Chapter Summaries

Ji Boying and Huang Rong explained how they found Wumu's Testament and revealed Guo Jing's origins, while Lu Guanying condemned the Song court for appeasing Wanyan Honglie and aiding the Jin. Ji Boying urged them not to kill the Mongol envoys, but to use them to weaken both the Jin and Mongols and prepare for the future.

• Huang Rong presented Wumu's Testament to Huang Yaoshi and proudly said she had memorized its military strategies.
• Ji Boying explained how he and Huang Rong retrieved the Testament from Shangguan Jiannan's burial place, and Huang Rong added details about Ji Boying and Guo Jing.
• Lu Guanying condemned the Song court for refusing to punish Wanyan Honglie and agreeing to supply the Jin with resources while hunting Mongol envoys.
• Lu Guanying said he had led Taihu Lake heroes to kill Jin officers and search for the Mongol envoys, but they had found nothing.
• Ji Boying warned that the Mongols could become a new Great Jin and advised the group to use the envoys to weaken both powers rather than kill them.

Ji Boying revealed his plan to raise Guo Jing as emperor and unite the Central Plains and Northern Desert, drawing on the Quanzhen Sect and Beggar Gang. He persuaded Huang Yaoshi to accept Guo Jing as Huang Rong’s match and urged him to join the cause, though Huang Yaoshi remained exasperated by Ji Boying’s schemes.

• Ji Boying said he planned to use Wumu's Testament and the strength of the Quanzhen Sect and Beggar Gang to raise a new emperor and unite the realm.
• Ji Boying named Guo Jing as his candidate, explaining that Guo Jing’s loyalty, ties to the major sects, and connection to the Mongols made him suitable.
• Huang Yaoshi challenged Ji Boying’s motives, and Ji Boying argued that Guo Jing would make Huang Rong a devoted and reliable husband.
• Huang Rong pleaded with Huang Yaoshi, who tacitly accepted her love for Guo Jing.
• Ji Boying praised Huang Yaoshi’s abilities and urged him to help, prompting Huang Yaoshi to accuse Ji Boying of drawing the Quanzhen Sect, Beggar Gang, and Peach Blossom Island into his plans.

Ji Boying gave Huang Yaoshi the lower volume of the Nine Yin Manual and asked him to release Zhou Botong, revealing Zhou’s past with Ying Gu. Huang Yaoshi heard Ji Boying’s account and laughed at how he kept finding ways to benefit from other people’s martial arts and connections.

• Ji Boying presented Huang Yaoshi with the lower volume of the Nine Yin Manual, and Huang Yaoshi reproached him over Mei Chaofeng’s death before Huang Rong eased the tension.
• Ji Boying told Huang Yaoshi that he, Guo Jing, Huang Rong, and Hong Qigong had practiced the manual’s techniques, prompting Huang Yaoshi to consider studying it himself.
• Ji Boying reminded Huang Yaoshi that Wang Chongyang had won the Nine Yin Manual and argued that Huang Yaoshi should release Zhou Botong.
• Ji Boying pointed out Ying Gu and explained her history with Zhou Botong, their son’s death at Qiu Qianren’s hands, and why he had taken Ying Gu as his Registered Disciple.
• Huang Yaoshi laughed at Ji Boying for exploiting his ties to Wang Chongyang and Ying Gu, and suspected that he also wanted to obtain the Nine Yin Manual from Zhou Botong.

Ji Boying proposed that the martial artists share their skills and study the Nine Yin Manual together, then asked Huang Yaoshi to teach him all of Peach Blossom Island’s martial arts in exchange for his own. Huang Yaoshi agreed to teach him as many as he wanted.

• Ji Boying said he would share the Nine Yin Manual and urged the gathered martial artists to exchange and study their skills together.
• Huang Yaoshi warned Huang Rong and Guo Jing to treat Ji Boying as an equal and not let him take advantage of them through seniority.
• Huang Yaoshi demanded that Ji Boying reveal what benefit he wanted, and Ji Boying said he hoped to learn Peach Blossom Island’s martial arts.
• Ji Boying offered to teach Huang Yaoshi his own martial arts and explained that he had already shared his cultivation methods and swordsmanship with others.
• Huang Yaoshi agreed to teach Ji Boying whichever Peach Blossom Island martial arts he wanted, in whatever number.

