Chapter Summaries

Wang Shouzhe discussed rewards with Madam Ji while the Huangfu Clan plotted to seize the Wang Clan’s Cement business. At Jinsha Beach, the newly installed water-powered silk machines impressed the clan leaders and drew gifts and praise for Xu Zhirou.

• Wang Shouzhe redirected Madam Ji’s request to discuss her contribution-point rewards, and she suggested broadening the clan treasury’s exchange list.
• Ancestor Huaye and Huangfu Jinhuan suppressed their desire for immediate revenge against the Xu and Wang Clans and planned to infiltrate the Cement industry and cultivate ties with Madam Ji.
• Wang Shouzhe, Xu Anbang, Xu Anze, and Ancestor Beichen watched the water-powered silk reeling and weaving machines operate at Jinsha Beach.
• Wang Shouzhe credited Wang Shouxin, Xu Zhirou, and the craftsmen for developing the machines, while Xu Zhirou reported that the installation worked smoothly but would need adjustments for seasonal water levels.
• Xu Anbang gave Xu Zhirou Beauty Pills, Xu Anze offered Foundation Building Pills for Wang Luojing, and Ancestor Beichen urged both clan heads to reward her for her work.

At a celebratory banquet, Wang Shouzhe presented the Jinsha Beach spoils and assigned merit points to the clans that had joined the battle. The clans then bid for the treasures, and Ancestor Ao won the Dragon-Tiger Demon-Subduing Ruler while borrowing money from the Wang Clan to pay for it.

• Wang Shouzhe read out the spoils, valued at roughly four hundred seventy-seven thousand to five hundred thousand Qian Gold, and proposed merit allocations for the participating clans.
• Xu Anbang, Ancestor Ruhong, and the other ancestors urged Wang Shouzhe to award his own clan more merit, so he raised the Wang Clan's total to fifty-five points.
• Wang Shouzhe claimed the Yin Sha Asura Banner for the Wang Clan at twenty-six points and withdrew from bidding on the Dragon-Tiger Demon-Subduing Ruler.
• Ancestor Yuanbai and Ancestor Ao competed for the Dragon-Tiger Demon-Subduing Ruler as the other clans withdrew, and Ancestor Ao won it with a bid of thirty-six points.
• Ancestor Ao borrowed fifty thousand Qian Gold from Wang Shouzhe, agreeing to repay the principal and interest within five years.

After the spoils were divided, the Qianma Huangfu Clan was punished and its confiscated assets were put up for auction. Wang Shouzhe took the Eighth-Rank Chief seat as the Ping'an Wang Clan’s strength became public, then coordinated with Lei Yangyu on how to handle the auction.

• Wang Shouzhe bought the Mid-Grade Storage Ring for 38 points, and the clans settled their remaining shares of the spoils.
• The Qianma Huangfu Clan’s core members were sentenced to exile, its uninvolved members were dispersed, and the City Governor’s Office arranged an auction of its assets.
• At the auction, Xu Anbang yielded the Eighth-Rank Chief seat to Wang Shouzhe, surprising the gathered clans.
• Lei Yangyu told Wang Shouzhe he wanted to seize Qianma Town’s Spirit Pasture Grass and Spirit Fodder industries from the Huangfu Clan.
• Wang Shouzhe quietly proposed a plan to Lei Yangyu, who agreed to follow his lead.

Wang Shouzhe used the Qianma Huangfu Clan’s scandal to undermine Huangfu Jinhuan and push the auction of its assets into a single package. He outbid Huangfu Jinhuan for the entire estate and left with a Cloud-Piercing Cannon for emergencies.

• Lei Yangyu publicly accused the Celestial Huangfu Clan of framing the Qianma Huangfu Clan and silencing a witness, stirring rumors and contempt among the crowd.
• Xiahou Hongde arrived and opened the auction of the Qianma Huangfu Clan’s properties and businesses.
• Wang Shouzhe proposed auctioning all the assets as one package, and Xiahou Hongde approved the plan despite Huangfu Jinhuan’s objections.
• Wang Shouzhe bid six hundred thousand Qian Gold, outbidding Huangfu Jinhuan, who could not afford the package and threatened Wang Shouzhe.
• Wang Shouzhe reported Huangfu Jinhuan’s threat, and Xiahou Hongde gave him a Cloud-Piercing Cannon to signal for help.

