Chapter Summaries

Li Chuan bought Lead-Cleansing Pills and attended Xu Kezhou’s victory feast, where Xu Kezhou and the other senior disciples ignored him after his defeat of Zhou Yan. Zhong Ziyin showed him kindness despite the social pressure, and Li Chuan left early to return to training with his pills.

• Li Chuan spent three thousand taels on a bottle of Lead-Cleansing Pills, then accepted Zhong Ziyin’s invitation to Xu Kezhou’s feast.
• Chen Dengke visited Li Chuan, thanked him for his advice, and left him half a pot of Earth Surge Qi Water as a gift.
• At the Drinking Wind Banquet Hall, Xu Kezhou and the main-table disciples ignored Li Chuan, while Yu Hang briefly chatted with him before leaving for the main table.
• Zhong Ziyin sat with Li Chuan and praised his skill, but Xu Kezhou called Zhong back to the main table; Zhong defended his choice before eventually returning.
• Xu Kezhou and Bai Zhao disparaged Zhong Ziyin’s choice to accompany Li Chuan, while Xu reassured Zhou Yan that his cultivation would eventually surpass Li Chuan’s.
• Li Chuan left the feast early, told Chen Dengke about the cold reception, and returned to his courtyard to open the bottle of ten Lead-Cleansing Pills.

Li Chuan refined his True Qi with a Lead-Cleansing Pill, advanced in opening his Fifth Main Meridian, and learned from the Jianghu Gazette that Demon Envoy Cheng Beiwang had grown stronger and stolen a fortune. Cheng Beiwang escaped into Heavenly Blade Sect territory and decided to wait for a chance to kill Li Chuan.

• Li Chuan used a Lead-Cleansing Pill to purify his True Qi and break through the outermost blockage in his Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian.
• Li Chuan met Zhong Ziyin at the Martial Arts Arena, declined to join Elder Sun's raid, and learned about Han Tuo's Innate Dual Meridians.
• Zhong Ziyin showed Li Chuan the Jianghu Gazette, which reported Han Tuo's feats and Cheng Beiwang's rise to five Main Meridians through consuming Human Pills.
• Li Chuan learned that Cheng Beiwang had stolen the Iron Eagle Martial Hall's fortune and decided he should visit Prefecture City to replace his blade.
• Cheng Beiwang escaped the Iron Eagle Martial Hall's master into Heavenly Blade Sect territory and decided to wait for Li Chuan to leave the city so he could kill him.

Zhou Yan celebrated opening his Fifth Main Meridian and insisted he would defeat Li Chuan, while Xu Kezhou and the others discussed their rivalry. On Rocky Ridge, Li Chuan effortlessly overcame and killed Cheng Beiwang, who had ambushed him for the Golden Bell Shield technique.

• Zhou Yan opened his Fifth Main Meridian on his first attempt, and Yin Taohua gave him Longjing Tea to share with Xu Kezhou.
• Zhou Yan visited Xu Kezhou and boasted about his breakthrough, hoping to show off to Li Chuan, but learned Li Chuan was away.
• Zhou Yan rejected Zhong Ziyin's suggestion to make peace with Li Chuan and vowed to crush him in a rematch.
• Cheng Beiwang ambushed Li Chuan on Rocky Ridge, but Li Chuan blocked his attack and revealed strength far beyond Cheng Beiwang's expectations.
• Cheng Beiwang fled, then turned to fight Li Chuan; Li Chuan severed his hand, blocked his escape with darts, and killed him with a punch.

Li Chuan returned to the Heavenly Blade Sect with Cheng Beiwang’s head, gaining attention and changing how his fellow disciples treated him. After leaving for the Prefecture City to replace his damaged blade, he was stopped at night by a bald man who said he had something to settle with him.

• Li Chuan found Zhao Feng’s token and a recently removed placenta among Cheng Beiwang’s belongings, then returned to the Heavenly Blade Sect with Cheng Beiwang’s head.
• Li Chuan told Zhong Ziyin that he had killed Cheng Beiwang in a fierce battle, and news of the Demon Envoy’s death spread through Four Peaks.
• Song Yichen and Yu Hang apologized to Li Chuan for their earlier treatment, while Xu Kezhou reassured Zhou Yan that Li Chuan had only benefited from Cheng Beiwang’s injuries.
• Li Chuan left for the Prefecture City because his Xuanlan Blade had developed cracks, then encountered a bald man who said he had something with him.

