Chapter Summaries

Jiumozhi demonstrated several Shaolin ultimate skills with astonishing precision, leaving Xuan Sheng and Xuan Ci convinced that Shaolin could not match him. Xuan Cheng challenged Jiumozhi to defend Shaolin’s honor, and Jiumozhi struck his shoulder with the Great Vajra Fist before claiming victory.

• Jiumozhi used the Great Vajra Fist, Prajna Palm, and Maha Finger to manipulate a bronze incense cauldron and reveal that he had cut a brass hand from it.
• Jiumozhi demonstrated the Kasaya Demon Subduing Skill, leaving Xuan Ci and the other monks awed by his mastery.
• Song Qingshu wondered whether Jiumozhi had harmed his martial uncles, then suspected another person might have used the Prajna Palm.
• Xuan Sheng praised Jiumozhi’s skill, and Xuan Ci admitted Shaolin could not retain him as a guest.
• Xuan Cheng challenged Jiumozhi, who dodged Xuan Cheng’s movements and struck his shoulder with the Great Vajra Fist.

Jiumozhi challenged Xuan Cheng with Shaolin’s Seventy-two Ultimate Skills, but Xuan Cheng’s Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill left him unharmed. When Jiumozhi began targeting vulnerable spots, Xuan Cheng called out his dirty tactics, and Song Qingshu decided to help his old friend.

• Jiumozhi struck Xuan Cheng with a series of Shaolin techniques, but Xuan Cheng showed no sign of injury.
• Song Qingshu studied Jiumozhi’s Burning Wood Saber Technique and compared it with the Flame Saber.
• Jiumozhi deduced that Xuan Cheng had mastered the Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill and attacked his eyes and throat.
• Xuan Cheng evaded Jiumozhi’s attacks and rebuked him for fighting like a street thug.
• The Shaolin and Mount Song spectators condemned Jiumozhi, while Song Qingshu resolved to lend him a hand.

Song Qingshu argued that martial techniques were morally neutral while Jiumozhi fought Xuan Cheng, then secretly launched sword qi at Xuan Cheng during their deadlock. Someone suddenly stepped in front of the attack and stopped it without their clothes being pierced.

• Song Qingshu defended Jiumozhi by arguing that weapons and techniques were neither good nor evil, and Xuan Ci rejected his reasoning.
• Jiumozhi feinted at Xuan Cheng's eyes and tried to twist his fingers, but Xuan Cheng countered with the Dragon Claw Skill and seized Jiumozhi's wrist.
• Jiumozhi used the Flame Saber to break free, and Xuan Cheng met his close-range attacks with the Prajna Palm as the onlookers struggled against their force.
• Song Qingshu saw an opportunity to kill Xuan Cheng unnoticed and sent invisible sword qi toward the acupoint between his shoulder and neck.
• A figure flashed in front of Song Qingshu's sword qi and blocked it without the attack piercing his clothes.

Zhang Sanfeng explained how Jiumozhi used Daoist Internal Energy to imitate Shaolin’s Seventy-two Ultimate Skills, while Jiumozhi turned the duel against Xuan Cheng by drawing a concealed dagger. After severely wounding Xuan Cheng, Jiumozhi pursued him to finish him off as Shaolin masters rushed to intervene.

• Zhang Sanfeng reprimanded Song Qingshu for trying to provoke a clash with Shaolin and explained that Jiumozhi had mastered the forms, but not the essence, of the Seventy-two Ultimate Skills.
• Jiumozhi drew a concealed dagger and stabbed Xuan Cheng in the shoulder after Xuan Cheng refused to release his grip and tried to seize Jiumozhi’s wrist.
• Jiumozhi struck the wounded Xuan Cheng with a series of kicks, while Xuan Cheng broke free and staggered away, badly injured.
• Jiumozhi pursued Xuan Cheng with murderous intent, and Xuan Ci, Kong Wen, Fang Sheng, and other Shaolin experts charged in to stop him.
• Jiumozhi swept his left palm and sent Flame Saber qi at the approaching Shaolin masters to delay them while he prepared to shatter Xuan Cheng’s meridians.

