Chapter Summaries

Chu Xisheng weathered the White Cloud Stronghold’s attack on the Taste-Knowing Pavilion while Lu Luanli appeared outside and fought Luo Liang and Zhu Yi. After a poisoned arrow wounded Chu Xisheng, Dance of Zangtian increased his strength, leaving him ready to face the attackers.

• Luo Liang and Fei Liqing recognized the danger of Chu Xisheng’s Yazi Saber Intent, and Luo Liang went to confront him.
• A disguised Lu Luanli ambushed Luo Liang and repeatedly drove him back with powerful saber strikes.
• Zhu Yi intervened to save Luo Liang, and the two struggled to hold Lu Luanli off as Fei Liqing ordered the stronghold’s troops to attack the pavilion.
• Chu Xisheng drank inside his makeshift defenses while military crossbow bolts struck the soaked quilts and furniture around him.
• A poisoned wolf-fang arrow grazed Chu Xisheng’s thigh, and Dance of Zangtian increased all his physical attributes by fifty percent.

Chu Yunyun completed her Suan True Talisman Seed and advanced to Eighth-Rank Lower, then sensed that Chu Xisheng might be in danger. Trapped in the Taste-Knowing Pavilion, Chu Xisheng endured the White Cloud Stronghold’s assault before breaking out into the surrounding houses, leaving Fei Liqing and Dong Huaji to pursue him in more difficult terrain.

• Chu Yunyun formed the Suan True Talisman, joined it with her Ni talisman, and advanced to Eighth-Rank Lower as her Primordial Spirit partially recovered.
• Chu Yunyun sensed that something had happened to Chu Xisheng across the Divine Splendor River, but could not help him.
• Chu Xisheng used his Yazi Saber Intent to extinguish flaming arrows and poisonous smoke while the White Cloud Stronghold bandits bombarded the Taste-Knowing Pavilion.
• Fei Liqing ordered the bandits to stop shooting and prepare shields for a direct assault, while Dong Huaji warned that Chu Xisheng’s Saber Intent made charging dangerous.
• Chu Xisheng smashed through the southern wall, killed five bandits with his Thunderclap Saber, and escaped into nearby houses.
• Fei Liqing and Dong Huaji watched Chu Xisheng evade their encirclement and questioned whether his cultivation was truly only Eighth-Rank Lower.

Chu Xisheng turned White Cloud Stronghold’s attempted ambush into a massacre, using his speed and erratic movements to cut through their fighters. He killed Dong Huaji by letting the swordsman pierce his chest, and his severe wound activated the third stage of Dance of Zangtian.

• From a nearby building, Dong Linshan realized Chu Xisheng was hunting White Cloud Stronghold’s bandits rather than trying to escape, while Wu Meiniang wondered whether he could survive the two Seventh-Rank fighters.
• Chu Xisheng cut down bandits in a series of courtyards and buildings, killing more than thirty before Fei Liqing and Dong Huaji could catch up.
• White Cloud Stronghold’s exhausted fighters failed to stop Chu Xisheng with arrows and hidden weapons, and he killed more than ninety men as Fei Liqing and Dong Huaji pursued him.
• Fei Liqing and Dong Huaji split up to intercept Chu Xisheng, but Dong Huaji failed repeatedly to predict his route.
• When Dong Huaji finally confronted him alone, Chu Xisheng let the Eight-Sided Han Sword pierce his chest and beheaded Dong Huaji with Wind and Thunder Together.
• Chu Xisheng’s severe wound activated the third stage of Dance of Zangtian, doubling his physical attributes and granting him a faint degree of God-Slaying Power.

Chu Xisheng killed Dong Huaji and slaughtered scores of White Cloud Stronghold bandits despite his grave wound, but Heart-Piercing Sword Li Ya joined Fei Liqing to attack him. Facing both enemies, Chu Xisheng activated the eleven-year-old Qin Muge character card and unleashed a dramatic surge in power.

• Spirit Eye watched Chu Xisheng kill Dong Huaji, and Heart-Piercing Sword Li Ya rushed toward the Taste-Knowing Pavilion to intervene.
• Chu Xisheng pulled the greatsword from his chest, bandaged his wound, and used his speed to kill more than sixty White Cloud Stronghold bandits while avoiding Fei Liqing.
• Li Ya ambushed Chu Xisheng from an alley and joined Fei Liqing, who planned to attack while Li Ya delivered the killing blow.
• Chu Xisheng redeemed the eleven-year-old Qin Muge character card, restoring his strength and activating Sorrow of the Gods and the third stage of Dance of Zangtian.

