Chapter Summaries

Jiang Ning maxed out the Five Animals Fist but lacked enough source energy to break its limits, so he headed to the Myriad Splendor Tower to sell spoils and seek powerful medicinal treasures. At the Blue-Wave Martial Academy, Xiao Peng announced that he had entered the ninth rank and challenged Jiang Ning for a place in the Inspection Office examination.

• Jiang Ning reached the Five Animals Fist's experience cap and realized he still needed more source energy to break its limits.
• Jiang Ning reviewed how medicinal foods, the Blood Lotus, and the Leopard Womb Form-Transmutation Body-Tempering Pills increased his source energy, then took his money and spoils to the Myriad Splendor Tower.
• Zhou Xing and Zhang Tiesheng arrived at the Blue-Wave Martial Academy, where Zhou Xing asked after Jiang Ning.
• Wang Jin announced that the office chief would arrive the next day and that he would select personal disciples in three days to represent him in the Inspection Office examination.
• Xiao Peng revealed that he had entered the ninth rank of the Martial Dao and challenged Jiang Ning to compete for one of the five places.
• The martial academy students questioned Jiang Ning's strength and voiced support for Xiao Peng while Jiang Ning was absent.

Xiao Peng challenged Jiang Ning to a contest in three days for the chance to become Wang Jin’s personal disciple and enter the Inspection Office assessment. Meanwhile, Jiang Ning sold three items at Myriad Splendor Tower for four thousand taels and said he also wanted to buy something.

• Xiao Peng asked Wang Jin to arrange a contest with Jiang Ning, and Wang Jin agreed to hold it in three days.
• Cheng Ran went to Jiang Ning’s home, learned he was out, and waited there for his return.
• Jiang Ning visited Myriad Splendor Tower and asked Xiao Lü to arrange an appraisal with Elder Qian.
• Han Hongmei assured Jiang Ning that the Tower kept customer information confidential, and Elder Qian appraised his dagger, Iron Sand Palm manual, and black spider-silk gloves.
• Han Hongmei offered four thousand taels for the three items, and Jiang Ning accepted the offer while postponing payment to discuss a purchase.

Jiang Ning visited Myriad Splendor Tower to buy treasures that would strengthen him for his planned entry into the Inspection Office. He bought three Bull Demon Strength Fruits and fifty portions of Golden Body Medicinal Bath Packets, leaving the shop with his training expenses set to consume much of his wealth.

• Han Hongmei explained the Divine Strength Realm and advised Jiang Ning to strengthen his skin and muscles before joining the Inspection Office.
• Han Hongmei offered Jiang Ning three Bull Demon Strength Fruits, explaining that they could add up to three hundred jin of strength but might strain his skin membrane.
• Jiang Ning bought all three Bull Demon Strength Fruits for eight hundred taels each.
• Jiang Ning asked Han Hongmei for medicine to improve his skin tempering, and she introduced Golden Body Soup packets made with refined Demon Race blood.
• Han Hongmei explained that each Golden Body Soup portion cost fifty taels, but Jiang Ning ordered fifty portions despite the expense.

Jiang Ning bought martial arts supplies and began refining a Bull Demon Strength Fruit on the journey home. There, he learned his elder brother still lacked a county yamen position, then left with Cheng Ran after the martial arts hall summoned them to hear an important announcement.

• Jiang Ning bought three Bull Demon Strength Fruits and fifty Golden Body Medicinal Bath Packets from Han Hongmei, who also gave him intelligence about Luo Water Lake.
• Jiang Ning ate a Bull Demon Strength Fruit in the carriage and circulated his qi and blood to refine its medicinal power.
• Jiang Ning returned home and learned from Jiang Li that the county yamen had not arranged a logistics post for him; Jiang Li offered to help with Jiang Ning's medicinal baths.
• Cheng Ran told Jiang Ning that Master Wang had summoned them to the martial arts hall, and Xiao Luo confirmed that the grand master wanted to speak with both of them.
• Jiang Ning and Cheng Ran set out for the martial arts hall.