Huang Yaoshi stayed at Guiyun Manor to train the Taihu Lake bandits and study military strategy while teaching Ji Boying the Empty Palm Strike. Ji mastered its foundations with startling ease and asked about the lost White Rainbow Palm, leaving Huang Yaoshi worried about how quickly the young man might surpass him.

• Huang Yaoshi organized and trained the Taihu Lake bandits while scouts watched for the Great Song convoys carrying supplies for the Jin Kingdom.
• Ji Boying asked Huang Yaoshi to teach him the Empty Palm Strike so he could combine it with the powerful palm techniques he had already learned.
• Huang Yaoshi explained the technique's training requirements, demonstrated its force, and taught Ji Boying how to circulate his energy.
• Ji Boying struck a peach tree apart with the Empty Palm Strike, astonishing Huang Yaoshi with how quickly he had adapted to it.
• Ji Boying asked whether Huang Yaoshi knew the White Rainbow Palm, whose force could change direction in midair, and Huang Yaoshi grew concerned about the young man's potential.

Huang Yaoshi explained the differences between ordinary Dragon Capturing Skill and the extraordinary technique attributed to Xiao Feng, then advised Ji Boying to deepen his Empty Palm Strike before studying more martial arts. Ji Boying asked to learn Mysterious Gates and Hidden Jia, and Huang Yaoshi gave him the foundation for Mysterious Gates Five Revolutions.

• Huang Yaoshi described how Xiao Feng had transformed the Dragon Capturing Skill by combining it with the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms.
• Ji Boying recalled that the supposed long-range Dragon Capturing Skill used by Ding Chunqiu had relied on a hidden silken thread.
• Huang Yaoshi advised Ji Boying to integrate different palm forces into his Empty Palm Strike instead of dividing his attention among other techniques.
• Ji Boying asked Huang Yaoshi to teach him Mysterious Gates and Hidden Jia, and Huang Yaoshi agreed to teach him Mysterious Gates Five Revolutions.
• Huang Yaoshi gave Ji Boying the secret manual and Eight Trigrams Mysterious Gates scriptures to study before seeking guidance.

Ji Boying simplified Mysterious Gates Five Revolutions into Star Gazing and used it to learn the art’s foundational principles. He began planning to fuse his palm techniques into Empty Palm Strike, choosing the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms as its foundation.

• Ji Boying simplified Mysterious Gates Five Revolutions into Star Gazing and gained basic knowledge of Mysterious Gates and Hidden Jia.
• Ji Boying studied Huang Yaoshi’s books and star chart, then practiced Star Gazing on the roof while considering how to fuse his palm techniques.
• Ji Boying decided to use the Heart Severing Palm as material for refinement because he had mastered its principle of channeling internal force into a target’s organs.
• Ji Boying chose the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms as the foundation for Empty Palm Strike, hoping to eventually send out a dragon with one palm.

Ji Boying mastered the Empty Palm Strike by combining several palm techniques, then continued refining how to switch between its sounding and silent forms. Lu Chengfeng emerged to find his peach blossom grove ruined and learned that Guo Jing had pursued the White Condor, which he believed had led him to the Mongol envoys.

• Ji Boying used his newly mastered Empty Palm Strike to shatter the last intact peach tree in the grove.
• Ji Boying practiced adjusting his internal energy through major and minor meridians so he could switch between sounding and silent palm strikes.
• Lu Chengfeng moved his meditation indoors because Ji Boying's training disrupted him and destroyed the peach trees he had cultivated for years.
• Lu Chengfeng asked where Guo Jing and Huang Rong had gone, and Ji Boying said Guo Jing had followed the White Condor after spotting it overhead.

