Recaps

Zhang Junxue explained how Shang Huaitong deceived Zhang Junyu, ruined her martial career, and led to her suicide. She told Pei Ye she still intended to take revenge at the Autumn Competition, before Shang Huaitong left for the Sword Cultivation Academy.

• Zhang Junxue recounted how Zhang Junyu planned to help Shang Huaitong win the Winter Competition by deliberately losing and sharing Gu Guang’s martial secrets with him.
• Shang Huaitong defeated and maimed Gu Guang, then crushed Zhang Junyu in the semifinals; Bai Yuliang later won the title and had Shang Huaitong humiliated in a cesspit.
• Zhang Junxue told Pei Ye that Zhang Junyu hanged herself after the alliance collapsed and both families blamed her.
• Pei Ye sympathized with Zhang Junxue over their losses, and she admitted that she missed and resented her sister.
• Zhang Junxue said she still planned to take revenge at the Autumn Competition, her final chance before Shang Huaitong left Bowang for the Sword Cultivation Academy.

Pei Ye examined Zheng Dong’s body and learned why Li Piaoqing was making her Yellow Jadeite mastery look public: Jade Feather hoped to deter the Seven Flood Dragon Cave while investigating Senior Brother’s death. The chapter ended with Li Piaoqing preparing to give the rival sect an opportunity to act, despite Pei Ye’s concern for her safety.

• Pei Ye found Zheng Dong dead in the West Courtyard and studied the bloodied feather used to kill him, whose inscription recalled the bold life Zheng Dong had lived beside Bai Yuliang.
• Pei Ye asked Li Piaoqing how she planned to kill Shang Huaitong, and she warned that the Seven Flood Dragon Cave would protect its gifted disciple and that Jade Feather had never intended to kill him.
• Li Piaoqing explained that Jade Feather was still investigating whether the Seven Flood Dragon Cave had killed Senior Brother and that the sect had not yet confirmed what happened.
• Li Piaoqing admitted she had deliberately let word spread that she had mastered Yellow Jadeite and bought an Ascension Pill to make the Seven Flood Dragon Cave suspect a bluff and hesitate to test her.
• Li Piaoqing said Jade Feather would give the Seven Flood Dragon Cave an opportunity to act; Pei Ye questioned how the plan would work and warned that a fight to the death could still kill her.

Pei Ye learned the details of Li Piaoqing’s plan to ambush Seven Flood Dragon Cave and decided to help, while also plotting to target Shang Huaitong. He reached Third Growth and began sparring with Zhang Junxue, asking about her strategy against Shang Huaitong.

• Li Piaoqing explained that Jade Feather and White Bamboo Pavilion planned to lure Seven Flood Dragon Cave into an ambush, with an Eighth Growth expert secretly joining them.
• Pei Ye agreed to help with the ambush in three days and asked Li Piaoqing to help him kill an old man afterward.
• Pei Ye planned to attack Shang Huaitong if his guards were drawn away by the ambush, and worried that Qi Zhaohua might be in danger.
• Pei Ye advanced to Third Growth as the meridians within his lower abdomen multiplied.
• Pei Ye practiced the Cicada Sparrow Sword, then faced Zhang Junxue in a spar and asked how she planned to overcome Shang Huaitong.

Pei Ye and Zhang Junxue sparred, revealing the power of her four-strike saber technique and her ambition to challenge Shang Huaitong and pursue the Saber Dao. He showed her a glimpse of the Sword Dao’s true heights, leaving her stunned as his blade rested at her chin.

• Pei Ye urged Zhang Junxue to work with him to kill Shang Huaitong outside the Martial Competition, and she agreed to try before resorting to a challenge there.
• Zhang Junxue unleashed her third and fourth saber strikes, and Pei Ye barely endured the fourth before being sent flying.
• Zhang Junxue explained that she combined techniques from 'Wave Stacking' and the 'Waist-Slaying Saber' to amplify her strikes.
• Zhang Junxue told Pei Ye she wanted to win a ranking at the Divine Capital's Martial Competition and enter White Deer Palace to pursue the Saber Dao.
• Pei Ye demonstrated what he called the true sword, and Zhang Junxue trembled in awe as his blade came to rest beneath her chin.

