Recaps

Lian Youming and Tian Dayong recovered the remains of Xu Aishi, Lin Fucheng, and a powerful Manchu martial artist from the wilderness, then carried the two heroes’ remains to the Baji Sect. There, Lian Youming and the gathered martial artists knelt to honor them.

• Lian Youming and Tian Dayong uncovered three skeletons and identified two as Xu Aishi and Lin Fucheng, who had died defeating a Mystic Connection martial artist.
• Lian Youming and Tian Dayong gathered the remains and discussed how far Mystic Connection stood beyond their own martial arts level.
• Lian Youming and Tian Dayong traveled east to Hebei and brought Xu Aishi’s remains to the Baji Sect in Cangzhou.
• Xu Tian welcomed Lian Youming and Tian Dayong, and Xie Ruomei and Xu Baishi greeted Lian Youming.
• The Hung Fist Grand Boxers and Shorty Xu arrived, and Lian Youming, Xu Baishi, and the others knelt before the remains of Xu Aishi and Lin Fucheng.

Lian Youming learned that the prison held formidable fighters, including enemies defeated by his master, and Xu Tian warned him that the age of great contention would soon bring challenges to his door. After eating with Xie Ruomei, Lian Youming reflected on the martial realms beyond ordinary training and practiced controlling his power against the storm.

• The old Hung Fist master left with the bundle after learning what had happened, and Shorty Xu grieved that he would never see his own master again.
• Xu Tian told Lian Youming about the formidable prisoners awaiting him and warned that, after defeating Gu Chan and Xue Hen, he had already entered a trial of gold by fire.
• Lian Youming gave Xu Tian the three human-skin maps, and Xu Tian said Tian Dayong was digging up Bai Long's grave so the maps might be pieced together.
• Xie Ruomei told Lian Youming that Liu Wudi had gone home because he had become a father, then shared a meal with him as rain fell.
• Lian Youming considered the dangers of reaching foresight and mystic connection, then sheltered a candle flame from the storm with his palms.

Lian Youming was assigned to enter the Fushun prison undercover, where he was to investigate a mysterious group connected to Yang Cuo and the others. After Xu Tian and Tian Dayong beat him up and altered his appearance to make him look like a prisoner, he left with a military driver for Fushun.

• Xu Tian urged Lian Youming to consider passing on his martial arts by taking disciples, but Lian Youming said it was not yet time.
• Tian Dayong arrived with the completed human-skin map, and Xu Tian and Tian Dayong told Lian Youming he would enter the prison as a prisoner rather than a supervisor.
• Xu Tian explained that inmates might be connected to the mysterious force Yang Cuo and the others had investigated, and asked Lian Youming to mingle with them and learn their background.
• Tian Dayong and Xu Tian fought Lian Youming, then Lian Youming changed his body and features to disguise himself as a prisoner and kept only the Gall-Illuminating Sword.
• Lian Youming left the Boxing School with Tian Dayong and a mysterious military driver, who drove them toward Fushun.

Lian Youming was taken to a remote prison built into the mountains and locked in an underground cell among dangerous martial artists. After his guards left, a prisoner appeared at the bars, and Lian Youming calmly threatened him.

• Lian Youming and Tian Dayong arrived at a remote compound, where Lian Youming spotted sniper rifles trained on him from the mountain.
• The driver introduced himself as Huo Yuntian, a Taiji Fist and Mizong Fist practitioner, and led Lian Youming inside.
• Lian Youming observed two powerful martial artists and several other experts guarding the prison, then saw the monk open a heavy iron hatch to the underground cells.
• Huo Yuntian and Tian Dayong escorted Lian Youming through a passage where imprisoned martial artists called out threats and explained that escapees were shot.
• Tian Dayong gave Lian Youming cigarettes and left him in a cell; after the upper gate closed, a prisoner stared at him through the bars, and Lian Youming threatened him.

