Chapter Summaries

Huang Xiao and Huo Lian infiltrated the Fierce Mountain Gang and overheard its leaders discussing the missing Fifth Grand Elder and the Wild Ox Sect. They discovered Wang Xiongshan was meeting with his elders and deputies, then learned the gang had heard that the Wild Ox Sect's new leaders were successors of Kui Yong.

• Huang Xiao and Huo Lian overheard the Third and Fourth Grand Elders suspecting the Wild Ox Sect might know what happened to Fifth, though they had no evidence.
• Huang Xiao and Huo Lian followed the two Grand Elders into the gang's inner grounds and listened from the roof.
• Huang Xiao sensed that Wang Xiongshan's strength was at least Upper Ancient Realm late stage and might reach Upper Ancient Realm peak.
• Wang Xiongshan told the assembled leaders that the Wild Ox Sect's new Sect Master and Deputy Sect Master were reportedly successors of Kui Yong, prompting the others to react with shock and skepticism.

Wang Xiongshan discussed the Wild Ox Sect leaders’ claim that they had inherited Kui Yong’s techniques and sent the First Deputy Gang Leader to investigate. Huang Xiao and Huo Lian revealed themselves to Wang Xiongshan, who recognized them as the new Sect Master and Deputy Sect Master and warned that people who acted so boldly did not live long.

• Wang Xiongshan told the Fierce Mountain Gang elders that the Wild Ox Sect leaders had claimed Kui Yong’s inheritance, though it was unclear whether they had obtained his exceptional techniques.
• Wang Xiongshan assigned the First Deputy Gang Leader to investigate Huang Xiao and Huo Lian, warning him to prioritize his life if danger arose.
• Wang Xiongshan ordered the Second Deputy Gang Leader to focus on gathering information and obtaining the pair’s cultivation methods and treasures before news spread widely.
• After dismissing his subordinates, Wang Xiongshan sensed Huang Xiao and Huo Lian hiding on the roof and invited them inside.
• Huang Xiao and Huo Lian admitted they were the Wild Ox Sect’s new Sect Master and Deputy Sect Master, and Wang Xiongshan warned that people like them did not live long.

Huang Xiao and Huo Lian confronted Wang Xiongshan in the Fierce Mountain Gang and uncovered his hidden strength and interest in Kui Yong’s cultivation methods. Wang Xiongshan offered them a chance to surrender the inheritance, but Huang Xiao chose to fight him alone.

• Huo Lian and Huang Xiao deduced that Wang Xiongshan had advanced far beyond the upper ancient realm, and Wang Xiongshan admitted they had detected his strength.
• Wang Xiongshan questioned whether Huang Xiao and Huo Lian were truly Kui Yong’s successors after noticing Huang Xiao had spoken of Kui Yong without respect.
• Huo Lian revealed that a Soundproof Formation prevented the gang members outside from hearing them, and Wang Xiongshan offered the pair deputy leadership positions.
• Wang Xiongshan proposed sparing their lives in exchange for Kui Yong’s cultivation methods, and Huang Xiao and Huo Lian appeared to accept the wager.
• Huang Xiao volunteered to fight Wang Xiongshan alone, who estimated that Huang Xiao had reached at least the void realm late stage.

Huang Xiao fought Wang Xiongshan inside the Fierce Mountain Gang, matching the chief’s powerful Bear Fist with his Heavenly Demon Subduing Tiger Fist. The gang’s disciples and elders gathered to watch as the battle continued, with Huang Xiao showing no sign of defeat.

• Huang Xiao challenged Wang Xiongshan to fight, and Wang Xiongshan raised his fists and accepted.
• Huang Xiao kicked a chair at Wang Xiongshan, who smashed it and blasted down a wall with his fist.
• The Fierce Mountain Gang’s disciples and elders rushed to the ruins, but Wang Xiongshan’s order kept them from intervening.
• Huang Xiao and Wang Xiongshan exchanged powerful punches and retreated evenly, impressing the onlookers.
• Huang Xiao used his refined Heavenly Demon Subduing Tiger Fist against Wang Xiongshan’s Bear Fist as the gang watched their fight continue.

