Chapter Summaries

Tang Wen faced a confrontation with Ximen Taigao over the Cloud-Sea Sect’s workers leaving to join his Cement Factory and demonstrated overwhelming power. Ximen left defeated, convinced the sect had no future on Sky-Stone Island.

• Tang Wen installed Wind Turbines on Su Mei Island and Sky-Stone Island, then rested while Gu Hanyan cared for him.
• Gu Hanyan and Lan Yun'er told Tang Wen that over a thousand Cloud-Sea Sect disciples had joined the Cement Factory, creating resentment within the sect.
• Ximen Taigao arrived with the elders and blamed Tang Wen’s factory for threatening the Cloud-Sea Sect; Tang Wen refused to close it or leave Sky-Stone Island.
• Tang Wen demonstrated that his Firearm could pierce steel, then evaded Ximen Taigao’s attempt to seize him.
• Tang Wen pinned Ximen Taigao to the floor with a distant palm strike, and Ximen failed to rise despite invoking the Ximen Family Clan’s Divine Strength.
• Ximen Taigao left in despair, declaring that the Cloud-Sea Sect was finished and that only the Tang family’s Cement Factory would remain on Sky-Stone Island.

Tang Wen tried to persuade Ximen Taigao to make the Cloud-Sea Sect part of the Tang family, offering its disciples resources and work while negotiating Ximen’s position. After Tang Wen and Gu Hanyan argued over their relationship and promised a wedding feast if the sect submitted, the story shifted to a Ridge-Sea Academy elders’ meeting where Chen Wancai raised suspicions of a traitor.

• Tang Wen offered Ximen Taigao and the Cloud-Sea Sect a place within the Tang family, including access to the Cultivation Tower, jobs, and seats on a future Council of Elders.
• Ximen Taigao demanded the Grand Elder position, and Tang Wen agreed to keep him in the role as long as he remained among the Tang family’s three strongest members.
• Tang Wen dismissed concerns that Cloud-Sea Hall might resist Tang family control, while Gu Hanyan and Lan Yun'er bickered over their status and Lan Yun'er vowed to reach second grade.
• Gu Hanyan accused Tang Wen of deceiving her and cried over being treated as a bondmaid, so Tang Wen promised a hundred-table wedding feast if the Cloud-Sea Sect submitted.
• At a Ridge-Sea Academy Council of Elders meeting, Chen Wancai asked whether a traitor was among them, and Li Xinyang asked what prompted the suspicion.

The academy elders accused Li Xinyang’s son of leaking their plans against Tang Wen, then discussed exploiting the Sun Kingdom’s war to have Tang Wen’s soldiers requisitioned. Meanwhile, Feng Jiuxue completed her training and returned to Sea Saint City after her master sent her home.

• Cui Tingjiang and Chen Wancai accused Li Xinyang’s son, Li Zitong, of warning Tang Wen, but offered no proof; Gao Qiu dismissed Li Xinyang from the meeting.
• Outside, Tang Jun and Luo Chaosheng revealed that they had leaked the academy’s plans using a Hummingbird Drone and agreed to stay cautious.
• Zhang Mingdong told the elders the Sun Kingdom had seized two islands, and Dongfang Ming proposed using the conflict to force Tang Wen’s soldiers into service against pirates.
• The elders discussed the academy’s lost standing over its dispute with Su Mei Island before Gao Qiu ended the meeting.
• On Mount Songyue, the One-Armed Divine Nun praised Feng Jiuxue’s sword technique and told her to return to Sea Saint City after her father’s letters.
• A few days later, Feng Jiuxue arrived in Sea Saint City on a huge black eagle and returned to the Feng Family estate.

Feng Jiuxue returned to the Feng residence after advancing two stages, and her family asked her to help the Fang Family and pursue the Blood Slaughter Hall master position. Meanwhile, Tang Wen heard the Cloud-Sea Sect’s demands for joining the Tang family and challenged its valuation.

