Recaps

Tang Yan blundered into a fight between Zi Yun and Bai Qing, who had poisoned and injured her. After discovering openings in Bai Qing’s swordplay, Tang Yan directed Zi Yun’s attacks and helped her seize the advantage.

• Bai Qing attacked Tang Yan to distract Zi Yun, but Zi Yun intercepted his strike and protected him.
• Bai Qing taunted Zi Yun and used his flexible sword to press her while she was poisoned and injured.
• Tang Yan retreated, studied Bai Qing’s movements, and insulted him to draw his attention.
• Tang Yan called out an opening in Bai Qing’s defense, and Zi Yun followed his instructions to force him onto the defensive.
• Tang Yan directed another sequence of attacks, and Zi Yun spun through the air to launch a powerful strike at Bai Qing.

Tang Yan helped Zi Yun defeat Bai Qing, then killed the Heaven Tier expert with his hidden flame and carried Zi Yun to the city when her Fire Evil Poison overwhelmed her. Zi Yun later woke in an unfamiliar room, dressed in different clothes and unable to summon true qi.

• Following Tang Yan’s instructions, Zi Yun struck Bai Qing three times and left him injured and desperate to escape.
• Bai Qing flew toward Tang Yan and tried to kill him, but Tang Yan burned a hole through his neck with a deep-blue flame and killed him.
• Tang Yan claimed he had used a single-use protective treasure, then searched Bai Qing’s body and took his belongings and two Essence Augmentation Pills.
• Zi Yun’s Fire Evil Poison flared up, and she begged Tang Yan not to violate her before losing control and throwing herself at him.
• Tang Yan knocked Zi Yun unconscious and carried her toward the city, fearing the poison would damage her cultivation or kill her.
• Zi Yun woke in a furnished room with an empty dantian and realized she was wearing clothes that were not her own.

Tang Yan told Zi Yun that he had cured her Fire Evil Poison and let her stay with the Tang Family until she recovered. Meanwhile, Old Master Tang learned that all 120 Tang Family guards had reached yellow tier first grade and asked Mo Yanjun how they had advanced.

• Tang Yan told Zi Yun she had not been violated, warned her not to threaten him, and left her to recover at the Tang Family.
• Old Master Tang reflected on Tang Yan's restored Dantian and new strength, which had revived his hopes for the family.
• Uncle Mo reported that all 120 Tang Family guards had advanced to yellow tier first grade.
• Old Master Tang and Uncle Mo went to the Drill Grounds, where Mo Yanjun assembled the guards and demonstrated their strength.
• Old Master Tang verified that every guard had reached yellow tier and asked Mo Yanjun how they had improved.

Old Master Tang learned that Tang Yan’s pills had raised more than a hundred guards to Yellow Tier and approved the family’s promised rewards. In Tang Yan’s courtyard, Zi Yun watched him practice the Extreme Six Forms, then walked in on an awkward scene that left Old Master Tang stunned.

• Mo Yanjun told Old Master Tang that Tang Yan’s pills had helped the guards break through, and Old Master Tang approved the guards’ promised wages and rewards.
• Old Master Tang went to Tang Yan’s courtyard, where Zi Yun spoke with Xiao Cui and became curious about Tang Yan’s past and martial skill.
• Tang Yan practiced the Extreme Six Forms, exhausting and replenishing his true qi to improve his cultivation.
• Tang Yan stripped down to his underpants to bathe in the courtyard, startling Zi Yun, who had refused to leave.
• Old Master Tang kicked open the gate and found Tang Yan nearly naked with Zi Yun in the courtyard.

Zi Yun revealed her identity as a Heaven Tier expert from Purple Bamboo City and persuaded Old Master Tang to let her guide Tang Yan. After Tang Yan complained about her tricking his grandfather, he offered to make pills that could restore her strength far faster than expected.

