Chapter Summaries

Jiang Ning completed the iron marrow absorption needed to forge Iron Bones and learned that the Cao Family’s execution was three days away. After returning home, he found Feng Ji娥’s message about a new envoy seeking the Cao Family and a possible God-Worship Cult hideout, and planned to visit the Inspection Office the next day.

• Jiang Ning learned that He Jinsheng had not appeared at the Inspection Office and continued cultivating underwater, where his Water-Fire True Force progressed quickly.
• Jiang Ning swallowed Iron Bone Pills until all 206 bones were saturated with iron marrow, beginning the final transformation toward Iron Bones.
• Jiang Ning returned home and learned that Jiang Li had passed the yamen assessment and would remain a constable; Jiang Li planned to watch the Cao Family’s execution in three days.
• Jiang Ning read Feng Ji娥’s note, which said Captain Yan had sent an envoy seeking the Cao Family and Cao Rong, and that she had found a God-Worship Cult hideout with a possible major target.
• Jiang Ning decided to visit the Inspection Office the next day to discuss Feng Ji娥’s information.

Jiang Ning completed his second limit-break in Water-Fire True Force, gaining the ability to command water and fire, and finished transforming his bones into Iron Bone, entering the sixth rank. He went to the Inspection Office to join Captain Feng in investigating a God-Worship Cult stronghold and hoped to find a valuable statue.

• Jiang Ning trained beside burning torches until Water-Fire True Force reached its second limit-break, granting him the Water-Fire Dominion trait.
• Jiang Ning tested Water-Fire Dominion by conjuring water and fire, then decided to conceal the ability to avoid attracting powerful figures.
• Jiang Ning reviewed his ongoing physical transformation and planned to seek treasures in the Luo River to gain more Source Energy.
• Jiang Ning woke to find all 206 bones transformed into Iron Bone and recognized that his physical transformation had begun, making him a sixth-rank martial artist.
• Jiang Ning arrived at the Inspection Office and agreed to accompany Xie Xiaoj iu to the outer city with Captain Feng to investigate a God-Worship Cult stronghold and search for its missing statue.

Guardian Xing asked Liu Linmen about the death of Altar Master Sun and the missing Divine Embryo, but Liu Linmen claimed he knew nothing. Meanwhile, Lin Qingyi’s relatives arrived in Luoshui County, and Jiang Ning encountered refugees before heading to investigate a suspected God-Worship Cult hideout.

• Guardian Xing told Liu Linmen that Altar Master Sun had carried the God-Worship Cult’s sacred relic, the Divine Embryo, and asked for clues about who had killed him.
• Lin Qingyi welcomed the Seventeenth Princess and the Eighth Prince, and the princess volunteered to meet Jiang Ning as a potential match for Xiao Jin.
• Jiang Ning saw a starving refugee family in the Outer City and gave them four strips of dried meat.
• Feng Ji explained that drought had driven refugees into Dongling Commandery, while Jiang Ning passed a crowd gathered for the Yellow Heaven Cult’s talisman water.
• Jiang Ning led his team toward a suspected God-Worship Cult hideout, hoping to find its members and the missing statue from the City God Temple.

Jiang Ning led the Inspection Office to a God-Worship Cult stronghold hidden beneath a Black Tiger Gang courtyard, where the cult was preparing to smuggle a divine statue outside Luoshui County. After defeating five mutated God-descendants, he faced the composed Divine Envoy while Star Protector watched from a rooftop and weighed whether to intervene.

• Jiang Ning discovered the tunnel and divine statue beneath the courtyard and ordered Feng Ji格 to surround the stronghold.
• Jiang Ning's team stormed the courtyard, killed the Black Tiger Gang members, and found mutilated children inside.
• Jiang Ning entered the room concealing the tunnel, while Feng Ji格 and Xie Xiaoj iu moved the team away from the coming fight.
• Five mutated God-descendants attacked Jiang Ning, who killed all of them with single punches using his Water-Fire True Force.
• Star Protector recognized Jiang Ning's internal and external cultivation and hesitated to intervene as Jiang Ning confronted the Divine Envoy.

