Recaps

Li Dashan chose five Initiate Disciples, passing over Deng Qing, then named him as one of two Personal Disciples alongside Zhang Yan. Deng Qing questioned whether he deserved the honor, and Li Dashan told him to train until he did.

• Ding Yuan told Deng Qing that he expected to become an Initiate Disciple, while Fan Sheng warned Deng Qing not to lose heart.
• Li Dashan named Ma Mingfei, Ding Yuan, Sun Li, Chen Feng, and Wei Ming as Celebration Hall's new Initiate Disciples.
• After the selections, Li Dashan announced that he would take two Personal Disciples and named Zhang Yan first.
• Li Dashan named Deng Qing as his second Personal Disciple, shocking Deng Qing, Fan Sheng, Ding Yuan, and the other disciples.
• Deng Qing asked Li Dashan why he had chosen someone so new and inexperienced, and Li Dashan told him to train hard and live up to the honor.

Deng Qing and Zhang Yan became Li Dashan’s personal disciples, and Li Dashan explained that he intended them to lead the Celebration Hall after he left for the True Yang Martial Sect. Deng Qing’s doubts about his unexpected promotion eased when he learned Li Dashan valued his talent and wanted him to assist Zhang Yan.

• Deng Qing assured Fan Sheng he had not privately sought Li Dashan’s favor, and Fan Sheng agreed to find records about past personal disciples for him.
• Deng Qing reaffirmed his bond with Fan Sheng, and they agreed to celebrate with pig offal instead of drinks.
• Deng Qing and Zhang Yan completed their tea ceremony and became Li Dashan’s personal disciples, promising to support each other.
• Li Dashan revealed that he was an outer disciple of the True Yang Martial Sect and planned to attempt a breakthrough to the Furnace Realm before returning there.
• Li Dashan assigned Zhang Yan to oversee the Celebration Hall and Deng Qing to assist him, explaining that Zhang Yan was dependable and Deng Qing was exceptionally talented.

Li Dashan rewarded Zhang Yan with a promised Martial Origin Pill and praised Deng Qing’s potential, then offered Deng Qing a valuable chance to train with him. Deng Qing left Celebration Hall reflecting on how much his life had changed as Li Dashan’s Personal Disciple.

• Li Dashan told Zhang Yan that he would give him a Martial Origin Pill to help him open his Origin Aperture, and Zhang Yan thanked him before leaving to arrange the hall’s affairs.
• Li Dashan assured Deng Qing that he did not need to envy Zhang Yan and praised his rapid cultivation and restraint at the Dongting County banquet.
• Li Dashan warned Deng Qing that another battle at Liangshan could come soon and urged him to strengthen himself for the dangers of the battlefield.
• Li Dashan offered to let Deng Qing train with him and use something that could replenish Qi-Blood worth at least three hundred taels of silver per session.
• Deng Qing thanked Li Dashan and left the main hall, reflecting on the benefits of becoming his Personal Disciple.

Deng Qing attended a farewell feast for Wang Wei and Zhou Tie, then learned Li Cheng would leave for Yanshan Prefecture to prepare for the Prefecture Examination. Later, Li Dashan brought Deng Qing to the Celebration Hall’s refining chamber and began preparing a Medicinal Pool.

• Deng Qing enjoyed his new Personal Disciple benefits as others increasingly greeted him as Senior Brother Deng.
• Li Cheng invited Deng Qing to a farewell feast for Wang Wei, who was leaving for a clerk’s post in Qingzhou, and Zhou Tie, who had become a squad leader at the County Yamen.
• Deng Qing toasted Wang Wei and Zhou Tie, and the group celebrated their new positions before Wang Wei spoke wistfully about leaving Everjoy County.
• Li Cheng told Deng Qing he would soon go to Yanshan Prefecture to familiarize himself with the examination site and meet other Martial Exam Students.
• Deng Qing wished Li Cheng success in the Prefecture Examination, while Li Cheng urged him to seek opportunities beyond the Celebration Hall.
• Li Dashan showed Deng Qing the underground refining chamber and tossed cloth bags of medicinal ingredients into the Medicinal Pool.

Li Dashan refined a potent medicine in the Medicinal Pool, then Deng Qing absorbed the weakened Residual Medicine and strengthened his Qi-Blood and Violet Palace Method. After explaining the resources Deng Qing would need to reach the Skin Tempering Fourth Layer, Li Dashan gave him a sealed letter that Deng Qing recognized as a Recommendation Letter for a Sword Examiner.

