Chapter Summaries

Xie Yuan officially returned to the Chen Commandery Xie clan after the kinship test, but Xie Yi delayed entering him into the Family Tree until his identity was beyond reproach. At the family banquet, Xie Yuan learned that clan members might challenge his privileged treatment, while Xie Lingyun and Cui Pingjun struggled with their feelings about his return and Xie Lun’s death.

• Xie Yi announced that the Blood Drop test confirmed Xie Yuan’s kinship and declared his return to the clan complete, but afterward he told the scholar to postpone entering Xie Yuan into the Family Tree.
• Xie Wei praised Xie Yuan’s strength at the banquet and warned him that clan members might challenge him over the resources and treatment he received.
• Xie Lingyun told Xie Yi she was heartbroken because the man she liked was her brother, and Xie Yi urged her to accept Xie Yuan as family and meet him.
• Cui Pingjun mourned Xie Lun and questioned why he had died while Xie Yuan returned, then promised Xie Yi she would not harm Xie Yuan but would treat him like other young clan members.
• Cui Pingjun told Xie Yi to sleep in the Buddha hall, saying she would have it converted into his bedroom because she no longer needed it.

Xie Yuan left Jinling to avoid the Qian and Yao Families, while Qin Zhenyang defended the Yunshan Sword Sect Estate from their Grandmasters. Days later, Xie Yuan met Zhang Junyi at a roadside temple, disguised as a priest and keeping an appointment.

• Xie Yuan returned Qian Yangsheng’s body to the Qian Family residence, then told Qin Zhenyang he would leave Jinling and travel alone to keep the aristocratic families from targeting the Sword Sect.
• Qin Zhenyang tried to persuade Xie Yuan to return with him to Yunshan Mountain, but Xie Yuan departed before dawn after promising he would come back to the sect.
• Qian Weiyi and Yao Yunwu forced their way into the Sword Sect Estate and demanded that Qin Zhenyang produce Zhang Shan, but Qin stood against them and said Xie Yuan had already left Jinling.
• Qian Weiyi injured Qin Zhenyang while searching the estate, then left after failing to find Xie Yuan; Qin later explained to Ning Zi and the others that Xie Yuan had anticipated the families’ move.
• At a roadside temple, Xie Yuan, disguised as a priest, met Zhang Junyi and revealed his true face when Zhang invited him for tea.

Xie Yuan entered Ten Thousand Demons Mountain, killed Yao Tianfeng and Yao Tianci, then used their bodies as bait to draw out two powerful Demon Beasts and slew them with one axe. He had just absorbed their Blood Qi when Xie Lingyun and two other Xie Family members arrived, putting him at risk of being discovered beside the brothers’ remains.

• Yao Yunwu led the Yao Family descendants through a hidden formation to the altar, where Xie Yuan provoked Xie Lingyun and caught her sword between two fingers.
• The families entered the ruins, and Yao Tianfeng explained the Jade Bracelet’s role in absorbing and purifying Demon Beast Blood Qi.
• After Yao Tianfeng confessed to abusing young girls, Xie Yuan killed him; he then pursued and killed Yao Tianci after the latter tried to flee.
• Xie Yuan stripped the brothers’ bodies and used them as bait, drawing a bear demon and a tiger demon into a fight before killing both with one axe.
• The Jade Bracelet absorbed the beasts’ Blood Qi, but Xie Yuan spotted Xie Lingyun and two Xie Family members approaching the clearing, where the Yao brothers’ remains were still visible.

While recovering at the Soaring Dragon Escort Agency, Xie Yuan heard how Shen Longteng publicly challenged Vajra Gate and how the County Office fueled rumors against the agency. As Cloudshine’s factions edged toward open conflict, Xie Yuan recovered and prepared to exchange his merit points for Purple Dragon Vine.

• Xie Yuan reasoned that Xu Mo was likely the agency’s mole and reflected on how Inner Strength had helped him survive repeated battles.
• Shen Longteng split Vajra Gate’s signboard and three-story gate tower with one slash, and Xu Jie set a death match for a month later.
• Rumors that the escort agency had murdered for Staff Chang’s fortune spread through Cloudshine, while the agency announced Xu Mo’s death from illness.
• Tensions rose among Cloudshine’s martial academies, and Xie Yuan finished recovering from his injuries.
• Xie Yuan examined the exchange list and read that one First-Class Merit Point could buy a Purple Dragon Vine.

