Chapter Summaries

Lin Lang recruited Yagyu Piaoxu as his subordinate after convincing her that Zhu Wushi was responsible for her father’s death and promising to help her revive the Yagyu family. The next day, he settled into his new role as Commander of the Jinyiwei and went to the Fragrant Pavilion, where an angry group confronted him.

• Lin Lang counted over a million taels from selling martial arts manuals and planned to pursue a share of the Silver Hook Gambling House’s profits.
• Yagyu Piaoxu attacked Lin Lang to avenge her father, but he defeated her strike and persuaded her that Zhu Wushi had caused her father’s death.
• Lin Lang convinced Yagyu Piaoxu to live, rebuild the Yagyu family, and become Nihon’s martial arts alliance leader; she agreed to serve him and left for Nihon.
• Wang Wu reported that Cheng Shifei was on his way to Capital City and that the Silver Hook Gambling House would answer Lin Lang’s proposal within three days.
• At the Fragrant Pavilion, Lin Lang received the madam’s repayment and listened to music until she screamed outside and a group burst into his room, challenging his claim that he was busy with official business.

Lin Lang rebuffed Wan Yulou’s attempt to command the Jinyiwei, then agreed to discuss cooperation with the Eastern Depot after defeating him in a palm exchange. Meanwhile, Liu Xi kept the Western Depot clear of Jinyiwei affairs, and Bluebeard prepared to confront Lin Lang over the Silver Hook Gambling House’s demanded payments.

• Wan Yulou led Eastern Depot Guards to Fragrant Pavilion and threatened to raid it after Lin Lang refused his summons, but Lin Lang injured him and warned he could ally with Liu Xi.
• Wan Yulou changed his approach and proposed cooperation against the Western Depot; Lin Lang agreed to discuss a case once Wan Yulou came up with one.
• The madam told Lin Lang that the Western Depot had supposedly framed the arrested Minister of Rites, though his household contained enormous wealth.
• Lin Lang ordered Jia Liu and the Jinyiwei to stop gossiping and get back to training and intelligence work.
• Liu Xi learned that Wan Yulou had been injured by Lin Lang and instructed his subordinates to avoid interfering with the Jinyiwei while monitoring the Eastern Depot.
• Bluebeard learned that the Jinyiwei demanded regular payments from the Silver Hook Gambling House and decided to meet Lin Lang in Capital City.

Lin Lang received martial-world intelligence, pressured the Silver Hook Gambling House into paying him monthly protection money, and arranged for his subordinates to build ties with officials. The chapter ended with Cheng Shifei arriving at the Jinyiwei Office, where Lin Lang promised he had found a way to prevent his body from bursting.

• Shangguan Haitang reported that Wudang was choosing a new leader and that the Golden Coin Gang was recruiting Weapons Ranking experts; Lin Lang favored Daoist Shi Yan and ordered an investigation into the gang's businesses.
• Lin Lang met Bluebeard at the Ten Thousand Blessings Restaurant, exposed his double, and demanded three hundred thousand taels a month in exchange for protection.
• Bluebeard left to consult the other proprietors, while Lin Lang expected him to agree and told Wang Wu and Jia Liu to marry daughters of officials who had belonged to Zhu Wushi's faction.
• Zhu Ting returned to Lin Lang's residence after being away for two days, and Lin Lang asked the steward to prepare him nourishing food.
• The Silver Hook Gambling House agreed to deliver banknotes to Lin Lang every month, and Lin Lang later told Cheng Shifei he had found a way to keep his body from bursting.

Lin Lang tested Cheng Shifei’s martial arts, helped him begin a secret technique, and left him in the Jinyiwei’s care before traveling into Great Sui. At a brothel there, he encountered Wanwan, the Yin Kui Sect’s holy maiden, whose bewitching technique failed to affect him.

