Recaps

Jiang Xiaobai and the Elder Princess arrived at the Hidden Edge Sect and were assigned rooms in Clearheart Courtyard. After exploring his room, Jiang Xiaobai found a lake where a mysterious woman was resting, and he pretended to be blind when she opened her eyes.

• The Elder Princess tricked Jiang Xiaobai into stumbling with her, and Chen Jian, Tang Ningshuang, and Yu Shangwu arrived to see them on the ground together.
• The group admired the Hidden Edge Sect’s mountain scenery as Yu Shangwu led them to Clearheart Courtyard at the Elder Princess’s insistence.
• The Elder Princess let Jiang Xiaobai choose a room first, then assigned Chen Jian and Tang Ningshuang to other rooms.
• Jiang Xiaobai discovered a corridor behind his room that led to a lake, where he saw a woman resting on the water.
• When the woman opened her eyes and met Jiang Xiaobai’s gaze, he pretended to be blind and said he had wandered in by accident.

Jiang Xiaobai fled after stumbling upon Chu Qingci bathing, then became lost in the Hidden Edge Sect. The Elder Princess searched for him, unaware that he had wandered toward a secluded path where a candle was burning.

• Jiang Xiaobai pretended to be blind and ran from Chu Qingci, who dressed and returned to the Clearheart Courtyard.
• The Elder Princess met Chu Qingci, learned Jiang Xiaobai had run off, and was told he was blind.
• The Elder Princess left the Clearheart Courtyard to search for Jiang Xiaobai while he wandered through unfamiliar paths and became lost.
• Jiang Xiaobai spotted candlelight at the end of a secluded path and went to find someone who could direct him back.
• The Elder Princess arrived where Jiang Xiaobai had been, noticed the path, dismissed the chance that he had gone down it, and continued searching.

Jiang Xiaobai was trapped by a ruthless old man who demanded he solve a game or lose a finger. Unable to understand the five-colored pieces, Jiang Xiaobai proposed teaching the old man Chinese Chess and making him solve a puzzle instead.

• Jiang Xiaobai followed a path to a secluded courtyard, where a powerful suction pulled him into a room with an eerie old man.
• The old man threatened to break Jiang Xiaobai’s legs if he tried to escape and demanded that he solve the game on the table or leave a finger behind.
• Jiang Xiaobai tried to bargain over the stakes, but the old man countered that Jiang Xiaobai could wager fingers and toes for portions of his cultivation.
• The old man dragged Jiang Xiaobai back into the room when he tried to flee and ordered him to decide immediately.
• Jiang Xiaobai admitted he could not understand the five-colored game and proposed teaching the old man Chinese Chess, then setting a puzzle for him to solve.

Jiang Xiaobai taught the old man Chinese chess and used their games to win a wager for the old man’s power. After a night of play, Jiang Xiaobai claimed he had won enough to take all the old man’s power, but generously asked for only eighty percent.

• Jiang Xiaobai drew a Chinese chessboard and made paper pieces, then explained the game to the initially skeptical old man.
• The old man solved two beginner puzzles and became eager to play a more difficult round.
• Jiang Xiaobai and the old man wagered the old man’s power against Jiang Xiaobai’s fingers, then played a series of chess positions through the night.
• Jiang Xiaobai won more games overall, sometimes giving the old man easier positions so he would stay engaged.
• At dawn, Jiang Xiaobai counted his wins and asked the old man to transfer eighty percent of his power, presenting the remaining share as a gift.

Jiang Xiaobai survived the Elder’s transfer of cultivation and discovered he had absorbed most of it. As they resumed playing chess, he learned the Elder was collecting a debt from the Hidden Edge Sect and was stunned to hear he had been unconscious for two days.

• The Elder transferred eighty percent of his cultivation to Jiang Xiaobai, who passed out as the energy forced open his meridians.
• Jiang Xiaobai woke to find the Elder still there and learned he had absorbed sixty percent of the Elder’s cultivation.
• Jiang Xiaobai agreed to keep playing chess and set up a moderately difficult endgame for the Elder.
• The Elder revealed he was not part of the Hidden Edge Sect and had come to collect a debt from it.
• Jiang Xiaobai offered to provide the Elder with chess manuals and a chess set, then learned two women had visited while he was unconscious.
• Jiang Xiaobai realized he had been unconscious for two days and asked the Elder to confirm it.

