Chapter Summaries

In prison awaiting execution, Zhou Qing discovered his Nine Breaths Assimilation talent and used his Dao Source to advance the Spring Return Technique, reaching the Acquired Realm. He realized the power of Dao Source came from a full year of relentless cultivation, while he still faced his wrongful conviction.

• Zhou Qing recovered memories of his past life and learned that he had been framed for Madam Liu’s death and sentenced to execution after autumn.
• Zhou Qing prayed for a way to survive, and a panel appeared revealing his Nine Breaths Assimilation talent and one point of Dao Source.
• Zhou Qing spent his Dao Source to cultivate the Spring Return Technique for a year in an instant.
• Zhou Qing broke through to the First Level Acquired Realm, opened the twelve primary meridians, and gained internal energy with healing properties.
• Zhou Qing realized that Dao Source’s year of cultivation represented relentless practice through every hour of the day.

Zhou Qing used the Spring Return Technique to heal his injuries, then spent a Dao Source point to advance it to the eighth level and gain poison resistance. After his wounds healed, prison guard Liu Shan secretly brought him extra food and offered what help he could.

• Zhou Qing circulated his internal energy to ease his injuries and noticed his body had grown stronger after reaching the sixth level of the Spring Return Technique.
• Zhou Qing stopped cultivating on his own to avoid depleting his vital essence while trapped in prison.
• At midnight, Zhou Qing gained one Dao Source point and raised the Spring Return Technique to the eighth level, advancing to the second level of the Acquired Realm and gaining 100% increased poison resistance.
• Zhou Qing circulated his improved internal energy and healed all his injuries within half an hour.
• Liu Shan secretly gave Zhou Qing two steamed buns and offered to help with any wishes he could fulfill.

Zhou Qing reached the Third Level of the Acquired Realm and persuaded Liu Shan to obtain martial arts manuals for him. With one Dao Source, he perfected the Traceless Blade Technique, leaving him with twenty-seven days until his execution.

• Zhou Qing used a Dao Source point to perfect the Spring Return Technique and advance to the Third Level of the Acquired Realm.
• Zhou Qing asked Liu Shan to buy him martial arts manuals, offering hidden silver from his family’s backyard to pay for them.
• Three days later, Liu Shan secretly gave Zhou Qing two manuals.
• Zhou Qing read the Traceless Blade Technique manual and used a Dao Source point to cultivate it in a year-long burst.
• Zhou Qing perfected the Traceless Blade Technique.

Zhou Qing mastered the Traceless Blade Technique and Swallow Dips Water, then used Dao Source to deduce the Spring Return Technique and break through to the Fourth Level of the Acquired Realm. With five days left before his execution, he prepared to escape prison after improving his strength.

• Zhou Qing mastered the Traceless Blade Technique, gaining traits that greatly increased his blade speed and strength.
• Zhou Qing mastered Swallow Dips Water, gaining a lighter body, midair force borrowing, and a speed burst.
• Zhou Qing decided to escape prison when the jailers next delivered food rather than risk fleeing during the heavily guarded execution.
• Zhou Qing spent five Dao Source Points cultivating the Spring Return Technique and opened four of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians without breaking through.
• Zhou Qing spent two more Dao Source Points to open the remaining meridians, complete the Great Zhou Cycle, and advance to the Fourth Level of the Acquired Realm.
• Zhou Qing saw that the tenth layer of the Spring Return Technique had increased his poison resistance and lifespan and improved his innate physique.

After reaching the Fourth Level of the Acquired Realm, Zhou Qing escaped the dungeon and killed Captain Yang with one slash. He left the jailers too terrified to pursue him and vanished through the exit.

• Zhou Qing tested his newly strengthened inner force and decided to break out of prison.
• Zhou Qing learned that the Court Clerk was away, knocked Liu Shan unconscious, and cut through his cell chain.
• Zhou Qing ignored the other prisoners’ pleas and raced through the dungeon levels using Swallow Dips Water.
• Captain Yang blocked Zhou Qing, but Zhou Qing killed him with a single saber slash.
• The jailers froze in fear as Zhou Qing escaped through the dungeon exit.

