Chapter Summaries

Xu Mingwei brought two intact Mutant tiger hides to Qingjiang County, where Xu Mingyuan helped him negotiate with Chang Haowen. Chang agreed to pay twelve hundred taels based on the hides’ story and trusted the brothers’ word, while the tiger cub remained at the Xu household.

• Xu Mingwei met Xu Mingyuan in the West Market and told him their father had offered him the money from the hides.
• Xu Mingyuan took Xu Mingwei to the Moon-Rinsing Pavilion to meet Chang Haowen, a contact who could help sell the hides.
• Xu Mingyuan and Xu Mingwei showed Chang the two Mutant tiger hides and explained that the tigers had died protecting their cub.
• Chang valued the hides at twelve hundred taels if the account was true, and Xu Mingyuan offered the cub at home as proof.
• Chang trusted Xu Mingyuan without sending anyone to verify the cub and said he would visit if the Xu Household ever tamed it.

Chang Haowen praised the Xu Household’s potential, while Xu Mingyuan prepared to open the family’s County Seat shop despite the risks of ending their Jade Pear sales to the Xu Lineage. On the eve of the opening, Xu Mao arrived to buy the harvest and insulted Xu Chuan’s children, prompting Bai Jing to rebuke him.

• Chang Haowen discussed the Xu brothers with Xiao Mei and said the household could become an aristocratic clan if its heirs remained capable.
• Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyuan discussed their plans for the Xu Household and its need for a powerful martial artist before Xu Mingwei returned to Dongxi Village.
• Xu Mingyuan arranged the County Seat shop’s opening, bought a nearby residence, and returned to prepare for the Jade Pear harvest despite fearing trouble from the Xu Lineage.
• Xu Mao arrived at the Xu Household with servants to collect Jade Pears while Xu Chuan was away, and Bai Jing welcomed him and the steward.
• Xu Mao demanded to see Xu Mingshu’s white cat, then insulted her and Xu Mingxian, and Bai Jing angrily told him to mind his words.

Xu Chuan refused the Xu Lineage’s demand for the household’s Jade Pears, which were reserved for the opening of his fruit shop in the County Seat. As Xu Mao left for the County Seat despite warnings, Xu Chuan planned to take his children there the next day to watch a show and settle the score.

• Xu Mao insulted Xu Chuan’s family and mistook Xu Mingshu’s white tiger cub for a cat, but Xu Chuan arrived before the dispute escalated.
• Xu Mao demanded the household’s Jade Pears, and Xu Chuan refused, explaining that they were for his fruit shop’s opening.
• Steward Wang took Xu Mao away and reported the failure to Third Master Xu, who decided to send a congratulatory gift to preserve appearances.
• Xu Mao rode to the County Seat, hoping Gan’er’s martial arts prospects would help him retaliate against Xu Chuan’s shop.
• Xu Chuan sent Xu Mingwei to deliver the pears and told Xu Mingxian and Xu Mingshu that he would take them to the County Seat the next day to watch a show.

Xu Chuan brought his family to the County Seat to open a Fruit Shop and invited Yang Zhao to write its inscription. The opening drew prominent guests, but Xu Mao arrived with Xu Zhen and accused Xu Chuan of offending their Xu Lineage, leaving the two Xu family heads facing one another.

• Xu Chuan settled his family into their West Market residence, then went to the County Yamen to invite Yang Zhao to the Fruit Shop opening.
• Yang Zhao agreed to attend, and Chang Haowen watched the opening preparations from a restaurant across the street, wondering whether the Yang Household supported the Xu Household.
• Xu Chuan introduced his children to Yang Zhao, who praised them, gave Xu Mingshu a Jade Pendant, and prepared to write the shop's inscription.
• Xu Mao arrived with Xu Zhen and accused Xu Chuan of mocking the Xu Lineage and intending them harm.
• Xu Chuan greeted Xu Zhen courteously, while Xu Zhen remained wary of him.

At the Xu Household’s opening, Xu Mingxuan won two bouts against the Xu Lineage before Xu Mingwei revealed his strength by easily defeating Xu Gan. The chapter ended with Xu Mingwei challenging Second Master Xu Zhen.

