Recaps

Lu Zhen declined a private invitation from the Xiao Family and was assigned an official duty at Cloud Mountain as the family faced a manpower shortage. Meanwhile, Zheng Tianhe and Takeda Koichi prepared a trap for him and planned to seize the Cloud Mountain Mine, where Chu Yunshu was stationed.

• The steward invited Lu Zhen to dine with the Xiao Family's Ninth Miss, but Lu Zhen declined and was ordered to report to the Administration Hall for a duty.
• Xiao Changyuan learned that Lu Zhen had gone to the Administration Hall and planned to send him to Cloud Mountain, partly because the Xiao Family was short on fighters.
• Takeda Koichi warned Zheng Tianhe that Lu Zhen was a dangerous opponent, and Zheng Tianhe said seven mid-stage Dark Force experts and a hundred Bright Force death warriors would ambush him.
• Zheng Tianhe explained that the staged trouble at Five Barbarian Creek had left the Xiao Family understaffed, making it likely Xiao Changyuan would send Lu Zhen to Cloud Mountain.
• Takeda Koichi said his forces were positioned to attack Cloud Mountain Mine and kill its defender, Chu Yunshu, so he could seize the mine and seek to atone for the prince's death.

Lu Zhen accepted a month-long guard assignment at the Cloud Mountain Mine and drove there alone, only to sense an ambush at a mountain pass. As seven armed attackers prepared to kill him and support an assault on the mine, Lu Zhen launched his greatsword at them, where it split into nine blades.

• Lu Zhen accepted the Cloud Mountain Mine guard assignment for twenty Merit Points and a two-year reprieve from public duties.
• Lu Zhen drove alone through the wilderness toward the mine, bringing enough gasoline for the journey.
• Seven middle-stage Dark Force fighters, including Zheng Family assassins and an Eastern Island Samurai, prepared an ambush at a pass as their main force attacked Cloud Mountain.
• Lu Zhen sensed murderous intent, stopped his jeep short of the pass, and stepped out beside the road.
• Lu Zhen hurled a black greatsword toward the attackers, and it split into nine small swords above the rocks.

Lu Zhen survived a deadly ambush and found signs that Eastern Islanders had targeted him, while a large Eastern Island force began advancing on Cloud Mountain Mine. Chu Yunshu prepared the mine’s defenses, leaving the battle about to begin.

• Lu Zhen killed the seven Zheng Family experts with his flying sword and discovered that one carried Eastern Island equipment.
• Lu Zhen suspected the Eastern Islanders had traced him to the prince’s death but lacked proof, then continued toward Cloud Mountain.
• Eastern Island commanders ordered five thousand elite soldiers and more than two hundred Bright Force fighters to seize Cloud Mountain Mine.
• The attackers planned to kill Chu Yunshu and the mine’s other Guest Elder, with the bald commander intending to capture Chu Yunshu alive.
• After hearing signs of an approaching army, Chu Yunshu requested Grandmaster reinforcements and ordered the guards to defend the mountain pass to the death.

Eastern Island troops attacked the Cloud Mountain Mine, and Chu Yunshu used the Chu Clan’s Cloud Dream Dragon-Assisting Soft Art to rout their strongest fighters. The surviving forces fled or were cut down as Chu Yunshu and the Cloud Mountain guards turned the pass into a battlefield.

• Eastern Island soldiers and samurai stormed the Cloud Mountain pass, overwhelming the defenders with gunfire and advancing Dark Force experts.
• Chu Yunshu charged the six Dark Force samurai and bewitched most of them with her unusual allure, then killed two while they were distracted.
• Yamamoto resisted her technique long enough to wound her, but fled after she pressed him with a twin-sword assault.
• Chu Yunshu beheaded the bald samurai and attacked the remaining Eastern Island fighters, while the Guest Elder joined the battle and rallied the guards.
• The Eastern Island division broke and fled, though Chu Yunshu cut down the soldiers and samurai who continued their suicidal charge.

After Chu Yunshu saved Cloud Mountain, she rushed to warn Lu Zhen about an ambush, only to find he had already defeated the attackers. The failed Eastern Island operation left Takeda Koichi and Zheng Tianhe seeking a way to exploit Chu Yunshu’s heritage by offering her to Prince Dongren.