Guo Jing reunited with Huazheng, Töregene, and Jebe, who revealed that the Southern Song had rejected an alliance with Mongolia and instead joined forces with the Jin. Pressured to return north with them, Guo Jing insisted on staying to complete his mission against Wanyan Honglie, following Ji Boying and Huang Rong’s plan.

• Huazheng rushed to embrace Guo Jing, and he kept his distance because Huang Rong was hidden nearby.
• Töregene told Guo Jing that the Southern Song had allied with the Jin against Mongolia, so the Mongol delegation had escaped and traveled north.
• Guo Jing urged Huazheng, Töregene, and Jebe to return to Mongolia quickly, while Huazheng asked him to come with them.
• Huazheng and Töregene tried to persuade Guo Jing to return, but he refused, saying he had to stay and finish his mission to assassinate Wanyan Honglie.

Guo Jing persuaded Bo'er Shu and the others to let him stay in the south by claiming he would disrupt the Song-Jin alliance and aid the Great Khan's campaign against the Jin Kingdom. The Mongols accepted his plan, leaving Guo Jing behind despite Huazheng's reluctance.

• Bo'er Shu accused Guo Jing of abandoning the Mongols, but Guo Jing resolved to remain and try to keep the throne from falling into the wrong hands.
• Guo Jing claimed he would join the local water and mountain bandits, whom he said he could lead against the Song Dynasty for the Great Khan's cause.
• Bo'er Shu urged Guo Jing to return and help defeat the Jin Kingdom first, but Guo Jing warned that the Song people were supplying the Jin with weapons, armor, and provisions.
• Guo Jing said he would oppose the Song-Jin alliance by tying up Song forces and intercepting supplies bound for the Jin Kingdom.
• Bo'er Shu and Töregene praised Guo Jing's plan and agreed to let him stay, though Huazheng was reluctant to leave him behind.

Guo Jing and Huang Rong returned to Guiyun Manor after secretly deceiving Tolui and Bo'er Shu, and planned their next moves against the Song Court. There they learned Huang Yaoshi was fighting Ouyang Feng while Ji Boying battled Qiu Qianren, and they hurried to the battlefield.

• Huang Rong emerged after Tolui and Bo'er Shu left, and Guo Jing reassured her that she was the only one in his heart.
• Guo Jing and Huang Rong agreed to seize territory and later oppose the Song Court, then planned to report to Ji Boying and free Zhou Botong before seeking the Quanzhen Sect's support.
• At Guiyun Manor, Huang Rong and Guo Jing learned that Huang Yaoshi had led troops against government soldiers escorted by Ouyang Feng and Qiu Qianren.
• Lu Chengfeng told Huang Rong that Ji Boying had gone to help Huang Yaoshi, so she and Guo Jing rushed to the battlefield by boat.
• Huang Rong and Guo Jing arrived to find Huang Yaoshi fighting Ouyang Feng and Ji Boying fighting Qiu Qianren.

Ji Boying fought Qiu Qianren across Taihu Lake while the Taihu naval forces overwhelmed their enemies, and Huang Yaoshi battled Ouyang Feng and Qiu Qianren. Ji Boying drove Qiu Qianren into grave danger, and Huang Yaoshi baited Ouyang Feng into countering an Empty Palm Strike with his Toad Style.

• Ji Boying used his sword and superior Lightness Skill to press Qiu Qianren across the lake, anticipating his palm attacks and forcing him to retreat.
• The Taihu naval forces gained the advantage despite Ouyang Feng’s Snake Slaves, while Ouyang Ke attacked weaker opponents amid the fighting.
• Ouyang Feng and Qiu Qianren cornered Huang Yaoshi, but Ji Boying arrived and forced Qiu Qianren back, splitting the battle into two fights.
• Huang Yaoshi drove Ouyang Feng across the boats with Empty Palm Strikes until Ouyang Feng crouched in a boat cabin and prepared his Toad Style.
• Huang Yaoshi sent a powerful Empty Palm Strike toward Ouyang Feng, who lunged forward and smashed the force apart with his head.

