Recaps

After Yin was brutally attacked and blamed Jia Huan, the Five City Troops Command surrounded Rongguo Mansion and officials across the capital condemned Jia as the supposed mastermind. Jia denied the accusation through his actions, ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guards to defend the estate, and went to the Forbidden City after receiving the emperor’s summons.

• A masked assassin invaded the Duke's Maternal Uncle's Estate, crippled Yin, and killed his concubine.
• Jia Zheng told Jia Huan that Yin accused him of ordering the attack after their argument the previous evening.
• Jia Huan confronted the West City Commanding Commissioner, struck him, and ordered Twin Whips to bring three thousand Embroidered Uniform Guards to Rongguo Mansion.
• Jia Huan left for the Forbidden City after an imperial decree summoned him, leaving Scholar and the guards to handle the standoff.
• Officials across the Imperial City blamed Jia Huan for Yin’s injuries and condemned him as a lawless official.

Jia Huan denied framing Yin Xuanli and was suspended from office while the court investigated evidence linking the Kirin Office to weapons found at Yin’s residence. He left the Imperial Study determined to retaliate against anyone who harmed him, while Empress Yin vowed to keep him from regaining power.

• Emperor Jingde questioned Jia Huan about threatening Yin Xuanli, and Jia denied making threats or arranging the attack.
• Commanding Commissioner Jiang presented evidence that armor and crossbows from the Jinzhou Arsenal had been hidden at Yin’s residence and that a servant identified Chen Yu of the Kirin Office.
• Jia Huan rejected the accusations as suspicion rather than conclusive proof, and Emperor Jingde suspended him and ordered him to remain in the capital during the investigation.
• Jia Huan left the Imperial Study resolved not to submit quietly to the blade of imperial power.
• Yin lamented his mutilated hand, while Empress Yin said Jia Huan had been suspended and vowed to keep him powerless until evidence could be found.

After Jia Huan was suspended and confined to the Capital amid suspicions that he had framed the emperor’s brother-in-law, he sought help from the Retired Emperor. He secured permission to leave the Capital with ten men for one month to bring down Yin, while vowing to take his own life if he failed.

• Jia Huan returned to the Kirin Office and learned that Chen Yu had lost his waist token, which later reappeared in his bedroom.
• Jia Huan surrendered his waist token, official seal, and uniform after receiving an indefinite suspension and an order not to leave the Capital.
• Jiang Wuyuan suspended Jia Huan’s trusted subordinates, prompting Jia Huan to tell them to stay with the Jia Family.
• Jia Huan went to the Eastern Palace and offered to bring down Yin openly and honorably.
• The Retired Emperor gave Jia Huan one month and permission to leave the Capital with ten men, warning that the law would take its course if evidence proved Jia Huan was the mastermind.

After Jia Huan was suspended, the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s crackdown on the Jianghu and his growing isolation threatened his position. He defended the Kirin Office against forced transfers and left vowing to stake his life against Commanding Commissioner Jiang.

• A Misty Rain Tower leader told Jia Huan that the tower had been demolished and at least a thousand martial artists had been arrested, while rumors blamed him for their peril.
• A eunuch delivered the decree allowing Jia Huan to enter and leave the Capital, reminding him to bring Yin down within a month or die in atonement.
• At the Kirin Office training ground, its guards refused transfer orders, insisting that Jia Huan had only been suspended.
• Jia Huan beat Thousand-Household Commanders Dugu and Yue after they confronted the Kirin Office guards, and warned others not to harm his people.
• Commanding Commissioner Jiang accused Jia Huan of abusing his authority, but Jia Huan cited recorded insults and warned Jiang against issuing transfer orders.
• Jia Huan led his men away after declaring that he would stake his life against Jiang.

Jia Huan faced the first night of his suspension as palace experts, the Wang Family, and the court turned against him. Pacification Commissioner Xu Jingchun secretly gave him crime-scene evidence, hoping he would use it to clear his name.

