Chapter Summaries

Xu Yang defeated Xie Zhan and then faced Lu Ren in a long-awaited rematch, where he overwhelmed Lu Ren despite both of them revealing fully mastered Mountain-Bearing Bear King Palms. The chapter left Lu Ren sprawled on the platform with Xu Yang's foot stamped across his face.

• Xu Yang defeated Xie Zhan and returned his saber before taking time to recover.
• Xiong Kun knocked Lu Ren off the platform, and Xu Yang later deliberately let Han Feng defeat him.
• Lu Ren challenged Xu Yang and unleashed his fully mastered Mountain-Bearing Bear King Palm, only for Xu Yang to reveal that he knew the same technique.
• Xu Yang won their palm clashes, struck Lu Ren out of the air, and slammed him onto the platform.
• Lu Ren tried to rise, but Xu Yang stamped his face into the platform and left a clear footprint.

Xu Yang defeated Lu Ren and finished third in the Violet Sun Gate’s Outer Sect Grand Competition, earning recognition and a points reward. As his new standing drew gifts and attention, the Su Family and Cao Jin considered how to deal with the threat he posed.

• Xu Yang defeated Lu Ren, and the competition ended with Han Feng first, Xiong Kun second, and Xu Yang third.
• Xu Yang celebrated with his friends at the Wine House, while Gao Lin learned of his achievement and realized Xu Yang had concealed his strength.
• Su Jianye berated and slapped Su Man over her role in provoking Xu Yang, then weighed whether the Su Family should secretly kill him before he grew stronger.
• Cao Jin feared Xu Yang would seek revenge and decided to speak with Liu Qing about their past conflict.
• Wang Ang of the Dawn Society paid Xu Yang’s dinner bill and asked him to forgive the Society for its past offenses.
• Xu Yang received 100 points for placing third, and visitors began bringing him gifts the next day.

Xu Yang chose the Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture and learned that he needed to reach minor marrow cleansing before he could safely cultivate it. Using Mystic Origin Qi-Transforming Pills from the Yuan and Ding Families, he broke through to minor marrow cleansing in seclusion.

• Zhou Zhichao, Qin Ze, Liu Qian, Wang Ang, Yuan Sujie, Ding Xu, and Su Zhe visited Xu Yang with apologies or congratulatory gifts, and Xu Yang accepted them while recognizing Su Zhe’s false goodwill.
• Xu Yang visited the Martial Repository Hall and chose the Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture after learning that it could cut both body and spirit but required great mental strength.
• Han Feng and Liu Jinghe warned Xu Yang that he needed at least minor marrow cleansing to practice the scripture safely, and Xu Yang agreed to wait before cultivating it.
• Xu Yang memorized the Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture, returned the manual, and entered seclusion with two Mystic Origin Qi-Transforming Pills.
• Xu Yang circulated the Mountain-Bearing Bear Canon as old blood and bone dust left his body, then completed his breakthrough to minor marrow cleansing.

Xu Yang completed minor marrow cleansing, concealed his breakthrough, and left the Violet Sun Gate to gather ingredients for refining Origin-Gathering Pills. The Su Family learned he had left and set out to capture him, intending to seize his golden astral qi cultivation technique.

• Xu Yang broke through to minor marrow cleansing, then spent several days consolidating his strength while hiding his new cultivation from Zhang Yong and Sun Tao.
• Xu Yang told Zhang Yong and Sun Tao that he hoped to join Medicine King Peak, with Blazing Fire Peak as his second choice, and declined their invitation to join Beast King Peak.
• Xu Yang left the Violet Sun Gate with pure yang grass and traveled to Azure Sun City to buy ingredients for Origin-Gathering Pills.
• Su Zhe followed Xu Yang's departure report to Su Jianye, who summoned Su Jiangong and prepared to ambush Xu Yang and capture him alive for his golden astral qi technique.
• Xu Yang bought the remaining ingredients at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion and other shops, then hurried to his courtyard to begin refining pills.
• Su Jianye, Su Jiangong, and Su Zhe disguised themselves and left the Su Family through its back gate to hunt Xu Yang.

Xu Yang returned from the city and was ambushed by three members of the Su Family, who wanted to kill him and seize his Golden Astral Skill. He killed Su Jiangong with one punch and fought Su Jianye on equal terms, leaving the battle raging as Su Jianye attacked again.

