Recaps

Huang Xiao learned that Dalhe’s rise had stirred conflict between the Esoteric Sect and the Thousand Demons Sect, then asked Old Sun to support Great Song and share news of his senior brothers. As Huang Xiao prepared to leave for Khitan, Old Sun gave him the genuine Dragon Nightmare Flute, which paired with You Lian’er’s Netherworld Demon Zither.

• Old Sun warned Huang Xiao that Dalhe’s growing power and the Esoteric Sect’s schemes made his trip to Khitan dangerous, while Wu Longfeng was using the Esoteric Sect to check Ling Tianya.
• Huang Xiao asked Old Sun to become Great Song’s State Preceptor, but Old Sun declined and promised to oppose Wu Longfeng if the emperor sincerely worked for peace and the people’s welfare.
• Xu Yan Yun told Huang Xiao that Qingyun and Qinghe were safe, and Huang Xiao asked her to tell them that he was alive and traveling to fulfill his master’s last wish.
• As Huang Xiao prepared to leave for Khitan, Old Sun brought him the genuine Dragon Nightmare Flute, and Huang Xiao recognized it as the instrument paired with You Lian’er’s Netherworld Demon Zither.
• Huang Xiao asked Old Sun how the Dragon Nightmare Flute had come into his possession.

Old Sun gave Huang Xiao the Medicine King Scripture and discussed his potential to reach a realm beyond the Peerless Realm. He planned to return to Dali to seek an alliance against the Taixuan Sect, while Huang Xiao returned to Kaifeng and found Zhao Yuankan on the throne.

• Old Sun explained that Li Taibai had given him the Dragon Nightmare Flute and gave Huang Xiao the Medicine King Scripture, including his cultivation insights.
• Old Sun told Mu Yi and the others that Huang Xiao might reach a higher realm through the three extraordinary arts, though such a breakthrough remained difficult.
• Old Sun sent Mu Yi, Xu Yan Yun, and their companion to the Medicine King Hall, saying he would go to Dali to meet an old member of the Duan Family and seek allies.
• After the others left, Old Sun wondered whether Tuoba Xiongzhen was still alive and regretted an old wrong he had not avenged.
• Huang Xiao returned to the imperial palace and learned that Zhao Yuankan had ascended the throne after the Former Emperor's death.

After Zhao Yuankan became emperor, Huang Xiao secured Old Sun’s conditional support and warned that Khitan would soon invade with as many as five hundred thousand troops. As the court prepared to reinforce the northern frontier, Huang Xiao set out for Khitan to meet Ling Tianya.

• Zhao Yuankan ascended the throne with Lü Duan’s support after Zhao Guangyi died, and Huang Xiao met the new emperor and his ministers.
• Huang Xiao told Zhao Yuankan, Tong Jiuyang, and Min Yijiang that Old Sun had refused the State Preceptor position but would protect Zhao Yuankan if he governed well.
• Huang Xiao warned that Khitan’s invasion was certain and could involve nearly five hundred thousand troops.
• Min Yijiang urged Zhao Yuankan to send available troops north, and Zhao Yuankan put Tong Jiuyang and Min Yijiang in charge of the preparations.
• Huang Xiao announced that he would travel to Khitan to meet Ling Tianya, despite Tong Jiuyang warning that Ling Tianya might not be persuaded.

Huang Xiao agreed to try to persuade Ling Tianya to halt Khitan’s invasion, while explaining to Zhao Yunhui and Zhao Xin'er why Li Jiqian and Wang Jien had been exiled rather than executed. He set out to visit Khitan after promising the two women he would return soon, and learned that Zhao Yunhui had been developing new martial moves.

• Huang Xiao told Tong Jiuyang and Min Yijiang that he would go to Khitan to persuade Ling Tianya to avoid war between the two countries.
• Zhao Yunhui and Zhao Xin'er told Huang Xiao that Li Jiqian and Wang Jien had been demoted and exiled, and Huang Xiao explained that their past service and the Empress Dowager’s plea had influenced the sentence.
• Huang Xiao promised the princesses that he would not kill the exiled men but would ensure they suffered, then told them he planned to travel to Khitan.
• Zhao Yunhui and Zhao Xin'er accepted Huang Xiao’s departure, and he embraced them and urged them to keep practicing their martial arts together.
• Zhao Yunhui revealed that she had ideas for creating a martial art with endless variations, then kept the details secret as Huang Xiao apologized for underestimating her.

