Chapter Summaries

Xie Yuan killed Lu Lao San, took his identity and Sky Garden admission pass, then traveled to Kucha to obtain the Newborn Manjusaka for Xie Yi. After offering the Kucha Kingdom a scripture that could improve martial aptitude and agreeing to challenge its princess’s suitor, Xie Yuan faced Qin Chuan in the arena.

• Xie Yuan beheaded Lu Lao San, searched his belongings, and found an admission pass to the Sky Garden as well as letters about his dealings with the Great Food Country.
• Xie Yuan disguised himself as Lu Lao San and left Blue Water Oasis City, then met Xie Qingyang in Kucha to discuss acquiring the Newborn Manjusaka.
• Xie Yuan offered the Kucha royal palace a scripture that could help Qi Blood experts become Grandmasters in exchange for the herb, and Princess Ayina asked him to defeat the arena’s current champion so she could avoid marrying him.
• Xie Yuan agreed to challenge Qin Chuan, and the two met on the arena three days later before a crowd gathered in Kucha Royal City.
• Qin Chuan threatened Xie Yuan, who calmly challenged the Western Desert fighter’s reputation.

Xie Yuan broke through to the Grandmaster Realm on Sword Peak, learned the Fleeting Light Shadow Sword, and received Li Xingtuo’s guidance. After visiting Lin Zhen and Lin Cheng before setting out again, he arrived at a Xie Family residence in Yizhou Prefecture, where Xie Bing had come to meet a guarded middle-aged man.

• Qin Zhenyang lifted the seal on Sword Peak after seeing that Xie Yuan had completed his breakthrough, and the surge of Sword Intent confirmed that Xie Yuan had become a Grandmaster.
• Xie Yuan used his first communion with heaven and earth to choose the Fleeting Light Shadow Sword from the Sword Dao world, and he reached its Beginner level while gaining greater insight into his Sword Heart.
• Li Xingtuo demonstrated the Fleeting Light Shadow Sword through the Cloud Dragon Nine Forms, and Xie Yuan understood about thirty percent of the display before Li Xingtuo authorized him to pass the art on to worthy disciples.
• Xie Yuan reclaimed his cultivation, met the elders, then told Li Xingtuo he planned to visit old friends and handle matters for his family before traveling to the Western Regions.
• Xie Yuan reunited with Lin Zhen and Lin Cheng, gave them pills, swordsmanship notes, and tokens, revealed his identity as Chief Escort Leader Xie, and departed to pursue Lu Lao San.
• Xie Bing arrived at a Xie Family residence in Yizhou Prefecture, where a middle-aged man recognized him and reacted with surprise and gravity.

Xie Yuan sold a Camphor Tree for four taels of silver and learned that Phoebe Wood could bring an even higher price. He used the money to buy four servings of Low-Grade Supplement Soup, drank one at home, and felt a faint surge of strength.

• Xie Yuan sold his Camphor Tree to Boss Wan for four taels of silver and learned that a Phoebe Wood tree could sell for up to ten taels.
• Xie Yuan realized the nearby clearing held more valuable trees and planned to earn enough money to restore his body by cutting them down.
• Xie Yuan returned to the Iron Clothes Gate and told Cao Shan he had spent the past ten days gathering silver instead of practicing martial arts.
• Xie Yuan bought four servings of Low-Grade Supplement Soup with his earnings and hurried home.
• Xie Yuan drank one serving without heating it and felt a faint restless warmth and a little strength in his stomach.

Xie Yuan rushed back to Yun Zhao County with an antidote after learning that a hidden drug threatened the escort agency, but he found Lin Family Estate mourning Staff Lin and many others murdered. He learned that Staff Lin’s relatives were fighting over the inheritance, and Second Master Lin demanded the treasured blade Xie Yuan carried.

• Xie Yuan learned from Situ Qin that Zheng Qingyang had identified a concealed drug and prepared one antidote, then borrowed a horse and rode through the night toward Yun Zhao County.
• Xie Yuan arrived at Lin Family Estate and learned that Lu Lao San had killed Staff Lin, his wife, and many people in the household.
• Xie Yuan entered the estate despite a servant’s refusal and found Lin Cheng and Lin Zhen grieving beside their father’s coffin while their uncles argued over the inheritance.
• Xie Yuan told Lin Cheng and Lin Zhen that Lu Lao San had murdered their family, and he supported placing Staff Lin’s inheritance in Lin Cheng’s hands.
• Second Master Lin blamed Xie Yuan for the family’s ruin and reached for the treasured blade Staff Lin had given him.

