Chapter Summaries

Chen Tie watched Shen Yan break through to the Flesh Refining realm and learned about the coming Martial Hall Grand Competition. Over dinner, Shen Yan and Xu Da told him that the Five Great Aristocratic Families were trying to seize Duchang City, leaving Chen Tie wondering what the City Guard would do if they lost.

• Chen Tie continued training and learned that he was close to advancing to the Flesh Refining realm.
• Xu Da pointed out that Shen Yan was on the verge of a breakthrough, and Shen Yan reached the Flesh Refining realm that evening.
• Shen Yan shared his breakthrough insights with Chen Tie and Xu Da, then learned from Mo Hong that he could compete in the Martial Hall Grand Competition in three months.
• Shen Yan explained that the competition ranked twenty-five martial halls and was dangerous because rival halls showed no mercy.
• At dinner, Shen Yan and Xu Da told Chen Tie that the Five Great Aristocratic Families were stirring up trouble and that some lineages were preparing to flee Duchang City.
• Chen Tie asked whether the City Guard planned to purge the aristocratic families if the Five Great Aristocratic Families lost.

Chen Tie arranged for Chen Xi to train at the White Crane Martial Arts Hall, then learned the White Crane Stance Art from the book Mo Fang had prepared for her. After beginning his own practice, he went on patrol with He Liang and saw signs of growing unrest and increased activity at the docks.

• Chen Xi told Chen Tie she wanted to practice martial arts, and he agreed to ask Mo Fang about enrolling her.
• Mo Fang accepted Chen Xi at the White Crane Martial Arts Hall, where Chen Xi showed enthusiasm for training and received a book on the White Crane Stance Art.
• Chen Tie recognized the stance art’s potential and began practicing it at home, gaining beginner proficiency.
• Chen Tie went to the patrol station, where He Liang described being injured after encountering people conducting illicit business on a previous patrol.
• Chen Tie and He Liang noticed more people out at night and considerably more cargo moving through the docks.

Chen Tie broke through to Flesh Refining and continued training at the Fierce Tiger Martial Hall. Xu Da invited him on an escort job to Tianshan City, and Chen Tie agreed to leave in seven days.

• Chen Tie learned that the Lin Family had taken over most of the dock and that the Shen Lineage risked losing the rest in a martial contest.
• Chen Tie cultivated the Fierce Tiger Stance Art and broke through to Flesh Refining, greatly increasing his Qi and blood and physical strength.
• Chen Tie asked Chen Xi to keep his breakthrough secret and advised the new disciple Ye Dong on practicing the Fierce Tiger Stance Art safely.
• Chen Tie trained the Fierce Tiger Fist, aiming to reach major mastery before his next challenge.
• Xu Da invited Chen Tie to join an escort job to nearby Tianshan City, and Chen Tie agreed to depart in seven days.

Chen Tie joined the Tiger Might Escort Agency on a journey through dangerous lands, learning how established routes and local connections kept escorts safe. At a lakeside relay station, Xu Shi arranged a sparring match to assess the party’s abilities as they camped near the perilous lakes.

• Chen Tie rode with Xu Shi, Xu Da, and the other escorts from Duchang City toward Tianshan City, and Xu Shi explained the dangers beyond the city’s protected farmland.
• The party traveled along a familiar route, stayed at villages, and passed mountain bandits without incident, causing Chen Tie to doubt the dangers outside the city.
• On the sixth day, Xu Shi chose a route through a forest beside a vast expanse of lakes rather than detouring, despite Xu Fei’s concern about water monkeys.
• The escorts camped at a stone relay station, arranged the wagons and horses around bonfires, and took turns keeping watch.
• Xu Fan and Wang Mang sparred with a long staff and a short saber while the escorts watched, and Xu Shi told Chen Tie that the match helped assess everyone’s abilities.

