Chapter Summaries

Lingsha used Xianzhou regulations to force Scott to allow an inspection of the IPC cargo. When the cargo revealed an active mech, Roaring Coffin, Jiang Yu destroyed it before it could attack and told Scott he could afford the damages.

• Lingsha introduced herself as the Alchemy Commission’s new Cauldron Master and explained that she had come to inspect the biological cargo.
• Lingsha told Scott the cargo would be held for forty-seven star calendar years if its safety could not be confirmed, and Scott reluctantly allowed the inspection.
• Cloud Knights opened the crate and revealed a beast-shaped mech, which Lingsha accidentally activated by touching it.
• Roaring Coffin gathered energy to fire, but Jiang Yu pulled Lingsha away and struck the mech with Stelle’s Bat, destroying its cannon and knocking it down.
• Jiang Yu told Scott he could afford the damages, leaving Scott speechless.

Jiang Yu and the others uncovered biological tissue inside the Roaring Coffin, prompting Yanqing to arrange its containment and an investigation. Lingsha invited the group to the Alchemy Commission, where she discussed the Ambrosial Arbor’s return and Jiang Yu realized people had been using his portraits as protection against evil.

• March 7th and the others blamed Scott after the Roaring Coffin activated, while Scott denied responsibility and claimed its defense program had been triggered accidentally.
• Yanqing ordered Cloud Knights to escort Scott and the Corporation’s guests to the Sky-Faring Commission, and Jiang Yu returned the Bat to Stelle.
• Lingsha and Kongqing found biological tissue inside the Roaring Coffin, and Yanqing arranged for the Ten-Lords Commission to assess it and send it to the Prison of Deep Seclusion.
• Lingsha invited Jiang Yu’s group to the Alchemy Commission and described her childhood on the Luofu and her return home.
• Lingsha argued that the Ambrosial Arbor’s rebirth was inevitable, and Jiang Yu realized people had put up portraits of him around Scalegorge Waterscape to ward off evil.

Lingsha asked the group for advice on reforming the Alchemy Commission and revealed that Jing Yuan had approved the exile of her teacher, who had tried to address the Commission’s problems. Yunli arrived and clashed with Jiang Yu over Black Cleave, and Jiang Yu calmly dismantled her accusation that he had followed her.

• Lingsha asked the group for insight into the Alchemy Commission’s problems, and Dan Heng and Yanqing advised her to preserve her independence and consult Jing Yuan.
• Jiang Yu jokingly suggested making Commission members worship the Reignbow Arbiter and curse Yaoshi until they became good, prompting the group to recall his harsh methods at the Factory.
• Lingsha explained that her teacher had tried to confront the Commission’s corruption, but Jing Yuan had approved her exile to the Zhuming, leaving Yanqing shaken.
• Yunli arrived at the Alchemy Commission, and Jiang Yu asked her to return Black Cleave.
• Yunli accused Jiang Yu of following her, and he calmly pointed out that she had arrived after him and told her to think before speaking, prompting Stelle and March 7th to react with alarm.

Jiang Yu and Yunli argued over his sword until Yanqing joined in, and Lingsha redirected their rivalry toward clearing abominations from the Alchemy Commission. Jiang Yu rushed ahead, leaving Yanqing, Yunli, and Lingsha to follow after him.

• Jiang Yu verbally outmatched Yunli after she challenged him to reclaim his sword by force.
• Yanqing joined the argument when Yunli insulted the Luofu's swordsmen, and the two nearly fought.
• Lingsha suggested that Yanqing and Yunli compete by slaying abominations in the Alchemy Commission's grotto-heaven instead.
• Jiang Yu dashed off to find abominations, muttering about using them as labor for another factory.
• Yanqing, Yunli, and Lingsha hurried after Jiang Yu, with Yanqing worried there would be no abominations left for their competition.

Jiang Yu cleared most of the abominations, then Yanqing beat Yunli in a timed contest and challenged her to a duel. Yanqing gained the upper hand while deliberately sparing her, leaving Yunli facing his concealed, potentially lethal sword attacks.

• Jiang Yu revealed the battlefield of defeated abominations and proposed a fifteen-minute contest for Yanqing and Yunli.
• Yanqing used precise sword strikes and flying swords to kill more abominations than the distracted Yunli.
• Yanqing told Yunli to admit defeat and return Black Cleave to Jiang Yu, but Yunli insisted on challenging him to a duel.
• Yanqing dodged Yunli's attacks and countered with flying swords and a kick, showing he could defeat her easily.
• Yanqing used a heavy leaping cleave and follow-up flying-sword attacks, repeatedly giving Yunli chances to avoid potentially lethal blows.

