Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Chen Qingqing reports that she has begun martial training, learning the Willow Leaf Sword Technique. Chen Xun praises her practice and encourages her.
• Though only Grade C, Middle Tier, Qingqing progresses unusually quickly with Chen Xun’s help, Blood-Strengthening Soup, and his instruction in the Primordial Unity Stance. She has already condensed Blood Qi and become a martial artist.
• Chen Xun urges her to finish her Qi and Blood Powder, bribing her with the promise of a roasted chicken.
• Chen Xun reflects on his large supply of cultivation powder and prepares to meet Ghost-Hand Jin, whom he has previously followed and discovered living under the respectable identity of Squire Lin.
• Ghost-Hand Jin arrives four hours late, explaining that he had sold Chen Xun’s goods through his contacts and obtained fifty Purple Blood Pills. Chen Xun accepts the explanation and apologizes for suspecting him.
• Ghost-Hand Jin says he earned a substantial commission and hopes to fund his son’s martial future. The two agree to work together again.
• Chen Xun’s pill supply should let him cultivate up to Second Transformation Blood Exchange before the upcoming grand competition.
• At Qingyun Garden, the Li and Huo families assemble for their contest. Huo Biao proposes a best-of-five format instead of the previously agreed eight rounds.
• Li Tiangang selects five Li-side fighters: Li Tianci, Li Qingshan, Chen Xun, Li Hanfeng, and Li Mingzhu. Li Wangjiang protests being excluded, but Tiangang says Chen Xun is stronger and has repeatedly beaten him.
• The selected fighters are finalized, and the matches begin.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Qingqing is eager to improve but prefers food to training; she trusts her brother’s guidance and responds to his encouragement.
• Chen Xun acts as a supportive mentor to Qingqing, while remaining cautious and pragmatic about his resources and dealings. He is initially suspicious of Ghost-Hand Jin but readily apologizes once he hears the explanation.
• Ghost-Hand Jin proves useful and commercially capable, earning money through his contacts. His concern for his son’s prospects motivates his efforts.
• Li Wangjiang is resentful at being passed over and directs his anger at Chen Xun, while Chen Xun ignores him.
• Li Tiangang confidently chooses the strongest available fighters, prioritizing ability over family status.

Significant themes

• Mentorship and effort: Chen Xun’s instruction and resources help Qingqing exceed what her innate talent alone might suggest.
• Family ambition: Both Chen Xun and Ghost-Hand Jin invest in younger relatives’ futures.
• Strength over status: Li Tiangang chooses Chen Xun despite his not bearing the Li surname, provoking Wangjiang’s pride.
• Trust and cooperation: Chen Xun’s suspicion gives way to a renewed partnership with Ghost-Hand Jin once the facts are clear.
• Rivalry and competition: The Li–Huo dispute moves from tense confrontation to a winner-takes-all series of matches.

Key events

• The Li and Huo families begin a five-match contest over valuable assets, with the fighters drawing their match order.
• In the first match, Li Qingshan provokes Huo Wu into fighting recklessly, then uses his superior agility to evade and exhaust him. Qingshan wins after a hundred exchanges.
• Li Tianci dominates the second match with the Layered Wave Saber Technique, breaking Huo Qing’s saber and forcing the Huo referee to concede.
• The contest turns when Huo Yuan defeats Li Mingzhu and Huo Mo nearly fatally wounds Li Hanfeng. Both Huo fighters are in the Blood-Exchange Realm, giving the Huo family two straight wins and making the score two matches apiece.
• The fifth match will decide the contest. Chen Xun faces Huo Shan, who immediately attacks with the Overlord Slash. The chapter ends before the outcome is revealed.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Qingshan shows composure and tactical sense: he refuses Huo Wu’s taunts, recognizes the disadvantage of meeting a saber head-on, and wins by exploiting his opponent’s anger and slower, more direct movement.
• Huo Wu is easily provoked. His anger makes his attacks powerful but predictable; afterward, Huo Biao publicly berates and slaps him for losing control.
• Li Tianci displays overwhelming force, winning quickly and decisively.
• Li Mingzhu and Li Hanfeng are badly outmatched by Blood-Exchange Realm opponents, exposing the Li family’s disadvantage in the later rounds.
• Li Tiangang entrusts the decisive match to Chen Xun and tries to reassure him, though he is unsure of Huo Shan’s strength. Chen Xun stays calm but notes that he hopes his opponent is not at the Blood-Exchange Realm.

