Recaps

Li Qing answered the constables’ questions about the Star-Picking Divine Thief and learned that Zhong Hui had died when Zhao Yuan returned his saber. Zhao Yuan commissioned a massive great saber, and Li Qing chose to stay cautious rather than hunt at Little Cui Ridge.

• Li Qing told the constables he had seen the Star-Picking Divine Thief at the tavern and explained why he had not reported the clue to the Prince’s Estate.
• Li Qing slipped the constables silver, and they left after asking him to describe the thief.
• Zhao Yuan returned the saber Li Qing had forged for Zhong Hui and told Li Qing that Zhong Hui had died.
• Zhao Yuan ordered a great saber weighing more than three hundred jin and paid Li Qing two silver ingots.
• Li Qing agreed to finish Zhao Yuan’s saber in five days and postponed his plan to hunt tigers at Little Cui Ridge.

Li Qing forged and named a three-hundred-jin saber Startling Silence, earning a year of lifespan when it was recognized as a Fine Mortal Artifact. Zhao Yuan collected the saber and offered extra silver, but Li Qing honored their agreed price and gained Zhao Yuan's promise of help.

• Li Qing forged the saber's blade from three hundred jin of iron and crafted its hilt from ox-tendon wood and brass.
• Li Qing carved patterns into the blade, named it Startling Silence, and received a year's lifespan when the system classified it as a Fine Mortal Artifact.
• Zhao Yuan arrived to collect the saber and praised its craftsmanship and handling after lifting and testing it.
• Zhao Yuan offered Li Qing extra silver, but Li Qing refused it and accepted only their agreed price of fifty taels.
• Zhao Yuan promised to help Li Qing if needed, and Li Qing considered asking him to join a future tiger hunt at Little Cui Ridge.

As martial artists competed for territory in Shengtian City, the Heroes of Liangzhou confronted a wonton shop owner about protection fees and set out to challenge Green Mountain Martial Arts School. Li Qing arrived for wontons, while Yang Xing noticed he seemed to be a martial artist; the group continued on to the school.

• Martial artists crowded Shengtian City and fought over territory left vacant by the Nine Lotus Sect, disrupting the three great schools and their affiliates.
• Fang Long asked Owner Zhang how much protection money he paid Green Mountain Martial Arts School, and Zhang explained that the fee had risen to three taels under the pretext of catching the Star-Plucking Bandit.
• The Heroes of Liangzhou announced that Zhang would pay them one tael instead and left to challenge Green Mountain Martial Arts School.
• Li Qing came to the shop for wontons despite Zhang warning him that an Overlord from Across the River was causing trouble nearby.
• Yang Xing noticed Li Qing seemed to be a martial artist, but Fang Long dismissed the concern and led the group toward the school.

The Heroes of Liangzhou challenged the Green Mountain Martial Arts School and seized control of Chiming Street after Fang Long defeated Xu Qingshan. Martial artists continued contesting the three great schools’ territories across Shengtian City, leaving the imperial capital increasingly chaotic.

• The Heroes of Liangzhou entered the Green Mountain Martial Arts School, and Zhang Peian severely wounded a disciple who challenged him.
• Fang Long demanded that Xu Qingshan surrender Chiming Street, then fought him and knocked him unconscious despite breaking his own arm.
• Xu Qingshan’s disciples carried him away, and the Liangzhou men took over the street and broke the school’s signboard.
• The Liangzhou men announced that they would charge merchants two taels of silver for protection and help them with trouble the authorities ignored.
• Martial artists across Shengtian City challenged the three great schools’ territories, and street battles made the imperial capital less peaceful.

After the Wu Li Army returned to the capital, Fang Long and Yang Xing visited Li Qing’s smithy and recognized him as an Outer Strength expert. Li Qing accepted their offer to waive his protection fees, then decided to leave the city for Little Cui Ridge to hunt a fierce tiger.

• The Wu Li Army returned triumphantly to the capital, and martial wanderers stopped fighting in the streets during the day.
• Fang Long and his brothers ate wontons at Boss Zhang’s shop and promised to reduce his monthly protection fee to one tael of silver.
• Fang Long and Yang Xing visited Li Qing’s smithy, where Fang Long revealed that Yang Xing’s martial art could sense a person’s blood and qi.
• Fang Long offered to waive Li Qing’s protection fees, and Li Qing accepted their goodwill.
• Li Qing suspected Yang Xing was also an Outer Strength expert and prepared to leave the city for Little Cui Ridge with his armor, Bone-Piercing Nails, and hunting knife.

