Recaps

Jiang Fa used a Blood Condensation Pill to practice the second layer of the Mountain-Breaking Stance and made rapid progress. Xu Feng invited him to a dinner with the new inner court disciples, and Jiang Fa left the martial hall that evening to attend.

• Jiang Fa swallowed a Blood Condensation Pill and practiced the second layer's lifting force until he produced a deep, muffled palm strike.
• Jiang Fa checked his progress and saw that the Mountain-Breaking Stance had reached the second layer at 8/500.
• Xu Feng invited Jiang Fa to dinner at the Immortal Gathering Pavilion with their fellow new inner court disciples, and Jiang Fa accepted.
• Jiang Fa continued practicing while the pill's potency lasted, then washed and changed before leaving the martial hall in the evening.

Jiang Fa joined Xu Feng, Ma Ping, Zhao Chuan, and Xu Xiaomeng for a meal, where they discussed ways to earn money as inner court disciples and their cultivation plans. After returning home, Jiang Fa practiced the Seven-Colored Glazed Glass Art and increased his progress by one point.

• Jiang Fa met Xu Feng, Ma Ping, Zhao Chuan, and Xu Xiaomeng at the Immortal Gathering Pavilion for a meal.
• Xu Feng explained that inner court disciples needed to earn silver and described escort work, household guards, and hunting beasts as common paid paths.
• Xu Feng and Zhao Chuan planned to seek work at the Weiyuan Escort Agency, while Ma Ping chose guard work for the Liu Family and Xu Xiaomeng declined to take a post.
• Jiang Fa said he would train hard for two months before deciding how to earn money, and Xu Feng warned him that cultivation required costly medicine.
• Jiang Fa returned to his room and practiced the Seven-Colored Glazed Glass Art, raising his progress by one point.

Jiang Fa spent two months training relentlessly, reaching the Middle Stage of Ming Jin and demonstrating the strength of his Mountain-Breaking Stance and Fist. With his medicinal supplies and silver exhausted and the Black Tiger Gang’s repayment deadline approaching, he heard Xu Feng describe the dangers of escort work and Qin Xuan’s rapid progress.

• Jiang Fa trained for two months, strengthening his body and advancing his Mountain-Breaking Stance, Mountain-Breaking Fist, and cultivation to the Middle Stage of Ming Jin.
• Jiang Fa tested his progress by shattering a bluestone slab with a punch and checked his panel, which showed that he had also begun learning the Cloak Saber Technique.
• Jiang Fa ran out of Blood Condensation Pills, Blood Strengthening Powder, and silver as the Black Tiger Gang’s repayment deadline drew near.
• Xu Feng took Jiang Fa to a tavern and recounted how his escort trips had exposed him to road bullies and the danger of bandits around Qingshan County.
• Xu Feng told Jiang Fa that Qin Xuan had reached Late-Stage Ming Jin and that Zhao Chuan had joined the Weiyuan Escort Agency as a porter.

Jiang Fa asked Wang Shi for advice before hunting beasts in Black Wind Ridge, and Wang Shi gave him a map and warned him about the ridge and the inner courtyard. Wang Shi sent him to seek more practical guidance from Lin Feng.

• Jiang Fa visited Wang Shi early in the morning and explained that he planned to hunt beasts in Black Wind Ridge to earn money for medicine.
• Wang Shi praised Jiang Fa's progress and showed him Lin Feng's map, explaining the dangers in the ridge's outskirts, middle region, and core region.
• Wang Shi warned Jiang Fa that third-tier beasts in the core region could kill him and recalled that Zhou Ping had vanished after entering it.
• Wang Shi described the inner courtyard's experienced and formidable disciples and cautioned Jiang Fa not to act rashly or trust people too readily.
• Wang Shi advised Jiang Fa to ask Lin Feng for practical hunting knowledge, and Jiang Fa left to find him.

Jiang Fa sought Lin Feng’s advice about Black Wind Ridge and learned that other martial artists could be more dangerous than its ferocious beasts. Lin Feng lent him a saber and warned him to stay on the outskirts and prioritize survival as he prepared to enter the ridge.

• Jiang Fa found Lin Feng practicing the Cloak Saber Technique and asked him for advice about Black Wind Ridge.
• Lin Feng warned Jiang Fa about scarce water sources and ruthless martial artists, recounting how one hunter murdered his friend for a blood lingzhi.
• Lin Feng marked a place where blood-coagulating grass might grow and advised Jiang Fa to remain on the outskirts.
• After learning Jiang Fa had no saber, Lin Feng took him to the armory and let him choose a weapon.
• Jiang Fa chose a plain saber once used by Zhou Ping, and Lin Feng lent it to him with a final warning to flee rather than risk his life.