Significant themes

• Strategy versus brute force: Qingshan wins through agility and patience rather than matching Huo Wu’s strength.
• Emotional control: Huo Wu’s susceptibility to taunting undermines him, while Qingshan’s restraint helps secure victory.
• Hidden strength and uncertainty: The Huo family’s Blood-Exchange fighters overturn the Li family’s early advantage, leaving the final result dependent on Chen Xun’s unknown opponent and abilities.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Xun defeats Huo Shan in the decisive match of a best-of-five contest between the Li and Huo families. He initially meets Huo Shan’s Overlord Slash with his four-layer Layered Wave Slash, damaging Huo Shan’s weapon and wounding him.
• Huo Shan uses a Burst Secret Technique, greatly amplifying his attack, but Chen Xun avoids engaging him directly with the Wandering Dragon Step. The technique’s power burns out, leaving Huo Shan incapacitated.
• The Li Family claims victory and takes possession of Silkworm Manor. Though some Huo Family members dispute Chen Xun’s right to represent the Li Family, Patriarch Huo Biao accepts the loss and hands over the deed.
• Li Tiangang explains that the Li Family will not destroy the Huo Family outright: doing so would be costly because of its Blood-Exchange Realm fighters and influential members elsewhere.
• Patriarch Li Jingye praises Chen Xun, awards him access to household goods worth up to 300 taels, and urges him to pursue admission to Qingyun Martial Academy.
• Li Wangjiang grows jealous and begins plotting with the ninth brother against Chen Xun. The Li Family celebrates its win with a banquet, where Chen Xun is heavily toasted and stays overnight in the inner courtyard.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Xun demonstrates both formidable strength and tactical restraint: he can meet Huo Shan’s attack head-on but chooses to evade the enhanced blows rather than reveal more of his abilities. He earns recognition from the Li Family, though he realizes the Huo Family may now regard him as an enemy.
• Huo Shan turns to a dangerous secret technique when pressured, but its backlash leaves him helpless. Huo Biao remains composed, accepts the defeat, and honors the wager despite his family’s protests.
• Li Jingye rewards Chen Xun and publicly recognizes his contribution. Li Tiangang reassures him about the Huo Family’s limited ability to retaliate and explains the political costs of eliminating them.
• Li Wangjiang is increasingly resentful of Chen Xun’s rising status and sees him as a threat to his own prospects.

Significant themes

• Strength tempered by strategy: Chen Xun wins not only through power, but by knowing when to avoid a direct fight.
• Power and political consequences: Defeating an enemy does not make eradication wise; alliances, outside influence, and the cost of retaliation shape the Li Family’s choices.
• Recognition and ambition: Chen Xun’s victory raises his standing and brings him closer to his goal of entering Qingyun Martial Academy.
• Jealousy and looming conflict: Chen Xun’s success earns allies’ praise but also fuels resentment within the Li Family and hostility from the Huo Family.

Liu Feng proposed using the Huo Family to kill Chen Xun, while Chen Xun refused the Li Family patriarch’s demand that he become a live-in son-in-law. Li Jingye dropped the demand for now but remained resentful and doubted Chen Xun could enter the Qingyun Martial Academy.

• Liu Feng urged Li Wangjiang and Li Yuanzhou to enlist the Huo Family against Chen Xun, and Li Yuanzhou sent him to make contact while keeping the young masters’ involvement secret.
• Li Tiangang told Chen Xun that Li Jingye wanted him to marry into the Li Family, but Chen Xun firmly refused to become a live-in son-in-law.
• Li Tiangang advised Li Jingye that marrying a Li Family daughter to Chen Xun would suit his character better than forcing him into the family as a son-in-law.
• Li Jingye rejected the idea because Chen Xun came from servitude, but agreed to drop the matter for now and told Li Tiangang to keep it private.

Li Zhao uncovered a forged Clan Leader's Seal and exposed a scandal that led to an investigation inside the Li Family. Chen Xun suspected the killer was Li Jingye's younger brother, while Liu Feng contacted the Huo Family to arrange an attack on him.

• Chen Xun thanked Li Tiangang for ending the marriage arrangement and said he expected to reach the Blood-Exchange Realm within a month or two.
• Li Zhao showed Li Tiangang a forged Clan Leader's Seal he had found after seeing Hehua with an unidentified man in the garden.
• Li Jingye ordered Hehua brought to him, but she was found dead, prompting a search for her killer and an audit of the Li Family's resources.
• Chen Xun consumed his Yellow Essence Jade Elixir, strengthened his Blood Pool Acupoints, and placed third in the fifth month-end tournament as Li Wangjiang was eliminated.
• Li Wangjiang pressured Liu Feng to contact the Huo Family and get rid of Chen Xun, so Liu Feng acted ahead of schedule.
• The Li Family caught Hehua's killer but concealed his identity; Chen Xun inferred that Li Jingye's younger brother was the culprit and had been reassigned to the mines.