Recaps

Dan Xiaonan brought Lin Bai and Hong Su to a dilapidated courtyard at No. 28, Dongjia Alley, where they repaired the house and settled in. As they discussed their plans in the Divine Capital, Lin Bai warned Hong Su that his dangerous mission could get many people killed, but she chose to stay for a while.

• Dan Xiaonan showed Lin Bai and Hong Su the run-down courtyard in Dongjia Alley and promised to investigate the people Lin Bai was pursuing.
• Lin Bai and Hong Su cleaned the rooms and repaired the courtyard, with Lin Bai restoring a fallen tree and making a swing.
• Lin Bai and Hong Su recalled their parting at Divine Relic Ridge five or six years earlier and asked how each had come to the Central Sacred Nation.
• Lin Bai said he would leave the Divine Capital after completing his purpose, though he might die before then.
• Hong Su said she wanted to stay and offered to help, while Lin Bai cautioned that his dangerous affairs could get many people killed.

Lin Bai and Hong Su reunited in Badlands Prefecture and traded stories about their journeys. Their conversation was interrupted when the Crimson Alliance and Black Alliance began fighting outside Lin Bai’s courtyard, and he stepped toward the entrance as the battle damaged his wall.

• Hong Su told Lin Bai how her qin playing had earned her resources, how Li Feibai fell in love with her, and how she rejected him before their fight in the mountains.
• Lin Bai recounted his own experiences in the Central Sacred Nation, leaving out some details, and urged the injured Hong Su to rest.
• Lin Bai and Hong Su saw the Crimson Alliance and Black Alliance converge in Dongjia Alley, where their leaders accused each other of poisoning and stealing customers.
• The two alliances launched into a fierce battle, damaging nearby buildings and cracking Lin Bai’s courtyard wall.
• Hong Su urged Lin Bai not to get involved, but Lin Bai went to the entrance, saying he knew what he was doing.

Lin Bai stepped outside to stop the Crimson Alliance and Black Alliance from damaging his newly repaired courtyard, killing two attackers who threatened it. When Zhang Tian mocked him and threatened to destroy his home, Lin Bai held a blade to his throat, prompting Chen Feiying to call off the battle.

• Lin Bai asked the fighting factions to keep away from his courtyard wall, then killed an Apex Realm third-stage martial artist who attacked him.
• Lin Bai blocked a stray sword from hitting the wall and killed an Apex Realm fourth-stage martial artist who charged him.
• Zhang Tian of the Crimson Alliance and Chen Feiying of the Black Alliance questioned Lin Bai, who explained that he wanted them to fight somewhere other than his home.
• Zhang Tian threatened to smash Lin Bai's courtyard, and Lin Bai moved in a flash and pressed his sword into Zhang Tian's throat.
• Chen Feiying called for the battle to end and apologized to Lin Bai, saying the Black Alliance had not known anyone lived in Dead Man's Alley.

After the Crimson Alliance and Black Alliance withdrew, Lin Bai questioned Su Xiaotian, a beggar who sold information, about the factions and their strength. Su Xiaotian explained the dangers of Lin Bai’s new home in Dongjia Alley and said neither faction had experts at the peak of the Apex Realm.

• Chen Feiying and the Black Alliance left, and the Crimson Alliance martial artists withdrew in fury.
• Lin Bai confronted Su Xiaotian, who had been watching the courtyard, and persuaded him to answer three questions for free.
• Su Xiaotian explained that the Crimson Alliance controlled pleasure houses, gambling dens, and assassin organizations, while the Black Alliance controlled inns, underground arenas, and trading houses.
• Su Xiaotian told Lin Bai that Dongjia Alley was known as Dead Man’s Alley because the rival factions fought there, and that the previous resident, Mu Lang, had been killed at the gate three years earlier.
• Su Xiaotian said the factions had Apex Realm experts at the seventh or eighth level, but no martial artists at the peak of the Apex Realm.

Lin Bai learned that Su Xiaotian belonged to the Web of Intrigue but chose not to ask him for information that could expose his plans. Dan Xiaonan returned with news that Su Jin had been captured and was being held in Rong King Prefecture, leaving Lin Bai waiting for a chance to see him.

