Chapter Summaries

Huang Xiao left Mist Mountain after learning that Wang Jiu and Fan Zhongkun had drawn the hunters away with the Evil Blades, then traveled to Qinyang City hoping to find Chen Jiao and learn whether Phoenix could be revived. At the Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency, he reunited with Liu Yu and Liu Jinyi and learned that Zhu Yang had left to cultivate with an expert.

• Huang Xiao remembered that Chen Jiao might know how to revive Phoenix and hoped to find him in Imperial Province.
• Huang Xiao stayed near Mist Mountain’s outskirts while search parties hunted for the Evil Blades and watched for news of the blockade.
• After hearing that Wang Jiu and Fan Zhongkun had escaped with the Evil Blades, Huang Xiao waited three days for the search parties to withdraw, then left Mist Mountain.
• Huang Xiao reached Qinyang City, observed the Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency for two days, and entered after finding no sign of danger.
• Liu Yu and Liu Jinyi welcomed Huang Xiao and told him Zhu Yang had left three days earlier to cultivate with an expert.

Huang Xiao discovered that the Minghong Saber and Phoenix Egg transformed when brought together, leaving the egg blackened but still alive. The next morning, Jiang Liuli confronted him at the Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency to settle their match, and Huang Xiao claimed he was now confident of defeating her.

• Huang Xiao saw the Minghong Saber glow and the Phoenix Egg's veins turn black when the two were near each other, then watched the egg fly onto the saber and change completely.
• Huang Xiao sensed that the saber's scorching, faintly demonic aura had caused the egg's transformation, and confirmed that the egg retained its vitality after the changes stopped.
• Huang Xiao wondered whether the rusted Minghong Saber might be the true Supreme Demon Saber, then put the egg away and went to sleep.
• Liu Yu told Huang Xiao that a young woman was asking for him, and Huang Xiao recognized her as Jiang Liuli from the description of her crimson-sheathed sword.
• Jiang Liuli revealed that the Sword Pavilion had been watching the Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency and challenged Huang Xiao to settle their match.
• Huang Xiao said his strength had improved enough to handle Jiang Liuli and suggested they avoid spoiling their amicable relations.

Huang Xiao fought Jiang Liuli and discovered that the Phoenix Egg absorbed the force of her Lihuo Sword, but Geng Jin and Yang Hengchang arrived to take him to the Sword Pavilion. Geng Jin sensed someone protecting Huang Xiao, let him go, and challenged him to attend the Imperial Province Ranking Contest, where the Sword Pavilion would settle its old agreement with the Transcendent Immortal Sword Lord.

• Jiang Liuli challenged Huang Xiao, and they fought through the courtyard as he used close-range attacks to disrupt her swordsmanship.
• The Phoenix Egg absorbed the force of Jiang Liuli's sword and left her depleted, convincing her that Huang Xiao had used an unknown technique.
• Jiang Liuli called for Liu Yu, Liu Jinyi, and the escort agency workers to retreat, then insisted on continuing the fight.
• Geng Jin and Yang Hengchang arrived and prepared to take Huang Xiao to the Sword Pavilion, while Geng Jin attributed Huang Xiao's increased strength to the Masked Old Man.
• Geng Jin sensed that someone was protecting Huang Xiao, let him go, and said Sword God Yi would attend the Imperial Province Ranking Contest to settle the Sword Pavilion's agreement with the Transcendent Immortal Sword Lord.

After the Sword Pavilion withdrew, Huang Xiao suspected that flames might revive the Phoenix and set out early for Imperial Province to seek a solution. In Ji Province, he heard that the Ou Family in Jicheng was about to sharpen a newly forged divine sword.

• Geng Jin said the Sword Pavilion would have Shen Yi challenge Huang Xiao at the Imperial Province Ranking Contest, while Jiang Liuli had four months to improve.
• Huang Xiao wondered whether the Masked Old Man had protected him, then realized that powerful flames might revive the Phoenix Egg.
• Liu Jinyi told Huang Xiao about legendary heavenly fire and earth fire, and Huang Xiao decided to seek help from master smiths.
• Huang Xiao left Qinyang City for Imperial Province and, after half a month on the road, entered Ji Province.
• In a Tongcheng wine shop, Huang Xiao overheard people discussing Wang Jiu, Fan Zhongkun, and the Evil Blades, then learned that the Ou Family in Jicheng would soon sharpen a newly forged divine sword.