After the Qianma Huangfu Clan auction, the Huangfu Clan lost prestige while the Wang Clan gained influence. Wang Shouye proved he could consistently profit as a first-rank Alchemist, drawing the attention of rival young admirers and a mysterious armored woman who took him aside to discuss something important.

• Huangfu Jinhuan raged over Wang Shouzhe and Lei Yangyu's actions, then convinced himself their livestock venture would fail.
• Nearly half a month after the auction, the Huangfu Clan's reputation declined and the Ping'an Wang Clan's prestige rose across Changning Guard.
• Wang Shouye refined seven Lesser Foundation-Cultivating Pills for the third consecutive batch, establishing himself as a profitable first-rank Alchemist.
• Huangfu Qianqian and Lei Yanyun arrived at the Xu Clan Pill Workshop with congratulatory banners, gifts, and competing offers of support for Wang Shouye.
• A scarred woman in red armor arrived, grabbed Wang Shouye, and led him inside to discuss an important matter as Huangfu Qianqian and Lei Yanyun followed.

Wang Shouye discussed his alchemy training and the clan’s expectations with Wang Luotong, who had come to Changning Guard before helping manage the Huangfu Clan’s assets. When Lei Bowu challenged Wang Shouye over Lei Yanyun, Wang Luotong stepped in and accepted the fight herself.

• Wang Luotong teased Wang Shouye about the girls visiting him and urged him to pursue higher-tier alchemy rather than focus on earning money from first-tier pills.
• Wang Luotong told Wang Shouye that she was heading to Qianma Town with Wang Shouyong and Wang Zongwei to take over the Huangfu Clan’s fixed assets.
• Lei Bowu arrived with a group of young people, scolded Lei Yanyun for liking Wang Shouye, and revealed that the Celestial Zhang Clan had proposed a marriage.
• Lei Yanyun defended Wang Shouye, but Lei Bowu insulted him and challenged him to a fight.
• Wang Shouye agreed to fight Lei Bowu after he insulted Wang Shouzhe, but Wang Luotong stopped him and challenged Lei Bowu instead.

Wang Luotong defeated Lei Bowu in a sparring match and left Wang Shouye to deal with the two women vying for him. The story then shifted to a concealed harbor where Wang Shouzhe arrived at the Wang Clan’s secret stronghold, the source of its new commercial products and its true foundation.

• Wang Luotong used the Willow Catkin Movement Technique and her whip to overwhelm Lei Bowu, who refused to surrender until Lei Yanyun pleaded for him.
• Wang Luotong stopped beating Lei Bowu, teased Lei Yanyun, and warned the Lei Clan against bullying Wang Shouye.
• Lei Bowu rejected his attendants’ suggestion of retaliation and left in pain while still expressing interest in Wang Luotong.
• Huangfu Qianqian and Lei Yanyun argued over whether they would elope with Wang Shouye, who wished to return to alchemy.
• Wang Shouzhe arrived by fishing boat at a hidden deep-water harbor near Falling Eagle Gorge, where the Wang Clan produced Cement and Western Glass.

Wang Shouzhe prepared a trap for the Huangfu Clan by presenting himself as a tempting target at the secret production base. Ancestor Huaye and two Huangfu elders took the bait and prepared to attack Falling Eagle Gorge, convinced they would seize Wang Shouzhe and the production secrets.

• Wang Gui welcomed Wang Shouzhe to the secret base, where Wang Shouzhe inspected the cement and Western Glass operations and announced he would stay for several days.
• Wang Shouzhe met Ancestor Zhoubo in hiding and explained that the Huangfu Clan was likely to strike while City Governor Xiahou Hongde was away.
• Huangfu Jinhuan received a secret letter revealing an opportunity and hurried to report it to Ancestor Huaye.
• Ancestor Huaye led Huangfu Jinning and Huangfu Jinyu to Falling Eagle Gorge and ordered them to capture Wang Shouzhe, seize the production stewards, and uncover the secrets of cement and Western Glass.

Wang Shouzhe trapped Huangfu Jinning and Huangfu Jinyu in an Iron Python Vine stronghold and had Wang Longyan attack them with the Yin Sha Asura Banner. Ancestor Huaye arrived to rescue them, but Ancestor Zhoubo appeared and blocked him, leaving Huaye stunned by the Longzuo Wang Clan ancestor’s presence.

