Recaps

Lin Xiaotian learned that the Xiao and Ouyang Households had traded for Blood-Qi Resonance and learned of a planned journey to Senior Dongli’s location. Xiao Jingxin explained that the households were bringing their younger members because the trip could be their only chance to claim its opportunities.

• Lin Xiaotian realized Master Huang had restored his resources after the Xiao and Ouyang Households traded for Blood-Qi Resonance.
• Lin Xiaotian visited Ouyang Nianci, learned the Ouyang Household had also obtained Bloodburst Pills, and later heard she had entered seclusion to seek another advance.
• Xiao Jingxin told Lin Xiaotian that the Xiao Household had given Blood-Qi Resonance to its core disciples and planned to escort them to Senior Dongli’s location.
• Xiao Jingxin explained that the Murong Household’s inaction and the Ouyang Household’s weakened state made the journey urgent, so the younger generation would get priority if the elders could not use the opportunities.

Lin Xiaotian prepared pills and trained while the Xiao Household selected ten disciples for a trip to Senior Dongli’s location. After the tournament, Xiao Jingxin suspected Lin Xiaotian was responsible for Ouyang Nianci’s rise in strength, leaving the source of his methods a growing concern among the young women.

• Lin Xiaotian prepared medicinal pills and trained, frustrated that his ordinary root bone kept him just short of external force.
• Xiao Changsheng asked the Xiao disciples to demonstrate whether they had mastered Blood-Qi Resonance’s second surge, but none had succeeded, so he ordered them to choose ten travelers through bouts.
• Xiao Jingxin brought Lin Xiaotian into the tournament, where he watched the disciples fight and gained combat experience over two days.
• Lin Xiaotian invited Xiao Jingxin to a meal to repay her help, and she explained to the other women that he had done so to avoid owing her a favor.
• Xiao Jingxin told the women that Blood-Qi Resonance seemed to have reached its limit for them and suggested getting closer to Lin Xiaotian after the trip.
• Xiao Jingxin privately connected Ouyang Nianci’s new council seat and rumored strength to Lin Xiaotian.

Lin Xiaotian traveled with Xiao Jingxin toward Senior Dongli's location and learned that the Xiao Household was risking its future to uncover a secret of martial advancement. As they neared their destination, Xiao Changsheng tested Lin Xiaotian with an attack, and Lin suppressed his blood qi and let the blow reach him undefended.

• Xiao Changsheng invited Lin Xiaotian to travel with the Xiao Household and encouraged him to spend more time with Xiao Jingxin.
• Xiao Jingxin brought Lin Xiaotian into her carriage, spoke frankly about her feelings, and explained the danger surrounding the journey.
• Xiao Jingxin revealed that she, Xiao Changsheng, and ten core disciples were staking their lives on discovering a secret to advancing in the martial dao.
• After several uneventful days of travel, Xiao Changsheng summoned Lin Xiaotian to his carriage and suddenly attacked him with internal force.
• Lin Xiaotian instinctively activated his blood qi and martial techniques, then suppressed them and faced Xiao Changsheng's strike without defending himself.

Lin Xiaotian met Xiao Changsheng, who tested whether Lin’s Blood-Qi Resonance could penetrate an Internal Force expert’s blood-qi membrane and asked him to take Xiao Jingxin away if the Xiao Household fell. Lin agreed and accepted ten Dragon-Tiger Pills, while privately realizing his hidden second wave of force could pierce the membrane, though it was too weak to harm Xiao Changsheng.

• Xiao Changsheng explained that Internal Force experts’ blood-qi membranes made them difficult for lower-level martial artists to injure, then tested Lin Xiaotian’s Blood-Qi Resonance and found it could not break through.
• Xiao Changsheng warned that County Town might destroy the town’s major powers and asked Lin to take Xiao Jingxin away if the Xiao Household lost.
• Lin agreed to protect Xiao Jingxin but refused to promise romantic feelings, and Xiao Changsheng gave him ten Dragon-Tiger Pills.
• Xiao Jingxin told Lin to flee without worrying about her if danger came, and Lin explained that agreeing would give him a better chance to escape.
• Lin reflected that he had concealed the full strength of his Blood-Qi Resonance and that its second wave could penetrate the blood-qi membrane, though it was currently too weak to injure an Internal Force expert.

Lin Xiaotian traveled with the Xiao Household when Ouyang Nianci arrived and revealed how much her strength had grown through their bond. Ouyang Nianci persuaded Xiao Jingxin to join her, and Lin Xiaotian went with them to the Ouyang Household, where Nianci hinted at a new trump card.

