Recaps

Zhang Qingyuan arranged to recruit teachers and promote the academy while its students advanced in martial arts training and formed class rivalries. After students from Class One and Class Ten fought, he announced a ten-class martial competition in three months, with Creation Pills for the winners and toilet-cleaning duty for the losers.

• Zhang Qingyuan set requirements for second-year teachers, asked Fifth Senior Brother to examine applicants with him, and told Sixth Senior Brother to arrange newspaper interviews.
• The students progressed from physical conditioning to martial arts training, revealing differences in their comprehension and ability.
• Yin Tianqi and Liu Sidao's groups continued their rivalry, while students across the classes formed their own cliques and bonds.
• Liu Che and his Eight Vajra beat Yin Tianqi, but Liu Sidao and his friends intervened; afterward, Yin Tianqi and Liu Sidao became closer.
• Lu Guying scolded the students for fighting between classes but told them they could fight as long as they did not lose.
• Zhang Qingyuan announced a martial competition for the ten classes in three months, awarding the winning class ten Creation Pills and assigning toilet-cleaning duty to the losing class.

A Tianyang Martial Dao Academy advertisement for second-year teachers drew applicants with unusual backgrounds, including Chu Yunshen, Zhou Lei, and Gu Qianshan. At the academy, Zhang Qingyuan and Li Moran began screening candidates and rejected Zhao Dashan.

• Chu Yunshen read the notice in Goldfish City and decided to apply so he could prove his internal-cultivation methods were valuable.
• Zhou Lei read the notice while escorting a thief and agreed to apply, but insisted on taking the thief to the authorities first.
• Gu Qianshan, a physician unable to cultivate, decided to travel to the Tianyang Sect and present his knowledge of meridians and internal cultivation.
• Zhang Qingyuan and Li Moran interviewed applicants as crowds arrived at Tianyang Martial Dao Academy.
• Zhao Dashan described internal cultivation as simply following a manual, and Old Fifth rejected him when he returned asking whether he had passed.

Zhou Lei and Gu Qianshan climbed Tianyang Sect to apply for second-year teaching positions and learned the assessment tested teaching ability and understanding of internal cultivation, not martial rank. After a tense wait in a crowded line, Gu Qianshan went in for his interview while Zhou Lei remained outside.

• Zhou Lei met Gu Qianshan at Tianyang Sect's gates, and the two headed up the mountain together to apply for teaching positions.
• Zhou Lei spoke with Hero Fang, who explained that Sect Master Zhang and the fifth elder judged applicants on teaching skill and understanding of internal cultivation rather than grade.
• Zhou Lei and Gu Qianshan reached the recruitment room and saw dozens of applicants waiting amid rumors about mock lessons and strict questioning.
• As applicants entered and returned unsuccessful, Gu Qianshan prepared to explain how medical knowledge related to meridians and Qi circulation.
• After Zhou Lei and Gu Qianshan briefly deferred to each other, Gu Qianshan straightened his clothes and entered the recruitment room.

Zhang Qingyuan recruited instructors for Tianyang Martial Dao Academy, seeking teachers who could explain cultivation to students who lacked natural talent. Zhou Lei passed the interview, and Gu Qianshan also earned approval by arguing that his medical expertise could help students understand meridians and internal cultivation.

• Zhang Qingyuan hired Zhou Lei after he confidently explained his views on internal power and cultivation.
• Zhou Lei told Gu Qianshan that Sect Master Zhang was fair and urged him to explain himself properly.
• Gu Qianshan admitted that he had no martial realm, prompting the Fifth Elder to question how he could teach internal cultivation.
• Zhang Qingyuan invited Gu Qianshan to explain his reasons for applying and how he could teach without internal power.
• Gu Qianshan described how his medical experience with meridians, acupoints, and Qi deviation could help students understand cultivation and avoid mistakes.
• Zhang Qingyuan accepted Gu Qianshan after hearing his explanation.

Liu Sidao and Ma Shou joined forces to resist Liu Che’s attempt to bring Class One under his Heavenly Dragon Association, and the dispute erupted into a brawl between hundreds of students. Zhang Qingyuan arrived with ten newly recruited teachers and found the students fighting instead of behaving like the well-mannered disciples he had described.