• Lin Lang sparred with Cheng Shifei, beat him despite his tricks, and began helping him with the secret technique from the manual.
• Lin Lang gave Cheng Shifei the Two Forms Fist, left him with Wang Wu and Jia Liu, and traveled west into Great Sui.
• At the Red Sleeve House, Lin Lang heard rumors about Great Ming’s martial world and rejected several groups of women before the madam brought him Wanwan.
• Wanwan’s beauty drove the men downstairs to fight, but Lin Lang resisted her Soul-Stealing Secret Technique and recognized her as the Yin Kui Sect’s holy maiden.
• Wanwan questioned Lin Lang about his knowledge of her identity, and he answered her flirtation by calling himself “Hus Band” and her his “Wife.”

Lin Lang resisted Wanwan’s attempts to seduce and capture him, revealed himself as the Sun Moon Holy Cult’s Right Envoy, and refused her offer to help him seize power. As rumors of his strength and rebellion spread, Ren Woxing and Northern Shaolin considered how to respond, while Lin Lang rode west to obtain a martial art.

• Wanwan used her Heavenly Demon Wonderful Dance and sash to attack Lin Lang, but he overwhelmed her with his swordplay and forced her to flee.
• Wanwan recognized Lin Lang as the Sun Moon Holy Cult’s Right Envoy and, believing him a strong candidate for power in Great Ming, tried to recruit him and the Yin Kui Sect into helping him become Cult Leader.
• Lin Lang rejected Wanwan’s offer and left, while Wanwan decided she would help him rebel if he would not do so himself.
• At Blackwood Cliff, Xiang Wentian told Ren Woxing that rumors claimed Lin Lang was stronger than him and planned to take over the cult; Ren Woxing ordered an investigation and prepared to attack Northern Shaolin.
• Ren Yingying reassured Ren Woxing that he should trust Lin Lang, but Ren Woxing privately wondered whether Lin Lang might still be testing the cult’s loyalty.
• Fang Zheng considered exploiting the rumors of strife within the Sun Moon Holy Cult, while Lin Lang arrived at a mountain in search of a bare-handed martial art.

Lu Xiaofeng heard rumors that Lin Lang planned to kill Ren Woxing but chose not to get involved, while Wanwan left Great Ming to report to the Yin Kui Sect. In Mongol Yuan’s service, Zhao Min recruited the crippled Tang Wenliang, but Lin Lang arrived afterward, took the Seven Injuries Fist manual, and forced Tang to serve the Sun Moon Holy Cult as well.

• Lu Xiaofeng dismissed rumors that Lin Lang wanted to kill Ren Woxing and left the tavern to gamble, while Old Man Tianji and Sun Xiaohong discussed Lin Lang and Lu Xiaofeng.
• Wanwan listened to their story, revealed her interest in supporting Lin Lang, and left to report Zhu Wushi’s death to her master in the Yin Kui Sect.
• Zhao Min offered Tang Wenliang Black Jade Intermittent Ointment and a chance to lead the Kongtong Sect in exchange for his obedience to the Prince of Ruyang’s Manor, and Tang accepted.
• Zhao Min ordered Lu Zhangke to win Tang Wenliang’s grandson’s loyalty and tasked the Bitter-Headed Monk with recruiting more experts as Mongol Yuan prepared to invade Great Ming.
• Lin Lang confronted Tang Wenliang, took the Seven Injuries Fist manual, and made him swallow a Three Corpse Brain Spirit Pill, ordering him to follow Zhao Min until he could become Kongtong’s leader.
• Tang Wenliang secretly vowed to betray Zhao Min and Lin Lang once he gained power and found a way to obtain their antidotes.

Lin Lang reversed the Seven Injuries Fist, gaining a technique that strengthened and healed his internal organs, then clashed with Shi Feixuan over Cihang Jingzhai’s political ambitions. Wanwan and Zhu Yuyan plotted to back Lin Lang’s rise in Great Ming, and Lin Lang returned to learn Wanwan had tried to drive a wedge between him and Ren Woxing.

