Recaps

At sixty, Lu Fan unexpectedly awakened a system that could transform his cultivation and amplify vitality-restoring food. He planned to test it in private and considered attending Qin Yaxin’s banquet to learn more about martial artists.

• Wang Shi turned twenty without becoming a martial artist, lost his meat quota, and left his serving behind.
• Lu Fan recalled his life after transmigrating and realized the system had finally appeared when he turned sixty.
• Lu Fan saw that the system granted accelerated cultivation, exceptional comprehension, and a hundredfold effect from vitality-restoring items.
• Lu Fan kept his discovery secret and waited until he could return home before testing the bowl of meat.
• Qin Yaxin invited Lu Fan to a banquet celebrating her entry into Bright Force, and he recognized it as a chance to learn about martial artists.

Lu Fan cultivated the Evergreen Formula overnight, reaching Bright Force after his hundredfold-enhanced cultivation and meat consumption transformed his body. He planned to buy more meat and find a way to obtain the rest of the formula without arousing Zhang Yao’s suspicion.

• Lu Fan used the Evergreen Formula to achieve Qi Ingress and then Qi Circulation before dawn, restoring his senses and loosening his spine.
• Lu Fan ate a bowl of meat, whose blood and qi were amplified a hundredfold, and circulated the energy to complete the first three layers of the formula.
• Lu Fan shattered a solid wooden table with one palm and realized he had entered Bright Force.
• Lu Fan decided to keep his sudden progress secret to avoid endangering himself or Zhang Yao.
• Lu Fan found his saved silver and planned to buy more meat, but he still needed an excuse to ask Zhang Yao for the later portions of the Evergreen Formula.

Lu Fan received the Evergreen Formula and a weekly meat ration from Zhang Yao to help him maintain his health, but Shen Yuniang took the meat for Zhang Zhi and ordered him to keep it secret. The chapter ended as someone entered the courtyard and both Shen Yuniang and Lu Fan turned to look.

• Zhang Zhi ignored Lu Fan when he arrived at Blackstone Martial Hall to see Zhang Yao.
• Zhang Yao gave Lu Fan the Evergreen Formula and promised him a portion of meat each week after Lu Fan asked for a way to improve his health.
• Lu Fan collected his first portion of meat and was pleased that it would help him cultivate.
• Shen Yuniang took the meat for Zhang Zhi, saying she needed it to break through to the late stage of Bright Force, and forbade Lu Fan from telling Zhang Yao.
• Shen Yuniang and Lu Fan turned toward the courtyard gate when someone entered.

After the meat Shen Yuniang took from Lu Fan was gone, he spent his savings on more and used it to cultivate, reaching the late stage of Bright Force. With his money nearly exhausted, he decided to seek work guarding the Qin Household’s shipments and went to buy a mask to conceal his identity.

• Shen Yuniang gave the meat meant for Lu Fan to Zhang Zhi, while Lu Fan kept the Evergreen Formula martial arts manual.
• Lu Fan discovered that rising prices had made meat thirty percent more expensive, then cultivated through the night and completed the fifth level of the Evergreen Formula, reaching the middle stage of Bright Force.
• Over the next four days, Lu Fan cultivated with meat and advanced to the late stage of Bright Force, but nearly ran out of money.
• At a restaurant, Lu Fan overheard that the Qin Household was hiring Bright Force fighters after several shipments were robbed, amid tensions with the Feng Household.
• Lu Fan decided to apply to guard the Qin Household’s shipment and left to buy a mask so his identity would remain hidden.

Lu Fan used the alias Chen Liu to take a job guarding the Qin Household’s shipment after several previous escorts had been robbed. He set out with Zhou Haiyan and Wang Hu, while an unseen observer watched the convoy leave.

