Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: Demon Extermination Guard Yi Thirteen

Plot Points and Events

• Su Xinghe and Zhou Yingjun discuss the White Ape Martial Academy’s lack of a Seventh-Rank Transformation Realm expert, which leaves it unable to suppress Lin County’s second-rate factions.
• To prevent unrest and stop hostile forces from entering the western part of the city, they decide to secretly encourage the Beheading Gang to act against them.
• After returning home, Su Xinghe finds Gong Hao waiting for him. Gong Hao reveals that he investigated Su Xinghe’s former identity in the Inspection Bureau’s secret records.
• Gong Hao warns Su Xinghe that the Inspection Bureau’s Sky-Patrolling Ravens can be manipulated, making them a potential threat.
• He also asks about the exotic beast cub connected to the Peaceful Heaven Sect. Su Xinghe admits that he once acted against them only to protect himself, but Gong Hao assures him that he has already destroyed the relevant records.
• Gong Hao officially activates Su Xinghe’s identity as Demon Extermination Guard Yi Thirteen of the Qingzhou Prefecture Demon Suppression Bureau. Su Xinghe is ordered to monitor nearby Outer Demons and report discoveries through Zhang Baichuan.
• Gong Hao instructs Su Xinghe to stop cultivating the Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi and instead use the spiritual will of his Heavenly One Sword Sect technique to operate the Demon Suppression Bureau token.
• They discuss Li Shunjun’s recent attack on Su Xinghe. Gong Hao explains that Tingyun has informed the Heavenly One Sword Sect, which will likely deal with Li Shunjun, though even Martial Saints may struggle to locate a hidden Grandmaster.
• Su Xinghe examines the Demon Suppression Bureau token and discovers that it contains his anonymous code name, current points, and a list of exchangeable cultivation arts, pills, and secret techniques.
• Gong Hao transfers one hundred points to him. Since healing Treasure Medicines are unavailable, Su Xinghe exchanges the points for the Sixth-Rank Iron Body Art.
• The chapter ends with Su Xinghe receiving the art’s transmission and learning that sharing it with outsiders is forbidden under penalty of death.

Character Developments

• Su Xinghe is forced into a much more important and dangerous role. Though only an Eighth-Rank martial artist, he is now officially responsible for monitoring Outer Demons.
• He becomes increasingly aware that his past identity cannot remain hidden from the major powers, but Gong Hao’s trust confirms that Su Xinghe’s actions—especially killing the Half-Demon Eight-Armed Carrion Centipede and opposing Princess Red Lotus—have proven his loyalty.
• Su Xinghe shows practical judgment by choosing the Iron Body Art rather than pursuing more advanced but unattainable techniques.
• Gong Hao demonstrates his authority and confidence in Su Xinghe. He protects Su Xinghe by destroying secret records, grants him official status, provides points, and gives him guidance about cultivation and intelligence gathering.
• Zhou Yingjun continues to support Su Xinghe’s plans, particularly the strategy of using the Beheading Gang to stabilize the city.
• Tingyun acts as an intermediary by reporting Li Shunjun’s attack to the Heavenly One Sword Sect.

Significant Themes

• Trust and official recognition: Gong Hao’s decision to appoint Su Xinghe reflects institutional trust based on his past sacrifices rather than his current cultivation level.
• Identity and secrecy: Su Xinghe’s former association with the Peaceful Heaven Sect remains dangerous, emphasizing the difficulty of hiding one’s past in a world controlled by powerful organizations.
• Power versus responsibility: Su Xinghe receives authority far beyond his actual strength, creating tension between his official duties and his limited cultivation.
• The structured path of cultivation: The Demon Suppression Bureau’s exchange system presents martial advancement as a long, measurable progression requiring immense effort and resources.
• Self-reliance amid danger: The threat of Li Shunjun and the possibility that even Martial Saints cannot find him reinforce Su Xinghe’s belief that he must ultimately depend on himself.
• Anonymous service and sacrifice: The code name “Yi Thirteen” reflects the dangerous, secretive nature of Demon Extermination Guards.

Important Character Interactions

• Su Xinghe and Zhou Yingjun: They cooperate on a political strategy to manipulate the Beheading Gang and prevent disorder in Lin County.
• Su Xinghe and Gong Hao: Their conversation centers on Su Xinghe’s past, his new official identity, the threat of the Inspection Bureau, Li Shunjun’s attack, and the use of the Demon Suppression Bureau token.
• Gong Hao and Su Xinghe’s token: Gong Hao transfers points and enables Su Xinghe to obtain the Iron Body Art, cementing Su Xinghe’s formal entry into the Demon Suppression Bureau.
• Su Xinghe and the Heavenly One Sword Sect: Though the sect is absent directly, its spiritual technique allows him to read the token, while the sect is also expected to respond to Li Shunjun’s actions.

Chapter Summary: Martial Dao Bureau, Zhang Baichuan

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Xinghe begins practicing the Sixth-Rank Iron Body Art, progressing through Qi Circulation, Force Infusion, Inner Tempering, and higher body-tempering stages.
• He recognizes that the art emphasizes physical defense more than the Spirit Ape Myriad Transformations. Once perfected, its Astral Qi can form a protective suit of iron armor.
• Su Xinghe briefly practices the introductory stage and gains one experience point. His Fate Panel shows that he has naturally entered the Seventh-Rank Transformation Realm, with the five viscera and six bowels beginning to be tempered.
• He learns that, at Seventh Rank, internal organ tempering, aperture opening, and Internal Force circulation progress together rather than as separate stages.
• Gong Hao advises him to exchange future merit points for force-amplifying secret arts, such as Wave Art or Layered Wave Force. Su Xinghe notes that his existing Head-Cleaving Technique already gives him fivefold force output.
• After Gong Hao departs, Su Xinghe realizes he needs institutional support to protect his family and stabilize Lin County amid the Lu Family’s withdrawal, the Peaceful Heaven Sect’s threat, and the growing presence of outside martial artists.
• He visits the Martial Dao Bureau and requests a meeting with Director Zhang Baichuan. Initially treated dismissively by masked Inspection Bureau officials, he reveals Gong Hao’s token, immediately changing their attitude.
• Zhang Baichuan apologizes and brings Su Xinghe into the Bureau’s forest stronghold, where numerous black-robed agents and Sky-Patrolling Ravens are stationed.
• Su Xinghe relays Gong Hao’s instructions concerning the Outer Demons. Zhang Baichuan agrees to place the Inspection Bureau under Su Xinghe’s authority if the Peaceful Heaven Sect’s stronghold is discovered.
• Su Xinghe also explains that the Lu Family’s departure has destabilized local power structures, with gangs and visiting martial artists making Tongzi Ward unsafe for his family.
• Zhang Baichuan responds decisively by giving Su Xinghe two official seals and authorizing him to select candidates for the city defense county captain and Public Security Office head positions.

Character Developments

• Su Xinghe advances naturally into the Seventh Rank, demonstrating that his previous training and strong foundation allow him to break through without difficulty.
• His priorities shift from personal cultivation alone to protecting his family and managing the broader political and security consequences of the Lu Family’s departure.
• He becomes more willing to use his connections, status, and authority rather than relying exclusively on personal strength.
• Gong Hao acts as a mentor and benefactor, providing Su Xinghe with a new martial art and guidance on improving his force output.
• Zhang Baichuan is introduced as a powerful, practical, and influential Sixth-Rank expert. Though initially cold and suspicious, he quickly recognizes Su Xinghe’s importance and offers substantial administrative support.

Significant Themes

• Steady accumulation and natural advancement: Su Xinghe’s breakthrough reflects the chapter’s recurring idea that persistent preparation eventually produces effortless results.
• Strength beyond cultivation: Martial power is important, but influence, official authority, and alliances are equally necessary in a dangerous and unstable environment.
• Political and social upheaval: The Lu Family’s departure creates a power vacuum, increasing conflict among gangs, martial artists, and hidden organizations.
• Protection and responsibility: Su Xinghe’s concerns increasingly center on safeguarding his family and maintaining order, not merely increasing his own rank.
• Recognition and legitimacy: Gong Hao’s token transforms Su Xinghe from an outsider seeking help into someone officially backed by a powerful authority.

Character Interactions

• Su Xinghe and Gong Hao: Gong Hao gives cultivation advice, recommends force-amplifying secret arts, and directs Su Xinghe to Zhang Baichuan for further assistance.
• Su Xinghe and the masked Inspection Bureau officials: Their first interaction is tense because they underestimate him and assume he is merely representing the White Ape Martial Academy. Revealing the token forces them to acknowledge his status.
• Su Xinghe and Zhang Baichuan: Their relationship begins formally but quickly becomes cooperative. Zhang accepts Su Xinghe’s mission regarding the Outer Demons and responds to his security concerns with immediate, concrete authority.
• Su Xinghe and the wider local powers: Although not directly present, the Peaceful Heaven Sect, the Lu Family’s remaining forces, and the competing gangs form the background threat motivating his actions.

