Recaps

Lin Bei, a fraud posing as an immortal-cultivation master, was pressured by the villagers into accepting Zhang Teng, a martial artist with a destroyed Dantian, as his disciple. When Zhang Teng quickly mastered the basics of Tai Chi, Lin Bei feared he would soon be exposed, and the chapter ended with news that Zhang Teng had succeeded.

• Zhang Teng asked Lin Bei to take him as a disciple, explaining that his Dantian had been destroyed and that he wanted to rebuild his cultivation.
• Lin Bei tried to refuse Zhang Teng, but the villagers praised the young man and urged Lin Bei to accept him.
• Lin Bei took Zhang Teng as his disciple and sent him to learn Tai Chi from the other apprentices while he retreated indoors.
• Lin Bei panicked that he could not teach Zhang Teng advanced methods, then heard Tieniu report that Zhang Teng was close to mastering Tai Chi.
• The apprentices cheered that Zhang Teng had succeeded, leaving Lin Bei afraid that he would soon come asking for deeper instruction.

Lin Bei’s Tai Chi reached perfection after Zhang Teng crossed its threshold, prompting Lin Bei to bluff that Tai Chi was a foundation method for immortal cultivation. Zhang Teng accepted the explanation and committed himself to training, just as a villager arrived with news of trouble.

• Zhang Teng told Lin Bei he had grasped Tai Chi but doubted it had any connection to immortal cultivation.
• Lin Bei claimed Zhang Teng was not yet qualified to cultivate and promised to demonstrate true Tai Chi.
• Lin Bei demonstrated the full routine at the training ground, convincing Zhang Teng and the other apprentices of its depth.
• Zhang Teng apologized for doubting Lin Bei and vowed to train until he could enter immortal cultivation.
• A villager rushed over and warned Lin Bei that trouble had broken out.

Lin Bei learned that Niu Er had been beaten by a martial artist after boasting about him, but Zhang Teng offered to seek justice for Niu Er. Lin Bei gave Zhang Teng permission to act while urging him to settle the matter cleanly, though he was left unsure whether Zhang Teng understood his intentions.

• A villager told Lin Bei that Niu Er had been beaten after arguing with a martial artist who called Lin Bei a fraud and threatened to smash his sanctuary.
• Lin Bei went to Niu Er’s home and overheard Zhang Teng promise to get justice from Zhao Bao of the Six Harmonies Martial Hall.
• Zhang Teng worried that Lin Bei would disapprove because cultivators should avoid rivalry, and Lin Bei reframed the matter as necessary for an unburdened mind.
• Lin Bei told Zhang Teng to resolve the matter without leaving future trouble, and Zhang Teng promised to win Zhao Bao over with virtue.
• After Zhang Teng left, Lin Bei worried that his disciple might have misunderstood his advice.

Zhang Teng challenged Zhao Bao at the Six Harmonies Martial Hall and forced him to pay medical expenses and apologize for beating Niu Er. After Hall Master Cheng returned with a dead tiger, he learned that someone had challenged the hall and became furious.

• Zhao Bao showed off his Mountain-Splitting Hand at the Six Harmonies Martial Hall as the martial artists praised him.
• Zhang Teng confronted Zhao Bao over his assault on Niu Er and his threat against Zhang Teng's master's training ground.
• Zhang Teng caught Zhao Bao's attack with his high-grade Bronze Skin and Iron Bones, then knocked him down and demanded compensation and an apology.
• Zhao Bao agreed to Zhang Teng's demands, while telling the other martial artists that Hall Master Cheng would avenge the hall's loss of face.
• Hall Master Cheng returned carrying a dead White-Striped Tiger, heard that Zhang Teng had challenged the hall, and flew into a rage.

Hall Master Cheng learned that Zhang Teng had defeated Zhao Bao and planned to use the incident as a pretext to capture him. Lin Bei confined Zhang Teng for provoking trouble, but Zhang Teng’s cultivation breakthrough advanced Lin Bei’s Tai Chi and gave him a clue toward creating a breathing method.

