Chapter Summaries

After questioning whether he could rely on his special ability to define his martial path, Ye Yun remembered his grandfather’s advice and found his own purpose in martial arts. He chose to follow the path of his fists and began comprehending Fist Force.

• Ling Chen and He Yue praised Ye Yun after their sparring and said they would seek him out again.
• Ye Yun pondered his martial path and worried about depending on his special ability to choose compatible martial arts.
• Ye Yun recalled his grandfather urging him never to forget why he practiced martial arts.
• Ye Yun resolved to cultivate for himself, explore the world, challenge powerful opponents, and forge his path with his fists.
• Ye Yun practiced the Layered Waves Fist and entered a state of enlightenment as he began comprehending Fist Force.

Ye Yun consolidated his cultivation, broke through to the Seventh Level of the Qi Refining Realm, and entered another Epiphany while practicing in the snow. He created the powerful Ninefold Waves fist technique and wondered why he could experience Epiphany so easily.

• Ye Yun spent a month cultivating, deepening his understanding of Fist Force while remaining at the Half-Step Fist Force Realm.
• Ye Yun swallowed a Human Origin Pill, opened his eleventh and twelfth meridians, and broke through to the Seventh Level of the Qi Refining Realm.
• Ye Yun watched the snowfall and felt sorrow at being unable to share the scenery with his grandfather.
• Ye Yun practiced the Layered Waves Fist in the valley, entered an Epiphany, and fused insights from other martial arts into a new technique.
• Ye Yun named the nine-layered, tsunami-like fist technique Ninefold Waves and wondered why he had experienced another Epiphany so soon.

Ye Yun strengthened his martial arts and spent half a month consolidating his cultivation before choosing a dangerous sect mission. After registering to exterminate Clearwind Stronghold, he left the Mission Hall and headed for the mountain gate.

• Ye Yun practiced the Ninefold Waves Fist Art, observed Cold Spring, and continued trying to understand Fist Force and the Selfless Realm.
• Over the next half month, Ye Yun consolidated his cultivation, studied low-grade martial arts, and tried to combine Ice Force with his fist art.
• Ye Yun went to the Mission Hall and chose the mission to exterminate Clearwind Stronghold, despite learning that two inner sect disciples had already died attempting it.
• Gu Feng warned Ye Yun about the mission's danger, then recognized him as the newcomer on the Hundred Strong Ranking and registered his identity.
• Ye Yun thanked Gu Feng and left the Mission Hall for the mountain gate.

Ye Yun traveled toward Clearwind Stronghold and joined the Luo Clan Chamber of Commerce convoy heading to Blackwater Commandery City. After learning more about the stronghold and its chief, Wu Heihu, he concealed his true destination from Steward Luo.

• Ye Yun set out for Clearwind Stronghold, planning to scout it before attacking.
• Ye Yun showed his Purple Extreme Sect identity token to Steward Luo and received a place in the convoy.
• Ye Yun traveled with the convoy and accepted Steward Luo's invitation to dinner at their nighttime camp.
• Ye Yun asked Steward Luo about Clearwind Stronghold and learned about its roughly sixty bandits, defensive terrain, and Wu Heihu's powerful saber technique.
• Ye Yun told Steward Luo he was only curious and claimed he planned to shop in Blackwater Commandery City.

Ye Yun’s merchant convoy was ambushed at night by Liu Laosan and bandits from Clearwind Stronghold, but Ye Yun slaughtered the attackers. He pursued Liu Laosan and knocked him and his horse flying, leaving their confrontation unresolved.

• After dinner, Ye Yun returned to his carriage, considered how to deal with Clearwind Stronghold, and began cultivating.
• At midnight, Ye Yun heard approaching hoofbeats and saw Liu Laosan lead two dozen bandits to attack the convoy.
• Liu Laosan demanded the convoy’s women, then ordered his bandits to kill the men when Manager Luo refused to surrender them.
• Ye Yun hurled a carriage into the charging bandits and killed the attackers, including the two Qi Refining Realm martial artists who tried to flee.
• Ye Yun caught up with Liu Laosan, dodged his spear, and kicked his horse, sending Liu Laosan and the horse flying.

Ye Yun interrogated Liu Laosan about Clearwind Stronghold and learned that its remaining leaders and martial artists were stronger than rumors suggested. He forced Liu Laosan to guide him inside with an icy force placed near his heart, then returned to the stunned campsite as the guards began clearing the battlefield.

