Recaps

Lian Youming survived a gun ambush at the scripture library and waited for Old Daoist Wei, a murderous Foresight master allied with the Japanese, to arrive. After they exchanged threats and discarded their pistols, Wei attacked with the Kunlun Secret Sword, and Lian Youming raised his sword to meet him.

• Lian Youming dodged the gunfire, used a corpse as a decoy, and killed the five women with a sword.
• Lian Youming entered the scripture library, then waited beneath the eaves instead of pursuing the wounded Japanese woman.
• Old Daoist Wei arrived, picked up a pistol, and confronted Lian Youming among the bodies.
• Wei admitted he had joined the Japanese for the sake of his descendants and claimed he would destroy his senior brother’s last hope.
• Lian Youming and Wei tossed aside their pistols, and Wei launched his Kunlun Secret Sword attack.
• Lian Youming raised his sword and challenged Wei as the rain parted before the incoming blade.

Lian Youming fought Old Daoist Wei, whose uncanny sword techniques and weapon-catching glove pushed him into a dangerous duel. After Lian Youming wounded Wei and discovered they had both only recently entered Foresight, he lured the old Daoist into the mountains to continue their fight.

• Old Daoist Wei attacked with the Eight-Foot Azure Glint, changing between sword and spear techniques while Lian Youming defended with Monkey Crouch and Taiji Sword.
• Old Daoist Wei struck Lian Youming across the chest, but the Hardened Martial Artist showed only a red mark and retreated.
• Old Daoist Wei sent his sword flying around him before catching it and thrusting at Lian Youming's throat as they raced past the Scripture Repository Tower.
• Lian Youming's Witnessing Art failed to seize Old Daoist Wei's mind, but his sword left a fine cut on Wei's neck.
• Lian Youming identified Old Daoist Wei as newly entered into Foresight, then used Ape Lord Swordplay to escape into Mount Emei and challenge him to follow.
• Old Daoist Wei pursued Lian Youming into the night, vowing that neither heaven nor earth would let him escape death.

Lian Youming and Old Daoist Wei fought fiercely along the mountain path, each revealing techniques that challenged the other’s defenses. Old Daoist Wei released his stored vital essence with golden needles and cut Lian Youming, and their battle continued toward the Emei Golden Summit.

• Lian Youming and Old Daoist Wei exchanged sword attacks as they raced up the mountain steps, with Lian Youming using his agility to evade Old Daoist Wei’s strikes.
• Old Daoist Wei changed tactics and launched a rapid thrusting attack, but Lian Youming used Taiji Sword to redirect its force.
• Old Daoist Wei’s sword circled back toward Lian Youming, who repelled a thrust with his body and struck Old Daoist Wei with his left fist.
• Lian Youming saw golden needles emerge from Old Daoist Wei’s body as the Daoist released his stored vital essence and regained strength.
• Old Daoist Wei used vibrating Inner Strength in his blade to breach Lian Youming’s Golden Bell Cover and wound his chest.
• Lian Youming praised Old Daoist Wei’s skill, and the two resumed fighting toward the Emei Golden Summit.

Lian Youming fought Old Daoist Wei in a fierce battle that carried them to Emei Golden Summit, where Old Daoist Wei’s hidden weapons and accumulated sword momentum nearly killed him. Lian Youming broke the eight-foot Kunlun Sword and crushed Old Daoist Wei beneath his hand.

• Old Daoist Wei used Drunken Sword and relentless attacks to wound Lian Youming and drive him into a disadvantage.
• Two young monks witnessed the fighters racing past their temple, while Zen Master Wumu quietly watched their direction before returning inside.
• At Emei Golden Summit, Old Daoist Wei unleashed a sword thrust built from the momentum of a hundred moves, and Lian Youming caught the blade with his palms after it pierced his shoulder.
• Old Daoist Wei drew the Mother-and-Son Sword toward Lian Youming’s mouth, but Lian Youming used the Witnessing Art to disrupt him and counterattacked, breaking his wrist and severely injuring him.
• Old Daoist Wei sacrificed his right arm and launched another attack, but Lian Youming stood firm, snapped the eight-foot sword, and slammed him into the ground.

