Chapter Summaries

Chen Jue received a bottle of Golden Dew from Yun Xiaomei and learned from her Snake Form Bone-Shaking demonstration. By connecting Snake Form’s softness with Dragon Roar Iron Shirt, he comprehended Dragon-Subduing and perfected the technique.

• Chen Jue learned that Yun Xiaomei’s Golden Dew was made from mountain herbs and accepted the bottle to test at home.
• A black kite brought Yun Xiaomei a wild snake, and she fed the bird mealworms before releasing the snake into the grass.
• Chen Jue asked Yun Xiaomei about snake techniques, and she demonstrated Snake Form Bone-Shaking.
• Watching her movements, Chen Jue connected Snake Form’s softness with Dragon Form and gained insight into Dragon-Subduing and Marrow-Transformation.
• Chen Jue practiced Dragon Roar Iron Shirt, reached Lv2 (500/500), and perfected the Wudang Taihe Gate technique.

Chen Jue perfected Dragon Roar Iron Shirt and forcibly formed a true golden elixir through the union of his two perfected hard arts, transforming his body and awakening new abilities. After using Golden Dew and food to ease the resulting depletion, he returned to Yun Xiaomei with his old teeth shed and new ones growing.

• Chen Jue's Dragon Roar Iron Shirt reached perfection, sending his vital energy and blood into the Shangqu Acupoint as he entered the realm of Embracing the Elixir.
• Chen Jue's blood surged through his body, and his Dragon Roar and Tiger Roar techniques erupted together, blasting the river and forcing Yun Xiaomei to dodge the shock wave.
• Chen Jue checked his Attribute Panel and found that his strength, constitution, and agility had each increased by 0.20, while Dragon Roar Iron Shirt had gained three new statuses.
• Chen Jue drank Sanqi Oral Liquid and Golden Dew, then ate compressed biscuits to combat the severe depletion and nutritional demands of his transformation.
• Chen Jue noticed it was past five in the afternoon, returned to Yun Xiaomei, and joked that he was about to have forty teeth too.

After Chen Jue formed his core, Yun Xiaomei quickly copied his martial arts posture, and he promised to send her more training materials. Back at Wang Biao’s old family home, Chen Jue examined the new combination buff that could raise his physical attributes, then fell into deep sleep as his teeth began growing back.

• Yun Xiaomei reproduced Chen Jue’s Dragon-Tiger Union Core Formation posture by combining the Xingyi Fist forms she had learned.
• Chen Jue praised Yun Xiaomei’s talent and promised to send her materials on Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield and Dragon Roar Iron Shirt.
• After seeing Yun Xiaomei off, Chen Jue returned to Wazhai, bathed, and took extra supplements to replenish the nutrients consumed by his bodily transformation.
• Chen Jue checked his Attribute Panel and discovered that the new [Tiger Roar, Dragon Roar] combination buff could improve his physical attributes until they reached their growth limits.
• Chen Jue entered Embryonic Breathing and fell asleep as his teeth began rapidly growing back.

After forming his Golden Elixir, Chen Jue woke from deep sleep with his teeth regrowing and his body showing signs of returning to an innate, purified state. He discovered that food seemed less appealing, then perfected Wudang's Night-Walking Skill on his way back to Wazhai, gaining enhanced vision.

• Chen Jue woke after a long, restorative sleep and found that the thirty-two teeth he had lost were already growing back.
• Chen Jue noticed his breath was fresh and his body carried a gentle fragrance, but felt that the restaurant's food tasted wrong to him.
• The restaurant owner tried the dishes, confirmed they tasted as usual, and gave Chen Jue a discount when he paid.
• Chen Jue practiced Wudang's Night-Walking Skill on his walk back to Wazhai and perfected it.
• Chen Jue discovered that his vision had improved dramatically and gained the [Indifferent to Day and Night] status.

Chen Jue spent five days cultivating after forming a Golden Elixir, completing a profound physical transformation before leaving Wazhai for the Grand Martial Arts Competition. He set off with Wang Biao, who marveled at his changed appearance and joked that he might be a reincarnated immortal lord.

• Chen Jue practiced Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield and Dragon Roar Iron Shirt while sharing martial arts materials with Yun Xiaomei and answering her questions.
• After five days of seclusion, Chen Jue had raised his attributes and health index, replaced his old blood, grown new teeth, and mastered Marrow-Transformation.
• With the Grand Martial Arts Competition two days away, Chen Jue left Yun Xiaomei instructions to mail his remaining Golden Dew bottles to Chen Village and prepared to leave Wazhai.
• Wang Biao drove over a hundred kilometers to pick Chen Jue up, then was surprised by his renewed appearance and teased him about being a reincarnated immortal lord.
• Chen Jue told Wang Biao he had practiced Wudang qigong and promised to send him Eight-Section Brocade as Wang Biao discussed plans to open a shop.

