Chapter Summaries

Key events

• Zhao Er tells his parents he plans to settle in the County Town. They prefer to remain in the countryside, so he agrees to leave them there, gives his mother over thirty taels of silver, and promises to return often. He also asks that his younger sister, Shan’er, begin school.
• Before leaving, he gathers his cultivation supplies and takes the Golden-Backed Heavenly Dragon with him.
• Back in the County Town, he finds that his sister-in-law, Ning Mu, has furnished his house. He asks her to contact the Sun Family about his latest beast harvest.
• Sun Yuanying inspects the beast. Its meat is valuable, but its poison gland is worth even more. Zhao Er sells half the meat for 420 taels, but refuses an additional 600 taels for the gland, keeping it for his own use.
• Sun Yuanying invites him to join a group hunt for a Witch Toad, offering him all its venom. Though interested, Zhao Er declines, saying he prefers to work alone.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Er takes greater responsibility for his family while pursuing his own future: he supports them financially and encourages Shan’er’s education, but accepts that his parents do not want to move.
• His parents express affection and concern while respecting his decision. The departure is subdued and emotional, especially for Zhang Xuan’e and Shan’er.
• Ning Mu warmly helps him establish his new home and promptly assists with the sale.
• Zhao Er and Sun Yuanying maintain a practical business relationship. He is increasingly confident in valuing cultivation gains over money, while she recognizes his expertise and seeks his help.

Significant themes

• Family duty and independence: Zhao Er leaves home but provides for his family and intends to stay connected.
• Strength over wealth: He refuses a lucrative offer for the poison gland because it is more useful to his cultivation than the silver.
• Self-reliance versus cooperation: Despite the promising Witch Toad hunt, Zhao Er’s preference for operating alone outweighs the potential reward.

Plot points and events

• Sun Yuanying invites Zhao Er to join a hunt for the Witch Toad, a valuable venomous beast whose invisible toxin can paralyze victims. Zhao Er refuses, wary of relying on other people in the mountains.
• Sun Yuanying leaves, privately confident her hunting party will catch the Witch Toad—and hoping Zhao Er may later be tempted by its toxin.
• Ning Mu also departs. Zhao Er has recently moved into his new home and earned 420 taels from selling the Golden-Backed Heavenly Dragon.
• Faced with the creature’s highly corrosive venom, Zhao Er devises a way to swallow it safely: he absorbs yin qi, mixes the toxin with liquor, then freezes the mixture into a protective ice casing.
• The method works. Once the ice reaches his stomach, Zhao Er withdraws the yin qi and uses the Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body to absorb the toxin, enduring intense pain as it strengthens him.
• Afterward, he experiments with controlling the toxins in his body by encasing them in yin qi. Moisture condenses into a thin sheet of ice, accompanied by black smoke.

Character developments

• Zhao Er demonstrates caution and independence by refusing Sun Yuanying’s offer, while continuing to pursue his own cultivation.
• His ingenuity helps him adapt his techniques to increasingly dangerous toxins. His growing tolerance for pain—and enjoyment of the strength gained through cultivation—shows how accustomed he has become to bodily hardship.
• Sun Yuanying proves calculating: her recruitment offer is also a way to draw Zhao Er toward the Witch Toad’s valuable toxin.

Significant themes

• Ambition balanced by caution: Zhao Er seeks powerful toxins but carefully manages the danger they pose.
• Self-reliance and trust: He prefers hunting alone to risking dependence on people whose motives he cannot judge.
• Adaptation through experimentation: Zhao Er advances by combining his knowledge of yin qi, liquor, and cultivation methods in an original solution.
• Pain as transformation: Physical suffering is presented as the cost—and increasingly the gratification—of becoming stronger.

Character interactions

• Sun Yuanying tries to recruit Zhao Er for the Witch Toad hunt; he declines, and she leaves without pressing him further, privately expecting the toxin to tempt him later.
• Ning Mu leaves without accepting Zhao Er’s offered eighty taels, though she remains receptive to receiving Golden-Backed Heavenly Dragon meat.
• Zhao Er’s main interaction is with his own cultivation: he carefully controls yin qi and toxin absorption to protect himself while strengthening his body.

Plot points and events

• Zhao Er tests a new use for his yin qi: he freezes toxins inside his body into a thin shard and throws it. Though the shard breaks, its venom still corrodes the door, suggesting he can use poison at a distance, potentially alongside hidden weapons.
• He notices dead insects around the house and realizes escaping toxins could endanger ordinary people. He is relieved to have moved away from his family.
• Xiao Cui, a young woman from the nearby Manor House, brings him food and apologizes in advance for the crying and wailing of its clients. Zhao Er accepts the meal, eats it without concern about possible poison, and finds it tasty.
• An unseen group discusses Zhao Er after observing him. They judge him a powerful but unorthodox, inexperienced rogue cultivator and conclude he is unlikely to disrupt their plans. Their leader urges caution until reaching the fourth realm, wary of attracting the Martial Pavilion.
• Zhao Er trains with his Twin Iron Halberds. His Army-Breaking Halberd Art levels up, improving his ability to combine it with his qi-blood.
• The White Marten wakes and races toward the mountains, apparently to hunt. Zhao Er expects it to find venomous creatures and resumes training.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Er shows resourcefulness by considering how to develop his ranged toxin technique. He remains pragmatic and fearless about possible poison, while continuing to focus on martial training.
• Xiao Cui approaches Zhao Er shyly and offers food as a neighborly gesture and apology for the Manor House’s disturbances. Their exchange is polite but leaves Zhao Er uncertain about her motives.
• The White Marten acts independently, reinforcing that its bond with Zhao Er is more partnership than ownership.
• The observers reveal that Zhao Er has attracted attention, though they currently consider him no threat and intend to keep their activities discreet.

