Chapter Summaries

Meng Zhao traveled alone into Liang Prefecture, where relentless snow and slaughter had left the people in misery and the land saturated with Killing Intent. He reached Baggu County to find the Liang Prefecture Rebel Army at Hu Mountain and began considering how to investigate and bring them under his control.

• Meng Zhao crossed the frozen plains, counted corpses, and sensed that the slaughter and snow had filled Liang Prefecture with harmful Killing Intent.
• He recalled the disorder he had encountered and learned that Fire Dragon Cave had been suppressing villains while the Great Yong Dynasty provided little aid.
• Meng Zhao remembered leaving Lingwu City in secret after arranging affairs with Beitang He, and decided against bringing Wang Xu because the former bandit chieftain might expose the mission.
• Meng Zhao reached Baggu County, where Wang Xu had said twenty thousand Rebel Army soldiers were hiding, and wondered whether they remained at Hu Mountain.
• Meng Zhao considered blending into the Rebel Army to learn its leadership and backers, with plans to sabotage its supplies or assassinate its leaders if he could not subdue it.

Meng Zhao planned to infiltrate a Hu Mountain stronghold and join the Rebel Army, but a fleeing carriage and its pursuers interrupted his journey. When the coachman called for his help, Meng Zhao stopped and felt murderous intent toward him for trying to drag him into the danger.

• Meng Zhao traveled toward Hu Mountain while considering how to infiltrate a bandit stronghold and contact the Rebel Army.
• Meng Zhao noticed a battered carriage pursued by mounted warriors but initially chose to continue on his way.
• The Liu Family Coachman, wounded and desperate to protect the carriage’s passenger, used pain to spur the exhausted Dragon Steeds toward Meng Zhao.
• The coachman shouted repeatedly for Meng Zhao to wait, and Meng Zhao stopped and turned toward him.
• Meng Zhao’s killing intent rose against the coachman, whom he believed was trying to divert the danger onto him.

Meng Zhao refused to help a fleeing Liu Family coachman and his heavily pregnant mistress, having no reason to trust their story or risk involving himself. As pursuers closed in, the young madam offered him a hidden divine art in exchange for saving her and her unborn child.

• Meng Zhao used his Dragon Might to frighten the four Dragon Steeds to death, causing their carriage to crash in the snow.
• The coachman rescued the pregnant young madam from the wreck and knelt before Meng Zhao, explaining that bandits had destroyed the Liu Family and begging him to protect her.
• Meng Zhao assessed their condition and refused, saying he had seen many people hunted during his travels and had never intervened.
• The young madam offered to reveal the location of a powerful divine art if Meng Zhao would save her and her unborn child.

Meng Zhao agreed to protect a pregnant woman after she offered information about a Divine Skill manual, then used his inner qi and a pill to stabilize her condition. As he prepared to ask about the manual, her pursuers caught up and surrounded them.

• The pregnant woman offered Meng Zhao information about a Divine Skill manual in exchange for his help, and he warned her against lying before agreeing to the deal.
• The woman suffered signs of miscarriage, so Meng Zhao used Pure Yang Finger Force to drive out the cold and gave her an Origin Returning Pill to stabilize her condition.
• Meng Zhao considered which Divine Skills could help advance his cultivation and began to ask the woman for details about the manual.
• Several dozen riders caught up and surrounded Meng Zhao, the woman, and the coachman, led by a bald man with a centipede tattoo and a greatsword.

Meng Zhao confronted the Heavenly King Gang after learning that it had destroyed the Liu Family and was pursuing the Liu Family’s pregnant young madam. The Bald Strong Man’s reaction to Meng Zhao’s mention of Hu Mountain suggested the gang was connected to the forces there, leaving Meng Zhao eager to learn more.

• The Bald Strong Man threatened the Liu Family’s young madam and offered her to Meng Zhao in exchange for being allowed to take her away.
• The young madam and the coachman looked to Meng Zhao for help, while the Bald Strong Man cautiously sized him up.
• The Bald Strong Man said the Heavenly King Gang had wiped out the Liu Family and tried to bargain for the young madam’s life.
• Meng Zhao asked whether the Heavenly King Gang was connected to the mountain strongholds within Hu Mountain.
• The Bald Strong Man’s expression changed at the mention of Hu Mountain, and Meng Zhao realized he knew what was happening there.

Meng Zhao used the True Martial Temple skill Python Toad Swallowing Moon to conceal his identity and killed the riders pursuing the Liu Family party. The bald strong man attacked him with a broadsword, but Meng Zhao stopped the blade effortlessly.

