Chapter Summaries

Yi Yang learned that Tang Hao had assigned him to accompany Thundercloud Martial Arts Hall disciples against suspected Nine Evil Sect remnants, a mission that could let the Yi Family target him. He traveled toward Stone Bridge Abandoned Village with Zhang Li and Zhu Yuanshan and faced Yi Zhanzhi’s contempt when they met the martial arts hall party.

• Tang Hao delivered an order sending Yi Yang, Zhang Li, and Zhu Yuanshan to Stone Bridge Abandoned Village with Thundercloud Martial Arts Hall disciples to eliminate suspected Nine Evil Sect remnants.
• Zhang Li told Yi Yang that a Patrol Director would soon arrive to consolidate Yunlin County’s forces, and Zhu Yuanshan listed the five disciples accompanying them, including Yi Zhanzhi.
• Yi Yang suspected Tang Hao had arranged the assignment to put him at risk and help the Yi Family.
• Yi Yang left town with Zhang Li and Zhu Yuanshan and reached a mountain clearing where Liao Xu and the other Thundercloud Martial Arts Hall disciples were waiting.
• Yi Zhanzhi insulted Yi Yang’s low Patrol Captain number, and Yi Yang replied that he would not be able to outrun the others if danger came.

Yi Yang realized the Nine Evil Sect deacon was missing while the Thundercloud Martial Arts Hall attacked the Ancestral Hall, but Wang Gongqin revealed that he had used them to refine a Blood Origin Pill. Wang Gongqin demonstrated his qi-blood fourth-level perfection and overwhelmed the assembled fighters, leaving them badly injured and trapped.

• Liao Xu divided the group into teams and ordered Yi Zhanzhi to confront the supposed qi-blood third-level deacon while Yi Yang guarded the village’s southern end.
• Yi Yang heard the battle end too quickly and suspected the deacon had not been among the followers in the Ancestral Hall.
• Wang Gongqin emerged after the followers were killed and explained that he had used their deaths to complete a Blood Origin Pill.
• Wang Gongqin knocked Song Wu aside with one punch, revealing that he had reached qi-blood fourth-level perfection.
• Liao Xu led Yi Zhanzhi, Zhao He, and Shen Qingyue in a coordinated attack, but Wang Gongqin swallowed the pill and defeated them in a single exchange.

Yi Yang discovered that Wang Gongqin had lured the others into a trap, then searched the ruined ancestral hall and found a sinister saber hidden in its rear courtyard. He stole the weapon and hid it on Greenwood Mountain while Wang Gongqin rushed back toward the village, leaving Yi Yang safely at home.

• Yi Yang realized Wang Gongqin was a qi-blood fourth-level fighter planning to use the trapped group's blood to advance, so he waited outside the ancestral hall.
• Liao Xu, Yi Zhanzhi, Shen Qingyue, and Zhao He escaped the collapsing hall, while Song Wu remained dead inside and Wang Gongqin pursued the survivors.
• Yi Yang entered the ruins, followed a blood trail into the rear courtyard, and found a black-patterned saber suppressed by a blood array.
• Yi Yang took the saber, causing the blood array to weaken, and left the ancestral hall unnoticed.
• Wang Gongqin sensed the saber had been taken and abandoned his pursuit to return to the village, while Liao Xu led the others away to report to the Heaven Patrol Office.
• Yi Yang hid the saber in a cave on Greenwood Mountain and returned safely to his courtyard in Cloud Pattern Town.

After surviving the deserted village, Yi Yang faced an investigation by Tang Hao, Fang Yu, and Thundercloud Martial Arts Hall curator Mu Fenghai, who tested him with the Thunderous Sound Mantra. Yi Yang concealed his strength and passed the probe, but recognized Tang Hao and Fang Yu as threats and marked them for revenge.

