Chapter Summaries

Meng Zhao explained to Meng Yuanqiao that the Beitang Imperial Clan might be fostering rebellions to weaken the aristocratic clans and consolidate imperial power, risking the dynasty itself in the process. He warned that the Northern Lands might soon erupt, leaving the Meng Family to lie low and prepare for its chance.

• Meng Yuanqiao considered Meng Zhao's theory that the Beitang Imperial Clan had secretly supported rebels to weaken the aristocratic clans and centralize power.
• Meng Yuanqiao questioned whether the Beitang Imperial Clan could survive if heroes rose to contest the realm.
• Meng Zhao said that, in the emperor's eyes, the realm belonged to him alone, and Meng Yuanqiao recognized the ruler's solitary ambition.
• Meng Yuanqiao asked what the emperor intended for the north, and Meng Zhao cautioned that his analysis was uncertain but that the Northern Lands might soon face unrest.
• Meng Zhao advised the Meng Family to lie low until the turmoil gave them a chance to preserve or expand their influence, while he planned alliances with the Tan Family and Tang Ling'er.

Meng Yuanqiao left Lingwu City after deciding Meng Zhao no longer needed his protection or guidance, and Meng Zhao strengthened the Meng Family Manor’s defenses. Months later, Prince Fu Beitang Shu survived an assassination attempt that sparked a violent campaign against the Demonic Path, while Meng Jizu’s army killed a Hell Path Grandmaster and won him widespread renown.

• Meng Yuanqiao told Meng Zhao he was returning to Nan'an, and Meng Zhao let him leave without trying to stop him.
• Meng Zhao gave the Yangwu Army rotating days off and reorganized the Meng Family Manor’s patrols and defenses.
• A Grandmaster assassin attacked Beitang Shu on his way to the Jizhou Army camp, killing two of his Peak Innate Masters and severely damaging his body and cultivation.
• Ji Prefecture officials and the Heavenly Punishment Hall issued warrants against the Supreme Evil Path, prompting a widespread hunt for Demonic Path members.
• Lei Wanche led the Heavenly Thunder Guards in raids on three Demonic Path strongholds, killing many fighters and seizing their wealth.
• Meng Jizu led an army and Meng Family experts to surround and kill a Hell Path Grandmaster, earning great prestige across Ji Prefecture.

The Meng Family’s role in killing Meng Jizu’s Grandmaster enemy spread across the Divine Continent, bringing it prestige as well as hostility from the Demonic Path and some martial artists. In Lingwu City, Beitang He showed Meng Zhao Prince Fu’s demand for a crackdown, and Meng Zhao said the city could choose how to respond.

• News of Meng Jizu’s operation spread, making the Meng Family famous while provoking resentment among Grandmasters and the Demonic Path.
• The Demonic Path retaliated across Ji Prefecture with poisonings and assassinations, while the Meng and Lei families suffered relatively little damage.
• Warriors from the Yanping Commandery Prince’s Mansion summoned Meng Zhao to meet Beitang Ang and Beitang He in Lingwu City.
• Beitang He gave Meng Zhao Prince Fu’s letter demanding that Lingwu City search for and execute Demonic Path members, and complained that Prince Fu was acting recklessly.
• Meng Zhao tossed the letter onto the table and told Beitang He that Prince Fu could not control Lingwu City.

Meng Zhao, Beitang He, and Beitang Ang discussed Beitang Shu’s campaign against the Demonic Path and the motives behind it. Meng Zhao calmed Beitang He, who admitted that his old feud with Beitang Shu had clouded his judgment.

• Beitang He doubted that Meng Zhao could resist pressure from his clan because Meng Jizu and Lei Wanche were openly helping Beitang Shu.
• Beitang Ang reasoned that Beitang Shu’s attack on the Demonic Path had a deeper cause than anger over his assassination and damaged cultivation.
• Meng Zhao suspected Beitang Shu was targeting the Demonic Path because he believed its members had awakened the Ziwei Treasure Body.
• Meng Zhao told Beitang He that his anger had disrupted his judgment, and Beitang He regained his composure.
• Beitang He apologized to Meng Zhao and revealed that an old rivalry with Beitang Shu had fueled his reaction.

