Chapter Summaries

After reaching Qi and Blood Circulation in less than four months, Jiang Shu faced accusations from Wang Han, but Principal Zhang Taining instead offered him special support and urged him to stay at school. Jiang Shu left with Zhang to meet martial arts speaker Zheng Yanbo, while his classmates learned he could contend for an Academy.

• Wang Han accused Jiang Shu of throwing away his books and demanded that Principal Zhang punish him, while Xu Shuhui tried to defend Jiang Shu.
• Zhang Taining offered Jiang Shu a private dorm room, access to new gym equipment, and the school's full support, hoping to keep him at school.
• Jiang Shu said he would consider the offer, then agreed to meet Zhang and guest speaker Zheng Yanbo in the principal's office.
• After Jiang Shu and Zhang left, Wang Han protested, and Yan Dehou revealed that Jiang Shu had reached Qi and Blood Circulation and could contend for an Academy.
• Xu Shuhui reflected that Jiang Shu had answered his classmates' scorn by calmly walking out with the principal.

Zheng Yanbo explained Martial Dao cultivation and the resources available to students, while Jiang Shu learned what separated Academies from other universities. After Zheng Yanbo left, Jiang Shu resolved to enter an Academy and pursue its resources through his own cultivation path.

• Zheng Yanbo challenged Principal Zhang Taining's belief that every student could take up martial arts, pointing out that only Jiang Shu at Fifth High School had shown the necessary talent.
• Zheng Yanbo praised Jiang Shu's Horse Stance progress, explained how students could learn the Guidance Technique, and described the roles of Exotic Beast Meat and Heaven and Earth Treasure Medicine.
• Zheng Yanbo gave Jiang Shu his phone number, declined Zhang Taining's lunch invitation, and left the school.
• Jiang Shu told Zhang Taining he was going home to practice instead of returning to class, then left the campus.
• Jiang Shu reflected that the Hungry Tiger Breathing Method and Hungry Tiger Sitting Cave Stance offered his path to cultivation and resolved to enter one of Xia Kingdom's Academies for its resources.

Jiang Shu reassured his father about the benefits and costs of pursuing martial arts, then crossed into the inner city and arrived at Hungry Tiger Martial Hall during its monthly fist bouts. The chapter left him watching two senior apprentices compete for Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine and possible formal discipleship.

• Jiang Shu massaged Jiang Yongyi’s back and explained that martial artists’ benefits did not necessarily mean they would be sent to battlefields.
• Jiang Yongyi supported Jiang Shu’s martial arts training and transferred him six thousand yuan.
• After dinner, Jiang Shu crossed over to the other world and walked through Crooked Snake Alley in a realistic wig to evade the Green Snake Gang’s search.
• At Hungry Tiger Martial Hall, Luo Yongcheng explained the monthly fist bouts and the rewards of Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine and formal discipleship.
• Two senior apprentices at Whole Body Qi and Blood Great Circulation began demonstrating Tiger Form Three Styles on the platform as Luo Yongcheng watched enviously.

After the monthly sparring match, Old Man Chou offered Jiang Shu a chance to continue training with extra Secret Medicine Meat Soup and a possible reward of Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine. A month later, Jiang Shu saw his training improve and returned to the Hungry Tiger Martial Hall for another sparring match.

• Luo Yongcheng lost his sparring match and worried that he would not become a formal disciple in time to save his family's medicine shop.
• Old Man Chou warned Luo Yongcheng that his late start and weak constitution would limit his future progress, then praised Han Dali's steady training.
• Zhou Yang revealed that Han Dali had signed a contract with the Zhou Family Restaurant and would not train at the martial hall next month, leaving Han Dali uneasy about his decision.
• Old Man Chou offered Jiang Shu another month of training for fifteen taels, two bowls of Secret Medicine Meat Soup each day, and Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine if he reached Qi and Blood Circulation by midmonth.
• After a month of training, Jiang Shu credited the Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine with accelerating his progress and paid his monthly fee before heading to the martial hall for the next sparring match.

Jiang Shu encouraged Luo Yongcheng to keep fighting for a future in Pingling County, then defeated Yuan Chengcai in a martial hall sparring match. Luo won his own match and offered Jiang Shu the Luo family's Blood Nourishing Medicinal Cuisine recipe in exchange for help obtaining secret medicine.

• Jiang Shu told Luo Yongcheng that, like a footless bird, they had to keep advancing because the powerful families and gangs left them no other choice.
• Jiang Shu used his Tiger Form Three Styles to defeat Yuan Chengcai and win their sparring match.
• Luo Yongcheng fought more fiercely after Jiang Shu's advice and won a dose of Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine.
• Luo Yongcheng brought Jiang Shu to the struggling Luo Family Pharmacy and explained that becoming a martial artist was his only chance to save it.
• Luo Yongcheng offered the Blood Nourishing Medicinal Cuisine recipe in exchange for Jiang Shu's support in obtaining secret medicine over the next year.