Pei Ye encouraged Zhang Junxue to pursue a saber stroke of her own, while Gu Yunfu and Shang Yunning fought off masked attackers on their journey back to Heavenly Mountain. In Bowang, Pei Ye asked where the visiting sect disciples were staying, then reunited Zhang Dingyun with Yang Yan.

• Pei Ye showed Zhang Junxue a sword stroke and inspired her to vow that she would one day create a saber stroke like it.
• Three masked attackers ambushed Gu Yunfu on the road, wounded him, and nearly killed him before Shang Yunning arrived and defeated them.
• Gu Yunfu learned that the attackers had tracked Shang Yunning, and the two hurried toward Heavenly Mountain because Ming Qitian was expected to arrive there.
• Pei Ye asked Zhang Dingyun where the visiting direct disciples were staying, learning that Zhang Mozhu was at the Hidden Tiger Escort Agency and Shang Huaitong was at Bowang Garden.
• Zhang Dingyun recognized Yang Yan and offered to show him around, but Yang Yan chose to walk with Pei Ye.
• Pei Ye reminded Zhang Dingyun that he had been indignant on Chang Yue's behalf, and Zhang Dingyun replied that Yang Yan's absence would make the Autumn Competition meaningless.

Pei Ye and Yang Yan assessed the Martial Competition’s strongest entrants and went to Bowang Garden to learn more about Shang Huaitong. There, Pei Ye encountered a dispute among scholars about the Egret Isle Poetry Gathering, which ended with the Hermit Below the Lake arriving.

• Yang Yan told Pei Ye he intended to win the Martial Competition and believed he could defeat Shang Huaitong, while Pei Ye estimated he could place in the top four.
• Pei Ye and Yang Yan entered Bowang Garden to investigate Shang Huaitong and found preparations underway for the Egret Isle Poetry Gathering.
• Pei Ye approached academy students, where Liu Zifang suggested that prominent scholars received poetry topics from the Hermit Below the Lake in advance.
• Fang Jidao angrily defended the fairness of the poetry gathering and condemned Liu Zifang’s accusation.
• The Hermit Below the Lake arrived carrying writings and gently asked the gathered scholars whether there had been a disagreement.

Qi Zhaohua persuaded Fang Jidao to promote Shang Huaitong at the Egret Isle Poetry Gathering, then spoke privately with Pei Ye about her plans for Moon-Catching Lake. Pei Ye promised to help change the lake and challenged Qi Zhaohua’s willingness to use others to get things done.

• Qi Zhaohua asked Fang Jidao to read a poem praising Shang Huaitong at the gathering before she presented a better poem, and Fang agreed despite his misgivings.
• Fang Jidao asked Qi Zhaohua whether Shang Huaitong was coercing her, then left when Pei Ye arrived to speak with her.
• Pei Ye asked Qi Zhaohua how things were going with Moon-Catching Lake and promised to help change it if he could.
• Pei Ye questioned Qi Zhaohua for persuading Fang Jidao to promote Shang Huaitong and told her to ask people properly for help.
• Qi Zhaohua said getting things done mattered most and asked Pei Ye whether he had come to discuss anything besides Moon-Catching Lake.

Pei Ye questioned his plan to kill Shang Huaitong, but Black Cat urged him to decide for himself while they tracked down the Seven Flood Dragon Cave Private Pavilion. There, two conspirators decided to abandon their escape plan and respond to Jade Feather's offer, hoping to protect the mysterious “fruit.”

• Pei Ye warned Qi Zhaohua about Shang Huaitong, but she said she believed Zhang Junyu had been framed and challenged Pei Ye's reliance on secondhand accounts.
• Shang Huaitong introduced himself to Pei Ye, then left with Qi Zhaohua to carry goods to a boat.
• Pei Ye admitted to Black Cat that he was uncertain about killing Shang Huaitong, and Black Cat supported his decision while reminding him to focus on their larger journey.
• Yang Yan told Pei Ye that the Seven Flood Dragon Cave Private Pavilion was in Sixth-Floor East Pavilion One.
• At Moon-Catching Tower, a man told a one-eyed conspirator that they would stay and act rather than flee, aiming to gain time for the “fruit.”
• The one-eyed man raised Jade Feather's offer of Yellow Jadeite and an Ascension Pill, and the man insisted they respond to divert pressure from the “fruit.”

