Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “The Mastermind”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Xun discovers that two men have been following him outside a clothing store for nearly half a month. He ambushes them with Soft-Tendon Powder, seals their voices with silver needles, and drags them into an alley for interrogation.
• The men reveal that Li Long, the young master of the Dragon-Tiger Butcher Shop, hired them to capture Chen Xun alive for a reward of one hundred taels.
• After obtaining the information, Chen Xun kills both men and takes the silver they carry.
• Chen Xun returns to the clothing store, where Chen Qingqing helps him choose a new overcoat. Their warm, familiar interaction contrasts with the violence of his earlier actions.
• Chen Xun then infiltrates the Dragon-Tiger Butcher Shop using his [Shadowless], [Trackless], and [Soundless] traits. He finds Li Long practicing beside a furnace and incapacitates him with Soft-Tendon Powder.
• During interrogation, Li Long admits that he targeted Chen Xun because he coveted the defensive skin produced by Chen Xun’s perfected Iron Garment Art. Li Long’s father, Li Xian, supposedly knows how to preserve the skin’s defensive properties.
• Li Long intended to use Chen Xun’s skin as hidden armor during the Qingyun Martial Academy’s disciple selection, where weapons and conventional armor are forbidden. Successful candidates are reportedly under eighteen and have reached the Blood-Exchange Realm.
• Chen Xun learns that Liu Feng provided Li Long with information about his cultivation and orchestrated the attack, with Li Yuanzhou apparently standing behind the scheme.
• Chen Xun kills Li Long, steals several hundred taels of silver and twelve Tenfold Tonic Pills, then deliberately starts a fire in the butcher shop’s rear courtyard to conceal the murder.
• Li Long dies in the blaze. His father, Li Xian, is devastated and vows revenge, unaware that Chen Xun was responsible.

Character Developments

• Chen Xun: Becomes increasingly ruthless and proactive. Rather than merely defending himself, he tracks down and eliminates everyone directly involved in the plot against him. His mastery of stealth, poisons, interrogation, and assassination is emphasized. He also identifies Li Xian as a future threat but recognizes that he is not yet strong enough to confront him.
• Chen Qingqing: Remains affectionate and supportive toward Chen Xun, happily helping him select clothing and trusting him when he leaves again.
• Li Long: Is revealed to be ambitious and willing to arrange Chen Xun’s capture for personal advancement. His desire to enter the Qingyun Martial Academy drives him to covet Chen Xun’s Iron Garment skin.
• Li Xian: Shifts from a grieving father to a vengeful antagonist after Li Long’s death. His grief and suspicion suggest that he will investigate the killing.
• Liu Feng and Li Yuanzhou: Their manipulation becomes clearer. Liu Feng used Li Long as a proxy to attack Chen Xun, while Li Yuanzhou is implied to be the higher-level mastermind.

Significant Themes

• Revenge and retaliation: Chen Xun answers every threat with decisive violence and begins openly planning revenge against Liu Feng and Li Yuanzhou.
• Manipulation and proxy conflict: Powerful figures use others to carry out dangerous schemes, allowing them to remain hidden while pursuing their own goals.
• Strength and survival: In a violent martial world, power, stealth, and preparation are essential. Chen Xun survives by exploiting his abilities rather than confronting stronger opponents directly.
• Human life as a commodity: Li Long views Chen Xun’s skin as equipment rather than part of a living person, highlighting the chapter’s brutal treatment of bodies and martial resources.
• Concealment and identity: Chen Xun’s invisibility-like traits and the butcher-shop fire allow him to act without being detected, reinforcing the importance of secrecy in his struggle for survival.

Character Interactions

• Chen Xun tricks and interrogates the two hired brothers before killing them.
• He shares a lighthearted, affectionate moment with Chen Qingqing while shopping for clothes.
• Chen Xun interrogates Li Long and learns the motives and connections behind the attack.
• Li Xian mourns Li Long publicly and privately, then threatens whoever caused his son’s death, setting up a likely future confrontation with Chen Xun.

Chapter Summary: “Revealing His Cultivation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Yuanzhou learns that Li Long has died in a mysterious fire. Although rumors claim Li Long accidentally burned to death, both Li Yuanzhou and Liu Feng recognize that his cultivation should have protected him from ordinary flames.
• The evidence suggests Li Long was murdered before his residence was set ablaze. However, neither Li Yuanzhou nor Liu Feng can determine who killed him.
• Liu Feng suspects Chen Xun, but Li Yuanzhou dismisses the idea, arguing that Chen Xun lacks the ability to silently kill a Blood-Qi Third Transformation martial artist on his own territory.
• Because the New Year is approaching and the Li Family is locked in conflict with the Huo Family, Li Yuanzhou decides to postpone dealing with Chen Xun.
• The following day, Li Yuanzhou learns that Chen Xun has successfully broken through to the Blood-Qi Third Transformation. The news shocks both him and Liu Feng.
• Li Yuanzhou attributes Chen Xun’s rapid progress to the large quantity of cultivation resources Chen Xun obtained and his unusually efficient absorption of medicinal pills. He orders Liu Feng to investigate whether Chen Xun possesses another secret.
• Sun An, still only at the Qi-Blood Second Transformation, also hears of Chen Xun’s breakthrough. He feels anger and regret, realizing that his previous arrogance damaged his relationship with Chen Xun.
• Chen Xun visits Xie Xiong after reaching the new realm and asks about the promised surprise. Xie Xiong reveals that it concerns Qingyun Martial Academy and begins explaining what he knows.

Character Developments

• Chen Xun: His intensive cultivation succeeds, allowing him to reach the Blood-Qi Third Transformation. His breakthrough establishes him as a rapidly rising figure and increases the concern of those who previously looked down on him.
• Li Yuanzhou: Although confident and dismissive of Chen Xun, he becomes wary after hearing of the breakthrough. He recognizes that Chen Xun has gained momentum and may soon become difficult to control.
• Liu Feng: His jealousy and insecurity intensify. He repeatedly compares his own talent and cultivation with Chen Xun’s progress, while privately resenting Chen Xun’s success. He continues trying to influence Li Yuanzhou against Chen Xun.
• Sun An: His arrogance begins turning into regret. He realizes that his improved status as an attendant led him to mistreat Chen Xun and that he may have destroyed a valuable relationship.
• Xie Xiong: He is genuinely surprised by Chen Xun’s progress and reacts with newfound seriousness. He prepares to share information about Qingyun Martial Academy.

Significant Themes

• Rapid advancement through resources and discipline: Chen Xun’s breakthrough demonstrates how determination, abundant resources, and unusual cultivation efficiency can overcome mediocre natural talent.
• Jealousy and insecurity: Liu Feng and Sun An reveal how Chen Xun’s success exposes their own anxieties and causes them to reassess their positions.
• Underestimation and changing status: Characters who once viewed Chen Xun as insignificant are forced to acknowledge his growing strength.
• Political and family conflict: The Li Family’s secret struggle with the Huo Family limits Li Yuanzhou’s freedom and influences his decision to delay action against Chen Xun.
• Mystery and hidden power: Li Long’s unexplained murder and Chen Xun’s unexpectedly fast cultivation both suggest that important secrets remain concealed.

Character Interactions

• Li Yuanzhou and Liu Feng: Liu Feng reports Li Long’s death and later Chen Xun’s breakthrough. Li Yuanzhou alternates between suspicion, irritation, and strategic calculation, while Liu Feng acts submissively but privately harbors envy.
• Li Yuanzhou and Chen Xun: Though they do not meet directly, Li Yuanzhou views Chen Xun as an increasingly dangerous rival and orders an investigation into his abilities.
• Sun An and Chen Xun: Their relationship is not shown directly, but Sun An’s regret indicates that he previously treated Chen Xun arrogantly after gaining status within the Li Family.
• Chen Xun and Xie Xiong: Chen Xun respectfully asks about Xie Xiong’s promised surprise. Xie Xiong is shocked by Chen Xun’s breakthrough and introduces the opportunity connected to Qingyun Martial Academy.

Chapter Summary:

Qingyun Class

Key Plot Points and Events

• Qingyun Martial Academy, established by the imperial court, recruits talented Martial Artists from more than a dozen surrounding counties every three years. Only the top thirty candidates from each county are admitted.
• Graduates may enter imperial enforcement agencies, while those who fail to graduate must either return home or remain near the academy. Admission is prestigious but dangerous, as one Li Family student from a previous intake was murdered without the culprit ever being identified.
• Xie Xiong reveals that the Li Family will establish a Qingyun Class to prepare promising young Martial Artists for the entrance competition, which is less than ten months away.
• Any manor resident aged seventeen or younger who has reached the Blood-Qi Third Transformation may qualify. Family members may register directly, while others require a recommendation.
• Xie Xiong, a former Qingyun Class member, recommends Chen Xun. The class will provide priority access to resources, but its system is highly competitive: after the first month, rankings determine resource distribution. The lowest-ranked student loses preferential resources, while the top-ranked student receives double.
• Chen Xun spends his entire three-hundred-tael allowance purchasing twenty Black Spirit Pills, which will accelerate his cultivation and leave him more time to practice martial techniques.
• During the New Year celebrations, Chen Xun and his sister Chen Qingqing share an abundant meal, visit the city market, and enjoy the holiday together. Chen Xun soon returns to his intensive cultivation.
• Seven days later, the Qingyun Class officially begins. Chen Xun enters Qingyun Garden with his identity token and immediately attracts attention because of his plain clothing among the richly dressed young members.
• The chapter ends when Ninth Young Master Li Yuanzhou recognizes Chen Xun and calls out to him.