Chen Tie sparred with Xu Fan before Water Monkeys attacked the escorts at the lakeside relay station. After the group survived the night behind barricades and fire, Shen Shi explained that Water Monkeys were cultivating ferocious beasts, leaving Chen Tie wondering whether they could become human.

• Chen Tie defeated Xu Fan with a Fierce Tiger Straight Punch during their spar.
• Lu Qi reported that a Water Monkey had dragged Shen Feng away, and another escort was seized before Chen Tie struck the beast with his torch.
• Xu Shi ordered the escorts to retreat to the relay station, barricade its doors and windows, and keep the campfire burning as Water Monkeys attacked.
• The Water Monkeys eventually dispersed after failing to break into the station, and the escorts relaxed as dawn approached.
• Shen Shi explained the difference between wild beasts and ferocious beasts, and Chen Tie asked whether ferocious beasts could cultivate into humans.

After a deadly attack by water monkeys, Chen Tie’s escort team reached Tianshan City, recorded the danger, and returned to Duchang City. Chen Tie revealed that he had broken through to the flesh refining realm and mastered the Fierce Tiger Fist, and Mo Hong gave him three monthly portions of secret medicine.

• Xu Shi led the escorts out after dawn, and they found that water monkeys had killed two escorts and dragged away the horses.
• Xu Shi recorded the deaths, recovered four horses, and led the team onward to Tianshan City, where he marked the lakeside waystation as dangerous on the escort agency’s map.
• Chen Tie returned to Duchang City, collected household supplies, and went to the martial hall to reunite with Chen Xi and thank Mo Fang for caring for her.
• Mo Hong sensed that Chen Tie had reached the flesh refining realm and asked him to demonstrate the Fierce Tiger Fist.
• Chen Tie demonstrated the fist technique at major accomplishment, astonishing Mo Hong and Mo Fang.
• Mo Hong gave Chen Tie three portions of secret medicine and told him to return monthly for more.

Chen Tie cultivated with enhanced secret medicine before attending the eastern docks contest between the Shen Lineage and Lin Family, which was held to decide who would operate the docks for ten years. The Shen Lineage won the first match through Zhao Ruifeng, but the Lin Family took the second, leaving the contest tied.

• Chen Tie discovered that his secret medicine had become stronger and used it to support six hours of martial practice.
• Chu Jue announced that the Shen Lineage and Lin Family would decide the eastern docks' ten-year operating rights in a best-of-three contest.
• Zhao Ruifeng defeated Wen Ren with a final punch, giving the first match to the Shen Lineage, though both fighters were badly injured.
• Shen Gai used his ultimate sword move against Wen Qiang, but Wen Qiang blocked the attack and knocked him from the platform with a powerful saber strike.
• The Lin Family won the second match, tying the contest.

Chen Tie stepped in for the Shen Lineage against Qi Feng and won the third match with a sudden finishing technique. His victory gave the Shen Lineage a win in the tournament’s third bout.

• Wang Yunbiao returned Shen Zhen’s payment after conceding that he could not match Qi Feng, and Shen Yan offered to fight instead.
• Chen Tie revealed that he had reached the Flesh Refining stage and took the Shen Lineage’s place in the match.
• Chen Tie and Qi Feng exchanged blows, with Chen Tie attacking fiercely while Qi Feng redirected his force with Mountain-Opening Palm.
• After more than thirty exchanges, Chen Tie spotted a gap in Qi Feng’s defense and changed his feint into Fierce Tiger Mountain-Splitting Seal.
• Chen Tie blasted Qi Feng out of the fighting area, leaving him unconscious, and the Shen Lineage won the third match.

After his victory in the dockside match, Chen Tie gained recognition and better resources, accelerating his martial training. Master Mo explained that perfecting Fierce Tiger Fist required Martial Dao true intent, then told Chen Tie he would need to fight a tiger.

