Recaps

Jiang Ning entered the Shangyang Immortal Sect’s Inner Landscape Grounds, where he met Shen Yue Ru and learned that the place was a remnant spiritual world. Their conflicting knowledge of the Martial Dao led him to suspect they came from different realms.

• Jiang Ning used his true disciple token to enter the Inner Landscape Grounds after strengthening his bones and completing his sixth blood exchange.
• Jiang Ning encountered shifting scenes of the Shangyang Immortal Sect in ruin and could not use his Heavenly Eye or Fire Eye because he was present as a soul.
• Shen Yue Ru introduced herself as a senior sister from Crimson Radiance Grotto-Heaven and explained that the Inner Landscape Grounds were a spiritual world.
• Shen Yue Ru urged Jiang Ning to abandon the Martial Dao and offered to help him join the Crimson Radiance Sect, but Jiang Ning questioned her claims about martial artists’ strength.
• Jiang Ning told Shen Yue Ru that Great Xia ruled his world, and their differing knowledge led him to conclude that they came from different realms.

Shen Yue Ru brought Jiang Ning to the Yang Pool, where his trait drew in yang energy at an extraordinary rate and transformed his spirit body into pure yang. The chapter left Shen Yue Ru believing Jiang Ning had already reached the Yang God realm and would soon surpass her.

• Shen Yue Ru told Jiang Ning about a pureblood Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox who had become a true disciple of the Shangyang Immortal Sect, then urged Jiang Ning to pursue the Immortal Dao.
• Shen Yue Ru brought Jiang Ning to the Yang Pool and explained that bathing there strengthened spirit bodies and gradually nourished souls toward the Yang God realm.
• Jiang Ning activated his trait in the pool, drawing in far more yang energy than Shen Yue Ru and leaving her with only a fraction of her usual share.
• After two hours, Jiang Ning's spirit body reached its limit, and Shen Yue Ru noticed a golden glow surrounding him.
• Shen Yue Ru concluded that Jiang Ning's spirit form had become pure yang and reached the Yang God realm, and she predicted he could soon grow stronger than her.

Jiang Ning received the Shangyang Immortal Sect’s Yang-Character Scripture at the Dao Lecture Platform, and Shen Yue Ru benefited from its radiance. In the Yang Pool, they joined their spiritual bodies so Shen Yue Ru could teach him the Grand Void Yin-Yang Sword, while Jiang Ning’s attempt to share his scripture proved too powerful for her to absorb.

• Shen Yue Ru led Jiang Ning to the Dao Lecture Platform, where he heard a past lecture and received the incomplete Yang-Character Scripture.
• Jiang Ning circulated the scripture, causing his spiritual body to radiate great-sun light and prompting Shen Yue Ru’s Yin Spirit to begin turning toward Yang.
• Shen Yue Ru took Jiang Ning to the Yang Pool and proposed merging their divine souls, offering to teach him her supreme sword art in return.
• Shen Yue Ru transmitted the Grand Void Yin-Yang Sword to Jiang Ning as their spiritual bodies touched and their minds intertwined.
• Jiang Ning tried to share the Yang-Character Scripture with Shen Yue Ru, but its great-sun presence nearly dissolved her spiritual form, so he withdrew it.
• Shen Yue Ru resumed their aura circulation and began sharing her insights into the sword path and the Grand Void Yin-Yang Sword.

After their souls melded in the Shangyang Inner Landscape, Shen Yue Ru returned to the Crimson Radiance Grotto-Heaven with her spiritual body transformed, while Jiang Ning gained her swordsmanship insights and advanced his Grand Void Yin-Yang Sword. Back in his own world, Jiang Ning reflected on the Immortal and Martial Dao, discovered his soul was nearing the Yang God realm, and anticipated learning more of the Yang-Character Scripture.