Meng Zhao and Beitang He discussed the danger posed by the Hell Path after Meng Jizu killed one of its Grandmasters, and agreed that Meng Zhao might become the target of revenge. Beitang He revealed that the Hell Path had hired an inheritor of the Ancient Heartless Path to attack him, and Meng Zhao recognized the name.

• Meng Zhao urged Beitang He to focus on deflecting Prince Fu's demands and avoid provoking the Demonic Path in Lingwu City.
• Beitang He warned that Meng Jizu's actions had drawn attention to Meng Zhao and might make him a target of the Hell Path.
• Meng Zhao said he was not especially worried, since he had become a Peak Grandmaster and possessed hidden Trump Cards.
• Beitang He explained that the Hell Path was too weakened to act directly, so it had enlisted an expert from another branch of the Demonic Path.
• Beitang He identified the hired attacker as an inheritor of the Ancient Heartless Path, and Meng Zhao recognized him as the Lü Zhong had once warned him about.

Meng Zhao learned that Wu Huaien, an Ancient Heartless Path inheritor who had entered the Grandmaster Realm, might accept the Hell Path’s offer to assassinate him. Beitang He explained Wu Huaien’s brutal rise, leaving Meng Zhao aware that the ruthless Grandmaster could pose a serious threat.

• Meng Zhao doubted that an Innate Realm martial artist could threaten him, and Beitang He revealed that Wu Huaien had entered the Grandmaster Realm a year earlier.
• Beitang Shu explained that Wu Huaien had been a respected Innate Realm member of the Wu Clan before finding the Ancient Heartless Path inheritance.
• Wu Huaien advanced rapidly through the Heartless Path’s resources and methods, committing bloody massacres as he served the southern Rebel Army.
• Wu Huaien slaughtered his parents, relatives, wife, children, and entire clan to sever his attachments and break through to the Grandmaster Realm.
• Beitang He warned Meng Zhao that Wu Huaien could be a dangerous assassin if the Hell Path hired him, perhaps by offering something he wanted and the chance to challenge Meng Zhao.

Meng Zhao prepared for the threat of Wu Huaien and the Imperial Court’s coming envoy while strengthening the defenses around his family. Zhou Wangqiao returned from his mission and was stunned to find that Meng Zhao had become a grandmaster far stronger than himself.

• Beitang He warned Meng Zhao that Wu Huaien might target him and that the Imperial Court would send an envoy to the Northern Lands.
• Meng Zhao agreed to accommodate the envoy where possible and to send five thousand elite soldiers on a search for Demonic Path members.
• Meng Zhao returned to the Meng Family Manor, told the women to stay inside, and ordered Han Pu to bring five thousand soldiers to guard it.
• Meng Zhao considered how to protect the manor and whether he could lure Wu Huaien into a trap.
• Meng Zhao went to meet Zhou Wangqiao, who had just returned and recognized that Meng Zhao had become a formidable grandmaster.

Meng Zhao accepted Zhou Wangqiao as an enshrined elder after Zhou explained that his staged assassination attempt had not injured Beitang Shu. They discussed Beitang Shu’s abilities and the political consequences of his change in cultivation, and Zhou began to raise another matter.

• Meng Zhao offered Zhou Wangqiao a position as an enshrined elder of the Lingwu Meng Family, binding their interests through mutual leverage.
• Zhou Wangqiao explained that he had killed two of Beitang Shu’s guards but deliberately missed Beitang Shu, and denied responsibility for the prince’s claimed cultivation injury.
• Meng Zhao reassured Zhou that Beitang Shu had used the assassination as an excuse to abandon the Ziwei World-Shining Art and pursue another method.
• Zhou described Beitang Shu’s composure, hidden protection, loyal followers, and skill at winning men’s devotion, and Meng Zhao judged him a formidable political rival.
• Meng Zhao noted that the assassination had delayed Beitang Shu’s plans in Liang Prefecture, though the unexpected imperial envoy posed a potential danger.
• Zhou Wangqiao hesitated before telling Meng Zhao that he had one more matter to discuss.

