Chapter Summaries

Dan Xiaonan learned that the mysterious Xuan Tong had killed nearly five hundred Apex Realm martial artists and went to investigate his whereabouts. Meanwhile, Lin Bai, posing as Xuan Tong, left the Gongsun Family in Green Pine City after defeating its remaining challengers.

• The Dragon River Prefect told Dan Xiaonan that Xuan Tong had spent a month challenging cities and killing Apex Realm martial artists.
• The Dragon River Prefect used a challenge letter from Changshan City to identify five nearby cities where Xuan Tong might appear.
• Dan Xiaonan memorized the map and left the Prefectural Governor's Mansion with the two old men to search for Xuan Tong.
• Lin Bai defeated the Gongsun Family's martial artists in Green Pine City after slaughtering the Chen and Wang families' experts.
• The Gongsun Family elder admitted defeat and begged Lin Bai to spare the family, and Lin Bai walked away unchallenged.

After leaving Green Pine City, Lin Bai stopped at a roadside tavern for wine and discovered that the tavern was a trap set by Commandant Zhang and the Prefect Guards. He killed the guards despite drinking their poisoned wine, then faced Commandant Zhang alone.

• Lin Bai found a roadside tavern and ordered its finest wine, recognizing it as Mountain Spring Brew from Changshan City.
• Lin Bai exposed the waiter's act and drank the wine after the waiter and the martial artists revealed their trap.
• Commandant Zhang warned Lin Bai that the wine was poisoned and demanded that he surrender, but Lin Bai said the poison would take an hour to work.
• Commandant Zhang ordered the Prefect Guards to surround Lin Bai and stall him until the poison took effect.
• Lin Bai killed more than a hundred guards with one sword strike and two flying swords, leaving only Commandant Zhang alive.
• Lin Bai challenged Commandant Zhang to fight and show how many of his sword strikes he could withstand.

Lin Bai killed Commandant Zhang and the Prefect Guards accompanying him, then rode into the Qi Tian Mountains to confront the Prefectural Governor's Mansion. He left the gathered warriors stunned as they recognized him as Xuantong.

• Commandant Zhang used the Nine Heavens Reversal Slash against Lin Bai, but Lin Bai killed him with The Jianghu Has No Tears and revealed that he had never drunk the poisoned wine.
• Several days later, warriors discovered the corpses and identified them as members of the Prefect Guards, including a Commandant.
• Lin Bai rode a Little Donkey into the Qi Tian Mountains, where warriors had gathered to ask the Prefect to deal with him.
• Two members of the Prefect Guards tried to stop Lin Bai, and he killed them with two flying swords before continuing into the mountains.
• The warriors in the plaza recognized Lin Bai by his white hair and blood-red eyes and identified him as Xuantong.

Lin Bai, known as Profound Eyes, entered the Qi Tian Mountains and slaughtered the Prefect Guards who tried to stop him. The Dragon River Prefect gathered nine Commandants to confront him as Lin Bai approached the Prefectural City, where hundreds of guards surrounded him but dared not attack.

• The martial artists sounded the Qi Tian Mountains' warning drum after recognizing Lin Bai and learning he had killed Prefect Guards.
• Lin Bai rode Little Donkey toward the Prefectural City and killed the first squad of ten Prefect Guards with his flying swords.
• Lin Bai continued toward the highest peak, killing another squad of Prefect Guards along the way.
• The Dragon River Prefect learned that Profound Eyes was approaching, ordered all available guards and Commandants to gather, and prepared to kill Lin Bai himself.
• The Dragon River Prefect assembled nine Commandants and led them toward the Prefectural City entrance.
• Hundreds of Prefect Guards surrounded Lin Bai, but they retreated with each step he took and did not dare attack.

Lin Bai entered Prefectural City and challenged the Dragon River Prefect, killing all nine of his commandants in moments. He then turned his attention to the Dragon River Prefect, who demanded to know what kind of monster Lin Bai was.

