Chapter Summaries

Wei Luo accepted the Sun Family’s gifts and began practicing the Mountain-Sinking Unmoving Technique, quickly reaching its introductory stage. When Ling Xiyun challenged him in the courtyard, he defeated her and left after giving her a humiliating lesson, setting up trouble with her powerful family.

• Sun Sheng rebuked Sun Chai for underestimating Wei Luo and worried that Shen Wu might not protect the Sun Family.
• Wei Luo practiced the Mountain-Sinking Unmoving Technique and reached its introductory stage, doubling his strength.
• Wei Luo saw Ling Xiyun beating Shen Wu and learned she had been sparring with him for days.
• Ling Xiyun challenged Wei Luo, and he knocked her back with Layered Wave Force despite warnings that her father was a Three Mountains Sect elder.
• Ling Xiyun attacked again, so Wei Luo struck her abdomen, spanked her with her shoe, and walked away.

Wei Luo continued fighting the Pure Fragrance Cult while Ling Xiyun repeatedly challenged him and Yao Song arrived claiming the Yao Family was under threat. Wei Luo noticed Yao Song secretly wrote “Deception” on the table, leaving his real purpose unclear.

• Wei Luo killed the last Pure Fragrance Cult martial artist at a hideout, and Liu Changle praised his growing ability to withstand blade strikes.
• Wei Luo refused Ling Xiyun’s demand for another fight unless Wang Xiang approved, and Shen Wu left after Ling insulted him.
• A guard reported that Yao Song had come to see Wei Luo, who invited him upstairs despite the Yao Family having ended their ties with him.
• Yao Song said the Pure Fragrance Cult had threatened to destroy the Yao Family unless it surrendered its property, and Ling Xiyun volunteered to help.
• Wei Luo grew suspicious of Yao Song’s visit and saw him secretly write “Deception” on the table.

Wei Luo uncovered the Pure Fragrance Cult's ambush and defeated the attackers, though Xi San'er escaped. He then went with Yao Song to rescue the Yao Family, where he killed the remaining cultists but found many family members dead and Yao Cheng mutilated.

• Wei Luo exposed the two supposed servants as Pure Fragrance Cult fighters and fought them alongside Ling Xiyun.
• Wei Luo used his battle with Xi San'er to hone his Layered Wave Force, but Xi San'er fled while Wei Luo and Ling Xiyun killed Old Song.
• Yao Song explained that the Pure Fragrance Cult had forced his family into the plot, and Wei Luo agreed to help rescue them.
• Wei Luo and Ling Xiyun reached the Yao Family and fought their way to the courtyard where the women were imprisoned.
• Wei Luo killed a cultist holding Yao Ya hostage and slaughtered the remaining cultists, then saw the dead clansmen and the maimed Yao Cheng.

After the Pure Fragrance Cult devastated Pingjiang Town, Wei Luo learned that the Huang Family and Wang Li had betrayed the city. Huang Tao revealed that the cult had already withdrawn after opening the city gates to refugees, and Wang Xiang left to pursue it, leaving the townspeople to defend themselves.

• Wei Luo found Yan Dashun dead among the Yao Family's fallen guards, then hurried away after Liu Changle reported that Wang Xiang and Qin Changfeng had wiped out the Huang Family.
• At the side residence, Wang Xiang interrogated Li Yan and Huang Tao, who had helped the Pure Fragrance Cult leak information and attack the city's martial artists.
• Huang Tao revealed that the cult had withdrawn and that several city gates had fallen; news soon arrived that fires were spreading through Pingjiang Town.
• Huang Tao disclosed that the cult's altar was at Buddha Temple, ten li outside the city, and Wang Xiang killed him before ordering the Three Refinements martial artists to pursue the cult.
• Sun Sheng and the other family heads urged Wang Xiang to stay and protect the city from the refugees, but Wang Xiang led the Three Mountains Sect away, saying the Prefectural Headquarters had not sent him to deal with refugees.

