Chapter Summaries

Meng Wen persuaded the Innate Masters to accompany him to demand that Meng Zhao surrender the Seven Freaks of Minshan. As Meng Zhao faced pressure from outside and suspicion from within, he promised Daoist Priest of Plucking Flowers that he would protect the seven and resolve the confrontation.

• Meng Wen assured the ten Innate Masters that he would handle Meng Zhao himself, and Cang Shu Yun agreed to accompany him.
• Meng Zhao brought the Six Monsters of Minshan to the Western Residence, arranged for Divine Doctor Tong to treat Big Iron Hammer, and returned to his study.
• Zhou Hu warned Meng Zhao that Meng Wen had arrived with ten Innate Masters and was demanding the Seven Freaks of Minshan.
• Daoist Priest of Plucking Flowers confronted Meng Zhao, accusing him of luring the seven into a trap.
• Meng Zhao denied summoning Meng Wen and promised Daoist Priest of Plucking Flowers that none of the seven would be harmed.

Meng Zhao brought Daoist Priest of Plucking Flowers and Zhou Hu to meet Meng Wen and his entourage, where he recognized a spy in his branch and assessed the threat posed by Cang Shu Yun. Meng Zhao and Meng Wen exchanged courteous words that turned tense over marriage and family succession, leaving their rivalry plain to everyone present.

• Meng Zhao took Daoist Priest of Plucking Flowers and Zhou Hu to the Western Residence reception hall to meet Meng Wen.
• Meng Zhao recognized a trusted steward from his second branch as Meng Wen's spy and resolved to investigate his personnel more carefully.
• Meng Zhao identified Cang Shu Yun among Meng Wen's Innate Masters and considered him a dangerous opponent for the Seven Freaks of Minshan.
• Meng Zhao and Meng Wen greeted each other warmly in public, then exchanged pointed remarks about Meng Zhao's prospective marriage.
• Meng Wen took Meng Zhao's reference to birth order as a challenge to his succession claim, and the two fell into a tense silence as the onlookers avoided involvement.

Meng Zhao tried to turn the Seven Freaks of Minshan from enemies into allies, but Meng Wen opposed the plan because he resented the prospect of strengthening Meng Zhao’s branch. The dispute remained unresolved as Cang Shu Yun said the retainers would follow the Earl’s orders.

• Meng Wen confronted Meng Zhao over associating with Daoist Priest of Plucking Flowers, accusing the Seven Freaks of Minshan of the Sun Family massacre and his attempted assassination.
• Daoist Priest of Plucking Flowers prepared to attack Meng Wen, but Meng Zhao stopped him and said the authorities had not proved the Seven Freaks were responsible for the Sun Family’s destruction.
• Meng Zhao explained that he wanted to mediate with the Seven Freaks and recruit them, while Meng Wen insisted on seizing them and handing them to their father.
• Meng Zhao argued that recruiting the Seven Freaks would help the Meng Family and weaken the Lei Family, but Meng Wen suspected he wanted the seven Innate Masters for his own branch.
• Meng Zhao asked Cang Shu Yun to support mediation, but Cang Shu Yun said the retainers would follow the Earl’s orders and advised Meng Zhao to seek his instructions.

Meng Zhao tried to negotiate with Meng Wen to spare the Seven Freaks of Minshan, while Meng Wen used their private meeting to voice his resentment and insist on taking them. The brothers ended the discussion at an impasse, with Meng Zhao’s ominous display of pressure suggesting the confrontation was not over.

• Cang Shu Yun said the Hall of Honored Retainers would follow Meng Jizu’s orders unless Meng Wen agreed to Meng Zhao’s proposal.
• Meng Zhao asked Meng Wen to speak privately and offered to hear his terms for sparing the Seven Freaks of Minshan.
• Meng Wen accused Meng Zhao of deceiving the family and blamed him for rising to prominence after Meng Wen’s defeat by Shi Siming.
• Meng Zhao denied scheming against Meng Wen and argued that his victory over Shi Siming had been an effort to avenge his brother.
• Meng Wen rejected Meng Zhao’s defense and said he would take the Seven Freaks of Minshan unless Meng Zhao obtained their father’s approval.
• Meng Zhao thumbed his Jade Prayer Beads and radiated a fearsome pressure, while Meng Wen remained convinced he would not dare attack him.