• Lin Lang reversed and cultivated the Seven Injuries Fist, discovering that it nourished his organs and healed internal injuries while greatly enhancing his barehanded attacks.
• At a teahouse in Great Sui, Lin Lang challenged Shi Feixuan’s plan to choose an emperor and threatened to destroy Cihang Jingzhai if it meddled in Great Ming.
• Wanwan arrived, offered to help Lin Lang destroy Cihang Jingzhai, and said she had chosen him to support; she left her Heavenly Demon Sash with him.
• Wanwan told Zhu Yuyan that she planned to back the Sun Moon Holy Cult’s Right Envoy and use the Ten Garrison Commanders to help him seize power in Great Ming.
• Zhu Yuyan sought the Evil Emperor’s Relic in Duke Yang’s Treasure Vault, hoping it would help her advance her martial arts.
• Lin Lang returned to Great Ming, learned Wanwan had tried to set him against Ren Woxing, and received important information from Liu Zhengfeng at a Jinyiwei Thousand-household Office.

Lin Lang mobilized the Jinyiwei to pursue the Plum Blossom Bandit and pressured wealthy gentry into funding a public bounty scheme. As he set out for Xingyun Manor, Shangguan Jinhong ordered Jing Wuming to recruit martial artists and seek the bandit for the Golden Coin Gang.

• Liu Zhengfeng briefed Lin Lang on the Plum Blossom Bandit's crimes, the search at Xingyun Manor, and Li Xunhuan's return to Great Ming.
• Lin Lang rejected Liu Zhengfeng's suggestion to hand the case to Six Gates and ordered the Jinyiwei to publicize the bandit's crimes and investigate.
• Lin Lang convinced local wealthy gentry to announce large donations by promising them a share of money from later public contributions, while privately planning to keep the funds.
• Lin Lang ordered Jinyiwei offices to solicit donations from wealthy gentry and martial families, record major donors, and investigate their taxes before riding toward Xingyun Manor with Liu Zhengfeng.
• Jing Wuming told Shangguan Jinhong that he did not need Golden Silk Armor to face the Plum Blossom Bandit, and Shangguan ordered him to recruit martial artists and invite the bandit into the Golden Coin Gang.
• Shangguan Jinhong reflected that he intended to kill Old Man Tianji and bring the martial world under his rule.

Li Xunhuan returned to Xingyun Manor, where Lin Xian'er tried and failed to seduce him, while Long Xiaoyun's accusations stirred his anger at Jinyiwei Commander Lin Lang. The martial artists began blaming the Plum Blossom Bandit on the Sun Moon Demon Cult, but Lin Lang's arrival brought Li Xunhuan face-to-face with the man Long Xiaoyun wanted him to avenge his family against.

• Li Xunhuan continued to Xingyun Manor with Tie Chuanjia and met A'Fei, who was heading there to test his sword.
• Long Xiaoyun welcomed Li Xunhuan and introduced his son, while Lin Shiyin stayed away from her cousin.
• Long Xiaoyun offered money and Lin Xian'er as rewards for capturing the Plum Blossom Bandit, and Lin Xian'er privately tried to win Li Xunhuan over; he rejected her.
• Long Xiaoyun's son told Li Xunhuan that Lin Lang had threatened Lin Shiyin and extorted something from her, and Li Xunhuan vowed to remember him.
• Gongsun Moyun accused the Sun Moon Demon Cult's Right Envoy of being the Plum Blossom Bandit, and the gathered martial artists called for the cult's destruction.
• Lin Lang entered Xingyun Manor with Jinyiwei officers, and Long Xiaoyun identified him as the man who had threatened his family; Li Xunhuan recognized him as Brother Lin.

Lin Lang arrived at Xingyun Manor with over a thousand Jinyiwei and confronted the martial artists gathered to hunt the Plum Blossom Bandit. After Lin Xian'er tried to sway him and the assembled heroes attacked, Lin Lang defeated them, then exposed Long Xiaoyun's attempt to manipulate Li Xunhuan; the chapter ended as a man claimed he knew the bandit's identity.

• Lin Lang ordered the martial artists to disperse and challenged Gongsun Moyun's accusation that the Plum Blossom Bandit was the Sun Moon Holy Cult's Right Envoy.
• Lin Lang struck Qin Xiaoyi and refused Master Xinmei's demand for a proper reason to arrest the Qin father and son.
• Lin Xian'er offered to marry Lin Lang if he captured the bandit, but he rejected and insulted her.
• You Longsheng and several martial artists attacked Lin Lang, who used his Protective Astral Energy to withstand them and knocked them all down.
• Lin Lang accused Long Xiaoyun of trying to provoke Li Xunhuan and hinted that Long Xiaoyun had committed evil deeds.
• A man stepped forward and told Lin Lang that he knew who the Plum Blossom Bandit was.

