Chapter Summaries

Wang Hao defeated the Lion-Tiger Beast and used its blood to begin awakening Wu Tai’s Bloodline Power and Bloodline Divine Ability through a dangerous, painful method. As the tigers slipped away, Wu Tai endured the process by holding on to his feelings for Qing'er.

• Wang Hao caught the Lion-Tiger Beast’s attack, then swung and smashed it into the ground until it was badly injured.
• Wangcai approached the fallen beast but fled behind Wang Hao when it opened its eyes, while the female Overlord Tiger comforted it.
• Wang Hao collected the Lion-Tiger Beast’s blood, mixed it with liquor, and forced Wu Tai to drink it before using his power to begin the bloodline awakening.
• The Lion-Tiger Beast freed the female Overlord Tiger from her chains and retreated with her toward the mountain forest while Wang Hao continued treating Wu Tai.
• Wu Tai endured the agonizing fusion and steadied his consciousness by murmuring Qing'er’s name.

Wu Tai recovered from his injuries after awakening Bloodline Power, while Wang Hao offered Lin Zhennan’s group the chance to train their descendants and planned how to build up his forces on Ryukyu. Zhou Xueyi showed Wang Hao the electric eel she had chosen for her bloodline, Xiaolongnü, and revealed that she had obtained it by trading for a sea merchant’s youngest son’s life.

• Wu Tai healed completely after awakening Bloodline Power, and Wang Hao urged him to go consummate his marriage with Qing'er.
• Wang Hao told Lin Zhennan and the other older fighters that their young descendants could train in external techniques and potentially awaken Bloodline Power.
• Wang Hao explained the liger to Lin Pingzhi, who declared that he would grow up to pet cats like Wang Hao.
• Wang Hao considered using Ryukyu and the Southeast Asian islands as a base for growth, then lay on a reef beneath the stars.
• Zhou Xueyi joined Wang Hao on the reef and introduced Xiaolongnü, a gigantic electric eel she had chosen for her bloodline.
• Zhou Xueyi told Wang Hao that she had acquired Xiaolongnü from a sea merchant by trading for his youngest son's life.

Zhou Xueyi revealed that the Wang Trading Firm had sold tens of thousands of people to Japanese raiders in exchange for resources, and Wang Hao understood why she had acted against them. After advising her on developing her lightning ability, Wang Hao learned she might regret his brief stay and decided to change his appearance before returning to the Central Plains.

• Zhou Xueyi told Wang Hao that most of Feng Lun's gold came from Japanese raiders and that the Wang Trading Firm had sold more than thirty thousand people to them over ten years.
• Wang Hao condemned the collaboration and recognized that the raiders used plundered wealth to buy ore, craftsmen, and other resources.
• Wang Hao saw Xiaolongnü channel electricity into Zhou Xueyi and advised her to combine it with Innate Qi after reaching the Grandmaster Realm so she could eventually generate lightning herself.
• Zhou Xueyi explained that the golden pythons had hatched from the snake eggs and that Yushu had been captured while saving them; she then asked how long Wang Hao would stay.
• After Wang Hao teased Zhou Xueyi about missing him, she blushed and fled, and he decided to alter his appearance before traveling back to the Central Plains.

Wang Hao gathered Zhou Xueyi, Qing'er, Zhu Yuanwai, and the people at the beach to begin building and training his forces, demonstrating the martial art he had devised as a foundation. The chapter ended with his display of power leaving even Zhou Xueyi stunned.

• Wang Hao showed Zhou Xueyi his altered appearance, then apologized to Qing'er for summoning her and Wu Tai after their wedding night.
• Wang Hao told Qing'er to rest and waited for Zhu Yuanwai, who arrived with the weapons he had forged; Wang Hao praised his skill and progress.
• Wang Hao surveyed Zhou Xueyi's more than a thousand trained young women and Qing'er's three thousand youths and children, then addressed them as members under his command.
• Wang Hao promised to grant them power if they showed faith and loyalty, then began demonstrating his Foundation Establishment Fist Art.
• Wang Hao shattered a hard reef with a single stamp and continued the demonstration, astonishing the assembled people and even Zhou Xueyi.

