Chapter Summaries

Song Qingshu helped A'zi bluff Xuan Cheng and Fangzheng into believing she understood Sanskrit, preventing Xuan Cheng from taking You Tanzhi’s book. The monks saw through the ruse, leaving Song Qingshu facing their angry accusation.

• Xuan Cheng challenged A'zi to translate a line from the Prajna Palm manual, and she fell silent when she could not answer.
• You Tanzhi attacked Xuan Cheng at A'zi’s order, but Xuan Cheng’s Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill repelled him and a follow-up strike sent him flying.
• Song Qingshu intervened when Xuan Cheng tried to seize You Tanzhi and claimed his book was not the Muscle-Tendon Transformation Classic.
• Song Qingshu recited a Sanskrit translation after A'zi whispered her plea for help, astonishing Xuan Cheng, Fangzheng, and the onlookers.
• Xuan Cheng and Fangzheng realized A'zi had not supplied the translation and angrily accused Song Qingshu of saying it himself.

Song Qingshu defended his claim to You Tanzhi’s manual by outarguing Shaolin’s monks about Buddhist doctrine, but Fangzheng still insisted Shaolin would take the temple treasure by force. With Ren Yingying gravely ill in his arms and three peak Shaolin experts ready to fight, Song Qingshu faced a dangerous standoff.

• Song Qingshu argued that the manual’s Sanskrit passage did not prove it was the Muscle-Tendon Classic, frustrating Xuan Cheng’s attempt to reclaim it from You Tanzhi.
• Fangzheng tried to persuade Song Qingshu to abandon the manual by warning him against greed, anger, and delusion, but Song Qingshu challenged Buddhist teachings about sinners becoming Buddhas after laying down their weapons.
• Xu Zhu turned Song Qingshu’s challenge back on him, but Song Qingshu answered that persuading a great demon to lay down his butcher’s knife was no easier than helping a good person endure eighty-one trials.
• Fangzheng acknowledged Song Qingshu’s arguments but declared that Shaolin would still fight to recover its treasured manual.
• Song Qingshu assessed the wounded allies and the three Shaolin experts, knowing he would struggle to protect Ren Yingying while suppressing her cold poison.

Song Qingshu faced Xu Zhu in a fight over Shaolin’s Yi Jin Jing and defended Ren Yingying from Xu Zhu’s powerful attacks. When Song Qingshu’s swordsmanship prompted Xuan Cheng to recognize him by name, his masked identity was exposed.

• Fangzheng and Xuan Cheng let Xu Zhu fight Song Qingshu so Shaolin could reclaim the Yi Jin Jing without risking the two senior monks’ reputations.
• Ren Yingying warned Song Qingshu that Xu Zhu’s martial arts might surpass Fangzheng’s, and Wuyunzhu also urged him to be careful.
• Xu Zhu attacked with the Flower Plucking Finger and Formless Tribulation Finger, but Song Qingshu avoided harm and destroyed the incoming leaf.
• Xu Zhu sent burning leaves at Song Qingshu and Ren Yingying with the Burning Wood Saber Technique, and Song Qingshu cut them all to ash with the Cheng Ying Sword.
• Xuan Cheng recognized Song Qingshu and called out his name.

Song Qingshu concealed his identity as the Golden Snake King while fighting Xu Zhu and protecting Ren Yingying. As Ren Yingying asked him to let her go, an unexpected Daoist voice offered to treat her cold poison.

• Xuan Cheng mistook Song Qingshu's swordsmanship for the Golden Snake King's, but Song Qingshu denied the connection and persuaded the crowd to doubt the guess.
• Zuo Lengchan insulted Ren Yingying, and Song Qingshu attacked him before Xu Zhu intervened and challenged him.
• Song Qingshu and Xu Zhu fought more than a dozen dangerous exchanges while Song Qingshu struggled to suppress Ren Yingying's cold poison.
• Fangzheng offered to take Ren Yingying and treat her, but Song Qingshu accused him of plotting to make her a hostage.
• Ren Yingying asked Song Qingshu to let her go, and a Daoist in the distant woods offered to save her instead.

