Chapter Summaries

Meng Zhao considered how to approach Cloud Mist Mountain without exposing his dragon blood, then waited with Zhu Guangxi and Tang Ling'er for Cao Zhan to return. Tang Ling'er collapsed from distress, and while Zhu Guangxi assured Meng Zhao she would recover, he suspected Meng Zhao hoped to use her ties to True Monarch Fire Dragon.

• Meng Zhao reasoned that revealing his Dragon Might had likely awakened the vicious serpent beast and that hiding it might let him travel safely to Cloud Mist Mountain.
• Zhu Guangxi returned without finding the target, and Meng Zhao told him about the serpent beast he had encountered.
• Zhu Guangxi guessed the beast might be a mixed-blood descendant of the pure-blooded flood dragon on Cloud Mist Mountain.
• Tang Ling'er collapsed after becoming overwhelmed by her emotions, and Meng Zhao caught her and asked Zhu Guangxi to examine her.
• Zhu Guangxi said Tang Ling'er had fainted from rage and emotional distress, then suspected Meng Zhao cared for her because he wanted to connect with True Monarch Fire Dragon.

Meng Zhao and Zhu Guangxi prepared for an approaching force and hid the unconscious Tang Ling'er before several dozen riders from the Lei Family attacked them. Zhu Guangxi unleashed a concealed sword technique against the attackers, while their Innate Realm leader blocked it and lunged for Meng Zhao.

• Zhu Guangxi sensed a large force approaching, and Meng Zhao reasoned that the Lei or Yang Family might be targeting him.
• Meng Zhao and Zhu Guangxi hid the unconscious Tang Ling'er behind a boulder to keep her from being taken hostage.
• Several dozen riders charged at Meng Zhao and Zhu Guangxi, confirming that the Lei Family had sent them to kill Meng Zhao.
• Meng Zhao told Zhu Guangxi to hold off the Innate Realm Warrior and protect Tang Ling'er.
• Zhu Guangxi released a powerful sound-wave attack that swept toward the riders, and their leader blocked it before lunging at Meng Zhao.

Lei Yao ambushed Meng Zhao, but Zhu Guangxi intercepted him and fought him to a stalemate. As the other riders charged, Meng Zhao eagerly met them head-on and knocked three mounted attackers from their saddles.

• Lei Yao launched an earthen-yellow qi attack at Meng Zhao, and Zhu Guangxi stepped in and dispersed it.
• Lei Yao attacked Zhu Guangxi, who countered with Finger Force and held his ground.
• Meng Zhao recognized Lei Yao as one of the Innate Masters accompanying the Marquis of Beining's Estate.
• Around thirty mounted Houtian Realm warriors charged Meng Zhao, who advanced to meet them.
• Meng Zhao dodged the first three riders' attacks and answered with thirty-eight punches, knocking all three from their saddles.

Meng Zhao used his strength and horsemanship to disrupt the Lei Family’s mounted martial artists, then turned their attack against them. After breaking a broad sword and killing one pursuer with a fragment, he kicked the Plum Blossom Saber expert’s weapon away and swept toward him.

• Meng Zhao hurled two charging horses into the pursuers, scattering the mounted martial artists and killing or injuring several.
• Meng Zhao seized a horse and charged back at the remaining fighters as some dismounted to face him.
• Two mounted martial artists attacked Meng Zhao with the Plum Blossom Saber Technique and the Mount Tai Sword Technique.
• Meng Zhao rolled beneath his horse, snapped the broad sword with his palm, and killed a pursuing rider with a sword fragment.
• Meng Zhao kicked the Plum Blossom Saber expert’s saber from his hand and spun toward him with a sweeping attack.

Meng Zhao slaughtered the martial artists attacking him while Lei Yao tried to break free of Zhu Guangxi and intervene. Lei Yao’s promise of a future under Marquis Bei Ning Lei Wanche emboldened the survivors, who dismounted and prepared to attack Meng Zhao together.