Character Developments

• Chen Xun: Shows ambition and clear awareness that strength is essential for survival. He eagerly accepts the opportunity to join the Qingyun Class, expresses loyalty to Li Tiangang, invests his resources wisely in cultivation pills, and remains disciplined even during the holiday.
• Xie Xiong: Reveals his connection to the former Qingyun Class and acts as Chen Xun’s sponsor. His memories emphasize the class’s harsh, survival-of-the-fittest structure.
• Li Tiangang: Though absent, he is established as someone who values Chen Xun and would likely have recommended him. His own failure to graduate from Qingyun Martial Academy provides a warning about the difficulty of the path.
• Chen Qingqing: Shares a warm and affectionate relationship with her brother. She admires Chen Xun’s extraordinary appetite and enjoys the New Year festivities with him.
• Li Family’s Fourth Miss: Her reputation is reinforced as an exceptionally strong former Qingyun Class member who consistently ranked near the top, though even she only placed among Cloudflow County’s top ten.
• Li Yuanzhou: Reappears at the chapter’s conclusion, signaling a likely future interaction or conflict within the Qingyun Class.

Significant Themes

• Strength as the basis of survival: The Qingyun Class operates under the principle that strength determines status and access to resources.
• Competition and pressure: Students must constantly fight for advancement, creating an environment compared to cultivating venomous insects in a jar.
• Opportunity and social mobility: Chen Xun, despite his humble background and plain appearance, gains access to an elite training program through talent and recommendation.
• Danger behind prestige: Qingyun Martial Academy offers a path to official power, but its students face intense challenges and even lethal threats.
• Family support and loyalty: The Li Family’s resources support talented members, while Xie Xiong’s recommendation and Chen Xun’s loyalty to Li Tiangang show the importance of personal connections.
• Hard work and preparation: Chen Xun uses every available opportunity—including medicinal resources and disciplined cultivation—to prepare for the entrance competition.

Character Interactions

• Xie Xiong explains the Qingyun Class to Chen Xun, answers his questions, and recommends him for admission.
• Chen Xun thanks Xie Xiong and promises not to disappoint Li Tiangang, demonstrating political awareness and loyalty.
• Chen Xun purchases Black Spirit Pills from the pharmacy steward under a prior arrangement.
• Chen Xun and Chen Qingqing enjoy a close New Year’s Eve meal and spend the following day together at the market.
• Upon entering Qingyun Garden, Chen Xun is silently judged by the other young members because of his plain attire.
• Li Yuanzhou recognizes Chen Xun, setting up the chapter’s next major interaction.

Chapter Summary: “Conflict”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Yuanzhou identifies Chen Xun as a servant of the Li Estate and deliberately humiliates him in front of the other Qingyun Class students.
• Li Wangjiang, the Li family’s Eighth Young Master, orders Chen Xun to approach him and insults him for not obeying quickly.
• Chen Xun refuses to submit. He distinguishes between being loyal to the Li Estate and being a personal lackey to individual young masters.
• He reminds them that Qingyun Class treats everyone equally and declares that he will challenge them if they continue abusing their status.
• Li Wangjiang attempts to slap Chen Xun, but Li Tiangang intervenes and stops him.
• Li Tiangang praises Chen Xun for standing his ground and reveals that he will serve as the head instructor of the Qingyun Class.
• The other Li family youths are visibly frightened by Li Tiangang, who is known for his harsh training methods.
• After assembling the students, Li Tiangang introduces himself, warns them not to break the rules, and begins roll call.
• He announces a new end-of-month elimination system: the student ranked last in each monthly sparring session will be expelled. This means students must fight seriously from the beginning, and only a small number will ultimately remain.

Character Developments

• Chen Xun demonstrates increasing confidence, composure, and awareness of his rights. Rather than accepting humiliation because of his servant status, he openly challenges the Li brothers’ authority.
• Li Yuanzhou continues to antagonize Chen Xun and tries to provoke conflict by emphasizing Chen Xun’s low social position.
• Li Wangjiang is arrogant and abusive but immediately becomes submissive and fearful in Li Tiangang’s presence. Even after being stopped, he silently threatens revenge against Chen Xun.
• Li Tiangang establishes himself as a protector of Chen Xun and a strict authority figure. His intervention suggests that he values Chen Xun’s courage and conduct.
• Li Qingshan recognizes that Chen Xun has changed, particularly noting his calmness and strong defensive ability.
• Li Tianci, the fifth young master, is introduced as the most talented member of the younger Li generation, possessing near-grade-A aptitude.

Significant Themes

• Resistance against social hierarchy: Chen Xun refuses to let the distinction between servant and master justify mistreatment.
• Strength and merit over status: Qingyun Class is presented as a place where martial ability matters more than family position.
• Discipline and authority: Li Tiangang’s arrival shifts the atmosphere from bullying and disorder to strict obedience.
• Competition and survival: The elimination system raises the stakes, forcing every student to compete seriously and exposing the harsh nature of martial cultivation.
• Hidden potential and changing perceptions: Chen Xun’s calmness and defensive strength cause others to reassess him, suggesting he may no longer be viewed as an ordinary servant.

Character Interactions

• Chen Xun and Li Yuanzhou clash verbally over Chen Xun’s status and obedience.
• Li Wangjiang escalates the confrontation by attempting to strike Chen Xun, but Li Tiangang physically restrains him.
• Li Tiangang publicly supports Chen Xun while warning the younger Li family members against abusing their authority.
• Li Qingshan and a young female student discuss Chen Xun’s defensive talent and whether it will be useful in the upcoming entrance competition.
• Li Wangjiang leaves the encounter resentful, silently promising retaliation, while Chen Xun ignores the threat and joins the formation.

Chapter Summary: “Layered Wave Slash”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Instructor Zhang Qiang introduces the intermediate saber technique Layered Wave Slash to a small Qingyun Class group.
• He explains that the technique can stack up to thirteen waves, with each successive layer increasing its power.
• Zhang demonstrates the technique at Major Accomplishment, producing nine stacked waves. The force shatters his wooden saber before the blood-colored saber light can even be released, impressing and intimidating the students.
• Zhang explains that intermediate techniques require precise Blood Qi circulation, while high-level techniques require comprehension of Saber Momentum. He also reveals that high-level techniques are generally restricted to Qingyun Martial Academy, with even the powerful Li Family possessing only one inherited high-level sword technique.
• Li Tianci confidently declares that he will join Qingyun Martial Academy, earning Zhang’s approval and provoking envy among the others.
• After class, the group goes to the cafeteria. Li Tianci naturally leads the group, while Chen Xun is marginalized as the only true outsider among the students.
• During lunch, the Li Family members sit together, leaving Chen Xun, Sun Cheng, and members of the Li collateral branches at another table.
• During the midday break, Chen Xun remains in Qingyun Garden under the pretext of cultivating. He examines a training saber and sword through his special appraisal ability.
• He discovers that the Hundred-Forged Steel Saber carries bonuses for learning the Layered Wave Slash, including a Minor Accomplishment-level affix.
• Chen Xun decides to practice there every day, secretly stores the saber in his Inventory, and immediately receives the technique’s experiential memories.

Character Developments

• Chen Xun demonstrates sharp perception, recognizing the terrifying power of Zhang’s saber strike more clearly than the others. He acts cautiously, deciding not to steal the valuable saber permanently but to use it discreetly for training.
• Chen’s appraisal and Inventory abilities give him a major advantage, allowing him to acquire practical mastery of the Layered Wave Slash far faster than ordinary students.
• Zhang Qiang is established as a competent but limited instructor: he can only use nine layers and has reached Major Accomplishment, but he understands the gap between intermediate and high-level techniques.
• Li Tianci emerges as the social and talent-based leader of the group. His confidence and recognized martial potential earn him special treatment from Zhang.
• Li Dan reveals his eagerness to associate with Li Qingxue, even forcing his way into the direct descendants’ group because of his father’s influence.
• Li Qingxue appears carefree and curious, while the other Li Family members display varying degrees of privilege and arrogance.
• Li Wangjiang openly looks down on Chen Xun, viewing him as an unworthy servant who is trying unsuccessfully to improve his status.
• The chapter reinforces Chen Xun’s outsider position but also shows that he possesses hidden advantages that may allow him to surpass the privileged students.

Significant Themes

• Martial hierarchy and talent: Mastery of techniques, Blood Qi control, and access to advanced instruction determine status and combat strength.
• Privilege versus effort: The Li Family members enjoy social advantages and exclusive access, while Chen Xun must quietly find his own opportunities.
• Hidden potential: Although Chen is dismissed by others, his appraisal ability and disciplined choices give him a path to rapid advancement.
• Caution and resourcefulness: Chen avoids drawing attention, using the training weapon without outright taking it and planning to cultivate secretly.
• Social class and prejudice: Chen’s status as a servant and outsider causes him to be excluded, while talented nobles such as Li Tianci receive immediate respect.

Character Interactions

• Zhang Qiang’s demonstration captures the class’s attention and establishes his authority.
• His discussion of high-level saber techniques leads to frustration among the students, but Li Tianci’s confident declaration earns him praise.
• Li Dan tries to gain Li Qingxue’s attention during lunch, while Li Tianci organizes the group.
• The direct Li Family descendants dine together, excluding Chen Xun and other non-direct members, emphasizing the rigid social divisions.
• Chen Xun has little meaningful interaction with the group and instead uses the break to pursue his own cultivation, secretly setting himself on a path to master the technique.

