Chapter Summaries

Yi Yang discovered County Commandant Zhou Jiang waiting in his courtyard and heard his apology for their past conflict. Zhou Jiang offered a five-year-old sunshine flower and three thousand taels of silver to win Yi Yang’s mercy, leaving Yi Yang to consider the valuable gifts.

• Yi Yang sensed a fourth-level Qi-Blood Realm expert beneath the locust tree and entered the courtyard cautiously.
• Yi Yang recognized the visitor as Zhou Jiang and sent Jiang Yuexin to her room before speaking with him privately.
• Zhou Jiang admitted he had wronged Yi Yang and said he had come to resolve their grievance.
• Zhou Jiang presented a five-year-old sunshine flower and about three thousand taels of silver as proof of his sincerity.

Yi Yang accepted Zhou Jiang’s offerings and learned that the Five-Organ Internal Refining Force manual had been stolen from the Li Family generations ago. He frightened Zhou Jiang into backing down by demonstrating a saber strike that looked like inner qi, though Yi Yang revealed to himself that it was only an effect of his Nine Peaks Saber mastery.

• Zhou Jiang explained how he deduced that Yi Yang was at least a fifth-stage blood qi practitioner from the deaths of Tang Hao, Cao Tie, and Qian Jiu.
• Yi Yang accepted the sunshine flowers and asked Zhou Jiang to exchange the three thousand taels of silver for grade-six mortal pills.
• Zhou Jiang revealed that the Five-Organ Internal Refining Force manual had been stolen from the Li Family by a collateral descendant, whose branch Yi Yang had later wiped out.
• Yi Yang told Zhou Jiang their accounts were settled, then used a projected saber wave to split a table and make Zhou Jiang believe he had reached the inner qi realm.
• After Zhou Jiang fled, Yi Yang recognized that the strike was not inner qi but a destructive wave produced by his major mastery of the Nine Peaks Saber.

Yi Yang broke through to the Qi-Blood Sixth Level after cleansing his marrow and renewing his blood, then concealed his strength ahead of the Heaven Patrol Office’s quarterly assessment. The assessment began with the announcement that its top four performers could compete for a place as an outer disciple of the Golden Sun Temple.

• Yi Yang reached the sixth level of the Wood-Nurturing Longevity Art, and his speed and strength improved as his body was renewed.
• Yi Yang resolved to hide his sixth-level strength and show no more than the fourth level at the quarterly assessment to compete for resources without revealing his trump card.
• Yi Yang attended the assessment drill ground with Zhao Gang and learned that Chen Wuya was the chief examiner while two monks from Suining Prefecture’s Golden Sun Temple observed.
• Chen Wuya announced that outstanding performers could be appointed Acting Patrol Commander or higher and that the assessment’s top four would qualify to compete for an outer-disciple position at the Golden Sun Temple.
• Monk Jingyuan said the monks would observe rather than judge, and Chen Wuya opened the assessment.

Yi Zhanzhi climbed the challenge rankings with swift swordsmanship, reaching the top forty and drawing praise from Song Tiecheng. Yi Yang watched from the formation, still waiting for a suitable opponent.

• Chen Wuya explained the challenge rules and began the tournament, where lower-ranked fighters immediately battled for tokens.
• Yi Yang watched the early fights and decided to wait for opponents to tire before challenging them.
• Yi Zhanzhi defeated a rank-seventy-one Azure Cloud Martial Hall disciple in four moves and took his token.
• Yi Zhanzhi defeated opponents ranked sixty-two, fifty-three, and forty-one, advancing to rank thirty-six.
• Song Tiecheng praised Yi Zhanzhi's sword speed, while Mu Fenghai showed satisfaction with his disciple's performance.

The Golden Sun Temple monks revealed that they planned to use the assessment winner to locate the renegade Wang Gongqin and recover the stolen saber. Huang Yushu and Sun Hao won their matches, and Huang Yushu chose to remain in the Archive Hall with Yi Yang as the assessment continued.

• Jingyuan told his senior that the temple's admission slot was bait to recruit a fighter who could track down Wang Gongqin and help recover the treasured saber.
• Huang Yushu defeated a first-stage patrol guard with his second-stage strength and advanced to rank three hundred and nineteen.
• Sun Hao won a rough match against a first-stage opponent, improving his rank from four hundred and sixteen to three hundred and ninety-three.
• Yi Yang offered Huang Yushu and Sun Hao help with the coming reassignments, and Sun Hao said he would consult Deputy Chief Sun.
• Huang Yushu told Yi Yang he would stay with him in the Archive Hall, and Yi Yang accepted.

