Recaps

Zhou Chen sold polluted fish in Qingtian District while saving for martial arts training, relying on a Divine Statue that absorbed Miasma Poison and could convert it into proficiency. After Zhang Mingfei warned that something had happened at home, Zhou Chen rushed back and found his mother weeping and his little sister beside her.

• Zhou Chen sold a bizarre fish to a customer and collected five copper coins toward his martial arts school tuition.
• Zhou Chen reflected on how the Divine Statue purified Miasma Poison and could burn Mist Incense to raise his proficiency.
• A woman urged Zhou Chen to marry her daughter, but he refused because he intended to study martial arts.
• As night approached, Night Patrol Bureau martial warriors ordered the street vendors to pack up and go home.
• Zhang Mingfei told Zhou Chen that something had happened at his house, so Zhou Chen hurried home.
• Zhou Chen found his mother, Zhang Fang, crying on the threshold while Zhou Yu tried to comfort her.

After Zhou Tian was beaten by Old Master Zhou and Zhou Tao, Zhou Chen learned that the money saved for his martial arts training had been taken. Zhou Tian offered him a grotesque piece of flesh as a possible way into the Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall, and Zhou Chen left to seek a chance to become a disciple.

• Zhang Fang told Zhou Chen that Old Master Zhou and Zhou Tao had beaten Zhou Tian and taken the family’s savings for Zhou Ping.
• Zhou Chen heard how his grandfather had tried to pressure Zhou Tian into funding Zhou Ping’s job, then ordered Zhou Tao to seize the money.
• Zhou Yu offered to sell herself to help pay for Zhou Chen’s training, but Zhou Chen refused and comforted her.
• Zhou Tian revealed a strange lump of flesh he had taken from the site where martial artists fought a Mist Monster and suggested Zhou Chen trade it for a place at the Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall.
• After a nightmare about losing his chance and Zhou Yu being seized, Zhou Chen strapped on his knife, took the wooden box, and headed out to seek a martial arts apprenticeship.

Zhou Chen went to the Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall to seek an apprenticeship, hoping to use a treasure in place of the registration fee. After Old Zheng appeared uninterested and Ma Ge urged him to leave, Zhou Chen insisted that Old Zheng inspect the item.

• Zhang Mingfei confronted Zhou Chen in an alley and tried to uncover what he was hiding, then again offered five taels of silver for Zhou Chen's little sister.
• Zhou Chen avoided trouble by explaining that his father was injured and he was going to buy medicine, then continued to the Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall.
• Ma Ge let Zhou Chen into the hall, where Zhou Chen asked Old Zheng to accept an item instead of the apprenticeship fee.
• Old Zheng kept reading and told Zhou Chen to pay the fee and register, while Ma Ge began preparing to send him away.
• Zhou Chen opened his wooden box and pleaded with Old Zheng to inspect the treasure before he left.

Zhou Chen offered Old Zheng a supreme-grade Black Taisui and earned three months of training with the treatment of a Direct Disciple, despite his lower-middle-grade bone aptitude. After registering and changing into martial hall clothes, he met his senior brother Lian Taoze and found him crouched on the ground encouraging a cricket fight.

• Old Zheng recognized Zhou Chen's offering as a supreme-grade Black Taisui and promised him three months of Direct Disciple treatment, though his bone aptitude was lower-middle grade.
• Old Zheng fed the Black Taisui to Yingying, who lived inside the ice furnace, and she eagerly ate it.
• Zhou Chen registered, bathed, and changed into a martial hall training outfit before Ma Ge's servant took him to meet his senior brother.
• The servant explained that Lian Taoze was an upper-grade-bone disciple from the Lian Household who was respected by his junior brothers and sisters.
• Zhou Chen arrived in the courtyard and saw Lian Taoze on the ground, shouting encouragement during a cricket fight.

Zhou Chen learned the martial arts basics from Lian Taoze, including the Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall’s techniques, warrior ranks, and the obstacles posed by Realm Barriers and Miasma Poison. He realized his Divine Statue could purify the poison, giving him a way to pursue martial advancement despite the Outer City’s disadvantages.

