Chapter Summaries

Zhao Feng learned about the major powers of Ever-Peace Prefecture as he traveled with Lin Ziwei to Changning Prefectural City. Lin Ziwei escorted him through the bustling city to the Eight Extremes Gate, where he began his arrival alone.

• Lin Ziwei described the Five Great Sects, the three great clans, and the other forces competing across Ever-Peace Prefecture.
• Zhao Feng asked Lin Ziwei about the Eight Extremes Gate, and she explained its eight courts and martial arts.
• Zhao Feng and Lin Ziwei reached Changning Prefectural City, and he remarked on its prosperity compared with Big Stone County.
• Lin Ziwei offered to take Zhao Feng to the Eight Extremes Gate, and they traveled through the crowded city to its northern edge.
• Lin Ziwei left Zhao Feng at the mountain entrance, and he walked toward the Eight Extremes Gate.

Zhao Feng arrived at the Eight Extremes Gate and registered for the Inner Gate examination with Huo Yao’s help. He displayed extraordinary mastery of the Eight Extremes Fist before the examiners, who were impressed and prepared to assess his root bone next.

• Zhao Feng presented Huo Shan’s credentials at the Mountain Gate, and Huo Yao brought him inside and registered him for the Inner Gate examination.
• Huo Yao accepted Zhao Feng’s two treasure medicines and recommendation letter for Yin Elder, then advised him to stay at an inn in the Outer City.
• Zhao Feng spent the night cultivating and returned to the examination square the next morning, where Huo Yao said Pan Jie had delivered his gifts to Yin Elder.
• The Inner Gate stewards began testing the candidates’ cultivation and fist techniques, while Huo Yao noticed Yin Elder was absent.
• Zhao Feng performed the Eight Extremes Fist with overwhelming power, earning the stewards’ praise before they moved on to test his root bone.

Zhao Feng and the other candidates completed their Inner Gate assessments, but the elders questioned his chances after discovering his fifth-grade root bone. As he waited three days for the results, Meng Youwei visited him at the inn to discuss the assessment.

• Zhao Feng watched the candidates demonstrate their martial arts, including Huo Yao, whose Eight Trigrams Palm impressed the Inner Gate deacons.
• The elders confirmed Huo Yao's third-grade root bone, then found that Zhao Feng had fifth-grade root bone and marked his record with a question mark for the court heads to review.
• The deacon elder announced that the assessment results would come in three days, and Huo Yao reassured Zhao Feng that Yin Elder had received a recommendation and gifts on his behalf.
• Zhao Feng returned to the inn and focused on visualizing Tai Chi Toad-Fishing Force while waiting for the results.
• Meng Youwei introduced himself to Zhao Feng, praised his fist technique, and asked how confident he felt about the assessment; Zhao Feng said he was not very confident.

Meng Youwei told Zhao Feng about his repeated failures to enter major sects and explained why he avoided the declining Nine Yang Gate. Meanwhile, the Eight Extremes Gate's court masters reviewed candidates for the Inner Gate Examination and repeatedly rejected Zhao Feng after seeing his fifth-grade root bone; the chapter ended with the struggling Dui Court master Yin Zheng.

• Meng Youwei told Zhao Feng that he had failed to join several inner gates and that the Eight Extremes Gate was his last hope.
• Meng Youwei explained that the Nine Yang Gate was declining, its sect master was old, and rumors warned of problems with its cultivation methods.
• Xiao Li reviewed the candidate dossiers, noted that he had already made Liu Yang a True Disciple, and rejected Zhao Feng despite his excellent martial assessments because of his fifth-grade root bone.
• Chen Hong and the other court masters also set aside Zhao Feng's dossier, while Chen Hong kept Cheng Yanan's.
• Yin Zheng sat in the Dui Court, burdened by the death of his predecessor and the court's weak standing and limited resources.

