Chapter Summaries

Tang Wen used a gathering with Li Zitong and other Provincial Capital youths to trade imported goods for martial slaves. The group pledged 1,083 slaves in total, giving Tang Wen a large workforce in exchange for wine, lighters, and other goods.

• Ridge-Sea Academy students saw Tang Wen off after he wounded Mo Yungang with his concealed pistol.
• Li Zitong introduced Tang Wen to several wealthy friends at the Mei Residence, where they praised him for defeating Mo Yungang.
• Wei Kang demonstrated how the image on Tang Wen’s lighter changed when heated, astonishing Wu Guangfeng and the others.
• Tang Wen offered wine, lighters, food, and other goods in exchange for slaves, setting different prices by rank and type.
• Wu Guangfeng, Li Zitong, Li Kongfan, Cui Qiu, and others placed orders totaling 1,083 slaves, which Luo Yiwu recorded and tallied.

Tang Wen joked with his friends about their lighter trades, then argued with Gu Hanyan over her appearance and the hidden weapon technique she had used. He urged his younger brother Tang Hao to train on Su Mei Island, promising to help him reach the fifth rank within three months.

• Tang Wen gave Li Zitong extra lighters in exchange for looking after Tang Hao at the Academy, while Gu Hanyan scolded the men for their shamelessness.
• Li Zitong insulted Gu Hanyan, and she knocked the hairpin from his head with a throwing knife; Tang Wen told the startled friends that her martial arts were just below Mo Yungang's.
• After the guests left, Tang Wen and Gu Hanyan argued about her appearance and his refusal to teach her his hidden weapon technique unless she slept with him.
• Tang Wen asked Tang Hao to return to Su Mei Island for training, but Tang Hao boasted about his sixth-rank skill and planned to challenge the Academy's top ten.
• Tang Wen promised he could help Tang Hao reach the fifth rank within three months, though Tang Hao doubted him.

Tang Wen revealed his strength to Tang Hao and promised to help him reach the Fifth Rank, while a new shipment of slaves helped trigger an upgrade to the Great Landlord System. The upgraded system displayed a mysterious wife index of one, leaving Tang Wen wondering whether Gu Hanyan was his future wife.

• Tang Hao failed to move Tang Wen's hand, and Tang Wen revealed that he had reached the Fifth-Rank Early Stage while urging Tang Hao to keep his strength secret.
• Tang Wen promised to help Tang Hao reach the Fifth Rank within three months, and Tang Hao agreed to return home with him.
• Wu Guangfeng and the others brought slaves to the Mei Residence to trade for grape wine and goods, while they admired their lighters and teased Gu Hanyan about her younger appearance.
• Tang Wen absorbed the popularity gained from the trade, and the Great Landlord Space upgraded to version 3.0 with increased capacity, wealth, and a new wife index of one.
• Tang Wen wondered whether Gu Hanyan was the woman indicated by the system's wife index.

Tang Wen organized Su Mei Island’s new workers and accelerated construction of three grand bridges while establishing plans for sanitation and a school. After several days of preparation, the bridge projects were underway with nearly a thousand workers per shift.

• Tang Wen welcomed the newly acquired servants to Su Mei Island, where its modern conveniences gradually eased their resistance.
• Tang Wen ordered nonstop rotating shifts for the three grand bridges and assigned experienced workers to train newcomers on the job.
• Tang Wen established plans for a Public Relations Class and an Environmental Protection Hall, with fines and red-armband patrols to improve sanitation.
• Tang Wen assigned Zhan Shixian and Gu Hanyan to prepare temporary school buildings and tasked Bu Feng with recruiting teachers.
• Zhan Dongwen and Luo Yiwu organized bridge crews, while excavators opened access roads and workers camped near the construction sites.
• Tang Wen inspected the sites with Luo Yiwu, and after several days the bridge projects got underway with nearly a thousand workers per shift.

Tang Wen oversaw the accelerated construction of the sea bridge, then visited his hospital and spoke with the frail fifth-rank expert Yan Beitian, whom he had acquired from the Wu Family. Yan Beitian revealed that he had once protected Wu Shidong, but his feelings about being abandoned remained unclear.

• Zhan Dongwen hired several thousand local laborers at double wages to speed up construction of the bridge piers.
• Tang Wen fell asleep in the whirlpool bathtub while Gu Hanyan massaged him and explained how she had injured her left ear to avoid entering the palace.
• Tang Wen visited the temporary hospital, where Ding Xian described its staff, equipment, and work treating the Tang household.
• Ding Xian took Tang Wen to meet Yan Beitian, the sick fifth-rank expert traded to the Tang household by the Wu Family.
• Yan Beitian confirmed that he had once protected Wu Shidong, and Tang Wen asked whether he resented the Wu Family for abandoning him.