Chapter Summary: “Copper Body Art”

Key Plot Points and Events

• During saber training, Chen Xun defeats Li Yuanzhou by successfully using one stacked wave of blood in [Stacked Wave Slash]. His sudden progress shocks the class and establishes him as one of the few students—alongside Li Tianci and Li Hanfeng—to have mastered the technique.
• Zhang Qiang praises Chen Xun’s talent. Chen Xun credits Zhang’s teaching, pleasing the instructor, while Li Yuanzhou mocks him and is punished with one hundred laps around Qingyun Garden. Other students who lost their matches are ordered to run fifty laps.
• Li Qingxue asks Chen Xun to teach her [Stacked Wave Slash], but he politely refuses and redirects her to Zhang Qiang. Offended and surprised that her charm failed, she concludes that Chen Xun is overly focused on cultivation.
• Chen Xun visits the Martial Repository Pavilion and selects the blue-grade manual [Copper Body Art: Golden-Patterned Python Skin Manual]. The manual contains traits granting a training bonus, major-accomplishment potential, and [Copper Skin], a defensive energy field comparable to Copper Body Art at major accomplishment.
• He realizes that Copper Body Art is an advanced technique derived from [Iron Garment Art]. Since his Iron Garment Art has already reached perfection, it can serve as the foundation for rapid advancement. The new technique may also stack with his existing defensive ability, greatly increasing his protection.
• Returning to the Martial Artist Courtyard, Chen Xun receives greater respect because of his Blood-Qi Third Transformation and membership in the Qingyun Class, which could give him a chance to enter Qingyun Martial Academy.
• In his room, Chen Xun encounters Zhao Qing, who remains stuck at the First Blood-Qi Transformation after spending his savings on an Acupoint-Finding Secret Art. Zhao asks Chen Xun to lend him twenty taels of silver.
• Chen Xun hesitates because they are not close and repayment could take years. Zhao then offers an item he found on Li Peng, claiming Li Peng had acted nervously around it. Chen Xun immediately notices that the object is glowing green, indicating that it is a valuable item.

Character Development

• Chen Xun: Demonstrates strong comprehension and combat talent, gains Zhang Qiang’s approval, and further distinguishes himself from the other trainees. He remains cautious and emotionally detached, refusing to flatter Li Qingxue or lend money without considering the risks. His discovery of Copper Body Art significantly strengthens his cultivation path.
• Li Yuanzhou: Is defeated and embarrassed by Chen Xun. His resentment grows, and his disrespect toward Zhang Qiang results in severe punishment.
• Li Tianci: Previously regarded Chen Xun with limited attention but now begins taking him seriously after witnessing his rapid mastery of Stacked Wave Slash.
• Li Qingxue: Shows interest in Chen Xun’s talent, but his polite rejection bruises her pride. She shifts the blame onto him, labeling him overly obsessed with cultivation.
• Zhao Qing: Is portrayed as an ordinary, struggling martial artist whose progress is slow and financially difficult. His discovery of the mysterious green-grade object may give him leverage in dealing with Chen Xun.

Significant Themes

• Talent and comprehension: Chen Xun’s rapid mastery distinguishes him from the rest of the class and changes how others perceive him.
• Cultivation as an investment: Chen Xun carefully evaluates techniques, money, and relationships based on their long-term value.
• Social status and power: His increasing cultivation causes people throughout the Li Estate to treat him with greater respect and caution.
• Pragmatism versus emotional manipulation: Chen Xun refuses both Li Qingxue’s indirect attempt to gain his help and Zhao Qing’s request until he understands what he stands to gain.
• Layered progression: Copper Body Art builds naturally upon Iron Garment Art, showing how previous achievements can become the foundation for stronger abilities.

Important Character Interactions

• Chen Xun and Li Yuanzhou: Their sparring match ends with Chen Xun disarming Li Yuanzhou, intensifying Li Yuanzhou’s hostility.
• Chen Xun and Zhang Qiang: Chen Xun’s respectful praise improves Zhang Qiang’s opinion of him, while Li Yuanzhou’s insult earns the instructor’s anger.
• Chen Xun and Li Qingxue: Chen Xun rejects her request for instruction, leaving her surprised and offended.
• Chen Xun and Zhao Qing: Zhao asks for financial assistance, but Chen Xun remains hesitant until Zhao reveals the green-grade object recovered from Li Peng.

Chapter Summary: Wandering Dragon Bone-Transforming Force

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Xun discovers that a green Bone Bead contains a fragment of the Wandering Dragon Bone-Transforming Force, the Li Family’s premier force secret art. Twelve hollow beads are required to reconstruct the complete technique.
• He explains the importance of force secret arts: they teach Martial Artists to vibrate their Blood Qi at the correct frequency, allowing it to penetrate the bones and temper the bone marrow. This process enables advancement from the Blood-Qi Realm to the Blood-Exchange Realm, greatly enhancing strength, endurance, blood production, and combat power.
• Chen Xun purchases one Bone Bead from Zhao Qing for ten taels of silver. Zhao Qing reveals that he has three more beads at home and retrieves them.
• While waiting, Chen Xun inherits the experience of the Major Accomplishment-level Copper Body Art. He discovers that its defensive effects can stack with his Perfection-level Iron Garment Art, giving him three layers of protection.
• Chen Xun buys Zhao Qing’s remaining three beads for thirty taels, bringing his total to four fragments. He orders Zhao Qing to keep the transaction secret and asks how he obtained them.
• Zhao Qing explains that Li Peng gave him the beads while attempting to bribe him during an escort to the mines. Li Peng claimed they were valuable heirlooms from his father but did not know their true purpose.
• Chen Xun suspects the beads may have belonged to Li Yuan, who perhaps stole them from the Li Family or obtained them through his connection to the Third Elder. Li Yuan may have sought the superior technique to overcome his long-standing cultivation bottleneck.
• After leaving, Chen Xun returns to Qingyun Garden and continues practicing. Having reached the absolute limit of the Blood-Qi Third Transformation, he spends one hundred taels on medicinal herbs needed to cultivate the Copper Body Art.

Character Development

• Chen Xun becomes increasingly resourceful and strategically cautious. He recognizes the Bone Beads’ enormous value, pays generously to secure them, and carefully conceals their significance.
• His physical defenses advance substantially after mastering the Copper Body Art. Unlike Iron Garment Art, which strengthens only the skin, Copper Body Art reinforces both skin and flesh.
• Chen Xun also demonstrates growing political awareness by investigating the beads’ connection to Li Yuan and the Li Family’s internal affairs.
• Zhao Qing shifts from a minor transaction partner to an ambitious individual. The thirty taels Chen Xun gives him convinces him that he can use wealth and resources to catch up with Chen Xun, though his understanding of Chen’s true advantages remains limited.

Significant Themes

• Value depends on knowledge: The Bone Beads are nearly meaningless to Zhao Qing but priceless to Chen Xun because he understands their hidden martial-art secret.
• Progress through preparation and patience: Advancing to the Blood-Exchange Realm requires careful experimentation, since using the wrong Blood Qi frequency can damage one’s bones and ruin one’s foundation.
• Power and secrecy: Chen Xun avoids revealing what he knows, recognizing that information about the Wandering Dragon Bone-Transforming Force could attract danger or competition.
• Social inequality and opportunity: The Li Family’s elite have access to superior techniques and abundant resources, while outsiders must rely on luck, cleverness, and independent cultivation.
• Ambition fueled by comparison: Zhao Qing’s encounter with Chen Xun inspires him to pursue advancement, showing how wealth and perceived opportunity can awaken ambition.

Character Interactions

• Chen Xun and Zhao Qing: Their exchange is cordial but unequal. Chen Xun pays Zhao Qing generously while controlling the conversation and withholding the truth about the beads. Zhao Qing is grateful, eager to help, and ultimately intimidated into abandoning further questions.
• Chen Xun and Li Peng: Though they do not meet directly, Li Peng’s failed bribery attempt provides Chen Xun with the Bone Beads and links the discovery to the Li Family.
• Chen Xun and the Li Family: Chen Xun remains an outsider to the family’s privileged cultivation system, yet he gains access to one of its most valuable secret arts through investigation and opportunity.

Chapter Summary: “Seeing Li Peng Again”

Plot Points and Events

• The Li Family’s iron mine is a heavily guarded, prison-like camp located in a remote mountain. Workers endure harsh conditions, poor food, cramped living quarters, and brutal labor.
• Li Peng has been imprisoned there after his father was killed. He blames Chen Xun for exposing his father as an insider and vows to return to the Li Family and seek revenge.
• During his imprisonment, Li Peng joins a group of condemned miners and bandits secretly digging an escape tunnel. To prove his loyalty, he agrees to kill another miner.
• Chen Xun unexpectedly appears inside the mine. He reveals that he came specifically to find Li Peng, not because he was imprisoned there.
• Chen Xun displays one of the Bone Beads previously taken from Li Peng and demands the locations of the remaining beads, promising to spare Li Peng’s life.
• Li Peng initially refuses and attempts to attack and escape, but Chen Xun easily defeats him using his proficient Cloudsmoke Phantom Step.
• Chen Xun tortures Li Peng until he breaks down and confesses that four Bone Beads are hidden on his person and four more are concealed in his living quarters.
• Using the Cloud-Seeking Hand, Chen Xun removes the four beads hidden on Li Peng. He then searches Li Peng’s dormitory and finds the remaining four sewn into an old piece of clothing.
• Chen Xun successfully gathers all the Bone Beads, which immediately undergo a major change in their attributes.

