Chapter Summaries

After repeatedly losing imaginary fights against Gu Feiyan, Lian Youming found a possible way to counter her Mind-Reading and Divine Eye by exploring a fighting state without thought or intent. He entered the tournament and faced the American Killer King Terry, whose crushing handshake failed to move him.

• Lian Youming simulated three fights against Gu Feiyan and lost each time, then recalled Xue Hen's fighting style and considered whether movement could precede thought.
• Lian Youming fought Gu Feiyan thirty-seven more times in his mind overnight but failed to win, while gradually glimpsing a state without thought or intent.
• Lian Youming woke, reassured Zhao Danxia, and told Xu Tian that he would not abandon the group; Xu Tian warned him to flee if the situation turned dangerous.
• Lian Youming entered the arena as the spectators cheered for the American Killer King, and Terry greeted him with a handshake that became a crushing grip.
• Terry's shirt burst as his muscles swelled and he exerted tremendous force, but Lian Youming remained rooted in place and smiled.

Lian Youming defeated Killer King Taily in the ring and then sought out Gu Chan to test the methods he had developed for facing her elder sister. Gu Chan agreed to help after seeing him shift between the bearing of Xue Hen and one resembling her own.

• Lian Youming overpowered Killer King Taily in a hand-strength contest, then met his attack with Half-Step Crushing Fist after recognizing the Huo breathing method he had inherited from China.
• Lian Youming used the Way of the Spirit to break through Killer King Taily's counterattack and killed him with a fist that pierced his head.
• Lian Youming left the ring and entered the stern cabin to meet Gu Chan, while Gan Xuansu defeated another fighter with Battōjutsu.
• Lian Youming asked Gu Chan to spar and argued that embracing human feelings made his path different from hers.
• Gu Chan agreed to help after Lian Youming displayed a bearing like Xue Hen's and then shifted into one resembling Gu Chan's own.

Lian Youming and Gu Chan exchanged their martial arts to refine their fighting methods, then debated what it meant to pursue the Martial Way. After their training, Gu Chan glimpsed a sign of Three Flowers Gather at the Crown above Lian Youming, who left without noticing it.

• Lian Youming told Gu Chan he wanted to use the fighting methods of others to overcome his shortcomings, and she agreed to test the idea on the condition that he would help her when needed.
• Gu Chan explained the history of the Demon-Slaying Battle and the unknown path beyond the great realm of mystic connection, then challenged Lian Youming's sincerity toward martial arts.
• Lian Youming said he would remain true to himself rather than change for the Martial Way, and Gu Chan accepted his answer before they began training.
• Lian Youming and Gu Chan spent half a day mirroring each other's movements and exchanging martial ideas, then fought using the same techniques from different perspectives.
• Gu Chan saw a faint glimmer above Lian Youming's crown that she recognized as Three Flowers Gather at the Crown, while Lian Youming noticed nothing and left.

Lian Youming discovered a mysterious expert and uncovered Gan Xuansu's plans to attack the tournament, then confronted Gan Xuansu and a Bai family elder at the start of the next matches. The chapter left Lian Youming facing the elder's challenge over the Bai family's inherited treasure.

• Lian Youming spotted a cloaked, masked expert with a team of old-fashioned martial artists, and Xu Tian, Xuanling Perfected Person, and Li Jinglin judged the stranger to be exceptionally powerful.
• A terrifying murderous aura woke Lian Youming and the others aboard the boat; Lian tracked Japanese ninjas to a passenger ship and overheard Gan Xuansu's people discussing a one-eyed martial artist, hidden missiles and torpedoes, and plans to attack during the finals.
• Lian Youming warned his companions to prepare for more experts, then led them to the arena the following morning and traded threats with Gan Xuansu.
• An elderly Muslim man from the Bai family confronted Lian Youming about Bai Long and the family's inherited treasure, and Lian challenged him to win it by defeating him.

Fu Yougong and Chen Bianzha fought on the arena as Qian Chan and Qian Feiman argued over the group punishment and the warehouse. The clash ended with Chen Bianzha facing Fu Yougong’s punishment-intent cannon attack.

• Mu Niyin Jiping and Fu Yougong exchanged accusations about the warehouse, the group, and the supposed punishment.
• Qian Feiman and Qian Chan debated whether the group punishment had been sealed and whether the warehouse had been involved.
• Fu Yougong and Chen Bianzha fought on the arena, trading blows as Xue Zheng and the others watched.
• Chen Bianzha faced Fu Yougong’s vicious punishment-intent cannon attack and shouted, “Blast!”

Lian Youming fought Bai Ali in the ring, surviving his threads, hidden darts, and scimitar before overpowering him. He accepted the Muslim martial artists’ concession only after brutally smashing Bai Ali and throwing him out of the ring.