• Su Xiaotian told Lin Bai that no martial artists at the peak of the Apex Realm belonged to the Crimson Alliance or Black Alliance and revealed that he worked for the Web of Intrigue.
• Lin Bai considered asking how to enter the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau, then took back his spirit crystals rather than risk exposing his intentions.
• Dan Xiaonan returned to Lin Bai’s courtyard with a report that Su Jin had been captured in Dragon River Prefecture and taken to Rong King Prefecture.
• Dan Xiaonan explained that Prince Rong had ordered a hunt for Sword Lake remnants after they assassinated his second Young Lord and other court officials.
• Dan Xiaonan said she had asked Prince Rong to transfer Su Jin to Divine Capital, and Lin Bai resolved to wait so he could see him.

Dan Xiaonan arranged false identities for Lin Bai and Hong Su as Mu Ye and his wife, Mu Honghua, so they could remain hidden in the Divine Capital. After leaving, she investigated the vanished disciple of the Seventeen Musicians and learned that knowledge of the Lingbo Sword Shadow Tune pointed to a connection with him, whose entire lineage the Sacred Emperor had ordered exterminated.

• Dan Xiaonan gave Lin Bai and Hong Su Identity Tokens and told them to pose as Mu Ye and Mu Honghua, the younger brother and wife of the deceased covert agent Mu Lang.
• Dan Xiaonan warned Lin Bai to conceal his identity from the Divine Capital's informants and the Web, and he asked her to arrange a meeting with Su Jin as soon as possible.
• Dan Xiaonan left the residence, and Su Xiaotian reported that the Seventeen Musicians' adopted disciple had disappeared after the musician's death and was eventually presumed dead.
• Su Xiaotian told Dan Xiaonan that the Seventeen Musicians alone had known the Lingbo Sword Shadow Tune after his master died, so anyone who knew it was connected to the musician.
• Dan Xiaonan warned Su Xiaotian that the Sacred Emperor had ordered the Seventeen Musicians' entire lineage exterminated.

Lin Bai and Hong Su settled into life in Badlands Prefecture before Dan Xiaonan came to take Lin Bai to visit Su Jin in the Hanging Sword Bureau’s dungeon. They reached the Son of Heaven Palace, where Dan Xiaonan explained the Divine Capital’s powerful institutions, and the story left as she asked why Hong Su had stayed quiet.

• Lin Bai and Hong Su discussed their cover identities, agreed to protect each other, and settled into a courtyard in Badlands Prefecture.
• Over the following month, Lin Bai and Hong Su explored Badlands Prefecture and learned how difficult life in the Divine Capital could be.
• Dan Xiaonan told Lin Bai that Su Jin was being held in the Hanging Sword Bureau’s dungeon and arranged for Lin Bai and Hong Su to pose as visitors to Su Liang.
• Dan Xiaonan brought out three Wind Chaser Steeds, and Lin Bai and Hong Su rode with her to the Son of Heaven Palace.
• Dan Xiaonan explained that the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau had its own guarded palace and described the Dragon Court and Phoenix Pavilion as training grounds for the Divine Capital’s noble descendants.
• Dan Xiaonan asked why Hong Su had not asked questions and whether she already knew the Divine Capital well.

Lin Bai visited Su Jin in the Hanging Sword Bureau dungeon and asked how to enter the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau. Su Jin began to explain the only way, but the chapter ended before he revealed it.

• Dan Xiaonan brought Lin Bai and Hong Su into the Hanging Sword Bureau dungeon, explaining its layered formations and the Army Marquises who guarded it.
• Dan Xiaonan sent the warden away, gave Lin Bai the token to Su Jin's cell, and left to watch the corridor.
• Lin Bai found Su Jin chained and severely injured, and learned the Zhang Family had been punished while Su Jin was pressured to reveal the Sword Lake remnants.
• Su Jin said that someone might have used Sword Lake as a scapegoat for the Young Lord's murder, though he was unsure.
• Lin Bai used his Devouring Sword Soul to block the sound-stealing formations and asked Su Jin how to enter the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau.
• Su Jin said there was only one way to enter the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau, but he had not yet explained it.

