Recaps

Chen Changan learned why the Gu Family helped a foreign being attempt to become human and killed it after it revealed that surviving foreign beings were hiding throughout the True Realm. He then questioned Hongchen about the previous Sword Master Lord and inferred that the figure was connected to his father and the Lord of the True Realm.

• The foreign being explained that Chen Changan had given Jufeng City and its resources to the Gu Family, and that ordinary people volunteered to trade years of their lives for prosperity.
• Chen Changan rejected the foreign being's plea to join the Human Race and drew the Red Dust Sword, which terrified it because it remembered the failed invasion about ten thousand years earlier.
• The foreign being said the invasion's survivors had scattered and hidden in the True Realm, and that becoming human was their chance to survive; it claimed none had successfully transformed.
• Chen Changan killed the foreign being after questioning it about its motives and whether other foreign beings were nearby.
• Chen Changan questioned Hongchen about the previous Sword Master Lord, learned that the figure had not died, and inferred that the restrictions on Hongchen's answers connected the Sword Master Lord to his father and the Lord of the True Realm.
• Hongchen explained that the foreign being had weakened itself by trying to become human, which was why Chen Changan could defeat it.

Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao returned to Jufeng City and confronted the Gu Family over its collusion with a foreign race. Chen Changan overwhelmed City Lord Gu, revealed that he was the son of Lord of the True Realm, and declared the Gu Family would not survive the night; he then turned on Third Young Master Gu as the one who most deserved to die.

• Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao left the underground pool, leaving the worshipping townspeople behind, and headed back to Jufeng City to confront the Gu Family.
• Chen Changan forced his way into the City Lord's Mansion and accused City Lord Gu of colluding with a foreign race, prompting the Gu Family to order an attack.
• Mu Yunyao struck first against the guards, while Chen Changan defeated City Lord Gu with a punch that reduced the mansion to ruins.
• Chen Changan identified himself as the son of Lord of the True Realm and vowed that no one in the Gu Family would survive that day.
• Third Young Master Gu appeared and asked why Chen Changan was doing this, and Chen Changan told him he was the one who most deserved to die.

Chen Changan exposed Third Young Master Gu as a transformed member of another race who had lured cultivators into Jufeng City. Third Young Master Gu dropped his act and admitted that Chen Changan had uncovered the truth.

• Third Young Master Gu denied Chen Changan’s accusations and insisted there had been a misunderstanding.
• Chen Changan explained that Third Young Master Gu and his supposed eldest brother had repeatedly warned him against going out at night to provoke his curiosity and lure him into danger.
• Chen Changan accused the Gu Family of colluding with another race and said they had disguised Third Young Master Gu as a useless wastrel to protect him if their scheme was exposed.
• Chen Changan deduced that Third Young Master Gu was the first member of the other race to be successfully transformed, noting his lack of cultivation and the unnatural heartbeats of him and Eldest Young Master Gu.
• Third Young Master Gu praised Chen Changan’s cleverness and confessed that Chen Changan had uncovered him, calling the Chen Family the bane of his kind.

Chen Changan wiped out the Gu Family in Jufeng City and suspected they had another accomplice connected to the foreign races. After waiting for seven days, he and Mu Yunyao caught several people arriving at the City Lord’s Mansion, and confronted them as they tried to flee.

• The Third Young Master Gu killed himself after hinting that the foreign races might invade the True Realm again.
• Chen Changan rejected the Gu Family Head’s defiance and slaughtered the entire Gu Family in Jufeng City.
• Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao found the Gu Family’s wealth unexpectedly small and suspected another accomplice had been supplying them.
• They waited in Jufeng City for seven days, but no one appeared until several people came to the City Lord’s Mansion at night.
• The newcomers discovered the Gu Family had been wiped out and tried to leave, but Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao stopped them and invited them to talk.

Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao captured the men who had been watching them and learned through Soul Searching that they were Sun Moon Dynasty generals serving King Xiaoyao, who had colluded with the alien race and supplied the Gu Family. As they left Jufeng City for the Sun Moon Dynasty, Chen Changan suspected powerful figures were helping conceal the alien race’s activities.

• Mu Yunyao stopped three men from escaping while Chen Changan confronted their leader about collaborating with the alien race.
• Chen Changan used the Soul Searching Technique on the captured leader and discovered the men served King Xiaoyao of the Sun Moon Dynasty.
• Chen Changan told Mu Yunyao that the dynasty had supported the Gu Family and that the men knew little about their alien allies.
• Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao dealt with the men and left Jufeng City for the Sun Moon Dynasty.
• During the journey, Chen Changan suspected powerful people were helping erase evidence of the alien race.

Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao investigated King Xiaoyao and suspected the Sun Moon Dynasty’s Imperial Family might be tied to the foreign races. They decided to spread word of Chen Changan’s arrival and use him as bait to draw the hidden enemies out.

• Chen Changan learned that King Xiaoyao ruled Yunzhou, commanded five hundred thousand troops, and gathered many retainers despite claiming to shun the throne.
• Mu Yunyao proposed infiltrating King Xiaoyao’s circle to discover how many foreign-race members had transformed into humans and who else was involved.
• Chen Changan rejected soul-searching King Xiaoyao as too risky because it could exhaust his strength and alert the enemy.
• Chen Changan decided to use himself as bait, reasoning that the foreign races hated his father and might transfer that hatred to him.
• Chen Changan pointed out that the foreign races would recognize the Red Dust Sword, and he planned to spread news of his arrival using money.

News of Chen Changan claiming to be the Lord of the True Realm’s son spread across Yunzhou, and King Xiaoyao learned that the Young Master was real but could not confirm whether Chen was genuine. After Chen arrived in Xiaoyao City, King Xiaoyao met him and invited him to stay at his residence, leaving the townspeople debating Chen’s arrogance.

• People across Yunzhou debated whether Chen Changan was truly the Lord of the True Realm’s son.
• King Xiaoyao questioned his retainer about the rumor and learned that the Young Master’s existence was confirmed, though Chen’s identity remained uncertain.
• The Hall Master warned King Xiaoyao not to panic and suggested testing the Young Master, even considering killing him if he proved dangerous.
• King Xiaoyao learned that Chen Changan had arrived in Xiaoyao City and went to meet him.
• Chen Changan rebuked King Xiaoyao for blocking his carriage, then demanded to stay at his residence, and King Xiaoyao agreed.
• After Chen left with King Xiaoyao, onlookers discussed his arrogance and whether his status justified it.

Chen Changan flaunted his identity at King Xiaoyao’s manor while he and Mu Yunyao discussed drawing the dynasty’s collaborators with the foreign races to the Imperial City. King Xiaoyao suspected Chen Changan’s true purpose and tried to learn about his mission, but Chen Changan left him guessing.

• Chen Changan ordered King Xiaoyao’s staff to replace the manor’s furnishings and prepare food and wine, while King Xiaoyao’s people confirmed he was the True Realm Lord’s son and discussed watching him before deciding whether to kill him.
• Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao discussed gathering the Sun Moon Dynasty’s foreign-race collaborators in the Imperial City and agreed that luring them all together would be difficult.
• King Xiaoyao invited Chen Changan to a banquet, where Chen Changan complained about the food and drank the manor’s finest wine.
• King Xiaoyao tried to find out why Chen Changan had come, but Chen Changan hinted that his important mission was too dangerous for King Xiaoyao to know about.

Chen Changan used King Xiaoyao’s guilty conscience to make him believe the investigation was closing in on the foreign races, then traveled to the Imperial City. After spreading a rumor that the Sun Moon Dynasty’s Imperial Family had colluded with the foreign races, Chen Changan left his inn three days later to begin his next move.

• Chen Changan left King Xiaoyao’s manor, and King Xiaoyao and the Hall Master of the Juxian Hall prepared their forces for the possibility that he was heading to the Imperial City.
• King Xiaoyao’s people confirmed Chen Changan was traveling toward the Imperial City as he deliberately took a month to make the journey.
• Mu Yunyao warned Chen Changan that transformed foreign races could hide, but Chen Changan reassured her.
• Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao entered the Imperial City, checked into an inn, and spread a rumor that the Imperial Family had colluded with the foreign races.
• The emperor ordered his people to watch Chen Changan and gathered forces to kill him, while Chen Changan remained at the inn for three days.
• Chen Changan stepped out of the inn and said it was time to take care of business.

Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao stormed the palace and wiped out its defenders while sparing the emperor, then faced King Xiaoyao and his million-strong army. Chen Changan unleashed his father's sword art, whose countless Sword Qi streaks pursued the fleeing soldiers.

• Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao reached the palace, where Chen Changan cut through the guards and began a purge.
• Chen Changan knocked the emperor unconscious and left him as the palace's sole survivor.
• King Xiaoyao arrived with his allies and a million-strong army, and Chen Changan revealed he had lured them there.
• Chen Changan used the Pretentious Sword Art's First Form to summon over a million Sword Qi streaks that halted above the army.
• King Xiaoyao ordered his forces to scatter, but the Sword Qi pursued them as they fled.

