Chapter Summaries

Chu Zhiyuan and his allies slaughtered the Sky Swallowing Sect’s attackers, then helped Su Qiuyan kill the Grandmaster who had been her longtime enemy. Afterward, Li Hongzhao agreed to share intelligence from Wentian Cliff with Chu Zhiyuan, who left with a Spirit Sealing Box in his spatial iron ring.

• Chu Zhiyuan used the Glazed Saber Scripture to slaughter the Sky Swallowing Sect experts, strengthening his Bright Moon Blade and refining his Blade Intent.
• Chu Zhiyuan led the group away from the battle, then parted from Shen Siming and the other six experts while Li Hongzhao stayed to wait for Su Qiuyan.
• Chu Zhiyuan sent Flying Daggers infused with Blade Intent to disrupt the Grandmaster fighting Su Qiuyan, allowing her to kill him with a palm strike to the back of his head.
• Chu Zhiyuan explained that his Blade Intent let him interfere with a Grandmaster but was not yet strong enough to kill one himself.
• Li Hongzhao promised to share news from Wentian Cliff with Chu Zhiyuan, and Su Qiuyan thanked him for helping her kill her old rival.
• Chu Zhiyuan left with the Spirit Sealing Box inside his spatial iron ring.

As Chu Zhiyuan traveled with Li Hongzhao and Su Qiuyan, he identified two inconspicuous men as suspicious and demonstrated the power of his Storm Sword Art. Li Hongzhao revealed that mastering the Emperor's Sword was the key to hoping to surpass the Grandmaster realm.

• Chu Zhiyuan told Li Hongzhao that two quiet, unremarkable men seemed suspicious because their emotions were complicated, and she promised to investigate them without wrongly accusing them.
• Su Qiuyan offered to bring Chu Zhiyuan an ancient blade-art inheritance as thanks for helping her kill an old foe.
• Chu Zhiyuan demonstrated one layer of the Storm Sword Art, which sent a violent gale sweeping over Li Hongzhao and Su Qiuyan and stripped branches and needles from the pine trees.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Su Qiuyan said that Grandmaster was considered the limit in the changed world, and Li Hongzhao mocked Chu Zhiyuan for thinking about realms beyond it.
• Li Hongzhao told Chu Zhiyuan that becoming the master of the Emperor's Sword offered the only hope of breaking through Grandmaster.

Chu Zhiyuan learned that the world’s declining vitality was making Grandmaster breakthroughs increasingly difficult, then advanced his Dragon Transformation Technique to initial Scale Refining. He tested his new defenses and reconsidered opening the black Spirit Sealing Box, wondering whether his scales could withstand whatever danger lay inside.

• Su Qiuyan told Chu Zhiyuan that he had reached only the First Heaven of Grandmaster Realm and warned that the world was declining, making cultivation harder with each passing age.
• Back at Listening to Waves Courtyard, Chu Zhiyuan sensed danger from the black Spirit Sealing Box and put it away, then continued cultivating with the Bright Moon Blade and two other blades.
• Chu Zhiyuan swallowed his last two Phoenix Blood Pills and achieved initial Scale Refining, causing golden scales to merge beneath his skin.
• Chu Zhiyuan tested his new scales with the Qingying Sword and a palm strike, discovering that they made his skin tough and dispersed force.
• Chu Zhiyuan tried to advance into Claw Refining, but his palms showed only faint Flowing Light, so he took out the Spirit Sealing Box again and wondered if his scales could block its hidden weapons.

Chu Zhiyuan opened a Spirit Sealing Box and discovered that its black toad statue wielded a deadly, nearly imperceptible power. After Su Qiuyan delivered him a copy of the Void Severing Saber Art, he understood its principles of transforming illusion and reality and recognized its potential to make attacks impossible to evade.

• Chu Zhiyuan opened the Spirit Sealing Box and repelled the silver toad phantom with the Fearless Great Perfection Hand Seal.
• Chu Zhiyuan tested the black toad statue with a pebble, which turned to dust and left blue bricks pitted before its strange aura faded.
• Su Qiuyan visited Chu Zhiyuan and gave him a copied volume of the Void Severing Saber Art, warning him that its techniques seemed contradictory and had nearly crippled her.
• Chu Zhiyuan read the saber art and realized its contradictions arose from transformations between illusion and reality, principles he connected to life and death and yin and yang.
• Chu Zhiyuan concluded that mastering the Void Severing Saber Art could let him strike through changes in the void without needing to guide his Flying Daggers.

