Recaps

Xu Yi completed his fourth fascia refinement beneath the waterfall, reaching the peak of the Qi Sea Realm while Xia Zimo recovered in the cave. After they woke to the awkwardness between them, Xu Yi caught and roasted Snowflake White Fish for her.

• Xu Yi endured the waterfall's pressure with the iron essence and pills until his fascia turned red and his True Qi liquefied.
• Xu Yi tested his strengthened body with the Tide Listening Sword and concluded that ordinary Killing Intent could no longer fatally wound him.
• Xia Zimo woke in the cave and remembered how Xu Yi had risked himself for her, though the distance between them still made her uneasy.
• Xu Yi caught Snowflake White Fish, roasted them with seasonings, and offered one to Xia Zimo.
• Xia Zimo finished her fish and looked at Xu Yi, but he remained absorbed in eating.

Xu Yi left Xia Zimo in the cave after a crash sounded outside, while the pursuing factions argued over how to capture him. King Jiang Bai’s warning forced Old Ancestor Wen to withdraw, and Feng Xifeng and Second Master Jiang agreed to cooperate as other factions tried to provoke their rivals.

• Xu Yi mistook Xia Zimo’s reaction to the grilled fish, then understood she had misunderstood and hurried out when a tremendous crash shook the waterfall.
• Old Ancestor Wen returned to claim the Scar-faced brat, but Feng Xifeng and Second Master Jiang challenged his conduct.
• Second Master Jiang used a voice-transmitting orb to relay King Jiang Bai’s warning, whose power stunned the gathered fighters and drove Old Ancestor Wen to retreat.
• Feng Xifeng and Second Master Jiang negotiated a six-four division of the spoils and agreed to join forces against the Scar-faced brat.
• Other factions sent subordinates to insult and provoke their rivals, hoping to spark fights.

Xu Yi emerged from the waterfall after the pursuers failed to reach his cave, then broke their alliance by reminding them of their agreement to compete for the Mysterious Monster. When Marquis Wu Cheng, Elder Lu, and Elder He attacked, Xu Yi killed Marquis Wu Cheng and turned his Finger Swords on the other two.

• After Cloud Burst Arrows and giant steel arrows failed to penetrate the waterfall, King Feng Jian proposed digging away the rock beneath it.
• Xu Yi emerged from the waterfall and used the contest agreement to persuade the gathered factions not to gang up on him.
• Marquis Wu Cheng challenged Xu Yi, and Elder Lu and Elder He joined the attack as Xu Yi charged forward.
• Xu Yi endured the three attacks, then killed Marquis Wu Cheng with Finger Swords and destroyed his forming soul with a small red flag.
• Xu Yi took Marquis Wu Cheng's Sumeru Ring and fired Finger Swords at Elder Lu and Elder He as they guarded themselves.

Xu Yi killed Marquis Wu Cheng and the Deer Crane Elders, stunning the crowd with his victory over three Condensed Liquid Realm opponents. Jiang Nanxun challenged him, but Xu Yi’s taunts exposed his plan to rely on allies, and the chapter ended with Xu Yi trying to claim victory without fighting.

• Xu Yi destroyed the Deer Crane Elders’ Mechanical Birds, exhausted Elder He’s defenses, and killed both elders after killing Marquis Wu Cheng.
• Xu Yi absorbed the Yin souls, took the three opponents’ Sumeru Rings, and began recovering as their corpses vanished into the waterfall.
• Jiang Nanxun admitted to Second Master Jiang that Xu Yi had outthought him and was his superior.
• Xu Yi called for another challenger, and Jiang Nanxun stepped forward to face him.
• Xu Yi praised Jiang Nanxun until the crowd expected a one-on-one fight, while Jiang Nanxun privately planned to use a group formation.
• Jiang Nanxun openly admitted he would rely on numbers, and Xu Yi mockingly suggested they declare him the winner instead.

