Chapter Summaries

Mo Yun spent the Lunar New Year visiting family and friends before training with his newly accumulated black points. On the fourth day, his Body-Guarding Art broke through, dramatically strengthening his body.

• Mo Yun took Mo Yiyi to the county town for the Lunar New Year festivities and returned home with her after dark.
• Mo Yun visited Commander Li, gave Niuniu New Year's money, declined a matchmaking offer, and avoided sparring with Commander Li.
• Mo Yun left a gift for the absent Village Master at the Main Court, then visited Black Wolf at the Sky Wolf Gang.
• After returning home, Mo Yun gained two black points and learned that advancing the Demon-Subduing Scripture required eleven points.
• Two days later, Mo Yun's Body-Guarding Art broke through, covering his skin in pale golden patterns and greatly hardening his body.

Mo Yun broke through the Body-Guarding Art and Black Tiger Leap, then spent a White Point to increase his Life Value and deepen his martial understanding. After returning to Crouching Tiger Manor from the New Year holiday, he went to seek the Village Master for guidance on Transforming Force and becoming a Second-Grade Alchemist.

• Mo Yun broke through the Body-Guarding Art and Black Tiger Leap, greatly increasing his defense, constitution, speed, and agility.
• Mo Yun gained a White Point from the breakthroughs and spent it to raise his Life Value from seven to eight, improving his comprehension.
• Mo Yun practiced the Nameless Fist Technique and judged that he was close to a breakthrough, while estimating the two newly advanced arts would take about a month to reach minor accomplishment.
• Mo Yun continued his routine until he gained two more Black Points, then left for Crouching Tiger Manor on the ninth day of the first lunar month with New Year food from Mo Yiyi.
• Mo Yun arrived at Crouching Tiger Manor and headed to the Main Court to ask the Village Master about Transforming Force and becoming a Second-Grade Alchemist.

Mo Yun visited Lin Yanshan to learn how to become a Transforming Force Grandmaster, and Lin explained the roles of intent, force energy, and physical strength in the breakthrough. Mo Yun planned to test his physique against Lin’s Martial Dao Will at North Mountain, then asked how to tell whether his physique had reached its limit.

• Mo Yun asked Lin Yanshan about reaching transforming force, and Lin discovered that Mo Yun had already advanced to late dark force.
• Lin explained that Tiger-Crouching Fist practitioners must perfect their intent and unite it with force energy to produce transforming force.
• Lin said practitioners also needed peak dark force and a physique strong enough to withstand transforming force, which could later nourish the body and extend lifespan.
• Lin told Mo Yun to test his physique against the Martial Dao Will he had left at North Mountain Summit and warned him to retreat if he could not endure it.
• Mo Yun asked whether a stronger physique was always better, and Lin explained that a limit physique could improve a breakthrough but was exceptionally rare.
• Mo Yun asked how to determine whether his physique had reached its limit.

Mo Yun asked Lin Yanshan how to tell when his physique had reached its limit, and learned that he could pursue it only until he turned twenty without delaying his cultivation. Lin Yanshan explained the path beyond transforming force and promised to take Mo Yun to Central Province if he reached peak transforming force before thirty; Mo Yun left for North Mountain to test his physique.

• Lin Yanshan warned Mo Yun that tempering his physique to its limit could take years and urged him to prioritize advancing his cultivation realm.
• Mo Yun reminded Lin Yanshan that he still had not explained how to recognize a limit physique, so Lin Yanshan allowed him to pursue one until age twenty at most.
• Lin Yanshan described the Martial Dao Foundation Embryo and inner core, and said Mo Yun would need the complete Tiger-Subduing Lineage inheritance from Central Province to advance beyond transforming force.
• Lin Yanshan promised to take Mo Yun to Central Province for the core condensation inheritance if he reached peak transforming force before thirty, while warning him that the inheritance was tightly controlled.
• Lin Yanshan told Mo Yun that he would recognize his own physique limit, and Mo Yun thanked him before heading to North Mountain to test his physique.

