Recaps

Huang Xiao practiced the second roar of the Heavenly Demon Dragon Roar with a flute, then went to Six Gates headquarters for his First-Class Constable Examination. Du Ge warned that Yang Quan would examine him and urged him to withdraw, but Huang Xiao resolved to face him and suspected Du Ge had developed peerless strength under Retainer Xie's guidance.

• Meng Jiu noticed Huang Xiao's Reserve Constable token and offered to recommend him for a Retainer position, but Huang Xiao said he would take the First-Class Constable Examination.
• Huang Xiao concluded that a flute suited the second roar of the Heavenly Demon Dragon Roar and left for Six Gates headquarters after dawn.
• Du Ge warned Huang Xiao that Yang Quan had come to the headquarters after Huang Xiao defeated Tuoba Shun and three First-Class Constables.
• Du Ge urged Huang Xiao to withdraw because Yang Quan would likely be his examiner, but Huang Xiao said he intended to set a precedent by defeating a Retainer.
• Huang Xiao sensed that Du Ge's powerful cultivation method came from Retainer Xie and suggested Du Ge might be close to Yang Quan's strength.

Huang Xiao learned that Du Ge practiced the legendary Supreme Yang Skill, then went to the Six Gates headquarters for his first-class constable examination. Just as Huang Xiao faced an antagonistic examiner, Yang Quan arrived and questioned whether a reserve constable should be allowed to take the examination.

• Huang Xiao told Du Ge that the Supreme Yang Skill had been created by Tong Jiuyang, the Supreme Yang Divine Lord, and Du Ge was surprised by his cultivation method’s reputation.
• Huang Xiao claimed he had defeated a low-peak expert and encouraged Du Ge to judge his strength by watching the examination against Yang Quan.
• Steward Wu gave Huang Xiao the number-three token and cautioned him to be careful as Du Ge led him to the examination grounds.
• Huang Xiao entered the arena after the second candidate failed, and the examiner treated him coldly because he had defeated several first-class constables.
• Yang Quan arrived with Tuoba Shun and asked the examiner whether a reserve constable had been allowed to take the first-class constable examination.

Yang Quan took over as referee for Huang Xiao’s First-Class Constable Examination, intending to use the match to punish him. Huang Xiao challenged Yang Quan with taunts and held his own in their opening exchanges, leaving the examination still underway.

• Yang Quan dismissed the Referee and took charge of Huang Xiao’s examination, while nearby constables learned that Huang Xiao was a Reserve Constable attempting the First-Class test.
• Huang Xiao provoked Yang Quan by pretending he had secretly transmitted his voice, then asked what would happen if Yang Quan surrendered or was knocked out of the arena.
• After the Recording Official began the examination, Huang Xiao rushed Yang Quan and met his palm strike, forcing him back.
• Huang Xiao appeared behind Yang Quan and kicked at him; their shins collided, and Yang Quan retreated with his leg numb.

Huang Xiao fought Yang Quan in the assessment and proved his palm technique and internal power were formidable, but Yang Quan rejected his concession and kept attacking. The chapter ended with Yang Quan blocking Huang Xiao from leaving the arena while Du Ge challenged his abuse of authority.

• Huang Xiao exchanged palm strikes with Yang Quan and forced him to retreat, revealing that his Palm Force surpassed Yang Quan's Mountain-Shaking Palm.
• Yang Quan unleashed Power Shakes Mountains and Rivers, and its clash sent Huang Xiao flying, though Huang Xiao landed safely.
• Huang Xiao called out that he conceded, but Yang Quan refused to end the assessment and chased him around the arena.
• The recording officer and Du Ge objected, but Yang Quan insisted that the assessment continued and the constables stayed silent.
• Huang Xiao ran toward the edge of the arena, but Yang Quan blocked him and Huang Xiao asked whether he meant to leave him no way to live.

Huang Xiao turned the assessment into a fight with Yang Quan and revealed that he was far stronger than the retainer expected. After defeating Yang Quan’s Soul-Severing Three Palms, Huang Xiao refused to accept his concession and left the crowd too frightened to respond.

