Recaps

After Qingzhou’s crisis prompted Celebration Hall to prepare its disciples for deployment, Deng Qing became captain of the Ninth Squad and began night patrols. Li Cheng proposed that they jointly train in the difficult Seven Forms of Settling Solitude, and Deng Qing agreed in exchange for training resources and a fallback reward.

• A beacon fire and urgent order announced worsening danger in Qingzhou, and Zhang Yan ordered Celebration Hall’s disciples to train and stand ready.
• Deng Qing received an appointment as captain of the Ninth Squad, responsible for patrolling the North Ward with two disciples and two Yamen Runners.
• Deng Qing led his squad on a quiet night patrol, catching two drunks and a thief before returning to Celebration Hall.
• Li Cheng approached Deng Qing and proposed they train together in the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude, a famous sword art with no complete lineage.
• Li Cheng offered to provide a training ground and meat, plus a Li Family martial art and ten taels of silver if they failed to master the sword art, and Deng Qing accepted.
• Deng Qing asked Li Cheng why someone from his family background had joined Celebration Hall.

Deng Qing reached Initiation in the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude and advanced rapidly while practicing with Li Cheng. After Deng Qing accidentally disarmed Li Cheng, Zhang Bo came to assess his skill and asked how far he had progressed in the Violet Palace Method.

• Li Cheng explained that he had joined Celebration Hall to relearn the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude and bring the swordsmanship back to his family, and Deng Qing agreed to help him practice.
• After a month of daily training, Deng Qing knocked Li Cheng's sword away during a spar, leaving Li Cheng frustrated and Deng Qing worried he would lose the Li Family's food.
• Deng Qing recalled reaching Initiation in the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude twenty days earlier, which helped him understand the technique and continue improving through practice.
• Li Cheng returned with Zhang Bo, a Bone Forging Realm retainer, who asked Deng Qing to demonstrate the sword forms and praised his rapid progress.
• When Li Cheng asked how Deng Qing had advanced so quickly, Deng Qing joked that he ate more; he then told Zhang Bo he could digest seven or eight jin of meat in one meal.

Deng Qing struggled to fund his cultivation, then received an offer to work at the Tianshun Apothecary and insisted Tu Wei be included. Tu Wei refused to go and suspected Steward Liu needed Deng Qing to withstand potent medicinal toxins.

• Li Cheng learned that his lack of internal cultivation slowed his progress with the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude, then vented his frustration after Deng Qing left.
• Deng Qing returned to his routine of work, practice, and night patrols, but struggled to afford enough meat and found that ordinary people had crowded Martial Artists out of work at the Tianshun Apothecary.
• After another half month of training, Deng Qing reached 19% progress with the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude, and Steward Liu offered him ten taels to help at the apothecary.
• Deng Qing refused to take the job without Tu Wei, and Steward Liu returned two days later and agreed to let Tu Wei join.
• Deng Qing found a County Yamen notice offering rewards for apprehending and killing Donghuang Cult members, then told Tu Wei about the apothecary offer.
• Tu Wei refused the job, warned Deng Qing that Steward Liu was trying to drive down wages and likely needed someone to endure potent medicine, and told him to name his price.

Deng Qing learned that Steward Liu’s apothecary job might involve refining valuable Ginseng Pills and negotiated Elder Wu’s help in demanding fair pay. The city grew increasingly unsettled, while Deng Qing waited to see whether Steward Liu would return with an offer.

• Tu Wei declined to join Steward Liu’s job and planned to take a county bounty instead.
• Steward Liu warned Deng Qing about dangerous travel routes, then raised his offer to fifteen taels for two days of furnace tending.
• Deng Qing asked Elder Wu about medicinal toxins, and Elder Wu suspected Tianshun Apothecary was refining Ginseng Pills.
• Elder Wu said fifteen taels was far too little and agreed to help Deng Qing negotiate for a seventy-thirty split.
• Deng Qing left without accepting the job, and the city grew increasingly unsettled over the next few days.