Huang Yaoshi used feints and layered palm techniques to overcome Ouyang Feng’s Toad Style, forcing him to retreat from their duel. As Ji Boying struck Qiu Qianren with an Empty Palm Strike, Ouyang Feng rushed toward Ouyang Ke.

• Huang Yaoshi weakened Ouyang Feng’s charge with Mysterious Gates Five Revolutions and the Falling Blossom Divine Sword Palm, then sent him crashing into a wooden boat.
• Ouyang Feng climbed out of the water, realized he had lost the exchange, and decided he could not afford to keep fighting Huang Yaoshi.
• Ouyang Feng saw Qiu Qianren wounded and fleeing through the battle, then searched for Ouyang Ke.
• Ji Boying feinted with his sword, making Qiu Qianren dodge before striking him with an Empty Palm Strike.
• Qiu Qianren rushed toward Ouyang Ke as Ouyang Feng activated Instantaneous Thousand Miles and raced after him; Ji Boying’s palm strike blasted Qiu Qianren backward, leaving him badly injured.

Ji Boying pursued the badly injured Qiu Qianren through the battle and reached Ouyang Ke, while Ouyang Feng tried to protect his nephew from Ji Boying and Huang Yaoshi. Ji Boying killed Ouyang Ke’s female disciples and struck at Ouyang Ke, leaving Qiu Qianren dying nearby.

• Qiu Qianren survived Ji Boying’s palm strike long enough to flee to Ouyang Ke, using his inner strength and Water Strider Lightness Skill to soften the blow.
• Ouyang Feng warned Ouyang Ke to run and charged toward him, while Huang Yaoshi intercepted Ouyang Feng and forced him to retreat through the government soldiers.
• Ji Boying crossed the battlefield past the venomous snakes, killed several Snake Slaves, and cut down four of Ouyang Ke’s female disciples.
• Ji Boying saw that Qiu Qianren was dying and chose not to behead him, then swung his sword at Ouyang Ke.
• Ouyang Ke dodged Ji Boying’s sword, and Ji Boying followed with an Empty Palm Strike.

Ji Boying pursued Ouyang Feng and Ouyang Ke with powerful Empty Palm Strikes, forcing Ouyang Feng to flee while protecting his son. Ji Boying then made his strikes change direction, shocking Ouyang Feng and Huang Yaoshi as Ouyang Feng escaped without learning how the technique worked.

• Ouyang Feng pulled Ouyang Ke clear of Ji Boying's first Empty Palm Strike, which blasted a deep hole into the shore.
• Ji Boying chased Ouyang Feng through the fleeing crowd, striking the ground around them as Ouyang Feng dodged with Ouyang Ke in his grip.
• Ouyang Feng threw a soldier in Ji Boying's path, and Ji Boying blasted him apart before briefly dodging the remains.
• Ji Boying aimed an Empty Palm Strike at Ouyang Ke, forcing Ouyang Feng to roll aside, but the strike changed direction and nearly hit them.
• Ouyang Feng recognized the changing strike as Bend and Straighten as Desired and fled, while Huang Yaoshi leapt forward in shock.

Ji Boying cornered Ouyang Feng and killed Ouyang Ke with a palm strike, forcing Ouyang Feng to use his son's corpse to escape. Ouyang Feng set fire to the gunpowder-laden ships and vanished beneath the lake, leaving Ji Boying unable to track him.

• Ouyang Feng fled across the moored ships while Ji Boying pursued him with long-range palm strikes.
• Ouyang Feng exchanged palms with Ji Boying, but Ji Boying's next strike hit Ouyang Ke and fatally crushed his chest.
• Ouyang Feng tried to send inner force into Ouyang Ke, then realized nothing could save him and hurled his son's corpse at Ji Boying's palm strikes.
• Ouyang Feng reached a Vermilion Bird Ship, ignited the gunpowder in its cabin, and caused flames to spread across nearby ships.
• Ouyang Feng escaped beneath the lake as Ji Boying retreated from the fire and smoke, then resented Huang Yaoshi when he arrived.