• Yang Quan challenged Huang Xiao to a fight, and Huang Xiao mocked him and Tuoba Shun before Yang Quan charged.
• Huang Xiao struck Yang Quan and sent him flying, then pursued him as Yang Quan retreated in fear.
• Yang Quan unleashed the Soul-Severing Three Palms, but Huang Xiao met it with the third-layer force of the Heavenly Demon Subduing Tiger Fist and knocked him down again.
• Yang Quan conceded the assessment, but Huang Xiao pretended not to hear him and asked the constables below whether they had heard anything.

Huang Xiao defeated Yang Quan in the examination arena and refused to let him escape punishment, even after Tuoba Xing arrived to intervene. The chapter ended with Huang Xiao crippling Yang Quan’s dantian as Tuoba Xing rushed toward them.

• Huang Xiao kicked Yang Quan back into the arena when he tried to flee, then the Recording Official declared that Huang Xiao had passed the examination.
• Huang Xiao continued beating Yang Quan and rejected the Recording Official’s warning that killing a Retainer could bring trouble.
• Tuoba Xing arrived and ordered Huang Xiao to release Yang Quan, revealing that Yang Quan belonged to the Tuoba Family.
• Huang Xiao told Tuoba Xing that Yang Quan would pay for trying to kill him, then struck Yang Quan’s dantian before Tuoba Xing could stop him.

Huang Xiao crippled Yang Quan’s cultivation during the assessment, prompting Tuoba Xing to challenge him. They fought with palm techniques, footwork, and fists, ending in a contest of internal power as Huang Xiao held back his strongest techniques.

• Huang Xiao kicked Yang Quan away and crippled his cultivation, which Tuoba Shun discovered when he tried to help him.
• Tuoba Xing confronted Huang Xiao for defying his order, and Huang Xiao insisted that Tuoba Xing had no right to interfere in the assessment.
• Tuoba Xing and Huang Xiao agreed to fight, while Du Ge left to seek Senior Xie’s help.
• Huang Xiao struck with the Blazing Yang Palm, and Tuoba Xing recognized it as a technique from Poison God Valley.
• Tuoba Xing mistook Huang Xiao’s Snake-Traveling Tiny Steps for Poison God Valley’s Eight Trigrams Footwork, then increased his speed and forced Huang Xiao to fight directly.
• Their fists collided, and the two began contesting internal power as Huang Xiao chose not to use the third layer of his fist force or the Heavenly Demon Skill.

Huang Xiao and Tuoba Xing fought to a standstill, and Huang Xiao survived Tuoba Xing’s Force-Shifting Position Exchange without injury. As the duel intensified, Du Ge returned with Arrest Sages Princess Yunya and You, who hurried to the assessment grounds to prevent further casualties.

• Tuoba Xing used Force-Shifting Position Exchange to turn Huang Xiao’s fist force against him and followed with his own attack, but Huang Xiao absorbed and neutralized both forces.
• Huang Xiao mocked Tuoba Xing’s technique, and the two exchanged rapid blows as the watching constables struggled to follow their evenly matched fight.
• Huang Xiao and Tuoba Xing each raised their strength and charged at one another again after briefly retreating.
• Du Ge searched for Xie Qing, then returned to the Six Gates headquarters and asked Princess Yunya and You to save Huang Xiao.
• Princess Yunya urged You to go to the assessment grounds before more people were hurt, and the two Arrest Sages hurried there.

Huang Xiao and Tuoba Xing fought to a standstill until Arrest Sage You intervened and sent them flying apart. After Tuoba Shun accused Huang Xiao of crippling Yang Quan, Arrest Sage You demanded that Huang Xiao answer for his crime.

• Huang Xiao and Tuoba Xing exchanged several hundred moves, then prepared to unleash their stronger attacks against each other.
• Arrest Sage You rushed between them and struck them both with his palms, stopping the fight and injuring them.
• Tuoba Xing respectfully addressed the newcomer as Arrest Sage, and Huang Xiao bowed and paid his respects.
• Tuoba Shun accused Huang Xiao of crippling Retainer Yang's cultivation and asked Arrest Sage You to uphold justice.
• Arrest Sage You rebuked Tuoba Shun, then asked Huang Xiao whether he acknowledged crippling a Retainer in public as a crime.

