Chapter Summaries

Zhang Yuan rejected Wei Zhong’s attempt to recruit him, while Qu Hong warned that he would handle the matter. That night, an unknown attacker burst into Wei Zhong’s home and gravely injured him with a single strike.

• Qu Hong visited Zhang Yuan, confirmed Wei Zhong had tried to recruit him, and promised to stop Wei Zhong from harassing him.
• Zhang Yuan grew more wary of Qu Hong but decided to wait and see, while resolving to deal with Wei Zhong himself.
• Wei Zhong planned to recruit more men and admitted he still wanted to bring Zhang Yuan under his command.
• During a storm, a black-clad attacker smashed into Wei Zhong’s home and struck him down, leaving his three companions to counterattack as blade light filled the room.

Zhang Yuan killed Wei Zhong and his three brothers at their home, harvested their Source Essence, and secretly returned to his own house. The next day, Qu Hong reported that Wei Zhong had disappeared, while Zhang Yuan left him wondering whether he had guessed the truth.

• Zhang Yuan tracked Wei Zhong to his home and used his enhanced abilities to kill him and his three brothers before they could fight back.
• Zhang Yuan used Divine Nest to turn the corpses to ashes and collected their Source Essence for the Red-Eyed Crow, then burned their clothes and searched the house.
• Zhang Yuan found little of value in Wei Zhong's home and returned quietly to his house during the night.
• After the rain weakened the next day, Qu Hong told Zhang Yuan that Wei Zhong and his brothers had vanished and that their men were searching for the killer.
• Qu Hong praised Zhang Yuan's saying about anger bringing disaster, then left while concealing his suspicions; Zhang Yuan watched him go and wondered whether he should act.

Kou Tai warned Zhang Yuan about Qu Hong and repaired his gate with Chen Family's Wife, hoping to bring them together. When Chen Family's Wife asked for a loan so she could leave West Mountain Village, Zhang Yuan lent her one hundred taels without interest, and she wrote him an IOU before departing.

• Kou Tai visited Zhang Yuan, warned him to be wary of Qu Hong, and agreed to repair his gate in exchange for grain.
• Kou Tai returned with Chen Family's Wife, and the two installed Zhang Yuan's new gate.
• Chen Family's Wife asked Zhang Yuan to lend her money so she could travel to Ruins City and seek refuge with one of her sisters.
• Zhang Yuan lent Chen Family's Wife one hundred taels without interest, and she wrote him an IOU.
• Zhang Yuan saw Chen Family's Wife out through the gate.

Zhang Yuan practiced Water Control in the Long Sky River, hunting large fish for Source Essence to help the Red-Eyed Crow advance. After returning home, he welcomed Old Man Kou, who told him the Flood Rain Season would end in five days.

• Zhang Yuan swam through the raging Long Sky River and used Water Control to trap and capture large fish.
• Zhang Yuan sacrificed the fish for Source Essence and fed all of it to the Red-Eyed Crow.
• Zhang Yuan returned through the secret passage, changed clothes, and made tea beneath the eaves.
• Old Man Kou visited Zhang Yuan and reported that the Flood Rain Season would end in five days.

After the Flood Rain Season ended, Zhang Yuan rejected Qu Hong’s hunting invitation and learned that the defeated True Martial Sect planned to occupy West Mountain Village after the New Year. Zhang Yuan chose to leave rather than join Qu Hong’s effort to resist them.

• Zhang Yuan refused Qu Hong’s invitation to hunt during the season.
• Qu Hong told Zhang Yuan that the True Martial Sect had lost most of its territory to the Fierce Tiger Gang and planned to use West Mountain Village as a base after the New Year.
• Qu Hong urged Zhang Yuan to unite with the village’s martial artists to resist the True Martial Sect, which had four Fourth Order fighters available.
• Zhang Yuan said he would move away rather than risk his life, and Qu Hong admitted that leaving was difficult for the villagers.

Zhang Yuan hunted alone in Taiwu Mountain, using the Red-Eyed Crow to find a black bear and killing it with the Iron Womb Bow. As he prepared to take the bear back to West Mountain Village, three arrows suddenly flew at him from the forest.