After escaping the county office prison, Zhou Qing encountered Zhou Chen, the second young master of Zhou Manor, and forced him to confess publicly to framing him for Madam Liu’s death. Zhou Chen’s confession was heard by the people nearby, while Zhou Qing remained in the street with the saber against him.

• Zhou Qing escaped from the dungeon, changed into ordinary clothes, and fled toward the city outskirts.
• Zhou Qing recognized Zhou Chen outside Spring Breeze Tower and killed Zhou Chen’s two attendants before holding him at saber-point.
• Zhou Qing reminded Zhou Chen of the incident at Zhou’s Medical Hall, and Zhou Chen realized who he was.
• Zhou Qing severed one of Zhou Chen’s arms and threatened him until he agreed to confess.
• Zhou Chen loudly admitted that he had an affair with Concubine Liu, poisoned her, and framed Zhou Qing, and nearby residents and Spring Breeze Tower guests heard him.

Zhou Qing killed Zhou Chen after exposing his crimes, then escaped Black Stone County by scaling the city wall with his perfected Swallow Dips Water skill. The County Magistrate and Zhou Manor both issued orders to capture or kill him.

• Zhou Qing declared Zhou Chen guilty of poisoning Madam Liu and framing Zhou Qing, then cut Zhou Chen's throat in public.
• Zhou Qing took valuables from Zhou Chen's corpse and escaped the county yamen's pursuit by vaulting over the city wall.
• Lin Yue ordered a report to the prefectural yamen, a wanted order, and a reward for Zhou Qing's capture.
• Master Zhou ordered the steward to deny Zhou Chen's confession and offer a three-thousand-tael bounty to the jianghu for Zhou Qing's death.

After fleeing Zhou Manor’s bounty and the government’s wanted notice, Zhou Qing traveled to the Black Market outside Anqing Prefecture City to buy an Internal Art manual. He reached a stallholder who claimed to have Internal Arts but required buyers to ask privately, leaving Zhou Qing poised to negotiate.

• The county yamen and Master Zhou issued wanted and bounty notices for Zhou Qing after he killed Zhou Chen.
• Zhou Qing escaped into the mountains, spent the night in an abandoned temple, and counted more than five hundred taels in banknotes taken from Zhou Chen.
• Zhou Qing traveled toward Anqing Prefecture City and spent two days locating the Black Market while learning that Zhou Manor offered three thousand taels for his capture.
• Zhou Qing concealed his identity, paid one tael to enter the Black Market, and surveyed its stalls selling goods and martial manuals.
• Zhou Qing asked a masked stallholder whether he had any Internal Arts, and the stallholder said he did but only showed them to serious buyers.

Zhou Qing searched the Black Market for a first-rate Internal Art and bargained with a masked seller until they agreed on a price of five hundred taels. He received the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique manual and planned to pay the remaining silver after checking it.

• Zhou Qing rejected the third-rate Internal Arts offered at the first stall and asked for a second-rate or first-rate manual.
• Zhou Qing visited the next three stalls, which each had only one second-rate Internal Art and no first-rate options.
• The masked owner at the fifth stall offered Zhou Qing a first-rate Internal Art for five thousand taels, then lowered the price after Zhou Qing walked away.
• Zhou Qing offered five hundred taels, and the masked man agreed to sell the manual for that amount.
• Zhou Qing paid two hundred taels upfront and received the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique manual to inspect.

Zhou Qing bought the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique and spent all eighteen of his Dao Source points to cultivate it to its fifth layer. He left the Black Market with Copper Skin Iron Bones, greatly strengthened internal force and Blood Qi, and the ability to rebound half the force of attacks against him.

• Zhou Qing read the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique manual and learned that it tempered the whole body while expanding and reinforcing the meridians and dantian.
• Zhou Qing paid the masked man three hundred taels for the manual, while several martial artists decided to follow him and attack him after he left the Black Market.
• Zhou Qing noticed the hidden watchers and used all eighteen of his Dao Source points to enhance the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique.
• Zhou Qing cultivated the technique to its fifth layer, gaining Copper Skin Iron Bones, Blood Qi strengthened by 400 percent, and the power to rebound 50 percent of an attack's force.

After leaving the Black Market, Zhou Qing lured three men who wanted to rob him into the wilderness and used his perfected movement and blade techniques to kill two of them. He blocked the monkey-masked man’s concealed weapons with his Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique and faced him alone.

