Chapter Summaries

Zhou An discovered that the Black-Clothed Woman had become humanlike, began teaching her about the world, and received a letter from the National Teacher identifying the woman who possessed the Mind Spirit Divine Method. He set out to kill her, while she continued plotting to control Maple Forest Province and claim Zhou An.

• The Black-Clothed Woman spoke, copied Zhou An, and reformed after he cut her in half; when he held her hand, he sensed her confusion and panic.
• Zhou An treated the Black-Clothed Woman as a blank slate and taught her words and basic concepts through the night, then took her outside to eat.
• Qiu Shiwen and other members of the Surveillance Division delivered Zhou An a letter from the National Teacher.
• The National Teacher’s letter revealed the location of the Mind Spirit Divine Method’s true possessor and promised to help Zhou An once if he killed her.
• Zhou An set out for the remote mountain with the Black-Clothed Woman, while the masked woman in yellow ordered her men to keep expanding their control and said she wanted Zhou An.

Zhou An tracked down Yue Wuxin, defeated her Mind Spirit Divine Method with Body Forging, and learned her account of Indulgence’s origins before she died. As he prepared to leave, the Black-Clothed Woman emerged and gestured toward Yue Wuxin’s corpse.

• Yue Wuxin recalled how Indulgence recruited her, how she used the Mind Spirit Divine Method to take revenge, and how her attempt to control the Demon Suppression Division led to her joining the organization fully.
• Zhou An arrived at Yue Wuxin’s hideout with the Black-Clothed Woman and defeated the people she had controlled.
• Yue Wuxin used the Mind Spirit Divine Method to turn Zhou An’s blade light against him, but his Body Forging defense let him cross her barrier and break her limbs.
• Zhou An questioned Yue Wuxin, who explained that Indulgence preserved the founder of the Eight Unique Skills’ secret plan and that the National Teacher’s faction sought to stop it.
• Yue Wuxin detonated her mental power and died; Zhou An doubted her account and decided to return to grinding proficiency.
• The Black-Clothed Woman emerged from the shadows, looked at Yue Wuxin’s corpse, and made a gesture to Zhou An.

After the Black-Clothed Woman turned Yue Wuxin’s corpse into a book containing the Mind Spirit Divine Method, Zhou An faced Qiu Shiwen, an Innate Realm expert and Indulgence traitor who had lured him into a trap. Zhou An defeated and killed Qiu Shiwen, while the National Teacher learned of the death and summoned Yuan Qingyi to help purge Indulgence; the Black-Clothed Woman’s origins remained unknown.

• The Black-Clothed Woman absorbed Yue Wuxin’s corpse into a black sphere, which produced a book containing the Mind Spirit Divine Method that she gave to Zhou An.
• Qiu Shiwen arrived and revealed that he had worked with Indulgence to arrange Yue Wuxin’s fight with Zhou An, then attacked Zhou An with talismans and a talisman armor.
• Zhou An endured Qiu Shiwen’s attacks before manifesting a towering Sacred Spirit Demonic Body and unleashing blade light that destroyed Qiu Shiwen and his armor.
• Zhou An took the Black-Clothed Woman by the hand and headed back toward Maple Forest Province.
• The National Teacher learned that Qiu Shiwen had died, spoke with Yuan Qingyi about the battle and the Black-Clothed Woman, and ordered Yuan Qingyi to return and help purge Indulgence.

The National Teacher met with the Xingwu Emperor to begin a purge of traitors across Great Chu, and learned that the Prime Minister planned to take Yu Hang as his final disciple. Later, Zhou An received Cold Marrow as a reward and began forging it, while Huang Hui arrived in Maple Forest Province to teach medicine and noticed physicians carrying Zhou An's Miscellaneous Diseases.

• The National Teacher gave the Xingwu Emperor a list of traitors, and they agreed to eliminate them without harming the common people.
• The Xingwu Emperor told the National Teacher that the Prime Minister intended to promote Yu Hang and take him as his final disciple, and ordered him to reward Zhou An with forging materials.
• The National Teacher learned that the purge had begun when Zhou An heard of officials dying across Maple Forest Province and inferred that the emperor was eliminating traitors.
• Zhou An received a chest of Cold Marrow, reassured the Black-Clothed Woman when she objected to being called Little Black, and began forging the material.
• Huang Hui arrived in Maple Forest Province with Hengren Medical Manor to teach medicine, then spotted copies of Zhou An's Miscellaneous Diseases among the local physicians.

