Recaps

Jiang Jingnian intercepted the Eastern Wu Kingdom Chamber of Commerce’s ship and revealed his Greater Yin abilities, defeating Saionji Yoshiki and slaughtering the passengers. He left the story having tested his combat clone and concluded that his true body could suppress most First Heaven Grandmasters.

• Jiang Jingnian appeared alive on the river, halted the ship with his moonlit aura, and dismissed Saionji Yoshiki’s offer to negotiate.
• Saionji Yoshiki attacked Jiang Jingnian with the White Jade Yata Mirror, but Jiang Jingnian’s Greater Yin Force nullified the sword light and let him counterattack with Greater Yin Fire.
• Jiang Jingnian killed Saionji Seiichi as he tried to activate a divine ability, then slaughtered Nock Sterling and the other passengers aboard the ship.
• Saionji Yoshiki pierced Jiang Jingnian’s apparent body with a corrosive sword strike, but discovered it was a moonlight clone before Jiang Jingnian’s true body killed him with Samadhi True Fire.
• Jiang Jingnian reflected on the fight and assessed that his clone could contend with First Heaven Grandmasters, while his true body’s ambush could heavily injure and suppress them.

Jiang Jingnian killed the dying Hase Ryunosuke, gathered the spoils from his ship, and returned to the river after burning the evidence. Meanwhile, the Jiang Family debated whether to approach the weakened Mountain Cloud School, until Jiang Jingnian himself arrived at their council hall.

• Hase Ryunosuke burned his remaining life force to attack Jiang Jingnian, but Jiang Jingnian used Life-Shortening Age-Stealing (Fleeting Splendor) to kill him and destroy his head.
• Jiang Jingnian entered the void, purified the remnants of Saionji Yoshiki's and Hase Ryunosuke's phenomena, and recovered a damaged Shuten Magatama One-Sword Style manifestation.
• Jiang Jingnian searched the foreign vessel, collected Dao Armament Profound Blades, Dao Radiance of Water Virtue, medicines, and other valuables, then set the ship ablaze and left.
• Jiang Quan, Jiang Muran, and the other Jiang Family members discussed the Demon Sect's rise, the loosened restrictions on Greater Yin Martial Dao, and the Governor-General's Office's ties to the Eastern Wu Kingdom Chamber of Commerce.
• Jiang Nianci reported that Uncle-Gong was badly injured and that the Mountain Cloud School's Dao Lords were recovering, then suggested the Jiang Family visit the school; Jiang Quan argued against getting involved.
• A guard announced that Jiang Jingnian of the Mountain Cloud School had come to visit the Jiang Family.

Jiang Jingnian returned to the Jiang Family alive, displayed formidable musical and martial abilities, and revealed that the Mountain Cloud School had killed Hase Ryunosuke and Saionji Yoshiki. The Jiang Family granted him access to its treasury, while Jiang Chenglin warned that greater turmoil was coming.

• He Tingfeng reported Jiang Jingnian's arrival, shocking Jiang Xu, Jiang Nianci, and the Jiang Family members who believed he had died beneath the Greater Yin Furnace.
• Jiang Nianci welcomed Jiang Jingnian privately and played the zither with him, while his music's Martial Dao Intent astonished the family members listening outside.
• Jiang Chenglin and Jiang Huazhi recognized Jiang Jingnian and learned that he had condensed a divine ability and survived the Greater Yin Furnace through his sect's foundations.
• Jiang Jingnian offered the broken blades of Hase Ryunosuke and Saionji Yoshiki as repayment, explaining that Mountain Cloud School experts had killed them and their companions.
• Jiang Chenglin granted Jiang Jingnian access to all three levels of the family treasury so he could choose twenty secret treasures.
• After Jiang Jingnian left with Jiang Nianci, Jiang Chenglin and Jiang Huazhi discussed his immense strength and the need to prepare the Jiang Family for coming turmoil.

Jiang Jingnian accepted the Jiang Family’s Phantomless Flood Dragon Eye in exchange for a promise to fulfill three future requests, and warned Jiang Nianci that the Lu Family posed a grave threat. After gathering and refining the remaining Wind Nature, he received a new Great Vow to destroy four Regional Domain-level Factions and alter a prefecture’s course.