Deng Qing agreed to help Tianshun Apothecary refine medicine after Elder Wu negotiated payment and gave him a medicinal bath. The bath helped him understand the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude and reach Minor Mastery, but shouts then erupted across the Celebration Hall.

• Deng Qing recognized Tu Wei among the dead disciples brought back from an assignment and resolved to focus on strengthening his foundations.
• Steward Liu asked Deng Qing again to work at the apothecary, and Deng Qing agreed on the condition that Elder Wu negotiate the terms.
• Elder Wu secured payment for Deng Qing's work and offered him a medicinal bath before their planned departure for Tianshun Apothecary.
• Deng Qing used the medicinal energy to refine his Qi-Blood and understand how to gather force into a line and send his sword through empty gaps.
• Deng Qing advanced the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude to Minor Mastery, then heard shouts as commotion broke out in the Celebration Hall's courtyards.

When Deng Qing was summoned by the County Yamen to report for city defense, Elder Wu took him to the Tianshun Apothecary to seek protection through its furnace trial. Deng Qing began the two-hour test as Head Constable Zhu arrived with a warrant, and Steward Liu negotiated to delay taking him away until the trial's result was known.

• A Medicine Hall errand boy told Deng Qing that the County Yamen had ordered every martial artist on its roster to gather at the south gate.
• Elder Wu led Deng Qing through a back alley to the Tianshun Apothecary, where Steward Liu arranged for him to enter Cultivation Room Three for a furnace trial.
• Deng Qing began tending the furnace and endured the potent medicinal smoke by using the Violet Palace Method.
• Zhu Shun arrived at the apothecary with a signed warrant and demanded that Deng Qing be handed over for city defense.
• Steward Liu told Zhu Shun to wait two hours for the trial's result, promising Deng Qing if he failed and asking Zhu to let him stay if he endured it.

Deng Qing completed the Tianshun Apothecary’s dangerous Ginseng Pill refining and advanced his Violet Palace Method while enduring the medicinal toxins. Steward Liu paid him and gave him the medicine dregs, then arranged a secluded place for him to recover and avoid the yamen.

• Deng Qing passed the one-hour test, and Steward Liu gave him two days of rest before the refining began.
• Deng Qing entered the Underground Refining Chamber and controlled the furnace as medicinal toxins filled the room, drawing the fire down when it flared too high.
• Deng Qing endured the refining until the batch was complete, and his Violet Palace Method advanced to 35% Minor Mastery.
• Elder Wu examined Deng Qing and found his foundation unharmed, while Steward Liu paid him and gave him a jar of Ginseng Pill dregs.
• Deng Qing asked Steward Liu to conceal him from the yamen during his recovery, and Steward Liu settled him in a house by the lake.
• Deng Qing shared twenty-four taels with Elder Wu, who promised to prepare daily medicinal broth from the dregs.

Deng Qing spent ten days strengthening his body and swordsmanship at the apothecary, but growing pressure from the County Yamen forced him to return to Celebration Hall and accept a mission. He learned that a large force would attack Donghuang Cult strongholds and marched with the assembled fighters toward the western drill ground.

• Deng Qing paid Elder Wu to arrange seven daily deliveries of cooked meat and spent ten days eating, drinking medicinal broth, and practicing his swordsmanship in seclusion.
• Deng Qing's Qi-Blood and sword skills improved, but he learned the County Yamen was investigating martial artists who had not served and decided he could no longer remain hidden.
• Deng Qing returned to Celebration Hall, where Zhang Yan assigned him to leave with a group in two hours.
• Fan Sheng told Deng Qing that Donghuang Cult fighters had approached the city and that County Commandant Su Bing would lead about two hundred men against their strongholds.
• Fan Sheng warned Deng Qing that the battle would be dangerous but could bring rewards, and Deng Qing steadied himself before Zhang Yan led the group toward the western drill ground.

