Chapter Summaries

Ning Chuan manipulated Knife Scar’s investigation and arranged a nighttime trip to Sunset Slope to lure him and his men into an ambush. Knife Scar brought twelve men, including four Soul Masters and a military crossbow, while Ning Chuan waited in the clearing, aware of their approach.

• Knife Scar learned that the Ning family had connections to Ji Shi Tang but could uncover little about Ning Chuan, whose true abilities remained concealed.
• Ning Chuan monitored the investigation and deliberately let the informants discover selected details to make the family seem dependent on Ji Shi Tang.
• Ning Chuan told Ning Dazhuang he planned to collect medicinal dew at Sunset Slope after midnight, making sure an informant overheard him.
• Ning Chuan left the courtyard and let Knife Scar’s followers track him toward Sunset Slope.
• Knife Scar led more than a dozen armed men, including four Soul Masters and a military crossbow, to surround Ning Chuan at Sunset Slope.
• Ning Chuan pretended to collect dew in a clearing while sensing the group closing in.

Ning Chuan lured Knife Scar and his men to Sunset Slope while secretly preparing a formation as he collected dew. After the ambush began, Ning Chuan activated the formation, overwhelmed the attackers, and trapped Knife Scar, who offered to reveal who was behind the plot.

• Ning Chuan collected dew and prepared a formation at Sunset Slope while Knife Scar and his men watched from hiding.
• Knife Scar recognized Ning Chuan was setting up a formation but mistook its weak appearance for amateur work and waited to attack.
• Ning Chuan feigned a stumble, prompting Knife Scar to order his men to ambush him and demand his secret.
• Ning Chuan dodged the nets, activated the formation, and swiftly defeated the thugs caught inside it.
• Ning Chuan trapped Knife Scar with the formation's power, and Knife Scar begged for his life and offered to name the person behind the plot.

Ning Chuan killed Knife Scar and his men, then erased the evidence of the fight at Sunset Slope. Back in Helsing City, he concluded that the immediate threats to his family had been eliminated and turned his attention to strengthening himself.

• Ning Chuan dismissed Knife Scar's offer of information and killed him with a strike of Soul Power.
• Ning Chuan killed the remaining thugs and gathered their weapons, money, and other belongings.
• Ning Chuan used five Flame Talismans to burn the corpses, then cleaned and concealed the site at Sunset Slope.
• Ning Chuan returned to his family home in Elm Forest Alley before dawn, avoiding woodcutters and city guards.
• Ning Chuan reviewed the elimination of Liu Kui, Zhao Si, and Knife Scar and resolved to focus on cultivation, the medicinal fields, and his cooperation with the Seven Treasures Pavilion.

Ning Chuan used a Moonlight Dew Condensation Bottle to extract Blood Ginseng and Honeysuckle essence, strengthening the Ning Family’s herb field and improving his cultivation. After Honeysuckle bloomed, he sensed unfamiliar people watching Elm Forest Alley, leaving the family’s renewed peace under threat.

• Ning Chuan chose the Moonlight Dew Condensation Bottle and successfully extracted essence from Blood Ginseng and Honeysuckle leaves.
• Ning Chuan diluted the essences to nourish the herb field, while he continued cultivating the Azure Emperor Longevity Art and refining his extraction skills.
• Manager Sun Dehai visited the Ning Family, admired the thriving herb field, and hinted at closer cooperation with Seven Treasures Pavilion.
• Ning Xiaohe excitedly showed Ning Chuan the newly bloomed Honeysuckle flowers in the backyard.
• Ning Chuan sensed unfamiliar presences lingering outside Elm Forest Alley and realized new trouble might be approaching.

Ning Chuan followed a powerful watcher to the Blackwater Gang and discovered that its Third Chief, Liu Han, was seeking revenge for Liu Kui. He returned home and planned to strengthen himself, conceal his abilities, and find a chance to strike first.

• Ning Chuan detected a Level 38 intruder near his courtyard and secretly followed him through the city to a riverside shantytown.
• Ning Chuan learned that the intruder was Liu Han, the Blackwater Gang’s Third Chief, and that Liu Kui had been his blood brother.
• Liu Han ordered his men to watch Ning Chuan, investigate the Ning Family’s connection to Ji Shi Tang, and spread a rumor that the family possessed a herb-growing treasure.
• Ning Chuan returned to his courtyard and assessed his advantages and disadvantages against Liu Han and the Blackwater Gang.
• Ning Chuan decided to feign weakness, raise his cultivation, improve the courtyard formation, and seek an opportunity to kill or seriously wound Liu Han.