After waking from a two-day unconsciousness, Jiang Xiaobai discovered that his internal energy let him leap enormous distances and began experimenting with his new Lightness Skill. When he got lost in the Hidden Edge Sect, Chu Qingci rescued him and led him back, while Jiang Xiaobai pretended to be blind and wondered if Chu Qingci was the Lake Pavilion Expert.

• The Elder told Jiang Xiaobai he had been unconscious for two days, and Jiang Xiaobai hurried away after setting up a Chinese Chess endgame for him.
• Jiang Xiaobai accidentally launched himself across the courtyard, then followed the Elder's advice to channel internal energy through his feet and practiced leaping.
• Jiang Xiaobai climbed a tree to survey the Hidden Edge Sect, but a branch broke and he fell.
• Chu Qingci caught Jiang Xiaobai, and Jiang Xiaobai pretended to be blind while asking whether Chu Qingci was a man or a woman.
• Chu Qingci guided Jiang Xiaobai back with a branch, and Jiang Xiaobai began suspecting that Chu Qingci was the Lake Pavilion Expert.
• Chu Qingci stopped at their destination and announced that he had brought Jiang Xiaobai back to his junior sister.

Jiang Xiaobai returned after being trapped for two days, faced teasing over his pretense of blindness, and learned that He Chang Geng had temporarily taken over his duties. The chapter ended as Tang Ningshuang examined his cultivation and reacted with disbelief.

• Jiang Xiaobai realized Chu Qingci was the Lake Pavilion Expert and that she had known he was pretending to be blind.
• The Elder Princess checked that Jiang Xiaobai still had all ten fingers, then he learned the women had searched for him while he was missing.
• Chen Jian teased Jiang Xiaobai about seeing something he should not have, and Chu Qingci left after growing embarrassed.
• The Elder Princess told Jiang Xiaobai that He Chang Geng had temporarily filled in for him and that more sects and factions had arrived.
• Jiang Xiaobai asked Tang Ningshuang to check his cultivation, and her expression filled with disbelief.

Jiang Xiaobai returned at peak sixth rank after absorbing power from the Withered Bone Elder, leaving Tang Ningshuang and the Elder Princess astonished. When the Elder Princess secretly tried to regulate his borrowed energy, the Yin-Yang Qi Vortices surged beyond her control, forcing her to call Chu Qingci for help.

• The Elder Princess confirmed Jiang Xiaobai had reached peak sixth rank, and Jiang Xiaobai explained that the Withered Bone Elder had transferred power after losing a chess wager.
• The Elder Princess warned that Jiang Xiaobai had not yet made the absorbed internal energy his own and told him to rest before discussing how to regulate it.
• Jiang Xiaobai checked his room for hidden passages and lakes, then fell asleep, exhausted from absorbing the elder's power.
• The Elder Princess entered Jiang Xiaobai's room and knocked him unconscious before seating him and trying to regulate his internal energy.
• The Yin-Yang Qi Vortices began spinning faster, so the Elder Princess called Chu Qingci to help.
• Chu Qingci examined Jiang Xiaobai's internal energy and said something was wrong.

Chu Qingci and the Elder Princess tried to control and merge Jiang Xiaobai’s Yin and Yang internal energies, but the backlash knocked all three unconscious. The next morning, Jiang Xiaobai woke to find them beside him, and Chu Qingci escaped through the window while the Elder Princess called after him.

• Chu Qingci and the Elder Princess separately guided Jiang Xiaobai’s unruly yin and yang energies, then tried to merge them.
• The merged energies erupted in a backlash that knocked Jiang Xiaobai, Chu Qingci, and the Elder Princess unconscious on the bed.
• Jiang Xiaobai woke the next morning with Chu Qingci and the Elder Princess beside him and pretended to remain asleep.
• Chu Qingci explained that the Yin-Yang Limitless Art’s backlash had made them outlets for the force, while the Elder Princess worried about being seen leaving Jiang Xiaobai’s room.
• The Elder Princess twisted Jiang Xiaobai’s waist when he continued pretending to sleep, and Chu Qingci fled through the window as she called after him.