Xu Yi challenged Jiang Nanxun and his allies, then faced their Four Symbols Killing Formation in midair. After the formation’s combined attack struck him, he stood bloodied and took pills, leaving his survival uncertain.

• Jiang Nanxun refused Xu Yi’s one-on-one challenge and led three Men in Purple Robes into battle after Second Master Jiang ordered him to fight as a group.
• Jiang Nanxun proposed that Xu Yi only had to withstand their attack for one incense stick, and Xu Yi asked whether the Jiang Household would send another fighter if he won.
• Jiang Nanxun and the three Men in Purple Robes formed the Four Symbols Formation, but Xu Yi dissolved their first four walls of Qi and revealed that he had reached the peak of Qi Sea.
• The four fighters used the completed Four Symbols Killing Formation to disrupt Xu Yi’s Qi and unleash four Qi Dragons at him.
• The four Qi Dragons struck Xu Yi, and when the storm cleared, he stood bloodied and tipped pills into his mouth.

Xu Yi used Jiang Nanxun’s Qi Dragons against him, defeating the attack and forcing Second Master Jiang and King Feng Jian to intervene. After the other factions invoked the contest’s rules, Feng Xifeng agreed to withdraw but warned that he would still confront Xu Yi over their private grudge.

• Jiang Nanxun and the three purple-robed men unleashed four powerful Qi Dragons at Xu Yi, who absorbed them with Stars Shift and Heavens Turn and sent their combined force back toward Jiang Nanxun.
• Second Master Jiang tried to stop Xu Yi’s Qi Dragon with a Killing Intent weapon, but King Feng Jian destroyed it with the Divine Intent Sword and sent Jiang Nanxun flying.
• Xu Yi pointed out that Second Master Jiang and King Feng Jian had violated the contest’s rules by intervening, prompting the other factions to demand their withdrawal.
• King Feng Jian accepted that he had broken the agreement and withdrew from the contest, but said he would still act against Xu Yi if no one else defeated him.

Xu Yi withdrew from the contest after exposing the others’ willingness to break their agreement, leaving the remaining factions to fight over the Mysterious Monster. The Upper Three Heavens won, but Xu Yi pointed Yao Yue Sanren toward Second Master Jiang and King Feng Jian before handing over the creature.

• Xu Yi tested the pact by attacking Jiang Nanxun, then withdrew when Feng Xifeng revealed that the agreement would not protect him.
• The gathered factions agreed to use weapons, but Xu Yi gave up the contest and asked the eventual winner to treat the Mysterious Monster well.
• The seven remaining sides fought until dusk, and the Upper Three Heavens won with a mysterious killing formation.
• The battle killed at least twenty Qi Sea Realm Experts, left many wounded, and caused Jiang Nanxun to lose consciousness.
• Yao Yue Sanren asked Xu Yi to hand over the Mysterious Monster, and Xu Yi directed his attention to Second Master Jiang and King Feng Jian.

Xu Yi maneuvered Feng Xifeng and Yao Yue Sanren into a dispute over the Mysterious Monster, but Feng Xifeng ultimately attacked him. After surviving the Divine Intent Sword with the help of iron essence, Xu Yi urged Yao Yue Sanren to enter the waterfall with him and ordered the sect to guard the entrance.

• Xu Yi challenged Feng Xifeng to swear he had no designs on the Mysterious Monster, then rebuked Feng Xifeng’s attendant when he interrupted.
• Feng Xifeng declared that the War Sect would take the Mysterious Monster and told Yao Yue Sanren to name a price.
• Old Ancestor Wen and a favored disciple of Qianjizi demanded thirty million gold, and Feng Xifeng’s Divine Intent Sword stripped the disciple’s clothes without harming him.
• Yao Yue Sanren demanded thirty million gold for the Mysterious Monster, and Feng Xifeng attacked Xu Yi with the Divine Intent Sword.
• Xu Yi survived the strike because iron essence drew the sword’s force away from a fatal blow, then asked Yao Yue Sanren to enter the waterfall with him.
• Yao Yue Sanren ordered his disciples to form a formation and guard the entrance against intruders.

