Chapter Summaries

Jiang Ning and Zhao Yulong discussed acting against Dongling Commandery’s sects, but agreed to wait until Jiang Ning grew stronger before targeting Divine Sword Manor. After reviewing the sects’ crimes, Jiang Ning returned to cultivate and considered investigating the great demon White Horned Dragon in Luoshui County.

• Jiang Ning urged Zhao Yulong to arrest sect members for their crimes, but Zhao Yulong warned that the sects could unite and overwhelm the Inspection Office.
• Zhao Yulong said he would support a gradual offensive if Jiang Ning completed another blood exchange, believing Jiang Ning had exchanged blood only once.
• Jiang Ning studied files detailing crimes by the Five Swords Sect, Five Tigers Sect, and Medicine King Valley, and resolved that some offenders deserved death.
• Jiang Ning left the Inspection Office without revealing his true strength and decided to wait until he had improved further before attacking the sects.
• Jiang Ning returned to his residence, gave Xie Xiaoj iu tea containing several drops of his blood, and told her to practice in private.
• Jiang Ning recalled the powerful figure behind White Horned Dragon and considered traveling to Luoshui County to investigate.

Jiang Ning broke Five Animals Fist through to its eighth limit and Water-Fire True Force through to its sixth, gaining an evolved Five-Elements Spirit Physique and the Fire Eye trait. After witnessing a mysterious Grandmaster injure Zhao Yulong, Jiang Ning followed him outside the city and confronted him, while Fire Eye failed to see through the stranger’s cloak.

• Jiang Ning broke through Five Animals Fist, gained the Five-Elements Spirit Physique, and found that his fist intent could suppress, seal, or bind opponents.
• After practicing, Jiang Ning increased his blood qi and spent source energy to break Water-Fire True Force through its sixth limit.
• Jiang Ning gained Fire Eye, tested its power by drying and burning grass, and sensed a battle at Zhao Yulong’s residence.
• A cloaked Grandmaster struck Zhao Yulong with Heart-Shattering Palm and escaped using Ghost King Step, while Zhao Yulong identified the attacker as possibly connected to Divine Sword Manor.
• Jiang Ning followed the cloaked Grandmaster outside the city, masked his face, and heard him claim to be Shangguan Guyun.
• Jiang Ning used Fire Eye on the stranger but could not see through his cloak, and the stranger reacted solemnly to Jiang Ning’s fiery eyes.

Jiang Ning tested his new fist art against a disguised female Grandmaster, then continued his work in Dongling City while worrying about the White Horned Dragon and strengthening his subordinates. The chapter ended when he received a letter from Xiao Emei.

• Jiang Ning struck the mysterious Grandmaster with a fist that suppressed her body and true yuan, then let her escape to avoid provoking the Heaven-Answering Alliance.
• Jiang Ning used his Heavenly Eye to discover that the Grandmaster was an older woman rather than Shangguan Guyun, while the woman fled and resolved to be wary of Jiang Ning’s fist intent and fiery eyes.
• Jiang Ning considered the danger the White Horned Dragon posed to Jiang Li and Luoshui County, then decided to wait until his strength improved before investigating the demon’s situation.
• Jiang Ning gave Xie Xiaoj iu, Zhou Xing, and Feng Ji bottles to strengthen their bodies, ordered them to train their subordinates, and learned their current martial ranks.
• Jiang Ning received a Skyborne Letterbird message and recognized Xiao Emei’s handwriting.

Jiang Ning received Xiao Emei’s request to help Water-Moon Sword Palace resist the Five Swords Sect, but refused to act without greater sincerity and prepared to keep his Grandmaster strength concealed. After strengthening Linglong and cultivating Water-Fire True Force, he caught Wang Qingtan sneaking into his courtyard, and the chapter ended as her sister arrived.

• Jiang Ning read Xiao Emei’s letter about the Five Swords Sect seizing Water-Moon Sword Palace’s businesses, then sent it back with a demand for greater sincerity.
• Zhao Yulong warned Jiang Ning that the mysterious Grandmaster who attacked him might target Jiang Ning, so Jiang Ning canceled his planned Grandmaster banquet and notified Shen Wenyuan and Ye Zhengqi.
• Jiang Ning fed his blood to Linglong and Old Softshell, replenished himself with a five-hundred-year-old Blood Ginseng, and cultivated Water-Fire True Force as its experience gains slowed.
• Wang Qingtan climbed into Jiang Ning’s courtyard at night, but he recognized her, seized her, and brought her into his room.
• The next morning, Wang Qingtan asked when Jiang Ning had recognized her, and Jiang Ning told her that her sister had arrived.