Chu Xisheng’s saber intent surged into intent-martial fusion, and he killed Fei Liqing and Heart-Piercing Sword Li Ya while battling Shangguan Clan guards. After his borrowed power expired, he faced three wary seventh-rank experts in a standoff on a rooftop.

• Chu Xisheng’s strengthened saber intent overwhelmed Li Ya and hurt Fei Liqing’s primordial spirit as Fei charged him with a mace.
• Chu Xisheng used the Wind-Chasing Blade to redirect Fei Liqing’s attack, disarm him, and cut off his head.
• Chu Xisheng deflected Li Ya’s sword thrust and killed him with Empty Cave Brings Wind as a red-armored warrior attacked from behind.
• Chu Xisheng evaded the red-armored warrior’s spear and killed him with Trace of Wind, then disarmed a Shangguan Clan fighter wielding twin pu dao.
• Chu Xisheng withdrew to a rooftop as two stronger experts joined the fight, and the Qin Muge character card’s effect expired.
• Wu Meiniang wondered what had happened in the alley, while Dong Linshan guessed that Chu Xisheng had killed Fei Liqing and Li Ya.

After Chu Xisheng killed four opponents, Shangguan Shenhao rushed to the Taste-Knowing Pavilion intending to kill him, but Chu Xuanjie was intercepted by Xu R idong before he could reach the youth. Xu R idong and Chu Xuanjie began a fierce battle, with Chu Xuanjie recognizing a chance to avenge his Ninth Younger Brother.

• Shangguan Yuan reported that Chu Xisheng had killed Dong Huaji, Fei Liqing, Li Ya, and Shangguan Zhe in fewer than a hundred and twenty breaths.
• Shangguan Shenhao flew toward the Taste-Knowing Pavilion to kill Chu Xisheng, while Chu Xuanjie followed and warned him about the powerful allies protecting the youth.
• Chu Xuanjie spotted Xu R idong on a restaurant roof and asked whether he had killed Chu Xuanjie's younger clansman.
• Xu R idong attacked Chu Xuanjie with his Sunflame Ray, and Chu Xuanjie blocked it with the Hand of Profound Darkness.
• Chu Xuanjie charged Xu R idong again, summoning the phantom of Profound Darkness after realizing Xu R idong was gravely wounded.

Chu Xisheng renewed Qin Muge’s Character Card and fought off the Xiushui Shangguan Clan’s Seventh-Rank Martial Cultivators despite his injuries, but Shangguan Shenhao arrived and nearly crushed him. Tie Kuangren intervened, stopping Shangguan Shenhao’s attack and standing between him and Chu Xisheng.

• Chu Xisheng bandaged his wounded shoulder, then redeemed the Qin Muge Character Card again when four more Seventh-Rank Martial Cultivators approached.
• Chu Xisheng charged the armored fist fighter and killed him with Trace of Wind, then used his body to shield himself from the twin-saber and spear fighters.
• Shangguan Shenhao descended and overwhelmed Chu Xisheng with his sword intent as Lu Luanli desperately tried to reach him.
• Lu Luanli killed Luo Liang and knocked Zhu Yi’s spear aside, but could not reach Chu Xisheng in time.
• Tie Kuangren arrived, blocked Shangguan Shenhao’s Meteor Greatsword, and revealed himself as the Iron Banner Gang’s Banner Lord.

Tie Kuangren arrived to save Chu Xisheng and confronted Shangguan Shenhao, who vowed to kill him despite the Iron Banner Gang’s protection. Tie Kuangren revealed that thousands of allies had gathered on the river, leaving Shangguan Shenhao facing a much larger force.

• Tie Kuangren praised Chu Xisheng for surviving the attack and told him he had come to his aid.
• Lu Luanli used medicinal pills to treat the backlash from her Secret Art, then spotted Chu Yunyun at the distant wharf.
• Tie Kuangren challenged Shangguan Shenhao, who insisted that Chu Xisheng must die and called in his clan soldiers.
• Tie Kuangren reminded Wei Lai that the Tianping Army had promised not to intervene, and Wei Lai denied involvement beyond searching for Shangguan Longjian’s killer.
• Tie Kuangren told Chu Xisheng to call him Uncle Kuang and promised to protect him.
• Thousands of Iron Banner Gang allies appeared on ships along the river, and Tie Kuangren challenged Shangguan Shenhao to fight.

