Chapter Summaries

Si Ming secured Tu Wangyue and learned that Fushi Qingcang might be connected to the Heavenly Lion King before arranging her custody. He then turned to investigating Yun Jinzang and locating the last Demon King, intending to eliminate him before Tu Wangyue’s public trial.

• Si Ming sealed Tu Wangyue and confirmed she had refused the Heaven-Defying Society’s invitation.
• Tu Wangyue warned that Fushi Qingcang founded the Heaven-Defying Society and might be closely tied to the Heavenly Lion King.
• Si Ming placed Tu Wangyue in Yan Jinghong’s custody and asked Ji Shichen to guard her until her public trial.
• Si Ming told the group that Military God Huang Yan had implicated Yun Jinzang, and they agreed he would investigate the Great Grandmaster carefully.
• Si Ming asked about the last Demon King and decided to hunt him down before Tu Wangyue’s trial.

At Heaven’s Will Palace, the Spirit Transformation Grandmasters gathered to put Tu Wangyue on public trial while Xia Guanxue prepared to avenge his family if they showed her leniency. Si Ming arrived with a Demon King’s head and questioned Tu Wangyue, who admitted to scheming against him and orchestrating the previous Grandmaster’s imprisonment.

• Yu Shuying connected Fushi Qingcang to the Gu Witch Sect, and Wu Xiu revealed that the sect’s founder, the Return to Antiquity Patriarch, had been suppressed and might be a lead in investigating it.
• Xia Guanxue waited outside the trial hall, and Ying Zhou promised to hold off the others so Xia could make one move against Tu Wangyue if the verdict was lenient.
• Ling Huanxi, Yan Jinghong, and Si Ming returned from their mission, and Si Ming tossed a Demon King’s head into the hall.
• Wu Xiu ended the discussion and ordered Tu Wangyue brought in for trial.
• Si Ming asked whether Tu Wangyue had schemed against him to eliminate the Sacred Sword threat, and she admitted it.
• Si Ming asked whether Tu Wangyue had orchestrated the previous Grandmaster’s imprisonment, and she admitted she had been the mastermind.

Tu Wangyue confessed that she had widened the Demon Race’s barrier to strengthen the demon tides, defending her decision as a sacrifice for peace. As the hearing debated her culpability, she explained how successive Holy Maidens’ memories shaped her and revealed the identities she carried, ending with a declaration of devotion to Mohism.

• Tu Wangyue described how the ninth-generation Grandmaster’s plan led her to widen the Demon Race’s barrier and said she did not regret it.
• Xia Guanxue nearly lost control in anger, while Ying Zhou suggested killing Tu Wangyue.
• Cang Baiyi presented figures to argue that Tu Wangyue’s actions had done more good than harm, but Ji Shichen and Yan Jinghong challenged her secrecy and the continued use of the plan.
• Tu Wangyue stopped Cang Baiyi from defending her and spoke of the naive man who had once inspired her to believe in a better world.
• After Xing Daozhuang questioned whether Tu Wangyue’s inherited memories amounted to possession, she explained her method for maintaining distinct personalities and identified herself in turn as Qiao Muyi, Xi Yesi, Lu Dabei, and Tu Wangyue.
• Tu Wangyue returned to her composed state and declared that she and the Holy Maidens had willingly devoted themselves to realizing the Mohist paradise.

After Tu Wangyue died by suicide during her public trial, the Mohist School concealed the truth and sealed the Sacred Sword. Si Ming planned a journey to the Southern Continent to investigate the Witch Gu Sect and help Murong Qing, while also proposing that Mohist researchers study the Heavenly Dragon World-Delivering Pagoda; Yan Jinghong later told Xia Guanxue that Tu Wangyue had acted as a Mohist.

• Tu Wangyue severed her heart meridians and died, prompting Xia Guanxue and Cang Baiyi to fight as they vented their grief.
• The Mohist School decided to conceal the cause of Tu Wangyue's death, seal the truth for one hundred years, and restrict use of the Sacred Sword.
• Si Ming told Yan Jinghong he would investigate the Witch Gu Sect and the Heaven-Defying Society, then changed his route to meet Murong Qing and Liu Qingqing first.
• Si Ming suggested that the Mohist Academy of Science study the Heavenly Dragon World-Delivering Pagoda as a model for researching the Divine Pillars.
• Xia Guanxue asked Yan Jinghong why Tu Wangyue had faced death without fear, and Yan Jinghong answered that it was what a Mohist did.