Jiang Ning broke Water-Fire True Force’s limit again, gaining devastating control over its power and a new Flame Lord trait, while he negotiated with Xiao Emei and strengthened the demons guarding his home. The chapter left him nearing another breakthrough and planning to delay his visit to the Water-Moon Sword Palace until he had exhausted his resources.

• Wang Qinghan visited Jiang Ning with Little Doubao, who happily recognized Wang Qingtan as her aunt.
• Xiao Emei learned that Jiang Ning wanted sufficient sincerity before helping the Water-Moon Sword Palace, and she decided to invite him to discuss terms.
• Jiang Ning spent ten thousand source-energy points to break Water-Fire True Force’s limit, gaining the Flame Lord trait and the ability to annihilate matter with fused water and fire force.
• Jiang Ning replied to Xiao Emei’s meeting request with “Wait,” choosing to advance his Martial Dao further before visiting the Water-Moon Sword Palace.
• Linglong reported that her cultivation had reached 386 years, and Jiang Ning fed her more blood before giving Old Softshell wine infused with Emperor’s Flowing Essence.
• Jiang Ning saw that Water-Fire True Force was nearing its next limit-breaking and anticipated that it would advance his Water-Fire True Intent.

Jiang Ning watched Linglong awaken her dragon bloodline and reach more than eight hundred years of cultivation, then sent her to bring rain to Dongling Commandery. As the rain spread across the commandery, a young man carrying a massive sword was dispatched from an immortal sacred land to investigate.

• Jiang Ning replenished his blood loss with Blood Ginseng, and two days later he and Jiang Li watched Linglong’s evolution light up the lake and sky.
• Linglong revealed that her awakened bloodline gave her eight hundred years of cultivation and new abilities, and Jiang Ning ordered her to bring a great rainstorm to Dongling City.
• Lü Yi drove off martial artists spying outside Jiang Ning’s courtyard, and the Inspection Office arrived as the intruders fled.
• Jiang Ning saw that his Source Energy reserves were insufficient for his upcoming limit breaks, then sent Linglong to bring rain across Dongling Commandery.
• Jiang Ning joined his aura with heaven and earth, intensifying Linglong’s torrential rain, while Wang Shouyi recognized its merit.
• A young man carrying a massive sword left an immortal sacred land after being asked to investigate the disturbance in Dongling Commandery.

After completing his fourth blood replacement, Jiang Ning recovered with the Blood Jade Nine-Aperture Lotus and continued strengthening his body. A mysterious giant-sword wielder entered Dongling City as Xiao Emei and Hou Yingying arrived to meet Jiang Ning.

• Jiang Ning completed his fourth blood replacement in the Dongling Mountain Range and used the Blood Jade Nine-Aperture Lotus to replenish and strengthen his blood and qi.
• Jiang Ning returned home, where he found Wang Qingtan waiting in his room, and the two spent the night together.
• Jiang Ning decided to train his Indestructible Vajra Body rather than attempt another blood replacement before his physical strength improved.
• A young man carrying a giant sword entered Dongling City, and Hou Yingying warned Xiao Emei that he might be a grandmaster.
• Xiao Emei and Hou Yingying visited Jiang Ning, and Hou Yingying felt overwhelmed by his presence as he asked who she was.

Jiang Ning agreed to help the embattled Water-Moon Sword Palace in exchange for half its wealth and half its income for ten years, but delayed action while he recovered and trained. After learning that a mysterious visitor might come from a Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land, Jiang Ning decided to test the visitor’s strength.

• Xiao Emei and Hou Yingying pledged the Water-Moon Sword Palace’s allegiance to Jiang Ning, who demanded half its wealth and half its income for ten years in exchange for his aid.
• Xiao Emei accepted Jiang Ning’s terms, and he told the women to wait while he recovered and improved his strength.
• Zhao Yulong received a portrait of the greatsword-carrying visitor, learned he was in the southern West District, and went to meet him.
• Jiang Ning trained by refining solar essence, bringing the Inner Elixir Life-Nourishing Technique close to a breakthrough.
• After reading the Inspection Office’s report, Jiang Ning concluded the visitor might belong to a Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land and decided to test his strength.