• Xu Zhen offered ten Qi-Blood Pills as a gift and proposed a series of sparring matches between the Xu Household and the Xu Lineage.
• Xu Mingxuan defeated Xu Feng, then broke Xu Wei’s arm at the cost of an internal injury.
• Xu Gan, a Second-Rate Martial Artist from the Black Wind Martial Hall, challenged the Xu Household, and Xu Chuan sent his eldest son, Xu Mingwei, to face him.
• Xu Mingwei caught Xu Gan’s punch, forced him into a split, and then sent him flying with a kick-blocking counter.
• Xu Mingwei asked Xu Zhen to spar with him.

Xu Mingwei defeated Xu Zhen in one punch, while Xu Chuan’s guest Yang Zhao revealed himself as Qingjiang County’s County Magistrate’s Deputy and had Xu Mao arrested for insulting him. The Xu Household’s Fruit Shop opened successfully, and its growing reputation established the family among Qingjiang’s New Aristocracy.

• Xu Mingwei challenged Xu Zhen and sent the veteran fighter stumbling back with one punch, astonishing the onlookers.
• Xu Zhen gave Xu Mingwei a Small Porcelain Bottle, then led the Xu Lineage members back to the Black Wind Martial Hall, leaving Xu Mao behind.
• Xu Mao insulted Yang Zhao and invoked the County Magistrate’s Deputy’s name, but patrolling Yamen Runners recognized Yang Zhao, who ordered Xu Mao arrested.
• Chen Daming took Xu Mao toward the County Yamen, while Steward Wang abandoned his gift delivery to report the arrest to the Xu Lineage.
• Xu Chuan’s family discussed his connection to Yang Zhao, and Xu Chuan warned them not to misuse the official’s name.
• The Fruit Shop drew crowds, Xu Mingwei’s reputation spread, and the Xu Household became part of Qingjiang County’s New Aristocracy.

The Xu Household used its ties to Yang Zhao and Xu Chuan’s business ideas to expand across Qingjiang County, becoming one of the county’s richest families. Three years later, Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingshu visited the Yang Residence, where Xu Mingwei invited the Yang family to the Xu Household’s Founding a Clan ceremony.

• The Xu Lineage warned Third Master Xu to control Xu Mao and ordered its members not to provoke the rising Xu Household; after Xu Mao returned from prison and insulted his father, Third Master Xu broke his legs.
• Xu Chuan urged Xu Mingyuan to use the household’s friendship with Yang Zhao to build partnerships, then gave him business plans and recipes for new ventures.
• Xu Mingyuan opened and expanded restaurants, a distillery, clothing and shoe shops, and a perfume shop, with Yang Zhao helping resolve obstacles that did not involve breaking the law.
• Over three years, the Xu Household built a wide business network, earned tens of thousands of taels a month, and hired hundreds of workers, servants, and guards.
• Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingshu visited the Yang Residence with their Red-Gold-Eyed White Tiger, where Yang Shichang teased Xu Mingwei about marrying Yang Ronghua.
• Xu Mingwei gave Madam Yang an invitation to the Xu Household’s Founding a Clan ceremony, and Yang Shichang offered to take him to see Yang Ronghua.

Xu Mingwei learned that Qi-Inducing Pills could help him reach Xiantian and promised to marry Yang Ronghua after meeting Xu Chuan’s requirements. Meanwhile, Yang Zhao faced pressure to secure the Commandery Commandant post through a Wen Household marriage alliance, but he decided to seek another way rather than sacrifice his daughter’s match with Xu Mingwei.

• Yang Shichang told Xu Mingwei that Qi-Inducing Pills could aid a breakthrough to Xiantian and suggested that marriage to Yang Ronghua might help him obtain them.
• Xu Mingwei and Yang Ronghua affirmed their affection, and Xu Mingwei promised to marry her after reaching Xiantian and winning Xu Chuan’s approval.
• Xu Chuan agreed to ask about Qi-Inducing Pills and told Xu Mingwei to prepare for the Xu Household’s clan founding ceremony.
• Yang Zhao learned he could return to the Commandery Seat and compete for Commandery Commandant with Wen Household support, which required a marriage alliance involving both Yang Chang'er and Yang Ronghua.
• Madam Yang urged Yang Zhao to honor Yang Ronghua’s understanding with Xu Mingwei, and Yang Zhao resolved to discuss marrying another clan daughter or an adopted daughter into the Wen Household.