Lian Youming was imprisoned in the White Lotus Sect’s dungeon, where he examined his cell and faced an elderly Foresight martial artist who broke in to rob him. When the old man recognized Lian Youming’s Witnessing Art, the other prisoners reacted, but a terrifying presence stirred in the depths of the dungeon and silenced them.

• Lian Youming changed into prison clothes and ignored the inmates who questioned and taunted him.
• Lian Youming tried to break the steel-and-copper gate, then examined the cell and found signs of a deadly fight.
• An elderly prisoner used the Bone-Shrinking Skill to squeeze through the hatch and demanded Lian Youming’s vital-essence elixirs.
• Lian Youming confronted the old man, who recognized his Witnessing Art as Du Xinwu’s.
• The inmates shouted questions about Lian Youming’s connection to Du Xinwu until chains rattled in the depths and a powerful breath stirred the dungeon.

Lian Youming fought an imprisoned martial artist who used Taiji Fist, hammering techniques, and Chuojiao, concealing his own strength until he killed the old ghost. The chapter ended with the old ghost dead and his curved blades unable to pierce Lian Youming’s body.

• Lian Youming and the old ghost attacked each other, and the old ghost recognized Lian Youming’s Kunlun Secret Sword and Xingyi Crushing Fist.
• The old ghost used Chuojiao kicks to trap and batter Lian Youming, who deflected one kick with his reinforced leg.
• The old ghost revealed curved blades hidden in his sleeves, but they failed to pierce Lian Youming’s chest.
• Lian Youming struck the old ghost with Spirit-Beating Whip and used the Witnessing Art to stun him.
• Lian Youming pressed a palm into the old ghost’s chest and finished him with a sword-finger strike to the throat.

After killing Yuan Old Ghost, Lian Youming learned that the dungeon held unidentified and terrifying martial artists, including a Japanese war criminal suspected of practicing an art that fed on other fighters’ vital blood. He spent an estimated seven days adapting his Half-Step Crushing Fist to his shackles, until a sudden fight and ominous gulping sounds erupted in the passage.

• Lian Youming heard the prisoners argue over their identities and techniques, then learned that the deepest cells held unknown, powerful martial artists who had killed challengers.
• A prisoner told Lian Youming that a Japanese war criminal in the dungeon had drained several martial artists of their vital blood, making him suspect a connection to the sinister art he had encountered before.
• Lian Youming heard that Yuan Old Ghost had been involved in the assassination of Wang Yaqiao, whose death had taken an ambush by a gun formation and several Foresight Martial Artists.
• Huo Yuntian came with four armed men, had Yuan Old Ghost’s corpse removed, and gave Lian Youming five minutes to eat a meager meal.
• Lian Youming practiced Xingyi techniques in his shackles for an estimated seven days, gradually adapting his Half-Step Crushing Fist while waiting for a chance to act on Xu Tian’s instructions.
• On the seventh night, an old voice roared in fury, a fight broke out, and the disturbance ended with the smell of blood and chilling gulping sounds.

Lian Youming suspected the other prisoners were cooperating to survive by killing the weakest, and continued training while waiting for a chance to escape. When two Foresight Martial Artists demanded his medicine and entered his cell, an unseen attacker extinguished the lamp and plunged them into darkness as killing intent erupted.

• Lian Youming heard the Japanese martial artist feeding on prisoners and said he intended to kill him and settle old scores.
• Lian Youming reasoned that the prisoners might be targeting the weakest to replenish their vital essence, then returned to training.
• Over the next several days, Lian Youming improved his movement in leg irons and tested the prisoners' reactions by eating a Pill for replenishing vital essence.
• Lian Youming heard the mysterious chained expert breathe after fifteen days and wondered whether he could rival Junk King.
• Sensing attackers approaching, Lian Youming hid upside down on the ceiling as two Foresight Martial Artists demanded his medicine.
• The two men entered Lian Youming's cell while someone outside extinguished the lamp and shut the gate, and killing intent erupted in the darkness.