Xie Yuan and Situ Qin defeated the Boat Gang’s assassins and uncovered the gang’s role in Black River County’s disappearances. After Xie Yuan rescued survivors from a burning inn and captured a powerful middle-aged man, they followed him to a hidden estate, where they fought two more experts and killed one.

• Xie Yuan and Situ Qin fought off a Boat Gang attack at the inn, killing Meng Hesheng and escaping through the front with the Heaven Concealing Art.
• A middle-aged man ordered the inn burned with its guests trapped inside, but Xie Yuan defeated him, forced the Boat Gang deputy leader to extinguish the fire, and rescued the survivors he could reach.
• Xie Yuan questioned the captive, who denied being Mister Qian but offered to lead them to him, and Xie Yuan and Situ Qin followed his directions to a hidden estate upstream.
• Two experts charged out of the estate, and Xie Yuan and Situ Qin fought them together as the captive watched.
• Situ Qin battered the burly fighter with her zither while Xie Yuan feinted against the old man and killed the burly fighter with a sword thrust.
• The old man recognized Xie Yuan’s Golden Bell Cover and demanded to know his allegiance, while the captive realized that his companions were being overwhelmed.

Liu Heshang protected Xie Yuan from Zhang Yu Feng’s attempt to arrest him, but warned that the County Commandant’s power made the Iron Clothes Gate unable to shield him for long. He urged Xie Yuan to seek protection and stronger training at a martial hall in the county city, and Xie Yuan left to buy medicine and advance as quickly as possible.

• Zhang Yu Feng tried to arrest Xie Yuan without the required paperwork, but Liu Heshang challenged him and refused to surrender his disciple without an explanation.
• After Zhang Yu Feng left, Liu Heshang told Xie Yuan he had intervened to buy time and explained that the County Commandant was too powerful for the Iron Clothes Gate to oppose directly.
• Liu Heshang advised Xie Yuan to seek admission to a county-city martial hall, naming Sword Lord Hall, Fluttering Feather Gate, One Blade Martial Hall, and the Soaring Dragon Escort Agency as possibilities.
• Xie Yuan thanked Liu Heshang for his help, and Liu Heshang went to write letters and ask about admission.
• Xie Yuan headed to the pharmacy, determined to become a martial artist as soon as possible.

Xie Yuan glimpsed the Golden Book’s origins and briefly connected with its martial arts, while Situ Qin helped hide the stone slab from a giant eye. After leaving Sky Garden with its treasures, they learned his Fleeting Light Shadow Sword had reached Proficient; Great Vajra Temple closed the garden for ten years, and Miss Mu was summoned to the Wang Residence.

• Xie Yuan witnessed humanity rise in the ancient world and saw the Golden Book’s pages, choosing a glimpse of its sword principles before the book shattered and scattered across the world.
• Situ Qin clouded the stone slab to sever Xie Yuan’s connection and hide it from the giant eye, then left the misty chamber with him.
• Xie Yuan and Situ Qin left Sky Garden carrying its treasures, and Xie Yuan discovered that his Fleeting Light Shadow Sword had reached Proficient.
• Ming Wang found the Immortal Spirit Flower missing and a strange tower in Sky Garden, prompting Great Vajra Temple to investigate survivors and close the garden for ten years.
• A blue-robed old man appeared before Miss Mu and summoned her to the Wang Residence on Madam’s orders.

Xie Yuan defeated Meng Tuo and won the Soaring Dragon Escort Agency’s sparring reward, while Shen Longteng warned Vajra Gate against targeting him. Yu Chunsheng nevertheless planned to move against Xie Yuan, and Zhang Yu Feng arrived at Vajra Gate to urge that Xie Yuan be eliminated.

• Xie Yuan soundly defeated Meng Tuo, prompting the Soaring Dragon Escort Agency to celebrate and Vajra Gate to concede defeat.
• Shen Longteng accepted a Golden Jade Pill from Peng Jie for Xie Yuan and warned Yu Chunsheng not to target him.
• Xie Yuan received the Golden Jade Pill and the promised Superior Medicinal Bath, while Zhang Yu Feng watched him before leaving.
• At Vajra Gate, Yu Chunsheng insisted that Xie Yuan must be dealt with, and Peng Jie hesitated over his plan.
• Zhang Yu Feng entered the study, knelt before Peng Jie and Yu Chunsheng, and declared that Xie Yuan could not be allowed to remain.

Situ Qin prepared to go to Jiangnan to find Xie Yuan, but his letter reassured her, while Xie Yuan settled into his cover as Nether Goose and accepted a mission to infiltrate the Yao Family’s Autumn Wind Pavilion. He entered Dragon Lantern Temple to investigate the abbess Xinhe’s trafficking of orphans and confronted her amid evidence of her gruesome crimes.

