Recaps

At Elder Xu’s birthday banquet, Yue Xiaofei recognized Cao Xuanye as the heir of a family suspected of conspiring against his father and harming his friends’ businesses. Cao Xuanye approached Yue with a seemingly respectful toast, but Yue ignored him, leaving the hall stunned.

• Cao Xuanye arrived at Elder Xu’s birthday banquet and respectfully offered his greetings before turning his attention to Yue Xiaofei.
• Yun Nongyue and Hua Jieyu arrived, and Xu Yiming explained their families’ influence and the tense rivalries among the Eight Great Clans.
• Cao Xuanye crossed the hall with a glass of wine and praised Yue Xiaofei as a national hero, while Xu Yiming warned Yue to be cautious.
• Cao Xuanye drank his toast and appeared to win the guests’ approval with his courteous manner.
• Yue Xiaofei remained seated, ignored Cao Xuanye, and calmly sipped tea, leaving Cao Xuanye and the guests in stunned silence.

At Xu Anbang’s birthday banquet, Cao Xuanye repeatedly tried to befriend Yue Xiaofei, but Yue rejected him publicly and declared they could never be friends. Cao Xuanye concealed his fury and withdrew, secretly vowing revenge.

• Cao Xuanye invited Yue Xiaofei to his private club and asked to become close friends, but Yue refused.
• Cao Xuanye offered an apology and extended his hand, yet Yue rejected the handshake and said they could not be friends.
• The guests were shocked as Cao Xuanye endured the public humiliation and suppressed his murderous anger.
• Cao Xuanye returned to his seat with outward courtesy while secretly swearing to make Yue Xiaofei pay.

Yue Xiaofei rejected Cao Xuanye, who used the refusal to turn guests against him and portray himself as gracious. Xu Yiming pulled Yue aside and demanded to know why he had openly provoked the powerful Cao Family.

• Cao Xuanye returned to his seat calmly and framed Yue Xiaofei's rejection as a misunderstanding caused by a hero's fierce temperament.
• Guests in Longevity Hall began criticizing Yue Xiaofei as arrogant and praising Cao Xuanye's magnanimity.
• Yun Nongyue dismissed the guests as fools, while Hua Jieyu said Yue Xiaofei's backbone made her like him more.
• Xu Yiming, distressed by the guests' remarks, pulled Yue Xiaofei into a quiet corner of the Banquet Hall.
• Xu Yiming warned Yue Xiaofei about the Cao Family's power and demanded to know why he had confronted Cao Xuanye.

Yue Xiaofei told Xu Yiming that he suspected the Cao Family had framed his father and destroyed his father’s Night Watchers squad, explaining why he had publicly rejected Cao Xuanye. Xu Yiming offered the Xu Family’s support, but Yue Xiaofei kept the investigation to himself until he had proof, while Yun Nongyue and Hua Jieyu saw a chance to recruit him.

• Yue Xiaofei told Xu Yiming that he suspected the Cao Family was behind his father’s imprisonment and the destruction of his Night Watchers squad, though he lacked direct evidence.
• Xu Yiming realized why Yue Xiaofei had rejected Cao Xuanye and apologized for urging him to observe social niceties.
• Xu Yiming pledged that his fight was also the Xu Family’s fight and promised they would act if Yue Xiaofei proved the Cao Family’s guilt.
• Yue Xiaofei thanked Xu Yiming but said he wanted to keep the Xu Family out of the investigation until he had conclusive evidence.
• Yun Nongyue and Hua Jieyu noticed Yue Xiaofei’s isolation and recognized an opportunity to recruit him.

After Yue Xiaofei’s public clash with Cao Xuanye, Yun Nongyue and Hua Jieyu saw a chance to recruit him as an ally against the Cao Family. Yun Nongyue formally offered the Cloud Family’s protection and partnership, leaving Yue Xiaofei to consider the proposal.

• The Cloud and Flower Families viewed Yue Xiaofei’s break with Cao Xuanye as an opportunity to gain a powerful ally against the Cao Family.
• Yun Nongyue approached Yue Xiaofei and warned him that Cao Xuanye could use the Cao Family’s influence to target him in Longdu.
• Hua Jieyu joined Yun Nongyue and suggested that Yue Xiaofei would be better off with powerful allies.
• Yue Xiaofei asked the two women to state their proposals directly.
• Yun Nongyue formally invited Yue Xiaofei to accept the Cloud Family’s protection and join them in pursuing a great undertaking.