Lian Youming fought the twin Yan brothers, notorious Foresight Martial Artists, after they attacked him in his cell. He countered their combined grappling and kicking techniques, but the brothers launched another assault as the chapter ended.

• The Yan brothers seized Lian Youming and tried to throw him, but he cushioned the impact and escaped unharmed.
• Lian Youming blocked the brothers’ grappling attacks and knocked them into the cell walls with Crossing Fist and Crushing Fist.
• The brothers removed their leg irons and used Springing Leg to attack Lian Youming from opposite sides.
• Lian Youming redirected the kicks with Golden Bell Cover and struck one brother’s Yongquan Point with Crushing Fist.
• Lian Youming used Pounding Fist as the brothers attacked him from the front and behind.

Lian Youming defeated two imprisoned bandits and learned that the prisoners were being encouraged to eat one another by a training method likely taught by the Japanese devil. He offered to confront the devil and left the prisoners with a warning, determined to uncover the mastermind.

• Lian Youming killed one of the brothers and subdued Yan Laoqi after a fierce fight.
• Lian Youming learned that prisoners had picked up martial arts by studying methods left on the dungeon walls.
• Lian Youming discovered that someone in the dungeon had taught the prisoners a method of replenishing themselves by consuming human flesh, and the Japanese devil was a likely suspect.
• Lian Youming offered to confront the Japanese devil and asked the prisoners to help him train; he promised they could eat him if he died.
• Yan Laoqi accepted the proposal but vowed to settle his score with Lian Youming later.
• Lian Youming opened the cell gate, left Yan Laoqi inside, and warned the other prisoners not to act rashly.

Lian Youming entered the secret passage’s dark section to locate the Japanese prisoner and assess the masters inside. After five great masters unleashed their killing intent and attacked him, he countered with his Dragon Roaring Iron Shirt.

• Lian Youming learned that the prisoners in the passage’s depths had nearly broken out six years earlier and were fed through bamboo tubes.
• Lian Youming mapped the occupied cells and approached the pitch-black section, where a prisoner’s killing intent briefly locked onto him.
• Lian Youming found signs of an old gun battle and a skeleton whose spine had been smashed by one blow as he searched the dark cells.
• Lian Youming traced a foul blood smell to the Japanese man’s cell and approached the final gates to test the mysterious master within.
• Five great masters attacked Lian Youming from the cells around him, and he blocked one prisoner’s claw with Crushing Fist before unleashing Dragon Roaring Iron Shirt.

Lian Youming fought off several prisoners who recognized his Dragon Roaring Iron Shirt, then rallied other inmates and learned that the four attackers had all received guidance from a mysterious expert. He began to suspect the expert was not in the deepest cell but hiding among them, orchestrating the slaughter to escape.

• Lian Youming used Dragon Roaring Iron Shirt, prompting prisoners to recognize his connection to Xuanming and attack him with Xingyi, Bagua, and other techniques.
• Lian Youming called for help, and more than ten prisoners from different groups emerged to support him against the four men.
• Lian Youming negotiated a pause in the fight by offering to deal with the Japanese man first, and the four attackers returned to their cells.
• Lian Youming learned from Corpse Old Ghost that the four men had been guided by the mysterious expert in the deepest cell, where the other inmates had died.
• Lian Youming reasoned that the deepest cell might be empty and concluded the expert was likely hiding in plain sight, using the chaos to escape.

Lian Youming trained in the dungeon and studied the fighting methods of its imprisoned martial artists while waiting to confront the Japanese expert. As he advanced to meet his opponent, his senses opened into the realm of foresight, and he entered the dark passage.

• Huo Yuntian delivered Lian Youming meals containing two revolvers, which Lian concealed before continuing to train.
• An old martial artist demonstrated his techniques for Lian, and other prisoners followed by showing him their fighting methods.
• Lian spent nearly two months absorbing their techniques and honing his Half-Step Crushing Fist, while the Japanese expert emerged repeatedly from the depths.
• When gunfire sounded from above, the prisoners rushed toward the entrance, but Lian stayed focused on the Japanese expert and approached him.
• Lian's five senses and awareness of his body suddenly sharpened, and he realized he had reached the realm of foresight before walking into the passage.

