Recaps

Zhao Er sold the Blackwater Strange Serpent to Sun Yuanying for a thousand taels, and she judged him a potentially valuable ally to the Sun Family. With the sale proceeds, Zhao Er asked Ning Mu to help him find a quiet property in the County Town near the Clear Radiance Mountains.

• Sun Yuanying tested the Blackwater Strange Serpent's hide and essence blood, then offered twenty percent above the recent price, with the Poison Gland and half the meat included as a gesture of friendship.
• Ning Mu accepted Sun Yuanying's banknote, and the Sun Family's Warriors carried away the serpent while the remaining money and meat were promised later.
• Ning Mu gave Zhao Er the thousand-tael banknote, and he offered her a share for arranging the sale while asking her to reserve half the meat for Zhao Da.
• Sun Yuanying considered Zhao Er dangerous but potentially beneficial to the Sun Family because he could obtain variant beasts from the mountains.
• Zhao Er asked Ning Mu to help him find a quiet County Town property near the Clear Radiance Mountains, ideally costing less than eight hundred taels.

Zhao Er completed his poison-based cultivation and reached the second martial realm, Bone Tempering. After testing his newly strengthened body, he received experience for the Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body and increased poison resistance.

• Ning Mu agreed to help Zhao Er find a house in County Town, and the Ning Family sent him home with gifts and the payment and meat from the Sun Family.
• For more than half a month, Zhao Er maintained his mountain routine but did not see the White Marten again, and he stayed home to cultivate with the dried centipedes.
• Zhao Er drank the last bowl of wine mixed with Blackwater Strange Serpent venom and used the Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body to guide the excess poison into his bones.
• After the poison was exhausted, Zhao Er discovered that his bones had hardened and his physical strength had at least doubled.
• Zhao Er punched an iron chunk, leaving a fist imprint, and confirmed that he had achieved Bone Tempering; the system awarded experience and poison resistance.

After breaking through to the Bone Tempering Realm, Zhao Er decided his village home no longer suited his cultivation and went to the county town to buy a house. He found a cheap property near a martial artists' Manor House and the Mass Burial Ground, but Zhao Da remained concerned about the risks of living there.

• Zhao Er discovered that after his breakthrough, he could no longer absorb yin qi in his side room, and decided to look for a property in town.
• Zhao Er met Zhao Da and Ning Mu in the county town, and they toured several houses with a broker.
• The broker offered a well-kept house near the Mass Burial Ground and a martial artists' Manor House for five hundred taels.
• Zhao Er liked the location because he expected its abundant yin qi to support his Nine-Turn Golden Body Art.
• Zhao Da urged Zhao Er to keep looking, worried about the nearby Manor House and the powerful martial artists who might visit it.

Zhao Er revealed that he had reached the Bone Tempering Realm and bought a yin-rich property for five hundred taels. Meanwhile, Zhao Zhiyuan served the Wang Family and was sent with Wang Ze to meet the young martial artist who had bought the property.

• Zhao Er told Zhao Da and Ning Mu that he had broken through to the Bone Tempering Realm, then demonstrated his strength by crushing a pebble into powder.
• Zhao Da stopped trying to dissuade Zhao Er from buying the yin-rich property, and Zhao Er agreed to pay the Broker five hundred taels.
• Zhao Zhiyuan trained as Wang Ze’s Human Punching Post, valuing the food and medicine he received and hoping to become a martial artist.
• Wang Ze told Zhao Zhiyuan that they were going to the Prefectural Office to sign a deed with a young Bone Tempering Realm martial artist, and Zhao Zhiyuan promised to make a good impression.

Zhao Er bought Wang Ze’s house despite its proximity to a Manor House owned by a Great Accomplishment of Sinew Transformation expert. After the sale, Zhao Zhiyuan realized Zhao Er’s brief, indifferent glance showed how far apart they had grown.

• Wang Ze greeted Zhao Er and tried to learn about his background while offering the Wang Family’s services as a buyer of mountain goods.
• Zhao Er agreed to proceed with the house purchase after confirming he knew about the nearby Manor House and did not mind its presence.
• Wang Ze explained that the Manor House owner had reached Great Accomplishment of Sinew Transformation and rarely left the property.
• Wang Ze paid Zhao Er’s deed tax, and they completed the sale at the Prefectural Office.
• Outside the office, Wang Ze slapped Zhao Zhiyuan for failing to help question Zhao Er, while Zhao Zhiyuan reflected on Zhao Er’s indifference.