Liu Han led the Blackwater Gang in an attack on the Ning Family, only to discover that Ning Chuan had hidden his true strength. Ning Chuan wiped out the invading gang members and killed Liu Han, leaving the Blackwater Gang’s next move unresolved.

• Liu Han brought elite Blackwater Gang members to the Ning Family Courtyard and ordered them to surround it and attack.
• Liu Han and his subordinates shattered the Lesser Derivation Five Elements Formation and charged into the courtyard.
• Ning Chuan revealed his four soul rings and used his soul skills and Azure Emperor Longevity Domain to suppress the attackers.
• Ning Chuan killed the Blackwater Gang members and defeated Liu Han, then finished him with a strike to the brow.

Ning Chuan eliminated the Blackwater Gang thugs surrounding the Ning Family Courtyard before they could raise an alarm. He burned the bodies and erased the traces of battle, leaving his family safe for the moment but Blackwater’s retaliation still looming.

• Ning Chuan sensed eleven remaining thugs and slipped into the shadows to keep the fighting away from his family.
• Ning Chuan used vines, weeds, roots, and leaves to silently kill the scattered sentries and the two crossbowmen.
• Ning Chuan ambushed the four elite thugs, opened his Azure Emperor Longevity Domain, and killed them all.
• Ning Chuan crushed the one-eyed deputy’s throat after the man warned that Blackwater would not let him go.
• Ning Chuan burned the corpses, destroyed or stored the weapons, and erased the traces of battle before dawn.

After killing Liu Han and the Blackwater Gang elites, Ning Chuan returned home and reassured his frightened family that they were safe. As dawn broke, he resolved to recover his strength and prepare for the Blackwater Gang’s likely retaliation.

• Ning Chuan silently checked the alley, erased the traces of battle, and slipped back into his courtyard.
• Ning Dazhuang, Liu Lan, and Ning Xiaohe welcomed Ning Chuan home in fear and relief, and he calmed them and showed them his four black Soul Rings.
• Ning Chuan told his parents that he had reached the Soul Ancestor realm and had dealt with the attackers, reassuring them that no one would trace the fight to their family.
• Ning Chuan helped Ning Xiaohe fall asleep, drank the calming soup Liu Lan prepared, and urged his parents to rest.
• At dawn, Ning Chuan recognized that the Blackwater Gang might retaliate and resolved to restore his Soul Power and prepare to uproot the gang if necessary.

After Liu Han disappeared with a squad of Blackwater Gang fighters, Xiao Ran suspected the Ning Family and ordered the gang to suppress the news while gathering intelligence. Ning Chuan sensed that the watchers had withdrawn and prepared for the danger he expected to follow.

• A dock leader told Xiao Ran that Liu Han had left with One-Eyed Dragon, more than a dozen fighters, and a military crossbow, but had not returned.
• Xiao Ran linked Liu Han's disappearance to his investigation of Liu Kui and the Ning Family in Elm Forest Alley.
• Xiao Ran ordered A Zi to gather surveillance records and investigate unfamiliar experts and Liu Han's movements before his departure.
• Black Tooth reported that Liu Han's group had entered the quiet Ning Family courtyard and vanished without signs of fighting; he also described unusually healthy medicinal herbs and eerie courtyard walls.
• Xiao Ran ordered the gang to avoid provoking the Ning Family, conceal Liu Han's disappearance, and increase security around Xiao Shan's secluded cultivation site.
• Ning Chuan noticed the watchers had vanished and remained alert, suspecting the Blackwater Gang was waiting to strike.

Xiao Ran visited the Ning Family to investigate Liu Han’s disappearance and the unusual medicinal herbs, while Ning Chuan concealed his abilities and deflected her probing. Xiao Ran left wary of the family and considered investigating Ji Shi Tang or the Ning Family’s hometown instead.

• Xiao Ran arrived at the Ning Family courtyard with two armed maids and presented Ning Chuan with a gift.
• Xiao Ran questioned Ning Chuan about his herb-growing methods and Liu Han, but Ning Chuan denied knowing Liu Han and blamed unfamiliar visitors for disturbing the neighborhood.
• Xiao Ran moved to inspect the herb garden and secretly probed a Honeysuckle leaf with her Soul Power.
• Ning Chuan pretended to stumble and made his Soul Power collide with Xiao Ran’s probe, causing her to abandon her inspection.
• Xiao Ran left the courtyard and considered investigating Ji Shi Tang or the Ning Family’s original hometown.

Ning Chuan searched the Heavens Trash Recycling Station for a way to defend against the Blackwater Gang and discovered a sword formation that could draw on stellar power. He learned its principles but found that the damaged artifacts available to build it were inadequate.

