Chapter Summaries

Hu Xiaotian persuaded Zou Yong to consider releasing Yan Boguang, then faced Tang Jiucheng in a duel outside the Mirrorwater Estate. Their clash revealed that Hu Xiaotian's internal power could rival Tang Jiucheng's, and the fight remained unresolved.

• Hu Xiaotian warned Zou Yong that the Bohai Kingdom faced destruction and demanded that he release Yan Boguang.
• Zou Yong wavered after Hu Xiaotian left, believing Hu had shaken the Falling Cherry Palace's support for Li Chenzhou.
• Tang Jiucheng confronted Hu Xiaotian in the rain and questioned why he kept opposing the Falling Cherry Palace.
• Hu Xiaotian struck first, and Tang Jiucheng used Qi-Driven Arrow Control to attack him with three arrows.
• Hu Xiaotian seized one arrow, redirected the others, and forced Tang Jiucheng to use Qi-Condensing Arrow.
• Hu Xiaotian and Tang Jiucheng's killing forces collided, shocking Tang with Hu's comparable internal power.

Hu Xiaotian made peace with Tang Jiucheng and warned him that Zou Yong’s political ambitions rested on dangerous foundations. In the capital, Empress Dowager Jiang pressured Xue Shengjing to surrender his wealth to Xue Daohong, then began a private conversation with the new emperor.

• Hu Xiaotian survived Tang Jiucheng’s Qi-Condensing Arrow, and the two agreed to put aside their enmity over drinks.
• Tang Jiucheng asked Hu Xiaotian to spare Zou Yong, and Hu Xiaotian cautioned him against tying his family’s fortunes to Xue Daohong’s uncertain position.
• Xue Daohong met Empress Dowager Jiang and Xue Shengjing at the Benevolence Garden, where Jiang criticized Shengjing’s accumulation of rare treasures.
• Empress Dowager Jiang ordered Xue Shengjing to hand his properties and wealth over to Xue Daohong, and Shengjing reluctantly agreed.
• After Xue Shengjing left, Xue Daohong told Empress Dowager Jiang he had not wanted to force his uncle’s hand, and she said she understood the situation clearly.

Empress Dowager Jiang warned Xue Daohong against persecuting the imperial clan, while Yan Boguang’s escape ended the crisis surrounding the Treasure-Gathering Studio. As Yan Nujiao prepared to leave for Python Jiao Island, Hu Xiaotian and Yan Tianlu discussed Bohai’s future and agreed that fighting over its throne could invite Great Yong to seize the kingdom.

• Empress Dowager Jiang told Xue Daohong that his uncle had no designs on the throne and urged him to unite the imperial clan against outside threats.
• Zou Yong arranged Yan Boguang’s escape, Yan Dongqing was released, and Yan Dongsheng halted the investigation into the Treasure-Gathering Studio.
• Yan Nujiao reunited with Hu Xiaotian and told him she would leave the next day to tell her father about their relationship.
• Yan Boguang thanked Hu Xiaotian for helping him, while Yan Tianlu asked whether the Treasure-Gathering Studio had been cleared of suspicion and affirmed that he still wanted to rescue Ling Sanniang.
• Hu Xiaotian questioned Yan Tianlu about his ambition to rule Bohai, and Yan Tianlu decided that he and Yan Dongsheng should avoid fighting and leave the throne alone rather than give Great Yong an excuse to intervene.

Hu Xiaotian received word from Xiang Shancong that Huo Xiaoru had left Ji Province and sent him a portrait, while learning that Xue Shengjing had surrendered his properties and was disbanding Yanxi Hall. As Hu Xiaotian and Xue Lingjun headed to Yan Dongsheng’s palace banquet, he suspected their alliance might be over and noticed her pretending to sleep against his shoulder.

• Yan Tianlu gave Hu Xiaotian a letter for Yan Dongsheng, promising not to oppose him if he released Ling Sanniang, and planned to send Yan Boguang and his sister away.
• Xue Lingjun and Hu Xiaotian exchanged flirtatious barbs before Xiang Shancong arrived to deliver Huo Xiaoru’s portrait and report that she had left Ji Province without revealing her destination.
• Xiang Shancong told Hu Xiaotian that Xue Shengjing had handed the Treasure-Gathering Studio to the emperor and was disbanding Yanxi Hall at the Empress Dowager’s wishes.
• Hu Xiaotian studied Huo Xiaoru’s portrait and resolved not to let her leave easily when they met again.
• Hu Xiaotian and Xue Lingjun rode toward Yan Dongsheng’s palace banquet in silence, and Xue Lingjun pretended to doze against his shoulder as Hu Xiaotian considered playing a trick on her.