Zhao Er visited Dian Zhang after buying a house in the county town and revealed his rapid progress in cultivation and martial arts. Dian Zhang tested him with a wine attack, and Zhao Er blocked it without injury before receiving the promised new Halberd Art.

• Zhao Er brought wine to the Martial Pavilion and found a young, heavily armed martial artist speaking with Dian Zhang.
• Zhao Er told Dian Zhang that he had bought a house in town, and Dian Zhang warned him against venturing deep into the Mountain Range while his cultivation remained weak.
• Zhao Er reported that he had reached Bone Tempering, advanced more than halfway through Iron Body, and mastered the Dian Clan Eight Methods of Twin Halberds.
• Zhao Er asked Dian Zhang for the new Halberd Art he had promised to teach him after he mastered the foundational art.
• Dian Zhang attacked Zhao Er with droplets of wine, and Zhao Er deflected them with his twin halberds and endured their impact with his Iron Body.

Zhao Er received the Army-Breaking Halberd Art from Dian Zhang, who hoped to recommend him to the Martial Academy as an inner sect disciple. Dian Zhang and Wu Xing discussed suspected evil cultivators operating in the Mountain Range, while Zhao Er headed home and noticed an old man outside the Manor House.

• Dian Zhang tested Zhao Er's cultivation, gave him the Army-Breaking Halberd Art, and sent him on his way.
• Wu Xing questioned Dian Zhang's assessment of Zhao Er, and Dian Zhang explained that Zhao Er had advanced rapidly and might qualify for the Martial Academy's inner sect.
• Wu Xing revealed that martial artists had vanished and blood-drained corpses had been found in the Mountain Range, prompting suspicions of evil cultivators.
• Dian Zhang defended Zhao Er's unorthodox cultivation and explained the difference between unorthodox methods and evil-path cultivation.
• Zhao Er went toward his house in the north of the city and spotted an old man sitting by the Manor House entrance.

Zhao Er studied the Army-Breaking Halberd Art and absorbed Yin Qi in his new courtyard, causing the Blackwater Strange Serpent venom in his body to fuse with it. The next morning, he found an enormous centipede at one of his mountain traps.

• Zhao Er noticed Yin baleful energy around the Manor House old man and grew wary of the place.
• Zhao Er learned the Army-Breaking Halberd Art’s three killing moves and saw that Twin Flight gave him a ranged attack.
• Zhao Er absorbed the courtyard’s abundant Yin Qi until it fused with all the Blackwater Strange Serpent venom in his body.
• Zhao Er left for the mountains the next morning and collected centipedes from five traps.
• Zhao Er heard a loud rustling at the sixth trap, advanced with both halberds, and discovered an enormous centipede.

Zhao Er fought a Golden-Backed Heavenly Dragon, whose armor deflected his halberd strike and whose claws wounded him. He subdued it with Yin Toxin and killed it by driving one of its severed legs through its mouth and into its head, triggering an event reward calculation.

• Zhao Er recognized the enormous centipede as a Golden-Backed Heavenly Dragon and charged it with his Twin Iron Halberds.
• Zhao Er’s Heavy Halberd strike slid off the creature’s armor, cutting off only one pair of legs, and the centipede lunged at him.
• Zhao Er pinned and locked the centipede’s upper body with his halberds while its claws tore at his hardened skin.
• Zhao Er injected toxins into the centipede, then used his Yin Toxin to frost it and weaken its movements.
• Zhao Er rammed a severed leg through the centipede’s mouth into its head, killing it and triggering an event reward calculation.

After killing the Golden-Backed Heavenly Dragon, Zhao Er harvested its Poison Gland and persuaded White Marten to accompany him by offering to share their gains. He brought the marten home and told his parents he planned to move to the county town because the poisons in his room endangered his family.

• Zhao Er relaxed after the battle, examined White Marten's new markings and speed, and watched it reject a bite of the Golden-Backed Heavenly Dragon.
• Zhao Er decided the centipede's Poison Gland would help broaden his toxins and provide money for life in the county town.
• Zhao Er extracted the Poison Gland, invited White Marten to join him, and offered to share snakes and Blackwater Fruit; White Marten climbed onto his shoulder.
• Zhao Er carried White Marten inside his clothes and brought the Golden-Backed Heavenly Dragon home, where his family worried about his injuries.
• Zhao Er told his parents he planned to move to the county town and offered to find them a place near Eldest Brother because his poisons made their home unsafe.

