Chapter Summaries

Zhang Guangmu impressed Lin Zitong with a sword technique that Lin named the Guangmu Sword Technique, then left him the Purple Mist Sword and asked him to handle the damage to the grove. After tending to his needs and cleaning up in the park, Zhang Guangmu walked away on his new crutches while Lin Zitong insisted on repaying his guidance.

• Lin Zitong recognized the depth of Zhang Guangmu's sword technique and was thrilled when Zhang Guangmu praised his intuition.
• Lin Zitong admitted he had memorized only about thirty percent of the moves, then asked what the technique was called.
• Zhang Guangmu let Lin Zitong name the technique, and Lin called it the Guangmu Sword Technique.
• Zhang Guangmu handed Lin Zitong the Purple Mist Sword, took the crutches Lin had retrieved, and left to use the public restroom and wash in the fountain.
• Lin Zitong followed Zhang Guangmu and offered to repay him, and Zhang Guangmu told him to handle the mess in the grove.

Zhang Guangmu agreed to teach Lin Zitong one more time after manipulating him into accepting their connection would then end. Meanwhile, Chu Fan returned to the empty Feihong Club, called it a tomb, and was rebuked by Li Xiaoxiao for giving up.

• Lin Zitong begged Zhang Guangmu for a chance to repay him and declared his resolve to pursue the Sword Dao.
• Zhang Guangmu told Lin Zitong to bring an ordinary Water Spirit Sword and promised to teach him once more before ending their connection.
• Zhang Guangmu left for the Feihong Swordsmanship Club and told Lin Zitong not to follow him.
• Chu Fan returned to the deserted Feihong Club and lamented that the place was an empty tomb.
• Li Xiaoxiao confronted Chu Fan and mocked him for losing heart over the club's financial troubles and lack of talent.

Chu Fan and Li Xiaoxiao weighed the Feihong Sect’s desperate options as debt threatened to end the club. Zhang Guangmu arrived offering a third path: he would join as a swordsman and try to secure ten victories in the Top Swordsmanship League.

• Chu Fan admitted that the Feihong Swordsmanship Club was collapsing under debt and the loss of its members, but refused to sell its league qualification.
• Li Xiaoxiao proposed sealing the mountain gate for a year so the sect could rebuild, but Chu Fan feared the bank would auction its assets because of its debts.
• Zhang Guangmu arrived to repay Chu Fan’s kindness and proposed joining Feihong as a swordsman, aiming for ten cumulative league victories to prevent its demotion.
• Li Xiaoxiao grew suspicious of Zhang Guangmu, while another voice in his mind warned that the stranger might have come to take revenge.

Zhang Guangmu tried to join the struggling Feihong Swordsmanship Club, but Li Xiaoxiao doubted his readiness while Chu Fan learned about his severe injury and dangerous past. As Chu Fan spoke with Zhang Guangmu, an unfamiliar youth with dark violet eyes appeared at the doorway.

• Li Xiaoxiao challenged Zhang Guangmu's plan to help Feihong win ten Top Swordsmanship League matches, citing his poor movement technique and lack of a spirit sword.
• Zhang Guangmu calmly accepted that his movement was a weakness and said he had a way to address it soon.
• Chu Fan welcomed Zhang Guangmu and learned that a criminal gang had hunted him after he witnessed a murder, leaving him with a High-level Spinal Cord Injury.
• Zhang Guangmu encouraged Chu Fan to view Feihong's departed members as a chance to start the club over from scratch.
• Chu Fan noticed an unfamiliar youth with dark violet eyes standing in the doorway.

Lin Zitong brought Zhang Guangmu the prized Mirage Sword and asked to become his disciple, while Chu Fan grew impressed by Zhang Guangmu’s resolve and offered to examine his injury. Chu Fan discovered that Zhang Guangmu’s spinal injury was caused by an expert’s destructive Spirit Sword Power and triggered severe pain every two hours.