Huang Xiao avoided immediate punishment after Princess Yunya took charge of the case over his crippling Yang Quan’s cultivation. In private, she questioned him about the events in Xiazhou, and he began recounting what he knew while withholding certain details.

• Huang Xiao defended himself by explaining that Yang Quan had attacked him first, and Princess Yunya persuaded Arrest Sage You to let her handle the matter.
• The recording official and nearby constables confirmed the events, and Princess Yunya took Huang Xiao with her while Arrest Sage You stayed behind.
• Huang Xiao saw Du Ge arrive and exchange a relieved nod with him before following Princess Yunya to the Yellow Gate courtyard.
• Princess Yunya praised Huang Xiao’s strength, warned that another Arrest Sage could have killed him for defying a retainer, and noted that his Poison God Valley ties offered protection.
• Princess Yunya asked Huang Xiao about the events in Xiazhou, and he agreed to recount what he knew while omitting certain details.

Huang Xiao learned how the Six Gates handled his defiance and how its power was divided among the six gates and their Retainers. Zhao Yunya left him with a warning to follow the rules, while explaining that the Arrest God position had been vacant for ten years and that she and her father only served in acting roles.

• Princess Yunya and Huang Xiao discussed Xu Wuyu's strength, the Taixuan Sect, and the Seven Spirit Atlas, which the Six Gates was monitoring.
• Princess Yunya ended Huang Xiao's punishment because Zhao Yunhui had asked her to look after him, then warned him to obey the Six Gates' rules and beware of the Tuoba Family.
• Huang Xiao asked about the other Arrest Sages, and Zhao Yunya explained that Huang Qitao of the Heaven Gate was far stronger than the others.
• Zhao Yunya explained that the gates' Retainers were independent masters whose support depended on strength and relationships, leaving the Yellow Gate at a disadvantage.
• Zhao Yunya told Huang Xiao that Prince Jin only oversaw the Six Gates as acting Arrest God, while she served as acting Arrest Sage because her strength was insufficient for the true title.

Huang Xiao learned why the Six Gates’ Arrest God position had remained vacant and that the previous Arrest God, Mu Jingfei, had rebelled and escaped ten years earlier. Zhao Yunya arranged for Huang Xiao to stay in Kaifeng while she prepared to recommend him as a retainer, and he left to celebrate with Du Ge.

• Zhao Yunya explained that the Six Gates’ retainers would not accept Prince Jin as Arrest God and that the emperor was still considering a candidate, likely Huang Qitao.
• Zhao Yunya revealed that the former Arrest God, Mu Jingfei, had rebelled ten years earlier, escaped the forces sent after him, and remained missing.
• Zhao Yunya told Huang Xiao to stay in Kaifeng while she arranged his appointment as a retainer, and warned him to be cautious of Tuoba Xing.
• Huang Xiao left the courtyard confident he could face Tuoba Xing again, and Du Ge greeted him outside and invited him to celebrate his assessment success.
• Huang Xiao agreed to pay for a meal, showed Du Ge a five-hundred-tael banknote, and heard that Tuoba Xing had left with Yang Quan.
• Du Ge praised Huang Xiao’s strength and compared him with young experts such as Hong Yi and Dugu Sheng, while Huang Xiao declared that he intended to surpass them.

Huang Xiao and Du Ge visited the Top Scholar Pavilion, where they discussed the restaurant’s prices and Du Ge’s prospects in the Six Gates. The chapter left them interrupted by someone who recognized Huang Xiao as the newcomer reached their table.

• Huang Xiao told Du Ge that surpassing Tuoba Xing would be no problem, and the two headed for the Top Scholar Pavilion.
• Du Ge explained the restaurant’s reputation and prices before he and Huang Xiao took a table in the crowded second-floor dining hall.
• Du Ge ordered fifteen dishes and a jar of hundred-year-old Daughter Red, and the two began eating and drinking.
• Huang Xiao asked about Du Ge’s strength, and Du Ge said he planned to apply for the Special-Class Constable examination rather than risk the more difficult Retainer examination.
• An approaching man recognized Huang Xiao when he reached the top of the stairs.