Character Developments

• Li Peng: His imprisonment has made him physically and emotionally hardened, but he remains driven by hatred and revenge. Despite his earlier defiance, he collapses quickly under Chen Xun’s torture, revealing his vulnerability and lack of real power.
• Chen Xun: He is shown to be significantly stronger and more skilled than before. His movement technique allows him to evade Li Peng effortlessly, while his Cloud-Seeking Hand enables him to retrieve the hidden beads without detection. He acts methodically and ruthlessly to achieve his goal.
• Relationship between Li Peng and Chen Xun: Their former hostility deepens into open conflict. Li Peng sees Chen Xun as the cause of his family’s downfall, while Chen Xun treats Li Peng primarily as a source of information about the Bone Beads.

Significant Themes

• Oppression and imprisonment: The mine functions as a brutal prison where laborers are exploited, monitored, and denied meaningful hope of escape.
• Revenge and hatred: Li Peng’s suffering intensifies his desire for revenge, though his hatred does not give him the strength to resist Chen Xun.
• Powerlessness versus strength: Li Peng’s threats and resistance are meaningless against Chen Xun’s superior cultivation and techniques.
• Survival and betrayal: The miners’ escape alliance and Li Peng’s willingness to kill for membership reflect the extreme moral compromises created by oppressive conditions.
• The pursuit of power and secrets: The Bone Beads remain central to the conflict, and Chen Xun’s relentless search suggests their importance is about to be revealed.

Character Interactions

• Li Peng interacts with the mine overseers in a submissive, coerced work relationship.
• He collaborates with imprisoned bandits to plan an escape from the Li Family’s mine.
• His reunion with Chen Xun begins with hostility and attempted violence, but Chen Xun quickly dominates the encounter.
• Their confrontation ends with Li Peng being tortured into cooperation and Chen Xun taking all eight Bone Beads.

Chapter Summary: “Li Zhanliang’s Secret”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Xun acquires a twelve-bead bone bracelet containing the perfected martial art Wandering Dragon Bone-Transforming Force. Its traits include:
  • Bone Transformation, which weakens the skeleton’s defensive limitations and makes advancement to the Blood-Exchange Realm easier.
  • Force Dissolution, which helps neutralize hostile force entering the body.
• He questions the captured Li Peng, who reveals that his father, Li Yuan, hid the bracelet in a secret compartment before being captured. Li Yuan intended either to sell it to the Huo Family or destroy it so the Li Family could not obtain it.
• Li Peng also reveals the secret Li Yuan used to pressure Li Zhanliang into accepting blame: Li Zhanliang had an affair with the Third Elder’s concubine, who became pregnant. To hide the scandal, Li Zhanliang betrayed the Third Elder to the Huo Family, indirectly causing his death.
• Chen Xun further tells Li Peng that Li Yuan was actually the Third Elder’s illegitimate son, making Li Peng the Third Elder’s grandson. Shocked and disbelieving, Li Peng is killed by Chen Xun with a silver needle.
• The Li Family investigates Li Peng’s death but finds no evidence linking Chen Xun to it. The nearby bandits are blamed after investigators discover their secret passage and note their association with Li Peng.
• Chen Xun returns home after an exhausting journey, bringing his Charging Bull Step close to Perfection.
• He shares a lighthearted meal outing with his sister, Chen Qingqing, then begins absorbing the perfected cultivation memories contained in the bone bracelet.

Character Developments

• Chen Xun becomes more powerful and strategically secure through the acquisition of the bone bracelet. He demonstrates ruthless pragmatism by extracting information from Li Peng, killing him once he is no longer useful, and concealing the crime.
• Li Peng is shown as frightened, weak-willed, and ignorant of the true value of the bracelet and his family’s origins. His final revelation about his grandfather leaves him emotionally stunned before his death.
• Li Yuan is revealed to have been calculating and secretive. He knew the bracelet’s value and possessed dangerous information about Li Zhanliang, but concealed both from his son.
• Li Zhanliang is indirectly characterized as a disgraced figure whose affair and betrayal caused the Third Elder’s death.
• Chen Qingqing remains sheltered by Chen Xun but maintains a warm, playful relationship with him. Her boredom leads her to take up embroidery.

Significant Themes

• Secrets and political manipulation: Hidden affairs, illegitimate bloodlines, and concealed martial treasures shape the Li Family’s conflicts.
• Betrayal and survival: Li Zhanliang’s betrayal, Li Yuan’s use of blackmail, and Chen Xun’s willingness to eliminate Li Peng all reflect the harsh survival logic of the world.
• Power gained through knowledge: Chen Xun’s greatest advantage comes not only from martial strength but from uncovering secrets and exploiting hidden resources.
• Family and protection: The contrast between the Li Family’s destructive secrets and Chen Xun’s affectionate relationship with Qingqing highlights different forms of family loyalty.
• Moral ambiguity: Chen Xun protects his own interests through deception and murder while still showing genuine affection and care toward his sister.

Character Interactions

• Chen Xun interrogates Li Peng about the bone bracelet and Li Zhanliang’s secret, alternating threats with false reassurance.
• Li Peng’s fear and desperation contrast with Chen Xun’s calm control.
• Chen Xun reveals Li Peng’s true lineage just before killing him, turning the revelation into both psychological punishment and a final secret.
• Chen Xun and Chen Qingqing share a playful exchange over her phoenix embroidery, followed by a cheerful trip to eat roast duck.
• The chapter ends with Chen Xun alone, beginning to inherit the martial memories of the Wandering Dragon Bone-Transforming Force.

Chapter Summary: “Mastering Force”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Xun absorbs the memories of the Wandering Dragon Bone-Transforming Force and immediately masters its foundational technique, the Wandering Dragon Force, thanks to his Perfection-level experience.
• He learns to coordinate his muscles and fascia to condense force energy, overcoming a difficulty that normally takes Martial Artists days or months.
• Using the technique’s Bone Transformation trait, Chen Xun weakens a bone’s defenses and sends Blood Qi into it. After experimenting with the correct vibration frequency, he successfully penetrates the bone and nourishes its marrow.
• He cultivates throughout the night and calculates that, at his current pace, he can strengthen all his bone marrow in roughly half a month and break through from the Blood-Qi Realm to the Blood-Exchange Realm.
• His progress in Wandering Dragon Bone-Transforming Force rapidly rises to Beginner 180/300, bringing him close to the Proficient realm.
• At saber class, Chen Xun’s dark circles prompt Li Yuanzhou to mock him. Chen Xun claims he practiced saber arts all night, which leads others to speculate that he experienced an epiphany.
• Instructor Zhang Qiang tests Chen Xun and confirms that his saber skills have improved dramatically. Chen Xun demonstrates the Second Layered Wave, astonishing the class, although he secretly knows he has already mastered the third layer.
• By lunchtime, the students’ attitudes toward Chen Xun shift from contempt to caution and respect. However, Li Yuanzhou and Li Wangjiang plot to eliminate him in the upcoming monthly competition.

Character Developments

• Chen Xun: Makes extraordinary progress in both cultivation and saber arts. He demonstrates exceptional comprehension, efficiency, and restraint by hiding the full extent of his abilities. He becomes more confident but remains cautious about revealing his true strength.
• Li Tianci: Gains greater respect for Chen Xun and begins to regard him as a potential martial talent comparable to himself.
• Zhang Qiang: Recognizes Chen Xun’s genuine improvement and sincerely encourages him, unlike the others.
• Li Yuanzhou: Becomes jealous and anxious as Chen Xun surpasses expectations. He views Chen Xun as a threat and begins conspiring against him.
• Li Wangjiang: Volunteers to defeat Chen Xun in the monthly competition, still underestimating him because of his servant background.
• Li Dan: Reacts with jealousy, especially because Li Qingxue takes interest in Chen Xun’s performance.
• Li Qingxue: Notices Chen Xun closely but dismisses him as lacking romantic awareness, while still displaying curiosity about him.
• Li Hanfeng: Is visibly unsettled by Chen Xun’s rapid progress and feels unwilling to fall behind him.

Significant Themes

• Exceptional talent and accelerated growth: Chen Xun’s unique experience allows him to accomplish in minutes what normally takes other Martial Artists months.
• Hidden strength and strategic restraint: Chen Xun deliberately conceals his true abilities, revealing only enough to gain recognition without attracting excessive danger.
• Jealousy and social hierarchy: His success challenges the assumptions of the noble students, particularly their belief that a servant cannot rival them.
• Recognition versus prejudice: Chen Xun gradually earns respect through demonstrated skill, though some characters continue to dismiss him because of his low status.
• Preparation for conflict: His rapid advancement sets up the coming monthly competition, where jealous rivals intend to target him.

Character Interactions

• Li Yuanzhou mocks Chen Xun’s exhaustion, but Chen Xun’s fabricated explanation unexpectedly leads to speculation about an epiphany.
• Li Tianci explains the nature of epiphanies and becomes increasingly impressed by Chen Xun.
• Zhang Qiang directly tests Chen Xun’s claims and publicly validates his improvement.
• Chen Xun’s performance unsettles Li Hanfeng, Li Dan, and Li Yuanzhou, while Li Qingxue watches him with interest.
• Li Yuanzhou and Li Wangjiang privately agree to remove Chen Xun from Qingyun Garden during the upcoming competition, unaware that he has already surpassed their expectations.