Xie Yuan and Situ Qin raided a trafficking manor in Black River, but the victims and witnesses were killed by a poison controlled by the hidden Mister Qian, who escaped. After Cultivated Talent Fan died confronting the corrupt Yao Zhizhang, Xie Yuan returned to the County Office and confronted him, cutting off two of his fingers when he invoked the Jinling Yao Family.

• Xie Yuan and Situ Qin fought Old Liu, whom they mistook for Mister Qian, and killed him after he refused to surrender.
• They searched the manor, freed more than a hundred women and children, and watched as Mister Qian triggered poison that killed the captives and witnesses.
• Xie Yuan and Situ Qin discovered Mister Qian had disguised himself among the corpses, pursued him, and identified his Light Wind Step as an inherited art of the Yongyang Qian Family before he escaped into the mountains.
• Cultivated Talent Fan accused Yao Zhizhang of complicity in the trafficking, and Yao Zhizhang ordered him caned to death before burning incriminating documents.
• Xie Yuan learned that Yao Zhizhang had arranged the deaths of the rescued travelers, confronted him in the County Office, and cut off two of his fingers after he claimed descent from the Jinling Yao Family.

Xie Yuan met the Cui and Wang families’ young leaders at Chunjiang Restaurant, where a proposed marriage alliance sparked a rivalry between Wang Qishi, Situ Qin, and Xie Lingyun. After Cui Lei and Wang Qiwen challenged him to meet them at the Hidden Dragon Banquet, Xie Yuan reunited with Huijue, who abruptly fled when they reached the restaurant; a hooded stranger then invited Xie Yuan to sit.

• Xie Yi, Cui Tong, and Wang Junlin prepared for possible negotiations or a battle with the Xue Imperial Family, while their families’ Grandmasters gathered in the Capital City.
• Cui Lei joined Xie Yuan, Situ Qin, Xie Lingyun, Wang Qiwen, and Wang Qishi for a meal, then challenged Xie Yuan to face him at the Hidden Dragon Banquet.
• Wang Qishi revealed that her family was considering a marriage alliance with Xie Yuan, provoking Xie Lingyun and Situ Qin before she pointedly mentioned Xie Yuan’s old friend from the Mu Family.
• Cui Lei and Wang Qiwen departed after promising to meet Xie Yuan at the Hidden Dragon Banquet, and Xie Yuan escorted Situ Qin before parting with her for the night.
• Xie Yuan recalled his spear techniques, then welcomed Huijue, who discussed martial principles with him and asked him to visit Chunjiang Restaurant for a vegetarian meal.
• Huijue abruptly turned away from Chunjiang Restaurant and hurried off, while a hooded figure inside called for Xie Yuan to sit.

Xie Yuan reunited with Situ Qin at Yunshan Mountain and told her about the destruction of the Mu Family, the escort agency, and his dangerous escape. The chapter ended with Situ Qin asking whether he and Mu Chaoyun had secretly pledged themselves to each other for life.

• Xie Yuan followed the steward to Situ Qin’s guest courtyard, where Situ Qin exposed his disguise by testing the newly arrived worker.
• Situ Qin revealed that she had reached the Qi and Blood Transformation Realm because she had felt too weak to help when Xie Yuan was being hunted.
• Xie Yuan praised Situ Qin’s changed appearance, and their conversation grew awkwardly intimate before they went inside for tea.
• Xie Yuan recounted his recent experiences, including Mu Chaoyun’s refuge, the Mu Family’s destruction, and his escape, while withholding details about the Black Heaven Book.
• Situ Qin listened with concern, then asked Xie Yuan whether he and Mu Chaoyun had secretly pledged themselves to each other for life.

Xie Yuan traveled to Yun Zhao County to rescue Wang Lei, who had been detained over an allegedly broken vase and faced ransom demands for his family’s land deed. After seeing Wang Lei chained and mistreated, Xie Yuan refused to surrender the deed, and Wang Lei revealed that Wang Er Gou had framed him.

