the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

• News spread that the Poison Wolf Gang and Azure Dragon Gang would hold their Apprenticeship Banquets on the same day, and martial artists training with Ye Li speculated about the Azure Dragon Gang’s response.
• Wei Chi listened silently as the martial artists criticized Ye Li, while Ye Li ignored the gossip and dismissed the training partners early.
• Ye Li perfected the Essence-Locking Yuan Technique and chose the White · Yang Furnace trait, which converted excess essence into vital energy.
• Ye Li decided to wear four fifty-pound tungsten iron rings to make his Star-Shifting Nine-Palace Step training harder and aim for a new trait within half a month.
• Li Liang delivered the iron rings and the Breath-Concealing Art that the Hundred Treasures Pavilion had sent to Ye Li.

Ye Li trained under increasing burdens while developing his Breath-Concealing Art and movement technique, and Lu Xiuyuan was forced to cultivate by the Poison Wolf Gang as Xiao Fang’s safety was used to threaten him. After half a month, the Apprenticeship Banquet arrived, giving Ye Li a chance to test his training.

• Ye Li learned the Breath-Concealing Art, but found that moving caused his suppressed blood and vitality to spill out, so he focused on movement training instead.
• The Poison Wolf Gang forced Lu Xiuyuan to cultivate toward a breakthrough by threatening Xiao Fang with abuse if he failed.
• Ye Li struggled to evade seven middle-stage Body Tempering Realm martial artists while training with a heavy burden, gaining experience as his abilities and stamina improved.
• Zheng Tong saw Ye Li training relentlessly and advised him to rest, but Ye Li continued for half a month.
• On December 1st, the Apprenticeship Banquet began, and Ye Li clenched his fist, ready to test his progress.

Ye Li set out with Zheng Tong for the Azure Dragon Gang's Apprenticeship Banquet as the Poison Wolf Gang staged a competing celebration in West City. The crowd fell silent when Zheng Tong arrived, while Zou Tu's secret use of Malicious Heart poison on him remained undiscovered.

• Ye Li refused Li Liang's offer of Silver Scale Armor and left with Zheng Tong for the banquet.
• Zou Tu told Tao Song that he had planted a hidden seed in Zheng Tong with Malicious Heart poison and believed it was making Zheng Tong increasingly timid.
• Guests from across Guangming crowded the Poison Wolf Gang's banquet, where Wei Chi heard Li Yicheng mock the Azure Dragon Gang's poorly attended celebration.
• The Poison Wolf Gang began a lavish performance of Crossing Li Mountain to outshine the Azure Dragon Gang's banquet.
• The master of ceremonies announced Zheng Tong's arrival, and the guests fell silent.

At the Poison Wolf Banquet, Zou Tu’s killing intent overwhelmed Du Yuanzhou when the Azure Dragon Gang arrived with nearly all its Post-Heaven Elders. Ye Li challenged Zou Tu to bring out Lu Xiuyuan, putting the Poison Wolf Gang under pressure to respond.

• Zou Tu toasted City Lord Li Guancai and met his disciple Du Yuanzhou, who insulted the Poison Wolf Gang.
• Zou Tu’s killing intent erupted when the master of ceremonies announced Azure Dragon Gang Leader Zheng Tong, and Li Guancai steadied Du Yuanzhou.
• Zheng Tong and Ye Li arrived with seven others, including nearly all of the Azure Dragon Gang’s Post-Heaven Elders.
• Ye Li shouted at Zou Tu to bring out Lu Xiuyuan and threatened to bloodbath the banquet if Lu’s survival spoiled his mood.
• The gathered martial artists erupted in excitement, leaving the Poison Wolf Gang facing the challenge before the crowd.

Ye Li confronted the Poison Wolf Gang and demanded that they hand over Lu Xiuyuan, while City Lord Li Guancai failed to dissuade him from escalating the dispute. As Ye Li charged Zou Tu, Zheng Tong stopped the gang leader’s poisoned strike and backed his disciple’s declaration.