• Shen Yue Ru reached the Pure Yang realm through her soul melding with Jiang Ning, then thanked him before they were sent from the Shangyang Inner Landscape.
• Back in the Crimson Radiance Grotto-Heaven, Shen Yue Ru completed her soul transformation and resolved to contend for the sect leader position.
• Jiang Ning returned to Guangning Prefecture and tested the swordsmanship insights he had gained from Shen Yue Ru.
• Jiang Ning digested the Grand Void Yin-Yang Sword and raised its experience from 3341 to 5143, learning that it involved the Dao of Space and Yin-Yang.
• Jiang Ning considered the Yang-Character Scripture and hoped to obtain its complete form at his next visit to the Dao Lecture Platform.
• Jiang Ning sensed his soul had grown stronger and saw that it was partly golden, bringing him closer to attaining the Yang God realm.

Jiang Ning practiced the Grand Void Yin-Yang Sword, using Shen Yue Ru’s insights to raise his skill to 5236 experience before his rapid gains dwindled. He resolved to build his Sword Dao talent with other sword techniques and, with his body replenished by accumulated treasures and the Divine Tree’s heart, prepared to pursue his seventh blood exchange.

• Jiang Ning exhausted the golden mist in his dantian while practicing the Grand Void Yin-Yang Sword, then restored it by actively merging his essence, qi, and spirit.
• Jiang Ning practiced the sword forms repeatedly, combining his own experience with Shen Yue Ru’s insights until his skill reached 5231 experience.
• Jiang Ning’s accelerated gains faded, and after further practice he reached only 5236 experience, confirming that future progress would be much slower.
• Jiang Ning calculated that raising the Grand Void Yin-Yang Sword to perfection could take nearly thirty years and decided to cultivate other sword techniques to improve his Sword Dao talent.
• Jiang Ning recognized that accumulated treasures had replenished his body after his sixth blood exchange and expected the Divine Tree’s heart to support his seventh blood exchange once his transformation finished.

Jiang Ning returned to Dongling City and reunited with Lü Yi, Zhong Ling, and Liu Wanwan, learning that Zhong Ling had been entrusted to his household. He discovered that Linglong had taken human form after awakening the Water God authority and controlling three hundred li of the Nu River, then rewarded her and Old Tortoise with his blood.

• Wang Xuan waited at Star-Picking Tower to repay Jiang Ning for returning her flying sword, while Ge Xian'er said she had something on him.
• Linglong sensed Jiang Ning near the Nu River, and Lü Yi hurried to welcome him at the gate.
• Lü Yi told Jiang Ning that Zhong Ling had arrived with officials from Guangning Prefecture, Five Peaks Prefecture, and Inspector Bai, and Liu Wanwan greeted him at home.
• Jiang Ning learned that the metropolitan martial examination would take place on the twentieth day of the tenth month.
• Linglong revealed that she had awakened the Water God authority, refined three hundred li of the Nu River, and taken human form after reaching one thousand and eight years of cultivation.
• Jiang Ning gave Linglong and Old Tortoise drops of his blood and told Linglong to protect Little Doubao and the others.

Jiang Ning revealed that Linglong was a great demon capable of taking human form, astonishing Zhao Yulong and Bai Luoyu as they discussed the White Horned Dragon’s recent attacks. Wang Xuan then visited Jiang Ning to offer compensation for her flying sword, leaving him to consider whether her supreme sword-technique inheritance suited his needs.

• Jiang Ning introduced Linglong as his demon pet, and Zhao Yulong and Bai Luoyu learned she was a great demon powerful enough to rival the White Horned Dragon.
• Zhao Yulong said the authorities planned to watch the White Horned Dragon quietly, though it had injured people and villages had begun erecting statues of it.
• Wang Xuan, Wang Yuan, and Ge Xian’er arrived at Jiang Ning’s residence, where they sensed Linglong’s formidable demon aura and dragon might.
• Ge Xian’er demanded the Divine Wind Fan, but Jiang Ning demonstrated that he had refined all seventeen restrictions, and Wang Xuan accepted their defeat.
• Wang Xuan offered to pay an equivalent price for her life-bound flying sword, and Jiang Ning asked for a sword technique in exchange.
• Wang Xuan presented a jade tablet containing a supreme sword-technique inheritance, while Jiang Ning questioned whether it would help him grow beyond his current limits.

