Recaps

Tian Hao used Yue Lingshan’s training and early breakthrough to persuade Ning Zhongze of his AFK cultivation method and the need to strengthen Mount Hua Sect. The chapter ended with Ning Zhongze agreeing to train Yue Lingshan herself, leaving her daughter dismayed.

• Tian Hao brought the unconscious Yue Lingshan to Ning Zhongze and claimed she had asked for rigorous Horizontal Crab Iron Shirt training after losing a challenge.
• Ning Zhongze examined Yue Lingshan, learned she had reached the inner qi realm ahead of schedule, and heard Tian Hao explain his AFK Training Method.
• Tian Hao argued that Mount Hua Sect could afford medicinal nourishment if Yue Buqun secured the treasure from Guan Family Fort, then gave Ning Zhongze a design for Yue Lingshan’s training clothes.
• Yue Lingshan revealed she had been pretending to sleep and begged Ning Zhongze to stop making her train with Tian Hao.
• Ning Zhongze agreed to personally train Yue Lingshan in Iron Shirt, leaving her daughter aggrieved.

Tian Hao and the Mount Hua Sect intensified their training and preparations while Yue Buqun’s group moved Guan Family Fort’s treasure and built Mount Hua Academy. After receiving the Dictionary, the Southern Ming Emperor sent Yu Huatian to protect Ru Zhigang and ordered Cao Zhengchun to watch his imperial uncle, while privately reflecting on the powerful rivals testing his rule.

• Yue Lingshan warned Tian Hao that Ning Zhongze would help her practice the orthodox Horizontal Crab Iron Shirt method, and Tian Hao required her to reach entry level and begin skin shedding within twenty days.
• Ning Zhongze tested Tian Hao’s self-hypnosis method, found that it improved her sleep, and continued cultivating in the cold as the sect worked to perfect idle training.
• Tian Hao’s training drive spurred Yue Lingshan, Ning Zhongze, Lao Denuo, the Mount Hua disciples, Linghu Chong, and Lu Dayou to intensify their practice.
• Yue Buqun and his allies moved the treasure from Guan Family Fort, buried most of it around Mount Hua, and used the silver to acquire medicinal herbs and other resources while Ru Zhigang’s group built Mount Hua Academy.
• After receiving the Dictionary, the Southern Ming Emperor ordered Yu Huatian to protect Ru Zhigang with the Imperial Sword and directed Cao Zhengchun to monitor his imperial uncle.
• The Southern Ming Emperor privately reflected that his late father had left Cao Zhengchun and his imperial uncle as obstacles meant to strengthen his grip on the throne.

After three months of training, Tian Hao broke through his misunderstanding of Embrace Origin Guarding the One and entered an epiphany that advanced his Embrace Origin Force. He survived the dangerous strain with Yue Buqun’s help and realized his exceptional comprehension might let him experience epiphanies again.

• Tian Hao thanked Yue Buqun for his hard work establishing Mount Hua Academy and explained that he had been stuck near major mastery of Embrace Origin Force.
• A one-armed Mount Hua disciple recalled that Wang Qinggang had said Embrace Origin Guarding the One depended on focusing the mind, not transforming inner force.
• Tian Hao grasped the meaning, entered an epiphany, and practiced Embrace Origin Force until his punches became soft and elusive yet burst the air with explosive cracks.
• Yue Buqun and the one-armed disciple suspected Tian Hao had experienced an epiphany, and Yue Buqun prepared to intervene if the state became dangerous.
• Tian Hao emerged from the epiphany severely drained, so Yue Buqun gave him a pill and warned him not to enter that state without internal power.
• Tian Hao recognized the episode as an epiphany and thought that his boosted spirit attribute might let him experience one again.

After recovering, Tian Hao demonstrated his mastery of Embrace Origin Force and reunited with Li Buli and Yue Buqun. Yue Buqun revealed the Mount Hua Sect’s connection to the Evil-Warding Sword Manual and considered pursuing it after Lin Zhennan was gravely wounded.

• Tian Hao practiced Embrace Origin Force in the courtyard, and Li Buli praised his fully mastered technique.
• Tian Hao thanked Li Buli for helping him overcome a training obstacle, and Yue Buqun joined them.
• Tian Hao asked about the Mount Hua Academy, and Yue Buqun said the Ming Emperor had sent Yu Huatian and half the Western Depot to protect Ru Zhigang.
• Li Buli mentioned that Lin Zhennan had been severely wounded when the White Tiger Stronghold seized his cargo.
• Yue Buqun explained that the Evil-Warding Sword Manual was connected to the Sunflower Manual and said the Mount Hua Sect might pursue it if the Lin family had no secret practitioner.

