Recaps

Pei Ye defeated Shang Huaitong in the Bowang Golden Autumn Martial Cultivation Tournament’s final bout and was declared Chief Champion. Afterward, Zhang Dingyun asked Pei Ye to sign his fan, and Pei Ye carved his name into its handle.

• Pei Ye broke Shang Huaitong’s Nether Growth Intent Sword and defeated him again when he launched a sudden attack.
• Pei Ye planted his foot on Shang Huaitong’s throat as the spectators recognized him as the tournament’s undisputed champion.
• Zhang Junxue watched Pei Ye’s victory and accepted that she would still have chosen to strike at Shang Huaitong despite the cost.
• Director of Merit Xu announced Pei Ye of Fenghuai as the Chief Champion, and the crowd erupted in cheers.
• Zhang Dingyun asked Pei Ye for an autograph, and Pei Ye carved his name into Zhang Dingyun’s fan handle.

After winning the Golden Autumn Martial Contest, Pei Ye learned that his rewards and nomination would be presented at the formal ceremony, while Li Piaoqing quietly realized that being with him made her happy. The next morning, Pei Ye rode through Bowang City as its newly crowned Martial Champion, on his way to receive his honors.

• Gu Yunfu gave the wounded Pei Ye a healing pill, and Li Piaoqing explained that his rewards and nomination would be presented at the next day's ceremony.
• Pei Ye offered to help Li Piaoqing pursue admission to the Sword Cultivation Academy, and she realized that being with him made her happy.
• The Losers' Arena concluded with Pei Ye as Chief Champion, Yang Yan as runner-up, and Li Piaoqing among the Top Eight.
• Li Piaoqing helped Pei Ye dress for the crowning ceremony, and Yang Yan agreed to give him twenty taels while asking him to return Snow-Collapsing.
• Pei Ye rode through the cheering crowds from Mingde Archway toward Bowang Garden, embracing the glory of his victory.

Pei Ye completed the Bowang Golden Autumn champion-conferral ceremony, received his rewards, and was formally recorded as Chief Champion and recommended for the examinations in the capital. The ceremony ended with Sui Zaihua giving him an engraved copper piece bearing a poem about his newly revealed name and deeds.

• Pei Ye rode into Bowang Garden and greeted the officials and dignitaries gathered to celebrate him.
• Sui Zaihua questioned whether Pei Ye had truly acted without regard for personal gain, then led him through Han Pavilion and read an old governor’s calligraphy.
• Chang Zhiyuan verified Pei Ye’s identity and clean background, and the officials confirmed him as Chief Champion.
• Pei Ye received one hundred taels of silver, an Ascension Pill, a Copper Sparrow Hero Tally, the sword Mountain Feather, and the Snow-Collapsing sword technique.
• Pei Ye inscribed his name on the gold document and received the sealed record recommending him for the examinations in the capital.
• Sui Zaihua presented Pei Ye with an engraved copper piece bearing a poem about his name and deeds being revealed, leaving Pei Ye frozen in surprise.

After winning the Autumn Champion title, Pei Ye saw off Chang Zhiyuan and the Fenghuai group, then spoke with Li Piaoqing about the late friend whose handmade tassel hung from his new sword. He went to find Yang Yan to practice, but first examined the unusually thin Snow-Collapsing Sword Manual.

• Pei Ye saw Chang Zhiyuan, Master Huang, and the children off as they left Bowang for Fenghuai, while Li Piaoqing promised the children a path to study at Jadeite Mountain.
• Li Piaoqing noticed the old tassel on Pei Ye’s new sword and learned that it had been made by a friend who had died; Pei Ye said she used to cheer him on at competitions.
• Li Piaoqing asked Pei Ye to tell her about his past and considered inviting him out that evening, but he had already arranged to practice swordsmanship with Yang Yan.
• Pei Ye visited Yang Yan at Changdao Martial Arts School, asked whether he was close to any girl, and then studied the Snow-Collapsing Sword Manual, finding it contained fewer than twenty pages.

Pei Ye studied Yang Yan’s school’s Snow-Collapsing sword art and tried to use it against the Jade Pendant, but his strike only smashed the disc through a window. Yang Yan retrieved the undamaged pendant and angrily accused Pei Ye of having no real feel for the technique.