• Bai Ali trapped Lian Youming with Cicada Skin threads and launched hidden darts, but Lian Youming broke free and scattered the weapons with his Dantian Qi Striking Technique.
• Bai Ali raced around the ring to build momentum, then attacked Lian Youming with Eagle Claw Kung Fu.
• Lian Youming struck Bai Ali’s palm and shattered his fingernails, while Bai Ali drew a Persian scimitar and swept it toward Lian Youming’s neck.
• Lian Youming bent backward to evade the blade, seized Bai Ali by the face, and slammed him into the ring.
• The Muslim martial artists called to concede, but Lian Youming continued smashing Bai Ali before accepting the concession and tossing him out of the ring.

Lian Youming fought a crowd of Bai Clan members and South Korean martial artists while immersing himself in Xue Hen’s combat path. He survived being restrained and struck by a blade, then killed the Bai Clan expert attacking him.

• A Bai Clan disciple charged Lian Youming and died from a single punch, while Lian Youming waved off the guards’ intervention.
• Several Bai Clan members and two South Korean martial artists attacked Lian Youming, who used his visualization of Xue Hen to guide his fighting.
• Lian Youming countered the South Koreans’ kicks, crushed their feet, and stamped two blade-wielders’ chests.
• The attackers restrained Lian Youming by his arms and legs and sent a blade toward him, but he broke free and deflected the blade from his neck with his qi.
• Lian Youming drove his hand into a Bai Clan expert’s chest, pulled out his heart, and crushed it in his palm.

Lian Youming won the platform fight by killing his opponents, then received warnings about the dangerous spiritual intent stirred by his Visualization Method. The next match began between Nalan Wushe and Iron Staff Lama, whose uncanny vocal techniques revealed a contest between Daoism and Buddhism.

• Lian Youming killed the two South Koreans as they fled and finished off the wounded Bai Clan and Muslim fighters, forcing the last opponents to concede.
• Xuanling Perfected Person and Xu Tian warned Lian Youming that visualized spiritual intent could overwhelm his mind, and advised him to use the Yama-Subduing Demon Venerable to suppress it.
• Lian Youming watched Nalan Wushe face Iron Staff Lama in the next match and recognized Nalan Wushe's Five Phoenixes Cry in Unison.
• Iron Staff Lama answered with a powerful Buddhist syllable that subdued the spectators and pushed Nalan Wushe back.
• Iron Staff Lama transformed into a towering, muscular man with Skanda Bodhisattva painted on his chest, setting the stage for a contest between Daoism and Buddhism.

Lian Youming watched Nalan Wushe and an old lama fight to a draw, then followed a young monk who had repeatedly watched him onto a yacht. The monk spoke of past and future lives, leaving Lian Youming stunned.

• Lian Youming noticed a calm young monk watching him from the crowd as the old lama began fighting Nalan Wushe.
• The old lama and Nalan Wushe traded devastating blows, destroyed the platform, and ended their match in a draw.
• Xuanling Perfected Person identified the old lama as a guardian monk and speculated that the young monk was an extraordinary prodigy or reincarnated holy child.
• Lian Youming saw the young monk and old lama leave, followed them to their yacht, and boarded it.
• The young monk served Lian Youming tea and asked, “Past lives and lives to come! A dream? An illusion?”

Little monk Sangji told Lian Youming that Divine Knowledge might explain his forgotten past and gave him a Twenty-One-Eye Dzi Bead that calmed his mind. After learning that his team would face Gan Xuansu in the next round, Lian Youming set aside his doubts and studied Gong Wuer’s Bagua Palm.

• Sangji explained that Gu Feiyan possessed Mind-Reading and Divine Eye, then suggested Divine Knowledge could reveal past and future lives.
• Sangji identified Lian Youming’s brow mole as a manifestation of essence and qi, and hinted that an outside influence might explain his unusual knowledge.
• Sangji gave Lian Youming a Twenty-One-Eye Dzi Bead, then left without revealing more about Divine Knowledge.
• Lian Youming realized Sangji might have hidden important information, but the bead’s cool sensation calmed his agitation.
• Feng Xiong and the others returned and announced that their team would face Gan Xuansu in the next round.
• Lian Youming began studying Gong Wuer’s fighting style and Bagua Palm while the Dzi Bead helped sharpen his concentration.

Lian Youming sensed that Gu Feiyan had drawn widespread killing intent by daring to break through, then watched her take on ten opponents at once in the tournament. After Gu Feiyan defeated the Indian guru and three monks, Gan Xuansu's group and Lian Youming's allies entered the platform, setting the stage for the next battle.