At the Bohai banquet, Hu Xiaotian reunited with Xue Lingjun and discussed the end of the plot against Xue Shengjing with Zou Yong. Xue Lingjun then arranged for Hu Xiaotian to spar with Li Chenzhou, leaving the two men facing off in the hall.

• Hu Xiaotian teased Xue Lingjun in their carriage, and she struck at him after he lifted her skirt.
• Xue Lingjun and Hu Xiaotian arrived at Tianyue Palace, where Yan Dongsheng and Yan Dongqing welcomed them.
• Zou Yong told Hu Xiaotian that the King of Bohai had halted the Treasure-Gathering Studio investigation and would return the confiscated goods.
• Hu Xiaotian warned Zou Yong against staking everything on a woman and questioned whether the Great Yong Emperor would truly help him.
• After Xue Lingjun criticized the court's sword dance, she called on Hu Dafu to demonstrate and then chose Li Chenzhou as his sparring partner.
• Li Chenzhou accepted Xue Lingjun's challenge and stepped into the center of the hall, while Hu Xiaotian prepared to face him.

At the King of Bohai’s banquet, Li Chenzhou tricked Hu Xiaotian into appearing to break their agreement during a sword duel, then left the feast injured. Hu Xiaotian met Yan Dongsheng privately, where the king revealed that Li Chenzhou had identified him and asked whether Xue Lingjun had ordered him to kill the envoy.

• Xue Lingjun arranged for Hu Xiaotian and Li Chenzhou to duel with Greensteel Swords, and Li Chenzhou proposed that they use no internal arts.
• After more than twenty exchanges, Li Chenzhou used a move from the Seven Heaven-Slaying Swords and secretly sent internal force through his blade.
• Li Chenzhou maneuvered into Hu Xiaotian’s attack, used armor and internal power to stage an injury, and accused Hu Xiaotian of breaking their agreement.
• Hu Xiaotian conceded the duel and helped Li Chenzhou, who privately explained that he had acted because he suspected Hu Xiaotian and Xue Lingjun meant to eliminate him.
• Xue Lingjun went to Yan Dongqing’s residence, while Fu Yanshou escorted Hu Xiaotian to meet Yan Dongsheng at the Diligent Governance Hall.
• Yan Dongsheng told Hu Xiaotian that Li Chenzhou had revealed his identity and asked whether Xue Lingjun had wanted him to kill Li Chenzhou.

Hu Xiaotian secured Yan Dongsheng’s agreement to form an alliance between Bohai and Eastern Liang Commandery, then prepared to leave Bohai. As Hu Xiaotian invited Li Mingju to seek a new future in the Central Plains, Xue Shengjing faced the loss of his Treasure-Gathering Studio and learned that Empress Dowager Jiang had praised him.

• Hu Xiaotian delivered Yan Tianlu’s letter to Yan Dongsheng, who granted its request and recognized Great Yong as Bohai’s greater danger.
• Hu Xiaotian proposed an alliance between Bohai and Eastern Liang Commandery, and Yan Dongsheng accepted by clasping his hand.
• Li Chenzhou left Bohai that night, Yuan Tianzhao was stripped of his rank, and Ling Sanniang was released from prison.
• Xue Lingjun found Spring Garden deserted and realized Hu Xiaotian had left in protest.
• Hu Xiaotian bade farewell to Li Mingju and invited him to find Hu Xiaotian in Eastern Liang Commandery after his mourning period.
• Xue Shengjing watched the Treasure-Gathering Studio change hands, and Eunuch Dong told him that Empress Dowager Jiang praised his judgment and concern for the larger picture.

Hu Xiaotian and Xia Changming flew back toward Eastern Liang Commandery after Hu Xiaotian helped secure an alliance in Bohai, but the Five-Colored Spider King's inner core began causing painful bouts of itching. Hu Xiaotian’s qi eased the symptoms as they traveled, and he arrived with his skin transformed, hoping the attacks would continue to fade.

• Rong Changhai warned Xue Shengjing that the late emperor had left a final edict that may have prompted the current threat against him, and Xue Shengjing ordered him to investigate who had revealed it.
• Hu Xiaotian and Xia Changming discussed beast-taming traditions and Li Chang'an’s injury while flying over the sea.
• Hu Xiaotian developed unbearable itching and discovered blood-red lines along his meridians, then remembered he had swallowed the Five-Colored Spider King's inner core.
• Hu Xiaotian submerged himself in cold seawater and circulated his qi, which eased the itching and made the red lines disappear.
• The itching returned at intervals during their journey, and Hu Xiaotian's skin peeled until he emerged from the Yong River with a pale complexion.
• As they neared Eastern Liang Commandery, Xia Changming suggested Hu Xiaotian consult Miss Qin, while Hu Xiaotian hoped the attacks would become less frequent.