Pei Ye learned that Seven Flood Dragon Cave had decided to accept Jade Feather’s challenge despite recognizing it as a trap, while the real motives behind their plan remained unclear. Li Piaoqing prepared to face the coming confrontation alone, sending the other Jade Feather disciples away without telling their sect about her plan.

• Zhao Fu told the One-Eyed Man that his side would stay and pursue a tempting “fruit,” while the One-Eyed Man warned that their decision could not be undone.
• Pei Ye reasoned that Zhao Fu was allied with the old man who hunted martial artists and that a powerful, unknown threat had nearly driven them to withdraw.
• Pei Ye realized Seven Flood Dragon Cave understood Jade Feather’s challenge was a trap but still intended to accept it, and he told the black cat to keep watching for news.
• Li Piaoqing assigned her five companions to leave in groups with letters and refused their offers to stay and help her.
• The Jade Feather disciples realized Li Piaoqing had planned the operation against Seven Flood Dragon Cave without informing their sect, and understood she was sending them away to protect them.

Li Piaoqing faced her companions’ doubts after revealing her plan to challenge the Seven Flood Dragons, then prepared to carry it out while caring for Nie Qianyu. Pei Ye learned how precarious the Jade Feather Gate’s position was and better understood the pressure Li Piaoqing carried.

• Li Piaoqing reassured the Jade Feather Gate disciples about her plan, and Shen Yao voiced her support despite fearing the consequences of failure.
• After the others left, Li Piaoqing steadied herself by tending to the Lost Jade Sword and Heart-Slaying Glaze, then fed Nie Qianyu and helped him prepare to fight.
• Li Piaoqing asked Zhang Dingyun to pass along a message, and he later told Pei Ye that she and Nie Qianyu had gone to arrange lodging for the arriving disciples.
• Pei Ye questioned Zhang Dingyun about a one-eyed elder from the Seven Flood Dragons, then heard that the Jade Feather Gate had lost much of its strength and had little time to recover.
• Pei Ye realized that Li Piaoqing faced dangers both within and outside her sect, and Zhang Dingyun called him beyond saving.

Pei Ye advanced his swordsmanship to the pinnacle of the Clumsy Realm while waiting for Li Piaoqing, then learned that Meng Chuyuan and other Seven Flood Dragon Cave elders had changed plans after receiving urgent news. Their departure and the report that Li Piaoqing was alone left him fearing she was in immediate danger.

• Pei Ye learned from Zhang Dingyun that Meng Chuyuan was a renowned eighth-growth cultivator and likely stronger than White Bamboo Pavilion's Green-Purple Bamboo.
• Pei Ye practiced [Spread Wings] and permanently mastered redirecting collisions into its buildup, reaching the pinnacle of the Clumsy Realm.
• Black Cat spotted Meng Chuyuan and other elders changing into night clothes and preparing to leave, while Pei Ye realized the enemy had discovered Jade Feather's hidden allies.
• A messenger brought urgent news, and the elders left after being told to hold someone off.
• Black Cat reported that the messenger had said Li Piaoqing was alone.

Pei Ye traced the flaws in the Sparrow Section and began reshaping its sword moves, but a sudden realization made him ask the black cat to help Li Piaoqing first. Meanwhile, the Seven Flood Dragons prepared to attack Li Piaoqing by Moon-Catching Lake, where she waited unaware that they had arrived.

• The black cat followed three members of the Seven Flood Dragons from Bowang Garden to Moon-Catching Lake as they split up and concealed themselves around Li Piaoqing.
• The black cat told Pei Ye that the attack was about to begin, while Pei Ye returned to the Martial Field and tried to steady himself by practicing his sword.
• Pei Ye realized that the Sparrow Section's later moves were too slow and began adjusting them to grow faster and stronger in succession.
• Pei Ye's wrist seized up as he tried the altered sword technique, and the sound of his falling sword revealed the source of a familiar sensation.
• Pei Ye told the black cat to help Li Piaoqing first while he dealt with something at the Martial Field.
• Li Piaoqing waited beside Moon-Catching Lake, unaware that the Seven Flood Dragons had reached the ambush positions around her.

Li Piaoqing used herself as bait to draw out the Seven Flood Dragon Cave’s attackers, while Nie Qianyu fought them to protect her. As two Seventh Growth enemies overwhelmed Nie Qianyu, Li Piaoqing held back from blowing the whistle and kept waiting for the opposing side’s hidden leader to reveal himself.