Meng Zhao urged Meng Wen not to let their feud blind him, revealing that he planned to leave the Meng Family and establish himself elsewhere. He showed Meng Wen that he had bonded with a young flood dragon and offered to help him in a future struggle for the family head position, leaving Meng Wen torn over what to do.

• Meng Zhao told Meng Wen that his growing prominence could obstruct Meng Wen and Meng Xi's chances of becoming family head.
• Meng Zhao revealed that he planned to leave the Meng Family after seeking his elders' approval and take the Seven Freaks of Minshan under his command.
• Meng Wen asked why Meng Zhao was leaving, and Meng Zhao implied he wanted to avoid becoming a threat to the main branch.
• Meng Zhao summoned Young Flood Dragon Little Nine and revealed that he had bonded with it through a spiritual imprint.
• Meng Zhao warned Meng Wen against coveting the flood dragon and promised to help him if his future struggle reached a critical point.
• Meng Wen stared at Young Flood Dragon Little Nine, struggling with the dilemma of whether to accept Meng Zhao's offer.

Meng Zhao persuaded Meng Wen to let the Seven Freaks of Minshan go and swear to support him if he had to choose sides. Before leaving, Meng Zhao warned Meng Wen that Meng Xi might win the Kong Family’s backing and suggested that Meng Wen visit them too.

• Meng Wen weighed the benefits of cooperating with Meng Zhao and asked whether he truly intended to pursue ambitions beyond the Meng Family.
• Meng Zhao described his ambitions, and Meng Wen agreed to let the Seven Freaks of Minshan go, asking Meng Zhao to swear that he would support him in the future.
• Meng Zhao swore to stand with Meng Wen if forced to choose a side, and Meng Wen agreed not to interfere with the Seven Freaks or explain the matter to Meng Jizu.
• Meng Zhao warned that Meng Xi might use his trip to gain the Kong Family’s support, alarming Meng Wen.
• Meng Zhao advised Meng Wen to visit the Kong Family as well, and Meng Wen decided to follow the suggestion.

Meng Zhao persuaded Meng Wen to postpone dealing with the Seven Freaks until their father returned, then used Meng Wen’s departure plans to maneuver against him. Meng Wen left a loyal informant behind in Meng Zhao’s hands, undermining the trust of anyone who might provide him information.

• Meng Wen announced that he and Meng Zhao had agreed to wait for their father before deciding what to do about the Seven Freaks, and Cang Shu Yun’s group departed peacefully.
• Meng Zhao stopped Meng Wen from taking a Second Branch man who had secretly informed him, while Lü Zhong asked to keep the man behind.
• Meng Wen explained that the man’s brother had died protecting him and asked Meng Zhao to spare him, but ultimately agreed to leave him behind until his return from the Kong Family.
• Meng Zhao reassured Meng Wen and let him go, while the abandoned man collapsed after realizing that he was likely to die.

Meng Zhao ordered the traitor executed and planned how to manage the Meng Family’s people as he prepared to leave. He left Uncle Zhong to oversee those remaining, assigned Zhou Hu to learn from them, and urged Zhou Hu to cultivate steadily.

• Meng Zhao questioned the traitor, rejected his excuses, and ordered Uncle Zhong to kill him without torture.
• Uncle Zhong crushed the traitor’s throat and had the guards remove the body.
• Meng Zhao planned to take two-thirds of his men when he left the Meng Family and leave Uncle Zhong to manage the rest.
• Meng Zhao told Zhou Hu to stay with Uncle Zhong, learn about their subordinates, and spar with the martial artists.
• Zhou Hu pledged to advance to the Innate realm, and Meng Zhao cautioned him against pursuing breakthroughs too impatiently.

Meng Zhao reassured Daoist Priest of Plucking Flowers that he would cure Mu Qing and treat the Seven Freaks of Minshan well, securing their promise to serve him. After Daoist Priest warned that the Lei Family would pursue them, Meng Zhao declared that he had the confidence to confront the family as he prepared to build his own power.

