Chapter Summaries

Bai Wangyu returned to Li Garden and learned that Li Ziye questioned the Plum Blossom Sword Immortal’s plans, inspiring him to study the Flying Immortal Art and help Li Ziye grow stronger. Seven days later, the Divine Hall procession reached the Great Shang capital, where Li Ziye spotted Yan Xiaoyu and eagerly watched the King of Medicines he hoped to obtain.

• Bai Wangyu told Li Ziye that the Head of the Confucians had instructed him to stay by his side and learn from him.
• Bai Wangyu asked whether Li Ziye doubted the Plum Blossom Sword Immortal, and Li Ziye admitted that he had questioned her before.
• Li Ziye and Bai Wangyu practiced their sword arts through the night, while the Divine Hall procession traveled toward the capital.
• At the city gate, Third Prince Mu Yao and Court of State Ceremonial ministers welcomed the Divine Hall procession as curious citizens gathered to see Yan Xiaoyu.
• Li Ziye revealed to Bai Wangyu that six of his eight meridians were blocked and that he needed Kings of Medicines to rebuild them.
• Yan Xiaoyu arrived in the capital, noticed Li Ziye staring at him, and silently judged him an idiot while Li Ziye celebrated the arrival of his King of Medicines.

Li Ziye confronted the Divine Hall procession after Liu Rongnü wounded Bai Wangyu, and the Head of the Confucians retaliated from the Imperial Academy. Li Ziye learned that Qin Enuo was safe, while Yan Xiaoyu identified him as a potential threat and agreed that the Divine Hall should eliminate him.

• Liu Rongnü struck Bai Wangyu with his power after overhearing him and Li Ziye, and Li Ziye vowed to settle the score.
• The Head of the Confucians wounded Liu Rongnü and rebuked him for bullying two juniors, forcing the Divine Hall procession to continue in silence.
• Li Ziye repeatedly demanded that the Head of the Confucians answer whether Qin Enuo was safe, then insulted him when he received no reply.
• Qin Enuo sent a streak of Sword Qi across the sky, reassuring Li Ziye that she was unharmed.
• Yan Xiaoyu recognized Li Ziye as Qin Enuo's disciple and agreed with Liu Rongnü that the Divine Hall should eliminate him if an opportunity arose.

Li Ziye practiced the third form of the Flying Immortal Formula with Bai Wangyu’s help, pushing past his limits despite his blocked meridians and exhaustion. He ended the night believing he could succeed, while Bai Wangyu began to believe Li Ziye might revive the first Sword God’s swordsmanship.

• Bai Wangyu warned Li Ziye about provoking the Head of the Confucians, then revealed a red-thread formation he had built to teach him the third form of the Flying Immortal Formula.
• Li Ziye used the bells and threads to practice the form, breaking past his previous limit by completing eleven steps and eventually staggering through all twenty-seven.
• Bai Wangyu told Li Ziye that mastering the form in the First Realm would be unprecedented apart from the first Sword God, and Li Ziye resumed practicing with renewed determination.
• Li Ziye practiced until midnight, repeatedly recovering with precious ginseng and sustaining cuts as the red threads snapped and Bai Wangyu replaced them.
• Li Ziye said he believed he could succeed, then fell asleep exhausted as Bai Wangyu watched and began to believe he could create a miracle.

Li Ziye disguised himself to attend Old Master Yin’s birthday celebration with Yu Qingxuan, hoping to obtain the Essential Arts of Heavenly Craft. When a sudden fire threw the Yin residence into chaos, he met Yin Kuang and entered the secret passage beneath the ancestral hall to retrieve it.

• Li Ziye practiced the Flying Immortal Art, then sparred evenly with Bai Wangyu while both kept their cultivation at the middle stage of the First Realm.
• Hongzhu disguised Li Ziye, and he met Yu Qingxuan outside the Yin residence before they entered the birthday celebration together.
• Yu Qingxuan performed for the guests while Li Ziye watched the rear courtyard and waited for Yin Kuang to act.
• After hearing that the Yin residence was on fire, Yan Xiaoyu left the Court of State Ceremonial despite Liu Rongnü's warning.
• As the fire caused chaos, Li Ziye found Yin Kuang outside the ancestral hall, and they entered its secret passage to retrieve the item.

Li Ziye overcame the Yin Clan's secret passage traps and fought a ferocious dwarf while searching for the Essential Arts of Heavenly Craft. Outside, Yan Xiaoyu summoned rain that extinguished the Yin Clan's fire, winning the clan's gratitude while Hongzhu recognized the spectacle as a deception.

• Yin Kuang triggered the altered passage traps, so Li Ziye sent him outside and sped through the arrows using the Flying Immortal Art.
• Li Ziye opened the stone door, dodged an agile dwarf, and fought it while searching the chamber for the Essential Arts of Heavenly Craft.
• Li Ziye found a blue-green wooden box after his sword strike smashed a shelf and sent its treasures crashing down.
• Yan Xiaoyu appeared outside the burning Yin residence and used his Divine Apertures to call down rain, drawing astonished cries of a miracle.
• Patriarch Yin and the Yin Clan thanked Yan Xiaoyu for extinguishing the fire, while Hongzhu privately dismissed the Divine Oracle Hall as a band of charlatans.

