Chapter Summaries

Zhao Fengxue and his allies broke through the steppe army’s defenses and escaped into the fortress with Sun Ruonan’s help. After the raid, Zhao Fengxue and Li Xiongxin discussed rooting out traitors, then shared a lighthearted wedding toast that left Zhao Dachui uneasy about Sun Ruonan’s strength.

• Zhao Fengxue led the Blood Wind Hall killers in a night assault, using explosive black balls to panic the steppe army’s horses while Tie Niu, Zhao Dachui, and 9527 spearheaded the charge.
• Sun Ruonan threw the killers over the fortress wall, then helped Zhao Fengxue defeat two steppe Grandmasters and shield the retreat from a volley of arrows.
• Li Xiongxin’s archers covered the group as Sun Ruonan helped them reach the wall, bringing the raid to a successful end.
• Zhao Fengxue warned Li Xiongxin’s officers not to aid any traitors, and Li Xiongxin agreed to cooperate in protecting the fortress.
• After official business ended, Zhao Fengxue asked Zhao Dachui and Sun Ruonan to offer Li Xiongxin a wedding toast, and Sun Ruonan cracked the floor when she stamped her foot.

Li Xiongxin offered Zhao Dachui and Sun Ruonan treasured gifts, but Sun Ruonan revealed the far superior Xun Feather Cloth and enormous bow and arrows made for her by Wang Hao. The steppe army breached the northern gate with a Red Barbarian Cannon, and Sun Ruonan prepared to stop its next shot as Zhao Dachui and Tie Niu held back the cavalry.

• Li Xiongxin gave Zhao Dachui his Heavenly Silkworm Treasured Garment and offered Sun Ruonan his Jade-Carved Bow and Wind-Chasing Arrows.
• Sun Ruonan revealed her Xun Feather Cloth, purple-gold bow, and massive arrows, astonishing Li Xiongxin with their strength and materials.
• Zhao Fengxue dismissed Li Xiongxin's hopes of obtaining similar armor, explaining that Wang Hao's creation had cost more than ten million taels of gold.
• The Red Barbarian Cannon blasted the northern city gate, and Zhao Fengxue sent Zhao Dachui and Tie Niu to defend it while 9527 deployed assassins around the city.
• Sun Ruonan told Zhao Fengxue she might be able to pierce the cannon, and he took her to the wall as the steppe cavalry charged through the ruined gate.
• Zhao Dachui and Tie Niu blocked the cavalry inside the gate, while Zhao Fengxue warned Sun Ruonan that the cannon was about to fire again.

Sun Ruonan destroyed the red-cannon and killed Prince Dula with her purple-gold war bow, forcing the grassland army to retreat. After Zhao Fengxue exposed General Qin as a spy, Qin poisoned himself, leaving Zhao and Li Xiongxin to face the threat of the powerful faction behind him and the imperial court’s scrutiny.

• Sun Ruonan shot an arrow into the red-cannon’s muzzle, causing it to explode before it could fire at the city.
• Sun Ruonan then shot Prince Dula from three hundred zhang away, killing him, and the grassland army withdrew after confirming his death.
• The retreating grassland army looted and burned Hulan City as it left.
• Zhao Fengxue arrested General Qin and showed Li Xiongxin evidence that Qin had colluded with outsiders and the tribesmen.
• General Qin confessed that he had wanted to trap the grassland army, then poisoned himself with a toxin hidden beneath his fingernail.
• Zhao Fengxue decided to prepare an escape route, while Li Xiongxin feared punishment for having promoted Qin.

After the steppe invasion ended, factions and Emperor Mingde coveted Sun Ruonan’s Xun Feather Cloth, while Zhao Fengxue refused to surrender it and fell out with the imperial family. He took his family to the Great Yuan treasury and decided they would hide its vast treasure underground and keep Sun Ruonan concealed there.

• Old General Jiang learned that Dula had been killed and the steppe army had retreated, then sent thirty thousand soldiers to clear bandits while he continued to Hulan City.
• Various factions identified Wang Hao as the likely maker of Sun Ruonan’s Xun Feather Cloth and Purple Gold war bow and began coveting the armor.
• Emperor Mingde discreetly tried to obtain Zhao Fengxue’s Xun Feather Cloth and weapon, but Zhao refused and offered only Wang Hao’s Red Gold armguards.
• Zhao Fengxue brought Sun Ruonan, Zhao Dachui, Taohong, and Tie Niu to the Great Yuan treasury, where they found thousands of chests of treasure, weapons, and armor.
• Zhao Fengxue ordered them to dig a passage to a river and hide the treasure there, keeping Sun Ruonan concealed in the treasury; Tie Niu eagerly volunteered to bring down supplies.