Huang Xiao learned that the Ou Family in Jicheng would sharpen a divine sword and hurried there, hoping to study the forging flames for a chance to revive Phoenix. On the road, he came upon Lin Jian ambushing Chen Xiangrong and decided to intervene after learning Lin Jian had colluded with the Heavenly Sword Sect.

• Huang Xiao heard that the Ou Family would sharpen a divine sword in half a month and set out for Jicheng to investigate the flames used in its forging.
• After six days of travel, Huang Xiao encountered a convoy attacked by mounted Jianghu folk and learned its leader was Chen Xiangrong.
• Lin Jian revealed that he had betrayed his sworn brother Chen Xiangrong to seize control of the Four Directions Trading Company and take the divine sword.
• Chen Xiangrong asked Lin Jian to spare Huang Xiao, but Lin Jian refused because Huang Xiao had witnessed the ambush.
• Huang Xiao decided to fight Lin Jian's men, motivated by their attempt to kill him and Lin Jian's collusion with the Heavenly Sword Sect.

Huang Xiao killed Lin Jian’s men and stopped him from murdering Chen Xiangrong, who spared Lin Jian and gave him control of the Four Directions Trading Company. Huang Xiao then asked Chen Xiangrong to take him to the Ou Family’s divine sword sharpening, and they set off for Jicheng together.

• Lin Jian ordered two men to kill Huang Xiao, but Huang Xiao killed them and advanced on Lin Jian.
• Huang Xiao killed Lin Jian’s other men, and Lin Jian begged for his life and offered money before threatening him with the Heavenly Sword Sect.
• Chen Xiangrong asked Huang Xiao to spare Lin Jian, handed him the Four Directions Trading Company token, and told him he could take over as chief manager.
• Huang Xiao warned Chen Xiangrong that Lin Jian might seek revenge, but Chen Xiangrong accepted the risk and let Lin Jian flee.
• Huang Xiao asked Chen Xiangrong for an invitation to the Ou Family’s divine sword sharpening, and Chen Xiangrong offered to take him there himself.
• Huang Xiao helped Chen Xiangrong bury his dead friends, and they continued toward Jicheng.

Huang Xiao reached Jicheng with Chen Xiangrong ahead of the Ou Family’s divine sword unveiling and heard the dispute over which branch deserved the title of Craftsman God Family. Meanwhile, Chen Xiangrong revealed that he had prepared to reclaim eighteen trading companies after the Heavenly Sword Sect purged them, leaving the conflict poised to escalate.

• Huang Xiao and Chen Xiangrong reached Jicheng, and Chen Xiangrong left to arrange their visit to the Ou Family on Yan Mountain.
• Huang Xiao went to a restaurant and heard that the Yan Mountain Ou Family’s True Dragon Sword had been forged with a Jiaolong scale.
• A young man defended the Imperial Province Ou Family and warned that the Yan Mountain branch would be challenged in five days before leaving with an old man.
• Chen Xiangrong secretly met a subordinate at a residence and learned that Lin Jian and the Heavenly Sword Sect had purged the eighteen trading companies.
• Chen Xiangrong praised his subordinate’s preparations to retake the companies and blame the Heavenly Sword Sect for the killings.

Chen Xiangrong planned to seize control of the trading houses and discussed the search for the Transcendent Immortal Sword Lord’s successor, the Demon Hall, and the Ou families’ coming sword contest. After Huang Xiao returned to Jicheng, he warned Chen Xiangrong that the fame of his divine sword could put his life in danger.

• Chen Xiangrong ordered his subordinate to purge the trading houses after the Heavenly Sword Sect withdrew and to make Lin Jian suffer before killing him.
• Chen Xiangrong learned that the Transcendent Immortal Sword Lord’s successor was heading to Imperial Province and that Ou Zheng had brought Heaven’s Mandate to Jicheng.
• Chen Xiangrong discussed how Ou Jin’s return and the forging of the Supreme Demon Saber might allow the Three Great Halls to unite.
• Chen Xiangrong left his residence to visit the Ou Family while Huang Xiao returned to the inn after exploring Jicheng.
• Huang Xiao and Chen Xiangrong discussed the contest between the Imperial Province Ou Family and the Yan Mountain Ou Family, and Huang Xiao warned that the sword’s growing fame could make Chen Xiangrong a target.