Tian Hao proposed using self-hypnosis to help Mount Hua disciples master Embrace Origin Force quickly, while Yue Buqun agreed to provide him with manuals for study. After discovering Tian Hao knew Lao Denuo was an infiltrator, Yue Buqun heard his plea to spare the second senior brother.

• Tian Hao questioned whether Shaolin Temple had arranged the leak that led to Mount Hua's defeat, and Yue Buqun said Shaolin was a suspect but too powerful to confront.
• Tian Hao suggested that Mount Hua could attack Putian Shaolin Temple if its martial uncles mastered Embrace Origin Force and wielded Black Iron longswords.
• Tian Hao explained that his Self-Hypnosis Method might help the disciples enter Embrace Origin Guarding the One and asked Yue Buqun for the Primal Chaos Skill and Violet Mist Divine Skill to refine it.
• Yue Buqun ordered Li Buli to recall the disciples, send them Embrace Origin Force manuals, and have them study on the journey back.
• Yue Buqun gave Tian Hao the Primal Chaos Skill and Violet Mist Manual, and Tian Hao asked him to spare Lao Denuo, whom he believed had been sent by Zuo Lengchan.

Tian Hao and Yue Buqun refined the Self-Hypnosis Method into a way to reach the Embrace Origin Guarding the One state, while Mount Hua Sect gathered medicinal ingredients to support training. Tian Hao then gave Lao Denuo the choice to remain at Mount Hua or return to Mount Song, and Lao Denuo chose Mount Hua.

• Yue Buqun agreed to spare Lao Denuo and let Tian Hao use him to feed false intelligence to Zuo Lengchan.
• Tian Hao memorized two manuals and asked Yue Buqun about the relationship between martial heart methods and Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist visualization methods.
• Tian Hao, Yue Buqun, and Ning Zhongze refined the Self-Hypnosis Method over a month until it could bring practitioners to the Embrace Origin Guarding the One state.
• Mount Hua Sect's groups returned with large quantities of medicinal ingredients, and Li Buli and the others praised the Self-Hypnosis Method manual.
• Outside town, Tian Hao told Lao Denuo that Yue Buqun knew he was a spy and offered him the choice of staying at Mount Hua or returning to Mount Song.
• Lao Denuo decided Mount Hua offered him better prospects and followed Tian Hao into town.

Tian Hao and Lao Denuo traveled through a newly orderly city, where Tian Hao agreed to let Lao Denuo repay Zuo Lengchan with a copy of the Evil-Warding Sword Manual. After hearing that Dongfang Bubai was performing at Fleeting Years, Tian Hao hurried there with clear varnish, hoping to get close enough to download her innate attribute.

• Tian Hao praised the city's improved order as he and Lao Denuo walked toward Fleeting Years.
• Lao Denuo admitted he wanted to repay Zuo Lengchan, and Tian Hao agreed that he could send Zuo a copy of the Evil-Warding Sword Manual and letters.
• Tian Hao and Lao Denuo heard that Dongfang Bubai was dancing at Fleeting Years, and Tian Hao decided to go there.
• Tian Hao sent Lao Denuo to buy clear varnish, then ran to Fleeting Years after collecting a small amount in a porcelain bottle.

Tian Hao and Lao Denuo entered Fleeting Years and watched Dongfang Bubai dance, until Tian Hao recognized Linghu Chong and intervened when she invited him upstairs. A fight broke out, and Linghu Chong sided against Tian Hao, leaving the Mount Hua disciples at odds.

• Tian Hao and Lao Denuo watched Dongfang Bubai perform a lightness-skill dance at Fleeting Years, and Tian Hao suspected she had come for the Mount Hua Sect.
• Dongfang Bubai invited Linghu Chong to share a drink, but Tian Hao rushed over, stopped him, and berated him for going to a brothel while their junior sister loved him.
• The White-Clad Burly Man attacked Tian Hao, who shattered the man's hand with a punch and moved to strike again.
• Linghu Chong drew his sword to stop Tian Hao, allowing the injured White-Clad Burly Man to escape while Lu Dayou blocked Lao Denuo from pursuing him.
• Tian Hao protested that the man had tried to kill him, while Linghu Chong defended the attacker and condemned Tian Hao's use of force.

