Chapter Summaries

Meng Zhao explained why he had followed Ma Shaokang and revealed his identity to Shanhua's Grandfather, whom he called Mountain Lord. After learning Mountain Lord's skills and reclusive life, Meng Zhao invited him to leave Hengqu Mountain and join his cause, and Mountain Lord felt reassured by the offer.

• Meng Zhao told Shanhua's Grandfather that Ma Shaokang's unusual fortune had prompted him to follow the young man.
• Shanhua's Grandfather said Meng Zhao could take Ma Shaokang, but asked him to keep Shanhua from witnessing it.
• Meng Zhao challenged Shanhua's Grandfather to guess his identity, and the old man identified him as one of Southern Shen, Northern Meng.
• Shanhua's Grandfather introduced himself as Mountain Lord and expressed surprise at Meng Zhao's rapid rise in martial arts.
• Meng Zhao praised Mountain Lord's martial arts, formations, and Beast Taming Arts, then invited him to leave the mountains and join his cause.
• Mountain Lord felt relieved that Meng Zhao wanted to recruit him rather than fight him, and believed the offer would help protect Shanhua.

Meng Zhao declined to recruit Mountain Lord, then raised Shanhua’s lonely future as a reason to seek a suitable husband for her. He proposed Lü Yue, also called A-Le, and described his character, abilities, and promising prospects, leaving Mountain Lord to consider the match.

• Mountain Lord refused Meng Zhao’s recruitment, explaining that he wanted to remain on Hengqu Mountain and pursue cultivation.
• Meng Zhao asked Mountain Lord to consider Shanhua’s future, and Mountain Lord admitted her isolation and eventual independence worried him.
• Meng Zhao denied having romantic intentions toward Shanhua and proposed finding her a devoted husband among his trusted young followers.
• Mountain Lord asked whom Meng Zhao had in mind, and Meng Zhao introduced Lü Yue, whose former position as a household servant briefly surprised him.
• Meng Zhao explained that Lü Yue was his most trusted aide, praised his character and martial skill, and said Lü Yue possessed a Star Body with strong prospects for greatness.

Meng Zhao praised Lü Yue to Mountain Lord and proposed him as a match for Shanhua, hoping to win the powerful elder’s support. Mountain Lord agreed to meet Lü Yue but made his approval—and any assistance—conditional on both Shanhua and himself accepting him.

• Meng Zhao explained why he trusted Lü Yue and believed he would make a suitable husband for Shanhua.
• Mountain Lord considered Lü Yue’s Star Body and potential, and questioned whether Meng Zhao had invented a candidate to persuade him.
• Meng Zhao offered to summon Lü Yue so Mountain Lord could test him and so Lü Yue and Shanhua could see whether they suited each other.
• Mountain Lord agreed to meet Lü Yue, but said he would not force Shanhua into a match or serve Meng Zhao unconditionally.
• Mountain Lord promised to pass on his knowledge and help Meng Zhao if Lü Yue earned his and Shanhua’s approval.

Mountain Lord confronted Ma Shaokang about his intentions toward Shanhua and offered to teach him one martial art under strict conditions. Ma Shaokang accepted, hoping he could win Mountain Lord’s trust over time.

• Ma Shaokang spent his days in the valley learning poison-making and array-setting from Shanhua while trying to gain Mountain Lord’s favor.
• Mountain Lord summoned Ma Shaokang alone and warned him not to use Shanhua or secretly learn her martial arts and secret arts.
• Mountain Lord offered to pass down one martial art, but said Ma Shaokang would die if he used Shanhua to influence him and would be crippled if he sought further teachings through her.
• Ma Shaokang weighed the offer against leaving the valley and chose to accept Mountain Lord’s conditions.
• Mountain Lord saw through Ma Shaokang’s hope of earning more trust later but let him believe it was possible.

Mountain Lord offered Ma Shaokang a choice of three martial arts, each with different advantages and risks. After hearing about the obscure, dangerous Kunpeng Art, Ma Shaokang was left weighing the options.

• Mountain Lord explained that the Hundred Beasts Fist could strengthen Ma Shaokang and might help him grasp the mysteries of Beast Taming Arts.
• Mountain Lord described the Essence Dividing Technique, which could strengthen Ma Shaokang’s foundation and improve his chances of reaching the Grandmaster realm.
• Mountain Lord introduced the Kunpeng Art, an ancient, profound martial art that even he had failed to cultivate successfully.
• Ma Shaokang questioned whether Mountain Lord was joking, and Mountain Lord warned him that attempting the Kunpeng Art at a low realm could cause Qi Deviation or death.

Ma Shaokang accepted Mountain Lord’s offer to learn the Kunpeng Art, despite suspecting it might be a test or a trap. After Shanhua recited its principles, Ma Shaokang felt his internal force surge and became convinced the art could help him reach the Grandmaster realm and avenge himself.