As Yao Yue Sanren tried to rally allies against Second Master Jiang and Feng Xifeng, Feng pursued Xu Yi while Jiang fought the assembled factions. Second Master Jiang unleashed a hidden use of his Stars Shift and Heavens Turn art, devastating the crowd as Yao Yue’s side was caught off guard.

• Yao Yue Sanren threatened Feng Xifeng, but Second Master Jiang and Feng offered Old Ancestor Wen two hundred supreme-grade pills and favors to make him leave.
• After Old Ancestor Wen departed, Yao Yue promised to share the Mysterious Monster and cover allies’ losses, drawing the surrounding factions into the fight.
• Feng Xifeng wounded Xu Yi with his Divine Intent Sword, and Xu Yi fled beyond the waterfall as Yao Yue charged toward it.
• Old Ancestor Wen offered to leave if Feng killed Xu Yi, so Feng pursued him while Second Master Jiang stayed behind to block the others.
• Second Master Jiang absorbed the crowd’s weapon energy with Stars Shift and Heavens Turn and unleashed it as a Qi Dragon, killing more than ten Qi Sea Realm Experts and wounding many others.

Xu Yi endured Feng Xifeng’s Divine Intent Sword and discovered that its relentless strikes were strengthening his body and helping him comprehend sword intent. As Feng Xifeng’s will began to falter after more than a thousand attacks, Xu Yi remained able to recover with pills.

• Yao Yue Sanren divided his forces, sending the weaker fighters against the Jiang family juniors and the Condensed Liquid experts after Second Master Jiang.
• Feng Xifeng abandoned the main battlefield and pursued Xu Yi, repeatedly cutting him with the Divine Intent Sword.
• Xu Yi relied on his iron essence, Undefeated Golden Body, and premium pills to survive the sword strikes.
• Xu Yi realized he could learn the sword intent by tracking Feng Xifeng’s attacks and began using his body to endure and study them.
• After more than a thousand strikes, Feng Xifeng’s soul grew hollow while Xu Yi continued recovering from each attack.

Xu Yi shattered Feng Xifeng’s Divine Intent Sword and turned the battle around, forcing the famed Sword King to flee. Xu Yi pursued him with Feng Xifeng’s severed arm and Sumeru Ring in hand, taunting him as the chase continued.

• Feng Xifeng unleashed his killing-intent technique and brought the ten-zhang Divine Intent Sword down on Xu Yi.
• Xu Yi blocked the strike with his enlarged iron essence, shattering the Divine Intent Sword before attacking Feng Xifeng with a Qi Dragon.
• Xu Yi seized Feng Xifeng and raised the green rod, but Feng Xifeng cut off his own left arm and escaped.
• Xu Yi grabbed Feng Xifeng’s Sumeru Ring and chased after him as onlookers watched the Sword King flee.
• Feng Xifeng tried to activate his sword art after a youth challenged him, but he found he had lost his connection to it.
• Xu Yi taunted Feng Xifeng to stop and fight while continuing the pursuit.

Xu Yi escaped Old Ancestor Wen’s attack and returned to the cave, where he found Xia Zimo recovering. With their enemies waiting outside and no way out, he resolved to protect her even if it cost him his life.

• Feng Xifeng fled toward the waterfall and called for Second Master Jiang to save him, then used his brocade-clad subordinate as a shield against Xu Yi’s Finger Swords.
• Xu Yi dodged a black Qi cone but was struck in the chest by a tiny red sword as he passed through the waterfall.
• Xu Yi reached the cave, took four top-grade pills, and found Xia Zimo meditating with changed wings and shifting colors on her face.
• Xu Yi used the spirit stone to power the Lesser Flame Formation and considered how Old Ancestor Wen and the other factions had left him trapped.
• Xu Yi told Xia Zimo he would get her out even if he died, and urged her not to seek revenge for him.

