Recaps

Wang Chen won a huge fortune at Hundred Victories Pavilion after beating the dealer Zhong Yingyao, who challenged him to wager his winnings against a night with her. He went up to the pavilion's fourth floor, where the hidden Demon Slaying Spearhead began burning against his chest, signaling a nearby evil fiend.

• Wang Chen gambled his way to the third floor and amassed more than a hundred thousand taels' worth of chips.
• Wang Chen went all in against Zhong Yingyao and beat her Star-rank hand with a Moon-rank hand, winning all the wagers.
• Zhong Yingyao challenged Wang Chen to another round, offering to sleep with him if she lost, but he refused.
• Wang Chen ascended to the fourth floor, where the Demon Slaying Spearhead grew hot as he approached an evil fiend.
• A gambling-house attendant led Wang Chen into a private room as the spearhead's heat intensified.

Wang Chen used the Great Hao Demon Punishing Spear to identify Shi Hongyuan, the head of the Shi family, as a demon and attacked him at Peony Tower. After Wang Chen exposed Shi Hongyuan’s demonic nature, Zhong Yingyao arrived, recognized the danger, and fled.

• Wang Chen sensed demonic aura in the gambling room and identified the purple-robed Shi Hongyuan as a demon.
• Wang Chen struck Shi Hongyuan down and pierced his chest with the Demon Slaying Spearhead, while a Fourth Tier Martial General attacked him and was repelled.
• Wang Chen revealed his Blood-Clad Guard badge and told Sun Feiyu that Shi Hongyuan was a demon.
• Wang Chen lifted Shi Hongyuan by the throat as gray smoke rose from the wound and his body began to reveal its demonic form.
• Zhong Yingyao entered the room, saw Shi Hongyuan’s transformation, and turned to flee.

Wang Chen killed the demon hiding in Shi Hongyuan and ordered Guangping’s forces to seal Peony Tower, where he suspected more demons were lurking. When County Commandant Hu Mengde tried to delay the mobilization, Wang Chen killed him and renewed his order to surround the buildings.

• Wang Chen questioned the demon occupying Shi Hongyuan, then destroyed it with a surge of Baleful Intent when it refused to reveal how many demons were present.
• Wang Chen sent up signal fireworks and went to Peony Tower, where he met Guangping Guard Captain Duan Yongfeng and ordered him to seal off the site.
• Wang Chen gave Duan Yongfeng his token to summon the county yamen and garrison, ordering that anyone who defied him be killed.
• Hu Mengde questioned whether demons were inside Peony Tower and said he needed the County Magistrate’s approval before moving the county yamen forces.
• Wang Chen accused Hu Mengde of obstructing him and beheaded him, then ordered the gathered forces to surround Peony Tower.

Wang Chen sealed Peony Tower and screened its guests for demons, killing anyone who tried to escape. He uncovered a disguised man whose real identity was Flower Butterfly Young Master.

• Wang Chen beheaded Hu Mengde and ordered the Blood-Clad Guards to seal Peony Tower.
• Wang Chen killed a Peony Tower guard who challenged him, then warned everyone inside not to flee.
• Several people tried to escape over the walls, but the guards shot them and Wang Chen killed one with his flintlock firearm.
• Duan Yongfeng sent soldiers to surround Peony Tower, and Wang Chen began inspecting guests with the Great Hao Demon Punishing Spear.
• Wang Chen stopped a brocade-clad guest, exposed his Human Skin Mask, and knocked him down.
• Duan Yongfeng tore off the man's mask and recognized him as Flower Butterfly Young Master.

Wang Chen captured the notorious Flower Butterfly Young Master, who offered to reveal Peony Tower’s demons and secret passage in exchange for leniency. Wang Chen found a treasure-filled chamber, killed five Martial Artists, and cornered a demon disguised as a man, who backed into a wall panel that suddenly flipped downward.

• Duan Yongfeng identified the captured, heavily disguised criminal as the Flower Butterfly Young Master, and Wang Chen ordered his martial arts and manhood crippled before he was imprisoned.
• The Flower Butterfly Young Master offered to reveal possessed people and a secret passage beneath Peony Tower, so Duan Yongfeng forced him to lead the guards there.
• Wang Chen entered the passage alone, smashed through a stone door with his Seven Feather Spear, and advanced through a volley of arrows protected by his armor.
• Wang Chen found a chamber of treasure and killed the five Martial Artists who attacked him.
• Wang Chen recognized the purple-robed man as a demon in human skin, but the man backed into a wall panel that flipped downward.

