Chapter Summaries

Fu Shaoping reached the first level of the Body Tempering Realm and discovered that the Mystic Mandate Codex had given him the fate of punishing the guilty for rewards. After brewing medicine for his mother and accepting Zhou Pan'er’s savings to help him register, he headed for the Hundred Households Office.

• Fu Shaoping broke through to the first level of the Body Tempering Realm, meeting the requirement to join the Martial Suppression Bureau.
• The Mystic Mandate Codex revealed his fate, “Hates Evil Like an Enemy,” and an attribute that seemed to reward him whenever he punished criminals.
• Fu Shaoping decided to test the codex’s power by seeking access to the prison at the Hundred Households Office, though he was unsure whether punishing criminals captured by others would count.
• Fu Shaoping brewed medicine for his mother and helped Zhou Pan'er move her tofu-pudding stall, impressing her with his newfound strength.
• Zhou Pan'er gave Fu Shaoping her savings, which he exchanged for seven taels of silver before setting off for the Hundred Households Office.

Fu Shaoping inherited his late father's Martial Guard position after proving he had reached the Body Tempering Realm, and Junior Banner Officer Ye arranged for him to work in the prison during his probation month. He returned to celebrate with Zhou Pan'er, while the neighbors learned that Poorfolk Alley had a new Martial Guard.

• Fu Shaoping verified his identity and cultivation at the Hundred-Household Office and received his father's Martial Guard number and a new uniform.
• Junior Banner Officer Ye gave Fu Shaoping ten low-grade Origin Stones as compensation for his father's death in the line of duty.
• Fu Shaoping asked to administer punishment in the prison during his first month, and Junior Banner Officer Ye agreed to arrange it with Old Zhan.
• Fu Shaoping left the office and bought food at the River Delicacies Restaurant to celebrate with Zhou Pan'er.
• Uncle Qiu congratulated Fu Shaoping and hurried off to spread the news that Poorfolk Alley had produced a Martial Guard.
• Fu Shaoping helped Zhou Pan'er pack up her tofu stall, and they pushed the handcart toward Wutong Alley.

After Fu Shaoping returned home as a Martial Suppression Guard, Madam Jiang scolded him for risking the dangers that had killed his father, then revealed a buried inheritance from his father. Fu Shaoping discovered the ancient Notes of True Person Gu, which contained valuable cultivation and martial arts techniques.

• Neighbors crowded Fu Shaoping's gate with gifts to congratulate him on becoming a Martial Suppression Guard.
• Madam Jiang angrily rebuked Fu Shaoping for entering the dangerous martial path despite his father's death in the line of duty.
• Madam Jiang directed Fu Shaoping to dig up a sandalwood box buried beneath her bed and gave him its gold key.
• Fu Shaoping opened the box and learned from Madam Jiang that his father had found the Notes of True Person Gu in a hidden cave on Huanglian Mountain.
• Fu Shaoping read the book and found the Mysterious Tortoise Qi-Nourishing Art, the second-grade Ethereal Steps, and the beginning of the Longevity Art.

Fu Shaoping tested the Mystic Mandate Codex by punishing prisoners and gained strength when he castrated a rapist. He then began torturing Chang Xiaotian to learn where abducted women were hidden, leaving the interrogation in progress.

• Fu Shaoping brought tofu pudding to Old Zhan, who allowed him to administer punishments in the prison.
• Fu Shaoping learned that a prisoner had raped a sixty-two-year-old woman who later died by suicide, then castrated him.
• The Mystic Mandate Codex increased Fu Shaoping's Body Tempering Realm progress from 1/100 to 6/100 and granted him a surge of vitality.
• Old Qiu told Fu Shaoping that Chang Xiaotian had abducted women and refused to reveal where they were hidden.
• Fu Shaoping used wet mulberry-bark paper to suffocate Chang Xiaotian during the interrogation.

Fu Shaoping forced Chang Xiaotian to reveal where the abducted women were hidden, gaining merit and increasing his cultivation through the Mystic Mandate Codex. He used Blood Qi Powder and practiced Ethereal Steps, which the Codex recorded as a new skill.

