Chapter Summaries

Zhou An mastered Eye of Insight, reunited with Yu Hang, and continued training the Butchering Ox Technique while learning more about Indulgence and the succession struggle. After detecting an Indulgence watcher with his new skill, he kept grinding until his Butchering Ox Technique reached a breakthrough point.

• Zhou An chose Eye of Insight and gained stronger reconnaissance and the ability to break illusions.
• Zhou An traced a rumor about his visits to the Imperial Music Academy to Yu Hang, who arrived and explained his work as County Magistrate, Indulgence’s schemes, and the coming Crown Prince selection.
• Yu Hang left for the capital, and Zhou An focused on raising the Butchering Ox Technique while carving tofu.
• Zhou An used Eye of Insight to find an Indulgence agent monitoring him through an ordinary stall owner, but the agent left without fighting.
• After many more days of training, Zhou An finished carving the tofu and saw a message that a new plot was being arranged while his strength would be raised.

After choosing the Butcher Dismembering Human Knife Technique, Zhou An sensed his qi recovering in rhythm with his heartbeat and sought a chef’s advice on improving Object Juggling. He discovered a new way to raise its proficiency, arranged an uninterrupted supply of cooking materials, and then learned that the Hengtong Merchant Guild believed he had published a medical book.

• Zhou An chose the Butcher Dismembering Human Knife Technique, whose Level 6 advancement improved his speed, precision, and sharpness while making his qi recover in rhythm with his heartbeat.
• Zhou An went to Ting Yun Prefecture’s largest restaurant and asked Yellow Chef how to improve his cooking and Wok Flipping.
• Yellow Chef explained that precise control of heat within each part of the food could improve the skill, and Zhou An gained Object Juggling proficiency by cooking meat to varying degrees of doneness.
• Zhou An returned home and practiced through the night, then realized he needed a steady supply of firewood and ingredients.
• Zhou An asked Zhou Qingyun to arrange daily deliveries from the Hengtong Merchant Guild, and Zhou Qingyun also handed him money as his share of a medical book’s sales.
• Zhou An denied publishing any medical book and demanded that Zhou Qingyun explain what he meant.

Zhou An learned that Medicine King Valley had published his medical methods under his name, while Han Shan recounted how the previous dynasty’s emperor had crippled Great Chu’s healers. In the capital, Yu Hang met Yuan Qingyi, who was interested in Zhou An, and Yuan Qingyi told Ye Shuang that Zhou An had solved the mystery he left behind.

• Zhou An discovered that Medicine King Valley had arranged for the Hengtong Merchant Guild to publish a medical book under his name, and he collected a special edition from Han Shan at Renxin Medical Clinic.
• Han Shan explained that the previous dynasty’s emperor had buried many healers alive, leaving Great Chu’s medical profession weakened.
• Zhou An arranged for steady deliveries of firewood and vegetables so he could grind proficiency without interruption.
• Yu Hang arrived in the capital, corrected County Magistrates who were disparaging him, and attended training about rectifying problems in the counties.
• Yuan Qingyi approached Yu Hang, asked about Zhou An, and left after deciding Zhou An’s character was sound; Yu Hang planned to warn Zhou An through the Hengtong Merchant Guild.
• Yuan Qingyi entered the Surveillance Division, where Ye Shuang cautioned him against questioning people alone, and he revealed that Zhou An had solved a mystery he had left behind.

Yuan Qingyi returned to life and discussed his plans for Zhou An with the National Teacher and Eunuch Wei, while Zhou An raised the Wok Suppression Art to level six and began training his Eye of Insight. The chapter ended with Zhou An receiving two letters from the capital.

• Ye Shuang left the Surveillance Division, and Yuan Qingyi broke into the National Teacher’s room before the National Teacher confronted him about his reckless cultivation of the Spirit Communication Divine Medicine.
• The National Teacher warned Yuan Qingyi not to interfere with Zhou An, but Eunuch Wei arrived and permitted him to help as long as he did not harm Zhou An or bully him.
• Zhou An chose the Wok Suppression Art, raising it to level six and gaining the Sealing attribute, while his Qi Core also changed.
• After taking a break, Zhou An began improving the Eye of Insight by studying people’s expressions and mannerisms, and its proficiency increased.
• Two visitors arrived at Zhou An’s home, one from the Hengtong Merchant Guild and one from the Demon Suppression Division, each carrying a letter addressed to him from the capital.

