Chapter Summaries

Chu Liuxiang confronted Wuhua about his crimes and defeated him, but Wuhua tried to fake his death and escape. Chu Liuxiang exposed the ruse, revealing that Fang Yunhua had warned him earlier, leaving Wuhua stunned.

• Wuhua confessed that he had killed Nangong Ling to conceal his schemes and explained that Fang Yunhua had helped keep Southern Shaolin from dealing with him.
• Chu Liuxiang and Wuhua fought, and Wuhua lost.
• Wuhua condemned Chu Liuxiang and attempted to feign death, expecting Chu Liuxiang to grant him a dignified end.
• Chu Liuxiang exposed Wuhua's escape plan and challenged him about calling himself noble.
• Wuhua deduced that Fang Yunhua had warned Chu Liuxiang during the earlier Mount Hua incident, and Chu Liuxiang confirmed he was right.

Wuhua escaped Chu Liuxiang using a smoke bomb, but Fang Yunhua intercepted him beside the stream and taunted him. Chu Liuxiang arrived and entrusted the next pursuit to Fang Yunhua, confident Wuhua would not get away.

• Chu Liuxiang reasoned that Fang Yunhua had engineered Wuhua’s predicament as revenge, leaving Wuhua furious and helpless.
• Wuhua blinded Chu Liuxiang with an irritant-filled smoke bomb and fled along the stream toward Crossroads.
• Fang Yunhua stopped Wuhua with a pebble, revealed himself, and applauded the performance before Wuhua ran again.
• Fang Yunhua declined to chase Wuhua, and Chu Liuxiang emerged from the woods and said he trusted Fang Yunhua not to let Wuhua escape.

Fang Yunhua reunited with Chu Liuxiang, admitted he had watched Chu expose Wuhua’s fake death, and gave him Wuhua’s incriminating diary. Chu agreed to destroy it after settling their disagreement, but Wuhua returned just as Chu prepared to burn it.

• Chu Liuxiang reproached Fang Yunhua for manipulating him, and Fang gave him a Thousand-Mile Mirror that revealed he had watched Chu’s fight with Wuhua.
• Chu asked whether Wuhua had to die, and Fang said he did before handing him Wuhua’s diary, which Situ Liuxing had stolen from a wooden fish in Nangong Ling’s home.
• Chu read the diary and discovered Wuhua’s affairs, including his relationship with Situ Jing and encounters with women from prominent families.
• Chu insisted the diary should be destroyed, and Fang agreed after Chu promised their dispute was water under the bridge.
• Chu took out Fire Tinder to burn the diary, but Wuhua stumbled back before he could do so.

Fang Yunhua prepared to test his strength against the badly wounded Wuhua, while Chu Liuxiang learned that Master Tiannan and Dai Duxing had helped defeat him. The chapter ended with Wuhua taking up a saber and Fang Yunhua drawing the Skyward Sword for their fight.

• Chu Liuxiang examined Wuhua's injuries and recognized that three powerful attackers had defeated him.
• Master Tiannan and Dai Duxing arrived, and Chu Liuxiang identified their techniques among Wuhua's injuries.
• Shangguan Cangxing joined Fang Yunhua, who told Wuhua he would kill him to assess his strength and ensure he could not escape.
• Wuhua grew furious at being called a tool, then briefly suppressed his injuries and set his broken arm before accepting a saber.
• Fang Yunhua drew the Skyward Sword and faced Wuhua, saying he needed to measure his strength before confronting a more troublesome enemy.

Fang Yunhua defeated and killed Wuhua in a fierce sword duel, while revealing that Stone Guanyin was the next threat he intended to face. Wuhua died after Fang Yunhua exposed his plan to unite factions in Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan against Mount Hua.

• Fang Yunhua identified Wuhua and Nangong Ling's mother as Stone Guanyin and warned that she was a formidable enemy.
• Wuhua attacked Fang Yunhua with One Slash Against the Wind, but Fang Yunhua blocked the strike and reached a breakthrough in controlling sword intent.
• Fang Yunhua overwhelmed Wuhua with the Thirteen Forms of the Clear Wind and used his Mingyu Skill to freeze and weaken him.
• Fang Yunhua ran Wuhua through the throat, then revealed that he knew about Wuhua's plan to unite factions in Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan against Mount Hua.
• Wuhua died after Fang Yunhua told him to die with his regrets.

After Wuhua died, Chu Liuxiang learned how Fang Yunhua had used the notebook to secure Southern Shaolin’s promises and medicines. As they headed for Putian City, Chu questioned Fang about Wuhua’s plans, but Fang left him wondering how he had protected Mount Hua from afar.