• Lin Xiaotian sensed a powerful aura near the sedan and learned from Xiao Jingxin that Master Huang had arrived to meet with the Xiao Household head.
• Ouyang Nianci found Lin Xiaotian on the road, rushed into his sedan, and embraced him in front of Xiao Jingxin.
• Ouyang Nianci teased Xiao Jingxin about Lin Xiaotian and privately told her about her improved endurance and rapid Martial Dao progress.
• Lin Xiaotian reflected that his Blood Qi had benefited Ouyang Nianci but could not guarantee another person’s loyalty.
• Ouyang Nianci asked Lin Xiaotian to accompany her and Xiao Jingxin to the Ouyang Household, explaining that she had become powerful enough to match her Second Uncle.
• Ouyang Nianci hinted that she had discovered an unexpected new trump card, but did not reveal what it was.

Lin Xiaotian visited Ouyang Nianci’s carriage, where she revealed that his blood qi had reshaped her root bone and enabled her to unleash a second burst of force. She explained the limits of her new power and suggested it might advance if they spent more time together.

• Ouyang Nianci persuaded Lin Xiaotian to join her in the Ouyang Household’s carriage, while Xiao Jingxin went to the neighboring carriage.
• Ouyang Nianci welcomed Lin Xiaotian into her lavish carriage and teased Xiao Jingxin about it being a space for her and her man.
• Ouyang Nianci told Lin Xiaotian that her root bone had been reshaped and she had learned to unleash a second burst of force through Blood-Qi Resonance.
• Ouyang Nianci said she could use the second burst only once, but believed spending more time with Lin Xiaotian could help it advance further.

Lin Xiaotian and Nian Ci spent time together as the two Lineages searched for the location Dongli had identified, and their time together helped strengthen Nian Ci’s Secondfold Force. After Nian Ci gained the ability to unleash it twice and potentially injure an Internal Force expert, Lin Xiaotian gave her top-grade pills and decided they should go directly to Dongli’s target location.

• Nian Ci teased Xiao Jingxin for losing sleep over their noise, then asked Lin Xiaotian to take a walk with her.
• Nian Ci explained that the two Lineages would search separately for Dongli’s location before regrouping, when danger might appear.
• Lin Xiaotian trained with Nian Ci over the next two days, and she learned to unleash Secondfold Force twice with greater power.
• Nian Ci said her Secondfold Force could kill a late External Force fighter and might seriously injure an Internal Force expert.
• Lin Xiaotian gave Nian Ci top-grade pills to replenish her qi and blood, then decided they should head straight to Dongli’s target location.

Lin Xiaotian told Ouyang Nianci and Xiao Jingxin about the deadly mist and learned how the County Town monopolized Realm-Breaking Pills. When the convoy reached the fissure, five internal force experts attacked and declared they had found a “Blessed Land” by following him.

• Lin Xiaotian explained that Senior Dongli had taken him to a fissure filled with corrosive mist, while concealing how the mist had benefited him.
• Xiao Jingxin described the County Town’s control of Realm-Breaking Pills and said lineages that uncovered its secrets had been destroyed.
• Ouyang Nianci explained that the pills were rumored to be a by-product of powerful figures seeking to break through to hidden force.
• Lin Xiaotian sensed danger as the convoy stopped and pulled Xiao Jingxin and Ouyang Nianci down before an explosion tore off the carriage roof.
• Master Huang leaped out and confronted the attackers, while five internal force experts revealed they had followed Lin Xiaotian to the fissure in search of a “Blessed Land.”

Lin Xiaotian faced the Li Household leader after Master Huang was defeated and the Ouyang Household members were massacred. The leader revealed that Xiao Jingxin and Ouyang Nianci could not both survive, forcing Lin Xiaotian to choose between them.

• Master Huang tried to flee, but the leader struck him down; Lin Xiaotian asked the leader to spare his master, and Master Huang was allowed to leave.
• The five men killed everyone inside the sedan chairs, and Ouyang Nianci found Ouyang Zhentian among the dead.
• The leader explained that the Xiao, Ouyang, and Murong Households had revealed information about Lin Xiaotian and said the Xiao Household members would also be killed.
• Xiao Jingxin begged the leader to spare her household, but Lin Xiaotian shielded her and declared that she was his woman too.
• The leader told Lin Xiaotian that only one of his two women, Xiao Jingxin and Ouyang Nianci, could live and demanded that he choose.

Lin Xiaotian faced five men from the Li Household, who threatened Ouyang Nianci and Xiao Jingxin to force him to cooperate. After Xiao Jingxin was gravely wounded and begged him to protect the Xiao Household, Lin Xiaotian proved the mist could not harm him and made the Li men promise the Xiao Household would live, but Xiao Jingxin died.