Huang Xiao celebrated with Hong Yi, Meng Jiu, and Du Ge, who praised his fight with Tuoba Xing and discussed his likely appointment as a retainer. Hong Yi asked Huang Xiao and Du Ge to support Zhao Yunya, and the gathering ended with Hong Yi embarrassed when Huang Xiao asked why a Tang Sect woman had chased him.

• Hong Yi and Meng Jiu joined Huang Xiao and Du Ge for wine, teasing each other and debating who owed whom Immortal’s Brew.
• Hong Yi and Meng Jiu praised Huang Xiao for standing up to Tuoba Xing and learned that Zhao Yunya had told him to wait for a possible retainer appointment.
• Hong Yi asked Huang Xiao to help Zhao Yunya, and Huang Xiao agreed to support her as a Yellow Gate constable.
• Du Ge offered to join them, and Hong Yi recognized his Supreme Yang Skill and proposed a sparring match.
• Huang Xiao asked why a Tang Sect woman had chased Hong Yi, who choked and stopped him from continuing while Meng Jiu laughed at him.

Hong Yi and Meng Jiu were caught mocking Yan Xi when she arrived and demanded to know where Dugu Sheng had gone. Hong Yi revealed that Dugu Sheng was at Ghost Wave Bay in the East Sea, while the conversation turned to the formidable You Lian'er and Xu Wuyu.

• Hong Yi and Meng Jiu joked about teaching Yan Xi a lesson, and Yan Xi confronted them at their table.
• Yan Xi demanded Dugu Sheng's whereabouts, and Hong Yi told her he had gone into seclusion at Ghost Wave Bay in the East Sea.
• Hong Yi explained that You Lian'er had shocked Dugu Sheng and himself with her cultivation, warning Yan Xi that she was no match for her.
• Meng Jiu told Hong Yi that Xu Wuyu had Mid Peerless strength, astonishing Hong Yi.

Huang Xiao and Du Ge learned about Xu Wuyu’s Mid Peerless realm and discussed Yan Xi’s betrothal to Dugu Sheng, who was secluded to advance his swordsmanship. Hong Yi and Meng Jiu left to meet the Commandery Princess in Kaifeng, while Huang Xiao and Du Ge stayed behind.

• Huang Xiao confirmed that Xu Wuyu had reached the Mid Peerless realm and had overwhelmed him when they fought.
• Yan Xi demanded that Hong Yi take her to Dugu Sheng, but Hong Yi and Meng Jiu explained they had come to Kaifeng at the Commandery Princess’s summons.
• Yan Xi went to see the Commandery Princess after Hong Yi promised to take her to Dugu Sheng once the princess’s business was settled.
• Meng Jiu explained that Yan Xi and Dugu Sheng had been betrothed before birth and that Dugu Sheng had hidden his seclusion so he could focus on his swordsmanship.
• Hong Yi, Meng Jiu, and Huang Xiao discussed the Tang Sect and the vanished Phoenix Mountain Manor before Hong Yi and Meng Jiu left to meet the Commandery Princess.
• Du Ge thanked Huang Xiao for meeting Hong Yi and Meng Jiu, and Huang Xiao encouraged him to grow stronger through the Supreme Yang Skill.

Huang Xiao received his first-class constable token and celebrated with other constables while waiting for news about becoming a retainer. In the Imperial Palace, Xiao Yu asked Zhao Guangyi to help her senior against the Peaceful Heaven Sect, but their reunion turned urgent when Zhao Guangyi suffered a real chest attack.

• Huang Xiao received his Yellow Gate first-class constable token from two second-class constables and gave one of them a hundred-tael tip.
• Several first-class constables invited Huang Xiao to a celebratory banquet, and he later decided to wait another day for the Arrest Sage before asking Du Ge for help finding Zhao Xin'er.
• Eunuch Wang brought Xiao Yu to meet Zhao Guangyi in Diligent Governance Hall, where the emperor welcomed her after eighteen years apart.
• Xiao Yu asked Zhao Guangyi to help her senior against the Peaceful Heaven Sect, and he promised not to stand by.
• Zhao Guangyi tried to persuade Xiao Yu to stay, then suffered a genuine chest attack, prompting her to return and treat him.

