Chapter Summaries

Pei Ye realized Zhao Fu had deliberately focused on Yang Yan instead of the Seventh Growth murderer, and he confronted the army adviser as Yang Yan escaped. Zhao Fu pursued Yang Yan toward the Jade Feather sect’s private chamber, while Li Piaoqing revealed that Zhang Junxue had already taken Yang Yan away.

• Yang Yan seized his saber, wounded Zhao Fu with a counterattack, and escaped the tower while Pei Ye tried to stop Zhao Fu from pursuing him.
• Pei Ye warned Zhao Fu that the fleeing old man was the Anxin murderer and a Seventh Growth, but Zhao Fu ordered Pei Ye arrested and let the old man disappear.
• Li Piaoqing stood beside Pei Ye and challenged Zhao Fu’s authority, then joined Pei Ye as they went to help Yang Yan.
• Pei Ye asked Li Piaoqing to cover Yang Yan’s escape, and she revealed that Zhang Junxue had already taken him away.
• Zhao Fu followed Yang Yan’s paint trail to the staircase leading to the Jade Feather sect’s private chamber on the fourth floor.

Pei Ye and Yang Yan escaped Zhao Fu’s search after their plan to capture the Seventh Growth expert failed, then discussed trying to kill him again. Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing agreed to seek information about Zhao Army Adviser, while Jade Feather prepared its own move.

• Zhao Fu searched Jade Feather’s private chamber and ordered the building sealed, but Yang Yan remained hidden inside the rockery until the constables lifted the cordon.
• Pei Ye helped Yang Yan out of the rockery, and Yang Yan explained how he had used lacquer-stained clothes to conceal his escape and mask his scent.
• Pei Ye vowed to try killing the Seventh Growth expert again, and Yang Yan agreed despite the danger.
• Li Piaoqing joined Pei Ye and Yang Yan, then took them back to the private chamber, where Pei Ye introduced Zhang Junxue as a friend from Xu Gu.
• Li Piaoqing urged Pei Ye to wait while Jade Feather handled its own business, but Pei Ye declined her offer of help and asked what she knew about Zhao Army Adviser.
• Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing decided to ask Bai Sibing about Zhao Army Adviser, while Li Piaoqing told Yang Yan to stay and have his injuries treated.

Pei Ye questioned Bai Sibing about Zhao Fu’s suspicious conduct and learned that he had changed the travelers’ register system after arriving in Bowang three years earlier. On the way back, Pei Ye encountered Shang Huaitong and Qi Zhaohua, then considered what Shang’s sword revealed about him.

• Yang Yan returned to ask Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing for money, then stayed in the Jade Feather Private Pavilion to adjust his disguise.
• Pei Ye asked Bai Sibing about Zhao Fu, and Bai explained Zhao’s ties to the Seven Flood Dragons and the difficulty of investigating him without evidence.
• Pei Ye connected Zhao Fu’s arrival three years earlier to changes in the collection of travelers’ registers and suspected the records were being used to screen travelers.
• Pei Ye and Bai Sibing saw Shang Huaitong speaking with Qi Zhaohua beneath a willow, and Pei Ye recognized her from the gambling house.
• Bai Sibing told Pei Ye about Shang Huaitong’s prospects and asked him to judge Shang’s sword; Pei Ye described it as free-spirited and perhaps ruthless.

After finding Zheng Dong murdered, Pei Ye realized Shang Huaitong was responsible and saw Li Piaoqing struggle with the thought of avenging her friend. He resolved to learn more and seek help, then the chapter shifted to explain how he sometimes chose to confront danger on his own.

• Bai Sibing described Shang Huaitong as vicious, ruthless, and cunning, leaving Pei Ye stunned.
• Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing learned that someone had been killed outside Bowang Garden and found Zheng Dong dead with a feather lodged in his forehead.
• Li Piaoqing identified Zheng Dong as a Jade Feather disciple and returned to the West Courtyard, shaken by thoughts of how she could avenge him.
• Pei Ye encouraged Yang Yan to believe that even a powerful enemy could be defeated with patience and help from friends.
• Pei Ye went to speak with the woman honing her blade, saying he had several friends to call on.
• The narrative described Pei Ye’s earlier decision to turn back and confront Wu Zaigu after officials fell and a path to safety opened.

Pei Ye asked Zhang Junxue about the Ascension Pill and learned that her sister Zhang Junyu had died by suicide after losing the Winter Competition. Zhang Junxue recounted how Zheng Shou’s alliance with Xu Gu brought her sister to the Prefectural City, where she became involved with a swordsman from the rival Seven Flood Dragon Cave.

• Pei Ye thanked Zhang Junxue for helping him and asked her to explain why the Ascension Pill mattered to her.
• Zhang Junxue revealed that she had hoped to reach Fifth Growth and that her older sister, Zhang Junyu, had hanged herself after losing the Winter Competition.
• Zhang Junxue described how Zhang Junyu advanced to Fifth Growth and became a leading contender for the Martial Competition championship.
• Zheng Shou proposed that Xu Gu and Zheng Shou join forces against the three sects, and the two counties sent their candidates to the Dragon Gate Class with Zheng Shou covering the expenses.
• Zhang Junyu trained alongside Gu Guang and met other Zheng Shou competitors, while Zhang Junxue noticed her sister frequently leaving to meet a man.
• Zhang Junyu admitted that the man she liked was a direct disciple of the Seven Flood Dragon Cave, which Zhang Junxue recognized as their enemy.

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.