Chapter Summaries

After an embarrassing morning, Li Feng sought gravel to train his skin and flesh, then amazed Uncle Li by effortlessly carrying two baskets packed full. Uncle Li began imagining his granddaughter marrying a City Guard constable, and Li Feng nearly stumbled when he overheard him.

• Li Feng woke from a vivid dream about his sister-in-law and blamed his heightened qi and blood for his embarrassing state.
• Li Feng visited Uncle Li’s home to ask for leftover gravel and learned Uncle Li was away at work.
• After his shift, Li Feng welcomed Uncle Li, who brought gravel, and asked him for several more full baskets for Skin Grinding.
• Li Feng filled two baskets to the brim and explained that he needed the gravel for martial arts training.
• Li Feng effortlessly lifted the heavy baskets, impressing Uncle Li, who began thinking a City Guard constable would make a good match for his granddaughter.
• Li Feng nearly stumbled when he overheard Uncle Li muttering about his granddaughter marrying a constable.

Li Feng used gravel to speed up his Iron Robe Skin-Grinding Method training, but his naked practice startled Lin Yanqiu when she came outside to check on him. Lin Yanqiu fled back into the house, leaving Li Feng embarrassed in the courtyard.

• Li Feng tried to pay Uncle Li for delivering gravel, but Uncle Li refused and asked him to look out for his family while patrolling.
• Li Feng spread out the gravel, stripped, and rolled across it to repay the debt of his Iron Robe Skin-Grinding Method.
• Lin Yanqiu heard the noise and went outside to warn Li Feng against hurting himself.
• Lin Yanqiu saw that Li Feng was naked, blushed, and told him to put on his clothes before hurrying back inside.
• Li Feng grabbed his clothes and stood in the courtyard, embarrassed by the misunderstanding.

After an awkward incident with Lin Yanqiu, Li Feng discovered that his sand-and-gravel training had advanced his Iron Robe Skin-Grinding Method by 1%. The next evening, Lin Yanqiu sent him to share beef with Uncle Li, where he ended up joining the family for dinner.

• Li Feng checked the Heavenly Dao Advance Panel and saw his Iron Robe Skin-Grinding Method had reached 1% completion.
• Li Feng cooked congee for Lin Yanqiu, but she did not answer when he called her to breakfast.
• Lin Yanqiu later served Li Feng an elaborate meal and asked him to bring beef to Uncle Li's home in thanks for the sand and gravel.
• Uncle Li accepted half the beef after seeing his granddaughter's longing for it.
• Uncle Li's granddaughter praised Li Feng and asked him to stay, so Li Feng sat down to eat with the family.

Li Feng stopped Ma San and the Green Bamboo Gang from taking protection money from Uncle Li and Li Wan'er, invoking the law and his City Guard Office uniform. Ma San backed down and left, but his lackey threatened them as they departed.

• Li Feng checked his Heavenly Dao Advance Panel and saw that the Iron Robe Skin-Grinding Method was 30% complete.
• Li Feng found Ma San and two Green Bamboo Gang members demanding protection money from injured Uncle Li and his granddaughter, Li Wan'er.
• Ma San kicked over Uncle Li's medicinal pot and injured Li Wan'er while trying to take her money.
• Li Feng stopped Ma San from striking Li Wan'er and cited the Great Yan Statute against breaking in and acting violently.
• Ma San abandoned the collection and left with his lackeys after Li Feng stood his ground, and one lackey threatened the household.

After Ma San threatened Li Feng and Li Wan’er, Li Feng decided to kill him rather than risk attacking Lei Hu and provoking the Green Bamboo Gang. That night, Li Feng ambushed Ma San and two henchmen, killed all three, and revealed his identity to Ma San before delivering the final blow.

• Ma San planned to cripple Li Feng at night, while Li Feng comforted Li Wan’er and Uncle Li after protecting their medicine money.
• Li Feng weighed the Green Bamboo Gang’s strength and decided Ma San could be killed without provoking the gang as much as killing Lei Hu would.
• Ma San left the Spring Breeze House drunk with Pockmark and another henchman, intending to break Li Feng’s legs and sell Li Wan’er.
• Li Feng, disguised and unarmed, blocked the men in a dark alley and beat Ma San until he was mortally wounded.
• Ma San recognized Li Feng and begged for his life, but Li Feng snapped his neck.
• Li Feng caught the two fleeing henchmen and killed them with punches to their backs.

