Chapter Summaries

Zhang Lingfeng collected rent for the Zhang family and learned that his grandfather planned to choose one family member for martial arts training after the Ma family was slaughtered. The family agreed to test the candidates under an instructor, and Zhang Lingfeng resolved to win the place.

• Zhang Lingfeng collected overdue rent from Li Yishan and threatened to reclaim his land or take his son as a servant.
• Zhang Lingfeng collected the Zhang family's share of Liu Er's fishpond yield and water fee, taking fish from him as well.
• Zhang Lingfeng reflected that demons and monsters threatened the family after the wealthy Ma family was slaughtered and its property confiscated.
• Zhang Pingping told Zhang Lingfeng that Old Master Zhang had decided to choose a family member for martial arts training.
• Zhang Da persuaded Old Master Zhang to hire an instructor to test the candidates before choosing who would attend a martial arts school.
• Zhang Lingfeng resolved to do whatever it took to secure the training place.

Zhang Pingping and Zhang Da arranged for Zhang Fukang and Zhang Fugui to be unable to attend martial training, clearing the way for Zhang Lingfeng to become Liu Feng’s disciple. After approving Lingfeng’s departure for the county town, Old Master Zhang punished Zhang Da for the family’s staged scheme and told him to train Xu Laiyi.

• Zhang Pingping paid Tang Baihu to lure Zhang Fukang into drinking, while she arranged for Xu Laiyi to use a cricket to draw Zhang Fugui into the privy.
• Zhang Fukang got drunk and failed to return home, while Zhang Fugui fell into the privy and broke his leg.
• Liu Feng judged Zhang Fukang and Zhang Fugui unfit for martial training, then agreed that Zhang Lingfeng could study under him despite Lingfeng’s age.
• Old Master Zhang approved Lingfeng’s training, and Zhang Da and Zhang Pingping prepared to take him to the martial hall the next day.
• Old Master Zhang confronted Zhang Da about the deception, beat him with a ruler, and ordered him to train Xu Laiyi.

Zhang Lingfeng left Zhang Family Gully for the Guo Wei Martial Arts School, where Guo Wei discovered his superior innate aptitude but noted that he had started training too late. After Zhang Lingfeng paid a year’s fees upfront, Guo Wei admitted him and gave him the school’s first fist technique manual to study.

• Zhang Lingfeng’s family saw him off, and Zhang Da explained that the Wang Family doubted his martial arts training would succeed.
• Zhang Lingfeng arrived at the Guo Wei Martial Arts School with Liu Feng and met Guo Wei.
• Guo Wei examined Zhang Lingfeng and found he had superior innate aptitude, though his bones had already closed because he started training late.
• Zhang Lingfeng paid two hundred and ninety taels for a year of tuition and medicinal decoctions.
• Guo Wei took Zhang Lingfeng into the inner courtyard, gave him the first part of the fist technique manual, and told him to study it and train with Liu Feng.

Zhang Lingfeng began training in the Twelve-Routine Iron Mountain Fist and discovered that his Subsidy System could guarantee mastery by shortening the time needed. A month later, he had made steady progress and gathered apprentices around him, while Guo Wei remained doubtful that he could break through to Ming Jin.

• Zhang Lingfeng received a three-month subsidy toward mastering the Twelve-Routine Iron Mountain Fist after Guo Wei let him study the manual.
• Guo Wei demonstrated the fist art and explained that diligent training, hard work, and the right temperament were necessary for martial progress.
• Liu Feng taught Zhang Lingfeng the basic forms, and Zhang Lingfeng's training progress appeared on his panel.
• Zhang Lingfeng told Zhang Da about his superior bone structure and need for support, and Zhang Da promised to provide for his training.
• A month later, Guo Wei watched Zhang Lingfeng practice and worried that his late start would make breaking through to Ming Jin difficult.
• Sun Yan and Hei Hu helped Zhang Lingfeng recover after training, as a small circle of apprentices formed around him.

Zhang Lingfeng continued training while learning that Chen Sanshi, a martial arts student from Stone Village, had challenged Wang Dashan and disrupted the Zhang family's land reclamation. As Zhang Lingfeng prepared to deal with the threat, Zhang Pingping brought Chen Sanshi’s younger sister into the household and began helping her.

