Chapter Summaries

Ye Wan, Chen Fan, and Qin Ziyan left Swordcry Mountain together and traveled toward Black Dragon Pool. After resting and recovering, they reached the lush forest marking its territory.

• Ye Wan told Qin Ziyan to meet her outside the mountain gate at the third watch, and Qin Ziyan eagerly planned her escape.
• Chen Fan waited outside the mountain, and Qin Ziyan arrived disguised in black before grabbing his hand and setting off with him.
• Ye Wan caught up with them, scolded them for holding hands, and led the way northeast toward Black Dragon Pool.
• The three traveled through the night until Qin Ziyan grew exhausted, and Ye Wan stopped when she realized Chen Fan had kept pace with her.
• After resting and recovering, they continued at a slower pace, and Ye Wan explained that they had entered Black Dragon Pool's territory.

Chen Fan, Ye Wan, and Qin Ziyan reached Black Dragon Pool and gained entry after Chen Fan showed the guards the Black Dragon Token. They were escorted across the lake to an island and brought before an elderly Black Dragon Pool expert, whose purpose remained unknown.

• Ye Wan warned Chen Fan and Qin Ziyan that they were nearing Black Dragon Pool, and the three proceeded cautiously through its territory.
• Black Dragon Pool disciples confronted the three at the lakeshore, where Chen Fan presented Liu Wushuang’s Black Dragon Token.
• The guard recognized the token and welcomed the three as distinguished guests, then escorted them by boat to the central island.
• The group crossed the island’s grounds and entered a large courtyard, where they were led into a hall.
• Chen Fan, Ye Wan, and Qin Ziyan found an elderly man seated in the place of honor.

Chen Fan learned that Black Dragon Pool's chief, Luo Gang, had sought the black-clad men for a cure after they poisoned his son. After Chen Fan revealed his knowledge of the God-Sealing Needles, Luo Gang begged him to help, and Chen Fan asked to see his son.

• Luo Gang recognized Chen Fan as the secret Black Dragon Envoy and promised to keep his identity confidential.
• Luo Gang explained that his son had fallen into a coma from a strange poison and that God-Sealing Needles had only slowed its spread.
• Luo Gang revealed that Black Dragon Pool had attacked Swordcry Mountain to obtain herbs demanded by the black-clad men in exchange for an antidote.
• Chen Fan warned Luo Gang that the black-clad men might not have cured his son even if they received the treasures, and said they could no longer be found.
• Chen Fan asked Luo Gang to take him to his son.

Chen Fan treated Luo Gang’s gravely poisoned son with carefully measured snake venom, preserving his life while warning that his recovery remained uncertain. After seven days, Chen Fan accepted Venomheart Darts as thanks and left Black Dragon Pool with Ye Wan and Qin Ziyan without revealing his name.

• Chen Fan examined Luo Gang’s dying son, changed the placement of his God-Sealing Needles, and used Little West to inject a small amount of snake venom.
• Chen Fan told Luo Gang that his son would need gradual treatment over seven days, then secretly reunited affectionately with Ye Wan that night.
• During the following days, Chen Fan continued treating the boy, whose poison and failing vitality gradually improved.
• On the seventh day, Chen Fan warned Luo Gang that his son might not awaken soon and could suffer aftereffects, while Luo Gang gave him ten Venomheart Darts.
• Luo Gang escorted Chen Fan, Ye Wan, and Qin Ziyan from Black Dragon Pool, and Chen Fan departed without revealing his name.

Chen Fan returned to Swordcry Mountain just in time for the inner court selection trial, where he watched Wu De and Jiang Yueying display formidable skills in the arena. As Jiang Yueying neared victory, Chen Fan realized he had brought no sword and faced the prospect of challenging her unarmed.

• Ye Wan promised to explain Qin Ziyan's absence to the Sword-Imperial Pavilion, and the three returned to Swordcry Mountain.
• Chen Fan, Ye Wan, and Qin Ziyan learned that the inner court selection was underway and hurried to the outer court martial arts arena.
• Chen Fan reunited with Murong Zhu, who explained that he had won one challenge before being defeated and introduced Wu De as a powerful arena holder.
• Wu De knocked another challenger from the arena with the flat of his giant sword.
• Jiang Yueying challenged Wu De and used swift movements and sword strikes to gain the advantage.
• Chen Fan realized that he had forgotten to bring a sword as Jiang Yueying appeared close to winning.

Chen Fan entered the inner court selection and faced Li Ruotong after Li defeated Jiang Yueying. Though Chen Fan had forgotten his sword and kept fleeing with the Soaring Art, he replenished his Internal Qi with poison pellets and continued the chase.

