Chapter Summaries

Huang Shaojie overwhelmed Sakamoto with his martial arts, forcing the Heavenly Ninja to flee using a life-burning escape technique. Meanwhile, Miyajima Ayaka bound Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird with lightning ninjutsu and attacked them with Chidori Sharp Spear.

• Huang Shaojie shattered Sakamoto's Fire Dragon Flame Bullets and fire dragon with Heavenly Frost Fist, then battered him with Cloud Dispelling Palm.
• Sakamoto used Body Burning Fire Escape to flee through the night sky, and Huang Shaojie pursued him.
• Miyajima Ayaka appeared beside Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird and used Four Pillars Binding Technique to restrain them.
• Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird failed to break free as Miyajima Ayaka bound them further and launched Chidori Sharp Spear at them.

Miyajima Ayaka restrained Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird and tried to recruit Azure Dragon, who feigned agreement while seeking a chance to fight back. Huang Shaojie defeated and captured Sakamoto, then rushed toward the Desolate Pagoda to save his superiors.

• Miyajima Ayaka shocked the restrained Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird with her Chidori Sharp Spear and offered Azure Dragon a position in Japan.
• Azure Dragon mocked Miyajima Ayaka, then pretended to accept her offer and asked her to release him.
• Miyajima Ayaka removed the spears but kept Azure Dragon bound, and Azure Dragon dropped his act and challenged her.
• Huang Shaojie caught up to Sakamoto after Sakamoto's blood essence ran low and shattered his fire shield with a kick.
• Huang Shaojie crippled and captured Sakamoto, then hurried toward the Desolate Pagoda to rescue Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird.

Huang Shaojie arrived as Miyajima Ayaka was close to defeating Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird, then fought her with his Divine Blade Slash, Nine Yang Divine Skill, and Heavenly Frost Fist. Miyajima Ayaka struck him from behind with her Lightning Blade Technique, but his Indestructible Vajra Technique left him unharmed.

• Miyajima Ayaka kept Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird trapped in the Twelve Pillar Binding Technique and attacked them with Chidori Sharp Spears until Huang Shaojie arrived.
• Huang Shaojie threw Sakamoto's half-body beneath the Desolate Pagoda and struck Miyajima Ayaka with his Divine Blade Slash, forcing her to use a Lightning Shield and release Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird.
• Miyajima Ayaka bound Huang Shaojie with the Four Pillars Binding Technique, but he broke free by using the Nine Yang Divine Skill.
• Huang Shaojie froze Miyajima Ayaka's Chidori Sharp Spears with the Heavenly Frost Fist, while she used Lightning Teleportation Technique to attack him from behind.
• Miyajima Ayaka's Lightning Blade Technique struck Huang Shaojie's back, but his Indestructible Vajra Technique left him unharmed.

Huang Shaojie fought Miyajima Ayaka, withstanding her attacks through his Indestructible Vajra Technique and eventually injuring her. Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird joined Huang Shaojie in launching a combined assault on her.

• Miyajima Ayaka’s surprise attack failed to hurt Huang Shaojie, who counterattacked while Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird began healing their lightning injuries.
• Miyajima Ayaka summoned a Sky-Rending Thunder Serpent, but Huang Shaojie weakened it with the Cloud Dispelling Palm and destroyed it with the Heavenly Frost Fist.
• Huang Shaojie and Miyajima Ayaka exchanged more than a hundred blows, but his Indestructible Vajra Technique let him attack without fear of her strikes.
• Huang Shaojie surprised Miyajima Ayaka with his saber and Wind God Leg, kicking her more than thirty meters and leaving her injured.
• Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, and Huang Shaojie simultaneously attacked Miyajima Ayaka with their divine techniques.

Miyajima Ayaka escaped Huang Shaojie, Azure Dragon, and Vermilion Bird, then returned to Qingxiao Palace to heal and plotted to subdue Huang Shaojie. When Huang Shaojie used the Soul Searching Technique on Sakamoto, a forbidden spell erased the prisoner’s memories and left him an idiot.

• Miyajima Ayaka escaped the blast with the Lightning Teleportation Technique, while Huang Shaojie, Azure Dragon, and Vermilion Bird captured the injured Sakamoto and took him to the Eastern Pacification Office.
• Miyajima Ayaka healed her injuries at Qingxiao Palace, recognized Huang Shaojie as the man who destroyed seven intelligence strongholds, and decided to find a way to subdue him.
• The Strongmen tortured Sakamoto, who admitted he was a Japanese spy named Sakamoto Tarō but refused to reveal Miyajima Ayaka’s identity, so Azure Dragon ordered him taken to the dungeon.
• Huang Shaojie brought Sakamoto to his duty room and tried the Soul Searching Technique, but Miyajima Ayaka’s forbidden spell activated and erased Sakamoto’s memories.