• Lin Zitong presented Zhang Guangmu with the Mirage Sword and revealed that he wanted to become his disciple.
• Lin Zitong bowed, kowtowed, and said he would prepare a discipleship letter and the Six Rites of Etiquette.
• Zhang Guangmu told Chu Fan he planned to survive, take revenge on those hunting him, and become the Emperor of Swordsmanship.
• Moved by Zhang Guangmu’s determination, Chu Fan offered to use his medical skills and Rainbow Light Sword to examine him.
• Chu Fan found that Zhang Guangmu’s High-level Spinal Cord Injury came from an expert’s residual Spirit Sword Power and caused intense pain every two hours.

Zhang Guangmu used Chu Fan’s spirit sword to treat his damaged spine, then began using the Mirage Sword to reconnect his nerves and regain control of his body. Chu Fan invited him to become Feihong’s direct disciple, while Lin Zitong insisted Zhang could master the sword in seven days; the chapter ended as someone stopped Chu Fan from cooking and told him to be a “Starving Ghost” instead.

• Chu Fan used the Rainbow Light Sword to draw out the alien Spirit Sword Power in Zhang Guangmu’s spine, exhausting himself in the process.
• Lin Zitong praised Chu Fan’s precision and healing ability, then presented Zhang Guangmu with the Mirage Sword.
• Zhang Guangmu used the Mirage Sword’s Water Spirit Sword Power to reconnect damaged nerves and began regaining movement in his toes.
• Chu Fan offered to accept Zhang Guangmu as his junior disciple and grant him access to Feihong’s secret sword techniques.
• Lin Zitong claimed Zhang Guangmu needed only seven days to reach Spirit Sword Control, and Zhang continued studying the Mirage Sword.
• As Chu Fan offered to cook dinner, someone blocked his way and told him to be a Starving Ghost instead.

Mu Youhai and MacGarde attacked Chu Fan and Zhang Guangmu at the Feihong base, but Zhang Guangmu used the Mirage Sword to fill the medical room with mist and illusions. MacGarde killed Mu Youhai by mistake, then realized too late that his target had been a deception.

• Mu Youhai and MacGarde blocked the medical-room exit, revealed themselves as Feihong traitors, and threatened Chu Fan and Zhang Guangmu.
• Lin Zitong announced his family ties and loyalty to Zhang Guangmu, but MacGarde knocked him unconscious.
• Zhang Guangmu rose from his chair and used the Mirage Sword to fill the room with thick mist and distort everyone's perceptions.
• MacGarde charged through the fog and attacked the figure he believed was Zhang Guangmu, fatally slitting Mu Youhai's throat.
• MacGarde recognized Mu Youhai's face beneath the illusion and realized he had killed his companion.

Zhang Guangmu used the Mirage Sword’s mist to defeat the traitors MacGarde and Mu Youhai, though MacGarde died before revealing his employer. Li Xiaoxiao recognized Zhang Guangmu’s Five Senses Manipulation, while Zhang Guangmu described a more advanced version of the technique as only slightly difficult to develop.

• MacGarde tried to escape Zhang Guangmu’s mist, then surrendered, but a hidden poison killed him before he could identify the person behind the mission.
• Zhang Guangmu dispersed the mist and claimed MacGarde had been poisoned, while Chu Fan realized Zhang Guangmu had ended the crisis without drawing his sword.
• Li Xiaoxiao returned to Feihong, witnessed the fight, and praised Zhang Guangmu’s Spirit Sword Skill as exceptionally refined.
• Chu Fan left to make dinner and worried that the Feihong Sect might not be able to keep Zhang Guangmu, whose talent far exceeded what the sect could offer.
• Li Xiaoxiao guessed that Zhang Guangmu’s real ability was Five Senses Manipulation, and Zhang Guangmu explained how the Mirage Sword’s mist interfered with neural senses and could be improved further.