Lian Youming tested his near-instinctive ability to evade attacks while fighting a Japanese martial artist, then overwhelmed him with powerful Xingyi techniques. The opponent revealed that the person behind the replenishing training method was a Mountain Guardian before Lian Youming struck him down.

• Lian Youming dodged the Japanese martial artist’s Three-Finger Spear Hand and tested how quickly his body could evade attacks.
• Lian Youming exchanged punches and elbow techniques with the Japanese expert, then used his growing strength and momentum to overpower him.
• Lian Youming struck the expert’s palms repeatedly with Half-Step Crushing Fist, forcing him back and injuring him.
• Lian Youming asked who had taught the replenishing training method, and the Japanese martial artist revealed that the person was a Mountain Guardian.
• The Japanese martial artist slipped behind Lian Youming and attacked his head, but Lian Youming crushed his foot and kicked him in the jaw, sending him flying backward.

Lian Youming defeated the Japanese martial artist and killed four prisoners who ambushed him, then discovered that Mr. Corpse had taught the prisoners their martial arts to make them useful. He shot open the final gate and retreated inside as Mr. Corpse ordered everyone in the passage killed.

• Lian Youming used Taiji Cloud Hands to overpower the Japanese martial artist, but four prisoners attacked him from behind and struck the Japanese man as well.
• Lian Youming unleashed Heavenly Dipper Toad-Catching Force, defeated the four ambushers, and killed them with a rapid series of punches.
• Lian Youming caught the fleeing Japanese martial artist, then recognized the smiling old man as Corpse Old Ghost and asked who he was.
• Mr. Corpse revealed that he was one of the Five Elders of the Mountain Guardians and had taught the prisoners their martial arts so they could preserve their essence and qi.
• Lian Youming killed the Japanese martial artist, drew a revolver, shot open the final gate, and entered as Mr. Corpse ordered the others to kill everyone.

Lian Youming discovered the remains of a fallen Eight Trigrams Sect expert and a mural called the Demon-Slaying Picture while preparing to defend himself in the dungeon. A powerful Foresight expert entered the cell, and Lian Youming faced him in the lamplight.

• As fighting erupted outside, Lian Youming barricaded the cell gate with stone balls and asked Mr. Corpse whether he had nearly fought his way out six years earlier.
• Lian Youming found a skeletal prisoner identified by his Yin-style Bagua techniques and read the man's note of regret for failing their alliance.
• Lian Youming saw a mural of martial arts grandmasters titled the Demon-Slaying Picture.
• A pale, blood-stinking Foresight expert entered through a narrow window, and Lian Youming set aside his Twin Pistols and prepared to fight him.

Lian Youming uncovered Ma Fei’s role in the dungeon and learned that Mr. Corpse had kept himself hidden there out of fear of the figures in the Demon-Slaying Picture. He refused Mr. Corpse’s offer to join him, and the chapter ended as he and Ma Fei clashed in a fierce fight.

• Lian Youming discovered that Ma Fei had caused the fortnightly disturbances by uncovering a draft through a concealed crack in the cell.
• Ma Fei explained that the White Lotus Sect dungeon had imprisoned Mr. Corpse and that Mr. Corpse had removed the Pulse Gate Nails and taught the prisoners.
• Lian Youming concluded that Mr. Corpse had stayed hidden because he feared the people depicted in the Demon-Slaying Picture and had used Ma Fei as his double.
• Mr. Corpse offered Lian Youming resources and a place among them, but Lian Youming declared he would strike down anyone who established an imperial system and crowned himself emperor.
• Mr. Corpse ordered Ma Fei to cripple and imprison Lian Youming, and Ma Fei unleashed his stored vitality as the two men began fighting.

