Chapter Summaries

Meng Zhao ordered the Meng Family to inform Seven Star Tower and investigate the massacre, the missing Meng Yan, and the suspected traitor. Meanwhile, Gan Mingfeng hid in a mountain cave, tormented by betraying Seven Star Tower and unsure whether Jian Si’s plan would keep him safe.

• Meng Zhao decided not to conceal the massacre and ordered the Meng Family to send Seven Star Tower the evidence and an account of what happened.
• Meng Zhao ordered searches for the suspected Seven Star Tower survivor, Meng Yan, and the person who had framed the Meng Family.
• The Lingwu Meng Family mobilized its people and resources to investigate.
• Gan Mingfeng hid in a cramped cave outside Lingwu City after killing fellow disciples and leaking Seven Star Tower’s secrets as an Imperial Guard.
• Gan Mingfeng struggled with guilt and wondered whether Jian Si could make Seven Star Tower blame Meng Zhao and trust him again.

Gan Mingfeng decided to flee rather than remain for Jian Si’s plan, fearing the Seven Star Tower would see through the scheme and punish him. Luo Peng caught him leaving and forced him to return to the cave, leaving Gan Mingfeng still trapped in the plan.

• After weighing the risks of staying, Gan Mingfeng decided to flee the Central Plains and seek refuge in the west or south.
• Gan Mingfeng left the cave with his sword and luggage, but sensed someone watching and confronted Luo Peng.
• Luo Peng accused Gan Mingfeng of endangering the plan against the Meng Family and ordered him to return to the cave.
• Gan Mingfeng argued that he had already sacrificed enough and wanted to live for himself, but Luo Peng refused to release him.
• Unable to persuade or defeat Luo Peng, Gan Mingfeng returned to the cave, and Luo Peng vanished into the night.

Gan Mingfeng reconsidered his escape plan and decided that seeking Meng Zhao’s protection might be his best chance to survive. Meanwhile, Zhen Cheng kept the captive Meng Yan under guard as Seven Star Tower’s plot against the Meng Family continued.

• Gan Mingfeng concluded that he could not escape Luo Peng’s watch and considered defecting to Meng Zhao, relying on his knowledge of the plot and Meng Yan’s capture as leverage.
• Gan Mingfeng believed Meng Zhao’s reputation for fairness made it possible to seek his help without being punished for his earlier actions against the Meng Family.
• Zhen Cheng entered the room where Meng Yan lay bound and blindfolded, carrying him a meal and teasing him after a rat frightened him.
• Zhen Cheng reflected that Jian Si was advancing the plan, Luo Peng was monitoring Gan Mingfeng, and he had been assigned to guard Meng Yan.
• Zhen Cheng recalled Meng Yan’s dissolute past and mediocre martial arts, noting that his family’s protection had kept him safe until Seven Star Tower captured him.

Zhen Cheng questioned Meng Yan about why the Seven Star Tower had captured him, hoping to uncover leverage against the Meng Family. Meng Yan claimed the Tower was targeting Meng Zhao instead, and Zhen Cheng began to believe him, leaving Meng Yan still captive and hoping for a chance to escape.

• Zhen Cheng unsealed Meng Yan's mute acupoint and warned him not to call for help before offering him food.
• Zhen Cheng asked Meng Yan how he had offended the Seven Star Tower and why it had seized him.
• Meng Yan claimed he knew nothing about the Tower's motives and suggested it had captured him to use against Meng Zhao.
• Zhen Cheng doubted that Meng Yan could have provoked the Seven Star Tower and concluded that it was likely targeting Meng Zhao.
• Meng Yan realized Zhen Cheng had believed his explanation but suspected the man still looked down on him, and he hoped to escape.

Zhen Cheng questioned Meng Yan about his ties to Seven Star Tower and asked for the Meng Family’s Red Flag Order, but Meng Yan refused to betray his family’s secret art. The chapter ended with Zhen Cheng agreeing to feed him first before hearing about other martial arts Meng Yan had encountered.

• Meng Yan offered to meet any condition if Zhen Cheng would release him.
• Zhen Cheng accused Meng Yan of concealing what had provoked Seven Star Tower and asked him to share the Red Flag Order’s teachings.
• Meng Yan said he knew only Acquired-realm methods and would rather die than reveal the Meng Family’s secret art.
• Zhen Cheng abandoned his request for the Red Flag Order and prepared to leave, leaving Meng Yan bound.
• Meng Yan offered to share key points of other Divine Skills, and Zhen Cheng agreed to bring him a meal before they talked.

A farming family struggled to afford treatment for their gravely ill grandson, Little Doggie, while the grandfather hoped in vain for help from the Pudu Cult. After hearing of General Yangwu's bounty for information about suspicious people, the family decided to report their strange neighbor, Zhen Cheng, and risk being wrong for the chance to save the child.