• Fu Shaoping removed the mulberry-bark paper, then reapplied it until Chang Xiaotian confessed that the abducted women were alive in an underground cavern on Autumn Grace Mountain.
• The Mystic Mandate Codex raised Fu Shaoping's cultivation reading to Body Tempering Realm, first level (16/100), and Old Qiu reported Chang Xiaotian's information to Old Zhan.
• Fu Shaoping bought five portions of Blood Qi Powder from Zhuo Tianqi and stored four portions at the Hall of Myriad Treasures.
• Fu Shaoping swallowed one portion of Blood Qi Powder in the Training Hall, raising his cultivation reading to Body Tempering Realm, first level (20/100).
• Fu Shaoping practiced Ethereal Steps until he completed its sequence, and the Mystic Mandate Codex recorded Ethereal Steps: initial grasp (1/100).

Fu Shaoping agreed to give Old Zhan priority in future merit-credit distributions in exchange for Tiger Roar Fist, then followed him to interrogate the imprisoned Old Devil Qin. He proposed a new method for breaking the ninth-level expert’s silence.

• Fu Shaoping found the food and note Zhou Pan'er had left for him before heading to the prison the next morning.
• Old Zhan told Fu Shaoping that the missing women had been found and offered him the origin spirit stones and Tiger Roar Fist in exchange for the merit credit.
• Fu Shaoping agreed to prioritize Old Zhan in future credit distributions, and Old Zhan asked him to interrogate Old Devil Qin for a grade-eight merit credit.
• Old Zhan led Fu Shaoping to the prison’s second level, where Old Devil Qin was chained to an iron bed.
• Fu Shaoping proposed chaining Old Devil Qin’s head beneath a dripping basin of water until he confessed.

Fu Shaoping executed a murderer and gained enough feedback from the killing to break through to the second layer of the Body Tempering Realm. He discovered that the Mystic Mandate Codex could also improve his Ethereal Steps, then entered secluded cultivation to conceal his rapid progress.

• Fu Shaoping spent half a month cultivating and practicing Ethereal Steps, but his progress remained slow as the deadline for reaching the second layer approached.
• Fu Shaoping arrived early for the execution and learned that the condemned man had poisoned seventy-nine people and killed an infant after his former fiancée married someone else.
• Fu Shaoping executed the condemned man, and the red energy from the body lit one of the Mystic Mandate Codex's runes and advanced him to the second layer of the Body Tempering Realm.
• Fu Shaoping saw that the codex had raised his Ethereal Steps progress from 3 to 30, and he suspected its points could improve either cultivation or martial skills.
• Fu Shaoping requested leave, collected two packets of Blood Qi Powder, sent word to his family, and announced that he was entering secluded cultivation.

Fu Shaoping rented a courtyard with a storefront for Zhou Pan'er, but discovered she had left with a mysterious relative. Madam Jiang revealed that Zhou Pan'er had been found as a baby and raised under another girl's identity, leaving Fu Shaoping worried she might leave Green Ox Town for good.

• Fu Shaoping advanced his Tiger Roar Fist to beginner level after ten days of practice.
• Fu Shaoping rented a courtyard with a storefront, intending it to be a new home for his mother and Zhou Pan'er.
• Fu Shaoping found Zhou Pan'er's stall empty and hurried home, where Zhou Xinxiang told him Zhou Pan'er had left with an old woman claiming to be a distant relative.
• Madam Jiang told Fu Shaoping that Zhou Pan'er had been found on a mountain as a baby and raised under Zhou Xinxiang's sister's identity.
• Fu Shaoping wondered whether Zhou Pan'er would leave Green Ox Town for good.

Fu Shaoping and Zhou Pan'er reunited, discovered they could work together to refine Blood Qi Powder, and planned to gather fuel and ingredients for their first attempts. They left the chapter preparing to visit Seven-Mile Mountain and borrow origin stones.

