Recaps

Lu Li, disguised as Blood Ghost, accepted Zhao Jiahao’s offer to assassinate Lu Li, then pocketed the deposit while planning to kill Zhao Jiahao and take the Golden Box’s key. After Zhao Jiahao left, Lu Li returned to the counter, where Old Ma asked whether he knew Elder Qing.

• Old Ma complained that he had lost a finger while tampering with the Golden Box, and Lu Li suspected Zhao Jiahao knew how to open it.
• Zhao Jiahao offered Blood Ghost 150,000 taels to kill Lu Li and identified himself as a personal disciple of Elder Qiu of the Broken Mountain Sect.
• Lu Li agreed to the contract, collected Zhao Jiahao’s 100,000-tael deposit, and planned to kill him for the Golden Box key.
• Zhao Jiahao departed, and Lu Li resolved to grow strong enough to bring the Broken Mountain Sect to heel.
• Lu Li returned to Deacon Su and Old Ma, and Old Ma asked whether he knew Elder Qing.

Lu Li bought pills and a Golden Box at the Wind and Rain Pavilion while learning about the organization’s discounts and rumored extraordinary beings. Old Ma agreed to spend the rest of his life breaking mechanisms for Lu Li if Lu Li managed to open the box.

• Old Ma offered Lu Li a discount, and Lu Li bought ten Qi Gathering Pills and two Demon Essence Pills.
• Su Yun explained that Pre-Heaven experts received Black Gold tokens and that Grandmasters and Great Grandmasters enjoyed far greater benefits within the Wind and Rain Pavilion.
• Su Yun and Old Ma discussed rumors about extraordinary beings, including a Tomb-Guarding Eunuch of the Huang Family who supposedly had lived since Great Yan’s founding.
• Lu Li asked to buy the Golden Box, and Old Ma agreed to keep it for him while warning that it might be dangerous and difficult to open.
• Old Ma laughed at Lu Li’s claim that he might open the box and promised to spend the rest of his life breaking mechanisms for him if he succeeded.

Lu Li fed Demon Essence Pills to Hu Niu and the Cloud-Turning Wolf, then returned to Changfeng County and advanced his cultivation and Ice Fiend Blade Technique. After learning that Zhao Jiahao was stationed nearby, he noted that the newly accepted true disciple was isolated from the other sects.

• Lu Li gave Hu Niu and the Cloud-Turning Wolf Demon Essence Pills and secured the wolf’s pledge of loyalty.
• Lu Li entered Changfeng County, where Incense Fragrance Sect followers watched him with hostility before scattering when he noticed them.
• Lu Li used Qi Gathering Pills to cultivate, bringing his Endless Life Technique close to a breakthrough to the Houtian Realm’s fourth layer.
• Lu Li practiced the Ice Fiend Blade Technique and found that his blade had begun to gather frost.
• Lu Li sent people to find Zhao Jiahao and learned that the fifth-layer Houtian Realm disciple was stationed on Azure Dragon Street, apart from most Broken Mountain Sect disciples.

Lu Li broke through to the fourth layer of the Houtian Realm, then prepared his forces for a night operation against the Broken Mountain Sect. Meanwhile, Wen Ziliang’s master warned him to avoid Lu Li, though Wen still wanted to test himself against him.

• Lu Li used two Gathering Yuan Pills to break through to the fourth layer of the Houtian Realm, greatly increasing his Inner Qi and strength.
• Nie Kun arrived, felt Lu Li’s powerful aura, and heard him order the martial masters and several disciples to stand by that night.
• Lu Li continued practicing the Ice Fiend Blade Technique as he prepared to attack the Broken Mountain Sect and Zhao Jiahao.
• At the Vajra Gate, Wen Ziliang trained with a boulder and told his master that Lu Li seemed formidable.
• Wen Ziliang’s master warned him not to associate with Lu Li because the Broken Mountain Sect and Incense Fragrance Sect were likely to move against him, but Wen still wanted to challenge Lu Li.

Lu Li led Zuo Cangyun and his companions on a moonless-night raid against Zhao Jiahao’s territory after revealing that he had been hired to kill himself. They cleared the gate and moved deeper inside while Zhao Jiahao drank with four Broken Mountain Sect disciples, unaware that Lu Li had arrived.

