Chapter Summaries

Zhu Wushi plotted to eliminate Yu Huatian before his strength grew further, while Yu Huatian returned to the Capital and prepared a counterplot using evidence of Zhu Wushi’s rebellion. The emperor summoned Yu Huatian to the palace before his plans could unfold.

• Zhu Wushi reviewed reports of Yu Huatian’s growing strength and decided to kill him before he reached the Great Grandmaster realm.
• Shangguan Haitang told Zhu Wushi that Yu Huatian had returned, and Zhu Wushi went to seek an audience with the emperor.
• Yu Huatian reunited with the West Depot’s leaders, learned that Ma Jinliang and Ding Xiu had advanced to the Grandmaster Realm, and heard the twenty-four accusations against the West Depot.
• Yu Huatian and his subordinates concluded that Zhu Wushi’s petition was meant to threaten him, and Yu Huatian ordered them to prepare a counterattack.
• Ding Xiu reported that the West Depot had nearly finished gathering evidence of Zhu Wushi’s conspiracy to seize military power and usurp the throne.
• A palace messenger arrived and told Yu Huatian that the emperor summoned him.

Zhu Youxiao worried that Yu Huatian’s growing power might turn him into another Wei Zhongxian, but he struggled to justify restraining a loyal and capable servant. Yu Huatian arrived at the palace as Zhu Youxiao awaited him, leaving Cao Zhengchun eager to see how he would answer the pressure to disband the West Depot.

• Zhu Youxiao recalled Zhu Wushi’s warning that Yu Huatian might become another Wei Zhongxian and decided to summon him to the Capital before choosing how to curb the West Depot.
• Zhu Youxiao berated Cao Zhengchun for failing to counterbalance the West Depot and complained that Zhu Wushi and the officials wanted it disbanded despite Yu Huatian’s service.
• Cao Zhengchun admitted to himself that he could not match Yu Huatian’s boldness or achievements.
• Yu Huatian arrived at the Palace of Heavenly Purity, and Cao Zhengchun stepped aside as Yu Huatian remarked that loyalty required ability as well.

Yu Huatian showed Zhu Youxiao evidence that Zhu Wushi was gathering leverage to seize control of the armies and had aided Prince Xin’s rebellion, prompting the emperor to order a plan against Dragon Guard Mountain Villa. Yu Huatian secured Cao Zhengchun’s assistance and sought the Heavenly Fragrant Cardamoms, then ordered an investigation into Zhu Youxiao’s lingering illness.

• Yu Huatian presented Zhu Youxiao with evidence that Zhu Wushi had collected officials’ secrets, recruited supporters, and made plans to seize military authority.
• Yu Huatian accused Zhu Wushi of helping Prince Xin conceal evidence and of intending to take the throne after Prince Xin’s rebellion succeeded.
• Zhu Youxiao, enraged by the revelations, ordered Yu Huatian to deal with Dragon Guard Mountain Villa and assigned Cao Zhengchun to assist him.
• Yu Huatian asked Zhu Youxiao for the two Heavenly Fragrant Cardamoms he controlled; Zhu Youxiao said one was with the empress dowager and one with Consort Wan.
• After leaving the palace, Yu Huatian told Cao Zhengchun to investigate the imperial physicians and everyone involved in treating Zhu Youxiao’s lingering illness.

Consort Wan welcomed Yu Huatian back to the palace while Zhu Wushi planned to kill him, fearing his rapid rise in strength. After Yan Shisan confronted Dragon Guard Mountain Villa’s four secret agents with revelations about their pasts, all four followed him to learn the truth.

• Consort Wan heard Yu Huatian was in danger, then greeted him warmly when he came to see her after returning to the Capital.
• Zhu Wushi told the four secret agents that he planned to kill Yu Huatian himself because Yu Huatian’s strength was growing too quickly.
• Zhu Wushi’s ally Ding Peng demanded that Zhu Wushi help him challenge Fu Hongxue after Yu Huatian’s death.
• Cheng Shifei questioned why the secret agents hated Yu Huatian, pointing out that Yu Huatian’s recent actions had benefited Ming.
• Yan Shisan warned the four secret agents that Zhu Wushi had deceived them and offered to reveal the hidden truths about their lives.
• Duan Tianya, Shangguan Haitang, Guihai Yidao, and Cheng Shifei followed Yan Shisan to discover what Zhu Wushi had concealed.