Wang Chen killed the snake-headed demon in Peony Tower, claimed half its hidden wealth, and returned to face Guangping County Magistrate Zhou Hongming over the commandant’s death. He answered Zhou’s demand for proof by throwing the demon’s head at him.

• Wang Chen pinned the purple-robed man with the Seven Feather Spear, deflected its venom, and beheaded it with a second saber.
• Wang Chen found a silver-white demonic bead in the snake demon’s body and watched the Demon Slaying Spearhead absorb it.
• Wang Chen inspected Peony Tower’s hidden chests, took about half the gold, valuables, and weapons, and returned to the surface.
• Zhou Hongming confronted Wang Chen for killing Guangping County’s commandant and sealing Peony Tower.
• Wang Chen defended his actions and threw the demon’s head at Zhou Hongming as proof.

After exposing demons at Peony Tower, Wang Chen led a search that uncovered a hidden passage beneath Hundred Victories Pavilion. He killed three snake demons guarding it, while the search of the passage remained unfinished.

• The old county magistrate fainted at the sight of the demon’s severed head, then fled after Duan Yongfeng revived him.
• Wang Chen ordered Duan Yongfeng to guard the scene and continue searching Peony Tower, where the guests and staff cooperated after news of the demons spread.
• Wang Chen ordered soldiers and constables to search the buildings, but the initial search found no additional demons.
• A constable discovered a hidden passage beneath a gambling table in Hundred Victories Pavilion, and Wang Chen jumped inside.
• Three beautiful women attacked Wang Chen in the passage, but he used the Demon Punishing Spear Technique to kill all three snake demons.

Wang Chen uncovered a demon lair beneath Peony Tower and confirmed that the missing people had been used to prepare a Demon Ascension Pool. After receiving a promotion to Blood-Clad Guard Commander, he handed the case over to officials from the Metropolitan Guard Bureau.

• Wang Chen found the missing people’s corpses above the blood pool and ordered Duan Yongfeng to report the discovery, while the demons’ leader escaped through another passage.
• Wang Chen arranged for the Blood-Clad Guard to display the evidence from Peony Tower, rewarded the garrison and a constable, and helped recruit the constable into the guard.
• Pacification Commissioner Yao Peng arrived, identified the pool as an unfinished Demon Ascension Pool, and praised Wang Chen for uncovering it in time.
• Yao Peng presented Wang Chen with a decree promoting him to Blood-Clad Guard Commander and awarding him one thousand taels of gold for killing Huang Jue, the Soul Sever Spear.
• An elite force from the Metropolitan Guard Bureau arrived the following day, and Wang Chen reported the case before handing it over.

After Guangping County was locked down and searched over the Demon Ascension Pool, Wang Chen stayed in seclusion and trained while the investigation spread. The Zhong family offered him treasure and Zhong Yingyao as an apology, but Wang Chen accepted only the gifts and agreed to mention the family to Duan Yongfeng.

• The Metropolitan Guard Bureau and troops from Xilao Pass sealed Guangping County and launched a sweeping investigation, while Wang Chen was excluded from the search and remained under orders not to leave.
• Wang Chen spent several days training at the residence Duan Yongfeng had provided him.
• Zhong Zhenshan arrived with Zhong Yingyao and a white-haired elder carrying a chest of treasure to apologize for Zhong Yingyao's earlier offense.
• Zhong Zhenshan offered Zhong Yingyao as a servant, but Wang Chen accepted the treasure and refused to take her in.
• Wang Chen said he would mention the Zhong family to Captain Duan, and Zhong Yingyao looked at him with resentment.

After returning to Donglu Prefecture City, Wang Chen settled into domestic life with Xi Jun and cultivated while waiting for recognition of his deeds in Guangping. On the day after his seventeenth birthday, he learned that the Great Liang Emperor had promoted him to Demon Suppressing Commander and summoned him to Great Ye City for an audience.

• Wang Chen returned to Donglu Prefecture City, where Xi Jun welcomed him and had kept his household in order.
• Wang Chen accepted Xi Jun’s affection, then spent the following months cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Seven Fiend Wheels and improving his Potential points.
• Wang Chen advanced the fifth level of the Mysterious Heaven Seven Fiend Wheels close to full mastery but could not progress without the remaining methods hidden at Yuntai Mountain Daoist Palace.
• After Wang Chen turned seventeen, Yao Peng brought him an imperial decree promoting him to Demon Suppressing Commander and summoning him to Great Ye City.
• Yao Peng urged Wang Chen to prepare and depart at once so he would not miss the deadline for his audience with the Emperor.

