Chapter Summaries

Pavilion Master Yang organized the Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School and the city yamen for a nighttime attack on the Crimson Fire Bandits, while Shen Xiu learned that the White Python had guarded Taixi City for decades because of an old promise. After hearing that the school had thrown people into the river, Shen Xiu suspected Pavilion Master Yang was sacrificing disciples to practice demonic arts as dawn approached.

• Pavilion Master Yang won the instructors' support for the campaign by revealing the city yamen's offer of five Breakthrough Pills and its additional team, then set the departure for the hour of the Tiger.
• Shen Xiu visited the White Python, who explained that he had stayed near Taixi City for sixty years to honor a promise despite wanting to travel toward the sea.
• The White Python told Shen Xiu that the martial arts school had thrown people into the Lishui River.
• Shen Xiu connected that revelation to Chen Mo's death, missing Personal Disciples, and Yang Jinhong's past campaign, and suspected Pavilion Master Yang was using disciples as sacrifices and blood food.
• The White Python sank beneath the river as Shen Xiu sat with his deduction until the approaching dawn and a cold wind stirred him.

Shen Xiu hurried to the Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School but learned that its members had already left for White Tiger Ridge. Searching for them, he reached Crimson Fire Stronghold first, infiltrated it in disguise, and discovered a chained prisoner whose face shocked him.

• Shen Xiu arrived at the Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School and learned that Pavilion Master Yang had sent its people to White Tiger Ridge earlier than planned.
• Shen Xiu took his Hundred Refinements Saber and searched White Tiger Ridge, eventually wandering into Crimson Fire Stronghold ahead of the others.
• Shen Xiu killed a drunken Crimson Fire Bandit, took his clothes and straw hat, and blended in with the men at a bonfire.
• A minor leader told Shen Xiu to bring food to a prisoner, and Shen Xiu entered the room to find a gaunt man chained to a wooden frame.
• Shen Xiu looked up at the prisoner's face and recognized someone he had never expected to see there.

Shen Xiu found the imprisoned Yang Jinhong, the real master of the Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School, and freed him from his shackles and torture nails. Yang Jinhong revealed that he was an expelled disciple of Vajra Temple and possessed a Dao Grade cultivation art.

• Shen Xiu recognized the gaunt prisoner as Yang Jinhong and told him he was a disciple of the Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School.
• Shen Xiu explained that the fake Pavilion Master Yang was leading the school’s elites toward Crimson Fire Stronghold, then snapped Yang Jinhong’s shackles.
• Yang Jinhong identified the impostor as Wang Yuehu, the stronghold’s Second Boss, and asked Shen Xiu to pull the nails from his body.
• Shen Xiu removed the nails, but Yang Jinhong said he intended to stay behind and asked Shen Xiu to leave.
• Yang Jinhong revealed that he was an expelled disciple of Vajra Temple and carried a Dao Grade cultivation art.

Yang Jinhong revealed that he possessed Vajra Temple’s secret Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill and offered it to Shen Xiu in exchange for delivering a hairpin to Qiu Niang. He then restored his strength with a secret art and fought the Crimson Fire Bandits, leaving Shen Xiu to watch as he charged toward the stronghold’s great house.

• Yang Jinhong told Shen Xiu that he had been expelled from Vajra Temple and offered him the Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill for delivering a peach-red hairpin to Qiu Niang.
• Yang Jinhong revealed that the technique was hidden beneath the statue at Azure Dragon Temple and asked Shen Xiu to tell Qiu Niang not to wait any longer.
• Shen Xiu killed a Crimson Fire Bandit who entered the room, while Yang Jinhong explained that he intended to settle matters with Wang Yuehu himself.
• Yang Jinhong used a secret art to restore his strength and stepped outside to confront the Crimson Fire Bandits.
• Yang Jinhong killed several bandits with his golden, uninjured body and charged toward the great house as more enemies gathered.

Yang Jinhong fought Yang Long at Crimson Fire Stronghold, using the Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill to withstand his saber while Yang Long tried to exhaust him. Cornered and desperate, Yang Jinhong unleashed his life force, and a strange aura arose as his strength began to surge.

• Yang Long joined the battle and recognized that Yang Jinhong was using the Great Vajra Temple's Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill.
• Yang Long switched to evasive attacks to drain Yang Jinhong's Inner Breath, while Yang Jinhong's skill repelled his saber strikes.
• Yang Long's attack nearly wounded Yang Jinhong, and Yang Jinhong feared he would die without making a difference.
• Yang Jinhong remembered Wang Yuehu draining his poisoned disciples and resolved that he could not remain powerless again.
• Yang Jinhong unleashed his blood and qi and life force, triggering a shattering sound within his body as his aura began to rise.