• Lian Taoze welcomed Zhou Chen, chatted about his family, and explained that the hall taught the Coiling Python Stance Technique and Wild Bull Fist.
• Lian Taoze described the four skill realms and revealed that the Wild Bull Fist’s Force Realm granted a secret technique capable of striking enemies from a distance.
• Lian Taoze explained that disciples had to temper their skin, flesh, and bones to advance through the Martial Warrior ranks, and that Realm Barriers could block breakthroughs.
• Lian Taoze warned Zhou Chen that contaminated food caused Miasma Poison to hinder martial progress, while Inner City residents had clean food and ways to expel the poison.
• Zhou Chen looked toward the Inner City walls and resolved to rely on his Divine Statue to purify Miasma Poison as he pursued the pinnacle of martial arts.

Zhou Chen began training at Master Zheng’s martial hall, where his slow progress convinced Old Zheng that he would fail to reach Initiation in three months. At lunch, Zhou Chen discovered the martial hall’s strange specialty foods and learned that his temporary status as a Direct Disciple earned him little respect from the others.

• Lian Taoze taught Zhou Chen the Stake-Standing Exercise, and Zhou Chen reached Skin Tempering Realm (Initiation) with three proficiency points after a morning of practice.
• Old Zheng secretly judged Zhou Chen’s bone structure and comprehension inadequate, deciding he would have him do odd jobs if he failed to reach Initiation in three months.
• Lian Taoze took Zhou Chen to eat crimson-oil beef and Qi-Blood Soup, which contained less Miasma Poison, and mentioned that the soup came from the Meat Field.
• Lian Taoze introduced Zhou Chen to Su Mengyao, his cold and beautiful Second Senior Sister, as she came to eat and then left to cultivate.
• Lian Taoze introduced the other Direct Disciples, who lost interest in Zhou Chen after learning he had traded a treasure for one year of status and came from an ordinary background.

Zhou Chen improved his training by eating nourishing food, then spent his Mist Incense to raise his martial progress and strengthen his body. After he left to buy cheap Black Meat, Shen Ao dismissed him as a poor investment while Lian Taoze remained fond of him.

• Zhou Chen discovered that meat soup let him practice the Stake-Standing Exercise longer and raised his progress to 8/1000.
• Zhou Chen burned his accumulated Mist Incense and advanced to 208/1000, gaining strength, height, and greater ease with the Coiling Python Stance Technique.
• Zhou Chen decided to buy cheap Black Meat to build up Mist Incense and declined Lian Taoze's invitation to visit a pleasure house.
• Shen Ao criticized Lian Taoze for investing effort in Zhou Chen, whom he considered too weak and untalented to succeed.
• Shen Ao went with Zhang Shaojiu, a talented youth he had recruited, while Lian Taoze continued to regard Zhou Chen favorably.

Zhou Chen visited his cousin Zhang Ying and bought several kinds of Black Meat to test for vitality, while Zhang Mingfei’s gang planned to kidnap her the next day. The chapter ended with the gang preparing to act while Zhou Chen was away.

• Zhou Chen returned wearing his Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall uniform, making Zhang Mingfei and his men hesitate to confront him.
• Zhou Chen bought Black Meat from Zhang Ying, who also gave him two pounds of Gray Meat and urged him to train hard.
• Zhang Ying nearly fought with a rival vendor, but Zhou Chen and the other vendors calmed her down.
• A lackey told Zhang Mingfei that Zhou Chen had below-average aptitude and was unlikely to succeed within three months.
• Zhang Mingfei and his men decided to kidnap Zhang Ying the next day while Zhou Chen was away.

Zhou Chen returned home after overhearing Zhang Mingfei’s scheme and told his family he had joined the Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall. As he prepared to pursue strength, his sister asked him to buy her candied hawthorns, and his parents agreed to support his training despite the cost and uncertainty.