Wang Hao demonstrated and explained nine foundational martial arts, then gave Qing'er manuals and promised to create a dictionary to help her recruits learn to read. The chapter left Qing'er reassured as Wang Hao took charge of training the recruits and improving their literacy.

• Wang Hao demonstrated nine refined Foundation Establishment martial arts and explained how recruits could choose, adapt, and safely practice them.
• The recruits eagerly agreed to follow Wang Hao's guidance and heed his warning not to overtrain before reaching First-Rate.
• Qing'er praised Wang Hao for smashing many of the bay's reefs and recognized that the location could serve as a concealed harbor base.
• Wang Hao gave Qing'er his martial arts manuals and instructed her to have copies printed for the recruits.
• Qing'er worried that the recruits knew too few characters to study the manuals, so Wang Hao promised to write a dictionary with pinyin to help them learn to read.

Wang Hao expanded his plans for education and industry while preparing to secure funding for his growing base. He told Qing'er and Yushu to develop factories and announced that he would take two fleets to the Yangtze River to retrieve treasures.

• Zhou Xueyi watched Wang Hao demonstrate his enhanced Foundation Establishment Spear Art, then dove into the bay to practice it.
• Wang Hao spent a month writing textbooks, and Qing'er and Yushu arranged for craftsmen to establish papermaking and printing operations.
• Wang Hao instructed Qing'er and Yushu to keep printing textbooks, open factories, and recruit orphans and beggars, while noting that he needed teachers from Tan Buyong's Azure Dragon Society.
• Qing'er warned Wang Hao that their funds would last only another month, and he promised to obtain substantial funding and urged them to build profitable businesses.
• Wang Hao told Qing'er and Yushu to prepare two fleets to accompany him to the Yangtze River the next day, where he planned to retrieve two treasures.

Wang Hao found the Jianwen Emperor's Treasure in Xu Da's former residence and traveled to Tianning Temple to claim its treasure. Abbot Xuancheng attacked him with the Prajna Five Poisons Divine Palm, but Wang Hao remained standing, leaving Xuancheng shocked.

• Wang Hao used the Treasure-Seeking Function to find ten chests of treasure in Xu Da's abandoned residence in Jinling.
• Wang Hao and Zhou Xueyi bribed a city-gate commander, loaded the chests onto ships, and split their fleet between Ryukyu and Jiangling.
• Wang Hao reached Tianning Temple and sensed that its sole occupant, Abbot Xuancheng, was a Half-step Innate expert guarding the treasure.
• Xuancheng revealed that he had killed the temple's other monks and vowed to kill Wang Hao and his companions.
• Xuancheng struck Wang Hao with the Prajna Five Poisons Divine Palm, but Wang Hao remained standing, making Xuancheng recoil in disbelief.

After Xuancheng’s poison palm wounded him, Wang Hao changed his fighting style and used the Ziwei Soft Sword to drive Xuancheng toward the temple gates. Zhou Xueyi stopped Xuancheng’s attempt to seize hostages, but he escaped with a severed arm, and Wang Hao pursued him toward Jiangling City.

• Xuancheng’s Prajna Five Poisons Divine Palm poisoned Wang Hao, who transformed into his Zhu Yanzu disguise and drew the Ziwei Soft Sword.
• Wang Hao wounded Xuancheng with the soft sword and suppressed him with Avoid the Solid and Strike the Void, forcing Xuancheng to flee toward Zhou Xueyi and the other women.
• Xuancheng tried to seize Zhou Xueyi, but she struck him with A Hundred Flowers Compete in Beauty, whose lightning numbed his arms.
• Wang Hao caught up and severed Xuancheng’s arm, but Xuancheng escaped over the courtyard wall; Wang Hao told Zhou Xueyi’s group to take the treasure to the ship and continued the chase.
• Xuancheng headed for Jiangling City, hoping to use Ling Situi and his Grandmaster-level experts to turn them against Wang Hao.