Li Chuan reached Prefecture City and went to the Xiao Family Auction House to sell a haul of valuable materials. As Xiao Tingxuan recognized the items as belongings lost by the Iron Eagle Martial Hall's master, the Xiao brothers began to suspect where Li Chuan had obtained them.

• Zhao Feng confronted Li Chuan over an item, but backed down after sensing danger from Li Chuan's strength and blade.
• Li Chuan reached Prefecture City to replace his fragile Xuanlan Blade and buy Qi Strengthening Pills, then visited the Xiao Family Auction House.
• Xiao Yuan welcomed Li Chuan, while Xiao Tingxuan criticized him for treating Li Chuan with too much attention and ordered a servant to investigate Li Chuan, Zhou Yan, and Jiang Ran.
• Xiao Yuan defended his friendship with Li Chuan and rejected Xiao Tingxuan's approach to managing the Xiao Family.
• Li Chuan spread out a sack of valuable materials, and Xiao Tingxuan recognized them as items the Iron Eagle Martial Hall's master had lost.

Li Chuan sold Cheng Beiwang’s spoils to the Xiao Family, bought a blade that suited his Geng Metal True Qi, and returned to the Heavenly Blade Sect amid news of growing conflict with the Yaoguang Demon Sect. He arrived at his courtyard to find a severed head waiting on the ground.

• Xiao Tingxuan learned from a Wind-Catching Pavilion report that Li Chuan had killed Cheng Beiwang and warmed to him, then helped Xiao Yuan buy Li Chuan’s bundle for twenty thousand taels.
• Li Chuan tested the Red Flood Dragon Blade and Frost Without Trace, chose Frost Without Trace for fifteen thousand taels, and left with the weapon.
• Xiao Yuan read Li Chuan’s report and joined Xiao Tingxuan in deciding to seek treasures that could improve his Root.
• Li Chuan bought fifteen Qi Strengthening Pills from the Pill Hall, spent the night in Prefecture City, and returned to the Heavenly Blade Sect the next day.
• Li Chuan heard that Elder Sun’s group had been ambushed by Yaoguang Demon Sect protectors and that Ma Yan had died.
• Li Chuan returned to his courtyard and found a severed head lying on the ground.

Li Chuan survived Zhao Ciyuan’s demonstration of the Black Insects, trained for ten days, and earned Elder Sun’s trust by quickly retrieving Black Flame Wood. After buying more pills, he learned that Zhou Yan planned to challenge him at the Minor Assessment four months later to settle their grudge.

• Zhao Ciyuan’s True Gang killed the Black Insects after they attacked Li Chuan, and Li Chuan took Cheng Beiwang’s head to Zhou Yan’s courtyard while Elder Sun recovered.
• Li Chuan trained for ten days, advancing the Mysterious Origin Twin-Life Art to Minor Mastery and the Geng Metal Art to its fourth layer.
• Li Chuan delivered Cheng Beiwang’s head to Elder Sun, who assigned him to find Black Flame Wood for two thousand taels of silver.
• Li Chuan found the Black Flame Wood in North Wild Mountain within four hours, killed a Crane Leopard with Frost Without Trace, and answered Elder Sun’s questions about mountain searching.
• Elder Sun paid Li Chuan, offered him a future Phoenix Cry Stone assignment, and said he could eventually take tasks in the Inner Mountain’s forbidden zones.
• At the Medicine Hall, Zhou Yan told Yin Taohua he would challenge Li Chuan at the Minor Assessment to avenge his earlier defeats.

Li Chuan learned that Zhou Yan might challenge him at the minor assessment and that Zhao Feng was secretly investigating him, so he trained until he opened his fifth Main Meridian. He then ambushed and killed Zhao Feng, who recognized his attacker just before he died.

• Zhong Ziyin warned Li Chuan that Zhou Yan might challenge him at the minor assessment and revealed Zhao Feng’s suspicious inquiries despite his apparent peace offering.
• Li Chuan accepted Zhao Feng’s thousand-tael compensation, resolved to kill him, and trained with pills to break through to his fifth Main Meridian.
• As unrest spread across Sanyuan Prefecture, Li Chuan followed a routine of cultivation, martial practice, and tasks for Elder Sun.
• After opening his fifth Main Meridian, Li Chuan left the Heavenly Blade Sect under cover of night.
• Zhao Feng planned to kill Li Chuan with his brother Zhao Yan, but a concealed attacker severed his arm and stabbed him through the heart.
• Zhao Feng recognized the shadow as Li Chuan before dying, and Li Chuan searched his body, erased traces, and fled.

