Chapter Summaries

Meng Zhao confronted Wu Zunyuan at the Wu residence and demanded that he hand over Wu Kaijing, whom he accused of abducting Meng Zhao’s younger sister and injuring his younger brother alongside Xun Tao. He warned that the Kong Family’s ties to the girl made the matter perilous, leaving the Wu Family’s members fearful and uncertain.

• You Shuren introduced Meng Zhao and Wu Zunyuan to ease the tense standoff in Listening Wind Hall.
• Meng Zhao demanded Wu Kaijing, and a Wu Family Innate Master rebuked him for his discourteous arrival.
• Wu Zunyuan recalled Wu Kaijing’s past apology and initially suspected Meng Zhao was reopening an old grievance.
• Meng Zhao revealed that Wu Kaijing and Xun Tao had abducted his little sister and injured his fifth younger brother outside a dock in Lingwu Outer City.
• Wu Zunyuan questioned Meng Zhao’s account, but Meng Zhao explained how his siblings’ connection to him had drawn the two men’s attention.
• Meng Zhao warned that the girl’s mother and grandfather belonged to the Kong Family, and that Wu Kaijing and Xun Tao would die if she were harmed; the Wu Family members grew alarmed.

Meng Zhao confronted Wu Zunyuan over Wu Kaijing and Xun Tao’s suspected attack on Meng Rong, warning that the Kong Family would retaliate. Wu Zunyuan agreed to retrieve his son, and the chapter ended with You Shuren returning without Wu Kaijing and with an unusual expression.

• Meng Zhao warned Wu Zunyuan that the Kong Family would spare no effort to defend Meng Rong’s chastity and demanded that Wu Kaijing be handed over.
• Wu Zunyuan agreed to have his men bring Wu Kaijing back and promised to surrender him if the accusations proved true, but said he could not control Xun Tao.
• Meng Zhao recounted how he had uncovered the incident, and Wu Zunyuan realized Meng Rong might not have escaped unharmed.
• Meng Zhao and the others waited tensely in Listening Wind Hall while You Shuren searched for Wu Kaijing.
• You Shuren returned with several Wu Family experts, but Wu Kaijing was absent, and You Shuren looked relieved yet hesitant to speak.

Meng Zhao and the Wu Family learned that Wu Kaijing, Xun Tao, and their men had been killed, but Meng Rong was still missing. They inspected the sorghum field where the bodies were found and learned that the party had been killed before reaching Wu Kaijing’s estates, leaving Meng Rong’s fate uncertain.

• You Shuren told Wu Zunyuan that Wu Kaijing, Xun Tao, and their sixteen subordinates had been killed, while no trace or body of Meng Rong had been found.
• Meng Zhao urged Wu Zunyuan to notify the Xun Family and inspect the scene, and Wu Zunyuan agreed to leave at once.
• Meng Zhao, Meng Chuan, Wu Zunyuan, and Wu Family warriors rode to the sorghum field where the bodies had been found.
• The goateed Wu Family leader explained that Wu Kaijing and Xun Tao had been intercepted and killed before reaching either of Wu Kaijing’s estates.
• The goateed man reported that no girl had been seen with Wu Kaijing and Xun Tao, disappointing Meng Chuan while Meng Zhao showed signs of relief.

Meng Zhao and Wu Zunyuan investigated the site where Wu Kaijing and fifteen others had been found dead, while searching for clues to Meng Rong’s disappearance. The lack of signs of combat left them unsure who had killed the group or rescued Meng Rong.

• Wu Zunyuan led the group to the bodies, where he recognized his dead son Wu Kaijing and briefly gave way to grief.
• Wu Zunyuan and Meng Zhao agreed to have their people examine the scene together and share any findings.
• Meng Zhao reassured Meng Chuan that Meng Rong was likely safe because she was not among the bodies.
• Liang Muqiu pointed out that the sixteen dead experts included at least two Innate Masters, yet the site showed almost no signs of a battle.
• Meng Zhao and Liang Muqiu considered whether the bodies had been moved from another location as Bai Shicheng arrived with the examination’s results.