After fulfilling his revenge, Xia Guanxue agreed to travel with Si Ming, Murong Wu, and Ying Zhou to Li State to investigate the Witch Gu Sect. In a fishing village outside Jingyang City, the group hid from pursuing Barbarian Hu cavalry and watched three wounded men debate whether to flee or face their pursuers.

• Xia Guanxue accepted Si Ming’s invitation to travel to Li State with Murong Wu and Ying Zhou.
• Si Ming and his companions secretly crossed into Li State by fishing boat and explained they needed to investigate the Witch Gu Sect discreetly.
• The group spotted three wounded men fleeing with a young girl and hid rather than intervene before learning what was happening.
• The wounded marshal urged his two companions to escape with his savings, but they refused to abandon him.
• About two hundred Barbarian Hu cavalrymen charged into the fishing village after the four fugitives.

Si Ming, Ying Zhou, Xia Guanxue, and Murong Wu rescued Chai Wei, Zhao Jin, and Baoyun from pursuing Barbarian Hu soldiers, then learned that Chai Wei was a rebel leader known as the King of Zhou. As Murong Wu treated Chai Wei’s wounds, he discovered that the arrows had been poisoned.

• Chai Wei, Zhao Jin, Baoyun, and the young princess decided to stand and face the pursuing Barbarian Hu soldiers rather than abandon one another.
• Si Ming agreed to eliminate the pursuers to keep their presence secret, and Ying Zhou and Xia Guanxue attacked as the barbarians loosed arrows.
• Ying Zhou slaughtered the cavalry while Xia Guanxue fought and killed their commander; Si Ming guarded against escapees.
• Murong Wu treated the three men as Si Ming learned that Chai Wei was a rebel leader, Zhao Jin and Baoyun were his companions, and the girl was the Little Princess.
• Murong Wu removed two arrows from Chai Wei and realized their arrowheads were poisoned.

Murong Wu saved Chai Wei from Seven Rot Bone-Dissolving Powder with a medicine that temporarily gave him a Spirit Transformation-level body. After learning that a powerful spear-wielding woman resembling Murong Wu was helping Marshal Mu's army at Gourd Valley, Si Ming decided to go there.

• Murong Wu identified the poison on Chai Wei's arrowhead and gave him Seizing Time from Heaven, which suppressed the poison.
• Chai Wei thanked Murong Wu and explained that the Barbarian Hu had lured his army into an ambush while he hurried to rescue Marshal Mu Wu.
• Monk Baoyun said a young officer had likely tricked him into seeking reinforcements, and Ying Zhou urged the group to rescue Marshal Mu.
• Baoyun described a Spirit Transformation Grandmaster with a spear who resembled Murong Wu and had helped Marshal Mu's army resist the Barbarian Hu.
• Si Ming concluded the woman might be Murong Qing, asked for directions to Gourd Valley, and told Ying Zhou to wear a mask so they would not be recognized.

Trapped in Gourd Valley, Mu Wu’s army used Liu Qingqing’s Satiation Art to eat vegetation while Zhang Xingjiao devised a breakout plan. When five powerful fighters attacked the barbarians besieging the valley, Murong Qing recognized three masked friends among them, and Mu Wu ordered the army to break out at once.

• Liu Qingqing invoked the Goddess of Mercy’s power, allowing more than ten thousand soldiers to eat vegetation and stave off hunger.
• Murong Qing explained that the Satiation Art could not provide adequate nutrition over the long term, and Mu Wu agreed the army needed to escape.
• Zhang Xingjiao proposed deceiving the barbarians into believing the army was too weak to fight, then launching a desperate breakout.
• A scout reported that a squad of no more than twenty was attacking the barbarian army at the valley entrance.
• Mu Wu’s officers saw Baoyun Arhat, Zhao Jin, and three masked Spirit Transformation fighters tear through the thirty thousand barbarians; Murong Qing recognized the masked trio as her friends.
• Mu Wu ordered the entire army to assemble and break out immediately.