• Daoist Priest of Plucking Flowers thanked Meng Zhao for protecting the Seven Freaks and admitted that they had doubted him over Mu Qing's condition.
• Meng Zhao explained that he had restricted Mu Qing's strength and freedom to keep her from escaping, and promised to cure her now that the Seven Freaks had gathered.
• Daoist Priest of Plucking Flowers pledged that the Seven Freaks would work for Meng Zhao, then warned him that the Lei Family would not let their defection go unpunished.
• Meng Zhao considered his potential allies and personal strengths, then told Daoist Priest of Plucking Flowers to speak with Mu Qing before a banquet that night.

Meng Zhao consolidated his forces while waiting for Bai Shicheng and Han Pu to return from rescuing Bai Shicheng’s family. After Bai Shicheng recounted their successful escape from the Qin Family, Meng Zhao promised to protect him, his wife, and his daughter.

• Meng Zhao screened personnel, organized his wealth, and restructured the second branch’s enterprises as he prepared for the future.
• Meng Wen hurriedly left the Meng Family for the Kong Family without waiting for Meng Jizu’s reply, while Zhong Tao pressured the Huang Family over Huang Baoying’s betrayal.
• Meng Jizu remained in Ye City as fighting in Xu Prefecture intensified, and Meng Hongdao stayed at Cloud Mist Mountain to handle disputes with other forces.
• Meng Zhao welcomed Bai Shicheng, Han Pu, and Bai Shicheng’s wife and daughter after they safely returned from Julu.
• Bai Shicheng explained how Meng Zhao’s hidden contacts had helped them evade the Qin Family and rescue his family.
• Meng Zhao assured Bai Shicheng that he would handle the Qin Family and protect Bai Shicheng and his family.

Bai Shicheng reported that Han Pu had gained a great opportunity in Juluxian City, greatly advanced his cultivation, and obtained an ancient saber. After Han Pu returned, he described his new mastery and transformation to Meng Zhao, who recognized the power of his new saber art.

• Bai Shicheng told Meng Zhao that Han Pu had advanced greatly and acquired an ancient saber possibly of Earth-tier.
• Meng Zhao asked Bai Shicheng to settle his family with Zhou Hu and attend a welcome banquet with his newly recruited Innate Masters.
• Meng Zhao summoned Han Pu and worried that the ancient saber might conceal a trap or hidden danger.
• Han Pu reported that Bai Shicheng had behaved cooperatively and that his wife and daughter posed no influence on him.
• Han Pu told Meng Zhao that he had opened all twelve regular and eight extraordinary meridians, perfected his Acquired realm, and replaced the Heavenly Fiend Saber Scripture with the Five Absolutes of Burning Wind Saber.
• Han Pu demonstrated his new saber technique, and Meng Zhao recognized its extraordinary, domineering power.

Meng Zhao examined Han Pu’s ancient saber and used the Sky-Illuminating Mirror to see its history, discovering that Feng Yi had wielded it and drawn on Shihuo Pig stellar energy. The saber’s memories also revealed Liu Xiu’s overwhelming power and fortune, leaving Meng Zhao deeply shaken.

• Meng Zhao praised Han Pu’s saber art, and Han Pu explained how an ancient saber had granted him a surge of essence and the Five Absolutes of Burning Wind Saber.
• Han Pu handed the saber to Meng Zhao, who examined its unusual warmth and patterns but could not identify its qualities.
• When Meng Zhao held the saber, the Sky-Illuminating Mirror showed its forging and the battles of a young warrior who had wielded it.
• Meng Zhao recognized the warrior as Feng Yi and saw him cultivate with Shihuo Pig stellar energy after entering the Innate realm.
• The visions showed Feng Yi paying respects to Liu Xiu, whose immense aura and fortune led Meng Zhao to recognize him as the Son of Heaven.

Meng Zhao discovered that Han Pu’s ancient saber was the Changyang Divine Saber, an Earth-tier weapon that carried Feng Yi’s martial inheritance. He told Han Pu that the saber had awakened because Han Pu possessed the Shihuo Pig Star Destiny, leaving Han Pu stunned by the possibility that he had a Special Physique.

