Recaps

Qin Tiexin returned to the Flowing Cloud Sect, reported the Han Household’s ambush, and told Old Wu about the clues concerning the Spirit Creek Sect. Old Wu began teaching him advanced forging methods, while Qin Tiexin trained his divine sense and prepared for the upcoming tournament.

• Qin Tiexin and Li Yun turned in their escort mission, and Qin Tiexin reported that the Han Household had ambushed them; the steward said the sect would investigate.
• Li Yun left to contact Qin Tiexin after he finished forging, while Qin Tiexin went to the Discarded Artifact Pavilion to report to Old Wu.
• Qin Tiexin told Old Wu about the auction, the Divine Weapon Tower, and the Listening Wind Pavilion’s clues about the Spirit Creek Sect; Old Wu warned him to be cautious of the Demon Race.
• Old Wu confirmed Qin Tiexin had reached the Qi Refining Fourth Layer and developed divine sense, then taught him the Resonance Forging Method and Spirit Rune Nesting Technique.
• Old Wu instructed Qin Tiexin to practice forging and prepare to temper his spine before the tournament; Qin Tiexin memorized the diagrams and trained his divine sense at his hut.

Qin Tiexin began bone tempering with medicinal baths, spinal traction, hammering, and increasingly heavy weights. After seven days, he cracked and tempered his skull, leaving twenty days until the grand competition.

• Qin Tiexin bought four sets of medicinal ingredients and endured his first painful bone-tempering bath.
• Qin Tiexin used a traction frame and repeated rounds of hammering at the Body Refining Plaza to prepare his spine, ribs, and breastbone for tempering.
• Qin Tiexin took nightly medicinal baths and carefully hammered his own bones, while his cultivation formula helped repair the resulting microcracks.
• Qin Tiexin continued the routine for seven days, then used weights up to twelve thousand jin to create microcracks across his skull.
• Qin Tiexin soaked in an agonizing medicinal bath as the medicine seeped into his skull, then sensed his bones healing and hardening; twenty days remained until the grand competition.

Qin Tiexin overcame the limits of his naturally hard bones by enduring the pressure of a massive mysterious-iron block and the earth veins’ Spiritual Qi. He reached minor accomplishment in the Body Tempering Sixth Layer, with ten days remaining until the grand competition.

• Qin Tiexin found that ordinary weight-bearing training no longer advanced the tempering of his bones, and a fellow disciple advised him to consult Instructor Shi.
• Shi Yong tested Qin Tiexin’s bones and took him to the sect’s abandoned Black Mysterious ore vein, where he explained the dangers of using its pressure and Spiritual Qi.
• Qin Tiexin endured the descending mysterious iron and the violent Spiritual Qi, guiding them into his skull and spine despite severe pain and bleeding.
• Qin Tiexin’s major bones attained true silver light, and he pushed the twenty-thousand-jin block upward before Shi Yong stopped the mechanism.
• Shi Yong assessed Qin Tiexin as having reached minor accomplishment in the Body Tempering Sixth Layer and told him to rest and begin practicing strength techniques.
• Qin Tiexin left the mine as the sun set and noted that ten days remained until the grand competition.

After his breakthrough, Qin Tiexin used his improved Divine Sense to refine his combat practice and learn to sense and guide the spirituality in metal while forging. With Old Wu’s guidance, he successfully made a two-rune forearm shield, and Old Wu judged it nearly middle-grade and worth at least twenty Spirit Stones.

• Qin Tiexin found that his Divine Sense reached farther and saw more clearly, then used it to refine his Mountain-Shaking Steps and Heavy Mountain Saber Technique.
• At the Discarded Artifact Pavilion, Qin Tiexin used Divine Sense to strike resonance nodes in iron and guide its spiritual flow, impressing Old Wu.
• Qin Tiexin practiced nesting the Sturdiness and Lightness spirit runes, failing repeatedly before Old Wu helped him correct their intersection and energy flow.
• Qin Tiexin told Old Wu he wanted to forge a Law Artifact, and Old Wu agreed to seal the forging room the next morning.
• Qin Tiexin forged a crimson heart copper and wind copper forearm shield from azure pattern steel, inscribing nested Sturdiness and Rebound spirit runes.
• Old Wu tested the shield, found that it absorbed seventy percent of an impact and rebounded the rest, and valued it at at least twenty Spirit Stones.

