Chapter Summaries

Duàn Yì defeated Luo Zhen and Jiang Baichuan in the pavilion while Lingling continued to overwhelm Yao Jiacheng. The two Beggars' Sect fighters died, leaving Duàn Yì to face the battle's remaining threats.

• Duàn Yì crippled Jiang Baichuan with sword qi and focused his attacks on Luo Zhen as Lingling pressed Yao Jiacheng with her escalating saber technique.
• Luo Zhen, wounded and desperate, unleashed the Heavenly Pillar Sword Style, but Duàn Yì countered with Myriad Peaks Paying Homage.
• Duàn Yì's sword sent Luo Zhen's steel sword flying, and it pierced Jiang Baichuan's heart, killing him.
• Luo Zhen attacked Duàn Yì with the Hundred Flowers Mistake Fist, but Duàn Yì shattered its force with his Great Vajra Fist and punched Luo Zhen in the chest.
• Luo Zhen died after Duàn Yì's blow shattered his bones and internal organs.

Duàn Yì killed Jiang Baichuan and Luo Zhen, then faced the Beggars' Sect disciples who flooded Floating Splendor Garden while Lingling continued fighting Yao Jiacheng. He slaughtered the courtyard attackers with his Songyang Iron Sword and Ice Profound Energy as the battle inside the pavilion continued.

• Duàn Yì killed Jiang Baichuan and Luo Zhen, and the Beggars' Sect disciples rushed into Floating Splendor Garden after hearing the commotion.
• Lingling told Duàn Yì to kill the people in the courtyard while she fought Yao Jiacheng.
• A figure was hurled from the pavilion, crushing a mastiff and its handler, and Duàn Yì emerged to confront the Beggars' Sect disciples.
• The Beggars' Sect disciples rallied at the sound of Yao Jiacheng using the Dragon Subduing Palm and charged Duàn Yì.
• Duàn Yì killed three mastiffs with his sword and wounded many disciples with Ice Profound Energy.
• Duàn Yì continued cutting down the attackers with precise sword strikes.

Duàn Yì slaughtered the Beggars' Sect disciples in the courtyard and destroyed Luo Zhen's corpse to conceal his Great Vajra Fist Style. In the pavilion, Lingling and Yao Jiacheng unleashed their strongest techniques against each other, and their collision shattered the building, leaving Duàn Yì stunned outside.

• Duàn Yì killed the fleeing Beggars' Sect disciples with his iron sword and Ice Needles, then destroyed Luo Zhen's corpse to erase evidence of the Great Vajra Fist Style.
• Lingling and Yao Jiacheng fought through the second-floor pavilion as Yao Jiacheng abandoned his defensive techniques and focused on the Dragon Subduing Palm.
• Lingling unleashed a fearsome saber strike that disrupted Yao Jiacheng's attempt to break through.
• Yao Jiacheng broke through at the brink of death and sent a powerful golden dragon from his palms to meet Lingling's saber lights.
• Duàn Yì heard a tremendous collision as the pavilion exploded into fragments, and he struggled to withstand the force and flying debris.

Lingling defeated Yao Jiacheng in a devastating duel, but Duàn Yì grew suspicious after recognizing her connection to Zhou Xiufen. He decided to trust Lingling for now and fled with her as Beggars' Sect disciples approached.

• Duàn Yì watched Lingling and Yao Jiacheng face off among the pavilion ruins, then heard Yao Jiacheng acknowledge her saber technique before he died standing upright.
• Lingling explained that she practiced the Ruyi Demonic Saber, not the Divine Saber Slash, and Duàn Yì suspected she was the masked woman who had once helped Zhou Xiufen pursue him.
• Duàn Yì confronted Lingling about hiding her friendship with Zhou Xiufen and her past involvement in an attempt to kill him.
• Lingling defended Zhou Xiufen and reminded Duàn Yì that she could have harmed him earlier if that had been her intention, prompting him to sheath his sword and trust her.
• As Lingling collapsed from her injuries, Duàn Yì caught her and carried her away from Floating Splendor Garden when more Beggars' Sect disciples arrived.

Duàn Yì hid the injured Lingling in a farming household’s outer room and questioned her after sealing her qi channels. Lingling denied plotting against him and revealed little about Zhou Xiufen before Duàn Yì asked about her true identity and connection to Blood Saber Ding Ran.

• Duàn Yì examined Lingling’s serious internal injuries and sealed her qi channels before waking her with several slaps.
• Duàn Yì told Lingling they were in a safe outer room and asked whether Zhou Xiufen still planned to take revenge; Lingling refused to reveal Zhou’s location but said she would not kill him.
• Lingling said her earlier meeting with Duàn Yì in Yuyang had been accidental and insisted she could have killed him if she had wanted to.
• Duàn Yì asked why Lingling had sent someone to approach him, and she said her group wanted to recruit him because of his potential.
• Duàn Yì asked Lingling for her true name, background, and relationship with Blood Saber Ding Ran.

