Recaps

Huang Xiao escaped the Heavenly Sword Sect pursuit and protected Little Phoenix from an Imperial Remnant Manor steward, obtaining the herbs that restored its memories. As Demon Phoenix recovered beside the Minghong Saber, it suggested that Huang Xiao could gain the Heavenly Demon Hall’s support through the Imperial Province Ranking Contest.

• Huang Xiao helped defeat the Heavenly Sword Sect pursuers, while Chen Xiangrong killed Old Lu and revealed the Ten Thousand Demons Hall’s infiltration of the Four Directions Trading Company.
• Huang Xiao concealed his appearance and the Minghong Saber after Little Phoenix developed a Spirit-Gathering Formation that hid its energy gathering.
• Huang Xiao joined Wang Lin and Cheng Duanjin and severed Min Yi’s and Lin Kuien’s weapon arms when they tried to seize Cheng Duanjin’s Broken Saber.
• Huang Xiao sought treatment for the weakened Little Phoenix, and Physician Chen explained its need for rare herbs and gave him cultivated Beast Immortal Grass.
• Huang Xiao killed Xuan Ju after the Imperial Remnant Manor steward demanded Little Phoenix, then took his token and Beast Immortal Grass.
• Little Phoenix ate three supreme-grade stalks, recovered its memories and voice, and revealed that the Masked Old Man had saved it after its failed nirvana.
• Demon Phoenix adopted a disguised appearance and began recovering through the Minghong Saber’s Heavenly Fire while Huang Xiao trained and learned to draw on heaven and earth momentum.
• Demon Phoenix suggested that Huang Xiao could obtain the Heavenly Demon Hall’s support by defeating Chao Jue and proving himself a better challenger to Pang Yi.

Huang Xiao traveled to Imperial Province for the Ranking Contest, where he crossed paths with Zhangsun Youyue, defeated several Fallen Help fighters through Sound Arts, and uncovered a secret deployment of Jianghu experts. As Chao Jue and Yao Qiu confronted him, Huang Xiao drew Yao Qiu away from Zhangsun Youyue and showed that his finger force was stronger than expected.

• Demon Phoenix explained the limits of Huang Xiao’s cultivation and saber manual, and Huang Xiao resolved to master the fifth form before the Ranking Contest.
• Huang Xiao entered Imperial Province, where he refused to yield his table to the Fat and Thin Twin Demons and encountered Li Chaoxun and Zhangsun Youyue.
• After Li Chaoxun killed the Fallen Help young master and the Fat and Thin Twin Demons, Huang Xiao avoided a fight and later hosted Zhangsun Youyue, Li Chaoxun, and Xiao Qing at his courtyard.
• Huang Xiao killed the Deputy Gang Leader of the Fallen Help and his men with Sound Arts, then defeated the Small Buddha Temple monks Yonglian and Yongxu in a musical contest.
• Huang Xiao, Zhangsun Youyue, Xiao Qing, and Chenwu captured Ding Shiba and learned that many factions had secretly sent experts to Imperial Province for an operation tied to the Ranking Contest.
• Ding Shiba identified Pang Yi, Chao Jue, and Lou Feishang as the Demon Hall’s candidates, while Huang Xiao and Zhangsun Youyue continued toward the Imperial City amid growing concern over the contest.
• Chao Jue and Yao Qiu intercepted Huang Xiao and Zhangsun Youyue, and Chao Jue assigned Yao Qiu to fight Huang Xiao while claiming Zhangsun for himself.
• Huang Xiao fled with Yao Qiu in pursuit, then stopped beside a river and struck Yao Qiu with a powerful finger force that drove him back.

Huang Xiao killed Yao Qiu, then entered the Imperial City Ranking Contest and drew attention by defeating challengers with his concealed strength and Heavenly Demon techniques. He left the Heavenly Demon Hall focused on him, while Zhangsun Youyue offered help and questioned his plans to face Pang Yi.

• Huang Xiao mastered the Fifth Form of the Heavenly Demon Demon Saber Techniques and killed Yao Qiu before fleeing with Zhangsun Youyue and Xiao Qing.
• Huang Xiao reached the Imperial City, reunited with Wang Lin and Cheng Duanjin, and chose to enter the Ranking Contest under his true identity.
• Wang Lin challenged Lang Tao, and Cheng Duanjin fought him in a deathmatch, revealing his saber skill and severing Lang Tao’s right arm before Qi Yi intervened.
• Huang Xiao accepted Qi Yi’s deathmatch, defeated him without drawing his saber, then killed him with the Fourth Form of the Heavenly Demon Demon Saber when he tried to escape.
• Huang Xiao revealed his Heavenly Demon techniques to attract the Heavenly Demon Hall’s attention, while Peng Ku and Chao Jue confronted him and he denied belonging to the Hall.
• At the inn, Zhangsun Youyue learned Huang Xiao was not the Transcendent Immortal Sword Lord’s successor and offered to help him leave after the contest.
• Huang Xiao told Zhangsun Youyue he believed he could protect himself against Li Chaoxun and wanted to test himself against Pang Yi, prompting her to ask whether his interest was tied to his demonic art.

Huang Xiao entered the Dragon Rankings contest after agreeing to help the Imperial Court find the Longevity Pill Manual and secure treasures for Demon Phoenix. The contestants survived a crossbow ambush and entered Dragon Mountain, where Formation Marks became a matter of life and death, while Huang Xiao hid and waited for a lead.

• Huang Xiao learned that Demon Phoenix needed rare herbs and a gentled Heaven and Earth Fire, then resolved to earn a top placement so he could request help for the injured bird.
• Liu Zhi recruited Huang Xiao to aid the Imperial Court in the struggle for the Longevity Pill Manual and promised him five Heaven and Earth Fire treasures.
• Huang Xiao passed the Dragon Rankings screening by reducing a Black Steel Pillar to a three-inch palm-shaped piece, while Demon Phoenix warned that it would leave for Dragon Mountain ahead of him.
• Huang Xiao and more than a thousand contestants set out for Dragon Mountain, but Imperial Palace Guards and Alliance Guards fired crossbows at them, killing or scattering many fighters.
• The old Alliance Guard explained that contestants could steal Identity Tokens to gain Formation Marks, and Huang Xiao joined the surviving fighters on their journey into Dragon Mountain.
• Inside the formation, Huang Xiao watched a contestant die after losing his Formation Mark, then took tokens from attackers and gathered twenty more marks.
• Huang Xiao transferred twenty Formation Marks to his token, hid inside an Illusion Formation instead of pursuing more marks, and sensed something ahead when his token glowed at midnight.