Chapter Summaries

Li Mo perfected the Impermanence Script and advanced his Nine Swords of Dugu, then discovered that sword practice could also strengthen his hammer technique. The next morning, Ying Bing used Hammer Treasure as a place to rest her foot, leaving Li Mo startled.

• Li Mo spent hundreds of years of martial arts insight perfecting the Impermanence Script and Sever Injustice, then nurtured his first sword intent through the Sword of Chivalry.
• Li Mo comprehended every chivalric sword charm and came close to perfecting Nine Swords of Dugu, though he remained unable to grasp the final step.
• Li Mo trained Jiang Chulong against the White Dragon Projection, helping her defeat it and advance her Dragon-Slaying Sword Art.
• Li Mo fought the Great Sage Projection with a sword and hammer, briefly used a hammer to perform a sword technique, and wondered if it revealed a path toward having a sword in his heart.
• Li Mo woke beside Ying Bing and watched her sleep until she kicked Hammer Treasure and rested her foot on it.

Li Mo and Ying Bing’s bloody morning mishap led Zhong Ling and Shang Qinqing to assume they had consummated their relationship, while Li Mo accompanied Zhong Zhenyue to the imperial city. On the way, talk of marriage stirred Li Mo’s thoughts about making Ying Bing his wife.

• Zhong Ling and Shang Qinqing invited Li Mo and Ying Bing to visit Zhong Zhenyue, and Li Mo blamed his nosebleed on a sparring accident.
• Ying Bing woke and noticed blood on her nightgown, while Shang Qinqing and Zhong Ling took it as evidence of an intimate night.
• Li Mo traveled with Zhong Ling and Zhong Zhenyue to the imperial city, planning to look for investment opportunities and save his martial insight for the sword path.
• Zhong Zhenyue urged Li Mo to marry Ying Bing, and Li Mo imagined her in bridal robes before privately chastising himself for his thoughts.

Li Mo met Zhong Qin at the impoverished Southern Pacification Prince Mansion, where Zhong Qin offered to teach him military strategy but refused his investment. Meanwhile, Ying Bing read a romantic illustrated booklet that reminded her of Li Mo, then waited for him to return as he left the mansion with an idea for trading Southern Border goods.

• Zhong Zhenyue explained that the mansion was poor, and Li Mo considered investing in Zhong Qin before meeting him.
• Zhong Qin welcomed Li Mo and offered to teach him the art of commanding armies, but warned that funding him would do Li Mo no good.
• Ying Bing read The Overbearing Empress Falls in Love With Me and became absorbed in its wedding plot.
• Shang Qinqing teased Ying Bing about the booklet's story being based on someone they both knew, while Ying Bing denied reading it and wondered why Li Mo had not returned.
• Li Mo declined Zhong Qin's dinner invitation and suggested that Southern Border specialties could be traded in Great Yu.

Qin Yuzhi learned from Shang Qinqing why the God Summoning Cult’s elders had refused to wake her: they feared she would reveal their embarrassing secrets. Li Mo returned to Cloud-Stepping Tower and found Ying Bing waiting alone beneath a lamp.

• Qin Yuzhi discovered that Li Mo had gone to the Southern Pacification Prince Mansion and complained that he had not come back to cook.
• Shang Qinqing recognized Qin Yuzhi as the missing Cult Leader of the God Summoning Cult and explained that the elders had feared waking her because she knew their secrets.
• Qin Yuzhi learned that the secrets included hidden treasure, affairs, and private habits, and she felt aggrieved that the elders had kept her asleep.
• Qin Yuzhi and Shang Qinqing left together, while Ying Bing stayed behind, wondering whether to contact Li Mo through Sharing the Moon.
• Li Mo returned by Somersault Cloud, found Ying Bing absent from her room, and then saw her sitting alone beneath a lamp in the main hall.

