Chapter Summaries

Plot points

• Liu Yunche’s contest with Hai Wuya leaves Hai’s robe soaked with wine and the gathered Azure Province prodigies embarrassed. Hai concedes the loss but hints that he will seek another chance to test Liu.
• Nie Nanfu and Yuan Louchen urge restraint, while Mu Jieying calls Liu too aggressive. Liu argues that Hai challenged him first and that a “prodigy” should be able to withstand a serious test.
• Liu abruptly leaves the gathering, with Zhan Lingyun following. The banquet loses its atmosphere, and the remaining guests are left reflecting on the confrontation.
• On their walk through the city, Zhan tells Liu that his display has made him known among the province’s young talents—and likely made him a target. He identifies Nie and Mu as the most formidable guests; Hai, he says, is less impressive.
• Zhan reveals that the Azure Province Martial Academy will host a youth tournament in half a month. Liu welcomes the chance to face the other prodigies openly.

Character developments and interactions

• Liu Yunche embraces a bolder, more confrontational manner, explaining that his master told him not to hide his youthful edge. Rather than worry about making enemies, he welcomes the chance to test himself.
• Hai Wuya keeps his composure in public, but his humiliation and resentment remain. He suggests the rivalry is not over.
• Zhan Lingyun tries to smooth over the banquet conflict, then supports Liu afterward and warns him about the consequences of his growing reputation.
• Nie Nanfu takes a cautious, order-minded stance; Mu Jieying sees Liu as capable but overly aggressive; Yuan Louchen remains a measured observer.

Significant themes

• Pride and reputation: A private contest becomes a public humiliation that reshapes how the gathered talents view Liu and Hai.
• Power versus restraint: The guests disagree over whether strength should be displayed openly or tempered by courtesy.
• Rivalry as motivation: Liu treats opposition as essential to an engaging path of cultivation and looks forward to the tournament as a fairer arena for competition.

Key plot points

• At a private Hai Family gathering, provincial aristocratic youths discuss Liu Yunche’s clash with Hai Wuya at the Immortal Abode Pavilion. Most dismiss Liu as a country outsider who only gained an advantage through luck.
• To protect his reputation, Hai claims he was merely testing Liu and had not used his full strength. The others accept this account.
• Yuan Louchen contradicts them: Liu has reached the dragon-tendon extreme realm, and his control during the clash proves his strength was genuine. He concludes that Hai actually lost.
• Yuan explains that Qinglü High Cultivator may have rapidly advanced Liu by investing heavily in his training. He also warns that Liu’s foundations are unusually deep and that he is concealing some of his abilities.
• Humiliated and jealous, Hai redirects the dispute toward the Azure Province Youth Martial Arts Tournament, beginning in half a month. He vows to defeat Liu there and persuade the province’s prodigies that Liu does not belong among them. The other youths rally behind him.

Character developments and interactions

• Hai Wuya moves from embarrassment to envy, then masks both with pride and hostility. His resentment is intensified by the knowledge that Qinglü rejected him but is now investing in Liu. He turns his defeat into a future challenge.
• Yuan Louchen proves himself a perceptive, independent observer. He refuses to join the group’s comforting fiction and plainly acknowledges Liu’s achievement and Hai’s loss. Though the others reject his assessment, he does not argue further.
• The young scions reinforce one another’s class prejudice, initially minimizing Liu’s ability and later embracing Hai’s promise of revenge.
• Liu Yunche, though absent, becomes the focus of the gathering: an outsider whose rapid rise threatens the provincial elite’s sense of superiority.

Significant themes

• Status and prejudice: The scions struggle to accept that someone from a small county could rival them.
• Pride, face, and denial: Hai cares as much about preserving his standing as about the loss itself, while the group helps him avoid acknowledging it.
• Talent versus resources: Liu’s progress is attributed to Qinglü’s support, but Yuan insists that his skill and deep foundations are real—not merely the result of borrowed advantages.
• Foreshadowed rivalry: The upcoming tournament promises a public test of the competing claims about Liu’s strength and Hai’s superiority.

Plot and key events

• Liu Yunche reports the Immortal Abode Pavilion gathering to his master, Qinglü. He recounts how Hai Wuya tried to test him and ended up humiliated when Liu shattered the jade cup with a counterforce, then how he left the gathering alongside Zhan Lingyun after a disagreement.
• Qinglü tells Liu that his display was too restrained: to establish himself in the Provincial Capital, he should act more boldly and make use of her backing. She points him toward the Martial Arts Tournament in half a month as his real opportunity.
• News of the confrontation spreads through the city and Martial Academy, with rumors exaggerating or disputing Liu’s abilities and the source of his rapid cultivation.
• Hai Canglan reprimands his son for drawing attention to the Hai Family at a politically tense time. Hai Wuya apologizes outwardly but remains bitter and determined to remember Liu.
• Yuan Changxiao and his son Yuan Louchen discuss Liu’s talent and Qinglü’s motives. Yuan Changxiao judges Liu a potential force capable of unsettling the younger generation and advises Yuan Louchen to observe him without taking sides.
• Lan Yi is revealed to have returned to Azure Province as a spirit cultivator. He intends to seek revenge on the Yuan Family for the loss of his childhood sweetheart, whom he believes the family head wrongfully took from him.

