Recaps

Lian Youming resolved to challenge the Taiji Gate to settle the Mountain-Guarding Old Man’s grudge and secure Yang Shuang’s standing. After bringing Sun Duhe, his family, and Wang Mazi to the Baji Martial Arts Hall, he announced the challenge, leaving Wu Jiu alarmed but Yang Shuang ready to follow him.

• Lian Youming told Zhu Wu he would challenge the Taiji Gate before honoring his promise to take Zhu Wu as a disciple.
• Sun Duhe decided to stay in Guangzhou, gave Lian Youming the antique paintings containing a map, and learned that a martial arts method had been hidden in the scripture he once gave him.
• Lian Youming offered to take Sun Duhe’s daughter as a true disciple when she was older, while Yan Tao asked to train and was directed to a female fist master.
• Lian Youming brought Sun Duhe’s family and Wang Mazi to the Baji Martial Arts Hall, where Wang Mazi said he could use the map to locate the moving ship.
• Lian Youming told Yang Shuang he would challenge the Taiji Gate in the first half of the year, and Yang Shuang agreed to follow his lead while Wu Jiu warned him of the danger.

Lian Youming weighed rescuing his martial uncle against attending Gu Feiyan's Martial Way Assembly, then returned to Wuzhou and settled family concerns. In Cangzhou, Xu Tian learned that Taiji Gate had accepted Lian Youming's challenge and revealed that the Baji Sect had a lead on a one-eyed man held overseas.

• Lian Youming told Wu Jiu that he might skip the Martial Way Assembly to pursue a chance to rescue his martial uncle, while keeping his plans secret.
• Lian Youming offered Wang Mazi a place in the Green Gang after the Taiji Gate fight if Wang Mazi helped locate the ship, and asked Yang Shuang to teach Yan Tao basic Stake Work.
• Liu Wudi arrived at the martial arts school, reunited with Wu Jiu, and joked with him after seeing A Xing.
• Lian Youming returned to Wuzhou and reassured his family that his companions were safe, prompting his father to return early to Xijing with Zhao Lanxiang.
• Xu Tian learned that Taiji Gate had accepted Lian Youming's challenge and set off for Guangzhou with fellow Baji Sect members after revealing a report of a one-eyed man surnamed Chen held on an island.

At Yongnian Guangfu City, Taiji Gate elders received a challenge from the Taiji Demon, the disciple of Xuanming who had defeated Gu Chan and inherited several powerful techniques. They accepted his wager for the position of master of the Taiji Gate and prepared to summon the other branches and the Chen Family.

• Gu Chan and ten other martial artists practiced through the night in the snow, while Gu Chan demonstrated his formidable Taiji skills.
• A female disciple brought a challenge letter to the old masters inside the Residence of Master Luchan.
• The fat old master recognized the challenger as Xuanming's disciple, known as the Taiji Demon, and linked him to the battle at Mount Lu.
• The blind Daoist recalled that Xuanming's Elixir Sword had destroyed his eye and agreed to settle his grudge with the disciple who had learned the Toad-Fishing Skill.
• The fat old master ordered the Sun, Wu, and Wu branches and the Chen Family to be notified, then announced that they accepted the challenge and told the challenger to choose a place.

Lian Youming told Yan Lingyun about his recent experiences and the future memories he believed he carried, but she suggested they might be foreknowledge gained through the Martial Way rather than proof he came from the future. As the memories began to fade, he chose to focus on his family and the present.

• Lian Youming used his Inner Strength to clear Yan Lingyun's meridians and temporarily make her body more nimble.
• Yan Lingyun worried that Lian Youming's martial progress would let him stay young while she grew old, and he reassured her that she completed his life.
• Lian Youming told Yan Lingyun about his journey Northward to Exterminate Demons, the Mountain Guardian, his Green Gang identity, and his belief that he had come from the future.
• Yan Lingyun suggested Lian Youming's memories might be foreknowledge or a mental ability connected to the Martial Way, and he reconsidered what they meant.
• Lian Youming found that memories of his future self were fading, then soothed their waking son and agreed with Yan Lingyun to focus on the present.