Chu Zhiyuan comprehended the Way of Reality and Illusion through the Void Severing Saber Art, though using it exhausted his Spiritual Power. At Bright Martial Hall, he learned that rumors about the Eighteenth Princess refusing to marry him had spread through Yujing City, suspected a deliberate smear, and went to confront Li Hongzhao.

• Chu Zhiyuan studied the Void Severing Saber Art and attained sudden enlightenment in the Way of Reality and Illusion.
• Chu Zhiyuan tested the art with the Qingying Sword and Flying Dagger, then depleted his Spiritual Power making the dagger turn illusory and pass through a stone.
• At Bright Martial Hall, Chu Zhiting, Chu Zhichuan, and Chu Mingxuan told Chu Zhiyuan that rumors claimed the Eighteenth Princess had faked a suicide attempt to avoid marrying him.
• Chu Zhiyuan warned them not to believe the rumors and said they might target him or the Eighteenth Princess; the others suspected Li Hongzhao.
• Chu Zhiyuan visited Li Hongzhao at Great Meng's quarters and sat down to talk with her over a meal.

Chu Zhiyuan and Li Hongzhao discussed the political conflicts among Great Meng, Great Jing, and Great Zhen, then examined rumors about the Eighteenth Princess and intelligence on Wentian Cliff. Chu Zhiyuan learned that Gao Jiuqu would become Wentian Cliff’s Cliff Master once he reached the Grandmaster realm.

• Li Hongzhao criticized Zhou Jichang’s book for inflaming conflict and argued that the dynasties’ wars ultimately concerned interests.
• Li Hongzhao told Chu Zhiyuan about rumors that the Eighteenth Princess despised him and would rather die than marry him, and he dismissed them as true and unimportant.
• Li Hongzhao brought Chu Zhiyuan dossiers about Wentian Cliff, and he rapidly read them while they ate.
• Chu Zhiyuan praised Great Meng’s Secret Agents and asked whether Gao Jiuqu’s position was important.
• Li Hongzhao explained that Gao Jiuqu would become Cliff Master after entering the Grandmaster realm and said Wentian Cliff relied on open schemes rather than hidden intrigues.

Chu Zhiyuan discussed Gao Jiuqu’s prospects as Wentian Cliff’s next master with Li Hongzhao, then demonstrated that he had mastered the dangerous Void Severing Saber Art. Li Hongzhao was furious at his success, and Su Qiuyan agreed that his comprehension was extraordinary.

• Chu Zhiyuan judged Gao Jiuqu the strongest candidate to become Wentian Cliff’s next master and considered the cliff’s hidden strength and political protection.
• Li Hongzhao warned Chu Zhiyuan that killing Gao Jiuqu would provoke Wentian Cliff and that the Great Zhen Imperial Clan would not allow the Emperor’s Sword to destroy it.
• Li Hongzhao told Chu Zhiyuan that practicing the Void Severing Saber Art had nearly caused her Qi Deviation, while Chu Zhiyuan suspected she was trying to provoke him into trying it.
• As Chu Zhiyuan left, he used the Void Severing Saber Art to make his Flying Dagger turn illusory and graze Li Hongzhao’s face, then thanked Mr. Su for the technique.
• Li Hongzhao vented her anger by chopping the stone table apart, and Su Qiuyan arrived and acknowledged Chu Zhiyuan’s astonishing comprehension.

Su Qiuyan and Li Hongzhao discussed the danger of Chu Zhiyuan’s growing saber skill and the Yin Fiend that restrained Grandmasters from killing. Later, Chu Zhiyuan spoke with Gao Jiuqu about Wentian Cliff’s burdens and suggested that a lasting alliance between Great Jing and Great Zhen could ease them.

• Li Hongzhao worried that Chu Zhiyuan’s Void Severing Saber Art threatened Grandmasters, and Su Qiuyan explained how killing accumulated Yin Fiend.
• Chu Zhiyuan met Gao Jiuqu outside the Great Zhen embassy as they headed toward their separate destinations.
• Chu Zhiyuan learned that Gao Jiuqu would have to pass trials to succeed his master as Wentian Cliff’s cliff master.
• Gao Jiuqu described how using the Heaven’s Machine Art exhausted the cliff master’s heart’s blood and lifespan.
• Chu Zhiyuan proposed that Great Jing and Great Zhen remain allied to reduce Wentian Cliff’s burden, and Gao Jiuqu acknowledged the idea would be difficult.