Wang Hao tracked Xuancheng to the Jiangling prefectural office and enlisted Ding Dian to help stop Xuancheng and Ling Situi from escaping. After Ding Dian recovered from his torture, someone approached the jail, leaving the two men ready for a confrontation.

• Wang Hao learned from an old man that Ling Situi was the Jingzhou prefect and recognized him as a ruthless leader searching for Tianning Temple's treasure.
• Wang Hao used Xiao Mengmeng's Treasure-Seeking Function to locate Ding Dian in the prefectural jail, then killed the four guards protecting him.
• Wang Hao freed the tortured Ding Dian, gave him food and medicinal wine, and explained that Xuancheng and Ling Situi had joined forces.
• Wang Hao asked Ding Dian to help prevent the two men from escaping, and Ding Dian agreed to fight Xuancheng while Wang Hao killed Ling Situi.
• Ding Dian removed the hooks from his shoulders and rapidly healed with the Divine Illumination Scripture, while Wang Hao noticed someone approaching the jail.

Wang Hao and Ding Dian fought Ling Situi and Xuancheng at the prefectural residence, where Ding Dian discovered Xuancheng had used the murderous Five Poisons Devil Cultivation Method. The battle left Xuancheng near defeat, but Ling Situi ordered his men to seize Ling Shuanghua and use her to control Ding Dian.

• Wang Hao confronted Ling Situi and entrusted the injured Xuancheng to Ding Dian, who said his Divine Illumination Scripture made him a strong counter to poison arts.
• Wang Hao clashed with Ling Situi while Ding Dian fought Xuancheng, and their battles kept the surrounding experts at a distance.
• Ding Dian recognized Xuancheng’s Five Poisons Devil Cultivation Method and learned its shortcut had killed more than a thousand people.
• Furious, Ding Dian attacked without restraint and drove Xuancheng into a desperate defensive position.
• Ling Situi ordered a subordinate to seize Ling Shuanghua, prompting Wang Hao and Ding Dian to intensify their attacks before she could be brought to them.

Wang Hao defeated Ling Situi and his forces, crippled Ling Situi and Xuancheng, and kept them alive to extract their martial arts. Ding Dian discovered the scars on Ling Shuanghua’s face and wept as he held her.

• Wang Hao severed Ling Situi’s treasured saber, cut off his arm, crippled him, and knocked him unconscious.
• Wang Hao killed several of Ling Situi’s Grandmaster-level subordinates, while the survivors fled.
• Wang Hao crippled Xuancheng and threatened him with torture unless he gave up his martial arts.
• Wang Hao put Ling Shuanghua to sleep and dragged Ling Situi into the cell, leaving Ding Dian to care for her.
• Ding Dian lifted Ling Shuanghua’s veil, saw the scars across her face, and held her as he wept.

Wang Hao exposed how Ling Situi had ruined his chance to obtain the treasure from A Deadly Secret, then killed him and arranged a story to help Ding Dian reunite with Ling Shuanghua. After summoning Zhou Xueyi for Nine Flower Jade Dew Wine to heal Ling Shuanghua, Wang Hao prompted her jealousy when she saw the unconscious beauty.

• Wang Hao discovered that Ling Situi had falsified part of the Five Poisons Devil Cultivation Method and killed Xuancheng after extracting the genuine manuals from Ling Situi.
• Wang Hao revealed that Ding Dian had already told Ling Shuanghua the secret of the treasure, and Ding Dian explained that he had intended to give it to her as a betrothal gift before Ling Situi interfered.
• Ling Situi broke down with regret, and Wang Hao killed him, adjusted his face into a gentle smile, and told Ding Dian to claim that Ling Situi had repented and asked Wang Hao to heal Ling Shuanghua's scars.
• Ding Dian went to fetch a coffin, while Wang Hao signaled Zhou Xueyi and learned that the women moving the treasure had recovered from mild poisoning after drinking Nine Flower Jade Dew Wine.
• Zhou Xueyi gave Wang Hao her remaining wine, then followed him into the cell and grew jealous when she saw him preparing to treat the unconscious Ling Shuanghua.