• Zhang Lingfeng used meat and broth to strengthen Sun Yan and Hei Hu’s loyalty while continuing to practice the Twelve-Routine Iron Mountain Fist.
• Zhang Pingping told Zhang Lingfeng that a young man from Stone Village had sold his fields to study martial arts after Wang Dashan pushed his family too far.
• Zhang Lingfeng asked to learn which school the young man attended and said he would return home, while Sun Yan and Hei Hu offered to accompany him.
• Over the next half month, Zhang Lingfeng learned that Chen Sanshi had nearly killed Wang Dashan in a fight and was hiding at the Liu martial arts school.
• An apprentice reported that Chen Sanshi had returned to Stone Village, and Zhang Lingfeng accepted the news after having him watched.
• Zhang Pingping brought Chen Sanshi’s younger sister home, offered her broth, and began helping her with needlework.

Chen Sanshi killed Wang Dashan but was ambushed by Zhang Lingfeng and his men. Zhang Lingfeng spared him in exchange for managing the Zhang Clan’s water supply and promised him a share of the harvest, leaving Chen Sanshi to accept the arrangement and return to training later.

• Chen Sanshi sneaked into Wang Dashan’s house and killed him, then searched for silver and ate some of the food he found.
• As Chen Sanshi left the house, Zhang Lingfeng’s men ambushed and subdued him.
• Zhang Lingfeng confronted Chen Sanshi over Wang Dashan’s murder and used the safety of Chen’s sister to persuade him to cooperate.
• Chen Sanshi agreed to manage the water supply for the Zhang Clan’s land in exchange for ten percent of its annual harvest.
• Zhang Lingfeng gave Chen Sanshi a pouch from his sister and told him to visit the Guo Wei Martial Arts School when he returned to the county town.

After mastering the Twelve-Routine Iron Mountain Fist Upper Part, Zhang Lingfeng cultivated Ming Jin and became Guo Wei’s disciple. Guo Wei gave him the middle section of the fist manual, and Zhang Lingfeng began learning how to release Jin force.

• Chen Sanshi replaced Wang Dashan and secured Stone Village, allowing the Zhang family to reclaim land with help from the villagers.
• Zhang Lingfeng reached the limit of the Twelve-Routine Iron Mountain Fist Upper Part and displayed Ming Jin during practice.
• Guo Wei recognized Zhang Lingfeng’s achievement, accepted him as a disciple, and exempted him from tuition in exchange for helping the school.
• Guo Wei gave Zhang Lingfeng the Twelve-Form Iron Mountain Fist Middle Section and demonstrated how to release Jin force.
• Liu Feng congratulated Zhang Lingfeng and offered to take him somewhere nice, while most inner courtyard disciples showed little interest in his dinner invitation.

After Zhang Lingfeng cultivated Ming Jin and became Guo Wei’s disciple, his family celebrated and planned to use his new standing to protect and strengthen the Zhang family. The chapter ended with Zhang Da and Zhang Lingfeng visiting Guo Wei, who welcomed them warmly and returned Zhang Lingfeng’s tuition.

• Liu Feng explained that Zhang Lingfeng could earn money through martial work once his foundation was stable, and Zhang Lingfeng realized his family could benefit from his protection.
• Old Master Zhang celebrated Zhang Lingfeng’s achievement, ordered Zhang Da to bring gifts to Guo Wei, and decided to end Zhang Lingfeng’s engagement to Wang Fang while pursuing the Wang family’s paddy fields.
• Zhang Da told Zhang Lingfeng that Wang Biao was imprisoned and the engagement had been broken off; Zhang Lingfeng noted that Wang Biao owned a better courtyard residence.
• Zhang Da and Zhang Lingfeng visited Guo Wei with gifts, and Guo Wei warmly received them and returned the fifty taels of tuition Zhang Lingfeng had paid.

Zhang Lingfeng learned that Master Wang would trade Wang Fang and three hundred and sixty mu of farmland for Wang Biao’s rescue, and he sought a connection to the Yan Lineage without risking a direct appeal to Guo Wei. He approached Wu Yun with an offer of cultivation support, and Wu Yun agreed to see it.

