Recaps

Lu Li advanced the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist to the Tendon-Refining Realm and reminded himself that he remained far from the highest levels of the martial path. After demonstrating his mastery of the Azure Wave Palm, he received a guard post in the Huang Family estate and a new, incomplete martial art, leaving him free time while he awaited an assessment.

• Wang Ju swore he had no part in the events that angered Huang He, but the two family heads parted on bad terms.
• Lu Li saw the badly injured Huang Haitao return to the Martial Academy, where Huang Haitao resented the Tendon-Refining martial artist who had defeated him.
• By the end of the month, Lu Li had advanced the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist to the Tendon-Refining Realm and reached four thousand five hundred pounds of strength.
• Lu Li and the other three demonstrated their mastery of the Azure Wave Palm, and Huang Haitao praised Lu Li as the best of them.
• Huang Haitao gave the four men the incomplete Wild Ox Fist and assigned them to guard the vacant Fifth Young Master's territory while they worked toward a year-long assessment.

Lu Li decided to seek help from the Wind and Rain Pavilion for his cultivation and Hu Niu’s breakthrough. Meanwhile, Gao Huaiyi and Zhang Tianlong pressed the Huang Family to help them find missing Incense Fragrance Sect members, offering aid against the county magistrate in return.

• Lu Li advanced his Flying Swallow Step, used a Fire God Pill to strengthen his Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist, and decided to visit the Wind and Rain Pavilion for pills.
• Lu Li invited Hu Niu to go with him to the Wind and Rain Pavilion, hoping to find something that would help her break through her bottleneck.
• Gao Huaiyi told Huang He and Wang Ju that Incense Fragrance Sect members had disappeared while pursuing Zhao Hongyun in Long-Abundance Mountain.
• Zhang Tianlong proposed killing all the herb gatherers to find the culprit, and Gao Huaiyi agreed with him.
• Gao Huaiyi offered the Huang Family help in breaking free of the county magistrate’s control.

Huang He and Wang Ju agreed to cooperate with the Incense Fragrance Sect in exchange for protection, an Inner-Qi Realm martial art, and medicinal herbs. Meanwhile, Lu Li reached the Wind and Rain Pavilion and met Elder Qing, whose expression changed when Lu Li mentioned Black Hawk.

• Gao Huaiyi offered Huang He and Wang Ju protection, martial resources, and an Inner-Qi Realm martial art in exchange for their cooperation, and both family heads accepted.
• Gao Huaiyi told Wang Tianlong they would kill a few commoners and report back rather than seek out the person behind the trouble, then urged him to focus on staying alive.
• Lu Li rode Hu Niu through the forest and reached the Wind and Rain Pavilion after following the map.
• Lu Li entered the tower and asked the old man in blue whether he was Elder Qing.
• Lu Li said Black Hawk had referred him, and Elder Qing's expression changed.

Lu Li joined the Wind and Rain Pavilion by accepting a mission to assassinate Incense Fragrance Sect members Gao Huaiyi and Zhang Tianlong, despite Elder Qing warning him they had killed an assassin before. He returned to Changfeng County amid worsening snowfall and famine, where starving people crowded the roads.

• Black Hawk collected a thousand-tael referral fee from Elder Qing after bringing Lu Li to the Wind and Rain Pavilion.
• Elder Qing offered Lu Li several missions, and Lu Li chose to assassinate Gao Huaiyi and Zhang Tianlong, two Tendon-Refining Realm members of the Incense Fragrance Sect.
• Elder Qing warned Lu Li that Gao Huaiyi wielded a powerful greatsword and Zhang Tianlong used poison, but Lu Li insisted he could kill them both.
• Lu Li chose a blood-red ghost mask and the alias Blood Ghost before leaving the Wind and Rain Pavilion.
• Black Hawk told Elder Qing he still believed Lu Li would succeed, and Elder Qing pretended to agree rather than bet against him.
• Lu Li returned to Changfeng County and saw starving people gathered in the snow; after sensing someone watching him with hostile intent, he quickened his pace.

Lu Li learned that Gao Huaiyi and Zhang Tianlong were killing herb gatherers, then rushed to Anping Alley when he heard Uncle Zhao was in danger. He arrived as Gao Huaiyi threatened the Zhao family, killed Zhang Tianlong, and attacked Gao Huaiyi.

