Chapter Summaries

Wei Sheng subdued the newly evolved Silver-Sand Carp King, rescued Chen Dahe and his companions, then took the fish outside Black Mountain City to prepare it for a meal. As he began roasting it, a stranger warned that eating its transformed flesh could infect him with killing intent.

• The Silver-Sand Carp King evolved, killed the remaining Azure Dragon Hall disciples on the boat, and charged Wei Sheng.
• Wei Sheng used a powerful body-expanding technique to knock the Carp King unconscious with one blow, then carried it and Chen Dahe and his companions back across the water.
• Gu Diao urged the Wind and Cloud Hall experts to flee, while Wei Sheng let them go and traveled downstream with the Carp King.
• Worried its aura would draw Azure Dragon Hall to White Crane Martial Arts Hall, Wei Sheng went to a barren hill outside the city to prepare the fish.
• After Wei Sheng removed the Carp King's scales and barbels, a stranger emerged from the darkness and warned him not to eat its flesh.

Wei Sheng encountered Gang Leader Yu, who prepared the demonized Silver-Sand Carp King and used its essence blood to help Wei Sheng refine his body. After reaching the sixth gate of Golden Bell Shield, Wei Sheng woke to find Yu gone with most of the fish, though he had left Wei Sheng several treasures and a message.

• Wei Sheng tested the gray-robed fisherman's strength, recognized him as Gang Leader Yu, and bowed to him.
• Gang Leader Yu drained the Carp King's blood, extracted its sinew for Wei Sheng, and prepared a feast from the fish.
• Gang Leader Yu sealed the Carp King's essence blood in a force net and had Wei Sheng enter it to refine his body with Golden Bell Shield.
• Wei Sheng used three Dao Origin points to advance Golden Bell Shield to sixth-gate perfection.
• Wei Sheng woke at dawn to find Gang Leader Yu and most of the Carp King gone, with the sinew, scales, fish steaks, and a message left behind.

Wei Sheng returned to Black Mountain City after breaking through to the sixth stage of the Golden Bell Shield and brought his fish catch to Fang Heting. Fang recognized Yu Qianji’s Thousand Mechanism Qi Force on the fish, leaving Wei Sheng’s gift tied to Old Yu’s involvement.

• Wei Sheng admired his strengthened Golden Bell Shield, packed his catch, and returned to Black Mountain City after avoiding Azure Dragon Hall members searching near Lost Soul Bay.
• Wei Sheng reassured Wei He and Jiang Liuchuan that he was safe, then decided to give his fish to Fang Heting and seek a tendon-refining method.
• Wu Qingman invited Wei Sheng to a gathering at the Drunken Immortal Tower, and he agreed to attend the next day.
• Wei Sheng presented the Silver-Sand Carp to Fang Heting, who recognized Yu Qianji’s Thousand Mechanism Qi Force on it.

Wei Sheng revealed that he had cultivated the Flesh Body Palace, and Fang Heting accepted him as the sole True Disciple of the Clear-Crane Lineage. Wei Sheng persuaded Fang Heting to delay the apprenticeship ceremony, then received the Clear-Crane Tendon-Refining Method.

• Fang Heting deduced that Wei Sheng had cultivated the Flesh Body Palace and used True Intention to test him.
• Fang Heting explained True Intention and declared Wei Sheng his sole True Disciple, predicting his future rise.
• Wei Sheng refused a public apprenticeship ceremony, warning that attention could endanger him and Wei He.
• Fang Heting agreed to hold the ceremony in two months, then heard Wei Sheng's account of the events at Lost Soul Bay and cursed Yu Qianji.
• Fang Heting celebrated Wei Sheng's talent and vowed to restore the Tianshui Clear Crane Sect, while Wei Sheng left with the Clear-Crane Tendon-Refining Method.

Wei Sheng began training the Clear-Crane Tendon-Refining Method and discovered that the Silver-Sand Carp King Tendon helped him recover between sessions. He attended a banquet at the Drunken Immortal Tower, where Liu Zi'e asked about an incident at Lost Soul Bay, leaving him poised to hear what happened.