Huang Hui admired Zhou An after reading his medical book and decided to visit him, but his subordinate Huang Lin joined him. When the brothers arrived at Zhou An's residence, the Black-Clothed Woman became angry at their interruption and trapped them in her bagua formation.

• Huang Hui read Zhou An's medical text, praised its skill and selflessness, and resolved to visit him despite Gao Shutang's warning that Zhou An wanted no visitors.
• Huang Hui sent Big Green and Little Green to Zhou An's residence, but Zhou An refused their visit and shut the door in their faces.
• After hearing their report, Huang Hui decided to visit Zhou An that night, but his younger brother Huang Lin appeared and insisted on accompanying him.
• Huang Hui and Huang Lin reached Zhou An's residence and knocked, interrupting Zhou An as he taught the Black-Clothed Woman.
• The Black-Clothed Woman opened the door, grew angry at the interruption, and trapped Huang Hui and Huang Lin in a black bagua formation filled with killing intent.

Huang Hui and Huang Lin of Hengren Medical Manor visited Zhou An to ask whether he could treat the illness afflicting the Great Yue Emperor, but he could not understand the disease. After the Black-Clothed Woman reacted violently to the sealed illness, the visitors left, and Zhou An returned to his quiet routine before being invited to a banquet for Maple Forest Province’s new officials.

• The Black-Clothed Woman trapped Huang Hui and Huang Lin in her Eight Trigrams until Zhou An stopped her and calmed the situation.
• Zhou An refused to receive the brothers inside, and the Black-Clothed Woman seriously injured Huang Lin after he spoke disrespectfully.
• Huang Hui showed Zhou An jade containing a sample of the Great Yue Emperor’s incurable illness, which Zhou An admitted he could not treat.
• The Black-Clothed Woman’s killing intent surged when she sensed the illness in the jade, but Zhou An calmed her and the brothers hurried away.
• Huang Hui and his companions left Maple Forest Province after giving a lesson, while Zhou An continued training and teaching the Black-Clothed Woman.
• A constable invited Zhou An to State Governor Lu’s banquet for new officials; at the restaurant, a young man in white criticized Zhou An for arriving late.

At State Governor Lu’s banquet, Owen tried to recruit Zhou An for the Second Prince, but Zhou An rejected him and refused to speak privately. After Owen insulted the Black-Clothed Woman, she struck him down, and Zhou An stepped in as she prepared to kill him.

• Owen questioned Zhou An’s late arrival, and State Governor Lu warned Owen not to provoke him.
• Zhou An arrived with the Black-Clothed Woman and joined State Governor Lu and Director Hou at the main table.
• Owen invited Zhou An to join the Second Prince’s camp, but Zhou An refused and dismissed his arguments.
• Owen offered Zhou An wealth, power, and beautiful women, prompting the Black-Clothed Woman to attack him with a Bagua diagram.
• Owen accused Zhou An of attacking an Imperial Official, and Zhou An told the Black-Clothed Woman, “I'll handle it.”

Zhou An defused Owen’s accusation after Ye Shuang arrived and revealed their close acquaintance. Ye Shuang then told Zhou An that the National Teacher wanted him to investigate the massacre at Subduing Tiger Mountain Manor, which might be connected to the Black-Clothed Woman and the Heaven Piercing Calculation.

• Zhou An kept Owen pinned down until Ye Shuang, the National Teacher’s Ninth Disciple, arrived and greeted him as an old acquaintance.
• Owen withdrew his accusation, and Zhou An left the banquet with Ye Shuang and the Black-Clothed Woman.
• Ye Shuang relaxed at Zhou An’s residence, where she discussed recent events and shared a snack with Zhou An and the Black-Clothed Woman.
• Ye Shuang explained that Subduing Tiger Mountain Manor had been massacred, its old manor lord wounded, and the young manor lord’s body had gone missing.
• Ye Shuang relayed the National Teacher’s warning that the case might concern the Black-Clothed Woman and the Heaven Piercing Calculation, one of the Eight Unique Skills.

Ye Shuang explained that the Black-Clothed Woman might know Heaven Piercing Calculation and that her connection to Zhou An could be tied to the Spirit Connection Space. Zhou An traveled with Ye Shuang to Subduing Tiger Mountain Manor and used Traceback Talismans to witness the old manor lord’s attempt to enter the Spirit Connection Realm, which ended with his soul power turning violent.

