Recaps

Lu Sui perfected both chapters of the Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing Great Art, gained a new talent, and chose Piercing the Obscure. Using it on his reflection revealed an Owl God Fate, making him question whether he was really the Lu Family's young master.

• Lu Sui considered the dangers of returning to Mute Village and entering the Nine Ridges and Ten Mountains, while deciding to seek more martial arts and investigate root nature.
• Lu Sui completed the Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing Great Art and learned that it could advance into the Ten Directions All-Illuminating True Art.
• Lu Sui examined the available talents and chose Piercing the Obscure.
• Lu Sui used Piercing the Obscure on his reflection and saw the fate inscription Owl God Enters Fate.
• Lu Sui wondered whether his real name was Yu Sui and whether he was truly a member of the Lu Family.

Lu Sui trained with staves and demonstrated how much his martial arts had improved. After drinking tiger-bone wine, he felt his marrow renewing and his blood surging, then hurried Xiaotang to the bathing room to digest the change.

• Lu Sui wondered about the Yu Family’s Owl God Fate and decided to focus on training and ask Uncle Wen how to test root nature.
• Lu Sui had Heiwa drive away a crow that entered the Lu residence, then received tiger-bone wine sent by his father.
• Lu Sui gathered guards to attack him with staves and used his perfected Cicada-Chasing Steps and staff technique to disarm them all.
• Lu Sui drank tiger-bone wine and felt an intense itching as his marrow grew and new blood surged through him.
• Lu Sui grabbed Xiaotang and hurried to the bathing room, while Heiwa told the guards that Lu Sui needed to digest insights from training.

Lu Sui used the Leopard Fetus Sinew-Changing Pill to advance his blood replacement and learned how sharpened bones made fists and feet capable of inflicting internal injuries. Meanwhile, Yu Tianci rose from his grave after absorbing Qiu Yu’s arts and explained the generations-long conflict between the Lu and Yu families, leaving him resentful of Lu Ping’an’s fortune.

• Lu Sui swallowed the Leopard Fetus Sinew-Changing Pill, endured the surging heat and pain, and continued his blood-replacement breakthrough.
• The Panwu Great Strength True Art cleared Lu Sui’s distracted mind, and he realized that blood replacement sharpened his bones into weapons.
• A crow arrived at a burial ground and found Yu Tianci emerging from the grave after consuming most of Qiu Yu’s arts.
• Yu Tianci explained that the Yu Family’s five calamities and the Lu Family’s five blessings stemmed from a principle of overcoming and seizing.
• The crow remarked that the Lu Family’s blessings brought their own misfortunes, and Yu Tianci complained that Lu Ping’an had escaped his destined poverty and hardship.

Yu Tianci planned to curse Lu Yulin using three living people as the curse’s poisonous mediums, while the crow left to find them. Lu Sui learned that the evil calamity case was resolved and that his supposed heroics had become public, and he began considering how to reach the sealed Calamity Artifact.

• Yu Tianci told the crow he had given up targeting Lu Sui and intended to cripple Lu Yulin with a curse.
• Yu Tianci asked the crow to find a lustful lecher, a gambling addict, and a Five-Mineral Powder addict to serve as the curse’s three poisons, and the crow flew off to search.
• Yu Tianci recognized the crow as a fiend from the Three Calamities Cult and wondered why it was in Changle County.
• Xiaotang told Lu Sui that the investigation into Deng Yun and Zhou Qing had ended, Zhou Qing had escaped, and the sealed Calamity Artifact had been taken to the City God Temple.
• Lu Sui considered approaching the Calamity Artifact to obtain Calamity Qi, then learned people were praising him for capturing Deng Yun and fighting the bewitched thugs.

Lu Sui won over the Hundred Victories Martial Arts School apprentices with a feast and learned how the Bai family’s fortuitous encounter made them leaders of the Dragon King Gang. The chapter left him curious about the gang’s origins and its tradition of collecting incense money.

• Lu Sui accepted the apprentices’ praise for defeating Deng Yun and credited Master Tan’s teaching while protecting the school’s reputation.
• Lu Sui treated the outer courtyard apprentices to Bone-Strengthening Soup, fish, and meat, earning their admiration.
• Lu Sui found Liang Bao and Wei Erhe practicing footwork and asked where Bai Fangfang had gone.
• Liang Bao explained that Bai Fangfang had gone with the Dragon King Gang to collect incense money and described her family’s history as dock officers.
• Liang Bao told Lu Sui how Bai’s ancestor released a golden carp, was later rescued by it, and received a Water-Avoidance Pearl and a River Earl Painting that brought the family wealth and good fortune.

