Chapter Summaries

Ye Liang, posing as Wang Dongguo, accompanied Wang Yuyan to the Xuanhu Sect for the Dragon Slaying Feast and discovered its guest attendants were stealing the reception funds. After they tried to kill him, he effortlessly stopped their poisoned attack and advanced on them.

• Wang Yuyan told the Xuanhu Sect cultivators that the Diancang Sect had prepared for the Dragon Slaying Feast and asked when the seniors would act.
• Ye Liang and Wang Yuyan were sent to a filthy former woodshed, where Ye Liang grew angry at their shabby treatment.
• Ye Liang overheard two Xuanhu Sect cultivators boasting about pocketing the resources meant for visiting mortals.
• Ye Liang confronted the cultivators and threatened to report their embezzlement, so they pretended to apologize before attacking him with a poisoned Bone-Penetrating Nail.
• Ye Liang caught the steel spike between two fingers, snapped it in half, and walked toward the shocked cultivators.

Ye Liang intimidated two Xuanhu Sect cultivators into treating him as their big brother, gaining a luxurious guest room and a chance to learn about the sect. The next morning, he and Wang Yuyan went to the disciples’ dining hall, where she worried that appearing unveiled might bring trouble.

• Ye Liang frightened the two cultivators into returning the stolen items and calling him Big Brother, then accepted their offer of a first-class guest room.
• Ye Liang and Wang Yuyan shared the room for the night, and Ye Liang avoided any intimacy with her.
• The next morning, Cultivators A and B invited Ye Liang to breakfast at the disciples’ dining hall, and he agreed to bring Wang Yuyan along.
• Ye Liang and Wang Yuyan entered the dining hall and drew attention, prompting Wang Yuyan to ask whether she should cover her face.

Ye Liang hid the fact that he had eaten Elder Tayun’s mount, but Cultivator A and Cultivator B confessed that they had bought the stolen beast from a Rogue Cultivator. Ye Liang took responsibility and faced Elder Tayun in a duel, where the elder recognized his peak Golden Core cultivation.

• Elder Tayun searched the dining hall for his missing Striped-Eyed White-Forehead Tiger, and Ye Liang absorbed the beast from the table and disguised its scent as a spirit-herb dish.
• A crippled disciple revealed that Ye Liang’s group had eaten Elder Tayun’s mount, and Cultivator A and Cultivator B admitted they had bought the meat from a Rogue Cultivator.
• Ye Liang stood between the two cultivators and Elder Tayun, claiming to be the Rogue Cultivator who had stolen the beast.
• Ye Liang and Elder Tayun flew to a mountaintop to fight, and Elder Tayun recognized Ye Liang as a peak Golden Core cultivator.

Ye Liang and Elder Tayun fought for days, each mistakenly believing the other was hiding a decisive Dao-art attack. Ye Liang stalled the battle by inventing an explanation for Jia and Yi eating Tayun’s pet, leaving Tayun uncertain about the accusation.

• Ye Liang used EXcalibur and the Curry Stick to fight Elder Tayun at close range, while Cultivators Jia and Yi watched and worried about their chances.
• Ye Liang and Tayun traded blows in the sky for several days, even after the disciples below had left.
• Cultivator Yi speculated that both fighters were saving Dao arts for a surprise attack, and Ye Liang and Tayun each concluded that the other was planning one.
• Ye Liang called for a pause and asked Tayun whether he had actually seen Jia and Yi eat his pet.
• Ye Liang claimed a disciple had falsely accused Jia and Yi out of revenge after they beat him for trying to molest Ye Liang’s cousin.

Ye Liang avoided further conflict with Elder Tayun Zhao, who accepted his explanation and left. Days later, Ye Liang received a sealed letter from Tayun about the Dragon Slaying Feast, which began with a warning to keep its contents secret.

• Ye Liang convinced Elder Tayun Zhao not to interrogate the disciple, and Tayun apologized and departed.
• Cultivators A and B praised Ye Liang, then secretly killed the disciple and issued an order to kill his mortal family.
• Several days later, Cultivators A and B brought Ye Liang a sealed invitation they said was related to the Dragon Slaying Feast.
• Ye Liang opened the letter and saw a Spiritual Energy projection of Elder Tayun Zhao instructing him to burn the letter and read it where no one could see.

Ye Liang learned from Elder Tayun’s letter that the Xuanhu Sect planned to extract the Mortal Emperor’s dragon qi at the Dragon Slaying Feast, and he agreed to investigate the matter. Meanwhile, unrest spread through Kyoto as Jianghu fighters gathered, and Dieyi welcomed the assembled guests to the feast.