Zhang Guangmu explained the Unbroken swordsmanship realm to Li Xiaoxiao, who then offered to promote him ahead of the Golden Autumn Sword Competition Festival. After Lin Zitong woke and recognized the slain attackers, the group shared a meal before Feihong Sect’s electricity was cut off over unpaid bills.

• Li Xiaoxiao realized that Zhang Guangmu’s spirit-sword mist had defeated Mu Youhai and MacGarde, and recognized his swordsmanship as the advanced realm called Unbroken.
• Li Xiaoxiao told Zhang Guangmu that the Golden Autumn Sword Competition Festival was about ten days away and promised to build momentum for his debut in the Top Swordsmanship League.
• Lin Zitong woke, recognized Mu Youhai and MacGarde’s corpses, and became impressed by Zhang Guangmu’s strength.
• Chu Fan finished cooking, and Zhang Guangmu, Li Xiaoxiao, Lin Zitong, and Chu Fan gathered to eat despite the bodies nearby.
• The electricity went out because Feihong Sect had not paid its bill, and Li Xiaoxiao considered taking another short-term job to cover the expenses.

Chu Fan gave Zhang Guangmu an unrestricted top-level contract, then handled the aftermath of Mu Youhai and MacGarde’s deaths and secured their spirit swords as Zhang Guangmu’s property. With the Feihong Sect facing a severe cash shortage, Chu Fan and Li Xiaoxiao struggled to keep the club running until Zhang Guangmu returned with a rising financial talent.

• Chu Fan offered Zhang Guangmu a Class A top-level swordsman contract with the same terms as Li Xiaoxiao’s and opened the Feihong Secret Swordsmanship to him.
• Chu Fan arranged for officials to treat Mu Youhai and MacGarde’s deaths as the result of a dispute, then ensured their spirit swords were registered as Zhang Guangmu’s property.
• Chu Fan told Li Xiaoxiao that Feihong had only ninety-three yuan left and no ingredients, while the Little White Balls commented on the club’s poverty.
• Li Xiaoxiao borrowed money, but debt collectors legally took the funds before he could use them.
• Chu Fan and Li Xiaoxiao agreed they needed a financial professional, and Zhang Guangmu returned with a rising financial talent.

Zhang Guangmu persuaded Tang Lanshan to join the impoverished Feihong Sect by presenting her trading record and promising to protect her. Eight or nine days later, Feihong arrived at the globally broadcast Golden Autumn Sword Competition Festival, where an unfamiliar face drew the crowd’s attention.

• Zhang Guangmu introduced Tang Lanshan as a financial rising star whose trading account had grown to 714 percent of its principal in a month.
• Li Xiaoxiao reviewed Tang Lanshan’s records, changed his judgment of her, and admitted that she was impressive.
• Tang Lanshan refused at first to risk joining Feihong, but Zhang Guangmu vowed to defend her, and she agreed to sign a contract with the sect.
• Eight or nine days passed, and the Golden Autumn Sword Competition Festival began as media outlets broadcast it worldwide.
• An unfamiliar face appeared at the opening ceremony and attracted the attention of more than half the audience.

Zhang Guangmu represented the Feihong Swordsmanship Club at the Golden Autumn Sword Competition, impressing the crowd with his extravagant appearance and bearing. His arrival drew the attention of competition chief Cao Guan, while the Feihong Sect’s finances had improved under Tang Lanshan’s management.

• Zhang Guangmu arrived at the competition in a luxurious sedan and approached the torch with Ethereal Blue Ice Flames appearing beneath his steps.
• Cao Guan praised Zhang Guangmu’s appearance and bearing and hoped he would attract attention and perform well, while Lin An said he would watch if Zhang overcame his physical deficiencies.
• Cao Guan and other swordsmen wondered how the famously poor Feihong Sect could afford Zhang Guangmu’s costly outfit.
• Zhang Guangmu credited Tang Lanshan for Feihong’s turnaround, explaining that she had multiplied the sect’s funds through divination-guided short-term trades and negotiated revised debt terms.
• Tang Lanshan modestly praised Zhang Guangmu’s ability to carry the outfit and urged him to make the competition his stage.

