Chapter Summaries

Chu Zhiyuan learned that the Flying Heaven Sect had refused his request to view the Heavenly Saber, but agreed to send him a saber once used by a Grandmaster. When Wen Qianqian and Xu Mengyu delivered the sealed weapon, Chu Zhiyuan warned everyone to keep their distance because it could attack on its own.

• Chu Zhiyuan and Huang Shirong discussed Great Lie and Great Guang’s threat to Great Jing’s eastern border and the Phoenix Camp’s success in deterring them.
• Huang Shirong told Chu Zhiyuan that the Flying Heaven Sect had refused to let him view the Heavenly Saber, citing a rule that only its disciples could see it.
• Huang Shirong said the Flying Heaven Sect would send a saber once used by a Grandmaster, and Chu Zhiyuan welcomed the substitute.
• Wen Qianqian and Xu Mengyu arrived at Listening to Waves Courtyard with the saber sealed in a black box.
• Chu Zhiyuan recognized the box as a Spirit Sealing Box and warned Huang Shirong, Wen Qianqian, Xu Mengyu, and the others not to approach it.

Chu Zhiyuan tested the sealed saber White Cloud Sword Palace had given him and discovered its Grandmaster-level Blade Intent was actually a power above the Grandmaster Realm. The experience greatly advanced his cultivation, and he offered to teach the women a sword technique in return for the gift.

• Chu Zhiyuan sent Huang Shirong, Wen Qianqian, and Xu Mengyu away before opening the Spirit Sealing Box and drawing part of the saber.
• The saber’s Blade Intent and Cold Qi nearly overwhelmed Chu Zhiyuan, but he resisted with his own Blade Intent and the Glazed Saber Scripture.
• Chu Zhiyuan realized the saber’s ordinary blade carried a power above the Grandmaster Realm, and the encounter strengthened his Spirit Transformation Realm and Blade Intent.
• Chu Zhiyuan tested his Sword Qi against the Bronze Tower and estimated that he would break it open in fifteen days.
• Chu Zhiyuan thanked the Palace Lord through Huang Shirong and learned Martial Uncle Gu had insisted on giving him the saber.
• Chu Zhiyuan offered to teach Huang Shirong, Wen Qianqian, and Xu Mengyu a stronger sword technique in return.

Chu Zhiyuan taught Huang Shirong, Wen Qianqian, and Xu Mengyu the Shadow Kill Sword Style before breaking through to the Ninth Heaven. He then tested his silver-sheathed saber with Chu Qingfeng, who judged its power might belong to a Grandmaster at perfection, though no one was known to have reached that level.

• Chu Zhiyuan taught the three women the Shadow Kill Sword Style and guided them until they mastered its first move.
• Wen Qianqian, Huang Shirong, and Xu Mengyu took their leave after practicing the technique.
• The next morning, Chu Zhiyuan broke through to the Ninth Heaven and reflected on the saber's powerful Blade Intent and the Glazed Saber Scripture.
• Chu Qingfeng told Chu Zhiyuan that he had never heard of a realm above Grandmaster, and Chu Zhiyuan showed him the silver-sheathed saber.
• Chu Qingfeng drew the saber halfway before its Blade Intent overwhelmed him, then said its power might be Grandmaster Perfection, a level no known expert had reached.

Chu Zhiyuan learned that Great Zhen would share a newly discovered secret land with Great Jing if he married its Eighteenth Princess. Chu Qingfeng told him the Emperor had decided to grant Xiao Ruoling the unprecedented status of Ping Consort alongside the princess, leaving Chu Zhiyuan facing a controversial marriage arrangement.

• Chu Zhiyuan asked Chu Qingfeng about immortality and martial arts beyond the Great Grandmaster Realm, and revealed that he had already reached the Ninth Heaven.
• Chu Zhiyuan learned that Great Zhen had discovered a new secret land and would share it with Great Jing if he married the Eighteenth Princess.
• Chu Zhiyuan proposed ways to expand Great Jing's influence over Great Lie and Great Guang, while Chu Qingfeng warned that Great Meng, Great Zhen, and Imperial Court interests would obstruct him.
• Chu Qingfeng explained that the Eighteenth Princess had a good reputation but that her marriage could disrupt Chu Zhiyuan's household with Xiao Ruoling.
• Chu Qingfeng revealed that the Emperor would make Xiao Ruoling and the Eighteenth Princess equal principal consorts as Ping Consort and Princess Consort, an exception to established regulations.