• Lu Fan posed as a Late Bright Force martial artist named Chen Liu and accepted the Qin Household’s escort job for one hundred taels and ten jin of meat.
• Qin Yaxin thanked Chen Liu, but his cold manner left her wondering why he seemed familiar.
• Lu Fan cultivated overnight, then took three days’ leave from Blackstone Martial Hall and went to meet the convoy.
• Old Zhang introduced Wang Hu, a young Mid Bright Force martial artist, and Zhou Haiyan, a Late Bright Force martial artist; Wang Hu mocked Lu Fan as an old fossil.
• As the convoy departed, Zhou Haiyan asked Lu Fan about the missing escorts, while Wang Hu boasted he could handle the bandits alone.
• An unknown person watched the convoy from a teahouse window, then disappeared after closing it.

Lu Fan’s vitality and blood advanced to the peak of Bright Force during the convoy’s first night. Near Feng City, Gu De of Thunder Martial Hall ambushed the shipment and revealed that he was a Dark Force expert, leaving Lu Fan to face him alone.

• Lu Fan absorbed the premium meat stew and reached the limit of Bright Force before dawn.
• Old Zhang’s convoy arrived near Feng City, where Gu De and his men blocked the road and demanded the Qin Household’s goods.
• Wang Hu tried to abandon the convoy, but Zhou Haiyan pointed out that previous shipments had not returned alive.
• Gu De revealed his Dark Force strength and threatened the group, while Lu Fan stepped forward to face him alone.
• Gu De ordered his men to surround the convoy and prepared to fight Lu Fan.

Lu Fan fought Gu De, a Dark Force martial artist, and used the Evergreen Formula’s abundant blood and qi to neutralize his penetrating attacks. After gaining the upper hand, Lu Fan blasted Gu De away, but Gu De escaped into the forest, leaving Lu Fan short of a killing blow.

• Lu Fan absorbed Gu De’s Dark Force with his blood and qi, then avoided a second attack by redirecting its force.
• Lu Fan realized the Evergreen Formula could disperse Dark Force and mocked Gu De for relying on it.
• Lu Fan fought back as Gu De’s Dark Force weakened and fluctuated, eventually suppressing him with his physical strength.
• Gu De noticed his subordinates were nearly defeated and tried to retreat after forcing Lu Fan back.
• Lu Fan caught up and sent Gu De flying with a palm strike, but Gu De recovered and fled into the forest.

Lu Fan protected the Qin Household’s shipment from Gu De, earned a bottle of Qi-Replenishing Pills, and declined a personal meeting with Qin Yuan. As rival forces gathered in Chi City, Li Xiao learned that the robbery had failed and faced an unseen young man whose voice came from the darkness.

• Zhou Haiyan mistook Lu Fan for a Dark Force expert after Gu De fled, and Old Zhang thanked him for saving the shipment.
• Old Zhang gave Lu Fan a bottle of Qi-Replenishing Pills, and the group returned to Chi City after delivering the goods in Feng City.
• Lu Fan declined Qin Yuan’s invitation to meet, while Old Zhang cut Wang Hu’s reward for contributing little to the escort.
• Qin Yuan decided to seek Zhang Yao’s support against Thunder Martial Hall and the Feng Household, and ordered Yaxin to invite him to a banquet.
• Gu De reported the failed robbery to Li Xiao, who dismissed him as a young man’s sinister voice sounded from the room’s corner.

Feng Jiaqi learned that Li Xiao planned to break through to Transformation Force before the Qin Household’s banquet and challenge Zhang Yao. Meanwhile, Lu Fan used a Qi-Replenishing Pill to break through from Bright Force Peak into Dark Force and continued refining its remaining power.

• Feng Jiaqi questioned Li Xiao about the Qin Household, and Li Xiao said he would reach Transformation Force in three days and defeat Zhang Yao.
• Li Xiao promised to put on a show at the Qin Household’s banquet, then privately resented Feng Jiaqi and vowed to settle his old debt with Zhang Yao.
• Lu Fan declined to join the Qin Household as a lineage attendant and focused on building his strength with the meat Old Zhang had given him.
• Lu Fan found that the meat could not push him past Bright Force Peak, so he swallowed one of Old Zhang’s Qi-Replenishing Pills.
• Lu Fan endured the pill’s violent medicinal power, broke through into Dark Force, and continued refining the potency left in his body.

