Chapter Summaries

Huang Xiao rushed to protect Zhao Yuankan when thirteen Masked Men ambushed the procession in Linhuang Prefecture. After defeating the attackers at the carriage, he turned to help You Lian'er, who was holding off the seven men sent to delay him.

• You Lian'er joined Huang Xiao's procession and said she planned to visit him at the Envoy Residence.
• Thirteen Masked Men attacked Zhao Yuankan's carriage with explosive darts, killing several guards and destroying the carriage horses.
• Huang Xiao fought seven Masked Men who tried to delay him while six others attacked the carriage, where Lord Gu defended Zhao Yuankan.
• Lord Gu was badly injured, but Huang Xiao struck down five attackers, wounded the Mid Peerless Masked Man, and stabilized Lord Gu's injuries.
• Huang Xiao found You Lian'er holding off the seven men and sealed the wounded attacker's acupoints before charging toward them.

Huang Xiao and You Lian'er defeated the masked assassins who attacked Zhao Yuankan, but the surviving attacker killed himself with poison before they could learn who sent them. The group returned safely to the Envoy Residence, where Huang Xiao suddenly darted ahead after sensing something.

• Huang Xiao returned to help You Lian'er, and together they killed the remaining masked attackers.
• Huang Xiao and You Lian'er removed the assassins' masks but recognized none of them; the wounded survivor bit down on poison and died before he could be questioned.
• You Lian'er warned that future assassins might include Upper Peerless experts, while Huang Xiao questioned why the attackers had seemed to have no follow-up plan.
• Zhao Yuankan, Huang Xiao, You Lian'er, and the injured Lord Gu agreed to return to the Envoy Residence and seek an explanation from the Khitan.
• The group reached the Envoy Residence without further trouble, but Huang Xiao suddenly jolted and darted ahead.

Huang Xiao pursued Bai Tianqi, the man who had killed his master, while Lord Wu used the Dragon Protection Token to send two hidden Dragon Guard experts after him. The chapter ended with Bai Tianqi taunting Huang Xiao as they raced beyond Linhuang Prefecture.

• You Lian'er left her guards and followed Huang Xiao, while one of her guards took a zither and chased after her.
• Zhao Yuankan told Lord Wu about the assassination attempt, and Lord Wu warned that Huang Xiao might also be a target.
• Lord Wu used the Dragon Protection Token to request help, and two hidden Dragon Guard experts said they had already followed Huang Xiao.
• Lord Wu kept Zhao Guangyi's secret order to protect Huang Xiao as carefully as Zhao Yuankan from him.
• Huang Xiao chased Bai Tianqi out of Linhuang Prefecture after recognizing him as the murderer of his master, and Bai Tianqi taunted him as he fled.

Huang Xiao was lured by Bai Tianqi to a lake, where three Fang Family upper peerless masters confronted him. As You Lian'er joined the standoff with her zither, she sent for Xiao Yan's help.

• Huang Xiao pursued Bai Tianqi out of the city and realized Bai Tianqi's sudden increase in strength might be tied to a plan.
• Bai Tianqi stopped at a lake, where three upper peerless masters ambushed Huang Xiao and revealed themselves as members of the Fang Family.
• You Lian'er caught up and recognized the Fang Family men, who discussed capturing her to use against Zhang Pu.
• You Lian'er realized she had forgotten her Netherworld Demon Zither Imitation Zither, but her mid peerless attendant arrived and returned it to her.
• You Lian'er told her attendant to seek help from Sister Yan, knowing the Xiao Clan had masters in Khitan.

Huang Xiao and You Lian'er joined forces against three Fang Family experts, using her zither music to disrupt their attacks and let Huang Xiao injure the third brother. The third brother withdrew to heal while Huang Xiao and You Lian'er faced the remaining two.

• You Lian'er sent her subordinate for reinforcements and prepared to support Huang Xiao with the Imitation Zither.
• You Lian'er played a zither note that briefly dazed the Fang Family experts and Bai Tianqi, giving Huang Xiao an opening to attack.
• The eldest and second brothers engaged Huang Xiao while the third brother went after You Lian'er.
• You Lian'er's music disrupted the third brother's true qi as he clashed with Huang Xiao, allowing Huang Xiao to drive him back and damage his meridians.
• The eldest brother recognized the danger of You Lian'er's Sound Art, and the second brother ordered the injured third brother to withdraw and heal.

You Lian'er used subtle zither music to weaken the Fang Family experts while strengthening Huang Xiao, allowing him to kill the second brother. The eldest realized the music had been suppressing their power and demanded to know who Huang Xiao really was.