Significant themes

• Adapting power through experimentation: Zhao Er turns a bodily toxin into a possible ranged weapon.
• Power and responsibility: His dangerous toxins could harm innocents, making his move away from family significant.
• Caution and concealment: The hidden group fears exposure and the Martial Pavilion’s pursuit.
• Independence and partnership: The White Marten and Zhao Er cooperate without a conventional master-pet relationship.

Plot points

• County Town’s northern district remains busy with martial artists heading into the Clear Radiance Mountains to hunt variant beasts. Few return with rewards; many die, and their deaths have become a familiar part of life near Zhao Er’s home.
• Zhao Er continues cultivating intensely. He freezes poisonous wine with his yin qi, swallows the ice, and trains among iron ingots, refining the poison within his body into strength. His skills improve, and he has reached the Second Martial Artist Realm: Bone Tempering.
• Frustrated that White Marten has returned no information about poisonous variant beasts, Zhao Er hears an evening carriage arrive.
• The visitors are Zhao Xiaohu and Zhao Cai. Xiaohu has grown markedly and proudly announces that he has become a martial artist through the Ginseng Spirit Art.
• Zhao Er congratulates Xiaohu, but privately worries that Zhao Cai’s investment in him may carry expectations and a troubling cost.
• Zhao Er reveals that he reached Bone Tempering the previous month, then asks Zhao Cai to look after Xiaohu, emphasizing how close the two young men are. His pointed tone suggests he suspects Zhao Cai’s motives. The chapter ends with this tense request.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Er has grown more disciplined and capable, but remains protective of Xiaohu. He balances honest congratulations with concern for his friend’s future.
• Zhao Xiaohu is now stronger, larger, and more confident. His exuberance fades when Zhao Cai warns him to control his emotions, and he becomes self-conscious about what Zhao Er thinks of him.
• Zhao Cai presents himself as a responsible mentor, but Zhao Er believes Xiaohu’s training was not purely charitable. He is also impressed by Zhao Er’s house and cultivation progress.
• The reunion is affectionate but uneasy: Zhao Er and Xiaohu share a close bond, while Zhao Er’s request to Zhao Cai carries an implicit challenge.

Significant themes

• Martial ambition and danger: The pursuit of strength and resources brings opportunity, but often ends in death.
• Cultivation through hardship: Zhao Er’s progress comes from rigorous practice and transforming poison into power.
• Loyalty and protection: Zhao Er’s concern for Xiaohu reflects a bond deeper than ordinary friendship.
• The cost of patronage: Xiaohu’s sudden rise may bind him to obligations, raising doubts about whether advancement is ever freely given.

Key plot points

• Zhao Er reveals that he reached the Bone Tempering Realm a month earlier. Alarmed by how powerful the young martial artist has become, Zhao Cai softens his plans to exploit Zhao Xiaohu’s spirit blood and gives Zhao Er a valuable bottle of pills as a congratulatory gift.
• Zhao Xiaohu tells Zhao Er that he is willing to help when Zhao Er next tries to break through. Zhao Er realizes Xiaohu understands the cost of becoming a martial artist and has knowingly accepted that risk, betting on his own potential and Zhao Cai’s judgment.
• The next morning, Zhao Er trains while waiting for the White Marten, which has not returned from the mountains. Noticing that his sister-in-law, Ning Mu, has not visited as usual, he goes to the Ning residence.
• Zhao Er discovers that his eldest brother, Zhao Da, looks exhausted. Ning Mu explains that Zhao Da recently attempted—and failed—to break through to the Bone Tempering Realm. He was not seriously injured, but needs time to recover.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Er uses his newfound status to protect Xiaohu indirectly, accepts Zhao Cai’s gift, and becomes more aware of the different sacrifices people make to advance.
• Zhao Cai proves cautious and self-interested: he still values profit, but Zhao Er’s rapid progress makes him wary of exploiting Xiaohu too severely or risking a future powerful enemy.
• Zhao Xiaohu shows loyalty and resolve, revealing that he knowingly accepts the dangers tied to his cultivation.
• Zhao Da and Ning Mu blame themselves for his failed breakthrough—Zhao Da for becoming impatient, Ning Mu for placing the family’s expectations on him. Their affectionate disagreement shows their concern for each other.

Significant themes

• Ambition and sacrifice: People pursue advancement through different choices and accept different costs.
• Power and social leverage: Zhao Er’s rising strength changes how others treat him, even in ordinary business dealings.
• Family responsibility and pressure: Zhao Da’s attempt reflects the burden of carrying expectations for his family’s future.