Yun Nongyue and Hua Jieyu competed to recruit Yue Xiaofei, offering him powerful support from their families. Yun Nongyue escalated the Cloud Family’s proposal to a possible marriage alliance, leaving Xu Yiming stunned.

• Yun Nongyue offered Yue Xiaofei money, status, connections, and information in exchange for serving as the Cloud Family’s guardian and supporting it against the Cao Family.
• Hua Jieyu mocked Yun Nongyue’s offer and invited Yue Xiaofei to become a member of the Flower Family, granting him access to all its Southeast resources without demanding anything of him.
• Yun Nongyue formally invited Yue Xiaofei to join the Cloud Family through a partnership or a marriage alliance.
• Xu Yiming was stunned by the possibility that Yun Nongyue would marry Yue Xiaofei.

Yun Nongyue offered Yue Xiaofei a marriage alliance with the Cloud Family, and Hua Jieyu countered by offering the Flower Family’s resources and herself. Yue rejected both offers, insisting he needed no one’s backing.

• Yun Nongyue offered Yue Xiaofei a marriage alliance to bind him to the Cloud Family.
• Hua Jieyu linked arms with Yue Xiaofei and offered the Flower Family’s resources, then privately said she would give herself to him.
• Yue Xiaofei recognized that both women wanted to use his strength and status against the Cao Family.
• Yun Nongyue promised that choosing either family would keep anyone in Longdu from touching Yue Xiaofei.
• Yue Xiaofei pulled away from Hua Jieyu, thanked the women, and refused their offers, saying he needed no one to back him.

Yue Xiaofei rejected Yun Nongyue and Hua Jieyu's offers of protection, insisting he needed no family or women to shield him from the Cao Family. Cao Xuanye took the rejection as proof that Yue had isolated himself and looked forward to having the Cao Family destroy him.

• Yun Nongyue and Hua Jieyu threatened Yue Xiaofei with the consequences of refusing their families' support.
• Yue Xiaofei declared that he would make his own choices and feared neither the Cao Family nor the need to stand alone.
• Yun Nongyue and Hua Jieyu watched Yue Xiaofei leave and became even more determined to win him over.
• Cao Xuanye saw the women’s reactions and burned with jealousy over Yue Xiaofei’s effect on them.
• Cao Xuanye concluded that Yue Xiaofei had made himself vulnerable by rejecting the Cloud Family and the Flower Family, and toasted his coming downfall.

After Yue Xiaofei rejected the Cloud Family and the Flower Family, Elder Xu warned him that his shallow roots left him exposed to the Cao Family. Yue Xiaofei declared his resolve to become a towering tree that could shelter the country, earning the Xu Family’s support before Elder Xu revealed he had news about Yue Xiaofei’s father.

• Xu Yiming caught up with Yue Xiaofei and asked whether the Cloud Family and the Flower Family might retaliate after his rejections.
• Xu Yiming told Yue Xiaofei that Elder Xu wanted to see him in a private dining room.
• Xu Sanjiang warned Yue Xiaofei that his public humiliation of the Cao Family’s young master and rejection of the two families had stirred up trouble in Longdu.
• Elder Xu cautioned Yue Xiaofei that the Cao Family’s influence threatened him, but Yue Xiaofei vowed to become a deeply rooted tree that would shelter the people and his land.
• Elder Xu praised Yue Xiaofei’s ambition and pledged the Xu Family’s support.
• Elder Xu told Yue Xiaofei that he had something important to say about his father.

Elder Xu told Yue Xiaofei that his father, Yue Changlong, had been secretly removed from Yanshan Prison after his treason conviction, and that Ye Jincheng had led the trial and signed the order. Yue Xiaofei left determined to investigate Ye Jincheng and uncover the truth about his father’s case.

• Elder Xu revealed that Yue Changlong had been taken from Yanshan Prison by a mysterious military unit on the day he was sentenced.
• Elder Xu said the trail was classified at the highest level and suspected the Ye Family might be involved.
• Elder Xu identified Ye Jincheng as the official who led Yue Changlong’s trial and signed the order five years earlier.
• Yue Xiaofei thanked Elder Xu and left to investigate Ye Jincheng himself.