Tang Lanshan pursued endorsement fees while Li Xiaoxiao's publicity made Zhang Guangmu a focus at the Golden Autumn Sword Competition Festival. Zhang Guangmu drew Shi Lie for the first match, and after Shi Lie taunted him, Zhang's ceremonial entrance unnerved his opponent.

• Tang Lanshan told Zhang Guangmu she planned to seek endorsement fees for his outfit, and he entrusted her with the task ahead.
• Li Xiaoxiao's hype-building plan drew attention to Zhang Guangmu, whose luxurious outfit impressed some swordsmen and irritated Hans Dekson.
• The Golden Autumn Sword Competition Festival began, and Zhang Guangmu was selected for its first official match against Shi Lie, a former Feihong Sect member who had led a walkout.
• Shi Lie boasted that he would defeat Zhang Guangmu within twenty moves, while Zhang ignored his provocation.
• Zhang Guangmu entered the Yi Jian Platform in a formal sword ceremony, and Shi Lie felt an unexplained discomfort as Zhang drew the Mirage Sword.

At the Golden Autumn Sword Competition, Zhang Guangmu faced Shi Lie in a life-and-death duel and provoked him while appearing distracted. The fight ended with Shi Lie charging unarmed into Zhang Guangmu’s raised Mirage Sword.

• Shi Lie taunted Zhang Guangmu, who called him a traitor and warned him to treasure his final moments.
• As the duel began, Zhang Guangmu calmly parried Shi Lie’s rapid sword attacks while thinking about how to disrupt the Golden Autumn Sword Competition.
• The host pointed out that Zhang Guangmu seemed distracted, enraging Shi Lie as he realized his opponent had been ignoring him.
• Zhang Guangmu declared that Shi Lie had no further value and challenged him to come meet his death.
• Shi Lie abandoned his spirit sword and charged directly toward the Mirage Sword with a twisted smile.

Zhang Guangmu defeated Shi Lie when Shi Lie hallucinated a glorious future and impaled himself on the Mirage Sword, while secretly spreading its Water Spirit Sword Power across the venue. After the competition ended, Lin Chimou appeared and pointed his sword at Zhang Guangmu.

• Cao Guan watched Zhang Guangmu and Shi Lie’s duel with excitement, while Lin An doubted Zhang Guangmu’s strength was enough.
• Shi Lie used the Qianmo Sword’s Spirit Sword Skill but remained outmatched as Zhang Guangmu controlled their fight.
• Shi Lie hallucinated his future success, lunged into the Mirage Sword, and died despite the medical team’s efforts.
• Zhang Guangmu claimed the Qianmo Sword and revealed that he had spread the Mirage Sword’s Water Spirit Sword Power throughout the venue.
• After the competition ended, Lin Chimou arrived, ignored Lin Zitong, drew his Spirit Sword, and aimed it at Zhang Guangmu.

At the Golden Autumn Sword Competition, Lin Chimou challenged Li Xiaoxiao and defeated him, then tried to kill him. Zhang Guangmu noticed something unusual about Lin Chimou’s lightning-struck-wood scabbard and stopped him by threatening to expose his secret.

• Lin Chimou ignored Zhang Guangmu and challenged Li Xiaoxiao, whom he called the Star of Feihong.
• Li Xiaoxiao accepted, and Lin Chimou attacked him immediately while Zhang Guangmu moved Chu Fan and Lin Zitong to safety.
• Li Xiaoxiao and Lin Chimou fought fiercely, but Lin Chimou adapted to Li Xiaoxiao’s sword skills and knocked the Feihong Sword from his hand on their seventieth exchange.
• Lin Chimou tried to kill Li Xiaoxiao, but the body he struck dissolved into smoke, revealing that Zhang Guangmu had moved him.
• Lin Chimou prepared to attack Zhang Guangmu, but Zhang Guangmu pointed out the lightning-struck-wood scabbard and threatened to reveal Lin Chimou’s secret, making him stop.

