Chapter Summaries

Xu Yang bought the Blood-Coagulating Pill Formula at the auction and discovered that his panel could train its alchemy proficiency. When masked robbers pursued him outside the city, he turned to fight them, crushing one with a powerful fist and withstanding the other's saber strike.

• Liu Qian, Yue Gui, Sun Jian, and others judged Xu Yang foolish for buying Ye Qiuling's Blood-Coagulating Pill Formula, while Zhou Yong explained its ingredient costs and how to prepare it.
• Xu Yang saw that the panel had registered the formula at zero proficiency, then learned from Zhou Yong that a batch's ingredients cost about forty taels and that a copper pot could serve in place of a pill furnace.
• After leaving the auction, Xu Yang noticed people watching him and hurried out of Azure Sun City; Qin Ze and Liu Qian declined to help him, and his pursuers followed him beyond the city gate.
• Xu Yang confirmed that the two masked pursuers had only recently entered the astral qi stage, tossed them his purse, then used the Great Accomplishment Flying Swallow Skill to ambush the monkey-masked man with a twelve-layer Stormy Waves Fist.
• Xu Yang's punch shattered the monkey mask and blasted its wearer away with a crushed chest, while the ghost-masked man slashed Xu Yang but failed to pierce his Golden Astral Skill-protected body.

Xu Yang defeated the two men who ambushed him, then refused to help Qin Ze, Yue Gui, Chen Jiang, and Liu Qian when black-clad attackers surrounded them. Chen Jiang was killed, and Xu Yang lay in wait for Yue Gui, ambushing him as he fled and severing his arm.

• Xu Yang killed the two ghost-masked attackers and took their money, a medicine bottle, and the Blazing Sun Gang Saber manual.
• Xu Yang found Qin Ze, Yue Gui, Chen Jiang, and Liu Qian fighting five black-clad men, but refused their pleas for help and left.
• Xu Yang hid nearby after realizing Chen Jiang might hold a grudge, while Yue Gui and Liu Qian fled and Qin Ze broke away from the fight.
• The black-clad men killed Chen Jiang, and Xu Yang left as one of them pursued Yue Gui.
• Xu Yang ambushed Yue Gui beside a boulder and severed his arm.

Xu Yang killed Yue Gui after the ambush, returned to the Violet Sun Gate, and pretended to have tried to help Qin Ze and Liu Qian. After learning they survived and Yue Gui and Chen Jiang died, he counted his spoils and discovered an astral qi saber technique.

• Xu Yang ambushed the wounded Yue Gui, killed him, and took his money and belongings before returning to the Violet Sun Gate.
• Deacon Zhao Qing refused to send rescuers for Qin Ze and Liu Qian, so Xu Yang passed the news to a Spirit Monkey Boxing Hall disciple instead.
• Xu Yang reunited with the other disciples and heard that Zhao Zhifei, Guo Jian, and others had died during the Cloud Ridge Mountains expedition.
• Zhang Yong reported that Qin Ze and Liu Qian had returned wounded, while Yue Gui and Chen Jiang had been killed in the ambush.
• Qin Ze and Liu Qian thanked Xu Yang, who claimed he had been unable to rescue them but had sent word for help.
• Xu Yang counted his spoils, found the Blazing Sun Gang Saber manual, and quickly reached beginner mastery through his comprehension.

Xu Yang avoided ambushes after the auction, completed his three-month guard assignment, and returned to the Violet Sun Gate with his contribution points. At the Martial Repository Hall, Steward Liu recommended a related technique that cost more points than Xu Yang had, leaving him unsure whether to spend his savings or keep them for later.

• Xu Yang practiced the Blazing Sun Gang Saber while Kong Yu and Li Xu waited in vain to ambush him on the road.
• Xu Yang stayed in Azure Sun City, advanced the Blazing Sun Gang Saber to minor accomplishment, and completed his guard duty at the Hundred Medicine Hall.
• Jin Lei tried to buy Xu Yang’s contribution points, but Xu Yang refused and hurried back to the Violet Sun Gate after suspecting the group might attack him.
• Xu Yang received 120 contribution points for his mission and avoided lingering with Lin Wei and Xiao Chen before visiting the Martial Repository Hall.
• Steward Liu recommended the Mountain-Bearing Bear King Palm, which cost 300 contribution points, and Xu Yang weighed whether to save for it or choose another technique.