Wang Hao treated Ling Shuanghua’s facial scars and convinced her that Ding Dian had acted to save her from her father, easing the couple’s conflict. After Ling Situi’s cremation, they left the residence with Ling Shuanghua and her mother’s memorial tablet, but pursuers appeared as they headed for the city gate.

• Zhou Xueyi slapped Wang Hao and ran away after his offhand reply, while he returned to treating Ling Shuanghua’s scars.
• Wang Hao woke Ling Shuanghua and told her that Ling Situi had regretted his actions and died by suicide, then gave her the letter he had written.
• Ling Shuanghua read the letter, mourned her father, and allowed Ding Dian to comfort her.
• Wang Hao and Ding Dian cremated Ling Situi and Ling Shuanghua’s mother, gathered Ling Situi’s wealth, and prepared to leave with Ling Shuanghua and Qingdie.
• As they left the government residence by carriage, Wang Hao and Ding Dian noticed they were being followed, and Wang Hao went into an alley to deal with the pursuers while Ding Dian continued toward the docks.

After returning to the ship, Wang Hao learned that the remaining pursuers had scattered and exchanged martial arts manuals with Ding Dian. He examined the Divine Illumination Scripture, discovered how its unusual energy worked, and offered Ding Dian the Body Tempering True Scripture and foundation-building methods in return for his own techniques.

• Wang Hao reunited with Ding Dian and Zhou Xueyi at the dock, then set sail with them after saying that most of their pursuers had been dealt with.
• Wang Hao shared manuals taken from Ling Situi and Xuancheng, while Ding Dian copied out the Divine Illumination Scripture and added Liancheng Swordsmanship.
• Wang Hao tested Ding Dian's Divine Illumination Scripture True Qi and recognized it as Pseudo-Innate Qi produced by a method that trained the body as well as the internal arts.
• Wang Hao concluded that the Scripture's physical training explained how torture had accelerated Ding Dian's cultivation, and Ding Dian admitted that he had suffered during his training.
• Ding Dian said he favored the sky-piercing halberd, and Wang Hao gave him the Body Tempering True Scripture in exchange for the Divine Illumination Scripture, promising foundation-building methods for Liancheng Swordsmanship.

Wang Hao persuaded Ding Dian to cultivate Innate Qi and offered him foundational martial arts so he could develop his own halberd technique. After Ding Dian left, Wang Hao and Zhou Xueyi kissed, but his admission that he loved another woman and hoped to marry them both drove her away.

• Wang Hao explained that Ding Dian could retrace his cultivation and awaken Innate Qi, then let him feel how it overwhelmed his True Qi.
• Wang Hao offered Ding Dian seven foundational external arts or a custom set, and Ding Dian chose to create his own halberd technique.
• After Ding Dian left, Wang Hao confronted Zhou Xueyi about slapping him, and they kissed before she asked when he would marry her.
• Wang Hao hesitated because he had not won over Dongfang Bai, and Zhou Xueyi threatened him with the Startled Dragon Divine Spear.
• Wang Hao admitted he loved another woman and hoped to marry them both, so Zhou Xueyi slapped him and ran away in tears.

Wang Hao secured Ding Dian and Ling Shuanghua’s help for his overseas base, then left the fleet and went ashore with Wangcai. While treating Wangcai, he wondered whether his possession of this body had another cause besides its connection to Dongfang Bai.

• Ding Dian agreed to join Wang Hao and escort the fleet carrying the treasure of A Deadly Secret safely to the overseas base.
• Ling Shuanghua accepted Wang Hao’s request to lead education and teach the base’s people to read, write, and conduct themselves.
• Wang Hao entrusted the fleet to Ding Dian and left after Ling Shuanghua’s final scar treatment; Zhou Xueyi continued to avoid him.
• Wang Hao went ashore with the Shameless Greatsword and Wangcai, then camped in the mountain forest as the fleet sailed away.
• Wang Hao used Innate True Qi to purge Wangcai’s lingering poison and guide his Qi through his meridians.
• Wang Hao asked Xiao Mengmeng whether his possession of this body was due to more than its karmic connection to Dongfang Bai.