• Chu Yunshu learned that seven mid-stage Dark Force experts were waiting to ambush Lu Zhen at Halfway Pass, so she left Cloud Mountain to warn him.
• Chu Yunshu found Lu Zhen unharmed and learned that he had dealt with the attackers; she returned to Cloud Mountain with him.
• Takeda Koichi and Zheng Tianhe received news that the Cloud Mountain operation had failed and realized the Halfway Pass assassins had also disappeared.
• Yamamoto revealed that Chu Yunshu belonged to the Ancient Chu Clan, prompting Takeda Koichi to plan to offer her to Prince Dongren.
• Takeda Koichi and Zheng Tianhe began considering a flawless plan to capture Chu Yunshu.

Xiao Yuqing reinforced Cloud Mountain after the Eastern Islanders attacked, and Han Tieyi explained why the mine’s underground Spirit Cave was so valuable and tightly restricted. Though assigned to defend the mine, Lu Zhen considered using his animal-communicating ability to scout the area and secretly strike back at the Eastern Islanders.

• Xiao Yuqing arrived at Cloud Mountain, praised Chu Yunshu for holding the defense line, and awarded her at least a thousand Merit Points.
• Xiao Yuqing ordered Chu Yunshu to return with her, leaving Han Tieyi and Lu Zhen to defend Cloud Mountain.
• Han Tieyi explained that Cloud Mountain Mine contained an entrance to the Spirit Cave and described the dangers of Earth Fiend Turbid Qi and the limited entry quota.
• Lu Zhen returned to his quarters and weighed his duty to guard the mine against his desire to avenge the Eastern Islanders’ ambush.
• Lu Zhen considered sending birds and beasts to scout the surrounding mountains so he could secretly leave, kill the enemy, and return before dawn.

Lu Zhen subdued a third-tier aberrant beast and used it to organize a vast animal network around Cloud Mountain. Days later, he learned that Chu Yunshu had left Five Barbarian Creek for the Provincial Capital, leaving her reasons unclear.

• Lu Zhen defeated a third-tier spotted leopard and compelled it to guard Cloud Mountain and alert him to approaching threats.
• The leopard summoned birds and beasts, which spread out to watch the mountain and its surrounding paths.
• A wildcat told Lu Zhen that the animal network could relay warnings across several thousand miles.
• The wildcat reported that Chu Yunshu had left Five Barbarian Creek during the night and headed toward the Provincial Capital.
• Lu Zhen wondered why Chu Yunshu had left while trouble in Five Barbarian Creek remained unresolved.

Chu Yunshu followed a jade pendant linked to her lost family to the Provincial Capital, despite suspecting it was an Eastern Island trap. There, Third Prince Dongren and his allies prepared to capture her, and she demanded to know where the pendant came from.

• Chu Yunshu recalled being separated from her family during the invasion of Guangnan City and decided to investigate the jade pendant in the Provincial Capital despite suspecting a trap.
• At Linjiang Tower, Takeda Koichi told Dongren that Chu Yunshu had taken the bait, and Zuojin explained that her family’s secret art could help Dongren break through his martial arts bottleneck.
• Dongren promised Takeda Koichi relief over his troop losses and Zheng Tianhe a transnational arms route if they helped him take Chu Yunshu.
• When Chu Yunshu arrived, Zheng Tianhe secretly lit Dragon Saliva Incense while Dongren became captivated by her.
• Chu Yunshu sensed danger from the two gaunt guards, showed Dongren the broken jade pendant, and demanded to know where it came from.

Chu Yunshu learned that the jade pendant was merely Eastern Island war spoils and rejected Third Prince Dongren’s offer, unaware that Dragon Saliva Incense had been used to drug her. She struggled along a river beach as Dongren’s samurai and a gray-robed monk closed in, leaving her weakened and surrounded.