• The Li Household leader threatened Ouyang Nianci and Xiao Jingxin, demanding that Lin Xiaotian cooperate and reveal the abnormal progress of his cultivation technique.
• Xiao Jingxin rushed at the five men after asking them to spare the Xiao Household, and the leader struck her down despite her burning her blood and qi.
• Lin Xiaotian caught Xiao Jingxin as she clung to life, then walked to the fissure while Ouyang Nianci urged Xiao Jingxin to hold on.
• Lin Xiaotian reached into the mist and withdrew an unharmed arm, shocking the five men and compelling them to promise the Xiao Household would not die.
• Xiao Jingxin died in Ouyang Nianci's arms with a smile, and Ouyang Nianci wept.

Lin Xiaotian arrived at the Li residence in County Town after parting from Ouyang Nianci, who chose to remain with the Ouyang Household. Third Uncle welcomed him with a meal and offered him a beautiful woman, but Lin Xiaotian discovered the offer concealed a deadly test when Third Uncle killed her with a palm strike.

• Ouyang Nianci told Lin Xiaotian she would stay to preserve her father's legacy and support the Ouyang Household, and they parted after spending their last half day together.
• Lin Xiaotian traveled with the Li Household to County Town, where Zhang Shun apologized for offending him earlier.
• At the Li residence, Third Uncle welcomed Lin Xiaotian, fed him, and promised compensation for the trouble in town.
• Third Uncle presented a beautiful woman and suggested Lin Xiaotian spend time with her, but Lin Xiaotian rejected the idea as a beauty trap.
• The frightened woman begged Third Uncle for another chance, and he killed her with a palm strike as Lin Xiaotian watched.

Lin Xiaotian failed to break through to the external force level with supreme-grade Dragon-Tiger Pills and decided he still needed the Li Residence’s help. The Li ancestor ordered Third Uncle to court Lin Xiaotian and keep him at the residence, while Third Uncle devised a new plan to win his heart.

• Third Uncle cleared away the woman’s corpse and apologized to Lin Xiaotian, who declined further entertainment and pressed to discuss work with the Li Household.
• Lin Xiaotian settled into a prepared guest room, took supreme-grade Dragon-Tiger Pills, and found they strengthened his blood qi but could not break his barrier.
• Third Uncle consulted the Li ancestor, who said the mist from the fissure could temper the Martial Dao and instructed him to treat Lin Xiaotian well and try to keep him at the Li Residence.
• The ancestor explained that he needed time to digest the mist and recover, so the Realm-Breaking Pills would not be delivered until later.
• Third Uncle considered marriage as a way to keep Lin Xiaotian, then devised another plan based on Lin Xiaotian’s affection and loyalty.

The Li Residence arranged for the Zhang Residence to pressure Qin Ziyu, hoping to use his sister Qin Yueyao’s predicament to win Lin Xiaotian’s loyalty. Qin Yueyao discovered that her brother had apparently wagered her in a bet and confronted the men who brought the IOU.

• Lin Xiaotian spent more than ten days at the Li Residence, where its young masters and young ladies found him pleasant company despite his limited martial strength.
• Third Uncle told the Li Residence’s young women that the ancestor had acknowledged Lin Xiaotian, but warned them that he could not be forced to stay.
• Third Uncle instructed a man to have the Zhang Residence use pressure against Qin Ziyu’s household in exchange for a valuable medicinal herb field.
• The Zhang Residence accepted the Li Residence’s offer, and Qin Yueyao promised her bedridden brother she would help him preserve their family line.
• Men arrived at Qin Ziyu’s home with an IOU, and Qin Yueyao smashed the door after realizing it appeared to stake her in a bet.

Qin Yueyao learned that her brother Qin Ziyu had pledged her as collateral to the Zhang Residence and chose to enter its Underground Fighting Arena rather than surrender herself. She left to fight for a legal way to free him, while Qin Ziyu set out for Long River Town to survive.

• A visitor told Qin Yueyao that Qin Ziyu had pledged her as collateral and threatened to make him a male courtesan if she refused to honor the contract.
• Qin Ziyu admitted that he had gambled recklessly, and Qin Yueyao decided she would enter the Zhang Residence's private fighting tournament to win his release.
• Qin Yueyao told Qin Ziyu that she would rather die than let herself be sacrificed, and he mentioned Lin Xiaotian as someone who might have helped them.
• Three days later, Qin Yueyao refused to sell herself and demanded entry to the Zhang Residence's Underground Fighting Arena; the visitor agreed to take her there.
• After Qin Yueyao left, Qin Ziyu departed for Long River Town, hoping his connection to Lin Xiaotian would keep him safe.