Chapter Summaries

Zhou Qing broke into the county yamen, killed County Magistrate Lin Yue, and took the money from his hidden chest. He then confronted the terrified constables and ordered one of them to lead him to the martial arts vault.

• Lin Yue prepared a bribe for Lin Feng because he feared Zhou Qing might expose his corruption.
• Zhou Qing burst into Lin Yue’s study, withstood Lin Yue’s palm strike, and killed him.
• Zhou Qing gathered the banknotes from the study and estimated they were worth around a hundred thousand taels.
• The constables found Lin Yue’s body and recognized Zhou Qing, then backed away in fear.
• Zhou Qing told the constables Lin Yue deserved to die and ordered one of them to take him to the martial arts vault.

After killing the Eagle Wolf Guards and the County Magistrate, Zhou Qing looted the county armory and left the county town. At an abandoned temple, he sorted through the manuals he had taken and chose martial arts to cultivate, including the incomplete Nine Syllable Mantra Seal.

• The county constables learned that Zhou Qing had killed all three Eagle Wolf Guards, and the registrar fled the county office.
• Zhou Qing collected martial arts manuals from the armory and took a Mysterious Iron Saber.
• Zhou Qing left silver for Liu Shan as repayment for his kindness, then departed the county town.
• At an abandoned mountain god temple, Zhou Qing counted fifty-six manuals and selected the Golden Gang Art, Gale Nine Waves, Flying Catkins Misty Smoke Art, and Illusion Demon Movement Technique.
• Zhou Qing examined the incomplete Nine Syllable Mantra Seal and learned the abilities and drawbacks of its three seals.

After killing Lin Feng and Lin Yue, Zhou Qing became the target of a massive Eagle Wolf Guard bounty, but he spent years cultivating in seclusion. He emerged with several perfected and integrated martial techniques, far stronger than before, though he still had not grasped the Power of Momentum.

• The Eagle Wolf Guard raised Zhou Qing's wanted-list standing and offered a vast bounty, rare martial arts, and access to a Divine Intent Diagram for his capture or death.
• First-rate Blade Catchers set out to hunt Zhou Qing, while he withdrew into the mountains to cultivate.
• Zhou Qing combined the Gale Nine Wave Blade Technique with the Traceless Blade Technique to create and perfect the Traceless Thirteen Wave Blade Technique.
• Zhou Qing perfected the Golden Gang Art, integrated Swallow Dips Water into the Flying Catkins Misty Smoke Art as Floating Crossing, and mastered the Three Character True Seal.
• After fifteen days in seclusion, Zhou Qing assessed his greatly increased strength and left the deep mountains, still needing to cultivate a First-rate Internal Art to grasp the Power of Momentum.

Zhou Qing heard that Shen Qingyue planned to auction Cold Moon Villa’s properties and martial arts manuals to fund revenge against Blood Hand Butcher Li Baichuan, and he decided to attend. At the villa, Li Baichuan threatened everyone who came to the auction, but Zhou Qing continued up the mountain.

• At Tingyun Residence, Zhou Qing listened in disguise as martial wanderers discussed his bounty and the auction Shen Qingyue had arranged at Cold Moon Villa.
• Zhou Qing decided the auction offered him a chance to obtain a first-rate internal cultivation method and left for Taining Prefecture five days later.
• At the foot of Cold Moon Villa’s mountain, Zhou Qing learned that Li Baichuan had threatened to exterminate the families of anyone who attended the auction.
• After hearing that a Canghai Sect elder inside the villa could match Li Baichuan, Zhou Qing thanked the man who explained the situation and headed up the mountain.

Zhou Qing climbed to Cold Moon Villa despite Li Baichuan’s threat and confronted the Blood Hand Butcher on the mountain path. He overcame Li Baichuan’s Blood River Momentum and killed him with a series of saber strikes, leaving the way to the auction open.

• Zhou Qing climbed toward Cold Moon Villa while people at the foot of the mountain speculated about his challenge to Li Baichuan.
• Zhou Qing sensed Li Baichuan hiding in the forest and told him to move aside or be cut down.
• Li Baichuan attacked Zhou Qing with his blood-red saber and unleashed his Blood River Momentum.
• Zhou Qing’s golden blood qi dispelled Li Baichuan’s momentum, and he countered with the Traceless Thirteen Wave Blade Technique.
• Zhou Qing broke Li Baichuan’s saber and split him in two with a slash.

Zhou Qing killed Blood Hand Butcher Li Baichuan and brought his head to Cold Moon Villa to claim the bounty. Shen Qingyue confirmed the head and handed Zhou Qing the prepared reward, a secret manual.