• Yi Yang recalled that Zhang Li and Zhu Yuanshan had survived the deserted village, while Song Wu had died and the Heaven Patrol Office had not investigated them.
• Tang Hao, Fang Yu, and Mu Fenghai visited Yi Yang and questioned him about the failed intelligence and the Nine Evil Sect deacon Wang Gongqin.
• Mu Fenghai used the Thunderous Sound Mantra to ask whether Yi Yang had entered the ancestral hall, but Yi Yang's Five-Organ Internal Refining Force resisted it.
• Yi Yang pretended to be dazed and claimed he had fled south without entering the village, convincing Mu Fenghai that he was telling the truth.
• After the visitors left, Yi Yang recognized Fang Yu's hostility and resolved to keep both Fang Yu and Tang Hao in mind.

Ten days of intense training brought Yi Yang closer to the qi-blood fifth level, and he saw Patrol Director Qi Shujian arrive in Yunlin County with two inner qi realm companions. Qi Shujian’s arrival signaled an impending Heaven Patrol Office campaign against the Nine Evil Sect, which Yi Yang saw as a chance to profit from shifting resource prices.

• Yi Yang advanced his three martial arts through medicine, meat, stance training, and saber practice, while hiding his growing strength from the townspeople.
• The Three Great Families, local gangs, and other powers gathered at Yunlin County’s south gate to assess the incoming Patrol Director.
• Yi Yang and the Patrol Guards witnessed Qi Shujian ride past with Song Tiecheng and Chen Wuya, feeling the overwhelming pressure of their inner qi.
• Zhao Gang recounted Qi Shujian’s battlefield exploits and the fearsome reputations of Song Tiecheng and Chen Wuya.
• Yi Yang recognized that Qi Shujian’s arrival foreshadowed a major campaign against the Nine Evil Sect and considered how the resulting resource fluctuations could benefit him.

Yi Yang collected medicine from Zhao Gang and learned that Qi Shujian was organizing a joint purge of the Nine Evil Sect in Yunlin County. As the Heaven Patrol Office recruited volunteers, Yi Yang chose to avoid the operation and focus on cultivating in secret.

• Yi Yang noticed his improving complexion and darkening hair, then collected pills from Zhao Gang, who let him keep the remaining proceeds from the purplewood sale.
• Zhao Gang told Yi Yang that Qi Shujian was assembling the county's factions for a major purge of the Nine Evil Sect's strongholds.
• Zhao Gang agreed to join the operation, and Yi Yang urged him to come back alive.
• Fang Yue announced that the purge would begin in five days and offered silver and pills to volunteers; Tang Hao and Zhao Gang signed up.
• Yi Yang declined to volunteer and left for the Archive Hall, intent on cultivating while others joined the purge.

Yi Yang watched the expedition against the Nine Evil Sect leave town, then prepared for his own nighttime mission while Fang Yu plotted to target him and his granddaughter. The chapter ended with Yi Yang leaving home in black clothes with a saber.

• Huang Yushu asked to join the expedition so he could pursue new leads in the Clear River Village massacre, and Yi Yang approved while warning him to return alive.
• Tang Hao, Zhao Gang, Huang Yushu, and the other volunteers departed to attack the Nine Evil Sect, leaving the Heaven Patrol Office short-handed.
• Yi Yang reassured Jiang Yuexin that he would not join the fighting, then used Sinew-Strengthening Powder and practiced his stance as he neared the qi-blood fifth level.
• Fang Yu revealed that Tang Hao had ordered him to target Yi Yang while the office was depleted, and he spoke obscenely about Yi Yang's granddaughter.
• Yi Yang finished his stance practice, dressed in black night clothes, took a saber, and quietly left his courtyard.

Yi Yang strangled Fang Yu in an alley and hid his body after recalling Fang Yu’s earlier malice toward him and Jiang Yuexin. The next day, the Heaven Patrol Office doubled its night patrols, but its guards treated Fang Yu’s death as a possible security threat rather than mourning him.