Xu Yang exchanged contribution points for two martial arts and trained through the New Year, improving his skills while worrying about his limited resources and the girl he had left behind. At the next monthly distribution, Li Chuyang arrived and struck Lu Ren, leaving the sect disciples stunned and Lu Ren demanding an explanation.

• Xu Yang chose the Phantom Star Astral Fist and Treading Astral Qi, Chasing the Wind, then began studying and practicing both techniques.
• Xu Yang trained for several months, reached minor accomplishment in the Blazing Sun Gang Saber, and spent New Year's Eve with Sun Tao, Zhang Yong, and the others while thinking of the little girl in Azure Sun City.
• At the next monthly distribution, Xu Yang saw Jiang Fan pursue A Ya, who instead moved to stand near Lu Ren.
• Li Chuyang arrived, and the disciples learned he had reached minor accomplishment in astral qi and ranked first among the Top Ten Heroes.
• Li Chuyang attacked Lu Ren without warning, overpowered him in a palm clash, and left Lu Ren demanding to know why he had been struck.

Li Chuyang exposed A Ya’s true nature and revealed that Jiang Fan was a Young Marquis with an A-grade bone root, while Lu Ren was expelled from Sharp Wind Hall. Xu Yang advanced his Blood-Coagulating Pill knowledge and went to Azure Sun City to buy herbs, unaware that Kong Yu was following him to kill him.

• Li Chuyang humiliated A Ya, revealed Jiang Fan’s identity and talent, then fled as Jiang Fan pursued him; Lu Ren and A Ya left in disgrace.
• Xu Yang refused Qin Ze and Liu Qian’s offer of a banquet, then joined Jiang Fan and the others as Jiang Fan mourned his failed romance.
• Zhang Yong reported that Sharp Wind Hall had expelled Lu Ren, and Yun Feng, Cao Rong, Gu Haoming, and later A Ya came to apologize to Jiang Fan, who turned them away.
• Xu Yang encountered a bitter Lu Ren, then spent two hundred Martial Dao Longevity Points to master Blood-Coagulating Pill refinement.
• Xu Yang disguised himself, rented a courtyard in Azure Sun City, and asked a herb shop to prepare the ingredients for a batch of Blood-Coagulating Pills.
• Li Xu told Kong Yu that Xu Yang had left the Violet Sun Gate, and Kong Yu set out with him to make sure Xu Yang did not return.

Xu Yang refined Blood-Coagulating Pills and arranged a monthly deal with the Zhu Family in exchange for silver and an Origin-Returning Pill. On his way back to the Violet Sun Gate, he caught a disciple following him and learned Kong Yu and Li Xu had sent the man to help ambush him.

• Xu Yang refined eleven Blood-Coagulating Pills, tested one, and discovered that the Zhu Family would buy them.
• Kong Yu and Li Xu returned to the Violet Sun Gate without finding Xu Yang, and Kong Yu ordered people to watch the mountain routes for him.
• Xu Yang refined and sold 125 Blood-Coagulating Pills to Zhu Bin for 1,000 taels, receiving 900 taels and an Origin-Returning Pill after the deduction.
• Xu Yang left Azure Sun City for the Violet Sun Gate and noticed an Outer Sect disciple following him.
• Xu Yang seized the disciple and threatened to kill him until he confessed that Kong Yu and Li Xu had sent him to track Xu Yang's route and help ambush him.

Xiao Hua emerged from seclusion after reaching minor marrow cleansing, while Xu Yang tracked down Kong Yu’s ambush and attacked him. After killing Li Xu and revealing that he had killed several of Kong Yu’s friends, Xu Yang battled Kong Yu and broke both his arms.

• Xiao Hua broke through to minor marrow cleansing, and he warned Xiao Chen to stop seeing Lin Wei so the Xiao Family’s marriage alliance with Su Man would not be jeopardized.
• Xu Yang killed Kong Yu’s informant, learned where Kong Yu and Li Xu were waiting, and crept toward their ambush site.
• Kong Yu told Li Xu he wanted to kill Xu Yang before returning to cultivate, and Xu Yang ambushed them, killing Li Xu with a distant astral qi attack.
• Xu Yang confronted Kong Yu and admitted killing Jiang Yi, Ji Jincheng, and Han Xing, then launched a fight using Phantom Star Astral Fist.
• Xu Yang and Kong Yu traded blows as Xu Yang blamed Ji Yun’s orders for the deaths, and Xu Yang eventually cracked both of Kong Yu’s arms.

