Chapter Summaries

Li Changfeng found Xia Wu and several others dead at the distress signal’s source, while Director Cao’s body was missing. Xia Wu passed him a secret book before dying, and Zhou Deyuan pledged to investigate the killings and find the culprit.

• Old Li, Old Wang, and Xia Wu interrogated Chou ZhengGu and Director Cao about the missing Thousand-Household Commander, and Xia Wu crippled Director Cao’s arm to make him talk.
• Li Changfeng and Li Feng arrived at the scene and found Old Li, Old Wang, Xia Wu, Chou ZhengGu, Sha Anran, and Ning Caiying dead, but Director Cao’s body was missing.
• Xia Wu gave Li Changfeng a book and tried to say that the dead were offerings before succumbing to a fatal wound.
• Li Changfeng vowed to avenge Xia Wu, and the arriving guards grieved over their fallen comrades.
• Zhou Deyuan pledged to uncover the truth, and Li Changfeng entrusted him with investigating the deaths.

Li Changfeng and Zhou Deyuan investigated the corpses and deduced that Kong Zhengqing and Yu Yuande had killed their own men to frame the Brocade-Clad Guards and provoke the three sects. After Li Changfeng reported to Commander Lu, Lu planned an ambush and promised to help protect him, then decided to visit Director Cao.

• Zhou Deyuan examined the corpses and found that the Brocade-Clad Guards had been killed with swift sword strikes while three others had died later from a scorching palm technique.
• Zhou Deyuan identified a shattered eunuch's thumb ring and concluded that one of the two missing eunuchs was among the mangled remains.
• Li Changfeng and Li Feng deduced that Kong Zhengqing and Yu Yuande had killed their own men to frame the guards and stir the three sects against them.
• Li Changfeng reported the investigation to Commander Lu, who decided to turn the scheme against its perpetrators and ambush the three sects' experts.
• Commander Lu told Li Changfeng he would bear the burden of his exposed identity, ordered him to recover, and decided to visit Director Cao.

Commander Lu secured Grand Supervisor Cao’s men to help capture Cao Shaoqing alive, while Director Cao and his allies prepared to kill Li Changfeng. Li Changfeng demonstrated his strength to five Eastern Depot masters, who accepted him as their leader.

• Commander Lu agreed to capture Cao Shaoqing alive for Grand Supervisor Cao and said Li Changfeng would lead the effort.
• Director Cao killed a young eunuch for mishandling his medicine, then spoke with Kong Zhengqing and Yu Yuande about taking revenge on Li Changfeng.
• Director Cao refused to reveal Li Changfeng’s identity to Grand Supervisor Yu, fearing the consequences of their killing three sect disciples.
• Five Eastern Depot masters questioned whether Li Changfeng deserved to command them, so he exchanged palm strikes with Meng Yubo and proved his strength.
• Meng Yubo and the other four masters—Qiu Yueyue, Lu Jiaying, He Kangtai, and Quan Yuanzhou—accepted Li Changfeng as the Thousand-Household Lord.

Director Cao and three grandmasters led an armed force to the Thousand-Household Manor, where Li Changfeng and the Brocade-Clad Guards ambushed them. After Li Changfeng’s identity as a Shaolin disciple was exposed, he won the guards’ support and presented an Image-Recording Stone as evidence that he was not the murderer.

• Director Cao’s force entered the Thousand-Household Manor and was caught in a crossbow ambush by the Brocade-Clad Guards.
• Li Changfeng attacked the escaping men with the Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms, while the three grandmasters accused him of killing their sects’ young masters.
• Director Cao revealed that Li Changfeng was the Brocade-Clad Guards’ Thousand-Household Commander and the Shaolin disciple ranked sixth on the Human Rankings.
• Zhou Deyuan, Leng Zhi, Wang Commandant, and the other guards declared their belief in Li Changfeng despite their suspicions about his identity.
• Li Changfeng challenged Yu Yuande’s claim that he had witnessed the murders and took out an Image-Recording Stone to prove his innocence.

Li Changfeng exposed Yu Yuande, Kong Zhengqing, and Director Cao for framing the Brocade-Clad Guard, but emergency signals drew away the three sect grandmasters. Five eunuch grandmasters then overwhelmed Yu Yuande and Kong Zhengqing, and Li Changfeng ordered them killed after Yu Yuande offered to switch the Azure City Sect to the Princess's faction in exchange for his life.

