Chapter Summaries

Zhao Feng rescued the Four Seas Trading House’s caravan goods and learned the bandits planned to sell them to the Northern Barbarians, while Lin Ziwei faced rumors accusing her father of collusion. The chapter ended as a weak voice called to Lin Ziwei from outside.

• Zhao Feng found a letter proving an insider at the Four Seas Trading House had colluded with the Azure Mountain Four Tigers, then freed the surviving guards and sent them to report back.
• Zhao Feng recovered the stolen goods and forced Big Tiger to reveal that he planned to sell them to the Northern Barbarians.
• Lin Ziwei heard rumors accusing her father of arranging the robbery and suspected a trading-house insider was trying to destroy her family.
• Wu Yue and Tang Yunshu urged Lin Ziwei to hire Xie Qiu and Jiang Chen to recover the goods, but she chose to wait for Zhao Feng.
• A weak voice called to Lin Ziwei from outside the room.

He Guard reported that Zhao Feng had defeated the bandits at Gray Camel Ridge and recovered the Four Seas Trading House’s goods, exposing an internal betrayal. After helping uncover a Northern Barbarian spy network, Zhao Feng received the treasure spear Mountain Burner from Lin Ziwei.

• He Guard told Lin Ziwei that Zhao Feng had slain three of the Azure Mountain Four Tigers, captured their leader, and secured the stolen goods.
• Lin Ziwei went to Gray Camel Ridge, thanked Zhao Feng, and learned from his letter that insiders had colluded with the bandits; Zhao Feng handed the captured Big Tiger to Xia Commandant for questioning.
• News of the betrayal spread through Prefecture City, and Lin Ziwei’s side purged its traitors and gained control of the rival’s branches.
• Zhao Feng asked Lin Ziwei to help him find a fire-element treasure spear, while the Martial Suppression Bureau later uncovered a Northern Barbarian hideout and awarded Ink Eagle ten merit points.
• Lin Ziwei presented Zhao Feng with the fire-element Mountain Burner spear, and he accepted it as her gift.

Zhao Feng continued cultivating and learned that his rising pill and food costs were nearing a thousand taels a month. At the Inner Gate, Mu Xuanzhou tested his disciples’ progress, and Zhao Feng was called to demonstrate just as the chapter ended.

• Zhao Feng reviewed his improved martial arts and cultivation, noting that the panel could hide techniques that had reached their maximum.
• Zhao Feng arrived at the Inner Gate’s Martial Arts Arena, where disciples discussed the Imperial Court’s new Martial Suppression Bureau and its crackdown on sects tied to the Blood Lotus Sect.
• Zhao Feng asked Hong Changzhi why Mu Xuanzhou had summoned them, and Hong Changzhi said their master was conducting a routine progress test.
• Fang Han, Guo Ying, and Hong Changzhi displayed their Yang Qi True Qi, and Mu Xuanzhou praised Fang Han while criticizing Guo Ying’s lack of progress.
• The Transformation Force disciples demonstrated their cultivation, but many showed little or no yang qi; Mu Xuanzhou then called Zhao Feng forward to demonstrate.

Zhao Feng reached transformation force peak, declined Hong Changzhi’s invitation to explore the dangerous Bone-Eating Shoal, and stayed focused on steady cultivation. At the Eight Extremes Gate Inner Gate Tournament, Liu Yang impressed the spectators, while Huo Yao defeated Pan Jie decisively.

• Zhao Feng demonstrated his transformation force peak cultivation to Mu Xuanzhou, who then took Qian Xun, Shen Rui, Wang Haibo, and Liu Yi inside for assessment.
• Hong Changzhi invited Zhao Feng to join him, Zhang Hao, and Li Yong on a trip to the Bone-Eating Shoal, but Zhao Feng declined because he had other matters to attend to.
• Spectators gathered for the Eight Extremes Gate Inner Gate Tournament, where Liu Yang drew attention and won two consecutive matches with ease.
• Lin Ziwei watched Liu Yang and compared him with Zhao Feng, deciding that Zhao Feng seemed steadier.
• Huo Yao faced Pan Jie in the tournament and beat him badly with her Eight Trigrams Palm before a deacon stopped the match.

