Chapter Summaries

Lin Bai reorganized the Sword Alliance by establishing six halls and assigning twelve martial artists bearing Night Raven Feathers to lead them, while White Crane began winning the alliance’s support. As reforms spread, Chen Feiying and Han Zong plotted to secretly remove the treasuries’ valuables before handing them over.

• Lin Bai appointed White Crane to lead the Sword Hall and named leaders for the Punishment, Benevolence, Martial, Pigeon, and Assassination Halls.
• Lin Bai ordered Yi Ersan and Si Ce to monitor the Crimson Gate and Black Gate treasuries while White Crane worked to secure support for the six halls.
• White Crane carried out sweeping reforms, and the new halls won support from many lower-level martial artists despite resistance from some alliance leaders.
• Han Zong and Chen Feiying discussed how the reforms had strengthened Lin Bai’s control and worried about surrendering their treasuries.
• Han Zong proposed secretly removing the treasuries’ rare valuables and giving White Crane empty treasuries, and Chen Feiying agreed it was a good plan.

As the Six Halls steadily took control of the Sword Alliance, Han Zong and Chen Feiying began moving resources from their treasure vaults rather than surrendering them. Lin Bai authorized Si Ce to use their attempt to seize the vaults as grounds to kill them and eliminate the Black Gate and Crimson Gate.

• The Six Halls recruited Sword Alliance disciples with training and generous stipends, weakening Han Zong and Chen Feiying's influence.
• Yi Ersan and Si Ce reported that Chen Feiying was eyeing the Black Alliance vault and Han Zong had begun moving resources from the Crimson Alliance vault.
• Lin Bai agreed with Si Ce's plan to catch Han Zong and Chen Feiying moving the vaults and entrusted the matter to him, the Six Halls, and the Twelve Crows.
• Si Ce told White Crane that Han Zong and Chen Feiying had to die so the Sword Alliance could eliminate its branches, and White Crane agreed to summon the Twelve Crows.

After the Night Emperor’s forces seized control of the Sword Alliance, Chen Feiying tried to secretly empty the Black Alliance’s treasure vault. Yi Ersan and the other hall leaders stopped him, and Liu Dao severed Chen Feiying’s sword hand before the group was ordered arrested.

• Chen Feiying and Han Zong began moving the Black Alliance and Crimson Alliance treasure vaults after Si Ce devised a plan.
• Chen Feiying opened the Black Alliance’s vault and had his trusted men load its resources into Storage Bags.
• Yi Ersan, Liu Dao, Cold Sword, Su Zhi, and their forces surrounded Chen Feiying as he left the vault.
• Yi Ersan revealed that the Night Emperor had sent them and demanded that Chen Feiying surrender the Storage Bags and return to the Punishment Hall.
• Chen Feiying drew his sword, and Liu Dao severed his right hand before Yi Ersan ordered his men seized.

Han Zong and Chen Feiying were captured while attempting to move the Crimson Alliance and Black Alliance treasure vaults, and Lin Bai ordered a joint trial before visiting them in the dungeon. Chen Feiying accused Lin Bai of planning to destroy both alliances regardless, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Han Zong tried to move the Crimson Alliance treasury, but Si Ce and the other hall masters confronted him, and he surrendered after learning the Black Alliance's vault was also under attack.
• Si Ce returned Han Zong and the captured allies to the Sword Alliance, where Yi Ersan arrived with Chen Feiying and the others; Lin Bai ordered a joint trial for the next day.
• Lin Bai put on the Rose Mask and visited Han Zong and Chen Feiying in the Punishment Hall dungeon.
• Han Zong begged Lin Bai for another chance, while Chen Feiying argued that Lin Bai intended to eliminate both alliances and their leaders to unify the Sword Alliance.
• Lin Bai asked Chen Feiying to state any final wishes.

Lin Bai authorized a joint trial that sentenced Han Zong, Chen Feiying, and their followers to death for stealing alliance treasuries. Just as Ye Liang and Cold Sword moved to execute the two gate masters, Lin Bai intervened and knocked their swords aside, leaving their fate unresolved.