Jiang Xiaobai recovered and went with the Elder Princess, Chen Jian, and Tang Ningshuang to the Edge Stele Grounds, where he unknowingly mocked the Elder Princess’s carved name. The Elder Princess chased him around the stele after he learned that Xiao Yunshu was her name.

• The Elder Princess explained that the Martial World would ascend the mountain and have their Hidden Edge Tokens checked, and Jiang Xiaobai learned that Tang Ningshuang had retrieved his Twenty-Four Hidden Edge Tokens from the Dragon-Tiger Sect.
• Jiang Xiaobai thanked the Elder Princess for helping regulate his internal energy the previous night, then left Clearheart Courtyard with Chen Jian and Tang Ningshuang.
• The Elder Princess led them to the Edge Stele Grounds, where Jiang Xiaobai spotted the deeply carved name Xiao Yunshu and called its handwriting ugly.
• Chen Jian told Jiang Xiaobai that Xiao Yunshu was the current Elder Princess, prompting Jiang Xiaobai to tease her by calling her a little maid.
• The Elder Princess threatened to pinch Jiang Xiaobai, chased him around the Edge Stele, and left Tang Ningshuang watching them in exasperation.

Jiang Xiaobai met Chu Qingci and several familiar figures at the Edge Stele Grounds as a large crowd arrived, including allies and enemies from the Martial World. Xu Yuehua’s master rejected Jiang Xiaobai’s engagement to Weier and ordered it broken off, but Xu Yuehua refused.

• Chu Qingci arrived at the Edge Stele Grounds with five elderly men, and the Elder Princess teased Jiang Xiaobai about Chu Qingci having been in his bed.
• Tang Ningshuang and Jiang Xiaobai noticed a crowd of Martial World figures approaching the grounds, including Helian Zhaoyue, who was relieved to see Jiang Xiaobai safe.
• Fu Yuanzong, Cui Shengyou, Qin Zhaoye, and the three Li Family brothers spotted Jiang Xiaobai and held grudges against him.
• Xu Yuehua saw Jiang Xiaobai and relaxed, while her master asked whether he was Weier’s betrothed.
• Xu Yuehua’s master declared that Jiang Xiaobai’s engagement to Weier must be broken off, but Xu Yuehua insisted that she approved of him.

Xu Yuehua refused her master's demand that her daughter break off her engagement to Jiang Xiaobai, while the Hidden Edge Sect opened its gates and announced new rewards for holders of large numbers of Hidden Edge Tokens. When Li Jingxing accused Chu Qingci of creating rewards specifically for Jiang Xiaobai, Chu Qingci openly admitted it.

• Xu Yuehua told her master she would not force Weier to end her engagement to Jiang Xiaobai over rumors.
• Feng Jitong announced the Hidden Edge Sect's assessment rewards and new thresholds of twenty tokens for Hidden Edge Force and twenty-four for direct entry to the Mysterious Dragon Gate.
• Li Jingxing and his brothers realized Jiang Xiaobai had exactly twenty-four tokens, while Helian Zhaoyue suspected the new rewards had been tailored for him.
• Li Jingxing accused the Hidden Edge Sect of opening a back door for Jiang Xiaobai, and Chu Qingci admitted he had done so specifically for him.

Chu Qingci waived Jiang Xiaobai’s trials after Li Jingxing objected to special treatment, then accepted Jiang’s proposal to bar the Western Desert from participating. Fu Yuanzong fell silent when Zhang Xinnian arrived with a cannon, and Helian Zhaoyue warned her companions not to provoke Jiang Xiaobai.