• Wei Sheng practiced the Clear-Crane Tendon-Refining Method and realized that his major tendons needed protection from overtraining.
• Wei Sheng cooked and ate the Silver-Sand Carp King Tendon, which restored his strength enough for him to practice again.
• Wei Sheng went to the Drunken Immortal Tower with Lin Wuyang and met Wu Qingman, Head Constable Dong Yue, and Liu Zi'e.
• Wei Sheng ate and drank with the group as they discussed events in Black Mountain City.
• Liu Zi'e asked whether Wei Sheng had heard about what happened at Lost Soul Bay the previous night.

At a banquet, Wei Sheng listened as the guests discussed the Silver-Sand Carp King, the White Lotus Cult’s outbreak in Gaolin City, and Black Mountain’s incoming county commandant. He then used Wu Qingman’s merchant-alliance token to buy tendon-tempering pills and stopped to inspect a remarkable suit of armor.

• Suo Huan and the others discussed Azure Dragon Hall’s failed attempt to capture the Silver-Sand Carp King and speculated about who killed Chu Dongjiao, while Wei Sheng kept quiet about his own involvement.
• Liu Zi'e revealed that the White Lotus Cult had infected much of Gaolin City’s Outer City with Flesh-and-Blood Gu, and said Black Mountain’s new county commandant would arrive soon.
• After the banquet, Wu Qingman gave Wei Sheng a Wu Family Merchant Alliance token that entitled him to a ten-percent discount at its shops.
• Wei Sheng disguised himself and bought two Leopard Fetus Tendon-Renewing Pills for eighteen hundred taels after the discount.
• As Wei Sheng was leaving the shop, he noticed a suit of Hundred Refinements Armor and heard that it could let a seven-refinements expert withstand a blow from a ten-refinements expert.

Wei Sheng sold the Silver-Sand Carp King’s scales to buy Leopard Fetus Sinew-Transforming Pills and went to Fish Scale Pavilion to meet Old Yu. There, he found the second floor open and discovered that Old Yu was offering him access to rare tendon-refining martial arts in exchange for a favor.

• Wei Sheng realized that his tendon-refining practice would consume one Leopard Fetus Sinew-Transforming Pill every five days, leaving him short of money.
• Wei Sheng sold the Silver-Sand Carp King’s scales to Qian Tu at the Wu family shop for five thousand taels and used the money to buy seven pills.
• Wei Sheng disguised himself and went to the Yu Residence to meet Old Yu, where an enormous Azure-Scaled Eagle watched him from the roof of Fish Scale Pavilion.
• Wei Sheng entered the newly opened second floor and found rare tendon-refining manuals, including martial arts associated with other schools.
• Old Yu offered to teach Wei Sheng the manuals, and Wei Sheng asked what the gang leader wanted him to do.

Old Man Yu tasked Wei Sheng with returning a dangerous Flesh-and-Blood Plague Token to the White Lotus Cult’s Bodhisattva Temple, offering three martial arts manuals in exchange. Wei Sheng took two manuals, but learned he had only one month to complete the mission before the Gu inside the token could devour him.

• Old Man Yu revealed that he had swapped the Eldest Master of the Hong Family’s jade token for a Red Lotus Jade Token, and identified the blood-colored token as a Flesh-and-Blood Plague Token containing a potent Gu.
• Old Man Yu ordered Wei Sheng to place the token beneath the Guanyin statue at the Bodhisattva Temple, a White Lotus Cult stronghold guarded by a Ten Refinements expert and many fighters.
• Wei Sheng bargained for three martial arts manuals as payment and selected the Shadow-Following Skill and Great Strength Bull Demon Palm as advance rewards.
• Old Man Yu warned Wei Sheng that the seal on the token would last only a month and that the Gu would devour him if he failed to deliver it in time.

Wei Sheng mastered the Shadow-Following Skill and Great Strength Bull Demon Palm, merging his movement techniques into the Wild Goose Shadow Art and gaining Bull-Demon Palm Force. With four days left before he had to return the Flesh-and-Blood Gu token to Bodhisattva Temple, he set out to pursue old grudges and disguised himself as Sang Qi.

