Chapter Summaries

Summary

• Hu Lingyu prepares for the coming challenge. Sect Master Lin Su finds her anxious about facing Ying Xue, the Sakura Princess, whose victories over Jiang Prefecture’s Innate Realm experts have made her reputation intimidating. Hu Lingyu admits she fears disgracing the Upper Sect. Lin Su reassures her and promises to teach her a secret sword technique.
• Jiang Ye continues cultivating. On Heavenly Cloud Peak, he practices the second stage of the Golden Bell World-Suppressing Body: tempering his bones with Golden Bell Blood Qi so they can eventually form an internal protective “bell wall.” His cultivation may be important to the Upper Sect’s defense, but he remains unaware of the growing alarm around him.
• Ying Xue arrives in Lin Prefecture. Seven days later, the Sakura Princess enters Lin Prefecture Great City with nearly a hundred attendants. Her subordinate Yanagi voices hatred toward the Zhou Kingdom’s people and desire to kill them; Ying Xue rebukes him, insisting that a powerful swordsman must control his killing intent. She postpones challenging the Upper Sect until the next day, wanting to crush its defenders publicly.
• The Upper Sect grows tense. News of Ying Xue’s arrival spreads quickly, frightening disciples and elders alike. Lv Ming wants to alert Jiang Ye but hesitates to interrupt his secluded cultivation.
• The sisters reunite. That night, Yin Qingqing secretly visits her elder sister, Ying Xue. The reunion begins warmly, with Ying Xue noticing that Qingqing has lost weight. But when she asks about the Fox Gu—a crucial item in the Sakura Kingdom’s plans—Qingqing reveals that she obtained it but no longer has it. She explains that a man used it to threaten her and describes what happened. Ying Xue’s concern turns to fury, and her anger freezes the entire room.

Character developments and interactions

• Hu Lingyu shifts from forced confidence to honest fear, while Lin Su responds with affection and reassurance, then offers practical help through a secret technique.
• Ying Xue appears cold and composed in public, but shows tenderness toward Qingqing. Her reaction to Qingqing’s story reveals a fiercely protective—and dangerous—side.
• Yin Qingqing is relieved to reunite with her sister but becomes ashamed and hesitant when explaining the Fox Gu’s loss.
• Yanagi displays open contempt for Zhou Kingdom citizens, while Ying Xue demands restraint rather than allowing him to act on his bloodlust.
• Jiang Ye remains isolated in cultivation, even as others begin to regard him as a possible factor in the looming confrontation.

Significant themes

• Composure versus killing intent: Ying Xue condemns uncontrolled bloodlust in Yanagi, yet her own rage erupts when Qingqing is harmed.
• Family loyalty and protection: The sisters’ reunion quickly becomes a confrontation over Qingqing’s safety and the loss of the Fox Gu.
• Fear and preparation: The approaching challenge unsettles the Upper Sect, prompting Lin Su to train Hu Lingyu while Jiang Ye continues developing his defensive strength.
• Public humiliation and power: Ying Xue intends not merely to win, but to defeat the Upper Sect in daylight and make its people suffer the spectacle.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• The previous night, Ying Xue reassures her younger sister, Yin Qingqing, that she will end the threat hanging over her and that “he” will not survive until the next day.
• At dawn, Lin Prefecture Upper Sect fills with disciples and visitors, all expecting Ying Xue’s challenge to the sect.
• Pei Qinghan, the famed “Prefecture Sword Immortal” who was previously defeated and badly injured by Ying Xue, arrives to watch. She studies the sect but keeps her distance from the other guests.
• Ying Xue arrives with nearly a hundred attendants and publicly declares that she has come to defeat every Innate Realm expert in Lin Prefecture.
• Elder Ye Huang of Spirit Monkey Peak appears and welcomes the challenge, directing her toward the Martial Practice Field. When one of Ying Xue’s guards draws his sword in anger, Ying Xue stops him with a wave of cold force.
• Meanwhile, Lv Ming anxiously waits for Jiang Ye to emerge from seclusion. A powerful bell-like toll signals that Jiang Ye’s divine technique has advanced; he soon appears, and Lv Ming tells him that Ying Xue has come to challenge the sect.

