Chapter Summaries

Xie Yuan defeated Yao Tianchuan in a secret sword duel, shattering Yao Tianchuan’s confidence and leaving the Hidden Sword Pavilion convinced an unknown grandmaster had intervened. The next day, the sects searched for the mysterious victor while Xie Yuan quietly returned to his place among the servants.

• Xie Yuan parried Yao Tianchuan’s attacks and broke his ultimate sword technique, then defeated him with the first form of the Cloud Dragon Nine Forms.
• Xie Yuan claimed he had practiced swordsmanship for only three months, demonstrated saber force through his sword, and left Yao Tianchuan stunned.
• Song Qingping arrived, learned that Yao Tianchuan had lost to an unnamed menial, and accused the Yunshan Sword Sect of using a stronger fighter against him.
• Xie Yuan returned to the Servant Courtyard and reflected on his breakthrough, his swordsmanship, and the Cloud Dragon Nine Forms.
• At the third day of the matches, rumors blamed the duel on a hidden grandmaster or a mysterious Sword Spirit, while Situ Qin and her companions recognized Xie Yuan as the victor.

Xie Yuan discussed Yao Tianchuan and the weakened Jinling Yao Family with Situ Qin, then attended the grand gathering after the Hidden Sword Pavilion arrived at Yunshan Mountain. The opening External Training Realm matches ended with the Yunshan Sword Sect losing four of five, leaving its disciples stunned and the atmosphere tense.

• Xie Yuan and Situ Qin discussed Yao Tianchuan’s undefeated sword-match record and the Jinling Yao Family’s alliance with the Hidden Sword Pavilion after the Eight Gates Rebellion.
• Situ Qin congratulated Xie Yuan on breaking through to the Qi and Blood Transformation Realm and secretly resolved to train harder.
• On Autumn Equinox Day, Wei Dong led the Hidden Sword Pavilion to Yunshan Mountain, where Li Xingtuo welcomed him and escorted him to the summit.
• Li Xingtuo and Wei Dong took their seats, and the first day’s sword matches began with five External Training Realm contests between the two sects.
• The Hidden Sword Pavilion won four of the five matches, and the Yunshan Sword Sect disciples grew somber.

After the Fourteenth Prince killed the Crown Prince and took control of the Imperial City, Xie Yuan left the palace and rushed to the Xie Family residence, where he found Xie Yi mortally wounded. Xie Yi appointed Xie Yuan the new clan head and died, just as a monk arrived.

• The Fourteenth Prince returned to his palace with Xie Yuan and Situ Qin, where the Autumn Wind Pavilion Master emerged from the Palm-Sized World and killed the Crown Prince with one sword strike.
• The Fourteenth Prince presented the late Emperor's Imperial Edict, secured the Imperial Guards' surrender, and took control of the palace; he then let Xie Yuan, Situ Qin, Li Tai, and Red Aunt leave.
• Outside the palace, Li Tai told Xie Yuan that Xie Yi had been badly wounded, so Xie Yuan hurried to the Xie Family residence and found Xie Yi near death.
• Xie Yi told Xie Yuan to be cautious about becoming a Great Grandmaster, entrusted him with leading the Xie Family, and placed the Blood Jade Ring on his thumb.
• Xie Yi died after warning Xie Yuan about the Cui and Wang Families, and a monk arrived amid the family's mourning.

Xie Yuan cultivated in the Profound Water illusion, taught Wang YaFang and neighborhood elders a simplified Nourishing Body Skill, and tried to support Wang Yibing as Da Bi Ge and the streaming platform sabotaged their livelihood. After the platform threatened to confiscate their earnings, Xie Yuan secretly used the Heaven Concealing Art and left home, telling his mother he would stay with Wang Yibing.

• Xie Yuan cultivated in the Profound Water illusion, rapidly improving his Blood Qi, techniques, and physique until he recovered his original realm.
• Xie Yuan taught Wang YaFang and nearby elderly residents a simplified Nourishing Body Skill, winning their interest and helping his mother feel more energetic.
• Da Bi Ge’s paid trolls and platform manipulation drove down Wang Yibing and Xie Yuan’s livestream traffic, and the platform repeatedly suspended their streams.
• Da Bi Ge demanded most of their revenue, including past gifts, while a super moderator revealed that the platform might confiscate their earnings for offending him.
• Wang Yibing offered to help Xie Yuan repay his debt, but Xie Yuan left the neighborhood under the Heaven Concealing Art and texted Wang YaFang that he would stay at Wang Yibing’s home.