Rumors that Zhu Wushi held the Energy-Absorbing Great Method and had imprisoned Gu Santong, who promised both supreme martial arts to anyone who rescued him, drew factions toward the Capital. Gongzi Yu, Dugu Yihe, Guan Yutian, and two western travelers each began planning to pursue the arts, leaving the Capital on the verge of a convergence of forces.

• Rumors spread that Zhu Wushi held the Energy-Absorbing Great Method and Gu Santong would teach both it and the Diamond Indestructible Divine Skill to whoever freed him, stirring martial factions into action.
• Gongzi Yu suspected Yu Huatian had leaked the news to target Zhu Wushi, then ordered the Green Dragon Society to amplify the rumors and exploit the ensuing chaos.
• Dugu Yihe decided to pursue the two martial arts and summoned Zhou Zhiruo to discuss preparations in case he failed to return.
• Guan Yutian ordered Qianxing to pressure Sword Venerable into obtaining the arts, while planning to use the conflict to strengthen the Supreme Alliance against Snowmoon City.
• A white-haired traveler and his purple-robed companion considered seeking the Energy-Absorbing Great Method to help their gravely wounded sect master and support their return to the Central Plains.

Yu Huatian’s scheme left Zhu Wushi facing rumors that he held Gu Santong and coveted martial artists gathering in the Capital. As powerful factions arrived, Yu Huatian ordered the net drawn and prepared to use the coming confrontation to strengthen himself.

• Zhu Wushi learned that Gu Santong had died and that Yu Huatian had visited his prison cell a month earlier, while Duan Tianya, Guihai Yidao, Cheng Shifei, and Shangguan Haitang concealed their anger at Zhu Wushi’s betrayal.
• Zhu Wushi ordered Dragon Guard Mountain Villa’s forces to watch the Capital and kill martial artists who came with hostile intent.
• Yu Huatian cultivated for half a month, converting less than a tenth of his true qi into innate true qi, then continued training for another seven days.
• Ma Jinliang reported that martial artists were pouring into Kyoto, and Yu Huatian ordered surveillance while forbidding harm to ordinary people.
• Yu Huatian received reports that Dugu Yihe, Sword Venerable, Ren Qianxing, White-Haired Immortal Mo Qixuan, and Purple-Clad Marquis Zi Yuji had arrived or were suspected to be in Kyoto.
• Yu Huatian ordered Ma Jinliang to draw in the net as dark clouds gathered over the city.

Dongfang Bubai learned that Yu Huatian would offer him the complete Sunflower Manual if he came to the Capital, and he decided to go. Meanwhile, Ren Qianxing and Sword Venerable prepared to rescue Gu Santong, and as masked figures moved toward Dragon Guard Mountain Villa, the Capital's gates were sealed.

• Dongfang Bubai failed to repair the incomplete Sunflower Manual and learned that its yang energy was damaging his body.
• Xue Qianxun told Dongfang Bubai that Yu Huatian had summoned him to the Capital in exchange for the complete Sunflower Manual, and Dongfang Bubai agreed to go.
• Ren Qianxing recruited Sword Venerable and Five Poisons Boy to raid Dragon Guard Mountain Villa and rescue Gu Santong in three days.
• Martial factions gathered in the Capital, while the Embroidered Uniform Guard tightened its surveillance and killed troublemakers.
• On the third night, masked figures crept toward Dragon Guard Mountain Villa as other factions prepared to follow, unaware that the Capital's gates had been shut and guards deployed across the city.

Sword Venerable and the others attacked Dragon Guard Mountain Villa to rescue Gu Santong, but discovered the dungeon was empty and Zhu Wushi had anticipated the raid. As Zhu Wushi confronted the intruders, Dugu Yihe and Chi Zunxin appeared, setting the stage for a clash among the assembled great masters.

• Sword Venerable led Ren Qianxing, Five Poisons Boy, and their allies in an assault on the dungeon, while Duan Tianya and Guihai Yidao let him pass.
• Dugu Yihe left his tower to enter Dragon Guard Mountain Villa, and Mo Qixuan and Zi Yuji followed, planning to seize Gu Santong and his martial arts.
• The attackers overwhelmed the dungeon entrance, but Sword Venerable returned to report that the dungeon was empty.
• Ren Qianxing reasoned that Zhu Wushi had moved Gu Santong and would come to confront them, and Zhu Wushi soon appeared.
• Zhu Wushi challenged hidden watchers, and Dugu Yihe and Chi Zunxin revealed themselves.