Chen Changan defeated King Xiaoyao and the Sun Moon Dynasty’s remaining forces, then searched a survivor’s soul to uncover the foreign races’ presence in the dynasty. He and Mu Yunyao prepared to investigate two more allied families, but paused when a calm, unfamiliar expert approached.

• Chen Changan killed an Emperor Realm expert with one sword strike, then slaughtered King Xiaoyao and the other remaining enemies.
• Mu Yunyao finished plundering the Imperial Family’s resources while Chen Changan fought.
• Chen Changan explained that he had killed the Sun Moon Dynasty’s messengers to leave its foreign allies isolated and waiting for news.
• Chen Changan searched a survivor’s soul and learned that foreign races were also hidden among two families supported by the Sun Moon Dynasty.
• Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao sensed a calm expert approaching and waited to see who it was.

Chen Changan met the Yellow Banner's Third Squad of the Emperor's Pavilion and learned about the Pavilion's forces and his mother's fearsome reputation. The squad leader began recounting the one time he saw her fight during the foreign race invasion.

• Eighteen members of the Yellow Banner's Third Squad knelt before Chen Changan and explained that they had come after learning he was in the Sun Moon Dynasty.
• The squad leader described the Yellow Banner's patrol duties and admitted that its ten squads had found only a few dozen foreign races over the years.
• Chen Changan learned that the Black Banner handled intelligence, the Earth Banner handled combat, the Heaven Banner oversaw the other three, and four Battle Halls acted in severe crises.
• The squad leader told Chen Changan that his mother was feared even by the Pavilion Master and specialized in beating the supposedly invincible.
• The squad leader recalled a foreign race threatening to take the Pavilion Master as a plaything, then said Chen Changan's mother had struck it with a single slap.

Chen Changan learned that his mother had destroyed half the invading aliens and that his parents vanished after he was born. He also discovered that the Imperial Pavilion had declined and that his mother belonged to the Mu Family, leaving him wondering whether Mu Zhanying knew who he was.

• An Imperial Pavilion member told Chen Changan that his mother had killed millions of Emperor Realm aliens with one strike, while his father finished off the survivors with a single sword blow.
• The member explained that the Imperial Pavilion’s leader and five Elders had withdrawn after Chen Changan’s parents disappeared, leaving the Pavilion weakened as rival forces rose.
• Chen Changan learned that the five Elders and two former Battle Hall Masters had founded their own forces, some stronger than the Imperial Pavilion.
• The member revealed that the Mu Family had long guarded the outer realm and that Chen Changan’s mother came from the family.
• Chen Changan connected the revelation to Mu Zhanying and wondered whether she had recognized him, then joked about his own connection to the Mu family.

Chen Changan sent the Yellow Banner's Third Squad to eliminate foreign races in the Sun Moon Dynasty while secretly monitoring them to test their loyalty. As he and Mu Yunyao continued toward the Qingming Sect, he questioned how he could have been born with Law Power in the True Realm and suggested that someone might have made the rules.

• Chen Changan learned that the Third Squad and all Yellow Banner members had reached the peak of the Emperor Dao Realm, while the Emperor Pavilion's strongest fighters were in the Emperor King Realm and its five departed Elders had been in the Ancestral Realm.
• Chen Changan questioned whether he could trust the Third Squad, then ordered them to wipe out the foreign races and two families in the Sun Moon Dynasty.
• Chen Changan secretly placed a technique on the squad leader so he could hear the squad's actions and conversations for a month, explaining to Mu Yunyao that he was testing their loyalty.
• Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao continued toward the Qingming Sect as he explained that the True Realm lagged behind other domains in its methods and development.
• Chen Changan pointed out that he had been born in the True Realm with Law Power despite the claim that such power could not exist there, and asked whether someone could make the rules that allowed it.

Chen Changan’s Law Power began to revive as he cultivated in the True Realm, while he and Mu Yunyao struggled to comprehend its laws and faced a bottleneck before reaching the Emperor Realm. As they neared the Qingming Sect, they spotted a crowd in the wilderness and decided to investigate.

• Chen Changan explained that his inherited Law Power was slowly reviving, and Mu Yunyao tried to comprehend Law Power in the True Realm.
• Chen Changan remained stuck at the peak of the True Extreme Realm despite absorbing True Essence Power, while Mu Yunyao continued to make slow progress.
• Mu Yunyao said she could sense Law Power but could not yet grasp it, and Chen Changan worried that he needed to reach the Emperor Realm before confronting the Qingming Sect.
• Mu Yunyao noticed a crowd gathered in the wilderness, and Chen Changan persuaded her to let him investigate while promising not to cause trouble.