After receiving his share from the tiger hunt and a fine tiger-bone-handled axe, Xie Yuan traveled to Coiling Dragon Town to learn martial arts at Iron Clothes Gate. He learned that the gate’s Iron Cloth technique came from Prajna Temple, one of the Great Li Dynasty’s top sects.

• Xie Yuan admired the silver he had received from the tiger hunt and set aside the money he needed to learn martial arts.
• Xie Yuan received a finely forged axe with a tiger leg bone handle from Zhou Feng's father and wrapped the handle in cloth.
• Xie Yuan traveled to Coiling Dragon Town with his money and axe, then went to Iron Clothes Gate to enroll.
• An Iron Clothes Gate disciple quoted an eleven-tael entry fee and praised the gate’s Iron Cloth technique.
• The disciple told Xie Yuan that Master Liu had learned the technique as a lay disciple of Prajna Temple, a great sect in the Great Li Dynasty.

Xie Yuan strengthened his cultivation by secretly studying the sword intent in a cliff fissure and training his other techniques, while keeping his nighttime routine hidden. After speaking with Lin Zhen about Junior Sister Chen, he saw that the Black Heaven Book was nearly complete and anticipated finishing it that night.

• Xie Yuan returned to the fissure and endured its sword wind, gaining progress in the Black Heaven Book before leaving at dawn.
• Xie Yuan established a routine of practicing swordsmanship at the guest courtyard, training in a larger cave at night, and studying the fissure’s sword intent.
• Xie Yuan noticed Lin Zhen had reached the third level of practice and learned she was preparing to go down the mountain for training.
• Lin Zhen asked about Junior Sister Chen and offered to visit her family, but Xie Yuan discouraged her by claiming the family was reclusive.
• Xie Yuan checked the Black Heaven Book and found its progress at 196 out of 200, expecting to complete it that night.

Xie Yuan avoided Qin Zhenyang’s suspicions and was promoted to manage four guest courtyards before the sword debate. As the Hidden Sword Pavilion’s formidable lineup became clear, Xie Yuan learned that Yao Tianchuan might represent the Yunshan Sword Sect in the first Qi and Blood Transformation match.

• Qin Zhenyang questioned Xie Yuan about missing his duties, then excused him and entrusted him with four guest courtyards to prepare before the sword debate.
• After Xie Yuan returned to his duties, Qin Zhenyang watched him from afar and decided to keep him under observation.
• With the sword debate two days away, martial artists crowded Yun Mountain Town, where authorities and the Yunshan Sword Sect worked to maintain order.
• Situ Qin visited Xie Yuan at the Flower Valley Guest Courtyard and described the Hidden Sword Pavilion’s leading experts, including Wei Dong, Song Qingping, and He Jin.
• Situ Qin explained that He Jin would face Qin Zhenyang and that the Yunshan Sword Sect might send Yao Tianchuan for the first Qi and Blood Transformation match.
• Xie Yuan asked whether Yao Tianchuan was a descendant of the Jinling Yao Family.

Xie Yuan asked Zhu Dongming about martial arts and learned that training required substantial money for fees and supplies. After a village thug tried to steal meat from his home, Xie Yuan drove him off and resolved to save money by advancing his woodcutting ability.

• Xie Yuan brought Zhu Dongming firewood as a gift and asked about learning martial arts.
• Zhu Dongming explained the four levels of practice and warned that martial arts halls charged heavily for training, medicinal baths, and nourishing broths.
• Xie Yuan concluded that he needed to save money before pursuing martial arts.
• Xie Yuan caught a village thug leaving his home with meat, struck the thug's hand, and threatened him away with his axe.
• Xie Yuan decided to keep chopping Iron Poplar and raise his Chopping Wood progress to one thousand before advancing it.