Chapter Summary: “Tracking”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Xun continues training the Copper Body Art through an intense method: a hired strongman repeatedly beats his body with a bamboo slat while Chen Xun is covered in medicinal paste.
• The training leaves Chen Xun nearly unharmed but exhausts the strongman, whom Chen Xun pays generously and hires again for the next day.
• Chen Xun reviews his cultivation progress. His Copper Body Art is close to Minor Accomplishment, while his other martial arts—including the Mountain-Splitting Saber Technique and Charging Bull Step—have recently reached Perfection.
• He uses one Universal Point to expand his Inventory Space, saving his remaining point until he can gather enough to improve his Constitution.
• His bone marrow tempering is nearly complete, and he expects to break through from the Blood-Qi Realm to the Blood-Exchange Realm within days.
• After completing a medicinal bath and cultivation session, Chen Xun leaves the inn.
• Two men begin following him. They are working for Li Xian, the father of Li Long, whom Chen Xun previously killed in self-defense after Li Long attempted to capture him.
• Li Xian believes Chen Xun murdered his son and decides to seek revenge despite lacking proof. He is cautious because Chen Xun has joined the Li Family’s Qingyun Class.
• Li Xian follows Chen Xun into a secluded alley and orders his men to attack, only to realize too late that Chen Xun has anticipated the ambush.
• The chapter ends as Chen Xun confronts the pursuers and releases a cloud of white powder over them.

Character Developments

• Chen Xun: Demonstrates extraordinary physical resilience, discipline, and strategic awareness. His rapid cultivation progress continues, and he is on the verge of a major breakthrough. His decision to use an isolated inn for training shows his practical nature and concern for secrecy and safety. He also reveals that he is alert to being followed and capable of setting traps.
• The burly assistant: Initially terrified by Chen Xun’s endurance, he becomes willing to continue the painful work after Chen Xun doubles his payment, highlighting Chen Xun’s financial generosity and pragmatic approach.
• Li Xian: Revealed as grief-stricken but vengeful and morally arbitrary. Rather than seeking evidence, he treats his personal suspicion as sufficient justification for killing Chen Xun. His caution shows that he understands the political danger of attacking someone connected to the Li Family, but his desire for revenge ultimately drives him into Chen Xun’s trap.
• Li Long: Although absent, his past actions are clarified: he had attempted to capture Chen Xun and intended to use Chen Xun’s skin for armor, establishing the motive behind Chen Xun’s retaliation and Li Xian’s revenge.

Significant Themes

• Relentless self-improvement: Chen Xun’s extreme training and rapid advancement emphasize determination, discipline, and the rewards of accumulated experience.
• Strength and preparation: Physical toughness alone is not enough; Chen Xun combines cultivation, resources, intelligence, and planning to protect himself.
• Revenge versus justice: Li Xian’s pursuit is based on grief and assumption rather than evidence, contrasting with the implied reality that Li Long’s death resulted from his own aggression.
• Pragmatism and resourcefulness: Chen Xun spends money, uses specialized medicine, rents suitable training spaces, and adapts his methods to maximize efficiency.
• Hidden danger beneath ordinary life: Chen Xun’s routine of eating, bathing, and cultivating conceals escalating threats from enemies tracking his movements.

Character Interactions

• Chen Xun hires and rewards the burly man for helping with his body-tempering regimen, using increased payment to secure his continued cooperation.
• He interacts indirectly with the inn attendants, arranging meals, hot water, room service, and privacy for cultivation.
• Li Xian and his subordinate discuss Chen Xun’s habits while secretly tracking him, misinterpreting his training routine and mocking him.
• Li Xian’s pursuit of Chen Xun culminates in a failed ambush, where Chen Xun turns the hunters into the trapped targets.

Chapter Summary: “Killing Across Realms”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Xian confronts Chen Xun, accusing him of killing his son, Li Long, and the two men Li Long sent to capture him. Chen Xun denies knowing anything, refusing to reveal the truth.
• Chen Xun uses itching powder against Li Xian and his companion. While Chen Xun disperses the powder with his Blood Qi, the other man is overwhelmed by unbearable itching and scratches himself bloody.
• Li Xian attacks Chen Xun with a powerful punch. Chen Xun deliberately takes the blow to test his defensive abilities and discovers that his layered defenses can withstand attacks from a Martial Artist in the first Blood-Exchange Realm transformation.
• Chen Xun pretends to be injured and incapable of fighting back. He also uses his movement technique to evade Li Xian’s attacks, making Li Xian believe Chen Xun is relying on inner armor and luck rather than genuine strength.
• When Li Xian gains confidence and prepares to kill him, Chen Xun tricks him into demanding the identity of Li Long’s killer. Chen Xun then reveals that he himself was responsible and launches a surprise counterattack.
• Chen Xun reveals that he too has reached the Blood-Exchange Realm. He draws a saber and uses Fourfold Layered Waves—Waves Shaking the Heavens.
• Li Xian counters with Heaven-Supporting Palm, but Chen Xun’s strike shatters both the saber and Li Xian’s palms. A broken piece of the saber pierces Li Xian’s heart, killing him.
• Chen Xun kills Li Xian’s suffering companion as well, considering the act a release from the itching powder’s effects.
• He conceals the bodies using the traits Shadowless, Trackless, and Soundless, then disposes of Li Xian’s corpse and loots his home.

Character Developments

• Chen Xun demonstrates that his strength is far greater than he openly reveals. His defenses, movement technique, Blood-Exchange cultivation, and combat instincts make him capable of defeating Li Xian.
• Chen Xun proves himself highly deceptive and tactical, deliberately appearing weak so Li Xian will lower his guard and remain unaware of his true abilities.
• His concern over Li Xian’s connection to the larger Li Family shows that Chen Xun prioritizes secrecy and understands the danger of exposing the source of his strength.
• Li Xian is shown to be arrogant, impulsive, and confident in his physical superiority. He relies on intimidation rather than evidence and becomes increasingly careless after believing Chen Xun is injured.
• Li Xian’s arrogance prevents him from recognizing Chen Xun’s deception until it is too late.

Significant Themes

• Deception and concealment: Chen Xun’s victory depends on hiding his true cultivation, defensive power, and movement abilities.
• Cunning versus brute strength: Although Li Xian is physically powerful, Chen Xun defeats him through planning, misdirection, and a surprise attack.
• The danger of information: Chen Xun fears that knowledge of his abilities could attract the Li Family and others who might covet his secrets.
• Retribution and survival: The confrontation is part of the continuing conflict caused by Li Long’s attempt to capture Chen Xun. Chen Xun kills Li Xian to eliminate the threat and protect himself.
• Pragmatism: Chen Xun treats both the fight and the aftermath practically, removing evidence, hiding the bodies, and looting Li Xian’s home.

Character Interactions

• Li Xian aggressively interrogates and threatens Chen Xun, while Chen Xun responds with feigned ignorance and calm provocation.
• Their battle becomes a psychological contest: Li Xian believes he is overpowering Chen Xun, while Chen Xun carefully manipulates that belief.
• Chen Xun uses Li Xian’s grief and anger over his son’s death to draw him close and create an opening for the fatal counterattack.
• The relationship between Li Xian and the unnamed companion is shown indirectly through their shared pursuit of Chen Xun, though the companion becomes largely helpless after being affected by the itching powder.

Chapter Summary: “Scavenging”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Xun enters Li Xian’s residence, where Li Xian’s three wives and sons are anxiously waiting for the missing household head. They complain about Li Xian’s womanizing without realizing he is already dead.
• Using the Cloud-Seeking Hand Bronze Cauldron’s Appraisal trait, Chen Xun identifies valuable objects in Li Xian’s room:
  • A painting, vase, and jewelry box
  • Eight hundred taels of silver
  • Two gold bars
  • Three secret manuals
  • Four Blood-Exchange Realm pill bottles
• Chen Xun takes the most valuable items, including the Crimson Blood Mountain-Supporting Hand, Bone-Tempering Pills, and Purple Blood Pills, while leaving behind less useful manuals.
• After Chen Xun leaves, Li Xian’s family discovers the theft and reports it. The authorities find no clues, while Li Xian remains missing. His family eventually suspects something serious has happened, but the Li Family refuses to help because it is occupied fighting the Huo Family.
• At Qingyun Garden, Li Tiangang announces that the Li and Huo Families have entered another prolonged war. Anyone eliminated in the upcoming monthly competition will be expelled and sent to the battlefield.
• The direct descendants of the Li Family protest, believing their status and young age should protect them. Li Tiangang insists that their privileged upbringing means they are obligated to fight for the clan.
• The students become divided and fearful, while Chen Xun remains calm and continues cultivating. The direct descendants return home to learn whether Li Tiangang’s order reflects the clan’s decision.
• Chen Xun later meets the burly man at the inn for another session of intense hammering cultivation.
• That night, Chen Xun senses that his bone marrow tempering has reached completion. His bones begin vibrating and producing new blood, signaling that he is about to break through into the next stage.

