Chapter Summaries

Hou Niao continued fighting the Wind-Chasing Pirates, defeating seven opponents while using the battles to refine his flying-sword technique. Bao Wen entered the duel with three summoned bird aspects, forcing Hou Niao to face the pirates’ first all-out attack.

• Xiao Qiang worried that the Wind-Chasing Pirates planned to wear Hou Niao down, while Zhang Bigmouth said Hou Niao had refused their advice to let someone else take over.
• Hou Niao reflected on his deep law-power reserves and his decision to hone his flying-sword technique without using his Body Sword Technique or thunder abilities.
• Bao Wen stepped forward as the eighth opponent, realizing that Hou Niao had not weakened as much as expected and that he would have to fight with everything he had.
• Bao Wen summoned his Mourning Dove, Walking Bunting, and Beheaded Oriole aspects from his Purple Mansion and sent them swooping at Hou Niao.

Hou Niao studied Bao Wen’s Aspect Birds while evading their attacks, and Bao Wen switched to stronger birds when his first formation failed to gain the advantage. The battle remained unresolved as Bao Wen prepared to change tactics again.

• Hou Niao learned that Aspect Birds could be reborn as long as their Aspect Positions remained intact, and he tested the Mourning Dove, Walking Bunting, and Beheaded Oriole in combat.
• Bao Wen used the Beheaded Oriole to disrupt Hou Niao’s connection to Law Power while the other two birds attacked in coordination.
• Hou Niao evaded the three birds and targeted the Beheaded Oriole, while Bao Wen stayed at a distance and watched for an opening.
• Bao Wen dismissed the first three birds and summoned the stronger Iron Cormorant and Tiger Grebe.
• Hou Niao continued to evade the two stronger birds, and Bao Wen decided to change tactics again.

Bao Wen risked using his unstable Little Rooster to trap Hou Niao, but Hou Niao’s flying sword disrupted the bird and spread the damage through Bao Wen’s other aspect birds. Bao Wen’s fighting will collapsed, and Hou Niao let him yield, leaving only Little Rooster lost.

• Bao Wen overcame his hesitation and released the unstable Little Rooster, intending to use its cry to daze Hou Niao and draw him into Yinyi’s shadow aspect space.
• Hou Niao recognized Little Rooster’s unstable aspect structure and pressed his flying sword against it, using a power he had developed on Blue Island to disrupt it.
• When Little Rooster’s cry failed, Bao Wen abandoned his plan and released Mourning Dove, Walking Bunting, and Beheaded Oriole to attack Hou Niao.
• Bao Wen discovered that the damage to Little Rooster had disabled all seven of his aspect birds, leaving him unable to continue fighting effectively.
• Hou Niao withdrew his flying sword and bowed, thanking Bao Wen for yielding; Bao Wen realized his life and the other birds were safe, though Little Rooster was lost.

After Bao Wen’s defeat, Guo Yanzhi persuaded the Wind-Chasing Pirates to abandon their plan to exhaust Hou Niao and accept fair fights, hoping to preserve their dignity. Hou Niao then defeated Shi Guangzu and Gao Tianqi in direct contests, leaving the two pirate groups’ relationship less hostile as the battles continued.

• Bao Wen returned to the Wind-Chasing Pirates, and Guo Yanzhi and Shi Guangzu reassured him that retreating had protected the group from a fight to the death.
• Guo Yanzhi warned that Hou Niao’s combat skill and apparent reserves made their plan to wear down his law power unreliable, and proposed giving him time to recover and fighting fairly.
• Gao Tianqi agreed with the group’s decision, while Zhang Bigmouth told Dugu Lan that the Wind-Chasing Pirates had lost their nerve and would seek ways to save face.
• Hou Niao fought Shi Guangzu in a direct clash of lightning and sword, endured the Thunder Smite Technique, and defeated him.
• Hou Niao fought Gao Tianqi without holding back or revealing his trump cards, and won after their longest battle yet.

Hou Niao fought Guo Yanzhi, whose Cloud Sea Competing in Frosty Heavens scenery restricted Hou Niao’s sword and spells. Hou Niao uncovered the Spirit Pearl’s location but stopped short of destroying it, and Guo Yanzhi conceded, leaving the Wind-Chasing Pirates defeated.

• Guo Yanzhi summoned his Cloud Sea Competing in Frosty Heavens scenery and used its Spirit Pearl to impede Hou Niao’s Divine Sense and flying sword.
• Guo Yanzhi pressed Hou Niao with an unpredictable barrage of spells, Talismans, forbidden arts, and Law Artifacts, forcing him to struggle within the clouds.
• Hou Niao became a Sword Spirit and detected golden light marking Guo Yanzhi’s hidden Life Pearl.
• Hou Niao’s flying sword approached the Life Pearl, but he reappeared and tasted a mouthful of cloud instead of striking it.
• Guo Yanzhi withdrew the scenery, admitted defeat, and declared that the Wind-Chasing Pirates would retreat three marches before the Canghai Pirates.