Zhao Yunhui planned to create combat techniques that incorporated formations, and Huang Xiao helped her realize they might work best with two people acting together. Before leaving for Khitan, he encouraged Zhao Xin'er to develop her own martial arts as well.

• Zhao Yunhui told Huang Xiao she wanted to incorporate formations into combat moves and create techniques with countless variations.
• Zhao Yunhui said her moves would draw on the transformations of Fuxi's Eight Trigrams and chose “Two Principles” as part of their name.
• Huang Xiao suggested that two people perform the techniques together, and Zhao Yunhui realized this would overcome what was missing from her idea.
• Huang Xiao urged Zhao Xin'er to combine the Blazing Yang Palm with Heavenly Mountain Pavilion palm techniques to seek a breakthrough.
• Huang Xiao left, hoping both women would have made progress when he returned from Khitan.

Tuoba Xiongzhen let Wu Longfeng keep the Seven-Spirit Disc while planning to monitor the Nine Nether Sect and Netherworld Sect. Former Arrest God Mu Jingfei arrived at Nine Nether Peak, where Nine Nether Sect Master Lin Zhangke came out to receive him.

• Huang Xiao asked Liu Dacheng to watch over Kaifeng before leaving for Khitan.
• Gui Jiu told Tuoba Xiongzhen that Wu Longfeng had taken the Seven-Spirit Disc, and Tuoba explained why the disc was useless without all seven Seven Spirit Blades.
• Tuoba Xiongzhen ordered Gui Jiu to watch the Nine Nether Sect and Netherworld Sect, then sent him away after rebuking him.
• Mu Jingfei reached Nine Nether Peak without being noticed and called out to Lin Zhangke by name.
• Lin Zhangke appeared and welcomed Mu Jingfei as a guest while the Nine Nether Sect disciples saluted their Sect Master.

Mu Jingfei met with Lin Zhangke and Lu Denggu at the Nine Nether Sect, where he discovered that the Nine Nether Sect and the Netherworld Sect were secretly allies. The meeting continued with the arrival of Wan Qingteng, Fang Ketian, and the supposedly dead Fang Chongyi, whose words revealed a grudge against Tuoba Xiongzhen.

• Lin Zhangke dismissed his disciples and brought Mu Jingfei inside to meet Lu Denggu, the Sect Leader of the Netherworld Sect.
• Mu Jingfei realized that the Nine Nether Sect and the Netherworld Sect were secretly on good terms despite their public clashes.
• Lin Zhangke told Mu Jingfei they would ask him to stay if they could not reach an agreement, but insisted he would agree to their proposal.
• After Mu Jingfei waited with Lin Zhangke and Lu Denggu, Wan Qingteng, Fang Ketian, and Fang Chongyi entered.
• Mu Jingfei recognized Fang Chongyi, who said that Tuoba Xiongzhen was still alive and implied he held killing intent toward him.

Fang Chongyi explained why Tuoba Xiongzhen had become so powerful: he had obtained several ancient martial arts scriptures after nearly killing Fang Chongyi. The group realized Tuoba Xiongzhen might eventually master their techniques and dominate the martial world.

• Mu Jingfei questioned Fang Chongyi about his lack of interest in reclaiming the Fang Family and the Heavenly Demon Sect, and Fang Chongyi dismissed the importance of becoming Sect Master.
• Mu Jingfei warned Fang Chongyi that Huang Xiao could become a major threat through his age, cultivation, and inherited arts.
• Fang Chongyi said he had summoned Mu Jingfei to discuss Tuoba Xiongzhen and revealed that Tuoba had once wounded him while they sought ancient martial arts manuals.
• Fang Chongyi explained that the manuals were scriptures like the Medicine King Scripture and the Heavenly Demon Canon, and that Tuoba had obtained several while Fang Chongyi escaped with one.
• Mu Jingfei and Wan Qingteng realized that the scriptures could explain Tuoba Xiongzhen's immense strength, while Fang Chongyi said Tuoba had not yet fully mastered their methods.

