Recaps

Wei He avoided revealing his strength after Song Qing and a masked Green-clothed Woman confronted him, then searched for a way to disperse his cultivation without harming his foundation. After two months of waiting and studying Cloud Smoke Transformation, he prepared to test whether his plan would work.

• Song Qing defeated Wei He in a staged fight, and Wei He fled after sensing the hidden Green-clothed Woman.
• Song Qing and the Green-clothed Woman discussed the missing Heavenly Seal Sect item and withdrew without pursuing Wei He.
• Zhou Yugui invited Wan Qingqing to meet Yumo and Bufan, while considering how to persuade her toward the engagement he wanted.
• Wei He found Cloud Smoke Transformation, a Dispersal Technique requiring the rare Cloud Smoke Bird, and memorized its method.
• After two months, the Boundary-Breaking Pearl refilled, the sect dismissed Zhao Xingzheng as a traitor, and investigators found no trace of Yao Hanlin's body.
• Wei He finished studying Cloud Smoke Transformation and decided to test his idea.

Wei He successfully dispersed Five Ridges Palm with Cloud Smoke Transformation and went to Yuxing Workshop to observe the flow of information. There, he spotted a man in green secretly adding a slow-acting toxin to wine and tested the contaminated drink on three birds.

• Wei He used Cloud Smoke Transformation and the Boundary-Breaking Pearl to disperse Five Ridges Palm, strengthening his blood and qi without injury.
• Wei He went to Yuxing Workshop, where he listened to conversations and watched the town from his usual seat.
• Wei He saw a man in green send a thread of water into a wine flask being carried to Du Lei, a steward of the Wang Family's third branch.
• Wei He took the flask from the servant, identified its contents as a likely slow-acting toxin, and carried it outside.
• Wei He caught three small birds and gave each one some of the wine.

Wei He confronted the poison-wielding Wang Shaojun in a bamboo grove, and the two reached a tentative deal to exchange their knowledge. After they helped a poisoned singing girl, they exchanged names and agreed to meet again, with Wei He hoping to learn more about Wang Shaojun’s poison.

• Wei He dodged Wang Shaojun’s silver needles and accused him of poisoning him, while Wang Shaojun revealed he knew Wei He was a Martial Master.
• Wei He and Wang Shaojun agreed that Wang Shaojun would share his mixed poison in exchange for Wei He keeping the attack secret.
• A poisoned singing girl collapsed nearby, and Wang Shaojun brought her to safety while Wei He said he had neutralized the poison.
• Wei He and Wang Shaojun exchanged names and agreed to meet again so Wang Shaojun could learn Wei He’s method of destroying poison.

Wei He investigated Wang Shaojun, dispersed his Huishan Fist, and continued cultivating the Whale Flood Art. At Yuxing Workshop, Wang Shaojun arrived with news about the matter Wei He had asked him to investigate.

• Wei He learned that the Wang Family had revealed little about Wang Shaojun and heard that the Shanhui Gang was robbing wealthy households near Yubei Town.
• Wei He used the Boundary-Breaking Pearl to disperse his Huishan Fist, retaining his physical foundation and gaining more qi and blood.
• Wei He reflected that the Whale Flood Art was nearing another breakthrough and that dispersing an art consumed one-third of the Boundary-Breaking Pearl's progress.
• Wei He met Zhang Wuyang at Yuxing Workshop and assigned him to wait on him there.
• Wang Shaojun joined Wei He at Yuxing Workshop and said he had news about the matter Wei He asked him to investigate.

Wei He learned that Lishan Sect was pressuring Wan Qingqing into a marriage alliance and promised to help her if she needed him. After a month of secluded cultivation, he returned to Heavenly Seal Sect having advanced his Whale Flood Art, but Wan Qingqing concealed the full extent of her troubles from him.