Zhou An received letters identifying the mysterious man in white as Yuan Qingyi, then encountered an anomaly and learned that a Bizarre Assembly was appearing in Ting Yun Prefecture. After killing a bizarre peddler and bringing its finger bone to the Demon Suppression Division, Zhou An heard that people in the profession would be drawn into the Assembly, where dangers and opportunities awaited; Deng Song suddenly spat blood and called him “Formless.”

• Zhou An read letters from Yu Hang and Ye Shuang, identified the man in white as Yuan Qingyi, and suspected he was the male corpse Zhou An had once cured.
• While observing passersby, Zhou An saw Daoist Deng Song and the Demon Suppression Division rescue a girl whose hands bore anomaly residue; she revealed that she had bought human finger bones at a strange market in a cave.
• That night, Zhou An killed a bizarre peddler that attacked him and found a finger bone among its ashes, then went to the Demon Suppression Division to ask about it.
• Prefect Yan and Deng Song explained that the finger bone granted entry to the Bizarre Assembly, a dangerous market that offered genuine cultivation knowledge and would draw nearby people in the profession inside when it opened.
• As Zhou An turned to leave the Demon Suppression Division, Deng Song spat blood, pointed at him, and exclaimed, “You... Formless!”

Zhou An learned that Deng Song’s unauthorized physiognomy had revealed him as a Person of No Form, then continued improving his Eye of Insight as the Bizarre Assembly drew crowds and strange incidents to Ting Yun Prefecture. After saving Chen Zhufeng from a saber wound, Zhou An learned that the Saber Maniac, a traitor of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion, was pursuing him, just as a blood-red saber aura burst into the room.

• Deng Song explained that Azure Cloud Temple’s records called Zhou An a Person of No Form, and Prefect Yan ordered him punished for examining Zhou An without permission.
• Zhou An left the Demon Suppression Division, continued grinding his Eye of Insight, and raised it to level four as people arrived in Ting Yun Prefecture for the Bizarre Assembly.
• A bizarre creature attacked Zhao Si’s household, but Demon Suppression Division members arrived in time to kill it and save Zhao Si’s family.
• Chen Zhufeng of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion collapsed in Zhou An’s courtyard with a severe saber wound, and Zhou An treated him and brought him around.
• Chen Zhufeng revealed that the Saber Maniac, a traitor of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion, was pursuing him, and a blood-red saber aura flew into the room toward him.

Zhou An defeated Saber Maniac, an Indulgence member pursuing Chen Zhufeng, and brought him to the Demon Suppression Division, where his interrogation revealed Indulgence's link to the Bizarre Assembly and its Spirit Communication Speaker. After Chen Zhufeng decided to join the Bizarre Assembly, Zhou An began training his Eye of Insight, but the assembly opened and pulled him into a forest.

• Zhou An blocked Saber Maniac's attack on Chen Zhufeng, then defeated him and took him to the Demon Suppression Division for interrogation.
• Prefect Yan learned from Saber Maniac's information that Indulgence had sent its Spirit Communication Speaker to influence events surrounding the Bizarre Assembly.
• Chen Zhufeng asked Zhou An how to improve his saber skills and decided to participate in the Bizarre Assembly to hone them.
• Zhou An discovered that closely observing people's movements increased his Eye of Insight proficiency.
• The Bizarre Assembly opened while Zhou An was training, pulling him into a forest surrounded by other participants.

Zhou An entered the Bizarre Assembly, destroyed its outer horde of bizarre entities, and began clearing stalls to collect their goods and cultivation methods. He eventually encountered the bizarre form of County Magistrate Chen and sensed an unusual presence just as he prepared to attack.

• Zhang Tie explained that entrants appeared at random and had to defeat the bizarre entities outside the Bizarre Assembly before entering.
• Zhou An cut down more than a thousand bizarre entities with a single blade technique, then entered the assembly with Zhang Tie and the others.
• After learning that visitors had to trade at a stall to remain safe, Zhou An killed stall guardians and collected their goods and cultivation methods, clearing an entire street.
• The Spirit Communication Speaker hypnotized a trade professional and ordered him to obey, then went searching for Zhou An.
• Zhou An found County Magistrate Chen guarding a stall that displayed the Water Burial Method, and Chen summoned his three wives while demanding merit.
• As Zhou An prepared to attack County Magistrate Chen, he sensed an unusual presence and his eyes turned golden.

Zhou An discovered that the Bizarre Assembly’s true body was watching him and that he could cure people controlled by Indulgence’s Spirit Communication Speaker. As Zhou An removed the Speaker’s influence, the Speaker used a Desperate Survival Pill and opened three streets, awakening a powerful presence that appeared before Zhou An and the others.