• Li Jingxing protested that Chu Qingci’s rewards for Jiang Xiaobai were unfair, so Chu Qingci agreed that Jiang Xiaobai no longer had to take any trials.
• Jiang Xiaobai suggested disqualifying everyone from the Western Desert, and Fu Yuanzong threatened him.
• Zhang Xinnian arrived with soldiers pushing a cannon, causing Fu Yuanzong and other onlookers to back down.
• Chu Qingci made a new rule barring people from the Western Desert from participating in the trials.
• Helian Zhaoyue warned her companions not to provoke Jiang Xiaobai, fearing he could exclude Northern Yu as well.

Chu Qingci disqualified Fu Yuanzong and the Western Desert group, while Jiang Xiaobai urged the crowd to demand their Hidden Edge Tokens. As the crowd closed in, Chu Qingci ordered Feng Jitong and four others to take the tokens, leaving them stunned.

• Fu Yuanzong challenged Chu Qingci’s decision to disqualify the Western Desert, but Chu Qingci threatened to throw him down if he protested further.
• Jiang Xiaobai mocked Fu Yuanzong, then suggested that the disqualified Western Desert group surrender all their Hidden Edge Tokens.
• The crowd agreed with Jiang Xiaobai and began surrounding Fu Yuanzong and his three companions, while Helian Zhaoyue quietly stepped back.
• Xu Yuehua defended Jiang Xiaobai to the old woman, saying she stood by him because he was her family’s son-in-law.
• Chu Qingci ordered Feng Jitong and the other four to take the Western Desert group’s tokens, leaving the five looking bewildered.

The Hidden Edge Sect confiscated the Western Desert group's Hidden Edge Tokens, and Jiang Xiaobai drove Fu Yuanzong and his companions away with a cannon threat. As the assessment began, Jiang Xiaobai asked to skip its basic test, but an old woman challenged Chu Qingci's decision.

• Feng Jitong and four other Heavenly Elders took ten Hidden Edge Tokens from Fu Yuanzong and his three companions.
• Jiang Xiaobai had Zhang Xinnian aim the cannon at Fu Yuanzong, prompting the four Western Desert cultivators to flee.
• Feng Jitong gave the confiscated tokens to Jiang Xiaobai, who shared them between Chen Jian and Tang Ningshuang.
• Feng Jitong announced that the basic test required candidates to leave a mark on the Edge Stele, then asked who would go first.
• Jiang Xiaobai asked whether his exemption from the assessment also let him skip the basic test, and an old woman objected before criticizing Chu Qingci.

Jiang Xiaobai defended Chu Qingci’s decisions and his own rewards after Gu Xuanying accused the Hidden Edge Sect Sect Head of blatant favoritism. Gu Xuanying had no rebuttal and fell silent when Chu Qingci threatened to disqualify the Dust-Cleansing Sect.

• Gu Xuanying accused Chu Qingci of tailoring the assessment rewards for Jiang Xiaobai, disqualifying the Western Desert at his request, and granting him preferential treatment.
• Gu Xuanying insulted Jiang Xiaobai and objected to his marriage to Zhiwei, while Chen Jian offered to kill her and Jiang Xiaobai refused.
• Jiang Xiaobai challenged Gu Xuanying’s authority over his marriage and argued that Chu Qingci, as Sect Head, could set the assessment rules and give out rewards.
• Jiang Xiaobai explained that the Western Desert’s tokens had been returned to the Hidden Edge Sect and that Senior Feng had chosen to give them to him.
• Jiang Xiaobai argued that the current Sect Master had the final say, then warned Gu Xuanying that Chu Qingci could disqualify her sect.
• Chu Qingci confirmed Jiang Xiaobai’s argument and threatened to disqualify the Dust-Cleansing Sect, leaving Gu Xuanying with nothing more to say.

Jiang Xiaobai forced Gu Xuanying to apologize to Chu Qingci, then secured a lifetime ban from the Hidden Edge Sect for her. After Gu Xuanying left, Jiang Xiaobai asked Chu Qingci to repay him by expelling Qin Zhaoye, who warned that someone had sent him.