Lu Sui agreed to attend the lantern festival with Liang Bao, learned why Wei Erhe was taking a dangerous escort job, and offered him extra Bone-Strengthening Soup. During a spar atop the plum blossom stakes, Lu Sui tested his hardened body by taking Liang Bao’s kick head-on, leaving Liang Bao astonished by his strength.

• Liang Bao invited Lu Sui to the south gate lantern festival and planned to take him to the Moon-Gazing Tower afterward.
• Wei Erhe said he had accepted an escort job from the Xingtai Oil Mill to help save for a house, and Lu Sui offered him extra Bone-Strengthening Soup.
• Lu Sui and Liang Bao began sparring atop the plum blossom stakes while Wei Erhe refereed and the apprentices watched.
• Lu Sui used his Cicada-Chasing Steps to evade Liang Bao’s attacks, then decided to test his sinews and bones by taking Liang Bao’s Horizontal Nail Kick.
• Liang Bao’s kick struck Lu Sui’s chest without hurting him, and Liang Bao realized Lu Sui had replaced his blood and nourished his bones.

Lu Sui defeated Liang Bao in a spar and received two martial arts manuals from Tan Chuanjie. On returning to the estate, he encountered a strange old man who recognized that Lu Sui had acquired an innate root.

• Lu Sui endured Liang Bao’s kick, then caught and steadied him, winning their match and earning Liang Bao’s wholehearted respect.
• Tan Chuanjie explained the Great Dragon and Tiger Ranking and gave Lu Sui the Dragon-Roving Movement Technique and Chaotic Cloud Hands on Tan Jingzong’s behalf.
• Tan Chuanjie told Lu Sui that Zheng Rong was bounty hunting a bandit chief near Old Fox Gully, with a bounty posted by a surviving Qiao Family heir known as Qiao Shehu.
• Lu Sui returned to the estate after the lantern festival and regretted that watching Bai had revealed only a faint trace of water fortune.
• Lu Sui saw an unfamiliar old man whose fate appeared in five colors, and the old man recognized Lu Sui’s innate root.

Lu Sui learned that Yang Kunbing was a treasure seeker who recognized his newly acquired Root and Nature, and heard how a disastrous expedition to Consort Dong's Tomb had left Dou Xiaowen with a strange condition. The chapter ended with Lu Sui suspecting Dou Xiaowen's famed Iron Crotch Art had caused the mishap.

• Yang Kunbing examined Lu Sui and declared that he now had a remarkable amount of Root and Nature.
• Lu Sui recalled Yang Kunbing's past feats retrieving a Fire Cloud Pearl and astonishing people by moving Boss Zhao's copper mountain.
• Yang Kunbing asked to feel Lu Sui, then explained that Lu Sui had shown no Root and Nature as a baby.
• Yang Kunbing mocked Dou Xiaowen and recounted how he sent him into Consort Dong's Tomb, where Dou's failure ruined their treasure-seeking expedition.
• Lu Sui connected Dou Xiaowen's midmonth Qi and Blood condition and Iron Crotch Art to the calamity in the tomb.

Lu Sui learned from Yang Kunbing that Root and Nature meant the ability to draw in Qi, and that burning incense required fate, an innately receptive body, and a heart and will shaped through visualization. Yang Kunbing recognized that Lu Sui already possessed Root and Nature and showed signs of visualization, though Lu Sui denied ever receiving a visualization diagram.

• Yang Kunbing recounted how Dou Xiaowen became entranced by a female ghost’s voice in Consort Dong’s Tomb, fought a formation for seven days, and had to be rescued from the coffin.
• Lu Sui asked Yang Kunbing to explain Root and Nature, and Yang Kunbing revealed that it referred to the ability to draw in Qi.
• Yang Kunbing explained that burning incense required fate, a body capable of perceiving Yin and Yang, and a heart and will disciplined through visualization.
• Lu Sui connected his own fate and innate body to his talents, while Yang Kunbing noticed signs of several visualized martial forms around him.
• Lu Sui denied knowing about visualization diagrams, and Yang Kunbing decided to tell Lu Yulin that Lu Sui possessed Root and Nature.

Lu Sui gained insight into two martial arts while Tan Jingzong instructed him, then learned about the dangerous stone mask that Tan and the other school heads had suppressed. The chapter left Lu Sui wondering whether the mask was connected to Deng Yun.

