Chapter Summaries

Zhou Wangqiao explained his history with the Pudu Cult and asked Meng Zhao to take him in, offering his martial strength in exchange for protection and a place to rebuild the Zhou Family. Meng Zhao considered the advantage of gaining a grandmaster ally as Zhou Wangqiao sought refuge from his senior brother and the Pudu Cult.

• Meng Zhao pretended to know little about Zhou Wangqiao so the grandmaster would lower his guard.
• Zhou Wangqiao recounted his past and claimed his betrayal of Monk Huikong had been justified, then identified the Pudu Cult Master as his senior brother.
• Zhou Wangqiao warned that the Pudu Cult could become a threat greater than Monk Huikong and confirmed that its leader cultivated the Brahma Sacred Canon.
• Meng Zhao asked whether Zhou Wangqiao had come to join forces against the Pudu Cult, but Zhou Wangqiao said he wanted a powerful patron and a chance to restore the Zhou Family.
• Zhou Wangqiao offered to serve Meng Zhao and fight his senior brother, while Meng Zhao recognized the practical value of sheltering him.

Meng Zhao offered to take Zhou Wangqiao into his service, then asked him to share the Demonic Path art he cultivated so Meng Zhao could combine it with his own methods. Zhou Wangqiao reacted with anger and killing intent, while Meng Zhao calmly argued that the incomplete art’s value was limited.

• Meng Zhao decided that Zhou Wangqiao’s Grandmaster strength would benefit his forces, though he planned to keep him away from authority.
• Meng Zhao reassured Zhou Wangqiao that he accepted Demonic Path methods and could conceal his identity.
• Zhou Wangqiao agreed to hear Meng Zhao’s terms, and Meng Zhao disclosed his interest in combining Zhou’s art with the Heaven Swallowing Sun Devouring Great Law.
• Zhou Wangqiao explained that his Demon Luo Incarnation Blood Soul True Scripture combined teachings from the Demon Venerable Hall and the Supreme Evil Path, and refused to hand it over easily.
• Zhou Wangqiao’s killing intent stirred a bloodlike demonic aura around the mountaintop, but Meng Zhao dismissed the art as incomplete and defended his request.

Meng Zhao tried to persuade Zhou Wangqiao to share the Demon Luo Incarnation Blood Soul True Scripture by promising to perfect its flaws. Zhou Wangqiao weighed the benefits against the danger of letting Meng Zhao learn his art, leaving their agreement uncertain.

• Meng Zhao argued that Zhou Wangqiao's demonic art was imperfect and offered to remove its flaws.
• Zhou Wangqiao doubted Meng Zhao's ability but reconsidered after recalling his extraordinary martial arts and foundations.
• Zhou Wangqiao weighed the art's benefits against the risk that Meng Zhao could discover his weaknesses and control his lifeline.
• Meng Zhao reminded Zhou Wangqiao of his betrayal of Monk Huikong and promised not to pass on the art or use it lightly against him.

Meng Zhao persuaded the injured Zhou Wangqiao to join the Meng Family by offering him access to a blood pool, then asked him to stage an assassination attempt on Beitang Shu. Zhou Wangqiao agreed to hear the plan, and Meng Zhao prepared to heal him and provide a way to disguise the attack.

• Meng Zhao told Zhou Wangqiao that his Cave-Heaven World contained a blood pool that could aid his cultivation, persuading Zhou to share the secrets of his demonic art and join the Meng Family.
• Meng Zhao asked Zhou Wangqiao to pledge his allegiance by going to Ji Prefecture and making it appear that someone intended to assassinate Beitang Shu.
• Zhou Wangqiao was shocked by the request and questioned why Meng Zhao wanted to target the Ninth Prince.
• Meng Zhao explained that the staged attempt could distract Beitang Shu from sending Lei Wanche to Liang Prefecture and temporarily ease the threat to Meng Zhao.
• Meng Zhao promised to heal Zhou Wangqiao, give him a trump card, and let him disguise the attack with the Blood Sea Primordial Slaughter Sword Scripture.