Key plot points and events

• A six-person hunting party enters a miasma-filled swamp in the Clear Radiance Mountains to hunt Witch Toads. Boss Sun leads the group; five members are bone-tempering martial artists, while he has reached sinew transformation.
• They locate a flooded hollow and use ducks as bait. When the ducks suddenly fall silent and sink, the hunters prepare to attack.
• A tongue lashes out from the reeds, snatches a duck, and vanishes. Boss Sun fires at the hiding place—but realizes too late that the danger is behind them.
• His companions have disappeared or been killed without warning. Boss Sun infers that the attacker is exceptionally fast and quiet, and suspects the Witch Toad’s poison is weakening his qi-blood.
• He fights back with his saber and the Sun family’s Jade-Folding Hand, but is ensnared in a net and struck with a toxin-coated spike. His qi-blood and bodily hardening fail, and he is killed and drained of blood.
• Two figures leave the swamp, intending to find a place to absorb the cultivation power they have taken.

Character developments

• Boss Sun is experienced, disciplined, and quick to recognize an ambush. His caution and martial skill briefly help him resist, but poison, deception, and the attackers’ coordination overcome him.
• The attackers are revealed as stealthy and efficient predators who use the Witch Toad’s toxin and the swamp’s terrain to eliminate a well-armed party.
• The hunting party begins confident in its numbers and preparation, but its members are picked off before they can coordinate or respond.

Significant themes

• Predator and prey: The hunters enter expecting to hunt the Witch Toad, only to become prey themselves.
• Deception and ambush: The attack exploits distraction, silence, and false expectations rather than direct confrontation.
• Limits of strength: Even skilled martial artists are vulnerable when their abilities depend on qi-blood that poison can disrupt.
• The peril of the wilderness: The swamp’s miasma and terrain amplify the danger and conceal the attackers.

Character interactions

• The two scouts exchange crude jokes until Boss Sun reprimands them for breathing in the miasma and endangering the mission.
• Boss Sun directs the party’s setup, and Zhang Qiang supplies ducks to lure the Witch Toad.
• Once the ambush begins, Boss Sun calls for his companions, but no one answers; their silence underscores how completely the group has been isolated.
• In the final struggle, Boss Sun’s defensive techniques fail against the attackers’ coordinated net, toxin, and draining attack.

Key plot points and events

• At the Ning residence, Zhao Da admits he has not broken through and doubts his prospects in the Grand Exam. He plans to visit home with Ning Mu.
• Zhao Er reveals that he has reached the bone-tempering realm, expects to advance further before the exam, and has not pledged himself to any faction. Zhao Da realizes his younger brother may be able to take on the family responsibility he has been carrying.
• Zhao Er leaves without directly offering to represent the Ning Family in the exam. He believes the family should approach him properly if they want him to compete under their name.
• White Marten returns with snakes, then signals that it wants Zhao Er to follow it somewhere. He postpones the trip until the next day, settles the animal in its nest, and resumes training.
• The following morning, a carriage arrives outside Zhao Er’s courtyard, startling White Marten, which hides inside his clothing.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Da is shown as hardworking and burdened by his perceived duty to support both families. Zhao Er’s disclosure gives him reason to reconsider who can carry that responsibility.
• Zhao Er recognizes his brother’s strain and is willing to help, while also insisting that the Ning Family treat him as a potential exam candidate rather than assuming his service.
• White Marten returns to Zhao Er and appears to have found something worth leading him to, though the chapter does not reveal what. Its playful dependence contrasts with its apparent usefulness as a scout.
• Zhao Er and Zhao Da share a candid, affectionate exchange; Zhao Er leaves after making his point, trusting his brother to understand.

Significant themes

• Family duty and reciprocity: Zhao Er steps forward because Zhao Da has long shouldered responsibility for him and their family.
• Recognition and respect: Zhao Er is willing to serve the Ning Family, but expects them to acknowledge his value and approach him appropriately.
• Hidden capability and changing roles: Zhao Da still sees Zhao Er as someone to protect, even as Zhao Er becomes capable of supporting him.

Plot points and events

• Zhao Er meets with his sister-in-law Ning Mu, his brother Zhao Da, and Ning Mu’s younger brother Ning Wu. The Ning family offers to make Zhao Er an Attendant, providing a monthly stipend and covering his living expenses in exchange for entering the Grand Exam under their name.
• Zhao Er accepts, but asks that the monthly payment go to his parents and that the Ning family provide them with a cook, servants, and guards. Ning Mu and Ning Wu promise to care for the Zhao family. Zhao Er and Ning Mu then formalize the agreement at the Government Office.
• After returning home, Zhao Er gathers supplies and enters the northern Mountain Range with the White Marten, which quickly leads him toward new prey.
• Separately, Wu Xing receives a lead in the investigation of demonic cultivators: someone has repeatedly bought information about Variant Beasts, and those who followed it into the mountains disappeared. Their corpses were found drained of blood near a Variant Beast’s lair. Wu Xing sets out to investigate.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Er shows that his priorities are his parents’ security, not personal wealth. He accepts the Ning family’s support only on terms that protect them.
• Zhao Da is moved by Zhao Er’s generosity, recognizing that his younger brother is taking on a responsibility he feels should be his.
• Ning Mu and Ning Wu make a firm commitment to support the Zhao family, strengthening the bond between the two families.
• Wu Xing’s frustration at a month-long investigation gives way to renewed urgency once a concrete lead emerges.