After six months of training, Wang Hao reached Bright Peak in search of the Nine Yang True Scripture and followed Xiao Mengmeng’s guidance to a sinkhole. There, a powerful Half-step Innate old man confronted him, leaving Wang Hao facing a possible fight.

• Wang Hao smashed a boulder and confirmed that Shock Force had advanced to the early stage of Complete Integration.
• Wang Hao reviewed his progress over six months and decided to seek the Nine Yang Divine Art before pursuing the Supreme Yoga Tantra.
• Wang Hao and Wangcai reached Bright Peak, explored its ruins, and rested while Wang Hao prepared to search for the Nine Yang True Scripture.
• Xiao Mengmeng located the scripture 102 li southeast of Bright Peak, costing Wang Hao a thousand Fortune Points.
• Wang Hao followed the search to a deep sinkhole, where Xiao Mengmeng warned him that a Half-step Innate expert was approaching.
• A burly old man appeared, showed murderous intent toward Wang Hao, and was asked to identify himself.

Wang Hao fought Yuanyuan Temur, a descendant of Zhao Min, after the old man tried to kill him near the sinkhole. Wang Hao broke Yuanyuan Temur’s arms and leg, but the wounded man unleashed a suicidal technique and charged; Wang Hao raised a boulder to meet him.

• Yuanyuan Temur revealed that he was Zhao Min’s descendant and attacked Wang Hao with the hot and cold forces of his Profound Ice Blazing Fire Palm.
• Wang Hao and Yuanyuan Temur fought for hours, until Yuanyuan Temur collapsed the ground and knocked the Shameless Greatsword from Wang Hao’s hands.
• Wang Hao continued fighting barehanded, outlasting Yuanyuan Temur and breaking both of his arms with a rapid charge.
• Yuanyuan Temur tried to flee through the sinkhole, but Wang Hao hurled stones at him and shattered his kneecap.
• Yuanyuan Temur ignited his body with Jade and Stone Burn Together and charged at Wang Hao, who lifted a boulder to block him.

After surviving Yuanyuan Temur’s self-destruction, Wang Hao recovered by eating powerful spirit peaches and searched for the Nine Yang Divine Art. He discovered it was buried in Zhao Min’s grave, while Zhang Wuji sensed that something had happened to his son and set out for Peach Valley.

• Yuanyuan Temur’s final attack blasted Wang Hao into a cliff, and Zhang Wuji sensed danger and decided to visit Peach Valley.
• Wang Hao spent several days refining the scorching True Qi and recovering before using his alternate identity to escape the cliff.
• Wangcai accidentally landed on Wang Hao and injured him again, then brought him a third-tier spirit peach that helped restore his strength.
• Wang Hao and Wangcai found the peach tree and Yuanyuan Temur’s cabin in the sinkhole, and Wang Hao ate more peaches to heal.
• Xiao Mengmeng guided Wang Hao to a cave where he learned the Nine Yang Divine Art was buried in Zhao Min’s grave.

Wang Hao uncovered Zhao Min’s collection of martial arts manuals, memorized Yuanyuan Temur’s Profound Ice Blazing Fire Palm, and discovered that Wangcai had eaten most of the spirit peaches. He transplanted the spirit peach tree and set off by boat to deliver the remaining peaches to Dongfang Bai, while Zhang Wuji returned to the peach valley.

• Wang Hao opened Zhao Min’s tomb, buried an empty coffin for Yuanyuan Temur beside her, and found a stone box full of martial arts manuals, including the Nine Yang Divine Art.
• Wang Hao read the cave walls, guessed that Zhao Min had left Zhang Wuji after his involvement with Zhou Zhiruo, and memorized Yuanyuan Temur’s Profound Ice Blazing Fire Palm.
• Wang Hao found that Wangcai had eaten twenty-three of the spirit peaches and learned from Xiao Mengmeng that the remaining peaches could extend a person’s life and preserve their appearance.
• Wang Hao dug up the spirit peach tree, packed the nine remaining peaches in a yinwood trunk, and sailed down the Yangtze toward Hangzhou to send them to Dongfang Bai.
• Zhang Wuji returned from overseas and arrived at the peach valley as Wang Hao’s boat neared Hangzhou.

