Chapter Summaries

Song Qingshu investigated Xiao Banhe’s secretive courtyard and was attacked by a group of skilled martial artists. After narrowly dodging a sword strike and counterattacking, he realized his masked opponent was a woman.

• Song Qingshu told Zhou Zhiruo and Zhu Meichuo that he would win the gathering, then left to investigate Xiao Banhe’s residence.
• Song Qingshu learned that Shui Jian had taken Shui Sheng and Shui Dai’s coffin to Jiangnan for burial.
• Song Qingshu heard servants mention that Jin Yang the Great Hero barred everyone from his courtyard and found Xiao Banhe’s unlit, silent residence.
• Song Qingshu overheard four martial artists discussing King Xiao and wondered if they were plotting against Xiao Feng.
• One of the martial artists detected Song Qingshu, and the group surrounded him as he evaded a lethal sword thrust and struck back.
• Song Qingshu retreated and recognized that the black-clad, masked opponent he had hit was a woman.

Song Qingshu discovered Xiao Banhe and Yelü Nanxian during a secret nighttime meeting, but Xiao let him leave and hinted they would become allies. Afterward, Su Quan agreed to return with Xiao Banhe and compete to become empress, a position he believed would let her approach Song Qingshu.

• Song Qingshu recognized the masked woman as Yelü Nanxian after accidentally touching her chest, while she struggled with her anger and inability to defeat him.
• Xiao Banhe revealed his face and let Song Qingshu leave, saying they had never truly been enemies and that Song would understand in the future.
• Song Qingshu teased Yelü Nanxian as he departed, and Xiao Banhe sent her and Yelü Qi away to avoid exposing their secret.
• Xiao Banhe met Su Quan, who agreed to return with him and compete to become empress.
• Xiao Banhe argued that becoming empress would give Su Quan the status to approach Song Qingshu despite her place in his future harem.

Ouyang Feng attacked Linghu Chong and Ren Yingying, exploiting the Star-Sucking Technique’s weakness to badly injure Linghu Chong. Song Qingshu rescued Ren Yingying from Ouyang Feng, but Linghu Chong thanked him without knowing why she resented him.

• Ren Yingying identified herself as the Saint Maiden of the Sun Moon Holy Cult, but Ouyang Feng dismissed the cult and attacked Linghu Chong.
• Linghu Chong used the Star-Sucking Technique against Ouyang Feng, who countered by flooding Linghu Chong’s meridians with his inner power and leaving him gravely injured.
• Linghu Chong and Ren Yingying each insisted that the other should escape, while Ouyang Feng mocked their strained relationship.
• Ren Yingying fought Ouyang Feng, but he disarmed her and tried to seal her acupoints.
• Song Qingshu pulled Ren Yingying to safety with the Dragon Capturing Hand and Crane Controlling Skill, and she angrily told him not to touch her.
• Linghu Chong thanked Song Qingshu for saving Ren Yingying, unaware of why she resented him.

Song Qingshu used Ren Yingying’s secret with him to coerce a kiss in exchange for helping Linghu Chong against Ouyang Feng. He joined the fight and drove Ouyang Feng back while Ren Yingying helped Linghu Chong escape the clash’s dangerous shockwaves.

• Ouyang Feng attacked Linghu Chong after Linghu denied being Song Qingshu’s friend, and Ren Yingying tried to intervene.
• Song Qingshu stopped Ren Yingying and demanded a kiss as hush money for keeping their past secret, promising to save Linghu Chong.
• Ren Yingying kissed Song Qingshu, who then rushed to Linghu Chong’s aid and fought Ouyang Feng.
• Song Qingshu and Ouyang Feng exchanged dozens of powerful blows, while Ren Yingying led Linghu Chong away from the fight.
• Linghu Chong praised Song Qingshu’s martial arts, and Ren Yingying objected when Linghu Chong spoke favorably of her father’s Star-Sucking Skill.

Ren Yingying left with Linghu Chong while Song Qingshu stayed behind with Ouyang Feng, who explained his plans for the Golden Snake Assembly and revealed the favor he wanted. The chapter ended with Ouyang Feng showing Song Qingshu the immobilized Huang Rong in a hidden cave.

• Ren Yingying persuaded Linghu Chong to leave, then admitted she had lied about Song Qingshu taking liberties with her.
• Song Qingshu promised Ouyang Feng he would repay his favor, and Ouyang Feng teased him about his relationships with women.
• Ouyang Feng said he had targeted Linghu Chong because he planned to compete in the Golden Snake Assembly against Yang Guo.
• Song Qingshu worried Ouyang Feng wanted him to help kill A Qing, but Ouyang Feng said he had no intention of making such a dangerous move.
• Ouyang Feng led Song Qingshu to a hidden cave and showed him Huang Rong, who lay immobilized with her acupoints sealed.