• Yang Kunbing told Lu Sui that Root and Nature could qualify Yang Kunbing to enter the Nine Ridges and Ten Mountains, though the Lu Family would not readily send its only heir away.
• Tan Jingzong trained Lu Sui in the Dragon-Roving Movement Technique and Chaotic Cloud Hands, and Lu Sui gained insight into both arts.
• Tan Jingzong’s exertion triggered a coughing fit, and Tan Chuanjie explained that his father and the other school heads had exhausted themselves suppressing a Calamity Artifact linked to Zhou Qing’s crimes.
• Tan Jingzong described the artifact as an ancient stone mask with red eyes and sawlike teeth that conjured terrifying illusions, including a powerful man seen from behind.

Lu Sui learned that the Hundred Victories Martial Arts School had advanced techniques and considered what weapon to choose. Meanwhile, Zheng Rong encountered an evil calamity at Qiao Family Village and was confronted by a red-haired man from the Three Calamities Cult.

• Tan Jingzong explained that Fetus Embracing martial artists could draw in Yin Baleful Intent and suppress evil creatures, and said the Hundred Victories Martial Arts School had lost its Gale Swift Sword legacy.
• Tan Jingzong praised the value of footwork and movement techniques, urged Lu Sui to choose a weapon, and planned to have Zheng Rong take him to a bandit den.
• Zheng Rong killed mountain bandits at the abandoned Qiao Family Village and heard a dying bandit warn that Old Fox Gully had suffered an evil calamity.
• Gray fog spread through the village, revealing blue-faced, fanged figures as Zheng Rong recognized the evil calamity and prepared to fight.
• A red-haired man wearing a stone mask offered Zheng Rong a place in the Three Calamities Cult, then appeared in front of him when he tried to flee and declared that Changle County was their calamity ground.

Lu Sui completed another blood renewal after mastering the Dragon-Roving Movement Technique, then considered how strength could protect the Lu Family and chose to pursue swordsmanship. Meanwhile, Zhou Jing heard people gossiping about his family and returned to the Zhou residence in anger.

• Lu Sui practiced the Dragon-Roving Movement Technique at the Hundred Victories Martial Arts School, triggering another blood renewal and toppling nearly all the plum-blossom stakes.
• Lu Sui asked about weapons and decided to have a sword forged, while Liang Bao told him that Deng's Shop Weapon-Forging Shop now belonged to the Dacheng Trading Firm.
• Lu Sui left the school reflecting on the Lu Family's vulnerable position and concluded that power came from having a strong fist.
• At a tea stall on Broker Street, Zhou Jing overheard people accusing his family of wrongdoing and threateningly ordered his carriage back to the Zhou residence.

Zhou Jing learned that Zhou Guangsheng had surrendered the family’s warding object to settle the fallout from A-Qing’s alleged calamity, while Zhou Guangsheng secretly offered his own sons to the cult in exchange for a chance at immortality. At the Lu residence, Xiaotang and Xiaohuan watched Lu Sui’s intense breathing practice, and Xiaotang wondered whether she could endure his strength in the future.

• Zhou Jing visited Zhou Guangsheng and heard that the Lu Family had taken the Shi Gandang, while the Zhou Family planned to compensate those harmed by A-Qing’s alleged calamity.
• Zhou Jing told Zhou Guangsheng about Qi Beilin’s plans to buy property, and Zhou Guangsheng authorized him to entertain the merchant at the household’s expense.
• A crow asked Zhou Guangsheng for three unusually depraved living people, and Zhou Guangsheng offered his own sons as sacrifices to the Calamity-Free Old Mother.
• Zhou Guangsheng revealed that he hoped to learn to draw in Calamity Qi and gain an Imperial Embryo Holy Pill through the cult’s coming plans for Changle County.
• At the Lu residence, Xiaohuan failed to imitate Lu Sui’s breathing, while Xiaotang wondered whether she could withstand him after his body tempering.

Lu Sui asked Dou Xiaowen for advice on choosing a weapon and received the concealed flexible sword Finger-Wrapping Softness. Dou Xiaowen then took him to Yang Kunbing to seek another weapon, where Yang objected to giving the talented Lu Sui throwing knives.