Jiang Fa prepared supplies and ventured toward Black Wind Ridge, where he killed three Azure-Maned Jackals in his first fight with ferocious beasts. After skinning them, he reached Ghost Gate Gully and entered Black Wind Ridge.

• Jiang Fa gathered food, medicine, and gear, then studied the route to Black Wind Ridge on Lin Feng’s map.
• Lin Feng called out a warning as Jiang Fa left the martial school and headed north from Qingshan County.
• On the logging trail, Jiang Fa stood his ground against three Azure-Maned Jackals and killed them within a few breaths.
• Jiang Fa skinned the jackals, found no beast core, and carried their pelts onward.
• Jiang Fa reached Ghost Gate Gully and stepped into it as the sun slanted westward.

Jiang Fa found a gravely wounded Iron-Claw Savage Bear in a hidden cave in Ghost Gate Gully and killed it, taking its beast core, paws, and meat. He camped among the rocks, checked his training progress, and fell asleep hoping his earnings would let him repay his debt and bring his family to town.

• Jiang Fa crossed the dangerous, narrow passage of Ghost Gate Gully and cautiously approached a concealed cave near a dead man.
• He discovered a badly wounded Iron-Claw Savage Bear inside the cave and killed it before it could enter its death throes.
• Jiang Fa cut a beast core from the bear and took its paws and some thigh meat, leaving the damaged pelt behind.
• He camped among the rocks, roasted and ate the bear meat, and checked the progress of his martial arts and cultivation.
• Jiang Fa hoped to sell his spoils, repay the Black Tiger Gang, and eventually bring Father, Mother, and Xiao He to live near the martial school.

Jiang Fa found and harvested a patch of Blood-Coagulating Grass in Black Wind Ridge, then tracked a Stone-Skinned Wild Boar to its lair and killed it for its tusks and hide. As dusk fell, he cleaned himself and his saber and settled in a banyan tree for the night.

• Jiang Fa cautiously searched the pool and discovered sixteen Blood-Coagulating Grass plants at the foot of a cliff.
• Jiang Fa harvested the Blood-Coagulating Grass and followed the lingering scent of a Stone-Skinned Wild Boar north to its lair.
• Jiang Fa crept into the lair and killed the sleeping Stone-Skinned Wild Boar by driving his saber into the gap between its neck vertebrae.
• Jiang Fa took the boar's tusks, hide, and some meat, then left the lair before other beasts could arrive.
• Jiang Fa washed away the blood, climbed into an old banyan tree, and rested in its branches as night fell.

Jiang Fa encountered a badly wounded man who tried to lure him close and kill him, so Jiang Fa killed him and took his belongings. After finding a map marking water sources along Black Wind Ridge’s boundary, Jiang Fa realized those areas might still have prey and settled in for the night.

• Jiang Fa continued hunting in Black Wind Ridge and gathered four Iron-Backed Wolf pelts and two stalks of Blood-Coagulating Grass.
• Jiang Fa found a bloodied man beneath a pine who claimed an Iron-Claw Savage Bear had killed his companions and offered his gains in exchange for help.
• Jiang Fa evaded the man’s poisoned dagger and killed him with his saber.
• Jiang Fa took the man’s pelts, Blood-Coagulating Grass, money, and a map before burying his body in a gully.
• Jiang Fa studied the map, noted that three marked water sources lay near the boundary between Black Wind Ridge’s middle and outer regions, and rested in the pine.

On his fourth day in Black Wind Ridge, Jiang Fa encountered a second-tier Crimson-Scaled Python and narrowly escaped into a cave, where he waited for it to give up and leave. Injured but alive, he realized the ridge was far more dangerous than he had expected.

• Jiang Fa followed Lin Feng’s map toward an abandoned herb gatherers’ camp and found signs of an adult Crimson-Scaled Python near a spring.
• Jiang Fa accidentally snapped a dead branch, revealing a massive second-tier Crimson-Scaled Python in a nearby pool.
• Jiang Fa ran through the woods, but the python pursued him faster than he could escape on foot.
• Jiang Fa reached a narrow cave entrance, but the python struck him and hurled him against the cliff as he squeezed inside.
• Jiang Fa survived the python’s attack with help from the Seven-Colored Glazed Glass Art, treated his wound, and waited until the python stopped battering the cliff and left.

