Recaps

Lin Bai, Lu Yuan, and Zhang Lingdao entered the Qi Tian Mountains for the Royal Hunting Garden, where Azure Cloud Terrace Palace and Blazing Fire Palace surrounded them. Lu Yuan opened a path for their escape, but Yi Han pursued them.

• Lu Yuan warned Lin Bai and Zhang Lingdao to watch for Azure Cloud Terrace Palace and Blazing Fire Palace and to leave Spirit Sword Sect marks if they became separated.
• More than two hundred Azure Cloud Terrace Palace martial artists and over fifty Blazing Fire Palace martial artists surrounded the three Spirit Sword Sect disciples near the mountains’ outskirts.
• Lin Bai and Lu Yuan debated who should stay behind while Zhang Lingdao asked what they should do.
• Lin Bai struck Yi Han with Azure Song Sword, forcing the third-level Heaven Martial Realm expert back three steps.
• Yi Han recognized Azure Song Sword and guessed Lin Bai also had Startling Dream Sword and ten Spirit Pearls, drawing the crowd’s attention to his treasures.
• Lu Yuan grabbed Zhang Lingdao and cut through the encircling ranks, creating an escape route as Yi Han gave chase.

Lin Bai, Lu Yuan, and Zhang Lingdao fled as Yi Han and a large force from Azure Cloud Terrace Palace and Blazing Fire Palace pursued them through the Qi Tian Mountains. After Yi Han injured Lin Bai, Lin Bai resolved to find a place to refine a spirit pearl and break through to the Heaven Martial Realm.

• Lu Yuan held off Wan Xia so Lin Bai and Zhang Lingdao could escape, and Lin Bai urged them to avoid fighting the stronger pursuers.
• Lin Bai and Zhang Lingdao split up to divide the enemy forces, with Yi Han pursuing Lin Bai and the Blazing Fire Palace martial artists chasing Zhang Lingdao.
• Yi Han chased Lin Bai for three hours toward the depths of the Qi Tian Mountains while other martial artists watched the pursuit.
• Yi Han struck Lin Bai with Azure Wave Palm, blasting him through the trees and leaving him badly injured.
• Lin Bai decided he needed to refine a spirit pearl and advance to the first level of the Heaven Martial Realm, believing his Devouring Sword Soul could speed up the process.

Lin Bai escaped Azure Cloud Terrace Palace’s assault through a maze of underground passages and refined spirit pearls to reach the first level of the Heaven Martial Realm. He found the Qi Family Army stationed at a cave entrance and wondered why Qi King Manor’s soldiers were there.

• Yi Han and hundreds of Azure Cloud Terrace Palace martial artists cornered Lin Bai and wounded him with their combined attacks.
• The collapsing ground dropped Lin Bai into a dark passageway, where he escaped through the maze while Yi Han pursued him.
• Lin Bai lost Yi Han in the tunnels, then stopped to refine five spirit pearls with his Devouring Sword Soul.
• After an hour, Lin Bai broke through to the first level of the Heaven Martial Realm and resumed searching the passageways.
• Lin Bai followed a glimmer of light to a cave entrance and spotted the Qi Family Army standing in formation.

Lin Bai discovered that the Qi King Manor had imprisoned the descendants of the Divine Martial Nation’s kings and marquises to force their families to submit. After Qi Rui left to hunt Lin Bai, Lin Bai decided to help the imperial family and the Grand Princess.

• Lin Bai overheard Qi Rui and Qi Fang discuss capturing the descendants of the kings and marquises during the Year-End Ceremony.
• Qi Rui revealed that the hostages would pressure the remaining Army Marquises to surrender, giving the Qi King Manor control of the nation’s military.
• Qi Fang swore loyalty to Qi Rui, who promised to reward him with a high military rank if the Qi King Manor seized the throne.
• Qi Rui ordered Qi Fang to keep the prisoners safe and left to find Lin Bai.
• Lin Bai realized the Qi King Manor’s plan and decided to help the Grand Princess.

Lin Bai discovered that Qi Fang was guarding hundreds of captured descendants of the Divine Martial Nation’s Army Marquises with more than a thousand elite soldiers. Unable to storm the dungeon alone, Lin Bai went searching for Yi Han and the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace martial artists, while the guards realized an intruder had killed Zhang Yun.