Yang Jinhong broke through during his clash with Yang Long, while Shen Xiu infiltrated the Crimson Fire Bandits and attacked their boss. Shen Xiu matched Yang Long’s punch, and Yang Jinhong rushed to seize the chance and claim him as a disciple.

• Yang Jinhong broke through to the Fourth Realm Return to Hiding and shattered Yang Long’s saber with a head-on charge, badly injuring him.
• Shen Xiu blended into the Crimson Fire Bandits and persuaded the bald man Zhao to hand him a saber for Yang Long.
• Shen Xiu stabbed Yang Long, shocking the bandits and leaving Zhao to retreat in alarm.
• Yang Long attacked Shen Xiu with a powerful punch, but Shen Xiu met it head-on and the two retreated evenly.
• Yang Jinhong praised Shen Xiu and charged in, resolving to make him his disciple whether either of them survived.

Shen Xiu fought the Crimson Fire Bandits at Crimson Fire Stronghold, killing their strongest fighters and cutting down the crowd with overwhelming skill. As the bandits continued to attack him, his slaughter remained underway.

• Yang Long charged at Shen Xiu with his saber while Yang Jinhong attacked Yang Long and tried to hold him off.
• Shen Xiu killed a bandit and then slew Leader Li with a single slash as the Crimson Fire Bandits closed in.
• Three powerful bandits encircled Shen Xiu, but he drew them toward the stronghold exit and killed them one by one.
• Shen Xiu charged into the remaining bandits and cut down more than a dozen as they cursed and attacked without retreating.

Shen Xiu and Yang Jinhong defeated the Crimson Fire Bandits and their leader, Yang Long, at the stronghold. As Yang Jinhong lay dying, he entrusted the martial arts hall’s fate to Shen Xiu and sent him to kill Wang Yuehu, who was approaching with the hall’s instructors and disciples.

• Shen Xiu killed the Crimson Fire Bandits around him while Yang Jinhong kept Yang Long from breaking free to attack him.
• Yang Jinhong endured Yang Long’s blows and struck his temples twice, knocking him unconscious before collapsing himself.
• Shen Xiu searched the stronghold for medicine, found healing pills, and offered them to Yang Jinhong.
• Yang Jinhong refused the medicine, explained that Wang Yuehu’s apparent cultivation breakthrough was likely a smokescreen, and urged Shen Xiu to kill him.
• Wang Yuehu led the instructors and disciples toward the Crimson Fire Stronghold, expecting to arrive soon and smiling at the thought of the brothers waiting for him.

Wang Yuehu lured Instructor Li into the woods by offering him silver, then drained his blood and vitality to strengthen himself. He rejoined the group and claimed Li had gone ahead to scout, but Duan Hongfei grew suspicious.

• Instructor Li asked Wang Yuehu for an advance on his silver to repay the Chen Family.
• Wang Yuehu took Instructor Li into the woods and gave him five silver notes.
• A black mark spread across Instructor Li, paralyzing him as Wang Yuehu stabbed his chest and drained his blood and vitality.
• Wang Yuehu hid Instructor Li's corpse in the forest and returned to the group, saying Li had gone ahead to scout.
• Duan Hongfei doubted Wang Yuehu's explanation and sensed that something was wrong.

Wang Yuehu returned to Crimson Fire Stronghold with the martial pavilion party and found its people slaughtered, including his elder brother. Deputy Pavilion Master Xiang Shou killed Wang Yuehu after exposing him as an impostor, and Shen Xiu emerged from hiding to face the stunned survivors.

• Wang Yuehu led the group into the agreed encirclement, but found no hidden sentries and grew uneasy as they neared Crimson Fire Stronghold.
• Wang Yuehu and the others saw the corpses of the stronghold's bandits scattered across the square, including Wang Yuehu's elder brother, Yang Long.
• Xiang Shou asked Wang Yuehu if he felt angry, then beheaded him when Wang Yuehu reached into his sleeve.
• Xiang Shou peeled away the face of the supposed Pavilion Master Yang and revealed that the man was an impostor.
• Shen Xiu left his hiding place, and the martial pavilion disciples and instructors reacted fearfully to his bloodstained appearance and killing intent.

After Shen Xiu became famous for wiping out the Crimson Fire Stronghold, he returned to the Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School and learned that Pavilion Master Yang had awakened. He headed to the pavilion master's private courtyard, while the school’s disciples and even the city’s locals reacted to his new reputation.