• Li Dashan refined the Secret Medicine in the Medicinal Pool and weakened what remained for Deng Qing.
• Deng Qing endured the pool’s violent medicinal power, raising his Violet Palace Method to 54% and strengthening his Skin Membrane and Qi-Blood.
• Deng Qing reported his progress to Li Dashan, who explained that reaching the Skin Tempering Fourth Layer would require another twelve hundred taels’ worth of Qi-Blood replenishment.
• Li Dashan offered Deng Qing two replenishments worth six hundred taels and said he could not provide more because he was preparing to break through to the Furnace Realm.
• Li Dashan gave Deng Qing a sealed letter, and Deng Qing identified it as a Recommendation Letter for a Sword Examiner.

Deng Qing traveled to Yanshan Prefecture to seek a Sword Examiner position after Li Dashan recommended him and arranged his journey. At the selection, Deng Qing saw Song Que among the candidates, celebrated for defeating Li Cheng, as the assessment had yet to begin.

• Li Dashan explained the Weapon Examiner selection, gave Deng Qing a Recommendation Letter, and arranged for him to travel with the Dragon-Phoenix Escort Agency.
• Deng Qing packed his sword and belongings, then departed for Yanshan Prefecture with the escort team and former Named Disciples.
• Deng Qing arrived in the prefectural capital and submitted his Recommendation Letter at the Martial Arts Hall's Weapon Examiner Selection Office.
• Deng Qing entered the Western Martial Arts Ground and learned that successful examiners would receive grades A, B, or C, with higher grades earning better pay.
• Deng Qing recognized Song Que, who was being praised for defeating Li Cheng, and Song Que's smile froze when he noticed Deng Qing.

Deng Qing accepted Song Que’s silver and agreed to end their feud before joining the Sword Examiner Selection. The sword candidates gathered in a pavilion, where the examiners ordered them to draw their swords and prepare, leaving the test’s purpose unclear.

• Song Que privately apologized to Deng Qing, gave him five liang of silver, and swore he would stop seeking trouble with him.
• Deng Qing accepted Song Que’s offer of peace and agreed to keep the Blacksteel Soft Sword, saying he would return it if he found a suitable weapon.
• A gong summoned the Sword Examiner Selection candidates, and Deng Qing followed the sword group into a pavilion with dozens of competitors.
• A gray-robed old man told the candidates to draw their swords and prepare without explaining the test.
• The blue-robed youth pulled a slender white staff coated with white powder from under the table.

Deng Qing survived the Martial Arts Hall assessment, where Zhao Jia used a white staff to eliminate many candidates and the elder graded those who remained. Deng Qing rested in the Grade B quarters and began cultivating after reviewing his exchange with Zhao Jia.

• Zhao Jia overwhelmed the candidates with his white staff, while Deng Qing parried his attack and avoided being struck.
• Elder Wei eliminated candidates who fell or bore more than one white spot, then assigned the remaining contestants to Grade B or Grade C.
• Elder Wei told Zhao Jia that asking who would oversee Yanshan Prefecture's preliminary examination was premature, and Zhao Jia mentioned that he had once served under Elder Li.
• Deng Qing received a number token and was assigned room seventeen in the Grade B quarters.
• Deng Qing reviewed his fight with Zhao Jia, practiced the Violet Palace Method, and heard gongs sound outside the courtyard two hours later.

Deng Qing enjoyed the Martial Arts Hall’s generous food and daily Ginseng Pills, practiced his swordsmanship in his cramped room, and was summoned with the other Grade-B Sword Examiners for another assessment. At the assessment hall, he recognized the masked woman who had appeared outside his room, now standing beside Zhao Jia and Elder Wei.

• Deng Qing received a Ginseng Pill and ate his fill at the Martial Arts Hall’s dining hall, where Song Que told him Grade-A examiners received even better treatment.
• Deng Qing practiced the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude in his cramped room, and a white-clad masked woman praised his sword work and said she had approved his use of the Sword Grove.
• A steward denied Deng Qing access to the Sword Grove and ordered him back to his room, so he resumed practicing there over the next two days while eating, training, and taking his daily Ginseng Pills.
• A gong summoned the Grade-B Weapon Examiners to the assessment hall, where Deng Qing saw the masked woman standing between Zhao Jia and Elder Wei.

The White-Clad Woman weakened Zhao Jia before the Grade-A Sword Examiner assessment, forcing him to face eighteen candidates with his strength limited. Deng Qing survived the contest through careful swordsmanship and tactics, but Zhao Jia continued to target him as the assessment narrowed to four.

