Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Xian learns that Madam Wen’s conflict with the Five-Mountain Sword Alliance continued after the search for the Jade Dragon failed.
• The Sword Alliance, suspecting Madam possessed the Jade Dragon, organized a new expedition led by Ke Jiannan, the Blazing-Mist Sword King. They planned to negotiate first, offering six treasured swords, jewels, and rare artifacts, while also hoping to restore the Alliance’s dignity.
• The Alliance’s five named swords included five weapons Madam had previously won from their elders in a sword wager. Li Xian realizes these were likely being returned as promised, while the Black Ancient Sword and other treasures were intended as payment for the Jade Dragon.
• Ke Jiannan and several elders visit Madam’s residence. Madam calmly welcomes them, exposes their intentions, and refuses their offer, explaining that she already possesses everything they brought.
• When the elders become hostile, Madam effortlessly defeats them:
  • She breaks one elder’s wrist and uses his own sword to pin him down.
  • She stops another elder’s full-force sword strike with a single strand of hair.
  • She neutralizes multiple sword attacks by using a different defensive technique against each strike.
  • She repels the elders with overwhelming force and prepares to kill them.
• Ke Jiannan recognizes that the Alliance has acted like bandits and forces the elders to apologize. Madam demands that they break their own swords as further punishment. Though humiliated, they comply and withdraw.
• Madam tells them that if Old Sword Master truly wants the Jade Dragon, he must come personally.
• Old Sword Master descends from the mountain despite his illness and advanced age. After searching for nearly a month, he finally finds Madam.
• Madam reveals that the Jade Dragon has already been consumed by her Ancestor Silkworm. However, the silkworm may soon produce Jade Nectar with similar healing effects.
• She offers the Jade Nectar in exchange for the Sword Repository Canon, a record of the sword sects’ deepest insights.
• To explain why she wants the Canon, Madam demonstrates that her swordsmanship has reached the level of Peak Mastery—and may be progressing beyond it.
• She declares that martial arts have no true peak and that she intends to explore realms beyond Peak Mastery. She credits her past defeat at Li Xian’s hands with helping her discover this path.
• Old Sword Master is deeply shaken, admitting that age has made both his body and his outlook rigid. He later resolves to avoid confronting Madam again.

Character Developments

• Li Xian: His concern for Madam becomes clear. Though he fears her temperament and remembers betraying or abandoning her in the past, he remains protective of her and distrustful of the Sword Alliance’s motives. He also realizes that Madam has never shown him her full strength.
• Madam Wen: She is portrayed as supremely confident, politically shrewd, and overwhelmingly powerful. Her calm courtesy conceals absolute control over every situation. More importantly, she is revealed as an innovator who refuses to accept traditional limits in martial arts.
• Ke Jiannan: Initially acts as the Alliance’s proud representative, but he is perceptive enough to recognize Madam’s superiority. When his elders attack, he shows moral judgment by forcing them to apologize and acknowledge their wrongdoing.
• The Five-Mountain Sword Alliance elders: Their arrogance and hypocrisy are exposed. They claim righteousness but are willing to pressure Madam for the Jade Dragon. Their defeat, broken swords, and humiliation severely damage their pride.
• Old Sword Master: Though authoritative and highly respected, he is physically declining and intellectually constrained by conventional beliefs. Madam’s advancement forces him to confront the limits of his own understanding.
• Huang Axia’s friend: Her unusual eyesight and role as Old Sword Master’s sword attendant allow her to witness events others could not comprehend, giving the chapter its account of Madam’s terrifying abilities.

Significant Themes

• The hypocrisy of “righteous” institutions: The Sword Alliance claims moral authority but effectively attempts to obtain Madam’s treasure through pressure and intimidation.
• Power versus reputation: The elders’ fame and status mean little against Madam’s actual ability. Their titles cannot protect them from humiliation.
• The limits of tradition: Old Sword Master represents established martial orthodoxy, while Madam believes that mastery is not the final destination.
• The importance of defeat and suffering: Madam suggests that her loss to Li Xian helped her gain the insight necessary to pursue a higher realm.
• Age and stagnation: Madam directly tells Old Sword Master that he is old not only in body but also in perspective. The chapter contrasts physical longevity with intellectual and spiritual flexibility.
• Courtesy as dominance: Madam remains polite, serves tea, and speaks gently, yet her courtesy only emphasizes how completely she controls the encounter.
• Martial arts as endless exploration: The central philosophical claim is that “there is no peak in martial arts”; every supposed summit may conceal another realm beyond it.

Character Interactions

• Li Xian and Huang Axia’s group: Li Xian listens intently to the account, especially because it concerns Madam. His private thoughts reveal both anxiety over their past and admiration for her strength.
• Huang Axia and the physicians and martial artists: Huang Axia dramatically recounts her friend’s testimony, while the listeners question and react with disbelief to Madam’s techniques.
• Madam and Ke Jiannan: Their exchange is outwardly courteous but intellectually confrontational. Madam repeatedly exposes the Alliance’s intentions and places Ke Jiannan in a defensive position.
• Madam and the elders: The elders try to intimidate her, but she treats their attacks as insignificant. Her demand that they break their swords turns their aggression into public humiliation.
• Madam and Old Sword Master: Their meeting becomes a philosophical contest rather than a simple negotiation. Madam offers a practical bargain while challenging his assumptions about the limits of swordsmanship. Old Sword Master ultimately recognizes her as someone standing beyond his understanding.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wen Caishang’s defeat by Li Xian becomes a turning point rather than a lasting humiliation. While restrained by the Waning Sun Blood-Draining Sword, she unconsciously experienced Li Xian’s Great Self-level swordsmanship through the resonance of their paired swords. Afterward, she studied those sensations and used them to advance her Frost Moon Waxing-Waning Sword to Peak Mastery, beginning to pursue the realm beyond it.
• At Peach-Cherry Residence, Huang Axia recounts Wen Caishang’s encounter with the Old Sword Master of the Five-Mountain Sword Alliance. Wen requests access to the Sword Repository Canon, not to copy a martial art, but to study the accumulated sword insights of earlier masters and deepen her own understanding.
• Wen cleverly gives the Old Sword Master Jade Nectar in exchange for the canon, making it difficult for him to retract his agreement without appearing petty. The sect’s rules require an outsider to ring the Sword Bell nine times before borrowing the canon.
• The Five-Mountain Sword Alliance, resentful of being repeatedly outmaneuvered by Wen, secretly prepares a massive Sword Dragon Formation along the mountain road. Their plan is to exhaust her with successive challenges before handing over the canon.
• Wen never enters the mountain. Instead, she sends her young maid to the gate and remains at a distance, using extraordinary archery to strike the Sword Bell nine times. She thereby fulfills the sect’s borrowing requirement without confronting the formation.
• Li Xian correctly deduces that Wen used arrows to ring the bell. He explains that the flexible shaft and fletching could transfer the arrow’s forward momentum into a blunt impact against the bell, allowing it to sound despite the arrowhead’s likely inability to damage it directly.
• The Sword Alliance is left humiliated. It sends Ke Jiannan to deliver the copied canon, but Wen and her maid have already departed. The sect keeps the incident secret and becomes reluctant even to mention her name.
• After treating Huang Axia and receiving payment and medical merit, Li Xian returns home. Before leaving, he reflects positively on his recent experiences and new friendships.
• At Jujube-Pasture Residence, Li Xian practices several martial arts and refines his essence. Determined not to stagnate while Wen grows stronger, he accepts that he must follow his own path. The chapter ends with him practicing archery, whose proficiency has reached Grand Self.

Character Developments

• Wen Caishang: Demonstrates exceptional adaptability and ambition. She transforms defeat into instruction, reaches Peak Mastery in her swordsmanship, and begins seeking the Great Self Realm. Her intelligence, confidence, and strategic creativity are highlighted by her manipulation of the Sword Alliance and her unconventional use of archery.
• Li Xian: Shows a mature attitude toward cultivation. Although motivated to catch up with Wen, he avoids jealousy and impatience, resolving to develop according to his own strengths. His deep understanding of swordsmanship and archery becomes evident, and his archery advances to Grand Self.
• Huang Axia: Serves as the storyteller who brings the events of Wen’s encounter to life. Her suspenseful narration delights the others, though it eventually causes them to retaliate playfully.
• The Old Sword Master and the Sword Alliance elders: Their pride and concern for reputation are exposed. They are honorable enough to avoid openly bullying Wen, but their desire to recover face leads them into an elaborate plan that backfires.
• Yao Yin, Bai Caiwei, and Han Niannian: Grow more comfortable with one another through their shared gathering. They jokingly punish Huang Axia by sealing her acupoints and binding her after she repeatedly teases them with incomplete stories.

Significant Themes

• Defeat as an opportunity for growth: Wen turns humiliation and restraint into a rare chance to experience a higher realm of swordsmanship.
• The boundlessness of martial arts: The chapter challenges the idea that Peak Mastery is the ultimate limit, suggesting that even apparent summits can be surpassed.
• Individual paths of cultivation: Li Xian recognizes that he and Wen need not advance identically; he can pursue Great Self through his own talents and methods.
• Ingenuity over conventional strength: Wen defeats the Sword Alliance’s elaborate formation through distance, timing, and creative archery rather than direct confrontation.
• Pride, reputation, and face: The Sword Alliance’s repeated concern with dignity makes it vulnerable to Wen’s calm and socially sophisticated tactics.
• Knowledge versus imitation: Wen seeks the Sword Repository Canon to broaden her understanding, not to copy other people’s techniques, emphasizing that true mastery requires internal comprehension.

Character Interactions

• Wen and Li Xian’s paired swords create a profound exchange of martial insight, allowing Wen to experience his Great Self swordsmanship.
• Wen and the Old Sword Master engage in a polite but highly strategic negotiation. Her gift of Jade Nectar and carefully chosen words leave him unable to refuse without appearing ungenerous.
• Wen’s maid acts as her representative at the mountain gate, misleading the elders’ assumptions before the Sword Bell begins ringing.
• Li Xian intellectually reconstructs Wen’s archery technique and realizes that the method was originally developed through their earlier discussions and experiments at One Accord Manor.
• Yao Yin, Bai Caiwei, and Han Niannian cooperate to ambush and restrain Huang Axia, turning their friendly gathering into a playful mock-punishment.
• Yao Yin acknowledges Li Xian’s medical ability and offers him future work with the Miraculous Healers Pavilion, reinforcing his growing connections in Jade City.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• During his recovery at Severed Palm Peak, Li Xian continues practicing martial arts, improving his archery to the Great Self Realm and refining his Flicked-Finger Golden Light.
• He experiments with using jujube pits as hidden weapons and begins designing a specialized flying dart modeled after them.
• When his leave ends, Li Xian dresses in his Gold-Seeking Guard armor and brings nearly a hundred jujubes from Jujube-Pasture Residence to share with his colleagues at Marquis Wu Station. His generosity and friendly nature further strengthen his reputation among the guards.
• Lei Chong watches Li Xian’s growing popularity with intense jealousy. He believes Li Xian has surpassed him despite their similar humble origins and begins plotting against him.
• Lei Chong persuades Xu Shaoqian to assign Li Xian to Evil-Quelling Island, a dangerous prison island where guards earn six times the usual military merit. Though presented as an opportunity for Li Xian to gain seniority and qualify for promotion to Gold Steward, Lei Chong intends for him to die there.
• Li Xian travels to the island with Zhang Qiusheng, Hong Dexin, Wang Jue, and over a hundred soldiers. The three other officers repeatedly challenge Li Xian’s authority, first delaying his orders and then taking the troops down a different road.
• While crossing the fog-covered Regret Lake, Li Xian senses that the mist is unnatural and suspects something mysterious about Evil-Quelling Island.
• Using his heightened senses and a strand of hair as an auditory conduit, Li Xian secretly overhears the three officers’ conspiracy. They plan to sabotage the ship’s keel, cause it to sink on the return journey, blame the disaster on escaped prisoners, and ensure that Li Xian drowns because Second Realm martial artists cannot survive in the lake.
• The conspirators intend to fabricate matching duty reports praising Li Xian’s bravery while using his death to win merit and rewards for themselves.
• Li Xian pretends to know nothing and resolves to let their scheme work in his favor, recognizing that the assignment may help him obtain the promotion Lei Chong hoped to prevent.