• Yi Yang followed Fang Yu into a dark alley and killed him by breaking his neck.
• Yi Yang found only three taels of silver on Fang Yu, hid the corpse in a drainage ditch, and returned home unnoticed.
• An old man discovered Fang Yu’s body the next day and reported the killing to the Heaven Patrol Office.
• Qian Hu said there was no evidence the Nine Evil Sect was responsible and ordered doubled night patrols and other precautions.
• Yi Yang acted concerned with the other guards, then returned to the Archive Hall as the office focused on the threat rather than Fang Yu’s death.

Yi Yang neared the fifth level of qi-blood and planned to break through that night as the army returned victorious from the campaign against the Nine Evil Sect. At the homecoming, Yi Zhanzhi received praise for killing a sect steward, while Yi Yang ignored his contempt and focused on the 540 points he still needed.

• Yi Yang saw that his Wood-Nurturing Longevity Art was at 29,460 of 30,000 and decided to save his breakthrough attempt for that night.
• Jiang Yuexin noticed Yi Yang looked younger and more vigorous, and Yi Yang told her he hoped to earn merit and move them to the county seat.
• Sun Hao and Li Tong told Yi Yang the army had destroyed the Nine Evil Sect branch altar with few casualties, and the returning troops would arrive around noon.
• Yi Yang joined the town's welcome as the army returned, and he heard Patrol Guards praise Yi Zhanzhi for killing a qi-blood third-level steward.
• Yi Xun, Song Yi, and Liu Fu celebrated Yi Zhanzhi as admirers crowded around him, while Yi Zhanzhi looked down on Yi Yang and walked away.

After learning that Tang Hao had joined forces with the County Commandant to arrange Yi Yang’s assassination, Yi Yang focused on strengthening himself. He broke through to the qi-blood fifth level, the Organ Refining Realm.

• Yi Yang met Zhao Gang, who returned wounded from the expedition and said Tang Hao had stolen his target and advanced to the qi-blood third level.
• Zhao Gang warned Yi Yang that Tang Hao had connected with the County Commandant, prompting Yi Yang to suspect they were targeting him over the Five-Organ Internal Refining Force.
• The County Commandant hired Tang Hao to arrange Yi Yang’s death for 350 taels of silver and two Bone Tempering Pills, and Tang Hao agreed to recruit powerful fighters.
• Yi Yang endured a painful medicinal bath and broke through to the qi-blood fifth level, the Organ Refining Realm.

Yi Yang attended Tang Hao’s promotion banquet, where Tang Hao apologized for his past conduct and invited him to a private dinner the next evening. Yi Yang accepted, while Tang Hao privately resolved to kill him after the dinner.

• Yi Yang practiced the Yi Wood Longevity Stance after reaching the fifth level of blood and qi.
• Fang Yue announced Tang Hao’s promotion to provisional patrol superintendent, and Huang Yushu warned Yi Yang that Tang Hao had obstructed him during the operation.
• Yi Yang accepted Tang Hao’s banquet invitation and attended, keeping to himself while eating and drinking.
• After the other guests left, Tang Hao apologized for sending Curator Mu to Yi Yang and invited him to dinner the next evening.
• Tang Hao suspected Yi Yang had killed Fang Yu and decided that Yi Yang would not survive the following night.

Yi Yang trained to strengthen his combat skills, then attended Tang Hao’s dinner invitation at Fortune-Full Tower and accepted ten taels of gold. Tang Hao sent Cao Tie and Qian Jiu after Yi Yang to force him to reveal the missing booklet, while Yi Yang left pretending to be drunk.

• Yi Yang practiced the Nine Peaks Saber and Five-Organ Internal Refining Force, then prepared for his meeting with Tang Hao.
• Yi Yang went to Fortune-Full Tower, where Tang Hao introduced him to Red Tiger Gang members Cao Tie and Qian Jiu and hinted that Yi Yang should hand over something with suspicious origins.
• Yi Yang played dumb, accepted two gold bars from Tang Hao, and drank with the three men.
• Yi Yang left the tower acting drunk, while Tang Hao stayed behind to establish an alibi.
• Tang Hao ordered Cao Tie and Qian Jiu to pursue Yi Yang, interrogate him about the County Commandant’s missing booklet, and return with results before dawn.