• Takeda Koichi introduced Third Prince Dongren, and Zheng Tianhe offered Chu Yunshu wealth and advancement in exchange for serving him.
• Takeda Koichi revealed that the jade pendant had been found among the Eastern Islanders’ spoils, and Chu Yunshu rejected Dongren’s offer and left.
• Zheng Tianhe explained that Dragon Saliva Incense would disrupt Chu Yunshu’s qi and blood, and Dongren ordered his samurai to bring her back once it took effect.
• A gray-robed monk volunteered to pursue Chu Yunshu, hoping to absorb her qi and blood and break through to Transformation Force.
• Chu Yunshu grew weak on a river beach outside the Provincial Capital and realized that several pursuers were closing in.

Lu Zhen arrived at the River Beach and confronted the Eastern Island forces pursuing Chu Yunshu. He killed their ten Dark Force warriors with ease, leaving the transformed old monk as the last threat.

• Chu Yunshu, weakened by a drug, was cornered by ten Eastern Island Samurai and a gray-robed old monk at the River Beach.
• Lu Zhen appeared between Chu Yunshu and her pursuers, having tracked her down after learning she was in danger.
• The old monk mistook Lu Zhen for a peak Dark Force fighter and ordered the Samurai to surround him.
• The old monk transformed his body with Alienated Martial Arts and attacked Lu Zhen, but struck only an afterimage.
• Lu Zhen moved through the Samurai’s formation and killed all ten with single blows.
• Chu Yunshu watched Lu Zhen’s violence as the drug’s effects intensified.

Lu Zhen defeated the alienated old monk at the river beach and carried the drugged Chu Yunshu into the mountains. In a secluded cave, Chu Yunshu said the incense had triggered a flaw in the Chu Family’s cultivation method, and Lu Zhen began helping her as she neared a cultivation deviation.

• The old monk recognized that Lu Zhen had trained his movement technique to the third level and relied on his Iron Pagoda Scale Armor to face him.
• Lu Zhen fought the old monk with his fists, shattering his armor and beating him to death without revealing his flying sword.
• Lu Zhen found Chu Yunshu beneath the withered willow, saw that she had been overcome by the drug, and carried her away from the river beach.
• Hours later, Lu Zhen took Chu Yunshu to a secluded mountain cave and used Dark Force to calm her briefly.
• Chu Yunshu told Lu Zhen that the incense had exposed a flaw in the Chu Family’s cultivation method and that she was about to suffer a cultivation deviation.
• Lu Zhen stopped holding back and became entwined with Chu Yunshu in the cave.

Lu Zhen suppressed Chu Yunshu’s cultivation backlash, then gained enough power from their yin-yang convergence to break through to Dark Force Middle Stage. When Chu Yunshu woke and learned what had happened, she declared that she would follow him and threatened to take her own life if he rejected her.

• At midnight, Lu Zhen received settlement rewards, including 80,000 Physique Experience from Chu Yunshu’s pure yin bloodline.
• Lu Zhen’s blood and qi erupted as yin and yang converged, and he broke through from Dark Force Early Stage to Dark Force Middle Stage.
• Lu Zhen discovered his basic strength had risen to 500,000 pounds, enough for him to match an ordinary Transformation Force Grandmaster’s strength when fully boosted.
• Chu Yunshu woke, realized she had been intimate with Lu Zhen, and asked whether he had done that to her.
• Lu Zhen explained that he had acted to stop her cultivation backlash from killing her.
• Chu Yunshu vowed to follow Lu Zhen because she believed he had taken her maidenhood, then held a blade to her neck and threatened suicide if he rejected her.

After Faceless Asura rescued Chu Yunshu from the River Beach, she accepted him as a worthy man, though she wondered whether he was Lu Zhen. At Linjiang Tower, Dongren learned that Master Zuojin and his men had been slaughtered, blamed the Xiao Family, and ordered Takeda Koichi to seek support from two Transformation Force Grandmasters.

• Faceless Asura gave Chu Yunshu his name and disappeared into the night, leaving her to wonder whether he was Lu Zhen.
• Chu Yunshu decided that Faceless Asura was strong enough to satisfy the Chu Family’s rule and accepted him.
• A returning warrior told Dongren that Master Zuojin and all ten Dark Force warriors had died at the River Beach.
• Zheng Tianhe suspected a Transformation Force expert had killed them, while Takeda Koichi suggested Faceless Asura might be responsible.
• Dongren ordered Takeda Koichi to contact Lord Miyamoto and Prince Zaixin, then demanded the Xiao Family surrender its Cloud Mountain Mine and Spirit Cave allotments and deliver Chu Yunshu to him.