• Ye Yun defeated Liu Laosan and threatened him into answering questions about Clearwind Stronghold.
• Liu Laosan revealed that Wu Heihu was at the Seventh Level of the Qi Refining Realm, Zhang Bao was at the Sixth Layer, and four other Qi Refining Realm martial artists remained.
• Liu Laosan offered to lead Ye Yun into Clearwind Stronghold, and Ye Yun placed an icy force near his heart that would erupt after three days if Liu Laosan betrayed him.
• Ye Yun ordered Liu Laosan to clean up the battlefield and warned him not to run.
• Manager Luo praised Ye Yun's strength, directed the guards to clear the battlefield, and watched for his return.

Ye Yun left Manager Luo’s caravan with Liu Laosan and rode toward Clearwind Stronghold to destroy it. Along the way, Liu Laosan revealed the stronghold’s ties to the Wu Family, and Ye Yun reached Beheaded Mountain, where he prepared to approach its guarded entrance.

• Ye Yun accepted the caravan guards’ spoils, bid farewell to Manager Luo, and left with Liu Laosan.
• Liu Laosan told Ye Yun that Clearwind Stronghold’s chiefs served the Wu Family of Rock Mountain Commandery and raided Blackwater Commandery to supply it.
• Liu Laosan revealed that the Wu Family collected most of the stolen resources every three months and sent Wu Hai, a War Hall elder, to retrieve them.
• Ye Yun abandoned the idea of waiting to ambush Wu Hai and continued toward the stronghold with Liu Laosan.
• Ye Yun and Liu Laosan reached Beheaded Mountain, passed hidden sentries, and saw Clearwind Stronghold’s stone wall, iron gate, and watchtowers.

Ye Yun infiltrated Clearwind Stronghold with Liu Laosan and secretly killed the guards and every Body Tempering Realm martial artist. He then planned an ambush on Wu Heihu while tasking Liu Laosan with preventing Zhang Bao from intervening or escaping.

• Liu Laosan brought Ye Yun through Clearwind Stronghold’s gate, where they killed Zhao Goudan and five other bandits after summoning the watchtower guards.
• Ye Yun ordered Liu Laosan to lead him to the Body Tempering Realm martial artists’ quarters and warned Liu Laosan not to betray him.
• Ye Yun silently killed the martial artists in their rooms, narrowly stopping one bandit who had gotten up during the night.
• Liu Laosan considered alerting Wu Heihu but decided against it, and Ye Yun returned after eliminating the martial artists.
• Ye Yun instructed Liu Laosan to deal with the courtyard guards and lure Wu Heihu out so Ye Yun could ambush him, while Liu Laosan kept Zhang Bao from interfering or escaping.

Ye Yun and Liu Laosan ambushed the guards at Clearwind Stronghold and attacked Wu Heihu. Zhang Bao confronted them as Wu Heihu lay buried in the rubble, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Liu Laosan distracted Xu Shan and Zhang Tie while Ye Yun and Liu Laosan killed the two guards.
• Liu Laosan summoned Wu Heihu to the courtyard gate, and Ye Yun waited in ambush.
• Ye Yun struck Wu Heihu with Ninefold Waves, sending him crashing through a wall.
• Zhang Bao rushed out with a saber, and Liu Laosan declared that he had joined Ye Yun to help destroy Clearwind Stronghold.

Ye Yun fought Wu Heihu while Liu Laosan battled Zhang Bao, and Wu Heihu resorted to a dangerous secret art when Ye Yun gained the upper hand. After Zhang Bao fled and Liu Laosan pursued him, Ye Yun used a small stone to draw Wu Heihu’s guard aside, creating an opening for a decisive attack.

• Wu Heihu attacked Ye Yun with a saber, while Zhang Bao tried to persuade Liu Laosan to join him, and the four fighters clashed in two separate battles.
• Ye Yun struggled to combine Ice Force with Ninefold Waves, then exploited a flaw in Wu Heihu’s defense and battered him with successive punches.
• Wu Heihu used the Blood-Burning Berserk Origin Art to raise his cultivation, forcing Ye Yun to evade his attacks while waiting for the temporary power to fade.
• Zhang Bao kicked Liu Laosan away and fled down the mountain, and Liu Laosan chased after him as Ye Yun searched for an opening.
• Ye Yun kicked a small stone at Wu Heihu, prompting him to block it with his saber and exposing himself to Ye Yun’s next move.

