Recaps

Lin Qing reached the Skin-and-Flesh Realm after a quiet breakthrough and decided to leave Azure Sun County for Cloudmist Prefecture to join the Martial Suppression Office. He departed with a group of travelers following the Wang Family Merchant Caravan.

• Lin Qing perfected his remaining basic martial arts and spent more than ten days resting and replenishing his cultivation resources in Azure Sun County.
• Lin Qing broke through to the Skin-and-Flesh Realm, purged black filth from his body, and discovered that he had grown taller and stronger.
• Lin Qing decided to leave Azure Sun County for Cloudmist Prefecture, cleaned out his rented courtyard, and prepared his belongings for the journey.
• Lin Qing bought twenty jin of dried Second-Tier ferocious beast meat at the Black Market and stayed overnight at an inn.
• Lin Qing joined travelers gathered at the northern gate and followed Wang Hu and the Wang Family Merchant Caravan toward the prefectural city.

The Wind-Severing Five Balefuls ambushed Wang Qingwan’s convoy, overwhelming its guards as Wang Hu held back against their leader. Just as Lin Qing prepared to flee and the convoy neared defeat, Ye Lingchuan and several young people arrived.

• Wang Hu recognized the Wind-Severing Five Balefuls as they blocked the Wang Lineage convoy in the riverside forest.
• The Balefuls attacked the guards, who began to fall back under the pressure of four Third-Tier fighters.
• Wang Qingwan stayed in her carriage, assessed the attackers, and searched for a chance to turn the battle around.
• Lin Qing slipped into the woods with the other Rogue Cultivators and prepared to flee as the guards’ defense crumbled.
• Ye Lingchuan arrived on horseback with several young people from the Azure Profound Sect and surveyed the battle.

Ye Lingchuan rescued Wang Qingwan’s convoy from the Wind-Severing Five Balefuls and revealed that he had advanced to the Fourth Tier. After the bandits fled, he continued toward his hometown, Azure Sun County, while Lin Qing followed the reorganized Wang Lineage convoy.

• Wang Qingwan asked Ye Lingchuan to protect her convoy from the Wind-Severing Five Balefuls, and he agreed.
• The leader threatened Ye Lingchuan, who unleashed Fourth-Tier power and drove the five bandits into the forest.
• Wang Qingwan thanked Ye Lingchuan and learned that he was traveling to Azure Sun County to recruit disciples and bring his parents to the prefectural city.
• Ye Lingchuan departed with the Azure Profound Sect disciples, and Wang Qingwan’s convoy treated the wounded and cleared the road.
• Wang Qingwan’s maid scolded the returning Rogue Cultivators, including Lin Qing, but Wang Qingwan allowed them to follow under warning.
• The Wang Lineage convoy resumed its journey with Lin Qing following behind among the Rogue Cultivators.

Lin Qing entered Cloudmist Prefecture and learned that Sun Shaoping had risen to fifth place on the Hidden Dragon Ranking. After missing the Martial Suppression Office’s regular recruitment exam, Lin Qing received a chance to test for entry directly under Qin Cang.

• Lin Qing arrived in Cloudmist Prefecture and overheard martial artists discussing Ye Lingchuan’s rise to tenth place on the Hidden Dragon Ranking.
• Lin Qing learned that Sun Shaoping, an eighteen-year-old Third-Tier Peak martial artist, ranked fifth and had vanished after Skyvault Pavilion gathered information about him.
• Lin Qing found the Martial Suppression Office but learned its monthly examination had ended, then met Hundred-Household Commander Qin Cang, who offered him a direct test.
• Qin Cang assigned Zhao Feng to test Lin Qing, and Zhao Feng told him to lift a one-thousand-jin stone lock to qualify as a First-Tier Martial Artist.

Lin Qing passed the Martial Suppression Office’s strength test while concealing most of his power, then completed his entry procedures under the identity Xie Chen. After settling into an assigned courtyard, he reported for duty and was placed in Shen Lie’s unit.

• Lin Qing lifted a thousand-jin stone lock with ease, then pretended to strain as he raised a two-thousand-jin lock, convincing Zhao Feng that he had passed the strength test.
• Zhao Feng accepted Lin Qing into the Martial Suppression Office, and Elder Wang registered him as Xie Chen, issued him an identity plaque, uniforms, and a saber, and let him choose a residence.
• Lin Qing chose a quiet courtyard in a secluded alley and settled in there under his new identity.
• Lin Qing reported to the Office the next morning, where Zhao Feng introduced him to the members and assigned him to Chief Banner Officer Shen Lie’s unit.

