Chapter Summaries

Gu Sheng tracked the wounded Lu Yue through the forest and waited until her poison and injuries left her vulnerable before attacking with his bow. After pursuing and repeatedly shooting her, he killed her before she could reach Canghe County.

• Gu Sheng followed Lu Yue in secret, planning to strike when her injuries worsened.
• Lu Yue tried to bluff that someone was following her, then stopped to contain the poison spreading through her body.
• Gu Sheng ambushed Lu Yue with a heavy arrow, piercing and breaking her left arm.
• Lu Yue recognized Gu Sheng and fled while he shot at her, ignoring her pleas, insults, and threats from the Lu Family.
• Gu Sheng's final arrow pierced Lu Yue's heart, and he pulled it from her chest to ensure she died.

After surviving Liu Yuanhu’s attack on the Black Market Auction, Gu Sheng looted Lu Yue’s corpse and returned to Gu Family Village with a Blood Strengthening Pill, silver, and a martial arts manual. Liu Yuanhu and Zhao Honglie separately plotted their next moves, while Gu Sheng prepared to use the pill to strengthen himself.

• Gu Sheng killed Lu Yue, took her Blood Strengthening Pill, silver, other pills, and silk weapon, then erased the evidence and left the auction site.
• Liu Yuanhu’s men reported that the Black Sand Gang had been mostly wiped out and presented him with the auction’s seized wealth and the Heart of the Demon Fox.
• Zhao Honglie concluded that Liu Yuanhu’s raid was a test and stopped the Black Sand Gang from rushing into war, but he planned to congratulate the county magistrate in person.
• Zhao Honglie entered a secret chamber and freed a chained man, promising to provide food and resources in exchange for the man’s help.
• Gu Sheng returned safely to Gu Family Village with the Flying Thunder Leg manual, a Blood Strengthening Pill, and more than three hundred taels of silver, then took out the pill to use it.

Gu Sheng swallowed a Blood Strengthening Pill, accelerated his cultivation, and learned the Flying Thunder Leg while tensions grew between Liu Yuanhu and Zhao Honglie. After half a month of training, Gu Sheng transformed his blood and qi and advanced to minor completion in the Blood Refining Realm.

• Gu Sheng absorbed the Blood Strengthening Pill and greatly strengthened his blood and qi, bringing him close to a breakthrough.
• Gu Sheng began studying the Flying Thunder Leg while Zhao Honglie visited Liu Yuanhu and presented him with a bloodied spiked-ball gift as a warning.
• Liu Yuanhu announced plans to establish Blade Hunters and told Zhang Guangqun to prepare them while keeping his conflict with the Black Sand Gang in check for now.
• Gu Sheng trained for ten days, reached entry level in the Flying Thunder Leg, and continued improving his other martial arts.
• Gu Sheng combined the Iron Stone Fist with the Flying Thunder Leg and transformed his blood and qi, reaching minor completion in the Blood Refining Realm.

Gu Sheng secured a new source of cultivation medicine after finding the black market closed, then quietly strengthened himself in Gu Family Village. After advancing Iron Stone Fist to Tier 1 Mighty Strength, he considered joining the Blade Hunters to replenish his nearly exhausted funds.

• Gu Sheng discovered that the black market remained closed and bought Blood Nourishing Powder through a contact serving Alchemist Ge Qing, learning about the more potent Blood Strengthening Powder.
• Gu Sheng kept cultivating in Gu Family Village while others dismissed him as the unsociable Martial Madman, and he finally developed Iron Stone Fist's Tier 1 Mighty Strength special effect.
• Gu Sheng assessed his growing strength and decided to focus next on Body Shifting and Bone Changing Art, Snake Breathing Technique, and Flying Thunder Leg.
• Gu Sheng learned from Gu Xiaojiang that Liu Yuanhu had established the Blade Hunters to enlist other factions and independent cultivators against Canghe County's bandits.
• After another half month of training, Gu Sheng found his money nearly exhausted and decided the Blade Hunters might be a suitable way to earn resources.

Gu Sheng unlocked Tier 1 Body Strengthening, mastered the Snake Breathing Technique, and became a Blade Hunter under the alias Butcher. After accepting a bounty on Xiong Jianmei, he tracked the wanted swordsman to Blackwater Town, where he found him holding a dead child.