• Zi Yun showed Old Master Tang her Purple Bamboo City token and confirmed that she was Zi Yun.
• Zi Yun told Old Master Tang she wanted to take Tang Yan to Purple Bamboo City, but agreed to stay and guide him after learning he already had a master.
• Old Master Tang told Tang Yan to respect and learn from Zi Yun, and Tang Yan reluctantly agreed.
• After Old Master Tang left, Tang Yan accused Zi Yun of misleading him, and she threatened to tell his grandfather.
• Tang Yan said Zi Yun's recovery would take years without his pills, then promised his pills could restore her peak strength within three months.

Tang Yan prepared for the Mid-Autumn Gathering while refining pills to help Zi Yun recover and advance his own cultivation. Two days later, Old Master Tang arrived at Tang Yan’s courtyard demanding an explanation.

• Tang Yan realized the Mid-Autumn Gathering was approaching and resolved to compete despite being far weaker than Liu Zhi, Wu Feiming, and Qin Jiushan.
• Lin Xiao and Madam Lin discussed inviting Tang Yan to Madam Lin’s birthday celebration to thank him for the Scarless Pill and deter the other lineages from harming the Tang Family.
• Tang Yan refined High Spirit Pills, then prepared Qi-Restoring Pills and First Spirit Pills for Zi Yun.
• Tang Yan gave Zi Yun the pills and said her recovery would take between forty days and three months; Zi Yun thanked him before returning to her room.
• After two days of cultivating with High Spirit Pills, Tang Yan reached the second grade of the yellow tier, while Zi Yun’s dantian began producing true qi.
• Old Master Tang came to Tang Yan’s courtyard and demanded to know what was going on.

Tang Yan attended the City Lord's Wife's birthday banquet and provoked the Qian Family by slapping and kicking Qian Rulong and Qian Shenghu after claiming they had taken his seat. When Qian Shenghu attacked, Tang Ling intervened, sparking a confrontation among the four great lineages that an aged voice tried to end.

• Old Master Tang told Tang Yan that the City Lord had specifically invited him to the birthday banquet, and Tang Yan suspected the invitation was connected to the Scarless Pill.
• Tang Yan prepared in his Pill Room, then rode with Old Master Tang to the City Lord's Residence for the celebration.
• At the foremost table, Tang Yan mocked Qian Rulong and Qian Shenghu as servants and demanded they give up his seat.
• Tang Yan slapped both Qian brothers and kicked them away, prompting Qian Shenghu to attack him.
• Tang Ling knocked Qian Shenghu back with a teacup and threatened anyone who harmed Tang Yan, while Liu Wuhui, Wu Wei, and Qin Feiyue criticized him.
• An aged voice defended Tang Ling's intervention and urged the gathering to let the matter end.

Tang Yan turned the dispute over the Tang Family’s seats into a public slight against the Liu Family, while the Wonderful Elixir Workshop’s support helped prevent the conflict from escalating. At City Lord Lin Xiao’s birthday banquet, the Liu, Qin, and Wu families presented extravagant gifts, leaving Old Master Tang worried that the Tang Family’s modest offering would embarrass them.

• Ge Ming backed the Tang Family, and Liu Wuhui agreed to let the dispute over the seats drop.
• Tang Yan mocked the Liu Family for tolerating the Qian Family’s beating and threatened to attack the Liu Family, angering Liu Zhi.
• Lin Xiao and Madam Lin arrived and opened the birthday banquet with a toast.
• Liu He, Qin Ling, and Wu Bayang presented Madam Lin with valuable treasures from their families.
• Old Master Tang realized the other three lineages had coordinated their lavish gifts and worried that the Tang Family’s ten first-tier upper grade pills would seem paltry.

Tang Yan presented Madam Lin with a Youth-Preserving Pill at her birthday celebration, turning the other families’ attempt to embarrass the Tang Family against them. Wu Xuan appraised the pill and praised its extraordinary refinement, leaving Madam Lin reassured and grateful to the Tang Family.