Li Qing traveled to Little Cui Ridge to hunt a man-eating tiger and sought a local guide at Cui Mountain Village. Old Man Sun agreed to lead him into the mountains, despite his age and family responsibilities.

• Li Qing reached Little Cui Ridge after several days of travel and continued on foot toward Cui Mountain Village.
• Li Qing asked Old Man Sun and Old Man Wu to recommend an experienced hunter, and the two argued over their past hunting feats.
• Li Qing offered a reward for a guide to locate the tiger, explaining that he would bring his own armor and weapons and hunt it himself.
• Old Man Sun hesitated because he had a newborn grandson and did not want to risk his life, but then offered to accompany Li Qing up the mountain.
• Li Qing accepted Old Man Sun's offer.

Li Qing and Old Man Sun traveled deep into the mountains to search for a tiger, following clues near the site of a recently unearthed tomb. After reaching the hollow at night, Li Qing explored the tomb alone and came face-to-face with a pale human figure.

• Li Qing and Old Man Sun set out into the mountains, and Old Man Sun guided him toward the hollow where the tomb had been found.
• Old Man Sun spotted a trail left by a great python, then made camp and warned Li Qing against traveling through the mountains at night.
• Li Qing lit a torch and went alone to investigate the tomb while Old Man Sun stayed at the campfire.
• Li Qing found a broken tombstone and a half-collapsed burial chamber, then saw a paper-pale human face illuminated by his torch.

Li Qing discovered Qi Kang alive at the Tomb Mansion and met Ning Yuan, the Star-Picking Divine Thief, inside. Ning Yuan revealed that the tomb really belonged to the former dynasty’s martial arts prodigy Lin Yi, but he had already taken the inheritance before the Prince’s Estate and Nine Lotus Sect arrived.

• Li Qing found a corpse at the Tomb Mansion entrance, sensed something strange, and prepared to return during the day.
• Qi Kang appeared and greeted Li Qing as his master, while Ning Yuan spoke from inside the passage.
• Li Qing recognized Ning Yuan as the Star-Picking Divine Thief, and Qi Kang reassured both men until they set aside their suspicions.
• Qi Kang led Li Qing into the cavern, where Li Qing and Ning Yuan recognized each other from their earlier encounters at the tavern.
• Ning Yuan confirmed that the Tomb Mansion was Lin Yi’s tomb and said he had already taken the martial arts inheritance.
• Ning Yuan invited Qi Kang to bring out wine so they could drink with Li Qing.

Li Qing learned that Lin Yi’s inheritance was the life-shortening Life-Extinguishing Art, which Ning Yuan had refused to practice. After leaving the Tomb Mansion, Li Qing parted from Qi Kang, who wanted to pursue martial arts rather than return to the smithy.

• Ning Yuan told Li Qing that General Lü was a Martial Arts Grandmaster and confessed that he had stolen from Prince Yu’s estate and stamped the First Rank Princess Consort with a painter’s seal.
• Li Qing explained that he had come to Little Cui Ridge to hunt, while Ning Yuan revealed he had obtained but not practiced Lin Yi’s martial arts inheritance.
• Ning Yuan described the Life-Extinguishing Art, which rapidly reduced its practitioner’s lifespan and drove them to devour others’ Internal Energy.
• Li Qing became interested in the Life-Extinguishing Art but kept his secret of immortality hidden and prepared to leave the Tomb Mansion.
• Li Qing told Qi Kang he could return to the smithy someday, while Qi Kang watched him leave in tears, determined to pursue martial arts.

Li Qing and Old Man Sun tracked a fierce tiger through the forest and found it fighting an Azure Scale Giant Python. After watching the battle and gaining new insight into the True Intent of the Fierce Tiger, Li Qing waited for the beasts to settle their fight, leaving the wounded tiger vulnerable to a hunt.

• Li Qing and Old Man Sun searched the woods after keeping watch through the night and found claw marks and tiger droppings.
• A tiger’s roar led Li Qing and Old Man Sun to a den, where a mother tiger was fighting a giant python over her dead cubs.
• Li Qing decided to hide and wait for one of the beasts to defeat the other before acting.
• The tiger and python fought fiercely, and Li Qing imitated the tiger’s movements as he gained new insight into the True Intent of the Fierce Tiger.
• The tiger killed the python but suffered severe wounds and a broken hind leg, creating an opportunity for Li Qing to hunt it.

