Chapter Summaries

Jiang Xiaobai cared for the poisoned and injured Chu Qingci in a cave until he regained consciousness. Chu Qingci learned that Meridian-Locking Powder had left him powerless, then grew embarrassed when Jiang Xiaobai explained how he had managed to give him water.

• Jiang Xiaobai carried the unconscious Chu Qingci into a cave, bandaged his shallow wound, and went looking for medicinal herbs.
• Jiang Xiaobai made a fire and cared for Chu Qingci while he remained unconscious for three days.
• Chu Qingci woke in Jiang Xiaobai's arms but found himself too weak to move or use his internal energy.
• Chu Qingci identified his poison as Meridian-Locking Powder and explained that its effects would eventually wear off on their own.
• Jiang Xiaobai fed Chu Qingci roasted fish, then awkwardly revealed that he had used his mouth to give him water while he was unconscious.
• Jiang Xiaobai hurried out to get more water as Chu Qingci realized what he meant and blushed with embarrassment.

Jiang Xiaobai cared for the poisoned Chu Qingci as they waited in a valley cave for him to recover enough to leave. After Chu Qingci’s poison flared up again in the river at night, Jiang Xiaobai rescued him and hurried him back to the cave.

• Jiang Xiaobai brought Chu Qingci water and learned that help from the Hidden Edge Sect might take at least half a month to reach them.
• When Chu Qingci’s poison flared up, Jiang Xiaobai warmed him by the fire until he fell asleep.
• Jiang Xiaobai carried Chu Qingci outside, supported him as he walked along the riverbank, and later caught fish for their meal.
• Chu Qingci’s poison flared up again after lunch, but the episode was shorter and his condition improved.
• Jiang Xiaobai woke to find Chu Qingci missing, then spotted him standing in the river under the moonlight.
• When Chu Qingci vanished beneath the water during another poison flare-up, Jiang Xiaobai jumped in, rescued him, and carried him back to the cave.

Jiang Xiaobai carried the recovering Chu Qingci from their riverside cave as heavy rain flooded it, learning the Nine Wind-Steps under Chu Qingci’s guidance. The next morning, Chu Qingci had recovered half his strength but kept it from Jiang Xiaobai as they continued toward higher ground.

• Jiang Xiaobai returned to the cave and found Chu Qingci awake, then awkwardly explained that he had been blind while changing Chu Qingci’s clothes.
• Chu Qingci warned Jiang Xiaobai that rising floodwater could engulf their low cave, and Jiang Xiaobai waited until the worsening rain made escape urgent.
• Jiang Xiaobai carried Chu Qingci through the mud toward higher ground while Chu Qingci taught him how to use his internal energy and the Nine Wind-Steps.
• Jiang Xiaobai reached a tree above the flooded cave, then found shelter beneath another tree as Chu Qingci’s poison made him shiver and grow cold.
• Chu Qingci woke in Jiang Xiaobai’s arms and caught him when his numb legs gave way, but concealed that he had regained half his physical strength.

As Feng Jitong worried about the missing Sect Master and Heir Jiang, the Elder Princess reassured him that her senior fellow disciple would survive the cliff and recover from the poison. Below the cliff, Jiang Xiaobai cared for Chu Qingci, found them shelter in an abandoned wooden house, and told him there was a grave behind it.

• Feng Jitong fretted that the Sect Master and Heir Jiang had been trapped below the cliff for days, but the Elder Princess said her senior fellow disciple would be fine once the poison cleared.
• Jiang Xiaobai made a fire by rubbing sticks together, cooked fish for Chu Qingci, and brushed off Chu Qingci's questions about his unusual skills.
• Jiang Xiaobai explored the area, found an abandoned wooden house, and carried Chu Qingci there to shelter from the weather.
• Chu Qingci searched the house for clues about its former occupant but found nothing beyond simple household items.
• Jiang Xiaobai mentioned a grave behind the house, and Chu Qingci asked him to take him to see it, then realized he had grown used to being carried.