Ding Ling revealed her identity and explained her connection to Ding Ran, while Duàn Yì confronted her over the portrait that had helped the Golden Cauldron Sect hunt him. Unable to offer him the Jade Lingzhi, Ding Ling proposed teaching him a unique one-stance swordplay, and Duàn Yì asked what it was.

• Ding Ling told Duàn Yì that she was the Eldest Miss of the Ding Family and the heir to the Ruyi Demonic Saber, and that Ding Ran was her younger half-brother.
• Duàn Yì remembered that Ding Ling had drawn his portrait for the Golden Cauldron Sect, helping spread the hunt for him across Wei Prefecture.
• Ding Ling admitted fault and offered compensation, but refused Duàn Yì's request for the Huaxiu Merchant Association's top-grade Jade Lingzhi.
• Ding Ling offered to teach Duàn Yì an exceptionally profound swordplay with only one stance, and he asked her to name it.

Ding Ling broke free of Duàn Yì’s sealed energy channels and offered him the Ding family’s Meteor from Beyond the Heavens sword technique as compensation. Duàn Yì accepted the technique and let their grudge end, then quickly memorized its sword moves and mental cultivation formulae.

• Ding Ling restored her inner power, drying her rain-soaked robes and making Duàn Yì draw his sword in alarm.
• Ding Ling told Duàn Yì she would honor their earlier agreement and offered him Meteor from Beyond the Heavens to settle the Golden Cauldron Sect portrait grievance.
• Duàn Yì recalled the sword technique’s history and agreed to let their enmity end in exchange for learning it.
• Ding Ling wrote out the sword technique and recited its mental cultivation formulae for Duàn Yì.
• Duàn Yì memorized the complete technique and recognized how his swordsmanship foundation could complement its unusual, decisive style.

After the Beggars' Sect branch was massacred, Ji County descended into bloody turmoil as martial factions and authorities searched for the killer. Duàn Yì feared the investigation would expose him and Ding Ling, but Lu Liding reassured him that the Huaxiu Merchant Association had covered their tracks and could protect them.

• Duàn Yì and Ding Ling destroyed the traces in the house and returned to Lu Liding's hidden residence.
• The Beggars' Sect discovered that Jiang Baichuan, Yao Jiacheng, Luo Zhen, and dozens of disciples had been killed, and its members sent for help and began pursuing the murderer.
• Bloody incidents spread through Ji County, while the authorities investigated and Yang Wuxia reportedly arrived to examine the Beggars' Sect massacre.
• Duàn Yì heard Lu Liding recount the chaos and worried that the investigation would reveal his involvement with Ding Ling.
• Lu Liding said their alibi had more than a hundred witnesses, their traces had been erased, and the Huaxiu Merchant Association could uncover or eliminate anyone sent after them.

Duàn Yì tested whether Ice Silkworm saliva could cure the Yang Core Pill’s scorching poison, but found it only suppressed the poison temporarily. He resolved to pursue the Three Great Hatreds while continuing his cultivation and worrying over the damage to his Songyang Iron Sword.

• Lu Liding gave Duàn Yì seven grains of Ice Valley and warned him that Monk Huiqing of Shaolin Temple was seeking him.
• Duàn Yì entered the Tower of Hidden Martial Arts and tested Ice Valley against the scorching poison of a Yang Core Pill.
• Duàn Yì discovered that Ice Valley only suppressed the poison for about three days and could not remove its root.
• Duàn Yì considered the leads on the Fire of the Snow Mountain, the Ear of the Desolate Domain, and Dragon's Tooth of the Soaring Dragon, and decided to search for the Wu Family.
• Duàn Yì examined his damaged Songyang Iron Sword and worried that another fierce battle could break it.

Ding Ling found her younger half-brother Ding Ran, a Blood Saber fighter who had left home to prove himself, and urged him to return to the Ding Family. After learning she had killed Yao Jiacheng to protect him, Ding Ran challenged her to defeat his Blood Saber before he would go home.

• Ding Ran killed a dozen jianghu men outside Ji County, and Ding Ling appeared to confront him about staying away from home.
• Ding Ran claimed he had grown strong enough to challenge Ding Ling and argued he deserved to inherit the Ruyi Demonic Saber.
• Ding Ling explained that the demonic saber chose its own master and that Ding Ran had failed to draw it at the stone wall.
• Ding Ran accused Ding Ling of killing Yao Jiacheng to protect him, and she admitted it while warning that he would not have been able to defeat Yao Jiacheng.
• Ding Ran told Ding Ling he would return to the Ding Family only if she defeated his Blood Saber with the Ruyi Demonic Saber.