• Qi Fang taunted the imprisoned descendants of the Army Marquises, including Chu Jiangliu, and left them in their cages under heavy guard.
• Lin Bai lured Zhang Yun into the darkness, killed him while using Soul Search, and learned that over a thousand elite Qi Family Army soldiers guarded the dungeon.
• Lin Bai judged that he could not break through the guards alone and decided to use Yi Han and the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace martial artists to create a distraction.
• The centurion discovered Zhang Yun’s corpse and hurried into the dungeon to warn Qi Fang.
• Lin Bai searched the passages and heard Yi Han cursing nearby.

Lin Bai lured Yi Han and the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace martial artists into a dungeon, where Captain Qi Fang and the Qi Family Army surrounded them. Yi Han realized the Qi King Manor intended to kill them all, and the chapter ended with the soldiers poised to attack.

• Yi Han chased Lin Bai through the passageways after spotting him, but Lin Bai led the group toward a brightly lit dungeon.
• Yi Han entered the dungeon and found royal and noble heirs imprisoned there, including several people he knew.
• Soldiers of the Qi Family Army appeared along the walls with bows and crossbows trained on Yi Han and his companions.
• Captain Qi Fang revealed that he had lured them into a trap and ordered the soldiers to fire.
• Yi Han tried to appeal to his friendship with the Little Prince and then threatened retaliation from Azure Cloud Terrace Palace, but Qi Fang declared that none of them would leave alive.

Lin Bai arrived at the dungeon as the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace warriors fought Qi Fang and the Qi Family Army, then claimed he had come on Bai Xiaoxiao’s orders to rescue the imprisoned Young Lords and Princesses. He left them grateful to the Grand Princess while privately intending to win her favor and strengthen her political position.

• Qi Fang ordered the soldiers to fire on the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace warriors, killing more than a dozen before Yi Han fought him and the battle spread through the dungeon.
• Lin Bai quietly climbed onto the iron cages and assured Chu Jiangliu and the other captives that they were safe and that the Grand Princess had sent him to help.
• Lin Bai said Bai Xiaoxiao had asked him to watch the Qi King Manor and rescue any Young Lords or Princesses who fell into danger.
• The captives wept with gratitude and pledged their support to Bai Xiaoxiao and the imperial family.
• Lin Bai privately acknowledged that Bai Xiaoxiao had not sent him and that he was using the rescue to earn her gratitude and undermine the Qi King Manor.

Lin Bai learned that Spirit Sealing Powder had sealed the prisoners’ cultivation and went to find Qi Fang for the antidote. As Qi Fang’s soldiers charged him, Lin Bai finally drew his sword and unleashed the Heaven-Shocking Storm.

• Chu Jiangliu told Lin Bai that Qi Fang had drugged the prisoners with Spirit Sealing Powder, and Lin Bai decided to find the antidote on Qi Fang.
• The imprisoned Young Lords and Princesses thanked Lin Bai and promised support from their royal manors.
• Qi Fang defeated and wounded Yi Han after soldiers overwhelmed him, and Yi Han accused Lin Bai of luring Azure Cloud Terrace Palace’s disciples into danger.
• Qi Fang recognized Lin Bai and ordered his soldiers to kill him for the military merit and the Little Prince’s favor.
• Lin Bai warned the soldiers to retreat, but they kept charging, so he unleashed the Surging Wind Swordplay’s Heaven-Shocking Storm.

Lin Bai fought the Qi Family Army, cutting down its soldiers and defeating Qi Fang’s attacks. He broke the army’s Fierce Tiger Sky-Rending Formation and slew more than a hundred cultivators with one sword, leaving Chu Jiangliu and the others stunned.

• Lin Bai used Heaven-Shocking Storm and Wind Lightning Divine Wings to slaughter soldiers charging him, while Chu Jiangliu and the captive Young Lords urged him on.
• Qi Fang attacked Lin Bai with Heavenly Fiend Blade, but Lin Bai countered with Mountains and Rivers Eternal Silence and wounded him through his breastplate.
• Qi Fang ordered a hundred soldiers to form the Fierce Tiger Sky-Rending Formation, which charged at Lin Bai as Chu Jiangliu warned him not to meet it head-on.
• Lin Bai used the Martial Soul Secret Method—Break the Ban to shatter the fierce tiger formation with a single sword strike.
• Lin Bai unleashed Divine Ability—Gentle Sword and beheaded more than a hundred cultivators, astonishing Chu Jiangliu, Qi Fang, and the captive Young Lords.