• Wei He exchanged an antidote with Wang Shaojun, who told him that Jiang Su managed meat fields while Zhang Qi had reached Second Blood, and revealed that Yan Jiuhai was pursuing Wan Qingqing for something she possessed.
• Wang Shaojun warned Wei He that Lishan Sect would likely act after October, prompting Wei He to plan to return to Heavenly Seal Sect and help Wan Qingqing if he could.
• Wei He spent a month cultivating, filled his Boundary-Breaking Pearl, and broke through to the second level of the Whale Flood Art.
• Wei He met Wan Qingqing by Heavenly Seal Lake and promised to help her if she ever had nowhere else to turn, but she denied having serious trouble and said only that she had failed to reach Bone Forging.
• After Wan Qingqing left, Wei He resolved to test his increased strength against an opponent and considered checking on goods he had hidden away.

Wei He approached the cave where Plum Blossom Manor had set an ambush, and Song Qing mistook his feigned weakness for a chance to drive him away. After Wei He secretly killed the ambushers, he confronted Song Qing again and revealed the strength he had hidden.

• Two Plum Blossom Manor men spotted someone approaching the cave and sent word to the others.
• Wei He encountered Song Qing and pretended to be injured and outmatched, then retreated when Song Qing let him go.
• Song Qing realized Wei He might be connected to the earlier robbery and found that Wei He had killed the men at the ambush points.
• Song Qing attacked Wei He, but Wei He caught his leg with ease and revealed that he had been feigning weakness.

Wei He killed Song Qing and his wife, searched the ambush site, and interrogated a surviving attacker, learning that the Heavenly Seal Sect’s Protector Army was behind the operation. Meanwhile, a strategist arrived at the corpses, blamed outsiders for the attack, and ordered his people to move the remaining shipments along other routes.

• Wei He killed Song Qing and his wife with overwhelming strength after discovering the woman hiding in a tree.
• Wei He collected the valuables and medicinal herbs, carried them to a hidden bandit cave, and interrogated the surviving attacker.
• The survivor identified the Heavenly Seal Sect’s Protector Army as the force behind the ambush, leaving Wei He grave at the revelation.
• A black-clad strategist and two subordinates arrived at the scene and concluded that an outsider with unusual strength had killed Song Qing and his wife.
• The strategist suspected the Demon Faction, vowed to hunt down the attacker, then ordered his group to prepare another shipment and use the remaining routes.

Wei He considered creating a hidden base for his experiments and training, warned Wan Qingqing about a poison that could affect Martial Masters, and continued searching the wilderness near Xuanjing City for a suitable site. He found an abandoned clearing with a chessboard and hut, and cautiously approached it.

• Wei He reviewed his martial arts and poison research, worried about the slow progress of the Whale Flood Art, and decided he needed a private training and experimental site.
• After discovering colorless, odorless poisons that could affect Martial Masters, Wei He sent Wan Qingqing a warning letter about the danger of being drugged.
• Wan Ling told Wan Qingqing that their departure for Zhongling Mountain Villa had been moved forward, and Wan Qingqing agreed to prepare to confront Yan Jiuhai.
• Wei He searched the wilderness near Xuanjing City for a hidden base and found an abandoned clearing with a stone chessboard and thatched hut.
• Wei He approached the hut cautiously, suspecting that the person who had once lived there was no ordinary cultivator.

Wei He learned that Wan Qingqing had gone to Zhongling Mountain Villa for her marriage martial contest and prepared to travel there in disguise. As Zhou Yugui schemed to use Shu Yumo to drug Wan Qingqing, Wan Qingqing avoided drinking the wine, leaving the plan uncertain on the eve of the contest.

• Wei He received Wang Shaojun's warning that Wan Qingqing had left for Zhongling Mountain Villa and decided to go there, concealing his identity with a mask and loose robes.
• At Zhongling Mountain Villa, Zhou Yugui told Yan Jiuhai that he had arranged for the other chief disciples not to interfere with Yan's contest against Wan Qingqing.
• Zhou Yugui had pressured Shu Yumo to help change Wan Qingqing's mind and supplied her with drugged Ten Thousand Flower Dew.
• Shu Yumo urged Wan Qingqing to reconsider marrying Yan Jiuhai, but Wan Qingqing insisted she wanted to choose her own life and believed she could win the contest.
• Wan Qingqing noticed Shu Yumo had not drunk and questioned her, then decided to save her own cup of wine until after the contest.