Lu Fan bought the Tortoise Breath Formula to conceal his martial aura, then witnessed Gu De ambush Zhang Zhi and Qin Yaxin. Gu De revealed he had stolen the Qin Household’s shipments and began capturing the two women, while a faint crack sounded from the alley.

• Qin Yaxin noticed that Lu Fan looked more energetic, prompting him to worry that stronger martial artists might detect his growing qi and blood.
• After work, Lu Fan bought the Tortoise Breath Formula for fifty taels at a remote shop.
• Lu Fan overheard Zhang Zhi and Qin Yaxin talking about their martial progress, then watched Zhang Zhi confront Gu De in the alley.
• Gu De revealed that he had robbed the Qin Household’s shipments and intended to bring Zhang Zhi and Qin Yaxin back to his hall master.
• Zhang Zhi charged Gu De to give Qin Yaxin time to escape, but he struck her into the alley wall and turned toward Qin Yaxin.
• A faint crack sounded from the end of the alley, freezing Gu De’s grin.

Lu Fan defeated and killed Gu De with one punch, then secretly looted five thousand taels from his body. He returned home to cultivate, while two figures paced anxiously in a brightly lit house elsewhere in Chi City.

• Gu De recognized the Cracked Mask and charged at Lu Fan, while Qin Yaxin warned Lu Fan that Gu De had reached Dark Force.
• Lu Fan met Gu De's punch with one of his own, crushing Gu De's arm and sending him crashing into the alley wall.
• Lu Fan killed Gu De before he could beg for mercy, and Qin Yaxin thanked him for saving her and the Blackstone Martial Hall.
• Lu Fan told Qin Yaxin to take Zhang Zhi back, then secretly returned to search Gu De's corpse after she left.
• Lu Fan found five thousand taels on Gu De and headed home, planning to use the money to buy Qi-Replenishing Pills and cultivate.

After Zhang Zhi returned injured from an ambush, Zhang Yao escorted Qin Yaxin home and learned that the Feng Household had joined forces with Thunder Martial Hall. He and Qin Yuan agreed to publicly ally their households, while Qin Yuan prepared for Attendant Liu’s arrival and braced for a fight to protect the Qin Household.

• Qin Yaxin brought the unconscious Zhang Zhi home and told Zhang Yao and Shen Yuniang that Zhang Zhi had protected her during an ambush, while Old Chen had defeated Gu De.
• Zhang Yao examined Zhang Zhi, confirmed her injuries were superficial, thanked Qin Yaxin, and escorted her to the Qin Estate.
• Zhang Yao told Qin Yuan that Gu De’s corpse had disappeared, leading Qin Yuan to suspect the Feng Household had taken it and joined forces with Thunder Martial Hall.
• Qin Yuan and Zhang Yao agreed that the Qin Household and Blackstone Martial Hall would publicly form an alliance at Qin Yaxin’s banquet.
• Qin Yaxin revealed that Old Chen had defeated Gu De with one punch, but Qin Yuan refused to recruit him and said Attendant Liu would arrive by the following night.
• Qin Yuan privately resolved to resist the Feng Household rather than surrender the Qin Household’s foundation.

Li Xiao received Gu De’s corpse and vowed to take revenge on Zhang Yao at the banquet. Meanwhile, Lu Fan mastered the Tortoise Breath Formula, concealed his aura, and advanced to Mid Dark Force before heading to Blackstone Martial Hall.