• Lu Li broke through to the Proficient level in the Ice Fiend Blade Technique and told Zuo Cangyun and the others that he planned to raid the Broken Mountain Sect’s territory.
• Lu Li revealed that he was also the Wind and Rain Pavilion’s Blood Ghost and had been paid by Zhao Jiahao to kill Lu Li, prompting the group to laugh at the scheme.
• Lu Li and his companions waited until the hour of the Pig, then infiltrated Zhao Jiahao’s territory and killed the guards at the gate.
• Lu Li confirmed that the area was clear and led the others farther inside.
• Zhao Jiahao drank with four Broken Mountain Sect disciples and admitted he had invited them to protect him because he feared Lu Li might attack.

Lu Li ambushed Zhao Jiahao and the Broken Mountain Sect disciples while disguised as Blood Ghost, killing the disciples and maiming Zhao Jiahao. He learned Zhao Jiahao had kept fifty thousand taels from their supposed deal and demanded the key to the box, but Zhao Jiahao claimed he did not know where it was.

• Lu Li executed two captives and scared a third to death after learning where the Broken Mountain Sect disciples were gathered.
• Lu Li killed the courtyard guard, then let Zhao Jiahao mistake him for Blood Ghost and accept a severed head as proof that Lu Li was dead.
• Lu Li severed Zhao Jiahao's limbs and, with Zuo Cangyun, Gao Yulou, Ji Yun, and the others, killed the Broken Mountain Sect disciples and their followers.
• Zhao Jiahao confessed that he had kept fifty thousand taels from the deal, and Lu Li struck him before demanding the key to the box.
• Zhao Jiahao claimed he did not know where the key was, and Lu Li raised his hand to threaten him.

Lu Li killed Zhao Jiahao, divided the stolen treasury among his companions, and returned to the Evergreen Sect. After cultivating and visiting the Black Market, he told Su Yun and Old Ma that he wanted to buy the Golden Box, leaving Old Ma suspicious that Lu Li knew how to open it.

• Lu Li found a jeweled golden key and fifty thousand taels in silver notes on Zhao Jiahao, then killed him after learning he did not know what was inside the box.
• Lu Li divided the treasury’s contents among his companions, and Elder Qiu praised him before disappearing.
• Lu Li returned to the Deacon Mansion, promised his companions he would eventually deal with their enemies, and rested until morning.
• Lu Li cultivated, left the city, and went to the cave, where he saw Hu Niu and the Cloud-Turning Wolf sparring after both had reached the Houtian Realm.
• Lu Li rode Hu Niu to the Black Market and told Su Yun he had come to buy the Golden Box.
• Su Yun took Lu Li upstairs to Old Ma, who questioned whether Lu Li had really found a way to open the box.

Lu Li opened the Golden Box and found a map to a treasure ground and a Mirror-Breaking Pill, which rapidly advanced his cultivation to the fourth layer of the Houtian Realm. As fifteen assassins closed in to seize the box, Lu Li drew his blade and killed the first attacker.

• Lu Li left with the Golden Box while Su Yun warned him that Black Tiger, a sixth-layer Houtian Realm assassin, was among those following him.
• Lu Li counted fifteen pursuers, opened the box, and found a map marked “Treasure Ground!” and a fragrant pill.
• Lu Li swallowed the pill, and its power raised his cultivation to the fourth layer of the Houtian Realm as Luo Bingyun watched in alarm.
• The parchment promised treasures worth hundreds or thousands of times more than the pill, stirring the assassins’ greed.
• An assassin demanded the box, and Lu Li drew the Five-Tiger Coiling Dragon Blade, appeared behind the attacker, and severed his head.

Lu Li defeated Black Tiger and the assassins who ambushed him, with help from Elder Qing and Black Hawk. After the three parted ways, Elder Qing and Black Hawk discussed Lu Li’s return to Longwind Prefecture and their plans for revenge.