Outside the dungeon, Huo Yuntian and Tian Dayong fought masked Foresight Martial Artists approaching the entrance. Inside, Lian Youming clashed with Ma Fei in a contest of strength and outmaneuvered him, ending the chapter as he unleashed Tiger Roaring Golden Bell Cover.

• Huo Yuntian shot a middle-aged attacker while he and Tian Dayong defended the rooftop against hidden weapons.
• Huo Yuntian and Tian Dayong spotted five or six masked Foresight Martial Artists rushing toward the brick building, led by a hooded figure with a strand of white hair.
• Ma Fei attacked Lian Youming with Monkey-Form Fist and Ox Tongue Coiling Grass Force, while Lian Youming countered with Silk-Coiling Hand and Cloud Hands.
• Lian Youming and Ma Fei locked hands and circled, their opposing forces grinding the bones beneath their feet as both grew overheated.
• Lian Youming deliberately exposed an opening, then redirected Ma Fei's palm force and struck back with both palms.
• Ma Fei realized Lian Youming had trapped him as a tiger's roar erupted from the Tiger Roaring Golden Bell Cover.

Lian Youming fought Ma Fei in the dungeon, countering his Soft-Bone Skill and surviving a hidden attack with Pulse Gate Nails. He revealed the Elixir Sword technique and killed Ma Fei, then stood ready to continue.

• Lian Youming attacked Ma Fei after his tiger roar knocked Ma Fei across the dungeon, but Ma Fei evaded him with Soft-Bone Skill and struck back.
• Ma Fei explained how his defeat and rejection by his Bagua disciples had driven him to stake everything, while Lian Youming condemned his lack of a true martial heart.
• Ma Fei coiled around Lian Youming and compressed his body, then secretly drew Pulse Gate Nails and attacked the back of his neck.
• Lian Youming seized Ma Fei's old Pulse Gate Nail scar, loosened his hold, and smashed him against the stone wall with a bear-form movement.
• Ma Fei caught Lian Youming's Eagle Seizing hand and punched him in the chest, but a hole opened in Ma Fei's throat from the Daoist Sect Elixir Sword.
• Lian Youming landed, removed the Pulse Gate Nails from his palm, and taunted Ma Fei for thinking he could rival the old man.

Lian Youming learned from Mr. Corpse about the Demon-Purging War and an apparently living alliance leader, then waited in his cell as the dungeon fell silent. When he emerged, he found the passage filled with corpses and armed soldiers, while Tian Dayong’s nephew warned him about a ruthless fighter and other experts inside.

• Lian Youming killed Ma Fei, and Mr. Corpse praised Ma Fei’s poor choices while speaking with Lian Youming outside the cell.
• Mr. Corpse told Lian Youming that a man surnamed Chen had led an alliance of grandmasters during the Demon-Purging War and might still be alive.
• Mr. Corpse became agitated, muttering that he had to find the man and reach the highest realm, then abruptly fell silent.
• Lian Youming waited in his cell until chains moved at the hidden passage entrance, then shifted the stone balls and looked outside.
• Lian Youming saw a passage strewn with corpses and several soldiers manning heavy weapons, while Tian Dayong lamented that his nephew was dead.
• A voice from deeper in the passage warned Tian Dayong not to enter because a ruthless fighter and several top fighters were hiding there.

Lian Youming discovered that the prisoners had escaped the dungeon through a hidden route, then realized the tunnel was a decoy and Mr. Corpse had returned to attack. Lian Youming fought him but was badly injured as Mr. Corpse escaped into the snow.

• Lian Youming and Tian Dayong searched the dungeon and found the cells empty, with a hole concealed beneath a stone ball.
• Lian Youming learned from Chen Youcai that the prisoners had been kept alive by martial sect leaders, then inspected the corpses outside.
• A man reported that the tunnel was a dead end, and Lian Youming guessed that the escapees had used the Bone-Shrinking Skill.
• Gunfire erupted outside, and Mr. Corpse attacked as Chen Youcai staggered back injured.
• Lian Youming struck Mr. Corpse with the Elixir Sword, but Mr. Corpse deflected the attack and left Lian Youming gravely hurt before retreating into the snow.