• Pei Ye examined the brief Snow-Collapsing manual and realized it taught a single inward-focused principle rather than a complete combat art.
• Yang Yan told Pei Ye that the Jade Pendant had been hidden by his school and that he knew only it could be opened with saber and sword.
• After studying the manual, Pei Ye said he had a feel for Snow-Collapsing and asked Yang Yan to hang the Jade Pendant for a test.
• Pei Ye gathered his strength and struck the pendant, breaking its cord and sending it through the window.
• Yang Yan recovered the unmarked Jade Pendant and yelled at Pei Ye for pretending to understand the sword art.

Pei Ye learned that the Jade Pendant had reacted to the fruit, which Black Cat identified as a weapon against the Dragon Lord, while he wrestled with Li Piaoqing’s possible feelings for him. Li Piaoqing reaffirmed that she would stay with Jade Feather, and the chapter ended the next morning with Yang Yan finding Pei Ye already waiting beneath a courtyard tree.

• Black Cat told Pei Ye that the fruit had reacted to Yang Yan’s Jade Pendant and insisted they needed to take it, but Pei Ye said he would first try to persuade Yang Yan to lend it.
• Pei Ye dressed Black Cat in a new black cloak and asked whether Li Piaoqing liked him; Black Cat advised him to reject her if he did not return her feelings.
• Li Piaoqing confided in Shen Yao about her feelings for Pei Ye and considered asking him more about his plans the next day.
• Shen Yao asked Li Piaoqing about her future at the Sword Cultivation Academy, and Li Piaoqing said she would never leave Jade Feather.
• The next morning, Yang Yan found Pei Ye studying beneath a courtyard tree and learned that he had slept there.

Pei Ye practiced Heavenly Mountain’s difficult sword art while Yang Yan received his saber back from Shi Zanxue. Shi Zanxue invited Pei Ye to a council about the Joy-in-Death Tower case, and the chapter ended with Li Piaoqing waiting outside the Martial Arts Hall as Pei Ye emerged beside Shi Zanxue.

• Pei Ye made progress understanding the First Chapter of the sword art, but Yang Yan refused to let him try it out until he had learned the whole technique.
• Shi Zanxue arrived and returned Yang Yan’s saber, which had been preserved for three years; Yang Yan accepted it with tears in his eyes.
• Shi Zanxue invited Pei Ye to join a council convened by Heavenly Mountain and the prefectural city’s Immortal Platform, and Pei Ye agreed because of the pendant he needed to obtain.
• Shi Zanxue asked Pei Ye about his connection to the Bright Sword Master and offered him a place at Heavenly Mountain, but he declined.
• Pei Ye opened the Martial Arts Hall gate and found Li Piaoqing waiting outside, then instinctively moved farther from Shi Zanxue.

Pei Ye and Shi Zanxue attended a Joint Deliberation with five grandmasters, where An Zang explained how the Hushan Sword Gate murders led to the Joy-in-Death Tower and the Sun-Swallowing Society. The discussion turned to the Bowang cases, and Wudong questioned Pei Ye about killing Yang Hu and preserving the corpse and bead.

• Li Piaoqing gave Pei Ye pastries before he left with Shi Zanxue for the Immortal Platform.
• Pei Ye entered the Joint Deliberation and met five grandmasters, including Wudong, An Zang, Li Weiru, Cheng Lin, and Sui Zaihua.
• An Zang traced the Hushan Sword Gate murders, Joy-in-Death Tower’s soul-seizing and sword-art theft, and the investigation’s encounter with the Sun-Swallowing Society.
• Wudong questioned An Zang about Hushan Sword Gate’s suppressed report and Yang Yan’s route to Bowang, then asked Li Weiru to explain the Bowang affair.
• Li Weiru described the attacks on Bai Yuliang and Pei Ye and the death of Yang Hu, after which Wudong asked Pei Ye how he had killed Yang Hu and preserved the corpse and bead.

Wu Dong outlined investigations into the Joy-in-Death Tower and proposed an ambush, using Pei Ye as bait for a possible return attack. Pei Ye asked about the Ancient Inheritance Object, but the Grandmasters said progress on it depended on cooperation from the Xilong Circuit.