Jiang Xiaobai carried Chu Qingci to a grave, then cared for him in the Wooden House as his poison flared up while he washed in the river. After Chu Qingci recovered further overnight, Jiang Xiaobai told him about a pearly light in a nearby rock face, and they set out to investigate it.

• Jiang Xiaobai carried Chu Qingci to the overgrown grave, but Chu Qingci could not make out the eroded inscription.
• Jiang Xiaobai cleaned the Wooden House and gathered wild fruit and greens while Chu Qingci watched and tried to help.
• Chu Qingci asked Jiang Xiaobai to look away while he washed in the river, but his poison flared up before he could finish dressing.
• Jiang Xiaobai rescued Chu Qingci from the river and carried him back to the Wooden House, where he warmed him until the trembling subsided.
• Chu Qingci woke with about eighty percent of his internal energy restored and later caught Jiang Xiaobai pretending to be asleep.
• Jiang Xiaobai told Chu Qingci about the pearly light in a nearby rock face, and they went to investigate.

Jiang Xiaobai and Chu Qingci found a hidden cave and discovered that its former inhabitant was Chu Qingci’s grandmaster, Huang Ting. They found no cultivation method inside, but planned to return at night to investigate the pearly light; Chu Qingci let Jiang Xiaobai continue carrying him back.

• Jiang Xiaobai and Chu Qingci searched the rocks where the pearly light had appeared, and Chu Qingci shattered a large rock to reveal a hidden cave.
• Jiang Xiaobai and Chu Qingci explored the cave and found a guqin inscribed with the name Huang Ting.
• Chu Qingci explained that Huang Ting had led the Hidden Edge Sect, helped unify Great Hua, and later fled with the emperor’s consort, taking the hidden edge force’s cultivation method with him.
• Jiang Xiaobai searched the cave for the missing method but found nothing, so he suggested returning at night to follow the pearly light.
• Jiang Xiaobai carried Chu Qingci out of the cave, and Chu Qingci blushed but agreed to let him keep carrying him.

Jiang Xiaobai and Chu Qingci discovered a hidden compartment containing the Hidden Edge Force manual, which could help Jiang Xiaobai enter the Mysterious Dragon Gate. After Jiang Xiaobai memorized the manual, Chu Qingci prepared to help him establish its foundation.

• Jiang Xiaobai and Chu Qingci explored the glowing cave and found a hollow patch in the stone wall.
• Chu Qingci broke through the wall and retrieved a wooden box containing the Hidden Edge Force manual.
• Chu Qingci explained that Jiang Xiaobai needed the technique to open the Mysterious Dragon Gate and draw the sect's World's Number One Blade.
• Chu Qingci offered to help Jiang Xiaobai establish a foundation, and Jiang Xiaobai persuaded him to begin after returning to the wooden house.
• Jiang Xiaobai memorized the manual, and Chu Qingci told him to get on the bed.

Chu Qingci taught Jiang Xiaobai to cultivate hidden edge force, but the effort triggered Chu Qingci’s poison and left him unconscious. By the next morning, Chu Qingci had woken but pretended to be asleep while Jiang Xiaobai fed him water, and Jiang Xiaobai called him out.

• Chu Qingci explained hidden edge force and guided Jiang Xiaobai in converting some of his yin and yang powers into it.
• Jiang Xiaobai repeatedly circulated the sharp force energy until he could control it himself, while Chu Qingci continued guiding him despite his worsening poison.
• After confirming Jiang Xiaobai could circulate hidden edge force alone, Chu Qingci withdrew his hand and collapsed from the poison’s eruption.
• Jiang Xiaobai caught the unconscious Chu Qingci, kept him warm, and repeatedly fed him water through the night.
• When Chu Qingci opened his eyes during the next morning’s feeding, he blushed and pretended to be asleep, and Jiang Xiaobai asked how long he planned to keep pretending.

Chu Qingci recovered from his poison, and he and Jiang Xiaobai left the cliff to return to Hidden Edge Mountain. At the Mysterious Dragon Gate, Fu Yuanzong returned with Qin Zhaoye and challenged the sect, claiming there was no one left to fear.