• Zhou An saw the Bizarre Assembly’s true body watching him, confirmed that other people could not see its eyes, and decided to wait out the Assembly’s time limit while searching for Indulgence’s Spirit Communication Speaker.
• Zhou An found Chen Zhufeng under the Spirit Communication Speaker’s control, identified the Speaker, and used his qi to remove the bewitchment and restore Chen Zhufeng.
• Zhou An realized his Medical Gu Seed let him treat the Speaker’s control as an illness and began curing other controlled people, while the Spirit Communication Speaker felt his influence being destroyed.
• The Spirit Communication Speaker took a Desperate Survival Pill and opened the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Streets, causing a tremor and awakening a powerful presence.
• Zhou An, Zhang Tie, Chen Zhufeng, and others gathered as the cold, sinister aura contracted and became tangible before them.

Zhou An destroyed the blood-red arm, which wielded the Gold Burial Method, and learned that Indulgence had planted the Five Elements Burial Art throughout the Bizarre Assembly. After the Spirit Communication Speaker surrendered and explained the scheme, a flash of light struck him as he began revealing how Zhou An could stop it.

• A blood-red arm formed after three streets of tradespeople and anomalies died, then attacked Zhou An with waves of sinister energy.
• Zhou An blocked the arm’s attacks with his Frost Crystal Blade and Frost Crystal Pot, recognized its Gold Burial Method, and destroyed it with the Wok Suppression Art.
• Zhou An freed people controlled by the Spirit Communication Speaker and continued searching the streets while studying books from the Bizarre Assembly.
• The Spirit Communication Speaker surrendered to Zhou An, proved his identity by controlling a tradesperson, and offered intelligence about Indulgence.
• The Spirit Communication Speaker explained that Indulgence had separated a cultivator of the Five Elements Burial Art into body parts and hidden them throughout the Bizarre Assembly to create a destructive bizarre entity.
• The Spirit Communication Speaker began explaining how Zhou An could release and destroy the entity part by part, but a flash of light made his expression stiffen.

Zhou An destroyed the Spirit Communication Speaker’s transformation and learned that a hidden Pill Demon had used him as bait. The Pill Demon, Li Ruofeng, gathered the Five Elements Burial Art into a bizarre body, but Zhou An killed him effortlessly and left onlookers wondering whether he could even slay an Innate expert.

• The Spirit Communication Speaker transformed after consuming a Pill Demon’s pill, but Zhou An destroyed the monster that emerged from him.
• Zhang Tie explained that Pill Demons refined pills using human flesh, and Zhou An deduced that another member of Indulgence had killed the Spirit Communication Speaker to hide their presence.
• Li Ruofeng revealed that he had used bizarre entities as catalysts to attach the Five Elements Burial Art’s body parts to himself, then unleashed the burial methods across the Bizarre Assembly.
• Li Ruofeng absorbed the bizarre head and limbs, forming a body infused with the Five Elements Burial Art, and challenged Zhou An after claiming his strength exceeded an ordinary First-Rate Expert’s by nearly fivefold.
• Zhou An’s initial slash shattered Li Ruofeng’s five-colored barrier, and Zhou An then summoned ten colossal blades that overwhelmed and killed him.
• The fleeing practitioners witnessed Zhou An’s attack and declared that he was invincible among First-Rate Experts and might even be able to slay an Innate expert.

After the Bizarre Assembly ended, Zhou An raised his Eye of Insight to level five and returned to Ting Yun Prefecture, only to be followed home by a strange Black-Clothed Woman linked to the Assembly. The next morning, a smiling middle-aged man appeared at his door and asked about Zhou An’s relationship with Ye Shuang.

• Zhou An emerged from the ruins after killing Li Ruofeng, then declined Chen Zhufeng’s invitation to visit Heavenly Saber Pavilion and spent the remaining days observing tradespeople to raise his Eye of Insight.
• Zhou An reached level five with the Eye of Insight, gaining stronger investigative and illusion-breaking abilities, and decided to focus next on raising the Fusion Forging Method.
• The Bizarre Assembly ended, and Zhou An saw its watching eyes before returning to Ting Yun Prefecture with Zhang Tie; Chen Zhufeng left to continue his trial.
• That night, a Black-Clothed Woman appeared beside Zhou An’s bed, and he cut her down, but the next morning her face emerged from his shadow before vanishing again.
• Zhou An set out to consult the Demon Suppression Division about the strange entity, but a middle-aged man appeared outside his door and asked what relationship Zhou An had with Ye Shuang.