Shangguan Shenhao withdrew after Shen Zhou intervened, while Lei Yuan retaliated by barring the Shangguan Clan and commandery personnel from Zhengyang Martial Academy’s resources. With the confrontation over, Chu Xisheng’s battle states faded and his worsening injuries left him unable to stand.

• More ships and armed dockworkers gathered, strengthening Tie Kuangren’s forces as he warned Shangguan Shenhao that the Iron Banner Gang’s reinforcements were near.
• Shen Zhou arrived with Lei Yuan and Ye Zhiqiu, reprimanded Shangguan Shenhao and Tie Kuangren, and challenged the armed gathering.
• Shangguan Shenhao ordered his forces to withdraw, and Tie Kuangren threatened to seize the Shangguan Clan’s shops, warehouses, and docks.
• Lei Yuan barred Shangguan Clan disciples from Zhengyang Martial Academy and threatened to extend the ban to allied martial academies, while also denying commandery personnel access to academy resources.
• Ye Zhiqiu caught Chu Xisheng when his injuries and fading battle states left him unable to stand.

After the battle in Ancient Market Town, Tie Kuangren arranged aid for the injured and explained why he had avoided a full fight with Shangguan Shenhao. Meanwhile, Xu R idong warned Lu Luanli about the cost of using the Great Bright King Wheel, and she resolved to confront Chu Xisheng after he recovered.

• Tie Kuangren sent Lei Yuan and Ye Zhiqiu to take the badly injured Chu Xisheng back to Zhengyang Martial Academy, then ordered his men to search the ruins and capture any remaining White Cloud Stronghold bandits.
• Tie Xiaosheng reported that Long Heng had escaped to the West Bank with his father, but had suffered a poisoned sword wound and would take months to recover.
• Tie Kuangren told Tie Xiaosheng he had avoided killing Shangguan Shenhao because the untrained boatmen and laborers supporting the Iron Banner Gang would have suffered heavy casualties.
• In a forest north of Ancient Market Town, Xu R idong told Lu Luanli he had fought Chu Xuanjie and warned her that using the Great Bright King Wheel could cause lasting injuries.
• Lu Luanli insisted Chu Xisheng was only her friend, privately recognized him as the person who had saved her in Firebone Cavern, and resolved to beat him after he recovered.

Aboard the swift boat, Chu Xisheng checked the rewards from the Taste-Knowing Pavilion battle and spent Martial Dao Points on a stronger bloodline talent and storage slots. He left the blade technique ultimate move unclaimed, intending to save his points for talents and learn ultimate moves through cultivation.

• Chu Xisheng saw that his reputation had risen to eighth-rank upper (transcendent) and his Martial Dao Points had reached 3,952, with more arriving as news of the battle spread.
• Chu Xisheng redeemed Wind-Grasping, Lightning-Riding Hand (stage four), which improved his limb speed, reactions, meridians, and True Essence circulation.
• Chu Xisheng spent 500 Martial Dao Points on Storage Slot, gaining six spaces for items redeemed from the Martial Dao Treasury.
• Chu Xisheng considered redeeming the group-combat ultimate move Eight Winds Do Not Move but decided to save his Martial Dao Points for bloodline talents and pursue ultimate moves through cultivation.

After Chu Xisheng returned to the martial academy badly wounded, Daoist Zijing healed him and explained that his bloodline talents might grow stronger after the battle. Chu Yunyun offered to teach him the Iron Mountain Blood Selection Art before his True Inheritance Trial, then revealed she had already raised several of her own talents to the fifth rank.

• Daoist Zijing treated Chu Xisheng’s wounds, assured everyone that he would recover fully, and predicted Zangtian might advance and grant him a Divine Gift.
• Daoist Zijing and Jian Zangfeng gave Chu Yunyun medicine for Chu Xisheng, while Lei Yuan promised to deal with Xiushui’s clans.
• Chu Xisheng told Chu Yunyun he planned to join the Iron Banner Gang to repay Tie Kuangren for saving his life, and she agreed that it was suitable after his True Inheritance Trial.
• Chu Yunyun offered to teach Chu Xisheng the Iron Mountain Blood Selection Art so he could focus future awakenings on three of his strongest talents.
• Chu Yunyun explained that she had used the Blood Source Pillar later than expected and had unsealed Divine Sorrow, the Hand That Traverses the Sun and the Moon, and the Blood of Eternal Ages to the fifth rank.