Xu Yang killed Kong Yu, concealed the bodies, and returned to the Violet Sun Gate, where he began a new black iron refining task and advanced his cultivation with an Origin-Returning Pill. As the refining work continued, the Heroes Association and the sect searched in vain for Kong Yu, Li Xu, and Fang Wei.

• Xu Yang defeated and killed Kong Yu, then searched the bodies and hid Kong Yu, Li Xu, and Fang Wei in a cave.
• Xu Yang returned to the Violet Sun Gate, learned that Gao Lin had requested him for a black iron refining task, and discovered that Jiang Fan had risen to third on the Top Ten Heroes Ranking while Lu Ren had left on a dangerous task.
• Xu Yang swallowed an Origin-Returning Pill and increased his Mountain-Bearing Bear Canon progress by more than a hundred points.
• Xu Yang learned that the black iron refining task was tied to an unknown selection, then demonstrated his major-accomplishment Mountain-Shaking Hammer and refined black iron at three times his former speed.
• The Fledgling Eagle Association discovered that Kong Yu, Li Xu, and Fang Wei had disappeared, and the Heroes Association and sect searched for them without success.

Xu Yang avoided suspicion over Kong Yu’s disappearance, rejected Yun Feng’s demand for his refined black iron, and advanced his martial techniques while adding Yun Feng to his kill list. Meanwhile, the Su Family searched for the alchemist supplying the Zhu Family, and Ji Yun received an unexpected delivery from Azure Sun City.

• Xu Yang learned that Kong Yu was presumed dead and kept the contribution points he had taken hidden while continuing to forge black iron and cultivate.
• Su Jianye ordered the Su Family to track down the alchemist supplying the Zhu Family with Blood-Coagulating Pills, while considering a marriage proposal involving Su Man and Xiao Hua’s son.
• Yun Feng offered Xu Yang extra silver to register Xu Yang’s refined black iron under his own name, but Xu Yang refused, and Yun Feng threatened his family.
• Xu Yang suppressed his anger by practicing in the Peach Grove, reaching minor accomplishment in the Phantom Star Astral Fist; two days later, Treading Astral Qi, Chasing the Wind also reached minor accomplishment.
• Ji Yun mourned Ji Jincheng but took comfort in believing Kong Yu was alive, then received a letter-shaped delivery addressed to him personally from Azure Sun City.

Ji Yun learned that Kong Yu and Li Xu were dead, while Xu Yang warned Lin Wei about Xiao Chen and continued advancing his cultivation. After earning contribution points for refining black iron, Xu Yang obtained a Mystic Origin Qi-Transforming Pill and prepared to break through.

• Ji Yun read that Kong Yu and Li Xu had died, coughed up blood, and fainted as the news spread across Qingyuan County.
• Lin Cheng welcomed Kong Yu's death, while Xu Yang learned that Xiao Chen had publicly rejected Lin Wei and warned her to end the relationship.
• Xiao Hua told Xiao Chen to silence Lin Wei if she threatened his prospects with the Su Family, and Xiao Chen agreed to follow his father's arrangements.
• Xu Yang earned twenty-five contribution points for refining black iron and was selected with seven others for an unexplained task.
• Xu Yang exchanged contribution points for a Mystic Origin Qi-Transforming Pill, trained for two more days, and began preparing for a breakthrough.

Xu Yang broke through to astral qi minor accomplishment, then went to Azure Sun City to buy ingredients for Blood-Coagulating Pills. After killing a Su Family scout who tried to recruit him, he returned to prepare pills while Su Jianye ordered a search to find and kill him.

• Xu Yang used points to master the Mountain-Bearing Bear Canon’s astral qi chapter and swallowed a Mystic Origin Qi-Transforming Pill to break through to astral qi minor accomplishment.
• After consolidating his cultivation, Xu Yang left Violet Sun Gate for Azure Sun City to buy Blood-Coagulating Pill ingredients, and Sun Tao told him that Lin Wei had refined her qi into gang.
• Xu Yang sensed a Su Family scout following him, lured him into an alley, and killed him after learning the Su Family wanted him to refine pills for them.
• Xu Yang took the scout’s silver and returned to his rented courtyard with the ingredients, deciding to have the Zhu Family supply them in the future.
• Su Jianye learned that the scout had been killed and ordered the Su Family and Enforcement Team to search for the pill refiner and kill him if found.