Yin Zheng considered accepting Zhao Feng into the Dui Court, but Pan Jie persuaded him that Zhao Feng had poor character, so he rejected the candidate records. When the second-batch admissions were posted, Zhao Feng’s name was absent, leaving Huo Yao to suspect that Yin Zheng had never considered her recommendation.

• Yin Zheng found Zhao Feng’s record and weighed his fifth-grade root bone against his rapid progress and humble origins.
• Pan Jie warned Yin Zheng that Zhao Feng had become arrogant after reaching Transformation Force, and Yin Zheng decided not to risk accepting him.
• Meng Youwei accompanied Zhao Feng to Paifang Square, where Huo Yao greeted them and worried that Pan Jie had been avoiding her.
• The administrative elder posted the second-batch list, and several disciples celebrated their admission to the Inner Gate.
• Huo Yao found no sign of Zhao Feng’s name, and Zhao Feng confirmed that he had not been accepted.

After Pan Jie sabotaged Zhao Feng’s chance to enter the Inner Gate, Zhao Feng settled in the Prefecture City and looked for another path to continue cultivating. He went to the Ever-Peace Prefecture Garrison Command Office with Xu Commandant’s recommendation and requested an audience with General Wang Ling.

• Huo Yao learned Pan Jie had left the Sect after taking the gifts and destroying her father’s recommendation letter, but she could not report him without risking punishment.
• Huo Yao apologized to Zhao Feng and offered him two pieces of treasure medicine, which he refused; he told her he would seek another way forward.
• Zhao Feng and Meng Youwei shared a meal, discussed their failed attempts to advance, and parted with plans to pursue different opportunities.
• Zhao Feng rented a courtyard in Beautiful Water Alley and considered joining the declining Nine Yang Gate, but found it closed for rites honoring its founding patriarch.
• Zhao Feng decided to use Xu Commandant’s recommendation letter and went to the garrison office to see General Wang Ling; the guards checked his Benevolent and Brave Colonel badge and agreed to announce him.

Zhao Feng joined the Martial Suppression Guard Shadow Guard under the code name Ink Eagle while keeping his public identity, then trained for half a month as he awaited a chance to join the Nine Yang Gate. The chapter ended with him arriving at the sect’s recruitment, where more than a dozen youths were waiting to try for its outer gate.

• Zhao Feng met Wang Ling, who explained the Martial Suppression Bureau’s mission and recruited him into the Shadow Guard as Ink Eagle.
• Wang Ling gave Zhao Feng a Black Iron Token and a Human Skin Mask, ordering him to conceal his identity even from those closest to him.
• Zhao Feng returned to Beautiful Water Alley and trained for half a month, improving his martial skills and deciding he urgently needed an Internal Cultivation Manual.
• Zhao Feng went to the Nine Yang Gate on its recruitment day and found more than a dozen youths gathered outside its mountain gate.

Zhao Feng joined the Nine Yang Gate as Mu Xuanzhou’s registered disciple after paying a thousand-tael apprenticeship gift and demonstrating his Eight Extremes Fist. Hong Changzhi showed him the gate and gave him the introductory section of its cultivation formula, and Zhao Feng chose to live in the city rather than pay for lodging inside the Sect.

• Zhao Feng approached the Nine Yang Gate’s steward disciple and paid a thousand taels to apply as Mu Xuanzhou’s disciple.
• Mu Xuanzhou questioned Zhao Feng about his origins, examined his perfected Eight Extremes Fist, and accepted him despite his fifth-grade root bone.
• Mu Xuanzhou made Zhao Feng his registered disciple and told Hong Changzhi to guide him around the gate and provide the introductory cultivation formula.
• Hong Changzhi explained the Nine Yang Gate’s practices, disciple duties, monthly pills, and lodging fees, then showed Zhao Feng its facilities.
• Hong Changzhi gave Zhao Feng the introductory section of the Nine Yang Orthodox Meridian Formula, and Zhao Feng decided to live in the city.