Key plot points and events

• Su Xinghe meets Zhang Baichuan, head of Lin County’s Martial Dao Bureau, and asks him to remove the bounties on several Beheading Gang leaders. Su explains that they targeted only the Lu Family, which has fled to Qingzhou Academy amid its conflict with the Peaceful Heaven Sect. Zhang agrees, while warning him that North City’s authorities and Inspection Bureau personnel must not be overlooked.
• Su arranges for Zhou Yingjun of White Ape Martial Academy to help distribute the city-defense lieutenant’s seal. This gives the Beheading Gang influence while keeping it balanced against the White Ape Martial Academy and Great River Gang.
• With violence still threatening their shop in the west of the city, Su’s family agrees to move. The next day, they sell their old home and store to another family.
• The family settles in a secure North City estate near the Inspection Bureau. Su provides the deed and several thousand taels in funds, then leaves so his family can keep a lower profile.
• That evening, Su begins cultivating the “Iron Body Art,” using the strong Qi-Blood foundation he developed through his earlier training. His first practice earns him eight points of experience.

Character developments

• Su Xinghe acts more strategically: he seeks official backing, distributes power among allied groups, and prioritizes protecting his family from enemies who may target them to reach him. He also begins a new stage of cultivation after attaining Seventh Rank.
• Zhang Baichuan treats Su as a trusted and influential ally, granting his request and supporting his family’s relocation.
• Su Haitao has progressed toward becoming an Inner Tempering apprentice, encouraged by his wife’s guidance.
• Yang Huaiyu reflects on her difficult past as the daughter of a bandit family and her desire to build a safe home. Now pregnant and settled in North City, she has greater security.
• Su Cheng and Chen Guilan accept the move despite the loss of their established shop, finding comfort in their son’s success and the prospect of becoming grandparents.

Significant themes

• Family as both motivation and vulnerability: Su provides for his family but keeps his distance because enemies could use them against him.
• Power and balance: Su avoids letting the Beheading Gang become unchecked by involving other groups and official authority.
• Security amid disorder: The move from the dangerous west of the city to guarded North City underscores the growing instability in Lin County.
• Steady cultivation: Su’s progress rests on disciplined practice and the foundation built through earlier training.

Character interactions

• Su and Zhang negotiate as trusted allies, balancing Su’s request with Zhang’s concern for North City’s interests.
• Su works through Zhou Yingjun to connect the Beheading Gang with the White Ape Martial Academy, while keeping the Great River Gang involved as a counterweight.
• Su reassures his family, entrusts Haitao with the new home, and urges him to continue training with Huaiyu before departing alone.

Chapter Summary: “Sweep Away the Lu Family’s Remaining Scum”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Xinghe establishes a permanent base on Nanzhi Avenue, purchasing an expensive fifth-floor teahouse property as his foothold in Lin County.
• He entrusts Lu Sandao with protecting his family and formally gives him the copper seal representing the position of superintendent at the Public Security Office. Su also provides funds and medicinal pills to support Lu Sandao and the Great River Gang.
• Lu Sandao reports on the current power structure of Lin County:
  • Scarlet Cloud Mountain’s forces control the eastern city and both banks of the Clearwater River.
  • The northern district remains under the Martial Dao Bureau.
  • The southern docks and the Black Market in Luhua Village threaten to cut into the White Ape Martial Academy’s profits.
  • Smaller gangs remain active in the southern and western districts.
• Su Xinghe decides to eliminate the remaining minor gangs in the city, sparing only legitimate commercial organizations.
• While continuing to cultivate the Iron Body Art, Su secretly directs a six-day campaign against the gangs. A mysterious martial warrior, rumored to be one of the Head-Chopping Bandits, wipes them out one by one.
• The White Ape Martial Academy occupies the newly cleared territories. Zhou Yingjun establishes Brokerage Guild branches and absorbs surviving martial warriors into the Academy’s growing network.
• With Big Bear and more than a thousand soldiers assisting, the takeover proceeds smoothly. Traditional fees and taxes are restored, greatly increasing revenue now that the Lu Family no longer takes a share.
• The Mountain City forces controlling the Clearwater Lotus Pond docks attempt to expand into western Lin County. Negotiations fail, and the White Ape Martial Academy issues a final ultimatum.
• Lu Sandao begins consolidating official authority by secretly eliminating disobedient constables and yamen runners, accepting the morally compromising aspects of his new position.
• At the chapter’s climax, Zhou Yingjun, Big Bear, and more than a hundred fighters confront the Mountain City faction at the docks. Big Bear gives them fifteen minutes to withdraw, but the appearance of five powerful men—led by the mysterious Mountain City powerhouse—turns the standoff into a major confrontation.

Character Developments

• Su Xinghe demonstrates increasing authority and strategic maturity. He balances personal cultivation, family protection, political appointments, and the expansion of his organization.
• Lu Sandao becomes both a trusted protector of Su’s family and an official power within the Martial Dao Bureau. He remains loyal to the Great River Gang and is willing to perform ruthless acts to secure Lin County.
• Zhou Yingjun grows into an effective administrator and organizer, creating Brokerage Guild branches and managing the Academy’s newly conquered territory.
• Big Bear takes on a more aggressive leadership role, combining his official military position with the appearance and tactics of a bandit to intimidate the enemy.
• The White Ape Martial Academy evolves from a martial institution into a powerful political, military, and commercial force capable of controlling large portions of Lin County.
• The Mountain City leader is introduced as a formidable rival whose astral force immediately overwhelms the battlefield and challenges the Academy’s recent dominance.

Significant Themes

• Consolidation of power: The chapter focuses on the Academy’s transformation into the dominant force in Lin County after the Lu Family’s downfall.
• Order versus criminality: Su’s faction eliminates gangs while preserving legitimate businesses, presenting its takeover as a restoration of order even as it continues exploitative fees and underworld practices.
• Loyalty and obligation: Lu Sandao’s devotion to the Great River Gang and Su Xinghe outweighs personal comfort, leading him to accept both responsibility and moral compromise.
• Hidden ambition: Su’s efforts to unify the underworld and gather wealth are connected to larger goals, particularly helping Elder Xie acquire precious medicinal resources.
• The cost of authority: Maintaining control requires violence, intimidation, political appointments, and the removal of disobedient officials.
• Rising conflict: The chapter shifts from internal cleanup to confrontation with an outside power strong enough to threaten the Academy’s expansion.

Character Interactions

• Su Xinghe reunites with Lu Sandao and Lu Kui, joking affectionately with them while reinforcing his position as “Brother Su.”
• Su entrusts Lu Sandao with his family’s safety and rewards him with money, pills, and an official position, strengthening their bond of trust.
• Lu Sandao provides Su with a detailed account of Lin County’s factions, helping him decide which forces to eliminate and which to avoid.
• Su silently coordinates with Zhou Yingjun, Big Bear, and the Academy’s leadership, while they infer and support his broader plans without needing him to state them directly.
• Zhou Yingjun and Big Bear cooperate in the occupation of the cleared districts and in confronting the Mountain City forces.
• The final exchange pits Big Bear’s threatening ultimatum against the Mountain City leader’s arrogant response, setting up an imminent battle.

Chapter Summary: “Encountering Red Lotus, Cultivating the Treasure Vase”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Xinghe has become one of the mysterious “Head-Chopping Bandits,” secretly hunting martial artists who exploit Lin County’s chaos to loot and kill. In only a few days, he has executed more than twenty outsiders, including several Seventh-Rank experts.
• From a mountain behind the Clear Lotus Pond docks, he watches the White Ape Martial Academy’s forces enter Lin County. He expects a major conflict because their Sixth-Rank leader believes they can dominate the county in the Lu Family’s absence.
• Although Zhou Yingjun is willing to readmit these displaced martial artists, they refuse to obey the new rules and instead attempt to replace the Lu Family as Lin County’s ruling power.
• While waiting for the battle, Su Xinghe is suddenly approached by Princess Red Lotus. He immediately attacks, hoping to reproduce the powerful sword slash he once used at White Deer Cliff, but she effortlessly restrains him with a single claw and a powerful domain of will.
• Red Lotus is accompanied by three grandmasters, including Li Shunjun, chief of the Taiguang Prefecture Bandit Suppression Bureau. Su Xinghe is shocked to see Li standing submissively behind Red Lotus, despite having previously attacked the Peaceful Heaven Sect.
• Red Lotus reveals that Su Xinghe bears the Peaceful Heaven Sect’s spiritual mark and recognizes that he once cultivated the sect’s visualization technique, Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi. She questions him about why the soul power connected to the mark has disappeared.
• By touching his forehead, Red Lotus forces the technique to activate within his Inner Landscape World. His Spirit Sea becomes infused with blood-red energy, and a crimson crescent moon forms above it.
• Su Xinghe realizes that he is being compelled to cultivate the forbidden technique, despite having promised Gong Hao not to practice it again. His Fate Panel begins recording experience gains in the incomplete technique, and its long-stagnant progress finally increases.
• Red Lotus discovers that Su Xinghe possesses a liquid Spirit Sea and immense soul-power reserves. She identifies him as a potential Martial Saint Seed, believing that his Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi may already have reached an unusually high level.