• Li Xiao found Gu De’s corpse in a coffin sent by the Feng Household and concluded that someone had defeated him in a single strike.
• Li Xiao blasted Gu De’s corpse apart and vowed to repay Zhang Yao at the banquet the day after tomorrow.
• Lu Fan used the Tortoise Breath Formula to compress his qi and blood, conceal his aura, and refine his force.
• Lu Fan consumed his remaining Qi-Replenishing Pills and advanced to Mid Dark Force, nearing Late Dark Force.
• Lu Fan suppressed his revived masculine urges, disguised his aura as an ordinary old cook, and headed to Blackstone Martial Hall.

Lu Fan learned that Blackstone Martial Hall was closed and that the Qin Household would host a major banquet the next night. He bought Qi-Replenishing Pills from Shen Yuniang while keeping his identity hidden, then left as she considered whether to approach him.

• Lu Fan found Zhang Yao exhausted at Blackstone Martial Hall, learned the hall would close for two days, and left without pressing him for an explanation.
• Lu Fan heard that the Qin Household's banquet would include martial artists and dignitaries, with the Thunder Martial Hall and Feng Household invited.
• Lu Fan put on his Cracked Mask and went to a secluded shop to replenish his Qi-Replenishing Pills.
• Shen Yuniang sold Lu Fan three bottles of pills at a reduced price after noticing he paid with a five-thousand-tael banknote.
• Shen Yuniang considered forming a connection with the masked Dark Force martial artist but decided not to risk approaching him.

Lu Fan broke through to Late Dark Force while Li Xiao entered Transformation Force and planned to leave the Feng Household after dealing with Blackstone Martial Hall. At the Qin Household’s banquet, Qin Yaxin and Zhang Zhi prepared for the gathering as Zhang Zhi’s father, Zhang Yao, appeared among the guests.

• Lu Fan used Qi-Replenishing Pills to break through to Late Dark Force and felt confident he could handle trouble at the Qin Household’s banquet.
• Li Xiao demonstrated his newly acquired Transformation Force and resolved to deal with Blackstone Martial Hall before leaving the Feng Household’s control.
• Feng Wanqian told Feng Jiaqi that Li Xiao would remain their subordinate and revealed his willingness to cooperate with a mysterious man to preserve the Feng Household.
• Qin Yaxin told Zhang Zhi that the banquet would announce an alliance between the Qin Household and Blackstone Martial Hall, while Zhang Zhi said she was close to entering Late Bright Force but still felt too weak.
• Qin Yaxin and Zhang Zhi entered the crowded courtyard, where Zhang Yao’s imposing presence kept the guests at a distance.

At the Qin Household banquet, Qin Yuan announced an alliance with Blackstone Martial Hall, while Lu Fan observed the guests as Chen Liu. The banquet fell silent when a powerful visitor arrived, and Lu Fan recognized that the person he had expected had come.

• Zhang Yao attended the banquet with Zhang Zhi, while Lu Fan entered wearing a Cracked Mask and watched the gathering as Chen Liu.
• Qin Yuan announced that the Qin Household and Blackstone Martial Hall had officially formed an alliance, drawing the guests into lively speculation.
• Lu Fan noticed Shen Yuniang sitting apart from Zhang Yao beside Old Madam Shen, and exchanged a nod with her across the courtyard.
• Qin Yaxin thanked Lu Fan and invited him to meet after the banquet, and he agreed because the Qin Household could provide a steady supply of pills.
• A powerful aura surged through the courtyard as an expected visitor arrived, causing the guests and Zhang Yao to react, while Lu Fan set down his teacup.

Feng Jiaqi and Li Xiao arrived at the Qin Household banquet, where Li Xiao revealed his Transformation Force and Feng Jiaqi demanded control of the Qin Household’s pill business. Zhang Yao stood against them, and the chapter ended as he attacked Li Xiao while Lu Fan watched to learn the difference between Transformation Force and Dark Force.

