Recaps

Luo Qi revealed that she was the emperor’s daughter and explained why she had wanted Zhao Changhe dead: he could have been mistaken for the missing prince and taken her identity. She gave him the recognition pendant, which began cleansing his meridians and revealed that it held Xia Longyuan’s legacy meant for a boy.

• Luo Qi recounted how Master Luo concealed her identity, raised her as a boy, and how she secretly practiced the Four Symbols White Tiger Divine Art.
• Luo Qi explained that she feared First Seat Tang would identify Zhao Changhe as the prince if the token was found missing from Luo Zhenwu’s body.
• Luo Qi gave Zhao Changhe the dragon-carved jade pendant and said she had chosen the Four Symbols Cult over her imperial identity.
• The pendant glowed and began cleansing Zhao Changhe’s meridians, prompting Luo Qi to realize that Xia Longyuan’s legacy was meant for a boy.

Zhao Changhe accepted Xia Longyuan’s jade pendant legacy and began learning its internal cultivation art, while Luo Qi gained the Azure Dragon Seal’s inheritance and advanced to the fifth level of the Profound Pass. After learning the seal came from an imperial tomb of a previous era, they reflected on their intertwined fortunes, and Zhao Changhe teased Luo Qi about making it up to him.

• Zhao Changhe discovered that Xia Longyuan’s jade pendant taught a unique internal cultivation art and chose to learn it despite its connection to his fate.
• Luo Qi explained that Xia Longyuan’s legacy likely identified its recipient through a bloodline test, and the two wondered why he had not come for his child after her mother died.
• The Azure Dragon Seal finished improving Luo Qi’s body, expanded his meridians, and raised him to the fifth level of the Profound Pass.
• Luo Qi revealed that the Azure Dragon Seal was an imperial legacy from a previous era, hidden in an emperor’s tomb and sought by the Four Symbols Cult.
• Luo Qi worried that Zhao Changhe had received the lesser windfall and been pulled into Imperial Family troubles, so Zhao Changhe stepped closer and teased him about dressing as a girl to repay him.

Zhao Changhe and Luo Qi shared a passionate farewell before Luo Qi accepted Vermilion Bird’s invitation to return to the Four Symbols Cult and enter the Saintess Trial. Zhao Changhe asked only to join the Blood God Cult, leaving their reunion and the four symbols fate for another day.

• Zhao Changhe kissed Luo Qi and removed his disguise as they confronted their impending separation.
• Luo Qi and Zhao Changhe reflected on their growing love before voices outside interrupted them.
• Luo Qi emerged as a woman, shocking the Mountain Stronghold bandits who recognized his face.
• Vermilion Bird invited Luo Qi, who gave his name as Xia Chichi, to return to the Main Altar and take part in the Saintess Trial.
• Zhao Changhe asked to join the Blood God Cult and said he would pursue the four symbols fate another day.

After Luo Qi left to become Saintess Xia, Zhao Changhe stayed in the Mountain Stronghold and became its stockade chief. He began handling the stronghold’s affairs, only to discover that Fang Buping had transferred most of its money and grain to the city.

• Vermilion Bird took Luo Qi to the Four Symbols Cult's Main Altar, while Zhao Changhe watched her go and returned to the Mountain Stronghold.
• Cult Master Xue kept the stronghold as a fallback lair, retained Fang Buping as helmsman, and appointed Zhao Changhe stockade chief.
• Instructor Sun finished teaching Zhao Changhe the Blood Baleful Saber Technique and urged him to return to the Main Altar, but Zhao Changhe chose to stay and rule the stronghold.
• After Instructor Sun departed, Zhao Changhe inspected the stronghold’s supplies and found that little money, grain, meat, oil, or salt remained.
• The storekeeper told Zhao Changhe that Fang Buping had transferred a batch of money and grain to the city, prompting Zhao Changhe to narrow his eyes.