• A student warned Liu Sidao that Liu Che had brought students from Classes Eight and Nine to fight Class One, so Liu Sidao sent for Ma Shou.
• Ma Shou arrived with more than seventy students from Class Three, and he and Liu Sidao agreed to target Liu Che.
• Liu Che demanded that Liu Sidao submit to the Heavenly Dragon Association, while Ma Shou taunted him and refused to back down.
• Liu Che charged Ma Shou, and the students from both sides surged into a chaotic brawl on the martial training ground.
• Zhang Qingyuan arrived with ten new teachers, who watched hundreds of boys fight and questioned his description of the students as plain and well-behaved.

Zhang Qingyuan reviewed the promising students across Tianyang Martial Dao Academy’s ten classes as the new-student martial tournament approached. He estimated that this intake could produce at least fifteen Upper Three Ranks experts, while recognizing that other students might reveal their talent later.

• Zhang Qingyuan explained that student fights were normal and could foster competition, but he would expel anyone who bullied or seriously injured others.
• After three months, Zhang Qingyuan reviewed the teachers’ lists of promising students ahead of the academy’s new-student martial tournament.
• Zhang Qingyuan noted standout students across the classes, including Liu Sidao, Ma Shou, Sun Xiaohu, Murong Xue, and the unusually named Xie Xiaofeng and Lin Pingzhi.
• Zhang Qingyuan estimated that more than a hundred students showed early promise and that most could eventually reach at least the Fourth-Rank Realm.
• Zhang Qingyuan calculated that the system rewards guaranteed eleven Upper Three Ranks experts and hoped four more would emerge naturally, bringing the intake’s total to fifteen.
• Zhang Qingyuan remembered that Xiao Yan was not on Lu Guying’s genius list, though he expected Xiao Yan to develop after a slow start.

Bai Shuyan visited the Wang Lineage to negotiate a partnership supplying graduates from the Tianyang Martial Dao Academy. After facing Wang Xiangyi’s anger over their past romance, he secured a preliminary agreement and left the details to her.

• Bai Shuyan arrived at the Wang Lineage, where Wang Xiangyi threatened him with her spear over his abandonment of her years earlier.
• Bai Shuyan reminded Wang Xiangyi of their past and showed her the embroidered handkerchief she had given him, then explained that he had come on business.
• Bai Shuyan proposed that the Wang Lineage recruit academy graduates as guards, escort guards, or disciples, and Wang Xiangyi agreed to discuss cooperation.
• Bai Shuyan met Wang Xiangyi’s father and explained that the Wang Lineage could select graduates at the academy’s tournament next June.
• Bai Shuyan and the Wang Lineage reached a preliminary understanding to supply academy graduates to the lineage.

Bai Shuyan visited former sweethearts across the Eastern Realm, using old keepsakes and tales of their past to win their affection and promote cooperation with the Tianyang Martial Dao Academy. He secured a partnership with Liu Ruyan’s Moon Haze Sword Sect and continued his exhausting tour of former lovers.

• Bai Shuyan arrived at the Moon Haze Sword Sect, where Liu Ruyan attacked him over his abrupt departure years earlier.
• Bai Shuyan returned Liu Ruyan’s lost hairpin and persuaded her that he had left to protect her, rekindling their romance.
• Bai Shuyan proposed that the Moon Haze Sword Sect train and employ female graduates of the Tianyang Martial Dao Academy, and Liu Ruyan agreed to the partnership.
• Bai Shuyan and Liu Ruyan arranged recruitment and graduation plans before he departed to visit more former sweethearts.
• Bai Shuyan visited Hu Ke’er, Xin’er, Jinqi, and Xuanxin, sharing keepsakes and proposing academy cooperation while renewing romances with those who were unmarried.
• Bai Shuyan spent half a year traveling across the Eastern Realm and found that his body was increasingly exhausted despite reaching the Fourth-Rank Realm.

Zhang Qingyuan hosted Tianyang Martial Dao Academy’s three-month assessment, welcoming powerful officials and local figures to witness the first intake’s progress. After opening remarks, the ranking matches for the top hundred students began.

