Chapter Summaries

At Chunjiang Restaurant, Xie Yuan defeated Cui Fang first with a single sword exchange, then overcame Cui Fang’s stronger spear art without changing weapons. Cui Lei and Wang Qiwen joined the gathering, while Xie Yi asked two aristocratic elders what their family heads had decided with three days remaining before the Hidden Dragon Banquet.

• Xie Yuan defeated Cui Fang’s swordsmanship with one step and one casual sword stroke, then rejected Cui Fang’s claim that the first match did not count.
• Cui Fang criticized Xie Yuan for protecting Situ Qin and challenged him again with his Black Gold Dragon Gall Spear, using his full cultivation.
• Xie Yuan evaded Cui Fang’s spear attacks, stepped onto the spearpoint, and held his sword to Cui Fang’s throat until Cui Fang conceded.
• The crowd applauded Xie Yuan, and Wang Qiwen reconsidered him as a serious rival for the Hidden Dragon Banquet.
• Cui Lei arrived, greeted Xie Yuan as an old comrade, and called Wang Qiwen out of his private room to join them.
• Xie Yi asked two aristocratic elders what their family heads had decided, noting that the Hidden Dragon Banquet was only three days away.

Xie Yuan rescued Long Dan Yun from Autumn Wind Pavilion assassins, recovered a jade disc fragment, and spared their leader, Wang Cuihua. After Long Qianqiu arrived and apologized for attacking him, Luo Dong Sheng appeared and revealed his interest in the fragment before trying to seize it from Xie Yuan.

• An assassin scouting the ruined temple was killed by Xie Yuan, who emerged and challenged the Autumn Wind Pavilion leader about why he wanted Long Dan Yun.
• Xie Yuan killed three assassins, forced the leader to release Long Dan Yun, and caught him before he struck a cliff.
• Xie Yuan caught up with the fleeing leader, recovered the jade disc fragment, and let Wang Cuihua go after telling her the Pavilion Master was dead.
• Xie Yuan returned to Long Dan Yun, introduced himself as Zhang Shan, and met Long Qianqiu, who attacked him before Long Dan Yun explained that he was his lifesaving benefactor.
• Luo Dong Sheng arrived, denied commissioning Long Dan Yun's assassination, and hinted that he and Long Qianqiu wanted the fragment for a purpose involving the Five Elements Sect.
• When Xie Yuan revealed the jade disc fragment, Luo Dong Sheng lunged at him and reached for it.

Xie Yuan killed Gongsun Xiao and Yao Tianchuan, then impersonated Yao Tianchuan to infiltrate the Yao Family. After learning that Ten Thousand Demons Mountain offered rare treasures and a chance to win the families’ favor, he prepared to take part in the hunt and uncovered a copy of the Great Golden River Skill.

• Xie Yuan used illusions to defeat Gongsun Xiao and Yao Tianchuan, then learned from Yao Tianchuan’s memories that Situ Qin’s mother had destroyed the Yao Residence.
• Xie Yuan burned the bodies and the Honghu Broadsword Sect’s main residence, then impersonated Yao Tianchuan and received healing medicine and the promise of instruction in the Shadowless Step from the Autumn Wind Pavilion Master.
• Xie Yuan visited Mu Chaoyun, who explained the Ten Thousand Demons Mountain hunt and urged him to attend for its treasures and rewards.
• Xie Yuan returned to Yao Tianchuan’s room and found the Great Golden River Skill hidden among the swordsmanship notes.

Xie Yuan confronted the shopkeeper and Wang Er Gou after Wang Lei was blamed for breaking a vase, using Bear Pelt and Bear Paws to negotiate a settlement instead of surrendering Wang Lei’s Land Deed. He secured food for himself and Wang Lei and persuaded the shopkeeper to dismiss Wang Er Gou.

• Wang Lei accused Wang Er Gou of tripping him and making him break the vase, while Wang Er Gou and the shopkeeper blamed Wang Lei.
• Xie Yuan judged Wang Lei honest and challenged Wang Er Gou, then offered his Bear Pelt and four Bear Paws in place of the Land Deed.
• Xie Yuan warned the shopkeeper that he could give the Bear Paws to influential officials and expose the attempted land seizure, prompting the shopkeeper to accept the goods as compensation.
• Xie Yuan insisted that the shopkeeper feed him and Wang Lei, and they ate two large bowls of noodles with fried eggs in lard.
• Xie Yuan asked the shopkeeper to dismiss Wang Er Gou, and the shopkeeper agreed.