Tian Hao confronted Linghu Chong and Lu Dayou for visiting Fleeting Years, then accepted Dongfang Bubai’s invitation to go upstairs with her. The Heaven-Defying Mirror confirmed that she was Dongfang Bai, and Tian Hao recognized her as the tragic, devoted version of Auntie Dongfang.

• Tian Hao asked Lao Denuo to investigate the powerful burly man who had attacked him, while Lao Denuo scolded Linghu Chong for visiting a pleasure house.
• Tian Hao called out Linghu Chong and Lu Dayou for their behavior and warned Dongfang Bubai not to pursue Linghu Chong, who belonged with their junior sister.
• Tian Hao asked Dongfang Bubai to take him to her room, and she agreed before her silk tore when she tried to pull him upstairs.
• Tian Hao carried Dongfang Bubai upstairs and checked the Heaven-Defying Mirror, which identified her as Dongfang Bai and showed her attributes and negative fate.

Tian Hao tried to win Dongfang Bai’s trust by buying her freedom and arguing that women deserved equality with men. Dongfang Bai was moved by his views, though his blunt remarks about her age and appearance repeatedly angered and embarrassed her.

• Tian Hao offered Dongfang Bai fifteen thousand taels to buy her freedom, explaining that she reminded him of his late mother.
• Dongfang Bai claimed to be twenty-four, but Tian Hao guessed she was older after spotting chives stuck in her teeth.
• Dongfang Bai admitted she was thirty-six, and Tian Hao called her an old maid while praising how youthful she looked.
• Tian Hao argued that men and women were equal in intelligence and could become equals in a civilized society, moving Dongfang Bai.

Dongfang Bai learned about Tian Hao’s brutal childhood and was astonished that he had mastered Embrace Origin Force after only three years with the Mount Hua Sect. After revealing her name, she let Tian Hao try his unusual nail art, leaving him holding her hand and beginning the makeover.

• Dongfang Bai asked Tian Hao about his past, and he described his parents’ deaths, his enslavement, and his escape into the Mount Hua Sect.
• Tian Hao said he intended to reshape the cruel world, and Dongfang Bai realized he had mastered Embrace Origin Force in only three years.
• Tian Hao introduced himself and explained his courtesy name, Rugged Man, prompting Dongfang Bai to share her real name.
• Tian Hao offered Dongfang Bai a novel style of nail art, and she agreed to let him demonstrate.
• Tian Hao took Dongfang Bai’s hand and began painting her nails with supplies he had brought.

Tian Hao warned Dongfang Bai about the Sun-Moon Divine Cult’s plans, while Dongfang Bai investigated whether Feng Qingyang had reached the Innate Realm. After learning that the Desert North Duo might be near Mount Hua and connected to Linghu Chong, Tian Hao set out to deal with them.

• Tian Hao finished decorating Dongfang Bai’s nails, warned her about the planned attack on Mount Hua, and left after teasing her about her age.
• Dongfang Bai ordered Tong Baixiong and others to accompany her to Mount Hua so she could meet Feng Qingyang and determine whether he was an Innate Realm expert.
• Dongfang Bai learned that Yu Huatian stayed with Imperial Tutor Ru Zhigang and that the Western Depot’s forces were concentrated at Mount Hua Academy.
• Lao Denuo told Tian Hao that the two suspicious men might be the Desert North Duo, notorious unorthodox practitioners rumored to eat human flesh.
• Tian Hao blamed Linghu Chong for befriending the Desert North Duo and went to find Martial Uncle Zhao Bulu.

After learning that Linghu Chong had been seen with the cannibal Desert North Duo, Tian Hao and the Mount Hua Sect moved to capture them and prove the sect’s innocence. Tian Hao ambushed Black Bear at the courtyard gate and battered him into submission, while Zhao Bulu and Lao Denuo overwhelmed White Bear.