Jiang Ning refined the Bull Demon Strength Fruits, greatly increasing his strength and source energy before breaking the limit of Five Animals Fist. The breakthrough left him sensing five-colored energies associated with the elements, and he remained immersed in the experience.

• Jiang Ning learned he would soon need to defeat Xiao Peng and that a powerful official from Guangning Prefecture would arrive in Luoshui County.
• Jiang Ning refined the remaining Bull Demon Strength Fruit and found that his strength had increased by nearly ten percent.
• Jiang Ning consumed the other two Bull Demon Strength Fruits, raising his strength by roughly thirty percent, then practiced Five Animals Fist.
• Jiang Ning woke to find his source energy had risen to 110.5 and saw that Five Animals Fist could break through its limit.
• Jiang Ning spent source energy to break Five Animals Fist's limit and sensed red, black, white, yellow, and green lights converging into his body.

Jiang Ning discovered that breaking the limit of Five Animals Fist let him draw five-element qi into his body, strengthening his qi and blood while tempering his organs. The improved organs also accelerated his Inner Elixir Life-Nourishing Technique, bringing him within reach of controlling inner breath.

• Jiang Ning examined his new Essence Stored in the Five Organs trait and sensed it slowly strengthening his internal organs.
• Practicing the newly advanced Five Animals Fist, Jiang Ning drew five-colored particles into his body and realized they represented the qi of the five elements.
• Jiang Ning found that each round of Five Animals Fist now increased his qi and blood by ten strands while also tempering his organs, so he practiced until sunrise.
• After drinking herbal essence, Jiang Ning absorbed the sun's vital essence and gained experience in the Inner Elixir Life-Nourishing Technique nearly twice as fast as usual.
• Jiang Ning calculated that he could reach minor attainment and gain command of inner breath in about half a month, potentially giving him a chance to kill a seventh-rank opponent with a sudden attack.

Jiang Ning’s transformed Five Animals Force and Golden Body Soup greatly accelerated his skin-tempering, bringing him closer to the Divine Strength Realm as he prepared to attend Wang Jin’s apprentice banquet. At Myriad Splendor Tower, Lin Qingyi reunited with Lin Jia'er and decided to introduce her to Jiang Ning that afternoon.

• Jiang Ning found that his breakthroughs in Five Animals Fist and Five Animals Force sharply increased his Indestructible Vajra Body experience, and he planned to buy more Herbal Essence and a better saber.
• Jiang Ning took a Golden Body Soup medicinal bath, then gained another surge of skin-tempering efficiency while practicing the Indestructible Vajra Body.
• Over the next two days, Jiang Ning’s Source Energy rose to 21.1 and his Indestructible Vajra Body advanced to 650 experience as he continued training before Wang Jin’s apprenticeship banquet.
• Lin Jia'er visited Lin Qingyi at Myriad Splendor Tower and gave her a costly box of rouge after arriving in Luoshui County for her Inspection Office assignment.
• Lin Qingyi asked whether Lin Jia'er had a man she fancied, then offered to introduce her to Jiang Ning at the banquet that afternoon.

At Wang Jin’s disciple-taking banquet, Jiang Ning and Xiao Peng fought with sabers to decide who would become Wang Jin’s personal disciple. Jiang Ning won in a flash, leaving his blade at Xiao Peng’s neck as the gathered guests looked on in shock.

• Influential figures, including Constable Wang, Lin Qingyi, and Shi Xiaoyuan, arrived at Blue-Wave Martial Academy for Wang Jin’s banquet.
• Lin Qingyi confirmed that Jiang Ning was the person Shen Congyun had asked her to look after, while Shi Xiaoyuan resented Jiang Ning for killing Hong Chengtao.
• Xiao Peng challenged Jiang Ning to a saber duel, believing weapons gave him his best chance to overcome Jiang Ning’s greater strength.
• Wang Jin declared that the winner would become his personal disciple and gathered the guests to watch the duel.
• Jiang Ning defeated Xiao Peng almost instantly, pressing his saber to Xiao Peng’s neck and drawing a bead of blood.