• Elder Tayun’s letter revealed that the Xuanhu Sect’s leaders planned to steal the Mortal Emperor’s dragon qi and warned that doing so would leave the mortal realm vulnerable to chaos.
• Tayun left Ye Liang a dragon-patterned token for the Dragon Slaying Feast before setting off alone to seek a Venerable One, and Ye Liang promised to see his mission through.
• Ye Liang told cultivators Jia and Yi that he would attend the feast, then left to rescue Master Bai and prepare for the event.
• After a wave of murders in Kyoto, the Great Yuan Emperor ordered Prime Minister Tuotuo to investigate the killings with the Imperial Guards.
• Dieyi, the Diancang Sect’s Saintess, welcomed the gathered Jianghu fighters to the Dragon Slaying Feast and began explaining the event.

Dieyi persuaded the jianghu leaders to join the Diancang Sect’s planned rebellion against the Great Yuan Dynasty. As Tuotuo’s soldiers raided their gathering, the young soldier who had led them there revealed himself as Ye Liang.

• Dieyi claimed the court planned to secretly execute the martial artists and stirred up the gathered leaders’ anger.
• Dieyi announced that the Diancang Sect would rebel on the third day of the next month and asked the jianghu leaders to help seize cities.
• Qin Guanghan and the other leaders agreed to join the rebellion and knelt to await Dieyi’s orders.
• Tuotuo led soldiers to surround and raid the gathering after a young soldier reported its location.
• The young soldier slipped away unnoticed, went to a tavern, and revealed himself as Ye Liang while concluding that the Diancang Sect was behind the plot.

Ye Liang found the injured Dieyi hiding in his inn room and urged her to bathe and change, intending only to help her. After they both misunderstood each other’s intentions, Dieyi realized her mistake and quietly settled beside him for the night.

• Ye Liang sensed fresh blood upstairs and discovered Dieyi hiding in his room.
• Dieyi claimed she was fleeing enemies, while Ye Liang offered her a bath and clean clothes so she could tend to her injury.
• Misreading Ye Liang’s invitation, Dieyi undressed in front of him and planned to attack him after bathing.
• Ye Liang lay down to sleep, and Dieyi returned from the bath with her sword hidden beneath a towel.
• Dieyi found Ye Liang asleep, realized she had misunderstood him, and lay beside him before the candle went out.

Ye Liang confronted Prime Minister Tuotuo after the Imperial Guards surrounded the inn, then warned him that the Diancang Sect planned to exploit a nationwide rebellion to seize Imperial Dragon Qi. The chapter ended with Tuotuo learning that the Dragon Slaying Feast would take place in half a month and threaten the Great Yuan Dynasty.

• Tuotuo led Imperial Guards to surround the inn after a man in black tracked Dieyi’s scent there.
• Ye Liang sent the soldiers outside, sealed off the second floor, and brought Tuotuo into Amenominaka to speak privately.
• Tuotuo recognized Ye Liang and tried to reason with him, but Ye Liang frightened him into kneeling before promising to spare his life if he obeyed.
• Ye Liang told Tuotuo that the Diancang Sect had planned the Dragon Slaying Feast for half a month later, when a nationwide rebellion would leave the Great Yuan Dynasty vulnerable.

Ye Liang persuaded Tuotuo to investigate the Diancang Sect’s alleged plot and asked him to protect Dieyi and Master Bai, then escorted Dieyi away from the capital. Meanwhile, Lan Ye confronted the guards at the sealed Sky Prison and demanded to know whether Tuotuo had captured Dieyi, just as Tuotuo arrived.

• Ye Liang told Tuotuo that the Xuanhu Sect planned to slay a dragon and urged him to question the captured martial artists about the Diancang Sect.
• Ye Liang asked Tuotuo to leave Dieyi alone and spare Master Bai’s life, then returned upstairs and took Dieyi out of the capital.
• After Dieyi’s disappearance, Lan Ye led Diancang Sect members to the Sky Prison and found its guards refusing them entry under Tuotuo’s orders.
• Lan Ye attacked the guards, but their Innate True Qi blocked him.
• Tuotuo arrived and challenged Lan Ye for threatening to violate the law, and Lan Ye asked whether Tuotuo had captured Dieyi.

Lan Ye demanded that Tuotuo release Dieyi from the Great Yuan Sky Prison, revealing that she was True Person Qionghua’s granddaughter and a Terrestrial Deity of the Diancang Sect. Tuotuo refused and fought Lan Ye, leaving Lan Ye suppressed and secretly preparing to use a Silver Needle against him.

