Chapter Summaries

Xu Yue learned that Qiao Feng had killed Yun Zhonghe and decided to investigate the Black Dragon Society’s growing interference. Meanwhile, Tanaka’s Reincarnators massacred the Wuliang Sword Sect and Shennong Gang, and Zhong Ling fled with Duan Yu as Tanaka pursued them.

• Little Dezzi warned Xu Yue that Murong Fu and his family were ambitious, but Xu Yue said their ambition made them easier to control.
• Xu Yue received word that Qiao Feng had repelled the Western Xia First Rank Hall and the Four Great Evils, killing Yun Zhonghe in Yunnan.
• Xu Yue judged that Yun Zhonghe’s death and new reports about the Black Dragon Society required him to intervene.
• Tanaka and his black-clad Reincarnators overran the Wuliang Sword Sect and Shennong Gang, killing many despite Lord Oda’s orders to preserve recruits.
• Duan Yu entered the courtyard, and Zhong Ling used her White Sable to stop a Reincarnator before pulling him toward safety.
• Tanaka ordered the pair killed and pursued them, threatening Zhong Ling as they fled.

Duan Yu and Zhong Ling fled Tanaka until Old Man Yue intervened and claimed Duan Yu as his disciple, but Tanaka seized Zhong Ling and gave Duan Yu seven days to find an antidote. When Tanaka learned Duan Yu was the heir to the Prince of Zhennan’s estate, he moved to capture him, prompting Xu Yue to order Little Dezzi to protect Duan Yu and Zhong Ling.

• Zhong Ling dragged Duan Yu away from Tanaka, but Old Man Yue stopped their flight and declared Duan Yu his disciple.
• Tanaka agreed to leave Duan Yu with Old Man Yue but seized Zhong Ling and gave Duan Yu seven days to find an antidote for his injured subordinate.
• Old Man Yue told Duan Yu he could not defeat Tanaka and learned where Zhong Ling lived.
• Little Dezzi identified Duan Yu as the heir to the Prince of Zhennan’s estate, and Tanaka decided to capture him.
• After missions appeared, Xu Yue ordered Little Dezzi to save Duan Yu and Zhong Ling, and Little Dezzi stepped in front of Duan Yu.

Little Dezzi tried to protect Duan Yu from Tanaka, but Tanaka accidentally cut the heir in half while attacking him. Xu Yue appeared, dismembered Tanaka, and restored Duan Yu, leaving him wondering whether Duan Yu’s fate as a Son of Destiny had also improved his talent.

• Tanaka attacked Little Dezzi, whose evasive movements initially kept him from being overwhelmed.
• Tanaka used a three-pronged sword technique to wound Little Dezzi, then struck again at increased speed and accidentally cut Duan Yu in half.
• Tanaka tried to keep Duan Yu alive with medicines, then turned his fury on the wounded Little Dezzi.
• Xu Yue appeared and severed Tanaka’s limbs, while Little Dezzi stomped on Tanaka’s head for daring to look at the Prince.
• Xu Yue pieced Duan Yu back together with Longevity True Qi, restoring him and noticing that his innate talent had improved.

Xu Yue rescued Duan Yu and Zhong Ling, then set Duan Yu on the path of learning martial arts. While escorting Duan Yu, he encountered a poisoned Spirit Vulture Palace emissary and Mu Wanqing, and Chunyu asked him to save her companion.

• Duan Yu and Zhong Ling woke in a cave believing they were dead until Little Dezzi explained that Xu Yue had saved them.
• Xu Yue dismissed Duan Yu’s thanks, gave him an erotic painting, and persuaded him to accept martial arts training.
• Zhong Ling returned home, and Xu Yue offered to escort Duan Yu while considering the threat the Black Dragon Society might pose to Dali.
• Duan Yu used his newly learned Lingbo Weibu to rush between Mu Wanqing and Chunyu, but both women attacked him.
• Xu Yue warned that the poisoned Spirit Vulture Palace emissary would die, and Chunyu asked him to save her companion in exchange for Spirit Vulture Palace’s gratitude.

Xu Yue revealed that he knew Spirit Vulture Palace's secret, sent its maidservants back with a message for Child Elder, and told them to leave the Divine Farmer Gang and Wuliang Sword Sect alone. After Zhu Danchen and Ba Tianshi found Duan Yu in Dali, Xu Yue introduced himself as a Great Song prince traveling to see the Duan Clan's One Yang Finger.