Chen Jue reunited with Cheng Wei in Beidu, learned that his old roommate was struggling with heartbreak and business pressures, and used massage to ease Cheng Wei’s liver qi stagnation. The next morning, Chen Jue resumed Supreme Ultimate Fist practice in Taoting Park and met a local martial artist named Yao San.

• Wang Biao dropped Chen Jue at Baoshan's high-speed railway station and asked him to visit Cheng Wei in Beidu.
• Chen Jue traveled by train to Beidu, where Cheng Wei met him at his early childhood education center and marveled at his changed appearance.
• Chen Jue and Cheng Wei ate lamb hotpot, and Cheng Wei told him about his business pressures and breakup with his former girlfriend.
• At Cheng Wei's apartment, Chen Jue massaged his liver area and eased his discomfort from liver qi stagnation.
• Chen Jue practiced Supreme Ultimate Fist in Taoting Park the next morning, where Yao San introduced himself as a practitioner of Three Sovereigns Cannon Punch.

Chen Jue met Yao San in the park and critiqued his Three Sovereigns Cannon Punch after Yao San demonstrated it. Yao San’s master confronted Chen Jue over instructing his disciple, and Chen Jue challenged him to settle the dispute by crossing hands.

• Chen Jue recognized Yao San as a martial artist from his folk martial arts chat group but introduced himself as a practitioner of Boat Boxing.
• Chen Jue asked Yao San to demonstrate his Three Sovereigns Cannon Punch in exchange for watching Chen Jue practice.
• Yao San performed a powerful round, and Chen Jue pointed out that his businesslike manner weakened the punch’s intent.
• Yao San’s master emerged from behind the willows and accused Chen Jue of giving reckless instruction to a disciple of his school.
• Chen Jue defended his advice and challenged the old man to cross hands, offering him the first three moves.

Chen Jue sparred with Lin Yuanchao and defeated him after allowing him three moves, revealing his superior qinna and hidden-strength skills. Lin Yuanchao admitted his loss, apologized for doubting Chen, and urged Yao San to seek Chen’s instruction.

• Lin Yuanchao introduced himself and challenged Chen Jue, while Chen accepted and took the Eight Immortals Stance.
• Lin Yuanchao attacked with Three Sovereigns Cannon Punch techniques, and Chen blocked his first two moves while counting them aloud.
• Lin Yuanchao’s third strike missed, and Chen circled behind him, used qinna and a hip-check to send him toward the lake, then stopped before seriously injuring him.
• Lin Yuanchao noticed his shredded waist clothing and recognized that Chen had used hidden strength while holding back.
• Lin Yuanchao acknowledged Chen’s victory, apologized for his prejudice, and asked Yao San to pay his respects and learn from Chen.

Chen Jue questioned how he had learned Hidden Strength after Lin Yuanchao explained that it required a personal Mind-Intent Eruption forged through real combat. Lin Yuanchao recognized that Chen Jue’s techniques lacked intent of his own, leaving him to confront the possibility that his martial skill had no spirit behind it.

• Yao San greeted Chen Jue as Master Chen and admitted he still could not understand Lin Yuanchao’s Mind-Intent Eruption.
• Lin Yuanchao recalled learning Hidden Strength through deadly fights and urged Yao San to focus on supporting himself and helping others instead of pursuing martial arts.
• Chen Jue sensed that Lin Yuanchao’s martial intent came from his fervent life, while Yao San’s reflected his worldly caution, and realized his own intent came only from inherited techniques.
• Chen Jue told Lin Yuanchao that he had practiced Internal Alchemy and formed a Golden Elixir.
• Lin Yuanchao concluded that Chen Jue’s refined attacks carried his predecessors’ intent rather than his own, and pitied him for neglecting what truly moved him.

After questioning what moved him, Chen Jue set aside his search for his own fist intent and traveled to the Grand Martial Arts Competition. At the military base, Zhou Gang tested his punching power and urged Chen Jue to try the force-testing machine.

• Lin Yuanchao mistook Chen Jue's silence for Daoist enlightenment and left the park with Yao San, warning him to believe in science despite describing Golden Elixir Adepts.
• Chen Jue reflected on the unique spiritual imprints he sensed in Yun Xiaomei, Brother Biao, Cheng Wei, Yao San, and Lin Yuanchao, but could not identify what moved him.
• Chen Jue replied to messages, ate with Cheng Wei, and noticed that Cheng Wei remained attached to an unattainable love.
• Chen Jue traveled to the competition guesthouse, where Zhou Gang and Commissar Yao met him and Zhou Gang demonstrated his progress in controlling his pores.
• Chen Jue and Zhou Gang arrived at the military base and visited its training hall, where a Shaolin warrior monk named Yantong recorded a 321 kg punch and Zhou Gang recorded 250 kg.
• Zhou Gang invited Chen Jue to test his punching power on the machine.