• Feng Jiuxue reunited with Feng Jianwu and Feng Chaodong, who praised her advancement to late third rank and discussed her prospects in the Six Fan Division.
• Feng Chaodong told Feng Jiuxue that Fang Qiang had asked the Feng Family to help against Tang Wen, and Feng Jiuxue agreed to look into the matter and visit Hailing.
• Feng Jiuxue said she would compete to lead Blood Slaughter Hall, and her family celebrated her receiving the Moon-Summoning Sword from her master.
• Ximen Taigao told Tang Wen that over five hundred Cloud-Sea Sect members had left rather than become servants, and Wang Haiting demanded six million taels for the remaining sect.
• Lan Yun'er asked her father to lower the demand, but Ximen Taigao shouted at her and Gu Hanyan defended her.
• Tang Wen questioned whether the remaining Cloud-Sea Sect members and their property justified the six-million-tael price, while Wang Haiting cited the sect’s experts, ships, firearms, and cannons.

Tang Wen brought the Cloud-Sea Sect into the Tang family by offering weapons and a floor in his Cultivation Tower, then used their loyalty to raise his popularity and martial arts realm. As Ridge-Sea Academy’s threat and the Sun Kingdom’s advance intensified, he turned to expanding island defenses, though manpower became a problem.

• Tang Wen agreed to pay Ximen Taigao four and a half million taels, promised the Cloud-Sea Sect new weapons and a Cultivation Tower floor, and welcomed its leaders into the Tang family.
• Tang Wen absorbed the Cloud-Sea Sect’s popularity, raising his popularity index above ten thousand and advancing his martial arts realm to third-grade great perfection, but territorial expansion still blocked crossing mode.
• Tang Wen left half the new force on Sky-Stone Island, where Zhan Dongfang and Li Liao planned forty artillery batteries and associated facilities, requiring thousands of workers and further recruitment.
• After Tang Jun delivered a video of Ridge-Sea Academy’s meeting, Yan Beitian, Luo Yiwu, Li Liao, and Gu Hanyan discussed the threats from the academy and the Sun Kingdom.
• Tang Wen approved urgent defenses for the three Su Mei islands, while Luo Yiwu estimated they needed at least a hundred batteries and Ximen Taigao warned that construction was consuming the Cloud-Sea Hall’s manpower.

Tang Wen ordered Cloud-Sea Hall to raise an elite force and announced he would take the fight to the Sun Kingdom despite his allies’ concerns. After they agreed to follow him, he returned to Su Mei Island to meet Deputy Commander Jiang and began considering iron-hulled warships.

• Tang Wen ordered Ximen Taigao to select two thousand men for special training and declared his intention to attack the Sun Kingdom, while Ximen Taigao and Wang Haiting warned that their forces lacked warships and faced a dangerous enemy.
• Li Liao, Yan Beitian, Luo Yiwu, and Lan Yun'er urged the others to obey Tang Wen, and Tang Wen gave them the chance to leave the Tang family.
• Lan Yun'er asked Ximen Taigao to support Tang Wen so she could become a Young Madam after reaching Second Grade, and Ximen Taigao agreed to follow Tang Wen’s arrangements.
• Tang Wen ordered more workers hired, wages raised, and combat training begun, while Li Liao and Luo Yiwu called for a military strategist.
• Li Quan reported that Deputy Commander Jiang had returned to Su Mei Island, so Tang Wen set out to meet him and instructed Dong Wen to begin construction and gun emplacements.
• After Ximen Taigao and Wang Haiting admired Tang Wen’s iron-hulled speedboat, Tang Wen suggested building a larger iron ship equipped with cannons and firearms.

Tang Wen arranged naval training and ship crews, then offered Jiang Xuan weapons, silver, and ammunition to help fund Linghai’s war effort in exchange for merit points. Jiang Xuan warned that the coast was nearly undefended and urged Tang Wen to abandon Su Mei Island, but Tang Wen refused to leave his family estate.

• Tang Wen ordered the men to train for naval and landing operations, gave ship crews proper ranks, and assigned repairmen to maintain the iron-hulled ships.
• Jiang Xuan greeted Tang Wen as a subordinate and revealed that he had been promoted to Commander-in-Chief of Linghai.
• Jiang Xuan requested supplies and tents to meet the Commander-in-Chief’s Office’s wartime demands, and Tang Wen donated cannons, firearms, silver, and ammunition for more than forty-five thousand merit points.
• Jiang Xuan agreed to pay two million taels for a thousand tents, giving Tang Wen banknotes for half the amount and promising the balance when the tents arrived.
• Jiang Xuan warned Tang Wen that the Sun Kingdom’s attack had left the coast and Su Mei Island vulnerable to pirates, but Tang Wen refused to evacuate.

