Chapter Summaries

Tang Wen revealed his First-Rank strength before leaving Zhuang Qiyang and Feng Jiuxue, who discussed his potential and the threat of the Ridge-Sea Academy. At Liangzi Stronghold, Ma Yao persuaded the inhabitants to sign themselves over to Tang Wen in hopes he would save them, and Tang accepted their Deed of Sale.

• Zhuang Qiyang agreed to help overturn Tang Wen's brother-in-law's case but warned that the Ridge-Sea Academy might be behind the trouble.
• Tang Wen demonstrated his strength by toppling a distant tree, then rode toward Liangzi Stronghold; Zhuang Qiyang recognized him as a First-Rank genius and urged Feng Jiuxue to befriend him.
• Feng Jiuxue showed Zhuang Qiyang a Spirit Stone and told him Tang Wen had advanced after encountering Unity of Heaven and Man.
• Ma Yao told Liangzi Stronghold's inhabitants they faced execution over Sun Hongqing's grain robbery and urged them to sell themselves to Tang Wen in exchange for his protection.
• The inhabitants signed a Deed of Sale, then knelt and pleaded with Tang Wen when he arrived; after feigning hesitation, he accepted it.

Tang Wen absorbed the popularity from Liangzi Stronghold and greatly strengthened his subordinates before seeking the Black Cavalry Battalion’s help with the recovered grain and the threat from the Moving Wood Palace. Qiao Yi agreed to watch the sect and provide ships and an escort, while accepting Tang Wen’s gifts and promising him doubled merit points.

• Tang Wen arranged to transport the recovered grain to Linghai, then used accumulated popularity, spirit stones, and pills to raise the cultivation levels of his companions.
• Tang Wen noticed that his system’s wife index had risen to 2.0 despite his not having formally married anyone.
• Tang Wen told Qiao Yi that the Moving Wood Palace was shielding a hidden expert, and Qiao Yi promised to monitor the sect and send word if anything happened.
• Tang Wen asked Qiao Yi for ships to transport the grain, and Qiao Yi offered a hundred ships and soldiers to escort them.
• Tang Wen promised to credit Qiao Yi with helping recover the grain, then gave him weapons, a bulletproof vest, spirit stones, and spirit pills; Qiao Yi accepted and offered double merit points.

Tang Wen returned to Yunhai City, where profits from herbs, rice, and other goods inspired him to expand his plans for Su Mei Island and Black Tortoise City. At home, he overpowered Cao Wuxin and carried her inside, but she began to cry when he threatened to force himself on her.

• Tang Wen departed with nearly four thousand people from Liangzi Stronghold, then returned to Yunhai City to buy supplies and steel for developing Su Mei Island.
• Zhao Jiang told Tang Wen that herbs and rice had sold for billions, and that a pharmaceutical factory wanted man-eating tree sap for cancer treatments.
• Tang Wen ordered Solar Power Panels and more wind turbines, and planned to bring back mature herbs and man-eating tree sap on his next trip.
• Cao Wuxin confronted Tang Wen for disappearing, but he overpowered her, removed her mask, and carried her into the house.
• Tang Wen sealed Cao Wuxin's acupoints and threatened to violate her; she stopped resisting and cried.

Tang Wen traveled with Cao Wuxin to the Five Poisons Cult after learning that Chu Senior had gone there before recovering. Along the way, Cao Wuxin’s junior sister Luo Xue misunderstood their relationship, and Tang Wen taught both women the Flood Dragon Lure before the three set out for the cult.

• Cao Wuxin told Tang Wen that Chu Senior had gone to the Five Poisons Cult to investigate the gu in his body, so they flew overnight to Kunlin City.
• On the plane, Cao Wuxin pretended Tang Wen was her husband to discourage a wealthy passenger, and Tang Wen showed off his three-billion deposit.
• Luo Xue greeted Cao Wuxin without her mask and assumed she had chosen Tang Wen as her husband, while Cao Wuxin explained that Tang Wen was a first-rank expert.
• Tang Wen set up arrays and taught Cao Wuxin and Luo Xue the low-grade Yellow Rank Flood Dragon Lure cultivation technique.
• After they woke up in the same bed, Tang Wen gave the women Spirit Stones, Spirit Pills, and poison-protection powder, and the three headed for the Five Poisons Cult.