After capturing Sakamoto Tarō, Huang Shaojie received Three Points Return to One Qi, broke through to Seventh Rank Grandmaster, and tested its devastating power. At Imperial Guard Headquarters, Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird reported that the Japanese Imperial Consort had escaped and might be the Number One spy in the Capital City.

• Huang Shaojie failed to learn the Japanese woman’s identity from Sakamoto Tarō and sent the mindless spy to the dungeon.
• The system rewarded Huang Shaojie with Three Points Return to One Qi, whose merged true qi let him break through to Seventh Rank Grandmaster.
• Huang Shaojie tested the new technique outside the city and blasted apart the upper half of a mountain.
• Huang Shaojie asked the system about the Three Points Divine Finger and learned it was a separate possible reward.
• Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird told Ling Xiaotian that Sakamoto Tarō was the captured number-two spy and that the Japanese Imperial Consort had escaped after overpowering them.

Ling Xiaotian reported that Huang Shaojie had captured Sakamoto Tarō and defeated a Japanese Imperial Consort who was a Divine Ninja, prompting Emperor Xuande to order her capture and condemn Cao Kun for allowing a Japanese spy into the Imperial Surveillance Bureau. Cao Kun claimed Sakamoto had fled before he could capture him, while Miyajima Ayaka listened from behind the curtains.

• Ling Xiaotian accepted Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird's explanation for the Imperial Consort's escape, spared them punishment, and ordered a reward of thirty thousand taels for Huang Shaojie.
• Ling Xiaotian told Emperor Xuande that the Imperial Guard had captured Sakamoto Tarō, a Japanese spy serving as the Imperial Surveillance Bureau's Fourth Grand Protector, and credited Huang Shaojie with the capture.
• Emperor Xuande praised Huang Shaojie, learned that a Japanese Imperial Consort had escaped after fighting Huang Shaojie, Azure Dragon, and Vermilion Bird, and ordered Ling Xiaotian to capture her.
• Cao Kun arrived at Qingxiao Palace and begged forgiveness after Emperor Xuande berated him for failing to detect Sakamoto's infiltration.
• Cao Kun said he had discovered Sakamoto's identity the previous night, but Sakamoto had received word and escaped before Cao Kun could capture him.

After Emperor Xuande demoted Cao Kun over his failure to expose Xie Jin, a masked assassin infiltrated the Imperial Uncle's Estate to kill Jiang Tao. The assassin killed Jiang Tao and many guards, then faced Wang Cheng as the manor's defenders closed in.

• Emperor Xuande spared Cao Kun from execution but demoted him three ranks and replaced him with An Fu as the seal-bearing head of the Directorate of Ceremonial.
• A masked man evaded the Capital City's patrols and entered the Imperial Uncle's Estate, where he captured a guard and learned Jiang Tao lived in the East Courtyard.
• The masked man killed two Grandmaster guards and found Jiang Tao in a side room, then struck him dead with a palm attack.
• The masked man fought off the arriving manor guards, killing several experts as they attacked him.
• Wang Cheng charged the masked man with his Fish Scale Saber, but the assassin shattered the blade and struck at him with a powerful palm.

A masked assassin killed the Imperial Uncle, Marquis Longyuan, and escaped the Imperial Guard’s pursuit. Empress Jiang sought justice from Emperor Xuande, while Ling Xiaotian gathered senior Imperial Guard officials to discuss how to capture the culprit.

• The masked assassin overpowered Wang Cheng, entered the southern courtyard, and fled after failing to find the Imperial Uncle’s son.
• Deputy Commander Li and the guards could not stop the assassin, and White Tiger arrived to learn that the Imperial Uncle had been killed and the culprit had escaped west.
• Empress Jiang told Emperor Xuande that her elder brother, Marquis Longyuan, had been assassinated, and he ordered Ling Xiaotian and Cao Kun summoned.
• Ling Xiaotian told senior Imperial Guard officials that Marquis Longyuan had been killed and asked for plans to capture the assassin.

Huang Shaojie was assigned to investigate the Imperial Uncle and his son’s targeted murders, then went to the estate to question those who had confronted the assassin. The chapter left him facing more than a hundred assembled guards and retainers as his investigation began.