• Wei Sheng practiced martial arts while Wu Qingman learned that the mysterious Silver-Sand Carp King hunter had traded scales at her shop and ordered Shopkeeper Qian to watch for him.
• Wei Sheng merged the Golden Goose Art with the Shadow-Following Skill to create the Wild Goose Shadow Art, which produced four phantom images but rapidly drained his internal force.
• Wei Sheng used the Dao Origin to perfect the Great Strength Bull Demon Palm and comprehend Bull-Demon Palm Force, giving him a palm strike powerful enough to kill someone at Ten Refinements once before exhausting his internal force.
• Wei Sheng decided to use the Flesh-and-Blood Gu token to draw out the White Lotus Envoy and went to find Jiang Liuchuan, who told him he was hunting Sang Qi.
• Wei Sheng learned Sang Qi's appearance, then left the martial arts hall disguised as Sang Qi.

Wei Sheng disguised himself as Sang Qi to draw Black Mountain City's factions into pursuing him to the Bodhisattva Temple. The White Lotus Envoy realized the temple held both his cult's members and the Flesh-and-Blood Gu Token, then rushed inside as fighting broke out.

• Dong Yue and Zhang Tie heard that Sang Qi had been spotted and left to pursue him, while Liu Zi'e and other city factions sent experts after him.
• Wei Sheng fled in disguise, drawing more than fifty pursuers before losing his way and heading toward the Bodhisattva Temple.
• Zhang Tie, Dong Yue, and a small group of powerful pursuers followed Wei Sheng to the temple, where a monk claimed to have caught Sang Qi and found the Grandmaster Secret Cache.
• The White Lotus Envoy feared the pursuers would discover the temple was a White Lotus Cult base and initially stayed outside.
• The Sacred Lotus Fragment in the White Lotus Envoy's sachet glowed, revealing that the Flesh-and-Blood Gu Token was inside the temple, and he rushed in to seize it.

Wei Sheng planted the Flesh-and-Blood Gu Plaque in Bodhisattva Temple and tricked the city’s experts into attacking the White Lotus Cult. The wounded White Lotus Envoy escaped with the plaque, only to face a colossal palm descending from the sky.

• Wei Sheng slipped into Bodhisattva Temple and wedged the Flesh-and-Blood Gu Plaque into the Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva’s lotus pedestal.
• Wei Sheng lured the abbot into seizing the plaque, then shouted that the abbot had stolen the Grandmaster Secret Cache as Black Mountain City’s experts stormed the temple.
• Wei Sheng blamed the abbot, drawing the experts into a fight, then called the masked White Lotus Envoy into the fray before vanishing.
• Black Tiger broke the White Lotus Envoy’s mask, and Wei Sheng hid outside the burning temple to wait for him to escape.
• The White Lotus Envoy escaped with the Flesh-and-Blood Gu Plaque and vowed revenge, but a colossal palm descended toward him.

Wei Sheng ambushed and killed the White Lotus Envoy, then discovered a Red Lotus True Intention Diagram among his spoils. After learning that the Thunderclap Martial Arts Hall posed a threat, Wei Sheng acquired new techniques and spent a month training, bringing the Clear-Crane Tendon-Refining Method to beginner proficiency.

• Wei Sheng used Bull-Demon Palm Force to cripple the White Lotus Envoy, then stomped his head apart when he tried to flee.
• Wei Sheng searched the corpse and found the Flesh-and-Blood Gu Token, pills, money, the Old Mother Thinks of You Palm, and a Red Lotus True Intention Diagram that expelled impurities from his body.
• Jiang Liuchuan told Wei Sheng that the White Lotus Cult had been wiped out and warned him to be careful around disciples of the Thunderclap Martial Arts Hall.
• Wei Sheng returned the Flesh-and-Blood Gu Token to Old Yu and chose the Thunderbolt Hand, then asked Fang Heting for the Breath Concealment Art.
• Wei Sheng trained by day and night for a month, raising the Clear-Crane Tendon-Refining Method to beginner proficiency.

Wei Sheng perfected the Clear-Crane Tendon-Refining Method and the Breath Concealment Art, then attended the banquet where Fang Heting formally named him the White Crane Martial Arts Hall’s sole true disciple. As Fang Heting announced the appointment, a mocking voice interrupted the gathering.