Tang Wen subdued Yan Beitian and discovered that an intestinal growth was causing the former fourth-rank master’s severe illness. Yan Beitian agreed to treatment, but his plans to return to the Yan family seemed in danger as Tang Wen warned he might have less than six months to live.

• Yan Beitian cursed the Wu Family for abandoning him after his illness left him unable to protect their mine.
• Tang Wen revealed his strength by pinning Yan Beitian down and promised to cure him without demanding payment or loyalty.
• Tang Wen had Yan Beitian examined and found a purplish-blue growth attached to his intestinal wall.
• Yan Beitian described his daily diarrhea and rapid decline, and Tang Wen warned that he might not live another six months.
• Yan Beitian recalled his rise to fourth-rank mastery and lamented that he might never return to the Yan family to confront those who cast him out.

Tang Wen removed a Gu from Yan Beitian, learned about the Yan Family’s cultivation methods, and accepted Yan Beitian into the Tang Family. He then chose to visit Black Tortoise City to obtain resources for cultivating experts.

• Yan Beitian described the Yan Family’s influence, his exile after being framed, and his ambition to return and take revenge.
• Yan Beitian knelt and pledged lifelong loyalty to Tang Wen, who insisted he was a person and promised to do everything he could to save him.
• Tang Wen examined Yan Beitian and removed a Gu that Yan Beitian believed had been planted by his eldest uncle to hinder his cultivation.
• Yan Beitian explained that he had practiced a heaven-rank high-grade method and hoped to learn the Yan Family’s profound-rank Frost Ice Technique.
• Tang Wen decided not to return to Yunhai City or open the 5,000-point gate, and instead crossed the 1,000-point gate to visit Black Tortoise City for elixirs.

Tang Wen returned to Black Tortoise City to rebuild the Cloud Garment Workshop, but discovered that half a year had passed there while he was away for about a month. After arranging construction, he visited Ku Mutong at Red Lake and learned that champagne had helped Ku Mutong obtain a high-grade Realm-Breaking Pill and reach the transcendent grade.

• Tang Wen examined a map of the Mysterious Heaven Continent and crossed to the Cloud Garment Workshop, where guards verified his identity before admitting him.
• Wu Zi told Tang Wen he had been gone for half a year, and Tang Wen decided to rebuild the burned workshop using the supplies he had brought.
• Wu Zi explained the costs of hiring craftsmen and warned Tang Wen that installing spirit stones in a Heavenly Treasure Pagoda required a Spirit Gathering Array.
• Wu Zi told Tang Wen that Ku Mutong had repeatedly asked to see him, so Tang Wen went to the Ku Family residence at Red Lake.
• Ku Mutong revealed that he had reached the transcendent grade after Tang Wen's champagne helped him obtain a high-grade Realm-Breaking Pill.

Tang Wen met Redbeard, an eccentric Origin-Gathering Realm expert, and traded food and wine for help with his cultivation. Redbeard began channeling three years' worth of cultivation into Tang Wen, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Ku Mutong told Tang Wen that Redbeard wanted Champagne and other goods in return for benefits, then took him to find the expert at Red Lake.
• Redbeard appeared in the Redwood Grove and criticized Tang Wen's aptitude, but warmed to his flattery and promised to help him surpass Ku Mutong.
• Tang Wen offered wine, braised pig's trotters, and other food, and Redbeard and Ku Mutong eagerly ate and drank it all.
• Redbeard judged that Tang Wen had only just reached Fifth-Rank Perfection and offered three years' worth of cultivation in exchange for more wine and food.
• Tang Wen supplied the requested goods, and Redbeard pressed a palm to his head and began transferring cultivation into him.

Tang Wen absorbed Redbeard’s transferred cultivation and stepped into the Fourth Rank, despite being unable to sense any conflict between their energies. After leaving Redbeard, Tang Wen learned he may have received ten years of cultivation instead of the promised three and gave Ku Mutong more wine, while Ku Mutong asked how many Spirit Stones he had left.

• Redbeard warned Tang Wen to circulate his cultivation art carefully while absorbing the donor’s true essence, and Tang Wen struggled to sense any conflicting energies.
• Tang Wen saw Redbeard’s glowing Popularity take the shape of a puzzled figure, then watched Redbeard pour even more cultivation into him as Ku Mutong cautioned that he might not withstand it.
• After six hours, Redbeard stopped transferring his power, and Tang Wen recovered and announced that he had reached the Fourth Rank.
• Redbeard privately regretted using ten years of cultivation instead of the promised three, while Tang Wen mistook his anguish for stinginess and gave him another hundred bottles of Grape Wine.
• Ku Mutong told Tang Wen that Redbeard had likely given him far more than three years of cultivation, and Tang Wen gave Ku Mutong three hundred bottles of wine at home.
• Ku Mutong refused to take Tang Wen’s wine without compensation and asked how many Spirit Stones Tang Wen had left.