Li Qing fought and killed an injured fierce tiger, first with his saber and Bone-Piercing Nails, then barehanded to temper his True Intent of the Fierce Tiger. He claimed the tiger’s bones as the final ingredient for two Medicinal Wine Recipes and prepared to leave with Old Man Sun.

• Li Qing approached the wounded fierce tiger and shot it with a Bone-Piercing Nail.
• Li Qing severed one of the tiger’s claws with his saber, while its other paw struck his Barbed Iron Armor.
• Li Qing threw aside his saber and fought the tiger barehanded to test his martial arts and temper his True Intent of the Fierce Tiger.
• Li Qing defeated the tiger with a powerful punch after its accumulated injuries and recent fight with a giant python weakened it.
• Li Qing picked up his saber, hoisted the tiger onto his shoulders, and told Old Man Sun they could leave.

Li Qing returned to Cui Mountain Village carrying a slain tiger and a surviving cub, becoming a village legend before heading back to Sheng Tian. After he left, a sword-flying young man discovered the dead cubs and python in the den and took the python’s gall.

• Li Qing found a tiger cub barely alive in the den, took it with him, and carried the dead mother tiger back toward Cui Mountain Village.
• Li Qing and Old Man Sun reached the village at night, where the hunters were astonished to see Li Qing carrying a fierce tiger.
• Li Qing stayed at Old Man Sun’s home, arranged for a lactating dog to feed the cub, took tiger bones, and paid Old Man Sun fifty taels of patterned silver.
• Li Qing boarded a carriage for Sheng Tian after leaving behind a legend in Cui Mountain Village.
• A young man riding a flying sword arrived at the den, discovered the dead cubs and python, and collected the python’s gall for Beast-Raising Pills.

Li Qing returned to Sheng Tian with the tiger cub Little Glutton, arranged for its care, and bought liquor for brewing medicinal wines. After hearing news about Qian Hong and the Wu Li Army, he left the restaurant expecting that his conspicuous purchase might attract trouble and give him a chance to test his strength.

• Li Qing entered Sheng Tian with the hungry tiger cub and named it Rice Bucket.
• He collected the Five Poisons from Quanshan Herbal Shop and arranged daily goat's milk deliveries to his blacksmith shop.
• Li Qing fed the cub and made it a makeshift den before deciding to begin brewing wine.
• At Taoyuan Restaurant, Li Qing heard drinkers discuss Qian Hong's martial prowess and confirmed that Sheng Tian had no unusual recent events.
• Li Qing bought five jars each of three strong liquors and two jars of Winter Plum, paying with a gold bar.
• Li Qing left the restaurant aware that his purchase might draw unwanted attention and hoped to test his strength.

Li Qing brewed Tiger Bone Health Preserving Wine and Five Poisons Blood Activating Wine, burying the latter to age for three years. After drinking Winter Plum Wine, he heard intruders break the blacksmith shop’s lock and prepared to face them.

• Li Qing used twelve jars of strong liquor and medicinal ingredients to seal a vat of Tiger Bone Health Preserving Wine.
• Li Qing brewed Five Poisons Blood Activating Wine with five venomous creatures, then buried its vat in the backyard to temper for three years.
• Li Qing considered aging the Tiger Bone Wine in the Eternal Night World but set the idea aside because he worried about exposing his return to Obsidian City and risking the wine.
• Li Qing drank a jar of Winter Plum Wine and heard someone outside the blacksmith shop.
• Intruders smashed the shop’s iron lock, and Li Qing’s smile turned cold as Killing Intent filled his eyes.

Li Qing killed three groups of intruders who broke into his blacksmith shop, then learned that the court was establishing the Maple Guard Department to govern troublesome Martial Artists. The eight Heroes of Liangzhou discussed seeking a place in the new department, and Yang Xing agreed to apply.

• Li Qing killed a black-clad intruder with a Tiger Fist and disposed of his body in the Eternal Night World.
• Li Qing killed the other intruders who came to his shop overnight, then replaced the broken lock and concealed what had happened from Old Zhang.
• The court announced the creation of the Maple Guard Department, an organization directly under Emperor Taiwen for managing troublesome Martial Artists.
• Boss Fang and Yang Xing discussed placing one of their own in the Maple Guard Department, while the other six Heroes of Liangzhou resisted joining the court.
• Yang Xing agreed to apply for a post in the Maple Guard Department.