Jiang Ning defeated a God-Worship Cult martial artist, found the God of Flesh statue, and absorbed its divinity and authority, changing his panel. As he left the tunnel, he ordered his allies to bring officials and reinforcements to confront Yuan Hua, who was claiming a share of the spoils above.

• Star Protector abandoned the courtyard after deciding not to risk confronting Jiang Ning without a divine fetus.
• Jiang Ning killed the transformed sixth-rank martial artist and entered the tunnel with Xie Xiaoj iu and Feng Ji.
• Yuan Hua arrived at the courtyard, claimed he had found the stronghold first, and demanded three corpses as his share of the credit.
• Jiang Ning found the God of Flesh statue and absorbed its divinity and incomplete Flesh Regeneration authority, causing his panel to change.
• Jiang Ning told Feng Ji to bring Commander Ye Qiu and Prefect Hong, and sent Xie Xiaoj iu to fetch Chief Constable Xu Zhengnan and men to arrest the Black Tiger Gang.

Jiang Ning strengthened his Flesh Regeneration authority with divinity, then defeated Yuan Hua with one punch and uncovered valuable gains from the God-Worship Cult stronghold. After ordering action against the Liu Family and its associates, Jiang Ning waited for reinforcements while considering whether a more powerful statue held additional divinity.

• Jiang Ning spent his divinity to raise Flesh Regeneration to 33% progress, then left the tunnel to protect Cheng Ran.
• Jiang Ning struck Yuan Hua with one punch, forcing him to retreat; Water-Fire True Force later made Yuan Hua vomit blood and collapse.
• Jiang Ning calculated that the cult corpses and statue were worth 107,000 contribution points, while Feng Jige reported his discovery to Ye Qiu and Xie Xiaojin asked Xu Zhengnan to gather men and seal the city.
• Jiang Ning ordered Liu Zhixiang of the Fourfold Merchants Association arrested and wondered whether the statue in his golden box contained divinity.
• Jiang Ning waited for Xie Xiaojin and Feng Jige as footsteps approached.

Jiang Ning’s defeat of a sixth-rank God-Worship Cult martial artist astonished Granny Bai, Hong Minghu, and Xu Zhengnan, while the group confirmed the underground statue had lost its mysterious power. After Granny Bai took the statue for study, Xu Zhengnan presented evidence against the Liu Family, Black Tiger Gang, and Fourfold Merchants Association, and Jiang Ning agreed to help arrest the Liu Residence’s chief retainer.

• Xu Zhengnan arrived at the compound with Xie Xiaoj iu and other constables, and he pledged to investigate the crimes there.
• Hong Minghu arrived with Granny Bai, who examined the corpses and identified one as a sixth-rank God-Worship Cult martial artist that Jiang Ning had killed with a single punch.
• Granny Bai and Hong Minghu discovered that the God of Flesh statue had lost its whispers and other mysterious properties, but Granny Bai recognized it as genuine and took it for study.
• Xu Zhengnan gave Jiang Ning records of crimes committed by the Liu Family, Black Tiger Gang, and Fourfold Merchants Association, and he admitted accepting their tribute silver while gathering evidence.
• Xu Zhengnan asked Jiang Ning to subdue the Liu Residence’s chief retainer, and Jiang Ning agreed.

Xu Zhengnan and Jiang Ning moved to arrest the Liu Clan for years of crimes, while Liu Zhaonan appealed to powerful officials for protection. Hong Minghu and Ye Qiu backed the arrest, leaving the Liu Clan’s fate in the hands of the authorities.

• Xu Zhengnan surrounded the Liu Residence and accused the Liu Clan of its crimes, while Jiang Ning confirmed that he was supporting the crackdown.
• Liu Zhaonan arrived and challenged the arrest, claiming that Yuan Hua, Ye Qiu, and Hong Minghu would uphold justice.
• Jiang Ning agreed to wait for the officials, though Yuan Hua was already unconscious from his injuries.
• Hong Minghu and Ye Qiu arrived, and Xu Zhengnan presented a booklet detailing the Liu Residence’s crimes and available evidence.
• Hong Minghu ordered the Liu Clan arrested if the evidence proved true, and Ye Qiu incapacitated Liu Zhaonan when he protested.
• Xu Zhengnan’s forces entered the Liu Residence as Hong Minghu invited Jiang Ning to a gathering, while Liu Zhaonan lay helpless in the snow.