• Hall Master Cheng identified Zhang Teng as an expelled Nanyang Zhang prodigy and decided to capture him under the guise of settling the score.
• Zhang Teng told Lin Bei he had beaten Zhao Bao and forced him to agree to apologize to Niu Er.
• Zhang Teng explained to the apprentices that he had settled the dispute with his fists, prompting Lin Bei to send him to the Earth One Room without food or visitors.
• Lin Bei worried that the Six Harmonies Martial Hall would retaliate and expose his impersonation of an immortal cultivator.
• Zhang Teng entered an epiphany, advanced his Tai Chi to Perfection, and caused Lin Bei’s Tai Chi to reach Limit-Breaking Level.
• Lin Bei gained a new understanding of heaven and earth through Tai Chi and began to glimpse how to create a breathing method.

Lin Bei invented a plausible Breath-Channeling Method and summoned Zhang Teng to teach it, disguising his fraud with a lesson about breaking Tai Chi’s limits. Zhang Teng watched Lin Bei demonstrate Tai Chi and sensed a dazzling spiritual essence around him.

• Lin Bei drew on his memories and his new perception of spiritual energy to fabricate the Breath-Channeling Method.
• Lin Bei sent Tieniu to tell Zhang Teng that his Tai Chi had reached perfection and that he should wait in the Technique Transmission Room.
• Zhang Teng believed Lin Bei had sensed his progress and hurried to receive the Breath-Channeling Method.
• Lin Bei called Zhang Teng’s aptitude average, explained that he had not broken through Tai Chi’s limits, and promised to teach him the method.
• Lin Bei demonstrated Tai Chi, and Zhang Teng sensed a dazzling spiritual essence and wondered if it was Tai Chi beyond its limits.

Lin Bei bluffed his way through teaching Zhang Teng the invented Breath-Channeling Method, and Zhang Teng devoted himself to studying it. When Cheng Lu of the Six Harmonies Martial Hall prepared to challenge the Martial Arts Grounds, Zhang Teng unexpectedly comprehended the Breath-Absorbing Art and brought Lin Bei’s version to perfection.

• Lin Bei forgot his invented lesson and told Zhang Teng that the Dao could only be understood, not conveyed in words, urging him to find his own path.
• Zhang Teng took Lin Bei’s encouragement as guidance and left to contemplate the Breath-Channeling Method.
• Tieniu told Lin Bei that Cheng Lu was coming to challenge the Martial Arts Grounds after Zhang Teng had beaten Zhao Bao, and that Cheng Lu had likely reached the Dantian Sea Realm.
• Lin Bei worried Zhang Teng could not withstand Cheng Lu and considered fleeing before the Martial Arts Grounds were damaged.
• A message announced that Zhang Teng had comprehended the Breath-Absorbing Art at Beginner level, advancing Lin Bei’s art to Perfection.

Lin Bei discovered that Zhang Teng’s comprehension had perfected the Breath-Absorbing Art and answered Zhang Teng’s worries about balancing martial cultivation with the immortal path. After Tieniu revealed that Hall Master Cheng planned to challenge their Martial Arts Grounds, Zhang Teng decided to confront the Six Harmonies Martial Hall.

• Lin Bei absorbed the perfected Breath-Absorbing Art knowledge that Zhang Teng’s breakthrough had imparted to him and began cultivating its effects.
• Zhang Teng mistook Lin Bei’s coincidental visit for a deliberate effort to answer his questions, and Lin Bei pretended that he had come for that reason.
• Zhang Teng explained that the Breath-Absorbing Art had helped him break through from bronze skin and iron bones to indestructible diamond, and asked whether martial cultivation would hinder his Dao Body.
• Lin Bei reassured Zhang Teng that different paths led to the same destination, and Zhang Teng accepted his guidance.
• Tieniu told Zhang Teng that Hall Master Cheng of the Six Harmonies Martial Hall intended to challenge their Martial Arts Grounds, so Zhang Teng decided to confront him before Master learned of the matter.
• Tieniu admitted that Lin Bei already knew about the challenge because Tieniu had told him.

Zhang Teng prepared to face Hall Master Cheng by tempering his body with the Breath-Absorbing Art, while Lin Bei cultivated and developed a three-stage Qi Refining Realm. The chapter ended with Tieniu reporting that Niu Er was being beaten to death.