Li Mo and Ying Bing reunited at Cloud-Stepping Tower, then spent the remaining rest days preparing for the second round of the Hidden Dragon Assembly. On the morning of the competition, rumors about Ying Bing being pregnant with Li Mo’s child spread among the gathered prodigies, leaving Li Mo the target of their hostility.

• Li Mo found Ying Bing waiting in the hall and learned she had been talking with Sister Qin and Clan Leader Shang about a gentleman who liked feet.
• Li Mo brought Ying Bing a late-night snack and rubbed her feet, stretching their agreement as his hands wandered higher.
• Li Mo gave Old Xiao treasures to help restore his Will Souls, taught Murong Xiao more of the King of Brawling, and gave Huang Donglai money to prepare for the next round.
• Li Mo and the other Hidden Dragon prodigies gathered at the Meridian Gate, where Zhong Zhenyue remarked that the place once displayed criminals’ names before executions.
• Ning Que and others spread rumors that Ying Bing was pregnant with Li Mo’s child, and Ying Bing gave a stern look to a young master who threatened to fight him.

Li Mo treated a wounded rabbit, then forced the Eighth Prince to repay his gambling debt with the deed to Wind and Moon Cottage. The Hidden Dragon Assembly matchups were announced, leaving Jiang Chulong on course to face Jiang Yu if she defeated Murong Xiao.

• Jiang Chulong found a wounded rabbit, and Li Mo treated it with valuable medicine.
• The Eighth Prince claimed the rabbit as his hunting reward, and Li Mo demanded the sixteen mountains of gold and four thousand Profound Crystals he had won.
• The Eighth Prince handed over the deed to Wind and Moon Cottage, which Xie Xuan and Zhong Zhenyue seized for Li Mo.
• The Morning Bell announced that Huang Donglai would face Ning Que and Li Mo would face Zhong Zhenyue.
• The matchups showed Jiang Yu against Qu Songyun, meaning Jiang Chulong could face Jiang Yu if she defeated Murong Xiao.

Jiang Chulong faced Master Cang Ai in the tournament, and Li Mo devised a plan to keep her from confronting Jiang Yu before she could overcome her fear. Her sword strikes failed to pierce Murong Xiao’s defense, but the fight ended with Master Cang Ai suddenly growing horns.

• Li Mo saw that Jiang Chulong’s fear of Jiang Yu was darkening her Heavenly Mandate, and he urged her to fight rather than withdraw.
• Li Mo told Murong Xiao to use his unbreakable defense to prevent Jiang Chulong from reaching Jiang Yu, and they prepared a plan together.
• Zhong Zhenyue forfeited to Li Mo, while Jiang Yu defeated Qu Songyun after she survived his first move.
• Jiang Chulong attacked Murong Xiao, but her Green Leaf Sword could not damage his Immovable Wisdom King Body.
• After hearing that Wind and Moon Cottage was a brothel, Murong Xiao shook, and the judges noticed horns growing on Master Cang Ai’s head.

Jiang Chulong broke Murong Xiao’s golden body with the Dragon-Slaying Sword Art, prompting Jiang Yu to denounce the technique before her next match. As Jiang Chulong faced Jiang Yu, Li Mo leaped into the arena and made a cryptic declaration that visibly shook Jiang Yu.

• Zen Master Fayuan and Divine Monk Huai Kong discussed the training of their young disciples and noticed demon aura coming from Huai Kong’s Buddha’s son, Cang Ai.
• Jiang Chulong pierced Murong Xiao’s shoulder after his demon aura disrupted his golden body, winning the match with her Dragon-Slaying Sword Art.
• The princes and princesses recognized the threat the sword art posed to Jiang Yu’s True Dragon Body, and Jiang Yu vowed to prove the technique useless.
• Li Mo urged Jiang Chulong to forfeit her next match, but she said she could not always rely on his protection and went to face Jiang Yu.
• Li Mo jumped onto the arena and declared, “Twin pupils were already the path of invincibility—why borrow another’s bones!” Jiang Yu trembled as his Divine Intent rippled.