Deng Qing and the others joined the county force’s assault on the Donghuang Cult stronghold, where an ambush turned the advance into a fierce battle. As the group struggled to hold together, the powerful Monk Tang charged into their ranks and attacked them.

• County Commandant Su Bing assembled the troops, promised rewards for merit, and led them west toward the Donghuang Cult’s stronghold.
• Zhang Yan volunteered to lead the vanguard, broke through the barricade, and drew a volley of arrows from the woods.
• Ding Yuan fought at the front and earned Su Bing’s praise, while Deng Qing grew uneasy at how easily the troops were advancing.
• The Donghuang Cult ambushed the army with arrows, boulders, and a charge led by Blood Butcher Xiong Zhen, who clashed with Su Bing.
• Monk Tang charged into Deng Qing’s group, wounded Fan Sheng, and forced the others to retreat from his attacks.

Deng Qing killed Monk Tang with his Blacksteel Soft Sword, then slipped away from the battlefield and hid in a cave. There, he witnessed Li Cheng use a Ghost-Faced Bat to corner the wounded Zhou Fei, who prepared to take a blood-red pill.

• Deng Qing used the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude to spot an opening and kill Monk Tang with his Blacksteel Soft Sword.
• Deng Qing searched Monk Tang's belongings, took his Buddhist Staff, and secretly left the soldiers to find shelter in a stone cave.
• Deng Qing meditated in the cave, then heard Zhou Fei beg Li Cheng to spare his life in exchange for a wondrous opportunity.
• Li Cheng unleashed his Ghost-Faced Bat, and Zhou Fei repeatedly drove it back with his blood while growing weaker from his wound.
• Zhou Fei condemned Li Cheng and proclaimed that the Eastern Radiance Holy Church would overthrow the Imperial Court, then drew out a blood-red pill.

Zhou Fei swallowed a Blood-Stained Pill and regained his strength, forcing Li Cheng and Deng Qing to fight him in the ravine. The chapter ended with Zhou Fei attacking Deng Qing, whose mastery of the Tiger-Subduing Fist kept him standing against Zhou Fei's blows.

• Zhou Fei swallowed the Blood-Stained Pill, and his surging Qi-Blood drove the Ghost-Faced Bat away from him and toward Deng Qing.
• Deng Qing repelled the Ghost-Faced Bat with drops of his blood, exposing his hiding place as Li Cheng fled from Zhou Fei.
• Deng Qing joined Li Cheng against Zhou Fei, but Li Cheng's flaming sleeve darts and Lung-Eroding Powder only briefly slowed their pursuer.
• Li Cheng warned Deng Qing that Zhou Fei's Blood-Burning Pill would last about a hundred breaths, and Deng Qing tried to slow Zhou Fei in a muddy stream.
• Deng Qing stood his ground with the Tiger-Subduing Fist and blocked Zhou Fei's Hundred-Blossom Bewildering Fist attacks.

Deng Qing killed Zhou Fei after a brutal fight and recovered gold, a Blood-Burning Pill, and a hidden piece of Ancient Jade from his corpse. Li Cheng explained why he had pursued Zhou Fei, and Deng Qing offered him Zhou Fei’s head, hoping to gain a valuable favor.

• Zhou Fei’s strength failed after Deng Qing’s sword attacks, and Deng Qing confirmed he was dead by testing him from a distance.
• Li Cheng gave Deng Qing a pill for his injuries, which Deng Qing concealed instead of taking.
• Deng Qing searched Zhou Fei’s corpse and found gold nuggets, a Blood-Burning Pill, and a hidden black stone that Li Cheng identified as Ancient Jade.
• Li Cheng told Deng Qing that he had pursued Zhou Fei to claim his head for a Recommendation Letter for the Martial Dao Trial.
• Deng Qing offered Li Cheng Zhou Fei’s head without asking for payment, leaving Li Cheng stunned.