• Jiang Xiaobai demanded that Gu Xuanying apologize to Chu Qingci in front of everyone.
• Jiang Xiaobai urged Chu Qingci to punish Gu Xuanying, and Chu Qingci banned her from the Hidden Edge Sect Grounds for a hundred years.
• Xu Yuehua declined to openly defend Gu Xuanying, and Gu Xuanying left the mountain in anger.
• Jiang Xiaobai asked Chu Qingci to expel Qin Zhaoye and ban him from the Hidden Edge Sect's territory for a hundred years.
• Qin Zhaoye confronted Jiang Xiaobai and began to reveal who had sent him.

Jiang Xiaobai refused Qin Zhaoye’s imperial threat, and the Hidden Edge Sect proceeded with its basic assessment. After the eligible participants settled in, Chu Qingci overheard the Elder Princess teasing Jiang Xiaobai and answered with a pointedly mocking song title.

• Jiang Xiaobai and Chu Qingci ignored Qin Zhaoye, and Feng Jitong drove him from the mountain.
• Chen Jian passed the Edge Stele assessment, followed by other participants, including Tang Ningshuang.
• Feng Jitong dismissed those who failed or lacked Hidden Edge Tokens, while He Chang Geng and Cui Shengyou warned their disciples not to provoke Jiang Xiaobai.
• The remaining participants received instructions about accommodations and further assessments, and Jiang Xiaobai returned to Clearheart Courtyard with Tang Ningshuang, the Elder Princess, and Chen Jian.
• The Elder Princess teased Jiang Xiaobai about winning Chu Qingci’s favor, and Chu Qingci replied with a mocking song title aimed at her.

Jiang Xiaobai shared a moonlit courtyard with the Elder Princess, then received an anonymous letter that shocked him. The chapter ended as he stood after reading it, leaving the letter’s contents and his next move unknown.

• The Elder Princess teased Chu Qingci, while Jiang Xiaobai tried to avoid getting caught between them.
• Jiang Xiaobai and the Elder Princess discussed the Northern Yu Delegation, then he recited poems that pleased her and earned him a shoulder massage.
• A Hidden Edge Sect disciple told Jiang Xiaobai that someone from the First Rank Hall wanted to see him.
• An ordinary-looking man delivered Jiang Xiaobai a blank-envelope letter and left without naming its sender.
• Jiang Xiaobai opened the letter, widened his eyes, and rose from his seat.

Jiang Xiaobai received a letter instructing him to open the Hidden Edge Sect's Mysterious Dragon Gate and retrieve an iron box, and suspected the disguised messenger was his second brother. The Elder Princess met Jiang Linquan in secret, learned the Northern Yu Delegation might also be seeking the box, and warned him to leave the capital.

• Jiang Xiaobai told the Elder Princess that the letter directed him to open the Mysterious Dragon Gate and take an iron box.
• Jiang Xiaobai suspected the messenger was his second brother, while the Elder Princess denied knowing anything about him.
• The Elder Princess left Clearheart Courtyard after Jiang Xiaobai went to bed and met the messenger, Jiang Linquan, in a secluded spot.
• Jiang Linquan said he had delivered the letter to Jiang Xiaobai because he could not get it to the Elder Princess, and reported that the Northern Yu Delegation might be after the item in the box.
• The Elder Princess thanked Jiang Linquan but urged him to leave the capital, and Jiang Linquan teased her about favoring Jiang Xiaobai.

Jiang Xiaobai and the Elder Princess toured the Hidden Edge Sect's assessment sites while Chen Jian and Tang Ningshuang prepared to take the assessment. At Wind Sword Valley, Jiang Xiaobai recognized the stranger from the previous night and called him over, prompting Jiang Linquan to approach.

• Jiang Linquan teased the Elder Princess about being Jiang Xiaobai's sister-in-law before leaving, and Jiang Xiaobai watched her from nearby.
• The next morning, the Elder Princess straightened Jiang Xiaobai's clothes and warned him to avoid the stranger, then accompanied him around the assessment sites.
• A Hidden Edge Sect disciple confirmed the five Hidden Edge Tokens and led Chen Jian and Tang Ningshuang away for the assessment.
• Jiang Xiaobai and the Elder Princess watched the suspension-rope entrance test and then visited Wind Sword Valley, where hundreds of swords swung overhead.
• Jiang Xiaobai called out to the man who had delivered the letter, and Jiang Linquan came over and addressed him as Heir Jiang.