Lian Youming learned that Yan Beitong had preserved a hidden collection of old medicines and manuals, including a fragmentary sword manual by Song Weiyi. He also found a curved saber connected to Wang Yaqiao and set out to search for the abandoned house where it had been found.

• Yan Beitong told Lian Youming about the Taiji Demon’s challenge to the Taiji Gate and asked whether he was confident; Lian Youming said he was.
• Yan Beitong showed Lian Youming and Yan Lingyun a hidden chamber filled with medicinal wine, old books, and secret records, and Yan Lingyun claimed a Youth-Restoring Pill.
• Lian Youming found half of a handwritten sword manual by Song Weiyi among the old Daoist texts.
• Lian Youming discovered a curved saber marked “Evil-Slaying” and “Jiuguang,” recognized its resemblance to his Gall-Illuminating Sword, and connected it to Wang Yaqiao.
• After Yan Beitong described where the saber had been found, Lian Youming decided to search for the abandoned house outside town.

Lian Youming investigated the ruins where Wang Yaqiao had been ambushed and reconstructed the fight, concluding that a hidden expert had struck a decisive blow. After learning that the Golden Cicada Sect and several Taiji schools would join the coming conflict, he chose Wudang Mountain for the battle and set the date for mid-June, then left to train on a long journey.

• Lian Youming and Yan Lingyun searched the ruined residence and found signs of a large ambush against Wang Yaqiao, including weapon marks, footprints, and an Iron Ball.
• Lian Youming inferred that several attackers had surrounded Wang Yaqiao and that a hidden expert had wounded him suddenly, forcing him to abandon his saber.
• Yan Lingyun urged Lian Youming to avenge her master, and he agreed to continue toward that goal.
• In Foshan, Yang Qing warned Lian Youming that the Golden Cicada Sect and several Taiji schools were joining the conflict, and she supplied him with crates of firearms and explosives.
• Lian Youming showed Yang Qing Wang Yaqiao's curved saber and chose Wudang Mountain as the battlefield, setting the battle for mid-June.
• Lian Youming said he would travel to train hard and promised to contact Yang Qing when he arrived.

Lian Youming encountered Sweet Potato Ying after she fought off boys bullying her and her puppy, then trained in Leizhou while she and her brother watched. On the eighth day, thunder finally broke over the coast, and Lian Youming began mastering Heavenly Dipper Strength amid the storm.

• Sweet Potato Ying fought off three boys who bullied her and threw her puppy into the sea, and Lian Youming returned the rescued dog to her.
• Lian Youming warned Sweet Potato Ying that the puppy could be used against her, then resumed preparing for the coming battle and studying an ancient incomplete manual.
• Sweet Potato Ying and her brother watched Lian Youming demonstrate his breath training and sword-like exhalation at the tidal flats.
• Over seven days, Lian Youming trained and reconstructed techniques from past opponents while the siblings secretly observed him.
• On the eighth day, thunder and a fierce storm finally reached Leizhou, and Lian Youming rose to master Heavenly Dipper Strength.

Lian Youming tried to perfect Heavenly Dipper Strength by joining his awareness with the thunder, but discovered that the ocean’s force could also enter him. He began combining thunder and waves through martial arts and the Six-Syllable Mantra, while a fat monk heard his roars and came looking for him.

• Lian Youming practiced the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Stance and the Three Great Neijiaquan in the storm, using thunder to guide his movements and deepen his Heavenly Dipper Strength.
• Lian Youming released control of his senses to experience the will of heaven, but discovered a second force rising from the ocean and was struck from the reef by a wave.
• Lian Youming plunged into the waves and used Dragon Form to seek control of the ocean’s force, drawing both water and thunder into his body.
• Lian Youming used the Six-Syllable Mantra and the Sound Strike method to suppress and blend the opposing forces, then combined them with sword techniques.
• A fat monk at a distant pier recognized Lian Youming’s roars as the Sound Strike method of Esoteric Buddhism and set out to find him.

Lian Youming fought the Shaolin traitor numbered 4 amid a storm, testing the unusual forces he had been trying to unite. As the monk’s Lion’s Roar disrupted him, thunder helped the two forces in Lian Youming’s body blend seamlessly.