Hou Niao and Guo Yanzhi settled their contest and helped resolve the pirate bands’ disputes, while the Dugu Sisters recovered their cargo and sailed toward Mirage Tower. As the sisters considered what to report to the prince’s household, Xiao Qiang resolved that she wanted to escape its stifling life, even if her path diverged from Dugu Lan’s.

• Hou Niao and Guo Yanzhi kept each other’s combat secrets and agreed to maintain their respective silence.
• Guo Yanzhi passed along Junior Brother Tan’s message, and the pirate leaders settled their disputes as the Canghai and Wind-Chasing Pirates joined forces against a third party.
• The Dugu Sisters recovered their cargo and boarded a ship bound for Mirage Tower, but they felt weighed down by what had happened.
• Xiao Qiang and Dugu Lan discussed whether to tell the prince’s household about Hou Niao, then decided to downplay him and emphasize the Quanzhen forces in Mirage Tower City.
• Dugu Lan urged Xiao Qiang to let go of the past, while Xiao Qiang privately resolved that she wanted to escape the Prince of Martial Accomplishment’s Household.

Hou Niao prepared for his eventual departure from the Li Sea, setting Fang Yazi up to take on more responsibility and deciding that Bai Qingqian would remain behind. As Qingqian noted that he might contend for a True Disciple position, the chapter explained the rare opportunity and fierce competition surrounding those disciples.

• Hou Niao told Fang Yazi that his own posting in the Li Sea was nearing its end and warned him that the coming conflicts would be more brutal.
• Hou Niao secured Fang Yazi a position with the Minister of Justice Prefecture and urged him to learn the Body Sword Technique and cultivate connections.
• Hou Niao asked Bai Qingqian whether she would leave with him, and she chose to stay in Mirage Tower City as a home he could return to.
• Fang Yazi assured Hou Niao that Bai Qingqian was safe and that their influence extended beyond the sea.
• Bai Qingqian pointed out that Hou Niao might soon contend for a True Disciple position, and the chapter explained how those positions offered a rare chance to seek a way beyond the Heaven and Earth Shackles.

Hou Niao considered the risks of competing for True Disciple status while his name spread through the coastal realms, then returned to the Jade Capital after receiving an urgent order from the Minister of Justice Prefecture. Judge Cheng credited him with major merit for his work in the Lizhi Sea and explained that the prefecture needed him for another urgent matter.

• Bai Qingqian warned Hou Niao that pursuing True Disciple status could expose him to dangerous sect rivalries, while Fang Yazi urged him to claim the position by force.
• Hou Niao told Bai Qingqian and Fang Yazi that he had his own plan for obtaining True Disciple status and ordered them not to cause trouble.
• The Dugu Sisters visited Gushe Cottage several times, but Bai Qingqian told them Hou Du was away, and they left without seeing him.
• Hou Niao received an order from the Jade Capital to return to the Minister of Justice Prefecture, cleaned his garden, and set off without notifying anyone.
• Judge Cheng awarded Hou Niao major merit for his actions in the Lizhi Sea and explained that the prefecture had recalled him to handle an urgent matter.

Hou Niao accepted a dangerous mission in Qi State to kill You Chao'en, a captured Quanzhen agent who had defected to the Qi Sect. He received a Jade Slip containing intelligence and was ordered to depart immediately, while the fate of the sect’s southeastern spy network remained uncertain.

• Judge Cheng explained that the Qi Sect had exposed Benefactor Xu, captured You Chao'en, and turned him against the Quanzhen Sect.
• Judge Cheng assigned Hou Niao to kill You Chao'en and offered him a Special Merit, warning that the Qi Sect was prepared for an attempt.
• Hou Niao questioned how he would obtain reliable local intelligence and what would happen if he failed.
• Judge Cheng said a highly classified agent inside the Qi Sect would provide intelligence and explained that You Chao'en could expose the sect’s southeastern spy network.
• Hou Niao accepted the assignment, and Judge Cheng gave him a Jade Slip to study before he left at once.

Hou Niao accepted a dangerous mission to eliminate the defected You Chao'en in the Qi Kingdom, despite doubting the intelligence and lacking permission to contact local agents. After disguising himself as a Daoist, he reached Jianyou and began to suspect the mission might be a trap.