After learning that his father was not in Yanshan Prison and Ye Jincheng had presided over the trial, Yue Xiaofei struggled to find a way forward. Xu Yaoyang and his companions confronted him, but a phone call revealed that a legendary national hero was at the banquet, and Su Wanning asked Yue Xiaofei if he had seen him.

• Yue Xiaofei left Elder Xu's room troubled by the news about his father and Ye Jincheng.
• Xu Yaoyang and the wealthy young people mocked Yue Xiaofei as he tried to leave, and Xu Yaoyang reached for his shoulder.
• Yue Xiaofei released a menacing killing intent and ordered Xu Yaoyang to get lost, frightening the group into silence.
• Xu Yaoyang received a call saying that the national hero who planted the Dragon Kingdom's Hongqi flag on Mount Fuji had attended the banquet.
• Su Wanning excitedly asked Yue Xiaofei whether he had seen the hero in the main hall.

At the Xu Family residence, Yue Xiaofei claimed the national hero looked just like him, but everyone mocked him and Su Wanning condemned him. He returned to the Su Family villa, where Jiang Lan welcomed him warmly and Su Guohua scolded him over the trouble he had caused.

• Su Wanning and the crowd pressed Yue Xiaofei to describe the national hero he had met.
• Yue Xiaofei said the hero looked pretty much like him, prompting the crowd to laugh and Xu Yaoyang to mock him.
• Su Wanning accused Yue Xiaofei of insulting the hero and turned away from him in disgust.
• Yue Xiaofei ignored the crowd and left the Xu Family residence without explaining himself.
• Jiang Lan worriedly welcomed Yue Xiaofei home, while Su Guohua scolded him for bringing trouble to the Su Family.

Yue Xiaofei learned that Serenity Manor might be holding Cao Ruolin and sent Bai Bing to investigate. Meanwhile, Su Wanning watched a video of the national hero and began to suspect the figure was Yue Xiaofei.

• Yue Xiaofei asked Han Duoduo to find Cao Ruolin, and she reported that a suspicious signal repeatedly appeared at the heavily guarded Serenity Manor.
• Han Duoduo said the manor's isolated network prevented her from confirming Cao Ruolin's location, but Bai Bing had gone to scout it.
• Yue Xiaofei resolved to find Cao Ruolin and obtain proof that the Cao Family had framed his father before confronting Ye Jincheng.
• Su Wanning received a video from Xu Yaoyang showing generals saluting a young man at Elder Xu's birthday banquet.
• Su Wanning repeatedly watched the blurry video and began to wonder whether the young man was Yue Xiaofei.

Su Wanning auditioned for the lead role in Beacon Fire Beauty and delivered a performance that impressed the judges. Just as the director was about to announce her as the likely winner, investor General Manager Wang forced him to give the role to his goddaughter Gao Yuanyuan, leaving Su Wanning humiliated and Yue Xiaofei displeased.

• Su Wanning reluctantly agreed to let Yue Xiaofei accompany her to the audition after Jiang Lan suggested he go along.
• Su Wanning performed a silent scene at Longdu Film Academy, and Director Li praised her as exactly the heroine he had imagined.
• General Manager Wang arrived with his goddaughter Gao Yuanyuan, who demanded the lead role for herself.
• Under General Manager Wang's pressure, Director Li postponed the decision and ended the auditions without announcing a winner.
• Su Wanning left the stage hurt and angry, while Yue Xiaofei watched Gao Yuanyuan with a cold look.

Yue Xiaofei intervened when Gao Yuanyuan humiliated Su Wanning after she lost a role. He led Su Wanning away and secretly sent a message ordering Gao Yuanyuan to be blackballed.

• Gao Yuanyuan mocked Su Wanning over her acting prospects and her family's financial troubles, then suggested she trade sexual favors for a role.
• Su Wanning tried to slap Gao Yuanyuan, but two lackeys grabbed her wrist.
• Yue Xiaofei arrived and demanded that Gao Yuanyuan apologize, counting down from three as she refused.
• Yue Xiaofei took Su Wanning away and warned Gao Yuanyuan that he did not want to see her in Longdu after tomorrow.
• Gao Yuanyuan laughed at Yue Xiaofei's threat, unaware that he had sent a message ordering someone to blackball her.

