Chapter Summaries

Qin Tiexin explored the Fallen Star Pavilion’s markets, bought body-tempering herbs, and discovered a record connecting the Iron Spine Sect to the Black Meteor Mountain Range. He returned to the inn with most of his savings spent and Li Yun still absent.

• Li Yun left to visit an elder of her clan, while Qin Tiexin went to explore the market with his limited savings.
• Qin Tiexin compared prices for pills, weapons, and forging materials, then bought five liang of dragon sinew vine and three packets of supplementary herbs at the Bone Forging Hall.
• Qin Tiexin learned that stronger body-tempering medicines were far beyond his means and had only four Spirit Stones and a few Spirit Crystals left.
• Qin Tiexin bought an old book for one Spirit Stone and found a brief account of the Iron Spine Sect’s decline and disappearance in the Black Meteor Mountain Range.
• Qin Tiexin considered how to earn money through forging, passed a job notice for apprentices, and returned to the inn at noon while Li Yun had not yet come back.

Li Yun took Qin Tiexin to the Fallen Star Pavilion’s monthly auction, where she bought pills and Qin discovered that a broken bronze mirror stirred the Illustrated Catalog of Ten Thousand Artifacts. The mirror went to another bidder, leaving Qin resolved to cultivate, grow stronger, and earn Spirit Stones so he could pursue it.

• Li Yun presented her jade token and led Qin Tiexin into the auction hall, where they watched cultivators bid on pills and a Flowing Cloud Shuttle.
• The auctioneer sold a Treasure-Seeking Mouse and an incomplete Shadow Concealment Technique for high bids.
• Li Yun bid eighty Spirit Stones for ten Ice Soul Essence Condensation Pills and stored them away.
• When a cracked bronze mirror appeared, the Illustrated Catalog of Ten Thousand Artifacts shuddered and showed Qin Tiexin an incomplete diagram, but he lacked the Spirit Stones to bid on it.
• Another bidder bought the mirror for eighteen Spirit Stones, and Li Yun later asked Qin Tiexin why he had seemed interested in it.
• Back at the inn, Qin Tiexin decided to cultivate, grow stronger, and earn Spirit Stones.

Qin Tiexin paid the Listening Wind Pavilion for information about reaching the Heavenly South Domain and the Spirit Creek Sect’s destruction. He left with a route map and a lead at Dragon-Severing Cliff, then returned to the inn, where Li Yun was waiting.

• Qin Tiexin visited the Listening Wind Pavilion and learned that reaching the Heavenly South Domain required a costly teleportation journey or a dangerous, lengthy route by ship.
• The middle-aged cultivator told Qin Tiexin that the Spirit Creek Sect had been destroyed two hundred years earlier by a force marked by savage Yao Qi and unusual, intense heat.
• The cultivator suggested Qin Tiexin seek further information at Dragon-Severing Cliff and asked for five more Spirit Stones to discuss the Iron Spine Sect; Qin Tiexin declined.
• Qin Tiexin memorized the route map, destroyed its Jade Slip, and resolved to prepare for the journey and investigate the sect’s destruction.
• Qin Tiexin returned to the inn and found Li Yun waiting in the lobby.

Qin Tiexin and Li Yun received their mission payment in Fallen Star Pavilion, where Feng Ming chose to stay and join a mercenary squad. Before departing with the caravan, Qin agreed to forge Li Yun an Ice Icicle Sword, and he left the city thinking about his cultivation and future path.

• Household Head Feng paid Qin Tiexin and Li Yun, while Feng Ming announced he would stay in Fallen Star Pavilion and join the Ash Squad; his uncle gave him three hundred Spirit Crystals and asked the two cultivators to look after him.
• Li Yun explained the Iron Hand Gate and other powers in the cultivation world, then warned Qin Tiexin that his Five Spirit Roots would make Foundation Establishment difficult without an opportunity or a specialized path.
• Li Yun asked Qin Tiexin to forge her a Lower-Grade Law Artifact, an Ice Icicle Sword, and provided the materials and fifty Spirit Crystals for his work.
• Qin Tiexin packed his belongings, cared for Edgeless, and cultivated before the caravan departed the next morning.
• Feng Ming told Qin Tiexin and Li Yun that he had joined the Ash Squad and would be gathering herbs; Qin Tiexin then watched Fallen Star Pavilion disappear into the morning mist as the caravan left.