• Ye Shuang told Zhou An that the Black-Clothed Woman might possess Heaven Piercing Calculation and that her meeting with him could have been divined in advance.
• Ye Shuang relayed her teacher’s suspicion that the old manor lord of Subduing Tiger Mountain Manor had encountered something dangerous while breaking through to the Spirit Connection Realm, and Zhou An agreed to investigate.
• Zhou An, Ye Shuang, and the Black-Clothed Woman traveled to Subduing Tiger Mountain Manor, where they found the deserted grounds cold and marked by dried blood.
• Ye Shuang used Traceback Talismans to recreate the manor’s past, and Zhou An and Ye Shuang watched the old manor lord study books about the Spirit Connection Space before beginning his breakthrough.
• As the old manor lord cultivated in a secret chamber, Zhou An sensed his soul power growing increasingly violent, and the old man suddenly opened his eyes with a crazed expression.

Zhou An and Ye Shuang used the Traceback Talisman to uncover how the young manor lord killed his father and slaughtered Subduing Tiger Mountain Manor as part of a plot by the Wild Taoist Sect and Indulgence. The vision ended with a Wild Taoist warning of a “grand gift,” and Zhou An and Ye Shuang sensed a dangerous aura coming from the manor’s inner courtyard.

• The old manor lord encountered a terrifying door in the Spirit Connection Space, suffered a soul injury, and stabilized himself with a pill.
• The young manor lord returned to the secret chamber, and the old manor lord died after a sinister aura surrounded him; Ye Shuang identified Wild Taoist Methods as the cause.
• The young manor lord used the Five Vices Method to massacre Subduing Tiger Mountain Manor, then learned from his Daoist master that he was being used to investigate what the old manor lord had seen.
• The old Daoist and a monk from Indulgence revealed their scheme to probe the Spirit Connection Space encounter, while the Daoist prepared a blood-based attack in the secret chamber.
• The old Daoist left a message for future investigators, and after the Traceback Talisman ended, Zhou An and Ye Shuang sensed a chaotic, murderous aura rising from the inner courtyard.

Zhou An, Ye Shuang, and the Black-Clothed Woman uncovered the Wild Taoist Sect’s plot at Subduing Tiger Mountain Manor and followed the Black-Clothed Woman’s divination toward the culprits. Zhou An confronted the old Taoist, who surrounded them with fifteen Ten Thousand Vices Puppets, and stepped beyond Ye Shuang’s protective barrier to face them.

• A Ten Thousand Vices Puppet transformed from the young manor lord appeared at Subduing Tiger Mountain Manor, and Zhou An destroyed it with a single slash while Ye Shuang watched in shock.
• Ye Shuang failed to divine what came next, but the Black-Clothed Woman used Heaven Piercing Calculation to summon a butterfly that led the group away from the manor.
• The old Taoist and the fat monk discussed the fat monk’s Joyful Reincarnation and agreed to use an Image Retention Stone while the old Taoist delayed Zhou An.
• Zhou An detected the old Taoist in the wilderness and attacked alongside Ye Shuang, but the old Taoist vanished and summoned fifteen Ten Thousand Vices Puppets.
• Ye Shuang raised a talisman barrier and urged Zhou An to break through the encirclement, but Zhou An released the Black-Clothed Woman’s hand and stepped outside, challenging the old Taoist to face him.

Zhou An and the Black-Clothed Woman defeated the old Taoist and tracked down the fat monk, who attacked them with Joyful Reincarnation. Ye Shuang broke free after briefly inhabiting the memories of Qing Shuangzi, while Zhou An’s response left the fat monk writhing in agony.

• Zhou An destroyed the fifteen Ten Thousand Vices Puppets with one slash, and the Black-Clothed Woman trapped the wounded old Taoist with Heaven Piercing Calculation.
• Zhou An killed the old Taoist, then followed a butterfly with Ye Shuang and the Black-Clothed Woman toward the fat monk.
• The fat monk confronted Zhou An and Ye Shuang with a phantom before using Joyful Reincarnation to draw them into strange visions.
• Ye Shuang experienced the memories of Qing Shuangzi, who prepared to enter the crack in the sky, then recognized herself as Ye Shuang and returned to the wilderness.
• Ye Shuang found Zhou An and the Black-Clothed Woman unharmed while the fat monk rolled on the ground in pain; Zhou An said the monk had gone insane just as he was about to attack.