Huang Xiao fought Wang Xiongshan as both revealed their Upper Ancient Realm strength, and Wang Xiongshan used hidden divine weapon fist gauntlets to contend with the Minghong Saber. The fight continued with neither side gaining a decisive advantage.

• Wang Xiongshan cleared the Fierce Mountain Gang disciples from the ruins so he could fight Huang Xiao and Huo Lian without exposing his strength.
• Huang Xiao revealed that he had reached the Upper Ancient Realm, then raised his power through Middle Stage, Late Stage, and Peak as he fought Wang Xiongshan.
• Wang Xiongshan matched Huang Xiao at Upper Ancient Realm Peak and struck him with a powerful fist force that made Huang Xiao draw the Minghong Saber.
• Wang Xiongshan met the Minghong Saber with transparent divine weapon fist gauntlets and trapped its blade between his hands.
• Huang Xiao dismissed Wang Xiongshan's gauntlets and mocked his Vajra Fist as the battle continued.

Huang Xiao and Wang Xiongshan fought as both revealed strength at the primordial ancient realm, leaving Huo Lian to join the battle. Wang Xiongshan then unleashed an even more powerful aura against Huang Xiao, whose source remained unclear.

• Huang Xiao clashed with Wang Xiongshan, while Huo Lian suspected Wang Xiongshan had hidden his true strength to protect his fortuitous encounters.
• Wang Xiongshan and Huang Xiao both raised their strength to the early primordial ancient realm and retreated in surprise.
• Huo Lian proposed that he and Huang Xiao finish Wang Xiongshan together, and Wang Xiongshan lunged at Huang Xiao before Huo Lian could act.
• Huang Xiao met Wang Xiongshan's fist gauntlets with the Minghong Saber and felt a powerful, unfamiliar aura surge from him.

Huo Lian and Huang Xiao fought Wang Xiongshan, whose unexpectedly powerful fist techniques forced Huang Xiao back but failed to overcome Huo Lian’s skill. As the battle continued, Huang Xiao realized Wang Xiongshan’s fist force was being enhanced by a secret art.

• Wang Xiongshan drove Huang Xiao back, then targeted Huo Lian, whom he considered the weaker opponent.
• Huo Lian dodged every stream of fist force from Wang Xiongshan’s attack and countered with Dragon Fang without revealing its divine-weapon aura.
• Huo Lian assessed Wang Xiongshan’s strength and found his moves crude despite their unusual power.
• Huang Xiao noticed Wang Xiongshan’s fist force seemed ordinary yet struck with great speed and strength, and suspected a secret art was assisting his Vajra Fist.

Huang Xiao and Huo Lian pushed Wang Xiongshan into a losing fight, forcing him to abandon his plans and try to escape. As Wang Xiongshan attacked Huo Lian, an astonishing aura erupted from Dragon Fang.

• Huang Xiao and Wang Xiongshan fought at full strength while Huo Lian supported Huang Xiao and disrupted Wang Xiongshan’s attacks.
• Wang Xiongshan’s injuries accumulated as Huang Xiao recovered quickly, and Wang Xiongshan decided to flee rather than risk defeat.
• Huo Lian repeatedly blocked Wang Xiongshan’s attempts to escape, while Huang Xiao sent him flying with a slash.
• Wang Xiongshan charged at Huo Lian again, believing the old man had exhausted his defensive tricks.
• Huo Lian raised Dragon Fang to block Wang Xiongshan’s fists, and an astonishing aura erupted from the saber.

Huang Xiao and Huo Lian defeated and killed Wang Xiongshan after Huo Lian’s Dragon Fang revealed itself as a Divine Weapon. Huang Xiao recovered from a severe wound, and the two decided to search Wang Xiongshan’s secrets and consider taking over the Fierce Mountain Gang.