Tang Wen, Cao Wuxin, and Luo Xue stopped in Miao Moon Town, where Tang Wen treated the women to a million-yuan fish. After members of the Five Poisons Cult accused the newcomers of theft, the three went with them to Miao Flower Village, giving Tang Wen the guide he wanted.

• Luo Xue demanded a feast, and Tang Wen took her and Cao Wuxin to a restaurant while they teased him about marriage and children.
• Tang Wen served the women snakehead fish raised with a Spirit Gathering Array, and Cao Wuxin and Luo Xue praised its spiritual energy and flavor.
• A scorpion-tattooed Five Poisons Cult member and his men entered the restaurant, accused the outsiders of stealing from their village, and ordered them to come along.
• Luo Xue and Cao Wuxin pretended to be interested in the cult, and Tang Wen agreed to go with them to Miao Flower Village.
• The cult members escorted the three in a vehicle, and the scorpion-tattooed man explained that the Five Poisons Cult funded the road and earned money through businesses and martial arts tuition.

Tang Wen and the Cao sisters visited Miao Donglai’s village, where his poisonous creatures attacked Miao Yong after Tang secretly used his Gu King to provoke them. Imprisoned in a stone room, Tang planned to use Miao Yong’s poisoning to lure out an expert from the Five Poisons Cult, as a thin old man arrived.

• Miao Donglai welcomed Tang Wen, Cao Wuxin, and Luo Xue to his village and introduced them to the Five Goodness Dance performed by poisonous creatures.
• Miao Donglai and Miao Yong argued over which woman to take, and the creatures suddenly attacked Miao Yong, badly poisoning him.
• Miao Donglai’s men locked Tang Wen and the two women in a stone room, where Tang revealed that his Gu King had driven the creatures to attack.
• Tang explained that he hoped Miao Yong’s poisoning would draw out a Five Poisons Cult expert, and he sent out a Hummingbird Drone to watch the village.
• A thin old man arrived at Miao Donglai’s house while Miao Yong wailed in pain.

Tang Wen used the Gu King to poison Hall Master Li, bringing Ding Junxi, the Five Poisons Cult's Fifth Elder, to Miao Donglai's compound. Ding Junxi took Tang Wen, Cao Wuxin, and Luo Xue into the mountains, while Cao Wuxin and Luo Xue argued that Tang Wen had to take responsibility for removing her mask.

• Tang Wen secretly directed the Gu King to bite Hall Master Li while he treated Miao Yong, and Hall Master Li collapsed from the poison.
• Miao Donglai summoned Ding Junxi, who examined Hall Master Li and learned that Miao Yong had brought Tang Wen, Cao Wuxin, and Luo Xue to the compound.
• Ding Junxi recognized that Miao Donglai's son had abducted the women and ordered that Tang Wen and the women accompany him as he took Hall Master Li away.
• Ding Junxi put Tang Wen, Cao Wuxin, and Luo Xue in a modified truck and headed into the mountains; Tang Wen watched Miao Donglai curse them through his drone footage.
• Cao Wuxin told Tang Wen he needed to help her reach the First-Rank Realm, and she and Luo Xue insisted he take responsibility for removing her mask.

Tang Wen, Cao Wuxin, and Luo Xue reached the Five Poisons Cult’s hidden headquarters, where Tang used the Gu King to poison Hall Master Li and Ding Junxi. As the cult scrambled to save Ding Junxi, the trio escaped confinement and followed the group carrying him toward the Second Elder.

• Cao Wuxin insisted Tang Wen take responsibility for her, and Luo Xue backed her up as they traveled into the Primeval Forest.
• Tang Wen and the two women arrived at a concealed canyon settlement and were locked in a stone room by Ding Junxi’s people.
• Tang Wen sent the Gu King into the Medical Room, where it bit Ding Junxi and caused him to collapse despite his attempts to use an antidote.
• The Gu King incapacitated the guards outside the trio’s room, allowing Tang Wen, Cao Wuxin, and Luo Xue to escape into the woods.
• Steward Sun and Elder Miao decided to take Ding Junxi to the Second Elder, and Tang Wen and the two women secretly followed.

Tang Wen and his companions followed Elder Miao to a cottage, where the Second Elder examined the poisoned Elder Ding and suspected a Gu King bite. Outside, Tang Wen discovered that the venomous creatures feared him, while Miao Xiu persuaded the Second Elder to reveal a risky way to save Elder Ding.