• Zhou Chen overheard Zhang Mingfei and the others plotting and decided that his strength was enough to kill them if necessary.
• Zhou Chen passed neighbors carrying the corpse of a starving girl and thought about the misery of life in the district.
• Zhou Chen told Zhang Fang that he had successfully taken a master, and Zhou Yu asked him to buy her candied hawthorns so she could learn what sweet tasted like.
• Zhou Chen used Gray Meat to celebrate with his family and applied medicine to Zhou Tian’s injured back while resolving to become stronger.
• Zhou Tian urged Zhou Chen to focus on martial arts for three months, though he admitted the family would accept it if Zhou Chen failed.
• Zhou Chen served the Gray Meat to his family and told them the martial arts hall had already fed him, encouraging them to eat it themselves.

Zhou Chen set out to kill Zhang Mingfei and his lackeys to protect his family, but spared one man after seeing him with his wife and daughter. He later doubled back and strangled that man, leaving the story with Zhou Chen hardened by his resolve to survive.

• Zhou Chen left home and went to Zhang Mingfei’s shed, where he blinded Zhang Mingfei with ash and beat him to death with a stone.
• Zhou Chen hunted down Zhang Mingfei’s other lackeys, killing several of them without hesitation.
• Zhou Chen saw one lackey sharing dinner with his wife and young daughter and initially turned away, unwilling to leave them vulnerable.
• Zhou Chen doubled back and strangled the lackey, then searched his pockets and left as the man’s wife and daughter began wailing.

After testing different kinds of Black Meat, Zhou Chen discovered Eye Meat best supported his cultivation and resolved to grow stronger. That night, a Mist Monster nearly lured him out of his room, and the next morning he heard that Zhang Mingfei and four of his lackeys had been killed.

• Zhou Chen tested three kinds of Black Meat and found that Eye Meat made the incense root grow the most.
• Zhang Ying argued with Sun Yang over giving Zhou Chen meat, then dragged him into the bedroom to quiet their quarrel.
• Zhou Tian warned Zhou Chen not to answer anyone calling his name at night, while Zhou Chen vowed to become a Martial Warrior within three months.
• A Mist Monster used a familiar voice to lure Zhou Chen toward the door, but his Blood Vitality broke the spell; he then saw an eye staring through the window gap.
• People in Qingtian District celebrated the deaths of Zhang Mingfei and four of his lackeys, while warning that the Clear River Gang might seek revenge.

Zhou Chen learned that an Echoing Wraith had targeted him because his newly cultivated Blood Vitality drew it in, then spent a month and a half steadily practicing the Coiling Python Stance Technique. His Skin Tempering progress reached 613/1000, and he planned to ignite his Mist Incense once it grew to two feet; the chapter ended as he joined his fellow disciple Du Song for a rest.

• Zhou Tian learned that Old Zhao's son had died in the old courtyard and was assigned to fish in the dangerous upper reaches of the Black River while Zhao Laosi received an easier task because his son had become a Martial Warrior.
• Zhou Chen told Lian Taoze about the creature that had called to him, and Lian Taoze identified it as an Echoing Wraith that preyed on people with abundant Blood Vitality.
• Lian Taoze explained the ranks of Mist Monsters and warned Zhou Chen not to oppose the powerful Martial Warriors and great clans of the Inner City.
• Zhou Chen practiced the Coiling Python Stance Technique for a month and a half, increasing his Skin Tempering progress to 613/1000 while his Mist Incense grew to one foot nine inches.
• Zhou Chen said he would ignite the Mist Incense when it reached two feet, then joined Du Song for a rest.

After Zhang Shaojiu impressed the martial hall with his progress, Shen Ao gave him fine clothes and promised to take him out, while Zhou Chen watched from the poor disciples’ circle. Old Zheng then gathered the disciples to explain the essentials of actual combat, beginning with “the way of being human.”