• The farming family could not afford the precious herb prescribed for Little Doggie, and the grandfather considered traveling to Yanzhou to seek help from a Pudu Cult envoy.
• The family opposed the grandfather's dangerous plan to leave Lingwu City, while Little Doggie's illness continued to worsen.
• The son returned home and told the family that General Yangwu had offered a large bounty for information about suspicious people nearby.
• The family recalled unusual behavior from their neighbor, Zhen Cheng, including his changed appearance and his habit of avoiding them.
• The grandfather decided the family would report Zhen Cheng's suspicious behavior to the Meng Family and accept responsibility if they were mistaken.

After the Meng Family received a farmer’s report, Meng Chuan and the others tracked the kidnappers to a rural household and prepared to rescue Meng Yan. Zhen Cheng sensed the encirclement only after the Yang Brothers found Meng Yan and reported back.

• Zhen Cheng eagerly studied the incomplete Heavenly Martial Wonder Book methods Meng Yan had taught him, while dismissing the farmer’s departure as unimportant.
• The old farmer reported his suspicious neighbor to the Meng Family and received precious medicine for his sick grandson.
• Meng Zhao sent Meng Chuan, Lü Yue, Zhou Hu, and seven Innate Masters to investigate, ordering them to capture the kidnappers if possible.
• The Yang Brothers infiltrated the household and found Meng Yan bound in the eastern hall while Zhen Cheng cultivated in the western hall.
• Meng Chuan and the others planned a coordinated breach, with Meng Chuan moving separately toward the hall where Meng Yan was held.
• Zhen Cheng detected several hostile experts surrounding him and suspected the Meng Family had found him.

Zhen Cheng tried to escape the Meng Family’s encirclement but was driven into a desperate fight by their powerful experts. As he faced Meng Chuan’s Red Flag Order, the chapter left his fate uncertain.

• Zhen Cheng smashed through a wall to feint an escape, then hid on the ceiling as the Yang Brothers and the Meng Family surrounded the room.
• Lü Yue detected Zhen Cheng overhead and struck the roof, forcing him to leap into the night.
• Zhou Hu attacked Zhen Cheng in midair with a tiger formed from Blood Qi and Star Power, but Zhen Cheng countered with sharp gang qi.
• Meng Chuan unleashed the Red Flag Order, a fragment of the Heavenly Emperor’s supreme art, against Zhen Cheng.

Zhen Cheng was overwhelmed and captured after the Red Flag Order’s Fire Force nearly damaged his martial foundation. Meng Yan reunited with Meng Chuan, praised his strength, and learned that Meng Zhao had trained him and helped locate him.

• Zhen Cheng used Buddhist beads to extinguish the Red Flag Order’s flames and expelled the Fire Force from his body with the Heavenly Martial Wonder Book.
• Lü Yue, Zhou Hu, and the other martial artists sealed Zhen Cheng’s Qi Meridians and captured him.
• Lü Yue and Zhou Hu ordered their men to guard Zhen Cheng without humiliating or privately questioning him.
• Meng Yan reunited with Meng Chuan and praised his younger brother’s formidable martial arts.
• Meng Chuan credited Meng Zhao’s training and the rewards he placed across Lingwu City and beyond for his strength and rescue.
• Meng Yan approved of Meng Chuan’s closeness with Meng Zhao and expected his younger brother to achieve even more.

After Lü Yue and Zhou Hu rescued Meng Yan, they urged him to return to Meng Family Village because the attackers had accomplices and the danger remained. Meng Yan abandoned his attempt to leave, accepting that he needed to settle the Seven Star Tower matter before traveling with Meng Zhao again.

• Lü Yue and Zhou Hu joined Meng Yan and warned that the fiend who guarded him likely had accomplices.
• Meng Yan confirmed that at least two powerful accomplices had been involved and urged the group to leave quickly.
• Meng Yan tried to part ways and handle an important matter alone, but Meng Chuan insisted he return with them and resolve the trouble first.
• Meng Yan agreed to go back, recognizing that his capture had dragged Meng Zhao into a dangerous dispute with the Seven Star Tower.
• Meng Yan looked forward to seeing Meng Zhao again and privately hoped to benefit from his cousin's future martial achievements.

After returning to the Meng Family Manor, Meng Chuan warned the captive Zhen Cheng not to deceive Meng Zhao and urged him to cooperate. Zhen Cheng remained skeptical of Meng Zhao’s abilities but was moved by Meng Yan’s goodwill toward him.

