Chapter Summaries

Li Zhixian and Qian Renxue were ambushed by black-clad Soul Masters on a desolate road. They fought back together, and Li Zhixian emerged from his sword formation as the sole survivor among his attackers.

• Li Zhixian and Qian Renxue sensed a killing intent, dismounted, and faced more than a dozen attackers emerging from the woods.
• Li Zhixian killed one attacker with Azure Blade Severance, then countered the others with Three Sword Splendor as six Soul Kings and ten Soul Ancestors attacked him.
• As his Soul Power ran low, Li Zhixian drank from his Clear Spring Wine Gourd to recover and gain enhancements.
• Qian Renxue killed the attackers assigned to her, then held back three Soul Kings after Li Zhixian asked for her help.
• Li Zhixian trapped the remaining Soul Kings and Soul Ancestors in Azure Lotus Twelve Calamities and killed them before the formation shattered.

After Li Zhixian and Qian Renxue survived an ambush, they rested by a campfire, where Qian Renxue apologized for the danger tied to her factional enemies. Li Zhixian reassured her, and she began to smile again as they shared roasted yams.

• Li Zhixian and Qian Renxue continued down the road after killing the three Soul Kings who had attacked them, then stopped to rest beneath a tree.
• Qian Renxue cried and apologized to Li Zhixian after realizing that a faction within Spirit Hall had targeted him because of her.
• Li Zhixian reassured Qian Renxue that he did not blame her and valued the kindness she had shown him.
• Li Zhixian pulled roasted wild yams from the campfire and shared them with Qian Renxue.
• Qian Renxue smiled at Li Zhixian and promised to smile at him more often.

Li Zhixian returned to Heaven Dou City, where Xue Qinghe vowed to destroy the Papal Palace if anyone harmed him. He reunited with the Imperial Dou Team and agreed to visit Ye Lingling’s family, while looking forward to seeing Xue Qinghe the next day.

• Li Zhixian and Qian Renxue parted ways at Heaven Dou City, and he returned to his courtyard.
• Xue Qinghe ordered the identified palace spies killed and threatened the Papal Palace if it harmed Li Zhixian.
• The Imperial Dou Team welcomed Li Zhixian home with a feast, and they celebrated together in his courtyard.
• Ye Lingling asked Li Zhixian to visit her family so her mother could apologize, and he agreed to go the next night.
• Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling left together, and Li Zhixian thought about seeing Xue Qinghe the next day.

Li Zhixian and Xue Qinghe shared wine by Lotus Lake, where she warned him that Ning Fengzhi would arrive in Heaven Dou City the next day and urged him to leave. Li Zhixian refused to hide from his former benefactor, then went to meet Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan at the academy, where Tailong challenged him in front of a crowd.

• Xue Qinghe asked Li Zhixian what he thought of Qian Renxue and whether he would welcome her visits, and he agreed.
• Xue Qinghe told Li Zhixian that Ning Fengzhi would arrive in Heaven Dou City the next day and suggested he leave town; Li Zhixian flicked her forehead and said he would not hide.
• Li Zhixian explained that he and Ning Fengzhi no longer owed each other anything, though he still remembered the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's kindness in taking him in.
• Li Zhixian waited outside Heaven Dou Royal Academy to meet Ye Lingling, and Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan came out after class.
• Tailong rushed up to Ye Lingling and insisted she stop rejecting him, boasting that he would not fear competing with Sword Wine in strength; students then spotted Li Zhixian at the gates.

Li Zhixian accepted Tailong’s challenge to compete in pure physical strength and defeated him with a single punch and a follow-up stomp. He stood over Tailong and asked whether he was convinced.

• Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan joined Li Zhixian after Tailong had pestered Ye Lingling.
• Tailong challenged Li Zhixian to a contest of physical strength without using martial souls, and Li Zhixian accepted.
• Tailong charged Li Zhixian with a powerful punch, but Li Zhixian met it head-on and shattered Tailong’s arm bones.
• Li Zhixian caught up to the airborne Tailong and stomped him into the ground.
• Li Zhixian stood over Tailong and asked whether he was convinced.

Li Zhixian rejected Mother Ye’s proposal to pair him with Ye Lingling, then comforted Ye Lingling as she struggled with her feelings about her mother and the Ye Family’s ambitions. The next morning, he prepared his courtyard as if expecting a visitor.