• Tieniu told Zhang Teng that Hall Master Cheng had reached the Dantian Sea Realm, and Zhang Teng said his odds of winning would improve as he cultivated.
• Lin Bei reflected on how his cheat worked, then learned from Tieniu that Zhang Teng was using the Breath-Absorbing Art to grow stronger before the challenge.
• Lin Bei set aside his plan to make Zhang Teng focus on comprehension and cultivated in seclusion himself.
• Lin Bei devised three stages for the Qi Refining Realm: breath absorption, Dao Body, and Dao-Method Wielding.
• After three days of cultivating the Breath-Absorbing Art, Lin Bei heard Tieniu report that Niu Er was being beaten to death.

Lin Bei allowed Zhang Teng to fight Cheng Lu after Cheng Lu’s men attacked Niu Er and challenged the Martial Arts Grounds. Zhang Teng gained the upper hand, but Lin Bei worried that he could not win before the other Six Harmonies Martial Hall fighters joined in, and his deduction ability activated.

• Cheng Lu arrived with Niu Er barely conscious and taunted Zhang Teng, prompting Lin Bei to urge Zhang Teng to follow his conscience and show no mercy.
• Zhang Teng accepted Cheng Lu’s challenge while the Six Harmonies Martial Hall fighters watched, including Zhao Bao.
• Cheng Lu attacked with the Six Harmonies Martial Arts, and Zhang Teng dodged and blocked his blows before using Taiji Push Hands and Inch Force to knock Cheng Lu down.
• Zhang Teng pressed his advantage as Lin Bei worried about the other martial artists intervening and wondered how to use his deduction ability.
• Lin Bei’s system announced that it was deducing the battle.

Lin Bei used countless mental simulations to master Hall Master Cheng’s fighting style, then stepped in when the Six Harmonies Martial Hall prepared to gang up on Zhang Teng. He defeated Hall Master Cheng with a single counterattack, leaving him with ruptured meridians.

• Lin Bei repeatedly simulated the fight in a mirror world until he could defeat the Six Harmonies Martial Hall without Zhang Teng’s help.
• As Zhao Bao and the others prepared to attack together, Lin Bei called Zhang Teng back from his fight with Hall Master Cheng.
• Lin Bei announced that he would demonstrate how to overcome the strong with the weak using only a third of Zhang Teng’s strength.
• Hall Master Cheng charged Lin Bei, who redirected his attack and struck him with Supreme Ultimate Pushing Palm and Arm-Severing Elbow Brace.
• Lin Bei sent Hall Master Cheng flying and ruptured the meridians he used to gather qi.

Lin Bei defeated Cheng Lu with one blow, leaving the Six Harmonies Martial Hall stunned by his strength. Zhang Teng blocked their retreat and challenged all seventeen remaining martial artists to fight him until an incense stick burned out.

• Lin Bei knocked Cheng Lu down with one strike, scattering his dantian sea qi and rupturing key meridians.
• Cheng Lu admitted Lin Bei had used only a third of Zhang Teng's strength, shocking the Six Harmonies Martial Hall.
• Zhao Bao tried to take Cheng Lu and leave, but Zhang Teng blocked the doorway and demanded they pay for injuring Niu Er.
• Lin Bei allowed Zhang Teng to handle the challengers, and Zhang Teng invited all seventeen martial artists to attack him together.
• Zhao Bao accepted Zhang Teng's challenge and ordered the Six Harmonies Martial Hall to attack together.

Zhang Teng defeated the Six Harmonies Martial Hall’s fighters and crippled Hall Master Cheng’s Dantian for injuring Niu Er. Lin Bei returned to cultivating the Breath-Absorbing Art, while Zhang Teng ordered the defeated fighters hauled back to their hall.

• Zhang Teng imitated Lin Bei’s fighting style to intimidate the Six Harmonies Martial Hall’s fighters, then defeated them all.
• Zhang Teng examined Niu Er’s injuries and learned that Hall Master Cheng had been responsible for them.
• Hall Master Cheng admitted his guilt, and Zhang Teng shattered his Dantian as punishment.
• Zhang Teng reported that the Six Harmonies Martial Hall had no backing, and Lin Bei returned to his bedroom to practice the Breath-Absorbing Art.
• Tieniu asked what to do with the defeated fighters, and Zhang Teng ordered him to take Niu Er to Auntie Jia’s place and haul the others back to the Six Harmonies Martial Hall.