• Zhang Shaojiu reached First-Rank Martial Artist and trained Wild Bull Fist to Minor Accomplishment, drawing praise from the disciples and Master Zheng.
• Shen Ao presented Zhang Shaojiu with white silk clothes and invited him to broaden his horizons after the hall closed.
• Du Song told Zhou Chen he planned to marry Xiaocui and run a flatbread stall.
• Old Zheng gathered the disciples, then began teaching them about actual combat by introducing “the way of being human.”

Zhou Chen learned Master Zheng’s advice on ambush, decisive attacks, and retreat, then made poison pouches from Pufferfish poison sacs. He learned that Azure City’s aristocratic families had fled after the Heaven-Breaking Sect took over, and ended by asking Lian Taoze what a Tai Sui Lord was.

• Master Zheng taught the disciples to keep a low profile and berated one for practicing hidden weapons openly, prompting Zhou Chen to distill combat into ambush, strike, and run.
• Zhou Chen decided to make poison pouches from Pufferfish poison sacs to use as a hidden weapon.
• Zhou Tian told the family that bloodstained, empty boats had appeared from upstream inside the Black Mist.
• Lian Taoze explained that the boats likely belonged to Azure City aristocrats fleeing after the Heaven-Breaking Sect overthrew the city’s Inner City powers.
• Lian Taoze said peripheral cities such as Azure City lacked a Tai Sui Lord, and Zhou Chen asked what that title meant.

Zhou Chen learned more about Black City and watched a poor disciple get expelled after failing to advance, reminding him of the fate he might have faced without the Divine Statue. Lian Taoze offered to help him seek sponsorship, then arranged for several poor disciples to meet potential sponsors.

• Zhou Chen asked Lian Taoze about Black City's territory, but Lian Taoze said Black City was the largest city and that the world beyond was covered in Black Mist.
• Old Zheng ordered Steward Ma to expel the young man surnamed Chen after he failed to break through the First-Rank Skin Tempering Realm within three months.
• The young man surnamed Chen left the martial hall after Zhang Shaojiu, his former friend, treated him with cold indifference.
• Lian Taoze explained how sponsorship supported poor martial arts disciples and said he would try to secure Zhou Chen a slot.
• Lian Taoze gathered several poor disciples and said the Junior Sisters surnamed Liu and Sun would meet them to look for promising candidates.

Zhou Chen received no support from the senior sisters, but he remained determined to rely on his own efforts and the Divine Statue. After returning home, he prepared to break through the First-Rank Skin Tempering Realm that night.

• Liu Fei supported Liang Hu, while Sun Yingying and Liu Fei declined to support Zhou Chen and Du Song.
• Sun Yingying told Liu Fei that Zhou Chen's lack of progress showed he had reached his innate limit, and she refused to consider supporting him.
• Du Song suggested that he and Zhou Chen give up martial training and sell sesame cakes, but Zhou Chen urged him to keep practicing.
• Zhou Chen returned home and heard that his family had sold seven or eight copper coins' worth of fish.
• After dinner, Zhou Chen saw that his progress had reached 628/1000, lit Mist Incense, and began attempting a breakthrough.

Zhou Chen broke through to First-Rank Skin Tempering and discovered that he had already achieved Copper Skin, then noticed a new Red Incense in the Divine Statue that might have appeared after he killed Zhang Mingfei and the others. At the martial arts hall, Ma Pengcheng tried again to pressure him into handing over his Qi-Blood Soup, and Zhou Chen answered with an insult.

• As the Mist Incense burned out, Zhou Chen's proficiency passed 1000, bringing him into First-Rank Skin Tempering at Minor Accomplishment and giving him Copper Skin.
• Zhou Chen suspected that the absence of Miasma Poison had helped him temper his body, and planned to report his breakthrough to Master Zheng before learning the Wild Bull Fist.
• Zhou Chen found a Red Incense shorter than an inch in the Divine Statue and guessed that killing Zhang Mingfei and the others might have caused it to appear.
• At the martial arts hall, Ma Pengcheng repeated his demand for Zhou Chen's daily Qi-Blood Soup, claiming he needed it to improve his chance of reaching Second-Rank Martial Artist.
• After Ma Pengcheng's companion urged him to surrender the soup, Zhou Chen told the pockmarked young man to get lost and mocked his face.