Lu Zhen went to Linjiang Tower to kill the Eastern Island officials behind the attack on Chu Yunshu. He slaughtered the men guarding Third Prince Dongren and turned toward Dongren, who tried to save himself by invoking the Fujiwara Clan’s Martial Saint.

• Lu Zhen learned from his falcon that the masterminds behind the pursuit of Chu Yunshu were staying at Linjiang Tower and headed there after breaking through to the middle stage of Dark Force.
• Dongren refused to leave Linjiang Tower, believing its location in Provincial Capital would protect him until Grandmasters Miyamoto and Zaixin arrived.
• Lu Zhen entered the Elegant Pavilion, where the old guard identified him as a Dark Force expert and promised to kill him.
• Lu Zhen used the Nine Nether Flying Sword to kill Takeda Koichi, Zheng Tianhe, and the black-clad samurai.
• The old guard burned his blood with a secret technique, but Lu Zhen disarmed and killed him with the Nine Nether Flying Sword.
• Dongren begged Lu Zhen not to kill him and warned that his mother’s Fujiwara Clan had a Martial Saint.

Lu Zhen killed Dongren and escaped the Provincial Capital’s Transformation Force Grandmasters after stealing two items from the pavilion. The pursuers returned to Linjiang Tower and discovered that the dead prince was Dongren, the Third Prince of the Eastern Island Empire.

• Lu Zhen killed Dongren, considered whether Yaksha had placed a bounty on him, and dismissed the threat of the Fujiwara Clan’s Martial Saint.
• Shen Chongshan sensed a Control Realm fight at Linjiang Tower and raced there as Yan Henian also noticed the disturbance and left to investigate.
• Lu Zhen retrieved the Eight-Headed Serpent Blood Burn Secret Technique and a red sandalwood box before fleeing through a window.
• Shen Chongshan confronted Lu Zhen, but Lu Zhen used the third level of the Floating Light Gliding Shadow Method to escape the pursuing Grandmaster.
• Yan Henian and another Grandmaster met Shen Chongshan at the clock tower, then returned with him to Linjiang Tower.
• Yan Henian recognized Dongren’s corpse as the Third Prince of the Eastern Island Empire, leaving the three Grandmasters alarmed.

Lu Zhen brought the Third Prince Dongren’s head to Yaksha’s Lin City exchange and claimed the bounty of two hundred-year-old Blood Bodhi fruits. After he left, Yaksha assassins decided to sell the secret information about his whereabouts.

• Lu Zhen avoided returning to Ocean City and went to Yaksha’s stronghold in Lin City.
• Lu Zhen presented Dongren’s head, and the shopkeeper recognized him as the Eastern Island Empire’s Third Prince.
• The shopkeeper confirmed Dongren had a bounty and gave Lu Zhen two hundred-year-old Blood Bodhi fruits.
• The shopkeeper recorded Lu Zhen’s latest feat in Yaksha’s ledger, and Lu Zhen left the exchange.
• Yaksha assassins recognized Lu Zhen and decided to sell information about his visit to the Eastern Islanders or powerful families.

After Dongren was killed, Imperial Concubine Fujiwara blamed the empire’s leaders and ordered a massive worldwide bounty on the Faceless Asura. The princes suspected one another of leaking Dongren’s itinerary as the hunt for the assassin was set to spread across Huaxia and beyond.

• Imperial Concubine Fujiwara confronted the Cabinet ministers over Dongren’s death in Huaxia.
• The Second Prince questioned how the Faceless Asura learned Dongren’s movements and guard details, and the Sixth Prince suggested someone in the empire had helped the assassin.
• The First Prince rebuked the Sixth Prince, while Imperial Concubine Fujiwara dismissed the princes’ suspicions and demanded revenge.
• Imperial Concubine Fujiwara offered spirit medicine, Western Battle Gear, gold, and a hereditary marquessate to anyone who killed or captured the Faceless Asura.
• The princes realized the bounty would draw warriors and factions from across the world into the hunt.