• Li Lan told Xie Yuan that Wang Lei was being held at a restaurant and that they demanded the family land deed to release him.
• Xie Yuan reassured Li Lan, took the land deed as a precaution, gathered bear goods, and traveled with Wang Er Gou to Yun Zhao County.
• At the restaurant, Xie Yuan found Wang Lei underfed, dressed in thin clothes, and chained by the ankle.
• Xie Yuan freed Wang Lei and showed the shopkeeper the land deed, but told Wang Lei he would pay with money instead.
• Wang Lei warned Xie Yuan not to give the restaurant money and accused Wang Er Gou of breaking the vase and framing him.

Xie Yuan learned that Yu Chunsheng had visited Peng Yue’s residence and suspected the visit was connected to the coming arena match. After testing his concealment and asking Commander Hu about the residence’s guards, Xie Yuan decided to infiltrate Peng Yue’s home, but Situ Qin caught him leaving at night.

• Peng Wei told Xie Yuan that Yu Chunsheng had visited Peng Yue’s residence and spoken with its steward, while a physician had also been seen there.
• Xue Yanwen ordered an attendant to investigate Xie Yuan, then rebuked him for proposing to kill Xie Yuan instead of recruiting him.
• Situ Qin gave Xie Yuan a medicinal formula that could increase his early Inner Strength progress, and he awkwardly embarrassed her by sniffing the envelope.
• Xie Yuan decided he needed to learn what Yu Chunsheng wanted from Peng Yue and tested whether he could conceal himself from Commander Hu.
• Commander Hu told Xie Yuan about the guards and martial artists protecting Peng Yue’s residence, and Xie Yuan resolved to infiltrate it that night.
• Situ Qin stood in the courtyard and asked Xie Yuan where he was going so late.

Xie Yuan defeated Wu Daoji, gained the True Shadow Candlestick, and left the cave with Mu Chaoyun after burning Wu Daoji’s remains. They discovered Long Qianqiu’s corpse was missing, while at Heavenly Fragrance Mountain Manor Long Dan Yun saw Long Qianqiu standing behind him.

• Xie Yuan examined the True Shadow Candlestick and told Mu Chaoyun that he had destroyed Wu Daoji, whose hidden history she explained.
• Mu Chaoyun inspected Xie Yuan’s Sea of Consciousness and confirmed that Wu Daoji had left no trace, though Xie Yuan’s Spiritual Sense had grown stronger.
• Xie Yuan burned Wu Daoji’s lifeless body and the cave, then asked Mu Chaoyun about the Black Heaven Book and the fate she said he could change.
• Xie Yuan and Mu Chaoyun found that Long Qianqiu’s corpse had vanished from the passage outside the cave.
• Long Dan Yun anxiously waited at Heavenly Fragrance Mountain Manor until Long Qianqiu appeared silently behind him.

Jade Serenity revealed that he had manipulated Xie Yuan’s fate and the Mu Family’s destruction to gather the Black Heaven Book and confront Heaven. He attacked Xie Yuan by turning the Nourishing Body Skill against him, while Mu Chaoyun stopped Situ Qin from reaching the battlefield and said she alone could save him.

• Jade Serenity identified himself as the Taoist Priest who had taught Xie Yuan the Nourishing Body Skill and secretly guided him toward gathering the Black Heaven Book.
• Jade Serenity admitted destroying the Mu Family, manipulating Xue Minghe’s fate, and forcing Mu Chaoyun to choose between revenge and protecting Xie Yuan.
• Xie Yuan refused to surrender the Black Heaven Book and attacked Jade Serenity, who used the Nourishing Body Skill to make Xie Yuan’s Inner Breath riot and injure him.
• Mu Chaoyun blocked Situ Qin from joining the fight, saying the calamity was one Xie Yuan had to endure and that only she could save him.
• A tremendous radiance erupted across the battlefield as Situ Qin turned to look.

Lu Lao San and Deng Wan pursued the porcelain bottle and Mu Chaoyun, while Zhao Xingyang and Shen Longteng tried to protect the escort agency’s shipment. Deng Wan followed an eyeless insect into the mountains and caught up with two fleeing figures, reaching them with his saber raised.

