Chapter Summaries

Xiao Feng defeated Yelü Jun’s forces, but Ye Weiming refused to save the poisoned Liao rulers, leaving Yelü Hongji to abdicate to Xiao Feng and die. Ye Weiming received the reward for completing “Beggar Emperor,” then learned that Western Xia was recruiting candidates to marry Princess Yinchuan.

• Xiao Feng broke through Yelü Jun’s army, captured him alive, and called for Ye Weiming, who fled rather than help the poisoned rulers.
• Yelü Hongji recognized that Ye Weiming had deliberately avoided Xiao Feng, then rejected the suggestion to seek help from Xue Muhua.
• Yelü Hongji abdicated in favor of Xiao Feng, who accepted the jade seal; Yelü Hongji and Yelü Jun then died from poison.
• The system announced Xiao Feng’s accession, and Ye Weiming received experience, cultivation points, and the “Heavenly Net Fire Path” manual for completing “Beggar Emperor.”
• The system announced that Western Xia was seeking an imperial son-in-law for Princess Yinchuan, and Ye Weiming suspected Li Yuanhao had another motive.

Ye Weiming studied Heavenly Net Fire Path, fused it with Blazing Sun Sacred Qi and Crimson Fire Divine Skill, and perfected the resulting Blazing Sun Sacred Qi with a Sacred Hall Crystal. After his breakthrough destroyed a tea stall and nearby homes, he faced Liao constables and offered compensation.

• Ye Weiming comprehended Heavenly Net Fire Path and raised it to Level 10, gaining a system prompt that it could fuse with Blazing Sun Sacred Qi and Crimson Fire Divine Skill.
• Ye Weiming chose to fuse the three skills, unleashing flames that destroyed a tea stall and several nearby homes before the fusion completed.
• Ye Weiming named the fused skill Blazing Sun Sacred Qi and used a Sacred Hall Crystal to raise it to Level 10, unlocking Formless Blazing Flame.
• A Liao constable confronted Ye Weiming over the destruction, and Ye Weiming acknowledged his fault and tentatively offered compensation.

Venerable Huang assigned Ye Weiming a mission to attend Western Xia’s Imperial Son-in-Law selection, gather intelligence, and delay an attack on the Central Plains. Ye Weiming assembled a six-person team and recovered his completed divine sword from Wuming, who had safeguarded it.

• Venerable Huang gave Ye Weiming funds and ordered him to travel to Western Xia, where Li Yuanhao had personally invited him to the Imperial Son-in-Law selection.
• Venerable Huang told Ye Weiming to investigate Western Xia and Tibet and, if necessary, delay Western Xia’s military action against the Central Plains.
• Ye Weiming accepted the nine-star mission and assembled a team with Sanyue, Fei Yu, Dao Mei, Xiao Qiao, Youyou, and Yin Bukui.
• Ye Weiming visited Leng Yan to retrieve his divine sword, but she told him it was not in her possession.
• Wuming appeared with the completed Peerless Good Sword, returned it to Ye Weiming, and urged him to inspect its attributes.

Ye Weiming named his reforged divine sword the Night Sky Sword and learned that unrest had recently shaken Western Xia’s royal city. He led his six teammates to Xingqing Prefecture for the Imperial Son-in-Law selection, then planned to investigate the unrest before they attempted the challenges.

• Ye Weiming named his reforged divine sword the Night Sky Sword and spent two days practicing with it, sparring with Dongfang Bubai.
• Wuming warned Ye Weiming that unrest had recently broken out in Western Xia’s royal city, though he knew no details.
• Ye Weiming led his six teammates to Xingqing Prefecture and learned that both he and Prince Zongzan had received special invitations to the Imperial Son-in-Law selection.
• The group found players gathering outside the Imperial Palace and learned that invited parties could attempt martial challenges to advance.
• Ye Weiming told his teammates he intended to secretly meet Yinchuan or Li Qiushui to ask about the unrest, and Dao Mei agreed to go with him.

Ye Weiming met Yinchuan with Dao Mei, then spoke privately with Li Yuanhao, who offered to make him Western Xia’s Imperial Son-in-Law and a prince in exchange for joining his court. After Ye Weiming returned to the guest quarters, Dao Mei delivered Yinchuan’s secret plea to save her grandmother, whom Li Yuanhao had locked in the ice cellar.