• Tian Hao told Zhao Bulu that Linghu Chong had been seen associating with the Desert North Duo, so Zhao ordered disciples to track them down using White Bear’s broken bone and hunting dogs.
• After the disciples found the duo, Tian Hao, Lao Denuo, and Zhao Bulu set out with Constable Chief Li and his crossbow-equipped men to surround their hiding place.
• Zhao Bulu and Lao Denuo entered the courtyard to fight Black Bear and White Bear, while Tian Hao guarded the main gate and the constables covered the surrounding streets.
• Black Bear broke through the gate and met Tian Hao’s rapid greatsword strikes, which drove him backward and eventually severed his Ghost-Head Broadsword and left arm.
• Black Bear tried to kill Tian Hao with his broken saber, but Tian Hao’s Chainmail stopped the blow; Tian Hao seized Black Bear and repeatedly slammed him into the ground.
• Zhao Bulu and Lao Denuo continued to suppress the bloodied White Bear as the constables watched Tian Hao batter Black Bear.

Tian Hao defeated the Desert North Duo and uncovered their cannibalism, then arranged for the rescued siblings to be taken toward Mount Hua. Linghu Chong, convinced the official account was a frame-up, sent Lu Dayou to investigate Tian Hao and protect the Mount Hua Sect's reputation.

• Tian Hao crippled Black Bear and ordered that he and White Bear be kept alive after the fight.
• Tian Hao and the others discovered the remains of the tofu-selling family and rescued the surviving brother and sister; the boy asked Tian Hao to teach him to kill villains.
• Tian Hao asked Constable Zhao to help him learn the Desert North Duo's arm-training technique, and Zhao agreed.
• The county office interrogated the Desert North Duo, posted notices crediting the Mount Hua Sect, and sentenced the brothers to Death by a Thousand Cuts.
• Linghu Chong accused Tian Hao of framing White Bear and told Lu Dayou to investigate Tian Hao's identity near Guan Family Fort.

Tian Hao examined the Desert North Duo’s Demon Ape Skill and decided the Mount Hua Sect could replace its cannibalistic cultivation method with medicinal cuisine. He and Zhao Bulu returned to Mount Hua with Yang Jian and Yang Chan, where Yue Buqun celebrated his breakthrough to major mastery of the Embrace Origin Force before Linghu Chong arrived.

• A constable delivered the Desert North Duo’s handwritten martial arts manuals to Tian Hao, who learned they had quickly surrendered under torture.
• Tian Hao and Zhao Bulu examined the Demon Ape Skill and its paired Demon Ape Through-Arm Fist, discovering that the arts accelerated cultivation through cannibalism.
• Tian Hao concluded that medicinal cuisine could replace eating people and proposed expanding the Mount Hua Sect’s medicinal chicken farming.
• Tian Hao and Zhao Bulu set off for Mount Hua with Yang Jian and Yang Chan, intending to report Linghu Chong’s trouble and recommend Yang Chan for training.
• Yue Buqun told Ning Zhongze he had reached major mastery of the Embrace Origin Force, and they discussed Mount Hua’s growing strength and plans.
• Linghu Chong returned to the courtyard, surprising Ning Zhongze, who had expected him to enjoy a few more days in the city.

Tian Hao explained to Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze what had happened at Fleeting Years, exposing Linghu Chong’s conduct and deepening Yue Buqun’s doubts about his eldest disciple. The chapter ended with Yue Buqun furious after learning Linghu Chong had attacked Tian Hao to protect White Bear.

• Linghu Chong told Ning Zhongze that Tian Hao had framed and tortured Brother Bai, while Yue Buqun urged everyone to wait for Tian Hao’s account.
• Tian Hao returned with Zhao Bulu and the others, and they gathered in the Quiet Chamber to discuss the incident privately.
• Tian Hao said that he and Linghu Chong had visited Fleeting Years, where Dongfang Bubai invited Linghu Chong upstairs for a drink.
• Ning Zhongze and Yue Buqun became angry when Linghu Chong admitted through his hesitation that he had accepted the courtesan’s invitation.
• Tian Hao recounted that White Bear tried to kill him, and Linghu Chong drew his sword against Tian Hao to help White Bear escape.
• Yue Buqun cursed Linghu Chong for attacking his fellow disciple and protecting an outsider.

Tian Hao exposed Linghu Chong’s ties to the Desert North Duo, prompting Yue Buqun to punish his chief disciple and accept Yang Jian and Yang Chan. Tian Hao then warned Yue Buqun and Zhao Bulu that Dongfang Bubai might be the Top Courtesan at Fleeting Years and could be targeting Mount Hua for information about Feng Qingyang.

