Chapter Summaries

Hu Xiaotian accepted Xue Daohong’s invitation to a banquet despite suspecting it was a trap connected to the deaths of five Black Hu Warriors. He arrived at the Fragrant Pavilion and found himself among several hostile or powerful guests, including Wanyan Chixiong, who had not yet arrived.

• Hu Xiaotian teased Xi Yan before Yang Xuan summoned him to meet Huo Shengnan.
• Huo Shengnan told Hu Xiaotian that Xue Daohong had invited him to a banquet and warned him that five Black Hu Warriors had been assassinated.
• Hu Xiaotian chose to attend the banquet alone, while Zhou Mo and Xiong Tianba planned to wait nearby in case he needed help.
• At the Fragrant Pavilion, Hu Xiaotian met Li Chenzhou and Qiu Mubai, and learned that Wanyan Chixiong would also attend.
• Hu Xiaotian recognized Dong Tianjiang among the guests and met Zan Buliu, the owner of the Prosperity Trading House.

At Xue Daohong’s banquet, Wanyan Chixiong accused someone of targeting the Black Hu delegation and used the gathering to steer suspicion toward Hu Xiaotian. Hu Xiaotian deflected the accusation by pointing to attacks on his own escort and mocking the old enmity between Black Hu and the Sword Palace, leaving the gathering tense and his enemies challenged.

• Hu Xiaotian and Zan Buliu spoke about business before Xue Daohong arrived at the banquet with Wanyan Chixiong and pointedly remarked that he had not intended to invite Hu Xiaotian.
• Xue Daohong welcomed the guests, and Wanyan Chixiong toasted them before claiming that nine members of his delegation had been killed in covert attacks.
• Li Chenzhou promised an investigation, while Dong Tianjiang and Qiu Mubai discussed possible motives and drew the guests’ suspicion toward Hu Xiaotian.
• Hu Xiaotian recalled that attacks had reduced his escort for Princess Anping’s wedding journey from more than seven hundred people to barely thirty, and challenged Wanyan Chixiong to consider who had wanted that alliance ruined.
• After Dong Tianjiang raised Xiong Tianba’s fight with Lahan, Hu Xiaotian told Qiu Mubai that the Sword Palace’s feud with Black Hu was far greater than his own dispute with Wanyan Chixiong.

At Xue Daohong’s banquet, Hu Xiaotian provoked Qiu Mubai and Wanyan Chixiong, turning accusations over their grudges into a public confrontation. Hu Xiaotian left after refusing to duel that night, and Qiu Mubai followed him while Xue Daohong urged the guests to resume drinking.

• Hu Xiaotian taunted Qiu Mubai about the Sword Palace’s unavenged founding master, and Wanyan Chixiong accused Qiu Mubai of skulking around instead of seeking revenge openly.
• Dong Tianjiang accused Hu Xiaotian of stirring up trouble, but Hu Xiaotian challenged him to state the accusation plainly before the gathering.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Wanyan Chixiong to explain their feud and questioned him about the deaths of his men, then suggested the Sword Palace’s swordsmen might be implicated.
• Qiu Mubai challenged Hu Xiaotian to a duel, but Hu Xiaotian criticized him, refused to fight that night, and left the banquet.
• Qiu Mubai followed Hu Xiaotian, while Wanyan Chixiong reconsidered his suspicions and Xue Daohong told the remaining guests to drink.

Hu Xiaotian accepted Qiu Mubai’s challenge and prepared to train for their fight, then followed Sumeru Heaven’s invitation to East Lake. He joined her on a boat, where she remained aloof as it carried them toward the lake’s center.

• Hu Xiaotian learned that Qiu Mubai had challenged him to meet at Happy Woods and decided to accept rather than let Qiu Mubai intimidate him.
• Hu Xiaotian planned to use his footwork against Qiu Mubai, and Zhou Mo offered to teach him techniques for taking a blade barehanded.
• Hu Xiaotian found Sumeru Heaven’s unsigned invitation on his pillow and left Qichen Palace for East Lake, shaking off the female soldiers following him.
• Hu Xiaotian met Sumeru Heaven on the covered bridge and leaped aboard her approaching boat, offering her a wildflower that she discarded.
• Sumeru Heaven sent the boat toward the lake’s center while Hu Xiaotian sat back and hummed, pretending to admire the scenery.