Gao Yuanyuan was disgraced and banned after revelations about fake charity donations and a fraudulent poverty grant, while Su Wanning regained the lead role in Beacon Fire Beauty. Su Wanning suspected someone had been helping her family and called Xu Yaoyang to ask whether he was behind Gao Yuanyuan's downfall.

• News reports exposed that Gao Yuanyuan had faked a five-million donation and fraudulently claimed a poverty grant while living lavishly.
• The State Taxation Administration, General Administration of Culture, and Ministry of Education announced investigations and penalties affecting Gao Yuanyuan and Longdu Film Academy.
• Gao Yuanyuan lost her work and sponsors, tried unsuccessfully to reach General Manager Wang, and realized she had been abandoned.
• Director Li called Su Wanning and offered her the lead role in Beacon Fire Beauty.
• Su Wanning connected the help her family had received to Xu Yaoyang and called him to ask whether he had brought down Gao Yuanyuan.

Xu Yaoyang falsely claimed he had ruined Gao Yuanyuan to help Su Wanning, then lured her to a hotel suite with the promise of a celebration. Su Wanning realized she had walked into a trap as Xu Yaoyang and several young masters surrounded her.

• Su Wanning told Xu Yaoyang that Gao Yuanyuan had been ruined and that she had regained the lead role.
• Xu Yaoyang took credit for Gao Yuanyuan's downfall and invited Su Wanning to celebrate at the Hyatt Hotel.
• Xu Yaoyang told the Longdu Pickup Squad that he had arranged for Su Wanning to come to room 8808.
• Su Wanning arrived at the hotel and found Xu Yaoyang waiting with several young men instead of a party.
• Xu Yaoyang locked the door, introduced the men as influential young masters, and restrained Su Wanning as she realized she was trapped.

Yue Xiaofei burst into the hotel room just as Xu Yaoyang and several young men were about to assault Su Wanning, then struck down Young Master Li and warned the others away from her. Xu Yaoyang and the remaining men were left trembling as Yue Xiaofei confronted them.

• Xu Yaoyang and the other young men tried to force Su Wanning to drink a drugged cocktail, but she knocked it away.
• Xu Yaoyang slapped Su Wanning and ordered the men to attack her as she cowered in the corner.
• Yue Xiaofei kicked down the hotel room door and entered just before the men could touch Su Wanning.
• Yue Xiaofei seized Young Master Li by the throat and hurled him into a wall, knocking him unconscious.
• Yue Xiaofei warned Xu Yaoyang and the remaining young men not to lay a finger on Su Wanning.

Yue Xiaofei faced Lei Zhan and a squad of armed special forces after rescuing Su Wanning and beating the young heirs. As Lei Zhan ordered him to surrender, Yue Xiaofei calmly produced a small, dark-red booklet.

• Xu Yaoyang and the other young heirs threatened Yue Xiaofei with their family connections, and Xiao Chusheng called his uncle Lei Zhan for help.
• Su Wanning urged Yue Xiaofei to flee, but Xu Yaoyang shoved her aside and threatened them both.
• Lei Zhan arrived at the Hyatt Hotel with armed soldiers, who secured the room and aimed their rifles at Yue Xiaofei.
• Lei Zhan ordered Yue Xiaofei to put his hands on his head and crouch, while the soldiers chambered rounds.
• Yue Xiaofei remained calm and pulled a small, dark-red booklet from his pocket.

Yue Xiaofei revealed his Supreme Command credential to Lei Zhan, who recognized him as the legendary Peerless National Scholar and a major general. Yue Xiaofei rebuked Lei Zhan for misusing soldiers to protect his nephew, and Lei Zhan punished Xiao Chusheng before withdrawing with his troops.

• Lei Zhan inspected Yue Xiaofei's credential and recognized him as an eighteen-year-old major general appointed by the Supreme Command.
• Lei Zhan snapped to attention when Yue Xiaofei addressed him, shocking Xiao Chusheng, Xu Yaoyang, and Su Wanning.
• Yue Xiaofei condemned Lei Zhan for using military forces to protect his nephew and failing his duty as a soldier.
• Lei Zhan admitted his wrongdoing, bowed to Yue Xiaofei, and slapped Xiao Chusheng unconscious.
• Lei Zhan ordered Xiao Chusheng taken into confinement, promised to request disciplinary action, and left the hotel with his soldiers after Yue Xiaofei dismissed him.