• Lian Youming used the storm and waves to practice merging two forces within himself as he waited for an attacker.
• The fat monk numbered 4 arrived, recognized Lian Youming as Taiji Demon, and revealed that he had once sought Bodhidharma’s teachings before turning traitor to Shaolin Temple.
• Lian Youming and the monk exchanged sword strikes, fists, palm attacks, and iron prayer beads as they battled across the waves.
• The monk submerged himself, then burst from the water and grabbed for Lian Youming’s ankle while unleashing Lion’s Roar.
• Thunder sounded overhead, and Lian Youming realized the two forces within him had begun to blend seamlessly.

Lian Youming fought Monk Zhikong through a storm, using the monk’s attacks to temper the two forces within him as he pursued a new martial art. The chapter ended with Zhikong unleashing a faster, deadly assault after Lian Youming demanded more speed.

• Lian Youming let Zhikong grab his leg and used Listening Jin to study how the monk’s Lion’s Roar affected the conflicting forces within him.
• Lian Youming struck at Zhikong, then kicked the monk in the throat and forced the two apart.
• Zhikong mocked Lian Youming’s ambition to create an extraordinary force, but Lian Youming declared that he would keep striving beyond his predecessors.
• Zhikong revealed that he was named Zhikong, explained that he had used up his drugs while pursuing Xue Hen, and walked across the waves toward Lian Youming.
• Zhikong used One-Finger Zen and Bodhidharma Swordsmanship to attack with a storm of sword fingers, while Lian Youming parried and let the impacts temper his inner forces.
• Lian Youming attacked without defending and shouted that Zhikong was too slow, prompting Zhikong to tear his sleeve and roar, “Die!”

Lian Youming fought Zhikong on a storm-tossed reef while trying to unite the forces of water and thunder, and he realized that the key was Heaven-and-Man Resonance. As the storm faded and Zhikong launched an unavoidable attack, Lian Youming answered with a wave and renewed thunder, meeting the monk's finger with his own sword-forming fingers.

• Lian Youming and Zhikong exchanged a hundred fierce attacks on the crumbling reef as Lian Youming drew on water and Thunder Force but could not blend them.
• Zhikong taunted Lian Youming as the storm began to pass, then unleashed a blood-powered finger attack and used his robe to trap Lian Youming's sword in a vortex.
• Lian Youming understood the principle of Heaven-and-Man Resonance as Zhikong's robe concealed a killing finger aimed between his brows.
• Lian Youming released his sword and stepped back to harness momentum, summoning a great wave and rising with renewed thunder to meet Zhikong's attack with his sword fingers.

Lian Youming discovered a peculiar force by merging the thunder above with the water beneath him, then used it to defeat Monk Zhikong. The chapter ended with Zhikong falling into the sea after Lian Youming named his technique the Three Yin Seven Killings Sword.

• Lian Youming merged the forces of thunder and water within his body, creating a new force that broke Zhikong’s finger and struck his chest.
• Zhikong challenged Lian Youming’s claim that he had understood the force, then attacked with Lion’s Roar and Shaolin Pounding Fist.
• Lian Youming retreated onto the sea and stood between the thunder and waves, channeling heaven and earth’s killing intent.
• Zhikong accepted Lian Youming’s challenge and charged him on the reef.
• Lian Youming used a precise touch to disrupt Zhikong’s punch, crossed past him, and held his sword fingers against the monk’s Jade Pillow Acupoint.
• Lian Youming named his technique the Three Yin Seven Killings Sword, and Zhikong fell into the sea.

Lian Youming survived his battle with Zhikong, though he was badly injured, and realized his new force had broken through another layer of Golden Bell Cover. He found and rescued Li Yinhuan and other imprisoned martial artists, then sent them toward Guangzhou while he pursued a dark-skinned man at the pier.

• Lian Youming killed Zhikong but suffered severe injuries while testing his new force, which he believed could unite the killing intent of heaven, earth, and man.
• Lian Youming went to the pier and secretly boarded a guarded fishing boat after suspecting someone there had been waiting for Zhikong.
• Lian Youming subdued the two guards and found Li Yinhuan, who told him that other martial artists were imprisoned below deck.
• Lian Youming freed the captives, including Ding Sanjie, who said Gong Wuer had disappeared after fighting Gu Feiyan.
• Lian Youming told Ding Sanjie to take the others to Guangzhou to find Uncle Xu, then pursued the dark-skinned man, who fled when he saw him.