Character Developments

• Su Xinghe: Demonstrates heightened combat instincts and growing strength as a Seventh-Rank martial artist and Head-Chopping Bandit. However, he is completely outmatched by Red Lotus and becomes anxious when she forcibly restarts the forbidden visualization technique. His unusual Spirit Sea reveals a major hidden potential.
• Princess Red Lotus: Establishes her overwhelming power by casually suppressing Su Xinghe and invading his consciousness. She is perceptive, knowledgeable about his cultivation, and increasingly interested in his potential as a Martial Saint Seed.
• Li Shunjun: Appears to have shifted allegiance or become subordinate to Red Lotus. His presence raises questions about his relationship with the Peaceful Heaven Sect and suggests hidden political or factional developments.
• Zhou Yingjun and the Lu Family’s faction: Their effort to impose new rules on Lin County is indirectly challenged by the White Ape Martial Academy’s attempt to seize power.

Significant Themes

• Order versus chaos: Lin County is caught between criminal exploitation, established families, displaced martial artists, and attempts to create a new order.
• Power and submission: The contrast between Su Xinghe’s strength against ordinary Seventh-Rank opponents and his helplessness before Red Lotus emphasizes the vast hierarchy separating martial realms.
• Forbidden cultivation and loss of agency: Su Xinghe is forced to practice a technique he deliberately abandoned, highlighting the danger of spiritual arts that can override personal will.
• Hidden identity and potential: Red Lotus’s discovery of Su Xinghe’s liquid Spirit Sea and Martial Saint potential suggests that his true abilities and origins are far more significant than previously known.
• Factional intrigue: Li Shunjun’s apparent submission to Red Lotus and his past conflict with the Peaceful Heaven Sect create uncertainty about alliances and betrayals.

Important Character Interactions

• Su Xinghe prepares to confront the White Ape Martial Academy but is instead ambushed by Red Lotus.
• He attacks Red Lotus with his sword, but she neutralizes him instantly through physical force and a suppressive domain.
• Red Lotus questions Su Xinghe about his connection to the Peaceful Heaven Sect and probes his consciousness.
• Her spiritual power involuntarily activates the Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi in Su Xinghe’s Inner Landscape World.
• Red Lotus recognizes his exceptional soul constitution and becomes aware that he may possess rare Martial Saint-level potential.

Chapter Summary: “Li Shunjun Turned Green with Envy”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Xinghe remains wary of the Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi because it is an incomplete visualization secret art. Unlike the Listening to Tides Art, it relies on placing one’s hopes in another being or object, and its abnormal proficiency system includes a dangerous “remnant.”
• Princess Red Lotus secretly examines Su Xinghe’s talent through a Mental Secret Art and praises him as comparable to the exceptional royal bloodline candidates of the Zhou Martial Sage Dynasty. She orders him to keep his abilities secret.
• Although Su Xinghe previously killed one of the Peaceful Heaven Sect’s sacred beasts and caused Elder Qian’s death, Red Lotus spares him because he has learned the Red Lotus Secret Art. She orders him to remain at her side and cultivate under supervision.
• Li Shunjun becomes jealous when he realizes that Su Xinghe has received special treatment and has learned the sect’s supreme secret art. He protests, partly because he wants to obtain the art himself and partly because he fears losing the chance to force Su Xinghe to reveal the Heavenly One Sword Sect’s supreme technique.
• To placate Li Shunjun, Red Lotus agrees to teach him the Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi as well and appoints him to supervise Su Xinghe’s cultivation.
• Red Lotus then confiscates Su Xinghe’s black iron longsword and orders Li Shunjun to kill the “unruly commoners” gathered at the foot of the mountain. She wants to eliminate witnesses and protect the Red Lotus Branch’s hidden stronghold.
• Su Xinghe desperately objects, explaining that the people below are his followers and that their deaths could endanger his family. He offers to cooperate with cultivating the Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi if Red Lotus spares them.
• Red Lotus hesitates because Su Xinghe is an exceptionally valuable talent and potential source of soul power for her cultivation. Before she decides, an arrogant voice from below provokes her.
• Red Lotus redirects her anger toward the people at the mountain’s foot and orders Li Shunjun to destroy them. Li Shunjun unleashes his Core Embrace Domain, but notices that some of his own Beheading Gang subordinates are among the group. Even so, his attack crashes down and leaves several pools of mangled flesh.

Character Developments

• Su Xinghe: Reveals strong moral loyalty and responsibility toward his followers. Despite fearing Red Lotus and recognizing his vulnerable position, he refuses to accept their deaths and risks defying her. He also becomes more aware that his talent makes him valuable—but potentially exploitable—as a “medicine furnace” for Red Lotus’s cultivation.
• Princess Red Lotus: Shows herself to be calculating, authoritarian, and ruthless. She sees Su Xinghe primarily as a rare cultivation resource, yet cannot casually kill or cripple him because of his exceptional potential. Her ambition is clarified: she founded the Red Lotus Branch mainly to pursue the Martial Saint Realm, not simply to overthrow the Zhou Martial Sage Dynasty.
• Li Shunjun: His cultivated, refined demeanor collapses under jealousy and resentment. He is eager to obtain the supreme secret art and willing to use Su Xinghe’s predicament for personal gain. His loyalty to Red Lotus and even concern for his own subordinates are secondary to his anger and ambition.

Significant Themes

• Talent as both opportunity and danger: Su Xinghe’s extraordinary potential earns him protection, but also turns him into a resource Red Lotus intends to exploit.
• Power and coercion: Red Lotus’s authority allows her to reward, threaten, and manipulate others without accountability. Su Xinghe’s “cooperation” is effectively forced by the lives of his followers.
• Jealousy and competition: Li Shunjun’s envy drives him to challenge Red Lotus’s favoritism and exposes his selfish motives.
• Moral resistance against tyranny: Su Xinghe’s willingness to oppose Red Lotus, despite the overwhelming power difference, highlights his loyalty and moral boundaries.
• Ambition and betrayal: Red Lotus has abandoned the conventional path available to her within the royal family and joined the Peaceful Heaven Sect to pursue sainthood, showing how ambition can place personal advancement above loyalty or compassion.

Important Character Interactions

• Red Lotus privately evaluates and warns Su Xinghe, then publicly spares him and commands him to stay under her supervision.
• Li Shunjun confronts Red Lotus over her preferential treatment of Su Xinghe, prompting her to grant him the same secret art and assign him as Su Xinghe’s overseer.
• Su Xinghe directly bargains with Red Lotus, offering obedience in exchange for the survival of his followers.
• Red Lotus uses Li Shunjun as an instrument of punishment, ordering him to massacre the people below the mountain.
• Li Shunjun’s attack becomes especially tragic because members of his own Beheading Gang are among those he destroys.

Chapter Summary: The Outer Demon Raised Within the City

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Xinghe agrees to Princess Red Lotus’s demand that he cultivate, mainly to avoid further punishment and buy time. He resolves to settle his grievances later.
• Li Shunjun immediately robs him of everything valuable, including over thirty thousand taels in Treasure Notes, pills, his token, and saber sheath. Su Xinghe is especially angered because he had saved the money to purchase medicine for Elder Xie.
• Instead of being taken out of Lin County, Su Xinghe is transported through a hidden underground passage beneath the city. His spiritual perception is suppressed, and he realizes the Peaceful Heaven Sect is secretly raising an Outer Demon beneath densely populated areas such as Clear Lotus Pond and Tongzi Ward.
• The underground complex contains numerous powerful martial artists, suggesting it may be the main altar of the Peaceful Heaven Sect’s Red Lotus Branch.
• Su Xinghe is locked in a stone chamber and subjected to a powerful blood-colored Demon Qi Domain. The suppression immobilizes his Qi-Blood and Internal Force, reducing his effective combat ability to roughly the Upper Ninth Rank.
• He considers escaping by breaking through the walls but lacks the necessary tools and cannot activate his combat techniques under the Demon Qi Domain.
• After testing his abilities, he discovers that only visualization-based Mental Secret Arts can still be cultivated. He refuses to practice the Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi because doing so would benefit the Peaceful Heaven Sect.
• Instead, he cultivates the Listening to Tides Art. The eight silver figures within his Spirit Sea cultivate alongside him, allowing him to gain experience despite his imprisonment.
• A beautiful young maid with an unusually powerful Eighth Rank blood-colored aura enters the chamber and announces that she has brought him food.