• Jia Huan drove the Imperial Palace Experts from Rongguo Mansion, then comforted his worried family and trusted men.
• The Wang Family Elder led Aunt Xue, Jia Baoyu, and their party away from Rongguo Mansion, confident Jia Huan would fall without power.
• Jia Mu and Jia Zheng watched the Wang Family leave and feared the Jia Family was doomed, while Jia Mu mourned Huan's lost prospects.
• An Embroidered Uniform Guard commander summoned Jia Huan to the Imperial Prison, where Xu Jingchun questioned him about the assassination at the Duke's Estate.
• Xu Jingchun gave Jia Huan a letter detailing the victims' injuries and privately expressed hope that he would withstand the conspiracy.

Jia Huan received a lead linking the attack on his allies to Elder Fire Lotus of the Quanzhen Sect and prepared to investigate alone. Medicine King Valley reluctantly agreed to contact Misty Rain Tower, while Jia Huan left instructions to protect Rongguo Mansion before departing for Mount Zhongnan.

• Jia Huan read Pacification Commissioner Xu's report that the killer had used a powerful left-handed palm strike and peerless lightness skill.
• Medicine King Valley's elders initially refused to help Jia Huan, but An Xuan'er's master warned them about his supposedly protective master, and they agreed to write to Misty Rain Tower.
• An Xuan'er delivered Misty Rain Tower's letter identifying the Heart-Burning Palm and naming Elder Fire Lotus, a ninth-layer Profound Insight Realm expert residing at the Quanzhen Sect.
• Jia Huan burned the letter, gave An Xuan'er emergency instructions, and told his followers to seek Pacification Commissioner Xu's aid if Rongguo Mansion was surrounded.
• Jia Huan quietly departed for Mount Zhongnan alone with two carrier pigeons.

Jia Huan forced the Quanzhen Sect to reveal that Eunuch Xia had persuaded Elder Fire Lotus to leave Mount Zhongnan. He left with Fire Lotus’s portrait and growing suspicions about Xia Shouzhong and the emperor.

• Jia Huan reached Mount Zhongnan and made Yuan Zhonglou receive him by revealing his formidable cultivation.
• When Yuan Zhonglou refused to help, Jia Huan broke his arm with Buddha’s Palm and defeated the Seven Elders of Quanzhen.
• Jia Huan threatened to destroy the sect unless Yuan Zhonglou answered his questions, and Yuan Zhonglou surrendered.
• Yuan Zhonglou said Elder Fire Lotus had left Mount Zhongnan after repeated visits from a eunuch surnamed Xia.
• Jia Huan identified the eunuch as Xia Shouzhong, connected him to the confiscated weapons, and questioned whether the emperor was involved.
• Jia Huan ordered Yuan Zhonglou to draw Fire Lotus’s portrait, warned the Quanzhen elders to keep silent, and left with the portrait.

After Emperor Jingde refused to punish Jia Huan without evidence, Yin Xuanli took his silence as permission to seek revenge against the Jia Family. Empress Yin threatened the clan, but Jia Huan’s relatives escaped before palace officials could seize them, leaving the family’s fate in turmoil.

• Emperor Jingde told Yin Xuanli he would remain commander of the Five City Troops Command but would not act against Jia Huan without evidence, and Yin resolved to destroy the Jia Family.
• Empress Yin summoned Concubine Zhao and the other women to Fengyi Palace, but Wang Xifeng claimed Concubine Zhao was too ill to travel, so the eunuchs withdrew.
• Empress Yin summoned Jia Mu, threatened the Jia Family with extermination, and kept her kneeling for half an hour before sending her home.
• At dawn, the palace eunuchs found Jia Huan’s household missing from Rongguo Mansion, with a breach in the rear wall and the palace guards gone.
• Jia Mu said she did not know where the fugitives were, while an eunuch reported that Jia Zheng had also disappeared; the Python-Robe Eunuch rushed to report the escape to the Central Court.

Jia Huan enlisted Qin Geng and Commissioner Ouyang to uncover Elder Fire Lotus’s hiding place while his family remained concealed outside the Capital. After receiving Ouyang’s intelligence, Jia Huan found the likely residence and approached it, where Elder Fire Lotus sensed an oppressive presence.