The president of the Hidden Dragon Society learned that Wang Chen was a young fifth-tier Martial Grandmaster and ordered the Azure Peak Bandits to kill him in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. Wang Chen left Donglu City for the imperial capital, leaving Xi Jun in Yao Peng’s care, while she waited for his return.

• A Hawk Falcon delivered a five-seal Red Dispatch to the president of the Hidden Dragon Society, reporting Wang Chen’s strength and imperial summons.
• The president and Elders Pang and Sun agreed that Wang Chen threatened their plans, and the president ordered the Azure Peak Bandits to stop and kill him in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
• Wang Chen entrusted Xi Jun to Yao Peng because he had to leave for the capital at once and could not take her with him.
• Wang Chen promised Xi Jun that he would return for her after meeting the emperor, kissed her goodbye, and rode out of Donglu City.

Wang Chen met Qin Qingxuan while crossing the Muluo River, where she asked him to help slay a dangerous demon after his audience with the Emperor. She offered the complete Mysterious Heaven Seven Fiend Wheels in exchange, leaving Wang Chen asking whether that was her condition.

• Wang Chen reached the Muluo River and accepted a ride across from Qin Qingxuan, who had deliberately waited for him.
• Qin Qingxuan confirmed she would not ask him to join the Rebel Faction and said she wanted his help dealing with a hidden demon after his audience with the Emperor.
• Wang Chen questioned what he would gain from risking himself to fight the demon.
• Qin Qingxuan revealed she possessed the complete Mysterious Heaven Seven Fiend Wheels, which Wang Chen needed to advance beyond the fifth-tier Martial Ancestor realm.
• Wang Chen asked whether the complete technique was her condition for the exchange.

Wang Chen struck a bargain with Qin Qingxuan for the sixth- and seventh-level methods of the Mysterious Heaven Seven Fiend Wheels, then found a secluded cabin to prepare for his breakthrough. After days of study, he left his horse behind and headed to a mountain peak to advance, with danger still awaiting him on the road ahead.

• Qin Qingxuan gave Wang Chen the sixth-level cultivation method in exchange for his promise to help her deal with a demon after he met the Emperor, and to receive the seventh-level method afterward.
• Wang Chen used the Qi Gazing Technique on Qin Qingxuan and saw a crimson pillar of fortune with a Phoenix inside, whose awakened gaze dispelled the technique.
• After leaving Qin Qingxuan, Wang Chen rode into the mountains and found an abandoned hunter's cabin where he planned to break through.
• Wang Chen spent three days and nights studying and deducing the sixth-level method, then left his Yellow Dappled Horse in the cabin and headed for a nearby peak to advance.

After two days and one night of cultivation, Wang Chen broke through to sixth-tier Martial Venerable and continued north toward the capital. He entered the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains by the Heavenly Road and rode deeper into the mountains alone.

• Wang Chen exhausted most of his Potential and burned 10 points of luck to condense his sixth Fiend Wheel and become a sixth-tier Martial Venerable.
• Wang Chen tested his power outside the cave, then recalled his aura and returned to the woods, where the Yellow Dappled Horse came to him.
• Wang Chen rode north for two days and reached the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
• Wang Chen showed his Identity Token at South Heaven Gate and entered the Heavenly Road without waiting in line.
• Wang Chen galloped past merchant caravans and continued alone along the mountain road, where bandits preyed on travelers.

Wang Chen rode along the Heavenly Road into a bandit ambush, fending off falling boulders and a volley of arrows before killing a fifth-tier Martial Grandmaster who attacked him from behind. He continued toward the bandits gathered at the end of the plank road.

• Wang Chen spotted a hawk falcon monitoring him as he rode toward a dangerous plank road.
• Bandits sent boulders crashing onto the plank road, but Wang Chen used the Soul Sever Spear to protect himself and his horse as they charged onward.
• Archers waiting at the far end fired a coordinated volley, and Wang Chen shattered the arrows with a shout.
• A burly fifth-tier Martial Grandmaster attacked Wang Chen from behind with a double-bladed battle axe.
• Wang Chen countered with the Returning Horse Spear, pierced the axe and the man's armor, and killed him.

Wang Chen defeated the Azure Peak Bandits’ ambush, killing their Second Lieutenant and archers with his spear and flintlock guns. He then faced Tantai Xiong and several hundred bandits, who opened the next battle with a volley of arrows.