• Xu Yang finished two batches of Origin-Gathering Pills, set some aside for Xu Qing, and left the city for the Violet Sun Gate.
• Su Jianye, Su Jiangong, and Su Zhe waited in ambush for Xu Yang, planning to capture him and take his technique.
• Xu Yang sensed the ambush and killed Su Jiangong with a single punch before Su Jianye and Su Zhe could stop him.
• Su Jianye attacked Xu Yang, and their clash sent Su Zhe flying and injured him with the shock wave.
• Su Jianye recognized Xu Yang's Golden Astral Skill and grew greedy for it, while Xu Yang charged him again and Su Jianye met him with a storm of fist imprints.

Xu Yang overwhelmed Su Jianye with his Golden Astral Skill, saber techniques, and Mountain-Bearing Bear King Palm, leaving the Su Family Head mortally wounded. Su Zhe fled, but Xu Yang caught him and carried him back to his father.

• Xu Yang traded punches with Su Jianye, then revealed that he had killed Su Che, Su Qiming, and Su Jie, enraging Su Jianye.
• Xu Yang wounded Su Jianye with the Earthly Baleful Six Harmonies Saber and then broke his hand with Shatter Mountains and Split Peaks.
• Xu Yang struck Su Jianye again, shattering his chest and leaving him unable to rise as Su Zhe cried out for his father.
• Su Zhe ran toward the Violet Sun Gate, but Xu Yang caught him by the neck and carried him back to Su Jianye.

Xu Yang killed Su Jianye, Su Jiangong, and Su Zhe, then infiltrated the Su Family estate and killed Su Man. He stole Su Jianye’s semi-spirit weapon, Cold Abyss, and attacked the treasury as Su Xiuyuan approached.

• Xu Yang rejected Su Jianye’s offer to hand over the Su Family, killed him, and forced Su Zhe to reveal that Su Xiuyuan was the family’s only other expert and that Su Jianye’s semi-spirit weapon was in the main hall.
• Xu Yang killed Su Zhe, set fire to the Su Family estate, and strangled Su Man after telling her that her father and the others were dead.
• Xu Yang killed the two guards protecting the main hall and took the semi-spirit weapon Cold Abyss.
• Xu Yang charged toward the Su Family treasury, killed two attackers with Cold Abyss, and raised the blade to smash the treasury gate as Su Xiuyuan’s aura approached.

Xu Yang raided the Su Family treasury to draw out Su Xiuyuan, then revealed his golden astral qi and killed him in the wilderness with Cold Abyss and the Earthly Baleful Six Harmonies Saber. Azure Sun City's law enforcers discovered Su Xiuyuan’s body and identified the Blazing Blade Swordsman as the killer, while the Su Family reeled from the loss of its last old expert and two Semi-Spirit Weapons.

• Xu Yang broke into the Su Family treasury, stole several jade boxes, and fled as Su Xiuyuan pursued him.
• Xu Yang led Su Xiuyuan out of Azure Sun City, revealed his golden astral qi, and admitted that Su Jianye and the others were dead.
• Xu Yang and Su Xiuyuan clashed with their Semi-Spirit Weapons, and Xu Yang’s strength and Golden Astral Skill overwhelmed Su Xiuyuan.
• Xu Yang used the Earthly Baleful Six Harmonies Saber to grievously wound Su Xiuyuan, then beheaded him and took his Semi-Spirit Weapon.
• Azure Sun City's law enforcers found Su Xiuyuan’s head and corpse, identified the Blazing Blade Swordsman as the killer, and hurried back to the city.

Xu Yang inventoried the treasures he stole from the Su Family, identified several rare spirit materials, and returned to the Violet Sun Gate while the city reeled from the family’s destruction. Sun Tao suspected Xu Yang was the Blazing Blade Swordsman, but Xu Yang concealed his role and celebrated the Su Family’s downfall.

• Xu Yang found silver essence, crimson gold essence, black gold, fish-pattern steel, Crystal Lotus Root, Hundred-Year Blood Ginseng, and Dragon Whisker Root among the Su Family’s treasures, and the panel awarded him Martial Dao Longevity Points totaling 1307.
• Xu Yang returned to the Violet Sun Gate and slept as news spread that the Blazing Blade Swordsman had killed Su Man and Su Xiuyuan, stolen the Su Family’s treasures, and left Su Jianye, Su Jiangong, and Su Zhe missing and presumed dead.
• Han Feng warned Xiong Kun that the Blazing Blade Swordsman had destroyed the Su Family, and they hurried back toward the Violet Sun Gate with other disciples after finding signs of a fierce battle on the road.
• Sun Tao suspected Xu Yang was the Blazing Blade Swordsman after hearing that the Su Family had fallen, but Xu Yang acted surprised and asked about the Law Enforcers’ response.
• After Sun Tao confirmed the Su Family had lost its influence and was likely finished, Xu Yang invited the others to celebrate with drinks.