Li Chuan learned that Zhao Feng’s death could draw suspicion from Zhao Yan, then heard about Lu Qiuhan’s losses and resolved to repay her kindness by dealing with the Black Ridge Four Wolves after the Minor Assessment. As the assessment began, Zhou Yan arranged for a challenge platform to be built so he could challenge Li Chuan.

• Zhong Ziyin warned Li Chuan that Zhao Yan might suspect him of killing Zhao Feng, and advised him to refuse any dangerous challenge.
• Li Chuan considered looting Zhao Feng’s remaining assets but decided the risk outweighed the reward, then destroyed the evidence he had kept.
• Xiao Yuan told Li Chuan that the Black Ridge Four Wolves had seized Lu Qiuhan’s medicine-delivery route, and Li Chuan resolved to deal with them after the Minor Assessment.
• Li Chuan learned about the Yaoguang Demon Sect’s black insects in the Scripture Pavilion and trained during the two days before the assessment.
• Zhou Yan asked a steward to build a challenge platform and named Li Chuan as his intended opponent.

At the minor assessment, Yu Jing presided over cultivation tests while Zhou Yan prepared to challenge Li Chuan on the newly built fighting platform. After several disciples revealed their progress, Yu Jing called Li Chuan to test next, and Zhong Ziyin warned him to leave before Zhou Yan could confront him.

• Lin Jian and Yin Tingtao speculated that Zhou Yan had built the fighting platform to challenge Li Chuan over their past encounter.
• Zhou Yan, Yin Taohua, Bai Zhao, and Xu Kezhou arrived, and Li Chuan later joined the crowd before Yu Jing announced that she would oversee the assessment in Zhao Ciyuan's absence.
• Yu Jing began testing the disciples and awarded Golden Marrow Soup or precious materials to those who had advanced; Yin Tingtao showed no progress, while Lin Jian, Lu Xi, and Jiang Ran had each opened another Main Meridian.
• Zhong Ziyin warned Li Chuan to leave after his test so Zhou Yan could not challenge him, but Yu Jing called Li Chuan onto the platform.

Li Chuan revealed that he had opened his fifth Main Meridian, matching Zhou Yan’s realm before their recorded challenge. When Yu Jing called them to the arena, Zhou Yan had disappeared, leaving everyone wondering where he had gone.

• Li Chuan’s Jade Pillar test reached exactly five Main Meridians, stunning the disciples and earning him permission to choose a precious material.
• Zhou Yan also tested at five Main Meridians, then asked to postpone challenging Li Chuan until everyone else had finished their assessment.
• Bai Zhao tested at six Main Meridians, while Zhong Ziyin reached six and Xu Kezhou reached six, nine, drawing attention to Xu Kezhou’s rapid progress.
• Yu Jing summoned Zhou Yan and Li Chuan to the arena for their recorded challenge, but Zhou Yan failed to appear and Yin Taohua found that he was gone.

After fleeing his challenge against Li Chuan, Zhou Yan broke down in the mountains and accepted power from a Yaoguang Demon Sect agent named North Wind, leaving with renewed resolve to kill Li Chuan. Meanwhile, Li Chuan and the other assessment winners entered the Heavenly Blade Sect's Treasure Vault, where an object immediately caught his attention.

• Yin Taohua and the others failed to explain Zhou Yan's absence, and Yu Jing ruled that he had forfeited his challenge and lost his assessment rewards.
• A disciple reported that Zhou Yan had supposedly returned home, and the crowd concluded that he had fled from Li Chuan; Yu Jing announced further penalties, including three months without Lead-Cleansing Pills.
• Zhou Yan collapsed in the mountains, blamed himself for his failures, and considered dying rather than returning to face the sect.
• North Wind offered Zhou Yan a chance to pursue his dream and placed a strange Black Insect in his heart, granting him power; Zhou Yan decided that he would kill Li Chuan.
• Yu Jing led the assessment winners into the sect's Treasure Vault, where Li Chuan fixed his gaze on an object.

Li Chuan visited the treasure vault, chose two metal-aspected materials to strengthen his Golden Bell Shield, and learned about the privileges of becoming Chief Disciple. The chapter ended with a messenger delivering him a letter from Lu Qiuhan of the Pill Hall.