Xie Yuan protected Lin Cheng and Lin Zhen from their relatives’ attempt to seize Staff Lin’s estate, then hurried to the arena match between Vajra Gate and the Soaring Dragon Escort Agency. Peng Jie defeated two escort leaders and revealed that his opponents had been poisoned, but an armed newcomer burst into the hall and challenged him.

• Xie Yuan used his blade skills and a display that the Lin Family mistook for Staff Lin’s manifestation to secure Staff Lin’s estate for Lin Cheng and Lin Zhen, then left for Yun Zhao County.
• Peng Jie and Wei Zhen fought on Vajra Gate’s arena, where Peng Jie overpowered Wei Zhen and knocked him unconscious.
• Peng Jie also defeated Chu Sheng, who suspected that Peng Jie had reached the threshold of Qi and Blood Transformation.
• Zhao Xingyang and the other escort members realized Peng Jie had poisoned them, while Vajra Gate’s disciples surrounded them and blocked their escape.
• As Peng Jie prepared to attack the weakened escort members, a tall figure carrying an enormous axe burst through the hall doors and challenged him.

Xie Yuan and Mu Chaoyun escaped Yun Zhao County by river and fled into the mountains, where Deng Wan caught sight of them. Earlier, Deng Wan and Lu Lao San had split up to search the escort agency’s four routes, leaving Xie Yuan and Mu Chaoyun facing a pursuing Grandmaster.

• Xie Yuan carried the injured Mu Chaoyun through the city under the Heaven Concealing Art, and they boarded an eastbound boat before slipping into the river and heading for the South Bank.
• Mu Chaoyun directed Xie Yuan through the mountains using her Eight Trigrams Plate, and they rested near a summit after a day and night on the run.
• Mu Chaoyun admitted that her predicament had endangered the Soaring Dragon Escort Agency, but Xie Yuan told her he did not blame her.
• Xie Yuan spotted Deng Wan running toward the mountains with a bloodied saber, and Deng Wan saw them, prompting Xie Yuan to carry Mu Chaoyun away.
• At Long Pavilion, Deng Wan and Lu Lao San divided the search routes, while Lu Lao San threatened Yu Chunsheng and promised to collect him if the hunt succeeded.
• Lu Lao San later noticed a large escort convoy emerging from the north gate.

Mu Chaoyun defended Xie Yuan during the Autumn Wind Pavilion selection, helping him secure a place in Seeing Truth Lake and easing the Pavilion Master's suspicions. When Xie Yuan entered the lake, its sudden disturbance revealed visions of his former home and triggered a mysterious response from Huijue's Buddhist Talisman, leaving him shaken before the Illusion Dream Heavenly Crystal.

• Mu Chaoyun stopped Young Master Yu from attacking Xie Yuan, then denounced his conduct and the Qian Family's use of its Secret Medicine.
• Xie Yuan found a selection token and became the first assassin to pass; Yao Tianchuan and three others later won the remaining places.
• The Autumn Wind Pavilion Master questioned Mu Chaoyun about Xie Yuan, and she deflected his attention before privately warning Xie Yuan to be cautious around him.
• Mu Chaoyun prepared Xie Yuan for Seeing Truth Lake, used the Eight Trigrams Lotus to perform a divination, and secretly bestowed an auspicious blessing on him.
• Xie Yuan entered Seeing Truth Lake, rejected a vision of his family and former home, and continued toward the Illusion Dream Heavenly Crystal.
• Huijue's Buddhist Talisman blazed near the crystal, showing Xie Yuan visions of Buddhist statues and a monk amid an apocalyptic scene before he jolted awake.

Xie Yuan helped the gravely injured Mu Chaoyun recover enough to reveal that Lu Lao San and Deng Wan were hunting her. With the two Grandmasters closing in, Mu Chaoyun proposed using the Soaring Dragon Escort Agency as decoys so they could escape, and Shen Longteng accepted the dangerous commission.