Ji Boying helped secure victory at Guiyun Manor, then gave the barely living Qiu Qianren to Ying Gu so she could avenge her son. He urged Huang Rong to search the captured soldiers for Duan Tiande, while Huang Yaoshi followed Ji Boying, apparently eager to challenge him.

• Ji Boying criticized Huang Yaoshi for letting Ouyang Feng escape, and Huang Yaoshi explained that he had not wanted to gang up on him.
• Huang Rong arrived and took command of the battlefield, turning the Taihu Lake water bandits' victory into an orderly cleanup.
• Ji Boying killed the snake biting Qiu Qianren and brought the dying gang leader to Ying Gu, who struck him dead in revenge for her son.
• Ji Boying told Huang Rong to search the prisoners for Duan Tiande, and Guo Jing agreed to let her handle the search so the villain would not be frightened off.
• Huang Yaoshi followed Ji Boying as he headed back to Guiyun Manor, and Ji Boying called him out for clearly wanting to challenge him.

Ji Boying explained how he had used silk threads to create a counterfeit White Rainbow Palm Force, then arranged for Ying Gu to send Master Yideng a detailed apology letter and martial arts as a gift. At Guiyun Manor, Lu Chengfeng prepared an altar while Guo Jing and Huang Rong returned with Duan Tiande in custody.

• Ji Boying revealed the silk threads behind his counterfeit White Rainbow Palm Force and explained how they let him redirect and extend his palm force.
• Ying Gu returned with Qiu Qianren's head, bowed to Ji Boying, and agreed to write a full account and apology letter to Master Yideng with copies of her martial arts.
• Ji Boying sent the letter through Lu Guanying's men and planned to take Ying Gu to Peach Blossom Island to deal with Zhou Botong.
• Lu Chengfeng returned to Guiyun Manor and ordered his servants to prepare an altar among the ruined peach grove.
• Guo Jing and Huang Rong returned with soldiers escorting Duan Tiande, whom they had captured after he willingly came forward.

Guo Jing avenged his father by killing Duan Tiande, while Huang Yaoshi softened toward Guo Jing and Huang Rong. Ji Boying and his companions departed for Peach Blossom Island to find Zhou Botong as Huang Yaoshi headed to Mount Zhongnan to prepare for war.

• Guo Jing killed Duan Tiande before his father's memorial tablet and wept as he mourned his family's suffering and thanked those who had helped him.
• Huang Yaoshi was moved by Guo Jing's filial devotion and Huang Rong's affection, and began to accept the possibility of their match.
• Ji Boying and his companions parted from Huang Yaoshi, who set off for Mount Zhongnan to join their allies and organize troops.
• Ji Boying's ship sailed east toward Peach Blossom Island, where Ying Gu hoped to find Zhou Botong and Ji Boying studied Huang Yaoshi's martial arts and the stars.

Ji Boying brought Huang Rong, Guo Jing, and Ying Gu through Peach Blossom Island’s formation to free Zhou Botong and reunite him with Ying Gu. Zhou Botong learned that they had had a son who was murdered, and Ji Boying urged him to stop running from Ying Gu and treat her well.

• Huang Rong led Ji Boying, Guo Jing, and Ying Gu through Peach Blossom Island’s maze-like formation to Zhou Botong’s cave.
• Ji Boying told Zhou Botong that Huang Yaoshi had agreed to let him leave, and Zhou Botong eagerly proposed exchanging martial arts.
• Ji Boying revealed Ying Gu, but Zhou Botong panicked and tried to flee until Ji Boying stopped him.
• Ji Boying told Zhou Botong that Ying Gu had borne his son, who had been murdered by Qiu Qianren, and Ying Gu recounted what had happened.
• Zhou Botong grieved for his son and thanked Ji Boying for avenging him, while Ji Boying urged him to make amends to Ying Gu and treat her well.