Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Chuan reaches Minor Mastery in the Return to Dust Blade Technique, greatly increasing its power. This places his martial progress around the top ten among his peers and allows him to catch up with Wang Ling, despite starting later.
• Wang Ling tells Jiang Zhaoyu that he deliberately took a mission Li Chuan had been considering, hoping to provoke Li Chuan into attacking him and give him an excuse to retaliate.
• Jiang Zhaoyu encourages Wang Ling to kill Li Chuan, dismissing him as an insignificant outsider. Wang Ling agrees to deal with Li Chuan after completing his mission.
• Wang Ling accepts a mission to deliver a letter to the Jiang Family. The route passes through a barren mountain, an isolated area that provides a convenient opportunity for an ambush.
• After completing the mission and receiving a bottle of Second-Tier Mid-Grade Five-Color Python Beast Essence Blood, Wang Ling begins his return journey.
• Li Chuan ambushes Wang Ling on the barren mountain. Wang Ling initially withstands the attack and assumes he still holds the advantage because of his stronger cultivation and Minor Mastery Wind-Breaking Sword Technique.
• Li Chuan reveals that his True Gang is not the expected Cold Abyss True Gang but the far more powerful Innate Great White True Gang, composed of black and white energy.
• Li Chuan unleashes the full power of the Return to Dust Blade Technique. The attack overwhelms Wang Ling and cleanly severs his head, killing him instantly.
• Li Chuan searches Wang Ling’s belongings, obtaining 269 Contribution Points and the beast essence blood from the mission. He transfers the points to himself and takes the blood essence to further improve his blade technique.
• Wang Ling’s body is left near the place where Zhu Xu had previously been buried, creating an ironic parallel: Wang Ling, who regarded Li Chuan as a weak “bug,” ultimately dies by Li Chuan’s hand.

Character Developments

• Li Chuan: Demonstrates a major breakthrough in both martial technique and True Gang. He becomes calm, calculating, and confident, deliberately allowing Wang Ling to complete the mission before killing him so he can claim both the Contribution Points and the beast essence blood. His attitude also shifts from defensive survival to controlled dominance.
• Wang Ling: His arrogance and sense of superiority lead to his downfall. Although cautious and experienced enough to survive Li Chuan’s initial ambush, he underestimates Li Chuan’s true strength and loses his composure when confronted with the Innate Great White True Gang.
• Jiang Zhaoyu: Acts as Wang Ling’s accomplice and encourages the assassination. His dismissive attitude toward Li Chuan reinforces the faction’s underestimation of him, though he experiences an unexplained sense of foreboding before Wang Ling leaves.

Significant Themes

• Underestimation and reversal: Wang Ling and Jiang Zhaoyu view Li Chuan as a powerless outsider, but Li Chuan’s hidden strength overturns their assumptions.
• Preparation and patience: Li Chuan’s victory comes not only from superior power but also from choosing the right moment to strike and allowing Wang Ling to complete the mission first.
• Arrogance and consequences: Wang Ling’s contempt for Li Chuan blinds him to the danger he faces, resulting in his death.
• Growth through conflict: The beast essence blood and Wang Ling’s Contribution Points provide Li Chuan with additional resources, turning his enemy’s hostility into fuel for his advancement.
• Irony and poetic justice: Wang Ling dies close to Zhu Xu’s burial site, effectively becoming another victim of the person he once considered beneath him.

Character Interactions

• Wang Ling and Jiang Zhaoyu: They conspire against Li Chuan, with Jiang Zhaoyu approving Wang Ling’s provocation and planned assassination.
• Li Chuan and Wang Ling: Their confrontation begins with Wang Ling believing he has the upper hand, but Li Chuan’s revealed strength completely reverses the power dynamic.
• Li Chuan and Wang Ling after the battle: Li Chuan speaks almost regretfully, claiming he did not want to kill Wang Ling but was forced into it, while simultaneously benefiting from Wang Ling’s death.

Chapter 282 Summary: “Fame for Fierceness Spreads”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Chuan returns to the Vajra Sect after defeating Wang Ling and calculates his gains: his Contribution Points rise to 1,791, and he obtains a bottle of Second-Tier Mid-Grade Five-Color Python blood essence.
• After consuming the blood essence, Li Chuan experiences intense heat and pain but discovers that his stamina has improved. He can now practice the Return to Dust Blade Technique ten times daily, instead of eight.
• His blade proficiency reaches 131/5000, and he estimates that he can regain Major Mastery within two months, which would place him among the top seven in the Core Area.
• The Core Area’s strength hierarchy is explained:
  • Jiang Zhaoyu and Xie Yingtang occupy the highest tier.
  • Ranks three through seven possess three channels of True Gang and Major Mastery in their Peerless Martial Arts.
  • Ranks eight through twenty-one generally possess two channels of True Gang and weaker martial arts mastery.
• Li Chuan resumes his ordinary routine of cultivating and refining pills, while concealing Wang Ling’s death.
• After three days, Wang Ling’s disappearance is noticed. Rumors spread throughout the Core Area, causing many disciples to worry that even high-ranking experts are vulnerable.
• Jiang Zhaoyu and Feng Jinyuan discuss Wang Ling’s disappearance. Jiang remains calm and insists that Li Chuan’s matter should still be dealt with, calling Li Chuan an “eyesore” and someone who does not understand his place.
• Xie Yingtang decides to warn Li Chuan personally. She and Wen Dandan invite him to a private teahouse.
• They tell Li Chuan that Wang Ling is presumed dead and reveal that Yu Jiayin, ranked sixth, had previously been ambushed and severely injured. The same unknown attacker may be responsible for both incidents.
• Xie Yingtang advises Li Chuan to be cautious and informs him about the Extreme Gang Pill, which costs fifty Contribution Points and is more effective than the Premium Gang-Tempering Pill.
• Li Chuan goes to the Hundred Treasures Hall and buys two bottles of Extreme Gang Pills, spending 1,000 Contribution Points and reducing his balance to 791.
• Wen Dandan happens to see Li Chuan’s purchase and is shocked, since even strong disciples rarely buy two bottles at once.