• Xu Yue identified Child Elder's coming rejuvenation, startling Chunyu, then cured the poisoned Spirit Vulture Palace maidservant and told Chunyu to invite Child Elder to meet him.
• Mu Wanqing questioned Xu Yue about curing her poison, and he teased her by threatening to remove her veil.
• Xu Yue told the Spirit Vulture Palace maidservants that the Divine Farmer Gang and Wuliang Sword Sect were under his protection; after they left, Mu Wanqing followed his group from a distance.
• Zhu Danchen and Ba Tianshi found Duan Yu and told him that his father and uncle would no longer force him to practice martial arts.
• Duan Yu agreed to learn some self-defense, then introduced Xu Yue as the Great Song's Prince Yue and Little Dezzi as Chief Steward Germany.
• Xu Yue said he was traveling as a martial artist to see the Duan Clan's One Yang Finger, while Zhu Danchen praised his recent half-move victory over Northern Qiao Feng.

Xu Yue exposed Reincarnators spying on Dao Baifeng and wounded them, prompting Ba Tianshi to realize their strength and Dao Baifeng to agree to return to Dali. Their leader, Wang Liming, learned that a powerful expert had disrupted his plans and decided to warn Lord Oda.

• Zhu Danchen booked six rooms at an inn, and Mu Wanqing continued following Xu Yue and the others.
• Duan Yu visited Dao Baifeng at Jade Void Temple and persuaded her to return to the Prince's Manor.
• Xu Yue sensed Reincarnators hiding in the woods and struck several of them with finger force.
• Ba Tianshi charged the wounded Reincarnators, was driven back injured, and recognized how formidable they were.
• Dao Baifeng decided to return to Dali after learning that hostile forces had infiltrated the kingdom.
• Wang Liming berated his subordinates for being discovered, then decided to alert Lord Oda about Xu Yue's strength.

Xu Yue attended a reception with Emperor Baoding, Duan Zhengchun, and Dao Baifeng, but the gathering was interrupted when the Three Great Evils and a force of masked attackers arrived. The attackers received a warning to abort their operation after they had already entered the residence, leaving the danger unresolved.

• Emperor Baoding and Duan Zhengchun welcomed Xu Yue and Dao Baifeng, and they discussed the Four Great Evils and the men who had spied on Dao Baifeng.
• Duan Yanqing, Ye Erniang, and Old Man Yue appeared, and Old Man Yue recognized Xu Yue and tried to stop Duan Yanqing from provoking him.
• Duan Yanqing summoned a large force of black-clad attackers into the residence, where they targeted Emperor Baoding and Duan Zhengchun.
• Two masked leaders revealed that they had been monitoring Emperor Baoding and Duan Zhengchun and had seized the chance to attack them.
• The masked leaders received a pigeon message warning that a top expert was interfering and ordering them to abort, after their forces had already entered.

Xu Yue revealed his overwhelming strength while stopping Duan Yanqing and killing the Shogunate Gate intruders, then earned permission to study the Duan Clan’s One Yang Finger. During his stay in Dali, he developed a powerful new finger art, while Mu Wanqing discovered Dao Baifeng’s name and attacked her.

• Duan Yanqing tried to leave, but Xu Yue summoned him back and revealed his identity as the Worthy Prince.
• Xu Yue blasted the black-clad intruders to death, exposing the soldiers they had already killed and shocking everyone present.
• Duan Zhengming asked Xu Yue to spare Duan Yanqing, then ordered Duan Yanqing to leave Dali, and Duan Yanqing departed.
• The Duan family let Xu Yue study the One Yang Finger, and he demonstrated its power before deriving a seven-attribute sword-qi finger art.
• The Shogunate Gate withdrew from Dali, while Mu Wanqing learned Dao Baifeng’s name and attacked her.

Mu Wanqing’s attempted assassination of Dao Baifeng exposed her parentage and led Duan Zhengchun to ask Xu Yue to take her to the Central Plains. On the journey, Xu Yue visited Hu Prefecture to meet the governor Huang Shang, whose martial strength surprised Little Dezzi.

• Mu Wanqing poisoned Dao Baifeng, but Xu Yue treated her, and Duan Zhengchun revealed that Mu Wanqing was his daughter and Qin Hongmian’s.
• Qin Hongmian arrived and took Mu Wanqing away, while Dao Baifeng left with Duan Yu.
• Duan Zhengchun asked Xu Yue to take Mu Wanqing to the Central Plains, and Xu Yue agreed before departing with her and Little Dezzi.
• Xu Yue’s party reached Hu Prefecture, where the governor Huang Shang received Xu Yue after keeping him waiting briefly.
• Little Dezzi realized Huang Shang possessed peerless martial arts when the governor arrived without being detected.

Xu Yue recruited Huang Shang to oversee Dragon Guard Manor and learned of a powerful threat tied to Dragon Soul's past. As Xu Yue headed for Suzhou, the Black Dragon Society shifted its attention to Huan Shi Shui Ge, where Oda reflected on the cost of acting without reliable intelligence.