Hu Xiaotian returned to Eastern Liang Commandery and visited Qin Yutong, but a sudden, unbearable itch drove him into a well. After he recovered, he told Qin Yutong he had swallowed the Five-Colored Spider King's inner core, leaving her worried about its poison.

• Hu Xiaotian rode a Flying Owl into Eastern Liang Commandery and slipped into Tong Ren Tang to find Qin Yutong reading.
• Hu Xiaotian disguised himself as a hunchback to tease Qin Yutong, but she recognized him by his sleazy smile and he dropped the disguise.
• Hu Xiaotian offered Qin Yutong a jadeite bracelet, then began itching all over and rushed out when she thought he was pranking her.
• Hu Xiaotian plunged into Tong Ren Tang's well to ease the itching, and Qin Yutong waited anxiously until he climbed out.
• Hu Xiaotian explained that he had swallowed the Five-Colored Spider King's inner core, and Qin Yutong warned him that the creature was highly poisonous.

Hu Xiaotian checked the effects of the Five-Colored Spider King's inner core and managed his recurring itching by cultivating in Tong Ren Tang’s ice cellar. After reuniting with Visa and dining with Zhuge Guanqi, he learned that a looming war between Great Yong and the Black Hu People had shifted the political situation.

• Qin Yutong found that Hu Xiaotian’s meridians had widened and strengthened, though she could not determine whether the inner core had poisoned him without testing his blood.
• Qin Yutong advised Hu Xiaotian to regulate his breathing in Tong Ren Tang’s ice cellar whenever the itching returned, and he kept his arrival in Eastern Liang Commandery quiet while cultivating there.
• Visa found Hu Xiaotian in the ice cellar, where he teased and embraced her before they joined Qin Yutong for dinner; Hu Xiaotian then chose to eat at the Southern Kingdom Bistro instead.
• Hu Xiaotian invited Zhuge Guanqi and his wife to dinner and described forming an alliance with the Bohai Kingdom and Python Jiao Island.
• Zhuge Guanqi reported that the Black Hu People were massing along Great Yong’s Northern Frontier, making war likely and leaving Great Yong less able to interfere with Great Kang or affairs at sea.

Hu Xiaotian and Yu Tianxing planned to seize Cloud Marsh while Great Yong fought Black Hu, using Python Jiao Island to ambush a grain convoy and Guo Guangbi to occupy Su Yuchi’s forces. As Hu Xiaotian attacked Blackwater Stronghold, Su Yuchi realized he could only watch from Yunyang as Cloud Marsh fell within reach.

• Zhuge Guanqi urged Hu Xiaotian to take advantage of Great Yong’s war with Black Hu and expand toward Cloud Marsh.
• Yu Tianxing praised Yan Xuanming’s administrative skill, and Hu Xiaotian discussed strengthening his alliances with Python Jiao Island and the Bohai Kingdom.
• Hu Xiaotian and Yu Tianxing agreed to have Python Jiao Island ambush Great Yong’s returning grain convoy and planned to seize Jadeheart Mountain and Cloud Marsh.
• Black Hu and Great Yong entered a costly stalemate, Python Jiao Island destroyed the grain convoy, and Hu Xiaotian’s forces launched an attack on Blackwater Stronghold.
• Su Yuchi recognized that Hu Xiaotian’s campaign threatened Cloud Marsh, but with Xingzhou rebels near Yunyang and no support from the Imperial Court, he ordered his troops to hold the city.

Hu Xiaotian refused Blackwater Stronghold’s attempt to negotiate peace, leaving Ma Xingkong and Wang Boxi to plan a feigned surrender that would lure the enemy into close combat. As the weather cleared, Hu Xiaotian delayed his attack to give the stronghold more time, while Ma Xingkong prepared to lead the ruse himself.

• Hu Xiaotian rejected Ruan Jingwu’s peace terms and demanded that Blackwater Stronghold surrender Jadeheart Mountain, leave, and hand over its weapons.
• Ma Xingkong asked Wang Boxi how the stronghold could survive, and Wang Boxi advised feigning surrender to lure Hu Xiaotian’s forces into a close-quarters fight.
• Ma Xingkong agreed to lead the surrender himself and summoned his son, Ma Zhongtian, to take command of the stronghold.
• After the rain stopped, Gao Yuan reported that Blackwater Stronghold had made no move, and Yu Tianxing advised Hu Xiaotian to give them more time.