• Elder Wei announced that three candidates would become Grade-A Sword Examiners, while the White-Clad Woman sealed two of Zhao Jia’s Qi-Blood acupoints and reduced his strength to the Skin Tempering Fourth Layer.
• Elder Wei set the rules: candidates had to remain inside a marked circle, avoid Zhao Jia’s White Staff, and be among the last three remaining.
• Zhao Jia quickly eliminated several candidates, but Deng Qing blocked his attacks without counterattacking.
• Deng Qing called out Xu Ming, Xue Lin, and Meng Hui for forming a group, and Elder Wei ordered them to separate.
• Zhao Jia focused on Deng Qing, who used the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude to resist his attacks.

Deng Qing passed the sword assessment and was promoted to Grade A, then learned more about Meng Hui and settled into his new quarters. He calculated the resources needed to reach Skin Tempering Fourth Layer and found himself about two hundred taels short.

• Deng Qing maneuvered Zhao Jia into striking Meng Hui, who crossed the white line and failed the assessment.
• The White-Clad Woman punished Meng Hui for challenging the rules, and Elder Wei named Xu Ming, Xue Lin, and Deng Qing Grade-A Sword Examiners.
• Deng Qing met Song Que at the dining hall and learned that Meng Hui came from an influential family and had a short temper.
• Deng Qing moved into room A-Seventeen and calculated that he needed about twelve hundred taels' worth of Qi-Blood to reach Skin Tempering Fourth Layer.
• Deng Qing tallied his resources and found that he would still be about two hundred taels short of his target.

Deng Qing advanced the Tiger-Subduing Fist to Perfected Mastery after refining three Ginseng Pills, then went to Meng Hui’s room to confront him. Meng Hui opened the door furious, setting up their confrontation.

• Deng Qing decided to act before Meng Hui could retaliate and waited for nightfall while circulating the Violet Palace Method.
• Deng Qing discovered that his Tiger-Subduing Fist had reached Perfected Mastery after practicing with the medicinal power of three Ginseng Pills.
• Deng Qing finished refining the pills’ medicinal power into Qi-Blood, washed, and went to Meng Hui’s room.
• Deng Qing knocked and identified himself, and Meng Hui opened the door, angrily demanding to know why he had come.

Deng Qing subdued Meng Hui and forced him to write a statement insulting the White-Clad Woman, leaving Meng Hui terrified of the consequences. Deng Qing’s next move remained unclear as Meng Hui hesitated to write the dictated words.

• Deng Qing struck Meng Hui with Tiger-Subduing Mountain Crusher, then pinned him and restrained him when Meng Hui tried to fight back.
• Deng Qing tortured Meng Hui by pressing points near his shoulder until Meng Hui stopped resisting and agreed to talk.
• Deng Qing brought Meng Hui to a table and ordered him to write while threatening to repeat the torture.
• Deng Qing dictated a statement insulting the White-Clad Woman, and Meng Hui realized the note could expose him to her wrath.
• Meng Hui trembled and struggled to continue writing, afraid of the consequences of the statement.

Deng Qing used Meng Hui’s confession and the witnesses he summoned to keep Meng Hui from retaliating. The next morning, Deng Qing obtained permission to enter the Sword Grove and prepared to begin training there.

• Deng Qing threatened to expose Meng Hui’s handwritten confession and loudly drew nearby residents’ attention to Meng Hui’s anger, forcing him to deny any grudge.
• Deng Qing returned to his room and slept soundly, confident he had prevented future trouble.
• The next morning, Deng Qing asked Steward Zhou for authorization to train in the Sword Grove, and Steward Zhou registered him and assigned a servant to guide him.
• Deng Qing entered the underground Sword Grove hall, where a steward explained the rules for training.
• Deng Qing changed out of his outer clothes, locked them away, and returned to the steward.

Deng Qing trained in the Elementary Sword Forest, adapting to its ricocheting sword-light attacks and clearing it. He then entered a Medium Sword Forest, where he faced faster, stronger white sword light.

• Deng Qing entered the Sword Grove and saw Xu Ming and Xue Lin resting with red marks on their bodies.
• Deng Qing discovered that the ceiling stone released sword light when he took the Iron Sword from its rack.
• Deng Qing fought through the Elementary Sword Forest, learning to block its increasingly complex volleys and eventually reaching the end.
• Deng Qing returned to the hall, where Xu Ming and Xue Lin went into elementary corridors, then chose a Medium Sword Forest.
• Deng Qing blocked the first white sword-light attack in the Medium Sword Forest and realized it was faster and more powerful than the green light.