After earning a fortune from the Mountain God Temple battle, Deng Qing practiced his sword and calculated that he still needed about a hundred taels' worth of Qi-Blood to reach the Skin Tempering Third Layer. Fan Sheng brought news that Li Dashan would return soon as a Ninth-Rank Commandant and lent Deng Qing thirty taels, leaving him searching for the remaining seventy.

• Li Cheng warned Deng Qing that Zhou Fei's capture could earn a reward, but Deng Qing beheaded Zhou Fei and took Monk Tang's Buddhist Staff.
• Deng Qing practiced with the Blacksteel Soft Sword and reviewed his progress in Clear Radiance.
• Deng Qing counted his silver and Qi-Blood gains, estimating he was about a hundred taels short of advancing to the Skin Tempering Third Layer.
• Fan Sheng told Deng Qing that Li Dashan had distinguished himself at Liangshan and would return in a few days as a Ninth-Rank Commandant.
• Fan Sheng lent Deng Qing thirty taels to replenish his Qi-Blood, and Deng Qing wondered where he would find the remaining seventy taels.

Li Cheng asked Deng Qing to teach him the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude after witnessing Deng Qing’s skill, and the two left a shop dispute together. They hurried to Celebration Hall when Li Dashan summoned the disciples and announced that he had been appointed Ninth-Rank Commandant.

• Li Cheng struggled to practice the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude and decided to ask Deng Qing for guidance, despite Zhang Bo’s doubts.
• Li Cheng used Deng Qing’s feat of killing Monk Tang to stop Feng Xiao’s men from confronting Wu Yun’s hired muscle.
• Deng Qing told Li Cheng he had been earning money by hauling sacks, then agreed to guide him in exchange for enough meat to eat.
• Zhou Tie and Wang Wei told Li Cheng and Deng Qing that Li Dashan had returned and summoned the disciples to Celebration Hall.
• Li Dashan addressed the assembled disciples and announced that he had been appointed Ninth-Rank Commandant after joining the fighting in Liangshan.

Deng Qing learned about Celebration Hall’s Initiate Disciple selection and the True Yang Martial Sect before demonstrating his sword skill to Zhang Bo and teaching Li Cheng. While eating well and practicing with the Li Family, Deng Qing found that teaching swordsmanship helped his cultivation progress.

• Li Dashan announced that Celebration Hall would select five new Initiate Disciples in a month, prompting Deng Qing and Li Cheng to discuss the opportunity.
• Li Cheng told Deng Qing that Celebration Hall’s master and Song Wuliang belonged to the True Yang Martial Sect, and hinted that Liangshan could help someone break through to the Furnace Realm.
• Zhang Bo tested Deng Qing’s Seven Forms of Settling Solitude and approved him to teach Li Cheng after seeing his understanding of the sword technique.
• Deng Qing corrected Li Cheng’s rushed swordplay, teaching him to gather his force and watch for openings in an opponent’s movements.
• Deng Qing spent his days teaching and practicing at the Li Family, eating seven meat-rich meals daily, and made rapid progress in his cultivation.

Deng Qing received silver and Ginseng Pills from Li Cheng after helping him reach Initiation in swordsmanship. He used the pills to break through to Skin Tempering Third Layer and tested his stronger body and faster Qi-Blood flow.

• Li Cheng reached Initiation in swordsmanship, and Zhang Bo suggested Deng Qing visit the estate only every three to five days.
• Li Cheng gave Deng Qing a hundred taels in Silver Notes and five Ginseng Pills as thanks for his instruction.
• Deng Qing swallowed three Ginseng Pills and drove their medicinal power through his body with the Violet Palace Method.
• Deng Qing's Seven Forms of Settling Solitude reached Grand Mastery as his Qi-Blood surged through the barrier to Skin Tempering Third Layer.
• Deng Qing tested his breakthrough with a leap and a punch that cracked a training post from within, then drew his Blacksteel Soft Sword under the moonlight.