After joining the Nine Yang Gate, Zhao Feng found the Nine Yang Orthodox Meridian Formula difficult to learn and received little guidance from his seniors. He discovered that combining it with the Eight Extremes Stake Skill greatly improved his qi cultivation, leaving him standing in a meditative state as the two methods complemented each other.

• Hong Changzhi introduced Zhao Feng to Eldest Senior Brother Fang Han and Second Senior Sister Guo Ying, who greeted him coolly.
• Senior Brother Lu told Zhao Feng he could have copied the cultivation method for five hundred taels and advised him to find another path.
• Zhao Feng studied the Nine Yang Orthodox Meridian Formula for four days before reaching its introductory stage, but struggled to find Mu Xuanzhou for guidance.
• Fang Han grew cold toward Zhao Feng after learning about his fifth-grade root bone, while Hong Changzhi occasionally offered him pointers.
• Zhao Feng combined the Nine Yang Orthodox Meridian Formula with the Eight Extremes Stake Skill and found that qi gathering and refinement became much more efficient.
• As Zhao Feng held his stance, yang qi nourished his body and replenished his energy, creating a complementary effect between the two cultivation methods.

Zhao Feng discovered that combining the Eight Extremes Stake Skill with the Nine Yang Orthodox Meridian Formula greatly strengthened his techniques, but his training left him desperately hungry and in need of better nourishment. Meanwhile, Lin Ziwei worried about unsafe trade routes and resisted her friends’ suggestion that she hire powerful sect disciples, fearing their influence could threaten the Four Seas Trading House.

• Zhao Feng tested his enhanced Eight Extremes Fist and Iron Mountain Lean, finding that yang qi increased both their offensive power and his defense.
• Zhao Feng nearly collapsed from hunger, then ate beast meat and dried tiger meat and took two Vitality Pills before deciding he needed better food and medicinal nourishment.
• At Pine-Jade Garden, Lin Ziwei met Wu Yue and Tang Yunshu, who discussed promising young martial artists and potential family alliances.
• Lin Ziwei told her friends that bandits and river pirates had made two of the Four Seas Trading House’s routes increasingly unsafe, straining her family’s influence and defenses.
• Tang Yunshu and Wu Yue offered to ask Xie Qiu and Jiang Chen to recommend sect disciples as retainers, but Lin Ziwei stayed silent because powerful outsiders could eventually threaten the trading house.

Lin Ziwei offered Zhao Feng a paid attendant position at the Four Seas Trading House after he sampled exotic beast meat, and he accepted. She explained that the Nine Yang Gate had declined after an upheaval a century earlier caused heavy losses and the loss of more than half its cultivation methods.

• Lin Ziwei learned Zhao Feng had joined the Nine Yang Gate, while Wu Yue and Tang Yunshu urged her to give up on him; she still trusted his character and remained curious about his choices.
• Huo Yao received a letter saying Zhao Feng had joined the Nine Yang Gate and vowed to punish Pan Jie at the sect tournament.
• At the Four Seas Trading House, Lin Ziwei showed Zhao Feng exotic beast meat, and he found its energy far more potent than ordinary ferocious beast meat.
• Lin Ziwei offered Zhao Feng two hundred taels a month, three pounds of exotic beast meat, and discounts in exchange for accompanying shipments; he accepted.
• Lin Ziwei told Zhao Feng that an internal upheaval a hundred years earlier, compounded by outside forces, had devastated the Nine Yang Gate and caused it to lose over half its cultivation methods.

Zhao Feng broke the Eight Extremes Fist’s limit and gained the Eightfold Waves trait, then accepted a mission guarding the North Mountain Herb Garden to help fund his cultivation. The steward directed him to report to Senior Sister Guo.