• Liu Wuhui and the heads of the Qin and Wu Families mocked Tang Ling, expecting the Tang Family’s gift to fall short.
• Tang Yan praised Madam Lin and revealed that a Tang Family pill had already removed the scars from her face.
• Tang Yan presented Madam Lin with a Youth-Preserving Pill, claiming it would preserve her appearance for twenty years.
• Wu Xuan examined the pill and explained that she could not identify its ingredients because they had been fused into a single fragrance.
• Wu Xuan declared the pill genuine and its refinement at least fourth tier, and Madam Lin accepted it with thanks to Tang Yan.

After presenting a rare pill at the City Lord's banquet, Tang Yan won Lin Xiao's approval with his blunt answers about governing. He practiced Phantom Shadow Steps through the night, but a sudden sense of danger stopped him outside the city.

• Tang Yan told Wu Xuan that the pill he had presented was the only one he could obtain, concealing that he had refined several himself.
• Lin Xiao took Tang Yan aside and discussed governing, and Tang Yan's candid answers earned the City Lord's approval.
• After leaving the City Lord's Residence, Tang Yan chose to practice Phantom Shadow Steps on his way home.
• Tang Yan fell repeatedly as he learned the footwork, then gradually mastered its movements and grew faster by using High Spirit Pills.
• Tang Yan became absorbed in practicing and headed out of the city, where he suddenly sensed terrible danger and stopped.

Tang Yan fought a third-tier Nether Leopard by evading it for hours, improving his Phantom Shadow Steps until the exhausted beast could no longer keep up. After killing it and taking its golden beast core, he sensed the Heaven-Earth Creation Cauldron react with joy.

• Tang Yan recognized the attacking beast as a third-tier Nether Leopard and fled, using Phantom Shadow Steps to dodge its attacks.
• As the chase continued for hours, Tang Yan improved his footwork and replenished his true qi with High Spirit Pills.
• Tang Yan tried to attack the tired Nether Leopard, but it still had enough strength to drive him back into another chase.
• After nearly eight hours, Tang Yan fought the exhausted beast with Cloudflow Sword and killed it with a thrust to the throat.
• Tang Yan split open the Nether Leopard's skull and took its golden beast core, then noticed the Heaven-Earth Creation Cauldron reacting joyfully.

Tang Yan absorbed a beast core through the Heaven-Earth Creation Cauldron, broke through to yellow tier fourth grade, and discovered that it helped a Spirit Whirlpool Fruit plant grow. After clashing with Zi Yun, he cultivated for nine days and reached yellow tier sixth grade ahead of the Mid-Autumn Gathering, where Zi Yun emerged from seclusion smiling.

• Tang Yan fed a third-tier beast core to the Heaven-Earth Creation Cauldron, whose energy helped him break through to yellow tier third grade and then fourth grade.
• Tang Yan found a new shoot on the Spirit Whirlpool Fruit plant inside the cauldron and suspected beast cores could nourish the herbs there.
• Tang Yan returned to Cloud City and interrupted Zi Yun's zither playing, prompting her to challenge him with her sword.
• Tang Yan fought Zi Yun using only origin tier eighth-grade strength and suppressed her despite her origin tier ninth-grade cultivation.
• Over the next nine days, Tang Yan cultivated to yellow tier sixth grade in preparation for the Mid-Autumn Gathering.
• Zi Yun emerged from her room with a broad smile as Tang Yan considered his chances at the gathering.

Tang Yan sparred with Zi Yun, endured her escalating attacks, and refined a Dantian-Expanding Pill to prepare for the Mid-Autumn Gathering. He swallowed the pill late at night, and its power erupted inside him.

• Zi Yun challenged Tang Yan to spar and raised her strength from Yellow Tier Third Grade to Profound Tier when she could not defeat him.
• Tang Yan increased his own strength during the fight, but Zi Yun overwhelmed him and left him bruised after half an hour.
• Tang Yan reflected that he needed to grow stronger for the next day's Mid-Autumn Gathering and chose not to reveal his heaven-earth creation flame.
• Tang Yan used the Spirit Whirlpool Fruit and other costly ingredients to refine a Third Tier middle-grade Dantian-Expanding Pill.
• Tang Yan took the pill in his bedroom, and an enormous surge of power exploded inside his body.

