Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Jin Qianbao and Gu Ping appear when Zhao Feng calls them. Jin detects a hidden assassin in the forest and disables him with a thrown copper coin before swiftly capturing him.
• The captive is Duan Peng, a high-ranking Shadow Tower assassin who had come to kill Xie Jinghan. Confident in his skill and strength, Duan had planned to torment Xie, but he is caught before he can even begin the attack.
• Zhao Feng leaves Duan’s fate to Xie Jinghan, since the assassin’s target was Xie.
• Before departing with his two protectors, Zhao promises to have them establish a mountain-guarding formation to protect Zhao Village. He asks Xie to look after his family and relatives, and Xie agrees.
• Zhao and his protectors leave into the night. Xie carries the helpless assassin back into the courtyard.

Character developments and interactions

• Jin Qianbao demonstrates the vast difference between Golden Core experts and Duan Peng, capturing him effortlessly and dismissing his threat.
• Duan Peng goes from arrogant anticipation of torturing a gifted target to terror and helplessness after being discovered and subdued.
• Zhao Feng shows trust in Xie by giving him control over the assassin and entrusting him with his family’s safety.
• Xie Jinghan accepts responsibility for both Duan and Zhao’s village, strengthening the bond between the two men.

Significant themes

• Overconfidence and reversal: Duan’s confidence in his abilities collapses before an opponent far stronger than he expected.
• Trust and loyalty: Zhao and Xie rely on one another, with Zhao entrusting his home and family to Xie.
• Protection and responsibility: The planned formation and Xie’s promise emphasize the duty to safeguard one’s home and loved ones.

Key plot points and events

• Xie Jinghan interrogates Duan Peng, a captured Shadow Tower assassin, about his identity, employer, and mission. Duan Peng refuses to speak despite being injured.
• Concluding that Gong Feiyu is behind the attack, Xie Jinghan threatens retaliation and questions Duan Peng about the Shadow Tower’s forces and future missions. He seals off the sound and unleashes his sword formation; the narration implies Duan Peng is killed.
• The next day, Xie Jinghan carries the assassin to Little Azure Mountain and gives him a quick death before returning to Zhao Village.
• He finds Gu Ping installing the Cloudmist Mystic Origin Mountain-Guarding Formation around the village. Eighteen flags anchor the formation underground, raising a protective barrier and concealing the village in white mist.
• At Gu Ping’s request, Xie Jinghan tests the barrier with his strongest sword strikes. It absorbs them with only slight ripples. Gu Ping explains that the formation can withstand an attack from a Golden Core cultivator and repel anyone below that level.
• Gu Ping gives Xie Jinghan a blood-bound jade token that lets him pass through the formation. From inside, Xie Jinghan discovers that the mist hides the village from outsiders but does not obstruct those within.

Character developments

• Xie Jinghan is decisive and increasingly focused on responding to threats, though he cannot extract information from the assassin. His impressive sword power is also demonstrated.
• Duan Peng remains loyal to the Shadow Tower’s code, enduring pain rather than revealing mission details.
• Gu Ping acts as a capable protector of Zhao Village, using his formation expertise to strengthen its defenses and including Xie Jinghan among those permitted to enter.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and secrecy: Duan Peng’s refusal to betray his organization reflects the strict code of the assassins.
• Protection and security: The formation shields Zhao Village from attack and observation.
• Power and preparedness: Xie Jinghan’s test shows the village’s new defenses are substantial, while Gu Ping’s preparations anticipate future danger.

Character interactions

• Xie Jinghan interrogates and threatens Duan Peng, but gains no information from him.
• Gu Ping asks Xie Jinghan to test the formation, then gives him the token needed to pass through it.
• Xie Jinghan responds respectfully to Gu Ping and is impressed by the formation’s workings.

Key plot points

• As the formation disappears, Xie Jinghan returns to his courtyard, where Zhao Xin’er arrives tearful at the prospect of leaving for Heaven Beyond Heaven.
• He reassures her that departure is part of growing up and gives her a Moonlit Night Sword with a scabbard he carved himself.
• Worried about the dangers of her journey, Xie teaches her his Sword-Drawing Technique, then demonstrates a refined, more powerful expression of it: Sword-Edge Flowing Light. Zhao Xin’er senses its immense sword intent.
• For the next two days, she devotes herself to practicing the technique in his courtyard.
• On the third morning, Zhao Xin’er, Zhao Feng, and other young villagers prepare to leave with Jin Qianbao and Gu Ping. Xie watches from a hillside rather than joining the farewells.
• Jin summons an enormous flying boat, and the group departs. Zhao Xin’er spots Xie in the distance and waves; Zhao Feng gives him a formal salute. Xie remains on the hillside after they vanish, apparently reaching a new resolve.

