Chapter Summaries

Senior Uncle Mo returned his sword to Green Mountain, leaving Jing Jiu bound by his promise to retrieve it from Sword Peak. As the new disciples prepared to climb, Gu Han arrived with Liu S sui, who recognized Jing Jiu and ran to him.

• Jing Jiu offered to try Senior Uncle Mo's sword, and Mo ascended Sword Peak to return it to Green Mountain.
• The disciples learned Mo had passed away and that his sword lay near the summit; Lin Wuzhi warned Jing Jiu he must fulfill his promise to attend the Sword Inheritance Assembly.
• A Cloud-Traveling Peak deacon explained the danger of Sword Peak and how difficult it was to obtain a sword.
• The disciples resolved to climb Sword Peak, but Jing Jiu turned to leave.
• Gu Han arrived with Liu S sui, who spotted Jing Jiu and ran toward him.

Liu S sui reunited with Jing Jiu, but Gu Han punished him and ordered him to stop associating with his young master. On Sword Peak, Liu S sui overcame his fear and made his first flight on a flying sword, soaring through the clouds.

• Liu S sui ran to greet Jing Jiu, but Gu Han interrupted them and ordered Liu S sui to receive punishment.
• Gu Han had Liu S sui beaten with a wooden rod while Jing Jiu watched, then told Liu S sui to stop associating with him.
• Gu Han led Liu S sui up Sword Peak, where Liu S sui summoned his flying sword at the cliff’s edge.
• Liu S sui stepped onto the flying sword and began his first Sword Flight, wobbling dangerously as he flew away from the cliff.
• Liu S sui steadied his flight, accelerated into a streak of light, and broke through the clouds above Sword Peak.

Jing Jiu reunited with Liu S sui at his cave abode and learned that Gu Han planned to recruit him to Twofold Forgetting Peak. Liu S sui urged Jing Jiu to meet Gu Han, but Jing Jiu refused, leaving Liu S sui puzzled by his dislike of both the peak and its instructor.

• Gu Han warned the fat man not to let Liu S sui meet Jing Jiu and be influenced by him.
• Jing Jiu returned to his cave abode, ate some fruit, and spent the day quietly contemplating.
• Liu S sui visited Jing Jiu, explained that Gu Han would take him as a disciple at the Sword Inheritance Assembly, and happily told Jing Jiu about his year in the inner sect.
• Liu S sui offered to introduce Jing Jiu to Gu Han and praised the opportunities at Twofold Forgetting Peak, but Jing Jiu said he disliked both the peak and Gu Han.
• Liu S sui left the cave and flew into the night sky, thrilled by his ability to ride a sword.
• Jing Jiu heard Liu S sui’s distant cry and reflected that Twofold Forgetting Peak had been distasteful to him from the start.

Jing Jiu watched Liu S sui struggle under Twofold Forgetting Peak’s pressure and gradually visit less often, while he continued his quiet life at the Sword-Washing Pavilion. With the Sword Inheritance Assembly set for early spring, Jing Jiu finally left his cave abode to find Liu S sui.

• Liu S sui visited Jing Jiu repeatedly, and Jing Jiu noticed his injuries and the strain of learning swordsmanship at Twofold Forgetting Peak.
• Ma Hua warned Jing Jiu not to meet Liu S sui and invited Jing Jiu to join Twofold Forgetting Peak, but Jing Jiu sent him away.
• Liu S sui said that sword practice and coursework kept him from visiting every day, and his visits grew more sporadic.
• Jing Jiu continued basking in the sun while new disciples arrived, and he treated Junior Sister Yushan and the youth from Lelang Commandery warmly.
• Junior Sister Yushan told Jing Jiu that the Sword Inheritance Assembly would take place in six months, with Zhao Layue and Liu S sui drawing widespread attention.
• Jing Jiu left his cave abode early the next morning to find Liu S sui.

Jing Jiu went to Sword-Washing Creek to bring Liu S sui a rare Xuanji Pill, where Gu Han challenged his qualifications and Mei Li and Lin Wuzhi intervened. After reflecting that he needed a sword to enter the Sword Inheritance Assembly, Jing Jiu set out for Sword Peak.

• Jing Jiu visited Sword-Washing Creek and saw Liu S sui practicing swordsmanship under Gu Han’s instruction.
• Gu Han criticized Liu S sui’s lack of progress and questioned whether Jing Jiu was qualified to use Uncle-Master Mo’s sword; Jing Jiu answered that he was.
• Mei Li and Lin Wuzhi defended Jing Jiu, and Gu Han left after warning Liu S sui to choose whether to follow him.
• Mei Li and Lin Wuzhi discussed Qingrong Peak’s interest in Jing Jiu and Uncle-Master Mo’s wish to assess his potential.
• Back in his cave abode, Jing Jiu examined the Xuanji Pill he had brought for Liu S sui and decided he needed a sword.
• Jing Jiu went to Sword Peak to obtain a sword.