Tang Wen arranged with Ku Mutong to promote his liquor in Black Tortoise City and use the profits to support the Cloud Garment Workshop. After learning about the Ku Family’s status and the Heavenly River Pavilion’s costly, cultivation-enhancing cuisine, he prepared for the dinner and taught Wu Zi how to assemble steel-framed buildings.

• Tang Wen offered Ku Mutong a commission for selling his liquor, and Ku Mutong agreed if they sold ten thousand bottles.
• Ku Mutong invited friends to dinner at the Heavenly River Pavilion while Tang Wen returned to the Cloud Garment Workshop to gather goods.
• Wu Zi explained that the Ku Family barely qualified as a second-tier lineage and that the Heavenly River Pavilion charged heavily for its expert chefs and medicinal dishes.
• Tang Wen packed liquor and food for the dinner, then taught Wu Zi how to assemble steel buildings using the Whiteboard computer’s videos.

Tang Wen began training Wu Zi's family in modern construction techniques and planned a mall, then attended a gathering at the Heavenly River Pavilion to meet Ku Mutong's powerful acquaintances. The gathering continued as more guests arrived, including two people with no martial arts cultivation.

• Tang Wen taught Wu Zi and his family electric welding and prefab construction, while planning a four- or five-story Tang Su Mei Mall in Black Tortoise City.
• Tang Wen and Wu Zi went to the Heavenly River Pavilion, where Tang Wen paid the reservation fee for Ku Mutong's private room and learned about the pavilion's founder and profits.
• Tang Wen entered the private room and met Ku Mutong's guests, including Zhang Chuanqi, Tian Haoyuan, Qi Hengjiang, and Duan Yu.
• More guests arrived and greeted the group; Tang Wen noticed that Chen Qijiang and Wei Meiyan knew no martial arts.

Tang Wen hosted a feast where Redbeard revealed he had given Tang Wen ten years of cultivation in exchange for wine, then enthusiastically sampled his food and drinks. The guests enjoyed the dishes and beverages, and Tian Haoyuan asked to buy several kinds of wine, chicken feet, and pig's trotters.

• Money Fool and Tian Haoyuan urged Tang Wen to begin the feast, but Ku Mutong said they were waiting for someone.
• Redbeard arrived, and Zhang Chuanqi and the other guests stood to welcome him.
• Redbeard complained that he had poured ten years of cultivation into Tang Wen after being drawn in by his wine, and Tang Wen promised him as much wine as he wanted.
• The guests sampled Tang Wen's pig's trotters, chicken feet, and drinks, then Wei Meiyan tricked them into soaking Three-Pattern Fish Slices in mustard.
• Redbeard and the guests tried Wusu beer with the fish, and Tian Haoyuan asked Tang Wen to sell him wine, beer, chicken feet, and pig's trotters.

Tang Wen sold imported food and drinks to the Black Tortoise City seniors and introduced novelty lighters and gift boxes, earning large orders. He left the gathering with plans to expand sales through Tang's Sumei Mall.

• Tang Wen claimed his goods came from the distant Mysterious Nether Domain and quoted prices for wine, beer, food, and other items.
• Tian Haoyuan, Zhang Chuanqi, and Qi Hengjiang placed large orders for drinks and food.
• Tang Wen offered a discount in exchange for a profound-rank cultivation method, but the seniors refused to trade one.
• Tang Wen invited the seniors to refer customers to Tang's Sumei Mall and promised referral payments.
• Tang Wen demonstrated windproof lighters with revealing images, prompting the seniors to order lighters, cigarettes, and gift boxes.
• Tang Wen brought a gift box to Duan Yu and Wei Yanhong and began to show them what was inside.

Tang Wen sold crowns and cosmetics to Black Tortoise City’s powerful residents, earning a fortune and promising to treat Qi Hengjiang’s injured leg. He planned to build a shopping complex and start a cement factory, but the next morning nearly two hundred craftsmen and apprentices arrived, far more than Wu Zi had hired.

• Tang Wen persuaded Wei Yanhong, Duan Yu, and others to buy crowns, then gave them cosmetics and perfume as gifts.
• Tang Wen examined Qi Hengjiang’s injured leg, learned that hidden hooks were embedded in his bones, and promised to find a way to treat him in a month.
• Tang Wen counted his earnings and decided to build a shopping complex in Black Tortoise City and establish a cement factory in the Chu Kingdom.
• Nearly two hundred craftsmen and apprentices arrived the following morning, and Wu Zi told Tang Wen he had not hired so many people.

Tang Wen negotiated with Wu Zi and Luo San over hiring craftsmen, then agreed to treat Wu Yunpeng’s son in exchange for a Spirit Gathering Array. He gathered the skilled craftsmen to teach them his unusual building methods, leaving them stunned by his glowing Whiteboard computer.