• Lan Ye confronted Tuotuo at the Sky Prison and demanded that he release Dieyi, but Tuotuo insisted every prisoner was guilty of rebellion and said only His Majesty could authorize her release.
• Lan Ye attacked Tuotuo, and the two sent their guards and subordinates away before dueling.
• Tuotuo used Explosive Step to outmaneuver Lan Ye, while Lan Ye answered with Great Strength Vajra Fist but failed to land a hit.
• Tuotuo’s guards praised his strength, and Lan Ye’s subordinates grew fearful as they watched him lose ground.
• Lan Ye realized he could not defeat Tuotuo and secretly exposed a Silver Needle that True Person Qionghua had given him to curse an opponent to death.

Lan Ye entered Sky Prison to search for Dieyi, but found her missing and tried to kill Master Bai over an old grudge. Young Master Bai and his men rescued Master Bai, while Lan Ye withdrew, and several days later Ye Liang returned to his inn in Kyoto.

• Lan Ye struck Tuotuo with a hidden Silver Needle and defeated him before leading the Diancang Sect into Sky Prison.
• Lan Ye searched for Dieyi, found no trace of her, and went to confront Master Bai in his cell.
• Lan Ye revealed that he resented the Bai Family because the Immortality Elixir meant for him had gone to Ah Li, and he raised his sword to kill Master Bai.
• Young Master Bai and his black-clad men stormed the prison, stopped Lan Ye, and rescued Master Bai.
• Lan Ye learned that Dieyi had escaped with a leader's help and that the leaders who helped her had been killed; he then left Sky Prison with his subordinates.
• Several days later, Ye Liang returned to his inn in Kyoto after sending Dieyi away.

Ye Liang learned that Tuotuo had been badly injured during the Sky Prison escape and went to the Prime Minister’s Estate to see him. There, he discovered that Tuotuo’s wounds were filled with powerful death qi, likely inflicted by a Ghost Cultivator.

• A storyteller in Kyoto recounted the Sky Prison’s destruction, the escape of its prisoners, and Tuotuo’s severe injuries.
• Ye Liang asked after Tuotuo, then vanished before the teahouse spectators and frightened them.
• Ye Liang visited the Prime Minister’s Estate, where a servant recognized him as the person who could save Tuotuo.
• Tuotuo’s wife told Ye Liang that her husband had refused treatment from anyone else and begged him to help.
• Ye Liang entered Tuotuo’s bedroom, sensed pervasive Yin Qi, and realized the injuries were likely connected to a Ghost Cultivator.

Ye Liang discovered that a jade pendant had been protecting Tuotuo from the deathly aura in his wound, but removing the aura by force would cripple him. After Tuotuo agreed to become a Ghost Cultivator, Ye Liang began refining the Silver Needle into Tuotuo’s Lifebound Magic Treasure and woke him within his Sea of Consciousness.

• Ye Liang found that Tuotuo’s jade pendant was shielding him from the deathly aura, then tried to treat his wound.
• When Ye Liang tried to pull out the Silver Needle, Tuotuo vomited blood, and Ye Liang realized that removing the deathly aura by force could cripple him.
• Ye Liang explained the risks and benefits of becoming a Ghost Cultivator to the unconscious Tuotuo, who agreed by moving his hand.
• Ye Liang sent the servants and Tuotuo’s wife away and began refining the Silver Needle into Tuotuo’s Lifebound Magic Treasure.
• Ye Liang erased the Silver Needle’s former owner’s consciousness, entered Tuotuo’s Sea of Consciousness, and called Tuotuo awake.

Ye Liang told Tuotuo to tame a giant silver needle in his Sea of Consciousness so he could become a cultivator. Tuotuo fought the hostile artifact, and Ye Liang gave him thirty-six hours to defeat it before leaving to deal with the coming rebellion.

• Ye Liang explained that Tuotuo had to tame the silver needle himself to awaken and begin cultivating.
• The silver needle realized it was about to change masters and attacked Tuotuo.
• Tuotuo dodged the silver needle’s repeated strikes as his spiritual energy began to tire.
• Ye Liang urged Tuotuo to attack, explaining that the silver needle’s power was draining while Tuotuo could recover within his Sea of Consciousness.
• Ye Liang gave Tuotuo a thirty-six-hour deadline, and Tuotuo punched at the silver needle.