Fang Chongyi revealed that he possessed the Evil Daoist Canon and now led both the Nine Nether Sect and the Netherworld Sect as the Evil Dao Supreme. He proposed joining forces to investigate the Seven Spirit Blades and ally with the Esoteric Sect against Tuoba Xiongzhen and Ling Tianya.

• Fang Chongyi explained that the Evil Daoist Canon gave him authority over both sects and that their techniques descended from it.
• Mu Jingfei guessed that Tuoba Xiongzhen had obtained the Ghost Daoist Canon and Demon Daoist Canon, and Fang Chongyi agreed that they likely explained the Ghost and Demon cultivation arts.
• Fang Chongyi warned that Fang Ketian's Demon Spirit Nine Transformations Art was incomplete and could lead to cultivation deviation and death.
• Fang Chongyi proposed that Wan Qingteng share the Seven Spirit Blade's secrets with their alliance, and Wan Qingteng agreed to cooperate.
• Fang Chongyi urged them to ally with the Esoteric Sect rather than Ling Tianya, citing the Esoteric Sect's ties with the Persians and its interest in the Seven Spirit Blades.
• Fang Chongyi revealed that the Esoteric Sect had already secretly contacted the Nine Nether Sect and the Netherworld Sect.

Wan Qingteng secured Fang Chongyi and Mu Jingfei’s help to retrieve something from Medicine King Hall while Sun Simiao was away. Huang Xiao traveled to Linhuang Prefecture to meet Xiao Yan, his betrothed, and left with her for a walk.

• Wan Qingteng asked Fang Chongyi and Mu Jingfei to accompany him to Medicine King Hall, and they agreed after he said Sun Simiao was absent.
• Huang Xiao entered Khitan and went to the Xiao Residence to visit Xiao Yan on behalf of Yelü Yin.
• The guards admitted Huang Xiao after he explained his connection to Yelü Yin and gave his surname.
• Huang Xiao and Xiao Yan met, both awkwardly recalling their past and their marriage agreement.
• Xiao Yan invited Huang Xiao to take a walk, and he agreed while reflecting that he owed her and might have to honor their betrothal.

Xiao Yan took Huang Xiao out of Linhuang Prefecture City and told him that the Esoteric Sect had helped push Khitan toward war with Great Song. She revealed that the Sect Master was in the imperial palace, while Huang Xiao learned that Dalhe’s breakthrough had emboldened the Esoteric Sect; as someone appeared in the distance, Huang Xiao recognized the approach of Yelü Mengdu.

• Xiao Yan ordered two horses prepared and rode out with Huang Xiao, despite the steward’s offer to arrange an escort.
• Huang Xiao told Xiao Yan that he had come to find the Sect Master and try to stop the campaign against Great Song.
• Xiao Yan said the Sect Master was in the Khitan Imperial Palace and warned that the Esoteric Sect’s recent moves had made entering the palace dangerous.
• Xiao Yan explained that the Esoteric Sect had won ministers’ support for war, prompting the Sect Master to take control of the army.
• Huang Xiao revealed that Dalhe had reached the eleventh layer of the Wild Elephant Esoteric Sect Divine Skill, and Xiao Yan connected this to Yelü Mengdu’s growing arrogance.
• Huang Xiao spotted someone approaching and remarked that Yelü Mengdu had arrived.

Huang Xiao confronted Yelü Mengdu after finding him pestering Xiao Yan, and Yelü Mengdu summoned Esoteric Sect experts to kill him. Huang Xiao prepared to strike before they arrived.