Xu Yang evaded the Su Family’s search, arranged safer pill deliveries with the Zhu Family, and killed Hu Fengyi before returning to Violet Sun Gate. At Blazing Fire Peak, he joined a group assigned to work near earth vein spirit fire, where he discovered the heat strengthened his Golden Astral Skill and the others began eyeing the best cultivation spots.

• Xu Yang delivered forty-two batches of Blood-Coagulating Pills to Zhu Bin, agreed to have ingredients and finished pills exchanged at his rented courtyard, and received silver and an Origin-Returning Pill.
• Xu Yang bought Eight-Treasure Body-Strengthening Pills, ambushed Hu Fengyi outside the city, killed him, and took his money and contribution points.
• Xu Yang returned to Violet Sun Gate and joined the group heading to Blazing Fire Peak, where Hu Fengyi’s absence worried Yun Feng.
• Gao Lin led the group to the Violet Sun Gate’s earth vein spirit fire site and explained that they would spend half a month purifying materials while guarding against fire poison.
• Xu Yang found that the spirit fire’s heat strengthened his Golden Astral Skill, while the group eyed the forging stations closest to the tower furnace.

Xu Yang claimed a middle-tier forging platform and used pills to endure the earth vein spirit fire, rapidly improving his Golden Astral Skill while paying heavily for treatment. After days of refining, Zhu Yong suffered a severe fire toxin outbreak, leaving the others to witness the danger of working without pills.

• Xu Yang defeated Shen Liang and Luo Jiang in physical clashes and kept a middle-tier forging platform, while Yun Feng failed to claim one.
• Xu Yang discovered that actively absorbing the earth vein spirit fire accelerated his Golden Astral Skill but built up dangerous fire toxin in his meridians and dantian.
• Song Runshu and Liu Youzhen sold Meridian-Guarding Pills and Ice Spirit Pills at inflated prices, and Xu Yang bought five of each after Yun Feng and others purchased theirs.
• Xu Yang refused offers to sell his platform, used the pills to clear fire toxin and endure longer, and spent days refining ore as his Golden Astral Skill neared minor accomplishment.
• Zhu Yong collapsed from a severe fire toxin outbreak after repeatedly working without pills, and Wen Hao told him to leave the chamber.

Xu Yang broke through to minor accomplishment in the Golden Astral Skill, gaining immense physical strength and tougher defenses. When Blood Lotus Cult attackers ambushed the ore-refining party, Xu Yang struck down one of them after the attacker mortally wounded Luo Jiang.

• Xu Yang left the stone chamber and broke through to minor accomplishment in the Golden Astral Skill, transforming his body and strengthening his astral qi.
• Xu Yang returned to the valley, where Song Runshu warned the group that they had two days to finish refining the materials or lose their contribution points.
• Ten masked Blood Lotus Cult members surrounded the valley and attacked the Violet Sun Gate disciples.
• The burly leader struck Song Runshu with the Blood-Melting Palm, while the bamboo-thin leader moved to stop Liu Youzhen from signaling for help.
• A Blood Lotus Cult attacker killed Luo Jiang with a palm strike, and Xu Yang retaliated by smashing the attacker’s chest with his fist.

Xu Yang escaped the Blood Lotus Cult’s attack, killed Yun Feng in the mountain forest, and returned to the valley after the sect’s forces arrived. Only five of the nineteen disciples survived, Zhu Yong had fled, and the stolen weapon-forging materials remained missing as the survivors waited to return to the Violet Sun Gate.

• Xu Yang escaped the valley after ambushing a black-clad Blood Lotus Cultist, and he spotted Zhu Yong hiding nearby before fleeing into the forest.
• Xu Yang caught up with Yun Feng, rejected his offers of money and status, and killed him before taking his belongings and hiding his body over a cliff.
• Xu Yang waited through the day and returned to the valley, where Gao Lin reported that only four other disciples had survived and that the weapon-forging materials were gone.
• Xu Yang told Gao Lin that Zhu Yong was probably the Blood Lotus Cult’s inside man, while withholding that he had killed a cultist.
• Shen Liang returned, and the five survivors reunited; Guo Huai declined Shen Liang’s suggestion that they swear brotherhood.
• By nightfall, Gao Lin declared Yun Feng dead, and the search party returned without finding the Blood Lotus Cultists; the survivors stayed to collect the cooled Tower Furnace the next morning.