• Lu Li killed the assassins who attacked him, then cut Black Tiger in half and hunted down the fleeing men.
• The Fifth Elder prepared to kill the escaping assassins with ice needles, but an unseen ally struck first, allowing Lu Li to finish them off.
• Elder Qing and Black Hawk emerged from the shadows, and Lu Li thanked them for their help before they parted ways.
• Elder Qing told Black Hawk that Lu Li had returned to Longwind Prefecture and could now make his father regret his actions.
• Black Hawk said he wanted his father dead for how he had treated his mother, while Elder Qing admitted that taking revenge on his own would be difficult.

Elder Qiu learned that Zhao Jiahao and three other Broken Mountain Sect core disciples had been killed, and Wei Zhantang blamed Evergreen Sect and vowed to retaliate. Evergreen Sect’s elders discovered that Lu Li had killed the disciples and learned he had already reached the fourth layer of the Houtian Realm.

• Elder Qiu learned that Zhao Jiahao, Senior Brother Niu, Senior Brother Lin, and another disciple had died, then accidentally knocked the messenger down with the force of her rage.
• Wei Zhantang ordered a thorough investigation and threatened to destroy Evergreen Sect, while Elder Qiu accused Evergreen Sect of colluding with Blood Ghost.
• Wen Ziliang questioned why his sect obeyed Broken Mountain Sect and went to practice his fists after his master defended the Sect Master’s decision.
• Fifth Elder Luo Bingxin told Evergreen Sect’s elders that Lu Li had organized the ambush on Zhao Jiahao and wiped out the assassins at the Black Market.
• Luo Bingxin revealed that Lu Li had reached the fourth layer of the Houtian Realm in just over half a month, then said she wanted to try again to secure a cultivation technique.

Cang Baihe and the Evergreen Sect elders went to the Broken Mountain Sect to answer accusations that they had conspired with the Blood Ghost, while keeping Lu Li’s identity secret. At the Council Hall, Wei Zhantang proposed a solution to the dispute, but the chapter ended before he revealed it.

• Cang Baihe rejected Luo Bingxin’s suggestion to risk Lu Li and agreed with the elders that the Evergreen Sect should answer the Broken Mountain Sect’s accusation.
• Cang Baihe, Luo Bingxin, Huo Wuyai, and Xie Liuyun arrived at the Broken Mountain Sect, where Elder Qiu demoted Uncle Fu to a menial disciple for driving away a promising talent.
• Elder Qiu led the Evergreen Sect elders to the Council Hall, where they found representatives of the Incense Fragrance Sect and Vajra Gate alongside the Broken Mountain Sect.
• Huo Wuyai and Xie Liuyun challenged the Broken Mountain Sect’s accusations, and Xie Liuyun mocked its tea before Wei Zhantang stopped their argument.
• Wei Zhantang said prolonged conflict would strain both sects and began presenting a solution that would benefit everyone.

Cang Baihe rejected Wei Zhantang’s demand for Evergreen Sect territory and treasure, while the rival sect leaders left with their hostility unresolved. Three days later, Lu Li had continued cultivating and was making steady progress, though he still wanted more martial skills.

• Wei Zhantang proposed a truce in exchange for a thousand Evergreen Sect businesses and a million taels of silver, but Cang Baihe refused and drove him and the Incense Fragrance Sect’s members out of the hall.
• Wei Zhantang recalled Xiao Jinglei’s past humiliation and decided the Evergreen Sect would require careful planning to defeat; Elder Qiu and Luo Bingyun traded threats over their disciples, Lu Li and Huang Rongyue.
• Lu Li cultivated at home for three days, advancing the Endless Life Technique and Ice Fiend Blade Technique while finding his selection of martial skills insufficient.

Lu Li advanced his cultivation, considered developing poison-based techniques, and became a Gold-Rank Assassin while Tiger Girl and the Cloud-翻 Wolf reached the Inner Energy Realm. The Evergreen Sect elders then appointed him to lead its disciples as tensions with the Broken Mountain Sect and Incense-Taking Cult escalated, despite objections from senior disciples.