• Huang Xiao told Xiao Yan he would put an end to Yelü Mengdu's harassment of her.
• Yelü Mengdu arrived with two followers and recognized Huang Xiao as the man who had defeated him.
• Xiao Yan openly sided with Huang Xiao, angering Yelü Mengdu.
• Yelü Mengdu sent up a signal to summon Esoteric Sect experts and threatened Huang Xiao's life.
• Huang Xiao revealed his killing intent and said he would finish Yelü Mengdu before the experts arrived.

Huang Xiao killed Yelü Mengdu after he tried to flee, and Xiao Yan killed his two followers. As they prepared to return to the city, four Esoteric Sect experts arrived, including Sangbie, leaving Huang Xiao and Xiao Yan facing them.

• Xiao Yan tried to stop Huang Xiao from killing Yelü Mengdu, but Huang Xiao refused and Yelü Mengdu attempted to escape.
• Huang Xiao caught Yelü Mengdu and killed him with a single palm strike.
• Xiao Yan killed Yelü Mengdu's two fleeing followers, and Huang Xiao praised her improved martial power.
• Huang Xiao suggested Zhao Yunhui could help Xiao Yan with formations, and Xiao Yan teased him about his relationships with other women.
• Xiao Yan warned that Esoteric Sect experts might arrive, and four men soon confronted them, including Sangbie, an aide to State Preceptor Dalha.

Huang Xiao confronted Sangbie and three Persian Black Fire Sect envoys after they arrived in Khitan. Sangbie went after Xiao Yan while the envoys kept Huang Xiao occupied, leaving the fight unresolved as Huang Xiao’s first strike was redirected.

• Huang Xiao recognized the three Westerners as envoys of the Persian Black Fire Sect, and Sangbie confirmed they had come to kill him.
• The three envoys surrounded Huang Xiao while Sangbie rushed toward Xiao Yan to seize her.
• Xiao Yan told Huang Xiao not to worry and began fighting Sangbie, holding him off for the moment.
• Huang Xiao raised his Heavenly Demon Skill to the Eighth Stage and attacked one of the envoys with Heavenly Demon Subduing Tiger Fist.
• The envoy redirected Huang Xiao’s punch with his palm but still suffered a slight injury from its force.

Huang Xiao struggled to break through the Black Fire Sect emissaries’ Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth technique while watching Xiao Yan battle Sangbie. He used a sudden reversal to drain one emissary’s internal power, but the man’s allies closed in to help him.

• Huang Xiao found that the three Black Fire Sect emissaries used Nine-Turn Heaven and Earth to divert his attacks and keep him occupied.
• Huang Xiao realized the emissaries could use their internal cultivation method to drive copied martial arts, including his Blazing Yang Palm.
• Huang Xiao watched Xiao Yan and Sangbie fight evenly and decided he could not let their battle continue for long.
• Huang Xiao withdrew his palm force, causing one emissary’s internal power to surge uncontrollably into his meridians.
• Huang Xiao switched places with the emissary, leaving the other two attackers behind their companion as he begged them for help.

Huang Xiao used the Northern Darkness Absorption Method to drain the Persian Three Envoys while Xiao Yan fought Sangbie. After the envoys died, Sangbie tried to flee, but Xiao Yan moved to stop him as Huang Xiao was free to join the fight.

• The Persian Three Envoys pressed their hands against their companion to help him, but Huang Xiao drew their true qi into his dantian.
• Huang Xiao refined the absorbed power as the three envoys struggled and their strength rapidly dwindled.
• Sangbie looked away from Xiao Yan to see Huang Xiao overpowering the Persian Three Envoys, giving Xiao Yan an opening to attack with the Heavenly Mirror Skill.
• Sangbie realized he was losing ground to Xiao Yan and considered retreating, but denied that he feared her.
• The Persian Three Envoys screamed and fell silent, and Sangbie understood that they had died.
• Sangbie tried to escape, but Xiao Yan pursued him, confident in her growing strength and mastery of the Heavenly Mirror Skill.

Huang Xiao and Xiao Yan cornered Sangbie, and Xiao Yan used the fight to deepen her understanding of the Heavenly Mirror Skill before Huang Xiao killed him. After Xiao Residence guards arrived, Xiao Yan asked Huang Xiao when he wanted to enter the palace, and he said they should go as soon as possible.

