Chapter Summaries

Lian Youming learned more about Chiba Aoi’s enmity with Gan Xuansu and the powerful Gan Family as preparations for the decisive tournament continued. As the fighters gathered, Gu Feiyan declared her intent to prove her path, and Li Da, Yang Cuo, and Nalan Wushe’s group challenged her.

• Chiba Aoi told Lian Youming that she and Gan Xuansu were mortal enemies and warned him that the powerful Gan Family would send stronger opponents after his victory.
• Chiba Aoi explained that the Chiba Family had sabotaged the anchors of a large ship, while Lian Youming waited for the tournament to begin.
• The tournament venue opened, and Lian Youming arrived with Feng Xiong and the others as the assembled martial artists’ killing intent filled the arena.
• Lian Youming asked Gu Feiyan about her visions, and she described them as proof that she was chosen by destiny and vowed to prove her path.
• Li Da, Yang Cuo, and Nalan Wushe arrived with their groups and challenged Gu Feiyan, setting the arena on edge.

Nalan Wushe revealed that he had mastered both Sun Refinement and Moon Refinement, forcing the fighters on the platform to reconsider their plans. When gunfire and explosions erupted outside, Lian Youming left the battle and helped Chiba Aoi tow away the passenger ship holding Chen Baihu, while fighting continued on its roof.

• Gu Feiyan introduced nine martial artists, then Nalan Wushe charged toward her as Li Da, Yang Cuo, Lian Youming, Gongyang Ming, and the others began fighting the Hidden Killing Society.
• Li Da, Yang Cuo, and Lian Youming tested Nalan Wushe together, but he deflected their attacks with Toad-Fishing Skill and Taiji Hua Jin.
• Gu Feiyan struck Nalan Wushe, who unleashed Wild Bull Power and forced all four attackers back, revealing his mastery of both Sun Refinement and Moon Refinement.
• The fighters decided to target Nalan Wushe, but gunfire and explosions outside the passenger ship sent the audience into a panic, and Lian Youming rushed to the deck.
• Lian Youming met Chiba Aoi in a speedboat and ordered her to tow the passenger ship holding Chen Baihu away as fighting continued on its roof.

Lian Youming rammed a fishing boat into the passenger ship to reach the hold and rescue Chen Baihu, then fought through the ship’s defenders. As seawater flooded the hold, Mr. Corpse arrived, and Lian Youming took two pills before facing the Mountain Guardian.

• Lian Youming redirected the fishing boat into the passenger ship after seeing it turn, tearing a hole in its hull and entering the lower hold.
• Lian Youming killed the attackers who blocked his way, while Chiba Aoi shot another pair and helped try to free Chen Baihu’s iron chest.
• Mr. Corpse appeared in the hold, and Chiba Aoi gave Lian Youming two secret pills before attacking the chains securing the chest.
• Lian Youming swallowed both pills and confronted Mr. Corpse as seawater rose around them, declaring that he would not value his life above the Martial Way.

Lian Youming used the pills’ power to battle Mr. Corpse, whose injuries and weakened elixir skill gave Lian a chance to withstand his attacks. As Chiba Aoi worked to free Chen Baihu and the captured martial artists, Lian’s fighting style began to transform, prompting Mr. Corpse to recognize the Complete Transformation Fighting Method.

• Mr. Corpse attacked Lian Youming with One-Finger Zen, but Lian intercepted the strike and fought back with enhanced perception and strength from the medicine.
• Lian Youming realized Mr. Corpse’s past injuries, lost eye, and poison had weakened his elixir skill, then met his charge head-on.
• Two ninjas entered the hold, and Chiba Aoi sent them to rescue the martial artists trapped in cages while she continued freeing Chen Baihu.
• Mr. Corpse used the Six-Syllable Mantra against Chiba Aoi, but Lian Youming countered with a Buddhist chant and the Yama-Subduing Demon Venerable visualization.
• Lian Youming cycled through several martial arts before his beast-like spiritual essence began to fade, and Mr. Corpse recognized the Complete Transformation Fighting Method.