Yuan Qingyi visited Zhou An, gave him a flower to suppress the curse in his shadow, and delivered the Emperor’s secret order transferring him to the Maple Forest Province Artisan Bureau to support the Third Prince. After receiving the official imperial edict, Zhou An learned that Eunuch Qian had a message from Eunuch Wei.

• Yuan Qingyi introduced himself as the National Teacher’s junior martial brother and explained that he had been revived thanks to Zhou An and was visiting through a clone.
• Yuan Qingyi identified the entity in Zhou An’s shadow as a curse connected to the Bizarre Assembly and gave Zhou An a Clear Heart Flower that suppressed it.
• Yuan Qingyi delivered the Emperor’s secret order transferring Zhou An to lead the Maple Forest Province Artisan Bureau and asking him to support the Third Prince in exchange for access to secret records.
• Yuan Qingyi gave Zhou An the Spirit Communication Divine Medicine, one of the Eight Unique Skills, and then departed.
• Zhou An spent two days practicing the Fusion Forging Method and thinking about how to remove the curse before Eunuch Qian arrived with the official imperial edict.
• After delivering the edict, Eunuch Qian told Zhou An that Eunuch Wei had sent him a message.

Zhou An traveled to Maple Forest Province, where he took up his new post and received confidential books from the Demon Suppression Division. After reading a book about curses, he resolved to make the Black-Clothed Woman his next skill.

• Eunuch Qian delivered Eunuch Wei's warning that Zhou An should not study Yuan Qingyi's book, and Zhou An spent his remaining days in Ting Yun Prefecture improving his Fusion Forging Method and bidding farewell to acquaintances.
• Zhou An left Ting Yun Prefecture in a carriage driven by a carriage handler and destroyed a group of anomalous escort runners blocking the road.
• The Black-Clothed Woman absorbed a blood droplet condensed from the defeated anomalies, prompting Zhou An to resolve to investigate her origins and find a way to deal with her.
• Zhou An arrived in Maple Forest Province, met Meng Jiang of Hengtong Merchant Guild, settled into a prepared residence, and inspected the Artisan Bureau under Zhao Dehai.
• Zhou An collected a locked box of confidential books from Director Hou Yuan at the Demon Suppression Division and opened it at home using his blood.
• Zhou An read the box's book on curses and decided that the Black-Clothed Woman would become his next skill.

Zhou An developed the Bathing skill to purify curses and tested it against the Black-Clothed Woman before agreeing to support the Third Prince. He sparred with the Third Prince’s guard Yang Jianxin, won their exchange, and returned to bathing to raise his skill further.

• Zhou An gained the Bathing skill by washing and discovered that its level-two Purification attribute disrupted the Black-Clothed Woman before he killed her again.
• Yang Jianxin arrived on the Third Prince’s behalf and asked Zhou An to support the Third Prince’s bid for the Crown Prince’s position; Zhou An agreed in exchange for access to the merchant guilds’ help.
• Yang Jianxin revealed his emotional bond with his sword, and Zhou An agreed to spar with him in the courtyard.
• Yang Jianxin used the Yang Family Sword Dance and his self-created Killing Sword against Zhou An, but lost after three exchanges and gained insight into his Sword Intent.
• Yang Jianxin left to reflect on the battle, while Zhou An returned to his wooden tub to continue raising Bathing toward a qualitative transformation.

Zhou An advanced his Holy Spirit skill and was summoned to the yamen after an escort master accused him of stealing missing cargo. The Demon Suppression Division took the suspicious accuser away, and State Governor Lu began explaining why Director Hou distrusted Zhou An, asking whether he had heard of the Mind Spirit Divine Method.

• Zhou An chose the Holy Spirit path, gained Dispel, and found that it could briefly hurt the Black-Clothed Woman but could not yet eliminate her.
• Zhou An divided his time between grinding the Fusion Forging Method, studying secret materials, and practicing Holy Spirit in his wooden tub.
• Zhou An learned that the Fu Guang Escort Agency's old head had died after a failed escort run, then recognized the agency as the group whose transformed members he had killed on the official road.
• Constables brought Zhou An to the yamen, where an escort master accused him of taking the missing goods based on a Yin Candle's aura.
• Zhou An challenged the escort master's unsupported accusation and suspected someone had sent him to target Zhou An; State Governor Lu ordered the man detained, and Director Hou arrived to take him away over a secret case.
• After Director Hou left, State Governor Lu told Zhou An that Director Hou did not trust him because of what he had encountered, then asked if Zhou An knew the Mind Spirit Divine Method.

