Chapter Summaries

Yi Yang and Qin Ju cooperated to expose Ye Yang’s theft and arrest him, while Yi Yang kept the credit and blame away from Sunbright Tower. After Ye Yang and his Li Family contact died in prison, Yi Yang focused on consolidating control of the tower and nearing a breakthrough to the inner qi realm.

• Qin Ju revealed that Yi Yang had turned over evidence of Ye Yang’s bribery, then led the Patrol Guards in arresting Ye Yang and his associates.
• Qin Ju gave Yi Yang seven hundred taels, and Yi Yang shared two hundred taels with Huang Yushu for his work.
• Two days later, Ye Yang and the Li Family contact died in prison under suspicious circumstances, and the Li Family made no public response.
• Yi Yang reviewed Sunbright Tower’s pill procurement plan and reflected that his brief cooperation with Qin Ju had ended without giving him a chance to ask about Wang Gongqin.
• Yi Yang resolved to make the most of his time and break through to the inner qi realm as his cultivation neared the next threshold.

Yi Yang heard from Zhao Gang that Ye Yang had been arrested for embezzling Heaven Patrol Office pills, strengthening Yi Yang’s authority at the Sunbright Tower. Zhao Gang also described the failed search for Wang Gongqin, leaving Yi Yang intent on finding and eliminating the Nine Evil Sect’s Grand Steward.

• Zhao Gang told Yi Yang that Ye Yang and his managers had been arrested after the Martial Law Hall uncovered stolen pills and fraudulent accounts.
• Zhao Gang explained that Qin Ju, Wang Qiongyu, Tang Ji, and Zhao Tong had been tasked with finding Wang Gongqin near Yunlin County.
• Zhao Gang said the four had joined forces to raid a bandit stronghold, where they encountered another Nine Evil Sect Grand Steward at the qi-blood sixth level and suffered heavy casualties before Master Jingyuan captured him.
• Zhao Gang reported that the four candidates were disputing who would receive credit for capturing the Grand Steward.
• After Zhao Gang left, Yi Yang watched the street and worried that Wang Gongqin remained at large.

Chen Wuya and Song Tiecheng discovered that Zhang Debiao, the head jailer of South City Prison, served the Inner City Zhang Family and threatened their control of the vital prisoner Feng Haiyuan. They decided to consider Yi Yang for the post, and Chen Wuya ordered him summoned the next day for a final assessment.

• Chen Wuya showed Song Tiecheng a file revealing that Zhang Debiao controlled the prison where Feng Haiyuan would be held.
• Chen Wuya and Song Tiecheng agreed that Zhang Debiao's influence had to be investigated and rooted out before the prisoner arrived.
• Song Tiecheng proposed Yi Yang as a discreet candidate, citing his success against Ye Yang and his clean background.
• Chen Wuya approved the proposal and ordered someone to summon Yi Yang the next day.

Yi Yang watched the Heaven Patrol Office escort the captured Nine Evil Sect Grand Steward Feng Haiyuan through Yunlin County before a personal guard summoned him to Deputy Director Chen. Yi Yang concealed his strength as he entered Chen’s office, uncertain whether the summons was connected to Feng Haiyuan.

• Yi Yang watched Feng Haiyuan, a sixth qi-blood level Grand Steward, pass through the street in an iron prison wagon escorted by Heaven Patrol Office elites.
• Yi Yang wondered whether Wang Gongqin might try to rescue Feng Haiyuan or whether Feng Haiyuan knew Wang Gongqin’s whereabouts.
• A personal guard told Yi Yang that Deputy Director Chen wanted to see him, and Yi Yang followed him through the Heaven Patrol Office.
• Yi Yang suppressed his blood energy and feigned weakness as he passed the office’s checkpoints.
• Yi Yang entered Deputy Director Chen’s office, still wondering why he had been summoned.

Yi Yang was appointed head jailer of South City Prison and learned that he would be caught between the Zhang family, rival factions, and the prisoner Feng Haiyuan. That night, he broke through into the Inner Qi Realm, preparing to take up his new post the next morning.

• Chen Wuya and Song Tiecheng appointed Yi Yang to serve concurrently as head jailer of South City Prison, effective immediately.
• Chen Wuya warned Yi Yang that Zhang Debiao’s old associates and the other factions’ trusted men had their own motives, and Yi Yang resolved to question Feng Haiyuan about Wang Gongqin.
• Yi Yang told Huang Yushu about his new post and ordered him to keep Sunbright Tower running while he was away.
• Yi Yang cultivated in the dark, formed his dantian qi sea, and successfully entered the Inner Qi Realm.
• Yi Yang stood at the window, considered the dangers awaiting him at South City Prison, and resumed cultivating before his handover the next morning.