• The Dragon River Prefect ordered the Prefect Guards to stand down and recognized Lin Bai as Profound Eye, whom he had met at Sword Lake.
• Lin Bai admitted that he had come to provoke the Prefect and seek an opponent.
• Lin Bai killed Commandant Yang with one sword, then faced the other eight commandants together.
• Lin Bai used the Sword Scripture and flying swords to kill the commandants, then killed the remaining four despite the Dragon River Prefect's intervention.
• Lin Bai faced the Dragon River Prefect, who stared at the dead commandants and asked what kind of monster Lin Bai was.

Lin Bai defeated the Dragon River Prefect after exposing the limits of the Sword Lake techniques the Prefect had mastered. He spared the Prefect and revealed that he had been seeking opponents to temper a sword technique of his own.

• Lin Bai challenged the Dragon River Prefect after killing the nine commandants, and the Prefect defended himself with Sword Lake’s Tears of the Jianghu technique.
• The Dragon River Prefect used Boundless Falling Leaves and Great River Eastward, devastating Prefectural City, but Lin Bai remained unharmed.
• Lin Bai countered with his own versions of all three techniques, overwhelmed the Dragon River Prefect, and destroyed the Prefectural Governor’s Mansion.
• Lin Bai stopped his blade at the Dragon River Prefect’s throat and said he had been challenging Apex Realm martial artists to temper a sword technique.
• Lin Bai dismissed the Sword Lake canon and claimed his own sword could cut down gods, annihilate souls, and command the Myriad Realms.

Lin Bai spared Dragon River Prefect in exchange for a chance to fight Hanging Sword Bureau experts and waited for them in Prefectural City. When Dragon River Prefect asked what Lin Bai sought through cultivation, Lin Bai left him with a mysterious smile.

• Dragon River Prefect offered to arrange a meeting with Hanging Sword Bureau experts, and Lin Bai agreed to spare him until they arrived within two days.
• Lin Bai sat outside a palace and ordered Dragon River Prefect to bring his exhausted Little Donkey up from the mountain and prepare fodder for him.
• Dragon River Prefect learned that a hundred thousand Prefect Guards were returning to the Qi Tian Mountains and said he would rely on the three Hanging Sword Bureau experts to kill Lin Bai.
• Dragon River Prefect led Little Donkey to Lin Bai, who welcomed the donkey and dismissed the prefect's claim that he would never run away.
• Dragon River Prefect suggested Lin Bai could gain fame, power, wealth, and beautiful women by joining the Dragon Slaying Bureau, but Lin Bai rejected those rewards.
• Dragon River Prefect asked what Lin Bai sought through cultivation, and Lin Bai answered only with a solemn gaze and a mysterious smile.

Lin Bai challenged the Dragon River Prefect over how the official’s life had dulled his swordsmanship, then declared that he would live according to his own will. While Lin Bai waited in the Prefectural City as thousands of Prefect Guards gathered, Dan Xiaonan returned and found him.

• Lin Bai insulted the Dragon River Prefect and said the Prefect’s official life had kept him from mastering the sword.
• The Dragon River Prefect admitted he had changed after taking office, while Lin Bai said he would accept change and act as he pleased.
• Lin Bai ordered the Dragon River Prefect to fetch fine fodder for My Little Donkey, then waited in the Prefectural City for two days as seventy thousand Prefect Guards assembled in the Qi Tian Mountains.
• Dan Xiaonan and two Hanging Sword Bureau martial artists returned to the Qi Tian Mountains and headed for the Prefectural City to ask about Xuantong.
• Lin Bai revealed himself to Dan Xiaonan, who was pleased that his demonic appearance could help her report the mission complete.

Lin Bai refused Dan Xiaonan’s order to come to the Hanging Sword Bureau and fought her before Elder Liang and Elder Zhou joined the battle. Their combined attack injured Lin Bai, who rose with a bloodthirsty smile, ready to continue.