Ye Yun killed Wu Heihu after entering the Selfless Realm, then went down the mountain to question Liu Laosan about Zhang Bao's escape. Suspecting Liu Laosan was lying and Zhang Bao was nearby, Ye Yun prepared for an attack, but Liu Laosan struck as Zhang Bao rushed out behind him.

• Ye Yun fused Ninefold Waves fist force with Ice Profound Force in the Selfless Realm and killed Wu Heihu, then collapsed from exhaustion.
• Ye Yun recovered with pills and pondered how the Selfless Realm had let him combine the conflicting forces.
• Ye Yun went down the mountain and found Liu Laosan among several corpses, then questioned him about Zhang Bao's escape.
• Liu Laosan claimed Zhang Bao had escaped during a fight with returning hidden sentries, but Ye Yun grew suspicious as Liu Laosan approached.
• Liu Laosan attacked Ye Yun at close range as Zhang Bao emerged from a corner and slashed at him from behind.

Ye Yun killed Liu Laosan and Zhang Bao after they ambushed him, then collapsed from exhaustion. The chapter revealed how Zhang Bao persuaded Liu Laosan to betray Ye Yun, and ended with the author noting that updates would be limited to one per day for a few days.

• Ye Yun killed Liu Laosan before he could strike, then evaded an attack and killed Zhang Bao with a punch.
• Ye Yun collapsed after exhausting his recovered true qi and strength, reflecting that Liu Laosan’s betrayal had nearly cost him his life.
• Ten minutes earlier, Zhang Bao told Liu Laosan he could help remove the force Ye Yun had placed in Liu Laosan’s heart, which would erupt after three days.
• Zhang Bao proposed capturing Ye Yun while he was weakened after fighting Wu Heihu, then escaping with the stronghold’s resources and possibly betraying the Wu Family.
• Liu Laosan agreed to Zhang Bao’s plan, leading to the ambush Ye Yun had just survived.
• The author said that personal matters would limit updates to one per day for a few days.

After destroying Clearwind Stronghold, Ye Yun found the captive women and learned that many had been left too traumatized to respond. Li Xiuying asked him to end their lives and hers, and Ye Yun agreed, preparing a funeral pyre.

• Ye Yun searched the empty houses of Clearwind Stronghold and found a group of chained, captive women.
• Li Xiuying told Ye Yun that the women had been tormented so badly that they had lost the will to live.
• Li Xiuying begged Ye Yun to grant the women and her a swift death, and he reluctantly agreed.
• Ye Yun gathered firewood around the house and poured kitchen oil over it.

Ye Yun bid farewell to Li Xiuying, burned the house where the captive women were held, and searched Clearwind Stronghold for its hidden treasures. He found records of the Wu Family’s dealings with Blackwater Commandery City and valuable items, including a Five-Hundred-Year Blood Ginseng, then prepared to open the last jade box.

• Li Xiuying told Ye Yun about a mechanism beneath Wu Heihu’s seat that concealed Clearwind Stronghold’s treasures, and Ye Yun gave her his name before leaving.
• Ye Yun set fire to the house containing the captive women, then collected useful items from Zhang Bao and Liu Laosan’s corpses.
• Ye Yun searched Wu Heihu’s residence and found a hidden compartment containing three jade boxes and a ledger.
• Ye Yun read the ledger, which recorded more than five million taels of gold in plundered resources and over one million taels paid to the City Lord of Blackwater Commandery City.
• Ye Yun opened two jade boxes and found twenty-six Spirit Stones and a Five-Hundred-Year Blood Ginseng, then turned to the final box with anticipation.

Ye Yun searched Wu Heihu’s residence and discovered resources, a breakthrough pill, and a high-grade body-tempering martial art. He then opened Clearwind Stronghold’s hidden vault and found a large stockpile of plundered goods.

• Ye Yun found an Essence Condensation Pill and stored it with the other treasures from Wu Heihu’s room.
• Ye Yun discovered the Mystic Ice Body martial art hidden beneath a meditation cushion and decided to cultivate it in hopes of becoming a Spirit Body.
• Ye Yun searched Zhang Bao’s residence but found only gold and a martial art with low compatibility.
• Ye Yun found the mechanism in the main hall’s large seat and opened a hidden passage beneath it.
• Ye Yun entered the vault and found chests containing ores, thousands of first-grade pills, and silver worth roughly three hundred thousand taels of gold.

