Peerless Martial God

Peerless Martial God is a long-form Eastern fantasy novel by the web author Geng Xin, serialized on Qidian from July 19, 2014, to its conclusion on August 23, 2017, spanning roughly 1.5 million Chinese characters and over four hundred chapters. The protagonist, Lin Yiming, is originally from Earth; his soul crosses into a world where martial artists reign supreme. Yet because his soul is unrecognized by heaven and earth, six years of training at his sect fail to awaken his qi, and he is ultimately expelled. He returns to Nanlin Village and opens a shop appraising treasures for others. With mental strength far beyond the ordinary, he teaches himself to become an appraiser, using his spiritual power to trace an object's past and determine its grade and origin. A shakedown—"pay up or you're not leaving"—unexpectedly lands him a bronze dagger imbued with immortal qi, and the gears of fate begin to turn: the Great Appraisal Art, the Ancient Scripture of the Wild Spirit, and the awakening of his martial heart set him on the dual path of appraiser and martial artist. He then enters the Western Courtyard of Purgatory for rigorous training, enduring the tempering of Iron Bone Transformation, the rivalries of the five branch academies, and the chaotic battles of the Purgatory Alliance. He seeks treasure in the Tongyou Secret Realm, survives repeated hunts by the Viper organization, and breaks through in deadly straits like Tiger Tomb, cultivating from Iron Bone Transformation all the way to the Tyrant Body realm. Later, as a grandmaster appraiser, he snags bargains at auctions, ventures into the Purgatory Abyss to attain the Yin-Yang realm, earns the name "Smiling Slaughter God," and finally enters the Qi Prince Academy, where he studies the Four Seasons Martial Arts under the chancellor and reaches the Martial Arts realm, forging the legend: "I am the Martial God, peerless and magnificent." The book advances along twin threads of academy trials and factional strife, turning "appraising all things" into a proper craft, and marks Geng Xin's attempt to return to fantasy after a departure into historical fiction.