Lian Youming fought Mr. Corpse aboard the flooding vessel, using the secret medicine and their battle to push his martial understanding further. As Chiba Aoi tried to open the iron chest and Chen Baihu urged them to flee, Mr. Corpse revealed that Divine Fist Li Luoneng had been his master.

• Lian Youming used the secret medicine to enter a new fighting realm and resolved to kill Mr. Corpse despite the medicine’s cost.
• Mr. Corpse attacked with a succession of mastered styles, forcing Lian Youming to defend himself while absorbing the intent of the techniques.
• The two Japan Ninjas escaped, the captive martial artists fled, and Chiba Aoi freed the iron chest from its chains.
• Mr. Corpse launched a Jade Sword at Chiba Aoi, who shot it down, while Lian Youming landed a strike on Mr. Corpse and both suffered injuries.
• Chiba Aoi failed to open the iron chest, and Lian Youming refused to leave Chen Baihu behind or retreat from Mr. Corpse.
• Lian Youming recognized the depth of Mr. Corpse’s Xingyi stance, and Mr. Corpse said his master was Divine Fist Li Luoneng.

Lian Youming and Mr. Corpse fought a desperate duel in the flooding ship’s hold, each using deadly martial techniques as the seawater rose around them. The chapter ended with both men thrown back after trading powerful blows, while Mr. Corpse revealed three hidden needles.

• Chiba Aoi warned Lian Youming to be careful, then escaped through the flooded hold.
• Mr. Corpse explained that he had become a Mountain Guardian to survive and challenged Lian Youming to a fight to the death.
• Mr. Corpse battered Lian Youming with grappling techniques, but Lian Youming countered with his sword and cut Mr. Corpse’s neck.
• As seawater filled the hold, Mr. Corpse tried to escape upward, and Lian Youming blocked him with an Elixir Sword and Taiji Cotton Palm.
• Mr. Corpse struck Lian Youming with Xingyi Five Elements Fist, while Lian Youming hit Mr. Corpse in the chest, sending both backward.
• Mr. Corpse pressed his hand to his chest and forced three fine short needles out of his left side.

Lian Youming fought Mr. Corpse underwater as the passenger ship sank, using a feigned blood attack to wound him before taking a devastating Jade Sword strike. As Mr. Corpse moved to kill Chen Baihu, Lian Youming clung to him again and displayed a mysterious ability that Mr. Corpse recognized as “Intent Before Action.”

• Mr. Corpse removed his needles, roused his strength, and attacked Lian Youming underwater with Alligator Form and Mackerel Form.
• Lian Youming fought back with the Three Yin Seven Killings Sword, but Mr. Corpse’s circling movements blunted his attacks and a heavy palm reopened his chest wound.
• Lian Youming feigned an Elixir Sword attack with a mouthful of blood, then seized Mr. Corpse and struck him, aggravating the old injuries and poison in his body.
• Mr. Corpse broke free and hit Lian Youming in the forehead with a Jade Sword, then turned toward the torpedoes to kill Chen Baihu.
• Lian Youming grabbed Mr. Corpse again and stimulated his heart and lungs with inner strength, prompting Mr. Corpse to recognize his evasive movement as “Intent Before Action.”

Lian Youming awakened the defensive state Intent Before Action and battled Mr. Corpse underwater, but Mr. Corpse’s overwhelming strength drove him back. As Mr. Corpse attacked with Three Emperors Cannon Hammer, Lian Youming spat blood and internal breath into his opponent’s lone eye.

• The Dzi Bead calmed Lian Youming’s killing intent, allowing him to stabilize his breath and enter Intent Before Action.
• Lian Youming instinctively evaded Mr. Corpse’s attacks, startling him with his newly awakened defensive instinct.
• Mr. Corpse renewed his assault while Lian Youming defended a small patch of ground and used the swirling seawater to counter his momentum.
• Mr. Corpse charged in bear form with Wild Bull Power, and Lian Youming met him with a spinning ball of water before being driven into the iron chest.
• Mr. Corpse broke Lian Youming’s guard with Three Emperors Cannon Hammer, but Lian Youming spat blood and internal breath into his lone eye.

Lian Youming survived Mr. Corpse’s torpedo blast and was rescued by Chiba Aoi, who realized the person from the iron cage had escaped. Despite his severe injuries, Lian Youming insisted on going to Gu Feiyan’s unfinished fight.