Meng Zhao and Liang Muqiu investigated the massacre and concluded that two different people had killed the victims, while the identity of the person who took Meng Rong remained unknown. Meng Zhao compelled the Wu and Xun Families to search for her and allowed the corpses to be examined under his conditions.

• Bai Shicheng reported that three Innate Masters had been killed by Finger Force, while thirteen others had been burned from within by a strange fire-art.
• Liang Muqiu reasoned that one expert had rescued Meng Rong and a second person had later killed the subdued group, though she had no proof.
• Meng Zhao told Wu Zunyuan that the Wu and Xun Families had to mobilize to search for Meng Rong and make amends for their mistake.
• Wu Zunyuan agreed to organize the search and said the families might be unable to confront whoever had taken Meng Rong.
• Meng Zhao allowed Wu Zunyuan to keep the corpses for examination, provided Meng Zhao's people accompanied them and the bodies were not privately buried.

Meng Zhao returned to the Meng Family Manor with Meng Chuan, choosing to wait for news about Meng Rong and the person who rescued her. Meanwhile, Wu Zunyuan discussed the crisis with You Shuren, who warned that Meng Rong’s safety and the Kong Family’s response would determine whether the Wu and Xun Families could avoid disaster.

• Meng Zhao reassured Meng Chuan that the Meng and Xun Families were searching for Meng Rong and that they should wait for news from her rescuer.
• Wu Zunyuan finished organizing the response at the scene, then asked You Shuren for his assessment of the affair.
• You Shuren explained that Meng Rong’s safe return could prevent the matter from becoming irreparable, while harm to her could provoke the Kong Family.
• You Shuren advised Wu Zunyuan to prepare an escape route if the Kong Family intervened and to offer Meng Zhao benefits to improve relations.
• Wu Zunyuan considered using Meng Zhao’s influence to gain an advantage in future negotiations.

Meng Zhao returned to Meng Family Manor and learned that Meng Rong had been brought back safely, then went to see her with Meng Chuan. Meng Rong reunited with Meng Chuan in tears and cautiously greeted Meng Zhao, while the circumstances of her return remained unclear.

• Meng Zhao and Meng Chuan found Lü Yue waiting outside the manor and learned Meng Rong had returned safely.
• Meng Zhao instructed Lü Yue to notify the Xun Family and Wu Family quietly and investigate the deaths of Xun Tao, Wu Kaijing, and sixteen others.
• Meng Zhao and the others found Meng Rong in a guest room, where Han Lu and Zhu'er were comforting her.
• Meng Chuan rushed to embrace Meng Rong, and the siblings clung to each other and wept.
• Meng Rong looked up at Meng Zhao and timidly called him Fourth Brother.

Meng Rong recounted how an unknown old man rescued her from Xun Tao and Wu Kaijing, then brought her safely back to the estate. Her account also confirmed that Zhao Hun, who looked exactly like Meng Zhao, had appeared near Lingwu City, leaving Meng Zhao to wonder whether the old man was connected to him.

• Meng Rong explained that Xun Tao and Wu Kaijing had captured her and sealed her acupoints while taking her toward the wilderness.
• Xun Tao tried to assault Meng Rong, but an old man appeared, incapacitated three men, freed her, and took her and Little Red away.
• Meng Rong said she had never met the old man before and that he later brought her to the estate after taking her around and buying her snacks.
• Meng Rong revealed that she had seen someone resembling Meng Zhao near the town by the estate.
• Meng Zhao concluded that Zhao Hun had come to Lingwu City and considered whether the old man had ties to him.

Meng Zhao soothed Meng Rong after her rescue and made sure she was cared for, then turned to the remaining consequences of her abduction. Meng Chuan wanted the Meng Family to retaliate against the Xun and Wu families, while Meng Zhao asked what he intended to do.