Significant themes

• Family duty and mutual loyalty: Zhao Er uses his opportunity to ensure his parents are safe, while the Ning family pledges to treat the Zhao family’s welfare as its own.
• Patronage and ambition: The Attendant contract is a calculated investment by the Ning family, linking its fortunes to Zhao Er’s potential success in the Grand Exam.
• Danger and mystery: The missing Martial Artists and blood-drained bodies point to a serious threat lurking in the Mountain Range.

Plot points and events

• Zhao Er enters the mountains with White Marten, which knows the terrain well and leads him along indirect routes that keep him away from other martial artists and danger.
• White Marten’s excitement grows after nightfall, so Zhao Er follows it through the night. They encounter a few venomous snakes, which White Marten catches and eats.
• At dawn, White Marten leads Zhao Er to a secluded gorge filled with spiderwebs and two caves. It indicates that the unusual beast is in the lower cave, though its hesitation leaves Zhao Er unsure about the situation inside.
• Rather than enter the dark, web-filled cave, Zhao Er tests the venom of an ordinary spider. He finds it mildly corrosive and paralytic, but believes he can handle it.
• Zhao Er chooses to smoke out the spiders by lighting a fire at the cave entrance and throwing burning wood inside. The webs ignite, and the spiders rush toward the exit but are trapped by the flames and burned.

Character developments

• Zhao Er is cautious and methodical: safety takes priority over hunting, and he tests the spiders’ venom before confronting the cave’s unusual beast. He adapts his plan to avoid fighting on unfamiliar ground.
• White Marten is energetic, capable, and highly familiar with the mountains, but reluctant to enter the cave. It helps guide Zhao Er yet offers little help once the danger is inside.

Character interactions

• White Marten leads Zhao Er, checks that he is following, and signals the cave’s location, though Zhao Er cannot understand most of its gestures.
• Zhao Er asks White Marten to lure the beast out; it leaps away, prompting him to call it unhelpful.
• Zhao Er ultimately acts without White Marten’s assistance, using fire against the cave’s spiders.

Significant themes

• Caution and preparation: Zhao Er assesses the threat and tests the venom before acting.
• Practical problem-solving: Faced with the cave’s disadvantage, he changes the conditions rather than entering blindly.
• Trust and limits of communication: Zhao Er relies on White Marten’s guidance but cannot fully interpret its signals or depend on it in every situation.

Key plot points and events

• Zhao Er lures the cave’s spider out by setting a fire, then kills the goat-sized variant with two Army-Breaking Halberd techniques: Heavy Halberd and Blood Pierce.
• His victory is easier than earlier battles because he is immune to poison and uses fire to overcome the cave’s webs and smaller venomous spiders.
• When no hunt-settlement notification appears, Zhao Er suspects another variant spider remains inside. White Marten’s urgent cries warn him that danger is nearby—but not from the cave.
• An unseen attacker ambushes Zhao Er with nearly transparent nets. One entangles his arm and remaining halberd; he throws his other weapon to knock away a net, then kicks stones to deflect two more.
• During the distraction, a spike pierces his back and penetrates his Nine-Turn Golden Body Art. Zhao Er feels energy entering him and counters with the Scorpion Tail Sweep.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Er shows confidence and tactical judgment, relying on fire, poison resistance, heightened senses, and quick improvisation rather than fighting on the spider’s terms.
• His growing ability to interpret White Marten’s cries allows him to recognize the warning, though he turns toward the danger too late to avoid the ambush.
• White Marten shifts from companion to active lookout, apparently fleeing from the hidden attacker.
• Zhao Er’s unseen assailant is revealed only through its nets and spike, leaving its identity and abilities unresolved.

Significant themes

• Preparation and adaptability: Zhao Er’s planned use of fire makes a dangerous beast manageable.
• Hidden threats: A clear victory becomes a trap, emphasizing that danger may come from an unexpected direction.
• Instinct and teamwork: White Marten’s warning helps Zhao Er detect the ambush, even as the attack unfolds too quickly to prevent injury.

Plot points and events

• Zhao Er briefly lands an instinctive kick on his elusive opponent, but learns from a woman’s voice that there are multiple attackers.
• Realizing the enemies are trying to capture rather than kill him, he tries to retreat toward a cliff. A powerful attacker—at major mastery of the Sinew Transformation Realm—strikes him, knocks him out of his defensive stance, and twists all four of his limbs.
• The man restrains Zhao Er, and the woman prepares to drink his blood. Zhao Er feigns unconsciousness, then deliberately sends his qi-blood and toxin into her mouth when she bites his neck.
• The poisoned woman cannot immediately release him and strikes him away. As the man catches Zhao Er, Zhao Er bites into the man’s shoulder and pours in the remaining poison. The man punches through Zhao Er’s shoulder, but Zhao Er refuses to let go.

Character developments

• Zhao Er shows quick judgment under pressure: he recognizes the capture attempt, pretends to be unconscious, and turns the enemies’ feeding method into an opportunity. Though badly injured and outmatched, he commits fully to a desperate counterattack.
• The man and woman are revealed as a coordinated pair with a clear advantage in speed and strength. Their confidence falters once Zhao Er’s toxins affect them.

Significant themes

• Resourcefulness against overwhelming power: Zhao Er cannot win through strength, so he exploits the enemies’ tactics.
• Endurance and sacrifice: He accepts catastrophic injuries to deliver his poison.
• Predator becoming prey: The woman’s attempt to feed on Zhao Er gives him the opening to poison her.

