Chapter Summaries

Huang Xiao showed Dugu Sheng the Broken Sword Scripture, and Dugu Sheng discovered that its incomplete characters matched those on the stone wall and revealed clearer sword intent. Huang Xiao gave him the manual to study, and Dugu Sheng fell into deep thought after Huang Xiao mentioned breaking his sword moves.

• Huang Xiao told Dugu Sheng that he had obtained the Broken Sword Scripture from He Jing after He Jing was killed.
• Dugu Sheng studied the manual and recognized that its writing resembled the sword marks on the stone wall.
• Dugu Sheng explained that the manual and the stone-wall marks fit together, though he still could not read the strange characters.
• Huang Xiao gave the Broken Sword Scripture to Dugu Sheng and asked him to share any martial arts he discovered.
• Huang Xiao said he could handle and break Dugu Sheng's sword moves, prompting Dugu Sheng to sink into deep thought.

Dugu Sheng found a new direction for his swordsmanship: creating techniques to break every kind of move beneath heaven. As Dugu Sheng studied the Broken Sword Scripture in seclusion, Huang Xiao learned that Duan Ying’s father remained safe for now and discovered a startling report about many experts dying.

• Dugu Sheng told Huang Xiao that he would pursue swordsmanship focused on breaking every kind of martial technique, drawing inspiration from the Broken Sword Scripture.
• Huang Xiao sent Dugu Sheng to his quiet chamber to study while he stayed with Duan Ying and prepared to take him into the palace the next morning.
• A constable delivered intelligence books, and Huang Xiao learned that Duan Feng controlled Dali’s court but had not yet killed Duan Ying’s father.
• Huang Xiao read the Six Gates’ reports on his pursuit by the Fang Family and the Ghost Gate, noting that much of the account was inaccurate.
• Huang Xiao found a report in the final pages that said many experts had died, and he stared at it in shock.

Huang Xiao brought Duan Ying to the Imperial Palace to ask Zhao Guangyi for help reclaiming Dali and rescuing Duan Ying’s father. Their audience was interrupted when Cao Wuxin attacked a trusted eunuch, leaving Huang Xiao to face the Taixuan Sect prodigy.

• Huang Xiao read a report that experts from eight Renowned Great Sects had died within two days, apparently killed by the same unknown person.
• Huang Xiao told Duan Ying that Duan Feng had taken control of Dali’s Imperial Court, while Duan Ying’s father remained alive for now.
• An old eunuch led Huang Xiao and Duan Ying toward the Imperial Garden to meet Zhao Guangyi.
• Cao Wuxin struck the eunuch and sent him flying, but Huang Xiao caught him and dispelled the internal force within him.
• Huang Xiao exchanged blows with Cao Wuxin and held his ground, then stopped Duan Ying from rushing into a fight he could not win.
• Huang Xiao recognized Cao Wuxin, the Taixuan Sect’s foremost prodigy, and addressed him calmly.

Cao Wuxin confronted Huang Xiao over an old grudge and demanded Zhao Guangyi’s answer about taking Zhao Yunhui as his concubine. Zhao Guangyi instead announced a contest for tomorrow, and later asked Huang Xiao to fight Cao Wuxin in it.

• Cao Wuxin attacked Huang Xiao, but Eunuch Wang intervened before Zhao Guangyi arrived and stopped the confrontation.
• Zhao Guangyi announced that a contest would be held tomorrow and that any talented young man could participate; Cao Wuxin taunted Huang Xiao to show up and fight him.
• Duan Ying asked Zhao Guangyi for help with Dali, and Zhao Guangyi said he would consider it and ordered Duan Ying to stay in the palace for safety.
• Zhao Guangyi spoke privately with Huang Xiao, recognized his recent breakthrough, and asked him to fight Cao Wuxin tomorrow.

Zhao Guangyi arranged a martial selection for Zhao Yunhui’s consort so Huang Xiao could challenge the wounded Cao Wuxin and prevent him from claiming her. Huang Xiao agreed to fight, but Zhao Yunhui left the decision to him and said she would accept her fate.