• Lu Li planned to experiment with fusing poison into his inner energy but recognized that the dangerous idea would require time to pursue.
• Lu Li bought ten Qi-Gathering Pills at the Wind and Rain Tower, took a mission, and earned Gold-Rank Assassin status and a thirty-percent discount.
• Tiger Girl and the Cloud-翻 Wolf absorbed their medicinal energy and broke through to the Inner Energy Realm, with Tiger Girl strong enough to make Lu Li stumble.
• Lu Li completed his daily cultivation, assessed his growing strength, and worried that he lacked the money or access to obtain high-grade martial arts.
• Luo Bingxin and the other four elders arrived with a crowd of disciples and warned them to prepare for worsening conflict with the Broken Mountain Sect and Incense-Taking Cult.
• Cang Baihe appointed Lu Li to lead the disciples, prompting protests from older members who questioned his experience.

Lu Li learned that Broken Mountain Sect planned to target him, while Luo Bingyun discovered his close bond with Huang Rongyue and offered to help bring them together. Qin Feng led a disguised attack on Evergreen Sect's Deacon Mansion, tortured Ji Yun, and prepared to frame the assault as an internal incident.

• Cang Baihe warned Lu Li that Broken Mountain Sect and Incense Fragrance Sect had ill intentions after negotiations failed, while Vajra Gate stayed neutral.
• Luo Bingyun warned Lu Li that Huang Rongyue had become Elder Qiu's direct disciple and offered to kill her, but Lu Li explained their friendship and her help hiding his strength.
• Qin Feng ordered his followers to slaughter Evergreen Sect disciples and provoke Lu Li, then led them into a Deacon Mansion.
• Qin Feng's group killed Ji Yun's men, defeated Ji Yun, and tortured him with silver needles.
• Qin Feng's followers changed into Broken Mountain Sect robes, and Qin Feng spoke warmly to Ji Yun as he began to wake.

Lu Li confronted Qin Feng after Ji Yun identified him as the attacker, then beat him until he confessed to targeting Ji Yun because he wanted to pursue Huang Rongyue. Qin Feng admitted he had acted on the belief that Huang Rongyue and Lu Li were enemies.

• Qin Feng carried the badly injured Ji Yun to Lu Li’s Deacon Mansion and denied Ji Yun’s accusation that he had attacked him.
• A physician reported that Ji Yun’s bones were nearly all broken and that ten silver needles had been driven between his fingers.
• Lu Li challenged Qin Feng, and Qin Feng was badly injured in their brief clash before he fled and smashed Lu Li’s gate.
• Lu Li caught Qin Feng, repeatedly slammed him into the ground, and threatened to keep beating him until he confessed.
• Qin Feng admitted that he had sought out Ji Yun to cause trouble because he loved Huang Rongyue and believed she had a longstanding grudge against Lu Li.

After humiliating Qin Feng and Broken Mountain Sect’s disciples, Lu Li provoked the sect into plotting an ambush against him. Broken Mountain Sect prepared a Heavenly Net led by Yan Wenchou, while Huang Rongyue advanced in seclusion and vowed to make the sect her gift to Lu Li.

• Lu Li forced Qin Feng’s group to repair his damaged floor and door, then threw them out and ordered them to bring better cultivation manuals next time.
• Qin Yun reported Lu Li’s insults to Wei Zhantang and the elders, prompting Wei Zhantang to order Yan Wenchou and five senior disciples to lay a Heavenly Net for Lu Li.
• Elder Qiu revealed that Huang Rongyue had entered seclusion, and Wei Zhantang praised her progress and discussed arranging her future with Qingtian.
• Huang Rongyue emerged from seclusion, revealed she had become a true disciple, and vowed to make Broken Mountain Sect her first gift to Lu Li.
• Yan Wenchou gathered Qin Feng, five senior brothers, and members of Incense Fragrance Sect to ambush Lu Li, but his insults sparked an argument that threw the courtyard into chaos.

Lu Li detected an ambush and repeatedly withdrew rather than risk his subordinates in a direct assault. When the Incense Fragrance Sect’s experts finally left their hiding place, he led his men into action.