• The bald strong man ordered his riders to attack Meng Zhao while he held back to assess his strength.
• Meng Zhao exhaled with Python Toad Swallowing Moon and killed the riders, leaving the Liu Family Young Madam and coachman unharmed.
• The bald strong man recognized the Daoist skill and asked whether Meng Zhao came from True Martial Temple.
• Meng Zhao confirmed nothing and explained that he used the skill to hide his identity rather than reveal his Dragon Dao or Buddhist techniques.
• The bald strong man suddenly attacked with his broadsword, and Meng Zhao caught its blade and halted it in midair.

Meng Zhao defeated the Bald Strong Man, shattered his broadsword, and spared him because he might be useful. The Young Madam of the Liu Family and her coachman accepted that Meng Zhao—not they—controlled the situation.

• The Bald Strong Man attacked Meng Zhao with his broadsword, but Meng Zhao stopped the blow with his palm and snapped the weapon in two.
• Meng Zhao hurled the broken sword tip past the Bald Strong Man's scalp, frightening him into weakness, then reclaimed the weapon.
• Meng Zhao examined the blade and shattered it completely with a light flick, impressing the Young Madam of the Liu Family and the Liu Family Coachman.
• The Bald Strong Man asked why Meng Zhao had spared him, and Meng Zhao explained that keeping him alive could bring greater benefits.
• The Young Madam of the Liu Family restrained her coachman from challenging Meng Zhao, and both understood that he was in control.

The Liu Family Coachman died after trying to entrust the Young Madam of the Liu Family to Meng Zhao. Meng Zhao had the Bald Strong Man bury him, leaving the pregnant woman grieving and dependent on Meng Zhao’s judgment.

• The Liu Family Coachman’s strength failed, and he tried to ask Meng Zhao to care for the Young Madam of the Liu Family before dying.
• The Young Madam of the Liu Family mourned the coachman, her last loyal protector.
• Meng Zhao understood the coachman’s request and considered settling the Young Madam if the martial art she had promised proved valuable.
• Meng Zhao ordered the Bald Strong Man to bury the coachman, and the man dug a grave in the snow-covered plain.
• The Bald Strong Man buried the coachman while resenting his humiliation and worrying about how to survive under Meng Zhao’s power.

Meng Zhao learned that Ji Rushuang, the pregnant young madam of the Liu Family, was the daughter of the Dan Chi Ji Clan’s patriarch. Her clan had relocated to Hu Mountain two years earlier, and Meng Zhao began considering whether it had ties to the Rebel Army.

• Meng Zhao asked Ji Rushuang her name, and she revealed that she came from the Dan Chi Clan.
• Meng Zhao learned that Ji Rushuang was the daughter of the Ji Clan patriarch and had lost contact with her clan after marrying into the Liu Family.
• Ji Rushuang explained that her father had agreed to her marriage before relocating the clan from earthquake-stricken lands to Hu Mountain.
• Meng Zhao reasoned that Hu Mountain’s bandits and the Rebel Army could explain why the Ji Clan had lost contact with Ji Rushuang.
• Meng Zhao suspected that the Dan Chi Ji Clan might be connected to, or part of, the Rebel Army.

Meng Zhao considered using Ji Rushuang’s Dan Chi Clan ties to approach the Rebel Army and questioned whether her claims were trustworthy. Ji Rushuang demonstrated a martial technique, and Meng Zhao recognized that its movements concealed fragments of a profound martial path.

• Meng Zhao deduced that the Rebel Army might be far larger and more deeply connected across Hu Mountain than Wang Xu’s report suggested.
• Meng Zhao planned to use Ji Rushuang’s identity and the Ji Clan branch to establish contact with the Rebel Army and potentially infiltrate its ranks.
• Meng Zhao challenged Ji Rushuang to prove her claims by explaining the martial art she had promised.
• Ji Rushuang demonstrated an unarmed technique, and Meng Zhao noticed its precise rhythm and began imitating its movements.

Meng Zhao learned that Ji Rushuang had copied her icy martial art from puppet guards in a Mysterious Valley deep in her clan’s former territory. Intrigued by the valley’s martial secrets, he postponed visiting it until after he dealt with the bandits and Rebel Army in Hu Mountain.