Mo Yun tested his physique against the Village Master's Martial Dao Will at North Mountain Summit and discovered he could endure its pressure far longer than the required fifteen minutes. The experience greatly boosted his Nameless Fist Technique training, but left him wondering why he still had not reached the limit physique needed to attempt transforming force.

• Mo Yun climbed North Mountain and realized the summit platform had been flattened by a powerful punch, whose lingering Martial Dao Will pressured both his body and mind.
• Mo Yun endured the summit's pressure for fifteen minutes without harm, then practiced the Nameless Fist Technique and found his training about five times as efficient as at the mountain's foot.
• Mo Yun practiced for nearly four hours before blood seeped through his skin and dizziness forced him to flee the summit with Black Tiger Leap.
• Mo Yun decided to train at the summit daily, expecting the Nameless Fist Technique to reach pure mastery in five or six days, but questioned why his physique had not reached its limit.
• Mo Yun inspected his Virtual Panel, considered investing future points in the Body-Guarding Art, and lamented that he had only four black points available.

Mo Yun visited Commander Li to learn more about transforming force and discovered that Li’s stalled breakthrough came from his difficulty advancing his intent. Li then questioned how Mo Yun could practice Tiger-Crouching Force without first comprehending its intent, leaving Mo Yun to confront the unusual way his own training had progressed.

• Mo Yun trained the Nameless Fist Technique on North Mountain until he reached his limit, then went to Commander Li’s courtyard to ask about transforming force.
• Commander Li explained that blood qi and physique could remain sufficient for a breakthrough until fifty, but he believed he had little hope because his Tiger's Roar in the Mountains Intent had not advanced beyond greater mastery.
• Mo Yun asked why Li could not perfect Tiger-Crouching Force and improve his intent through practice, but Li said the intent had to guide progress in the force technique.
• Mo Yun recalled that he had advanced Tiger-Crouching Force by adding points, which had indirectly improved his intent, and Li asked whether Mo Yun could really cultivate the technique without first comprehending its intent.

Mo Yun learned how perfected intent could be attained, then broke through the Nameless Fist Technique to pure mastery during his Lantern Festival practice. The chapter ended with him marveling at the technique’s hidden power and wondering how far it could improve.

• Commander Li explained that perfected intent usually required exceptional comprehension or a rare opportunity, and that a Realm-Breaking Pill made from a peak Tier-Three Demon Beast’s Nascent Demon Core could help someone comprehend it.
• Mo Yun resolved to help Commander Li obtain a Nascent Demon Core someday, then asked him to watch for missions involving Demons below Tier Three.
• Mo Yun bought pills at the Logistics Office, returned home, and resumed his daily cultivation; after six days without missions, he practiced the Nameless Fist Technique at North Mountain Summit.
• Mo Yun broke through to pure mastery, demonstrating a punch that left the rocky ground intact before causing a huge pit to erupt beneath it.
• The Virtual Panel showed Mo Yun’s improved constitution and defense, six black points, and his Nameless Fist Technique at pure mastery; Mo Yun realized the technique might still advance further.

Mo Yun trained toward several martial breakthroughs, then went to Yellow Maple Town to celebrate Lantern Festival with his sister, Mo Yiyi. After a suspicious messenger lured him to the Sishui River, Mo Yun killed him and confronted a saber-wielding man who demanded the Demon Core.

• Mo Yun saw that the White Mark was about eighty percent full after the Nameless Fist Technique reached pure mastery, and estimated that its next breakthrough would take at least half a year.
• Mo Yun trained the Body-Guarding Art and Black Tiger Leap, calculated his plans for raising his cultivation and martial intent, and left for Lantern Festival dinner with Mo Yiyi.
• After dinner, Mo Yun followed Li Laizi, who claimed the Sky Wolf Gang leader wanted to meet him, away from town and toward the Sishui River.
• Li Laizi fled at the reed bed, but Mo Yun killed him with Dark Force and challenged the people hiding nearby.
• A tall man carrying a black saber emerged and demanded that Mo Yun hand over the Demon Core in exchange for his life.

