Chapter Summaries

Su Yueli sold her beer in Azure Province City, secured supply agreements with several restaurants, and met Xu Changfeng, a Crimson Flame Sect disciple who collected his reserved barrels. She accepted payment after he rejected her attempt to give the wine away, then prepared to ask him a question about the cultivation world.

• Su Yueli spent an uncomfortable night with Tie Ling'er, then delivered beer to Mighty Prestige Martial Hall and sold the rest at East Market Street.
• Managers from several major restaurants agreed to buy Su Yueli's beer under her terms of limited supply and payment on delivery.
• After retail sales ended, Su Yueli waited past the agreed time for the immortal cultivator who had reserved more than a dozen barrels.
• Xu Changfeng arrived late, drank a bowl of beer, collected the barrels with his Storage Ring, and offered payment.
• Su Yueli tried to give Xu Changfeng the wine to curry favor, but he insisted on paying and introduced himself as a disciple of Crimson Flame Sect.
• Su Yueli set aside her planned questions about the cultivation world and began to ask Xu Changfeng about something.

Su Yueli learned from Xu Changfeng that Shen Huai'an, now the Azure Moon Sect's young sect master, had recently overcome a mental barrier and begun a perilous retreat. Suspecting that Shen's attempt to sever mortal ties caused the massacre of her village and her master's death, she resolved to uncover the truth and grow strong enough to confront him.

• Su Yueli asked Xu Changfeng whether immortal masters or a sect had visited a village near Blackwind Ridge in the past five years, but he knew of no such visit.
• Xu Changfeng recalled that Shen Huai'an, the Azure Moon Sect's young sect master, came from a village near Fengling City and had recently begun closed-door cultivation after overcoming a flaw in his state of mind.
• Xu Changfeng feared Su Yueli might be the mortal tie Shen needed to sever, then hurriedly left on his sword.
• Su Yueli connected Shen's mental barrier to the village massacre five years earlier and suspected that he or his guardian had slaughtered the villagers, while Lu Chen sacrificed himself to protect her.
• Su Yueli vowed to investigate the massacre and resolved to break beyond the Tenth Realm so she could confront Shen Huai'an.

After five years of relentless training, Su Yueli reached the peak of the Fourth Realm while Tie Ling'er built their liquor business into a thriving brewery. News of Xu Changfeng’s death renewed Su Yueli’s sense of the Immortal Realm’s cruelty, and she agreed to enter the Great Li Dynasty’s Martial Dao Tournament.

• Su Yueli devoted herself to Martial Dao for five years, reaching the peak of the Fourth Realm as Tie Ling'er expanded the liquor business.
• Su Yueli and Tie Ling'er visited their busy liquor shop and learned from a Crimson Flame Sect disciple that Xu Changfeng had died in a clash between immortal sects.
• Su Yueli reflected on the dangers of cultivation and reaffirmed her determination to avenge her parents, her master, and Shen Qing'an.
• Tie Tu showed Su Yueli the Great Li Dynasty’s announcement for its once-every-thirty-years Martial Dao Tournament and urged her to compete.
• Su Yueli recognized the tournament as the place her master had gone and agreed to attend.

Su Yueli left Qing Province for Great Li Imperial City to compete in the Martial Dao Tournament, stopping in Lingshui during a rainstorm. There she met Lin Ye, another martial artist bound for the tournament, and realized he was a competitor too.

• Tie Tu warned Su Yueli that Great Li Imperial City was full of powerful martial and immortal cultivators, and urged her not to underestimate them.
• Su Yueli departed Ironbone Martial Hall after Tie Ling'er wished her luck and asked her to bring back the championship.
• After two days on the road, Su Yueli reached Lingshui and took shelter from the rain at an inn.
• Su Yueli went to a crowded restaurant, where she agreed to share her table with a young man carrying a saber.
• The young man introduced himself as Lin Ye and said he was heading to Great Li Imperial City for the Martial Dao Tournament, surprising Su Yueli.

Su Yueli ate with Lin Ye, a talkative young martial artist who learned about her tragic past and declared himself her protector as they traveled toward the Great Li Imperial City. At their inn, Lin Ye rushed to confront a brute who was abusing the innkeeper and his daughter.

• Lin Ye introduced himself to Su Yueli and asked about her family, village, master, and friends, learning that they had all died violently.
• Su Yueli reassured Lin Ye that her master's sworn friend had given her a place to settle, and Lin Ye proudly offered to protect her on their journey.
• Su Yueli and Lin Ye discovered they were staying at the same inn, where Lin Ye continued chatting as they arrived.
• At the inn, Su Yueli saw a brute drag away the innkeeper's daughter and beat her father, but chose not to intervene.
• Lin Ye charged at the brute and demanded that he release the girl.