• Zhang Yuan entered Taiwu Mountain alone and used the Red-Eyed Crow to scout the unfamiliar terrain and avoid other hunting parties.
• He concealed himself beside a stream and waited for larger prey instead of shooting a fawn.
• Zhang Yuan killed a black bear with a precise arrow through its eye and dragged its body onto the bank.
• He fed the bear’s organs, including its valuable Bear Gall, to the Red-Eyed Crow, then decided to keep the carcass for winter provisions.
• Three arrows suddenly shot from the forest toward Zhang Yuan’s vital points as he lifted the bear carcass.

Zhang Yuan’s ambush turned into a massacre when his Iron Shirt repelled the hunters’ arrows and he swiftly killed six of the seven attackers. With the Red-Eyed Crow helping track the last hunter, Zhang Yuan caught up with him in the forest.

• Seven armed hunters ambushed Zhang Yuan while he was carrying a black bear, but his Iron Shirt deflected their first volley.
• Zhang Yuan activated his techniques and charged the hunters, killing three in a sudden clash.
• The remaining four hunters fired arrows and fled, but Zhang Yuan pursued and killed three more.
• The final hunter escaped into the forest, where the Red-Eyed Crow found him and tore open his scalp.
• The wounded hunter stumbled to his feet and saw Zhang Yuan standing in front of him.

After defeating a Flying Eagle Gang hunting party, Zhang Yuan discovered that a pack of Mountain Demons had stolen the black bear he had killed. He shot one of the creatures, and the enraged pack turned on him.

• Zhang Yuan questioned the last surviving hunter, learned the group belonged to the Flying Eagle Gang, then killed him and the other hunters.
• Zhang Yuan fed the gathered Source Essence to the Red-Eyed Crow and discovered that the black bear's corpse had disappeared.
• Zhang Yuan found claw prints leading into the forest and followed them with the Red-Eyed Crow.
• Zhang Yuan spotted a pack of Mountain Demons carrying the bear and recognized the dangerous Strange Beasts.
• Zhang Yuan shot a Mountain Demon in the head with a Fine Iron Arrow, and the pack dropped the bear and turned toward him.

Zhang Yuan fought a pack of Shan Xiaos and used the Crimson Blood Blade after his ordinary saber broke. The White-Faced Shan Xiao called off the surviving attackers, leaving their wounded companions behind.

• Zhang Yuan shot at the White-Faced Shan Xiao, but it dodged his arrow and directed six or seven Shan Xiaos to surround him.
• Zhang Yuan empowered his strength, agility, and saber technique, then killed a Black-Faced Shan Xiao with a saber strike.
• Zhang Yuan’s saber broke as he tried to finish the beast, so he drew the Crimson Blood Blade and severed another Shan Xiao’s wrist.
• Zhang Yuan fought off the encircling Shan Xiaos with the Crimson Blood Blade and Edge Piercing Dagger, cutting down their claws and wounding one.
• The White-Faced Shan Xiao cried out from a tree, and the remaining attackers fled, abandoning their wounded companions.

Zhang Yuan pursued the fleeing Shan Xiaos to their hidden cave after recovering his vitality and blood. He killed a guard at the entrance, alerting the creatures deeper inside.

• Zhang Yuan finished off the wounded Shan Xiaos with the Crimson Blood Blade and sacrificed the damaged bear carcass for Source Essence.
• Zhang Yuan followed five fleeing Shan Xiaos through the forest using the Red-Eyed Crow and watched them enter a hidden cave.
• Zhang Yuan rested and chewed Wild Ginseng until his vitality and blood recovered to more than three-quarters.
• Zhang Yuan left his bow and other burdens behind, then approached the cave with the Red-Eyed Crow scouting ahead.
• Zhang Yuan charged into the cave and killed a Yellow-Faced Shan Xiao with the Crimson Blood Blade, provoking an enraged roar from within.

Zhang Yuan fought through the Mountain Demons in their cave lair and killed their White-Faced Shan Xiao leader. After collecting Source Essence from the last demon, he turned his attention to the Blood Pool, suspecting something was hidden inside.

