Recaps

Han Zongwang explained to Mo Qianshan why he had rebelled and declared that he would defy Heaven’s Way. He then watched He An wound Han Zhan in an assassination attempt and chose not to intervene, while hinting that Heaven’s balance restrained his power.

• Han Zongwang freed Mo Qianshan from his ten-year obligation to the Han Household, and Mo Qianshan thanked him for keeping his promise.
• Han Zongwang said he had taken up arms after the Great Liang Kingdom fell and Western Liang persecuted him and his clansmen.
• Han Zongwang declared that he refused to accept fate and would contend against Heaven’s Way, demonstrating his power by conjuring a vision of Wuwei City.
• Han Zongwang’s vision showed He An striking Han Zhan at a banquet and fleeing wounded, and Mo Qianshan recognized the assassin.
• Han Zongwang dismissed the attack as a test of Han Zhan’s fitness to rule and said Heaven’s Way maintained the balance, as an oppressive force descended upon the chamber.

Han Zongwang gave Mo Qianshan his cultivation insights and watched He An reunite with Han Chanjuan, warning that the young man's fate had long been decided. When Han Zhan searched the Quiet Chamber, he discovered signs that He An was hiding inside and struck the Rosewood Screen, forcing He An to confront him despite the revelation that Han Chanjuan was the daughter of his parents' killer.

• Han Zongwang explained that powerful cultivators could not freely interfere in worldly affairs and gave Mo Qianshan a booklet of cultivation insights.
• Han Zongwang watched He An and Han Chanjuan embrace in the painting, praised He An's courage, and said his fate had been decided long ago.
• Han Chanjuan hid her broken hairpin and told Han Zhan she had seen no assassin, while worrying over the blood on his robe.
• Han Zhan noticed blood drops leading behind the Rosewood Screen, but let Han Chanjuan remain in the Quiet Chamber.
• Han Zhan suddenly shattered the Rosewood Screen with a palm strike, revealing He An, who struggled with his love for Han Chanjuan and hatred for her father before raising his sword.

He An confronted Han Zhan over the massacre of his family and used a talisman and the Immortal-Slaying Finger to attack him. Han Chanjuan stepped between them and was struck by He An’s attack, leaving her fate uncertain.

• Han Zhan overpowered He An, but Han Chanjuan pleaded with her father to spare the man she loved.
• He An revealed that Han Zhan had led the raid that killed his parents and more than a hundred people in his family residence.
• Han Zhan admitted his role in the massacre and attacked He An, who trapped him briefly with a Golden Shackles and Jade Locks Talisman.
• He An launched the Immortal-Slaying Finger at Han Zhan as Han Chanjuan realized their families were bound by bloodshed.
• Han Chanjuan threw herself in front of Han Zhan and was pierced by He An’s attack.

He An accidentally struck Han Chanjuan with his Immortal-Slaying Finger while trying to kill Han Zhan, and she died in his arms after asking her father to spare him. Han Zhan then desperately tried to summon an imperial physician and the old patriarch, though Chanjuan was already gone.

• He An realized his attack had pierced Han Chanjuan’s chest instead of Han Zhan and frantically tried to stop her bleeding.
• Han Chanjuan told He An not to blame her father, recalled their time together, and returned the broken butterfly hairpin to him.
• Han Chanjuan asked Han Zhan to let He An go, then sang the north wind song before dying in He An’s arms.
• He An wailed over Chanjuan’s body, and Han Zhan shoved him aside and tried to revive his daughter with true qi.
• Han Zhan lashed out at his guards and ordered them to hurry the imperial physician and summon the old patriarch.