Tang Yan endured the Dantian-Expanding Pill’s painful effects and formed a vortex dantian, greatly increasing his true-qi reserves. At the Tang Family gathering before the Mid-Autumn competition, Zi Yun revealed that he had reached yellow tier sixth grade, leaving the family eager for him to compete.

• Tang Yan endured the merging vortices until his dantian transformed, and the ancient cauldron replenished his spiritual energy.
• Tang Yan discovered that his vortex dantian held unusually abundant true qi and let him perform more repetitions of the Extreme Six Forms.
• Old Master Tang and the Tang Family elders discussed whether to enter the Mid-Autumn martial competition, while Uncle Mo suggested letting Yan Jun compete alone.
• Zi Yun announced that Tang Yan had reached yellow tier sixth grade and could contend for the top spot among the younger generation.
• Tang Yan released his aura to confirm his strength, astonishing the elders and restoring their confidence in the Tang Family's prospects.

After the Tang Family learned that the Four Seas Gang had attacked the Liu Family, Tang Yan uncovered a plot to undermine their allies and reputation at the Mid-Autumn Gathering. He ordered a swift assault on the gang, leaving Uncle Mo to mobilize the guards and prepare the strike.

• Tang Yan asked the family to keep his strength secret, and Old Master Tang declared that they would attend the Mid-Autumn Gathering that night.
• A guard reported that the Four Seas Gang had wrecked the Liu Family's shops and killed guards, while the Tang Family had suffered casualties.
• Tang Yan warned that rival lineages were using the attack to weaken the Tang Family's allies before the gathering, and urged the family to destroy the Four Seas Gang.
• Tang Yan ordered Uncle Mo to send all one hundred and twenty newly trained guards and ten elite fighters, approaching the gang's headquarters in separate groups.
• Tang Yan offered the guards a hundred taels of silver for every enemy killed, and Old Master Tang approved the plan.

The Tang Family attacked the Four Seas Gang headquarters after Chen Dao and Liu Jing prepared to use their alliance to destroy them. The Tang Family’s overwhelming force wiped out most of the defenders, while Uncle Mo pressed Chen Dao in combat.

• Chen Dao and Liu Jing agreed that the Liu Family’s hidden fighters would help the Four Seas Gang defeat the Tang Family, and Chen Dao expected a share of the Tang Family’s holdings.
• A scout reported that Uncle Mo was approaching with twenty guards, so Chen Dao assembled more than a hundred fighters, including Liu Family men.
• Uncle Mo confronted Chen Dao at the headquarters and demanded an explanation for the Four Seas Gang’s attack on the Liu Family.
• Chen Dao discovered that more than a hundred Tang Family Guards had arrived in several groups, and Uncle Mo ordered the attack.
• Uncle Mo’s stronger cultivation forced Chen Dao to call for Liu Jing’s help as the Tang Family Guards overwhelmed the Four Seas Gang and Liu Family fighters.
• Within fifteen minutes, more than half the defenders had been killed, and the Tang Family Guards cut down the remaining Four Seas Gang members.

The Tang Family destroyed the Four Seas Gang, seized its wealth, and revealed a force of more than a hundred and thirty Yellow Tier experts. As the Mid-Autumn Gathering began, the Liu Family plotted to damage the Tang Family’s reputation or cripple Tang Yan, while two new rumors spread through Cloud City.

• Liu Jing fled the Four Seas Gang’s headquarters, and Chen Dao cursed the Liu Family before killing himself as Uncle Mo’s forces defeated the gang.
• Uncle Mo ordered the Tang Family Guards to collect the gang’s treasures, and Tang Yan promised each fighter an extra five hundred taels of silver.
• News of the Tang Family’s victory reassured its allies and alarmed the Liu Family, whose elders discussed avoiding a bloody conflict while targeting Tang Yan at the Mid-Autumn Gathering.
• Liu Wuhui proposed spreading rumors about the Tang Family’s younger generation if it skipped the gathering, or crippling Tang Yan if it attended.
• The Mid-Autumn Gathering began at Bright Moon Lake as the crowd waited to see what the four great families would do, and two rumors spread through Cloud City.