Lin Qing joined Shen Lie and the other Banner Officers on his first street patrol, learning about the Martial Suppression Office’s benefits and rules. After the patrol, he headed to the Book-Collection Tower to choose a cultivation art and martial art.

• Shen Lie introduced Lin Qing to Su Ye, Shi Man, and Lu Xuan before leading the team on patrol.
• Lu Xuan asked about Lin Qing’s connection to Hundred-Household Commander Qin, and Lin Qing explained that he had passed an exceptional recruitment assessment.
• Shi Man told Lin Qing that newcomers could choose a Yellow-Tier Martial Art, and Lu Xuan explained that members could also claim a cultivation art one level above their realm.
• Lu Xuan warned Lin Qing to show respect to Steward Zhang, an old and formidable expert guarding the Book-Collection Tower.
• After the uneventful patrol and lunch, Lin Qing went to the Book-Collection Tower to select a cultivation art and martial art.

Lin Qing used his Martial Suppression Office access to record several Second-Tier cultivation arts and martial arts, then began training with Earthheart Marrow. After running short of money for beast meat, he encountered a murder case involving the Wang Lineage’s eldest young master that could change his fortunes.

• Lin Qing presented his credentials to Old Zhang and spent three hours in the Book-Collection Tower recording five Second-Tier cultivation arts and several martial arts.
• Lin Qing borrowed the Wind-Slashing Saber Art and recorded it at home, calculating that his eighty drops of Earthheart Marrow could fund mastery of all five cultivation arts.
• Lin Qing used a drop of Earthheart Marrow to train a Second-Tier stance art and gained 32 proficiency points during the morning.
• Lin Qing discovered that Second-Tier ferocious beast meat in the prefectural city cost fifteen taels per jin, leaving him worried that he could not afford to sustain cultivation.
• While patrolling with Shen Lie and the others, Lin Qing heard a servant report that the Wang Lineage’s eldest young master had been killed.

Lin Qing and the Martial Suppression Office investigated the death of Wang Xiaolong, heir to the powerful Wang Lineage. Their preliminary examination attributed his death to a cultivation backlash, but Wang Qingwan rejected the finding and insisted that another truth lay behind it.

• A Wang Lineage servant reported Wang Xiaolong's death to Shen Lie, who sent Lu Xuan to summon Zhao Feng and took Lin Qing and others to secure the scene.
• Shi Man told Lin Qing about the Wang Lineage's influence and Wang Xiaolong's status as a young Mid-Third Tier genius and designated heir.
• At the Wang residence, Shen Lie's group found the grieving Wang clan head, Wang Qingwan, and other relatives gathered around Wang Xiaolong's body.
• Zhao Feng arrived and ordered a specialist to examine the corpse, then announced that Wang Xiaolong had no external injuries and had likely died from overexertion and martial backlash.
• Wang Qingwan wept and protested that her brother's cultivation control made such a backlash impossible, insisting that his death had another cause.

Wang Qingwan secretly had an old physician examine Wang Xiaolong’s corpse and learned that he had been poisoned over many years. She suspected his maid Chun Tao and had her captured and tortured, but Chun Tao denied the accusation.

• Lin Qing and the others left the Wang Lineage estate after Wang Xiaolong’s death was deemed natural.
• Wang Qingwan secretly summoned a retired old physician to examine Wang Xiaolong’s body.
• The old physician found signs of long-term poisoning and explained how the toxin had weakened Wang Xiaolong before a catalyst caused his sudden death.
• Wang Qingwan suspected Chun Tao, who had cared for Wang Xiaolong’s daily needs, and arranged to have her captured.
• Wang Qingwan interrogated Chun Tao in a secret chamber, but Chun Tao insisted she had not poisoned Wang Xiaolong.

After Wang Qingwan reported Wang Xiaolong’s death to the Martial Suppression Office, Lin Qing volunteered to investigate and promised to uncover the truth. He had Wang Huai'an, his son, and Chun Tao confined for two days while he quietly gathered evidence, and prepared to question them.

• Zhao Feng told the investigators that a second examination revealed Wang Xiaolong had died from chronic poisoning, and Wang Qingwan suspected Chun Tao, Wang Huai'an, and his son.
• Wang Qingwan formally reported the suspected murder, giving the Martial Suppression Office authority to investigate the case.
• Wang Qingwan offered ten thousand gold to anyone who could make the three suspects confess, and Lin Qing volunteered for the task.
• Lin Qing asked Zhao Feng to confine Wang Huai'an, his son, and Chun Tao for two days without visits or interrogation, and Zhao Feng agreed.
• During the two days, Lin Qing discreetly questioned servants and guards across the Wang Lineage and organized their accounts into a rough understanding of the case.