• Meng Chuan stopped Meng Yan from speaking with Zhen Cheng and said Meng Zhao had ordered everyone to leave the prisoners for him to handle.
• The group returned to Meng Family Manor near dawn, where Meng Yan went to rest and Zhen Cheng was taken to a secluded study.
• Meng Chuan read a sword manual while Zhen Cheng realized the study held an enormous collection of books, most of them not martial arts manuals.
• Meng Chuan claimed Meng Zhao had created the sword manual in the time it took to burn two sticks of incense, but Zhen Cheng doubted him.
• Meng Chuan warned Zhen Cheng against tricks and said cooperation might give him a chance to survive, adding that Meng Yan appreciated how fairly Zhen Cheng had treated him.

Meng Zhao confronted Zhen Cheng about the attack on the Meng Family and the plot against Seven Star Tower, then coaxed him into revealing that he was an Imperial Guard from Imperial Capital City. Zhen Cheng tried to claim they were colleagues, but Meng Zhao mocked his description of the Heavenly Dipper Thirty-Six Guards.

• Zhen Cheng reflected on Meng Yan’s kindness before Meng Zhao entered the study and overwhelmed him with a terrifying, inexplicable presence.
• Meng Chuan introduced Zhen Cheng to Meng Zhao, explained his role in guarding Meng Yan, and left the two alone at Meng Zhao’s order.
• Meng Zhao accused Zhen Cheng of killing Seven Star Tower experts and trying to frame the Meng Family, then demanded to know his identity and origins.
• Zhen Cheng claimed that higher masterminds had ordered the crimes, while Meng Zhao argued that he still knew valuable secrets and hinted that he had guessed Zhen Cheng’s origins.
• Zhen Cheng admitted he was an Imperial Guard from Imperial Capital City and called Meng Zhao’s Heavenly Gang Guards his colleagues.
• Meng Zhao laughed at Zhen Cheng’s claim and mocked his flattering description of the Heavenly Dipper Thirty-Six Guards.

Zhen Cheng explained that Emperor Beitang Sheng had targeted Meng Zhao because he feared Meng Zhao’s rising power and influence over the Meng Family. He believed the Emperor had wanted to cripple Meng Zhao rather than kill him, but that doing so had become increasingly unlikely.

• Meng Zhao agreed to treat Zhen Cheng as a colleague if he cooperated, and Zhen Cheng promised to answer his questions honestly.
• Meng Zhao asked why the Emperor had targeted him and the Meng Family despite their loyalty to the court.
• Zhen Cheng explained that Beitang Sheng feared powerful rivals and saw the Meng Family’s long-standing foundations and Meng Zhao’s rise as a potential threat.
• Zhen Cheng said Meng Zhao, as the Meng Family’s soul, worried the Emperor more than the family itself, and that crippling Meng Zhao could leave the family vulnerable.
• Zhen Cheng concluded that the Emperor’s attempt to break Meng Zhao was unlikely to succeed, and that even all six Fierce Swords might struggle to kill him.

Meng Zhao learned from Zhen Cheng that the Great Emperor’s forces were probing him and that the Plainclothes Alliance might be tied to the emperor. Zhen Cheng also shared a rumor that the emperor had engineered past calamities to gather the negative aura needed to forge powerful weapons, leaving Meng Zhao convinced of the emperor’s ruthless nature.

• Meng Zhao said he would not hide his abilities just because the Great Emperor feared him, and reasoned that the emperor was only testing him through a few agents.
• Zhen Cheng said the Plainclothes Alliance might have been founded by the Great Emperor and suggested Meng Zhao capture Jian Si to uncover more.
• Zhen Cheng described the six sword guards, their Fierce Swords, and the formidable Heaven-and-Earth Net Sword Formation.
• After Meng Zhao loosened his bindings, Zhen Cheng shared a rumor that someone had deliberately caused disasters when the Great Emperor first took the throne.
• Zhen Cheng said the disasters’ negative aura had been used to forge the six Fierce Swords and a still more powerful weapon, and Meng Zhao concluded that the Great Emperor had sacrificed his people for power.

Meng Zhao questioned Zhen Cheng about the mysterious man who had bargained with Beitang Sheng, then rejected Zhen Cheng’s advice to abandon the Meng Family and flee. He declared that Great Yong’s turmoil offered men like them a chance to act, leaving Zhen Cheng alarmed by the scope of his ambition.

• Meng Zhao learned that the mysterious man who made a deal with Beitang Sheng might be connected to the Plainclothes Alliance and posed a danger comparable to Hui Kong.
• Zhen Cheng advised Meng Zhao to leave the Meng Family and give up his post as General Yangwu to avoid a fatal clash with Beitang Sheng.
• Meng Zhao argued that Beitang Sheng was not invincible and that the realm’s widespread rebellions had changed the balance of power.
• When Zhen Cheng asked whether he meant to rebel, Meng Zhao denied it but said this was the time for men like them to stake their lives and that even the Great Emperor could not do as he pleased.
• Zhen Cheng worried that the Meng Family’s actions could devastate the Northern Lands and worsen the crisis across the Divine Continent.

