Chapter Summaries

After weighing Shopkeeper Zheng’s advice, Qin Geng chose the Way Cultivator path and advanced from Carriage Driver. He unlocked the Supernatural Ability Divine Stride Guardian, underwent a powerful bodily transformation, and learned that more supernatural abilities awaited at higher levels.

• Shopkeeper Zheng explained the possible strengths and risks of the Way Cultivator and Still Cultivator paths, and Qin Geng decided the Way Cultivator best suited his need to survive.
• Qin Geng left Hundred Herb Hall, circled Tianjin’s inner city, and chose Way Cultivator through the Book of a Hundred Trades.
• The Book of a Hundred Trades advanced Qin Geng’s Carriage Driver profession to Way Cultivator Level 40 and transformed his former core talents into the Supernatural Ability Divine Stride Guardian.
• Qin Geng’s legs, spine, blood and qi, and digestion were strengthened as the new ability remade his body.
• The Book of a Hundred Trades listed Avert Calamity and Attract Good Fortune, Shrink the Earth to an Inch, and Heaven at the End of an Inch as abilities he could unlock at higher levels.

After gaining the [Way Cultivator] Supernatural Ability, Qin Geng raced across Tianjin and discovered that his instinctive mastery of movement might let him create his own footwork technique. He returned to Xu Jin's Shanty, saw his experience rise, and went outside to find the area packed with people.

• Qin Geng tested his new speed by racing through Tianjin's districts and counties before returning to Xu Jin's Shanty.
• Qin Geng realized that moving on foot had become instinctive and believed he could develop a footwork technique of his own, inspired by Sun Lutang's Eight Steps Chasing the Cicada.
• Qin Geng checked the Book of a Hundred Trades and saw that [Way Cultivator] had gained more than twenty experience points from his journey.
• Qin Geng decided to focus on organizing the newly acquired South City Carriage House territory.
• Qin Geng heard a crowd arriving outside and stepped out to find the open ground packed with people.

Qin Geng welcomed the new rickshaws and established his authority over the carriage drivers by promising his old companions ownership and control of valuable work. He proposed moving them into a shared courtyard after New Year, and Xu Chun said the men had already saved enough to pay for it themselves.

• Jin He presented Qin Geng with twenty new rickshaws and addressed him as “Fifth Master,” prompting Qin Geng to insist on the new hierarchy among his followers.
• Qin Geng gathered the men at Xu Jin's Shanty, took the seat of honor, and distributed one new rickshaw to each of his old companions.
• Qin Geng said the old rickshaws would be put under his name and that his own people would retain Xun River Wharf work and first claim on monthly household contracts.
• Qin Geng proposed renting a larger courtyard after New Year so the drivers could bring their families to live there.
• Xu Chun told Qin Geng that the men had saved enough from their recent work to rent the courtyard without his help.

Qin Geng appointed Xu Chun to collect dues from South City's carriage drivers and arranged for Li Gou to keep the accounts. The next day, he gathered the shanty bosses and independent drivers, announced that the South City Carriage House would charge thirty percent in dues, and warned them not to pay less.

• Qin Geng asked Xu Chun to manage the dues collected from South City's carriage drivers, explaining that Li Gou would record payments and debts.
• Xu Chun accepted the responsibility and vowed to protect the money and collect every debt.
• The next day, Qin Geng assembled South City's shanty bosses and independent carriage drivers at Xu Jin's Shanty.
• Qin Geng announced that the South City Carriage House would take thirty percent in dues instead of the previous sixty percent.
• Qin Geng warned that anyone who secretly paid less would face punishment, and the crowd fell silent.

Qin Geng secured the South City Carriage Drivers’ loyalty by explaining the thirty-percent share, promising protection, and establishing a Benevolence Fund with the remaining ten percent. After giving Li Gou money for his sick mother, he laid down strict rules, and the drivers pledged to follow him.

