Recaps

Hong Yi won leadership of the Beggar Gang while Huang Xiao defeated Xu Wuyu and uncovered new threats tied to the Peaceful Heaven Sect and his eldest senior brother. Huang Xiao then left with Zhao Yuankan on a diplomatic mission to Khitan, as Zhao Guangyi used the journey to test Huang Xiao and Cao Wuxin returned to Dali.

• Huang Xiao defeated Xu Wuyu in their fight to the death, and Hong Yi won the Beggar Gang leadership vote with Wu Jin and Xu Chou’s support.
• Xu Chou explained the Beggar Gang’s blood debt and Taixuan Sect’s influence, then gave Hong Yi the gang’s hidden manuals and The Beggar Sutra.
• Huang Xiao learned that Du Tianchou and his master had burned Green Ox Temple and might be seeking the Seven Spirit Blades, while Jiang Ying explained the Peaceful Heaven Sect’s interest in Heavenly Mountain Pavilion and Phoenix Mountain Manor.
• Senior Ran rescued Fang Jin and Fang Min from the Ghost Kings, cured their poisoning, and bound them to the Heavenly Demon Sect with Life Demon Seals.
• Cao Wuxin learned that Huang Xiao had defeated Xu Wuyu and set out for Kaifeng, but later turned back toward Dali after Huang Xiao had already departed.
• Zhao Yuankan recruited Huang Xiao to escort him to Khitan, where they would seek peace through a marriage alliance, and Zhao Xin'er confessed her concern for Huang Xiao before he left.
• Zhao Guangyi sent Huang Xiao on the mission to test his possible connection to Ling Tianya and probe Huang Qitao and the Thousand Demons Sect, while also ordering Eunuch Qiu to warn Wang Jien about his conduct.
• Huang Xiao departed for Khitan with Zhao Yuankan and his guards, and Cao Wuxin sent a letter to Zhao Guangyi before returning to Dali.

Huang Xiao escorted Zhao Yuankan into Khitan, where they navigated court politics and a planned marriage alliance as Huang Xiao drew attention from Khitan’s young talents. At Xiao Yan’s gathering, he faced a dangerous painting that concealed a fierce sword technique.

• Zhao Guangyi considered betrothing Zhao Yunhui to Huang Xiao to delay Cao Wuxin’s demand, while Huang Xiao and Zhao Yuankan crossed into Khitan and survived an ambush.
• Huang Xiao exposed the attack as an attempt to humble Zhao Yuankan, then escorted the Song party to Linhuang Prefecture as Khitan’s rulers assessed his strength.
• Liao Longxu received Zhao Yuankan’s truce proposal and Lord Wu’s marriage alliance offer, while the Silver-Faced Marquis struck Huang Xiao and later discussed their son’s future with the Princess.
• You Lian'er warned Huang Xiao that Xiao Yan’s gathering could make him a target, then helped him improve the Heavenly Demon Dragon Roar and revealed that the Heavenly Demon Guard might recognize him as its Sect Master.
• Huang Xiao and You Lian'er played together, unexpectedly merging their internal powers through music, while Xiao Yan postponed her gathering and practiced the Heavenly Mirror Skill under the Princess’s guidance.
• Huang Xiao mastered the Dragon Roar’s third verse before accompanying Zhao Yuankan to the Xiao Residence, where Khitan’s young talents mocked and challenged him.
• Xiao Yan opened the painting viewing, and Huang Xiao spotted a swordsman hidden in her bamboo-forest painting before its bamboo leaves swept toward him.

Huang Xiao defeated Yelü Mengdu, then survived an assassination attempt that led him to confront Bai Tianqi, Fang Family fighters, and Ghost Gate experts. With You Lian'er beside him, he fled their pursuit through the snow, leaving the story with Elder Lin tracking their scent north.

• Huang Xiao defeated Yelü Mengdu in the arena and spared him to avoid harming relations between Great Song and Khitan.
• Xiao Yan treated Huang Xiao, and he helped her recover from a cultivation deviation before examining the bronze mirrors in her meditation chamber.
• Masked assassins attacked Zhao Yuankan's carriage, but Huang Xiao and You Lian'er defeated them and returned to the Envoy Residence.
• Huang Xiao pursued Bai Tianqi beyond Linhuang Prefecture and discovered that the man was He Jing, while Fang Rongcheng and the Fang Family moved against him.
• You Lian'er's zither helped Huang Xiao fight the Fang Family, but the arrival of the Grand Elder and Ghost Gate experts forced them to flee as Xiao Yingda and Dragon Guards held off their enemies.
• Huang Xiao and You Lian'er escaped toward Linhuang Prefecture, evaded Elder Lin and Hu Wen with a snow formation, and doubled back to mislead their pursuers.
• Elder Lin noticed You Lian'er's face-powder scent and led Fang Rongcheng and Hu Wen north after them.

Huang Xiao escaped He Jing with Duan Ren and You Lian'er, reached Thousand Demon Gorge, and advanced his cultivation under Ling Tianya's protection. After Ling Tianya began taking revenge on Great Song sects, Huang Xiao returned to Kaifeng and reunited with Dugu Sheng and Duan Ying amid a crisis in Dali.

• Lü Yiran and Duan Ren helped Huang Xiao and You Lian'er escape Lin Zhenhou's pursuit, and Duan Ren killed Hu Wen before the group fled He Jing.
• He Jing wounded Duan Ren, but Xiao Yan guided Huang Xiao, You Lian'er, and Duan Ren through a blizzard formation to Thousand Demon Gorge, where Ling Tianya killed He Jing and stabilized Duan Ren.
• Huang Xiao cultivated in the Cold Pool and broke through to the Peak Realm, while Ling Tianya revealed himself as the Thousand Demons Sect's master and arranged a secret alliance with Ran Chou.
• Huang Xiao and You Lian'er cultivated together on the Cold Jade, then left Thousand Demon Gorge with Xiao Yan and Duan Ren as Ling Tianya prepared to take revenge on Great Song's sects.
• Ling Tianya killed leaders and elders across several sects, then met six abbots and secretly planned to use them in a greater attack on Shaolin Temple.
• Huang Xiao rescued Duan Ying near Kaifeng, and Dugu Sheng helped bring the injured man to Huang Xiao's residence.
• Duan Ying told Huang Xiao and Dugu Sheng that Cao Wuxin and the Taixuan Sect had intervened in Dali's conflict, while Dugu Sheng described how incomplete sword marks had improved his swordsmanship.