Ouyang Feng revealed that he had captured Huang Rong and tried to persuade Song Qingshu to assault her, offering several ways to keep her silent. Song Qingshu agreed to use Soul Transfer on Huang Rong, leaving her terrified of losing her memories and freedom.

• Ouyang Feng told Song Qingshu that he had captured Huang Rong to avenge Ke'er and asked him to help deal with her.
• Ouyang Feng urged Song Qingshu to violate Huang Rong, while Song Qingshu rejected his suggestions to kill her or make her dependent on him through sex.
• Ouyang Feng proposed that Song Qingshu use Soul Transfer to erase Huang Rong's memories and leave a restriction that would make her obey him.
• Song Qingshu agreed to Ouyang Feng's plan, and Huang Rong feared she would become unaware of her own enslavement.

Song Qingshu and Huang Rong secretly worked together to deceive Ouyang Feng while he forced Song to assault her. The chapter ended with Song lying on top of Huang Rong as Ouyang Feng entered and believed they were complying.

• Ouyang Feng suspected Song Qingshu would deceive him, then guarded the cave while Song approached the immobilized Huang Rong.
• Huang Rong tried to persuade Song to release her, but Ouyang Feng threatened to find a peasant to take his place.
• Huang Rong used memories of their first meeting and a feigned confession of affection to distract Song and win his cooperation.
• Song secretly told Huang Rong to play along by tracing a message on her body, but explained he could not undo Ouyang Feng's acupoint-sealing technique.
• As Ouyang Feng approached, Huang Rong told Song to get on top of her, and Ouyang Feng entered to find them in that position.

Song Qingshu tried to keep Ouyang Feng from realizing that Huang Rong was only pretending to be intimate with him. Huang Rong reluctantly agreed to let Song Qingshu use other methods to make her performance convincing, and he reached for her collar as the chapter ended.

• Song Qingshu kept Huang Rong beneath him while Ouyang Feng waited outside the cave and urged him to hurry.
• Huang Rong tried to buy time by pretending to moan, but Ouyang Feng recognized that her performance sounded false.
• Song Qingshu proposed using Soul Transfer to make Huang Rong recall intimate moments with Guo Jing, but she refused.
• Song Qingshu offered to arouse Huang Rong without truly violating her, and she hesitantly agreed to let him touch only peripheral areas.
• Song Qingshu reached toward Huang Rong's collar as she closed her eyes.

Song Qingshu tried to protect Huang Rong from Ouyang Feng’s scheme after the martial-world factions gathered outside the cave. When the heroes accused him of assaulting her, he faced their attack and fought Xiao Feng to a standstill, leaving the crowd stunned.

• Ouyang Feng drew Shaolin, Wudang, Quanzhen, and other martial-world representatives to the cave to make them believe Song Qingshu had violated Huang Rong.
• Guo Fu recognized Huang Rong’s voice and shouted that Song Qingshu should release her, while Huang Rong realized Ouyang Feng had set them up.
• Song Qingshu left the cave and claimed Huang Rong was not inside, but refused to let the crowd search it.
• Xuan Cheng attacked Song Qingshu, Qiu Chuji joined in, and Guo Fu and Da Xiaowu rushed forward before Xiao Feng stopped them.
• Song Qingshu deflected Xuan Cheng’s staff into Qiu Chuji, who was struck and thrown aside, then exchanged more than a dozen dangerous moves with Xiao Feng.
• Song Qingshu held his ground at the cave entrance, and the gathered heroes fell silent at his display of strength.

Song Qingshu prevented the heroes from entering the cave by arranging an inspection by Guo Fu, Xia Qingqing, and Zhao Min, who all recognized Huang Rong but concealed her identity. Zhao Min then revealed to the gathered crowd that the woman inside was Huang Rong, leaving Song Qingshu’s deception exposed.

• Zhang Songxi and Yin Liting intervened to calm the heroes and urged Song Qingshu to allow an inspection of the cave.
• Song Qingshu agreed to let three women enter, and Guo Fu, Xia Qingqing, and Zhao Min were selected.
• Song Qingshu used Soul Transfer on Guo Fu, who failed to recognize Huang Rong and reported that her mother was not inside.
• Xia Qingqing recognized Huang Rong but told the crowd that the woman was Song Qingshu’s unnamed confidante.
• Zhao Min agreed to keep Huang Rong’s identity secret in exchange for Song Qingshu accompanying her to Blackwood Cliff.
• After Xiao Feng asked what she had seen, Zhao Min told the crowd that the woman inside was Huang Rong.