Yang Zhao arranged for Yang Ronghua to marry Xu Mingwei, using the engagement as a cover to escape the Wen Household alliance, while Yang Shichang remained bound to an arranged clan marriage. Xu Chuan learned about the Commandery Seat’s clan rankings, and the families prepared to announce the marriage at the Xu Household’s Founding a Clan ceremony, which had now arrived.

• Yang Zhao persuaded Yang Wenfeng to accept Yang Rongchun as the bride for the Wen Household alliance instead of Yang Ronghua.
• Yang Zhao told Xu Chuan that he had claimed Ronghua was already engaged to Xu Mingwei, and Xu Chuan agreed to help keep the story consistent.
• Yang Zhao explained the nine informal ranks of Aristocratic Clans and revealed that the Yang Household was Sixth Rank.
• Xu Chuan and Bai Jing brought the Three Letters and Six Rites to the Yang Residence, and both families set Xu Mingwei and Yang Ronghua’s wedding for the second day of the second month.
• Yang Shichang warned Xu Mingwei to treat Ronghua well, and Xu Chuan decided to announce the marriage at the Xu Household’s Founding a Clan ceremony.
• The day of the Xu Household’s Founding a Clan ceremony arrived.

Xu Chuan and his family hosted officials, clan leaders, and prominent guests for the founding of the Xu Clan and the opening of its ancestral hall. After the ceremonies, the gathered guests reflected on the Xu Household’s rise and the achievements of Xu Chuan’s five children.

• Chen Ergou and Chen Daming arrived with their families, and Xu Mingyuan greeted them before directing them to Uncle Chen, who would preside over the ceremony.
• At noon, Xu Chuan and the other Xu Clan descendants offered sacrifices to Heaven and Earth as Uncle Chen read the invocation.
• Uncle Chen recited a prayer for the newly built ancestral hall, then announced its opening as servants carried the ancestral tablets inside.
• Guests discussed the Xu Household’s humble origins and praised Xu Mingwei, Xu Mingyuan, Xu Mingxuan, Xu Mingshu, and Xu Mingxian for their accomplishments and reputations.

The Xu Clan celebrated its recognition as an aristocratic clan with a banquet, where Xu Chuan announced Xu Mingwei’s upcoming marriage to Yang Zhao’s daughter. After the guests departed, Uncle Chen asked Xu Chuan to accept the Chen Household as vassals, and Xu Chuan agreed on the condition that the Chen sons proved loyal and diligent.

• Xu Chuan hosted the inauguration banquet and announced that Xu Mingwei would marry Yang Zhao’s daughter on the second day of the second month next year.
• Bai Jing told the other women that Xu Mingwei was betrothed and deferred discussion of marriages for the other sons.
• Bai Jing and Zhou Ming counted congratulatory gifts worth more than eighty thousand taels and sent them to the storeroom.
• Uncle Chen sent Chen Ergou and Chen Daming’s families away after they visited the Xu Household.
• Uncle Chen asked Xu Chuan to take the Chen Household as vassals, and Xu Chuan agreed if Uncle Chen’s sons accepted the household’s standards of loyalty and duty.

Chen Daniu, Chen Ergou, and Chen Fangfang joined the Xu Household as vassals after Chen Ergou divorced Xu Yan, while Chen Daming refused. Months later, Xu Mingwei’s wedding procession set out to claim his bride from the Yang Household, where Yang Shichang’s cousin prepared to challenge the Xu family.

• Chen Daniu and Chen Ergou agreed to join the Xu Household with Chen Fangfang, while Chen Daming chose to return home with his family.
• Chen Ergou divorced Xu Yan after she refused to join the Xu Household, leaving her seventy percent of their estate.
• Xu Chuan welcomed Chen Ergou and Chen Daniu, and Xu Mingyuan offered Daniu work; two months later, Uncle Chen died and the Xu Household held his funeral.
• On the second day of the second lunar month, Xu Mingwei prepared to marry into the Yang Household, and Xu Chuan told him to ride the White Tiger to impress the guests from the Commandery Seat.
• Xu Mingwei’s wedding procession set out with his siblings, drawing crowds in Qingjiang County who came to see the White Tiger.
• At the Yang Residence, Yang Shichang’s cousin vowed to make the Xu Household prove itself before letting the groom’s party claim the bride.