• Li Ruotong defeated Jiang Yueying with a backward short-sword strike, then took her place at the center of the arena.
• Chen Fan entered the arena without his Snake Staff, which he handed to Murong Zhu, and the disciples called him the outer sect's Great Devil King.
• Chen Fan told Li Ruotong he had forgotten his sword and invited him to attack, prompting Li to unleash his full strength.
• Chen Fan dodged Li Ruotong's attacks by leaping over him with the Soaring Art whenever he neared the edge of the arena.
• After more than half an hour of pursuit, Chen Fan replenished his Internal Qi with poison pellets and prepared to outlast Li Ruotong.

Chen Fan outlasted Li Ruotong in the inner court selection, then learned that all three inner court palaces wanted to recruit him. As the stewards argued over his choice, the Sword-Imperial Pavilion’s First Elder arrived and asked the other palaces to let him take Chen Fan as his disciple.

• Li Ruotong withdrew from his prolonged pursuit of Chen Fan, and Chen Fan remained in the arena until the selection ended.
• Steward Xu selected Chen Fan for the Sword-Imperial Pavilion, and Steward Liu selected him for Swordheart Hall.
• Steward Zhang also selected Chen Fan for Soaring Heavens Palace, prompting the three stewards to argue over which palace should take him.
• Steward Liu and Steward Xu each offered Chen Fan a chance to become an elder’s personal disciple, while Steward Zhang argued that Chen Fan’s Soaring Art made him best suited to his palace.
• The Sword-Imperial Pavilion’s First Elder arrived and asked the other stewards to let him take Chen Fan as his disciple.

Chen Fan was assigned to Soaring Heavens Palace after Yun Zhongjun revealed that Chen Fan had learned his Soaring Cloud Formula, while Murong Zhu was accepted into Swordheart Hall to fill its quota. After settling into the inner court, Chen Fan met Yun Zhongjun and learned that the palace master still had not recovered most of his memories.

• Yun Zhongjun arrived at the selection ground and claimed Chen Fan as his disciple, ending the Grand Elder's attempt to recruit him for the Sword-Imperial Pavilion.
• The Grand Elder assigned Chen Fan to Soaring Heavens Palace, and Steward Liu secured a Swordheart Hall place for Murong Zhu.
• Chen Fan received his Soaring Heavens Palace disciple token and moved into the inner court.
• Steward Zhang escorted Chen Fan to Yun Zhongjun's thatched hut after the palace's afternoon meditation.
• Yun Zhongjun told Chen Fan that the Spirit-Drunken Incense had left him unable to recover most of his memories, though he still remembered inheriting his master's teachings and taking charge of Soaring Heavens Palace.

Chen Fan learned that Yun Zhongjun had taken him as a disciple and that the Soaring Cloud Formula was reserved for the Palace Lord or his successor. Liu Wushuang revealed the history of the Demon Cult and questioned Chen Fan about the men in black, leaving him caught up in an investigation that might involve the Heaven and Earth Gate and the Demon Spirit Cult.

• Yun Zhongjun recognized Chen Fan as his disciple, promised to teach him the rest of the Soaring Cloud Formula at the fourth level, and explained that the art was reserved for the Palace Lord or his successor.
• Liu Wushuang told Chen Fan that the Demon Cult’s leader had been sealed about eight hundred years earlier and might return after a thousand years; she also revealed that her and Yun Zhongjun’s master was the Sword Saint, one of the eight who fought him.
• Yun Zhongjun explained that he had been investigating the black-clad men before the Spirit-Drunken Incense poisoned him, and Chen Fan said he had heard one of them identified as an expert from the Heaven and Earth Gate.
• Liu Wushuang said the Heaven and Earth Gate had sealed off its mountain and linked the secretive Demon Spirit Cult to suspicious activity in the West Ridge Mountains and rumors of the Devil Master’s return.
• Chen Fan pledged to help uphold justice, but Liu Wushuang called him crafty and insisted that he still answer for his own affairs.

Liu Wushuang concluded that Chen Fan was the Poison Immortal’s successor and suspected Swordcry’s Third Elder, Shi Dehao, of being an informant for the black-clothed group. She arranged a test, and Chen Fan was attacked while returning to the sect from Pingliang City.

• Chen Fan told Liu Wushuang about his memory loss and life in the sect, and she identified him as the Poison Immortal’s successor based on his resistance to poison and information from Black Dragon Pool.
• Liu Wushuang explained that the Venomheart Darts and God-Sealing Needles came from the Poison Immortal’s Compendium of Ten Thousand Poisons, whose true whereabouts were unknown.
• Liu Wushuang suspected that Shi Dehao was connected to the black-clothed people and planned to test him by creating an opportunity for an attack on Chen Fan.
• Three days later, Chen Fan visited the Myriad Treasures Pavilion in Pingliang City, traded ordinary pills for forty Spirit Stones, and began his return to the sect.
• As Chen Fan traveled through the dark mountains, someone sent yuan energy sweeping toward him, and he fled in terror.