Character developments and interactions

• Xie Jinghan shows both affection and concern for Zhao Xin’er. He supports her independence while equipping her with a sword and a practical means of self-defense. His quiet vigil after the departure suggests the separation affects him deeply.
• Zhao Xin’er is reluctant to leave but accepts Xie’s encouragement and commits herself to learning his technique. She searches for him before departure and waves when she finally sees him.
• Zhao Feng acknowledges Xie with a respectful salute as the group leaves.
• Jin Qianbao and Gu Ping escort the young travelers and provide the flying boat that carries them away.

Significant themes

• Growing up and parting: Leaving home is painful but presented as a necessary step toward opportunity and independence.
• Care expressed through preparation: Xie’s gifts and sword lessons show affection through practical protection rather than simply asking Zhao Xin’er to stay.
• Distance and unresolved resolve: Xie watches the group depart from afar; his final silence hints that the farewell may prompt a decision of his own.

Chapter Summary

• Key events: Restless in the courtyard, Xie Jinghan reflects on the warmth he experienced in Zhao Village and concludes that he must grow stronger to protect the peace and people he cares about. He studies the Flame Manipulation Art, a fire-based secret technique that lets its practitioner shape flames drawn from their own true qi and the surrounding spiritual energy. After two hours of study, he practices and learns Fire Thread Twisting, then forms nine threads into a crude fire net. His fire true qi runs out before he can try more advanced forms, so he pauses to recover while continuing to study.
• Character development: Xie Jinghan moves from emotional unease toward renewed focus and determination. He also recognizes that his existing combat skills are too limited, prompting him to commit himself to broader, more rigorous cultivation.
• Character interactions: Zhao Feng’s gift of the Jade Slip gives Xie Jinghan access to the new art. Xie Jinghan’s recent time teaching Zhao Xin’er the Sword-Drawing Technique explains why he had not studied it sooner; though neither is present in the scene, their relationships remain part of his thoughts and recent life.
• Significant themes: The chapter emphasizes personal strength as a means of protecting others, disciplined practice and patience, and the value of adapting one’s abilities. The Flame Manipulation Art offers Xie Jinghan new options beyond the Sword-Drawing Technique, especially against opponents resistant to lightning.

Xie Jinghan uses his second Fire Lotus Seed to accelerate his cultivation. After circulating its energy through 108 Greater Celestial Circuits, he breaks through to the fourth level of the Innate Realm and enters its middle stage. The seed’s remaining medicinal power settles in his body, and his cultivation progress rises substantially, bringing a future breakthrough to the fifth level closer.
His stronger true qi—especially his fire-aspected qi—greatly improves his Flame Manipulation Art. He can now create eighteen fire threads instead of nine, weaving them into larger, more powerful fire nets and ropes. He also masters the Fireball Technique, whose explosion cracks a cliff face and scorches nearby vegetation. Finally, he channels flame through his Moonlit Night Sword, producing a powerful streak of Flame Sword Energy that surprises and excites him.
Character development and interactions: Xie Jinghan grows in strength and confidence, testing his new abilities eagerly. The chapter focuses solely on his cultivation and experimentation; no other characters appear or interact with him.
Themes: Steady cultivation and breakthrough; the transformation of stored resources into power; and the way increased strength expands both martial skill and destructive potential.

Xie Jinghan returned to Zhao Village after three days of cultivation and reunited with Xie Yue and the seven Sword Guards. Xie Yue told him that Miao Cunyi had slaughtered the Heavenly Wolf Escort Agency, and Xie Jinghan asked where Miao Cunyi was.

• Xie Jinghan used his Leaping Art to return to Zhao Village after cultivating at Tiger Leaping Gorge for three days.
• Xie Jinghan met Xie Yue and the seven Sword Guards in the village square, where the Xie clansmen were trading with villagers.
• Xie Jinghan praised the seven Sword Guards for their progress; Xie Ku had reached the sixth-grade Postnatal realm, while the others had reached the seventh grade.
• Xie Yue told Xie Jinghan that Miao Cunyi had returned after disappearing and slaughtered everyone at the Heavenly Wolf Escort Agency in a single night.
• Xie Jinghan asked Xie Yue where Miao Cunyi was now.

Xie Yue told Xie Jinghan that Miao Cunyi had been sentenced to public execution after autumn, and Xie Jinghan decided to travel to Shu Province to see if he could save him. In Dutian Prefecture, Miao Cunyi endured torture while the city lord ordered his adviser and the Cold-Blooded Thirteen Eagles to uncover his connections before his execution.