Zhou Wangqiao told Meng Zhao about his former martial brothers and suggested recruiting his Third Senior Brother, whom Meng Zhao suspected was the Old Beggar he had met in Nan'an. Meng Zhao agreed the idea was possible but postponed it, telling Zhou Wangqiao to guard Meng Family Manor for now.

• Zhou Wangqiao explained that he had trained under Hui Kong with six others, including the Pudu Cult's Cult Master and his Third Senior Brother, a beggar who had become a master-level martial artist.
• Zhou Wangqiao said his Third Senior Brother had likely learned part of the Demon Luo Incarnation Blood Soul True Scripture through dealings with Sixth Junior Brother.
• Meng Zhao recalled the Old Beggar from Nan'an and suspected he was Zhou Wangqiao's Third Senior Brother, noting their earlier bargain over a drop of his blood.
• Zhou Wangqiao hoped Meng Zhao would recruit his Third Senior Brother so they could join forces against Hui Kong and the Pudu Cult.
• Meng Zhao said he might recruit the man later but told Zhou Wangqiao to remain at Meng Family Manor and guard against trouble.

Meng Zhao asked Zhou Wangqiao to guard his inner residence against a possible attack by the Hell Path and Wu Huaien, then gave him revised methods for the Demon Luo Incarnation Blood Soul True Scripture. Zhou Wangqiao accepted the assignment and the technique, which would help conceal his role in Beitang Shu’s assassination.

• Meng Zhao told Zhou Wangqiao that the Hell Path might target him and recruit Wu Huaien, so he asked Zhou to protect the women in his inner residence.
• Zhou Wangqiao agreed to stay at Meng Family Manor and guard against intruders.
• Meng Zhao gave Zhou a sheet detailing revisions to the Demon Luo Incarnation Blood Soul True Scripture, intended to repair its flaws and strengthen its combat methods.
• Meng Zhao explained that the revisions would conceal Zhou’s Blood Soul traces and help hide his connection to Beitang Shu’s assassination.
• Zhou Wangqiao eagerly studied the changes and welcomed the chance to conceal his cultivation from his enemies.

Meng Zhao’s businesses in Lingwu City suffered a wave of sabotage and attacks, including the destruction of sixteen ships and a brewery. He responded to betrayal with a brutal execution, while the attacks left the city on edge and the enemy’s identity widely suspected to be Hell Path.

• Two Meng Family sailors used Three Yin Poison Fire to burn sixteen Dragon Tooth Great Ships and destroy their cargo.
• After Zhou Hu uncovered the sailors’ motives, Meng Zhao ordered the capture and execution of all twelve members of their families.
• Four days later, a group of experts infiltrated Meng Zhao’s brewery, killed its guards and workers, and burned it down.
• Further attacks struck Meng Zhao’s taverns, shops, and commercial streets, causing casualties, losses, and alarm throughout Lingwu City.
• Lingwu City suspected Hell Path was retaliating against the Meng Family for Meng Jizu’s killing of a Hell Path Grandmaster.

Lingwu City’s factions and residents feared that Meng Zhao and Hell Path would drag the city into war, and Beitang He urged Meng Zhao to restrain himself. Meng Zhao dismissed Beitang He’s concerns, leaving his intentions unclear.

• Lingwu City’s forces weighed how to respond to the growing conflict between Meng Zhao and Hell Path, while common people feared they would suffer if fighting broke out.
• Meng Zhao’s businesses endured attacks and casualties, and he had ordered the families of two sailors who burned the Dragon Tooth Great Ship exterminated.
• Beitang He met Meng Zhao at Spirit Crane Tower and warned that a hard-line response could plunge Lingwu City into chaos and benefit the Pudu Cult and other hostile forces.
• Beitang He conveyed the shared concern of the city’s factions that Meng Zhao might use the Yangwu Army against Hell Path and weaken the city’s defenses.
• Meng Zhao set down his fruit wine and teased Beitang He for worrying about troublesome matters instead of enjoying the meal.