Jing Jiu climbed Sword Peak and encountered Zhao Layue practicing alone in a cave, then searched the cliffs for a sword and communicated with the swords hidden within them. He told them he planned to leave the mountains and see the world.

• Jing Jiu climbed through the clouds on Sword Peak, where he found Zhao Layue practicing Sword Intent Tempering Body in a cave.
• Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue introduced themselves, exchanged brief remarks, and went their separate ways.
• Jing Jiu circled to the western slope and sent out his Sword Sense, causing the hidden swords and sword intent to stir and retreat.
• Zhao Layue sensed the change in the sword intent and wondered what had happened.
• Jing Jiu told the swords he would not stay in the mountains as before and intended to go out and have a look.

Jing Jiu found Uncle-Master Mo’s sword on Sword Peak and witnessed Zhao Layue rescue a wounded eaglet during her cultivation. Uncle-Master Zuo of Jade Lake Peak then confronted Zhao Layue, revealed he planned to kill her for investigating a secret, and left her facing the threat alone.

• Jing Jiu located Uncle-Master Mo’s broad black sword among the strands of sword intent and prepared to take it.
• Jing Jiu saw Zhao Layue use her sword to bring a wounded Iron Eagle eaglet to her and bandage it, revealing that she had reached the Mind Bearing realm.
• Uncle-Master Zuo of Jade Lake Peak appeared in the darkness and praised Zhao Layue for detecting him.
• Uncle-Master Zuo told Zhao Layue he intended to kill her because she had spent three years investigating undisclosed matters.
• Zhao Layue asked whether he had considered the consequences, and Uncle-Master Zuo replied that they had done things with consequences worse than killing her.

Uncle-Master Zuo nearly killed Zhao Layue, but her Sword Restraint and precise punches held him long enough for Jing Jiu to appear and kill him. The two looked at each other through the blood, leaving their first encounter at the cliff.

• Uncle-Master Zuo defeated Zhao Layue’s flying sword and pierced her body seven times with the Hidden Thunder Sword.
• Zhao Layue trapped Uncle-Master Zuo with her Sword Restraint, then struck him with the Introductory Fist Art and tried to choke him.
• Uncle-Master Zuo used his flying sword and sword intent to resist the Sword Restraint as Zhao Layue weakened from her wounds.
• Jing Jiu appeared beside them, and Uncle-Master Zuo froze in shock at his sudden arrival.
• Jing Jiu struck Uncle-Master Zuo’s neck and beheaded him.
• Zhao Layue and Jing Jiu looked at each other through the falling blood.

After Liu S sui confronted Jing Jiu about the murdered Jade Lake Peak martial uncle, Jing Jiu admitted he had killed him. The shaken Liu S sui left without reporting him, while Jing Jiu later decided to visit Sword Peak.

• Shangde Peak investigated the martial uncle’s murder but found no leads, while Liu S sui grew distracted and unsettled.
• Liu S sui visited Jing Jiu and questioned him about where he had gone on the night of the murder.
• Jing Jiu admitted he had killed the martial uncle and told Liu S sui he could report him.
• Liu S sui asked whether the martial uncle had been a bad person, and Jing Jiu said he had been bad from Jing Jiu’s perspective.
• Jing Jiu spent the next day thinking, then left his cave abode and headed toward Sword Peak as the disciples watched.

Jing Jiu climbed Sword Peak for the first time and entered the clouds, astonishing the disciples who thought he had come to claim Uncle-Master Mo’s sword. He visited the injured Zhao Layue on the mountain, and the chapter left the murder investigation fading from discussion while Liu S sui remained the one person who might suspect him.

• Jing Jiu climbed Sword Peak at a steady pace and entered the clouds, drawing amazement from the watching disciples.
• Lin Wuzhi and Uncle-Master Mei Li argued over which peak should claim Jing Jiu as a disciple.
• Jing Jiu found Zhao Layue injured in a hollow, brought her wild fruit and a medicinal pill, and explained that he had left the dead uncle-master’s body by the creek because disposing of it was a bother.
• Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue questioned each other’s identities, but neither revealed anything, and Jing Jiu left after confirming her injuries were not life-threatening.
• Jing Jiu’s ascent earned him respect among the Sword-Washing disciples, while Shangde Peak continued investigating the murder and Liu S sui remained the only person he thought might suspect him.

Zhao Layue completed Sword Intent Tempering Body and returned to Sword-Washing Creek, surprising the disciples by visiting Jing Jiu. She and Jing Jiu spoke briefly about his sand-and-porcelain exercise, and she returned a few days later, refusing when he asked her to pour him water.