• Huang Xiao and Xiao Yan blocked Sangbie's escape and joined forces against him.
• Huang Xiao let Xiao Yan use Sangbie as a sparring opponent, and she gradually overwhelmed him with her attacks.
• Huang Xiao killed Sangbie with a palm strike after Xiao Yan had weakened him.
• Xiao Yan explained how fighting Sangbie helped her understand the Heavenly Mirror Skill's focus on fearless offense.
• Xiao Residence guards arrived, recognized the dead men, and regarded Huang Xiao with awe.
• Xiao Yan asked when Huang Xiao wanted to enter the palace, and he answered that they should go as soon as possible.

Huang Xiao stayed at the Xiao Residence after killing Yelü Mengdu, Sangbie, and the Persian Three Envoys, then went with Xiao Yan to the Imperial Palace the next day. He entered a rear hall and recognized the two familiar people waiting inside, though his grandfather was not among them.

• Huang Xiao decided to delay visiting the palace until the next day so he and Xiao Yan could recover and he could see how the Esoteric Sect reacted to the deaths.
• News of Yelü Mengdu and Sangbie's deaths spread through Linhuang Prefecture, and Huang Xiao spent a sleepless night worrying about meeting his birth parents.
• Xiao Yan came to fetch Huang Xiao in the morning, and they waited until after court before heading to the Imperial Palace with him disguised as her guard.
• Xiao Yan persuaded an Imperial Guards Commander to let Huang Xiao enter the palace with her, despite the rules against bringing guards inside.
• Xiao Yan led Huang Xiao to a rear hall, where he sensed two familiar people and realized they were his birth parents.

Huang Xiao reunited with his birth parents, Yelü Yushi and Ling Fan, in Khitan. He learned that Khitan’s campaign against Great Song was likely inevitable, but insisted on meeting his grandfather Ling Tianya and trying to persuade him to stop it.

• Xiao Yan brought Huang Xiao into the palace, where Yelü Yushi and Ling Fan welcomed him as their son.
• Yelü Yushi explained why she and Ling Fan had been unable to find Huang Xiao, and Huang Xiao called them Mother and Father.
• Huang Xiao asked his parents to help stop Khitan’s planned war against Great Song, but they said Ling Tianya was unlikely to change his decision.
• Ling Fan and Yelü Yushi revealed that the campaign was also tied to vengeance against Great Song’s Righteous Sects and interference from the Esoteric Sect.
• Huang Xiao said he would speak to Ling Tianya in person, and Xiao Yan encouraged the idea while Yelü Yushi teased her for supporting her husband.

Huang Xiao confronted his grandfather, Ling Tianya, over the decision to invade Great Song, arguing that revenge should not drag ordinary people into the conflict. Ling Tianya refused to reconsider the campaign and the family argument ended with him furious and Huang Xiao still unwilling to back down.

• Huang Xiao asked where Ling Tianya was, and Ling Tianya entered and rebuked him for underestimating the Taixuan Sect and risking his life.
• Ling Tianya criticized Huang Xiao for coming to Khitan alone and fighting the Esoteric Sect's masters despite the danger from Dalhe.
• Huang Xiao argued that Ling Tianya should punish those responsible for the past without invading Great Song or harming its people.
• Ling Tianya said he needed no reason to kill and insisted that the campaign against Great Song would go ahead.
• Huang Xiao called Ling Tianya utterly beyond reason, and Ling Tianya angrily told him he could stay or leave as he pleased.
• Yelü Yushi tried to calm Ling Tianya and urged Huang Xiao to yield, while Ling Fan could only sigh.

Huang Xiao asked Ling Tianya to withdraw his troops to prevent war, but the two quarreled and Huang Xiao left the palace. Xiao Yan tried to persuade her grandfather to reconsider and was left facing Ling Tianya’s silent, intimidating response in his study.