Deng Qing trained in the Sword Grove, improving his Seven Forms of Settling Solitude, then returned to the dining hall and made peace with Meng Hui. He told Song Que that he had arranged their friendship in advance and heard that Song Que wanted to know whether he had practiced in the Sword Grove.

• Deng Qing studied the Sword Light pattern and trained against three simultaneous strikes until fatigue forced him to retreat and recover with the Violet Palace Method.
• After two hours of repeated practice, Deng Qing’s Seven Forms of Settling Solitude progress rose from 69% to 70%.
• Deng Qing left the Sword Grove, checked that no one was watching, and went to the dining hall for food.
• Deng Qing confronted Meng Hui and insisted they become friends, and Meng Hui reluctantly agreed.
• Song Que questioned how Deng Qing had befriended Meng Hui, and Deng Qing admitted he had settled matters with him preemptively.
• Song Que changed the subject by asking Deng Qing whether he had practiced in the Sword Grove.

Deng Qing wondered about the supernatural Sword Grove and the distant Martial Dao Lower Court, then used Meng Hui to mend relations with Xu Ming and Xue Lin. After two days of intensive training, Deng Qing advanced his swordsmanship to 77% Grand Mastery.

• Deng Qing and Song Que discussed the strange weapon groves and how difficult it was to obtain a Recommendation Letter for the Martial Dao Trial.
• Deng Qing approached Xu Ming and Xue Lin with Meng Hui and claimed they were distant cousins, prompting the three to reconcile.
• Deng Qing trained in the Intermediate Sword Grove for two days, improving his Seven Forms of Settling Solitude through hard work and Ginseng Pills.
• Deng Qing completed a training session, took a Ginseng Pill, and checked his progress: Seven Forms of Settling Solitude had reached 77% Grand Mastery.

Deng Qing trained in the Superior Sword Grove to advance the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude, while Xu Ming and Xue Lin explained the Martial Arts Hall’s goals and the rewards for Sword Examiners. The next morning, a gong summoned all Sword Examiners to the Eastern Martial Arena for weapon testing.

• Deng Qing saw that his Seven Forms of Settling Solitude had reached 77% and rested before attempting the Superior Sword Grove.
• Xu Ming and Xue Lin told Deng Qing that Sword Examiners were expected to eliminate weak candidates and that strong performance could earn a place on the Martial Dao Lower Court’s roster of weapon testers.
• Deng Qing ate a large meal, returned to his room, and slept through the night.
• Deng Qing entered the Superior Sword Grove, where black Sword Light bruised him as he fought with the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude and learned that pushing his limits sped up his progress.
• A gong rang the next morning, and an announcement ordered all Sword Examiners to report to the Eastern Martial Arena after breakfast.

Deng Qing watched the Martial Exam Students complete the Grade C weapons test, where Li Cheng earned a pass, then trained in the Advanced Sword Forest. The next day, the Grade B test began, and Deng Qing watched Li Cheng and Zhuo Lin, whose swift victories had made him a leading contender.

• Deng Qing watched Sun Hai defeat three Grade-C Sword Testers as the first Martial Exam Student to take the weapons test.
• Li Cheng defeated his three opponents in the Grade C test and earned a pass.
• After the day's testing, Deng Qing avoided speaking with Li Cheng and trained repeatedly against the dark Sword Light in the Advanced Sword Forest.
• The Grade C test ended with only a little over twenty of the seventy or eighty Martial Exam Students eliminated.
• The Grade B test began the next day, and Deng Qing focused on Li Cheng and Zhuo Lin, who had beaten each of his three Grade C opponents in a single move.

Zhuo Lin astonished the Martial Arena by defeating three Grade B Sword Examiners at once with the Sword Python technique. The White-Clad Woman confirmed he was still in the Skin Tempering Realm, learned that Zhuo Fengmian was his grandfather, and Zhuo Lin passed the assessment.

• Li Cheng won three difficult matches and passed the Grade B assessment, though Deng Qing doubted he could pass Grade A.
• The White-Clad Woman arrived to watch Zhuo Lin, who asked to fight all three selected Grade B Sword Examiners together.
• The White-Clad Woman approved the request, and Zhuo Lin disarmed and toppled all three with one display of Sword Python.
• Zhao Jia recognized the technique and questioned how someone in the Skin Tempering Realm had mastered it.
• The White-Clad Woman confirmed Zhuo Lin's realm, learned that Zhuo Fengmian was his grandfather, and praised him.
• Elder Wei announced Zhuo Lin had passed, and the remaining students' performances paled beside his.