• Hou Niao learned that an undercover agent inside the Qi Sect had reported You Chao'en's defection, but Judge Cheng refused to let him contact other agents and ordered him to signal the network after the mission.
• Hou Niao left immediately, worrying that the intelligence was unreliable and that the Six-Eared Hall might have set a trap.
• Hou Niao planned to conceal his identity as a Sword Cultivator by posing as either an Anhe Daoist or a Chu Sect practitioner.
• Hou Niao traveled southeast through the prosperous region and landed outside Jianyou, avoiding the Qi Sect's controlled skies.
• Hou Niao entered Jianyou in disguise and questioned why the urgent mission had been delayed, suspecting that You Chao'en's reported injury concealed a trap.

While waiting for his covert contact in Jianye, Hou Niao sought help from the Commerce Guild to rescue Benefactor Xu and silence You Chao'en. The Guild’s representative warned him that rescuing Benefactor Xu from the Dao Prison was impossible and asked whether the request was a trap.

• Hou Niao explored Jianye and waited for the next scheduled meeting, but grew uneasy about relying on others.
• After three days, Hou Niao visited the Langui Shop and used a coded exchange to request underground services.
• A Daoist met Hou Niao in the shop’s back room and asked what he wanted.
• Hou Niao requested that the Guild rescue Benefactor Xu from the Dao Prison and kill You Chao'en.
• The Daoist refused to attempt the rescue, suggested arranging an exchange, and warned that the killing might be a trap.

Hou Niao hired an underground force in Jianye for intelligence and introductions to two fighters, hoping to muddle a suspected trap surrounding his assassination mission. After learning that Benefactor Xu had reportedly died during his arrest, he met the fighters and warned them that their target belonged to the Qi Sect and the mission might be a trap.

• Hou Niao paid the Daoist at the Langui Shop for intelligence support and introductions to two death-sworn fighters.
• Hou Niao left the shop cautiously, deciding to use the underground force to complicate the mission rather than act alone.
• On the fourth day, Hou Niao paid for a report claiming Benefactor Xu had died fighting during his arrest, suggesting the Six-Eared Hall had used him as bait.
• On the fifth day, Hou Niao met the Natural Realm cultivator Lu and an older Perceiving the Divine Realm fighter in a secluded courtyard.
• Hou Niao warned the two fighters that their target was from the Qi Sect's Six-Eared Hall, the information might be wrong, and they might have to rely only on one another.

Hou Niao arranged help from Jianye’s underground forces and traced his secret contact to the Six-Eared Hall. At the Celestial Master Temple, he learned that You Chao'en would soon travel to Zhaohua Heavenly Pool, giving him an opportunity to ambush him.

• Hou Niao paid Mountain Daoist and another cultivator a thousand high-grade spirit stones to secure their help.
• Hou Niao investigated the Celestial Master Temple and learned that Zhang Tianshi had founded the Six-Eared Hall.
• Hou Niao waited at the temple for the first day of the ten-day period and exchanged divine thoughts with the undercover pawn.
• The pawn told Hou Niao that You Chao'en would go to Zhaohua Heavenly Pool in three days for marrow cleansing.
• The pawn urged Hou Niao to scout the route and ambush You Chao'en, who would travel in a soft sedan chair law artifact.

Hou Niao chose to ambush You Chao'en’s escort as they took off from the Six-Eared Hall, then briefed Daoist Lu and Mountain Daoist on their roles. With the assassination plan set, the three waited for the coming confrontation.

• Hou Niao received word from an undercover agent in the Six-Eared Hall that You Chao'en would soon be escorted to the Zhaohua Heavenly Pool.
• Hou Niao studied the route between the Six-Eared Hall and the Zhaohua Heavenly Pool and chose to attack as the escort took off from the Six-Eared Hall.
• Daoist Lu told Hou Niao that a Qi Sect True Disciple was protecting You Chao'en and leading the operation.
• Hou Niao assigned Daoist Lu and Mountain Daoist to draw the escort’s attention while he delivered the final blow, telling them they could surrender afterward.
• Hou Niao selected tall buildings northwest of the Six-Eared Hall as the ambush site and warned that a failed first strike could prompt the Qi Sect to escalate.
• The three agreed to stay together, and Hou Niao waited for the next day’s confrontation.

Hou Niao watched the Qi Sect escort carrying You Chao'en, still unsure whether the intelligence was part of a trap, and joined Mountain Daoist and Daoist Lu in their ambush. His sword pierced the sedan’s defenses, but a seated Daoist inside deflected it, leaving Hou Niao’s mission failed and his survival uncertain.

