Recaps

After killing Huo Qi, Jiang Jingnian reflected on the fight, treated his wound, and burned the body and saber before disappearing into the forest. Meanwhile, Axu tried to suppress the Bi Fang's Fire parasitizing Tao Yanchen, who took a Shijian Pill to hold it back temporarily.

• Jiang Jingnian examined his wound and realized the Taiji Vajra Art helped him recover after Huo Qi's attack.
• Jiang Jingnian searched Huo Qi's remains, took the food, medicine, and money, then burned the corpse and conspicuous saber.
• Axu performed a Lotus Ritual to suppress the Bi Fang's Fire in Tao Yanchen, using the hearts and gallbladders of seven victims, including Wei Yu and soldiers from the Black Flood Dragon Army.
• Axu told Tao Yanchen that the ritual needed three more hearts and would otherwise suppress the fire for only as long as one stick of incense burned.
• Tao Yanchen asked Axu to give him the Shijian Pill from his hidden pocket, and it suppressed the blue flame for about an hour.

After the Black Flood Dragon Army was devastated, Axu left Tao Yanchen in a ruined temple to search for survivors and encountered Jiang Jingnian. Their fight left Axu in danger until she revealed her face and released a fragrant mist, which weakened Jiang Jingnian just as his Psychic Whip erupted.

• Axu told Tao Yanchen that Bi Fang's Fire might have grown more intelligent after parasitizing a human, then left the ruined temple to look for survivors.
• Jiang Jingnian escaped the forest and met Axu, who mistook him for another human heart to use in the unfinished ritual.
• Jiang Jingnian realized Axu was lying about Butler Wei being nearby and attacked her.
• Jiang Jingnian's fierce Tai Chi Vajra Fist overwhelmed the injured Axu despite his lower level of qi and blood.
• Axu removed her veil and exhaled a sweetly scented mist that weakened Jiang Jingnian, who unleashed his Psychic Whip.

Jiang Jingnian defeated Axu despite being poisoned, then absorbed her Lotus Smoke and upgraded his incomplete Psychic Whip trait. He left the fight with a stronger combat ability but remained wary of its limits against multiple enemies.

• Jiang Jingnian used Psychic Whip to stun Axu and repeatedly punched her while the poison weakened him.
• Axu recovered enough to struggle and release more sweet-smelling smoke, but Jiang Jingnian continued attacking until she died.
• Jiang Jingnian recognized the dense Lotus Smoke as a special item, absorbed it with Taotie, and cleared his mind.
• Jiang Jingnian upgraded Psychic Whip (Incomplete) into Psychic Whip (Dream), gaining a stronger effect with dream illusions and bewitching desire.
• Jiang Jingnian assessed the upgraded trait’s strengths and weaknesses, concluding that it could defeat many single opponents but might fail against groups.

Jiang Jingnian looted a slain Lotus Intent Sect maidservant and absorbed her tracking token, gaining progress toward Bone-Tempering. Meanwhile, Tongda Escort Agency's leaders discussed the robbery of the Qian Household's goods and the growing threat of the Tao Family in Peace City.

• Jiang Jingnian searched the dead maidservant and found two hidden weapons, a token, and an ancient bronze ring, but no money.
• Jiang Jingnian learned that the Lotus Attendant Token could track him, then devoured it and increased his Martial Master progress by about a dozen percentage points.
• Three survivors returned damaged rosewood goods to Tongda Escort Agency after escaping the Demon Wraiths and buying replacement horses.
• Tongda Escort Agency's Second Chief and other leaders discussed the severe losses and the Black Flood Dragon Army's robbery of the Qian Household's goods.
• The Second Chief said Tao Family members had recently entered Peace City and made a deal with local Aristocratic Clans, while the escort chiefs feared the family's influence.

After the escort run ended in disaster, Jiang Jingnian returned to the Tongda Escort Agency alive, while the agency’s leaders decided to avoid provoking the Tao Family and prepare for possible retaliation. Duan Escort Chief discovered that eighteen-year-old Jiang Jingnian had advanced to Martial Master, leaving everyone around him astonished.

• Li Mincheng urged the Tongda Escort Agency to demand an explanation from the Tao Family, but the Second Chief and Chief Escort argued that the agency was too weak to risk provoking the powerful clan.
• The Second Chief planned to visit the Qian Household to explain the losses and discuss compensation, while Li Mincheng was told to notify his Mountain Cloud School master.
• Jiang Jingnian returned to Miqiao District in ragged, bloodstained clothes and reached the agency after proving his identity to the patrolling constables.
• Chai Li was relieved to see Jiang Jingnian alive and asked about Wei, but he said he had encountered no one after fleeing.
• Duan Escort Chief told Jiang Jingnian to wash and change, then stopped him and realized that he had advanced to Martial Master at eighteen.