Zhao Feng learned that Huo Yao had beaten Pan Jie, then advanced his Wind God Leg Technique and sought Mu Xuanzhou’s guidance on Pill Embracement. After a month of preparation, he condensed elixir qi in his dantian and began the second step of refining it with gathered yang qi.

• Inner disciples discussed Huo Yao’s attack on Pan Jie, who vowed revenge against her and Zhao Feng.
• Lin Ziwei told Zhao Feng that Huo Yao had thrashed Pan Jie, and Zhao Feng kept Pan Jie on his list of grudges.
• Zhao Feng completed the Wind God Leg Technique and gained the limit-breaking trait Wind-Controlling Escape.
• Zhao Feng offered Mu Xuanzhou a five-hundred-year-old fo-ti root, and Mu Xuanzhou explained the two hurdles of Pill Embracement.
• Zhao Feng spent a month cultivating with high-grade pills, then condensed his qi and blood into a mass of elixir qi in his dantian.
• Zhao Feng began gathering qi to refine yang qi and fuse it with his elixir qi.

Zhao Feng broke through to Pill Embracement, stabilized his cultivation, and greatly strengthened his body by perfecting the Golden Bell Shield. He entered the Transmission Pavilion’s second floor to choose martial arts manuals, but found it disappointing at first glance.

• Zhao Feng fused elixir qi and yang qi to achieve Pill Embracement, then replenished his energy and slept.
• After three days of recovery, Zhao Feng tempered his Golden Bell Shield to perfection and accidentally smashed through his courtyard wall and his neighbor’s wall.
• Zhao Feng went to the Sect to report his breakthrough, but found Mu Xuanzhou and his senior disciples absent.
• Zhao Feng encountered Zhang Hao and Li Yong, who bragged about their gains from the Bone-Eating Shoal, but he ignored them and entered the Transmission Pavilion.
• The transmission elder verified Zhao Feng’s Pill Embracement cultivation and allowed him onto the second floor, where Zhao Feng was dumbfounded by what he saw.

Zhao Feng chose the True Yang Cotton Palm and Bone-Shift Shape-Changing Art, then revealed that he had broken through to pill embracement. His advancement stunned the Nine Yang Gate disciples, and Hong Changzhi said he would notify their absent master.

• Zhao Feng selected copies of the True Yang Cotton Palm and Bone-Shift Shape-Changing Art and paid eight thousand taels for them.
• Zhao Feng left the Transmission Pavilion and headed to the Inner Gate's Martial Arts Arena, followed by Zhang Hao and Li Yong.
• Hong Changzhi arrived at the arena and declined disciples' requests to lead another trip to the Bone-Eating Shoal, citing its dangers and strange recent calm.
• Hong Changzhi noticed Zhao Feng's true qi and asked whether he had broken through to embracing elixir force.
• Zhao Feng said he had broken through two days earlier, astonishing the disciples and making him the Nine Yang Gate's fourth pill embracement disciple.
• Hong Changzhi said he would find a way to notify their master, who was away visiting friends.

After Zhao Feng broke through to pill embracement, Mu Xuanzhou examined him, made him his fourth direct disciple, and advised him to cultivate patiently. Zhao Feng tested his strengthened true qi and considered whether he could combine it with the water-element true qi from another technique.

• Mu Xuanzhou inspected Zhao Feng, confirmed his orthodox techniques and solid foundation, and wondered whether his rapid breakthrough came from exceptional fortune.
• Mu Xuanzhou accepted Zhao Feng as his fourth direct disciple and told him to stabilize his cultivation and avoid impatience.
• Zhao Feng returned to his courtyard and used yang qi true qi to empower his spear techniques, destroying the courtyard wall with a strike.
• Zhao Feng assessed how opening meridians and acupoints would strengthen his cultivation and noted that his Eight Extremes force had fused with his true qi.
• Zhao Feng considered cultivating the Jasper Wave True Water Technique alongside his yang qi true qi and wondered whether the two kinds of true qi could coexist or fuse.