Deng Qing reached Skin Tempering Third Layer and Grand Mastery in the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude, then sought a chance to stand out to his master and earn a place among five Initiate Disciples. After Fan Sheng secured him a place as an attendant at an official banquet, Deng Qing visited Li Cheng, who challenged him to a sword fight.

• Deng Qing used his newly unified qi-blood to strike around a wooden post, then advanced the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude to Grand Mastery.
• Deng Qing told Fan Sheng he had reached Skin Tempering Third Layer and wanted one of the five Initiate Disciple places.
• Deng Qing repaid Fan Sheng's thirty-tael loan and offered ten taels to cover the cost of seeking support.
• Fan Sheng arranged for Zhang Yan to include Deng Qing among the disciples attending a banquet for the Pacification Commissioner in Dongting County.
• Deng Qing visited the Li Family, where Li Cheng challenged him to a sword fight and showed improved skill.

Deng Qing revealed how far his Seven Forms of Settling Solitude had advanced when he fought Zhang Bo in a serious bout. He broke Zhang Bo’s branch with a perfectly timed strike, leaving Zhang Bo impressed by his talent for the Sword Dao.

• Deng Qing effortlessly controlled his practice bout with Li Cheng, who praised his own recent improvement.
• Zhang Bo challenged Deng Qing to another bout, promising to restrain his Qi-Blood but not to feed him moves.
• Deng Qing accepted and used the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude to trade dozens of strikes with Zhang Bo without being forced back.
• Deng Qing waited for a break in Zhang Bo’s Sword Technique, then snapped the branch with a strike from his Blacksteel Soft Sword.
• Zhang Bo praised Deng Qing’s eye, temperament, timing, and rare gift for the Sword Dao.

Deng Qing earned Li Dashan’s attention by explaining his compassion toward a band of highwaymen and describing how he had reached the Skin Tempering Third Layer. The party’s journey through Blackwind Ravine ended with the bandits defeated and Li Dashan newly interested in Deng Qing.

• Deng Qing and Li Cheng continued practicing the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude until Li Cheng challenged Deng Qing again.
• Li Dashan led Zhang Yan, Fan Sheng, Deng Qing, Ding Yuan, and other Celebration Hall disciples toward Dongting County for a banquet hosted by the Pacification Commissioner.
• The party entered Blackwind Ravine, where dozens of highwaymen surrounded them and demanded a toll.
• Ding Yuan and the other disciples charged the bandits, while Deng Qing stayed back and explained that he saw them as desperate common folk driven to crime.
• Li Dashan asked Deng Qing his name, remembered once helping him, and learned that Deng Qing had reached the Skin Tempering Third Layer through hard work and a reward for killing Monk Tang.

Deng Qing traveled with Li Dashan’s party to Dongting County, where he checked local butcher shops for offal and attended a banquet with the others. At the Martial Arts Ground, he spotted Li Cheng and Song Que before Song Wuliang approached Li Dashan and spoke about joining the next conscription.

• Ding Yuan and the other disciples returned after scattering the bandits, and Li Dashan told them to continue without pursuing the fugitives.
• Li Dashan’s party reached Dongting County, where County Yamen staff welcomed them and led them to the posthouse.
• Fan Sheng took Deng Qing around the city, and Deng Qing asked several butcher shops about the price and supply of offal.
• Deng Qing returned to the posthouse and practiced the Violet Palace Method before Li Dashan led the party to a banquet at the Martial Arts Ground.
• Deng Qing saw Li Cheng, Song Que, and Song Wuliang at the gathering, and Song Wuliang congratulated Li Dashan before saying he had accepted the next conscription.

At a banquet honoring those who fought the Donghuang Cult, officials arranged for young martial artists to demonstrate their skills ahead of the Martial Dao Trial. Deng Qing impressed Li Dashan by correctly predicting Zhao Tang would defeat Sun Hui, and Zhao Tang ended the chapter challenging another fighter.