• Tian Hao recounted how Linghu Chong had protected White Bear and how he and Zhao Bulu helped the authorities capture the Desert North Duo, then asked Yue Buqun to take in Yang Jian and Yang Chan.
• Yue Buqun struck Linghu Chong and sent him to Reflection Cliff for violating sect precepts and associating with the Desert North Duo.
• Ning Zhongze took Yang Jian and Yang Chan from the Quiet Chamber while Yue Buqun and Zhao Bulu discussed Linghu Chong’s conduct.
• Tian Hao warned that the Top Courtesan at Fleeting Years was likely Dongfang Bubai, whom he sensed was stronger than Yue Buqun and possibly an Innate Realm expert.
• Tian Hao told Yue Buqun that Dongfang Bubai had asked about Feng Qingyang and that he had claimed Feng Qingyang was still alive to deter her.

Yue Buqun decided that Mount Hua would avoid a direct fight with the Demon Cult and accelerate its preparations inside the mountain. As Tian Hao moved to forge black iron, he and Yue Buqun realized the sect’s buried predecessors might hold lost teachings, leaving Yue Buqun to consider seeking them out.

• Yue Buqun ordered the Mount Hua Sect to hide its black-iron forging ability, move equipment into the mountain, and avoid confronting the Demon Cult for now.
• Yue Buqun revealed that Mount Hua’s ancestors were buried in a cavern that the sect would need to disturb to create Mountain City, and Zhao Bulu reassured him.
• Tian Hao dismantled his furnace and moved into the cavern, where he saw the stone coffins of Mount Hua’s predecessors.
• Tian Hao recognized an inscription from the Warring States period, and Yue Buqun explained Mount Hua’s ancient origins and how much of its martial heritage had been lost.
• Tian Hao suggested that the ancestors might have taken martial teachings into their graves, prompting Yue Buqun to consider searching the coffins for lost manuals.
• Tian Hao left to make more coke in preparation for forging black iron.

Tian Hao built and fired a furnace capable of heating meteoric iron to a bright golden color, then began forging it into Black Iron with his improvised Wild Wind Hammer Technique. Yue Buqun and the others worried that Tian Hao was exceeding his physical limits, but Ning Zhongze believed he was safe and sensed his extraordinary potential.

• Tian Hao completed the furnace and used coal, heated air, and stored oxygen to raise its temperature enough to turn meteoric iron bright gold.
• Yue Buqun and the Mount Hua Sect members watched as Tian Hao ordered an ingot removed from the furnace.
• Tian Hao struck the hot iron with his Wild Wind Hammer Technique, using each rebound to build greater force.
• Yue Buqun and the others feared Tian Hao was using a dangerous secret technique or drug, but Ning Zhongze stopped them from intervening.

Tian Hao demonstrated a hammer technique he had adapted from the Eagle Claw Stele-Smashing Hand, prompting Yue Buqun to explain the perfection realm of martial arts. After realizing Tian Hao had begun forging his own path to perfection, the group watched him test his refined techniques against Wu Buyi.

• Tian Hao tested his knockoff Wild Wind Hammer Technique and found that its stacked force peaked at three times its original strength.
• Ning Zhongze praised Tian Hao’s comprehension, while Yue Lingshan compared his achievement to the Chongling Swordsmanship she had made with Linghu Chong.
• Yue Buqun explained the two paths to the perfection realm and said Tian Hao had begun creating a new martial art from the Eagle Claw Stele-Smashing Hand.
• Yue Buqun asked Tian Hao to demonstrate the perfected technique, and Wu Buyi volunteered to spar with him.
• Tian Hao met Wu Buyi’s Primordial Chaos Palm Art with a force-channeling punch, shook the elder’s stance, and immediately struck again.

Tian Hao realized that Innate Spirit offered the best value for improving his martial arts comprehension and considered seeking more women with tragic fates, even wondering whether men transformed by forbidden manuals might qualify. As Mount Hua prepared for its trip to Putian Shaolin Temple, Yue Buqun arranged for the martial uncles to train with heavy practice swords before receiving black-iron weapons.

• Tian Hao sparred with Wu Buyi and used the principles of his perfected martial art to disrupt Wu Buyi's balance and gain the advantage.
• Ning Zhongze explained how perfected martial arts could enhance other techniques, and Yue Lingshan wondered whether combining several perfected arts could make someone invincible.
• Tian Hao concluded that Innate Spirit was more valuable than Innate Qi or Innate Essence, then considered traveling to find more candidates for the Heaven-Defying Mirror.
• Tian Hao speculated about using the Bixie Sword Manual or Sunflower Manual to turn male martial experts into women who might qualify as candidates.
• A Mount Hua smith reported that the meteoric iron still needed many rounds of refining before it became black iron, while the elders estimated that the resulting longsword would weigh about twenty jin.
• Yue Buqun told Tian Hao to forge twenty-jin hundred-forged steel practice swords so the martial uncles could adapt to the weight before their trip to Putian Shaolin Temple.