• Xie Yuan revived Mu Chaoyun, found the medicine hidden in her robe, and helped her treat her wounds.
• Mu Chaoyun told Xie Yuan that Lu Lao San and Deng Wan had ambushed her outside Cloudshine and that she needed several days to recover.
• Mu Chaoyun proposed sending four groups of escorts carrying her aura in different directions to distract the Grandmasters while she and Xie Yuan escaped.
• Mu Chaoyun summoned Shen Longteng and showed him the jade pendant tied to the debt he owed her benefactor from the North Capital Mountain Mu Family.
• Xie Yuan explained that the escort agency would face two Grandmasters, and Shen Longteng accepted the Yin Yang Escort and ordered everyone to gather.

After eating the Emerald Green Fruit, Xie Yuan underwent a dramatic physical transformation and advanced his Nourishing Body Skill to the Second Layer. He learned he had slept for three days and asked Li Lan whether Brother Lei had returned, preparing to pursue his next plan.

• Xie Yuan ate the Emerald Green Fruit and fell into a deep sleep as its spiritual liquid nourished his body.
• Xie Yuan woke refreshed and discovered that his Iron Cloth had advanced to the Second Layer and his Nourishing Body Skill had reached the Second Layer with 1108 progress.
• Xie Yuan washed and changed clothes, then encountered Li Lan, who remarked on his improved complexion and appearance.
• Li Lan told Xie Yuan that he had been asleep for three days, not one, and Xie Yuan accepted that the fruit's effects had sustained him.
• Xie Yuan asked Li Lan whether Brother Lei had returned, thinking he could now try his previous idea.

Xie Yuan refused Zhang Lao Er’s persistent offer to become a servant, suspecting he was being pressured into selling himself, and used his strength with an axe to make Zhang Lao Er back off. He sold his Iron Poplar firewood for copper and resolved to save enough to train at a martial arts school, but the next morning someone confronted him in the woods.

• Zhang Lao Er urged Xie Yuan to take a servant’s job in the county seat, and Xie Yuan suspected he was trying to force him into becoming a household slave.
• Xie Yuan put on a padded coat and split an Iron Poplar log with one blow, making Zhang Lao Er retreat after Xie Yuan refused the offer.
• After Zhang Lao Er left, Xie Yuan decided he needed to become a martial artist and sell firewood for copper to afford a martial arts school.
• Xie Yuan sold his remaining Iron Poplar firewood for 120 copper coins and calculated that he would need to fell many more trees to afford the school’s entry fee.
• The next morning, as Xie Yuan prepared to fell a tree, an unseen speaker mocked him as a tree-felling expert.

Xie Yuan and Xie Lingyun fought their way through the Demonic Cult’s ambush on First Transformation Mountain, killing the three Stove Sect attackers and rescuing Wang Qishi. After Wang Qishi revealed a rare immortal herb, a purple-clad figure suddenly descended on Xie Yuan and smashed the cliff beneath him.

• A Stove Sect follower self-destructed, injuring Xie Yuan and Xie Lingyun; Xie Yuan gave her a Phoenix Scarlet Nourishing Viscera Pill and the two joined forces.
• Xie Yuan and Xie Lingyun found the Taiyuan Li Family survivors, but a hidden Demonic Cultist ambushed them and self-destructed after Xie Yuan overwhelmed him.
• Xie Yuan and Xie Lingyun found Wang Qishi fighting the last Demonic Cultist; Xie Lingyun drew the enemy’s attention while Xie Yuan killed him with a sword strike, though he was wounded by the counterattack.
• Wang Qishi thanked Xie Yuan and revealed that a Twin Stars Surrounding the Moon herb was growing on the nearby cliff, offering to share it with him.
• As Xie Yuan reached for the herb, a purple-clad figure dropped from above and shattered the cliff with a stomp.

Lin Cheng and Lin Zhen asked Xie Yuan to take them as disciples so they could avenge their family, but he offered to arrange martial arts training instead. After learning about the Yunshan Sword Sect from Mu Chaoyun, Xie Yuan argued with her over her role in the Lin family’s tragedy, then received word that Yunshan Sword Sect guests would arrive in two days.