Character interactions

• Zhao Er and the woman’s close-range encounter becomes a trap: she bites him to drink his blood, while he uses the bite to poison her.
• The man catches Zhao Er after the woman strikes him, allowing Zhao Er to attack the man at close range.
• The pair’s coordinated assault is interrupted by Zhao Er’s counterattack, though the chapter ends with him still clinging to the man’s shoulder.

Key plot points and events

• Zhao Er’s desperate poisoning tactic kills both his attackers: a Third Realm Sinew Transformation martial artist and a Second Realm Bone Tempering woman. Their bodies are rapidly dissolved by the combined toxins of the Blackwater Strange Serpent and Golden-Backed Heavenly Dragon.
• The event settles, granting Zhao Er experience, one point of poison resistance, and twelve skill points. The resulting energy heals his severe injuries and completes the second turn of the Nine-Turn Golden Body Art: Copper Body.
• Zhao Er realizes the power gap between Second and Third Realm martial artists nearly cost him his life. His successful counterattack depended on his enemies’ contact with his poison, and he has now used up most of two of his toxin reserves.
• White Marten appears at the upper cave, still partly trapped in a net. Zhao Er deduces that the attackers had been hiding there and had waited until he defeated the Red-Patterned Poison Spider before ambushing him.
• White Marten leads Zhao Er to a bundle in the cave. As the marten drags it out, clothing, porcelain bottles, and a book spill onto the ground.

Character development and interactions

• Zhao Er survives through improvisation and lethal poison, then emerges stronger and newly resilient. His relief at surviving is tempered by caution: he recognizes both the danger of stronger martial artists and the limits of his current toxin supply. He also remains curious about who the attackers were.
• White Marten proves resourceful, escaping the net by chewing through it and guiding Zhao Er to the hidden bundle. Zhao Er initially assumes it needs help, but quickly understands that it is showing him where the attackers had been hiding.

Significant themes

• Survival through adaptation: Zhao Er turns a disastrous ambush into victory by using the toxins within his body.
• Power and vulnerability: His new Copper Body marks a major advance, but the encounter shows that even strong defenses can fail against a much stronger opponent.
• The cost of survival: Victory consumes precious toxin reserves and leaves Zhao Er aware that future threats may demand further growth.

Key plot points and events

• After defeating two exceptionally elusive attackers, Zhao Er finds their belongings: the “Essence Reaping Art,” porcelain bottles, clothes, and a remarkably tough, sticky net.
• Hidden in the clothes are two Human-Skin Masks, which Zhao Er recognizes as disguises resembling Xiao Cui and an old man from the Manor House. He suspects the attackers may be connected to the Manor House, though he postpones investigating.
• Zhao Er frees White Marten from the net, then rests and studies the manual.
• The Essence Reaping Art cultivates by drinking martial artists’ blood and refining its vital essence to strengthen the practitioner. It is powerful but creates blood-baleful energy, which slows the circulation of qi-blood. Practitioners can also transfer this energy into opponents to disrupt their circulation.
• Zhao Er realizes that the blood-baleful energy injected into him during the fight may explain his unexpectedly increased poison resistance.
• The manual covers more than the first three martial realms—blood condensation, bone tempering, and sinew transformation. It also describes the fourth realm, primordial unity, where physical force becomes inner force and unites with qi-blood force.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Er initially hopes the book is a lightness art, since the attackers’ movement was so impressive, but accepts the manual’s value and considers how it might eventually be combined with his existing techniques.
• His knowledge of his own cultivation deepens: he compares the Essence Reaping Art with his fused Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body and revises his theory about the source of his poison resistance.
• White Marten pleads to be freed, and Zhao Er unties her; she immediately darts away.
• Though exhausted from the fight, Zhao Er remains observant and analytical, connecting the masks, the attackers, and the unusual energy he felt during combat.

Significant themes

• Power and its cost: The Essence Reaping Art offers rapid improvement, but demands blood and creates a harmful, accumulating force.
• Adaptation and synthesis: Zhao Er evaluates new knowledge in relation to his existing techniques and sees potential in combining methods.
• Uncertainty and concealed identities: The masks raise questions about the attackers’ relationship to the Manor House and hint at a wider mystery.
• Learning through danger: Zhao Er uses the aftermath of combat to understand both his opponent’s technique and changes in his own body.

Plot points and events

• Zhao Er finishes studying the Essence Reaping Art, a purple-grade cultivation method. It advances by consuming martial artists’ blood and extracting their vital essence; reaching the Primordial Unity Realm requires draining a living martial artist of that realm, making the breakthrough extraordinarily dangerous.
• He considers whether his Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body might likewise advance by absorbing powerful toxins, but sets the thought aside because he is still only in the Bone Tempering Realm.
• The Essence Reaping Art appears on his status panel as Purple, Level 1. Zhao Er takes this as confirmation that a method’s grade depends chiefly on its number of levels and its maximum potential.
• Ready to leave, he finds the White Marten hiding in the spider’s cave, nibbling a small crimson herb. Its appearance reminds him that he came to hunt the Red-Patterned Poison Spider. He recovers his Iron Halberds and salvages the spider’s valuable Silk Sac and Poison Gland.
• Wu Xing, a tall heavy-saber wielder Zhao Er previously saw at the Martial Pavilion, arrives. He says the Provincial Martial Academy sent him to investigate an evil-path martial-artist base used to lure victims.
• Zhao Er remains wary, suspecting Wu Xing could be connected to the two men he killed. Wu Xing asks how Zhao Er survived and defeated them, since intelligence indicates they had killed several Sinew Transformation Realm fighters. The excerpt ends before Zhao Er answers.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Er shows caution and resourcefulness: he recognizes the risks of the Essence Reaping Art, keeps a speculative breakthrough idea to himself, gathers useful spider parts, and stays prepared for a possible threat.
• Wu Xing is observant and direct. He reads the signs of Zhao Er’s fight, explains his official purpose, and presses for an account of what happened.
• The White Marten remains a mischievous but loyal companion. It has eaten part of the herb and emerges protectively when Wu Xing appears; Zhao Er calms it by stroking it.
• Their meeting is guarded but not immediately hostile: Zhao Er demands to know why Wu Xing is there, while Wu Xing acknowledges the explanation he is owed and questions Zhao Er’s unlikely victory.

