Chapter Summaries

Chen Tiantian became Windrise Stronghold’s apprentice Spirit Medium after her Spirit Script ignited and thunder sounded, while Chen Shi'an kept his role in the apparent miracle secret from her. As the family’s chili sauce business grew and Chen Tiantian balanced her new training with school, Chen Shi'an prepared to confront Lu Chenyang before his deadline expired.

• Wang Tianye and Lu Chenyang argued over Chen Tiantian’s place in the Spirit Medium selection until Tao Yaoyao revealed that she had recommended the girl, and Xiang Chuxiong ordered them to stop fighting.
• Chen Tiantian’s Spirit Script ignited on the God Altar, thunder cracked across the clear sky, and Xiang Chuxiong declared her the apprentice Spirit Medium.
• Chen Tiantian questioned Chen Shi'an about how he knew white phosphorus, and he promised that he would take the family out of the Desolate Ruins if she studied hard, asking her to keep their promise secret.
• Chen Tiantian studied Spirit Medium arts while continuing private school, and Su Qingrou’s chili sauce business grew until Chen Shi'an advised limiting daily sales and considered hiring help.
• With Lu Chenyang’s half-month deadline nearly over, Chen Shi'an decided it was time to settle their matter.

Chen Shi'an survived Lu Chenyang's attempt to force him to reveal the poetry manuscript by convincing him that Tao Yaoyao had tricked them both. After leaving the Windrise Martial Academy, he encountered Purple Bamboo, who said Tao Yaoyao had sent her to offer him a major benefit.

• Chen Shi'an visited Lu Chenyang and wrote the promised lines of poetry, but Lu accused him of sharing the manuscript with Tao Yaoyao and threatened his family.
• Lu Chenyang attacked Chen Shi'an and demanded the manuscript, but Chen claimed Tao Yaoyao had traced the poem to him without getting any information from him.
• Chen Shi'an wrote another poem, and Lu Chenyang dropped his threats, claiming he had only been joking and asking Chen to remember more lines.
• Lu Chenyang asked Chen Shi'an to keep the manuscript secret and promised to help him, while the black-robed elder warned Chen that staying close to Lu would cost him his life.
• Purple Bamboo stopped Chen Shi'an on his way to the Slave Market and said she had come at Tao Yaoyao's order to offer him a major benefit.

Chen Shi'an rejected Tao Yaoyao’s offer to become a guest scholar after deciding he could not trust her, but traded her a new poem for silver. Back home, he discovered Su Qingrou had arranged a meeting with Cheng Qiaogu and hurried to tell her he was not interested.

• Cui Zhu told Chen Shi'an that Tao Yaoyao had offered him a guest scholar position after he survived the Windrise Martial Academy, but he initially refused it.
• Tao Yaoyao met Chen Shi'an in her carriage, explained her test, and tried to persuade him to join the Hundred Flowers Pavilion; he declined because he no longer trusted her.
• Chen Shi'an wrote Tao Yaoyao the poem “Song of Gathering Lotus” and left after she offered to pay for more poems.
• Tao Yaoyao rejected Cui Zhu’s suggestion to kidnap Chen Tiantian and decided she would try to win Chen Shi'an over instead.
• Chen Shi'an returned home and found Su Qingrou introducing him to Cheng Qiaogu as a potential match, so he pulled Su Qingrou aside to explain that Cheng Qiaogu was not his type.

Chen Shi'an persuaded Su Qingrou to use their savings to buy a slave and considered how to build support against Wang Tianye. At the Slave Market, he stopped when he saw a young woman refusing to be sold unless the injured woman in her arms went with her.

• Chen Shi'an told Su Qingrou he had someone he liked, then argued that Chen Su Ji should hire help to keep up with chili sauce demand.
• Su Qingrou gave Chen Shi'an twenty taels to buy a healthy female slave and mistakenly suggested the purchase could also meet his personal needs.
• Chen Shi'an planned to seek help against Wang Tianye by approaching Fu Qingyang through Hou Fang, a friend of Chen Qingye.
• Chen Shi'an went to the Slave Market and compared the available slaves before choosing one.
• Chen Shi'an noticed a young woman threatening to kill herself unless the traffickers sold her together with the gravely injured woman she held.