Character Developments

• Su Xinghe remains cautious and pragmatic. He outwardly submits to buy time while internally plotting revenge and escape.
• His spiritual will has grown significantly after the Heavenly One Sword Sect awakened his Spirit Sea, enabling all eight silver figures to cultivate independently.
• Despite being physically suppressed, Su Xinghe demonstrates adaptability by identifying a Mental Secret Art that can function within the Demon Qi Domain.
• His opinion of Li Shunjun deteriorates further. He views Li as an opportunistic traitor who has repeatedly changed allegiances, making him unworthy of the title of grandmaster.
• Princess Red Lotus continues to exercise authority over Su Xinghe, arranging for his forced cultivation and transporting him into the underground facility.
• Li Shunjun is portrayed as both cruel and thoroughly self-serving, personally stripping Su Xinghe of his possessions.
• The mysterious white-dressed maid is introduced as a potentially dangerous figure whose appearance contrasts sharply with her formidable cultivation.

Significant Themes

• Submission versus resistance: Su Xinghe appears obedient but is constantly searching for opportunities to survive, cultivate, and eventually retaliate.
• Hidden evil beneath civilization: The Peaceful Heaven Sect’s underground operation reveals a sinister supernatural threat concealed beneath ordinary city life.
• Powerlessness and adaptation: With his abilities sealed, Su Xinghe must abandon direct combat and rely on strategy, mental cultivation, and patience.
• Betrayal and moral corruption: Li Shunjun’s repeated changes of allegiance emphasize the instability and opportunism of powerful figures.
• Cultivation as survival: Training is not merely self-improvement; for Su Xinghe, it is his only remaining means of resisting imprisonment and preserving hope.

Character Interactions

• Su Xinghe formally agrees with Princess Red Lotus while concealing his resentment and intentions.
• Li Shunjun robs Su Xinghe and later orders him to cultivate through the stone wall, reinforcing the power imbalance between them.
• Su Xinghe internally condemns Li Shunjun for his many betrayals but cannot yet challenge him.
• The final interaction introduces the white-dressed maid, who politely offers to serve Su Xinghe’s meal while her powerful aura makes clear that she may be a guard, servant, or agent of the underground faction rather than an ordinary attendant.

Chapter Summary: “A Terrible Experience”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Xinghe remains imprisoned in a secret chamber of the Peaceful Heaven Sect. Although the iron door is open, the powerful auras surrounding the passage—and the blood-red demonic force above him—prevent him from attempting escape.
• A young maid introduces herself as White One, explaining that she is now the first maid serving “Fragrance Master Su.” Su Xinghe realizes he has been elevated to the status of a Fragrance Master within the sect.
• White One brings him a bowl of Sacred Beast Essence Blood, a foul-smelling, gelatinous food that he initially refuses to eat. She eagerly consumes it herself, hinting at the strange cultivation practices of the Red Lotus Branch.
• Su Xinghe spends his time cultivating the Listening to Tides Art, which rapidly improves because it only consumes Spirit Sea energy and does not require physical Qi-Blood. However, the technique cannot nourish his body, and his hunger steadily worsens.
• After five days without water and several days of refusing the essence blood, Su Xinghe becomes too weak to continue cultivating. Desperate, he finally accepts the meal when White One brings it.
• He eats the entire bowl and drinks the water, discovering that the essence blood is unpleasant but edible and provides warmth and nourishment.
• Soon afterward, he becomes intoxicated and loses consciousness. While he is unconscious, his Incomplete Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi automatically circulates and draws upon the spiritual energy he accumulated through the Listening to Tides Art.
• When Su Xinghe awakens, he recognizes the familiar extreme weakness caused by the depletion of his mental and spiritual strength. He realizes that White One has used him as a source of cultivation through a one-sided extraction technique.

Character Developments

• Su Xinghe becomes increasingly desperate as imprisonment, hunger, thirst, and the suppressive demonic force wear down his body and willpower. His initial refusal to consume the essence blood gives way to pragmatic survival.
• He continues to rely on cultivation and the Fate Panel, demonstrating discipline and resilience, but learns that his mental cultivation cannot compensate for the body’s need for food.
• Su Xinghe gains a clearer understanding of the danger posed by the Red Lotus Branch’s cultivation methods. He recognizes that his spiritual power can be forcibly extracted despite his own efforts and resistance.
• White One is established as both servant and predator. She acts obedient and polite, but her eagerness to consume the essence blood and her later exploitation of Su Xinghe reveal a threatening, predatory nature.

Significant Themes

• Survival versus pride: Su Xinghe’s hunger eventually forces him to abandon his disgust and accept the food he had rejected.
• The limits of cultivation: Mental progress and secret techniques are useless if the physical body is starved and weakened.
• Loss of autonomy: Su Xinghe is treated not as an honored master but as a resource to be fed from and exploited.
• Predatory cultivation and betrayal: The Red Lotus Branch’s method resembles dual cultivation but removes all mutuality, allowing one person to drain another’s accumulated power.
• False security: Even Su Xinghe’s strongest traits and careful planning cannot fully protect him from the sect’s mysterious techniques.

Character Interactions

• Su Xinghe questions White One about her identity, and she formally accepts the name he is given while declaring herself his first maid.
• White One repeatedly offers him Sacred Beast Essence Blood, teasing him with flirtatious glances and showing obvious appetite for the same substance.
• Their relationship is outwardly one of master and maid, but the power balance is reversed: White One controls his food and ultimately uses him for cultivation.
• The chapter ends with Su Xinghe recognizing that White One has exploited him, leaving him physically and spiritually weakened and deeply distrustful of the sect’s practices.

Chapter Summary: “Sharpening the Spear on the Battlefield”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After being overwhelmed by the powerful enemy’s attack, Su Xinghe remains temporarily unable to move. His Fate Panel reveals that his Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi has been completely depleted, while his Listening to Tides Art has nearly regressed.
• Realizing that continued cultivation alone will not free him from the enemy’s control, Su Xinghe considers completing the incomplete Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi. Since he cannot obtain the secret art directly, he plans to study its circulation through physical contact with the little maid, White One.
• He instead focuses on the Ascending Dragon Stance, a true martial art that strengthens his body and virility. Although it consumes large amounts of Qi-Blood, the Sacred Beast Essence Blood he has eaten provides enough nourishment to begin rapid cultivation.
• His Fate trait, “Diligence Makes Up for Dullness,” allows the silver figures in his Consciousness Space to repeatedly practice the technique, granting him steady experience gains.
• In the neighboring chamber, Li Shunjun remains unable to visualize the Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi despite five days of effort. Bitter and jealous of Su Xinghe’s progress, he orders more Sacred Beast Essence Blood and vents his frustration through strenuous physical activity.
• At the same time, Princess Red Lotus exploits White One as a “medicine furnace,” absorbing her essence after she serves Su Xinghe. White One is injured but receives a restorative pill and is promised increased essence-blood rations if she produces better results.
• White One returns to Su Xinghe’s chamber with food. Su Xinghe recognizes the scent of the Princess’s influence and attacks her, suspecting she has drugged him again. However, his depleted Qi-Blood and dantian prevent him from killing or seriously harming her.
• He notices that White One’s blood-red Internal Force has grown stronger. Though he considers testing her with further attacks, he decides to wait.
• Starving and weakened, Su Xinghe is manipulated into eating the two bowls of Sacred Beast Essence Blood presented as a reward from the “His Highness,” beginning another cycle of nourishment and cultivation.

Character Developments

• Su Xinghe: Becomes increasingly pragmatic and desperate. He recognizes that passive resistance is insufficient and begins developing multiple strategies: cultivating the Ascending Dragon Stance, completing the Red Lotus technique, and probing White One’s body for clues. His physical condition remains fragile, but his determination and adaptability grow.
• Li Shunjun: Is shown as embittered, humiliated, and envious. His sacrifice of status and allegiance has left him trapped with the Peaceful Heaven Sect, yet he still cannot master the secret art he betrayed everything to obtain.
• White One: Becomes both victim and participant in the Princess’s scheme. She is terrified of being destroyed but willingly serves because survival depends on satisfying Princess Red Lotus. Her confidence rises after gaining stronger Internal Force, and she continues trying to control Su Xinghe through seduction and drugs.
• Princess Red Lotus: Is revealed to be powerful, calculating, and exploitative. She treats both Su Xinghe and White One as sources of energy, particularly valuing Su Xinghe’s exceptional soul power as a Martial Saint Seed.