• The Dragon River Prefect asked Dan Xiaonan to handle Lin Bai, and she identified herself as the Hanging Sword Bureau’s Sword Envoy.
• Dan Xiaonan challenged Lin Bai with the Azure Lotus Sword Art, but Lin Bai shattered her attack with his demonic sword.
• Dan Xiaonan called on Elder Liang and Elder Zhou to capture Lin Bai and take him back to the Hanging Sword Bureau.
• Elder Liang revealed his Demon God Claw Fist, while Elder Zhou used the Unbeaten Golden Body, and both attacked Lin Bai.
• Elder Zhou seized Lin Bai’s demonic sword as Elder Liang struck him with a claw, sending Lin Bai flying and leaving blood at his mouth.

Lin Bai fought Elder Liang and Elder Zhou, then revealed a devastating sword technique that killed both elders. The Dragon River Prefect recognized it as the sword technique Lin Bai had created himself.

• Elder Liang and Elder Zhou attacked Lin Bai together, but he held off their combined strength and forced them back.
• Lin Bai unleashed his sword technique, “Sever the Roots,” and killed Elder Liang along with his black eagle.
• Elder Zhou tried to protect Dan Xiaonan with his Unbeaten Golden Body, but Lin Bai broke through it with one sword and killed him.
• Dan Xiaonan cried out for the two elders, while the Dragon River Prefect identified Lin Bai’s sword technique as one he had created himself.

Lin Bai killed Elder Liang and Elder Zhou, defeated Dan Xiaonan, and fought the Dragon River Prefect’s tens of thousands of Prefect Guards. When his Devouring Sword Soul’s backlash struck and Little Donkey was killed, Lin Bai seized Dan Xiaonan and escaped, warning the Dragon River Prefect not to pursue him.

• Lin Bai snapped Dan Xiaonan’s King Grade Spirit Artifact, Nan Ge, and wounded her after killing Elder Liang and Elder Zhou.
• The Dragon River Prefect summoned tens of thousands of Prefect Guards, and Lin Bai charged into their ranks and slaughtered them.
• A Prefect Guard killed Little Donkey, enraging Lin Bai and prompting him to prepare to unleash the Devouring Sword Soul.
• The Devouring Sword Soul’s backlash caused Lin Bai to howl in pain, but he continued fighting off the Prefect Guards.
• Lin Bai took Dan Xiaonan hostage, forced the Dragon River Prefect to halt his men, and flew away with her, threatening to kill her if anyone followed.

Lin Bai regained control of his body after the Demon Seed’s power and Xuantong’s influence receded, but he feared Xuantong would take over permanently if he used that power again. Unable to remain in Dragon River Prefecture after Xuantong’s rampage, Lin Bai decided to head for the Central Sacred Nation’s divine capital, then noticed the mortally wounded Dan Xiaonan nearby.

• The Dragon River Prefect chose not to pursue Lin Bai and decided to report the incident to the Hanging Sword Bureau and the Sacred Emperor.
• Lin Bai’s flying sword crashed in a mountain range, and his sword strike left Dan Xiaonan gravely wounded when she tried to escape.
• Lin Bai struggled against Xuantong until the Demon Seed’s power faded, restoring his black hair and eyes and returning control of his body.
• Lin Bai resolved never to use the Demon Seed again and decided to leave Dragon River Prefecture for the Central Sacred Nation’s divine capital.
• Lin Bai spotted Dan Xiaonan dying nearby and looked at her with a trace of cunning.

Lin Bai saved the gravely wounded Dan Xiaonan, sealed her dantian, and forced her to swallow a Sword Pill that could kill her at his command. He left her to recover in a mountain town and returned to Thousand Leaf City, where he learned the Hanging Sword Bureau had destroyed the Zhang Lineage.