Zhao Feng notified Lin Ziwei and Huo Yao that he had reached Embracing Elixir Force, shocking them and those around them. The Eight Extremes Gate celebrated Liu Yang’s breakthrough, while Huo Yao told Song Zhi that Zhao Feng had also advanced.

• Zhao Feng decided to pursue stronger spear and saber techniques through Martial Suppression Bureau missions after strengthening his cultivation.
• Ge Steward told Lin Ziwei that Zhao Feng had broken through to Embracing Elixir Force and become Sect Master Mu’s fourth Personal Disciple, so she hurried to prepare a congratulatory visit.
• Wu Yue and Tang Yunshu realized Lin Ziwei had recognized Zhao Feng’s potential before they had.
• The Eight Extremes Gate celebrated Liu Yang’s breakthrough into Pill Embracement and discussed the Nine Yang Gate’s prospects at the upcoming Five Great Sects Gathering.
• Huo Yao received Zhao Feng’s letter and told Song Zhi that he had reached Embracing Elixir Force.

After Zhao Feng reached pill embracement at the Nine Yang Gate, the Eight Extremes Gate’s leaders learned that they had rejected him and regretted their decision. Zhao Feng continued training while the sect punished Pan Jie and improved Zhao Feng’s benefits.

• Huo Yao believed Zhao Feng’s letter about reaching pill embracement, but Song Zhi dismissed the claim because of his fifth-grade root bone.
• The Eight Extremes Gate’s court masters discussed the Martial Suppression Bureau’s demands and learned that Zhao Feng had reached pill embracement before Liu Yang.
• Yu Ruoyun and the court masters regretted rejecting Zhao Feng, while Song Zhi argued that his advancement might be limited by his root bone.
• Yin Zheng assigned Pan Jie to guard the dangerous Blackstone Mine for three years and forbade him from returning to the sect.
• Zhao Feng continued training at the Nine Yang Gate and noted that his monthly pills, salary, and exotic beast meat had increased.

After three months of cultivation, Zhao Feng accepted a Martial Suppression Bureau mission to investigate suspected Demonic Sect activity at the Potter’s Field. He disguised himself as a refugee and approached the ruined temple outside the city, where other refugees drove him away.

• Zhao Feng continued strengthening his qi and blood and tempering his body, then advanced several techniques during three months of cultivation.
• Zhao Feng visited Xia Commandant and accepted a grade C mission to investigate suspected Demonic Sect activity at the Potter’s Field.
• Xia Commandant gave Zhao Feng a Wind-Listening Tube and warned him to prioritize his safety while gathering information.
• Zhao Feng used the Bone-Shift Shape-Changing Art and ragged clothes to disguise himself as a sickly refugee.
• Zhao Feng reached the ruined temple near the Potter’s Field, but refugees chased him away, so he headed toward the graves.

Zhao Feng discovered a Blood Lotus Sect pill-refining hideout beneath a graveyard and learned that a city medicine shop was supplying its controlled ingredients. He reported the hideout to Xia Commandant, who planned to ambush it when the final batch arrived in three days.

• Zhao Feng spent half a month posing as a refugee in Potter's Field while secretly watching a suspicious refugee.
• Zhao Feng followed three refugees to a grave, found a concealed entrance, and descended far enough to overhear the Blood Lotus Sect discussing its pill production and ingredient shipments.
• Zhao Feng learned that the hideout was making Blood Baleful Pills and that a city medicine shop was supplying its controlled ingredients.
• Zhao Feng concealed the entrance, returned to the surface, resumed his disguise, and went to report what he had found to Xia Commandant.
• Xia Commandant recognized the discovery as a major case and proposed guarding the entrance to capture the sect members after the final ingredients arrived in three days.

After the Martial Suppression Guards raided the black market and exposed the destruction of a Blood Lotus Sect stronghold, Zhao Feng spent his merit points on the Overlord Sun-Splitting Spear and began training with it. Meanwhile, unrest gathered among Changning Prefectural City’s factions, leaving the city close to an eruption.