• White Tiger reported that the assassin had overwhelmed a Seventh Rank Grandmaster and killed only the Imperial Uncle and his son.
• Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise disagreed over whether the murders were revenge or part of factional strife, and Huang Shaojie judged that a hired assassin was more likely.
• Ling Xiaotian assigned Huang Shaojie to lead the investigation, and Huang Shaojie accepted the order.
• Huang Shaojie rode to the Imperial Uncle's Estate with two Deputy Commanders of a Thousand while a palace eunuch summoned Ling Xiaotian to the Emperor.
• Jiang Bin greeted Huang Shaojie, who ordered him to gather everyone who had helped surround the assassin; more than a hundred guards and retainers assembled.

Huang Shaojie investigated the failed attempt on the Imperial Uncle, discovering that Guard Liu had revealed the Imperial Uncle's location after the assassin captured and threatened him. He questioned Liu Yong about the assassin and then went to inspect the scene of the fight.

• Huang Shaojie questioned the estate guards and protectors, learning that the assassin had sealed the patrol guards' acupoints and gone straight to the East Courtyard.
• Huang Shaojie noticed Liu Yong acting suspiciously and asked who the assassin had questioned about the Imperial Uncle's residence.
• Steward Jiang recognized Liu Yong as the guard found unconscious behind the rockery, and Liu Yong confessed that he had told the assassin where the Imperial Uncle lived to save his life.
• Huang Shaojie stopped the estate protectors from locking Liu Yong away and questioned him about the assassin's voice, words, height, and build.
• Huang Shaojie learned that the assassin sounded like an ordinary middle-aged man who called the Imperial Uncle an old thief, and then went to inspect the fight scene.

Huang Shaojie investigated the Imperial Uncle Jiang Tao’s past and found the records of a canal construction corruption case that suggested Jiang Tao had framed Physician Ye to cover up his own embezzlement. The chapter left Huang Shaojie suspecting that officials in the Imperial Guard had helped conceal the truth.

• Huang Shaojie examined the dead guards’ wounds and concluded that their killer used fierce palm and finger techniques.
• Huang Shaojie reviewed Jiang Tao’s file and learned that Physician Ye had been blamed for embezzling more than one million taels during construction of the Jinghuai Grand Canal.
• Huang Shaojie retrieved the original case dossier and read that Ye Kai had confessed, though the Imperial Guard found only a few thousand taels at his residence.
• Huang Shaojie suspected Ye Kai’s confession was false and that Jiang Tao had framed him as a scapegoat.
• Huang Shaojie considered whether Captain Zhu, Black Tortoise, and Ling Xiaotian had been bribed or had overlooked the case to avoid offending the Empress’s Relatives Faction.

Huang Shaojie investigated the Imperial Uncle’s murder and suspected that Ye Chen had killed him to avenge Physician Ye. Ling Xiaotian ordered Huang Shaojie to leave the Capital City and pursue the assassin, while agreeing to protect Huang Shaojie’s family from the Japanese woman.

• Huang Shaojie reasoned that Ye Chen, Physician Ye’s exiled son, could have murdered the Imperial Uncle for revenge.
• Huang Shaojie told Ling Xiaotian that the assassin was a middle-aged martial artist who hated the Imperial Uncle and had spared innocent people.
• Huang Shaojie raised the possibility that the Imperial Uncle had framed Physician Ye, and Ling Xiaotian told him to pursue Ye Chen but not investigate the old corruption case further.
• Ling Xiaotian ordered Huang Shaojie to leave the Capital City, investigate Ye Chen’s whereabouts in Yong Prefecture, and keep his departure secret; he also arranged protection for Huang Manor.
• Huang Shaojie visited Vermilion Bird and declined her offer to accompany him, saying he could pursue the assassin alone.

Huang Shaojie prepared to leave the Capital City to investigate the Imperial Uncle’s murder, arranging protection for his family before setting out alone. By evening he reached Zhuxi Town, where he heard that the Seven Great Sects’ alliance meeting was approaching.

• Huang Shaojie asked Vermilion Bird to stay at Huang Manor and protect his parents while he was away, and she agreed.
• At dinner, Huang Shaojie told Huang Baiwan and Madam Huang he would leave the next day, warned them to keep his departure secret, and asked them not to go out at night.
• Huang Shaojie instructed Lu Changkong and Wu Zhen to guard Huang Manor and keep his departure secret.
• Huang Shaojie rode out of the Capital City alone in disguise and arrived at an inn in Zhuxi Town by late afternoon.
• Huang Shaojie overheard martial folk discussing the upcoming Seven Great Sects’ alliance meeting and competition in Seven Heroes Town.

Huang Shaojie decided to attend the Seven Peaks Alliance Meeting to seek information about Xiao Qiuyue and the assassin, while hearing that the Seven Great Sects were preparing to oppose the Divine Moon Cult. At the inn, he recognized a young gentleman as a girl in disguise and discovered that she had reached the Innate Seventh Layer.