Character Developments

• Li Xian grows increasingly resourceful and confident. His martial skills continue to advance, while his experimentation with hidden weapons shows his creativity and preparation for future battles.
• His kindness, humor, and easygoing personality help him integrate with the Gold-Seeking Guards and earn genuine respect, contrasting sharply with Lei Chong’s arrogance and narrow-mindedness.
• Li Xian demonstrates strong caution and political awareness. He immediately suspects that his sudden assignment may be connected to Lei Chong and correctly identifies the danger before arriving at the island.
• After discovering the plot, Li Xian does not react impulsively. Instead, he chooses to conceal his knowledge and turn the conspiracy into an opportunity for advancement.
• Lei Chong is revealed as deeply resentful and increasingly murderous. His envy comes from seeing Li Xian receive the respect and acceptance that Lei Chong himself never won.
• Zhang Qiusheng, Hong Dexin, and Wang Jue show themselves to be ambitious, fearful, and willing to murder Li Xian for personal advancement. Although they are weaker than him, they rely on deception, sabotage, and bureaucratic manipulation rather than direct confrontation.

Significant Themes

• Jealousy and resentment: Lei Chong’s envy transforms professional rivalry into a deadly conspiracy.
• Merit versus character: Li Xian gains loyalty through generosity, competence, and good nature, while Lei Chong and his allies rely on manipulation and intimidation.
• Opportunity hidden within danger: The assignment is intended as a death sentence, but Li Xian sees that its high military rewards may accelerate his promotion.
• Cunning over brute force: The conspirators avoid fighting Li Xian directly and devise an elaborate assassination through sabotage and environmental danger. Li Xian counters them through observation and deception.
• Reputation and social influence: Li Xian’s growing standing among his colleagues becomes a major source of Lei Chong’s insecurity and influences the political stakes of the mission.
• Adaptability and preparation: Li Xian’s martial experimentation, awareness of his weaknesses, and careful observation allow him to respond to threats before they materialize.

Character Interactions

• Li Xian’s friendly exchange of jujubes with the guards reinforces his camaraderie with them, while playful complaints from those who receive none show the warmth of their relationships.
• Lei Chong observes Li Xian from a distance and compares their careers, revealing the bitterness behind his hostility.
• Zhang Qiusheng openly undermines Li Xian by urging the soldiers to rest, while Hong Dexin challenges his route and claims equal authority. Li Xian responds with controlled sarcasm rather than open conflict.
• The three conspirators privately coordinate their sabotage plan and discuss how to manipulate official reports, conceal their roles, and exploit Li Xian’s inability to survive underwater.
• Li Xian secretly listens to their entire plan and silently decides to use their murderous scheme to advance his own position.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Xian arrives at Evil-Quelling Island with Zhang Qiusheng, Hong Dexin, and Wang Jue. The island is surrounded by Regret Lake and protected by dangerous terrain, including a swamp that suppresses lightness skills, strange rocks, fierce winds, thorn-covered vines, and dense mist.
• The island’s unusual properties originate from buried jade mines, whose mysterious influence makes bodies increasingly heavy. This makes escape especially difficult for shackled prisoners.
• Deputy warden Liu Quan welcomes the Gold-Seeking Guard and explains their responsibilities: guarding watchtowers, inspecting the Prison Tower, patrolling the island, and patrolling the lake. The four guards divide these duties among themselves.
• Li Xian realizes that his companions may sabotage the Gold-Seeking Guard’s large departure ship. Rather than openly investigating it and alerting them, he secretly plants a strand of hair to monitor the area.
• Over several days, Li Xian thoroughly familiarizes himself with the island while maintaining his duties. He continues training every evening, unlike his three hostile companions, who grow idle and neglect their martial arts.
• During a prison inspection, Li Xian subdues the brutal criminal Rolling Blade Xu Ya using repeated Golden Light finger strikes that target the same pressure point and overwhelm his resistance to pain.
• On the first underground floor, Li Xian discovers that the imprisoned thief Li Hengfeng is being tortured under a fabricated accusation. A corrupt prison attendant claims Li Hengfeng stole the Bai Clan’s Precious-Bright Hairpin, but Li Xian recognizes the story as false.
• Using Intent Infusion and intimidation, Li Xian forces the attendant to confess. The truth is that Heaven-Stealing Alliance thieves bribed the attendant to retaliate against Li Hengfeng, who had offended their organization. The attendant had invented the charge and repeatedly punished him.
• Li Xian frees Li Hengfeng from his restraints, arranges for him to be treated more humanely, and gives the attendant one month to obtain Li Hengfeng’s forgiveness before facing severe punishment.
• Li Hengfeng realizes that Li Xian is the same masked man who captured him in the past. The two share wine and food while discussing Li Hengfeng’s imprisonment and Xu Shaoqian’s role in sentencing him to thirteen years.
• Li Hengfeng praises Li Xian’s progress and suggests that Tao Xiangrong might favor someone like him over Xu Shaoqian. He then offers to reveal a method for winning Tao Xiangrong’s heart, partly as a way to oppose Xu Shaoqian.

Character Development

• Li Xian: Demonstrates intelligence, caution, discipline, and compassion. He studies the island carefully, conceals his true abilities, remains alert to his companions’ schemes, and steadily advances his martial arts. His intervention on Li Hengfeng’s behalf shows that he values justice and loyalty, even toward someone he barely knows.
• Zhang Qiusheng, Hong Dexin, and Wang Jue: Their hostility toward Li Xian continues, but the island’s harsh and monotonous environment weakens their discipline. They neglect training and secretly resent Li Xian’s talent and steady progress while continuing to prepare their hidden scheme.
• Liu Quan: Appears as a courteous and capable deputy warden who manages the island’s operations and treats the Gold-Seeking Guard with respect.
• Rolling Blade Xu Ya: His apparent fearlessness is exposed as limited. Though his Laughing Body Saber makes him resistant to ordinary torture, Li Xian’s precise attacks overcome that resistance.
• Li Hengfeng: Revealed as a principled thief who steals valuable objects but avoids killing. Despite his imprisonment and torture, he retains his humor, pride, and gratitude. His renewed friendship with Li Xian leads him to offer help against Xu Shaoqian.
• The corrupt prison attendant: His arrogance and cruelty collapse into fear when confronted by Li Xian. His greed and crimes are exposed through interrogation.

Significant Themes

• Justice versus corruption: Li Hengfeng is punished not for the crime officially recorded, but because corrupt officials and criminal factions manipulate the prison system for revenge.
• Discipline and perseverance: Li Xian’s daily training contrasts with his companions’ decline, emphasizing that sustained effort and a firm martial heart matter more than talent or favorable circumstances.
• Cunning versus open confrontation: Li Xian avoids directly inspecting the suspected ship sabotage, choosing instead to observe secretly. He repeatedly uses patience, misdirection, and controlled strength to gain the advantage.
• Loyalty and reciprocity: Li Xian helps Li Hengfeng despite their limited acquaintance, while Li Hengfeng responds with gratitude and offers counsel in return.
• The nature of imprisonment: Evil-Quelling Island’s geography, prison architecture, and punishment methods symbolize a system designed to suppress both physical movement and human resistance.
• Romance as rivalry and strategy: Tao Xiangrong’s affection is treated less as genuine romance than as a source of competition between Li Xian and Xu Shaoqian, with Li Hengfeng hoping to use it to frustrate Xu.

Character Interactions

• Li Xian interacts courteously with Zhang Qiusheng and the other guards while privately remaining suspicious of their intentions.
• His relationship with the soldiers is respectful but formal; they obey him without openly taking sides in the conflict among the four guards.
• Li Xian’s confrontation with the prison attendant shifts from inquiry to intimidation, forcing the attendant to reveal the corruption behind Li Hengfeng’s torture.
• Li Xian and Li Hengfeng move from former adversaries to allies. Their shared wine marks a reconciliation and deepens their mutual respect.
• Li Hengfeng openly criticizes Xu Shaoqian’s obsession with Tao Xiangrong and suggests that Li Xian is more worthy of her affection, setting up a possible future scheme against Xu Shaoqian.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Xian, a Gold-Seeking Guard on Evil-Quelling Island, visits the imprisoned thief Li Hengfeng. They share wine and food.
• Li Hengfeng reveals a secret: Tao Xiangrong, the peerless courtesan of the Blue-Heavens Long Dream Tower, suffers from a mysterious fatal weakness. She prolongs her life with precious treasures, and Jade City may hold a cure.
• To repay Li Xian’s kindness, Li Hengfeng gifts him his original martial arts system—the Sorrow-and-Resentment Heart-Binding Style—which includes the Hundred Forms Technique, Body-Unity Method, Cage-Body Force, and Human-Garment Art. He tells its legendary origin from the Blissful Glee Cave and the later Dream-Unity/Body-Unity sects.
• Over the next days, Zhang Qiusheng fakes a worsening illness; Hong Dexin and Wang Jue poison prisoners, hide the corpses aboard the Tiger-Python Ship, and stage a “prisoner escape” to cover their plot.
• On the seventeenth day, Li Xian returns by ship with Hong Dexin and Wang Jue. He tries to save the soldiers by getting them drunk, but they refuse—so he abandons the attempt.
• In the ship’s cabin, Hong and Wang try to lure Li Xian into drinking before killing him. Li Xian pretends to cooperate, then turns the tables: he beheads Wang Jue and burns Hong Dexin to death with Blazing Waves.

2. Character Developments

• Li Xian: Cunning, observant, and compassionate but ruthless when necessary. He accepts martial knowledge objectively, tries to protect innocent soldiers, then strikes without hesitation once betrayal is confirmed.
• Li Hengfeng: Bold, loyal, and proud of his strange martial arts; refuses to let his school die with him and genuinely repays favors.
• Hong Dexin / Wang Jue / Zhang Qiusheng: Scheming and treacherous, but ultimately outmaneuvered by Li Xian’s foresight.
• Tao Xiangrong (mentioned): A tragic beauty whose peerless appearance contrasts with her fragile, shortened life.

3. Significant Themes

• Betrayal and loyalty: Li Hengfeng rewards kindness with martial inheritance; Hong/Wang repay comradeship with murder.
• Appearance vs. reality: False friendship and flattery mask a deadly conspiracy; Li Xian sees through it all.
• Martial legacy: Unique arts are passed on, preserving a dying school; the “Sorrow-and-Resentment Heart-Binding Style” symbolizes both intimacy and violence.
• Fate and fragility: Tao Xiangrong’s doomed life; the soldiers’ refusal to drink leads them toward their own fates.
• Retribution: The villains’ scheme collapses into sudden, violent justice.

4. Character Interactions

• Li Xian & Li Hengfeng: Mutual respect and brotherhood; Li Hengfeng insists on teaching his martial arts despite Li Xian’s initial hesitation.
• Li Xian & the soldiers: He offers them wine to save them from the upcoming disaster, but their distrust/discipline makes them refuse—so he lets their fate unfold.
• Li Xian & Hong/Wang: Polite and flattering on the surface, deadly underneath; the final confrontation is quick and decisive.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Xian kills the conspirators Wang Jue and Hong Dexin with overwhelming speed. He beheads Wang Jue and kills Hong Dexin using his newly developed “Garment-Bestowing Shock,” which combines the Pure Vajra Heat Garment, Inner Steam, Shaking Detonations, and Heartfire.
• He disposes of their bodies in Regret Lake, cleans the cabin, and secretly confirms that the Tiger-Python Ship has already been sabotaged. Its damaged keel will dissolve underwater, causing the vessel to collapse and sink.
• Li Xian escapes to shore just before the ship travels too far into the lake. Through planted strands of hair, he continues observing Zhang Qiusheng and learns that Zhang is carrying out the conspirators’ larger scheme.
• Zhang Qiusheng, assisted by Deputy Inspector Liu Quan and secretly connected to Lei Chong, stages the disappearance of three supposedly escaped criminals. Their poisoned corpses have been placed aboard the ship, allowing the conspirators to blame the shipwreck on a battle between Li Xian, Wang Jue, Hong Dexin, and the “criminals.”
• Li Xian hides aboard another vessel and watches Zhang’s performance. When the ship sinks and soldiers are thrown into the lake, he uses the Golden Light Technique to enter a salvage net and pretends to have been rescued.
• Zhang is shocked to find Li Xian alive, but Li immediately takes control of the situation. He invents a convincing account in which he, Wang Jue, and Hong Dexin fought three Second Martial Realm criminals and deliberately destroyed the ship to prevent their escape.
• His fabricated story perfectly mirrors the conspirators’ original plan, forcing Zhang Qiusheng to confirm it. Zhang is unable to expose Li Xian without implicating himself and his allies.
• Li Xian directs the rescue operation, orders Zhang to write a carefully worded report, and returns to Gold Ingot Ward.
• Before Xu Shaoqian and Lei Chong, Li Xian presents Wang Jue and Hong Dexin as heroic soldiers who sacrificed themselves. Lei Chong angrily calls Li Xian a liar, but cannot produce evidence against him.
• Xu Shaoqian accepts Li Xian’s account, condemns Lei Chong’s insinuations, and rewards the supposed heroes. Li Xian is promoted to Gold Steward, receives five hundred military merits, one hundred taels of silver, and a commissioned forging at the Artifact Cauldron Pavilion.