• Lu Lao San stopped Zhao Xingyang’s convoy, took the porcelain bottle from him, and left Zhao unconscious after striking him.
• Lu Lao San confronted Shen Longteng’s convoy, killed Shen Longteng, and took the second porcelain bottle.
• Deng Wan killed the men at the south gate, used an eyeless insect to track Mu Chaoyun, and destroyed Chunjiang Restaurant while searching for her route.
• Deng Wan followed the insect out of Yun Zhao County and spotted two figures fleeing across a mountain.
• Deng Wan broke through the mountain’s illusion formations, caught up with the two figures as they climbed a cliff, and slashed at them.

Xie Yuan encountered Tao Jielin after Tao’s breakthrough led to a beating from Xu Yang, then continued cultivating Iron Cloth with medicinal soup and food. After nearly ten days, Xie Yuan completed the first level of Iron Cloth.

• Tao Jielin told Xie Yuan that Xu Yang had beaten him after he broke through to the first level.
• Xu Yang confronted Tao Jielin and Xie Yuan, boasting about his skill and promising to instruct them after Xie Yuan broke through.
• Xie Yuan refused to flatter Xu Yang and told Tao Jielin not to yield to anyone who threatened him.
• Xie Yuan told Cao Shan he would continue training, exchanged for five packets of medicinal soup, and brought food back to Small Stone Village.
• Xie Yuan cultivated the Nourishing Body Skill and Iron Cloth for nearly ten days, completing Iron Cloth’s first level.

Mu Chaoyun rescued Xie Yuan from the Eight Mystic Maidens, explained their formation, and reunited with him before returning to investigate the Stove Sect. Xie Yuan headed back toward Chen Commandery, where he met Cui Lei and defeated him in a sparring match despite the Cui Family’s Grandmasters surrounding the area.

• Mu Chaoyun revealed her identity, used a Bagua formation to kill the six remaining Eight Mystic Maidens, and explained that they had been trained to fight Grandmasters.
• Mu Chaoyun admitted that she had impersonated an Eight Mystic Maiden to infiltrate Heaven Beyond Heaven and said she would continue investigating the Stove Sect for clues about her family’s enemy.
• Xie Yuan urged Mu Chaoyun to leave the dangerous sect, but she refused; the two shared a tender farewell, and Mu Chaoyun erased the battlefield traces before departing in disguise.
• Xie Yuan traveled toward Chen Commandery and stopped in Fen River, where Cui Lei recognized him by the Dragon Soul and revealed that the Cui Family was heading to help the Xie Family.
• Cui Lei challenged Xie Yuan to a sparring match, but Xie Yuan overwhelmed him with his spear technique and defeated him with a clash of their strongest attacks.

Yun Xing brought Xie Yuan into Heaven Beyond Heaven, the Stove Church’s hidden realm, and recruited him as her sole Fire Protector for the deadly Holy Mountain Fire Seizing ceremony. Three days later, they arrived at the Flame Holy Mountain, where the gathered participants watched the unknown Xie Yuan.

• Yun Xing used a Four Symbols Formation to transport herself and Xie Yuan from a village farmhouse into Heaven Beyond Heaven, where she identified the city as the Holy Church.
• Yun Xing confronted Commander Lei when he tried to interrogate Xie Yuan, forcing him to let them enter the city.
• Yun Xing explained that Lei Xianlun and BeiTang Yue’s powerful family-backed team would oppose them in the Holy Mountain ceremony, where participants competed to reach the summit and obtain the Holy Fire.
• Yun Xing revealed that she had brought only Xie Yuan as her Fire Protector, and the two discussed the strengths of their rivals and their plans for the dangerous contest.
• Three days later, Yun Xing led Xie Yuan to the foot of the Flame Holy Mountain, where the assembled experts turned their attention to him.

Xie Yuan turned the convoy battle around by cutting through the attackers and helping kill their Third Level leader. When a hidden master rushed Situ Qin’s carriage, he was suddenly blasted back, leaving the identity of the person who stopped him unclear.