• After three days of competition, the top hundred students were selected, though Xiao Yan did not make the list.
• Zhang Qingyuan welcomed City Lord Zhao, Yang Lianhe, Lin Junfeng, and other local guests to the academy.
• Zhang Tianlu arrived with Brocade Guard cavalrymen and took the seat of honor, noting the academy had drawn attention from the capital.
• Zhang Qingyuan thanked the guests, addressed the students, and officially began the top-hundred ranking matches.

Tianyang Martial Dao Academy began its advancement matches, and Liu Sidao, Ma Shou, Liu Che, and Sun Xiaohu quickly defeated their first opponents. Xiao Yan, who had failed to make the top hundred, supported his classmates and felt discouraged about falling behind Murong Xue, but she encouraged him to believe he would become stronger.

• Zhang Qingyuan explained the academy’s seeded contestants and advancement format to Zhang Tianlu and the guests.
• Liu Sandao chose to watch his son Liu Sidao compete, and Liu Sidao defeated Feng Xin before offering him advice.
• Ma Shou defeated Xu Jielun with one side kick, while Liu Che and Sun Xiaohu also swiftly won their matches.
• Xiao Yan helped his classmates as support staff and felt dejected that he had not qualified for the top hundred.
• Murong Xue told Xiao Yan she had advanced after defeating Yue Buqun and encouraged him to trust that his deep reserves would lead to a powerful breakthrough.

The afternoon tournament determined the rankings of the top thirteen students, with Liu Sidao defeating Ma Shou to take first place. Zhang Qingyuan awarded the students their scholarships and prizes, including Minor Rejuvenation Pills for the top ten.

• The top thirteen students drew lots and fought through the opening round, with Liu Sidao, Ma Shou, Sun Xiaohu, Liu Che, Murong Xue, Zhao Hongbing, and Lin Pingzhi advancing.
• Liu Sidao defeated Lin Pingzhi, Ma Shou defeated Murong Xue, and Sun Xiaohu defeated Liu Che to reach the final four alongside Zhao Hongbing.
• Liu Sidao used footwork and a chokehold to defeat Sun Xiaohu, while Ma Shou narrowly defeated Zhao Hongbing in the other semifinal.
• Liu Sidao won the final against Ma Shou by feinting an opening, tripping him, and pinning him to the ground.
• Murong Xue finished fifth after Murong An pretended to be injured and surrendered, and the tournament rankings placed Liu Sidao first, Ma Shou second, and Sun Xiaohu third.
• Zhang Qingyuan awarded scholarships to the twenty-five students and gave Minor Rejuvenation Pills to the top ten, instructing them to wait until reaching the sixth rank before taking them.

After the tournament, the teachers praised their students and explained that the next stage would teach internal arts, where talent in meridians and dantian mattered more than martial skill. The chapter ended with Liu Che vowing to regain his standing as Qin Shuang arrived with candied hawthorns, prompting everyone to wonder why their own top-ranked students had received no rewards.

• Lu Guying praised Class One’s tournament results and explained that students who failed to sense Qi within three days would return to him for more martial training.
• Zhan Hongling congratulated Ma Shou and Zhao Hongbing, and warned them not to take their Minor Rejuvenation Pills before reaching the sixth rank.
• The other homeroom teachers addressed their classes, while Liu Tianming comforted Lin Pingzhi after his father’s public scolding.
• Liu Che challenged Liu Sidao and Ma Shou to compete in internal arts, insisting that he would restore the Heavenly Dragon Association’s honor.
• Qin Shuang arrived with candied hawthorns from Chu Xiong and asked Liu Sidao, Ma Shou, and Liu Che what rewards they had received.

After three months of training, Zhang Qingyuan prepared the Tianyang Martial Dao Academy’s students to begin internal cultivation, confident that his methods could give ordinary students an advantage over traditional sect disciples. The teachers studied the Nine Yin Manual and Nine Yang Divine Skill, and Gu Qianshan and Chu Yunshen saw ways the manuals could help them.

