Chapter Summaries

Lu Li helped Zuo Cangyun understand his temperament and suggested he try dual-wielding swords, while Gao Yulou and Zuo Cangyun pledged their friendship. When the true disciples received their tokens, Lu Li was unexpectedly left without one, and the chapter ended as five colorful shooting stars raced across the sky.

• Lu Li explained that Zuo Cangyun's thin-sword training had suppressed his nature and suggested balancing his strength by dual-wielding swords.
• Zuo Cangyun thanked Lu Li and promised to help him, while Gao Yulou also declared Lu Li his friend.
• Senior Brother Liu delivered Zuo Cangyun a true disciple token and explained that the Second Elder had chosen him.
• Gao Yulou and Senior Brother Liu realized Lu Li had not received a token, even though he was the champion, and nearby disciples argued over whether he deserved one.
• Five dazzling, differently colored shooting stars appeared and seemed to race one another across the sky.

The five elders tested Lu Li’s ability to withstand their pressure, then each tried to persuade him to become their disciple. Lu Li chose the Fifth Elder for her Extreme Ice Marrow, but the others carried him off to the council hall before she could take him away.

• The five elders overwhelmed Lu Li and the nearby disciples with their pressure, and Lu Li steadied himself and endured it.
• The elders revealed they had argued all night over who would take Lu Li as a disciple, then each offered him the benefits of their martial arts and specialties.
• Lu Li chose the Fifth Elder because her Extreme Ice Marrow could strengthen his Inner Qi with icy fiend energy.
• The other four elders swept Lu Li away toward the council hall, leaving the Fifth Elder to hurry after them.
• The onlookers recognized that the elders’ interest proved Lu Li’s talent, while Gao Yulou and Zuo Cangyun joked that they had worried for nothing.

After Lu Li refused the other elders’ offers and chose to remain the Fifth Elder’s disciple, the First Elder rewarded him for taking first place with rare treasures. Luo Bingyun brought Lu Li to Anwu Courtyard, where she planned to arrange his property.

• Lu Li stood by his decision to stay with the Fifth Elder, who praised his resolve as the other elders gave up trying to recruit him.
• The First Elder awarded Lu Li the sect’s guardian cultivation technique, the Endless Life Technique, and told the Fifth Elder to watch over his practice.
• Lu Li received Black Gold Sinking Iron to strengthen his saber and five Life-Breath Pills to aid his cultivation and eventual breakthrough.
• Luo Bingyun carried Lu Li to Anwu Courtyard and showed him her residence before leaving to arrange his property.

Rumors about Lu Li becoming Evergreen Sect’s champion spread through Qingfeng Prefecture, prompting competing theories about how he won. At Broken Mountain Sect, Huang Rongyue defended Lu Li to Elder Qiu and resolved to cultivate toward the Inner-Qi Realm, while Elder Qiu secretly questioned how Lu Li could have become champion.

• News that Lu Li had become Evergreen Sect’s champion spread, and martial artists speculated about his unknown background and the sect’s reasons for concealing details.
• Huang Rongyue visited Elder Qiu and reported that Steward Fu had taken bribes and driven Lu Li away from Broken Mountain Sect.
• Elder Qiu dismissed Lu Li as a fraud protected by Evergreen Sect and praised Broken Mountain Sect, while Huang Rongyue agreed and avoided further angering her master.
• After leaving, Huang Rongyue reflected that Elder Qiu valued cultivation progress, trusted Lu Li’s ability, and returned to her quarters to pursue a breakthrough into the Inner-Qi Realm.
• Elder Qiu privately questioned whether Lu Li’s known strength could explain his championship and wondered why Evergreen Sect had made him champion.
• At Evergreen Sect, First Elder Cang Baihe asked the younger disciples whether they resented enduring insults.

Lu Li cultivated the Endless Life Technique and broke through to the first layer of the Houtian Realm. He realized the sect had not provided him with a saber art or access to the Scripture Pavilion, so he headed to tell his master about his breakthrough and ask about his arrangements.

• The elders discussed how they had helped Lu Li by encouraging the Broken Mountain Sect to mistake him for a fame-hungry fraud, while Luo Bingxin considered how to train him safely.
• Lu Li spent three days practicing the Endless Life Technique, strengthening his qi and meridians as his proficiency rose to 350.
• Lu Li swallowed a Life-Breath Pill and practiced until he broke through to the first layer of the Houtian Realm.
• Lu Li tested his strengthened Inner Qi, accidentally whipped up a gale that scattered his furnishings, and imagined defeating Zuo Cangyun with one strike.
• Lu Li noticed he had received neither a saber art nor access to the Scripture Pavilion, then cleaned his room and went to tell his master about his breakthrough.