Jiang Fa left Black Wind Ridge with valuable spoils, but two Boulder Martial Hall disciples tried to rob him at the exit. He killed both despite his injuries, took a movement manual and some silver, concealed the bodies, and continued toward Qingshan County.

• Jiang Fa emerged from Black Wind Ridge carrying pelts, herbs, tusks, a beast core, and silver after waiting for the Crimson-Scaled Python to leave.
• Two Boulder Martial Hall disciples blocked the narrow exit and offered him only ten taels for his haul, then moved to take it by force.
• Jiang Fa killed the short, stocky disciple with a sudden saber strike and defeated the tall, thin disciple after several exchanges, though his wounds reopened.
• Jiang Fa found silver and the yellow-rank upper-grade Wind-Chasing Steps manual on the tall disciple, then discovered a Boulder waist token on the other.
• Jiang Fa hid the disciples’ bodies beneath loose stones, checked his cultivation panel, and left through the narrow path with his bundle.

After recovering from his wounds, Jiang Fa assessed the valuable spoils he had brought back from Black Wind Ridge and studied the Wind-Chasing Steps manual. He learned the movement technique and left the martial hall carrying his bundle.

• Jiang Fa treated his wounds and resolved to cultivate the Seven-Colored Glazed Glass Art harder.
• Jiang Fa woke after a long sleep and found that his injuries had already begun healing quickly.
• Jiang Fa examined and packed away the pelts, tusks, bear parts, Blood-Coagulating Grass, and beast core he had gathered.
• Jiang Fa studied the Wind-Chasing Steps manual and learned the Yellow Rank upper grade movement technique.
• Jiang Fa put away the manual, slung his bundle over his back, and walked out of the martial hall.

Jiang Fa sold pelts, tusks, and claws at the West Market before bringing valuable medicinal goods and an Iron-Claw Savage Bear beast core to the Precious Ganoderma Hall. He earned 443 taels there, and the old shopkeeper invited him to bring future goods to the hall.

• Jiang Fa sold three Azure-Maned Jackal pelts, four Iron-Backed Wolf pelts, and a wild boar hide to Old Zhang for 41 taels.
• Jiang Fa sold the Stone-Skinned Wild Boar's tusks and the Iron-Claw Savage Bear's claws to the old blacksmith for eight taels.
• Jiang Fa rested at a tea stall, then went to the Precious Ganoderma Hall with bear paws, 21 stalks of blood-coagulating grass, and an Iron-Claw Savage Bear beast core.
• The old shopkeeper inspected Jiang Fa's goods and offered 443 taels, including 50 taels for the top-quality beast core.
• Jiang Fa accepted the payment, and the old shopkeeper encouraged him to bring future goods to the Precious Ganoderma Hall.

Jiang Fa spent his silver on body-refining medicines and used a crimson blood grass bath and a Body Tempering Pill to strengthen himself with the Seven-Colored Glazed Glass Art. He ended the chapter having raised the art’s first level to 391/1000 and seeing a faint glazed sheen beneath his skin.

• Jiang Fa returned to Precious Ganoderma Hall and bought five Body Tempering Pills, ten stalks of crimson blood grass, five Blood Condensation Elixirs, wound medicine, and bone-mending ointment.
• The old shopkeeper gave Jiang Fa a Meridian-Restoring Pill as a gift and suspected he practiced a body-refining technique.
• Jiang Fa returned to his room, boiled three stalks of crimson blood grass, and endured a medicinal bath while circulating the Seven-Colored Glazed Glass Art.
• After the bath, Jiang Fa swallowed a Body Tempering Pill and endured its fierce medicinal power as he guided it into his tendons and bones.
• Jiang Fa checked his talent panel and found that the first level of the Seven-Colored Glazed Glass Art had risen by 51 points to 391/1000.

Jiang Fa kept training despite the inner courtyard disciples’ mockery, and his steady improvement became evident during a saber spar with Lin Feng. The chapter ended with Lin Feng realizing that Jiang Fa’s Cloak Saber Technique had reached minor achievement.

• Jiang Fa repaid the Black Tiger Gang's branch hall the silver he had borrowed, including interest, and continued training daily.
• Sun Yi and Xie Tan mocked Jiang Fa’s diligence, while Song Wan defended his perseverance.
• Months later, Jiang Fa sparred with Lin Feng and used his improved Wind-Chasing Steps to evade Lin Feng’s saber.
• Jiang Fa exchanged blows with Lin Feng and demonstrated increasingly skilled Cloak Saber Technique moves.
• Jiang Fa used Turning Wind Brushes the Willows to evade Lin Feng’s counterattack and lightly touch his back with the saber.
• Lin Feng recognized that Jiang Fa’s Cloak Saber Technique had reached minor achievement.