• Zhou Qing cut Li Baichuan down with a single stroke, then carried his split head up the mountain.
• The witnesses speculated that the bamboo-hatted saber wielder was Zhou Qing, the Mad Blade, and discussed the value of reaching the Xiantian Realm.
• Zhou Qing arrived at Cold Moon Villa and told the servants he had killed Li Baichuan and come to claim the bounty.
• Shen Qingyue examined the head, confirmed it was Li Baichuan's, and gave Zhou Qing a secret manual as his reward.

Zhou Qing verified that the Profound Ice Heart Method was genuine, refused Shen Qingyue’s invitation to join the Canghai Sect, and used five Dao Source Points to cultivate the art to completion. He glimpsed the Gate of Heaven and Earth but did not know how to break through to Xiantian, so he waited for the Eagle Wolf Guard, hoping to learn the path forward.

• Zhou Qing confirmed the Profound Ice Heart Method was genuine and refused the gray-robed elder’s offer to become a guest elder of the Canghai Sect.
• Shen Qingyue ordered a servant to announce that the auction would continue after Li Baichuan’s death.
• Zhou Qing spent five Dao Source Points to raise the Profound Ice Heart Method to the ninth layer, completing its Freezing Momentum trait and strengthening his mental will.
• Zhou Qing perceived the Gate of Heaven and Earth but could not break through it or discover how to advance to Xiantian.
• Zhou Qing reasoned that the Eagle Wolf Guard knew the method of entering Xiantian and waited in the forest for its officers to track him down.

Zhou Qing killed a Wind Full Tower scout who had been tracking him and decided to ask the Eagle Wolf Guard how to enter the Innate Realm. When Red Wolf Commander Fang Yuan dismissed his question, Zhou Qing prepared to force an answer from him and the two deputy commanders.

• Zhou Qing detected and killed a concealed scout, then found a token identifying him as an agent of Wind Full Tower.
• Zhou Qing considered seeking Innate Realm knowledge from Wind Full Tower but chose to ask the Eagle Wolf Guard first.
• Zhou Qing waited in a ruined temple for three Eagle Wolf Guard members to arrive.
• Red Wolf Commander Fang Yuan recognized Zhou Qing as Mad Blade Zhou Qing and questioned why he had waited for them.
• Zhou Qing asked how to enter the Innate Realm, and Fang Yuan mocked his ambition.
• Zhou Qing said he would use force to make the Eagle Wolf Guard answer.

Zhou Qing fought Fang Yuan, whose Sword Intent Seed overwhelmed Zhou Qing’s Ice Momentum, but Zhou Qing used the Nine Syllable Mantra Seal to withstand Fang Yuan’s sword and freeze him to death. The two Red Wolf Deputy Commanders were left stunned by Fang Yuan’s defeat.

• Fang Yuan attacked Zhou Qing with Sword Momentum that surpassed perfection and shattered Zhou Qing’s Ice Momentum.
• Zhou Qing activated the Lin Character Immovable Wisdom King Seal and blocked Fang Yuan’s sword strike without injury.
• Zhou Qing used the Bing Character Great Vajra Wheel Seal to compress his Profound Ice Internal Energy into a freezing attack.
• Zhou Qing’s finger strike froze Fang Yuan completely, and Fang Yuan’s body shattered into icy fragments.
• The two Red Wolf Deputy Commanders stared in disbelief at Fang Yuan’s death.

Zhou Qing killed the fleeing Red Wolf Deputy Commanders and learned that the Eagle Wolf Guard office in Taining Prefecture might hold information on reaching the Innate Realm. Wang Yan of the Fire Worship Cult offered to recruit him and explained the two paths to Xiantian, but Zhou Qing left and discarded the cult token.

• Zhou Qing killed one Red Wolf Deputy Commander with his saber and severed the other’s leg to stop his escape.
• The surviving Red Wolf Deputy Commander refused to explain how to enter the Xiantian Realm, so Zhou Qing killed him and decided to seek records at the Eagle Wolf Guard office in Taining Prefecture.
• Wang Yan revealed that he was a Black Lotus Emissary of the Fire Worship Cult and invited Zhou Qing to join.
• Wang Yan explained that martial artists could reach the Xiantian Realm by refining Spiritual Matter containing Heaven and Earth Origin Qi or by using an Embryo of Artistic Conception to open the Gate of Heaven and Earth.
• Zhou Qing declined to commit, accepted Wang Yan’s token, then discarded it after leaving to prevent the Fire Worship Cult from tracking him.

Wang Yan realized Zhou Qing had discarded the Fire Worship Cult token and abandoned his plan to recruit him. Zhou Qing then stormed Taining Prefecture's Eagle Wolf Guard Office, killed its Red Wolf Deputy Commander, and walked inside as the guards stood frozen.