• Xiaohuan imagined Lu Sui becoming an immortal, while Xiaotang doubted immortals existed in the world.
• Lu Sui trained diligently, strengthened his Qi and Blood, and resolved to reach Force Tempering as soon as possible.
• Lu Sui asked Dou Xiaowen what weapon suited him, and Dou recommended a concealed short weapon to complement his footwork.
• Dou Xiaowen gave Lu Sui the flexible sword Finger-Wrapping Softness, which Lu Sui gladly accepted.
• Dou Xiaowen brought Lu Sui to Yang Kunbing's quarters to seek another weapon, and Yang questioned why Lu Sui needed throwing knives.

Lu Sui acquired a set of throwing knives and a manual for training hidden-weapon skills from Yang Kunbing. Meanwhile, Yu Tianci negotiated with Boss Zhao’s crow, proposing to join the Three Calamities Cult while infiltrating the Nine Ridges and Ten Mountains as a spy.

• Dou Xiaowen advised Lu Sui to conceal his abilities, use hidden weapons, and flee when a fight turned against him.
• Yang Kunbing sold Lu Sui seven throwing knives for five hundred taels and gave him the Thousand Rays Dotting Stars Hand manual.
• Lu Sui defended Yang Kunbing’s rules and left without asking Dou Xiaowen about the Iron Crotch Art.
• Boss Zhao’s crow met Yu Tianci at a coffin house and explained the Three Calamities Cult’s powers and its offer of insider skills.
• Yu Tianci rejected the crow’s choice between informing on the cult and helping destroy the Lu Family, then proposed becoming a cult spy inside the Nine Ridges and Ten Mountains.

Lu Sui practiced the Thousand Rays Dotting Stars Hand, sharpening his eyesight and landing a precise throwing-dagger strike. His father summoned him to the north courtyard study, where Lu Yulin began a serious conversation about his future path.

• Lu Sui considered his growing collection of arts and methods, planned his cultivation, and worried about finding ten wisps of Calamity Qi for the six-eared little monkey to transform.
• Lu Sui trained the Thousand Rays Dotting Stars Hand in the dark, using his keen eyesight to sever a thread with his sword and pin a flying insect to a pillar with a throwing dagger.
• Xiaotang told Lu Sui that Lu Yulin had summoned him, and Lu Sui wondered whether his father had chosen which path he should take.
• Lu Sui entered the north courtyard study, where Dou Xiaowen and others waited outside and Lu Yulin invited him to sit down for a conversation.

Lu Yulin revealed the Lu Family’s hidden fate and offered Lu Sui two paths: enter the Nine Ridges and Ten Mountains to pursue martial advancement, or return to Mute Hamlet and fulfill a marriage arrangement tied to his godmother. As Lu Yulin explained the second option, Lu Sui realized it meant settling there as a live-in son-in-law.

• Lu Yulin told Lu Sui that his root and nature made him eligible to enter the Nine Ridges and Ten Mountains, and explained why he had kept the family’s hidden affairs from him.
• Lu Yulin said the Yu survivor’s connection to Han Wenlong made him dangerous, then offered Lu Sui the choice of joining a mountain or returning to Mute Hamlet.
• Outside the study, Yang Kunbing explained to Dou Xiaowen that the Lu Family’s owl god fate could empower Lu Sui but also bring disaster, and warned that Lu Yulin might be his greatest obstacle.
• Lu Yulin recounted how his grandfather had driven him from the family and how he had later made a marriage arrangement with his godmother’s side in Mute Hamlet.
• Lu Yulin offered to send Lu Sui back to Mute Hamlet to fulfill the arrangement and live there, and Lu Sui suspected he was being asked to become a live-in son-in-law.

Lu Sui chose to pursue the Nine Ridges and Ten Mountains, and Lu Yulin revealed the Lu Family’s fate incense and ancestral treasures. The chapter ended with Lu Yulin urging Lu Sui to take the Seven-Apertured Golden Core from the secret vault.

• Lu Sui asked whether Lu Yulin’s godmother was human, then chose the Nine Ridges and Ten Mountains over a quiet life in Mute Village.
• Lu Yulin promised to shield Lu Sui from enemies and explained that the Owl God in the Lu Family’s fate needed fortune from a lit incense stick.
• Lu Yulin led Lu Sui through a hidden passage to the family’s secret chamber and explained the five fate incense sticks and their effects on past generations.
• Lu Yulin revealed that only Longevity Incense remained and that lighting it was required to enter the Lu Family’s secret vault.
• Lu Yulin explained the family’s hidden wealth and remedies, then told Lu Sui that the Seven-Apertured Exquisite Heart was a Golden Core he could take.