• Li Changfeng demonstrated that his swordsmanship could not have caused the tiny wounds and accused Yu Yuande, Kong Zhengqing, and Director Cao of framing the Brocade-Clad Guard.
• The three sect grandmasters realized they had been manipulated, but emergency signals from their sects forced them to leave.
• Li Changfeng called out five eunuch grandmasters, who surrounded Director Cao, Yu Yuande, and Kong Zhengqing.
• Yu Yuande and Kong Zhengqing fought the five eunuch grandmasters but were defeated and wounded.
• Yu Yuande offered to bring the Azure City Sect into the Princess's faction if Li Changfeng spared him, while Kong Zhengqing hesitated.
• Li Changfeng ordered the five directors to kill Yu Yuande and Kong Zhengqing without mercy.

Li Changfeng defeated Director Cao, crippled him, and ordered him taken to the dungeon. Yu Yuande then broke through the eunuchs’ encirclement and launched a desperate attack that sent Li Changfeng crashing through a wall, leaving their fight unresolved.

• The five grandmaster eunuchs attacked Yu Yuande and his companion while Li Changfeng confronted Director Cao.
• Li Changfeng overwhelmed Director Cao, crushed his shoulders, shattered his True Qi Seed, and ordered guards to take him to the dungeon.
• Yu Yuande sacrificed an arm to escape the eunuchs’ encirclement and attacked Li Changfeng with his strongest sword technique.
• Li Changfeng countered Yu Yuande’s sword attack with his sword and palm techniques, but their final clash sent him flying through a wall.

Yu Yuande and Kong Zhengqing were killed after their assault on Li Changfeng failed, though Li Changfeng was badly wounded. At the Western Depot, Yuhuatian met with three rescued grandmasters and persuaded them to carry out a secret task.

• Yu Yuande’s sword strike pierced Li Changfeng’s left chest, and a grandmaster eunuch killed Yu Yuande.
• Kong Zhengqing tried to escape but the four grandmaster eunuchs caught and killed him.
• Li Changfeng ordered Leng Zhi to handle the scene, then returned to his bedroom to heal.
• Vice Director Cui reported to Yuhuatian that Director Cao and the others had died at Li Changfeng’s hands.
• Yuhuatian explained that he had let the plot unfold because Commander Lu and Grand Supervisor Cao were watching him, then recruited the three grandmasters for a secret task.
• The three grandmasters agreed to Yuhuatian’s plan, and Vice Director Cui escorted them away.

Li Changfeng recovered from the sword qi in his body, strengthened himself, and trained in Xia Wu’s Heavy Sword, No Edge art. After half a year, he faced a gray figure in the cultivation system and clashed with it using Mountain-Splitting Strike.

• Li Changfeng expelled the sword qi from his body and allowed the five chief stewards to take Cao Shaoqing away.
• Li Changfeng checked his system, used a Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Pill to strengthen his tendons and bones, and examined Xia Wu’s sword manual and map.
• Li Changfeng spent 100 Cultivation Points to train in Heavy Sword, No Edge and discovered that the greatsword grew heavier as he swung it.
• Li Changfeng found that practicing swordsmanship after taking a Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Pill eased the pain and improved his absorption of the medicine.
• After half a year of training, Li Changfeng used Mountain-Splitting Strike against a gray figure in the cultivation system, and their collision sent him flying and injured his hands.

Li Changfeng completed the Shaolin Bronze Body Skill and gained enough strength to challenge Grandmasters. Meanwhile, Yuhuatian’s scheme drew the Brocade-Clad Guards away from Princess Manor, allowing three Grandmasters to abduct Princess Minmin.

• Li Changfeng mastered Heavy Sword, No Edge, completed the Shaolin Bronze Body Skill, and reached thirty thousand jin of strength.
• Commander Lu suspected Yuhuatian was hiding a larger plan and ordered the Brocade-Clad Guards to reinforce the three major cities.
• Three Grandmasters infiltrated Princess Manor after learning its strongest defenders had been deployed elsewhere.
• Princess Minmin fought off one attacker, but another struck her unconscious, and the Grandmasters carried her away in a sack.

Yuhuatian rewarded three sect grandmasters for abducting Princess Minmin, then met with the War Prince, who announced that he would claim the throne in seven days. At the Princess Manor, Commander Lu and Grand Supervisor Cao realized the War Prince had taken Minmin and rushed to defend the Emperor during his secluded cultivation.

• Yuhuatian rewarded the Meteor Sect, Divine Fist Gate, and Iron Palm Gang grandmasters with Nine Revolutions Primordial Pills for bringing back the Princess.
• The War Prince appeared before Yuhuatian and the three grandmasters, then declared that he would obtain the throne in seven days.
• Grand Supervisor Cao killed the guards who had failed to protect Princess Minmin.
• Commander Lu deduced that the three sect grandmasters had helped Yuhuatian abduct Minmin and warned that the War Prince would use her to disrupt the Emperor's cultivation.
• Commander Lu and Grand Supervisor Cao hurried to gather their people at the place where the Emperor was in seclusion.

