Chapter Summaries

Li Ya'er visited Meng Zhao and asked whether he had a marriage arrangement, apparently considering a match with the Li Family. Meng Zhao said he had not considered marriage and that an elder of his family might decide the matter, leaving Li Ya'er uncertain whether Meng Zhao was refusing him.

• Li Ya'er presented Meng Zhao with a python gallbladder, and the two spoke privately after dismissing the guards outside.
• Meng Zhao asked about Li Xingchen and Li Xinglu, and Li Ya'er said Li Xingchen had returned home after losing to Meng Zhao while Li Xinglu was traveling in the Northern Lands.
• Li Ya'er asked whether Meng Zhao had a marriage arrangement, then considered the family alliances and engagements shaping the Li siblings' prospects.
• Meng Zhao said he had several concubines and had not considered marriage, adding that an elder from two generations above might handle it.
• Li Ya'er grew uneasy at the mention of Meng Zhao's elder and wondered whether Meng Zhao was using the claim to turn down a marriage proposal.

Li Ya'er proposed a marriage alliance between Meng Zhao and Li Xinglu, hoping to connect the Li Family with the rising Meng Family. Meng Zhao declined, citing a possible marriage arranged by his family, and left Li Ya'er with a promise to keep the proposal private.

• Li Ya'er praised Meng Zhao and offered Li Xinglu's hand in marriage to strengthen ties between their families.
• Meng Zhao weighed the Li Family's political risks and concluded that marrying Li Xinglu would bring him little benefit.
• Meng Zhao decided that marrying Tan Cai'er better served his plans to unite the three northern provinces.
• Meng Zhao politely refused Li Ya'er's proposal, saying his elders were arranging a match with an aristocratic family in Yanzhou.
• Li Ya'er accepted the refusal, and Meng Zhao promised not to reveal the proposal.

Meng Zhao rejected the Li Family’s marriage alliance and weighed the dangers of becoming entangled with them. Liang Muqiu then told him that the Southern An Meng Family intended to summon him back, leaving him to consider their motives.

• Li Ya'er left after Meng Zhao rejected the proposed marriage alliance, and Meng Zhao asked Night Cat for news about the Li Family.
• Night Cat reported that his scouts had found little information about Li Xingchen, while Li Xinglu’s travels through the north partly supported Li Ya'er's account.
• Meng Zhao concluded that he must not grow close to the Li Family or accept a marriage alliance with them.
• Liang Muqiu comforted Meng Zhao, and he explained that his Grandmaster status made caution essential and that marrying Li Xinglu could put him in danger.
• Liang Muqiu told Meng Zhao that the Southern An Meng Family wanted to summon him back, a matter Meng Chuan had brought to her rather than raising with Meng Zhao himself.

Meng Zhao decided not to return to Nan'an after the Meng Family summoned him, choosing to send gifts and cultivation resources instead. He also explained that he was keeping Wu Huaien alive to see how the Hell Path would respond, leaving open whether their conflict could be settled peacefully.

• Meng Zhao suspected the Meng Family had an ulterior motive for summoning him but reasoned that neither Meng Yuanqiao nor Meng Jizu would act rashly against him.
• Meng Zhao told Liang Muqiu he would not return to Nan'an and asked her to prepare polite excuses, gifts, and cultivation resources for the family elders.
• Liang Muqiu agreed that Meng Zhao should stay because his responsibilities as General Yangwu and master of the Lingwu Meng Family made his absence risky.
• Liang Muqiu asked why Meng Zhao continued keeping Wu Huaien imprisoned, and Meng Zhao said he wanted to see how the Hell Path would react to its assassin being captured.
• Meng Zhao hoped the Hell Path would accept peace but was prepared to retaliate if it continued targeting him.

Envoy Wang convened with Hua Zizai and other Hell Path members in Lingwu City to decide how to respond after Meng Zhao captured Wu Huaien. Hua Zizai urged a temporary peace and ransom, but Envoy Wang’s deputy argued that doing so would deepen the Hell Path’s humiliation.

• Hua Zizai asked Envoy Wang whether the Hell Path should rescue Wu Huaien by force, seek peace with Meng Zhao, or wait.
• Envoy Wang said he had authority to handle the crisis but lacked enough knowledge of Meng Zhao, the Meng Family, and Wu Huaien to choose a course.
• Hua Zizai rejected waiting and recommended paying a price to ransom Wu Huaien, with his three confidants supporting the proposal.
• Envoy Wang’s deputy objected that seeking peace would make the Hell Path seem afraid of Meng Zhao after its recent defeats and public humiliation.