• Ma Shaokang weighed Mountain Lord’s motives but decided the Kunpeng Art was valuable enough to preserve and asked to learn it.
• Mountain Lord told Ma Shaokang that Shanhua already knew the Kunpeng Art and should teach him.
• Ma Shaokang asked Shanhua to teach him the art while they walked to a stream, and she warned him that studying it had nearly caused her Qi Deviation.
• Shanhua recited the Kunpeng Art’s principles as Ma Shaokang memorized them and cautiously tested its methods for circulating qi.
• Ma Shaokang felt his internal force surge and believed that mastering even a fraction of the art could let him break through the Grandmaster threshold and avenge himself.

Ma Shaokang cultivated the Kunpeng Art and died from Qi Deviation, leaving Shanhua devastated and blaming herself. Mountain Lord comforted her while privately revealing that he had secretly manipulated Ma Shaokang into his death.

• Ma Shaokang eagerly studied the Kunpeng Art and believed his rapid progress would let him challenge the Grandmaster realm within a few years.
• At the stream, Ma Shaokang cultivated the art despite warnings, and his meridians and Qi apertures ruptured, killing him.
• Shanhua discovered Ma Shaokang's bloodied body, realized he had died from Qi Deviation, and carried him back to Mountain Lord.
• Mountain Lord told Shanhua that Ma Shaokang had chosen the dangerous Kunpeng Art and urged her not to blame herself.
• Mountain Lord privately revealed that he had planted Qi triggers and delusions in Ma Shaokang, guiding him toward death without leaving a trace.

Mountain Lord buried Ma Shaokang and concealed his role in the death, hoping Shanhua would grow more worldly before her possible marriage. Meanwhile, Lü Yue met Meng Zhao and Ao Bing, learned that Meng Zhao had arranged a marriage match for him, and was caught off guard.

• Mountain Lord buried Ma Shaokang among flowers in the valley while Shanhua remained gloomy and burdened by guilt.
• Lü Yue hurried to a village outside Hengqu Mountain, where Meng Zhao introduced him to Ao Bing.
• Ao Bing and Lü Yue each recognized the other's importance to Meng Zhao and formed a favorable impression of one another.
• Lü Yue reported that affairs in Lingwu City were progressing smoothly, then learned why Meng Zhao had summoned him.
• Meng Zhao told Lü Yue he had arranged a marriage match for him, and Lü Yue reacted with surprise because he had not prepared for marriage.

Meng Zhao urged Lü Yue to consider marrying Shanhua and inheriting Mountain Lord’s legacy, while Lü Yue doubted himself and suggested Meng Zhao find another match. Meng Zhao told him the choice had to be his own, leaving it to Lü Yue to decide whether he could win Shanhua’s heart.

• Meng Zhao reassured Lü Yue that Shanhua was beautiful and virtuous and that her grandfather’s legacy would benefit him.
• Lü Yue suggested that Meng Zhao pursue the marriage alliance himself, then worried that Shanhua might not like him.
• Meng Zhao praised Lü Yue’s abilities and potential, but Lü Yue said he was not interested in Shanhua’s looks or inheritance.
• Meng Zhao warned Lü Yue that he had to rely on his own will and personality rather than simply obeying Meng Zhao.
• Meng Zhao reflected that Lü Yue and Shanhua could be well matched, but acknowledged that their feelings would determine whether they came together.

Meng Zhao explained to Ao Bing why he had declined to marry Shanhua and hoped to match her with Lü Yue instead. Ao Bing asked about Lingwu City and the women in Meng Zhao’s household, planning how to establish her place there, while Meng Zhao recognized her intentions and resolved to tolerate them within limits.

• Meng Zhao told Ao Bing that Shanhua did not move his heart and that the match would benefit both Shanhua and Lü Yue.
• Ao Bing asked Meng Zhao about Lingwu City and the women around him so she could prepare for entering the Meng Family.
• Ao Bing considered how to build alliances in the household and compete with Liang Muqiu without letting their conflict break the family.
• Meng Zhao realized Ao Bing wanted influence and security in the Meng Family, and he accepted her motives while setting limits on his tolerance.

Lü Yue reached Hengqu Mountain to seek Mountain Lord’s approval to marry Shanhua, as Meng Zhao had instructed. After confessing that he had developed sincere admiration for her, he left Shanhua flustered by her first-ever declaration of love.

• Lü Yue followed Meng Zhao’s map to the valley where Mountain Lord and Shanhua lived.
• Lü Yue saw Shanhua on a cliff and felt an immediate attraction to her.
• Shanhua asked Lü Yue why he had come, and he introduced himself as a member of the Lingwu Meng Family seeking Mountain Lord’s approval to marry her.
• Shanhua questioned whether Lü Yue’s Young Master knew her grandfather and told Lü Yue to leave when he admitted he had come on his Young Master’s orders.
• Lü Yue explained that his admiration for Shanhua had become sincere, leaving her blushing and unable to respond.