Chu Zhiyuan learned that the Emperor planned to make both Xiao Ruoling and the Eighteenth Princess principal consorts, and considered how to escape the marriage alliance while guarding against Wentian Cliff. After meeting Huang Shirong and discussing a Grandmaster’s blade, he accepted an assignment to proclaim an Imperial edict at Flying Heaven Sect.

• Chu Qingfeng told Chu Zhiyuan that the Emperor intended to make Xiao Ruoling and the Eighteenth Princess principal consorts, while Chu Zhiyuan considered how he and the princess might end the marriage alliance.
• Chu Qingfeng explained that Zhu Caifu, the Eighteenth Princess’s Grandmaster aunt, had fallen out with Wentian Cliff over the princess’s marriage.
• Chu Zhiyuan met Huang Shirong, who explained that White Cloud Sword Palace had found an ancient Grandmaster’s blade and passed it to him because he sought one.
• Huang Shirong conveyed Hall Master Zhao’s apology over Flying Heaven Sect refusing Chu Zhiyuan access to the Heavenly Blade.
• Chu Zhiyuan accepted the Imperial Court’s assignment to proclaim an edict commending Flying Heaven Sect.

Chu Zhiyuan visited the Flying Heaven Sect to deliver an imperial decree praising its disciples’ service in the Town Martial Division, then asked Sect Master Lu Donghu about the Heavenly Saber. Lu explained why outsiders could not approach it and left Chu Zhiyuan considering the sect’s rules and traditions.

• Chu Zhiyuan rode to the Flying Heaven Sect with Huang Cheng, Zou Fang, and imperial guards, and learned the sect disliked having many disciples enter the Town Martial Division.
• Lu Donghu welcomed Chu Zhiyuan and accepted an imperial decree commending the Flying Heaven Sect’s disciples for their service and courage.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked Lu Donghu to show him the Heavenly Saber, but Lu refused, explaining that it attacked anyone who had not cultivated the sect’s inner method.
• Lu Donghu told Chu Zhiyuan that the Heavenly Blade Pavilion held no blades and that Grandmasters of the Four Sects abandoned their weapons or techniques upon reaching that realm.

Chu Zhiyuan discovered a secret realm on Heavenly Blade Peak and suspected Lu Donghu was concealing the Heavenly Blade from outsiders. He secretly sent the Emperor a message through two trusted channels, then went to meet Li Hongzhao at Bright Moon Tower.

• Chu Zhiyuan sensed a secret realm on Heavenly Blade Peak and realized Lu Donghu had lied about why outsiders could not see the Heavenly Blade.
• Chu Zhiyuan told Huang Cheng that the Heavenly Blade was hidden in the void but that Lu Donghu's claim about it attacking outsiders was false.
• Chu Zhiyuan debated whether the Emperor knew about the secret realm and decided to communicate with him without exposing the information to others.
• Chu Zhiyuan split his message into two parts, sending a numbered note with Chu Qingfeng and a travel journal with Bai Ningshuang for Consort Rou.
• Chu Zhiyuan received Li Hongzhao's invitation and arrived at Bright Moon Tower as the lanterns were lit.

Chu Zhiyuan met Li Hongzhao to receive the Phoenix Blood Pills and probed her about Great Meng’s plans and Wentian Cliff’s schemes. Li Hongzhao warned him that Wentian Cliff might target him and revealed that the Eighteenth Princess’s brother could become a rival for Great Jing’s throne.

• Li Hongzhao gave Chu Zhiyuan ten Phoenix Blood Pills, and they traded barbs about Great Meng’s setbacks and his arranged marriage to the Eighteenth Princess.
• Chu Zhiyuan deduced that Great Meng had sent an envoy to Great Guang, and Li Hongzhao warned him to beware of Wentian Cliff.
• Li Hongzhao said Wentian Cliff might be investigating Chu Zhiyuan and suggested it believed he could become Emperor.
• Li Hongzhao revealed that the Eighteenth Princess’s brother, the Seventeenth Prince, was a gifted cultivator who might challenge for the throne.
• Chu Zhiyuan learned through his Insight that Great Meng knew of Great Zhen’s newly discovered hidden realm, then urged Li Hongzhao to advise her father to stop the war.
• Li Hongzhao asked whether Wentian Cliff’s Grandmasters could assassinate Chu Zhiyuan and suggested the Eighteenth Princess might be exchanged for him.