Luo Yongcheng asked Jiang Shu to keep the Blood Nourishing Medicinal Cuisine recipe secret for a year while he tried to become a martial artist and save his family pharmacy. Jiang Shu refused, explained that Luo’s family had misunderstood the powerful families’ motives, and left after Luo accused him of selfishness.

• Luo Yongcheng offered Jiang Shu the Blood Nourishing Medicinal Cuisine recipe and asked him to keep it secret for a year while he pursued the Skin Grinding Realm.
• Jiang Shu said the Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine affected martial hall disciples’ prospects and that Old Man Chou judged their talent and vision.
• Jiang Shu advised Luo Yongcheng to present the recipe to Old Man Chou and explained that powerful families sought to monopolize ordinary people’s paths to martial arts.
• Luo Yongcheng rejected Jiang Shu’s explanation and accused him of refusing to share the secret medicine out of selfishness.
• Jiang Shu told Luo Yongcheng that he could not protect the recipe and turned to leave.

After a month of training, Jiang Shu returned to Hungry Tiger Martial Hall for the monthly sparring bout, where he faced Luo Yongcheng. Jiang Shu defeated him with ease and left the ring as the victor.

• Jiang Shu reflected on Luo Yongcheng’s predicament and resolved to build the strength and connections needed to protect himself in Pingling County.
• Zhou Yang tried to curry favor with Jiang Shu by offering him Blood Strengthening Wine at Hungry Tiger Martial Hall.
• Luo Yongcheng entered the hall and exchanged cold looks with Jiang Shu and Zhou Yang before the monthly sparring began.
• The maid announced Jiang Shu and Luo Yongcheng as opponents, and Luo Yongcheng charged first, convinced he would win.
• Jiang Shu evaded Luo Yongcheng’s attacks, struck his unstable shoulder, and overwhelmed him until Luo Yongcheng stumbled beyond the ring’s boundary.

After easily defeating Luo Yongcheng, Jiang Shu considered ways to earn money and planned to discuss restaurant business with Zhou Yang, hoping to support his parents once he became a formal disciple. The chapter ended with Jiang Shu refusing Luo Yongcheng’s request for another fight and leaving with Zhou Yang.

• Jiang Shu defeated Luo Yongcheng and reflected that he might soon become a formal disciple.
• Zhou Yang offered to hire Jiang Shu as a martial arts retainer, but Jiang Shu declined and asked about his family’s restaurant dishes instead.
• Jiang Shu considered selling seasonings such as salt and monosodium glutamate to help his parents without competing with powerful households over martial resources.
• After training, Jiang Shu prepared to visit the Zhou Family restaurant with Zhou Yang.
• Luo Yongcheng challenged Jiang Shu to fight again and wagered Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine, but Jiang Shu refused and left.

Jiang Shu proposed a food business to Zhou Yang, then went to Old Man Chou to seek formal discipleship after mastering the three methods and achieving Whole Body Qi and Blood Great Circulation. He accepted the martial hall’s obligations and raised the problem of his missing household registration.

• Jiang Shu criticized the Zhou Family Restaurant’s dishes and offered to cook for Zhou Yang before discussing a business using seasonings.
• Zhou Yang toasted Jiang Shu and wished him success in becoming a formal disciple, while Jiang Shu wished the restaurant prosperity.
• Five days later, Jiang Shu told Old Man Chou that he had mastered the Refining, Nourishing, and Striking Three Methods and achieved Whole Body Qi and Blood Great Circulation.
• Old Man Chou explained the duties of a formal disciple and asked Jiang Shu whether he would join the Hungry Tiger Martial Hall under Chou Hai.
• Jiang Shu agreed to become a formal disciple and told Old Man Chou that he lacked Pingling County household registration because he had arrived as a refugee.

After three months of training, Jiang Shu became Chou Hai’s formal disciple and received the upper volume of the Hungry Tiger Howling Mountain Force. He studied its Skin Polishing method and tried to cultivate it, while Luo Yongcheng regretted their falling-out as the gap between them widened.

• Chou Hai explained that mastering the Hungry Tiger Martial Hall’s three methods qualified Jiang Shu to learn the Hungry Tiger Howling Mountain Force, then demonstrated its Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound.
• Chou Hai gave Jiang Shu the upper volume of the technique and told him to memorize it without copying or sharing it.
• Jiang Shu memorized the meridian diagram but found that his Panel had not recorded the technique, so he tried circulating his qi and blood in a tiger stance.
• Chou Hai announced that Jiang Shu had become his formal disciple and ordered the apprentices to attend a ceremony three days later.
• Luo Yongcheng realized that Jiang Shu’s new status could have helped his family pharmacy and regretted their estrangement.