Meng Zhao persuaded Zhou Wangqiao to help stage an assassination attempt against Beitang Shu, promising to frame the Supreme Evil Path while ensuring the Prince would not truly be killed. After they returned to the estate, Meng Zhao hid Zhou Wangqiao in a concealed courtyard and gave him bloodwater from the Divine Demon Ancient Battlefield to aid his recovery.

• Zhou Wangqiao weighed the risks of Meng Zhao’s proposal against the chance to gain support for his revenge and cultivation, then agreed on the condition that Meng Zhao tell him the truth.
• Meng Zhao offered Zhou Wangqiao a Boulder Breaker Bow and arranged for the attack to implicate the Supreme Evil Path, while forbidding Zhou from investigating his methods.
• Zhou Wangqiao offered to make the feint a real assassination, but Meng Zhao explained that he only wanted to divert attention from himself and the Meng Family, not kill Beitang Shu.
• Meng Zhao returned with Zhou Wangqiao to the estate, hid him in a concealed courtyard, and gave him bloodwater from the Divine Demon Ancient Battlefield.
• Zhou Wangqiao entered seclusion to absorb the bloodwater and recover from his injuries.

Meng Zhao prepared a plan to use Zhou Wangqiao’s bow and Mountain Piercer Arrow to kill Beitang Shu and frame the Supreme Evil Path. He then used the Heaven-Illuminating Divine Mirror to fuse demonic arts into a new Demonic Thought, bringing his path to Grandmaster within reach.

• Meng Zhao retrieved the Boulder Breaker Bow and Mountain Piercer Arrow, then infused the arrow with Ziwei Star Power as part of his plan to assassinate Beitang Shu and misdirect suspicion toward the Demonic Path.
• Meng Zhao considered how the Imperial Court might identify the Ziwei Star Power, but trusted his Dragon Body, the Heaven-Illuminating Divine Mirror, and other safeguards to keep the trail from reaching him.
• Meng Zhao copied Zhou Wangqiao’s Demon Luo Incarnation Blood Soul True Scripture and examined its combat and blood-based paths, noting its flaws and incomplete sections.
• Meng Zhao tried to combine the demonic art with the Heaven Swallowing Sun Devouring Great Law, but could not complete the fusion through his own cultivation alone.
• Meng Zhao spent energy points to make the Heaven-Illuminating Divine Mirror fuse the demonic arts and other martial essences into a Demonic Thought, which excited Evil Calamity and completed the final link in his foundation for advancing to Grandmaster.

Dragon City faced Zhao Hun, who confronted him on Elder Cheng’s behalf over his betrayal and allegiance to Commander Bai. Dragon City defended his choice, leaving Zhao Hun to condemn his shamelessness and seethe over the gap between their abilities.

• Dragon City sensed Zhao Hun’s arrival and called him out in his courtyard.
• Zhao Hun appeared and, under Elder Cheng’s orders, asked whether Dragon City still considered himself Elder Cheng’s disciple.
• The chapter revealed that Elder Cheng had trained Dragon City before Dragon City left him for Commander Bai, another powerful Plainclothes Alliance figure.
• Dragon City argued that he had served Elder Cheng and blamed Commander Bai’s threats and inducements for his departure.
• Zhao Hun mocked Dragon City’s excuses and resented that men of lowly origins could surpass him in martial ability.

Dragon City explained how Meng Zhao took control of Commander Bai’s army in Liang Prefecture, leaving Zhao Hun furious and deeply shaken by Meng Zhao’s success. The chapter ended with Zhao Hun’s mental state shattered by the thought that Meng Zhao had benefited from the debacle.

• Dragon City wondered whether Zhao Hun considered him inferior to another man, while recalling the martial artists he respected and admitting Meng Zhao surpassed him in both martial arts and schemes.
• Zhao Hun avoided explaining why he knew a humbler man who had surpassed Dragon City, recalling how he had once cultivated Meng Zhao before the impostor became a renowned general.
• Zhao Hun asked why Dragon City had made no move to claim the Northern Lands, and Dragon City said Commander Bai had lost to Meng Zhao.
• Dragon City revealed that Meng Zhao had taken over the Divine Might Army, prompting Zhao Hun to condemn Commander Bai’s subordinates for losing a trained force of more than thirty thousand troops.
• Dragon City acknowledged Meng Zhao’s genius and explained that internal corruption had given him the opening to seize the army, while Zhao Hun’s anger at Meng Zhao’s success shattered his composure.