After Han Chanjuan died, Han Zhan and the others attacked He An, who fought back despite his grief and severe injuries. He An’s true qi recovered after Han Zhan’s Ice Spike struck him, and he charged into the encircling fighters, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Han Zhan told Green Sepal to carry Han Chanjuan away, then demanded He An leave a hand behind; He An used the Spirit-Shocking Finger to make Han Zhan retreat and burst through the roof.
• The Divine Crossbow Battalion shot at He An as he fled across the palace roof, where he deflected arrows and narrowly avoided a Triangular Armor-Piercing Arrow and Tong Shanxiong’s attacks.
• Guan Pingchao, Qu Guangling, Guan Dian, Li Bie, and Tong Shanxiong joined the assault, while Qu Guangling trapped He An within a Killing Trap Formation.
• Han Zhan struck He An with an Ice Spike, sending him crashing into a Chiwen beast head; He An’s Azure Tide Great Dao Scripture then dispersed the cold and restored his strength.
• He An charged back into the attackers, fighting recklessly and forcing Qu Guangling to retreat while Han Zhan resolved that He An must not be allowed to live.

Cheng Zi Ya arrived in time to save He An from Han Zhan and sent him away with a Thousand-Li Cloud-Riding Escape talisman, staying behind to face the surrounding experts. In the Imperial City, Han Chanjuan took He An’s fatal strike meant for Han Zhan, but a mysterious golden phoenix appeared over her as Han Zongwang watched.

• Cheng Zi Ya intervened between He An and Han Zhan, then knocked Tong Shanxiong and Guan Dian aside with single punches.
• Han Zhan donned Qilin Armor as Tong Shanxiong, Guan Dian, Guan Pingchao, and Qu Guangling prepared to fight Cheng Zi Ya amid the Imperial Guards’ encirclement.
• Cheng Zi Ya drank from He An’s wine gourd, used the Thousand-Li Cloud-Riding Escape talisman to send He An toward the Northwest Camp, and challenged the remaining enemies.
• In a secret chamber, Han Zongwang and Mo Qianshan watched a scroll show He An fighting Han Zhan and discussed the Knowledge and Practice Institute.
• Han Chanjuan plunged into He An’s Immortal-Slaying Finger strike to save Han Zhan, prompting Mo Qianshan to rush to her and Han Zongwang to watch in fury.
• A golden phoenix phantom appeared above Han Chanjuan’s fallen body and vanished, jolting Han Zongwang.

Han Zongwang recognized Han Chan’s Heavenly Phoenix bloodline in the scroll and sent his saber qi to challenge Cheng Zi Ya in the Imperial Palace. Cheng Zi Ya survived the Great Grandmaster’s strike and charged back into the palace to fight again.

• Han Zongwang realized Han Chan possessed the Heavenly Phoenix bloodline and reacted with pride and affection.
• Han Zongwang recognized Cheng Zi Ya as Li Xingzhi’s disciple and sent his saber flying toward him.
• Cheng Zi Ya smashed through the Imperial Guards, defeated Han Zhan’s attack, and left Han Zhan and his companions injured.
• Han Zongwang’s saber qi struck Cheng Zi Ya, who challenged the hidden Great Grandmaster and rushed into the palace to confront him.
• Cheng Zi Ya was blasted through three palace walls, climbed free, and charged back toward the fight, while Zhu Shifu watched in terror.

After Linu's betrayal and the escape of Jiu Shan, Fan Dazhi drove himself through punishing cultivation to make up for his mistakes. His heartbreak and exhaustion triggered a dangerous cultivation deviation, but Little Black Cat's cultivation art emerged in his sea of consciousness and calmed his true qi.

• Fan Dazhi regretted helping Linu free Jiu Shan and vowed to capture him and bring him back.
• Wei Zhilin explained that Jiu Shan was a powerful Unknown Island Fiend who had been imprisoned for more than a decade to protect a great secret.
• Fan Dazhi spent the day pushing himself through relentless cultivation and exhausting his body and divine sense.
• Fan Dazhi remembered Linu, spat blood, and suffered a sudden surge of pain and uncontrolled true qi that threatened to destroy his meridians.
• Little Black Cat's growl jolted Fan Dazhi awake, revealing a glowing acupoint diagram that calmed and guided his true qi into his dan foundation.