• Xie Yue told Xie Jinghan that Miao Cunyi was imprisoned in Dutian Prefecture and scheduled to be beheaded after autumn.
• Xie Yue pleaded with Xie Jinghan to save Miao Cunyi, and Xie Jinghan resolved to go to Shu Province, though he could not promise to save him.
• Xie Yue left Zhao Village, while Xie Jinghan spent two days teaching swordsmanship to Xie Ku, Xie Po, Xie Qianmei, and four other youths.
• Jailers dragged the badly wounded Miao Cunyi from his cell and whipped him in the torture chamber.
• The blue-robed adviser demanded that Miao Cunyi reveal his school's swordsmanship manual and threatened his loved ones, but Miao Cunyi refused.
• The city lord ordered the adviser to investigate Miao Cunyi's movements and contacts and to enlist the Cold-Blooded Thirteen Eagles before the execution.

Xie Jinghan visited Wolf Valley and made a deal with the Azure Wolf to protect Zhao Village in exchange for Ink Jiao blood essence. After leaving the village in Xie Ku and the others’ care, he set out for Shu Province.

• Xie Jinghan found Wolf Valley and offered the Azure Wolf a bottle of Ink Jiao blood essence to guard Zhao Village.
• The Azure Wolf accepted the deal, consumed the blood essence, and gave Xie Jinghan three Spirit Stones.
• Three days later, Xie Jinghan gave Xie Ku a jade token and explained how the village could seek the Azure Wolf’s help.
• Xie Jinghan told Xie Ku, Xie Po, and the others to protect Zhao Village, then rode away toward Shu Province.

In Dutian Prefecture, Xie Jinghan learned more about the ten prisoners condemned for execution after autumn and decided he needed to meet Miao Cunyi. With prison visits forbidden, he sought out Qian Sanqi, a powerful underworld broker who could open almost any door.

• Xie Jinghan surveyed the bustling streets of Dutian Prefecture, mindful that only fifteen days remained until the executions after autumn.
• Xie Jinghan read a booklet detailing the crimes of the ten condemned prisoners, including Miao Cunyi, who had slaughtered more than a hundred members of the Heavenly Wolf Escort Agency.
• Xie Jinghan decided to find a way to meet Miao Cunyi despite the law forbidding visits to prisoners condemned for serious crimes.
• Xie Jinghan went to Qian Sanqi's residence, hoping the underworld broker could help him reach the prisoner.

Xie Jinghan sought Qian Sanqi’s help to enter Dutian Prefecture’s prison and see Miao Cunyi before his execution. He traded a Spirit Stone for Qian Sanqi’s assistance and agreed to meet him and others near the prison three days later.

• Xie Jinghan entered Qian Sanqi’s secluded residence after paying the gatekeeper ten taels of silver.
• Xie Jinghan crossed the lake by boat and passed a tall, heavily armed stranger traveling in the opposite direction.
• Xie Jinghan asked Qian Sanqi to arrange a prison visit with Miao Cunyi, but Qian Sanqi demanded the Thunderclap Sword as payment.
• Xie Jinghan offered a Spirit Stone instead, and Qian Sanqi accepted it in exchange for arranging the visit.
• Qian Sanqi told Xie Jinghan to meet him and the others in a mountain hollow thirty li south of Dutian Prefecture’s prison at midnight three days later.

Qian Sanqi sent more silver and arranged additional slots after meeting Xie Jinghan, then visited the Three-Legged Golden Toad that had brought him wealth and power. The toad sensed another hidden treasure on Xie Jinghan, and Qian Sanqi began refining the Spirit Stone it swallowed.

• Xie Jinghan returned to his lodgings at the Cloudcome Inn, and Qian Sanqi ordered A-Da to send another million taels of silver to the city lord's residence and arrange three more slots with Yang Shijing.
• Qian Sanqi went to the Treasure Gathering Tower's top floor and called to his Three-Legged Golden Toad, Little Gold.
• Qian Sanqi recalled finding Little Gold as an egg in an ancient tomb and learning that it could devour treasures, grow stronger, and feed gold and spiritual power back to him.
• Little Gold croaked that Xie Jinghan had another treasure hidden on him, which Qian Sanqi's treasure-detecting art had failed to find.
• Qian Sanqi gave Little Gold the Spirit Stone, and the two began cultivating as he refined its power.

Yang Shijing and Bai Ji arranged a prison visit to draw out their enemies, while Xie Jinghan joined a group of masked visitors heading to Dutian Prefecture's prison. The group entered under A Xian's guidance, bound by strict rules and a one-stick-of-incense time limit.

• Yang Shijing accepted Qian Sanqi's payment and request to add three places to the Prison Visit.
• Bai Ji explained his plan to use the Autumn Execution and Criminal Register to attract attention, profit, and expose conspirators, and Yang Shijing promised to recommend him to the sect.
• Three days later, Xie Jinghan waited near the prison and met another black-clad visitor.
• Nine more masked figures arrived, including a slender woman with melancholy eyes.
• A Xian set rules for the visit, then led the ten visitors toward Dutian Prefecture's prison at midnight.