Jiang Yu and Dan Heng watched Yanqing and Yunli spar until Feixiao intervened, triggering a tense confrontation with Jiang Yu and Tir Anders. Lingsha identified Feixiao as General Tianji, easing the standoff, while Dan Heng worried about Jiang Yu’s future adventures as an active Nameless.

• Jiang Yu told Dan Heng that Yanqing had gained the advantage over Yunli, and Dan Heng praised Jiang Yu’s training.
• Jiang Yu sensed someone powerful approaching as Yanqing and Yunli charged at each other.
• Feixiao intervened, but Black Cleave struck between the duelists and Jiang Yu’s Sword Formation surrounded her.
• Jiang Yu demanded Feixiao’s name while Tir Anders prepared to subdue her with Beauty’s authority.
• Lingsha arrived and identified Feixiao as General Tianji, prompting Jiang Yu and Tir Anders to stand down.
• Dan Heng worried about the Luofu’s future when he considered Jiang Yu’s plans to adventure as an active Nameless.

After Jiang Yu overwhelmed Feixiao and ended the conflict between Yunli and Yanqing, Yunli admitted defeat and apologized to the Luofu's swordsmen. Jiang Yu then offered to pay Bailu's consultation fee in exchange for a spar with Feixiao, and the two prepared to fight using only physical ability and technique.

• Jiang Yu asked Yunli to admit defeat, and she apologized to Yanqing for insulting the Luofu's swordsmen before leaving with Old Iron.
• Yanqing thanked Lingsha and left to report to Jing Yuan, while Feixiao learned that she still had to pay Bailu's consultation fee.
• Jiang Yu offered to cover the fee if Feixiao sparred with him, and she agreed to limit their match to physical ability and technique.
• Jiang Yu and Feixiao faced off with their weapons as March 7th, Dan Heng, Stelle, and the others watched.

Jiang Yu overwhelmed Feixiao in a sparring match, leaving her hand trembling, while Jiaoqiu and Moze reported their impressions of the Luofu and its generals. Feixiao reflected on her illness and her resolve to fight the Abominations of Abundance, then remembered Bailu had suggested Jiang Yu might help her.

• Jiang Yu’s strength overpowered Feixiao’s, and he disarmed her before wielding both his greatsword and her axe in a furious attack.
• At the Ancient Seashore, Jiaoqiu and Moze told Feixiao that Jing Yuan planned to use the Wardance to demonstrate the Luofu’s stability, though the crowds could also fuel unrest.
• Jiaoqiu noticed Feixiao’s hand trembling and promised to find a cure, but Feixiao said she had accepted her duty and cared more about fighting the Abominations of Abundance than how long she lived.
• Feixiao recalled that Bailu had told her to seek out Little Fish, who seemed to be Jiang Yu, and decided she could meet him again while she remained on the Luofu.
• Feixiao told Jiaoqiu and Moze she had plans with an old comrade-in-arms.

Jiang Yu and the Astral Express crew visited the Divine Strategy Mansion, where Huaiyan asked Jiang Yu to grant the Zhuming Xianzhou sentience. Jiang Yu readily agreed, leaving him eager to awaken the other Xianzhou as well.

• March 7th and Stelle admired Feixiao's strength and considered learning Xianzhou Swordsmanship, but backed down when Jiang Yu offered to teach them.
• Jiang Yu received Jing Yuan's message summoning the group to the Divine Strategy Mansion for a discussion about the Alliance's inquiry.
• Huaiyan told Jing Yuan he trusted his loyalty despite criticism from people within the Alliance.
• Jiang Yu eagerly asked Huaiyan to send those critics to work at his new Factory, and Huaiyan joked that the Marshal would have no reason to refuse.
• Huaiyan asked Jiang Yu to grant the Zhuming sentience after the Wardance, and Jiang Yu immediately agreed.

Huaiyan presented a Sword Casket and proposed that the Wardance’s Contest of Blades prize be awarded through a student trained by Yunli and Yanqing. Jiang Yu volunteered to defend the arena and steered March 7th into sword training, leaving her reluctantly committed to learning Xianzhou swordsmanship.

• Huaiyan explained that he had brought an empty Sword Casket for a treasured Zhuming sword that would become the Contest of Blades prize.
• Huaiyan suggested that the sword should reward a champion and remarked that either Yanqing or the Heavenly Lord could defend the arena.
• Jiang Yu proposed that Yunli and Yanqing train Stelle or March 7th, with the students’ results determining who could compete for the sword.
• Stelle stepped behind March 7th, and Jiang Yu nominated March 7th as the student because she had expressed interest in Xianzhou swordsmanship.
• March 7th worried that she was too inexperienced, but Huaiyan encouraged her, and she reluctantly agreed to take part.