• Liu S sui trained harder and grew more taciturn, while disciples across Sword-Washing Creek celebrated taking swords from Sword Peak.
• News spread that Zhao Layue had finished cultivating on Sword Peak and gone to Jing Jiu's cave abode, making Jing Jiu famous again.
• Ma Hua told Liu S sui that Zhao Layue was visiting Jing Jiu, but Liu S sui returned to practicing his sword.
• Disciples watched as Zhao Layue sat with Jing Jiu; she found his sand exercise interesting but left because it was too difficult.
• Zhao Layue visited Jing Jiu again a few days later, and she refused when he asked her to pour him water.

Zhao Layue questioned Jing Jiu about his abundant Sword Essence and his approach to hiding his abilities, while he urged her not to conceal her own radiance. Their conversation was interrupted by a sword-riding madman attacking Sword-Washing Creek, and Jing Jiu suspected that Yuan Qijing had subdued him and might have reached the Heaven-Connecting Realm.

• Zhao Layue asked Jing Jiu how his Sword Essence had grown so abundant despite his laziness, and he explained that he did not consider hiding his abilities worthwhile.
• Jing Jiu ruffled Zhao Layue's dusty hair and told her to wash it, so she returned from her cave abode in fresh clothes with wet hair.
• A powerful, unstable sword rider tore through the sky above Sword-Washing Creek, shouting that even if there was no one, there were two, and his sword intent damaged the cliffs and creek.
• Green Mountain disciples formed sword formations around the rider, and a giant square iron sword descended to pin him down until the battle stopped.
• Zhao Layue asked whether the display showed the might of the Sea-Breaking Realm, and Jing Jiu said Yuan Qijing might have already reached the Heaven-Connecting Realm.

Jing Jiu reflected on Lei Poyun’s cryptic words while Yuan Qijing investigated the breach of Sword Prison and considered taking over Jade Lake Peak. As early winter arrived, Zhao Layue visited Jing Jiu before heading to Sword Peak for the Sword Inheritance Assembly, but Gu Han blocked her path.

• The disciples learned that the flying sword was the Tide-Coming Sword and that the cultivator who had gone mad was Lei Poyun, while Jing Jiu understood the meaning of Lei Poyun’s final words.
• Yuan Qijing dismissed the Shangde Peak disciples who had knelt for judgment and told Chi Yan that Lei Poyun’s release still needed investigating, though the approaching Sword Inheritance Assembly required discretion.
• Yuan Qijing dismissed Chi Yan’s concern about Jing Jiu and said Shangde Peak should first see whether it could take over Jade Lake Peak.
• After the first snowfall, Zhao Layue visited Jing Jiu and told him she was going to Sword Peak to make her final preparations for the Sword Inheritance Assembly.
• Zhao Layue left Sword-Washing Creek on foot, and Gu Han blocked her path.

As the Sword Inheritance Assembly approached, Green Mountain prepared for the ceremony and settled the succession to Jade Lake Peak. Jing Jiu registered at the last moment and joined Zhao Layue on a quiet rock beside the creek as the assembly began.

• Zhao Layue rejected Gu Han’s claim that Green Mountain’s future lay with them, and Gu Han went to Twofold Forgetting Peak to discuss her and Jing Jiu with Guo Nanshan.
• Spring arrived, and Green Mountain gathered disciples and visiting sect representatives for the Sword Inheritance Assembly, with Zhao Layue, Liu S sui, and Gu Qing drawing particular attention.
• A reclusive Jade Lake Peak elder defeated Chi Yan and became the new peak master after a battle that activated the Green Mountain Grand Array.
• Jing Jiu registered for the assembly at the Sword-Washing Pavilion, and Lin Wuzhi wondered why he still had not obtained a sword.
• Jing Jiu avoided the crowded creek banks and sat beside Zhao Layue on a quiet bluestone near the cliff.

At the Sword Inheritance Assembly, the Nine Peaks weighed which young disciples to recruit while discussing Zhao Layue’s refusal to join Twofold Forgetting Peak and Jing Jiu’s unexpected registration. As the assembly’s observers noticed Jing Jiu beside Zhao Layue, they recognized him, though he still appeared to have no sword.

• The Nine Peaks’ leaders discussed their plans for recruiting disciples, including Gu Qing, Liu S sui, and Qi Feiying.
• Guo Nanshan lamented that Zhao Layue had not agreed to join Twofold Forgetting Peak and said Jing Jiu was not suited for the peak.
• Lin Wuzhi announced that Jing Jiu had signed up, prompting Guo Nanshan to welcome the news and Gu Han to question his motives.
• Guo Nanshan defended his past treatment of Jing Jiu as necessary pressure, while Lin Wuzhi predicted that Guo Nanshan would be disappointed twice.
• The Qingrong Peak disciples admired Jing Jiu from afar, and Mei Li said he could not compete until next time because he still had no sword.
• The Qingrong Peak master asked who the white-robed youth was, and Mei Li identified him as Jing Jiu.

