Recaps

Qin Tiexin trained his legs with the Mountain Stance before joining Chen Xi and other travelers at the Divine Sword Sect’s cross-region teleportation formation. The formation activated at noon and transported the group away, leaving their destination unseen.

• Qin Tiexin studied the leg-strength methods in the jade slip and repeatedly practiced the Mountain Stance, using Refined Blood Pills to recover between attempts.
• Qin Tiexin met Chen Xi at the cultivation hall, and the two went to the teleportation formation with other travelers.
• A Divine Sword Sect attendant explained the teleportation’s dangers and instructed everyone to remain still and keep their Spiritual Qi contained.
• Qin Tiexin and Chen Xi boarded the formation platform as sect disciples replaced its spirit stones and prepared the formation.
• The teleportation formation activated, white light swallowed the travelers, and the platform was left empty.

Qin Tiexin and Chen Xi arrived in Falling Star City, where they registered as temporary residents and navigated the crowded city. Chen Xi took Qin Tiexin to a discreet courtyard and prepared to change his appearance to keep them from attracting attention.

• Qin Tiexin completed the teleportation to the Myriad Stars Dynasty with Chen Xi and stepped into the teleportation hall.
• Qin Tiexin registered as an early-stage Qi and Blood Realm cultivator seeking medical treatment, while Chen Xi registered as a Golden Core early-stage cultivator accompanying him.
• Qin Tiexin saw the busy streets of Falling Star City and watched local cultivators compete to attract a caravan's business.
• Chen Xi led Qin Tiexin through side streets to a courtyard he had bought, explaining that their unfamiliarity and temporary identification made it safer to avoid attention.
• Chen Xi took out supplies and pale yellow paste, then told Qin Tiexin to sit so he could give him a different appearance.

Chen Xi disguised Qin Tiexin as Mingjue, a warrior monk from Zhaoming Temple, while taking the alias Li Shan, a merchant. After arranging for puppets to pose as their former selves, they blended into Falling Star City and went to the identity office to change their records.

• Chen Xi altered Qin Tiexin’s appearance, dressed him in monk’s robes, and gave him an iron staff to replace Edgeless in public.
• Chen Xi gave Qin Tiexin a legitimate identity token naming him Mingjue, a Foundation Establishment early-stage warrior monk from Zhaoming Temple.
• Chen Xi disguised himself as the merchant Li Shan and told Qin Tiexin the cover story they would use.
• Chen Xi sent two puppets bearing their former appearances to stay at a nearby inn and occasionally appear in public.
• Chen Xi and Qin Tiexin walked through Falling Star City in disguise and entered the identity office to change their records.

Chen Xi helped Qin Tiexin update his identity as Mingjue, a one-armed warrior monk, and then updated his own identity. They left Falling Star City for Green Willow City to seek a medical cultivator who might treat Qin Tiexin, while Chen Xi taught him how to fly on a weapon.

• Qin Tiexin convinced the identity clerk that he was Mingjue of Zhaoming Temple by answering questions about the temple and presenting belongings from his supposed attacker.
• The clerk verified Qin Tiexin's cultivation and appearance, issued him a new identity plaque, and gave him a record of the change.
• Chen Xi updated Li Shan's identity to show his cultivation had reached the Foundation Establishment middle stage.
• Chen Xi bought healing pills and told Qin Tiexin they would travel to Green Willow City to find a greedy but skilled Golden Core medical cultivator.
• Chen Xi and Qin Tiexin left Falling Star City on a flying sword, and Chen Xi taught Qin Tiexin to fly using his refined-iron staff.
• Qin Tiexin spent a day practicing and managed to follow Chen Xi's flight path, though he remained crooked and unsteady.

Chen Xi and Qin Tiexin searched for medical cultivators who could treat Qin Tiexin’s severed arm, but none could help. After two months of failed visits and training, Chen Xi changed course toward a small town and disguised his face before taking Qin to an old place.

• Chen Xi and Qin Tiexin found Hundred Herbs Medical Hall abandoned and learned that Physician Qian had disappeared a year and a half earlier.
• Chen Xi took Qin Tiexin to four more medical cultivators, but they either could not treat the damage, demanded a long wait, or lacked the strength to take the case.
• Qin Tiexin searched unsuccessfully for the Lin Household connected to Lin Feng while practicing his techniques and increasing his leg strength on the road.
• After five medical cultivators failed to help, Chen Xi turned away from Ten Thousand Stars City and headed for a small town in the hills.
• Chen Xi told Qin Tiexin he was taking him to an old place and applied disguise ointment to change his face.