• Fu Shaoping practiced Ethereal Steps through the night and advanced his progress to 50/100.
• Zhou Pan'er returned, and Fu Shaoping learned she had reached the Body Tempering Realm.
• Zhou Pan'er gave Fu Shaoping a pill recipe for Blood Qi Powder, and he proposed gathering clearwood on Seven-Mile Mountain.
• Fu Shaoping planned to borrow origin stones from Uncle Zhan and buy ten sets of ingredients to practice refining Blood Qi Powder.
• As dawn approached, Fu Shaoping offered to take Zhou Pan'er somewhere nice.

Fu Shaoping gained martial and alchemy progress from a prisoner’s confession, earned merits and essence stones, and learned that yin baleful qi enabled a breakthrough to the Earth Origin Realm. The next morning, he and Zhou Pan’er reached Seven-Mile Mountain to gather Granary Wood, and Fu Shaoping went ahead to scout the bear-filled grove.

• Fu Shaoping gave Zhou Pan’er the keys to their new courtyard, and she planned rooms and an Alchemy Chamber.
• The Mystic Fate Mirror advanced Fu Shaoping’s Ethereal Footwork and Blood Qi Powder after a ninth-level Body Tempering prisoner revealed the location of stolen yin baleful qi.
• Old Zhan gave Fu Shaoping eight ninth-grade merits and ten low-grade essence stones, keeping two merits for his own promotion.
• Old Zhan explained that martial artists fused yin baleful qi with primal qi to enter the Earth Origin Realm and gain fifty years of life.
• Fu Shaoping took leave, collected his rewards, and left Green Ox Town with Zhou Pan’er the next morning for Seven-Mile Mountain.
• At the Granary Wood Grove, Fu Shaoping told Zhou Pan’er to wait outside while he scouted ahead.

Fu Shaoping and Zhou Pan'er gathered clearwood from a Granary Bear-inhabited grove, then Fu Shaoping bought herbs for Blood Qi Powder at the Black Market. They returned safely to their new home, where Zhou Pan'er had prepared a space for making the powder.

• Fu Shaoping searched the Granary Wood Grove and found a secluded patch where he and Zhou Pan'er could fell clearwood without encountering Granary Bears.
• Zhou Pan'er and Fu Shaoping felled three clearwood trees and escaped the grove after Fu Shaoping distracted a charging Granary Bear.
• Zhou Pan'er asked to copy Fu Shaoping's Ethereal Steps manual, and he agreed before carrying their clearwood home.
• Fu Shaoping visited the Black Market and bought ten sets of ten-year-old clear-sky grass and sunflower from an old woman.
• Zhou Pan'er met Fu Shaoping at the town gate, and they returned home to find the rear courtyard and cooking room prepared.

After an ordinary pot shattered under Clearwood’s heat, Fu Shaoping rented an alchemy chamber at the Hundred Households Office and began refining Blood Qi Powder. He succeeded on his second furnace and completed all ten batches in three days, improving both his alchemy skill and the powders’ grades.

• Fu Shaoping realized Clearwood required an alchemy furnace and told Zhou Pan'er he would seek one through the Hundred Households Office, while reassuring her that its Earthfire Hall offered rentable chambers and that he would protect her from questions about the recipe.
• Fu Shaoping paid Junior Banner Liu sixty origin shells to use a chamber for three days and ignored Liu’s warning that alchemy was an unlikely pursuit.
• Fu Shaoping’s first attempt failed, but the Mystic Mandate Codex showed his Blood Qi Powder skill had risen to 89/100.
• Fu Shaoping successfully refined Blood Qi Powder on his second furnace, advancing his skill to Novice (20/100).
• Fu Shaoping refined batches for three days, producing Grade C powder on the third furnace, Grade B on the fourth, and Grade A on the fifth and sixth, then finished all ten batches early on the final day.

Fu Shaoping successfully refined nine batches of Blood Qi Powder and turned down Junior Banner Liu’s offer to join the Pill-Refining Hall so he could pursue his duty in the Martial Suppression Bureau. After moving to East Street and sharing some of his powder with Zhou Pan’er, he reported for his assignment, where numerous commandants had gathered to recruit the new guards.