• Yu Jing and Xu Kezhou told Li Chuan that the Flamefire Flower could not be chosen by someone who was not Chief Disciple, and Li Chuan resolved to claim that position.
• Li Chuan chose Gold Essence Mother Rock and Azure-Pattern Ironvine to help cultivate his Golden Bell Shield.
• Li Jingci, the Chief Disciple of Third Peak, arrived and spoke warmly with Yu Jing and Bai Zhao but coolly with Xu Kezhou.
• The treasure vault elder let Li Chuan keep both materials after Yu Jing explained that Zhao Ciyuan had authorized the extra share.
• Zhong Ziyin described the Chief Disciple's privileges and told Li Chuan he might have a chance at the position.
• A messenger arrived at Li Chuan's courtyard with a letter from Lu Qiuhan of the Pill Hall.

Li Chuan trained in a Grade-C Training Room and advanced the Golden Bell Shield to Minor Mastery while preparing to repay Lu Qiuhan for her help. The chapter ended with news that the Black Ridge Four Wolves had robbed another of Lu Qiuhan’s convoys, leaving Li Chuan to respond without the other three fighters.

• Li Chuan read Lu Qiuhan’s letter, which scheduled the route-clearing mission for half a month later and arranged three other Middle Core Formation fighters to help.
• Li Chuan used a Grade-C Training Room to practice the Geng Metal Art and Golden Bell Shield, then continued training in his courtyard when he ran out of silver.
• At the Martial Arts Arena, Li Chuan offered to help Bai Zhao obtain Dragonbone Grass and quoted a price of at least three thousand taels.
• Li Chuan’s Golden Bell Shield reached Minor Mastery, strengthening his defense and physical power.
• Zhou Yan returned calmer, but Xu Kezhou and Bai Zhao made him reconsider whether he could defeat Li Chuan.
• A Middle Courtyard disciple told Li Chuan that the Black Ridge Four Wolves had robbed another of Lu Qiuhan’s convoys, and the other three fighters could not be reached.

Li Chuan went alone to Mountain Valley Pass after Song Yue refused to join the mission, and he killed all four of the Black Ridge Four Wolves. The gang was wiped out, leaving Li Chuan victorious at the pass.

• Song Yue refused to help Lu Qiuhan because the mission had become too dangerous, and Lu Qiuhan told Li Chuan he did not need to come.
• Lu Qiuhan learned that Li Chuan had gone straight to Mountain Valley Pass alone and wondered whether he could defeat the Black Ridge Four Wolves.
• The Fourth Leader attacked Li Chuan with an arrow, but Li Chuan dodged it and killed him with Frost Without Trace.
• Li Chuan disarmed the Third Leader and broke the Second Leader's staff, then killed both men and pinned the Second Leader to the rock wall.
• The First Leader's punch failed to harm Li Chuan, and Li Chuan killed him after breaking his arm and crushing his throat.

Li Chuan returned the Pill Hall’s missing pills after killing the Black Ridge Four Wolves, earning a large reward and drawing new attention from his fellow disciples. After spending much of his silver on training, he agreed to help Bai Zhao obtain Dragonbone Grass, while secretly planning to profit from her request.

• Li Chuan returned to the Pill Hall with the Black Ridge Four Wolves’ heads and the unbroken pill seals, and Lu Qiuhan paid him six thousand three hundred taels.
• News of Li Chuan’s victory spread through the Heavenly Blade Sect, prompting Xu Kezhou to dismiss the bandits, Bai Zhao to consider using Li Chuan, and Zhou Yan to conceal his demonic power.
• Yu Hang and Song Yichen praised Li Chuan, who returned to his courtyard and rested before heading to the training rooms.
• Li Chuan paid two thousand taels to rent the Grade-A4 Training Room, trained there for a month and a half, and made substantial progress toward opening his Sixth Main Meridian.
• Bai Zhao visited Li Chuan and asked him to arrange a Mountain Search Squad task for Dragonbone Grass at a lower price, and Li Chuan eagerly agreed to negotiate.

Li Chuan manipulated Bai Zhao into paying four thousand taels for Dragonbone Grass, then took on tasks to fund forty-five days of training as he prepared to break through the Sixth Main Meridian. The chapter ended with Song Yichen stunned to see Li Chuan enter the best Grade-C Training Room, just as someone opened the door to Bai Zhao’s room.