• Li Zhixian defeated Tailong in a contest of strength, and Yu Tianheng and the others took Tailong away while Li Zhixian left the academy with Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan.
• At Ye Manor, Mother Ye invited Li Zhixian to stay and renewed her proposal that he and Ye Lingling become a couple, but he refused and asked not to be invited back.
• Ye Lingling chased after Li Zhixian and joined him for noodles, where she tearfully asked whether her mother was a bad person and admitted that she felt sorry for her.
• Li Zhixian walked Ye Lingling back to Ye Manor and returned to his courtyard alone.
• The next morning, Li Zhixian cleaned his courtyard and set out tea and a chessboard as though expecting a guest.

Ning Fengzhi visited Li Zhixian with Chen Xin and Xue Qinghe, and the former student welcomed them with calm courtesy. After they played Go, Ning Fengzhi asked Li Zhixian to return to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

• Xue Ye asked Xue Qinghe to see Ning Fengzhi off, and Ning Fengzhi asked about Sword Wine, saying he wanted to meet him because they shared old ties.
• Xue Qinghe led Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin to Li Zhixian’s courtyard, where Ning Fengzhi greeted him as Banished Immortal.
• Li Zhixian welcomed the visitors, and Ning Fengzhi explained that Gu Rong had stayed behind to oversee the sect.
• Li Zhixian and Ning Fengzhi began a game of Go, but Ning Fengzhi’s remark that he had not misjudged Li Zhixian recalled his earlier rejection.
• Ning Fengzhi asked Li Zhixian whether he would return to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Li Zhixian refused Ning Fengzhi’s invitation to return to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and said he would treat Ning Rongrong as a stranger if they met again. After Chen Xin tested his sword, he recognized Li Zhixian’s Wind Sword Intent and predicted they would eventually duel over their sword Dao.

• Ning Fengzhi asked Li Zhixian to return to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, but Li Zhixian firmly refused.
• Li Zhixian told Ning Fengzhi that Ning Rongrong had been right to end their relationship and that he would treat her as a stranger rather than seek revenge.
• Chen Xin suddenly attacked Li Zhixian with a finger-sword, and Li Zhixian met it with the Azure Lotus Sword and his Formless Wind technique.
• Chen Xin praised Li Zhixian’s Wind Sword Intent, connected it to his meeting with Feng Bailong, and said he would seek him out when he reached the fourth sword realm.
• After leaving, Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin decided not to tell Ning Rongrong about Li Zhixian’s circumstances, and Chen Xin said their future duel would be a contest of Dao.

Xue Qinghe comforted Li Zhixian after his meeting with Ning Fengzhi, then revealed herself as Qian Renxue and learned that Li Zhixian had wanted to see her. After spending the evening together, they parted on warm terms; days later, an old man caused a disturbance at Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

• Xue Qinghe soothed Li Zhixian beneath the plum tree while Pufferfish and Snake Lance guarded the courtyard.
• Xue Qinghe transformed into Qian Renxue as Li Zhixian slept, then told him that Xue Qinghe had said he wanted to see her.
• Li Zhixian admitted he had wanted to see Qian Renxue and took her by the hand to Lotus Lake, where they watched the sunset and stars.
• Qian Renxue asked Li Zhixian to tell Xue Qinghe if he wanted to see her again, promising she would come; Li Zhixian agreed.
• Li Zhixian's Soul Power rose to level thirty-four as he practiced the Azure Lotus Sword Song, while an old man beat Yufeng, Osler, and the Shi Brothers and pinned Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, and Ye Lingling down outside Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
• Tailong begged his grandfather to leave the academy gates.

Titan confronted Li Zhixian at Imperial Dou Academy, demanding to see Sword Wine for injuring his grandson Tailong. Li Zhixian arrived and offered to negotiate, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Titan slapped Tailong and demanded that Sword Wine answer for injuring his arm.
• Titan subdued Yufeng, Osler, the Shi Brothers, Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, and Yu Tianheng with his pressure while demanding Li Zhixian.
• Two students found Li Zhixian at a noodle stall and told him Titan had come looking for him.
• Li Zhixian rushed to the academy, where Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, Yu Tianheng, and the others stood between him and Titan.
• Li Zhixian stepped forward and told Titan to name his terms.

Titan challenged Li Zhixian to take one punch, offering to erase the dispute if he succeeded but demanding that he join the Strength Clan if he failed. Li Zhixian accepted and demanded Titan kneel and apologize if he survived, then unleashed his sword techniques as Titan approached.