Old Master Tang brought the Tang Family to the Mid-Autumn Gathering, where the Wonderful Elixir Workshop’s choice to join them surprised the other families. After the City Lord arrived, Zhou Ying announced the literary competition’s rules and called participants to the platform.

• The Tang Family arrived at the gathering with Old Master Tang, Zi Yun, and Tang Yan, ending three years without all four great families attending together.
• Wu Xuan declined Liu Zhi’s invitation and led the Wonderful Elixir Workshop to sit with the Tang Family, prompting speculation about their relationship.
• Wu Xuan recognized Zi Yun as a member of Tingxiang’s foremost Zi family and wondered why she was with Tang Yan.
• The Heavenly Treasure Auction House arrived, followed by City Lord Lin Xiao, who had Zhou Ying explain the gathering’s rules.
• Zhou Ying announced a three-round literary competition for Cloud City residents aged thirty-five or under, and aspiring participants rushed to the platform.

Tang Yan joined Cloud City's Literary Contest after Zi Yun kicked him from his seat, surprising the crowd with his presence and a poetic line. The first round began with Tang Yan seated at the same table as Liu Hailian, and he ended the chapter by contributing a striking verse.

• Old Master Tang considered sending Tang Yan to represent the Tang Family, but Tang Yan showed no interest in the contest.
• Wu Xuan recited Tang Yan's love poem for Lin Dongxue, stirring Zi Yun's jealousy and prompting her to kick him off his chair.
• Tang Yan accepted the crowd's attention, defended the Tang Family's decision to compete, and stepped onto the literary stage.
• Zhou Ying announced the contest rules and divided the 130 contestants into groups for a chain-poetry round.
• Tang Yan sat at a table with Liu Hailian, traded insults with him, then surprised the contestants by supplying the line, “Cold dew dampened osmanthus blooms.”

Tang Yan astonished Cloud City by advancing through the first two rounds of the literary competition and winning the love-themed round with a lyric verse. He joined four other contestants in the third round, which began with a demanding length limit and a theme focused on Cloud City's young men.

• Tang Yan matched Liu Hailian's lines in the first round and advanced among the twenty remaining contestants.
• Lin Xiao set the second-round theme as love, while Tang Yan waited as other contestants presented their poems.
• Tang Yan recited a lyric verse about longing for a beloved, silencing the crowd and earning the City Lord's praise.
• Zhou Ying announced Tang Yan in first place, followed by Liu Hailian, Wu Jin, Liu Zhi, and Qin An, all advancing to the third round.
• Zhou Ying announced that the third-round works had to be at least one hundred characters long and focus on the young men of Cloud City.

Tang Yan won the literary competition with his fierce poem, “Man's Way,” and earned a Third-Grade Beast Core. As the Mid-Autumn Gathering’s martial competition began, the Liu Family plotted to cripple or kill him, while Old Master Tang warned him to avoid Liu Zhi.

• Tang Yan recited “Man's Way,” stunning the crowd and leaving Liu Zhi and the other contestants unable to respond.
• Liu Zhi and the other contestants left the stage, conceding the literary championship to Tang Yan.
• Tang Yan received the literary competition’s honors, silver, and a Third-Grade Beast Core.
• Liu Wuhui ordered the Liu Family to get Tang Yan into the martial competition and ensure his opponent showed no mercy.
• Old Master Tang warned Tang Yan about the Liu Family’s intentions and urged him to avoid facing Liu Zhi.
• The City Lord announced the start of the Mid-Autumn Gathering’s martial competition.