• You Lian'er began playing the Fifth Tone as the two Fang Family brothers charged at Huang Xiao.
• Huang Xiao fought both brothers and drove them back while You Lian'er's music secretly weakened them and amplified his strength.
• The second brother charged again, stumbled under the music's influence, and Huang Xiao killed him with two punches to the head.
• Bai Tianqi recognized that You Lian'er's zither music was affecting the fighters, and the eldest understood why they had been unable to use their full strength.
• The eldest questioned Huang Xiao's identity after realizing the zither music had enabled him to defeat the brothers.

Huang Xiao and You Lian'er subdued the Fang Family brothers with her sound art, but the Fang Family Grand Elder arrived with four more experts and turned the confrontation against them. The Grand Elder called on the hidden experts to reveal themselves, leaving Huang Xiao and You Lian'er facing uncertain odds.

• You Lian'er's zither music weakened the Fang Family brothers, and Huang Xiao prepared to finish off the eldest brother.
• You Lian'er stopped playing when five Fang Family experts arrived, and the surviving brothers greeted their leader as the Grand Elder.
• The Grand Elder reprimanded the brothers, postponed their punishment, and examined Bai Tianqi before turning his attention to Huang Xiao and You Lian'er.
• You Lian'er recognized the Grand Elder as a Peerless Realm expert and worried that neither she nor Huang Xiao could withstand the Fang Family's forces.
• The Grand Elder acknowledged You Lian'er's sound art and called for the experts hidden nearby to show themselves.

The Fang Family grand elder let Huang Xiao settle his grudge with Bai Tianqi before anyone intervened. Huang Xiao’s attacks failed to overcome Bai Tianqi, who began transforming after his disguise was broken.

• The grand elder found that none of Huang Xiao’s expected protectors had appeared and decided to let Huang Xiao fight Bai Tianqi while the Fang Family stayed out of it.
• Huang Xiao told You Lian'er to escape and asked her to avenge his master by killing Bai Tianqi, but she refused to leave him.
• Huang Xiao attacked Bai Tianqi with Blazing Yang Palm, but Bai Tianqi’s palm strike sent him stumbling back and left blood at the corner of his mouth.
• Huang Xiao used Heavenly Demon Skill and Heavenly Demon Subduing Tiger Fist, but Bai Tianqi absorbed the force and remained unharmed.
• Bai Tianqi’s body swelled and his gaunt appearance cracked apart, and he said Huang Xiao’s fist had broken his disguise.

Huang Xiao learned that the Bai Tianqi he had pursued was actually He Jing, a Peerless Realm expert working under an agreement with the Ghost Gate, while Fang Rongcheng prepared to kill him. As Huang Xiao’s demonic art surged, He Jing offered to protect him in exchange for the cultivation method, and attacked You Lian’er when she objected.

• Huang Xiao shattered the disguise of the false Bai Tianqi and discovered that the man was He Jing, a Peerless Realm expert.
• He Jing and Fang Rongcheng explained their dealings with the Ghost Gate, and Fang Rongcheng announced that he would kill Huang Xiao.
• Huang Xiao’s rage triggered his demonic art, and You Lian’er tried to stop him from losing control.
• He Jing became interested in Huang Xiao’s cultivation method and offered to act against Fang Rongcheng’s side if Huang Xiao revealed it.
• You Lian’er objected to He Jing’s offer, and He Jing sent Palm Force toward her.

Huang Xiao taught You Lian'er half of the Heavenly Demon Skill while Fang Rongcheng tried to kill him, and He Jing intervened to protect Huang Xiao before withdrawing. As Fang Rongcheng prepared to strike again, Xiao Yingda arrived in the Khitan lands.

• Huang Xiao blocked He Jing's palm strike for You Lian'er and secretly began teaching her the Heavenly Demon Skill.
• Fang Rongcheng attacked Huang Xiao, but You Lian'er tried to shield him, and Huang Xiao countered with the Heavenly Demon Subduing Tiger Fist, leaving him badly wounded.
• He Jing attacked Fang Rongcheng with his broken sword, then stopped when Fang Rongcheng warned him about provoking the Fang Family and Ghost Gate.
• Fang Rongcheng prepared to kill Huang Xiao, but Xiao Yingda arrived and challenged him for running wild in the Khitan lands.

Xiao Yingda arrived to protect Huang Xiao from Fang Rongcheng, then the Fang Family’s three other Peerless Realm experts appeared and the Dragon Guard revealed its concealed protectors. The sides prepared to fight while a Dragon Guard expert urged Huang Xiao and You Lian'er to escape.