• Cheng Lin summarized Sui Zaihua’s report on the Soul-Seizing Pearl, identifying Artifact Masters and the Heart Amber used in it as possible leads.
• Wu Dong set two investigations in motion: tracing the Bowang plot and Hushan Sword Gate’s trail, and investigating the Soul-Seizing Pearl’s origins.
• Wu Dong reasoned that the Joy-in-Death Tower might return for another suitable sword-art target and arranged a three-day ambush, with Sui Zaihua leaving Bowang and returning in secret to keep watch.
• Wu Dong, An Zang, and Sui Zaihua concluded the meeting, while Pei Ye remained confused about what they planned to watch.
• Pei Ye asked how they would identify the Ancient Inheritance Object, and Wu Dong said the matter required the Xilong Circuit’s cooperation.

Pei Ye and Shi Zanxue discussed the Immortal Platform’s inspection of unusual objects before Li Piaoqing met Pei Ye in the rain and nervously invited him boating. The chapter ended with Pei Ye caught off guard by her invitation and Li Piaoqing repeating that he should not go practice swordsmanship.

• Shi Zanxue explained that unusual objects had to be inspected by the Immortal Platform, which could return, seize, or destroy them.
• Pei Ye joked that he would join Heavenly Mountain to learn what it wanted, then refused when Shi Zanxue asked if he was serious.
• Li Piaoqing waited for Pei Ye outside the Immortal Platform, but seeing him talk with Shi Zanxue dampened her spirits.
• Li Piaoqing asked Pei Ye about their promised gifts, and he said his present had not arrived yet.
• Li Piaoqing invited Pei Ye to go boating on Moon-Catching Lake, then blurted out that he should not practice swordsmanship with Yang Yan.

Pei Ye struggled to reject Li Piaoqing’s invitation to go boating, but his resolve faltered until they reached the lake. He finally refused and made an excuse about Yang Yan, leaving Li Piaoqing staring blankly at him.

• Pei Ye remembered his plan to reject Li Piaoqing decisively but agreed to go boating when he saw her hopeful expression.
• Li Piaoqing and Pei Ye walked through the rain toward Moon-Catching Lake, and she tried to chat with him about his sword.
• Li Piaoqing told Pei Ye that she had chosen his new sword for him at the Prefectural Office Armory.
• At the lake, Li Piaoqing offered Pei Ye her hand to help him into the boat, but he asked her not to go.
• Pei Ye claimed Yang Yan needed him to hurry back and practice swordsmanship, while Li Piaoqing stared at him in silence.

Pei Ye fled after making it clear that he did not return Li Piaoqing’s feelings, leaving both of them distressed. Li Piaoqing returned home and learned that she would demonstrate her swordplay for Lord Sui the next morning while Li Weiru left to watch Shang Huaitong.

• Pei Ye regretted how clumsily he had rejected Li Piaoqing and returned to the Martial Arts Hall, where he angrily shut himself in his room.
• Li Piaoqing left the lake in the rain, convinced that Pei Ye did not like her and deciding to apologize to him the next day.
• Li Weiru comforted Li Piaoqing and told her that Lord Sui would assess her swordplay at Changdao Martial Arts School the next morning.
• Li Weiru left to watch Shang Huaitong as part of the meeting’s plan to monitor the other Fruit.

Li Piaoqing struggled with the pain of her changed relationship with Pei Ye while preparing for the Sword Cultivation Academy trial. Her master encouraged her and she went to the trial, while Yang Yan tried to coax someone out to practice at Changdao Martial Arts School.

• Li Piaoqing practiced Yellow Jadeite and realized she could not casually resolve her feelings for Pei Ye or return to their former friendship.
• After imagining Pei Ye might reject or resent her, Li Piaoqing broke down in fear that their closeness was gone for good.
• The next morning, Li Piaoqing washed off her feather makeup and received a note from her sect leader encouraging her before the sword trial and offering to help with her love troubles.
• Li Piaoqing continued practicing despite her wandering thoughts, then went out with her sword for the trial.
• At Changdao Martial Arts School, Yang Yan repeatedly called someone to come practice, but the person refused and told him to look first.

