Legend of Awakening Episode 9 Recap
> Legend of Awakening Recap
After everyone fainted from the Soul Splitting technique, which cannot be stopped once initiated and whose outcome is uncertain, Chu Min took Guo Youdao away from the Sutra Repository. Guo Youdao tried to dissuade her, suggesting she should at least teach the others some secrets before leaving. However, Chu Min asserted that the disciples' problem was settled, and it was now their turn to catch up.
Meanwhile, Luo Ting reported to Minister Xia that Chu Min and Guo Youdao had departed, and Qin Sang was locked inside the Sutra Repository. Minister Xia, pleased by Chu Min's absence, ordered Luo Ting to thoroughly seal the Sutra Repository, ensuring no one could escape. He then declared his intention to personally invite Qin Qi, Qin Sang's brother, to witness his precious sister entangled in a banned technique, thus challenging Qin Qi's ability to promote the Soul Combat Convention.
Within the locked Sutra Repository, Lu Ping and Su Tang were the first to regain consciousness. Su Tang remarked that her soul of Strength was unusable, leaving her feeling like an invalid with no soul power. Mo Lin, too, found he couldn't smell anything. Lu Ping deduced that Soul Splitting sealed the main soul meridians, causing them to lose their powers and senses. He noted that Zhao Xifan, who majored in the soul of Sound, could no longer hear.
Realizing Qin Sang, who majored in the soul of Vision, relied on her sight, Lu Ping quickly woke her. Ling Ziyan also noticed Qin Sang's disorientation and confirmed her own loss of sight, solidifying Zhao Xifan's belief that Soul Splitting removed the senses associated with the sealed powers, essentially making them disabled. Meanwhile, at a nearby tavern, Chu Min confronted Guo Youdao, demanding to know Lu Ping's true identity.
Guo Youdao initially feigned ignorance, claiming he only took Lu Ping in due to his innate talent and extraordinary physique. Chu Min, however, was not fooled. She knew that only someone born with the unity of six souls and bearing the Soul Confinement could possess such an unusual physique. She deduced that Lu Ping must be "that person's son," questioning why Guo Youdao had kept watch over Zhaifeng Institute for so many years and kept Lu Ping's survival a secret.
Guo Youdao defended his actions, explaining that the fewer people who knew, the safer he would be, and that he also wished to spare Chu Min from worry. Chu Min, now agitated, wanted to return to Lu Ping, but Guo Youdao restrained her, arguing that if Lu Ping couldn't endure the simple Soul Splitting, he wasn't worthy of being "that person's son."
Within the Sutra Repository, the six captives—Lu Ping, Su Tang, Mo Lin, Zhao Xifan, Qin Sang, and Ling Ziyan—discussed their predicament. Su Tang lamented their lost strength, while Mo Lin noted the "imprint of Soul Splitting" on their bodies, fearing they would be jailed as illegal invalids if discovered. Lu Ping explained that their only path was to break through Soul Splitting within the day, as instructed by Chu Min, or risk permanent disability.
Qin Sang, asserting the Qin family's righteousness, initially refused to be involved in a banned technique and attempted to leave with Ling Ziyan, but Lu Ping persuaded her to face the challenge with them. Outside, Luo Ting, after allowing his subordinate to deal with Su Tang as he pleased, ordered his men to storm the Sutra Repository. He confronted Qin Sang, accusing her of practicing banned skills.
Lu Ping then threw a smoke bomb, creating a diversion, and urged everyone to flee. Luo Ting, unfazed, commanded his men to search the repository, disregarding potential casualties. Ling Ziyan quickly volunteered to distract their pursuers, asking Lu Ping to protect Qin Sang. Zhao Xifan, concerned for Ling Ziyan, followed her. Lu Ping, in turn, instructed Su Tang and Mo Lin to find a hiding spot and then escape to alert their master.
Back at the tavern, Guo Youdao felt a premonition and grew anxious about the disciples, wanting to check on them. However, Chu Min, remaining calm, stopped him. She reminded him that during their own Soul Splitting, no one had intervened. She emphasized that breaking through Soul Splitting wasn't about cultivation level, but about realizing that "emotions and soul connect," and that she had deliberately made them perform it together to give them "inspiration."
She urged Guo Youdao to have confidence in his disciples. Su Tang and Mo Lin attempted to escape through a back door but were intercepted by guards, including Shi Zhongtian. When Mo Lin heroically shielded Su Tang and endured a severe beating, Su Tang, witnessing his sacrifice, suddenly felt a surge of strength.
She declared that she couldn't let him die while protecting her, and in that moment, her soul of Strength and soul of Vision connected, enabling her to break through Soul Splitting and defeat the guards. She then urged Mo Lin to escape and find their master, while she stayed to fend off the remaining attackers. However, Mo Lin, after only a few steps, collapsed and fainted. Meanwhile, Zhao Xifan and Ling Ziyan, hiding in a corner, were discovered.
In a desperate act to protect Ling Ziyan, Zhao Xifan's soul of Essence forcefully broke through his meridians, causing the attacking disciple to mistakenly believe he had seen things. Despite the immediate backlash from forcibly interrupting Soul Splitting, Zhao Xifan, concerned for Lu Ping, insisted on continuing to protect him. Ling Ziyan, also breaking through Soul Splitting with her lightness skills, managed to escape with Zhao Xifan, then followed him to warn Lu Ping.