Jiang Ning helped crush the Liu Residence and returned home to test the incomplete Flesh Regeneration authority, discovering that it greatly strengthened his skin and rapidly healed wounds. The chapter ended with him preparing to open the golden box and find out how much divinity its idol could provide.

• Jiang Ning ordered Xie Xiaojiu and Feng Ji to arrest the Liu Residence's members, while Xu Zhengnan arranged to eliminate resisters and later killed the chief retainer with Jiang Ning's help.
• Jiang Ning left the Liu Residence after sensing that its defenders could no longer resist, and Luoshui County's Fierce Tiger Gang, Fourfold Merchants Association, and Liu clan were brought down in a single day.
• Hong Minghu and Ye Qiu discussed Jiang Ning's talent, while Xie Xiaojiu returned to her family and felt disappointed that they wanted to use her to preserve the Xie Family.
• Jiang Ning tested Flesh Regeneration by cutting his arm, found his skin difficult to pierce, and watched the wound heal completely in less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea.
• Jiang Ning took out the golden box and wondered how many divinity points the powerful idol inside would provide.

Jiang Ning absorbed divinity from the statue, strengthening his Flesh Regeneration authority, and practiced the Five Animals Fist through the night. The next morning, Xu Zhengnan reported that the Liu Residence had been subdued and vowed to root out the county’s remaining criminal groups before Jiang Ning headed to the Inspection Office.

• Jiang Ning absorbed seven points of divinity from the statue, raising his Flesh Regeneration authority to 82.17% and testing how quickly it healed a wound.
• Jiang Ning decided to focus on the Five Animals Fist while his body finished transforming, then practiced it in the snow until its experience reached 1088/2000.
• Jiang Ning plunged through the frozen lake’s ice to wash off after training, and his panel showed slight increases in source energy and Flesh Regeneration.
• Xu Zhengnan told Jiang Ning that the Liu Residence’s important figures had died resisting and that only a few dozen insignificant survivors remained.
• Xu Zhengnan vowed to eliminate the Fourfold Merchants Association and the Black Tiger Gang, and Jiang Ning left for the Inspection Office to collect and distribute rewards.

Jiang Ning collected his reward for defeating the God-Worship Cult and shared contribution points with his subordinates. He kept most of his points to secure access to higher Martial Dao techniques and planned to strengthen himself as pressure from the Qinghe Earl's Estate remained.

• Jiang Ning met Xie Xiaoj iu outside the Inspection Office and accepted eggs from the families of the children he had rescued.
• At the Internal Affairs Office, Jiang Ning received 107,000 contribution points and exchanged 8,000 of them for bronze coins.
• Jiang Ning distributed contribution points to Feng Ji格, Xie Xiaoj iu, and his team, whose members praised him for their rewards.
• Jiang Ning decided to save his remaining contribution points for access to advanced Martial Dao knowledge and considered using gold to buy heavenly treasures.
• Jiang Ning thought about the threat from the Qinghe Earl's Estate and planned to complete the Five Animals Fist's second limit break.

Jiang Ning discovered that the Water-Fire Immortal Robe let him absorb Great Sun essence without suffering its heat, more than doubling his Inner Elixir Life-Nourishing Technique gains. As he continued training toward his next breakthroughs, Jiang Li reminded him that the Cao Family was about to be executed, and the brothers set out to watch.

• Xie Xiaojiu denied having slept with Jiang Ning, and Feng Ji was relieved to hear it.
• He Jinsheng questioned Liu Linmen about who had killed his younger brother, but Liu Linmen claimed he knew nothing; an investigating officer arriving with Deputy Officer Jin chose to avoid confronting Jiang Ning and planned to fake injuries before returning.
• Jiang Ning practiced the Five Animals Fist and absorbed Great Sun essence, discovering that his Water-Fire Immortal Robe trait removed the burning sensation and increased his Inner Elixir Life-Nourishing Technique experience by more than double.
• Jiang Li reminded Jiang Ning that the Cao Family was due to be executed at the marketplace, and Jiang Ning agreed to go with him.
• Jiang Ning washed in the lake, used the Water Manipulation Art to dry his clothes, and left with Jiang Li.