Lian Youming defeated Old Daoist Wei and received a sword manual and treasure map from the old boatman, but a mysterious gray-robed monk’s presence at Pure Yang Hall left him wary. After reuniting with Xu Baishi in Leshan, he saw Xu Tian and Shorty Xu return with a stone stele bearing seven words of “kill.”

• Lian Youming captured Old Daoist Wei after their fight, then brought him to the old boatman, who took him away and gave Lian Youming the Kunlun Secret Sword and a map marking Zhang Xianzhong’s silver.
• Lian Youming noticed fresh incense burning in the empty Pure Yang Hall and glimpsed a gray monk’s robe as the temple doors closed behind him.
• Lian Youming met Xu Baishi at the foot of the mountain, learned that a disguised Japanese Grand Boxer had hidden among the martial artists, and returned with her to their lodgings in Leshan.
• Lian Youming cleaned up at the former practice courtyard of Xu Aishi and watched Xu Baishi train her nimble footwork.
• Xu Tian and Shorty Xu returned carrying a stone stele inscribed with seven repetitions of the word “kill.”

Lian Youming examined the ancient Seven-Kill Stele and learned that Xu Tian and Shorty Xu planned to train him against two Foresight experts. He practiced the Kunlun Secret Sword’s Tiger-Shooting Form, then noticed the red cloth had fallen from the stele after the lamp went out.

• Lian Youming recognized that the stele’s bloody characters had been carved with astonishing swordsmanship, and Xu Tian identified it as Zhang Xianzhong’s Seven-Kill Stele.
• Lian Youming said he planned to recuperate before going to Mount Lu, and Xu Tian and Shorty Xu offered to train him by attacking him together.
• After dinner, Lian Youming studied the Kunlun Secret Sword manual and focused on learning the Tiger-Shooting Form.
• Lian Youming practiced the Detached Sword technique in the courtyard, but found his attempt lacked the accumulated momentum of Old Daoist Wei’s version.
• As night deepened, the lamp went out and the red cloth slipped from the stele, drawing Lian Youming’s attention.

Lian Youming studied the moonlit stele and discovered it concealed a spiritual cultivation method called Supreme Killing Intent. After learning it could counter Foresight, he decided to unravel its secrets to improve his chances in the arranged fight with Xue Hen and the others.

• Lian Youming examined the stele's changing inscriptions and realized that hidden strokes lay beneath them.
• He followed the inscriptions' movements, lost control of his breathing, and suffered a nosebleed.
• Xu Baishi checked on Lian Youming, brought him brown sugar water, and began studying the Kunlun Secret Sword while he watched the stele.
• As the moon slanted, glowing characters revealed the stele's hidden writing and the Supreme Killing Intent's purpose and power.
• Lian Youming understood that the stele taught a spiritual method rather than a set of martial moves and carried it inside to study further.

Lian Youming struggled to understand the Seven-Kill Stele’s killing intent and endured brutal sparring with Xu Tian and Shorty Xu. Afterward, their explanation led him to consider what he fought for, and he murmured, “Chivalry?”

• Lian Youming failed to grasp how to visualize killing intent while practicing in the courtyard.
• Xu Tian brought Lian Youming herbs and began an intense sparring session with Shorty Xu, who explained the Monkey Form’s hidden leg attacks.
• Lian Youming used his martial arts to evade the two masters, but they chased and battered him for four or five hours.
• Lian Youming soaked in medicinal broth and asked Xu Tian and Shorty Xu to explain killing intent.
• Shorty Xu described small intent, and Xu Tian told Lian Youming to find the greater purpose behind his battles.
• Lian Youming looked toward the Seven-Kill Stele and murmured, “Chivalry?”

Lian Youming trained with Xu Tian and Shorty Xu, struggled to understand the Seven-Kill Stele’s Supreme Killing Intent, and left for Fog City after the stele shattered. At a Qingming grave, a veterans’ bugle call helped him recognize that his killing intent came from his commitment to chivalry and righteousness.