Li Qing continued training while raising Little Glutton, then agreed to forge a sword for Fang Long’s brother Yang Xing, who had joined the Maple Guard Department. After finding the Ancient Profound Hammer Technique beneath a toppled rack, Li Qing decided to make a trip to Chongning County to fulfill his master’s dying request.

• Li Qing assessed his martial progress and believed he could soon reach the first level of the Golden Body Technique, while his Turtle Breath Technique had brought his Internal Energy close to Outer Strength.
• Fang Long visited Li Qing to celebrate Yang Xing’s new position in the Maple Guard Department and asked him to forge a sharp, lightweight longsword.
• Li Qing accepted thirty taels for the sword and promised to finish it in three days.
• Little Glutton knocked over a rack, and Li Qing checked that the Tiger Bone Wine vat was safe before warning the cub not to wreck the house.
• Li Qing found the Ancient Profound Hammer Technique beneath the rack and resolved to return it to his master’s home in Chongning County.

Li Qing completed a refined iron longsword and discussed famous weapons before Fang Long collected it and agreed to watch over the smithy. Li Qing prepared to travel to Qingzhou’s Chongning County to seek Master Gu’s clansmen and fulfill his former teacher’s final wish.

• Li Qing forged a refined iron longsword and reflected on the famous divine weapons of the martial world, including the Mystic Turtle Spear and Crimson Lotus.
• Fang Long collected the sword, praised its quality, and heard that Li Qing had left it unnamed.
• Li Qing asked Fang Long to keep an eye on the smithy while he traveled, and Fang Long readily agreed.
• Li Qing packed Master Gu’s Ancient Profound Hammer Technique and travel money before setting out to look for Master Gu’s clansmen in Qingzhou’s Chongning County.

Li Qing left Shengtian for Qingzhou to return the Ancient Profound Hammer Technique, while the Maple Guard Department held a martial exhibition under heavy rain. Zhao Yuan stunned the crowd with a powerful saber strike, and Qian Hong recognized something about his weapon.

• Li Qing traveled north from Shengtian toward Qingzhou with his tiger, intending to fulfill his promise to Master Gu's family.
• Guo Zhentong announced the Maple Guard Department's martial exhibition rules, allowing weapons but forbidding killing blows and crippling injuries.
• Qian Hong and a refined man watched the competition from a pavilion with Guo Zhentong, commenting on the fighters' abilities.
• Zhao Yuan faced a burly opponent who mocked him, then drew his great saber and sent the man flying with a single strike that broke several blades and drew blood.
• Qian Hong stood up and exclaimed, "That saber—"

After Zhao Yuan used the Startling Silence Blade to defeat his opponent, Qian Hong and the other commanders became eager to meet its maker, Master Li. They learned Zhao Yuan had paid only fifty taels for the blade and planned a discreet visit to the blacksmith in the city.

• Zhao Yuan severed his opponent’s weapon with the Startling Silence Blade, leaving the martial contest audience stunned.
• Qian Hong, Guo Zhentong, and the white-clothed commander recognized that Zhao Yuan’s blade was likely a divine weapon and summoned him to ask about it.
• Zhao Yuan said Master Li in the city had forged the blade and explained that he had paid fifty taels after Zhong Hui asked him to return it to Blacksmith Li.
• The commanders speculated that Master Li was a reclusive, eccentric craftsman who valued Zhao Yuan and Zhong Hui’s honesty more than money.
• Qian Hong and the other commanders decided to finish watching the contest before secretly visiting Master Li, with Zhao Yuan announcing them first.

Maple Guard Department’s commanders and the Heroes of Liangzhou learned that Li Qing might forge peerless divine weapons, but they found he had left Sheng Tian. As Li Qing traveled north toward Qingzhou, he reviewed intelligence about its chaotic martial world and looked forward to arriving.

• Qian Hong, Guo Zhentong, and Zheng Shu followed Zhao Yuan to Li Qing’s blacksmith shop, but learned from Old Zhang that Li Qing had gone away on business.
• Yang Xing concluded that Zhao Yuan and the commanders were seeking Li Qing, then warned Boss Fang that Li Qing might be able to forge peerless divine weapons.
• Boss Fang agreed to keep Li Qing’s skill secret and decided to curry favor with him.
• Li Qing traveled by carriage toward Qingzhou and read intelligence describing its shifting martial rankings and dangerous, profit-driven martial world.
• Li Qing looked forward to Qingzhou, where fighting and killing shaped the jianghu.