• Lu Li overheard guards say Gao Huaiyi and Zhang Tianlong had visited Huang Mansion and wondered if they were investigating herb gatherers.
• The incoming guards forced Lu Li and his companions to remain on duty, and Lu Li later went to a tavern to gather information.
• Lu Li heard that the two men had killed several herb gatherers and were headed for Anping Alley, where Uncle Zhao lived.
• Gao Huaiyi accused Uncle Zhao of killing one of their people, beat him, and threatened him while blaming Lu Li.
• Lu Li arrived masked, struck Zhang Tianlong dead with a punch, and attacked Gao Huaiyi.

Lu Li killed Gao Huaiyi and Zhang Tianlong, took Zhang Tianlong’s poison and manual, and learned about Yin-Yang Hundred-Step Stumble. The story left him heading to Huang Mansion as the Blood Ghost’s reputation spread through Changfeng County.

• Lu Li pursued Gao Huaiyi, crushed him in a fight, and revealed himself as the Blood Ghost of the Wind and Rain Pavilion before killing him.
• Lu Li searched the two men, took Zhang Tianlong’s poison bottle and Hundred Solutions to Poisons manual, and fled with their ears as proof.
• Lu Li studied the manual and identified the poison as Yin-Yang Hundred-Step Stumble, which could kill an Organ-Refining martial artist.
• Lu Li practiced his fist technique, studied the poison, and reassured Uncle Zhao’s family before returning to his routine.
• Lu Li heard townsfolk and a storyteller recount the killings and praise the Blood Ghost as he made his way to Huang Mansion.

Lu Li heard Changfeng County gossip about Blood Ghost while Huang He and Wang Ju worried about the consequences of the Wind and Rain Pavilion killings. Wang Ju became fixated on Lu Li’s appearance and resolved to have him, unaware that Lu Li was watching him.

• Li Qing idolized Blood Ghost and reproached Lu Li for seeming ungrateful, while Lu Li kept his identity as Blood Ghost secret.
• Huang He and Wang Ju discussed fearing the Incense Fragrance Sect and decided to wait and see, with Huang He urging better treatment of their workers.
• Lu Li saw Huang Mansion distributing congee and reflected that the Wind and Rain Pavilion’s presence had made people behave more cautiously.
• Wang Ju recognized Lu Li and became captivated by his appearance, then inwardly resolved to have him despite Lu Li being a guard at Huang Mansion.
• Wang Ju rode away thinking about Lu Li, unaware that Lu Li was watching coldly from behind his sedan chair.

Lu Li ambushed and killed Wang Ju, the head of the Wang Family, using poison and overwhelming force before escaping the city. News of Wang Ju’s death spread as Lu Li headed into the mountains.

• Lu Li attacked Wang Ju’s sedan and poisoned him during their fight.
• Lu Li overpowered Wang Ju, who guessed that Huang He might have arranged the bounty on him.
• Lu Li crushed Wang Ju’s head, took his ear, and vanished before the Wang Family could stop him.
• An elderly Wang Family member mourned Wang Ju’s death, while the city’s common people celebrated the news.
• Lu Li made preparations, left the city, and headed into the mountains.

Lu Li returned to the Wind and Rain Pavilion after completing his mission, earning his assassin status and a Bronze Rank promotion for killing Wang Ju. He chose the codename Blood Ghost and went upstairs with Black Hawk to buy resources, while Elder Qing wondered if he might be a genius.

• Black Hawk bet Elder Qing that Lu Li would succeed, wagering for Elder Qing’s Cyan Steel Sword, and Elder Qing agreed.
• Lu Li returned with the ears of Gao Huaiyi and Zhang Tianlong, confirming he had killed two members of the Incense Fragrance Sect.
• Elder Qing gave Black Hawk the broken Cyan Steel Sword and paid Lu Li seven hundred taels plus additional rewards, then made Lu Li an official assassin.
• Lu Li presented Wang Ju’s ear, and after receiving confirmation from a Wind and Rain Pavilion messenger, Elder Qing promoted him to Bronze Rank Assassin.
• Lu Li chose the codename Blood Ghost, received his bronze token, and went upstairs with Black Hawk to buy resources.

Lu Li visited Wind and Rain Pavilion to find a cultivation method and medicines, learning that he would need to travel to a commandery city for a cultivation method. He bought the last Purple Sun Pill and received Sandalwood Purple Bamboo from Black Hawk, leaving with medicine for both himself and Hu Niu.