Zhao Min accused the woman in the cave of being Huang Rong, but Song Qingshu challenged the claim as a plot against Guo Jing and Xiangyang. Zhu Meichuo emerged instead and revealed her private relationship with Song, turning the gathered heroes against whoever had lured them there; Zhao Min tried to slip away as Song confronted her.

• Zhao Min claimed the woman inside was Huang Rong, while Xia Qingqing confirmed she had nominated Song Qingshu but insisted the woman was not Huang Rong.
• Song Qingshu argued that slandering Huang Rong would undermine Guo Jing and aid the Mongols, but Zhao Min defended herself by pointing to rivalries among the Mongol princes.
• Xuan Cheng and Qiu Chuji pressed Song Qingshu to bring the woman out, and Qiu Chuji was angered into vomiting blood after Song accused him of serving the Mongols.
• Zhu Meichuo emerged from the cave, identified herself as Princess Changping, and said she and Song Qingshu had privately pledged themselves to each other.
• Song Qingshu connected the heroes' notes summoning them to a deliberate scheme against Huang Rong, and the angry crowd demanded to know who was responsible.
• Zhao Min attempted to leave quietly, but Song Qingshu confronted her and asked her to explain herself.

Song Qingshu escaped the heroes’ accusations after Ajiu exposed Zhao Min’s scheme and explained how she had rescued Huang Rong. After learning Zhao Min had caused his ordeal, Song Qingshu left to take revenge on her.

• The gathered heroes blamed Zhao Min, and she fled under the protection of Hundred Damage Daoist and the Sect Master of Vajra Gate.
• Song Qingshu carried Ajiu away and explained that he had only pretended to assault Huang Rong to deceive Ouyang Feng.
• Ajiu revealed that her men had dug a tunnel into the cave, letting Huang Rong escape while Ajiu took her place.
• Ajiu asked about Song Qingshu’s closeness to Zhao Min, and Song Qingshu decided to pursue Zhao Min for revenge.

Song Qingshu caught up with Zhao Min and demanded to know why she had helped ruin his reputation. Zhao Min admitted she had wanted to force him into Prince Ruyang's Mansion, and Song Qingshu let her leave while misreading her feelings.

• Zhao Min sent her experts away as decoys and walked alone, but Song Qingshu found and confronted her.
• Zhao Min teased Song Qingshu about Huang Rong, then confessed she had first planned to protect him but changed her mind after seeing them together.
• Song Qingshu rejected Zhao Min's claim that jealousy had driven her and pressed her for the real reason.
• Zhao Min said she had tried to recruit Song Qingshu into Prince Ruyang's Mansion and used Huang Rong to destroy his standing in the Central Plains Martial Arts World.
• Song Qingshu felt betrayed and ordered Zhao Min to leave, while Zhao Min privately recognized that he had mistaken her truth for a lie.

Song Qingshu returned to find Zhou Zhiruo, Xia Qingqing, and Zhu Meichuo waiting to confront him about Zhao Min and the scandal involving Huang Rong. After Xia Qingqing proposed a way to test his story, Zhou Zhiruo suddenly sealed the other women’s acupoints and drew a sharp nail across Song Qingshu’s neck.

• Song Qingshu admitted he had not found Zhao Min, and the women accused him of sparing her and questioned him about Huang Rong.
• Song Qingshu insisted that Ouyang Feng had framed him and claimed he had only used true qi to deceive Ouyang Feng, but the women doubted his explanation.
• Xia Qingqing proposed a test and asked Song Qingshu to let them seal his acupoints; he agreed without resistance.
• After Xia Qingqing sealed Song Qingshu’s acupoints, Zhou Zhiruo unexpectedly sealed Xia Qingqing’s and Zhu Meichuo’s acupoints.
• Zhou Zhiruo stroked Song Qingshu’s cheek and cut his neck with her nail.

Zhou Zhiruo pretended to seek revenge on Song Qingshu, but he saw through her act and they reconciled. She confessed that she still loved him, though she suspected he was not the real Qingshu, and the chapter ended with them together in the cave.