• Chu Qingci confirmed that his poison was gone and his internal energy had recovered, while Jiang Xiaobai demonstrated that he had reached the first level of Hidden Edge.
• Chu Qingci and Jiang Xiaobai left the wooden house, took the guqin Huang Ting, and prepared to climb back up the cliff.
• At the Mysterious Dragon Gate, Helian Mingchuan and Jiang Linquan continued studying the gate on the second day of their assessment.
• Fu Yuanzong returned with his companions, including Qin Zhaoye, and said he feared no one now that the sect master was gone.
• The Elder Princess stopped Feng Jitong from attacking and waited for Chu Qingci and Jiang Xiaobai to return; she frowned when a figure emerged from behind Fu Yuanzong.

Xie Qianjun returned to challenge Chu Qingci for the Hidden Edge Sect leadership, but when he offered to fight Xiao Yunshu in Chu Qingci’s absence, Chen Jian attacked Fu Yuanzong and clashed with Xie Qianjun. Just as they were about to collide again, an unknown figure dropped from above and blasted Xie Qianjun backward.

• Xie Qianjun presented the Challenge Token and demanded that Chu Qingci accept his challenge, offering to fight Xiao Yunshu in his place.
• Xie Qianjun proposed that whoever won would become Sect Master, while Xiao Yunshu considered the risk of accepting.
• Fu Yuanzong taunted Xiao Yunshu, and Chen Jian charged at him for having ambushed his friend.
• Xie Qianjun blocked Chen Jian and exchanged blows with him, struggling against Chen Jian’s Star-Absorbing Great Technique and other attacks.
• As Chen Jian and Xie Qianjun charged at each other again, an unknown figure dropped from above and blasted Xie Qianjun backward.

Chu Qingci and Jiang Xiaobai returned to the Hidden Edge Sect, where Xie Qianjun presented a Challenge Token to challenge Chu Qingci for the sect master position. Jiang Xiaobai had Chen Jian destroy the token and called the group to attack, leaving Xiao Yunshu about to unleash a powerful kick on Fu Yuanzong.

• Chu Qingci and Jiang Xiaobai emerged safely, surprising Xie Qianjun and delighting their allies.
• Xie Qianjun gave Chu Qingci a Challenge Token, but Jiang Xiaobai had Chen Jian crush it and dismissed it as fake.
• Chu Qingci refused Xie Qianjun's challenge until he brought a genuine token, while Fu Yuanzong mocked him.
• Jiang Xiaobai ordered Chen Jian to attack Fu Yuanzong and called Feng Jitong and the others to join in.
• Xiao Yunshu kicked Fu Yuanzong toward Chu Qingci, who sent him flying back to her as the Heavenly Elders surrounded Xie Qianjun.
• Xiao Yunshu gathered her strength and drove a vicious kick at Fu Yuanzong.

Xiao Yunshu severely wounded Fu Yuanzong while Jiang Xiaobai intercepted Qin Zhaoye as he tried to flee. Jiang Xiaobai held Qin Zhaoye off with his new techniques until Xiao Yunshu arrived and killed him, then she checked on Jiang Xiaobai.

• Xiao Yunshu kicked Fu Yuanzong and broke his chest, forcing his companions to carry him down the mountain while two men from the Western Desert blocked her.
• Qin Zhaoye tried to escape and cursed Jiang Xiaobai, but Jiang Xiaobai caught up and challenged him.
• Jiang Xiaobai dodged Qin Zhaoye's spear with Nine Wind-Steps and struck him twice with Hidden Edge Force, while Qin Zhaoye revealed his hidden strength.
• Qin Zhaoye ignored Jiang Xiaobai's warning that the Elder Princess had arrived and attacked, allowing Xiao Yunshu to strike him from behind and kill him.
• Xiao Yunshu approached Jiang Xiaobai and offered to check whether he was hurt.

Jiang Xiaobai reunited with Xiao Yunshu, recovered a jade pendant from Qin Zhaoye’s corpse, and was granted the Hidden Edge Force. Xiao Yunshu teased Chu Qingci about Jiang Xiaobai, prompting Chu Qingci to flee after revealing her feelings through her silence.