• Chen Baihu’s Heavenly Dipper Strength revived Lian Youming just enough to evade Mr. Corpse’s killing blow, and Lian Youming wounded Mr. Corpse with a hidden blade to the Yinqiao Point.
• Mr. Corpse revealed a torpedo and declared they would die together; Lian Youming tried to shelter behind the iron chest as the torpedo exploded and shattered the passenger ship’s lower hold.
• Chiba Aoi ordered her ninjas to search the wreck, then found Lian Youming coughing on her speedboat and realized someone from the iron cage had saved him.
• Chiba Aoi rebuked a subordinate who suggested killing Lian Youming, then began treating his injuries.
• Lian Youming woke and demanded that Chiba Aoi take him to Gu Feiyan’s fight, despite his grave condition.

Lian Youming recovered enough from his grievous injuries to board the burning passenger ship, determined to face the battle and master the Complete Transformation Fighting Method. He entered the hall and cut through Gan Xuansu’s men, drawing Situ Wudi’s astonished attention.

• Chiba Aoi helped Lian Youming tend his injuries while he forced his broken body back into fighting condition.
• A Hokushin Ittō-ryū ninja reported that Situ Wudi and Gan Xuansu had boarded the burning passenger ship and that a major battle was underway.
• Lian Youming thanked Chiba Aoi, said he would advance rather than retreat, and boarded the passenger ship by rope ladder.
• Lian Youming entered the hall wearing a coat taken from a corpse and evaded Gan Xuansu’s men, killing several with his sword fingers.
• Situ Wudi recognized Lian Youming’s Intent Before Action and realized he had improved again.

Lian Youming returned after killing Mr. Corpse, and the gathered fighters prepared to battle over Fist Challenges the World. Gu Feiyan revealed that she had reached Foresight Perfection, and as the ship caught fire, Gan Xuansu charged at Lian Youming.

• Lian Youming returned to the ring, and Situ Wudi said he had helped Feng Xiong and the others while Lian Youming was away.
• Lian Youming told Gan Xuansu that Mr. Corpse was dead, leaving nothing to bury.
• Li Da, Yang Cuo, Situ Wudi, Nalan Wushe, Gu Feiyan, Gan Xuansu, and Lian Youming sized one another up as the others withdrew.
• Gu Feiyan revealed the perilous Qi Dynamics of Foresight Perfection, astonishing the fighters.
• Nalan Wushe said he had slept through much of his life after reaching great martial heights before age thirty.
• As flames and explosions spread across the ship, Gan Xuansu raised his saber and charged at Lian Youming for another match.

Lian Youming, Situ Wudi, and Yang Cuo fought Nalan Wushe’s group after Chen Baihu escaped, and Lian Youming wounded Gan Xuansu with Intent Before Action. Nalan Wushe withdrew, but Gu Feiyan then challenged the three men and proved superior, leaving the fight poised to continue with Li Da joining them.

• Situ Wudi, Li Da, Yang Cuo, Lian Youming, and Gan Xuansu attacked their opponents as the battle erupted across the platform.
• Lian Youming and Gan Xuansu agreed to decide their fight with one move, and Lian Youming reopened Gan Xuansu’s chest wound using Intent Before Action.
• Nalan Wushe stopped Lian Youming from striking Gan Xuansu, and Situ Wudi and Yang Cuo drove back the two old men who rushed to attack.
• Nalan Wushe admitted defeat for the moment, warned that old Mystic Connection martial artists might return, and left with Gan Xuansu.
• Gu Feiyan vanished and attacked Situ Wudi, Yang Cuo, and Lian Youming, defeating each of them in their respective fighting styles.
• Li Da emerged from beneath the platform and joined the other three as Gu Feiyan stood among them, ready to face them all.

Gu Feiyan concealed her power before revealing her mastery of weapons and overwhelming the four martial artists on the burning arena platform. She declared that she would settle their longstanding grudges, and the battle continued with Lian Youming badly injured.