• Huangfu Jinning and Huangfu Jinyu followed Yin Yu to Wang Shouzhe’s residence, where Iron Python Vines trapped them.
• Wang Shouzhe revealed that Yin Yu had betrayed the Huangfu Clan in exchange for protection and a reward for his family.
• Wang Longyan attacked the trapped elders with the Yin Sha Asura Banner, forcing them to call for help.
• Ancestor Huaye arrived and used a flaming palm to burn through the Yin Sha energy and vines, giving the elders a chance to escape.
• Ancestor Zhoubo appeared from the main house and struck the elders back into the trap, shocking Ancestor Huaye.

Wang Shouzhe revealed that he had lured Ancestor Huaye into a trap, where Ancestor Zhoubo and Ancestor Beichen helped Wang Longyan confront the Huangfu elders. As the fight turned against the Huangfu Clan, Wang Shouzhe revived the Iron Python Vines and his Bloodthirsty Vine drained Huangfu Jinyu’s blood, then began to evolve.

• Wang Shouzhe revealed that the Wang Zhoubo seen in Longzuo Prefecture City had been an impostor, and that Ancestor Zhoubo had been staying with him to lure Ancestor Huaye into the trap.
• Ancestor Beichen joined Wang Longyan, while Ancestor Zhoubo intercepted Ancestor Huaye and fought to hold him back.
• Wang Longyan attacked Huangfu Jinning, and Ancestor Beichen attacked Huangfu Jinyu with the Dragon Suppressing Stele.
• Chen Junyao reported that he had evacuated the personnel, while Wang Shouzhe revived the charred Iron Python Vines to assist his allies.
• An Iron Python Vine slowed Huangfu Jinyu, allowing Ancestor Beichen to strike him down; Wang Shouzhe’s Bloodthirsty Vine then drained him and began evolving.

Wang Shouzhe and his allies killed Huangfu Jinning and Huangfu Jinyu, then surrounded Ancestor Huaye as he tried to flee. Cornered by the Wang Clan’s coordinated attacks, Huaye used the Huangfu Clan’s last Red Fire Dragon Scale to unleash a terrifying surge of power.

• Wang Shouzhe provoked Ancestor Huaye, who summoned the Li Fire War Halberd and attacked him.
• Ancestor Zhoubo intervened with the Geng Metal War Blade, forcing Huaye to fight him instead of pursuing Wang Shouzhe.
• Wang Shouzhe sent the Bloodthirsty Vine after Huangfu Jinning, and it drained Jinning’s blood after he had been trapped by Ancestor Longyan and the vines.
• Liu Ruolan rode the Primordial Water Spirit Turtle to send towering An River waves crashing into Huaye, and Ancestor Zhoubo, Ancestor Longyan, Ancestor Beichen, and Wang Shouzhe joined the siege.
• Huaye failed to escape the group’s attacks and crushed the Huangfu Clan’s last Red Fire Dragon Scale, drawing its power into his body.

Wang Shouzhe tried to provoke Liu Ruolan into unleashing her full strength against Ancestor Huaye, and she joined the battle with the Primordial Water Spirit Bead and Autumn Water Sword. When Ancestor Huaye broke through the group’s defenses to attack Wang Shouzhe, Wang Shouzhe revealed a Purple Mansion Sword Talisman and unleashed its powerful strike.

• Ancestor Huaye overwhelmed Ancestor Zhouxuan, Ancestor Beichen, Ancestor Longyan, and their allies while targeting Wang Shouzhe.
• Wang Shouzhe tried to anger Liu Ruolan by confessing feelings for Ruolei and praising Ancestor Xuanfu, but Liu Ruolan agreed to his requests before turning her fury on Ancestor Huaye.
• Liu Ruolan drew power from the Primordial Water Spirit Bead and struck Ancestor Huaye with the Autumn Water Sword, helping the group shift the battle in their favor.
• Ancestor Huaye burned essence blood to strengthen his Li Fire War Halberd, broke through the blockade, and charged at Wang Shouzhe.
• Wang Shouzhe crushed a Purple Mansion Sword Talisman and commanded its enormous purple sword phantom to slash at Ancestor Huaye.

Wang Shouzhe’s ambush badly wounded Huangfu Huaye, who escaped with a Spirit Escape Talisman but left his Li Fire War Halberd behind. After the allies departed, Liu Ruolan confronted Wang Shouzhe over something he had said, leaving him fearing her anger.