Zhao Er left his village home for the County Town after giving his parents money and reassuring them he would return. After selling half the Golden-Backed Heavenly Dragon’s meat to Sun Yuanying, he refused her offer to join a hunt for a Witch Toad.

• Zhao Er’s parents chose to stay in the village, and he left money with Zhang Xuan'e while asking her to send Zhao Shan to school.
• Zhao Er packed his cultivation supplies and the Golden-Backed Heavenly Dragon, then rode to the County Town in the iron-dregs worker’s carriage.
• Zhao Er found that Ning Mu had furnished his County Town house and asked her to notify the Sun Family about his new harvest.
• Sun Yuanying bought half the Golden-Backed Heavenly Dragon’s meat for 420 taels, while Zhao Er kept its valuable poison gland.
• Sun Yuanying invited Zhao Er to help hunt a Witch Toad, but he declined because he preferred to work alone.

Zhao Er refused Sun Yuanying’s invitation to hunt the Witch Toad, then experimented with using yin qi to safely swallow the Golden-Backed Heavenly Dragon’s toxin. He successfully tempered his body and discovered he could encase toxins in yin qi as a sheet of ice.

• Zhao Er refused Sun Yuanying’s offer to join her Witch Toad hunt, and she left intending to use the toxin as leverage later.
• Ning Mu departed without taking Zhao Er’s eighty taels, while Zhao Er arranged to send her some Golden-Backed Heavenly Dragon meat.
• Zhao Er pondered how to swallow the corrosive toxin safely and decided to use yin qi to freeze it after diluting it with liquor.
• Zhao Er swallowed the toxin encased in ice, withdrew the yin qi in his stomach, and circulated the Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body to absorb it.
• After cultivating, Zhao Er encased toxins in yin qi and formed a thin sheet of ice trailing black smoke over his palm.

After moving into his new house, Zhao Er developed a ranged use for his frozen toxins and met Xiao Cui, who brought him food from the nearby Manor House. He trained until his Army-Breaking Halberd Art advanced, while unknown residents of the Manor House discussed their plans and judged him unlikely to interfere.

• Zhao Er discovered that he could freeze his internal toxins and throw them as a lethal hidden weapon, and he found insects dead from toxins leaking around his house.
• Xiao Cui from the nearby Manor House brought Zhao Er a meal and apologized for the noise from its clients; he accepted and ate the food.
• People at the Manor House discussed Zhao Er’s physique and movements, concluded he was probably a rogue cultivator who would not disrupt their plans, and resolved to be cautious until one of them reached the fourth realm.
• After eating, Zhao Er practiced with his Twin Iron Halberds and raised his Army-Breaking Halberd Art to level two.
• The White Marten woke, dashed toward the Mountain Range to hunt, and Zhao Er resumed training in his courtyard.

Zhao Er continued cultivating in County Town while waiting for White Marten to find information about poisonous variant beasts. Zhao Xiaohu and Zhao Cai visited him, and Zhao Er learned Xiaohu had become a martial artist before asking Zhao Cai to look after his childhood friend.

• Zhao Er refined the poison wine and cultivated, strengthening his Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body and Nine-Turn Golden Body Art.
• Zhao Er heard a carriage arrive in the evening and discovered Zhao Xiaohu and Zhao Cai outside his courtyard.
• Zhao Xiaohu told Zhao Er that he had become a martial artist, and Zhao Er congratulated him while concealing his concern about Xiaohu's future.
• Zhao Er told Zhao Cai that he had reached the Bone Tempering Realm and asked him to take good care of Xiaohu.

Zhao Cai learned Zhao Er had reached the Bone Tempering Realm and tried to secure his goodwill with a gift, while Zhao Xiaohu revealed he understood the cost of his cultivation and was willing to pay it. The next day, Zhao Er discovered that Zhao Da had failed to break through to the Bone Tempering Realm and was recuperating.

• Zhao Er told Zhao Cai he had entered the Bone Tempering Realm, prompting Zhao Cai to bring him a sealed bottle of pills as a congratulatory gift.
• Zhao Xiaohu told Zhao Er he was willing to help when Zhao Er was ready to break through, and Zhao Er realized his cousin knowingly accepted the cost of becoming a martial artist.
• Zhao Er practiced the Halberd Art the next morning and noticed that the White Marten had not returned from the Mountain Range.
• Zhao Er went to the Ning Family residence after realizing Ning Mu had not visited in several days and saw that Zhao Da appeared exhausted and weak.
• Ning Mu explained that Zhao Da had failed to break through to the Bone Tempering Realm, while Zhao Da and Ning Mu argued over who was to blame.