Linghu Chong and Lu Dayou uncovered Tian Hao's past and plotted to drive him from Mount Hua, while Guan Ji arrived with a plan to capture him. The Guan family prepared to lure Tian Hao away from Mount Hua and escape by boat.

• Lu Dayou told Linghu Chong that Tian Hao was the foreign tribesman who had survived Guan Family Fort's destruction and urged that he be expelled from Mount Hua.
• Linghu Chong showed Lu Dayou the hidden cave on Reflection Cliff and its lost sword techniques, keeping the discovery secret from Yue Buqun and his wife.
• Linghu Chong instructed Lu Dayou to recruit reliable junior brothers so they could unite against Tian Hao.
• Guan Ji learned that Tian Hao was at Mount Hua and wore meteoric-iron chainmail, while Guan Feng vowed to kill him for their family's deaths.
• Guan Ji warned his people not to provoke the Western Depot, then left for the Yellow River and ordered Guan San to lure Tian Hao into a trap.

Tian Hao finished forging black iron swords for the Mount Hua Sect and had his heavy black iron armor completed. He left Yue Lingshan with a deadline to improve her Iron Shirt training while preparing to rely on weapons, armor, and stronger martial arts to become nearly invulnerable.

• Tian Hao finished the fortieth black iron longsword, and Qian Bunu tested its ability to condense Sword-Qi.
• Yue Lingshan objected that Linghu Chong still lacked a black iron sword, but Tian Hao claimed Linghu Chong was destined to master a swordless swordsmanship and refused to forge one for him.
• Tian Hao ordered Yue Lingshan to reach minor achievement in Horizontal Crab Iron Shirt within one month or accept his help training.
• Wu Buyi brought Tian Hao the completed three-hundred-jin black iron Chainmail and fish-scale armor.
• Tian Hao explained that he preferred heavy armor for protection and planned to combine it with powerful defensive martial arts.

Tian Hao sealed away Mount Hua's secret oxygen-making equipment, donned his heavy black iron armor, and rushed to help his master. He arrived to find Yue Buqun, Ning Zhongze, and Linghu Chong fighting black-clad intruders while Feng Qingyang faced Dongfang Bubai on a lake.

• Tian Hao asked Wu Buyi to heat and color his black iron armor, then put it on after it was quenched.
• Tian Hao and the Mount Hua martial uncles secured the oxygen-making equipment in a hidden shaft and sealed it against discovery.
• Wu Buyi told Tian Hao that black-clad intruders had infiltrated Mount Hua and that Yue Buqun and the others had not returned from Reflection Cliff.
• Tian Hao left Wu Buyi to watch Yue Lingshan and used the Heaven-Defying Mirror to locate Ning Zhongze and Dongfang Bubai together.
• Tian Hao reached the battle and saw Yue Buqun, Ning Zhongze, and Linghu Chong fighting intruders as Feng Qingyang confronted Dongfang Bubai on the lake.

Tian Hao fought through the Demon Cult’s attack and rescued Yue Buqun, Ning Zhongze, and their companion from the encirclement. After nearly defeating Tong Baixiong, he joined the others and claimed to be Linghu Chong, leaving Tong Baixiong to retreat with the group unable to capture them.

• Tian Hao charged into the Demon Cult’s ranks and cut down five attackers before Tong Baixiong challenged him.
• Tian Hao exchanged powerful blows with Tong Baixiong, whose saber could not pierce his armor, while Tian Hao’s strength grew through their clashes.
• Tian Hao trapped Tong Baixiong’s wrist and repeatedly smashed him into the ground, but a flying needle from Aunt Dongfang numbed Tian Hao’s hand and let Tong Baixiong escape.
• Tian Hao forced his way through the Demon Cult’s encirclement and reached Yue Buqun, Ning Zhongze, and their companion.
• Tong Baixiong demanded Tian Hao’s name, and Tian Hao claimed to be Linghu Chong before Tong Baixiong acknowledged that the Demon Cult could not win that day.