Duan Deshun recognized Jiang Jingnian’s exceptional martial arts talent and took him as his final disciple, giving him cultivation resources and the Copper-Mirror Iron Garment Technique. Several days later, Jiang Jingnian continued training at the escort agency while negotiations with the Qian Household remained unresolved.

• Duan Deshun offered to accept Jiang Jingnian as his final disciple and promised to support his cultivation and recommend him to the Mountain Cloud School.
• Jiang Jingnian accepted Duan Deshun as his master and formally saluted him.
• Duan Deshun gave Jiang Jingnian most of his stored cultivation resources, the Copper-Mirror Iron Garment Technique, and silver banknotes, while Jiang Jingnian refused the property deeds.
• Jiang Jingnian returned to his room, studied the new technique, and fell asleep after bathing.
• Several days passed without news about negotiations with the Qian Household or any mention of compensation, while Duan Deshun praised Jiang Jingnian’s rapid progress during training.

Jiang Jingnian advanced quickly under Duan Deshun’s instruction, mastering the beginner stage of the Copper-Mirror Iron Garment Technique and sparring with his master. Duan Deshun reassured him about the escort agency’s losses before raising the Su Family’s hired-fist business, leaving the matter unresolved.

• Duan Deshun saw that Jiang Jingnian had precisely deepened the marks on the training post and learned he had entered the beginner stage of the Copper-Mirror Iron Garment Technique.
• Jiang Jingnian considered how to combine the Copper-Mirror Iron Garment Technique with the Taiji Vajra Art by refining more Metal Essence.
• Duan Deshun praised Jiang Jingnian’s progress and warned him to remain humble before asking him to spar.
• Jiang Jingnian and Duan Deshun exchanged moves, and Jiang Jingnian showed he could now read and counter some of his master’s techniques.
• Duan Deshun said Wei Yu and the other escorts had not returned, and that the Tao Family’s Sixth Young Master was also missing near Hongfeng Mountain.
• Duan Deshun promised to cover any compensation Jiang Jingnian owed and said he wanted to discuss the Su Family’s hired-fist business.

Jiang Jingnian accepted the Tongda Escort Agency’s assignment to protect the Su Household’s shops from Garden Celebration Hall while Duan Deshun prepared to leave Peace City. Afterward, Duan Deshun reflected on Jiang Jingnian’s extraordinary talent and considered seeking him a place at Mountain Cloud School.

• Duan Deshun explained how Garden Celebration Hall had continued harassing the Su Household’s shops after a tea mediation and gave Jiang Jingnian the business contract.
• Jiang Jingnian agreed to handle the assignment, and Duan Deshun told him to call for reinforcements if Garden Celebration Hall brought a large force.
• After leaving the training ground, Duan Deshun checked his bruises and marveled at Jiang Jingnian’s strength and martial talent.
• Duan Deshun considered putting the Duan Household’s Mountain Cloud School quota to use for Jiang Jingnian.
• Manager Li noticed Duan Deshun’s medicine, but Duan Deshun concealed his injuries and left him puzzled.

Su Wanzhi took Qu Lanlan and Lu Zhishuang to her family's silk shop, where Garden Celebration Hall enforcers attacked them and its young hall master tried to seize Qu Lanlan. Tongda Escort Agency arrived and began clearing the crowd, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Su Wanzhi warned Qu Lanlan and Lu Zhishuang that gangs were disrupting her family's silk shop, but they insisted on going with her.
• At the shop, Qu Lanlan and Lu Zhishuang confronted Garden Celebration Hall's enforcers, and a fight broke out between them and the shop's guards and assistants.
• The young hall master in black defeated the shop's defenders and demanded that Su Wanzhi consider marrying him.
• When Su Wanzhi refused, the young hall master grabbed Qu Lanlan and mocked her as his enforcers ridiculed her.
• Two runners from Tongda Escort Agency arrived, announced that they were conducting business, and began forcing their way through the enforcers.

Jiang Jingnian intervened when Garden Celebration Hall attacked a Su Family silk shop, then defeated its young hall master with a single charge. He drove the gangs away and vowed to guard the Su Family’s shops himself.