Zhang Teng explained that the Martial Arts Grounds needed to establish a fearsome reputation, while Tieniu and the apprentices brought the defeated Six Harmonies Martial Hall back through Qingyun Town. Mu Qingyue of the Qingyun Martial Arts Headquarters stopped them and questioned why they had beaten the hall so severely.

• Zhang Teng told Tieniu that their victory would warn others not to bully Nameless Village, and he defended keeping the village and Martial Arts Grounds unnamed.
• Tieniu and the apprentices brought the unconscious Six Harmonies Martial Hall martial artists through Qingyun Town on ox carts, shocking the townspeople.
• A tavern attendant recounted how the Martial Arts Grounds had defeated Zhao Bao and Hall Master Cheng, and the crowd speculated that the school practiced a powerful form of immortal cultivation.
• Mu Qingyue of the Qingyun Martial Arts Headquarters stopped Tieniu and demanded to know why the Martial Arts Grounds had beaten the Six Harmonies Martial Hall so badly.
• Tieniu told Mu Qingyue that the hall had challenged them and lost, and she recognized the encounter as a complete rout.

Mu Qingyue of the Azure Cloud Headquarters learned that the Martial Arts Grounds had defeated the Six Harmonies Martial Hall and arranged to visit in seven days. She declared Cheng Lu's assessment canceled and warned that his hall could lose its status, while Cheng Lu and Zhao Bao plotted revenge against Zhang Teng and the Martial Arts Grounds.

• Mu Qingyue questioned Tieniu about the Martial Arts Grounds and its dispute with the Six Harmonies Martial Hall, then promised a headquarters visit in seven days.
• Mu Qingyue told Cheng Lu that his crippled dantian ended his assessment and that the headquarters would inspect his weakened hall in seven days.
• Zhao Bao urged Cheng Lu to use the Zhou Clan against Zhang Teng, and Cheng Lu vowed to destroy the Martial Arts Grounds.
• Tieniu returned to Nameless Village and told the villagers that the headquarters would visit, raising their hopes for the village's future.
• Tieniu told Zhang Teng about meeting Mu Qingyue, and Zhang Teng reminded him to focus on cultivation.

Zhang Teng learned that his past had been exposed and explained why he had fled Nanyang, then asked to leave the Martial Arts Grounds to protect it from trouble. Lin Bei had also completed a second round of body refining and faced an urgent warning that Hall Master Cheng was reporting Zhang Teng to Nanyang Commandery.

• Zhang Teng told Lin Bei that Mu Qingyue had announced the Martial Arts Headquarters would visit in seven days, and Lin Bei urged him to consider how joining could benefit the villagers.
• Lin Bei completed a second round of body refining, doubling his physical strength and sensing a closer resonance with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
• Tieniu brought Lin Bei a letter warning that Hall Master Cheng had set out for Nanyang Commandery to report Zhang Teng.
• Lin Bei showed Zhang Teng the letter, and Zhang Teng explained that the Nanyang Commandery Prince had framed him with his daughter, leading his clan to destroy his dantian and expel him.
• Zhang Teng said he had fled Nanyang after the Commandery Prince continued pursuing him, and asked to leave the Martial Arts Grounds so he would not bring trouble upon it.

Lin Bei convinced Zhang Teng to stay and cultivate despite the threat from the Nanyang Zhou Clan, then discovered that Zhang Teng’s progress could push his own Breath-Absorbing Art beyond its limits. The chapter ended with Lin Bei’s art reaching a second limit-breaking level after Zhang Teng broke through perfection.

• Lin Bei reassured Zhang Teng that he would protect him, and Zhang Teng decided to stay and focus on cultivation.
• Lin Bei urged Zhang Teng to treat the Nanyang Zhou Clan as a challenge and sent him to cultivate the Breath-Absorbing Art.
• Zhang Teng reached perfection in the Breath-Absorbing Art, causing Lin Bei’s art to advance to the limit-breaking level and more than double his Dao Body tempering efficiency.
• Zhang Teng told Lin Bei he had sensed the Breath-Absorbing Art’s deeper principles, and Lin Bei guided him toward breaking past perfection.
• Zhang Teng reached the limit-breaking level in the Breath-Absorbing Art, advancing Lin Bei’s art to the second limit-breaking level.