After killing Ma San and two Green Bamboo Gang underlings, Li Feng realized he had left clues that could expose him and burned his bloodstained clothes. Lin Yanqiu worried over his safety and embraced him, leaving Li Feng with a promise to protect her and himself.

• Li Feng searched Ma San and the two ruffians, took their silver, and smashed their faces with a stone pier before leaving their bodies in the alley.
• Li Feng returned to his courtyard and told Lin Yanqiu that he had killed Ma San and two lackeys.
• Lin Yanqiu warned Li Feng that the murder’s evidence could point to a Qi-Blood Second Level fighter and that the Green Bamboo Gang might trace the killing to him.
• Li Feng recognized his mistakes and resolved to be more careful if he ever had to kill again, especially Sun Yan or Zhao Quan.
• Li Feng burned his bloodstained clothes and shoes, and Lin Yanqiu embraced him and urged him to protect himself before retreating in embarrassment.

Li Feng learned that Ma San’s death had become known throughout Joyful Alley and worried the Green Bamboo Gang would trace it back to him. When gang members questioned him at home, he denied knowing anything and stopped them from entering his courtyard, leaving them threatening retaliation.

• Li Feng heard from Uncle Li that Ma San of the Green Bamboo Gang had been killed and returned home to Lin Yanqiu.
• Lin Yanqiu advised Li Feng to act as though nothing had happened if the gang questioned him.
• Several Green Bamboo Gang ruffians came to Li Feng’s courtyard and asked about his argument with Ma San and his whereabouts the previous night.
• Li Feng calmly answered their questions and claimed he had stayed home after work.
• When a ruffian tried to force his way into the courtyard, Li Feng grabbed him and flung him to the ground.
• The ruffians realized Li Feng had martial strength, threatened him, and left without searching the courtyard.

Lei Hu learned that Li Feng had beaten Green Bamboo Gang members and led a group to confront him. Li Feng waited in his courtyard with his sister-in-law hidden inside and his City Guard Office saber laid out, as Lei Hu arrived intending to make an example of him.

• Lei Hu became enraged over Ma San's murder and ordered his men to investigate who had killed him.
• A scoundrel reported that Li Feng had beaten the gang's men, though Lei Hu recognized that the man exaggerated what had happened.
• Lei Hu set out with a dozen scoundrels to confront Li Feng, while Zhang Qiang returned home delighted that Li Feng was in trouble.
• Zhang Qiang told his family that Lei Hu was heading for Li Feng's home, but Zhang Maochun refused to get involved and Shen Xiuying felt relieved she had not married Li Feng.
• Lei Hu led his men into Li Feng's courtyard, where Li Feng waited with his sister-in-law hidden inside and his City Guard Office saber on the stone table.

Li Feng faced down Lei Hu and the Green Bamboo Gang when they surrounded his home, but two regular constables intervened and forced them to leave. The constables then told Li Feng that he had been approved as a regular constable and must report to the City Guard Office at dawn.

• Lei Hu confronted Li Feng over Ma San’s death and threatened to attack him, but Li Feng warned that entering his courtyard would make Lei Hu a trespasser.
• Two regular constables, Zhang Hong and Xu Yang, arrived on patrol and ordered Lei Hu and his men to leave.
• Lei Hu noticed a patch of neatly spread sand and gravel in Li Feng’s courtyard before departing with his gang.
• Li Feng thanked Zhang Hong and Xu Yang for intervening, and they told him his promotion to regular constable had been approved.
• Zhang Hong and Xu Yang instructed Li Feng to report at dawn to complete registration and collect his uniform and waist token.

Li Feng caught himself staring at his sister-in-law Lin Yanqiu while she slept, then left to focus on cultivation and prepare for trouble from Lei Hu. The next morning, the City Guard Office promoted him to regular constable after announcing his capture of the escaped felon Liu Wu, leaving his colleagues shocked and envious.

• Li Feng entered Lin Yanqiu's room to check on her, but she woke and caught him staring at her exposed chest before sending him away.
• Li Feng resolved to keep cultivating so he could eventually kill Lei Hu, and his Heavenly Dao Advance Panel showed his Iron Robe Skin-Grinding Method at 36% completion.
• At the City Guard Office morning meeting, Deputy Constable Director Zhou Tong announced Li Feng's promotion to regular constable for capturing Liu Wu and reaching Qi-Blood Second Level.
• Zhang San celebrated Li Feng's promotion, while Sun Yan and other white runners fumed with envy.
• Constable Chen praised Li Feng, and Zhang San and Chen Song crowded around him to inspect his cultivation before he offered to treat them to lunch.