Chen Jue set a new strength-machine record with a restrained palm strike, drawing the Shaolin monks’ attention before he left with Zhou Gang to inspect the medical room. There he found a costly Human Nutritional Supplement and prepaid for ten boxes, leaving his order to arrive in two days.

• Chen Jue struck the strength-testing machine with a fraction of his strength and recorded 322 kg, surpassing Monk Yantong’s mark by one kilogram.
• Monk Yantong raised the machine’s record to 325 kg, while his senior warned him to be careful of Chen Jue and not to compete over the score.
• Chen Jue took Zhou Gang to the medical room to avoid attracting further attention from the martial arts experts.
• Chen Jue found the Human Nutritional Supplement, learned that it was a high-calorie product supplied to select groups, and decided to buy it.
• Chen Jue prepaid 100,000 yuan for ten boxes after staff said the order would take two days to arrive.

Chen Jue used human nutritional supplements to cultivate Macrocosmic and Microcosmic Orbits Circulation, but his Attribute Panel still would not let the technique level up. At the tournament's opening ceremony, he sensed a powerful spirit in the crowd's singing.

• Chen Jue reviewed the tournament schedule and began practicing Macrocosmic and Microcosmic Orbits Circulation with human nutritional supplements.
• Chen Jue raised the technique's proficiency to 101/100, but the Attribute Panel reported that necessary prerequisites were missing.
• Chen Jue woke feeling mentally sharper and went to the indoor recreation hall for the tournament's opening ceremony.
• As the crowd sang during the flag-raising, Chen Jue sensed a vast spirit carried by the song.

Chen Jue was moved by the passion in a song from a turbulent era, then entered the martial arts tournament and defeated Liu Shiqing with a grappling move and a powerful vocal strike. His victory left the other competitors wary as he awaited the next elimination round.

• Chen Jue reflected that Heavenly Sensitivity let him sense the song's powerful spirit, but could not make him understand the era firsthand.
• Chen Jue was called to fight opponent 113 and introduced himself as a Boat Boxing practitioner from An County, Wenzhou.
• Liu Shiqing of the Wudang school attacked Chen Jue with Taiyi Swimming Dragon Fist, but Chen Jue used Laughing Eight Immortals and a thunderous laugh to throw him out of the ring.
• Chen Jue thanked Liu Shiqing and left after winning in one move, while Liu Shiqing's fellow Daoists checked on him and comforted him.
• Yantong and the Shaolin warrior monks recognized Chen Jue as a dangerous potential opponent and discussed guarding against his vocal strike and grappling technique.

Chen Jue calmed his obsession with the emotional impact of martial arts, tested his strength at the empty training ground, and met Wudang Taoists at lunch. He returned to the tournament and entered his next bout against the formidable Li Xiang, who introduced himself as a practitioner of Meng Village Eight Extremes Fist.

• Chen Jue meditated at the training ground and realized his fixation on martial intent had nearly disturbed his cultivation; he resolved to strengthen his mental cultivation after the tournament.
• Chen Jue struck a strength-testing machine with Tai Chi Single Whip, registering 3233KG, then reset and repaired the machine before leaving.
• Chen Jue met Liu Shiqing and other Wudang Taoist priests at lunch, exchanged contact details, and agreed to stay in touch.
• Chen Jue returned to the tournament venue and watched several bouts before being called into the ring for his next match.
• Li Xiang introduced himself as a practitioner of Meng Village Eight Extremes Fist, and Chen Jue sensed his formidable constitution and spirit.

Chen Jue fought former chief instructor Li Xiang, whose Baji and Bagua skills pushed him through a fierce exchange before he conceded. After the bout, Li Xiang revealed why he had returned to the tournament and suggested Chen Jue deserved first place.

• Chen Jue and Li Xiang exchanged powerful strikes, with Li Xiang using Eight Extremes Fist and Chen Jue defending with his Tiger Form and Supreme Ultimate Fist.
• Li Xiang feinted with a Heaven-Piercing Cannon, then drove an Overlord Elbow into Chen Jue, who endured it using his body-hardening arts.
• Li Xiang shifted to Bagua Linking Palms, but Chen Jue countered with rapid punches until Li Xiang withdrew from the ring and conceded.
• Chen Jue thanked Li Xiang, and the crowd erupted in applause after the referee ended the bout.
• Chen Jue accompanied Li Xiang to receive treatment and learned that he had once been the tournament's chief instructor and had returned hoping to find a promising disciple.
• Li Xiang told Chen Jue that his martial arts had reached their limit and said the remaining bouts could be skipped to award Chen Jue first place.