• Xu Yue persuaded Huang Shang to leave his post as governor and join Dragon Guard Manor, where he could help oversee the rear.
• Huang Shang revealed that Fang La had been one of their kind, that Wanyan Aguda had survived, and that Dragon Soul had once failed to kill a terrifying figure after forcing him through a dimensional rift.
• After warning Xu Yue not to mention that figure's name, Huang Shang agreed to guard the manor while Xu Yue traveled to handle other matters.
• Jiumozhi arrived in Dali Kingdom, fought the monks at Tianlong Temple, and took Duan Yu away toward Suzhou.
• The Black Dragon Society turned its attention to Huan Shi Shui Ge after withdrawing from Dali Kingdom, and Oda acknowledged that three Elite Reincarnators and their teams had been wiped out.

Xu Yue traveled across Taihu Lake with Mu Wanqing and Little Dezzi to Swallow's Nest, rescuing Jiumozhi from drowning along the way. Jiumozhi agreed to demonstrate a martial art in exchange for being taken there, but fighting sounds greeted them when they arrived.

• Xu Yue's group crossed Taihu Lake, and their boatman told them that a strange monk had recently gone to Swallow's Nest with a pretty boy.
• Xu Yue spotted Jiumozhi floating in the lake and had Little Dezzi pull him aboard and revive him.
• Little Dezzi asked Jiumozhi for the martial art he had used to dry his clothes, and Jiumozhi agreed to demonstrate it at Swallow's Nest.
• Jiumozhi learned that Xu Yue was a recent partner of the Murong Family and chatted with him during the journey.
• Xu Yue's group reached Swallow's Nest, where they heard sounds of fighting and slaughter.

Xu Yue arrived at Swallow's Nest amid a clash between the Shogunate and Taiping Dao, while Duan Yu protected A Zhu and A Bi from a Reincarnator. Duan Yu drove off his attacker, but Xu Yue's rescue mission suggested that a greater threat still awaited him as the women fled by boat.

• Jiumozhi and Xu Yue sensed that powerful fighters were battling around Swallow's Nest, and Xu Yue inferred that rival factions were contesting Huan Shi Shui Ge.
• Duan Yu, A Zhu, and A Bi hid in a woodshed and decided to escape by boat while the attackers fought outside.
• A bald Reincarnator tried to capture A Zhu and A Bi, but Duan Yu's Six Meridian Divine Sword cut off two of his fingers and forced him to flee.
• Duan Yu urged A Zhu and A Bi to escape, and they headed toward a boat with A Bi rowing.
• Xu Yue received a mission to rescue Duan Yu and sensed that an unseen Intruder might threaten him beyond the battle between the two factions.

Jiumozhi joined the battle to help Taiping Dao, but both sides abandoned their conflict and turned against him and Xu Yue’s group. As Xu Yue watched Little Dezzi struggle against three defensive Veteran Reincarnators, he assigned him the fight as a test.

• Jiumozhi charged into the battle and used his martial arts to wound the Reincarnators and shift the fight’s balance.
• The Shogunate’s elites surrounded Jiumozhi, while Taiping Dao’s fighters fled into the water and left him behind.
• The Shogunate Reincarnators let Taiping Dao escape and focused on wearing down Jiumozhi and Xu Yue’s group.
• Three Veteran Reincarnators blocked Little Dezzi’s attacks and taunted him, exploiting his lack of combat experience.
• Xu Yue told Little Dezzi that he had to defeat the three, or he would have to give Jiumozhi mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Xu Yue rescued Little Dezzi and Jiumozhi by annihilating the attackers at Swallow's Nest, then left to pursue Duan Yu and the others. On Taihu Lake, Chen Youdao commandeered Duan Yu's boat while fleeing Oda and a fighter from Wings of Freedom, but Oda rapidly caught up.

• Recognizing Xu Yue, the Elite Reincarnators fighting Jiumozhi fled, and Xu Yue used a devastating sword technique to kill the remaining attackers while sparing the three Veterans who had fought Little Dezzi.
• Xu Yue asked Jiumozhi to watch over Little Dezzi and left across the water to follow Duan Yu and the others.
• On Taihu Lake, Oda and a straw-hatted fighter from Wings of Freedom pursued the wounded Chen Youdao, who escaped using talismans and wind and water-walking techniques.
• Chen Youdao leaped aboard Duan Yu, A Zhu, and A Bi's skiff, attached a talisman to it, and sped away with them.
• Oda rode his scabbard across the lake and rapidly closed in on the skiff.

Duan Yu tried to help Chen Youdao fight off Oda, but Oda crippled him after the boat was sabotaged and the second enemy arrived. As Oda prepared to keep Duan Yu alive, Xu Yue appeared beside the boat, forcing both attackers to recognize a dangerous opponent.