Hu Xiaotian spent the night with Sumeru Heaven on East Lake, then learned her Spirit Snake Nine Swords before she departed from the Central Plains. Back at the courtyard, he tested the new technique against Zhou Mo and received advice on improving his swordsmanship.

• Hu Xiaotian and Sumeru Heaven shared an intimate night on a boat on East Lake, and she told him her myriad poison spirit body was nearly complete and that she would leave the Central Plains for a while.
• Sumeru Heaven taught Hu Xiaotian the Spirit Snake Nine Swords and explained its moves and combat tactics before departing by boat with the Coiled Dragon Jade Pendant.
• Hu Xiaotian returned after being away all night and told Zhou Mo and Xiong Tianba that an expert had taught him sword moves.
• Hu Xiaotian sparred with Zhou Mo using the Spirit Snake Nine Swords, but Zhou Mo disarmed him and advised him to balance attack and defense and practice against Xiong Tianba.

Hu Xiaotian prepared for his duel with Qiu Mubai, despite Huo Shengnan warning that he was outmatched, and went to the Ironworks to find a suitable sword. There, Zong Yuan opened Hu Xiaotian’s mystic iron plaque and revealed embroidered sword diagrams hidden inside, while Hu Xiaotian chose to face Qiu Mubai with a sword.

• Huo Shengnan told Hu Xiaotian that his swordsmanship was far behind Qiu Mubai’s and offered to help cancel the duel, but Hu Xiaotian refused to back out.
• Hu Xiaotian visited the Ironworks to ask Zong Tang for a sword and showed Zong Yuan his mystic iron plaque.
• Zong Yuan recognized the plaque as black mother mystic iron, opened its puzzle mechanism, and found red silk hidden inside.
• Hu Xiaotian secretly examined the silk and found gold-thread sword-practice diagrams that might be the Seven Heaven-Slaying Swords manual.
• Zong Tang took Hu Xiaotian to choose a longsword, and Hu Xiaotian decided to fight Qiu Mubai with a sword rather than use his Black-Gold Saber.

Hu Xiaotian chose the unfinished great sword at the Ironworks, and Master Craftsman Zong Yuan sharpened it into a weapon called Hidden Edge. Before his duel with Qiu Mubai, Hu Xiaotian discovered how to combine the sword manual’s internal-energy routes with its first move and practiced it in the courtyard, unaware that Huo Shengnan had arrived.

• Hu Xiaotian chose a heavy, unsharpened great sword because it resembled the Black Iron Sword, and Master Craftsman Zong Yuan explained its origins and rare materials.
• Master Craftsman Zong Yuan sharpened the sword, had Hu Xiaotian offer three drops of blood to it, and engraved the name Hidden Edge on its blade.
• Hu Xiaotian rejected Zong Tang’s offer to seek mediation and said he would face Qiu Mubai at Happy Woods the next day.
• Hu Xiaotian returned to Qichen Palace, studied the sword techniques hidden in the black iron plaque, and realized their diagrams showed how to circulate internal energy during a sword move.
• Hu Xiaotian practiced the manual’s first move with Hidden Edge until Huo Shengnan arrived, though he did not notice her.

Hu Xiaotian tested a powerful new sword move against Huo Shengnan, while she and Yuchi Chong discussed Qiu Mubai’s coming duel and the political forces behind it. The chapter ended with Xue Daoming climbing the Star-Picking Tower, where Wanyan Chixiong waited and brooded over Yong Capital.

• Hu Xiaotian sparred with Huo Shengnan and forced her to retreat three steps with his newly mastered sword move.
• Huo Shengnan warned that Hu Xiaotian would duel Qiu Mubai the next afternoon, and Yuchi Chong suspected the Worthy Consort and the Dong Family were behind the challenge.
• Huo Shengnan revealed that Qiu Mubai intended to kill Hu Xiaotian, and she and Yuchi Chong considered the danger to Princess Anping and the Seventh Prince.
• Yuchi Chong told Huo Shengnan to focus on her duties and prepare to defend the Northern Frontier rather than intervene in the palace’s affairs.
• Xue Daoming ascended the Star-Picking Tower, where Wanyan Chixiong stood gazing at Yong Capital and resenting that it did not belong to him.