Zhang Sanfeng arrived in the clearing, astonishing the martial artists and examining Xuancheng and Xu Zhu. He recognized Ren Yingying as Song Qingshu’s future wife and offered to examine her cold poison, while Song Qingshu wondered why Zhang Sanfeng had come down the mountain.

• Fangzheng recognized the shabby Taoist as Zhang Sanfeng, and the gathered martial artists reacted in surprise.
• Zhang Sanfeng praised Xuancheng’s cultivation but was especially astonished by the young Xu Zhu’s martial arts.
• Ren Yingying greeted Zhang Sanfeng, who told her she should call him Grandmaster because Ren Woxing had announced her marriage to Song Qingshu.
• Zhang Sanfeng moved beside Ren Yingying and offered to take her pulse, alarming Xuancheng with his speed.
• Song Qingshu wondered why Zhang Sanfeng had left his decades-long seclusion to come down the mountain.

Zhang Sanfeng treated Ren Yingying’s cold poison while Song Qingshu prepared to fight Xu Zhu, and Ren Yingying’s words and behavior suggested she did not want to be tied to the Wudang Sect. Zhang Sanfeng asked the Shaolin masters to postpone the fight, but Xuan Cheng instead challenged him with a pointed request for guidance.

• A'zi assured Zhang Sanfeng that You Tanzhi had injured Ren Yingying by accident, and Ren Yingying confirmed it to protect Song Qingshu’s ally.
• Zhang Sanfeng recognized that someone had used true essence to keep Ren Yingying’s cold poison from reaching her vital organs, and Ren Yingying apologized to Song Qingshu for suspecting his motives.
• Ren Yingying asked Zhang Sanfeng to let Song Qingshu treat her, and Zhang Sanfeng returned her to Song Qingshu’s arms so he could suppress the poison.
• Xu Zhu urged Song Qingshu to resume their fight, but Zhang Sanfeng asked the Shaolin masters to let the matter rest while Song Qingshu treated Ren Yingying.
• Xuan Cheng interrupted Fangzheng and asked Zhang Sanfeng to advise him on the Shaolin Seventy-two Ultimate Skills, provoking Zhang Sanfeng’s suspicion that he was mocking his past.

Xuan Cheng, Fangzheng, and Xu Zhu agreed to test Zhang Sanfeng together, but Zhang Sanfeng insisted he could face them without help. Zhang Sanfeng easily deflected Xuan Cheng’s opening attack, and Fangzheng then stepped forward to challenge him.

• Zhang Sanfeng calmly proposed that Shaolin and Wudang exchange martial arts insights after Xuan Cheng mocked him.
• Xuan Cheng suggested that he, Fangzheng, and Xu Zhu face Zhang Sanfeng together, and the others agreed.
• Song Qingshu offered to assist Zhang Sanfeng, but Zhang Sanfeng declined and said the three monks would not easily defeat him.
• Xuan Cheng attacked Zhang Sanfeng with the Prajna Palm, but Zhang Sanfeng caught and redirected his wrist with a seemingly slow movement.
• Fangzheng announced that he would test Zhang Sanfeng with the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm.

Zhang Sanfeng defeated Fangzheng and Xu Zhu with ease, then judged that Shaolin should reclaim the Muscle-Tendon Transformation Scripture. Song Qingshu and A'zi secretly kept the real scripture and tricked Xuan Cheng into destroying a fake.

