Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xiaohua discovered vital energy beneath the Frowning Tower and discussed the legend of Mo Chou Nu with Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi. After failing to find an inn, the group headed toward a little temple, while Xiao Juzi teased Nie Qianyu about her feelings for Zhang Xiaohua; the chapter ended with him returning from a teahouse and congratulating her.

• Zhang Xiaohua sensed vital energy beneath the Frowning Tower and wondered whether Mo Chou Nu was truly trapped there.
• Zhang Xiaohua, Nie Qianyu, and Xiao Juzi discussed the tower’s legend before deciding to stay in Mochou City for the night.
• Zhang Xiaohua found the city’s inns fully booked, and Nie Qianyu suggested they stay at a little temple in the west of the city.
• Zhang Xiaohua went into a teahouse to buy snacks, and Xiao Juzi teased Nie Qianyu about choosing the temple instead of staying at her family’s residence.
• Xiao Juzi encouraged Nie Qianyu to show her affection for Zhang Xiaohua, and Zhang Xiaohua returned and congratulated her, making her blush.

Zhang Xiaohua, Nie Qianyu, and Xiao Juzi discovered that Hui Chun Valley’s husband-selection martial contest was a ruse to hide Nie Qianyu after an abduction attempt. At a secluded Matchmaker Temple, Nie Qianyu prayed while Zhang Xiaohua reflected on his feelings for her and his memories of Meng.

• Zhang Xiaohua congratulated Nie Qianyu on a supposed marriage contest at Hui Chun Valley, then learned her two elder sisters were already married.
• Zhang Xiaohua inferred that Nie Qianyu’s father had staged the contest to make the villains believe she had returned home after their attempt to abduct and kill her.
• Nie Qianyu insisted they continue to the small temple and said they would learn her father’s full plan when they returned the next day.
• Zhang Xiaohua brought Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi to a secluded Matchmaker Temple, where the two women prayed and Nie Qianyu bowed nine times.
• Zhang Xiaohua wondered whether he had feelings for Nie Qianyu, thought of Meng, and declined to make a wish before the Matchmaker.

Zhang Xiaohua helped Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi settle in the ruined Matchmaker Temple, insisting on keeping proper distance while bringing their carriage and animals inside. After the women fell asleep, he placed jade pieces around the temple and raised a protective formation over it.

• Nie Qianyu told Zhang Xiaohua about the Matchmaker Temple and her childhood devotion to its Matchmaker, but he declined to worship there.
• Zhang Xiaohua used Earth Escape to collect dry straw, then gathered firewood and lit a bonfire for Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi.
• Zhang Xiaohua moved the carriage, Huanhuan, and the black horse into the temple, explaining that he wanted them as witnesses while he stayed near the women.
• Zhang Xiaohua sat behind the Matchmaker statue to cultivate while Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi slept by the fire.
• Zhang Xiaohua placed jade pieces around the temple and formed an invisible hemispherical barrier over it.

Jingzhe arranged for February Twelfth to compete in Hui Chun Valley’s marriage contest, hoping to gain control of the valley while its Third Miss remained missing. Valley Master Nie and Nie Qianrong feared for Nie Qianyu as the contest’s final day approached, and they had no way to produce her if a champion was chosen.

• Jingzhe met February Twelfth near the Matchmaker Temple and warned him to win the final day of Hui Chun Valley’s martial contest for marriage.
• Jingzhe explained that the Grand Commander suspected the contest was a ruse to hide Nie Qianyu’s escape, but the gang still planned to claim Hui Chun Valley through the winning contestant.
• After February Twelfth left, Jingzhe glanced toward the dark temple, unaware that Zhang Xiaohua was meditating inside while two girls slept nearby.
• Valley Master Nie told Nie Qianrong that Nie Qianyu had been missing for more than two months after an unknown force pursued her, and he feared she might be dead.
• Nie Qianrong and Valley Master Nie discussed how they would conclude the contest if a winner was chosen the next day without Nie Qianyu returning.