Lin Bai learned that entering the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau required placing among the top ten in the Dragon Court and Phoenix Pavilion competition, so he demanded Dan Xiaonan help him join them. Dan Xiaonan agreed to find a way, making Lin Bai promise to retrieve her Sword Pill once she got him inside.

• Su Jin explained that the only realistic way for Lin Bai to enter the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau was to join Dragon Court or Phoenix Pavilion and place among the competition’s top ten.
• Dan Xiaonan secretly listened to Lin Bai and Su Jin through the dungeon’s eavesdropping formation, but the sound abruptly stopped, prompting her to hurry to Su Jin’s cell.
• Lin Bai told Dan Xiaonan that Su Jin suspected someone had used Sword Lake as a cover to target Prince Rong’s Young Lord and Prince Rong himself.
• Lin Bai demanded Dan Xiaonan use the third favor she owed him to get him into Dragon Court and Phoenix Pavilion, threatening to destroy her Sword Pill if she refused.
• Dan Xiaonan reluctantly agreed to think of a way to get Lin Bai admitted, on the condition that he retrieve her Sword Pill immediately afterward.

Lin Bai agreed to accompany Hong Su to find someone dangerous, and they went to Spring Breeze Pavilion, where Ji Yun was scheduled to perform. As they waited for the zither performance, Lin Bai asked Hong Su whether she had come to see Ji Yun.

• Dan Xiaonan promised to find Lin Bai a way into the Dragon Court and Phoenix Pavilion within half a month.
• Lin Bai explained to Hong Su that he could not rescue Su Jin from the heavily guarded Hanging Sword Bureau, but would act if a chance arose.
• Hong Su asked Lin Bai to accompany her on a dangerous search, and he agreed.
• The next evening, Lin Bai and Hong Su went to Spring Breeze Pavilion in the Crimson Alliance's pleasure district.
• An attendant told Lin Bai and Hong Su that Ji Yun would perform 'Spring River Nocturne' that day and corrected Hong Su's claim that Ji Yun was a disciple of the Seventeen Musicians.
• Lin Bai looked over the pavilion from their private room and asked Hong Su whether she had come to see Ji Yun.

Hong Su told Lin Bai how the Seventeen Musicians had rescued and raised her before the Sacred Emperor ordered their deaths, and linked their fate to a secret war between the Central Sacred Nation and Kunxu. The chapter left Lin Bai and Hong Su watching Master Ji begin his performance, with Hong Su revealing that he had not always been blind.

• Hong Su explained that the Seventeen Musicians had been celebrated musical masters before the Sacred Emperor ordered their clan exterminated more than twenty years earlier.
• Hong Su told Lin Bai that the Seventeen Musicians had rescued her as a child, adopted her, and taught her the Dao of Music, including composing “Requiem.”
• Hong Su said her foster father had sent her to Divine Relic Ridge and had been sentenced to death four years after adopting her.
• Hong Su described a secret war in which the Central Sacred Nation sent a vast army to Kunxu, and Lin Bai concluded that the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau’s records might reveal what had happened.
• Master Ji arrived at Spring Breeze Pavilion, and Hong Su told Lin Bai that he had not been blind before.
• Master Ji prepared his zither and began playing as the pavilion fell silent.

At Spring Breeze Pavilion, Hong Su recognized Master Ji’s performance of Spring River Nocturne and pursued him after confronting him about playing the complete piece. Lin Bai held off the Crimson Alliance’s martial artists so Hong Su could catch up with Master Ji, and they attacked him as the chapter ended.

• Master Ji performed Spring River Nocturne while Hong Su told Lin Bai about the piece’s history and her adoptive father.
• Hong Su challenged Master Ji to play the complete composition, and he recognized her as his Little Junior Sister before hurrying away.
• Hong Su pursued Master Ji, but Crimson Alliance martial artists blocked her and refused to let her pass.
• Lin Bai stepped in to cover Hong Su as she escaped the encirclement and continued after Master Ji.
• The Crimson Alliance martial artists attacked Lin Bai after he delayed them from following Hong Su.