Su Yueli stepped in when Pang Hu attacked Lin Ye, revealing overwhelming strength by driving the Fourth Realm martial artist out of the inn. Pang Hu recovered from his shock and fixed his attention on her, while the onlookers feared the Pang Family would retaliate.

• Lin Ye challenged Pang Hu after seeing him bully a young woman, but Pang Hu blocked his saber strike and crushed him with a punch.
• Pang Hu noticed Su Yueli at the stairway and moved to claim her, while Lin Ye clung to his leg and urged her to run.
• As Pang Hu swung to kill Lin Ye, Su Yueli caught his fist and sent him flying through the inn's front doors.
• The onlookers warned that the Pang Family, led by Eighth Realm grandmaster Pang Jinbiao, would take revenge on Su Yueli.
• Pang Hu steadied himself, shook off his shock, and stared at Su Yueli with a savage grin.

Su Yueli killed Pang Hu after he attacked her from behind, leaving her in a deadly feud with the powerful Pang Family. She and Lin Ye reached the Great Li Imperial City and registered for the Martial Dao Tournament, where they were told to return for preliminary selection in three days.

• Su Yueli crippled Pang Hu's right arm, then killed him with a punch when he tried to stab her from behind.
• Lin Ye offered to take the blame for Pang Hu's death, but Su Yueli refused and chose to continue to the Imperial City and the tournament.
• Su Yueli and Lin Ye left Lingshui City the next morning and traveled for five days to reach the Great Li Imperial City.
• Su Yueli and Lin Ye crossed the bustling Imperial City and arrived at the Imperial Martial Arena to register for the Great Li Martial Dao Tournament.
• Lin Ye and Su Yueli received numbered wooden plaques and were instructed to return at the hour of the dragon in three days for the preliminary selection.

Su Yueli and Lin Ye entered the Great Li Imperial City as the Pang Family began hunting them for killing Pang Jinbiao’s son. Su Yueli tried to break through to the Fifth Realm overnight but failed, leaving her still vulnerable as the tournament approached.

• Su Yueli spotted an imposing young man guarded by two dangerous elders at the Imperial Martial Arena, then left with Lin Ye to find lodging before the tournament began in three days.
• Pang Jinbiao learned that Su Yueli and Lin Ye had come to the imperial city and ordered the Pang Family’s informants to search the major inns and capture them.
• Pang Jinbiao refused to summon his eldest son, Pang Xuan, who was cultivating with the Blood Fiend Sect, and demanded that Su Yueli be found within three days.
• Su Yueli and Lin Ye rented a secluded courtyard, where Su Yueli considered the city’s strict order a temporary safeguard against the Pang Family.
• Su Yueli practiced through the night, trying to reach the Fifth Realm of Martial Awakening, but could not break through before dawn, when someone knocked at her door.

Su Yueli and Lin Ye surveyed Great Li Imperial City’s factions and searched for a way to help her break through to the Fifth Realm. They discovered refined Third-Realm demon beast essence blood at Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, and Su Yueli asked the shopkeeper its price.

• Lin Ye gave Su Yueli a map of Great Li’s four leading Martial Dao lineages and explained that the Pang and Lin Lineages opposed the Yun and Chu Lineages.
• Su Yueli teased Lin Ye about possibly being related to the Lin Lineage, and he denied it.
• Su Yueli and Lin Ye explored the outer city while she searched for pills or other resources that could help her advance.
• At Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, the shopkeeper showed Su Yueli refined essence blood from Third-Realm demon beasts and described its benefits to martial artists.
• Su Yueli asked the shopkeeper how much the essence blood cost.

Su Yueli bought Demon Beast Blood Essence and used it to break through to the Fifth Realm, Martial Awakening. As she stabilized her cultivation, two Fifth Realm assassins sent by the Pang Family infiltrated the inn courtyard to kill her and Lin Ye.

• Su Yueli paid one thousand taels for a bottle of Demon Beast Blood Essence at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion and left Lin Ye behind to explore the market alone.
• Su Yueli drank the essence and used Lu Chen's breathing rhythm to break through the barrier into the Fifth Realm, Martial Awakening.
• Two black-clad Fifth Realm martial artists sent by the Pang Family confirmed Su Yueli's location and planned to kill her and Lin Ye quickly.
• The assassins vaulted over the courtyard wall and moved toward their targets as Su Yueli sensed killing intent and turned toward the window.