• Jia Huan sent Qin Geng to deliver a secret letter to Commissioner Ouyang asking him to investigate Xia Shouzhong’s residences and haunts.
• Commissioner Ouyang weighed the danger of defying Jiang Wuyuan, then chose to investigate Xia Shouzhong’s records at the Experiences Office.
• Qin Geng returned with Ouyang’s secret letter listing three addresses and a rough military map, and Jia Huan praised his loyalty.
• Jia Huan ruled out two locations and watched the likely hiding place of Elder Fire Lotus as Embroidered Uniform Guards and city troops searched the Capital.
• Elder Fire Lotus sensed approaching footsteps in his hidden chamber, felt an unprecedented oppression, and stepped out to confront the unknown visitor.

Jia Huan defeated Elder Fire Lotus and forced him to reveal that Xia Shouzhong and Qiu Jiujie had helped frame the Kirin Office. Disguised in black, Jia Huan then headed to the Duke's Maternal Uncle's Estate, determined to kill the imperial maternal uncle.

• Jia Huan overwhelmed Elder Fire Lotus with the Three Buddha-Light Palms, leaving the Western Regions martial artist crippled and his martial will shattered.
• Jia Huan found five young men from the Ancient Mandala Church at the estate and knocked them unconscious with Formless Kalpa Finger strikes.
• Elder Fire Lotus confessed that Xia Shouzhong had ordered the attack and that Qiu Jiujie supplied weapons and armor; he also admitted stealing Chen Yu's Waist Token to frame the Kirin Office.
• Jia Huan threatened Elder Fire Lotus with the lives of the five young men and gave them poison before leaving.
• Jia Huan changed into black clothes, put on a Human-Skin Mask, and set out to kill the imperial maternal uncle at the Duke's Maternal Uncle's Estate.

Jia Huan attacked the Duke's Maternal Uncle's Estate and killed the Imperial Uncle, Yin Xuanli, despite the court's guards and experts. He left Yin Xuanli's severed head beneath the estate's plaque, setting the stage for a crisis across Great Qian.

• Jia Huan killed the stooped Old Eunuch with one punch, then slaughtered the Imperial Palace Experts and Martial World Elders guarding the estate.
• Jia Huan entered the rear residence, killed another Old Eunuch, and revealed his identity to Yin Xuanli after unsealing Yin's acupoints.
• Jia Huan rejected Yin Xuanli's pleas and killed him, then cut off his head and erased his traces as he left.
• A Yin Family Retainer returned to the estate and discovered Yin Xuanli's severed head hanging beneath the Gilded Plaque.

After Empress Yin learned that her brother Yin Xuanli had been murdered and publicly humiliated, the Retired Emperor ordered the Capital sealed and Jia Huan arrested. The authorities began seizing the Jia family and searching for Jia Huan’s relatives, while a dark figure left Qiu Jiujie’s estate with a sheaf of letters.

• Eunuch Zhong told Empress Yin that her brother had been murdered and his head hung above his estate gates, and she accused Jia Huan before fainting.
• The Retired Emperor and Emperor Jingde ordered the Capital sealed and commanded the Grand Secretariat and Embroidered Uniform Guard to arrest Jia Huan.
• A Wang Family Elder took Jia Baoyu and Madam Wang to the Capital Camp, warning that Jia Huan’s actions threatened the whole Jia family.
• Pacification Commissioner Xuanyuan’s forces arrested Jia Zhen, Jia Rong, Jia She, Jia Mu, and other members of the Jia family at Ningrong Street.
• After learning that Jia Huan’s birth parents might be hiding in Anyi Ward, Xuanyuan ordered his men to search for them.
• A dark figure emerged from Qiu Jiujie’s estate carrying a sheaf of letters and entered a deserted alley.

Jia Huan reached the Capital after fighting through the troops, surrendered to demand an audience with the Retired Emperor, and insisted his men be left unharmed. As the court’s forces escorted him toward the city, he concealed his true strength while onlookers believed he was doomed to execution and disgrace.

• Commissioner Ouyang learned that over thirteen hundred Embroidered Uniform Guards had fought their way out of the Capital and that Yan and Zhang were battling the White Tiger Office in Anyi Ward.
• Jia Huan fought through five li of road to the Capital gates, leaving bodies behind as his loyal followers gathered around him.
• Jia Huan mocked the authorities’ accusations, then surrendered to Pacification Commissioner Xu Jingchun on the condition that he meet the Retired Emperor and his men remain untouched.
• An Inner Court expert sealed Jia Huan’s acupoints, dantian, and meridians, but Jia Huan secretly believed the attempt could not restrain him.
• The Embroidered Uniform Guards escorted Jia Huan through the Capital as residents and scholars watched, convinced that he would die disgraced.