As ash-water-driven refugees rampaged through Pingjiang Town, Wei Luo returned to his family’s residence and held off hundreds of attackers alone. He survived the assault and fused the three types of force in his Layered Wave Force, leaving the refugees terrified and fleeing.

• Wei Luo and Liu Changle saw refugees who had drunk Pure Fragrance Cult ash water robbing and killing residents, then escaped the mob and hurried home.
• Zhao Xiu, Old Liu, and men from the Wei, Zhao, and Liu families tried to defend their residences against hundreds of refugees, but their line began to collapse.
• Wei Luo arrived and ordered the others inside to brace the gate while he faced the attackers alone.
• Wei Luo fought atop the growing pile of corpses, enduring blows and killing the refugees who pressed toward him.
• Wei Luo’s Layered Wave Force fused into one, and the surviving refugees fled in terror before Zhao Xiu and Liu Changle helped him inside.

Wei Luo returned from defeating a refugee band and found his courtyard safe, but the Sun Family Estate was soon overwhelmed by a Pure Fragrance Cult plot. As the Sun Family prepared to flee, a Force Training Martial Master appeared and cut off their escape.

• Wei Luo recovered from his battle, and the people in the courtyard thanked and respected him for saving them.
• Wei Luo saw thousands of refugees gathering outside the Sun Family Estate and suspected the Pure Fragrance Cult had used its retreat as a smokescreen.
• The refugees, including hidden martial artists, stormed the estate and broke through its defenses.
• Sun Sheng asked Qin Changfeng to escort Sun Chai and Sun Qianchuan away, then ordered Shen Wu to lead the remaining guards in a breakout.
• A white-robed Pure Fragrance Cult leader appeared, and Qin Changfeng recognized him as a Force Training Martial Master.

Wei Luo rescued Old Liu, exposed Shen Wu’s abandonment of the Sun Family, and killed two Pure Fragrance Cult fighters. After sparing the wounded Shen Wu, he learned that the other courtyard had fallen and that Master Qin had faced a Force Training expert.

• Shen Wu fled to Wei Luo’s residence, using Old Liu as a shield when Pure Fragrance Cult pursuers caught up with him.
• Wei Luo rescued Old Liu and challenged Shen Wu’s claim that he had come to fetch reinforcements for the Sun Family.
• Wei Luo let the two pursuers attack Shen Wu, then killed both with Iron Shatterflower and his combined Layered Wave Force.
• Wei Luo questioned the wounded Shen Wu, who explained that Master Qin had stayed behind to cover the others against a Pure Fragrance Cult Force Training expert.
• Wei Luo learned that the other courtyard had already fallen.

Wei Luo learned that Qin Changfeng was severely wounded and hiding in the woods, then went to find him despite the Pure Fragrance Cult’s search. When Zhao Heng tortured the captured Sun Family and Liang Jun to draw Qin Changfeng out, Wei Luo attacked Zhao Heng with three hidden blades as he pursued Qin.

• Shen Wu told Wei Luo that Qin Changfeng had once been a Force Training Martial Master but had fallen to Three Refinements after an injury.
• Wei Luo deduced that Qin Changfeng was alive and hiding in the woods, then set out with medicine from Zhao Xiu.
• Wei Luo found Zhao Heng searching the woods and learned that the Pure Fragrance Cult had captured the Sun Family and Liang Jun.
• Zhao Heng killed Sun Family members and tortured Liang Jun until Qin Changfeng revealed himself and fled.
• As Zhao Heng chased the severely wounded Qin Changfeng, Wei Luo threw three cold flashes at Zhao Heng’s face.

Wei Luo joined Qin Changfeng in fighting Zhao Heng, using the Great Thousand Revelation to hold off the Force Training Martial Master until Wang Xiang returned and forced the Pure Fragrance Cult to retreat. By dawn, Qin Changfeng lay gravely wounded, Liang Jun was crippled, and the bloodshed had devastated Ping River and its great families.