Character Developments

• Li Chuan demonstrates rapid physical and martial growth. The fierce-beast blood essence improves his stamina, while his access to Extreme Gang Pills gives him a way to accelerate his cultivation and potentially overtake long-established Core Area disciples.
• He remains calm and emotionally controlled when Wen Dandan belittles him. Rather than arguing, he focuses on quietly increasing his strength.
• Li Chuan also shows social tact and gratitude by paying the teahouse bill to thank Xie Yingtang for warning him.
• Xie Yingtang reveals herself to be genuinely compassionate and loyal. Despite lacking any obligation to Li Chuan, she takes the initiative to warn him of the dangers in the Core Area.
• She also begins to reassess Li Chuan, recognizing that his composure and state of mind may be far stronger than she initially assumed.
• Wen Dandan remains condescending and protective of Xie Yingtang, believing Li Chuan to be weak and lacking potential. However, Li Chuan’s purchase of two bottles of Extreme Gang Pills begins to alter her impression of him.
• Jiang Zhaoyu is portrayed as arrogant, detached, and ruthless. He views the weak as stepping stones and still wants Li Chuan eliminated despite considering him no real threat.

Significant Themes

• Strength determines status: The Core Area is governed by a harsh hierarchy in which even highly ranked disciples can be hunted or killed.
• Quiet growth versus public reputation: Li Chuan hides his true achievements while steadily accumulating strength, allowing others to underestimate him.
• The danger of complacency: Wang Ling’s disappearance and Yu Jiayin’s injury show that rank alone cannot guarantee safety.
• Kindness amid ruthless competition: Xie Yingtang’s warning contrasts with the Core Area’s general cruelty and Jiang Zhaoyu’s indifference.
• Inner composure and maturity: Li Chuan’s refusal to react emotionally to Wen Dandan’s insults emphasizes his restrained, experienced mentality.
• Resources as power: Contribution Points, blood essence, and pills are all treated as tools for transforming wealth into combat strength.

Important Character Interactions

• Li Chuan and Xie Yingtang: She warns him about Wang Ling’s presumed death, the possible hunter targeting Core Area experts, and the Extreme Gang Pill. He thanks her sincerely and leaves a favorable impression through his calmness and courtesy.
• Li Chuan and Wen Dandan: She repeatedly belittles his abilities and advises him not to waste Contribution Points. Li Chuan responds without anger, while her attitude begins to change after seeing that he can afford two bottles of expensive pills.
• Jiang Zhaoyu and Feng Jinyuan: They discuss Wang Ling’s disappearance and reaffirm that Li Chuan should still be dealt with. Jiang’s words reveal his ruthless view that anyone, even himself, can be trampled in the struggle for advancement.
• Xie Yingtang and Wen Dandan: Wen Dandan tries to discourage Xie from associating with Li Chuan, while Xie defends him as a friend worthy of trust.
• Li Chuan and the Hundred Treasures Hall disciple: Li Chuan’s unusually large purchase surprises the counter disciple, who suspects that Li Chuan may come from a wealthy or influential background.

Key plot points and events

• Wen Dandan is shocked that Li Chuan bought two bottles of extreme gang pills—twenty pills costing 1,000 contribution points. She warns that he has spent his savings recklessly and doubts the pills can help him catch up with the strongest disciples.
• Li Chuan hides the fact that he still has 791 contribution points, preferring to keep his resources private.
• Back at his residence, Li Chuan takes an extreme gang pill. After a slow start, it releases a powerful surge of energy that painfully but rapidly refines his true gang. The pill gives his cultivation technique nearly 100 proficiency points, several times more than a Premium Gang-Tempering Pill.
• Li Chuan decides to make extreme gang pills his main cultivation resource and follows a routine of saber practice, alchemy, and nightly cultivation. Ten days later, he meets Xie Yingtang and Wen Dandan at a teahouse.
• Wen Dandan says she has refined one-fifth of her true gang and is ranked fifth, arguing that Li Chuan cannot catch up with her. Li Chuan calculates that, thanks to the pills, he may close the gap in a few months and eventually surpass her.

Character developments

• Li Chuan remains calm under criticism and deliberately conceals his financial strength. Testing the pill confirms his ability to gain unusually rapid cultivation progress, and he becomes more confident in the value of investing in resources.
• Wen Dandan is blunt and skeptical. Her concern is framed as consideration for Xie Yingtang, but she increasingly views Li Chuan as arrogant, foolish, and unaware of his limits.
• Xie Yingtang remains friendly and supportive, inviting Li Chuan to meet and gently asking Wen Dandan to stop repeating her criticism.

Significant themes

• Resources and advancement: Li Chuan’s results support his belief that access to better resources can dramatically accelerate martial cultivation.
• Appearances and hidden strength: Others underestimate Li Chuan, while he deliberately conceals his remaining wealth and progress.
• Judgment versus reality: Wen Dandan’s doubts seem reasonable under ordinary circumstances, but Li Chuan’s exceptional gains may overturn her expectations.
• Connections and belonging: Li Chuan reflects that trusted friends and his connection to Xie Yingtang help him navigate the guarded, clique-oriented Core Area.

Character interactions

• Wen Dandan repeatedly criticizes Li Chuan’s purchase and questions whether he can compete for an Inner Disciple position; he declines to argue or reveal his resources.
• Xie Yingtang mediates between them, welcoming Li Chuan while trying to curb Wen Dandan’s remarks.
• Li Chuan’s reflections on Zhao Guangyao and Cui Qiongyu show how mutual favors and friendships helped him establish useful connections in the Core Area.

Key plot points and events

• Li Chuan learns that Yu Jiayin, a highly ranked Core Area disciple, has vanished during a mission, following Wang Ling’s death. The news reinforces how dangerous the Vajra Sect’s environment is, even for powerful disciples.
• Seeking a quick boost to his combat ability, Li Chuan asks about improving his Return to Dust Blade Technique. Xie Yingtang tells him the Blade Realm will open in three days, but entry costs 2,500 Contribution Points and lasts only three days.
• Li Chuan has just 1,391 points and struggles to find a way to earn the remaining amount. After unsuccessful inquiries, he writes to Bai Zhao for advice.
• Bai Zhao visits and hires him as protection for her merchant ships, paying him 2,000 points in advance. Li Chuan accepts while making clear that he cannot promise victory against stronger bandits and will prioritize saving lives if necessary.
• Li Chuan uses the payment to enter the Blade Realm. Its many synchronized phantom versions of him multiply the practice gained from each strike. He trains relentlessly and, just before it closes, advances his Return to Dust Blade Technique from Minor to Major Mastery.