Zhao Changhe discovered that Helmsman Fang had drained the mountain stronghold’s supplies and decided to confront him in the city. After slipping past the guards despite his wanted poster, Zhao Changhe entered Fang’s residence and gathered information about Fang’s injuries and the branch’s defenses.

• Zhao Changhe reviewed the supply books, found that Fang Buping had taken much of the stronghold’s money and food, and rejected Wang Dashan’s plan to raid Zhang Village again.
• Zhao Changhe decided to take men into the city and recover money from Fang Buping’s garrison so they could buy supplies.
• Zhao Changhe and his men entered the city after paying the indifferent guards, who failed to recognize him from the wanted poster.
• Zhao Changhe reached Fang Buping’s residence and asked the gate guards about Fang’s recovery and the strength of the branch’s remaining fighters.

Zhao Changhe visited Fang Buping to obtain books and lightness arts, then challenged Deputy Helmsman Huang for control over the branch’s money and provisions. The Book of Troubled Times announced Xia Chichi’s spectacular rise to thirteenth on the Hidden Dragon Ranking, and Zhao Changhe proposed Huang’s saber as the stake in their duel.

• Zhao Changhe visited the injured Fang Buping and secured scriptures, history books, and the lightness art Bloodflight Without a Trace.
• Fang Buping learned that Zhao Changhe’s stronghold lacked money and provisions, then hinted that Wang Dashan could replace him as stronghold chief.
• Zhao Changhe challenged Deputy Helmsman Huang for his position overseeing money and provisions, and Huang accepted.
• The Book of Troubled Times announced that Xia Chichi had shattered the Twenty-Eight Mansions Formation and risen to thirteenth on the Hidden Dragon Ranking.
• Zhao Changhe refused Huang’s offer of three free moves and proposed wagering Huang’s saber on their duel.

Zhao Changhe defeated Deputy Helmsman Huang in three exchanges, claimed his position and supplies for the mountain stronghold, and was listed at rank 250 on the Hidden Dragon Ranking. Xia Chichi and Yue Hongling both saw his rise, leaving the story with his ambitions newly visible to the martial world.

• Zhao Changhe challenged Deputy Helmsman Huang and defeated him with a swift saber technique and a powerful kick.
• Zhao Changhe claimed Huang's deputy helmsman duties, ordered supplies sent to the North Mang Mountain Stronghold, and returned Huang's health with a Blood-Stabilizing Pill before taking his saber.
• Fang Buping explained the branch's rules for the stronghold's revenue and captured enemies, and Zhao Changhe agreed while requesting support against outside attacks.
• The Book of Troubled Times ranked Zhao Changhe 250th on the Hidden Dragon Ranking after his victory.
• Xia Chichi saw Zhao Changhe's new ranking and reflected on their shared future, while Yue Hongling watched him lead the supplies away.

After making the Hidden Dragon Ranking, Zhao Changhe organized the Mountain Stronghold’s finances and defenses while putting off full-scale banditry. He ended the chapter enduring a painful medicinal bath to train the Blood Baleful Art and improve his chances of rising beyond rank two hundred fifty.

• Zhao Changhe complained about ranking two hundred fifty on the Hidden Dragon Ranking and receiving no verdict, while Wang Dashan and the others worried about the trouble his new fame could bring.
• The bandits stored the rice and silver they had won from Helmsman Fang, and Zhao Changhe recognized that the supplies would not sustain the Mountain Stronghold for long.
• Zhao Changhe ordered Wang Dashan to set up modest toll checkpoints on the mountain routes, hunt beasts, watch Helmsman Fang’s branch, and replace the stronghold’s flag and hall plaque.
• Zhao Changhe dismissed the meeting and went to prepare a medicinal bath, reflecting that he needed to keep training the Blood Baleful Art rather than rely on his victory over Deputy Helmsman Huang.
• Zhao Changhe endured the agonizing bath and circulated the Blood Baleful Art, gripping the tub so hard that he left shallow marks in its wood.