• Wei Sheng completed the ninth refinement, gaining twenty-one thousand jin of strength, and hid his cultivation at the peak of six refinements with the perfected Breath Concealment Art.
• Fang Heting told his personal disciples that he had chosen Wei Sheng as his true disciple and ordered Wu Qingman to arrange a banquet at the Drunken Immortal Tower.
• Jiang Liuchuan warned Fang Heting that publicly announcing Wei Sheng’s status could make him a target, but Fang Heting dismissed the concern.
• News of Wei Sheng’s appointment spread through Black Mountain City, and Hong Chengyuan connected Wei Sheng to his suspicions about Hong Chengdu’s death.
• Wei Sheng arrived at the banquet, greeted the gathered guests, and offered tea to Fang Heting as part of the formal apprenticeship ceremony.
• Fang Heting began announcing Wei Sheng as his sole true disciple, but a mocking voice interrupted him from outside the hall.

Lei Ben and Wen Tailai disrupted the White Crane Martial Arts Hall’s banquet, and Wen defeated the injured Jiang Liuchuan before challenging Wei Sheng. Wei Sheng accepted and, after driving Wen back with one strike, agreed to fight using the White Crane Fist; he then revealed a massive, blue-black transformation as he launched his next attack.

• Lei Ben arrived uninvited with Wen Tailai and the Thunderbolt Martial Arts School disciples, then watched as Wen challenged Jiang Liuchuan to their long-standing wagered duel.
• Wen exploited Jiang Liuchuan’s injuries from the Bodhisattva Temple battle, defeated him, and mocked the White Crane Martial Arts Hall.
• Wen challenged Wei Sheng, and Fang Heting accepted on his disciple’s behalf; Wei promised to defeat Wen within three moves.
• Wei sent Wen staggering with a single knife-hand strike, then agreed to use the White Crane Fist after Wen questioned whether he had used the hall’s martial arts.
• Wei’s body expanded to two meters and turned blue-black as he brought a powerful palm down toward Wen.

Wei Sheng defeated Wen Tailai in three moves after revealing his Flesh Body Palace, then received gifts from his fellow disciples and Fang Heting. After moving plans and practicing the Flood Dragon Tendon Refinement Method, he was summoned to learn the White Crane Sect’s true inheritance.

• Wei Sheng used his Flesh Body Palace and White Crane Fist to defeat Wen Tailai in three moves, humiliating the Thunderbolt Martial Arts School.
• Lei Ben led the Thunderbolt Martial Arts School away, while other guests congratulated Fang Heting and tried to recruit or befriend Wei Sheng.
• One-Ear and the Black Wind Stronghold leaders discussed stealing the Spirit Flood Dragon Ganoderma from the Lin Family’s Precious Ganoderma Hall to help Second Brother reach Twelve Refinements.
• Wei Sheng considered how to improve his major tendons, then accepted a residence deed from Du Zhongxing, Refining Edge from Jiang Liuchuan, and other gifts from his fellow disciples.
• Wei Sheng planned to move into the Inner City residence with Wei He, and Fang Heting gave him two profitable businesses to manage.
• Fang Heting told Wei Sheng that, as the White Crane Sect’s sole True Disciple, he was ready to learn the Clear Crane Lineage’s true inheritance.

Wei Sheng learned the Clear-Crane True Intention Diagram and began training in the lineage’s Crane Shadow Floating in the Sky before moving into Su Garden with Wei He. After perfecting the Old Mother Thinks of You Palm, he went to Precious Ganoderma Hall to take the Spirit Flood Dragon Ganoderma, where he confronted a group of masked thieves fleeing with it.

• Fang Heting showed Wei Sheng the Clear-Crane True Intention Diagram, allowed him to study it every three days, and taught him the Crane Shadow Floating in the Sky fist technique.
• Wei Sheng moved with Wei He into Su Garden, where Su Chan welcomed them and showed them the residence’s training ground.
• After struggling to advance his new techniques, Wei Sheng used five Dao Origin points to raise the Old Mother Thinks of You Palm to Perfection.
• Wei Sheng disguised himself as Sang Qi and headed to Precious Ganoderma Hall to obtain the Spirit Flood Dragon Ganoderma.
• Lin Xianzhi fought five masked intruders while four escaped with the ganoderma; the fugitives wounded Dong Yue and fled when he tricked them into thinking he would sacrifice himself.
• Wei Sheng appeared on a rooftop before the four thieves and demanded that they put down his Spirit Flood Dragon Ganoderma.