Lian Youming woke after six days with severe heart-meridian injuries and learned that three attackers had died while five escaped. As he recovered, Xu Tian urged him to help Yang Shuang challenge the Taiji Gate, and the chapter ended with news that Gu Chan had defected.

• Lian Youming woke in Xu Tian’s care and learned that his injured palm and heart meridians would take months to heal, while three of the eight attackers had been killed and five had escaped by sea.
• Lian Youming told Gong Qitian and Xu Tian that one attacker had claimed to be a Mountain Guardian, prompting Gong Qitian to mention the Eyeless Monk and Xu Tian to connect the monk to Xue Hen’s rescue.
• Xu Tian treated Lian Youming’s chest injury and suggested using Gu Chan’s prison break to make Lian Youming master of the Taiji Gate, but Lian Youming proposed supporting Yang Shuang instead.
• Lian Youming recovered enough to visit the Dungeon, where he studied the martial arts carved into the cells while Xu Tian examined the Demon-Slaying Picture.
• Shorty Xu arrived with news that Gu Chan had defected from the Taiji Gate.

After leaving his companions, Lian Youming traveled alone into the northern grasslands to recover and study Heavenly Dipper Strength. He survived a White Disaster and then witnessed a powerful old lama unleash the Six-Syllable Mantra against a young man.

• Lian Youming declined to return to the Baji Sect, and Xu Tian and Gong Qitian left for Fengtian with Xu Baishi and Tian Dayong.
• Lian Youming headed northwest toward the northern grasslands, hoping heavenly thunder would help heal his heart meridians and deepen his understanding of Heavenly Dipper Strength.
• Caught in a blizzard, Lian Youming sheltered in a wolf's den and used a pill and Three Yin Earth-Baleful Force to strengthen himself.
• After the blizzard passed, Lian Youming saw livestock frozen dead and heard the grief of people affected by the White Disaster.
• Lian Youming sensed two fighters nearby and watched an old lama in crimson robes unleash the Six-Syllable Mantra against a young man.

Lian Youming watched a mysterious young man defeat a red-robed lama and recognized his uncanny instinctive evasion as the pinnacle of Foresight. When three sinister Buddhist women approached, Lian Youming went to confront them.

• Lian Youming watched the young man evade the lama’s staff attacks before he could consciously react, and recognized the ability as Intent Before Action.
• The young man countered the lama’s attacks with Xingyi Quan and Bagua Palm, then met a crushing staff blow with a Dantian Qi Strike.
• The young man sent the lama flying and struck him with an Ox-Tongue Palm, leaving him coughing blood and unable to continue fighting.
• Lian Youming spotted three sinister, alluring women approaching from the west and ran toward them, announcing that he had come to help.

Lian Youming fought and killed three Tantric Bliss practitioners who tried to overwhelm him with seductive techniques, then continued on after the mysterious young man chased off their lama opponent. When thunder began rumbling over the snow-covered landscape, Lian Youming headed toward a low mountain, apparently seeking the coming storm.

• The mysterious young man warned Lian Youming that three Tantric Bliss practitioners were dangerous, but they surrounded him and attacked his senses with fragrance, chants, and illusions.
• Lian Youming resisted their bewitching techniques, revealed his Golden Bell Cover, and countered their coordinated attacks, killing one woman and breaking the others’ limbs.
• Two more women attacked Lian Youming with blades, but he killed them and threw a flexible sword after the last woman as she fled.
• The old lama turned and ran after seeing Lian Youming defeat the women, and the mysterious young man pursued him while Lian Youming buried the bodies and continued alone.
• Lian Youming heard thunder gathering overhead, chose a low mountain, and hurried toward it.