• Lin Bai carried the unconscious Dan Xiaonan to an inn in a mountain town and cared for her until she woke.
• Lin Bai told Dan Xiaonan he had sealed her dantian and forced a Sword Pill containing lethal Sword Qi down her throat.
• Lin Bai left Dan Xiaonan at the inn to recover, warning her that he could trigger the Sword Pill if she tried to escape.
• Lin Bai flew toward Thousand Leaf City and returned there three days later after using teleportation arrays.
• Lin Bai heard that the Hanging Sword Bureau had destroyed the Zhang Lineage overnight and reacted with disbelief.

Lin Bai found the Zhang family estate deserted and learned from a Zhao family elder that the Hanging Sword Bureau had captured Su Jin and several Zhang family members. He left Thousand Leaf City determined to find Su Jin and rely on Dan Xiaonan to conceal his actions in Dragon River Prefecture.

• Lin Bai entered the ruined Zhang family estate and found Su Jin missing.
• Zhao family martial artists ambushed Lin Bai, but he killed them and defeated their elder.
• The Zhao family elder revealed that the Hanging Sword Bureau had captured Su Jin, the Zhang family head, and Zhang Zhengqing.
• Lin Bai killed the elder, burned the bodies, and left Thousand Leaf City.
• Lin Bai decided he had to find Su Jin and rely on Dan Xiaonan to learn where the Hanging Sword Bureau had taken him and conceal the events in Dragon River Prefecture.

Lin Bai pressured Dan Xiaonan to accompany him to the Divine Capital, threatening to shatter the Sword Pill inside her if he was captured. As they departed, Dan Xiaonan realized his question about the Hanging Sword Bureau’s prisons suggested he was connected to Sword Lake.

• Lin Bai returned to the inn and asked Dan Xiaonan whether she had found a way to remove the Sword Pill, but she said every attempt risked shattering it.
• Dan Xiaonan warned Lin Bai that the Central Sacred Nation would hunt him for killing the Prefect Guards and destroying the Dragon River Prefect's Mansion, and urged him to flee to one of the four great continents.
• Lin Bai refused to flee and announced that he was heading to the Divine Capital, threatening to crush Dan Xiaonan’s Sword Pill if he was captured.
• Dan Xiaonan agreed to travel with Lin Bai, explaining that he would be killed near the Divine Capital without her help and that they could not use teleportation arrays nearby.
• After Lin Bai took out a spirit boat and they set off, he asked where the Hanging Sword Bureau imprisoned its captives, and Dan Xiaonan suspected he was a martial warrior from Sword Lake.

Lin Bai learned from Dan Xiaonan that the Sacred Emperor had entered life-and-death seclusion ten years earlier, leaving five figures with authority over the Hanging Sword Bureau. He revealed that he was searching for Su Jin and bargained with Dan Xiaonan for her help, beginning with a promise to suppress news of his actions in Dragon River Prefecture.

• Dan Xiaonan explained that the Four Great Princes and the Imperial Advisor could now mobilize the Hanging Sword Bureau because the Sacred Emperor had delegated authority before entering seclusion.
• Lin Bai told Dan Xiaonan he was searching for Su Jin, a Sword Lake elder captured after the bureau investigated the sect’s destruction.
• Lin Bai offered to extract Dan Xiaonan’s Sword Pill if she did three things for him, and she agreed.
• Lin Bai made his first request: Dan Xiaonan had to keep the Hanging Sword Bureau and other martial artists from learning about his actions in Dragon River Prefecture.
• Dan Xiaonan agreed to suppress the news for at most one year, and Lin Bai accepted the limit.

Lin Bai persuaded Dan Xiaonan to help him rescue Su Jin and travel with him to Divine Capital. After reaching Spirit Province Prefecture by teleportation array, Dan Xiaonan warned that they could no longer use the arrays without attracting the Hanging Sword Bureau's attention.