Zhao Changhe practiced with his new saber and used the Xia Family Heart Method to break through his first internal profound pass, discovering that his cultivation heightened the abilities of his eyes behind the head. He dreamed of the blind woman, who questioned whether he truly still wanted to return to his old world.

• Zhao Changhe trained with his new heavy saber in the snow and practiced Bloodflight Without a Trace, delighted by his improved lightness skills.
• Zhao Changhe reflected on how internal and external cultivation complemented each other, then guided his true qi toward his first internal profound pass.
• Zhao Changhe broke through the pass and found that his vision and hearing had sharpened, while his true qi now circulated entirely through his own cultivation.
• Zhao Changhe read the Blood God Cult scriptures and realized that his eyes behind the head might be a form of the heavenly eye ability that could grow stronger.
• Zhao Changhe dreamed that the blind woman praised how quickly he had advanced and asked whether he still wanted to return, and he demanded that she send him back.

Zhao Changhe spoke with the blind woman in a strange dreamlike encounter, where she challenged his beliefs about the world and explained how he might return home. After waking, he suspected someone had exposed his location, and went to confront outlaws threatening his stronghold.

• Zhao Changhe confronted the blind woman, who said that this heaven had no Dao and showed him scenes of violence and cruelty across the world.
• The blind woman said Zhao Changhe could return by killing the demoness or by mastering the Space-Time Barrier, and explained that his cultivation might let them sense each other.
• Zhao Changhe briefly caught the blind woman's hand before she vanished, then woke in his room and considered what their encounter meant.
• A cultist told Zhao Changhe that outlaws had threatened to wipe out the North Mang Mountain Stronghold after stopping travelers at a checkpoint.
• Zhao Changhe suspected a mole had revealed his location and took his Steel Saber outside to meet the outlaws.

Zhao Changhe stopped a group of bandits who had attacked his men, defeated their leader in one exchange, and challenged North Mang's fighters to face him for a hundred taels. Two travelers discussed his hidden strength and the Book of Troubled Times, while one revealed he had come to capture Zhao Changhe but decided to wait two months.

• Zhao Changhe descended the mountain and found burly bandits tormenting his men while mocking his ranking and fighting record.
• Zhao Changhe freed his men, cut down the burly leader's attack, and shaved the top of his head before slapping him.
• Zhao Changhe ordered Wang Dashan to strip and hang the bandits, then told him to release the two travelers and stop bullying innocents.
• Zhao Changhe carved a challenge on a tree, offering a place on the Hidden Dragon Ranking to anyone who paid a hundred taels to fight him.
• The two travelers recognized Zhao Changhe's impressive presence and discussed how he had concealed his internal energy.
• One traveler said he had come to capture Zhao Changhe, but the other advised him to wait until he broke through to the third level of the Profound Pass in two months.

Zhao Changhe spent half a month using underworld challengers to hone his martial arts and prepare the stronghold for future threats, while secretly keeping Wang Dashan under observation. On New Year’s Eve, Yue Hongling arrived at his room wounded and asked whether she could still trust the man he had become.

• Zhao Changhe defeated challengers who came without the required fee, using their attacks to improve his saber skills and cultivation while collecting silver and weapons.
• Zhao Changhe ordered the bandits to expand the stronghold’s traps, anticipating government troops, stronger challengers, and Fang Buping’s possible return.
• Zhao Changhe gave Wang Dashan money to buy wine and meat for New Year’s Eve, while privately recognizing him as a spy and choosing to keep using him.
• Feeling lonely as the bandits celebrated, Zhao Changhe returned to his room and found Yue Hongling there, reading the Blood God Cult’s scriptures with a bloodstain on her clothes.
• Yue Hongling revealed that she was injured and had come to Zhao Changhe for shelter, then asked whether she could still trust the man he was today.

Yue Hongling sought refuge in Zhao Changhe’s stronghold while recovering from her duel with Cui Yuanyong, and Zhao’s concern and jealousy surfaced as they talked. When she secretly left his room to relieve herself, she fell into a trap, and the bandits mistook her for Zhao’s hidden bride.

