Chapter Summaries

Zhang Qingyuan lured the Heavenly Principle Sect and Dragon Gate experts out of the city, where he trapped the Dragon Gate fighters with a prepared pit and poisonous smoke. With those enemies disabled, he and Li Qiuran faced the six remaining Daoists, and Li Qiuran demanded to know whether they had helped destroy the Heavenly Yin Mysterious Maiden Pavilion.

• Zhang Qingyuan grabbed Li Qiuran and fled the city, using his modified Ascending the Clouds lightness art to evade the pursuing Heavenly Principle Sect and Dragon Gate experts.
• In the forest, Zhang Qingyuan pretended he was too exhausted to keep fighting while Li Qiuran refused to leave him behind.
• Dragon Master accused Zhang Qingyuan of killing Dragon Lord and led the Dragon Gate fighters in an attack.
• The Dragon Gate fighters fell into Zhang Qingyuan’s concealed pit, where wooden spikes, falling logs, and poisonous smoke disabled them.
• Zhang Qingyuan explained his trap and prepared to fight the six remaining Heavenly Principle Sect Daoists, while Li Qiuran asked if they had a hand in destroying the Heavenly Yin Mysterious Maiden Pavilion.
• Daoist Yang answered Li Qiuran’s question with a knowing smile.

Zhang Qingyuan used Taiji and the Jade Purity Lotus Step to defeat the Heavenly Principle Sect fighters while Li Qiuran finished off the Vajras. Afterward, Zhang Qingyuan confronted the trapped Dragon Lord and demanded to know the Prince of Yu’s plans and how many experts remained at his side.

• Zhang Qingyuan evaded attacks from four Heavenly Principle Sect protectors while Li Qiuran fought three opponents nearby.
• Zhang Qingyuan used Taiji to redirect Daoist Qian’s Blazing Sun Palm into Daoist Yang, then killed Daoist Qian with the Questioning Heart Sword.
• Zhang Qingyuan killed Daoist Kun and, with Li Qiuran’s help, defeated Daoist Yin; Li Qiuran had already defeated the two Heavenly Principle Sect Vajras.
• Zhang Qingyuan removed the logs covering the poisoned pit and found many trapped fighters dead or too weak to move.
• Zhang Qingyuan offered the Dragon Lord a fair duel, then asked what the Prince of Yu was planning and how many experts were with him.

After learning of the Prince of Yu’s planned march on the capital, Zhang Qingyuan confronted Zhu Zizhao and revealed that he knew he was the ninth prince, Zhu Qizhao. Zhang Qingyuan challenged Zhu Qizhao’s claim that he wanted no part in the succession struggle and demanded to hear his plan to become emperor.

• Zhang Qingyuan reflected on the drought, the suffering commoners, and the princes’ fight for the throne.
• Zhu Zizhao visited Zhang Qingyuan with steamed buns and was punched after boasting about Zhang’s victory over the Heavenly Principle Sect and Dragon Gate.
• Zhang Qingyuan argued that common people upheld a sovereign’s authority, then asked Zhu Zizhao whether he was the Prince of Jin or the ninth prince.
• Zhang Qingyuan revealed that the Prince of Yu was gathering disaster victims and weapons to march on the capital, based on information he had extracted from Long Qi.
• Zhang Qingyuan explained that he had identified Zhu Zizhao as the ninth prince, Zhu Qizhao, and rejected his claim that he only wanted a carefree life.
• Zhang Qingyuan demanded that Zhu Qizhao explain his plan to become emperor and asked whether Old Five and Old Seven had gone north to seek General Huang’s help.

Zhang Qingyuan agreed to help Zhu Qizhao oppose the Prince of Yu, whose rebellion threatened Kaifeng’s disaster victims. He proposed gathering the starving people with Tang Jie’s grain and recruiting mountain bandits, then asked Zhu Qizhao to explain why he wanted the throne.