After sparring with Li Xiang, Chen Jue discussed martial arts with him and reconsidered the value of abstract intent compared with practical fighting ability. Li Xiang took an interest in Zhou Gang and invited him to become his disciple, while Chen Jue agreed to visit Li Xiang’s senior fellow disciple in Cangzhou to exchange knowledge of Supreme Ultimate Fist.

• Li Xiang praised Chen Jue’s skill and explained that he had switched tactics because Chen Jue’s Horizontal Training made direct attacks too dangerous.
• Li Xiang told Chen Jue that practical fighting ability mattered more than pursuing mind-intent, helping Chen Jue resolve his doubts.
• Zhou Gang arrived to praise the match, and Li Xiang asked him to perform his family’s Hung Fist routine.
• Impressed by Zhou Gang’s training, Li Xiang invited him to become his disciple after he left the service, and Chen Jue congratulated him.
• At dinner, Li Xiang invited Chen Jue to Cangzhou to meet his senior fellow disciple, and Chen Jue agreed to exchange knowledge of Supreme Ultimate Fist.

Chen Jue defeated Yantong in the final elimination match, using Supreme Ultimate Fist to redirect the Shaolin monk’s attacks and dislocate both his shoulders. Yantong was carried to the infirmary, regretting that he had become attached to appearances.

• Chen Jue advanced through the second day’s matches and reached the final elimination round without facing another hidden-strength expert.
• Yantong studied Chen Jue’s techniques and prepared to face him in the deciding match.
• Yantong opened with Shaolin’s Dragonfly Skimming the Water Leaping Skill and clashed with Chen Jue’s Golden Needle Finger Skill.
• Yantong hardened his body with Eagle Claw Iron Shirt and lunged again, but Chen Jue used Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail to divert his force.
• Chen Jue struck Yantong at close range and sent him flying, dislocating both his shoulders.
• Yantong’s fellow disciples took him to the infirmary, where he murmured that he had become attached to appearances.

After winning the martial arts competition, Chen Jue reunited with his old roommate Cheng Wei and watched him reconnect with his ex-girlfriend at the driving school where they once learned to drive. As Chen Jue left for the train station, a familiar song stirred memories and thoughts of his own life, and he walked away into the crowds.

• Chen Jue collected his competition prize, declined a head-instructor position, and returned to the Guesthouse by Beidu's Sixth Ring Road.
• Chen Jue accepted friend requests from Daoist Liu Shiqing and Li Xiang, then met Cheng Wei for dinner and reminisced about their early days in Beidu.
• The next morning, Cheng Wei drove Chen Jue to Yuanfang Driving School, where they ate jianbing and recalled their driving lessons and Cheng Wei's past romance.
• Cheng Wei's ex-girlfriend Qianqian arrived at the stall, recognized him, and embraced him after they shared memories of the place.
• As Chen Jue left, the driving school's familiar song stirred his memories, and he murmured that he had found the place before walking away into the crowds.

After a long walk from Beidu to Cangzhou, Chen Jue found traces of the feeling he had been seeking in ordinary people’s lives. He visited Li Xiang’s training courtyard, where the two began to reconnect after Chen Jue’s change in demeanor.

• Chen Jue walked south from Beidu for thirteen hours, observing the lives of people along the way until he realized he had reached Cangzhou after covering more than 200 kilometers.
• Chen Jue noticed Cheng Wei’s apology, teased him about reconciling with his ex-girlfriend, and spent the night at a hotel in Cangzhou.
• The next morning, Chen Jue ate breakfast in Cangzhou and booked a shared ride to Li Xiang’s villa courtyard.
• Li Xiang welcomed Chen Jue and noticed that he seemed more approachable and grounded than he had a few days earlier.
• Chen Jue admired Li Xiang’s training courtyard and inspected the family photographs and children’s award certificates in his living room.

Chen Jue visited Li Xiang and was taken to meet Li Xiang’s senior martial brother, Li Wei, at his mountain restaurant. After enjoying Li Wei’s cooking, Chen Jue discovered a Lead-Mercury Ball at Li Wei’s villa and found that training with it increased his Supreme Ultimate Fist Stake Training proficiency.

• Li Yanhong returned home, recognized Chen Jue as the martial artist who had injured Li Xiang, and threw a knife into an apple before sending the two men away to eat elsewhere.
• Li Xiang drove Chen Jue to Green Bamboo Wine-Flavored Residence, where his senior martial brother Li Wei worked as both restaurant owner and head chef.
• Chen Jue and Li Xiang ate Li Wei’s specialties, and Chen Jue praised the food as the best he had ever tasted.
• After lunch, Li Wei led Chen Jue and Li Xiang to his villa beside a waterfall, where Chen Jue lifted and rolled a 108-jin Lead-Mercury Ball with one hand.
• Chen Jue realized that handling the Lead-Mercury Ball had increased his Supreme Ultimate Fist Stake Training proficiency by more than ten points.