Chi Zunxin, Mo Qixuan, Zi Yuji, and other martial experts attacked Zhu Wushi for the Energy-Absorbing Great Method while their factions searched for Gu Santong. Zhu Wushi’s forces trapped the factions, but Yu Huatian suddenly joined the battle and wounded him.

• Chi Zunxin arrived and demanded that Zhu Wushi share the Energy-Absorbing Great Method, then Mo Qixuan and Zi Yuji revealed themselves and made the same demand.
• Zhu Wushi used the Energy-Absorbing Great Method against the Sword Venerable, then fought Chi Zunxin, Mo Qixuan, Zi Yuji, Dugu Yihe, and the Sword Venerable after they joined forces against him.
• The Five Poisons Boy urged Ren Qianxing to search for Gu Santong, and the factions left the battle to hunt for him.
• Wan Sanqian and the Dragon Guard Mountain Villa’s forces ambushed the factions, while the Four Ghosts of Western Hunan repelled the Five Poisons Boy.
• Zhu Wushi redirected the five Great Grandmasters’ attacks with the Heaven and Earth Shift and tried to kill the Sword Venerable, but Yu Huatian appeared and wounded Zhu Wushi with his sword.

Yu Huatian exposed Zhu Wushi’s treason, turned the Four Great Secret Agents against him, and used Su Xin to break his resolve before killing him. Yu Huatian survived Zhu Wushi’s final counterattack and gained nearly sixty thousand points of fortune.

• Yu Huatian killed Sword Venerable, then ordered the West Depot agents to battle the gathered sects.
• Yu Huatian presented the emperor’s command accusing Zhu Wushi of treason and revealed his plots, while Cao Zhengchun arrived to arrest him.
• Duan Tianya, Guihai Yidao, Shangguan Haitang, and Cheng Shifei attacked Zhu Wushi and confronted him over his crimes.
• Yu Huatian brought the awakened Su Xin before Zhu Wushi and demanded that he surrender his martial arts or lose her.
• Zhu Wushi used the Energy-Absorbing Great Method to pull Su Xin away, but Yu Huatian killed her and then pierced Zhu Wushi’s heart with the Fourteenth Sword.
• Zhu Wushi struck Yu Huatian with a final palm before dying, and Yu Huatian received 58,966 points of fortune.

Yu Huatian killed Zhu Wushi and pursued the wounded Great Grandmasters who had attacked the Dragon Guard Mountain Villa. After slaying Dugu Yihe and Chi Zunxin, he continued after Mo Qixuan and Zi Yuji, while Dongfang Bubai confronted Ding Peng.

• Yu Huatian killed Zhu Wushi, and Cheng Shifei attacked Yan Shisan after learning that Su Xin was dead and Yan Shisan had broken his promise.
• Cao Zhengchun led the court forces against Duan Tianya and his companions as the Imperial Guard sealed the approaches to the Capital and fighting spread through the city.
• Ding Peng prepared to leave the battlefield but found Dongfang Bubai waiting for him.
• Yu Huatian gravely wounded Dugu Yihe with the Fourteenth Sword, and Chi Zunxin, Mo Qixuan, and Zi Yuji fled.
• Yu Huatian killed Dugu Yihe and Chi Zunxin, then pursued the fleeing Mo Qixuan and Zi Yuji.

Yu Huatian killed the escaped White-Haired Immortal and Purple-Clad Marquis, then returned to the battle at Dragon Guard Mountain Villa and hunted down its remaining enemies. He captured Wan Sanqian and killed Cheng Shifei and Five Poisons Boy, while the fighting at the villa continued.

• Ding Baiying told Yu Huatian that a mysterious man in black had defeated the White-Haired Immortal and Purple-Clad Marquis, and Yu Huatian killed the two wounded men.
• Yu Huatian ordered his forces to seal the routes, then stopped Wan Sanqian’s escape, killed two of the Four Ghosts of Western Hunan, and crippled Wan Sanqian’s legs.
• Yu Huatian took over Cheng Shifei’s fight from Yan Shisan, overcame the Diamond Indestructible Divine Skill with his Indestructible Golden Body, and killed Cheng Shifei.
• Five Poisons Boy abandoned Ren Qianxing and fled, but Yu Huatian caught him and crushed his throat despite his poison attacks.
• Yu Huatian returned to the fiercest part of the battlefield at Dragon Guard Mountain Villa.