Character developments

• Li Chuan is ambitious and focused on improving quickly, but remains practical about danger: he won’t promise to fight beyond his abilities. His persistence pays off when he secures entry to the Blade Realm and achieves a major breakthrough.
• Xie Yingtang continues to treat Li Chuan with respect despite doubting that his plans will succeed. She also pays the tea-house bill, emphasizing her sense of fairness and reciprocity.
• Wen Dandan is blunt and skeptical, viewing Li Chuan’s impatience and ambitious goals as unrealistic. Her reaction to Yu Jiayin’s disappearance briefly reveals her own concern about the sect’s dangers.
• Bai Zhao demonstrates trust and generosity by paying Li Chuan well in advance, despite her maid’s doubts about his rank and ability.
• Wei Ling’er is protective of Bai Zhao and questions whether Li Chuan is worth the payment, judging him mainly by his position and apparent strength.

Significant themes

• Risk and insecurity: The disappearances of Wang Ling and Yu Jiayin show that no disciple is entirely safe, regardless of rank.
• Ambition and perseverance: Li Chuan pursues a rare opportunity despite the steep cost and others’ doubts.
• Trust and reciprocity: Xie Yingtang’s payment and Bai Zhao’s advance illustrate generosity and mutual support among allies.
• Practical limits and responsibility: Li Chuan accepts a protection role without making unrealistic promises, placing survival and protecting people above reckless heroics.
• Opportunity and access: Powerful training can accelerate progress, but its high cost makes advancement difficult for those without resources.

Character interactions

• Xie Yingtang stops Wen Dandan from dismissing Li Chuan’s plans, while Wen privately resents Xie’s tendency to defend him.
• The three discuss Yu Jiayin’s disappearance, shifting the mood from teasing to sober concern.
• Bai Zhao and Li Chuan negotiate a protection arrangement based on honest expectations; Wei Ling’er later challenges Bai Zhao’s decision.
• Inside the Blade Realm, Li Chuan’s synchronized phantom counterparts transform each blade practice into multiplied training, enabling his breakthrough.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Li Chuan reaches Major Mastery in the Return to Dust Blade Technique after three months of progress, aided by the Primordial Jade Scroll, the Fine Blade-Practice Stone, and the Blade Realm. He now ranks among the Core Area’s top blade practitioners, behind only Jiang Zhaoyu and Xie Yingtang.
• He plans to reach Extreme Realm and grasp Blade Intent before the Outer Mountain Grand Competition. The Blade Realm session ends, and its steward warns that it will reopen in about a year. Though he feels fine inside, Li Chuan collapses into a day-long sleep afterward from mental overexertion.
• A letter from Bai Zhao reveals that the River-Crossing Three Fiends have seized the Bai Clan’s merchant ship and demanded ransom. Li Chuan, who had accepted two thousand Contribution Points to serve as the clan’s Attendant, decides to intervene.
• After asking Wen Dandan and Xie Yingtang about the pirates’ strength, Li Chuan heads out alone. The Bai household initially fears he is too weak to help, but Bai Zhao believes he would not ignore their plight.
• The pirates threaten their captives, having already committed brutal violence and murder. When Li Chuan arrives, they assume he has brought ransom. He tells them the ransom will be their lives.
• Li Chuan kills all three pirates in three swift strikes, displaying the overwhelming power of his newly mastered blade technique.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Chuan grows more confident in his martial ability and ambition, while remaining responsible toward those who trusted him. His calm response to the pirates contrasts with their cruelty, and his decisive victory proves his strength exceeds their expectations.
• Bai Zhao is anxious about her ship and its crew but maintains faith in Li Chuan’s character.
• Wei Ling’er doubts Li Chuan and assumes he has avoided helping; learning that he has gone alone to face the pirates leaves her convinced the situation is hopeless.
• Wen Dandan and Xie Yingtang provide Li Chuan with an assessment of the pirates’ standing before he departs. Wen Dandan later worries that he may be walking into certain death.
• The River-Crossing Three Fiends reveal their greed and brutality, openly discussing killing captives and abusing women. Their confidence collapses once Li Chuan demonstrates the gap in their abilities.

Significant themes

• Skill built through effort and opportunity: Li Chuan’s rapid advancement reflects both his dedication and access to rare training resources.
• Responsibility and loyalty: Having accepted the Attendant role, Li Chuan acts when the Bai Clan needs him, despite the danger.
• Power versus cruelty: The pirates use strength to terrorize the helpless; Li Chuan’s superior strength ends their violence.
• The value—and cost—of cultivation: The Blade Realm accelerates growth but taxes the mind, requiring recovery afterward.
• Reputation and hidden capability: Others underestimate Li Chuan, but his actions reveal how much his mastery has advanced.