• Meng Zhao killed the Plum Blossom Saber expert with a kick, then crushed the broadsword wielder’s arms and chest in a midair fist fight.
• The surviving martial artists feared Meng Zhao’s strength, while Lei Yao noticed his forces were faltering during his battle with Zhu Guangxi.
• Lei Yao tried to break away from Zhu Guangxi and ordered his men to kill Meng Zhao, promising to recommend the victor to Marquis Bei Ning Lei Wanche.
• A slight martial artist urged the group to dismount and swarm Meng Zhao, and many followed his call.
• Meng Zhao continued charging toward the assembled martial artists, dismissing them as no threat.

Meng Zhao broke through to his tenth primary meridian while fighting the martial artists, then used the Hundred Transformations of the Divine Dragon and the Vacuum Wheel to kill seven of the eight attackers. The last barehanded man escaped the suppression, leaving Meng Zhao facing a Houtian powerhouse with unusually deep inner force.

• Meng Zhao opened his tenth primary meridian as he charged into the martial artists and killed one with a crimson dragon palm strike.
• Eight martial artists attacked Meng Zhao from all sides, but he merged his two protective dragons and blocked their weapons with his body-protecting Qi.
• Meng Zhao used the Vacuum Wheel to bind the attackers, then struck seven of them with Crimson Dragon Force until they burst into bloody mist.
• The surviving barehanded middle-aged man broke free of the Vacuum Wheel and retreated several meters, escaping death.
• The man’s Daoist Hua Yuan Jue had let him store spiritual essence in nine acupoints around his dantian, giving him unusually deep cultivation.

Meng Zhao broke the surviving fighters’ resolve after defeating most of their group, but Cao Zhan arrived with the Universe Arrow and sealed their escape. With Cao Zhan covering the rear, Meng Zhao charged the remaining martial artists.

• Meng Zhao left one of the eight experts alive, and the survivor feared that Meng Zhao surpassed every Houtian Realm martial artist he had ever seen.
• Meng Zhao advanced on the remaining members of the thirty-man party, and their fighting spirit faltered as they saw him kill their companions.
• Cao Zhan appeared a hundred paces away and used the Universe Arrow to kill a martial artist, cutting off the group’s retreat.
• Meng Zhao recognized the promise of Cao Zhan’s archery art and reflected that Cao Yan had developed it from his hunting experience and the Great Sage Splitting Heaven Art.
• Trusting Cao Zhan to prevent anyone from escaping, Meng Zhao charged into the remaining fighters.

Meng Zhao and Cao Zhan wiped out Lei Yao’s Houtian Realm fighters while Zhu Guangxi battled Lei Yao, who escaped after a desperate burst of strength. Meng Zhao waited for the approaching force and confirmed it was Han Pu’s reinforcements when Meng Chuan arrived.

• Meng Zhao and Cao Zhan killed the martial artists who had followed Lei Yao to Fir Forest Bend.
• Meng Zhao asked Cao Zhan to use Universe Arrow against Lei Yao, but Cao Zhan explained that it could not restrain an Innate Realm Warrior.
• Meng Zhao and Cao Zhan heard approaching horses, and Meng Zhao guessed the newcomers were reinforcements sent by Han Pu.
• Lei Yao used his full Dharma form and sacrificed some cultivation to break away from Zhu Guangxi and flee.
• Meng Zhao carried the unconscious Tang Ling'er from behind the boulder and waited with Zhu Guangxi and Cao Zhan.
• Meng Zhao recognized Meng Chuan and several men resembling Cao Zhan among the arriving force and confirmed the reinforcements had arrived.

After rescuing Tang Ling'er, Meng Zhao considered the dangers posed by the Lei Family and Demonic Path experts. He reconciled with Meng Chuan over leaving him behind and promised to involve him more in future dangers.