Lin Bei discovered how Zhang Teng’s insights enabled his Breath-Absorbing Art to break its limits, then encouraged Zhang Teng to keep training. When Mu Qingyue arrived to assess the Martial Arts Grounds, Zhang Teng went to meet her, leaving her impressed by his strength and confused about the Immortal Cultivators’ uneven abilities.

• Lin Bei realized that Zhang Teng’s comprehension could reveal a path to further limit-breaking, but Zhang Teng could not understand Lin Bei’s demonstration of the second Limit-Breaking.
• Lin Bei reassured Zhang Teng that effort mattered more than aptitude and urged him to temper his body before trying again.
• Tieniu told Lin Bei that Mu Qingyue had arrived, and Lin Bei ordered Zhang Teng to receive her.
• Mu Qingyue questioned whether the frail Tai Chi apprentices could belong to a powerful new school, then sensed Zhang Teng approaching and recognized him as an expert.
• Zhang Teng introduced himself to Mu Qingyue as the chief disciple under his master’s tutelage.

Zhang Teng faced Mu Qingyue’s test to earn his new martial arts grounds a second-rate ranking and remained unaffected by her sword intent. He revealed that he could perceive and disrupt the spiritual energy behind martial intent, leaving Mu Qingyue astonished as he claimed he could hinder its manifestation.

• Mu Qingyue offered support from the Azure Cloud Headquarters if Zhang Teng joined its network, and Zhang Teng agreed to spar to demonstrate the grounds’ strength.
• Mu Qingyue released her sword intent, but Zhang Teng stood calmly without stirring his qi or blood.
• Zhang Teng explained that he recognized the spiritual energy infused with sword intent and used the Breath-Absorbing Art to push it away.
• Zhang Teng identified Mu Qingyue’s sword intent as having reached manifestation and claimed he could make it difficult for her martial intent to gather and manifest.

Zhang Teng demonstrated how his Breath-Absorbing Art disrupted Mu Qingyue’s sword intent, then sparred with her using early dantian sea realm strength. He defeated her and secured the Martial Arts Grounds’ place in the Central Hall’s ranks, but his dismissal of indestructible vajra left Mu Qingyue stunned.

• Zhang Teng used the Breath-Absorbing Art to interfere with Mu Qingyue’s attempt to condense sword intent, greatly slowing the process.
• Mu Qingyue challenged Zhang Teng to demonstrate his strength and attacked him with a hairpin that was actually a small sword.
• Zhang Teng caught the hairpin between his fingers, dodged Mu Qingyue’s kicks, and counterattacked with a palm strike and Tai Chi.
• Zhang Teng blocked Mu Qingyue’s Arm Sword with his indestructible vajra body and stopped a throat-gripping claw just before her neck, defeating her.
• Mu Qingyue accepted the Martial Arts Grounds into the Central Hall’s ranks and praised Zhang Teng’s indestructible vajra.
• Zhang Teng called indestructible vajra a petty trick, leaving Mu Qingyue stunned by his arrogance.

Zhang Teng explained to Mu Qingyue how immortal cultivators tempered their Dao bodies and how their early stages compared with martial arts attainments. Mu Qingyue was stunned by the nine-tempering path, but mistakenly judged its early stages inferior because cultivators could not project spiritual power.

• Mu Qingyue challenged Zhang Teng for dismissing indestructible vajra, and he apologized while explaining that he considered it of limited use.
• Zhang Teng told Mu Qingyue that he had already reached high-grade bronze skin and iron bones before accidentally attaining indestructible vajra through cultivation.
• Mu Qingyue asked whether the Immortal Cultivation Method could help martial artists reach bronze skin and iron bones or indestructible vajra, and Zhang Teng explained that cultivators who began the method would pursue Dao body tempering instead.
• Zhang Teng described the first three Dao body temperings as roughly equivalent to blood refining qi gathering, bronze skin and iron bones, and indestructible vajra.
• Zhang Teng told Mu Qingyue that nine temperings led to the dao-method wielding realm and that spiritual power filled cultivators' bodies, though they could not yet use it.
• Mu Qingyue concluded that early-stage immortal cultivators seemed inferior to martial artists because they could not project power outside their bodies.