• Elder Miao brought the poisoned Elder Ding to the Second Elder, who learned that Li Yijiang had suffered similar symptoms after being bitten by a bug.
• The Second Elder identified a gu bite on Ding Junxi and suspected that a Gu King had poisoned him, but said he could not treat it with ordinary methods.
• Luo Xue and Cao Wuxin panicked as snakes and insects gathered, but Tang Wen walked toward them and found they retreated whenever he advanced.
• Tang Wen reassured the women and set up the computer to watch the cottage surveillance feed while the venomous creatures kept their distance.
• Miao Xiu pleaded with the Second Elder to save Elder Ding and mentioned her family's ties to Jiang Nianhua Real Estate Development Company.
• The Second Elder said he had one unorthodox method with a sixty percent chance of success, leaving Miao Xiu startled and eager to hear it.

Tang Wen secretly entered the Ice Toad Cavern to rescue Chu Nantian and Elder Ding, while his Gu King fought and devoured the sect’s Ice Toad King. He rescued both men and took the Ice Toad King’s horn, which the Gu King offered him.

• Miao Xiu persuaded the Second Elder to use the Ice Toad King’s venom to try to cure Elder Ding, and the Second Elder secured approval to take him into the cavern.
• The Second Elder and Miao Xiu lowered Elder Ding into the cavern and left, unaware that Tang Wen, Cao Wuxin, and Luo Xue had followed them inside.
• Tang Wen sent Cao Wuxin and Luo Xue to wait above, then descended and watched his Gu King attack the Ice Toad King.
• Tang Wen found Chu Nantian near death from the cold, revived him with a Firebird Pill, and had him hauled up with the now-cured Elder Ding.
• The Gu King swallowed the Ice Toad King and gave Tang Wen its untouched Ice Horn, which Tang Wen began eating.

Tang Wen and his companions escaped the Five Poisons Cult after absorbing the Ice Toad King’s Cold Marrow, which advanced their cultivation and brought Cao Wuxin and Luo Xue closer to Tang Wen. Back on Su Mei Island and in Jiangzhou, Tang Wen expanded his wind-power and industrial plans before collapsing from exhaustion.

• Tang Wen absorbed the Ice Toad King’s Cold Marrow with Cao Wuxin and Luo Xue, advancing to First Rank perfection while Cao Wuxin reached early First Rank and Luo Xue reached Second Grade.
• Tang Wen, Cao Wuxin, Luo Xue, and Chu Nantian escaped as the Five Poisons Cult searched for the stolen Ice Toad King; Tang Wen suspected Chu Nantian had once been involved with the cult leader.
• Cao Wuxin agreed to disguise herself when Tang Wen was not around, and she and Luo Xue parted from him while escorting Chu Nantian.
• Tang Wen trained at the Gunpowder Factory and Gunpowder Equipment Factory, trained Zhao Jiang’s disciples, and invested a billion from spirit-pill and spirit-stone sales in the Tang Su Mei Group.
• Tang Wen returned to Su Mei Island, installed more Wind Turbines across the islands, and designated Sky-Stone Island as an industrial base.
• Tang Wen delivered construction supplies to Jiangzhou as Zhan Dongwen and the craftsmen prepared plans for the Tang villa, housing, roads, and shops, then Tang Wen fell asleep from exhaustion.

After recovering, Tang Wen learned that Black Rock Island held rich iron deposits but was divided between two feuding clans, and he planned to secure the island through the authorities. As Great Chu’s wars worsened, he looked for a political opening for Wan Hansong, but Jiang Xuan warned that Wan was unlikely to become Governor of Linghai Province.

• Mei Niansu cared for Tang Wen after he woke, and he urged her to live beyond her desire for revenge.
• Ge Ziyun reported that the Li and Lin families of Black Rock Island were fighting over newly revealed iron ore, and Tang Wen suspected Cui Jindong had tried to extort them.
• Tang Wen proposed acquiring Black Rock Island from the government because the clans had not registered their claim to it.
• Tang Jun explained that Great Chu was under attack on multiple fronts and that Governor Xiao Senguо had returned to the capital; Tang Wen saw a chance for Wan Hansong to take his place.
• Tang Wen visited Jiang Xuan, who revealed that the military intended to conscript Tang Wen’s men and said Wan Hansong was unlikely to be appointed Governor because his strength was insufficient.