Xu Zhu intervened to save Xuan Cheng from Jiumozhi, and Zhang Sanfeng and Song Qingshu discussed Xu Zhu’s mysterious Xiaoyao School origins. As Shaolin accused Zhang Sanfeng of orchestrating the attack, Song Qingshu defended him, and Xuan Ci redirected the dispute toward Jiumozhi’s knowledge of the Prajna Palm.

• Jiumozhi attacked Xuan Cheng, but Xu Zhu intercepted him and forced him to retreat after their exchange revealed Xu Zhu’s more complete Minor Formless Skill.
• Zhang Sanfeng recognized that Xu Zhu’s Internal Energy came from the Xiaoyao School, and Song Qingshu asked what Zhang knew about the secretive sect.
• Zhang Sanfeng began recalling how he had met a woman in Jiangnan, but Kong Wen interrupted to accuse him of sending Jiumozhi and Ren Woxing to provoke Shaolin.
• Song Qingshu argued that Ren Woxing and Jiumozhi acted as rulers in their own right and blamed Shaolin’s rude treatment for the conflict.
• Xuan Ci asked why Jiumozhi, who also mastered the Prajna Palm, was not being questioned about the missing Wudang heroes.

Song Qingshu and Zhang Sanfeng questioned Shaolin’s Prajna Palm practitioners but found no lead on who had attacked the Wudang disciples. Jiumozhi admitted an old friend had given him the technique, and Song Qingshu moved to verify another matter at Shaolin’s Scripture Repository.

• Song Qingshu asked Shaolin to gather everyone who knew the Prajna Palm, and Xuan Ci agreed after Zhang Sanfeng guaranteed they would be treated respectfully.
• Song Qingshu questioned the Shaolin monks but learned nothing useful, prompting Zhang Sanfeng to ask whether the temple’s Prajna Palm had been leaked.
• Xuan Ci acknowledged that Jiumozhi knew the technique, and Jiumozhi said an old friend had taught it to him but refused to reveal the friend’s name.
• The Shaolin monks demanded that Jiumozhi identify his source, and the confrontation threatened to break out again.
• Song Qingshu stepped between the sides and said he knew the person’s identity but first needed to verify something, directing his attention toward the Scripture Repository.

Song Qingshu suspected Murong Bo had stolen Shaolin’s martial arts manuals and asked to investigate the Scripture Repository, but Shaolin refused him entry. After Shaolin’s guarded reactions made him suspect Wudang’s missing disciples were imprisoned there, he and Zhang Sanfeng agreed to return at night and investigate.

• Song Qingshu whispered a name to Jiumozhi, who reacted with shock, but Song Qingshu refused to reveal it until he had verified his suspicions.
• Song Qingshu asked Xuan Ci for permission to stay in the Scripture Repository, suspecting Murong Bo had stolen the Seventy-two Ultimate Skills and might be hiding there.
• Xuan Ci refused to let Song Qingshu enter the upper floors, while Song Qingshu claimed a powerful hidden expert watched over the repository.
• Song Qingshu noticed the Shaolin leaders’ unease and privately asked Zhang Sanfeng whether Wudang’s missing disciples might be held in the Scripture Repository; Zhang Sanfeng agreed it was possible.
• Zhang Sanfeng decided they would investigate the Scripture Repository after nightfall, and the four men left Shaolin without a fight.

After Zhang Sanfeng advised Jiumozhi and Ren Woxing about their martial arts, Song Qingshu offered to seek a cure for Ren Woxing’s Star-Sucking Art when he visited Blackwood Cliff. That night, Song Qingshu and Zhang Sanfeng infiltrated Shaolin Temple to rescue Wudang disciples, but an unseen attacker struck as they approached the Scripture Repository.