Significant Themes

• Powerlessness and survival: Su Xinghe and White One are both trapped under stronger forces and must use indirect methods to survive.
• Cultivation as endurance: Progress comes through repetitive practice, nourishment, and sacrifice, emphasizing the importance of persistence even under extreme conditions.
• Exploitation of the body: Qi-Blood, soul power, essence, and physical intimacy are all treated as resources that powerful characters consume or manipulate.
• Deception and hidden motives: White One’s apparent obedience masks coercion and manipulation, while Su Xinghe constantly searches for ways to turn his enemies’ schemes to his advantage.
• Jealousy and humiliation: Li Shunjun’s resentment highlights the emotional consequences of losing status and seeing a former inferior prosper.

Character Interactions

• Su Xinghe and the unseen enemy remain locked in a one-sided power struggle, with Su Xinghe seeking a technical weakness rather than relying on force.
• Su Xinghe plans to use physical contact with White One to investigate the secret art within her body.
• Princess Red Lotus dominates White One, using her as a source of energy while rewarding her with healing pills and additional essence blood.
• White One attempts to drug and seduce Su Xinghe, but he recognizes the pattern and strikes back. Their interaction combines hostility, manipulation, and mutual exploitation.
• Li Shunjun’s jealousy is indirectly fueled by Su Xinghe’s cultivation success and apparent preferential treatment, deepening the rivalry between the two men.

Chapter Summary: “Darkness Without Daylight, Breaking Through to Sixth Rank”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Xinghe nearly consumes two bowls of Sacred Beast Essence Blood, but an instinctive warning alerts him to the danger. He attacks the incoming force and realizes that eating the blood directly would destroy his eight silver figures and severely reduce his cultivation speed.
• He resumes cultivating despite his extreme hunger, prioritizing the Listening to Tides Art and Ascending Dragon Stance. The former preserves his silver figures and protects his consciousness, while the latter strengthens his vitality and helps him resist being drained.
• Over more than ten days, Su Xinghe is repeatedly rendered unconscious by the mysterious force controlling him. Each loss of consciousness costs him secret-art experience, but it also allows him to receive additional Sacred Beast Essence Blood.
• The extra energy dramatically improves his cultivation:
  • His Iron Body Art breaks through Perfect Mastery, increasing the efficiency of his physical tempering.
  • His progress through the Seventh-Rank Five Viscera stage rises rapidly.
  • His Ascending Dragon Stance reaches Transcendent Mastery.
  • He studies the circulation of the incomplete Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi, hoping to complete it and eventually resist or defeat his captor.
• White One arrives and attempts to use a blue pill to force Su Xinghe into unconsciousness. He discovers that she has reached the Seventh-Rank Transformation Realm and uses vibrational force to overpower him.
• Before losing consciousness, Su Xinghe secretly circulates the Ascending Dragon Stance and observes the operation of the Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi within White One’s body, gaining valuable insight into completing his own version.
• Li Shunjun awakens after spending twenty days trapped in cultivation of a supreme secret art. Frustrated by his failure and disturbed by the noises from Su Xinghe’s chamber, he angrily summons Black One.
• Princess Red Lotus notices that the soul power transferred to her is weaker than usual. White One is unable to explain the decline, so the Princess orders her to bring White Two next time and use both servants together.
• Su Xinghe endures repeated draining sessions and sees eight white-clad figures enter his chamber. Despite the loss of accumulated experience, he reveals that he has finally broken through to the Sixth-Rank True Force realm, giving him hope of reversing his situation.

Character Developments

• Su Xinghe becomes increasingly calculating and resilient. Rather than recklessly resisting, he balances survival, cultivation, and the preservation of his secret arts. His patience and strategic preparation allow him to turn the forced draining process into an opportunity for growth.
• He also grows more determined to retaliate. His observation of the Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi gives him a possible path to escape and overcome Princess Red Lotus.
• White One is shown to be much stronger than she initially appears, possessing Seventh-Rank Transformation Realm cultivation. Although she acts submissively before Princess Red Lotus, she is still an unwilling and expendable tool.
• Princess Red Lotus becomes suspicious of the reduced soul-power yield and responds by increasing the number of servants involved, showing her ruthless, pragmatic nature.
• Li Shunjun suffers a blow to his confidence after failing to master his secret art for twenty days. His frustration and jealousy toward the activity next door reveal growing emotional instability.

Significant Themes

• Endurance under oppression: Su Xinghe survives imprisonment, hunger, repeated unconsciousness, and the loss of his hard-earned experience without abandoning his long-term goal.
• Turning disadvantage into strength: The Sacred Beast Essence Blood and forced soul-transfer sessions, though harmful, provide resources that accelerate his physical cultivation.
• Patience and hidden preparation: Su Xinghe conceals his progress, studies his enemy’s techniques, and waits for the moment when he can reverse the power dynamic.
• The cost of power: His advancement requires sacrificing secret-art experience and enduring severe physical and spiritual depletion.
• Captivity and exploitation: White One and Su Xinghe are both treated as tools by Princess Red Lotus, who values only the power they can provide.
• Hope through breakthrough: Reaching Sixth-Rank True Force marks a major turning point, suggesting that Su Xinghe may soon be capable of resisting his captors.

Character Interactions

• Su Xinghe repeatedly struggles against the force associated with the Sacred Beast Essence Blood and White One’s soul-draining technique.
• White One maintains a formal servant role but forcibly subdues Su Xinghe with her newly revealed vibrational-force ability.
• Su Xinghe uses his final conscious moments during the draining process to study White One’s cultivation and secretly prepare for future resistance.
• Princess Red Lotus questions White One about the reduced soul-power transfer, then orders her to work with White Two.
• Li Shunjun reacts angrily to the sounds from Su Xinghe’s chamber and summons Black One, highlighting the tension and resentment among the imprisoned or subordinate figures.

Chapter Summary: “Half a Year, Tremendous Progress”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After consuming several hundred bowls of Sacred Beast Essence Blood, Su Xinghe refines his five viscera and six bowels and advances to the Sixth-Rank True Force Realm.
• His breakthrough is severely restricted by the Outer Demon’s Demon Qi Domain, which suppresses his internal force and leaves his newly condensed power dormant in his dantian. Although he reaches Sixth Rank, he cannot properly mobilize Astral Qi or fully experience the strength of True Force.
• Su spends more than half a year repeatedly enduring the domain’s suppression and cultivating. His Ascending Dragon Stance, Listening to Tides Art, and incomplete Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi all improve substantially. He gradually reconstructs about thirty percent of the secret art’s original essence.
• Princess Red Lotus increases the number of palace maids who attend Su’s meals, using their combined abilities to siphon away more of his soul power. Eight Seventh-Rank maids eventually arrive at once, forcing Su to endure a much greater loss of cultivation resources.
• Su cooperates with the meals rather than resisting, allowing him to avoid the blue pills and focus on cultivation, though a large portion of his accumulated experience continues to be drained.
• Li Shunjun fails to make progress with the secret art and becomes suspicious that Princess Red Lotus has deliberately withheld part of the method. Unable to investigate because of the Demon Qi Domain, he grows increasingly frustrated and begins imitating Su’s methods by tormenting his attendant, Black One.
• Princess Red Lotus and the eight maids use the secret art and Medicine Furnace Technique to absorb Su’s soul power. The process leaves Red Lotus exhausted, while the maids remain energetic. Nearing a breakthrough, Red Lotus decides that she will personally deliver Su’s meals next time, alarming the maids because of her status and future ambitions.
• Afterward, only White One continues delivering Su’s meals, with each delivery lasting ten days. This gives Su a more manageable opponent and lets him carefully observe the secret art’s circulation within her body.
• By the chapter’s end, Su’s Listening to Tides Art reaches Peak Perfection, producing eight additional Silver Fish in his Spirit Sea. His spiritual growth also lets him intermittently sense Little White Bat, who appears to be nearby but cannot enter because of the domain’s isolation.

Character Developments

• Su Xinghe: Becomes far stronger through persistence despite being trapped and suppressed. He reaches Sixth Rank, perfects Listening to Tides Art, further refines his martial techniques, and studies the Red Lotus secret art by observing its operation during the meal ritual. His patience and adaptability remain his greatest advantages.
• Princess Red Lotus: Grows increasingly desperate to absorb Su’s soul power and reach her next breakthrough. Although she is powerful and proud, the prolonged process exhausts her and reverses her usual dominance. Her decision to personally participate shows both ambition and impatience.
• Li Shunjun: Suffers stagnation and mounting frustration. His inability to learn the secret art makes him jealous of Su and suspicious of Red Lotus. He abandons straightforward cultivation and turns to disruptive, retaliatory behavior toward Black One.
• White One and the other palace maids: The maids function as Red Lotus’s intermediaries and cultivation tools. They are physically and spiritually resilient, but they are also deeply concerned with maintaining Red Lotus’s dignity and preventing her from personally lowering herself to serve Su.