• Zhao Changhe left medicine for Yue Hongling and stood guard while she treated her wound, then learned that Cui Yuanyong had injured her in a duel.
• Yue Hongling explained that she had come to Zhao Changhe’s stronghold for safety while she recovered, and Zhao grew jealous when she praised Cui Yuanyong’s bearing.
• Zhao Changhe went to fetch Yue Hongling food and warned her not to wander because the stronghold was full of traps.
• Yue Hongling climbed out through the window to go into the hills, but her injury prevented her from avoiding a trap near the courtyard.
• Zhao Changhe chased away the bandits who gathered around the pit and called Yue Hongling his hidden bandit bride, while the men invited her to their New Year’s feast.

Yue Hongling recovered in Zhao Changhe’s room while he disguised her and celebrated New Year with his bandits. After discussing the risks and limits of his position, Zhao Changhe asked Yue Hongling to teach him martial arts, and she agreed.

• Zhao Changhe scolded Yue Hongling for falling into a pit and gave her clothes so she could disguise herself while recovering.
• Yue Hongling watched Zhao Changhe lead the Mountain Stronghold’s New Year revelry and overheard him and the bandits joking about her and his supposed hidden lover.
• Zhao Changhe returned to the house and found Yue Hongling waiting outside after she had heard the feast’s talk.
• Yue Hongling questioned why Zhao Changhe stayed in the Mountain Stronghold, and he explained that it was a safe place to train and that leaving the Blood God Cult would leave him vulnerable.
• Zhao Changhe asked Yue Hongling to teach him martial arts, and Yue Hongling agreed.

Yue Hongling discussed Zhao Changhe’s martial arts and the dangers of his Blood Baleful Art, then began teaching him the missing methods he needed to advance. The lesson ended with Yue Hongling calling him out for losing focus while she guided his breathing.

• Zhao Changhe reflected on how much he needed an experienced martial arts teacher, and Yue Hongling reassured him that his foundations and instincts were strong.
• Yue Hongling gave Zhao Changhe several saber manuals to study, while advising him to keep focusing on the Blood Baleful Saber Technique.
• Yue Hongling explained that the Blood Baleful Art grew stronger with killing but could also intensify its dangers, including the risk of losing his reason.
• Yue Hongling identified missing breathing and qi absorption methods in Zhao Changhe’s training and offered to teach him her mind method.
• Yue Hongling began guiding Zhao Changhe’s breathing with her hand on his lower abdomen, then accused him of letting his thoughts wander.

Yue Hongling guided Zhao Changhe in cultivating his Inner Breath after a spy scare and an awkward visit from Cui Yuanyong. Zhao Changhe broke through to the Second Level of the Profound Pass, and Yue Hongling was astonished by the power of his cultivation method.

• A bandit reported that someone had triggered a trap on the mountain, so Zhao Changhe went to investigate and left Yue Hongling in his room.
• Cui Yuanyong appeared outside the window, teased Yue Hongling about what he had witnessed, and fled after she attacked him with her sword.
• Yue Hongling and Zhao Changhe realized someone in the stronghold had leaked news of her arrival, but Zhao Changhe said he would handle the spy himself.
• Yue Hongling set aside the misunderstanding and resumed guiding Zhao Changhe's breathing and teaching him a cultivation formula.
• Zhao Changhe entered a meditative trance and broke through to the Second Level of the Profound Pass, leaving Yue Hongling amazed by his powerful cultivation method.

Yue Hongling examined Zhao Changhe’s extraordinary true qi and explained the limits imposed by his late start in cultivation. When she challenged him to spar, Zhao Changhe unleashed Gods and Buddhas Scattered with startling power, reopening Yue Hongling’s wound before he called for another fight once she healed.