Character developments and interactions

• Liu Yunche shows composure and confidence, reporting everything honestly to Qinglü. Her advice encourages him to become more openly forceful.
• Qinglü reveals a strategic approach: she wants Liu to make a conspicuous impression, not merely build cordial relations.
• Hai Wuya remains resentful despite obeying his father. Hai Canglan, by contrast, prioritizes protecting the family from political trouble.
• Yuan Changxiao sees Liu as more than a talented newcomer—possibly a deliberate instrument in Qinglü’s plans. He urges Yuan Louchen to watch carefully rather than interfere.
• Lan Yi’s return introduces a separate, long-standing vendetta against the Yuan Family.

Significant themes

• Reputation and rumor: One public humiliation quickly becomes competing stories that shape how the city views Liu and the Hai Family.
• Power and political caution: The major families weigh Liu’s rise against a tense and uncertain provincial climate.
• Mentorship and strategy: Qinglü encourages boldness, while Yuan Changxiao counsels observation and restraint.
• Old grudges and coming conflict: Hai Wuya’s resentment, the anticipated tournament clash, and Lan Yi’s revenge all point toward escalating confrontations.

Plot points and events

• Still resentful of Liu Yunche’s rise and unable to attack him openly, Hai Wuya arranges for Gu Yanqiu, Myriad Treasures Commerce’s chief martial cultivator, to challenge him. Gu agrees in exchange for valuable resources and privileges.
• Gu Yanqiu is twenty-five, has reached the early Bone Tempering Realm, and forged two extreme foundations: Jade Skin and Golden Muscle. He has extensive combat experience and displays the Tiger-Leopard Thunder Sound. He considers Liu’s rapid progress an unstable, resource-bought shortcut and believes he can defeat him.
• News of the challenge spreads through the Azure Province Martial Academy. Most people expect Liu to lose because Gu is a full realm higher and battle-tested, while rumors portray Liu’s foundation as weak.
• Yuan Louchen sees the matchup differently: Gu’s failure to attain the Dragon Tendon Extreme Realm may have limited his ultimate potential, while Liu’s foundation appears exceptionally strong. He suspects Hai Wuya will regret the challenge.
• Liu calmly discusses the rumors with Qinglü, High Cultivator. She implies that public opinion has been shaped deliberately. Liu realizes there may be a purpose behind it and accepts her instruction to fight without holding back.

Character developments and interactions

• Hai Wuya turns to indirect revenge, using Gu as a proxy after his father forbids him from provoking trouble himself.
• Gu Yanqiu is confident in his hard-earned strength but harbors resentment toward those he believes were advanced by family resources. He frames the challenge as a chance to test—and “temper”—Qinglü’s disciple.
• Liu Yunche remains composed despite widespread doubt, trusts his own cultivation, and shows growing political awareness when he questions why public opinion is so hostile.
• Qinglü guides Liu with a brief, suggestive explanation and gives him permission to use his full strength.
• Mu Jieying is conflicted by Gu’s reputation and briefly doubts Liu’s chances; Yuan Louchen quietly trusts Liu’s deeper foundation and watches events unfold with interest.

Significant themes

• Foundation versus rank: Visible cultivation level can mislead; the quality of one’s foundation may matter more than how high one has advanced.
• Effort versus resources: Gu’s belief that Liu’s progress is artificial reflects resentment and assumptions about privilege, while the story questions whether speed alone proves weakness.
• Reputation and manipulation: Public opinion is treated as something that may be engineered, not a reliable measure of ability.
• Ambition and indirect conflict: Hai Wuya’s scheme shows how political constraints can turn personal grudges into proxy confrontations.

Plot points and events

• Gu Yanqiu, newly advanced to the Bone Tempering Realm and backed by two Extreme Realms, challenges Liu Yunche publicly. The crowd expects Gu to win easily, and the betting odds heavily favor him.
• Liu calmly accepts. Gu opens with a relentless barrage of perfected Mountain-Shattering Fist strikes, using his superior realm and crushing strength to take the initiative.
• Liu counters with the King-Suppressing Fist, using his Dragon Tendon Extreme foundation to absorb, redirect, and neutralize Gu’s attacks—including the fist art’s insidious vibrating force. Their exchange initially appears even, though Gu grows increasingly strained.
• Realizing the fight is turning against him, Gu unleashes his strongest attack. Liu meets it with the King-Suppressing Fist and decisively overpowers him, leaving Gu injured and unable to continue. A final controlled punch ends the match.
• The stunned crowd erupts. Liu’s victory overturns widespread doubts about his foundation and establishes him as a contender among Azure Province’s leading prodigies. The coming Martial Arts Tournament becomes a major focus of anticipation.