• Meng Zhao reproduced the essence of Ji Rushuang’s claw technique as a powerful sleeve art, impressing her and the bald strong man.
• Meng Zhao explained that Ji Rushuang had dispersed her cultivation to protect her unborn child and that her incomplete art was too cold for her to use safely while pregnant.
• Meng Zhao asked Ji Rushuang about the art’s origin, and she described the fog-shrouded Mysterious Valley, its Stone Giants, and its Puppet Guards.
• Ji Rushuang said she had learned the art by watching the puppets fight and had kept the valley secret, though dangerous beasts had later prevented her from returning.
• Meng Zhao decided to handle the bandits and Rebel Army in Hu Mountain first and told Ji Rushuang they could seek the valley’s martial secrets later.

Meng Zhao learned about the Heavenly King Gang from Zeng Dong and heard how its leader had slain a celebrated swordmaster. The Heavenly King's strength left Meng Zhao questioning whether Dragon City truly controlled the Hu Mountain Rebel Army.

• Meng Zhao reassured Ji Rushuang and showed concern for her health, deepening her gratitude toward him.
• Zeng Dong introduced himself as a minor leader of the Heavenly King Gang and offered his wealth in exchange for his life.
• Meng Zhao questioned Zeng Dong about the gang's Heavenly King and learned that the gang had risen to prominence after its leader killed Old Master Fang.
• Zeng Dong described how the Heavenly King defeated Old Master Fang, a Great Perfection of Innate Realm swordsman, with seven spear thrusts.
• Meng Zhao assessed the Heavenly King's formidable strength and wondered whether Dragon City was truly behind the Hu Mountain Rebel Army.

Meng Zhao questioned Zeng Dong about the Heavenly King Gang’s massacre of the Liu Family and decided to use him to enter Yongjian Commandery. He left Zeng Dong bound to his will with a pill that promised greater strength but threatened death if he disobeyed.

• Zeng Dong told Meng Zhao that the Heavenly King Gang’s Eight Vajras had destroyed the Liu Family and other great families, possibly to seize their grain after they refused to cooperate.
• Ji Rushuang grew furious and mourned that her family might have survived if it had been stronger.
• Meng Zhao questioned Zeng Dong about Yongjian Commandery and planned to use his standing in the Heavenly King Gang to enter the city and find help for Ji Rushuang.
• Meng Zhao gave Zeng Dong a Six Revolutions Yuan Pill, and Zeng Dong swallowed it before cultivating in the snow as its fierce medicinal power coursed through him.
• Meng Zhao revealed a blood-red flower on Zeng Dong’s chest and warned that he had to take three pills within a month or suffer fatal qi and meridian backlash.

Meng Zhao pressured Zeng Dong into following his orders by dangling a chance to reach the Innate Realm and exposing the limits of the Heavenly King’s reputation. Zeng Dong accepted the arrangement, while Ji Rushuang focused on surviving and protecting her unborn child.

• Meng Zhao told Zeng Dong that he had only one path left: follow his orders, and warned him that the Heavenly King was not invincible.
• Meng Zhao argued that the Heavenly King’s seven-move victory over Old Master Fang proved less than Zeng Dong had believed because Fang was old and past his prime.
• Zeng Dong reconsidered the Heavenly King’s strength and concluded that Meng Zhao might be his equal or nearly so.
• Zeng Dong apologized and said he was willing to pay any price for a chance to enter the Innate Realm.
• Ji Rushuang listened and hoped to survive, give birth to her child, and perhaps find her branch of the Ji Clan.

Meng Zhao, disguised as Zeng Dong’s cousin, met Master Craftsman Luo to trade rare forging ore for information about a Dan Chi Ji Clan branch in Hu Mountain. He upheld the story that he was searching for his missing wife, while the city remained tense after the recent slaughter.

• Meng Zhao disguised himself as an ordinary middle-aged man and went to Master Craftsman Luo’s blacksmith shop.
• Meng Zhao had spent the previous seven days settling into Yongjian Commandery City with Ji Rushuang while secretly gathering intelligence at night.
• Meng Zhao arranged to trade a rare forging ore for the location of a Dan Chi Ji Clan branch in Hu Mountain, avoiding direct inquiries about the Rebel Army and mountain strongholds.
• Master Craftsman Luo teased Meng Zhao for spending precious ore to search for his wife and suggested he could find other women in the city.
• Meng Zhao insisted that he needed to learn whether his missing wife was alive or dead.