At Xingyun Manor, Lin Lang stopped the gathering from framing Li Xunhuan as the Plum Blossom Bandit and sent the assembled martial artists away while investigating the bandit’s accomplices. After warning Li Xunhuan about Long Xiaoyun’s likely betrayal, Lin Lang prepared to act against the real culprit.

• A young man accused Li Xunhuan of being the Plum Blossom Bandit, but Lin Lang declared Li innocent and ordered Liu Zhengfeng to interrogate the accuser.
• Lin Lang suspected the Plum Blossom Bandit had accomplices using mechanical hidden weapons, and Lin Xian'er grew anxious as he hinted that the leader might be at Xingyun Manor.
• Lin Lang ordered the martial artists to leave or face interrogation, and the crowd dispersed while his Jinyiwei arrested the troublemakers.
• At the Jinyiwei camp, Li Xunhuan discussed Long Xiaoyun and news from Great Song with Lin Lang, who confirmed he knew the Plum Blossom Bandit's identity.
• Lin Lang warned Li Xunhuan that Long Xiaoyun might see his death as the only way to escape his burden, prompting Li Xunhuan to leave in his carriage.
• After Li Xunhuan departed, Lin Lang looked out at the dark, windy night and prepared to take action.

Long Xiaoyun plotted to obtain the Lianhua Treasure Manual while Lin Xian'er planned to use a supposed treasure to turn Lin Lang and Li Xunhuan against each other. Lin Lang exposed Lin Xian'er as the Plum Blossom Bandit's mastermind, killed her and her summoned accomplice, then framed the accomplice as the leader; afterward, A'Fei arrived too late and headed for the Golden Coin Gang to seek a swordsman to challenge.

• Long Xiaoyun pressed Lin Shiyin to give him the Lianhua Treasure Manual, then decided he could offer it to Shangguan Jinhong to target Lin Lang and Li Xunhuan.
• Lin Xian'er ordered Lin Lingling to find stronger martial artists and planned to spread rumors of a great treasure at Xingyun Manor to sow discord between Lin Lang and Li Xunhuan.
• Lin Lang entered Lin Xian'er's room, immobilized her and Lin Lingling, and revealed that he knew Lin Xian'er was behind the Plum Blossom Bandit crimes.
• When A Gust of Wind from Jiangnan arrived, Lin Lang killed him, used his Plum Blossom Needles to stage Lin Xian'er's death as the Plum Blossom Bandit's victim, and presented the man as the culprit.
• Lin Lang told Liu Zhengfeng the truth about Lin Xian'er, ordered him to interrogate Lin Lingling and arrest the remaining accomplices, and instructed him to collect the promised reward money.
• A'Fei reached Xingyun Manor after everyone had left and set out for the Golden Coin Gang to find someone to cross swords with.

Lin Lang strengthened the Sun Moon Holy Cult by recruiting new experts and merging the Absorbing Power Divine Skill and Art of Transforming Power into his Reverse Star-Sucking Great Skill. After emerging from seclusion, he left Blackwood Cliff to deal with someone bullying a subordinate faction.

• Tavern patrons discussed Lin Xian'er’s death, the Plum Blossom Bandit organization’s exposure, and Lin Lang’s victory; Old Man Tianji agreed to take Sun Xiaohong to Great Song for a month.
• Lin Lang divided Lin Xian'er’s seized wealth among his men, instructed Liu Zhengfeng to sell most of her shops, and sent him to confiscate the other bandits’ properties.
• Lin Lang advised Ren Woxing to recruit powerful martial artists and wait a year before confronting Northern Shaolin, then demonstrated his superior Star-Sucking Great Skill and gave Ren Woxing a path toward greater strength.
• Lin Lang gave Ren Yingying the Absorbing Power Divine Skill manual and spent seven days discussing cultivation with Ren Woxing before entering seclusion.
• Lin Lang merged the Absorbing Power Divine Skill and Art of Transforming Power into the Reverse Star-Sucking Great Skill, advanced his martial intent, and left Blackwood Cliff to help a subordinate faction being bullied.