Tang Wen warned that Su Mei Island lacked a military strategist, then got Jiang Xuan drunk on strong vodka while discussing his promotion. Afterward, Tang Wen deflected Gu Hanyan’s demand for a banquet, learned Lan Yun’er had entered seclusion, and heard that Su Mei Island’s territory had expanded by over a thousand qing.

• Tang Wen asked Jiang Xuan to help find a military strategist, and Jiang Xuan agreed to keep an eye out.
• Tang Wen served Jiang Xuan vodka, and Jiang Xuan drank until he collapsed after less than four bowls.
• Tang Wen explained that Jiang Xuan’s cultivation had advanced to late fourth rank and helped secure his promotion.
• Gu Hanyan reminded Tang Wen that he had promised a hundred-table banquet, but Tang Wen put it off because of Ridge-Sea Academy’s threats.
• Luo Yiwu told Tang Wen that Lan Yun’er had entered death-seclusion to pursue third rank.
• Ge Ziyun reported that Su Mei Island had gained over a thousand qing of land on either side of the pass.

Tang Wen bought Liu Family Village and gathered oil to fund a return to Yunhai City, where he arranged to acquire ships, weapons, and supplies for his plans. After two months of preparation, he had also studied mobile communications and base-station construction, readying equipment and infrastructure for his islands.

• Ge Ziyun told Tang Wen that he had bought more than two hundred people from Liu Family Village along with its poor farmland, and Tang Wen ordered the land managed despite its isolation.
• Tang Wen collected 10,000 tonnes of oil in the Great Landlord Space and traveled to Yunhai City with increased luggage capacity.
• Tang Wen asked Zhao Jiang to find ten secondhand naval vessels, then spent his funds on ships, protective gear, cannons, firearms, and other supplies.
• Tang Wen commissioned plans for piers, defenses, harbors, factories, roads, and housing on White Tiger Island, Divine Turtle Island, and Sky-Stone Island.
• Tang Wen studied mobile base stations and communications, ordered rugged phones and related equipment, and prepared to train technical staff after returning to Su Mei Island.

Tang Wen returned to treating patients after months spent preparing projects and learned that Chu Tiannan’s illness was caused by a creature in his dantian. Cao Wuxin remained hostile, but Chu Tiannan agreed to let Tang Wen treat him after Tang Wen promised he could cure him.

• After finishing several months of preparations, Tang Wen called Luo Xue back and learned that she and her grandmaster would visit the next day.
• Zhao Jiang told Tang Wen that the refurbished secondhand warships were undergoing propulsion tests before delivery.
• Luo Xue arrived with Chu Tiannan and Cao Wuxin, who mocked Tang Wen and lifted him off the ground when he talked back.
• Tang Wen promised Chu Tiannan a guaranteed cure, and Cao Wuxin dropped him after Chu Tiannan insisted she let him down.
• Tang Wen examined Chu Tiannan and saw a red, scorpion-like creature in his dantian, which he said was likely a gu.

Tang Wen revealed that he might be able to treat Chu Tiannan’s illness, and Chu Tiannan began transferring his power to him. The transfer left Cao Wuxin and Luo Xue worried as Tang Wen used Spirit Stones and an array to handle the overwhelming energy.

• Chu Tiannan confirmed that Tang Wen was right about the worms, while Tang Wen admitted his Antidote Pills could only ease their effects.
• Luo Xue revealed that Tang Wen had a Profound-Rank Cultivation Method, and Tang Wen teased Cao Wuxin by offering to teach it if she married him.
• Cao Wuxin erupted at Luo Xue, but Tang Wen calmed the situation by claiming he might know a way to treat Chu Tiannan.
• Chu Tiannan guessed that Tang Wen’s martial uncle had prepared the Antidote Pills, then pulled Tang Wen close and began imparting his power through Tang Wen’s crown aperture.
• Tang Wen activated his cultivation method and used high-grade Spirit Stones to set up an array, while Cao Wuxin and Luo Xue feared Chu Tiannan’s transfer would kill him.

Tang Wen discovered that Chu Tiannan had accidentally sent a poisonous insect into his body while trying to pass on his cultivation, and he threatened to kill him. After Cao Wuxin and Luo Xue pleaded for Chu Tiannan, Tang Wen let him go with pills to treat the poison and restore his strength.