• Lin Bai rejected White Crane’s plea for leniency and ordered the Sword Hall to preside over the trial with the Punishment Hall and Benevolence Hall assisting.
• White Crane announced that Han Zong, Chen Feiying, and more than two hundred martial artists had been sentenced to death for stealing alliance wealth.
• Ye Liang and Cold Sword led the Assassination Hall in executing the prisoners while Lin Bai watched in silence.
• Chen Feiying accepted his death, while Han Zong begged Cold Sword to plead for his life.
• Lin Bai opened his eyes and used two flying swords to knock aside Ye Liang and Cold Sword’s blades before they could kill Han Zong and Chen Feiying.

Lin Bai spared Han Zong and Chen Feiying publicly, ordering their cultivation crippled and their exile from Divine Capital, while White Crane and Hua Meiren explained how his apparent mercy asserted his authority and left their deaths to others. The Hall Masters recognized that the two former leaders had to die to extinguish loyalty to their old factions, and Hua Meiren departed resolved to follow Lin Bai.

• Lin Bai halted the execution of Han Zong and Chen Feiying, ordered their cultivation destroyed, and left the Punishment Hall.
• Cold Sword and Ye Liang crippled Han Zong and Chen Feiying, then had them escorted out of Divine Capital.
• Hua Meiren explained that Lin Bai’s order gave Si Ce the choice to kill the exiles secretly or let them live, while White Crane said the public denial demonstrated Lin Bai’s authority.
• White Crane and Hua Meiren agreed that Han Zong and Chen Feiying had to die to end veteran disciples’ attachment to the Crimson Gate and Black Gate.
• Hua Meiren told White Crane she wanted to follow Lin Bai and make a name for herself, then left the Punishment Hall.

Lin Bai punished Si Ce for killing Han Zong and Chen Feiying, then learned that he could enter the Dragon Court and Phoenix Pavilion as Shui Qiudie’s servant. He agreed to join the Iron Sword Marquis Estate and planned to leave with Dan Xiaonan the next morning.

• Si Ce brought Lin Bai the heads of Han Zong and Chen Feiying, explaining that he had killed them to protect the Sword Alliance.
• Lin Bai stopped Si Ce from taking his own life and ordered him to accept punishment from Daoist Tianxin and Di Zhou.
• Dan Xiaonan explained that Lin Bai could enter the Dragon Court and Phoenix Pavilion as a servant accompanying a noble scion.
• Dan Xiaonan arranged for Lin Bai to serve Shui Qiudie of the Iron Sword Marquis Estate, and Lin Bai accepted despite their past conflict.
• Lin Bai said he could not leave that day, and Dan Xiaonan agreed to pick him up at dawn the next morning.

After securing the Sword Alliance’s immediate plans, Lin Bai left Badlands Prefecture with Dan Xiaonan for the Iron Sword Marquis Estate in Wan Xing Estate. He was brought before Shui Qiudie, who planned to punish him for offending her, while Lin Bai remained unafraid.

• Lin Bai told the Sword Alliance’s leaders to consolidate their control of Badlands Prefecture and stall negotiations with the Imperial General, the Right Prime Minister’s Residence, and the Prefectural Assistant.
• At dawn, Dan Xiaonan escorted Lin Bai from Badlands Prefecture to Wan Xing Estate, explaining that she had secured him a place in the Dragon Court and Phoenix Pavilion by presenting him as Shui Qiudie’s servant.
• Dan Xiaonan admitted she hoped Shui Qiudie would torment Lin Bai as payback for an old grudge.
• Lin Bai and Dan Xiaonan entered the Iron Sword Marquis Estate, where Shui Qiudie eagerly awaited Lin Bai and promised to teach him the consequences of offending her.
• Dan Xiaonan left Lin Bai with Shui Qiudie, but Lin Bai calmly faced the young princess without fear.

Shui Qiudie tested Lin Bai's strength before allowing him to accompany her to Dragon Court Phoenix Pavilion. Lin Bai defeated her martial artists twice, leaving Shui Qiudie furious and the men afraid of him.