• Black Hawk explained that cultivation methods were scarce in Changfeng County and described how martial artists ranked in a commandery city.
• Lu Li bought the last Purple Sun Pill for nine hundred taels, using his bronze token discount and the silver he had brought from home.
• Lu Li asked for medicine to help a demon break through, and the old man offered Sandalwood Purple Bamboo for five hundred taels but warned that another buyer was interested.
• Black Hawk offered to buy the Sandalwood Purple Bamboo for Lu Li, citing the reward he had earned by recommending him and proposing they become allies.
• Lu Li accepted Black Hawk's offer and took the box containing the Sandalwood Purple Bamboo.

Lu Li returned to the cave with Sandalwood Purple Bamboo for Hu Niu and took a Purple Sun Pill to strengthen himself. Hu Niu broke through to the Organ-Refining Realm, while Lu Li left her with a promise to take her to Changfeng County once he was strong enough.

• Lu Li gave Hu Niu Sandalwood Purple Bamboo, and she ate it before falling asleep to break through.
• Lu Li swallowed a Purple Sun Pill and practiced the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist through the night, raising its progress to 700/900.
• Hu Niu woke after successfully reaching the Organ-Refining Realm and killed a black wolf with one blow.
• Hu Niu asked Lu Li to take her into the city, and he promised to bring her to Changfeng County when he could rule it.
• Lu Li sensed Hu Niu’s disappointment and hostility but left without asking what troubled her.

Lu Li was saved from four starving attackers by a powerful woman in white, who warned him that the Huang and Wang Families might soon clash. After she left, Lu Li realized the gangs’ conflict could be driven by Lineage forces and prepared for the coming turmoil.

• Lu Li noticed four bloodthirsty men following him and led them into an alley, where they tried to attack him.
• A woman in white killed the four men instantly and escorted Lu Li home, warning him to avoid alleys and stay alert for a conflict between the Huang and Wang Families.
• The woman spoke approvingly of Wang Ju's death, and Lu Li wondered whether she was Huang Mansion’s absent young lady or was investigating the killing.
• After the woman departed, Lu Li saw faint Blood-Qi Wolf Smoke around her and concluded she was approaching the Blood-Exchange Realm.
• Lu Li connected the gangs’ fierce fighting to the Lineages and decided to prepare because his ties to the Huang Family could pull him into the conflict.

Huang Rongyue returned to the Huang Family and agreed to help defend it, despite disapproving of her family's motives. Meanwhile, Lu Li suspected the county magistrate was manipulating the Huang and Wang Families, leaving the Huang Family in danger.

• Huang Rongyue arrived at the Huang Family assembly hall and learned that Huang He was handing out porridge to win public support against Blood Ghost and the Wang Family.
• Huang He explained that the county magistrate was pushing the Huang and Wang Families into conflict, and he asked Huang Rongyue to help protect the family's holdings.
• Huang Rongyue agreed to help, while telling Huang He that her martial-world friends could not come to their aid.
• Lu Li returned to his watch, where Li Qing told him the Huang and Wang Families were about to fight.
• Lu Li reasoned that the county magistrate was likely backing the Wang Family and manipulating both families, and he feared the Huang Family would suffer.

Lu Li attended a gathering where Huang Rongyue assigned guards to posts as the Huang Family prepared for conflict with the Wang Family. She placed the inexperienced recruits near the family, defended them from Niu Kai, and ended by recognizing Lu Li as a Huang Family guard.

• Lu Li followed the guards to the square and saw Huang Rongyue, the woman who had rescued him earlier that day.
• Huang Rongyue introduced herself and assigned the guards to posts, placing Lu Li, Li Qing, and the other newcomers near the Huang Family.
• Niu Kai challenged Lu Li's advantageous assignment and demanded a chance to switch posts.
• Huang Rongyue rebuked Niu Kai and revealed her Blood-Qi Wolf Smoke, making him kneel and accept her decision.
• Lu Li and the others thanked Huang Rongyue, and she smiled at Lu Li, saying she had not expected him to be a Huang Family guard.

Lu Li watched Huang Rongyue’s porridge relief descend into chaos and realized the Huang Family and Wang Family had begun struggling against each other. He then removed the Demon-Controlling Gu from Hu Niu and took her to the Wind and Rain Pavilion to look for assassination missions.