Character Developments

• Li Xian demonstrates a major increase in martial power, technical creativity, and strategic sophistication. He is not merely defending himself; he manipulates the entire conspiracy and turns his enemies’ preparations against them.
• He becomes colder and more ruthless, killing Wang Jue and Hong Dexin without hesitation once their treachery is confirmed. At the same time, he remains highly disciplined, concealing evidence and controlling every stage of the aftermath.
• Zhang Qiusheng shifts from confident conspirator to frightened participant. His illness, secretly worsened by Li Xian’s Ghost-Vein Four Absolutes, weakens him physically and psychologically. Once Li Xian survives, Zhang is forced to support a story he knows is false.
• Lei Chong suffers a severe reversal. He expects Li Xian’s death to complete the conspiracy, but Li’s survival leaves him enraged and powerless. His emotional outburst damages his credibility before Xu Shaoqian.
• Wang Jue and Hong Dexin, initially presented as capable conspirators, become posthumous “heroes” in Li Xian’s narrative. Their deaths are used to strengthen Li Xian’s position rather than expose his enemies.
• Xu Shaoqian emerges as an authority who values loyalty and public honor. His decision to reward Li Xian confirms Li Xian’s rising status within the Gold-Seeking Guards.

Significant Themes

• Turning conspiracy against the conspirators: Li Xian does not simply survive the plot; he adopts its framework and makes it serve him.
• Perception versus truth: The official version of events is entirely fabricated, yet it becomes accepted because it is plausible, consistent, and supported by Zhang’s forced testimony.
• Strategic control and psychological warfare: Li Xian’s greatest victory comes from timing, observation, deception, and pressure rather than martial strength alone.
• Ruthlessness and self-preservation: Li Xian acknowledges that he is not a saint. He chooses decisive violence and manipulates events to avoid being blamed for murdering fellow officers.
• Status gained through constructed heroism: By presenting himself and the dead conspirators as loyal defenders, Li Xian converts disaster into political and military advancement.
• The danger of hidden schemes: Lei Chong, Zhang Qiusheng, and their allies believe their plan is flawless, but Li Xian’s surveillance and preparation allow him to remain one step ahead.

Character Interactions

• Li Xian and Zhang Qiusheng engage in a tense psychological confrontation disguised as mutual gratitude. Li’s seemingly sincere thanks and promises to “repay” Zhang terrify him because Zhang understands the hidden threat beneath the words.
• Li Xian subtly threatens Zhang by offering to examine his illness, reminding him that he knows Zhang’s weakness while maintaining a friendly outward manner.
• Zhang is forced to corroborate Li Xian’s account before Xu Shaoqian, effectively becoming an unwilling witness for the man he plotted to kill.
• Lei Chong openly challenges Li Xian, but his anger exposes his personal hostility and makes him appear jealous rather than credible.
• Xu Shaoqian sides with Li Xian and publicly rebukes Lei Chong, transforming Li Xian’s survival and deception into official recognition and a significant promotion.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Lei Chong’s scheme against Li Xian backfires. The common people praise Li Xian after hearing that he chose to destroy the ship and die alongside the criminals rather than let the bandits endanger civilians. Li Xian’s reputation begins to rise.
• Li Xian retrieves his horse, Binds the Wind, and returns to Jujube-Pasture Residence after completing his duties on Evil-Quelling Island.
• Zhang Qiusheng, terrified of both Li Xian and Lei Chong, decides to abandon the Gold-Seeking Guard and leave Jade City. Before he can depart, a mysterious Yellow-Skirt Woman visits him.
• The woman effortlessly defeats Zhang Qiusheng, disarms him, seals his acupoints, and forces him to kneel. She tells him that he cannot oppose either Lei Chong or Li Xian, but offers him protection if he remains in the Gold-Seeking Guard and obeys future summons. Her true identity and patron remain unknown.
• Back home, Li Xian calculates that his military merit has risen to 740 points. He also studies four manuals left by Li Hengfeng: Human-Garment Art, Body-Unity Technique, Cage-Body Force, and Hundred Forms Technique, which together form the unconventional Sorrow-and-Resentment Heart-Binding Style.
• Li Xian begins cultivating the Human-Garment Art, focusing on its Garment-Like and Flying-Garment methods. He postpones the Transforming-Garment method because its required medicinal baths are too expensive.
• He studies the Body-Unity Technique and quickly reaches Initiation, benefiting from his unusual talent and experience in close-contact techniques. He also practices the Cage-Body Force and reviews his existing martial arts.
• His progress in the Suffering Body Scripture improves the circulation of his Inner Steam and strengthens his extraordinary meridians, complementing his Heavenly Pivot Saber Method.
• The next day, Li Xian reports to the Crimson Tower as a newly promoted Gold Steward. There he meets other Gold Stewards, some welcoming him, others hostile or contemptuous.
• Deng Fan, a friend of the late Yu Hai, privately explains the Gold Stewards’ duties, rewards, and authority. Their assignments are ranked from one to nine and earn military merit, silver, and Crimson Coins.
• Each month, a Gold Steward must submit twelve Crimson Coins or risk losing his position. Crimson Coins can be traded privately and may sell for hundreds or even thousands of taels.
• Gold Stewards possess significant authority: they can mobilize Cavaliers, constables, and district runners; seal streets, cultivate informants, coordinate with elite guards, and conduct forced searches.

2. Character Developments

• Li Xian gains public recognition, advances to Gold Steward, and continues developing rapidly through both combat experience and exceptional comprehension. He remains calm, practical, and careful, recognizing the dangers of his new position.
• Zhang Qiusheng becomes fearful and disillusioned after witnessing Li Xian’s strength and Lei Chong’s influence. Though he initially plans to flee, the Yellow-Skirt Woman’s offer places him in a new position as a possible pawn in a larger political scheme.
• Lei Chong is shown to be influential and vengeful, though his attempt to damage Li Xian has failed.
• Deng Fan distinguishes himself as helpful and honorable. Because Li Xian avenged his friend Yu Hai, Deng Fan takes responsibility for guiding him through the Gold-Seeking Guard’s hidden rules.
• The Yellow-Skirt Woman is established as a mysterious, highly skilled figure whose effortless victory over Zhang Qiusheng suggests that powerful forces are moving behind the scenes.

3. Significant Themes

• Reputation and public perception: Lei Chong’s manipulation unintentionally turns Li Xian into a folk hero, showing how righteousness can overcome political scheming.
• Power and survival: Zhang Qiusheng’s predicament illustrates how vulnerable individuals are when caught between powerful figures and how survival may require abandoning status or submitting to unseen patrons.
• Martial arts as accumulated knowledge: Li Xian values each technique for its unique principles, while recognizing that manuals are incomplete and true mastery requires personal insight and practice.
• Authority and institutional power: Becoming a Gold Steward grants Li Xian not only martial privileges but also the ability to command personnel, investigate, and build influence.
• Merit, wealth, and hierarchy: Military merit and Crimson Coins function as both professional requirements and tradable resources, revealing the Gold-Seeking Guard as a competitive system shaped by money, family background, and ability.
• Caution amid advancement: Li Xian’s rapid promotion brings opportunity but also danger, emphasized by Yu Hai’s death and the warnings surrounding the Gold Steward position.

4. Character Interactions

• The common folk collectively praise Li Xian, while Xu Shaoqian takes pride in being associated with his success.
• Zhang Qiusheng fears both Li Xian and Lei Chong, believing either could arrange his death.
• The Yellow-Skirt Woman mocks Zhang Qiusheng’s abilities, accurately analyzes his desperate situation, and offers him conditional protection without revealing who employs her.
• Li Xian studies Li Hengfeng’s martial legacy, treating the dead bandit’s techniques with both curiosity and critical judgment.
• At the Crimson Tower, Song Liujiang and Iron Fu challenge or provoke Li Xian, while Bai Qinghao questions his unusually rapid promotion.
• Deng Fan gives Li Xian practical guidance, explaining the Gold Stewards’ assignments, military-merit system, Crimson Coins, and extensive official authority.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Xian collects his accumulated salary of seven qian of Essence Meat after being promoted to Gold Steward. He stores it in the Heaven-Hiding Casket and learns more about the Gold-Seeking Guard’s extensive supply of Essence Treasures.
• Deng Fan explains the layout and culture of Marquis Wu Station, including the division between civil and martial departments, the costly social and sporting expectations placed on Gold Stewards, and the process for accepting and documenting important assignments.
• With his Gold Steward assessment beginning in July and requiring twelve Crimson Coins, Li Xian studies the Crimson List and carefully plans to take lower-tier assignments first. He accepts:
  • A first-tier case involving a missing girl, Wang Xiaomian.
  • A fourth-tier assignment to monitor the criminal Jar Immortal, with whom Li Xian has a prior grudge.
• Li Xian requests a Silverfrost Bow from Artifact Cauldron Pavilion, deciding that a new ranged weapon will benefit him more than reforging his already powerful Tiger Saber.
• He investigates Wang Xiaomian’s disappearance by questioning her family and reviewing records from Tongji Ward and Westgate County.
• County Commandant Kong Li refuses to cooperate and challenges Li Xian to a duel. Li Xian defeats him decisively with the Heavenly Pivot Saber Method, breaking both his arms, shattering his spine, and forcing him to surrender the case records.
• The records reveal that the trail leads to Jiyin Academy. Li Xian discovers that jealous students imprisoned Wang Xiaomian to prevent her from taking an important examination. They later kept her confined and nearly starved her, eventually intending to kill her.
• Li Xian intimidates and interrogates the students until they confess, then rescues Wang Xiaomian and returns her to her family. He completes the case dossier and receives one Crimson Coin, five military merit points, and five taels of silver.
• At home, Li Xian consumes all seven qian of Essence Meat. After refining it, he retains 267 strands of Heaven and Earth Essence, greatly strengthening his confidence and martial potential.
• Energized by the abundant essence, he practices with his spear. The chapter ends when a Mud Sparrow carrying a bamboo tube arrives, apparently bearing an important message.

Character Development

• Li Xian becomes more cautious and strategic after reflecting on Yu Hai’s death and his own lack of powerful backing. Rather than recklessly pursuing dangerous assignments, he intends to build experience and Crimson Coins gradually.
• He demonstrates growing competence as both a martial artist and investigator. His knowledge from Li Bohou, experience in Qingning County, sharp observation, and ability to calm people allow him to solve the missing-person case quickly.
• His compassion is emphasized through his gentle treatment of Wang Xiaomian’s family and his refusal to accept their excessive gratitude. He also shows protective concern by warning Wang Xiaomian to judge people more carefully.
• His martial confidence increases after defeating Kong Li and absorbing the Essence Meat. The resulting surge of ambition pushes him to train harder.
• Kong Li is shown to be arrogant, status-conscious, and vindictive. His contempt for Li Xian blinds him to the difference in their abilities, leading to a humiliating defeat.
• Wang Xiaomian is established as a gifted but vulnerable scholar whose talent provokes jealousy. Her rescue recalls Li Xian’s concern for his younger brother, Xiao Fan.
• Deng Fan acts as Li Xian’s practical guide, introducing him to the Gold-Seeking Guard’s duties, expenses, hierarchy, and assignment system.