Chu Zhiyuan and Li Hongzhao traded threats and discussed their cultivation, then Chu Zhiyuan asked her to find a Grandmaster's saber so he could study its Blade Intent. Li Hongzhao agreed to look for one and left Bright Moon Tower, warning him to beware of the Eighteenth Princess.

• Li Hongzhao warned that Zhu Caifu could assassinate Chu Zhiyuan, and he revealed that he had reached the Ninth Heaven and expected to become a Grandmaster soon.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked whether Great Meng had a saber used by a Grandmaster and offered to exchange Linglong Bookstore for one.
• Chu Zhiyuan threatened to ask Chu Zhichuan to purge Linglong Bookstore, and Li Hongzhao allowed him to proceed while denying she was concerned.
• Chu Zhiyuan explained that he wanted a Grandmaster's saber to study its Blade Intent, and Li Hongzhao considered whether practicing sword arts could improve her cultivation.
• Li Hongzhao agreed to look for a Grandmaster's saber, warned Chu Zhiyuan about the Eighteenth Princess, and left Bright Moon Tower with the Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry.

Chu Zhiyuan learned that the palace banquet was canceled after an assassin poisoned the Eighteenth Princess’s face, and the marriage alliance was expected to be called off. He welcomed the news and renewed his resolve to reach the Grandmaster realm.

• Chu Zhiyuan left Bright Moon Tower, reflected on Li Hongzhao’s warning about the Eighteenth Princess, and returned to the Prince’s Mansion.
• Bai Ningshuang told Chu Zhiyuan that the Emperor would announce the marriage at the banquet, and they worried about how Xiao Ruoling would react.
• Feng Xi reported that the Eighteenth Princess had been attacked, prompting the Emperor to cancel the banquet.
• The imperial physicians found two permanent scars on the Eighteenth Princess’s face caused by an unhealable strange poison, while Zhu Caifu failed to catch the assassin.
• Chu Zhiyuan continued cultivating through the night, then learned from Chu Qingfeng that the marriage alliance would likely be canceled and welcomed the outcome.

Chu Zhiyuan suspected Wentian Cliff had engineered Great Zhen’s efforts to force him into marriage, and Chu Qingfeng agreed it was possible. The Emperor sent Chu Zhiyuan to visit the Eighteenth Princess, and he arrived at the guarded Great Zhen Residence.

• Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Qingfeng discussed the Eighteenth Princess’s assassination and whether Wentian Cliff had used the marriage negotiations to pressure Chu Zhiyuan.
• Chu Qingfeng agreed to ask the Emperor whether Chu Zhiyuan could visit the Eighteenth Princess, and the Emperor sent Chief Steward Huang to summon him on the Emperor’s behalf.
• Chu Zhiyuan swallowed Phoenix Blood Pills to advance his Scale Refining cultivation before receiving the Emperor’s message.
• Chu Zhiyuan reached Sifang Pavilion Street, where Huang Shirong, Wen Qianqian, and Xu Mengyu were keeping watch.
• Chu Zhiyuan approached the Great Zhen Residence, and Zou Fang announced that the Fourth Heir Apparent had come by imperial command to visit the Eighteenth Princess.

Chu Zhiyuan waited to meet the Great Zhen prince after an assassination attempt and exchanged swordsmanship with Gao Jiuqu. After besting Gao Jiuqu twice, he was summoned by Zhu Caifu to see His Highness.

• Chu Zhiyuan greeted Gao Jiuqu at the Great Zhen residence and chose to wait until the prince woke so he could offer his regards.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Gao Jiuqu fought at the training ground, where Chu Zhiyuan pressed forward with repeated upward slashes and split Gao Jiuqu’s jade pendant.
• Gao Jiuqu admitted that he combined the Wentian Sword Art with the Heaven's Machine Art, and Chu Zhiyuan invited him to fight again.
• Gao Jiuqu attacked first in their second exchange, but Chu Zhiyuan evaded his strikes and tore Gao Jiuqu’s robe at the shoulder without injuring him.
• Zhu Caifu appeared and told Chu Zhiyuan that His Highness requested his presence.

