Chapter Summaries

After fully awakening his Iron-Eater Crocodile bloodline, Wang Yu tested his strength and discovered that his rare Metal-Dowsing Art could sense and move nearby metal, though it quickly exhausted his mental power. He continued training the Four Beast Diagram and demonstrated the remarkable grip strength gained from its Tiger-Pouncing Forms.

• Wang Yu tested his increased strength and toughness, then used the Metal-Dowsing Art to lift a small rock before collapsing from the mental strain.
• Wang Yu concluded that Metal-Dowsing Art could sense metal within a hundred meters and move light objects a short distance, but was of limited use and costly to use.
• Wang Yu reflected on his rapid Yin Water Art cultivation, which had slowed after he ran out of Spirit-Gathering Liquid and Yin Spirit energy.
• Wang Yu practiced the Four Wolf-Running Forms and then completed the first eight forms of the Four Beast Diagram's Body-Tempering Method, including the Tiger-Pouncing Forms.
• Wang Yu drove his fingers into a gray brick and crushed it, showing the gains in his wrist and finger strength.

Wang Yu visited the Black Tiger Fist Hall to study its combat techniques and used Overclocked Synchronization Mode to refine his own version of the Black Tiger Fist. After practicing his unusual movements, he attracted the attention of someone who recognized him.

• Wang Yu went to the Black Tiger Fist Hall, where Senior Brother Li greeted him at the entrance.
• Wang Yu watched Instructor Zhu demonstrate the Black Tiger Fist Technique and explain its key principles.
• Wang Yu activated Overclocked Synchronization Mode as he studied Instructor Zhu's demonstration.
• Wang Yu practiced the Black Tiger Fist with increasingly awkward adjustments, ignoring the other disciples' reactions.
• An unidentified speaker praised Wang Yu's technique and asked whether his name was Wang Yu.

Wang Yu’s Black Tiger Fist revealed a powerful black tiger martial image, astonishing Hall Master Tian and his companions. After testing Wang Yu’s strength, Hall Master Tian explained the martial image and had his daughter bring a mirror so Wang Yu could see it for himself.

• Hall Master Tian arrived with Instructor Zhu and his daughter Ziying, then took Wang Yu to a secluded courtyard after noticing his Black Tiger Fist.
• Hall Master Tian ordered Wang Yu to perform the fist technique at increasing speed, and Wang Yu formed a vivid black tiger martial image.
• Hall Master Tian exchanged a punch with Wang Yu, revealing his own martial image and overwhelming strength as Wang Yu staggered back.
• Hall Master Tian explained that Wang Yu had formed the black tiger martial image without learning the Black Tiger Breathing Method, and Wang Yu asked to pay to learn it.
• Hall Master Tian told Ziying to bring a large bronze mirror so Wang Yu could see the image on his back.

Wang Yu demonstrated that his revised Black Tiger Fist could form a black tiger martial image, leading Hall Master Tian to offer him the Black Tiger Breathing Method and a place as his true disciple. Wang Yu rejected the lifelong obligations because he preferred immortal cultivation, then revealed his identity by casting the Firefly Spell.

• Hall Master Tian recognized that Wang Yu had formed a black tiger martial image and learned that Wang Yu had altered the Black Tiger Fist using another cultivation method.
• Hall Master Tian identified Wang Yu as a Bloodline Awakener and offered to teach him the Black Tiger Breathing Method in exchange for the method he had incorporated.
• Hall Master Tian explained that the Black Tiger Breathing Method came from the ancient Qi Refining Practitioners and described the power of its three levels.
• Hall Master Tian offered Wang Yu the chance to become his true disciple, but warned that he could never take another master or leave Tongzhou if he inherited the hall.
• Wang Yu refused the offer because he wanted to remain an Immortal Cultivator, then cast the Firefly Spell to reveal his identity.

Wang Yu discovered that Overclocking let him unleash Sonic Boom Fists, though the effort injured his arms. Tian Ziying then traded him the first two levels of the Black Tiger Breathing Method for his illustrated body-tempering method, leaving him pleased with the exchange.

• Wang Yu practiced the Black Tiger Fist and, in Overclocking mode, threw two Sonic Boom Fists that left his arms bloodied.
• Wang Yu sensed Tian Ziying hiding on the courtyard wall and learned that she had watched him perform the punches.
• Tian Ziying explained that Sonic Boom Fists strained the arms and suggested the Black Tiger Breathing Method could help him use them safely.
• Tian Ziying offered the first two levels of the Black Tiger Breathing Method for Wang Yu's method, and they negotiated the exchange under oath.
• Four hours later, Tian Ziying left with Wang Yu's illustrated booklet while Wang Yu kept the yellowed booklet containing the breathing method.