• Shen Xiu ate dumplings at Old Man Han’s shop and overheard locals exaggerating his deeds and calling him the Bloody Hand Butcher.
• A Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School disciple told Shen Xiu that Pavilion Master Yang had awakened, and Shen Xiu left for the school while eating buns.
• The locals realized the man they had been discussing was Shen Xiu and worried that they had insulted him.
• At the school, disciples watched Shen Xiu with admiration, while a new labor steward used his rise from Labor Disciple as an example to inspire young trainees.
• Shen Xiu learned that Steward Yu had been killed by a blow to the back of the head, then continued with the disciple to Pavilion Master Yang’s private courtyard.

After waking from a weeklong unconsciousness, Yang Jinhong asked Shen Xiu to become his disciple, but Shen Xiu refused and named Instructor Duan as the master he had in mind. Yang Jinhong then entrusted Shen Xiu with instructions about a hidden cultivation art and spent his final hours with Qiu Niang before dying.

• Yang Jinhong woke after seven days and told Shen Xiu that physicians could only keep him alive for a few more days.
• Yang Jinhong offered to make Shen Xiu his disciple and appoint him martial hall master if Xiang Shou reached the Fourth Realm Return to Hiding, but Shen Xiu refused and said he wanted Instructor Duan as his master.
• Yang Jinhong reminded Shen Xiu that the cultivation art was hidden at Azure Dragon Temple and warned him to knock three times before retrieving it, then told him to find Qiu Niang with the peach wood hairpin.
• Yang Jinhong asked Shen Xiu to accompany him as he changed clothes, restored the hairpin, and chose a white horse.
• Yang Jinhong visited Qiu Niang, and they watched the sunset beside the Lishui River before he died; Qiu Niang led the horse away while singing and remembering their childhood.

After Pavilion Master Yang’s death, Shen Xiu learned that Big Yellow had been taken by the Demon Control Sect and asked the White Python about the Golden Cicada he nurtured. The White Python identified it as resembling an ancient Six-Winged Golden Cicada, leaving Shen Xiu anticipating its future transformations while worrying about its growing appetite.

• Shen Xiu bought a cage of Garter Snakes and released them into the Lishui River to give the White Python a harem.
• The White Python told Shen Xiu that the Demon Control Sect had taken Big Yellow because the ox had developed demon nature.
• Shen Xiu summoned his Golden Cicada, and the White Python recoiled from its ancient, bloodline-suppressing aura.
• The White Python said the Golden Cicada resembled an ancient Six-Winged Golden Cicada and described its legendary powers and transformation cycle.
• Shen Xiu considered that his Nine Transformations Golden Cicada might be a mutation and anticipated its future strength, though its appetite kept growing.

Shen Xiu went to Azure Dragon Temple to retrieve a hidden Dao Grade cultivation technique but found the Azure Dragon Gang occupying it. When a gang member recognized him and attacked, Shen Xiu broke the man’s saber and pretended to be a weak victim.

• Shen Xiu traveled to Azure Dragon Temple to find the secret manual hidden beneath its statue.
• Shen Xiu discovered that the Azure Dragon Gang had turned the abandoned temple into a stronghold.
• A Scholar in Green Robe calmed the gang’s guards and politely asked Shen Xiu why he was there.
• As Shen Xiu prepared to leave, a Tall Thin Man accused him of killing his big fat brother and charged at him with a saber.
• Shen Xiu drew his Hundred-Refined Saber, split the attacker’s blade, and claimed he had only been defending himself as a powerless youth.

Shen Xiu defeated the Azure Dragon Gang members at Azure Dragon Temple and forced them to let him search the abandoned temple. He unearthed the hidden Brocade Wood Box, triggered its needle trap from a distance, and recovered the Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill.

• Shen Xiu beat the Azure Dragon Gang members who attacked him, then confronted the Scholar in Green Robe about an earlier ambush.
• Shen Xiu demanded one thousand taels of silver or that the gang clear Azure Dragon Temple, and the Scholar in Green Robe ordered everyone out.
• Shen Xiu entered the temple and found a large statue concealing the spot where Yang Jinhong had said the technique was hidden.
• Shen Xiu toppled the statue, dug beneath the bluestone slabs, and uncovered a red Brocade Wood Box.
• Shen Xiu triggered the box’s Azure Needle Rays by throwing dirt at it, then opened it and found the Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill.

Shen Xiu cultivated the Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill and advanced the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art to its sixth level. After refusing Second Young Master Chen’s invitation, he planned to spend his Crimson Fire Stronghold spoils on a movement technique.