• Oda damaged the boat while attacking, and Chen Youdao was severely wounded in the ensuing fight.
• The bamboo-hatted Wings of Freedom fighter arrived, leaving Chen Youdao facing two enemies as Duan Yu, A Zhu, and A Bi were trapped aboard.
• Duan Yu tried to negotiate and offered to stay behind, but Oda struck him down and learned he was the heir to the Prince of Zhennan of Dali Kingdom.
• Oda recognized Duan Yu as part of the Dali Duan Clan and severed all four of his limbs, while A Zhu tried to stop his bleeding.
• Xu Yue appeared beside the boat, and Oda and the bamboo-hatted fighter recognized him as Xu Yue of Beiyang.

Xu Yue confronted Oda and a Wings of Freedom Intruder after they refused to release Duan Yu and Chen Youdao, then swiftly killed them both. He restored Duan Yu and asked the injured Chen Youdao what he would choose.

• Oda and the conical-hatted Wings of Freedom member rejected Xu Yue's demand to hand over Duan Yu and Chen Youdao.
• Xu Yue killed Oda with a single sword-qi strike.
• Xu Yue offered the Wings of Freedom member a choice, but killed him when he refused to submit.
• Xu Yue reattached Duan Yu's severed limbs and healed him back to life.
• Xu Yue turned to Chen Youdao and asked what he would choose.

Xu Yue rescued Duan Yu, returned to Swallow's Nest, and examined its martial arts collection while experimenting with ways to improve Jiumozhi's techniques. Jiumozhi's rapid progress impressed the others, and Chen Youdao reconsidered whether following Xu Yue was a bad deal.

• Xu Yue made Chen Youdao submit, then had A Zhu and A Bi care for the recovering Duan Yu.
• Little Dezzi killed the three Veteran Reincarnators at Swallow's Nest while Jiumozhi guarded him.
• Jiumozhi apologized to Duan Yu, and the two reconciled; Xu Yue then asked A Zhu to take him to Huan Shi Shui Ge.
• Jiumozhi offered Xu Yue his martial arts, including Shaolin's Seventy-Two Arts, in return for Xu Yue saving him.
• Xu Yue modified the Great Formless Skill and taught Jiumozhi experimental concepts, dramatically improving his use of Shaolin's Seventy-Two Arts.

After their boat began leaking, Xu Yue and his companions went to Mantuo Villa, where they met Wang Yuyan and asked to enter Langhuan Paradise. Their request remained unresolved when a maid announced that Madam Wang had returned.

• A Zhu and A Bi took Xu Yue and his companions aboard a boat that began leaking, so they docked at Mantuo Villa to make repairs.
• A Zhu led the group to the side hall while Madam Wang was away, and a maid warned them that Madam Wang might punish them for bringing men to the island.
• Wang Yuyan arrived, and Duan Yu became instantly captivated by her.
• Xu Yue asked Wang Yuyan for permission to enter Langhuan Paradise, but she hesitated because she lacked authority to admit visitors.
• A maid rushed in to announce that Madam Wang had returned and was already at the dock.

Li Qingluo returned to Mantuo Villa with Zhang Xiaolin and found Xu Yue, Chen Youdao, and their companions in the hall. Zhang Xiaolin threatened Xu Yue and Chen Youdao, but a powerful monk challenged him, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Wang Yuyan urged Xu Yue and the others to hide before her mother arrived, but Li Qingluo entered before they could leave.
• Li Qingluo angrily confronted the intruders, and her companion Zhang Xiaolin stopped her and took control of the encounter.
• Zhang Xiaolin recognized Xu Yue and Chen Youdao, then ordered them to each cut off an arm and leave.
• Chen Youdao identified Zhang Xiaolin as a powerful Green Gang veteran, while Zhang Xiaolin privately considered pursuing Li Qingluo and Wang Yuyan.
• A monk warned Zhang Xiaolin that he had fallen into the demonic path, and Zhang Xiaolin realized the monk was a powerful native who could complicate the fight.

Xu Yue confronted Zhang Xiaolin over his dealings with the Japanese, and Zhang Xiaolin attacked after Xu Yue rejected his offer to leave. Xu Yue then revealed an overwhelming presence that terrified Zhang Xiaolin, leaving the confrontation poised to turn in his favor.

• Xu Yue questioned Zhang Xiaolin about doing business with the Japanese, and Zhang Xiaolin defended his actions as business while offering to work for Beiyang for enough benefits.
• Zhang Xiaolin ordered Xu Yue and the others to leave, but Xu Yue refused, saying he found Zhang too disgusting to keep around for mission rewards.
• Zhang Xiaolin unleashed a powerful attack that pinned Jiumozhi and Chen Youdao in place and left them unable to evade it.
• Xu Yue's presence transformed the sky and filled Zhang Xiaolin with primal fear, stopping his attack as Xu Yue called him a traitor.