• Master Tiannan took Wuhua’s body to Southern Shaolin after Fang Yunhua reminded him of their promise.
• Master Tiannan spoke privately with Chu Liuxiang, who accepted Southern Shaolin’s promises of favors, assistance, and lasting friendship.
• Fang Yunhua revealed that he had obtained three bottles of Lesser Restoration Pills and one Greater Restoration Pill from Southern Shaolin.
• Chu Liuxiang apologized to Fang Yunhua for blaming him too much, while Dai Duxing remained troubled by the Beggar Gang’s losses.
• Chu Liuxiang asked why Nangong Ling had provoked Ximen Qian, Zuo Youzheng, Spirit Vulture, and Zhamuhe without getting money, and Fang Yunhua withheld the full answer.
• Fang Yunhua explained that Wuhua had targeted either him or Mount Hua, then left Chu Liuxiang guessing how he had handled the threat before they reached the city outskirts.

Fang Yunhua planned to recruit powerful allies for a future confrontation with Stone Guanyin while Mount Hua navigated the resistance alliance Wuhua had tried to form. As the factions’ march on Mount Hua was delayed, Yuan Suiyun arrived to support the sect.

• Fang Yunhua agreed to arrange for Shangguan Cangxing to join the effort against Stone Guanyin and continued weighing other potential teammates.
• Hua Zhenzhen represented Fang Yunhua at Mount Hua while Master Kumei worked on the Western Peak Sword Emerges, Myriad Mountains Turn Cold plan.
• The Imperial Court’s investigations into the factions’ ties to the Beggar Gang forced them to postpone their planned visit to Mount Hua.
• Mount Hua offered the factions a face-saving delay by promising an explanation when its young sect leader returned.
• Yuan Suiyun arrived at Mount Hua to lend support, provoking Wuhua’s jealousy.

Yuan Suiyun visited Mount Hua after rumors cast Fang Yunhua as a scheming rival, but Hua Zhenzhen thwarted his attempts to learn the sect’s secrets. Meanwhile, Chu Liuxiang and Ying Wanli settled the Beggar Gang affair publicly, and Fang Yunhua returned to Mount Hua as the gang began striking back at its remaining enemies.

• Yuan Suiyun became interested in Fang Yunhua after hearing rumors that the Amorous Young Master had orchestrated Mount Hua’s conflict with the Beggar Gang, and he traveled to Mount Hua to meet him.
• Hua Zhenzhen received Yuan Suiyun and, after he probed her for information about Fang Yunhua, alerted Mount Hua’s senior members.
• Yuan Suiyun questioned Mount Hua disciples and elders but failed to uncover details about the sect’s recent plans.
• Chu Liuxiang and Ying Wanli announced that Wuhua and Nangong Ling had been involved in Tianfeng Jushiro’s conspiracy, while Master Tianfeng resigned and Master Tiannan took over Southern Shaolin.
• Dai Duxing became the Beggar Gang’s acting chief as major factions withdrew from the conflict and the gang retaliated against smaller factions that continued to oppose it.
• Fang Yunhua returned to Mount Hua.

Fang Yunhua returned to Mount Hua, reunited with Hua Zhenzhen, and noticed Yuan Suiyun among the visitors. Hua Zhenzhen fled in embarrassment after Gao Yanan dispersed the onlookers, leaving Fang Yunhua to wonder whether he should improve his lightness skill.

• Shangguan Cangxing returned to the An Prince's Mansion, eager to discuss their next move against Stone Guanyin with Steward Lin.
• Fang Yunhua returned to Mount Hua and greeted the disciples before Hua Zhenzhen rushed over and embraced him.
• Fang Yunhua spotted Yuan Suiyun, the young master of Wuzheng Manor, and Yuan Suiyun turned toward him and Hua Zhenzhen with a faint smile.
• Hua Zhenzhen grew embarrassed when Fang Yunhua told her that the elders and disciples were watching them.
• Gao Yanan dispersed the spectators, and Hua Zhenzhen used the Soaring Swan Step to vanish from the crowd.
• Fang Yunhua considered training his lightness skill further as Gao Yanan spoke beside his ear.

Fang Yunhua received Gao Yanan’s report on Mount Hua’s expansion and asked her to have Master Kumei inspect pills from Southern Shaolin. After Gao Yanan left, he considered the sect’s internal struggles and Yuan Suiyun’s motives before Hua Zhenzhen visited him.

• Gao Yanan told Fang Yunhua that Mount Hua’s elders and branch disciples were cooperating with the sect’s expansion plans.
• Fang Yunhua asked Gao Yanan to tell Master Kumei to intensify patrols and remain away from Mount Hua, and gave her Lesser Restoration Pills and a Greater Restoration Pill to have inspected.
• Gao Yanan agreed to try to return before other factions arrived at Mount Hua, then left the mountain.
• Fang Yunhua recalled how Gao Yanan had helped him expose and eliminate threats within Mount Hua, and suspected Yuan Suiyun had prompted Wuzheng Manor’s response to the sect’s expansion.
• Hua Zhenzhen slipped into Fang Yunhua’s residence, and he offered to show her his newly created Fivefold Light Smoke Palm.