Lin Qing isolated and interrogated Chun Tao, Wang Yu, and Wang Huai'an, turning each against the others until they confessed to plotting Wang Xiaolong’s murder. He left the Criminal Tribunal with their testimonies, and the full poisoning scheme was revealed to Zhao Feng and Wang Qingwan.

• Lin Qing convinced Chun Tao that Wang Yu and Wang Huai'an had used her, and she confessed to poisoning Wang Xiaolong and described their roles in the plot.
• Lin Qing told Wang Yu that Chun Tao had confessed and warned him that Wang Huai'an might abandon him, prompting Wang Yu to testify against his father.
• Lin Qing confronted Wang Huai'an with the matching accounts from Chun Tao and Wang Yu, and Wang Huai'an confessed to organizing the poisoning.
• Lin Qing handed the three statements to Zhao Feng and explained that Wang Huai'an, Wang Yu, and Chun Tao had each pursued their own interests in the plot against Wang Xiaolong.
• The account revealed that Chun Tao had poisoned Wang Xiaolong over the years and that Wang Huai'an used a catalyst to trigger the poison, while Wang Qingwan’s physician was an expert in medicine and poison.

After the Wang Lineage case concluded, Wang Qingwan thanked Lin Qing and the ruined family’s decline became clear. On Mid-Autumn Festival, Lin Qing drank alone beneath the moon, remembered his former life, and fell asleep in his courtyard.

• Zhao Feng and Shen Lie sentenced the people involved in the Wang Lineage case, condemning Wang Huai'an to execution after autumn.
• Wang Qingwan brought Lin Qing a box of gold notes to thank him for uncovering the truth about Wang Xiaolong’s murder, and Lin Qing asked what she thought of Ye Lingchuan.
• On the fifteenth of the eighth month, Lin Qing stopped cultivating and prepared food and wine for himself in his courtyard.
• Lin Qing drank alone beneath the full moon, recited lines about drinking with the moon and his shadow, and fell asleep among the osmanthus blossoms.

Lin Qing completed the Mystic Mountain Mountain-Suppressing Stance and reached the Blood Qi Veil threshold, then discovered he had recorded the Lunar Visualization Art. After failing to visualize the noon sun, he set out to buy more vicious beast meat and decided to approach the Wang Lineage.

• Lin Qing completed the Mystic Mountain Mountain-Suppressing Stance and continued practicing the Thunderbolt Body-Tempering Stance, reaching the Blood Qi Veil threshold.
• Lin Qing checked his panel and discovered that he had recorded the Lunar Visualization Art after admiring the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
• Lin Qing tried to record a Solar Visualization Art by staring at the noon sun but stopped when his eyes began to hurt.
• Lin Qing went into Brocade City's main street to buy vicious beast meat, but recognized that his recent fame made visiting shops risky.
• Lin Qing considered buying through the Black Market or the Wang Lineage and chose to seek out the Wang Lineage.

Lin Qing visited Wang Qingwan to arrange a discreet, steady supply of Third-Tier Ferocious Beast Meat for his cultivation. After she agreed to deliver it at cost, he tested the Lunar Visualization Art and confirmed its proficiency increased by six points in half an hour.

• Lin Qing went to the Wang Lineage estate but learned Wang Qingwan had gone to visit Ye Lingchuan, so he bought Second Tier Ferocious Beast Meat elsewhere.
• Wang Qingwan later visited Lin Qing, and he asked her to provide Ferocious Beast Meat privately to support his unusual cultivation needs.
• Lin Qing agreed to pay market price and ordered one pound of Third-Tier Ferocious Beast Meat per day; Wang Qingwan arranged secret deliveries every five days at cost.
• After Wang Qingwan left, Lin Qing tested the Lunar Visualization Art and found it gained six proficiency points in half an hour.
• Lin Qing stopped visualizing and went to bed, planning to focus on mastering his Second-Tier Stance Arts.

Lin Qing continued cultivating as he waited for his breakthrough, then accepted Wang Qingwan’s invitation to Cloudrest Tower. He learned that Wang Qingwan and Ye Lingchuan planned to marry in December, accepted their wedding invitation, and promised to attend.

• Lin Qing checked his system panel and saw that completing the Second-Tier Stance Arts had reduced his breakthrough time to sixty days, while fewer than forty drops of Earthheart Marrow remained.
• Lin Qing decided to save the remaining Earthheart Marrow for cultivation arts and polish his martial arts through ordinary practice.
• In mid-October, Wang Qingwan invited Lin Qing to Cloudrest Tower, where he met Ye Lingchuan, a core disciple of the Azure Profound Sect and a Hidden Dragon Ranking genius.
• Ye Lingchuan thanked Lin Qing for helping bring him and Wang Qingwan together, and Lin Qing raised a toast with him.
• Wang Qingwan gave Lin Qing an invitation to her December wedding with Ye Lingchuan, and Lin Qing agreed to attend.