• Huang Rongyue warned Lu Li and Li Qing to stay alert and promised to stand up for them if Niu Kai caused trouble again.
• Lu Li visited the Outer City and saw a man provoke a riot at Huang Rongyue’s porridge stand, leading him to realize the Huang Family and Wang Family’s conflict had begun.
• Lu Li found Hu Niu, who told him her cultivation had stabilized at the Organ-Refining Realm.
• Lu Li removed a Demon-Controlling Gu from Hu Niu, and she realized he had freed her from its control.
• Lu Li comforted Hu Niu about losing her parents and took her to the Wind and Rain Pavilion.

Lu Li accepted Wang Family bounties and perfected the Flying Swallow Step while guarding an apothecary. When a real fire broke out during the night, he left in disguise as Blood Ghost, while Huang Rongyue and Huang He struggled to respond to the Huang Family’s mounting losses.

• Elder Qing offered Lu Li numerous bounty missions, and Lu Li selected eight targeting members of the Wang Family.
• Lu Li trained at the apothecary and mastered the Flying Swallow Step, moving across the herb garden without disturbing a leaf.
• A blaze erupted in the distance, and Li Qing led his frightened lackeys inside while Lu Li changed into his Blood Ghost disguise and slipped away.
• Huang Rongyue asked Huang He how they could stop the Huang Family’s losses after the enemy seized and burned businesses.
• Huang He suspected the county magistrate had engineered the attack and urged Huang Rongyue to hold back to avoid an enemy encirclement.

Lu Li intervened in the Wang and Huang Families’ battle, killed Wang Qiang and the Wang Family fighters, then continued searching other districts for bounty targets. Huang He and Huang Rongyue recognized him as Blood Ghost, and Rongyue began to wonder why he had helped them.

• Huang He tried to keep Huang Rongyue from rushing into the battle as reports came in that Wang Family forces were attacking Huang Family territory.
• Lu Li arrived at the battlefield and killed Wang Qiang with a powerful punch, allowing the surrounded Huang Family members to escape.
• The Wang Family fighters feared Lu Li, but he demanded to know where Wang Yu was and killed them when nobody answered.
• Huang He and Huang Rongyue identified Lu Li as Blood Ghost and wondered why he had intervened, while Rongyue considered pursuing him.
• Lu Li moved through other districts, searching for Wang Family members with bounties on their heads.

Lu Li slaughtered Wang Family disciples and confronted Wang Yu, the Organ-Refining Realm heir, who had come to kill him. Lu Li defeated and killed Wang Yu, then took his ear as proof of the fight.

• Lu Li killed Wang Family disciples across several districts, while Huang He’s daughter urged her father to recruit Blood Ghost.
• Lu Li encountered Wang Yu’s procession and recognized the Wang Family heir as a wanted target worth a thousand taels.
• Wang Yu attacked Lu Li, but Lu Li matched and overpowered him in their clash.
• Lu Li chased down the fleeing Wang Yu and beat him while the Wang Family subordinates refused to intervene.
• Wang Yu begged for mercy, but Lu Li smashed his head, tore off an ear, and sighed in relief.

Lu Li killed Wang Yu, rejected Huang Rongyue’s attempts to recruit him, and returned to the pharmacy after hiding his identity. The next morning, Er Gou and armed members of the Black Wolf Gang broke into the pharmacy to loot it.

• Lu Li killed Wang Yu and drove the surviving Wang Family members to flee.
• Huang Rongyue offered Lu Li a wealthy position and then a friendship arrangement, but he refused both and slipped away.
• Lu Li returned to the pharmacy, changed out of his bloodied clothes, and slept while Li Qing and the others remained anxious.
• The next morning, Er Gou led Black Wolf Gang members in breaking down the pharmacy’s gate and ordering them to attack.

Lu Li defeated Er Gou and his men, then studied a poison powerful enough to threaten an Inner-Qi Realm martial artist. After the fighting at Huang Mansion ended, Huang Rongyue and Huang He gathered the survivors to hear a grim report of their losses.

• Er Gou and his men attacked Li Qing, Zhang Qing, and Lu Li, but Lu Li revealed his martial strength and killed Er Gou with his fists.
• Lu Li let the apothecary's physician treat the wounded, practiced the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist, and studied Heartless Gut-Severing Powder in Hundred Solutions to Poisons.
• Lu Li wondered whether he could create a poison capable of harming Houtian and Xiantian experts.
• After the fighting at Huang Mansion died down, Huang Rongyue and Huang He joined the senior members in the main hall to hear the damage report.
• The survivors blamed the Wang Family and the county magistrate for the ambush and mourned their heavy losses.