Lu Li met Fifth Elder Luo Bingyun and revealed that he had mastered the Endless Life Technique in just six days. Luo Bingyun assigned him a highly profitable Inner City estate, though she knew it was surrounded by dangerous rivals.

• Lu Li met Ji Yun on the way to ask about their estate assignments, and told him he was cultivating the Endless Life Technique.
• Luo Bingyun examined Lu Li and discovered that he had mastered the technique in six days, astonishing both her and Ji Yun.
• Luo Bingyun gave Ji Yun a busy Inner City street and assigned Lu Li a larger territory with three auction houses and several other businesses.
• Luo Bingyun warned Lu Li and Ji Yun not to abuse the martial arts academy's disciples or run wicked businesses, and they agreed.
• After Lu Li and Ji Yun left, Luo Bingyun watched Lu Li depart and reflected that his estate was surrounded by Broken Mountain Sect disciples and Incense Fragrance Sect members.

Lu Li took up his post as Evergreen Sect’s steward on Chaoyang Street, where he learned the businesses brought in substantial profits and began inspecting them. He discovered rival sects operated nearby, and the chapter left Duan Kun and the shopkeepers silent over the troubling situation.

• Evergreen Sect’s leader secretly followed Lu Li to Chaoyang Street, hoping his new post would hone him while keeping him safe.
• Lu Li met Nie Kun, whom the chapter later called Duan Kun, and confirmed his appointment as steward.
• Duan Kun and the shopkeepers reported that the businesses earned about one hundred thousand taels monthly, with twenty thousand taels going to the sect.
• Lu Li decided the income would not fund his plans to develop martial arts, so he considered visiting Qingfeng Prefecture’s assassin organization.
• Duan Kun showed Lu Li the thriving businesses, where Lu Li spotted Incense Fragrance Sect and Broken Mountain Sect members and learned that the neighboring Vajra Sect also operated there.

Lu Li learned that the Incense Fragrance Sect had been extorting and abusing Evergreen Sect merchants, and resolved to confront its leaders to prove his worth. At the sect’s branch, Ji Bochang learned that the new Evergreen Sect managing disciple was Lu Li, this year’s champion, and welcomed the news with contempt.

• Lu Li heard from Nie Kun and the merchants that the Incense Fragrance Sect threatened, beat, and humiliated those who refused to pay offerings, while the Evergreen Sect had been unable to retaliate without evidence.
• Lu Li decided to challenge the Incense Fragrance Sect and the Broken Mountain Sect, whose strongest members were in the lower three layers of the Houtian Realm, to establish his authority and demonstrate his ability.
• Lu Li finished inspecting the business district, ate demon beast meat, bought a hundred pounds to take home, and began cultivating in his training room.
• At an Incense Fragrance Sect branch, Ji Bochang was interrupted while assaulting a woman and angrily berated Chen Jiang over failed assignments.
• Chen Jiang told Ji Bochang that Lu Li, this year’s champion, had arrived as the Evergreen Sect’s new managing disciple, and Ji Bochang laughed, saying he agreed that Lu Li had not won fairly.

Ji Bochang ordered Chang Wei to investigate Lu Li and planned to torment a young woman by forcing her to witness her little brother’s abuse. Meanwhile, Lu Li advanced his cultivation and intervened when Nie Kun’s dangerous breakthrough sent him berserk.

• Ji Bochang ordered Chang Wei to test Lu Li, promising him a reward and the young woman after he was done with her.
• Ji Bochang told Chang Wei to bring the woman’s mother and little brother so he could make her little brother her father.
• Lu Li completed ten cycles of the Endless Life Technique, noted his rapid progress and the lack of Life-Breath Pills, then bathed and prepared to rest.
• Lu Li noticed Nie Kun’s transition to the Houtian Realm had become chaotic and rushed into his room when Nie Kun went berserk.
• Lu Li held Nie Kun down and sent Inner Qi into him, calming the turbulent energy and improving his complexion.

Lu Li discovered that the flawed Heaven-Splitting Technique had caused Nie Kun’s qi deviation, then revised it and guided him through a breakthrough that saved his life. Nie Kun recovered and pledged his loyalty to Lu Li, who gave him annotated instructions and warned him against using the original technique.

• Lu Li examined the Heaven-Splitting Technique and realized its crude focus on the Ren and Du meridians had caused Nie Kun’s qi deviation.
• After Nie Kun regained consciousness, Lu Li revised the technique and told him to draw Inner Qi from his Ren and Du meridians.
• Nie Kun followed Lu Li’s guidance, easing his pain as Inner Qi spread through his body in an orderly flow.
• At sunrise, Nie Kun’s dantian broke open, and he reached the Houtian Realm while recovering from the qi deviation.
• Nie Kun thanked Lu Li and promised to serve him, then bathed and returned to study Lu Li’s annotations on the technique.