• Shui Qiudie told more than twenty Iron Sword Army commandants to beat Lin Bai and ordered them to leave him with one breath.
• Lin Bai used Mooncleave Seeking Heaven to send the commandants flying, then asked Shui Qiudie whether he had passed the test.
• Shui Qiudie dismissed the defeat as a warm-up and ordered the men to attack Lin Bai again with their weapons.
• Lin Bai defeated all the commandants in a rapid series of sword strikes, and Shui Qiudie berated them as useless good-for-nothings.

Shui Qiudie assigned Lin Bai an impossible cleaning and water-boiling task to humiliate him, but he used the Sword Alliance to arrange the supplies she demanded. Lin Bai left the work in motion and planned to play along with her until sunset.

• Shui Qiudie made Lin Bai sweep her bloodstained courtyard without spiritual power and ordered him to prepare a pool of Tianquan Mountain spring water heated with Thousand-Blaze Ironwood for more than five hundred servants.
• Lin Bai finished cleaning after several hours, and Lin Yuan explained that the spring water was far away and the ironwood was nearly impossible to burn.
• Lin Bai contacted White Crane and asked for ten thousand jin of spring water and enough Thousand-Blaze Ironwood to heat it before sunset.
• White Crane sent several hundred fast Sword Alliance cultivators carrying a huge cauldron toward Tianquan Mountain to fetch the water and heat it on the way back.
• Lin Bai arranged to collect the supplies outside the Iron Sword Marquis Estate and resolved to play along with Shui Qiudie.

Lin Bai outmaneuvered Shui Qiudie by delivering and heating spring water from Tianquan Mountain, then became known throughout the Iron Sword Marquis Estate for handling her impossible demands. The Iron Sword Marquis learned that Lin Bai was an assumed name and that Lin Bai had come to the Divine Capital seeking his brother Mu Lang's remains.

• Lin Bai arranged for Sword Alliance martial artists to bring spring water from Tianquan Mountain, then carried the cauldron into the Iron Sword Marquis Estate and heated it with Thousand-Blaze Ironwood.
• Shui Qiudie accused Lin Bai of using ordinary water, but Lin Yuan confirmed that it was genuine spring water from Tianquan Mountain, forcing her to concede the contest.
• Over the following days, Lin Bai completed Shui Qiudie's difficult tasks, and stories of his feats spread among the estate's servants.
• The Iron Sword Marquis asked Wei Yang to investigate Lin Bai, and Wei Yang reported that Lin Bai's true name was Mu Ye, that he sought his elder brother Mu Lang's remains, and that Dan Xiaonan had recommended him for service to Shui Qiudie.

Lin Bai met the Iron Sword Marquis after Shui Qiudie complained that he had bullied her, but her father saw through her story and recognized Lin Bai’s abilities. He offered to make Lin Bai Shui Qiudie’s guard so he could enter Dragon Court and Phoenix Pavilion, and Lin Bai asked whether that would spare him from sweeping.

• Shui Qiudie complained to the Iron Sword Marquis that Lin Bai had bullied her, but he pointed out that she had been making things difficult for Lin Bai and he had completed every task.
• The Iron Sword Marquis told Shui Qiudie to prepare for Dragon Court and Phoenix Pavilion and spend time with her mother, then sent Butler Wei Yang to summon Lin Bai.
• Butler Wei Yang told the Iron Sword Marquis that Lin Bai had defeated more than twenty Iron Sword Army commanders with one sword strike.
• The Iron Sword Marquis questioned Lin Bai about whether his real name was Mu Ye and whether he was a Hanging Sword Bureau undercover agent; Lin Bai denied being an agent and explained his prepared cover story.
• The Iron Sword Marquis offered to promote Lin Bai from Shui Qiudie’s servant to her guard, and Lin Bai asked whether he would no longer have to sweep the floor.

Lin Bai accepted Iron Sword Marquis’s offer to become Shui Qiudie’s guard, ending his servant duties but binding his life to hers. Two days later, he escorted her to Dragon Court in the Divine Capital, where her cultivation was entrusted to its elders.