• Zhou Qing left the Black Market and hurried through the mountains as more than a dozen people followed him.
• Zhou Qing stopped several li from the Black Market and confronted three men who demanded his silver.
• Zhou Qing killed the sword-wielding man with a single strike before he could draw his sword.
• Zhou Qing evaded the Bronze Masked Man’s attack and killed him with a soundless blade strike.
• The monkey-masked man attacked Zhou Qing with concealed weapons, but Zhou Qing blocked them and his body resisted the rest.

Zhou Qing killed three ambushers in the Black Market and was identified as the fugitive wanted by Black Stone County. After news of his appearance reached the Eagle Wolf Guard, Zhao Sheng began tracking him by scent.

• Zhou Qing killed the Monkey Masked Man with a single slash after the man tried to flee, then searched the three dead men and warned off anyone else nearby.
• Martial Artists hiding in the darkness recognized Zhou Qing’s perfected martial arts and discussed the rewards for capturing him and the likelihood that the Eagle Wolf Guard would pursue him.
• The hidden Martial Artists left to report Zhou Qing’s appearance to the Eagle Wolf Guard in hopes of gaining a reward.
• Zhao Sheng, a Profound Wolf Guard ordered by the Red Wolf Commander to track Zhou Qing, arrived at the scene and followed his lingering scent using the Spiritual Scent Technique.

While resting in Qiuye Town, Zhou Qing learned of several major events across the jianghu and discovered that the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique came from Vajra Gate. He used a Dao Source Point to advance the technique and gain Blood Qi Wolf Smoke, then encountered an Eagle Wolf Guard outside the inn.

• Zhou Qing entered an inn in Qiuye Town and heard travelers discuss Li Baichuan's massacre of Cold Moon Villa and Shen Qingyue's reward for his death.
• Travelers reported that Nangong Yu had joined the Human Ranking and that the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique was being sold at a Black Market, possibly linked to the vanished Luo Xi of Vajra Gate.
• Zhou Qing realized his technique's origin could draw Vajra Gate's attention and resolved not to reveal that he had cultivated it.
• After restoring his internal energy, Zhou Qing spent a Dao Source Point to raise the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique to its sixth level and form Blood Qi Wolf Smoke.
• Zhou Qing left the inn and saw an Eagle Wolf Guard whose aura had locked onto him, then placed his hand on his saber.

Zhou Qing fought Zhao Sheng, an Eagle Wolf Guard sent to arrest him, and killed him by using his sixth-level body-tempering technique to withstand Zhao Sheng’s sword radiance. The onlookers realized the Eagle Wolf Guard would now be better prepared for Zhou Qing, who left before they could react.

• Zhou Qing recognized that Zhao Sheng had come to arrest him and refused to surrender.
• Zhao Sheng attacked Zhou Qing with the Shadowless Sword Technique while onlookers predicted Zhou Qing would lose.
• Zhou Qing used Blood Qi Wolf Smoke to endure Zhao Sheng’s sword radiance and cut him down in their exchange.
• The onlookers discovered Zhou Qing had mastered a body-tempering technique and anticipated that his wanted ranking would rise.
• Zhou Qing left the scene, aware that the Eagle Wolf Guard would prepare for his abilities next time.

After killing Zhao Sheng, Zhou Qing was branded the Mad Blade and placed at the bottom of the Eagle Wolf Guard’s top hundred wanted list, forcing him to hide in the mountains. While recovering, he spent five Dao Source Points to raise his Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique to the seventh layer and cultivate an initial vajra body.

• The Eagle Wolf Guard added Zhou Qing to the top hundred wanted list and offered a second-rate Internal Art for confirmed clues to his whereabouts.
• The martial world dubbed Zhou Qing the Mad Blade, while Eagle Wolf Guard agents searched across Wanzhou and Zhou Qing vanished into the deep mountains.
• After five days of recovery, Zhou Qing found that he had accumulated five Dao Source Points.
• Zhou Qing spent all five points on the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique, advancing it to the seventh layer.
• Zhou Qing cultivated an initial Indestructible Vajra Body with full attack rebound, 10% force dissipation, and a mind and will as firm as a rock.