Character developments

• Ying Xue appears controlled and resolute, showing both her determination to protect Yin Qingqing and her authority over her own followers.
• Yin Qingqing remains frightened, but Ying Xue’s promise offers her hope that the shadow over her life may finally be removed.
• Pei Qinghan is physically recovering from her defeat but retains her pride and intimidating presence. Her visit suggests continued interest in Ying Xue and the coming contest.
• Lv Ming reveals his deep faith in Jiang Ye, whom he considers the sect’s surest path to victory.
• Jiang Ye emerges from seclusion after a breakthrough, just as the challenge begins.

Significant themes

• Protection and vengeance: Ying Xue’s promise to her sister frames the coming conflict as more than a public contest.
• Reputation and spectacle: The sect’s disciples and visiting martial artists gather to witness a battle expected to shape the standing of the whole kingdom.
• Power and restraint: Ying Xue demonstrates strength not only by issuing her challenge but by preventing her guard from acting recklessly.
• Anticipation before conflict: The chapter builds suspense through the gathering crowd, the arrival of major figures, and Jiang Ye’s timely emergence.

Character interactions

• Ying Xue comforts Yin Qingqing and promises to remove the danger threatening her.
• Pei Qinghan arrives as a spectator but maintains a cool distance from Zhang Qian and the welcoming disciples.
• Ying Xue restrains her angry guard, then addresses Ye Huang directly; he accepts her challenge and leads her toward the arena.
• Lv Ming waits for Jiang Ye with anxious devotion and excitedly informs him that Ying Xue has arrived.

Key plot points and events

• The Lin Prefecture Upper Sect’s Martial Practice Field is packed with martial artists, including experts from other sects, to watch the Sakura Kingdom’s Ying Xue challenge the local sect.
• Hu Lingyu appears composed but privately feels overwhelmed. Many spectators wonder whether Jiang Ye will show up, and some mock his absence. Azure Sky Sect disciples defend him.
• Jiang Ye finally arrives, easing the crowd’s doubts. Liu Qingyu appears quietly reassured by his presence, while Ying Xue recognizes him with a knowing, icy smile.
• Ying Xue calls for an opponent. Hu Lingyu steps forward, formally introduces herself, and is surprised when Ying Xue responds with a respectful bow.
• At Elder Ye Huang’s encouragement, the duel begins. Hu Lingyu attacks first with her Spirit Snake Wind Spirit Sword, but Ying Xue meets her strike effortlessly. Ying Xue’s ice-like Innate Gang Qi freezes Hu Lingyu’s blade.
• Zheng Feng explains that Ying Xue possesses the legendary “cold Li physique” and uses distinctive ice gang qi. Jiang Ye is startled by the revelation—and makes a crude joke about what her icy nature might mean.

Character developments and interactions

• Hu Lingyu tries to project confidence but is anxious about the pressure and Jiang Ye’s absence. She nevertheless steps up to face Ying Xue and attacks decisively.
• Jiang Ye remains calm despite the rumors about him; his arrival restores confidence among his allies and spectators. He watches the duel closely.
• Ying Xue is cold and formidable, yet her respectful greeting complicates the crowd’s image of her as merely vicious. Her remark about Hu Lingyu’s strength shows her confidence.
• Liu Qingyu silently signals relief at Jiang Ye’s arrival.
• Azure Sky Sect’s disciples, especially Wen Yueyao, Chen Lili, and Xu Qinghuan, rally defensively when outsiders insult Jiang Ye; Zheng Feng is unusually angered as well.
• Lu Guizhou confidently insists Jiang Ye is not the sort to be afraid, shortly before Jiang arrives.

Significant themes

• Reputation versus reality: Rumors portray Ying Xue as cruel and Jiang Ye as a coward, but their behavior complicates those assumptions.
• Public pressure and courage: Hu Lingyu struggles internally yet accepts the challenge before a watching crowd.
• Power and mystery: Ying Xue’s rare physique and ice gang qi immediately establish her as an exceptional opponent.
• Loyalty and solidarity: Azure Sky Sect members defend Jiang Ye against mockery, while his presence reassures those close to him.