The Sword Inheritance Assembly began with disciples demonstrating their sword skills before the Nine Peaks chose successors. Liu S sui impressed the gathered guests with a precise, effortless performance, then faced a composed young disciple who challenged him to a demonstration.

• Chen Lin demonstrated his swordsmanship and flight, endured an uncomfortable silence, and was chosen by Cloud-Traveling Peak to study the Azure Bird Sword Technique under Elder Cheng.
• Qi Yuanliang, Sikong Yimin, Qi Feiying, and other disciples performed and were selected by various peaks.
• The guests watched Liu S sui enter the creek, curious about the Green Mountain Sect’s third innate Dao Seed in ten years.
• Liu S sui sent his sword through a rock, flew high above the Nine Peaks, and returned calmly, drawing cheers from the assembly.
• A composed young disciple stepped onto a rock and asked Liu S sui to instruct him.

Liu S sui defeated Lin Yingliang and was accepted as Elder Bai’s sword disciple, with the Sect Master’s influence evident in the choice. As the assembly continued, Jing Jiu stepped forward to inherit the sword, startling the disciples who recognized him.

• Liu S sui defeated Lin Yingliang in a swift flying-sword duel, and Lin Yingliang accepted an invitation from Shiyue Peak.
• The Sect Master asked Liu S sui to study the sword under Elder Bai, and Liu S sui agreed after Gu Han nodded to him.
• Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue discussed how to avoid people’s attention, and Jing Jiu suggested becoming the true sun.
• Jing Jiu walked to the stream and announced that he intended to inherit the sword, prompting an uproar among the disciples.

At the Sword Inheritance Assembly, Jing Jiu revealed that he had obtained the Immortal Sword and summoned it from the monkeys keeping it on the cliffs. Gu Han then sent Gu Qing to face him, leaving the two young disciples opposite each other in the stream.

• Jing Jiu remembered that he had taken the Immortal Sword from Sword Peak, then tossed it to monkeys to clean and forgotten to retrieve it.
• Jing Jiu called for his sword, and a monkey threw it from the cliffs; he summoned it into his hand from midair.
• Jing Jiu's sword recall showed that he had perfected the first realm of sword keeping and qualified for the Sword Inheritance Assembly.
• Jing Jiu dismissed criticism of his treatment of the sword, saying, "This is my sword."
• Gu Han ordered Gu Qing to face Jing Jiu, and Gu Qing walked into the stream opposite him.

At the Sword Inheritance Assembly, Gu Qing challenged Jing Jiu and was shocked when Jing Jiu knocked his flying sword into the creek with a casual strike. Enraged, Gu Qing unleashed Shiyue Peak's Six Dragons Sword Technique, and his flaming sword hurtled toward Jing Jiu.

• Gu Qing stepped onto a rock several dozen zhang from Jing Jiu, revealing the reach of his Mind Bearing Realm swordsmanship.
• Jing Jiu accepted Gu Qing's challenge instead of conceding, while onlookers doubted he could win.
• Gu Qing launched his flying sword, but Jing Jiu struck it down into the creek with a simple swing.
• Gu Qing raised his sword again in anger and used Shiyue Peak's Six Dragons Sword Technique, sending a blazing attack toward Jing Jiu.
• Zhao Layue trusted Jing Jiu to find a way to respond as his expression grew more serious.

Jing Jiu defeated Gu Qing in a sword duel and explained that speed and strength, combined with a good sword, were all that mattered. He revealed that he had struck Gu Qing in repayment for Gu Han’s past treatment of Liu S sui, leaving the onlookers astonished by his victory.

• Jing Jiu repeatedly knocked Gu Qing’s flying sword into the stream, then sent it tumbling into the mountain woods with a powerful two-handed strike.
• Jing Jiu struck Gu Qing’s back three times, and after Gu Han rebuked him, returned to strike him once more and declare, “Thank you for yielding.”
• Gu Qing asked how Jing Jiu had defeated him, and Jing Jiu explained that his sword was faster and that swordsmanship came down to speed, strength, and having a good sword.
• Jing Jiu gestured toward the woods for the apes to retrieve Gu Qing’s sword, while many disciples mistook the gesture as a taunt toward Twofold Forgetting Peak.
• Lin Wuzhi asked Liu S sui whether Jing Jiu was avenging him, and Liu S sui briefly laughed before composing himself.
• The visiting sects’ guests and disciples watched Jing Jiu in astonishment and wondered how he had beaten Gu Qing despite his lower realm.