• Cao Wuxin took Luo Xue's Void Bag and learned how to use it.
• Tang Wen coughed blood, accused Chu Tiannan of putting a poisonous insect in his body, and aimed a machine gun at him.
• Chu Tiannan admitted that he had tried to win Tang Wen's gratitude but had not intended for the insect to enter him.
• Cao Wuxin and Luo Xue pleaded with Tang Wen to spare Chu Tiannan, and Cao Wuxin promised to care for Tang Wen if the poison harmed him.
• Tang Wen found the insect feeding on his inner astral force and judged that Cao Wuxin and Chu Tiannan were sincere.
• Tang Wen put away his gun and gave them an Antidote Pill and a healing pill, then Chu Tiannan left with Luo Xue's support.

Cao Wuxin insisted on staying with Tang Wen to repay her ancestral master's debt, though she repeatedly declared that she found him disgusting and would never marry him. After moving into his house, she demanded a costly Void Bag to carry his supplies, and Tang Wen refused.

• Tang Wen told Cao Wuxin to leave, but she vowed to follow him and eventually agreed to stay at his house instead of accompanying him everywhere.
• Cao Wuxin told Chu Tiannan and Luo Xue that she would treat Tang Wen only as a patient and would never marry him.
• Cao Wuxin packed her belongings and groceries, returned the Void Bag to Luo Xue, and moved into Tang Wen's home.
• Cao Wuxin asked Tang Wen for a Void Bag, arguing that she would use it to carry his things while caring for him.
• Tang Wen refused to give Cao Wuxin a Void Bag after she insisted she found him disgusting and would leave once he recovered.

Tang Wen and Cao Wuxin bickered over her role as his bodyguard, and he gave her a high-grade Void Bag and cultivation supplies. The next day, she accompanied him to inspect vessels at the shipyard, where her strength stunned the crew.

• Tang Wen gave Cao Wuxin a high-grade Void Bag after she threatened to bring noisy helpers on his mountain trips.
• Cao Wuxin cooked for Tang Wen, but he teased her with his ability to read her Popularity Little Figure until she stormed off.
• Cao Wuxin asked Tang Wen for Spirit Stones and Spirit Pills, and he gave her some before calling her a big bitch.
• Tang Wen went to the shipyard's vessel-testing area with Zhao Jiang, Master Sun Guangyun, Little Li, Li Zijian, and other staff, while Cao Wuxin came along as well.
• Cao Wuxin frightened the crew by shattering a rock beside the dock with an iron pellet.

Tang Wen took delivery of a heavily modified gunboat, learned its systems, and transported ships, wind turbines, and communications equipment to Su Mei Island. After setting up the island’s fleet and communications network and beginning sea training, he woke from exhaustion to find Gu Hanyan caring for him and Yu Chang arriving with news of a breakthrough.

• Tang Wen studied the gunboat for twenty days while Cao Wuxin waited at the shipyard, then secretly stored the vessels and supplies in the Great Landlord Space.
• The system raised Tang Wen’s next requirements to 2,000 popularity points and 1,500 qing of land, and he hurried to install eight Wind Turbines and the Mobile Base Stations on Su Mei Island.
• Tang Wen moored the ships at Sky-Stone Island, trained Zhan Dongwen’s operators, and appointed Gu Yifei to lead the new Communications Hall.
• Ximen Taigao led several thousand members of the Personal Army in sea training with the ships and Black-Clad Cannons, while Tang Wen worried about the ammunition they consumed.
• After working for a month, Tang Wen slept for two days, and Gu Hanyan cared for him before Yu Chang rushed in to report that he had broken through.

Tang Wen revealed his strength to Yu Chang, appointed him captain of the Personal Guard Team, and prepared to leave for Jiangzhou. As Gu Hanyan entered death-seclusion and pirate attacks intensified nearby, Tang Wen ordered defensive and industrial preparations for Su Mei Island.

• Yu Chang celebrated reaching the third-rank mid-stage, and Tang Wen demonstrated his second-grade power by lifting a distant stone roller.
• Tang Wen warned Yu Chang to keep a low profile, then appointed him captain of the Personal Guard Team and ordered him to accompany him to Jiangzhou.
• Gu Hanyan complained about Tang Wen's spending on Niu Hanzi and insisted on receiving a Realm-Breaking Pill, then left to enter death-seclusion.
• Luo Yiwu warned Tang Wen that pirates were raiding islands east of Su Mei Island, and Tang Wen ordered half the Personal Guards transferred back while keeping their sea training secret.
• Tang Wen and Luo Yiwu discussed expanding the cement factory and preparing to build a steel mill near an iron supply.