Chen Shi'an bought Qin E'na and the gravely wounded Zhao Ling at the Slave Market, then gathered supplies and green mold to try to treat Zhao Ling with penicillin. After Su Qingrou found she could not stomach tending the deep wound, Chen Shi'an was left to treat Zhao Ling himself.

• Chen Shi'an bought Qin E'na and Zhao Ling from Fatty Sun for eighteen taels and registered them as members of his household.
• Chen Shi'an freed Zhao Ling from her shackles despite Fatty Sun's warning that she was dangerous, and took both women home to the Chen Family.
• Chen Shi'an bought medicine, clothes, and mandarins, then collected green mold from rotten fruit to make a last-resort treatment for Zhao Ling.
• Su Qingrou and Chen Shi'an saw how beautiful Qin E'na and Zhao Ling looked after they were cleaned and given fresh clothes.
• Chen Shi'an mixed green mold into wound medicine and asked Su Qingrou to treat Zhao Ling, but she recoiled from the severe wound and said Qin E'na was too shaken to do it.

Chen Shi'an treated Zhao Ling's infected wound and welcomed Qin E'na into the household, but Zhao Ling developed a dangerous fever after he applied salve mixed with green mold. The chapter ended with Chen Shi'an and Qin E'na discovering black substance covering her wound and bandages.

• Chen Shi'an cleaned Zhao Ling's wound with wine, removed pus and dead tissue, and applied Wound Salve mixed with green mold.
• Chen Tiantian welcomed Qin E'na, and Su Qingrou reassured her that she was part of the family while limiting how much she ate after her long starvation.
• Chen Shi'an gave Qin E'na orange juice for Zhao Ling and told Su Qingrou that he suspected the two women were mistress and servant rather than cousins.
• Qin E'na woke Chen Shi'an when Zhao Ling developed a severe fever, and he told Qin E'na to cool her with well water.
• Chen Shi'an found Zhao Ling delirious with blackened gauze and a wound covered in black substance, leading Qin E'na to fear they had bought fake medicine.

Chen Shi'an used origin force and mold-treated salve to help Zhao Ling recover from her fever, then visited Hou Fang to deliver chili sauce. After leaving Hou Fang’s home, Hou Fang stopped him in a quiet alley and asked if he had come for another reason.

• Chen Shi'an treated Zhao Ling with mold-mixed salve and channeled origin force into her, and her fever fell as she began to improve.
• Chen Shi'an checked Zhao Ling’s wound, decided not to change the dressing, and buried the remaining mold-contaminated salve in the courtyard garden.
• Chen Shi'an asked Su Qingrou for Hou Fang’s address and went alone to deliver six jars of chili sauce, while Qin E'na stayed home.
• Hou Fang’s mother recognized Chen Shi'an as Chen Qingye’s younger brother and welcomed him inside, grieving over Chen Qingye and accepting the chili sauce.
• Hou Fang returned and said the City Guard Battalion enjoyed Chen Su Ji’s chili sauce, then escorted Chen Shi'an outside.
• Hou Fang stopped Chen Shi'an at a quiet alley and asked whether he had come for something else.

Chen Shi'an sought Hou Fang’s help joining the Demon Hunting Team so he could gain influence and protect Tiantian from Wang Tianye. As the recruitment selection approached and Zhao Ling recovered, Chen Shi'an knew he could no longer delay telling Su Qingrou about his plans.

• Chen Shi'an told Hou Fang that Wang Tianye had set his sights on Tiantian and explained that he hoped to get close to Fu Qingyang by joining the Demon Hunting Team.
• Hou Fang said the expanding team would recruit across the Stronghold for the West Mountain Hollow conflict, and he agreed to recommend Chen Shi'an despite his limited strength.
• Chen Shi'an returned home with medicine for Zhao Ling, teased Qin E'na, and continued channeling origin force into Zhao Ling while she recovered.
• The Demon Hunting Team announced its recruitment requirements and set the selection for six days later; Zhao Ling woke the following day and thanked Chen Shi'an and Su Qingrou.
• Chen Shi'an helped Zhao Ling recover until she could move freely, then prepared to tell Su Qingrou that he planned to take part in the selection.

Chen Shi'an learned Zhao Ling’s first Seven Star-Chasing Form and asked her to protect the Chen Family while he pursued a place in the Demon Hunting Team. He explained to his family that he needed influence to shield them from danger, but Qin E'na challenged whether his ambition was worth the risks.