Jiang Ning watched Linglong confront a sword-wielding young man from a Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land, then chose not to kill him so he would return and report that the Nu River Dragon God had caused the rain. Linglong ended the storm, declared herself the Nu River Dragon God, and abolished living sacrifices.

• People along the Nu River worshipped as golden light rose from the water, and Zhao Yulong recognized the signs of another storm and suspected the mysterious young man came from a Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land.
• Jiang Ning used his Heavenly Eye to assess the approaching young man and signaled Linglong to test his strength with a clash.
• The young man entered Linglong's thunderclouds, was gravely injured, and fled using a blood-consuming escape technique when Linglong attacked with golden light.
• Jiang Ning decided not to kill the weakened young man, reasoning that doing so could provoke the powerful force behind him, and returned to Dongling City through the Nu River.
• Linglong ended the rain and proclaimed herself the Nu River Dragon God, ordering the people along the banks to abolish living sacrifices.

Jiang Ning sent Linglong to bring rain to the drought-stricken lands downstream, then used 20,000 Source Energy to break Water-Fire True Force through to its eighth limit. The breakthrough gave him powerful Water-Fire True Intent and transformed Fire Eye into Fiery Spirit Sight, leaving him wondering whether he could now challenge a second-rank grandmaster.

• Jiang Ning and Wang Qingtan visited the Nu River with Wang Qinghan, who offered tribute and asked the Dragon God to bless her with a husband.
• After returning home, Jiang Ning told the recovered Linglong to bring another rainstorm to the drought-stricken lands downstream.
• Jiang Ning traveled to the Dongling Mountain Range and spent 20,000 Source Energy breaking through Water-Fire True Force.
• Jiang Ning manifested Water-Fire True Intent, whose wheel and eight chains devastated the surrounding forest and shattered a large boulder.
• Jiang Ning considered whether his strengthened abilities could let him match Li Sixiang, a second-rank grandmaster.
• Jiang Ning discovered that Fire Eye had become Fiery Spirit Sight, which could expose illusions and fire golden rays that burned a distant tree.

Jiang Ning strengthened his forces and prepared to move against the Five Swords Sect, securing evidence from Zhao Yulong and troops from Yan Yikuan. He left with five hundred soldiers under Feng Xiaochen’s command to support his operation.

• Jiang Ning learned that Xie Xiaojiao, Feng Ji, and Zhou Xing had reached the Sixth Rank, while their subordinates had advanced to the Seventh and Eighth Ranks, and ordered them to Stone Mountain County to assist Bai Luoyu.
• Jiang Ning asked Zhao Yulong for evidence of the Five Swords Sect’s crimes and revealed his sword intent, convincing Zhao Yulong to provide it.
• Jiang Ning went to Yan Yikuan’s military camp to borrow troops, and Yan Yikuan agreed after learning he planned to target the Five Swords Sect in support of the Water-Moon Sword Palace.
• Yan Yikuan assigned Feng Xiaochen and five hundred soldiers to follow Jiang Ning’s orders.

Jiang Ning traveled to Stone Mountain County, where drought and famine had left people desperate enough to eat flesh ganoderma distributed by the God-Worship Cult. After destroying the tainted food and killing two men who had eaten human flesh, he left the starving survivors hoping his arrival would bring help.

• Jiang Ning assigned Captain Feng Xiaochen to lead five hundred troops to Stone Mountain County, then returned home and arranged for Linglong and Old Softshell to guard his family.
• Qi Xin reported to the eldest senior brother of Azure Source Grotto-Heaven that the Nu River Dragon God had brought rain, and the senior brother decided to let it remain.
• Jiang Ning reached Stone Mountain County and saw its barren surroundings, poverty, and starving residents queuing for talisman water.
• Jiang Ning followed the smell of meat to a ruined temple and discovered Shopkeeper Liu and others cooking flesh ganoderma from the God-Worship Cult.
• Jiang Ning destroyed the cauldron and its contents, then burned two men who had eaten human flesh before leaving the survivors to wonder whether he could help them.