Huang Xiao questioned Chen Xiangrong’s plans for the True Dragon sword and returned to his room, while Chen Xiangrong and Chu Wu discussed Huang Xiao’s possible identity. At the Yan Mountain Ou Family estate, Ou Ge and the elders considered using precious earthflame essence stone to improve True Dragon’s chances against the Imperial Province Ou Family’s Heaven’s Mandate Sword.

• Chen Xiangrong explained that he had wanted to offer True Dragon to the Heavenly Sword Sect in exchange for protection and hoped to unite trading companies, while Huang Xiao doubted his plan would succeed.
• Chu Wu arrived to protect Chen Xiangrong, and the two discussed Huang Xiao’s disguise and the possibility that he was Huang Xiao, successor of the Transcendent Immortal Sword Lord.
• Huang Xiao returned to his room, set up formations to block probing, checked the Phoenix Egg, and began practicing.
• Ou Ge and the Yan Mountain Ou Family elders planned to use the True Dragon sword contest to challenge the Imperial Province Ou Family’s claim as the main house.
• Third Brother said True Dragon had only a sixty percent chance of beating Heaven’s Mandate Sword and could reach eighty percent if its dragon scale fused with the sword using earthflame essence fire.
• Ou Ge learned that extracting enough earthflame essence fire would consume nearly the family’s entire stockpile of earthflame essence stone, and the elders objected to wasting it.

The Yan Mountain Ou Family decided to use earthflame essence stones to hone the True Dragon Sword and demanded that the Four Directions Trading Company cover its increased value, leaving Chen Xiangrong stranded after he lost control of the company. At the sword-honing ceremony, Lin Jian arrived with Heavenly Sword Sect experts, threatened Huang Xiao, and protested when the Ou Family assigned them seats in the lower area.

• Ou Ge authorized Ou Shuo to use the family’s earthflame essence stones to extract earthflame essence fire, and the elders agreed to seek a higher payment for the True Dragon Sword from the Four Directions Trading Company.
• Huang Xiao, Chen Xiangrong, and Chu Wu waited five days, then traveled to the Yan Mountain Ou Family residence, where Chen Xiangrong was made to wait another six hours before the ceremony.
• The steward led the three to the ceremony square, where two furnaces had been prepared and guests were gathering to watch the True Dragon Sword and Heaven's Mandate Sword be honed.
• Lin Jian arrived with seven companions, threatened Huang Xiao, and introduced Senior Lu, whom Huang Xiao judged to be a Void Martial Realm expert.
• When an attendant assigned Lin Jian’s group seats in the lower area, Lin Jian angrily protested that the Ou Family was disrespecting a senior from the Heavenly Sword Sect.

The Ou Family hosted a contest to sharpen the True Dragon Sword and the Imperial Province Ou Family’s Heaven’s Mandate Sword. Before the contest began, the Yan Mountain Ou Family demanded that the Four Seas Trading Company pay ten times the original price for the True Dragon Sword, and Old Lu agreed to sign the contract.

• An Ou Family member directed Lin Jian and the Heavenly Sword Sect group to guest seats, and Old Lu stopped Lin Jian from arguing.
• Ou Ge introduced the two swords and the contest, while Ou Zheng and Ou Shuo challenged each other’s swordsmithing skill.
• Ou Shuo displayed the True Dragon Sword, and Ou Zheng identified a flaw in the Jiaolong scales’ lingering aura.
• Ou Shuo ordered a servant to demand ten times the original price from the Four Seas Trading Company for the True Dragon Sword.
• Old Lu accepted the demand, and the servant presented a contract stating that the payment would not be refunded regardless of the contest’s outcome.

At the Ou Family forging contest, Ou Shuo released Earthflame Essence Fire to give the True Dragon Sword an advantage, but the flames erupted out of control and vanished. Ou Shuo accused Ou Zheng of causing the loss and demanded an explanation, leaving the dispute on the verge of violence.

• Lin Jian signed the agreement to pay ten times the quoted price for the True Dragon Sword, while Chen Xiangrong said he would let events take their course.
• Ou Shuo revealed a fist-sized piece of Earthflame Essence Fire and claimed it would make the True Dragon Sword perfect.
• Ou Zheng and Ou Shuo began quenching their swords, with Ou Zheng using ordinary flames and Ou Shuo throwing the Earthflame Essence Fire into his furnace.
• Ou Shuo pierced the ore with the True Dragon Sword, releasing white flames that surged into the sky before abruptly disappearing.
• Ou Shuo accused Ou Zheng of making the Earthflame Essence Fire vanish and threatened not to let him leave without an explanation.