Plot points and events

• Li Chuan kills the River-Crossing Three Fiends aboard a merchant ship, defeating all three Mid Gang Force bandits in just three strikes. He rescues the crew and a middle-aged couple from death and assault.
• The grateful survivors kneel and thank him. Li Chuan accepts their gratitude but says he acted as a Bai Clan Attendant doing his duty.
• He collects the bandits’ jade pendants, gaining 600 Contribution Points. Together with 2,000 points from Bai Zhao, his reward totals 2,600.
• News of the victory reaches Bai Zhao and Wei Ling’er. Bai Zhao is relieved: Li Chuan has saved both the ship and her fledgling trading business.
• The Vajra Sect updates its Core Area rankings. Li Chuan leaps from twenty-first to eighth, credited with Cold Abyss True Gang and Major Mastery in the Return to Dust Blade Technique.
• The ranking draws attention across the Core Area, including from Wen Dandan, Xie Yingtang, Feng Jinyuan, and Jiang Zhaoyu.
• Back in his room, Li Chuan weighs the benefits and dangers of his rising profile. He decides to pursue further growth through a Vajra Sect body-tempering technique, since he has already advanced the Golden Bell Shield as far as possible.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Chuan discovers that saving ordinary people gives him a quiet sense of satisfaction, though he remains practical rather than embracing a heroic identity. He recognizes that his new rank will make powerful rivals take him more seriously, but is determined to meet the threat. He also considers how to strengthen himself while his cultivation and blade training progress steadily.
• Bai Zhao moves from anxiety over the ship’s fate to gratitude and relief. She understands that Li Chuan has protected her business and may deter future attacks. She teases Wei Ling’er about choosing him.
• Wei Ling’er is astonished by Li Chuan’s feat and admits she underestimated him.
• Wen Dandan is impressed and slightly unsettled by Li Chuan’s progress, which challenges her earlier doubts. She resolves to train harder so he will not surpass her.
• Xie Yingtang is simply happy that her friend has succeeded.
• Feng Jinyuan feels uneasy at Li Chuan’s sudden rise and promises Jiang Zhaoyu he will kill him.
• Jiang Zhaoyu dismisses Li Chuan contemptuously as an irritating nobody, but now has reason to regard him as a growing threat.

Significant themes

• Power and responsibility: Li Chuan’s strength saves lives and protects the Bai Clan’s livelihood, while also bringing rewards and influence.
• Recognition and danger: Rising in rank brings resources and status, but makes Li Chuan visible to powerful enemies.
• Merit and ambition: The chapter contrasts Li Chuan’s measured, practical self-improvement with the pride and hostility of his rivals.
• The value of compassion: Though Li Chuan does not see himself as a hero, he recognizes the human significance of an act that changes ordinary people’s lives.

Li Chuan realizes that True Person Jade Skin’s story does not add up: an ordinary Vajra Sect menial could not plausibly have taken the sect’s top-tier Golden Bell Shield method and defected without pursuit. Remembering a reference in the Secret Repository, he finds a forty-year-old notice from steward Zhao Heng seeking his missing grandson, Zhao Yu, with “Golden Bell Shield” listed as a clue.
Li Chuan visits the elderly Zhao Heng, who is wary after years of being misled by false claims. To establish that his news is genuine, Li Chuan displays the Golden Bell Shield’s Extreme Realm protective film. He explains that he found the technique in an underground cave in Wangyun County, along with a skeleton and a Sarira. Zhao Heng recognizes this as proof and, holding the Sarira, accepts that his grandson is dead. He reflects that Zhao Yu would have returned if he were still alive, suggesting an old, unresolved grievance had driven him away. After forty years of searching, Zhao Heng feels able to let go.
Grateful for the truth, Zhao Heng gives Li Chuan the Dragon Elephant Overlord Body, an advanced method that follows the Golden Bell Shield. He says it is exceptionally difficult to master but ranks among the finest Peerless Hard Body arts.
Character developments and interactions: Li Chuan connects clues he once overlooked, showing greater insight and caution as he pursues a technique suited to his growing strength. Zhao Heng shifts from guarded suspicion to grief, acceptance, and relief; their exchange is built on Li Chuan’s proof and Zhao Heng’s trust in the truth it establishes.
Themes: The chapter explores the cost of long-term uncertainty, the need to face painful truths, and the value of patience and careful reasoning. It also emphasizes martial cultivation’s hierarchy—and how strength and knowledge can unlock opportunities unavailable to weaker disciples.

Key plot points and events

• Retired Vajra Sect deacon Zhao Heng explains the Dragon Elephant Overlord Body, a rare martial art he found alongside the Golden Bell Shield. Its four realms are Dragon Spine, Elephant Skeleton, Dragon-Elephant Unity, and Dragon-Elephant Return to Origin. The first two are peerless hard-body arts; the last two reach the higher level of “true arts.”
• Zhao describes the Dragon Spine Realm: it channels true qi through the spine, allowing force to travel through the body without being lost at the joints. Li Chuan recognizes the art as a long-term path that can continue to serve him as he advances.
• Zhao gives Li Chuan the manual in gratitude for bringing news of his grandson, Zhao Yu, and asks only that Li Chuan bury him when he dies. Li Chuan solemnly promises.
• Li Chuan’s system identifies the material needed to cultivate the art: essence blood from a second-tier upper-grade Azure Flood Python. The Hundred Treasures Hall has it for 2,000 contribution points, but Li Chuan has only 1,492. He decides to earn the difference by refining pills.
• Feng Jinyuan approaches Li Chuan, praises his recent victory over the River-Crossing Three Fiends, then points out that Li’s cold abyss true gang consists of only two strands, compared with the three possessed by the top seven.
• Feng proposes that Li join an expedition to ancient ruins supposedly containing a True Origin Realm legacy, claiming the group could earn thousands of contribution points. Li refuses, citing his reluctance to take such a risk. Feng accepts the refusal and leaves.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Chuan shows both ambition and caution: he values the Dragon Elephant Overlord Body as a foundation for future growth, but refuses an enticing expedition whose dangers are unclear. He remains wary of Feng despite the latter’s friendly manner.
• Zhao Heng reveals his loneliness and regret over losing his family, especially his grandson, who shared Li Chuan’s courageous nature. His gift is an act of gratitude and a way to entrust the art—and his final wishes—to someone he respects.
• Feng Jinyuan presents himself as warm and helpful, but Li suspects his approach is calculated. Feng’s pitch targets Li’s ambition and need for contribution points; Li’s firm refusal frustrates that effort.

Significant themes

• Martial growth and preparation: The Dragon Elephant Overlord Body offers Li a structured path from hard-body training toward higher arts.
• Gratitude, legacy, and mortality: Zhao repays Li for meaningful news by passing on a powerful art and entrusting him with his burial.
• Ambition balanced by caution: Li wants to advance, but refuses to let the promise of quick rewards override his judgment.
• Trust and hidden motives: Feng’s polished friendliness contrasts with Li’s suspicion, leaving the purpose and danger of the expedition uncertain.