• Jiang Jingnian arrived with Tongda Escort Agency apprentices and warned Garden Celebration Hall to withdraw, reminding them that the dispute had already been settled.
• Cui Budong mocked Jiang Jingnian’s late senior brothers, prompting Jiang Jingnian to charge at him despite Chai Li’s attempt to dissuade him.
• Cui Budong punched Jiang Jingnian twice, but the blows broke Cui Budong’s arms, and Jiang Jingnian knocked him unconscious.
• Jiang Jingnian threatened the gangs and declared that he would personally guard the Su Family’s shops.
• Garden Celebration Hall’s men carried Cui Budong away, and the other gang members fled.

Jiang Jingnian rescued Su Wanzhi, Qu Lanlan, and Lu Zhishuang from the Garden Celebration Hall thugs, revealing how much he had changed since working as a rickshaw puller. Qu Lanlan realized he was the same Jiang Second Dog she had once looked down on, and froze when he addressed her as Miss Qu.

• Jiang Jingnian's intimidating presence drove the Garden Celebration Hall thugs into retreat after he broke their young hall master's arm and knocked him unconscious.
• Jiang Jingnian checked whether Su Wanzhi had been hurt and introduced himself, confirming that he was her former rickshaw puller.
• Qu Lanlan recognized Jiang Jingnian's name and struggled to believe that he was the country bumpkin she had insulted.
• Su Wanzhi and Lu Zhishuang tried to comfort Qu Lanlan, while Jiang Jingnian offered to have her taken to a clinic and told Su Wanzhi to get her injured shop assistants medical care.
• Qu Lanlan stiffened when Jiang Jingnian called her Miss Qu.

After Cui Budong and Garden Celebration Hall’s men attacked the Su Family shop, Jiang Jingnian helped arrange aid for the wounded and learned about Cui’s powerful connections. The chapter left Su Wanzhi baffled when Jiang asked whether she would part with her teapot, whose gold-thread carvings he had discovered held a trace of Metal Nature.

• Qu Lanlan fainted after Jiang Jingnian walked past her, and Su Wanzhi and Lu Zhishuang carried her inside to rest.
• Su Wanzhi and Jiang Jingnian sent the wounded clerks and guards to a nearby clinic, then sat down for tea in the empty shop.
• Su Wanzhi asked whether Jiang Jingnian knew Qu Lanlan, and he confirmed they knew each other without explaining further.
• Su Wanzhi identified the black-clothed young man as Cui Budong, the Young Hall Master of Garden Celebration Hall, and explained his powerful family ties.
• Jiang Jingnian asked Su Wanzhi whether she would part with her teapot after discovering its carvings contained a trace of Metal Nature.

Jiang Jingnian rescued the Su Family's shops from Garden Celebration Hall and obtained a teapot that advanced his technique fusion. After Qu Lanlan revealed that Jiang Jingnian was her cousin, he set out to browse foreign department stores for another useful item.

• Jiang Jingnian held the Su Family's silk shop until Garden Celebration Hall failed to return, then paid ten silver dollars for the teapot and sent his colleagues to eat hotpot.
• Chai Li and her colleagues praised Jiang Jingnian's unusual interest in the teapot and discussed his strength as a martial artist.
• Qu Lanlan woke in the silk shop lounge, and Su Wanzhi and Lu Zhishuang questioned her about Jiang Jingnian.
• Qu Lanlan told Su Wanzhi and Lu Zhishuang that Jiang Jingnian was her father's nephew from the Northern Lands, leaving them surprised.
• Jiang Jingnian devoured and refined the teapot, saw that technique fusion needed one more Metal Nature, and headed to foreign department stores to search for another item.

Jiang Jingnian searched the Barlow Department Store for special items and fed three purchases to his Archetype Slot, greatly advancing his Blood Tempering. He left the restroom eager to keep searching for an item with Metal Nature.

• Jiang Jingnian explored the five public floors of the Barlow Department Store and found a fountain pen, canned fish, and a hairpin that he considered special items.
• Jiang Jingnian bought the three items, then consumed them in a restroom because none had traits compatible with his Trait or Cultivation Art.
• Jiang Jingnian's Martial Master Archetype advanced from Blood Tempering 31% to 63%, strengthening his Blood Core, muscles, and skin.
• Jiang Jingnian decided to keep searching the department store for a special item with Metal Nature.

Jiang Jingnian found a spiritual grand piano he could not yet take, then bought a sapphire Xiang necklace containing Metal Nature at Barlow Department Store. After refining the necklace, he met Tang Shiming, who recognized him as a survivor of the Demon Wraith incident, and Jiang Jingnian gained the Metal Nature needed for cultivation-method fusion.

• Jiang Jingnian spotted the Flame Demon Netherflower Grand Piano and learned it had spirituality, but a clerk stopped him from approaching it.
• Jiang Jingnian continued searching the store and found Metal Nature in a sapphire Xiang necklace.
• Jiang Jingnian bought the necklace before a dancer could claim it, then Tang Shiming recognized him as a survivor from the Demon Wraith incident.
• Jiang Jingnian refined the necklace and received confirmation that he had the Metal Nature needed for cultivation-method fusion.