A hunting party led by Boss Sun entered a miasma-filled swamp to capture Witch Toads, but a silent attacker picked them off. After draining Boss Sun's blood, two figures departed to absorb the cultivation power.

• Boss Sun led five bone tempering martial artists into the swamp and ordered Zhang Qiang to release ducks as bait for the Witch Toads.
• A tongue shot from the aquatic grass and snatched a duck, prompting Boss Sun to fire an arrow while the others prepared to attack.
• Zhang Qiang and the four men who had split off vanished without warning, leaving Boss Sun alone with his broken bow and slowing qi-blood.
• Boss Sun slashed at movement in the grass, but the attacker ensnared him with a net and pierced an acupoint with Yuchan Toad Toxin.
• The attacker drained Boss Sun's blood, and two departing figures withdrew to find a place to absorb the cultivation power.

Zhao Er told Zhao Da that he had reached the bone tempering realm and might enter the Grand Exam under the Ning Family's name, easing his brother’s burden. After White Marten returned with snakes and urged him to follow, Zhao Er postponed the trip until the next day; the following morning, a carriage arrived at his courtyard.

• Zhao Er told Zhao Da about his cultivation progress and hinted that he could shoulder the Grand Exam responsibilities, then left to continue training.
• White Marten returned to Zhao Er’s courtyard carrying snakes and invited him to follow, but Zhao Er decided to wait until the next day.
• Zhao Er settled White Marten into its nest with a viper, then trained with his Iron Halberd.
• A carriage stopped outside Zhao Er’s courtyard the next morning, and White Marten hid inside his collar.

Zhao Er accepted the Ning Family’s offer to become their Attendant after arranging for the family to support and protect his parents. He then followed the White Marten into the Mountain Range, while Wu Xing uncovered a lead pointing to demonic cultivators hunting Variant Beasts there.

• Ning Mu invited Zhao Er to become a Ning Family Attendant and offered him a monthly payment and other support.
• Zhao Er agreed on the condition that the Ning Family provide for his parents, and Ning Mu and Ning Wu promised to care for the Zhao Family.
• Zhao Er and Ning Mu went to the Government Office and signed the Attendant contract.
• Zhao Er entered the Mountain Range with the White Marten to search for prey.
• A subordinate told Wu Xing that an Information Broker’s clients had vanished near Variant Beast lairs, where several blood-drained corpses had been found.
• Wu Xing set out for the Mountain Range to investigate the lead into the demonic cultivators.

Zhao Er followed White Marten to a gorge where a dangerous spider-filled cave concealed an unusual beast. After testing the spiders’ venom, he avoided entering the cave and set fire to its webs to drive its inhabitants out.

• White Marten led Zhao Er through the mountains overnight, avoiding other martial artists and dangers along the way.
• At dawn, White Marten guided Zhao Er to a gorge with two caves and indicated the lower cave as the beast’s hiding place.
• White Marten could not confirm what was inside, so Zhao Er examined the black-and-red spiders in the gorge and swallowed one to assess its venom.
• Zhao Er determined that the venom was somewhat corrosive and paralyzing, then gathered firewood instead of entering the cave.
• Zhao Er lit a fire at the cave entrance and threw burning wood inside, setting the webs alight and burning the spiders that tried to escape.

Zhao Er lured a variant beast spider out of its cave with fire and killed it with his Iron Halberds. Before he could investigate why no settlement notification appeared, an unseen attacker ambushed him, and he counterattacked with a Scorpion Tail Sweep.

• Zhao Er used fire to drive a goat-sized variant beast spider from the cave, then killed it with Heavy Halberd and Blood Pierce.
• Zhao Er realized there might be another variant beast spider because he received no settlement notification, while White Marten squealed a warning from behind him.
• Zhao Er turned toward White Marten but was caught in a nearly transparent net and lost access to one of his Iron Halberds.
• Zhao Er kicked stones to knock aside nets closing in from both sides, but an unseen attacker stabbed him in the back with a spike.
• Zhao Er felt energy surge through the spike and swung his leg behind him with the Scorpion Tail Sweep.