• Ning Chuan recalled Xiao Ran’s calculated gaze and suspected that his trouble with the Blackwater Gang was not over.
• Ning Chuan searched the Station for a defensive formation and selected the damaged Seven-Star Radiance Sword Formation Diagram.
• Ning Chuan studied the diagram’s Big Dipper sword formation, which could defend, attack, and bewilder enemies by linking seven swords to a formation eye.
• Ning Chuan searched for a suitable formation core and seven swords, but found only a nearly depleted Stellar Core Fragment and damaged or unsuitable weapons.

Ning Chuan completed a weakened Seven-Star Radiance Sword Formation beneath his courtyard, giving him a new defense against the Blackwater Gang. At its headquarters, Xiao Ran learned of threats and setbacks, then ordered an immediate attack on the Ning Family and arranged to keep Commandant Zhao occupied.

• Ning Chuan used the Stellar Core Fragment and seven improvised swords to awaken the Seven-Star Radiance Sword Formation and sense activity within fifteen zhang of his courtyard.
• Three intelligence chiefs reported that six Blackwater Gang watchers near Elm Forest Alley had disappeared, Manager Qian had met with Commandant Zhao, and Vulture of the Osprey Sect was watching the gang’s docks.
• Xiao Ran realized the Blackwater Gang was weakened and surrounded by threats, and decided it could not wait for her eldest brother to emerge from seclusion.
• Xiao Ran ordered the gang’s leaders to assemble, had Soul-Shattering Crossbows and Bone-Eroding Poison Sand issued to death warriors, and sent a message to the Snake Cave asking its old monster to occupy Commandant Zhao for an hour.

Ning Chuan activated the Seven-Star Radiance Sword Formation to repel the Blackwater Gang’s full-scale assault on the Ning Family Courtyard. He killed Xiao Ran and shattered the gang’s attack, but the formation left him nearly exhausted as the survivors fled.

• Ning Chuan sensed more than fifty Blackwater Gang attackers surrounding the courtyard, led by Xiao Ran.
• Ning Chuan activated the Seven-Star Radiance Sword Formation, which blocked the gang’s poisoned crossbow bolts and assaults on the walls and gate.
• Ning Chuan used the formation’s starlight swords to slaughter the attackers and disrupt their attempt to form the Blackwater Mysterious Serpent Formation.
• Xiao Ran began preparing her Netherworld Venom Detonation, but Ning Chuan’s Megrez Sword struck her between the brows and killed her.
• The remaining Blackwater Gang members fled, while Ning Chuan stood over the ruined battlefield nearly drained of Soul Power and mental strength.

Ning Chuan survived the battle with Xiao Ran, erased the evidence, and recovered enough to reunite with his family as the Blackwater Gang collapsed. He concealed his involvement from a City Guard investigation, but expected further scrutiny and resolved to grow stronger.

• Ning Chuan used the Heavens Trash Recycling Station to erase the battlefield evidence, then swallowed Century Wood Marrow to recover from his injuries.
• Incense Master Wang learned that the Osprey Sect and Western City Guard were closing in on the Blackwater Gang, so he ordered the remaining members to flee.
• Ning Chuan reassured Liu Lan, Ning Dazhuang, and Ning Xiaohe that the attackers had been driven away, while privately anticipating a greater threat.
• Ning Chuan considered breaking through to Level 43 after his experience with the Seven-Star Radiance Sword Formation.
• Zhang Meng and the City Guard questioned Ning Chuan about the disturbances, but he blamed the sounds on thunder and the disturbed soil on wild dogs.

The Osprey Sect attacked the Blackwater Gang’s headquarters while its forces were away, then broke into the secret chamber where Xiao Shan was attempting to reach Soul King. Xiao Shan died after an unseen assassin’s Soul-Severing Needle stopped his attempt to self-destruct, leaving Vulture to claim the Blackwater River and wonder who had intervened.

• Vulture led the Osprey Sect’s assault on the leaderless Blackwater Gang headquarters and ordered his forces to find Xiao Shan.
• The Osprey Sect discovered the Blackwater Barrier protecting Xiao Shan’s secret chamber and battered it while Xiao Shan’s interrupted breakthrough caused a backlash.
• Xiao Shan withdrew the barrier, emerged from the chamber, and fought Vulture and the Osprey Sect forces while his unstable Soul Power weakened him.
• As Vulture’s Netherworld Ghost Claw threatened him, Xiao Shan tried to destroy his Martial Soul and take Vulture with him.
• An unseen attacker shot Xiao Shan with a poisoned Soul-Severing Needle, stopping the self-destruction and killing him.
• Vulture declared the Blackwater River belonged to the Osprey Sect, ordered his forces to loot the chamber, and noticed the needle mark on Xiao Shan’s corpse.