Mo Yun confronted a Chaos Blade Sect martial artist who accused him of killing Mo Fan and Lu and demanded the Demon Core. After Mo Yun defeated him, the man died by rupturing his meridians, leaving Mo Yun to hide the body and hurry toward the Sky Wolf Gang.

• The brocade-clad man accused Mo Yun of killing Junior Brother Mo and Junior Brother Lu and demanded the Demon Core in exchange for sparing him.
• Mo Yun realized the Chaos Blade Sect feared the Crouching Tiger Manor, but he refused to hand over the Demon Core.
• The brocade-clad man attacked Mo Yun, whose Tiger-Crouching Fist shattered his saber and gravely wounded him with one punch.
• Mo Yun questioned the dying man about whether he was Senior Brother Jiang and who else suspected Mo Yun, but the man ruptured his meridians and died.
• Mo Yun searched the body, weighted it with a rock, sank it and the broken saber in the Sishui River, then hurried toward the Sky Wolf Gang.

Mo Yun returned to the Sky Wolf Gang and found Black Wolf near death after an attack by two Chaos Blade Sect members seeking information about him. After saving Black Wolf and learning where the attackers were staying, Mo Yun headed to the Good Fortune Inn to confront them.

• Mo Yun found the Sky Wolf Gang in chaos and learned that an attacker had left Black Wolf critically injured.
• Mo Yun recognized the lingering blade intent as belonging to the Chaos Blade Sect and used a Jade-Congealing Pill to save Black Wolf.
• Black Wolf told Mo Yun that two Chaos Blade Sect members had questioned him about Mo Yun before one attacked him with a flash of blade light.
• Black Wolf described the men, and Mo Yun learned that the man in white had touched his brow with a glowing finger, possibly using hypnosis.
• Mo Yun questioned Liu Ergou and learned that the two men were staying at the Good Fortune Inn in the northern part of town.
• Despite Black Wolf's warning about their strength, Mo Yun raced toward the inn, hoping Senior Brother Jiang was still there.

Mo Yun realized that the man he had killed was not Jiang Wuming and hurried to find the real Senior Brother Jiang. At the Good Fortune Inn, Jiang Wuming grew frantic over the missing Nascent Demon Core and Tang Baizang, then tried to flee Yellow Maple Town before Mo Yun confronted him.

• Mo Yun concluded that the real Jiang Wuming was still hiding nearby and raced through town to find him.
• At the Good Fortune Inn, Jiang Wuming blamed Tang Baizang for taking too long to recover his Nascent Demon Core and raged over the events that had cost him his chance to break through to Transforming Force.
• Jiang Wuming reassured himself that Tang Baizang could defeat Mo Yun, but became alarmed when Tang failed to return after more than two hours.
• Suspecting Tang Baizang had been killed, Jiang Wuming grabbed his Horizontal Saber and slipped out of the inn to escape Yellow Maple Town.
• Mo Yun appeared in the alley and challenged Jiang Wuming, who recognized him with horror.

Mo Yun killed Jiang Wuming with a single punch and searched his body by the Sishui River. He found a yellowed book and a Lesser Restoration Pill, which stirred an intense longing from the Black Seal on his wrist.

• Jiang Wuming attacked Mo Yun, believing his peak dark force would overwhelm him.
• Mo Yun shattered Jiang Wuming's saber and blasted a hole through his chest with the Nameless Fist Technique.
• Mo Yun killed the gravely wounded Jiang Wuming despite his plea that his master would retaliate.
• Mo Yun carried Jiang Wuming's corpse to the Sishui River and found silver notes and loose silver.
• Mo Yun discovered a yellowed book and a Lesser Restoration Pill hidden in Jiang Wuming's clothing, and the Black Seal on his wrist grew hot.