Envoy Wang sought Hua Zizai’s help to rescue Wu Huaien and restore the Hell Path’s reputation, but Hua Zizai warned that Meng Zhao and the Meng Family were far too dangerous to challenge. The chapter left Envoy Wang caught between the Hell Path’s need to respond and Meng Zhao’s trap, with no easy way forward.

• Envoy Wang asked Hua Zizai to use the Hell Path’s resources in Lingwu City to rescue Wu Huaien and strike back at the Meng Family.
• Hua Zizai argued that their limited forces could not contend with Meng Zhao, a Peerless Grandmaster who had captured Wu Huaien.
• Envoy Wang clarified that he did not intend to attack Meng Zhao directly and asked only for help with a rescue and smaller missions.
• Hua Zizai described Meng Zhao as intelligent, ruthless, and fortunate, and warned that the Meng Family’s allies and military connections made it too strong for the Hell Path’s local forces.
• Hua Zizai explained that Meng Zhao was keeping Wu Huaien imprisoned to force the Hell Path to choose between risking its reputation and confronting him.
• Envoy Wang recognized the dilemma but feared that seeking peace would ruin him, and resented the Hell Path Master for sending him to Lingwu City.

Envoy Wang sought Hua Zizai’s help in rescuing Wu Huaien, promising to report Hua’s contributions to the Hell Path Sect Master. Hua Zizai revealed that Wu Huaien had been crippled by his battle with Meng Zhao, leaving Envoy Wang uncertain whether the rescue was still worth pursuing.

• Envoy Wang explained that Meng Zhao spent most of his time away from Meng Family Manor and asked Hua Zizai to gather information and recruit insiders rather than attack Meng Zhao directly.
• Hua Zizai agreed to help and said he had already learned Wu Huaien’s condition and location by sending scouts and bribing someone inside Meng Family Manor.
• Hua Zizai reported that Wu Huaien had lost his Martial Dao Will and might be weaker than an innate martial artist after using the Heartless Path’s Forbidden Killing Move against Meng Zhao.
• Envoy Wang was shocked to learn Wu Huaien had been crippled and questioned whether rescuing him would bring any personal benefit.

Envoy Wang resolved to rescue Wu Huaien and heard Hua Zizai outline potential allies who opposed Meng Zhao in Lingwu City. Hua Zizai offered leads to the Pudu Cult and three local forces, leaving Envoy Wang to seek their help himself.

• Envoy Wang insisted Wu Huaien had to be rescued to protect the Hell Path's reputation, and Hua Zizai said he could not assist directly.
• Hua Zizai explained that Meng Zhao and the Meng Family wielded deep influence in Lingwu City, making them nearly impossible to confront directly.
• Hua Zizai revealed that Meng Zhao's conflict with the Pudu Cult might make the cult willing to attack him, and offered Envoy Wang the address of its secret branch.
• Hua Zizai said the forces Meng Zhao had not long ago annexed had alarmed other local groups, which might secretly resent the Meng Family.
• Hua Zizai identified three local forces connected to the annexed groups and left Envoy Wang to persuade them to help rescue Wu Huaien.

Envoy Wang accepted Hua Zizai’s intelligence and prepared to pursue merit against Meng Zhao, while Hua Zizai believed the effort was doomed. Six days later, a rescue attempt at Meng Family Manor failed, and Meng Zhao reprimanded Night Cat over the family’s security lapses.

• Envoy Wang promised Hua Zizai he would share credit for the intelligence, while Hua Zizai privately doubted he could achieve anything against the Meng Family.
• Eighteen farming households, twenty warriors, eight gardeners, and three kitchen workers joined two top-tier Innate experts in an attempt to rescue Wu Huaien from Flower Valley.
• The rescue failed, several attackers were killed, and the survivors were captured for interrogation.
• Meng Zhao returned from the Yangwu Grand Barracks and scolded Night Cat for allowing infiltrators into the manor.
• Meng Zhao acknowledged the Meng Family’s rapid rise had made perfect security difficult but ordered Night Cat to investigate recruits carefully and protect the loyalty of those inside.

Meng Zhao rewarded Yuan Bin for uncovering the plot to rescue Wu Huaien and heard Zhou Hu’s findings about the forces behind it. Zhou Hu identified the Hell Path, the Pudu Cult, and the Sui Han Sect as participants, but the other forces remained unknown.

