Chapter Summaries

Zhu Youxiao died after entrusting Ming and the Crown Prince Zhu Ciyu to Yu Huatian. With Zhu Ciyu too young to rule, Yu Huatian arranged for Su Huirong to govern as regent and consolidated his control over the court.

• Zhu Youxiao told Yu Huatian that he knew Yu had arranged his marriage to Su Huirong and the birth of Zhu Ciyu, and asked him to protect the boy and preserve the Zhu dynasty.
• Zhu Youxiao died after declaring that he entrusted Ming to Yu Huatian, and Yu Huatian, Su Huirong, and Zhu Ciyu mourned him.
• Su Huirong and the ministers set Zhu Ciyu's accession for the third day of the next month and discussed his education.
• Yu Huatian ordered Hai Rui and Zhang Juzheng to teach Zhu Ciyu statecraft and assigned Cao Zhengchun to protect him and teach him martial arts.
• Yu Huatian kept Su Huirong as regent and reorganized the Grand Secretariat, appointing Hai Rui, Zhang Juzheng, Yuan Chonghuan, and Yan Song as its four senior secretaries.

After Zhu Youxiao's death, Yu Huatian's allies thwarted a palace coup and purged its conspirators. Zhu Ciyu ascended the throne under the era name Qiansheng, while Yu Huatian's influence made him Ming's uncrowned king.

• A guard allied with Wang tried to free Consort Kang and help her seize power, but Tan Luzi killed him and Cao Zhengchun killed Consort Kang.
• Tan Luzi and Cao Zhengchun's actions exposed the coup plot, leading to another purge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the arrest of corrupt and treasonous ministers.
• On the third day of the first month, Yu Huatian carried Crown Prince Zhu Ciyu to the Sacrificial Altar to perform the accession rites.
• Zhu Ciyu proclaimed Qiansheng as his era name and took the throne, while officials and guards acclaimed him as emperor.

Yu Huatian resumed secluded cultivation while his forces prepared to enter Great Qing, and the court ordered Dongfang Bubai to lead the Sun Moon Holy Cult there. Dongfang Bubai rejected Xue Qianxun’s plan to exploit Yu Huatian’s absence and attack the Supreme Alliance.

• After the late emperor’s funeral, Yu Huatian handed the Depots’ affairs to Tan Luzi and secluded himself to merge his martial arts and stabilize his Sword Dao.
• Yu Huatian refined his sword techniques and strengthened his martial arts while Ma Jinliang, Murong Qiudi, Lian Chengbi, and others secretly sent their forces toward Great Qing.
• A West Depot expert ordered Dongfang Bubai to lead Sun Moon Holy Cult experts into Great Qing, and Dongfang Bubai agreed to depart in three days.
• Xue Qianxun urged Dongfang Bubai to seize Yu Huatian’s absence to attack the Supreme Alliance, but Dongfang Bubai warned that the court would retaliate and endanger their people.

Xie Xiaofeng left his quiet life after Zhuyeqing told him that Murong Qiudi and their son were in danger because of Yu Huatian. After two months of seclusion, Yu Huatian completed his martial arts fusion and prepared to lead his forces to Great Qing.

• Dongfang Bubai warned Xue Qianxun not to resist Yu Huatian and led the Sun Moon Holy Cult’s experts toward Great Qing three days later.
• Zhuyeqing found Aji in a Miao village and revealed that he was Xie Xiaofeng, whose son Xie Xiaodi and former beloved Murong Qiudi were in the Capital.
• Xie Xiaofeng left Old Miao and Wawa, promising Wawa he would return after dealing with what awaited him.
• Yu Huatian emerged from two months of seclusion at Great Grandmaster Perfection after merging and improving his martial arts.
• Yu Huatian summoned the core personnel of the Eastern and Western Depots and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Capital began preparing for his expedition to Great Qing.

Yu Huatian prepared to lead an expedition to the Great Qing and arranged for Ximen Chuixue to protect the Emei School in exchange for joining him. Before departing, he visited Sun En, who revealed that powerful experts were gathering in the Eastern Sea to slay a Divine Dragon on Jingrui Day.