Tang Wen returned to Jiangzhou, found the Mei Residence troubled by a supposed ghost, and learned that his business and allies might be facing pressure from Ridge-Sea Academy. He went with Jiang Xuan to collect the unpaid balance for the tents and was warned that Administration Commissioner Wan Hansong was a formidable martial artist.

• Tang Wen arrived at the Mei Residence, where talismans had been posted everywhere and the staff were frightened by a ghost that appeared from time to time.
• Tang Wen learned that Shen Xihe had stopped trading with him and suspected Ridge-Sea Academy was pressuring his business and targeting his family, so he sent Tang Jun to check on his sister in the Provincial Capital.
• Luo Chaosheng reported that Li Zitong had fallen out of favor with the Council of Elders, and Tang Wen arranged dinner with Xiao Gai and his group.
• Tang Wen visited Jiang Xuan to demand the million taels still owed for the tents, and Jiang Xuan agreed to accompany him to the Administration Commissioner's office.
• Jiang Xuan warned Tang Wen that Commissioner Wan Hansong was a former Martial Champion with strength comparable to leading Second Grade martial artists.

Jiang Xuan warned Tang Wen that powerful forces in Linghai could threaten his soldiers, then accompanied him to confront provincial administrator Wan Hansong over unpaid tent money. Wan agreed to take Tang Wen to the governor, Xiao Senguо, to seek funds.

• Jiang Xuan told Tang Wen that Ridge-Sea Academy had a second-grade guardian and warned that the coming war would lead to widespread conscription.
• Tang Wen confronted Wan Hansong over the unpaid tent money, and Wan displayed a Silver Exemption-from-Courtesy Plaque.
• Tang Wen threatened to publicize Wan's debt, then slapped secretary Li Jingyuan after Li insulted him.
• Guard Chen tried to seize Tang Wen, but Yu Chang knocked him aside with a single strike.
• Wan Hansong stopped the guards and offered to take Tang Wen to Governor Xiao Senguо to see whether he could provide the money.

Tang Wen sought the one million taels Linghai owed him, but Governor Xiao Senguо and Wan Hansong pleaded poverty and proposed Qingniu Town and its government slaves as payment instead. The chapter ended with Wan Hansong demanding three million taels for the entire group of slaves.

• Wan Hansong told Tang Wen that Linghai still owed one million taels for the tents, while Xiao Senguо and Wan Hansong described the province’s wartime financial troubles.
• Xiao Senguо acknowledged Tang Wen’s armed forces and offered Qingniu Town and its surrounding land instead of silver.
• Tang Wen learned that Qingniu Town held several thousand residents, including many government slaves, and questioned whether the proposed land could replace the payment he was owed.
• Xiao Senguо and Wan Hansong explained the government slaves’ background and proposed selling them to Tang Wen as a group.
• Secretary Luo reported that Qingniu Town had 3,281 government slaves, and Wan Hansong named a price of three million taels.

Tang Wen negotiated with Xiao Senguо and Wan Hansong over buying the people and land of Qingniu Town, while they offered him a provincial post to secure his support. After Tang Wen delayed his decision, Xiao Senguо and Wan Hansong resolved to win him over quickly before the Commander-in-Chief’s Office could act.

• Tang Wen rejected the proposed purchase price for Qingniu Town, pointing out the cost of supporting its old, sick, and disabled residents.
• Xiao Senguо and Wan Hansong offered to deduct their million-tael debt and recommend Tang Wen for Linghai Deputy Tuanlian Commissioner in exchange for his agreement.
• Tang Wen said he needed time to consider and invited the officials to dinner at his Mei Residence, but Xiao Senguо and Wan Hansong declined because of the war.
• After Tang Wen left, Xiao Senguо and Wan Hansong discussed his hidden resources and learned that his Personal Guard had defeated Chen Gao with one punch.
• Xiao Senguо and Wan Hansong decided to secure Tang Wen’s agreement quickly and offer additional benefits if necessary, before Qiu Zhaohai and the Commander-in-Chief’s Office reached him.