Significant Themes

• Persistence overcoming limitations: Su’s steady progress demonstrates the value of repeated effort even when circumstances prevent immediate breakthroughs.
• Power under suppression: Advancement in rank does not guarantee freedom or practical strength; the Demon Qi Domain keeps Su’s new power largely unusable.
• Resource extraction and exploitation: Su’s soul power is repeatedly harvested by Red Lotus and the maids, creating a conflict between his cultivation gains and the losses imposed on him.
• Patience versus impatience: Su quietly studies and accumulates progress, while Red Lotus and Li Shunjun become increasingly impatient, leading them to take riskier or more extreme approaches.
• Status and humiliation: Red Lotus’s exhaustion and threatened personal involvement contrast sharply with her royal identity and future claim to become the dynasty’s female emperor.
• Isolation and fragile connection: The domain separates the characters and blocks outside contact, though Su’s improved spiritual power allows him to sense Little White Bat faintly.

Important Character Interactions

• Su Xinghe and the palace maids: The maids repeatedly attend his meals to siphon away soul power. Su cannot defeat them under the domain’s suppression, so he cooperates while using the opportunity to cultivate and observe their techniques.
• Su Xinghe and White One: Their extended ten-day meal sessions give Su time to study the secret art directly through White One’s body, greatly accelerating his understanding.
• Princess Red Lotus and the maids: Red Lotus relies on the maids to extract Su’s soul power, but their combined efforts exhaust her. When she proposes personally delivering meals, the maids immediately object to protect her royal dignity.
• Li Shunjun and Black One: Frustrated by his own lack of progress, Li Shunjun imitates Su’s behavior and torments Black One, revealing his resentment and growing emotional instability.
• Su Xinghe and Little White Bat: Their connection remains indirect and intermittent. Su senses her presence through his strengthened spiritual perception, but the Demon Qi Domain prevents them from reuniting.

Key plot points and events

• Su Xinghe reviews his progress: his Iron Body Art is at Transcendent Mastery, and he has begun studying the modified Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi, which he suspects is a Mental Secret Art.
• While he practices, Princess Red Lotus arrives. Her Mental Force Field knocks him unconscious, repeating their earlier encounters.
• Afterward, Red Lotus leaves to attempt a breakthrough to Baleful Condensation. She tells her maids to have Black One bring Su Xinghe food and warns her not to steal any.
• On waking, Su Xinghe discovers Red Lotus has consumed nearly 120,000 experience points from his Listening to Tides Art, reducing it from Peak Perfection to Transcendent Mastery. In exchange, his modified Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi has become a complete Mental Secret Art.
• Su Xinghe finds that the Demon Qi Domain no longer suppresses him. He can project his perception through it and freely control his Sixth-Rank Astral Qi, which proves powerful enough to pierce the stone bed.
• His strength and Internal Force return. Circulating the Iron Body Art, he begins condensing Internal Force into denser, sharper True Force.

Character developments

• Su Xinghe gains a complete Mental Secret Art and new access to his Astral Qi, while losing much of his Listening to Tides Art’s accumulated mastery. He begins advancing his Iron Body Art toward True Force.
• Princess Red Lotus appears to have used Su Xinghe’s abilities or experience in connection with her own cultivation. She is excited enough afterward to attempt a major breakthrough, though her exact motives remain unstated.

Significant themes

• Power gained at a cost: Su Xinghe’s new secret art comes at the expense of years of progress in another technique.
• Cultivation and transformation: His recovery leads into a new stage of power, as Internal Force becomes True Force.
• Uneasy dependence and control: Red Lotus repeatedly incapacitates Su Xinghe, yet her actions also seem connected to his development.

Character interactions

• Red Lotus overwhelms Su Xinghe with her Mental Force Field, leaving him unconscious, then departs under the protection of her palace maids.
• Her maids celebrate her forthcoming breakthrough and ask what should be done with Su Xinghe; Red Lotus orders that he be fed while she is away.
• Su Xinghe later reflects on Red Lotus’s power and their encounters, mixing resentment, curiosity, and nervous excitement.

Key plot points and events

• Su Xinghe studies the newly comprehended Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi. Though he lacks a full cultivation method, he visualizes a blood moon over a sea of blood, strengthening the art through repeated practice.
• The secret art reaches Hall-Entering in under an hour. Su discovers he can use it to influence the blood-red Demon Qi Domain above the chamber, which no longer suppresses him and responds to his control.
• Li Shunjun enters the chamber, hoping to find a way to cultivate the supreme secret art while Princess Red Lotus is absent. Su ambushes him, using the Demon Qi to suppress Li’s Core Qi and cloud his perception.
• Su lands a devastating Astral Qi punch that knocks Li unconscious, but the strike exhausts his Astral Qi. Li is still alive, so Su seizes the black iron sword that can pierce Li’s defenses. The chapter ends before Su finishes him.

Character developments

• Su Xinghe advances in his understanding of mental secret arts and discovers a possible link between spiritual will, Astral Qi, and Core Qi Domains. His new control over the Demon Qi Domain gives him a crucial advantage.
• Li Shunjun, once confident in his strength as a Grandmaster, is caught off guard and brought down by Su’s growth and the Domain’s suppression.

Character interactions

• Su and Li’s conflict turns into a direct ambush: Su exploits Li’s assumptions about his abilities, while Li initially underestimates the danger.
• Su also appears to establish a connection with the Greater Demon’s Domain, which responds to his secret art as though it recognizes him.

Significant themes

• Practice and gradual mastery: repeated training rapidly develops Su’s secret art.
• Adaptability and insight: Su applies a new spiritual technique in an unexpected, practical way.
• Power and vulnerability: even a Grandmaster can be overcome when his abilities are suppressed and his opponent exploits the opening.
• Preparation versus confidence: Li’s arrogance and reliance on past advantages leave him vulnerable to Su’s ambush.

Plot points and events

• Su Xinghe finishes killing Li Shunjun, a Core Embrace Grandmaster, with repeated saber strikes. He searches the body, recovering his identification tokens, a Beheading Gang token, valuables, and two bottles of pills.
• He rushes to escape, knocking a woman into a wall as he bursts from the chamber. In the passage, he evades the Peaceful Heaven Sect’s guards by using the blood-colored mist to conceal himself.
• Following his instincts, he reaches an altar where a huge, darkgold-scaled bat is pinned beneath eight pillars. Little White Bat reappears, much larger than before, and flies to him.
• The trapped bat identifies itself as the Rift-Sky Bloodflame Darkgold Bat clan’s Mother Empress. It explains that Little White has inherited its clan’s legacy, asks Su Xinghe to take it to the clan homeland, and says that homeland contains a way out of the Desolate Region.
• Little White absorbs the altar’s bloodflames and mist, transforming from furry to white-scaled. While it does so, Su Xinghe consumes the pills he looted and gains a small amount of astral qi.
• The Mother Empress crumbles after Little White finishes absorbing its power. With the passage deserted and the sect’s pursuit apparently gone, Su Xinghe hurries toward a staircase leading upward.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Xinghe proves ruthless and resourceful: he kills a powerful foe, quickly gathers useful supplies, avoids confronting the guards, and uses the pills to strengthen himself even while escaping. His encounter with the Mother Empress also gives him a new possible objective: help Little White reach its homeland.
• Little White Bat has grown dramatically and gained a powerful inheritance. Its affectionate reunion with Su Xinghe underscores their bond, while its absorption of the altar’s energy reveals its new abilities.
• The Mother Empress is weakened and nearing death, but still communicates with Su Xinghe. She entrusts Little White’s future to him and offers knowledge that may help them escape the region.
• The Peaceful Heaven Sect’s guards hesitate to challenge Su Xinghe once they see the blood-colored mist, allowing him to pass without a fight.

Significant themes

• Growth through inheritance and sacrifice: Little White’s transformation comes from absorbing the Mother Empress’s remaining power.
• Survival and resourcefulness: Su Xinghe prioritizes escape, using concealment, instinct, and whatever supplies he can seize.
• Loyalty and responsibility: Little White returns to Su Xinghe, and the Mother Empress places its future—and the prospect of escape—in his hands.
• The cost of power: Su Xinghe’s pills produce only a modest gain, emphasizing how much greater strength will demand further resources.