Lian Youming pursued a gunman into the hills, where a sniper and three armed men ambushed him. After defeating them, he found photographs of ancient tombs and the Eastern Mausoleum’s Antique Paintings, along with a letter saying Chen was still alive.

• Lian Youming followed the dark-skinned man into the hills and spotted a sniper aiming at him.
• The dark-skinned man and the gunmen on the ridge opened fire, but Lian Youming evaded their shots and killed two attackers before subduing the middle-aged quick-draw shooter.
• Lian Youming removed a bullet from his shoulder and wondered whether the gunmen were connected to the Mysterious Force.
• Lian Youming entered the house and found photographs of ancient tombs, the Hong Kong Walled City coffin, a member of the Remnants of the Old Era, and the three Antique Paintings from the Eastern Mausoleum.
• Lian Youming read a letter stating that the man named Chen was not dead and ordering someone to find him.

Lian Youming uncovered evidence that the Thirteen Hongs were monitoring the martial world and that Chen, a former Number One Under Heaven, might still be alive. Liu Wudi and Yang Shuang arrived with news of the Martial Way Tournament, and Lian Youming prepared to develop a new force before his deadly fight with Taiji Gate.

• Lian Youming found letters and paintings at a messaging outpost, including clues about Chen, the Five Elders of the Mountain Guardians, and the Thirteen Hongs of Canton.
• Lian Youming collected the photographs and letters, buried the four bodies, and returned to the shore to train.
• Yang Shuang and Liu Wudi visited Lian Youming, noticed his gunshot wound, and gave him clothes and medicinal pills.
• Yang Shuang told Lian Youming that the Martial Way Tournament would begin on the first day of the seventh month overseas, with ten rising talents selected by the schools.
• Lian Youming resolved to win his fight with Taiji Gate in the middle of the sixth month so he could save his martial uncle, and he asked Liu Wudi to discuss Martial Way principles as he developed a new force.

Lian Youming prepared for the coming battle while Yang Shuang clarified her resolve to protect those close to her and advanced toward Three Energies Unification. In May, his cultivation entered a dangerous new stage as the forces of his Dragon Roaring Iron Shirt and Tiger Roaring Golden Bell Cover converged within him.

• Lian Youming advised Yang Shuang that her obstructed heart was slowing her movements, and asked her to name her path.
• Yang Shuang declared that she wanted to protect her loved ones and friends, then achieved signs of Three Energies Unification.
• Lian Youming told Yang Shuang he would leave the Taiji Gate’s resources to her and make her its head after the battle.
• Liu Wudi invited Lian Youming to his wedding, while Lian Youming continued meditating and training by the sea with Yang Shuang.
• In May, Yang Shuang and Liu Wudi sensed a change as Lian Youming’s body roared like a tiger and dragon during his breathing.
• Yang Shuang stopped Liu Wudi from approaching, warning that Lian Youming was at a perilous stage as his two Elixir Skills converged.

Lian Youming unexpectedly merged the qi of the Iron Shirt and Golden Bell Cover, surviving a painful transformation that achieved success in the Dao of Elixirs. After recovering, he discovered that his perception and Ability of Foresight had greatly improved, and prepared to return.

• Lian Youming’s qi-blood surged as he practiced the Iron Shirt and Golden Bell Cover, causing their yin and yang internal breaths to clash and converge.
• Lian Youming repeatedly circulated the conflicting breaths between his lower and middle dantians, enduring intense pain as he tried to complete the elixir formation.
• Lian Youming’s dragon and tiger converged, reshaping his body as Yang Shuang recognized his success in the Dao of Elixirs.
• Yang Shuang gave Lian Youming her replenishing elixirs, and he recovered after exhaling a long stream of scorching air.
• Lian Youming tested his heightened perception by standing in the sea and observing distant people, animals, and subtle movements.
• Lian Youming told Yang Shuang he felt well and said they should prepare to return.