• Wu Zi admitted that Luo San had hired many expensive, highly ranked craftsmen, but Luo San said his friends would work for half their usual wages.
• Tang Wen agreed to hire the craftsmen after Wu Yunpeng offered his Nine-Nine Return-to-One Array if Tang Wen cured his son Wu Kui’s arm.
• Wu Yunpeng and Luo San learned of Tang Wen’s reputation for treating difficult injuries, while Tang Wen clarified that he had no Apothecary Guild rank.
• Wu Yunpeng challenged Tang Wen’s claim that his buildings were different, and Tang Wen gathered forty or fifty Fifth Rank and higher craftsmen to teach them.
• Tang Wen activated the Whiteboard computer, and Wu Yunpeng and the craftsmen gaped at the moving images of martial artists on its screen.

Tang Wen built a steel-frame supermarket and Medicine Hall in Black Tortoise City, then moved into his new home and introduced Wu Zi and Wu Yunpeng to modern comforts. As he prepared to open the shop, his cultivation improved, but he still failed to make connections with the powerful figures at the Heavenly Treasure Pagoda.

• Tang Wen taught Wu Yunpeng and the other master craftsmen to build with steel frames, and they completed a large shed in ten days.
• Tang Wen outfitted the shed as a supermarket and Medicine Hall, installed its equipment, and invited Redbeard, Ku Mutong, Qi Hengjiang, Swordless Li, and others to the opening.
• Tang Wen cultivated on the Heavenly Treasure Pagoda's top floor for over twenty days, reaching the peak of the early fourth rank but failing to befriend any powerful cultivators.
• Tang Wen moved into his new second-floor suite and showed Wu Zi, Wu Yunpeng, and the others the spring bed, which they found remarkably comfortable.

Tang Wen was warned that Xiao Sandao might attack his shop, then broke through to a higher cultivation level after Greenbeard struck him. He left the Heavenly Treasure Pagoda with the top-floor cultivators sampling his food and drinks and receiving advertisements for his supermarket.

• Luo San warned Tang Wen that Xiao Sandao might bring people to wreck his place during Qi Hengjiang's operation, and Tang Wen arranged for Brother Kumu to seek support.
• Tang Wen went to cultivate at the Heavenly Treasure Pagoda, where Greenbeard struck him for eating and Tang Wen's blocked qi broke through as he shouted back.
• Greenbeard and the other cultivators said the strike had helped Tang Wen advance, and he thanked Greenbeard by bringing out food and drinks.
• The top-floor cultivators sampled Tang Wen's products, turning the cultivation room into a dining hall.
• Greenbeard said they should repay Tang Wen, and Tang Wen introduced himself, promoted Tang's Sumei Supermarket, and handed out business cards.

Tang Wen received a fused store of cultivation and learned the Heavenly Wood Star-Pegasus Art under Zhuge Ziliang’s guidance. After impressing Zhuge with bulletproof gear, Tang received a family Command Token and promoted his upcoming supermarket to the gathered martial artists.

• Zhuge Ziliang fused the martial artists’ cultivation and transferred it into Tang Wen, then asked them for a Profound-Rank method for him.
• Meng Xiaoxing offered Tang the Heavenly Wood Star-Pegasus Art in exchange for Zhuge setting up a defensive array, and Zhuge guided Tang through the cultivation technique in a Ninefold Seven-Star Unification Grand Array.
• Tang secretly recorded Zhuge’s guidance on his phone and gave him a Bulletproof Vest, which Zhuge tested with a Treasure Sword and rewarded with high-grade spirit stones.
• Tang gave Zhuge pig’s trotters and a bulletproof helmet, and Zhuge accepted the helmet and gave Tang a Zhuge Family Command Token bearing the mark of Fangzhang Mountain.
• Tang told the martial artists they could buy more protective gear at Tang’s Sumei Supermarket when it opened in five days, then advertised its unusual and expensive goods.

Tang Wen visited Heavenly Tears Elder in Black Tortoise City, hoping to gain access to a superior-grade Void Bag and claiming he could cure the artificer's constant tears. After examining him, Tang Wen identified years of exposure to forge heat as the likely cause, but the chapter ended before he treated him.

• Zhuge Ziliang advised Tang Wen to price his Bulletproof Vests highly and told him about Heavenly Tears Elder, an artificer who could make superior-grade Void Bags.
• Tang Wen went to Heavenly Tears Elder's residence with gifts, but Xiang Wu initially refused to let him in.
• Tang Wen claimed he could cure Heavenly Tears Elder and wagered his head, so Xiang Wu carried him into the courtyard.
• Heavenly Tears Elder agreed to let Tang Wen examine him, and Tang Wen used a Small Flashlight Lens to inspect his eyes.
• Tang Wen connected Heavenly Tears Elder's tears to years of exposure to furnace heat while forging artifacts.