Chen Changan discovered that admirers had gathered along the roads hoping to see him, and he accidentally revealed his identity while sharing wine with them. Three days later, a member of the Northern Plains Wang Family blocked his route and challenged him.

• Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao joined a group of travelers who were waiting to catch a glimpse of Chen Changan, the Imperial Pavilion Young Master.
• The travelers explained that they had heard of Chen Changan's victory over the Sun Moon Dynasty and had waited five or six days for a chance to see him.
• After the group connected Chen Changan's name and Mu Yunyao to the carriage, Chen Changan confirmed he was the young master and chatted with them before leaving.
• Mu Yunyao laughed at Chen Changan for getting caught in his own gossip, while he warned that some people might oppose him.
• Three days later, Wang Tianlong of the Northern Plains Wang Family stopped Chen Changan's carriage and challenged him.

Chen Changan tried to pass through a succession of challengers by denying his identity, but Gu Minglou saw through him and demanded a fight. Chen Changan admitted he was the Imperial Pavilion Young Master and accepted Gu Minglou’s challenge, leaving them poised to battle.

• Wang Tianlong challenged Chen Changan, but Chen denied being the Imperial Pavilion Young Master and persuaded Wang to let the carriage pass.
• A stubborn young man refused to believe Chen’s denials and insisted that he accept a challenge.
• The young man identified himself as Gu Minglou, and spectators described his reputation as a martial arts prodigy who had defeated an Emperor Lord Realm expert.
• Chen admitted he was Chen Changan and said Gu Minglou seemed worthy of fighting.
• Gu Minglou questioned how Chen’s peak True Extreme Realm cultivation could account for his past feats, and Chen accepted a fight against Gu’s early-stage Emperor Lord Realm strength.

Chen Changan accepted Gu Minglou’s challenge despite their enormous cultivation gap and defeated him with a single sword strike. The crowd recognized that Chen Changan’s power went beyond what they believed possible at the peak of the True Extreme Realm.

• Gu Minglou explained that he had expected the Imperial Pavilion Young Master to be stronger, but Chen Changan warned him against underestimating an opponent.
• Gu Minglou argued that the gap between their realms made Chen Changan no match for him, while Chen Changan questioned whether Gu Minglou’s assumptions were reliable.
• Gu Minglou accepted the fight and warned Chen Changan he would not go easy on him; Chen Changan said he had never experienced defeat.
• Chen Changan drew the Red Dust Sword and struck Gu Minglou with an ordinary-looking slash that forced Gu Minglou to unleash all his True Essence Power.
• Gu Minglou was sent flying backward, and the stunned crowd realized Chen Changan had defeated him with one strike.

Chen Changan defeated Gu Minglou in a spar and invited him to travel with the group, seeing potential in him as a trusted subordinate. As they reached Wind Moon City, Gu Minglou suggested visiting Wind Moon Tower to try its famous Wind Flower Wine.

• Chen Changan explained that he could kill an Emperor Dao Realm expert and had held back during their spar, leaving Gu Minglou humbled by the gap between them.
• Gu Minglou asked to travel with Chen Changan so he could challenge him again, and Chen Changan agreed.
• Chen Changan told Mu Yunyao he wanted to cultivate trustworthy people of his own because he could not fully rely on the Imperial Pavilion or the five Elders.
• Gu Minglou handled challengers along the road, sparing Chen Changan from fighting them.
• As the group approached Wind Moon City, Gu Minglou explained that Wind Moon Tower served rare Wind Flower Wine, and Chen Changan misunderstood it as a brothel before agreeing to visit.

Chen Changan and his companions entered Wind Moon City, where they learned about its powerful rulers and the challenge of reaching Wind Moon Tower’s ninth floor to taste Wind Flower Wine. After resting for the night, Chen Changan planned to explore the tower the next day.

• Mu Yunyao teased Chen Changan about brothels, and he denied enjoying them, blaming Xuan Wudao for taking him once.
• Wind Moon City’s guards recognized Chen Changan as the Imperial Pavilion Young Master and decided to report his arrival to the city lords.
• Gu Minglou explained that Feng Wuyou had filled the city with peach trees for Yue Zhirou, his junior sister, whom he loved.
• Gu Minglou said the two city lords were unfathomably powerful but avoided conflicts, and that reaching Wind Moon Tower’s ninth floor was necessary to taste Wind Flower Wine.
• Chen Changan agreed to stay at an inn for the night and resolved to find out what Wind Moon Tower was like the next day.