• Jiang Nianci led Jiang Jingnian to the Jiang Family Treasury, where he selected twenty secret treasures while she explained their origins.
• Jiang Nianci revealed the Phantomless Flood Dragon Eye and gave it to Jiang Jingnian in exchange for his promise to do three things for her.
• Jiang Jingnian questioned whether the promise concerned the Lu Family, then warned Jiang Nianci that the Lu Family’s collusion and power made the Jiang Family’s cautious approach dangerous.
• Jiang Jingnian told Jiang Nianci that conflict with the Lu Family was likely unavoidable, and she invited him to stay in the Jiang Family’s inner courtyard.
• Jiang Jingnian refined the treasures he had collected, completed his Wind Nature, and received a Great Vow to destroy four Regional Domain-level Factions and alter a prefecture’s grand course.

Jiang Jingnian discussed the collapsing Greater Yin Furnace and the coming upheaval with Jiang Nianci, then reunited with Ariya and learned that Liu Qingzhi had refused to leave Jinling. As Jiang Jingnian prepared to find her, Liu Qingzhi encountered Jian Xinxue and Lu Fuce at a department store.

• Jiang Nianci explained that the Greater Yin Furnace’s collapse could unseal Greater Yin, disrupt the laws of yin, yang, and the five elements, and bring a dangerous upheaval; Jiang Jingnian said he intended to leave the Jiang Family.
• Jiang Jingnian returned to the courtyard, where Ariya wept with relief at finding him alive, and Jie Er told him that Liu Qingzhi had refused to leave Jinling despite receiving his message and supplies.
• Jie Er planned to travel to Jiangyou and Nanwan Prefectures to prepare against Ren Wuqing and the revived Five Poisons Sect, while Jiang Jingnian offered to arrange Ariya work in Peace City.
• At Radiant Breeze Department Store, Liu Qingzhi bought antique jewelry for Jiang Jingnian and met Jian Xinxue, who offered help that Liu declined.
• Lu Fuce arrived with Lu An and their companions, embraced Jian Xinxue, and learned that Liu Qingzhi was the eldest daughter of the Liu Family.

Jiang Jingnian reunited with Liu Qingzhi in Jinling City after she was attacked by Lu Fuce and his allies. He overwhelmed the Lu Family’s fighters, exposed their secret theft of coastal defense maps, and left with Liu Qingzhi for Cloudpool Cliff, while Lu An feared the Mountain Cloud School concealed far greater power than anyone knew.

• Jiang Jingnian told Innkeeper Huang that war would soon engulf the Two-East Region and ordered him to close the inn and join Elder Liu’s group in Jiangyou Prefecture.
• At Radiant Breeze Department Store, Liu Qingzhi rejected Lu Fuce’s advances and struck him after Lu An and others falsely claimed Jiang Jingnian had died as a romantic hero.
• A Lu Family Half-Step Grandmaster and three fighters suppressed Liu Qingzhi until Jiang Jingnian arrived and swiftly crippled all four opponents.
• Jiang Jingnian killed the Lu Family guards, seized Lu Fuce by the throat, and tossed him aside after humiliating him.
• Jiang Jingnian took Liu Qingzhi away for Cloudpool Cliff and revealed that the Lu Family had stolen coastal defense maps, leaving Lu An shaken by the Mountain Cloud School’s possible hidden strength.

Jiang Jingnian used his new divine ability to shift some of the Lu Family’s war calamity onto Lu Fuce and Lu An, then fled Jinling with Liu Qingzhi and Ariya. In the Blackwind Mountains, the former Mysterious Mountain Dao Lord Zeng Shukong regained partial clarity and emerged from his Longevity Wraith state, but his ambition and unstable mind remained dangerous.