Chen Xi and Qin Tiexin visited Bai Shao at her mountain clinic, where she angrily confronted Chen Xi for disappearing after her master saved his life. They learned that the healer had left for the capital on an unknown commission, and Chen Xi and Qin Tiexin set off for Ten Thousand Stars City.

• Chen Xi removed his disguises before entering the clinic with Qin Tiexin.
• Bai Shao threw medical supplies at Chen Xi and reproached him for vanishing after her master nursed him back from near death three years earlier.
• Bai Shao told Chen Xi that her master had gone to the capital two months earlier and gave him a messaging jade talisman to contact her.
• Chen Xi told Qin Tiexin that the healer could likely reattach his arm and suspected her commission was dangerous.
• Chen Xi and Qin Tiexin flew toward Ten Thousand Stars City.

Qin Tiexin searched Ten Thousand Stars City for the Lin Household and found the Lin Residence of the Marquis of Loyal Valor in Purple Jade Ward. After recognizing Lin Feng’s sword emblem, Marquis Lin invited him inside and asked whether he knew his son.

• Chen Xi left Qin Tiexin in Cloud Ford Ward to seek someone, while Qin Tiexin found an inn and sent Chen Xi its location.
• Qin Tiexin spent three days searching for a Lin household connected to Lin Feng but found no matching leads.
• An old cultivator told Qin Tiexin about the Lin Residence of the Marquis of Loyal Valor and said its youngest son had left home years earlier.
• Qin Tiexin followed the directions to Purple Jade Ward and showed the residence’s gatekeeper the sword bearing the Lin family emblem.
• Lin Boyuan, Marquis of Loyal Valor, welcomed Qin Tiexin into the residence and asked whether he knew Lin Feng.

Qin Tiexin returned Lin Feng’s sword to the Lin Household and learned from Madam Lin that Lin Feng’s soul fire had grown stronger, meaning he was likely still alive. After Qin Tiexin reported this to Chen Xi at the inn, Chen Xi said his own search was not going well.

• Qin Tiexin told Lin Boyuan that he had fought alongside Lin Feng in Great Xuan and returned the sword Lin Feng had entrusted to him.
• Madam Lin showed Qin Tiexin Lin Feng’s soul fire, explaining that it had dimmed three years earlier but had grown brighter since two years ago.
• Qin Tiexin learned that Lin Feng was likely alive, thanked the Lin couple, and declined their invitation to stay.
• Qin Tiexin returned to the Star Spirit Inn and told Chen Xi what he had learned about Lin Feng.
• Chen Xi said he knew of Lin Boyuan and the Lin Household, then told Qin Tiexin that his own search was not going well.

Qin Tiexin accepted Marquis Lin’s invitation to stay at the Lin residence while Chen Xi continued searching Ten Thousand Stars City for Bai Shao. After settling in, Qin Tiexin cultivated in a private courtyard and recounted Lin Feng’s years in Great Xuan to Madam Lin, whose longing for her missing son remained strong.

• Chen Xi gave Qin Tiexin a Death-Substitution Puppet, an anti-probing talisman stone, and high-grade Teleportation Talismans before they agreed to meet at the Star Spirit Inn every seven days.
• Qin Tiexin returned to the Lin residence, where Madam Lin arranged a private courtyard equipped for his training.
• Qin Tiexin settled into a peaceful routine at the Lin residence, where servants regularly brought him food and supplies.
• Madam Lin visited Qin Tiexin every few days and asked him to recount Lin Feng’s time in Great Xuan, including their battles and Lin Feng’s disappearance.
• Madam Lin offered to assign Qin Tiexin a maid, but he declined, saying that as a monk he abstained from women.

Qin Tiexin consumed his remaining Ironback Pig meat and a high-grade Refined Blood Pill to break through to the middle stage of the Qi and Blood Realm. After feeling his strength increase, he considered his next training goals before someone knocked at his courtyard gate.

• Chen Xi told Qin Tiexin that he had narrowed the medical cultivator's location to the Illustrious Dao Ward and the imperial city, but needed more time to gain access.
• Qin Tiexin sealed his training room and ate the last of his Foundation Establishment Realm Demon Beast flesh and his final high-grade Refined Blood Pill.
• Qin Tiexin refined his Essence Blood until it reached fifty percent of his blood, breaking through to the middle stage of the Qi and Blood Realm.
• Qin Tiexin tested his increased strength with Edgeless and the Mountain Stance, then planned to visit a strength-testing hall, practice flexibility, and pursue Foundation Establishment.
• Someone approached Qin Tiexin's courtyard gate and knocked.