Hu Xiaotian’s army prepared to take Jadeheart Mountain after Ma Xingkong appeared to surrender, while Ma Zhongtian secretly organized a trap inside Blackwater Stronghold. As Hu Xiaotian ordered Yu Tianxing to oversee the takeover, the government army was poised to enter the stronghold, unaware of the defenders’ plans.

• Hu Xiaotian agreed to wait before attacking, and Yu Tianxing explained how fire and smoke could force Blackwater Stronghold to surrender.
• Ma Xingkong sailed out under a white flag, met Hu Xiaotian, and promised to open the gates and protect his men’s families.
• After Ma Xingkong boarded the enemy flagship, Ma Zhongtian ordered Li Degang’s Water Ghost Unit to sabotage the government fleet and briefed his commanders on their ambushes.
• Ma Zhongtian assigned troops to attack the channel, release the Man-Eating Fish, and fight from among the stronghold’s civilians.
• Hu Xiaotian expressed unease about the easy surrender, but Xia Changming reported that the pirates appeared to be disarming, and Hu Xiaotian put Yu Tianxing in charge of the takeover.

Yu Tianxing and Li Yongfu entered Blackwater Stronghold after Ma Xingkong surrendered, but Hu Xiaotian sensed a trap and uncovered river bandits boring into the fleet’s hulls. As the fleet was attacked underwater, hidden defenses sprang up inside the stronghold, leaving the government forces surrounded and under assault.

• Yu Tianxing and Li Yongfu led the troops into Blackwater Stronghold while Hu Xiaotian remained outside to oversee operations.
• Ma Xingkong handed over the water gates and arrow towers, and Yu Tianxing sent Xiong Tianba to secure the towers.
• Hu Xiaotian sensed repeated impacts beneath his ship, discovered bandits trying to bore through its hull, and fought them underwater as his fleet moved toward the stronghold.
• Iron gates rose through the waterways, capsizing ships and trapping soldiers, while man-eating fish attacked those who fell into the water.
• The occupied arrow towers toppled as river pirates attacked the government troops, and Xiong Tianba faced elderly people, women, and children charging with weapons.

Blackwater Stronghold’s plan to trap Hu Xiaotian’s fleet turned into a brutal close-quarters battle, and the Heaven-Shaking Thunder shattered the South Gate sluice and broke the pirates’ momentum. The relief fleet entered through the breach as the Yong River Navy advanced, leaving Ma Zhongtian’s forces retreating.

• Li Yongfu captured Ma Xingkong, but Ma refused to order Blackwater Stronghold’s fighters to stop resisting.
• Yu Tianxing chose to force a landing as River Pirates attacked along both banks, while logs and boulders destroyed ships and Li Yongfu ordered his men to shoot.
• Ma Zhongtian received the dying Li Degang’s plea to spare the women, children, and elderly, then saw Ma Xingkong suspended from a mast and insisted the battle continue.
• Wang Boxi warned Ma Zhongtian that the Water Ghost Unit had been wiped out, as Hu Xiaotian’s Heaven-Shaking Thunder blasted open the South Gate sluice and devastated the ambush on Mingjing Slope.
• Hu Xiaotian’s cannon fire destroyed the command post and weakened the pirates’ resolve, allowing the Yong River Navy and relief fleet to advance through the breach.

Hu Xiaotian’s forces captured Blackwater Stronghold after Ma Xingkong’s death broke the bandits’ resistance, but the victory cost thousands of lives. Hu Xiaotian kept his promise to spare the prisoners and faced Wang Boxi, who accepted responsibility for the devastation.

• Hu Xiaotian blasted open the Inner Harbor gate and urged the river bandits to surrender, while Ma Xingkong continued ordering them to fight.
• Hu Xiaotian shot Ma Xingkong dead, prompting Ma Zhongtian to charge toward the river channel and the remaining bandits to surrender.
• Yu Tianxing reflected on his failure to command as Hu Xiaotian’s forces took control of Blackwater Stronghold and separated the prisoners from their families.
• Hu Xiaotian learned that over five thousand of his men had been killed or wounded and more than six thousand people from Blackwater Stronghold had died; he ordered Xiong Tianba to find the orphaned infant a wet nurse.
• Gao Yuan reported the discovery of Ma Xingkong’s treasure cave, while Li Yongfu questioned how to handle the roughly twenty-three thousand prisoners.
• Hu Xiaotian questioned Wang Boxi about his role in the resistance, and Wang Boxi admitted responsibility and asked Hu Xiaotian to kill him.