• Song Wuliang told Deng Qing to take care of the Blacksteel Soft Sword, and Zhang Yan explained how Deng Qing had won it from Song Que at Blackwind Ravine.
• Pacification Commissioner Xia Chun addressed the gathering, paid tribute to the fallen, and proposed that young martial artists spar for entertainment.
• Zhao Tang demonstrated his boxing, then challenged Sun Hui, who was one layer higher in Skin Tempering.
• Li Dashan asked Deng Qing who would win, and Deng Qing predicted Zhao Tang because his technique flowed better than Sun Hui's.
• Zhao Tang exploited Sun Hui's openings and struck him in the chest, winning the match.
• Zhao Tang invited another martial artist from Everjoy County to fight him.

Li Cheng defeated Zhao Tang in a saber match by using the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude to disrupt his attacks. Song Que then challenged Li Cheng with the Golden Saber Sect’s Shadow Saber, leaving the fight unresolved as Li Dashan recognized the secret art.

• Zhao Tang challenged Li Cheng, but Li Cheng’s Family Secret Hand forced him onto the defensive.
• Zhao Tang drew a saber, and Li Cheng used the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude to knock it from his hand and win.
• Song Wuliang urged Xia Chun to let martial-circle talents compete, and Song Que challenged Li Cheng.
• Song Que fought Li Cheng with the Shadow Saber, whose shifting blade images made its true edge difficult to judge.
• Li Dashan recognized the Shadow Saber as a guarded Golden Saber Sect art.

Deng Qing refused to answer Song Que’s public provocation, choosing not to risk his quiet progress for fame. After the banquet, Fan Sheng took Deng Qing aside for noodles and asked why he had held back.

• Li Cheng lost to Song Que, whose saber disarmed him and stopped at his chest.
• Deng Qing declined to fight Song Que, while Li Dashan also stopped Ding Yuan and Zhang Yan from challenging him.
• Song Que silently glared at Deng Qing but retreated when Song Wuliang ordered him back after Xia Chun frowned.
• Deng Qing and the others left the banquet with Li Dashan and headed for the relay station after the demonstrations ended.
• Fan Sheng led Deng Qing to a lakeside noodle stall and asked why he had not fought earlier.

Deng Qing learned more about Li Dashan from Fan Sheng before Song Que ambushed him in a quiet alley to reclaim the Blacksteel Soft Sword. Their fierce fight left Song Que’s attack pressing forward, while Deng Qing remained unharmed.

• Deng Qing told Fan Sheng he regretted refusing Song Que’s challenge, then asked about Li Dashan and learned of his strict, upright nature and powerful Personal Disciples.
• Deng Qing and Fan Sheng finished their meal, and Fan Sheng went to buy sugar figurines for his son while Deng Qing headed back alone.
• Song Que confronted Deng Qing in a dark alley and demanded both a rematch and the return of the Blacksteel Soft Sword.
• Deng Qing refused to give up the sword, and Song Que attacked with his Shadow Saber technique.
• Deng Qing met Song Que’s saber with the Blacksteel Soft Sword, and they exchanged more than a dozen moves as their weapons scarred the alley walls.
• Song Que poured Qi-Blood into a rising saber strike, but Deng Qing turned aside and swept his sword tip silently past Song Que’s side.

Deng Qing defeated Song Que without leaving a visible mark, then revealed that he had secretly cut Song Que’s clothes to shreds. Back in his peaceful routine, Deng Qing continued training and steadily improving his martial arts.

• Deng Qing ended his fight with Song Que and thanked him before leaving the alley, while Song Que could not tell who had won.
• Song Que’s clothes fell apart outside the alley, leaving him naked and furious as he swore the Golden Saber Sect disciples to secrecy.
• Deng Qing practiced the Tiger-Subduing Fist and saw that his progress had reached 78% at grand mastery.
• Deng Qing ate a bowl of braised pork and reflected on his settled routine of training, eating, and occasionally practicing swordplay with Li Cheng.