• Wang Shouzhe used a Purple Mansion Sword Talisman to blast Huangfu Huaye into Falling Eagle Gorge and wound him with invading Sword Qi.
• Ancestor Longyan, Ancestor Zhoubo, Ancestor Beichen, and Liu Ruolan surrounded Huangfu Huaye while the Primordial Water Spirit Turtle retrieved his Li Fire War Halberd.
• Huangfu Huaye crushed a Spirit Escape Talisman and fled, leaving the Li Fire War Halberd behind for Wang Shouzhe.
• Ancestor Zhoubo and Ancestor Beichen declined to claim the Dharma Treasure, and Wang Shouzhe accepted it as compensation for the Wang Clan’s losses.
• Liu Ruolan summoned Wang Shouzhe and demanded that he repeat what he had said, while the other ancestors and the Primordial Water Spirit Turtle hastily left.

Wang Shouzhe discovered that Liu Ruolan’s transformation brought out a forceful second personality, Liu Ruoling, while the Huangfu Clan’s plan ended in disaster. The chapter left Wang Shouzhe testing how to summon Liu Ruoling again as their boat rocked on the An River.

• Liu Ruoling warned Wang Shouzhe not to take a concubine and agreed to his earlier proposal before pulling him onto a boat on the An River.
• Huangfu Jinhuan celebrated the Huangfu Clan’s plans until Ancestor Huaye crashed into the residence, grievously wounded and cursing the Ping'an Wang Clan, the Changning Xu Clan, and Wang Shouzhe.
• Liu Ruoling told Wang Shouzhe to keep their encounter secret from Liu Ruolan and to call her by name if he wanted to summon her.
• Liu Ruolan returned to her usual self with no memory of what had happened, and Wang Shouzhe told her she had fallen asleep.
• Wang Shouzhe called Liu Ruoling to test whether it worked, and she threatened him before the boat began rocking again.

Wang Shouzhe’s campaign against the Huangfu Family Clan left it under mounting pressure as Ancestor Huaye’s injuries and the clan’s alleged abuses spread through Changning Guard. At Purple Mansion Academy, the Huangfu delegation’s attempt to secure treatment from Master Changchun stalled after Wang Luojing persuaded Senior Brother Jinshan to withdraw his help.

• Rumors about Ancestor Huaye’s grave injuries and the Huangfu Clan’s abuses spread through Changning Guard, prompting former victims to challenge the clan’s interests.
• Gu Hanyu diagnosed Ancestor Huaye with alien Sword Qi that could take decades to expel without Master Changchun’s treatment, and the clan’s weakened position encouraged its rivals.
• Xiahou Hongde returned to Changning Guard, suspected Wang Shouzhe was behind the turmoil, and decided not to confront him.
• Huangfu Pengcheng met Senior Brother Jinshan at Purple Mansion Academy, but Jinshan returned the Huangfu Clan’s gifts and said Master Changchun had entered closed-door cultivation.
• Wang Luojing gave Jinshan Hundred Flower Spirit Honey for withdrawing his help, and he agreed to keep their arrangement confidential.

The Huangfu Clan struggled to find help for Ancestor Huaye, while the Wang Clan managed Academy affairs, resettled refugees, and expanded its plans despite mounting financial pressure. By the following spring, the Wang Clan’s alfalfa cultivation in Qianma Town had become a direct assault on the Huangfu Clan’s livestock industry.

• Ancestor Huaye ordered Huangfu Chengpeng to seek Lady Huandie’s help and raise funds by mortgaging clan properties so he could treat his injuries and avenge himself.
• Wang Yong delivered supplies to the Academy, where Wang Zongsheng asked the family for support to cultivate the resource-intensive Nine-Turn Body Tempering Technique, and Wang Luoqiu and Wang Luojing argued over his future partner.
• Ouyang Junyan announced the first families approved for Ping'an Phase I Resettlement Housing and warned refugees that continued work was required to retain their eligibility.
• Wang Luomiao explained to Wang Shouzhe that the refugee resettlement project and other expansion plans had strained the clan’s finances, prompting him to consider new sources of income.
• The Wang Clan uprooted Qianma Town’s old alfalfa and replanted it, producing superior forage that threatened to raise the Huangfu Clan’s livestock costs and undermine its main industry.