Significant Themes

• Caution versus recklessness: Li Xian recognizes the dangers of his position and chooses gradual advancement rather than chasing high rewards immediately.
• Justice and social inequality: The Gold-Seeking Guard handles both major threats and ordinary citizens’ suffering, while local officials such as Kong Li neglect cases involving powerless families.
• Power and status: Kong Li relies on his official position and family backing, whereas Li Xian’s authority and skill come from genuine ability and the Gold-Seeking Guard.
• Talent and jealousy: Wang Xiaomian’s literary gifts inspire envy, showing how excellence can provoke cruelty within competitive institutions.
• Literary power and Fortune: Jiyin Academy’s role illustrates that words and intellectual influence can determine the outcome of wars before armies even clash. Rhetoric, righteousness, and Fortune are presented as powerful forces in both politics and warfare.
• Martial advancement: Essence Treasures, disciplined cultivation, and combat practice continue to drive Li Xian’s progress toward higher realms.

Character Interactions

• Deng Fan advises Li Xian about Gold Steward life, assignment procedures, sports, expenses, and career advancement before leaving him to work independently.
• Li Xian comforts Wang Xiaomian’s father, earning his trust and obtaining a clear account of the disappearance.
• His confrontation with Kong Li shifts from bureaucratic cooperation to a formal duel, allowing Li Xian to assert his authority through overwhelming martial skill.
• Li Xian intimidates the guilty students at Jiyin Academy, overcoming their reliance on family connections and forcing them to reveal the truth.
• His reunion of Wang Xiaomian with her family highlights his compassion and his emotional connection to Xiao Fan.
• The arrival of the Mud Sparrow introduces a new mystery or summons that is likely to shape the next chapter.

Chapter Summary: A Stunning Saber Art! Fame Soars, July’s Splendor, I Alone Am Li Xian!

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Xian receives a coded message from Qingyao through his Mud Sparrow. The note congratulates him on becoming a Gold Steward while warning him not to forget the poison in his body and to collect his medicine from Wonderful Herb Hall.
• He retrieves the “antidote,” but realizes the pills only temporarily suppress the poison and will worsen it with prolonged use, increasing his dependence on Commandery Princess Anyang. He decides to feign obedience while secretly planning how to retaliate.
• As a Gold Steward, Li Xian gains more free time and devotes himself to martial training, investigation, and cultivating several techniques. His proficiency in the Wraith Spear and Five Organs Purge-Turbidity Revive-Yang Scripture steadily improves.
• From mid-to-late June, he rapidly solves a series of criminal cases:
  • A missing Wang Clan girl
  • A theft case
  • Three interconnected cases solved in half a day
  • The capture of Jar Immortal, an enemy connected to Blood Pool and Flesh Grove
  • A poisoning case at Drifting Fragrance Restaurant
• By the end of June, Li Xian has solved fifteen cases, earned substantial military merit, Crimson Coins, and silver, and risen near the top of the Gold Steward rankings.
• His reputation spreads throughout Jade City. The people nickname him the “Handsome-Mane Lad” because of his striking appearance on the horse Binds the Wind, despite his mask.
• Jealous of Li Xian’s sudden fame, Lei Chong spreads rumors and fabricated portraits claiming that Li Xian is extremely ugly. The rumors fail to damage him; instead, “Handsome-Mane Lad” and “Ugly Face” become paired nicknames that make him even more famous.
• In July, Li Xian begins taking more dangerous fourth- and fifth-tier assignments. He investigates a horrific inn massacre in which a criminal used human intestines to create a corrosive whip. Through careful deduction, he tracks and captures the culprit without losing a single soldier, constable, or Cavalier.
• His repeated battles refine his martial ability and reveal the elegance and originality of his Heavenly Pivot Saber Method. Witnesses become deeply impressed by his smooth, decisive, almost artistic combat style.
• The method becomes popular among Gold-Seeking Guard members and attracts the attention of young martial artists from powerful clans and outside sects. However, most imitators cannot understand its central principle—using the body as the pivot—and often lose momentum after the second strike. This leads to the saying: “First saber, Heavenly Pivot; second saber, flawed; third saber, defeat.”
• Outside martial artists establish saber arenas to challenge the technique. Although the Gold-Seeking Guard wins many matches, three young saber experts remain undefeated: Zhang Longdao, Liang Shuibo, and Dugu Hu.
• Xu Shaoqian orders Li Xian to stop handling cases temporarily and defeat the three challengers. His arrival at Zhang Longdao’s arena causes enormous anticipation, especially among disciples of the Yao, Su, and Bai families.
• Yao Yin, who knows Li Xian, admits that even she does not know the full extent of his saber art. The chapter ends as Li Xian arrives and the crowd erupts in excitement.

Character Developments

• Li Xian: Grows from a cautious, concealed talent into a highly visible and celebrated Gold Steward. His investigative ability, martial skill, strategic thinking, and reputation all rise sharply. Though he deliberately reveals only part of his strength, his combat style begins to establish him as a true martial genius. He remains calm and indifferent to fame, insults, and public opinion.
• Qingyao: Demonstrates concern for Li Xian by warning him about the poison, though it remains uncertain whether she acts independently or under Anyang’s orders.
• Commandery Princess Anyang: Her control over Li Xian is shown to be deceptive and cruel. The supposed antidote is actually a means of deepening his dependence on her.
• Lei Chong: Becomes increasingly jealous and threatened by Li Xian’s success. Unable to confront him openly, he resorts to rumor-mongering and character assassination, while privately recognizing that Li Xian may eventually become impossible to control.
• Xu Shaoqian: Initially allows the arena challenges to develop as a display of Jade City’s openness, but ultimately uses Li Xian to restore the Gold-Seeking Guard’s prestige.
• Yao Yin: Shows familiarity and interest in Li Xian, while recognizing that he hides his true abilities even from those close to him.

Significant Themes

• Hidden strength and strategic restraint: Li Xian succeeds by concealing his full capabilities until the right moment, whether dealing with Anyang, criminals, rivals, or the public.
• Reputation versus reality: Public opinion about Li Xian shifts rapidly, from admiration to mockery and back again, but none of it reflects his true character or ability.
• Fame as both opportunity and danger: His reputation brings prestige, wealth, influence, and respect, but also jealousy, political threats, and unwanted challenges.
• Martial arts as personal expression: The Heavenly Pivot Saber Method is not merely powerful; through Li Xian, it becomes elegant, fluid, and uniquely personal. Imitation without understanding produces only a flawed shell.
• Justice and public service: By solving cases affecting ordinary people, Li Xian earns genuine popular respect and demonstrates that effective justice can build influence more strongly than rank alone.
• Growth through hardship: His earlier life-and-death battles and current criminal investigations combine to refine his combat instincts, maturity, and distinctive martial style.

Character Interactions

• Li Xian interprets Qingyao’s secret message and carefully weighs her loyalty against Anyang’s influence.
• His relationship with Commandery Princess Anyang is one of concealed hostility: he appears obedient while planning long-term revenge against her manipulation.
• Li Xian’s success frustrates Lei Chong, whose envy drives him to spread humiliating rumors. Li Xian’s indifference causes the attack to backfire.
• Other Gold Stewards alternately admire, envy, or ridicule him. Deng Fan and Su Kuo reassess him positively, while Iron Fu and Song Liujiang dismiss his cases as trivial.
• Li Xian works with Li Kuo, Chang Ziqiang, and Yao Fan during the mountain pursuit of the evil criminal, coordinating their formation while personally confronting the main enemy.
• His achievements inspire the Gold-Seeking Guard to practice the Heavenly Pivot Saber Method more seriously, though their imperfect understanding exposes its weaknesses.
• Xu Shaoqian places Li Xian in direct opposition to Zhang Longdao, Liang Shuibo, and Dugu Hu, transforming his growing reputation into a public test of skill.
• Yao Yin and her companions discuss Li Xian’s mysterious identity and abilities just before his dramatic entrance at the arena.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• In early June, Yao Yin’s fellow disciples and elders from the Nature Sect arrive in Jade City on sect business. Yao Yin hosts them at the Lineage residence, while the Yao Family receives them with a formal banquet.
• The Nature Sect elders praise Yao Yin’s intelligence, talent, martial ability, and hospitality. The Yao Clan is delighted and rewards her, allowing her to select a martial art and seek guidance from the clan and sect elders.
• Yao Yin entertains her visiting disciples around Jade City, but their excessive feasting and sightseeing earn them reprimands and confinement for cultivation.
• During their confinement, Yao Yin learns that Li Xian has been promoted to Gold Steward and that his reputation has grown because of the controversy surrounding his Heavenly Pivot Saber Method.
• Curious about Li Xian’s challenge match, Yao Yin secretly leaves confinement with four companions: Zhou Qingqing, Lu Qingguan, Wei Qingfeng, and Qiao Qing.
• At Peaceful Auspice Garden, they watch Li Xian face Zhang Longdao of Golden Flood Dragon Isle. Zhang has defeated many Gold-Seeking Guard members using his Circular Arc Saber Method and possesses the advanced saber state known as “Saber Fishing.”
• Li Xian defeats Zhang almost instantly in the first exchange, then overwhelms him again in a second demonstration. He seamlessly links several techniques—Lone Boat Crossing the River, Falling Stone, Heaven-Shaking, and Clear Ascension, Turbid Descent—revealing the extraordinary elegance and practicality of his interpretation of the Heavenly Pivot Saber Method.
• Zhang realizes that Li Xian’s saber could have killed him before he had time to respond. The crowd, including the Nature Sect disciples, is left stunned and unable to fully explain what makes Li Xian’s technique so exceptional.
• Li Xian’s fame rises further, and the title “Handsome Sideburns, Ugly Face; Li Xian” spreads throughout Jade City. The Gold-Seeking Guards proudly celebrate his victory.
• After the match, Yao Yin reveals herself and playfully interacts with Li Xian. He immediately notices her and her companions, praising her beauty in a way that makes her blush.
• Yao Yin introduces Li Xian to the four Nature Sect disciples. They decide to spend the day together eating, watching opera, and listening to songs.
• Li Xian changes out of his official attire at Jujube-Pasture Residence, and the group goes to the prosperous Silkworm Dream Tower restaurant, where the chapter ends.

Character Developments

• Yao Yin gains further recognition within both the Nature Sect and the Yao Family. Her hospitality and social confidence demonstrate her maturity and status, while her secret escape shows her lively, mischievous nature and strong curiosity about Li Xian.
• Li Xian establishes himself as an exceptionally refined and dangerous saber practitioner. His calm demeanor, extraordinary perception, and effortless control confirm that his reputation is deserved and that his abilities far exceed ordinary interpretations of the Heavenly Pivot Saber Method.
• Zhang Longdao is introduced as a proud and highly accomplished saber expert. Although he possesses the rare “Saber Fishing” state, his defeat forces him to recognize the vast gap between his abilities and Li Xian’s.
• Zhou Qingqing, Lu Qingguan, Wei Qingfeng, and Qiao Qing are characterized as disciplined but sociable Nature Sect disciples. Their admiration for Li Xian grows after witnessing his victory.
• Yao Yin and Li Xian’s familiarity and mutual playfulness become more evident, suggesting a warm and possibly romantic relationship.

Significant Themes

• Martial skill versus formal technique: The chapter emphasizes that the Heavenly Pivot Saber Method’s power lies less in the named techniques themselves than in Li Xian’s unique understanding and execution.
• True talent and perception: Li Xian’s ability to transform ordinary or supposedly impractical moves reflects deep insight, instinct, and mastery beyond conventional instruction.
• Reputation and appearance: Rumors portray Li Xian as horribly ugly, while his actual bearing is strikingly handsome and compelling. The contrast shows how reputation can be manipulated, particularly through Lei Chong’s propaganda.
• Humility and composure: Despite his growing fame, Li Xian remains calm and restrained, strengthening the impression that he possesses genuine greatness.
• Friendship and social connection: Martial competition leads to admiration and new relationships, while Yao Yin’s reunion with Li Xian brings warmth and humor after the intense duel.
• Freedom versus discipline: Yao Yin’s escape from confinement highlights her tension between the Nature Sect’s emphasis on calm cultivation and her own energetic, adventurous personality.