The War Prince led the Dragon Guard Army to the Emperor's seclusion grounds, where the Brocade-Clad Guard and Eastern Depot forces refused to yield and battle erupted. Li Changfeng devastated the enemy ranks with his Heavy Sword techniques, then used the Indestructible Divine Skill to withstand attacks from two grandmasters.

• The War Prince arrived with the Dragon Guard Army and offered Commander Lu a chance to serve him, but Commander Lu and Grand Supervisor Cao refused.
• Yuhuatian ordered the Imperial Guard and Western Depot to attack, beginning a large-scale battle against the Brocade-Clad Guard and Eastern Depot.
• Li Changfeng killed hundreds of soldiers and eunuchs with Mountain-Splitting Strike and Sweeping a Thousand Armies, rallying the Brocade-Clad Guard.
• Yuhuatian sent two grandmaster-level experts to kill Li Changfeng.
• Li Changfeng activated the Indestructible Divine Skill and blocked both men's palm attacks with his Indestructible Vajra Body, leaving them wondering if he had mastered the legendary skill.

Li Changfeng fought Long Jiu and Eunuch You, but their combined attacks overwhelmed him and left him vulnerable to Eunuch You’s surprise strike. Li Feng intervened and pulled Li Changfeng out of danger, while Eunuch You turned his anger on the newcomer.

• Long Jiu and Eunuch You attacked Li Changfeng together, and he met their strikes with techniques from both swords.
• The three fighters clashed again, and Li Changfeng and his opponents were all injured by the exchange.
• Eunuch You vanished while Li Changfeng was briefly disoriented, then launched a sudden sword strike at him.
• Li Feng appeared and blocked Eunuch You’s attack with his saber before pulling Li Changfeng back.
• Eunuch You roared at Li Feng for interfering with his plan.

Li Feng and Li Changfeng faced Eunuch You and Long Jiu in a contest to see who could defeat his opponent first. Their first exchanges ended in evenly matched clashes, leaving both battles unresolved.

• Li Feng volunteered to fight Eunuch You while Li Changfeng took on Long Jiu, and the two agreed to compete over who would finish first.
• Eunuch You attacked Li Feng with sword qi, but Li Feng met his strike with his saber and blasted them both backward.
• Li Feng used Black Flash against Eunuch You's Life Severing Hand, and their attacks collided in an explosion that forced them both back evenly matched.
• Li Changfeng struck at Long Jiu with Mountain-Splitting Strike, while Long Jiu countered with Strike the Yellow Dragon's Lair using his Dragon Guard Divine Armor.
• Li Changfeng's sword qi and Long Jiu's spear light collided, forcing both fighters back as they suppressed the force of the clash.

Li Changfeng and Long Jiu fought with their sword and spear techniques until both were injured, then Li Changfeng used Great Skill is No Skill to overpower Long Jiu. Long Jiu was knocked away and left wounded, while the fight’s outcome remained undecided.

• Li Changfeng and Long Jiu clashed with Sweeping a Thousand Armies, producing a violent shockwave and a crater between them.
• Li Changfeng attacked with Thunderous Might, but Long Jiu blocked it with Yellow Dragon Coiling Earth and endured Li Changfeng’s repeated strikes.
• Li Changfeng’s final lightning strike blasted both fighters away, leaving them bloodied and scorched before they rose and praised each other’s techniques.
• Li Changfeng unleashed Great Skill is No Skill, swinging his massive sword at extreme speed as Long Jiu dodged with his movement technique.
• Li Changfeng’s fifth strike grazed Long Jiu’s dragon-patterned armor, cracked it, and blasted him away as he spat blood.

Li Changfeng and Long Jiu fought through a fierce exchange before striking each other with their strongest techniques. Li Changfeng then used the Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms to defeat Long Jiu, but he was left badly injured himself.

• Li Changfeng and Long Jiu exchanged more than a hundred sword and spear strikes, damaging the ground around them.
• After resting, Li Changfeng and Long Jiu agreed to decide the fight with one strike and unleashed their strongest techniques.
• The attacks collided and blasted both men away, leaving Li Changfeng covered in bloody wounds and Long Jiu’s dragon-patterned armor ruined.
• Li Changfeng used the Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms to shatter Long Jiu’s golden palm print and send him crashing to the ground, barely alive.
• Li Changfeng spat blood after his final attack and struggled to suppress the True Qi rampaging through his body.