After a small breakthrough, Qin Tiexin went to Cloud Ford Ward to measure his strength without revealing his abilities to the Lin Household. He rented a private room at Iron Bone Hall and prepared to test up to two hundred thousand jin.

• Madam Lin brought Qin Tiexin freshly baked spirit cakes and noticed he had broken through.
• Qin Tiexin felt his essence blood circulate at least thirty percent faster and decided to measure his strength.
• Qin Tiexin left the Lin residence and reviewed the layout and restrictions of Ten Thousand Stars City's wards as he walked.
• Qin Tiexin arrived at Iron Bone Hall, chose a private room for confidentiality, and requested a two-hundred-thousand-jin testing limit.

Qin Tiexin tested his strength in Ten Thousand Stars City and discovered that Edgeless’s weight rose in step with his own. While searching for Buddhist martial techniques, he learned that the Star Selection was drawing young Foundation Establishment cultivators to the city and remembered that two members of the Lin Household might compete.

• Qin Tiexin rented a private room and measured his strength at about seventy-two thousand jin with his arm and just over one hundred thousand jin with each leg.
• Qin Tiexin tested Edgeless and found that its weight matched his maximum strength, suggesting it grew as his strength increased.
• Qin Tiexin left the strength-testing hall and searched Cloud Ford Ward for introductory Buddhist martial techniques to support his disguise as the monk Mingjue.
• Qin Tiexin noticed crowds of young Foundation Establishment cultivators and overheard that they had come for the approaching Star Selection.
• Qin Tiexin recalled that the Lin Household's eldest young master and second young lady studied at Supreme Splendor Academy and might take part in the Star Selection.

Qin Tiexin visited the Imperial Dao Arts Workshop to buy Buddhist martial techniques, where Ling Shuyao received him in a private room. As he waited for her to bring suitable techniques, he decided he would refuse if the shop’s prices were too high.

• Qin Tiexin assessed the Star Selection but chose to avoid it because he planned to return to the Azure Xuan Region and conceal his identity.
• Qin Tiexin entered the Imperial Dao Arts Workshop and met Ling Shuyao, whose natural allure he resisted.
• Qin Tiexin asked to inspect Buddhist martial techniques for a body cultivator, and Ling Shuyao explained the workshop’s private, confidential sales process.
• Ling Shuyao served Qin Tiexin medicinal spirit tea and left to fetch techniques for him.
• Qin Tiexin regretted not checking the cheaper street stalls and resolved to decline if the workshop’s prices were excessive; footsteps then stopped outside his room.

Ling Shuyao presented Qin Tiexin with two powerful Buddhist martial techniques, but their prices exceeded his budget and neither suited his actual needs. She left to look for more affordable options, leaving the sale unresolved.

• Ling Shuyao showed Qin Tiexin the Mount Sumeru King Fist, a complete Sumeru Sect legacy priced at fifty thousand Spirit Stones.
• Qin Tiexin revealed through his reaction that he could not afford the first technique and asked to see the next one.
• Ling Shuyao demonstrated the Skanda Demon-Subduing Vajra Technique and offered it for twenty thousand Spirit Stones in installments.
• Qin Tiexin declined to buy the technique and asked Ling Shuyao for a more affordable, practical option.
• Ling Shuyao carried the Jade Slips out of the room to seek another choice for Qin Tiexin.

Qin Tiexin turned down Ling Shuyao’s expensive martial techniques and admitted he could spend only a little over a thousand Spirit Stones on basic manuals. As he tried to leave, Ling Shuyao unexpectedly pushed him back into his chair, then blushed and fell silent.

• Ling Shuyao showed Qin Tiexin the Dragon-Subduing Tiger-Taming Fist for eight thousand Spirit Stones and the Mad Demon Staff for six thousand, explaining their strengths and weaknesses.
• Qin Tiexin told Ling Shuyao that he wanted only simple introductory techniques and could not afford the inheritances she had recommended.
• Ling Shuyao asked Qin Tiexin to speak frankly about what he needed, and he explained that he had only a little over a thousand Spirit Stones.
• Qin Tiexin thanked Ling Shuyao and stood to leave, but she hurried over and pushed him back into his chair.
• Ling Shuyao realized she had touched a customer against the workshop’s rules and blushed, while Qin Tiexin asked if she wanted him to pay for the tea.

Qin Tiexin bought three basic Buddhist martial techniques from Ling Shuyao at the Imperial Dao Arts Workshop. He left with the Jade Slips and headed toward Purple Jade Ward as evening fell.