• Li Piaoqing recognized that an attacker was approaching and leapt into a nearby building as Nie Qianyu emerged from the reeds to intercept him.
• Nie Qianyu’s furious sword strike wounded the black-robed attacker, and Li Piaoqing searched the area for the enemy’s hidden leader.
• Lian Yanjiang arrived and joined the black-robed swordsman, forcing Nie Qianyu to fight two Seventh Growth cultivators at once.
• The black-robed swordsman stabbed Nie Qianyu from behind and restrained him while Lian Yanjiang prepared another heavy strike.
• Li Piaoqing raised the whistle to summon help but lowered it, believing Nie Qianyu could still hold on.

Li Piaoqing’s forces fought Lian Yanjiang and a black-robed fighter, and Nie Qianyu killed Lian Yanjiang before being mortally wounded by Meng Chuyuan. Li Piaoqing chose not to blow her whistle to summon help, and Black Cat began questioning why Meng Chuyuan had waited to enter the battle.

• Nie Qianyu used a coordinated attack with the black-robed fighter to wound Lian Yanjiang, but the black-robed fighter stabbed Nie Qianyu in the abdomen.
• Nie Qianyu seized the black-robed fighter and struck him with a knee, then killed Lian Yanjiang with Broken Leaf Returning Tide.
• Nie Qianyu wounded the fleeing black-robed fighter but collapsed before he could catch him, while Li Piaoqing kept the whistle in her hand instead of summoning Senior Qinghuang.
• Meng Chuyuan struck Nie Qianyu down with a silver sword slash as Li Piaoqing watched and bit her lip.
• Black Cat wondered why Jade Feather had let Nie Qianyu die and questioned why Meng Chuyuan had been afraid to enter the battle.

Qinghuang ambushed Meng Chuyuan after Meng Chuyuan attacked Nie Qianyu, using three prepared advantages to land a decisive short-sword strike. The blade pierced Meng Chuyuan’s lung, though his true qi clamped it in place, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Black Cat concluded that both sides were concealing decisive forces and left the unresolved battle.
• Meng Chuyuan cut toward Nie Qianyu, and Qinghuang burst from the earth to ambush him.
• Qinghuang fought with a longsword, keeping Meng Chuyuan unaware of his identity and drawing him into the position he wanted.
• Qinghuang used his knowledge of Meng Chuyuan, his concealed identity, and the opening created by Nie Qianyu to secure three advantages.
• Qinghuang unleashed the Bamboo-Cutting Sword’s Five-Leaf Abdomen Piercing and drove his short sword into Meng Chuyuan’s lung.
• The author announced a pause in updates after his grandfather’s sudden death.

Qinghuang’s identity as Xu Yanhe was exposed when Meng Chuyuan recognized the Five-Leaf Abdomen Piercing, and their duel escalated into a desperate exchange of wounds. Qinghuang used Purple Bamboo’s advice to land a heavy strike, but Meng Chuyuan’s next feint left Qinghuang in immediate danger.

• Meng Chuyuan recognized Qinghuang’s Five-Leaf Abdomen Piercing and realized White Bamboo Pavilion had joined forces with Jade Feather to target the Seven Flood Dragons.
• Meng Chuyuan launched a fierce counterattack, forced Qinghuang onto the defensive, and pierced his shoulder with Cold Python.
• Qinghuang revealed that he had concentrated his True Qi in his left hand and recalled Purple Bamboo’s advice about countering Meng Chuyuan’s two swords.
• Qinghuang clashed head-on with Great Flood Dragon, won the exchange, and cut a deep gash across Meng Chuyuan’s waist as Meng Chuyuan wounded him in return.
• Qinghuang evaded Meng Chuyuan’s follow-up strike, then realized Great Flood Dragon’s attack had been a feint.

Qinghuang trapped Meng Chuyuan with his body after hinting at Heavenly Mountain's sword, while the story shifted to Gu Yunfu and Shang Yunning arriving at Heavenly Mountain for the Sword Inquiry Gathering. Ming Qitian recognized Shang Yunning and invited him to a sword exchange before the gathered disciples.