• As the arena burned, Gu Feiyan reached foresight perfection while Lian Youming, Li Da, Situ Wudi, and Yang Cuo contemplated their own martial paths.
• Li Da revealed that he was this generation’s inheritor of Bodhidharma’s True Lineage and sought the Mystic Connection Grand Realm.
• Gu Feiyan summoned an array of weapons and took up a massive Green Dragon Crescent Blade, while Lian Youming, Situ Wudi, and Yang Cuo armed themselves.
• Gu Feiyan attacked Lian Youming, and Li Da, Situ Wudi, and Yang Cuo joined the fight against her from different directions.
• Gu Feiyan repelled their attacks, countered Lian Youming’s hammers, and revealed her ambition to become a Mountain Guardian like the White Lotus Saint Son.
• Gu Feiyan struck Lian Youming beneath the platform and declared that she would settle their grudges.

Lian Youming joined Li Da, Yang Cuo, and Situ Wudi in fighting Gu Feiyan, whose Mind-Reading and Divine Eye let her dominate them. He used White Bone Contemplation to disrupt her focus and land a hammer blow, then attacked alongside the others as the fire closed in.

• Gu Feiyan outmaneuvered Li Da, Yang Cuo, and Situ Wudi, repeatedly damaging their weapons and forcing them back.
• Lian Youming attacked from beneath the platform, but Gu Feiyan saw through his moves as the platform collapsed and the fight shifted into the cramped space below.
• Lian Youming swallowed Yang Cuo's pills to recover and watched the fighters, while a helicopter arrived above the ship to extract Gu Feiyan.
• Lian Youming struck Gu Feiyan with White Bone Contemplation, making her vision waver and allowing him to hit her in the chest with a hammer.
• As Gu Feiyan recovered and the others attacked, Lian Youming abandoned his weapons and joined the fight with his fists, determined to kill her before the fire reached them.

Gu Feiyan fought Lian Youming, Li Da, Yang Cuo, and Situ Wudi while flames closed around the ring. Lian Youming broke through to I Am the Only One and struck her heart, but Gu Feiyan withdrew into the fire after declaring that they would meet again in the Yellow Springs.

• Lian Youming and the other three attacked Gu Feiyan together, but she used Hua Jin and Divine Eye to evade and counter their blows.
• The four coordinated their attacks to restrict Gu Feiyan, and Lian Youming realized Intent Before Action could overcome her ability to read thoughts.
• Gu Feiyan invoked a Visualization Method and unleashed countless martial arts techniques, while Lian Youming countered with the Yama-Subduing Demon Venerable visualization.
• After a hundred moves, Lian Youming shed the forms of the martial arts schools and manifested I Am the Only One.
• Gu Feiyan charged Lian Youming as he struck her heart, while Li Da, Yang Cuo, and Situ Wudi also landed their attacks.
• Gu Feiyan withdrew into the sea of fire, smiled at the White-Haired Woman, and said they would meet again in the Yellow Springs.

Lian Youming survived the battle that killed Gu Feiyan, but suffered severe injuries and learned that an unseen Mystic Connection expert had intervened. As he began recovering on a deserted island, a mysterious German-uniformed figure emerged from the sea and resolved to return home for the White Lotus Sect’s accumulated foundations.

• Situ Qingqing shot down the helicopter attacking Lian Youming and the others, and the passenger ship exploded as Lian Youming and Li Da escaped into the sea.
• Lian Youming noticed golden needles suppressing Situ Wudi’s power, while the survivors divided gold bars salvaged from the ship before Lian Youming collapsed.
• Xuanling Perfected Person told Lian Youming that he and his companions had been held back by an unseen expert with Mystic Connection qi dynamics, and Xu Tian warned that Lian Youming would need months to recover.
• Xu Tian put the injured Lian Youming into a medicine barrel to recuperate, while refusing to reveal the identity of the person Lian Youming had rescued.
• A mysterious figure in a scorched German military uniform emerged from the sea and decided to return home for the White Lotus Sect’s accumulated foundations.

While Xu Tian treated Lian Youming, he warned that White Bone Contemplation had triggered a dangerous Heart-Refining Tribulation planted by the White Lotus Sect Master. Lian Youming resolved to face it, while in Guangzhou Junk King learned of the group’s escape and the rumored appearance of an old master at Mystic Connection.