Zhou Chen refused Ma Pengcheng’s attempt to take his Qi-Blood Soup and resolved to settle the score once he grew stronger. He then revealed that he had become a First-Rank Martial Artist, leaving Du Song stunned.

• Ma Pengcheng tried to pressure Zhou Chen into giving him Qi-Blood Soup, but Zhou Chen calmly refused.
• Ma Pengcheng left with his men, who insulted Zhou Chen and threatened to make things difficult for him.
• Zhou Chen decided Ma Pengcheng had crossed his bottom line and planned to deal with him after becoming stronger.
• Du Song offered Zhou Chen flatbread and worried that both of them would have to return home without completing their training.
• Zhou Chen told Du Song he had broken through and was going to report to Elder Zheng, leaving Du Song shocked that he had become a Martial Warrior.

Zhou Chen reported his breakthrough to Old Zheng and became an Ordinary Disciple, then learned about the path to becoming a Direct Disciple and the powers and dangers of the Outer City. The chapter left Zhou Chen newly informed about his opportunities and the people he might encounter.

• Zhou Chen told Old Zheng he had reached First-Rank Skin Tempering, and Old Zheng ordered Ma Ge to take him to change clothes.
• Ma Ge praised Zhou Chen's humble conduct and explained that reaching Second-Rank Martial Artist within three years could make him a Direct Disciple.
• Ma Ge advised Zhou Chen to learn from Zhao Tianhong, avoid speaking too freely around Shen Ao, and explained Zhao's work as a Night Patrol Commander.
• Ma Ge warned Zhou Chen about the risks of the Night Patrol Bureau and described the Outer City's noble houses, gangs, and affiliated lineages.

After completing his Initiation and becoming a First-Rank Martial Artist, Zhou Chen considered where to find a paid position and navigated the changing attitudes of his fellow disciples. He left the chapter planning to enter the inner courtyard while preserving his friendship with Du Song, as Sun Yingying dismissed the idea of sponsoring him.

• Ma Ge advised Zhou Chen to avoid the Night Patrol Bureau and gangs and consider a position with a Noble House; Zhou Chen decided to seek work with his Senior Brother because he needed silver for Black Meat.
• The disciples congratulated Zhou Chen after learning he had become a First-Rank Martial Artist, while Du Song worried that Zhou Chen would now distance himself from him.
• Zhou Chen invited Du Song to spar and reassured him of their friendship, while Du Song spoke of leaving the martial path to help at his family's sesame-cake shop.
• Ye Lingtian congratulated Zhou Chen and gave him Blood-Boiling Powder, and Zhou Chen learned that Ye was known for his generosity and humility.
• Liu Fei teased Sun Yingying about not sponsoring Zhou Chen, but Sun Yingying refused, saying his potential was exhausted and her household should invest in more promising disciples.

Zhou Chen learned that his father, Zhou Tian, had been badly injured when a Li-clan ship crushed a fishing boat on the upper Black River, then revealed that he had become a First-Rank Martial Artist. His advancement brought the family relief and new respect from the Fishery and neighbors, while the powerful newcomers from Azure City threatened to disrupt Black City's balance.

• Ma Pengcheng resented Zhou Chen's breakthrough and blamed him for taking the Blood Vitality Soup that Ma Pengcheng believed should have been his.
• Zhang Fang told Zhou Chen that a Li-bannered ship had caused a deadly accident on the upper Black River, leaving Zhou Tian with a serious back wound and killing fishermen on another boat.
• Zhou Tian offered Zhou Chen priority at the Fishery, but Zhou Chen revealed that he had become a First-Rank Martial Artist and promised to support the household.
• Zhou Chen gave Zhang Fang Blood-Boiling Powder to prepare for Zhou Tian's recovery, and the family celebrated his achievement.
• The Fishery's boat chief promised to keep Zhou Tian employed in safe onshore work, while neighbors brought food and praised the family.
• Zhou Chen told Zhou Yu to choose food from the neighbors' gifts, and Zhang Fang encouraged her to listen to her big brother.