Dragon City told Zhao Hun that the Meng Family’s hidden Grandmaster had thwarted his attempt to strike back at Meng Zhao. Zhao Hun suspected the protector was his granduncle Meng Yuanqiao, and he was heartbroken that the impostor had gained the protection and favor of the Meng Family.

• Dragon City explained that Commander Bai had tried to retaliate against Meng Zhao but had been outmaneuvered.
• Dragon City revealed that he had also tried to infiltrate the Meng Family, only to be stopped by a formidable expert.
• Zhao Hun recognized that the expert likely cultivated the Meng Family’s Red Flag Order, a martial art known for its overwhelming power.
• Zhao Hun recalled that Meng Yuanqiao, his granduncle, had devoted himself to martial arts and was qualified to master the Red Flag Order.
• Zhao Hun concluded that Meng Yuanqiao was probably protecting Meng Zhao because of his talent and potential, and he bitterly resented it.

Zhao Hun learned that a Grandmaster protected the Meng Family and began considering how to reclaim the identity and power held by the counterfeit Meng Zhao. He believed Meng Yuanqiao might give him the chance he needed, but knew that any attempt had to succeed on the first try.

• Dragon City told Zhao Hun that the Meng Family's strength made resistance unlikely and that he intended to leave the Northern Lands if necessary.
• Zhao Hun left Dragon City and watched Meng Family Manor from Guangping Mountain, reflecting on his hatred of the family and his choice to join the Plainclothes Alliance.
• Zhao Hun admitted to himself that he admired the counterfeit Meng Zhao's achievements, though he still hated him and wanted to take back his identity, name, and status.
• Zhao Hun recognized that their different martial arts and the exposed Plainclothes Alliance plot made it dangerous to reveal his true identity.
• Zhao Hun decided that Meng Yuanqiao might be the opportunity he had been waiting for to reclaim everything.

Zhao Hun tried to draw out the hidden Meng Family Grandmaster, whom he suspected was Meng Yuanqiao, so he could expose Meng Zhao and reclaim his status and power. After activating a Grandmaster-level iron token on Guangping Mountain, Zhao Hun waited as the Grandmaster in the Meng Family Manor sensed the disturbance and grew curious.

• Zhao Hun weighed the risks of contacting the hidden Meng Family Grandmaster and decided that the chance to reclaim his place in the family was worth pursuing.
• Zhao Hun chose to use Elder Cheng's iron token, which he had secretly kept, to attract the Grandmaster without entering Meng Family Village.
• Zhao Hun activated the iron token on Guangping Mountain, creating a vast water-domain cage that carried Grandmaster power.
• The Meng Family Grandmaster sensed the disturbance from the Manor and wondered whether a treasure had caused it.

Zhao Hun used the Iron Token’s grandmaster-level power to lure Meng Yuanqiao to Guangping Mountain and began telling him a story about Meng Zhao’s past. The story left Meng Yuanqiao listening as Zhao Hun explained how Meng Zhao had been sent to Ci'en Temple as a child and had come to resent his uncles.

• Zhao Hun waited on Guangping Mountain for Meng Yuanqiao after triggering the Iron Token’s power, but initially saw no one arrive.
• Meng Yuanqiao descended onto the mountain and confronted Zhao Hun, who wore a bronze mask and asked whether he was the Meng Family grandmaster.
• Zhao Hun persuaded Meng Yuanqiao to hear a story before explaining why he had called him there.
• Zhao Hun began his story thirteen years earlier, when Emperor Beitang Sheng sent thirty-six noble family scions to Ci'en Temple to pray against calamities.
• Zhao Hun recounted that eight-year-old Meng Zhao, an orphan without family support, believed his uncles had sent him away and suspected his eldest uncle had contributed to his father Meng Zhengan’s death.