• Xie Yuan killed several black-clad fighters, but the convoy guards were gradually overwhelmed by their numbers and stronger weapons.
• Xie Yuan charged into the attackers with his saber and axe, disrupting their formation and boosting the guards’ morale.
• A Third Level black-clad leader attacked Xie Yuan, who blocked his strike with the Three-Pronged Axe and broke his hand with Qian Character Fist.
• Vice Commander Li seized the opening to sever the leader’s other hand and kill him, while Commander Hu and Vice Commander Li pressed their opponents.
• A hidden master rushed toward Situ Qin’s carriage, but after she swung her zither at him, he flew backward and crashed among the black-clad men.

Xie Yuan defeated Xie Yan in a public duel, strengthening his claim to the Xie Family head position and winning Xie Ting’s support. With Xie Wen entering seclusion and Xie Lei unreachable, Xie Yuan faced a difficult decision about how to defend Heaven Cloud Garden and finally wrote a long letter.

• Xie Yuan defeated Xie Yan with his final axe strikes, and Xie Zhi intervened to prevent Xie Yan from being killed.
• Xie Yuan confronted Xie Yan over his earlier promise to support him as Family Head if he proved himself, then accepted Xie Ting’s offer to fight for Heaven Cloud Garden.
• Cui Pingjun recognized that Xie Yuan’s battle had won elders’ support and spread a favorable account of the duel throughout the Xie Family Clan Land.
• Xie Yuan asked Xie Wen to fight and sent for Xie Lei, but Xie Wen entered seclusion and Xie Lei could not be contacted without risking harm to his breakthrough.
• Xie Yuan considered whether to awaken Xie Lei despite the risks, then returned to his study and wrote a long letter.

Xie Yuan mastered all seven forms of the Heaven Burning World Destroying Spear in three days, though he still could not understand its forbidden final move. He returned to Xie Yi’s room as Cui Pingjun gave Xie Yi the completed medicine, and they waited for it to take effect.

• Xie Fu watched Xie Yuan study the Heaven Burning World Destroying Spear while keeping other elders away from the eighth floor.
• After three days, Xie Yuan demonstrated the fourth through seventh forms and their artistic conceptions, astonishing Xie Fu with how much he had mastered.
• Xie Yuan admitted he had no understanding of the forbidden final move, Heaven Burning World Destroying, and declined to study the spear’s mental method until after resting.
• Xie Yuan went to Xie Yi’s room, where Cui Pingjun said the medicine would be ready after another half day.
• Cui Pingjun fed the clear, golden-flecked medicine to Xie Yi while Xie Yuan and Xie Lingyun watched in silence.

After a drunken banquet, Xie Yuan noticed Lu Zhenyu socializing with a County Office officer, then learned that the escort agency was preparing a major shipment for Staff Chang. Zhao Xingyang assigned Xie Yuan to carry a concealed Yin Yang Escort shipment alone to Five Mile Village while the main force took another route.

• Xie Yuan escaped the escorts’ drinking contest, spotted Lu Zhenyu with a County Office officer, and later got the drunken men safely back to the escort agency.
• Two days later, Zhao Xingyang announced that the escort team would transport Staff Chang’s antiques and curios to Jade Forest Five Mile Village.
• Zhao Xingyang planned for the main force to detour through Peng County to avoid Rooster Mountain and warned the Advanced Escort Masters to keep the route secret.
• After the others left, Zhao Xingyang gave Xie Yuan a jade box and ordered him to carry the hidden shipment alone to Five Mile Village.

Xie Yuan was trapped in a secluded valley with Ji Xuan, who challenged him to a deadly fight to earn the right to kill a Grandmaster before advancing. After their battle escalated, Xie Yuan escaped Ji Xuan’s finishing blow with the Heaven Illusion Art and fled through the forest.

• Ji Xuan revealed that he had brought Xie Yuan to a Secret Valley to resume their unfinished match and attacked him with his Logging Axe.
• Xie Yuan blocked Ji Xuan’s sweeping axe strikes and learned that Ji had deliberately suppressed his cultivation while searching for a Grandmaster worthy of killing.
• Xie Yuan unwrapped the Dragon Soul and fought Ji Xuan, then broke through to Grandmaster-level strength when his attacks proved insufficient.
• Ji Xuan used the Heaven Piercing Style and appeared to cleave Xie Yuan in two, but Xie Yuan had escaped with the Heaven Illusion Art.
• Ji Xuan realized Xie Yuan had tricked him and pursued him as Xie Yuan raced through the forest, wary of the nearby entrance to Heaven Beyond Heaven.