• Qinghuang used [Six Arms] to stop his final sword thrust, but seized his chance when Meng Chuyuan chose defense and lunged to bind him.
• Qinghuang whispered about Heavenly Mountain's sword, and a wild wind rose behind Meng Chuyuan.
• Gu Yunfu and Shang Yunning reached Heavenly Mountain, where Shi Zanxue told them the Sword Inquiry Gathering had begun.
• Gu Yunfu and Shang Yunning joined Shi Zanxue on the way to Sky-Supporting Pillar, and Gu Yunfu decided to deliver his letter to Ming Qitian.
• Ming Qitian recognized Shang Yunning and invited him to a conversation through swords, drawing the gathered disciples' attention.

Ming Qitian and Shang Yunning exchanged sword insights at Heavenly Mountain, where she advised him to practice the King Mu Sword rather than force himself to understand every principle first. After their discussion ended, Gu Yunfu brought Ming Qitian an unexpected letter from a courier.

• Ming Qitian and Shang Yunning demonstrated their sword skill and discussed the Five Peaks Sword, impressing the watching disciples with Shang Yunning's insight.
• Shang Yunning requested permission to show Ming Qitian the King Mu Sword manual so he could observe how she learned its moves.
• Ming Qitian quickly studied parts of the manual and advised Shang Yunning to practice a difficult move instead of endlessly analyzing its principles.
• Ming Qitian explained that sword talent could continue to develop through a swordsman's life, though improvement was slight and harder for talented swordsmen to notice.
• After Shang Yunning left the arena, Gu Yunfu delivered a letter to Ming Qitian that he had taken from a Letter Courier.

Ming Qitian replied to Pei Ye’s letter while Gu Yunfu delivered Lu Yunsheng’s report to Chu Xiao about a Joy-in-Death Tower killer, a Soul-Seizing Pearl, and the death of Cheng Jianghong. Lu Yunsheng then revealed that his investigation had led him into the Seven Flood Dragon Cave’s stronghold in Bowang, where he faced powerful enemies and sought Li Piaoqing’s help.

• Ming Qitian read Pei Ye’s letter and sent a handwritten reply by tiny sword.
• Gu Yunfu delivered Lu Yunsheng’s letter to Chu Xiao, who learned that Lu Yunsheng had found a Soul-Seizing Pearl and identified the dead man as Cheng Jianghong, a former Heavenly Mountain disciple.
• Lu Yunsheng explained that he planned to capture the killer, seize the magical artifact, and use the case to establish a Heavenly Mountain foothold in Lesser Long Circuit.
• Chu Xiao told Gu Yunfu that the Hushan Sword Gate’s upheaval might involve the Sun-Swallowing Society and warned that Lu Yunsheng could be underestimating the danger.
• Lu Yunsheng told Li Piaoqing that the Seven Flood Dragon Cave was a local base of the enemy, with connections in the authorities, and that he was now alone in their stronghold.

Lu Yunsheng asked Li Piaoqing to unite Jade Feather with Heavenly Mountain for a decisive battle against the Seven Flood Dragons and the Joy-in-Death Tower, and Li Piaoqing accepted. At Moon-Catching Lake, Qinghuang’s sword strike swept through Meng Chuyuan’s defenses.

• Lu Yunsheng explained that the Soul-Seizing Pearl remained in Bowang for an unconsumed target and that the enemy would soon leave, then laid out his plan to force the hidden enemy to fight.
• Lu Yunsheng asked Li Piaoqing to risk Jade Feather’s survival in exchange for Heavenly Mountain’s support and a foothold in Lesser Long Circuit.
• Li Piaoqing weighed the danger to her sect and accepted the alliance, declaring that the Emerald Feather Sword Sect would stand again and drive out the Seven Flood Dragon Cave and Joy-in-Death Tower.
• At Moon-Catching Lake, Meng Chuyuan realized an attack was coming as Great Flood Dragon, Cold Python, and a true qi arm tried to block it.
• Qinghuang’s Eight Steeds Sword strike, [Chasing the Sun, Surpassing the Shadow], cut through Meng Chuyuan’s defenses.

Lu Yunsheng killed Meng Chuyuan and faced the old seventh-growth murderer, gaining the upper hand with his Eight Steeds Sword. As the old man detonated his gathered true qi, Meng Chuyuan seized Lu Yunsheng and briefly restrained him, leaving him caught in the blast’s path.