Jiang Shu visited Old Man Li before leaving Crooked Snake Alley and found the wounded Green Snake Gang hall master Zheng Kun hiding in his home. Zheng Kun threatened him, so Jiang Shu killed him and left Old Man Li beside the body.

• Jiang Shu returned to Crooked Snake Alley and knocked on Old Man Li's door to tell him he would move into the Inner City.
• Old Man Li let Jiang Shu into the room, where the wounded Zheng Kun was hiding.
• Zheng Kun mistook Jiang Shu for an easy target and beckoned him closer.
• Jiang Shu attacked Zheng Kun with a powerful punch, breaking his arm and reopening his wounds.
• Jiang Shu struck Zheng Kun repeatedly and killed him with a final punch to the forehead.

After killing Zheng Kun, Jiang Shu concealed the death, helped Old Man Li plan to leave the Outer City, and settled in a rented Inner City courtyard. He was formally accepted as Hungry Tiger Martial Hall’s thirteenth disciple, and the chapter ended with him offering tea to Chou Hai.

• Jiang Shu confirmed Zheng Kun was dead, took a pouch of gold beans, and told Old Man Li how they would hide Zheng Kun’s death from the gangs.
• Jiang Shu promised to help Old Man Li find his daughter and settle his household registration so he could move into the Inner City.
• Over the next three days, Zheng Kun’s death contributed to Poison Fang Hall’s collapse as the Green Snake Gang and Black Water Gang continued fighting.
• Jiang Shu settled his household registration, rented a Small Courtyard in the Inner City, and continued training toward the Hungry Tiger Howling Mountain Force.
• Chou Hai formally accepted Jiang Shu as the Hungry Tiger Martial Hall’s thirteenth disciple before the martial hall masters and great households of Pingling County.
• Jiang Shu donned the formal disciple’s uniform, knelt, and offered tea to Chou Hai.

Jiang Shu negotiated a partnership with the Zhou Family Restaurant for his secret seasonings and returned to Xuanxing after entrusting the contract to Old Man Chou. Back in Qingjiang Garden, he considered which Academy to attend and went to tell his parents about his progress.

• Jiang Shu offered Zhou Yang a contract giving the restaurant thirty percent on paper, while the actual split would give the restaurant forty percent, Old Man Chou fifty percent, and Jiang Shu ten percent.
• Jiang Shu handed the Zhou Family Restaurant contract to Old Man Chou and returned to Xuanxing.
• Jiang Shu reviewed the strengths of Shengjing Academy, East Sea Academy, Tianshu Academy, and Jiangnan Academy as he considered where to study.
• Jiang Shu decided to ask his parents for their opinions and went to find them, thinking he could reveal that he was assured admission to an Academy.

Jiang Shu took his mother, Xu Lizhi, out for a day and watched a Martial Dao movie with her. When the film showed two giant octopuses behaving unusually, he realized they might have opened their species’ Gene Lock, which had held them for three hundred million years.

• Jiang Shu visited Xu Lizhi’s clothing store and invited her to take a break and go out with him.
• Jiang Shu took Xu Lizhi around Yingtai Mall and messaged Jiang Yan Yue about a movie to watch.
• Jiang Shu and Xu Lizhi watched the movie “Martial Arts Era” in a crowded theater.
• The movie showed two giant deep-sea octopuses living harmoniously after mating, and Jiang Shu connected their behavior to Zheng Yanbo’s warning about wild animals rapidly evolving.
• Jiang Shu concluded that the octopuses might have opened their species’ Gene Lock after three hundred million years.

After watching a film about evolving creatures, Jiang Shu resolved to pursue martial arts and the Guidance Technique to protect himself and his family. A disguised Ye Zhenzhen warned him and Xu Lizhi that both the Xia Kingdom and America were preparing for changes beyond the reach of ordinary weapons.

• Jiang Shu connected the film’s evolving creatures to the Gene Locks and decided he needed to learn the Guidance Technique and Hungry Tiger Howling Mountain Force.
• After the movie, Xu Lizhi dismissed the danger and urged Jiang Shu to practice martial arts safely at home.
• A girl in sunglasses and a bear-shaped hat told Xu Lizhi that evolving monsters might eventually resist Missiles and explained the competing martial arts and gene-enhancement programs in the Xia Kingdom and America.
• Jiang Shu thanked the girl and left the theater with Xu Lizhi.
• After they left, the girl’s companion hurried in, and the girl revealed she was confident nobody had recognized her.

Jiang Shu told his family he had achieved the Whole Body Qi and Blood Great Circulation and could enter an Academy without an exam, then tentatively chose Jiangnan Academy. His family arranged a gathering to celebrate, and Jiang Shu urged his parents to stop working because he could support them.