As Hui Chun Valley prepared for the final day of its marriage tournament, Valley Master Nie worried that Nie Qianyu would not return, while Nie Qianxiu challenged his plan. Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaohua and Nie Qianyu left the Matchmaker Temple and hurried toward Hui Chun Valley, hoping to arrive before the tournament ended.

• Valley Master Nie told Nie Qianrong that he had hoped Nie Qianyu would return in time for the tournament and her mother’s marriage wish, while Nie Qianxiu warned that the contest could endanger Hui Chun Valley.
• Nie Qianxiu argued that choosing an outside son-in-law could weaken the valley, and Valley Master Nie questioned whether her concern came from her ties to Iron Cavalry Sect.
• Zhang Xiaohua found that the emerald-green grass cushion improved his cultivation and helped his contemplation of the Heavenly Dao.
• Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi woke late at the Matchmaker Temple, and Zhang Xiaohua urged Nie Qianyu to cancel the tournament now that she had returned.
• Zhang Xiaohua packed the carriage, and he and Nie Qianyu set off toward Hui Chun Valley as she anxiously watched the time.

Zhang Xiaohua brought Nie Qianyu back to Hui Chun Valley, where her father and sisters joyfully welcomed her home. He tried to leave at once, but Valley Master Nie and Nie Qianyu both stopped him.

• Nie Qianyu directed Zhang Xiaohua to take a quiet side path into Hui Chun Valley, avoiding the martial contest at the main gate.
• A guard recognized Nie Qianyu and hurried to report her return while keeping it quiet; Hui Chun Valley guards escorted the carriage to the side gate.
• Valley Master Nie embraced Nie Qianyu, and her two elder sisters joined in welcoming her home.
• Zhang Xiaohua told Valley Master Nie he had important matters to attend to and turned to leave.
• Valley Master Nie tried to catch Zhang Xiaohua's wrist, but Zhang Xiaohua evaded him; Nie Qianyu then caught his sleeve and pleaded with him not to hurry away.

Zhang Xiaohua entered Hui Chun Valley with Nie Qianyu, where he learned that her father had arranged a martial contest for her marriage. When Nie Qianyu agreed to proceed rather than endanger the valley, Zhang Xiaohua suggested she still had another choice.

• Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi persuaded Zhang Xiaohua to stay at Hui Chun Valley for a day, and Valley Master Nie welcomed him into the estate.
• Nie Qianyu introduced Zhang Xiaohua to her sisters, Nie Qianrong and Nie Qianxiu, as the man who had saved and escorted her home from Danhe City.
• Valley Master Nie revealed that he had arranged a martial contest for Nie Qianyu's marriage, but she refused to marry and said she wanted to remain in the valley.
• Valley Master Nie proposed making his maid Mo Mei his adopted daughter and redirecting the contest to her, while Nie Qianxiu warned that the participants and rival forces might threaten Hui Chun Valley.
• Nie Qianyu agreed to her father's wishes after hearing the danger, but Xiao Juzi protested that she should not marry a stranger, and Zhang Xiaohua said she had another choice.

Zhang Xiaohua agreed to enter Hui Chun Valley’s martial contest for marriage and win first place to protect Nie Qianyu from being wed to a stranger. As the family hurried to the arena, they feared the contest might end before he could take part.

• Zhang Xiaohua suggested delaying Nie Qianyu’s marriage and later finding a reason to expel the unwanted victor, then learned that Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi were both sixteen.
• Nie Qianrong proposed that Zhang Xiaohua win the contest and serve as a temporary groom whom Hui Chun Valley could later send away.
• Nie Qianyu and Valley Master Nie urged Zhang Xiaohua to help, while he questioned whether they could dismiss him if he behaved properly.
• Zhang Xiaohua agreed to compete but claimed he had less than an even chance of winning.
• Nie Qianrong realized the contest might soon decide its winner, and Valley Master Nie hurried Zhang Xiaohua toward the arena.