Chapter Summary

• Li Chuan rejects Feng Jinyuan’s invitation to explore an ancient ruin. Though the promised contribution points sound tempting, he suspects Feng, Jiang Zhaoyu, and Wang Ling are using the offer to lure him into danger. He decides to strengthen himself first and eventually find a chance to kill Feng.
• His main obstacle is the cost of training. Li Chuan needs Azure Flood Python essence blood to advance the Dragon Elephant Overlord Body and forge his dragon bones, but his earnings barely cover his daily expenses. He concludes that he must find a better way to earn contribution points.
• Li Chuan focuses on advancing his alchemy. At the Pill Hall, he learns from Zhou Baiyu that Second-Rank Alchemists gain a private pill room, greater prestige, and—most importantly—can make Silver Moon Pills worth 80 contribution points each, four times the value of his current pills. This would greatly outpace even elite disciples who earn points through missions.
• Zhou Baiyu complains that his own progress has stalled and contrasts Li Chuan with the gifted, hardworking Lu Jing, whom he expects to reach Second Rank soon. Zhou assumes Li Chuan’s limited daily practice means he will take much longer.
• Li Chuan’s routine remains steady: saber practice in the morning, alchemy in the afternoon, and internal cultivation at night. Four days later, he encounters Lu Jing, who responds coolly to Li Chuan’s congratulations and regards him as insufficiently diligent.
• Li Chuan reaches the threshold anyway. One successful pill later, his Basic Alchemy reaches Perfection. The chapter ends with him confidently recognizing that, for him, proficiency—not conventional ideas of talent or bottlenecks—determines when he breaks through.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Li Chuan remains cautious and strategic, refusing a suspicious opportunity and turning instead toward a long-term plan: become a Second-Rank Alchemist, earn more points, obtain essence blood, and increase his combat strength.
• Feng Jinyuan and Jiang Zhaoyu are presented as hostile schemers; Li Chuan suspects their invitation is a trap.
• Zhou Baiyu offers useful information about the rewards of Second-Rank alchemy but underestimates Li Chuan’s progress, mistaking his disciplined three-hour routine for laziness.
• Lu Jing is proud of his talent and extensive practice. His new distance from Li Chuan reveals a growing sense of superiority, while Li Chuan chooses not to challenge him openly.

Significant Themes

• Caution and self-reliance: Li Chuan distrusts easy rewards and prefers to build strength on his own terms.
• Long-term preparation: His sustained alchemy practice pays off precisely when he needs a more reliable source of income.
• Talent, effort, and measurable progress: Other characters judge advancement by talent and hours worked; Li Chuan’s proficiency system gives him a different, more certain measure.
• Status and practical power: Alchemy brings not only income but also privacy, respect, and protection from others’ hostility.

Key plot points and events

• Li Chuan perfects his Basic Alchemy and gains a breakthrough in understanding, discovering a safer way to refine the Heavenly Deer Pill. He tests the method and succeeds.
• He realizes that perfected Basic Alchemy will let him refine Silver Moon Pills, each worth eighty Contribution Points.
• Kong Lingsu is short more than twenty Silver Moon Pills for her monthly quota. Xue Tingyuan uses the deadline to pressure her, threatening a two-thousand-point penalty unless she agrees to dine with him.
• Li Chuan offers to help. Though Xue Tingyuan and the other alchemists doubt that a First-Rank Alchemist can refine a Silver Moon Pill, Li Chuan demonstrates his skill and successfully produces one.
• Faced with Li Chuan’s success, Xue Tingyuan leaves, and the gathered alchemists realize Li Chuan has reached an exceptional level of alchemy.

Character developments

• Li Chuan moves from newly perfected Basic Alchemy to proving that he can refine a Second-Rank pill. His calm confidence is backed by genuine skill, and he chooses to help Kong out of gratitude for her past support.
• Kong Lingsu refuses to yield to Xue Tingyuan’s coercion, even though doing so may cost her dearly. She also tries to protect Li Chuan from embarrassment, then recognizes that his offer may reflect real ability.
• Xue Tingyuan is exposed as abusing his authority to pursue Kong. His confidence collapses when Li Chuan succeeds.
• Lu Jing shifts from dismissing Li Chuan to confronting his own mistaken judgment and surprise at Li Chuan’s progress.

Significant themes

• Perseverance and mastery: Li Chuan’s breakthrough reveals how deeper understanding can solve problems that technique alone cannot.
• Integrity and gratitude: Li Chuan repays Kong’s generosity by standing up for her when others hesitate.
• Coercion and abuse of power: Xue Tingyuan manipulates workplace rules and threats of punishment to pressure Kong into personal attention.
• Appearances versus ability: Li Chuan’s First-Rank robe leads others to underestimate him, but his performance overturns their assumptions.

Character interactions

• Xue Tingyuan pressures Kong and disguises his personal motives as official procedure; Kong calls out his manipulation but refuses his terms.
• The onlookers criticize Xue yet hesitate to intervene, while Lu Jing privately believes Li Chuan’s offer is misguided.
• Kong gently tries to spare Li Chuan’s pride, but ultimately gives him the materials. Li Chuan’s successful refinement vindicates his offer and publicly defeats Xue’s attempt to humiliate him.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Li Chuan demonstrates that he has perfected Basic Alchemy after just over a year, earning Kong Lingsu’s admiration and promotion to Second-Rank Alchemist.
• His new rank brings a private alchemy room and far greater earning power. Although he initially leaves the Pill Hall crowd behind, he returns to advise Zhou Baiyu, helping him understand his alchemy mistakes.
• By refining Silver Moon Pills, Li Chuan earns enough contribution points to buy a bottle of Azure Flood Python essence blood, needed to temper his spine. He estimates that two bottles will suffice.
• For the next month and a half, he follows a disciplined routine: strengthening his internal skill in the mornings, refining pills in the afternoons, and practicing his blade technique in the evenings.
• At 4,900 proficiency, Li Chuan uses the essence blood to complete the Dragon Spine breakthrough. The new spine lets him transmit strength through his body without the usual losses at the joints, greatly increasing his power.
• Meanwhile, Feng Jinyuan tells Jiang Zhaoyu that Li Chuan has refused to leave the sect despite an attempted lure. Jiang notes that everyone must accept a mission within three months, suggesting Li Chuan will soon have to venture out. Feng also recalls that Wang Ling has been dead for some time.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Chuan grows from a promising alchemy student into a Second-Rank Alchemist and a far stronger martial artist. His steady work, generosity, and caution remain central to his character.
• Kong Lingsu feels grateful and proud: the junior she once helped has now rescued her from a quota penalty. Li Chuan’s increased productivity also lets him complete her monthly quota within days.
• Zhou Baiyu fears that Li Chuan’s promotion will separate them, but Li Chuan returns to help him rather than abandoning their friendship. His guidance gives Zhou a clearer path through his alchemy bottleneck.
• Lu Jing watches Li Chuan receive the recognition he believes should have been his, revealing envy and disappointment.
• Feng Jinyuan and Jiang Zhaoyu continue plotting around Li Chuan. Feng is frustrated by Li Chuan’s refusal to take the bait; Jiang expects the coming mission requirement to create another opportunity.