Pei Ye struggled with the guilt of rejecting Li Piaoqing, but when he realized she was demonstrating her sword skills for a Sword Cultivation Academy assessment, he returned to watch. Li Piaoqing impressed the unseen elder with her understanding of the sword and faced a question about the deeper meaning of her sword form.

• Pei Ye confided in Black Cat that he felt awful after rejecting Li Piaoqing and heard her arrive at Changdao Martial Arts School to practice alone.
• Li Piaoqing began her sword demonstration for a distinguished elder, showing her foundation and then performing a sequence she had arranged herself.
• Pei Ye recognized the importance of Li Piaoqing's assessment, fetched a sword, and quietly entered the Martial Field to watch her perform.
• The elder asked Li Piaoqing to repeat part of her sequence to clarify its rises and falls, and she demonstrated the moves precisely.
• The elder asked why Broken Leaf Returning Tide differed from the other moves, and Li Piaoqing considered whether it marked a shift from the mundane to the spiritual.

Li Piaoqing failed to pass Sui Zaihua’s Sword Cultivation Academy test after her inspired sword technique went too far, while Pei Ye watched without approaching her. Pei Ye struggled with his decision to stay away, then visited Qi Zhaohua, who was preparing to leave for Chang’an with Fang Jidao.

• Li Piaoqing connected [Immovable Perilous Wind] to [Broken Leaf Returning Tide], but pushed the technique too far and dropped her sword.
• Sui Zaihua praised Li Piaoqing’s inspiration but told her that her grasp was shallow and her insight rushed, and that she needed to temper herself longer.
• Pei Ye watched Li Piaoqing leave in despair but resisted the urge to comfort her, then Yang Yan told him that Qi Zhaohua wanted to see him.
• Qi Zhaohua told Pei Ye she was leaving for Chang’an and offered to help him there, explaining that Fang Jidao was going with her.
• Pei Ye asked Qi Zhaohua whether she had agreed to Fang Jidao accompanying her.

Pei Ye confided in Qi Zhaohua about his distress over Li Piaoqing, and she helped him realize that he had feelings for her too. She then urged him to keep those feelings from growing by telling Li Piaoqing he would soon leave Bowang for the Divine Capital and never return.

• Qi Zhaohua explained that she had traded away her reputation and other things when she needed to, while Pei Ye apologized for judging her and admitted he felt miserable about Piao Qing.
• Qi Zhaohua asked Pei Ye to compare his closeness with Li Piaoqing to his friendship with other women, pointing out that he was unusually playful with Li Piaoqing and had hidden his sword technique from her.
• Pei Ye realized that he likely liked Li Piaoqing and started to leave to find her, but Qi Zhaohua stopped him and reminded him that she had advised him to curb the budding relationship.
• Qi Zhaohua told Pei Ye that he and Li Piaoqing carried different burdens and stood too far apart, then urged him to say he would leave Bowang for the Divine Capital and not return.

Pei Ye decided he would find a way to enter the Divine Capital’s Sword Cultivation Academy with Piao Qing, then returned to the Martial Arts Hall and studied the Sword Manual. Sui Zaihua took him to the Immortal Platform, where Wu Dong reported that two Soul-Seizing case files had vanished from a desk while he was in the room.

• Pei Ye told Miss Qi he would make it possible for himself and Piao Qing to enter the Divine Capital’s Sword Cultivation Academy together.
• A man and his younger companion hid from a figure flying across the sky, and the man identified the passerby as Ming Qitian.
• Pei Ye returned to the Martial Arts Hall, took Snow-Collapsing from Yang Yan, and privately studied the Sword Manual while discussing his plans with the black cat.
• Sui Zaihua received a Blue Bird Sends Feathers message about trouble at the Immortal Platform and brought Pei Ye there.
• Wu Dong told Sui Zaihua, An Zang, and Pei Ye that two Soul-Seizing case files had disappeared from his desk during a two-and-a-half-breath interval, despite his staying in the room.

Pei Ye and three Grandmasters searched the Immortal Platform’s sealed archive and found that the remaining Soul-Seizing case files were intact, suggesting the thief could not breach its strongest defenses. When an unseen presence struck as they prepared to leave, Sui Zaihua froze the room with his spiritual art but caught nothing, and the entity vanished after the Chi Shadow sensed it through Yang Yan’s Jade Pendant.