Xu Mingwei’s wedding procession reached the Yang Household, where he and Xu Mingshu overcame challenges from the bride’s relatives. After Xu Mingwei defeated Yang Shihui and recited a poem for the bride, the procession was allowed inside.

• Xu Mingshu had Little White roar as the wedding procession entered Azure Cloud Street, startling the Yang Household.
• Qi Wenzhi challenged the Xu Household, but Xu Mingshu sent Little White flying at him and knocked him down with the tiger’s tail.
• Yang Shihui challenged Xu Mingwei, who defeated him with a powerful punch and earned permission to enter the Yang Residence.
• Yang Shichang then asked Xu Mingwei to compose a poem urging the bride to finish dressing, and Xu Mingwei recited one that won cheers and applause.

Xu Mingwei married Yang Ronghua, and the Yang Household arranged for Yang Zhao’s transfer while recognizing Xu Mingwei’s strength and potential. Two months later, Xu Mingwei broke through to Xiantian and learned that Yang Ronghua was pregnant, leaving Xu Chuan delighted by both developments.

• Xu Mingwei defeated Yang Shihui, then married Yang Ronghua in a grand ceremony at the Xu Household.
• Yang Zhao entrusted Yang Ronghua to Xu Mingwei, and Yang Shihui praised Xu Mingwei’s extraordinary talent and strength.
• Yang Zhao arranged for his transfer papers and later advised Xu Chuan to help the Xu Household grow beyond Qingjiang County.
• Two months later, Xu Mingwei sensed Heaven and Earth, drew qi into his body, and broke through to Xiantian.
• A maid told Xu Mingwei that Yang Ronghua was pregnant, and Xu Chuan rewarded the Xu Residence’s servants, maids, and guards.
• Xu Mingwei privately told Xu Chuan about his breakthrough, and his father asked him to explain it in the study.

Xu Chuan revealed the Xu Household’s secret method for entering the Immortal Way through martial cultivation and arranged for Xu Mingwei to manage the household while he pursued a breakthrough. The family celebrated Yang Ronghua’s pregnancy, and Xu Mingyuan returned with a lead on a martial art that could help Xu Mingwei reach the xiantian realm.

• Bai Jing and Yang Ronghua discussed preparations for the baby and reminisced about Xu Mingwei’s childhood.
• Xu Mingwei asked Xu Chuan which xiantian martial art to study, and Xu Chuan explained that Yunnu alone among the brothers had the aptitude for immortal cultivation.
• Xu Chuan took Xu Mingwei to a secret chamber in the Ancestral Hall and taught him the Xiantian Five Elements Creation Art, which could turn martial qi into magic power and improve spiritual roots.
• Xu Chuan told Xu Mingwei to keep the secret method hidden, then arranged for him to temporarily manage the Xu Household while Xu Chuan pursued a xiantian breakthrough.
• Xu Mingwei visited Yang Ronghua and began practicing the secret art, while Xu Mingshu and Xu Mingxian congratulated her on the pregnancy.
• Xu Mingyuan returned with news that a middle-aged martial artist might sell the Xiantian Dragon Elephant Art, though Xu Mingwei had already secretly reached xiantian.

Xu Mingyuan traveled to Liuyun County to negotiate for the Xiantian Dragon Elephant Art and discovered that its seller was a former Dragon Elephant Sect member hoping to revive the sect. He offered the Xu Household’s support in establishing a Dragon Elephant Martial Hall and invited the man to Qingjiang County to discuss it.

• Xu Mingyuan and Xu Mingxuan discussed the seller’s refusal to part with the Xiantian Dragon Elephant Art, and Xu Mingyuan decided to visit Liuyun County.
• Xu Mingyuan traveled to Liuyun County with Xu Mingxuan, Chen Daniu, and two guards, then waited at the White Poplar Inn for the seller.
• Xu Mingyuan learned that the bearded seller possessed the original art and suspected he had belonged to the Dragon Elephant Sect.
• Xu Mingyuan warned the seller that reviving the Dragon Elephant Sect could invite its enemies and offered the Xu Household’s help establishing a Dragon Elephant Martial Hall.
• The seller asked how the hall would support itself, and Xu Mingyuan invited him to stay with the Xu Household to discuss the plan.