Jiang Ning defeated Xiao Peng’s surprise attack with overwhelming strength, prompting Wang Jin to expel Xiao Peng from Blue-Wave Martial Academy. Shi Xiaoyuan discovered that Jiang Ning was born with Spiritual Wisdom and began plotting to sacrifice him to the God of Flesh.

• Jiang Ning defeated Xiao Peng in their first saber exchange and greeted Wang Jin as his master.
• Shi Xiaoyuan’s compass pointed at Jiang Ning, revealing his Spiritual Wisdom, and Shi Xiaoyuan decided he could use Jiang Ning to gain another divine blessing.
• Xiao Peng attacked Jiang Ning by surprise, but Jiang Ning disarmed him with one strike and kicked him several zhang away.
• Wang Jin expelled Xiao Peng from the academy, and Xiao Peng admitted defeat before leaving the courtyard.
• The disciples and martial academy leaders praised Jiang Ning’s strength, while Shi Xiaoyuan continued eyeing him with concealed killing intent.

After defeating Xiao Peng, Jiang Ning officially became one of Wang Jin’s direct disciples, then discussed Cheng Ran’s decision to leave martial arts for business. He bought more Herbal Essence and headed to the outer-city Weapon-Forging Shop to find a durable saber.

• Jiang Ning and four other disciples offered tea to Wang Jin and officially became his direct disciples at the banquet.
• Cheng Ran congratulated Jiang Ning and admitted he could not match Jiang Ning’s martial talent.
• Cheng Ran said he would stop focusing on martial arts and build his family’s restaurant business, and Jiang Ning gave him several recipes.
• Jiang Ning bought forty bottles of Herbal Essence from Myriad Splendor Tower for delivery to his residence.
• Jiang Ning hired a carriage and headed to the outer-city Weapon-Forging Shop to buy a sturdy saber.

Jiang Ning visited the Weapon-Forging Shop to find a heavier saber, impressing deputy manager Yang Kai with his strength and stamina. Yang Kai revealed the hidden vault containing his finest forged weapons and led Jiang Ning below to see them.

• Jiang Ning rejected the shop’s lighter sabers and easily tested a five-hundred-thirty-seven-forged saber weighing fifty-three pounds.
• Jiang Ning swung a pair of roughly one-hundred-fifty-pound hammers, surprising Yang Kai, who recognized his exceptional strength.
• Jiang Ning introduced himself as a disciple of Blue-Wave Martial Academy, and Yang Kai connected him to Tower Master Shen’s departure and the dispute with the Cao Family.
• Yang Kai said his treasured blades required a worthy owner, then opened a concealed passage beneath the shop.
• Jiang Ning followed Yang Kai into the lit passageway to view the ten weapons Yang Kai had forged and treasured.

Jiang Ning explored the Weapon-Forging Shop’s underground vault, where Yang Kai showed him the heavy saber Cold Radiance. A mysterious call led Jiang Ning to an ancient spirit weapon that no one else could draw, and he awakened it, received it from Yang Kai, and found that his blade-related trait let him draw it again.

• Yang Kai showed Jiang Ning the vault’s divine weapons and lent him Cold Radiance, which Jiang Ning tested and found manageable despite its weight.
• Jiang Ning followed a growing inner call to an ancient, dust-covered longsaber beneath a weapon rack.
• Yang Kai explained that the longsaber was a dormant spirit weapon that no one had been able to draw for decades.
• Jiang Ning drew the blade, heard it roar like a dragon, and sensed that it wanted him to recognize it as its master through a blood sacrifice.
• Yang Kai failed to draw the blade himself, then gave the spirit weapon to Jiang Ning in hopes of earning his favor.
• Jiang Ning suspected his Unity of Man and Blade trait had awakened the weapon and drew it again in front of Yang Kai.

Jiang Ning received an ancient spirit saber from Yang Kai in exchange for a promise of future help, then returned home and considered how his growing reputation and strength had brought both danger and opportunity. He decided to test the saber’s blood-recognition refinement, while Lin Qingyi arranged for Lin Jia'er to meet him.