• Ye Weiming and Dao Mei slipped into Yinchuan’s chambers, where Yinchuan recognized Ye Weiming and rushed toward him before Dao Mei intercepted her.
• Li Yuanhao arrived, accepted Ye Weiming’s explanation for visiting Yinchuan, and invited him to speak privately in a garden pavilion.
• Li Yuanhao offered Ye Weiming Yinchuan’s hand in marriage, control of First Rank Hall, and the prospect of becoming a prince if he joined Western Xia.
• Ye Weiming returned to the guest quarters without telling the others about Li Yuanhao’s offer and said they had merely probed each other.
• Dao Mei gave Ye Weiming a note from Yinchuan asking him to save her grandmother, whom Li Yuanhao had imprisoned in the ice cellar.

Ye Weiming decided to exploit Li Qiushui’s conflict with Li Yuanhao to keep Western Xia occupied, while publicly entering the Imperial Son-in-Law challenge with his team. As the team began its first match, the real Sanyue and Dao Mei infiltrated the palace ice cellar under cover of illusion.

• Dao Mei told Ye Weiming that Yinchuan had secretly warned her Li Yuanhao was moving against Li Qiushui, and Ye Weiming burned the note after reading it.
• Ye Weiming persuaded his companions to interfere in the royal conflict, reasoning that turmoil in Western Xia would buy the Central Plains time, and planned to meet Li Qiushui.
• At Li Yuanhao’s banquet, Ye Weiming deflected questions about the marriage alliance and accepted the invitation to challenge the Imperial Son-in-Law selection instance.
• Ye Weiming’s team chose a team challenge and faced three Level 120 First Rank Hall warriors, while Dao Mei and Sanyue’s music activated a combat effect and Ye Weiming ordered them to change it.
• The real Dao Mei and Sanyue infiltrated the palace ice-cellar warehouse by using illusions to evade the Iron Hawk soldiers, and Sanyue urged Dao Mei to focus on their mission.

Sanyue and Dao Mei infiltrated the ice cellar to rescue Li Qiushui, who revealed Li Yuanhao’s betrayal and signed Ye Weiming’s Imperial Decree to help Yinchuan. Li Qiushui transferred her remaining cultivation to Dao Mei, and the group realized Li Yuanhao had arrived.

• Sanyue and Dao Mei entered the ice cellar, where Dao Mei subdued the woman guarding Li Qiushui.
• Li Qiushui told Sanyue and Dao Mei that Li Yuanhao had imprisoned her, coerced her trusted servant into poisoning her, and planned Yinchuan’s marriage for political gain.
• Li Qiushui revealed that Li Yuanhao carried the only key to her chains and asked the pair to help Yinchuan.
• Dao Mei presented Ye Weiming’s Imperial Decree, and Li Qiushui signed it before transferring her remaining cultivation to Dao Mei through the Bei Ming Divine Skill.
• Sanyue, Dao Mei, and Li Qiushui heard the guards announce Li Yuanhao’s arrival.

Dao Mei and Sanyue overheard Li Yuanhao’s plan to ally with Tibet and attack the Central Plains, while Li Qiushui died after protecting them. Ye Weiming learned of the conspiracy and, upon hearing that Prince Zongzan had arrived, suspected Li Yuanhao would not return from his departure.

• Dao Mei and Sanyue hid from Li Yuanhao in the ice cellar, and Sanyue reasoned that palace maid Wei Juan would stay silent to avoid trouble.
• Li Qiushui covered for Wei Juan as Li Yuanhao discovered her aged condition and explained his plan to exploit the Imperial Son-in-Law selection and ally with Tibet against the Central Plains.
• Li Qiushui challenged Li Yuanhao’s scheme, especially its reliance on Tibet and its disregard for Yinchuan, then died as Dao Mei and Sanyue emerged from hiding.
• Dao Mei and Sanyue reported Li Yuanhao’s plan to Ye Weiming, who said the conspiracy had become an open plot and questioned whether warning the Central Plains would help.
• Youyou reported that Prince Zongzan had arrived in Xingqing Prefecture, and Ye Weiming realized Li Yuanhao was leaving at a dangerous moment and might never return.

Ye Weiming exposed the Tibetan delegation’s move against Duan Yu’s group, rescued Duan Zhengchun, and humiliated Prince Zongzan with a slap. After Western Xia officials ended the confrontation, Ye Weiming planned to wait for Sanyue’s intelligence and speak privately with Duan Yanqing before deciding what to do next.