Li Feng became a Regular Constable, chose Black Tiger Fist, and received advice from Constable Chen about office politics and the dangers posed by Chief Constable Zhao and Sun Yan. The chapter ended with Zhao continuing to suppress Li Feng as he backed Sun Yan in hopes of securing his own future.

• Li Feng returned his White Runner token, received a Regular Constable uniform and copper token, and selected Black Tiger Fist from the Martial Arsenal.
• Zhang San and Chen Song congratulated Li Feng on his promotion, and Constable Chen advised him to act carefully and navigate the City Guard Office’s internal politics.
• Constable Chen warned Li Feng that Chief Constable Zhao and Sun Yan seemed to have something against him.
• Li Feng was assigned Zhang San, Chen Song, and newcomer Cheng Hu as his White Runners.
• Chief Constable Zhao rebuked Cheng Hu and ordered the group to patrol, while privately resolving to keep suppressing Li Feng and support Sun Yan for his own benefit.

On his first street patrol as a regular constable, Li Feng rescued Shen Biyun from a group of thugs and accepted her flirtatious thanks. The patrol continued in a lighter mood, while Cheng Hu resolved to become strong like Li Feng.

• Chief Constable Zhao put Li Feng in his place, and several white runners avoided approaching him.
• Li Feng led Zhang San, Chen Song, and Cheng Hu on patrol and ordered four thugs to leave a young woman alone.
• Shen Biyun thanked Li Feng, revealed she was Butcher Hu's daughter-in-law, and subtly flirted with him while offering fruit.
• Zhang San and Chen Song teased Li Feng about Shen Biyun, but he told them to stop talking and resume patrol.
• Cheng Hu watched Li Feng and wished to become strong enough to be a regular constable.

After completing more Skin-Grinding Method practice, Li Feng went to the City Guard Office as a newly promoted regular constable and prepared to lead his subordinates on patrol. He clashed with Sun Yan, while new recruit Cheng Hu accidentally offended him and decided to rely on Li Feng to outpace Sun Yan before Zhao retired.

• Li Feng arrived at the City Guard Office, where Zhang Hong and Xu Yang congratulated him on becoming a regular constable.
• Li Feng assigned Cheng Hu to identify their patrol area, and Cheng Hu hurried inside to find out.
• Sun Yan mocked Li Feng for supposedly enjoying the benefits of day patrol, but Li Feng warned him to stay alert during night duty.
• Cheng Hu ignored Sun Yan, then learned from Li Feng that Sun Yan might succeed Chief Constable Zhao in six months.
• Cheng Hu resolved to support Li Feng and predicted he would surpass Sun Yan before Zhao retired, and Li Feng led his three subordinates out on patrol.

Sun Yan tried to recruit Zhang Hong and Xu Yang to isolate Li Feng, but the two decided to avoid taking sides. After Li Feng learned that a crowd had gathered at his cousin Chen Yulian’s house over Zhang Qiang’s gambling debts, he hurried there with Uncle Li.

• Sun Yan urged Zhang Hong and Xu Yang to isolate Li Feng and promised them benefits if he gained a higher position.
• After Sun Yan left, Zhang Hong told Xu Yang that Li Feng also had powerful backing, and they agreed to avoid taking sides.
• Li Feng practiced the Skin-Grinding Method and saw that his repayment progress had reached 39%.
• Uncle Li told Li Feng that a crowd had gathered at Chen Yulian’s house, and Lin Yanqiu urged him to go help his cousin.
• Li Feng and Uncle Li hurried to Chen Yulian’s house, where bystanders said Zhang Qiang had lost all his money gambling and borrowed from loan sharks.

Li Feng watched as the Green Bamboo Gang beat Zhang Qiang and threatened his family over their house deed. When the gang turned on Chen Yulian and the others, Li Feng intervened, while Zhang Qiang hoped the thugs would beat Li Feng instead.