Li Feng and Eunuch You fought a fierce battle, trading severe injuries with their saber and palm techniques. Li Feng left Eunuch You barely alive with a final palm strike, and Eunuch You identified it as the Nine Yin Heart Shattering Palm before losing consciousness.

• Li Feng and Eunuch You exchanged attacks in midair, and both were wounded.
• Li Feng used Black Saber Ten Flashes to cut Eunuch You, who countered with Silver Hand of Annihilation but could not stop the rapid strikes.
• Li Feng and Eunuch You clashed with Asura Blood Saber Strike and Life Severing Silver Palm, and the impact badly injured them both.
• Li Feng struck the weakened Eunuch You in the chest with a black-gray palm print, sending him crashing to the ground barely alive.
• Eunuch You named Li Feng's technique the Nine Yin Heart Shattering Palm before losing consciousness.

Yuhuatian revealed that the War Prince had helped him gain power so he could avenge the forced castration and slaughter of the Ximen clan. He overpowered Commander Lu, Grand Supervisor Cao, and Old Mo with lightning techniques, leaving them fleeing from pursuing lightning dragons.

• Yuhuatian told Commander Lu and Grand Supervisor Cao that the War Prince had trained him after an imperial clan member castrated him, and that he had slaughtered the Ximen clan in revenge.
• Grand Supervisor Cao attacked Yuhuatian with Boundless Sea, but Yuhuatian's Man's Wrath sword aura split the silver palm strike and continued toward him.
• Commander Lu used Black Saber Ten Flashes to hold back Yuhuatian's sword aura, and Old Mo destroyed its remaining force with a kick, allowing Grand Supervisor Cao to escape.
• Yuhuatian unleashed Earth Wrath, cracking the ground and sending lightning dragons after Commander Lu, Grand Supervisor Cao, and Old Mo.
• The three men fled across the ground as the lightning dragons chased them and shattered everything in their path.

Commander Lu, Grand Supervisor Cao, and Old Mo destroyed Yuhuatian’s thunder dragons, but Yuhuatian attacked them from above with the Heaven’s Wrath sword technique. The three launched their strongest techniques against his thunderbolt sword aura, and the clash remained unresolved.

• Commander Lu used Asura Blood Saber Strike to destroy one thunder dragon, while Grand Supervisor Cao used Rivers Return to the Sea to destroy another.
• Old Mo shattered the last thunder dragon with One Success Achieved Over Ten Thousand Corpses, leaving all three men exhausted.
• The three men realized Yuhuatian had disappeared, then saw him suspended above them amid lightning.
• Yuhuatian unleashed Heaven’s Wrath, sending a massive thunderbolt sword aura down at the three men.
• Commander Lu, Grand Supervisor Cao, and Old Mo each attacked the sword aura with their strongest techniques.

Yuhuatian defeated Commander Lu and the other two commanders, but War Prince confronted Murong Longbo and threatened Princess Minmin to seize the throne. Murong Longbo intervened from the void, and his attack broke through War Prince’s defenses as it raced toward his glabella.

• Yuhuatian exhausted himself defeating Commander Lu and the other two commanders, while Li Feng reassured Li Changfeng that his life was not in danger.
• War Prince demanded that Murong Longbo surrender the throne and threatened to kill Princess Minmin, whom Yuhuatian brought to him in a black sack.
• Commander Lu led the surviving fighters in an attack, but War Prince used Star Shift to block and return their techniques.
• Murong Longbo stopped the returned attacks in midair and revealed that his cultivation technique had reached perfection.
• War Prince tried to strike Princess Minmin, but Murong Longbo attacked him from the void; War Prince’s defenses failed, and the attack shot toward his glabella.

Yuhuatian took a fatal blow meant for Murong Longzhan, but Murong Longbo saved him and offered his brother the throne. After Princess Minmin revealed how she had disguised herself to resolve the brothers’ conflict, Li Changfeng left to deliver Murong Longbo’s message to Xuan Nan.

• Yuhuatian shielded Murong Longzhan from an attack and explained that he was repaying the War Prince for saving his life.
• Murong Longzhan released Princess Minmin and asked Murong Longbo to save Yuhuatian, so Murong Longbo suppressed Yuhuatian’s fatal injuries.
• Murong Longbo offered to yield the throne to Murong Longzhan, and the brothers reconciled.
• Princess Minmin revealed that Li Feng had been her disguise and that a maidservant had impersonated her, preventing Murong Longzhan from actually holding her hostage.
• Murong Longbo thanked Li Changfeng for his help and asked him to tell Xuan Nan that he accepted the Abbot’s request.
• Li Changfeng departed, saddened that he might one day have to fight the Brocade-Clad Guards who had become his brothers.