After Xie Yi was left in a coma, Xie Yuan addressed the elders and urged the clan to prepare for hostility from the Wang, Cui, and imperial families. As internal factions challenged his authority, Xie Yuan focused on training, then learned that Yun Xing of Zhikong Mountain had come to see him with a gift from her elder.

• Xie Jun recounted the Capital City crisis, and Xie Yuan presented conflicting letters from Cui Cheng and Wang Yunzhi about the imperial battle.
• Xie Yuan told the elders to prepare for the worst and preserve the Xie Family's strength, while several powerful elders secretly agreed to undermine his branch.
• Cui Pingjun advised Xie Yuan to leave clan administration to her and Xie Jun and concentrate on becoming a Grandmaster.
• Cui Pingjun barred Xie Wen's Wang-connected branch from the clan land, and Xie Fu intervened to protect Xie Yuan's cultivation provisions.
• Xie Yuan trained under Xie Fu and improved rapidly, but remained short of Grandmaster level.
• Yun Zhu told Xie Yuan that a woman from Zhikong Mountain was waiting at the clan gate with something her elder wished to give him, and Xie Yuan recognized her as Yun Xing, the Torchbearer Envoy.

Xie Yuan fought Lu Lao San with his newly mastered Galloping Wolf Saber Art, but Miss Yun rescued him and fled with him. Lu Lao San caught up, drove Miss Yun away, and seized Xie Yuan by the throat; as Xie Yuan neared death, Lu Lao San heard someone approaching.

• Xie Yuan used his mastered Galloping Wolf Saber Art against Lu Lao San, who blocked every attack and questioned him about his teacher.
• Xie Yuan tricked Lu Lao San with a fabricated story about Liu Heshang, angering him until Miss Yun struck Lu Lao San with a black-and-white blade and carried Xie Yuan away.
• Xie Yuan revealed that he had guessed Miss Yun was nearby from the mark on his arm and asked her about the Black Heaven Book, but Lu Lao San caught up with them.
• Miss Yun fought Lu Lao San while Xie Yuan tried to escape, but Lu Lao San tricked her with a redirected Saber Light and forced her to flee.
• Lu Lao San caught Xie Yuan, dismissed his claims of a connection to Prajna Temple, and began choking him until he heard someone approaching.

Xie Yuan explored the Floating Pagoda, discovered dangerous Buddhist statues and hidden treasures, and waited for the ruins to open. When Great Li and Western Regions fighters entered and clashed, he secretly aided Great Li’s side, while Qin Zhenyang confronted Lu Tianyong and Luo Tuo on the upper floors.

• Xie Yuan explored the fourth through sixth floors, sensed that their statues were neither alive nor dead, and narrowly resisted the Golden Four-Faced Buddha’s Buddhist Resonance.
• Xie Yuan found a scripture describing three omens, discovered platforms bearing pills and a transforming weapon, and moved Lin Zhen and the other four to the second floor.
• After the Floating Pagoda began shaking, fighters from Great Li and the Western Regions appeared on the first floor and broke into battle; Xie Yuan used his knowledge of the formation to rescue Great Li fighters as an invisible Heroic Spirit.
• Qin Zhenyang found Huijue, learned the stone pillars formed a formation, and followed Xie Yuan’s secret guidance toward the upper floors while Lu Tianyong rushed for the third-floor treasure.
• Xie Yuan suspected Tiger Seals could control the Practice Dummies and went to investigate as Qin Zhenyang fought Lu Tianyong and was surrounded by Luo Tuo and Western Regions experts.
• The Practice Dummies suddenly began moving in formation and charged toward Qin Zhenyang, Luo Tuo, Lu Tianyong, and the surrounding fighters.

Xie Yuan discovered that the Black Heaven Book had given him a saber technique and the Heaven Concealing Art while traveling with Miss Yun, who had disguised herself as Lin Zhen. After Lu Lao San attacked the convoy and pursued Miss Yun, he cornered Xie Yuan in the forest and raised his saber to kill him, leaving Xie Yuan to draw his own blade.