Hu Xiaotian spared Blackwater Stronghold’s captured people and offered them land to settle, while Wang Boxi agreed to serve him. Hu then inspected White Spring City and planned to consolidate his position in Cloud Marsh as Great Kang gained time to recover from Great Yong’s distraction by the Black Hu invasion.

• Hu Xiaotian offered Wang Boxi’s people a peaceful settlement and pardoned their past offenses, and Wang agreed to serve him.
• Hu Xiaotian reassured Yu Tianxing that he did not blame him for the battle’s heavy casualties and told him to learn Blackwater Stronghold’s defenses from Wang Boxi.
• Hu Xiaotian arrived in White Spring City, ordered wounded soldiers to recuperate there, and reviewed Zuo Xingjian’s maps of the cities surrounding Cloud Marsh.
• Hu Xiaotian began withdrawing Xingzhou’s troops while intending to secure Jadeheart Mountain and build a naval base in Cloud Marsh.
• Su Yuchi learned that the Black Hu People had declared war on Great Yong, giving Great Kang time to recover and rebuild.

Su Yuchi sent Yuan Qingshan to deliver a secret letter to the emperor as Hu Xiaotian expanded his influence. In the Kang Capital, Long Xuan'en planned to summon Hu Xiaotian by arranging his wedding to Qiqi, while Qiqi resisted lavish wedding preparations and learned that Long Tingzhen had been found.

• Su Yuchi told Yuan Qingshan to deliver a secret letter to the emperor in person.
• Long Xuan'en berated Hong Beimo over the unfinished immortality medicine, then agreed that Qiqi's wedding to Hu Xiaotian could bring Hu back to the Kang Capital.
• Qiqi learned from Zhou Ruiyuan that the emperor intended to hold her wedding in May and worried that Hu Xiaotian would be trapped or killed if he returned.
• Hong Beimo brought plans for a new Prince Consort's Residence, but Qiqi rejected the lavish construction as wasteful.
• Hong Beimo told Qiqi that Long Tingzhen had been found.

Hong Beimo revealed the truth about Qiqi’s mother, Ling Jiazi, and Qiqi’s birth. He claimed Ling Jiazi had memorized the Heaven-Patrolling Treasure Scroll and passed its secret to Qiqi, leaving Hong Beimo seeking it from her.

• Qiqi examined the portrait Hong Beimo brought and learned it depicted her mother, Ling Jiazi.
• Hong Beimo recounted how Ling Jiazi loved Minghui, who deceived her, stole the Heaven-Patrolling Treasure Scroll, and drained her martial arts.
• Hong Beimo told Qiqi that Long Xuan'en forced Ling Jiazi into his control and that she bore Qiqi after Minghui fathered her.
• Hong Beimo explained that Ling Jiazi concealed Qiqi’s parentage so the imperial family would protect her and arranged for Quan Dean to guard her.
• Qiqi asked Hong Beimo what he wanted, and he said Ling Jiazi had passed the memorized secrets of the Heaven-Patrolling Treasure Scroll to her.

Hong Beimo urged Qiqi to join his plot against Long Xuan'en and claim Great Kang’s throne, while promising to help her marry Hu Xiaotian and complete the Imperial Mausoleum. Qiqi remained wary and uncertain whether Hu Xiaotian would come, as Shi Xuedong arrived with the decree setting their wedding for May.

• Hong Beimo revealed that Long Xuan'en had found Long Tingzhen and proposed using his rebellion to create a chance for Qiqi to seize power.
• Hong Beimo said he had rescued and altered Long Tingzhen, and urged Qiqi to quell the coming coup, marry Hu Xiaotian, and help finish the Imperial Mausoleum.
• Hong Beimo left Qiqi with her mother's portrait and warned her to keep their secrets from Quan Dean and Hu Xiaotian.
• Qiqi told Quan Dean that Hong Beimo had come to discuss the Prince Consort's Residence and admitted she did not know whether Hu Xiaotian would arrive.
• Shi Xuedong visited Hu Xiaotian with Long Xuan'en's decree arranging his marriage to Princess Yongyang for May and announcing Hong Beimo would design the Prince Consort's Residence.
• Hu Xiaotian read the decree, then chuckled and shook his head.