• Meng Zhao thanked Cao Zhan's group for their aid, organized the battlefield cleanup, and awakened Tang Ling'er.
• Tang Ling'er learned Meng Zhao had risked his life to save her and became less resentful toward him.
• Meng Chuan confronted Meng Zhao for repeatedly leaving him behind, especially on a dangerous mission.
• Meng Zhao explained that he had kept Meng Chuan away to protect him, despite recognizing his skill and loyalty.
• Meng Zhao apologized and promised to let Meng Chuan join him against future opponents, easing Meng Chuan's resentment.

After Meng Zhao rescued Tang Ling'er and rode away, Tan Cai'er and her companions arrived too late to pursue them. Tan Cai'er dismissed the failed plot against Tang Ling'er and ordered Uncle Zhan to investigate Meng Zhao, whose bloodline had caught her interest.

• Meng Zhao and his party rode back after rescuing Tang Ling'er and establishing a connection with True Monarch Fire Dragon.
• Tan Cai'er, her maid, and a formidable middle-aged man searched the area and concluded that Meng Zhao had already left with Tang Ling'er and a large escort.
• Tan Cai'er told her maid that Qian Jiao could not punish her over Xu Laizi's death and explained that her father was seeking control of the Demon Venerable Hall.
• Tan Cai'er said she had joined Qian Jiao to seek a rare Flood Dragon Egg as a birthday gift for her mother, but privately admitted that Meng Zhao's bloodline interested her more.
• Tan Cai'er ordered Uncle Zhan to investigate Meng Zhao, and he agreed to arrange it after they returned.

After a tense lull in the market town, Meng Zhao welcomed the forces gathering to search Cloud Mist Mountain for the Flood Dragon Egg. Once the groups settled in and went their separate ways, Meng Hongdao summoned Meng Zhao and Meng Chuan for instructions.

• Meng Zhao treated Tang Ling'er’s injuries and joined forces with Cao Yan to guard against the Lei and Yang Families.
• The Lei and Yang Families and the other factions kept a low profile, while Tang Ling'er offered to conceal the true cause of Zheng Xie's death.
• Meng Hongdao arrived with more than a hundred people, including Meng Family experts, Fire Dragon Cave disciples, and the Spear King Zhao Family alongside Qin Tao and Bai Shicheng.
• The Huang Family joined the expedition with beast specialists and Sun Di, whom the Meng Family had secretly rescued.
• Meng Zhao arranged lodging and welcomed the gathered groups, who then split up to meet Tang Ling'er or question Han Pu.
• Meng Hongdao summoned Meng Zhao and Meng Chuan to give them instructions.

Meng Zhao recounted his exploits at the foot of Cloud Mist Mountain as Meng Hongdao praised him but warned him against risking his life to rescue Tang Ling'er. After Meng Hongdao scolded Meng Chuan for inactivity and Meng Zhao promised to give him more responsibility, Meng Zhao asked why Meng Jizu had not arrived.

• Meng Zhao described his journey, his dealings with the town's factions and the Cao Family, and his rescue of Tang Ling'er to Meng Hongdao and Meng Chuan.
• Meng Hongdao praised Meng Zhao's accomplishments and cautioned him for taking such risks, insisting that his safety mattered most.
• Meng Hongdao scolded Meng Chuan for failing to help, and Meng Zhao took responsibility for keeping his cousin out of danger.
• Meng Zhao asked Meng Hongdao why Meng Jizu had not come and whether something had happened.

Meng Hongdao told Meng Zhao and Meng Chuan that an extraordinary rebellion had erupted in Xu Prefecture, while Meng Jizu had left for the Northern Three Camps. The chapter ended with Meng Zhao questioning why the Nine Surnames Li Family and the Duke of Song had allowed the uprising to succeed.