Lin Qing gained permission to study a Third-Tier cultivation art, recorded it, and tested it despite the strain on his First-Tier body. After two days of cultivation, Zhao Feng summoned him for an assignment, ending his brief retreat.

• Lin Qing asked Old Zhang to let him read on the Book-Collection Tower’s third floor, and Old Zhang granted permission after hearing his reasoning.
• Lin Qing studied a Third-Tier cultivation art, selected a Second-Tier art as his declared choice, and returned home after passing Old Zhang’s inspection.
• Lin Qing checked his panel, noting his newly recorded arts and improved Yellow-Tier Low-Grade body control.
• Lin Qing practiced the Third-Tier cultivation art and found that it strained his body, so he planned to cultivate it gradually until reaching the Second Tier.
• After two quiet days, Zhao Feng summoned Lin Qing for a mission and drafted him to accompany the group.

Zhao Feng led Lin Qing and a team of Martial Suppression Office martial artists to Azure Sun County to hunt an Early Third-Tier ferocious beast in the Azure Sun Mountains. After joining forces with the local office, they entered the mountains to search for its trail.

• Zhao Feng briefed fifty martial artists on the beast and led them on a three-day ride to Azure Sun County.
• Lin Qing secretly used Third-Tier Blood-Qi Pills to sustain his uninterrupted cultivation during the journey.
• Shi Man asked why the Martial Suppression Office had not punished rival factions after the previous mountain battle, and Shen Lie explained the rules governing contests for treasure.
• Zhao Feng gathered his team and fifty local martial artists, then led them into the Azure Sun Mountains to search for suspicious traces.

After Shen Lie’s squad was ambushed by a savage wolf pack led by a Second-Tier Peak wolf king, Shen Lie held off the wolves while the others fled. Lin Qing secretly killed the First Tier wolves pursuing Su Ye, Shi Man, and Lu Xuan, then set off alone to investigate the treasure that had drawn high-tier savage beasts to Azure Sun Mountain.

• A savage wolf attacked Lu Xuan, but Shen Lie shoved him clear and drove the beast back with his sheathed saber.
• More than twenty savage wolves surrounded the squad, led by a Second-Tier Peak wolf king displaying Blood Qi Wolf Smoke.
• Shen Lie led the five squad members through a gap in the encirclement, then stayed behind and ordered the others to split up and flee toward the signal.
• Lin Qing followed Su Ye, Shi Man, and Lu Xuan from a distance instead of fleeing blindly.
• Lin Qing silently killed the First Tier wolves pursuing the three and then continued alone to search for Azure Sun Mountain’s secrets and opportunities.

Lin Qing entered a hidden cave while searching for the source of Azure Sun Mountain’s ferocious beasts’ rapid advancement and discovered Earthheart Marrow, but realized another treasure was responsible. A Demon Hunting Team found black spiritual liquid in the cave, and when Lin Qing emerged to intercept them, its captain attacked him.

• Lin Qing slipped past the unfinished Martial Suppression Office encirclement and searched the battlefield until he found a concealed cave.
• Lin Qing followed the scent of Earthheart Marrow to a huge stalactite, but heard a Demon Hunting Team enter the cavern before he could investigate it.
• The team’s captain reasoned that a different treasure must be strengthening the beasts, and Lin Qing concluded that the Earthheart Marrow was not the cause of their advancement.
• A tremor caused black spiritual liquid to seep from a crack in the rock wall, and the Demon Hunting Team collected it as the treasure they had sought.
• Lin Qing stepped out to confront the team, and its captain shouted for his members to kill him before striking at his face with a broadsword.

Lin Qing killed the Demon Hunting Team captain and collected the Earthheart Marrow and black liquid from the cave before returning to Azure Sun County. After the group celebrated, he went to an inn to review his gains and silently advanced to the second tier of martial arts.

• Lin Qing killed the middle-aged captain with one saber strike, then split open the stalagmite and collected the Earthheart Marrow and the black liquid from the cave wall.
• Lin Qing left the cave, confirmed the area was clear, and returned to Shen Lie, Shi Man, and the others near the cave entrance.
• Lin Qing told Shi Man that a Savage Wolf had chased him and caused him to take a detour, while Shen Lie expressed relief that he had returned safely.
• Zhao Feng ordered everyone to camp overnight and leave the mountains at dawn, and the group later returned to Azure Sun County.
• After celebrating at Fortune Tower, Lin Qing went alone to an inn and began taking stock of his gains.
• Lin Qing felt his tendons and bones stretch and silently advanced to the second tier of martial arts.