Yi Yang took over South City Prison despite Zhang Debiao's attempts to obstruct him, then inspected its security and confronted prisoner Feng Haiyuan. He returned home to find Jiang Yuexin had joined him in the county town, while the prison's threats remained on his mind.

• Yi Yang forced the guards at South City Prison's gate to acknowledge his transfer and found the courtyard staff drinking instead of working.
• Yi Yang ordered the jailers to restore order, confronted Zhang Debiao, and took custody of the prison keys, rosters, defense map, and prisoner files.
• Yi Yang inspected the prison's levels, noticed weaknesses in the underground security, and met the chained prisoner Feng Haiyuan.
• Jiang Yuexin arrived at Yi Yang's courtyard with Zhao Gang's help, and she and Yi Yang shared dinner as she told him news from Cloud Pattern Town.
• Yi Yang reflected on the threats surrounding the prison and vowed that anyone who brought danger to his home would not survive the night.

Yi Yang gathered four aides from different factions to interrogate Feng Haiyuan, while gauging their abilities and rivalries. Feng Haiyuan refused to reveal the Nine Evil Sect’s secrets unless someone entered his cell so he could kill again.

• Yi Yang reviewed South City Prison’s altered duty roster and suspicious prisoner records while hearing jailers mock his authority.
• Li Shaoan, Su Wanning, Liu Chongyue, and Zhang Songqing arrived to assist or observe the interrogation, and Yi Yang navigated their competing attitudes toward him.
• Yi Yang led the four aides to Feng Haiyuan’s cell and assessed their martial abilities along the way.
• Liu Chongyue threatened Feng Haiyuan, but the prisoner mocked him and ignored his questions.
• Zhang Songqing tried to undermine Feng Haiyuan by revealing the Nine Evil Sect’s losses and suggesting that a member had betrayed him.
• Feng Haiyuan admitted he knew about the sect’s dealings but demanded that someone enter his cell so he could satisfy his craving for killing.

Yi Yang noticed Feng Haiyuan’s suspicious reaction to Zhang Songqing and tightened security at South City Prison. The Zhang family revealed that Feng Haiyuan was bait in a plan to disrupt Qi Shujian’s attempt to reach heavenly rain crowning, and they ordered Yi Yang killed during the prison assault.

• Feng Haiyuan resisted four hours of questioning, and Yi Yang noticed his heartbeat quicken when Zhang Songqing questioned him.
• Zhang Songqing warned Yi Yang to leave his post, while Su Wanning noticed Yi Yang’s subtle reaction during the interrogation.
• Yi Yang ordered closer monitoring of Feng Haiyuan and began planning to identify Zhang Debiao’s remaining subordinates.
• Zhang Tingyuan told Zhang Bonian that Feng Haiyuan had been deliberately delivered to South City Prison to lure the Nine Evil Sect into an assault and disrupt Qi Shujian’s breakthrough.
• Zhang Bonian and Zhang Tingyuan agreed to kill Yi Yang and leave no survivors during the planned operation.

Yi Yang concealed his growing strength while advancing his three techniques and quietly investigated South City Prison. He discovered that the Inner City Zhang Family had replaced eight prison posts with martial artists, including two at organ refining.

• Yi Yang reviewed the prisoners’ temperaments and focused on bringing the Nine Peaks Saber, Five-Organ Internal Refining Force, and Treading Water to Cross the River to breakthroughs.
• Li Shaoan and Su Wanning questioned Feng Haiyuan, but he refused to reveal whom he had met at Black Wind Ridge.
• Yi Yang trained the Nine Peaks Saber at night, practiced the Five-Organ Internal Refining Force in a medicinal bath, and refined his movement technique in the cramped office.
• During his rounds, Yi Yang noticed that eight prison workers had been replaced by disguised martial artists, including two at organ refining.
• Yi Yang concluded that the Inner City Zhang Family was responsible for infiltrating South City Prison.

Yi Yang weighed the risks of reporting the Zhang Family’s covert agents in the prison and chose to wait for them to act before alerting Chen Wuya. He drafted a deliberately vague report and hid it, preparing to send it at the right moment.

• Yi Yang confirmed that Zhang Debiao had helped place eight suspicious jailers in key prison posts and concluded that the Inner City Zhang Family was behind the network.
• Yi Yang rejected an immediate, detailed report to Chen Wuya because it could expose his inner qi cultivation and prompt the Zhang Family to accelerate its plans.
• Yi Yang decided to wait until the agents moved against Feng Haiyuan, then warn Chen Wuya before they could succeed.
• Yi Yang wrote a vague report about suspected infiltration, folded it, and hid it in his desk with the ink left ready.

