Chapter Summaries

Zhang Yao left the convoy to search for Old Lu, but returned at dawn without finding him. Meanwhile, Lu Fan stopped fleeing Shang Qi and attacked, but Shang Qi evaded the blow, and Lu Fan’s mask shattered, exposing his face.

• Zhang Yao learned that Old Lu was missing and got Zhou Haiyan’s permission to search for him until dawn.
• Shen Yuniang challenged Zhang Yao’s decision to leave, but he departed after promising Zhang Zhi he would return before dawn.
• Zhang Yao searched the road and nearby villages through the night, found no trace of Old Lu, and returned as dawn broke.
• Lu Fan realized Shang Qi was still tracking him and decided to stop running and fight.
• Lu Fan struck at Shang Qi with a powerful punch, but Shang Qi evaded it and appeared unharmed behind him.
• Lu Fan turned toward Shang Qi as his mask cracked and shattered, revealing his face.

Lu Fan faced Shang Qi’s Blood Force Threads, which let Shang Qi evade attacks and shred Lu Fan from a distance. As his injuries and dwindling Force left him with few options, Lu Fan unleashed everything in a direct charge, and Shang Qi was stunned by what he did next.

• Shang Qi showed Lu Fan that his Blood Force Threads filled the space around him and could ensnare and cut anyone who approached.
• Shang Qi sent waves of Blood Force Threads at Lu Fan, draining his Force and covering his body in bloody marks.
• Lu Fan decided to stop competing with Shang Qi’s technique and gathered all his Force into his right fist, amplifying it with the Evergreen Formula.
• Shang Qi formed the threads into a massive net and dropped it toward Lu Fan, but Lu Fan charged through it and shattered the threads blocking his fist.
• Shang Qi tried to pull himself away with the threads, but Lu Fan’s next move stunned him and filled him with fear.

Lu Fan defeated Shang Qi with a final punch, but was left too injured to defend himself. Luo Qingshuang arrived and forced Shang Qi to flee with a blood-colored jade talisman, then turned her attention to Lu Fan.

• Lu Fan spotted Shang Qi's blood-stained Blood Force Threads, pulled him in, and shattered his defenses with a punch.
• Shang Qi rose despite his injuries and threatened to cripple Lu Fan and kill everyone connected to him.
• Luo Qingshuang cut through Shang Qi's Blood Force Threads and recognized him as the Blood Furnace member behind the Sun Family massacre.
• Shang Qi crushed a blood-colored jade talisman and escaped after its blast clashed with Luo Qingshuang's strongest sword strike.
• Luo Qingshuang spotted Lu Fan trying to slip away and ordered him not to move.

Lu Fan traded the Blood Embryo Pill manuscript and sample to Luo Qingshuang in exchange for help repairing Zhang Yao’s meridians and received Clear Spirit Pills for his own injuries. After Luo Qingshuang left for the Haotian Sect, Lu Fan took a pill and its effects were amplified a hundredfold.

• Luo Qingshuang questioned Lu Fan about the Blood Furnace and warned that its members would target him and anyone connected to him.
• Lu Fan showed Luo Qingshuang the Blood Embryo Pill manuscript and a bottle of pills, which she recognized as a valuable sample.
• Lu Fan revealed his real name and asked Luo Qingshuang for something to repair Zhang Yao’s damaged meridians.
• Luo Qingshuang gave Lu Fan a token and a bottle of Clear Spirit Pills, and told him to find her in Lidu after she returned to the Haotian Sect.
• After Luo Qingshuang left, Lu Fan swallowed a Clear Spirit Pill, triggering its healing and cultivation effects along with his hundredfold amplification.

Lu Fan recovered from his injuries, advanced to the Late Transformation Force Stage, and joined a merchant caravan bound for Lidu. Meanwhile, Zhang Yao and the others reached the capital, where Zhang Zhi hoped to join the Haotian Sect after a Li Family youth humiliated them at the city gate.

• Lu Fan absorbed the Clear Spirit Pill through the night, healed completely, and advanced to the Late Transformation Force Stage.
• Lu Fan decided to retrieve an item from Luo Qingshuang for Zhang Yao and seek a combat-focused cultivation method in Lidu, then concealed his aura and joined a merchant caravan.
• Shen Yuniang, Qin Yaxin, Zhou Haiyan, Zhang Zhi, and Zhang Yao arrived at Lidu and marveled at its towering walls and crowded entrance.
• Zhou Haiyan and Qin Yaxin told Zhang Zhi she had the talent to compete in Lidu and might enter the Haotian Sect, which Zhang Zhi longed to join.
• A young man wearing the Li Family crest mocked the group and cut ahead in line, while Zhou Haiyan and Qin Yaxin persuaded Shen Yuniang and Zhang Zhi not to confront him.
• The group entered Lidu after waiting in line, and Zhang Zhi noticed that Zhang Yao remained distracted and hoped joining the Haotian Sect would help their family settle there.