Lian Youming returned to Guangzhou with his body and martial skill transformed, then learned from Xu Tian about the Hidden Killing Society and the dangers of opposing Mystic Connection masters. As preparations for the overseas mission continued, Lian Youming revealed that he expected to go abroad after his coming battle.

• Wu Jiu and other martial artists admired Lian Youming's newfound physical perfection, and Wu Jiu failed to touch him during a sparring match.
• Lian Youming used the Three Yin Seven Killings Sword to injure Wu Jiu's palm, and Xu Tian explained that Lian Youming's Elixir Skill now let his Inner Strength defend him automatically.
• Lian Youming asked Wu Jiu when he would marry A Xing, and Wu Jiu said the wedding would be in six days.
• Xu Tian told Lian Youming and Yang Shuang that forty-three people would travel overseas to face the Hidden Killing Society, which was connected to the White Lotus Saint Son Lineage and the Thirteen Hongs of Canton.
• Xu Tian warned Lian Youming not to attack the Mountain Guardians with firearms, explaining that Mystic Connection masters could sense a definite killing intent and that the sect leaders had prepared safeguards in Four-Nine City.
• Lian Youming told Xu Tian that he expected to go overseas after the coming battle.

Lian Youming declined to join Xu Tian’s dangerous mission overseas and learned that the aging sect masters were preserving hope for the younger generation. On the sixth day, he attended Wu Jiu’s wedding, where he encountered a prodigious young disciple of the Three Emperors Cannon Hammer Sect.

• Xu Tian told Lian Youming that his martial uncle might be trapped on Sea Island and that the group also hoped to rescue a Mystic Connection martial artist named Chen; Lian Youming chose to follow his own path.
• Yang Shuang offered to accompany Lian Youming, but he refused and urged her to secure the Taiji Gate’s master position.
• Xu Tian explained that the sect masters were nearing the end of their lives and had stayed alive to give the younger generation a chance to advance; he urged Lian Youming to prove himself.
• Yang Shuang asked for the Taiji Gate’s accumulated resources, and Lian Youming agreed they were hers.
• At Wu Jiu’s wedding, Lian Youming met a powerful young disciple of the Three Emperors Cannon Hammer Sect, whom Li Yinhuan said had killed three Grand Boxers despite only reaching complete mastery of Ming Jin.

Lian Youming tested strength with Gongyang Ming, whose extraordinary power was interrupted when hunger forced him to stop. As Lian Youming reunited with several women who knew him, Yan Lingyun noticed Xie Ruomei’s damaged voice and offered to treat it.

• Lian Youming clasped hands with Gongyang Ming and matched his strength until Gongyang Ming stopped because he was hungry.
• Gongyang Ming ordered more food, and Lian Youming and the others discussed the vital energy his immense physique consumed.
• Li Yinhuan met Yan Lingyun and called her Sister-in-law, while Xu Baishi, Yang Shuang, and Xie Ruomei gathered around Lian Youming.
• Several onlookers joked that Lian Youming’s many female companions would bring him a horrible death, and Yang Shuang ushered the group toward the rear hall.
• Yan Lingyun recognized Xie Ruomei, learned that her throat had been damaged, and offered to try treating her.

Lian Youming attended Wu Jiu and A Xing’s wedding, spoke with Boss Chen about the Taiji Gate and his coming fight with Wudang, and reassured Yan Lingyun about their relationship. The next day, he said farewell to his friends before setting out to face Wudang.

• Lian Youming encouraged Yan Lingyun to help Xie Ruomei seek treatment for her inability to speak.
• Boss Chen reminded Lian Youming of her request that he aid the Taiji Gate, and he promised not to destroy it outright; she offered to help Yang Shuang become its head.
• Lian Youming and the others celebrated as Wu Jiu and A Xing married, with Xu Tian and Boss Chen seated as honored guests.
• Lian Youming told Yan Lingyun about his Street Challenge in Cangzhou, and she asked whether he would have married her if they had met later; he assured her that they belonged together.
• Lian Youming and Yan Lingyun bid farewell to their companions, who planned to travel overseas, before he set out toward Wudang for a deadly battle.