Tang Wen offered to help Wan Hansong reach first rank and secure the governor’s seat in exchange for joining the Tang family. Wan Hansong agreed to inspect the Tang Family Army on Su Mei Island, while privately planning to earn military merit without becoming Tang Wen’s subordinate.

• Jiang Xuan explained that Linghai Province needed a first-rank governor and that Xiao Senguо and Wan Hansong were unlikely to qualify as matters stood.
• Tang Wen found Wan Hansong exhausted and discouraged, then offered to help him reach first rank and take the governor’s seat.
• Wan Hansong failed to force Tang Wen’s arm down and learned that Tang Wen had reached mid first rank.
• Tang Wen offered Wan Hansong support, military credit, and a share in the recovered grain credit if he joined the Tang family, giving him two days to decide.
• Wan Hansong agreed to visit Su Mei Island the next morning but told Li Jingyuan that he intended to inspect the Tang Family Army and personally win merit from its battles.
• Li Jingyuan reminded Wan Hansong that Tang Wen was a first-rank expert.

Wan Hansong considered supporting Tang Wen after Li Jingyuan urged him to seize the chance for promotion, while Tang Wen suspected Wan wanted to use his army for merit. Tang Wen lured Ding Kui and three accomplices into a secluded grove, learned that Zhang Mingdong had hired Ding Kui to obtain the Purple Moon Literary Brush and the Little Vermilion Fruits, then captured them and forced them to agree to sign confessions.

• Li Jingyuan urged Wan Hansong to back Tang Wen, and Wan agreed to inspect the Tang Family Army the next day.
• Tang Wen spotted a follower he suspected was Ding Kui and had Wen Jinyuan lead the group to a secluded riverside grove while Wang Haiting tracked four pursuers with a drone.
• Ding Kui and his three companions surrounded Tang Wen, and Ding Kui revealed that Zhang Mingdong had instructed him to kill Tang Wen and that Ridge-Sea Academy had promised Moving Wood Palace the Purple Moon Literary Brush.
• Ding Kui explained that his group had also sought the Little Vermilion Fruits from Liangzi Stronghold, and Tang Wen secretly recorded his confession.
• Tang Wen, Wen Jinyuan, and Mei Niansu incapacitated the four men; after Tang Wen used the Ten Thousand Ants Heart-Devouring Pill, they agreed to sign confessions.

Tang Wen showed Wan Hansong the bridges, machinery, cultivation facilities, and ships on Su Mei Island, demonstrating the scale of his wealth and technology. After a cannon test revealed his ships’ superior range and speed, he explained that the Sun Kingdom’s fleet would struggle to catch or approach them.

• Tang Wen and Wan Hansong crossed Sumei Bridge and inspected the excavator, car, Crouching Dragon Lake dam, electric lights, and Cultivation Tower.
• Tang Wen promised to install lights, a bathroom, and a spirit-gathering array for Wan Hansong, while Luo Yiwu and Zhan Dongwen praised Tang Wen’s support for the Tang family.
• Tang Wen took Wan Hansong and Li Jingyuan by speedboat to inspect his steel warships and explained their cost and construction.
• Wan Hansong warned that enemy ships could close in for hand-to-hand combat, but Tang Wen demonstrated a cannon that destroyed a fishing boat from nearly ten li away.
• Tang Wen showed that his gunboat was far faster than the Sun Kingdom’s ships and said his cannons and firearms could strike from beyond their range.

Tang Wen recruited Wan Hansong and Li Jingyuan into the Tang family, helped Wan Hansong reach the first-rank early stage, and discussed acquiring Black Rock Island. After entertaining Xiao Gai and Chu Cong, Tang Wen discovered Chu Cong was a powerful cultivator troubled by love and brought him to the Cultivation Tower’s top floor.

• Tang Wen offered Wan Hansong cultivation resources, military credit, and command of the Tang Family Army, and Wan Hansong and Li Jingyuan signed contracts to join the Tang family.
• Tang Wen gave the two men Void Bags and taught them the Heavenly Wood Star-Pegasus Art; after a day and a night, Wan Hansong reached the first-rank early stage.
• Wan Hansong agreed to investigate Black Rock Island and nearby government land, while Tang Wen offered three million taels to support its acquisition.
• Xiao Gai visited with Chu Cong, who drank Tang Wen’s vodka and ate Three-Stripe Fish before Tang Wen realized Chu Cong was a second-grade-perfection expert troubled by love.
• Tang Wen challenged Chu Cong to eat a Little Vermilion Fruit King, then led him to the unopened top floor of the Cultivation Tower and said he would return in a few days.