Significant themes

• Effort and earned progress: Li Chuan’s promotion and breakthrough result from sustained practice and disciplined routines.
• Reciprocity and loyalty: Li Chuan repays Kong Lingsu’s earlier kindness and supports Zhou Baiyu even as their ranks diverge.
• Status and changing relationships: Advancement brings material benefits but also threatens to create distance between Li Chuan and his former peers.
• Caution versus opportunity: Li Chuan’s refusal to leave the sect frustrates his enemies, but an unavoidable mission may soon test that caution.
• Power and mastery: The Dragon Spine represents not merely greater strength, but more efficient control of the strength he already possesses.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Li Chuan secretly selects a low-risk mission to collect thunderstruck wood at Thousand-Fathom Cliff. He accidentally drops the mission token, revealing his destination to Feng Jinyuan, who follows him.
• Feng believes Heaven is guiding him and plans to kill Li Chuan on the cliff’s narrow, exposed path, then dispose of the body in the abyss. He waits for Li Chuan to finish the mission before attacking.
• Li Chuan reveals that he knew Feng was following him—or at least confronts him when they reach a point with no easy retreat. Feng attacks, confident in his three-channel True Gang and perfected Thunder Colt Blade Technique.
• Li Chuan’s supposedly ordinary Cold Abyss True Gang proves to be a far more powerful black-and-white force. He then reveals the golden power of his dragon spine, which overwhelms Feng’s strike and tears apart Feng’s upper body.
• As Feng dies, Li Chuan asks why he wanted him dead. Feng explains that Jiang Zhaoyu ordered it because he despises people from Sanyuan Prefecture. Li Chuan is stunned by the arbitrary prejudice.
• Feng falls into the abyss, realizing too late that the cliff was not a place for him to dispose of Li Chuan’s body—it was where Li Chuan would dispose of his.

Character developments

• Li Chuan remains cautious and composed, but the fight exposes the extraordinary power he has kept concealed: a True Gang stronger than those of the Core Area’s top disciples and a devastating dragon spine.
• Feng Jinyuan begins as a confident, self-styled hunter who interprets his past good fortune as Heaven’s favor. His certainty collapses when Li Chuan proves overwhelmingly stronger; in his final moments, he recognizes that he was the prey.
• Jiang Zhaoyu, though absent, is characterized as arrogant and violently prejudiced, ordering Li Chuan’s death simply because of his birthplace.

Significant themes

• Hubris and mistaken confidence: Feng mistakes apparent good fortune and his own strength for guaranteed success.
• Hidden power and appearances: Li Chuan’s cautious, seemingly unremarkable demeanor conceals formidable abilities.
• Fate and irony: Feng believes Heaven has arranged the perfect place for his murder of Li Chuan, but the same setting enables his own death.
• Prejudice and arbitrary violence: Li Chuan’s near-assassination stems not from a real conflict but from Jiang’s contempt for his origins.

Character interactions

• Feng stalks Li Chuan as a hunter tracking prey, while Li Chuan eventually confronts him on the narrow cliff path.
• Their clash reveals the gulf between Feng’s confidence and Li Chuan’s actual strength.
• In their final exchange, Li Chuan seeks the reason for the attack; Feng’s confession shifts the conflict from personal rivalry to Jiang’s baseless prejudice.

Key plot points and events

• Li Chuan kills Feng Jinyuan after luring him out, takes his remaining 500 Contribution Points, and returns to the Vajra Sect with the Thunderstruck Wood required for his mission.
• Feng Jinyuan is later listed as missing. Jiang Zhaoyu realizes Feng may have been sent to kill Li Chuan and suspects Li Chuan could be stronger than his ranking suggests. He decides to kill Li Chuan himself.
• Through steady training, Li Chuan advances the Return to Dust Blade Technique from Major Mastery to Perfection. He understands that the next step is reaching the Extreme Realm and comprehending Blade Intent, which can suppress opponents who have not mastered it.
• Li Chuan chooses to prioritize combat strength over Intermediate Alchemy and arranges to meet Xie Yingtang and Wen Dandan.
• At the teahouse, the two women sense the sharp aura of Li Chuan’s perfected blade technique. He confirms his breakthrough, startling them both.
• Xie Yingtang reveals that she and Jiang Zhaoyu have reached External Gang, while Wen Dandan has not. Li Chuan learns how powerful the next stage is and privately recognizes that his own progress may let him reach it before the Outer Mountain Grand Competition.

Character developments

• Li Chuan grows more formidable and disciplined, focusing on cultivation and combat rather than secondary pursuits. He remains reserved about his strength but accepts that his aura is becoming difficult to conceal.
• Jiang Zhaoyu shifts from relying on others to planning to confront Li Chuan personally. His contempt for Li Chuan’s humble origins remains, though he now suspects Li Chuan has hidden strength.
• Wen Dandan is genuinely impressed by Li Chuan’s achievement. Her earlier sharpness toward him has softened into reluctant respect, though her blunt, teasing manner remains.
• Xie Yingtang treats Li Chuan warmly and recognizes his progress, while also demonstrating the gap created by her advancement to External Gang.