Li Ziye escaped the Yin Clan with the incomplete Essential Arts of Heavenly Craft, but Yan Xiaoyu followed and confronted him and Hongzhu. Just as Yan Xiaoyu attacked, Bai Wangyu arrived and stopped him with the Taiyi Sword.

• Li Ziye seized the incomplete scroll from the Yin Clan’s secret chamber, escaped with Yin Kuang’s help, and slipped out of the estate amid the confusion.
• Yan Xiaoyu noticed Li Ziye leaving and followed his carriage, while Hongzhu sensed that someone powerful was trailing them.
• A group of armored riders startled the carriage horse, forcing Li Ziye, Hongzhu, and their servant to leap clear when the carriage overturned.
• Yan Xiaoyu blocked Li Ziye and Hongzhu, identified himself as the Divine Son, and rejected their claim that they served King Xuanwu’s Residence.
• Yan Xiaoyu attacked, but Bai Wangyu arrived and used the Taiyi Sword to block his strike.

Bai Wangyu intervened when Yan Xiaoyu attacked Li Ziye and Hongzhu, then fought the Divine Oracle Hall's Divine Son to a draw while giving Li Ziye a chance to study their techniques. Afterward, Kong Qiu agreed to consider Qin Enuo's request to guide her disciple if Li Ziye helped Great Shang handle the troubles surrounding the Divine Oracle Hall's upcoming imperial audience.

• Bai Wangyu arrived in the street and challenged Yan Xiaoyu, who had confronted Li Ziye and Hongzhu.
• Bai Wangyu and Yan Xiaoyu fought evenly, and Bai Wangyu deliberately prolonged the battle so Li Ziye could observe their moves.
• Yan Xiaoyu ended the fight without a winner and left; Bai Wangyu said he had come because he expected Li Ziye to stir up trouble.
• Bai Wangyu, Li Ziye, and Hongzhu returned toward Li Garden while Bai Wangyu wondered how Yan Xiaoyu had recognized Li Ziye.
• Yan Xiaoyu told Liu Rongnü that he had drawn with Bai Wangyu, and Liu Rongnü criticized the Confucian School, prompting Kong Qiu to complain about him from afar.
• Qin Enuo asked Kong Qiu to guide her disciple, and Kong Qiu said he would consider it if Li Ziye helped Great Shang resolve the troubles expected during the Divine Oracle Hall envoys' imperial audience.

The Divine Oracle Hall offered three treasures to Great Shang in exchange for the Ninth Princess, then challenged the court to answer three riddles. After hearing the court had failed to solve them, Li Ziye dismissed the questions as easy and assumed the princess would have to marry into the Western Regions.

• Li Ziye practiced his movement technique at Li Garden while Bai Wangyu mocked his slow progress, and he looked forward to obtaining the Snow Lotus Heart to open another meridian.
• Yan Xiaoyu presented the Water-Fire Pearl, Bright Light Armor, and Snow Lotus Heart to the Shang Emperor, then asked for the Ninth Princess’s hand in marriage.
• Yan Xiaoyu proposed three questions as a wager: Great Shang would receive the treasures if it answered them within three days, but the emperor would agree to the marriage if it failed.
• The Shang Emperor accepted the wager, and Yan Xiaoyu asked how to thread a pearl without using hands, identify fifty mare-and-foal pairs, and make fire with water.
• A servant told Li Ziye that the court could not answer any of the questions, and Li Ziye dismissed them as easy while Bai Wangyu recognized the danger to the Ninth Princess.

Li Ziye resisted helping Great Shang answer the Divine Oracle Hall’s three questions until the Confucian School threatened his plans to forge a sword. He agreed to step forward, deciding that the honor might also protect the Li Family from political attacks.

• Bai Wangyu asked Li Ziye to solve the Divine Oracle Hall’s questions, but Li Ziye denied knowing the answers and refused to get involved.
• The Imperial Academy’s instructors and Confucian School’s four venerables failed to solve the questions, so Kong Qiu told them to seek Bai Wangyu.
• Bai Wangyu admitted that Li Ziye might know the answers, and Kong Qiu told him to warn Li Ziye that the Water-Fire Pearl he needed for forging a sword was also wanted by the Confucian School.
• After learning the Water-Fire Pearl was essential to his sword, Li Ziye considered asking Zhangsun Nanqiao for it, but Bai Wangyu warned that the Confucian School would not give it up.
• Li Ziye argued that becoming a celebrated hero could expose the Li Family to greater danger, then decided to help anyway because the people’s support could restrain the court and he wanted his turn in the limelight.

Mu Rong visited Li Garden with Mubai to seek help against the Divine Oracle Hall’s wager and to meet Bai Wangyu, while Mubai challenged him to exchange martial insights. After Mubai and Bai Wangyu began fighting outside, Li Ziye told Mu Rong that the Head of the Confucians would not intervene, but he would help instead.

• Mu Rong feared she would be forced to marry into the Divine Oracle Hall if Great Shang failed to answer its three questions, and Mubai suggested she ask Bai Wangyu for help.
• Li Ziye reluctantly agreed to help solve the Divine Oracle Hall’s challenge after Little Red Riding Hood pressured him, then heard that Mubai and Mu Rong had arrived at Li Garden.
• Mubai proposed exchanging martial insights with Li Ziye, but Bai Wangyu took his place and led him outside to fight.
• Mu Rong explained that she had come to ask whether the Head of the Confucians would help Great Shang, and Li Ziye declared that the Head would not intervene but he would.