• Lin Bai decided he could use his identity as a Sword Lake disciple to hide his connection to the crimes he had committed, then jokingly claimed Su Jin was his adoptive father.
• Dan Xiaonan agreed to help Lin Bai rescue Su Jin, but warned him that Divine Capital's nobles often used straightforward people as swords and chess pieces.
• Dan Xiaonan explained that she needed to return to the Hanging Sword Bureau to investigate where Su Jin was being held and who had ordered his capture.
• Lin Bai and Dan Xiaonan traveled to Xuanyang City, where Dan Xiaonan used her Hanging Sword Bureau token to secure free passage through the teleportation array.
• After teleporting to Spirit Province Prefecture, Dan Xiaonan told Lin Bai they had to stop using teleportation arrays to avoid alerting the Hanging Sword Bureau.

Lin Bai and Dan Xiaonan traveled by spirit boat from Spirit Province Prefecture into Rong King Prefecture, where Dan Xiaonan explained the Eternal Sky Defense Formation’s power and the surveillance that covered the region. She described the powerful Hai Chuan Li Family, a major lineage watched closely by the Hanging Sword Bureau.

• Dan Xiaonan warned Lin Bai that entering Rong King Prefecture would bring them into territory monitored by the Hanging Sword Bureau and Dragon Slaying Bureau, but Lin Bai chose to continue toward the Divine Capital.
• After five days, Lin Bai and Dan Xiaonan entered Rong King Prefecture, where Lin Bai sensed that the spiritual energy was far denser than in Spirit Province Prefecture.
• Dan Xiaonan explained that the Eternal Sky Defense Formation gathered spiritual energy in the four royal prefectures and the Divine Capital, and that the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau could use it to locate people at great cost.
• Dan Xiaonan told Lin Bai that sects did not operate in the royal prefectures, where princes, lineages, nobles, and military forces held power.
• Dan Xiaonan described the Hai Chuan Li Family as a lineage in Rong King Prefecture whose influence and strength rivaled Prince Rong’s residence, making it a major target of Hanging Sword Bureau surveillance.

Dan Xiaonan explained the Hai Chuan Li Family’s influence and the Central Sacred Nation’s reasons for tolerating it as Lin Bai and she traveled toward the Divine Capital. Near the edge of the Hai Chuan Prefecture, a mysterious musician’s sword-infused melody drew their attention, and Lin Bai recognized its changed tune as the Thunder Control Tune.

• Dan Xiaonan told Lin Bai that the Hai Chuan Li Family was one of the Central Sacred Nation’s eight great clans and explained why the nation sought to win it over rather than destroy it.
• Lin Bai and Dan Xiaonan traveled for seven or eight days, entered the Li Family’s vast Hai Chuan Prefecture, and continued toward the Divine Capital without trouble.
• As they neared the prefecture’s edge, Lin Bai detected a fight and turned the spirit boat away to avoid getting involved.
• A melody identified by Dan Xiaonan as the lost Lingbo Sword Shadow Tune carried sharp sword intent, and she explained its history and the deaths of the Seventeen Musicians.
• When the music shifted and thunder roared, Dan Xiaonan found the new tune unfamiliar, but Lin Bai recognized it as the Thunder Control Tune.

Lin Bai reached a battlefield where the Red-Clad Woman was near death after refusing Li Feibai’s advances. He drove back Li Feibai’s men and reunited with the tearful woman, leaving the confrontation with the Li Family unresolved.

• Lin Bai heard the Thunder Control Tune and piloted his spirit boat toward the battlefield despite Dan Xiaonan’s warning.
• The Red-Clad Woman, badly injured and out of spiritual power, refused Li Feibai and told him her heart belonged to someone else.
• Li Feibai ordered his four subordinates to cripple the Red-Clad Woman and take her away, while she prepared to end her own life.
• Lin Bai broke free of Dan Xiaonan and rushed to the Red-Clad Woman’s defense.
• Lin Bai’s sword strike forced Li Feibai’s four subordinates back, and he greeted the Red-Clad Woman as she wept at seeing him.