• Fangzheng attacked Zhang Sanfeng with the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm, but Zhang Sanfeng dispelled the palm shadows and sent him back to Shaolin's side.
• Xu Zhu tried to absorb Zhang Sanfeng's Internal Energy with the North Darkness Divine Skill, but failed and was knocked back.
• Zhang Sanfeng asked Xu Zhu about the Xiaoyao School, then told Song Qingshu that Shaolin's claim to the Muscle-Tendon Transformation Scripture was reasonable.
• Song Qingshu sent A'zi to retrieve the scripture from You Tanzhi, and A'zi secretly kept the real one while substituting another manual.
• Song Qingshu tossed the fake scripture to Xuan Cheng, and it exploded into dust in his hands.

Song Qingshu and Zhang Sanfeng drove off the Shaolin monks and Mount Song Sect members, then Ren Yingying claimed she and Song Qingshu were secret lovers to escape her arranged marriage. Zhang Sanfeng agreed to take them to the Golden Snake Camp, while Ren Yingying’s cold poison still urgently needed treatment.

• Xuan Cheng led Fangzheng, Xu Zhu, and the Mount Song Sect members away after Song Qingshu spared Zuo Lengchan.
• Song Qingshu thanked Zhang Sanfeng, who asked about his close relationship with Ren Yingying.
• Ren Yingying told Zhang Sanfeng that she and Song Qingshu had secretly pledged themselves to each other and asked him to help dissolve her arranged marriage.
• Song Qingshu played along with Ren Yingying’s story, and Zhang Sanfeng agreed to take them to the Golden Snake Camp and speak with Song Qingshu.
• Ren Yingying began coughing, so Zhang Sanfeng urged them to find an inn and treat her cold poison.

Song Qingshu agreed to help Ren Yingying escape her arranged marriage and began treating the cold poison threatening her life and fertility. As he treated her, Ren Yingying questioned the intimate position, and Song Qingshu insisted it was necessary to keep the poison from reaching her vital points.

• Zhang Sanfeng, Song Qingshu, Ren Yingying, Suo'etu, A'zi, and You Tanzhi traveled to an inn near the Golden Snake Camp.
• Zhang Sanfeng told Song Qingshu to use braziers while treating Ren Yingying and explained that he would not intervene because she did not want to owe Wudang a favor.
• Ren Yingying explained that she loved Linghu Chong and had lied to enlist Song Qingshu's help in ending her arranged marriage to the Golden Snake King.
• Song Qingshu agreed to help Ren Yingying and, when her cold poison surged, pulled her onto his lap and channeled true qi into her body.
• Ren Yingying questioned the treatment position, and Song Qingshu explained that it protected her vital areas and warned that untreated poison could leave her unable to conceive.

Song Qingshu removed Ren Yingying’s cold poison, and Wuyunzhu later came to question him about his engagement to Ren Yingying. The chapter ended with Wuyunzhu hiding behind the curtains as someone urgently knocked at the door.

• Song Qingshu treated Ren Yingying by channeling his true energy into her, while she grew embarrassed by their closeness and asked him to stop.
• Song Qingshu covered his eyes with black cloth and completed the treatment, causing Ren Yingying to spit out blood containing ice crystals.
• Ren Yingying left for her room, and Song Qingshu realized that the healing had taken much longer than he expected.
• Wuyunzhu visited Song Qingshu and asked whether he and Ren Yingying had privately pledged themselves to each other.
• Song Qingshu teased Wuyunzhu, then told her he had promised to keep Ren Yingying’s secret.
• When someone knocked urgently, Wuyunzhu feared it was her father and hid behind the bed curtains.

A'zi brought Song Qingshu the Muscle Tendon Manual, and he realized its diagrams could help ordinary soldiers cultivate true qi. After A'zi and Wuyunzhu hid together in his bed, You Tanzhi burst in and lifted the bed curtains.

• A'zi gave Song Qingshu the Muscle Tendon Manual she had switched out, and he recognized its potential for training ordinary soldiers.
• Song Qingshu offered A'zi a reward, then stopped her from warming his bed because Wuyunzhu was hiding there.
• When You Tanzhi knocked and called for A'zi, she hid in the bed beside Wuyunzhu.
• You Tanzhi forced his way into the room and searched for A'zi despite Song Qingshu's insistence that she was not there.
• A noise came from behind the bed curtains, and You Tanzhi lunged over and lifted them before Song Qingshu could stop him.