• The mark on Xie Yuan's arm flared, revealing a saber technique modeled on his Treasure Blade and the Heaven Concealing Art from the Black Heaven Book.
• Xie Yuan realized the woman disguised as Lin Zhen was Miss Yun, but Lu Lao San arrived and demanded that she hand over an item.
• Lu Lao San cut down several servants and split the convoy with a saber strike, while Miss Yun fought him in the nearby forest.
• Xie Yuan fled as Miss Yun and Lu Lao San battled, then encountered Lu Lao San again after the Grandmaster lost track of her.
• Lu Lao San accused Xie Yuan of helping Miss Yun and swung his Horse Chopping Saber at him; Xie Yuan drew his blade and unleashed the wolf-like saber technique.

Xie Yuan drew Song Qingping’s attention with his swordsmanship but kept his identity and hidden abilities concealed. After deciding to remain in the Yunshan Sword Sect, he focused on cultivation until two months passed and the first snow fell.

• Song Qingping praised Xie Yuan’s sword talent, corrected his deliberately flawed forms, and offered to take him to the Hidden Sword Pavilion before Luo Shuang stopped him.
• Song Qingping disparaged Lin Cheng’s aptitude, but Instructor Sun and Luo Shuang defended him and rebuked Song Qingping.
• Xie Yuan reassured Lin Cheng and reflected that the Yunshan Sword Sect was a good place to cultivate, then resolved to stay.
• Xie Yuan worried that Song Qingping might discover secrets on Sword Peak and looked forward to returning to the Rock Crevice to study the Black Heaven Book.
• Xie Yuan practiced intensely and trained with Lin Cheng until the first snow fell on Yunshan Mountain, marking the passage of two months.

Xie Yuan and the Sword Sect disciples fought off eight bandits after Pei Yu used gold to attract pursuers, then returned to Western Desert First Inn for information. The Boss Lady revealed that Lu Lao San had taken control of Wind Sand Market and that the people they had killed were his bandits, leaving the group inside the enemy stronghold.

• Pei Yu paid the Boss Lady in gold to ask about wicked martial artists, and she warned the group to leave Wind Sand Market.
• Pei Yu explained that he had used the gold to lure out attackers, and eight bandits ambushed the group outside the market.
• Xie Yuan and the disciples fought the bandits; the disciples adapted to their first life-or-death battle and killed their opponents.
• Huang Zifeng decided the group should return to Wind Sand Market to gather more information, and Pei Yu paid the Boss Lady for news.
• The Boss Lady told the group that Lu Lao San had taken over Wind Sand Market and that the men they had killed were all his bandits.

Xie Yuan, posing as Yao Tianchuan, disrupted a Yao Family banquet and challenged the family’s factions over the Ten Thousand Demons Mountain Hunt selections. After defeating Yao Tianhong with one sword and Yao Tianming with one punch, he won authority to choose the family’s Second Transformation Realm representatives and left the family’s factions on the verge of open conflict.

• Xie Yuan insulted Yao Tianhong and Yao Tianming at the banquet, provoking Yao Yilong and exposing old disputes over the family’s resources.
• Yao Tianhong challenged Xie Yuan for a Mountain Hunt quota, but Xie Yuan broke his sword and defeated him with a single strike.
• Yao Yilong barred Xie Yuan from using his sword against Yao Tianming, but Xie Yuan knocked Yao Tianming into the lake with a punch powered by the seventh level of the Great Golden River Skill.
• Xie Yuan demanded control over the three Second Transformation Realm slots, and Yao Yuzhi granted him authority to choose the team.
• Xie Yuan planned to deepen the conflict between Yao Yuzhi’s and Yao Yilong’s factions, while the Autumn Wind Pavilion Master ordered Yun Jiao to warn Yao Yilong that his entire branch would die if anything happened to Slaying Clouds.

Xie Yuan learned from Xie Yi’s letter that he was not Xie Xuan’s biological son but the child of his adoptive parents, while Xie Xuan’s son had vanished. He chose to keep the truth secret and carry the Xie Family’s burden, then went to his parents’ graves, where Ji Xuan confronted him and Xie Yuan attacked.