• Meng Zhao scolded Meng Rong for running away, and she sincerely promised not to do it again.
• Meng Zhao used Mental Power to calm Meng Rong until she fell asleep, then arranged for Zhu'er and Han Lu to look after her.
• Meng Zhao brought Meng Chuan, Liang Muqiu, and the others to his study and said the matter was not over just because Xun Tao and Wu Kaijing were dead.
• Meng Chuan declared that he would return to Nan'an and urge the Meng Family to attack the Xun and Wu families.

Meng Zhao persuaded Meng Chuan to pursue negotiations rather than retaliation against the Xun Family and Wu Family over Meng Rong’s abduction. Meng Chuan agreed to carry the full account to the main family, while Meng Rong stayed in Lingwu City for the negotiations.

• Meng Chuan proposed attacking the Xun Family and Wu Family, but Meng Zhao explained Lingwu City’s power structure and warned that a fight could be risky and unjustified.
• Liang Muqiu noted that a powerful martial arts master had appeared in the city, making conflict even more dangerous.
• Meng Zhao proposed using the two families’ apologies and assets to settle the matter, and Meng Chuan accepted that negotiation was preferable to war.
• Meng Zhao assigned Meng Chuan to stay with him during negotiations and then report the events and the families’ attitudes to Meng Jizu and Meng Hongdao.
• Meng Zhao decided that Meng Rong would remain in Lingwu City for her safety and to serve as the victim in the negotiations.

Wu Zunyuan and Xun Min met to discuss the deaths of their sons and the Meng Family’s response. Wu Zunyuan described Meng Zhao as a capable, measured young man, and Xun Min asked how Meng Zhao might settle the matter.

• Wu Zunyuan mourned Wu Kaijing in private before welcoming Xun Min into his room.
• Xun Min demanded an explanation, and Wu Zunyuan argued that both Wu Kaijing and Xun Tao shared blame for the disaster.
• Xun Min accused the Wu Family of growing too close to other clans and warned Wu Zunyuan not to use the Xun Family as a shield.
• Xun Min asked what sort of person Meng Zhao was and how he planned to resolve the matter.
• Wu Zunyuan praised Meng Zhao’s judgment and composure, then asked Xun Min how he thought Meng Zhao would proceed.

Xun Min sought Wu Zunyuan’s help after Xun Tao’s actions against Meng Rong threatened his chance to become Xun Family head, but Wu refused to shoulder the consequences. Xun Min then revealed damaging information about the Wu Family and used it to pressure Wu, leaving their alliance strained.

• Xun Min asked Wu Zunyuan whether a private settlement and compensation could make Meng Zhao drop the matter, but Wu said Meng Zhao could not act without the Southern An Meng Family’s elders.
• Wu Zunyuan refused to take responsibility because Meng Rong carried Kong Family blood, while Xun Min lamented that Xun Tao had ruined his years of efforts to become family head.
• Wu Zunyuan blamed Xun Min for failing to raise Xun Tao properly, and Xun Min responded by placing a blue-covered booklet of the Wu Family’s misdeeds on the table.
• Wu Zunyuan found that the booklet contained dangerous information and suspected Xun Min had planted a spy near him, briefly considering killing Xun Min.
• Xun Min warned that the confirmed secrets could bring public condemnation upon the Wu Family and urged Wu Zunyuan to seize the opportunity he had offered.

Xun Min used evidence of the Wu Family’s secret dealings to make Wu Zunyuan accept responsibility for the Meng Rong abduction and help stabilize the Xun Family. They agreed to compensate the Meng Family and seek Meng Zhao’s support, while continuing to investigate the powerful rescuer and the person who killed their sons.