Character Developments

• Chen Xun grows more resourceful and materially prepared. He uses his appraisal ability strategically, secures wealth, martial techniques, and medicinal resources, and remains focused on cultivation despite the surrounding turmoil.
• Li Xian’s family is portrayed as dependent and disorganized. Without Li Xian, his wives and sons panic, struggle to respond to the theft, and fail to find out what happened to him.
• Li Tiangang reveals a ruthless, authoritarian side. He treats the younger direct descendants as clan resources rather than children and is willing to send them into a dangerous family war.
• The Li Family’s direct descendants lose their confidence and respect for Li Tiangang when confronted with the possibility of being sent to battle.
• The burly man continues to act humbly toward Chen Xun while assisting with his unusual cultivation method.

Significant Themes

• Scavenging and opportunism: Chen Xun takes advantage of Li Xian’s disappearance to acquire resources that will strengthen his future cultivation.
• Power and survival: The Li-Huo conflict shows that family status offers no absolute protection when clan survival is at stake.
• Duty versus privilege: Li Tiangang argues that the resources given to the direct descendants create an obligation to fight, challenging their belief that lineage should shield them.
• Cultivation and preparation: Wealth, pills, techniques, and physical training are all treated as essential tools for surviving the increasingly dangerous martial world.
• Disorder after the loss of authority: Li Xian’s household and the Qingyun Garden students both become unstable when their leaders or assumptions about safety are removed.

Character Interactions

• Chen Xun overhears the First Madam and maid discussing Li Xian, then silently recognizes that their master is already dead.
• He interacts indirectly with Li Xian’s family by robbing the residence, triggering their panic and investigation.
• Li Tiangang confronts Li Wangjiang and the other direct descendants, making clear that even privileged clan members can be forced onto the battlefield.
• The direct descendants argue among themselves and question whether Li Tiangang has acted alone.
• Chen Xun maintains a detached relationship with the Qingyun Garden conflict, silently observing while continuing his own training.
• Chen Xun and the burly man meet again for hammering cultivation, reinforcing their ongoing practical partnership.

Chapter Summary: “Breakthrough, First Blood Exchange”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Xun successfully breaks through from the Blood-Qi Third Transformation to the First Blood Exchange Realm.
• During the breakthrough, his body expels toxins through black blood, which hardens into scabs before falling away. The process cleanses his meridians and marrow.
• His Blood Qi becomes more concentrated and purer, occupying only one-third of its former volume while gaining greater destructive power. The Mercury Blood within it also strengthens his body.
• Chen Xun learns that future advancement requires nurturing more Mercury Blood and strengthening his bones enough to withstand a second blood exchange. His cultivation is recorded as First Blood Exchange (1%).
• After cleaning the foul-smelling remnants of his breakthrough, Chen Xun reflects on how far he has come. A year earlier, he and his sister struggled merely to survive; now, he aims to reach the pinnacle of martial arts.
• The next day at Qingyun Garden, the students learn that the Li Family truly intends to force them to fight members of the Huo Family. Li Tiangang was the one who proposed the plan.
• Fear spreads through the class because losing Qingyun Class will now mean fighting for their lives. The students become suspicious of one another and train with unprecedented seriousness, recognizing that they are competitors rather than companions.
• At the end-of-month tournament, Li Tiangang activates the arena and explains the elimination rules. Twelve students draw lots, with losers entering a secondary bracket and the final consecutive loser being eliminated.
• In the opening matches:
  • Li Tianci defeats Li Hanfeng through overwhelming strength and superior cultivation, despite their similar saber technique.
  • Li Qingshan defeats Li Yuanzhou, leaving Yuanzhou visibly bitter.
• Chen Xun is finally called for match number three and discovers his opponent, though the chapter ends before revealing the result.

Character Developments

• Chen Xun: Makes a major breakthrough, gaining greater physical strength, purer Blood Qi, and a clearer long-term goal. He remains calm and detached despite the class’s renewed hostility toward him.
• Li Tiangang: Becomes more threatening in the eyes of the students after revealing his influence over the Li Family’s plan to pit them against the Huo Family.
• The Qingyun Class students: Lose their former sense of camaraderie and become anxious, competitive, and desperate to avoid elimination.
• Li Tianci: Is established as the strongest and most talented direct descendant in the class, possessing overwhelming strength and nearing the Blood-Exchange Realm.
• Li Hanfeng: Demonstrates respectable technique but is decisively outmatched by Li Tianci’s superior power.
• Li Yuanzhou: Suffers an expected defeat against Li Qingshan and reacts with visible resentment.

Significant Themes

• Transformation and purification: Chen Xun’s physical shedding of black blood symbolizes the removal of impurities and his transition into a higher realm.
• Strength over technique: Li Tianci’s victory demonstrates that superior cultivation and raw power can overwhelm comparable skill.
• Competition replacing companionship: The threat of mortal combat turns classmates into rivals, exposing how fragile their previous relationships were.
• Growth and changing ambitions: Chen Xun’s goals evolve from basic survival to pursuing the limits of martial strength.
• Fear and pressure: The looming conflict with the Huo Family forces the students to confront the consequences of failure and intensifies their training.

Character Interactions

• Chen Xun observes the class’s changed attitude but does not confront them, remaining indifferent to their exclusion.
• The students react with hostility toward Li Tiangang and distance themselves from Chen Xun by association.
• Li Tianci and Li Hanfeng exchange formal respect after their match, with Li Tianci appearing confident but courteous.
• Zhang Qiang acts as referee and restrains the students’ increasingly dangerous sparring before the tournament.
• Li Tiangang directs the competition and maintains control over the anxious students.
• The chapter ends as Chen Xun faces his unidentified opponent in the third match.

Chapter Summary: Qingyun Class Monthly Match

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Qingyun Class monthly tournament begins with Chen Xun facing Li Wangjiang.
• Li Wangjiang attacks aggressively with the Gale Sword Technique, expecting an easy victory, but Chen Xun avoids him using the Charging Bull Step.
• Chen Xun deliberately circles the ring and frustrates Li Wangjiang, who becomes angry and abandons his usual fighting style to chase him. When Li Wangjiang is distracted, Chen Xun knocks him out of the ring and wins.
• Li Wangjiang accuses Chen Xun of launching a sneak attack, but Li Tiangang explains that becoming distracted is his own fault and that movement techniques are a legitimate part of combat.
• Li Tianci praises Chen Xun’s movement skills and recognizes that he has reached Major Accomplishment in the Charging Bull Step, though Chen Xun secretly knows he has actually reached Perfection.
• In another match, Li Dan voluntarily concedes to Li Qingxue because he is infatuated with her and wants to accompany her to eat. Li Tianci and Chen Xun both look down on his lack of resolve.
• The winners’ and losers’ brackets are established. Chen Xun later faces Li Qingxue and defeats her after roughly a dozen exchanges, despite her attempt to gain sympathy by acting like a weak girl.
• Li Tiangang defeats Qingshan, while Li Mingzhu narrowly defeats Sun Cheng.
• Chen Xun concedes quickly when fighting Li Tiangang after realizing that Li Tiangang is concealing tremendous speed and strength. He then narrowly defeats Li Mingzhu.
• The final rankings are Chen Xun in first place, Li Tiangang in second, and Li Mingzhu in third. The remaining winners receive smaller increases in their monthly benefits.
• The losers fight fiercely to avoid elimination, with several sustaining injuries. Li Ao is ultimately eliminated, bringing the first Qingyun Class monthly trial to an end.

Character Developments

• Chen Xun: Demonstrates patience, tactical intelligence, excellent movement skills, and restraint. He avoids exposing his true abilities, concealing that his movement technique has reached Perfection and surrendering early against Li Tiangang to protect his strength.
• Li Wangjiang: Begins arrogant and confident, assuming Chen Xun is beneath him. His frustration and emotional impulsiveness cause him to lose focus, and his defeat deepens his resentment toward Chen Xun.
• Li Tiangang: Shows maturity and authority as both a strong fighter and a fair judge. He defends the legitimacy of Chen Xun’s tactics and reveals that he is far stronger than he initially appeared.
• Li Tianci: Recognizes Chen Xun’s talent and offers him sincere praise, establishing a more respectful relationship with him.
• Li Qingxue: Relies on charm and emotional manipulation but becomes visibly angry when Chen Xun refuses to indulge her and defeats her fairly.
• Li Mingzhu: Is portrayed as calm, disciplined, and gracious in both victory and defeat. Her narrow victory over Sun Cheng shows that she is stronger than her quiet demeanor suggests.
• Li Dan: Is characterized as weak-willed and overly infatuated with Li Qingxue, sacrificing his chance to win simply to please her.
• Li Ao: His elimination highlights the harsh competitive nature of the class and the consequences of failing to keep pace.

Significant Themes

• Skill versus arrogance: Chen Xun’s careful tactics defeat Li Wangjiang’s confidence and reckless aggression.
• Composure and mental strength: The tournament shows that losing focus or allowing emotion to control one’s actions can be as damaging as lacking physical strength.
• Concealed ability and strategic restraint: Chen Xun deliberately hides his true level, emphasizing the value of patience and not revealing all one’s cards.
• Fairness and practical combat: Li Tiangang stresses that real battles do not guarantee equal opponents; evasion, speed, and exploiting distractions are valid survival tactics.
• Social hierarchy and prejudice: Li Wangjiang’s contempt for Chen Xun as a “mud-leg” reflects the class and family divisions Chen Xun must overcome.
• Romantic infatuation versus resolve: Li Dan’s surrender for Li Qingxue contrasts with the discipline expected in martial competition.