• Jiang Jingnian shifted part of the Lu Family’s war calamity onto Lu Fuce and Lu An, suffering backlash from the Black Flood Dragon Grand Momentum.
• Jiang Jingnian told Liu Qingzhi he had condensed a True Astral Divine Ability, then ordered the inn packed so they could leave Jinling.
• Jiang Jingnian introduced Ariya to Liu Qingzhi as his Dao companion and promised to help Ariya settle in Peace City before the three rode out of Jinling.
• After Jiang Jingnian left, a falling chandelier blinded Lu Fuce, while Lu An slipped and fell onto a corpse, leaving both young masters in distress.
• Zeng Shukong emerged from the Longevity Wraith nest in a half-human, half-insect body and explained that the Greater Yin change had helped him recover some consciousness.
• Zeng Shukong learned that the imperial system had ended and proposed turning the Mountain Cloud School into a Demon Sect to seize the realm, then agreed to go to Peace City to learn about the world.

Jiang Jingnian’s group encountered demonized villagers on the road east, while he identified the Blood Moon Demon King or the Joyous Blood Moon as the likely bearer of the growing demonic corruption. In Jinling, the Lu Family considered its response to Jiang Jingnian and the Mountain Cloud School, and the Jiang Family began preparing for the conflict ahead.

• Liu Qingzhi killed a group of demonized bandits who had attacked a herbalist couple, and Jiang Jingnian concluded the villagers had recently fallen to demonhood amid a spreading calamity.
• Jiang Jingnian told Ariya that her ancestor, the Blood Moon Demon King, or the Joyous Blood Moon might be bearing the demonic corruption; Liu Qingzhi then argued with him for keeping Ariya’s connection to the Blood Moon secret.
• Lu An told Lu Zhishan that Jiang Jingnian had crippled Lu Yuan and injured Lu Fuce, but warned that the Lu Family should delay attacking the Mountain Cloud School because the Coastal Defense Map had been exposed.
• Lu An fell down the corridor, and Lu Zhishan noticed that his nephew seemed surrounded by an aura of calamity.
• Jiang Nianci urged Jiang Leer to resign from the Six Doors and stay home to train, then heard that Jiang Jingnian had attacked the Lu Family and decided the Jiang Family needed to prepare for turmoil.

Jiang Jingnian returned to Peace City and learned that Qu Lanlan had gone mad during the Blood Moon Calamity, killed Qu Qiaoyun and others, and escaped after being gravely wounded. Meanwhile, Zeng Shukong reunited with his family and heard about the weakened Cloudpool Cliff, but he refused to go there immediately, saying he had other plans.

• Jiang Jingnian, Liu Qingzhi, and Ariya reached Peace City and found the Qu Household in mourning.
• Qu Chuanheng told Jiang Jingnian that Qu Lanlan had killed Qu Qiaoyun and Xiangxiang after qi deviation gave her terrifying strength, then escaped despite being badly injured.
• Qu Yingshui explained that the Qu Household's Moon-Calling Form-Shifting True Art had driven others mad before, and Jiang Jingnian suspected it contained part of an unrivaled demonic grimoire.
• Zeng Zhihong and Xu Baijing brought Zeng Shukong to the Zeng residence, where he reunited with Zeng Qiuqing and learned how the world had changed.
• Zeng Shukong read reports about Jiang Jingnian and believed he was dead, then suppressed a flare of madness and appetite for Jiang Jingnian's Life Essence.
• Zeng Zhihong urged Zeng Shukong to take charge of Cloudpool Cliff, but Zeng Shukong said he would visit later and sent the two juniors away.

Jiang Jingnian devoured the Qu Household’s cursed Moon-Calling Form-Shifting True Art, strengthening his Greater Yin cultivation while drawing the Blood Moon’s attention. As the Southern Martial Gathering approached, Red Sword Manor’s Zhao Xiao attacked the weakened Mountain Cloud School at Cloudpool Cliff and demanded money and treasures.

• Jiang Jingnian told Qu Yuzhi that Qu Lanlan might still be saved, but promised to stop her if she became an irredeemable threat.
• Jiang Jingnian examined the White Fox Swallowing the Moon Diagram, discovered its connection to the Blood Moon, and used Taotie to devour its fragment before it could take control of him.
• Jiang Jingnian’s cultivation shifted toward Greater Yin, transforming his Golden Crow into a Three-Legged Moon Crow and leaving his yin and yang powers out of balance.
• As the Southern Martial Gathering drew near, Zhao Xiao and Red Sword Manor riders arrived at Cloudpool Cliff and demanded a hundred thousand silver dollars and fifty secret treasures.
• Zhao Xiao attacked the injured Hong Yufang, drove her back, and mocked the Mountain Cloud School while she refused to retreat.