• Xiao Yingda confronted Fang Rongcheng and warned him to leave Huang Xiao alone, while He Jing said he intended only to watch.
• Fang Rongcheng’s three Fang Family allies arrived, and a family elder revealed that the two concealed Dragon Guard experts had been present all along.
• The Dragon Guard experts joined Huang Xiao, and Xiao Yingda criticized them for failing to act sooner before agreeing to cooperate against the Fang Family.
• He Jing retreated but remained nearby, leaving Huang Xiao’s side wary of his intentions.
• A Dragon Guard expert told Huang Xiao to seize an opening and flee with You Lian'er toward the Envoy Residence.

Xiao Yingda confronted Fang Rongyi while the Dragon Guard masters held off the Fang Family, giving Huang Xiao and You Lian'er a chance to escape. As the battle continued, Fang Rongcheng sent the eldest Upper Peerless brother after them, while he remained tied down by a Dragon Guard.

• Xiao Yingda recognized Fang Rongyi and challenged him, then raised his aura and agreed to fight him while the two Dragon Guard masters faced the other Fang Family members.
• He Jing withdrew from the fight, and Fang Rongyi ordered Fang Rongcheng to pursue Huang Xiao while the others dealt with the Dragon Guards.
• Huang Xiao and You Lian'er fled toward Linhuang Prefecture, and Huang Xiao took her hand to help her keep pace through the snow.
• A Dragon Guard blocked Fang Rongcheng from pursuing Huang Xiao and You Lian'er, while Fang Rongcheng urged the eldest Upper Peerless brother to chase them instead.
• The eldest Upper Peerless brother reluctantly set off after Huang Xiao and You Lian'er, as Fang Rongcheng continued trading blows with the Dragon Guard who blocked him.

Huang Xiao and You Lian'er fled toward Linhuang Prefecture but were intercepted by two Ghost Gate experts. Huang Xiao prepared a formation in the snow and quietly planned a desperate counterattack, though one expert stayed outside it.

• A Fang Family expert broke through the Dragon Guards and pursued Huang Xiao while Xiao Yingda remained occupied with Fang Rongyi.
• Huang Xiao and You Lian'er neared Linhuang Prefecture, but Huang Xiao sensed danger, pulled her back, and laid tracks in the snow to form a trap.
• Two Ghost Gate Peerless experts, Elder Lin and Hu Wen, appeared and revealed that they intended to kill Huang Xiao and prevent the Dragon Guards from escaping.
• Elder Lin dismissed Huang Xiao's hastily made formation and chose to attack while Hu Wen stayed outside, despite Huang Xiao's attempt to lure both into it.
• Huang Xiao told You Lian'er his plan, and she agreed to try it despite her uncertainty.

Huang Xiao and You Lian'er escaped the Ghost Gate experts by using a snow-filled formation and their combined Sound Arts, but their pursuers quickly broke the formation and continued the chase. Near Linhuang Prefecture, Huang Xiao avoided the direct route and deliberately left footprints as he led You Lian'er west.

• Huang Xiao lured Elder Lin into his Confusion Formation, filled it with snow mist, and escaped with You Lian'er.
• Hu Wen attacked as they emerged, but You Lian'er’s zither music and Huang Xiao’s Heavenly Demon Dragon Roar stunned him long enough for Huang Xiao to knock him back and retreat.
• Fang Rongcheng charged into the formation, then joined Elder Lin in breaking it; Hu Wen told them Huang Xiao and You Lian'er had fled west.
• Elder Lin went to block the route into Linhuang Prefecture while Hu Wen and Fang Rongcheng pursued Huang Xiao, and an Upper Peerless expert searched near the city.
• Huang Xiao led You Lian'er west, then north and west again instead of entering the city, and left footprints in the snow as they ran.

Huang Xiao and You Lian'er used misleading footprints to make their pursuers think they were heading toward Linhuang Prefecture, while they secretly traveled north outside the city. Elder Lin saw through the ruse and tracked them by You Lian'er's face-powder scent, leading the pursuers north.

• Huang Xiao told You Lian'er he had deliberately left tracks to mislead their pursuers, then turned northwest and bypassed Linhuang Prefecture instead of entering it.
• Elder Lin searched near the city while Hu Wen and Fang Rongcheng followed the footprints west, then Fang Rongcheng suspected the trail was a decoy.
• Elder Lin rejected the footprints as a trick and persuaded Fang Rongcheng and Hu Wen to continue west with him.
• Elder Lin detected You Lian'er's face-powder scent, concluded the pair had gone north, and led the others in pursuit.

Huang Xiao and You Lian'er fled north through a brutal snowstorm, but Elder Lin of the Ghost Gate caught up and attacked them. Lü Yiran and the Black-Clad Youth of the Heavenly Demon Guard arrived to protect Huang Xiao, just as Fang Rongcheng and Hu Wen joined Lin Zhenhou.