• Chen Tie accepted a thousand taels and improved monthly provisions from the Shen Lineage after the match.
• At the Fierce Tiger Martial Hall, Zhang Long and Xiao Yue congratulated Chen Tie, and Chen Tie returned to training without becoming complacent.
• After seven days of training, Chen Tie checked his progress and estimated he could reach Bone Forging in just over two months.
• Mo Hong told Chen Tie, Zhang Long, and Shen Yan that the Martial Hall Grand Competition would take place in two months.
• Mo Hong explained that true mastery of Fierce Tiger Fist required Martial Dao true intent, and Chen Tie mistakenly thought he needed to fight people to the death.
• Mo Hong clarified that Chen Tie needed to fight a tiger to develop the Fierce Tiger Fist's true intent.

Chen Tie followed Mo Hong underground to observe a chained giant tiger and learn the Fierce Tiger Fist’s true intent. After a day of watching and practicing, Chen Tie’s proficiency improved, and Mo Hong explained the rarity of Martial Dao True Intent and how the White Crane Fist was taught.

• Chen Tie followed Mo Hong into the underground room, where Mo Hong revealed a giant striped tiger as a martial arts hall treasure.
• Mo Hong explained that Chen Tie had to study the tiger and face its charges from inside the cage, then left him with a pole to provoke it if needed.
• Chen Tie watched the tiger’s movements and fighting style, then practiced the Fierce Tiger Fist until evening.
• Mo Hong returned, praised Chen Tie’s gains, and explained that few martial arts could produce Martial Dao True Intent, which could let a fighter face several opponents of the same realm.
• Chen Tie asked about the White Crane Fist, and Mo Hong said its students observed raised cranes rather than fighting them.

Chen Tie visited the White Crane Martial Arts Hall with Mo Fang and Chen Xi, where Qian Hualing showed him the hall’s training grounds and explained how its disciples learned White Crane Fist by observing the cranes. After a white crane calmly let Chen Tie touch it, he gained permission to visit the pond and resolved to advance his White Crane Fist to the Skin Refining realm.

• Chen Tie, Mo Fang, and Chen Xi visited the White Crane Martial Arts Hall, where Qian Hualing welcomed Chen Tie and offered to show him around.
• Qian Hualing explained the hall’s training areas and how White Crane Fist emphasized relaxed strength, steady Qi and blood, and learning from the cranes’ movements.
• Chen Tie calmed himself and touched a white crane, which remained beside him; Qian Hualing remarked that the birds usually avoided visitors with restless Qi and blood.
• Qian Hualing described how advanced disciples observed the cranes to understand White Crane Fist’s true intent, and Chen Tie learned that she was Hall Master Qian He’s daughter.
• Qian Hualing allowed Chen Tie to visit the crane pond in the future, and he resolved to reach the Skin Refining realm through White Crane Fist.

Chen Tie and Zhang Long trained to greater mastery in Fierce Tiger Fist, then entered the tiger cage in turn to study a real tiger’s movements and seek Martial Dao True Intent. Chen Tie began adapting the tiger’s relaxed gathering of force and the White Crane’s calm to his punch, earning Mo Hong’s approval.

• Chen Tie learned that Zhang Long was near greater mastery in Fierce Tiger Fist and heard that the martial hall’s secret medicine came from a hidden source.
• Zhang Long urged Chen Tie to distinguish himself from weaker disciples, but Chen Tie said Martial Dao practitioners should not look down on others; later, Chen Tie saw Zhang Long and Mo Fang together.
• Over the next half month, Chen Tie advanced rapidly in his martial arts, while Zhang Long reached greater mastery in Fierce Tiger Fist.
• Mo Hong explained that facing a real tiger could help them grasp the fist art’s true intent, then sent Zhang Long into the cage to dodge and study the tiger’s attacks.
• After Zhang Long emerged, Chen Tie entered the cage and observed the tiger’s movements, recognizing how it gathered force loosely before erupting into an attack.
• Chen Tie imitated the tiger’s alignment and relaxed force in a Fierce Tiger Fist punch while keeping his mind calm, and Mo Hong nodded in approval.