• Wei Luo used Iron Shatterflowers to help Qin Changfeng, then fought Zhao Heng alongside him as they retreated.
• Zhao Heng pierced Qin Changfeng's chest, but Wei Luo stayed to protect him and used the Great Thousand Revelation to analyze Zhao Heng's attacks.
• Wei Luo held Zhao Heng off until he was knocked into a tree, and a messenger announced that Wang Xiang had returned.
• Zhao Heng ordered the Pure Fragrance Cult to retreat, and Wang Xiang treated the barely surviving Qin Changfeng.
• Wei Luo learned that Wang Xiang had defeated the cult's forces at the Buddha Temple and that the Pure Fragrance Cult had suffered heavy losses.
• Dawn came after the night of slaughter, with much of the Sun Family dead, Sun Chai missing, Qin Changfeng unconscious, and Liang Jun crippled.

Ten days after the Pure Fragrance Cult left, Wei Luo’s estate became a center of rebuilding and new alliances as families sought his support. Wei Luo declined Wu Fan’s offer to help control Pingjiang Town, and a messenger brought news that Qin Changfeng’s injuries had improved.

• Wei Luo sparred with Ling Xiyun, but Mother Zhao stopped him before his punch landed and invited them to share eight-treasure soup with Liu Changle and Zhao Xiu.
• Zhao Xiu told Wei Luo that the Yao Family had supplied a thousand catties of grain and rice in hopes of joining him, and Wei Luo agreed to accept their business under his banner.
• Wu Fan proposed that his family and Wei Luo work together to control Pingjiang Town, but Wei Luo refused because he wanted to focus on martial arts.
• Wu Fan rebuked Wu Zihua for underestimating Wei Luo and said they would seek out Shen Wu to claim the Sun Family’s remaining foundations.
• A messenger reported that Qin Changfeng’s injuries had improved.

Wei Luo overheard the Sun Family discuss a secret art for creating Tai Sui Flesh, the main ingredient in a pill that could improve his aptitude. Qin Changfeng then thanked Wei Luo for saving him and secured Wang Xiang’s agreement to guide him into the Three Mountains Sect once he reached Force Training.

• Wei Luo learned from Liang Jun that Qin Changfeng had recovered enough to walk, though his qi and blood had weakened further.
• Sun Qianchuan told Sun Sheng that the Wu Family was taking over their businesses and revealed he had found an ancestral secret art for creating Tai Sui Flesh; Sun Sheng forbade him from pursuing it.
• Wei Luo and Ling Xiyun overheard the Sun Family conversation, and Wei Luo decided to ask Sun Sheng about the secret art because Tai Sui Flesh was the main ingredient in the Bone Sculpting Pill.
• Qin Changfeng thanked Wei Luo for risking his life to save him and asked Wang Xiang to bring Wei Luo into the Three Mountains Sect.
• Wang Xiang agreed to guide Wei Luo, who would be able to enter the Three Mountains Sect once he reached Force Training, while Shen Wu grew jealous.

Wang Xiang began training Wei Luo in force control and gave him a chance to pursue entry into the Three Mountains Sect despite his ordinary background. After days of punishing fights, Wei Luo left the martial arts ground only to find Sun Sheng arriving with others.

• Wang Xiang asked whether Wei Luo had relatives in the prefecture, but Wei Luo said he knew of none.
• Wei Luo shattered a massive blue stone with one punch, and Wang Xiang recognized that he had united three forces and begun to approach Force Training.
• Wang Xiang explained Force Training and agreed to teach Wei Luo how to mobilize his force, while warning that Wei Luo's innate talent could still prevent a breakthrough.
• Over several days, Wei Luo fought the Three Mountains Sect disciples in grueling battles and rapidly improved his control over his force.
• Ling Xiyun treated Wei Luo's injuries with painful applications of force, while the Xing and Yue brothers concealed her teasing from him.
• As Wei Luo prepared to leave after another exhausting day, Sun Sheng arrived at the gate with others in tow.