Zhou An learned that Indulgence had used the Mind Spirit Divine Method to control an escort agency, then drove off an Indulgence recruiter who approached him. He raised Holy Spirit to level five and discovered it briefly restored humanity to the Black-Clothed Woman before returning to his forging practice, where a sudden commotion interrupted him.

• State Governor Lu explained that the Mind Spirit Divine Method could control people and alter memories, and linked its users to Indulgence and the Fu Guang Escort Agency.
• Zhou An caught a concealed martial artist following him, recognized him as the Mind Spirit Divine Method's master, and refused his offer to join Indulgence.
• Zhou An repeatedly used Holy Spirit on the Black-Clothed Woman to raise the skill to level five, then saw her briefly gain color and a trace of humanity under its light.
• Zhou An spent several days raising the Fusion Forging Method and reading the Emperor's materials while hearing that Demon Suppression Division officials had been wounded by a masked swordsman.
• Zhou An continued forging iron pieces at night, nearing level six in the Fusion Forging Method before a burst of commotion interrupted him.

Zhou An captured Yang Jianxin after discovering the Mind Spirit Divine Method had altered his memories, then used his Holy Spirit to dispel the effects and learned about an ambush near a ruined temple. He tracked down the scar-faced monk leading the attackers and confronted him, immune to the monk’s Mind Burst as he closed in.

• Yang Jianxin, controlled by the Mind Spirit Divine Method, attacked Zhou An, who defeated him and sealed him with the Wok Suppression Art.
• The Black-Clothed Woman’s appearance prompted Zhou An to use Holy Spirit on Yang Jianxin, dispelling the altered memories and restoring his awareness.
• Yang Jianxin told Zhou An that more than twenty First-Rate Experts had ambushed him and that a monk had used a glowing hand to control him in a ruined temple near the capital.
• Zhou An searched for the temple, followed the traces with the Eye of Insight, and caught up with the scar-faced monk and his fleeing group.
• Zhou An incapacitated the monk’s men and resisted the monk’s Mind Burst with Holy Spirit before confronting him.

Zhou An captured the Mind-Disturbing Monk and learned that Indulgence had used him as a pawn, while the true wielder of the Mind Spirit Divine Method remained hidden. The masked woman appeared to challenge Zhou An, then vanished, and Zhou An returned home to investigate Black-Clothed Woman’s growing independence from the Mind-Clearing Grass.

• Zhou An defeated the Mind-Disturbing Monk, took him to the Demon Suppression Division, and watched the dungeon warden interrogate him through the night.
• The Mind-Disturbing Monk revealed Indulgence’s attempt to use the Fu Guang Escort Agency and claimed that someone had forced the creator of the Eight Unique Skills to unite them and destroy the Hundred Techniques of the Miscellaneous Sect.
• Zhou An realized the Mind-Disturbing Monk could not remember how to cultivate the Mind Spirit Divine Method, and the hidden mastermind erased his consciousness before he could reveal more.
• A masked woman appeared as a mind body, admitted she wielded the Mind Spirit Divine Method, and threatened to return and control Zhou An.
• Black-Clothed Woman emerged farther from Zhou An’s shadow and showed hostility toward the masked woman, so Zhou An returned home and brought out the Mind-Clearing Grass to examine her.

Zhou An raised Body Forging and Sacred Spirit Demonic Body to level six, then used the latter to strengthen the Black-Clothed Woman’s humanity. She became able to remain outside the shadows, handle the Mind-Clearing Grass, and imitate Zhou An, leaving him stunned by her new behavior.

• Zhou An reached level six in the Fusion Forging Method, chose Body Forging, and discovered that it strengthened his defense and transformed his Qi Core.
• Zhou An continued using Holy Spirit on the Black-Clothed Woman, gradually solidifying her humanity while Indulgence remained hidden across Maple Forest Province.
• Zhou An raised Sacred Spirit Demonic Body to level six, gained the ability to summon a powerful white phantom, and used the skill on the Black-Clothed Woman.
• The Black-Clothed Woman’s vacant, resentful gaze changed to confusion, and she began wandering around Zhou An before vanishing whenever she moved too far away.
• Zhou An discovered that the Black-Clothed Woman no longer reacted to the Mind-Clearing Grass; she caught it and tucked it into her hair.
• After Zhou An muttered, “Something’s not right,” the Black-Clothed Woman copied his pose and repeated his words.