• Zhang Lingfeng and Zhang Pingping read Master Zhang’s letter explaining that Wang Biao had been jailed for illicit salt trafficking after offending a Yan Lineage heir, and that Master Wang offered farmland or Wang Fang in exchange for help.
• Zhang Lingfeng decided to rescue Wang Biao while securing the farmland and avoiding offense to the constable captain and Yan Lineage, then agreed with Zhang Pingping to seek information and connections.
• Zhang Lingfeng asked Liu Feng about the Yan Lineage, and Liu Feng said Wu Yun, a fellow disciple who served the Yan Lineage, might help despite his aloof nature.
• Zhang Lingfeng learned that Wu Yun received a hundred taels of silver each month from the Yan Lineage and decided to try offering him cultivation support funded by the Wang Family.
• Zhang Lingfeng stopped Wu Yun after training and offered to show him cultivation support, and Wu Yun agreed to look.

Zhang Lingfeng arranged for Wu Yun to secure Wang Biao’s release from the county jail, then used the money he received from the Wang family to win Wu Yun’s goodwill. Afterward, he offered Liu Feng a share in an investment account, while Wang Fang vowed to resist the Zhang family’s ambitions.

• Zhang Lingfeng persuaded Wu Yun to help free Wang Biao by offering him a total of six hundred taels of silver.
• Master Zhang told Wang Jinshan that the Wang family owed Zhang Lingfeng for negotiating a reduced payment, and Wang Fang revealed she had devised the plan to save her brother without being sent to the Yan family.
• Wang Biao returned home from the county jail, and Zhang Lingfeng paid Wu Yun the promised five hundred taels while Wu Yun returned a hundred taels as a gift.
• Zhang Lingfeng hosted Wu Yun at a lavish restaurant banquet and arranged a carriage to take him home, earning his sincere goodwill.
• Zhang Lingfeng offered Liu Feng a hundred-tael banknote, but Liu Feng refused it and urged him to keep the money.
• Zhang Pingping proposed using the money to open an investment and lending account for Liu Feng and Zhang Lingfeng’s younger brother to share the proceeds.

After Chen Sanshi became Warm Breeze Hall’s gang leader, the hall collected an overdue debt from Ma Sanyang, drawing the attention of Baile Gambling House. The bearded man in charge ordered Fourth Brother to borrow money from Warm Breeze Hall and investigate its strength.

• Chen Sanshi oversaw the completed irrigation of the Zhang family’s reclaimed fields, received pork and silver from Zhang Fukang, and revealed he had reached Ming Jin.
• Zhang Lingfeng continued practicing the Twelve-Form Iron Mountain Fist while Hei Hu reported that Ma Sanyang had failed to repay his loan to Warm Breeze Hall.
• Zhang Pingping sent Hei Hu and Sun Yan to find Ma Sanyang, and they confronted him when he returned home late that night.
• Ma Sanyang went to Baile Gambling House the next day and told Fourth Brother that Warm Breeze Hall had collected his overdue debt.
• The bearded man at Baile Gambling House learned that Warm Breeze Hall’s leader was surnamed Chen and ordered Fourth Brother to borrow as much as possible to probe the hall.

Warm Breeze Hall lent Li Si two hundred taels against the Baile Gambling House, knowing the Baile Gang might be testing them. When Li Si failed to repay the debt after ten days, Zhang Pingping sent Chen Sanshi to seek Zhang Lingfeng’s guidance instead of confronting the gang rashly.

• Li Si asked to borrow two hundred taels using the Baile Gambling House as collateral, and Zhang Pingping decided Warm Breeze Hall should accept the challenge and lend him the money.
• Zhang Pingping wrote an IOU requiring Li Si to repay two hundred and forty taels in ten days after receiving one hundred and eighty taels; Li Si signed it and left, expecting Warm Breeze Hall would not dare collect.
• Zhang Lingfeng and Liu Feng discussed the Baile Gang and its leader, Dong Wenhan, and Zhang Lingfeng said he was not worried about facing them if they had no backer.
• Li Si did not repay the debt by the deadline, and Zhang Pingping warned that the gang was waiting to detain anyone who came to collect.
• Zhang Pingping stopped Chen Sanshi from taking his broadsword and sent him with pastries to the martial arts school to ask Zhang Lingfeng what to do.

Zhang Lingfeng brought Wu Yun and Chen Sanshi to Baile Gambling House, where Wu Yun helped Chen Sanshi win back his money. After the trio left, Hei Hu and Sun Yan entered to collect Li Si's debt.