• Shen Xiu escaped Azure Dragon Temple with the secret manual, and the Azure Dragon Gang discovered the ruined grounds and sent word to its Gang Leader.
• After five days of practice, Shen Xiu learned the first level of the Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill and tested its tough protective film against a dagger.
• Shen Xiu’s Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art reached the sixth level after he unleashed a punch that tore a channel through the river.
• Second Young Master Chen recognized Shen Xiu and invited him to Yingfeng Restaurant, but Shen Xiu refused because he thought Chen did not look like a good man.
• Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School began treating Shen Xiu like an instructor, and he decided to visit the Hundred Peaks Merchant Guild to find a movement technique with his saved silver.

Shen Xiu bought a Lower-grade Mysterious Grade movement technique from the Hundred Peaks Merchant Guild and attended its auction with Shopkeeper Lin. As they departed, a nearby carriage exploded, directly challenging Lin’s confidence in the guild’s security.

• Shen Xiu visited the Hundred Peaks Merchant Guild and asked Shopkeeper Lin about Mysterious Grade movement techniques.
• Shopkeeper Lin offered Eight Steps to Catch Cicadas in three versions, and Shen Xiu bought the illustrated and annotated manual for three thousand taels.
• Shopkeeper Lin invited Shen Xiu to the guild’s auction, where Shen Xiu saw many valuable items but bought nothing.
• As Shen Xiu and Shopkeeper Lin rode away from the auction, Shen Xiu asked whether buyers risked being robbed.
• A luxurious carriage exploded nearby, sending debris and carriages flying and leaving Shopkeeper Lin embarrassed after he had praised the guild’s prestige.

Shen Xiu accidentally received stolen silver during the Blood Sea Cult’s attack on the Hundred Peaks Merchant Guild, then advanced to the late stage of the Third Realm and mastered the first level of his movement technique. Meanwhile, Jin Mu’er pressed Feng Haoran to help her take a demon core from a great python, but he delayed.

• The Blood Sea Cult attacked the Hundred Peaks Merchant Guild, and Shen Xiu tried to flee the fighting.
• A cultist mistook Shen Xiu for an ally, handed him a bag of stolen money, and rushed back into battle; Shen Xiu took the bag and escaped.
• Shen Xiu found four thousand taels in the bag and returned peacefully to the martial arts school while the guild argued with the Taixi City Office.
• After two months of cultivation, Shen Xiu reached the late stage of the Third Realm and practiced his movement technique to the first level.
• Jin Mu’er asked Feng Haoran how likely he was to defeat a great python and take its demon core; he estimated his chances at seventy percent with her Seven Frost Sword, then asked to wait.
• Jin Mu’er left angrily after reminding Feng Haoran that her father had secured his place in the Suspended Sword Division, while Feng Haoran concealed his displeasure and resolved to wait longer.

Feng Haoran and Jin Mu'er fought the White Python on the banks of the Lishui River, overwhelming the Great Demon as the battle flooded Taixi City. Shen Xiu arrived in time to see the White Python fall and, after hearing Jin Mu'er call for its demon core and scales, felt a fierce desire to kill her.

• Shen Xiu sensed something was wrong in the sudden storm and ran toward the Lishui River with his Hundred-Refined Saber.
• Feng Haoran attacked the White Python, and the two fought fiercely as the python's tail sent floodwaters into Taixi City.
• Jin Mu'er supported Feng Haoran by throwing him her sword, helping him wound the White Python until it was covered in blood.
• Shen Xiu reached the riverbank and remembered the White Python's hope of becoming a Dragon King and receiving offerings from the people.
• Jin Mu'er called for the White Python's demon core and scales to use as a birthday tribute for her father, and Shen Xiu felt he wanted to kill her.

Shen Xiu fought Jin Mu'er and Feng Haoran, then discovered that the White Python’s Demon Core had been entrusted to him. He fled Taixi City and headed toward the Great Wu Mountain Range, leaving the python’s fate unresolved.

• Jin Mu'er called for Feng Haoran after Shen Xiu attacked her, and her invisible defense repelled his saber.
• Feng Haoran arrived and shattered Shen Xiu’s saber, but Shen Xiu blocked his first punch before fleeing from his next strike.
• Feng Haoran returned to the White Python and searched its head, finding no Demon Core.
• The White Python’s voice transported Shen Xiu outside Taixi City, where he found its Demon Core in his robes.
• Shen Xiu decided not to return to the city and ran north toward the Great Wu Mountain Range.