Zhou Qing used Dao Source to cultivate the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique to its ninth level, becoming a Peak First-rate Martial Artist with an Indestructible Vajra Body. He returned to Black Stone County and approached Zhou Manor to settle his grudges.

• Zhou Qing considered pursuing a first-rate Internal Art and decided to wait in the mountains before returning to Black Stone County.
• Zhou Qing spent ten Dao Source points to cultivate the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique to its ninth level and completed three rounds of bone-cleansing and marrow-washing.
• Zhou Qing gained an Indestructible Vajra Body, a Blood Qi Furnace, and greater resistance to force and Momentum.
• Zhou Qing left his mountain cave and returned to Black Stone County to confront his enemies.
• Zhou Qing silently entered the city at night and walked toward Zhou Manor, where four sleepy guards watched the main gate.

Zhou Qing stormed Zhou Manor to confront Zhou Yunpeng, who had placed a bounty on his head. After killing the manor guards’ leader and cornering Zhou Yunpeng’s fleeing family, Zhou Qing faced the burly bodyguard in a clash of strength.

• Zhou Qing broke through Zhou Manor’s gate and sent its guards flying with his bare hands.
• Zhou Qing killed Huang Tao with a single stroke when the manor guard leader attacked him.
• Zhou Qing reached the rear courtyard and blocked Zhou Yunpeng and his family as they tried to flee.
• Zhou Qing revealed himself and challenged Zhou Yunpeng over the bounty on his head.
• Zhou Yunpeng’s iron-tower-like bodyguard attacked Zhou Qing, who met his punch with a golden-lit fist.

Zhou Qing defeated and killed the iron-tower brute, then killed Zhou Yunpeng after rejecting his plea for mercy. As county constables and Eagle Wolf Guards surrounded Zhou Manor, Red Wolf Deputy Commander Lin Feng confronted Zhou Qing and attacked him.

• Zhou Qing struck the iron-tower brute down, sent him crashing into the crowd, and killed him with his blade.
• Zhou Yunpeng begged Zhou Qing for his life and offered money, but Zhou Qing killed him by slashing his windpipe.
• County constables surrounded Zhou Manor after learning that Zhou Qing had appeared.
• Lin Feng, a seventh-level First-rate Martial Artist and Red Wolf Deputy Commander, entered Zhou Manor and promised to apprehend Zhou Qing.
• Zhou Qing questioned what crime he had committed, and Lin Feng attacked him with both fists.

Zhou Qing resisted Lin Feng’s Mountain Collapse Momentum and revealed the Blood Qi Furnace, overwhelming the Red Wolf Deputy Commander in a single exchange. After killing Lin Feng, Zhou Qing hunted down and killed the two fleeing Profound Wolf Guards, leaving the Zhou Manor witnesses stunned.

• Lin Feng attacked Zhou Qing with Mountain Collapse Momentum, but Zhou Qing’s unshakable will and Blood Qi Furnace rendered it ineffective.
• Zhou Qing’s punch shattered Lin Feng’s fist and crippled his arm, revealing Zhou Qing’s strength as a peak First-rate body-refining martial artist.
• Lin Feng suspected Zhou Qing was an impostor, but Zhou Qing killed him with a single slash.
• The two Profound Wolf Guards tried to flee after Lin Feng died, but Zhou Qing caught and killed each of them with a punch to the head.

Zhou Qing killed the people at Zhou Manor, took its banknotes, and escaped after defeating Lin Feng and the other Eagle Wolf Guard members. He then arrived at the county yamen, intending to punish the officials who had helped frame him and condemn him to death.

• Zhou Qing spared Young Master Zhou temporarily after he offered to reveal Zhou Manor's hidden wealth.
• Young Master Zhou led Zhou Qing to a secret chamber, where Zhou Qing took roughly fifty to sixty thousand taels in banknotes.
• After leaving the study, Zhou Qing killed Young Master Zhou despite having promised to spare him.
• Zhou Qing escaped Zhou Manor while the constables froze, then they discovered Lin Feng and the other two Eagle Wolf Guard members dead.
• Zhou Qing arrived at the county yamen to confront the officials who had aided Zhou Manor and sentenced him to death.