Chapter Summary: Lu Xuanji, Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Xinghe escapes the underground chamber and the oppressive Demon Qi Domain at Clear Lotus Pond, realizing that considerable time has passed—spring has become midsummer.
• Lin County is in chaos. Constables patrol the streets, whistles sound throughout the city, and Sky-Patrolling Ravens pursue fleeing Peaceful Heaven Sect disciples.
• Su Xinghe recognizes that his earlier victory over Li Shunjun was likely aided by the Rift-Splitting Greater Demon through Little White. He concludes that he is still not strong enough to confront Princess Red Lotus directly.
• He returns to his family’s teahouse and finds it destroyed. Zhang Whiskers informs him that the Lu Family retaliated roughly half a month earlier, after Lu Xuanji’s return and breakthrough.
• Su Xinghe’s family has been moved safely to Niu Family Village, while the surviving members of the White Ape Martial Academy are hiding in Luhua Village. Many allies have been killed or wounded.
• Lu Xuanji has advanced to the Baleful Convergence Realm, passed the palace examination, and been appointed Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince. Because of his imperial position, attacking the Lu Family could bring devastating legal and political consequences.
• Su Xinghe learns that Elder Xie has awakened and that the academy master has transferred their accumulated wealth to the Beheading Gang, confirming that their larger plan succeeded.
• Zhang Baichuan explains that the Martial Dao Bureau helped protect Su Xinghe’s family and other survivors, but he cannot shield Su Xinghe if Su Xinghe openly attacks the Lu Family.
• Despite the danger, Su Xinghe resolves to destroy the Lu Family of Lin County and leave Lu Xuanji without a family, even if this forces him to become an outlaw.
• Zhang Baichuan secretly gives him a potential contact: Cao Mao, a former military centurion connected to Consort Cao’s faction. Su Xinghe realizes that the conflict between Consort Cao, Princess Red Lotus, Empress Xiao, and the Crown Prince may provide a way to redirect attention from his revenge.

Character Developments

• Su Xinghe: Returns stronger and more determined, but also more cautious about the limits of his strength. His grief and anger over the Lu Family’s attack harden into a firm vow of revenge. He begins thinking politically rather than relying solely on direct combat.
• Zhang Whiskers: Shows loyalty and relief at Su Xinghe’s return, while emphasizing the need for caution and survival after the Great River Gang’s losses.
• Zhang Baichuan: Acts as a protector and practical adviser. Although unwilling to support an attack on the Lu Family openly, he remains sympathetic and provides Su Xinghe with a secret political connection.
• Lu Xuanji: Emerges as a far more dangerous antagonist. His breakthrough to the Baleful Convergence Realm and new imperial appointment give him both greater power and substantial political protection.
• The White Ape Martial Academy and allied forces: Have been severely weakened, with many dead or injured, though their earlier strategy and evacuation efforts ultimately succeeded.

Significant Themes

• Revenge versus survival: Su Xinghe must choose between protecting himself and his remaining allies or pursuing vengeance against a politically protected enemy.
• Power and political legitimacy: Lu Xuanji’s court position makes the Lu Family nearly untouchable, showing that influence and official status can matter as much as martial strength.
• Hidden alliances and factional conflict: Imperial family rivalries create opportunities for Su Xinghe, demonstrating that political divisions may be more useful than direct confrontation.
• Limits of individual strength: Su Xinghe’s escape and victory were partly dependent on outside intervention, reminding him that he cannot yet challenge the strongest figures alone.
• Loyalty and mutual protection: Zhang Baichuan and Zhang Whiskers risk themselves to save Su Xinghe’s family and allies, contrasting with the Lu Family’s ruthless methods.

Important Character Interactions

• Su Xinghe and Zhang Whiskers: Zhang Whiskers reports the destruction of the teahouse, the Lu Family’s retaliation, and the safety of Su Xinghe’s family. Their exchange reveals both loyalty and the gang’s fear of imperial consequences.
• Su Xinghe and Zhang Baichuan: Su Xinghe asks whether Baichuan can protect him if he exterminates the Lu Family. Baichuan refuses to promise support but offers political advice and a possible contact through Cao Mao.
• Su Xinghe and Lu Xuanji: Though they do not meet directly, Lu Xuanji’s actions drive the chapter. His attack on Su Xinghe’s faction turns personal conflict into a struggle involving the imperial court.
• Su Xinghe and the imperial factions: Su Xinghe begins connecting Lu Xuanji’s alliance with the Crown Prince to his previous association with Princess Red Lotus, identifying a possible betrayal that could be exploited.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Xinghe asks Zhang Baichuan to notify Jia Six of the Qingzhou Demon Suppression Bureau that he has discovered another Peaceful Heaven Sect demonic-beast breeding ground. Zhang considers joining the operation but decides the threat is beyond his Sixth-Rank strength.
• Su and his companions travel through a secret Inspection Bureau passage to Luhua Village, where they find Zhou Yingjun and Lu Kui severely injured but alive.
• Lu Kui expresses a desire to learn martial arts after suffering under the Lu Family. Zhou Yingjun promises to teach him once he recovers.
• Elder Xie Guang arrives and reveals that he has broken through to the Seventh-Rank Transformation Realm. He credits Su Xinghe’s example, the Treasure Medicines, and the Seventh-Rank True Art for enabling the breakthrough.
• Su invites Elder Xie to join him in attacking the Lu Family. Xie agrees, driven by anger over the people lost during the recent conflict.
• Zhou Hao and more than a dozen Great River Gang disciples join Su’s revenge mission. Survivors of the Beheading Gang also arrive, determined to participate after the Lu Family’s actions caused them heavy losses.
• Meanwhile, the Lu Family celebrates Lu Zhengkun’s wedding to another concubine at the newly built White Jade Manor, erected beside the Clearwater River on the former Fishermen’s Gang headquarters.
• The wedding banquet becomes a display of the Lu Family’s restored power. Officials, merchants, underworld leaders, and the Lu Family’s three branches gather to flatter the family and pledge loyalty.
• The teenage bride, Yulan, is revealed to possess noble backing. She openly orders the banquet dismissed, irritating Lu Zhengkun and revealing tension within the marriage before it has even begun.
• Hongxiu reacts furiously to Yulan’s arrival and considers reporting Lu Zhengkun for betraying the princess’s faction by marrying a woman aligned with the Crown Prince.

Character Developments

• Su Xinghe has grown from a Ninth-Rank martial artist into a powerful Sixth-Rank True Force cultivator and now acts as the leader of a large-scale retaliation against the Lu Family. His confidence and influence inspire both allies and older martial artists.
• Elder Xie Guang achieves the Seventh-Rank Transformation Realm, rejuvenating his body and extending his lifespan. He becomes Su’s willing ally, abandoning caution in favor of revenge and loyalty.
• Lu Kui shifts from helpless victim to someone determined to gain strength through martial arts. His loyalty to Su and Zhou Yingjun remains strong.
• Zhou Yingjun demonstrates gratitude and loyalty by offering to train Lu Kui once healed.
• Zhou Hao and the Great River Gang, along with the Beheading Gang survivors, unite behind Su, showing that the Lu Family’s violence has created a broad coalition of enemies.
• Lu Zhengkun appears outwardly powerful but is already threatened by the political implications of his marriage. His irritation at Yulan’s behavior suggests conflict beneath the wedding celebration.
• Yulan displays confidence and authority despite being only sixteen. Her noble status allows her to command the banquet, while her resentment toward marrying an older man hints at future resistance.
• Hongxiu becomes jealous and enraged, fearing that Yulan’s arrival will reduce her standing within the Lu Family.

Significant Themes

• Revenge and resistance: Su’s expedition represents a collective response to the Lu Family’s cruelty and the destruction of their enemies.
• Loyalty and shared suffering: The wounded survivors and rival gangs unite because of the losses they endured together.
• Growth through influence: Su’s rise benefits not only himself but also inspires Elder Xie’s breakthrough and gives others the courage to seek strength.
• Power and political alliances: The Lu Family’s banquet reveals how martial authority, official power, wealth, and imperial connections reinforce one another.
• The instability behind outward prosperity: Although the Lu Family appears triumphant, resentment, jealousy, and political factionalism are already weakening its unity.
• Age, vitality, and legacy: Elder Xie’s transformation symbolizes renewed life and the possibility of achieving greatness late in one’s career, while Lu Zhengkun’s marriage emphasizes the corrupt and transactional use of power.

Character Interactions

• Su and Zhang Baichuan discuss the danger of the Peaceful Heaven Sect, highlighting the difference between ambition and prudent self-preservation.
• Su reunites with Zhou Yingjun and Lu Kui, strengthening their bonds after the battle.
• Zhou Yingjun and Lu Kui form a mentor-student relationship when Zhou agrees to teach him martial arts.
• Su and Elder Xie share mutual respect and an unspoken understanding, leading them to join forces against the Lu Family.
• Zhou Hao and the gang members voluntarily place themselves under Su’s leadership.
• Yulan publicly asserts authority over Lu Zhengkun and the banquet, while Lu Zhengkun suppresses his anger.
• Hongxiu vents her jealousy and political outrage, setting up further conflict within the Lu Family.