Jiang Jingnian completed the fusion of his cultivation methods, gaining the Transforming Splendor Ultimate Bronze Scripture and a path toward the Inner Qi Realm. Meanwhile, Tang Shiming showed signs of being parasitized by Bi Fang's Fire, though Jiang Jingnian left before noticing.

• Tang Shiming mocked Jiang Jingnian for acting coldly, then dismissed his headache and urged Ding Xiaomei to choose more jewelry before they went to the riverbank.
• Blue flames briefly appeared in Tang Shiming's eyes, a sign that Bi Fang's Fire had parasitized him, but Jiang Jingnian did not see them.
• At the Nanpu riverbank, Jiang Jingnian finished fusing his cultivation methods as his body underwent another transformation and his Blood Tempering progress rose to 70%.
• Jiang Jingnian inspected the new Transforming Splendor Ultimate Bronze Scripture and realized it could eventually let him condense inner qi.
• Jiang Jingnian suppressed the cultivation method's urge to fight, then left the crowded riverside in a rickshaw to practice elsewhere.

After Doctor Ou warned that Cui Budong’s shattered arms could hinder his martial training, Cui Fangxing hired the Stockade’s Black Warrior Zhou Mo to assassinate Jiang Jingnian. Zhou Mo accepted the payment and promised Jiang would be dead within a week.

• Doctor Ou told Cui Fangxing that Cui Budong’s arm and finger bones were severely shattered and would take at least half a year to heal.
• Cui Fangxing blamed the Tongda Escort Agency and Duan Deshun for Cui Budong’s injuries.
• Cui Fangxing met Zhou Mo, a Black Warrior from the Stockade, and asked him to kill Jiang Jingnian.
• Zhou Mo demanded fifteen hundred silver dollars, explaining that Jiang was a formidable Blood Tempering Stage Martial Master who cultivated an Iron Body Skill.
• Cui Fangxing paid Zhou Mo, who promised Jiang Jingnian would be dead within a week.

After fusing his techniques, Jiang Jingnian continued to grow stronger while guarding the Su Family’s shops and nearing the Bone Tempering Stage. He left for lunch with Chai Li after deciding which shop they would watch that afternoon.

• Jiang Jingnian reflected on how his fused Transforming Splendor Ultimate Bronze Scripture had improved his strength and defense.
• Jiang Jingnian practiced his fists until he battered the specially made wooden post, then checked his progress toward the Bone Tempering Stage.
• Chai Li admired Jiang Jingnian’s strength and declined his offer of training guidance.
• Jiang Jingnian chose to guard the Su Family’s silk and cloth shop first and told Chai Li he had no romantic interest in Su Wanzhi.
• Jiang Jingnian and Chai Li went to the dining hall for lunch.

Jiang Jingnian read reports about mounting dangers around Peace City while Lu Zhishuang tried unsuccessfully to win his attention. After dinner, he sensed someone following him and confronted the unseen pursuer in an alley.

• Su Wanzhi teased Lu Zhishuang about her interest in Jiang Jingnian, and Lu rushed downstairs when she spotted him approaching with Chai Li.
• Jiang Jingnian brushed past Lu Zhishuang and read a newspaper at the Su Family shop, noting threats and unrest across the region.
• Lu Zhishuang asked Jiang Jingnian for his courtesy name, but he said he had none and remained focused on his newspaper.
• Jiang Jingnian treated the escort agency's runners and apprentices to dinner, then went alone toward the eastern district.
• Jiang Jingnian stopped in a dark alley, turned toward a shadowed corner, and demanded that the person following him come out.

Jiang Jingnian was ambushed by Blood Shadow Zhou Mo and his two disciples, who tried to exploit the weakness in his Iron Body Skill. Jiang Jingnian incapacitated the disciples and used a psychic attack to overwhelm Zhou Mo before beating him into the ground.

• Jiang Jingnian recognized Zhou Mo as one of the fighters he had seen in the Stockade and asked about his work there.
• Zhou Mo ordered his two disciples to cripple Jiang Jingnian and explained how they could strike the weak point in his Copper-Mirror Iron Garment Technique.
• Jiang Jingnian remained still while Zhou Mo threatened him and described his preparations for the ambush.
• Jiang Jingnian used Psychic Whip (Dream) to knock out Zhou Mo's disciples and stun Zhou Mo.
• Jiang Jingnian seized Zhou Mo and repeatedly smashed his head and upper body into the ground.