• Situ Qin tried to leave for Jiangnan to find Xie Yuan, but Red Aunt and Li Tai proposed gathering the Prince of Western Peace Residence’s forces to protect her.
• Situ Qin received Xie Yuan’s letter saying he was safe, canceled her journey, and resolved to cultivate toward the Third Transformation Realm.
• The Autumn Wind Pavilion Master ordered Nether Goose to spar with Slaying Clouds, praised his talent, and offered him a path to Human rank and the Great Golden River Skill.
• Mu Chaoyun urged Xie Yuan to use his Nether Goose identity to gain the Yao Family’s resources and intelligence, and he chose a Human-rank mission targeting the corrupt abbess Xinhe.
• Xie Yuan infiltrated Dragon Lantern Temple’s Charity House to kill Xinhe for trafficking orphans, then found her beside a horrifying scene and faced her challenge.

Xie Yuan reviewed his battle with Xinhe and the woman in purple, then advanced to Human Rank and received precious pills from the Autumn Wind Pavilion Master. As his cultivation rose and he continued taking missions, the Stove Sect’s conflict with Autumn Wind Pavilion escalated, and the chapter ended with the Pavilion Master asking Slaying Clouds how likely they were to kill Nether Goose.

• Xie Yuan reflected on his fight with Xinhe and the woman in purple, resolved to be more cautious, and resumed cultivating with the Heavenly Crystal Lotus.
• Yun Jiao informed Xie Yuan that he had advanced to Human Rank and gave him equipment and two bottles of Leopard Fetus Jade Ganoderma Pills from the Autumn Wind Pavilion Master.
• Xie Yuan had Mu Chaoyun check the pills, then used them to rapidly increase his Blood Qi while enduring their unusually strong effects.
• Mu Chaoyun performed a divination that left her pale and despondent, while Xie Yuan continued cultivating and taking missions against criminals.
• The Autumn Wind Pavilion Master learned that the Stove Sect blamed Autumn Wind Pavilion for disrupting its Dragon Lantern Temple plans and ordered Yun Jiao to investigate Xie Yuan’s role.
• After Yun Jiao questioned Xie Yuan and reported finding no evidence, the Autumn Wind Pavilion Master asked Slaying Clouds how certain they would be of killing Nether Goose.

After Xie Yuan defeated the masters of Black Tiger Fist Hall and Divine Weapon Hall, the Iron Clothes Gate celebrated its strengthened standing in Coiling Dragon Town. Liu Heshang survived but remained gravely injured, and Xie Yuan asked to borrow the manual containing the later stages of Iron Cloth; Liu Heshang agreed to have it brought to him.

• Xie Yuan defeated Wang Black Tiger and Fang Wei with a punch and a blade, leaving their halls' disciples to retreat in disgrace.
• Cao Shan promoted the Iron Clothes Gate to the gathered townsfolk, while Tao Jielin watched Xie Yuan's success before his father sent him back to selling fish.
• Xie Yuan returned to the martial hall, where he credited the Iron Clothes Gate and learned that Liu Heshang had regained consciousness after treatment with hundred-year-old ginseng.
• Liu Heshang invited Xie Yuan and Huo Da into his room and offered to repay Xie Yuan for saving the martial hall.
• Xie Yuan asked to borrow the manual describing Iron Cloth's later stages, and Liu Heshang told Huo Da to fetch it from the study.

Huijue used Prajna Temple’s Nine Ring Tin Staff to revive Xie Yi, but Xie Yi remained unconscious, leaving Xie Yuan to gather rare medicines and take charge of the Xie Family. After returning to Chen Commandery, Xie Yuan prepared to face the clan elders as its new head.

• Huijue used the Soul Return Spell to restore Xie Yi’s faint breathing, and Xie Lingyun and the Xie Family learned that he needed supreme spiritual medicines to stabilize his life.
• Xie Yuan dispatched elders to seek medicines from the Cui and Wang Families, the clan treasury, and the Fourteenth Prince, then obtained a Thousand-Year Ginseng Essence from Situ Qin.
• Xie Wu returned with two Thousand-Year Ginseng Essences and a Nine Revolutions Soul Returning Grass after invoking Xie Yuan’s Merit of Supporting the Dragon, and the medicines stabilized Xie Yi’s condition.
• Huijue admitted that he had taken Prajna Temple’s sacred staff without permission, then left after telling Xie Yuan that Xie Yi mattered because he was important to Xie Yuan.
• Xie Yuan bid farewell to Situ Qin, returned with the Xie clan to Chen Commandery, and entered the council hall to address the elders as Family Head.