Meng Zhao weighed Beitang He's plea to preserve Lingwu City's stability against the attacks on his family and men. Beitang He proposed that Meng Zhao destroy several families under the guise of retaliation, giving him a chance to expand the Meng Family's power.

• Meng Zhao recognized that Lingwu City's powers were willing to sacrifice his interests to preserve stability, though he understood their position and the limits of his influence.
• Beitang He warned Meng Zhao that a major purge of the Demonic Path would drain his strength while the Plainclothes Alliance and Pudu Cult threatened the city.
• Meng Zhao explained that his family had suffered provocation, assassinations, and attacks on its businesses, and that he could not ignore the deaths or lose his men's trust.
• Beitang He offered to guarantee that several Lingwu City families had attacked Meng Zhao, so Meng Zhao could destroy them and seize their territories and businesses.
• Meng Zhao saw Beitang He's proposal as a profitable opportunity to expand the Meng Family while preserving his reputation.

Meng Zhao questioned Beitang He's proposal to appease the Demonic Path and inferred that the Heir Apparent was secretly colluding with them. When both men briefly developed killing intent, Meng Zhao's aura overwhelmed the room, and Beitang He admitted he had acted rashly.

• Meng Zhao asked Beitang He whether appeasing the Demonic Path would stop its attacks and protect his forces.
• Beitang He said he could contact the Demonic Path through certain channels and use their mutual interests to make them back down.
• Meng Zhao inferred that Beitang He was colluding with the Demonic Path and had learned about Wu Huaien's assassination plan through that connection.
• Beitang He realized Meng Zhao might have uncovered his secret and briefly considered killing him, while Meng Zhao sensed his killing intent.
• Meng Zhao's aura caused the two female guards to faint, and Beitang He apologized for losing control of his emotions.

Beitang He admitted that the Yanping Commandery Prince's Mansion had secretly cooperated with the Demonic Path, and Meng Zhao agreed to keep the secret in exchange for an end to the attacks and compensation. When Beitang He proposed a limited group of targets for that compensation, Meng Zhao revealed plans to absorb eleven local forces and offered the Prince's Mansion thirty percent of the gains.

• Beitang He confessed that he had cooperated with the Demonic Path to fund the Yanping Commandery Prince's Mansion and asked Meng Zhao to keep it confidential.
• Meng Zhao promised secrecy but demanded that those targeting him stop, explain themselves, and pay compensation, warning that he could abandon Lingwu City and retaliate.
• Beitang He agreed to handle Meng Zhao's demands and reviewed a list of forces proposed as scapegoats for the schemes against the Meng Family.
• Meng Zhao's list named eleven forces, including four first-rate factions, far more than Beitang He expected, and Beitang He objected that the plan would expand Meng Zhao's power too greatly.
• Meng Zhao argued that defeating local factions would be easier than fighting the Demonic Path and offered thirty percent of the gains to the Prince's Mansion.

Meng Zhao secured Beitang He’s support for an assault on eleven factions by offering him thirty percent of the profits. After Meng Zhao left, Beitang He discussed the plan with an unnamed peach-blossom-eyed youth, who began to suspect that Meng Zhao had already found clues to the attacks but was deliberately holding back.

• Meng Zhao offered Beitang He thirty percent of the profits from taking down eleven factions, and Beitang He agreed to wait for his signal and help limit unrest in Lingwu City.
• After Meng Zhao departed, Beitang He replaced the unconscious female guards and the meal, then received a peach-blossom-eyed youth.
• Beitang He recounted his discussion with Meng Zhao, leaving out that Meng Zhao had seen through his ties to the Demonic Path.
• The youth praised Meng Zhao’s ambition but questioned why he had endured repeated attacks without striking back.
• The youth suggested Meng Zhao might already have found clues to the attacks, and Beitang He reconsidered Meng Zhao’s ability to investigate the culprits.