• Yang Kai gave Jiang Ning the spirit saber after Jiang Ning promised to help the Weapon-Forging Shop if he was able, explaining that only Jiang Ning could draw it.
• Lin Qingyi asked Lin Jia'er what she thought of Jiang Ning, then proposed arranging a meeting that could lead to marriage.
• Jiang Ning took the muddy Little Doubao to wash in the courtyard pool before bringing her to Liu Wanwan.
• Back in his room, Jiang Ning counted the forty bottles of herbal essence and reflected on the Cao Family’s threats, his concealed strength, and the benefits of revealing some of his abilities.
• Jiang Ning recalled the words about claiming and refining the saber with blood, then carried it outside to try.

Jiang Ning claimed the ancient spirit weapon Dragon Abyss, discovered its new spirituality could be nurtured with his blood, and tested its power by breaking a refined-iron saber. After the Weapon-Forging Shop’s shopkeeper Qiu learned Jiang Ning had drawn the blade, he came with Yang Kai to demand it back, arriving at Jiang Ning’s residence as Jiang Ning prepared to meet the intruders.

• Jiang Ning drew Dragon Abyss, cut his fingers on its edge, and claimed it by letting the blade absorb his blood.
• Jiang Ning learned that Dragon Abyss’s ancient spirituality had perished and that its new spirit needed his blood to grow stronger.
• Jiang Ning struck Dragon Abyss against the Blackwood Long Saber and snapped the saber in two.
• Yang Kai told shopkeeper Qiu that Jiang Ning had drawn Dragon Abyss, and Qiu insisted they retrieve the valuable weapon despite Yang Kai’s objections.
• Jiang Ning sensed intruders, grabbed Dragon Abyss, and prepared to face Qiu and Yang Kai as they climbed into his courtyard.

Jiang Ning defended the spirit weapon Dragon Abyss when Qiu Shilong and Yang Kai came to reclaim it, killing Qiu Shilong with two slashes. He spared Yang Kai but warned him to keep the killing secret, while Yang Kai carried the corpse to seek advice from the retired former shopkeeper Gong Mingyuan.

• Jiang Ning heard Yang Kai and Qiu Shilong enter his residence and drew Dragon Abyss to announce his presence.
• Qiu Shilong demanded the spirit weapon back, then attacked Jiang Ning and revealed his intent to cripple and capture him.
• Jiang Ning severed two of Qiu Shilong’s fingers with a slash and pursued him as Qiu Shilong tried to flee.
• Jiang Ning killed Qiu Shilong with a blade-force attack, then spared Yang Kai and ordered him to keep the incident quiet.
• Yang Kai carried Qiu Shilong’s corpse toward Gong Mingyuan’s home to report the death and ask the retired shopkeeper what to do.

After Jiang Ning killed Qiu Shilong for breaking into his home, Gong Mingyuan and Yang Kai visited to apologize and gave him a Dragon-Tiger Strength Pill. The Weapon-Forging Shop recognized Jiang Ning’s ownership of Dragon Abyss and appointed Yang Kai its chief shopkeeper.

• Jiang Li checked on Jiang Ning after hearing a disturbance, and Jiang Ning assured him that intruders had been driven away.
• Yang Kai told Gong Mingyuan how Qiu Shilong died, and Gong Mingyuan decided they should apologize to Jiang Ning and leave the spirit weapon with him.
• Gong Mingyuan made Yang Kai the Weapon-Forging Shop’s chief shopkeeper and prepared a Dragon-Tiger Strength Pill as an apology gift.
• Jiang Ning continued tempering his skin membrane and practicing literacy before Jiang Yiming summoned him to meet the visitors.
• Gong Mingyuan apologized to Jiang Ning, affirmed that Dragon Abyss belonged to him, and gave him the Dragon-Tiger Strength Pill.
• Jiang Ning accepted the apology and pill, offered to return the Weapon-Forging Shop’s favor, and saw Gong Mingyuan and Yang Kai depart.