Wang Shouzhe reviewed the Wang Clan’s assets, industries, and accounts while traveling to Qianma Town, assessing how its expanding farms and businesses could fund future growth. Although the clan faced a deficit of more than 800,000 Qian Gold, its new holdings and investments promised greater income in the coming year.

• Wang Shouzhe arrived in Qianma Town after purchasing the Huangfu Clan’s local assets for 600,000 Qian Gold.
• Wang Shouzhe updated the clan system and reviewed the Wang Clan’s growing membership, retainers, servants, and development facilities.
• Wang Shouzhe examined the clan’s thirty industries and found that farming and product manufacturing had generated more than 450,000 Qian Gold in revenue.
• Wang Shouzhe reviewed the clan’s spending and found that loans from the Qian Clan had left the Wang Clan with a deficit exceeding 800,000 Qian Gold.
• Wang Shouzhe expected the new Qianma Town holdings and expanded industries to increase the Wang Clan’s income in the coming year.

Wang Shouzhe inspected Tianhong Ranch after the Wang Clan took ownership and reviewed its livestock, income, and feed production with Wang Luotong and Wang Zongwei. The ranch’s newly planted alfalfa yielded far more than before, leaving Wang Shouzhe focused on increasing feed production to improve the clan’s livestock business.

• Wang Luotong greeted Wang Shouzhe at Tianhong Ranch while Lei Bowu tried to welcome him and continued pursuing her.
• Wang Shouzhe gave Wang Zongwei clothes and a letter from Gongsun Rong, and gave Wang Luotong spring clothes prepared by his wife.
• Wang Zongwei reported that Tianhong Ranch raised cattle, sheep, horses, and Spirit-Horn Yaks, earning roughly twenty-seven thousand Qian Gold in annual gross revenue.
• Wang Zongwei explained that the ranch’s forage supply required additional fodder and soybean-processing leftovers from nearby Wang Clan properties.
• Wang Zongwei reported that newly planted alfalfa yielded about seventy percent more than the old crop, and Wang Shouzhe emphasized the value of raising feed yields and nutrition.

Wang Shouzhe equipped the Wang Clan’s pasture patrols with newly developed shotguns to counter Huangfu Clan-backed sabotage at Tianhong Pasture. When Wang Feng’s patrol encountered the Murong Brothers, the rogue cultivators prepared to attack, setting up a test of the new weapons.

• Wang Luotong and Wang Zongwei told Wang Shouzhe that rogue cultivators hired by Huangfu Jinhuan were spreading Paraquat across the Wang Clan’s pasture fields.
• Wang Shouzhe assigned Wang Ruotong to recruit and assess rogue cultivators, then revealed his new shotgun and demonstrated its power.
• Wang Shouzhe brought one hundred shotguns and trained clan soldiers to Qianma Town, where the pasture patrols learned to use the weapons.
• Wang Feng led a patrol of eight clan soldiers across Tianhong Pasture as several rogue cultivator groups prepared to disrupt the grass harvest.
• The Murong Brothers confronted Wang Feng’s patrol, boasted of their speed and their two-thousand-Qian-Gold reward, and moved in to attack.

Wang Feng’s shotgun patrols crushed the Huangfu Clan’s Rogue Cultivator harassment, and Wang Luotong obtained the Gentle Wind Flash movement technique. Three years later, the Huangfu Clan was weakened by Huangfu Huaye’s untreated injuries and the Wang Clan’s price war, until an unexpected visitor arrived bearing a token that unsettled Huangfu Jinhuan.

• Wang Feng’s patrol captured the Murong Brothers with a coordinated shotgun volley, and Wang Luotong later interrogated them into surrendering Gentle Wind Flash and other hidden valuables.
• Wang Luotong honored her oath by leaving the Murong Brothers five hundred Qian Gold and arranging their exile, while other criminal Rogue Cultivators were executed or handed over to the authorities.
• The Wang Clan’s shotgun patrols ended the Rogue Cultivator harassment, and peace held along the border for three years as Qianma Town’s pastures expanded and drove the Huangfu Clan into a damaging price war.
• Huangfu Jinhuan grew increasingly desperate as the Huangfu Clan struggled to treat Huangfu Huaye and lost money and market share to the Wang Clan.
• A servant brought Huangfu Jinhuan a token from an unexpected visitor, and Huangfu Jinhuan recognized it and vowed not to show mercy.