• Zhou Zhiruo claimed she had used her beauty to deceive Song Qingshu and took him to a cave, threatening to kill him.
• Song Qingshu pointed out that Zhou Zhiruo had shown concern for him and left herself vulnerable to his Soul Transfer technique.
• Zhou Zhiruo dropped her act and admitted she had been pretending to seek revenge.
• Song Qingshu said her body had revealed her feelings, and Zhou Zhiruo admitted she thought she loved him despite believing he was not the real Qingshu.
• Song Qingshu broke his own acupoints, embraced Zhou Zhiruo, and insisted that he was the real Qingshu.
• Zhou Zhiruo let Song Qingshu undress her as they remained together in the cave.

Zhou Zhiruo made peace with Xia Qingqing and Zhu Meichuo after her private encounter with Song Qingshu, who then headed to the martial arts arena amid rumors about his strength. There, Song Qingshu traded suggestive barbs with Huang Rong before she hurried off to prepare for the coming match.

• Zhou Zhiruo apologized to Xia Qingqing and Zhu Meichuo, who teased her about taking Song Qingshu away, and Song Qingshu left them to sort things out.
• The next day, Song Qingshu found the three women reconciled and headed toward the arena as martial artists debated his chances against Jin Yang the Great Hero.
• Song Qingshu saw Huang Rong and asked after her well-being, while she hinted that she had already dealt with the shameless scoundrel who endangered her.
• Song Qingshu made suggestive remarks about helping Huang Rong, and she deflected him by saying she would ask her husband instead.
• Guo Fu scolded Song Qingshu for speaking to her mother that way, and Huang Rong stopped her before hurrying away to prepare for the match.

Song Qingshu’s second-round match ended when Xiao Banhe conceded, and Linghu Chong’s injury gave Yang Guo a walkover. Yang Miaozhen then gained the apparent upper hand against Shi Potian, though Song Qingshu suspected Shi Potian was holding his ground with a defensive strategy.

• Song Qingshu faced Xiao Banhe, who conceded and said he had lost to Song Qingshu several times before.
• Linghu Chong forfeited his match because he was seriously injured, advancing Yang Guo and fueling the crowd’s suspicions about the organizers.
• Yang Miaozhen and Shi Potian began their match, with Shi Potian wielding a short saber.
• Yang Miaozhen pressed Shi Potian with her Pear Blossom Spear, surrounding him with a whirl of attacks.
• Song Qingshu recognized that Shi Potian was defending a small area rather than competing in technique, despite Yang Miaozhen’s apparent advantage.

Yang Miaozhen defeated Shi Potian by targeting his wrist with her spear techniques, and the third-round match between A Qing and Xu Zhu began. The chapter ended with A Qing launching a sword-qi attack at Xu Zhu.

• Yang Miaozhen removed her spearhead and used feints to strike Shi Potian’s wrist while avoiding his saber.
• Yang Miaozhen struck Shi Potian’s wrist until he dropped his saber and admitted defeat.
• Huang Rong praised Yang Miaozhen for removing the spearhead to protect Shi Potian’s wrist tendons.
• Huang Rong announced the final third-round match between A Qing and Xu Zhu.
• A Qing warned Xu Zhu not to cry if her attacks hurt, then sent sword qi toward him.

Xu Zhu faced A Qing in the arena, using North Profound True Qi to absorb her Innate Sword Qi and a Shaolin hand saber to break her Green Bamboo Stick. The two fighters ended the chapter wary of each other and standing several dozen feet apart.

• A Qing attacked Xu Zhu with sword qi, but he absorbed it with an unseen barrier of true qi.
• Xu Zhu closed in to force close combat, and his Burning Wood Saber Technique, powered by North Profound True Qi, cut A Qing's Green Bamboo Stick in half.
• A Qing met Xu Zhu's next hand saber strike with sword qi, and both fighters were forced apart.
• Xu Zhu and A Qing faced each other from several dozen feet away, each cautious of the other.

A Qing defeated Xu Zhu in the Golden Snake Assembly after Song Qingshu warned her about Xu Zhu’s Life and Death Talismans. The heroes expected her to win the title, while Yang Miaozhen noticed Song Qingshu remained strangely relaxed.

• Song Qingshu recognized Xu Zhu’s North Darkness Divine Skill and worried that he might use the Life and Death Talisman against A Qing.
• Xuan Cheng sent Xu Zhu liquor, which Xu Zhu froze and shattered into a storm of hidden ice shards aimed at A Qing.
• Song Qingshu warned A Qing to watch out for hidden weapons, and she used her sword qi to destroy the ice shards.
• A Qing’s sword qi restrained Xu Zhu and the heroes below the arena, and Xu Zhu conceded defeat.
• Yang Miaozhen, Yang Guo, and Song Qingshu remained among the final four, and Yang Miaozhen noticed Song Qingshu’s relaxed smile.