Qin Tiexin completed Li Yun’s Ice Icicle Sword, sparred with her to sharpen his movement, and learned about the Artifact Refining Hall’s factions and the future path of artifact refining. He prepared Edgeless and brought himself to peak condition as the outer sect grand competition began the next day.

• Qin Tiexin finished the Ice Icicle Sword, and Li Yun tested it, paid him twenty-five lower-grade spirit stones, and sparred with him at the training grounds.
• Qin Tiexin dodged Li Yun’s ice techniques with Mountain-Shaking Steps and his divine sense, improving his footwork and learning to close in on spell cultivators.
• Nangong Yao examined Qin Tiexin’s cultivation and arm shield, warned him that Zhao Yan and factional rivalries could make the grand competition dangerous, and urged him not to back down if trouble came.
• Old Wu explained that artifact refiners could advance beyond earth fire by cultivating spirit fire after Foundation Establishment.
• Qin Tiexin reforged Edgeless with black iron essence and a Rebound spirit rune, then analyzed his strengths and planned for possible opponents.
• Qin Tiexin regulated his breathing and divine sense until he reached peak condition, with the outer sect grand competition set to begin the next day.

Qin Tiexin joined Li Yun, Wang Zhong, and Chen Feng for the outer sect tournament’s ten-day trial in the ruins of the Fire Refining Sect. After collecting four Fire Rune Jade tokens, the group found an artifact refining hall, where Qin Tiexin discovered and stored a massive ore mixture that he believed he could refine into valuable spirit materials.

• Qin Tiexin formed a trial team with Li Yun, Wang Zhong, and Chen Feng, while Zhao Yan and Zhou Chongshan passed with their own groups.
• Qin Tiexin used his Divine Sense to detect a hidden fire formation, and the team avoided its flames before defeating three Fire Scale Lizards and finding their first Fire Rune Jade.
• The team collected four Fire Rune Jade pieces over several hours, then encountered Zhao Yan’s better-equipped team in a narrow corridor.
• Qin Tiexin sensed an unusual call from an artifact refining hall and found a mottled boulder among its discarded materials.
• Qin Tiexin recognized the boulder as a valuable mixture of ores, lifted its ten-thousand-jin weight into his Storage Bag, and rested with the team.

Chen Feng betrayed Qin Tiexin, Li Yun, and Wang Zhong to seize the jade marrow ganoderma, but Qin Tiexin stopped him and divided the treasure among the group. As a Lava Earth Lizard attacked them, Qin Tiexin confronted it while Li Yun and Wang Zhong retreated.

• Li Yun led the group to ten jade marrow ganoderma growing above a magma fissure, and Chen Feng proposed an unfair split.
• Chen Feng secretly attacked Wang Zhong with Wind Blades, stole the jade marrow ganoderma, and fled across the fissure.
• Qin Tiexin caught Chen Feng, broke his wrist, recovered the stolen goods, and tied him to a stone pillar.
• Qin Tiexin gave two jade marrow ganoderma to himself and four each to Li Yun and Wang Zhong, then harvested three blood-eroding grasses.
• A Lava Earth Lizard burst through the rock wall and attacked the group, so Qin Tiexin sent Li Yun away with Wang Zhong and blocked the creature's claw with his shield.
• The Lava Earth Lizard gathered a pillar of fire in its jaws and unleashed it at Qin Tiexin.

Qin Tiexin held off an earth lizard so Li Yun could escort the injured Wang Zhong to safety, then led the pursuing beast through a mine tunnel. He escaped into a narrow crevice after collapsing its entrance, but remained badly injured in the darkness.

• Qin Tiexin deflected the earth lizard’s fire and gave Li Yun the Storage Bag, ordering her to retreat with Wang Zhong through the eastern fissure.
• Qin Tiexin used Mountain-Shaking Steps to shake the ground and slow the earth lizard, then retreated into the mine tunnel.
• Qin Tiexin evaded and delayed the earth lizard through the tunnel, taking injuries as he used falling rocks and the terrain to hinder its pursuit.
• At the cliff’s edge, Qin Tiexin detonated his ruined shield to stun the earth lizard and leaped across the fissure into a narrow crevice.
• Qin Tiexin collapsed rocks over the crevice entrance, escaped the earth lizard, and swallowed pills while recovering from severe injuries.

After surviving the Lava Earth Lizard, Qin Tiexin reunited with Li Yun and Wang Zhong, returned from the trial, and earned recognition and rewards for protecting his fellow disciples. As his reputation spread through the sect, he prepared to recover and compete in the upcoming artifact-refining event.