Deng Qing and the other Grade-A Sword Examiners learned that Zhuo Lin would challenge all three of them together, prompting the White-Clad Woman to order replacements. After leaving the Martial Arena, Deng Qing stayed nearby and circled a tree.

• Deng Qing, Xu Ming, and Xue Lin discussed the twenty-two Grade B candidates who would challenge them in the Grade-A Test.
• Steward Cao summoned the three examiners to the Martial Arena, where Zhao Jia asked whether they could stop Zhuo Lin.
• Zhao Jia said Zhuo Lin planned to challenge all three examiners together, and the White-Clad Woman demanded that replacements be found before the test.
• The White-Clad Woman barred Deng Qing, Xu Ming, and Xue Lin from going to the Sword Grove, and Deng Qing began circling a tree outside the arena.

Deng Qing persuaded the White-Clad Woman to make him the Martial Arts Hall’s main fighter against Zhuo Lin in the Grade-A Test after demonstrating his swordsmanship. He secured resources to train overnight and asked her to protect him from the consequences if he defeated Zhuo Lin, leaving her to consider how to handle the aftermath.

• Deng Qing approached the White-Clad Woman and offered to fight Zhuo Lin, but she initially dismissed his chances.
• Deng Qing displayed the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude at full strength, impressing the White-Clad Woman with his swordsmanship.
• The White-Clad Woman agreed Deng Qing could face Zhuo Lin and named him the main fighter in the next day’s test.
• Deng Qing requested two hundred taels of cultivation resources, preferably in Ginseng Pills, and the White-Clad Woman agreed.
• Deng Qing warned that defeating Zhuo Lin could make him an enemy of the other exam students, and the White-Clad Woman promised to ensure his safety while she considered a plan.

The White-Clad Woman visited Deng Qing and provided him with resources and help for the Grade-A Test, after first immobilizing him to make a mold of his face. Deng Qing secured an all-night pass to the Sword Grove and arranged to face every test candidate first, then headed there to prepare for the next morning.

• The White-Clad Woman struck Deng Qing, paralyzed him, and explained that she was making a mold of his face to address his concerns about disguise.
• She gave Deng Qing forty Ginseng Pills, warning that he had to defeat Zhuo Lin the next day to earn them.
• The White-Clad Woman gave Deng Qing a Black Token that let him train in the Sword Grove all night.
• Deng Qing asked her to replace the other two Grade-A Sword Examiners and proposed that he fight every test candidate first; she agreed.
• Deng Qing gathered his belongings, showed the token to the patrolling stewards, and entered the Sword Grove.

Deng Qing trained through the night in the Superior Sword Grove, using Ginseng Pills to sustain himself until he reached perfected mastery of the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude and overcame the four-shot challenge. After recovering briefly, he met the White-Clad Woman, who asked about his training ahead of the match.

• Deng Qing used Ginseng Pills and the Violet Palace Method to recover between bouts of sword practice, raising the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude to 79% grand mastery.
• Deng Qing entered the two-shot zone and continued training until insights carried him across the barrier to 80% perfected mastery.
• Deng Qing calmly blocked the Sword Grove’s three-shot volley, then stepped into the four-shot zone and shattered repeated volleys with his perfected sword technique.
• Deng Qing finished training, took two Ginseng Pills, slept briefly, and washed at the underground water trough.
• The White-Clad Woman arrived in dusty clothes and asked Deng Qing how his training had gone; he assured her he would not disappoint her in the match.

The White-Clad Woman gave Deng Qing a lifelike Mongqi Hide that changed his appearance and renamed him Xie Xuan so he could enter the Martial Arena without revealing his identity. After changing clothes and storing some belongings, Deng Qing headed to the Grade-A Test, finishing an enormous meal on the way.

• Deng Qing put on the Mongqi Hide and discovered that it had transformed his face into a natural-looking new appearance.
• The White-Clad Woman gave Deng Qing a black robe and boots and told him to use the name Xie Xuan.
• Deng Qing asked to leave belongings in the changing room, and the White-Clad Woman let him use it while the Sword Grove was closed to the public.
• Deng Qing used the White-Clad Woman's token to take a huge bowl of rice and braised meat from the dining hall.
• Deng Qing ate as he walked to the Martial Arena and set down the empty bowl at its entrance.