Important Character Interactions

• Chen Xun and Li Wangjiang engage in a battle of patience and pride, ending with Chen Xun’s tactical victory and Li Wangjiang’s humiliation.
• Li Tiangang publicly corrects Li Wangjiang and supports Chen Xun’s legitimate fighting methods.
• Li Tianci approaches Chen Xun respectfully, acknowledging his talent and encouraging recognition of his abilities.
• Li Dan’s infatuation with Li Qingxue affects the tournament, while her later anger after losing causes him to blame Chen Xun.
• Chen Xun and Li Qingxue’s match reveals their contrasting styles: her reliance on charm and emotional pressure versus his direct, controlled combat.
• Chen Xun’s brief battle with Li Tiangang establishes Li Tiangang as a hidden powerhouse, while his match with Li Mingzhu ends with mutual respect.

Chapter Summary: “Hidden Secrets”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After his resource allotment doubles, Chen Xun visits the pharmacy in Qingyun Garden to replenish medicinal ingredients for cultivating the [Copper Body Art].
• He discovers that the [Bone-Tempering Pill] and [Purple Blood Pill] are available, but only Blood-Exchange Realm martial artists may exchange for them. Since he has already reached that realm, the restriction is no longer an obstacle, though his limited allotment prevents him from purchasing the Purple Blood Pill.
• Instead, he spends 150 taels on medicinal ingredients and 50 taels on ten Black Spirit Pills, using his entire 200-tael allotment.
• On his way home, Chen Xun sees a clothing shop owned by the Huo Family burned down. The townspeople blame the Li Family and complain that the authorities are corrupt and unwilling to stop the conflict between the Li and Huo Families.
• In the Li Family patriarch’s study, Li Jingye denies ordering the arson. He and his brother, Li Fugui, discuss the increasingly complicated war with the Huo Family.
• Li Jingye reveals that the Li Family’s representative at Qingyun Martial Academy failed to break through and enter the Upper Academy. The Li Family’s Third Elder had gone to stop the Huo Family’s representative from advancing, but the Huo Family intercepted and killed him.
• The mission was leaked by the Third Elder’s illegitimate son, who was secretly connected to both families. Although the Huo Family killed the Third Elder, they also failed to achieve their own objective because their academy representative suffered serious injuries.
• Li Jingye plans to exploit the Huo Family’s weakened position rather than accept peace. He expects rival powers to attack the Huo Family for their own benefit, forcing them to surrender resources and influence.
• Back at the inn, Chen Xun ends Wang Gui’s assistance because Wang Gui’s physical strength can no longer support Chen Xun’s increasingly demanding cultivation. He gives Wang Gui one tael of silver as compensation.
• After Wang Gui leaves, Chen Xun realizes he needs a stronger cultivation assistant and remembers that another place contains many martial artists. He leaves the inn to seek help there.

Character Developments

• Chen Xun: His advancement to the Blood-Exchange Realm has made his previous pills less effective and increased the demands of his cultivation. He remains practical and resourceful, carefully managing his supplies while recognizing that he now needs stronger assistance.
• Wang Gui: Though dismissed, he is treated kindly. Chen Xun reassures him that he did nothing wrong and compensates him for his efforts, showing consideration and fairness.
• Li Jingye: Revealed as calculating and politically astute. He views the conflict strategically, intending to weaken the Huo Family further and profit from their declining position.
• Li Fugui: Acts as the Li Family’s military commander but lacks confidence about the proper strategy. He learns the hidden truth behind the Third Elder’s death and begins to understand the larger political situation.
• The Third Elder: His death is explained as a sacrifice made to prevent the Huo Family’s academy representative from entering the Upper Academy.
• The Third Elder’s illegitimate son: His secret existence and betrayal were central to the leakage of the Li Family’s plan.

Significant Themes

• Hidden information and betrayal: Secret family ties, leaked plans, and concealed motives determine the course of the Li-Huo conflict.
• Power struggles and opportunism: The major families and the Fang Family pursue their own interests, while ordinary citizens suffer from the violence.
• The vulnerability of common people: The townspeople live in fear because the authorities are ineffective or bribed, leaving them exposed to conflicts among powerful families.
• Cultivation and progression: Chen Xun’s growth increases both his strength and his material needs, forcing him to seek better pills, ingredients, and assistants.
• Pragmatism versus loyalty: The Li Family treats the war as a strategic contest, using the Huo Family’s injuries and political weakness rather than seeking reconciliation.

Important Character Interactions

• Chen Xun silently listens to frightened townspeople and reflects that he would share their fear if he had never become a martial artist.
• Li Jingye and Li Fugui debate whether to retreat, launch a decisive attack, or continue exhausting the Huo Family.
• Li Jingye reveals the truth about the Third Elder’s mission and the Huo Family’s injured academy representative.
• Chen Xun gently dismisses Wang Gui, reassures him, and gives him payment for his service.
• The chapter ends with Chen Xun preparing to approach a group of martial artists for a stronger cultivation partner.

Chapter Summary: “Borrowing Someone, Innate Superhuman Strength”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Xun asks Master Li Mingyuan to lend him a student to assist in cultivating the Copper Body Art.
• Li recommends Chen Dong, a thirteen-year-old disciple with innate superhuman strength who already possesses immense physical power at the First Blood-Qi Transformation.
• Li warns that Chen Dong is being considered for special cultivation by the Li Family, but Chen Xun assures him that the task is safe.
• Chen Xun reveals that he is cultivating the clan’s only intermediate body-refining technique, the Copper Body Art. Li is shocked and encourages him to reach Minor Accomplishment and advance further before the Qingyun Martial Academy’s recruitment competition.
• Chen Xun privately realizes that he has already met those conditions: his Copper Body Art is at Minor Accomplishment, and his Blood-Changing cultivation has reached the First Transformation.
• Li introduces Chen Xun to Chen Dong, whose enormous two-meter-tall body contrasts humorously with his innocent, childlike face.
• Chen Xun hires Chen Dong to strike him with a bamboo paddle, using the repeated impacts to help medicinal ointment penetrate his body and accelerate his training. He offers Chen Dong one tael of silver every three days.
• Over three days, Chen Xun’s Copper Body Art advances by roughly thirty to forty points per day, suggesting he may reach Major Accomplishment in less than two months.
• Chen Xun pays Chen Dong and treats him to a meal. Their enormous appetites become a source of mutual admiration and humor.
• After returning home, Chen Xun consumes his final Purple Blood Pill and uses the Wandering Dragon Bone-Transforming Force to refine Blood Qi and fill his second Blood Pool Acupoint.
• His cultivation progresses, but the dwindling supply of Purple Blood Pills—and even Black Spirit Pills—leaves him facing another shortage of resources.

Character Development

• Chen Xun demonstrates practicality, ambition, and resourcefulness. Rather than relying solely on conventional training, he finds an efficient way to exploit Chen Dong’s strength and improve his Copper Body Art.
• He remains outwardly respectful toward Li Mingyuan while privately recognizing that he may already be qualified for the academy competition.
• Chen Xun also shows generosity by paying Chen Dong fairly and treating him to dinner, though he remains focused on the limits imposed by his dwindling pills.
• Chen Dong is established as extraordinarily powerful physically but emotionally innocent and somewhat naïve. He is eager to work, easily excited by money, and sincerely grateful to Chen Xun.
• Li Mingyuan acts as a supportive mentor who recognizes Chen Xun’s potential and encourages him to pursue the opportunity to enter Qingyun Martial Academy.

Significant Themes

• Resourcefulness in cultivation: Chen Xun improves his training by finding unconventional methods rather than relying only on ordinary practice.
• The importance of resources: Pills, ointments, food, and capable training partners are all essential to advancement, while shortages threaten to slow progress.
• Hidden potential and opportunity: Chen Xun may already qualify for a chance to enter the prestigious Qingyun Martial Academy, representing a possible turning point in his future.
• Strength and cooperation: Chen Dong’s innate power becomes valuable not only for himself but also as a tool that helps Chen Xun grow.
• Humor amid hardship: The characters’ huge appetites, Chen Dong’s childlike innocence, and his enormous physique provide comic relief within the intense cultivation setting.

Character Interactions

• Chen Xun and Li Mingyuan: Their relationship combines teacher-student respect with teasing familiarity. Li encourages Chen Xun’s ambitions, while Chen Xun keeps the conversation grounded in practical concerns.
• Chen Xun and Chen Dong: Their partnership begins as a paid arrangement but quickly becomes friendly. Chen Dong respects Chen Xun, while Chen Xun appreciates his strength and treats him kindly.
• Li Mingyuan and Chen Dong: Li serves as the authority who introduces Chen Dong and confirms that the arrangement is safe and acceptable.
• The shared meal strengthens Chen Xun and Chen Dong’s camaraderie, with both recognizing each other as unusually strong eaters.