Zhang Teng secured the Martial Arts Grounds’ place in the martial hall alliance and asked the Central Hall to mediate his feud with the Nanyang Commandery Prince. The Central Hall agreed to intervene, while the prince ordered the Zhang Clan to capture Zhang Teng, leaving the clan debating whether to obey.

• Zhang Teng told Mu Qingyue that he had reached indestructible vajra through the Breath-Absorbing Art, and she asked to learn it before he explained his feud with the Nanyang Commandery Prince.
• Mu Qingyue confirmed the Martial Arts Grounds’ membership in the martial hall alliance and promised to ask the Central Hall to mediate Zhang Teng’s crisis.
• Lin Bei emerged after Mu Qingyue left, heard Zhang Teng’s report, and urged him to rely on his own strength.
• Mu Qingyue reported the Martial Arts Grounds’ abilities and Zhang Teng’s dispute to the Central Hall’s master, who sent her to the Nanyang Zhou Clan with a handwritten letter to attempt mediation.
• The Nanyang Commandery Prince ordered the Zhang Clan to capture Zhang Teng, promising them eligibility for the Demon-Hunting Ceremony if they brought him back.
• The Zhang Clan discussed obeying the prince’s order, and Zhang Teng’s grandfather wondered whether they had to leave him no way to live.

Zhang Xiaoxiao warned Zhang Teng that the Zhang Clan was sending Zhang Tao to arrest him, but Zhang Teng refused to flee. After learning why his clan had abandoned him, he told Xiaoxiao their ties were severed and apologized to Lin Bei, who asked why he felt he had disappointed him.

• The Zhang Clan patriarch ordered Zhang Tao to set out and bring Zhang Teng back.
• Lin Bei considered helping his apprentices progress and noticed Zhang Xiaoxiao hiding at the Martial Arts Grounds.
• Zhang Xiaoxiao told Lin Bei and Zhang Teng that the Zhou Clan had discovered his hiding place and that Zhang Tao was coming to arrest him.
• Zhang Teng refused to run and revealed that Zhang Tao had crippled his dantian and framed him, while the Zhang Clan chose to protect Zhang Tao.
• Zhang Teng told Xiaoxiao to return and inform their grandfather that he considered their ties severed, then she left.
• Zhang Teng apologized to Lin Bei for disappointing him, and Lin Bei asked why he thought that.

After Zhang Teng cut ties with his family, Lin Bei encouraged him to let go of his burdens and focus on cultivation. Zhang Teng revealed a remarkable way of analyzing combat, then asked Lin Bei to spar with him, leaving Lin Bei scrambling for time to simulate the fight.

• Lin Bei reassured Zhang Teng that severing ties with the Zhang family protected them and urged him to cultivate with an unburdened mind.
• Zhang Teng explained that the Central Hall's mediation might not have reached Nanyang before the Zhang family acted, and said Zhang Tao's strength made him a formidable opponent.
• Zhang Teng described how he had learned to identify an enemy's weaknesses and mentally consider many combat scenarios, impressing Lin Bei with how closely his insight matched Lin Bei's battle simulations.
• Zhang Teng asked Lin Bei to spar so he could better understand his fighting style, and Tieniu and the gathered apprentices eagerly supported the request.
• Lin Bei agreed to give Zhang Teng guidance after he regulated his breathing, using the delay to prepare for the spar.

Lin Bei sparred with Zhang Teng at equal strength, using the fight to teach him how to find and create openings. Zhang Teng realized Lin Bei was feeding him moves and prepared to continue attacking.

• Lin Bei finished thousands of mental combat deductions and told Zhang Teng he was ready to spar.
• Lin Bei promised to use the same strength as Zhang Teng, and Zhang Teng began circling him while searching for an opening.
• Tieniu told Zhang Teng to stop searching for a weakness and force one to appear by attacking.
• Zhang Teng attacked from behind, but Lin Bei evaded and lightly tapped his waist to show him the flaw in his movement.
• Zhang Teng understood Lin Bei was feeding him moves, gained insight into creating openings, and roared that he would fight.