• Gu Sheng discovered that Body Shifting and Bone Changing Art could increase his size, strength, and toughness, while mastery of Snake Breathing Technique let him conceal his vitality as if dead.
• Gu Sheng disguised himself as a brutish giant, collected his custom great axe from Blacksmith, and paid the remaining eighty taels of silver.
• Gu Sheng presented a wanted criminal’s head at the county yamen, qualified as a Blade Hunter under the name Butcher, and accepted the mission to hunt Xiong Jianmei.
• Gu Sheng traveled to Blackwater Town and found Xiong Jianmei holding a child’s corpse in a slum.

Gu Sheng killed Xiong Jianmei, completed more Blade Hunter missions as the feared Great Axe Butcher, and steadily advanced his cultivation. As Canghe County grew more orderly, he remained wary of the Black Sand Gang’s suspicious silence.

• Gu Sheng defeated Xiong Jianmei, who revealed a concealed flexible sword and near-Blood Refining strength, then killed him with a blood-and-qi-enhanced axe strike.
• At Xiong Jianmei’s request, Gu Sheng buried Xiao Nian, collected his bounty from the Canghe County government office, and returned to Gu Family Village.
• Gu Sheng set stricter rules for future Blade Hunter missions, prioritizing safety and limiting himself to targets whose strength he could manage.
• Over the next few months, Gu Sheng completed three missions and gained renown among the Blade Hunters as the Great Axe Butcher, while refusing attempts to befriend him.
• Gu Sheng continued cultivating, advancing Flying Thunder Leg to Major Success and Snake Breathing Technique to 51% at Perfection, and expected to reach Major Success in the Blood Refining Realm before the New Year.
• As the Blade Hunters curbed banditry in Canghe County, Gu Sheng watched the Black Sand Gang’s unusual silence and suspected it was preparing a major move.

Gu Sheng accepted a dangerous Blade Hunter mission for the Golden Body Art and tracked Poison Bee Guest Lian Xubai to Tianze Village. He arrived as Lian Xubai fled a fight with the Three Fiends of Gale and blocked his escape.

• Gu Xiaojiang told Gu Sheng he wanted to become a Blade Hunter, but Gu Sheng advised him to cultivate until he reached the Blood Refining Realm.
• Gu Sheng accepted the bounty on Lian Xubai, tempted by the reward of two hundred taels of silver and the Golden Body Art, while Liu Yuanhu and Zhang Guangqun planned to use the mission to test and screen the Blade Hunters.
• Gu Sheng investigated Lian Xubai's movements through Baishi Town, Blackwater Town, and nearby settlements, then deduced that Lian Xubai was hiding with his mother in Tianze Village.
• The Three Fiends of Gale confronted Lian Xubai in Tianze Village, and Lian Xubai fled toward Gu Sheng after his mother was killed.
• Gu Sheng drew his great axe and blocked Lian Xubai's path, prompting Lian Xubai to recognize the Great Axe Butcher.

Gu Sheng killed Lian Xubai to claim the Poison Bee Guest bounty, then fought and defeated the Three Fiends of Gale when they demanded a share. After slaughtering them, he left with their valuables while the other Blade Hunters stood aside.

• Gu Sheng caught up with the wounded Lian Xubai, crippled his arm, and killed him with a fist strike to the chest.
• Gu Sheng took the Poison Bee Guest's head and found the Poison Bee Guest's personal notes on raising poisonous bees.
• The Three Fiends of Gale confronted Gu Sheng and demanded most of the reward silver, offering him a copy of the Golden Body Art instead.
• Gu Sheng refused to share the bounty, and Li Wen, Li Wu, and Li Ping surrounded him and attacked together.
• Gu Sheng used Tier 1 Body Strengthening to break the brothers' combined attack, then killed Li Ping, Li Wen, and Li Wu in succession.
• Zhou Song and the other Blade Hunters let Gu Sheng pass after he collected the valuables from the Three Fiends of Gale's bodies.

Gu Sheng returned to Canghe County with Poison Bee Guest’s head, collected the rewards, and later broke through to Blood Refining Realm mastery while cultivating in seclusion. As he resolved to grow stronger, a series of violent incidents plunged the county into turmoil and left him expecting a major conflict.