• Zhao Quan watched Wang Chen kill the Azure Peak Bandits’ Second Lieutenant with one spear thrust and ordered the archers to retreat.
• Wang Chen hurled the Second Lieutenant’s corpse into the archers, charged their formation, and killed several as they fled.
• Wang Chen shot more than a dozen escaping bandits with his flintlock long guns before riding onward along the Heavenly Road.
• Wang Chen found Tantai Xiong and hundreds of Azure Peak Bandits blocking the road, and Tantai Xiong declared that one of them would die.
• Tantai Xiong ordered his bandits to fire, and more than a hundred arrows flew toward Wang Chen.

Wang Chen used his oppressive force and spear to break the Azure Peak Bandits’ battle formation and kill Tantai Xiong. He then slaughtered the remaining bandits, leaving the slope covered with corpses.

• Wang Chen erased the incoming arrows with the force of his true word, and Tantai Xiong ordered fifty elite warriors to charge him.
• Wang Chen charged the warriors on his Yellow Dappled Horse, shattered their battle formation, and cut through their ranks with the Soul Sever Spear.
• Tantai Xiong recognized Wang Chen as a sixth-tier Martial Venerable and attacked him with his Heavenly Halberd, but Wang Chen killed him in their pass.
• The leaderless Azure Peak Bandits either fled or attacked Wang Chen, who cut down their resistance and shot down those who ran.
• Wang Chen slaughtered the remaining bandits in moments, leaving more than two hundred corpses across the slope.

Wang Chen reached the Azure Peak Bandits’ stronghold and wiped out the bandits still there while sparing their nonresisting relatives. With help from the bandits’ accountant, Liang Shicheng, he found their treasure cave and claimed its wealth and supplies.

• Wang Chen crippled the bandit guide after promising not to kill him, then left him stranded in the wilderness.
• Wang Chen broke through the stronghold’s checkpoint and killed the bandits fighting inside, driving away nonresisting family members.
• Wang Chen captured Liang Shicheng, who explained how the Azure Peak Bandits had kept him as their accountant and pleaded for his family’s safety.
• Liang Shicheng led Wang Chen to the treasure cave behind the Hall of Righteous Gathering.
• Wang Chen smashed open the sealed stone gate and stored the bandits’ valuables, weapons, and grain in his storage space.

After escorting Liang Shicheng and his family to safety, Wang Chen traveled to Great Ye for his audience with the Emperor and began exploring the imperial capital. His arrival drew the attention of senior Imperial Procession Department officials, while his lavish purchases made him famous among the city’s merchants.

• Wang Chen escorted Liang Shicheng and his family to a merchant caravan bound for Dingzhou, then continued north toward the capital.
• Wang Chen reached Great Ye and sensed that the imperial capital’s fortune had subtly empowered him.
• Wang Chen reported to the Imperial Procession Department Outer Division, where Deputy Commander Liu Chaozong admitted he could not see through Wang Chen’s aura.
• Eunuch Li expressed interest in meeting Wang Chen after his audience with the Emperor, while Wang Chen checked into an Imperial Procession Department post station.
• Wang Chen toured Great Ye and spent two days buying precious medicinal materials, becoming a celebrated young patron among the city’s trading houses.

Wang Chen visited Medicine King Manor to buy rare ginseng, but discovered Old Master Mu was trying to sell him a fake and had conspired with Steward Wang to rob him. After a Martial General’s sneak attack injured the attacker instead, Old Master Mu ordered his men to kill Wang Chen.

• Wang Chen arrived at Medicine King Manor with Steward Wang to inspect its rare medicinal ingredients.
• Old Master Mu presented three aged wild ginseng roots and quoted prices as high as four hundred thousand taels.
• Wang Chen examined the finest ginseng, recognized it as fake, and accused Old Master Mu of deceiving him.
• Old Master Mu threatened Wang Chen, while Steward Wang denied involvement and inwardly celebrated the chance to rob him.
• A Fourth Tier Martial General attacked Wang Chen from behind, but broke his own hand and arm against him.
• Old Master Mu realized Wang Chen was no easy target and ordered his men to kill him.

Wang Chen defeated Medicine King Manor’s guards and forced Old Master Mu to accept payment for the counterfeit ginseng. When the Golden Armored Guard arrived to arrest him, Wang Chen revealed his rank as a Blood-Clad Guard Commander and asked Lord Shangguan to uphold justice.