Yi Yang accepted Wu Zhongqin’s challenge and revealed his superior cultivation by evading his attacks until he was exhausted, then knocking him off the platform with one punch. The victory moved Yi Yang into the rankings’ eighties, while Yi Xun struggled to understand how far his elder brother had come.

• Wu Zhongqin challenged Yi Yang, assuming the elderly man would be an easy opponent.
• Yi Yang evaded Wu Zhongqin’s relentless attacks using his footwork and perception, while Wu Zhongqin steadily exhausted his blood qi.
• Yi Yang advanced and struck Wu Zhongqin once, sending him off the platform and leaving him unable to stand.
• Chen Wuya asked the Patrol Commanders if they knew Yi Yang, while Zhao Gang remarked that Yi Yang had hidden his strength.
• Yi Xun watched Yi Yang’s victory and reflected on how little he understood about his elder brother.
• Yi Yang left the platform with his ranking advanced by more than fifty places, into the eighties.

Yi Yang watched the assessment reshape the Heaven Patrol Office rankings as fighters revealed their hidden abilities. The contest was left facing a formidable new challenger when Qin Ju, the Azure Cloud Martial Hall's perfected fourth-level deputy hall master, took the platform.

• Yi Yang returned to the ranks, where Zhao Gang joked about his effortless victories and Huang Yushu and Sun Hao praised his footwork.
• Du Qinghe defeated a perfected third-level Red Tiger Gang division leader with his precise saber technique.
• The battles reshuffled the rankings, knocking out the Cloud Pattern Town Heaven Patrol Office's original Acting Patrol Commanders and several visiting Deputy Patrol Chiefs.
• Chen Wuya approved of the disruption as the assessment produced new contenders and talent for the Heaven Patrol Office.
• Qin Ju stepped onto the platform, and the crowd recognized the perfected fourth-level spear expert as a threat to the Golden Sun Temple placements.

Qin Ju defeated Sun Xing and took fifth place, while Zhao Gang won a lower-ranked bout. Yi Yang and Yi Zhanzhi both set out toward the platform, with Yi Yang targeting the Fourth-Level Zheng Qiao, and they stopped to meet each other’s gaze across the drill ground.

• Qin Ju challenged Sun Xing and overwhelmed him with spear thrusts until Sun Xing conceded, dropping from his Deputy Patrol Chief position.
• Zhao Gang defeated an early-stage Third-Level Patrol Guard and earned waist-token rank ninety-three.
• Yi Yang spotted Zheng Qiao, the Fourth-Level Acting Patrol Commander, and decided to challenge him despite Zhao Gang’s warning.
• Yi Yang and Yi Zhanzhi approached the platform from opposite sides and stopped a hundred paces apart, watching each other in silence.

Yi Yang revealed his qi-blood fourth-level cultivation and defeated Zheng Qiao in the Quarterly Ranking Battle, rising to twenty-fifth place. He stopped competing after securing the rank, just as startled cries broke out from another platform.

• Yi Yang challenged Zheng Qiao and revealed his fourth-level cultivation with a powerful opening strike.
• Yi Yang fought Zheng Qiao for twenty-five exchanges, steadily wearing him down and luring him into a risky attack.
• Yi Yang evaded Zheng Qiao's thrust, redirected his momentum, and knocked him off the platform.
• Spectators and martial experts reacted with surprise, while Zhao Gang praised Yi Yang and Yi Xun struggled with conflicting feelings about his brother's strength.
• The ranking clerk recorded Yi Yang at number twenty-five, and Yi Yang chose not to fight again.
• Startled cries erupted from another platform as Yi Yang rested by the weapon rack.

Zhang Songqing crippled Yi Zhanzhi during the Quarterly Ranking Battle, deepening the conflict between the Azure Cloud and Thundercloud Martial Halls. Yi Yang concealed his strength through several drawn-out fights and climbed to thirteenth place, where no one else challenged him.

• Zhang Songqing defeated Yi Zhanzhi and deliberately shattered his arm and leg, leaving the Thundercloud Martial Arts Hall disciples to carry him away.
• Mu Fenghai restrained himself from intervening, while Liao Xu confirmed that Yi Zhanzhi's injuries had severely damaged his martial foundation.
• Yi Yang answered challenger number twenty-five and won after thirty-seven exchanges using only basic saber techniques.
• Yi Yang defeated four more challengers by drawing out each match and making his victories appear difficult.
• Yi Yang rose from twenty-fifth to thirteenth place, and no one else challenged him.