Character Interactions

• The Yao Family elders and Nature Sect elders unite in praising Yao Yin, reinforcing her respected position.
• Yao Yin jokes with her senior brothers and junior brother about sneaking out, while they tease her for dragging them into trouble.
• The Nature Sect disciples analyze Zhang Longdao’s saber state and debate the significance of Li Xian’s techniques.
• Zhang Longdao and Li Xian maintain formal courtesy before their contest, presenting the duel as a legitimate exchange of martial knowledge rather than hostility.
• Afterward, Yao Yin teases Li Xian, and he responds with flirtatious praise. Their playful exchange embarrasses her and amuses the arriving Nature Sect disciples.
• The six characters agree to dine and seek entertainment together, beginning a new social encounter at Silkworm Dream Tower.

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Xian and his companions visit the Silkworm Dream Tower, a grand establishment in Jade City symbolizing wealth and status (through its threshold height, plaque, and gold-toad/crane statues).
• They dine on the third floor, tasting the limited "Dewdrop Azure Dragon" soup (the even rarer "Drunken Golden Dragon" is sold out).
• Yao Yin explains the tower's silkworm silk business: top-grade silk is sold by the inch for thousands of taels, with many martial applications.
• The Nature Sect members reveal why they are in Jade City: their homeland is threatened by war, so they plan to sell unique goods (Enlightenment Cicadas, tea, Bitter Ginseng, Treasure Leaf) in the city, while partnering partially with the Yao Clan.
• Li Xian expresses interest in contracting/buying some of the sect's goods to start a side income, since his salary alone is insufficient.
• Realizing the hour is late and the elders will do room inspections, the sect disciples hastily flee.
• Leaving, Li Xian spots the old Wine Elder being beaten by guards for stealing wine. Li Xian pays his debt (over 300 taels) and invites him to drink elsewhere.

2. Character Developments

• Li Xian: Demonstrates pragmatism and ambition—he is detail-oriented (noticing the tower's customs), frustrated by his lack of wealth, and open to commercial ventures. He is also generous and observant enough to help the Wine Elder again.
• Yao Yin: Acts as a cultural guide; generous (pays the whole meal) but slightly overindulgent, leading to the late-night panic about inspections.
• Wine Elder: Reappears as a recurring, stubborn drunkard who gets into trouble but is again bailed out by Li Xian.

3. Significant Themes

• Wealth and status: The tower's architecture (threshold height, statues) encodes social class and power; money is framed as essential for gaining martial arts and resources.
• Business and survival: In chaotic times (war threatening the Nature Sect's homeland), establishing stable commercial footholds in safe cities like Jade City is crucial.
• Martial vs. economic power: Even skilled martial artists need silver to progress; Li Xian explicitly notes that wealth is as important as essence treasures.
• Etiquette and custom: The chapter emphasizes how local customs (thresholds, crane statues, rowdy sects) shape behavior and perceptions.

4. Character Interactions

• The group eats, drinks, and shares embarrassing stories (e.g., Wei Qingfeng's "Peak Solitude Sword" incident), establishing camaraderie and revealing their personalities through playful teasing.
• Li Xian skillfully probes Xiao Qing (the attendant) about the tower's ownership and later questions the Nature Sect disciples about their goods—showing his investigative nature.
• Zhou Qingqing and others warn Li Xian that opening a shop is risky; Li Xian acknowledges the danger but decides to try anyway.
• The chapter ends with Li Xian showing respect to the Wine Elder ("Senior"), setting up a potential mentorship or alliance despite the old man's lowly appearance.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Xian rescues the eccentric Wine Elder from the guards of Silkworm Dream Tower, paying to prevent him from being beaten after secretly drinking more than half a jar of expensive wine.
• He invites the Wine Elder to drink with him on a hill outside the tower. The two share Five-Crown Skyward Wine, which the Wine Elder enhances with coarse salt, grass juice, and ants hidden inside pale yellow fruit.
• The strange mixture causes Li Xian’s wine essence and internal energy to surge uncontrollably. Remembering the Wine Elder’s drunken ballad, Li Xian hums its melody and discovers that it stabilizes his body while increasing his strength, willpower, agility, and mental sharpness.
• Li Xian concludes that the Wine Elder is an extraordinary expert and secretly memorizes the ballad, intending to use it as a combat-enhancing technique.
• Back at Jujube-Pasture Residence, Li Xian checks his strands of surveillance hair for signs of intruders, then practices his martial arts. He refines Flicked-Finger Golden Light, learning to mold light into needles, blades, threads, and other forms. He also experiments with borrowing firelight and moonlight as weapons.
• His cultivation of the Five Organs Purge-Turbidity Revive-Yang Scripture advances, naturally strengthening his bones and improving his physical coordination through the newly understood “Still Comprehension” trait.
• Li Xian continues training the Heavenly Pivot Saber Method and Stone-Pushing Palm Method, combining the saber’s flexibility with the palm technique’s massive, heavy force.
• Having perfected three martial arts, he becomes eligible to exchange them for a unique technique. However, he remains wary of Lei Chong, whose jealousy suggests possible hostility.
• Li Xian wins three consecutive saber contests against Dugu Hu and Liang Shuibo, defeating each with only two sabers. His elegant and distinctive technique makes him widely famous, helped by poems, drawings, and the popular nickname “Handsome Sideburns, Ugly Face,” which Lei Chong deliberately spreads.
• Despite his rising fame, Li Xian remains disciplined, continuing to complete Gold-Seeking Guard assignments. By mid-July, he has completed eight Grade-Four essential assignments, accumulated 1,104 military merits, and earned enough leave and resources to support future cultivation.
• Li Xian and Zhou Qingqing, Wei Qingfeng, Lu Qingguan, and Qiao Qing establish a business arrangement with Nature Sect. He invests nearly all his available money—supplemented by selling Crimson Coins—to purchase ninety lower-grade Enlightenment Cicadas. This marks the beginning of his larger plan to build wealth in Jade City.
• On July 24, Artifact Cauldron Pavilion completes the Silverfrost Bow. After testing it, Li Xian decides that he has concealed himself long enough and resolves to reveal his true abilities, expand his influence, and stir up greater turmoil in Jade City.

Character Developments

• Li Xian: Becomes more confident, ambitious, and openly assertive. Although he remains cautious and vigilant, his growing martial strength, reputation, wealth-building plans, and new bow inspire him to stop hiding his capabilities.
• Wine Elder: His drunken, ridiculous behavior conceals unusual knowledge and possibly profound martial or internal-energy abilities. His wine-brewing method and ballad provide Li Xian with an unexpected enhancement.
• Lei Chong: His jealousy becomes increasingly obvious. His deliberate promotion of Li Xian’s insulting nickname suggests that he may be trying to damage Li Xian’s reputation or provoke conflict.
• Zhang Longdao: After losing to Li Xian previously, he becomes convinced of Li Xian’s superiority and praises him rather than spreading resentment. He even invites Li Xian to Golden Flood Dragon Isle.
• Yao Yin and the four young companions: They become involved in Li Xian’s commercial ambitions, though Yao Yin cannot invest because her family has temporarily taken away her spending money.

Significant Themes

• Hidden depth beneath eccentricity: The Wine Elder appears foolish and greedy, yet possesses valuable secrets and unusual abilities.
• Cultivation through natural growth: Li Xian’s bone cultivation emphasizes patience, spontaneity, and long-term strengthening rather than forced breakthroughs.
• Reputation and public image: Li Xian’s fame grows through duels, storytelling, art, and gossip, showing how public perception can be shaped both naturally and deliberately.
• Ambition and self-revelation: After a long period of caution and concealment, Li Xian chooses to display his true strength and become a more influential figure.
• Balancing martial progress and worldly affairs: Li Xian simultaneously cultivates, solves cases, earns military merits, protects his home, builds wealth, and develops social connections.
• Risk and investment: His purchase of the Enlightenment Cicadas reflects his willingness to stake his hard-earned resources on a potentially profitable opportunity.

Character Interactions

• Li Xian and the Wine Elder develop an amusing but potentially significant relationship during their drunken hilltop gathering. Li Xian tolerates the elder’s greed and eccentricity while quietly studying his abilities.
• Li Xian’s victories over Dugu Hu and Liang Shuibo establish him as the dominant saber wielder among the Gold-Seeking Guards and attract a growing group of admirers.
• Lei Chong’s indirect hostility contrasts with Zhang Longdao’s respectful acceptance after defeat.
• Li Xian collaborates with Zhou Qingqing, Wei Qingfeng, Lu Qingguan, and Qiao Qing on the Enlightenment Cicada business, strengthening his ties with them and with Nature Sect.
• The chapter ends with Li Xian holding the completed Silverfrost Bow and preparing to step beyond cautious self-preservation into a more openly powerful and ambitious phase of his life.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Xian tests his newly acquired Silverfrost Bow, first using Intent-Qi alone to pierce a hole through the clouds. He admires the bow’s craftsmanship, durability, and folding mechanism, which allows it to be carried as a silver ball.
• Hearing the Thunder-Drum Godslaying Formation, Li Xian realizes that Gold-Seeking Guards are pursuing the notorious Blood-Sucking Cold Fiend. He follows, hoping to test his new bow.
• The Cold Fiend escapes the Guards’ encirclement and flees across the rooftops. From a great distance, Li Xian fires five arrows:
  • The first pins the criminal’s abdomen to a massive support pillar without striking a vital point.
  • The second wounds his shoulder.
  • The final three pin his hands and feet, rendering him helpless.
• Bai Qinghao, Xu Fei, Deng Fan, and the other Gold-Seeking Guards arrive and capture the criminal. The witnesses are stunned because Li Xian’s arrows seemed to dominate the entire scene, even though he was several li away and obscured by buildings.
• The martial artists and restaurant guests debate the identity and ability of the mysterious archer. The Silver Arrows reveal that the shooter must possess a Silverfrost Bow, but the Gold Stewards deny involvement.
• Bai Qinghao briefly suspects Li Xian but dismisses the possibility, believing Li Xian’s archery could not rival his saber skills. Li Xian quietly returns to the Marquis Wu Station without claiming credit.
• Li Xian reflects on his financial difficulties. He must maintain a supply of Crimson Coins, pay rent, purchase dew for his Enlightenment Cicadas, and feed his other spirit creature, Binds the Wind.
• He develops a business plan to sell Enlightenment Cicadas through wealthy households and the Renowned Physicians of Miraculous Healers Pavilion, but the plan struggles because the cicadas are still unfamiliar in Jade City and potential customers lack confidence in them.
• To solve his financial problems, Li Xian begins accepting higher-grade priority missions. His new bow allows him to track criminals and eliminate or immobilize them from a distance without direct confrontation.
• Over the following days, he hunts numerous criminals, including the Dwarf Saber, Bloodhand Butcher, and Taoheart King. His attacks become nearly impossible to detect or resist, establishing Jade City as his hunting ground and gradually attracting attention among the Thirty-Two True Guards.

2. Character Developments

• Li Xian demonstrates a major advancement in archery. His mastery is not merely technical: his Intent-Qi creates overwhelming pressure, causing onlookers to focus involuntarily on him and making heaven and earth seem to “watch” his shot.
• He becomes more confident and openly embraces the identity of a powerful hunter. Rather than fighting criminals face-to-face, he adopts a patient, efficient, long-range method based on tracking, concealment, and precision.
• Li Xian remains modest and pragmatic. He avoids taking credit for the Blood-Sucking Cold Fiend’s capture because he does not want the Gold-Seeking Guards to think he is seizing their merit.
• His concerns shift from simply increasing martial strength to managing practical matters such as finances, business, food for his spirit creatures, and sustaining his cultivation-related ventures.
• Bai Qinghao is shown as capable but puzzled and somewhat proud. He acknowledges the archer’s extraordinary skill while struggling to accept that someone outside the known Gold-Seeking Guard archers could possess it.
• The Blood-Sucking Cold Fiend, despite his long experience and varied techniques, is completely overwhelmed by Li Xian’s arrows. His arrogance remains intact even after capture, but Bai Qinghao’s interrogation technique forces him into helpless pain.
• The Gold-Seeking Guards’ view of Li Xian begins to change indirectly, as his repeated long-range victories become too consistent to dismiss.