Chen Tie grasped the Fierce Tiger Fist’s true intent by observing how the tiger gathered strength in stillness and released it in motion, while Mo Hong praised his insight. After leaving the cage, Chen Tie reflected on the white cranes’ gentler way of stillness and sensed that understanding White Crane Fist could further improve his Fierce Tiger Fist.

• Chen Tie watched the giant tiger gather strength before pouncing, then imitated its stillness and struck with a Fierce Tiger Strikes Rock that increased his Fierce Tiger Fist’s power by thirty percent.
• Mo Hong explained that Chen Tie had grasped the transition between stillness and motion, while Zhang Long had focused only on the tiger’s ferocity.
• Mo Hong urged Zhang Long to learn from Chen Tie, and Zhang Long admitted that his view of martial cultivation had been too narrow.
• Chen Tie went to White Crane Pond, observed how the cranes’ relaxed stillness differed from the tiger’s, and realized the insight could help him advance in both fist styles.
• A white crane approached, and Chen Tie touched its feathers while sensing the steady circulation of its Qi and blood.

Chen Tie advanced in the White Crane Stance Art and discovered that its blood and Qi strengthened his Fierce Tiger Fist. The next morning, he learned that Zhang Long had been ambushed and crippled, leaving Master Mo to warn the disciples against going out alone after dark.

• Chen Tie practiced the White Crane Stance Art and reached Skin Refining, gaining a new current of blood and Qi that increased his strength.
• Chen Tie met Xu Da at the Fierce Tiger Martial Hall and learned that Xu Da had reached Flesh Refining.
• Chen Tie heard that Mo Hong had taken Zhang Long to visit other martial halls after Zhang Long reached Flesh Refining Greater Mastery.
• Shen Yan and Xu Da told Chen Tie that an attacker had ambushed Zhang Long, broken his limbs, and destroyed his martial foundation.
• Chen Tie saw Zhang Long's severe injuries, and Mo Hong warned the disciples not to go out alone after nightfall.

Chen Tie learned that Zhang Long’s injuries had destroyed his martial foundation, while Mo Hong promised to seek a costly, uncertain treatment. Mo Hong’s friends urged him not to sacrifice the Fierce Tiger Martial Hall’s resources, but he remained determined to save Zhang Long.

• Shen Yan told Chen Tie that Zhang Long had awakened with shattered joints and a ruined martial foundation, and that recovery would require a rare fifty-year-old treasure herb.
• Chen Tie reflected on the danger of the attack and returned to training, resolving to stay cautious until he reached Bone Forging.
• Mo Hong told Zhang Long and his parents that a difficult treatment offered a faint chance of recovery, and Zhang Long begged him to pay any price to restore his martial path.
• Qian He and Zheng Rong warned Mo Hong that the treatment might not restore Zhang Long’s martial foundation and could drain the hall’s savings.
• Mo Hong insisted that he would try to save Zhang Long even if there was only a thread of hope.

Chen Tie broke through to the bone forging realm after cultivating alone and washing his bones with force. He kept the breakthrough from Mo Hong for now, then learned that Xu Da planned to marry and leave the martial path behind.

• Chen Tie advanced the Resounding Viscera Blood Scripture to its third layer and felt his blood and Qi grow stronger.
• After days of training, Chen Tie forced his strength into his bones, endured the painful washing process, and reached the bone forging realm.
• Chen Tie checked his improved martial arts proficiency, decided to stabilize his strength before telling Mo Hong, and planned to work on the White Crane arts.
• Chen Tie encountered Xu Da, who offered to introduce him to his fifteen-year-old cousin and revealed that his own family had arranged his marriage.
• Xu Da told Chen Tie that he had given up hope of reaching bone forging and urged him to take care as he pursued martial arts.

Chen Tie learned that Zhang Long’s injuries had ended his martial path, then revealed his Bone Forging breakthrough to Mo Hong. Mo Hong entrusted him with the Fierce Tiger Internal Refining Chapter, opening the path toward the Inner Qi Realm.