The Quarterly Ranking Battle ended with Qin Ju, Wang Qiongyu, Tang Ji, and Zhao Tong qualifying for Golden Sun Temple's outer disciple entrance contest. Yi Yang finished ranked thirteenth and awaited his post assignment and reward.

• Tang Ji defeated the Red Tiger Gang's deputy leader, and Wang Qiongyu defeated the Black Blade Gang's chief Attendant.
• Qin Ju defeated Zhao Tong, then Wang Qiongyu defeated Tang Ji in the final match.
• The battle ended, and Jingyuan announced Qin Ju, Wang Qiongyu, Tang Ji, and Zhao Tong as the four qualifiers for Golden Sun Temple's contest.
• Yi Yang saw that he had placed thirteenth and expected his post and reward to be assigned next.

After the ranking battle, Chen Wuya and Song Tiecheng assigned posts and rewards to the top contestants, balancing the Heaven Patrol Office’s needs against the influence of Yunlin County’s great Lineages. Chen Wuya gave Yi Yang a special assignment after suspecting the elderly former patrol captain had concealed his true ability.

• Chen Wuya appointed Qin Ju deputy administrator of the Yunlin County Heaven Patrol Office and gave him authority over the Martial Law Hall and Contribution Hall.
• Chen Wuya sent Wang Qiongyu to Green Mountain Town as patrol administrator, keeping him away from the county seat’s center of power.
• Chen Wuya retained Tang Ji as deputy administrator and assigned him the Military Affairs Hall, while giving Zhao Tong an honorary Attendant title and a stipend.
• Chen Wuya reviewed Yi Yang’s matches and linked his apparent skill to several suspiciously clean killings from the Nine Evil Sect uprising.
• Chen Wuya wrote a special assignment beside Yi Yang’s name, and Song Tiecheng approved the decision.

After the ranking assignments were posted, Yi Yang learned he had been appointed Acting Patrol Commander and Sunbright Tower Master. He realized the tower’s elixir trade could give him the resources to advance toward the Inner Qi Realm.

• Yi Yang read the assignment list and saw Qin Ju and Wang Qiongyu receive senior posts, while Yi Yang was named Acting Patrol Commander and Master of the Sunbright Tower.
• Zhao Gang explained that the Sunbright Tower was the Heaven Patrol Office’s major Yunlin County business, selling elixirs and other goods below market prices.
• Yi Yang recognized that running the tower would give him access to affordable elixirs and income to fuel his cultivation.
• Yi Yang concealed his excitement from Zhao Gang and privately regarded the Sunbright Tower as his path to the Inner Qi Realm.

Zhou Jiang toasted Yi Yang and Zhao Gang, offering them silver and future assistance while Yi Yang made clear he would still follow Heaven Patrol Office rules. At Thundercloud Martial Arts Hall, Liao Xu explained to Yi Xun that Yi Zhanzhi had been deliberately crippled by Zhang Songqing amid an old feud, leaving the Yi Family helpless against the powerful Zhang Family.

• Zhou Jiang hosted Yi Yang and Zhao Gang at Fortune-Full Tower and gave them silver, which both men accepted.
• Yi Yang told Zhao Gang that Zhou Jiang was useful as long as Yi Yang remained strong enough to keep him under control.
• Yi Xun waited anxiously beside the unconscious Yi Zhanzhi while Liao Xu explained that Zhang Songqing had deliberately targeted his tendons and bones.
• Liao Xu revealed that Chu Yao’s old feud with the Azure Cloud Martial Hall had led to Yi Zhanzhi’s injury, and that Zhang Songqing had the Inner City Zhang Family behind him.
• Yi Xun learned that Yi Zhanzhi would likely survive but would have greatly reduced qi and blood circulation, making further breakthroughs difficult.

Yi Yang took charge of Sunbright Tower and demanded its ledgers, uncovering how Ye Yang had diverted the Heaven Patrol Office’s high-grade resources to the three great Lineages. He sent Huang Yushu to investigate Ye Yang’s connections while warning him not to act rashly.

• Yi Yang wore his new Acting Patrol Commander robes and accepted Huang Yushu as his trusted aide for the visit to Sunbright Tower.
• Yi Yang arrived at Sunbright Tower, ignored Ye Yang’s welcoming feast, and ordered him to produce the ledgers.
• Ye Yang tried to delay the inspection, but Yi Yang pressured him into handing over three years of accounts.
• Huang Yushu spotted suspicious below-market sales in the ledgers, and Yi Yang explained that Ye Yang had supplied most of the high-grade pills to the three great Lineages’ underground channels.
• Yi Yang told Huang Yushu to investigate Ye Yang’s connections to the great houses and warned him not to act alone.