After the Earthflame Essence Fire vanished, Ou Zheng suggested that something nearby might have affected it, prompting Ou Ge to order searches of everyone present. Ou Zheng and his allies were restrained as the Yan Mountain Ou Family forced the collateral branches to submit.

• Ou Shuo accused Ou Zheng of making the Earthflame Essence Fire disappear, while Ou Zheng blamed Ou Shuo's inability to control it.
• Ou Ge asked whether another cause was possible, and Ou Zheng said something nearby might have affected the fire.
• Ou Ge ordered the guards to stop anyone from leaving and demanded that everyone be searched.
• Ou Ge singled out a hostile collateral branch and threatened to kill anyone who resisted, then ordered searches of the gathered people.
• Ou Han tried to charge at the Yan Mountain Ou Family, but Ou Zheng stopped him and ordered him to stand down.
• The Yan Mountain Ou Family's elders surrounded Ou Zheng and his allies, and the outnumbered collateral branches submitted to the searches.

Huang Xiao feared the Ou Family’s searches would expose the Phoenix Egg that had triggered the earthflame upheaval. When the egg vanished from his box, a tiny black bird appeared on his shoulder, leaving him to realize the Phoenix had changed form.

• Huang Xiao realized the Phoenix Egg’s aura had caused the earthflame essence fire to go out of control and feared the Ou Family would discover it.
• The Ou Family ordered everyone searched, and Old Lu reluctantly let the Heavenly Sword Sect members submit.
• An Ou Family expert searched Huang Xiao and demanded that he hand over the Small Wooden Box hidden in his robe.
• A little black bird burst from the box and perched on Huang Xiao’s shoulder, so the expert dismissed it as a crow and continued searching.
• Huang Xiao saw that the Phoenix Egg had disappeared without a trace and suspected the bird was the Phoenix in a smaller form.

The Yan Mountain and Imperial Province Ou Families completed the True Dragon Sword and Heaven's Mandate Sword, preparing to decide which was superior. Before the contest began, Chen Xiangrong claimed the right to determine how the True Dragon Sword would be tested, and Ou Shuo challenged his ownership.

• Ou Ge ended the search of the gathered people and insisted that the sword contest continue despite the loss of the Earthflame Essence Fire.
• Ou Zheng and Ou Shuo forged their swords, and Ou Shuo realized that Ou Zheng had mastered the Ou Family's Thousand Hammers, Hundred Refinements technique.
• Ou Shuo quenched and adorned the True Dragon Sword, while Ou Zheng completed the Heaven's Mandate Sword; both were placed on a table for comparison.
• Chen Xiangrong asserted that, as the True Dragon Sword's original buyer and the Four Directions Trading Company's Chief Shopkeeper, he should have a say in its test.
• Ou Shuo denied Chen Xiangrong's claim, prompting a bystander to accuse the Yan Mountain Ou Family of reneging on its deal.

Chen Xiangrong exposed the Heavenly Sword Sect’s role in taking over the Four Directions Trading Company, turning the gathered Jianghu factions against the sect. He then challenged Lin Jian’s claim to the company and used the trading-company rules to isolate the Heavenly Sword Sect, leaving Old Lu under pressure to respond.

• Ou Shuo announced that Lin Jian had replaced Chen Xiangrong as head shopkeeper of the Four Directions Trading Company, and Lin Jian confirmed it.
• Chen Xiangrong said the Heavenly Sword Sect had taken the company and demanded the True Dragon Sword, prompting the gathered Jianghu figures to accuse the sect of interfering in trading-company affairs.
• Lin Jian tried to deny the Heavenly Sword Sect’s involvement, while Old Lu blamed him for letting Chen Xiangrong expose their secret dealings.
• Chen Xiangrong challenged Ou Shuo’s demand for ten times the price of the True Dragon Sword because the Earthflame Essence Fire had dissipated, and Ou Ge proposed that the parties share the loss.
• Chen Xiangrong declared that he would cleanse his own house, and the Jianghu figures said they would not interfere in the Four Directions Trading Company’s internal affairs.
• Chen Xiangrong asked the Heavenly Sword Sect what it had to say, leaving Old Lu cornered by the crowd’s stance.

Chen Xiangrong reclaimed control of the Four Directions Trading Company and secured the True Dragon Sword, then nominated Huang Xiao to test it against the Heaven's Mandate Sword. A handsome young gentleman volunteered to wield the opposing sword, leaving the contest about to begin.