Jiang Ning accepted two superior sword techniques from Wang Xuan, then fought her under the protection of her Five-Elements Formation Disk and easily defeated her. After the visitors left, he studied the Seven-Star Demon-Subduing Sword from a jade tablet and quickly advanced his mastery through practice.

• Wang Xuan gave Jiang Ning two jade tablets containing superior sword techniques and set up a Lesser Five-Elements Mountain-Suppressing Formation in his courtyard.
• Jiang Ning agreed to spar with Wang Xuan and effortlessly defended against her rapid attacks before striking her abdomen and sending her flying.
• Wang Xuan reflected that she and her companions had underestimated the Martial Dao, while Wang Yuan asked Jiang Ning to fight him again; the three visitors then left.
• Wang Xuan and Wang Yuan discussed Jiang Ning's immortal root and powerful dharma power, suspecting he had an opportunity of his own.
• Jiang Ning activated one jade tablet, received the Seven-Star Demon-Subduing Sword inheritance, and began practicing the technique by the lake.
• Jiang Ning completed the sword technique once and broke through to a new level of mastery.

Jiang Ning perfected the Seven-Star Demon-Subduing Sword in a single day with Sword Nine’s help, gaining Demon-Subduing Sword Intent and preparing to break the technique’s limits. The next morning, he considered the looming threat of the great demon White Horned Dragon and the powerful figure hiding behind it.

• Jiang Ning practiced the Seven-Star Demon-Subduing Sword until it reached Major Mastery, then borrowed Sword Nine from Xie Xiaoj iu to increase his progress.
• Jiang Ning gave Xie Xiaoj iu a drop of pale golden blood to strengthen her bones, and she advanced more than halfway toward Jade Bone.
• Jiang Ning perfected the Seven-Star Demon-Subduing Sword at night, awakening Demon-Subduing Sword Intent and learning that the technique could summon starlight to boost its power.
• Jiang Ning continued practicing until the technique reached 376/1000, then told Xie Xiaoj iu to stay overnight and promised to help her reach Jade Bone the next day.
• Jiang Ning woke with 65,431 source energy and considered breaking the sword technique’s limits, while worrying that a First-Rank Martial Dao Pinnacle expert might be behind the trouble surrounding the White Horned Dragon.

Jiang Ning practiced the Seven-Star Demon-Subduing Sword until he broke through its first and second limits, gaining the traits Clear Sword Heart and Demon Extermination. After a sudden rain interrupted a burst of extraordinary insight, he continued training and ended the chapter with a sword intent capable of slaying evil spirits.

• Jiang Ning told Xie Xiaoj iu to forge her Jade Bone before taking care of his business, then joined his family and Xie Xiaoj iu for breakfast.
• Jiang Ning reached the Seven-Star Demon-Subduing Sword's first limit break, spending source energy to gain the light-blue trait Clear Sword Heart.
• Clear Sword Heart increased Jiang Ning's sword-practice experience, and he entered a state of sudden enlightenment before thunder and rain jolted him out of it.
• Jiang Ning practiced through the downpour until the Seven-Star Demon-Subduing Sword reached its next limit, then spent source energy to break through again.
• Jiang Ning gained the dark-green trait Demon Extermination and tested its righteous, pure-yang sword intent by cutting through the rain.

Jiang Ning watched King Huai'an, Lu Zhan, battle Pang Yunhai, a thousand-year-old Grotto-Heaven expert, and witnessed the overwhelming power of Martial Dao's supreme pinnacle. He realized his Inner Elixir Life-Nourishing Technique had already granted him a power associated with that realm and resolved to prioritize its next breakthrough.