Wang Hao discovered Peach Blossom Island had been burned to ruins and left for Fuzhou to find out what happened to Yushu and the others. As he neared his destination, he learned Dongfang Bai had received the martial arts manuals he sent her.

• Zhang Wuji recognized the crater as the result of Yuanyuan Temur's Jade and Stone Burn Together, vowed revenge for his son's death and Zhao Min's desecrated grave, and set off with Zhou Zhiruo for Wudang to search for the culprits.
• Wang Hao hired the Good Fortune Escort Agency to deliver sealed spirit peaches to the Dongfang family's old residence, paying with a five-hundred-year-old ginseng root and demanding secrecy.
• Wang Hao reached Peach Blossom Island and found it burned to ash, but the removal of the forge's anvil and hammer suggested Yushu and the others had withdrawn in an orderly fashion.
• Wang Hao sailed back to Hangzhou, transferred the spirit peach tree and Wangcai to a seagoing boat, and headed for Fuzhou to ask Lin Zhennan about the women's fate.
• Near Fuzhou, Xiao Mengmeng notified Wang Hao that Dongfang Bai had received the manuals he had copied and hidden inside the yin wood.

Dongfang Bai examined Wang Hao’s dangerous gifts and shared the spirit peaches with Little Bai and Granny Song. Meanwhile, Zhang Wuji and Zhou Zhiruo returned to the Central Plains, learned of Wang Hao’s alarming reputation from Daoist Priest Chongxu, and set out to find him before the Confucian School could interfere.

• Granny Song warned Dongfang Bai that Wang Hao’s manuals included Shaolin and Wudang supreme arts, but Dongfang Bai insisted she knew what she was doing.
• Little Bai eagerly ate five spirit peaches, and Dongfang Bai and Granny Song agreed to keep one peach each and leave the remaining peaches for Little Bai and Dongfang Bai.
• Zhang Wuji presented his father’s jade pendant to Daoist Priest Chongxu, who recognized him and welcomed him and Zhou Zhiruo to Mount Wudang.
• Zhang Wuji asked Chongxu to help locate two powerful men, and Chongxu identified them as the rumored Wang Hao and his companion.
• After hearing Chongxu describe Wang Hao’s astonishing reputation, Zhang Wuji decided to find and kill him quickly.

Wang Hao reached Fuzhou, hid his ship, and discovered Li Haoran and other powerful fighters at the Fuwei Escort Agency. He reunited with Wu Tai under his Zhu Yanzu guise, revealed his true appearance, and asked where Qing'er was.

• Wang Hao improved his cultivation and martial techniques, then worried about the ailing spirit peach tree and seasick Wangcai as he neared Fuzhou.
• Wang Hao left the fleet, hid his ship in a secluded bay, and headed into Fuzhou City alone.
• Xiao Mengmeng warned Wang Hao that Li Haoran, another Half-step Innate expert, and more than a dozen Peak Grandmasters were at the Fuwei Escort Agency.
• Wang Hao went to the Grace and Righteousness trading house and revealed himself to Wu Tai, who welcomed him as his elder brother-in-law.
• Wang Hao ate the food Wu Tai had prepared and asked where Qing'er was.

Wang Hao learned that the Confucian School had imprisoned Lin Zhennan's family and was using Yushu to lure him to Fuzhou. He prepared for a fight, entered the Fuwei Escort Agency, and left Lin Zhennan with a warning as danger approached.

• Wu Tai told Wang Hao that Qing'er had gone to the Treasure Island of Ryukyu to establish a foothold and that the Fuwei Escort Agency had stopped taking jobs.
• Wang Hao learned Lin Zhennan had arranged a child bride for Lin Pingzhi named Yushu and realized the Confucian School was using her as bait.
• Wang Hao ate medicinal food, retrieved his Shameless Greatsword, and entered the Fuwei Escort Agency by climbing over the city wall.
• Wang Hao found Lin Zhennan under guard and learned that the Confucian School had captured Yushu while Old Cheng and Old Zhu had escaped with Miss Zhou and the others.
• Wang Hao told Lin Zhennan and his wife to join Yushu and Pingzhi, then strode outside after sensing danger.

Wang Hao confronted Li Haoran and Li Jishi, who attacked him over the suspected Mohist inheritance. After Wang Hao and Li Haoran argued over how Huaxia should face foreign powers, they clashed swords and discovered each other's weapons were extraordinary.