• Night Cat admitted neglecting surveillance within the Meng Family and promised to investigate its members more carefully.
• Meng Zhao praised Yuan Bin for exposing the plotters and promised him a refined Insect Scripture that could lead toward the Grandmaster realm.
• Yuan Bin accepted Meng Zhao’s reward, while those present admired his work and Meng Zhao’s skill in refining the secret art.
• Meng Zhao asked Zhou Hu about the plot’s organizer, and Zhou Hu reported that a Hell Path envoy surnamed Wang had coordinated with other forces.
• Zhou Hu said the Pudu Cult joined out of hatred for Meng Zhao and the County King's Heir, while the Sui Han Sect supplied traitorous farmhands and two gardeners; he had not yet identified the remaining forces.

Meng Zhao learned that the Sui Han Sect had helped the Pudu Cult plot against him and unleashed his power upon the sect. The Sui Han Sect and everyone within it were erased by a colossal palm descending from the sky.

• Meng Zhao ordered Zhou Hu to locate the Pudu Cult branch and studied its position on a map of Lingwu City.
• The Sui Han Sect Master regretted aiding Hell Path and the Pudu Cult after Meng Zhao had destroyed his son-in-law's family and enslaved his daughter.
• The Sui Han Sect Master and people throughout the sect felt mounting dread as the sky darkened and the wind froze.
• A colossal palm descended from the heavens and erased the Sui Han Sect and everyone within it.

Two giant palms destroyed the Pudu Cult branch and the Sui Han Sect in Lingwu City, prompting widespread fear and speculation that Meng Zhao was responsible. The Meng Family claimed the sects had colluded with the Hell Path to rescue Wu Huaien, presenting the destruction as justified punishment.

• Two giant palms annihilated the Pudu Cult branch and the Sui Han Sect, killing everyone inside and reducing their grounds to ruins.
• Lingwu City's martial forces suspected Meng Zhao had used Worldly Power to destroy both locations, and they debated whether to stay, leave, or unite against him.
• Meng Family members who had seen Meng Zhao studying a map realized he had been choosing targets for the strikes.
• The Meng Family announced that the Pudu Cult, the Sui Han Sect, and other forces had joined the Hell Path in an attempt to rescue Wu Huaien, and offered to let the public verify the captured moles.
• The Meng Family's account persuaded people that the Sui Han Sect had brought its destruction upon itself by colluding with the Hell Path.

After Meng Zhao destroyed the Pudu Cult and Sui Han Sect, his overwhelming strength terrified Lingwu City’s factions. Zhu Kuan and Tu Liang, whose families had secretly aided the plot to rescue Wu Huaien, met to plan how to escape Meng Zhao’s investigation, knowing they could only rely on themselves.

• Meng Zhao’s ability to destroy the Pudu Cult and Sui Han Sect spread fear throughout Lingwu City, and even Prince Yanping Beitang Ang avoided hearing about him.
• Zhu Kuan and Tu Liang, fearing their own involvement would be exposed, met at a secret base left by Envoy Wang of the Hell Path.
• Zhu Kuan worried that Meng Zhao would trace the clues back to their families and wipe them out.
• Tu Liang said the Hell Path could not protect them and warned against relying on outside help.
• The two men recognized that their involvement had left traces and began focusing on how to save themselves.

Zhu Kuan and Tu Liang debated how to survive after angering Meng Zhao, weighing flight against the danger to their families and businesses. Tu Liang proposed approaching the Meng Family first to confess and seek Meng Zhao’s forgiveness, leaving their fate dependent on his response.

• Zhu Kuan suggested that he and Tu Liang flee Lingwu City with portable wealth and abandon their households and properties to reduce the risk of being caught.
• Tu Liang objected that abandoning their innocent families was cruel and that fleeing with their households would make them easier to track.
• Zhu Kuan proposed that they take only their direct family members, but Tu Liang argued that a large group would still expose them.
• Tu Liang revealed his plan to approach the Meng Family, explain their involvement, offer money and service, and ask Meng Zhao to spare both families.

Tu Liang persuaded Zhu Kuan to seek Meng Zhao’s forgiveness by offering both family wealth and information about Hell Path. They planned to use Hua Zizai’s identity and help expose Hell Path in Lingwu City to save their families.

• Tu Liang argued that he and Zhu Kuan had been coerced into aiding Hell Path and might earn Meng Zhao’s forgiveness by admitting their faults.
• Zhu Kuan agreed that sacrificing part of their wealth could be worthwhile, but Tu Liang warned that Meng Zhao’s overwhelming strength left them with no leverage.
• Tu Liang proposed offering Meng Zhao information about Hell Path’s Lingwu City leader, Martial Master Hua, also known as Hua Zizai.
• Zhu Kuan praised the plan and suggested helping Meng Zhao capture Hell Path’s remaining members and destroy its presence in Lingwu City.