• A gray-clad half-step Martial Grandmaster and a Fourth Tier Martial General attacked Wang Chen, but he broke the servant’s wrist, used him to smash the other guard through the doorway, and left both incapacitated.
• Wang Chen offered Old Master Mu one million taels for the three counterfeit ginseng roots, took the boxes, and declared their account settled.
• A squad of Golden Armored Guards led by Lord Shangguan arrived, and Old Master Mu accused Wang Chen of murder and attempted robbery.
• Wang Chen showed Lord Shangguan his Identity Token and identified himself as Blood-Clad Guard Commander Wang Chen, prompting the commander to recognize that the token was genuine.

After revealing his identity as a Blood-Clad Guard Commander, Wang Chen forced Shangguan Pengfei and Old Master Mu to back down, then demanded ten million taels for counterfeit ginseng. As Wang Chen prepared to kill Old Master Mu for failing to pay, the merchant offered a treasured artifact to save his life.

• Shangguan Pengfei recognized Wang Chen's identity and abandoned his attempt to intimidate him, while Old Master Mu apologized and cleaned up the hall.
• Shangguan Pengfei offered to settle the incident and invited Wang Chen for a drink, but Wang Chen said he still had an account to settle with Old Master Mu.
• Wang Chen reminded Old Master Mu that he had paid one million taels for three supposedly five-hundred-year-old mountain ginseng roots and accused him of selling counterfeits.
• Wang Chen invoked the Great Ancestor's Law to demand ten million taels, rejecting Shangguan Pengfei's offer of a refund plus one hundred thousand taels.
• When Old Master Mu could not pay and Wang Chen raised his hand to kill him, Old Master Mu offered a treasured artifact as compensation.

Wang Chen forced Old Master Mu to surrender a thousand-year ginseng as compensation after exposing his strength as a fifth-tier Martial Grandmaster. He left for preparations ahead of his audience with the Son of Heaven, while Shangguan Pengfei turned his anger on Old Master Mu.

• Wang Chen split a table with his inner force while leaving the objects on it suspended, revealing that he was a fifth-tier Martial Grandmaster.
• Old Master Mu returned with a sealed white jade box after Wang Chen warned him not to play tricks again.
• Wang Chen opened the box, found a thousand-year ginseng filled with spiritual energy, reclaimed his banknotes, and declared that they were even.
• Shangguan Pengfei invited Wang Chen to Tianxiang Tower, but Wang Chen declined because he had been summoned to meet the Son of Heaven the next day.
• After Wang Chen left, Shangguan Pengfei berated Old Master Mu and demanded an explanation for hiding the ginseng.

Wang Chen tested a rootlet from the thousand-year-old ginseng, gaining Potential and discovering that its spiritual energy conflicted with his Xuantian Malevolent Energy. He then met Emperor Shaowu in the Imperial Study, where their conversation began under the watch of hidden experts.

• Wang Chen consumed a ginseng rootlet and gained 17 Potential points as he refined its medicinal power.
• Wang Chen let the rootlet’s spiritual energy dissolve against his Xuantian Malevolent Energy and gained a clearer understanding from the test.
• Eunuch Yu escorted Wang Chen from the posthouse through the palace inspections to the Imperial Study.
• Emperor Shaowu received Wang Chen, granted him a seat, and began a long conversation with him.
• Wang Chen sensed three auras locking onto him in the Imperial Study, including one that posed a considerable threat.

Wang Chen met Emperor Shaowu, earned permission to study Daoist texts in the Imperial Library Pavilion, and received a jade pendant that greatly increased his fortune while deepening his karmic ties to Great Liang. He then began an intense three-day study of the Ten Directions Daoist Canon.

• Emperor Shaowu spoke at length with Wang Chen about his past and granted him three days to consult the Imperial Library Pavilion’s Daoist scriptures and magical texts.
• Emperor Shaowu gave Wang Chen a Dragon-shaped jade pendant, triggering a Fortune +99 increase that Wang Chen recognized would deepen his karmic entanglement with Great Liang.
• Eunuch Yu led Wang Chen to the Imperial Library Pavilion and remarked on Emperor Shaowu’s unusual favor toward him.
• Wang Chen paid the young eunuch in charge of the Daoist Hall for a catalog listing the Ten Directions Daoist Canon’s books and shelf locations.
• Wang Chen spent the next three days in the Daoist Hall, reading selected texts without eating, drinking, or resting.