Wei He traveled toward Zhongling Mountain Villa, met two Heavenly Seal Sect women who joined his party, and learned of growing unrest beyond the martial world. At the villa, Wan Ling prepared to begin her daughter’s marriage tournament by appointing selectors to screen its participants.

• Wei He checked his preparations on the carriage ride and noticed that many travelers were heading toward Zhongling Mountain Villa.
• At a roadside tea stall, Wei He heard people discuss Chijing Army riders, rebel advances, and the worsening political situation.
• Zhang Lingxu and Meng Qing recognized Wei He, and the three agreed to travel together with the women’s household guards.
• At Zhongling Mountain Villa, Wan Ling, Zhou Shun, Xiao Qingyu, and other guests gathered to arrange Wan Qingqing’s marriage tournament.
• Wan Ling announced that three selectors would screen the many participants before they could face Wan Qingqing.

Wei He attacked Yan Jiuhai at Shanhe Tower, beat him unconscious, and left a message accusing him of killing Wei He's daughter. Back at Wan Qing Court, news of the attack interrupted Wan Qingqing's marriage contest, and Zhou Shun and Wan Ling rushed to investigate.

• Wan Ling found that the three agreed examiners and Wan Qingqing's Inner Court juniors refused to step forward, leaving Wan Qingqing to face the wheel battles alone.
• Wei He disguised himself in black, ambushed Yan Jiuhai at Shanhe Tower, and overwhelmed him in a series of blows.
• Yan Jiuhai's father, Yan Junshan, arrived as Yan Jiuhai collapsed unconscious, and Wei He escaped after changing back into his usual clothes.
• Wan Qingqing accepted that no one would help her and agreed to proceed with the contest despite her disappointment.
• A disciple reported that Yan Jiuhai had been attacked and critically injured, prompting Zhou Shun and Wan Ling to rush to Shanhe Tower.

Wei He arrived at Zhongling Mountain Villa and found that Yan Jiuhai had been badly injured in a revenge attack, leaving Shanhe Tower damaged. He accompanied Wan Qingqing away from the crowd, where she confided her disappointment in her friends and helped him experience the fourth level of Overturning Rain Vigor.

• Wei He entered Zhongling Mountain Villa with Zhang Lingxu and Meng Qing, then followed the Heavenly Seal Sect members to the damaged Shanhe Tower.
• Zhang Lingxu learned that a girl's father had attacked Yan Jiuhai over Yan Jiuhai's past crime, and Wei He saw the damage from the fight he had caused.
• Wei He greeted Wan Qingqing and offered to accompany her, while she kept Zhou Yugui, Shu Yumo, and You Bufan at a distance.
• Wan Qingqing thanked Wei He for his earlier letter and described how the crisis had revealed that her friends were not as loyal as she had believed.
• Wei He and Wan Qingqing practiced together by Rainbow Peacock Lake, and she demonstrated the fourth level of Overturning Rain Vigor so he could study it.

After learning how much Bone Forging martial artists could counter him, Wei He trained, joined the Hundred Victories Society, and prepared for the New Year. When Zhen Qi took Wei Ying away for the holiday, Wei He visited his mountain hideout and met a mysterious, one-armed man, whose chess games lifted his spirits.

• Wei He learned Wan Qingqing had reached Bone Forging and transferred to oversee a branch outpost, then concluded that his strength and defenses still left him vulnerable to Bone Forging martial artists.
• Wei He spent two months raising Iron Ridge Garment to Three Blood, improved his vigor training with Wan Qingqing's advice, and joined the Hundred Victories Society to study how different types of vigor countered each other.
• On New Year's Eve, Wei He learned Zhen Qi had taken Wei Ying away for three days and, feeling irritated, left town for his secret mountain hideout.
• Wei He found a one-armed man in a blue robe studying the chessboard and agreed to play him, repeatedly losing fast games while secretly testing him with different drugs.
• The blue-robed man grew angry at Wei He's excuses and tricks, then vanished into the shadows; Wei He stayed behind with a noticeably improved mood.