Jiang Ning searched Stone Mountain County with his divine sense, learned the God-Worship Cult planned to sacrifice Bai Luoyu, and struck first at its East City Winery stronghold. He killed the cultists there but failed to uncover the Cult Leader’s identity, leaving the God of Flesh and the Cult Leader beyond his reach.

• Jiang Ning sensed across Stone Mountain County and found Bai Luoyu, while five God-Worship Cult protectors plotted to attack and sacrifice him.
• Jiang Ning warned Bai Luoyu that the cult planned to target him, and Bai Luoyu agreed to help Jiang Ning confront the Five Swords Sect over its clans’ grain hoarding.
• Jiang Ning told Bai Luoyu to bring men to the East City Winery, then broke into the God-Worship Cult’s stronghold and demanded to know the Cult Leader’s whereabouts.
• Jiang Ning killed the five protectors after they failed to reveal any information about the Cult Leader.
• Jiang Ning left the stronghold disappointed that he had only eliminated minor followers and could not yet stop the God-Worship Cult’s leaders.

Jiang Ning killed the five core members of the God-Worship Cult in Stone Mountain County, allowing Bai Luoyu to turn his attention to the county’s grain crisis. After overhearing the Mu and Xu family heads plan to guard their hidden stockpile, Jiang Ning tracked their experts to a vast store of grain inside Stone Mountain.

• Jiang Ning showed Bai Luoyu the God-Worship Cult Protectors he had killed and revealed that he had also killed the fifth core member.
• Bai Luoyu thanked Jiang Ning and said he would restore order in Stone Mountain County and address the grain crisis.
• Mu Changsheng met the Xu Family head and agreed to send experts to guard their hidden grain storehouse.
• Jiang Ning sent out his Yin Spirit and followed two experts from the Mu and Xu families beyond the city.
• The two experts entered a crevice in Stone Mountain, where Jiang Ning discovered hundreds of thousands of shi of grain stored in a cavern.

Jiang Ning and Bai Luoyu recovered the grain hidden in a cave and prepared to confront the Xu and Mu Families over their refusal to release food. Jiang Ning then planned to use the conflict to gauge the Five Swords Sect’s strength and seize its resources if he could.

• Jiang Ning led Bai Luoyu and three trusted fighters through the Stone Mountains to the hidden cave, where he caught two guards’ weapons barehanded and crushed them before defeating them.
• Bai Luoyu and his men subdued the cave’s defenders and stopped one man from setting fire to the grain; Bai Luoyu thanked Jiang Ning for helping ease Stone Mountain County’s crisis.
• Jiang Ning told Bai Luoyu to give the Xu and Mu Families one final chance to cooperate, then eliminate them if they refused, and carved a wider passage through the mountain for transporting the grain.
• Bai Luoyu arranged to meet the two families’ heads at noon, while Jiang Ning considered the greater threat posed by the Five Swords Sect and resolved to use the families as bait to test it.

Jiang Ning trained while Bai Luoyu confronted the Xu and Mu Families over their hoarded grain. After Jiang Ning arrived and killed the families’ leaders and guards, he ordered their clans exterminated and their estates seized, then helped plan famine relief and road construction.

• Jiang Ning trained the Indestructible Vajra Body and absorbed the sun’s essence, bringing the Inner Elixir Life-Nourishing Technique close to its next breakthrough.
• At Four Directions Tower, Bai Luoyu demanded that the Xu and Mu Families surrender their hoarded grain, but the family heads resisted and began to negotiate.
• Jiang Ning arrived, struck down the guards and family heads with a single burst of force, and ordered the Xu and Mu Families’ estates confiscated and their clans exterminated.
• Jiang Ning offered Bai Luoyu reinforcements and proposed three days of famine relief followed by work in exchange for aid, beginning with road construction.
• The Xu and Mu Families were destroyed, and Jiang Ning reflected on how his power now let him decide the fate of families that once would have required others’ protection.

Jiang Ning remained in Stone Mountain County while Bai Luoyu stabilized the county and prepared for the Xu and Mu Families’ executions. Jiang Ning broke the limit of his Inner Elixir Life-Nourishing Technique, gained the Longevity Seed trait, and saw the Five Swords Sect’s elders approaching with a confident archer.