Lü Yue followed Meng Zhao’s strategy to win Shanhua’s affection and went to face the Mountain Lord’s test. In the Imperial Capital, Zhao Rulíng advised Beitang Sheng to delay confronting Meng Zhao, but the Imperial Court’s campaigns remained hampered by repeated setbacks.

• Shanhua shyly told Lü Yue to go see the Mountain Lord, revealing her affection for him.
• Lü Yue followed Shanhua into the valley and began the Mountain Lord’s test with confidence in Meng Zhao’s guidance.
• Beitang Sheng questioned Zhao Rulíng about Meng Zhao, and she described his strength, Heavenly Divine Weapon, and ambitions.
• Zhao Rulíng urged Beitang Sheng to pacify other regions before pressuring Meng Zhao, warning that attacking him too soon could worsen the wars.
• Beitang Sheng’s Imperial Court continued to struggle as unexpected complications repeatedly disrupted its campaigns.

Beitang Sheng and Zhao Rulíng discussed the dangers posed by Meng Zhao and the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord as the Great Yong Dynasty weakened. Beitang Sheng decided to handle Meng Zhao himself, while Zhao Rulíng warned that the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord would become a major threat only if he obtained the Supreme Scepter.

• Beitang Sheng recognized that Meng Zhao could become a greater threat than the southern rebellion if he consolidated control over the Northern Lands.
• Zhao Rulíng warned that schemes against Meng Zhao would likely fail and could provoke him.
• Beitang Sheng asked Zhao Rulíng to help deal with Meng Zhao, but Zhao Rulíng said he had little access to Meng Zhao’s inner circle and might not return.
• Beitang Sheng told Zhao Rulíng not to worry about Meng Zhao because he would find a way to deal with him.
• Zhao Rulíng explained that the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord could become a destabilizing force if he acquired the Supreme Scepter, but otherwise lacked the popular support needed to threaten the dynasty.

Beitang Sheng appointed Zhao Rulíng to command the imperial clan’s secret guards and tasked him with containing the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord, while warning him not to interfere with Meng Zhao. He then ordered Cao Huaqing to weaken Meng Zhao without provoking him into rebellion, leaving the court to balance the threats posed by both powerful figures.

• Beitang Sheng gave Zhao Rulíng a Soaring Dragon Pill and appointed him Commander-in-Chief of the imperial clan’s secret guards to deal with the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord.
• Zhao Rulíng warned Beitang Sheng that he could only harass the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord and could not defeat him, and Beitang Sheng told him not to interfere with Meng Zhao.
• Cao Huaqing warned Beitang Sheng that Zhao Rulíng might be colluding with Meng Zhao, but Beitang Sheng said Zhao Rulíng could still be trusted if kept apart from Meng Zhao.
• Beitang Sheng told Cao Huaqing to weaken Meng Zhao without forcing him into rebellion, noting that Meng Zhao possessed the Emperor Yu Battle Armor and would be difficult to kill.

Beitang Sheng ordered Cao Huaqing to find ways to curb Meng Zhao, though many rivals’ schemes were unlikely to threaten Meng Zhao’s growing power. Meanwhile, Lü Yue completed Mountain Lord’s martial arts test with Shanhua’s help and began a cooking test, using both challenges to grow closer to her.

• Beitang Sheng pressured Cao Huaqing to obstruct Meng Zhao, and Cao Huaqing resolved to target the people around him rather than confront him directly.
• Ambitious figures across the Divine Continent considered ways to weaken Meng Zhao, though his growing forces and strength left him difficult to hinder.
• Mountain Lord tested Lü Yue by requiring him to withstand ten moves, and Lü Yue studied Mountain Lord’s techniques with Shanhua until he succeeded after four days.
• Mountain Lord assigned Lü Yue a cooking test, and Lü Yue used it as another opportunity to learn from Shanhua and deepen their feelings.

Mountain Lord watched Lü Yue and Shanhua grow closer and judged Lü Yue an ideal match for his granddaughter, partly because Shanhua clearly liked him and partly because of Lü Yue’s talent and backing. After Lü Yue and Shanhua emerged from the kitchen, Mountain Lord instructed Lü Yue on how cooking could deepen his understanding of the Martial Dao, while tacitly approving his pursuit of Shanhua.