• Fu Shaoping counted his nine successful batches of Blood Qi Powder, noted his increased refining proficiency and expected profit, and left the stone chamber.
• Junior Banner Liu offered to recommend Fu Shaoping to the Pill-Refining Hall, but Fu Shaoping declined, citing his father’s dying wish to vanquish demons and uphold justice.
• Fu Shaoping returned to Wutong Alley, joined the neighbors in moving to East Street, and showed Zhou Pan’er five portions of Blood Qi Powder before persuading her to accept three.
• After a lavish breakfast and a tearful send-off from Madam Jiang and Zhou Pan’er, Fu Shaoping headed to the Hundred Households Office to receive his assignment.
• Fu Shaoping arrived at the Personnel Hall and found it crowded with commandants competing to recruit the new guards.

Fu Shaoping became a full-fledged Martial Suppression Guard and joined Old Zhan’s team after refusing assignments that would require him to face martial artists. He received his new weapon and benefits, while the newly promoted guards were warned that they had to complete a monthly assignment to keep their status.

• Junior Banner Ye announced that commandants and trainee guards would negotiate team assignments, and Fu Shaoping asked to handle criminal cases in the villages around Green Ox Town.
• Most commandants turned away from Fu Shaoping and pursued the veiled guard, while he held firm despite a few attempts to change his mind.
• Old Zhan, newly promoted to commandant, offered Fu Shaoping a place on his team, and Fu Shaoping accepted.
• Junior Banner Ye recorded the new teams, gave the guards Martial Suppression Sabers, and handed each one deeds to farmland.
• Junior Banner Ye explained that full guards received monthly supplies and silver only if they completed one ninth-grade assignment, and that repeated failure would lead to demotion.

Fu Shaoping settled into his new post under Old Zhan while Madam Jiang began arranging his betrothal to Zhou Pan'er. He cultivated and watched Zhou Pan'er improve, then visited the Black Market to sell his Blood Qi Powder and buy more ingredients.

• Old Zhan promised to claim cases involving non-martial artists for Fu Shaoping, and Fu Shaoping assured him he could handle a level-nine mission each month.
• Madam Jiang told Fu Shaoping it was time to formalize his betrothal to Zhou Pan'er, and he agreed to leave the arrangements to her.
• Fu Shaoping taught Zhou Pan'er the thirty-six steps of Ethereal Steps, then consumed Blood Qi Powder and cultivated through the night, reaching 20/100 in the Body Tempering Realm Second Level.
• Fu Shaoping went several days without receiving a mission, so he returned to the Black Market after ten days to meet the old medicine seller.
• Fu Shaoping told the old woman he had succeeded with five batches and showed her one Grade C packet and one Grade B packet of Blood Qi Powder.

After trading for more alchemy ingredients, Fu Shaoping was summoned with Zhou Pan'er to investigate Qiu Gui, a villager found drowned in the river. The evidence left the death uncertain, and Fu Shaoping began questioning what Qiu Gui had gone to town to do.

• Fu Shaoping agreed to trade Blood Qi Powder to the old woman for medicinal ingredients and bought five additional sets.
• Zhou Pan'er told Fu Shaoping that Lord Zhan had assigned them to investigate a floating corpse in Yellow Creek Village.
• Fu Shaoping and Zhou Pan'er traveled by carriage to the village, where Fu Shaoping asked Zhou Pan'er to watch the villagers while he examined the scene.
• Village Chief Huang explained that Qiu Gui had gone to town the previous day and was found dead in the river by Zhang Chuanfu.
• Fu Shaoping found no visible injuries but smelled alcohol on Qiu Gui, while Elderly Madam Qiu said her son had been withdrawn and had no recent disputes.
• Fu Shaoping asked Elderly Madam Qiu what Qiu Gui had gone into town for.