Jiang Jingnian killed the attackers who ambushed him and suspected Garden Celebration Hall had hired them. The next morning, he learned the escort agency had called an unexpected meeting to discuss changes to its business.

• Jiang Jingnian killed a bald attacker in an alley and suspected the Young Hall Master of Garden Celebration Hall had arranged the ambush.
• Jiang Jingnian searched the attackers, took money from two unconscious Martial Masters, and killed them when one began to wake.
• Jiang Jingnian left the alley and returned by rickshaw along busy main roads, choosing not to report the attack to the foreign police.
• The next morning, Jiang Jingnian met Chai Li and learned Steward Li had called an early meeting at the escort agency's central courtyard.

Jiang Jingnian and Chai Li's group reported the suspected Garden Celebration Hall attack as they joined a crowded Tongda Escort Agency meeting. The Chief Escort revealed that the Dou'a Sect was moving to absorb the Mountain Cloud School, leaving the agency facing a serious new conflict.

• Jiang Jingnian told Chai Li's group that Garden Celebration Hall might have arranged the attack, while exaggerating the danger and concealing details about the attackers.
• Chai Li and the other escort hands agreed to report the attack to the Chief Escort, though Chai Li noted that the Black Warriors had left no conclusive evidence.
• Jiang Jingnian and the group entered a meeting attended by nearly eighty or ninety escort masters and hands, with no apprentices present.
• The Chief Escort announced that he and Escort Chief Li would lead the meeting while the three masters were away.
• The Chief Escort explained that the Dou'a Sect and Mountain Cloud School had split from the same sect and said the Dou'a Sect was using the refugees and warlords to try to reunite them by force.

Tongda Escort Agency prepared for Dou'a Sect’s threat to Mountain Cloud School, and Li Mincheng offered its workers the choice to stay or leave. Senior Brother Ye interrupted and announced that the sect was taking over the agency and forbidding anyone from fleeing.

• The chief escort explained that Tongda Escort Agency’s ties to Mountain Cloud School had made it a target of Dou'a Sect, which had demanded the agency submit or face destruction.
• Li Mincheng told the workers that Dou'a Sect’s Elder Bai had injured his Third Uncle and given his father a seven-day ultimatum.
• Veteran escorts declared they would stand with the agency, but Li Mincheng offered everyone a choice to stay for increased supplies or leave by surrendering their identity tokens.
• Senior Brother Ye kicked down the council hall doors and accused Li Mincheng of sowing panic and fleeing from battle.
• Senior Brother Ye announced that, by order of the Deputy Sect Master, Mountain Cloud School was taking over Tongda Escort Agency and would punish anyone who fled under sect law.

Ye Changting delivered the Cloud Mountain School’s writ to the Tongda Escort Agency, where Yuchi Guang accepted it despite Li Min Cheng’s distress. After Ye Changting insulted Li Min Cheng, Yuchi Guang struck him and fought an elder; the school party then left to deliver more writs, while Jiang Jingnian eagerly studied the fight.

• Ye Changting presented the deputy sect master's writ and demanded that Yuchi Guang and Li Min Cheng obey it.
• Yuchi Guang accepted the writ, and Li Min Cheng reluctantly saluted and obeyed.
• Ye Changting mocked Li Min Cheng, so Yuchi Guang punched him and fought Elder Chen until Elder Fan ordered them to stop.
• Elder Fan led the Cloud Mountain School party away to visit the Gale Wind Sect and the Iron Palm Gang, while Elder Chen glared back at the escort agency.
• Jiang Jingnian watched the elders' fight and used Mirror Reflection Insight to study their techniques.

After the Mountain Cloud School’s Mystic Mountain Lineage treated the escort agency with contempt, Li Mincheng explained the school’s internal factions and the chief escort gathered senior escorts to prepare for the conflict ahead. Jiang Jingnian was called back to join the meeting, where the veteran escorts largely dismissed rumors about his strength.

• The Mountain Cloud School’s visitors left, and Li Mincheng explained that they belonged to the Mystic Mountain Lineage, which had longstanding friction with the Burning Cloud Lineage behind the escort agency.
• The chief escort told the gathered escorts to prepare for what came next and asked those at the Bone Tempering Stage or above to stay for a meeting.
• Jiang Jingnian planned to borrow money and buy items to improve his strength, but the chief escort called him back to attend the meeting in his absent master’s place.
• Jiang Jingnian returned to the hall, where veteran escorts gave him little regard and doubted that he could rival a Bone Tempering Stage martial artist.
• The chief escort invited Jiang Jingnian to take an empty seat at the table.