Chapter Summaries

The Martial Hall Grand Competition began, and Skin Refining disciples from the city’s martial halls fought while stewards watched for promising talent. Several bouts turned savage as fighters inexplicably lost their reason, leaving Chen Tie suspicious as the tournament continued.

• Zhang Changfeng announced the tournament rules, and Shen Yan drew lot number seven for his martial hall.
• Wan Zhou defeated Yuan Xiaohu by holding firm against his attacks and countering when Yuan grew exhausted.
• Xu Xiaoxing overcame Pang Shi’s hard-body defense by striking vulnerable points, then defeated him with a palm beneath the armpit.
• Bai Lu lost to Lei Hu after he broke through her palm technique, prompting spectators to criticize him for striking her without restraint.
• Lin Feng and Shi Mang fought past the judge’s warning until Shi Xiong and Ling Changfeng separated them, and both fighters gradually regained their senses.
• Chen Tie noticed that judges looked uneasy as later fighters also lost control, while the spectators cheered the increasingly brutal bouts.

Chen Tie watched the Flesh Refining bouts begin after Skin Refining matches were suspended over disciples losing control, and he suspected the widely used New Qi and Blood Pills had dangerous backing and side effects. As the martial halls fought for rankings, he studied their techniques and decided a long saber suited his Fierce Tiger True Intent.

• Yun Nan lost control during his bout and was defeated, while Shen Yan told Chen Tie that Yun Nan and other affected disciples had taken large amounts of New Qi and Blood Pills.
• Chen Tie concluded that the pills were causing the Skin Refining disciples' outbursts and suspected powerful forces were behind their continued circulation.
• Zhang Changfeng suspended all Skin Refining bouts and announced that Flesh Refining bouts would determine the martial halls' rankings.
• Lei Wen defeated Ye Shu, and the Rushing Thunder Martial Hall went on to beat the White Leaf Martial Hall.
• The Green Bamboo Martial Hall defeated the Crimson Spear Martial Hall, while Chen Tie studied the fighters' varied styles and weaknesses.
• After considering the advantages and drawbacks of several weapons, Chen Tie saw a long saber match his Fierce Tiger True Intent and decided it was the weapon for him.

At the Martial Hall Grand Competition, Yue Song of the Blazing Mountain Martial Hall challenged the Fierce Tiger Martial Hall and defeated Shen Yan, renewing their long-standing rivalry. Yue Yang then issued a second challenge, and Zhou Hu stepped forward to fight him.

• Yue Song challenged a Fierce Tiger Martial Hall fighter at the flesh refining early stage, and Shen Yan accepted after Chen Tie learned about the halls’ long-running feud.
• Yue Song overwhelmed Shen Yan with his Mountain-Crushing Fist and defeated him with Mountain Collapse and Bone Shattering.
• Chen Tie gave the injured Shen Yan a healing pill and noted that Yue Song’s fist technique was close to greater mastery.
• Yue Yang of the Blazing Mountain Martial Hall challenged the Fierce Tiger Martial Hall at the flesh refining greater mastery stage.
• Mo Hong sent Zhou Hu to answer Yue Yang’s challenge, and Zhou Hu leaped onto the platform.

Yue Yang, Zhao Mang, and Shi Kui won successive fights for the Blazing Mountain Martial Hall by unleashing sudden surges of strength, while Mo Hong realized they had taken New Qi and Blood Pills. With Zhou Han challenging the Fierce Tiger Martial Hall and its greater-mastery fighters defeated, Mo Hong looked to Chen Tie as the contest neared a possible concession.

• Yue Yang defeated Zhou Hu with the Blazing Mountain Mountain-Crushing Fist’s killing move, and Zhou Hu conceded after Zhang Changfeng stopped the fight.
• Zhao Mang defeated Li Shan with a sudden late surge of strength, repeating the pattern of Yue Yang’s victory.
• Shi Kui overpowered Yu Shi at the end of their fight and knocked him off the platform.
• Mo Hong accused Yue Zhengshan of making the Blazing Mountain disciples take New Qi and Blood Pills, and Yue Zhengshan defended the choice as a way to win the contest.
• Zhou Han challenged the Fierce Tiger Martial Hall, and Mo Hong looked over his defeated disciples before fixing his gaze on Chen Tie.

Chen Tie revealed his bone forging cultivation and defeated Zhou Han, shocking the tournament crowd. Yue Feng then challenged Chen Tie to use him as a whetstone for his own breakthrough, and their fight began.

• Shen Yan, Zhou Hu, Li Shan, and Yu Shi tried to dissuade Chen Tie from fighting, but Xu Da supported his decision to gain experience.
• Chen Tie took the stage and evaded Zhou Han's attacks until Zhou Han unleashed the medicinal power he had been saving.
• Chen Tie revealed that he had reached the bone forging realm, broke through Zhou Han's final attack, and knocked him off the platform.
• Yue Zhengshan sent out Yue Feng, a peak flesh refining martial artist who was close to bone forging, to challenge Chen Tie.
• Yue Feng launched a three-part attack with his Blazing Peak Thousandfold Collapse, while Chen Tie assessed his opponent's strength.