Chu Zhiyuan met with Cheng Miaozhen and Zhu Caifu after the Princess’s apparent assassination, revealing that he knew they had staged it to escape their marriage plans. He proposed that they cooperate, but warned that the emperors might still force the marriage because Cheng Miaozhen’s scars would not matter to them.

• Chu Zhiyuan visited Cheng Miaozhen and found symmetrical scars on her face, while Zhu Caifu challenged his claims that the injuries would not affect their marriage.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked to speak privately with Cheng Miaozhen and Zhu Caifu, then declared that he could find an antidote and that they shared the goal of avoiding the marriage.
• Chu Zhiyuan revealed that he had considered helping Cheng Miaozhen fake her death and escape, and said he knew she and Zhu Caifu had staged the assassination themselves.
• Chu Zhiyuan warned that the emperors could see through their plan and might still order him to marry Cheng Miaozhen, regardless of her scars.
• Cheng Miaozhen and Zhu Caifu realized they had wrongly assumed the emperor would care about her disfigured appearance.

Chu Zhiyuan devised a plan for Cheng Miaozhen to fake suicide and escape an unwanted marriage, while warning that Wentian Cliff might interfere to undermine him. After arranging precautions against suspected agents, he left the pavilion, and Cheng Miaozhen and Zhu Caifu watched him go.

• Chu Zhiyuan explained that the Emperor would likely force the marriage through and proposed either using false-death medicine or staging Cheng Miaozhen's suicide to escape it.
• Chu Zhiyuan suggested Cheng Miaozhen could contend for Great Zhen's throne, revealing that he had sensed her extraordinary cultivation method.
• Chu Zhiyuan warned Zhu Caifu that Wentian Cliff might be using the marriage to hinder him, and Zhu Caifu named Gao Jiuqu and Senior Brother Mo as possible sources of interference.
• Chu Zhiyuan advised Zhu Caifu to keep Senior Brother Mo occupied and warned that the guard Lu Sanjin might be suspicious, so Cheng Miaozhen agreed to investigate him.
• Chu Zhiyuan left the pavilion with Zou Fang, while Cheng Miaozhen and Zhu Caifu watched him depart.

Cheng Miaozhen discussed her future with Zhu Caifu after Chu Zhiyuan helped resolve the marriage crisis, while Chu went to meet Li Hongzhao about the promised saber. Li revealed that the assassination might have been staged and threatened to spread that claim.

• Zhu Caifu and Cheng Miaozhen agreed that Cheng would return to Great Zhen after the marriage alliances were canceled, and Cheng accepted that she might remain unmarried.
• A Great Meng cavalryman summoned Chu Zhiyuan to meet Li Hongzhao, who said she had news about the saber.
• Chu and Li discussed the assassination of the Eighteenth Princess, and Chu confirmed that her beauty had not been harmed.
• Li revealed that the Golden Saber Sect had found a broken saber left by a Grandmaster five hundred years earlier, while Chu insisted it must fulfill their agreement or be replaced.
• Li warned Chu that the assassination seemed strange and asked what would happen if she spread word that it had been faked.

Chu Zhiyuan confronted Li Hongzhao over her claim that the Sifang Pavilion assassination had been staged, then submitted a memorial pleading guilt after the Eighteenth Princess attempted suicide. He learned that a spirit pill had erased her scars, but told Zhu Caifu to keep that secret and preserve the appearance of the injury as they worked to break off the marriage alliance.

• Li Hongzhao told Chu Zhiyuan she had witnessed the assassination being fabricated and offered to expose it, but he warned that rumors could implicate Great Meng instead.
• Chu Zhiyuan left Li Hongzhao venting her fury on a stone stool and later wrote a memorial pleading guilt.
• After the Eighteenth Princess attempted suicide, Chu Zhiyuan had Bai Ningshuang submit his memorial.
• Chu Zhiyuan practiced his techniques and watched his Blade Intent and silver Sword Qi grow stronger.
• Zhu Caifu told Chu Zhiyuan that Huang Cheng had brought a spirit pill that erased Miaozhen's scars.
• Chu Zhiyuan instructed Zhu Caifu to conceal the erased scars and said they would work together to break off the marriage.