• Zhang Yuan killed two Black-Faced Shan Xiao with the Crimson Blood Blade and pressed deeper into the cave.
• Zhang Yuan found a Blood Pool surrounded by six Mountain Demons, including the White-Faced Shan Xiao leader, and fought off their attack.
• Zhang Yuan killed several Mountain Demons with the Crimson Blood Blade, while the White-Faced Shan Xiao hurled a boulder at him and tried to flee.
• Zhang Yuan threw the Crimson Blood Blade into the White-Faced Shan Xiao's back and watched it wither into ash.
• Zhang Yuan killed the final Mountain Demon with the Edge Piercing Dagger and gained 23.5 Source Essence.
• Zhang Yuan recalled the Crimson Blood Blade to his hand and sensed that something was hidden in the Blood Pool.

Zhang Yuan discovered a Bone Lotus Pod in the Blood Pool and consumed all six Blood Lotus Seeds, which flooded him with blood and vitality. He used the energy to practice the Crimson Blood Palm, broke through its current limit, and checked the Divine Nest Panel.

• Zhang Yuan plunged the Crimson Blood Blade into the Blood Pool, and it drained the water to reveal a Bone Lotus Root and a jade-white Lotus Pod.
• Zhang Yuan touched the Lotus Pod, causing it and the bones beneath it to crumble and exposing six Blood Lotus Seeds.
• The Red-Eyed Crow swallowed one Blood Lotus Seed, and Zhang Yuan ate the remaining five after noticing their light dimming.
• Zhang Yuan practiced the Crimson Blood Palm to control the surging heat and vitality from the seeds, deepening his understanding until he broke through.
• Zhang Yuan struck the cavern wall with both palms, leaving deep palm prints in the stone, then opened the Divine Nest Panel.

After eating five Blood Lotus Seeds, Zhang Yuan gained 200 vitality and reached the upper reaches of Third Order Transforming Force, bringing him close to Entry Qi Realm. He escaped Taiwu Mountain and returned to West Mountain Village, where the Red-Eyed Crow evolved into an Advanced Familiar Spirit.

• Zhang Yuan saw his vitality rise from 404 to 604 after consuming five Blood Lotus Seeds and realized his cultivation had advanced close to Entry Qi Realm.
• Zhang Yuan thanked the Red-Eyed Crow for helping him recognize the Blood Lotus Seeds, then left the cave and retrieved his hidden belongings.
• Zhang Yuan used eightfold agility to race home through Taiwu Mountain before nightfall, spending more than two-thirds of his vitality on the journey.
• Zhang Yuan recalled the Red-Eyed Crow into the Divine Nest and waited through a night of roars from the mountain.
• Zhang Yuan checked the Divine Nest Panel at dawn and found that the Red-Eyed Crow had become an Advanced Familiar Spirit.

Zhang Yuan spent the end of hunting season strengthening his familiars, stockpiling supplies, and preparing for winter in West Mountain Village. After a blizzard covered the village in snow, he settled into a steady routine of cultivation and study.

• The Level Three Red-Eyed Crow hunted a large wild rabbit, and Zhang Yuan praised it and fed it.
• Zhang Yuan invested more than twenty points of Source Essence in the Black Giant Ant while considering the strength it might gain at Level Four.
• Zhang Yuan hunted throughout Taiwu Mountain with the Red-Eyed Crow, sacrificed most of his prey for Source Essence, and stored animal parts and supplies for winter.
• Zhang Yuan avoided other hunting parties and stopped hunting shortly before the season ended as villagers prepared for the harsh winter.
• A blizzard blanketed West Mountain Village, and Zhang Yuan fed the Red-Eyed Crow before continuing his martial cultivation and rereading Jianghu Records.

Zhang Yuan received a visit from the True Martial Sect, whose members brought gifts while seeking support for their plans in West Mountain Village. He accepted their invitation without revealing his hostility and suspected the generous offering concealed a scheme.

• While Zhang Yuan relaxed at home, the Red-Eyed Crow warned him that five armed men were approaching through the snow.
• Wei Chongshan introduced himself as an Incense Master of the True Martial Sect and invited Zhang Yuan to support the sect when it established a presence in West Mountain Village after spring.
• Zhang Yuan suppressed his killing intent, accepted the invitation, and let Wei Chongshan and his men leave.
• Zhang Yuan opened the gifts and found a meat sheep, rice, and jars of seasonings, then suspected the practical offering hid poison.

Zhang Yuan discussed True Martial Sect’s plans with Old Man Kou and rejected the idea of becoming anyone’s subordinate. After receiving a map to Great Dream Marsh, he decided to remain in West Mountain Village for now and grow stronger before spring.