Lin Bai fought Crimson Alliance martial artists at Spring Breeze Pavilion while a woman pursued Master Ji. After the Crimson Sky Token summoned hundreds of fighters, Elder Liu Hai joined the attack, and Lin Bai faced a sixth-stage Apex Realm opponent.

• Lin Bai held off dozens of Crimson Alliance martial artists while the woman went after Master Ji.
• Zhang Tian arrived, recognized Lin Bai, and attacked him, but Lin Bai sent him flying and pursued the other fighters.
• A Crimson Alliance martial artist launched the Crimson Sky Token, summoning fighters from across Badlands Prefecture and prompting a black-clothed man to send Cold Sword to investigate.
• Hundreds of Crimson Alliance martial artists gathered and charged at Lin Bai, who fought back with his sword.
• Elder Liu Hai arrived, heard the account of the disturbance, and punched toward Lin Bai.

Lin Bai defeated Elder Liu Hai with a powerful sword strike and flew away, while Hong Su confronted Master Ji about betraying their adoptive father. Their clash of zither music began with Master Ji playing the Yellow Springs Art, summoning ghost soldiers as the chapter recounted the piece’s bloody history.

• Elder Liu Hai attacked Lin Bai, but Lin Bai overwhelmed him with Mooncleave the Heavens and left the Crimson Alliance martial artists to summon their leader.
• Hong Su followed Master Ji into a deserted alley and accused him of betraying their adoptive father.
• Master Ji challenged Hong Su’s musical skill by attacking with zither notes that formed invisible blades, and Hong Su fought back with her own zither.
• Master Ji played the Yellow Springs Art, causing ghost generals and soldiers to emerge and confront Hong Su.
• The chapter recounted how the Seventeen Musicians rewrote the General’s Melody as the Yellow Springs Art after its music drove the Sacred Kingdom’s army to massacre the inhabitants of twenty-eight cities.

Hong Su defeated Master Ji in their zither duel and learned that he had informed the Sacred Emperor of her adoptive father's whereabouts, believing it was his master's order. Master Ji revealed that her adoptive father had been Lin Duo's sworn brother and one of the Peach Mountain Eighteen Immortals.

• Master Ji summoned Nether Generals through the Ghost Gate and sent them charging at Hong Su, who countered with the Song of Chaotic Times and destroyed the ghosts and gate.
• Hong Su explained that her adoptive father had created the Song of Chaotic Times to shatter every melody, leaving Master Ji injured and his zither broken.
• Master Ji returned the Hé Míng Zither to Hong Su and asked her to play it, then explained that he had notified the Sacred Emperor of his master's whereabouts at his master's request.
• Master Ji revealed his empty eye sockets and confessed to years of guilt over his role in his master's arrest and execution.
• Master Ji told Hong Su that her adoptive father had been Lin Duo's sworn friend and one of the Peach Mountain Eighteen Immortals.

Hong Su learned that her godfather, Master Ji, had been connected to the Peach Mountain Eighteen Immortals and killed him with the Hé Míng Zither. After Hong Su collapsed, an assassin tried to kill her and steal the zither, but Lin Bai intervened before the concealed sword cultivator attacked again.

• Master Ji told Hong Su that her godfather had been one of the Peach Mountain Eighteen Immortals and explained how the Sacred Nation had hunted them down.
• Master Ji asked Hong Su to kill him with the Hé Míng Zither, and she plucked its string, destroying him and the nearby buildings.
• Hong Su collapsed after using the last of her spiritual power to kill Master Ji.
• A black-robed sword cultivator attacked Hong Su and reached for the Hé Míng Zither, but Lin Bai arrived and knocked his sword away.
• The sword cultivator vanished into the wind and launched another concealed attack as Hong Su warned Lin Bai to be careful.

Lin Bai defeated Cold Sword’s assassination attempt and brought the wounded Hong Su back to Dongjia Alley, where she said Master Ji was dead. The Crimson Alliance investigated Lin Bai and paid Su Xiaotian for information, learning that he and Hong Su were Mu Ye and Mu Honghua from Beiliang Prefecture.