• Lin Cheng and Lin Zhen asked Xie Yuan to accept them as disciples and teach them martial arts so they could avenge their parents and clansmen.
• Xie Yuan refused to take them as disciples but promised to arrange for someone at the escort agency to teach them the fundamentals.
• Lin Cheng and Lin Zhen left agreeing to begin training at the escort agency, while Lin Zhen privately felt relieved that Xie Yuan had refused their apprenticeship.
• Xie Yuan asked Mu Chaoyun about the Yunshan Sword Sect, and she described it as one of Great Li’s leading sword sects.
• Mu Chaoyun admitted she would make the same choice that had led Lu Lao San to the Lin Family Estate, and Xie Yuan left after arguing with her.
• Xie Yuan received Boss Wu’s message that Yunshan Sword Sect guests had reserved a banquet at Chunjiang Restaurant for two days later.

Xie Yuan challenged Xie Yan to prove his strength and fought the Grandmaster to a standstill, turning the elders’ skepticism into support. He nearly defeated Xie Yan with a pair of axe strikes, but Xie Zhi intervened before the fight could become fatal.

• Xie Yuan challenged Xie Yan to a match at the Martial Arts Field, and Xie Yan accepted after feeling insulted by the challenge.
• Xie Yuan matched Xie Yan’s opening attacks with Dragon Soul, revealing that his Great Golden River Skill and spear technique could contend with a Grandmaster.
• Xie Yuan used illusions, concealment, and his defensive technique to keep attacking Xie Yan despite Xie Yan’s Azure Flame spear assault.
• The watching elders recognized Xie Yuan’s Grandmaster-level combat strength, and several neutral elders began to support his position as family head.
• Xie Yuan deceived Xie Yan with an illusion, seized the Daylily Great Axe, and landed a devastating strike that broke through Xie Yan’s defenses.
• Xie Zhi blocked Xie Yuan’s second axe strike and accused him of trying to kill Xie Yan, while Xie Yuan laughed and declared that the fight had felt great.

Xie Yuan completed Tendon Training and reached the Third Level of Practice after three days of cultivation. Meanwhile, Shen Longteng’s escort agency struggled with staffing and appointed Xie Yuan Acting Escort Leader of Xu Mo’s team, planning to meet him in person.

• Xie Yuan advanced to the Third Level of Practice, tested his increased strength, and went to the courtyard training ground to assess his power with an axe.
• Lu Zhenyu reported that the escort agency faced public criticism over Staff Chang and was short-handed after losing two escort leaders and with Zhao Xingyang still injured.
• Shen Longteng proposed temporarily placing Xie Yuan in charge of Xu Mo’s unsettled escort team despite his youth and limited seniority.
• Lu Zhenyu questioned whether Xie Yuan could command the team, while Zhao Xingyang supported the appointment and predicted Xie Yuan would advance before winter.
• Shen Longteng named Xie Yuan Acting Escort Leader and led the escort leaders to meet him.

Xie Yuan escorted Lin Zhen from Lin Family Estate toward Yun Province Prefecture, but the Black Lotus Petal Mark reacted strongly near the inner courtyard and then flared when a strange voice warned him of danger. The chapter left Xie Yuan seized by Lin Zhen’s hand as the mark burned on his arm.

• Xie Yuan rejected Staff Lin’s offer to become his son-in-law and noticed his Black Lotus Petal Mark grow hot near the inner courtyard.
• Staff Lin introduced his daughter Lin Zhen, and Xie Yuan agreed to escort her to Cloudshine while accepting a Treasure Blade as payment.
• Xie Yuan questioned Lin Zhen during the journey about martial arts and unusual objects, but she grew embarrassed by his probing.
• A second, hoarse voice from inside the carriage warned Xie Yuan to run when the chance came because something had arrived.
• A slender hand reached through the carriage window and seized Xie Yuan’s arm, making the Black Lotus Petal Mark blaze hot.

After a deadly escort mission, Xie Yuan and the survivors returned to Yun Zhao City, where Shen Longteng learned that Staff Chang had been murdered and praised the team’s service. Xie Yuan received First-Class Merit Points, while the escort leaders went with Shen Longteng to discuss what came next.

• Xie Yuan mourned the fallen escort guards with Zhao Xingyang and resolved to keep improving his martial arts.
• Zhao Xingyang led the survivors to Five Mile Village, delivered the goods, and brought the wounded and dead back toward Yun Zhao City.
• Shen Longteng questioned Xie Yuan about the handover, then went to Staff Chang’s residence to investigate.
• Shen Longteng returned and reported that Staff Chang was dead, and that Yu Chunsheng had labeled it a suicide despite seven stab wounds in his back.
• Shen Longteng awarded Xie Yuan First-Class Merit Points and the other survivors Second-Class Merit Points, then summoned the escort leaders to the Inner Courtyard.