Fan Dazhi broke through three realms at the Knowledge and Practice Institute while the Great Chen Empire searched for the escaped Unknown Island Fiends. Lost and grieving on Mount Taibai, He An healed his injuries, gained a new understanding of heaven and earth, and successfully broke through.

• Fan Dazhi advanced from the Qi Transformation Realm to the Dao Integration Realm, drawing the attention of powerful figures at the Knowledge and Practice Institute.
• The Five-City Military Command, the Ministry of Justice, and the Six Fan Gate searched Luoyang City for the escaped Unknown Island Fiends but found no clues.
• He An's Thousand-Li Cloud-Riding Escape carried him off course to Mount Taibai, where he mourned the woman he had lost and sought shelter from the snow.
• He An circulated the Azure Tide Great Dao Scripture in a cave, healing the cold damage in his body as opposing currents of yin and yang strengthened his meridians.
• He An sensed the snow, wind, animals, and mountain as part of a wider natural order, then successfully broke through.

He An’s pursuers cornered him on Mount Taibai, but they discovered that he had reached the Dao Integration Realm and could overwhelm their attacks. After He An killed one attacker with a finger, the surviving predators lost their nerve and dared not approach.

• Boss Feng led Zhao Tu, Lu Shifang, Sun Hu, Ma Laosuan, Daoist Qingxuan, and other martial experts to hunt He An on Mount Taibai.
• He An sensed the approaching group as his injuries healed and his power surged, then left his cave to face them.
• Zhao Tu demanded He An’s treasures, and the group launched a coordinated attack when He An refused.
• He An used his Divine Sense and Azure Cloud Sword to deflect every attack, revealing power at the Dao Integration Realm.
• He An killed a charging attacker with a pinpoint strike, leaving the survivors too frightened to draw their weapons.

He An fought a group of attackers on the snowy mountain, but their combined techniques and his mounting injuries left him close to defeat. A plain-clothed middle-aged man arrived and killed Zhao Tu, killed Lu Shifang, and wounded Boss Feng, leaving the battle’s outcome uncertain.

• Daoist Qingxuan, Sun Hu, Boss Feng, Zhao Tu, Lu Shifang, and Ma Laosuan attacked He An together, using swordplay, a whip, snowmen, saber strikes, divine sense attacks, and a sound technique.
• He An severed Sun Hu’s whip, wounded Zhao Tu, destroyed a snowman, and fought back while suffering repeated injuries.
• Lu Shifang’s divine sense attack disrupted He An, allowing Daoist Qingxuan to stab him in the back and Boss Feng to drive him to one knee.
• He An used the Spirit-Shocking Finger to strike Zhao Tu’s shoulder, then continued fighting as the attackers wore down his strength.
• Ma Laosuan disrupted He An with his pipe’s tapping and lunged at his throat as a fast-moving figure approached across the sky.
• A plain-clothed middle-aged man swept into the attackers, killed Zhao Tu and Lu Shifang, and slashed Boss Feng across the face.

Feng Qiwu rescued He An from Boss Feng, Daoist Qingxuan, and Ma Laosuan, then spoke to him about his father before secretly attacking and throwing him from a cliff into the Wei River. The chapter ended with Ding Feiyong returning to Luoyang after three years of mourning.

• Feng Qiwu defeated the attackers, killing their followers and forcing Boss Feng, Daoist Qingxuan, and Ma Laosuan to flee.
• Feng Qiwu told He An that they had been close friends with He An's father, the Eldest Prince, and described him as a benevolent and capable man.
• Feng Qiwu struck He An between the brows, punched him in the chest, and sent him plunging from a cliff into the Wei River.
• Feng Qiwu watched He An disappear beneath the river and concluded that he was dead.
• Ding Feiyong returned to his former residence in Luoyang after completing three years of mourning for Ding Fengyuan.

Ding Feiyong returned to the abandoned Chancellor's Residence with Ding Wenruo and investigated the room where his father had been treated. He discovered that someone had secretly poisoned Ding Fengyuan through the stove, confirming that his father's death had been deliberate.