• Zhang Qingyuan reflected on his rapid rise to the Fourth-Rank Realm and chose to focus on mastering three martial arts alongside the difficult Yin-Yang Limitless Skill.
• Zhang Qingyuan assessed the seven Tianyang Sect brothers’ cultivation and decided the sect should build its resources and wait before expanding.
• The Tianyang Martial Dao Academy completed its first three months of basic training and prepared to teach internal arts while continuing to strengthen the students’ foundations.
• Zhang Qingyuan explained that the Nine Yin Manual’s Tendon-Changing and Bone-Tempering Chapter could improve the students’ bodies and help most of them cultivate internal power.
• Gu Qianshan found hope that the Tendon-Changing and Bone-Tempering Chapter could overcome his meridian problems, while Chu Yunshen considered creating a Nine Yang Bone-Tempering Chapter.

Zhang Qingyuan appointed new leaders and teachers at the Tianyang Martial Dao Academy during its first all-staff meeting. The introductions ended with Gu Qianshan wondering why Zhang Qingyuan had left him out of the second-year teaching roster.

• Zhang Qingyuan announced that the Tianyang Sect's council of elders would remain unchanged and began assigning academy posts.
• Zhang Qingyuan appointed Ding Jianming head of the Security Department after he advanced to the fourth-rank realm, replacing Zheng Jianxin.
• Zhang Qingyuan appointed Lu Guying head of the first-year teaching group and offered him increased benefits and annual pills.
• Zhang Qingyuan introduced the second-year teachers, including the fifth-grade Yun Qingqiu, drawing attention from the staff and Old Fourth.
• Gu Qianshan realized Zhang Qingyuan had not introduced him and wondered whether his lack of internal power had cost him the teaching post.

Zhang Qingyuan established a martial arts research group and urged Tianyang Sect members to improve their inherited techniques instead of guarding outdated secrets. He appointed Chu Yunshen and Gu Qianshan to lead cultivation arts research, opened the sect library, and persuaded everyone that sharing their work could preserve their names for generations.

• Zhang Qingyuan appointed Yun Qingqiu temporary head of the second-year teaching group for three years.
• Zhang Qingyuan condemned secretive teaching and resistance to change, arguing that martial arts had to be improved and innovated.
• Zhang Qingyuan appointed Chu Yunshen head of the cultivation arts group and Gu Qianshan its deputy head.
• Zhang Qingyuan invited members, including Zhou Lei, to share ideas, promised creators credit, and opened the Tianyang Sect library.
• Zhang Qingyuan argued that recorded works and martial arts legacies could keep their creators remembered after death.
• The gathering embraced Zhang Qingyuan's proposal to share and develop their martial arts instead of keeping them to themselves.

Zhang Qingyuan expanded the Tianyang Martial Dao Academy’s mission by deciding to teach practical crafts and other subjects to students unable to cultivate, and the academy advertised for teachers across Yu Province. The notice rekindled hope in several skilled but marginalized people, who considered passing on their trades.

• Zhang Qingyuan urged the martial arts team to create techniques that would endure and told Sixth Elder that the academy would not abandon students unable to cultivate.
• Zhang Qingyuan ordered Sixth Elder to advertise for teachers of medicine, arithmetic, literature, carpentry, smithing, weaving, embroidery, and other subjects.
• Gu Qianshan, Xu Liang, Old Fourth, Zhan Hongling, and Li Changsheng offered to recruit skilled physicians, craftspeople, and needleworkers they knew.
• Lu Renjia read the recruitment notice aloud at a breakfast shop, and the customers discussed the academy’s plan to teach students other livelihoods.
• Lu Cheng'an, Yan Lie, and Wen Wangu heard about the notice and began to hope they could teach their crafts at the academy.

Tianyang Martial Dao Academy began its second cultivation stage, and Yun Qingqiu explained how students could sense and gather internal force. Liu Sidao, Ma Shou, and Liu Che developed internal force on the first day, while the other students struggled at different rates; Zhang Qingyuan ended the day determined to cultivate harder himself.