• Iron Sword Marquis appointed Lin Bai as Shui Qiudie’s guard and gave him a token, warning that the guards would die if she came to harm.
• Shui Qiudie tried to make Lin Bai resume sweeping, but he showed her the token and explained his new position; she protested to her father and mother.
• After two days, Iron Sword Marquis selected nine additional guards and sent Lin Bai, Shui Qiudie, and a hundred servants to Dragon Court and Phoenix Pavilion.
• Iron Sword Marquis’s party traveled along Dragon Phoenix Avenue to Dragon Court, where elders welcomed them.
• Iron Sword Marquis entrusted Shui Qiudie’s cultivation to the elders, and she departed in the carriage while her father called after her with advice.

Lin Bai settled into his quarters on Fragrant Mountain and considered how to qualify for the Dragon Court Pavilion’s year-end martial competition so he could reach the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau. While exploring the Dragon Court with Lu Yin, he learned it held vast archives that might contain the missing volumes of his Five Elements Divine Lightning Manual, but their conversation was interrupted by news that the Grand Princess had arrived.

• Shui Qiudie arrived at Fragrant Mountain, where the Dragon Court elders showed her the main hall and arranged residences for her guards.
• Lin Bai settled into his courtyard and planned how to enter the Dragon Court Pavilion’s martial competition to earn a visit to the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau.
• Lin Bai explored Fragrant Mountain while Shui Qiudie stayed inside the main hall.
• Lin Bai met Lu Yin at a cliff, and they discussed the Dragon Court Pavilion’s extensive collection of cultivation manuals and ancient texts.
• Lin Bai wondered whether the Pavilion might contain the missing Fire and Gold Divine Lightning volumes before an enraged voice summoned him and Lu Yin to meet the Grand Princess.

Shui Yunmeng warned Shui Qiudie to behave at the Dragon Court and told her to report to the Dust Courtyard. Shui Qiudie began her training under the stern Instructor Murong, whose intimidating presence left the Little Princess frightened.

• Duan Long summoned Lin Bai and Lu Yin to meet Shui Yunmeng, and Lu Yin explained that the Grand Princess was Shui Qiudie's elder sister and a seventh-level Apex Realm martial artist.
• Shui Yunmeng told Shui Qiudie to cultivate properly and report to the Dust Courtyard, then warned the ten guards that they would be held responsible if the Little Princess caused trouble.
• Lu Yin explained that the Dragon Court and Phoenix Pavilion divided their cultivation regions into the Dust Courtyard, Star Tower, Moon Palace, and Sun Hall according to martial artists' cultivation levels.
• The next day, a Dragon Court envoy led Shui Qiudie and her guards from Fragrant Mountain to the Dust Courtyard, where he completed her registration.
• The envoy assigned Shui Qiudie to Instructor Murong, whose sharp glance made the Little Princess tremble with fear.

Shui Qiudie began training at the Dragon Court under Murong Bing, but her first spar exposed that she had never learned to fight. Humiliated and in tears, she fled the arena, while Lin Bai worried that she would leave the Dragon Court and take him with her.

• Murong Bing introduced herself as Shui Qiudie's instructor and ordered Lin Bai and the other guards to wait outside the Martial Arts Arena.
• Murong Bing asked Lu Si'en to test Shui Qiudie's abilities, but Shui Qiudie panicked and fell when Lu Si'en approached with her sword.
• Duan Long rushed in to protect Shui Qiudie and attacked Lu Si'en, but Murong Bing struck him down before his saber could hit her.
• Murong Bing mocked Shui Qiudie for her inability to fight, and the watching martial artists whispered that she had disgraced the Iron Sword Marquis.
• Shui Qiudie ran from the arena in tears, and Lu Yin predicted she would demand to return home, leaving Lin Bai worried he would have to leave the Dragon Court too.