Significant themes

• Power and its price: The Essence Reaping Art offers an unconventional route to cultivation, but its highest breakthrough demands a lethal act and carries baleful side effects.
• Pragmatism and restraint: Zhao Er weighs future possibilities without acting beyond his current capabilities.
• Trust and suspicion: Zhao Er’s recent ambush makes him distrustful, while Wu Xing’s investigation requires him to distinguish a survivor from the evil-path fighters he is pursuing.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Xing questions Zhao Er about his unusual strength and how he defeated two Caiyuan Sect fighters, but Zhao Er initially suspects the questions may be an attempt to expose his secret weapon.
• Wu Xing explains that he is a steward in the Ningjin Prefecture Martial Academy’s Discipline Law Branch and an old family friend of Uncle Zhang. Uncle Zhang plans to recommend Zhao Er to the Academy—and hopes Wu Xing’s squad will accept him as a Martial Guard.
• Wu Xing clarifies the Academy’s ranks: Martial Academy Students are roughly like sect outer disciples, Martial Guards like inner disciples, and stewards like true disciples. Unlike sects, the Academy places greater emphasis on practical ability and strength.
• Reassured, Zhao Er recounts the fight and reveals a drop of his poisonous blood, which corrodes the stone. He explains that he concealed the poison until his opponents tried to drain his blood, then used it to kill them.
• Wu Xing accepts the explanation and praises Zhao Er’s resourcefulness. Although Zhao Er cannot yet receive mission merits as a non-member, Wu Xing insists on collecting them for him and transferring them after he joins.
• Wu Xing regrets that the attackers’ identities remain unconfirmed. Zhao Er then says he may know something about who they were, setting up a further revelation.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Er shifts from guarded suspicion to cautious trust. He chooses to disclose his poison after learning Wu Xing’s position and hearing that Wu Xing intends to treat him fairly.
• Wu Xing presents himself as both curious and considerate: he explains the Academy’s structure, stops pressing once Zhao Er demonstrates the poison, and insists Zhao Er receive credit for the mission.
• Their exchange establishes a tentative professional relationship, with Wu Xing acting as a prospective squad leader and Zhao Er beginning to treat him as a possible ally.

Significant themes

• Trust and self-protection: Zhao Er weighs the risk of revealing his lethal secret against the value of trusting a powerful prospective ally.
• Practical merit and fairness: The Academy values demonstrated ability, and Wu Xing insists that Zhao Er be credited for work he completed.
• Ingenuity against stronger foes: Zhao Er’s concealed poison allows him to overcome opponents with superior cultivation and specialized methods.

Plot points and events

• Zhao Er gives Wu Xing the manuals and Human-Skin Masks taken from the defeated men, revealing that they had posed as Manor House owners and seemed connected to the Caiyuan Sect. Wu Xing keeps the evidence needed for his mission, returns the porcelain bottles to Zhao Er, and promises to settle the remaining business and share the benefits.
• Zhao Er gathers the large transparent nets, checks the cave, and leaves behind two pools of deadly-looking slime. He heads back toward the Mountain Range’s outskirts with the White Marten, which is unusually sluggish and falls asleep in his clothes.
• Pleased with his gains—the breakthrough of his Nine-Turn Golden Body Art to Copper Body and the Red-Patterned Poison Spider’s Poison Gland—Zhao Er spots an ambush on the return journey.
• He avoids the concealed ground traps and kills two attackers in close combat. When a third flees, Zhao Er throws his Twin Iron Halberds after him, killing him and sending the weapons through two trees.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Er shows caution and practical judgment by passing the masks and manuals to Wu Xing rather than risking trouble himself. He is confident in his new strength, alert to danger, and utterly ruthless when attacked. His Copper Body lets him withstand a spear thrust and keep charging.
• Wu Xing treats Zhao Er fairly, taking only the mission evidence and promising him a share of the rewards. Zhao Er’s trust and respect for him grow, though he suspects Wu Xing may also be acting with Dian Zhang in mind.
• The White Marten appears weakened after eating an unknown poisonous herb and has to rest.
• The ambushers’ routine strategy—trapping prey and attacking from concealment—fails against Zhao Er’s Trap Skill and overwhelming force.