Lu Ping urged Qin Sang to quickly find a place to break through Soul Splitting, as Luo Ting was closing in. Qin Sang, however, was hesitant. She expressed her fear that if she broke through, Minister Xia would use it to implicate her brother, ruining the Qin family.
She suggested they go out and find her brother for help, explaining that while she appreciated Lu Ping's rescue, they were fundamentally different: he was responsible only for himself, while she bore the weight of her entire family. She suggested they part ways. Just as Qin Sang was about to leave Lu Ping, Luo Ting and his men found them. Luo Ting mocked Lu Ping for still trying to protect Qin Sang.
Lu Ping bravely confronted Luo Ting, telling him that he was the one they wanted and to not involve Qin Sang. Luo Ting, however, declared his intent to take Qin Sang and kill Lu Ping. As Luo Ting moved to strike Lu Ping, Zhao Xifan and Ling Ziyan arrived, having successfully broken through their own Soul Splitting, to intervene and aid Lu Ping.
Qin Qi, despite his initial disbelief that his sister would be involved in banned techniques, mobilized his soldiers and rushed to Tianzhao Academy. Lu Ping and Qin Sang, meanwhile, had found refuge in a basement, where Lu Ping suggested he act as her eyes, guiding her attacks with his perception while she used her strength.
Qin Sang, still wrestling with self-doubt and the fear of implicating her brother, slowly found inspiration as Lu Ping shared a song from his past, emphasizing that they both had things they wished to persist in, and urging her to trust him. Just as they were attempting this risky cooperation, Luo Ting and his disciples found them. Luo Ting taunted Qin Sang, telling her that he couldn't protect her from her master or her brother Qin Qi.
Lu Ping boldly stepped forward, offering himself to Luo Ting and protesting the bullying of a girl. As Luo Ting moved to attack Lu Ping, Qin Sang, driven by the desire to be a "heroine" and protect Lu Ping, instinctively broke through Soul Splitting. She gained her sight and fought fiercely, but the odds were against her as she faced three opponents alone.
Seeing Qin Sang on the verge of injury, Lu Ping also achieved a breakthrough in Soul Splitting, empowering him to defeat Luo Ting. The moment of relief was short-lived as Minister Xia arrived with Qin Qi and his soldiers. Thinking quickly, Lu Ping dramatically ripped Qin Sang's sleeve, then accused Luo Ting of attempting to defile Qin Sang while they were practicing swordplay, claiming he had intervened to protect her.
Qin Qi, witnessing his sister's disheveled state, immediately covered her with his cloak and ordered Luo Ting's arrest, dismissing Minister Xia's attempt to defend Luo Ting. However, Minister Xia then announced he had concrete evidence of Soul Splitting. He led them to the garden, where Mo Lin was being carried, unconscious, supposedly bearing the "imprint of Soul Splitting." Lu Ping, while subtly praying for Mo Lin to awaken, tried to dismiss the mark as mere dirt.
Just as Minister Xia was about to press his advantage, Mo Lin dramatically "woke up," indignant at being accused of Soul Splitting. He claimed he had merely been taking a nap from reading. He then cleverly used Luo Ting's earlier statement about the difficulty of breaking through Soul Splitting against Minister Xia, effectively proving that he had indeed already broken through. Minister Xia's scheme to frame Qin Sang and Qin Qi thus crumbled.
Qin Qi, seizing the opportunity, warned Minister Xia against creating further trouble, especially with the Soul Combat Convention imminent, and took Qin Sang home. Back at the Qin Residence, Qin Qi confronted Qin Sang about the incident in the Sutra Repository, though he was hesitant to punish her. He questioned how her soul of Vision had been mastered.
Qin Sang, playing to his protective nature, apologized for practicing Soul Splitting to make the family proud, for craving his compliments, and for "cleverly" marring her reputation to protect him from Minister Xia's schemes. Qin Qi, while chastising her for taking her reputation lightly, couldn't bring himself to punish her as she expected. He promised to suppress any rumors surrounding the Soul Splitting incident and her honor, but he strictly grounded her within the residence.
Qin Sang playfully protested, asking how she would get her favorite lotus flower pastries from Zuiyun Restaurant, but Qin Qi saw through her thinly veiled attempt to see Lu Ping. He emphasized that while he wouldn't pursue the Soul Splitting matter, she must cease all contact with Lu Ping, whose identity and background were questionable. As his sister and a key figure in the upcoming Soul Combat Convention, she could not afford to make any missteps.
Qin Sang, understanding his underlying concern for her safety and family honor, reluctantly agreed to his terms. Meanwhile, back at the Sutra Repository, Guo Youdao eagerly presented Lu Ping, Su Tang, Mo Lin, and Zhao Xifan to Chu Min, asking if she liked her "adorable disciples." Chu Min, downplaying their recent feat, simply stated, "It's just Soul Splitting. What's the big deal?"
She then issued a stern warning: they shouldn't gloat, as she had many more ways to "torture them," and ordered them to report early the next day. The four disciples, now officially under her tutelage, bowed in respectful acceptance.