• Zhao Feng studied books on medicinal herbs, treasure fish, and exotic beasts while advancing his cultivation and techniques.
• Zhao Feng perfected the Eight Extremes Fist and broke its limit, gaining the Eightfold Waves trait.
• Zhao Feng tested Eightfold Waves and discovered he could currently stack two waves, leaving him hungry and spending heavily on food, pills, and medicinal baths.
• Zhao Feng encountered Jiang Qi and Cao Qian in the Inner Gate, exchanged brief greetings, and continued to the General Affairs Hall.
• Zhao Feng chose the North Mountain Herb Garden guard mission for its monthly pay, and the steward told him to report to Senior Sister Guo.

Zhao Feng began his three-month guard duty at the No. 5 Medicine Garden and learned its layout while working with assistants Bai Yong and Yao Chen. After hearing a suspicious sound during a night patrol, he silenced the assistants and descended from the bamboo tower to investigate.

• Guo Ying warned Zhao Feng that guarding the North Mountain Herb Garden required strict attention and assigned him three months of duty.
• The North Mountain steward posted Zhao Feng to the No. 5 Medicine Garden, where he met assistants Bai Yong and Yao Chen.
• Jiang Qi and Cao Qian visited Zhao Feng and explained that they supervised the neighboring No. 4 and No. 6 Medicine Gardens.
• Zhao Feng established a routine of training by day and patrolling the garden at night, memorizing its layout and herbs.
• While Zhao Feng stood watch with Bai Yong and Yao Chen, he heard something nearby, ordered them to be quiet, and descended the bamboo tower to investigate.

Zhao Feng caught Guo Ying sneaking into the medicine garden and survived her powerful counterattack. After Guo Ying announced she would leave on a month-long mission, Jiang Qi and Cao Qian plotted to steal valuable herbs and kill Zhao Feng before fleeing the sect.

• Zhao Feng heard someone outside the medicine garden, attacked the hidden figure, and discovered it was Guo Ying.
• Guo Ying concealed her shock that Zhao Feng had withstood her strike, warned the garden keepers to guard their plots, and left for an outside mission lasting over a month.
• Jiang Qi and Cao Qian privately discussed stealing herbs from the gardens while Guo Ying and other senior disciples were absent.
• Jiang Qi revealed that he and Cao Qian were notorious bandits planning to kill Zhao Feng, sell the stolen herbs, and escape.

Zhao Feng remained wary of Jiang Qi and Cao Qian while training at the herb garden. When Jiang Qi attacked Yao Chen and tried to steal the garden’s rare herbs, Zhao Feng intervened and left Jiang Qi injured in their first exchange.

• Zhao Feng assessed how his improved techniques could let him stand against an ordinary early Embracing Elixir Force practitioner and continued training in the cabin.
• During a night patrol, Yao Chen found Jiang Qi near the dragon blood grass and was killed when Jiang Qi struck him from behind.
• Zhao Feng confronted Jiang Qi as he dragged Yao Chen’s body away and discovered the couple planned to steal herbs and flee.
• Jiang Qi offered Zhao Feng a share of the stolen medicines if he joined them, then attacked him while Cao Qian fired a hidden flying needle.
• Zhao Feng deflected Cao Qian’s needle with his saber and met Jiang Qi’s punch with his own, sending Jiang Qi flying and making him spit blood.

Zhao Feng defeated Jiang Qi and Cao Qian after they tried to steal the sect’s treasure medicine, then killed Jiang Qi when he attempted to escape through the river. Hong Changzhi arrived and confirmed the couple’s theft, while Zhao Feng examined the money found in Jiang Qi’s room.

• Jiang Qi tried to persuade Zhao Feng to split the treasure medicine and flee with him and Cao Qian, then attacked when Zhao Feng refused.
• Zhao Feng fought off Jiang Qi and Cao Qian’s ambush while Bai Yong ran to raise the alarm; Zhao Feng killed Cao Qian before she could reach the signal flares.
• Jiang Qi fled toward the river, but Zhao Feng struck him into the water and later shot him with an arrow when he surfaced.
• Zhao Feng retrieved Jiang Qi’s corpse and reported the theft to Hong Changzhi, who found harvested treasure medicine and half-spirit herbs in the couple’s rooms.
• Zhao Feng looked over the silver and Gold Banknotes found in Jiang Qi’s room and felt bitter.

