Chapter Summaries

At Jianmen Pass, Lian Youming learned that Shorty Xu was his martial uncle and discussed the recovered remains and the Emei Sect with him. Shorty Xu’s disciple arrived and revealed she was the girl Lian Youming had once met at Xijing Station, leaving them reunited after years apart.

• Lian Youming recognized Shorty Xu as a fellow disciple of Du Xinwu and learned that Shorty Xu had trained under Xu Aishi.
• Shorty Xu identified several of the skeletal remains and told Lian Youming about his searches for the remains of past masters.
• Lian Youming told Shorty Xu about the bandit chief claiming the name of the Emei Sect, and Shorty Xu explained that Emei had long been a source of martial arts lineages.
• Shorty Xu’s disciple arrived with food, and Shorty Xu said Senior Brother Xu might have records about the bandit chief’s prison.
• The girl recognized Lian Youming as the benefactor she had met with her grandparent at Xijing Station and said she had joined the Nature Sect after witnessing his skills.

Lian Youming reunited with Xu Baishi and Shorty Xu at Jianmen Pass, then learned from a Pao Ge elder about a blood feud tied to the King of the Great Western Kingdom's Legacy Treasure. After agreeing to investigate the enemy at Emei, Lian Youming began practicing his martial art in the falling spring snow.

• Xu Baishi greeted Lian Youming, and Shorty Xu advised him to train his sword technique against the monkeys on Mount Emei.
• Lian Youming gave Shorty Xu the secret art Swallow Li San had left behind so it could be returned to the Swallow Sect.
• After Xu Baishi and Shorty Xu departed, Lian Youming met a Pao Ge elder, who reported that one Emei disciple had escaped.
• The elder revealed that his enemy had betrayed their master, murdered his family, colluded with the Japanese, and become a bandit chief backed by the Emei disciples.
• The elder offered information about the King of the Great Western Kingdom's Legacy Treasure in exchange for Lian Youming's help capturing his enemy alive.
• Lian Youming agreed to go to Emei and practiced his martial art by gathering the falling snow into a circling formation.

Lian Youming spent forty-one days training in the mountains, studying and fighting monkeys until his martial arts advanced. At White Horse Pass, he reunited with Xu Tian and learned that Li Da had disappeared while trying to rescue Yang Cuo, and that Japanese men had come to Mount Emei.

• Lian Youming studied macaques in the wilderness and provoked them to learn Monkey Form while continuing his fist, footwork, sword, and Golden Bell Cover training.
• Lian Youming traveled onward through Mianyang to White Horse Pass, blending Monkey Form with his other martial arts as his body and skills grew more refined.
• Lian Youming reunited with Xu Baishi and Xu Tian, and learned that forty-one days had passed since Jianmen Pass.
• Xu Tian told Lian Youming that Li Da had mysteriously disappeared in Shanghai and likely gone out to sea to rescue Yang Cuo.
• Xu Tian warned that Japanese men had come to Mount Emei and told Lian Youming to question them if possible; Lian Youming said Xu Tian would have no chance to act.

Lian Youming left Xu Tian and the others and reached Mount Emei to confront the enemy behind the old boatman’s blood feud. He entered Pure Yang Hall, where he sensed Qi Dynamics, and the chapter left him about to face whoever waited inside.

• Lian Youming ate the meal Shorty Xu brought and set off for Mount Emei, while Xu Baishi declared that he would win.
• Lian Youming met the old boatman in Emei City, learned that the enemy had Japanese helpers and a transforming eight-foot sword, and told the Paoge members to cover him.
• Lian Youming climbed toward Lü Xianxing Cave beneath Red City Peak and raced ahead alone to find the enemy.
• Lian Youming reached Pure Yang Hall, sensed Qi Dynamics within, and stepped inside.

Lian Youming infiltrated Pure Yang Hall and discovered Japanese fighters searching for the King of the Great Western Kingdom's Legacy Treasure. After defeating their male fighter and battling the woman leading them, he faced five sword-wielding women, two of whom drew suppressed pistols and opened fire.

• Lian Youming overheard Japanese fighters discuss finding the treasure in the Min River and later meeting their allies at Mount Lu.
• The Japanese man attacked Lian Youming with a throwing star, but Lian Youming feigned defeat and killed him with a knife-hand strike through the chest.
• Lian Youming disarmed the woman and fought her as she used techniques including Tang hand, karate, Iron Sand Palm, and Bagua Palm.
• The woman struck Lian Youming with White Ape Offers Fruit, but he recovered and kicked her in the groin.
• Five women returned with swords, and two drew suppressed pistols and fired at Lian Youming.

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.