Character developments and interactions

• Liu Yunche remains composed under public ridicule and proves that his rapid cultivation has not left him with a weak foundation. His mastery of the King-Suppressing Fist and ability to defeat a higher-realm opponent reveal his exceptional strength.
• Gu Yanqiu begins confident and dismissive, but becomes alarmed as Liu withstands his attacks. He gambles everything on his strongest strike, then refuses to accept defeat even after being overpowered.
• Mu Jieying and Nie Nanfu watch the fight with growing seriousness, recognizing Liu’s remarkable mastery and the threat he poses. Their exchanged glances reflect their shared reassessment of his ability.
• Hai Wuya, watching from the crowd, realizes he underestimated the younger generation and becomes wary of Liu.
• Zhan Lingyun watches with anticipation, wondering how much Liu has progressed since they last met.

Significant themes

• True strength versus reputation: Liu’s victory overturns public assumptions based on cultivation realm and regional status.
• Foundation and mastery: A solid martial foundation, refined technique, and control can overcome a seemingly decisive difference in rank.
• Composure under pressure: Liu’s calm contrasts with the crowd’s excitement and Gu’s rising desperation.
• Recognition through action: Liu silences mockery and earns acknowledgment through performance, setting the stage for the tournament ahead.

Liu Yunche defeated Gu Yanqiu, an early Bone Tempering Realm fighter, and silenced doubts about his foundation before the Martial Academy crowd. As his reputation spread across Azure Province, Qinglü, High Cultivator reminded him that the Martial Arts Tournament in half a month would be his true test.

• Liu Yunche defeated Gu Yanqiu, who admitted that his skills and foundation had fallen short.
• Mu Jieying reassessed Liu Yunche, while Nie Nanfu recognized him as a worthy rival and Zhan Lingyun praised his victory.
• Hai Wuya watched his plan backfire as Gu Yanqiu's loss made Liu Yunche's reputation soar.
• The Myriad Treasures Commerce's stewards apologized to Liu Yunche and offered the wagered funds and compensation, which he accepted without pursuing their earlier offense.
• Qinglü, High Cultivator praised Liu Yunche and told him to give everything at the Martial Arts Tournament in half a month.

After Liu Yunche’s victory made him a legend, Azure Province announced that its Youth Martial Arts Tournament would take place in an ancient secret realm under the Provincial Inspector’s watch. As formidable prodigies gathered in the Provincial Capital, Liu Yunche prepared to seek the secret realm’s bone-tempering opportunity; the tournament began half a month later.

• Liu Yunche’s victory over a Bone Tempering opponent while at Tendon Forging stirred Azure Province and heightened anticipation for the Youth Martial Arts Tournament.
• The Patrol Platform Office announced that the tournament would take place in the Azure Province Secret Realm, with the Provincial Inspector presiding.
• Hua Qiong, Li Changqing, Yuan Kong, and Hai Tongtian emerged as leading contenders, each having perfected the three Extreme Realms.
• Crowds gathered in Azure Province City as people debated which prodigy, including Liu Yunche, would win the secret realm tournament.
• Qinglü told Liu Yunche that the secret realm offered an opportunity to temper his bones and achieve glazed bone, and Liu Yunche promised to seize it.
• Half a month later, the secret realm opened and the contest for Azure Province’s supreme youth began.

Azure Province’s prodigies gathered at the secret realm entrance, where Provincial Inspector Yang Xuantian announced they could fight without fear of death. The leading warriors entered the realm, beginning the contest for supremacy among the younger generation.

• Yang Xuantian summoned his Sky-Patrol Spirit Boat and invited Azure Province’s spirit cultivators aboard to watch the gathering below.
• Liu Yunche met Zhan Lingyun and greeted young warriors who sought his acquaintance, while Hai Tongtian watched him with hostility.
• Yang Xuantian told the prodigies that a divine ability would pull them out at the instant of death.
• After the Patrol Platform Office announced the entrance was stable, Hua Qiong, Li Changqing, Yuan Kong, Mu Jieying, Nie Nanfu, Zhan Lingyun, and Hai Tongtian entered the secret realm.
• Liu Yunche surveyed the gathered powers, then entered the realm and found himself in a vast, ancient forest.

The Azure Province prodigies entered the ancient secret realm, where they were scattered across its vast forest. Liu Yunche cautiously explored his surroundings and discovered a faint glow leaking from a crack in a blue stone.