Xiao Yu reunited with Zhao Guangyi and learned about the mysterious man who had gravely injured him and Zhao Kuangyin, as well as the lost Sui Emperor Chapter of the Three Sovereigns Scripture. Zhao Guangyi explained that their daughter Hui'er had gone to the Eastern Sea, where her exceptional talent for divination and formations might lead her to understand the Fuxi Emperor Chapter.

• Xiao Yu treated Zhao Guangyi's heart pain and gave him three Heart-Protecting Pills.
• Zhao Guangyi told Xiao Yu that an unidentified man had injured both him and Zhao Kuangyin, and that their search for the man's identity had uncovered nothing.
• Zhao Guangyi explained that Zhao Kuangyin's Sui Emperor Chapter had been lost, while the Fuxi Emperor Chapter had yielded little because few people had the affinity to understand it.
• Zhao Guangyi revealed that Hui'er had gone to the Eastern Sea to become an island lord after divining that her destined opportunity awaited her there.
• Xiao Yu objected to Hui'er relying on divination, but Zhao Guangyi explained that the Fuxi Emperor Chapter's true power lay in divination and formations, arts at which Hui'er excelled.

Zhao Guangyi told Xiaoyu about Zhao Yunhui’s reputation and their daughters’ histories before asking to meet Zhao Xin’er and reveal that he was her father. Xiaoyu finally reconciled with Zhao Guangyi over their past and wept in his arms, while Eunuch Wang sent the guards away outside the door.

• Zhao Guangyi told Xiaoyu that Zhao Yunhui was known in the Jianghu as the Lingbo Fairy and explained how she had mastered the Fuxi Emperor Chapter.
• Zhao Guangyi and Xiaoyu discussed the Nüwa Emperor Chapter, the Three Sovereigns Scripture, and the mysterious man who had obtained other scriptures.
• Zhao Guangyi asked whether Zhao Xin’er knew he was her father, then pleaded to meet her and tell her about her father and elder sister, Zhao Yunhui.
• Zhao Guangyi explained that the mysterious man was connected to the destruction of Phoenix Mountain Manor and said he would seek him when the time was right.
• Xiaoyu recalled witnessing the slaughter of her family, admitted she understood Zhao Guangyi’s past limitations, and embraced him as she wept.
• Eunuch Wang sent the guards away from the door, leaving Zhao Guangyi and Xiaoyu alone.

Zhao Guangyi reunited intimately with Xiao Yu, whose Blissful Art eased the pain in his heart meridians. Their conversation turned to Xin'er, and Xiao Yu revealed that someone had taken her chastity, leaving Zhao Guangyi furious and demanding to know who it was.

• Zhao Guangyi comforted Xiao Yu and became intimate with her, while she eventually responded to him.
• Eunuch Wang kept the guards from asking questions and ordered Liu Dacheng to tell the Imperial Household Department that Zhao Guangyi would review memorials all night.
• Afterward, Zhao Guangyi said Xiao Yu's Blissful Art had eased his heart meridians and asked about Xin'er.
• Xiao Yu revealed that someone had taken Xin'er's chastity, and Zhao Guangyi vowed to punish the culprit.
• Xiao Yu told Zhao Guangyi to stay out of it and said she had once wanted to kill the boy but had given up.

Xiao Yu persuaded Zhao Guangyi to tolerate Huang Xiao’s relationship with Zhao Xin'er, though Zhao Guangyi vowed to make things difficult for him and punish the Peaceful Heaven Sect. Huang Xiao arrived at the Six Gates to receive his imperial appointment as a Retainer and met other candidates, one of whom challenged his account of fighting Tuoba Xing.

• Xiao Yu explained how Huang Xiao saved Zhao Xin'er and the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion disciples, and why Xin'er had developed feelings for him.
• Zhao Guangyi agreed not to kill Huang Xiao but insisted he would make him pay, and Xiao Yu told him Huang Xiao had passed the First-Class Constable Examination and fought Tuoba Xing to a draw.
• Zhao Guangyi blamed the Peaceful Heaven Sect for what happened and vowed not to spare them.
• Huang Xiao arrived at the Six Gates ahead of his imperial audience, where constables recognized his unprecedented rise to Retainer.
• Huang Xiao met Liu Sanfu and Han Jing, who welcomed him, but a middle-aged candidate challenged his claim that Tuoba Xing had held back.