• Old Man Kou visited Zhang Yuan to discuss True Martial Sect’s arrival and learned that the sect had distributed supplies around West Mountain Village.
• Zhang Yuan gave Old Man Kou the three sacks of supplies he had received from True Martial Sect.
• Zhang Yuan told Old Man Kou he would not become True Martial Sect’s dog, and Old Man Kou urged him to reconsider the invitation from Xuan Cheng Daoren of Heavenly King Hall.
• Old Man Kou gave Zhang Yuan a map to Great Dream Marsh as a possible refuge if True Martial Sect threatened him.
• After Old Man Kou left with the supplies, Zhang Yuan resolved to reach the fourth tier before spring.

On New Year's Eve, Zhang Yuan hunted a feast in the frozen Long Sky River and celebrated alone, thinking of his distant family and the enemies he hoped to avenge. Before dawn, a masked intruder slipped into his room, where Zhang Yuan was waiting and struck first.

• Zhang Yuan passed over a school of fish and used his water-control arts to catch a river eel, a rock carp, an Old River Turtle, and river shrimp.
• Zhang Yuan prepared a hotpot for New Year's Eve and remembered celebrating with his mother, Xiang Xiu, and Da Hu the previous year.
• Zhang Yuan grew furious thinking of the Raging Whale Gang, Azure Cloud Temple, and Celestials, but restrained himself and finished his meal.
• Zhang Yuan went to sleep after eating and drinking, then woke before dawn when a Nightwalker-clad intruder entered his room.
• Zhang Yuan sprang at the intruder and struck with his blood-red palm.

Zhang Yuan fought off a stealthy attacker who tried to kill him in his bedroom, using his martial skills and enhanced strength to overpower the intruder. After unmasking the attacker as a woman, he ignored her attempt to win his sympathy and killed her.

• Warned by the Red-Eyed Crow, Zhang Yuan met the Black-Clad Man's attack with his Crimson Blood Palm.
• Zhang Yuan dodged the dagger and dispersed the attacker's Hidden Weapons with a roar, but his opponent escaped his grasp.
• Zhang Yuan combined the Black Giant Ant's strength and the Golden Grasshopper's agility, forcing the Black-Clad Man to evade his palm strikes.
• Zhang Yuan switched to the Surging Wave Palm, overwhelmed the Black-Clad Man, and blocked his escape at the doorway.
• Zhang Yuan broke the Black-Clad Man's arms, knocked him into a wall, and seized him by the throat.
• The Black-Clad Man's Nightwalker Outfit fell away, revealing a woman, and Zhang Yuan twisted her neck despite her tearful appeal.

Zhang Yuan killed a disguised female assassin and collected her unusual scales and weapons, but the attack and his mounting fury left him unable to keep waiting. He began the dangerous process of opening his sea of qi in his underground chamber.

• Zhang Yuan uncovered the female assassin’s poisoned needles and disguise, then destroyed her body and gained only 28.7 Source Essence.
• Zhang Yuan collected the assassin’s hidden weapons and 437 scales that had formed her Nightwalker Outfit, then buried the items beneath a reef in the Long Sky River.
• Zhang Yuan wondered who had sent the assassin and grew furious as he recalled the True Martial Sect members who had come to his home.
• Zhang Yuan felt his power and Crimson Blood Blade growing uncontrollable, so he entered his underground chamber and began gathering his force to open his sea of qi.

Zhang Yuan endured the pain of Opening the Sea and broke through to the fourth order with help from the Divine Nest Emblem. After condensing abundant True Qi, he left the secret chamber at the start of a new year, aware that the Divine Nest held powers he had yet to understand.

• Zhang Yuan controlled his strength and gathered it into his dantian while enduring severe physical pain and wavering thoughts.
• The Divine Nest Emblem released warm energy that steadied Zhang Yuan, helped him open his Qi Sea, and carried him into the fourth order.
• Zhang Yuan condensed his first strand of Innate True Qi and continued until his dantian held abundant True Qi.
• Zhang Yuan recovered in the secret chamber, then returned to his courtyard after the sky had brightened and the new year had begun.
• The Red-Eyed Crow landed on Zhang Yuan's shoulder, and he thanked it for guarding him before leaping onto the courtyard wall and roaring toward the Taiwu Mountain Range.