• Li Xiao arrived with Feng Jiaqi, revealing that he had reached Transformation Force and that the Feng Household and Thunder Martial Hall had joined forces.
• Feng Jiaqi demanded that the Qin Household hand over its pill shops and channels within seven days, threatening them through Li Xiao.
• Zhang Yao rose despite Zhang Zhi’s pleas and stood between Li Xiao and Qin Yuan.
• Li Xiao mocked Zhang Yao and invited him to strike first, and Zhang Yao charged with a Dark Force punch.
• Lu Fan watched closely as Zhang Yao attacked, hoping to understand the difference between Transformation Force and Dark Force.

Li Xiao defeated Zhang Yao with a single flick, leaving the Qin Household’s allies to abandon it and Old Madam Shen to pressure Shen Yuniang to leave. As Qin Yaxin feared the household’s downfall, Lu Fan approached Li Xiao and challenged him for being too noisy.

• Li Xiao caught Zhang Yao’s full-force punch with one finger, then flicked him into a courtyard wall.
• Zhang Yao tried to fight again, but Qin Yuan restrained him and urged him to let the matter go.
• Guests abandoned the Qin Household, while Old Madam Shen told Shen Yuniang to sever ties with Zhang Yao and bring Zhang Zhi back.
• Qin Yaxin urged Lu Fan to leave, but he put on his Cracked Mask and walked toward Li Xiao.
• Lu Fan told Li Xiao that he was too noisy, and Li Xiao threatened to kill him.

Lu Fan withstood Li Xiao’s initial attack and revealed a powerful Evergreen Formula defense, then challenged the Transformation Grandmaster to fight seriously. Their full-force punches collided and filled the courtyard with dust, leaving the outcome unseen.

• Li Xiao attacked Lu Fan with thirty percent of his force, but Lu Fan’s blood-and-qi defense absorbed the blow without moving him.
• Zhang Zhi recognized that Lu Fan’s defense came from a far more advanced form of the Evergreen Formula, while Zhang Yao realized Lu Fan had reached its ninth layer.
• Lu Fan provoked Li Xiao by asking whether that was all a Transformation Grandmaster could do, and Li Xiao unleashed his full force.
• Li Xiao’s punch tore through the courtyard as Zhang Yao, Qin Yuan, Zhang Zhi, and Shen Yuniang retreated to safety.
• Lu Fan gathered his force into a punch and met Li Xiao’s attack head-on, and the collision engulfed the courtyard in dust.

Lu Fan, disguised as Old Chen, injured Li Xiao in a clash and helped the Qin Household force Li Xiao and Feng Jiaqi to withdraw. He declined Qin Yuan’s offer to become an Attendant and left after Zhang Yao thanked him for saving his daughter, then stopped shortly beyond the gate.

• Lu Fan and Li Xiao exchanged blows, and Li Xiao was injured despite forcing Lu Fan back.
• Liu Attendant and two other Attendants arrived, joining Lu Fan and Zhang Yao to confront Li Xiao.
• Feng Jiaqi called Li Xiao away, and the two left the Qin Household courtyard.
• Qin Yuan thanked Lu Fan and offered him an Attendant position, but Lu Fan refused and continued toward the gate.
• Zhang Yao thanked Lu Fan for saving his daughter and promised to repay him.
• Lu Fan stopped after taking a few steps beyond the gate.

Lu Fan returned home injured after fighting Li Xiao and realized he needed Qi-Replenishing Pills and a breakthrough to Transformation Force. Meanwhile, Li Xiao’s recruitment campaign drained Blackstone Martial Hall of students, leaving Zhang Yao too wounded to resist and the hall’s reputation in decline.

• Shen Yuniang invited Lu Fan to her residence for tea, but he refused and left.
• Lu Fan returned home, treated his injuries with the Evergreen Formula, and found that his supplies were insufficient for recovery.
• At Blackstone Martial Hall, Lu Fan learned that Li Xiao had declared himself a Transformation Grandmaster and offered students incentives to transfer to Thunder Martial Hall.
• Zhang Zhi told Zhang Yao that many students had stopped attending, and he concealed how badly his injuries had weakened him.
• Blackstone Martial Hall remained silent as its reputation fell and Thunder Martial Hall became the favored hall among Chi City’s younger generation.