3. Significant Themes

• The overwhelming power of mastery: Li Xian’s archery transforms a simple weapon into an expression of will and Intent-Qi. His shots affect not only targets but also spectators and the surrounding atmosphere.
• Precision over brute force: Li Xian defeats dangerous criminals without prolonged battles, relying on preparation, distance, concealment, and accuracy.
• Reputation versus recognition: His achievements spread slowly because he avoids displaying himself or claiming credit. His power is real even when his name remains unknown.
• The tension between martial ambition and practical survival: Despite his extraordinary abilities, Li Xian worries about money, business failures, food costs, and maintaining his household.
• Jade City as a hunting ground: The city is metaphorically portrayed as a forest filled with predators and prey. Li Xian becomes an unseen hunter moving through it.
• Uncertainty and mystery: The witnesses cannot explain how Li Xian’s arrows reached their target or why their attention was irresistibly drawn toward him. His archery appears almost supernatural.
• The difficulties of enterprise and innovation: Li Xian’s Enlightenment Cicada business shows that having a good product and careful preparation is not enough; reputation, capital, and practical execution are equally important.

4. Character Interactions

• Li Xian does not directly interact with the Gold-Seeking Guards during the capture, but his actions decisively assist them. His restraint afterward reflects his awareness of their pride and institutional hierarchy.
• The restaurant guests and visiting martial artists collectively witness his archery and later question Bai Qinghao about the shooter.
• Bai Qinghao and the other Gold Stewards discuss the Silver Arrows and struggle to identify the mysterious helper. Their uncertainty reinforces Li Xian’s hidden status.
• Bai Qinghao questions the captured Blood-Sucking Cold Fiend, but the criminal insults him instead. Bai Qinghao retaliates with the Thousand-Needle Force, revealing both his anger and his skill in interrogation.
• Li Xian’s relationship with Yao Yin and the Renowned Physicians supports his attempted cicada business, though the physicians’ limited commitment shows the weakness of those connections.
• Through his later missions, Li Xian interacts indirectly with many criminals, defeating them before they can even identify or confront him.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Gong Kuai, a Divine Cavalry Guard general, witnesses three criminals fleeing across Jade City while spending a day with his wife and son at the Literary Fortune Pagoda.
• An unseen archer—later revealed to be Li Xian—fires three extraordinary arrows, disabling all three criminals:
  • The first strikes one thief’s shoulder.
  • The second uses the difficult Feather-Breaking Arrow technique, splitting mid-flight to wound a criminal in both the shoulder and leg.
  • The third travels through numerous buildings, windows, and openings before striking a fleeing criminal in the eye.
• Gong Kuai is deeply impressed and troubled that he cannot determine the archer’s location or understand the full techniques behind the shots.
• Believing Xu Shaoqian may be the mysterious archer, Gong Kuai visits him to seek advice. Their conversation reveals a misunderstanding: Gong thinks Xu is modestly withholding his archery secrets, while Xu suspects Gong has come to challenge or embarrass him.
• The two officers eventually recognize each other’s sincerity and form a closer friendship, agreeing to dine together later.
• Li Xian’s achievements for the month are reviewed: he has solved twenty-four cases, earned 1,285 military merit points, and gained a growing reputation among criminals as “Ghost-Arrow Yama.”
• At home, Li Xian tends his seventy-three Enlightenment Cicadas. One Yellow Cicada begins transforming into the superior Golden Cicada variety.
• Li Xian continues practicing his three perfected foundational martial arts while waiting for Lei Chong to lower his guard and enter seclusion.
• Seeking Xu Shaoqian’s recognition, Li Xian reveals that he has perfected the Heavenly Pivot Saber Method, Stone-Pushing Palm Method, and Suffering Body Scripture.
• Xu Shaoqian is shocked but follows the rules, guaranteeing Li Xian access to the shared Stele Tower, where he can exchange his three perfected techniques for a more advanced martial art.
• The chapter ends with the introduction of the mysterious stone containing the next martial art, a technique associated with the Gold-Seeking Guard but rarely cultivated because of the extraordinary difficulty of its prerequisite arts.

Character Developments

• Gong Kuai is shown as an accomplished but humble martial artist whose pride in archery becomes admiration and curiosity after witnessing Li Xian’s skill. His sincere approach to Xu Shaoqian helps establish a new friendship.
• Xu Shaoqian appears confident and somewhat arrogant, but also hardworking and capable. He has been secretly improving his archery to impress Tao Xiangrong and initially misinterprets Gong Kuai’s visit as a challenge.
• Li Xian continues rising rapidly within the Gold-Seeking Guard. He combines investigative ability, overwhelming archery, disciplined cultivation, and strategic caution. Rather than recklessly seeking advancement, he conceals much of his strength to avoid provoking Lei Chong.
• Li Xian also shows a gentler side through his care for the Enlightenment Cicadas, treating them as valuable companions despite their financial burden.
• Lei Chong remains an unseen but serious threat. His jealousy and hostility force Li Xian to conceal his true abilities and carefully time his advancement.

Significant Themes

• Hidden strength and misjudgment: Li Xian’s archery is so swift and precise that criminals do not know who defeated them, while Gong Kuai wrongly assumes Xu Shaoqian is responsible.
• The difficulty of true mastery: Techniques dismissed as merely foundational can become extraordinarily powerful when cultivated to Perfection.
• Caution versus ambition: Li Xian wants recognition and advancement but must avoid attracting Lei Chong’s hostility or revealing too much of his strength.
• Friendship through mutual respect: Gong Kuai and Xu Shaoqian overcome their initial misunderstandings and begin building a genuine relationship.
• The value of persistence: Li Xian continues practicing already-perfected techniques, emphasizing gradual accumulation and refinement rather than immediate breakthroughs.
• The contrast between martial violence and domestic life: The chapter moves between brutal criminal arrests, official rivalry, family concerns, and Li Xian’s peaceful care for his cicadas.

Character Interactions

• Gong Kuai’s observations of Li Xian’s arrows create the chapter’s central mystery and establish Li Xian’s fearsome criminal reputation.
• Gong Kuai interacts warmly with his wife and son, though Madam Wang lightly criticizes his obsession with martial affairs.
• Gong Kuai and Xu Shaoqian exchange polite praise while internally misunderstanding each other’s motives, eventually discovering that their conversation is based on genuine admiration.
• Li Xian’s relationships with his fellow Gold-Seeking Guards remain supportive; he helps colleagues such as Li Jian, Chang Ziqiang, and Yao Fan gain experience and military merit.
• Li Xian’s meeting with Xu Shaoqian marks an important shift: Xu begins to reassess him as a serious martial talent rather than merely a promising subordinate.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Xian obtains and studies the Pivot-Sound Stone, which contains the sound-path martial art Demonic Sound Mind-Seizing Melody, one of the five arts of the Pivot-Shadow Transformation School.
• The art consists of nine melodies, each with a different function—killing, confusing, intimidating, or harassing enemies—and eighteen defensive stance techniques designed to protect the user from harmful sound effects.
• Li Xian chooses to specialize in the first melody, “Demonic Flames Scorch the Heavens.” Its demonic music causes internal heat, burns the organs, and inflicts severe pain on anyone who hears it, but it also harms the performer.
• He repeatedly injures and restores himself using the Five Organs Purge-Turbidity Revive-Yang Scripture, discovering that this technique can temporarily replace the missing medicinal-bath formula associated with the sound art.
• Despite the difficulty and enormous consumption of inner breath, Li Xian perseveres. After intensive practice, he successfully plays the melody and begins to unleash its true power: flames respond to the music, taking on a ghostly, demonic appearance.
• He buys a jade flute and incorporates the Demonic Sound Soul-Shaking Melody into his regular cultivation. His connection to Ghost Doctor techniques and Ghost Speech strengthens the melody’s eerie and penetrating qualities.
• Li Xian’s martial abilities continue to advance. His Bone-Sculpting Embryo reaches 26, and he becomes increasingly versatile, combining archery, golden light techniques, demonic sound, saber arts, sword arts, and escape techniques.
• He uses weaker criminals as practice targets: first disrupting their minds with demonic sound, then burning their bodies and spirits with “Demonic Flames Scorch the Heavens,” before capturing them with a decisive saber strike.
• His achievements in pursuing criminals make him famous within the Tailstreet Marquis Wu Station. Colleagues such as Bai Qinghao and Deng Fan begin respectfully calling him “Master Li.”
• Li Xian’s Enlightenment Cicada business begins to flourish. After curing a young woman of recurring qi deviation, he introduces her to the cicada without exploiting her illness or falsely claiming it can cure her. She buys one, and her friends soon become customers as well.
• His medical reputation grows through repeated visits to wealthy households and cooperation with the Miraculous Healers Pavilion. His honest sales approach earns him both money and respect, eventually leaving him with more than a thousand taels of silver.
• Li Xian becomes close with Zhou Qingqing, Wei Qingfeng, Lu Qingguan, and Qiao Qing. They spar, exchange martial knowledge, and help him learn more about raising Enlightenment Cicadas.
• To repair Yao Yin’s feelings of neglect after he befriends her companions, Li Xian organizes a day of sightseeing, food, boating, fishing, and friendly martial contests with a large group of young martial practitioners.
• As the Jiyin Academy grand examination approaches, Li Xian and other Gold-Seeking Guards are assigned to patrol the academy and surrounding area. The examination is considered vital to Jade City’s fortune and involves several divisions of the Thirty-Two True Guards.
• At Mirrorheart Lake, Li Xian learns that the examination hall, Joy Mirror, has mystical properties: the lake supposedly tests the hearts and consciences of those who cross it.
• Li Xian meets several guards from other stations, including Xiang Poshān, Luo Rufeng, Bai Yizhan, and Ouyang Tian. They recognize his reputation and joke about his popular nickname, “Handsome Sideburns, Ugly Face.”
• Han Niannian, now serving in the Truth-Inspecting Guard, discovers Li Xian among the resting guards and teases him for being a Gold Steward. The chapter ends with the guards discussing Wu Gan, the renowned scholar presiding over the examination and passing on his “fortune inheritance.”

Character Developments

• Li Xian demonstrates exceptional persistence and adaptability. Rather than abandoning a dangerous and difficult martial art, he develops a safe cultivation routine by combining it with his restorative organ- and bone-cleansing techniques.
• He grows from a talented fighter into a highly integrated martial artist, seamlessly combining sound, saber, archery, medicine, Ghost Doctor abilities, and movement techniques.
• His combat style becomes more intimidating and efficient, earning him genuine respect from colleagues and striking fear into criminals.
• Li Xian’s character as a healer is emphasized. He refuses to deceive patients for profit and only sells the Enlightenment Cicada after genuinely curing and helping them.
• His social circle expands considerably. Though initially distant and masked, he forms sincere friendships with young martial artists and makes efforts to maintain harmony with Yao Yin.
• Yao Yin becomes mildly jealous and complains that Li Xian has drawn her senior brothers and sisters away from her, revealing her attachment to him and her sensitivity to changes in their relationships.
• Bai Qinghao and other guards shift from merely recognizing Li Xian as a colleague to treating him as a respected expert.
• Han Niannian shows two contrasting sides: stern and authoritative while on duty, but more relaxed and familiar around friends.
• The chapter also establishes Wu Gan as an important intellectual and cultural figure whose influence extends beyond the examination itself.

Significant Themes

• Persistence through hardship: Li Xian embraces difficulty, believing that mastering the hardest techniques will produce the greatest growth.
• Balance between power and self-preservation: The sound art is immensely destructive but dangerous to its user, forcing Li Xian to cultivate restraint, recovery, and preparation alongside offensive strength.
• Integration of different disciplines: Martial arts, music, medicine, Ghost Doctor techniques, and spiritual cultivation reinforce one another rather than existing separately.
• Ethics and honest livelihood: Li Xian’s refusal to exploit the Yang girl’s illness contrasts profit-seeking with genuine medical integrity.
• Reputation earned through action: His title and growing prestige arise from consistently solving cases, defeating criminals, and helping others rather than self-promotion.
• Friendship and fellowship: Sparring, traveling, eating, and playing together allow martial practitioners to relax and experience ordinary human happiness despite their dangerous lives.
• Fortune, conscience, and destiny: The examination’s connection to Jade City’s fortune, along with Mirrorheart Lake’s ability to test one’s heart, introduces the idea that moral character and collective destiny are intertwined.