Ding Ling offered to let Ding Ran leave if he defeated Duàn Yì, whom she chose as his opponent. Meanwhile, Duàn Yì practiced his swordsmanship and pushed his Meteor from Beyond the Heavens to a powerful but still imperfect level.

• Ding Ling refused to fight Ding Ran and proposed that he prove himself by defeating Duàn Yì.
• Ding Ran agreed to face the opponent Ding Ling chose, determined not to show mercy.
• Duàn Yì trained in the manor’s wire-hung practice ground, striking the moving straw men with a wooden sword without using inner qi.
• Duàn Yì unleashed a final attack that shattered one straw man and blasted apart eight nearby ones, but he concluded his Meteor from Beyond the Heavens was not yet flawless.

Duàn Yì refined Meteor from Beyond the Heavens and considered how it completed his swordsmanship, though he still struggled to combine it with Droplet Strength. Ding Ling brought her brother Ding Ran to meet him at the manor, where a misunderstanding about Duàn Yì’s bare chest left Ding Ling flustered and Ding Ran teasing her.

• Duàn Yì reflected on Meteor from Beyond the Heavens, compared it with his other sword techniques, and recognized its place in his developing swordsmanship.
• Duàn Yì tried to combine Droplet Strength with Meteor from Beyond the Heavens but failed to control the power and caused a disturbance.
• Ding Ling and Ding Ran returned to the manor after surviving several ambushes aimed at Ding Ran.
• Ding Ling found Duàn Yì practicing bare-chested, blushed, and scolded him for showing off.
• Ding Ran mistook Ding Ling’s embarrassment for affection and teasingly asked her to introduce Duàn Yì.

Ding Ling arranged for Duàn Yì to fight her brother Ding Ran, promising to stop interfering in Ding Ran’s affairs if he won and threatening to void their agreements if he lost. After Duàn Yì accepted and prepared for the duel, Ding Ran arrived and asked whether he and Ding Ling were lovers; learning Duàn Yì already had a fiancée, Ding Ran set aside his restraint and prepared to fight in earnest.

• Ding Ling challenged Ding Ran to defeat Duàn Yì as proof he could roam the martial world, while warning Duàn Yì that losing would void their agreements and cost him the Ice Silkworm.
• Duàn Yì agreed to fight after an hour of rest, then studied Ding Ran’s powerful stance, weapon control, and sinister Qi Aura.
• Duàn Yì bathed, changed clothes, and returned to the training ground with a black iron sword as he considered the danger of Ding Ran’s Blood Saber.
• Ding Ran arrived in formal clothes and questioned Duàn Yì about his relationship with Ding Ling before the duel began.
• Duàn Yì explained that he and Ding Ling had only a relationship of mutual interest and that he already had a fiancée, reassuring Ding Ran that they were not lovers.
• Ding Ran dropped his concern about hurting a future brother-in-law and resolved to unleash the Blood Saber against Duàn Yì.

Duàn Yì and Ding Ran faced off in the training ground, then exchanged a powerful first clash with sword and saber. Duàn Yì gained a slight advantage, but both fighters turned to continue the battle.

• Ding Ran said he would not hold back against Duàn Yì after learning Duàn Yì had no relationship with Ding Ling.
• Duàn Yì and Ding Ran prepared their weapons and studied each other's stances until Ding Ling entered the training ground.
• Duàn Yì and Ding Ran attacked at the same time, and their sword and saber collided in a forceful exchange.
• Ding Ling judged that Duàn Yì's swordplay had the edge, while Ding Ran's Blood Saber remained dangerous.
• Duàn Yì landed lightly after blocking all twelve changes of Ding Ran's saber strike, and his Ice Profound Energy neutralized the Blood Saber energy that entered his body.
• Duàn Yì and Ding Ran turned back toward each other, ready to continue fighting.

Duàn Yì used his strength and Cold Iron Sword Qi to suppress Ding Ran, but Ding Ran revealed the Wuyi Demonic Saber and launched a deadly, self-guiding attack. Duàn Yì evaded its strikes and recognized that the fight could be far more difficult than he had expected.

• Duàn Yì struck Ding Ran with a plain but powerful pressing sword technique, wounding him and driving him back with Cold Iron Sword Qi.
• Ding Ling approved of Duàn Yì's tactics as Ding Ran declared that he had not yet shown his true martial arts.
• Ding Ran transformed his composite blood saber into the Wuyi Demonic Saber, and Ding Ling warned Duàn Yì that it was a terrifying Western Demonic Cult divine art.
• Ding Ran hurled the spinning Wuyi Demonic Saber at Duàn Yì, who dodged as it ground the stone floor to dust.
• The Wuyi Demonic Saber pursued Duàn Yì and attacked again, while he used King Yue's Divine Arrow to evade and recalled the weapon's origins.