Wei He celebrated the New Year, accepted Lin Xiaoxiao’s younger brother as a nominal disciple, and returned to Heavenly Seal Sect to help choose a new chief disciple. Meanwhile, Zhou Yugui brought detective Xia Houji to investigate Yan Jiuhai’s attack, and Xia Houji concluded that the masked attacker was likely hiding a distinctive identity or physique.

• Wei He welcomed Lin Xiaoxiao and her brother at the branch helm, then agreed to take Lin Yuan, also called Lin Xiaohu, as a nominal disciple.
• Wei He received New Year’s visits from Zhang Lingxu, Meng Qing, Hu Zicheng, and merchants under his jurisdiction.
• Wei He returned to Heavenly Seal Sect and joined the other martial masters in choosing Yao Hansheng as Wan Qing Court’s new chief disciple.
• Zhou Yugui brought Xia Houji to Shanhe Tower to investigate the attack that had left Yan Jiuhai unconscious and worsened tensions between Lishan Sect and Heavenly Seal Sect.
• Xia Houji examined the scene and reasoned that the attacker’s disguise concealed a distinctive physique as well as his face.

Xia Houji explained how investigators could narrow down the search for Yan’s attacker, while Wei He resumed his chess games with Old Man Nine Shadows and learned about the unorthodox and Demonic paths. The two remained wary of each other but continued meeting, and Nine Shadows warned that the Chaos God Cult and the Incense Gathering Cult were dangerous entanglements.

• Xia Houji told Zhou Yugui to investigate the forest and villa gate records to narrow the attacker’s possible identity to a few dozen people.
• More than a month later, Wei He played chess with the old man in blue robes and asked whether he had seen the creatures in Wei He’s cages.
• Wei He and the old man revealed that they had investigated each other, identifying the old man as Old Man Nine Shadows and recognizing that neither could safely judge the other’s strength.
• Wei He asked about the unorthodox path, and Nine Shadows described it as relying on external means such as poison, mechanisms, concealed weapons, and insect arts.
• Nine Shadows explained that the Demonic Path referred broadly to martial artists who followed their desires, then warned Wei He about the Chaos God Cult and the Incense Gathering Cult’s ties to the Daoist Sect’s Spirit River Dao.

Wei He and Old Man Nine Shadows joined forces to seek two mid-grade aberrant breeds and a high-grade Azure Sun Bat hidden beneath Nine Yuan Temple. They entered the underground passage and discovered that a deadly trap awaited them in the stone chamber.

• Old Man Nine Shadows tried to ambush Wei He, but they exchanged blows, recognized each other’s strength, and agreed to cooperate.
• Old Man Nine Shadows told Wei He about the Azure Sun Bat and two aberrant breeds, and Wei He agreed to help seize them.
• Wei He left his subordinates and traveled with Old Man Nine Shadows to the abandoned Nine Yuan Temple, where others had already entered.
• Wei He and Old Man Nine Shadows followed a passage beneath the temple and found a chamber covered in dried blood.
• Wei He kicked a stone into the chamber, where a concealed blade sliced it apart.

Wei He and Nine Shadows raided a temple chamber for aberrant species, but were forced to flee from its Azure Sun Bats after betraying and poisoning one another. They later divided the prizes, became research partners, and Nine Shadows began to see Wei He as a friend as Zhou Yugui drew closer to uncovering the truth.

• Nine Shadows lured Wei He into a temple chamber and sent him to face an Azure Sun Bat while he took two aberrant species.
• Wei He threatened Nine Shadows with poison, forcing him to help fight the bat, but they retreated when they realized it could not be killed.
• The pair escaped two Azure Sun Bats by igniting a fire in the tunnel, then exchanged antidotes and divided the aberrant species.
• Wei He and Nine Shadows returned to the hut and began planning aberrant-species farms while sharing pharmacological research.
• Nine Shadows grew to regard Wei He as half a friend, while Zhou Yugui steadily approached the truth behind his investigation.