• Zhang Sanfeng praised Jiumozhi’s skill and warned him that relying on the Shaolin Seventy-two Ultimate Skills was a dangerous shortcut compared with his Flame Saber.
• Zhang Sanfeng identified the danger in Ren Woxing’s Star-Sucking Art, and Ren explained that he spent part of his Internal Energy suppressing the conflicting true qi in his body.
• Song Qingshu said he had a possible solution and promised to visit Blackwood Cliff to verify it.
• Song Qingshu and Zhang Sanfeng entered Shaolin Temple at night, but an unanticipated attack made Song Qingshu use the Serpentine Feline Roll to evade it.

Song Qingshu and Zhang Sanfeng fought Shaolin’s Three Du while trying to reach the Scripture Repository before Xuan Ci and the other monks arrived. They launched a joint attack, with Zhang Sanfeng assigning Song Qingshu to face Du Nan.

• Song Qingshu evaded the Three Du’s black cords and survived their attacks from within the Vajra Subduing Demon Formation.
• Zhang Sanfeng entered the formation, used Taiji to tangle the cords, and sent the three monks flying out of the pine grove.
• The Three Du separated their cords and recognized that Song Qingshu and Zhang Sanfeng were formidable opponents.
• Song Qingshu urged Zhang Sanfeng to investigate the Scripture Repository before Xuan Ci arrived, and Zhang Sanfeng agreed.
• Song Qingshu and Zhang Sanfeng charged the Three Du, who formed a defensive ring with their cords; Zhang Sanfeng told Song Qingshu to handle Du Nan.

Zhang Sanfeng and Song Qingshu broke into Shaolin’s Scripture Repository, where they encountered the Sweeping Monk, a master powerful enough to shake them both. As Zhang Sanfeng held him off, Song Qingshu rushed inside to investigate his father’s and martial uncles’ whereabouts.

• Zhang Sanfeng used Tai Chi force to make Du E and Du Jie’s whips collide, leaving Du Jie badly injured and Du E temporarily weakened.
• Song Qingshu distracted Du Nan with pine needles, then sealed his acupoints; Zhang Sanfeng also subdued Du E.
• Zhang Sanfeng and Song Qingshu entered the Scripture Repository and were stopped by the Sweeping Monk, who recognized Song Qingshu and identified Zhang Sanfeng.
• Song Qingshu asked Zhang Sanfeng to hold off the Sweeping Monk while he searched the repository, then broke through the monk’s wall of qi with his wooden sword.
• Xuan Ci arrived with Shaolin masters and challenged Zhang Sanfeng as he focused on his clash with the Sweeping Monk.

Zhang Sanfeng and the Sweeping Monk fought on equal terms until Xuan Ci ordered Shaolin experts to attack Zhang Sanfeng from behind. Facing the ranged ambush while locked in a contest of inner strength, Zhang Sanfeng prepared to risk injury to drive the Sweeping Monk away.

• Zhang Sanfeng met the Sweeping Monk’s seemingly ordinary palm with a punch, and the two exchanged attacks that left the Shaolin onlookers unable to identify their techniques.
• The Sweeping Monk pressed Zhang Sanfeng into a contest of inner strength, where their forces spread outward and forced Xuan Ci and the others to stagger back.
• Xuan Ci called on the Shaolin experts to attack Zhang Sanfeng from a distance while he was occupied, hoping to disrupt his concentration and help the Sweeping Monk win.
• Zhang Sanfeng realized the Shaolin monks were launching a sneak attack and feared that Shaolin had also harmed Yuanqiao and the others.
• The Shaolin experts fired techniques including the Flower Plucking Finger, the Formless Tribulation Finger, and the Great Vajra Palm at Zhang Sanfeng’s back and flanks, and he decided to risk injury to blast the Sweeping Monk away.

Song Qingshu arrived at Shaolin and found the monks attacking Zhang Sanfeng during his internal-energy contest with the Sweeping Monk, prompting him to prepare for battle. The Yellow-robed Woman interrupted the confrontation and approached Zhang Sanfeng and the Sweeping Monk after warning that others were manipulating the Shaolin-Wudang conflict.