Chen Tie concealed the full extent of his Bone Forging strength during his match with Yue Feng, then revealed it to defeat and cripple him. Yue Zhengshan left with the unconscious Yue Feng, unable to challenge Chen Tie's explanation in front of Mo Hong.

• Chen Tie pretended to struggle against Yue Feng's relentless punches, encouraging him to believe his opponent was a newly advanced Bone Forging martial artist.
• Yue Feng unleashed his strongest hidden move, Mountain Suppresses Mountains and Rivers, and Chen Tie met it with only thirty percent of his strength.
• Chen Tie used the remaining seventy percent of his Bone Forging force to shatter Yue Feng's arms and destroy his breakthrough opportunity.
• Chen Tie struck Yue Feng's dantian Qi sea before Yue Zhengshan could stop him, crippling Yue Feng's cultivation.
• Yue Zhengshan accused Chen Tie of viciously attacking Yue Feng, but Chen Tie defended himself by citing the rules of the Martial Hall Grand Competition.
• Yue Zhengshan swallowed his anger, carried away the unconscious Yue Feng, and led the Blazing Mountain Martial Hall people out.

After Chen Tie crippled Yue Feng and secured Fierce Tiger Martial Hall first place, Zhang Changfeng proposed that the city’s twenty-five martial halls unite to suppress the bandits plaguing the roads and villages. The gathering questioned why the City Guard and the Five Great Aristocratic Families had done nothing, leaving Zhang Changfeng to answer.

• Chen Tie resolved to endure Yue Zhengshan’s hostility until his Bone Forging cultivation advanced, while Mo Hong praised Chen Tie’s concealed strength and the other martial hall masters sought to befriend him.
• Xiao Yue regretted failing to support Chen Tie before he became a Bone Forging expert.
• Opposing martial halls repeatedly conceded rather than face Chen Tie, and Zhang Changfeng declared Fierce Tiger Martial Hall the winner of the competition.
• Zhang Changfeng proposed that all twenty-five martial halls join forces to wipe out the bandits disrupting trade and harming people outside the city.
• Shi Lie, Lin Song, and several other hall representatives agreed to take part, then someone challenged Zhang Changfeng to explain why the City Guard and Five Great Aristocratic Families had not acted.

Zhang Changfeng persuaded most martial halls to consider joining a military-backed bandit suppression, while the Fierce Tiger Martial Hall deferred its decision. Chen Tie advised sending a small elite force rather than refusing outright or risking the whole hall, and planned to secretly watch over them outside the city.

• Zhang Changfeng explained why the aristocratic families and City Guard would not lead the suppression, then offered military resources and rewards to participating martial halls.
• Eighteen of the twenty martial halls present agreed to participate, but Mo Hong, Qian He, and Zheng Rong requested time to consult their halls, prompting others to hesitate as well.
• Zhang Changfeng gave the martial halls three days to decide, and the bandit suppression discussion ended without a final commitment from the holdouts.
• Mo Hong praised Chen Tie for his performance in the competition and warned him not to become proud or careless.
• When Mo Hong asked the core disciples whether the hall should join the suppression, Chen Tie recommended sending a small elite force and secretly following to protect them from danger and schemes.

After Chen Tie reassured Shen Yan and Xu Da that his breakthrough would not change their bonds, Yue Zhengshan, Deng Guang, and Chu Lin each began plotting around the martial halls’ coming bandit suppression campaign. The chapter left the city on the verge of a coordinated power struggle as the martial halls prepared to leave.

• Chen Tie urged Shen Yan and Xu Da to treat him as they always had, and they relaxed and invited him to Xu Da’s home for a meal.
• Physicians told Yue Zhengshan that Yue Feng’s injuries were irreparable, so Yue Zhengshan ordered surveillance of Fierce Tiger Martial Hall and saw the bandit suppression campaign as a chance to kill Chen Tie.
• Deng Guang learned that most of the twenty-five martial halls planned to join the campaign and ordered Du San to track their departure plans while promising them even more resources.
• Chu Lin ordered the other four great aristocratic families to prepare to seize the city and overwhelm the City Guard once the martial halls’ elites entered the mountains.

Chen Tie strengthened his cultivation before the bandit-suppression expedition and learned that Yue Zhengshan was a formidable opponent with long-honed martial Dao true intent. After Mo Hong discovered Chen Tie had also comprehended true intent, Chen Tie concealed most of his strength and considered whether he could defeat Yue Zhengshan.

• Chen Tie trained in the inner courtyard for half a month, deepening his Qi and blood and strengthening his bones under Mo Hong’s guidance.
• Chen Tie learned that Yue Zhengshan had reached Bone Forging greater mastery ten years earlier and had already comprehended martial Dao true intent; Mo Hong warned him to flee if they met.
• Chen Tie asked whether martial Dao true intent was necessary to become a Bone Forging expert, prompting Mo Hong to realize Chen Tie might have comprehended it.
• Chen Tie released some of his true intent, and Mo Hong confirmed it was genuine and powerful, then advised him to follow the expedition secretly and prioritize survival if he encountered Yue Zhengshan.
• Chen Tie revealed only a fraction of his true strength and privately considered that he might be able to defeat or kill Yue Zhengshan.