• Lian Youming endured a week of daily sparring with Xu Tian and Shorty Xu, improving his defenses while failing to comprehend the Seven-Kill Stele.
• Lian Youming continued training until Xu Tian praised his progress, then learned Xu Tian and Xu Baishi would return to Cangzhou while he headed onward.
• Lian Youming told Xu Tian about the Japanese searching for Zhang Xianzhong’s sunken silver, and Shorty Xu recognized Lian Youming’s sudden urge to kill as killing intent.
• The Seven-Kill Stele cracked apart during a spring thunderstorm, and Xu Tian, Shorty Xu, and Xu Baishi departed before Lian Youming resumed his journey.
• On Qingming Festival in Fog City, Lian Youming visited a fallen hero’s grave and helped a veteran who stumbled as three old soldiers arrived to pay their respects.
• A veteran sounded a bugle at the grave, prompting Lian Youming to understand that his Supreme Killing Intent arose from his resolve to uphold righteousness and punish injustice.

At the mausoleum, Lian Youming realized that the great tide of humanity had helped him forge a Righteous Path of his own rather than imitate an ancient master’s killing intent. After reaching Mount Lu and breaking through the Sixth Stage of the Golden Bell Cover, he sensed a hostile martial artist approaching and warned him not to take another step.

• Lian Youming watched the people paying respect at the mausoleum and understood that their shared convictions formed a great tide, inspiring his own Righteous Path.
• At Chaotianmen Wharf, the old Boss of the Pao Ge Society gave Lian Youming travel supplies and warned him that Xingyi, Taiji, and Eight Trigrams fighters, as well as a renowned military martial artist surnamed Huo, were heading to Mount Lu after Xue Hen.
• Four days later, Lian Youming arrived in Jiujiang and traveled to Mount Lu, developing a conviction that sought to uphold balance and righteousness in harmony with nature.
• At a mountain peak, Lian Youming completed a prolonged breath exercise and broke through the Golden Bell Cover, Sixth Stage.
• Lian Youming sensed a discordant presence and confronted a lean martial artist, identifying him as someone from the Taiji Gate and threatening to kill him in fewer than three moves if he advanced.

Lian Youming met Gong Wuer in a peach grove, where she recognized his growing martial prowess and explained his newly awakened Way of the Spirit. Gong Wuer offered to demonstrate Listening Jin and help him improve, then invited him to attack her.

• Lian Youming’s presence forced a Taiji Gate Grand Boxer to retreat, and his fierce gaze stopped the man from attacking.
• A Hidden Blades from the Eight Trigrams Sect led Lian Youming to Gong Wuer in a peach grove.
• Gong Wuer recognized that Lian Youming had comprehended the Way of the Spirit and assessed his progress in several martial skills.
• Lian Youming said his spiritual intent was the Righteous Path, and Gong Wuer advised him to temper it until it could flower and bear fruit.
• Gong Wuer compared his spiritual method to Supreme Killing Intent and said his arranged battle with Xue Hen and Gu Chan could bring her new insights.
• Gong Wuer demonstrated Listening Jin by drawing peach petals into her hand, then told Lian Youming to attack her.

Lian Youming fought Gong Wuer and used Seven-Step Heaven and Earth to challenge her foresight. After he left the Peach Grove, Gong Wuer warned that his great intent could make him a force of the era, but that a single defeat might destroy his martial path.

• Lian Youming attacked Gong Wuer, who evaded his blows and taught him how Listening Jin sensed an opponent’s qi dynamics and momentum.
• Lian Youming drew his intent together with the surrounding mountains and trees, creating a martial heaven and earth that could counter foresight.
• Gong Wuer tested his technique, and Lian Youming’s three punches closed the distance from a foot away to brushing past her shoulder before she ended the exchange.
• Gong Wuer warned Lian Youming that experts had entered the mountains, while the woman in the qipao explained that the Taiji Gate wanted to challenge the famed “Taiji Demon.”
• Lian Youming left the Peach Grove, and Gong Wuer told the woman in the qipao that his intent could either make him the protagonist of the era or collapse if he suffered defeat.