• Lian Youming trained in the rain, cycling his internal breath through the Conception and Governing Vessels before switching to Tiger Roaring Golden Bell Cover.
• Lian Youming sensed that most of the killing intent was aimed at Gu Feiyan, who had risked everything to break through to a new realm.
• Gu Feiyan challenged all ten opponents at once, while the tournament's other matchups included Lian Youming against Gan Xuansu.
• Gu Feiyan quickly incapacitated six opponents, then fought the Indian guru and three monks as they combined their strength through a coordinated attack.
• Gu Feiyan used Taiji Hua Jin to overcome the four monks, who retreated coughing blood.
• Gan Xuansu's group took the platform, and Lian Youming and Feng Xiong's allies rose to face them.

Lian Youming fought Gan Xuansu, whose Shindo Munen-ryu swordsmanship and ability to evade Foresight made him a dangerous opponent. After Gan Xuansu removed heavy weights and boasted of his achievements, he moved faster than before and cut Lian Youming’s cheek.

• Lian Youming challenged Gan Xuansu while the others on the platform chose their opponents.
• Gan Xuansu used a blood-red Ōdachi and a katana to attack Lian Youming, who countered with his sword and scabbard.
• Gan Xuansu spun his long blade into a sweeping attack, forcing Lian Youming to evade and strike repeatedly until the blade’s momentum stopped.
• Gan Xuansu knocked Lian Youming back with a punch, then removed weights from his body and described his swordsmanship accomplishments.
• Gan Xuansu moved faster after shedding the weights and slashed Lian Youming’s cheek.

Lian Youming and Gan Xuansu fought to a standstill before both blindfolded themselves and emptied their senses to continue the duel. In the rain beneath the opened roof, Lian Youming disrupted Gan Xuansu’s attack with an Elixir Sword and drove his Gall-Illuminating Sword toward Gan Xuansu’s throat.

• Gan Xuansu’s patterned Ōdachi blurred Lian Youming’s vision and kept him on the defensive, but Lian Youming used its reflection to cut Gan Xuansu’s neck.
• Gan Xuansu and Lian Youming covered their eyes and suppressed their senses, relying on their spirit and perception to locate each other.
• The passenger ship’s roof retracted as thunder and rain filled the arena, and the two resumed their duel by sensing the weather and their surroundings.
• Gan Xuansu gathered rain along his Ōdachi and sent a rushing current toward Lian Youming, who split it with his Taiji Sword.
• Lian Youming spat an Elixir Sword at Gan Xuansu’s Ōdachi, slowed his attack, and pressed in with the Gall-Illuminating Sword aimed at his throat.

Gan Xuansu unleashed a six-blade technique against Lian Youming, who answered by entering a temporary state of unity between heaven and man. The fighters’ forces collided, while onlookers recognized Lian Youming as a growing threat and plotted around the coming struggle for the Hidden Killing Society.

• Gan Xuansu received four swords from nearby Japanese martial artists and spun into a fearsome six-blade attack against Lian Youming.
• Situ Wudi revealed that the one-eyed master surnamed Chen was his grandmaster, a former hidden authority who had once nearly become the Three Teachings Chief Seat.
• Lian Youming invoked the Three Yin Seven Killings Sword, linking human killing intent with the power of heaven, wind, and thunder.
• Nalan Wushe judged Lian Youming’s display to be temporary and ordered Mr. Corpse to focus on the Hidden Killing Society and a dangerous captive aboard another passenger ship.
• Lian Youming planted his sheathed sword, advanced barehanded into Gan Xuansu’s blade formation, and met the six swords’ slashes with force surging from his body.

Lian Youming fought Gan Xuansu without a sword, breaking his katanas and enduring his attacks before turning the duel around with a hidden spearhead. As Lian Youming launched the Gall-Illuminating Sword at the defeated Gan Xuansu, the kimono-clad woman intercepted it and was pierced through the heart.

• Lian Youming shattered all four of Gan Xuansu's katanas with his fists and traded close-range blows with him.
• The kimono-clad woman attacked Lian Youming from behind with a spear while Gan Xuansu prepared his final strike.
• Lian Youming caught the spear, hurled it at Gan Xuansu, and dodged the man's sweeping Ōdachi attack.
• Lian Youming used a broken spearhead to wound Gan Xuansu's shoulder, seized him by the neck, and tossed him into the air.
• Lian Youming grabbed the Gall-Illuminating Sword and launched it toward Gan Xuansu, but the kimono-clad woman stepped in front of him and was pierced through the heart.