• Li Chuan delayed Bai Zhao’s request to see Elder Sun, then pretended to negotiate the Dragonbone Grass price down from six thousand taels to five thousand and offered one thousand himself.
• Zhong Ziyin told Li Chuan about the Top 50 Ranking and tournament; Li Chuan declined to attend, while Du Jiming criticized his absence at the gathering.
• Li Chuan found Dragonbone Grass on North Wild Mountain within two hours, and Bai Zhao paid him four thousand taels while believing Elder Sun had arranged the search.
• Li Chuan spent ten days completing tasks to gather silver, then rented a Grade-C Training Room for forty-five days and received the Grade-A1 token.
• Song Yichen watched Li Chuan pass the other rooms and enter Grade-A1, while the lock on Bai Zhao’s Grade-A2 room clicked open.

Li Chuan finished cultivating in the Grade-A1 Training Room and opened his Sixth Main Meridian, then returned to find Du Jiming using his absence as an excuse to challenge Zhong Ziyin. Li Chuan fought Du Jiming in Zhong Ziyin’s place and crushed him with a barrage of punches, leaving the gathered disciples stunned.

• Bai Zhao invited Li Chuan to a private gathering of the leading disciples from every peak, and Li Chuan accepted while privately calling her invitation bait.
• Li Chuan spent forty-five days in the Grade-A1 Training Room using a Lead-Cleansing Pill to clear his Sixth Main Meridian and advance his Geng Metal Art to the Fifth Level.
• Yin Tingtao told Li Chuan that Du Jiming had challenged Zhong Ziyin over Li Chuan’s absence from the previous sparring gathering and demanded three Lead-Cleansing Pills.
• Li Chuan arrived at the Bluestone Arena, thanked Zhong Ziyin for defending him, and accepted Du Jiming’s challenge after Du raised the wager to six Lead-Cleansing Pills.
• Li Chuan struck Du Jiming seven times with his fists, breaking his arms and crushing his chest before sending him unconscious off the Arena.

Li Chuan defeated Du Jiming, rose to nineteenth on the Top 50 Ranking, and shared a warm dinner with Zhong Ziyin and his parents before returning to train. After advancing Seven Edge-Concealing Charges to Minor Mastery, he asked Zhao Ciyuan about fusing two streams of True Qi, and Zhao Ciyuan revealed he knew Li Chuan had two streams of Geng Metal True Qi.

• Li Chuan made Du Jiming promise to deliver six Lead-Cleansing Pills, while Shi Chongyue challenged Xu Kezhou to a match in three days.
• Li Chuan accepted Zhong Ziyin's invitation to dinner, met his ordinary parents, and learned how Zhong Ziyin had been sponsored to train in martial arts.
• Zhong Ziyin's mother found six Lead-Cleansing Pills Li Chuan had left behind, and Zhong Ziyin chased after him to return them.
• Li Chuan practiced Seven Edge-Concealing Charges until he reached Minor Mastery and punched through the Iron Birch Stake and its steel shell.
• Li Chuan visited Zhao Ciyuan to ask about fusing two streams of True Qi, and Zhao Ciyuan asked whether he meant the two streams of Geng Metal True Qi in his body.

Li Chuan learned from Zhao Ciyuan that he needed yin and yang Earth Treasures to merge his two streams of Geng Metal True Qi, and he resolved to win the Great White Profound Yin Soul at the tournament. Seven days later, he joined a gathering of the sect’s chief disciples, where Wan Ling failed to appear and Shi Chongyue arrived in her place.

• Li Chuan questioned Zhao Ciyuan about his unusual True Qi, and Zhao explained that the two fierce, yang-aligned streams could cause Qi deviation unless he balanced them with yin and yang Earth Treasures.
• Zhao Ciyuan told Li Chuan that winning the Great White Profound Yin Soul at the Heavenly Blade Tournament could transform one stream, citing the founding patriarch’s success; after Li Chuan left, Zhao secretly ordered the sect master to make it the tournament reward.
• Li Chuan resolved to become a chief disciple, cleanse his marrow with the Flamefire Flower, and claim the Great White Profound Yin Soul, while dismissing Shi Chongyue’s threat to break his arm.
• Seven days later, Li Chuan went to the Listening Wind Tower at Bai Zhao’s request, where Xu Kezhou, Yu Jing, Li Jingci, and Cheng Xiuge gathered while waiting for Wan Ling.
• Wan Ling failed to appear and sent Shi Chongyue to speak for her, leaving the other chief disciples silent as he arrived and faced the only open seats beside Li Chuan and Xu Kezhou.