Lin Bai killed Captain Qi Fang and used Soul Search to find the antidote to Spirit Sealing Powder, then helped the poisoned Young Lords and Princesses escape the dungeon. The survivors thanked Lin Bai and recognized that their shared ordeal had brought their manors closer together.

• Lin Bai defeated Captain Qi Fang, searched his memories for the antidote, and killed him after discovering his abuse of young girls.
• Yi Han escaped during the confusion, while Lin Bai found the antidote in Captain Qi Fang’s Storage Bag.
• Lin Bai distributed the antidote, restoring the Young Lords and Princesses’ cultivation, and Chu Jiangliu led them against the Qi Family Army.
• After an hour of fighting, the Young Lords and Princesses defeated the dungeon guards and escaped through the passageway.
• Chu Jiangliu and representatives of other manors thanked Lin Bai and offered him their support.

Lin Bai left the rescued Young Lords and Princesses to hunt demonic beasts and went searching for Lu Yuan and Zhang Lingdao. At a cave, Lu Yuan and Zhang Lingdao were ambushed by Luo Qixing, who defeated them while they were injured.

• Lin Bai departed after reminding the Young Lords and Princesses that little time remained in the Royal Hunting Garden, then chose to search for Lu Yuan and Zhang Lingdao.
• Lu Yuan followed a marker to a cave and found Zhang Lingdao recovering from injuries; Zhang Lingdao said he had separated from Lin Bai while escaping their pursuers.
• Luo Qixing tracked the marker to the cave, discovered Lu Yuan and Zhang Lingdao hiding, and attacked them.
• Luo Qixing said he had intended to kill Lin Bai and attacked Lu Yuan and Zhang Lingdao with Rakshasa Palm.
• Lu Yuan and Zhang Lingdao fought back with their swords, but Luo Qixing overwhelmed them and left both gravely wounded.

Xu Jiangsheng, alive but hidden behind a golden mask, intervened when Luo Qixing tortured Lu Yuan and Zhang Lingdao. He confronted Luo Qixing over a failed assassination from three years earlier and attacked him, recognizing the assassin’s Serpent’s Embrace technique as their fight began.

• Luo Qixing cut off Lu Yuan’s right arm and prepared to torture him further while Zhang Lingdao watched in horror.
• An unseen strike hit Luo Qixing and sent him flying, and Xu Jiangsheng emerged from the forest wearing a golden mask.
• Xu Jiangsheng recalled that Luo Qixing had tried to assassinate his father three years earlier and that Xu Jiangsheng’s sudden power of flame had stopped him.
• Xu Jiangsheng raised a fiery palm against Luo Qixing, who countered with Asura Palm and his dagger.
• Xu Jiangsheng recognized Luo Qixing’s dagger technique as the Edgeless Sect’s Serpent’s Embrace.

Xu Jiangsheng defeated Luo Qixing’s assassination attempt but failed to stop him from escaping, then waited in a cave with the wounded Lu Yuan and Zhang Lingdao for Lin Bai. When Lin Bai arrived, Xu Jiangsheng ambushed him and began a fierce battle.

• Xu Jiangsheng recognized Luo Qixing’s Serpent's Embrace technique, dodged it, and struck Luo Qixing hard enough to nearly shatter his heart.
• Luo Qixing escaped with the Blood Escape Technique, and Xu Jiangsheng returned to Lu Yuan and Zhang Lingdao to demand Lin Bai’s whereabouts.
• Xu Jiangsheng dragged the wounded Lu Yuan and Zhang Lingdao into a cave and waited because the Spirit Sword Sect’s markers led Lin Bai there.
• Lin Bai arrived at the cave, where Xu Jiangsheng struck him with a flaming palm; Lin Bai saw Lu Yuan’s severed arm and confronted Xu Jiangsheng.
• Xu Jiangsheng charged Lin Bai with a flaming punch, and Lin Bai countered with the Azure Song Sword and a series of Surging Wind Swordplay techniques that devastated the surrounding area.