Yi Yang perfected the Nine Peaks Saber, completed his internal-force circuit, and advanced his other martial arts before Su Wanning visited to probe him about Feng Haiyuan. At midnight, he sensed eight infiltrators carrying out a coordinated prison break and realized they had reached Feng Haiyuan’s cell.

• Yi Yang perfected the Nine Peaks Saber, reached major mastery in the Five-Organ Internal Refining Force, and advanced Treading Water to Cross the River to minor mastery.
• Su Wanning brought Yi Yang wine and dishes, then questioned him about Feng Haiyuan, but he hid his progress and gave her no information.
• After Su Wanning left, Yi Yang inspected the food without drinking and remained alert to the possibility that she suspected him.
• At midnight, Yi Yang sensed eight infiltrators drugging guards, dimming prison lamps, and making their way toward Feng Haiyuan’s cell.
• Yi Yang detected one infiltrator picking at the cell’s formation nail and quietly announced that they had arrived.

Yi Yang sent a report to Chen Wuya, then killed an infiltrator who tried to ambush him and fought his way through South City Prison as a coordinated breakout plunged it into chaos. He continued toward the High-Security Block, where Feng Haiyuan was imprisoned, and entered through its partly opened doors.

• Yi Yang sent a messenger pigeon carrying a report about suspected infiltration to Chen Wuya.
• Yi Yang dodged a fifth-level Patrol Guard’s ambush, crushed his arm, and killed him before explosions and fires erupted throughout South City Prison.
• Yi Yang killed three escaped prisoners as he descended toward the High-Security Block.
• Yi Yang killed an infiltrator and two martial prisoners who were opening cells, then rescued a burned jailer and learned that more attackers were targeting the Grand Steward of the Nine Evil Sect.
• Yi Yang ignored the jailer’s pleas, reached the partly opened doors of the High-Security Block, and stepped inside.

Yi Yang fought his way through the prison and reached Feng Haiyuan just as the rescuers freed him. When He Jiu attacked in fury over his brother’s death, Yi Yang killed him with a single punch, leaving the others horrified.

• Yi Yang killed fugitives in the prison and used internal qi to stop a wounded jailer from bleeding to death.
• Yi Yang entered the High-Security Block as Feng Haiyuan’s three rescuers freed him from his final shackle.
• Feng Haiyuan taunted Yi Yang and revealed that Yi Yang had killed He Qi, He Jiu’s sworn younger brother.
• He Jiu charged Yi Yang in grief and fury, but Yi Yang blocked his punch and killed him with a single blow.
• The burly rescuer, the guard, and Feng Haiyuan reacted with fear and disbelief at Yi Yang’s strength.

Yi Yang revealed his Inner Qi Realm strength while fighting Feng Haiyuan in South City Prison and killed the Nine Evil Sect Grand Steward after Feng's blood art failed to overcome him. With Feng dead and Wang Gongqin's whereabouts still unknown, Yi Yang emerged to find the prison turmoil fading and suspected the Zhang family had more plans.

• Yi Yang killed He Jiu and cut down the burly man and the gatekeeping Patrol Guard as they fled, leaving Feng Haiyuan as the last surviving enemy.
• Feng Haiyuan used a blood art to restore himself to Qi-Blood Sixth Level Perfection, but Yi Yang overwhelmed him with his saber and fists.
• Feng Haiyuan recognized that Yi Yang had reached the Inner Qi Realm and begged for his life, claiming he could reveal Wang Gongqin's location and the Nine Evil Sect's network.
• Yi Yang asked where Wang Gongqin was, saw through Feng Haiyuan's stalling, and killed him with the perfected ninth strike of the Nine Peaks Saber.
• Yi Yang concluded that the Zhang family's involvement in South City Prison was proven, then emerged as the prison chaos waned and heard several horses approaching along the road.

Yi Yang exposed Wang Gongqin’s fake order to lure him away from South City Prison and killed the Nine Evil Sect grand steward and his four men. As Yi Yang searched their bodies for clues about the Black-Patterned Long Saber, a mysterious black-clad figure appeared at the alley entrance.

• Wang Gongqin disguised himself as a Heaven Patrol Office guard and led Yi Yang to a secluded alley, intending to force him to reveal the Black-Patterned Long Saber’s whereabouts.
• Wang Gongqin revealed his identity and ordered four perfected qi-blood fifth-level fighters to cripple Yi Yang, but Yi Yang killed all four with his movement and saber techniques.
• Yi Yang defeated Wang Gongqin with the Nine Peaks Saber’s Perfection Peak and killed him before he could detonate himself.
• Yi Yang searched the bodies and collected money, pills, counterfeit command tokens, a black bone token, and a sheet of beastskin paper.
• A black-clad stranger appeared at the alley entrance as Yi Yang prepared to leave.