• Yang Xuantian confirmed that the secret realm held an opportunity to attain Glazed Bone, while the Spirit Cultivators discussed the talents of the young entrants, including Liu Yunche.
• The prodigies passed through the spatial rift and landed far apart in different parts of the secret realm.
• Liu Yunche examined the ancient trees and soil, decided to explore before seeking the Glazed Bone opportunity, and moved quietly through the forest.
• Li Changqing headed toward lingering sword marks, Hua Qiong gathered and identified spirit herbs, and Hai Tongtian followed his family’s map toward a resource-rich area.
• Liu Yunche spotted pure spiritual energy and a faint glow coming from a crack in an enormous blue stone, then approached it cautiously.

Liu Yunche survived a stone-patterned beast and cautiously followed signs of danger and other intruders to the ancient palace ruins, where he joined Yuan Kong in breaking the palace’s restrictions. The palace entrance was revealed, and the gathered martial artists faced its dark interior.

• Liu Yunche lured out and killed a stone-patterned beast, then continued deeper into the secret realm while avoiding hazards and discovering evidence that a trial participant had been robbed and killed.
• Hai Tongtian killed two martial artists to seize their crimson flame spirit grass, while Li Changqing and Hua Qiong continued exploring cautiously in separate areas.
• Liu Yunche found ancient palace ruins and hid to watch after noticing that someone had recently approached them; inside the ruins, Zhan Lingyun had killed two skeleton demons and wondered where he was.
• Trial participants argued over whether to break the palace restrictions together, but Yuan Kong’s arrival silenced the crowd and he invited Liu Yunche to join forces.
• Yuan Kong weakened the restrictions while Liu Yunche struck their weakest point, shattering the barrier and revealing the ancient palace entrance.

Liu Yunche and Zhan Lingyun fought through the Skeleton Demons in the ancient hall and learned that a Bone Spirit Flower was guarded by a powerful Skeleton King. They reached the central hall alongside Yuan Kong, where the treasure and its guardian awaited them.

• Martial artists rushed into the ruins for treasure, awakening Skeleton Demons that attacked them throughout the ancient hall.
• Liu Yunche and Zhan Lingyun joined forces to defeat the Skeleton Demons and then headed toward the center of the hall.
• A golden-boned Skeleton King emerged from an underground chamber as Liu Yunche and Zhan Lingyun approached the central hall.
• Liu Yunche and Zhan Lingyun rescued a martial artist, who told them a Bone Spirit Flower was guarded by the Skeleton King.
• Liu Yunche and Zhan Lingyun entered the central hall and found the Bone Spirit Flower, its guardian, and Yuan Kong arriving from another passage.

Liu Yunche, Yuan Kong, and Zhan Lingyun joined forces to battle the Gilt Skeleton King guarding the Bone Spirit Flower, discovering that its black flames powered its immense strength. After they damaged its neck and nearly extinguished one flame, the wounded Skeleton King focused on Yuan Kong and began gathering power for a final attack.

• Yuan Kong, Liu Yunche, and Zhan Lingyun agreed to fight the Gilt Skeleton King together before deciding who would claim the Bone Spirit Flower.
• The three attacked the Skeleton King, but its golden bones resisted their blows as it injured Zhan Lingyun and unleashed black fire that killed several trial participants.
• Liu Yunche realized the black flames in the Skeleton King's eye sockets were its source of power, and Yuan Kong used spiritual energy to disrupt it while the others searched for a way to extinguish the flames.
• The Skeleton King formed a Blackfire Bone Blade and struck Liu Yunche, who was badly wounded, while Zhan Lingyun shattered most of its cracked neck bone and Yuan Kong nearly extinguished one flame.
• The Skeleton King attacked Yuan Kong, but Liu Yunche diverted its claw; the remaining black flame then swelled as the Skeleton King gathered power for a final blow.

Liu Yunche stopped a Gray-Robed Youth from stealing the Bone Spirit Flower, then rejoined Zhan Lingyun and Yuan Kong to unleash their strongest attacks against the Skeleton King. Their combined strike destroyed the ancient hall and killed the Skeleton King, leaving the trio amid the rubble.

• The Gray-Robed Youth tried to steal the Bone Spirit Flower while Liu Yunche, Zhan Lingyun, and Yuan Kong fought the Skeleton King.
• Liu Yunche spotted the thief, pursued him with Eight Steps Chasing Cicada, and knocked him down before warning the onlookers away from the flower.
• Liu Yunche returned to the fight as Zhan Lingyun prepared Demonic Blood Turns to Dragon and Yuan Kong revealed his spiritual energy.
• Liu Yunche invoked the third form of King-Suppressing Fist, Suppressing the King, and joined Zhan Lingyun and Yuan Kong in attacking the Skeleton King.
• The trio's combined attack shattered the Skeleton King and reduced the ancient central hall to rubble.