Liu Qingzhi returned to Cloud Mountain School and drove off Red Sword Manor, then learned how severely the sect had been weakened by the Western noble houses’ attack. Meanwhile, Jiang Jingnian secured the Qu Household’s allegiance and announced plans to move against the Li Family, leaving the household to prepare to prove its loyalty.

• Liu Qingzhi arrived at Cloudpool Cliff and defeated Zhao Xiao and the Red Sword Manor disciples with her Ultimate Sword Intent, forcing them to retreat.
• Liu Qingzhi reunited with Hong Yufang, who explained that the Western noble houses had killed several Cloud Mountain School leaders and left its Dao Lords and grand formation badly damaged.
• Liu Qingzhi told Hong Yufang that Jiang Jingnian was alive and far stronger than the rumors suggested, and said she would notify him to prepare for the sect’s troubles.
• Jiang Jingnian revealed that he knew the Qu Household’s secret trump card and urged the household to join him rather than seek protection from another faction.
• Qu Rongbai pledged the Qu Household’s support to Jiang Jingnian after hearing of his role in the deaths of three Grandmasters and his confidence in reaching Grandmaster rank.
• Jiang Jingnian announced that he would soon move against the Li Family and expected the Qu Household to demonstrate its sincerity.

Jiang Jingnian investigated foreign interests in Peace City and learned the Lixi Kingdom would not interfere with Mountain Cloud School’s conflict with the Vिक्सि Family. At Cloudpool Cliff, Liu Qingzhi nominated him as acting Blazing Cloud Dao Lord, and he arrived just as the sect’s leaders challenged his candidacy.

• Jiang Jingnian visited Milton Bank, where Lady Renee said the Gilbert Family and Lixi Kingdom would stay out of a conflict between Mountain Cloud School and the Vिक्सि Family, and offered him a deal.
• Jiang Jingnian left to repay loans and gather intelligence about foreign influence and Bella Jielin’s departure from Chen State.
• Liu Qingzhi summoned Mountain Cloud School’s leaders and warned that the Blood Moon Calamity had been a man-made sacrifice involving local forces, foreign nobles, and Japanese pirates.
• The sect leaders argued over whether Mountain Cloud School should strike first or seal the mountain as Liu Qingzhi nominated Jiang Jingnian to become acting Blazing Cloud Dao Lord.
• Dong Heng and others opposed the nomination, citing Jiang Jingnian’s supposed death, low seniority, and lack of Grandmaster strength, until Jiang Jingnian’s voice came from outside and moonlight spread through the hall.

Jiang Jingnian entered the Discipline Hall, killed Wan Song after presenting evidence of his collusion with the Lotus Intent Sect, and pressed the sect to recognize him as acting Burning Cloud Dao Lord. After the Burning Cloud Dao Lineage backed him, Jiang Jingnian demanded that the other leaders declare whether they agreed or objected; meanwhile, Zhao Xiao urged visiting factions to exploit the Mountain Cloud School’s apparent weakness.

• Jiang Jingnian entered the Discipline Hall under an oppressive aura, shocking those who had believed he was dead.
• Wan Song accused Jiang Jingnian and Liu Qingzhi of trying to seize power, but Jiang Jingnian killed him and produced evidence tying Wan Song to the Lotus Intent Sect.
• The deputy hall master of Phosphorfire Hall examined the dossier and acknowledged that its evidence was largely true, while Jiang Jingnian defended his actions and argued that his merits and the sect’s crisis justified his appointment.
• Burning Cloud elders, protectors, and Liu Qingzhi supported Jiang Jingnian as acting Burning Cloud Dao Lord, and he challenged the other lineages and hall leaders to say whether they agreed or objected.
• At an inn outside Peace City, Zhao Xiao told representatives of several factions that the Mountain Cloud School was weak and urged them to join the Dou'a Sect in attacking it and dividing its resources.