• Xiao Yunshu checked Jiang Xiaobai for injuries and scolded him for spending two days away, while Tang Ningshuang and Chen Jian unexpectedly caught them together.
• Xiao Yunshu kicked Qin Zhaoye’s corpse into the bushes, and Jiang Xiaobai found and pocketed a Ring-Shaped Jade Pendant left behind.
• Chu Qingci told Xiao Yunshu that Xie Qianjun had escaped, then ordered Feng Jitong, Nie, and Wang to pass the Hidden Edge Force to Jiang Xiaobai, who held the Twenty-Four Hidden Edge Tokens.
• Xiao Yunshu teased Chu Qingci about being cared for by Jiang Xiaobai while poisoned, and Chu Qingci denied that anything had happened.
• Xiao Yunshu asked whether Chu Qingci had fallen for Jiang Xiaobai; Chu Qingci said she had something else to do and quickly left, while Xiao Yunshu blamed Jiang Xiaobai for stirring up romance.

Fu Yuanzong learned that his injuries might leave him paralyzed, while Xie Qianjun revealed a possible healer in Su City. At the Mysterious Dragon Gate, Jiang Xiaobai reached hidden edge fourth level and decided to open the gate that night.

• A physician warned that Fu Yuanzong's shattered lower-back bones and damaged meridians could leave him paralyzed, and Fu Yuanzong vowed revenge on Jiang Xiaobai and the woman.
• Xie Qianjun told Fu Yuanzong that Shen Guanhe in Su City might heal him, but he would need the Wantong Money House's permission to meet the physician.
• Feng Jitong, Nie Tianwen, and another Heavenly Elder channeled hidden edge force into Jiang Xiaobai, helping him reach hidden edge fourth level.
• Xiao Yunshu realized that hidden edge force was needed to open the Mysterious Dragon Gate and asked Jiang Xiaobai when he would try.
• Jiang Xiaobai said he would open the Mysterious Dragon Gate right away.

Jiang Xiaobai failed to open the Mysterious Dragon Gate until Chu Qingci demonstrated its hidden mechanism, then opened it himself. As he prepared to enter, Helian Zhaoyue asked him for help, and Jiang Xiaobai guessed that Northern Yu wanted an iron box.

• Jiang Xiaobai tried pushing the Mysterious Dragon Gate with hidden edge force but could not move it.
• Helian Zhaoyue mocked Jiang Xiaobai, while Xiao Yunshu defended him and Chu Qingci arrived.
• Chu Qingci pressed the carved dragon's head to open the gate, then pressed its tail to close it again without explaining the method.
• Jiang Xiaobai copied Chu Qingci's actions and opened the gate wide enough for one person to enter.
• Jiang Xiaobai asked Feng Jitong whether he could take anything from inside, and Feng Jitong said entrants could take only one item.
• Helian Zhaoyue asked Jiang Xiaobai to help her, and he guessed Northern Yu wanted an iron box.

Jiang Xiaobai entered the Mysterious Dragon Gate with his companions and discovered that it was the Former Emperor’s tomb. He opened the iron box coveted by Northern Yu and his Second Brother, finding only a folded piece of yellow silk, and Xiao Yunshu asked whether he wanted to read it.

• Jiang Xiaobai guessed that someone had revealed the iron box’s existence to the Northern Yu Delegation, but Helian Zhaoyue refused to say who had told them.
• Jiang Xiaobai entered the Mysterious Dragon Gate, followed by Chen Jian, Tang Ningshuang, and Xiao Yunshu, while Feng Jitong barred the other Martial World visitors.
• Xiao Yunshu activated the cave’s lamps, revealing a coffin, burial goods, and the iron box on a table.
• Xiao Yunshu confirmed that the coffin held the Former Emperor, and Jiang Xiaobai and his companions paid their respects.
• Jiang Xiaobai opened the iron box and found a folded piece of yellow silk inside; Xiao Yunshu asked if he wanted to see what it said.