• Chen Tie and Mo Hong saw Mo Fang keep her distance from Zhang Long as he drank his medicine, and Zhang Long accepted that his hopes of returning to martial arts were fading.
• Mo Hong told Chen Tie that Zhang Long could recover only to an ordinary physique and would never practice martial arts again.
• Mo Hong recognized that Chen Tie had reached the Bone Forging Realm and celebrated the breakthrough.
• Mo Hong gave Chen Tie the Fierce Tiger Internal Refining Chapter and explained that it taught internal cultivation and could lead to the Inner Qi Realm.
• Mo Hong revealed that old internal injuries had prevented him from condensing Inner Qi and urged Chen Tie to complete the path he could not walk.

Chen Tie studied the Fierce Tiger Internal Refining Chapter but learned he had to perfect Bone Forging before practicing it, so he focused on training and advanced his martial arts. After attending Xu Da’s wedding, he discovered that robberies on roads around Duchang City had drawn many martial artists seeking guard work, leaving him wary as he continued to prioritize condensing martial Dao true intent.

• Chen Tie read the Fierce Tiger Internal Refining Chapter, learned that practicing before perfecting Bone Forging could injure his viscera, and decided to wait until his foundation was ready.
• Chen Tie trained for several days, found that his Qi and blood accelerated his Bone Forging progress, and advanced his Supple Bone Palm Art to greater mastery.
• Chen Tie attended Xu Da’s wedding and met the returning senior brothers Zhou Hu, Li Shan, and Yu Shi.
• Chen Tie noticed more martial artists in Duchang City and learned from a waiter that road robberies had prompted families to hire guards and rogue cultivators to seek work.
• Chen Tie heard that the Mountain-Shaking Escort Agency had lost an entire shipment to robbers and concluded that the influx of martial artists could lead to conflict.
• Chen Tie resolved to focus on condensing martial Dao true intent.

Chen Tie perfected the Fierce Tiger Fist and naturally comprehended Martial Dao True Intent, then discovered the source of the martial hall’s secret medicine. Mo Hong explained that the writhing flesh field was a giant striped tiger transformed by an aberrant seed so its flesh could be harvested for medicine.

• Chen Tie repeatedly practiced and refined the Fierce Tiger Fist until his blood and Qi moved smoothly and his techniques gained a savage edge.
• Chen Tie perfected the Fierce Tiger Fist, awakened Martial Dao True Intent, and felt its concentrated force intimidate the caged tiger.
• Chen Tie followed the roaring through the martial hall and discovered a huge mass of writhing flesh at the bottom of a pit.
• Mo Hong arrived and told Chen Tie the mass was a flesh field, an exotic beast used as a source of medicinal ingredients.
• Mo Hong explained that the flesh field had once been a giant striped tiger at major attainment in Bone Forging, transformed with an aberrant seed so its meat could be harvested repeatedly.

Mo Hong revealed how the martial hall harvested a flesh field to make secret medicine, then announced the Martial Hall Grand Competition and warned his disciples to protect their lives. After half a month of training, Chen Tie saw Zhang Long struggle with the martial arts he could no longer properly practice, and Shen Yan helped him into the shade.

• Mo Hong showed Chen Tie how he carefully harvested flesh from the flesh field and explained its role in producing a faction’s secret medicine.
• Mo Hong summoned Shen Yan, Xu Da, Chen Tie, Zhou Hu, Li Shan, and Yu Shi and announced that the Martial Hall Grand Competition would begin in half a month.
• Mo Hong warned the disciples that unfamiliar martial artists had gathered in the outer city and told them to concede rather than risk their lives.
• Chen Tie trained for half a month, taking secret medicine and improving his martial arts before the competition began the next day.
• Chen Tie found Zhang Long struggling to practice the Fierce Tiger Stance Art, and Shen Yan helped him sit in the shade after he collapsed.