• Qin Geng told the shed bosses that he would take twenty percent of their earnings in return for protecting South City Carriage Drivers from bullies and thugs.
• Qin Geng said the remaining ten percent would fund help with weddings, funerals, illness, injuries, and holiday provisions.
• Qin Geng gave Li Gou a silver dollar from the Benevolence Fund and told him to get medicine for his sick mother at Hundred Herb Hall.
• Li Gou knelt and thanked Qin Geng, while the gathered drivers praised Qin Geng as a righteous man.
• Qin Geng warned the drivers against cheating or bringing shame on the Carriage House, and demonstrated his strength by breaking the table.
• The shed bosses and drivers promised to enforce Qin Geng’s rules and follow his lead, securing his foothold in South City.

Qin Geng visited the Su Residence to tell his aunt about his rise, but learned she was staying at Cold Mountain Temple to pray to a Child-Blessing Carp. After meeting House Guard Zhou, Qin Geng accepted his invitation to cross hands.

• Qin Geng trained at the Ye Residence, delivered Master Zhu Xin's meal, and gained eight points of Way Cultivator experience from the long walk.
• Qin Geng went to the Su Residence to visit Qin Xiu and found Wang He treating him deferentially as Fifth Master Qin.
• Wang He told Qin Geng that Qin Xiu had gone to Cold Mountain Temple to make offerings to its Child-Blessing Carp and would stay until after the Lantern Festival.
• Qin Geng encountered Zhou Yonghe and a disguised woman pulling an empty cart as he was leaving the Su Residence.
• Zhou Yonghe invited Qin Geng to cross hands, and Qin Geng agreed.

Qin Geng sparred with Zhou Yonghe, who recognized his Dragon Tendons and Tiger Bones and offered to take him as a disciple. After learning that Master Ye was already cultivating Qin Geng, Zhou Yonghe instead warned him that foreigners and others were searching Tianjin for his aunt’s switched heirloom, and urged him to publicly claim her family property to protect her.

• Qin Geng crossed hands with Zhou Yonghe, impressed him with his techniques, and stayed on his feet after Zhou Yonghe used Earth Dragon Turns Over to throw him.
• Zhou Yonghe offered to take Qin Geng as his disciple, but Qin Geng explained that he was being evaluated at the Ye Residence after Shopkeeper Lu recommended him.
• Zhou Yonghe recognized that Master Ye was feeding Qin Geng Blood Fare and decided not to interfere with his training, while allowing him to keep studying Xingyi Dragon and Tiger.
• Zhou Yonghe told Qin Geng that his aunt’s heirloom had been switched and that foreigners and others were searching Tianjin for the genuine article.
• Zhou Yonghe urged Qin Geng to make a public scene at the Su Residence over his aunt’s family property so people would learn she no longer had the heirloom and the danger would shift away from her.

On New Year’s Eve, Qin Geng kept Master Zhu Xin company and learned that greater martial training would require wealth and official connections. He trained through the holiday, received a force-control test and a restorative meal from Ye Lanzen, then discovered that swimming rapidly advanced his Way Cultivator profession and wondered whether river work could unlock a Water Cultivator class.

• Qin Geng spent New Year’s Eve with Master Zhu Xin, shared a meal and a bowl of liquor, and heard that higher-level martial resources required official status or a powerful backer.
• Qin Geng practiced his martial techniques in the courtyard, smashed a wooden stump with Tail Scissor, and gained Martial Artist experience.
• Qin Geng arrived at the Ye Residence on New Year’s Day, where Ye Lanzen ordered him to split elm knots with his fists so he could learn precise control of his force.
• Qin Geng ate a medicinal meal that he realized Ye Lanzen had prepared for him, then left the residence to practice swimming at Xun River Wharf.
• Qin Geng adapted to the river current, gained Way Cultivator experience, reached level forty-one, and wondered whether working as a fisherman or ferryman could unlock a Water Cultivator class.

Qin Geng learned the Fisherman trade on the Xun River and discovered that the Dragon King Society controlled local fishing. After helping the carriage drivers settle into a new courtyard, he reaffirmed the Benevolence Fund’s rules and won their trust.