On the journey back toward the Flowing Cloud Sect, Qin Tiexin used his Spirit Material Sense to find ores and broke through to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, gaining Divine Sense. He secretly collected a valuable haul and continued cultivating as the caravan neared home.

• Qin Tiexin sensed and collected crimson heart copper ore and wind copper while traveling through the Frost Ridge Mountains.
• At the mountain outpost, Qin Tiexin reached the Qi Refining Fourth Layer and awakened Divine Sense, which extended up to twenty paces.
• Qin Tiexin combined Divine Sense with Spirit Material Sense and found more crimson heart copper in a rock-face crevice.
• Qin Tiexin secretly dug nine pieces of black iron sand ore from waste rock beside an abandoned mine.
• Qin Tiexin cultivated at night as the caravan continued toward the Flowing Cloud Sect, while Li Yun noticed his nighttime outings.

Qin Tiexin returned to the Flowing Cloud Sect, reported the Han Household’s ambush, and told Old Wu about the clues concerning the Spirit Creek Sect. Old Wu began teaching him advanced forging methods, while Qin Tiexin trained his divine sense and prepared for the upcoming tournament.

• Qin Tiexin and Li Yun turned in their escort mission, and Qin Tiexin reported that the Han Household had ambushed them; the steward said the sect would investigate.
• Li Yun left to contact Qin Tiexin after he finished forging, while Qin Tiexin went to the Discarded Artifact Pavilion to report to Old Wu.
• Qin Tiexin told Old Wu about the auction, the Divine Weapon Tower, and the Listening Wind Pavilion’s clues about the Spirit Creek Sect; Old Wu warned him to be cautious of the Demon Race.
• Old Wu confirmed Qin Tiexin had reached the Qi Refining Fourth Layer and developed divine sense, then taught him the Resonance Forging Method and Spirit Rune Nesting Technique.
• Old Wu instructed Qin Tiexin to practice forging and prepare to temper his spine before the tournament; Qin Tiexin memorized the diagrams and trained his divine sense at his hut.

Qin Tiexin began bone tempering with medicinal baths, spinal traction, hammering, and increasingly heavy weights. After seven days, he cracked and tempered his skull, leaving twenty days until the grand competition.

• Qin Tiexin bought four sets of medicinal ingredients and endured his first painful bone-tempering bath.
• Qin Tiexin used a traction frame and repeated rounds of hammering at the Body Refining Plaza to prepare his spine, ribs, and breastbone for tempering.
• Qin Tiexin took nightly medicinal baths and carefully hammered his own bones, while his cultivation formula helped repair the resulting microcracks.
• Qin Tiexin continued the routine for seven days, then used weights up to twelve thousand jin to create microcracks across his skull.
• Qin Tiexin soaked in an agonizing medicinal bath as the medicine seeped into his skull, then sensed his bones healing and hardening; twenty days remained until the grand competition.

Qin Tiexin overcame the limits of his naturally hard bones by enduring the pressure of a massive mysterious-iron block and the earth veins’ Spiritual Qi. He reached minor accomplishment in the Body Tempering Sixth Layer, with ten days remaining until the grand competition.

• Qin Tiexin found that ordinary weight-bearing training no longer advanced the tempering of his bones, and a fellow disciple advised him to consult Instructor Shi.
• Shi Yong tested Qin Tiexin’s bones and took him to the sect’s abandoned Black Mysterious ore vein, where he explained the dangers of using its pressure and Spiritual Qi.
• Qin Tiexin endured the descending mysterious iron and the violent Spiritual Qi, guiding them into his skull and spine despite severe pain and bleeding.
• Qin Tiexin’s major bones attained true silver light, and he pushed the twenty-thousand-jin block upward before Shi Yong stopped the mechanism.
• Shi Yong assessed Qin Tiexin as having reached minor accomplishment in the Body Tempering Sixth Layer and told him to rest and begin practicing strength techniques.
• Qin Tiexin left the mine as the sun set and noted that ten days remained until the grand competition.