After Captain Zhang Meng reported suspicious Soul Skill traces at the Ning Family home, Zhao Qian Ting suspected the family was connected to the Blackwater Gang and Osprey Sect conflict. He ordered a secret investigation and discreet surveillance, leaving the City Guard cautious about the potential threat posed by Ning Chuan and his family.

• Zhang Meng reported to Zhao Qian Ting that he had found freshly disturbed soil and scorched marks near the Ning Family home, and described Ning Chuan as unusually calm.
• Zhang Meng suggested that a conflict may have occurred at or inside the Ning Family’s courtyard and that the family had erased most of its traces.
• Zhao Qian Ting connected the Ning Family, Ji Shi Tang, and the Blackwater Gang’s recent losses and disappearances to the events in Elm Forest Alley.
• Zhao Qian Ting ordered Zhang Meng to suppress the report, send the Shadow Office to investigate the Ning Family, and discreetly monitor the family from a distance.
• Zhao Qian Ting wondered whether an expert stood behind Ning Chuan and hoped the Ning Family would not become an enemy.

Ning Chuan searched the Ten Thousand Herb Appraisal for a way to heal his meridians and found the Azurewood Heaven-Returning Pill formula, which suited his Azure Emperor Longevity Art. He used the Heavens Trash Recycling Station to find and purify substitute ingredients, then prepared to refine the pill.

• Ning Chuan assessed his lingering injuries and decided that ordinary meditation would not restore him quickly enough to face the dangers ahead.
• Ning Chuan found the Azurewood Heaven-Returning Pill formula, which could repair meridians and strengthen vitality in wood-element cultivators.
• Ning Chuan asked the Station to scan for substitutes for the pill’s rare ingredients.
• Ning Chuan chose the purified Nature Spirit Remains as the main ingredient and rejected alternatives with unstable, mismatched, or insufficient energy.
• Ning Chuan had the Station extract and purify the Nature Spirit Remains, Scarlet Flame Vermilion Fruit pits, Moonlight Moss, and Morning Dewdrops for refinement.

Ning Chuan searched the Heavens Trash Recycling Station for tools to refine the Azurewood Heaven-Returning Pill and found a furnace and a compatible flame source. He awakened the Flintseed with Soul Power, preparing to begin alchemy.

• Ning Chuan scanned the Station's storage for a suitable pill furnace and chose the stable, wood-aligned Azurewood Longevity Furnace.
• He extracted the furnace and had the Station inspect and purify it before testing its resonance with his Azure Emperor Longevity Soul Power.
• Ning Chuan searched for a gentle flame source and found the dormant Flintseed, which could be nourished by life force and was suited to processing herbs.
• He extracted the Flintseed and channeled Soul Power into it, causing it to glow and release a small, vibrant flame aura.

Ning Chuan refined three Azurewood Heaven-Returning Pills, using his essence blood and Soul Power to stabilize the volatile ingredients. After swallowing one, he began using its medicinal power to heal his injuries and break through to level forty-two.

• Ning Chuan prepared substitute ingredients and began refining an Azurewood Heaven-Returning Pill in the Azurewood Longevity Furnace.
• Ning Chuan combined the main and auxiliary ingredients into a blue-gold medicinal liquid, but its energy became unstable as the pills neared completion.
• Ning Chuan used his essence blood and maximum Soul Power to suppress the volatile medicinal liquid and form three Azurewood Heaven-Returning Pills.
• Ning Chuan swallowed one pill, which began healing his injuries and driving his level-forty-one Soul Power toward the level-forty-two bottleneck.
• Ning Chuan circulated the Azure Emperor Longevity Art as his Martial Soul appeared and his Soul Power surged.

Ning Chuan recovered from his injuries and broke through to level forty-three after taking the Azurewood Heaven-Returning Pill. He noticed City Guard sentries watching his home, then practiced the Azure Emperor Longevity Art in the herb field and discovered he could sense and nourish the plants.

• Ning Chuan examined his breakthrough to level forty-three and assessed that he could contend with a Soul King, but decided his strength was still insufficient.
• Ning Chuan sensed disguised City Guard sentries lurking around the alley and pretended not to notice them.
• Ning Chuan ate breakfast with Liu Lan, Ning Xiaohe, and Ning Dazhuang, then told his parents he would practice in the rear courtyard.
• Ning Chuan used his azure Soul Power to nourish the medicinal herbs and sensed a new connection that let him perceive their growth and needs.