• Qin Geng practiced fishing at Great Willow Shoal, learned that the Dragon King Society forced fishermen to sell their catches cheaply, and encountered Chuanzi on the river.
• Qin Geng sold his catch to the Fishery Enclosure and unlocked the Fisherman profession, which promised the Water Breathing talent at Level 10.
• Qin Geng spent the following days training as a fisherman and practicing his other skills while working at the Ye Residence and caring for Master Xin.
• Xu Chun, Jin He, and Ma Laifu showed Qin Geng a courtyard in Clothes-Washing Lane that the carriage drivers could rent as a new home, but Qin Geng declined to live there and kept a small room for visits.
• Li Gou returned three hundred coins left over from his mother’s medicine to the Benevolence Fund, and Qin Geng praised him and pledged to protect the fund and support the drivers’ families.

Qin Geng unlocked the Fisherman talent Water Breathing, then braved an underground route to retrieve three mysterious objects for Master Zhu Xin. After identifying them, Master Zhu Xin began explaining how they had brought disaster upon his family.

• Qin Geng refined his Bright Force by splitting an elm post cleanly, then went to Xun River Wharf, where Abacus Song suspected he was scouting the river for officials.
• Qin Geng trained in the Xun River until he reached Fisherman level 10 and unlocked Water Breathing.
• Qin Geng returned to town for Lantern Festival sweet rice balls, then told Master Zhu Xin he would retrieve the objects hidden beyond the well.
• Master Zhu Xin explained the underwater route, and Qin Geng used his new talent to reach a dry cave and recover three wooden boxes.
• Qin Geng brought the boxes back to Master Zhu Xin, who revealed a jade thumb ring, a small tripod cauldron, and a Bronze Lotus Throne, then began recounting their origins.

Qin Geng learned the histories of Master Zhu Xin’s three treasured heirlooms and promised to protect them before Master Zhu Xin died peacefully in his sleep. Qin Geng sought Lu Xingmin’s help to arrange an honorable funeral, and Ye Lanzen granted him leave and sent Xiao Wei to assist.

• Master Zhu Xin showed Qin Geng the Cloud-Pattern Jade Thumb Ring, the mysterious cauldron, and the Bronze Lotus Throne, recounting their histories and the Zhu family’s story.
• Qin Geng promised to guard the heirlooms and never sell them to Foreigners, and Master Zhu Xin entrusted the boxes to him.
• Master Zhu Xin died peacefully before dawn, and Qin Geng bowed to him and decided to arrange a grand funeral.
• Qin Geng asked Lu Xingmin for help and committed two hundred silver dollars to give Master Zhu Xin a dignified send-off.
• Qin Geng asked Ye Lanzen for three days off, and Ye Lanzen approved and assigned Xiao Wei to help with the funeral.

Qin Geng and Lu Xingmin arranged a proper funeral for Master Zhu Xin, following Tianjin’s burial customs and asking whether the funeral band could play “Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix.” After Coroner Zhang confirmed that Master Zhu Xin had died peacefully of old age, Qin Geng washed and loosened his body before dressing him in burial clothes.

• Lu Xingmin explained Tianjin’s funeral customs, and Qin Geng asked if they could hire a band to play “Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix.”
• Lu Xingmin explained that the prestigious tune was reserved for people of exceptional virtue or service, then suggested asking older musicians about Master Zhu Xin’s past.
• Xiao Wei returned with Coroner Zhang, who examined Master Zhu Xin and confirmed that he had died peacefully in his sleep.
• Lu Xingmin prepared hot water and incense, and Qin Geng washed Master Zhu Xin’s body and carefully loosened his stiff joints.
• Qin Geng and Lu Xingmin dressed Master Zhu Xin in a new silk burial outfit.

Qin Geng arranged Master Zhu Xin’s funeral with Lu Xingmin and learned that the old man had been a selfless hero who helped many people. As Qin Geng kept vigil through the night, Master Xin’s estranged relatives stayed away, but grateful neighbors and acquaintances began arriving at dawn.