• Huang Xiao rejected Ling Tianya’s rebuke and said they would meet on the battlefield if Ling Tianya refused to withdraw his troops.
• Huang Xiao left the Main Hall, and Xiao Yan followed him, giving him a token to leave the palace and asking him to wait at the Xiao Residence.
• Ling Tianya told Yelü Yushi that he had his own plans and asked her to send Xiao Yan to his study when she came back.
• Xiao Yan returned to the Main Hall, then went to Ling Tianya’s study to plead for Huang Xiao and explain that he had come to apologize.
• Ling Tianya admitted he had deliberately caused the past misunderstanding, set down his brush, and walked toward Xiao Yan as she grew nervous.

Xiao Yan tried to stop Ling Tianya from sending troops to avenge Huang Xiao, but he refused and warned her against interfering. After learning that mobilization required the Tiger Tally and his handwritten order, she returned to his study and found an order scheduling the army’s departure for the next day, leaving her determined to forge a counterorder.

• Xiao Yan supported Huang Xiao’s request for Ling Tianya to avoid a large-scale campaign, but Ling Tianya refused to reconsider.
• Ling Tianya explained that the army needed the Tiger Tally and an order written in his own hand to deploy, then showed Xiao Yan half of the tally.
• After Ling Tianya left for the secret chamber, Xiao Yan returned to his study despite a guard’s warning.
• Xiao Yan found Ling Tianya’s handwritten deployment order on the desk and discovered that the army was due to depart the next day.
• Xiao Yan decided to forge an order canceling the deployment and hoped it might delay the campaign.

Xiao Yan found the Tiger Tally hidden in her grandfather’s study and forged an order directing Khitan’s assembled army to return to its garrisons. When she brought both to Huang Xiao, he realized her grandfather had never intended to march against Great Song.

• Xiao Yan discovered the Tiger Tally in a hidden compartment beneath her grandfather’s desk.
• She used his existing order as a handwriting reference to forge an order dispersing the assembled army, then restored the study and left with the Tiger Tally and forgery.
• Xiao Yan returned to Huang Xiao and revealed the Tiger Tally and forged order, explaining that her grandfather had refused to stop the planned march.
• Huang Xiao questioned how a stranger could deliver the order and use the Tiger Tally, then concluded that Xiao Yan’s grandfather had never intended to march.

Huang Xiao explained to Xiao Yan that Ling Tianya had deliberately arranged for her to find the tiger tally and had likely already stopped the army from marching against Great Song. He suspected Ling Tianya had his own reasons for concealing the truth, and the chapter ended with Huang Xiao keeping one further explanation to himself.

• Xiao Yan urged Huang Xiao to act before Ling Tianya discovered she had the tiger tally, but Huang Xiao told her there was no need.
• Huang Xiao asked Xiao Yan how she had found the tiger tally and concluded that Ling Tianya had deliberately encouraged her to return to the study.
• Huang Xiao reasoned that Ling Tianya had arranged the study mechanism to open when Xiao Yan reached for writing supplies, allowing her to find the tiger tally.
• Huang Xiao suspected the tally was fake and that the army had already been ordered not to march against Great Song, though Esoteric Sect forces might resist Ling Tianya.
• Huang Xiao suggested Ling Tianya had his own plans and concealed another possible reason for his actions from Xiao Yan.

Huang Xiao promised Xiao Yan he would honor their betrothal, then rode with her to confirm that the Khitan army was abandoning its southern campaign against Great Song. Afterward, he prepared to escort her back before returning to Great Song, but a troop of cavalry rode up to them.

• Huang Xiao recognized that his grandfather had arranged matters to make him appreciate Xiao Yan and promised to honor their marriage agreement without letting her suffer injustice.
• Xiao Yan admitted she was jealous of Lian'er, and Huang Xiao told her she would meet his other women and become their sister.
• Huang Xiao and Xiao Yan rode out to scout the Khitan army's main camp, where they saw that more than half the tents had been packed away.
• Huang Xiao confirmed the army was abandoning its southern campaign and said he had to return to Great Song.
• Huang Xiao and Xiao Yan headed toward Linhuang Prefecture City, but a troop of cavalry charged toward them and stopped in front of them.