• Meng Zhao examined the visions from the ancient saber and learned that it had passed through many hands before granting Han Pu vital essence and Feng Yi’s saber art.
• Meng Zhao identified the weapon as the Changyang Divine Saber, named Feng Yi as its first owner, and explained that it contained the Five Absolutes of Burning Heaven Saber.
• Han Pu questioned whether the saber could truly be an Earth-tier Divine Weapon because he could not use it to connect with Heaven and Earth Vital Energy.
• Meng Zhao explained Feng Yi’s Star Body and said Han Pu was the first person in countless years to receive the saber’s vital essence and inheritance.
• Han Pu realized that Meng Zhao believed he shared Feng Yi’s Shihuo Pig Star Destiny and might possess a Special Physique, and he froze in disbelief.

Meng Zhao welcomed Bai Shicheng and Han Pu back, then received news that Beitang Shu had averted a war with the Hu Man and impressed Ji Prefecture’s powerful families. The chapter left Beitang Shu gaining potential supporters among those considering the princes’ struggle for succession.

• Meng Zhao hosted a banquet for Bai Shicheng and Han Pu, met Bai Shicheng’s wife and daughter, and observed that Bai Shicheng and the Seven Freaks of Minshan remained unfamiliar with one another.
• News arrived that Beitang Shu had sent Meng Jizu and Lei Wanche to mobilize the Southern and Northern Six Camps outside Heavenbreaker Pass, where their drills helped deter the Hu Man.
• On the twenty-third day of the third month, the Hu Man withdrew north, and peace returned inside and beyond the pass.
• Meng Zhao learned that Ji Prefecture’s families had contributed people and resources to the defense and received wartime profits in return.
• Meng Zhao learned that Beitang Shu had secretly sent Imperial Clan Experts to stir trouble among the Hu Man, helping force their withdrawal.
• Beitang Shu’s handling of the crisis impressed Ji Prefecture’s families, and some began considering whether to support him in the struggle for the throne.

Meng Zhao considered why the Meng and Lei Families avoided the Jizhou Faction’s possible support for Beitang Shu, concluding that both families sought to become Ji Prefecture’s sole power rivaling the Nine Surnames. News from Cloud Mist Mountain then confirmed that the forces there were returning home, leaving the Meng Family as the incident’s greatest beneficiary.

• Meng Zhao learned from Meng Jizu’s letter why he and Lei Wanche would not lead the Jizhou Faction into the struggle for the throne.
• Meng Zhao concluded that the Meng and Lei Families’ rivalry stemmed from their competition to become Ji Prefecture’s one great clan capable of standing alongside the Nine Surnames.
• Meng Zhao crossed several possible territories off his list for establishing his own foundation and planned to consult Meng Jizu and Meng Hongdao.
• A messenger reported that the forces at Cloud Mist Mountain had settled their disputes and begun returning to their families and sects.
• Fire Dragon Cave returned empty-handed, and Meng Zhao recognized that the Meng Family had become the greatest beneficiary of the Cloud Mist Mountain incident.

By May, Meng Zhao’s trusted subordinates had gathered at Meng Mansion, and he took Liang Muqiu, Han Lu, and Zhu'er on a rainy spring outing to Green Snow Lake. After the women grew jealous of ladies flirting with him, Meng Zhao reassured them, and Zhu'er asked to go boating.

• Cao Zhan returned to Meng Mansion with greatly improved strength, joining Lü Yue, Han Pu, and Zhou Hu among Meng Zhao’s promising subordinates.
• On May sixth, Meng Zhao took Liang Muqiu, Han Lu, and Zhu'er to Green Snow Lake while Bai Shicheng, Lü Yue, Han Pu, and the others guarded them.
• Several young ladies flirted with Meng Zhao, leaving Han Lu, Liang Muqiu, and Zhu'er displeased.
• Zhu'er confronted Meng Zhao about the women, and he said he had no interest in them because they were licentious.
• After Meng Zhao reassured the women, Zhu'er asked to take a boat onto the lake, and Meng Zhao ordered Lü Yue to arrange one.