• Jiang Ning received Ye Zhengqi's warning that King Huai'an and a Grotto-Heaven expert were fighting toward Dongling City, and Zhao Yulong and Bai Luoyu also learned of the approaching battle.
• Jiang Ning opened his Heavenly Eye and watched King Huai'an, Lu Zhan, and Pang Yunhai clash above the clouds, recognizing their extraordinary strength and fearing for Dongling City.
• Lu Zhan struck Pang Yunhai with the Great Firmament Palm and revealed that he had fused vital essence, energy, and spirit, reaching the true supreme pinnacle of Martial Dao.
• Pang Yunhai used the Seven Stars Chaos-Step to draw strength from the stars, but Lu Zhan shattered his counterattack, destroyed his right arm, and pursued him as he tried to escape.
• Jiang Ning realized that the strange power in his dantian came from the pinnacle of Martial Dao and that his Inner Elixir Life-Nourishing Technique had already given him access to it.
• Jiang Ning raised the priority of advancing the Inner Elixir Life-Nourishing Technique and considered refining his stored treasures and the heart of the divine tree to reach its next limit break.

Jiang Ning witnessed Daoist Qingyuan and Pang Yunhai’s failed ambush on King Huai'an, then saw the injured king arrive in Dongling City. As Jiang Ning reflected on the growing unrest among the grotto-heavens, a messenger summoned him to meet the Mansion Master and King Huai'an.

• Pang Yunhai lured King Huai'an toward Daoist Qingyuan, who emerged from a hidden layer of space and struck him with a powerful sword attack.
• Daoist Qingyuan and Pang Yunhai withdrew after the strike failed to seriously injure King Huai'an, and Jiang Ning learned that Qingyuan had judged the king too dangerous to fight further.
• Jiang Ning watched King Huai'an fly to Dongling City in an unstable condition and considered how his death could destabilize several prefectures.
• A messenger arrived at Jiang Ning's mansion and said the Mansion Master had summoned him because King Huai'an had arrived.
• Jiang Ning left for the meeting despite Lü Yi's concern, telling her to stay home.

Jiang Ning met King Huai'an Lu Zhan at the Inspection Office, where Lu Zhan tested him with oppressive pressure before Granny Bai intervened and revealed that Lu Zhan had been ambushed by Daoist Qingyuan and Pang Yunhai. After the gathering, Jiang Ning escorted Wang Qingtan home, and they arranged to meet that night.

• Jiang Ning arrived at the Inspection Office and greeted King Huai'an Lu Zhan, who pressured him and praised his strength after he resisted.
• Wang Qingtan challenged Lu Zhan for bullying Jiang Ning, and Jiang Ning prepared to protect her as the tense gathering reached a dangerous impasse.
• Granny Bai arrived, stopped Lu Zhan from quarreling with the younger generation, and learned that Daoist Qingyuan and Pang Yunhai had ambushed him.
• Granny Bai agreed to stay and guard Lu Zhan while he recovered, then told Jiang Ning she would visit him for a chat.
• Jiang Ning and Wang Qingtan left together under his umbrella, discussed his willingness to protect her, and arranged to meet at her home that night.
• Jiang Ning escorted Wang Qingtan to the Commandery Governor's Office, where Wang Shouyi thanked him and invited him to visit again.

After his encounter with King Huai'an, Jiang Ning recognized how much stronger he needed to become and intensified his sword practice. Granny Bai later praised his courage and urged him to compete for top martial scholar, while revealing that Xiao Wuque wanted to meet him in the Royal Capital.

• Jiang Ning returned home through the rain, reassured Jiang Li and Liu Wanwan that King Huai'an had not harmed him, and practiced the Seven-Star Demon-Subduing Sword while considering the Grand Void Yin-Yang Sword.
• Jiang Ning visited Wang Qingtan during the night, but they were interrupted the next morning when Wang Qinghan called at the door, and he hurried back home to practice.
• Granny Bai praised Jiang Ning's swordsmanship and courage in wanting to protect the young girl from King Huai'an.
• Granny Bai advised Jiang Ning to seek the title of top martial scholar at the provincial martial examination and told him Xiao Wuque wanted to meet him in the Royal Capital.
• Granny Bai noted that Jiang Ning's inner-realm aura might help him open an inner realm, then departed without explaining how to do it.