Plot points and events

• Su Xinghe recognizes the decorated riverside manor as the former lair of Qi Rui’an, which he remembers burning down. Xie Guang explains that Lu Zhengkun is holding a banquet to take a concubine.
• Su suspects the marriage is another political arrangement and leads the group in an attack.
• At the side hall, Su kills Lu Tianhua, a newly advanced but inexperienced true-force fighter. A palace eunuch catches Su off guard and injures him, but Little White Bat intervenes. Su counters with a powerful strike, crippling the eunuch; Little White then kills him.
• Xie Guang, Zhou Hao, and the others block the banquet hall. Big Bear confronts Lu Zhengkun, who reveals sixth-rank true force and attacks Xie.
• Su arrives in time to face the gathered Lu family. Lu Zhengkun lunges at Xie but is intercepted and killed by a single devastating slash. Big Bear then decapitates him.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Xinghe is bold and decisive, but his initial underestimation of the eunuch leaves him vulnerable. He recovers quickly and combines his strength, martial techniques, and Little White’s support to defeat him.
• Little White Bat acts with growing tactical independence, protecting Su and finishing off the wounded eunuch.
• Lu Zhengkun is exposed as a resentful, calculating man who endured humiliating political marriages to advance his family and cultivation. His pride and long-held ambitions end abruptly when Su proves overwhelmingly stronger.
• Xie Guang and Big Bear represent the gang’s old grievances against the Lu family. Big Bear’s execution of Lu Zhengkun gives the confrontation a personal, retributive edge.

Significant themes

• Ambition and its cost: Lu Zhengkun’s sacrifices for power and family advancement ultimately come to nothing.
• Power versus reputation: Lu’s hard-won rank cannot protect him from Su’s superior force.
• Loyalty and retribution: Little White protects Su, while Big Bear’s killing of Lu reflects years of losses and resentment.
• Political marriage and exploitation: The concubine-taking ceremonies conceal alliances and the use of young palace women as instruments of influence.

Plot points and events

• Xie Guang, Su Xinghe, and the White Ape Martial Academy fighters storm the Lu Family wedding and massacre its defenders. Lu Zhengquan, the county commandant, is killed, as are Yulan and the other guests caught in the fighting.
• Su Xinghe finds Hongxiu trying to escape with a bundle. Remembering the destruction of the Veteran’s Trade House and the deaths of Qingmei and Wu Yingcai, he kills her. The bundle contains the Golden Ape Earth-Splitting Art, the manual whose consequences helped bring ruin to the Trade House. Su Xinghe also blames the Peaceful Heaven Sect, the Lu Family, and an unnamed power in the prefecture city.
• The next day, Su visits his family in Niu Family Village and urges them to move to Qingzhou Prefecture City for safety. They refuse, preferring to stay in the village; Su agrees for now, while recognizing that even Qingzhou may not be safe.
• Officials delay reporting the Lu estate massacre. Once the news reaches Qingzhou Academy, its leaders urgently try to warn Lu Xuanji in the Capital. Public notices blame the Peaceful Heaven Sect and reassure residents that authorities are pursuing the culprits.
• Su and Xie discuss refusing the county commandant post and manipulating the conflict: they have planted clues intended to turn Lu Xuanji against the Prestigious Li Family. Big Bear arrives and gives Xie five thousand taels as compensation for the White Ape Academy yielding the post.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Xinghe acts decisively and ruthlessly, driven by memories of the Trade House’s destruction. He remains protective of his family but is honest with himself that his strength is insufficient to keep them secure.
• Xie Guang shares Su’s hostility toward the Lu Family and Peaceful Heaven Sect and accepts the political danger of the commandant role. His unexpected wealth amuses him.
• Su’s family welcomes him warmly, now with a new baby in the household, but chooses to remain in Niu Family Village rather than relocate.
• Big Bear shows solidarity with the group through his generous payment and takes up the county commandant post.

Significant themes

• Revenge and its cost: Su’s violence is tied to past losses, while the events that caused those losses continue to shape his choices.
• Family, gratitude, and responsibility: Su feels indebted to his family even though he does not share the original owner’s deep emotional bond with them.
• Political maneuvering and unstable power: Public accounts, planted evidence, and delayed messages show how characters manipulate institutions and rival factions.
• Safety versus strength: Su’s refusal to move forward with his family reflects his awareness that protection is impossible while he remains too weak.

Key plot points and events

• Big Bear and Uncle Nine deliver Su Xinghe two bottles of rare Sixth-Rank Force-Forging Pills, bought with money from the Lu Family raid. Lu Sandao also receives Qi-Nourishing Pills. The Great River Gang and its allies are profiting from the upheaval and moving quickly to claim property.
• Su Xinghe confirms he plans to leave Lin County for Qingzhou. Advancing through the Sixth-Rank True Force Realm requires enormous quantities of pills and money—far more than the impoverished county can provide without exploiting its people. He intends to earn Demon Suppression Bureau points through missions and exchange them for pills.
• Before departing, Su Xinghe visits his family. He gives Su Haitao martial-arts guidance, while noting that Haitao and his wife are progressing with the family’s improved resources. Su Cheng has made little martial progress, but the Ascending Dragon Stance has notably improved his health and vitality.
• Back at his lodgings, Su Xinghe tests a Force-Forging Pill. Its startling electrical sensation makes him nearly spit it out, but he swallows it and circulates the Iron Body Art. The pill raises his Force Condensation progress by one percent and supplies ten wisps of Astral Qi.
• He calculates that these pills are cheaper and more than ten times faster for producing Astral Qi than relying on ordinary Bone-Forging Pills—an advantage that could be decisive in a fight.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Xinghe shows concern for Lin County’s poor, refusing to fund his advancement by draining them as the Lu Family did. His practical resolve leads him toward Qingzhou and Bureau work. He also supports his family’s martial training.
• Big Bear and Uncle Nine assist Su Xinghe by securing expensive pills, while the Beheading Gang pursues gains from the Lu Family’s downfall despite anticipating Lu Xuanji’s return.
• Xie Guang questions why Su Xinghe must leave, revealing his concern and lack of understanding of the costs of Sixth-Rank advancement.
• Su Haitao and Su Cheng benefit differently from the family’s new resources: Haitao’s martial training advances, while Cheng’s progress is slow but his vitality improves.

Significant themes

• The cost of power: Higher cultivation demands vast resources, making advancement inaccessible to ordinary people.
• Responsibility versus ambition: Su Xinghe refuses to make the poor bear the cost of his rise.
• Practical adaptation: He seeks Bureau missions and more efficient pills rather than relying on a depleted county.
• Opportunity and danger: The Lu Family’s defeat brings wealth and possibility, but the threat of Lu Xuanji’s revenge remains.

Plot points and events

• Su Xinghe tells his family he plans to go to Qingzhou Prefecture. His father reluctantly supports him, while his mother worries about his departure.
• Back in the city, Su Xinghe waits for news from the Demon Suppression Bureau and continues cultivating. Refining ten Sixth-Rank Force-Forging Pills adds Astral Qi and advances his Force Condensation, though he still cannot form his art’s True Force Iron Armor.
• Little White Bat feeds on a blood-colored bead that Su Xinghe suspects is the Rift-Sky Mother Empress’s Demon Core.
• Gong Hao arrives and is surprised that Su Xinghe has reached Sixth Rank. While probing him with a Mental Force Field, Gong Hao’s pressure triggers Su Xinghe’s perfected Listening to Tides Art: Su Xinghe resists the probing and briefly glimpses the principles behind a Grandmaster’s domain.
• Gong Hao asks for the Peaceful Heaven Sect stronghold. Su Xinghe reveals it lies beneath the Clear Lotus Pond docks, and Gong Hao immediately takes him there using his Core Qi Domain.
• During the journey, Su Xinghe studies how the domain works and synthesizes its principles with his martial knowledge. This produces a major breakthrough: his understanding of martial cultivation and domain force deepens, and his Consciousness Space transforms, with sixteen silver figures appearing.

Character developments

• Su Xinghe shows growing ambition and independence by preparing to leave home, while his rapid cultivation and exceptional insight set him apart. He progresses from resisting Gong Hao’s mental probing to grasping the structure of a Grandmaster’s domain.
• Gong Hao remains formidable and direct, but recognizes Su Xinghe’s unusual talent and the depth of the Heavenly One Sword Sect’s mental art.
• Su Xinghe’s family accept his departure despite their sadness, with his mother especially anxious about the separation.
• Little White Bat appears to be developing by absorbing demonic energy from the bead.

Significant themes

• Striving for strength: Su Xinghe treats time as precious and persists in cultivation despite limited resources.
• Knowledge through observation: He turns a brief experience of Gong Hao’s power into a substantial breakthrough by analyzing it.
• The cost of ambition: His journey toward greater opportunities means leaving a loving, worried family behind.
• Power and privacy: Gong Hao’s effortless probing highlights the vulnerability of the weak before powerful warriors, while Su Xinghe’s resistance marks a shift in that imbalance.

Character interactions

• Su Xinghe’s family discuss his planned departure, balancing his father’s support with his mother’s grief.
• Gong Hao probes Su Xinghe, notices his resistance and insight, then enlists him to locate the sect’s stronghold.
• Su Xinghe guides Gong Hao to the Clear Lotus Pond docks and uses the ride within Gong Hao’s domain to study its workings.