• Old Lu backed Lin Jian, but Chen Xiangrong said Lin Jian had forfeited his place in the company and revealed that his hidden forces had defeated the Heavenly Sword Sect members stationed there.
• Chen Xiangrong warned Lin Jian not to return to the Four Directions Trading Company, and Lin Jian was left shaken by losing his control of it.
• Ou Ge awarded the True Dragon Sword to Chen Xiangrong under the original agreement, and Chen Xiangrong accepted the fivefold price increase.
• Ou Ge proposed a contest between the True Dragon Sword and Heaven's Mandate Sword, with two Half-Step Martial Realm experts wielding them.
• Chen Xiangrong nominated Huang Xiao to wield the True Dragon Sword, and Huang Xiao accepted while keeping the Phoenix by his side.
• A handsome young gentleman stepped forward and offered to wield Heaven's Mandate Sword, saying he possessed Half-Step Martial Realm strength.

Li Chaoxun, a mysterious half-step martial realm swordsman from overseas, challenged Huang Xiao in a test of the Heaven's Mandate Sword and the True Dragon Sword. Their duel escalated into a lethal fight, and Li Chaoxun's supreme technique shocked Huang Xiao by resembling Taixuan Sword Swordsmanship as his blade neared Huang Xiao's chest.

• Li Chaoxun introduced himself as a swordsman from overseas, and Ou Zheng let him wield the Heaven's Mandate Sword against Huang Xiao.
• Huang Xiao and Li Chaoxun exchanged sword moves without internal power, and Li Chaoxun realized Huang Xiao could counter his techniques despite claiming not to specialize in swordsmanship.
• Li Chaoxun demanded to prove his swordsmanship superior, declared that only Sword God Yi matched his regard, and attacked Huang Xiao with internal power.
• Huang Xiao used Lingbo Ethereal Steps to defend against Li Chaoxun's stronger attacks while concealing his identity and avoiding Taixuan Sword Swordsmanship.
• Li Chaoxun unleashed his supreme sword technique, which Huang Xiao recognized as Taixuan Sword Swordsmanship, and thrust toward Huang Xiao's chest.

Huang Xiao fought Li Chaoxun, whose Transcendent Immortal Swordsmanship revealed him as the rumored successor of the Transcendent Immortal Sword Lord. Huang Xiao turned to palm techniques and ended the sword contest by showing that the True Dragon Sword had been nicked, while Li Chaoxun demanded he stay.

• Li Chaoxun’s thrust was blocked by Huang Xiao, while Chen Xiangrong and other spectators recognized the Transcendent Immortal Swordsmanship and identified Li Chaoxun as the successor.
• Huang Xiao countered Li Chaoxun’s sword moves because he knew a similar swordsmanship, but found the later forms increasingly difficult to handle.
• Huang Xiao planted the True Dragon Sword and attacked with his Plum-Searching-in-the-Snow Palm, disrupting Li Chaoxun’s swordsmanship and driving him back.
• Li Chaoxun threatened to use his later sword moves, but Huang Xiao pointed out a nick in the True Dragon Sword and declared that the sword contest was decided.
• Huang Xiao returned the sword and walked away, while Li Chaoxun shouted for him to stop; Huang Xiao realized that the Jianghu might soon debate the true and false successors.

Huang Xiao left the Ou Family gathering with Chen Xiangrong, who reclaimed the True Dragon Sword, while Old Lu and the Heavenly Sword Sect pursued them. Li Chaoxun stayed behind to travel to the Imperial Province with Ou Zheng, and Huang Xiao’s group fled down the mountain with three Half-Step Martial Realm experts approaching.

• Li Chaoxun claimed the Heaven's Mandate Sword had proved superior, while Ou Ge reminded Ou Zheng that the sword’s victory did not change the Ou Family’s standing.
• Huang Xiao told Chen Xiangrong he planned to leave, and Chen Xiangrong invited him to travel together because the Heavenly Sword Sect might attack.
• Chen Xiangrong collected the True Dragon Sword and left with Huang Xiao and Chu Wu, while Old Lu and the Heavenly Sword Sect followed them.
• Ou Zheng persuaded Li Chaoxun to travel with him to the Imperial Province, and Ou Ge ended the gathering after Li declined to stay at Yan Mountain.
• Huang Xiao’s party encountered three Half-Step Martial Realm experts outside, and Chu Wu hurried Chen Xiangrong down the mountain as Old Lu began pursuing them.