Xie Yuan killed Zhang Yu Feng and another man, took Zhang Yu Feng's hidden fist manual, and burned the Zhang brothers' residence with help from Zhu Dongming and Zhou Feng. The villagers recovered their confiscated land deeds from a chest outside the house as the fire consumed it.

• Xie Yuan found Zhang Yu Feng's hidden fist manual and set about burning the evidence of the killings.
• Zhu Dongming gave Xie Yuan Beast Oil and arranged for Zhou Feng to keep villagers away while Xie Yuan set the house ablaze.
• Zhou Feng greeted Xie Yuan and then delayed the villagers trying to fetch water, while Zhu Dongming poured oil into a bucket of water to strengthen the flames.
• The villagers learned that both Zhang brothers were inside and celebrated, then discovered a chest of land deeds outside the courtyard gate.
• The village chief explained away the chest's location, and the villagers watched the Zhang Family's ancestral house collapse in the fire.

Xie Yuan returned to Coiling Dragon Town for the New Year, learned that the martial halls were preparing for a fight, and celebrated with Wang Lei’s family before spending the night alone. He overheard Zhang Yu Feng and Zhang Lao Er plotting to abduct Wang Lei’s family and kill them, then burst into their home with an axe.

• Xie Yuan found the Iron Clothes Gate shut and learned from Tao Jielin that the Medicine Business had collapsed after herbs withered in the North Capital Mountain Range, prompting the martial halls to arrange a fight between their masters.
• Xie Yuan returned to Small Stone Village and shared New Year’s Eve dinner with Wang Lei, Li Lan, and Huwa, eating most of the Treasure Fish himself.
• Xie Yuan noticed Zhang Yu Feng and Zhang Lao Er watching him, then drank alone in his courtyard while wondering whether they still planned to harm him.
• Zhang Yu Feng told Zhang Lao Er that Second Master would help them eliminate Xie Yuan and proposed using Wang Lei’s family as hostages to lure him into the forest.
• Xie Yuan overheard the brothers discussing their plan and kicked down their door with an axe in hand.

After Xie Yuan’s powerful breakthrough drew the attention of Qin Zhenyang, Xie Yuan hid his identity while Qin mistook the mysterious force for the cultivation of a senior sect member. Qin later questioned Xie Yuan at the main hall, and Xie Yuan decided to avoid the guest courtyard and seek insight at the Sword Cave instead.

• Xie Yuan concealed himself as Qin Zhenyang and three Patrol Disciples investigated the force left by his attack near the Half-Mountain Guest Courtyard.
• Qin Zhenyang concluded that a senior uncle or elder must have been cultivating there, though he remained uneasy about the gray clothes he had glimpsed.
• Qin Zhenyang visited the Servant Courtyard and learned from Tian Zhuang that Zhang Shan worked in the main hall in the mornings and at the guest courtyard in the afternoons.
• Qin Zhenyang found Xie Yuan sweeping the rear hall and questioned him, but Xie Yuan claimed he had come early to work and had seen no one cultivating near the guest courtyard.
• After Qin Zhenyang left, Xie Yuan decided to avoid the guest courtyard for several days and visit the Sword Cave to improve his sword arts.

Xie Yuan used the final Blood Dragon Pill to break through into the Qi and Blood Transformation Realm, First Transformation. He tested his new strength at the cliff as the morning sun rose.

• Xie Yuan went to the Half-Mountain Guest Courtyard and prepared to break through with the Blood Dragon Pill and Spirit Focusing Incense.
• Xie Yuan pushed his Blood Qi to its limit and used the Golden Bell Cover to reach the fourth layer and enter the Qi and Blood Transformation Realm.
• Xie Yuan discovered that his body had grown stronger and taller, and that his speed and strength had more than doubled.
• Xie Yuan tested his fist, Blade Qi, and Sword Qi against the clouds, then used Sweep Through a Thousand Armies to clear the cloud layer.
• Xie Yuan watched the red sun rise over the Sea of Clouds.