March 7th agreed to begin learning swordsmanship from Yunli and Yanqing after Huaiyan and Jing Yuan encouraged her. Jiang Yu then met Jiaoqiu and the others for a meal, while Feixiao reunited with Yukong and discussed her health and Jiaoqiu’s care.

• Yunli and Yanqing agreed to teach March 7th swordsmanship, and she accepted after considering the offer.
• Jiang Yu joined Jiaoqiu, Sushang, Bailu, and the hidden Moze for a meal and enjoyed Jiaoqiu’s cooking.
• Feixiao welcomed Yukong in Aurum Alley, and they reminisced about their last meeting nearly thirty years earlier.
• Feixiao explained that sparring with Jiang Yu had left her hands numb, and Yukong reacted with surprise.
• Feixiao told Yukong that Jiaoqiu had served as her aide and physician and helped keep her condition under control.

Feixiao explained why the Alliance had sent her to the Luofu and revealed that she had come to visit Hoolay. Yukong told her Jiang Yu wanted to transfer Hoolay to his Fragmentum factory, leaving Feixiao wondering whether Aha was involved and imagining the gods who might aid the Yaoqing.

• Feixiao told Yukong that the Alliance was investigating the Luofu over the Ambrosial Arbor, Jing Yuan, Jingliu, and the return of Imbibitor Lunae.
• Yukong defended Jing Yuan and asked Feixiao what she thought of Little Fish, whom Feixiao believed was powerful enough to be Heavenly Lord Miao Jian's avatar.
• Feixiao said she had come to visit Hoolay because the Yaoqing wanted reassurance that the Borisin warhead remained imprisoned.
• Yukong explained that Jiang Yu had wanted Hoolay transferred to his Fragmentum factory to provide meals for its employees.
• Feixiao wondered whether Aha was involved with the factory and imagined the Yaoqing receiving support from several gods in future campaigns.

March 7th began sword training under Yanqing and Yunli at the Palace of Astrum, where her masters welcomed her with gifts and immediately debated an intense training schedule. Jiang Yu suggested an even harsher combined regimen, leaving March and her masters wary of his influence.

• Stelle woke at the inn and learned that March and Dan Heng had already left with Yanqing for March's first sword lesson.
• Yanqing warned March that sword training would take discipline, and March agreed to study properly despite growing doubts about his teaching methods.
• Jiang Yu and Yanqing brought March to the Palace of Astrum's back garden, where Yunli gave her a training outfit and Yanqing presented her with a pair of swords.
• Yunli and Yanqing argued over March's daily exercises before Jiang Yu proposed eighty strength-training sets, forty agility-training sets, and a ten-kilometer run.
• March blamed Aha for Jiang Yu's harsh suggestion, while Yunli and Yanqing decided not to follow his training plan.

March 7th began sword practice with Yanqing and Yunli, and her first spar revealed that her natural attack was Jiang Yu’s jumping slash. With the Wardance approaching, Jiang Yu convinced the two instructors to focus on refining that move first while also teaching March 7th some footwork.

• Yanqing and Yunli arranged for March 7th to test her swordsmanship against a Cloud Knights Instructor.
• March 7th opened the spar with Jiang Yu’s sudden jumping slash, surprising the instructor and impressing Yunli.
• March 7th performed well for a beginner but struggled with precision, power, and sword technique.
• Yanqing and Yunli disagreed over whether March 7th should train footwork or power generation first.
• Jiang Yu proposed starting with jumping slashes and adding footwork to prepare March 7th for the approaching Wardance, and both instructors agreed.

Stelle went to Aurum Alley after Yunli summoned her about March 7th skipping sword practice, only to be lured into treating Yunli, Little Fish, and Bailu to a meal. As Yunli questioned Stelle about her Bat and urged her to enter the Wardance, a woman arrived and greeted Stelle and her companions.

• Stelle received Yunli's message about March 7th missing sword practice and went to meet her at Aurum Alley's entrance.
• Yunli admitted March 7th had skipped class and asked Stelle to treat her, Little Fish, and Bailu to food.
• Over their meal, Yunli examined Stelle's Bat and asked about its design and the way Stelle wielded it.
• Yunli discussed her sword-hunting and Black Cleave, then pressed Stelle to compete in the approaching Wardance.
• A woman arrived and greeted Stelle, Little Fish, and Lady Dragon Lady.

Xikui and Pavol brought the treasured Xianzhou sword Mika Chivasa to the Palace of Astrum, where it was to be presented as the Luofu Wardance prize. Jiang Yu, Stelle, Bailu, and Yunli joined them, and after Argenti greeted and praised the group, Huaiyan arrived to begin the ceremony.