Shen Yuniang returned to the Shen Household seeking help, but Old Madam Shen ordered her to divorce Zhang Yao and threatened to disown her. After Shen Yuniang humiliated Lu Fan at Blackstone Martial Hall, Zhang Yao struck her and declared they would divorce the next day, while Zhang Zhi watched in distress.

• Old Madam Shen ordered Shen Yuniang to divorce Zhang Yao within three days and return Zhang Zhi, or be cast out of the Shen Household.
• Shen Yuniang returned to Blackstone Martial Hall and berated Lu Fan for drinking broth made from leftover meat scraps.
• Zhang Yao arrived, sent the trainees away, and apologized to Lu Fan for Shen Yuniang's behavior.
• After Lu Fan left, Zhang Yao slapped Shen Yuniang and said they would divorce the next day; Shen Yuniang agreed angrily.
• Zhang Zhi stood outside the gates in sorrow and apologized to Lu Fan as he passed.

Lu Fan visited Shen Yuniang's shop for Qi-Replenishing Pills while preparing to recover and break through to the Transformation Force Stage. Facing threats to herself and her daughter, Shen Yuniang begged the masked Chen Liu for protection and offered her connections, shop, and herself; Lu Fan agreed to help.

• With the Qin Household's and Feng Household's shops closed, Lu Fan wore the Cracked Mask and went to Shen Yuniang's shop for Qi-Replenishing Pills.
• Shen Yuniang waited for Chen Liu, hoping he would protect her and Zhang Zhi from the Shen Household, Thunder Martial Hall, and the Feng Household.
• When Lu Fan asked only for Qi-Replenishing Pills, Shen Yuniang knelt and pleaded for his help, explaining that Zhang Yao wanted a divorce and her maternal family planned to erase her from the family register.
• Shen Yuniang offered her pill connections, shop, and herself in exchange for protection, and said Zhang Zhi could become a useful martial artist.
• Lu Fan agreed to help Shen Yuniang and her daughter.

Lu Fan secured a promise from Shen Yuniang and recovered from his injuries while the Feng Household tightened its pressure on the Qin Household and searched for Chen Liu. As the conflict in Chi City neared a climax, Lu Fan continued cultivating and prepared to face Li Xiao again.

• Lu Fan left Shen Yuniang's shop after she wagered everything on his promise as her hope for survival.
• Li Xiao ordered his disciple to investigate Chen Liu, the masked martial artist who had injured him.
• Feng Wanqian learned Shen Yuniang had been expelled from the Shen Household and demanded further concessions while directing a squeeze on the Qin Household's business.
• Feng Wanqian ordered his informants to uncover Chen Liu's identity and reflected on the mysterious pill and the people behind it.
• Lu Fan took a Qi-Replenishing Pill, healed his injuries, and advanced to within one step of Transformation Force.
• Lu Fan resumed cultivating, determined that the next time he wore the mask would be Li Xiao's day of death.

Lu Fan cultivated in the nearly empty Blackstone Martial Hall as Thunder Martial Hall students came to provoke its remaining students. After the students left, Zhang Zhi told Lu Fan not to return, hoping to keep him out of the conflict, while he decided to focus on reaching Transformation Force.

• Lu Fan cultivated in the kitchen while using the Tortoise Breath Formula to conceal his strength, bringing himself within half a step of the next threshold.
• Thunder Martial Hall students surrounded Blackstone Martial Hall students and demanded an apology, but Zhang Zhi confronted them and forced them to leave.
• Two injured Blackstone Martial Hall students quit, and the other female student followed them, leaving Zhang Zhi as the hall's only student.
• Zhang Zhi told Lu Fan not to come back so he would not be caught up in the conflict, and Lu Fan headed home to focus on entering Transformation Force.