• Cold Sword attacked Lin Bai from the darkness, but Lin Bai blocked the strike with his flying swords and severed Cold Sword’s left arm as he fled.
• Lin Bai learned from Hong Su that Master Ji was dead, then carried the injured Hong Su back to Dongjia Alley.
• The Crimson Alliance Leader questioned Liu Hai and Zhang Tianzheng about Lin Bai, and Zhang Tianzheng said Lin Bai had once subdued him with a single sword.
• The Crimson Alliance Leader paid Su Xiaotian two hundred thousand spirit crystals for information about Lin Bai and Hong Su.
• Su Xiaotian identified the pair as Mu Ye and Mu Honghua, a married couple from Beiliang Prefecture, and offered another piece of information for an additional fee.

Su Xiaotian sold the Crimson Alliance Leader information revealing that Mu Ye was Mu Lang’s younger brother, then explained Mu Lang’s history as a three-way spy. The Crimson and Black Alliance Leaders agreed to join forces and kill Mu Ye before he could seek revenge.

• Su Xiaotian told the Crimson Alliance Leader that Mu Ye was Mu Lang’s younger brother and received two hundred thousand spirit crystals.
• The Crimson Alliance Leader recounted how Mu Lang had infiltrated both alliances and secretly served the Hanging Sword Bureau before the alliance leaders killed him three years earlier.
• Elder Liu Hai explained that Mu Lang had played the Crimson Alliance and Black Alliance against each other while reporting their movements to the Hanging Sword Bureau.
• The Black Alliance Leader contacted the Crimson Alliance Leader and proposed killing Mu Ye before he learned the truth about Mu Lang’s death.
• The Crimson and Black Alliance Leaders agreed to send their Grand Elders and hundreds of Apex Realm martial artists to kill Mu Ye that night.

Lin Bai sensed an attack coming and waited in his courtyard while Hong Su recovered from her injuries. Hundreds of Black Alliance and Crimson Alliance warriors attacked him, and after Lin Bai slaughtered many with his sword techniques, their eight sixth-stage leaders joined the fight.

• Lin Bai warned the injured Hong Su to stay inside because the wind was strong, then waited in the courtyard with his Demonic Sword.
• Hundreds of masked Apex Realm warriors surrounded Lin Bai, and he recognized them as two separate groups from the Black Alliance and Crimson Alliance.
• Lin Bai killed the first attacker and fought off the crowd with his Demonic Sword and flying swords while Hong Su watched helplessly from her window.
• Lin Bai unleashed Sword Scripture: Boundless Falling Leaves, killing or wounding more than half the attackers.
• The eight sixth-stage leaders recognized Lin Bai's technique as Sword Lake's secret art and charged into the battle.

Lin Bai fought off a joint attack by the Crimson Alliance and the Black Alliance, killing their elders and the remaining attackers. He left Hong Su at the courtyard and went to find someone to clean up the corpses.

• The elders of the Crimson Alliance and Black Alliance attacked Lin Bai after their forces were routed, and Liu Hai revealed that both alliances had joined forces to kill him.
• Lin Bai used the Soul Refining Banner and the second layer of the Invincible Sword Art to kill the eight elders, including Liu Hai.
• Lin Bai ordered his flying swords to pursue and kill the fleeing martial artists, leaving no survivors.
• Lin Bai told the frightened Hong Su to be careful and said he was going to find someone to clean up the courtyard.

After learning the Black Alliance’s location from Su Xiaotian, Lin Bai infiltrated its leader’s estate and killed the leader with a single sword strike. He appointed Chen Feiying as the new leader and left the surviving Black Alliance martial artists to decide whether to accept it.