Yu Huatian killed Ren Qianxing and the Dragon Guard Mountain Villa’s three secret agents, then slaughtered the remaining rebels to harvest fate points before realizing the killing had clouded his judgment. After the battle, Dongfang Bubai reported that Ding Peng had escaped, and Yu Huatian discovered Dongfang Bubai was a woman.

• Yu Huatian killed Ren Qianxing and gained his fate points after Xia Xueyi handed the fight over to him.
• Yu Huatian intervened in Cao Zhengchun’s battle and killed Duan Tianya, Guihai Yidao, and Shangguan Haitang.
• Yu Huatian hunted down martial artists across the battlefield until Yan Shisan urged him to stop, making him realize his pursuit of fate points had overwhelmed his judgment.
• Cao Zhengchun pledged the East Depot’s allegiance to Yu Huatian, who ordered an investigation of the Dragon Guard Mountain Villa and rewards for the forces that fought.
• Dongfang Bubai told Yu Huatian that Ding Peng had escaped, and Yu Huatian ordered Ding Peng wanted throughout Ming territory.
• Yu Huatian restrained Dongfang Bubai, noticed the Sunflower Manual had harmed his body, and discovered that he was a woman.

Yu Huatian exposed Dongfang Bubai as a woman and offered the Sun Moon Holy Cult the complete Sunflower Manual in exchange for bringing the Miao out of the mountains to build cities. After Zheng He reported the Iron Gallant Divine Marquis’s defeat to Zhu Youxiao, Yu Huatian and Cao Zhengchun arrived at the palace to give their report.

• Yu Huatian discovered that Dongfang Bubai was a woman and offered him the complete Sunflower Manual if the Sun Moon Holy Cult helped settle the Miao outside the mountains.
• Dongfang Bubai accepted the proposal in principle but said he needed to consult his clan, while privately vowing to perfect the manual and overthrow Ming.
• Zheng He told Zhu Youxiao that Yu Huatian had executed the Iron Gallant Divine Marquis and brought the martial factions that infiltrated the Capital under control.
• Zheng He revealed that he was the Sunflower Ancestor and explained that he trusted Yu Huatian because the Sunflower Manual could only be practiced by eunuchs.
• Zhu Youxiao summoned Yu Huatian and Cao Zhengchun to the palace.

After Zhu Wushi’s death, Zhu Youxiao rewarded Yu Huatian with the post of Chief Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial and ordered him to punish those who supported the rebellion. Yu Huatian sealed off the Capital and launched a sweeping purge, leaving prisons overcrowded as interrogations began.

• Yu Huatian and Cao Zhengchun reported to Zhu Youxiao, who appointed Yu Huatian Chief Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial while keeping Cao Zhengchun in his existing role.
• Yu Huatian told Zhu Youxiao that Zhu Wushi had been executed and his associates detained, and the emperor ordered him to limit the affair’s impact while destroying the rebel factions that had aided Zhu Wushi.
• Yu Huatian ordered the Capital sealed and directed the Eastern and Western Depots and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to arrest Dragon Guard Mountain Villa’s allies and other groups beyond court control.
• Ma Jinliang led West Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard forces in a raid on Spring Full House, where guards killed resisters and arrested its occupants for interrogation.
• Ding Xiu, Tan Luzi, Ji Xueyong, and other officers led searches across the Capital, leaving the Depots’ prisons and the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s prison overcrowded by dawn.

Yu Huatian ordered the Depots to root out traitors and bring the Embroidered Uniform Guard under his control, then exposed and killed Ji Gang for colluding with Heavenly Venerable. He prepared to lead an expedition to Seven-Star Pond in Jiangnan to destroy the organization, while Cao Zhengchun stayed behind to guard the Capital.

• Yu Huatian ordered an investigation of traitors inside the Depots and Embroidered Uniform Guard and demanded the remaining North Division commanders submit to him.
• Yu Huatian ordered Ma Jinliang to investigate Ji Gang and gather evidence of the Qi Party's crimes.
• Cao Zhengchun and Ma Jinliang confronted Ji Gang at the Southern Office, where Pei Lun testified that Ji Gang embezzled military pay and trained assassins for Heavenly Venerable.
• Ji Gang tried to escape with help from three Grandmasters, but Yu Huatian stopped him, killed the three fighters, and executed Ji Gang.
• Yu Huatian identified Murong Qiudi and Seven-Star Pond in Jiangnan as Heavenly Venerable's base and ordered the expedition to depart the next day, leaving Cao Zhengchun to guard the Capital.