Fu Shaoping investigated Qiu Gui’s death in Yellow Creek Village and caught Gui Shan, who had murdered him for a pair of silver hairpins. After returning Gui Shan to town and reporting the case, Fu Shaoping received his reward, and Old Zhan was reassured that their squad could meet its monthly mission quota.

• Elderly Madam Qiu explained that she had sent Qiu Gui into town to buy a ewe and pawn her silver hairpins, but the hairpins were missing from his body.
• Fu Shaoping searched upstream, claimed to have found two sets of footprints, and instructed Village Chief Huang to gather the villagers for comparison.
• Zhou Pan'er spotted a fugitive fleeing up the mountain, and she and Fu Shaoping stopped and captured Gui Shan.
• Fu Shaoping found Elderly Madam Qiu’s silver hairpins on Gui Shan, who confessed to nothing, and bound him for the journey back to town.
• Village Chief Huang and Elderly Madam Qiu thanked Fu Shaoping with poultry, and Fu Shaoping gave Elderly Madam Qiu a piece of silver.
• Fu Shaoping delivered Gui Shan to the jail, obtained his confession, and reported the completed mission to Old Zhan, who handed him the reward.

After earning rewards for capturing Yang Shan, Fu Shaoping trained Ethereal Steps by repeatedly fleeing Granary Bears on Seven-Mile Mountain, reaching minor mastery alongside Zhou Pan'er. He returned to the Earthfire Hall and learned he could now use its chamber without limits or fees.

• Old Zhan gave Fu Shaoping the mission rewards and agreed to arrange for him to wield the execution blade against Yang Shan.
• Fu Shaoping and Zhou Pan'er went to Seven-Mile Mountain to harvest granary wood and discovered that escaping the Granary Bears improved their Ethereal Steps.
• For five days, Fu Shaoping and Zhou Pan'er repeatedly ran from the bears until a powerful roar from deep in the mountain drove them to retreat.
• Fu Shaoping's Ethereal Steps reached minor mastery, as did Zhou Pan'er's, and the two returned with several cartloads of granary wood.
• Junior Banner Liu told Fu Shaoping that he could use the Earthfire Chamber whenever he liked without paying a mission fee.

Fu Shaoping advanced his Blood Qi Powder refining and cultivation during ten days of seclusion, then executed Yang Shan at the Meridian Gate. He returned to his duties after a clean beheading, with Old Zhan waiting to explain a new mission.

• Fu Shaoping refined seventeen batches of Blood Qi Powder, producing seven Grade A portions and raising his proficiency to 30/100.
• Junior Banner Liu asked Fu Shaoping to make Grade A Blood Qi Powder for his son, and Fu Shaoping agreed.
• Fu Shaoping took eight packets of Blood Qi Powder, raising his cultivation progress to 65/100, and planned to trade supplies for more ingredients.
• Old Zhan told Fu Shaoping that Yang Shan’s execution had been arranged and asked him to return afterward to hear about a new mission.
• Fu Shaoping beheaded Yang Shan at the Meridian Gate with one swift strike, then left as the spectators praised his blade work.

Fu Shaoping advanced to the third layer of the Body Tempering Realm after executing Yang Shan, then learned that a powerful Half-Beast had massacred villagers in nearby Dakui Village. He prepared to search Yellow Creek Village with Old Zhan, hoping to avoid danger, while Zhou Pan'er feared for his safety.

• Fu Shaoping absorbed energy from Yang Shan's corpse, advanced to the third layer of the Body Tempering Realm, and lit the second rune around the Mystic Mandate Codex.
• Old Zhan told Fu Shaoping that a Half-Beast had slaughtered nearly a hundred people in Dakui Village and that their team had been ordered to search Yellow Creek Village.
• Old Zhan explained the rewards for finding clues about the Half-Beast and warned that it was estimated to be at the ninth layer of the Body Tempering Realm.
• Fu Shaoping asked to go home before setting out, and Old Zhan agreed to send a carriage for him in an hour.
• Fu Shaoping saw townspeople flee the streets over fears of the Half-Beast and reassured Zhou Pan'er that he and Old Zhan would only search Yellow Creek Village and return.