• An Zang outlined ways the thief might have bypassed Mistwater Listening to Truth, and the group went to inspect the archive’s remaining case files.
• Wu Dong opened the sealed archive, and the three Grandmasters found its rooms and defenses undisturbed.
• The group confirmed that all three remaining Soul-Seizing case files were originals, concluding that the thief had acted when Wu Dong carried the other files out.
• Pei Ye noticed the Fenghuai Candle-Illumination case record, then sensed an unseen presence above the empty Soul-Seizing compartment and drew his sword.
• Sui Zaihua used Covering the Mirror, Making a Painting to immobilize the archive, but his grasp found nothing.
• The Chi Shadow told Pei Ye it had sensed the thing from Yang Yan’s Jade Pendant, then reported that it was gone.

Wu Dong explained that the intruder could enter and leave the fourth floor but was blocked by the sealed Third-Tier Pavilion, then arranged an investigation while Pei Ye and Sui Zaihua continued their work. After discussing the intruder’s reaction to Yang Yan’s jade pendant with Black Cat, Pei Ye awoke to Ming Qitian’s unexpected visit and told her about his Martial Competition victory.

• Wu Dong compared the fourth floor with the Third-Tier Pavilion and told the group to study how its materials, seals, and spiritual qi lock might block the intruder.
• Wu Dong sent the others back, arranged to meet at the Prefectural Office before noon, and stayed at the Immortal Platform to investigate.
• Pei Ye told Black Cat that the intruder had stolen files during Sui Zaihua’s attack, and Black Cat clarified that it sensed Chi Flame reacting before the fruit rather than sensing the Extraordinary Arts Canon.
• Pei Ye fell asleep while reading, then awoke to find Ming Qitian beside his bed asking to see Snow-Collapsing.
• Pei Ye told Ming Qitian about becoming Chief Champion and defeating a sixth growth with a newly learned sword art, and she praised his understanding of the General Treatise.

Pei Ye was reprimanded by Ming Qitian for neglecting his sword studies, then attended a Prefectural Office deliberation with her as the officials planned their traps for Joy-in-Death Tower and investigated the origins of the Snow-Collapsing sword manual. The meeting left the Sun-Swallowing Society as the likely source of the pavilion intruder and the manual’s acquisition records as the next lead.

• Ming Qitian questioned Pei Ye about the General Treatise, found that he had barely read it, and told him to take her lessons seriously.
• Pei Ye brought Ming Qitian to the Prefectural Office deliberation, where her arrival with Heart-Slaying Glaze unsettled the officials’ trap and reassured their allies.
• Pu Huaimeng explained how concealment techniques interacted with space and concluded that the pavilion intruder’s method remained unknown.
• Sui Zaihua argued that the intruder likely belonged to the Sun-Swallowing Society rather than Joy-in-Death Tower, and the officials decided to continue their ambush plan.
• Ming Qitian refused to leave Pei Ye’s side despite Wu Dong’s request that she move toward the southeast of the city.
• Cheng Lin reported that the Snow-Collapsing sword manual had likely entered the collection through an old barter regulation, and Wu Dong ordered an investigation into the officials involved.

Cheng Lin and Wu Dong pursued new Heart Amber leads, while Pei Ye asked Ming Qitian for help getting a friend into the Sword Cultivation Academy and making a keepsake. The chapter ended with Li Piaoqing hurt by Pei Ye’s avoidance, wavering between seeking him out to repair their friendship and letting it go.

• Cheng Lin told Wu Dong and Sui Zaihua that Heart Amber production and distribution needed investigation, and Sui revealed that a shipment from the old assassination case had gone to the Jade Pavilion.
• Wu Dong ordered the Jade Pavilion shipment investigated again, then ended the meeting as Sui Zaihua departed and advised Pei Ye not to become entangled in trouble.
• Shi Zanxue teased Pei Ye about joining Heavenly Mountain, and Pei Ye told Ming Qitian he wanted to attend the Sword Cultivation Academy in the Divine Capital and asked her to consider recommending a friend.
• Ming Qitian agreed to assess Pei Ye’s friend and shaped his copper bar into a small Glaze, but Pei Ye hesitated to explain the inscription when he noticed the gathered clerks.
• Li Piaoqing sat with her Lost Jade Sword, regretting her failed selection and her strained relationship with Pei Ye, and struggled to decide whether to seek him out or give up their friendship.