• Qin Tiexin escaped the crevice, found Li Yun and Wang Zhong, and divided the trial’s Fire Rune Jade and other resources with them.
• Qin Tiexin, Li Yun, and Wang Zhong returned to the outer sect square, where disciples spread word that Qin Tiexin had held off the Lava Earth Lizard to cover their retreat.
• Zhao Yan reassessed Qin Tiexin, and Zhou Chongshan approached him to commend his sense of responsibility.
• The deacon awarded Qin Tiexin one hundred Lower-Grade Spirit Stones and one hundred merit points, then Deacon Xu gave him Jade Origin Pills and said the elders approved of his conduct.
• Qin Tiexin reviewed his gains and injuries, took a Jade Origin Pill, and began recuperating for the artifact-refining event in three days.

Qin Tiexin entered the Flowing Cloud Sect’s artifact-refining competition and forged a sturdy tower shield that helped him win all three preliminary combat rounds. He advanced to the finals alongside fifty competitors and prepared for harder battles the next day.

• Qin Tiexin prepared for the competition by reviewing his artifact-refining insights and Spirit Runes, then learned that contestants had to forge an artifact and fight three rounds.
• Qin Tiexin used Resonance Forging and two Spirit Runes to make a heavy tower shield, finishing well before the time limit.
• Qin Tiexin blocked his first opponent’s saber attacks until the disciple conceded.
• Qin Tiexin used the shield’s rebound rune to disarm his second opponent, then knocked his third opponent off the platform with a sweeping shield strike.
• Qin Tiexin was named among the fifty finalists, repaired his shield that night, and prepared for the finals.

Qin Tiexin overcame a sabotaged furnace and inferior materials to forge a heavy sword and win first place in the artifact-refining competition. After Zhao Yan challenged him to compete again, Qin Tiexin returned to his quarters and prepared for the next day’s combat competition.

• Qin Tiexin discovered that his station’s earth fire had been weakened and its Mysterious Iron replaced with inferior material, but he chose not to complain.
• Qin Tiexin forced the furnace flames with his spiritual power and used a heavy hammer to refine the impure iron into a thick sword bearing the Thousand Jun and Sharpness runes.
• Deacon Xu judged Qin Tiexin’s sword a stable Middle-Grade Law Artifact despite its crude appearance, and True Person Qichen confirmed the assessment.
• The judges awarded Qin Tiexin first place, Zhao Yan second, and Lin Han third; True Person Qichen privately told Qin Tiexin that the sect knew someone had tampered with his station.
• Zhao Yan told Qin Tiexin they would compete again in the inner sect, and Qin Tiexin later concluded that the sabotage was part of an effort to suppress him before the combat competition.

Qin Tiexin powered through the grand combat tournament’s first eight rounds, relying mostly on his physical strength to defeat his opponents and advance to the final eight. As he prepared for the quarterfinals, he considered the strength of his remaining rivals and resolved to conserve his limited full-power saber strikes.

• Qin Tiexin defeated Liu Qingfeng with a single punch after enduring his sword thrust, shocking the spectators with his physical strength.
• Qin Tiexin won six more rounds using Mountain-Shaking Steps, his fists, and occasional blows from Edgeless, without revealing his saber technique or casting spells.
• Chen Feng conceded to Qin Tiexin before their eighth-round match, and Qin Tiexin advanced to the final eight.
• Zhao Yan and Zhou Chongshan observed that Qin Tiexin had held back, while True Person Qichen praised his skill and composure.
• Qin Tiexin reviewed his opponents’ abilities and concluded that he could manage at most three full-power saber strikes in the quarterfinals before resuming cultivation for the next day.

Qin Tiexin defeated Li Yun in the quarterfinals after enduring her sword techniques and trapping her with the Vine Technique. He drew Zhao Yan for the semifinals and prepared to face him despite Li Yun’s warning about possible sabotage.

• Qin Tiexin drew Li Yun as his quarterfinal opponent, and they agreed to fight with their full abilities.
• Li Yun attacked with ice walls, agile swordsmanship, and Ice Blossom Bloom, but Qin Tiexin defended with Edgeless and endured her assault.
• Qin Tiexin trapped Li Yun with the Vine Technique after luring her into a strike, and she conceded the match.
• Li Yun warned Qin Tiexin that Zhou Chongshan was a powerful spell-and-body cultivator and that Zhao Yan might have been involved in tampering with Qin Tiexin’s artifact-refining tournament.
• Zhou Chongshan defeated Wang Yue, Zhao Yan narrowly defeated Sun Wu, and Chu Qing outlasted Chen Yuan to complete the semifinal lineup.
• Qin Tiexin drew Zhao Yan for the semifinals, and Li Yun gave him Ice Heart Pills to protect against fire poison.