• Ding Feiyong and Ding Wenruo returned to the Chancellor's Residence after three years away.
• Ding Feiyong visited his father Ding Fengyuan's untouched bedroom and recalled caring for him before his death.
• Ding Feiyong examined Imperial Physician Hua Zhong's old quarters and found no suspicious herbs in the medicine cabinet.
• Ding Feiyong noticed a greasy stain above the kitchen stove and scraped away the wall covering to reveal a small hole sealed with grease.
• Ding Feiyong compared the white powder in the hole with the poison Cheng Zi Ya had discovered and realized it had entered Ding Fengyuan's medicine through the rising steam.

Ding Feiyong realized Emperor Chen had murdered his father to silence a witness and vowed to avenge him. As Luoyang was searched for the escaped Unknown Island fiend, Fan Dazhi identified a suspicious household, while Bi Yunfei watched him and recalled the mysterious man who had opened his meridians.

• Ding Feiyong concluded that Emperor Chen had arranged his father’s death and sworn to kill the emperor in revenge.
• The Five-City Military Command and Ministry of Justice searched Luoyang for the escaped fiend and other Unknown Island operatives.
• Fan Dazhi noticed that Old Zhou’s purchase of three sacks of rice was suspicious because he lived in poverty and had only one other person in his household.
• Bi Yunfei ordered his men to raid Old Zhou’s home and capture its occupants if possible.
• Bi Yunfei regarded Fan Dazhi’s sharp deductions with wariness and recalled how his master had opened every meridian in his body.

Bi Yunfei was forced by his mysterious benefactor to abandon his plot against Fan Dazhi and instead protect him. Fan Dazhi deduced that the escaped Unknown Island Fiends were hiding in Lotus Seed Alley and led troops to surround it, where Jiu Shan and the remaining fugitives were concealed.

• A mysterious man empowered Bi Yunfei, ordered him to investigate the Immortal Map fragments and Unknown Island, and threatened to take back his gifts if he disobeyed.
• When Bi Yunfei plotted against Fan Dazhi, the man tortured him through his Sea of Consciousness and ordered him to protect Fan Dazhi as if he were his father.
• After a clerk reported that the court had nearly captured the Unknown Island Fiends, Fan Dazhi studied a map and deduced that the last escapee was hiding in Lotus Seed Alley.
• Bi Yunfei urged Fan Dazhi to stay behind, but Fan Dazhi insisted on joining the operation to recapture the escapee himself.
• In an abandoned Underground Bank beneath Lotus Seed Alley, Jiu Shan drained the life from two guards while Dongren and the remaining Unknown Island members hid nearby.
• Armored soldiers converged on Lotus Seed Alley and surrounded it in layered ranks.

Fan Dazhi and the Imperial Guards surrounded the Underground Bank, where Jiu Shan replenished his strength and prepared to break out. Jiu Shan burst through the ground, devastating the troops, and hovered over the collapsing ruins as the surviving soldiers fled.

• Bi Yunfei positioned the Imperial Guards and two Divine Mechanism Crossbows around the abandoned shacks while Fan Dazhi sensed Jiu Shan and the others underground.
• Jiu Shan replenished his vitality by absorbing the blood of two cultivators and learned from Dongren that Li Xingzhi had died.
• Jiu Shan sensed the encirclement, broke through the chamber ceiling, and ordered his followers to fight their way out.
• Fan Dazhi urged the troops to retreat as the ground collapsed and the blast killed or buried dozens of Imperial Guards.
• Zou Zheng and Chen Sangyu tried to protect the retreating soldiers, but Jiu Shan emerged from the dust and looked down at the fleeing troops.

Jiu Shan overwhelmed the Imperial Guards and defeated Zou Zheng and Chen Sangyu, then tried to absorb their vital essence. Fan Dazhi stepped in to stop him with a powerful Five Elements Separation Technique, leaving Jiu Shan struggling against its restraint.