Zhou An investigated the Black-Clothed Woman’s identity and learned fragments of a past involving a powerful man, a baby, and a destructive eye, but the clues remained incomplete. After Ye Shuang left Maple Forest Province, Zhou An set out to learn the abacus and improve his arithmetic, arriving at the Hengtong Merchant Guild.

• The fat monk died after Joyful Reincarnation drove him mad, leaving Zhou An without the lead he had hoped to question.
• The Black-Clothed Woman recreated memories of a man on a cliff, a baby, and an eye; Zhou An suspected the baby was her and learned the man had said he had killed her but she might live again.
• Ye Shuang said the National Teacher had tried to divine Zhou An’s fate and withdrawn in alarm, then stayed with Zhou An and the Black-Clothed Woman as they sampled Maple Forest Province’s food.
• Ye Shuang left after two or three days, and Zhou An decided to learn the abacus to develop his arithmetic.
• Zhou An took the Black-Clothed Woman to the Hengtong Merchant Guild, where Meng Jiang was serving tea to an old man.

Meng Jiang welcomed Zhou An to the Hengtong Merchant Guild, where Zhou An asked for a place to study arithmetic and a teacher. Elder Luo of the Life Pill Sect antagonized Zhou An and was attacked by the Black-Clothed Woman; after Meng Jiang revealed Zhou An’s reputation and his connection to Yu Hang, Elder Luo realized how badly he had misjudged the situation.

• Elder Luo admitted that the Life Pill Sect had diverted pills to other merchant guilds for better offers, angering Meng Jiang.
• Meng Jiang hurried to greet Zhou An, who asked to study arithmetic at the guild and be introduced to a good teacher.
• Elder Luo followed Meng Jiang to meet Zhou An, but Zhou An dismissed him and recalled fighting the Pill Demons.
• After Elder Luo threatened to turn alchemists against Zhou An, Zhou An ordered the Black-Clothed Woman to take him down, and she injured him.
• Meng Jiang stopped Elder Luo from fleeing and warned him to report Zhou An’s identity truthfully, including his friendship with Yu Hang.
• Elder Luo recognized Zhou An as Unrivaled in Knife and Wok and learned he was sworn brothers with Yu Hang, whose actions had punished the Life Pill Sect in Sky City Prefecture.

Zhou An learned arithmetic at the Hengtong Merchant Guild and began grinding the skill, while Meng Jiang assured him that the guild was protecting Yu Hang in Sky City Prefecture. In the capital, Ye Shuang learned that Qing Shuangzi had appeared in ancient Daoist ruins, then offered to warn Zhou An about the Wild Taoist Sect as a Daoist senior volunteered to go in her place.

• Elder Luo told Zhou An how Yu Hang had punished the Life Pill Sect during his reforms in Sky City Prefecture, and Meng Jiang said the Hengtong Merchant Guild had hired experts to protect Yu Hang.
• Peng Ming taught Zhou An to use an abacus, and Zhou An gained Arithmetic before training it until it reached level two.
• Ye Shuang returned to the capital and told the National Teacher and Yuan Qingyi about Subduing Tiger Mountain Manor and her memories of Qing Shuangzi.
• The National Teacher revealed that he had seen Qing Shuangzi's name carved in ancient ruins and urged Ye Shuang to focus on her present life.
• After Ye Shuang described the Black-Clothed Woman, the National Teacher warned that the Wild Taoist Sect might retaliate against Zhou An and promised to send someone to caution him.
• Ye Shuang's senior brother arrived and offered to go to Zhou An, explaining that he had slaughtered a man who used Wild Taoist Methods after meeting him near a calf.

Zhou An raised Fortune-Telling to level three and discovered that he could use it to deduce origins and fortune, though powerful targets remained beyond his sight. After Shi Xiyuan tricked him into leaving Maple Forest Province, Zhou An exposed the National Teacher’s disciple and brought him home, where Shi immediately set his sights on fishing in Zhou An’s pool.

• Shi Xiyuan, a fishing-obsessed disciple of the National Teacher, assured Ye Shuang that he would handle her errand, while the National Teacher discussed the Wild Taoist Sect with Yuan Qingyi, who ran off with the Peach Wood Sword.
• Zhou An raised Arithmetic and chose Fortune-Telling, gaining Deduction and a qualitative change that let him use qi to divine fortune and seek clues about people’s origins.
• Zhou An tried to deduce the Black-Clothed Woman’s origins but could not penetrate the mist; his reading showed that she brought him good fortune, while a reading of himself revealed an immense sea of black mist.
• Zhou An checked his skills, planned to raise Soaring Dragon Steps next, and continued his routine with the Black-Clothed Woman until a constable arrived with a message from Shi Xiyuan.
• Zhou An spotted inconsistencies in the constable’s story, drew his blade, and exposed him as Shi Xiyuan, who admitted he had used a storybook plot to test whether Zhou An was an upright man.
• At Zhou An’s home, Shi Xiyuan rushed to inspect the courtyard pool and proposed buying fish so they could fish while discussing business.