Li Piaoqing went to the Prefectural Office hoping to reconnect with Pei Ye and meet Ming Qitian, but she found Pei Ye already speaking closely with the sword master. The chapter ended as Ming Qitian asked Pei Ye whether he had any questions.

• Li Piaoqing chose to wear the yellow dress she had worn at the Pill Auction and set out after Shen Yao told her Ming Qitian had arrived at the Prefectural Office.
• At the crowded gathering, Li Piaoqing learned that Ming Qitian was discussing swordsmanship and followed Zhang Dingyun into the garden to listen.
• Li Piaoqing watched Ming Qitian finish her explanation of White Bamboo swordsmanship and was disappointed when she was told not to approach her.
• Li Piaoqing spotted Pei Ye in the front row wearing the green outfit she had given him and started toward him.
• Ming Qitian approached Pei Ye, who presented her with a bouquet, and asked how much of her instruction he had remembered and whether he had any questions.

Pei Ye mistook Li Piaoqing’s sadness for jealousy over his closeness with Ming Qitian, then confessed that he liked her and invited her boating. Li Piaoqing accepted, though she stayed close to Ming Qitian during the visit to Jade Feather Academy.

• Li Piaoqing watched Pei Ye consult with Ming Qitian and assumed he was in love with the Bright Sword Master.
• Pei Ye brought woven flowers to Li Piaoqing, confessed his feelings, and invited her to go boating.
• Li Piaoqing asked to meet Ming Qitian, who greeted her warmly and praised her beauty.
• Li Piaoqing accompanied Ming Qitian to Jade Feather Academy and continued asking her questions while Pei Ye followed anxiously.
• Pei Ye pulled Li Piaoqing aside and asked whether she would go boating with him; she agreed to go that night.

Li Piaoqing learned that her strong Sword Heart and Sword Sensibility would qualify her for the Sword Cultivation Academy, while Yang Yan weighed joining Heavenly Mountain against pursuing revenge. Pei Ye mastered Snow-Collapsing's first form, then headed to meet Li Piaoqing at night, but Yang Yan stopped him.

• Ming Qitian explained the five aspects of Sword Endowment and assessed Li Piaoqing as eligible for the Sword Cultivation Academy, promising her a recommendation letter.
• Yang Yan told Pei Ye that Heavenly Mountain had invited him to join and admitted that his deepest desire was to confront the senior brother who betrayed their sect.
• Pei Ye advised Yang Yan to join Heavenly Mountain and build his strength before seeking revenge, and Li Piaoqing encouraged him to live well while he waited.
• Pei Ye mastered the first form of Snow-Collapsing and sent a thirty-foot column of water bursting from a well with one sword strike.
• At night, Pei Ye saw Li Piaoqing waiting by the courtyard gate, but Yang Yan caught and held him back as he started toward her.

Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing reconciled during a moonlit boat ride, where he told her about the disaster in Fenghuai and his plan to go to the Divine Capital. Li Piaoqing hesitated over leaving her master and home, but agreed to consider going with Pei Ye, and he prepared a gift for her.

• Pei Ye struggled to row Li Piaoqing to the center of the lake, but they stayed in the boat’s cabin and enjoyed being together.
• Li Piaoqing shared her happiness about her master’s support, meeting the Bright Sword Master, and making up with Pei Ye.
• Pei Ye told Li Piaoqing that Miss Ming had helped save Fenghuai County and warned her to flee if she encountered dark-blue-scaled humanoid monsters, the [Torchworld Cult], or their symbol.
• Pei Ye said he planned to go to the Divine Capital to grow stronger and hunt the surviving enemies, and explained that his recommendation letter could get Li Piaoqing into its Sword Cultivation Academy.
• Li Piaoqing worried about leaving her master and felt that Pei Ye’s talent and troubles set them far apart, but Pei Ye reassured her that he liked her for who she was.
• Li Piaoqing said she wanted to be with Pei Ye, and he offered her a gift.