Jiang Chulong fought Jiang Yu despite the Emperor Sword Bone suppressing her swordsmanship, and the Green Leaf Sword was shattered. She awakened a broken sword power that cut Jiang Yu, while Li Mo received notifications that her Sword Bone had been reborn and her Dragon-Slaying Sword Art had reached perfection.

• Li Mo encouraged Jiang Chulong to trust her own path, and she wrapped her eyes and faced Jiang Yu.
• Jiang Chulong attacked with the Green Leaf Sword, but Jiang Yu stopped her strike and made the sword turn against her.
• Xie Xuan and Ying Bing explained that Jiang Yu had stolen Jiang Chulong’s Sword Bone, while Li Mo watched helplessly.
• Jiang Yu repeatedly struck Jiang Chulong with the Venerable Dragon Sword, and she stubbornly picked up the bloodied Green Leaf Sword.
• Jiang Yu shattered the Green Leaf Sword, but its fragments became a sharp broken-sword attack that cut his cheek as he grabbed Jiang Chulong.
• Li Mo received notifications that Jiang Chulong’s Sword Bone had been reborn and her Dragon-Slaying Sword Art had reached perfection.

Jiang Yu’s attempt to take Jiang Chulong’s Emperor Sword Bone was disrupted when it erupted and broke his Venerable Dragon Sword, but the imperial representative forced it back into Jiang Yu and declared him the winner. Jiang Chulong returned to Li Mo and Ying Bing, while Ning Que defeated Huang Donglai and prepared to face Li Mo.

• Jiang Yu recalled how despair over his father’s decline and his own defeat drove him to use Jiang Chulong as a means to rise, then tried to cut open her chest and seize her Sword Bone.
• The Emperor Sword Bone burst from Jiang Yu’s chest, broke his Venerable Dragon Sword, and overwhelmed his Divine Intent as he grabbed it.
• Ying Bing said the Emperor Sword Bone wanted to return to Chulong, and Li Mo called her back from the arena.
• A black-robed imperial representative struck the Sword Bone back into Jiang Yu and declared Jiang Yu the winner after Jiang Chulong fell from the arena.
• Jiang Yu accepted Princess Yuyang’s medicine and considered that the Sword Bone’s resistance had weakened, while Ning Que knocked Huang Donglai off the stage.

Li Mo faced Ning Que in the arena, where Huang Donglai’s Face-Disfiguring Powder left Ning Que swollen and furious. Ning Que summoned the Clear Sea Lingering Echoes Zither and clashed with Li Mo’s Heavenly Human Divine Sword, breaking a zither string before claiming Li Mo could not defeat him as things stood.

• Ning Que asked Li Mo to agree to a fair duel without foul language or underhanded tricks, and Li Mo accepted.
• Huang Donglai’s Face-Disfiguring Powder caused Ning Que’s mouth and hands to swell, making him unable to play his jade flute properly.
• Ning Que angrily threw down his jade flute and summoned the Clear Sea Lingering Echoes Zither, filling the arena with surging sound currents.
• Li Mo used the Heavenly Human Divine Sword and the Nine Swords of Dugu to cut through Ning Que’s zither barriers and reach the instrument.
• Li Mo’s sword snapped one of the zither’s strings, and Ning Que warned that Li Mo would not defeat him with that level of swordsmanship.

Ning Que trapped Li Mo in the Clear Sea Remaining Melody’s High Mountains and Flowing Water formation, leaving him unable to use most of his strength. Li Mo used the Jade Feather Whistle to disrupt the music, and Ning Que recognized its tune as a gift from Ying Bing.

• Ning Que played High Mountains and Flowing Water, creating an Inner Scene that battered Li Mo with turbulent musical currents.
• Ning Jue explained that the formation could be broken with overwhelming force or by finding a kindred spirit, while Ying Bing hinted there was another way.
• Li Mo realized he needed to harmonize with Ning Que’s music but had no instrument, then heard the Jade Feather Whistle on his wrist strike his sword hilt.
• Li Mo blew the Jade Feather Whistle, and its cheerful, unfamiliar tune made Ning Que’s qin music falter.
• Ning Que recognized the whistle tune as one used by the Green Phoenix Clan and assumed Ying Bing had given it to him.