• Ye Weiming reasoned that Li Yuanhao was concealing Li Qiushui’s death and sent Sanyue to question the palace maid Wei Juan after breakfast.
• Dao Mei spotted Tibetan warriors heading toward Duan Yu’s guest courtyard, so Ye Weiming and the others went there.
• Ye Weiming shattered the hostage-takers’ sabers and immobilized them, allowing Duan Zhengchun to escape.
• Ye Weiming slapped Prince Zongzan and knocked out two of his teeth while Dao Mei kept Jiumozhi occupied.
• Helian Tieshu arrived with Duan Yanqing, Yue Lao Er, and soldiers, then warned the guests against fighting during the imperial son-in-law selection.
• Youyou reported the Tibetan fighters’ levels, and Ye Weiming said they would await Sanyue’s findings and arrange a private talk with Duan Yanqing.

Ye Weiming devised a plan with Duan Yanqing to disrupt Li Yuanhao’s alliance with Tibet by framing First Rank Hall for Prince Zongzan’s death. When Jiumozhi disappeared before the operation began, Ye Weiming split the group: some would proceed with the assassination, while he and others went to hunt Jiumozhi.

• Sanyue reported that Li Yuanhao had secretly taken control of Li Qiushui and was concealing her death to consolidate power.
• Dao Mei questioned whether Wei Juan’s account was reliable, and Ye Weiming argued that Wuming’s friend might have described the palace unrest inaccurately.
• Ye Weiming rejected revealing Li Qiushui’s death as the main strategy and proposed making Li Yuanhao’s alliance with Tibet impossible.
• Ye Weiming told Duan Yanqing that Li Yuanhao planned to ally with Tibet against the Central Plains and persuaded him to help kill Prince Zongzan and make First Rank Hall take the blame.
• Ye Weiming and Duan Yanqing prepared to carry out the plan, but discovered that Jiumozhi had vanished from the Tibetan delegation.
• Ye Weiming sent Sanyue, Youyou, and Xue Zhuan to assist Duan Yanqing while he, Dao Mei, Xiao Qiao, and Fei Yu set out to kill Jiumozhi.

Ye Weiming and his companions tracked Jiumozhi to Western Xia’s abandoned Cold Palace and launched a coordinated ambush. After the assault left Jiumozhi badly wounded and surrounded, the fight continued with him trapped in a seemingly hopeless position.

• Fei Yu located Jiumozhi in the Cold Palace, where he was secretly waiting beneath a tree.
• Ye Weiming and his companions took positions around Jiumozhi, but his poison immunity drove nearby snakes and scorpions away and exposed his hiding place.
• Ye Weiming struck Jiumozhi with Soaring Dragon in the Sky, then Fei Yu attacked with Stunning Glimpse and Xiao Qiao followed with Twin Swords Fusion.
• Dao Mei used her terrifying demonic manifestation to land a heavy blow that crippled Jiumozhi’s right arm, then withdrew as Ye Weiming prepared another attack.
• Ye Weiming unleashed Falling Sword Stance against Jiumozhi’s Flame Blade, leaving Jiumozhi with a depleted health bar and several injuries and status effects as the team surrounded him.

Ye Weiming and his team drove Jiumozhi to the brink of death, but Duan Yu arrived and absorbed Jiumozhi’s martial arts in a dry well. Jiumozhi attained enlightenment after losing his power, and a hidden quest asked the team to spare him so he could leave Western Xia and spread Buddhist Dharma.

• Ye Weiming and his teammates overwhelmed Jiumozhi, but Duan Yu rushed into the Cold Palace and Jiumozhi seized him while trying to escape.
• Ye Weiming’s attack sent Jiumozhi and Duan Yu tumbling into a dry well, where Duan Yu’s Bei Ming Divine Skill drained Jiumozhi’s true qi.
• Duan Yu explained that he had come after finding Wang Yuyan’s handkerchief, which Jiumozhi had used to lure him to the Cold Palace.
• Jiumozhi revealed that he had planned to force Duan Yu to disclose the Six Meridian Divine Sword manual, then attained Buddhist enlightenment after losing his power.
• Duan Yu asked Ye Weiming to spare Jiumozhi, and the system triggered an eight-star hidden quest offering an enlightenment opportunity if the team let him leave Western Xia.

Ye Weiming refused to let Jiumozhi’s enlightenment erase his past and arranged for him to be taken to the Divine Constable Bureau for judgment. As plans to contain the Western Xia crisis unfolded, Ye Weiming realized Helian Tieshu might have sent undisclosed messengers and gave Dao Mei a difficult assignment.