• Song Qingshu accused Xuan Ci and the Shaolin monks of trying to kill Zhang Sanfeng and destroy Wudang, then prepared to fight them.
• Xuan Ci ordered the monks to form a formation and attack Song Qingshu together.
• Eight women playing zithers and xuns arrived, followed by the Yellow-robed Woman.
• The Yellow-robed Woman said she had come to prevent Shaolin and Wudang from being manipulated into harming each other.
• Song Qingshu traded barbs with the Yellow-robed Woman, who then turned toward Zhang Sanfeng and the Sweeping Monk.

The Yellow-robed Woman stopped Zhang Sanfeng and the Sweeping Monk from fighting and revealed that Jin’s leaders had engineered the Shaolin-Wudang conflict to provoke a war with Song. After identifying herself as Jianshan Academy’s Saintess and confirming her surname was Yang, she left without revealing where Jin held Wudang’s heroes.

• The Yellow-robed Woman used her martial arts to separate Zhang Sanfeng and the Sweeping Monk before either could be injured.
• The Yellow-robed Woman explained that Jin’s leaders had exploited the Shaolin-Wudang feud to create a pretext for invading Song.
• The Yellow-robed Woman identified herself as Jianshan Academy’s Saintess, and Zhang Sanfeng vouched for the academy’s credibility.
• Song Qingshu said he had found no trace of Zhang Yuanqiao and the other Wudang heroes in the Scripture Repository.
• The Yellow-robed Woman said she could not reveal the heroes’ whereabouts, then confirmed to Song Qingshu that her surname was Yang before departing.

Song Qingshu and Zhang Sanfeng escaped Shaolin after learning that the Jin Dynasty had manipulated events, but both were injured in the confrontation with the Sweeping Monk. After helping Zhang Sanfeng recover enough to return to Wudang, Song Qingshu set out to find Song Yuanqiao and the others, deciding to seek information from Madam Tang.

• Song Qingshu learned that the Yellow-robed Woman belonged to the Yang family and privately indulged in thoughts about the Yang Family Women Generals.
• Xuan Ci let Zhang Sanfeng and Song Qingshu leave Shaolin, while the Sweeping Monk warned that fighting them could have brought disaster upon the temple.
• The Sweeping Monk recovered with a Great Rejuvenation Pill and returned to the Scripture Repository to recuperate.
• Zhang Sanfeng collapsed from his injuries on the road, and Song Qingshu helped stabilize his turbulent true qi.
• Song Qingshu persuaded Zhang Sanfeng to rest overnight, then saw him off toward Wudang before turning to search for Song Yuanqiao and the others.
• Song Qingshu decided to ask Madam Tang, who moved among the aristocracy, for information about the Jin Dynasty's high-ranking figures.

Song Qingshu reached the Military Governor's residence to seek Madam Tang's help and was welcomed by her and her brother, Tang Kuobian. He sat down to dinner with them, still looking for a chance to ask Madam Tang about Song Yuanqiao and the others.

• Song Qingshu persuaded the gate guard to take Madam Tang the Chastity Guard dagger she had given him.
• Madam Tang recognized Song Qingshu and eagerly welcomed him, while he mistook her brother Tang Kuobian for her husband.
• Tang Kuobian introduced himself as the Left Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard and invited Song Qingshu inside with Madam Tang.
• Song Qingshu joined the siblings for dinner and wondered why Tang Kuobian kept toasting him as he searched for a private moment to ask about Song Yuanqiao and the others.

Song Qingshu and Tang Kuobian drank together until Tang Kuobian proposed sworn brotherhood, including a Jurchen oath that promised each other's property and wives. To avoid revealing his identity or offending Tang Kuobian, Song Qingshu swore the oath under the alias Song Siming.