• Xu Tian treated Lian Youming’s injuries and cautioned him that his rapid progress and weakened condition left him vulnerable.
• Lian Youming saw Xu Tian and himself as rotting skeletons, then explained that he had forcibly used White Bone Contemplation during his fight with Gu Feiyan.
• Xu Tian and Xuanling Perfected Person explained that the White Lotus Sect Master had planted a seed in Lian Youming, and that he had to master the visualization to overcome the tribulation.
• Lian Youming accepted the danger and vowed to face the White Lotus Sect Master’s scheme.
• In Guangzhou, Yang Lian and Lian Youming’s double greeted Junk King, who asked for news from Cangzhou.
• Yang Lian reported Chen Baihu’s escape, Mr. Corpse’s death, Gu Feiyan’s defeat, and the possible appearance of an old monster at Mystic Connection; Junk King questioned how Lian Youming could have beaten the Five Elders of the Mountain Guardians.

Lian Youming returned to Guangzhou with his companions and reunited with Junk King, whose joy brought him close to the Mystic Connection Grand Realm. Afterward, Lian Youming glimpsed the world as a field of skeletons, but the Dzi Bead restored his senses.

• Lian Youming parted ways with Xu Tian and traveled with Xuanling Perfected Person, Feng Xiong, and the others to Du Xinwu's courtyard residence.
• Xuanling Perfected Person discussed the Mystic Connection Grand Realm and praised the unmatched attack of Sword Immortals as they made their way to the residence.
• Junk King welcomed Xuanling Perfected Person as his long-lost senior sister, and Lian Youming learned that Xue Hen had gone west after a fortuitous encounter.
• Lian Youming sensed Junk King's qi surging and heard an elusive voice explain that his master's intent had brought him close to the Mystic Connection Grand Realm.
• Yang Lian secretly arranged guards around the garden while Lian Youming saw everyone as skeletons; touching his Dzi Bead restored his vision, and he called the experience interesting.

Lian Youming learned how to perceive Junk King despite his master’s concealment, then reunited with him and Xuanling Perfected Person. Junk King and Xuanling set off for Four-Nine City to respond to Chen Baihu’s condition, leaving Lian Youming with a painting to aid his cultivation.

• Xuanling Perfected Person taught Lian Youming that he could find Junk King by reading traces in the wind and petals rather than relying on his senses, and Lian Youming managed to perceive his master.
• Junk King explained that he had set off south after receiving Lian Youming’s message but arrived too late to help during his ordeal.
• Lian Youming told Junk King that Chen Baihu was gravely weakened and had little lucid time left, and Junk King decided to go to Four-Nine City in case enemies targeted him.
• Junk King reassured Lian Youming that he had arranged protection for Little Stone and Lingyun, while Xuanling Perfected Person also said she would travel to Four-Nine City.
• Junk King gave Lian Youming a painting to help steady his mind and cultivate, then departed with Xuanling Perfected Person; Lian Youming unrolled it and found it depicted Lüzu Slaying the Flood Dragon.

Lian Youming planned to open an Incense Hall in Hong Kong and returned to Wuzhou to reunite with Yan Lingyun and their son while recovering from his injuries. Yan Beitong warned that his internal organs were damaged, then told him that the doctor connected to the Hidden Killing Society’s secret medicine had returned to Hong Kong, prompting Lian Youming to suspect Gu Feiyan had survived.

• Lian Youming decided to open an Incense Hall in mid-September and invite leaders and groups from the Three Teachings, using the Green and Hong Gangs’ tokens of authority to draw them in.
• After two days of recovery, Lian Youming said goodbye to Zhang Weiyi, Feng Xiong, Zhao Danxia, and the others, then returned to Wuzhou.
• Lian Youming reunited with Yan Lingyun and their son at Yan Medical Hall and reassured her about his injuries.
• Yan Beitong examined Lian Youming and warned that his internal organs were damaged, though his strong physique had protected his foundations.
• Yan Beitong told Lian Youming that the doctor linked to the qi-blood-boosting secret medicine had returned to Hong Kong, and Lian Youming began to suspect Gu Feiyan had faked her death.