• Gu Sheng turned in Poison Bee Guest’s head and received the bounty and a Golden Body Art manual that lacked the promised cultivation insights.
• Zhang Guangqun learned that Gu Sheng had killed the Three Fiends of Gale and began considering how to bring the powerful Blade Hunter under his command.
• Gu Sheng returned to Gu Family Village, counted his gains, and studied Lian Xubai’s notes on raising venomous bees before focusing on the Golden Body Art.
• Gu Sheng combined the effects of his three Body Tempering Martial Arts and broke through to Blood Refining Realm mastery.
• Blade Hunter Zhou Song died in an ambush, Autumn Water Sword Yan Heng escaped execution, Cao Shiduan’s former residence burned, and rebel troops attacked Baishi Town.
• Liu Yuanhu shut down gambling dens, brothels, and the black market, striking the Black Sand Gang especially hard; Gu Sheng sensed a storm coming and resolved to strengthen himself.

Gu Sheng bought a Blood Strengthening Pill and began preparing for the Bone Refining Realm, but he could not find the blacksmith he hoped to hire. As he quietly cultivated in Gu Family Village, the Black Sand Gang resumed collecting its annual tribute.

• Gu Sheng collected a Blood Strengthening Pill from Ding An, learned that buyers had to meet Alchemist Ge Qing in person to obtain Bone Protecting Pills, and found the blacksmith’s courtyard empty.
• Leng Yun and Han Lu discussed the Black Sand Gang’s secret heavy-armor operation and considered using a modified Blood Boiling Pill to force the captive blacksmiths to work faster.
• Gu Sheng took the Blood Strengthening Pill and gained about forty percent progress toward Blood Refining Realm perfection, then decided to cultivate with Blood Strengthening Powder while waiting for another pill.
• Gu Sheng stayed in Gu Family Village and trained as Liu Yuanhu tightened his campaign against rebel remnants and Gu Xiaojiang entered seclusion to break past his flesh-and-blood limit.
• The Black Sand Gang arrived at Gu Family Village to collect its annual tribute.

Gu Family Village refused to pay the Black Sand Gang’s increased annual tribute, and Han Lu threatened retaliation. Gu Sheng, posing as the Butcher, ambushed and killed Han Lu and his men, fulfilling his promise to Du Jiangbo while arranging for the Black Sand Gang to blame Liu Yuanhu.

• Gu Changming told Han Lu that Gu Family Village would no longer pay tribute, and Han Lu left after threatening the village.
• Han Lu learned that nearby villages and forts had also refused tribute and decided to target Gu Family Village to intimidate them.
• Gu Sheng intercepted Han Lu’s party as the Butcher, claimed to be carrying out a mission, and attacked when Han Lu refused to hand over his confidant.
• Gu Sheng slaughtered the Black Sand Gang members and killed Han Lu, fulfilling his promise to avenge Du Jiangbo.
• A wounded gang member survived and left with Han Lu’s head, while Gu Sheng revealed that he had deliberately spared him to implicate Liu Yuanhu and mislead the gang.

After killing Han Lu and framing Liu Yuanhu, Gu Sheng advanced the Snake Breathing Technique to its first special-effect level, gaining the ability to disguise his cultivation and amplify his aura. The Black Sand Gang and Liu Yuanhu prepared for their growing conflict, while Gu Family Village learned Han Lu was dead and remained on guard.

• Gu Sheng considered the spoils from Han Lu's group, then used his training to advance the Snake Breathing Technique to First Order Snake Breathing.
• Zhao Honglie gave Wang Chong half a month to contact the Fire Worship Cult, then learned Han Lu and his men had been killed by the Butcher and called a meeting of the gang's leaders.
• Liu Yuanhu realized the Butcher had framed him for Han Lu's death, but chose to let the Black Sand Gang believe it and focused on securing Chiyun Guard support.
• Gu Sheng joined Gu Family Village's patrol as the villagers awaited a possible Black Sand Gang attack.
• Gu Family Village learned from the county magistrate that Han Lu had died at the Butcher's hands, and the Great Clan Elder ordered the village to maintain its patrols.

Helian Tielan secretly joined the blacksmiths planning an escape while Wang Chong contacted the Fire Worship Cult on Zhao Honglie’s behalf. Gu Sheng recognized Wang Chong, ambushed him, and captured him alive after defeating him.