Wang Yu mastered the first layer of the Black Tiger Breathing Method and discovered that it greatly increased his strength and gave him an invisible defensive membrane. After breaking through to the third layer of the Qi Refining Realm, he felt his spirit seed begin to devour his dharma power and transform.

• Hall Master Tian accepted the breathing method booklet from Tian Ziying and explained why he had traded rather than force Wang Yu to reveal his technique.
• Tian Ziying and Hall Master Tian realized that Wang Yu's Four Tiger Pounce Forms were difficult for them to cultivate, and Hall Master Tian struggled with the breathing method's illustrations.
• Two months later, Wang Yu used overclocked synchronization mode to master the Black Tiger Breathing Method's first layer and demonstrated its explosive strength and defensive air membrane.
• Wang Yu identified killing intent and Baleful-Harmonizing Powder as the obstacles to cultivating the second layer, then chose to seek clues elsewhere rather than confront Hall Master Tian.
• Wang Yu trained in a cabin outside Tongzhou City and, more than ten days later, broke through to the Yin Water Art's third layer of the Qi Refining Realm.
• Wang Yu's spirit seed began devouring his dharma power and undergoing a mysterious transformation.

After Wang Yu reached the third layer of Qi Refining, he found that his Spirit Seed had vanished and his ability to absorb spiritual energy had greatly improved, though he still could not locate his Spirit Root. He opened City Lord Huang’s Storage Bag and learned the Flame-Splitting Art, then tested his spells and considered the difference in their power.

• Wang Yu formed his Spirit Root, increased his Dharma Power and divine sense, and realized he needed to leave Tongzhou City for a Spirit Domain with a Spirit Vein.
• Wang Yu fully opened City Lord Huang’s Storage Bag and found about thirty Spirit Stones, two green branches that dissolved when touched, and a manual titled Flame-Splitting Art.
• Wang Yu studied the Flame-Splitting Art with Taiyuan’s help and learned to split Firefly into multiple flames.
• Wang Yu tested his spells and found that split Firefly flames could destroy saplings, while Water Gathering and Lightning Flash remained weak Parlor Trick Arts.
• Wang Yu wondered why Firefly was far more powerful than the other spells he had learned.

Wang Yu encountered a murdered caravan and a wounded woman from the Prince of Celestial River's Manor, who was being pursued by an ugly bandit cultivator. After the bandit attacked Wang Yu despite promising to let him leave, Wang Yu countered his talismans and Magical Artifact, ending the chapter with a saber strike.

• Wang Yu found more than a dozen dead guards and several dead pack animals at a mountain junction.
• A wounded woman in white emerged from underground and begged Wang Yu to save her from the ugly man pursuing her.
• The ugly man attacked Wang Yu with his silver hammer, but Wang Yu dodged and tried to leave after the man offered to let him go.
• The woman warned Wang Yu that the bandit had poisoned her guards and would kill him too, but Wang Yu continued walking away.
• The ugly man used a talisman to trap Wang Yu's legs and struck at him with invisible wind pressure, but Wang Yu escaped and countered with his Silver Folding Fan.
• Wang Yu rushed the ugly man and unleashed the Draw-Cutting Art.

Wang Yu killed the ugly Middle Qi Refining cultivator who had pursued Princess Tianhe, then met Elder Hua, who invited him to travel with them to Guangyuan Market. Wang Yu accepted, though he remained wary of the old man’s strength.

• Wang Yu dodged the ugly man’s hidden weapons and shattered his barrier with a flurry of saber strikes.
• Wang Yu used the Black Tiger Breathing Method to drag the ugly man out of the ground and beat him to death.
• Wang Yu collected the silver hammer, Storage Bag, Talismans, and black cylinders from the corpse, then prepared to leave Princess Tianhe behind.
• Elder Hua emerged from the woods with the corpse of the other Bandit Cultivator and greeted Princess Tianhe.
• Elder Hua invited Wang Yu to accompany them to Guangyuan Market and promised a reward from the Celestial River Prince's Manor.
• Wang Yu accepted Elder Hua’s invitation, saying he did not know the precise location of Guangyuan Market.

Elder Hua explained the Qi Refining Practitioner tradition and the Thousand Bamboo Sect to Wang Yu and Princess Tianhe as they traveled toward Guangyuan Market. After learning about the sect’s Golden Core ancestor and Princess Tianhe’s offer to help him join, Wang Yu followed them through an illusion-hidden cliff into the sect’s lands.