After resolving the herb-field incident, Zhao Feng learned the Jasper Wave True Water Technique and returned to Beautiful Water Alley, where he received a summons from the Martial Suppression Bureau. At the secret Ink Fragrance Alley office, he joined eighteen Dark Guard agents and learned their intelligence-gathering mission and the Bureau’s main targets.

• Zhao Feng studied the Jasper Wave True Water Technique, reached beginner level, and considered replacing his crude Cloak Saber Technique with a more refined weapon art.
• The Nine Yang Gate rewarded Zhao Feng for the herb-garden incident, ended his assignment early, and gave him a year without required sect duties.
• Zhao Feng found a message ordering him to report to Ink Fragrance Alley on the seventeenth and burned it after reading.
• Wearing his disguise as Ink Eagle, Zhao Feng entered the Martial Suppression Bureau’s hidden office with his Black Iron Token.
• Xia Commandant introduced himself as the Dark Guard’s superior and named the Demonic Sect, the Northern Barbarians, and the Empress Dowager’s faction as primary targets.
• Xia Commandant ordered the eighteen agents to gather intelligence on the streets, sects, and great clans, promising rewards for meritorious service.

Zhao Feng continued gathering intelligence for the Martial Suppression Bureau while his martial skills improved, and Lin Ziwei told him his family was safe after visiting them. When the Azure Mountain Four Tigers robbed a Four Seas Trading House caravan and demanded a ransom, Zhao Feng prepared to help Lin Ziwei recover the goods and hostages.

• Xia Commandant explained that the Dark Guards had to gather intelligence for Great Yan, and Zhao Feng spent the following month reporting on the Nine Yang Gate.
• Zhao Feng practiced the Eight Extremes Fist and found he could now unleash its third layer of fist force.
• Lin Ziwei told Zhao Feng that his family in Big Stone County was well and warned him that Blood Lotus Sect followers were secretly spreading through the region.
• Ge Steward reported that the Azure Mountain Four Tigers had robbed the Four Seas Trading House caravan at Gray Camel Ridge, killing one consecrated attendant, wounding another, and taking goods and hostages.
• Lin Ziwei learned that Qi Consecrated could not return in time and considered seeking help from a great sect, while Zhao Feng offered to assist her.

Zhao Feng rode alone to Gray Camel Ridge to rescue the Four Seas Trading House’s captives and ambush the Azure Mountain Four Tigers. He killed the guards and many bandits, but Big Tiger charged at him after Zhao Feng wounded Fourth Brother.

• Zhao Feng persuaded Lin Ziwei to give him a horse and map, then rode alone toward the bandits’ stronghold.
• The Azure Mountain Four Tigers discussed their plan to ransom the captives, sell the stolen goods, and flee to Southern Yue.
• Zhao Feng silently approached Gray Camel Ridge and shot both guards in the watchtower.
• Zhao Feng ambushed the Azure Mountain Four Tigers with four arrows, grazing Big Tiger and wounding Fourth Brother.
• Zhao Feng shot down many charging bandits, causing the rest to scatter, while Big Tiger charged at him.

Zhao Feng defeated the four Tiger brothers and slaughtered their bandits at the stronghold. He left Big Tiger alive, bound him, and demanded to know where the stolen goods and money were hidden.

• Zhao Feng knocked Big Tiger, Second Tiger, and Third Tiger from the air, then pinned Third Tiger to the ground with his spear.
• Zhao Feng wounded Big Tiger with a triple-force punch and killed more bandits with his saber as they attacked.
• Zhao Feng broke Second Tiger’s saber and killed him with a body-check, then knocked Fourth Tiger dead with Twin Winds Pour Into the Ears.
• Zhao Feng twisted and broke Big Tiger’s arm, bound him, and demanded the locations of the stolen goods and money.