Meng Zhao and his companions boated across Green Snow Lake while he worried about being confined to Meng Mansion and the danger of his hidden disloyalty being discovered. A mysterious young man, Kuang Tianyou of the Kuang Family of Jianan Pass, intercepted their boat and asked Meng Zhao to meet with him.

• Meng Zhao and his companions enjoyed the rain and scenery on Green Snow Lake while Meng Zhao worried that Meng Jizu and Meng Hongdao had not returned.
• A skilled boatman deliberately brought his black-canopied boat alongside Meng Zhao's, and Liang Muqiu warned Meng Zhao that the man might be an Innate cultivator.
• A pale, richly dressed young man emerged from the other boat and asked whether Meng Zhao was the young master of the Earl of Nan'an's Estate.
• The young man introduced himself as Kuang Tianyou of the Kuang Family of Jianan Pass and invited Meng Zhao aboard to discuss an important matter.
• Meng Zhao was surprised to learn that Kuang Tianyou came from Jianan Pass, a region where criminals and defeated families were exiled.

Meng Zhao met Kuang Tianyou on a lake, but a sudden surge of water and an assassination attempt disrupted their conversation. Liang Muqiu killed all eight attackers, leaving Meng Zhao to seek answers from Kuang Tianyou and his men.

• Kuang Tianyou explained that his fallen family had been exiled to Jianan Pass and appeared to seek Meng Zhao's cooperation.
• The lake erupted into violent currents and waves, but the boatman steadied both boats and swept the water with Qi Blades, exposing dead attackers beneath the surface.
• Eight assassins leaped from the lake and attacked Meng Zhao with coordinated sword strikes.
• Liang Muqiu shattered the assassins' swords with a palm-blade strike and killed all eight before Meng Zhao had to move.
• The lake returned to calm, and Meng Zhao remained unsure who had ordered the assassination or why, so he looked to Kuang Tianyou's boat for answers.

Kuang Tianyou met Meng Zhao and revealed that he had heard of a possible promotion for Beitang Shu, the Ninth Prince, hoping to secure Meng Zhao’s cooperation. Meng Zhao recognized Kuang’s connections and the political significance of the news but remained cautious about entering court politics.

• Kuang Tianyou hosted Meng Zhao and Liang Muqiu after assassins tried to disrupt their potential cooperation, explaining that he had been the target.
• Meng Zhao tasted tribute Fragrant Spring Wine, and Kuang Tianyou offered to provide him with twenty jars each year.
• Kuang Tianyou told Meng Zhao that Beitang Shu had earned widespread acclaim for deterring the Hu Man and might be appointed Grand Governor of Liang Prefecture.
• Meng Zhao inferred that a powerful figure in the capital backed the Kuang Family and that Kuang Tianyou was seeking his cooperation.
• Kuang Tianyou warned that the promotion was not yet certain and asked Meng Zhao to understand the value of supporting someone before their success was confirmed.

Meng Zhao questioned Kuang Tianyou about the Kuang Family’s efforts to recruit support for the Ninth Prince, Beitang Shu, and considered Jianan Pass’s value as a source of people and power. Kuang Tianyou explained why the Kuang Family hoped to join Beitang Shu’s cause, while Meng Zhao pressed him on the risks and motives behind their ambition.

• Meng Zhao declined to commit the Meng Family or himself to supporting the Ninth Prince and asked whether Kuang Tianyou and the Kuang Family had already joined Beitang Shu.
• Kuang Tianyou said the Kuang Family had not joined yet but was contacting people to gain influence in Beitang Shu’s camp.
• Kuang Tianyou argued that a worthy ruler would accept people from Jianan Pass, while a ruler who rejected them would not be worth serving.
• Kuang Tianyou said Jianan Pass’s greatest resource was its people, including talented individuals, skilled fighters, and fearless warriors.
• Meng Zhao recognized the value of Jianan Pass’s people and asked why the Kuang Family risked joining the struggle for the throne despite living comfortably in exile.