• Xikui introduced Pavol and explained that his delegation had brought the treasured sword Mika Chivasa home to the Xianzhou.
• Xikui said Huaiyan would thank Pavol at the Palace of Astrum and present the sword as the Luofu Wardance prize, so Jiang Yu, Stelle, Bailu, and Yunli went along.
• At the Palace of Astrum, Jiang Yu and Stelle encountered Argenti, who bowed to Jiang Yu and praised Yunli, Bailu, and Stelle.
• Argenti introduced himself to Yunli as a Knight of Beauty and explained that he had escorted the sword with Pavol's delegation.
• Huaiyan cautioned Yunli to behave respectfully, then apologized to Pavol for the wait and announced that the sword-presentation ceremony would begin.

At the sword presentation ceremony, Yunli learned that the returned blade had been made by her father, Hanguang, and erupted in anger. Jiang Yu dragged her outside, where he calmed her down and offered to give her the sword after he won it at the Wardance.

• Pavol returned Mika Chivasa, whose original name was Lone Cloud, to Huaiyan on behalf of the Cal-levala delegation.
• Huaiyan announced that the Artisanship Commission would restore Lone Cloud and that it would become the Luofu Wardance champion’s prize.
• Yunli reacted to learning that Hanguang had made the sword and demanded that Huaiyan give it to her so she could melt it down.
• Huaiyan ordered Yunli to apologize to Pavol, and Jiang Yu covered her mouth and dragged her out before she could cause a diplomatic incident.
• Outside the Palace of Astrum, Yunli wiped away tears and declared she would intercept the sword, but Jiang Yu offered to give it to her after he won it.

Yunli explained that Demon Swords granted their wielders extraordinary swordsmanship at the cost of their life and control, but Jiang Yu and Stelle demonstrated that Black Cleave could fight without being wielded. After Yunli revealed the tragedy that drove her hatred of Demon Swords, Jiang Yu urged her to judge them carefully, while trusting Argenti to guide her in dealing with Lone Cloud.

• Yunli described how Demon Swords gave their wielders powerful sword skills while consuming their blood and marrow and eventually driving them to murderous madness.
• Stelle suggested avoiding wielding a Demon Sword by hand, and Jiang Yu used Black Cleave to make Old Iron sprout arms and legs and fight on its own.
• Yunli reconsidered her urgency to obtain Lone Cloud after seeing Black Cleave's abilities and hearing Jiang Yu offer to give it to her later.
• Yunli recounted how Hanguang and Demon Swords had caused her parents' deaths at the Flamewheel Forge Palace before Huaiyan rescued and raised her.
• Yunli declared that she intended to hunt every Demon Sword, while Jiang Yu urged her to observe and judge each one before acting and chose to trust Argenti regarding Lone Cloud.

After Lone Cloud disappeared from the Artisanship Commission, Jiang Yu cleared Yunli and the others by confirming their whereabouts and identified Argenti as the likely thief from rose petals left in the sword casket. He suspected Argenti had a reason for taking the sword and said he would ask him directly.

• Dahao summoned Stelle and Jiang Yu to investigate Lone Cloud's disappearance, and Yunli was named the prime suspect.
• Jiang Yu gave Yunli, Stelle, Bailu, and Banxia's whereabouts from the previous day, and officials verified his account, clearing them of suspicion.
• Dahao described the undamaged Armory and the opened casket, and Jiang Yu reasoned that the thief was likely someone from the Callevala delegation who knew Lone Cloud.
• Jiang Yu found rose petals in the casket, and Stelle recognized them as Argenti's calling card.
• Yunli suggested Argenti had been bewitched by Lone Cloud, while Jiang Yu said he would ask Argenti what had really happened.

Jiang Yu and his companions met Argenti at Starskiff Haven Central, where he challenged Yunli as Lone Cloud’s champion to give the sword a chance to tell its story. As their duel began, Yunli heard Lone Cloud’s voice and learned he was ready to explain why he had fled.

• Jiang Yu messaged Argenti, who explained that he wanted Yunli and Lone Cloud to communicate and asked Jiang Yu to keep the plan secret.
• Jiang Yu brought the others to Starskiff Haven Central, where Yunli demanded that Argenti return the Demon Sword.
• Argenti defended Lone Cloud, challenged Yunli to a duel as his champion, and offered to surrender the sword if he lost.
• Yunli accepted Argenti’s challenge and attacked with her Molten Iron Sword Husk.
• Argenti parried Yunli’s opening strike with Lone Cloud, and Yunli heard the sword say it would explain its past and why it had fled.