Significant themes

• Merit and prejudice: Jiang Zhaoyu’s hostility stems from Li Chuan’s lowly origins, contrasting with Li Chuan’s accomplishments.
• Progress through discipline: Li Chuan’s blade breakthrough comes from consistent practice and deliberate prioritization.
• Strength and hierarchy: Rankings, cultivation stages, and sect rules shape relationships and status; External Gang represents a major leap in power.
• Hidden ability and recognition: Li Chuan’s strength is increasingly difficult to conceal, and others’ perceptions of him change as his achievements become undeniable.

Character interactions

• Li Chuan’s actions leave Jiang Zhaoyu isolated and suspicious after the disappearance of Wang Ling and Feng Jinyuan.
• At the teahouse, Wen Dandan challenges Li Chuan about his blade technique, then reacts with astonishment when he confirms its perfection.
• Xie Yingtang and Li Chuan discuss cultivation, and she demonstrates her Three Elements True Gang at his request.
• Wen Dandan underestimates Li Chuan’s chances of reaching External Gang before the competition; Li Chuan silently suspects his progress may be ahead of hers.

Key plot points and events

• Xie Yingtang tells Li Chuan about the Primordial Essence Secret Realm, an independent space saturated with natural essence that greatly accelerates cultivation. Entry costs 5,000 contribution points for ten days.
• Wen Dandan argues that Li Chuan should save his points: she doubts he can reach External Gang before the Outer Mountain Grand Competition and thinks entering the realm would be a waste. Xie Yingtang is less forceful, respecting Li Chuan’s choice.
• Initially hesitant, Li Chuan reconsiders. He recognizes that he has been treating contribution points as something to hoard rather than a means to strengthen himself. With enemies and danger around him—including Jiang Zhaoyu, who has reached External Gang—he decides that delaying a breakthrough is an unacceptable risk.
• Two and a half months later, Li Chuan has accumulated 9,100 points and enters the realm, spending 5,000. Inside, its immense concentration of natural essence lets him rapidly refine his True Gang and advance his technique’s proficiency.
• Li Chuan reaches the threshold of a breakthrough and advances to the third layer of the Chaos Evolving Heaven Technique, entering External Gang. His True Gang compresses into a much smaller, denser bead, and he realizes the transformation has made him vastly stronger. When his ten days end, he is transported back outside.

Character developments

• Li Chuan shifts from caution about spending resources to a clearer understanding that strength—and survival—must come before saving points. He also confronts his growing complacency after past victories and recommits to preparing for danger.
• Wen Dandan is shown as outspoken and inclined to impose her judgments on others, even when she means to advise them.
• Xie Yingtang contrasts with Wen Dandan: she offers her perspective but respects Li Chuan’s independence.

Significant themes

• Resources should serve their purpose: Wealth and contribution points matter only insofar as they can improve one’s capabilities.
• Complacency versus vigilance: Past victories can create a false sense of invulnerability; arrogance is dangerous in a world where mistakes can be fatal.
• Cultivation as qualitative transformation: Reaching External Gang is presented not as a small increase in power but as a fundamental leap.

Character interactions

• Wen Dandan warns Li Chuan against spending his points, while Xie Yingtang explains the realm’s benefits and leaves the decision to him.
• Li Chuan internally weighs their advice against his own assessment of the threats he faces, ultimately choosing to prioritize his breakthrough.
• At the secret realm, he negotiates entry with the steward, pays the fee, and experiences the realm’s effect firsthand.

Chapter Summary: “A Display of External Gang Strength—the Gap!”

Key plot points and events

• After leaving the Primordial Essence Secret Realm, Li Chuan realizes it contains restricted, higher-grade areas, much like the tiered Blade Realm. He reflects that he has only begun to glimpse the wider world of martial arts.
• Seeking to improve before the Outer Mountain Grand Competition, he chooses the Profound Metal Internal Skill, which can combine his Cold Abyss True Gang with Geng Metal True Gang. He rejects other options that would either limit his future development or poorly suit his combat style.
• At the Hundred Treasures Hall, Li Chuan considers buying a powerful low-grade Spirit Treasure but decides his current saber will suffice. He instead sets his sights on a Supreme Blade-Training Stone, hoping it will accelerate his Return to Dust Blade Technique and help him attain blade intent.
• Wen Dandan tells Li Chuan that the sect is giving Core Area disciples free Extreme Gang Pills ahead of the competition. The top ten are entitled to ten pills each. Since Jiang Zhaoyu is distributing them, both worry he may deny Li Chuan his share.
• At the Martial Arts Arena, Jiang Zhaoyu hands out pills to the other ranked disciples but deliberately skips Li Chuan, who is seventh after the former fourth-ranked Feng Jinyuan disappeared.
• Wen Dandan challenges Jiang Zhaoyu’s authority to withhold the pills. He responds by unleashing his external gang against her. Though she uses three-elements true gang, the attack knocks her off balance and exposes the enormous gap between external gang and inner gang.
• Li Chuan steps forward at the chapter’s end, setting up a confrontation.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Chuan remains focused on preparation and long-term growth. He is practical about spending contribution points, but ambitious about mastering blade intent. He stays composed when Jiang Zhaoyu withholds his pills.
• Wen Dandan shows her kind-hearted side beneath her sharp tongue: she personally informs Li Chuan about the pills, despite claiming she did so only to avoid Xie Yingtang’s displeasure. She then risks confronting Jiang Zhaoyu on Li Chuan’s behalf.
• Jiang Zhaoyu uses his position as distributor to target Li Chuan and asserts his authority through intimidation. His attack on Wen Dandan reveals both his hostility and the power advantage he holds as an external-gang martial artist.
• Xie Yingtang, absent in seclusion, is still an influence on the group; Li Chuan suspects her concern prompted Wen Dandan to help him.
• The other disciples largely comply with Jiang Zhaoyu, thanking him for pills that are technically their sect-issued entitlement.