Jiang Fa impressed Lin Feng with his rapid progress in the Cloak Saber Technique, then accepted Lin Feng’s offer to become an Attendant of the Lin Lineage. Lin Feng also warned him to stay away from Black Wind Ridge after a suspected sighting of a third-tier ferocious beast.

• Lin Feng was astonished that Jiang Fa had reached minor achievement in the Cloak Saber Technique after only a little over three months and urged him to prioritize his realm.
• Song Wan invited Lin Feng and Jiang Fa to celebrate Qin Xuan’s breakthrough to An Jin, but Jiang Fa politely declined.
• Lin Feng reassured Jiang Fa that Qin Xuan’s progress and Song Wan’s unequal treatment should not discourage him.
• Lin Feng offered Jiang Fa a well-paid Attendant post with the Lin Lineage, and Jiang Fa accepted.
• Lin Feng warned Jiang Fa that a third-tier ferocious beast had reportedly been seen on Black Wind Ridge and advised him not to go there.

Jiang Fa used his last Blood Condensation Elixir to perfect the second level of Mountain-Breaking Stance and break through to Early An Jin. He tested his newly acquired Penetrating Jin and felt its power firsthand.

• Jiang Fa reviewed his cultivation progress and recognized that Mountain-Breaking Stance was one point short of Perfection.
• Jiang Fa took a Blood Condensation Elixir and practiced the second level of Mountain-Breaking Stance through the night.
• Jiang Fa perfected Mountain-Breaking Stance and advanced from Peak Ming Jin to Early An Jin.
• Jiang Fa tested his Penetrating Jin by pointing at an oil lamp and snapping its wick without touching it.

After reaching early An Jin, Jiang Fa practiced controlling his new penetrating force. When Xie Tan bullied Xu Feng and injured Ma Ping over the armory key, Jiang Fa intervened, but Xie Tan challenged him as he tried to leave.

• Jiang Fa tested his An Jin force on an ironwood post and continued training to adjust to his strength.
• Xie Tan refused to let Xu Feng take wooden sabers from the armory and mocked Ma Ping when he spoke up.
• Xie Tan grabbed Xu Feng, forced him to his knees, and struck Ma Ping when he tried to help.
• Jiang Fa stopped Xie Tan from stomping Xu Feng and urged him to treat his fellow disciples more fairly.
• Jiang Fa took Ma Ping by the arm and turned to leave, but Xie Tan demanded to know whether he had given permission.

Jiang Fa revealed that he had broken through to An Jin when he stopped Xie Tan from attacking Ma Ping and Xu Feng, then defeated Xie Tan in a head-on clash. Xie Tan withdrew with a threat, while Jiang Fa told his friends he had broken through the previous night and gave Ma Ping wound medicine.

• Xie Tan advanced on Jiang Fa after Jiang Fa stood between him and Ma Ping and Xu Feng.
• Jiang Fa caught Xie Tan's claw strike and dissipated his An Jin force, stunning the watching disciples.
• Xie Tan attacked with Mountain-Breaking Fist, but Jiang Fa's matching punch wounded Xie Tan's hand and forced him back.
• Xie Tan recognized Jiang Fa was stronger, abandoned his attack, and left after threatening him.
• Xu Feng asked when Jiang Fa had broken through, and Jiang Fa said it had happened the previous night.
• Jiang Fa gave Ma Ping a bottle of wound medicine, while the disciples continued discussing his low-grade aptitude and breakthrough.

After Jiang Fa broke through to An Jin and defeated Xie Tan, Zhao Zhong summoned him, praised his progress, and asked how he had gained such strength. Zhao Zhong offered him a weapon from the armory and prepared to pass on the third-level mental method of the Mountain-Breaking Stance, beginning by asking about its origins.

• Ma Ping thanked Jiang Fa for helping him, while Xu Feng warned that Xie Tan might seek revenge.
• Wang Shi summoned Jiang Fa to the Teaching Hall and warned him that Xie Tan could retaliate in secret.
• Zhao Zhong confirmed Jiang Fa had reached An Jin and called his progress exceptional for a low-grade aptitude disciple.
• Jiang Fa explained that a folk body-refining method had strengthened his body, and Zhao Zhong accepted the explanation.
• Zhao Zhong told Jiang Fa he could choose a weapon from the armory and formally offered to teach him the third-level mental method of the Mountain-Breaking Stance.
• Zhao Zhong asked Jiang Fa whether he knew the origins of the Mountain-Breaking Stance.