• Huang Xiao carried You Lian'er north through the worsening snowstorm, hoping the weather would erase their tracks and delay their pursuers.
• After two more hours, Huang Xiao stopped to seek shelter, but Lin Zhenhou caught up and lunged at him.
• Lü Yiran appeared and drove Lin Zhenhou aside with a hidden weapon, revealing that he was the Third Deputy Standard-Bearer of the Golden Banner Guard.
• Lü Yiran told the Black-Clad Youth to take Huang Xiao and You Lian'er away, while Lin Zhenhou insisted they could not escape.
• Fang Rongcheng and Hu Wen arrived to join Lin Zhenhou as the confrontation continued.

The Black-Clad Youth challenged Hu Wen while Lü Yiran held Lin Zhenhou and Fang Rongcheng at bay. Hu Wen’s unstable new peerless realm was thrown into disorder by the youth’s Demonic Art, leaving Hu Wen injured as the youth attacked again.

• Lü Yiran blocked Fang Rongcheng and Lin Zhenhou while Hu Wen charged toward Huang Xiao and the Black-Clad Youth.
• The Black-Clad Youth stayed behind to fight Hu Wen, and Huang Xiao stopped You Lian'er from intervening so they could watch.
• Hu Wen dismissed the youth’s upper peerless strength and attacked, but the youth’s fist forced Hu Wen’s unrefined true qi into a violent surge.
• Hu Wen damaged himself while suppressing the demonic internal power and staggered back, unable to recover before the Black-Clad Youth attacked again.
• The Black-Clad Youth criticized Hu Wen for fighting before consolidating his realm and drove a fist toward his chest.

The black-clad youth killed Hu Wen with a draining blade strike, stunning Huang Xiao, You Lian'er, Lin Zhenhou, and Fang Rongcheng. With Lü Yiran holding off the remaining enemies, the youth led Huang Xiao and You Lian'er north, though Huang Xiao worried that Khitan authorities might not intervene for his sake.

• Lin Zhenhou intercepted Lü Yiran so Fang Rongcheng could head toward Hu Wen, but Lü Yiran struck Lin Zhenhou and pursued Fang Rongcheng.
• Hu Wen took the black-clad youth's punch to close in and attempted to strike his neck, but the youth cut his throat with a short blade and killed him.
• Huang Xiao and You Lian'er watched in shock as the black-clad youth recovered from the effort, while Lin Zhenhou demanded to know who he was.
• Lü Yiran revealed that the black-clad youth was the personal disciple of the Heavenly Demon Guard commander, and Lin Zhenhou was stunned.
• The black-clad youth left with Huang Xiao and You Lian'er, choosing to continue north while Lü Yiran held back Lin Zhenhou and Fang Rongcheng; Huang Xiao remarked that he was not Khitan.

Huang Xiao, You Lian'er, and Duan Ren were caught by He Jing in a blizzard, where he demanded Huang Xiao's Heavenly Demon Skill. Refusing to surrender it, the three prepared to fight He Jing together as You Lian'er began playing her zither.

• You Lian'er explained that Khitan would send experts against Ghost Gate, and Huang Xiao gave her his outer robe to ward off the cold.
• After running for another hour, the three stopped to rest, and the Black-Clad Youth told Huang Xiao his name was Duan Ren.
• Duan Ren and Huang Xiao detected He Jing, who had secretly followed them and demanded Huang Xiao's demonic cultivation method in exchange for their lives.
• Huang Xiao refused He Jing's offer, and Duan Ren and You Lian'er also refused to let him surrender the Heavenly Demon Skill.
• Huang Xiao and Duan Ren prepared to fight He Jing while You Lian'er retreated and played the Netherworld Demon Eight Tones.

Huang Xiao and Duan Ren fought He Jing, whose superior power forced them onto the defensive. You Lian'er’s Sixth Tone disrupted He Jing briefly, but his sword left Duan Ren drenched in blood; Duan Ren then revealed a body covered in tiny golden dots.

• Huang Xiao and Duan Ren attacked He Jing, but He Jing’s immense internal power overwhelmed Huang Xiao’s fist.
• Huang Xiao absorbed most of He Jing’s internal power, then intervened to keep He Jing from killing Duan Ren.
• He Jing drew his broken sword as Duan Ren urged Huang Xiao to flee, but Huang Xiao stayed and called on You Lian'er.
• You Lian'er played the Sixth Tone, unsettling He Jing’s true qi and giving Duan Ren an opening to attack.
• He Jing scattered Duan Ren’s saber light and struck him with sword shadows, leaving him covered in wounds and blood.
• Duan Ren roared, burst apart his upper-body clothing, and revealed countless tiny golden dots across his body.