• Jiu Shan shattered the Imperial Guards' ballista bolts and slaughtered soldiers with a Blood Baleful Giant Palm.
• Jiu Shan crushed Zou Zheng beneath the palm and knocked Chen Sangyu unconscious with a flick of his finger.
• Jiu Shan seized Zou Zheng and Chen Sangyu and began drawing in blood baleful qi to restore himself.
• Fan Dazhi rushed between Jiu Shan and the wounded cultivators, refusing to move aside.
• Fan Dazhi used an advanced Five Elements Separation Technique to disrupt Jiu Shan's control of the blood baleful qi.
• Jiu Shan tried to break through the restraint with gang qi as the earth shook.

Fan Dazhi used the Black Tortoise Scripture to withstand Jiu Shan’s attacks and hold him in place while Bi Yunfei prepared a crossbow volley. The chapter ended with dozens of rune-lit bolts flying toward Jiu Shan.

• Jiu Shan smashed the two Vajra Warriors, while wood-attribute energy pulled Zou Zheng and Chen Sangyu to safety.
• Jiu Shan pursued the fleeing Fan Dazhi, and Bi Yunfei used weapons and formations to delay him.
• Fan Dazhi rammed Jiu Shan and clung to his waist as the Black Tortoise Scripture formed a protective phantom shell around him.
• Jiu Shan repeatedly struck Fan Dazhi, but Fan Dazhi refused to let go and urged Bi Yunfei to fire the crossbows.
• Bi Yunfei ordered the crossbows to fire, sending dozens of rune-lit bolts toward Jiu Shan.

Jiu Shan overwhelmed Fan Dazhi and Bi Yunfei, but a blind old monk intervened and effortlessly stopped his attacks. The monk’s Buddhist chant immobilized Jiu Shan as he prepared to take him back to the temple.

• Jiu Shan blasted Fan Dazhi away, shattered the crossbow bolts, and struck Bi Yunfei with blade qi.
• Jiu Shan raised his palm to kill Fan Dazhi, but an old blind monk appeared and dissolved the attack with an invocation.
• Jiu Shan attacked the monk with the Sun-Swallowing Collapse Fist and struck at Fan Dazhi, but the monk stood unharmed and dispelled the palm force.
• The monk warned Jiu Shan of the karmic punishment awaiting him and called on Buddhist power to take him back to the temple.
• Buddhist chants rose around them, and Jiu Shan lost control of his body and true qi.

Faxian saved Fan Dazhi and gave him Buddhist counsel and prayer beads before departing. In the palace, Emperor Chen learned that Ding Feiyong had returned to Luoyang and noted that most of his late father’s former associates had not visited the residence.

• Jiu Shan burst into blood mist and sent phantom images fleeing, while Faxian’s Buddhist light destroyed most of them and failed to stop a few from escaping.
• Fan Dazhi and the others thanked Faxian, but he declined their requests for help and let Fan Dazhi escort him back to his lodging.
• Faxian recognized Fan Dazhi’s Buddhist potential, warned him that the ancient art in his sea of consciousness was a Saint Clan legacy, and offered him refuge in Buddhism; Fan Dazhi declined.
• Faxian gave Fan Dazhi his prayer beads and left for the farmhouses as dawn broke.
• Zhao Delu reported that Ding Feiyong, his daughter, and a servant had returned to Luoyang, and Emperor Chen remarked that few former associates had visited the Dingding Chancellor’s Residence.

Emperor Chen rejected proposals to relocate the capital, ordered a secret investigation of the Cui Family, and celebrated the completion of armor for one hundred thousand cavalrymen as he declared his ambition to unite all under Heaven. The chapter ended with him reading Ding Feiyong’s memorial, “Ten Strategies for Pacifying the Realm.”

• Zhao Delu told Emperor Chen that Cheng Zi Ya had returned injured from Wuwei City and entered life-or-death seclusion.
• Emperor Chen condemned officials’ proposals to move the capital to Bianliang or Chang'an as serving their clans’ interests.
• Emperor Chen ordered Bi Yunfei to secretly investigate the Cui Family for corruption and possible rebellion, then reduced imperial kitchen expenses by thirty percent.
• Zhao Delu reported that one hundred thousand cavalrymen at Jinping Mountain had received Black Iron and Dark Gold Armor and outmatched the Imperial Guards in exercises.
• Emperor Chen vowed that the Great Chen Cavalry would expand the empire and unite all under Heaven.
• Zhao Qin brought Ding Feiyong’s memorial, and Emperor Chen began reading its Ten Strategies for Pacifying the Realm.