Xu Yi escaped the battle at the giant waterfall and returned to Xia Zimo, who was trapped in a strange inherited cultivation state and unable to respond to him. Outside the waterfall, the defeated factions blamed Xu Yi for their losses, while Old Ancestor Wen mourned the damage to his Crimson Short Sword; the chapter ended with more than a hundred experts forming a line across the gap.

• Xia Zimo heard Xu Yi and tried in vain to tell him to leave as an unfamiliar secret art from her mother's lineage took hold of her.
• After Xu Yi escaped, Yao Yue Sanren, Second Master Jiang, Feng Xifeng, and the other factions seethed over their losses and vowed to kill him.
• Second Master Jiang resolved to eliminate Xu Yi, fearing his ability to absorb attacks would threaten the Jiang family's Stars Shift and Heavens Turn.
• Feng Xifeng mourned the loss of his Divine Intent Sword, his arm, his reputation, and his standing with his sect.
• Old Ancestor Wen discovered that the Crimson Short Sword had lost its magical-artifact properties after its soul imprint was dissolved by the thunder-toughened soul within Xu Yi.
• More than a hundred experts lined up shoulder to shoulder across the gap before the giant waterfall.

Feng Xifeng’s forces drained the waterfall and exposed Xu Yi’s cave, where rival factions gathered to claim the Mysterious Monster. As the factions argued and bid for it, Old Ancestor Wen arrived, while Feng Xifeng tried to turn him against Xu Yi before other Old Ancestors could reach the scene.

• Feng Xifeng and the cultivators forced the waterfall back until the cave was exposed, and Xu Yi prepared to fight to the death rather than surrender.
• Yao Yue Sanren demanded the Mysterious Monster, but Xu Yi challenged him to convince the other factions first.
• Yao Yue Sanren claimed the Upper Three Heavens had won the monster, while Second Master Jiang proposed a bid whose proceeds would be shared among the factions.
• Old Ancestor Wen arrived and demanded that Xu Yi hand over the Mysterious Monster, swear a Blood Oath, and become his servant.
• Feng Xifeng urged Old Ancestor Wen to focus on Xu Yi’s treasures, hoping to stop the other factions from summoning their Old Ancestors.

Xu Yi appeared to accept Old Ancestor Wen’s offer of enslavement, but Wen tricked him and revealed he had never intended to honor his oath. Wen crippled Xu Yi and kept him alive to investigate his secrets, while Xia Zimo watched in despair.

• Old Ancestor Wen offered to spare Xu Yi if he handed over the Mysterious Monster and swore a Blood Oath to become his slave.
• Xu Yi demanded that Old Ancestor Wen swear a Heart Oath first, and Wen drove Feng Xifeng away before swearing one.
• Xu Yi bowed to Old Ancestor Wen, leaving the assembled martial artists lamenting his apparent submission and Xia Zimo distraught.
• Old Ancestor Wen seized Xu Yi and revealed that he had no intention of honoring his oath.
• Old Ancestor Wen snapped all four of Xu Yi’s limbs, saying he intended to keep him alive and investigate his secrets, and Xu Yi cursed him in fury.

Xu Yi activated a concealed Lesser Flame Formation in the cave to save Xia Zimo and destroy Old Ancestor Wen and the others. The formation engulfed the trapped attackers, leaving their fate in the flames.

• Old Ancestor Wen took Xu Yi's Sumeru Ring and let Feng Xifeng and other enemies enter the cave to torment him.
• Jiang Nanxun prepared to mutilate Xu Yi while Xia Zimo remained unable to move.
• Xu Yi revealed that he had secretly prepared the Lesser Flame Formation and activated its three Lamp Wicks.
• The flames blinded and killed Jiang Nanxun, while Feng Xifeng burned to smoke.
• Old Ancestor Wen and the remaining attackers tried to shield themselves and endure the killing formation's flames.