• Yue Hongling examined Zhao Changhe’s true qi and was astonished by its exceptional quality.
• Yue Hongling explained that Zhao Changhe’s fully formed meridians and dantian would limit his future cultivation despite his powerful art.
• Zhao Changhe asked whether he could use his true qi to perform Gods and Buddhas Scattered, and Yue Hongling said the move would retain its power but lose some baleful effects.
• Yue Hongling drew her sword and pursued Zhao Changhe to spar with him, and he turned to meet her with Gods and Buddhas Scattered.
• Yue Hongling blocked Zhao Changhe’s powerful strike, but the effort reopened her wound and sent him crashing into a courtyard wall.
• Zhao Changhe laughed and asked to spar again after Yue Hongling’s injury healed.

After their duel, Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling recovered together at the inn and discussed his adaptable true qi, the great clans, and his interest in their history. Yue Hongling ended the conversation by offering to teach him a long-range killing technique.

• Yue Hongling explained that Zhao Changhe had combined blood and qi with true qi during his ultimate technique, and that his art could eventually absorb other forms of power.
• Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling meditated through the night while recovering from their injuries and exhaustion.
• The next morning, Yue Hongling reflected on Zhao Changhe's perseverance as he endured the Blood Baleful Art's pain, then accepted breakfast delivered by the cook, who mistook her for the boss's wife.
• Over breakfast, Zhao Changhe asked Yue Hongling about the Qinghe Cui clan and requested an introduction to Cui Yuanyong so he could learn about the great clans' history.
• When Zhao Changhe asked about the third thing she had promised to teach him, Yue Hongling demonstrated a chopstick attack and offered to teach him Long-Range Killing, Soul-Chasing Execution.

Zhao Changhe practiced Yue Hongling’s hidden-weapon technique and discovered he could wield a powerful bow, though his excitement left him injured. Yue Hongling continued teaching him and stood up to Helmsman Fang’s people, while Zhao Changhe was left puzzling over her feelings.

• Yue Hongling taught Zhao Changhe the Falling Feather Flying Plume hidden-weapon art, and he quickly hit a sparrow with a stone.
• Zhao Changhe found a Three-Stone Bow in the armory and pierced a target with an arrow, but strained his shoulder by putting all his strength into the shot.
• Yue Hongling carried Zhao Changhe back to his cabin and massaged his shoulder as the bandits cheered for her as the chief’s wife.
• Zhao Changhe said Yue Hongling had come to teach him and expected him to overcome his enemies himself, and she agreed to continue teaching him.
• Yue Hongling told the bandits to reject Helmsman Fang’s reprimand because Zhao Changhe was injured, leaving Zhao Changhe surprised by her defense of him.

Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling reorganized the Mountain Stronghold and made arrangements for her to stay there while she recovered. In town, Cui Yuanyong warned his sister to abandon her assignment to capture Zhao Changhe, but she left without saying whether she would obey.

• Zhao Changhe resumed training the bandits and managing the stronghold as Yue Hongling surveyed its traps.
• Yue Hongling ordered the bandits to remove dangerous spikes from traps inside the stronghold, improve its defenses, and consider planting crops.
• Zhao Changhe offered Yue Hongling a separate room with a tub, and she agreed to stay while continuing to spar with him.
• Cui Yuanyong's sister worried that Lin Feihu and other gang figures had come to exploit Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling's injuries.
• Cui Yuanyong told his sister that Zhao Changhe was more formidable than he had assumed and ordered her to abandon her assignment to capture him.
• Cui Yuanyong's sister joked about the rumor that Yue Hongling treated Zhao Changhe like a cat, then left in a huff.

Yue Hongling finished training Zhao Changhe and prepared to leave, but Lin Feihu’s attack gave her one last reason to draw her sword. After she departed, Zhao Changhe resolved to leave North Mang once he reached the third level of the Profound Pass.

• Zhao Changhe sparred with Yue Hongling and recognized how much her guidance had improved his saber work and combat skills.
• As they approached the house, Zhao Changhe asked Yue Hongling to stay for the Lantern Festival, but they were interrupted by Lin Feihu of the Black Tiger Gang.
• Lin Feihu mistook Yue Hongling for Zhao Changhe’s wife and tried to seize her, so Yue Hongling killed him with a single sword strike.
• Yue Hongling said she had to leave, changed back into her red robes, and bid Zhao Changhe farewell.
• Zhao Changhe watched Yue Hongling depart and decided he would leave North Mang when he reached the third level of the Profound Pass.