Ye Yun burned Clearwind Stronghold, set off for the sect, and planned how to prepare for the Great Dynasty Tournament. By a stream, he met Li Qinglian, the Gentleman Sword of the Great White Sword Sect, who joined him for a meal.

• Ye Yun stored the spoils from Clearwind Stronghold, burned the stronghold, and left for the sect after discovering his horse was gone.
• Ye Yun spent a day traveling and settled on training through missions for two months before focusing on cultivation ahead of the Great Dynasty Tournament.
• Ye Yun reflected on his shortcomings in his fight with Wu Heihu and planned to improve his combat skills so he could defeat Zhuang Yan.
• Li Qinglian emerged from the woods and asked Ye Yun to share a roasted fish.
• Ye Yun recognized Li Qinglian as the Gentleman Sword, introduced himself, and welcomed him to eat by the stream.

Ye Yun learned from Li Qinglian that the Blue Spirit Ganoderma had been found in a dangerous ruin and claimed by You Lan and Ye Liuyun. He challenged Li Qinglian to fight in the Great Dynasty Tournament, and Li Qinglian agreed to wait for him to reach the final rounds.

• Ye Yun shared grilled fish with Li Qinglian and asked about the ruin in the Blackwater Mountains.
• Li Qinglian explained that a Blackshell Ice Serpent had killed most of the ruin's first explorers and that the younger generation had been left to compete for the Blue Spirit Ganoderma.
• Li Qinglian said You Lan and Ye Liuyun had worked together to poison the serpent and seize the Blue Spirit Ganoderma.
• Ye Yun questioned Li Qinglian about the Great Dynasty Tournament and declared that he intended to challenge him.
• Li Qinglian accepted the challenge on the condition that Ye Yun make it to the tournament's end, then offered him wine, which Ye Yun drank too quickly and spat out.

Ye Yun parted ways with Li Qinglian after sharing food, wine, and a promise to meet at the Great Dynasty Tournament. He returned to the sect and submitted proof that he had completed the Clearwind Stronghold mission, then waited for his reward.

• Ye Yun woke with a hangover, joked with Li Qinglian, and promised to challenge him at the Great Dynasty Tournament.
• Li Qinglian left, and Ye Yun cleared the wine from his system before continuing back to the sect.
• Ye Yun returned to the sect at night and went straight to the Mission Hall, where he startled Gu Feng.
• Ye Yun gave Gu Feng a jade pendant showing him killing Wu Heihu and destroying Clearwind Stronghold.
• Gu Feng examined the evidence, praised Ye Yun, and went to fetch his mission reward.

After receiving his mission rewards, Ye Yun rested, trained, and visited Ling Chen to ask for help handling the spoils from Clearwind Stronghold. Ling Chen welcomed him and served him Spirit-Cleansing Tea, while Ye Yun prepared to explain his request.

• Gu Feng gave Ye Yun fifty thousand taels of gold and a token for the Cultivation Manual Pavilion, then warned him to remain in the sect while his mission was verified.
• Ye Yun returned to his residence exhausted, slept, and resumed martial training at dawn.
• After training, Ye Yun went to Ling Chen’s residence to ask for help selling the items he had obtained at Clearwind Stronghold.
• Ling Chen welcomed Ye Yun inside, washed up, and served him Spirit-Cleansing Tea, which slightly purified Ye Yun’s true qi.

Ye Yun asked Ling Chen to sell a large batch of goods through the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, and Ling Chen agreed to buy them for three hundred and fifty thousand taels of gold. The transaction ended with Ye Yun accepting Ling Chen’s generous offer and promising to repay the favor.

• Ye Yun told Ling Chen he wanted to sell goods through the Myriad Treasures Pavilion and estimated their value at three hundred thousand taels of gold.
• Ling Chen expressed shock at the amount and asked Ye Yun to show him the goods.
• Ye Yun revealed crates of low-grade resources and first-grade medicinal pills, explaining that he had obtained them while wiping out Clearwind Stronghold.
• Ling Chen inspected all thirteen crates, including four containing silver, and offered three hundred and fifty thousand taels of gold for everything.
• Ye Yun accepted Ling Chen’s offer, counted the gold notes, and let Ling Chen store the goods.