Significant themes

• Power and hierarchy: Jiang Zhaoyu’s control over the distribution—and his ability to punish a challenger—shows how strength and status can distort authority.
• The gulf between cultivation stages: Wen Dandan’s failed defense demonstrates how decisive the transition to external gang can be.
• Ambition and preparation: Li Chuan carefully prioritizes the resources and techniques most likely to help him advance in the upcoming competition.
• Loyalty beneath conflict: Wen Dandan’s actions reveal genuine concern for Li Chuan despite her protests and prickly manner.

Key plot points and events

• During the distribution of extreme gang pills, Jiang Zhaoyu provokes Li Chuan and proposes a wager: if Li Chuan can take the bottle from his hand, Jiang will give him the pills and contribution points; if not, Li Chuan must pay.
• Li Chuan raises the stakes to two thousand contribution points. Wen Dandan and others worry he is walking into a trap, while Xie Yingtang hurries to the arena hoping to support him.
• Li Chuan reveals that he has already reached External Gang, wielding rare black-gold True Gang. He snatches the bottle from Jiang and pulls him off balance, leaving him sprawled in the dust.
• Jiang accepts the loss and transfers the two thousand points. Li Chuan’s token balance rises from 3,670 to 5,670, enough to buy a top-grade saber-training stone.
• The updated rankings place Li Chuan third, alongside Jiang Zhaoyu and Xie Yingtang in the top tier—the arena’s only three External Gang practitioners. He has climbed from twenty-first place in nine months.
• Wen Dandan suggests celebrating at a teahouse. Li Chuan plans to use the outing to learn more about Jiang’s motives.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Chuan reveals a major breakthrough he had kept secret. His confidence and restraint contrast with the crowd’s earlier assumption that he was no match for Jiang. He also appears to have deliberately embarrassed Jiang in retaliation for making Wen Dandan stumble.
• Jiang Zhaoyu is humiliated but honors the wager rather than escalating the conflict. He controls his anger and leaves, suggesting he is waiting for a better opportunity.
• Wen Dandan tries to protect Li Chuan, even offering her own pills, then celebrates his victory and recognizes that he acted partly on her behalf.
• Xie Yingtang arrives too late to intervene and feels guilty, but Li Chuan reassures her that she was not responsible.
• Ren Pingsheng, initially doubtful, clears a path for Li Chuan and addresses him respectfully after his strength is revealed. Kang Yan remains unimpressed by the crowd’s sudden deference and calls them bootlickers.

Significant themes

• Hidden strength and earned recognition: Li Chuan’s breakthrough overturns others’ assumptions and changes his standing in the arena.
• Power and social treatment: The crowd’s shift from dismissing Li Chuan to flattering him shows how respect often follows status and strength.
• Pride, fairness, and restraint: Jiang accepts a genuine loss despite the humiliation, while Li Chuan turns a risky wager into both a practical and symbolic victory.
• Competition and ambition: The rankings mark Li Chuan’s rapid rise and foreshadow the approaching Outer Mountain Grand Competition.

Li Chuan met Wen Dandan and Xie Yingtang at a teahouse, where they discussed his rapid rise and the dangers Jiang Zhaoyu posed. After learning that the Outer Mountain Grand Competition awarded first place ten thousand contribution points and a low-grade spirit treasure, Li Chuan resolved to take the prize himself.

• The teahouse proprietor warmly welcomed Li Chuan after hearing he had reached the External Gang and risen to third place in the Core Area rankings.
• Wen Dandan and Xie Yingtang asked Li Chuan how he had advanced so quickly, and he jokingly credited hard work, inspiring Wen Dandan to practice more.
• Wen Dandan gave Li Chuan permission to pursue Xie Yingtang, but Li Chuan said he had no romantic intentions and was focused on becoming stronger.
• Wen Dandan and Xie Yingtang warned Li Chuan that Jiang Zhaoyu might retaliate or block his promotion during the arena-style Outer Mountain Grand Competition.
• Xie Yingtang explained that Jiang Zhaoyu had entered the selection to compete for the first-place reward of ten thousand contribution points and a low-grade spirit treasure.
• Li Chuan decided that he would win first place and keep the reward from Jiang Zhaoyu.

Li Chuan bought a Supreme Blade-Training Stone and trained the Return to Dust Blade Technique while Jiang Zhaoyu tried to have him detained over Feng Jinyuan’s disappearance. After Kong Lingsu’s intervention foiled the scheme, Li Chuan reached the technique’s extreme realm and mastered blade intent, ready for the Outer Mountain Grand Competition.

• Jiang Zhaoyu resolved to hinder Li Chuan’s rise after losing two thousand contribution points to him.
• Li Chuan spent five thousand contribution points on a Supreme Blade-Training Stone, which accelerated his Return to Dust Blade Technique training.
• Jiang Zhaoyu brought an Enforcement Hall Deacon to detain Li Chuan over Feng Jinyuan’s disappearance, but Kong Lingsu stopped them by revealing Li Chuan was a registered Second-Rank Alchemist.
• Li Chuan resumed training, determined to reach the extreme realm and thwart Jiang Zhaoyu’s plans.
• Li Chuan advanced the Return to Dust Blade Technique to the extreme realm, mastered blade intent, and prepared for the Outer Mountain Grand Competition.

Li Chuan completed his Blade Intent and spent the days before the Outer Mountain Grand Competition tempering his bones with Corpse Elephant Essential Blood. On the eve of the competition, he broke through to the Elephant Skeleton realm and headed out to compete for a place in the inner sect.

• Li Chuan remembered how Pan Yueze had tried to take him to the Enforcement Hall and resolved to repay Pan Yueze and Jiang Zhaoyu when the opportunity arose.
• Li Chuan bought two bottles of Corpse Elephant Essential Blood for six thousand contribution points and began tempering his bones each day.
• As Li Chuan refined the essential blood, his bones grew tougher, and his Moon-Hide Saber began to strain under his increasing strength.
• Li Chuan consumed the final portion of essential blood and broke through the Dragon Elephant Overlord Body to the Second Realm, Elephant Skeleton, doubling his physical strength and strengthening his defense.
• Li Chuan prepared to enter the Outer Mountain Grand Competition, where five inner sect places, ten thousand contribution points, and a low-grade spirit treasure awaited the victor.