Ying Zhou, Si Ming, and Xia Guanxue disrupted the Barbarian Army to create an opening for the Mu Family Army to escape Gourd Valley, then faced the Azure Wolf Army and its elite commanders. After Si Ming drove the cavalry into a frenzy, the Mu Family Army began its breakout, but an unknown powerful attacker struck as the group prepared to withdraw.

• Ying Zhou, Si Ming, and Xia Guanxue fought through the Barbarian Army while Zhao Jin explained that their goal was to help the Mu Family Army break out of Gourd Valley.
• The Azure Wolf Army charged, and Ying Zhou and Si Ming discovered that its riders could withstand powerful attacks before joining the fight against the cavalry.
• The Silver Wolf King attacked Ying Zhou, while the Colorful Butterfly King used charm and corpse-controlling techniques against Xia Guanxue.
• Si Ming used the Heart Devil Secret Sword to drive the Azure Wolf cavalrymen into a murderous frenzy, causing them to attack one another.
• Zhao Jin reported that the Mu Family Army had begun breaking out, and Si Ming prepared to withdraw after causing more disruption.
• An unknown attacker launched a black-dragon-like assault, but Si Ming shielded Zhao Jin and Baoyun, repelled the attack, and demanded to know the assailant's identity.

Si Ming used the Sword Scripture of the Six Imperial Sovereigns to defeat Wanyan Huang and help the Mu Family Army break through the Barbarian line. He left with Zhao Jin, Baoyun, Xia Guanxue, and Ying Zhou, who later accused him of using them as a backdrop to show off.

• Wanyan Huang refused Si Ming's offer to part ways and invoked the Heavenly Lion King's fist intent to attack him.
• Si Ming summoned the Great Emperor of Longevity of the Southern Pole, whose sword radiance overwhelmed the fist intent as Mu Wu ordered the Mu Family Army to break out.
• Wanyan Huang unleashed fierce beasts and venomous insects, but Si Ming's sword strikes shattered his attack, wounded him, and severed his obsidian staff.
• Si Ming gathered Zhao Jin and Baoyun and escaped with Xia Guanxue and Ying Zhou while the Silver Wolf King and Colorful Butterfly King let them go.
• Ying Zhou confronted Si Ming for abandoning their low-profile plan, and Si Ming jokingly insisted that circumstances had forced him to act.

Si Ming learned that Murong Qing and Marshal Mu had left Gourd Valley to save the Mu Family Army from a planned eruption, while the Juntian Divine Sword had yet to emerge. Murong Qing and Mu Wu explained that Zhang Baobao’s claim to Li State’s throne could be strengthened by recovering lost territory, and Mu Wu asked Si Ming to help seize the sword.

• Murong Qing told Si Ming that Zhang Baobao had refrained from claiming Li State’s throne to avoid destabilizing the country, thwarting the Barbarian King’s scheme.
• Murong Qing explained that the Juntian Divine Sword could give a Spirit Transformation Grandmaster strength comparable to a Void Returning Great Grandmaster and could help Li State recover its lost territory.
• Murong Qing revealed that the sword’s reported location in Gourd Valley was correct, but the barbarians had manipulated the timing to trap the Mu Family Army during a predicted underground-fire eruption.
• Mu Wu arrived and said both sides could compete openly for the sword because its emergence would create a visible phenomenon.
• Mu Wu asked Si Ming to help Li State seize the Juntian Divine Sword.

Si Ming agreed to help Mu Wu kill the Barbarian King if the Juntian Divine Sword appeared, hoping to draw out the Remote Heaven Society’s leader. Song Jingping received a message from his adoptive father and prepared to join him, despite worrying that the world would condemn his choice.

• Si Ming proposed that he, Mu Wu, and a third Void Returning-level fighter ambush the Barbarian King, and Mu Wu agreed to arrange the plan.
• Murong Qing warned Si Ming not to risk himself for her cousin, but Si Ming explained that he also wanted to expose the Remote Heaven Society’s mysterious leader.
• Song Jingping received a letter from his adoptive father and promised the messenger he would arrive at the appointed time.
• Song Jingping asked Xunan whether the world would curse him for taking a thief as his father, and Xunan urged him to endure the condemnation for the sake of all people.