Xu Yang studied the Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture while preparing to enter the Inner Sect, and chose Elder Changchun of Medicine King Peak as his preferred master. After the Outer Sect disciples submitted their apprenticeship petitions, Elder Changchun began reviewing them, leaving Xu Yang’s prospects unresolved.

• Xu Yang began studying the Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture, but found that his weak mind limited his progress and exhausted him.
• Xu Yang trained and studied over the following months as news spread that the Su Family had collapsed into infighting after Su Jianye and the others were declared dead.
• When the disciples’ three-year term ended, Xu Yang submitted a petition to Elder Changchun, while Sun Tao and Zhang Yong applied to Beast King Peak and Jiang Fan applied to Blazing Fire Peak.
• Xu Yang saw Li Chuyang, Han Feng, and Xiong Kun submit petitions to Medicine King Peak, and Sun Jian mocked Xu Yang for still pursuing alchemy.
• Xu Yang prepared a backup petition for Blazing Fire Peak, while Jiang Fan offered to recommend him to its peak master.
• Elder Changchun finished tending his medicinal garden and meditating, then asked Sun Jian to bring him the Outer Sect disciples’ apprenticeship petitions.

Elder Changchun chose four disciples for Medicine King Peak but rejected Xu Yang, who then applied to Blazing Fire Peak after learning its Inheritance Tower also held alchemy records. As new disciples received daunting Qualification Tasks, Lu Ren failed to persuade Xu Yang to help him, while Iron Float received Blazing Fire Peak’s second round of applications.

• Elder Changchun reviewed the applications and selected four candidates, discarding Xu Yang’s because he believed Xu Yang lacked the resources to pursue alchemy.
• Disciples gathered at the Four Peaks, where Chen Yu and others were accepted, but Xu Yang and Xiong Kun were not chosen by Medicine King Peak.
• Jiang Fan told Xu Yang that the Inheritance Tower held alchemy and weaponsmithing records, so Xu Yang applied to Blazing Fire Peak instead.
• Zhang Yong learned that most new disciples had to capture a Phantom Leopard cub, and Xu Yang suggested that he recruit others to form a team.
• Lu Ren asked Xu Yang for help with his Qualification Task, but Xu Yang refused, as did Zhang Yong and Sun Tao.
• Iron Float failed to perfect his Spirit Imbuement Technique, then received the second round of apprenticeship applications from Zuo Mu.

Xu Yang was rejected by Elder Iron Float and assigned by the peak master to Elder Firecloud, who accepted him as a nominal disciple. After registering as an inner sect disciple, Xu Yang received weapon-forging manuals and decided to try learning the craft.

• Iron Float reluctantly accepted Xiong Kun but rejected Xu Yang, whose petition was then sent to Elder Firecloud.
• Elder Firecloud chose Xu Yang as one of three disciples, and Xu Yang traveled to Blazing Fire Peak after his name was called.
• Lu Chuping told Xu Yang that the peak master had assigned him to Elder Firecloud, and Xu Yang agreed to follow the arrangement.
• Elder Firecloud welcomed Xu Yang as a nominal disciple and said he could become a personal disciple after reaching minor marrow cleansing.
• Gao Lin registered Xu Yang, gave him his inner sect token, clothes, and weapon-forging manuals, and explained the peak’s training.
• Xu Yang said he wanted to try weapon forging, while Gao Lin warned him that it required considerable talent.

Xu Yang settled into life as Elder Firecloud’s disciple on Blazing Fire Peak, learned the basics of weapon forging, and reached initiation in the Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture. After meeting Jiang Fan and Jiang Yan at the Dining Hall, he went with them to begin practicing at the Weapon-Forge Pavilion.