Qin Tiexin fought Zhao Yan in the martial arena semifinals, enduring his fire techniques and Law Artifacts to land a devastating blow. Both were gravely injured, and Qin Tiexin approached the helpless Zhao Yan as the officiating elder prepared to announce the result, when a sudden upheaval interrupted.

• Qin Tiexin saw a blue-robed disciple secretly hand Zhao Yan a Storage Bag and suspected Zhao Yan had been behind the sabotage during the artifact-refining competition.
• Qin Tiexin and Zhao Yan entered the semifinal, where Zhao Yan revealed three Law Artifacts and trapped Qin Tiexin in a burning formation.
• Qin Tiexin charged through Zhao Yan’s flames and struck him with the Heavy Mountain Saber Technique, but Zhao Yan’s Fire Spirit Armor blocked the attack.
• Qin Tiexin endured Zhao Yan’s barrage and broke through seven walls of fire to unleash Mountain Shattering, severely damaging Zhao Yan and his armor.
• Qin Tiexin rose and advanced on the badly injured Zhao Yan, but a sudden upheaval began just before the elder announced the result.

Qin Tiexin overcame Zhao Yan’s hidden Blood Sha Illusion Realm attack and won the semifinal after Zhao Yan surrendered. As Qin Tiexin recovered, Li Yun brought him clothes and burn medicine, while Zhou Chongshan and Chu Qing prepared to fight for a place in the final.

• Qin Tiexin closed in on the injured Zhao Yan, but Zhao Yan secretly unleashed a soul attack from his ring.
• Qin Tiexin endured the blood-soaked illusion of his fallen comrades and broke free by recalling his purpose of finding Lin Feng.
• Nangong Yao tried to intervene, but a gray-robed elder stopped her when Qin Tiexin began resisting the attack.
• Qin Tiexin dismissed the illusion, and Zhao Yan surrendered before the officiating elder declared Qin Tiexin the winner and advanced him to the final.
• Li Yun brought Qin Tiexin robes and Ice Skin Ointment, and he treated his burns while she warned him about his possible final opponents.
• Zhou Chongshan and Chu Qing took the central arena for the second semifinal.

Zhou Chongshan defeated Chu Qing with a concealed Spirit-Disrupting Array and challenged Qin Tiexin to settle the Zhou Household dispute in the combat final. Qin Tiexin refused to concede, and Nangong Yao supplied him with healing medicine and law artifacts before his fight with Zhou Chongshan the next day.

• Zhou Chongshan used a Spirit-Disrupting Array to disrupt Chu Qing's control of his puppets, destroyed them, and knocked Chu Qing unconscious with a single punch, advancing to the final.
• Zhou Chongshan identified himself as Zhou Xian's older cousin and offered to settle the dispute with Qin Tiexin through their final; Qin Tiexin said he would leave the Flowing Cloud Sect if he lost, while refusing to apologize.
• Nangong Yao visited Qin Tiexin and told him her master would accept him as a registered disciple, but urged him to protect himself and avoid risking serious injury against Zhou Chongshan.
• Qin Tiexin insisted that he would win, and Nangong Yao left him pills, armor, a heavy sword, a spirit-restoring ring, and speed-boosting boots.
• Qin Tiexin swallowed the Jade Dew Rejuvenation Pill, recovered quickly, and prepared to face Zhou Chongshan in the final.

Qin Tiexin and Zhou Chongshan began the tournament final, trading earth techniques and basic spells before colliding with a powerful saber and sword strike. Both remained standing across the damaged arena, with the showdown still underway.

• The arena was prepared under a protective dome as Qin Tiexin and Zhou Chongshan entered, while Golden Core elders watched from a cloud platform.
• Luo Ling confronted Elder Zhao over Zhou Chongshan’s earlier soul attack against Qin Tiexin, and Nangong Yao quietly tried to calm her.
• Zhou Chongshan used earth techniques and laid formation nodes while Qin Tiexin disrupted them with basic fire and water techniques.
• Qin Tiexin charged through an earth spike and struck with Suppress the Mountain, and Zhou Chongshan met the saber with his Dust Peak Sword.
• The collision damaged the arena and sent Qin Tiexin flying, but both fighters recovered and faced each other as the final continued.