Xie Yuan studied Mu Chaoyun’s Eight Trigrams Lotus and discovered that contemplating it increased his Black Heaven Book progress, then trained under her guidance and grew much stronger. When visitors from Lin Family Estate arrived, Mu Chaoyun was still staying in his courtyard, and both reacted to the news.

• Mu Chaoyun lent Xie Yuan the Eight Trigrams Lotus to study, then stopped him when its mysteries exhausted him.
• Xie Yuan saw his Black Heaven Book progress rise to 3/100 despite gaining no clear insight.
• Xie Yuan trained under Mu Chaoyun, advanced rapidly, and raised his Black Heaven Book progress to 16/100 through daily contemplation.
• Xie Yuan wondered whether the Mu Family had been destroyed and Mu Chaoyun was its lone survivor.
• A servant told Xie Yuan that a brother and sister from Lin Family Estate had come to visit, and Mu Chaoyun paused as he heard the news.

Xie Yuan used the Tiger Seal to turn the third-floor Practice Dummies against the Western Regions experts, then stole a shape-shifting Mystic Weapon while Lu Tianyong and Luo Tuo fought over it. Though the two Third Transformation experts pursued and cornered him, Xie Yuan threw the weapon toward Lu Tianyong, leaving Luo Tuo poised to react.

• The third-floor Practice Dummies attacked the Western Regions experts but ignored Qin Zhenyang, and Xie Yuan used the Tiger Seal to command them.
• Lu Tianyong and Luo Tuo both tried to seize the Mystic Weapon, fought over it, and gave Xie Yuan the chance to steal it.
• Xie Yuan evaded the two pursuers with the Cloud Dragon Step and survived their combined attack with a powerful axe strike.
• The Great Li experts recognized Xie Yuan as the Wanted criminal, while Lu Tianyong and Luo Tuo resumed their pursuit and cornered him.
• Xie Yuan demonstrated the Mystic Weapon's transformations and strength, then threw it toward Lu Tianyong and told Luo Tuo he would help him.

Li Xingtuo and Wei Dong fought an even duel that raised the Yunshan Sword Sect’s prestige, while Xie Yuan returned to his chores and cultivation after seeing Situ Qin off. Less than ten days later, he learned that the stewards planned to accept him as an outer sect disciple.

• Li Xingtuo and Wei Dong matched each other’s auras before battling with the Fleeting Light Shadow Sword and Ocean Suppressing Tide Calming Sword Art.
• The duel ended without a clear winner, and Wei Dong acknowledged Li Xingtuo’s strength before departing with the Hidden Sword Pavilion disciples.
• Li Tai explained to Xie Yuan and the others that Wei Dong had lost half a move, boosting Li Xingtuo’s standing and the Yunshan Sword Sect’s prestige.
• Situ Qin bid farewell to Xie Yuan and promised they would meet again, then Xie Yuan spent several days managing guest courtyards and other chores.
• Xie Yuan resumed cultivating, but within ten days he learned that the stewards planned to accept Zhang Shan as an official outer sect disciple.

Xie Yuan broke through to the Qi and Blood Second Transformation Realm, secured leave from Li Xingtuo, and set out with Situ Qin to investigate missing women and children near the Cloud Province–Wild Goose Province border. In Black River County, they found the County Magistrate evasive and went undercover to confront the Black River Boat Gang.

• Xie Yuan advanced the Golden Bell Cover to its fifth layer, entering the Qi and Blood Second Transformation Realm and testing his new defensive power and sword gleam.
• Xie Yuan requested leave from Li Xingtuo, who warned him that the disappearance case was complicated and offered sect merit for uncovering the truth.
• Xie Yuan reunited with Situ Qin, and the two traveled to Black River County to investigate the trafficking of women and children.
• Xie Yuan and Situ Qin met Cultivated Talent Fan, whose daughter had disappeared, then struck the grievance drum and heard County Magistrate Yao Zhizhang deny that any such cases existed.
• Xie Yuan used the Heaven Concealing Art to disguise himself as Yao Zhizhang and entered the Black River Boat Gang with Situ Qin.

Xie Yuan defeated Qin Chuan in three saber strikes and completed his exchange with Ayina for the Manjusaka, but the transaction revealed a trap involving the Stove Sect. When Miao Yun tried to take him to the Joyous Union Elder, Xie Yuan fought back with the Fleeting Light Shadow Sword, prompting her to recognize the technique.