After his breakthrough, Qin Tiexin used his improved Divine Sense to refine his combat practice and learn to sense and guide the spirituality in metal while forging. With Old Wu’s guidance, he successfully made a two-rune forearm shield, and Old Wu judged it nearly middle-grade and worth at least twenty Spirit Stones.

• Qin Tiexin found that his Divine Sense reached farther and saw more clearly, then used it to refine his Mountain-Shaking Steps and Heavy Mountain Saber Technique.
• At the Discarded Artifact Pavilion, Qin Tiexin used Divine Sense to strike resonance nodes in iron and guide its spiritual flow, impressing Old Wu.
• Qin Tiexin practiced nesting the Sturdiness and Lightness spirit runes, failing repeatedly before Old Wu helped him correct their intersection and energy flow.
• Qin Tiexin told Old Wu he wanted to forge a Law Artifact, and Old Wu agreed to seal the forging room the next morning.
• Qin Tiexin forged a crimson heart copper and wind copper forearm shield from azure pattern steel, inscribing nested Sturdiness and Rebound spirit runes.
• Old Wu tested the shield, found that it absorbed seventy percent of an impact and rebounded the rest, and valued it at at least twenty Spirit Stones.

Qin Tiexin completed Li Yun’s Ice Icicle Sword, sparred with her to sharpen his movement, and learned about the Artifact Refining Hall’s factions and the future path of artifact refining. He prepared Edgeless and brought himself to peak condition as the outer sect grand competition began the next day.

• Qin Tiexin finished the Ice Icicle Sword, and Li Yun tested it, paid him twenty-five lower-grade spirit stones, and sparred with him at the training grounds.
• Qin Tiexin dodged Li Yun’s ice techniques with Mountain-Shaking Steps and his divine sense, improving his footwork and learning to close in on spell cultivators.
• Nangong Yao examined Qin Tiexin’s cultivation and arm shield, warned him that Zhao Yan and factional rivalries could make the grand competition dangerous, and urged him not to back down if trouble came.
• Old Wu explained that artifact refiners could advance beyond earth fire by cultivating spirit fire after Foundation Establishment.
• Qin Tiexin reforged Edgeless with black iron essence and a Rebound spirit rune, then analyzed his strengths and planned for possible opponents.
• Qin Tiexin regulated his breathing and divine sense until he reached peak condition, with the outer sect grand competition set to begin the next day.

Qin Tiexin joined Li Yun, Wang Zhong, and Chen Feng for the outer sect tournament’s ten-day trial in the ruins of the Fire Refining Sect. After collecting four Fire Rune Jade tokens, the group found an artifact refining hall, where Qin Tiexin discovered and stored a massive ore mixture that he believed he could refine into valuable spirit materials.

• Qin Tiexin formed a trial team with Li Yun, Wang Zhong, and Chen Feng, while Zhao Yan and Zhou Chongshan passed with their own groups.
• Qin Tiexin used his Divine Sense to detect a hidden fire formation, and the team avoided its flames before defeating three Fire Scale Lizards and finding their first Fire Rune Jade.
• The team collected four Fire Rune Jade pieces over several hours, then encountered Zhao Yan’s better-equipped team in a narrow corridor.
• Qin Tiexin sensed an unusual call from an artifact refining hall and found a mottled boulder among its discarded materials.
• Qin Tiexin recognized the boulder as a valuable mixture of ores, lifted its ten-thousand-jin weight into his Storage Bag, and rested with the team.

Chen Feng betrayed Qin Tiexin, Li Yun, and Wang Zhong to seize the jade marrow ganoderma, but Qin Tiexin stopped him and divided the treasure among the group. As a Lava Earth Lizard attacked them, Qin Tiexin confronted it while Li Yun and Wang Zhong retreated.

• Li Yun led the group to ten jade marrow ganoderma growing above a magma fissure, and Chen Feng proposed an unfair split.
• Chen Feng secretly attacked Wang Zhong with Wind Blades, stole the jade marrow ganoderma, and fled across the fissure.
• Qin Tiexin caught Chen Feng, broke his wrist, recovered the stolen goods, and tied him to a stone pillar.
• Qin Tiexin gave two jade marrow ganoderma to himself and four each to Li Yun and Wang Zhong, then harvested three blood-eroding grasses.
• A Lava Earth Lizard burst through the rock wall and attacked the group, so Qin Tiexin sent Li Yun away with Wang Zhong and blocked the creature's claw with his shield.
• The Lava Earth Lizard gathered a pillar of fire in its jaws and unleashed it at Qin Tiexin.