• Dragon Fang erupted as a Divine Weapon, and Huo Lian used it to fend off Wang Xiongshan’s attacks while Huang Xiao closed in.
• Wang Xiongshan’s strange final punch badly wounded Huang Xiao, but Huang Xiao severed Wang Xiongshan’s left arm with the Minghong Saber.
• Huo Lian beheaded Wang Xiongshan and took his Fist Gauntlets while Huang Xiao sat down to recover.
• Huang Xiao regained enough strength to stand, and Huo Lian suggested searching Wang Xiongshan’s secrets instead of leaving at once.
• Huo Lian pointed out the Fierce Mountain Gang’s wealth, and Huang Xiao asked whether they should take over the gang.

After killing Wang Xiongshan, Huo Lian and Huang Xiao took control of the Fierce Mountain Gang and searched for the secrets in Wang Xiongshan’s secluded chamber. The gang’s elders accepted their new masters and anticipated that the change would strengthen the gang.

• Huo Lian and Huang Xiao subdued the Fierce Mountain Gang’s two Deputy Gang Leaders and senior elders, then demanded to know whether they wanted to live or die.
• The First Deputy Gang Leader and the others pledged obedience, and Huo Lian placed hidden force in their bodies to keep them under control.
• Huo Lian ordered the leaders to summon the remaining elders, bringing the Fierce Mountain Gang’s senior members under his command.
• The First Deputy Gang Leader told Huo Lian and Huang Xiao that Wang Xiongshan’s seclusion chamber might hold his cultivation methods and treasures.
• Huo Lian broke through the formations protecting the chamber and entered it with Huang Xiao, while the elders discussed how their new leaders might increase the gang’s influence.

Huang Xiao and Huo Lian discovered a hidden copy of the Treatise on Seeking the Dao in Wang Xiongshan’s secret chamber and suspected it explained his extraordinary fist techniques. They decided to keep the manual’s existence secret while trying to understand its teachings.

• Huang Xiao and Huo Lian searched Wang Xiongshan’s secret chamber but found only ordinary cultivation methods among its treasures.
• Huang Xiao detected a formation hidden in a wall, and Huo Lian broke the formation protecting a small wooden box.
• Huang Xiao and Huo Lian opened the box and found a manual titled Treatise on Seeking the Dao.
• Huang Xiao and Huo Lian read the manual and reasoned that it taught people to approach the ultimate limits of different Daos.
• Huang Xiao and Huo Lian concluded that Wang Xiongshan’s understanding of the Fist Technique Dao had strengthened his techniques and agreed to conceal the manual.

Huo Lian and Huang Xiao memorized the Treatise on Seeking the Dao, destroyed the manual, and wondered whether it had further parts. After finding nothing else in the secret chamber, they emerged and Huang Xiao took command of the Fierce Mountain Gang while its members remained under Huo Lian's control.

• Huo Lian destroyed the Treatise on Seeking the Dao after Huang Xiao confirmed he had memorized its contents.
• Huo Lian and Huang Xiao speculated that the Treatise on Seeking the Dao might have further parts, then searched the chamber and found nothing else of value.
• Huo Lian tested the waiting Elders, Grand Elders, and Deputy Gang Leaders, and they learned he and Huang Xiao were the new leaders of the Wild Ox Sect.
• Huo Lian said the Fierce Mountain Gang would not merge into the Wild Ox Sect for now.
• Huo Lian identified himself as the Wild Ox Sect's Sect Master, and Huang Xiao accepted the position of Chief of the Fierce Mountain Gang.

Huang Xiao and Huo Lian learned that the Fierce Mountain Gang raised tributes from the sects beneath it to meet the Soul-Reaping Sect’s increased demands. After hearing about the Soul-Reaping Sect and its leader Zhuo Mengshen, Huang Xiao decided the Fierce Mountain Gang should submit and avoid provoking it.

• The First Deputy Gang Leader told Huang Xiao that the Fierce Mountain Gang paid the Soul-Reaping Sect a million taels in annual tribute after its demand rose from eight hundred thousand.
• Huang Xiao observed that the increased tribute burdened the sects below, while the Second Deputy Gang Leader argued the Fierce Mountain Gang could not cover the shortfall itself.
• At Huo Lian’s request, the First Deputy Gang Leader described the Soul-Reaping Sect’s rise to the second tier and said its Sect Master, Zhuo Mengshen, had reached the primordial ancient realm.
• The First Deputy Gang Leader said Zhuo Mengshen was expected to become a Demon General, and Huang Xiao resolved that the Fierce Mountain Gang should submit rather than challenge the Soul-Reaping Sect.