Lin Bai fought Xu Jiangsheng in the Qi Tian Mountains, where Xu Jiangsheng revealed his Demonic Martial Soul and unleashed the World Cleansing Fire Lotus. As the flaming lotus erupted, Lin Bai summoned his Devouring Sword Soul to confront it.

• Lin Bai battled Xu Jiangsheng with Surging Wind Swordplay while Lu Yuan and Zhang Lingdao watched and recognized Lin Bai's strength.
• Xu Jiangsheng revealed that he knew Lin Bai's sword techniques because he had once died beneath them.
• Xu Jiangsheng summoned his Demonic Martial Soul and used the Martial Soul Secret Method, World Cleansing Fire Lotus, creating a colossal lotus of flames.
• The flaming lotus absorbed energy from heaven and earth and erupted, while martial artists across the region and observers in the imperial capital witnessed its power.
• Lin Bai called forth his Devouring Sword Soul as the flaming lotus exploded.

Lin Bai survived Xu Jiangsheng’s Demonic Martial Soul attack and revealed that he also possessed a Demonic Martial Soul. After Lu Yuan and Zhang Lingdao left the Qi Tian Mountains for treatment, Lin Bai resumed hunting demonic beasts and searched for stronger prey to earn enough points before dusk.

• Lin Bai used the Devouring Sword Soul to split Xu Jiangsheng’s exploding flame lotus and survived its force.
• Xu Jiangsheng recognized Lin Bai’s Demonic Martial Soul, then burned himself into a lump of charcoal before Lin Bai could kill him.
• Zhang Lingdao told Lin Bai that Luo Qixing had severed Lu Yuan’s arm, and Lin Bai vowed to avenge Lu Yuan.
• Lin Bai escorted Lu Yuan and Zhang Lingdao to the guard army, which took them back to the imperial capital for treatment.
• Lin Bai returned to the Qi Tian Mountains and hunted demonic beasts, but after earning only twenty-one thousand points, he searched the forest for Heaven Martial Realm beasts.

Lin Bai hunted demon beasts in the Qi Tian Mountains while seeking enough points to exchange for the Beacon Fire City Flower, then crossed paths with Yi Han and the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace martial artists. The chapter ends as Lin Bai and Yi Han face off, with Lin Bai unleashing Sword Intent against Yi Han’s Boundless Sea palm.

• Lin Bai killed a second-level Heaven Martial Realm bear demon and noted that he still needed far more points to obtain the Beacon Fire City Flower.
• After hearing a powerful roar, Lin Bai found Yi Han, Li Luobei, and other Azure Cloud Terrace Palace martial artists fighting a pack led by a third-level Heaven Martial Realm Wolf King.
• The Azure Cloud Terrace Palace martial artists killed the wolves, but Lin Bai used Wind Lightning Divine Wings to sweep away every corpse before they could collect them.
• Yi Han challenged Lin Bai and attacked with Azure Wave Palm, while Lin Bai countered with Surging Wind Swordplay; their first clash left both unharmed.
• Yi Han unleashed the second move of Azure Wave Palm, Boundless Sea, and Lin Bai answered with Sword Intent: Mountains and Rivers Eternal Silence.

Lin Bai defeated Yi Han and the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace martial artists, but Yi Han escaped by sacrificing Li Luobei. Li Luobei asked Lin Bai to kill Yi Han before Lin Bai killed him, and Lin Bai left the Qi Tian Mountains, intending to settle the matter at the state banquet.

• Yi Han lost to Lin Bai, then ordered the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace martial artists to attack him together.
• Lin Bai used Gentle Sword to kill the more than thirty attackers, leaving Yi Han and Li Luobei as the last opponents.
• Yi Han urged Li Luobei to fight Lin Bai while he fled, and Lin Bai defeated Li Luobei after three moves.
• Li Luobei asked Lin Bai to kill Yi Han and hack him into a thousand pieces, then Lin Bai killed him with a sword.
• Lin Bai collected the demon wolf corpses and left the Qi Tian Mountains, saying he would deal with Yi Han at the state banquet.