Xu Yi destroyed Old Ancestor Wen and the other trapped enemies with the Lesser Flame Formation, then tried to send Xia Zimo away through the waterfall as powerful pursuers arrived. He threw Xia Zimo into the water but was struck by dozens of attacks and left gravely wounded.

• Xu Yi forced Old Ancestor Wen and the others to surrender their Sumeru Rings, but Old Ancestor Wen attacked him and urged the trapped fighters to resist.
• Mad Lion and the others detonated their dantians, causing explosions that wounded Xu Yi and shattered the cave, but Xu Yi kept the Lesser Flame Formation burning until Old Ancestor Wen and his vengeful spirit were reduced to ash.
• Xu Yi gathered the Sumeru Rings, carried Xia Zimo from the cave, and hurried toward the waterfall as powerful experts approached.
• Xu Yi placed the Sumeru Rings on Xia Zimo's arm and threw her into the waterfall's whirlpool to help her escape.
• More than a hundred Qi Sea Realm Experts attacked Xu Yi, splitting his healing body open and leaving his intestines exposed.

Xu Yi exhausted the Lesser Flame Formation to send Xia Zimo down the waterfall, then fought to keep pursuers away from her. Fan Mo Ke and King Jiang Bai arrived, and after learning what Xu Yi had done, they agreed to destroy his body and seize his Yin Soul.

• Xu Yi used the Tide Listening Twin Swords to kill fighters who tried to reach the water and shielded Xia Zimo’s escape.
• Fan Mo Ke arrived and used Trace Source to locate Xia Zimo, but Xu Yi’s flames destroyed the secret art.
• King Jiang Bai arrived and learned from Xu Yi that Jiang Nanxun was dead.
• The Lesser Flame Formation went out as its crystal shattered, leaving Xu Yi gravely wounded and out of pills.
• Fan Mo Ke and King Jiang Bai discovered Xu Yi could withstand their soul attacks and decided to search for the Mysterious Monster while destroying Xu Yi’s body and taking his Yin Soul.

Xu Yi and Xia Zimo vanished from their pursuers after she rescued him, but Xia Zimo was left gravely injured in a graveyard. After she endured a strange recovery, a bewitching monk found her there.

• Xia Zimo flew out of the lake and saw Xu Yi as Fan Mo Ke and King Jiang Bai continued attacking him.
• Xu Yi and Xia Zimo disappeared, and Fan Mo Ke and King Jiang Bai searched for them in vain.
• Xia Zimo collapsed in a graveyard after using a forbidden art to travel thousands of miles, and she wished Xu Yi would never forget her.
• After days beneath a mound of earth, Xia Zimo emerged wrapped in green gauze.
• A bewitching monk arrived with a procession and approached Xia Zimo, while a barefoot monk in blue robes spoke of auspicious directions.

Xia Xingguang learned that the Golden Feathers tied to her daughter Xia Zimo had shattered, leaving her unsure whether Xia Zimo had used them or died. She ordered her allies to gather elite forces at the Starry River Channel.

• A maid reported that the Starry River Channel showed nothing unusual, though Xia Xingguang felt inexplicably sorrowful.
• A leopard-headed messenger announced that the Golden Box had exploded and presented its fragments with two broken Golden Feathers inside.
• Xia Xingguang recognized the feathers as the protective treasures she had given Xia Zimo and feared that her daughter had either used them or died.
• Xia Xingguang recalled how she had left Xia Zimo with half her heart's blood, enabling the feathers to protect her and reveal her awakening inherited memories.
• Xia Xingguang ordered Xiao Qing to summon Hu Xiaotian and the others with their elite forces to the Starry River Channel within half an hour.

Xia Xingguang ordered the Azure Fox to gather forces to open the Stellar Tunnel while worrying about Xia Zimo. Xu Yi awoke after more than ten days in a haystack, discovered Xia Zimo had left him her Sumeru Ring and used pills to recover enough to stand, though he remained badly injured.