• Li Feng learned that Zhang Qiang had gambled away his family’s house deed after being lured into the Green Bamboo Gang’s underground Gambling House.
• Scarface ordered his men to attack Zhang Maochun and Chen Yulian and threatened to sell Shen Xiuying to the Spring Breeze House.
• Chen Yulian shielded her family as a thug raised his hand to strike her.
• Li Feng shouted for the thugs to stop, and they turned toward him.
• Zhang Qiang recognized Li Feng, dismissed him as powerless, and lay still, hoping the gang would vent their anger on him.

Li Feng confronted the Green Bamboo Gang when its thugs came to seize Chen Yulian’s home over Zhang Qiang’s gambling debt. After citing the law and exposing the gang’s likely rigged gambling, he prepared to use his strength against Scarface and his men.

• Zhang Maochun and Shen Xiuying begged Li Feng to protect them, while Chen Yulian urged him to leave and avoid danger.
• Scarface realized Li Feng was only a white runner and threatened to deal with him if he interfered.
• Chen Yulian explained that Zhang Qiang had borrowed fifty taels against the Property Deed, and the gang now demanded sixty taels.
• Li Feng told Chen Yulian to sell the shop’s grain and offer ten taels in half a month, while keeping her dowry.
• Li Feng invoked the great yan statute and accused the Green Bamboo Gang of rigging its gambling games, then prepared to fight Scarface’s men.

Li Feng defied Scarface and the Green Bamboo Gang thugs, enduring their blows before defeating them while concealing the full extent of his strength. Scarface realized Li Feng was a qi-blood second level Regular Constable and was left unsure whether to attack or retreat.

• Scarface rejected Li Feng’s warning and ordered his thugs to beat him without killing him.
• The thugs’ punches failed to hurt Li Feng, whose perfected Skin-Grinding Method made their attacks feel like light taps.
• Li Feng taunted the thugs, then struck back while holding his strength to qi-blood second level minor achievement and avoiding fatal blows.
• Li Feng incapacitated all the thugs, leaving them seriously injured and the onlookers stunned.
• Scarface recognized Li Feng as a qi-blood second level Regular Constable, and he hesitated over whether to fight or withdraw.

Li Feng drove off the Green Bamboo Gang after defeating its thugs and negotiating a reduced debt for his cousin. His display impressed the neighbors, stirred Shen Xiuying’s romantic interest, and left Zhang Qiang stunned.

• Li Feng offered Scarface a choice between a beating and returning in half a month to collect ten taels, and Scarface accepted the deal before leading the Green Bamboo Gang away.
• The neighbors praised Li Feng’s strength and speculated that he might become a chief constable.
• Chen Yulian worried that Li Feng had made an enemy of the Green Bamboo Gang, but he reassured her before leaving for home.
• Zhang Maochun proposed bringing Li Feng wine and food to thank him and build a closer connection.
• Shen Xiuying watched Li Feng leave and imagined marrying him, while Zhang Qiang remained in shock over Li Feng’s victory.

Lei Hu decided to leave Li Feng alone for now, choosing to respect the Great Yan Statute rather than risk a conflict with the City Guard Office. Back home, Li Feng reassured Lin Yanqiu and continued training the Skin-Grinding Method.

• Scarface reported that Li Feng had beaten his men and collected only ten taels, and Lei Hu connected the incident to his suspicions about Li Feng.
• Lei Hu weighed the danger of attacking a regular constable against the humiliation of backing down, while Scarface advised him to claim he was respecting the Great Yan Statute.
• Lei Hu ordered the Green Bamboo Gang to leave Li Feng alone for half a month, then collect the ten taels and settle the account.
• Scarface left the hall relieved, and Lei Hu decided that yielding strategically was the shrewd choice.
• Li Feng returned home, reassured Lin Yanqiu about the confrontation, and went into the courtyard to practice the Skin-Grinding Method.

After Li Feng helped Zhang Maochun’s family repay the Green Bamboo Gang, they hosted a feast to thank him. Shen Xiuying tried to win Li Feng’s favor, but he rejected her advances and said he already liked someone.

• Zhang Maochun’s family repaid the Green Bamboo Gang and invited Li Feng to a celebratory dinner.
• Zhang Maochun welcomed Li Feng and thanked him for saving his family from ruin.
• Shen Xiuying sat beside Li Feng and leaned against him after drinking wine.
• Li Feng moved away from Shen Xiuying and declined the food she offered.
• Li Feng told Shen Xiuying to conduct herself with dignity because he already had a girl he liked.