Lian Youming and Yang Shuang traveled toward Wudang Mountain, honing themselves and encountering martial artists gathering for the coming challenge. As they reached Jingchu, their friends arrived to support them before the battle.

• Lian Youming and Yang Shuang journeyed along the Xiang River, where they met Zhang Weiyi of Longhu Mountain, who told them that sword experts from many sects were heading to Wudang.
• Zhang Weiyi leapt into the river to escape a Qingcheng Sect inheritor pursuing him, and the two fought in the woods.
• Lian Youming and Yang Shuang continued through the mountains and rivers, spotting reclusive masters before reaching Jingchu in early June.
• Wu Jiu, Liu Wudi, Xu Baishi, Li Yinhuan, Zhu Wu, Wang Mazi, and Sun Duhe greeted Lian Youming and Yang Shuang near Wudang Mountain, saying they had come to support them.

Lian Youming and Yang Shuang learned why Lian Youming’s grandmaster had been branded a traitor by the Taiji Gate: his wife and children were murdered before a leadership contest, and the elders suppressed the crime. Lian Youming vowed to avenge the blood feud as the battle against the Taiji Gate drew near.

• Wu Jiu, Li Yinhuan, Liu Wudi, Sun Duhe, and Zhu Wu reunited with Lian Youming and Yang Shuang, and warned that powerful Taiji lineages and Daoist sword schools had gathered for the coming battle.
• Wu Shouzheng arrived and introduced himself as a Wu-Style Taiji clan elder descended from Yang Banhou, then said his lineage would support Lian Youming and Yang Shuang.
• Wu Shouzheng explained that the Taiji schools had proposed uniting under one gate master, with Lian Youming’s grandmaster and Gu Chan’s maternal grandfather as leading candidates.
• Wu Shouzheng revealed that Lian Youming’s grandmaster’s wife and children had been murdered shortly before the contest, and that Taiji elders had suppressed the case.
• Lian Youming crushed his teacup, declared that he would avenge his grandmaster, and vowed to destroy anyone who stood in his way.

Lian Youming ascended Wudang Mountain to challenge the Taiji branches after learning of the Yang Clan’s crimes, while Wu Shouzheng and the others supported him. He reached the mountain path alone, where his overwhelming sword intent drove off challengers as martial artists and notable observers gathered around him.

• Lian Youming told Wu Shouzheng he intended to fight every branch, and Wu Shouzheng pledged the Wu family’s support.
• Yang Shuang learned why his grandmaster had never pursued revenge against the Taiji Gate, and Lian Youming promised the battle would leave no innocent parties.
• After refining the Three Yin Seven Killings Sword, Lian Youming set out for Wudang Mountain with his companions and drew a crowd of martial artists.
• At the mountain’s foot, Lian Youming ordered a young challenger to move aside, then continued up the steps alone while Wu Jiu and the others followed.
• Lian Youming’s swordlike spiritual pressure forced a middle-aged Daoist to retreat without a fight.
• Zhang Weiyi and a blue-green-robed swordsman followed Lian Youming, while a four-pupiled young man and a foreign woman went to investigate another expert blocking his way.

Lian Youming met the last disciples of Wudang’s Lower Vehicle Elixir Sect at Hidden Immortal Rock and learned of their conflict with the Golden Toad Sect. After defeating Han Tong with one punch, he faced a Golden Toad Sect Daoist who blamed him for killing his brother.

• Lian Youming recognized the inscriptions at Hidden Immortal Rock as Sun and Moon Refinement methods, impressing the five Daoists there.
• The five revealed that they were the remaining disciples of Wudang’s Lower Vehicle Elixir Sect and warned Lian Youming about the Golden Toad Sect leader’s strength and ties to the Gan family.
• Lian Youming suggested that the Lower Vehicle Elixir Sect could move to Zhongnan Mountain, then left as a Daoist and a crowd of martial artists rushed past the cave.
• At Five Dragons Palace, Han Tong challenged Lian Youming and fell after their fists met once.
• A Golden Toad Sect Daoist caught up with Lian Youming and accused him of killing his brother, a Taiji Gate Grand Boxer from Foshan; Lian Youming accepted the coming fight.