Mo Yun discovered the Turtle-Breathing Art among Jiang Wuming’s belongings, concealed the corpse, and resolved to grow strong enough to face the Chaos Blade Sect. Fearing retaliation, he brought Mo Yiyi to Crouching Tiger Manor and planned to speak with the Village Master the next day.

• Mo Yun read the Turtle-Breathing Art, learned of its powerful life-saving effects, and found that initiating it would cost five black points, but chose to save them for his cultivation breakthrough.
• Mo Yun further destroyed Jiang Wuming’s body, weighted it with a rock, and threw it into the river.
• Mo Yun reflected that killing several Chaos Blade Sect fighters had made the sect his enemy and resolved to reach transforming force as quickly as possible.
• Mo Yun woke Mo Yiyi, urged her to leave Yellow Maple Town, and sent Black Wolf a note advising him to bring trusted men to Crouching Tiger Manor.
• Mo Yun drove Mo Yiyi to Crouching Tiger Manor, settled her in his courtyard, and went to bed intending to speak with the Village Master the next day.

Mo Yun told Lin Yanshan that he had killed four Chaos Blade Sect disciples and explained the grudge that led to it. Lin Yanshan agreed to shelter Mo Yun's sister, then set out to storm the Chaos Blade Sect with Mo Yun and demand justice.

• Mo Yun went to the Main Court to ask Lin Yanshan to let his sister stay at Crouching Tiger Manor while he hid from the Chaos Blade Sect.
• Lin Yanshan dismissed Mo Yun's fears and promised to warn Yi Qingshan after learning Mo Yun had killed four of the sect's disciples.
• Mo Yun revealed that he had also taken a Nascent Demon Core and asked Lin Yanshan to shelter his sister, who had already come to the Mountain Manor.
• Lin Yanshan agreed to let Mo Yun's sister stay and asked what had caused his feud with the Chaos Blade Sect.
• Mo Yun recounted how Mo Huaishan and Mo Feng stole his martial arts opportunity and family property, then described Mo Fan's plot to murder him and the events that followed.
• Lin Yanshan flew into a rage and told Mo Yun to come with him to storm the Chaos Blade Sect and get justice.

Lin Yanshan took Mo Yun to confront the Chaos Blade Sect, and Mo Yun discovered they would travel on a third-tier Golden-Feathered Roc. After two hours in flight, they reached the Inner City and headed straight for the sect.

• Lin Yanshan promised to take Mo Yun to the Chaos Blade Sect, then sent him to tell Mo Yiyi before they left.
• Mo Yun reassured Mo Yiyi, gave her his identity token, and explained where she could go in the manor.
• At North Mountain’s summit, Mo Yun sensed the Golden-Feathered Roc’s suppressed demonic aura and realized it was likely a third-tier demon beast.
• Lin Yanshan struck the Roc when it reacted to Mo Yun, then ordered it to carry them toward the Inner City.
• The Golden-Feathered Roc flew for two hours and brought Mo Yun and Lin Yanshan to the Inner City, where they set out for the Chaos Blade Sect.

Lin Yanshan brought Mo Yun to the Chaos Blade Sect and used his transforming force to overwhelm its guards and destroy much of its entrance. As the sect mobilized against the intruders, Lin Yanshan hovered above the grounds while Mo Yun watched in astonishment.

• Lin Yanshan flew over Xining Prefecture’s Inner City on the Golden-Feathered Roc with Mo Yun and landed before the Chaos Blade Sect.
• Lin Yanshan and Mo Yun approached the sect gate, where a squad of guards blocked their way and demanded to know their business.
• Lin Yanshan released transforming force that sent the guards flying, then cracked the ground and collapsed more than half of the sect’s gatehouse.
• The Chaos Blade Sect sounded the alarm and dispatched fighters as Lin Yanshan rose into the air above the sect.
• Mo Yun stared up at Lin Yanshan, realizing that transforming force allowed him to fly.