Xie Zhenqing approved delaying the Martial Secrets Almanac to publish Dong Linshan’s account of Chu Xisheng’s battle and raise his Azure Cloud Ranking position to sixtieth. Wu Meiniang explained why she had sent Young Master Zuo away, but he offered her a jade communication horn and asked her to use it.

• Dong Linshan wrote an article praising Chu Xisheng’s fight at the Taste-Knowing Pavilion, and Xie Zhenqing agreed to delay the issue’s release so it could be included.
• Xie Zhenqing told Dong Linshan to add an article about the Iron Banner Gang’s conflict with Xiushui’s established clans and raised Chu Xisheng’s Azure Cloud Ranking position from eighty-third to sixtieth.
• Wu Meiniang sent reports about Chu Xisheng’s battle and potential to Eastern Province sects and gangs using Heaven-and-Earth Flying Swords.
• Young Master Zuo confronted Wu Meiniang for sending him away before the battle, and she warned him that getting involved would endanger him and complicate his father’s position.
• Young Master Zuo gave Wu Meiniang a jade horn bearing the Imperial Court’s Ministry of Works seal and asked her to use her spell arts to blow it.

Zuo Qingyun contacted the White Tiger Marquis for help investigating powerful clans and officials in Xiushui Commandery. Chu Xisheng woke after a long rest to find that Demon God Zangtian’s divine gift had advanced to Second Rank and strengthened his body.

• Wu Meiniang sounded Zuo Qingyun’s jade horn, and he asked the White Tiger Marquis to investigate clans sheltering fugitives and falsifying records in Xiushui Commandery.
• Wu Meiniang recognized the woman as the White Tiger Marquis, one of the Six Fan Gate’s Four Symbols Divine Constables, and realized Zuo Qingyun had powerful connections.
• Chu Xisheng woke at noon after sleeping deeply, exhausted from months of dream training, and discovered Zangtian’s Fire had burned away his clothes and furniture.
• Chu Yunyun explained that black flames had burned on Chu Xisheng for four hours after midnight, revealing Zangtian’s divine gift.
• Chu Xisheng found that Zangtian had reached Second Rank, his Martial Dao Points had risen above twenty-four hundred, and his physical attributes had increased by roughly twenty percent.

After receiving Zangtian's blessing, Chu Xisheng replenished his vitality and revealed to Chu Yunyun and Lu Luanli that fame and grand occasions seemed to awaken his bloodline talents. The chapter ended with him discovering that Lu Luanli had burned the gifts his senior and junior sisters had sent him.

• Chu Xisheng drank the medicinal broth Chu Yunyun had prepared, and she used her Suanni flame beast to clean the ash from his body.
• Lu Luanli offered Chu Xisheng a Pangu Blood Essence Pill and reprimanded him for risking his life to raise his Azure Cloud Ranking.
• Chu Xisheng explained to Chu Yunyun and Lu Luanli that fame and attention made his bloodline easier to awaken, then demonstrated his improved saber technique.
• Chu Xisheng found his gifts from the martial arts school's senior and junior sisters burning in the courtyard and realized Lu Luanli had set them alight.

Shangguan Shenhao faced growing pressure as the Formless Divine Sect and its allies cut off the Shangguan Clan, while the Iron Banner Gang raised its costs and authorities reopened investigations into his guards. Long Heng urged him to appease the sects and wait for Chu Xisheng to leave the academy, but new setbacks and Chu Xisheng’s rising fame left them increasingly troubled.

• Seventeen Sects and 103 martial academies barred Shangguan Clan descendants and subordinates, while dock workers raised the clan’s shipping charges and wages.
• Long Heng advised Shangguan Shenhao to accept the higher dock costs, apologize to Zhengyang Martial Academy, and wait until Chu Xisheng entered the martial world before confronting him.
• The steward reported that the Linhai Zhou Family had stopped buying Shangguan Clan goods and that a Six Fan Gate envoy was investigating two of Shangguan Shenhao’s Household Guards.
• Long Heng read the new Martial Secrets Almanac, found Chu Xisheng ranked sixtieth on the Azure Cloud Ranking, and saw an article recounting his rise to fame through the Long Clan.
• The steward said the Almanac’s 200,000 copies in Xiushui Commandery had sold out within an hour, and Long Heng and Shangguan Shenhao realized Chu Xisheng’s popularity made him harder to dismiss.