• Meng Zhao and Meng Chuan questioned why Meng Jizu had left the Cloud Mist Mountain mission to Meng Hongdao and gone to the Northern Three Camps.
• Meng Hongdao revealed that Gao Yingzhong and Luan Xiaojie had seized Peng City, killed Xu Prefecture’s Governor and Commandant, and raised a rebellion with an army of one hundred thousand.
• Meng Zhao and Meng Chuan doubted that two Innate Martial Artists could have started such a large rebellion, and Meng Hongdao confirmed they were not Grandmasters.
• Meng Zhao asked whether the Nine Surnames Li Family and the Duke of Song had allowed the two rebels to rise unchecked.

Meng Zhao and Meng Hongdao discussed whether the Li Family of Duke of Song was secretly backing the rebellion in Xu Prefecture and why it would risk opposing the Beitang Imperial Clan. Meng Hongdao suggested that the Li Family had allies and could use Gao Yingzhong and Luan Xiaojie as expendable puppets, but the reason for its involvement remained unclear.

• Meng Hongdao asked Meng Zhao why the Heavenly God King and Jade Heaven General would dare rebel despite the Beitang Imperial Clan’s weak influence in Xu Prefecture.
• Meng Chuan was shocked when Meng Hongdao implied that the Li Family might be directing the rebellion from behind the scenes.
• Meng Zhao reasoned that the rebels could not have gathered their forces and risen so powerfully without the Li Family’s support, then questioned what the family hoped to gain.
• Meng Hongdao said the Cangwu Sect likely backed the Li Family and that the Bai Family of Yuan Prefecture also seemed poised to intervene against the Beitang Imperial Clan.
• Meng Hongdao explained that the Li Family had avoided open rebellion by supporting Gao Yingzhong and Luan Xiaojie, leaving itself the option to sacrifice them if the uprising failed.

Meng Hongdao explained that the Li Family’s risky actions were driven by the escalating struggle between the Beitang Imperial Clan and the aristocratic families. The chapter left Meng Zhao wondering whether Beitang Sheng had recruited the thirty-six young nobles, including the original Meng Zhao, as agents against those families.

• Meng Zhao inferred that the Li Family’s actions might be connected to the Beitang Imperial Clan, while Meng Chuan urged his father to speak plainly.
• Meng Hongdao explained how the founding dynasty had shared power with aristocratic families and how their growing influence threatened the imperial clan.
• Meng Hongdao revealed that an Old Monster from one of the Eight Surnames had assassinated two previous emperors to stop them from suppressing the powerful families.
• Meng Zhao questioned why Beitang Sheng would risk provoking the aristocratic families, and Meng Hongdao pointed to the emperor’s ambitious temperament.
• Meng Zhao speculated that the thirty-six young nobles summoned to the Great Compassion Temple might have been recruited as pieces in Beitang Sheng’s struggle against the aristocratic families.

Meng Hongdao warned Meng Zhao and Meng Chuan that the Xu Prefecture rebellion might be part of a larger struggle between the imperial clan and the aristocratic families, and urged them to keep training and act cautiously. He explained that Meng Jizu had returned to Ye City to oversee the northern defenses against the Hu and Savage Tribes, while Meng Zhao suspected there might be another reason for his return.

• Meng Hongdao told Meng Zhao that the Xu Prefecture rebellion might be a contest between the imperial clan and the Nine Surnames, and predicted the Li Family and its allies would ultimately prevail.
• Meng Zhao considered whether Beitang Sheng could divide his enemies by supporting lesser aristocratic clans such as the Meng Family, but judged that outcome unlikely.
• Meng Hongdao urged Meng Zhao and Meng Chuan to keep up their Martial Dao Cultivation and to keep news of the rebellion secret.
• Meng Hongdao explained that Meng Jizu had returned to Ye City partly to guard against the Hu and Savage Tribes raiding the northern border during the southern rebellion.
• Meng Zhao recalled the tribes’ formidable warriors, beasts, and history of battles with the dynasty, and suspected Meng Jizu’s return might also involve Marquis Bei Ning’s Lei Family.
• Meng Hongdao said the family should focus on securing the Flood Dragon Egg and told Meng Zhao to cherish his possible Special Physique.