Qin Tiexin fought through Zhou Chongshan’s Spirit-Stagnating Array and a barrage of earth techniques, escaping its range despite suffering severe wounds. With his spiritual power flowing freely again, he charged at Zhou Chongshan for a final blow, leaving the duel unresolved.

• Qin Tiexin pressed Zhou Chongshan with repeated Suppress the Mountain strikes, while Zhou retreated and secretly formed an array.
• Zhou Chongshan activated the Spirit-Stagnating Array, slowing Qin Tiexin’s spiritual power and attacking him with earth techniques.
• Qin Tiexin endured Zhou Chongshan’s spells and charged toward a sparsely guarded corner of the arena, seeking to escape the array.
• Zhou Chongshan trapped Qin Tiexin between earth walls and falling spikes, but Qin shattered a wall and broke beyond the array’s range at the cost of more wounds.
• Qin Tiexin’s spiritual power began circulating normally again, and he charged at Zhou Chongshan for a final attack.

Qin Tiexin defeated Zhou Chongshan in the Flowing Cloud Sect tournament final, winning the combat crown despite suffering devastating injuries. After the award ceremony was postponed for emergency treatment, the sect celebrated him as the first disciple to win both the artifact-refining and combat tournaments.

• Qin Tiexin and Zhou Chongshan unleashed their strongest techniques, destroying the platform and leaving both fighters gravely injured.
• Qin Tiexin forced himself to stand before the officiating elder finished counting, while Zhou Chongshan remained down, and the elder declared Qin Tiexin the victor.
• The disciples erupted in celebration, and Luo Ling taunted Elder Zhao before rushing to retrieve her disciple.
• Luo Ling caught Qin Tiexin when he collapsed, and Nangong Yao gave him a Rejuvenation Pill as medical hall disciples carried Zhou Chongshan away.
• The officiating elder postponed the award ceremony, and Luo Ling and Nangong Yao took Qin Tiexin to her courtyard for treatment.
• News spread that Qin Tiexin had won both tournament crowns as a Qi Refining Fourth Layer disciple.

After recovering from the tournament, Qin Tiexin refused True Person Luo Ling’s offer to exchange Edgeless for a powerful saber and Spirit Stones. Luo Ling recognized his bond with the broken blade, explained the Dao of unity between person and artifact, and accepted him as her disciple.

• Qin Tiexin awoke at Luo Ling Peak with his injuries bandaged and Edgeless broken in two beside his bed.
• Nangong Yao brought Qin Tiexin to True Person Luo Ling at the Heart-Forging Hall.
• True Person Luo Ling offered Qin Tiexin the Blazing Prairie Saber and five hundred Spirit Stones in exchange for Edgeless.
• Qin Tiexin refused the trade, saying Edgeless was half of him and that Spirit Stones and Law Artifacts were not his Dao.
• True Person Luo Ling praised his sincerity, explained the path of unity between person and artifact, and asked him to become her disciple.
• Qin Tiexin knelt before True Person Luo Ling with Edgeless, accepted her as his Master, and returned down the mountain with Nangong Yao to recover.

Qin Tiexin received his tournament rewards, became an inner disciple under True Person Luo Ling, and moved to Luo Ling Peak. Old Wu reacted with intense distress when Qin mentioned his new master, leaving Qin determined to uncover their history.

• Qin Tiexin received spirit stones, merit points, and a Library Pavilion token for winning the tournament, while several sect representatives tried to recruit him until Nangong Yao announced he had become True Person Luo Ling's disciple.
• Nangong Yao accompanied Qin Tiexin to collect his inner disciple supplies and showed him his new cave abode on Luo Ling Peak.
• Qin Tiexin said farewell to the menial disciples and shared one hundred grains of Spirit Crystal with them before leaving the courtyard.
• Qin Tiexin visited Old Wu and told him that True Person Luo Ling had taken him as a disciple, prompting Old Wu to react with shock and painful emotion.
• Nangong Yao brought Qin Tiexin introductory artifact-refining texts and explained how a cultivator developed unity with a Law Artifact.
• Qin Tiexin studied his broken blade in his new cave abode and wondered what had happened between Old Wu and Luo Ling.