Zhou Yugui’s search for the attacker who injured Yan Jiuhai ended when the investigator Xia Houji was poisoned after finding a discarded cloak. Meanwhile, Wei He and Jiuying continued researching poison hidden in force, then Jiuying showed Wei He a captured Stone Deer he planned to turn into a meat field.

• Xia Houji found a black cloak and a faint mark while searching the forest with Zhou Yugui.
• Xia Houji suddenly died from poison, and Zhou Yugui ordered his men to find a poison expert and informed his father.
• Wei He and Jiuying discussed their unsuccessful efforts to conceal poison within force without harming themselves.
• Jiuying invited Wei He to see a captured exotic beast he planned to turn into a meat field.
• Wei He and Jiuying entered a cave protected by layers of poison powder and saw the chained Stone Deer.

Wei He and Jiu Ying made a Stone Deer meat field using a strange beast variant, while Wei He continued building his strength. Months later, Yao Hansheng proposed that he, Wei He, Sun Yi, and Qian Rui become sworn brothers to support one another, and Wei He reluctantly agreed.

• Jiu Ying implanted a variant in a Stone Deer, transforming it into a meat field that could continually produce strange beast meat.
• Over the next half year, Yao Hansheng gained renown by challenging other branch courts, while Chen Lin injured her left hand during a failed breakthrough and Zhou Xing Su also failed to enter force.
• Qian Rui told Yao Hansheng and Sun Yi that he planned to leave the Inner Court, and Sun Yi said he might leave too if his next breakthrough failed.
• Yao Hansheng condemned the treatment of Wan Qing Court and proposed that he, Wei He, Sun Yi, and Qian Rui unite as sworn brothers.
• Yao Hansheng drew Wei He into the oath, and Wei He agreed while reserving judgment about whether the new brotherhood would prove worthwhile.

Wei He broke through to the fourth layer of Overturning Rain Vigor, gaining a sharp increase in speed and power as the Heavenly Seal Sect’s internal crisis deepened. Wan Ling warned Wan Qingqing that the sect’s factions were nearing another split.

• Wei He completed the fourth layer of Overturning Rain Vigor using the Boundary-Breaking Pearl and a Cold Fiend Bird eyeball, then tested his newfound speed and palm power.
• Wei He practiced controlling his increased speed before returning to Heavenly Seal Hall and eating a Spring Cause Bird eyeball to conceal his breakthrough method.
• Wan Qingqing visited Wan Ling, who explained that the Heavenly Seal Sect’s branch courts were divided and that the Sect Master and Deputy Sect Masters were failing to contain them.
• Wan Ling told Wan Qingqing that the sect could split into twelve factions, including the Nine Branch Courts, the two Deputy Sect Masters’ factions, and the Shangguan lineage.

Wan Ling warned Wan Qingqing that rivals would target Wan Qing Court’s territories, while Wei He survived a coordinated attack on Heavenly Seal Hall and went out disguised to hunt for the attackers’ watchers. Zhou Yugui discovered a terrifying masked figure in his inn and fled, leaving his allies unaware of the danger.

• Wan Ling warned Wan Qingqing that challengers might be used to force her, Hansheng, and Wei He from their positions, and expressed particular concern for Wei He.
• Wei He killed six masked attackers who stormed Heavenly Seal Hall, ordered the courtyard cleaned, and sent word of the attack to the main sect.
• Zhou Yugui met with Night Hawk Tower and Fushan Courtyard members, revealing their plan to seize Yubei Town’s territory and pressure Wan Ling.
• Wei He disguised himself in a black robe and white ghost mask, then began searching the area around Heavenly Seal Hall for watchers.
• Zhou Yugui sensed danger, encountered the masked Wei He in the inn corridor, and pointed him toward the room he had just left.
• Zhou Yugui realized the masked figure was heading for his room and ran from the inn to seek his father.

Wei He ambushed and killed a group of attackers, then disposed of the evidence, but Lin Shiling confronted him the next morning over her missing brother. Their fight began with Wei He unable to break through her defenses.