Lin Lang recruited Yin Ku and Yin Yeku into the Sun Moon Holy Cult and brought them to help the Five Immortals Sect against the Tang Clan. The chapter ended as Lin Lang joined the battle at the sect’s stronghold.

• Lin Lang intercepted Yin Ku, defeated him, and forced him to join the Sun Moon Holy Cult by making him swallow a Three Corpse Brain Spirit Pill.
• Yin Ku brought Lin Lang to the Yin Family, where Lin Lang defeated Yin Yeku and recruited him as well.
• Lin Lang learned that Blue Scorpion had returned to help the Five Immortals Sect resist the Tang Clan, so he traveled there with the Yin brothers.
• Blue Scorpion and the Five Immortals Sect fighters suffered heavy injuries when the Tang Clan attacked with more poisoned concealed weapons.
• Lin Lang, Yin Ku, and Yin Yeku appeared behind the Tang Clan forces and attacked, prompting Lan Fenghuang to rally the Five Immortals Sect to join the fight.

Lin Lang led the Five Immortals Sect in defeating the Tang Clan and helped Lan Fenghuang recover from her injuries and break through to the Grandmaster Realm. After growing close to Lan Fenghuang and giving her martial arts manuals and a hidden weapon, he learned that Elder Wu had extracted part of the Tang Clan's martial arts legacy, then announced an important new task for the sect.

• Yin Ku and Yin Yeku helped Lin Lang and the Five Immortals Sect attack the Tang Clan, and Lin Lang defeated Tang Tianfeng's poison attacks and captured him alive.
• The Five Immortals Sect defeated the Tang Clan's forces, and Lin Lang assigned Elder Wu to interrogate Tang Tianfeng for the clan's poison techniques and martial arts legacy.
• Lin Lang invited Blue Scorpion to join the Sun Moon Holy Cult as an elder, and she agreed to go wherever Yin Ku went.
• Lin Lang healed Lan Fenghuang's injuries and helped her force a breakthrough to the Grandmaster Realm; afterward, she became his lover and accepted martial arts manuals and a mechanical hidden weapon from him.
• Elder Wu reported that he had extracted part of the Tang Clan's martial arts legacy from Tang Tianfeng, and Lin Lang announced an important task for the Five Immortals Sect.

Lin Lang took Lan Fenghuang and other Five Immortals Sect fighters to punish the Shu Region Tang Clan for attacking the sect. He left the Tang Clan’s head and elders facing his ability to absorb their poisoned hidden weapons as he charged into their headquarters.

• Lin Lang ordered the Five Immortals Sect to establish medicine shops across Great Song and Dali, promising funds and protection from the Tang Clan.
• Lan Fenghuang revealed that she had reached the Grandmaster Realm, and she, Lin Lang, Blue Scorpion, Yin Ku, Yin Yeku, and the Five Poisons Child set out for the Tang Clan’s headquarters.
• Duan Zhengming and Duan Zhengchun discussed rumors about Duan Yu’s parentage, then found that he had left Tianlong Temple to travel the jianghu and seek Miss Wang.
• Tang Clan leaders waited for Tang Tianfeng’s report and considered rewarding him, unaware that Lin Lang’s group had arrived at their headquarters.
• The Tang Clan head and seven Senior Elders attacked Lin Lang’s group with Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needles and other poisoned weapons, but Lin Lang absorbed the attacks without harm and struck Tang Tianheng aside.
• Lin Lang advanced on the Tang Clan leaders and declared that he would absorb their poisonous true qi.

Lin Lang defeated the Tang Clan’s leadership, took its hidden manuals and weapons, and left the weakened clan alive, but rival sects soon invaded. Tang Tianzong and Tang Tianyi repelled the attackers, while Abbess Miejue escaped poisoned and wounded, leaving the brothers vowing revenge on the Sun Moon Demon Cult.