Wanyan Chixiong offered Xue Daoming a marriage alliance with his sister Xima, and Xue Daoming showed interest because it could serve his political ambitions. Meanwhile, Xue Daohong and Li Chenzhou discussed the coming duel and the plot they suspected the Dong Family was directing, leaving Hu Xiaotian’s safety and the rivalry at court unresolved.

• Wanyan Chixiong showed Xue Daoming a portrait of Xima and explained that he had hoped to arrange her marriage with a prince.
• Xue Daoming revealed dissatisfaction with his betrothal to Princess Anping and asked to keep Xima’s portrait.
• Xue Daohong and Li Chenzhou discussed Qiu Mubai’s duel with Hu Xiaotian and suspected Dong Bingtai was behind it.
• Li Chenzhou warned that Hu Xiaotian or Princess Anping might be targeted, which could expose the Worthy Consort and her son to the emperor’s suspicion.
• Xue Daohong and Li Chenzhou planned to let the investigation into the killings of Black Hu warriors implicate the Dong Family and Sword Palace.

Hu Xiaotian prepared to face Qiu Mubai in a heavily publicized duel at Happy Woods, confident in his recently strengthened martial arts. As the gathered witnesses watched, Qiu Mubai demanded a life-and-death waiver, and Grand Tutor Xiang Liren arrived to serve as witness.

• Hu Xiaotian surveyed the Happy Woods and prepared for the duel with Zhou Mo and Xiong Tianba beside him.
• Huo Shengnan warned Hu Xiaotian that Qiu Mubai’s quick swordsmanship could strike before he drew his sword, but Hu Xiaotian remained confident.
• Zong Tang, Liu Yucheng, the Prince of Yan Xue Shengjing, and other onlookers arrived as Qiu Mubai came with thirty-eight Sword Palace disciples.
• Qiu Mubai demanded that he and Hu Xiaotian sign a life-and-death waiver, making clear that he did not intend the duel to be friendly.
• Grand Tutor Xiang Liren arrived and offered to witness the duel.

Hu Xiaotian faced Qiu Mubai in a deadly martial contest, using evasive footwork to avoid the swordsman’s attacks and exhaust him. After Qiu Mubai tried to stop the fight, Hu Xiaotian drew his greatsword Hidden Edge and declared that he would decide whether it ended.

• Xiang Liren and Hu Xiaotian exchanged pointed courtesies before Qiu Mubai’s allies presented Hu Xiaotian with a Death Writ.
• Qiu Mubai signed the Death Writ, and Hu Xiaotian feigned fear before signing it himself.
• Qiu Mubai drew his slender sword and attacked, but Hu Xiaotian retreated beyond its reach.
• Hu Xiaotian used his Dog-Dodging Eighteen Steps to evade Qiu Mubai’s rapid sword strikes and wear down his stamina.
• Qiu Mubai stopped and said Hu Xiaotian was not worthy of being his opponent, but Hu Xiaotian drew Hidden Edge and said he would decide when the fight ended.

Hu Xiaotian overwhelmed Qiu Mubai with Hidden Edge and unpredictable formless sword qi, driving him into the woods and breaking through his armor. Hu Xiaotian’s next swing threatened to kill the trapped Qiu Mubai, and the onlookers feared the consequences if he did.

• Qiu Mubai attacked Hu Xiaotian, but sensed the formless sword qi from Hidden Edge and retreated before his thrust could land.
• Huo Shengnan realized Hu Xiaotian had reached the level of projecting sword qi and had held back during their sparring match.
• Hu Xiaotian repeatedly swung Hidden Edge, releasing sword qi unpredictably and forcing Qiu Mubai backward as he tried to counterattack.
• Qiu Mubai attempted to lure Hu Xiaotian toward the woods, but two successful bursts of sword qi shattered his defense, cracked his breastplate, and pinned him against a tree.
• Hu Xiaotian raised Hidden Edge for another potentially fatal strike as Xiang Qingyun shouted for Qiu Mubai to dodge, while Li Chenzhou, Jian Rongxin, Huo Shengnan, Zhou Mo, and Zong Yuan watched in alarm.