Qin Yaxin brought Shen Yuniang, Zhang Yao, and Zhang Zhi to the Qin Estate in Lidu, where her brother Qin Zhao agreed to shelter them after recognizing Zhang Zhi’s martial talent. Their welcome came with a condition: Zhang Zhi had to enter the Haotian Sect, or the support would be withdrawn.

• Zhou Haiyan parted ways with Qin Yaxin and the others after escorting them to Lidu.
• Qin Yaxin led Shen Yuniang, Zhang Yao, and Zhang Zhi to the Qin Estate and told gatekeeper Sun Lianshan that their father had died.
• Sun Lianshan brought the group to Qin Zhao, who welcomed Qin Yaxin and agreed to let them stay at the estate.
• Qin Zhao examined Zhang Yao’s injured condition and discovered that Zhang Zhi had reached Late Bright Force at sixteen.
• Qin Zhao promised Qin Yaxin a shop to manage and resources for the group, but warned that their support depended on Zhang Zhi entering the Haotian Sect.

Lu Fan reached Lidu, settled into work at Fortune Hall near the Qin Estate, and learned that the Qin Household was in danger because its Core-Embracing ancestor was nearing death. After Lu Fan delivered a meal to the estate and left, Qin Yaxin came out to ask about the food.

• Lu Fan entered Lidu and decided to work near the Qin Estate before arranging an apparently accidental meeting with Qin Yaxin and the others.
• Lu Fan learned the layout of Lidu, found Fortune Hall on Green Willow Street, and was hired as a kitchen hand.
• Lu Fan learned that the Qin Household controlled much of Lidu’s pill trade but faced a crisis because its Core-Embracing ancestor was nearing the end of his life.
• The Fortune Hall steward sent Lu Fan to deliver a table of dishes to the Qin Estate, where the gatekeepers allowed only the food inside.
• After Lu Fan returned to Fortune Hall, Qin Yaxin came out of the estate and asked Sun Lianshan whether the meal had arrived.

Qin Yaxin brought food to the despondent Zhang Yao, hoping he would eat and eventually help protect her shop. The meat soup revived him when he recognized it as Old Lu’s cooking, and he asked Qin Yaxin where the food came from.

• Sun Lianshan pitied Zhang Yao’s damaged meridians and the loss of his potential to advance to Transformation Force.
• Qin Yaxin overheard relatives gossiping about her background and doubting she could enter the Haotian Sect, but continued to Zhang Yao’s courtyard.
• Shen Yuniang told Qin Yaxin that Zhang Yao refused to eat while Zhi'er’s cultivation was improving with pills from Qin Zhao.
• Qin Yaxin offered Zhang Yao food from Fortune Mansion, hoping to restore his will and gain his help guarding her shop.
• Zhang Yao eagerly drank the meat soup, recognized Old Lu’s cooking, and asked Qin Yaxin where the food basket came from.

Qin Yaxin brought Zhang Yao to Fortune Mansion, where he reunited with Lu Fan and invited him to work for the Qin Household. Meanwhile, Qin Zhao weighed the threats facing the Qin Household as its Core-Embracing Realm ancestor’s birthday approached and wondered how much longer the ancestor could hold on.

• Qin Yaxin realized that Lu Fan was alive and told Zhang Yao, who hurried to Fortune Mansion with her.
• Zhang Yao embraced Lu Fan in relief, and Qin Yaxin invited him to join the Qin Household’s kitchen.
• Lu Fan accepted after Fortune Mansion’s manager agreed to let him go, and Zhang Yao prepared to return with him.
• Qin Zhao ordered his observer to withdraw after monitoring Yaxin’s new recruit for a few more days.
• Qin Zhao considered the threats to the Qin Household’s medicinal pill trade and went to visit the ancestor.

Li Chenghao met with the envoy Shang Qi, who ordered him to destroy the Qin Household and gave him a Blood Calamity Pill that could help create a second Core-Embracing Realm martial artist. Li Chenghao agreed to investigate the Qin ancestor within a month, while Shang Qi revealed that the Haotian Sect and the Qin Household’s pill formula were central to his plans.

• At a banquet, Song Kui told Lidu’s powerful figures that they would divide the Qin Household’s territory when its old ancestor died, with Li Chenghao silently allowing him to speak for the Li Family.
• After the guests left, Li Chenghao met Shang Qi and the towering Ghost Ape in the inner courtyard.
• Shang Qi ordered Li Chenghao to take down the Qin Household within three months, but Li Chenghao warned that its old ancestor might still be alive and could retaliate.
• Shang Qi gave Li Chenghao a Blood Calamity Pill, explaining that it could let a Late Transformation Force Stage martial artist break through to the Core-Embracing Realm, though the incomplete pill had severe side effects.
• Shang Qi said the Qin Household likely possessed the formula to complete the pill, and Li Chenghao promised to investigate its ancestor within one month.
• After Li Chenghao left, Shang Qi said he intended to obtain the formula and destroy the Haotian Sect, then disappeared into the darkness with the Ghost Ape.