• Lin Bai paid Su Xiaotian ten thousand spirit crystals for the locations of the Crimson Alliance and Black Alliance headquarters.
• Lin Bai entered the Black Alliance leader’s estate and announced that he had killed the guards outside.
• Chen Feiying recognized Lin Bai at the banquet as the man he had encountered in Dead Man’s Alley.
• Lin Bai revealed that the Black Alliance leader had sent people to kill him and said he had come to kill the leader.
• Lin Bai raised his cultivation to the sixth stage of the Apex Realm and beheaded the eighth-stage leader with one sword strike.
• Lin Bai declared Chen Feiying the new Black Alliance leader and asked the surviving martial artists whether they objected.

Lin Bai went to the Crimson Alliance after killing its rival leader and appointing Chen Feiying to lead the Black Alliance. At the Crimson Alliance headquarters, its members refused to attack him, and Cold Sword revealed his grudge against the alliance leader.

• Lin Bai appointed Chen Feiying as the new Black Alliance leader and warned the elders not to disturb his courtyard.
• Lin Bai entered the Crimson Alliance headquarters, where thousands of armed members stood ready but were too afraid to attack him.
• Lin Bai confronted the Crimson Alliance leader, rejected his offer of treasures and an apology, and demanded the leader's head.
• The Crimson Alliance leader ordered his members to attack Lin Bai, but no one moved.
• Cold Sword refused to obey, revealed that the Crimson Alliance had destroyed his family, and vowed to seek revenge once he repaid his debt to the leader.
• Lin Bai told the Crimson Alliance leader that his members would not obey because they knew his orders would get them killed.

Lin Bai killed the Crimson Alliance Leader, installed Han Zong as his successor, and returned to Dead Man’s Alley Twenty-Eight. At dawn, Han Zong and Chen Feiying arrived together at Lin Bai’s residence, apparently ready to discuss their new authority over Badlands Prefecture.

• Lin Bai explained why the Crimson Alliance martial artists had refused to obey their leader, then killed the Crimson Alliance Leader with a single sword strike.
• Lin Bai appointed Han Zong as the new Crimson Alliance Leader and ordered him to have the corpses removed from Residence Twenty-Eight.
• Han Zong sent martial artists to clear the corpses and bloodstains from Lin Bai’s courtyard, and Lin Bai later confirmed the cleanup to Hong Su.
• Lin Bai told Hong Su that he had killed the Crimson Alliance Leader, then rested through the night.
• At dawn, Han Zong and Chen Feiying met outside Lin Bai’s residence, acknowledged their new positions as alliance leaders, and knocked on his door.

Chen Feiying and Han Zong visited Lin Bai to apologize and persuade him to lead their respective alliances. After Chen Feiying gave Hong Su a treasured zither, both alliance leaders knelt and asked Lin Bai to become their Alliance Master, leaving him to consider their competing offers.

• Han Zong and Chen Feiying waited outside Lin Bai's residence and offered apologies and gifts for the previous night's attack.
• Hong Su refused Han Zong's weapons and treasures but accepted Chen Feiying's Crescent Moon zither, recognizing it as a King Grade Spirit Artifact once bestowed by the Sacred Emperor.
• Lin Bai emerged and praised Chen Feiying's gift while asking why the alliance leaders had come.
• Chen Feiying knelt and asked Lin Bai to become the Black Alliance's Alliance Master, pledging lifelong loyalty.
• Han Zong also knelt and asked Lin Bai to become the Crimson Alliance's Alliance Master.
• Lin Bai laughed at their competing requests and said he faced a difficult choice.

Lin Bai learned that Quan Guang, the steward of the Right Prime Minister's Residence, and other officials controlled the Crimson Alliance and the Black Alliance, taking most of their profits and forcing the Crimson Alliance into abusive trafficking. The chapter ended with Han Zong preparing to disclose every business the Crimson Alliance operated.

• Chen Feiying offered Lin Bai fine wine while he and Han Zong tried to persuade him to lead their alliances.
• Han Zong and Chen Feiying revealed that Quan Guang, Imperial General Hua Zu, and the Badlands Prefecture's Prefectural Assistant stood behind the two alliances and took most of their earnings.
• Han Zong disclosed that Quan Guang had made the Crimson Alliance arrange for women to be sent to officials and their descendants, where almost none survived.
• Lin Bai demanded a full account of the Crimson Alliance's dealings, and Han Zong began listing its businesses.