• The Martial Suppression Guards sealed the black market, arrested its vendors and brokers, and seized a black pill from a suspected culprit.
• News of the raid on Potter's Field and the black market crackdown spread, putting the Five Great Sects, the Three Great Lineages, and other factions on alert.
• Zhao Feng asked Xia Commandant about merit costs and chose the Overlord Sun-Splitting Spear, with the missing points counted as a debt.
• Zhao Feng studied the spear art and began practicing, reaching Beginner proficiency after a night of training.
• Hidden tensions continued to build across Changning Prefectural City as Zhao Feng trained, unaware that the situation was nearing a breaking point.

Zhao Feng and his fellow disciples learned that the Hu Family was accused of colluding with the Blood Lotus Sect, and Mu Xuanzhou warned that the investigation might have been manipulated. Two days later, the Martial Suppression Bureau and the Wang and Feng families attacked the Hu Residence, where the Hu Family’s fighters revealed they had taken Blood Baleful Pills.

• Zhao Feng joined Fang Han, Guo Ying, and Hong Changzhi as Mu Xuanzhou warned them to cut ties with the Hu Family ahead of the Martial Suppression Bureau’s action.
• Mu Xuanzhou said the Hu Family might have been exposed through deliberate leaks, though the family was likely doomed regardless.
• The Martial Suppression Bureau published evidence accusing the Hu Family of selling restricted secret elixirs to the Blood Lotus Sect and ordered Prefecture City’s factions to await deployment.
• Qianhu Fan ordered the Wang and Feng families to help attack the Hu Residence after Hu Wanxiong refused to surrender.
• The attackers discovered that the Hu Family had far more Pill Embracement experts than expected, and Qianhu Fan recognized their Blood Baleful Pills.

After the Hu Family’s ties to the Demonic Sect were exposed, the Martial Suppression Bureau and the Five Great Sects crushed the family and prepared to attack Flying Fish Island. Zhao Feng headed ahead to guard the escape route at Thousand Leaf Marsh.

• Qianhu Fan revealed the Hu Family’s Blood Baleful Pills, prompting the Five Great Sects to join the attack and overwhelm the family.
• Zhao Feng stayed out of the looting, disguised himself, and traveled downstream toward Thousand Leaf Marsh to intercept anyone fleeing Flying Fish Island.
• Hu Wanxiong was captured, and Qianhu Fan threatened the Hu Family before identifying Flying Fish Island as the Demonic Sect’s likely hideout.
• Qianhu Fan issued a demon extermination order and offered the spoils from Flying Fish Island and Hu Family properties to those who joined the assault.
• Zhao Feng reached Thousand Leaf Marsh, paid the skipper to leave, and leaped into the water.

Zhao Feng hid in Thousand Leaf Marsh and waited as the Martial Suppression Guard and allied sects attacked the Blood Lotus Sect’s branch on Flying Fish Island. The assault uncovered a storehouse of treasure but missed the branch’s elites, while Zhao Feng watched the river for the next stage of his plan.

• Zhao Feng swam to Thousand Leaf Marsh, concealed himself in the reeds, and waited for the attack to begin.
• The Martial Suppression Guard and allied factions stormed Flying Fish Island, where they found Blood Lotus Sect and Hu Family fighters but not the branch master or the sect’s elites.
• Wei Tieyi concluded that the island was not the real branch, while the attackers seized chests of wealth and supplies from an underground cavern.
• Hu Zhanhao accused the sects of hypocrisy before they killed him and slaughtered the remaining Hu Family members.
• Qianhu Fan ordered the fighters to hunt down survivors and promised rewards for capturing the branch master or another important figure.
• Zhao Feng watched the distant flames and waited with his eyes fixed on the river.

Zhao Feng ambushed a swift boat carrying Hu Weiliang and his fleeing companions near Thousand Leaf Marsh, killing all six sailors and wounding Uncle Fu. After revealing himself as a Martial Suppression Guard, he faced Hu Weiliang and Uncle Fu together and met their sword attacks with his spear.