• Elder Hua described the strengths, limitations, and dangers of Qi Refining Practitioners and advised Wang Yu to focus on cultivating dharma power.
• Princess Tianhe asked about Golden Core lifespans, and Elder Hua revealed that he was an outer disciple of the Thousand Bamboo Sect and that its Violet Light Ancestor had lived for five hundred years.
• Princess Tianhe offered to help Wang Yu join the Thousand Bamboo Sect after he tested his spirit root, and Elder Hua explained that the sect stood alongside the Four Symbols Sect.
• Wang Yu said he would decide whether to join after testing his newly condensed spirit root, while the white-robed woman reacted sourly to Elder Hua’s offer.
• Elder Hua led Wang Yu and Princess Tianhe through a cliff that transformed into mist, revealing the Thousand Bamboo Sect’s farmland, residences, and valley buildings.

Wang Yu arrived at Guangyuan Market, passed the entry inspection, and explored its districts while searching for cultivation-related goods. He ended the chapter in the market square, turning toward stalls that had attracted other customers.

• A market official on a giant crane checked Wang Yu, Elder Hua, and Princess Tianhe, confirming that all three met the cultivation requirement to enter.
• Elder Hua left with Princess Tianhe to meet an acquaintance, and Princess Tianhe gave Wang Yu a communication talisman.
• Wang Yu registered at the valley entrance, paid one spirit stone for a token and guide, and entered Guangyuan Market.
• Wang Yu rented a room at the Cloud Come Inn and explored the market, finding mostly everyday goods in the front district.
• Wang Yu reached the square, inspected its unusual stalls, and headed toward the ones where people had stopped to browse.

Wang Yu explored Guangyuan Market, learning about talismans, medicines, and magical artifacts as he gauged the value of his own Silver Hammer. He continued browsing the market without revealing his suspicions about the hammer.

• Wang Yu spoke with Old Guo about his talismans and learned the prices of entry-level and middle-grade talismans.
• Wang Yu asked a medicine master about Baleful-Harmonizing Powder and learned that killing intent was usually sold by major shops or at auctions.
• Wang Yu watched Lay Buddhist Qing Ge demonstrate a damaged entry-level Redfire Whip and demand three hundred spirit stones for it.
• Wang Yu wondered whether his Silver Hammer was also an entry-level magical artifact and continued through the market.
• Wang Yu examined books and bamboo slips at another stall, then shook his head.

Wang Yu entered Guangyuan Market’s inner market to look for cultivation books and test his spirit roots. He learned that he had four spirit roots, including a high-grade fire root and a low-grade variant wind root, and sought advice on which sect to join.

• Wang Yu learned from a stallholder that spell books and cultivation methods were sold in the inner market, where reputable shops offered safer goods at higher prices.
• Wang Yu found that entry-level spell books were beyond his means, then visited Marvelous Artifact Hall to have his spirit roots tested.
• Wang Yu paid ten spirit stones and used the Spirit Root Testing Disk, which revealed metal, fire, water, and wind spirit roots, with fire high grade and the other three low grade.
• The short-haired man advised Wang Yu to seek a sect specializing in fire cultivation, since his high-grade fire root could help him gain strength and resources.
• Wang Yu asked which sects were best versed in fire-attribute cultivation methods.

Wang Yu learned about the sects of Great Ming Prefecture and decided the Four Symbols Sect was his best prospect, but Blacksmith Wu's death cut off his contact with the Yin Household. The Black Soul Sect then attacked Guangyuan Market, and Wang Yu fled as the market's defenses collapsed.

• Wang Yu decided to investigate the Four Symbols Sect and seek contact with the Yin Household through Blacksmith Wu.
• Wang Yu learned that Blacksmith Wu had died in a furnace explosion and considered finding the Yin Household's address himself.
• Black Soul Sect cultivators attacked Guangyuan Market with Black Soul Seals, shattering the market's defensive formation.
• Wang Yu used Overclocking and a Wind-Riding Talisman to flee toward the valley's edge as the attackers pursued the market's residents.
• A Four Symbols Sect cultivator named Brother Yue confronted six Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Black Soul Sect while bone boats and attackers descended on the market.
• Wang Yu leaped down the far side of the slope and escaped without looking back.

Wang Yu escaped the Black Soul Sect’s attack on a flying boat near Guangyuan Market, but he was ambushed in the forest by two black-robed men and their White Bone Fiends. He fled through the trees as the men pursued him on a White Bone Colossal Serpent.

• A huge bone ship engulfed a flying boat near Guangyuan Market in black mist, killing everyone aboard while Wang Yu hid in a tree using his camouflage robe.
• Wang Yu left his hiding place and ran through the forest, then used Overclocking to detect an ambush and dodge a volley of bone crossbow bolts.
• Two black-robed men confronted Wang Yu with a row of White Bone Fiends, and their conversation revealed that some of the skeletons had been freshly refined.
• Wang Yu escaped into the trees, while the thin man recalled the skeletons into his White Bone Token and summoned a White Bone Colossal Serpent.
• The two men mounted the serpent and pursued Wang Yu as he bounded from tree to tree.