• Song Qingshu and Tang Kuobian competed in drinking, grew impressed with each other, and Tang Kuobian admitted defeat was not in sight.
• Tang Kuobian proposed that they become sworn brothers and swore an oath offering his property and wife to Song Qingshu if misfortune befell him.
• Madam Tang explained that the oath reflected Jurchen customs of inheriting widows, while Song Qingshu struggled with the promise involving Tang Kuobian's wife, Ge Bi.
• Song Qingshu learned Madam Tang had given Tang Kuobian the alias Song Siming and used that name to swear brotherhood in return.

Song Qingshu drank with Tang Kuobian and, after getting Madam Tang alone, gave in to their mutual attraction. Madam Tang went with him to his room, where their flirtation continued.

• Song Qingshu swore an oath to Tang Kuobian while carefully wording it to avoid invoking his own death.
• Tang Kuobian embraced Song Qingshu and urged him to keep drinking, and Madam Tang explained her brother’s fondness for wine.
• After the banquet, Madam Tang supported the drunken Song Qingshu back to his room, where he began touching her and used Blissful Zen Qi on her.
• Madam Tang suggested they meet later that night, but Song Qingshu carried her openly to his bedroom despite the servants’ stares.
• In the bedroom, Song Qingshu and Madam Tang flirted as she helped him undress.

Song Qingshu spent the morning flirting with Madam Tang, then accompanied her around Kaifeng while trying to learn why her brother, Tang Kuobian, had come to the city. Madam Tang said he had a secret matter to handle, and the chapter ended with a bamboo-hatted man asking his wife Rong'er what she was watching.

• Song Qingshu woke to find Madam Tang gone, but she returned with water and playfully helped him get up.
• Madam Tang said Tang Kuobian was still asleep after drinking heavily and had ordered her not to disturb him.
• Madam Tang offered to show Song Qingshu around Kaifeng, and he agreed while bringing her guards along.
• Song Qingshu asked why Tang Kuobian had come to Kaifeng, and Madam Tang recalled that he had a secret matter to handle.
• A bamboo-hatted man approached the window of a nearby inn and asked his wife, Rong'er, what she was looking at.

Song Qingshu pressed Madam Tang for the identity of the powerful man who had abused her, while Guo Jing and Huang Rong prepared to assassinate Tang Kuobian over his role in Jin’s plans for war. Madam Tang revealed that the man was Wanyan Liang, and Song Qingshu recognized him as the Jin Prince he had encountered before.

• Huang Rong watched Song Qingshu with Madam Tang from a window, then hid her feelings as Guo Jing discussed their planned assassination of Tang Kuobian.
• Guo Jing explained that Tang Kuobian supported an invasion of the south and that killing him could strengthen Jin’s peace faction.
• Song Qingshu and Madam Tang stopped at a riverside tea stall, where she explained that her husband had tolerated her abuse because he needed the powerful man’s help.
• Song Qingshu urged Madam Tang to name the man and promised to deal with him for her.
• Madam Tang identified the man as Wanyan Liang, and Song Qingshu recalled meeting the Jin Prince at an inn.

Song Qingshu took Madam Tang to an inn, where their affair disturbed Guo Jing and Huang Rong next door. Afterward, Madam Tang recognized Song Qingshu’s interest in her husband’s affairs, and he revealed the general purpose of his journey.

• Madam Tang urged Song Qingshu not to kill her husband, warning that his death could bring political danger to her family, and assured him she would remain faithful to Song Qingshu.
• Song Qingshu took Madam Tang to an inn, where their intimacy made it impossible for Guo Jing and Huang Rong to remain calm.
• Guo Jing left the room to take a walk, while Huang Rong, curious about the couple next door, secretly peeped through a hole in the window paper.
• Song Qingshu sensed Huang Rong watching and called out, but she escaped back to her room without being identified.
• As Song Qingshu and Madam Tang returned to the Military Governor's residence, she asked whether he wanted to inquire about something, and he told her the general purpose of his journey.