• Lu Li sensed many powerful enemies waiting in the courtyard and called off the first operation.
• Qin Feng calmed the Incense Fragrance Sect after Yan Wenchou provoked them, and the group agreed to wait another night for Lu Li.
• Lu Li returned over the following days but withdrew each time, while his cultivation and Ice Fiend Blade Technique improved.
• The Incense Fragrance Sect’s people lost patience after four days and left the courtyard, followed by an expert who had been hiding in a tree.
• Lu Li’s men recognized that his warnings had prevented heavy losses, and he drew his blade and ordered them to begin.

Lu Li attacked the estate, killed Qin Feng, Yan Wenchou, and five True Disciples, then took his forces away after they defeated the remaining enemies and divided the spoils. The Incense Fragrance Sect found the burned ruins the next day and suspected Blood Ghost had been watching them.

• Lu Li arrived after five True Disciples were thrown into the estate, then killed Qin Feng and Yan Wenchou.
• Nie Kun led Lu Li's forces to victory, and three followers broke through to the Houtian Realm under Lu Li's guidance.
• Lu Li let his subordinates divide the treasury goods, and they set the estate ablaze before leaving.
• Luo Bingxin watched Lu Li's group disappear and reflected that her disciple had become too capable for her to teach.
• The next day, the Incense Fragrance Sect found the burned estate and its charred bodies, then sent someone to report to Elder Qiming.

Prefect Wu Ziyuanxiu and his aide Zhang Zhihuan suspected Lu Li was Blood Ghost and decided to recruit him to counter the Broken Mountain Sect and Incense Fragrance Sect. Wu planned to offer Lu Li a slot in Tianlan Cave, then confronted elders from both sects when they asked him to punish Blood Ghost.

• People across Qingfeng Prefecture spread conflicting rumors about Blood Ghost and debated whether he was a hero, criminal, or bandit.
• Zhang Zhihuan told Wu Ziyuanxiu that the Evergreen Sect might be hiding Lu Li’s identity as Blood Ghost.
• Wu Ziyuanxiu agreed to recruit Lu Li as a potential ally against the Incense Fragrance Sect and decided to give him a slot in Tianlan Cave.
• Elder Qiu and Elder Liu asked Wu Ziyuanxiu to investigate Blood Ghost’s attacks on their sects.
• Wu Ziyuanxiu challenged the elders’ claims of public fear and asked why Blood Ghost had not attacked him.

Wu Ziyuanxiu refused to let the Broken Mountain Sect pressure him into confronting Blood Ghost and considered mediating the conflict between the sects. Meanwhile, Lu Li advanced to the fifth layer of the Houtian Realm and demonstrated his new strength, but he still needed better techniques.

• Wu Ziyuanxiu rebuked Elder Qiu and Elder Liu for demanding action against Blood Ghost, and Zhang Zhihuan struck Elder Liu down when he prepared to attack.
• Wu Ziyuanxiu and Zhang Zhihuan discussed rising tensions between the Broken Mountain Sect, the Incense Fragrance Sect, and the Evergreen Sect, and agreed to try using Lu Li as a mediator.
• Lu Li cultivated the Endless Life Technique to the fifth layer of the Houtian Realm and raised the Ice Fiend Blade Technique to 1500 points.
• Lu Li's punch sent a powerful gust through the courtyard, splitting a large tree, and he caught it before it fell.
• Lu Li reviewed his techniques and resolved to seek a new lightness skill while avoiding the weakening effects of the Golden Muscle and Jade Vessel Method.

Lu Li was ambushed by masked forces from the Broken Mountain Sect and Incense Fragrance Sect while traveling through the forest. As he struggled to protect Hu Niu, Black Hawk and Elder Qing arrived, and Qing Yi killed the powerful man blocking Lu Li’s escape.

• Lu Li sensed an ambush and found himself surrounded by masked attackers from the Broken Mountain Sect and Incense Fragrance Sect.
• Lu Li killed the first attacker, then fought off the encircling enemies as they overwhelmed him with their numbers.
• Lu Li decided to break through with Hu Niu and the Cloud-Turning Wolf, but a powerful masked man struck Hu Niu and threatened to stop them.
• Lu Li recognized that Black Hawk and Elder Qing had arrived, abandoned his escape attempt, and renewed his attack.
• Qing Yi descended beside the burly attacker and pierced his chest before retreating to Lu Li’s side.