• Wang Yan explained that he had offered Zhou Qing a token to track him and planned to gather Fire Worship Cult experts, but Zhou Qing had thrown it away.
• Wang Yan picked up the token and left the ruined temple area.
• Zhou Qing cleaved the Eagle Wolf Guard Office's plaque, crossbeam, and gates with one slash, shocking the onlookers.
• A Red Wolf Deputy Commander led dozens of Eagle Wolf Guards out to confront Zhou Qing and threatened him with the death penalty.
• Zhou Qing killed the Deputy Commander with a single slash, then walked into the office while the remaining guards dared not stop him.

Zhou Qing killed Feng Jun and left the Eagle Wolf Guard headquarters carrying a large bundle, drawing three Peak First-rate Blade Catchers to confront him. He annihilated Lei Kun, Xu Ning, and Yang Zheng with a single freezing slash, then disappeared.

• Zhou Qing killed Red Wolf Deputy Commander Feng Jun with one slash while forcing his way into the Eagle Wolf Guard headquarters.
• Onlookers discussed Zhou Qing's strength and predicted that the three Blade Catchers in the city would come after him.
• Zhou Qing emerged from headquarters carrying a large bundle as Lei Kun, Xu Ning, and Yang Zheng charged at him with their Powers of Momentum.
• Zhou Qing activated the Dou Character Outer Lion Seal and unleashed a slash empowered by his perfected Freezing Momentum.
• Zhou Qing froze and shattered all three Blade Catchers, then vanished while the crowd watched in disbelief.

After Zhou Qing killed three Peak First-rate Martial Artists with one slash and slew Fang Yuan, his reputation surged: he rose to twenty-fourth on the Great Xuan Court’s Wanted List and took Fang Yuan’s place at thirty-seventh on the Human Ranking. As Wang Yan spread news of Fang Yuan’s death to pressure Zhou Qing into joining the Fire Worship Cult, Zhou Qing disappeared into the mountains to cultivate.

• Zhou Qing killed Lei Kun, Xu Ning, and Yang Zheng with a single slash, shocking the onlookers with his strength.
• Wang Yan secretly told Wind Full Tower that Zhou Qing had killed Fang Yuan, hoping the news would leave Zhou Qing with no choice but to join the Fire Worship Cult.
• The Great Xuan Court raised the reward for Zhou Qing’s capture, and he climbed to twenty-fourth on its Wanted List under the epithet Lawless Madman.
• After killing Fang Yuan, Zhou Qing took his place at thirty-seventh on the Human Ranking, and his name spread throughout the Jianghu.
• Zhou Qing left Taining Prefecture City and vanished into the mountains to cultivate the martial arts he had obtained from the Eagle Wolf Guard’s headquarters.

Zhou Qing studied the Primordial Chaos True Art and used it to fuse four first-rate Internal Arts, greatly increasing his power and bringing the Gate of Heaven and Earth within reach. He resolved to fuse more arts to improve his chances of reaching the Xiantian Realm, then perfected a martial art that let him disguise himself as another person.

• Zhou Qing found records of a third method for breaking through to the Xiantian Realm in the Eagle Wolf Guard yamen's martial arts treasury and chose the Primordial Chaos True Art as his path.
• After years of bitter cultivation, Zhou Qing perfected the Primordial Chaos True Art and fused the Profound Ice Heart Method, Great White Golden Gang Art, Mountain Profound Art, and Hundred Herbs Evergreen Art into it.
• Zhou Qing learned that fusing four first-rate Internal Arts gave him only a thirty percent chance of shattering the Gate of Heaven and Earth, and decided he needed to fuse two or three more.
• Zhou Qing cultivated the Muscle Transformation and Bone Reshaping Art to perfection, gaining the ability to alter his appearance, physique, and voice.

Zhou Qing used the Muscle Transformation and Bone Reshaping Art to disguise himself, then sought first-rate Internal Arts at Wind Full Tower. He reached Qingyan Prefecture to pursue the Li Family’s Howling Wind Sword Art and arrived as Li Qi’s invited martial artists awaited a selection contest.

• Zhou Qing altered his appearance, build, and voice so he could travel under a new identity after offending the imperial court.
• Zhou Qing visited Wind Full Tower in Anyang Prefecture and bought information about two first-rate Internal Arts.
• Wind Full Tower told Zhou Qing that Four Seas Pavilion would auction an Internal Art in Yuanzhou City and gave him a token to meet Li Qi, who hoped to trade the Li Family’s Howling Wind Sword Art for support.
• Zhou Qing rode to Qingyan Prefecture and learned that the Li Family’s legitimate sons would settle their succession struggle through a contest between invited experts.
• At Li Qi’s estate, the invited martial artists waited to compete for three places, while a burly man demanded that the selection begin.

Zhou Qing arrived at Li Qi’s gathering and declared that he alone would fight in the contest three days later. After intimidating the assembled martial artists with his Sword Momentum, he drove them away and gave Li Qi the name Duan Shui Liu.