Zhang Xiaohua reached Hui Chun Valley’s arena just in time to challenge Long Linye for a place in the martial contest for marriage. Valley Master Nie arrived and allowed the match to proceed, leaving Zhang Xiaohua’s eligibility and confrontation with Long Linye unresolved.

• Valley Master Nie tested Zhang Xiaohua’s lightness skill on the way to the arena, but Zhang Xiaohua surged ahead and reached the gates first.
• As the final qualification count neared its end, Zhang Xiaohua stepped forward, introduced himself as Ren Xiaoyao, and challenged Long Linye.
• The crowd mocked Zhang Xiaohua’s youth and appearance, while two injured men recognized him with alarm.
• The adjudicator hesitated over Zhang Xiaohua’s eligibility until Valley Master Nie arrived at the arena.
• Valley Master Nie told the adjudicator to let Zhang Xiaohua and Long Linye fight, though the adjudicator raised concerns about Zhang Xiaohua arriving alone and appearing so young.

Zhang Xiaohua entered Hui Chun Valley’s marriage contest and proposed a three-move duel with Young Master Long, who accepted after discarding his sword. As they prepared to fight, Nie Qianyu arrived with her sisters, drawing the crowd’s attention.

• Valley Master Nie welcomed Zhang Xiaohua into the contest, and Yue Yan agreed to judge his match against Young Master Long.
• Zhang Xiaohua explained that he had left his sword below the arena, and Young Master Long threw away his own sword to preserve his reputation.
• Zhang Xiaohua proposed that they take turns striking three times, with neither allowed to retaliate during the other’s turn.
• Valley Master Nie worried that Young Master Long’s Dragon Soaring Cultivation Method could give him an advantage in the proposed contest.
• Nie Qianyu and her two sisters arrived at the valley entrance, and the assembled contestants scrutinized Nie Qianyu’s appearance.

At Hui Chun Valley’s contest to choose Nie Qianyu’s husband, Zhang Xiaohua used Young Master Long’s own rule against him and threw him off the platform. Young Master Long disputed the result, and they agreed to restart with two fist-against-fist exchanges, leaving Zhang Xiaohua alert to something suspicious in Long’s sleeve.

• The Nie sisters arrived to watch the final match, and Nie Qianyu privately trusted Zhang Xiaohua’s abilities despite Young Master Long’s confidence.
• Young Master Long proposed three hard blows, with either man losing if he moved his feet, and Zhang Xiaohua accepted.
• Young Master Long struck, but Zhang Xiaohua caught his wrist and redirected him off the platform, apparently winning under Long’s rule.
• Young Master Long accused Zhang Xiaohua of breaking their agreement, but Zhang Xiaohua pointed out they had agreed to three moves, not three punches.
• Zhang Xiaohua offered to restart, and Young Master Long agreed that the first exchange would count as a draw before demanding two fist-against-fist moves.
• As they prepared to continue, Zhang Xiaohua sensed something unusual in Young Master Long’s left hand inside his sleeve.

Zhang Xiaohua used the martial contest to test his Immortal Dao true qi against Young Master Long’s Dragon Soaring Cultivation Method and sent him flying from the platform. Young Master Long conceded the championship and rode away, leaving Zhang Xiaohua as the apparent favorite.

• Zhang Xiaohua challenged Young Master Long to settle their contest with punches and warned him against using a hidden weapon.
• Zhang Xiaohua and Young Master Long exchanged a second punch, and their strength matched in a draw.
• Young Master Long used the Dragon Soaring Cultivation Method’s stacked force in a palm strike, while Zhang Xiaohua studied the technique by sensing his meridians.
• Zhang Xiaohua increased his true qi to surpass Young Master Long’s fourth layer and sent him flying from the platform without injuring him.
• Young Master Long acknowledged Zhang Xiaohua’s strength, yielded the championship, and rode away from the valley.

Zhang Xiaohua secured the final qualification and joined the twenty-three-person brawl to determine the martial matchmaking contest’s winner. He stayed out of the fight at first, then defeated all four members of a group that attacked him.