Yi Yang killed Zhang Bonian, the Zhang family’s grand elder, after discovering that the family was behind the night’s chaos. As Yi Yang fled to check on Jiang Yuexin, Qi Shujian pursued the unknown saber expert, and an even stronger figure stopped Yi Yang on a rooftop.

• Yi Yang fought the wounded Zhang Bonian in the alley and killed him with the perfected ninth form of the Nine Peaks Saber.
• Yi Yang searched Zhang Bonian’s corpse, took several items, and escaped across the rooftops as pursuers approached.
• Qi Shujian found Zhang Bonian’s body, recognized the perfected superior saber technique, and pursued the unknown expert himself.
• Yi Yang saw fires and organized fighting spreading through the city but hurried home to check on Jiang Yuexin.
• A black iron sword landed ahead of Yi Yang, and a powerful man appeared behind him with an aura stronger than Zhang Bonian’s.

Yi Yang returned home after Qi Shujian’s forces crushed the Zhang family and the Nine Evil Sect’s plans in Yunlin County. He secured his granddaughter and counted his spoils, including a powerful hard-body technique that he began cultivating.

• Qi Shujian confronted Yi Yang about the bodies in the alley, accepted his denial, and told him to go home.
• Yi Yang realized Qi Shujian had feigned seclusion to lure the Zhang family and other factions into a trap.
• Yi Yang returned to his courtyard, reassured Jiang Yuexin, and secured the house while unrest continued across the county.
• Yi Yang counted more than eight thousand one hundred taels, six bottles of pills, and two booklets among his spoils.
• Yi Yang identified the Horizontal Refinement Martial Extremity Body as a superior hard-body art and began cultivating it with his heavenly mandate.
• Yi Yang concluded that the night had transformed Yunlin County and went to sleep with his new wealth and technique.

Qi Shujian used his feigned seclusion to trap and crush the Nine Evil Sect’s allies across Yunlin County. By dawn, the Zhang clan’s ancestor and the Nine Evil Sect altar master were dead, the Wang Family’s operations had been raided, and the Red Tiger Gang had fallen.

• Qi Shujian revealed that Zhang Bonian was dead and explained that the Nine Evil Sect altar master had escaped his earlier attack.
• Qi Shujian exposed the Zhang clan’s crimes, killed its ancestor Zhang Qiheng, and ordered the arrest of its main lineage.
• Qi Shujian intercepted and executed the wounded Nine Evil Sect altar master at the northern city gate.
• Song Tiecheng raided the Wang Family’s medicinal storehouse and seized its illicit supplies and records.
• Qin Ju led the assault on the Red Tiger Gang headquarters, and the gang leader fled as its halls were sealed.
• Yunlin County residents gathered at daybreak to discuss the arrests and the collapse of the city’s powerful factions.

After the Heaven Patrol Office’s purge, Liu An sought Qin Ju’s help to protect the Azure Cloud Martial Arts Hall from suspicion over Zhang Songqing. Yi Yang was summoned to meet Qi Shujian, leaving Qin Ju waiting outside headquarters and wondering what the Director intended.

• Mu Fenghai and the White Tiger Martial Academy master ordered records and gifts tied to the Zhang and Wang Family prepared for the Heaven Patrol Office.
• Liu An visited Qin Ju and asked him to seek mercy for the Azure Cloud Martial Arts Hall and its innocent disciples.
• Qin Ju accepted Liu An’s papers and agreed to request an audience with Qi Shujian, though he could not promise the hall would be spared.
• Yi Yang reassured Jiang Yuexin before a Heaven Patrol Office guard escorted him to headquarters at Qi Shujian’s request.
• At the headquarters entrance, Yi Yang saw Qin Ju waiting to plead for the Azure Cloud Martial Arts Hall, then continued inside as Qi Shujian ordered him sent in.

Yi Yang received a choice between becoming Yunlin County’s commander and pursuing a deputy director post in Suining Prefecture, and he chose the prefectural opportunity. Qi Shujian recognized the potential of Yi Yang’s Wood-Nurturing Longevity Art and revealed to Chen Wuya and Song Tiecheng that Yi Yang had killed Zhang Bonian.

• Qi Shujian praised Yi Yang for warning the Heaven Patrol Office about the South City Prison riot and defending the High-Security Block.
• Qi Shujian offered Yi Yang a promotion to Yunlin County commander or a recommendation to take the deputy director assessment in Suining Prefecture.
• Yi Yang chose the recommendation and asked Qi Shujian to investigate Pang Qing and any surviving records of the Wood-Nurturing Longevity Art.
• Yi Yang thanked Qin Ju for his work and offered to speak with him later as he left the office.
• Qi Shujian told Chen Wuya and Song Tiecheng that Yi Yang had killed Zhang Bonian and explained that he believed Yi Yang’s late bloomer destiny matched the Wood-Nurturing Longevity Art.