• Lin Lang drained the Tang Clan Leader’s true qi, extracted the location of the secret chamber, and watched as the leader and other poisoned elders died when their toxins overcame them.
• Lin Lang’s group took the Tang Clan’s manuals, banknotes, and hidden weapons, then left the surviving clan members behind; he assigned Lan Fenghuang to rebuild the Five Immortals Sect and took Five Poisons Child with him.
• After the Five Immortals Sect spread news of the Tang Clan’s losses, Abbess Miejue led the Emei Sect and other martial artists to attack the Tang Clan Main Hall.
• Tang Tianzong and Tang Tianyi fought off the invading martial artists with hidden weapons and poison, killing many of them.
• Abbess Miejue realized she had been poisoned, ordered a retreat, and escaped with a badly wounded shoulder as the Tang brothers vowed revenge on the Sun Moon Demon Cult.

In Great Song, Lin Lang dismissed the widely circulated Treasure Map as a scheme, met Old Man Tianji and Sun Xiaohong, and heard news about Qiao Feng and Jiumozhi. After returning to Great Ming, Lin Lang learned that news shaking its martial world had spread, leaving the next major development unresolved.

• Lin Lang told Five Poisons Child to leave the Tang Clan alone for now and argued that the Treasure Map was likely being used to stir up conflict in Great Song.
• Old Man Tianji and Sun Xiaohong joined Lin Lang's table, and Old Man Tianji shared news about Qiao Feng's departure for Great Liao and Jiumozhi's growing reputation.
• Five Poisons Child poisoned a tavern intruder who reached for Lin Lang's sword, and Lin Lang gave Sun Xiaohong a Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needles weapon before leaving.
• Lin Lang explained to Five Poisons Child that Old Man Tianji was Sun Baifa, the first-ranked wielder on Bai Xiaosheng's Weapons List, and said the old man had already grown old.
• Lin Lang and Five Poisons Child returned to Great Ming, where news that shook the martial world had spread.

Lin Lang and the martial factions suspected Bai Xiaosheng’s new Weapons Ranking was meant to provoke war between the Sun Moon Holy Cult and the Golden Coin Gang. As the leaders prepared to recruit experts and exploit the coming turmoil, Lin Lang headed for Northern Shaolin to stop the scheme and consider turning it against Northern Shaolin and Wudang.

• Lin Lang explained to Five Poisons Child that Bai Xiaosheng’s expanded ranking could fuel conflict between the Sun Moon Holy Cult and the Golden Coin Gang, with Northern Shaolin and Wudang benefiting.
• Lin Lang sent Five Poisons Child to Capital City to relieve the Five Immortal Envoys and guard their mountain stronghold, then continued toward Northern Shaolin.
• Liu Xi welcomed the prospect of martial-world chaos, which would distract Lin Lang and give the Western Depot room to expand its power over the Eastern Depot.
• Ren Woxing learned that Lin Lang had recruited Green Demon Hand Yin Ku, Red Demon Hand Yin Yeku, and Blue Scorpion as Holy Cult Elders, then ordered Xiang Wentian to seek more top-ranked experts.
• Shangguan Jinhong dismissed Jing Wuming’s concerns about casualties from a clash with the Sun Moon Holy Cult and planned to defeat Ren Woxing by killing him in battle.

Bai Xiaosheng assessed martial artists at Northern Shaolin while the temple’s leaders tried to avoid provoking the Golden Coin Gang. After Xiang Song killed a martial artist and Lin Lang captured him, Lin Lang asked Bai Xiaosheng where his Xiuchun Blade ranked.

• Xinhu and Xinmei invited Bai Xiaosheng to revise the Weapons Ranking at Northern Shaolin, and Bai Xiaosheng planned to keep Old Man Tianji first and Shangguan Jinhong second.
• Bai Xiaosheng watched martial artists demonstrate their skills over two days, including the ranking veterans Zhuge Gang and Xiang Song.
• Xiang Song insulted the gathered martial artists and killed one with a single sword strike, then challenged Xinmei when he objected.
• Lin Lang arrived with Xinhu, endured Xiang Song’s sword strike, sealed Xiang Song’s acupoints, and had Wang Wu shackle him.
• Lin Lang asked Bai Xiaosheng where his Xiuchun Blade ranked, leaving Bai Xiaosheng at a loss for how to answer.