Tu Liang persuaded Zhu Kuan that their involvement with Hell Path could become an opportunity to win Meng Zhao’s favor if they survived by surrendering Hell Path’s people. Convinced that Meng Zhao might rule the Northern Lands, the two families pledged to serve him and agreed to offer him a Four-Clawed Flood Dragon Corpse and a Water Dragon Pearl.

• Tu Liang told Zhu Kuan that their exposed connection to Hell Path could help them stand out to Meng Zhao if they surrendered Hell Path’s people and preserved their families.
• Zhu Kuan agreed that serving Meng Zhao could bring future prosperity, given his power, growing influence, and potential to rule the Northern Lands.
• Zhu Kuan and Tu Liang pledged that their families would support each other and strive to earn merit under Meng Zhao.
• Zhu Kuan offered to present Meng Zhao with the secret location of a Four-Clawed Flood Dragon Corpse.
• Tu Liang offered to give Meng Zhao a Water Dragon Pearl, and the two agreed that the treasures would make fitting gifts for the Northern Meng Dragon King.

Zhu Kuan and Tu Liang came to Meng Zhao seeking an audience after their involvement in the Hell Path’s attempt to rescue Wu Huaien was exposed. After Han Lu asked Meng Zhao to hear them out, he agreed to spare them for her sake and invited them to speak.

• Zhu Kuan and Tu Liang arrived at Meng Family Manor and waited outside Meng Zhao’s pavilion.
• Meng Zhao suspected the two had come because they had colluded with the Hell Path to rescue Wu Huaien.
• Hearing Meng Zhao’s accusation, Zhu Kuan and Tu Liang fell to their knees in the snow.
• Han Lu urged Meng Zhao to hear them out and show mercy, warning against killing too many people.
• Meng Zhao agreed for Han Lu’s sake and told Zhu Kuan and Tu Liang to rise and explain themselves.

Zhu Kuan and Tu Liang confessed their families’ involvement in Hell Path’s attempt to rescue Wu Huaien and begged Meng Zhao for mercy. He accepted their apology, reduced their offered tribute, and agreed to take their dragon-related treasures in exchange for resources and forgiveness.

• Tu Liang admitted that the Zhu Family and Tu Family had been coerced into helping Hell Path and the Pudu Cult, and asked Meng Zhao for a chance to atone.
• Meng Zhao warned Zhu Kuan and Tu Liang that they had confessed just in time, then accepted thirty percent of each family’s assets instead of their offered seventy percent.
• Zhu Kuan offered to lead Meng Zhao to a Four-Clawed Flood Dragon Corpse hidden behind a dangerous Myriad Transformation Pool.
• Meng Zhao accepted Zhu Kuan’s offer and promised Hall Master Zhu a Blood Pool Resource for the Zhu Family.
• Tu Liang offered to search for a Water Dragon Pearl, and Meng Zhao accepted his offer as well.

Meng Zhao accepted the Zhu and Tu families’ offer to expose Hell Path and assigned Han Pu to handle the matter. Han Lu worried that Hell Path would retaliate against her brother, but Meng Zhao insisted the danger would help temper him and promised to protect him from grandmasters.

• The Zhu and Tu families blamed Hell Path and the Pudu Cult for forcing them to help rescue Wu Huaien, then revealed Envoy Wang and Hua Zizai’s identities and hideouts.
• Meng Zhao agreed to put Han Pu in charge of dealing with Hell Path and offered the two families his protection, so they went to find Han Pu.
• Meng Zhao planned to visit the strange place Zhu Kuan had mentioned and leave the search for the Water Dragon Pearl to Tu Liang.
• Han Lu warned Meng Zhao that Hell Path could easily harm Han Pu, but Meng Zhao refused to change his decision and said the confrontation would temper him.
• Han Lu resolved to warn Han Pu and give him some of her treasures to help him guard against retaliation.

The Yangwu Army surrounded Hua Manor under Han Pu’s command to investigate the Hua Family’s connection to Hell Path. Hua Zizai realized Meng Zhao had ordered the operation and weighed his options, but found escape nearly impossible.

• Han Pu led soldiers and more than a dozen Innate Martial Artists in surrounding Hua Manor while martial artists watched from outside.
• Hua Zizai emerged from the manor and appealed to his acquaintance with Meng Zhao, asking Han Pu to withdraw the archers and crossbowmen.
• Han Pu announced that Meng Zhao had ordered an investigation into the Hua Family’s ties to Hell Path and urged its members to surrender.
• Hua Zizai suspected Envoy Wang had exposed his identity and blamed Zhu Kuan and Tu Liang for betraying their allies.
• Hua Zizai rejected the idea of fighting his way out, recognizing that the archers, crossbowmen, Innate Masters, and Meng Zhao made escape too dangerous.