After surviving a Blood Lotus Cult attack, Xu Yang returned to the Violet Sun Gate, cultivated with an Origin-Returning Pill, and learned that he had been placed tenth on the Top Ten Heroes Ranking. He resolved to keep his astral qi breakthrough secret as the cult’s threat and the ranking drew unwanted attention.

• Li Shao vowed to avenge his brother Yun Feng, but Zhang Sai and Zhu Yong persuaded him to escort the Blood Lotus Cult’s stolen materials away instead of pursuing Xu Yang.
• Gao Lin warned Xu Yang and the other survivors not to discuss the Blood Lotus Cult attack, then secured twenty contribution points for each of them.
• Xu Yang declined Guo Huai’s offer to become a Guo Family attendant and exchanged his contribution points for an Origin-Returning Pill, which advanced his Mountain-Bearing Bear Canon cultivation.
• Xu Yang learned that Fang Yu and Wen Hao had died and that he had risen to tenth on the Top Ten Heroes Ranking, while Lu Ren had reached eighth.
• Xu Yang told his companions that more than a dozen disciples had died, including Yun Feng, and noticed that Lu Ren had reached astral qi minor accomplishment.

Lin Wei was lured out and killed by Xiao Hua after Xiao Chen betrayed her, while Xu Yang and Sun Tao searched for her without finding her. Xu Yang realized the Xiao father and son might target them next, and decided he needed to strengthen himself quickly.

• Lin Wei followed a note she believed came from Xiao Chen, but found Xiao Hua waiting in their usual valley; he killed her and buried her body.
• Xu Yang joined Sun Tao and others in searching Azure Sun City and the road back to the Violet Sun Gate, but they found no trace of Lin Wei.
• Xu Yang warned Sun Tao to conceal his suspicions and stay inside the Mountain Gate because Xiao Hua might eliminate them as potential threats.
• Xiao Chen confirmed Lin Wei's death to Xiao Hua, who said he had erased all evidence and planned to kill Xu Yang and Sun Tao when the opportunity arose.
• Xu Yang considered how to survive the danger and chose to spend his martial dao longevity points on raising his bone root.

Xu Yang perfected his bone root, accelerating his cultivation, then pursued stronger pills and pill recipes while keeping his identity concealed. After Jin Lei and Fang Yun plotted to ambush him outside the city, Xu Yang recognized their plan and let them follow him.

• Xu Yang spent 150 points to raise his bone root to 100, enduring a painful transformation that greatly improved his body's strength and his Golden Astral Skill's cultivation speed.
• After Lin Wei failed to return, Sun Tao accepted that she had been murdered, while Xiao Hua decided to wait for a safer chance to deal with Xu Yang and Sun Tao.
• Xu Yang asked Zhu Bin about learning the Zhu Family's pill recipes, but Zhu Bin said he would have to join the family to study them.
• Xu Yang reserved a place at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion's upcoming auction and became suspicious when Zhou Yong asked whether he had learned to refine Blood-Coagulating Pills.
• Jin Lei tested Xu Yang's wariness, then enlisted Fang Yun to help ambush and kill him before he reached astral qi minor accomplishment.
• Xu Yang left the city after giving Jin Lei time to get ahead, and two bamboo-hatted figures began following him.

Xu Yang lured Jin Lei and Fang Yun into the woods and revealed his overwhelming strength, killing Fang Yun and fatally wounding Jin Lei. After returning safely to the Violet Sun Gate, he took an Origin-Returning Pill and advanced his cultivation progress.

• Jin Lei and Fang Yun followed Xu Yang into the woods, where Fang Yun attacked him with astral qi.
• Xu Yang dodged Fang Yun's strike and killed him with a single punch, terrifying Jin Lei.
• Xu Yang defeated Jin Lei despite letting him attack his unprotected body, then killed him with another punch.
• Xu Yang searched the corpses and took their silver and contribution points before returning to the Violet Sun Gate by a detour.
• Xu Yang swallowed an Origin-Returning Pill and increased his Mountain-Bearing Bear Canon progress to 520 out of 4000.
• Sun Tao returned from his mission and was relieved to find Xu Yang safe.