• Gao Lin showed Xu Yang the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall and led him to a newly renovated courtyard on Blazing Fire Peak, which Xu Yang cleaned and made his home.
• Xu Yang told Xu Qing he had become Elder Firecloud’s disciple, gave her banknotes, and shared a farewell meal with her, Qiu Wenjie, Sun Tao, and the others.
• Xu Yang studied Thousand-Forging Art and Iron-Refining Hand, then spent ten days cultivating until he visualized the blood prison and reached initiation in the Blood Prison Heart Saber Scripture.
• A blue-clad disciple warned Xu Yang that two previous owners of his courtyard had died, while Xu Yang heard that Heavenly Wind Valley would open in about two months and decided against risking missions for contribution points.
• Xu Yang met Jiang Fan and Jiang Yan at the Dining Hall, agreed to join them at the Weapon-Forge Pavilion, and learned that they would need to buy their own forging hammers and prove their talent in Thousand-Forging Art.

Xu Yang began practicing the Thousand-Forging Art on Blazing Fire Peak, struggled to improve without paying for instruction, and used his panel to advance it. After nearly a month, Elder Firecloud demonstrated the art and showed how mastery could give ordinary black iron qualities like spirit iron.

• Xu Yang bought a Forging Hammer and black iron, then refused Luo Xin and other disciples who offered paid instruction in the Thousand-Forging Art.
• Xu Yang forged black iron through several rounds, gained only one point of progress, and ruined the piece before selling it back at a loss.
• Xu Yang used his panel to build progress in the Thousand-Forging Art while focusing most of his practice on other martial skills, and he later saw Lu Ren on Blazing Fire Peak.
• Gao Lin invited Xu Yang to Elder Firecloud's lesson, where Elder Firecloud explained the Thousand-Forging Art's importance to forging Spirit Weapons.
• Elder Firecloud demonstrated the Thousand-Forging Art, improving black iron until it gained a faint quality resembling spirit iron and raising Xu Yang's panel progress by one point.

Elder Firecloud judged Xu Yang's weapon-forging talent ordinary, but Xu Yang remained confident in his cultivation and learned that the second dragon ascension required Heavenly Origin cultivation and would next be held in three years. Back at the Weapon-Forge Pavilion, he saw Lu Ren reach minor accomplishment in the Thousand-Forging Art in fewer than twenty days and gain Elder Iron Float's attention.

• Elder Firecloud stopped Xu Yang at one hundred forgings, declared his forging talent ordinary, and advised him to focus on martial cultivation.
• Gao Lin comforted Xu Yang, while Xiong Kun and Jiang Fan spoke with him about his forging talent and the second dragon ascension.
• Jiang Fan and Xiong Kun explained that the second dragon ascension was a wider-world trial held every five years, open to those under twenty-eight with Heavenly Origin cultivation; Xu Yang believed he could reach that realm within three years.
• Xu Yang visited Xu Qing, reassured her that he would have enough resources, then returned to Blazing Fire Peak after learning Sun Tao was away helping Zhang Yong capture Phantom Leopard cubs.
• Xu Yang continued practicing at the Weapon-Forge Pavilion despite others' remarks, and Lu Ren reached three hundred forgings in fewer than twenty days.
• Elder Iron Float summoned Lu Ren, who left with his forged black iron after glancing at Xu Yang.

Xu Yang learned the rest of the weapon-forging legacy, but escalating attacks by the Blood Lotus Cult led Violet Sun Gate to assign him to guard spirit iron at Earthvein Fire Valley as bait. He prepared for the dangerous mission and gave Xu Qing the semi-spirit weapon Starshine for protection.

• Lu Ren became Elder Iron Float's personal disciple, while Xu Yang spent more than two months practicing the Thousand-Forging Art and reached minor accomplishment.
• Xu Yang showed his Black Iron to Elder Firecloud, who gave him the complete weapon-forging legacy despite believing he should focus on martial cultivation.
• After Senior Brother Zhang and several other disciples were killed in Blood Lotus Cult attacks, Elder Firecloud ordered Gao Lin to prepare a trap at Earthvein Fire Valley.
• Gao Lin told Xu Yang he would guard the fire valley alongside Zhuang Tao, with hidden support nearby, and Xu Yang prepared Cold Abyss in case the Blood Lotus Cult attacked.
• Xu Yang warned Tian Li and Qiu Wenjie not to seek places at Earthvein Fire Valley, then gave Xu Qing Starshine and revealed that he had obtained it by killing Su Xiuyuan.