• Titan used his aura to pressure Li Zhixian, who straightened and revealed three Azure Lotus Swords emerging from his sword bones.
• Titan blamed Li Zhixian for injuring Tailong and proposed that Li Zhixian take one punch in exchange for joining the Strength Clan if he failed.
• Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, Yu Tianheng, and the others condemned Titan's wager, while he revealed that recruiting Li Zhixian was his real purpose.
• Li Zhixian accepted the punch but refused to join the Strength Clan, demanding that Titan kneel and apologize if he took the blow.
• Titan threatened Li Zhixian, who pushed Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling behind him and activated Wine Boils, Sword Sings.
• Li Zhixian sent three sword lights, wielding different attributes, slashing toward Titan.

Li Zhixian survived Titan’s overwhelming punch and demanded that Titan honor their bet, but Titan left without kneeling or apologizing. Afterward, Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, and Xue Qinghe each reacted to Li Zhixian’s injury and the Strength Clan’s actions.

• Li Zhixian attacked Titan with three sword strikes, but Titan shattered them with a punch and broke through Li Zhixian’s Azure Lotus Twelve Calamities formation.
• Titan’s punch sent Li Zhixian crashing through the academy wall, but Li Zhixian emerged from the rubble and recovered with Ye Lingling’s healing and his Clear Spring Wine Gourd.
• Li Zhixian demanded that Titan kneel, and the three Committee Members arrived to confront Titan before he took Tailong and left without honoring his promise.
• Yu Tianheng told his grandfather he would never marry if the Blue Lightning Family refused to act, while Dugu Yan demanded that Dugu Bo destroy the Strength Clan.
• Ye Lingling urged her family to mobilize its retainers, and Xue Qinghe rushed out to find Li Zhixian as a chilling voice declared that the Strength Clan had no need to exist.

After Titan struck Sword Wine, Yu Yuanzhen retaliated against him, and Dugu Bo moved against the Strength Clan. The chapter leaves Xue Qinghe arriving in Li Zhixian’s courtyard in a panic and finding him unharmed.

• Yu Yuanzhen reluctantly agreed to let his grandson Yu Tianheng pursue Sword Wine.
• Titan dismissed his elders’ concerns about the families Sword Wine had ties to, then slapped Tailong for condemning his actions and sent him to the ancestral hall.
• Yu Yuanzhen confronted Titan in his courtyard and struck him with lightning, leaving him unconscious and badly burned.
• Titan woke, ordered the Strength Clan to its highest alert, and discovered the estate was eerily silent as Dugu Bo’s poison spread through it.
• Xue Qinghe rushed into Li Zhixian’s courtyard and relaxed when he saw Li Zhixian safe.

Li Zhixian vowed to kill Titan within two years, but Xue Qinghe revealed that she had already sent people to attack the Strength Clan. After Dugu Bo poisoned the clan and crushed Titan’s Martial Soul Avatar, Li Zhixian arrived with Xue Qinghe to claim Titan’s life.

• Li Zhixian told Xue Qinghe that he would kill Titan within two years, and she admitted she had sent people to the Strength Clan.
• Dugu Bo poisoned the Strength Clan and crushed Titan’s Martial Soul Avatar, leaving him alive and crippled.
• Pufferfish and Snake Lance arrived, gave Titan a detoxification pill, and left him alive for Li Zhixian to deal with.
• A group of black-clad figures fled after recognizing the Jade Scale Snake Emperor poison and finding the Strength Clan destroyed.
• Li Zhixian and Xue Qinghe arrived outside the Strength Clan estate.

Li Zhixian and Xue Qinghe left the Strength Clan residence after Li killed the poisoned Titan and Tailong, then he comforted Xue Qinghe before escorting her to the imperial palace. The next morning, news of the clan’s extermination spread, and Yu Tianheng mistakenly assumed Yu Yuanzhen had been responsible.

• Li Zhixian and Xue Qinghe entered the Strength Clan residence and found its members dead from Dugu Bo’s poison.
• Li Zhixian killed Titan after Titan resisted, then killed the poisoned Tailong when he came seeking revenge.
• Li Zhixian escorted Xue Qinghe to the palace and told her she did not need to work so hard, moving her to tears.
• Farmers discovered the corpses the next morning, and news of the Strength Clan’s extermination spread through Heaven Dou City and beyond.
• Yu Tianheng assumed Yu Yuanzhen had wiped out the Strength Clan, but Yu Yuanzhen revealed he had not.

After three months of cultivation, Li Zhixian reached level thirty-seven but remained stuck on the fourth form of the Azure Lotus Sword Song. He agreed to visit the Blue Lightning Family with the Imperial Dou Team and privately told Xue Qinghe he wanted to see Qian Renxue before they left.