Chu Zhiyuan weighed how to support Gao Jiuqu and oversaw the newly selected Martial Arts Hall trainees before learning that Great Zhen had sent an edict rebuking Cheng Miaozhen over the marriage alliance. The Great Jing Emperor then issued an edict for Chu Zhiyuan to deliver to the Eighteenth Princess, which he received with approval.

• Chu Zhiyuan considered helping Gao Jiuqu advance to Grandmaster so he could observe the breakthrough, while reflecting on the consequences for Wentian Cliff and Great Zhen.
• Chu Zhiyuan instructed the ten Martial Arts Hall selections after the court divided their places evenly between the Military and Town Martial Division.
• Zhu Caifu told Chu Zhiyuan that Great Zhen's Emperor had sent an edict rebuking Miaozhen and ordering her to consider the kingdom's citizens.
• Chu Zhiyuan assured Zhu Caifu that he could refuse the marriage alliance and that Imperial Grandfather would not force him to marry.
• Huang Cheng delivered an imperial edict to Chu Zhiyuan and asked him to take it to the Eighteenth Princess at the Sifang Pavilion.

Chu Zhiyuan delivered an imperial decree granting Cheng Miaozhen the title of Princess Jianing, ending the marriage alliance and giving her a mansion and other privileges. After showing her the mansion, Chu Zhiyuan invited Gao Jiuqu to study swordsmanship and later asked Elder Yun Qiuhua about Cheng Miaozhen’s unusual cultivation art.

• Chu Zhiyuan told Zhu Caifu that Cheng Miaozhen had been made Princess Jianing of Great Jing, so she no longer needed to marry him.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Zhu Caifu delivered the decree, and Cheng Miaozhen thanked the Emperor while Chu Zhiyuan reassured her that he had also wanted to end the marriage alliance.
• Cheng Miaozhen considered whether to stay in Great Jing or return to Great Zhen, and Chu Zhiyuan suggested she could travel between the two dynasties.
• Chu Zhiyuan showed Cheng Miaozhen the Princess Mansion, then invited Gao Jiuqu to visit his residence and study swordsmanship together.
• Chu Zhiyuan pondered Cheng Miaozhen’s cultivation art on his way home and asked Elder Yun Qiuhua whether she knew of it.

Yun Qiuhua learned that the Eighteenth Princess secretly cultivated a rare, difficult method, while Chu Zhiyuan and Xiao Ruoling entered a familiar secret-realm forest. After a new Demon Beast attacked them, Chu Zhiyuan killed it and found that the Bright Moon Blade had gained no spirituality.

• Chu Zhiyuan and Xiao Ruoling kept the Eighteenth Princess's cultivation method secret from Yun Qiuhua.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Xiao Ruoling entered a familiar part of the secret realm and observed how it had changed over time.
• Xiao Ruoling and Chu Zhiyuan discussed the Eighteenth Princess's refusal to marry and the hardships of being sent to a foreign land.
• Chu Zhiyuan sensed a strange new leopard-like Demon Beast, and Xiao Ruoling noticed that the area felt wrong.
• The Demon Beast attacked, and Chu Zhiyuan cut it in two with the Bright Moon Blade.
• Chu Zhiyuan sensed that the Bright Moon Blade's spirituality had not changed after the kill.

Chu Zhiyuan explored a secret realm, adjusted his cultivation, and hit a bottleneck in the Glazed Saber Scripture when his available sources of Blade Intent could no longer help him. Seeking ancient weapons with lingering Blade Intent, he asked Chu Qingyan for help, and Chu Qingyan said he would search the Imperial Secret Treasury for a blade.

• Chu Zhiyuan reflected on how the Bright Moon Blade gained spirituality by killing people, then chose to strengthen it with Demon Beast crystals when possible and continued exploring the secret realm with Xiao Ruoling.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Xiao Ruoling returned to Moon Invitation Palace, where Yun Qiuhua told them an ancient sect called the Two Forms Returning Yuan Sect had once existed.
• After three days at Moon Invitation Palace, Chu Zhiyuan returned to Yujing City, reprimanded Phoenix Camp, and resumed his duties at the Martial Arts Hall.
• Four Martial Arts Hall disciples entered the Master realm, while Chu Zhiyuan continued cultivating until his Blade Intent stalled despite his progress.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked Chu Qingyan to find ancient weapons carrying Blade Intent or Sword Intent, and Chu Qingyan offered to search the Imperial Secret Treasury for a blade.