After Lei Zhan left, Xu Yaoyang convinced himself Yue Xiaofei was relying on Elder Xu’s influence and renewed his threats. Yue Xiaofei challenged the young masters to summon their families, and they called their fathers and boasted about the powerful people who would come for him.

• Xu Yaoyang decided that Elder Xu had given Yue Xiaofei the Red Booklet and that Lei Zhan had backed down to avoid offending him.
• Xu Yaoyang and Young Master Zhang bragged about their family connections and threatened Yue Xiaofei.
• Yue Xiaofei told them to summon their fathers, grandfathers, and influential relatives to settle matters at the hotel.
• Xu Yaoyang called his father and said Yue Xiaofei had demanded an explanation from the Xu Family.
• Young Master Zhang and the others called their fathers and threatened Yue Xiaofei with their families’ connections, including the Azure Alliance, Bureau 7, and Reverse Scale.

Yue Xiaofei dismissed the powerful families backing Xu Yaoyang and the other heirs, promising to show how easily their influence would crumble. Zhang Huatian arrived to confront him over his injured son, but Yue Xiaofei remained unimpressed as Xu Yaoyang warned Zhang that he had already defeated Brigade Commander Lei Zhan.

• Su Wanning urged Yue Xiaofei to leave, warning that the heirs’ powerful backers were more dangerous than Brigade Commander Lei Zhan.
• Yue Xiaofei called the heirs useless bullies and declared that their backers would crumble before him.
• Zhang Huatian stormed into the suite with bodyguards after hearing his son had been attacked.
• Zhang Huatian confronted Yue Xiaofei and threatened to drive him out of Longdu, but Yue Xiaofei asked, “So what?”
• Xu Yaoyang warned Zhang Huatian that Yue Xiaofei knew Elder Xu and had already bested Brigade Commander Lei Zhan.

Zhang Huatian threatened Yue Xiaofei with the Azure Alliance, but Wang Hu recognized Yue Xiaofei as the alliance’s hidden Boss Dragon Head. Wang Hu concealed Yue Xiaofei’s identity and apologized to him, leaving Zhang Huatian and the others stunned.

• Zhang Huatian dismissed Yue Xiaofei’s ties to Elder Xu and Lei Zhan, then threatened him and summoned Wang Hu of the Azure Alliance.
• Wang Hu arrived with armed subordinates, and Zhang Huatian urged him to cripple Yue Xiaofei.
• Wang Hu recognized Yue Xiaofei as the man Xu Wenqiang revered as Boss Dragon Head and was terrified by his own threats.
• Yue Xiaofei silently signaled Wang Hu to keep his identity secret, and Wang Hu approached him instead of attacking.
• Wang Hu bowed to Yue Xiaofei and apologized for failing to recognize him and speaking out of turn.

Yue Xiaofei confronted Azure Alliance helmsman Wang Hu for helping Zhang Huatian bully people, then ordered Wang to enforce the Alliance’s rules. Wang beat Zhang as everyone watched in shock.

• Wang Hu arrived to protect Zhang Huatian but recognized Yue Xiaofei and immediately apologized to him.
• Yue Xiaofei recited the Azure Alliance’s new rules and accused Wang of violating them by helping Zhang bully innocent people.
• Wang knelt and begged Yue Xiaofei for mercy, revealing that he regarded him as his boss.
• Yue Xiaofei told Wang to teach Zhang Huatian the Alliance’s rules, and Wang broke Zhang’s nose and beat him on the floor.

Yue Xiaofei ordered Wang Hu to remove Zhang Huatian and his son and shut down Huatian Entertainment in Longdu. When Zhou Hao, a deputy director of Bureau 7, arrived to defend his cousin and demanded Yue Xiaofei kneel and cripple himself, Yue called him ignorant.

• Wang Hu stopped beating Zhang Huatian when Yue Xiaofei told him not to kill him, then dragged Zhang and his son away.
• Yue Xiaofei ordered Wang Hu to make Huatian Entertainment leave Longdu within three days.
• Xiaowei announced that his older cousin Zhou Hao, a Bureau 7 deputy director, was coming, and Zhou Hao entered with black-clad men.
• Xu Yaoyang lied to Zhou Hao about the fight, portraying Yue Xiaofei as the aggressor.
• Zhou Hao demanded that Yue Xiaofei kneel, apologize, and cripple both hands, but Yue called him ignorant.