• Jiang Shu reassured Xu Lizhi that Xia Kingdom remained in control despite the possibility of a monster invasion.
• At dinner, Jiang Shu announced that he could enter Shengjing Academy, East Sea Academy, Jiangnan Academy, or Tianshu Academy without taking the exam.
• After Jiang Shu compared the Four Great Academies, Jiang Yongyi encouraged him to choose for himself, and Jiang Shu tentatively selected Jiangnan Academy.
• Jiang Yongyi called his brothers and arranged a family celebration for the evening after tomorrow.
• Jiang Shu returned with liquor, celebrated with his family, and told Jiang Yongyi and Xu Lizhi they could stop working because he would provide for them.

Jiang Shu’s profitable restaurant business and Academy prospects were overshadowed at a family dinner by relatives praising Jiang Hongfei’s government career. At Section Chief Guo’s birthday gathering, Jiang Hongfei learned he might get a chance to meet Director Zheng and was told to make himself familiar.

• Jiang Shu calculated that Zhou Family Restaurant could earn him one hundred taels of silver each month, while his martial arts progress remained listed on his panel.
• At a family dinner, Jiang Yongren and Jiang’s grandfather praised Jiang Hongfei’s civil service career and sent Jiang Shu to call him from Section Chief Guo’s birthday gathering.
• Jiang Hongfei tried to dismiss Jiang Shu, but Section Chief Guo noticed him and told Jiang Hongfei to invite his cousin inside.
• Section Chief Guo received a call ordering him to welcome Director Zheng, then told Jiang Hongfei to bring stored Maotai to the private room when Zheng arrived.
• Section Chief Guo advised Jiang Hongfei to say little and make his face familiar when meeting Director Zheng.

Jiang Hongfei tried to use Section Chief Guo’s birthday dinner to curry favor with Director Zheng, while Jiang Shu came along to deliver Maotai. The chapter ended with Director Zheng recognizing Jiang Shu as his student, prompting an awkward greeting.

• Jiang Hongfei decided to prepare fine wine and tea for Director Zheng and told Jiang Shu to wait with the Maotai.
• Director Zheng arrived at the hotel, asked Section Chief Guo to keep the reception small, and discussed the Culture and Tourism Bureau’s growing responsibilities.
• Ye Zhenzhen arrived to discuss filming a martial arts promotional video for Jicheng with Director Zheng and Section Chief Guo.
• Jiang Hongfei brought tea to the private room and anxiously waited for the Maotai, then took the bottle from the waiter and headed to the table.
• Jiang Shu reminded Jiang Hongfei that their grandparents were waiting and turned to leave, but Director Zheng recognized him and called him by name.

Jiang Shu reunited with Ye Zhenzhen at Director Zheng's dinner and agreed to help film a martial arts promotional video. He returned to the Jiang family gathering with Jiang Hongfei, who looked shaken after discovering Jiang Shu's connection to Director Zheng.

• Jiang Hongfei realized Jiang Shu knew Director Zheng and worried about whether to return to the family dinner or stay with his leader.
• Director Zheng invited Jiang Shu to join him and asked him to help Ye Zhenzhen with the Horse Stance for a martial arts promotional video.
• Jiang Shu agreed to film the video and greeted Ye Zhenzhen, who looked forward to working with him.
• At the Jiang family gathering, Jiang Yan Yue grew frustrated as relatives focused on Jiang Hongfei and asked whether she should go find Jiang Shu.
• Jiang Shu entered the family room with Jiang Hongfei following behind him, looking dazed and dispirited.

At a Jiang family gathering, Jiang Shu’s relatives argued over whether he should pursue a civil-service career, while Jiang Hongfei remained shaken by Jiang Shu’s connection to Director Zheng. The family left after an awkward dinner, and Section Chief Guo greeted Jiang Shu instead of the relatives who had expected his attention.

• Jiang Hongfei returned home subdued after recognizing Jiang Shu’s familiarity with Director Zheng, and he avoided explaining what had happened.
• Jiang Xiangrong urged Jiang Shu to become a civil servant, while Jiang Yongyi defended his son’s freedom to choose his own path.
• Jiang Yongren disparaged Jiang Yongyi and Xu Lizhi’s careers, prompting Jiang Xiangrong to silence the argument.
• Jiang Shu tried to leave with his parents and Jiang Yan Yue, but Jiang Yongyi persuaded them to stay until the gathering ended.
• Outside the private room, Jiang Xiangrong and Jiang Yongren pointed to Section Chief Guo as proof of Jiang Hongfei’s status and told Jiang Shu to learn from him.
• Section Chief Guo ignored Jiang Hongfei and the elders, then warmly shook Jiang Shu’s hand and invited him to visit the Culture and Tourism Bureau.