Jia Huan stood trial before the Retired Emperor for assassinating the imperial uncle and claimed he had accepted the blame to protect Great Qian. He named the true killer by fixing his gaze on Xia Shouzhong, whose shock revealed that Jia Huan had struck a nerve.

• After Jia Huan surrendered, Scholar Twin Whips urged the martial elders to protect his family and hurried toward the Imperial City.
• Jiang Wuyuan ordered Xuanyuan to massacre Jia Huan’s family, associates, and connected Jianghu factions after the execution.
• Jia Huan entered the Grand Secretariat’s yamen under guard as the Retired Emperor and high ministers prepared to judge him.
• When accused of fleeing punishment, Jia Huan admitted he had been afraid and said he feared failing the Retired Emperor.
• Jia Huan said he knew the killer from the beginning and had accepted the infamy to preserve Great Qian’s reputation.
• Jia Huan identified Xia Shouzhong with his gaze, and Xia Shouzhong trembled in shock.

Jia Huan exposed Xia Shouzhong’s role in framing him, and the Retired Emperor ordered the real culprits arrested. An investigation confirmed the plot and Xia confessed to framing Jia Huan, but he continued to deny murdering the Imperial Uncle and accused Jia Huan instead.

• Jia Huan named Elder Fire Lotus and Qiu Jiujie, unsettling Xia Shouzhong, then gave the Retired Emperor a secret letter urging him to arrest the criminals.
• The Retired Emperor dispatched trusted officials to investigate, and they arrested suspects connected to the missing weapons and Elder Fire Lotus’s attack on the Duke’s Maternal Uncle’s Estate.
• Grand Secretary Gao reported that the Ministry of War officials had confessed and that arrested eunuchs implicated Xia Shouzhong in framing Jia Huan.
• The Retired Emperor confronted Xia Shouzhong and asked whether someone had ordered him to frame Jia Huan, while Emperor Jingde watched in silence.
• Xia Shouzhong confessed to framing Jia Huan and unlawfully torturing the Imperial Uncle, but denied killing him and accused Jia Huan of murder.
• Jia Huan declared that he had sworn to avenge the Imperial Uncle and ensure he could rest in peace.

Jia Huan defended himself before the court and was publicly affirmed as loyal after Xia Shouzhong confessed to framing him. The Retired Emperor continued pressing Xia to identify who had ordered him, while Emperor Jingde angrily challenged his father’s authority.

• Jiang Wuyuan confronted Pacification Commissioner Qin, who said Xia Shouzhong was the culprit and that the evidence against him was conclusive.
• The Retired Emperor demanded that Xia Shouzhong name the person who had ordered him, but Xia denied killing the Imperial Uncle.
• Jiang Wuyuan accused Jia Huan of having accomplices, and Jia rebuked him for failing to investigate the missing weapons and solve the case.
• The Retired Emperor declared that Pacification Commissioner Jia was loyal to the bone, and the Chief Grand Secretary and other ministers praised Jia.
• Emperor Jingde told the Retired Emperor to return to the Eastern Palace, prompting the Retired Emperor to question his fitness to rule.
• Xia Shouzhong admitted that he had wanted Jia Huan to suffer, but the Retired Emperor continued demanding the name of the person behind his actions.

Jia Huan forced the court to send Xia Shouzhong to the Imperial Prison, winning the Retired Emperor’s favor while further angering Emperor Jingde and Jiang Wuyuan. Determined to seize control of the Embroidered Uniform Guard before Jiang could destroy him, Jia prepared to strike first as Jiang summoned the Central Plains’ martial powers to Mang Mountain.

• Empress Yin confronted Xia Shouzhong, and Emperor Jingde ordered him executed with poisoned wine.
• Jia Huan remonstrated that Xia should be sent to the Imperial Prison, and the Retired Emperor and ministers backed him.
• The Retired Emperor ordered Jia Huan to prepare a closing report and began choosing appointees for the Five City Troops Command and Imperial Horse Directorate.
• Jia Huan resolved to bring down Jiang Wuyuan quickly and rise to the summit of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
• Jiang Wuyuan ordered Pacification Commissioner Xuanyuan to summon every top-tier Central Plains power to Mang Mountain and threaten those who supported Jia Huan.