Li Mo used the Jade Feather Whistle to understand Ning Que’s zither music and defeat him, while the crowd realized the whistle was a Green Phoenix instrument. After the match, Li Mo’s cheerful tune left the Green Phoenix Clan Chief dancing, and he received an investment return for helping Ning Que gain musical insight.

• Li Mo harmonized the Jade Feather Whistle with Ning Que’s zither music and used the Nine Swords of Dugu to break through its attacks.
• Penglai disciples explained that the whistle was a Green Phoenix instrument, and the crowd wondered how Li Mo had obtained it.
• Ying Bing faced Tian Miao, who admitted she had little chance of winning and asked Ying Bing to keep looking away.
• Ning Que unleashed his Ninefold Ensemble of Winding Waters and Floating Cups, but Li Mo struck its central pivot and stopped his sword before Ning Que’s brow.
• Li Mo reassured Ning Que that his music had made people happy, then pointed out that the dancing woman was the Green Phoenix Clan Chief.
• The system congratulated Li Mo for investing in Ning Que and awarded him an investment return to collect.

Ying Bing defeated Tian Miao after revealing that her sword could strike into the future, then encouraged Li Mo before his match against Jiang Yu. Li Mo entered the arena fired up, while Jiang Yu claimed his Sword Bone had grown stronger and that Li Mo had lost his only chance to win.

• Ying Bing's strike cut into the future, and Tian Miao realized Ying Bing had deliberately left her a path to survive before conceding.
• Spectators struggled to explain Ying Bing's victory, while Xie Yiding avoided describing the profundity of her Divine Intent.
• The purple-clad eunuch announced the upcoming match between Li Mo and Jiang Yu, with Ying Bing set to face the winner.
• Ying Bing whispered to Li Mo, who sprang up with renewed fighting spirit and climbed onto the arena carrying the Heavenly Human Divine Sword.
• Jiang Yu said Li Mo's words had triggered an abnormal reaction in his Sword Bone during his previous fight, strengthening his control, but Li Mo welcomed the challenge.

Li Mo fought Jiang Yu at the Hidden Dragon Assembly, but Eunuch Gan intervened to stop Li Mo’s heavenly tribulation and tip the contest toward Jiang Yu. Ying Bing then helped Li Mo see the sword resonances she perceived, leaving him with a new way to continue the fight.

• Li Mo and Jiang Yu clashed swords, with Jiang Yu’s Imperial Shangfang Sword Technique forcing Li Mo to use his hammer to counter it.
• Jiang Yu summoned the Eight Desolations Six Directions Seal and Great Yu’s dynastic luck, making Li Mo feel powerless beneath its authority.
• Li Mo used the Heaven-Slaying Hammer to build a heavenly tribulation and unleashed Divine Firmament Demon-Scouring, briefly shaking the seal.
• Eunuch Gan froze the thunder and stopped the attack, prompting Li Mo’s allies to protest the interference while Ying Bing silently prepared her Taiyin Divine Intent.
• Ying Bing told Li Mo to focus, and he began seeing the sword resonances she saw when she held a sword.

Li Mo resonated with the Heavenly Human Divine Sword, experienced its history, and refined his Will Soul as he mastered it. He then sent the divine sword and the other swords in the arena into the sky, revealing a technique that alarmed Jiang Yu.