• Huang Shaojie heard that the Seven Peaks Alliance Meeting would bring martial artists to Seven Heroes Town and decided to go there to gather information.
• Three Green Saber Sect disciples discussed who might lead the alliance and said its true purpose was to oppose the Divine Moon Cult and its leader, Dongfang Bubai.
• Huang Shaojie saw a richly dressed young gentleman enter the inn and realized from her appearance that she was a girl disguised as a man.
• The girl booked a superior room, ordered food and wine, and acted like a bold young master.
• Huang Shaojie sensed that the girl had reached the Innate Seventh Layer despite her young age.

The White-Clothed Young Master beat three Green Saber Sect men who mocked her disguise, then set out toward Seven Heroes Town, as Huang Shaojie did. On the road, more than a dozen riders blocked her path, and one identified her to Altar Master Gao as the woman who had injured them.

• Three Green Saber Sect men mocked the White-Clothed Young Master and demanded she prove she was a man.
• The White-Clothed Young Master knocked all three men down, ordered them to leave, and paid the innkeeper for the damage.
• Huang Shaojie and the White-Clothed Young Master learned that the eastern road led to Seven Heroes Town and departed separately.
• The White-Clothed Young Master’s white horse overtook Huang Shaojie on the road.
• More than a dozen riders blocked the White-Clothed Young Master, and a Green Saber Sect man pointed her out to Altar Master Gao.

The White-Clothed Young Master fought Altar Master Gao and the Green Saber Sect disciples, but Huang Shaojie arrived and killed them with overwhelming force. The White-Clothed Young Master was left stunned in Huang Shaojie's arms.

• Altar Master Gao led Green Saber Sect disciples to attack the White-Clothed Young Master, who fought them with her treasured sword.
• Altar Master Gao wounded the White-Clothed Young Master and struck her with his palm, sending her flying into Huang Shaojie's arms.
• Huang Shaojie killed Altar Master Gao with a single palm strike.
• The Green Saber Sect disciples tried to flee, but Huang Shaojie killed them with his Cloud Dispelling Palm.
• The White-Clothed Young Master remained dumbfounded by Huang Shaojie's strength.

Huang Shaojie saved Nangong Feixue after the Green Saber Sect nearly killed her, then let her travel with him toward Seven Heroes Town. After their comic difficulty finding the right road, they arrived in town three days later.

• Huang Shaojie healed Nangong Feixue's injuries and left before she could learn his real name.
• Nangong Feixue caught up with Huang Shaojie, who introduced himself as Huang Jie and agreed to let her accompany him to Seven Heroes Town.
• Nangong Feixue questioned Huang Shaojie about the jianghu, while he answered confidently when he knew the facts and spoke in riddles when he did not.
• At a fork in the road, Huang Shaojie told Nangong Feixue to ask strangers for directions, and they eventually learned which path led to Seven Heroes Town.
• Huang Shaojie and Nangong Feixue arrived at Seven Heroes Town three days later.

Huang Shaojie and Nangong Feixue reached Seven Heroes Town and found that Fulai Inn had only one room left, so Huang Shaojie stayed while Nangong Feixue went to search elsewhere. As he waited for his meal, he overheard martial artists discussing the coming Seven Peaks Alliance Meeting and the threat posed by the Divine Moon Cult.

• Huang Shaojie and Nangong Feixue arrived at Fulai Inn, where Mao Xiaoya introduced herself and took their horses.
• Mao Yuxi told them that only one room remained, and Huang Shaojie booked it while Nangong Feixue left to look for another inn.
• Guo Lanlan served Huang Shaojie tea and sunflower seeds while his food was being prepared.
• Huang Shaojie overheard guests say that the Seven Peaks Alliance Meeting would choose a new leader and address the Divine Moon Cult.
• The martial artists named the cult's four Dharma Kings and said that everyone who had fought Dongfang Bubai had died.

Huang Shaojie let Nangong Feixue stay in his room after she found every inn in Seven Heroes Town full, and she planned to sleep on the floor while disguised as a man. After they settled into the room, Huang Shaojie asked her to bathe with him.

• Nangong Feixue returned to Fulai Inn and told Huang Shaojie that the other inns were full and she had nowhere to stay.
• Huang Shaojie offered to share his room, and Nangong Feixue agreed to sleep on the floor and paid ten taels for their room, food, and wine.
• Guo Lanlan brought bowls and chopsticks, prepared a mat and pillow, and showed special interest in Nangong Feixue.
• Huang Shaojie and Nangong Feixue ate, drank, and discussed the martial world while two men nearby watched them, one eyeing Nangong Feixue greedily.
• Guo Lanlan brought water to their room, and Huang Shaojie asked Nangong Feixue to bathe with him.