• After the Strength Clan's destruction, Li Zhixian hosted his friends and thanked them for helping him.
• Three months later, Li Zhixian reached level thirty-seven, but he could not comprehend the fourth form of the Azure Lotus Sword Song.
• Yu Tianheng invited Li Zhixian to the Blue Lightning Family to cultivate with the Imperial Dou Team, and Li Zhixian accepted.
• Xue Qinghe appeared saddened that Li Zhixian was leaving, so he put an arm around her and whispered to her.
• Li Zhixian told Xue Qinghe that he wanted to see Qian Renxue before going to the Blue Lightning Family.

Before leaving for the Blue Lightning Family, Li Zhixian met Qian Renxue by Lotus Lake, where she gave him a private farewell and agreed to see him off. The next morning, she watched him depart from hiding while Xue Qinghe publicly bid farewell to the group.

• Li Zhixian told Qian Renxue he would leave for the Blue Lightning Family the next day and gave her a grasshopper woven from grass.
• Qian Renxue treasured the gift and let Li Zhixian fall asleep on her lap as she watched over him.
• Li Zhixian agreed that Qian Renxue could see him off, though she could not reveal herself before Heaven Dou City's forces.
• The next morning, Xue Qinghe publicly wished Li Zhixian and his companions well as they departed from Heaven Dou City's southern gate.
• After Li Zhixian disappeared down the road, Xue Qinghe entered the nearby forest, where her aura abruptly changed.

Qian Renxue raced to a mountaintop to see Li Zhixian and sent him her Angel Martial Soul’s Auspicious Feather. Li Zhixian reached the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan with Yu Tianheng and the others, eager to explore Thunder Gorge and see whether it could help him comprehend a new sword move.

• Qian Renxue abandoned the official road and climbed a rugged mountain path to watch for Li Zhixian.
• Li Zhixian noticed Qian Renxue atop the cliff, caught the golden Auspicious Feather she sent him, and tucked it close to his body.
• Li Zhixian overtook Yu Tianheng and the others on horseback, then rode on without explaining what had held him up.
• Li Zhixian and his companions arrived at the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan’s Yuming Mountain after more than half a day of travel.
• Li Zhixian anticipated visiting Thunder Gorge to see whether its year-round lightning could help him comprehend the fourth move of the Azure Lotus Sword Song.

Li Zhixian and the Imperial Dou Team arrived at the Blue Lightning Family, where Yu Tianheng introduced them to the clan and its lightning training grounds. Elder Yu Jinghan led them toward Thunder Gorge and explained its three types of lightning, leaving the group at the gorge’s entrance.

• Li Zhixian and the others reached the Blue Lightning Family’s mountaintop compound, where clansmen recognized him as Sword Wine.
• Yu Tianheng showed the group the lightning-pattern plaza and explained how it trained the clan’s lightning-attributed cultivators.
• Yu Tianxin accused Li Zhixian of bullying Liu Erlong and humiliating Yu Xiaogang, but Yu Tianheng defended his friend and Elder Yu Jinghan silenced Yu Tianxin.
• Li Zhixian accepted Yu Tianheng’s apology and said he had come to thank Senior Thunder Douluo.
• Elder Yu Jinghan toured the group around the clan and then led them toward Thunder Gorge.
• Elder Yu Jinghan explained that Thunder Gorge contained Azure Sky Thunder, Violet Fiend Thunder, and Golden Thunder in three successive stages.

Li Zhixian and the Imperial Dou Team visited Thunder Gorge, where Yu Jinghan explained the dangers of Azure Sky Thunder. The team tested themselves in the lightning marsh, but Li Zhixian postponed his own trial when the banquet was announced.

• Yu Jinghan showed Li Zhixian and the others Thunder Gorge and explained that Azure Sky Thunder was its weakest grade, though few Blue Lightning Family disciples could endure it.
• Osler entered the Azure Sky Thunder Marsh and lasted about a minute before Yu Jinghan pulled him out.
• Yufeng, the Shi Brothers, Dugu Yan, and Ye Lingling tested themselves; the Shi Brothers and Dugu Yan lasted about two minutes, while Ye Lingling lasted only several dozen seconds.
• The Blue Lightning Family disciples and Yu Jinghan watched as Li Zhixian prepared to enter the marsh.
• A disciple announced that the banquet was ready, so Li Zhixian and the others left Thunder Gorge to meet Thunder Douluo.