After breaking through to the Second Tier, Lin Qing used the treasures from his expedition to accelerate his cultivation and prepared to leave Cloudmist Prefecture. At sixteen, he resigned from the Martial Suppression Office and rode out alone toward the wilderness.

• Lin Qing broke through to the Muscle-and-Bone Realm, counted his money and treasures, and discovered that the black liquid tempered his body and boosted his cultivation efficiency.
• Lin Qing perfected his Third-Tier Cultivation Arts, reducing his breakthrough time, but found that his cultivation required costly amounts of savage beast meat.
• Lin Qing attended Ye Lingchuan and Wang Qingwan's wedding, and later saw Wang Qingwan recover from grief and enter the Third Tier as the Wang Lineage prospered.
• Lin Qing resigned from the Martial Suppression Office, spent part of his remaining fortune on Blood-Qi Pills, and packed his cultivation treasures.
• Lin Qing left Cloudmist Prefecture alone on horseback.

Lin Qing stayed at a remote inn, where three Third Tier bandits tried to rob him. He killed them effortlessly, found a Fourth Tier cultivation art among their belongings, and returned to his room to study it.

• Lin Qing checked into the only inn for miles and drew the attention of its martial wanderers, who mistook him for a wealthy young disciple.
• Lin Qing waited for the full moon and went to the rear courtyard viewing platform to practice the Lunar Visualization Art.
• Three Third Tier men confronted Lin Qing on the platform and demanded his silver, but he remained unfazed by their Qi and Blood pressure.
• Lin Qing killed all three men with swift sword strikes, and one of the bandits mistook him for Sun Shaoping.
• Lin Qing searched the bodies, found a little over forty thousand taels of silver and a Fourth Tier cultivation art called Fire-Fusing Heart Stance, then paid the waiter and returned to his room.

After nearly a month of travel, Lin Qing reached Wildgoose City, where crowds recognized him as Xie Chen and a guild representative approached him. The chapter ended with Su Lan explaining that he had gained fame by taking twenty-sixth place on the Hidden Dragon Ranking.

• Lin Qing arrived at Wildgoose City, a bustling border stronghold and hub for ferocious beast materials.
• People throughout the city watched Lin Qing and murmured that he was the rumored young True Person, Xie Chen.
• Su Lan of the Demon Ember Guild stopped Lin Qing and invited him to join the guild.
• Lin Qing asked Su Lan how she knew his name.
• Su Lan told Lin Qing that Skyvault Pavilion's latest Hidden Dragon Ranking had placed him twenty-sixth at age nineteen, spreading his name throughout the Summer Kingdom.

Lin Qing learned that his Hidden Dragon Ranking entry had made him a target, but Skyvault Pavilion refused to remove it and explained how he could obtain more Fourth Tier cultivation methods. After considering the dangers of Wildgoose City and confirming that the Demon Ember Guild would not restrict his independence, he agreed to join.

• Su Lan warned Lin Qing that the city’s major forces and malicious martial artists might target him, and Lin Qing asked how the Hidden Dragon Ranking described him.
• Lin Qing visited Skyvault Pavilion, where an elder revealed his real name and refused to cancel his ranking.
• The elder explained that Lin Qing could obtain Fourth Tier cultivation methods by seizing them, bidding at auctions, or buying them from Skyvault Pavilion for one million taels each.
• Su Lan waited outside Lin Qing’s inn the next morning and asked him again to join the Demon Ember Guild.
• Lin Qing questioned Su Lan about the guild’s rules and resources, then agreed to join after she assured him he could usually act alone.

Lin Qing officially joined the Demon Ember Guild, met fellow Hidden Dragon Ranking members, and settled into a secluded courtyard. After storing his precious materials, he ate Ferocious Beast meat to restart his techniques and considered the time and energy demands of future cultivation.

• Su Lan introduced Lin Qing as a new guild member, and Song Shiye welcomed him and shared his Ferocious Beast hunting experience.
• Su Lan introduced Lin Qing to Shen Xingci, gave him a guild uniform, and explained the guild's facilities and benefits.
• Su Lan led Lin Qing to a secluded courtyard, where he hid the box containing Earthheart Marrow and Body-Tempering Marrow beneath a floor tile.
• Lin Qing bought and ate ten jin of cooked Third-Tier Ferocious Beast Meat, restarting his dormant techniques and reviewing his cultivation panel.