• Zhao Feng waited in the reeds along a likely escape route from Flying Fish Island and spotted a boat carrying Hu Weiliang, his wife, and Uncle Fu.
• Hu Weiliang planned to hide in Thousand Leaf Marsh before continuing south and vowed to restore the Hu Family and avenge his grandfather and father.
• Zhao Feng shot all six sailors with his bow as the boat neared the marsh, then injured Uncle Fu when he charged across the river.
• Zhao Feng identified himself as a Martial Suppression Guard, prompting Hu Weiliang and Uncle Fu to attack him together.
• Zhao Feng unleashed the Overlord Spear Technique and clashed with both men's sword attacks.

Zhao Feng killed Hu Weiliang and Uncle Fu, took their valuables and treasure armor, and prepared to return to the Prefecture City. When a powerful Black-Clad Elder attacked, Zhao Feng escaped into the river and wondered what was happening at Flying Fish Island.

• Zhao Feng defeated Hu Weiliang and killed Uncle Fu, then struck Hu Weiliang into the river and retrieved his corpse.
• Zhao Feng found Hu Weiliang's treasure armor and five thousand taels in gold banknotes, and took the armor and money.
• Zhao Feng hid the two treasure swords, disposed of the bodies, and took Hu Weiliang's boat toward the Prefecture City.
• A Black-Clad Elder attacked Zhao Feng with astral force and smashed his boat, but Zhao Feng used Wind-Controlling Escape to dive into the river.
• The Black-Clad Elder said he had memorized Zhao Feng's aura and blamed Pockmarked Huang for letting the Five Great Sects and the Martial Suppression Bureau find Flying Fish Island.
• Zhao Feng climbed ashore after the attackers left and regretted becoming careless, wondering why an astral force grandmaster was at Flying Fish Island.

After surviving the fight on the river, Zhao Feng returned to the Prefecture City and received an official promotion, while the Blood Lotus Sect’s Elder Ma confirmed that Chu Fan’s new dantian had fused. Mu Xuanzhou then told Zhao Feng that the Five Great Sects would decide how to divide the Hu Family’s seized properties at their annual Exchange Gathering.

• Zhao Feng reflected on his narrow escape, retrieved his Precious Spear, and paddled toward shore while believing his Human Skin Mask had concealed his identity from the Blood Lotus Sect elder.
• In Huaiyuan Prefecture, Elder Ma examined Chu Fan and confirmed that the Foundation-Seizing Method had fused a new dantian; Chu Fan thanked his master and anticipated taking revenge.
• Wang Ling promoted Zhao Feng to Eighth-Rank Imperial Insult-Defying Commandant and gave him his official documents, badge, and robes.
• At the Nine Yang Gate, Li Yong and Zhang Hao told Zhao Feng about the treasures seized on Flying Fish Island, but their small share reinforced his belief that avoiding the looting had been wise.
• Mu Xuanzhou told Zhao Feng that the Five Great Sects planned to allocate the Hu Family’s former properties and territories at their annual Exchange Gathering.

Zhao Feng mastered True Yang Cotton Palm and considered hiding his second strand of true qi before traveling with the Nine Yang Gate delegation to the Five Great Sects' Exchange Gathering. The group arrived at the Divine Martial Manor, where Zhao Feng saw the sect's imposing grounds and Martial Arts Arena.

• Zhao Feng practiced True Yang Cotton Palm until he reached minor mastery, which also helped advance his Nine Yang Orthodox Meridian Formula.
• Zhao Feng realized he possessed a second strand of true qi from the Jasper Wave True Water Technique and decided to conceal it to avoid suspicion.
• Zhao Feng changed into his Nine Yang Gate robes, took the Mountain Burner Great Spear, and joined his master and fellow disciples on the journey to the Divine Martial Manor.
• Mu Xuanzhou and the Nine Yang Gate delegation arrived at the Divine Martial Manor and entered under the guidance of a welcoming elder.
• Fang Han explained that the Divine Martial Manor's control of greater territory and resources had strengthened it, while the Nine Yang Gate's limited resources kept it weaker.
• Zhao Feng and the delegation reached the Divine Martial Manor's Martial Arts Arena.