• Zhao Guangyi told Huang Xiao that Cao Wuxin wanted Zhao Yunhui as a concubine and explained the Taixuan Sect’s influence over Great Song.
• Zhao Guangyi revealed that he had arranged a martial selection for the next morning, expecting Huang Xiao to face the injured Cao Wuxin.
• Huang Xiao agreed to fight Cao Wuxin to protect Zhao Yunhui, though he worried about the implications of becoming her consort while loving another woman.
• After Huang Xiao met Zhao Yuankan, Zhao Xin'er, and Zhao Yunhui, Zhao Xin'er feared for both her sister and Huang Xiao, while Zhao Yunhui said she would accept her fate.
• Zhao Yunhui told Huang Xiao he need not compete and left, with Zhao Xin'er hurrying after her.

Huang Xiao prepared to face the injured Cao Wuxin in a fight outside the city, reassuring Zhao Xin'er and Zhao Yunhui that he had a chance to win. Zhao Yunhui urged him to protect himself as he insisted he would change her fate, and Huang Xiao finished the lotus seed soup she had brought him.

• Zhao Yuankan asked Huang Xiao if he could defeat Cao Wuxin, and Huang Xiao said Cao’s injuries gave him a chance.
• Huang Xiao asked Zhao Yuankan to tell Dugu Sheng that he and Duan Ying would stay in the palace and that he would fight Cao Wuxin outside the city the next day.
• Zhao Xin'er visited Huang Xiao, worried about his fight and her sister’s future, and Huang Xiao reassured her that he had reached upper peerless strength.
• Huang Xiao and Zhao Xin'er shared a tender moment before she left, and he returned to preparing for the fight.
• Zhao Yunhui brought Huang Xiao lotus seed soup and asked him not to fight Cao Wuxin, but he refused and told her he would change her fate.
• Zhao Yunhui warned Huang Xiao to concede if he could not match Cao Wuxin, and Huang Xiao finished the soup she had made.

Huang Xiao prepared to fight Cao Wuxin while Zhao Yunhui secretly resolved to take her own life if Cao won, though Zhao Xin'er stayed with her to keep watch. Meanwhile, Grand Martial Uncle Jin warned Cao Wuxin about provoking Zhao Guangyi and discussed the Taixuan Sect’s plans concerning Medicine King Hall and Shaolin.

• Zhao Yunhui brought Huang Xiao lotus seed soup, and Huang Xiao wondered why she seemed unconcerned about his coming fight with Cao Wuxin.
• Zhao Yunhui considered using her gold hairpin to kill herself if Cao Wuxin defeated Huang Xiao, but Zhao Xin'er took the hairpin and stayed the night with her.
• Grand Martial Uncle Jin rebuked Cao Wuxin for approaching Zhao Guangyi on his own, then permitted him to proceed with the arranged contest against Huang Xiao.
• Cao Wuxin insisted he could defeat Huang Xiao despite his injuries, while Grand Martial Uncle Jin warned him not to underestimate Huang Xiao.
• Grand Martial Uncle Jin decided the Taixuan Sect would stay out of Medicine King Hall’s conflict with the two valleys but would join efforts against Shaolin and draw more Jianghu sects into the matter.

Granduncle-Master Jin explained Taixuan Sect’s plan to exploit the coming conflict at Shaolin while warning Cao Wuxin that hidden experts could threaten even the sect master. At the princess-consort martial selection, Cao Wuxin arrived, but Huang Xiao was missing, leaving Wang Jin and Dugu Sheng wondering where he was.

• Granduncle-Master Jin told Cao Wuxin that Taixuan Sect would watch the Heterodox and Demonic Factions attack Shaolin, and warned that powerful reclusive experts still existed in the Jianghu.
• Granduncle-Master Jin speculated that the Medicine King Hall’s Founding Patriarch might be the living expert who made the Taixuan Sect’s sect master wary.
• Granduncle-Master Jin ordered six experts from allied righteous sects to go to Shaolin, then agreed Cao Wuxin could join him after his injuries healed and his match ended.
• Wang Jin arrived to oversee Zhao Yunhui’s martial selection and spotted Cao Wuxin waiting beside the arena, but could not find Huang Xiao.
• Wang Jin sent a young eunuch to inform Zhao Guangyi that Huang Xiao had not arrived, while Dugu Sheng also searched the crowd for him.