Huang Xiao entered the Imperial Palace with the other Retainer candidates after humiliating Zhou Ding and meeting Arrest Sage Jiang Ang. Chief Steward Wang told Jiang Ang that the four candidates would wait in the Imperial Garden while the Emperor discussed state affairs.

• Zhou Ding provoked Huang Xiao into a fight, but Huang Xiao evaded his grab and sent him stumbling with a flick of his sleeve.
• Jiang Ang arrived, questioned Huang Xiao briefly, and led him, Zhou Ding, Liu Sanfu, and Han Jing into the Imperial Palace.
• Huang Xiao admired the palace and spoke with Liu Sanfu and Han Jing while Zhou Ding muttered insults and Jiang Ang rebuked him.
• Chief Steward Wang met Jiang Ang and directed the four Retainer candidates to wait in the Imperial Garden because the Emperor was busy with officials.

Huang Xiao was summoned away from the other newly appointed Retainers and led through the Imperial Garden. He discovered that the person waiting for him atop a rockery was the Third Princess.

• Chief Steward Wang had Xiao Linzi escort Huang Xiao and the other three Retainers to a pavilion in the Imperial Garden while Jiang Ang accompanied the chief steward.
• Huang Xiao and Han Jing discussed the garden’s landscaping and hidden formations, while Zhou Ding dismissed their remarks.
• Palace maid Tao'er arrived and asked Huang Xiao to go with her, leaving Liu Sanfu, Han Jing, and Zhou Ding behind.
• Tao'er led Huang Xiao through the Imperial Garden to a rockery and told him to go up alone.
• Huang Xiao reached the pavilion and paid his respects to the Third Princess.

Huang Xiao met Zhao Xin'er in the palace and learned she had just discovered that the Third Princess was her older sister and the emperor her father. After Zhao Xin'er told him to leave for the emperor’s summons, Huang Xiao returned her handkerchief, but she told him to keep it and watched him go.

• Huang Xiao realized the woman he had mistaken for the Third Princess was Zhao Xin'er.
• Zhao Xin'er told Huang Xiao that she had learned she had an older sister and a father, but she did not care about being a princess.
• Zhao Xin'er thanked Huang Xiao for helping her at Everlasting Spring Mountain and told him not to mention what happened at the Ruined Taoist Temple again.
• Huang Xiao and Zhao Xin'er spoke about his progress in cultivation, and Huang Xiao vowed he would not lose to others.
• Tao'er announced that the emperor had summoned Huang Xiao and the other three, so Zhao Xin'er told him to go.
• Huang Xiao offered Zhao Xin'er her handkerchief, but she told him to keep it; after he left, she sat down and watched him go.

Emperor Zhao Guangyi recognized Zhou Ding, Liu Sanfu, and Han Jing as Six Gates retainers but refused to confirm Huang Xiao’s appointment, demoting him to reserve constable despite his proven strength. Huang Xiao suppressed his anger and accepted the decision, leaving his future advancement delayed.

• Xiao Linzi brought Huang Xiao, Zhou Ding, Liu Sanfu, and Han Jing before Emperor Zhao Guangyi, who asked whether they would serve as Six Gates retainers.
• Zhao Guangyi named Zhou Ding, Liu Sanfu, and Han Jing as the three new retainers and awarded them gold, silver, and a choice of cultivation method from the Imperial Library.
• When Jiang Ang asked about Huang Xiao’s reward, Zhao Guangyi claimed Huang Xiao’s rapid rise from reserve constable made him unfit for immediate promotion.
• Zhao Guangyi revoked Huang Xiao’s first-class constable rank and delayed his retainer appointment, ordering him to remain a reserve constable and take third-class assignments.
• Jiang Ang endorsed Zhao Guangyi’s decision, and Huang Xiao suppressed his anger and said he had nothing to add.