Xu Mingyuan negotiated with Gu Yiping to establish the Dragon Elephant Martial Hall with support from the Xu household, while Xu Chuan advised his sons on expanding the family business and urged Xu Mingyuan to marry. Gu Yiping accepted an arrangement that preserved an independent inner school for the Dragon Elephant Sect while the Xu household managed the outer school.

• Gu Yiping introduced himself to Xu Mingyuan and agreed to visit the Xu household to discuss terms for carrying on the Dragon Elephant Sect.
• Xu Mingyuan consulted Xu Chuan, who advised him to balance Gu Yiping's demands, plan business expansion, and consider marriage.
• Xu Mingyuan and Xu Mingwei developed a detailed plan as responsibility for the Xu household's affairs shifted to them.
• Xu Mingyuan told Gu Yiping that Qingjiang County's three martial arts schools might resist a newcomer, and offered the Xu household's funding and support in exchange for access to the sect's teachings and recipes.
• Xu Mingyuan proposed dividing the Dragon Elephant Martial Hall into an independent inner school and a Xu-managed outer school, with the Xu household receiving seventy percent of the proceeds.
• Gu Yiping accepted the arrangement and agreed to a partnership with the Xu household.

Gu Yiping completed the martial arts manuals and medicinal cuisine recipes for the Xu Household, then trained Xu Mingwei and his younger siblings. As Xu Mingxian and Xu Mingshu displayed striking talent, Xu Mingyuan expanded the household’s businesses and preparations for the future.

• Gu Yiping handed Xu Mingwei a collection of martial arts manuals and medicinal cuisine recipes, and Xu Mingwei sparred with him, revealing that he had reached Xiantian before turning twenty.
• Xu Mingwei asked Gu Yiping to guide Xu Mingshu and Xu Mingxian in the Little Dragon Elephant Art, and Gu Yiping taught them its forms and breathing method.
• Xu Mingxian quickly grasped the harmony of form and intent, then joined Xu Mingshu in sparring against Gu Yiping, who recognized both siblings as exceptional talents.
• Xu Mingyuan bought ingredients for the medicinal cuisine and began establishing the Xu Household’s herb shop, smithy, carpentry shop, school, and other businesses.

The Xu Household’s new school, trades, and martial training programs inspired hope among its servants, while the Xu brothers benefited from the Dragon Elephant Sect’s Medicinal Cuisine. Xu Mingwei learned that the family’s Martial Arts Hall was nearly ready and considered how the Xu Household could strengthen its standing.

• Servants praised Xu Mingwei’s school and household trades, and families rushed to register children for apprenticeships and martial training.
• After three months of using the Dragon Elephant Sect’s Medicinal Cuisine, the Xu brothers had advanced in martial arts, and Xu Mingwei urged Xu Mingxuan and Xu Mingyuan to keep training.
• Xu Mingwei considered revealing the family’s chance to cultivate immortality to Xu Mingyuan, but kept silent because Xu Chuan had told him to wait until they reached Xiantian.
• Xu Mingyuan suggested that a Xu brother seek a government post, and Xu Mingwei warned that the household would show no mercy to anyone who threatened it.
• Xu Mingyuan reported that the Dragon Elephant Martial Hall would be completed in half a month, with a first group of trainees selected and five First-Class Martial Artists hired as instructors, though few wealthy families had shown interest.

After months of training at the Jade-Cold Pool, Xu Chuan broke through to Xiantian and returned to the Xu Household, where he reunited with his family and assessed his children’s progress. He privately told Bai Jing about his breakthrough and decided to keep it secret as another hidden strength for the household.

• Xu Chuan sensed the power of heaven and earth at the Jade-Cold Pool, cleansed his marrow, and reached Xiantian.
• Xu Chuan descended the mountain and was welcomed at the Xu Household by Bai Jing, his children, and Gu Yiping.
• Xu Chuan discussed the upcoming opening of the Dragon Elephant Martial Hall and asked Xu Mingwei to assess his siblings’ martial progress.
• Xu Chuan urged Xu Mingyuan to work harder in the Martial Way, while acknowledging his contributions to the Xu Household.
• Xu Chuan told Bai Jing that he had become a Xiantian Martial Artist and asked her to keep the news private.