• Xie Yuan opened Xie Yi’s blood-locked box, discovered the letter and identity documents, and confirmed that he had not been added to the Family Tree.
• Xie Yuan burned the box and its contents, choosing to keep the revelation secret and continue serving as family head while Xie Yi remained asleep.
• Xie Yuan asked Xie Tiexin to study the damaged Hundred Transformations Mystic Weapon, but its ruined core formation made a full repair uncertain.
• Xie Yuan visited his biological parents’ graves and recalled Xie Yi’s evidence that he was their son, while Xie Xuan’s biological son had been handed to another family and disappeared.
• Ji Xuan emerged from the forest and threatened to kill Xie Yuan, who appeared behind him and struck at the back of his head.

Liu Heshang told Xie Yuan how the Iron Clothes Gate’s martial arts and an illustrated Arhat booklet came from a monk at Jinhe Temple, then gave him the booklet. Back in Cloudshine, Xie Yuan tried its first pose and began to sense something.

• Liu Heshang recounted how a Great Monk rescued him from poverty, trained him at Jinhe Temple, and taught him Iron Cloth.
• Liu Heshang gave Xie Yuan the Arhat booklet and appointed him the Iron Clothes Gate’s instructor for passing down techniques.
• Xie Yuan declined the Iron Clothes Gate’s feast, checked that the rival martial halls were treating their injured masters, and returned to Cloudshine.
• Xie Yuan studied the booklet’s Arhat illustrations and assumed the Cross-Legged Arhat stance, sensing something faintly.

Xie Yuan improved his swordsmanship through Situ Qin's guidance and received the Flying General's Cloud Dragon Step to address his lack of footwork. After reading it once, he began performing the notoriously difficult movement art, leaving Situ Qin stunned.

• Xie Yuan practiced sword forms by the cliff at night, applying the sword art principles Situ Qin had taught him and advancing his cultivation.
• Xie Yuan spent the following days training at the Main Peak, visiting Situ Qin, and practicing swordsmanship at night.
• Situ Qin praised Xie Yuan's progress and pointed out that he lacked a light-body movement art.
• Situ Qin gave Xie Yuan the annotated Cloud Dragon Step, which Tai Bo had created and used as the Flying General.
• Xie Yuan read the booklet once and performed the Cloud Dragon Step, shocking Situ Qin with how quickly he grasped it.

Xie Yuan and Situ Qin escaped the besieged palace through a secret passage with the Fourteenth Prince, only to find the Nineteenth Prince waiting at the exit. Xie Yuan defeated the wounded Grandmaster and the Nineteenth Prince’s guards, and the Fourteenth Prince killed his younger brother while claiming the Crown Prince was already dead.

• Xie Yuan and Situ Qin discovered the Fourteenth Prince’s secret passage and followed his trail through its traps, eventually finding him with Commander Wang.
• At the well exit, the Nineteenth Prince ambushed the group and forced the Fourteenth Prince to emerge, while Commander Wang was defeated and fell into the well.
• The Fourteenth Prince revealed that the Crown Prince was as good as dead, but the Nineteenth Prince’s wounded Grandmaster moved to capture him.
• Xie Yuan emerged from concealment and used Thousand Army Breaker, aided by Situ Qin’s zither, to kill the Grandmaster and defeat the Nineteenth Prince’s guards.
• Xie Yuan captured the Nineteenth Prince and brought him to the Fourteenth Prince, who stabbed him to death and planned to tell their mother that he had left to wander the world.

After Xie Yuan defeated Zhang Lao Er, he turned his attention to advancing his martial arts and visited the Iron Clothes Gate, where he arrived just as two rival halls challenged it over the town’s medicine shares. The chapter ended with Huo Da preparing to fight and Wang Black Tiger interrupting him.

• Xie Yuan beat Zhang Lao Er and the other hooligans, then sent them fleeing and made the village safer.
• Xie Yuan’s reputation grew, and he reviewed his martial arts progress before deciding to ask Senior Brother Huo about a method for reaching Great Accomplishment in Skin Tempering.
• Xie Yuan arrived at the Iron Clothes Gate and learned that Black Tiger Fist Hall and Divine Weapon Hall had come to contest the division of Coiling Dragon Town’s medicine businesses.
• Wang Black Tiger proposed a three-way martial contest to determine the halls’ rankings and medicine shares, while Liu Heshang recognized that the rival halls had joined forces against him.
• Liu Heshang agreed to the contest and sent Huo Da to fight first, but Wang Black Tiger stopped him before he entered the field.