• Zhao Ling revealed that she knew Chen Shi'an was a Ranked Martial Artist and taught him the first Seven Star-Chasing Form in exchange for his kindness to her and Qin E'na.
• Chen Shi'an and Zhao Ling agreed not to pry into each other’s secrets, and Zhao Ling promised to protect Su Qingrou and Chen Tiantian while he was away.
• Chen Shi'an traded barbs with Qin E'na after she came outside, and Su Qingrou sided with Qin E'na when she joined their argument.
• Chen Shi'an met Hou Fang, who confirmed that he had recommended him for the Demon Hunting Team selection three days later.
• At dinner, Chen Shi'an told his family he planned to join the Demon Hunting Team to gain status and protect them, while Su Qingrou and Chen Tiantian worried about the danger.
• Qin E'na accused Chen Shi'an of pursuing the Demon Hunting Team out of vanity and questioned whether rising in status was worth its high casualty rate.

Chen Shi'an arrived at the Demon Hunting Team's recruitment trials, where deputy commander Ye Xicheng enforced the queue despite the Windrise Martial Academy's demands. After Chen Shi'an reunited with Fang Ruyu, her former-fiancé remark provoked Song Yuming, whose threats drew the academy disciples into a confrontation just as an unidentified voice warned them against fighting.

• Chen Shi'an watched Ye Xicheng make the Windrise Martial Academy disciples join the applicants' line and allow only their instructor to enter early.
• Fang Ruyu recognized Chen Shi'an in the queue and questioned whether he could meet the trials' strength requirement.
• Song Yuming approached Fang Ruyu and belittled Chen Shi'an, but Chen Shi'an stepped aside and said he and Fang Ruyu were not close.
• Fang Ruyu called Chen Shi'an her former fiancé, prompting Song Yuming to threaten him and demand he stay away from her.
• Song Yuming and the academy disciples surrounded Chen Shi'an after he ignored them, and a nearby voice warned them that fighting would earn a month in the Demon Hunting Team's cells.

At the Demon Hunting Team camp, Chen Shi'an defended himself against Song Yuming's accusations, and Commander Ye Xicheng quelled the Martial Academy disciples' demands. Ye admitted Chen to the selection but imposed an additional requirement: he had to win a squad leader position after lifting the four-hundred-jin stone.

• Song Yuming invoked his father’s position and accused Chen Shi'an, but Chen denied wrongdoing and challenged the disciples’ account.
• When the Martial Academy disciples kept shouting, Ye Xicheng ordered the Demon Hunting Team to silence them, and a dark-faced man slapped and removed the freckled disciple.
• Ye warned Song Yuming that his father had no authority over the Demon Hunting Team and threatened to remove him from the selection if he spoke again.
• Ye questioned Chen about Hou Fang, criticized him for involving the Demon Hunting Team in his dispute, and explained that Chen had to win a squad leader position to qualify.
• Ye gave Chen Shi'an selection token 318 and let him enter the camp, while Fang Ruyu watched with guilt.

Chen Shi'an attended the Demon Hunting Team's selection, where candidates had to lift a four-hundred-jin stone to pass the first round. After Song Yuming and other academy disciples passed easily, Chen Shi'an failed his first attempt, leaving his strength and place in the selection uncertain.

• Fu Qingyang opened the selection and ordered candidates to prove they could lift a four-hundred-jin stone, while Ye Xicheng helped oversee the test.
• A black-clad academy disciple and another academy disciple lifted the stone with ease, then taunted Chen Shi'an; Song Yuming later passed with an impressive display and challenged him with a stare.
• Fu Qingyang learned that Hou Fang had been asking favors to get Chen Shi'an into the team, while Ye Xicheng said he had demanded Chen Shi'an secure a squad leader position.
• Chen Shi'an took extra time to prepare as the academy disciples mocked him, then slowly raised the stone before dropping it and failing his first attempt.

Chen Shi'an concealed his strength during the Demon Hunting Team’s recruitment assessment, while Fu Qingyang suspected his performance was an act. After the candidates survived three rounds, Ye Xicheng announced that Chen Shi'an would have to win a Squad Leader position to stay, setting up the selection.