Li Qing reached Qingzhou with Rice Bucket and entered Jingyang City, where he learned the Black Fiend Gang and the Lei Family were fighting over a stolen treasure. The Dragon Gate Inn promised him safety as he settled in for the night.

• Li Qing called Rice Bucket back into the carriage before they entered Jingyang City and warned the tiger cub not to cause trouble.
• Li Qing entered the poor, tense city and saw two men fighting in the street over a purse.
• Li Qing chose the Dragon Gate Inn, and Rice Bucket's presence discouraged the people watching his carriage from approaching.
• The waiter told Li Qing that the Black Fiend Gang and the Lei Family were fighting over a treasure and advised him not to go out that night.

Li Qing watched the Black Fiend Gang and Lei Family battle over a mysterious treasure from the safety of the Dragon Gate Inn, then learned that Sun Qi had slaughtered the Black Fiend Gang leader’s family and stolen it. He left Jingyang City with Rice Bucket, choosing to avoid the conflict and continue toward Chongning.

• Li Qing watched the Black Fiend Gang and Lei Family fight through the night but stayed out of the battle.
• After the clash ended, Li Qing heard the Black Fiend Gang leader roar Sun Qi’s name, then went to sleep without investigating.
• Li Qing woke to Rice Bucket’s roar and decided to resupply before heading for Chongning.
• An inn waiter told Li Qing that Sun Qi had killed the Black Fiend Gang leader’s family and taken the mysterious treasure.
• Li Qing ordered a carriage prepared so he and Rice Bucket could leave at once.

Li Qing traveled toward Chongning County, where he fought off bandits who tried to rob his carriage. After entering the city, he heard that the Black Fiend Gang leader had revealed Sun Qi’s treasure was an Opportunity for Immortality, stirring widespread debate.

• Li Qing’s carriage was stopped by bandits outside Chongning County, and he killed their leader and several others with Bone-Piercing Nails.
• Li Qing emerged with his Peerless Hammer and drove the remaining bandits away.
• Li Qing returned to the carriage and continued into Chongning County without pursuing the fleeing bandits.
• Li Qing heard townspeople discussing the Black Fiend Gang leader’s claim that Sun Qi’s treasure was an Opportunity for Immortality.

Li Qing investigated a Gu family in Chongning County based on clues from his master, while learning that rumors about an Immortality Cultivation Method were spreading across Qingzhou. He Baosheng found a likely lead and asked whether Li Qing was looking for Gu Tianxing.

• Li Qing stopped his carriage to listen to rumors that Sun Qi possessed an opportunity for immortality, then decided he was too weak to pursue it.
• Li Qing checked into Dragon Gate Inn and asked the waiter how to find a family surnamed Gu.
• Li Qing recalled that his master had offended the county magistrate and been sent to the border fortress army, and gathered clues that his family may have been blacksmiths.
• Li Qing visited the information broker He Baosheng and described the Gu family he sought.
• He Baosheng returned with a lead and asked Li Qing whether the person was named Gu Tianxing.

Li Qing visited Gu Yu, Master Gu’s impoverished descendant, and discovered that Gu Yu was forbidden from forging weapons and had only inherited a little of his father’s hammer technique. When Feng Jin tried to extort Gu Yu, Li Qing exposed his lie, and his tiger cub frightened the ruffian into recognizing Li Qing as the rumored Fierce Tiger.

• Li Qing found Gu Yu’s dilapidated home and pretended to commission a pickaxe so he could observe the blacksmith.
• Li Qing noticed traces of the Ancient Profound Hammer Technique in Gu Yu’s forging stance, while Gu Yu revealed that authorities had forbidden him from making blades.
• Feng Jin accused Gu Yu of making a faulty hoe and demanded two taels of silver, but Li Qing pointed out that the hoe had been damaged through misuse.
• Feng Jin tried to leave and return with accomplices, but Li Qing’s tiger cub roared and frightened him into recognizing Li Qing as the man who had killed the bandits.
• Feng Jin begged for mercy and fled, while Gu Yu called Li Qing the Fierce Tiger, a nickname Li Qing resented.