• A brawny man argued with a jade-faced young man at Li Qi’s gathering before Li Qi calmed them down.
• Li Qi received Wind Full Tower’s token and invited Zhou Qing inside.
• Zhou Qing told Li Qi that he alone would fight in three days and called everyone present trash.
• When the martial artists confronted him, Zhou Qing revealed his Sword Momentum and frightened them into apologizing.
• Zhou Qing ordered the martial artists to leave, and Li Qi respectfully asked his name.
• Zhou Qing introduced himself as Duan Shui Liu.

Zhou Qing, posing as Duan Shui Liu, agreed to help Li Qi win the Li Family leadership contest in exchange for a first-rate internal art. At the contest, Zhou Qing displayed overwhelming Sword Momentum and challenged the other five sons’ martial artists to face him together, but an unexpected challenger appeared before the result was declared.

• Li Qi promised Zhou Qing the Li Family’s inherited first-rate internal art if Zhou Qing helped him become family head.
• Li Xu learned that Li Qi had hired a First-rate Martial Artist and received Wang Yan’s assurance that he would personally intervene to secure Li Xu’s victory.
• At the Li Family contest, the First Elder announced the rules for choosing the next family head.
• Zhou Qing stepped onto the platform and challenged all the martial artists supporting the other five legitimate sons to fight him at once.
• Zhou Qing revealed major-accomplishment Sword Momentum, shocking the guests and leaving the opposing martial artists afraid to advance.
• A mysterious figure appeared on the platform just as the First Elder was about to declare Zhou Qing and Li Qi the winners.

Zhou Qing faced the disguised Wang Yan in the arena, where Wang Yan revealed a Flame Intent Seed. Zhou Qing unleashed Primordial Chaos Sword Momentum, destroyed the seed, and extinguished Wang Yan’s mental consciousness, leaving him dead.

• Wang Yan took the stage with a Flame Intent Seed, shocking the watching guests.
• Zhou Qing and Wang Yan failed to recognize each other because both were disguised.
• Zhou Qing fused four Powers of Momentum with the Primordial Chaos True Art and unleashed Primordial Chaos Sword Momentum.
• Zhou Qing’s sword momentum tore through Wang Yan’s flames and destroyed the Flame Intent Seed in his brow’s ancestral aperture.
• Wang Yan’s mental consciousness was severed, and his body fell to the arena floor.

Zhou Qing killed Wang Yan, a Fire Worship Cult Black Lotus Emissary, with one sword strike during the Li Family contest and claimed the promised martial arts manual. He reported Wang Yan’s identity to the Eagle Wolf Guard Office in Qingyan Prefecture, where Deputy Commander Zhang treated him with newfound respect without knowing Zhou Qing was a wanted criminal.

• Zhou Qing used the Primordial Chaos Sword Momentum to kill Wang Yan, shocking the contest’s guests and Li Family descendants.
• Zhou Qing discovered Fire Worship Cult tokens on Wang Yan’s corpse and accepted the martial arts manual from Li Qi before leaving the arena.
• Zhou Qing brought Wang Yan’s corpse to the Eagle Wolf Guard Office in Qingyan Prefecture and told Deputy Commander Zhang he had encountered the rebel at the Li Family contest.
• After confirming the account with the Li Family, Deputy Commander Zhang learned Zhou Qing had slain a powerful martial artist and welcomed him respectfully.
• Zhou Qing returned Deputy Commander Zhang’s greeting while reflecting that the commander did not know he was the Lawless Madman ranked twenty-fourth on the Wanted List.

Zhou Qing exchanged Merit Points for two first-rate internal arts and declined Deputy Commander Zhang’s offer to join the Eagle Wolf Guard. He improved the Howling Wind Sword Art and planned to fuse seven first-rate internal arts to raise his chances of reaching the Xiantian Realm.

• Deputy Commander Zhang told Zhou Qing that killing the Fire Worship Cult rebel had earned him twenty thousand Merit Points, and Zhou Qing chose to exchange them for the Crimson Sun Breathing Technique and Drip Stone Piercing Art.
• Deputy Commander Zhang invited Zhou Qing to join the Eagle Wolf Guard, but Zhou Qing declined and accepted a Guest Token instead.
• Zhou Qing confirmed that the three first-rate internal arts he carried appeared on his panel, then used five Dao Source Points to advance the Howling Wind Sword Art.
• After five years of cultivation, Zhou Qing fused the Howling Wind Sword Art with the Primordial Chaos True Art, strengthening his inner force and Power of Momentum.
• Zhou Qing expected to fuse the Crimson Sun Breathing Technique and Drip Stone Piercing Art within ten days, bringing him to seven fused first-rate internal arts and a ninety-percent chance of reaching the Xiantian Realm.