• Lu Yunsheng pierced Meng Chuyuan and Qinghuang with one sword strike, fatally wounding Meng Chuyuan.
• The old man attacked Lu Yunsheng from behind, and Lu Yunsheng countered with [Brilliance Surpassing Radiance].
• Lu Yunsheng exchanged sword moves with the old man, then wounded his shoulder and thigh as the old man gathered scattered true qi into explosive clusters.
• Lu Yunsheng broke the old man’s guard with [Trampling the Earth, Extinguishing the Land] and retreated as the old man detonated the gathered true qi.
• Meng Chuyuan grabbed Lu Yunsheng around the waist to hold him in place, and Lu Yunsheng restrained Meng Chuyuan’s arms with true qi.

Lu Yunsheng and Meng Chuyuan mortally wounded each other, while Qinghuang’s last strike forced the old man to retreat. Li Piaoqing followed the blood trail of a wounded Seven Flood Dragons fighter toward an alley overlooking the battlefield.

• The old man’s concealed True Qi blades shattered Lu Yunsheng’s barriers, and Lu Yunsheng used [Hundred Birds] to pin most of them.
• Meng Chuyuan pierced Lu Yunsheng’s heart with Hidden Snake using a fourth arm formed through his refined [Six Arms], then died.
• The old man attacked the gravely wounded Lu Yunsheng, but Qinghuang threw his short sword and struck the old man before he could finish him.
• The old man retreated into the shadows, leaving Lu Yunsheng to realize that the Small Tower was empty.
• Li Piaoqing searched for the wounded black-robed man, followed his blood trail, and found it leading into a lakeside alley.

Li Piaoqing discovered that Lin Shuiying had died, then witnessed Lu Yunsheng fall and realized the Emerald Feather Sword Sect faced destruction. Refusing to rely on Pei Ye or Heavenly Mountain, she confronted the wounded Xu Cang alone.

• Li Piaoqing found Lin Shuiying dead beside Pei Ye's black cat and confirmed the seventh-growth cultivator had bled to death.
• Li Piaoqing saw an old man stab Lu Yunsheng through the heart, attack Qinghuang, and leave the battlefield.
• The old man pulled a sword from his chest and treated his severe wounds as he left the lakeside.
• Li Piaoqing recalled why she had kept Pei Ye out of the conflict and resolved to bear the Emerald Feather Sword Sect's burden herself.
• Li Piaoqing recognized the wounded old man as Xu Cang, Second Cave Master of the Seven Flood Dragons, and told him he had to die there.

Li Piaoqing fought the wounded seventh-growth old man and killed him with a concealed Heavenly Mountain artifact and Bai Yuliang’s Heart-Slaying Glaze. She collapsed beside his corpse, badly wounded, and remembered her senior brother’s promise to help her when she got into trouble.

• Li Piaoqing attacked the old man with Yellow Jadeite: Fire-Sweeping Through the Waterfall, then used Broken Leaf Returning Tide to recover her sword and counter his strike.
• The old man pierced Li Piaoqing’s abdomen, but she pressed the Wind and Snow Order into his existing wound and released its storm of blades inside him.
• Li Piaoqing pulled the sword from her abdomen and attacked, while the old man struck her with true qi and pinned her against a wall by the throat.
• Li Piaoqing used the Heart-Slaying Glaze hidden in her mouth to stab the old man through the forehead, killing him.
• Li Piaoqing collapsed and trembled beside the corpse, then remembered Bai Yuliang telling her to call him when she got into trouble.

Lu Yunsheng and Li Piaoqing defeated the Seven Flood Dragons fighters, but discovered that the Soul-Seizer had used Xu Cang as a decoy while harvesting the fruit elsewhere. The Soul-Seizer had likely taken the Soul-Seizing Pearl and escaped Bowang, leaving Lu Yunsheng and Li Piaoqing too late to stop him.

• Lu Yunsheng treated his heart wound and gave Qinghuang medicine while worrying that their enemy might abandon the fruit and leave Bowang.
• Li Piaoqing returned with Xu Cang's corpse and told Lu Yunsheng that she had killed him; Lu Yunsheng confirmed that they had won the fight.
• Li Piaoqing searched Xu Cang for the Soul-Seizing Pearl, but it was not on the body, and his face was not a disguise.
• Lu Yunsheng realized that Xu Cang was a real Seven Flood Dragons elder impersonating the Soul-Seizer, who had stayed away from the battle.
• Li Piaoqing and Lu Yunsheng concluded that the Soul-Seizer had used the battle to keep them occupied while harvesting the fruit and escaping with the pearl.