Xu Yang traveled to Earthvein Fire Valley with Zhuang Tao to oversee the setup of a pill-selling operation, while sensing that senior disciples were watching over them. Elsewhere, Li Shao gathered allies and renewed his plan to kill Xu Yang, but a black-robed Blood Lotus figure arrived before he could act.

• Xu Yang gave Starshine to Xu Qing, then traded Sun Tao two Tenfold Great Tonic Pills for pure yang grass and tigerbone vine.
• Lu Ren brought back the head of one of Jiang Ping's killers and explained that he had joined Blazing Fire Peak as Elder Tiefu's personal disciple.
• Gao Lin took Xu Yang, Zhuang Tao, and a group of disciples to Earthvein Fire Valley, where they set up a forge and prepared to sell pills.
• Xu Yang sensed two powerful watchers near the valley while taking the first night watch, and Qiao Yong later hid among the Outer Sect disciples to avoid him.
• Li Shao told his men he intended to kill Xu Yang for revenge, but a black-robed figure bearing a blood-red lotus appeared at their camp.

The Blood Lotus Cult attacked the Violet Sun Gate’s camp in Earthvein Fire Valley to seize spirit iron, and Xu Yang revealed his minor marrow cleansing cultivation while fighting back. The chapter ended with Xu Yang killing Li Shao in two moves, leaving Zhuang Tao stunned.

• The Lotus Envoy ordered Li Shao and Zhang Sai to attack Earthvein Fire Valley, seize the spirit iron, and kill Xu Yang and Qiao Yong.
• Xu Yang sensed the Blood Lotus Cult’s scouts watching the valley, but their attack did not begin until dawn.
• When the Blood Lotus Cult launched its attack, Zhuang Tao failed to signal the others, so Xu Yang set off the Signal Firework himself.
• Li Shao charged Xu Yang to avenge his younger brother, and Xu Yang revealed his minor marrow cleansing cultivation and shattered Li Shao’s arm with one palm strike.
• Xu Yang killed Li Shao with a blast of finger force, shocking Zhuang Tao with the speed and brutality of the fight.

Xu Yang escaped the Blood Lotus Cult’s ambush in Fire Valley, killed the Blood Envoy who pursued him, and hid in the forest. He then ambushed Qian Kuan, another Blood Envoy carrying stolen spirit iron, and crushed him with Shatter Mountains and Split Peaks.

• Xu Yang realized the Violet Sun Gate’s plan had failed as the Blood Lotus Cult overwhelmed the valley and injured Chen Ji, so he fled while Zhuang Tao fought his way out separately.
• The black-robed Blood Envoy chased Xu Yang, but Xu Yang drew Cold Abyss and killed him with a slash followed by a thrust through the throat.
• Xu Yang searched the Blood Envoy’s corpse, hid the body in a gorge, and concealed himself in a tree as Qian Kuan returned from Fire Valley carrying spirit iron.
• Qian Kuan passed beneath Xu Yang’s hiding place, and Xu Yang ambushed him with Golden Astral Skill and his martial dao phenomenon.
• Xu Yang struck Qian Kuan twice with Shatter Mountains and Split Peaks, breaking his chest and spine and leaving him dead on the ground.

Xu Yang survived the Blood Lotus Cult’s ambush, concealed the spirit iron he took from Qian Kuan, and returned to the Violet Sun Gate as the sole survivor of the attack. Although Elder Firecloud did not question him, suspicion spread among the disciples, and Xu Yang confronted Luo Xin after he publicly accused him of being a Blood Lotus Cult sleeper agent.

• Xu Yang killed Qian Kuan, took his spirit iron and semi-spirit weapon, and buried them before returning to Earthvein Fire Valley with staged injuries.
• Lu Ren and Yang Song told Xu Yang that the other survivors, including Third Senior Brother, Fourth Senior Brother, and Zhuang Tao, had died; Gao Lin later heard Xu Yang’s account of the attack.
• Elder Firecloud discussed whether Xu Yang was a sleeper agent with Gao Lin, then ordered him to keep an eye on Xu Yang while the sect sought help from Beast King Peak’s Peak Master.
• The Lotus Envoy learned that Xu Yang had survived and took the spirit iron from the Blood Lotus Cult members who had gathered in the mountains.
• After three days of recovery, Xu Yang returned to the Dining Hall, where Luo Xin accused him of being a Blood Lotus Cult sleeper agent; Xu Yang threatened to fight him if he repeated the slander.