• Valley Master Nie announced that Young Hero Ren had won the final qualification and that the final contest would begin in half an hour.
• Zhang Xiaohua studied the Dragon Soaring Cultivation Method while waiting, then learned that the final round would be a free-for-all with the last person standing declared the winner.
• Zhang Xiaohua carved a boundary into the stage and told the other contestants through his actions to fight among themselves without crossing it.
• As the contestants eliminated one another, Zhang Xiaohua waited alone until four men charged him.
• Zhang Xiaohua slipped through their attack, broke one man’s sword, struck another with Finger Wind, and sent the last two flying off the stage with his palms.

Zhang Xiaohua discovered that the four remaining fighters used an incomplete Great Evolution Five Elements Formation and broke their coordination to defeat them. After two opponents used poisoned returning hidden weapons against him, he turned their attack back on them and left one man poisoned and the other dead.

• The final eight fighters split into two groups, and the stronger group defeated the other four before surrounding Zhang Xiaohua.
• Zhang Xiaohua fought the four men with the Big Dipper Divine Fist and Misty Steps, then recognized their combined technique as an incomplete Great Evolution Five Elements Formation.
• Zhang Xiaohua completed the formation by taking the missing position, disrupted its movements, and threw two fighters from the arena.
• Two remaining fighters attacked Zhang Xiaohua with poisoned returning hidden weapons, but he dodged them and one weapon struck its owner in the face.
• Zhang Xiaohua seized the final fighter and flung him into the returning poisoned weapon, which pierced his neck and killed him.

After Zhang Xiaohua stopped two poison-wielding attackers, Valley Master Nie secured the arena and declared Ren Xiaoyao the winner of the martial matchmaking. The wedding was postponed because blood had been shed, but Valley Master Nie invited the crowd to celebrate with a feast.

• Valley Master Nie surrounded the arena with Hui Chun Valley guards and government soldiers, calming the crowd and preventing further trouble.
• Valley Master Nie questioned Jin Tong about the two dead attackers, and Jin Tong explained that they had recruited him and Tao Guan for the final contest.
• Jin Tong apologized, then left with his companions despite Valley Master Nie inviting him to stay.
• Valley Master Nie announced Ren Xiaoyao as the victor, and the crowd cheered his decision.
• Nie Qianyu and Nie Qianrong withdrew into the manor, while Valley Master Nie postponed the wedding and invited everyone to the prepared feast.

After winning the arena, Zhang Xiaohua was treated as Nie Qianyu’s future husband by Yue Zhonglin and Qiangsheng, then went to release the acupoints he had sealed on two young men. Elder Yue tried to help but could not undo one of Zhang Xiaohua’s seals, leaving him worried about losing face.

• Yue Zhonglin and Qiangsheng claimed Zhang Xiaohua as their little brother-in-law and invited him into the manor.
• Zhang Xiaohua pulled his long sword from the ground after another man failed to move it.
• A young man asked Zhang Xiaohua to release two sect brothers’ sealed acupoints, and Zhang Xiaohua agreed to go despite Elder Yue already being summoned.
• Elder Yue greeted Zhang Xiaohua as his nephew and offered to release one of the two men’s acupoints himself.
• Zhang Xiaohua released one man’s acupoints, while Elder Yue’s techniques failed to release the other’s.

Zhang Xiaohua and Old Yue entered the manor after the wedding ceremony, and Old Yue asked about the acupoint technique Zhang had used. They reached Nie Qianyu’s peach grove and embroidered chamber, where Zhang saw her in new clothes before she led them to her father.