The Meng Family and Fire Dragon Cave faced a major assault from rival forces in the market town, but their superior Innate Masters quickly crushed the attackers. With their enemies scattered, they could proceed toward Cloud Mist Mountain and the Flood Dragon Egg.

• The Fire Dragon Cave party planned retaliation against Demon Venerable Hall, while Tang Ling'er was reprimanded and began to mature after her earlier recklessness.
• The Zhao Family and Qin Tao gathered intelligence independently, the Huang Family prepared supplies and medicines, and Meng Zhao withdrew to cultivate while worrying about the rebellion in Xu Prefecture and his identity.
• On the evening of the third day, the Lei Family, the Yang Family, Twelve Linked Forts, and Nine Abyss Sect launched coordinated attacks on the Meng Family and Fire Dragon Cave.
• The rival Innate Masters were quickly defeated, leaving their recruited martial artists to suffer heavy casualties as Meng Family and Fire Dragon Cave forces prevailed.
• Meng Chuan killed more than twenty attackers, while Meng Zhao stayed out of the fighting and observed the Innate Masters; the defeated forces’ collapse cleared the way for the mountain expedition.

Meng Zhao’s party traveled deeper into Cloud Mist Mountain toward Flood Dragon Pool, relying on the Cao Family’s guides and Sun Di’s knowledge to navigate the snowy wilderness. After surviving encounters with ferocious beasts, the group rested in a grove, where Huang Baoying approached Meng Zhao.

• Meng Hongdao’s party entered Cloud Mist Mountain in a guarded formation, with Sun Di protected at its center and everyone dressed in white to blend into the snow.
• The expedition followed a route planned by the Cao Family and Sun Di, using the Cao Family’s hidden paths and supply huts to make progress.
• As the party went deeper, they encountered packs of wolves and stronger ferocious beasts, but their powerful fighters and the Huang Family’s advice helped them avoid serious harm.
• The party rested in a eucalyptus grove after Fire Dragon Cave’s Innate Masters drove away its leopard-type beast.
• Meng Zhao ate a cold meat pie, reflected on his past and his gratitude to Zhao Hun, then noticed Huang Baoying approaching.

During the expedition into Cloud Mist Mountain, Huang Baoying privately warned Meng Zhao that Sun Di might betray the alliance despite appearing cooperative. Meng Zhao questioned Huang Baoying’s motives and grew suspicious of him as well.

• Huang Baoying met Meng Zhao and spoke with him as an old friend in front of the expedition party.
• Huang Baoying privately asked Meng Zhao whether Sun Di could be trusted to lead them to the flood dragon’s lair.
• Huang Baoying warned that Sun Di might turn against the alliance because his family had been killed and he had little reason to trust his captors.
• Meng Zhao asked why Huang Baoying had not raised his concerns with Meng Hongdao or Fire Dragon Cave before they entered the mountain.
• Huang Baoying said he had wanted to ease his worries and warn Meng Zhao, but his explanation made Meng Zhao more suspicious of him.

Meng Zhao grew wary when Huang Baoying proposed guarding Sun Di and then asked for a share of the Flood Dragon’s essence blood. The chapter ended with Meng Zhao questioning whether Huang Baoying was serious about helping the Meng Family seize the Flood Dragon Egg.

• Huang Baoying warned Meng Zhao that Sun Di might escape if the surrounding formation broke apart, then offered to guard him personally.
• Meng Zhao refused Huang Baoying’s offer because the other factions would distrust the Huang Family’s ties to both the Meng Family and Fire Dragon Cave.
• Huang Baoying asked how the Flood Dragon Egg and its essence blood would be divided if the group found it.
• Meng Zhao said the Meng Family would fight for the egg or otherwise claim nine drops of essence blood, while the Zhao Family and Qin Tao’s side would receive three drops each.
• Huang Baoying offered to help the Meng Family seize the egg in exchange for three drops of essence blood, and Meng Zhao asked whether he meant it.