• A blacksmith died from exhaustion, and Leng Yun ordered the remaining workers to meet their armor quota or starve.
• Helian Tielan secretly forced the life-draining potion from her body and exchanged escape information with other blacksmiths through their hammering.
• Wang Chong saw a response to his Fire Worship Cult contact mark and left to report that he had arranged a midnight meeting.
• Gu Sheng recognized Wang Chong and followed him, remembering the harm Wang Chong had caused Gu Family Village.
• Gu Sheng ambushed Wang Chong on the road, overpowered him, and stopped short of killing him when Wang Chong claimed he had useful information.
• Wang Chong tried to blind Gu Sheng with dirt and stab him, but Gu Sheng shattered his dagger, broke his limbs, and carried him away for interrogation.

Gu Sheng killed Wang Chong and learned of the Black Sand Gang’s ties to the Fire Worship Cult, then strengthened himself by mastering Wrathblood Three Forms. As Zhao Honglie prepared to forge armor for a desperate fight against Liu Yuanhu, Helian Tielan and a fellow smith began planning their escape.

• Gu Sheng killed Wang Chong, learned the Fire Worship Cult contact details and the Chiyun Guard’s strength, but decided not to risk meeting the cult’s envoy.
• Gu Sheng gained Wrathblood Three Forms from Wang Chong and, after nearly half a month of training, reached minor mastery and discovered it could use Chopping Wood’s Rend effect.
• Gu Sheng learned that Liu Yuanhu’s opportunity for Gu Xiaojiang involved joining the Chiyun Guard, then continued training and estimated he could reach Blood Refining Realm perfection within six weeks.
• Zhao Honglie learned Wang Chong had vanished and ordered Xu Zhaoming and Leng Yun to forge three hundred sets of heavy armor for a possible battle against Liu Yuanhu.
• Helian Tielan accepted half a bun from a young smith, and the two exchanged a plan to escape together as the Black Sand Gang’s defenses weakened.

Liu Yuanhu tried to lure the elusive butcher out with tempting Blade Hunter tasks, but Gu Sheng recognized the trap and avoided them. After half a month of cultivation, Gu Sheng completed Blood Refining and decided to seek Bone Protecting Pills from Alchemist Ge Qing so he could advance to Bone Refining.

• Liu Yuanhu ordered Zhang Guangqun to post Blade Hunter tasks with rare rewards to draw out the butcher, whom he suspected was skilled at disguise and hiding among the hunters.
• Gu Sheng recognized the tasks as bait, declined to accept one, and passed Zhang Guangqun without revealing his identity.
• After half a month of cultivation with Blood Strengthening Powder, Gu Sheng reached the complete stage of the Blood Refining Realm and gained three thousand pounds of strength.
• Gu Sheng assessed his martial arts and concluded that his abilities could rival a Copper Bone Realm fighter, though defeating one would be difficult.
• Gu Sheng decided to pursue Bone Protecting Pills from Alchemist Ge Qing before considering contact with the Fire Worship Cult.

Gu Sheng bought a Bone Protecting Pill from Ge Qing after agreeing to answer a call for help, while Ge Qing recognized him despite his disguise. Elsewhere, Helian Tielan, Pei Xuanxi, and the other blacksmiths rebelled against the Black Sand Gang, and several figures fled as Leng Yun rushed to stop them.

• Gu Sheng decided to seek Bone Protecting Pills because tempering his bones without them was too slow, then visited Ge Qing under the identity Li Hu.
• Ge Qing offered Gu Sheng three ways to obtain pills, and Gu Sheng chose to pay three thousand taels for one pill and promise to help Ge Qing’s people once if needed.
• Ge Qing recognized Gu Sheng’s true identity through his bone age and saw that he was a seventeen-year-old martial artist at the peak of the Blood Refining Realm.
• Helian Tielan, Pei Xuanxi, and the other blacksmiths planned to revolt while the Black Sand Gang members drank, then kicked over furnaces and attacked their guards.
• Leng Yun ordered his men not to kill the blacksmiths and helped suppress the uprising, but several figures escaped, prompting him to pursue them before Liu Yuanhu could learn what happened.

Gu Sheng took a Bone Protecting Pill and discovered it greatly accelerated his bone tempering. On his way back to the manor, he found Helian Tielan cornered by the Black Sand Gang and, disguised as the Butcher, killed the pursuers and Leng Yun, leaving Helian Tielan to mourn Pei Xuanxi and take revenge on Leng Yun’s corpse.