Yi Yang ambushed and killed Cao Tie and Qian Jiu, two Red Tiger Gang fighters who had followed him, then learned Tang Hao had ordered the attack for the County Commandant. After concealing the bodies and collecting their valuables, Yi Yang headed back toward the Fortune-Full Tower, intending to deal with Tang Hao before dawn.

• Yi Yang led Cao Tie and Qian Jiu into a narrow alley with an escape route, where Cao Tie attacked him from above.
• Yi Yang killed Cao Tie with one saber strike, and Qian Jiu fled in terror.
• Yi Yang cut off Qian Jiu's lower legs, questioned him, and learned Tang Hao had ordered the attack to obtain a manual for the County Commandant.
• Yi Yang killed Qian Jiu, searched both bodies, and hid them beneath a drainage channel.
• Yi Yang collected the two gold bars and the fighters' silver, then headed toward the restaurant to kill Tang Hao before dawn.

Tang Hao waited at the Fortune-Full Tower, certain that Cao Tie and Qian Jiu would kill Yi Yang and secure his promotion. When the Heaven Patrol Office came under attack, Yi Yang broke into Tang Hao’s room, killed him, and raced toward the battle.

• Tang Hao calculated how the booklet, payment, and Bone Tempering Pills would advance his career and cultivation.
• Emergency signals and sounds of battle revealed that the Heaven Patrol Office was under attack, so Tang Hao prepared to leave the tower.
• Yi Yang punched through the door, seized Tang Hao by the throat, and snapped his neck.
• Yi Yang searched Tang Hao’s clothes for money, then leaped from the third floor and raced across the rooftops toward the Heaven Patrol Office.

During the assault on the Heaven Patrol Office, Yi Yang avoided the fighting and hurried toward his courtyard, but three enemies cornered him in an empty yard. Jiang Liang, a fourth-level Blood Energy deacon of the Nine Evil Sect, ordered his two bandits to kill Yi Yang.

• Yi Yang heard fighting erupt at several places around the Heaven Patrol Office and found three patrol guards and two mountain bandits dead in an alley.
• Yi Yang recognized the Nine Evil Sect brand on a bandit's arm, then stole more than a hundred taels of silver from the dead patrol guards.
• A fire blazed near the Heaven Patrol Office as its defenders fought back, but the enemy broke through and scattered into the town.
• Yi Yang hurried toward his courtyard, avoiding the battle, while townspeople extinguished their lights and hid indoors.
• Three men climbed into an empty courtyard where Yi Yang had stopped, and he recognized Jiang Liang as a fourth-level Blood Energy fighter.
• Jiang Liang identified Yi Yang as a Heaven Patrol Office guard and ordered his two bandits to kill him and leave no survivors.

Yi Yang killed two bandits and decapitated Jiang Liang after luring him into an attack. He looted the bodies and hurried on toward his home, where Jiang Yuexin was waiting.

• Yi Yang pretended to cower, then killed the burly bandit with a hidden short saber and stabbed the skinny bandit behind him.
• Yi Yang struck at Jiang Liang’s throat, cutting his jaw when Jiang Liang blocked the attack.
• Yi Yang feigned retreat and exposed an opening, drawing Jiang Liang close before killing him with the fourth form of the Nine Peaks Saber.
• Yi Yang searched the three corpses, took silver, a secret manual, and a Nine Evil Sect token, then vaulted the wall and ran toward his little courtyard.

After surviving the bandit attack, Yi Yang returned home and reassured Jiang Yuexin and Yang Hui that he would stop taking risks. He learned that Wang Gongqin had returned as a fifth-level qi-blood expert seeking the missing Black-Patterned Long Saber, and Yi Yang prepared for their coming confrontation before accepting Deputy Commissioner Sun’s invitation to dinner.