Zhao Yunya and Dugu Sheng waited for Huang Xiao as Cao Wuxin pushed to begin the contest, then killed two young men on the platform. A swordsman intervened before Cao Wuxin could kill another, and Cao Wuxin recognized him.

• Zhao Yunya told Dugu Sheng to stall Cao Wuxin while she went to the palace to look for Huang Xiao.
• Cao Wuxin challenged the young men at the contest and urged Wang Jin to let him sweep them off the platform.
• Wang Jin told most of the contestants to withdraw, but a dozen men stayed to face Cao Wuxin.
• Cao Wuxin killed a young man with one palm strike, then killed another as the remaining men tried to flee.
• An unidentified swordsman leaped onto the platform and blocked Cao Wuxin, who recognized him.

Cao Wuxin killed two contestants before Dugu Sheng took the platform to stall for Huang Xiao. Zhao Yunya discovered that Zhao Yunhui had put Huang Xiao to sleep with Three-Day Sleep Powder and hurried to wake him with Soul-Recovering Incense.

• Cao Wuxin recognized Dugu Sheng and threatened to kill him after Dugu Sheng challenged his deadly conduct.
• Dugu Sheng stayed on the platform to delay Cao Wuxin while Wang Jin waited for Huang Xiao to arrive.
• Zhao Yunya rushed to Zhao Yunhui and learned that Huang Xiao had not appeared at the martial arts grounds.
• Zhao Yunhui admitted she had drugged Huang Xiao with Three-Day Sleep Powder to keep him from risking his life against Cao Wuxin.
• Zhao Yunya obtained Soul-Recovering Incense, found Huang Xiao asleep in his lodging, and held the incense beneath his nose.

Huang Xiao awoke after Zhao Yunya alerted him that Cao Wuxin was fighting Dugu Sheng, and he raced toward the arena. Dugu Sheng used swordsmanship inspired by Huang Xiao’s Broken Sword Scripture to wound Cao Wuxin, but Cao Wuxin countered and drove his palm force against Dugu Sheng’s sword.

• Zhao Yunya woke Huang Xiao and told him Cao Wuxin was fighting outside the city, so Huang Xiao rushed toward the arena without dressing.
• Cao Wuxin knocked Dugu Sheng back and mocked his swordsmanship, but Dugu Sheng used a sudden, unassuming thrust to cut Cao Wuxin’s palm.
• Dugu Sheng said his new moves were created to counter Cao Wuxin’s palm technique and pressed his attack.
• Cao Wuxin grew furious, dodged Dugu Sheng’s strikes, and flicked his sword aside before gathering immense force in his palm.
• Dugu Sheng thrust at Cao Wuxin’s palm, but his sword tip stopped at its center as Cao Wuxin pushed the blade toward him.

Dugu Sheng was nearly killed by Cao Wuxin, but Huang Xiao arrived in time to give him a flexible sword and save him. Huang Xiao then entered the contest against Cao Wuxin, and their fight began with Cao Wuxin already injured from his battle with Dugu Sheng.

• Cao Wuxin broke Dugu Sheng's treasured sword and struck him in the chest, then rushed to finish him off.
• Huang Xiao threw his flexible sword to Dugu Sheng, who used its bending blade to force Cao Wuxin to retreat.
• Huang Xiao helped Dugu Sheng down from the arena and asked Wang Jin for permission to compete.
• Wang Jin announced that Huang Xiao and Cao Wuxin would compete for the position of prince consort.
• Huang Xiao taunted the injured Cao Wuxin and attacked first with the Lingbo Ethereal Steps.

Huang Xiao fought the wounded Cao Wuxin, but Cao Wuxin’s Taixuan Mystical Art overwhelmed his attempts to wear him down and resist his internal power. Huang Xiao escaped Cao Wuxin’s restraint at the cost of severe pain, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Huang Xiao attacked Cao Wuxin with a relentless barrage of palm strikes, but Cao Wuxin increased his power and tore Huang Xiao’s chest clothing with a sudden claw attack.
• Huang Xiao used the Heavenly Demon Skill and Heavenly Demon Subduing Tiger Fist to trade blows with Cao Wuxin, who was surprised by the demonic art’s strength.
• Huang Xiao tried to absorb Cao Wuxin’s internal power, but Cao Wuxin’s Taixuan True Qi battered Huang Xiao’s meridians and resisted assimilation.
• Cao Wuxin countered Huang Xiao’s attempt to blast him away and taunted him to use his full strength while he was injured.
• Huang Xiao withdrew his palm and endured Cao Wuxin’s true qi rampaging through his meridians, then broke free and retreated five steps.