Zhao Changhe pushed himself to build the vitality and blood needed to reach the third level of the Profound Pass, while his bandits mistook his training for grief over Yue Hongling’s departure. Elsewhere, Cui Yuanyong encouraged his younger sister to keep training, and she resolved to beat Zhao Changhe to her next breakthrough.

• Zhao Changhe decided that Xia Longyuan’s legacy could support the Blood Baleful Art and make an attempt at the third level worthwhile.
• The Mountain Stronghold bandits noticed Zhao Changhe eating and training intensely after his wife left, while he worked to build the vitality and blood required for a breakthrough.
• Zhao Changhe learned that the town had only a small supply of the medicinal ingredients he needed because Helmsman Fang’s people also used them, and he sent Tiezhu to search farther away.
• Cui Yuanyong gave his younger sister Pure Profound Pills and urged her to continue training so she could break through sooner.
• Cui Yuanyong told his sister that Zhao Changhe was also trying to reach the third level after only about three months of practice, and she vowed to beat him.

Zhao Changhe faced Fang Buping’s demand for half the stronghold’s resources as his supplies dwindled and his plans to leave grew firmer. His attempt to break through to the third level of the Blood Baleful Art failed, and he learned that a skilled swordswoman had been caught in a trap after breaking into the stronghold.

• Fang Buping’s envoy demanded half the stronghold’s resources, and Zhao Changhe ordered Dashan to hand over half the supplies.
• Zhao Changhe demonstrated his masterful archery and decided to attempt a breakthrough to the third level that night.
• Zhao Changhe endured the Blood Baleful Art’s pain while using Xia Longyuan’s art to keep his reason and ease his suffering.
• Zhao Changhe failed to break through and destroyed his bathing tub in frustration.
• A bandit told Zhao Changhe that an intruder caught in a trap had fought off the stronghold’s men with superb swordsmanship.

Zhao Changhe captured a young woman from the imperial court, then released her when Helmsman Fang arrived to claim her. After taking a pill she gave him, Zhao Changhe killed Wang Dashan and broke through to the third layer of the Blood Baleful Art.

• Zhao Changhe stopped the bandits from stabbing the woman in the trap and forced her to surrender by threatening to pee on her.
• Zhao Changhe sealed the woman’s acupoints and questioned her, but she refused to answer and revealed that her brother would come for her.
• After Helmsman Fang came to claim the captive, Zhao Changhe secretly unsealed the woman, returned her sword, and sent her out through the back gate.
• The woman gave Zhao Changhe two pills that could help him break through, then hurried off to find reinforcements.
• Zhao Changhe swallowed a pill, entered the Righteous Gathering Hall, and killed Wang Dashan to obtain blood baleful energy.
• Zhao Changhe broke through to the third layer of the internal profound pass and the Blood Baleful Art, smashed the hall’s plaque, and left.

Zhao Changhe lured Fang Buping into the rear mountain and defeated the stronger helmsman with traps, a bow, and a handful of lime. As Cui Yuanyong and his sister arrived, the Book of Troubled Times announced Zhao Changhe’s victory and ranked him ninety-first on the Hidden Dragon Ranking.

• Zhao Changhe led Fang Buping away from the stronghold, intending to fight him without being surrounded.
• Zhao Changhe used precise saber strikes and a hidden trap to slow Fang Buping, then shot him with an arrow and attacked with his saber.
• Zhao Changhe blinded Fang Buping with lime and killed him with a slash to the throat.
• Exhausted, Zhao Changhe recovered his saber and headed down the mountain as Cui Yuanyong and his sister hurried toward the fight.
• The Book of Troubled Times announced Fang Buping’s death and placed Zhao Changhe ninety-first on the Hidden Dragon Ranking.