After learning that the Blood Ghost had killed several Wang Family experts, Huang He ordered his family to recruit him and suggested that Huang Rongyue confess her love to him. Huang Rongyue rewarded Lu Li for his service and began teaching him the Vajra Fist, unaware of his true strength.

• The steward reported that the Huang Family had lost forty businesses but the Wang Family had lost two Organ-Refining experts and many other fighters, most beaten to death with bare fists.
• Huang He recognized the Blood Ghost's handiwork and told the Huang Family to treat him courteously and win him over at any cost.
• Huang He suggested that Huang Rongyue confess her love to the Blood Ghost, and she reluctantly considered what he might look like.
• Huang Rongyue praised Lu Li for helping protect a pharmacy, and Huang He let her decide how to reward him.
• Huang Rongyue gave Lu Li five hundred taels, ten Essence Pills, and the Vajra Fist, then began teaching him as he quickly demonstrated a sound stance.

Lu Li turned down Huang Rongyue’s offer of friendship, then visited the Wind and Rain Pavilion to exchange his spoils and learned that Green Snake had returned and might target him. He discovered Hu Niu had found Gut-Severing Grass and headed back with pills and new bounties.

• Huang Rongyue corrected Lu Li’s fighting stance and offered to befriend him, but he refused despite Li Qing’s envy.
• Lu Li found that Hu Niu had brought back Gut-Severing Grass, a main ingredient for Heart-Severing Gut-Breaking Powder.
• At the Wind and Rain Pavilion, Lu Li exchanged his collected items for three thousand taels and learned that one of the cultivators he killed was Cunning Rabbit, a Bronze Rank Assassin.
• Black Hawk chose a Wang Family bounty after Lu Li warned him off Huang Rongyue’s, then warned Lu Li that Green Snake had returned and held a grudge against him.
• Lu Li bought three Dragon Essence Pills, took several bounties, and headed back.

Lu Li used a Dragon Essence Pill to break through to the Organ-Refining Realm and prepared poison against Green Snake. As Wang Buju ordered a bounty on the Blood Ghost, Green Snake and his giant python entered Chengfeng County to hunt Lu Li's rival.

• Lu Li absorbed a Dragon Essence Pill, broke through to the Organ-Refining Realm, and estimated that his strength might let him challenge a Blood-Exchange Realm expert.
• Lu Li gathered herbs, returned to the apothecary, and prepared poison because he expected Green Snake to target him.
• Wang Buju mourned Wang Yu, learned that none of the Wang Family's known enemies could be the Blood Ghost, and ordered a bounty on the killer.
• Green Snake's giant python put the guards on Chengfeng County's walls to sleep, and Green Snake entered the city seeking the Blood Ghost.

Lu Li discovered that Green Snake’s allies had poisoned the medicine shop and were attacking Huang Mansion, so he followed them to confront the threat. At Huang Mansion, Green Snake poisoned and overpowered Huang Rongyue, leaving her helpless after his demonic snake bit her.

• Lu Li woke poisoned, took his improved Detoxification Powder, and realized Green Snake had arrived with accomplices.
• Lu Li found Li Qing and the others poisoned, then followed a group of skilled black-clad fighters toward Huang Mansion.
• The attackers raided Huang Mansion, and Green Snake confronted Huang Rongyue while she watched from the roof.
• Green Snake revealed that Huang Rongyue had been poisoned and demanded that she submit to him, but she refused and fought back.
• Huang Rongyue unleashed Mountain-Sinking Peak-Breaking, but Green Snake’s demonic snake knocked her down and bit her, flooding her with venom.

Lu Li arrived in time to rescue Huang Rongyue from Green Snake and turned the battle against the assassins. Green Snake was defeated and Huang Rongyue killed the giant python, but she was badly injured as she went to Lu Li's side.

• Green Snake threatened the weakened Huang Rongyue until Lu Li suddenly attacked him.
• Lu Li gave Huang Rongyue Detoxification Powder, and she recovered enough to fight Green Python while Lu Li faced Green Snake.
• Lu Li broke Green Snake's poisoned dagger and shattered his arm, then scattered Green Snake's poison powder with a powerful cry.
• Green Snake pretended to surrender, then lunged for Huang Rongyue, but Lu Li caught him and smashed him to the ground.
• Huang Rongyue killed Green Python with Mountain-Sinking Peak-Breaking, spat out blood, and went to Lu Li's side.