Lin Bai returned to the imperial capital while Chu Jiangliu and the other vassal kings’ children gathered to ask Spirit Sword Sect about him. Murong Qi threatened Lin Bai, prompting Chu Jiangliu to threaten Azure Cloud Terrace Palace in return.

• Lin Bai heard martial artists discussing the enormous flame lotus and wondered about the golden-masked man with a Demonic Martial Soul.
• Chen Gong, Lu Yuan, and Zhang Lingdao waited at Central City for Lin Bai, while Murong Qi claimed Lin Bai was as good as dead.
• More than six hundred sons and daughters of the vassal kings arrived together and exchanged their demon beasts for points tokens.
• Chu Jiangliu led the Young Lords and Princesses past Murong Qi to Spirit Sword Sect and asked whether Lin Bai had returned.
• Murong Qi promised that Azure Cloud Terrace Palace would make Lin Bai suffer, and Chu Jiangliu threatened that no disciple of the sect would leave the imperial capital alive if Lin Bai died.

Young Lords and Princesses invited Lin Bai to visit their royal estates to repay his kindness in the Qi Tian Mountains, while Murong Qi doubted that Lin Bai would return. Yi Han later stumbled into Central City and revealed that Lin Bai had killed Azure Cloud Terrace Palace’s disciples, leaving Chen Gong celebrating that Lin Bai had avenged Spirit Sword Sect’s fallen disciples.

• Chu Jiangliu and the other Young Lords and Princesses asked Chen Gong to pass along invitations for Lin Bai to visit their royal estates.
• The Young Lords and Princesses left Central City to report what had happened in the Qi Tian Mountains to their feudal kings.
• Murong Qi remarked that Lin Bai probably would not return, and Chen Gong fell silent.
• Yi Han returned badly wounded and told Murong Qi that Azure Cloud Terrace Palace’s disciples were all dead.
• Yi Han said Lin Bai had killed the disciples and begged Murong Qi to avenge them.
• Chen Gong laughed and declared that Lin Bai had avenged the Spirit Sword Sect disciples who died in the Royal Hunting Garden.

Lin Bai returned from the Royal Hunting Garden after killing the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace warriors, ending years of violence against Spirit Sword Sect disciples. Murong Qi tried to kill him, but Chen Gong intervened; Lin Bai then received 100,000 points and resolved to earn the million he needed for the Beacon Fire City Flower.

• Chen Gong recounted how Azure Cloud Terrace Palace had killed 231 Spirit Sword Sect experts and crippled 420 disciples over the past decade, and declared Lin Bai had avenged them.
• Lin Bai entered the city, and Yi Han urged Murong Qi to avenge the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace disciples.
• Murong Qi attacked Lin Bai, but Chen Gong blocked him and fought him until the imperial guards intervened.
• Murong Qi withdrew with Yi Han, warning Lin Bai and the Spirit Sword Sect that Azure Cloud Terrace Palace would not let the matter go.
• Chen Gong praised Lin Bai, who later submitted the demon beast corpses and received a token worth 100,000 points.
• Lin Bai noted he still needed 900,000 points to obtain the Beacon Fire City Flower and vowed to settle his grudges with Murong Qi.

Lin Bai prepared to earn more points at the imperial banquet tournament, where he planned to take the points of his enemies and claim a Beacon Fire City Flower. As the banquet approached, Azure Cloud Terrace Palace prepared Yi Han to kill Lin Bai, while King Qi remained unaware that the hostages in the Qi Tian Mountains had been rescued.

• Lin Bai learned that Qi Rui, Luo Qixing, Wan Xia, and Zhan Feng led the point rankings, and he vowed to take their points and avenge Lu Yuan.
• Chen Gong gave Lin Bai a Heaven-Prosperity Pill to restore his strength before the imperial banquet tournament.
• Murong Qi gave Yi Han a Golden Saint Pill and a Ghost Immortal Talisman, ordering him to kill Lin Bai at the banquet.
• Qi Rui told King Qi that the captured Young Lords and Princesses were secured in the Qi Tian Mountains, unaware that Lin Bai had already rescued them.