• Zhang Xiaohua secretly helped Old Yue release the man’s acupoints, and Old Yue restored him using another technique.
• Old Yue escorted Zhang Xiaohua into the manor and asked him to name the finger technique he had used; Zhang said it resembled a secret art of the Righteous Path Alliance.
• Old Yue explained that Nie Qianyu had planted the peach grove herself to honor her late mother, who had loved peach blossoms.
• Zhang Xiaohua and Old Yue reached Nie Qianyu’s residence, Peach Blossom Nunnery, and discussed her fondness for the poem about the Peach Blossom Immortal.
• Nie Qianyu appeared in new clothes, and Zhang Xiaohua stared at her before she invited him and Old Yue to join her father in the hall.

Zhang Xiaohua reasoned that the four attackers belonged to a five-person group whose strongest member had been eliminated from the marriage contest, and the others identified Dragon Soaring Sword Manor as a likely pawn of a greater enemy. As Zhang Xiaohua prepared to leave Hui Chun Valley for the north, Nie Qianyu proposed telling the public that their marriage would take place in a few years.

• Valley Master Nie and Uncle Yue thanked Zhang Xiaohua for rescuing Nie Qianyu and discussed the four attackers who had escaped.
• Zhang Xiaohua deduced that the attackers’ joint technique required five people, and the group concluded that their missing member had failed to qualify in the contest.
• Nie Qianyu and Zhang Xiaohua reasoned that the eliminated member was likely the group’s most important fighter, while Valley Master Nie explained why the conspirators could not openly field a second team.
• Uncle Yue suspected Dragon Soaring Sword Manor, but Valley Master Nie and Nie Qianyu judged it to be a pawn of a more powerful enemy and agreed to watch it discreetly.
• Zhang Xiaohua said he would leave for the north the next day, and Nie Qianyu suggested announcing that she would marry him in a few years.

Zhang Xiaohua explained that he wanted to find the Incense-Passing Cult to learn what had happened to his brother, who had joined the Misty Sect. Valley Master Nie and Elder Yue revealed that Nie Qianyu already knew where the cult was, leaving Zhang Xiaohua reconsidering his plans to leave Hui Chun Valley.

• Nie Qianyu helped Zhang Xiaohua avoid the evening banquet, and he said he planned to leave early the next morning.
• After Valley Master Nie and Elder Yue offered to help, Zhang Xiaohua asked them for the Incense-Passing Cult's location.
• Zhang Xiaohua explained that he hoped to find his brother, who had joined the Misty Sect before it was destroyed.
• Nie Qianyu apologized for misunderstanding Zhang Xiaohua and addressed him warmly as Brother Ren.
• Elder Yue told Zhang Xiaohua that some Misty Sect disciples had been taken to the Incense-Passing Cult, and Nie Qianyu said she could have given him its location earlier.
• Valley Master Nie and Nie Qianyu implied that the Incense-Passing Cult was not in the north, suggesting Zhang Xiaohua need not travel to Danhe City first.

Zhang Xiaohua learned that reaching the Incense-Passing Cult would require a disciple to guide him, so Valley Master Nie proposed sending him there as Hui Chun Valley’s future son-in-law and a herb-tending youth. Zhang Xiaohua agreed to prepare for the opportunity and asked to study medicine and pharmacology in Hui Chun Valley.

• Zhang Xiaohua asked Valley Master Nie how to reach the Incense-Passing Cult and explained that he wanted to see whether his brother was alive.
• Valley Master Nie explained that Hui Chun Valley could ask the Cult for news but might not receive a reply, and Nie Qianyu noted that outsiders could not enter without a Cult disciple to lead them.
• Valley Master Nie proposed presenting Zhang Xiaohua as Hui Chun Valley’s future son-in-law and sending him with the valley’s herb-tending youths when the Cult next came to recruit them.
• Zhang Xiaohua worried that using Hui Chun Valley’s name might implicate the valley, but Valley Master Nie reassured him that the favor was deserved because Zhang had saved Nie Qianyu and the valley.
• Zhang Xiaohua said he knew something about herbs, answered Valley Master Nie’s questions, and asked permission to study medical theory and pharmacology in Hui Chun Valley.
• Valley Master Nie welcomed Zhang Xiaohua’s request and offered to teach him the valley’s healing, herbal, and pill-making arts.