• Zou Tu angrily challenged Zheng Tong as the Azure Dragon Gang arrived at Poison Wolf Mansion to demand answers.
• Ye Li demanded Lu Xiuyuan and vowed to fight his way into the mansion if the Poison Wolf Gang refused.
• Li Guancai tried to mediate and warned Ye Li that murder was against the law, but Ye Li refused to back down.
• Ye Li charged Zou Tu and declared that anyone below the Post-Heaven Realm who blocked him would die.
• Zou Tu struck at Ye Li, but Zheng Tong caught his wrist and told the Post-Heaven Realm elders to let the younger fighters proceed.

Zheng Tong fought Zou Tu and Tao Song while the Azure Dragon Gang and Poison Wolf Gang elders clashed around Ye Li. With Li Guancai keeping the battle from harming spectators, the Post-Heaven Realm fighters held each other off, leaving Ye Li to face the Poison Wolf Gang's Body Tempering Realm members and advance toward Lu Xiuyuan.

• Zheng Tong struck Zou Tu through walls, then blocked Tao Song when he tried to attack Ye Li.
• Zheng Tong drove Zou Tu and Tao Song away from the battlefield, drawing them into a distant fight.
• Li San Niang protected Ye Li as the gangs' Post-Heaven Realm elders fought, and Li Guancai intervened to shield spectators from a palm strike.
• Li Guancai urged both sides to contain their attacks, and the elders resumed fighting with their True Qi confined close to their bodies.
• With the Post-Heaven Realm fighters occupied, Ye Li's path to Lu Xiuyuan opened, and nearly a hundred Poison Wolf Gang Body Tempering Realm members prepared to challenge him.

Ye Li charged into the Poison Wolf Gang estate to reach Lu Xiuyuan, fighting through a sea of disciples after his shackles were removed. With two speed entries activated, he broke through the encirclement and prepared to face a late-stage Body Tempering giant head-on.

• The opera performance about a young general and his pursuers made Ye Li and the elders recognize their own situation in the song.
• Ye Li declared that he sought Lu Xiuyuan's head and charged into the Poison Wolf Gang estate at full strength.
• A Poison Wolf Gang elder ordered the disciples to protect Lu Xiuyuan and kill the Azure Dragon rebels, and a vast crowd surrounded Ye Li.
• Ye Li activated his [Green] and [White] speed entries, dodged and struck down attackers, and forced his way through the formation.
• A late-stage Body Tempering giant confronted Ye Li, who chose to meet the giant's powerful strike head-on despite being at mid-stage Body Tempering.

Ye Li revealed Hidden Force as he fought through the Poison Wolf Gang, then faced four faster, speed-focused martial artists who tried to stop him reaching Lu Xiuyuan. He used his newly unlocked [Indeterminate Direction] trait to evade the blue-trait fighter’s sword and turn the pursuit against him, ending the chapter with a Hidden Force strike.

• Ye Li defeated the Poison Wolf Gang’s iron-tower giant with Hidden Force and continued charging toward Lu Xiuyuan.
• Four speed-focused martial artists surrounded Ye Li and attacked him with their weapons.
• The blue-trait fighter doubled his speed and thrust his sword at Ye Li’s heart, but Ye Li used [Indeterminate Direction] to turn sharply without slowing and evade it.
• Ye Li folded back a second time while the blue-trait fighter struggled to halt, then launched a Hidden Force punch at his exposed chest with “Thunderbolt Flash” and a “Two-hit combo.”

Ye Li used his traits and movement skills to tear through the Poison Wolf Gang’s Body Tempering fighters while their Post-Heaven experts remained occupied. He reached Lu Xiuyuan, who had fallen to his knees, and thrust a spear at him.