• Ye Weiming rejected the system’s offer to leave Jiumozhi alone and decided to send him to the Central Plains for investigation and judgment.
• Ye Weiming knocked Jiumozhi unconscious, entrusted him to Jiang Jin Jiu, Cang Xingyu, and Tang Sancai, and paid them with the Flame Blade Manual.
• Sanyue told Ye Weiming that Western Xia First Rank Hall had killed most of the Tibetan delegation, and Ye Weiming ordered her to have Duan Yanqing report the news before withdrawing.
• Duan Yanqing reported that Helian Tieshu had dispatched Yue Lao Er and two other messengers to deliver a secret letter to Li Yuanhao, and Ye Weiming sent Fei Yu to eliminate them.
• Ye Weiming reasoned that Helian Tieshu might have sent additional secret messengers and turned to Dao Mei to assign her a difficult task.

Ye Weiming sent Dao Mei and Youyou to carry out a covert three-part mission near Li Yuanhao’s camp while the rest of the group stayed behind to avoid Helian Tieshu’s suspicion. Meanwhile, Cang Xingyu, Jiang Jin Jiu, and Tang Sancai were stopped on the road by Yuan Mongol guards led by Fang Yeyu, who demanded to see inside their carriage.

• Ye Weiming explained the three tasks for Dao Mei, including eliminating Helian Tieshu’s messengers, delivering Duan Yanqing’s letter, and coordinating with Fei Yu, while limiting the number of people who could leave the palace.
• Yu Chi Yan Hong revealed that Little Green could imitate Youyou, allowing the group to maintain appearances while Dao Mei and Youyou slipped out of the palace toward Li Yuanhao’s camp.
• Ye Weiming detected First Rank Hall experts monitoring the group’s courtyard and judged that Dao Mei’s mission carried the greatest risk.
• Cang Xingyu, Jiang Jin Jiu, and Tang Sancai encountered a heavily guarded Yuan Mongol convoy while escorting Jiumozhi toward the Central Plains.
• Fang Yeyu identified the travelers as players and demanded that Cang Xingyu reveal who or what was inside their carriage.

Jiang Jin Jiu, Cang Xingyu, and Tang Sancai encountered Fang Yeyu and his master, Demon Master Pang Ban, while escorting Jiumozhi. Pang Ban killed Cang Xingyu and Tang Sancai but let Jiang Jin Jiu escape, then took Jiumozhi toward Western Xia as Jiang Jin Jiu sent Ye Weiming a report.

• Jiang Jin Jiu recognized the middle-aged man in the carriage as a likely threat and ordered the group to abandon Jiumozhi and retreat.
• Cang Xingyu shot at Fang Yeyu, but Pang Ban warped the arrow away and appeared before the group.
• Pang Ban killed Cang Xingyu with one punch and pursued Jiang Jin Jiu.
• Tang Sancai turned back to prepare Guanyin's Tears, but Pang Ban killed him before the move could launch, giving Jiang Jin Jiu time to escape.
• Pang Ban abandoned the pursuit and decided to take Jiumozhi toward Western Xia with Fang Yeyu.
• Jiang Jin Jiu sent Ye Weiming a message reporting the encounter, his companions' deaths, and Jiumozhi's capture.

After learning that Pang Ban had abducted Jiumozhi, Ye Weiming prepared for trouble and used Helian Tieshu’s investigation of the Tibetan delegation’s massacre to gain freedom from surveillance. He then entered the Yuan Mongol delegation’s courtyard, attacked Fang Yeyu, and confronted Pang Ban, ending with a sword challenge.

• Ye Weiming told Jiang Jin Jiu to monitor Pang Ban’s convoy, while Jiang Jin Jiu arranged for Cang Xingyu and Tang Sancai to watch it from different directions.
• Helian Tieshu questioned Ye Weiming about the massacre of Zongzan and the Tibetan delegation, but Ye Weiming asked to inspect the crime scene and demanded that the guards around his residence be withdrawn.
• Helian Tieshu withdrew the guards, then learned that Ye Weiming had gone to the Yuan Mongol delegation’s courtyard and hurried there.
• Ye Weiming entered the courtyard and launched a claw attack at Fang Yeyu, but Pang Ban appeared and dispersed it with a burst of fist force.
• Ye Weiming identified Pang Ban, drew the Night Sky Divine Sword, and challenged him.

Ye Weiming fought Pang Ban in Western Xia, using Fang Yeyu and the surrounding warriors to restrict Pang Ban’s responses before escalating to a massive fire attack. Helian Tieshu stopped the duel, and Fang Yeyu then offered to bring forward a rescued senior connected to the assassination attempt against the Tibetan delegation.