• Xie Yuan killed Qin Chuan with three saber strikes, winning the Kucha arena match and stunning the crowd.
• Ayina delayed handing over the Manjusaka for three days, so Xie Yuan sent Xie Qingyang back to the Central Plains while he waited.
• Ayina brought Xie Yuan the blooming Manjusaka and received the silk page he had promised, then removed her veil as Miao Yun ambushed him.
• Miao Yun identified herself as a subordinate of the Joyous Union Elder and tried to take Xie Yuan to Heaven Beyond Heaven Paradise Palace, while Ayina admitted she had acted to protect Kucha.
• Xie Yuan fought Miao Yun with the Fleeting Light Shadow Sword and forced her to retreat after nearly striking her neck.
• Miao Yun recognized Xie Yuan's technique and cried out, asking how he knew the Fleeting Light Shadow Sword.

Mu Chaoyun visited Situ Wan in Heaven Beyond Heaven and saw visions of an approaching fate, then left after learning the identity of the person involved. Xie Yuan returned to Cloudshine with Situ Qin, delivered Lu Lao San’s head to the Lin siblings for their father’s memorial, and Lin Zhen resolved to continue cultivating despite the distance between her and Xie Yuan.

• Situ Wan showed Mu Chaoyun visions in the pond and told her there might not be much time left to change the fate she had seen.
• Situ Wan revealed a name to Mu Chaoyun, who chose to leave Heaven Beyond Heaven without asking about her own future.
• Xie Yuan and Situ Qin returned to West Pass and went to Lin Family Estate, where Xie Yuan gave Lin Cheng Lu Lao San’s head.
• Xie Yuan paid respects to Staff Lin’s spirit tablet as Lin Cheng recounted the siblings’ progress and their efforts to honor their father’s teachings.
• After Xie Yuan and Situ Qin departed, Lin Zhen felt the gap between their worlds but resolved to keep practicing the sword and cultivating.

Xie Yuan awakened the Indestructible Golden Bell Cover through the Buddhist Talisman's resonance and completed its conversion in a few days. When Xie Bing returned gravely wounded and the elders refused to unite over the threatened Heaven Cloud Garden, Xie Yuan confronted the factions challenging his leadership and ended the council by asking Xie Yan to test him.

• Xie Yuan witnessed Prajna Temple's golden light endure through ten thousand years and comprehended Indestructible Buddhist Intent, transforming his Golden Bell Cover into the Indestructible Golden Bell Cover.
• After several days of cultivation, Xie Yuan converted his Blood Qi through the Third Layer and gained a pale-golden defensive bell.
• Xie Bing returned severely wounded and identified Imperial Palace Guard Yuan Zhen and Yao Yuyi as the enemies who had ambushed him near Heaven Cloud Garden.
• Xie Yuan ordered the elders to convene, but Xie Wen and Xie Zhi's factions resisted helping recover the garden, prompting Xie Yuan to denounce their obstruction.
• Xie Yan accused Xie Yuan of being unfit to lead and demanded that he step down, with several elders joining the demand.
• Xie Yuan asked whether Xie Yan would accept him as patriarch if he became a Grandmaster, then challenged Xie Yan to test him.

Long Qianqiu escaped Xie Yuan by taking over his identity, slaughtered Heavenly Fragrance Mountain Manor, and spread word that Xie Yuan possessed the Black Heaven Book. After Tong He attacked Xie Yuan and was killed, Xie Yuan and Mu Chaoyun set out to find Wu Daoji before the news drew more Grandmasters to them.

• Long Qianqiu ordered Long Dan Yun to spread the claim that Xie Yuan possessed two pages of the Black Heaven Book, then killed the manor’s inhabitants and transformed himself into Xie Yuan.
• Xie Yuan and Mu Chaoyun found Heavenly Fragrance Mountain Manor burned and its people dead, and Mu Chaoyun identified the missing souls as the work of Wu Daoji.
• Tong He arrived after receiving the Black Heaven Book rumor, accused Xie Yuan of killing the manor’s people, and demanded to know whether he possessed the book.
• Tong He attacked Xie Yuan with the Five Elements Blade Technique, but Xie Yuan killed him with a single sword strike.
• Mu Chaoyun warned that the Black Heaven Book would draw Grandmasters to them, and Xie Yuan left with her to pursue Wu Daoji and strengthen himself by refining the True Shadow Candlestick.