• Lu Xingmin arranged an ice coffin and funeral preparations, while Qin Geng stayed beside Master Zhu Xin’s body.
• Suona Sun arrived, mourned his old friend, and revealed that Master Zhu Xin had fought the Foreigners and spent years helping orphans; he ordered his troupe to play the honored Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix.
• Suona Sun privately asked Qin Geng about the well, and Qin Geng assured him that its mouth was sealed and no one would fall in again.
• Lu Xingmin explained Master Xin’s many good deeds and helped Qin Geng organize the funeral, while Qin Geng assigned Xu Chun, Jin He, Ma Laifu, and Li Gou to assist.
• Master Zhu Xin’s nephew and niece failed to appear for the night vigil, so Qin Geng kept watch alone until dawn, when grateful neighbors and acquaintances began arriving.

Qin Geng held an elaborate funeral for Master Zhu Xin, drawing support from Tianjin’s powerful figures and earning the public’s respect. Madam Cui arrived intending to seize the house, but Qin Geng forced her to kneel as a mourner while the funeral banquet continued.

• Lu Xingmin told Qin Geng he had found a burial site in Origin Mountain, and neighbors and people helped by Master Zhu Xin came to pay their respects.
• South City cart-stand foremen and prominent visitors, including Zheng Tonghe, Third Master Cao, and Daoist Miaoxuan, attended the mourning ceremony.
• Qin Geng placed Master Zhu Xin in a century-old Cypress Coffin, and Qi Hongsheng arrived to offer condolences.
• Ye Lanzen paid his respects and took the seat of honor, causing Abacus Song to conclude that Qin Geng was Ye Lanzen’s final disciple.
• Suona Sun performed “Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix,” and Madam Cui arrived with the House Guard and Black Dogs to claim the house.
• After seeing the assembled dignitaries, Madam Cui abandoned her claim and pretended to mourn; Qin Geng ordered her to kneel by the coffin while he returned to the banquet.

Qin Geng kept Madam Cui kneeling through the night, then prepared Master Zhu Xin’s funeral with Lu Xingmin. The grand procession left Ping'an County Town for Origin Mountain, establishing Master Zhu Xin’s charitable legacy and Qin Geng’s loyalty in the eyes of the town.

• Qin Geng forced Madam Cui to continue kneeling at the mourning hall while he kept vigil and practiced through the cold night.
• Lu Xingmin arranged eight experienced porters, a river route, a memorial portrait, and elaborate paper offerings for Master Zhu Xin’s funeral.
• Qin Geng ordered Madam Cui to carry Master Zhu Xin’s portrait, and Master Zhu Xin’s former beneficiaries arrived to mourn him.
• Qin Geng sealed the coffin and broke the Yin-Yang Basin before the Eight Great Bearers lifted the coffin and the Sun Family Troupe played “Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix.”
• The funeral procession crossed Ping'an County Town amid a crowd of onlookers, who praised Master Zhu Xin’s generosity and Qin Geng’s loyalty.
• Qin Geng led the procession beyond the town toward the Seven Mountains of Tianjin, accompanying Master Zhu Xin to his final resting place.

Qin Geng led Master Zhu Xin’s funeral procession across the Xun River, where a Water Corpse attacked the barge and tried to seize the coffin. Qin Geng caught the falling coffin with one hand as the battle began.

• Qin Xiu arrived at the wharf, learned that Qin Geng had become known as Fifth Master, and recognized him at the head of the funeral barge.
• Master Ye Lanzen praised Qin Geng’s handling of the funeral, while Li Zhizhen and Jiang Hailong watched from a pleasure boat and discussed taking Qin Geng and Master Zhu Xin’s body.
• Qin Geng sensed danger beneath the barge and pulled Lu Xingmin away as a Water Corpse burst onto the deck.
• The Water Corpse attacked the coffin, and Lu Xingmin’s Wolf-Hair Brush failed to stop it as two coffin bearers fled and the coffin began to fall.
• Qin Geng caught the thousand-jin Cypress Wood coffin with one hand before it struck the deck.

Qin Geng fought three Water Corpses while holding Master Xin’s coffin aloft and kept it from touching the deck. After killing all three and resuming the funeral procession, he won the crowd’s acclaim, while Li Zhizhen decided to wait until Qin Geng reached Hidden Force before pursuing him.