Jiang Ning broke through the Seven-Star Demon-Subduing Sword twice, gaining stronger sword aptitude and the Turning Misfortune into Fortune trait before spending days practicing. After using a thousand source energy points for another breakthrough, he made his Sword Intent connect heaven and earth.

• Jiang Ning filled the Seven-Star Demon-Subduing Sword's progress bar and spent source energy to break through, strengthening his Clear Sword Heart and improving his sword-practice gains.
• After further practice, Jiang Ning reached the fourth limit break and gained the Turning Misfortune into Fortune trait, which he associated with the Seven Primordial Calamity-Relief Star Lord.
• Jiang Ning continued practicing for days, and Bai Luoyu visited, praised his diligence, and asked whether King Huai'an had intimidated him.
• Jiang Ning filled the sword technique's progress bar again and spent a thousand source energy points on another breakthrough.
• Jiang Ning resonated with seven great stars as his Sword Intent connected heaven and earth, while Zhao Yulong and Bai Luoyu sensed his achievement.

Jiang Ning reached the heaven-and-man level of sword intent, then used it to begin his seventh blood exchange in the Dongling Mountain Range. He completed the exchange and absorbed the energy of the Divine Tree’s heart, leaving him ravenous and with the Inner Elixir Life-Nourishing Technique at its experience limit.

• Jiang Ning’s sword intent connected heaven and man, and Bai Luoyu sensed its power from his residence.
• Jiang Ning discovered the Seven-Star Lamp trait and decided not to use it unless his life was in danger.
• Jiang Ning abandoned further sword practice, gathered spiritual workings of heaven and earth into his inner elixir, and began his seventh blood exchange.
• Jiang Ning survived the blood exchange with the aid of the Divine Tree’s heart and reflected on how the Ninefold True-Spirit Metamorphosis might awaken memories of past lives.
• Jiang Ning regenerated his blood while tempering his organs, then devoured the spiritual treasures he had brought from Upper Yang Grotto-Heaven to replenish his body.
• Jiang Ning found that the Inner Elixir Life-Nourishing Technique had reached 40,000 experience and saw that its next limit break required 100,000 source energy points.

After completing his seventh blood replacement, Jiang Ning experienced a dramatic bodily transformation and discovered that his qi and blood could form a crimson dragon. He received Ji Mingyue’s letter, then learned the Two Forms Hard-Soft Sword and tested its powerful yin-yang sword art in the mountains.

• Jiang Ning finished his rapid bodily metamorphosis, washed away the shed flakes, and saw his qi and blood form a thirteen-foot crimson dragon.
• Jiang Ning received a letter from Ji Mingyue and agreed to send a reply, while Zhong Ling watched him leave and worried that he saw her only as a younger sister.
• Jiang Ning judged that further training in the Seven-Star Demon-Subduing Sword was inefficient and activated Wang Xuan’s jade tablet containing the Two Forms Hard-Soft Sword inheritance.
• Jiang Ning learned that the Two Forms Hard-Soft Sword had reached proficient level and recognized its potential to aid his understanding of yin and yang.
• Jiang Ning practiced the new sword art in the Dongling Mountain Range and unleashed a strike that devastated the trees, stones, and ground thirty zhang ahead.

Jiang Ning repeatedly limit-broke the Two Forms Hard-Soft Sword and strengthened its traits, then spent one hundred thousand Source Energy to advance the Inner Elixir Life-Nourishing Technique. The breakthrough left a golden sun in his dantian and a tender sprout emerging beneath it.