Su Yueli fought off a Pang Family assassination attempt after stabilizing her Martial Awakening at the Fifth Realm, killing one attacker and forcing another to flee. The City Guards investigated the disturbance, and a mysterious young man who sensed Su Yueli’s strength left intrigued by the coming Martial Dao Tournament.

• Su Yueli hid as a Fifth Realm attacker entered her room, then killed him with the Fourth Form of River Severing.
• A second Fifth Realm attacker rushed in, grabbed his companion’s corpse, and escaped through the window when he realized Su Yueli had killed him.
• The City Guards arrived, and Su Yueli told them that thieves had attacked her and fled without mentioning the dead attacker.
• Lin Ye returned safely, and Su Yueli told him that an assassin had gone to his room while he was wandering outside.
• A young man in the crowd sensed Su Yueli’s strength and left, expecting the Martial Dao Tournament to be difficult to win.

Su Yueli arrived at Great Li’s Martial Dao Tournament, where she learned the champion would receive an earth-grade weapon and an imperial promise. After watching the opening matches, she stepped onto Arena Two for her first bout.

• Pang Jinbiao ordered his people to arrange for Su Yueli to be killed openly in the tournament arena rather than risk another assassination in the guarded Imperial City.
• Su Yueli stabilized her Fifth Realm cultivation while the inn remained peaceful, then traveled with Lin Ye to the tournament.
• Su Yueli spotted Pang Jinbiao among the Four Great Lineages and noticed a mysterious young man near the imperial prince whose strength she could not sense.
• The referee announced the tournament rules and prizes, including an earth-grade weapon and an imperial promise for the champion.
• Su Yueli drew Group Twenty-One and identified her opponent as Chen Tie, while Lin Ye drew Group Thirty-Five.
• After watching Yun He defeat a Third Realm opponent with one strike, Su Yueli handed Lin Ye her wine gourd and landed on Arena Two for her match.

Su Yueli defeated Chen Tie with one move and Lin Ye won his first-round match. The Pang Family arranged for Pang Lei to face Su Yueli in the next round, and she prepared to fight rather than forfeit.

• Pang Jinbiao ordered an official to arrange for Pang Lei to face Su Yueli and kill her in the next round.
• Zhao Yan noticed Su Yueli, while Gu Chen told him she had killed a Fifth Realm death warrior.
• Su Yueli knocked Chen Tie out of the arena with a single palm strike.
• Lin Ye won his match with three saber strikes, and the first round of preliminaries ended.
• Su Yueli drew Group Forty-Three and saw that her opponent was Pang Lei of the Pang Family.
• Lin Ye suggested forfeiting, but Su Yueli refused and resolved to face Pang Lei.

Lin Ye narrowly advanced before Su Yueli faced Pang Lei, whom the Pang Family had secretly equipped with a Bloodburst Pill to kill her. Su Yueli defeated Pang Lei with one punch before he could take the pill, leaving the crowd and Pang Jinbiao stunned.

• Lin Ye endured a brutal fight and advanced by knocking his Third Realm Peak opponent off the arena.
• Lin Ye warned Su Yueli about the Pang Family's trap and urged her to concede if she was in danger, but she went to fight Pang Lei.
• Pang Jinbiao and a gray-robed elder revealed that Pang Lei carried a Bloodburst Pill intended to boost his strength and help him kill Su Yueli.
• Pang Lei threatened Su Yueli, while she chose to use the second form of River Severing rather than risk killing him with the fourth form.
• Su Yueli struck Pang Lei once and sent him flying off the arena before he could take the Bloodburst Pill.
• Su Yueli told the injured Pang Lei that he would already be dead if the match had been a fight to the death.

Su Yueli advanced through the preliminary selection and resolved to win the Martial Dao Tournament so she could use the Great Li Imperial Family’s favor to protect herself from the Pang Family. The Top 100 Finals began the next morning, and she drew Group Three.

• Zhao Yan, Gu Chen, and the lineage leaders recognized Su Yueli’s Fifth Realm strength after she defeated Pang Lei, while Lin Ye narrowly advanced through his later matches.
• Su Yueli won her remaining preliminary matches easily, and the final hundred contestants were selected by sunset.
• Yun He and Chu Feng approached Su Yueli, then inferred that she had killed Pang Hu; Pang Jinbiao left the arena after the two mocked him.
• Su Yueli concluded that she needed to win the tournament’s top prize to gain the Imperial Family’s favor and prevent the Pang Family from pursuing her.
• Two Pang Family men watched Su Yueli’s courtyard overnight but did not attack, and she trained until morning.
• Su Yueli and Lin Ye arrived for the Top 100 Finals, where Su Yueli drew Group Three.