Character Interactions

• Li Xian interacts with the Pivot-Sound Stone and the inherited martial legacy, gradually uncovering the hidden relationship between offensive melodies and defensive stances.
• He treats the Yang Clan girl, cures her qi deviation, and earns her trust before presenting the Enlightenment Cicada.
• Zhou Qingqing, Wei Qingfeng, Lu Qingguan, and Qiao Qing become friendly companions, exchanging cultivation advice and martial instruction with him.
• Yao Yin voices her jealousy, prompting Li Xian to apologize and organize a group outing.
• During the Jiyin Academy patrol, Li Xian exchanges humorous introductions and respectful banter with guards from different divisions and stations.
• Han Niannian playfully reprimands Li Xian and the others for resting during patrol, while Li Xian responds with modest humor rather than revealing pride in his rank.
• The guards’ serious reaction to Wu Gan highlights the scholar’s authority and foreshadows the importance of the upcoming examination and its fortune inheritance.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wu Gan, an elderly scholar holding half a dou of the world’s literary fortune, established the great examination to find worthy successors. His fortune could only be preserved by passing it to scholars of exceptional character and learning.
• Jiyin Academy prepared ten examination sites, each representing a portion of literary fortune. The most prestigious was Mirror Lake, where only the most virtuous and learned candidates could compete.
• Li Xian and other officials patrolled the academy and surrounding streets before and during the three-day examination. Their duties included coordinating guards, controlling crowds, inspecting posts, and preventing criminal disturbances.
• During the quiet night watches, Li Xian practiced his martial arts and experimented playfully with Flicked-Finger Golden Light, shaping it into stones, rabbits, tigers, needles, and other forms. His martial cultivation and understanding continued to improve.
• Li Xian later entered the academy to observe the examination. He saw students struggling over their papers and eventually encountered Wu Gan at Mirror Lake. Wu Gan briefly focused on Li Xian, an interaction that puzzled him.
• After the examination, Li Xian received substantial rewards, including essence meat and military merits. He consumed the resources and used them to strengthen his martial body and techniques.
• The examination rankings caused widespread excitement throughout Jade City. The successful candidates—including the Thirteen Sages of the Mirror, Twin Standouts, Six Heroes, and others—became famous, and their writings were enthusiastically discussed, copied, studied, and praised.
• The celebration abruptly turned into alarm when Song Ya, one of the Thirteen Sages of the Mirror and the eldest daughter of Song the Merchant, vanished without explanation.
• Because the case attracted enormous public attention, responsibility passed from the ward officers and county yamen to the Gold-Seeking Guard. Xu Shaoqian publicly claimed the investigation, hoping to gain prestige, but quickly became frustrated after two days without progress.
• When Lei Chong mentioned that soldiers believed Li Xian could solve the case, Xu Shaoqian reacted angrily. Resentful of Li Xian’s growing reputation, he barred him from participating and insisted on handling the case himself.

Character Developments

• Wu Gan: His immense literary fortune and age are emphasized. Though physically frail and apparently without martial ability, his presence alone unsettles even the finest students. His attention toward Li Xian hints at possible hidden significance.
• Li Xian: Demonstrates growing confidence, discipline, and versatility. He manages the patrols efficiently, treats his soldiers well, maintains composure under pressure, and continues improving through practice and Essence Treasures. He also shows curiosity about scholarship and Wu Gan’s legacy.
• Xu Shaoqian: Reveals ambition, insecurity, and jealousy. He enjoys social deference and wants recognition, but his inability to solve Song Ya’s disappearance exposes his limitations. His hostility toward Li Xian becomes an obstacle to the investigation.
• Song Ya: Though absent for most of the chapter, she is established as an exceptionally talented scholar whose ranking places her among Wu Gan’s most promising successors. Her disappearance threatens both her family’s future and Jade City’s sense of security.
• The examination candidates: Their success transforms them from students into celebrated public figures, demonstrating how quickly literary achievement can bring fame, influence, and political importance.

Significant Themes

• The inheritance and distribution of fortune: Literary fortune is portrayed as a powerful but impermanent force that must be entrusted to worthy successors rather than possessed selfishly.
• Scholarship as power: Writing, character, and learning influence armies, families, social status, and the fate of entire cities.
• Public reputation and pressure: The successful scholars become objects of widespread admiration, while officials are forced to act according to public expectations.
• Martial and literary paths: The chapter contrasts martial longevity and strength with the profound burden carried by scholars, suggesting that true seniority comes from accumulated understanding rather than age or physical power alone.
• Leisure amid duty: Li Xian balances exhausting official responsibilities with playful experimentation and self-cultivation, showing his steady, practical temperament.
• Jealousy and institutional rivalry: Xu Shaoqian’s resentment illustrates how personal ambition and competition within the guards can interfere with justice.

Character Interactions

• Li Xian and Wu Gan: They exchange respectful salutes and a brief gaze at Mirror Lake. Wu Gan’s unusual attention leaves Li Xian uncertain about what the elder perceived.
• Li Xian and the guards: Li Xian wins their cooperation by personally visiting posts, sharing food, offering reminders, and treating them as colleagues rather than subordinates.
• Xu Shaoqian and Gong Kuai: Gong Kuai subtly elevates Xu Shaoqian in conversation, reinforcing Xu’s vanity without Xu fully understanding the motive.
• Xu Shaoqian and Yang Zhen: They work with Gong Kuai to coordinate patrols, establishing the hierarchy and cooperation among the major guard forces.
• Xu Shaoqian and Lei Chong: Lei Chong’s remark praising Li Xian’s investigative ability provokes Xu Shaoqian’s jealousy. Xu responds by attacking Li Xian personally and excluding him from Song Ya’s case.
• Song Ya and the scholarly community: Her fellow examination candidates rally around her disappearance, submitting a forceful petition that pressures the authorities to act.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Shaoqian takes sole control of the investigation into Song Ya’s disappearance, deliberately excluding Li Xian because of his pride and unease over Li Xian’s growing reputation.
• For three days, Xu mobilizes nearly all the Gold-Seeking Guard and Cavaliers at Tailstreet Marquis Wu Station. The investigation initially progresses, but the clues eventually break off, leaving the team at a dead end.
• Pressure intensifies when Xu receives a letter from Wu Gan, Song Ya’s teacher, asking that she be found in time for his approaching birthday banquet.
• Discouraged by the failure, Xu considers bringing Li Xian back. After discussion with Lei Chong, he instead agrees to pretend to be ill and transfer complete authority over the case to Li Xian.
• Lei Chong presents the transfer as beneficial to Xu: if Li Xian succeeds, Xu can claim credit for wisely delegating authority; if Li Xian fails, Li will bear the blame. Lei Chong secretly hopes to deepen the hostility between Xu and Li.
• Li Xian accepts command despite suspecting that the arrangement may be intended to make him a scapegoat. He sees the case as both a danger and an opportunity, especially because success might help him obtain the resources needed to advance toward the Mud Body.
• Li immediately reviews the case files and visits Song Ya’s residence at Dream-Painting House. He questions her father, Song the Merchant, then personally examines Song Ya’s chamber.
• Song the Merchant reveals new information: Song Ya returned home late on the night of August 23 after drinking, later secretly left again, and met a black-clad, one-armed or missing-sleeved man who appeared to limp. He also mentions that Bai Qianlong and Yao Ding had been pursuing Song Ya intensely.
• Li inspects the undisturbed crime scene, Song Ya’s bed, clothing, shoes, and the mud on a pair of boots. Using his Double Pupils and careful forensic reasoning, he begins reconstructing Song Ya’s final movements.
• The chapter ends with Li discovering a portrait of Song Ya, suggesting that further deductions about her disappearance are imminent.

2. Character Developments

• Xu Shaoqian: His pride, competitiveness, and sensitivity to reputation become clear. He dislikes that common people recognize Li Xian more readily than themselves and feels threatened by Li’s mastery of multiple difficult martial arts. His confidence collapses when the investigation fails, revealing a weakness: he charges forward forcefully but loses resolve after setbacks. Although reluctant to admit inferiority, he ultimately delegates the case to Li.
• Li Xian: He demonstrates composure, humility, and increasingly sophisticated investigative ability. Rather than being distracted by political maneuvering, he focuses on evidence and accepts the case despite the risks. His examination of physical traces shows that he is more methodical and perceptive than the Gold-Seeking Guard’s conventional investigators.
• Lei Chong: He emerges as a calculating, vindictive schemer. Though openly hostile to Li, he pretends to support him while manipulating Xu Shaoqian. His real goal is to intensify Xu and Li’s conflict so that he can later harm Li without Xu intervening.
• Song the Merchant: He appears grief-stricken and regretful, but Li carefully observes whether his emotional displays are genuine. His account introduces potentially important suspects and new clues about Song Ya’s final night.
• Song Ya: Though absent, she is characterized as intelligent, influential, independent, beautiful, and highly capable. Her authority within her wealthy household and her connections to prominent young men make her disappearance more complicated.
• Yao Fan and Chang Ziqiang: They serve as Li’s assistants. Yao Fan expresses strong confidence in Li, while both support his investigation in subordinate roles.

3. Significant Themes

• Pride versus ability: Xu’s refusal to use Li stems from wounded pride and fear that a subordinate may outshine him. The chapter contrasts status and reputation with genuine competence.
• Reputation and political power: Xu and Lei both think in terms of who will receive credit or blame. The investigation is treated not only as a search for Song Ya but also as a contest over prestige.
• The danger of talent: Xu recognizes Li’s ability but resents the threat it poses to his authority. Lei Chong similarly views Li’s success as something to manipulate rather than admire.
• Appearance versus reality: Xu pretends to be ill, Lei pretends to cooperate, and Song the Merchant may be exaggerating his grief. Li’s role is to look past performances and identify the truth hidden in physical details.
• Traditional methods versus careful investigation: The Gold-Seeking Guard relies heavily on interrogation and neglects crime-scene evidence. Li’s use of traces, footwear, dust, clothing, and environmental details represents a more advanced investigative method.
• Opportunity within danger: Li understands that political traps can also provide opportunities. Solving the case could improve both his standing and his chances of obtaining resources for cultivation.

4. Character Interactions

• Xu and Lei’s discussion exposes their conflicting motives: Xu wants to preserve his dignity, while Lei subtly encourages him to surrender control in order to undermine Li.
• Xu’s anger erupts when Lei changes his advice, and he slaps Lei twice. Nevertheless, Lei’s proposal to transfer full authority persuades him.
• Lei publicly promises cooperation with Li while privately plotting to use the case to worsen Xu’s resentment.
• Li and Lei meet under a façade of reconciliation. Li immediately suspects Lei’s apparent cooperation but chooses to prioritize solving the case.
• Li questions Song the Merchant repeatedly to observe his reactions rather than merely collect facts. He remains calm and skeptical while the merchant displays grief and regret.
• Yao Fan praises Li’s abilities, but Li rejects excessive confidence and emphasizes that he can only do his best.
• Li’s investigation shifts the chapter from internal political maneuvering to direct evidence gathering, setting up his likely breakthrough in the next chapter.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Xian investigates Song Ya’s residence after her mysterious disappearance. A portrait, her cosmetics, and the fact that she favors her left hand help him confirm that the missing woman is likely the same Song Ya who attended the grand examination.
• In the main hall, he discovers signs of a silent struggle. The shattered porcelain and chair bear traces of the vicious Spleen-Shaking Palm, a technique associated with the unsolved Withered Flower Case, in which criminals abduct women and destroy their internal organs.
• Li Xian theorizes that Song Ya may have been taken by the Withered Flowers, contradicting Xu Shaoqian’s previous investigative direction. He orders the Gold-Seeking Guard to pursue this lead.
• Within half a day, Li Xian’s search uncovers evidence pointing to hidden criminal strongholds between western Jade City and Sky-Screen Mountain.
• Using his authority, Li Xian mobilizes a massive force: Cavaliers, Gold Stewards, constables, yamen runners, debt slaves, martial wanderers, physicians, and specialized Heavenly Crafted Wonders. He organizes them into one hundred coordinated search teams.
• He carefully studies the terrain and uses his Five-Elements Esoteric Escape knowledge to design overlapping search routes. His preparations impress Yao Fan, Chang Ziqiang, and even the resentful Lei Chong, while Xu Shaoqian feels that Li Xian is usurping his authority.
• Li Xian explains that the large-scale operation is partly intended to “beat the grass and startle the snake,” forcing the criminals to move and reveal their location. He also worries that Song Ya may already have been harmed and remembers his need to provide Wu Gan with an answer before his birthday.
• Entering the mountain personally, Li Xian tracks concealed footprints and an August peach-blossom petal from the Song residence. He discovers a hidden tunnel beneath a withered Azure-Ridge Tree.
• By using the Human-Garment Art and Borrowing Light Through a Chiseled Wall, he infiltrates the underground palace without disturbing its wind-sensitive lamps.
• The underground hideout contains seven residences, a treasure room, and a prison holding four women. Li Xian overhears two members of the Seven Withered Flowers, Tan Shousi and Tan Pangwu, discussing the search and admitting their use of the Spleen-Shaking Palm on imprisoned women.
• Li Xian attacks the two criminals. He kills Tan Pangwu with the Four Directions Fist of the Great Self Realm, defeats Tan Shousi with the Stone-Pushing Palm Method, and finishes him with a Golden Light needle.
• After confirming their deaths, Li Xian frees the imprisoned women. To his shock, one of them is Song Ya—despite the criminals’ conversation suggesting that they had not abducted her.