While recovering, Qin Tiexin studied artifact refining and learned more about Luo Ling Peak, its disciples, and the superior sect. After Nangong Yao told him that Master would assign him duties the next morning, Qin Tiexin began cultivating and sensed that the Qi Refining fifth layer was near.

• Qin Tiexin read An Introduction to Artifact Nature and connected its principles and Luo Ling's annotations to the Resonance Forging Method and his own experience with Edgeless.
• Nangong Yao stopped Qin Tiexin from trying to reforge Edgeless before his injuries had healed, then explained the Artifact Refining Hall's elders and the conflict between Luo Ling and Elder Zhao's factions.
• Nangong Yao told Qin Tiexin that Xu Yi was training at the superior sect, Chen Xi was his second senior brother, and the superior sect accepted cultivators who met one of three demanding conditions.
• Nangong Yao said she would take Qin Tiexin to the Heart-Forging Hall the next morning to pay respects to Luo Ling and receive his duties.
• After Nangong Yao left, Qin Tiexin cultivated with Spirit Stones and sensed that he was close to reaching the Qi Refining fifth layer.

Qin Tiexin visited Luo Ling at the Heart-Forging Hall, where she showed him how to refine an artifact barehanded and explained her lineage’s path toward unity of person and artifact. He left with a saber she had made for him and a Jade Slip containing the Vajra Hammer Fist, which he could begin practicing at the Body Tempering Seventh Layer.

• Qin Tiexin climbed to the Heart-Forging Hall and told Luo Ling that his injuries were no longer serious, though he still could not circulate his power at full strength.
• Luo Ling gave Qin Tiexin three hundred Lower-Grade Spirit Stones as compensation from Elder Zhao for his dirty tricks during the artifact-refining competition and Zhao Yan’s use of a soul Law Artifact.
• Luo Ling demonstrated barehanded artifact refining by combining Azure Pattern Steel and adamantine, shaping the metal into a short saber, merging four Spirit Runes, and quenching the finished weapon.
• Qin Tiexin tested the saber and was shocked by how naturally it fit his grip, then admitted he did not understand the process.
• Luo Ling explained that Qin Tiexin’s next step was to discard the hammer and refine with his body, then gave him the Vajra Hammer Fist Jade Slip for training once he reached the Body Tempering Seventh Layer.
• Qin Tiexin said he understood a little as he looked from the saber to the Jade Slip.

Luo Ling taught Qin Tiexin that artifact refinement required customizing weapons to their users, and gave him a short saber made for him. Qin Tiexin returned to his cave abode resolved to heal, study artifact materials, and gradually learn to forge without a hammer.

• Luo Ling explained that Qin Tiexin's short saber was custom-made to match his fighting habits and described how an artifact refiner learned to see the fit between a person and a weapon.
• Luo Ling contrasted her focus on high-quality customized artifacts with Elder Zhao's emphasis on standardized mass production, and Qin Tiexin agreed that a weapon suited to its owner could be more effective.
• Luo Ling gave Qin Tiexin the short saber, advised him to find a suitable body-refining cultivation method, and told him to return after recovering to repair Edgeless.
• Qin Tiexin returned to his cave abode and reflected on Luo Ling's lesson about unity between person and artifact and on the possibility of forging without a hammer.
• Qin Tiexin put away the Vajra Hammer Fist jade slip and saber, then began rereading An Introduction to Artifact Nature while recovering.

As he prepared to repair Edgeless, Qin Tiexin realized he needed to preserve the saber’s identity rather than redesign it. During a visit to the Discarded Artifact Pavilion, Old Wu told him how the Spirit Creek Sect’s destruction, his injuries, and his own decision to leave had separated him from Luo Ling; Qin Tiexin returned to Luo Ling Peak resolved not to interfere.

• Qin Tiexin studied artifact forging and compared Edgeless with his short saber, then discarded a redesign that made Edgeless look like a different weapon.
• Qin Tiexin visited Old Wu at the Discarded Artifact Pavilion, and Old Wu invited him to ask what he wanted.
• Old Wu recalled meeting Luo Ling as a fellow artifact-forging genius and described their shared work and growing affection.
• Old Wu told Qin Tiexin that the Spirit Creek Sect had been destroyed, so he left Luo Ling to pursue revenge without knowing who the enemy was.
• Old Wu explained that an injury crippled his cultivation and that he returned to the Flowing Cloud Sect under an assumed name, believing Luo Ling deserved a better future without him.
• Qin Tiexin told Old Wu he was not a cripple, then left and decided the past was not his to address for now.