• Yu Huatian ordered Ma Jinliang to prepare the expedition to the Great Qing for seven days later.
• Ma Jinliang reported that Ximen Chuixue wanted to protect the Emei School, and Yu Huatian offered to spare it if Ximen Chuixue joined the expedition.
• Yu Huatian ordered Yuan Chengzhi and Wen Qingqing to accompany him and promised to teach A Fei the Wedding Dress Divine Skill and a sword art.
• Yu Huatian visited Sun En to bid farewell and asked him to watch over the Capital while he was away.
• Sun En told Yu Huatian that he was going to the Eastern Sea because powerful experts awaited Jingrui Day to slay a Divine Dragon.

Sun En told Yu Huatian about the coming dragon hunt, and Yu Huatian prepared to attack Great Qing before Jingrui Day. As Yu Huatian and his companions set out, the Sword God Xie Xiaofeng blocked their road.

• Sun En explained that the divine dragon would be weakest on Jingrui Day and that powerful fighters were preparing to hunt it for its Dragon Essence.
• Yu Huatian agreed to join Sun En for the dragon hunt after he dealt with Great Qing and sought to become a Heavenly Being; Sun En warned him about two powerful figures there, including the Night Emperor.
• Yu Huatian consulted Zheng He, Xu Ruowu, Su Huirong, and Zhu Ciyu before quietly preparing to leave Ming.
• Yu Huatian departed for Great Qing with Ma Jinliang, Ding Xiu, A Fei, Yuan Chengzhi, Wen Qingqing, Lian Chengbi, Murong Qiudi, and Ximen Chuixue, while Ye Gucheng had gone ahead.
• After the group left the Capital, Xie Xiaofeng appeared alone and blocked their way.

Xie Xiaofeng confronted Murong Qiudi, but she refused to leave Yu Huatian, and Yu Huatian defeated Xie Xiaofeng when he attacked. As Yu Huatian’s party departed, Zhuyeqing was caught and killed by the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

• Xie Xiaofeng appeared before Murong Qiudi and asked her to leave with him, but she blamed him for her suffering and refused.
• Murong Qiudi attacked Xie Xiaofeng, but Yu Huatian deflected her sword and told her to leave with him.
• Xie Xiaofeng accused Yu Huatian of forcing Murong Qiudi and attacked him, but Yu Huatian struck him down with the Dragon-Subduing Divine Palm.
• Yu Huatian and Murong Qiudi rode away, leaving the wounded Xie Xiaofeng behind.
• Zhuyeqing watched the party depart, but an Embroidered Uniform Guard squad ambushed and killed him with crossbow bolts.

Yu Huatian arrived in chaotic Great Qing and met the disgraced beggar Su Can, whom he considered recruiting to manage the beggars after the Qing Dynasty fell. Cao Shaoqin then reported on Great Qing’s situation, leaving Yu Huatian to consider his next move.

• Yu Huatian heard that Ye Gucheng and Yan Shisan had become famous in Great Qing, but chose to investigate the country’s turmoil instead of watching Ye Gucheng challenge the Purple-Clad Marquis.
• Yu Huatian recognized the beggar Su Can’s potential and invited him to eat, then offered to help him restore his martial arts and reclaim what he had lost.
• Su Can agreed to return after settling his father and took food back for him, while Yu Huatian explained that he wanted someone trustworthy to manage the beggars after Great Qing fell.
• Yu Huatian ordered Ma Jinliang to investigate whether Su Can was Suchahar Can, the son of Great Qing’s Guangzhou general, whose martial arts Zhao Wuji had crippled.
• Cao Shaoqin met Yu Huatian and reported on Great Qing’s situation after the Embroidered Uniform Guard had tracked Yu Huatian’s party in Guangzhou.

Yu Huatian assessed Great Qing’s political and martial landscape and ordered Ye Gucheng to unite its martial world while his agents investigated the Green Dragon Society’s remnants. Elsewhere, the Purple-Clad Marquis learned of Ye Gucheng’s challenge but chose to pursue the Heavenly Being realm and search for the mysterious Bat Island auction.