After Jia Huan turned the crisis in the Palace into meritorious service, the court announced that it would reward his family. His loved ones were freed from despair, and Jia Huan left the Imperial City with his possessions restored and his allies welcoming him.

• Twin Whips told the Martial World elders that Jia Huan had rendered meritorious service and the court would reward his family.
• An Xuan'er brought the news to Wang Xifeng and the other women, who celebrated Jia Huan's survival and success.
• Python-Robe Eunuchs freed Jia Mu from prison and told her that the court would compensate the Jia Family and that the Retired Emperor had praised Jia Huan.
• Jia Huan left the Imperial City with his official belongings returned to him, signaling that his promotion was imminent.
• Commissioner Ouyang greeted Jia Huan in the rain, praised his success, and invited him for a drink.

Jia Huan moved to challenge Jiang Wuyuan by ordering an investigation into his trusted confidants and a crackdown on the White Tiger Office. He then executed Xia Shouzhong after revealing that he had killed Jiang Qi, leaving the eunuch dead in the Imperial Prison.

• Commissioner Ouyang warned Jia Huan that Jiang Wuyuan held four major advantages, including the emperors’ trust, command of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, hidden martial masters, and powerful allies.
• Jia Huan ordered the Kirin Office to investigate Pacification Commissioner Xuanyuan and Pacification Commissioner Pei and abandoned the pursuit of the Prince of Zhennan and Wang Ziteng.
• Jia Huan gave Twin Whips his authority to assemble the Kirin Office and arrest members of the White Tiger Office, then took Scholar to the Imperial Prison.
• Jia Huan ordered Xia Shouzhong tortured, but Xia Shouzhong refused to speak.
• Jia Huan told Xia Shouzhong that he had killed Jiang Qi, then beheaded him and ordered his body thrown into the Mass Burial Ground.

Jia Huan killed the condemned men, reached the pinnacle of the Profound Insight Realm, and ordered Scholar to form the Three Hundred Sixty Vajras. The next morning, Scholar and Twin Whips were promoted to Thousand-Household Commanders as the Retired Emperor publicly rewarded Jia Huan and his trusted officers.

• Jia Huan executed the Thirteen Guardians, Qiu Jiujie, and Elder Fire Lotus, then gained the Three Hundred Sixty Blades Ringing in Unison and reached the pinnacle of the Profound Insight Realm.
• Jia Huan ordered Scholar to select 360 loyal Kirin Office brothers and name them the Three Hundred Sixty Vajras.
• Jia Huan told Scholar and Twin Whips that they had been promoted to Thousand-Household Commanders and urged them to prepare to kill Jiang Wuyuan within a month.
• The Retired Emperor arrived at the Northern Commandant Office and bestowed a Purple Python Flying Fish Uniform on Jia Huan.
• The Retired Emperor personally gave Scholar and Twin Whips red Flying Fish Uniforms, Embroidered Spring Sabers, and Thousand-Household Commander Official Seals.

Jia Huan rewarded martial elders for defending his family, while Rongguo Mansion received imperial honors that elevated Concubine Zhao and Jia Zheng. Jia Mu rejected Madam Wang and Jia Baoyu’s return to favor, declaring that the Jia Family belonged to Jia Huan.

• Jia Huan gave the martial elders gold, martial arts manuals, official protection, and opportunities for their recommended juniors.
• An imperial edict invested Concubine Zhao as a First-Rank Madam and presented her with a Phoenix Crown and other gifts.
• Jia Zheng was promoted to Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and he wept with gratitude as he accepted the appointment.
• Madam Wang returned with Jia Baoyu and claimed she should receive a rank through Jia Zheng’s promotion, but Jia Mu vowed to block it.
• Jia Mu told Madam Wang and Jia Baoyu that Jia Huan decided the Jia Family’s affairs and they could leave for the Wang Family.
• Jia Baoyu smashed his jade in anguish as Jia Mu left without comforting him, while Concubine Zhao departed wearing her Phoenix Crown.