Lian Youming realized his heartfelt intent could expand his defensive reach, then overheard two men plotting to capture him, Xue Hen, and Gong Wuer, and learned that Yang Cuo had been captured. Escaping their pursuit by diving beneath a waterfall, he discovered another person underwater who opened their eyes and attacked.

• Lian Youming reflected on his exchange with Gong Wuer and understood how his intent could extend beyond seven steps to protect what he valued.
• He spotted people from the Xingyi Sect arriving, then overheard an old man and a middle-aged man discussing their Head Shopkeeper's plan to capture Lian Youming, Xue Hen, and Gong Wuer.
• Lian Youming learned that Yang Cuo had been captured and resolved to warn Xu Tian and Yang Lian.
• The old man attacked Lian Youming with Iron Balls, but Lian Youming caught and returned them before blending into the darkness to escape.
• Lian Youming plunged into a pool beneath a waterfall to evade his pursuers, then noticed a long-haired figure sitting underwater who opened their eyes and attacked.

Lian Youming fought a mysterious woman underwater and both nearly exhausted their inner breath before escaping to the surface. After he fled, the woman learned that the Taiji Demon had arrived and ordered the Taiji Gate not to trouble him, intending to defeat him herself.

• Lian Youming clashed palms with a mysterious woman underwater and countered her whirlpool-like techniques with Taiji Cotton Palm and Golden Bell Cover.
• The woman broke free of Lian Youming’s Dragon Claw Palm and struck his chest, scattering their protective currents and sending them apart.
• Lian Youming tried to seize the woman as they swam upward but caught only part of her robe before surfacing and fleeing from her pebble attack.
• A beautiful married woman arrived with dry clothes and told the white-haired woman that the Taiji Demon was there.
• The white-haired woman told the Taiji Gate not to trouble Lian Youming because she intended to defeat him herself.

Lian Youming pursued clues about a force capturing talented martial artists and learned that its Chief Steward might be connected to the White Lotus Sect. Gong Wuer urged him to meet the threat head-on, leaving him newly resolved to face worthy opponents.

• Lian Youming reflected on his underwater fight with Gu Chan, then hurried toward Guling Town to warn Xu Tian and ask Yang Lian about the mysterious force.
• Lian Youming encountered a lean military expert who was a Grand Boxer and a master of firearms, and learned from Ding Sanjie that he had killed two Foresight martial artists with a sniper rifle.
• Lian Youming asked Ding Sanjie whether any martial-world leader was called Chief Steward, and she brought him to Gong Wuer for an answer.
• Gong Wuer explained that the White Lotus Sect’s master had once been called Chief Steward, and recalled an ambitious White Lotus Saint Son who founded a branch and was born with the Six Senses.
• Lian Youming told Gong Wuer about Yang Cuo’s capture, and she reasoned that countermeasures would not help if a foremost Foresight master could be taken alive.
• Gong Wuer urged Lian Youming to welcome worthy opponents and face life and death with resolve, and he thanked her for the lesson.

Lian Youming traveled into Mount Lu to prepare for his coming battle with Xue Hen and Gu Chan, where he reunited briefly with his uncle Tian Dayong and learned that many martial artists had gathered to watch the duel. At Sandie Spring Waterfall, he began training beneath the torrent and discovered a way to redirect its force, managing to withstand it for seven seconds before being swept aside.

• Lian Youming set aside distractions and entered Mount Lu to focus on preparing for his battle.
• He spotted Li Shan and several martial arts sects heading toward Guling Town, then reunited with his uncle Tian Dayong, who explained that the duel had drawn many spectators and supporters.
• Lian Youming found Sandie Spring Waterfall and decided to train beneath its torrent.
• After struggling to stand and move under the waterfall, Lian Youming realized he could redirect the underwater current by circling his hands and feet.
• Lian Youming formed a spinning ball of water and used it to meet the waterfall's force, holding out for seven seconds before the ball shattered and the current swept him aside.
• Grinning despite the setback, Lian Youming called for another attempt.