Lu Li confronted the Incense Fragrance Sect over its escalating demands for money and incense, refusing to pay even its original share. When Chang Wei threatened to report him to Hall Master Ji Bochang, Lu Li prepared to fight, but his newly promoted subordinate volunteered to handle Chang Wei.

• A messenger warned Lu Li that the Incense Fragrance Sect was approaching, and Nie Kun explained that it demanded a monthly cut of the Evergreen Sect’s profits.
• Lu Li led his people to meet Chang Wei, who occupied the seat of honor and demanded three-tenths of their profits, plus incense, in exchange for protection.
• Lu Li rejected Chang Wei’s offer and declared that he would stop paying the sect its original share as well.
• Chang Wei threatened to report Lu Li to Hall Master Ji Bochang and demanded an even larger cut, prompting Lu Li to prepare for a fight.
• A subordinate who had just broken through to the Houtian Realm asked Lu Li to let him fight Chang Wei instead.

Lu Li revealed his overwhelming strength after Nie Kun defeated and captured Chang Wei, then rallied the Evergreen Sect’s followers to attack the Incense Fragrance Sect’s branch. Luo Bingyun followed the group, worried that Ji Bochang’s greater Houtian Realm strength could put Lu Li in danger.

• Lu Li ordered Nie Kun to stop Chang Wei, and Nie Kun revealed his Houtian Realm breakthrough by beating him and preventing his followers from leaving.
• Nie Kun reassured the shopkeepers that Lu Li was powerful, but Chang Wei challenged his claim, so Lu Li demonstrated his strength with a single devastating punch that killed the Incense Fragrance Sect’s followers.
• Lu Li urged the Evergreen Sect’s followers to stop yielding and join him in attacking the Incense Fragrance Sect’s branch, and they armed themselves and set out with Chang Wei in his custody.
• Luo Bingyun watched Lu Li rally the group, considered presenting him with the sect’s greatest secret, and hurried after them because Ji Bochang was stronger than Lu Li.

Lu Li defeated Ji Bochang and discovered the Incense Fragrance Sect hall master had subjected Su Qingqing and her family to horrific abuse. After learning what Ji Bochang had done, Lu Li demanded an explanation, and Ji Bochang wondered how Lu Li knew about his private fetish.

• Lu Li defeated Ji Bochang, rejected his offer to make peace, and severed all four of his limbs.
• Lu Li advised Nie Kun to train trusted subordinates and focus more on martial arts as the group finished clearing the Incense Fragrance Sect branch.
• Lu Li entered the house and found Su Qingqing wounded and unclothed, while an elderly woman and a young boy were shackled nearby.
• A disciple identified Su Qingqing and described her family's hardships, prompting Lu Li and the others to demand justice.
• Lu Li questioned Ji Bochang about his actions, then revealed that he knew about Ji Bochang's fetish, leaving Ji Bochang asking who Lu Li really was.

Lu Li killed Ji Bochang, freed his captives, and destroyed the Incense Fragrance Sect branch. As he led his people back, Master Luo Bingyun followed him, determined to protect him from the sect’s retaliation.

• Lu Li tortured Ji Bochang before killing him, while Nie Kun and the others freed the prisoners.
• The rescued girl attacked Ji Bochang’s corpse, and Nie Kun gave her money and offered help.
• Lu Li let his subordinates divide the branch’s valuables, then burned Ji Bochang’s corpse and the branch.
• Master Luo Bingyun watched Lu Li leave and decided to keep a closer eye on him in case the Incense Fragrance Sect retaliated.

Lu Li confronted three Broken Mountain Sect disciples who were harassing a young woman and led his people into a fight. He castrated and crippled one attacker, then his followers overwhelmed the other two.

• Lu Li and his companions saw three Broken Mountain Sect disciples harassing the young woman they had rescued.
• Lu Li persuaded Nie Kun to stop holding back and led the Evergreen Sect group to confront the disciples.
• When one disciple taunted them, Lu Li castrated him and crippled his cultivation by striking his dantian.
• The other two disciples threatened to report Lu Li and tried to flee, but Lu Li blocked them and his men surrounded them.
• After two minutes, Lu Li's people pinned down the two disciples and beat them into submission.

Lu Li killed two Broken Mountain Sect disciples after rescuing a girl, then sought to strengthen his position as word of his deeds spread. On Vajra Gate territory, Wen Ziliang learned that another Evergreen Sect disciple had come to Prosperity Street and predicted Lu Li would not survive.