Zhang Guangmu exposed Lin Chimou’s Soul-Seizing Sword Sheath and learned how it had helped him absorb Sword Souls and master sword skills. Lin Chimou left rather than fight, while Zhang Guangmu resolved to build his own fame and status quickly.

• Zhang Guangmu noticed Lin Chimou’s unusual sword sheath, and narration revealed that it was his true reliance, drawing the souls of swordsmen he killed and refining them into Sword Souls.
• The narration explained that Lin Chimou had used the sheath to seek a path to becoming a singular Sword Emperor, and that consuming many Sword Souls had driven him mad while making him stronger.
• Lin Chimou grew wary of Zhang Guangmu’s insight, sheathed his sword, and left after warning Lin Zitong with a cold look.
• Zhang Guangmu let Lin Chimou go, judging that a fight would be too risky with Lin An present and his own combat ability still limited.
• Zhang Guangmu decided to pursue resources, status, and fame by making big news.

Zhang Guangmu challenged the nineteen sword sects to face him in twenty consecutive matches, provoking the competitors while captivating the spectators. Cao Guan endorsed the idea and proposed a new sword-fighting format called Sword No Second.

• Zhang Guangmu flew above the venue and announced that he would fight twenty consecutive matches to secure Feihong's place in the league.
• Hans Dekson resisted his anger and decided to study Zhang Guangmu's Spirit Sword Skill before challenging him.
• Zhang Guangmu taunted the nineteen sects, invited them to attack together, and promised to remain on the Yi Jian Platform without flying.
• The sect elites argued over Zhang Guangmu's challenge as spectators and viewers responded with growing excitement.
• Cao Guan explained the origins of Yi Jian and Discussing Swords, then proposed Sword No Second as a possible third format.

At the Golden Autumn Sword Competition, Cao Guan praised Zhang Guangmu as a peer of the ancient Sword Emperors, prompting nineteen sects to send fighters against him. Zhang Guangmu turned their group assault to his advantage and ended the battle with Sword Like Prison, leaving all nineteen swordsmen pinned to the platform.

• Cao Guan publicly called Zhang Guangmu a Mad Lord and compared him to the ancient Heaven, Earth, and Human Three Sword Emperors.
• Zhang Guangmu’s challenge forced the nineteen top sword sects to send ruthless representatives onto the Yi Jian Platform.
• The nineteen swordsmen attacked Zhang Guangmu together, and he fought among their blades as their coordination improved.
• After sweeping his opponents aside, Zhang Guangmu threw the Mirage Sword into the air and called out Sword Like Prison.
• Hundreds of mist swords rained down, piercing all nineteen swordsmen and pinning them to the ground.

Zhang Guangmu defeated nineteen swordsmen with his Spirit Sword Skill, Sword Like Prison, while secretly using the battle to gather experimental data. Back at Feihong Swordsmanship Club, Chu Fan gave him a precious gourd of Dufa Wine to help his body.

• Zhang Guangmu used Sword Like Prison to pin all nineteen swordsmen in place and draw them into visions that tested their sword hearts.
• The swordsmen survived the attack, and Li Xiaoxiao praised the technique for refining the mind rather than harming the body.
• The audience recognized Zhang Guangmu as the winner, though they noted that the move exhausted his stamina and the Mirage Sword’s Spirit Sword Power.
• Zhang Guangmu revealed to himself that the challenge had been an experiment to collect bodily data and materials from the swordsmen.
• Chu Fan brought Zhang Guangmu a gourd of sixty-year-brewed Dufa Wine, made from precious medicinal ingredients, and urged him to drink it.