• Zhang Lingfeng asked Wu Yun to accompany him and Chen Sanshi to Baile Gambling House, and Wu Yun agreed after learning Chen Sanshi had recently cultivated Ming Jin.
• Wu Yun praised Chen Sanshi's constitution and encouraged him to stay in the city and ask for martial arts guidance.
• Zhang Pingping ordered Hei Hu and Sun Yan to wait at the gambling house and collect Li Si's debt after Zhang Lingfeng and the others left.
• Li Si recognized Wu Yun and made the gambling house staff treat him carefully as he, Zhang Lingfeng, and Chen Sanshi played.
• Wu Yun won enough money to fill Chen Sanshi's pouch, and the three left the gambling house.
• Hei Hu and Sun Yan entered with Li Si's IOU, and Hei Hu called for him to settle the debt.

Zhang Pingping expanded Xunfeng Hall’s lending business after Black Tiger and Sun Yan collected a debt from Baile Gambling House, while Zhang Lingfeng brought in more capital to keep the operation funded. As the hall grew, Zhang Pingping approved a loan to promising martial arts apprentice Wei He, though she suspected his circumstances might be unusual.

• Black Tiger and Sun Yan gave Zhang Pingping the 240 taels collected from Baile Gambling House, and she rewarded them with five taels each to support their martial arts training.
• Zhang Pingping set rules for lending to different borrowers, and Xunfeng Hall’s reputation drew business owners, gamblers, martial arts apprentices, and gang members seeking loans.
• After another month, Zhang Lingfeng returned from Zhang Family Gully with 200 taels, while Liu Feng also contributed 200 taels to support Xunfeng Hall.
• Chen Sanshi asked to lend Wei He 100 taels for a month so he could buy blood-and-Qi replenishing supplies before attempting to break through to hidden force.
• Zhang Pingping questioned why a promising apprentice with an upper-middle-grade constitution needed to borrow, but she approved the loan as a chance to form a useful connection.
• Chen Sanmei brought Zhang Lingfeng his medicinal decoction, having become the siblings’ personal maid after Chen Sanshi took charge of Xunfeng Hall.

Zhang Lingfeng focused on cultivation while Guo Wei discovered Ye Fan, a top-tier superior-grade talent, and gave him unusually privileged treatment as a potential successor. Nearly a month later, Ye Fan had rapidly mastered the fist’s basic form and drew the Dark Force disciples to him, while Zhang Lingfeng built connections among the Ming Jin disciples.

• Zhang Lingfeng left Warm Breeze Hall’s management to Zhang Pingping and devoted himself to training for a future breakthrough to Dark Force.
• Guo Wei discovered Ye Fan’s top-tier superior-grade bone structure and brought him into the inner courtyard as his disciple.
• Guo Wei gave Ye Fan a room, let him keep the Iron Mountain Fist manual, and personally trained him, prompting Zhang Lingfeng to resolve to claim Guo Wei’s legacy himself.
• Zhang Lingfeng rejected Zhang Pingping’s suggestion to befriend Ye Fan, judging him arrogant and believing the Subsidy System would let him surpass him.
• Nearly a month later, Ye Fan had learned the fist’s basic form quickly, while Zhang Lingfeng drew Ming Jin disciples into his circle and Ye Fan gathered the Dark Force disciples around him.

The Li family cut off the water to the Zhang family's 360 mu of rice fields and demanded to buy the land for five hundred taels. Zhang Lingfeng learned of the dispute after returning from the martial arts school, where Ye Fan had also disrupted his gathering, and the chapter left the Zhang family wondering whether the Wang family was involved.

• Zhang Erxi found the irrigation water cut off when he brought laborers to fertilize the rice fields, and Steward Li told him the Li family would not supply water this year.
• Master Li offered to buy the Zhang family's 360 mu for five hundred taels, refusing any higher water fee, and Master Zhang sent Zhang Da to seek Zhang Lingfeng's help.
• Ye Fan disrupted Zhang Lingfeng's gathering with fellow disciples, and Zhang Lingfeng told Zhang Pingping that Ye Fan was trying to undermine his circle.
• Zhang Da told Zhang Lingfeng about the Li family's demand and said Master Wang had refused to meet him.
• Zhang Pingping suggested the Wang family might be behind the water dispute, leaving Zhang Da and Zhang Lingfeng stunned.