Tang Wen brought Xiao Gai and Chu Cong to cultivate in the tower, then traveled to Black Rock Island to claim the territory he had bought and confront its villagers. After he demanded rent and threatened to evict them, Li Defa returned to the Li Family to summon its elders and discuss how to respond.

• Tang Wen gave Xiao Gai a Little Vermilion Fruit and left him and Chu Cong to cultivate in the tower; he told Luo Yiwu that he hoped Chu Cong would reach the First-Rank Realm.
• Tang Wen took Wen Jinyuan and his guards to Black Rock Island, where he set up camp between Heavenly Dragon Village and Earthly Tiger Village.
• Tang Wen told headmen Li Defa and Lin Zongming that the island belonged to him and demanded back rent plus a million taels a year for them to stay.
• Li Defa returned to Li Family Fort and told Family Head Li Shaotang and Li Zenong about Tang Wen's demands.
• Kang Yun summoned the Li Family elders, including Li Kun, Li Hao, Li Yu Mei, Li Kaiqiu, and Li Jun, to discuss their response.

The Li and Lin families debated Tang Wen’s demands on Black Rock Island and concluded that they should unite rather than risk rebellion against Great Chu. They agreed to negotiate first and use a show of force if Tang Wen refused, leaving their next move undecided.

• Li Jun urged the Li Family to kill Tang Wen, but Li Hao and Li Kaiqiu warned that defying the court could bring the family’s destruction.
• The Li Family speculated that Tang Wen wanted their island, iron mine, or labor, and worried that paying his demands would make them his servants.
• Lin Jingru agreed with Lin Liangfei that the Li and Lin families needed to unite against Tang Wen, and she sent him to arrange a meeting.
• At Black Rock Temple, Li Shaotang and Lin Jingru discussed Tang Wen’s taxes and rent, while the families considered whether he intended to drive them off or enslave them.
• Li Kun proposed a show of force, and the families agreed to negotiate first before having Li Kun and Lin Qian confront Tang Wen if he refused.

Tang Wen forced the Li Family and Lin Family to surrender after demonstrating his overwhelming strength and surrounding them with troops. He offered them generous terms to join the Tang family and challenged their claims that they were preserving their ancestors’ legacy by waiting to take revenge.

• Li Shaotang and Lin Jingru objected to Tang Wen’s million-tael annual rent, so he proposed that their families provide labor for his ironworks.
• When Li Jun attacked the conference table and Li Kun and Lin Qian challenged him, Tang Wen defeated all three with single palm strikes, destroying the mobile villa.
• Elder Ximen arrived with thousands of gunmen and cannons, surrounding the families; after several holdouts were shot, Li Shaotang and Lin Jingru ordered everyone to surrender.
• Tang Wen offered family members paid work, supplies, and cultivation resources if they joined the Tang family, and Luo Yiwu demonstrated the power of spirit stones.
• Li Kun, Lin Qian, and others rejected joining as a betrayal of their ancestors, but Tang Wen accused them of cowardice for hiding on the island instead of pursuing revenge against their enemies.

Tang Wen accepted the Li and Lin Families into the Tang and promised to seek justice for them, then used a surge of Popularity to teach techniques and appoint trusted followers. The chapter left the new members integrated into the Tang, with Tang Wen assigning key posts on Su Mei Island.

• Li Kun and Lin Qian led their families in kneeling to join the Tang, and Tang Wen agreed to seek justice for them if they had not committed evil.
• Luo Yiwu arranged contracts for the Li and Lin Families, while Tang Wen warned any who left not to reveal the island's secrets.
• The system activated Transmigration, and Tang Wen's burst of white energy threw the people around him aside without injuring them.
• Tang Wen taught the Heavenly Wood Star-Pegasus Art to Li Jun, Lin Jingru, and Tang Hao, and Lin Jingru's appearance became youthful after the energy surge.
• Tang Wen named Li Jun and Lin Jingru as personal attendants, assigned Gu Hanyan to oversee Su Mei Island, and appointed Li Kun, Lin Qian, and Li Shaotang to island leadership roles.