• Xun Min offered to conceal the Wu Family’s arrangements in exchange for Wu Zunyuan shouldering the Meng Family affair, and argued that the Wu Family could not displace the three leading families through its schemes alone.
• Wu Zunyuan accepted responsibility for the abduction of Meng Rong and said his son had directed it, while warning that the Meng Family might not accept his account.
• Wu Zunyuan proposed compensating the Meng Family and bribing Meng Zhao, and he and Xun Min agreed that the Wu Family would bear most of the cost while Xun Min contributed private assets.
• Wu Zunyuan speculated that Granny Qiu or someone connected to the Meng or Kong Family might have rescued Meng Rong, and Xun Min ordered both families to continue investigating the expert.
• Xun Min and Wu Zunyuan agreed to identify the person who killed their sons and make sure he died.

After breakfast, Meng Zhao agreed to let Meng Rong stay in Lingwu City on the condition that she obey him and never sneak out again. As he weighed the many dangers and responsibilities surrounding him, a servant reported that Xuanxin Temple had sent an invitation.

• Meng Zhao privately considered the rising inner force, the Ziwei Star Destiny, the missing Emperor Yu Battle Armor, the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm, the Dark Sun assassins, and the threat connected to Meng Rong’s abduction.
• Meng Rong asked Meng Zhao to write home and let her remain in Lingwu City for a few more days.
• Meng Zhao agreed to speak to the family elders if Meng Rong promised to obey him and not sneak out again.
• Meng Chuan asked to stay and go out with Meng Rong, but Meng Zhao refused until his injuries healed.
• A servant reported that someone from Xuanxin Temple had delivered an invitation.

Meng Zhao accepted Fu Qingtong’s invitation to Fragrant Grass Pavilion and learned that Fu wanted to test his Melting Soldier Hand against the Meng Family’s Red Flag Order. Meng Zhao revealed that he had changed his foundation and offered to arrange a spar between Fu and his Fifth Brother instead.

• Meng Zhao decided to attend Fu Qingtong’s meeting with Cang Shu Yun, Daoist Priest of Plucking Flowers, Xue Huaiyong, and several dozen Vermilion Bird Divine Guards for protection.
• Fu Qingtong’s steward led Meng Zhao and his escorts through the guards surrounding Fragrant Grass Pavilion, where Fu greeted him and they spoke privately.
• Fu Qingtong explained that he wanted to compare his Melting Soldier Hand with the Red Flag Order, which his master had praised as sovereign among flames.
• Meng Zhao demonstrated his Dragon Form Qi and told Fu Qingtong that he no longer cultivated the Red Flag Order.
• Meng Zhao suggested Fu Qingtong visit Meng Family Village to spar with his Fifth Brother, who was cultivating the Red Flag Order.

Fu Qingtong explained that he wanted to spar with Meng Zhao’s fifth brother to cultivate his Melting Soldier Hand, then revealed that Mu Ge had secretly contacted him to reach Meng Zhao. Mu Ge’s situation had become urgent, and he wanted the item Meng Zhao possessed in exchange for an item Fu Qingtong would deliver.

• Fu Qingtong said he hoped to spar with Meng Zhao’s fifth brother to gather fire seeds for his Melting Soldier Hand, but Meng Zhao told him his brother was injured.
• Meng Zhao accepted Fu Qingtong’s motive for the spar and asked who had sent him and why.
• Fu Qingtong revealed that Mu Ge was his senior brother from True Martial Temple and had secretly asked him to contact Meng Zhao.
• Meng Zhao questioned whether the contact was genuine, and Fu Qingtong said Old Daoist Fuyang had confirmed Mu Ge’s identity.
• Fu Qingtong used voice transmission to tell Meng Zhao that Mu Ge and a friend were being watched and urgently needed Meng Zhao’s item, offering to deliver the exchange item himself.

Meng Zhao negotiated with Fu Qingtong over Mu Ge’s delivery of the Emperor Yu Battle Armor, insisting on inspecting it before handing over the Flood Dragon Blood. Fu Qingtong brought the locked chest to the Meng Mansion estate, and Meng Zhao broke its heavy copper lock with ease.