• Li Mo experienced the Heavenly Human Divine Sword’s past as it passed through many wielders and was repeatedly reforged by Master Du.
• The sword’s impurities vanished, Li Mo’s Heaven-Equalizing Battle Intent advanced, and the sword hovered under his control as his Sword Pellet merged with it.
• The judges and spectators reacted to Li Mo’s control of the divine sword, while Ying Bing quietly withdrew her Taiyin Divine Intent.
• Li Mo sent the Heavenly Human Divine Sword into the sky, and swords throughout the arena flew from their owners toward the heavens.
• Jiang Yu strengthened the Eight Directions and Six Harmonies Seal, but Li Mo declared he was not using swordsmanship as the swords filled the sky.

Li Mo defeated Jiang Yu at the Hidden Dragon Assembly after the Heavenly Human Divine Sword summoned swords from across the Imperial Capital. Jiang Yu collapsed, while Emperor Jingtai watched Li Mo with renewed interest.

• Jiang Yu attacked with the Eight Desolations Six Directions Seal and the Venerable Dragon Sword, but Li Mo blocked his strikes with Diamond Indestructible and his own strength.
• Murong Xiao offered his broken sword to help Li Mo, while Xie Xuan struggled to keep his patriarch’s wooden sword from joining the fight.
• A sword stored at the Southern Pacification Prince Mansion broke free, and Zhong Qin watched it fly toward the arena.
• The Heavenly Human Divine Sword led a river of swords against Jiang Yu’s seal, breaking its aura and forcing it to fall.
• Li Mo confronted Jiang Yu, who admitted defeat and collapsed; Emperor Jingtai watched, and Tian Miao recorded Li Mo’s achievement.

Li Mo defeated Crown Prince Jiang Yu and took the top spot on the Hidden Dragon Ranking, drawing a chaotic reaction from the court and the crowd. He reunited with Ying Bing, but when he suggested forfeiting their coming match, she insisted they had to fight.

• Emperor Jingtai praised Li Mo's victory, and his ministers quickly changed from criticizing Li Mo to praising the Hidden Dragon Assembly and the emperor.
• The crowd erupted as Li Mo left the arena, while spectators remembered that he still had a match against Ying Bing.
• Li Mo told Ying Bing he felt less excited than he had expected, and she reflected on how far he had come.
• Li Mo proposed that they go through the motions and let him step down so they could return early.
• After Li Mo explained that he wanted to find out which of Ying Bing's outfits felt better to wear, Ying Bing pinched his waist and insisted they had to fight.

Li Mo and Ying Bing faced off in the Hidden Dragon Assembly, but Ying Bing used their duel to help him consolidate his realm. Li Mo fell out of the arena, and Ying Bing declared herself the loser, leaving the crowd unsure who had actually won.

• Wu Chushu found the arena empty while Xie Xuan urged him to hurry up and fight.
• Shang Qinqing persuaded the crowd that championship fans, Ice fans, and couple shippers all had the same interests.
• Ying Bing used the clash of their swords to help Li Mo nurture his Will Soul while he struggled through his depleted condition.
• Li Mo fell backward toward the edge of the arena, intending to lose the match to Ying Bing.
• Ying Bing caught Li Mo, stepped down first, and declared that she had lost, confusing Li Mo and the audience.
• Shang Qinqing laughed triumphantly as the crowd reacted to the pair's ambiguous result.

The Demon Summoning Cult’s Imperial Capital branch discussed its failing instant noodle business and the Hidden Dragon Assembly, then learned that Li Mo had defeated Jiang Yu with a sword technique that baffled its leaders. The Blood God warned that Heavenly Human City would appear when the Hidden Dragon passed through the Dragon Gate and seemed to intend to descend personally.

• The Blood Refinement Hall Master reported counterfeit instant noodles, financial losses, and progress infiltrating the Hidden Dragon Assembly through Qu Songyun’s identity.
• A cult member announced that Jiang Yu had lost, then showed the branch footage of Li Mo defeating him with a display of ten thousand swords.
• The Blood Refinement Hall Master and the Yin-Yang Hall Master met Qu Songyun to ask about Li Mo’s strange sword technique.
• The Blood God spoke directly to the group and told them to prepare for Heavenly Human City, implying he might descend in person.