Jiang Jingnian ordered the Mountain Cloud School to strike first against its enemies, and Hong Yufang led the purge of the Wan Household in Xiangtian Town. Zhao Xiao and Daoist Yun Tian escaped after learning that the Blazing Cloud Dao Lord had returned, while Hong Yufang revealed they had been allowed to flee as bait.

• Jiang Jingnian told Liu Qingzhi to avoid spreading the sect’s weakened forces thin and to use the Southern Martial Gathering to intimidate potential enemies.
• Yi Feng sent Wu Yingcheng and Yi Tao through a secret passage to escape the Wan Household, but Wan Tingjiu intercepted them and captured them.
• Hong Yufang arrived with Mountain Cloud School fighters, killed Wan Tingjiu and his guards, freed Wu Yingcheng and Yi Tao, and ordered the Wan Household purged under the Dao Lord’s command.
• Hong Yufang’s forces stormed the Wan Household banquet and killed Wan Han, while Zhao Xiao and Daoist Yun Tian escaped after realizing the Blazing Cloud Dao Lord had returned.
• Hong Yufang said the escaped men had been allowed to go as bait, then ordered her forces to erase the Wan Household from Xiangtian Town before dawn.

Jiang Jingnian used the Mountain Cloud Momentum and Greater Yin Form-Shifting to strike at enemies threatening his sect, killing Qian Rong and the other faction leaders at an inn. Meanwhile, Liu Qingzhi intercepted Zhao Xiao and Zhao Lin on the road and fought them, leaving the confrontation unresolved as Zhao Lin prepared to counter her ultimate sword strike.

• Jiang Jingnian surveyed the demonic qi across Qingtian County and used his connections through the Mountain Cloud Momentum to project moonlight toward Xiangtian Town.
• Zhao Xiao and Daoist Yun Tian returned to the inn and told the gathered factions that the Blazing Cloud Dao Lord had returned; Zhao Lin then rode away with Zhao Xiao to report the news.
• Daoist Yun Tian realized his Three Wonders Divination had produced an impossible third result, grew alarmed, and hurried off to warn Azure Profound Abbey.
• Jiang Jingnian appeared at the inn under cover of darkness and killed Qian Rong, Deputy Hall Master Shi, and the other gathered experts before leaving.
• Liu Qingzhi ambushed Zhao Xiao and Zhao Lin on the road, exchanged attacks with them, and unleashed her Ultimate Sword Intent, Merciless Water and Fire.
• Zhao Lin recovered from Liu Qingzhi's strike and revealed his Red Sword Momentum as Liu Qingzhi prepared to attack again.

Liu Qingzhi defeated Zhao Lin and Zhao Xiao with Jiang Jingnian’s divine ability, but Gongsun Xian arrived and overwhelmed her. Jiang Jingnian revealed himself as the Blazing Cloud Dao Lord, fought Gongsun Xian, and pursued her after she fled, ultimately killing her with his Greater Yin avatar.

• Liu Qingzhi used two of Jiang Jingnian’s flame crystals to break Zhao Lin’s Mountain-Flame Red Sword and defeat Zhao Lin and Zhao Xiao, then prepared to kill Zhao Xiao.
• Gongsun Xian arrived, stopped Liu Qingzhi, and tried to force her to join Red Sword Manor, but Jiang Jingnian appeared and revealed himself as the Blazing Cloud Dao Lord.
• Jiang Jingnian fought Gongsun Xian while Liu Qingzhi killed Zhao Xiao and Zhao Lin; Gongsun Xian unleashed her Red-Draw Turbid Flame divine ability, but Jiang Jingnian resisted it and she fled.
• Jiang Jingnian intercepted Gongsun Xian in the forest and used his Greater Yin avatar to crush and kill her.
• Jiang Jingnian concluded that his fused Greater Yin ability had grown stronger and that his avatar could kill a Grandmaster most effectively through a two-on-one attack.