Zhao Hun recounted how the real Meng Zhao was bullied at Ci'en Temple, joined the Plainclothes Alliance, and arranged for a beggar to take his place in the Meng Family. He revealed his face to Meng Yuanqiao and claimed the impostor now served in the Yangwu Army camp.

• Meng Yuanqiao dismissed Zhao Hun’s suspicions about Meng Jizu but wondered how Zhao Hun knew Meng Zhao’s childhood thoughts.
• Zhao Hun said Meng Zhao was bullied among the Thirty-six Noble Sons at Ci'en Temple and was recruited into the Plainclothes Alliance by one of their teachers.
• Near the end of his ten-year stay, Meng Zhao met a lookalike and arranged for the man to enter the Meng Family while he pursued his own prospects.
• Zhao Hun said the beggar he had empowered later broke free, stole a Meng Family identity, and established a powerful branch in Lingwu City.
• Zhao Hun removed his bronze mask, showed his resemblance to Meng Zhao, and told Meng Yuanqiao that the impostor was now stationed in the Yangwu Army camp.

Meng Yuanqiao learned that the celebrated Meng Zhao was an impostor planted by Zhao Hun, but he judged the impostor to be the true dragon son of the Meng Family. He rejected Zhao Hun’s claim to reclaim his place and condemned him for betraying his family.

• Meng Yuanqiao revealed his true appearance as Zhao Hun believed his explanation had persuaded him.
• Meng Yuanqiao recalled the suspected identity swap and realized Meng Zhao might have brought the impostor into the family himself.
• Zhao Hun asked Meng Yuanqiao to help him reclaim everything he had lost and insisted that he was the real Meng Zhao.
• Meng Yuanqiao questioned Zhao Hun about the impostor’s ties to the Plainclothes Alliance, and Zhao Hun said the man had once been his controlled pawn but had escaped.
• Meng Yuanqiao said the impostor had become the true dragon son of the Meng Family through his sincere bonds with its members and his growing foundation.
• Meng Yuanqiao accused Zhao Hun of secretly joining the Plainclothes Alliance and pursuing deception instead of confronting his family openly.

Zhao Hun learned that Meng Yuanqiao would not help him reclaim the Meng Family or eliminate the other Meng Zhao, whom the family had accepted as its true heir. Meng Yuanqiao trapped Zhao Hun, deciding he could not let him leave because he threatened Meng Zhao.

• Zhao Hun realized the Meng Family had likely chosen the other Meng Zhao because of his extraordinary achievements and potential, despite Zhao Hun being a true descendant.
• Meng Yuanqiao accused Zhao Hun of hiding his identity and seeking help only to seize the forces under Meng Zhao's command.
• Zhao Hun declared he would take everything back himself and tried to leave, but Meng Yuanqiao's power restrained him.
• Meng Yuanqiao explained that he considered the other Meng Zhao the family's one true heir and could not let Zhao Hun go while he remained a threat.
• Zhao Hun feared Meng Yuanqiao intended to kill him and regretted the selfish choices that had repeatedly turned against him.

Meng Yuanqiao subdued Zhao Hun and weighed whether to kill him or hand him over to Meng Zhao. At the Yangwu Army camp, Meng Zhao sensed Meng Yuanqiao’s presence, left the camp to meet him, and made arrangements for the army to function in his absence.

• Meng Yuanqiao sealed Zhao Hun’s Qi Meridians and blood vessels, leaving him unable to resist.
• Meng Zhao inspected the Yangwu Army’s records and logistics, maintaining tight control over its sixty thousand soldiers.
• Meng Zhao sensed a powerful, familiar presence near the camp and realized the visitor was seeking him out.
• Meng Zhao ordered the guards to stay at the command tent and direct urgent matters to Deputy General Linghu, then left to meet the visitor.
• Meng Yuanqiao had avoided entering the camp to conceal his identity and prevent the army from surrounding him, so he lured Meng Zhao out instead.