• Jiang Ning practiced the Two Forms Hard-Soft Sword until it reached Perfection, then spent Source Energy to limit-break it and gain the Hard and Soft in Harmony trait.
• Jiang Ning continued practicing and limit-broke the sword art twice more, gaining the Defense and Graceful as a Startled Swan traits.
• Jiang Ning practiced through the night and reached the next limit-break threshold as his Source Energy rose above one hundred thousand.
• Jiang Ning limit-broke the Two Forms Hard-Soft Sword again, improving the Defense trait and increasing his experience gains.
• Jiang Ning spent one hundred thousand Source Energy to break through the Inner Elixir Life-Nourishing Technique, causing a golden sun to rise in his heart and a sprout to emerge in his dantian.

Jiang Ning discovered that his immortal root had sprouted and gained the Great Sun Furnace trait, then visited Water-Moon Sword Palace to investigate Lin Qingyi’s disappearance. He entered the realm behind the goddess statue and met the mysterious woman in white, who recognized his newly sprouted immortal root.

• Jiang Ning watched a sprout grow in his dantian, saw that his immortal root had formed, and gained the Great Sun Furnace trait after breaking through the Inner Elixir Life-Nourishing Technique.
• Jiang Ning tested the trait by eating an Earth Ganoderma and found that his body refined nearly all of its medicinal energy.
• Jiang Ning slept through the day, then left home and traveled to Water-Moon Sword Palace to meet Xiao Emei.
• Xiao Emei told Jiang Ning that Lin Qingyi had vanished inside the main hall half a month earlier, so she led him to the goddess statue.
• Jiang Ning used his Heavenly Eye to enter a moonlit lake realm, where a woman in white recognized his sprouted immortal root and asked whether he had stepped onto the immortal path.

Jiang Ning learned that an immortal root had to sprout before someone truly entered the Immortal Dao, then discovered that Lin Qingyi was receiving the lakeside woman’s legacy. After studying the Water-Moon Sword Palace’s records, he agreed to stay overnight while Xiao Emei prepared Martial Dao resources for him.

• Jiang Ning asked the lakeside woman about immortal-root sprouting, and she revealed the phantom of a divine tree bearing four fruits.
• The woman showed Jiang Ning that Lin Qingyi was inside the moon and said Lin Qingyi was suited to inherit her legacy; she also asked Jiang Ning to return later and look after Xiao Emei.
• Jiang Ning returned to the goddess statue, realized only his consciousness had visited the woman, and heard Xiao Emei explain what she knew about the Immortal Dao.
• Jiang Ning read four ancient books in the library and confirmed their accounts largely matched Xiao Emei’s explanation.
• Xiao Emei invited Jiang Ning to stay the night and promised to give him the Martial Dao resources she had gathered; he accepted.
• After Jiang Ning and Xiao Emei left the library, two disciples speculated that Xiao Emei’s succession had been connected to her relationship with Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning stayed overnight at Water-Moon Sword Palace, trained his Two Forms Hard-Soft Sword, and collected the tribute Xiao Emei had prepared. Afterward, he planned to visit Divine Sword Manor for more resources before traveling to the Royal Capital for the military imperial examination.

• Xiao Emei gave Jiang Ning her room for the night and slept on the couch outside.
• Jiang Ning practiced the Two Forms Hard-Soft Sword, clearing the mist over Moon-Reflection Lake and astonishing the palace disciples who witnessed his power.
• Jiang Ning continued training and increased his sword skill experience while Xiao Emei watched and prepared to take him to the treasury.
• Xiao Emei led Jiang Ning into the treasury, where he collected three boxes of heavenly treasures and more than ten Crimsonflame Blood Crystals as tribute.
• Jiang Ning decided to visit Divine Sword Manor for its tribute and build his strength before the metropolitan examination in the Royal Capital.

Jiang Ning visited Divine Sword Manor and accepted the resources Shangguan Feilong had gathered for his next blood exchange, then tested how much the Great Sun Furnace had improved his refinement. Elsewhere, the young man summoned the Yellow Heaven Daoist because he feared Little White had been discovered and could not trace what had happened himself.