Qin Tiexin held off an earth lizard so Li Yun could escort the injured Wang Zhong to safety, then led the pursuing beast through a mine tunnel. He escaped into a narrow crevice after collapsing its entrance, but remained badly injured in the darkness.

• Qin Tiexin deflected the earth lizard’s fire and gave Li Yun the Storage Bag, ordering her to retreat with Wang Zhong through the eastern fissure.
• Qin Tiexin used Mountain-Shaking Steps to shake the ground and slow the earth lizard, then retreated into the mine tunnel.
• Qin Tiexin evaded and delayed the earth lizard through the tunnel, taking injuries as he used falling rocks and the terrain to hinder its pursuit.
• At the cliff’s edge, Qin Tiexin detonated his ruined shield to stun the earth lizard and leaped across the fissure into a narrow crevice.
• Qin Tiexin collapsed rocks over the crevice entrance, escaped the earth lizard, and swallowed pills while recovering from severe injuries.

After surviving the Lava Earth Lizard, Qin Tiexin reunited with Li Yun and Wang Zhong, returned from the trial, and earned recognition and rewards for protecting his fellow disciples. As his reputation spread through the sect, he prepared to recover and compete in the upcoming artifact-refining event.

• Qin Tiexin escaped the crevice, found Li Yun and Wang Zhong, and divided the trial’s Fire Rune Jade and other resources with them.
• Qin Tiexin, Li Yun, and Wang Zhong returned to the outer sect square, where disciples spread word that Qin Tiexin had held off the Lava Earth Lizard to cover their retreat.
• Zhao Yan reassessed Qin Tiexin, and Zhou Chongshan approached him to commend his sense of responsibility.
• The deacon awarded Qin Tiexin one hundred Lower-Grade Spirit Stones and one hundred merit points, then Deacon Xu gave him Jade Origin Pills and said the elders approved of his conduct.
• Qin Tiexin reviewed his gains and injuries, took a Jade Origin Pill, and began recuperating for the artifact-refining event in three days.

Qin Tiexin entered the Flowing Cloud Sect’s artifact-refining competition and forged a sturdy tower shield that helped him win all three preliminary combat rounds. He advanced to the finals alongside fifty competitors and prepared for harder battles the next day.

• Qin Tiexin prepared for the competition by reviewing his artifact-refining insights and Spirit Runes, then learned that contestants had to forge an artifact and fight three rounds.
• Qin Tiexin used Resonance Forging and two Spirit Runes to make a heavy tower shield, finishing well before the time limit.
• Qin Tiexin blocked his first opponent’s saber attacks until the disciple conceded.
• Qin Tiexin used the shield’s rebound rune to disarm his second opponent, then knocked his third opponent off the platform with a sweeping shield strike.
• Qin Tiexin was named among the fifty finalists, repaired his shield that night, and prepared for the finals.

Qin Tiexin overcame a sabotaged furnace and inferior materials to forge a heavy sword and win first place in the artifact-refining competition. After Zhao Yan challenged him to compete again, Qin Tiexin returned to his quarters and prepared for the next day’s combat competition.

• Qin Tiexin discovered that his station’s earth fire had been weakened and its Mysterious Iron replaced with inferior material, but he chose not to complain.
• Qin Tiexin forced the furnace flames with his spiritual power and used a heavy hammer to refine the impure iron into a thick sword bearing the Thousand Jun and Sharpness runes.
• Deacon Xu judged Qin Tiexin’s sword a stable Middle-Grade Law Artifact despite its crude appearance, and True Person Qichen confirmed the assessment.
• The judges awarded Qin Tiexin first place, Zhao Yan second, and Lin Han third; True Person Qichen privately told Qin Tiexin that the sect knew someone had tampered with his station.
• Zhao Yan told Qin Tiexin they would compete again in the inner sect, and Qin Tiexin later concluded that the sabotage was part of an effort to suppress him before the combat competition.