At the Mid-Autumn Gathering martial competition, Tang Yan and his grandfather Tang Ling bait the Liu Family into a wager and arrange for Tang Yan to face Liu Xing. The match begins with Cloud City expecting Tang Yan to lose quickly.

• Lin Xiao announced the martial competition rules and opened the qualifying round and challenges to the previous top eight.
• Liu Wuhui mocked the Tang Family, and Tang Ling and Tang Yan traded insults with the Liu Family until Lin Xiao stopped the quarrel.
• Liu He wagered three Third-Tier Beast Cores that Tang Yan would lose to a Liu Family yellow tier first grade fighter, and Tang Ling accepted after pretending to hesitate.
• Liu Wuhui asked Lin Xiao to allow Liu Xing and Tang Yan to spar, and Lin Xiao agreed under rules against deliberate injury.
• Liu He sent Liu Xing to fight and privately urged him not to let Tang Yan concede; after the crowd doubted Tang Yan, Lin Xiao started the match.

Tang Yan defeated Liu Xing, revealed that he had reached Yellow Tier Sixth Grade, and challenged the Liu Family’s standing in Cloud City. Liu Zhi then offered to concede if Tang Yan survived twenty moves against him, and Tang Yan considered the challenge.

• Tang Yan blocked Liu Xing’s spear strike, overwhelmed him with an enhanced Cloudflow Sword technique, and kicked him unconscious, injuring his dantian.
• Liu He treated Liu Xing and threatened Tang Yan, but Tang Yan demanded the three third-tier beast cores and returned to the Tang Family’s seats.
• Tang Yan declared that the Tang Family would not be bullied, then challenged Liu Changyu and revealed his strength had risen to Yellow Tier Sixth Grade.
• Liu Zhi stepped forward and offered to concede defeat if Tang Yan lasted twenty moves against him.
• Tang Yan calmly weighed the challenge and judged that he could fight even if Liu Zhi had reached Yellow Tier Ninth Grade.

Tang Yan fought Liu Zhi to demonstrate his strength and test his abilities, surviving the Yellow Tier Ninth Grade fighter’s full-power attack with his Heaven-Earth Creation Flame. After twenty moves, Tang Yan remained standing, while Lin Xiao’s warning glance stopped Liu Zhi from acting on his murderous intent.

• Tang Yan accepted Liu Zhi’s challenge, and Zi Yun reassured Old Master Tang that Tang Yan could handle the fight.
• Liu Zhi struck first and forced Tang Yan back, but Tang Yan dodged his next attack with Phantom Shadow Steps and countered with Cloudflow Sword.
• Tang Yan and Liu Zhi exchanged nineteen moves, with Tang Yan’s evasive footwork and attacks on Liu Zhi’s openings keeping him in the fight.
• Liu Zhi revealed his Yellow Tier Ninth Grade strength and launched a full-power spear thrust at Tang Yan.
• Tang Yan unleashed the Heaven-Earth Creation Flame and withstood Liu Zhi’s strike, then pointed out that twenty moves had passed.
• Liu Zhi felt murderous toward Tang Yan, but Lin Xiao’s warning glance made him back down.

After Tang Yan's clash with Liu Zhi, Tang Ling revealed the history of Tang Yan's parents and the family's flight to Cloud City. He then gave Tang Yan a powerful martial technique left by his mother, and Tang Yan studied it with growing interest.

• Tang Yan left the Mid-Autumn Gathering after his battle with Liu Zhi and cultivated through the night.
• Tang Ling summoned Tang Yan to the ancestral hall and told him that his mother came from a powerful, mysterious family and had been taken away after her marriage to Tang Yan's father.
• Tang Ling revealed that Tang Yan's father had left to search for his mother and that the Tang Family had fled the Northern Spirit Realm to hide in Cloud City.
• Tang Ling opened a secret chamber and gave Tang Yan the jade slip containing the Flame Burst Palm technique left by his mother.
• Tang Yan studied the technique's three forms, while Tang Ling asked whether he had understood it.