Emperor Chen praised Ding Feiyong’s memorial and promoted him to Deputy Privy Councilor. Ding Feiyong left his daughter at the Chancellor’s Residence and arrived at court with a concealed blade as the grand assembly began.

• Emperor Chen read Ding Feiyong’s memorial, admired its analysis, and promoted him to Deputy Privy Councilor while retaining his post as Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial.
• Ding Feiyong bid farewell to Ding Wenruo, urged her to care for herself and return to the Knowledge and Practice Institute, then left for court.
• Ding Feiyong rode through Luoyang and secretly touched a concealed blade inside his sleeve.
• Ding Feiyong arrived at the Vermilion Bird Gate, where officials congratulated him on his promotion, and entered the palace for the grand court assembly.
• Emperor Chen sat on the throne as the young eunuch invited officials to present matters for deliberation.

At court, Wang Daolun and Cui Yingtai argued for moving Great Chen’s capital to Bianliang or Chang’an, while Emperor Chen asked Ding Feiyong for his judgment. Ding Feiyong defended Luoyang as the realm’s central pivot, and Emperor Chen declared that Luoyang would remain the place from which he commanded the realm.

• Yang Yi, Liao Zhennan, Du Chongwei, Yan Bin, and Liang Congkuan reported on the treasury, farming, waterworks, weapons, sacrifices, and frontier affairs to Emperor Chen.
• Wang Daolun urged Emperor Chen to move the capital to Bianliang, citing its central position and waterways.
• Cui Yingtai opposed Bianliang and called for the capital to move to Chang’an because of its defensible terrain.
• Tong Huan avoided choosing a location, and Cui Yizhong urged Emperor Chen to deliberate further.
• Ding Feiyong argued that Luoyang’s position and connection to the Grand Canal made it the pivot of the realm.
• Emperor Chen praised Ding Feiyong’s insight and declared that Luoyang was more than a capital: it was the pivot through which he commanded the realm.

Ding Feiyong presented Emperor Chen with a strategic map, then used a concealed poisoned blade to attack him. The story shifted to a Qiang tribe, where Mu Shu checked on the badly wounded Han youth she had rescued, who remained unconscious after seven days.

• Ding Feiyong offered Emperor Chen a map showing routes and strategic positions for campaigns against the Eastern Yang and Han Kingdoms.
• Emperor Chen eagerly summoned Ding Feiyong to explain the map and reached for its sandalwood scroll.
• Ding Feiyong revealed a concealed poisoned blade and stabbed toward Emperor Chen's heart, accusing him of being a tyrant and demanding payment for his father's life.
• The story moved to a Qiang tribe by the Wei River, where the rescued Han youth had lain unconscious for seven days.
• Mu Shu entered the tent and asked her father whether the Han youth would wake.

Mu Shu and her father Mu Tuo cared for the gravely wounded He An after Mu Shu rescued him from the Wei River. When He An woke in the Clear Cliff Tribe, he had lost all memory of who he was, the result of Feng Qiwu’s strike shattering his spiritual platform.

• Mu Shu persuaded Mu Tuo to look for medicine for the unconscious Han man, and Mu Tuo teased her about her concern for him.
• Mu Shu examined He An’s Jade Pendant, promised to help him recover, and saw him begin to wake.
• Mu Shu ran to tell Mu Tuo that He An had awakened.
• He An woke with a splitting headache and found that he could remember nothing about himself.
• Mu Tuo introduced himself and Mu Shu, but He An asked, “Who am I?”
• The narration explained that Feng Qiwu’s strike had shattered He An’s spiritual platform, while the Azure Tide Great Dao Scripture had kept him alive.