Su Yueli watched Pang Fei severely injure Lin Ye after the Pang Family arranged for him to replace Lin Ye’s original opponent, then received a Spring Return Pill from the Fourth Prince to keep Lin Ye alive. Su Yueli was matched against Pang Fei in the next round, unaware that he had secretly prepared to unleash a Bloodburst Pill.

• Su Yueli won her match after her Third Realm opponent sensed her Fifth Realm Qi and Blood and conceded.
• The Pang Family substituted Pang Fei, a Mid Fourth Realm fighter, for Lin Ye’s scheduled opponent, and Pang Fei beat Lin Ye until Su Yueli caught him as he fell from the arena.
• The Fourth Prince sent Lin Ye a Spring Return Pill, which Su Yueli gave him to stabilize his breathing.
• Su Yueli and Pang Fei were matched against each other in the next round.
• Pang Fei secretly prepared to release the suppressed effects of a Bloodburst Pill as soon as the match began.

Su Yueli defeated Pang Fei and Chu Feng to win the Great Li Martial Dao Tournament. The chapter ended with the referee announcing her rewards: a low-grade Earth Tier weapon and an unconditional promise from the imperial family.

• Pang Fei took a Bloodburst Pill and used the Pang Family's Blood Fiend Mountain-Shattering Fist, but Su Yueli broke his arm and defeated him with River Severing.
• Pang Jinbiao erupted in anger, while the Lin Lineage patriarch ordered his people not to interfere with Su Yueli.
• Chu Feng faced Su Yueli in the final match and fought hard, but admitted defeat after she stopped her punch inches from his face.
• The referee declared Su Yueli the Great Li Martial Dao Tournament champion and announced her rewards.

After winning the Martial Dao Tournament, Su Yueli went to the Imperial Palace to claim her rewards and weighed how to deal with the Pang Family. She requested a protected place to cultivate rather than immediate mediation or resources, and Zhao Yan agreed to grant her request.

• Su Yueli claimed the tournament's Purple-Gold Wooden Token and helped the injured Lin Ye leave the arena with her.
• Su Yueli returned to the inn, left Lin Ye in an attendant's care, and went to the Imperial Palace to collect her rewards.
• Zhao Yan offered Su Yueli a low-grade earth-rank weapon and invited her to name one request, provided it did not harm Great Li's interests.
• Su Yueli explained that the Pang Family would pursue her if she merely took cultivation resources, and asked for a secure place to grow stronger.
• Zhao Yan agreed to grant Su Yueli access to a special place suited to cultivation where no one would dare disturb her.

Su Yueli chose to enter the dangerous Azure Cloud Ancient Kingdom Ruins to cultivate and selected a pair of powerful fist blades from the imperial armory. After warning Lin Ye to be careful as he prepared to return home, she left the inn and headed for the Imperial City gates.

• Su Yueli accepted Zhao Yan's offer to enter the Azure Cloud Ancient Kingdom Ruins, and Zhao Yan ordered someone to watch over the Pang Family until she departed.
• Su Yueli chose the high-grade Earth-rank Shadow Fist Blades and received the key and map to the ruins.
• Su Yueli returned to the inn, where Lin Ye told her he planned to leave for Lingshui City and train until he reached the Peak Fourth Realm.
• Su Yueli decided she had done all she could for Lin Ye and left the inn for the Imperial City gates, bound for the ruins.

Su Yueli escaped the Pang Family’s pursuit and entered the Azure Cloud Kingdom Ruins, where she chose to train cautiously in the outer region. After finding no remaining treasures, she continued practicing with her new fist blades.

• Pang Jinbiao ordered Seventh Elder to intercept and kill Su Yueli, but a golden-armored Inner Palace Guard blocked the road under the prince’s order.
• Seventh Elder turned back after the guard barred attacks within a hundred li of the Imperial City for three days.
• Su Yueli reached the ruins after a day and night of travel, unlocked the ancient stone gate with the bronze key, and entered alone.
• Su Yueli explored the quiet outer region, found a safe plaza, and practiced with her Shadow Fist Blades until her strikes grew more powerful.
• After several days of training and finding no valuable relics, Su Yueli avoided the dangerous inner region and returned to practicing in the plaza.