• Wang Hao mocked Li Jishi, who attacked him with sinister Sword Qi, but his protective True Qi deflected the blows and his counterstrike tore open Li Jishi's clothing.
• Xiao Mengmeng identified Li Jishi as the refined man who had plotted against Wang Hao in the capital, and Li Haoran stopped him from attacking again to ask about the Mohist School's inheritance.
• Wang Hao realized the Confucian School wanted the inheritance and challenged Li Haoran's belief that unifying Huaxia under Confucian principles was enough to resist foreign threats.
• Wang Hao and Li Haoran argued over whether restoring the Hundred Schools would save or divide Huaxia, then concluded that words could not settle their opposing ideals.
• Wang Hao and Li Haoran struck at the same time, and their swords met without either man yielding; Wang Hao noticed that Li Haoran's sword had cut into the Shameless Greatsword and spotted two seal-script characters on its blade.

Wang Hao recognized Li Haoran's Zhanlu Sword and fought the Confucian School experts, eventually using the Dao Comprehension Function to overwhelm Li Haoran. After Li Haoran tried to cover his allies' retreat, he used the Vast Righteousness Sword Instruction to flee, leaving Wang Hao bewildered.

• Wang Hao recognized the black sword in Li Haoran's hand as the legendary Zhanlu Sword after it cut deeply into the Shameless Greatsword.
• Li Haoran and the Confucian School experts surrounded Wang Hao, while Li Jishi ordered a Grandmaster to seize Lin Zhennan's family and Yushu.
• Wang Hao launched a furious assault when he heard the threat, then activated the Dao Comprehension Function and drove Li Haoran back with a powerful strike.
• The Grandmaster returned without capturing Lin Zhennan's group, and Li Haoran ordered a retreat, but Li Jishi urged everyone to attack Wang Hao instead.
• Wang Hao nearly killed Li Jishi, who fled the city, while Li Haoran stayed behind to cover the Confucian School Grandmasters' retreat.
• Li Haoran invoked the Vast Righteousness Sword Instruction: Sacrifice Life for Righteousness, then turned into a streak of sword light and escaped, leaving Wang Hao stunned.

Wang Hao rescued Lin Zhennan’s family from the cellar and learned that Li Jishi had fled toward the southern docks. After arranging for Lin Zhennan to contact Zhou Xueyi and the others, Wang Hao chased Li Jishi out to sea by rowing after his ship.

• Wang Hao chose to pursue Li Jishi first because he considered the ruthless man a greater threat than Li Haoran, and Xiao Mengmeng located him heading for the southern docks.
• Wang Hao opened the cellar’s heavy stone door and reunited with Lin Zhennan, Yushu, Lin Pingzhi, and Madam Lin.
• Wang Hao teased Lin Pingzhi, praised Yushu and Lin Pingzhi’s marriage, and warned Lin Zhennan not to let Yushu’s past cause trouble in the family.
• Lin Zhennan told Wang Hao that purple fireworks had been a signal from Old Zhu and Old Cheng and that he could contact them within three days to reach Zhou Xueyi and the others.
• Wang Hao left his sword behind, told Yushu to call him Master, and rowed a small boat out of Fuzhou harbor toward Li Jishi’s ship.

Wang Hao pursued Li Jishi’s group across the sea, killed three Confucian School Grandmasters, and captured Li Jishi after wearing him down. He forced Li Jishi to reveal martial arts and Confucian School secrets, leaving Wang Hao with new techniques and intelligence to use against the school.

• Wang Hao caught Li Jishi and three Confucian School Grandmasters aboard their ship, killing the three before confronting Li Jishi on the aft deck.
• Wang Hao fought Li Jishi until Li exhausted his True Qi, then sealed his acupoints and shattered his Dantian to prevent him from resisting.
• Wang Hao threatened Li Jishi with an invented torture scheme, and Li Jishi agreed to answer his questions.
• Li Jishi explained that he practiced the Bixie Swordsmanship and recited its and the Vast Righteousness Sword Instruction’s cultivation mnemonics for Wang Hao.
• Li Jishi recited his other martial arts, including the Vast Righteousness True Scripture, and revealed the Confucian School’s circumstances and secrets.