Qin Tiexin powered through the grand combat tournament’s first eight rounds, relying mostly on his physical strength to defeat his opponents and advance to the final eight. As he prepared for the quarterfinals, he considered the strength of his remaining rivals and resolved to conserve his limited full-power saber strikes.

• Qin Tiexin defeated Liu Qingfeng with a single punch after enduring his sword thrust, shocking the spectators with his physical strength.
• Qin Tiexin won six more rounds using Mountain-Shaking Steps, his fists, and occasional blows from Edgeless, without revealing his saber technique or casting spells.
• Chen Feng conceded to Qin Tiexin before their eighth-round match, and Qin Tiexin advanced to the final eight.
• Zhao Yan and Zhou Chongshan observed that Qin Tiexin had held back, while True Person Qichen praised his skill and composure.
• Qin Tiexin reviewed his opponents’ abilities and concluded that he could manage at most three full-power saber strikes in the quarterfinals before resuming cultivation for the next day.

Qin Tiexin defeated Li Yun in the quarterfinals after enduring her sword techniques and trapping her with the Vine Technique. He drew Zhao Yan for the semifinals and prepared to face him despite Li Yun’s warning about possible sabotage.

• Qin Tiexin drew Li Yun as his quarterfinal opponent, and they agreed to fight with their full abilities.
• Li Yun attacked with ice walls, agile swordsmanship, and Ice Blossom Bloom, but Qin Tiexin defended with Edgeless and endured her assault.
• Qin Tiexin trapped Li Yun with the Vine Technique after luring her into a strike, and she conceded the match.
• Li Yun warned Qin Tiexin that Zhou Chongshan was a powerful spell-and-body cultivator and that Zhao Yan might have been involved in tampering with Qin Tiexin’s artifact-refining tournament.
• Zhou Chongshan defeated Wang Yue, Zhao Yan narrowly defeated Sun Wu, and Chu Qing outlasted Chen Yuan to complete the semifinal lineup.
• Qin Tiexin drew Zhao Yan for the semifinals, and Li Yun gave him Ice Heart Pills to protect against fire poison.

Qin Tiexin fought Zhao Yan in the martial arena semifinals, enduring his fire techniques and Law Artifacts to land a devastating blow. Both were gravely injured, and Qin Tiexin approached the helpless Zhao Yan as the officiating elder prepared to announce the result, when a sudden upheaval interrupted.

• Qin Tiexin saw a blue-robed disciple secretly hand Zhao Yan a Storage Bag and suspected Zhao Yan had been behind the sabotage during the artifact-refining competition.
• Qin Tiexin and Zhao Yan entered the semifinal, where Zhao Yan revealed three Law Artifacts and trapped Qin Tiexin in a burning formation.
• Qin Tiexin charged through Zhao Yan’s flames and struck him with the Heavy Mountain Saber Technique, but Zhao Yan’s Fire Spirit Armor blocked the attack.
• Qin Tiexin endured Zhao Yan’s barrage and broke through seven walls of fire to unleash Mountain Shattering, severely damaging Zhao Yan and his armor.
• Qin Tiexin rose and advanced on the badly injured Zhao Yan, but a sudden upheaval began just before the elder announced the result.

Qin Tiexin overcame Zhao Yan’s hidden Blood Sha Illusion Realm attack and won the semifinal after Zhao Yan surrendered. As Qin Tiexin recovered, Li Yun brought him clothes and burn medicine, while Zhou Chongshan and Chu Qing prepared to fight for a place in the final.

• Qin Tiexin closed in on the injured Zhao Yan, but Zhao Yan secretly unleashed a soul attack from his ring.
• Qin Tiexin endured the blood-soaked illusion of his fallen comrades and broke free by recalling his purpose of finding Lin Feng.
• Nangong Yao tried to intervene, but a gray-robed elder stopped her when Qin Tiexin began resisting the attack.
• Qin Tiexin dismissed the illusion, and Zhao Yan surrendered before the officiating elder declared Qin Tiexin the winner and advanced him to the final.
• Li Yun brought Qin Tiexin robes and Ice Skin Ointment, and he treated his burns while she warned him about his possible final opponents.
• Zhou Chongshan and Chu Qing took the central arena for the second semifinal.