Chu Zhiyuan tested an ancient saber’s Blade Intent and asked Chu Qingyan to obtain stronger sabers from the Flying Heaven Sect for him to study. He then asked whether the three inheritances he had acquired were incomplete, and Chu Qingyan confirmed they were missing crucial Visualization Diagrams.

• Chu Zhiyuan learned that only Chu Qingyan or the Emperor could open the Imperial Secret Treasury, and Chu Qingyan urged him to build a firm foundation and reach Grandmaster.
• While waiting, Chu Zhiyuan pondered the Dragon Transformation Technique and the Taiqing Yuan Sect’s three arts, wondering how their qi might advance as his cultivation rose.
• Chu Qingyan brought Chu Zhiyuan a battered ancient saber, but its Blade Intent was weaker than the silver-sheathed saber Chu Zhiyuan already carried.
• Chu Qingyan agreed to ask the Flying Heaven Sect for both of its stronger sabers so Chu Zhiyuan could study them for a month.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked whether his three sect inheritances were incomplete, and Chu Qingyan confirmed that they were missing their crucial Visualization Diagrams.

Chu Zhiyuan discussed ancient cultivation inheritances with Chu Qingyan and defended his plan to release Phoenix Camp’s new Grandmasters into the wider Imperial Court. The next morning, Chu Qingfeng gave him Flying Heaven Sect’s Treasure Blade, leaving Chu Zhiyuan confident that the sect should fear offending him.

• Chu Zhiyuan learned that the three ancient inheritances lacked Visualization Diagrams, and Chu Qingyan forbade him from viewing or cultivating them before reaching the Grandmaster realm.
• Chu Zhiyuan insisted that Phoenix Camp’s more than two hundred new Grandmasters should leave and serve the Northern Territory, the Military, or the Town Martial Division.
• Chu Qingyan acknowledged that freeing the Grandmasters would benefit Great Jing, though Phoenix Camp’s new path to advancement would attract intense competition.
• The next morning, Chu Zhiyuan practiced the Violet Sun True Scripture at Bright Martial Hall before Chu Qingfeng led him to Autumn Knowing Hall.
• Chu Qingfeng gave Chu Zhiyuan one of Flying Heaven Sect’s Treasure Blades and warned that he had deeply offended the sect.
• Chu Zhiyuan dismissed Chu Qingfeng’s concern and said Flying Heaven Sect should be careful not to offend him.

Chu Zhiyuan examined the saber from Heavenly Blade Pavilion and discovered that the Dragon Transformation Technique let him draw it safely. Using the Glazed Saber Scripture triggered a dangerous vision that greatly strengthened his Blade Intent, leading him to suspect the saber contained a Blade Soul.

• Chu Zhiyuan dismissed Chu Qingfeng’s concerns about antagonizing Flying Heaven Sect and predicted the sect would make amends to him.
• Chu Zhiyuan sensed deadly danger as he reached for the saber, then used the Dragon Transformation Technique to make the danger subside and draw it.
• Chu Zhiyuan activated the Glazed Saber Scripture, saw a vision of lightning striking the saber, and experienced a sharp increase in his Blade Intent.
• Chu Zhiyuan realized the vision had lasted a quarter of an hour and left him nearly exhausted.
• Chu Zhiyuan recovered with the Heavenly Yuan Art and Earthly Yuan Art, then wondered whether the saber had revealed a Blade Soul.

Chu Zhiyuan furthered his Blade Intent with the Flying Heaven Sect’s treasure saber and learned that Li Suyue had reached Innate Perfection. Zhu Caifu then announced that Consort Shu was gravely ill and that they had to return to Great Zhen immediately, leaving Chu Zhiyuan to suspect she intended to use his Heavenly Dragon Divine Horse.

• Chu Zhiyuan discovered the saber was forged from Outer-Heaven Meteorite Iron and used it to strengthen his Blade Intent.
• At dinner, Chu Yi revealed that Li Suyue had reached Innate Perfection, and Chu Zhiyuan said she was close to breaking through further.
• Chu Zhiyuan reflected that Li Suyue and Chu Yi’s cultivation benefited greatly from the Eternal Spirit Divine Tree and that both could become Great Grandmasters.
• Zhu Caifu told Chu Zhiyuan that Consort Shu was gravely ill and that they would leave for Great Zhen that afternoon.
• Zhu Caifu asked about the speed of Chu Zhiyuan’s Heavenly Dragon Divine Horse, and he realized she wanted to use it for the journey.