Chapter Summary: Constitution Improvement, Lower Yi Grade

Plot Points and Events

• Chen Xun successfully refines Purple Blood Pills from mutant beast Heart Blood, producing twenty-one pills in total. He plans to combine them with Dark Spirit Pills to support a month of cultivation.
• He decides to refine Blood-Strengthening Powder for Qingqing, who can still use it even though Chen Xun has reached the limit of its usefulness for himself.
• The chapter recounts Chen Xun’s recent participation in a Li Family Hunting Team expedition. He joins under the pretext of honing his saber skills, mainly to secretly obtain mutant beast materials needed for his alchemy.
• The team includes Li Tianci, Li Qingshan, and Li Mingzhu, and is guided into the mountains after the Mountain-Searching Team discovers a group of White-Phosphorus Strange Snakes.
• The initial hunt goes smoothly, with Li Tianci displaying powerful combat ability after breaking through to the Blood-Exchange Realm. However, a massive snake mother suddenly emerges and causes casualties.
• Li Tiangang suppresses and kills the snake mother while the other snakes flee. Chen Xun secretly pursues and kills an unclaimed White-Phosphorus Strange Snake, storing its body in his Inventory Space without arousing suspicion.
• The Hunting Team eventually returns with the snake mother and more than a dozen other snakes. The journey back takes several days, during which they fight off beasts attracted by the blood and discover a valuable medicinal herb.
• Using the mutant beast carcasses, Chen Xun spends ten days refining various medicines:
  • Purple Blood Pills from Heart Blood
  • Bone-Tempering Pills from bones
  • Enhanced Blood-Strength Pills from treasure meat
  • Ordinary Blood-Strength Pills and Blood-Strength Powder from the remaining meat and blood
• He produces fifty-four Bone-Tempering Pills, enough to complete one full cycle of bone reinforcement.

Character Development

• Chen Xun becomes increasingly resourceful and independent, secretly acquiring the materials the Li Family would not provide him.
• His alchemy skills and preparation improve significantly, allowing him to transform one mutant beast into a large supply of cultivation resources.
• His cultivation advances rapidly:
  • He has opened his fourth blood pool acupoint.
  • The Mountain Lord Acupoint-Finding Secret Art has reached perfection.
  • His spiritual power has increased greatly.
  • His constitution rises to 7 points, reaching the Lower Yi Grade.
  • He is at the Blood-Exchange First Revolution, 42% progress.
• Chen Xun believes he can now challenge martial artists of the Blood-Exchange Second Revolution, demonstrating confidence in his strength beyond his current realm.
• His martial abilities continue to broaden. Most of his techniques are at the Perfection or Major Accomplishment stage, while the newer Crimson Blood Mountain-Supporting Hand and Wandering Dragon Step remain at the Proficient level.

Character Interactions

• Chen Xun persuades Li Tiangang to let him join the Hunting Team by claiming he wants to practice his saber technique.
• He invites members of the Qingyun Class, and Li Tianci, Li Qingshan, and Li Mingzhu are selected to accompany him.
• Li Tianci demonstrates his newly achieved Blood-Exchange strength by killing two White-Phosphorus Strange Snakes with a Treasure Blade.
• Li Tiangang protects the hunting party by suppressing and killing the powerful snake mother.
• Chen Xun maintains a low profile, returning to the group apparently empty-handed so no one suspects that he secretly claimed an entire snake corpse.
• Chen Xun’s concern for Qingqing is shown through his decision to prepare Blood-Strengthening Powder specifically for her cultivation.

Significant Themes

• Resourcefulness and self-reliance: Chen Xun uses hunting, alchemy, and his Inventory Space to secure resources unavailable through normal channels.
• Strategic concealment: He carefully hides his true abilities and harvest from the Li Family while benefiting from their expedition.
• Steady accumulation of strength: The chapter emphasizes how pills, martial techniques, constitution improvements, and acupoint cultivation combine to produce rapid growth.
• Preparation and long-term cultivation: Chen Xun focuses on stockpiling enough pills and powders to sustain future advancement rather than relying only on immediate gains.
• Power beyond appearances: Although Chen Xun remains in the Blood-Exchange First Revolution, his perfected techniques, enhanced constitution, spiritual power, and medicinal resources make him far stronger than ordinary martial artists of the same realm.

Chapter Summary: “Picking Up a Bargain: Polygonatum Jade Essence”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Xun visits the Black Market disguised in a black robe and monkey mask, searching for valuable items.
• He buys a twenty-year-old ginseng root for twenty-five taels, negotiating to receive a large piece of polygonatum as an additional bargain.
• Using his Appraisal trait, Chen Xun recognizes that the polygonatum contains something unusual, though its nature is initially unclear.
• Chen Xun meets Ghost-Hand Jin, a skilled counterfeiter and well-connected martial-world figure with whom he has worked before.
• He offers Ghost-Hand Jin a large quantity of Blood-Strength Powder and Blood-Strength Pills in exchange for Purple Blood Pills. They agree to split the profits from the sales thirty-seventy, with Ghost-Hand Jin obtaining the Purple Blood Pills.
• Chen Xun secretly retrieves the medicines from his Inventory Space and hands them over. He refuses to reveal his safeguards, maintaining an air of caution and mystery.
• After leaving the Black Market, Chen Xun discovers that the herb seller who sold him the ginseng and polygonatum has been murdered. The sight confirms how dangerous the Black Market is and how vulnerable sellers become after displaying valuable goods.
• Back at an inn, Chen Xun cuts open the polygonatum and discovers a golden, viscous droplet hidden inside.
• Research at the Li Family Library identifies it as Polygonatum Jade Essence, an extremely rare substance formed when polygonatum absorbs a spiritual object.
• The essence can improve cultivation and strengthen a martial artist’s foundation. Chen Xun dilutes it in water, drinks some, and begins refining its powerful energy.

Character Developments

• Chen Xun demonstrates increasing resourcefulness, caution, and commercial savvy. He uses his Appraisal ability to identify hidden value, leverages his Inventory Space to conceal his resources, and negotiates effectively.
• His dealings with Ghost-Hand Jin show that Chen Xun is building a network of useful contacts while remaining careful not to reveal the full extent of his abilities.
• Chen Xun also becomes more aware of the dangers surrounding wealth and rare treasures, especially after finding the herb seller dead.
• Ghost-Hand Jin is established as shrewd, well-connected, highly experienced, and difficult to track due to his mastery of disguises and human-skin masks. He is impressed by the scale of Chen Xun’s goods and eagerly accepts the deal.
• The herb seller’s death illustrates the grim fate awaiting ordinary people who stumble upon valuable resources without the strength to protect themselves.

Significant Themes

• Hidden value and perception: The polygonatum appears ordinary but contains an exceptionally rare treasure, emphasizing that appearances can conceal great worth.
• Strength determines survival: The herb seller’s murder reveals the brutal logic of the martial world: those without power are exploited or killed, while those strong enough to protect themselves have little reason to undertake dangerous, low-status work.
• Caution and secrecy: Chen Xun conceals the sources of his goods and the nature of his safeguards, showing that information is itself a form of protection.
• Opportunity and calculated risk: Chen Xun’s bargain and business arrangement demonstrate his willingness to take advantage of opportunities while carefully managing danger.
• Cultivation and foundation: The Polygonatum Jade Essence represents a major opportunity to improve Chen Xun’s cultivation and strengthen his long-term potential.

Character Interactions

• Chen Xun haggles with the herb seller, ultimately purchasing the ginseng and polygonatum at a favorable price.
• He forms a mutually beneficial business agreement with Ghost-Hand Jin, exchanging surplus medicines for access to Purple Blood Pills.
• Ghost-Hand Jin’s confidence and curiosity contrast with Chen Xun’s guarded behavior; Chen Xun offers valuable goods but refuses to explain his methods.
• The murdered herb seller serves as an indirect reminder of the consequences of the Black Market’s transactions and the dangers surrounding Chen Xun’s growing wealth.

Key plot points and events

• Li Tiangang announces that the eight remaining Qingyun Class students will represent the Li Family in a contest against the Huo Family’s young elites. In seven days, the contest will decide ownership of a silk farm and 300 mu of medicinal fields.
• The contest is presented as a final clash between the families, intended to settle their rivalry and compare the promise of their younger generations. Though Li Qingshan objects to risking valuable property this way, none of the students withdraw—especially after Li Tiangang says withdrawal also means leaving Qingyun Class.
• Li Tiangang urges the group to pursue the Blood-Exchange Realm before the contest, though only Li Tianci has reached it so far.
• Li Tiangang privately reprimands Chen Xun for spending Qingyun Class resources on Copper Body Art instead of focusing on cultivation. His criticism turns to praise when Chen demonstrates that he has already reached Minor Accomplishment. Li Tiangang then offers to supply the resources Chen needs to advance further.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Tiangang balances pressure and encouragement: he makes participation effectively compulsory, then shows confidence in Chen’s unusual talent and supports his training.
• Chen Xun remains modest and focused on his body cultivation. His progress surprises Li Tiangang and reveals a particular aptitude for hard-body techniques.
• Li Qingshan resents the families’ decision and doubts both the stakes and Li Tianci’s confidence, though he envies Li Tianci’s achievement.
• Li Tianci displays Minor Accomplishment in Copper Body Art and confidently expects to enter Qingyun Martial Academy. He sees Chen as a potential ally there.
• The students recall how hunting with the Hunting Team improved their skills, while Xie Xiong’s lingering injury to his Blood Pool Acupoint highlights the risks of their earlier exploits.

Significant themes

• Family rivalry and reconciliation: The contest is meant to end a prolonged feud, but peace is pursued through one last high-stakes competition.
• Pressure and obligation: The students’ choice to participate is constrained by the threat of losing their place in Qingyun Class.
• Talent, training, and resources: Chen’s rapid progress shows that individual aptitude can justify unconventional training, while the chapter also stresses the difficulty of advancement and the cost of supporting it.
• Risk and injury: Xie Xiong’s lasting damage underscores that martial progress can come at a serious price.