Lin Yanshan attacked the Chaos Blade Sect after it bullied his disciple, Mo Yun, and effortlessly defeated a mid-stage transforming force martial artist. As Lin Yanshan prepared to destroy the sect, its leader Yi Qingshan arrived and begged for mercy and a chance to compensate him.

• Mo Yun marveled at Lin Yanshan's transforming force and resolved to train in martial arts.
• Lin Yanshan damaged the Chaos Blade Sect with his roar and demanded that Yi Qingshan appear.
• A Chaos Blade Sect martial artist attacked Lin Yanshan with a saber strike, but Lin Yanshan dispelled it and crushed the man with a punch.
• Lin Yanshan threatened to destroy the sect and began counting down as its disciples panicked.
• Yi Qingshan rushed out before the countdown ended, identified himself, and begged Lin Yanshan to show mercy and accept compensation.

Yi Qingshan knelt before Lin Yanshan and begged for the Chaos Blade Sect’s safety, but he could not understand what offense had provoked him. Lin Yanshan revealed that Mo Yun was Mo Fan’s older cousin and confronted Yi Qingshan over Mo Fan taking Mo Yun’s place in the sect, leaving the sect master stunned.

• Yi Qingshan arrived and knelt before Lin Yanshan, admitting fault and offering compensation for the Chaos Blade Sect.
• When Lin Yanshan demanded to know what he had done wrong, Yi Qingshan guessed the trouble might involve Jiang Wuming but had no clear answer.
• Lin Yanshan called Mo Yun over, and Yi Qingshan was astonished by the young man’s late dark force cultivation.
• Lin Yanshan identified Mo Yun as Mo Fan’s older cousin and accused Yi Qingshan of knowing that Mo Fan had taken Mo Yun’s place in the Chaos Blade Sect.
• Yi Qingshan was overwhelmed by the revelation and could only stammer in disbelief.

Lin Yanshan confronted Yi Qingshan over the Chaos Blade Sect’s repeated attempts on Mo Yun’s life and demanded compensation. After Yi Qingshan agreed to bar his sect from Qilin County and transfer its local and neighboring holdings to Crouching Tiger Manor, Lin Yanshan asked Mo Yun what additional compensation he wanted.

• Yi Qingshan regretted rejecting Mo Yun and learned that Mo Fan, Lu Ren, Jiang Wuming, and Tang Baizang had all been involved in attacks on him.
• Lin Yanshan told Yi Qingshan that Mo Fan and Lu Ren had seized Mo Yun’s family property and that Jiang Wuming and Tang Baizang had died trying to kill him.
• Yi Qingshan agreed that no one from the Chaos Blade Sect would enter Qilin County after Lin Yanshan threatened to destroy the sect if they did.
• Lin Yanshan ordered Yi Qingshan to transfer the Chaos Blade Sect’s holdings in Qilin County and several neighboring counties to Crouching Tiger Manor.
• Lin Yanshan asked Mo Yun what further compensation he wanted, and Mo Yun wondered whether the matter involved him too.

Mo Yun tested the Chaos Blade Sect’s compensation pills and discovered that Lesser Restoration Pills, Jade-Congealing Pills, and Realm-Breaking Pills rapidly filled his Black Seal. He ended with twenty-two black points and prepared to use them to break through.

• Mo Yun realized he had developed resistance to his usual bright-force pills and planned to replace them with the Spirit-Nurturing and Meridian-Opening Pills he had received.
• Mo Yun swallowed two Lesser Restoration Pills, gaining four black points despite enduring intense discomfort as the Black Seal absorbed their energy.
• Mo Yun took three Jade-Congealing Pills and gained three black points.
• Mo Yun took six Realm-Breaking Pills and gained nine black points, bringing his total to twenty-two.
• Mo Yun calmed himself after seeing his new total and prepared to break through.