• Xia Xingguang ordered the Azure Fox to rush to the Starry River Channel and help open the Stellar Tunnel despite his warning.
• Xu Yi woke in a haystack after being unconscious for more than ten days and realized he was gravely wounded.
• Xu Yi found Xia Zimo's jade-green Sumeru Ring among the rings on his arm and suspected she had given him her supplies to save his life.
• Xu Yi swallowed ordinary pills, used Xia Zimo's Five-Element Formation Flags to break open several restricted rings, and found Top-grade pills.
• Xu Yi stored the rings in Xia Zimo's bracelet, took more Top-grade pills, and rose to see villages and fields nearby.

Xu Yi disguised himself as a traveling scholar and stopped at a thatched inn, where he pretended to be a helpless mark to avoid disrupting a gathering of armed travelers. He listened as the customers drank and talked, hoping to learn what news had spread about the battle at Azure Dragon Mountain.

• Xu Yi washed up, borrowed clothes from a village, and changed into the appearance of a scholar traveling to the imperial exam.
• Xu Yi reread Xia Zimo’s booklet of his poems and her expanded tales based on them.
• Xu Yi reached a crossroads inn and ate and drank lavishly after having gone hungry for half a month.
• A burly bearded man took Xu Yi’s gold coin, and Xu Yi pretended to stumble and fall when he tried to recover it.
• The inn filled with armed travelers, and Xu Yi listened as their drinking and conversation began to reveal the news he sought.

After the Azure Dragon Mountain battle shook the Great Yue Kingdom, Xu Yi learned that powerful clans were still searching for him and the Mysterious Monster. As he tried to leave without drawing attention, a bully tried to extort him, and Xu Yi finally struck back.

• News spread that Old Ancestor Wen, Jiang Baihou, and Great Yue Sword King Feng Xifeng had died at Azure Dragon Mountain, and the Son of Heaven suspended court for three days.
• Xu Yi overheard travelers say that the Seven Great Noble Clans and Eight Great Families were searching for the Mysterious Monster and Scar-faced Daoist, while the Seven Sects were also heading to Azure Dragon Mountain for their debate and talent selection.
• Xu Yi decided to return to the capital quickly, but the fat proprietor refused payment and the burly, fat man slapped him for trying to leave.
• The burly, fat man demanded four gold coins from Xu Yi and tried to drag him off his horse after taking them.
• Xu Yi lifted the burly, fat man and threw him to the ground, leaving him badly beaten and stunning the surrounding thugs.

Xu Yi tried to avoid drawing attention while a patrol force searched for bald or short-haired men, but a gang captured him and dragged him into the forest. The gang discovered his Sumeru Ring, leaving them stunned by the treasure they had found.

• Xu Yi used the burly man as a shield against hidden weapons, and the man’s wounded scolding stopped the gang’s attack.
• Xu Yi overheard that the Patrol Division was inspecting bald or short-haired men near Azure Dragon Mountain to hunt for him.
• Xu Yi let the burly man kick him from his horse, and the gang pinned him down until the white-robed official rode away.
• The burly man took Xu Yi to an old forest and ordered his men to tie him to a tree so he could be skinned alive.
• Qian Yi spotted Xu Yi’s Sumeru Ring, and the gang erupted in excitement at the discovery.

Xu Yi watched bandits slaughter one another over his Sumeru Ring, then reflected on how greed could distort a person. After Steward Sun arrived, Xu Yi demanded an explanation and learned that Sun still did not know his identity.

• Qian Yi stole Xu Yi's Sumeru Ring, but Tie Mouren killed him for it.
• Yang Er turned the bandits against Tie Mouren, and they killed him and fought over the ring until only a bald giant remained.
• The bald giant died holding the Sumeru Ring, while Xu Yi reflected on greed and reaffirmed his resolve to stay true to his purpose.
• Xu Yi tried to rub through his restraints, but Steward Sun emerged from the camphor grove and freed him from immediate danger.
• Xu Yi reproached Steward Sun for arriving late, and Sun asked him to reveal his identity as a Superior Officer.