Lu Zhen studied the Eight-Headed Serpent Blood Burn Secret Technique, discovered that an ancient painting could guide his Control Realm comprehension, and used the settlement rewards to obtain powerful resources and strengthen his Physique. Two days later, news of Dongren’s death and the enormous bounty for the Faceless Asura spread across the land, leaving many martial artists tempted to hunt him.

• Lu Zhen read the Eight-Headed Serpent Blood Burn Secret Technique and decided his vast qi and blood made it especially suitable for him.
• Lu Zhen studied the unsigned ancient painting from Dongren’s belongings and recognized it as a treasure for comprehending Control Realm.
• Lu Zhen received settlement rewards that included sixteen Hundred-Year Blood Bodhis and eight Nameless Sword Intent Ancient Paintings.
• Lu Zhen swallowed a Blood Bodhi and used the Great Sun Pure Yang Technique to refine its potent energy and raise his Physique.
• Two days later, newspapers announced that the Faceless Asura had killed Eastern Island’s Third Prince, Dongren, and that the Fujiwara Clan had issued a massive bounty.
• People across the land reacted to the news, and martial artists discussed the bounty with barely concealed greed.

The Xiao Family faced a crisis after the Eastern Islanders' Third Prince died, with two Transformation Force Grandmasters marching on Ocean City and demanding Chu Yunshu and the Cloud Mountain Mine. The Xiao elders considered sacrificing Chu Yunshu to protect the family, while rival families waited or sought advantage.

• The Zheng Family Ancestor learned that Zheng Tianhe had died and left the mansion.
• Zhou Jiahao advised the Zhou Family to wait while the Eastern Islanders and Xiao Family weakened each other.
• Huo Tianting sent the Xiao Clan Head a letter proposing a marriage alliance amid the coming crisis.
• Chu Yunshu told the Xiao elders she had left Linjiang Tower before Dongren died, concealing key parts of what had happened.
• The Xiao elders learned that Miyamoto and Zaixin had arrived with troops, while Shen Chongshan refused to intervene.
• A Xiao elder suggested handing Chu Yunshu over to the Eastern Islanders to spare the family.

As the Guangnan Division threatened the Xiao Family over the alleged sheltering of Faceless Asura, Xiao Zhengyan refused to sacrifice Xiao Yuqing or yield to the Eastern Islanders. With Ocean City nearing siege, Lu Zhen watched the crisis deepen while his training rewards accumulated.

• Xiao Changyuan revealed that Zheng Qianqiu had joined the Eastern Islanders, and the Huo Family offered an alliance in exchange for Huo Tianting marrying Xiao Yuqing.
• Xiao Zhengyan rejected the marriage proposal and ordered the Xiao Family to meet the Eastern Islanders’ attacks according to their rules, promising to fight if Transformation Force fighters appeared.
• Three days later, the Guangnan Division accused the Xiao Family of sheltering Faceless Asura and threatened to destroy the family unless it was handed over within three days.
• The Xiao Family denied the charge as troops and artillery moved around Ocean City, while panic and a bounty drew martial artists and Transformation Force Grandmasters into the city.
• Lu Zhen learned that the army could encircle Ocean City within five days and checked his Panel, which showed major gains in his training and physique.

Lu Zhen perfected the Eight-Headed Serpent Blood Burn Secret Technique, greatly increasing his combat strength, then returned to Ocean City as the Eastern Islanders threatened to attack. He reunited with his family and went to the Xiao Family Mansion, where Xiao Ran told him that many Guest Elders had fled and Ding Xiu had defected to the enemy.

• Lu Zhen spent General Experience to perfect the Eight-Headed Serpent Blood Burn Secret Technique and calculated that his full strength could reach thirteen million five hundred thousand jin.
• Han Tieyi told Lu Zhen to return to Ocean City, and Lu Zhen drove back through a massive crowd fleeing the city.
• Lu Zhen reached the Inner City and reassured his family, telling Ding Xuan and Xiao Chen to keep the courtyard gate closed.
• Lu Zhen went to the Xiao Family Mansion and found Xiao Ran guarding its entrance.
• Xiao Ran told Lu Zhen that more than half the Xiao Family Guest Elders had fled and that Ding Xiu had defected to the Eastern Islanders.