• Ye Li killed a speed-focused martial artist with a punch, then evaded the other attackers with [Indeterminate Direction].
• A Poison Wolf Gang elder identified Ye Li’s changing movement as a trait, and the gang’s fighters surrounded him with blades.
• Ye Li used his speed, traits, and footwork to kill scores of Poison Wolf Gang disciples, leaving the survivors afraid to approach.
• Ye Li mocked a Post-Heaven elder, declared that he was in the mid-Body Tempering Realm, and advanced toward Lu Xiuyuan.
• Lu Xiuyuan fell to his knees as Ye Li seized a fallen spear and thrust it at him.

Ye Li defeated the Poison Wolf Gang’s protected disciple Lu Xiuyuan, who died of fear before Ye Li’s spear could strike. After Ye Li celebrated with a poem, Zheng Tong pulled him away from the gang’s retaliation, leaving Zou Tu to order his men to clean up and postpone revenge.

• Ye Li stopped his spear when he realized Lu Xiuyuan had already frightened himself to death, then mocked the Poison Wolf Gang over his death.
• Ye Li recited a poem celebrating his victory, impressing the banquet’s guests and the Azure Dragon Gang elders.
• Zheng Tong seized Ye Li and dragged him away as a Poison Wolf Gang attack shattered the ground where Ye Li had stood.
• Zheng Tong warned Zou Tu to stop pursuing the Azure Dragon Gang, while Ye Li invited the onlookers to his East City Apprenticeship Banquet.
• The Azure Dragon Gang elders withdrew, and Zou Tu ordered the Poison Wolf Gang to clean up and settle the score another day.

Ye Li returned to the Azure Dragon Gang's Apprenticeship Banquet covered in blood, then vanished before anyone could question him. A crowd of prominent guests arrived from West City and revealed that Ye Li had scared Lu Xiuyuan to death in front of the Poison Wolf Gang.

• Jiang Xiyue noticed that the Azure Dragon Gang's senior fighters and Ye Li were missing, then decided to go to the Poison Wolf Gang to find him.
• Ye Li burst into the Azure Dragon Gang compound in bloodstained clothes, ignored the crowd, and disappeared without explaining what had happened.
• Prominent guests streamed into the compound from West City, puzzling the banquet attendees.
• Wang Ganshi asked a merchant why he had returned, and the merchant said Ye Li had scared Lu Xiuyuan to death before the Poison Wolf Gang.

After news spread of Ye Li’s solo assault on the Poison Wolf Gang, the Azure Dragon Gang’s Apprenticeship Banquet celebrated his victory and his appointment as Zheng Tong’s final disciple and Young Gang Leader. Ye Li stayed to enjoy the festivities, publicly crediting Wang Ganshi for supporting him.

• Guests recounted Ye Li’s defeat of the Poison Wolf Gang, and Jiang Xiyue regretted missing the spectacle in West City.
• Ye Li returned to the banquet hall, where Zheng Tong began the apprenticeship ceremony.
• Ye Li knelt before Zheng Tong, who named him his final disciple and the Azure Dragon Gang’s Young Gang Leader.
• Guests crowded around Ye Li to toast his courage and praise his victory.
• Ye Li introduced Wang Ganshi as the supporter who had helped him rise, drawing praise and offers of cooperation from influential guests.
• Ye Li stayed at the banquet instead of returning to secluded cultivation, choosing to enjoy the day.

After the Apprenticeship Banquet, Ye Li spoke with Jiang Xiyue, dismissed Du Yuanzhou’s attempt to declare him a rival, and settled into the Azure Dragon Gang headquarters. As he planned to cultivate for the Guangming Grand Tournament, Central Province arrived as a new enemy.

• Jiang Xiyue teased Ye Li for missing her at the banquet, accepted his invitation to dinner, and left for the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
• Du Yuanzhou warned Ye Li that he would lose to him in the Guangming Grand Tournament, but Ye Li dismissed him and left with Li Liang.
• Ye Li returned to his new courtyard inside the Azure Dragon Gang headquarters, where his status showed Middle Body Tempering at 1938/2500.
• Ye Li planned to cultivate over the next three months and aimed to approach completion before the Guangming Grand Tournament.
• As Ye Li congratulated himself on being invincible in Guangming, Central Province arrived.