After killing Gongsun Xian, Jiang Jingnian collected her divine-ability essence and other spoils, then learned that the Eastwater and Nanwan governor’s offices were conspiring around the Southern Martial Gathering. Back at the inn, he refined two weapons and advanced his swordflame trait, while the larger plot against Dongjiang Prefecture remained in motion.

• Jiang Jingnian gathered Gongsun Xian’s Turbid Flame Sword, divine-ability essence, and Fire Virtue Dao Blossoms, but stopped trying to turn the escaping Fire Virtue spirituality into Lesser Yang qi when it triggered a backlash from his Greater Yin path.
• Liu Qingzhi learned Jiang Jingnian had killed Gongsun Xian, accepted the Fire Virtue Divine Ability essence, and shared documents revealing that the Eastwater Prefecture Governor’s Office and Nanwan Prefecture Governor-General’s Office planned to divide Dongjiang Prefecture.
• Jiang Jingnian concluded that foreign powers and the Demon Sect might be exploiting the Southern Martial Gathering to weaken Chen State’s factions, while the Unyielding Mountain Lord ordered Qi Yin to investigate the deaths at the inn and wait cautiously.
• At the Rongyu County inn, Jiang Jingnian studied the documents and Coastal Defense Map, then used Samadhi True Fire to sever the fate ties of the Turbid Flame Sword and Azure Nethermyst.
• Jiang Jingnian refined the Turbid Flame Sword and advanced his [Light-Hiding Black True Swordflame] trait into [Turbid Radiance Black True Swordflame], which gained greater range and power along with the ability to briefly block perception, before turning to Azure Nethermyst.

Jiang Jingnian refined a new mist-based trait and began weakening his Lesser Yang Divine Ability, while Qu Chuanheng left Severing Blade Dock to join the Mountain Cloud School. In Peace City, Zhu Yulin arranged to pursue Liu Qingzhi as a concubine, with Xu Mingyuan agreeing to deliver his demand to the Liu Family.

• Jiang Jingnian's Myriad Gu Garment consumed the Mist-Eye Poison Springs trait and became Mist Gu Garment, granting concealment, aura distortion, and increased speed.
• Jiang Jingnian found that Greater Yin power had suppressed his Lesser Yang Divine Ability, then began extracting its Fire Virtue so he could retain its Metal Essence.
• Qu Chuanheng asked Wei Ying to release him from Severing Blade Dock so he could join the Mountain Cloud School, and Wei Ying approved his departure.
• Senior Brother Li confronted Qu Chuanheng outside the Affairs Office and fought him; both were injured before Li withdrew, and Qu Chuanheng continued toward the main gate.
• At the Embroidered Splendor Grand Theater, Xu Mingyuan and Xiang Tianyun discussed the Liu Family's troubles with Zhu Yulin.
• Zhu Yulin asked Xu Mingyuan to tell the Liu Family he wanted Liu Qingzhi as a concubine, offering the Lin Mingxin Sect's support for their business, and Xu Mingyuan agreed to convey the demand.

Jiang Jingnian learned and used a Soul-Fusion Secret Art to begin converting his divine power into Metal Virtue, then advised Liu Qingzhi on preparing to condense a divine ability. Meanwhile, the Xu Family pressured the Liu Family into surrendering mineral and wharf rights and proposed that Liu Qingzhi become Zhu Yulin’s concubine, leaving Liu Zhenshan facing opposition within his own clan.

• Jiang Jingnian read a Soul-Fusion Secret Art in the Scripture Pavilion and arranged for the Elixir Pavilion elders to refine its Great Medicine.
• Jiang Jingnian used the Great Medicine in his magma pool to begin transforming his divine power, and he told Liu Qingzhi she could use a shortcut to prepare her own divine ability.
• Xu Yuanhong, accompanied by Xiang Zhengbai and Xu Mingyuan, demanded half the revenue from two Blackstone veins and sixty percent of three wharves, and Liu Zhenshan negotiated conditions for the transfer.
• Xu Yuanhong relayed Zhu Yulin’s request to take Liu Qingzhi as a concubine, but Liu Zhenshan refused because she had already formed a Dao partnership.
• Liu Zhang suggested that Zhu Yulin prove himself by defeating Liu Qingzhi and Jiang Jingnian at the Southern Martial Gathering, and Liu Zhenshan ended the meeting as Liu Songchong recognized signs of dissent within the Liu Family.