Sun Sheng asked Wei Luo to help the weakened Sun Family face the Wu Family, and Wei Luo agreed in exchange for Tai Sui Flesh. After learning that the city’s strange plague might not be an epidemic, Wei Luo went to the Sun and Wu Families’ negotiations, where the Wu Family had arrived with coffins and an openly hostile crowd.

• Sun Sheng begged Wei Luo to help the Sun Family against the Wu Family, and Wei Luo agreed after demanding Tai Sui Flesh.
• Wei Luo deduced that Sun Sheng intended to give him an ancestral record instead of the promised medicine, though the Sun Family still possessed Tai Sui Flesh.
• Zhao Xiu and Liu Changle told Wei Luo that a strange illness was killing ordinary people and martial artists, and Wei Luo’s deduction found no plague in the city.
• Wei Luo suspected the Pure Fragrance Cult might be behind the deaths but could not obtain a useful deduction, so he set the matter aside.
• Wei Luo arrived at the Sun and Wu Families’ meeting and saw coffins and hostile Wu Family men gathered outside the tavern.

Wei Luo investigated the dried corpses and discovered that their qi and blood had been drained, suggesting the supposed plague concealed murders. He arrived at the Sun Family’s dispute with Wu Fan and agreed to face three martial arts school masters to settle the conflict.

• Wei Luo met Pan Xiaohua outside the restaurant and examined a corpse despite warnings not to touch it.
• Wei Luo used his deduction ability to learn that the victim had died three nights earlier after his qi and blood were drained, then found matching chest wounds on the other corpses.
• Wu Fan pressured Sun Sheng to surrender the Sun Family’s businesses and lands while Sun Qianchuan challenged him.
• Wei Luo stopped Wu Fan from striking Sun Qianchuan and declared he would stand with the Sun Family.
• Wu Fan offered to end the dispute if Wei Luo defeated the three school masters.

Wei Luo fought three martial arts hall heads at once and defeated them, forcing Wu Fan to abandon his plan to attack the Sun Family. Wu Fan withdrew but warned Wei Luo that the Wu Family would not leave him alone, while someone watched Wei Luo coldly.

• Wu Fan proposed that three martial arts hall heads fight Wei Luo together, and Wei Luo accepted without hesitation.
• Wei Luo broke Yang Han's arm and sent him flying, then shrugged off Zhou Zheng's punch with his Mountain-Sinking Unmoving Technique.
• Wei Luo defeated Zhou Zheng and Pan Xiaohua, leaving both the Sun and Wu Families stunned.
• Sun Sheng praised Wei Luo, and Wu Fan agreed to settle the matter with the Sun Family before leading his people away.
• The Sun Family celebrated Wei Luo's victory, while an unnamed observer stared at him coldly.

Wei Luo confronted Sun Sheng over the promised Tai Sui Flesh, but Sun Sheng claimed it was gone and offered ancestral notes instead. When a fire broke out in the Sun Family's secret vault, Wei Luo retrieved the notes but became trapped with Sun Sheng and used the Great Thousand Revelation to find a hidden compartment.

• Wei Luo accused Sun Sheng of hiding the Sun Family's Tai Sui Flesh, but Sun Sheng swore that Zhao Heng had taken it and offered ancestral notes instead.
• A Sun Family member reported that the secret vault was on fire, and Wei Luo forced Sun Sheng to lead him inside to find the notes.
• Wei Luo carried Sun Sheng through the burning passage and retrieved the notes from a side room's bookshelf.
• Pillars collapsed across the doorway, trapping Wei Luo and Sun Sheng as the flames spread and Sun Sheng began to lose consciousness.
• Wei Luo used the Great Thousand Revelation to locate a hidden compartment in the southeast corner and found it, then froze.