• Zhang Qingyuan told Zhu Qizhao he was helping the disaster victims, not the imperial family, and Zhu Qizhao accepted his apology for the punch.
• Zhu Qizhao explained that Xiahou Jue had approached him before turning to the Prince of Yu, and that his Listening Tide Pavilion had tracked their movements.
• Zhu Qizhao revealed that the Prince of Yu was recruiting troops and stockpiling grain in Kaifeng, while Zhu Qizhao had sent his Twelve Guards away to seek General Huang’s support.
• Zhang Qingyuan proposed that Zhu Qizhao attract disaster victims with grain from Tang Jie and arm recruits with weapons from nearby mountain strongholds.
• Zhu Qizhao assured Zhang Qingyuan that General Huang would come, and Zhang Qingyuan urged him to establish a righteous cause through the Listening Tide Pavilion.
• Zhu Qizhao said he wanted to become emperor because he believed the current rulers treated the common people badly.

The Prince of Yu prepared to rebel after learning the emperor had died, while Zhu Qizhao and Tang Jie organized support and Zhang Qingyuan fought bandits. When the Prince of Yu announced his rebellion, Xiahou Jue discovered that rumors had branded the prince a demonic dragon responsible for Yu Prefecture’s drought.

• After Zhang Qingyuan’s twenty attackers were wiped out, the Prince of Yu set aside revenge and focused on gathering troops, learning that 120,000 to 130,000 men could be ready in five days.
• Xiahou Jue told the Prince of Yu that the emperor had died, and the prince’s allies planned to exploit the succession struggle and spread their message across the realm.
• Tang Jie committed his family fortune to supporting Zhu Qizhao, while Zhang Qingyuan led men to clear nearby bandit strongholds and shared advice on governing with Zhu Qizhao.
• Zhang Qingyuan refused Zhu Qizhao’s offer to become Imperial Preceptor, saying he wanted to establish a Daoist sect and remain friends if Zhu Qizhao became emperor.
• Six days later, news of the emperor’s death and the succession struggle spread; the Prince of Yu declared rebellion.
• Xiahou Jue received a report that people were calling the Prince of Yu a demonic dragon responsible for Yu Prefecture’s drought, and realized the prince had become the target of the rumors he had meant to direct at his rivals.

Zhu Qizhao marched south to overthrow Zhu Qizhen and the Prince of Yu, while his rivals struggled to rally forces and press on toward Nanjing. The Prince of Yu refused to surrender, and Zhu Qizhao explained that he had rejected Xiahou Jue’s offer because he disliked his black robes.

• Zhu Qizhao began marching south with the Rebellion-Quelling Army, backed by public opinion that blamed Zhu Qizhen and the Prince of Yu for treachery and rebellion.
• Zhu Qizhen discovered that the Three Great Camps had only a little over ten thousand troops and ordered their commanders to recover the stolen military pay and defend against the Prince of Yu.
• Zhu Qizhen sent Jing Wencai to summon General Wang Biao from the southern frontier and agreed to all of Wang Biao’s conditions.
• Liu Xiangquan urged the Prince of Yu to surrender after hearing that Zhu Qizhao had marched and Huang Ze’s hundred-thousand-man army had crossed the Yellow River, but the Prince of Yu ordered his army to keep advancing.
• Xiahou Jue regretted that Zhu Qizhao had rejected his offer, while Zhang Qingyuan asked why Zhu Qizhao had refused to work with him.
• Zhu Qizhao told Zhang Qingyuan that Xiahou Jue’s black robes had made him seem unrespectable, and the two joked that his rejection came down to appearances.

Zhu Qizhao defeated the Prince of Yu, took the throne, and rewarded his allies while Zhang Qingyuan searched for Xiahou Jue and secured an imperial title. Zhang learned that Xiahou Jue had been captured, then asked the Listening Tide Pavilion who had destroyed Cloud Dust Manor and framed him.