Chu Zhiyuan explained how Great Jing could save face over Li Hongzhao’s supposed disfigurement, then examined a broken saber she had brought him and discovered its concealed Blade Intent. He accused Li Hongzhao of trying to deceive him, but agreed to keep looking for a suitable saber in exchange for sparing Secret Agents he encountered.

• Chu Zhiyuan told Zhu Caifu that Great Jing would accept his apology memorial and let the disfigurement story stand to avoid escalating the marriage dispute.
• After Zhu Caifu left, Chu Zhiyuan suspected Wentian Cliff was trying to provoke him into reckless cultivation and considered her a possible source of information.
• At Bright Moon Tower, Li Hongzhao gave Chu Zhiyuan a saber said to have belonged to a Golden Saber Sect Grandmaster.
• When Chu Zhiyuan drew the broken saber, its concealed Blade Intent attacked him and caused intense pain before he subdued it with the Heavenly Yuan Art.
• Chu Zhiyuan accused Li Hongzhao of trying to fob him off, but agreed to keep searching for a suitable saber in exchange for sparing any Secret Agents he encountered.

Chu Zhiyuan intervened when Sky Swallowing Sect assassins attacked Li Hongzhao and helped her kill their leader, though the remaining attackers escaped. Afterward, Li Hongzhao visited Chu Zhiyuan, and they discussed how the assassins had learned that Mr. Su was absent.

• Chu Zhiyuan watched Li Hongzhao leave the restaurant, then sensed an attack and saw her fighting an old man while Su Qiuyan battled another attacker.
• Chu Zhiyuan's Flying Daggers pierced the old man's shoulders, giving Li Hongzhao the opening to kill him with her Phoenix Sword Art.
• A great grandmaster escaped with the two remaining attackers after deflecting Chu Zhiyuan's dagger, and the Town Martial Division arrived to end the fight.
• Li Hongzhao saved two fallen Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalrymen with spiritual pills, then went to Chu Zhiyuan's residence after finding him gone from Bright Moon Tower.
• Li Hongzhao identified the attackers as members of the Sky Swallowing Sect, and Chu Zhiyuan suspected they had struck because Mr. Su was absent.

After another assassination attempt, Li Hongzhao agreed to work with Chu Zhiyuan to strike the Sky Swallowing Sect in exchange for intelligence on Great Zhen and Wentian Cliff. They set out with a small group of experts, following Chu Zhiyuan south from Yujing City.

• Chu Zhiyuan urged Li Hongzhao to build support by demonstrating her strength, while warning her that striking her relatives could cost her the Emperor's Sword.
• Chu Zhiyuan offered to help Li Hongzhao deal a heavy blow to the Sky Swallowing Sect in return for Great Meng's intelligence on Great Zhen, especially Wentian Cliff.
• Li Hongzhao agreed to provide the intelligence and gathered Su Qiuyan and six Grandmasters to pursue the Sky Swallowing Sect's three attackers.
• Chu Zhiyuan led the group a hundred li south of Yujing City, and one of Li Hongzhao's Grandmasters questioned where the Sky Swallowing Sect experts were.

Chu Zhiyuan led Li Hongzhao and her forces to a hidden Sky Swallowing Sect base, warning her that two of the six masters were likely spies. When the group attacked, Chu Zhiyuan drew his Bright Moon Blade and began cutting down the sect’s experts with swift, deadly strikes.

• Chu Zhiyuan told Li Hongzhao through Sound Transmission that two of her six masters seemed to be spies, and she agreed to spare a suspected Great Jing agent if they found one.
• Chu Zhiyuan tracked the Sky Swallowing Sect experts to a forested valley and warned Li Hongzhao that more than ten masters were gathered there.
• Su Qiuyan entered the valley and began fighting the Sky Swallowing Sect Grandmaster while Li Hongzhao and the six masters charged the gathered experts.
• Chu Zhiyuan drew the Bright Moon Blade and killed the first attackers with swift cuts to their necks.
• The Sky Swallowing Sect experts focused their attacks on Chu Zhiyuan as he continued cutting down their members, leaving Li Hongzhao and the six masters stunned.