Yi Yang weighed the threats posed by Wang Gongqin and the Li Family and concluded that breaking into the Inner Qi Realm was his best protection. While searching old records for a continuation of his Wood-Nurturing Longevity Art, he found a promising clue.

• Yi Yang reviewed the dangers of Wang Gongqin and the Li Family and resolved to pursue the Inner Qi Realm.
• Yi Yang studied records describing Inner Qi and learned that his Wood-Nurturing Longevity Art lacked the formulas needed to advance.
• Yi Yang searched a catalog of obscure cultivation methods for clues to the art's continuation.
• Yi Yang spotted a promising passage on a water-stained page and reacted with renewed hope.

Yi Yang learned how Pineclear Daoist had shared the Wood-Nurturing Longevity Art freely, only for Yunlin’s poor to abandon it because its first stage took years to reach. He discovered that Pang Qing’s family had preserved the complete art and wondered whether they still lived in Yunlin County.

• Yi Yang read how Pineclear Daoist gave Yunlin’s common people the Wood-Nurturing Longevity Art and killed an inner qi realm expert sent to stop him.
• Yi Yang learned that the art’s slow progress led people to curse Pineclear Daoist and abandon their copies after he left Yunlin County.
• Yi Yang read that Pang Qing, a grain shop proprietor, had preserved the complete art through his family’s gratitude to Pineclear Daoist.
• Yi Yang reflected that poverty and lack of choice had shaped the common people’s decision, then wondered whether Pang Qing’s descendants still lived in Yunlin County.

Yi Yang uncovered Ye Yang’s embezzlement scheme and evidence that he colluded with the Second Branch of the Li Family, but chose to wait before acting. After five days of inaction, Huang Yushu began to suspect Yi Yang was afraid of Ye Yang’s powerful allies.

• Yi Yang paid for cultivation pills after realizing Sunbright Tower’s staff had been accustomed to taking them without payment.
• Huang Yushu reported that Ye Yang, Sun Wei, Xu Zhi, and Feng De had embezzled pills and falsified supplier accounts.
• Huang Yushu presented evidence that Ye Yang supplied pills to the Second Branch of the Li Family in exchange for protection, and Yi Yang decided to keep investigating before acting.
• Yi Yang waited five days without confronting Ye Yang, leaving Huang Yushu increasingly anxious.
• Ye Yang told Huang Yushu that Yi Yang was reasonable and suggested Sunbright Tower could continue as one family, while Yi Yang quietly continued cultivating.

Ye Yang tried to bribe Yi Yang with 1,500 taels, but Yi Yang accepted the money only to draw Huang Yushu into plans to strike ruthlessly. Three days later, Ye Yang met the Li Family to trade Sunbright Tower’s pills for banknotes, and the Heaven Patrol Office surrounded the alley.

• Ye Yang hid 1,500 taels in an old book and left it on Yi Yang’s desk as a bribe.
• Yi Yang found the banknotes, accepted them to keep Ye Yang unsuspecting, and decided to share the risk with someone influential.
• Yi Yang showed Huang Yushu the bribe and told him to strike enemies ruthlessly, saying they would move within a few days.
• Three days later, Ye Yang met the Li Family’s representative in a secluded alley and handed over a chest of fourth-grade Blood Qi Pills in exchange for thirty-five banknotes.
• As Ye Yang accepted the payment, Heaven Patrol Office officers lit torches and filled both ends of the alley.

Yi Yang confronted Ye Yang over selling the Heaven Patrol Office’s Blood Qi Pills to the Li Family, while Ye Yang challenged his authority to sentence him. The Martial Law Hall arrested Ye Yang and the Li Family contact, but Ye Yang accused Yi Yang of taking a bribe as he was dragged away.

• Yi Yang confronted Ye Yang over selling Grade-four Blood Qi Pills to the Li Family at a steep discount and called the sale a capital offense.
• Ye Yang argued that only the Martial Law Hall and the Patrol Director could sentence him, and Yi Yang replied that he could report theft from his shop.
• The Li Family contact signaled his attendants to break out and attacked Yi Yang, but Qin Ju blocked the strike with his spear.
• Qin Ju disarmed and subdued the Li Family contact, while Patrol Guards seized his attendants before they could draw their sabers.
• Martial Law Hall guards dragged Ye Yang away, and he accused Yi Yang of taking fifteen hundred taels in a bribe.