Zhou Chen’s family celebrated his rise as a Martial Warrior, while his relatives at the old Zhou residence continued to favor Zhou Ping and dismiss Zhou Chen. The chapter ended with a messenger announcing that Old Master Zhou’s grandson had made something of himself, leaving the family eager to learn which grandson he meant.

• Zhou Yu shared the delivered ma shi with her family, and Zhou Chen promised their family would have more sweetness ahead.
• Zhang Fang rejected a woman who had mocked the family, then prepared a lavish meal with the delivered meat for Zhou Tian and the others.
• Zhou Chen realized that becoming a First-Rank Martial Artist had increased his appetite and resolved to make Old Master Zhou repay the ten taels he had taken.
• Old Master Zhou, Zhou Tao, and Feng Yuyun praised Zhou Ping’s prospects at the Chen Residence while dismissing Zhou Chen and refusing to help Zhou Tian during his recovery.
• A young messenger arrived at the old Zhou residence announcing that Old Master Zhou’s grandson had made something of himself, and the family assumed he meant Zhou Ping.

Zhou Chen arrived at the Zhou Household after becoming a First-Rank Martial Artist, intending to sever family ties in front of the neighbors. He beat Zhou Tao and Feng Yuyun, while Old Master Zhou faced him with regret.

• A messenger told Old Master Zhou that Zhou Chen had become a First-Rank Martial Artist and that the Fishery had offered him a safe job.
• Zhou Tao and Feng Yuyun assumed Zhou Chen had come to bring gifts and ask the family for help, but Old Master Zhou feared he had come for revenge.
• Zhou Chen entered the courtyard surrounded by neighbors who had gathered to congratulate him, intending to cut ties with the Zhou Household before witnesses.
• Zhou Chen kicked Zhou Tao through the hall doors and kicked Feng Yuyun through a side-room doorway, citing their past abuse of his family.
• The neighbors praised Zhou Chen, and Old Master Zhou weakly congratulated him on becoming the Zhou Household's promising talent.

Zhou Chen reclaimed money from the Zhou Household, sold its old residence, and accepted a gift from the Feng Household after it punished Zhou Ping for stealing his silver. Meanwhile, the mung-bean-eyed woman and her son begged Zhang Ying for forgiveness at her market stall.

• Zhou Chen demanded repayment from Old Master Zhou, took his four taels of savings, and ordered the neighbors to find the deed and sell the old residence.
• A Feng Household steward delivered Zhou Ping, badly injured for stealing Zhou Chen's school silver, and presented Zhou Chen with a congratulatory gift of ten taels.
• Zhou Chen and the neighbors threw the unconscious Zhou Tao and Feng Yuyun into a foul puddle, while Old Master Zhou dragged them away.
• Zhou Chen went home with the money, pleased with his gains from the day and the expected proceeds from the sale.
• The mung-bean-eyed woman and her son knelt before Zhang Ying's meat stall, kowtowed, and begged her to forgive them.

After Zhou Chen became a First-Rank Martial Artist, his relatives received better jobs and gifts from local Lineages. Gang Leader Wang Ming warned him that the Clear Moon Gang was investigating Zhang Mingfei’s death, leaving Zhou Chen determined to grow stronger and prepare for a fight.

• Zhang Ying learned Zhou Chen had become a Martial Artist and was offered a lighter, better-paid job by the Tang Household.
• Steward Yang told Sun Yang that he could stop making deliveries and take an easier warehouse position because of Zhou Chen’s breakthrough.
• Zhou Chen showed his mother congratulatory letters and gave her silver to buy more meat for the family.
• Wang Ming congratulated Zhou Chen, brought him beef, and waived his family’s protection payments.
• Wang Ming warned Zhou Chen that the Clear Moon Gang was investigating Zhang Mingfei’s death and revealed Zhang’s connection to its leader.
• Zhou Chen realized the gang might trace the killings to him and resolved to train harder and gain combat experience.