Jia Huan returned to the Jia estate after his breakthrough, where his family celebrated Concubine Zhao’s First-Rank title and thanked An Xuan’er for her help. He later disciplined Wang Xifeng and Ping’er for defying him, then surprised Lin Daiyu with a carriage full of flowers, leaving her deeply moved.

• Concubine Zhao wore her First-Rank Phoenix Crown at the Jia Family Ancestral Hall while Jia Mu celebrated the family’s good fortune.
• Wang Xifeng and Concubine Zhao noticed Jia Huan’s changed bearing, and he thanked An Xuan’er for supporting the family.
• Qiao Ping’er brought a subordinate in an imitation Flying Fish Uniform to Jia Huan, who recognized her and Wang Xifeng as traitors and punished them.
• Jia Huan visited Lin Daiyu, who pretended to be asleep, then spent more than two hours talking with her after she got ready.
• Jia Huan presented Lin Daiyu with a carriage filled with more than a hundred kinds of flowers, and she wept with joy before asking Xueyan to plant them.

Jiang Wuyuan pressured the Quanzhen Sect and Medicine King Valley to cut ties with Jia Huan, while confronting Xu Jingchun over helping Jia Huan investigate the imperial maternal uncle’s murder. The chapter ended with Jiang declaring his authority over the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

• Two Experiences Office officials questioned Yuan Zhonglou about the Quanzhen Sect’s help to Jia Huan and warned the sect to stop supporting him.
• Yuan Zhonglou weighed the danger posed by Jiang Wuyuan against Jia Huan’s strength and resolved that the Quanzhen Sect would submit to Jiang if forced to choose.
• Medicine King Valley’s elders decided to sever ties with Jia Huan after receiving Jiang Wuyuan’s letter, but An Xuan’er’s master left the sect in anger to find her.
• Jiang Wuyuan confronted Xu Jingchun, who admitted giving Jia Huan a clue about the crime at the Duke’s Maternal Uncle’s Estate.
• Jiang accused Xu Jingchun of defying his orders and threatened to expose stains in his official career before declaring that his word was law in the Embroidered Uniform Guard Office.

Jia Huan pursued a lead to retaliate against Jiang Wuyuan after Xu Jingchun was punished for the Prince of Hejian’s death. He discovered that two trusted Pacification Commissioners had carried out suspiciously similar massacres in the Southern Borderlands and Northern Mang.

• Jiang Wuyuan accused Xu Jingchun of causing the Prince of Hejian’s death and arranged for Censors to impeach him.
• Emperor Jingde ordered four thousand guards removed from Xu Jingchun’s Vermilion Bird Office, and Xu refused Jia Huan’s offer to challenge the order.
• Jiang Wuyuan taunted Xu Jingchun over the loss of his guards, but Xu said he would leak the information again if given the chance.
• Jia Huan ordered Scholar Twin Whips to accelerate their investigation into Jiang Wuyuan.
• Scholar told Jia Huan that Xuanyuan Zhigu had killed more than two thousand Jianghu people in the Southern Borderlands three years earlier.
• Scholar reported that Pei Changqing had killed more than seven hundred Jianghu people in Northern Mang within the same month, suggesting a connection between the massacres.

Jia Huan led a force into the Southern Borderlands to investigate Xuanyuan Zhigu’s massacre and learned that the Red Dust Inn might know the truth. He accepted a bounty to slaughter the villains of Villain Town, seeing the notorious killing ground as a chance to gain Sin Value.

• Jia Huan decided to investigate the Southern Borderlands and ordered twenty-five hundred Embroidered Uniform Guards to leave the capital in five groups.
• He welcomed He Weirui into his household after learning that Medicine King Valley had expelled An Xuan'er under pressure from Jiang Wuyuan.
• Jia Huan reached the Southern Borderlands and learned from Water Skimmer that the Prince of Zhennan and the governor-general might know about Xuanyuan Zhigu’s massacre.
• Water Skimmer told Jia Huan that the Red Dust Inn’s Other Shore of the Yellow Springs likely knew the truth, so Jia Huan traveled there with fifty riders.
• At the Red Garment Pavilion, Jia Huan accepted the bounty to kill every villain listed for Villain Town.
• After Water Skimmer warned him that Villain Town was a deadly purgatory, Jia Huan ordered him to bring his saber.