Xie Zhenqing celebrated the Eastern Province Gazette’s huge sales and prepared to leave for her new post after recommending Dong Linshan as her successor. Meanwhile, Chu Xisheng spent rapidly accumulating Martial Dao Points on powerful bloodline talents and faced a choice between his next major upgrades.

• Xie Zhenqing saw the Eastern Province Gazette sell out and credited Dong Linshan’s article as well as her decision to delay its release.
• Xie Zhenqing told Dong Linshan she had recommended him to succeed her as Xiushui Commandery’s Martial Discourse Tower Master and urged him to avoid trouble before his promotion.
• Chu Xisheng recovered his primordial qi with Lu Luanli’s Pangu Blood Essence Pill and redeemed third-rank Divine Sorrow and fourth-rank Body of Light-Speed Shadow.
• Chu Xisheng’s Martial Dao Points surged past eight thousand, and he redeemed fourth-rank Pure Yang while waiting to afford his next upgrade.
• Chu Xisheng weighed whether to spend his next 12,500 Martial Dao Points on fourth-rank Divine Sorrow or fifth-rank Wind-Grasping, Lightning-Riding Hand.

Chu Xisheng chose to redeem fourth-rank Divine Sorrow and prepared for the public True Inheritance Trial, despite his dwindling lifespan and the limit on Martial Dao Points imposed by his low Origin Power. He arrived at the packed Training Ground to a roaring reception from the crowd, and fireworks appeared in his vision as his Martial Dao Points surged.

• Chu Xisheng reviewed his improved character panel, noted that his Martial Dao Points were capped until his Origin Power advanced, and decided to seek the Fifth Layer secret medicine formula.
• Chu Xisheng equipped his remaining magic artifacts and switched to his old Blood-Refined Demon-Pattern Saber after Thunderclap was ruined.
• Chu Yunyun questioned Chu Xisheng's careful grooming, and he explained that the Martial Secrets Almanac: Eastern Province Gazette's readers had made him a popular figure.
• Chu Xisheng and Chu Yunyun avoided the crowd outside the Storage Yard by crossing the rooftops toward the Training Ground.
• Chu Xisheng glided into the packed Grand Training Ground, where the crowd cheered him and his Martial Dao Points began rising rapidly.

Chu Xisheng arrived at Zhengyang Martial Academy’s True Inheritance Trial and learned why Lu Luanli was competing despite her undercover role. Academy Master Lei Yuan announced that the trial quota had doubled and that Chu Xisheng could be challenged by the eventual victor, then began the trial.

• Chu Xisheng landed beside Lu Luanli and asked why she was taking the True Inheritance Trial; she explained that advancing would let her enter higher floors of the Library Tower and that her Origin-Nourishing Art concealed her origins.
• Chu Yunyun heard Lu Luanli describe the Formless lineage and inferred where Lu Luanli came from.
• Lei Yuan addressed the crowd about resolve and announced that the academy’s annual True Inheritance quota had risen from forty to eighty, doubling the available places for the trial.
• Lei Yuan announced that Chu Xisheng had been exempted from the selection because of his Azure Cloud Ranking and that the trial’s victor could challenge him for first place.
• The hour of the dragon arrived, and Lei Yuan ordered the True Inheritance Trial to begin.

Chu Xisheng reached the True Inheritance Trial’s final match against Luo Li, an unexpectedly powerful disciple determined to claim the Champion’s position. When Luo Li asked him to fight without weapons, Chu Xisheng agreed, discarded his saber, and strengthened his finger technique and martial intent, leaving his allies worried and Luo Li delighted.

• Chu Yunyun explained that sects manipulated the trial bracket to limit aristocratic disciples, while Lu Luanli finished in twenty-seventh place.
• Luo Li returned from years of cultivation outside the academy and swept through the competitors to take first place, then challenged Chu Xisheng for the Champion’s position.
• Lu Luanli warned Chu Xisheng that Luo Li had several bloodline talents and exceptional eighth-rank combat strength.
• Chu Xisheng entered the arena to roaring cheers, and his Martial Dao Points rose as spectators praised him.
• Luo Li asked Chu Xisheng to fight without weapons, and Chu Xisheng agreed, tossed aside his Blood Refinement Demon-Pattern Saber, and raised Lightning-Pursuing Finger and Wind-Thunder Martial Intent.
• Ye Zhiqiu, Chu Yunyun, and Lu Luanli worried that Chu Xisheng had made a dangerous choice, while Luo Li was delighted.