Shi Xiyuan warned Zhou An that the Wild Taoist Sect would seek revenge, and Zhou An used divination to locate a gathering of its members. He infiltrated the group and discovered their target was him, just as their leader began explaining a plan involving Nightmare.

• Shi Xiyuan visited Zhou An, lost a fishing contest to the Black-Clothed Woman, and warned him to beware of the Wild Taoist Sect and Indulgence.
• Zhou An used divination to trace the Wild Taoist Sect, then traveled with the Black-Clothed Woman toward the gathering and killed Gu Chuping after questioning him.
• Zhou An and the Black-Clothed Woman blended in with more than a hundred Wild Taoist Sect members gathered on a mountain summit.
• The one-eyed old man announced that Zhou An was their target and said he had a plan involving Nightmare.

Zhou An overheard the Wild Taoist Sect’s plan to strengthen a province-wide nightmare and disrupt the Demon Suppression Division, then had the Black-Clothed Woman wipe out their gathering. He warned Lord Hou and returned to grinding his skills; divination reached level four, and Soaring Dragon Steps underwent a transformation.

• The one-eyed old man revealed that the Wild Taoist Sect had triggered a nightmare and planned to distract the Demon Suppression Division while it spread across Maple Forest Province.
• When a dozen sect members opposed the plan, the one-eyed old man killed them with black water, and Zhou An revealed himself and ordered the rest killed.
• The Black-Clothed Woman used Heaven Piercing Calculation to turn the sect members to ashes, while the one-eyed old man committed suicide before Zhou An could take him in.
• Zhou An told Lord Hou about the nightmare, received Dream Entering Incense, and offered to help the Demon Suppression Division investigate.
• Zhou An resumed training, and divination reached level four while Soaring Dragon Steps underwent a qualitative transformation.

Zhou An chose Flying Dragon Movement, tried flying with the Black-Clothed Woman, and later entered a nightmare born from Owen’s fear of him. He left off confronting the Nightmare after beating Owen for imagining him as a grotesque demon.

• Zhou An chose Flying Dragon Movement and gained the ability to fly, then took the Black-Clothed Woman soaring through the night sky.
• Zhou An decided to improve Read a Hundred Scrolls and planned to obtain more books from the Hengtong Merchant Guild.
• Zhou An visited the Demon Suppression Division and learned that the nightmare crisis was worsening before members reported a new nightmare tied to Owen.
• Zhou An lit Dream Entering Incense and entered Owen’s nightmare, where Owen imagined himself as a powerful scholar destined to defeat Zhou An.
• Zhou An intervened when the Nightmare prepared to kill Owen, beat Owen for making his dream-self look grotesque, and confronted the Nightmare.

Zhou An defeated a nightmare that had attacked Owen, then entered the Black-Clothed Woman’s dream and discovered it had imprisoned the nightmare so she could play on her favorite chair. The dream shifted to a vision of the ancient man from the cliff, who spoke about the Eight Unique Skills and a mysterious rift before preparing to reveal more.

• Zhou An used a water blade and the Butcher Dismembering Human Knife Technique to destroy the nightmare attacking Owen, freeing him from the dream.
• Zhou An returned to the Demon Suppression Division, learned Owen was unharmed, and left after Lord Hou promised to find a solution to the nightmare problem.
• An attendant from the Hengtong Merchant Guild delivered thirty books from Meng Jiang, and Zhou An spent the night raising Read a Hundred Scrolls’ proficiency.
• Zhou An found the Black-Clothed Woman asleep and entered her dream, where she had caged the nightmare and was happily swaying on her favorite chair beside a dream version of him.
• The Black-Clothed Woman changed the dream to show an elegantly dressed middle-aged man Zhou An recognized as the man by the cliff, who read four books including Absolute Domain Forging.
• The middle-aged man said his Heaven Piercing Calculation had uncovered only four of the Eight Unique Skills and described a rift filled with strange things and terrifying figures from distant eras.