• Yi Yang returned home after the attack, comforted Jiang Yuexin and Yang Hui, and promised to stop taking risks for the Heaven Patrol Office.
• Zhao Gang told Yi Yang that Nine Evil Sect remnants and three bandit groups had attacked the Cloud Pattern Town branch, killing nine Patrol Captains and two Acting Patrol Commanders.
• Zhao Gang revealed that Wang Gongqin had reached the fifth qi-blood level, escaped Fang Yue, and killed Zhang Li and Zhu Yuanshan while asking where the missing saber was.
• Yi Yang realized Wang Gongqin was searching for the Black-Patterned Long Saber he had taken and decided he needed to reach the sixth qi-blood level to kill him decisively.
• Deputy Commissioner Sun invited Yi Yang to the Fortune-Full Tower, and Yi Yang agreed to attend.

Yi Yang met Deputy Patrol Commander Sun Xing, who offered him the vacant Defense Hall Master position in exchange for placing in the top five at an upcoming assessment. Yi Yang refused, and Sun Xing revealed he had planned to use him temporarily before replacing him as his strength declined.

• Sun Xing told Yi Yang he knew about Tang Hao's death and had arranged to clean up Fortune-Full Tower, while the Heaven Patrol Office recorded Tang Hao as having died in the line of duty.
• Sun Xing offered Yi Yang the Defense Hall Master position if he placed in the top five at the Yunlin City assessment and demonstrated qi-blood third-level cultivation.
• Sun Xing explained that he wanted an unaffiliated person to help him contend with rival gangs, the Zhang, Wang, and Li Lineages, and Qian Hu within the Heaven Patrol Office.
• Yi Yang declined the offer, citing his age and the approaching decline of his qi and blood, despite Zhao Gang's frustration.
• After Yi Yang and Zhao Gang left, Sun Xing told his attendant he had intended to replace Yi Yang with one of his own people after a few years.

Yi Zhanzhi basked in his fellow disciples’ praise while privately resenting his great-uncle, and Mu Fenghai prepared the Thundercloud Martial Arts Hall for a fiercely competitive Heaven Patrol Office examination. The chapter left Mu Fenghai hoping Yi Zhanzhi might reach heights he could not, while concealing his own complicated motives.

• Yi Zhanzhi practiced his swordsmanship and confidently resolved to take first place at the upcoming Heaven Patrol Office examination.
• Yi Zhanzhi remembered how his great-uncle had refused to sell his house to support him and dismissed him as a failure.
• Mu Fenghai told Liao Xu that Qi Shujian’s presence had made the examination a major opportunity for martial arts halls across Yunlin County.
• Mu Fenghai assessed Liao Xu’s combat weaknesses and selected Yi Zhanzhi as the hall’s strongest prospect, despite concerns about his temperament.
• Mu Fenghai instructed Liao Xu to tell Yi Zhanzhi to conserve his strength and rein in his pride before facing formidable rivals.
• After Liao Xu left, Mu Fenghai studied Yi Zhanzhi’s name on the roster and wondered whether his disciple could achieve the Inner Qi Realm.

Huang Yushu revealed that he had reached qi-blood second level, while Yi Yang assessed his own growing strength and set his sights on breaking through to qi-blood sixth level before the Quarterly Ranking Battle. He discovered a middle-grade movement art manual and planned to learn it before the contest.

• Huang Yushu defeated Sun Hao in ten moves, then explained that his recent breakthrough to qi-blood second level had caused the widening gap between them.
• Yi Yang gave Huang Yushu advice on controlling his new strength and pointed out how Sun Hao could have responded more strategically during their sparring.
• Yi Yang reviewed his martial arts progress and concluded that his current abilities let him stand against qi-blood sixth-level experts, but he aimed to reach sixth level before the Quarterly Ranking Battle.
• Yi Yang opened the booklet found on Jiang Liang's corpse and discovered it contained the middle-grade movement art Treading Water to Cross the River.
• Yi Yang decided to bring the movement art to entry level before the Quarterly Ranking Battle while continuing his medicinal baths and stance training.