After witnessing the Cao Family’s execution, Jiang Ning reflected on how strength and official status protected him from the same fate. He broke through the Five Animals Fist a second time, gaining the Five Elements Spirit trait and learning that its forms could draw elemental power to temper his organs.

• Jiang Ning and Jiang Li watched more than two hundred Cao Family members be executed, while a military camp envoy chose not to intervene.
• Jiang Ning concluded that he needed both strength and status to avoid the Cao and Liu Families’ fates, then resumed training beside the lake.
• Jiang Ning spent 200 Source Energy to break through the Five Animals Fist, reaching its second limit-breaking and gaining the Five Elements Spirit trait.
• Jiang Ning tested the new trait and found that the tiger, bear, and ape forms drew wood, earth, and fire power to temper his liver, spleen, and heart.
• Jiang Ning used a nearby burning tree to absorb abundant fire-element power, but found no nearby metal materials to efficiently temper his lungs.

Jiang Ning completed his physical transformation after breaking through the Five Animals Fist and began the second step of bone forging, absorbing Mystic Bone Pills to temper his bones with darksteel marrow. He recovered rapidly in the lake and observed the first thirteen bones beginning to darken, while elsewhere someone arrived in Luoshui County under a deity’s will.

• Jiang Ning practiced the Five Animals Fist at Rocky Shoal, demonstrating his transformed strength and drawing Five Elements Spirit essence into his body.
• Jiang Ning saw snow falling, then used thirteen qi-and-blood hammers to complete one cycle of bone forging.
• Jiang Ning absorbed six Mystic Bone Pills, realizing that his improved qi and blood had increased how much darksteel marrow his bones could absorb.
• Jiang Ning entered the lake to recover and watched black lines appear on the thirteen bones he had tempered.
• Someone arrived in Luoshui County in accordance with a deity’s will, while the deity remained weakened and in pain after its Divine Embryo was destroyed.

Lin Qingyi brought Ji Minghao and a young girl to visit Jiang Ning, whose training impressed the eighth prince. As Ji Minghao waited outside Jiang Ning’s courtyard, he learned more about Lin Qingyi’s standing and the five peak first-rank martial artists known as Second Under Heaven.

• Lin Qingyi arrived at Jiang Ning’s lakeside residence with Ji Minghao and a young girl, who praised Jiang Ning’s deeds after seeing the suffering in the outer city.
• Jiang Ning practiced the Five Animals Fist amid the five elements and found that the setting nourished his organs as he coordinated his fist training with bone forging.
• Jiang Li led the visitors toward the eastern courtyard, where Ji Minghao recognized Jiang Ning’s bone-forging sounds and marveled at his progress at such a young age.
• Ji Minghao chose to wait outside rather than meet Jiang Ning in the front hall, saying he wanted to show his sincerity as a visitor.
• Ji Minghao reflected on Lin Qingyi’s elevated status and the five martial artists who shared the title Second Under Heaven beneath the sole Martial Saint ranked first.

Jiang Ning met Ji Minghao, a wealthy and powerful visitor from the Royal Capital who revealed himself as the Eighth Prince and sought Jiang Ning’s friendship. Ji Minghao explained that the drought and snowfall were deliberately caused to destabilize Great Xia, and the chapter ended with Jiang Ning accepting his offer of brotherhood and revealing his Sumeru Ring.

• Ji Minghao waited in the snow until Jiang Ning finished practicing, then introduced himself and explained that Lin Qingyi was his cousin's wife.
• Ji Minghao praised Jiang Ning’s martial talent and revealed that, despite abundant resources and a grandmaster teacher, he had only barely forged Jade Bone.
• Ji Minghao told Jiang Ning that powerful figures had deliberately caused the drought and snowfall to weaken Great Xia and provoke unrest.
• Jiang Ning argued that loosening restrictions on private armies would divide the realm, and Ji Minghao agreed with him before revealing he was the Eighth Prince.
• Ji Minghao asked Jiang Ning to treat him as a friend, and Jiang Ning accepted while revealing his Sumeru Ring.