Jiang Jingnian completed his compatible Metal Virtue Divine Ability and used his authority as acting Blazing Cloud Dao Lord to manage the sect’s leaks and prepare to confront foreign families in Peace City. As the Southern Martial Gathering approached, Jiang Nianci set out to advance toward the Grandmaster Path, while Hong Yufang arrived at the Li Family’s engagement banquet and awaited Jiang Jingnian’s signal.

• Jiang Jingnian consumed the Great Medicine and completed the Purifying Golden Haze Divine Ability, greatly strengthening his combat power.
• Hong Yufang and Gao Xian reported that sect members had leaked Jiang Jingnian’s appointment; Jiang Jingnian ordered limited punishment and planned to spread false information.
• Jiang Jingnian reviewed reports about the Western Ocean war and directed Hong Yufang to act against the Li Family during Li Lisi’s engagement banquet.
• Liu Qingzhi asked about the Blood Moon Spirit, and Jiang Jingnian explained his preparations against Ren Wuqing and the Blood Moon before she warned him about the Lin Mingxin Sect and the Xu Family.
• Jiang Nianci told the Jiang Family council that she would attend the Southern Martial Gathering and seek the Grandmaster Path, while Zeng Shukong chose to let Jiang Jingnian lead the Mountain Cloud School for now.
• Hong Yufang and a group of elders and protectors arrived at Li Lisi’s engagement banquet with a gift, surveyed the estate, and waited for Jiang Jingnian’s signal.

The Mountain Cloud School attacked the Li Family engagement banquet, and Liu Qingzhi killed Riley before Sotana activated a ritual that trapped the manor beneath a dome. As the fighting continued, Finn Sterling sought reinforcements, but the Sterling elder only permitted limited aid from the Legion Knights and allied families.

• Li Lisi worried that Jiang Jingnian's arrival and the Sterling Faction's setbacks threatened the engagement, but Sotana dismissed her concerns and boasted that the Mountain Cloud School would not dare attack.
• The Mountain Cloud School stormed the Li Family Manor, and Hong Yufang fought Riley while the banquet guests fled.
• Liu Qingzhi used the [Purifying Golden Haze] to kill Riley, then ordered the Mountain Cloud School fighters to leave no foreign knights alive.
• Sotana revealed a red rune stone and activated a ritual that raised an Evil Sun and enclosed the manor in a dome, halting the school's attack.
• Finn Sterling received a telegram about the assault and asked the Sterling elder to intervene, but the elder refused to fight and authorized up to three hundred Legion Knights along with aid from the Dono and Vixi Families.

Jiang Jingnian ambushed and annihilated the foreign knights sent to aid Sotana, defeating Horal despite her assassination attempt. He then killed Sotana, Lord Aonaner, and Li Lisi at Li Family Manor, and led Mountain Cloud School’s survivors to finish wiping out the Li Family.

• Finn and the foreign centurions rode toward Li Family Manor with hundreds of knights, while Horal promised to kill Jiang Jingnian if they could wound him.
• Jiang Jingnian appeared alone and used Black True Swordflame and his overwhelming strength to devastate the knights and shatter their battle formation.
• Horal stabbed Jiang Jingnian with her demonic blade, but he survived through a moonlight clone, defeated her, and collected the dagger and other spoils.
• Jiang Jingnian broke the Solar Rite barrier at Li Family Manor, killed Sotana and Lord Aonaner, and then killed Li Lisi as she tried to escape.
• Liu Qingzhi, Hong Yufang, and the other Mountain Cloud School survivors arrived; Jiang Jingnian promised compensation for their dead and injured and offered them half the spoils before leading them to destroy the Li Family.

Jiang Jingnian uncovered the ancient history of the Snake Light Fang and gained an improved shadow-evasion trait, then pressed ahead with taking control of the Mountain Cloud School’s affairs and exploring Phosphorfire Sea Crag. As rumors about him spread ahead of the Southern Martial Gathering, outsiders dismissed them, while Jiang asked the sect’s elders and stewards to lend him Merit Points for a Storage Dao Armament.