Lu Li survived an ambush when Elder Qing and several powerful allies arrived, leaving the attackers badly outmatched. As the enemy pleaded that he only wanted to kill Blood Ghost, the Wind and Rain Pavilion’s Pavilion Master challenged his claim and the confrontation remained unresolved.

• Elder Qing and Black Hawk arrived to help Lu Li, and Lu Li checked Hu Niu’s minor injuries.
• An enemy Xiantian Martial Artist confronted Lu Li, but Elder Qing stepped in while Elder Qiu secretly held back and Governor Wu Ziyuanxiu watched from a distance.
• The enemy used a secret technique to grow stronger, but the Pavilion Master of Wind and Rain Pavilion, Deacon Su, and Old Ma arrived and overwhelmed him with their presence.
• Wu Ziyuanxiu abandoned his plan to intervene, while Luo Bingxin was pleased that Lu Li had gathered so many powerful allies.
• The enemy claimed he only wanted to kill Blood Ghost and had no grievance against Wind and Rain Pavilion, but the Pavilion Master challenged him for attacking one of its assassins at its doorstep.

The Pavilion Master burned the burly man to ashes, but armed soldiers arrived and trapped Lu Li and the others in the Thousand Origin Formation. Black Hawk spotted the formation’s weak point, and Commandery Governor Wu Ziyuanxiu led reinforcements into the battle, where their leader unexpectedly sided with Lu Li.

• The Pavilion Master killed the burly man with her flames and prepared to attack the Broken Mountain Sect and Incense Fragrance Sect followers.
• A disciplined force of black-clad soldiers surrounded Lu Li and the others, and the Pavilion Master called on them to fight.
• Lu Li and the others struggled against the soldiers’ shifting Thousand Origin Formation while Wu Ziyuanxiu and Zhang Zhihuan suspected the commandant’s involvement.
• Black Hawk recognized the formation and directed Lu Li through its weak left side, but a Xiantian soldier pursued Lu Li and wounded him.
• Wu Ziyuanxiu brought his men to reinforce the fight, and their leader smiled at Lu Li before attacking the enemy soldiers.

Wu Ziyuanxiu and his allies defeated the enemy assault, but the dying Xiantian master made a final attack on Lu Li and died after failing to kill him. Afterward, Wu Ziyuanxiu protected Lu Li from the Pavilion Master, who left with Deacon Su and Old Ma while warning Lu Li with a furious glare.

• Wu Ziyuanxiu broke through the enemy line, and Deacon Su and Old Ma joined him in surrounding the Xiantian master.
• The Xiantian master used a secret technique to charge at Lu Li, who survived the blow and quickly recovered; the Xiantian master then died from the technique’s effects.
• Master Luo Bingxin stayed hidden after deciding Lu Li could handle the attack himself.
• The Pavilion Master confronted Lu Li over her injuries, while Deacon Su and Old Ma defended him and argued that the Wind and Rain Pavilion’s leaders were corrupt.
• Wu Ziyuanxiu stopped the Pavilion Master from approaching Lu Li and threatened her, so Deacon Su and Old Ma escorted her away.

Wu Ziyuanxiu revealed himself as Qingfeng Prefecture’s Commandery Governor and recruited Lu Li to help oppose the Commandery Captain and the Incense Fragrance Sect. Lu Li accepted in exchange for access to Tianlan Cave and other cultivation resources, while agreeing to keep their alliance secret.

• Wu Ziyuanxiu identified Lu Li as Blood Ghost and revealed that he was the Commandery Governor.
• Wu Ziyuanxiu explained Gongsun Honglou’s history and identified the fat man as Zhan Ying, the Commandery Captain’s son.
• Wu Ziyuanxiu asked Lu Li to help oppose the Commandery Captain, whom he suspected of plotting rebellion.
• Wu Ziyuanxiu offered Lu Li a place in Tianlan Cave, cultivation methods, martial skills, and leftover pills, and Lu Li agreed to work with him.
• Wu Ziyuanxiu told Lu Li to keep their alliance secret as they returned to the city.