Yan Shisan and Xia Xueyi pursued Ding Peng to the Valley of Villains, where the valley’s defenders protected him and poisonous miasma forced the West Depot party to retreat. The chapter left both sides preparing for the court’s possible response, while Du Sha went to learn why Ding Peng was wanted.

• Yu Huatian led West Depot Guards and Embroidered Uniform Guards out of the capital as Yan Shisan and Xia Xueyi continued pursuing Ding Peng.
• Ding Peng escaped into the Valley of Villains, and Yan Shisan and Xia Xueyi recognized the place and demanded that its residents surrender him.
• Du Sha and the valley’s villains refused to hand over Ding Peng, and Yan Shisan fought them until poisonous miasma felled two West Depot experts.
• Yan Shisan ordered a retreat to seek an antidote, and Du Sha stopped the villains from pursuing because the two swordsmen were too strong.
• Du Sha ordered Xiao Mimi, Xuanyuan Sanguang, and the other absent villains recalled to prepare defenses, then went to question Ding Peng.

Yu Huatian diverted his forces to the Valley of Villains after learning that Yan Shisan and Xia Xueyi had failed to capture Ding Peng. He killed the valley’s villains and Ding Peng, then discovered Ding Peng’s Divine Blade Slash manual.

• Yu Huatian learned that the Valley of Villains had poisoned Yan Shisan and Xia Xueyi and was sheltering Ding Peng, so he redirected his forces there.
• Yu Huatian joined Yan Shisan’s group, dismissed their failure, and ordered an assault on the Valley of Villains.
• Yu Huatian entered the valley alone, defeated Du Sha and the other villains, and learned that Yan Nantian had escaped two years earlier.
• Ding Peng appeared and offered to submit if Yu Huatian spared Li Dazui and Tu Jiaojiao, but Yu Huatian killed them both.
• Ding Peng attacked Yu Huatian with Divine Blade Slash, but Yu Huatian countered with the Fourteenth Sword and killed him.
• Yu Huatian gained 12,345 destiny points and found the secret manual for Divine Blade Slash on Ding Peng’s body.

Yu Huatian left the Valley of Villains after obtaining the Divine Blade Slash and ordered Yan Shisan and Xia Xueyi to subdue the other Five Mountains Sword Sects while he headed to Seven-Star Pond. The court forced Emei to submit, Little Fish discovered the Valley of Villains' dead, and Ding Xiu learned that Wuxin had been abducted by Lei Wujie and Xiao Se as Yu Huatian reached Jiangnan.

• Yu Huatian memorized the Divine Blade Slash, left the Full Moon Scimitar behind, and sent Yan Shisan and Xia Xueyi to Mount Hua to demand the Five Mountains Sword Sects' manuals and obedience.
• Little Fish returned to the Valley of Villains and found Du Sha and the other villains dead.
• Ma Jinliang surrounded Emei and threatened the sect; Zhou Zhiruo agreed to submit, surrender one-third of its wealth, provide its martial inheritance, and accept court oversight.
• Ding Xiu went to Cold Mountain Temple for Wuxin, learned that Lei Wujie and Xiao Se had abducted him, and sent Yu Huatian the news by carrier pigeon.
• Yu Huatian arrived at Seven-Star Pond in Jiangnan with his men.

Yu Huatian subdued Murong Qiudi and brought Heavenly Venerable’s intelligence network under his control. As he traveled toward the Capital and crushed factions that resisted the court, the entire Ming jianghu fell into line under the West Depot’s power.

• Murong Qiudi learned that Yu Huatian was approaching Seven-Star Pond, while Zhuyeqing urged her to flee and then left in anger after she rejected him.
• Murong Qiudi offered Heavenly Venerable’s people, intelligence, and her own service in exchange for Yu Huatian sparing the Murong Family.
• Yu Huatian accepted Murong Qiudi’s surrender and kept the Murong Family safe, intending to use Heavenly Venerable to govern and monitor the jianghu.
• Yu Huatian obtained Heavenly Venerable’s information, while Zhuyeqing disappeared and Murong Qiudi suspected he had fled.
• Yu Huatian traveled toward the Capital with Murong Qiudi and Heavenly Venerable’s core leaders, destroying factions that refused the court’s control.
• The jianghu fell into line as Yu Huatian brought affairs throughout Ming under his control.