Huang Xiao tricked Cao Wuxin into lowering his guard by imitating the Taixuan Mystical Art, then risked his life to defeat him. Wang Jin stopped Huang Xiao from pursuing Cao Wuxin, and an old man removed the unconscious fighter from the arena after declaring his concession.

• Huang Xiao ignored Wang Jin’s warning and attacked Cao Wuxin, but could not disrupt his power buildup until he used the Heavenly Demon Illusion Art to mimic the Taixuan Mystical Art.
• Cao Wuxin was unsettled by Huang Xiao’s imitation, and Huang Xiao suddenly switched back to his demonic aura and unleashed the fivefold force of the Heavenly Demon Subduing Tiger Fist.
• Huang Xiao and Cao Wuxin injured each other in a fierce clash, and Huang Xiao began reversing his true qi to prepare Heavenly Demon Disintegration.
• Cao Wuxin suddenly lost the force in his palm, allowing Huang Xiao to break through and send him flying out of the arena.
• Wang Jin stopped Huang Xiao and sealed several of his acupoints, while an old man appeared, declared that Cao Wuxin conceded, and took him away.
• Huang Xiao thanked Wang Jin for his help, and Wang Jin scolded him for nearly dying while acknowledging his loyalty to the princess.

Huang Xiao defeated Cao Wuxin in the consort selection, but his use of the Heavenly Demon Skill revealed him as a potential threat to the Taixuan Sect. The chapter ended with Zhao Yunya relieved that Huang Xiao had won and Zhao Xin'er unsettled by the news that he would become the Prince Consort.

• Huang Xiao's reckless use of Heavenly Demon Disintegration frightened Cao Wuxin, whose old injuries flared up and disrupted his true qi; Wang Jin stopped Huang Xiao before the technique could kill him.
• Wang Jin declared Huang Xiao the winner, and guards carried the injured Huang Xiao into the palace while Du Ge took the seriously wounded Dugu Sheng back to the residence.
• After Cao Wuxin awoke, Grand Martial Uncle Jin identified Huang Xiao's technique as the Heavenly Demon Skill and suspected he possessed the Heavenly Demon Canon; Cao Wuxin vowed to kill him and obtain the art.
• Grand Martial Uncle Jin gave Cao Wuxin a Xuanxuan Pill to heal his injuries and said they would go to Shaolin after he recovered.
• A palace maid told Zhao Yunya and Zhao Xin'er that Huang Xiao had won and become the Prince Consort; Zhao Yunya was relieved, while Zhao Xin'er felt confused by her reaction to the news.

After Huang Xiao defeated Cao Wuxin and was named the Leisurely Marquis, Zhao Yunhui went to his quarters to check on his serious injuries and offered him a rare Taixuan Sect healing pill, which he declined. Meanwhile, Zhao Xin'er hid her sorrow, wrote letters for her sister and Huang Xiao, and secretly left the palace; the chapter ends with Zhao Yunhui telling Huang Xiao that Zhao Xin'er would soon visit and that her father had granted him his title.

• The palace maid announced that Huang Xiao had defeated Cao Wuxin and been named the Leisurely Marquis, and Zhao Yunhui hurried to see whether he was injured.
• Zhao Yunya left the palace while Zhao Xin'er concealed her distress, wrote two letters, and instructed a maid to deliver one to Huang Xiao before secretly leaving over the palace wall.
• Zhao Yunhui found Huang Xiao recovering from severe injuries and offered him a Xuanxuan Pill, but he declined because he expected to recover without it.
• Huang Xiao admitted that he had only beaten Cao Wuxin because Cao Wuxin was badly wounded and vowed to surpass him in a future fight.
• Zhao Yunhui told Huang Xiao that Zhao Xin'er would soon come to see him and that her father had conferred the title of Leisurely Marquis on him.