• Hou Niao reconsidered the conflicting intelligence about Benefactor Xu and suspected that someone was staging events for him.
• At the appointed time, You Chao'en’s sedan and its guards left the Six-Eared Hall along the route the undercover pawn had predicted.
• Mountain Daoist attacked with his stone mountain, and Daoist Lu followed with a blaze of fire around the sedan.
• The leading Daoist swept away the mountain and flames with Universe in the Sleeve as Hou Niao’s flying sword broke through the sedan’s thirteen layers of protection.
• A seated Daoist inside flicked Hou Niao’s nearly spent sword away, and Hou Niao realized his mission had failed and he needed to escape alive.

Hou Niao’s assassination attempt on You Chao'en exposed a Qi Sect trap designed to make You Chao'en believe Shanmen had betrayed him. After escaping pursuit with help from a Six-Eared Hall undercover agent, Hou Niao left the Qi Sect’s leaders preparing to search Jianye for spies.

• Hou Niao realized the Qi Sect had staged You Chao'en’s apparent defection and arranged for an assassin to silence him, turning him against Shanmen.
• Daoist Lu and Mountain Daoist fled as Qi Sect cultivators pursued Hou Niao through Jianye.
• A Six-Eared Hall undercover agent killed one pursuer and diverted the others, giving Hou Niao time to change his appearance and vanish into a crowd.
• Shan Shixing and Shi Jie confirmed that their plan had succeeded and prepared to search Jianye for spies.

Shanmen spies Elder Yan and Little Five waited at Purple Sun Temple for instructions about the exposed Jianye network. Their expected messenger completed the secret incense signal, then unexpectedly set up a stall, leaving them unsure what to make of his actions.

• Elder Yan and Little Five watched the temple’s incense cauldrons while waiting for orders from the Minister of Justice Prefecture.
• Little Five reported that someone offered incense at the second designated cauldron, and Elder Yan cautioned him not to assume it was the messenger.
• The stranger offered incense at all six designated cauldrons in the correct order.
• The stranger found an empty spot, spread out a cloth, poured out assorted junk, and began setting up a stall.

Hou Niao deduced that the Six-Eared Hall had staged the failed assassination to draw Jianye’s Secret Spies into a trap, so he signaled them to resume normal activity instead of fleeing. After concluding his mission, he headed openly toward the Six-Eared Hall.

• Elder Yan understood Hou Niao’s stall as a signal for the Secret Spies to resume their usual activities, and he passed the message on with Little Five.
• Hou Niao reasoned that the Six-Eared Hall had pretended You Chao'en was alive and arranged the failed assassination to make him warn the Secret Spies to leave Jianye.
• Hou Niao concluded that preserving Jianye’s Secret Spy network mattered more than killing the traitor, and he decided not to interfere further without orders.
• Hou Niao packed up his stall after two hours, changed back into his Shanmen Sword Cultivator appearance, and walked toward the Six-Eared Hall.

Hou Niao went to the Six-Eared Hall to request the remains of Senior Brother Xu and Senior Brother Li, while the Qi Sect elders discussed his role in evacuating Jianye’s secret spies. The elders planned to send him back with three bodies, including You Chao'en’s, and arranged to escort him out before he could contact more spies.

• Hou Niao announced himself at the Six-Eared Hall and demanded permission to take Senior Brother Xu and Senior Brother Li’s remains home.
• A voice from the central hall questioned Hou Niao about his actions outside the Six-Eared Hall and his evacuation of Jianye’s secret spies.
• Elder Zhou, Elder Hua, and Elder Wang discussed Hou Niao’s fighting ability and the political blame they intended to place on him.
• Elder Zhou proposed sealing You Chao'en’s corpse with the other two remains and sending them with Hou Niao as a surprise.
• Elder Hua ordered the elders to borrow manpower for the arrests and have Hou Niao escorted away immediately.

Hou Niao was expelled from Jianye and escorted out of Qi State, then reported the recovered bodies and his findings to the Minister of Justice Prefecture. He refused a proposed spy mission and argued with Li Chuping over Judge Wan’s suggestion and the expenses from his assignment.

• The Qi Sect expelled Hou Niao from Jianye, returned a Storage Ring containing the remains, and ordered two Daoists to escort him for three days.
• Hou Niao crossed the Qi State border with the Daoists, then accelerated toward the Jade Capital after they departed.
• At the Minister of Justice Prefecture, Hou Niao presented the bodies and recounted the incident to Li Chuping and the senior officials.
• Judge Wan proposed that Hou Niao infiltrate Jianye’s spy network, but Hou Niao refused and Li Chuping argued the plan was impractical.
• Hou Niao complained to Li Chuping about Judge Wan and demanded reimbursement for the spirit stones he had spent contacting Jianye’s underground factions.