Song Qingshu dealt with A'zi's prank on Wuyunzhu and then received Ren Yingying, who returned to thank him for healing her. The chapter ended with Ren Yingying asking to see the face of the benefactor who saved her.

• You Tanzhi accidentally saw Wuyunzhu partly undressed, and Song Qingshu sent him out of the room.
• A'zi emerged from beneath the covers and admitted she had used Wuyunzhu to conceal herself from You Tanzhi.
• Song Qingshu freed Wuyunzhu and told A'zi she had treated You Tanzhi too harshly, but A'zi said she no longer needed his protection.
• Ren Yingying knocked and apologized to Song Qingshu for failing to thank him after he healed her injuries.
• Ren Yingying told Song Qingshu she had not yet seen her benefactor's appearance and asked to see his face.

Song Qingshu agreed to help Ren Yingying impersonate Linghu Chong to break her engagement to him, while she laid out a careful plan. When Zhang Sanfeng called at the door, Ren Yingying hid behind Song Qingshu’s bed curtains to avoid being discovered in his room.

• Song Qingshu gave Ren Yingying the false name Xu Ruowu and heard that she wanted him to impersonate Linghu Chong before her fiancé, Song Qingshu.
• Song Qingshu advised Ren Yingying about her feelings for Linghu Chong, then agreed to help her despite warning that the outcome might not be what she wanted.
• Ren Yingying explained her detailed plan to break off the engagement, and Song Qingshu recognized her strategic skill.
• Zhang Sanfeng called from outside Song Qingshu’s room, and Ren Yingying hurried to hide behind the bed curtains so Zhang Sanfeng would not misunderstand their meeting.

Song Qingshu, posing as Xu Ruowu, spoke with Zhang Sanfeng while Ren Yingying, A'zi, and Wuyunzhu hid together on his bed. Zhang Sanfeng accepted the couple's relationship and offered to arrange their match, but left after hinting that their intimacy was improper.

• Ren Yingying rushed behind the bed curtains and found A'zi and Wuyunzhu there, with Wuyunzhu's clothes disheveled.
• Song Qingshu welcomed Zhang Sanfeng and claimed his name was Xu Ruowu, while keeping his martial arts origins secret.
• Zhang Sanfeng asked Song Qingshu about his relationship with Ren Yingying, and Song Qingshu repeated the story Ren Yingying had taught him.
• Zhang Sanfeng concluded that the couple had shared life and death and offered to act as their matchmaker at the Golden Snake Camp.
• Before leaving, Zhang Sanfeng hinted that Song Qingshu and Ren Yingying should have parental approval and a matchmaker's word before becoming intimate.

Song Qingshu fielded Ren Yingying’s embarrassment after Zhang Sanfeng caught her hiding in his room, while A'zi and Wuyunzhu defended him and argued with Ren Yingying. Ren Yingying and Wuyunzhu eventually left, but A'zi stayed behind to serve Song Qingshu.

• Song Qingshu accepted Zhang Sanfeng’s rebuke, and Ren Yingying apologized for stumbling upon the women hiding in his room.
• Song Qingshu told Ren Yingying that Zhang Sanfeng had mistaken their meeting for courtship, prompting A'zi and Wuyunzhu to criticize her for blaming him.
• Wuyunzhu praised the man she believed to be Song Qingshu, while Ren Yingying called him a shameless rogue and struggled to explain why.
• A'zi accused Ren Yingying of having been taken advantage of and mocked her over Linghu, so Ren Yingying drew her sword and attacked.
• Song Qingshu stopped Ren Yingying and asked her to overlook A'zi’s words, after which Ren Yingying and Wuyunzhu departed.
• A'zi stayed behind and began kneading Song Qingshu’s shoulders.