Lian Youming trained beneath the Three-Tiered Spring waterfall until he fully connected his ming jin, using its force to unite his body and strength. His dragon’s cry echoed through the mountains, drawing the attention of unseen observers.

• Lian Youming spent days submerged beneath the waterfall, practicing Taiji Fist to redirect its powerful currents.
• Lian Youming used the torrent to temper his sinews and bones as he worked to unite his ming jin.
• Lian Youming dispersed the surrounding currents for an instant, then burst from the water and struck the waterfall with nine punches.
• Lian Youming climbed to a hollow in the cliff and used the Dragon Form Bone-Searching posture and a dragon’s cry to complete the ringing of his seventy-eight joints.
• Lian Youming realized his ming jin was fully connected, while eyes opened throughout the mountains at the sound of his cry.

Lian Youming continued training behind the waterfall as he approached Dark Jin, then faced a revenge attack from the Flower Fist Sect and several old opponents. After he overwhelmed them, a purple-robed Daoist intervened, and Lian Youming recognized him as a Foresight Martial Artist.

• Lian Youming sensed that his Ming Jin had reached great completion but that an obstruction remained before he could master Dark Jin.
• Lian Youming trained his fist and palm techniques in the pool, using the currents to seek internal coordination.
• A middle-aged Flower Fist Sect elder confronted Lian Youming and challenged him, offering the Iron Shirt training method if Lian Youming won.
• Lian Youming struck down the elder and a second attacker, then defeated five more Grand Boxers who attacked him in succession.
• A purple-robed old Daoist caught the five men with his horsetail whisk, and Lian Youming recognized him as a Foresight Martial Artist.

Lian Youming defeated seven Grand Boxers, then learned from a mysterious fisherman that his Iron Shirt technique came from a Daoist lineage whose members vanished during China’s fall. As the old man trained him to sense and evade attacks underwater, Lian Youming made his first breakthrough in Listening Jin.

• Lian Youming struck down seven Grand Boxers, and the Purple-Robed Taoist led them away toward Guling Town.
• Lian Youming noticed a monk and a man and woman watching him, then met an old fisherman with a straight fishhook.
• The old fisherman told Lian Youming that his Iron Shirt art came from a Lüzu Temple lineage whose master and disciples vanished while traveling north.
• The fisherman cast a sinker at Lian Youming underwater and urged him to learn to sense its approach through the water.
• Lian Youming quieted his senses, attuned himself to the currents, and dodged the sinker, impressing the old fisherman with his quick grasp of Listening Jin.

Lian Youming trained his Listening Jin in the pool under the old man's hook and learned that his Righteous Path needed to be grounded in his own heart. The old man demonstrated the spirit of Military Boxing before leaving, and Lian Youming took up the form with a renewed resolve to carry the predecessors' aspirations forward.

• Lian Youming practiced evading the old man's Lead Weight and Straight Hook in the pool, eventually sensing the currents and slipping past the hook and other debris.
• The old man praised Lian Youming's talent for Listening Jin, then warned that his restless spirit and unstable Way of the Spirit required deeper self-understanding.
• Lian Youming told the old man that his Way of the Spirit followed the Righteous Path and that he wanted to carry on the aspirations of those who came before.
• The old man led Lian Youming above the waterfall and demonstrated ordinary Military Boxing infused with a powerful intent to remake the world.
• After the old man left, Lian Youming practiced several boxing forms and roared with killing intent, vowing to sweep away the darkness of the old era.

Lian Youming refined his intent while waiting for Xue Hen, and the two finally faced each other as the battle on Five Old Men Peak approached. Gu Chan, Gong Wuer, and other martial artists also headed for the peak, where the fight among the era’s rising talents was about to begin.

• Lian Youming reflected on the old master’s fist intent and continued cultivating while martial artists gathered on Mount Lu.
• Lian Youming practiced catching and releasing a bird, matching Li Da’s Bird Not Flying feat, and prepared for his confrontation with Xue Hen.
• Xue Hen arrived on Mount Lu on the last day of May and defeated the challengers who tried to stop him on the mountain steps.
• Xue Hen declared that he would turn no one away from the life-and-death battle on Five Old Men Peak.
• Lian Youming and Xue Hen sensed each other, exchanged killing intent, and raced toward Five Old Men Peak.
• Gu Chan, Gong Wuer, and other martial artists also set out for Five Old Men Peak.