Zhao Zhong taught Jiang Fa the three realms of penetrating Jin and recited the Mountain-Breaking Stance’s third-layer formula. He warned Jiang Fa to keep a low profile after his rapid breakthrough to An Jin, and Jiang Fa left to begin cultivating the new layer.

• Zhao Zhong explained that the Mountain-Breaking Stance came from his time as an outer disciple of the Earth Xuan Sect.
• Zhao Zhong demonstrated penetrating Jin’s three realms, including transmitting force through a steel saber to break a stalk of grass on its spine.
• Zhao Zhong recited the third-layer formula, and Jiang Fa memorized it as his panel recorded the layer at zero proficiency.
• Zhao Zhong cautioned Jiang Fa that news of his breakthrough and exchange with Xie Tan had spread through the martial hall, advising him to stay discreet.
• Jiang Fa bowed to Zhao Zhong and left the Teaching Hall to cultivate the third layer.

After reaching An Jin, Jiang Fa chose a heavy ghost-head saber that suited his strength and cleaned and sharpened it in his room. He then practiced the third layer of his cultivation and successfully sent Jin through the base of a tea bowl without disturbing the tea.

• Jiang Fa visited Steward Ma after breaking through to An Jin and was allowed to choose a weapon from the armory.
• Jiang Fa selected the ghost-head saber, despite Steward Ma warning that other disciples had found it too heavy to use comfortably.
• Jiang Fa signed the register, took the saber to his room, and cleaned and sharpened its cold-iron blade.
• Jiang Fa inspected his cultivation panel and practiced the third layer, focusing on penetrating Jin.
• Jiang Fa placed his palm against a bowl of cold tea and cracked its base with Jin while leaving the tea undisturbed.

Jiang Fa demonstrated the power of his major-accomplishment Cloak Saber Technique, impressing Lin Feng, who gave him an increased stipend and asked him to join a trade shipment escort to Lin County. Jiang Fa accepted and continued training as he prepared to leave in three days.

• Jiang Fa used his ghost-head saber to carve deeply into an ironwood post and cleave a thick bluestone slab in two, showing his mastery of the Cloak Saber Technique.
• Lin Feng praised Jiang Fa’s strength and skill after seeing the damage he had caused, while choosing not to question how he had become so powerful.
• Lin Feng gave Jiang Fa a stipend of more than the ten taels they had originally agreed on, explaining that the higher amount reflected his An Jin status.
• Lin Feng asked Jiang Fa to escort a substantial shipment to Lin County in three days and offered an additional twenty taels if the job went smoothly.
• Jiang Fa agreed to meet the escort party at the south city gate at the hour of the Rabbit, then returned to practicing his saber technique.

Jiang Fa joined the Weiyuan Escort Agency’s caravan to Lin County, where Captain Xing Lieshan warned him to follow escort rules and introduced Liu Ying. As the convoy entered a locust grove, Jiang Fa spotted an arrowhead on the left slope and warned the others of danger.

• Jiang Fa arrived at the southern city gate and reunited with Xu Feng and Zhao Chuan, who said Lin had gone to Lin County ahead of them.
• Xing Lieshan welcomed Jiang Fa to the escort job and instructed him to follow the captain’s orders and work with the team.
• Xing Lieshan introduced Liu Ying, an An Jin martial artist from the Flying Swallow Martial Hall, who joined the caravan.
• The caravan traveled toward Lin County with Jiang Fa riding in the middle and the escorts keeping watch.
• As the convoy entered a locust grove, Jiang Fa saw an arrowhead glinting from bushes on the left slope and shouted a warning.

Bandits ambushed Xing Lieshan’s convoy, and Jiang Fa stepped in when Liu Ying was nearly killed by their twin-saber leader. After killing him with overwhelming force, Jiang Fa charged toward the other bandit leader, with Liu Ying following.

• Bandits attacked the convoy with arrows and rushed from the hillside, wounding a convoy hand as Xing Lieshan engaged their spear-wielding leader.
• Liu Ying fought the twin-saber leader but was caught by a vicious counterattack.
• Jiang Fa blocked the strike, wounded the twin-saber leader, then killed him with a powerful cleave and a sweep of his ghost-head saber.
• Jiang Fa ordered Liu Ying to get back, then charged toward the remaining bandit leader as she followed.