• Cao Shaoqin reported Great Qing’s political situation and its three major Jianghu factions to Yu Huatian.
• Yu Huatian told Cao Shaoqin to order Ye Gucheng to unite Great Qing’s martial world within a year and to investigate suspected Green Dragon Society remnants.
• Yu Huatian decided to settle the Beggar Gang’s affairs before continuing north and instructed Cao Shaoqin to report any developments involving Ye Gucheng.
• The Purple-Clad Marquis learned that Ye Gucheng had challenged him but declined to return, saying he sought greater strength rather than fame.
• The Purple-Clad Marquis agreed to search for Bat Island after hearing its auction might offer treasures that could help him reach the Heavenly Being realm.

Yu Huatian accepted Su Can as a servant and began healing and teaching him, while Ye Gucheng founded the Sword Sect and expanded across the Great Qing’s western Jianghu. Alarmed by the Sword Sect’s advance, King Jinhe called on other powers to gather at the Gold Palace and resist it.

• Su Can pledged to serve Yu Huatian even if ordered to rebel against the Imperial Court, and Yu Huatian promised to teach him the Wedding Dress Divine Skill and the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms.
• An Embroidered Uniform Guard scout told Ye Gucheng that Yu Huatian had arrived in Guangzhou and ordered him to unite the Great Qing’s martial world within a year.
• Over three months, Ye Gucheng founded the Sword Sect, defeated leading swordsmen, and expanded by absorbing western forces.
• King Jinhe and the Gold Palace elders decided to seek aid against the advancing Sword Sect, and their letters brought forces and martial artists toward the Gold Palace.

Lu Xiaofeng, Old Man Tianji, and Yu Huatian learned that powerful factions were gathering at the Gold Palace to oppose Ye Gucheng’s Sword Sect. As the armies converged, Old Man Tianji feared Ye Gucheng would be in danger, while Yu Huatian asked whether the Great Qing Imperial Court had made any move.

• Lu Xiaofeng told Chu Liuxiang and Zhu Zao that an unnamed powerful figure stood behind Ye Gucheng, and they agreed to watch events at the Gold Palace without interfering.
• Old Man Tianji told Sun Xiaohong they would help Ye Gucheng if fighting broke out, then recognized the white-robed figure in a passing procession and feared Ye Gucheng might be in trouble.
• Cao Shaoqin reported to Yu Huatian that more than three thousand martial artists from numerous factions had gathered to resist the Sword Sect at the Gold Palace.
• Cao Shaoqin explained that the factions feared the Sword Sect would unify Great Qing’s martial world and that they resented Ye Gucheng’s origins in Ming.
• Yu Huatian asked Cao Shaoqin whether the Great Qing Imperial Court had made any move.

Yu Huatian sent allies to help Ye Gucheng’s Sword Sect while keeping the West Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard hidden, and ordered Su Can to take control of the Beggar Gang. Dongfang Bubai prepared to reinforce the Sword Sect, while Bai Yunxuan plotted to force Yu Huatian into the open.

• Yu Huatian said the West Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard could not openly intervene in Great Qing, then sent Ximen Chuixue, Murong Qiudi, Lian Chengbi, and others to aid the Sword Sect and summoned Dongfang Bubai’s forces.
• Yu Huatian ordered Su Can to seize leadership of the Beggar Gang within a month, with Ma Jinliang, Cao Shaoqin, and Ding Xiu ready to assist him.
• Dongfang Bubai learned that the Sword Sect had only a few dozen reliable swordsmen facing more than three thousand reinforcements for the Gold Palace, then ordered the Sun Moon Holy Cult to march north.
• Bai Yunxuan learned the sects had gathered to oppose Ye Gucheng and ordered Green Dragon Society members to intensify the conflict and draw Yu Huatian out of hiding.

Dozens of martial factions gathered at the Gold Palace to oppose the Sword Sect, while Ye Gucheng learned that more than three thousand opponents had assembled. Rejecting Ye Xiang’s plan to wait until the reinforcements left, Ye Gucheng decided to defeat the gathered factions and press ahead with the Sword Sect’s rise.