• Qin Geng kicked the first Water Corpse away while holding the coffin with one hand, and Daoist Miaoxuan hurried across the river to help him.
• Two more Water Corpses leaped aboard, surrounding Qin Geng as Troupe Leader Sun played music that strengthened his resolve.
• Qin Geng killed the first two Water Corpses with Xingyi strikes, then Lu Xingmin’s Paper Persons distracted the last one long enough for Qin Geng to destroy it with a Tiger Pouncing Strike.
• Qin Geng kept the coffin raised, ordered the porters to lift it, and continued the funeral procession as the crowd cheered him.
• Li Zhizhen called Qin Geng a perfect body and ordered Jiang Hailong not to touch him until he reached Hidden Force.

After Qin Geng and Lu Xingmin burned the Water Corpses, they carried Master Xin’s coffin into Origin Mountain and buried him in a hidden grave. Qin Geng vowed to protect what Master Xin had left behind, then returned to Tanlong Alley with Lu Xingmin and the waiting funeral procession.

• Qin Geng ordered the Water Corpses burned on the riverbank so their poison could not harm anyone downstream.
• Lu Xingmin used his Paper Effigy Maker’s art to carry the funeral offerings, while Qin Geng bore Master Xin’s coffin into Origin Mountain alone with him.
• Lu Xingmin explained that Foreigners had made the Water Corpses from high-level practitioners because they believed Master Xin could help them find a hidden treasure, and he warned that Abacus Song might have withheld the attack’s details.
• Lu Xingmin led Qin Geng through Origin Mountain’s shifting formation to a secluded valley, where Qin Geng buried Zhu Wujun and vowed to finish what his adoptive father had left undone.
• Qin Geng and Lu Xingmin returned at dusk to find Xu Chun, Troupe Leader Sun, and the several hundred mourners still waiting, then traveled back to Tanlong Alley.
• Qin Geng returned alone to his cold, empty room, where Master Xin’s familiar cough and lamp were gone.

After Master Zhu Xin’s funeral, Qin Geng settled the expenses and learned that the Dragon King Society would soon face a crackdown. He returned to training at the Ye Residence, where Ye Lanzen accepted him as his tenth indoor disciple and introduced him to his powerful senior brothers.

• Madam Cui apologized to Qin Geng and left the Zhu Family Old Residence in fear after he sent Master Zhu Xin off properly.
• Li Gou delivered the funeral gift money, and Qin Geng paid Lu Xingmin three hundred and twenty silver dollars for the funeral costs.
• Lu Xingmin told Qin Geng that an order from the capital would soon allow Third Master Cao and others to dismantle the Dragon King Society.
• Qin Geng saw his Martial Artist experience rise after fighting the water corpses and spent the next morning practicing controlled force by splitting wood at the Ye Residence.
• Ye Lanzen invited Qin Geng to lunch with Lu Xingmin and Zheng Tonghe, then accepted him as his tenth indoor disciple after Qin Geng bowed three times.
• Ye Lanzen laid out the sect’s three rules, introduced Qin Geng to his senior brothers, and promised to teach him more Xingyi forms and a leg technique.

After Qin Geng entered Ye Lanzen’s school, Ye Lanzen explained the martial arts realms and trained him through an hour of sparring, helping him advance. Qin Geng’s senior brothers then rejected his plan to take the blame for his aunt’s troubles and prepared to confront the Su Family openly at its Old Master’s birthday banquet.

• Ye Lanzen taught Qin Geng that martial arts depended on developing the body and demonstrated the Dragon and Tiger Forms.
• Ye Lanzen threw Qin Geng repeatedly during sparring, helping him refine his techniques and advance to Level 14 as a Martial Artist with Bright Force.
• Zheng Tonghe gave Qin Geng medicinal liniment, and Qin Geng told Zheng Tonghe and Lu Xingmin he planned to cause a scene at the Su Family to shield his aunt.
• Lu Xingmin proposed making the scene at the Su Family Old Master’s seventieth birthday banquet, after the Dragon King Society matter was settled, and promised to investigate the family and protect Qin Geng’s aunt.
• Qin Geng agreed to his senior brothers’ plan and resolved to let Tianjin see the Ye School’s new disciple.