• Bai Luoyu restored order in Stone Mountain County with arrests and grain relief while Jiang Ning stayed to support him against the Five Swords Sect’s likely intervention.
• Jiang Ning completed the Inner Elixir Life-Nourishing Technique’s first limit break, which gave him the Longevity Seed trait and enhanced his body’s ability to preserve vitality and extend his lifespan.
• Jiang Ning considered strengthening the Indestructible Vajra Body next and recognized lifespan as a key constraint on his ambitions.
• Bai Luoyu walked toward Jiang Ning after arranging an altar for worship of the Nu River Dragon God, though he doubted it would bring rain.
• Two Xu and Mu Family elders rode toward Stone Mountain County with True Disciple Yang, who boasted that his sound-barrier-breaking archery would force the patrol envoy to release the prisoners.

Jiang Ning summoned rain over drought-stricken Stone Mountain County, then received Feng Jiuge and Xie Xiaojiu as reinforcements. As Xiao Emei and the Water-Moon Sword Palace’s Great Elder arrived seeking his help, Jiang Ning ordered his people to gather at the marketplace before the next day’s execution of the Xu and Mu families.

• Jiang Ning used the Nu River Dragon God’s name to summon clouds and heavy rain over Stone Mountain County, temporarily easing the drought.
• The next morning, Feng Ji led dozens of riders from the Commissioner Office toward Stone Mountain County, where the soldiers recognized them as allies and admitted them.
• Feng Jiuge and Xie Xiaojiu met Jiang Ning after entering the city, while Zhou Xing took the other men to find lodging.
• Xiao Emei and the Water-Moon Sword Palace’s Great Elder arrived at Stone Mountain County, and the Great Elder assured Xiao Emei that Jiang Ning would protect the sect.
• Jiang Ning learned that Feng Xiaochen’s army needed four or five more days to arrive and told Feng Jiuge and Xie Xiaojiu to bring everyone to the marketplace before the end of the following day.

Xiao Emei tried to secure Jiang Ning’s favor to protect the Water-Moon Sword Palace, but he rejected her and spent the night with Wang Qingtan in Dongling City. As Jiang Ning prepared to oversee the Xu and Mu families’ executions, Elder Xu and Elder Mu arrived in Stone Mountain County with an inner sect true disciple and planned an ambush.

• Xie Xiaoj iu and Feng Ji saw Xiao Emei heading to Jiang Ning’s residence and discussed rumors about her past connection to him.
• Xiao Emei told Jiang Ning that the Water-Moon Sword Palace’s elders had accepted his demands and offered him half the sect’s wealth, but he postponed visiting the palace and refused her request to stay at his home.
• Xiao Emei secretly hid naked beneath Jiang Ning’s covers and offered to serve him, but Jiang Ning sent her away and traveled to Dongling City to visit Wang Qingtan.
• Jiang Ning returned to Stone Mountain County the next morning, greeted Xiao Emei, and resumed training while she wondered how he had reached Dongling City and returned overnight.
• Elder Xu, Elder Mu, and the bow-wielding True Disciple Yang entered Stone Mountain County and decided to wait near the marketplace for a chance to ambush the officials at the executions.

Jiang Ning arrived at the marketplace to join Bai Luoyu for the executions of the Xu and Mu Families, while the Five Swords Sect prepared an ambush. A Five Swords Sect archer launched a sound-breaking arrow at Jiang Ning, then aimed a second shot at Xiao Emei to force Jiang Ning to protect her.

• Jiang Ning cultivated the Inner Elixir Life-Nourishing Technique while the Xu and Mu Families awaited execution in the marketplace.
• Bai Luoyu anticipated interference from the Five Swords Sect, whose members secretly planned to attack during the executions with support from the Heaven-Answering Alliance.
• Jiang Ning arrived with Xiao Emei and Hou Yingying, used his divine sense to locate the hidden Five Swords Sect members, and joined Bai Luoyu on the platform.
• True Disciple Yang coated his arrows with a mysterious blue liquid and prepared to attack Jiang Ning as Elder Xu got ready to storm the execution ground.
• Jiang Ning spotted Yang's first arrow as it crossed the sky, and Yang then aimed a second arrow at Xiao Emei, expecting Jiang Ning to intervene.