• King Jinhe welcomed martial factions arriving to help the Gold Palace, then hosted their leaders as they discussed how to confront the Sword Sect.
• Leng Yifeng and other sect leaders called for the Sword Sect’s destruction, while Daoist Master Musang proposed waiting to see whether Ye Gucheng would come.
• Chan Master Tianjing agreed to stand with the gathered factions, and the leaders resolved to wait at the Gold Palace for several days.
• Ye Xiang reported that more than thirty factions and over three thousand people had gathered at the Gold Palace, including Shaolin Temple, the Iron Sword Sect, and the Five Blessings Alliance.
• Ye Xiang urged Ye Gucheng to withdraw and attack the Gold Palace after its reinforcements left, but Ye Gucheng chose to crush the allied factions immediately.

Ye Gucheng led the Sword Sect’s eighty-one swordsmen toward the Gold Palace to face the major sects, while the Jianghu gathered for the coming battle. The chapter ended with Lu Xiaofeng and his companions arriving at the Gold Palace and running into Old Man Tianji.

• Yan Shisan and Gao Jianfei arrived at the Sword Sect, followed by a white-robed swordsman and a black-clad youth whose swords trembled in the presence of Ye Gucheng and the other masters.
• On the tenth day of the eighth month, Ye Gucheng led eighty-one swordsmen from the Sword Sect toward the Gold Palace, drawing martial factions from across the Jianghu to watch.
• The leaders of the factions subordinate to the Sword Sect debated whether to abandon it; Old Fist Master Jiang urged them to stand by the sect, then left when they rejected his advice.
• On Mid-Autumn Day, Lu Xiaofeng, Chu Liuxiang, and their companions arrived in the town below the Gold Palace and spotted Old Man Tianji telling stories.
• Lu Xiaofeng greeted Old Man Tianji, who recognized him and inwardly regretted meeting the meddlesome group again.

Lu Xiaofeng and his companions discovered that Ximen Chuixue had joined Ye Gucheng’s Sword Sect and chose to follow them to the Gold Palace despite the danger. The Sword Sect faced the gathered Great Qing sects, and Ye Gucheng asked whether they had finished their last words.

• Old Man Tianji recognized Chu Liuxiang and Zhu Zao, then warned Lu Xiaofeng that he might have to take action.
• Eighty-one Sword Sect swordsmen arrived, including Ye Gucheng, Ximen Chuixue, and Dugu Chi, and headed for the Gold Palace.
• Lu Xiaofeng decided to help Ximen Chuixue, while Chu Liuxiang and Zhu Zao declined to join him because of the political consequences.
• Lu Xiaofeng and Old Man Tianji reached the Gold Palace, where its allies and leaders of the major sects confronted Ye Gucheng’s swordsmen.
• King Jinhe and Daoist Master Musang demanded that Ye Gucheng leave, but Ye Gucheng calmly asked whether they had finished their last words.

Ye Gucheng’s Sword Sect fought the allied sects at Gold Palace, but began to falter until assassins and the Sun Moon Holy Cult arrived as reinforcements. Lian Chengbi overwhelmed the allied leaders, then a mysterious woman in white intervened and blasted him away.

• Ye Gucheng ordered the Sword Sect to attack after the allied sects refused to withdraw, and Lu Xiaofeng and his companions joined the battle.
• The Sword Sect’s eighty-one swordsmen fought against the allied sects, but their smaller force began to lose ground and several fighters were wounded.
• Black-robed assassins and members of the Sun Moon Holy Cult entered the fight, turning the tide against the allied sects.
• Lian Chengbi used the Demonic Sword to defeat Daoist Master Musang, Water Lady, and Fire Demon God, killing Fire Demon God and pursuing Water Lady.
• A mysterious woman in white struck Lian Chengbi with a powerful palm, while Old Man Tianji and Chu Liuxiang recognized her.

Water Matriarch Yin Ji seized the Divine Water Skill and fought Old Man Tianji when he opposed her interference in the battle at the Gold Palace. Meanwhile, Sengge Rinchen prepared to use Qing troops against the warring sects, leaving the conflict poised for a larger confrontation.