Meng Zhao traded White Gold Essence to Master Craftsman Luo for a map of the Dan Chi Clan’s routes and outposts in Hu Mountain. Luo privately warned him to follow the marked route, find his wife, and leave Yongjian Commandery City quickly, leaving Meng Zhao to suspect the Rebel Army was preparing to act.

• Master Craftsman Luo gave Meng Zhao a map of Dan Chi Clan activity in Hu Mountain in exchange for White Gold Essence.
• After examining the White Gold Essence, Master Craftsman Luo warned Meng Zhao to follow the map, find his wife, and leave Hu Mountain and Yongjian Commandery City without returning soon.
• Meng Zhao inferred that Luo might have ties to the Rebel Army and that the warning suggested danger was approaching Yongjian Commandery City.
• Meng Zhao considered that the Rebel Army might attack the poorly defended commandery city, though he also wondered whether Luo meant the Heavenly King Gang.
• Master Craftsman Luo refused to explain further, and Meng Zhao left.

Meng Zhao returned to Zeng Dong’s residence and told Ji Rushuang that he had found evidence of her Dan Chi Clan relatives’ activity in Hu Mountain. Ji Rushuang was relieved but puzzled about why her father had never contacted her, and Meng Zhao said she would learn the reason when they reunited.

• Meng Zhao returned to Zeng Dong’s manor, where Ji Rushuang practiced the Ming Yang Breathing Technique he had taught her.
• Ji Rushuang asked Meng Zhao whether he had found news of her clansmen.
• Meng Zhao gave Ji Rushuang a map showing the Dan Chi Clan’s activity in Hu Mountain and its trade with outsiders.
• Ji Rushuang wondered why her father had not contacted her despite being nearby, and Meng Zhao said the situation in Hu Mountain might prevent him from acting freely.

Meng Zhao told Ji Rushuang she would accompany him to Hu Mountain to find the Dan Chi Clan, and she agreed despite sensing that he had planned this from the start. After hearing that the Heavenly King Gang might be preparing a major move, Meng Zhao decided they should leave Yongjian Commandery City as soon as possible.

• Meng Zhao told Ji Rushuang that he would take her to Hu Mountain and promised to protect her and her unborn child.
• Ji Rushuang agreed to help him if they found her father and the Dan Chi Clan.
• Ji Rushuang said Zeng Dong had treated her respectfully but mentioned hearing that the Heavenly King Gang was planning a major move.
• Meng Zhao connected her warning to Master Craftsman Luo's concerns and decided to leave the city for Hu Mountain quickly.
• Ji Rushuang took Meng Zhao's hand and entrusted her life to him, and he returned the gesture without making her any promises beyond his reassurance.

Liu Feilong ordered his subordinate leaders to obtain three weapons each that had killed at least a hundred people, explaining that the Heavenly King had already bought up the government execution blades. He questioned Zeng Dong about his missing men, and Zeng Dong concealed that Meng Zhao had killed them by claiming they were away retrieving treasure.

• Liu Feilong gathered six minor leaders, including Zeng Dong, and ordered each to provide three weapons that had killed at least a hundred people within a month.
• The minor leaders considered acquiring government execution blades, but Liu Feilong told them the Heavenly King Gang had already bought them all.
• Liu Feilong kept Zeng Dong behind and asked where his dozens of missing underlings had gone, noting that their families were asking questions.
• Zeng Dong decided not to reveal Meng Zhao and claimed he had sent the men to retrieve hidden treasure, offering Liu Feilong a share.
• Liu Feilong accepted Zeng Dong's explanation and urged him to complete the Heavenly King's task well.

Zeng Dong told Meng Zhao that Liu Rulong had ordered the Heavenly King Gang to gather weapons stained with killing, and asked for a Six Revolutions Yuan Pill in advance. Meng Zhao considered the purpose behind the order as Ji Rushuang reacted to the threatened slaughter of innocents.

• Zeng Dong decided to pursue the Heavenly King Gang’s task while seeking another Six Revolutions Yuan Pill to advance his cultivation.
• Zeng Dong visited Meng Zhao and Ji Rushuang and reported that Liu Rulong had ordered him to obtain weapons that had killed many people.
• Zeng Dong asked Meng Zhao for a Six Revolutions Yuan Pill in advance, using the information as his reason for requesting it.
• Ji Rushuang was shocked and angered by the plan to kill innocent people, but recognized that authorities might not intervene amid the disaster.
• Meng Zhao reasoned that accumulated Killing Intent stained weapons and began to suspect Heavenly King had a larger purpose for collecting them.