Jiang Ning met Lin Qingyi at Myriad Splendor Tower, where she arranged a meeting between him and Lin Jia'er. Lin Jia'er rejected him because of his humble background, and Jiang Ning told her she was not the companion he wanted either.

• Jiang Ning stored the Dragon-Tiger Strength Pill and continued training while waiting for the Inspection Office to be established.
• Xiao Lü summoned Jiang Ning to meet Lin Qingyi at Myriad Splendor Tower late at night.
• Lin Qingyi teased Jiang Ning before revealing that she had found him a potential wife, Lin Jia'er.
• Lin Jia'er and Jiang Ning walked together while Lin Qingyi secretly followed them.
• Lin Jia'er admitted she did not want to marry someone of Jiang Ning's status and asked him to help spare Lin Qingyi embarrassment.
• Jiang Ning replied that Lin Jia'er was not the companion he wanted, though she assumed he was only saving face.

Jiang Ning dismissed Lin Jia’er’s rejection and learned that Shen Congyun had protected him despite being a future Grandmaster seed. After days of training, Jiang Ning broke through to major completion in skin tempering, achieving skin like bronze and setting his sights on reaching the eighth rank before the Inspection Office was established.

• Lin Qingyi apologized to Jiang Ning for Lin Jia’er’s words and reassured him that Shen Congyun would only face a period of secluded cultivation for breaking the rules.
• Lin Qingyi rebuked Lin Jia’er for judging Jiang Ning by his birth, but Lin Jia’er insisted she would only marry a refined man whose merits she could already see.
• Jiang Ning returned home, trained, and focused on tempering his skin so he could safely use the Dragon-Tiger Strength Pill to advance his martial rank.
• Several days later, Jiang Ning reviewed his progress and decided to strive for the eighth rank before the Inspection Office was established.
• Jiang Ning’s Indestructible Vajra Body advanced from Proficient to Minor Achievement, transforming his skin membrane from stone-like gray to bronze and completing his skin tempering.

After completing skin tempering, Jiang Ning confirmed that he could still gain experience in the Indestructible Vajra Body and began cultivating beyond the fragment’s recorded limit. He then took a Dragon-Tiger Strength Pill to enter the Divine Strength Realm, and its power began tempering his muscles.

• Jiang Ning tested his copper-like skin membrane with a broken saber and found that it resisted the blade, though a forceful cut still wounded his skin.
• Jiang Ning gained experience in the Indestructible Vajra Body beyond the fragment’s recorded limit, confirming that he could continue progressing toward the Immortal Golden Body.
• Jiang Ning soaked in the Luo River to ease his fatigue and increase his Water Affinity experience.
• Jiang Ning reviewed the requirements of the Divine Strength Realm and concluded that his three Bull Demon Strength Fruits had already brought him close to entering it.
• Jiang Ning swallowed the Dragon-Tiger Strength Pill, whose fierce medicinal power began tempering the muscles throughout his body.

After consuming the Dragon-Tiger Strength Pill, Jiang Ning officially reached the eighth-rank Divine Strength Realm and tested his greatly increased strength and saber power. Confident in his new abilities, he decided to search Luo Water Lake for overlooked sunken treasure to fund his cultivation.

• Jiang Ning finished absorbing the Dragon-Tiger Strength Pill and measured his strength at about two thousand five hundred jin, comparable to an eighth-rank expert at minor accomplishment.
• Jiang Ning fed Dragon Abyss his blood, then tested a five-layer Canglang Saber Art slash and found that his strengthened arm could withstand the force far better than before.
• Jiang Ning checked his Source Energy, considered which skills would be worthwhile to limit-break, and resolved to keep accumulating wealth and Source Energy.
• Jiang Ning reviewed information from Myriad Radiance Pavilion and concluded that his best chance of finding treasure lay in overlooked sunken ships and forbidden parts of Luo Water Lake.
• Jiang Ning left a note at home and ran toward the Luo River with his saber to begin searching for treasure.