Duan Yi faced Ding Ran’s uncontrollable Wuyi Demonic Saber and struck at its weakest point, then halted his sword before it could injure him. Ding Ling dismantled the saber with a pebble, leaving Ding Ran unconscious and the siblings to confront the consequences of his practicing the Western Demonic Cult’s divine skill.

• Duan Yi dodged the Wuyi Demonic Saber seven times while closing in on the exhausted Ding Ran.
• Duan Yi struck the saber at the joint between its hilt and blade, then used the force to rush toward Ding Ran.
• Duan Yi stopped his Meteor from Beyond the Heavens just short of Ding Ran and blasted apart his clothes without harming him.
• Duan Yi realized the saber was turning on Ding Ran as the Demonic Saber Backlash took hold.
• Ding Ling flicked a pebble at the saber’s center and broke it into its separate blood sabers.
• Ding Ran fainted with blood coming from his nose and mouth, while Ding Ling considered the price he would have to pay for practicing the Wuyi Demonic Saber.

After Ding Ran was carried away injured by the Wuyi Demonic Saber’s backlash, Duàn Yì reflected on the divine arts he had witnessed. In Ji County, the Wicked Monk faced Du Yuetao and his companions, who had come seeking revenge and to build Du Yuetao’s reputation.

• Ding Ling explained that the Wuyi Demonic Saber needed to taste blood or it would devour its wielder, then had Ding Ran carried away for treatment.
• Duàn Yì considered what he had learned from the Blood Saber and Wuyi Demonic Saber.
• The Wicked Monk broke the limbs and meridians of four martial artists after they boasted about defeating Ding Ran and could not tell him where she was.
• Du Yuetao brought more than thirty martial artists to confront the Wicked Monk, intending to use the encounter to raise his own standing.
• Du Yuetao demanded that the Wicked Monk fight or break his own arm in apology, and the monk finally turned to look at him.

The Wicked Monk confronted Du Yuetao after Du Yuetao challenged him over the punishment of his four friends. After killing Du Yuetao and the onlookers, the Wicked Monk continued his search for the Blood Saber.

• The Wicked Monk explained that he had punished Du Yuetao's four friends for lying about having fought the Blood Saber.
• Du Yuetao drew his Autumn Water Sword and attacked the Wicked Monk with Flying Fish Swordplay.
• The Wicked Monk seized the Autumn Water Sword, snapped it in two, and killed Du Yuetao with a punch through the chest.
• The Wicked Monk chased down and slaughtered the more than thirty people who had come with Du Yuetao.
• The Wicked Monk wiped the blood from his hands and muttered that he had to find the Blood Saber.

Ding Ling and Lu Liding told Duàn Yì that Blood Butcher Monk had come to Ji County seeking Ding Ran and had killed scores of martial artists. After Blood Butcher Monk badly wounded Liu Zhicheng, they sought Duàn Yì’s help as the threat closed in on Ding Ran.

• Authorities and soldiers hunted Blood Butcher Monk after he slaughtered everyone in a Ji County tavern, but the hunters who challenged him were killed.
• Ding Ling summoned Duàn Yì to meet her and Lu Liding, who asked for his help against the powerful monk.
• Ding Ling explained that Ding Ran had inherited the Blood Saber and its scripture from Blood Saber Monk, who had fled Blood Butcher Monk for years.
• Ding Ling revealed that Blood Butcher Monk cultivated the demonic Great Law of Essence Slaughtering Blood and had pursued Ding Ran to reclaim the Blood Saber.
• Blood Butcher Monk killed more than a hundred martial artists and defeated Liu Zhicheng in three strikes before Liu’s junior brothers drove him back.

Duàn Yì learned that the Blood Saber was the Blood Drinking Demonic Saber, a weapon that consumed blood and strengthened its wielder, making it impossible for Ding Ling and Lu Liding to surrender it to Blood Butcher Monk. He suspected Ding Ling wanted his third hired task to involve facing Blood Butcher Monk and refused to risk his life for it.

• Duàn Yì considered Blood Head Monk's disappearance and realized Blood Butcher Monk might be powerful enough to threaten even Ding Ling, whose injuries had not healed.
• Duàn Yì suggested giving the Blood Saber to Blood Butcher Monk to avoid a fight.
• Lu Liding demonstrated the Blood Saber's nature by cutting off a tabby cat's head, and Duàn Yì watched the blade absorb the blood.
• Lu Liding explained that the Blood Saber was the Blood Drinking Demonic Saber, a sacred vessel for the Wuyi Demonic Saber inheritance that grew stronger by consuming blood and could nourish its wielder.
• Duàn Yì refused to accept a third task that might require him to fight Blood Butcher Monk, and Ding Ling and Lu Liding exchanged helpless glances.