Wang Hao learned that his body was one of his own reincarnations and uncovered the system’s connection to Great Dao Reincarnation, Pangu, and the destruction of the Wu Race. After making plans to avoid powerful enemies and grow stronger, he set out south to target a martial sect for its secret manuals.

• Wang Hao questioned Xiao Mengmeng about the dangers of possession, and she explained that his current body belonged to one of his former reincarnations.
• Xiao Mengmeng revealed that the system used Great Dao Reincarnation to travel between worlds through Wang Hao’s past lives and their karmic connections to fortunate women.
• Xiao Mengmeng told Wang Hao that his true spirit descended from Pangu and that Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao had schemed to destroy the Wu Race and other powerful anomalies.
• Wang Hao worried that Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao might target him, but Xiao Mengmeng reassured him that they only moved against powerful anomalies.
• At dawn, Wang Hao woke Wangcai and headed south to seek martial sects whose secret manuals could strengthen his martial arts and earn Fortune Points from Dongfang Bai.

Wang Hao arrived at the Mount Heng Sword Sect under his Zhu Yanzu persona and demanded the sect’s martial arts legacies as payment for defeating them. The sect’s leader sent Liu Zhengfeng to face him, and Wang Hao recognized the swordsman’s talent and musical reputation just before Liu attacked.

• Wang Hao hid the Shameless Greatsword with Wangcai and hurried toward Mount Heng.
• Wang Lingbo warned Mo Da to preserve the sect’s legacy if Wang Hao ever came, then Wang Hao announced himself at the mountain as Zhu Yanzu, sovereign of the Heavenly Demon Sacred Cult.
• Wang Hao challenged the Mount Heng Sword Sect, demanding its martial arts legacies if he won, and Wang Lingbo allowed Liu Zhengfeng to fight him first.
• Wang Hao recognized Liu Zhengfeng as a character known for music, prompting Wang Lingbo to order Mo Da to destroy Liu’s instruments.
• Liu Zhengfeng drew his sword and attacked Wang Hao with Returning Wind, Falling Wild Goose.

Wang Hao effortlessly defeated Liu Zhengfeng and Mo Da after seeing through their Mount Heng sword techniques, then faced Wang Lingbo as the remaining challenger. Wang Lingbo cleared the area before confronting him, hinting that he intended to use concealed methods.

• Wang Hao dodged Liu Zhengfeng’s Returning Wind, Falling Wild Goose Swordsmanship, then caught his blade and injured his palm with Innate Sword Qi.
• Mo Da stepped forward to fight Wang Hao, and Wang Hao mocked him for his erhu playing and reputation for Night Rain on the Xiao and Xiang Rivers.
• Mo Da unleashed the Myriad Transformations and Illusions, Thirteen Forms of Mount Heng’s Clouds and Mist, but Wang Hao saw through the attacks and severed Mo Da’s sword with one strike.
• Liu Zhengfeng realized Mo Da had been holding back in their past contests and gave up competing with him for the sect leader position.
• Wang Lingbo ordered Mo Da to take the other disciples away, clearing the area before he faced Wang Hao.

Wang Hao fought Wang Lingbo and four Mount Heng elders, learning the Mount Heng Five Divine Swords as he battled them. After the elders used the Sword Sacrifice Instruction to empower their sword formation, Wang Hao was pushed into a dangerous stalemate as they prepared a final attack.

• Wang Hao challenged Wang Lingbo to demonstrate the Mount Heng Five Divine Swords and gradually improved his Impermanence Swordsmanship during their duel.
• Wang Lingbo fired hidden needles, broke Wang Hao's borrowed sword with a sudden strike, and called four fellow disciples to attack.
• Wang Hao drew the Ziwei Soft Sword, severed the five elders' sword tips, and wounded them as they tried to retreat.
• Wang Lingbo and the four elders used the Sword Sacrifice Instruction to strengthen their Five Divine Swords formation and force Wang Hao onto the defensive.
• Wang Hao recognized that the elders' power came at the cost of their life force, while they exchanged glances and decided to use their final resort.