Jiang Xiaobai discovered that the iron box contained a succession edict naming Xiao Yunshu as the Former Emperor’s heir, then examined the other objects in the tomb. After giving Tang Ningshuang the Nation-Guarding Sword and finding nothing else of interest, Jiang Xiaobai led the others out.

• Jiang Xiaobai read the succession edict naming Xiao Yunshu as the Former Emperor’s successor and handed it to her for safekeeping.
• Jiang Xiaobai found the edict granting the Hidden Edge Sect authority to punish officials or depose an unvirtuous sovereign, and pocketed a strange black seal.
• Jiang Xiaobai offered Tang Ningshuang the Nation-Guarding Sword, and she accepted it after Xiao Yunshu encouraged her.
• Jiang Xiaobai showed Xiao Yunshu a portrait of a woman, but she did not recognize her.
• Jiang Xiaobai finished searching the chamber and told the others to leave.

Jiang Xiaobai emerged from the Mysterious Dragon Gate with three relics distributed among his companions and argued that he had brought nothing out, then demanded compensation from the Hidden Edge Sect. As he returned to Clearheart Courtyard, he reflected on the Succession Edict and the possibility that Xiao Yunshu might become empress.

• Jiang Xiaobai closed the Mysterious Dragon Gate, then told Feng Jitong that he had brought nothing out despite Tang Ningshuang carrying a sword, Xiao Yunshu holding an Iron Box, and Chen Jian carrying a Seal.
• Jiang Xiaobai insisted that the three items belonged to his companions and demanded Martial Arts Manuals from the Hidden Edge Sect as compensation.
• Jiang Xiaobai taunted Helian Zhaoyue about returning to Northern Yu empty-handed, and she angrily left with Helian Mingchuan.
• Feng Jitong struggled to make sense of Jiang Xiaobai's claims while the other Martial World figures dispersed.
• Jiang Xiaobai returned toward Clearheart Courtyard thinking about how the Succession Edict could let the Elder Princess claim the throne, then imagined Xiao Yunshu as empress and laughed.

Jiang Xiaobai examined the black seal and questioned Jiang Linquan about why he and his eldest brother had stayed away from the family. Jiang Linquan left without revealing the full story after Xiao Yunshu interrupted them, and Xiao Yunshu then said she had something to tell Jiang Xiaobai.

• Jiang Xiaobai studied the black seal but could not understand its crooked markings.
• Jiang Linquan visited Jiang Xiaobai, praised his recent achievements, and said he and the eldest brother had been caught in a scheme before the Elder Princess's people rescued them.
• Jiang Xiaobai asked whether his brothers had made an agreement with the Elder Princess, but Jiang Linquan hesitated to answer.
• Xiao Yunshu kicked open the locked door, interrupting their conversation, and Jiang Linquan asked Jiang Xiaobai to keep his and the eldest brother's survival secret for now.
• Jiang Linquan left after inviting Jiang Xiaobai to visit him in Su City and calling Xiao Yunshu his sister-in-law.
• Xiao Yunshu stopped Jiang Xiaobai as he headed to bed and said she had something to tell him.

Xiao Yunshu told Jiang Xiaobai to visit the Azure Robe Society’s headquarters in Su City and use his literary talent to become one of its decision-makers. She revealed that his Green History Seal could help protect the Jiang Family, and Jiang Xiaobai agreed to go after handling matters in the capital.

• Xiao Yunshu asked Jiang Xiaobai to visit the Azure Robe Society’s headquarters in Su City after the Northern Yu Delegation left and to outshine its members with his writing.
• Xiao Yunshu identified Jiang Xiaobai’s black Seal as the Azure Robe Society’s Green History Seal, one of its three ancestral seals.
• Xiao Yunshu explained that the Green History Seal could help Jiang Xiaobai gain influence in the society if his literary talent overcame concerns about his seniority.
• Xiao Yunshu said becoming a decision-maker could protect the Jiang Family from accusations of rebellion by influencing public opinion across Great Hua.
• Jiang Xiaobai agreed to visit Su City after dealing with matters in the capital, and Xiao Yunshu teased him before leaving and warning him to lock his door.