Xunan explained to Song Jingping why the Barbarian King sought to integrate the Barbarian Race with Huaxia and why he expected Song Jingping to rule Great Qian. Song Jingping accepted his master’s rebuke about power and responsibility, while Si Ming learned that White Cloud Temple would attend the coming meeting and considered whether it might side with the Barbarian Hu.

• Xunan told Song Jingping that the Barbarian Race could survive only by adopting Huaxia culture and integrating with its people, and that the Barbarian King would not destroy Li State because its fall would invite foreign invasion.
• Xunan explained that the Barbarian King had chosen Song Jingping as heir because his Huaxia identity could help Great Qian annex Li State without provoking the other Huaxia nations.
• Song Jingping admitted that he did not want to be emperor, but Xunan rebuked him for overlooking the suffering of ordinary people and the need to fight for peace.
• Song Jingping accepted Xunan’s teaching that an era of peace required heroes and sacrifice.
• Mu Wu told Si Ming that White Cloud Temple and the Grand Preceptor had agreed to arrive in two days, and explained the temple’s strength and influence.
• Si Ming and Mu Wu considered whether the Buddhist School might ally with the Barbarian Hu, despite the former prince’s connection to White Cloud Temple.

Si Ming and Murong Qing agreed to help Chai Wanyang capture the traitor who betrayed her father, and the group set out before the divine sword appeared. Along the way, Liu Qingqing joined them and described how she had helped Murong Qing investigate the Divine Pillar and survive Witch Gu Sect assassins.

• Si Ming found Murong Wu sparring with Murong Qing, who praised his martial progress and urged him to keep training.
• Si Ming introduced Chai Wanyang as Chai Wei’s twelve-year-old daughter, and she asked Murong Qing to capture the traitor who had betrayed her father.
• Chai Wanyang explained that the traitor would be easier to find before he learned Chai Wei was alive, and Murong Qing agreed to help her.
• With three days remaining before the divine sword emerged, Si Ming accompanied Murong Qing and the others to search for the traitor.
• Liu Qingqing joined the group and told Si Ming that she had helped Murong Qing fend off Witch Gu Sect assassins and that a mysterious breakfast vendor had aided them.

Si Ming, Murong Qing, Murong Wu, and Chai Wanyang infiltrated Rongguo Manor and discovered that Shang and Yang had betrayed Chai Wei to Great Qian. After overhearing the men boast about their treachery, they prepared to confront them.

• Murong Qing reconsidered her suspicions about the mysterious benefactor and resolved to apologize if they met again.
• The group reached Rongguo Manor, where servants were packing for a move, and Si Ming used Sword Intent to pass through the residence unnoticed.
• From the roof, Chai Wanyang recognized her Sixth Uncle among the men in the courtyard.
• Shang, Yang, and the Barbarian Hu leader justified betraying Chai Wei as loyalty to Great Qian and its emperor.
• Chai Wanyang trembled with anger, Murong Qing condemned the men, and Si Ming proposed attacking them at once.

Murong Wu and Chai Wanyang confronted Shang Zhen and Yang, who defended their allegiance to Great Qian, and Chai Wanyang broke down after hearing Shang Zhen’s justification for betraying his master. Murong Wu fought off their forces and revealed his growth as a fighter, leaving Murong Qing delighted and Si Ming recognizing his Flame Emperor Fist Art.

• Temur reminded Shang Zhen that he had buried the divine statue and urged him to adopt Great Qian’s customs by shaving his hair and changing his clothes.
• Murong Wu carried Chai Wanyang into the courtyard, where she confronted Shang Zhen and Yang about their betrayal of their master and the Southern cause.
• Shang Zhen and Yang justified serving Great Qian as a pursuit of peace and the greater good, and Chai Wanyang wept as she denounced Shang Zhen.
• Murong Wu decided that some evildoers had to be killed to deter others, then defeated the Barbarian Hu leader with one punch and blasted away the other five attackers.
• Murong Wu escaped the courtyard with Chai Wanyang and fought Yang one-handed, while Murong Qing watched him prevail and Si Ming identified his technique as the Flame Emperor Fist Art.