After taking over the Fierce Mountain Gang, Huang Xiao discussed gifts for the Demon God Sect’s new and retiring sect masters and considered entering a competition for Demon General candidate sect status. He eased the tribute burden on subordinate sects, ordered the gang to announce Wang Xiongshan’s death, and learned the treasury held substantial wealth.

• Huo Lian and the deputy leaders told Huang Xiao they had budgeted one million taels for a gift to the new sect master and five hundred thousand for the old one, and Huang Xiao told them to prepare options.
• The Second Deputy Gang Leader explained that the Demon God Sect would select promising sects without Primordial Ancient Realm experts as Demon General candidates, and the First Deputy Gang Leader urged Huang Xiao to compete.
• Huang Xiao said he would consider the competition later, after consulting the Patriarch and putting the gang’s affairs in order.
• Huang Xiao canceled the planned increase in silver demanded from subordinate sects, keeping their tribute at last year’s amount.
• Huang Xiao ordered the leaders to announce Wang Xiongshan’s death and keep the disciples in line, then asked about the gang’s assets.
• The First Deputy Gang Leader reported that the treasury held 1.1 million taels of silver, 50,000 taels of gold, and other valuables, while Huang Xiao estimated Wang Xiongshan’s personal assets at several million taels.

Huang Xiao stabilized the Fierce Mountain Gang after Wang Xiongshan’s death, while the Wild Ox Sect celebrated the news and awaited the sect masters’ return. Huang Xiao and Huo Lian then planned to seek the Demon General Candidate Sect title, but recognized that Huang Xiao needed to overcome a cultivation bottleneck.

• When news of Wang Xiongshan’s death reached the Wild Ox Sect, Gu Haiying and the elders were stunned, but Gao Tianhe urged them to trust their sect masters and return to their duties.
• Over five days, Huang Xiao stabilized the Fierce Mountain Gang, whose disciples accepted him as chief after comparing their strength with the Wild Ox Sect’s.
• Huang Xiao and Huo Lian prepared to cultivate in seclusion and discussed competing for the Demon General Candidate Sect title.
• Huo Lian said Huang Xiao should compete because his youth and strength gave him greater potential in the Demon God Sect’s eyes.
• Huang Xiao described his stalled progress in accumulating vitality, and Huo Lian agreed that both of them had reached a bottleneck in their cultivation.

Huang Xiao and Huo Lian spent six months using the Treatise on Seeking the Dao to improve their cultivation and prepare for the contest to become a Reserve Demon General sect. As the contest neared, Huo Lian judged their chances at only six or seven tenths and revealed that the Demon God Sect was offering very few places.

• Huang Xiao focused his seclusion on heart fire transformation of vitality, while Huo Lian helped him refine the method using the Treatise on Seeking the Dao.
• After a month, Huang Xiao had replenished the vitality spent fighting Wang Xiongshan at triple his previous rate and increased his vitality reserves; Huo Lian improved as well.
• Huo Lian handled important Fierce Mountain Gang decisions so Huang Xiao could remain in seclusion, while the Wild Ox Sect and the gang's other subordinate sects adjusted peacefully to the new arrangement.
• After six months, Huang Xiao remained just short of a breakthrough into the Upper Ancient Realm, though his strength and ability to sustain Heavenly Demon Disintegration had increased considerably.
• Huo Lian estimated they had six or seven tenths confidence in the contest, and Huang Xiao asked how many places the Demon God Sect was offering.
• Huo Lian raised one index finger in response.

Huang Xiao learned that only one Demon General Candidate Sect position was available, then decided the Fierce Mountain Gang would deliver its congratulatory gifts to the Demon God Sect in person despite the Soul-Reaping Sect’s pressure. The chapter left Jiang Deng carrying out Huang Xiao’s order, with the Gang risking the Soul-Reaping Sect’s retaliation.