• Ling Shuyao returned with three old Jade Slips featuring Arhat Fist, Prajna Palm, and Lion's Roar, selected to suit Qin Tiexin.
• Ling Shuyao explained that the techniques were simple, practical Buddhist fundamentals and offered all three for two hundred Spirit Stones.
• Qin Tiexin accepted the offer and paid two hundred Lower-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Ling Shuyao packed the Jade Slips for Qin Tiexin and assured him the workshop would replace damaged slips and offer practice advice.
• Qin Tiexin left the workshop with the three Jade Slips and set off toward Purple Jade Ward.

Qin Tiexin displayed Arhat Fist, Prajna Palm, and Lion's Roar at the Lin Household training grounds to establish his identity as the martial monk Mingjue. After the disciples witnessed his power, Lin Feng's eldest brother Lin Chuan approached and greeted him.

• Qin Tiexin went to the Lin Household training grounds and observed the disciples' poor-quality law artifacts.
• Qin Tiexin practiced Arhat Fist before the disciples, producing powerful arhat faces with his punches.
• Qin Tiexin struck a bluestone target with Prajna Palm, leaving a deep palm print and drawing the disciples' attention.
• Qin Tiexin used Lion's Roar to shatter the target and send its fragments flying, stunning the onlookers.
• Lin Chuan approached Qin Tiexin, praised his martial skills, and paid his respects.

Lin Chuan, the Lin Household’s eldest son and a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, watched Mingjue’s Buddhist martial techniques and invited him to spar. Mingjue agreed only to avoid offending his hosts, and after three deliberately restrained exchanges, Lin Chuan recognized that he was holding back and urged him to stop.

• Lin Chuan returned to the residence, saw Mingjue perform Buddhist martial techniques, and believed the warrior monk possessed genuine Buddha-nature.
• Lin Chuan invited Mingjue to exchange moves, but Mingjue initially refused because their strength differed and he feared damaging their harmony.
• After Lin Chuan argued that sparring would help test their techniques, Mingjue accepted on the condition that they stop short of injury.
• Lin Chuan and Mingjue stepped onto the training platform as Lin Household disciples gathered to watch.
• Lin Chuan probed with three sword strikes, and Mingjue blocked or evaded each one without counterattacking.
• Lin Chuan recognized that Mingjue was deliberately holding back and told him there was no need to do so.

Qin Tiexin tested his combat skills against Lin Chuan in the ring, using his speed and powerful body to break through Lin Chuan’s defenses. The fight continued as Lin Chuan counterattacked with Eight Leaves Strike Together.

• Qin Tiexin set aside his staff and prepared to test his kicking techniques and footwork against Lin Chuan.
• Qin Tiexin charged with Burst Step, and Lin Chuan retreated with Grass Travels a Thousand Li while firing a sword ray.
• Qin Tiexin used Treading Step and Blood Qi to withstand the sword ray with his shoulder, then bent Lin Chuan’s sword under the pressure.
• Qin Tiexin’s Arhat Fist shattered Lin Chuan’s Golden Thread Wood-Grain Armor, but Lin Chuan dodged the follow-up impact.
• Lin Chuan closed in and launched Eight Leaves Strike Together, sending eight genuine sword tips at Qin Tiexin.

Qin Tiexin defeated Lin Chuan in an arena bout, though both recognized that neither had fought at full strength. Lin Boyuan arrived to praise the match, leaving the two combatants greeting him.

• Qin Tiexin caught Lin Chuan's sword with his protected hand and used Lion's Roar to disorient him.
• Qin Tiexin struck Lin Chuan's braced sword with Hills and Ravines Thrust Kick, sending him to the edge of the arena.
• Lin Chuan steadied himself, admitted defeat, and sheathed his sword, while Qin Tiexin called the bout a draw.
• Qin Tiexin noticed that Lin Chuan's concealed flexible sword had helped absorb the kick, and both men privately assessed the other's hidden strength.
• Lin Boyuan arrived with Madam Lin and an unfamiliar young woman, praised the fight, and received greetings from Lin Chuan and Qin Tiexin.

After Qin Tiexin defeated Lin Chuan, Lin Boyuan explained the gap in their combat experience and urged the Lin Household disciples to master their techniques through practice. Qin Tiexin declined the Lin family's dinner invitation, then watched them leave and reflected on the family he had never known before calming himself with a Buddhist invocation and returning to his courtyard.

