Episode Summary
Xiao Qiushui receives a massive but dangerous power boost from two dying masters to fight Liu Suifeng. He learns Liu Suifeng has killed his parents, leading to a brutal battle filled with betrayals. In the end, the masters are dead, his family blames him for the tragedy, and a wider conspiracy involving a mysterious third party is revealed.
Spoiler Alert
A Desperate Gamble
The Power Transfer
So, Xiao Qiushui is cornered and facing the Power-wielding Gang. He's weak, but he's not backing down. The two masters, Taichan and Tianzheng, see his determination. They come up with a wild plan. They want to transfer their internal energy to him.
There's a huge catch, though. They're both infected with a nasty Gu poison. If they transfer their power, the poison will likely go with it. This could mean excruciating pain for Xiao Qiushui, basically shredding his muscles and bones.
Xiao Qiushui doesn't even hesitate. He says he's a dead man walking anyway. If he can take a serious chunk out of the Power-wielding Gang and protect his parents, he'll die without regrets. So he drops to his knees right there. The three of them immediately sit down and begin the power transfer.
The Confrontation We've Been Waiting For
A Brutal Fight and a Bigger Betrayal
The power-up works. Xiao Qiushui's skills are on a whole new level. He dispatches Song Mingzhu like it's nothing. Then, Liu Suifeng arrives.
To kick things off, Liu Suifeng throws a jade pendant at Xiao Qiushui's feet. It belongs to his father, Xiao Xilou. Xiao Qiushui remembers his dad saying he would never, ever part with that pendant. The message is clear. Liu Suifeng has killed his parents.
That's when Xiao Qiushui snaps. He attacks Liu Suifeng with everything he has. Every move is meant to kill. The masters are shocked, not just by his power, but by something else. The Gu poison should be tearing him apart, but he seems completely unaffected. They figure it's because his martial arts were destroyed before. The poison had no internal energy to latch onto.
Just as the fight reaches its peak, a Shaolin monk named Longhu suddenly attacks Master Tianzheng. He confesses that he owes a debt to the Power-wielding Gang. He says he can only repay his master's years of teaching by dying, and then he does. It's a shocking betrayal.
Mo Yanxia also shows her true colors and joins Liu Suifeng in attacking the Huanhua sect. Xiao Qiushui manages to land a serious blow on Liu Suifeng, using a technique that turns water into a sword. Both men are wounded. Liu Suifeng decides to cut his losses and retreats with his people.
The Aftermath
The Family Falls Apart
With the fight over, the consequences hit hard. Taichan and Tianzheng succumb to their injuries and die. Xiao Yiren, one of Xiao Qiushui's brothers, finds him kneeling on the ground. When he learns that Liu Suifeng killed their parents, he's furious.
Xiao Qiushui blames himself completely. He was the one who trusted Liu Suifeng and brought this disaster to their family.His brother Xiao Yiren doesn't disagree. He hits Xiao Qiushui several times in a fit of rage. When his other brother, Xiao Kaiyan, hears the news, he's just as hateful. He tells Xiao Qiushui he should have died back in Guangling.
The Conspiracy Deepens
Liu Suifeng is surprised by Xiao Qiushui's sudden power boost, but he still sees the day as a win since he took out two masters.Mo Yanxia's cover is blown, so she has to report back to Emei. Before she goes, she tells Song Mingzhu to keep a close eye on her man, Liu Suifeng.
Liu Suifeng is worried Mo Yanxia might pull a betrayal like Longhu did. His paranoia is justified. Shortly after she leaves, a masked man ambushes and kills her.
Later that night, we see Kang Chuyu meeting with the same masked man. The man is pleased with the chaos. His plan is to let the Power-wielding Gang and the other martial arts sects destroy each other. He intends to swoop in and pick up the pieces.
A Grieving Son
Xiao Qiushui is unconscious for a long time. He dreams of Liu Suifeng murdering his parents. When he finally wakes up, he's delirious. He mistakes his friends Deng Yuhan and Zuo Qiu for Liu Suifeng and starts strangling them. Tang Fang watches, horrified.
After he comes to his senses, he walks alone in the courtyard. He's completely shattered by the memory of his parents. The next day, he and his brothers prepare the bodies for burial. His sister, Xiao Xueyu, finally returns to the destroyed Huanhua sect and is overcome with guilt.
Because of the heat, the bodies need to be buried quickly. The local undertaker is too scared of the Power-wielding Gang to help. So the Xiao brothers bury the fallen members of their sect on the mountain themselves.
In the sword hut, Xiao Qiushui sets up a memorial for his parents, Xiao Xilou and Sun Huishan. He reflects on his journey. He came into this thinking he could predict the future and change things. Now he sees that he couldn't change anything. It only highlighted his own arrogance and ignorance.