Jiang Ning and Ji Minghao discussed the mysterious substance in Jiang Ning’s wine, which Ji Minghao suspected was Emperor’s Flowing Essence, before He Jinsheng made a dismissive visit to Jiang’s residence. Ji Minghao gave Jiang Ning an identity token and brought him to meet his seventeenth sister, leaving Jiang Ning face-to-face with the shy princess.

• Ji Minghao identified the substance in Jiang Ning’s wine as possibly Emperor’s Flowing Essence, and Jiang Ning privately named the black stone the Lunar Yin Stone.
• He Jinsheng visited Jiang Ning’s residence but left after dismissing Jiang Ning and Ji Minghao as unworthy of his attention.
• Jiang Ning told Ji Minghao about his conflict with Qinghe Count while withholding that he had killed He Jinyun.
• Ji Minghao offered Jiang Ning his identity token, then urged him to meet his seventeenth sister and said he would support their marriage if they were suited.
• Ji Minghao brought Jiang Ning to the main hall, where Lin Qingyi introduced him to the shy girl in the goose-yellow dress.

Jiang Ning met Ji Mingyue, who boldly told her to come to the Royal Capital and marry her, while Jiang Li decided to take Liu Wanwan and their children to visit her family. Jiang Ning then considered entering the martial examinations to build his status and prepared to cultivate, planning to explain his promise to Ji Mingyue if he went to the Royal Capital next year.

• Lin Qingyi introduced Jiang Ning to Ji Mingyue, and the two quickly warmed to each other.
• Ji Mingyue held Jiang Ning’s hand, made Jiang Ning promise to come to the Royal Capital and marry her, then left with Lin Qingyi and Ji Minghao.
• Liu Wanwan told Jiang Li that Ji Mingyue might be descended from royalty, and Jiang Li urged her to visit her family with him and their children in spring.
• Jiang Ning weighed the risks of using Ji Minghao’s identity token and considered rising through the ranks by spending his Inspection Office contributions and entering the martial examinations.
• Jiang Ning decided he would explain his promise to Ji Mingyue if he reached the Royal Capital for the metropolitan examination, then began preparing his training environment.

Lin Qingyi visited Jiang Ning to deliver Little Seventeen’s Earthcore Warm Jade token of love, worth ten thousand taels of gold, and told him to meet her in the Royal Capital in a year. After Jiang Ning put on the jade, Lin Qingyi teased him about Little Seventeen and his interest in her legs, leaving him caught off guard.

• Lin Qingyi visited Jiang Ning and explained that Little Seventeen had asked her to deliver a token of love and a message that she wanted to marry him in a year.
• Lin Qingyi revealed that the token was Earthcore Warm Jade, a priceless heirloom that nourished qi and blood, calmed the mind, and increased mental force.
• Jiang Ning accepted the jade, and Lin Qingyi tied it securely around his neck before explaining how its warmth affected him.
• Jiang Ning said he would return the jade to Little Seventeen in a year and treat her marriage proposal as a childish joke.
• Lin Qingyi noticed Jiang Ning looking at her legs and asked whether he wanted to touch them.

Jiang Ning avoided Lin Qingyi’s matchmaking by citing his agreement with Ji Mingyue, then continued cultivating during the Inspection Office’s early holiday. As his bones and Five Animals Fist advanced, he prepared to test how his strengthened five viscera would affect his ability to absorb the sun’s essence.

• Lin Qingyi offered to introduce Jiang Ning to Li Mujin, but he refused and invoked his agreement with Ji Mingyue; Lin Qingyi accepted that pursuing another match would be inappropriate.
• Ji Mingyue told Ji Minghao that one meeting with Jiang Ning had been enough for her to decide she liked him.
• Jiang Ning inspected his progress and saw his Flesh Regeneration Authority slowly increasing while his bones continued transforming toward Darksteel Bone.
• The Inspection Office’s early holiday interrupted Jiang Ning’s plan to seek a promotion, so he spent his time cultivating and tempering his bones instead.
• After a clear day arrived, Jiang Ning found that his Five Animals Fist and bone-tempering progress had advanced, and he reflected on how the Five Elements Spirit was breaking the innate limits of his five viscera.