Significant themes

• Pragmatism and risk: Zhao Er avoids unnecessary danger by handing off the evidence and leaving the suspicious slime untouched.
• Growth and earned confidence: His cultivation breakthrough is immediately tested in combat.
• Vigilance and preparation: Recognizing subtle signs of traps allows Zhao Er to seize the initiative.
• Violence and survival: Once attacked, Zhao Er prioritizes decisive offense over defense, demonstrating how dangerous his new strength has made him.

Plot points and events

• Zhao Er kills three coordinated ambushers in a single strike each, including a bone-tempering saber fighter. The brief fight reassures him that, although earlier opponents had overwhelmed him, he is not weak; he resolves to improve steadily and avoid drawing attention.
• He finds silver and bottles among the attackers’ belongings. Before leaving, he secretly contaminates their corpses with his Golden-Backed Heavenly Dragon toxin, which is mistaken for corpse-dissolving water by the men who later investigate. The poison infects them too, and they flee in alarm.
• Back home, Zhao Er realizes his battered appearance—ragged clothes, visible injuries, and a bundle—made him look like an easy target. He examines the bottles he has collected and accidentally swallows a Detoxification Pill, which begins dispersing the yin toxin in his blood. He desperately tries to make himself vomit it up.
• In County Town, Wu Xing asks Dian Zhang about the Five Poisons Art. Their discussion establishes that its practitioners’ blood can become toxic, but that its toxins should not be powerful enough to kill a more advanced martial artist. Wu Xing confirms that Zhao Er did exactly that, leaving both men impressed and unsettled by his ingenuity.
• Over the next three days, Zhao Er recovers from his shoulder wound and learns to recognize common pills and poisons by smell and taste. He also identifies a potent corrosive toxin among the stolen supplies, which could help him against heavily armored variant beasts. Wu Xing then comes to see him.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Er gains confidence from the ambush but remains cautious. His resourcefulness is evident in both his use of poison and his methodical experimentation with unfamiliar pills—though his taste-testing leads him to swallow a Detoxification Pill by mistake.
• Wu Xing becomes more curious about Zhao Er’s abilities and investigates the limits of the Five Poisons Art.
• Dian Zhang initially questions Wu Xing’s interest in the manual, then recognizes that Zhao Er’s poison feat defies ordinary expectations. He calls the boy uncanny and ruthless.
• The ambushed men’s companions misread Zhao Er’s toxin as corpse-dissolving water; their own exposure underscores the danger of underestimating him.

Significant themes

• Confidence tempered by caution: Zhao Er learns to acknowledge his strength without becoming complacent.
• Ingenuity and unconventional methods: His poison use and experiments let him overcome limits that conventional martial arts would impose.
• Appearance and vulnerability: Zhao Er’s battered look makes him seem like an easy mark, even though he is exceptionally dangerous.
• Knowledge through experimentation—and its risks: His careful study of medicines expands his expertise, but tasting an unknown pill nearly compromises his condition.

Key plot points and events

• During Zhao Er’s three days of cultivation, he learns that his parents have refused to move to the County Town. The Ning Family will rebuild their village home using resources that would otherwise have gone to Zhao Er; he accepts the decision and plans to visit them.
• Wu Xing reports that Zhao Er’s clues helped identify two Caiyuan Sect members. Their recovered spoils have been converted to silver: Zhao Er receives 1,500 taels, though the Manor House deed accounts for much of the value.
• Zhao Er suggests demolishing and rebuilding the ill-omened Manor House as an inn and intelligence-gathering post. Wu Xing agrees to pass on the idea and reminds him that joining the Martial Academy requires third-realm strength, while becoming a Martial Guard requires at least mastery of sinew transformation.
• Zhao Er returns 500 taels to Wu Xing as thanks, keeping 1,000. Wu Xing accepts and gives him a bamboo tube containing five locations of variant beasts in the nearby Mountain Range.
• The locations include a Witch Toad and a Tranquilizing Giant Bee—creatures whose toxins could strengthen Zhao Er’s options in combat. Since dealing with the Caiyuan Sect members depleted most of his stored poisons, he is eager to find new ones. He nevertheless decides to wait until he has absorbed the Red-Patterned Poison Spider’s Poison Gland before entering the mountains.
• Zhao Er contacts Sun Yuanying to ask about the Witch Toad and offers her the spider’s silk gland. She values it at fifty taels, explaining that its uses are limited. Zhao Er then produces another item, setting up the next exchange.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Er shows gratitude and strategic judgment: he willingly gives Wu Xing a substantial share of the money, believing the relationship is more valuable than keeping the silver. He also restrains his eagerness to hunt, prioritizing preparation and survival.
• Wu Xing views Zhao Er as a promising long-term investment and hopes he will advance enough to become useful. Zhao Er’s generosity impresses him further, prompting him to share valuable beast intelligence.
• Sun Yuanying arrives promptly and evaluates the spider’s silk gland herself. Her practical, matter-of-fact appraisal contrasts with Zhao Er’s interest in trading useful materials for information.

Significant themes

• Pragmatism and survival: Zhao Er treats money, relationships, intelligence, and poison as resources, while refusing to risk the mountains unprepared.
• Reciprocity and patronage: Zhao Er’s gift earns Wu Xing’s goodwill, and Wu Xing responds with information potentially worth far more than the money.
• Ambition balanced by caution: Zhao Er wants to strengthen his combat toolkit, but recognizes that impatience could be fatal.
• Unequal value and perspective: The beast locations are merely a few slips of paper to Wu Xing, but potentially invaluable to Zhao Er because of his dependence on toxins.