• Ye Weiming used successive sword techniques against Pang Ban, forcing him to protect Fang Yeyu and the Yuan Mongol warriors while the two exchanged more than thirty moves.
• Ye Weiming fused with his sword and attacked Pang Ban, who struck him into the air with an uppercut as Helian Tieshu and the First Rank Hall arrived.
• Ye Weiming formed a gigantic fireball in midair, but Helian Tieshu stopped the confrontation by asking the guests to respect Western Xia.
• Ye Weiming withdrew his fireball and apologized to Helian Tieshu, while Pang Ban recognized that Ye Weiming had attacked to prevent Fang Yeyu from acting alone.
• Fang Yeyu told Helian Tieshu that he had rescued a senior connected to the assassination attempt against the Tibetan delegation and offered to bring him in.

Fang Yeyu tried to implicate Ye Weiming in the Tibetan delegation’s murder, but Ye Weiming used Jiumozhi’s testimony to establish an alibi and demanded evidence. Princess Yinchuan then summoned Ye Weiming and Fang Yeyu to the imperial garden, while Pang Ban warned Ye Weiming that the palace maid leading them might affect the Imperial Son-in-Law competition.

• Fang Yeyu brought Jiumozhi before Helian Tieshu and accused Ye Weiming of involvement in the Tibetan delegation’s murder.
• Jiumozhi recounted his fight with Ye Weiming in the cold palace, confirming that Ye Weiming had been there while the delegation was killed elsewhere.
• Ye Weiming argued that his fight with Jiumozhi gave him an alibi, and he demanded that Fang Yeyu produce evidence instead of asking him to prove his innocence.
• A palace maid announced that Princess Yinchuan had invited Ye Weiming and Fang Yeyu to the imperial garden, and both agreed to follow her.
• Pang Ban accompanied them, then told Ye Weiming that the palace maid would marry into the household of the chosen Imperial Son-in-Law and could influence the competition.

Ye Weiming used a poetry contest with Princess Yinchuan to make Fang Yeyu believe he had won her favor, while Pang Ban saw through the performance and suspected Ye Weiming and Yinchuan were buying time. Pang Ban left Fang Yeyu with that warning, but the reason for the delay remained unknown.

• Ye Weiming arrived with Pang Ban and Fang Yeyu to meet Princess Yinchuan, who later welcomed Duan Yu and proposed a poetry contest about a pagoda.
• Duan Yu and Fang Yeyu composed poems, while Ye Weiming recited deliberately crude verse that made Yinchuan secretly favor him and led Fang Yeyu to think he had outshone his rivals.
• Yinchuan kept Ye Weiming out of the literary conversation as Fang Yeyu dominated the gathering, while Ye Weiming appeared stifled and jealous.
• Pang Ban ended Fang Yeyu's lunch invitation by saying he needed special medicinal cuisine, then told him Yinchuan had no chance of choosing him because she loved Ye Weiming.
• Pang Ban explained that Yinchuan had repeatedly tried to look at Ye Weiming and that Ye Weiming's jealous act had delighted her, then concluded that Ye Weiming had arranged the meeting to buy time.

Pang Ban and Fang Yeyu uncovered the secret alliance between Western Xia and Tibet and learned where Li Yuanhao would meet the Tibetan King, but Ye Weiming believed their discovery had come too late to stop his plan. Ye Weiming and Xiao Qiao rode into the Helan Mountains to confront Pang Ban, and the chapter ended as their battle began.

• Pang Ban guided Fang Yeyu to suspect that Jiumozhi knew more about the attack on the Tibetan delegation and Li Yuanhao's disappearance.
• Fang Yeyu persuaded Jiumozhi to reveal the secret alliance between Tibet and Western Xia, then convinced Helian Tieshu to disclose the meeting place and that two Tibetan delegation survivors had escaped.
• Ye Weiming told Xiao Qiao and Yin Bukui that Pang Ban and Fang Yeyu had figured out his plan too late, and predicted that Li Yuanhao would die in an ambush.
• Pang Ban and Fang Yeyu left the palace to pursue Li Yuanhao, while Ye Weiming and his companions departed to watch the route through the Helan Mountains.
• Ye Weiming and Xiao Qiao encountered Pang Ban on the mountain road, where Pang Ban's attack killed their horses and Ye Weiming summoned the Reverse Scale Divine Sword to strike back.