Cheng Miaozhen borrowed Chu Zhiyuan’s Heavenly Dragon Divine Horses to hurry back to Great Zhen, revealing that she could approach and soothe them but needed Chu Zhiyuan’s jade pendant to ride. She departed with both horses, while Zhu Caifu and Chu Zhiyuan remained behind.

• Chu Zhiyuan agreed to let Cheng Miaozhen try to tame the Heavenly Dragon Divine Horses after Zhu Caifu insisted she could do it.
• Cheng Miaozhen stroked the female horse, but when she tried to mount, it evaded her and refused to let her approach again.
• Chu Zhiyuan gave Cheng Miaozhen his jade pendant, which the horses recognized and accepted as a sign that she belonged with them.
• Cheng Miaozhen mounted the female horse, and Chu Zhiyuan told her to release the horses when she no longer needed them.
• Cheng Miaozhen said goodbye to Zhu Caifu and rode away with both Heavenly Dragon Divine Horses.

Chu Zhiyuan learned that Consort Shu was gravely ill and might need his help, though he doubted he could treat her. After Zhu Caifu left him a wooden saber with a saber-technique inheritance, Chu Zhiyuan entered a vision of lightning and gained a new realization.

• Chu Zhiyuan and Zhu Caifu discussed Consort Shu's illness and whether she wanted the Seventeenth Prince to compete for the throne.
• Zhu Caifu asked Chu Zhiyuan to examine Consort Shu if she had no other options, but he warned that the Emperor and Great Zhen might prevent her from traveling to the Jade Capital.
• Zhu Caifu decided to return to check on Cheng Miaozhen and urged Chu Zhiyuan to help Consort Shu if needed.
• Zhu Caifu gave Chu Zhiyuan a small wooden saber containing an inherited saber technique.
• Chu Zhiyuan focused his intent on the wooden saber and found himself on a mountain beneath dark clouds, where flashes of violet lightning sparked a realization.

Chu Zhiyuan mastered the Way of Fast and Slow through Zhu Caifu’s wooden saber, then learned that Daliu Camp on the eastern border had mutinied. After reviewing the reports, he rejected Gao Lingfeng’s call to deploy the Town Martial Division, judging the crisis to stem from local officials’ abuses and their attempt to shift blame.

• Chu Zhiyuan repeatedly entered the wooden saber’s illusion and comprehended the Way of Fast and Slow, recovering his Spiritual Power quickly between sessions.
• Chu Zhiyuan demonstrated his new insight by sending a Flying Dagger slowly toward a pine branch, cutting it with startling speed.
• Zou Fang told Chu Zhiyuan that Gao Lingfeng had been waiting for him because a military camp in Jihai Town had mutinied.
• Gao Lingfeng reported that Daliu Camp had killed its commander, that Jihai Town had failed to suppress the unrest, and that martial and evil sects were involved.
• Chu Zhiyuan read the dossiers and concluded that General Feng’s exploitation and suppression had caused the mutiny and that local officials were trying to shift responsibility to the Town Martial Division.
• Chu Zhiyuan refused to deploy the Town Martial Division to arrest sect members, identifying the crisis as a failure of local administration.

Chu Zhiyuan investigated reports about Jihai Town and Daliu Camp while weighing the political risks of intervening. He learned that Commander Ding Shaoqiang’s brutal shipbuilding demands had driven 3,500 soldiers into the forests, leaving the garrison unable to confront them.

• Chu Zhiyuan rejected Gao Lingfeng’s call to purge Daliu Camp immediately and decided to seek the Supervisory Department’s account before acting.
• Chu Zhiyuan questioned Ma Tianhe about Ninth Prince and Linglong Bookstore, then ordered him to keep watching the suspected Great Meng Secret Agents.
• Chu Zhiyuan read ten years of reports and learned that Ding Shaoqiang had forced soldiers to build warships through the winter and ordered guards to kill those who resisted.
• Daliu Camp soldiers killed Ding Shaoqiang’s guards and fled into the nearby forests with their weapons, where 3,500 men evaded Jihai Town’s forces.
• Chu Zhiyuan concluded that Ding Shaoqiang’s request for Town Martial Division experts was not truly about martial artists, since his demoralized troops could not handle Daliu Camp.