• Mountain Lord reflected that Lü Yue’s talent, upbringing, and guidance from Meng Zhao made him a stronger prospect than Ma Shaokang, and he recognized that Shanhua treated Lü Yue with romantic affection.
• Lü Yue and Shanhua came out of the kitchen carrying badly cooked dishes, their faces streaked with soot and their smiles betraying their happiness.
• Mountain Lord told Lü Yue to keep studying cooking and explained how knife work, heat control, and seasoning could connect to the Martial Dao.
• Lü Yue promised to practice diligently and glanced at Shanhua, who blushed at his attention.
• Mountain Lord’s continued approval of Lü Yue showed that he accepted Lü Yue’s pursuit of Shanhua.

Lü Yue told Mountain Lord that his loyalty to Meng Zhao would remain above all else, even as he professed his love for Shanhua. He offered to pass on Mountain Lord’s divine art to Meng Zhao, but Shanhua objected before Mountain Lord could decide.

• Mountain Lord promised to teach Lü Yue a martial art mastered only by Gods and Devils if he passed the second test, and Lü Yue said he would give it to Meng Zhao.
• Lü Yue explained that he owed Meng Zhao his loyalty and would choose him over Shanhua if forced to decide.
• Shanhua overheard Lü Yue’s words and grew jealous that Meng Zhao held such an important place in his heart.
• Lü Yue reassured Shanhua that he loved her and would risk anything for her, while maintaining that he would follow Meng Zhao for life.
• Lü Yue praised Meng Zhao’s ability to create martial arts and suggested he could unravel Mountain Lord’s divine art, prompting Mountain Lord to consider the idea.
• Shanhua objected to Mountain Lord teaching Lü Yue the art, fearing he would enter another dangerous situation.

Shanhua tried to stop Mountain Lord from teaching Lü Yue the Kunpeng Art because Ma Shaokang had died practicing it, but Mountain Lord explained the risks and offered Lü Yue a path to become his inheritor and Shanhua’s husband. Lü Yue swore to cherish Shanhua, and Mountain Lord reassured him that she had felt only friendship and guilt toward Ma Shaokang.

• Shanhua warned Lü Yue that Ma Shaokang had died from Qi Deviation after practicing the Kunpeng Art and explained that she had taught it to him.
• Mountain Lord said Ma Shaokang had ignored warnings in his desperate pursuit of quick success, while Lü Yue was calm and unlikely to take such risks.
• Mountain Lord promised to teach Lü Yue the Kunpeng Art after he passed the second trial and to count mastery of even part of it as passing the third, making him Mountain Lord’s inheritor and Shanhua’s husband.
• Shanhua blushed and ran away after Mountain Lord declared his choice, then he told Lü Yue he hoped he would not let her down.
• Lü Yue swore to protect Shanhua for life, and Mountain Lord accepted his oath and explained that Shanhua’s feelings for Ma Shaokang were friendship and guilt, not romance.

Mountain Lord proposed that Lü Yue and Shanhua avenge Ma Shaokang by killing Ma Tianyi and Zhao Zhen, which could ease Shanhua’s guilt and remove a threat to her relationship with Meng Zhao. Lü Yue refused to act without Meng Zhao’s permission, and Mountain Lord told him to ask his Young Master before planning to train him in the secret arts.

• Lü Yue asked Mountain Lord how to prevent Shanhua from seeking revenge for Ma Shaokang in a way that conflicted with Meng Zhao’s plans.
• Mountain Lord proposed that Lü Yue and Shanhua kill Ma Tianyi and Zhao Zhen, reasoning that the two traitors were of little value and knew the truth about Ma Ruzhen’s death.
• Lü Yue said he could not act without Meng Zhao’s approval, even though he understood the benefits of Mountain Lord’s plan.
• Mountain Lord told Lü Yue to write to Meng Zhao and ask what he thought.
• Mountain Lord resolved to nurture Lü Yue in his secret arts and hoped to master the Kunpeng Art in his lifetime.

While touring the region with Ao Bing, Meng Zhao received Lü Yue’s request for guidance about Mountain Lord’s proposal. Meng Zhao approved the plan and gave Lü Yue broad authority to deal with Ma Tianyi, Zhao Zhen, and Ma Family Manor, leaving the cleanup to his own people.

• Lü Yue contacted Meng Zhao to ask whether he should follow Mountain Lord’s suggestion.
• Meng Zhao and Ao Bing toured the cities around Hengqu Mountain, and Ao Bing praised the Human Clan’s prosperous civilization.
• Ao Bing advised Meng Zhao to prioritize Lü Yue and Mountain Lord over Ma Tianyi and Zhao Zhen.
• Meng Zhao reflected that Lü Yue’s deference made him trustworthy but unlikely to become an independent leader.
• Meng Zhao agreed to Mountain Lord’s proposal and authorized Lü Yue to act as he saw fit, including destroying Ma Family Manor and making Ma Tianyi and Zhao Zhen scapegoats.