Plot points and events

• Zhao Er sells Sun Yuanying the Transparent Nets he seized, receiving fifty taels per net. Sun Yuanying recognizes their usefulness for traps and for countering martial artists with heavy weapons, as well as their limitations.
• Zhao Er asks whether their earlier plan to hunt the Witch Toad together is still on. Sun Yuanying says the matter is no longer her responsibility. Before leaving, she warns him that mountain expeditions have become dangerous and that several lone martial artists have disappeared.
• Zhao Er suspects the Sun Family has already attempted the Witch Toad hunt without success, and connects the Red Tiger Gang to three men he encountered earlier.
• Sun Yuanying confronts her father: her Fourth Uncle and his party have been missing for six days after setting out to hunt the Witch Toad. Her father refuses to send another group or let news spread, fearing rivals would exploit the Sun Family’s apparent weakness.
• Instead, he gives Sun Yuanying a costly five-year-old jade lingzhi to support her attempt to reach the sinew transformation realm. The Sun Family had hoped the Witch Toad hunt would provide what she needed; buying the herb consumes much of its available funds.
• Zhao Er decides to stay out of the mountains and absorb the Red-Patterned Poison Spider’s Poison Gland first. A month passes, and the city’s factions grow increasingly tense ahead of the Grand Exam.
• Rumors circulate about factions acquiring rare resources and young martial artists attempting breakthroughs. By night, deadly clashes become common, while ordinary residents avoid the streets.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Er proves tactful and observant: he sells the nets, probes Sun Yuanying about the Witch Toad, and reads her guarded answer as evidence of the hunt’s failure. He chooses caution over another mountain expedition.
• Sun Yuanying shifts from composed merchant to anxious daughter. She is deeply worried about her missing uncle and considers leading a rescue party, but ultimately accepts her father’s order to focus on her breakthrough.
• The Sun Family Head hides his concern behind a calm, disciplined manner. Though he refuses to risk another party or reveal the family’s trouble, he commits substantial resources to Sun Yuanying’s cultivation.
• Zhao Er and Sun Yuanying maintain a polite, mutually respectful business relationship, while her warning signals that the danger extends beyond their dealings.

Significant themes

• Resource scarcity and factional competition: Rare medicines and materials can determine both individual advancement and a family’s survival.
• Unequal opportunity: Affiliated martial artists can buy protection for dangerous breakthroughs, while unaffiliated fighters must often risk their lives.
• Ambition versus family duty: Sun Yuanying wants to investigate her uncle’s disappearance, but her breakthrough is treated as essential to the Sun Family’s future.
• Secrecy and escalating danger: The factions conceal setbacks and maneuver against one another as the Grand Exam approaches, turning the city increasingly violent.

Plot points and events

• Zhao Er spends a month absorbing toxins from the Red-Patterned Poison Spider and other sources. His cultivation and combat abilities improve substantially, and his Essence Reaping Art advances through passive practice.
• He considers hunting either the Mind-Calming Giant Bees or the Witch Toad, both valuable sources of toxins.
• Sun Yuanying visits to ask him to investigate the disappearance of a Sun Family hunting party that had been sent after the Witch Toad. She offers the toad’s location as payment.
• Zhao Er shows her a note linking the affair to a Martial Academy Steward. Sun Yuanying immediately recognizes the significance of the connection and drops her questions, though she promises a generous reward for any information.
• Suspecting that two Caiyuan Sect martial artists ambushed the missing hunters, Zhao Er decides the Witch Toad is now his priority. He sets out for the Mountain Range.
• After he leaves, news spreads that Sun Yuanying has reached the Sinew Transformation Realm. Rival powers react with suspicion and envy, and one voice calls for her to be tested or even crippled.

Character developments

• Zhao Er has grown stronger and more confident: he believes he can now escape an ordinary Sinew Transformation fighter, though he remains cautious and keeps his abilities secret. He also acts decisively once the missing hunters’ case becomes urgent.
• Sun Yuanying has made a major breakthrough. Her aura is more restrained, and her previously almost unreal appearance now seems more natural. She also shows prudence by respecting the Martial Academy Steward’s authority rather than pressing Zhao Er.
• The White Marten appears to have grown stronger from eating poisonous creatures, though it remains skittish and disappears when Zhao Er is about to leave.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and hidden power: Zhao Er’s strength and connections remain largely unknown, while Sun Yuanying’s breakthrough was concealed until now.
• Opportunity amid conflict: The struggle among the county’s powers creates chances for martial artists, but also makes the region more dangerous.
• Ambition and rivalry: Sun Yuanying’s advancement provokes suspicion and hostile competition among the other powers.
• Risk and reward: Zhao Er’s pursuit of toxins and the Witch Toad offers power and valuable information, but involves danger in the Mountain Range.

Character interactions

• Zhao Er treats the White Marten affectionately but matter-of-factly, tolerating the snake’s bite and letting the marten eat it.
• Sun Yuanying approaches Zhao Er as a potential ally, but the note about the Martial Academy Steward changes the balance of the conversation: she becomes cautious and leaves without demanding more.
• Zhao Er’s polite restraint conceals his suspicions about her breakthrough, while Sun Yuanying’s request pushes him toward a new, more consequential hunt.