• Jiang Jingnian refined the Snake Light Fang, witnessed Aether’s conquest of the Dark Elf empire, and fused its Concealed Shadow trait into Phantom Image Evasion.
• Liu Qingzhi and Hong Yufang reported the takeover of the Li Family’s businesses and losses in clashes with the Sterling Family; Jiang Jingnian ordered compensation for casualties and Burning Cloud Martial Hall, despite Phosphorfire Hall’s refusal to approve it.
• Jiang Jingnian entered Phosphorfire Sea Crag without a passage jade token, went deeper alone, and found an entry on a highly crystallized formation of phosphorfire.
• Old Daoist Cloudfield, Wen Hui, Shi Ran, Zhou Xun, and Meng Yao read exaggerated reports about Jiang Jingnian and dismissed his claimed achievements as Mountain Cloud School propaganda.
• Zhu Yulin learned that the Liu Family refused a marriage alliance and vowed to defeat Liu Qingzhi and Jiang Jingnian at the Southern Martial Gathering; he kept the Lin Mingxin Sect’s plans secret.
• Jiang Jingnian asked the elders and stewards at Life Bloom Hall to lend him more than six thousand Merit Points so he could exchange for a Storage Dao Armament.

Jiang Jingnian borrowed more than seven thousand Merit Points, acquired the Phosphor-Jade Ring, and confronted Ji Guangwu over compensation and opening Phosphorfire Sea Crag for training. At a banquet honoring the sect’s defenders, he encouraged the broken Li Mincheng to rebuild his life, while the Mountain Cloud School’s future remained in his hands.

• Jiang Jingnian recorded loans from elders and stewards, gathering over nine thousand Merit Points while promising to repay every lender.
• Jiang Jingnian entered Life Bloom Hall’s sixth-floor Secret Realm with Hall Master Ouyang and exchanged Merit Points for the Phosphor-Jade Ring and other items.
• Jiang Jingnian told Ji Guangwu that the sect would pay seventy percent of promised compensation and announced he would open Phosphorfire Sea Crag for training.
• Ji Guangwu objected to Jiang Jingnian’s plans but yielded after Jiang Jingnian asserted his authority and showed him the Cloud Mountain Daily’s report.
• Elders at Drunken Tower discussed Jiang Jingnian’s trustworthiness and anticipated the benefits of training at Phosphorfire Sea Crag.
• Jiang Jingnian arrived at a banquet in Qingtian County, thanked the attendees, and urged Li Mincheng to recover; Li Mincheng was moved to tears after Jiang Jingnian left.

Jiang Jingnian inspected the renovated Phosphorfire Sea Crag and learned how its corrupted legacy empowered the sect while sealing the Drought-Bone Glazed Corpse. After Liu Qingzhi completed her Inner Qi cultivation, they went to Stonehead Village to confront demon cultivators, where she fought the Mushroom Fiends as Jiang Jingnian faced the threat beneath the Daoist temple.

• Jiang Jingnian surveyed Phosphorfire Sea Crag, learned its connection to the first Phosphorfire Dao Lord and the Drought-Bone Glazed Corpse, and considered when to refine its core.
• Liu Qingzhi told Jiang Jingnian she had reached Full Inner Qi Realm with seventy-one Inner Qi Crystals, and he promised to arrange the demon-slaying ritual she needed to advance.
• Jiang Jingnian and Liu Qingzhi entered Stonehead Village, where Liu Qingzhi killed two disguised demon cultivators and Jiang Jingnian discovered the villagers had been turned into resources for raising a Greater Demon Wraith.
• Zhou Yuanlang and the Falling Blossom Pavilion disciples entered Clearwater Monastery, where demon cultivators attacked them and Mushroom Fiends killed several disciples, including Zhou Yuanlang.
• Liu Qingzhi rescued three surviving Falling Blossom Pavilion disciples and slaughtered the pursuing Mushroom Fiends, then entered the Daoist temple while Jiang Jingnian followed.
• A roar from beneath the Daoist temple accused the intruders of ruining the Illusory Water Sect's scheme.