Zhao Er was overwhelmed and captured by two attackers, but turned their attempt to drink his blood into a desperate counterattack with his toxins. The man punched through Zhao Er’s shoulder, yet Zhao Er kept biting him and pouring poison into his body.

• Zhao Er realized that multiple enemies were trying to capture him and tried to retreat toward the cliff.
• A Sinew Transformation Realm attacker struck Zhao Er, then twisted all four of his limbs and held him down.
• Zhao Er pretended to be unconscious as the woman bit his neck, then sent his icy, toxin-laced qi-blood into her.
• The woman struck Zhao Er away, and he bit the man’s shoulder, injecting the rest of his poison.
• The man punched through Zhao Er’s shoulder, but Zhao Er refused to release his bite and continued poisoning him.

After surviving the ambush and killing his attackers with poison, Zhao Er received his settlement rewards and advanced to the Copper Body stage of the Nine-Turn Golden Body Art. He discovered White Marten had led him to the ambushers’ cave, where a bundle of clothes, bottles, and a book lay scattered.

• Zhao Er’s poisonous blood killed the woman and overcame the Sinew Transformation Realm man as the settlement awarded him experience and twelve skill points.
• Zhao Er used the settlement energy to heal his injuries and complete the second turn of the Nine-Turn Golden Body Art, Copper Body.
• Zhao Er found that the poison had dissolved both attackers and their belongings, then wondered where they had come from.
• White Marten called to Zhao Er from the upper cave, still tangled in a net, and led him inside.
• Zhao Er followed White Marten and watched it drag out a bundle, spilling clothes, porcelain bottles, and a book.

After defeating two attackers, Zhao Er collected their belongings and read the Essence Reaping Art, discovering its blood-consuming method and its path beyond the third martial arts realm. He left the cave with a new cultivation method to consider and learned that it described a breakthrough to the Fourth Realm, Primordial Unity.

• Zhao Er picked up the Essence Reaping Art and gathered the attackers' porcelain bottles and clothes.
• Zhao Er found Human-Skin Masks resembling Xiao Cui and the old man from the Manor House, and wondered whether the attackers were connected to them.
• Zhao Er freed White Marten from the sticky net, then bundled the net away.
• Zhao Er read that the Essence Reaping Art absorbed martial artists' vital essence through blood, but generated Blood-Baleful Energy that could hinder qi-blood circulation.
• Zhao Er realized the Blood-Baleful Energy might explain his increased poison resistance and recalled an opponent's sharp spike piercing him.
• Zhao Er discovered that the manual described the Fourth Realm, Primordial Unity, where Inner Force fused with blood-energy force.

Zhao Er learned the Essence Reaping Art and harvested valuable parts from the Red-Patterned Poison Spider. Wu Xing arrived to investigate the gorge as a base for Evil-Path Martial Artists and questioned how Zhao Er had survived and killed them.

• Zhao Er finished reading the Essence Reaping Art, gained it as a purple-grade cultivation method, and considered whether his Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body could use a similar breakthrough method.
• Zhao Er found the White Marten with a partly eaten crimson herb, then retrieved his Iron Halberds and harvested the Red-Patterned Poison Spider’s Silk Sac and Poison Gland.
• Wu Xing arrived at the gorge and said the Provincial Martial Academy had sent him to investigate an Evil-Path Martial Artist base.
• Zhao Er kept his weapons ready and explained that the White Marten had brought him to hunt a variant beast.
• Wu Xing believed Zhao Er was not an Evil-Path Martial Artist but questioned how he and the White Marten had killed the Sinew Transformation Realm opponents.

Wu Xing explained the Martial Academy ranks and told Zhao Er that Uncle Zhang planned to recommend him as a Martial Guard in Wu Xing’s squad. After Zhao Er revealed how he had killed the Caiyuan Sect fighters with poisonous blood, Wu Xing agreed to collect the mission merits for him, and Zhao Er hinted that he knew something about the fighters’ identities.

• Wu Xing introduced himself as a steward of the Discipline Law Branch and explained that Uncle Zhang hoped Zhao Er would join his squad as a Martial Guard.
• Wu Xing described how Martial Academy Students, Martial Guards, and stewards compared with ranks in the Clear Source Sect.
• Zhao Er recounted the fight and showed Wu Xing a drop of his corrosive poisonous blood.
• Wu Xing accepted Zhao Er’s explanation and offered to collect the mission merits for him until he joined the Martial Academy.
• Zhao Er told Wu Xing that he might know something about the identities of the two Caiyuan Sect fighters.