• Lin Boyuan declared Qin Tiexin the rightful winner and explained how his combat experience and physique had overcome Lin Chuan's higher-grade techniques.
• Lin Boyuan identified Lin Chuan's mistakes and ordered him to spend six months training anonymously in the army or with a mercenary company after the Star Selection.
• Lin Boyuan urged the Lin Household disciples to focus on thoroughly mastering their martial techniques, and the chastened disciples dispersed.
• Lin Wei asked Qin Tiexin to spar, but Lin Boyuan stopped her before Madam Lin offered Qin Tiexin a cloth and Lin Boyuan invited him to a family dinner.
• Qin Tiexin declined the invitation and watched the Lin family leave, recalling his loneliness and the loss of his grandfather before calming himself with a Buddhist invocation and returning to his courtyard.

Qin Tiexin sparred with Lin Chuan and Lin Wei during the break, while Lin Chuan sought his guidance on Buddhist teachings and urged him to enter the Star Selection. As Lin Chuan prepared to return to Supreme Splendor Academy, a servant reported that the Xiao Household's second young miss had arrived at the Lin Household.

• Lin Chuan visited Qin Tiexin to spar without spiritual power, and the two practiced hand-to-hand combat over several days.
• Lin Wei came to the courtyard claiming she wanted Buddhist guidance, then challenged Qin Tiexin and failed to cut through his tough skin.
• Lin Wei watched Qin Tiexin spar with Lin Chuan while Lin Chuan asked Qin Tiexin difficult questions about Buddhist teachings.
• Qin Tiexin and Lin Chuan sparred with weapons, and Lin Chuan urged Qin Tiexin to join the Star Selection, but Qin Tiexin refused.
• A Lin Household manservant arrived and told Lin Chuan that the Xiao Household's second young miss was in the main hall with the marquis and madam.

Qin Tiexin learned how Lin Feng's childhood betrothal to Xiao Yan had become a source of conflict between the Lin and Xiao Households. As they arrived at the main hall, Qin resolved to grow strong enough to protect those who mattered to him.

• A servant's message prompted Lin Chuan to bring Qin Tiexin to the main hall over an old matter concerning Lin Feng.
• Lin Chuan explained that Lin Boyuan and Xiao Linyuan had betrothed their unborn children, and the two households later formalized the agreement.
• After Lin Feng was found to have a triple spirit root and blocked meridians, Lin Boyuan tried to dissolve the engagement, but the Xiao Household refused.
• Xiao Yan later asked to end the engagement after her sister became Brahma Sound Valley's Buddha Maiden and her own cultivation advanced, but Lin Boyuan refused to annul it without Lin Feng's decision.
• Qin Tiexin reflected on the Xiao Household's renewed pressure and resolved to become strong enough to protect Lin Feng and others he cared about.

Xiao Yan asked Lin Boyuan to return her marriage contract so she could enter the Buddhist fold and cultivate at Brahma Sound Valley. She presented two rare pills meant to address Lin Feng’s poor aptitude and blocked meridian, leaving Lin Boyuan’s response undecided.

• Qin Tiexin entered the main hall with Lin Chuan and noticed a Golden Core monk and Xiao Yan among the guests.
• Xiao Yan told Lin Boyuan that she planned to study under her elder sister at Brahma Sound Valley and asked him to end her engagement to Lin Feng.
• Lin Boyuan urged Xiao Yan to wait until Lin Feng returned and offered to consider the matter with him.
• Xiao Yan revealed an Origin-Converging Spirit-Calming Pill that could improve Lin Feng’s Spirit Root aptitude.
• Xiao Yan revealed a Myriad Meridian Mystic-Unblocking Pill that could clear Lin Feng’s blocked meridian if he dispersed his cultivation and started over.
• Lin Wei and Madam Lin reacted with distress as Qin Tiexin watched Lin Boyuan, whose decision remained unknown.

Xiao Yan presented Lin Boyuan with four increasingly valuable gifts to persuade him to return the marriage contract. After he remained unmoved by the pills and a token for a Supreme-Grade Law Artifact, she offered a fourth-tier Glazed Glass Soul-Purifying Pill and asked him to agree.

• Xiao Yan presented two high-grade third-tier pills, but Lin Boyuan asked whether she had anything else.
• Xiao Yan revealed Master Sun's artifact-refining token, which could commission a free Supreme-Grade Law Artifact, and Lin Chuan realized it was meant for him.
• Lin Boyuan remained calm and told Xiao Yan to continue, despite the token's value.
• Xiao Yan unveiled a Glazed Glass Soul-Purifying Pill from Chan Master Guanghui, explaining that it could aid a Golden Core cultivator during the Heart Devil Tribulation.
• Xiao Yan offered all four gifts to the Lin Household if Lin Boyuan would return the marriage contract.