2. Character Developments

• Li Xian demonstrates strong investigative ability, combining observation, deduction, martial skill, and logistical planning. He proves that he can wield substantial authority responsibly, prioritizing the safety of his forces while still acting decisively.
• He also shows strategic maturity: rather than blindly pursuing the criminals, he deliberately creates a large disturbance to force them out of hiding.
• His personal skill has advanced considerably. His lightness techniques, Double Pupils, Human-Garment Art, Golden Light, and martial forms allow him to infiltrate the hideout and defeat two experienced criminals.
• Li Xian remains grateful to Xu Shaoqian for recognizing his abilities, even while acknowledging their mutual hostility.
• Xu Shaoqian becomes increasingly resentful and insecure as Li Xian performs in hours what he failed to accomplish over several days. He views Li Xian’s authority as borrowed power and fears the loss of his own influence.
• Yao Fan and Chang Ziqiang develop even greater admiration for Li Xian after witnessing his careful command structure and tactical arrangements.
• Song Ya changes from a missing victim and investigative subject into a central mystery: she is found alive among the prisoners, but her connection to the criminals remains unexplained.

3. Significant Themes

• Competence and authority: The chapter contrasts Li Xian’s efficient leadership with Xu Shaoqian’s stalled investigation and wounded pride.
• Investigation through observation: Small details—left-handedness, shattered objects, footprints, flower petals, and damaged tree roots—allow Li Xian to reconstruct events and uncover hidden truths.
• Justice versus reputation: The Seven Withered Flowers accuse the Gold-Seeking Guard of being hypocrites, while Li Xian must determine whether the evidence truly points to them or whether someone is manipulating the investigation.
• Power and responsibility: Although Li Xian enjoys the opportunity to command a vast force, he repeatedly emphasizes minimizing casualties and protecting his men.
• Hidden truths and false appearances: Song Ya’s presence in the criminals’ prison contradicts their apparent denial of abducting her, establishing that the case involves deception, mistaken assumptions, or a deeper conspiracy.
• Human cruelty: The criminals’ use of women for cultivation highlights the brutality underlying the Withered Flower Case and strengthens Li Xian’s resolve to stop them.

4. Character Interactions

• Li Xian’s deductions about Song Ya’s appearance and habits connect him to the missing woman before he discovers her.
• His professional relationship with Xu Shaoqian is tense: Xu relinquishes the case publicly but continues monitoring it, while Li Xian respects the earlier recognition Xu gave him despite their conflict.
• Yao Fan and Chang Ziqiang openly praise Li Xian’s command abilities, while he rebukes them for suggesting that he replace Xu Shaoqian.
• Lei Chong’s hatred of Li Xian is tempered by reluctant admiration for his effectiveness.
• Tan Pangwu and Tan Shousi reveal the criminals’ internal hierarchy and loyalty to their absent “Big Brother.” Their conversation gives Li Xian insight into the group’s methods and confirms their use of the Spleen-Shaking Palm.
• Li Xian’s confrontation with the two criminals showcases his tactical style: he exploits darkness, surprise, emotional distraction, and close-range force to defeat opponents who share related martial techniques.
• The chapter ends with Li Xian discovering Song Ya, creating a major contradiction between her presence and the criminals’ statements and setting up the next mystery.

Key Plot Points / Events

• Li Xian infiltrates the Seven Withered Flowers' hideout and rescues Song Ya, the talented maiden of Dream-Painting House, along with two captive martial artists.
• A disguised female assassin hidden among the prisoners attacks Li Xian; he was already wary and kills her.
• Li Xian leads the women out and deliberately tests Song Ya by letting her lag behind, suspecting she may not be who she claims.
• Song Ya nearly falls off a cliff but is saved by Li Xian, who had been secretly watching her.
• The surviving four Tan brothers discover three of their kin dead and activate a desperate revenge plan.
• Li Xian hides the two injured martial artists, then carries Song Ya on his back to face the enemies, drawing his silver bow and vowing to “sweep them all into one pot.”

Character Developments

• Li Xian: Cautious, strategic, and observant; he balances heroism with deep suspicion. His martial skill and composure under pressure are emphasized.
• Song Ya: Graceful, intelligent, and emotionally vulnerable. She proves sharp-minded by deducing Li Xian’s testing of her, and shows growing admiration for him.
• Tan Child & brothers: Fiercely loyal, vengeful, and empowered by their “Seven Sons One Heart Technique”—if one dies, all die, but the survivors grow stronger.

Significant Themes

• Trust vs. suspicion: Li Xian’s guarded attitude toward Song Ya reflects the danger of deception.
• Honor and responsibility: Li Xian risks his safety to protect the women he rescued.
• Sacrifice and shared fate: The Tan brothers’ linked lives show both loyalty and a curse.
• Observation and perception: Song Ya and Li Xian constantly read each other’s motives.

Character Interactions

• Li Xian & Song Ya: A tense, layered bond—Li Xian tests her, Song Ya gently calls out his tactics, and an unspoken mutual respect grows as she watches him prepare for battle.
• Li Xian & the rescued women: He treats their injuries and hides them despite their weakness, reinforcing his protective role.
• Tan brothers: Their grief over their fallen siblings fuels their unified pursuit of revenge, making them more dangerous.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Song Ya, rescued by Li Xian, clings to his back as he carries her through the forest. She is frightened but also exhilarated by his strength and skill.
• The remaining four members of the Seven Withered Flowers—Tan Child, Tan Gao, Tan Shorty, and Tan Man—coordinate through the Seven Sons One Heart Technique to pursue Li Xian. Their shared minds allow them to form a seemingly airtight encirclement.
• Li Xian repeatedly outmaneuvers them by using false trails, terrain, stealth, and superior perception. He leads the bandits into confusion while remaining in control of the chase.
• Tan Man is killed first by Li Xian’s hidden arrows. Tan Shorty then follows a blood trail into the Ten-Thousand Thorn Abyss and is forced to his death by Li Xian’s arrows.
• Only Tan Child and Tan Gao remain. Li Xian keeps them at a distance, attacking from unpredictable angles with his bow. Both men suffer numerous wounds; Tan Gao is shot through the leg, and Tan Child loses an eye before their deaths become inevitable.
• After all four bandits are dead, Li Xian refuses to search their bodies for treasure, prioritizing the safe evacuation of Song Ya and the other women.
• Returning to the cave, Li Xian retrieves the injured women from Mount Zhengyi and the Tiger Luo Sect. He prepares roasted rabbits and birds for them and spends the remainder of the night with them around the fire.
• Song Ya is returned safely to Jade City on the second day of the search. News of Li Xian’s success spreads rapidly, along with his reputation and nickname, “Handsome Sideburns, Ugly Face.”
• Li Xian brings Song Ya home and has her recount the events of her disappearance. Her family confirms that she is genuine, but Li Xian remains suspicious because important contradictions remain unresolved.
• The mountain search cost the Gold-Seeking Guard nearly four thousand taels of silver and injured dozens of people, highlighting the enormous resources required for the rescue.
• Xu Shaoqian reacts bitterly to Li Xian’s success, realizing that he has lost prestige and authority. He continues pretending to be ill to avoid responsibility.
• Tao Xiangrong sends Xu Shaoqian a basket of rare fruits but withholds the symbolic Immortal Peach. This leaves him uncertain about her feelings.
• Xiangrong explains that she seeks not an ordinary man but “the fiercest one,” suggesting that she is waiting for someone truly exceptional.

2. Character Developments

• Li Xian: Demonstrates extraordinary composure, tactical intelligence, archery, physical ability, and mastery of the forest. He chooses safety over greed, showing practical judgment. Despite rescuing Song Ya, he remains cautious and does not fully trust her account.
• Song Ya: Develops admiration and possible romantic feelings for Li Xian while relying on him for protection. She shows intelligence, education, gratitude, and consideration by encouraging the injured women to eat first. Her calm behavior impresses Lin Zha, but Li Xian’s suspicions about her identity and disappearance remain unresolved.
• Tan Child: Begins as the strategic leader of the Seven Withered Flowers but becomes increasingly frustrated and emotionally driven. His confidence collapses as Li Xian repeatedly deceives him and kills his brothers.
• Tan Shorty: His anger and impulsiveness overpower his brother’s warnings, leading him into the trap at the abyss.
• Tan Gao: Initially obedient and coordinated with Tan Child, but fear and desperation grow as Li Xian’s attacks continue.
• Lin Zha and Zhong Nian: Recover from their injuries and remain composed, reflecting their experience as martial-world travelers. Lin Zha develops a favorable impression of Song Ya.
• Lei Chong: Recognizes Li Xian’s superior ability and regrets having made an enemy of him, while also accepting that conflict between them may now be unavoidable.
• Xu Shaoqian: Is humiliated by Li Xian’s success and becomes emotionally tormented by Tao Xiangrong’s ambiguous gesture.
• Tao Xiangrong: Reveals confidence, independence, and demanding romantic standards. She refuses to give her symbolic favor to anyone who does not meet her ideal of strength.

3. Significant Themes

• Intelligence versus brute force: The bandits possess greater cultivation and perfect coordination, but Li Xian defeats them through strategy, deception, terrain, and archery.
• Control and perception: Li Xian controls the battlefield without allowing the enemy to see him, while the bandits become increasingly blinded by rage and fear.
• Suspicion amid apparent resolution: Although Song Ya has been safely recovered and identified by her family, Li Xian recognizes that the case contains inconsistencies and may not truly be solved.
• Practical judgment versus greed: Li Xian ignores the bandits’ corpses and possible treasures, understanding that survival and securing the rescued women matter more.
• Reputation and political rivalry: Li Xian’s success rapidly elevates his reputation, while Lei Chong and Xu Shaoqian confront the consequences of underestimating him.
• Ambiguous romance and standards of worth: Song Ya’s growing attraction contrasts with Tao Xiangrong’s more distant and symbolic approach to romance. The Immortal Peach represents favor, recognition, and the possibility of a prestigious union.
• Fleeting beauty and exceptional strength: Xiangrong’s statement that she seeks “the fiercest man” frames romance as something reserved for a truly extraordinary figure.

4. Character Interactions

• Song Ya’s close physical proximity to Li Xian during the escape intensifies her admiration and emotional attachment.
• Li Xian and Song Ya converse around the campfire about his home in Qingning, his background, official duties, and possible future travels. Song Ya’s curiosity about him becomes evident.
• Li Xian treats Lin Zha and Zhong Nian generously by preparing food and giving them meat to restore their strength. Song Ya reinforces his kindness by insisting that the injured women eat first.
• Lin Zha and Song Ya form an early bond after Lin Zha notices Song Ya’s thoughtfulness and humility.
• Li Xian discusses the Tiger Luo Sect with Lin Zha, establishing a connection to the wider martial world.
• Lei Chong privately compares himself with Li Xian and recognizes both his ability and the danger created by their rivalry.
• Xu Shaoqian and Liang Xiaoshi exchange veiled remarks about Tao Xiangrong’s intentions. The fruit basket comforts and torments Xu Shaoqian because it signals concern without romantic commitment.
• Liang Xiaoshi and Tao Xiangrong discuss Xu Shaoqian’s cowardice and Xiangrong’s refusal to give away an Immortal Peach. Their conversation emphasizes Xiangrong’s selective and uncompromising view of love.