Recaps

Jiang Fa endured poverty, dangerous debts, and demanding training to break through to Ming Jin and enter the inner courtyard. After returning home, he protected his family from local debt collectors, killed Liu Laizi, and began preparing to strengthen himself for the dangers and costs of inner-courtyard life.

• Jiang Fa joined the Zhao Clan Martial Hall despite his family's poverty, learned the Mountain-Breaking Stance and Fist, and secretly obtained the Seven-Colored Glazed Glass Art from Ye Qingyu's jade.
• Jiang Fa struggled to afford his fees and training resources, then borrowed twenty taels from Master Hu on terms that would surrender his life if he failed to repay.
• Jiang Fa bought martial medicines and trained intensely as Qin Xuan entered the inner courtyard, Chen Erniu failed his assessment and died, and Li Tie and Wang Dahu left the hall.
• Jiang Fa broke through to Ming Jin, mastered the Mountain-Breaking Fist to minor achievement, and passed the assessment as the second-ranked successful disciple.
• Jiang Fa entered the inner courtyard, returned home, repaid Lady Liu, and used his strength to frighten her and her family away from his parents.
• Jiang Fa killed Liu Laizi after learning of his abuse of Jiang Dashan, and villagers accepted the death as an accident while Jiang Fa helped his father recover.
• Jiang Fa returned to the hall, received Zhao Zhong's cultivation annotations, and learned from Steward Ma about outside posts and the dangers of Black Wind Ridge.
• Jiang Fa chose to strengthen his Ming Jin realm before taking dangerous work and spent his remaining silver on Blood Condensation Pills and Blood Strengthening Powder.

Jiang Fa hunted Black Wind Ridge for money and medicine, repaid the Black Tiger Gang, and advanced to An Jin while improving his martial arts. After standing up to Xie Tan and accepting work with the Lin Lineage, he joined an escort to Lin County and helped repel a bandit attack.

• Jiang Fa trained for two months, ran out of medicine and silver, and decided to hunt beasts in Black Wind Ridge after Wang Shi and Lin Feng warned him about its dangers.
• Jiang Fa hunted beasts and gathered herbs, then killed a wounded hunter who tried to rob him and survived an attack by a Crimson-Scaled Python.
• Jiang Fa escaped the ridge with his spoils, killed two Boulder Martial Hall disciples who tried to seize them, and sold his goods for silver to repay the Black Tiger Gang and buy medicine.
• Jiang Fa trained for months, mastered the Cloak Saber Technique, accepted an Attendant post from Lin Feng, and advanced from Peak Ming Jin to Early An Jin.
• Jiang Fa stopped Xie Tan from abusing Xu Feng and Ma Ping, defeated Xie Tan's attacks, and received Zhao Zhong's instruction in the third layer of the Mountain-Breaking Stance.
• Jiang Fa chose a heavy ghost-head saber, demonstrated his skill to Lin Feng, and agreed to escort a shipment to Lin County with Xu Feng and Zhao Chuan.
• Jiang Fa spotted an ambush as the caravan entered a locust grove, then killed the twin-saber bandit leader while Liu Ying fought beside him.

Jiang Fa survived an ambush on the Lin Lineage caravan, returned home, and was drawn into a proposed marriage meeting with Tang Jin'er. When Tang Jin'er's scheme to escape with Meng Chang turned violent, Jiang Fa intervened and killed the attackers, leaving Meng Chang's fate to the Tang family.

• Jiang Fa helped the convoy survive Black Wind Stronghold’s attacks, fought Tu Lie, and was saved from an Earth-Shaking Demonic Ape by a girl in black.
• In Lin County, Jiang Fa learned the cargo contained dark iron essence gold, received rewards for protecting the caravan, and returned to Qingshan County.
• Li Canghai plotted against the Lin Lineage while Wang Chengde revealed the Wang Family had leaked the mineral vein’s location to further its plans.
• Zhao Zhong praised Jiang Fa’s Cloak Saber and gave him Qi and Blood Elixirs, which brought him close to Middle An Jin.
• Jiang Fa returned to his family, gave them money and gifts, and agreed to visit the Tang residence after Chen Yue'e told him Squire Tang had proposed a match with Tang Jin'er.
• At the Tang residence, Old Master Tang and Lady Zhou dismissed Jiang Fa as a poor match, while Tang Jin'er arranged for Meng Chang to take her away by drugging Third Master Zhao.
• Ding Kui, Mo Laoliu, and Han Qing attacked the Tang household, severely wounded Third Master Zhao, and threatened the family and Tang Jin'er.
• Jiang Fa killed Han Qing, Mo Laoliu, and Ding Kui, covered Tang Jin'er with his robe, and left Meng Chang’s fate to Master Tang.

Jiang Fa returned to Qingshan County, concealed his growing strength, and acquired new cultivation arts while trying to uncover who had targeted him. He killed more gang members and another assassin, leaving Constable Fang to connect the deaths as the threat against him remained unresolved.

• Jiang Fa rescued the Tang Family, accepted Old Master Tang’s reward, and set out for Qingshan County after asking Chen Yue'e to keep the incident secret.
• On the road, Jiang Fa saw through three travelers’ disguise and killed them when they attacked, finding the Origin-Returning Breath-Concealing Art among their belongings.
• Back at the martial arts school, Jiang Fa began practicing the art, while Ding Wanshan learned the three missing Blood Wolf Gang fighters had been killed and ordered surveillance of the Zhao Clan Martial Hall and Lin Lineage Trading Company.
• Tang Jin'er joined the martial arts school and sought Jiang Fa’s attention, while he continued training and searched the black market for a body-tempering method.
• Jiang Fa traded Wind-Chasing Steps for the incomplete Great Strength Vajra Art, then killed two men sent by Master Hu to rob black-market customers.
• Jiang Fa used his Seven-Colored Glazed Glass Art to advance directly to Viscera Refinement in the Great Strength Vajra Art and kept training as Tang Jin'er offered him medicinal bath powder.
• After Jiang Fa and his martial brothers encountered Black Tiger Gang men extorting an old woman and her granddaughter, he defeated the gang members and returned the debt note.
• A gray-clad assassin attacked Jiang Fa, accused him of killing three fighters, and died after Jiang Fa shattered his sword and crushed his arm, and Jiang Fa found a sword manual on the body.
• Constable Fang linked the assassin’s death to earlier killings and learned that four Black Tiger Gang members had died in Willow Tree Alley, but declined to investigate those deaths.