After returning from sinking Li Jishi’s vessel, Wang Hao met Tan Buyong, the Dragon Head of the Azure Dragon Society, who revealed the society’s ties to the Mohist School and asked Wang Hao to inherit its leadership. Wang Hao weighed the power and resources on offer against the danger of provoking the Confucian School, leaving his decision unresolved.

• Wang Hao returned to the Fuwei Escort Agency after scuttling the vessel to conceal Li Jishi’s death, where he sensed another Half-step Innate expert.
• Tan Buyong examined Wang Hao’s Shameless Greatsword, introduced himself as the Azure Dragon Society’s Dragon Head, and asked whether Wang Hao had obtained the Mohist School’s Treasured Records of Mechanisms.
• Tan Buyong explained that he was the Hero King of the Heroic Mohists, while the True Mohists had been destroyed by the Confucian School during the Three Kingdoms era.
• Wang Hao offered to write out the Treasured Records of Mechanisms from memory, but Tan Buyong instead asked him to take over the Azure Dragon Society or succeed as Mohist Grand Master.
• Tan Buyong revealed that the society had fewer than fifty core members but counted more than half the world’s artisans among its unwitting peripheral members, and Wang Hao considered the benefits against the threat of the Confucian School’s eight Xiantian Grandmasters.

Wang Hao agreed to join the Azure Dragon Society, but discovered that his new Jianfu Branch had few members and little real influence. After putting Yushu in charge and arranging to flee the Confucian School’s reach, he sailed toward Ryukyu and reunited with Zhou Xueyi, Zhu Yuanwai, and the others, where he was shocked by what he saw beneath the women.

• Wang Hao accepted Tan Buyong’s offer to join the Azure Dragon Society and became master of its Jianfu Branch, with the promise of becoming Dragon Head after earning merit and surpassing Tan Buyong’s granddaughter in mechanisms and mathematics.
• Liu Fu handed over the branch and explained that it was understaffed, its craftsmen were loosely connected to it, and its operations were disguised as a trading company; he also warned Wang Hao about the Confucian School’s influence in the south.
• Liu Fu explained that he was eager to return to Wolong Valley to seek help breaking through to the Grandmaster Realm, while Lin Zhennan declined Wang Hao’s offer and recommended Yushu to manage the branch.
• Wang Hao appointed Yushu to handle the Jianfu Branch and decided to leave Fuzhou with Lin Zhennan, Wu Tai, and the others to avoid the Confucian School.
• Wang Hao sailed out in his hidden ship, reunited with Zhou Xueyi, Zhu Yuanwai, and the others, and was badly shaken by what he saw beneath the women.

Wang Hao reunited with Zhou Xueyi and Qing'er on the Treasure Island of Ryukyu after they escaped the Confucian School aboard Zhu Yuanwai’s red-gold submersible. He discovered Qing'er had postponed marrying Wu Tai because of her facial scars, and began treating them while promising to help Wu Tai improve his cultivation.

• Wang Hao praised Zhu Yuanwai’s red-gold submersible and learned Zhou Xueyi had rescued abducted women and coastal orphans from Japanese pirates.
• Wang Hao’s fleet reached Qing'er’s hidden harbor on the southern shore of the Treasure Island of Ryukyu to avoid the Confucian School’s spies.
• Wang Hao reunited with Qing'er and learned she had refused to marry Wu Tai until her facial scars were healed.
• Wang Hao scolded Wu Tai for his slow cultivation, ordered him to prepare a blood ginseng medicinal meal, and promised to help him break through.
• Wang Hao examined Qing'er's scars and began treating them after she agreed to endure the pain.

Wang Hao healed Qing'er's facial scars, transplanted the dying spirit peach tree, and forced Wu Tai to break through by battling him for hours. After Lin Zhennan's men brought in a female Overlord Tiger, a gigantic Lion-Tiger Beast charged out of the forest, and Wang Hao rushed to meet it.

• Wang Hao repaired Qing'er's facial scars and left her resting under a towel soaked in Nine-Flower Jade Dew Liquid while guards watched over her.
• Wang Hao planted the spirit peach tree on the island in the lake, then spent more than six hours beating Wu Tai until he broke through.
• Lin Zhennan's men brought Wang Hao a bound female ma tiger, which Wang Hao suspected was the rare Overlord Tiger.
• Wangcai fled from the forest as a huge Lion-Tiger Beast emerged, and Lin Zhennan warned Wang Hao that it was likely the female tiger's mate.
• Wang Hao dismissed the danger and charged at the Lion-Tiger Beast as it rushed toward him.