After Zhao Xin'er left to make way for Huang Xiao and Zhao Yunhui, Huang Xiao recovered from his injuries and set out for the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion to find her. As he headed west, Li Yuncong and Xu Yan arrived at Poison God Valley.

• Zhao Yunhui assured Huang Xiao she would explain the consort decree to her father and would not let him wrong Zhao Xin'er.
• A maid delivered letters from Zhao Xin'er, who had left for the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion and urged Huang Xiao to treat Zhao Yunhui well.
• Huang Xiao panicked and tried to leave the palace, but Zhao Yunhui persuaded him to take a Xuanxuan Pill and heal first.
• After recovering in four hours, Huang Xiao learned the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion's location from Zhao Yunhui and immediately set out to pursue Zhao Xin'er.
• Li Yuncong and Xu Yan sat above the Valley Master of Poison God Valley in the brightly lit hall.

Xu Yan Yun and Li Cong prepared with Poison God Valley and Medicine God Valley to face Medicine King Hall, while Mu Yi explained that Huang Xiao likely possessed the Heavenly Demon Skill. The elders acknowledged the danger posed by Old Devil Wan and the possibility that other Medicine King Hall experts had also reached the second realm.

• Liang Fan told Xu Yan Yun that Poison God Valley had prepared its defenses and that Qi Yu had brought Medicine God Valley's disciples to safety.
• Xu Yan Yun ordered Liang Fan and the five grand elders to withdraw with the disciples if fighting began, but Mu Yi warned that battle with Medicine King Hall could not be avoided.
• Mu Yi revealed that he suspected Huang Xiao had obtained the Heavenly Demon Skill, explaining that the Heavenly Demon Guard's intervention and Huang Xiao's earlier rejuvenation supported his theory.
• Xu Yan Yun worried that Huang Xiao's demonic cultivation could lead to deviation, while Li Cong and Mu Yi believed the Heavenly Demon Guard and Everlasting Spring Youth-Restoring Art could help protect him.
• Li Cong and Xu Yan Yun resolved to face Old Devil Wan, though they had not yet consolidated their second-realm breakthroughs; Mu Yi warned that Medicine King Hall might have another expert at that level.

Wan Qingteng led Medicine King Hall to demand the second volume of the Medicine King Scripture from Mu Yi, Xu Yanyun, and Li Cong. When Ge Gu revealed that he had also reached the Second Realm, the three prepared to fight, while Wan Qingteng pressed on, desperate to complete the Scripture before the Founding Patriarch could return.

• Wan Qingteng arrived at Poison God Valley with Medicine King Hall and demanded that Mu Yi, Xu Yanyun, and Li Cong hand over the second volume of the Medicine King Scripture.
• Wan Qingteng tried to persuade the three to return to Medicine King Hall, but Mu Yi rejected his appeal and refused to surrender the Scripture.
• Wan Qingteng threatened to destroy the valleys and kill their disciples, and Ge Gu emerged as a second Medicine King Hall expert who had reached the Second Realm.
• Mu Yi, Li Cong, and Xu Yanyun chose to fight together, and Wan Qingteng vowed to find the Scripture even if he had to search the ruins.
• Wan Qingteng revealed his urgency: he feared the Founding Patriarch's return and wanted the complete Medicine King Scripture to strengthen himself enough to face him.

Li Cong and Xu Yan Yun fought Wan Qingteng and Ge Gu as the Medicine King Hall and Poison God Valley disciples clashed around them. Xu Yan Yun tried to join Li Cong against Ge Gu, while Mu Yi intercepted Wan Qingteng and left the outcome of the fight unsettled.

• Li Cong and Xu Yan Yun attacked Wan Qingteng, who used his greater mastery to fight them both.
• Ge Gu intervened and fought Li Cong, who judged that Ge Gu's recently forced breakthrough had left him weaker.
• Wan Qingteng sent Xu Yan Yun flying, but she used the momentum to head toward Ge Gu and help Li Cong.
• Mu Yi blocked Wan Qingteng from reaching Ge Gu, endured his attacks, and revealed that his strength nearly matched the second realm.
• Mu Yi hoped Li Cong and Xu Yan Yun could kill Ge Gu while he held Wan Qingteng back.