Xie Jinghan visited the imprisoned Miao Cunyi and learned that City Lord Yang Shijing had orchestrated the destruction of Xu Lingkong’s lineage to seize the Seven-Star Sword Sect’s secret techniques. After giving Miao Cunyi a Foundation-Stabilizing Pill, Xie Jinghan remained determined to hold his position as their visit time ran out.

• A Xian presented the chief jailer with a gilt waist token and led ten visitors into Dutian Prefecture’s heavily guarded prison.
• Xie Jinghan found Miao Cunyi gravely wounded in a cell on the third underground level.
• Miao Cunyi warned Xie Jinghan that the prison visit was a trap and urged him to leave.
• Xie Jinghan sealed the cell against sound and probing senses, and Miao Cunyi revealed that Yang Shijing had planned the attacks on Xu Lingkong’s lineage to steal the Seven-Star Sword Sect’s techniques.
• Xie Jinghan gave Miao Cunyi a Foundation-Stabilizing Pill, and the allotted visit time expired.

Xie Jinghan and the other visitors left the Underground Prison only to be surrounded by Bai Ji and three thousand troops. As Bai Ji ordered their capture, the visitors exposed his crimes, and Xie Jinghan realized that many of the so-called villains had been framed.

• Bai Ji learned that Miao Cunyi had revealed important information and ordered his men to capture every visitor.
• Three thousand garrison troops surrounded Xie Jinghan, the other nine visitors, and A Xian outside the prison.
• A masked woman accused Bai Ji of embezzling disaster relief funds, framing her father, and slaughtering the Jiang Family.
• The tall man in black and an elderly visitor accused Bai Ji of sexual violence, false accusations, and stealing money.
• Xie Jinghan realized that powerful officials had framed many of the so-called villains, and he questioned A Xian about Qian Sanqi's role.
• A Xian asked Bai Ji to honor his master's rules, but Bai Ji had him detained and ordered the troops to seize the ten visitors dead or alive.

The garrison surrounded the ten, and Xie Jinghan and a tall swordsman fought their way toward a breach while the others struggled to escape. Just as the two seemed close to breaking out, the Cold-Blooded Thirteen Eagles appeared and blocked their path.

• An old man used the Empty-Handed Thieves' Sect's Smoke Net Illusion Step to flee, but Bai Ji trapped him in a heavenly-silkworm-silk net and had soldiers seize him.
• Xie Jinghan cut through the armored front ranks with the Moonlit Night Sword and charged toward the opening he created.
• A tall, burly swordsman carved a bloody path through the soldiers with his massive sword, while the other escapees were driven back.
• The remaining seven rushed toward Xie Jinghan and the tall swordsman for help, and Bai Ji ordered his troops to focus on surrounding the pair.
• Xie Jinghan and the tall swordsman fought off the converging soldiers until Black Iron Chains blocked their way and the Cold-Blooded Thirteen Eagles emerged.

Xie Jinghan and the tall man fought the Cold-Blooded Thirteen Eagles, who had served the city lord and were responsible for killing Miao Cunyi’s master, Xu Lingkong. After they killed Eagle Four and broke through the encirclement, the two men escaped into the mountain forest as the battlefield descended into chaos.

• Xie Jinghan recognized the Cold-Blooded Thirteen Eagles and learned they had been working for the city lord.
• Eagle One ordered Xie Jinghan, the tall man, and their companions to surrender, but the tall man attacked and Xie Jinghan joined the fight.
• Xie Jinghan and the tall man combined their strongest attacks, breaking open the Thirteen Flying Eagles Life-Taking Combined Attack Formation.
• Xie Jinghan bound Eagle Four with the Fire Net Technique, and the tall man killed him with a sword strike.
• Xie Jinghan and the tall man escaped into the mountain forest while the remaining seven companions scattered and Bai Ji ordered the soldiers to pursue them.

After escaping the prison battle, Xie Jinghan and Yan Xiong agreed to meet in three days to plan the rescue of Chu Xunfang, whom Yan believed had been framed. At Dutian Prefecture, Bai Ji reported the failed pursuit to City Lord Yang Shijing and identified the two escapees as Yan Xiong and Xie Jinghan.

• Xie Jinghan and Yan Xiong escaped their pursuers and introduced themselves on a secluded mountain summit.
• Yan Xiong told Xie Jinghan that Chu Xunfang had been framed and asked him to meet at Rocky Ridge in three days to plan a rescue; Xie Jinghan agreed.
• Bai Ji learned that six people had been captured, the woman had escaped with a treasure, and the Cold-Blooded Thirteen Eagles were still pursuing the fugitives.
• Bai Ji ordered the fallen soldiers buried and their families compensated, then went to the city lord's residence to accept responsibility for the defeat.
• Bai Ji told Yang Shijing that the escapees were Yan Xiong and Xie Jinghan, and said they would return because Miao Cunyi and Chu Xunfang remained in custody.