Hu Xiaotian defeated Qiu Mubai but spared his life, then celebrated with his companions at the Fragrant Pavilion. Their banquet was interrupted by Shi Kuan, commander of Great Yong’s Golden Scale Guards, who arrived seeking a private word with Hu Xiaotian.

• Hu Xiaotian stopped his sword before killing Qiu Mubai and declared that Qiu had been used as a pawn.
• Qiu Mubai tried to take his own life, but Xiang Qingyun stopped him, and he collapsed after coughing blood.
• Hu Xiaotian hosted a banquet at the Fragrant Pavilion, where Liu Yucheng reported that Qiu Mubai was badly injured but would recover.
• Hu Xiaotian admitted he could not control the External Sword Qi he had used to defeat Qiu Mubai.
• Shi Kuan entered the banquet room and asked Hu Xiaotian to speak with him privately, while Xiong Tianba challenged him with a punch that did not move him.

Hu Xiaotian was summoned to Great Yong’s palace at night, where he learned that Imperial Physician Xu had recommended him to Emperor Xue Shengkang. He arrived at the Diligent Governance Hall, but the emperor had fallen asleep, leaving Hu Xiaotian waiting outside with Xue Lingjun and Shi Kuan.

• Shi Kuan stopped Xiong Tianba’s attack and presented the Coiling Dragon Gold Plaque to summon Hu Xiaotian to the palace.
• Hu Xiaotian left the Fragrant Pavilion with Shi Kuan and twenty Golden Scale Guards while Zhou Mo returned to protect the princess at Qichen Palace.
• During the journey, Hu Xiaotian joked with Shi Kuan about entering the palace and considered the sword art in the Black Iron Token.
• Hu Xiaotian pretended to sleep in the dark sedan chair until it reached the Diligent Governance Hall.
• Shi Kuan reported that Xue Shengkang had fallen asleep after taking medicine, and Xue Lingjun told Hu Xiaotian to wait because Imperial Physician Xu had recommended him.

Hu Xiaotian waited in the palace after Xue Lingjun brought him to the Eternal Spring Pavilion, where he learned that Emperor Xue Shengkang’s recurring illness might be gallstones. Imperial Physician Xu Baichuan asked him to help treat the emperor, and the chapter ended with Hu Xiaotian summoned back to the Diligent Governance Hall as the physicians anxiously gathered.

• Xue Lingjun took Hu Xiaotian to the Eternal Spring Pavilion and told him that Xue Shengkang’s abdominal pain had worsened.
• Xue Lingjun explained that Xu Baichuan had recommended Hu Xiaotian, though Hu suspected the recommendation might be a trap.
• Xu Baichuan met Hu Xiaotian and said the emperor appeared to have gallstones that had troubled him for years.
• Xue Lingjun acknowledged that she would not feel at ease with Hu treating her brother, and Jian Ping prepared him a room.
• A eunuch summoned Hu Xiaotian back to the Diligent Governance Hall, where the physicians waited anxiously and Shi Kuan said Xue Shengkang had ordered that only Xue Lingjun be notified.

Hu Xiaotian examined Emperor Xue Shengkang and diagnosed gallstone disease causing a biliary obstruction. He began explaining that a stone was lodged in the gallbladder, leaving his proposed treatment still to come.

• Hu Xiaotian learned that Xue Shengkang's condition had worsened and was relieved to hear that Zhou Wenju was alive in the Western Prefecture.
• Hu Xiaotian entered the Diligent Governance Hall with Xu Baichuan and examined Xue Shengkang after Xue Lingjun urged him to do what he could.
• Hu Xiaotian questioned Xue Shengkang about his symptoms, checked his fever and eyes, and diagnosed gallstone disease with a likely biliary obstruction.
• Xue Shengkang angrily rejected Xu Baichuan's offer of a Pain-Relief Pill, then asked Hu Xiaotian whether he could treat him.
• Hu Xiaotian requested paper and a brush and drew the gallbladder's anatomy, identifying a stone lodged in its infundibulum as the cause of Xue Shengkang's jaundice.