Plot points and events

• Hu Lingyu initially fights back effectively against Ying Xue, using her swift, elusive swordplay and seven afterimages. But Ying Xue matches her speed, and her strange Ice Gang Qi steadily suppresses Hu Lingyu’s three-element Innate Gang Qi.
• Recognizing that she cannot win by prolonging the fight, Hu Lingyu unleashes Wind Spirit Seven Kills. Her afterimages become seven tornadoes, then seven enormous wind serpents that charge at Ying Xue.
• Ying Xue counters by summoning a terrifying eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent made of ice. It freezes all seven wind serpents—and then Hu Lingyu—before swallowing her.
• Ying Xue wins. Ye Huang catches the falling, frozen Hu Lingyu and begins thawing her. The stunned crowd falls silent, then turns its attention to Jiang Ye when Ying Xue asks who will fight next.
• Jiang Ye, however, is distracted by the Spirit Monkey statue on Spirit Monkey Peak, which appears to have looked toward him again.

Character developments and interactions

• Hu Lingyu shows confidence and formidable skill, but realizes Ying Xue’s unusual Ice Gang Qi is a serious disadvantage. She escalates to her signature killing move and is defeated.
• Ying Xue remains composed throughout the battle. Her overwhelming ice technique reveals a power far greater than the crowd—or Hu Lingyu—expected.
• Jiang Ye calmly assesses the fight and predicts Hu Lingyu is unlikely to win. He also recognizes that Ying Xue’s Iaijutsu resembles a technique used by a Seven Kill Cult attacker, raising suspicions of a connection between the cult and Sakura Kingdom.
• Ye Huang rushes to catch Hu Lingyu and protect her from injury.
• Zheng Feng asks Jiang Ye whether Hu Lingyu can win; Jiang Ye gives him a sober assessment. After Ying Xue’s victory, the crowd looks to Jiang Ye as the likely next challenger.

Significant themes

• Hidden power and reversal: Hu Lingyu’s spectacular attack appears decisive, but Ying Xue reveals an even more overwhelming technique.
• Observation and suspicion: Jiang Ye’s recognition of the familiar sword technique hints at a broader political or martial conspiracy.
• Public expectation versus reality: The crowd’s certainty that Hu Lingyu will win collapses into stunned silence.
• Unresolved supernatural mystery: The Spirit Monkey statue’s apparent attention toward Jiang Ye suggests an important connection that remains unexplained.

After Hu Lingyu lost to Ying Xue, the disciples urged Jiang Ye to enter the field, but he remained distracted while staring toward Spirit Monkey Peak. Ying Xue's challenge finally snapped him out of it, and he rose in fury to accept.

• Ying Xue defeated Hu Lingyu, and Ye Huang freed her from the ice while consoling her over the loss.
• The disciples grew alarmed when Jiang Ye remained motionless, while Pei Qinghan wondered what he was thinking and Yin Qingqing rallied the crowd to call him into the field.
• Liu Qingyu told the Azure Sky Sect disciples that Jiang Ye might be comprehending a martial art, so they stayed quiet and did not disturb him.
• Ying Xue challenged Jiang Ye to spar, and he jolted upright and accepted angrily.

Jiang Ye entered the Martial Practice Field to fight Ying Xue, drawing cheers from the spectators. Their opening clash ended with Ying Xue’s sword shattering against his Tungsten Gold Staff.

• Jiang Ye stood up, reigniting the spectators’ hope and excitement.
• Yin Qingqing praised Jiang Ye for entering the fight while privately worrying that Ying Xue might lose.
• Jiang Ye leaped onto the platform and faced Ying Xue, who resolved to kill him.
• Ying Xue attacked Jiang Ye with Shattering Snow Slash, and he countered with Heaven-Lifting Line.
• Jiang Ye’s staff struck with enough force to shatter Ying Xue’s sword.

Jiang Ye used his staff and Golden Bell technique to break through Ying Xue’s ice attack and injure her, shattering her scabbard and denting her sword. Enraged, Ying Xue broke the damaged weapon and released a surge of freezing energy.

• Ying Xue’s Snow-Cleaver chipped when she clashed with Jiang Ye’s staff, and his three-element gang qi melted her ice gang qi and forced her back.
• Jiang Ye pressed the attack, but Ying Xue unleashed Ten Thousand Cherry Blossoms Shatter-Ice Slash and sealed him inside a massive ice sword.
• Jiang Ye’s Golden Bell shattered the ice sword and protected him from the blades.
• Jiang Ye struck Ying Xue before she could draw her sword, smashing her scabbard and sending her flying as she spat blood.
• Ying Xue snapped her dented sword in her bare hands and unleashed an overwhelming surge of freezing energy.