Wang Yu escaped two Black Soul Sect pursuers after crippling their bone python, then fled downstream from Guangyuan Market. A fleet of azure flying boats captured him and others with a golden toad’s power.

• Wang Yu used a thrown tree and the Iron Shield to knock the riders from their bone python, then smashed the creature with a kick.
• The bald man and the thin man recognized Wang Yu as a Guardian Warrior and chose not to pursue him, instead seeking easier targets with a Spirit-Seeking Talisman.
• Wang Yu fled into a river beneath a dead log and drifted downstream overnight, then continued running away from Guangyuan Market.
• Wang Yu hid from a fleet of azure flying boats, but a golden toad phantom immobilized him and drew him into its mouth along with more than a dozen others.

Wang Yu woke at the Yin Household’s ancestral residence after his soul had been put into a deep sleep by Heaven Toad Ancestor’s spirit beast. Yin Linglong explained the regional conflict and discussed his likely admission to the Four Symbols Sect, while preparing to arrange his marriage into the Yin Household.

• Wang Yu woke in a guest room on Emerald Cloud Mountain and reunited with Yin Linglong after drinking the broth she brought him.
• Yin Linglong explained that a Four Symbols Sect disciple had brought Wang Yu to the Yin Household using its token after his soul fell into a deep sleep at Guangyuan Market.
• Wang Yu learned that the Black Soul Sect and other Demonic Path sects had launched invasions and that Golden Core ancestors had battled near the Four Symbols Sect.
• Wang Yu told Yin Linglong that he had four spirit roots, including a superior-grade fire spirit root, and she said he was all but certain to pass the Four Symbols Sect’s admission test.
• Wang Yu reminded Yin Linglong that he still needed to pay respects to her ancestors and complete the marriage ceremony, and she said she would prepare and persuade the Yin Household elders.

Wang Yu cultivated and studied at the Yin Household before beating back two relatives who came to test his strength. Yin Linglong arranged a match in three days that would decide whether Wang Yu could marry into the household or be replaced by Yu Xiaoming.

• Yin Linglong explained that the Yin Household had lost its Foundation Establishment Ancestor and elite members, and invited Wang Yu to cultivate at Emerald Cloud Mountain before the Four Symbols Sect entrance test.
• Wang Yu cultivated in the head's courtyard, ate spirit rice and Demon Beast meat, and studied apothecary texts in the Head's Library.
• Yin Meng barged into Wang Yu's room to complain about his cultivation resources, but Wang Yu threw him into the courtyard and warned him not to return.
• A scarred younger cousin attacked Wang Yu with a wooden staff, but Wang Yu caught the blow, shattered the staff, and kicked him into the courtyard.
• Yin Linglong told Wang Yu that he would face Yu Xiaoming in three days, and that Yu Xiaoming would marry her and join the Yin Household if he won.

Wang Yu learned that defeating Yu Xiaoming in a match was his chance to help Yin Linglong take control of the Yin Household, and he agreed to fight despite the risks. Three days later, the match was about to begin when Yu Xiaoming arrived with the Yu Household Head, whom Yin Linglong had not authorized to attend.

• Yin Linglong explained that Yu Household members had persuaded Yin elders to back Yu Xiaoming and that a victory would let her purge the disloyal elders.
• Wang Yu said he had a strong chance against Yu Xiaoming, and Yin Linglong promised to consummate their marriage if he won.
• Yin Linglong told Wang Yu to rest for three days while she investigated Yu Xiaoming's spells and magical artifacts.
• At the practice field, Yin Linglong learned that the elders had invited Yu Xiaoming's father, the Yu Household Head, without her permission.
• A Giant Gray Bird landed at the field and three people climbed down, prompting Wang Yu to narrow his eyes.

Shi Hai of the Four Symbols Sect arrived to observe the contest between Wang Yu and Yu Xiaoming over Yin Linglong’s marriage. After the match began, Yu Xiaoming challenged Wang Yu to break through his defenses within the time it took an incense stick to burn, and Wang Yu accepted.

• Shi Hai arrived at the Yin Household with Household Head Yu and Yu Xiaoming, announcing he had come to watch the contest.
• Wang Yu identified himself as Yin Linglong’s fiancé, while Yu Xiaoming claimed he had loved her for five years; Yin Linglong confirmed that the winner would become her husband.
• Wang Yu and Yu Xiaoming entered the Martial Arts Practice Field, where the rules prohibited talismans and pills and forbade either fighter from killing the other.
• Yu Xiaoming revealed that he had awakened a physical bloodline and offered to defend without striking back, wagering the match on whether Wang Yu could seriously injure him within an incense stick’s burn.
• Wang Yu agreed to Yu Xiaoming’s challenge, leaving the onlookers stunned.