• Wei He drugged and ambushed the Night Hawk Tower experts and Fushan Courtyard disciples, killing them before dissolving their bodies and burning the inn room.
• Wei He took Zhou Yugui’s fan, and Zhou concluded that Wan Qing Court was connected to the mysterious black figure before Wei He dragged him into an alley and killed him.
• Wei He returned to Heavenly Seal Hall and resumed his usual training as the city began to react to the killings.
• Lin Shiling stormed into Heavenly Seal Hall and demanded that Wei He return her missing younger brother, but the corpses in the rear courtyard did not include him.
• Lin Shiling attacked Wei He, and he evaded her strike but found that his Overturning Rain Vigor could not penetrate her Scale Armor defenses.

Wei He survived Lin Shiling’s challenge and a deadly attack from Zhou Shun, who was searching for his missing son, Zhou Yugui. After Wei He swore he was innocent and suggested Zhou Shun investigate who had come into contact with Yugui, Zhou Shun accepted his account for now but left the reason Yugui had visited Wan Qing Court unspoken.

• Lin Shiling attacked Wei He in the courtyard, but he used his speed and fourth-layer Overturning Rain Vigor to evade her.
• Zhou Shun ambushed Wei He, but Wan Ling intervened and stopped him from killing Wei He; Zhou Shun explained that Zhou Yugui and several martial masters had disappeared nearby.
• Wei He denied knowing what happened to the missing men, and Wan Ling told him to pack and go to Han Sheng before she left amid changes within the sect.
• Lin Shiling realized Wei He had regained some strength after breaking through to the fourth layer of Overturning Rain Vigor.
• Zhou Shun attacked Wei He again and accused him of concealing a fatal clue, but Wei He denied harming Zhou Yugui and swore an oath to Taishi.
• Zhou Shun accepted Wei He’s denial for the moment, and Wei He advised him to investigate who could have defeated Zhou Yugui; Zhou Shun withheld that his son had come to divide up Wan Qing Court.

After Zhou Shun left, Wei He packed for a new assignment at Wan Qing Court’s meat fields, where Wan Ling gathered the court’s remaining disciples amid rising conflict between the branch courts. Wei He revealed he had reached the fourth layer of Overturning Rain Vigor, leaving Wan Ling and Wan Qingqing stunned as Wan Qing Court prepared to act.

• Zhou Shun returned to Wei He’s room, offered him a pill, then switched it after Wei He admitted he felt some resentment but understood Zhou’s concern for his missing son.
• Wei He packed his belongings and hurried to Wan Qing Court’s meat fields in West Mountain after the Court Head called for help.
• Wan Ling and Wan Qingqing addressed the more than thirty people who had stayed with Wan Qing Court, noting that other disciples, including Ding Xiaohe and Bai Rui, had joined rival courts.
• Wan Ling recognized Qingqing, Yao Hansheng, and Wei He as the court’s remaining martial masters and prepared to give them orders.
• Wan Ling asked about Wei He’s injuries, and Wei He revealed he had reached the fourth layer of Overturning Rain Vigor, shocking Wan Ling and Wan Qingqing.

As the Heavenly Seal Sect fractured into rival camps, Wan Qing Court withdrew to West Mountain while Wei He advanced his Flying Dragon Technique and learned that the plague had been man-made. After Wei He sparred with Wan Qingqing, Wan Ling proposed that they marry, but he refused to become a live-in son-in-law and take the Wan surname.

• Wan Ling led Wan Qing Court to abandon its other interests and gather near the West Mountain flesh fields while the Heavenly Seal Sect split into factions.
• Wei He advanced the Flying Dragon Technique to its fifth level, and Nine Shadows told him that his research indicated the plague was man-made.
• Wei He returned to West Mountain and sparred with Wan Qingqing, whose Bone Jin forced him to retreat after his extreme-cold effect slowed her movements.
• Wan Ling asked Wei He what he thought of marrying Wan Qingqing, and he agreed if Wan Qingqing was willing.
• Wan Ling said Wei He would need to carry on the Wan family bloodline, but Wei He refused to marry into the family and give his future children the Wan surname.