Wei Luo escaped the Sun Family’s secret vault with a strange black blade and learned that the Tai Sui Flesh was hidden nearby. Sun Qianchuan revealed that he was cultivating the flesh by feeding a Tai Sui Seed with his body, and Wei Luo followed him as he headed toward the Wu Family.

• Wei Luo cut through the debris with a pitch-black short blade, escaped the vault with Sun Sheng, and demanded to know where the Tai Sui Flesh was.
• Wei Luo’s deduction pointed to the Sun Manor’s rear courtyard, but Sun Qianchuan charged at him before he could investigate.
• Sun Sheng punished Sun Qianchuan for attacking Wei Luo, but Sun Qianchuan blamed the family’s weakness and vowed to stop others from bullying the Sun Family.
• Sun Qianchuan revealed a Tai Sui Seed embedded in his chest and admitted that he had been feeding it with his body to grow stronger.
• Wei Luo found a corpse whose qi and blood had been drained, then watched Sun Qianchuan head toward the Wu Family.

Sun Qianchuan killed Yang Han and attacked the Wu Family, revealing his monstrous tentacles and abnormal resilience. Wu Fan and the others nearly defeated him, but fires broke out across the Wu Residence, allowing Sun Qianchuan to flee.

• Sun Qianchuan entered Yang Han’s courtyard and broke his remaining limbs before draining his blood and qi until he died.
• Sun Qianchuan attacked the attendant who returned and then charged at Zhou Zheng when he arrived.
• Wu Fan led a prepared group into the courtyard and fought Sun Qianchuan, discovering that black tentacles could pierce his flesh and that he survived a devastating blow.
• Wu Fan, Zhou Zheng, and Pan Xiaohua battered Sun Qianchuan until he was near death, and Wu Fan ordered his men to chop him up and burn him.
• Fires erupted across the Wu Residence, and Sun Qianchuan regained a trace of consciousness and began fleeing.

Wei Luo killed the transformed Sun Qianchuan, then saw off the Three Mountains Sect and the departing Sun Family. As he prepared to return home, Zhao Xiu spotted people from the supposedly wiped-out Huang Family watching them.

• Wei Luo tracked down Sun Qianchuan and cut apart his body, removing a piece of black Tai Sui Flesh.
• Half a month later, Wei Luo saw off the Three Mountains Sect, whose members were returning to the provincial capital.
• Wang Xiang encouraged Wei Luo about his martial arts progress and teased him about Ling Xiyun, while Zhao Clan gave Ling Xiyun a jade plaque as a keepsake.
• Ling Xiyun promised to beat Wei Luo when they met again and rode away with the sect.
• Wei Luo spoke with Sun Sheng, who said the Sun Family would leave Pingjiang Town and seek refuge with another branch of their family.
• Zhao Xiu recognized furtive onlookers as people from the Huang Family, which Liu Changle thought had been wiped out.

Wei Luo began refining the Bone Sculpting Pill, using repeated trial runs to prepare for the crucial addition of Tai Sui Flesh. Meanwhile, Huang Youming and Lin Lou plotted to take control of Pingjiang Town by dealing with the Wu Family first.

• Qin Changfeng warned Wei Luo and the others that the Huang Family had survived by hiding its core members, and urged Wei Luo to seek his guidance in martial arts.
• After the Three Mountains Sect people departed, Huang Youming and Lin Lou discussed restoring the Huang Family and decided the Wu Family was their main obstacle.
• Wei Luo and Zhao Xiu returned to the Alchemy Hall, where Cheng Ming handed over the Bone Sculpting Pill furnace before collapsing into sleep.
• Wei Luo used costly trial refinements to check each step of the pill-making process, with Zhao Xiu watching as the family funds dwindled.
• Wei Luo asked Zhao Xiu for the Tai Sui Flesh, cut off half, and sprinkled it with his blood to begin the crucial stage of refining the Bone Sculpting Pill.