At the Divine Martial Nation’s state banquet in Chaoyang Palace, Lin Bai and the Spirit Sword Sect entered amid taunts from Azure Cloud Terrace Palace and renewed expectations that Lin Bai could restore the sect’s standing. The princes and military lords arrived, but Qi King Manor and Qi Rui were conspicuously absent.

• The banquet’s guests entered Chaoyang Palace in order, with merchants, officials, the Four Great Sects, princes and military lords, and finally the imperial family.
• Chen Gong urged Lin Bai to help Spirit Sword Sect avoid another humiliating defeat, while Lu Yuan expressed confidence in him.
• Murong Qi taunted Chen Gong and predicted Azure Cloud Terrace Palace would win; Yi Han threatened Lin Bai, who vowed to fulfill Li Luobei’s dying wish and kill him.
• The Four Great Sects entered Chaoyang Palace and took their assigned seats as the princes and military lords were called in.
• The princes and military lords arrived, but Qi King Manor and Qi Rui were missing, and the other lords proceeded to their seats.

At the Divine Martial Nation’s state banquet, Chu Jiangliu publicly thanked the Grand Princess for saving his life and pledged the Chu King Manor’s support to the imperial family. King Chu backed his son, retired, and secured Chu Jiangliu’s inheritance of the title and command of the manor’s million elite soldiers, leaving King Qi furious.

• Bai Huatian began the state banquet after King Qi and Qi Rui arrived late, signaling the Qi King Manor’s defiance of the imperial family.
• After three rounds of wine, Chu Jiangliu thanked Bai Xiaoxiao for saving his life and offered the Chu King Manor’s support to her and the imperial family.
• King Qi challenged whether Chu Jiangliu could speak for the Chu King Manor, and King Chu affirmed that his son’s words represented the manor.
• King Chu announced his retirement and asked Bai Huatian to pass the Chu King Manor’s title to Chu Jiangliu.
• Bai Huatian approved Chu Jiangliu’s inheritance and asked if he would command the manor’s million elite soldiers, and Chu Jiangliu agreed as King Qi seethed.

At the state banquet, Chu Jiangliu became head of the Chu King Manor, and Lin Xiaotian pledged the Lin King Manor’s support to Bai Xiaoxiao. More than seven hundred lords then swore allegiance to her, giving the imperial family command of over fifteen million troops and leaving it with the upper hand over the Qi King Manor.

• Bai Huatian granted Chu Xiang the title of Duke Protector of the Nation and named Chu Jiangliu the new head of the Chu King Manor.
• King Qi and Qi Rui discussed how the Chu King Manor had escaped the Qi Tian Mountains and threatened to destroy it if it refused to submit.
• Lin Xiaotian pledged the Lin King Manor’s support to Bai Xiaoxiao, and Lin Xia confirmed that he could speak for the manor.
• The Twin Sword King thanked Bai Xiaoxiao for rescuing his son and pledged the Twin Sword Royal Estate’s support.
• More than seven hundred lords rose to swear allegiance to Bai Xiaoxiao, enraging King Qi and stunning Qi Rui.
• Bai Huatian praised Bai Xiaoxiao for gaining the lords’ support, while Lin Bai concluded that the imperial family now had the upper hand over the Qi King Manor.

At the allegiance ceremony, Bai Xiaoxiao questioned how she had saved the feudal lords, and Lin Bai claimed he had rescued them in her name. After the emperor appointed Lin Bai a high-ranking commander, Chu Jiangliu moved to impeach the Qi King Manor, provoking King Qi.

• Bai Xiaoxiao asked the Young Lords and Princesses when she had saved their lives, and Chu Jiangliu identified Lin Bai as their rescuer.
• Lin Bai said Bai Xiaoxiao had entrusted him to protect the feudal lords’ heirs, and Bai Xiaoxiao accepted his explanation and thanked him.
• Qi Rui received word that Qi Fang and a thousand members of the Qi Family Army had died in battle in the Qi Tian Mountains dungeon, and he and King Qi realized Lin Bai had rescued the heirs.
• Bai Huatian appointed Lin Bai Commandant of the Imperial Guards and Bai Xiaoxiao’s personal guard, granting him command of one hundred thousand soldiers.
• Chu Jiangliu proposed joining the seven hundred and twenty-eight feudal kings to impeach the Qi King Manor, and King Qi angrily confronted him.