Wei Sheng killed four Black Mountain bandits, took the Spirit Flood Dragon Ganoderma, and discovered it eased his Flood Dragon Tendon Refinement Method practice. After several days of training at home, he was visited by Che Zhenzhong, who returned with news about searching for Wei Sheng’s parents in Sishui Prefecture.

• Wei Sheng killed Thirteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, and Fourteen, then took the Spirit Flood Dragon Ganoderma and their belongings.
• One-Ear found the four dead bandits and fled Black Mountain City, while Wang Wu and Dong Yue investigated the killings and ordered a citywide search for the missing ganoderma.
• Wei Sheng tested the Spirit Flood Dragon Ganoderma and found that it removed the pain of practicing the Flood Dragon Tendon Refinement Method.
• Wei Sheng trained at home as the theft and deaths stirred Black Mountain City’s factions and prompted Wang Wu to lead a search.
• Che Zhenzhong returned from Sishui Prefecture and visited Wei Sheng to discuss the search for Wei Sheng’s parents.

Wei Sheng learned that his parents were alive but trapped in corvée labor in Sishui Prefecture, while Old Yu opened a contest for the Fish-Dragon Gang’s vacant External Affairs Envoy post. Wei Sheng perfected the Flood Dragon Tendon Refinement Method and reached the middle stage of the Ninth Refinement before receiving an invitation from Black Tiger Hall Master.

• Che Zhenzhong told Wei Sheng that his mother was assigned to palace construction and his father to canal digging, and Wei Sheng offered him money and asked how he could free them.
• Che Zhenzhong explained that the Fish-Dragon Gang could use its Sishui Prefecture connections, but Wei Sheng set aside the idea of asking Fang Heting and resumed training.
• Yu Qianji heard that Black Mountain Bandits had killed Ding Yuanqi and thirty-five men while stealing Black Iron, then announced an open selection for the External Affairs Envoy post.
• Wei Sheng spent all ten Dao Origin points and his remaining spirit flood dragon ganoderma to perfect the Flood Dragon Tendon Refinement Method, reaching the middle stage of the Ninth Refinement.
• A messenger from Black Tiger Hall Master invited Wei Sheng to Weiyuan Hall to discuss matters.

Wei Sheng entered the Fish-Dragon Gang’s External Affairs Envoy selection, hoping to gain access to the gang’s government connections and Fish Scale Pavilion. At the selection, he revealed that he had reached Seven Refinements, then faced objections from other leaders before Yu Qianji ordered the candidates to settle the dispute through strength.

• Black Tiger told Wei Sheng that becoming External Affairs Envoy could help him free his parents from corvée labor, but only someone of hall-master rank could use the gang’s government connection.
• Wei Sheng announced that he had reached Seven Refinements and demonstrated his strength to a stunned Black Tiger.
• Three days later, Wei Sheng arrived at the selection in the Yu Residence, where the four halls presented eight candidates, including Wei Sheng, Li Fenghua, Gongsun Bao, and several other deputy hall masters and Tiger Generals.
• Gongsun Bao, Dapeng, and Hu Rong objected to Wei Sheng’s participation, while Black Tiger defended him and cited the gang leader’s eligibility rule.
• Du Wanfeng asked Yu Qianji to decide the dispute, and Yu Qianji ordered everyone to let strength determine the matter.

Wei Sheng defeated Wan Kui through his movement technique, then revealed his true strength by defeating Gongsun Bao with one saber strike. The selection for External Affairs Envoy ended with the crowd stunned by Wei Sheng’s seven-refinements cultivation and perfected Tiger-Howling Saber Technique.

• Wei Sheng evaded Wan Kui’s attacks until Wan Kui unleashed his ultimate move, then humiliated him with taunts that made him faint.
• Gongsun Bao defeated Wang Zhong and Li Fenghua, then revealed that he had reached Nine Refinements.
• Wei Sheng offered Gongsun Bao time to recover and declared that one saber strike would decide their fight.
• Wei Sheng vanished from view and struck Gongsun Bao, shattering his Claw Saber and leaving him unable to stand.
• The onlookers realized Wei Sheng had reached Seven Refinements and perfected the Tiger-Howling Saber Technique.