• Zhang Qingyuan introduced the second-year teachers and announced that students would learn either the Nine Yin Manual or the Nine Yang Divine Skill with guidance from their teachers.
• Yun Qingqiu explained that internal force came from Qi sense awakened through physical training and taught students how it was gathered and stored in the dantian.
• Zhang Qingyuan offered students who could not cultivate free vocational subjects, then had the teachers lead their classes through the Tianyang Origin-Nurturing Skill.
• Liu Sidao and Ma Shou quickly gathered internal force, and Liu Che succeeded after Cai Denglang helped him calm down.
• Li Goudan, Zhao Ling'er, Shi Tiezhu, and Xiao Yan made slower progress as the students' different aptitudes and temperaments became apparent.
• Zhang Qingyuan watched the students cultivate all day and went to the Scripture Pavilion that evening, resolving to work harder himself.

After the system raised his talent and the Tianyang Sect became established, Zhang Qingyuan finally began taking his own cultivation seriously and practiced the Tianyang Nine Swords. His senior brothers watched and discovered that his swordsmanship had improved so much that his feel for the sword was almost catching up to Zheng Jianxin's.

• Zhang Qingyuan reflected on how his late-arriving system had helped him build the Tianyang Martial Dao Academy and raise his cultivation, leaving him time to train.
• In the library pavilion, Zhang Qingyuan chose the Tianyang Nine Swords, deciding to focus on martial techniques after mastering the first stage of the Yin-Yang Limitless Skill.
• Zhang Qingyuan returned to his courtyard and practiced the sword art, performing the moves with newfound fluidity.
• Zhao Guangqi and Zheng Jianxin heard the sword sounds and hurried over, with Zhao Guangqi relieved to find Zhang Qingyuan practicing safely.
• Zheng Jianxin observed Zhang Qingyuan's swordsmanship and said his feel for the sword was almost catching up to his own.

Zhang Qingyuan realized that the martial arts rewarded by his system were effortless for him to learn, unlike the sect’s sword arts, and his senior brothers discovered his Daoist cultivation techniques. To avoid trouble over their origins, he planned to leave temporarily while Old Second’s cover story was put into action.

• Zhang Qingyuan practiced the Tianyang Nine Swords and Tianyang Four Extremes Sword Art while Old Eldest and Old Second recognized Daoist traits in his internal cultivation.
• Old Second suggested buying Daoist and Buddhist scriptures so the sect’s teachers could claim they had developed the suspicious martial arts themselves.
• Zhang Qingyuan realized that system-rewarded martial arts were easy for him to master so he could quickly show off, and stopped practicing the sect’s sword arts.
• Old Eldest questioned Zhang Qingyuan about the origins of his cultivation arts, and Old Second explained his plan to pass them off as the sect’s inventions.
• Zhang Qingyuan rejected the plan as insufficient for the Yin-Yang Limitless Skill and said he would leave in about five days, telling Old Eldest to build a Daoist temple on the mountain.

Zhang Qingyuan reviewed the students’ internal-cultivation breakthroughs with Yun Qingqiu, then went to visit Zhan Hongling. Zhan Hongling spoke proudly to her late husband about their talented son when Zhang Qingyuan knocked at her door.

• Yun Qingqiu reported that 109 students had reached the Eighth-Grade Realm, including Liu Sidao and Ma Shou, who developed internal power in three breaths.
• Zhang Qingyuan examined the breakthrough list and noted that some students who had struggled with basic martial arts excelled at internal cultivation.
• After Yun Qingqiu finished her report, Zhang Qingyuan practiced two sword techniques and headed to Zhan Hongling’s quarters.
• Zhan Hongling offered incense to her father and husband, then told Ma Ke how their son had developed a sense of Qi in three breaths and completed a Greater Celestial Circuit quickly.
• Zhang Qingyuan knocked on Zhan Hongling’s door and called out to her.

Zhang Qingyuan offered Ma Shou a place in the Tianyang Sect as his disciple, and Ma Shou accepted after confirming that Liu Sidao would also be chosen. Zhang Qingyuan told him to keep the news secret.

• Zhang Qingyuan visited Zhan Hongling and asked about her plans for Ma Shou’s future.
• Zhang Qingyuan offered to take Ma Shou into the Tianyang Sect, but insisted that Ma Shou’s wishes be respected.
• Zhan Hongling brought Ma Shou to meet Zhang Qingyuan, who explained that he wanted Ma Shou as his disciple.
• Ma Shou hesitated because he wondered why Zhang Qingyuan had not chosen Liu Sidao first.
• Zhang Qingyuan assured Ma Shou that he would choose Liu Sidao too, and Ma Shou accepted the offer.
• Zhang Qingyuan told Ma Shou to keep the news secret for now.