Lian Youming defeated Gan Xuansu in the tournament, then recovered aboard his yacht and sensed a mysterious Heavenly Dipper Strength resonating with his own. The chapter ended with a chained, one-eyed figure awakening aboard another ship.

• A Japanese woman sacrificed herself to save Gan Xuansu, but Lian Youming struck him back and continued fighting despite his wounds.
• Lian Youming used Dragon's Roar and Tiger's Howl to defeat Gan Xuansu, then wounded him with an Elixir Sword as Gan retreated from the platform.
• The Bai Clan members surrendered, and Feng Xiong and the others finished the match while Lian Youming returned to his yacht.
• Lian Youming suppressed thoughts of returning home and used Heavenly Dipper Strength to heal while meditating through the storm.
• Lian Youming sensed a powerful, unfamiliar Heavenly Dipper Strength nearby and glimpsed it as a terrifying one-eyed beast.
• A chained figure in another ship's dark lower hold shuddered and opened a single eye.

Lian Youming sensed a dangerous Mystic Connection Martial Artist aboard a heavily guarded passenger ship and slipped aboard to investigate. He discovered the ship housed drug experiments and wealthy clients, then noticed Japanese ninjas sneaking aboard as well.

• Lian Youming probed the distant martial artist with Heavenly Dipper Strength and was overwhelmed by the man's Void Targeting before recovering as thunder sounded.
• Lian Youming decided to investigate the passenger ship where the Mystic Connection Martial Artist was being held, despite its formidable guards and weapons.
• Lian Youming used the storm to reach the ship and hid aboard while guards responded to a roar from the bottom hold.
• Lian Youming looked through windows and found martial artists bound in a laboratory and wealthy older clients receiving rejuvenating drugs.
• Lian Youming spotted several Japanese ninjas silently boarding the ship and waited to see what would happen.

Lian Youming infiltrated a passenger ship during a battle between assassins and Japanese ninjas, then discovered prisoners and a powerful martial artist sealed inside a suspended iron box. The captive recognized Lian Youming’s Heavenly Dipper Strength and communicated with him through qi, leaving Lian Youming to ask who he was.

• Lian Youming followed a female ninja into the passenger ship as Japanese ninjas and assassins fought across its decks.
• The female ninja killed two guards and entered a compartment filled with iron cages and tortured prisoners.
• Lian Youming recognized an old man from the Three Emperors Cannon Hammer Sect and promised to return to rescue him.
• Lian Youming found a chained iron box radiating powerful qi at the stern of the ship.
• The captive used qi to ask where Lian Youming had learned Heavenly Dipper Strength, then prompted him to display it.
• Lian Youming’s finger wrote, “My name is Chen Baihu... Who are you?”

Lian Youming tried to find a way to free Chen Baihu from the iron cage aboard the passenger ship, then escaped with Zuo Yunsheng and the Ame-no-Murakumo Sword. He struck a bargain with Chiba Aoi to help him ram open the ship at daybreak in exchange for returning the sword and sharing the cargo.

• Chen Baihu sensed Lian Youming and warned him to leave, while Lian found torpedoes, gunmen, and a missile guarding the cage.
• Japanese ninjas fought their way into the lower hold and stole the Ame-no-Murakumo Sword as Lian examined the cage.
• Lian buckled the cage door, rescued Zuo Yunsheng, took the sword, and escaped through gunfire back to the yacht.
• Zuo Yunsheng identified himself as someone who had witnessed Lian's Street Challenge in Cangzhou, Hebei.
• Lian decided that smashing open the passenger ship might let him reach Chen Baihu and approached Chiba Aoi when she arrived at the yacht.
• Lian and Chiba agreed that her people would saw through the ship's anchor and prepare another vessel for him to ram the passenger ship, while he would return the sword and let her take half the cargo.

Lian Youming learned about his senior uncle Xuanling Perfected Person’s tragic past and received the cultivation method for Divine Mobility. As the Martial Arts Tournament ended, the group prepared for the final battle against Gu Feiyan, with Lian Youming warning everyone to prioritize survival.

• Lian Youming told Xuanling Perfected Person that the Hidden Killing Society was a threat that had to be eliminated.
• Xuanling Perfected Person reminisced about Lian Youming’s master and revealed that a Pinnacle martial artist had killed their grandmaster and an old Mystic Connection monster had killed his senior brothers and sisters.
• Xuanling Perfected Person explained the Pinnacle realm and taught Lian Youming the cultivation method for Divine Mobility, a skill he had used to escape the Mountain Guardian.
• Feng Xiong and the others reported that they had reached the tournament finals and that Gu Feiyan planned to fight them all alone.
• Lian Youming warned the group to retreat if danger arose and considered sinking Gu Feiyan’s ship if the forces at sea turned against them.