Master Li and Master Hong planned to force the Zhang family to sell its prime fields, while Zhang Lingfeng looked for a way to protect them. At the martial arts school, Ye Fan broke through to ming jin and impressed Guo Wei, and Zhang Lingfeng learned about the Li family's instructor, Hong Wenjun.

• Master Hong dismissed Zhang Lingfeng as a threat because he had begun training after his bones closed, and he assured Master Li he could handle him despite Chen Sanshi.
• Li Hongwei overheard the plan to take the Wang family's three hundred and sixty mu of land and went to tell Wang Fang, who had urged him to push Master Li into seizing it.
• Zhang Lingfeng told Zhang Da he would investigate Hong Wenjun before deciding how to protect the family's land, and Zhang Da and Xu Laiyi returned home the next morning.
• Zhang Lingfeng arrived at the martial arts school and learned Guo Wei was helping Ye Fan attempt a breakthrough; Ye Fan emerged having reached ming jin and performed the Twelve-Routine Iron Mountain Fist impressively.
• Ye Fan ignored Zhang Lingfeng while greeting the other senior disciples, and Liu Feng later told Zhang Lingfeng about Hong Wenjun's background and strength.

Zhang Lingfeng and Zhang Pingping devised a plan to use Liu Feng and Chen Sanshi to subdue Wei He, hoping to recruit him against Master Hong and resolve the Li Clan’s blockade of Little Moon Mountain’s water. After the Zhang Clan kept tending its drying fields, the three men attacked Wei He and captured him.

• Zhang Lingfeng told Zhang Pingping that he and Chen Sanshi could not defeat Master Hong, while she worried about the Li Clan’s water blockade and the fields at Little Moon Mountain.
• Chen Sanshi reported that Wei He had failed to break through to Dark Force and might not repay his loan, so Zhang Pingping proposed bringing him into a fight against Master Hong after he recovered.
• Zhang Lingfeng instructed Zhang Erxi to keep fertilizing the fields, and the Zhang Clan used horse manure while the Li Clan continued guarding the water.
• Thirteen days later, Zhang Lingfeng joined Liu Feng and Chen Sanshi to collect Wei He’s overdue debt, while Zhang Pingping advised that Zhang Lingfeng wait in hiding and strike at the right moment.
• Liu Feng and Chen Sanshi fought Wei He in his courtyard, and Zhang Lingfeng blindsided him with lime and chili powder, allowing the three to subdue and bind him.

Warm Breeze Hall forced Wei He to cripple Master Hong by threatening his sisters, while the Zhang Clan used the clash to reclaim control of Little Moon Mountain's water and impose fees on the Li Clan. The chapter ended with Master Li learning that Master Hong had been killed and the Zhangs leaving him a water receipt.

• Zhang Pingping and Chen Sanshi threatened Wei He's sisters and ordered him to cripple Master Hong in exchange for canceling his debt.
• Wei He went to Little Moon Mountain, drove off the Li Clan's hired thugs, and secretly used poisoned lime powder before killing Master Hong.
• Zhang Lingfeng and Chen Sanshi watched Wei He defeat Master Hong, while Master Zhang visited Master Li and accepted five hundred taels.
• Master Zhang and Zhang Da presented the Li Clan with a water receipt charging fees for its land, and Master Li angrily tried to have them seized.
• A servant reported Master Hong's death, and Master Zhang reminded Master Li to pay the next year's water fees before leaving with Zhang Da.

After Wei He killed Master Hong, the Zhang family gained control of Little Moon Mountain’s water supply, leaving the Li family scrambling to respond. Wei He reunited with his sisters and resolved to grow stronger, while Zhang Lingfeng prepared for the Li family’s next move.

• Zhang Laochong and Zhang Da saw Master Hong’s corpse as they left the Li family compound, and the Li family learned that an unfamiliar young man had killed him.
• Li Mingtian blamed Wang Fang for provoking the conflict and decided to send Master Hong’s body home and offer his family silver so his fellow disciples might avenge him.
• Wei He went to Warm Breeze Hall, where Chen Sanshi returned his IOU and told him his sisters had been released; Wei He found them safe at home.
• Wei He realized Warm Breeze Hall had used his sisters to keep him under control and vowed to break through to Dark Force.
• Zhang Lingfeng continued training the Twelve-Routine Iron Mountain Fist and reasoned that the Li family was unlikely to find a Dark Force expert willing to avenge Master Hong.