• Zhu Qizhao and General Huang retook Nanjing, and the Prince of Yu killed himself on the throne after his army surrendered.
• Zhu Qizhao and the Crown Prince staged a reluctant succession, and the ministers urged Zhu Qizhao to become emperor.
• Zhang Qingyuan and Li Qiuran searched for Xiahou Jue, and Old Three reported that he had fled south and been captured near Mount Niushou.
• Zhu Qizhao appointed the Twelve Guards as the Dragon Protection Clan, rewarded General Huang and Tang Jie, and granted Zhang Qingyuan the title Dao Lord of True Martiality and the post of Imperial City Attendant.
• Zhang Qingyuan asked Old Three who had destroyed Cloud Dust Manor and framed him, and Old Three asked whether he had heard of the Star River Sect.

After Xiahou Jue revealed that another culprit behind the destruction of the Heavenly Yin Mysterious Maiden Pavilion was cultivating at Shaolin, Li Qiuran tried to go there for revenge, but Zhang Qingyuan calmed her and promised to help her later. They rode toward Taihang Mountain to settle accounts with the Star River Sect, but a sudden streak of Sword Qi interrupted them.

• After Zhu Qizhao's enthronement, Zhang Qingyuan and Li Qiuran visited the imprisoned Xiahou Jue, who confessed that one of the Pavilion's destroyers was cultivating at Shaolin Temple.
• Li Qiuran insisted on going to Shaolin immediately, but Zhang Qingyuan warned that she was not strong enough and comforted her as she mourned her master and the lost Pavilion.
• Zhang Qingyuan promised to help Li Qiuran take revenge once he reached the Supreme Peak, and the two resumed their journey toward Taihang Mountain to confront the Star River Sect.
• Zhang Qingyuan advised Li Qiuran to set aside her hatred and calm her mind so her martial arts could improve, then teased her until she attacked him with Cold Ice Palm.
• As Zhang Qingyuan and Li Qiuran clashed palms, a streak of Sword Qi sliced between them, forcing Zhang Qingyuan to turn toward the unseen attacker.

Yang Chen, the Starlight Sword Master, challenged Zhang Qingyuan to a duel to claim a higher place on the Young Heroes Ranking, and the fight turned deadly. Zhang Qingyuan outmaneuvered Yang Chen and struck him from behind, leaving Yang Chen wounded and the duel’s outcome settled.

• Yang Chen introduced himself as the Starlight Sword Master and challenged Zhang Qingyuan, saying he wanted to test his reputation and climb the Young Heroes Ranking.
• Li Qiuran explained the Martial Arts Alliance’s rankings while Zhang Qingyuan questioned their authority and criticized Yang Chen for launching a potentially lethal attack without warning.
• Yang Chen declared that their duel would decide who lived and who died, and Zhang Qingyuan drew the Questioning Heart Sword to face him.
• Yang Chen’s Starlight Swordsmanship overwhelmed Zhang Qingyuan, who defended through more than a hundred exchanges as Li Qiuran watched anxiously.
• Yang Chen unleashed Brilliant Star River, but Zhang Qingyuan used a deliberately exposed opening to counter the repeated technique and stab Yang Chen from behind.

After defeating Yang Chen, Zhang Qingyuan buried him, found no manual, and gave the Starlight Sword to Li Qiuran while explaining how he had read and countered Yang Chen’s predictable swordplay. As they rode on, Li Qiuran studied the sword and discovered that its patterns revealed the Starlight Swordsmanship manual.

• Zhang Qingyuan buried Yang Chen and found only a little silver, with no sword manual or cultivation method.
• Zhang Qingyuan handed the Starlight Sword to Li Qiuran, who thanked him for the treasured weapon.
• Zhang Qingyuan explained that his Lotus Steps let him dodge Yang Chen’s strike and that he had learned to predict Yang Chen’s repeated sequence of sword moves.
• Zhang Qingyuan taught Li Qiuran that a skilled fighter could make even ordinary swordsmanship formidable by using it flexibly.
• Li Qiuran studied the Starlight Sword’s patterns as they rode and realized they contained the Starlight Swordsmanship manual.