After the Little Princess demanded to return home, Lin Bai and Lu Yin argued with Duan Long over their duties as guards while they waited for Shui Yunmeng to comfort her. Lin Bai then asked Lu Yin how they could leave their guard posts and become true disciples of Dragon Court and Phoenix Pavilion, and Lu Yin revealed that a way existed.

• The Little Princess cried that she wanted to leave Dragon Court and return to the Iron Sword Marquis Estate, prompting Duan Long to order the guards to arrange her departure.
• Lin Bai and Lu Yin refused to act on the Little Princess's behalf, explaining that Dragon Court had to handle her withdrawal and that their duty was to protect her.
• Duan Long defended his decision to intervene at the Martial Arts Arena, saying he would risk his life rather than gamble with the Little Princess's safety.
• Lu Yin told Lin Bai that he was a lieutenant in the Iron Sword Army's Ninth Regiment Scout Battalion.
• Shui Yunmeng arrived, comforted Shui Qiudie, and ordered the guards to protect the Little Princess before leaving Fragrant Mountain.
• Lin Bai asked Lu Yin how they could become true disciples of Dragon Court and Phoenix Pavilion, and Lu Yin confirmed there was a way.

Lu Yin explained the three conditions Lin Bai needed to meet to become a true Dragon Court disciple, while Lin Bai saw little chance of securing the required recommendations. That night, Lin Bai found Shui Qiudie crying on a cliff, defeated her easily in a spar, and urged her to answer humiliation by training until she could overcome those who mocked her.

• Lu Yin told Lin Bai that he needed recommendations from Little Princess and a Dragon Court elder or instructor, followed by a test of his background and talent, to become a disciple.
• Lin Bai worried that his strained relationship with Shui Qiudie and his lack of connections would make the recommendations difficult to obtain.
• At midnight, Lin Bai found Shui Qiudie crying on a cliff and agreed to fight her after suppressing his cultivation to her level.
• Lin Bai dodged Shui Qiudie's attacks until she exhausted herself, then explained that strength came from training and experience.
• Shui Qiudie asked what Lin Bai would do after suffering humiliation, and he said he would train until he could defeat everyone who mocked him.

Lin Bai told Lu Yin he intended to become a Dragon Court disciple, despite the assessment’s barriers against people from humble backgrounds. Shui Qiudie chose to stay at the Dust Courtyard and began training, repeatedly getting back up after Lu Si'en knocked her down.

• Lin Bai admitted to Lu Yin that he wanted to become a Dragon Court disciple, and Lu Yin warned him that the Dragon Court made the assessment difficult for candidates of humble origins.
• Shui Qiudie shattered the withdrawal letter Shui Yunmeng brought and declared she would stay and dominate the Dust Courtyard.
• Shui Qiudie went to the Dust Courtyard and asked Instructor Murong Bing to train her, ignoring the martial artists who mocked her.
• Instructor Murong Bing paired Shui Qiudie with Lu Si'en, and Shui Qiudie promised the Iron Sword Marquis Estate would not retaliate against Lu Si'en or her Lineage.
• Lu Si'en repeatedly knocked Shui Qiudie down, but Shui Qiudie kept rising and faced her again.

After Shui Qiudie endured a day of training and repeated defeats, she decided to learn combat skills from Lin Bai and his fellow guards. Lin Bai agreed to teach her in exchange for a recommendation to become a Dragon Court disciple, and Shui Qiudie challenged him to help her defeat Lu Si'en the next day.

• Shui Qiudie kept getting knocked down by Lu Si'en during training but continued fighting until Murong Bing ended the session.
• Lin Bai collected healing pills and arranged for Shui Qiudie's maids to treat her injuries.
• That night, Shui Qiudie summoned the guards and announced that she wanted them to teach her their fighting skills.
• Lin Bai described his three abilities: defeating opponents, fighting and killing on the battlefield, and escaping certain death.
• Shui Qiudie chose to learn all three abilities from Lin Bai, who demanded a letter of recommendation to become a Dragon Court disciple in return.
• Shui Qiudie agreed to recommend Lin Bai if he could teach her to defeat Lu Si'en the next day.