• Chen Shi'an pretended to struggle through the stone-lifting test and passed, while Fu Qingyang told Ye Xicheng he suspected Chen Shi'an was hiding his strength.
• Ye Xicheng rejected the candidates’ objections to further eliminations and set a timed running test; Song Yuming finished first, while Chen Shi'an kept pace near the rear and noticed another candidate in bear hide who might also be concealing his abilities.
• Ye Xicheng started eliminating the last runner every sixty breaths, and Chen Shi'an and the bear-hide candidate stayed in the middle of the pack as candidates at the back fought to avoid elimination.
• Ye Xicheng stopped the running round when 110 candidates remained and announced that Chen Shi'an alone would need to win a Squad Leader position to join the Demon Hunting Team.
• Ye Xicheng said eleven Squad Leaders would be selected after a quarter-hour break, and the candidates sat down to recover for the competition.

Chen Shi'an and Tu Gou survived an archery test and advanced to the paired fights for ten Squad Leader positions. Chen Shi'an faced Pi Hou, who tried to talk him into conceding, while Song Yuming’s brutal victory drew disapproval from the Demon Hunting Team.

• Ye Xicheng began the arrow-dodging test, and Chen Shi'an surrendered his board to avoid the fighting while Tu Gou also stayed clear of the crowds.
• Chen Shi'an and Tu Gou seized boards as the candidates dwindled, and both survived until forty candidates remained.
• Ye Xicheng explained the rules for paired fights, and Fu Qingyang drew lots that matched Chen Shi'an against Pi Hou in arena sixteen.
• Chen Shi'an and Pi Hou traded boasts and offers instead of fighting, with Pi Hou urging Chen Shi'an to concede and promising to look after him.
• Song Yuming knocked his opponent out of the circle with excessive force, prompting concern from the Demon Hunting Team and its leaders.

Chen Shi'an defeated Pi Hou in the first round, then advanced to the second round against Wang Teng, a Windrise Martial Academy disciple. After Wang Teng threatened to cripple him, Chen Shi'an broke his ribs and legs and knocked him out of the circle, leaving the Martial Academy disciples cowed and Fang Ruyu stunned.

• Chen Shi'an easily overpowered Pi Hou, who conceded, and the two staged a lively fight that made Chen Shi'an appear to win by luck.
• The twenty first-round winners gathered for the next drawing, while Song Yuming and the other Martial Academy disciples mocked and threatened Chen Shi'an.
• Chen Shi'an drew Wang Teng as his next opponent, and Fang Ruyu urged him to concede rather than risk a beating.
• Wang Teng attacked Chen Shi'an with kicks aimed at his legs, but Chen Shi'an evaded him and smashed him to the ground with a counterattack.
• Chen Shi'an broke Wang Teng's ribs and leg, then kicked him out of the circle despite the Martial Academy disciples' protests.
• Chen Shi'an stared down the threatening disciples, while Fang Ruyu watched him in astonishment as he turned away from her.

Chen Shi'an secured a squad leader position in the Demon Hunting Team after defeating challengers with startling speed, then learned he would soon face dangerous conflict with Flowing Stone Stronghold. Tao Yaoyao offered to nurture him at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, but Chen Shi'an remained committed to the Demon Hunting Team.

• After the initial matches, Ye Xicheng let defeated candidates challenge the victors, and Chen Shi'an knocked a burly challenger out of the circle with one swift kick.
• Chen Shi'an, Song Yuming, Tu Gou, Xu Yun, and six others became the Demon Hunting Team's new squad leaders, and the recruits began choosing whom to follow.
• Chen Shi'an left the selection ceremony with Pi Hou as his sole volunteer, while Ye Xicheng limited each squad to ten members and ordered excess recruits behind Song Yuming and Xu Yun to run laps.
• Chen Shi'an visited Hou Fang, who praised his seventh acquired-stage cultivation and urged him to earn merits for a Marrow-Washing Pill and a better cultivation technique.
• Tao Yaoyao stopped Chen Shi'an near home, warned that the Demon Hunting Team would send him into deadly conflict with Flowing Stone Stronghold, and offered to invest in him if he joined the Hundred Flowers Pavilion.