Chen Changan, Gu Minglou, and Mu Yunyao explored Wind Moon City at night and followed Hua Wulei to Flower Full Tower to learn about Wind Moon Tower. There they met Yue Zhirou, the city lord, who confirmed Chen Changan’s guess about her identity.

• Chen Changan and his companions left their inn to explore Wind Moon City and ask about Wind Moon Tower.
• Hua Wulei approached them, offered to take them somewhere they could learn more, and led them to Flower Full Tower.
• Hua Wulei brought the three guests to a private room on the tower’s third floor and directed them inside.
• Chen Changan recognized the woman behind the screen as Yue Zhirou, and she confirmed she was the City Lord of Wind Moon City.
• Chen Changan suspected their meeting had been deliberately arranged and asked Yue Zhirou if it was a coincidence.

Chen Changan and his companions learned how Wind Moon Tower’s literary, physical, and martial trials worked while sampling Peach Blossom Drunk at Yue Zhirou’s Flower Full Tower. Yue Zhirou revealed that Chen Changan’s father had been revered as the Sage of Literature, leaving Chen Changan burdened by scholars’ hopes for a revival of the literary world.

• Yue Zhirou welcomed Chen Changan, Gu Minglou, and Mu Yunyao, served them Peach Blossom Drunk, and explained that three cups were enough for most people.
• Chen Changan drank the rest of the bottle, while Gu Minglou and Mu Yunyao stopped at three cups.
• Yue Zhirou explained that Wind Moon Tower had three literary floors, two transitional floors testing willpower and the body, and three martial floors.
• Chen Changan claimed he was skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and Yue Zhirou said she hoped he would not shame his father’s name.
• Yue Zhirou revealed that Chen Changan’s father was the Sage of Literature and that scholars saw Chen Changan as their hope for reviving the literary world.
• Chen Changan wondered how poor the True Realm’s literary world had become.

Chen Changan learned that reaching Wind Moon Tower’s ninth floor might require him to revive the literary world, a task he doubted he could handle. When he entered the tower with Mu Yunyao and Gu Minglou, the first-floor crowd learned his identity as the Sage of Literature’s son and began pinning their hopes on him.

• Yue Zhirou told Chen Changan that reviving the literary world could make him its supreme sage, but Chen Changan said he would focus on reaching the ninth floor first.
• On their way back, Mu Yunyao asked whether Chen Changan could revive the literary world, and he admitted he lacked confidence; Gu Minglou worried that his limited studies would keep him from passing the first floor.
• The next morning, Chen Changan, Mu Yunyao, and Gu Minglou entered Wind Moon Tower, where hundreds of people were writing on the first floor.
• A man interrupted the writers to announce Chen Changan’s arrival and identify him as the Lord of the True Realm’s son, the Young Master of the Imperial Pavilion, and the Sage of Literature’s son.
• The crowd recognized Chen Changan and declared that the literary world’s revival was finally within reach.

Chen Changan entered the Wind Moon Tower’s first-floor calligraphy challenge and asked to team up with two others, accepting the increased difficulty. He finished writing three characters, and the three Palace Masters praised them, leaving the others eager to see their judgment.

• Chen Changan asked whether he could team up with two others, and the Palace Master sought permission from the city lord.
• The city lord allowed Chen Changan to form a team but made the challenge harder, requiring him to write three characters instead of one.
• Chen Changan took up a brush and wrote three characters while the onlookers praised his skill.
• The three Palace Masters examined Chen Changan’s calligraphy and called it excellent.

Chen Changan’s three-character calligraphy, “So damn good!”, dazzled the scholars, who praised it as a priceless work. He sold copies for True Essence Stones and left with Mu Yunyao and Gu Minglou, while the scholars believed he had been guiding and encouraging them.

• Chen Changan revealed that the three characters he had written were “So damn good!”, and the scholars praised his calligraphy.
• The Palace Masters and scholars argued over who could keep the characters, so Chen Changan offered to sell calligraphy for True Essence Stones.
• The crowd bid eagerly, while Mu Yunyao tracked the offers, Gu Minglou collected the money, and Chen Changan wrote the characters.
• Chen Changan, Mu Yunyao, and Gu Minglou left after he encouraged the crowd to keep working toward passing the first level.
• The scholars praised Chen Changan as a true sage, convinced he had sold his calligraphy to pass down the literary tradition.