Murong Wu defeated Yang Qiu while Liu Qingqing and unseen allies stopped the other attackers, but the Barbarian Hu leader summoned the Maha Witch Ancestor, who drained lives across the courtyard. An immense palm strike finally smashed the transformed entity into the ground.

• Chai Wanyang shot Yang Qiu at close range, letting Murong Wu gain the upper hand and drive him toward defeat.
• Liu Qingqing killed two barbarians with arrows, and an unseen palm crushed another when he challenged the hidden attackers.
• Murong Wu broke Yang Qiu's ribs with Blood Stains the Rivers and Mountains, leaving him apparently dead.
• The Barbarian Hu leader summoned an evil god statue and transformed into the Maha Witch Ancestor, who drained his three followers and then Yang Qiu of their life force.
• The Maha Witch Ancestor spread his evil Qi to drain people and livestock, but an immense palm force drove him into the ground.

Si Ming, Murong Qing, and Liu Qingqing fought the Maha Witch Ancestor after debating who should take the enemy, and Liu Qingqing eventually destroyed the evil god with her ranged attacks. Si Ming warned that a trace of the opponent remained, and the lingering black Qi attacked Murong Wu.

• Si Ming proposed using a stone tube he called the Dispute Terminator to decide who would fight the Maha Witch Ancestor, and Liu Qingqing won the draw.
• Liu Qingqing battled the Maha Witch Ancestor at range, while Si Ming and Murong Qing discussed how the evil god could grow stronger by absorbing vital blood and suspected a connection between the Witch Gu Sect and the Remote Heaven Society.
• Liu Qingqing outlasted the Maha Witch Ancestor and struck it with Great White Arrow: Fierce Destruction and Slaughter, scattering its body into black mist.
• Si Ming sensed that the Maha Witch Ancestor's presence remained nearby, and a hidden wisp of black Qi darted toward Murong Wu, who prepared to destroy it with his newly comprehended fist intent.

As the factions prepared for the battle over the Juntian Divine Sword, Murong Qing crippled Shang Zhen and agreed to hand him over for judgment. At Gourd Valley, the Barbarian King Chidahu arrived with his allies, while Wanyan Huang explained the sword’s bond to Li State’s royal bloodline and wondered whether Chidahu had planned events long in advance.

• Shang Zhen escaped after the Witch Ancestor’s black Qi entered Murong Wu, but Murong Wu’s constitution sealed the entity inside him.
• Liu Qingqing returned with Shang Zhen, and Chai Wanyang asked for him to be delivered to her father for judgment.
• Murong Qing crippled Shang Zhen, and Si Ming called for preparations to face the Heavenly Lion King.
• The Barbarian King Chidahu arrived at Gourd Valley with the kings and Wanyan Huang as jianghu spectators watched from a distance.
• Wanyan Huang explained that the Juntian Divine Sword had bonded with Li State’s founding emperor and could be wielded only by his royal descendants.
• Chidahu soothed Wanyan Huang’s injuries with Primal Qi, prompting Wanyan Huang to suspect that the Barbarian King had planned for this confrontation.

Si Ming broke the standoff between Ju Beichen and Chidahu, claiming he had come to seize the Juntian Divine Sword for himself rather than on Su State’s behalf. The three powers remained in a tense balance as Chidahu warned that Si Ming lacked the strength to claim the treasure.

• Chidahu passed his gentle, transformed Vicious Qi to the injured Wanyan Huang and urged him to protect himself in the coming battle.
• Ju Beichen arrived, and his spiritual force clashed with Chidahu’s, trapping the two Void Returning Great Grandmasters in a stalemate that shook Gourd Valley.
• A dazzling sword light erupted from the ground, and Si Ming caught and redirected the combined Fist Intents of Ju Beichen and Chidahu.
• Murong Qing, Liu Qingqing, Ying Zhou, and Xia Guanxue joined Si Ming as he claimed he had come for the Juntian Divine Sword, not to support Su State.
• Si Ming displayed sword techniques from the Juntian Sword Art and joked that he could sell the divine sword to Ju Beichen for three treasures from Li State’s divine artifact vault.
• Chidahu judged that Si Ming was not a Void Returning Great Grandmaster and warned that he would need greater strength to seize the treasure.