Lu Zhen returned to the Xiao Family as the Eastern Islanders pressed the city, and Xiao Changyuan ordered him and Chu Yunshu to defend East City. At Fangcheng’s wall, Lu Zhen reassured the defenders by declaring that he could take the enemy commanders’ heads, while Chu Yunshu moved closer to him.

• Lu Zhen asked Xiao Yuqing how the Xiao Family planned to respond, and she explained they would abandon South City and North City while defending Inner City, East City, and West City.
• Xiao Changyuan sent Guest Elders Lu and Chu to East City, then warned Xiao Yuqing to keep her distance from Lu Zhen because the family might need the Yan Clan’s help.
• At Fangcheng’s wall, Lu Zhen saw Eastern Island soldiers patrolling the deserted streets of North City while Ma Sanyuan and Lei Zhenshan voiced fears about the army and its Grandmasters.
• Lu Zhen told the defenders he could take the enemy commanders’ heads, and Chu Yunshu stepped toward him before he moved away and ordered everyone to prepare.

As the Zhou Family’s Huifeng Building hosted frenzied bets on East City’s impending fall, Pierre and Gu Wanshan each wagered that the city would hold. At East City Gate, thousands rallied behind Lu Zhen as the Eastern Islanders’ Grandmasters advanced, and Lu Zhen stepped forward to face them.

• Zhou Jiahao, Huo Tianting, and Yan Shaobao bet that East City would fall, prompting the crowd to pile on and the odds for the city holding to climb to one in a hundred.
• Pierre ordered a steward to bet one hundred thousand Silver Dollars on East City holding.
• Gu Wanshan, curious about his son Gu Yanzhi’s faith in Lu Zhen, ordered a one-hundred-thousand-Silver-Dollar bet on the city holding.
• At East City Gate, thousands of martial artists, including Gu Yanzhi and the Iron-Blooded National Salvation Society, swore to defend Ocean City as the Eastern Islanders’ ultimatum expired.
• The Eastern Island commander ordered more than fifty Grandmasters to advance, but Lu Zhen leaped down from the city tower and cut through the dust with his blade.

Lu Zhen single-handedly slaughtered the Eastern Island grandmasters at East City Gate and drove their army into retreat with a shout. He stopped short of the remaining troops, wary of revealing more of his strength and confronting the Transformation Force Grandmasters lurking behind them.

• Lu Zhen advanced alone against the Eastern Island force and killed the seven grandmasters who first attacked him with a single blade strike.
• Guasheng Tieye activated the Control Realm and ordered the grandmasters to surround and kill Lu Zhen, but Lu Zhen countered with his own Control Realm and slaughtered them.
• Lu Zhen killed Guasheng Tieye with a downward strike that split the man and his Nodachi and carved a hundred-meter trench through the street.
• Lu Zhen challenged the Eastern Island soldiers and the Zheng Family's warrior formations, and his roar sent the terrified army fleeing.
• The East City Gate defenders celebrated their survival, while Gu Yanzhi stared in disbelief and Chu Yunshu watched Lu Zhen as though she had confirmed something about him.

Lu Zhen single-handedly annihilated the Eastern Island grandmasters and drove their army away, saving East City and shocking Ocean City’s prominent families. The Gu Family celebrated its enormous bet and Gu Wanshan hurried to prepare a gift for Lu Zhen.

• The announcer reported that more than fifty Eastern Island grandmasters had advanced on East City Gate, and Lu Zhen confronted them alone.
• Lu Zhen killed seven grandmasters with one saber strike, then slaughtered the rest, including Guasheng Tieye, and sent the Eastern Island army retreating.
• Zhou Jiahao, Huo Tianting, and Yan Shaobao realized Lu Zhen’s strength could upend their families’ plans, including the Yan Clan’s hopes of marrying Xiao Yuqing.
• A clerk told Gu Wanshan that Lu Zhen had won the battle and the Gu Family’s hundred-thousand-Silver-Dollar bet had paid ten million Silver Dollars.
• Gu Wanshan secretly erupted with excitement and hurried to prepare a lavish gift for Lu Zhen, stumbling over the threshold on his way out.