Hu Xiaotian proposed surgically removing Xue Shengkang’s gallbladder, and the emperor privately agreed to undergo the operation. Hu Xiaotian prepared to treat him, knowing that curing Xue Shengkang was his only chance to survive.

• Hu Xiaotian explained that a gallstone was blocking Xue Shengkang’s bile flow and proposed opening his abdomen to remove the gallbladder.
• Xue Lingjun rebuked Hu Xiaotian, but Xue Shengkang stopped him from leaving and dismissed everyone else.
• Xue Shengkang told Hu Xiaotian that another physician had proposed the same operation ten years earlier, then gave Hu permission to treat him without restraint.
• Hu Xiaotian asked for his surgical instruments, and Xue Shengkang ordered Xue Lingjun to provide whatever he needed.
• Hu Xiaotian reassured the worried Xue Lingjun that he wanted to save Xue Shengkang and asked her to keep the treatment secret.
• Hu Xiaotian prepared his instruments as Xue Shengkang refused medicine to make him sleep and chose to remain conscious.

Hu Xiaotian began operating on Xue Shengkang’s gallbladder while the emperor, Shi Kuan, and Xue Lingjun watched. He found multiple gallstones and carefully dissected the cystic duct, leaving the operation in progress.

• Xue Shengkang reassured Hu Xiaotian that he had accepted the operation and wanted to be treated as an ordinary patient.
• Hu Xiaotian began the surgery, while Xu Baichuan became overwhelmed and Shi Kuan took over assisting him.
• Hu Xiaotian examined the surrounding organs, found Xue Shengkang’s gallbladder swollen with multiple stones, and ruled out nearby abnormalities.
• Hu Xiaotian called on Xue Lingjun to help hold the retractors, exposing the gallbladder and common bile duct.
• Hu Xiaotian dissected and clamped the cystic duct while taking care to avoid damaging the common bile duct and nearby vessels.

Hu Xiaotian successfully removed Xue Shengkang’s gallstones and began giving instructions for his recovery. Afterward, Xue Lingjun praised Hu Xiaotian and arranged for Jian Ping to attend him, leaving him wary that his secret as a false eunuch might be exposed.

• Hu Xiaotian finished removing Xue Shengkang’s gallbladder, closed the incision, and told him to remain lying down and wait for approval before eating.
• Xue Shengkang and Xue Lingjun learned the operation had succeeded, while Xu Baichuan collapsed with relief and wept for joy.
• Hu Xiaotian gave Xu Baichuan a chance to redeem himself by asking him to watch over Xue Shengkang overnight, then spoke with Xue Lingjun about the operation and his reward.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Xue Lingjun for Yangchun Noodles, then refused Jian Ping’s offer to attend him in the bath because he feared exposing his secret.
• Xue Lingjun brought Ice-Skin Snow-Bone Lotion and ordered Jian Ping to massage Hu Xiaotian after his bath.

Hu Xiaotian suspected Xue Lingjun was testing whether he was a real eunuch, so he used Yin-Lifting Yang-Shrinking while Jian Ping attended him. After Jian Ping confirmed what she saw, Hu Xiaotian privately asked Xue Lingjun for a favor, leaving her wary of what he would request.

• Hu Xiaotian suspected Xue Lingjun had sent Jian Ping to investigate him and secretly used Yin-Lifting Yang-Shrinking while she undressed and bathed him.
• Jian Ping massaged Hu Xiaotian and applied lotion as Xue Lingjun arrived to check on him and asked whether he liked Jian Ping's care.
• Xue Lingjun jokingly offered Jian Ping to Hu Xiaotian, who declined after teasing her by pretending to accept.
• After Hu Xiaotian changed behind a screen, Jian Ping signaled Xue Lingjun that he was a eunuch, though Xue Lingjun later noticed desire in his gaze.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Xue Lingjun to speak privately and told her he had a favor to ask.