Meng Zhao met Meng Yuanqiao outside the military camp and confirmed that he had reached the master realm after receiving Zhou Wangqiao’s martial arts. He explained the nature of divine essence and master-level cultivation, while Meng Yuanqiao and Zhao Hun struggled to accept the speed and scale of his advancement.

• Meng Yuanqiao appeared by the river with Zhao Hun and realized he could no longer discern Meng Zhao’s cultivation.
• Meng Yuanqiao asked whether Meng Zhao had attained the master realm, and Zhao Hun was shocked to hear it.
• Meng Zhao confirmed his breakthrough and credited Zhou Wangqiao’s martial arts with completing his foundation.
• Meng Zhao reflected on how master-level divine essence differed from inner force and true qi and enabled control of Worldly Power.
• Meng Zhao noted that he had reached the utmost height of the master realm upon breaking through, while a Great Grandmaster perfected divine essence into a martial golden core.

Meng Zhao met Meng Yuanqiao, who had brought Zhao Hun to confront him over the claim that Meng Zhao was the impostor. Meng Zhao declared that he recognized himself as the one and only Meng Zhao and sought acceptance as a member of the Meng Family, leaving Meng Yuanqiao reassured by his words.

• Meng Yuanqiao confirmed that Meng Zhao had become a grandmaster after only four years of martial arts cultivation.
• Meng Yuanqiao revealed that Zhao Hun had come to him claiming to be the real Meng Zhao and asking him to recover his lost identity.
• Meng Zhao recognized Zhao Hun as a likely member of the Plainclothes Alliance and learned that Meng Yuanqiao had captured him after Zhao Hun sought his help.
• Meng Zhao correctly identified Meng Yuanqiao as his Great-Uncle and explained that Zhao Hun had taught him everything about the Meng Family.
• Meng Zhao said he was the one and only Meng Zhao, considered himself more qualified than Zhao Hun to belong to the family, and offered his descendants' bloodline as a branch of the Meng Family.
• Meng Yuanqiao was comforted by Meng Zhao's declaration, while Zhao Hun struggled in fury.

Meng Zhao asked Meng Yuanqiao to let him execute Zhao Hun, his former benefactor and rival, and Meng Yuanqiao gave his approval. After killing Zhao Hun, Meng Zhao accepted that he was now the only Meng Zhao, while Meng Yuanqiao mourned the loss of Zheng'an's branch and chose the powerful Lord of the Northern Meng Dragon King over his other descendant.

• Meng Zhao acknowledged Zhao Hun's kindness but condemned his attempts to control and oppose him, then asked Meng Yuanqiao to allow Zhao Hun's execution.
• Meng Yuanqiao turned away instead of defending Zhao Hun, signaling that Meng Zhao could decide his fate.
• Meng Zhao incinerated Zhao Hun with Blazing Dragon's Might, ending their conflict and preventing his identity from being threatened again.
• Meng Zhao reflected on his rise from a controlled pawn to someone who commanded his own fate and forces.
• Meng Yuanqiao lamented that Zheng'an's branch had lost its descendants but said the Meng Family's survival depended on the Lord of the Northern Meng Dragon King.

Meng Yuanqiao advised Meng Zhao to avoid provoking the Beitang Imperial Clan, while Meng Zhao explained that he suspected the Plainclothes Alliance was backed by the Imperial Court. They left the conversation considering whether the court was using the alliance and southern rebellion to weaken the great families.

• Meng Yuanqiao asked Meng Zhao about his plans and Zhou Wangqiao, and Meng Zhao said he would stay with the Yangwu Army to train troops while Zhou handled a task to prove his allegiance.
• Meng Yuanqiao warned Meng Zhao that the Beitang Imperial Clan was powerful and urged him not to make the first move against the dynasty.
• Meng Zhao agreed to act cautiously, then told Meng Yuanqiao he suspected the Plainclothes Alliance had ties to the Imperial Court or Beitang Imperial Clan.
• Meng Zhao reasoned that the Imperial Court might be using the alliance and allowing the southern rebellion to weaken aristocratic families without acting openly.