Ye Liang helped Tuotuo subdue the Silver Needle, but discovered its original master was a powerful Ghost Cultivator who branded him with a tracking mark and coveted his Curry Stick. After Tuotuo inherited death qi and learned basic techniques, Ye Liang left the Prime Minister's Estate to avoid leading the Ghost Cultivator to him.

• After hours of fighting, the Silver Needle regained its strength through a stream of death qi and counterattacked Tuotuo.
• Ye Liang realized the Silver Needle's original master was sending death qi into Tuotuo's Sea of Consciousness, and a Ghost Cultivator confronted him through a strand of divine sense.
• The Ghost Cultivator demanded Ye Liang's Curry Stick and branded his shoulder with a red tracking mark before his divine sense dissipated.
• Tuotuo completed the Silver Needle's recognition ritual, and two days later he woke with control over the Ghost Cultivator's death qi.
• Ye Liang taught Tuotuo basic cultivation formulas and the Death Qi Absorption Method, then left the Prime Minister's Estate without warning him about the danger.

The Great Yuan capital fell to Lan Ye and the Jianghu Wanderers, while cultivators from the heavens watched the upheaval. Chancellor Tuotuo appeared at the imperial palace gates and halted the attackers, leaving Lan Ye’s forces facing an unexpected obstacle.

• The emperor learned that Ziyuan City had fallen after the rebels used the mutilated bodies of residents to demoralize its defenders, and he collapsed in despair.
• Lan Ye led the Jianghu Wanderers into Kyoto and promised rewards to those who helped him seize the capital.
• Kong Fang and another Nascent Soul cultivator discussed whether to interfere as cultivators from the heavens observed the mortal upheaval.
• Lan Ye’s forces stormed the imperial palace, but a black-aura figure at the gate killed the attackers who tried to pass.
• The Jianghu Wanderers recognized the figure as Tuotuo, and their leaders tried to sneak around him as he turned his gaze toward them.

Tuotuo used Ghost Cultivator techniques to stop the rebels at the imperial palace while Lan Ye waited for the immortals to intervene. Lan Ye’s Silver Needle killed him, and Tuotuo took the treasure as the rebels fell silent.

• Tuotuo sent black ghostly qi through the rebel leaders, killing them before they could flee.
• Terrestrial Deities in the sky recognized Tuotuo’s Ghost Cultivator techniques but decided not to interfere.
• Lan Ye arrived, threatened Tuotuo, and then hesitated to fight as the rebels urged him to attack.
• Tuotuo killed Lan Ye’s newly arrived men with black lights, leaving Lan Ye to wait for the immortals.
• Lan Ye stepped forward to fight, but his Silver Needle activated, killed him, and flew into Tuotuo’s hand.
• Tuotuo discovered the Silver Needles were a pair, and the remaining rebels fell silent before him.

Three months after the Great Yuan Dynasty fell, the injured monk Yilong entered the Central Plains and was cornered by bandits trying to steal his golden scepter. Ye Liang rescued him and revealed himself, leaving Yilong face-to-face with his benefactor.

• The Great Yuan Dynasty ended after the emperor was assassinated and the capital fell, despite Tuotuo's efforts.
• Yilong entered the Central Plains to thank Ye Liang, carrying a jeweled golden scepter as a gift.
• A band of jianghu bandits pursued Yilong, accused him of serving the Yuan, and attacked him to take the scepter.
• Yilong threw the scepter into the Yangtze River, but the bandits continued their attack while his injuries kept him from using his internal energy.
• Ye Liang restrained the bandits, sent them into the river, and invited Yilong into his riverside house.
• Ye Liang removed his human-skin mask and revealed himself to Yilong.

Ye Liang questioned Yilong about the realm after Great Yuan’s collapse and learned that competing factions had risen, while Bai Louxie’s northern rebels had gained popular support by aiding civilians. The next day, Bai Louxie and his officers investigated the wooden hut where Yilong’s pursuers had disappeared, suspecting an expert might be responsible.

• Ye Liang reinforced the hut’s barrier and asked Yilong about the state of the realm, Great Yuan, Tuotuo, and Terrestrial Deities.
• Yilong explained that factions had emerged across the east, south, and west, while Bai Louxie’s northern rebels had earned the people’s support by providing grain and maintaining order.
• Yilong admitted that the bandits had pursued him after he flaunted his wealth and exposed the Golden Scepter.
• Ye Liang let Yilong stay in the hut and returned to his bedroom as evening fell.
• The next day, Bai Louxie and his officers investigated the hut after the bandits who had followed Yilong vanished, and they considered whether an expert had intervened.