• Shangguan Feilong welcomed Jiang Ning to Divine Sword Manor and explained that his health had improved since Sword Nine was taken away.
• Shangguan Feilong led Jiang Ning to the treasury and presented him with fifty-three Crimsonflame Blood Crystals he had purchased for Jiang Ning.
• Jiang Ning praised Shangguan Feilong’s preparations and calculated that the crystals would provide enough resources for his eighth blood exchange.
• Jiang Ning swallowed a Crimsonflame Blood Crystal and found that the Great Sun Furnace refined it with roughly fifty percent greater effect than before.
• On an unnamed island in Luo Water Lake, the young man told the Yellow Heaven Daoist that Little White might have been discovered and asked for help tracing the past.

Yellow Heaven Daoist prepared to rebel against Great Xia, setting the uprising for the turn of autumn and winter after Xiao Wuque discovered them. In Dongling City, Jiang Ning learned that refugees were fleeing famine in neighboring Xichuan Commandery, then agreed to help Jiang Yiming ask his parents to support his engagement to Lin Jiaxin.

• Yellow Heaven Daoist told his disciple Jing'er that Huang Tianhua and the others should gather for an uprising at the turn of autumn and winter, arguing that Great Xia was failing and a new dynasty would eventually unite the Nine Provinces.
• Jiang Ning saw refugees entering Dongling City and learned from a soldier that drought and locust plagues had driven them from Xichuan Commandery.
• Jiang Ning visited the shanty district, where Wang Shouyi explained that Dongling had grain stores but that worsening famine might force him to bar refugees from the city.
• Wang Shouyi asked Jiang Ning to protect his two daughters if disaster befell him, and Jiang Ning promised he would.
• Jiang Ning returned home and learned that Jiang Yiming had come back from the Martial Academy on leave.
• Jiang Yiming asked Jiang Ning to speak with his parents and help arrange an engagement to Lin Jiaxin, and Jiang Ning agreed.

Jiang Ning supported Jiang Yiming’s wish to pursue Lin Jiaxin and comforted Zhong Ling, who was struggling with her great-grandfather’s absence. As famine worsened across the region, Jiang Ning focused on improving his strength, and his sword practice astonished those who witnessed it.

• Jiang Ning backed Jiang Yiming’s feelings for Lin Jiaxin, promised to handle the status difference, and said he would take Yiming to Lin Manor the next day.
• Jiang Ning reassured Zhong Ling that her great-grandfather had not abandoned her and offered to let her stay in his courtyard with Linglong.
• Jiang Ning reflected on the growing famine, Dongling City’s dwindling grain, and the danger posed by the Grotto-Heaven before deciding to prioritize his strength.
• Jiang Ning practiced the Two Forms Hard-Soft Sword and unleashed a powerful strike that shook the night sky.
• Zhong Ling praised Jiang Ning’s display, while Bai Luoyu stopped comparing himself to Jiang Ning and resolved to surpass his own limits; Zhao Yulong marveled at Jiang Ning’s growing power.

Jiang Ning practiced controlling the force of his sword art, then brought his nephew Jiang Yiming to the Lin Clan to learn about Lin Jiaxin and their relationship. The Lin family’s disapproval gave way to a meeting with Jiang Ning, where Lin Zhenxing began to realize why Jiang Ning had come.

• Jiang Ning refined his sword practice until he could suppress its force into a single thunderclap, and Zhong Ling regained some of her liveliness.
• Feng Jiге told Jiang Ning that Lin Jiaxin was a well-regarded eighth-rank martial artist, and Jiang Ning said he would leave the choice of a match to Jiang Yiming.
• Jiang Ning took Jiang Yiming and Feng Jiге to visit the Lin Clan, while Lin Zhenbei scolded Lin Jiaxin for loving a constable’s son and dismissed Jiang Yiming’s prospects.
• Steward Li summoned Lin Zhenbei and Lin Jiaxin to meet Inspector Jiang, who was waiting with Lin Zhenxing in the reception hall.
• Jiang Ning introduced Jiang Yiming as his nephew, and Lin Jiaxin recognized him; Lin Zhenxing noticed their exchanged glances and suspected they were in love.