Chen Shi'an refused Tao Yaoyao's offer to join the Hundred Flowers Pavilion and returned to Windrise Stronghold, where he learned that City Lord Xiang was trying to win him over through Lu Chenyang. He accepted three Marrow-Washing Pills while pledging to serve the city lord, then asked Lu Chenyang how to deal with Song Yuming.

• Chen Shi'an rejected Tao Yaoyao's invitation, reaffirmed his commitment to the Demon Hunting Team, and left to visit his family.
• Tao Yaoyao told Cui Zhu that she expected Chen Shi'an to eventually join the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, while Chen Shi'an found his family celebrating their new Demon Hunting Team plaque.
• Fang Ruyu stopped Chen Shi'an in an alley and told him that Dean Lu wanted to see him; Chen Shi'an told her they should avoid further contact.
• Lu Chenyang gave Chen Shi'an three Marrow-Washing Pills on City Lord Xiang's behalf and said Song Yuan and Wang Tianye would not cause him trouble if he served the city lord.
• Chen Shi'an pledged his service to City Lord Xiang and asked Lu Chenyang what to do if Song Yuming provoked him; Lu Chenyang said he could hit back.

Chen Shi'an learned that Fu Nantian was the former City Lord of Azure Sun Stronghold and agreed to deliver a jade pendant to his son in the Hundred Miasma Forest. After standing down a confrontation with Xu Yun and the academy disciples, Chen Shi'an returned home and found Cheng Qiaogu waiting in his courtyard.

• Lu Chenyang told Chen Shi'an that Song Yuming could keep challenging him, while Song Yuan complained that Chen Shi'an had received three Marrow-Washing Pills.
• Fu Nantian cut open his abdomen to retrieve a jade pendant and asked Chen Shi'an to deliver it to the Hundred Miasma Forest for his son, Fu Qianfan.
• Fu Nantian revealed that he was the former City Lord of Azure Sun Stronghold, whose survivors had taken refuge in the Hundred Miasma Forest after the stronghold was destroyed.
• Xu Yun and Windrise Martial Academy disciples confronted Chen Shi'an at the gates, but Fu Nantian stopped the fight by saying Chen Shi'an was Dean Lu's honored guest.
• Chen Shi'an returned home and found Cheng Qiaogu and an elderly woman still waiting in the courtyard.

Chen Shi'an avoided a marriage proposal from Cheng Qiaogu's mother, then practiced the second of Zhao Ling's Seven Star-Chasing Forms and quickly learned its basic technique. He asked Zhao Ling to teach him the remaining five forms, leaving her response unknown.

• Chen Shi'an hurried away when Cheng Qiaogu and her mother visited, and her mother left offended after interpreting his departure as a slight.
• Chen Shi'an told Su Qingrou that Cheng Qiaogu's mother had come because of his new position, then bickered with Qin E'na about marriage and confirmed he already had someone in his heart.
• Chen Shi'an told Su Qingrou that Zhao Ling was a ninth acquired-stage martial artist and warned Zhao Ling to conceal her strength from outsiders.
• Zhao Ling demonstrated the second Seven Star-Chasing Form by splitting a thick stone, and Chen Shi'an quickly copied the technique and split another stone.
• Zhao Ling explained how Chen Shi'an could refine his strike, and he asked her to teach him the remaining five forms so he could carry the Seven Star-Chasing Forms to greater heights.

Chen Shi'an persuaded Zhao Ling to teach Chen Tiantian the Zhao Family's complete Seven Star-Chasing Forms if she proved talented by undergoing Marrow-Washing. After Chen Tiantian succeeded twice using just two pills, Chen Shi'an gave her the third, and she began another attempt.

• Zhao Ling refused to teach Chen Shi'an the complete Seven Star-Chasing Forms, but agreed to teach Chen Tiantian if she succeeded in undergoing Marrow-Washing with three pills.
• Chen Shi'an examined the Jade Pendant taken from Fu Nantian, then joined his family for a celebratory dinner before leaving for the Demon Hunting Team.
• Chen Shi'an gave Chen Tiantian a Marrow-Washing Pill, and she successfully underwent Marrow-Washing after taking just one.
• Chen Shi'an gave Chen Tiantian a second pill, and she successfully underwent Marrow-Washing a second time.
• Chen Shi'an immediately gave Chen Tiantian the third Marrow-Washing Pill, and she began circulating her energy again.