• Lu Li sent the rescued girl home, while Nie Kun beat the castrated Broken Mountain Sect disciple and resolved to become stronger.
• Lu Li praised Nie Kun’s ruthlessness and warned him that the weak were at others’ mercy without strength.
• Lu Li celebrated with his men at a restaurant and resolved to grow stronger because the Incense Fragrance Sect and Broken Mountain Sect would retaliate.
• Stories of Lu Li’s killings and the destruction of the Incense Fragrance Sect branch spread through Longwind Prefecture, making him famous.
• Wen Ziliang broke through to the third layer of the Houtian Realm at Vajra Gate.
• A Vajra Gate disciple told Wen Ziliang about Lu Li’s arrival, and Wen Ziliang predicted that Lu Li would die on Prosperity Street.

Wen Ziliang learned that Lu Li had struck both the Incense Fragrance Sect and the Broken Mountain Sect, while the factions’ leaders began plotting revenge. Duan Jin and Shen Yun joined forces against Lu Li but agreed they could not openly attack without provoking the Evergreen Sect’s powerful elders.

• A junior disciple told Wen Ziliang that Lu Li had destroyed an Incense Fragrance Sect branch, killed its hall master, and killed a Broken Mountain Sect disciple, and Wen Ziliang wished he could meet him despite his sect’s orders.
• Duan Jin learned that Ji Bochang was dead and that Lu Li had destroyed the branch, so he prepared to lead his men against Lu Li.
• Duan Jin learned that Lu Li had also harmed a Broken Mountain Sect disciple and welcomed Broken Mountain Sect enforcer Shen Yun to discuss their common enemy.
• Shen Yun revealed his personal reason for seeking revenge: Lu Li had crippled and castrated Shen Yun’s younger brother, leaving their family without an heir.
• Duan Jin and Shen Yun agreed Lu Li deserved to die, but Shen Yun warned that an open attack could provoke the Evergreen Sect’s five elders, who had previously devastated the Incense Fragrance Sect’s headquarters.

Shen Yun and Duan Jin plotted to disguise themselves as Wind and Rain Pavilion assassins and kill Lu Li, while Luo Bingyun overheard them and chose to see how Lu Li would respond. Lu Li led a covert strike on an Incense Fragrance Sect branch, and Luo Bingyun sensed someone approaching the compound.

• Shen Yun proposed framing the Wind and Rain Pavilion for Lu Li's death, and Duan Jin agreed to have the Incense Fragrance Sect carry out the attack.
• Duan Jin dismissed Lu Li as inexperienced, while Luo Bingyun secretly watched the two men plot and decided to let Lu Li handle the danger himself.
• Lu Li and his elite fighters hid near an Incense Fragrance Sect branch, disguised themselves as assassins, and prepared to kill its hall master.
• Lu Li ordered his followers to claim they were from the Wind and Rain Pavilion as they entered the branch quietly.
• Duan Jin dressed as an assassin with Shen Yun and his companions, while Luo Bingyun sensed someone approaching the compound and hid to watch.

Lu Li and his men attacked the compound where Shen Yun and Duan Jin were staying, killing the guards and overwhelming the Broken Mountain Sect disciples and Incense Fragrance Sect gang members. The chapter ended with Shen Yun and Duan Jin badly wounded and biting and striking each other on the ground as Lu Li's forces finished off the survivors.

• Lu Li waited until his men had surrounded the compound, then killed the guards at the gate and led his group inside.
• Shen Yun recognized the attack as an assassin raid, but Lu Li's men killed several gang members before Duan Jin and Shen Yun could respond.
• Lu Li overpowered Duan Jin and Shen Yun, while Shen Yun abandoned Duan Jin and tried to flee.
• Lu Li cut Duan Jin in half, caught Shen Yun, and kicked him back beside the wounded Duan Jin.
• Duan Jin bit Shen Yun's neck as they fought on the ground, while Nie Kun and Lu Li's men killed the remaining Broken Mountain Sect disciples and gang members.

Lu Li led his subordinates in destroying a Broken Mountain Sect branch, then exposed Shen Yun’s feigned death and had his men kill him. After splitting the captured wealth with the group and burning the branch, Lu Li left, while Lu Bingyun realized he had beaten the sects at their own plan to disguise themselves as assassins.

• Lu Li killed Shen Yun and Duan Jin after they pleaded for their lives, then discovered Shen Yun was still alive and hiding his aura.
• Lu Li wounded Shen Yun and ordered his subordinates to finish him, and they killed him.
• Lu Li let his men search the branch, found fifty thousand taels of silver, and gave them most of the proceeds.
• Lu Li ordered the group to burn the branch and withdrew with them before the fire consumed it.
• Lu Bingyun watched from concealment and realized Lu Li had preempted the Broken Mountain Sect and Incense Fragrance Sect’s planned assassin ambush.
• Lu Bingyun reflected that Lu Li had avenged Xiao Liang and said Xiao Liang could rest in peace.