• Gu Sheng used the Bone Protecting Pill while practicing Iron Stone Fist and realized he could temper his bones far faster, though he needed another way to obtain more pills.
• Pei Xuanxi and Helian Tielan fled the Black Sand Gang until Pei Xuanxi jumped down to hold off their pursuers and let Helian Tielan escape.
• Leng Yun intercepted Helian Tielan and revealed that Pei Xuanxi had been killed, then demanded that she return to forging armor for the Black Sand Gang.
• Gu Sheng disguised himself as the Butcher and attacked with his greatbow, killing the gang members surrounding Helian Tielan.
• Gu Sheng defeated and killed Leng Yun in combat, then accepted Helian Tielan’s thanks and allowed her to take revenge on Leng Yun’s corpse.

After rescuing Helian Tielan, Gu Sheng arranged for her to forge him a giant axe and heavy armor and learned the Helian Weapon Forging Art in exchange for promising to kill Zhao Honglie when his strength was sufficient. With his supply of Bone Protecting Pills running low, he sought contact with the Fire Worship Cult and went to meet them near Clear Peace Lake.

• Helian Tielan buried Pei Xuanxi and thanked Gu Sheng for saving her before taking him to her hidden residence in Canghe County.
• Zhao Honglie ordered the Black Sand Gang to continue forging armor and privately checked the black seed he kept as his final trump card.
• After recovering, Helian Tielan planned a detachable giant axe and flexible heavy armor for Gu Sheng, then offered to teach him the Helian Weapon Forging Art in exchange for his promise to kill Zhao Honglie.
• Gu Sheng learned the Helian Weapon Forging Art, while Helian Tielan exposed the Black Sand Gang's armor operation to Liu Yuanhu, who showed no reaction.
• Gu Sheng realized his Bone Protecting Pills were running out and decided to contact the Fire Worship Cult; after receiving a meeting signal, he went to Clear Peace Lake in disguise and hid among the reeds to observe the contact.

Gu Sheng deceived the Fire Worship Cultists into arranging three Bone Protecting Pills and spent the following days cultivating and forging a new great axe with Helian Tielan. On the night of the seven-day meeting, he arrived at Qingping Lake and noticed the Cultists had brought hidden reinforcements, leaving the exchange uncertain.

• Gu Sheng posed as Wang Da Niu, passed the Fire Worship Cultists’ tests, and offered to bring Zhao Honglie and the Black Sand Gang into the cult in exchange for three Bone Protecting Pills.
• The cult’s senior peripheral member agreed to bring the pills in seven days and ordered his followers to investigate Gu Sheng and prepare to seize him if he was plotting against them.
• Gu Sheng returned to Gu Family Village, resolved to cut ties with the cult after obtaining the pills, and continued cultivating while monitoring the county’s great clans.
• Helian Tielan finished forging Gu Sheng’s great axe from cold iron and black rock crystal, and Gu Sheng named it Thirstblood.
• Gu Sheng noticed that the Zhao, Lu, and Sun Families seemed to be moving their people and assets, while his bone tempering progressed and the medicinal effect of his Bone Protecting Pill weakened.
• On the final day, Gu Sheng perfected the Wrathblood Three Forms, then went to Qingping Lake and saw two hidden figures arrive before the Fire Worship Cultists, revealing that the Cultists did not fully trust him.

Gu Sheng posed as Wang Da Niu to infiltrate a Fire Worship Cult meeting, then ambushed and killed all four cultists when they gathered at Qingping Lake. Back in Gu Family Village, he sorted his spoils, including three Bone Protecting Pills and a Blood Revitalizing Technique manual.

• Gu Sheng learned the Fire Worship Cult had no Bone Refining Realm expert stationed in Canghe County and used his disguise as Wang Da Niu to meet Black Eagle at Qingping Lake.
• Gu Sheng tricked Black Eagle into lowering his guard, then attacked with the Thirstblood Great Axe when Black Eagle offered him only two Bone Protecting Pills.
• Two hidden Fire Worship Cult disciples and another fighter joined the battle, but Gu Sheng redirected his attack to kill the ambushers before defeating Black Eagle and the remaining man.
• Gu Sheng returned to Gu Family Village, confirmed he had left no trace, and found three Bone Protecting Pills, Blood Boiling Pills, and a Blood Revitalizing Technique manual among his spoils.