Jiang Xiaobai used a string of guesses to confirm that the Elder Princess had saved his missing brothers and that they had agreed to stay away. After teasing her about it, he asked what was inside the iron box at the Mysterious Dragon Gate and proposed going there to find out.

• Jiang Xiaobai questioned Jiang Linquan about his eldest and second brothers, and Jiang Linquan guessed that they were alive, with the eldest in Northern Yu and the second in Su City.
• The Elder Princess stopped Jiang Xiaobai’s questions and dragged him away, leading him to conclude that she had saved his brothers and made an agreement with them.
• Jiang Xiaobai told Jiang Linquan he might visit Su City, then left Wind Sword Valley with the Elder Princess.
• Jiang Xiaobai teased the Elder Princess about her connection to his brothers, and she chased and bit his arm.
• Jiang Xiaobai asked what was inside the iron box at the Mysterious Dragon Gate and suggested that they go look, leaving the Elder Princess surprised.

Jiang Xiaobai examined the sealed Mysterious Dragon Gate with the Elder Princess but found no way to open it, and they decided to ask Sect Master Chu for help. As they left, Fu Yuanzong and his three lackeys ambushed them, and the Elder Princess shoved Jiang Xiaobai out of the path of a dagger.

• The Elder Princess led Jiang Xiaobai to the Mysterious Dragon Gate and explained that it held many valuables, including an Imperial Edict, but she could not open it.
• Jiang Xiaobai searched the door for a mechanism, pushed against it, and considered whether it opened from the inside or had a hidden passage, but found no way in.
• The Elder Princess said only her senior sister, Sect Master Chu, knew how to open the gate and warned Jiang Xiaobai not to blast it with his Cannon.
• Jiang Xiaobai and the Elder Princess decided to return and ask Sect Master Chu for help.
• Fu Yuanzong and his three lackeys emerged from the trees and attacked Jiang Xiaobai, but the Elder Princess shoved him aside before a dagger struck where he had stood.

Fu Yuanzong ambushed Jiang Xiaobai at the Mysterious Dragon Gate, but Chu Qingci arrived in time to stop his poisoned strike. As Qin Zhaoye attacked Jiang Xiaobai from behind, Jiang Xiaobai drew his Desert Eagle and faced him down.

• Fu Yuanzong sent three men to hold off the Elder Princess while he attacked Jiang Xiaobai.
• Fu Yuanzong exploited Jiang Xiaobai's unpracticed fighting and struck him down with a palm.
• The Elder Princess broke free of her attackers and rushed toward Fu Yuanzong, who prepared to finish Jiang Xiaobai with his Heavenly Poison Palm.
• Chu Qingci appeared and blocked Fu Yuanzong's attack, forcing him to retreat.
• Qin Zhaoye tried to stab Jiang Xiaobai from behind, but Jiang Xiaobai's armor stopped the spear, and Jiang Xiaobai drew his Desert Eagle.

Jiang Xiaobai’s handmade Desert Eagle malfunctioned during his fight with Qin Zhaoye, who knocked him over a cliff. Chu Qingci leapt after him and got them both safely into a river, but collapsed after the poison took effect.

• Jiang Xiaobai shot Qin Zhaoye several times, wounding his shoulder and grazing his waist, while Fu Yuanzong used poisonous powder against Chu Qingci.
• Chu Qingci fought Fu Yuanzong again after inhaling some poison, and Jiang Xiaobai’s Desert Eagle burst apart when he tried to fire its last bullet.
• Qin Zhaoye attacked Jiang Xiaobai with his spear, cracked the ground beneath him, and sent him falling from the cliff.
• Chu Qingci leapt after Jiang Xiaobai, caught him, and slowed their fall with a dagger before bringing them down into a river.
• Jiang Xiaobai and Chu Qingci climbed out of the river, but Chu Qingci collapsed while trying to force out the poison.