• Meng Zhao suspected Qian Jiao’s troubles were connected to a power struggle involving Tan Cai’er’s father, but trusted Zhu’er’s ties to the Tan Family to give him room to negotiate.
• Meng Zhao told Fu Qingtong that Mu Ge must deliver the item to the Meng Mansion estate first, and that he would hand over the Flood Dragon Blood only after inspecting it.
• Fu Qingtong agreed to Meng Zhao’s terms and had a warrior carry in a massive Sea Cloud Wood chest entrusted to him by Mu Ge.
• Meng Zhao inspected the chest and refused to tell Fu Qingtong what he believed it contained, keeping the Emperor Yu Battle Armor’s identity secret.
• When Fu Qingtong said Meng Zhao could open the chest himself, Meng Zhao tore apart its copper lock with a casual pull, astonishing him with his strength.

Meng Zhao opened the chest expecting a valuable treasure, but found a mysterious bronze disk that the Sky-Illuminating Mirror identified as the core of the Azure Dragon Armor. He learned how Emperor Yu forged the armor and what it would take to unlock its powers, leaving him with a priceless but difficult-to-master treasure.

• Meng Zhao opened the chest and found a palm-sized bronze disk, disappointing both him and Fu Qingtong.
• Meng Zhao touched the disk, and the Sky-Illuminating Mirror revealed its history and origin.
• Meng Zhao learned that Emperor Yu forged the Azure Dragon Armor from an Azure Dragon, an Evil Eye, and Outer-space Meteorite.
• Meng Zhao discovered that the armor contained the Azure Dragon Transformation and the Evil Eye Technique, which together could awaken its full power.
• Meng Zhao concluded that only rare talents, special lineages, or extraordinary means could master the armor, and that it would otherwise remain useless to someone like Qian Jiao.

Meng Zhao recognized the bronze disc as the Emperor Yu Battle Armor and considered withholding the Flood Dragon Blood promised in exchange. He told Fu Qingtong to return in three days for the item, then someone rendered Fu Qingtong unconscious.

• Meng Zhao recognized the Emperor Yu Battle Armor’s secrets through the Sky-Illuminating Mirror and pretended the bronze disc was merely an antique he collected.
• Fu Qingtong asked when Meng Zhao would deliver the item Mu Ge wanted, and Meng Zhao reconsidered giving Qian Jiao the Flood Dragon Blood.
• Meng Zhao reasoned that Qian Jiao was in trouble and might become a threat if he recovered, so he considered breaking the deal and robbing a robber.
• Meng Zhao asked Fu Qingtong what would happen if he reneged, and Fu Qingtong warned that Mu Ge might retaliate.
• Meng Zhao told Fu Qingtong to come to his residence in three days, without promising what he would hand over, and a seductive laugh left Fu Qingtong unconscious.

Meng Zhao resisted a mysterious sleeping poison that incapacitated the warriors gathered at Fragrant Grass Pavilion, including four Innate Masters. When the poisoner revealed himself as an alluring, effeminate man of unknown strength, Meng Zhao tried to bargain for his life.

• A mysterious voice and orchid fragrance put Fu Qingtong and most of the warriors around Fragrant Grass Pavilion to sleep, but Meng Zhao resisted through his unusual purple dragon blood.
• The poison overcame Cang Shu Yun, Daoist Priest of Plucking Flowers, Xue Huaiyong, and the Innate Realm Warrior guarding Fu Qingtong, leaving Meng Zhao alone on his feet.
• The poisoner descended from the pavilion eaves, and Meng Zhao saw that the beautiful figure was an effeminate man whose strength he could not judge.
• Meng Zhao greeted the man respectfully and offered to meet any demand in exchange for mercy.
• The Effeminate Man mocked Meng Zhao for abandoning his boldness, while Meng Zhao continued to plead for his life.