Lian Youming and Xue Hen fought through the woods on Five Old Men Peak, revealing Lian Youming's mastery of Taiji Listening Jin and Hua Jin. At the summit, four more Foresight experts arrived, and the group prepared to fight until only one survived.

• Lian Youming and Xue Hen tested each other's skills in a fierce fight as they raced through the woods.
• Onlookers recognized that Lian Youming had mastered both Taiji Listening Jin and Hua Jin, making him a potential contender for leadership of the Taiji Gate.
• Lian Youming and Xue Hen stopped their exchange after reaching the fifth peak, where Gu Chan, Gong Wuer, and four unfamiliar Foresight experts gathered.
• Helian Zun, Yagyu Sekisai, He Baichuan, and a nameless short-haired elder introduced themselves, and He Baichuan challenged Lian Youming.
• Xue Hen declared that only one person would leave alive and chose Yagyu Sekisai, while Gong Wuer and Gu Chan selected opponents; Lian Youming accepted the challenge.

Lian Youming fought He Baichuan, suppressing his Foresight and trading martial arts attacks with him. He Baichuan then revealed a strip of black cloth that he wielded as a weapon, leaving Lian Youming intrigued by his cloth-staff technique.

• Lian Youming confronted He Baichuan and used his gaze and killing intent to suppress He Baichuan's Ability of Foresight.
• Lian Youming and He Baichuan exchanged Xingyi techniques, grappling moves, and matching attacks, each taking a hit.
• Lian Youming realized he could imitate He Baichuan's attacks with Listening Jin and challenged him to reveal his remaining skills.
• He Baichuan drew out a long strip of black cloth and lashed Lian Youming with it, tearing his clothes and drawing blood.
• He Baichuan twisted the cloth until it stiffened like a staff, and Lian Youming recognized him as a master of staff techniques.

Lian Youming fought He Baichuan on a cliff at Five Old Men Peak, where both revealed formidable techniques and traded their strongest attacks. The chapter ended with He Baichuan staggering backward and bleeding after Lian Youming returned his force.

• Lian Youming and He Baichuan battled fiercely as spectators, including Wu Jiu and Yang Shuang, watched from the mountain path.
• He Baichuan used staff techniques concealing Xingyi Great Spear methods to keep Lian Youming at a distance and struck his shoulder with the Cloth Staff.
• Lian Youming activated Dragon Roaring Iron Shirt, while He Baichuan revealed the Xingyi True Inheritance called the Dantian Qi Striking Technique.
• Lian Youming disrupted He Baichuan's staff force, seized the Staff Sheath, and advanced to fight him at close range.
• He Baichuan absorbed Lian Youming's punch with soft jin and returned its force, but Lian Youming redirected the impact back into him.
• He Baichuan's clothes burst apart as he staggered backward, blood spraying from his mouth and nose.

Lian Youming fought He Baichuan through a fierce storm and overcame the martial artist’s escalating staff techniques. He Baichuan died at the cliff’s edge, while his claims about a powerful overseas force remained unanswered.

• He Baichuan’s cloth staff broke apart as Lian Youming pressed him to the cliff, then He Baichuan refused to reveal his organization’s base and warned that a powerful man would come to China.
• When rain began to fall, He Baichuan used the storm to strengthen his staff attacks and unleashed a vortex that forced Lian Youming toward the cliff’s edge.
• Lian Youming closed his eyes and used his perception of the rain and wind to evade He Baichuan’s attacks and steadily approach him.
• He Baichuan focused the storm and spun his staff to drive Lian Youming backward, then leaped and brought down a powerful strike.
• Lian Youming met He Baichuan’s final blow with his shoulder, shattered the cloth staff, and punched a crater into He Baichuan’s chest.
• He Baichuan collapsed and died as Lian Youming walked away.