Zhang Qingyuan oversaw student breakthroughs, secured Liu Sidao’s support for his son joining the Tianyang Sect, and introduced a study tour to guide talented students’ conduct and development. He selected students to assemble at the mountain gate the next morning before traveling to the Bright Moon Sect and religious sites in the Eastern Realm.

• Over three days, 998 students reached the Eighth-Grade Realm, and Zhang Qingyuan outlined the academy’s tuition waivers and rewards for future breakthroughs.
• Zhang Qingyuan visited Liu Sandao and gained his enthusiastic consent for his son to join the Tianyang Sect; Liu Sidao also agreed when Zhang spoke with him afterward.
• Old Eldest brought Daoist scriptures to the library, adding to the Confucian classics already there.
• Zhang Qingyuan told the teachers he planned a study tour and explained that it would combine travel and learning while helping talented students develop sound judgment.
• After Lu Guying raised safety concerns, Zhang Qingyuan said the tour would visit the Bright Moon Sect and temples and Daoist monasteries in the Eastern Realm.
• Zhang Qingyuan announced that class teachers should summon the selected students to assemble at the mountain gate the following morning.

Zhang Qingyuan led ten students from Tianyang Martial Dao Academy on a study tour toward the Bright Moon Sect, helping them relax and bond along the way. After they took shelter in a ruined temple, the injured blue-robed swordsman they had seen earlier arrived with a girl, and Zhang Qingyuan told the students to save him.

• Zhang Qingyuan gathered the ten students at the academy gate, warned them to stay safe, and led them out on their study tour.
• Zhang Qingyuan chatted with the students on the road, easing their nerves as they discussed their growth, plans, and family names.
• The students stopped at the Phoenix Cry City–Ripple Water City boundary, where Xiao Yan practiced his heavy-sword technique and a blue-robed swordsman paused to watch.
• The group reached a ruined temple at night, made camp, and ate porridge and dried meat while Zhang Qingyuan told them Journey to the West.
• The injured blue-robed swordsman and a girl entered the temple, and Zhang Qingyuan told the students to save him.

Zhang Qingyuan and his students treated a wounded swordsman and learned that Han Yumo’s insistence on roaming the martial world had helped provoke the fight that injured him. Zhang Qingyuan left with the students, while Han Yumo stayed behind and an unknown young gentleman watched them resentfully.

• Zhang Qingyuan directed the students as they cleaned and bandaged the swordsman’s wounds.
• Han Yumo introduced herself as Han Zhennan’s daughter and explained that she had followed the swordsman after learning her father’s men were secretly protecting her.
• Han Yumo said a Brocade Guard commander had confronted the swordsman, leading to a fight that left him badly wounded.
• After Xiao Yan confirmed the swordsman was stable, Zhang Qingyuan gave him a healing pill and told him to rest.
• Zhang Qingyuan led the students away despite Han Yumo’s protests that she would not abandon the swordsman.
• A young gentleman secretly watched Zhang Qingyuan leave and cursed him for how he had treated Han Yumo.

Zhang Qingyuan taught his students about love and caution in the martial world, but a confrontation with Lin Li turned into a deadly fight. After killing Lin Li and his eight attendants, Zhang Qingyuan gave the students lessons on decisive self-defense, removing future threats, and not being a simp.

• Zhang Qingyuan explained to the students that Han Yumo and the swordsman could have avoided danger by separating temporarily, and he asked Murong Xue whether she would leave Xiao Yan to protect him.
• Lin Li entered the cave with eight martial artists and accused Zhang Qingyuan and the students of insulting Han Yumo, then ordered his men to kill them.
• Zhang Qingyuan fought back, killing or crippling the seven attendants and defeating the peak-fourth-rank old man.
• Zhang Qingyuan killed Lin Li after he threatened him with his father's power as the city lord of Lin'an City.
• Zhang Qingyuan told the shaken students to defend themselves decisively, eliminate threats at their roots, and avoid becoming a simp.