• Huo Lian told Huang Xiao that only one Demon General Candidate Sect position was available and that powerful Primordial Ancient Realm experts would be his main rivals.
• Huang Xiao accepted that the contest would be difficult but planned to use it to publicize his identity as Kui Yong’s successor.
• Jiang Deng reported that seven affiliated sects had sent their congratulatory gifts through the Soul-Reaping Sect, which had offered to deliver them to the Demon God Sect.
• Huang Xiao decided the Fierce Mountain Gang would take its gifts to the Demon God Sect itself and compete for the single position, despite Jiang Deng’s warning about offending the Soul-Reaping Sect.
• Huang Xiao reaffirmed his order, and Jiang Deng agreed to send the reply to the Soul-Reaping Sect.

Huang Xiao and Huo Lian traveled with the Fierce Mountain Gang’s gifts to the Demon God Sect for the old Sect Master’s birthday and the change of leadership. At an inn near Demon God Peak, they encountered Yang Chengmu of the Soul-Reaping Sect and two allied sect leaders, who demanded to see their gifts.

• Huang Xiao and Huo Lian arranged affairs at home, then set out for the Demon God Sect with Fu Min and a dozen disciples carrying two costly gifts.
• After twelve days of uneventful travel, the party neared the Demon God Sect and stopped for the night at a packed inn.
• Fu Min secured six ordinary guest rooms, and the disciples crowded into the remaining three while Huang Xiao, Huo Lian, and Fu Min took one each.
• Yang Chengmu arrived with Dong He of the Baleful Lake Sect and Deng Ting of the Level Mountain Gang, then mocked the Fierce Mountain Gang and asked to see its gifts.
• Huang Xiao explained that opening the carefully packed gifts could risk damage and bring the Demon God Sect’s wrath, then challenged Dong He and Deng Ting to come see them if they wished.

Huang Xiao’s party avoided a clash with Yang Chengmu, but Yang privately encouraged Dong He and Deng Ting to find a way to kill Huang Xiao and his men. After hearing Fu Min’s warning about the Soul-Reaping Sect’s methods and strength, Huang Xiao considered the threat and the sect’s powerful leaders.

• Dong He and Deng Ting backed down from their demands, and Huang Xiao led his exhausted party away to rest.
• After Huang Xiao left, Yang Chengmu privately discussed informing Grand Elder Tong Juyu and using Dong He and Deng Ting to ensure Huang Xiao and his men never returned to the Fierce Mountain Gang.
• Dong He and Deng Ting agreed to take care of the killing while keeping Yang Chengmu and the Soul-Reaping Sect’s involvement concealed.
• Huang Xiao heard a commotion over the inn’s lack of guest rooms and remarked that his group had arrived in time to secure lodging.
• Fu Min warned Huang Xiao that Yang Chengmu could use others to carry out revenge, and identified Dong He and Deng Ting as men who had killed on behalf of the Soul-Reaping Sect.
• Huang Xiao assessed the Soul-Reaping Sect’s experts and recalled that Wang Xiongshan might eventually have surpassed its leader, Zhuo Mengshen.

Huang Xiao and his party encountered the Soul-Reaping Sect, the Mad Stick Sect, and the Iron Leg Gang on the road to the Demon God Sect, where the sects argued over their bid for Demon General Candidate Sect status. Tong Juyu told Yang Chengmu to help the challengers and avoid trouble until the Soul-Reaping Sect Master secured the Demon General title, while Yang Chengmu privately expected Huang Xiao and the others to be killed afterward.

• Huang Xiao and his party left the inn and found the Soul-Reaping Sect confronting Du Jiliang of the Mad Stick Sect and Lu Qingzhong of the Iron Leg Gang.
• Du Jiliang and Lu Qingzhong defended their right to bring their congratulatory gifts themselves and compete for Demon General Candidate Sect status.
• Huang Xiao greeted Tong Juyu, who instructed Yang Chengmu to help the competing sects and then continued down the road.
• Yang Chengmu questioned Tong Juyu, who told him to avoid trouble until the Soul-Reaping Sect Master obtained the Demon General title.
• Yang Chengmu concluded that Tong Juyu intended to let Huang Xiao and the other challengers enjoy themselves before the Soul-Reaping Sect dealt with them.