• Water Matriarch Yin Ji forced Lady Water to hand over the Divine Water Skill, then defeated Lian Chengbi when he attacked her.
• Old Man Tianji challenged Yin Ji over her refusal to let people from Ming intervene in Great Qing, and the two began fighting at the ultimate level of great grandmaster perfection.
• Chu Liuxiang identified the white-robed woman to Zhu Zao and the barefoot man as Water Matriarch Yin Ji, mistress of the Divine Water Palace.
• Sengge Rinchen met Zhao Wuji and a Green Dragon Society envoy near the Gold Palace, rejected the envoy's demands, and sent him away.
• Sengge Rinchen told Zhao Wuji he planned to bring the Qing army down on the Sword Sect and the other sects once their battle had weakened them.

Yu Huatian learned that the Qing court had attacked the Gold Palace and that a conspiracy had exposed his connection to the Sword Sect, then set plans in motion to destabilize Great Qing. The chapter ended with several rebel groups launching uprisings across the realm.

• Yuan Chengzhi defeated Wen Qingqing in a sparring match after Yu Huatian sealed the Golden Snake Sword’s moonlight power.
• Cao Shaoqin reported that the Qing army had attacked the Gold Palace, where Water Matriarch Yin Ji and Old Man Tianji fought, and Ye Gucheng and his allies escaped wounded.
• Ma Jinliang told Yu Huatian that rumors linking him to the Sword Sect had made the Qing court and martial sects hunt for him and Ye Gucheng.
• Yu Huatian ordered Su Can to begin his plans and directed Ma Jinliang to contact the White Lotus Sect.
• Ma Jinliang informed Wang Sanhuai that the White Lotus Sect could begin its operation, while Wang resolved to use Yu Huatian’s strength for now.
• On the Double Ninth Festival, the White Lotus Sect, Beggar Gang, Taiping Sect, Heaven and Earth Society, and Red Flower Society raised the banner of resistance and began uprisings across Great Qing.

After the Qing court withdrew its troops to suppress widespread rebellions, Yu Huatian ordered Ye Gucheng and his allies to resume their campaign to unify the Great Qing Jianghu. Dongfang Bubai attacked Sunset Ranch to settle an old grievance, and its master Situ Xiao pleaded for peace.

• Ye Gucheng learned that rebel uprisings had forced the Qing court to withdraw its troops, then received Yu Huatian’s order to resume the plan to unify the Great Qing Jianghu.
• Ye Gucheng chose the Five Blessings Alliance as the first target, while the Heavenly Sect, the Heavenly Venerable, and the Sun Moon Holy Cult also began attacking factions that had reinforced the Gold Palace.
• The allied groups wiped out martial factions across Great Qing, leaving other sects too weakened and fearful to intervene.
• Dongfang Bubai led more than two hundred Sun Moon Holy Cult experts to Sunset Ranch to avenge Situ Xiao’s past attack.
• Dongfang Bubai killed dozens of Sunset Ranch experts, and Situ Xiao emerged to explain that he had acted under alliance orders and begged Dongfang Bubai to spare the ranch.

Dongfang Bubai destroyed Sunset Ranch, then was badly wounded after challenging Lei Dapeng, who hunted him in retaliation for Wen Daidai's death. When Dongfang Bubai headed toward Shaolin Temple to steal a Great Restoration Pill, Yu Huatian changed course to intervene and confront the temple and Lei Dapeng.

• Dongfang Bubai killed Situ Xiao and slaughtered Sunset Ranch after its people refused to submit.
• Dongfang Bubai killed Wen Daidai, dismissing her warning that Lei Dapeng would avenge her, and later accepted Lei Dapeng's challenge.
• Lei Dapeng defeated Dongfang Bubai in fewer than ten moves, forcing him to flee seriously injured as the Sun Moon Holy Cult went into hiding.
• Ye Gucheng and Yan Shisan decided to leave Lei Dapeng to Yu Huatian while they continued consolidating factions in the west and north.
• Yu Huatian learned that Dongfang Bubai had gone near Shaolin Temple seeking a Great Restoration Pill and ordered his party to change course for Shaolin.