Beitang He and the peach-blossom-eyed young man speculated that Meng Zhao had delayed acting so he could secure compensation and absorb eleven Lingwu City families. Beitang He agreed to meet Meng Zhao’s demands but was warned that his rapid growth might require limits.

• Beitang He wondered whether Meng Zhao’s inaction concealed a plan to gain greater benefits through negotiations.
• The peach-blossom-eyed young man argued that Meng Zhao needed to expand the Meng Family and had used the attacks as an opportunity to secure a pretext for absorbing eleven families.
• The young man speculated that Meng Zhao might have staged some attacks, but accepted that the Yellow Springs Sect had targeted the Dragon Tooth Great Ships to harm the Demon Venerable Hall.
• Beitang He decided to compensate Meng Zhao rather than risk worsening the situation in Lingwu City.
• The peach-blossom-eyed young man warned Beitang He that Meng Zhao’s growing power might threaten their interests and asked whether they should restrict him.

Beitang He weighed his alliance with Meng Zhao against his secret cooperation with the Demonic Path, while the Peach Blossom Scholar tried to sow distrust between them. Beitang He chose to negotiate with the Yellow Springs Sect over Meng Zhao’s demands, warning that he and Meng Zhao would act together if the sect refused.

• The Peach Blossom Scholar warned Beitang He that Meng Zhao’s growing power could turn their partnership into a master-subordinate relationship, but Beitang He said he would still support Meng Zhao.
• Beitang He considered the Peach Blossom Scholar and the Demonic Path unreliable, and regarded Meng Zhao as a more trustworthy ally and a safeguard against them.
• The Peach Blossom Scholar asked how Beitang He would answer Meng Zhao’s demand to hand over people involved in the conflict.
• Beitang He rejected a direct attack on the Yellow Springs Sect and ordered the Peach Blossom Scholar to negotiate the surrender of minor figures and a promise not to trouble Meng Zhao again.
• Beitang He said he and Meng Zhao would join forces against the Yellow Springs Sect if it refused the terms.

Beitang He warned Peach Blossom Scholar that an imperial envoy was coming to inspect the north and urged the Demonic Path to keep its distance. After revealing the envoy was Chief Eunuch Gu, he asserted his independence from Sinful Valley and ended the meeting with their alliance intact but strained.

• Beitang He told Peach Blossom Scholar that an imperial envoy was due to inspect the north and warned the Demonic Path not to approach him.
• Peach Blossom Scholar asked to learn the envoy’s identity so Sinful Valley could try to win him over.
• Beitang He revealed that the envoy was Chief Eunuch Gu, a powerful and loyal confidant of Beitang Sheng whom they could not safely buy off.
• Peach Blossom Scholar inferred that Beitang He had spies or connections in Imperial Capital City.
• Beitang He asserted his Imperial Clan ties and warned Peach Blossom Scholar not to assume the Demonic Path could control him.
• Peach Blossom Scholar denied any intent to manipulate Beitang He and left.

Meng Zhao met with Gu Sinan and Yun Fei after Beitang He agreed to back his plan to absorb eleven local factions in exchange for thirty percent of the proceeds. Beitang He’s support cleared the way for Meng Zhao’s scheme, while Peach Blossom Scholar’s warning had failed to deter him.

• Peach Blossom Scholar left Beitang He, who resolved to use both Meng Zhao and the Demonic Path as temporary tools until he could stand on his own.
• Meng Zhao secretly visited an apothecary and met Gu Sinan and Yun Fei in its secluded rear room.
• Meng Zhao told Gu Sinan and Yun Fei that Beitang He and others had accepted his terms, and asked them to halt their activities to avoid raising suspicion.
• Gu Sinan was surprised that Beitang He had agreed to help Meng Zhao absorb all eleven targeted factions.
• Meng Zhao explained that he had promised Beitang He thirty percent of the profits, prompting Gu Sinan to condemn the heir’s ruthless bargain.