Meng Zhao questioned Zhen Cheng about Jian Si’s plot against the Meng Family and learned where the conspirators stood. He considered capturing the remaining Imperial Guards, but had not decided their fate, and ended by revealing he had an idea for dealing with Zhen Cheng.

• Zhen Cheng confirmed that Gan Mingfeng had helped Jian Si destroy the Seven Star Tower’s group and frame the Meng Family.
• Zhen Cheng explained that Jian Si had kept Meng Yan as leverage to provoke conflict and weaken the Meng Family, possibly targeting Meng Hongdao.
• Zhen Cheng said Jian Si would likely stay and fight, while Luo Peng and Gan Mingfeng might be easier to locate and capture.
• Meng Zhao asked Zhen Cheng to help capture the others, and Zhen Cheng agreed while warning that Jian Si and Luo Peng were loyal to Beitang Sheng.
• Zhen Cheng suggested Gan Mingfeng might be brought to Meng Zhao’s side, while Meng Zhao admitted he had not decided what to do with the Imperial Guards.
• Meng Zhao told Zhen Cheng that he had come up with an idea for dealing with him.

Meng Zhao reassured Zhen Cheng that his secrets would remain safe and left him to decide whether to return to Jian Si or disappear. Meng Zhao then visited Meng Yan, finding him flirting with a Maidservant, and heard Meng Yan take responsibility for her conduct.

• Zhen Cheng asked whether Jian Si had discovered his capture, and Meng Zhao said he could not confirm it or guarantee Zhen Cheng's safety if he returned.
• Meng Zhao told Zhen Cheng he could return to Jian Si with an excuse or abandon his old life and live in seclusion.
• Meng Zhao and Meng Chuan went to see Meng Yan in his room.
• A Maidservant knelt and begged Meng Zhao for forgiveness after he caught her with Meng Yan.
• Meng Yan pulled the Maidservant to her feet and told Meng Zhao and Meng Chuan not to blame her, saying he had been the one who lost self-restraint.

Meng Zhao and Meng Chuan reunited with Meng Yan, whose carefree travels had briefly brought the brothers closer. Meng Yan then confessed that Seven Star Tower had captured him after he slept with an important figure’s virgin female relative and tried to flee rather than marry her.

• Meng Zhao let a maidservant leave after Meng Yan spoke up for her, then offered to give her to him as a concubine, which he awkwardly refused.
• Meng Yan recounted his travels, adventures, and martial arts discoveries, and the brothers grew closer as they listened.
• Meng Zhao asked why Seven Star Tower had captured Meng Yan, then revealed he had already informed the elders in Nan'an.
• Alarmed that the Nan'an elders were coming, Meng Yan begged Meng Zhao to help him and explained the scandal.
• Meng Yan admitted he had slept with an important Seven Star Tower figure’s virgin female relative and had been caught trying to escape rather than marry her.

Meng Zhao explained how Meng Yan’s scandal with a Seven Star Tower woman might be turned into a marriage alliance between their families. But the Seven Star Tower’s heavy losses in the attack could instead make the crisis provoke hostility toward the Meng Family.

• Meng Chuan scolded Meng Yan for fleeing after sleeping with the Seven Star Tower woman, and Meng Yan admitted he had acted wrongly.
• Meng Yan told Meng Zhao and Meng Chuan that he had been held captive during the attack and later rescued by the man who had captured him.
• Meng Chuan said the attackers had likely kept Meng Yan alive to use him against the Meng Family, while Meng Zhao reminded him that he had also been a victim.
• Meng Zhao reasoned that the Seven Star Tower might demand Meng Yan marry the woman, creating a valuable alliance for the Meng Family.
• Meng Zhao acknowledged that the Seven Star Tower’s casualties might derail the marriage and turn the incident into a cause of conflict.

Luo Peng’s foreboding proved justified when a force of more than ten powerful figures surrounded the hill where he was guarding Gan Mingfeng. Believing the Meng Family had found them, Luo Peng urged Gan Mingfeng to fight beside him, while Gan Mingfeng quietly welcomed the chance to escape his captivity.

• Luo Peng felt uneasy while cultivating and ordered Gan Mingfeng to leave the hill with him.
• Gan Mingfeng objected to leaving based only on Luo Peng’s intuition, but came out of the cave armed with his sword and Big Red Gourd.
• Luo Peng and Gan Mingfeng sensed more than ten powerful figures approaching and suspected the Meng Family had tracked them down.
• Luo Peng blamed Zhen Cheng for possibly betraying them and worried their plans against Meng Zhao and the Meng Family had failed.
• Gan Mingfeng saw the Meng Family’s arrival as a possible chance to escape, while Luo Peng told him they had to fight together to survive.