Song Qingshu questioned A'zi about her past and her connection to You Tanzhi while she massaged him, then concealed her beneath a blanket when You Tanzhi barged into the room. You Tanzhi feared A'zi had been captured, while Song Qingshu tried to discourage his attachment to her without revealing where she was.

• A'zi massaged Song Qingshu and told him how Xingxiu Sect disciples had bullied her before she fled Ding Chunqiu with the Divine Wood King Cauldron.
• A'zi explained that You Tanzhi had helped her escape Ding Chunqiu's pursuers, and Song Qingshu urged her to stop deceiving him.
• Song Qingshu pulled A'zi beneath a blanket when You Tanzhi kicked open the door looking for her.
• You Tanzhi worried that Xingxiu Sect members had captured A'zi, and Song Qingshu advised him to give her more space.
• Song Qingshu concealed A'zi's presence and claimed that a cat had bitten him.

Song Qingshu spent the night with A'zi, and You Tanzhi discovered that she had chosen another man and left to seek power and status. With Ren Yingying's cold poison cured, Zhang Sanfeng urged the group to hurry to the Golden Snake Camp, leaving Song Qingshu wondering why he was in such a rush.

• You Tanzhi discovered someone beneath the covers with Song Qingshu and left the room, unaware that A'zi was with him.
• A'zi returned to her room the next morning and told You Tanzhi she had willingly spent the night with Song Qingshu.
• You Tanzhi ran away in grief, then decided to seek success by heading north to the Beggar's Clan in Hebei.
• Zhang Sanfeng learned that You Tanzhi had left and told the group to proceed to the Golden Snake Camp now that Ren Yingying's cold poison was cured.
• Ren Yingying accepted Zhang Sanfeng's instructions while Song Qingshu wondered why Zhang Sanfeng was so eager to reach the Golden Snake Camp.

Song Qingshu traveled with Zhang Sanfeng to Jining, where Xia Qingqing and Ajiu welcomed them while concealing Song’s identity. After reuniting with the women through the private name “Miss Youyou,” he entered the city with the group, and Zhang Sanfeng said his visit concerned Ren Yingying.

• Song Qingshu worried about facing Zhang Sanfeng under his true identity as the group approached Jining.
• Xia Qingqing and Ajiu welcomed Zhang Sanfeng outside the city, and Song recognized that Xia was impersonating him.
• Suo'etu tried to embrace Xia Qingqing, but Song secretly made him stumble to his knees.
• Song, disguised as Xu Ruowu, asked Xia Qingqing and Ajiu about Miss Youyou, and they realized he was their lover without exposing him.
• The group entered the city, where Zhang Sanfeng told Qingshu that one reason for his visit concerned Ren Yingying.

Zhang Sanfeng tried to discuss Ren Yingying’s engagement to Song Qingshu, but Xia Qingqing refused to cancel the alliance-bound marriage. Ren Yingying revealed that she loved Linghu Chong, and Song Qingshu admitted he had been concealing his identity as Chong Ge.

• Zhang Sanfeng asked Xia Qingqing and Ren Yingying to discuss Ren Yingying’s engagement with Song Qingshu in private, and A Jiu and Song Qingshu joined them.
• Zhang Sanfeng urged Song Qingshu to end the engagement, but Xia Qingqing refused because it was tied to the alliance between the Sun Moon Holy Cult and the Golden Snake Camp.
• Ren Yingying insulted Song Qingshu, and A Jiu angrily defended him, saying he wanted the Sun Moon Holy Cult’s support rather than Ren Yingying herself.
• Ren Yingying explained that she had agreed to the engagement only because her father threatened Linghu Chong, then revealed that Song Qingshu was Chong Ge.
• Song Qingshu identified himself to Zhang Sanfeng as Linghu Chong and said he had received Feng Qingyang’s teachings before greeting Xia Qingqing and A Jiu.