Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain Episode 33 Recap
> Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain Recap
A year later, the Five Sects Championships was about to begin at Lingjian Sect. Wang Wu, acting as the interim leader, had designed the competition rules to be overtly unfavorable to Shengjing Sect. When Master Liu Xian, the second senior brother, reviewed her plans, he reminded her to be fair and impartial, as her actions reflected on the entire Lingjian Sect. Wang Wu, however, asserted her authority by referencing the Golden Seal, the symbol of the sect leader.
She argued that true fairness lay in exposing the deceitful nature of others. Liu Xian, in turn, advised her to rein in her unruly disciple, Wang Lu, so he would not cause more trouble, especially with their sect leader still in secluded cultivation. Wang Wu dismissed his concerns as blatant discrimination. As other sect leaders arrived, including Southern Immortal Weng from Kunlun and General Hai Tiankuo from Junhuang Mountain, politeness was exchanged.
General Hai, revealing his close relationship with Wang Wu, boasted of knowing Lingjian Sect's affairs intimately, even the location of their Treasure Hall. Master Dilun of Almighty Sect presented a priceless Jade Pill as a token of gratitude for Lingjian Sect Leader Feng's past assistance. However, when Shengjing Sect arrived by literally moving their entire city using the powerful Four Devarajas, Wang Wu did not hold back.
She openly ridiculed Master Shuiyue of Shengjing Sect for their ostentatious display of wealth, mocking the immense cost of transporting their city and suggesting they should simply buy out the Immortals Union if they were so rich. Insulted, Master Shuiyue angrily departed. Before the opening ceremony, Wang Lu instructed Wen Bao to sneak into Shengjing City after the competition's opening ceremony, when security would be at its lowest, to find Hai Yunfan.
He cautioned Wen Bao to immediately flee to Xuan Yun Hall, where the elders were gathered, if he encountered the Four Devarajas. During the opening ceremony, as Wang Wu discussed Ouyang Shang's whereabouts with General Hai, Wen Bao's cries for help echoed through Xuan Yun Hall. The elders immediately arrayed and swiftly destroyed the Four Devarajas, much to Master Shuiyue's fury.
Master Shuiyue confronted them, but Wang Wu feigned ignorance, claiming she didn't know the Four Devarajas could change size so dramatically. Master Shuiyue then demanded an explanation for Wen Bao's unauthorized entry into Shengjing City. Before Wen Bao could stammer out an answer, Wang Lu stepped forward, claiming responsibility.
Wang Lu boldly stated that he had forced Wen Bao to infiltrate Shengjing City to retrieve Wang Wu's cherished pink garment, which he claimed had been stolen by someone from Shengjing Sect. He recounted seeing a black-clad figure sneak into Wang Wu's room earlier that morning and stealing her clothes, then following them to Shengjing City, emphasizing he couldn't allow his master's reputation to be tarnished.
Master Shuiyue scoffed at the outlandish story, but Wang Lu proposed using the Heart Sword to expose the true thief from among all the assembled sect members. The proposal stirred curiosity among the onlookers. General Hai was the first to be tested, and Wang Lu, filling in for a "sore-throated" Fang He, questioned him; General Hai passed. Other disciples followed and also passed the test. Wang Wu, seemingly disappointed, mused whether she had overestimated her own charm.
Master Shuiyue then warned Wang Lu that if the thief was not found, he would be held accountable for slander. When it came to the last person, Du Songzi, a disciple of Shengjing, Wang Lu unexpectedly changed his question, asking if Shengjing Sect had kidnapped his brother, Hai Yunfan. Du Songzi denied it and, to Wang Lu's bewilderment, passed the Heart Sword test.
Just as Wang Lu pondered this inexplicable result, a masked Shengjing disciple stepped forward, pointing out that Wang Lu himself had not been tested. For the sake of fairness, he demanded that Wang Lu also undergo the Heart Sword test. Faced with no escape, Wang Lu publicly admitted that he was indeed the one who had taken his master's clothes, stunning the crowd. The masked disciple then removed his mask, revealing himself to be the long-missing Hai Yunfan.
Everyone present, especially Wang Lu, was shocked by this revelation. Master Shuiyue then proudly introduced Hai Yunfan as Shengjing Sect's newest disciple. Wang Lu confronted Hai Yunfan, who confirmed he had joined Shengjing Sect voluntarily. A flashback revealed Hai Yunfan's motivation: Master Shuiyue had shown him how to loosen the Restriction within his body, a task Lingjian Sect had been unable to accomplish.
Shuiyue offered to completely remove the Restriction if Hai Yunfan pledged allegiance to Shengjing Sect, portraying Lingjian as a sect that harbored demons, while Shengjing shared Hai Yunfan's deep-seated hatred for them. Desperate for power and revenge, Hai Yunfan agreed. Back in the main hall, Hai Yunfan coldly told Wang Lu that their paths diverged. He criticized Lingjian Sect as unreliable, particularly Wang Lu and Wang Wu, for their reckless conduct.
He declared that friendship was worthless if it did not provide him the power needed to annihilate all demons. To demonstrate his newfound strength, he unleashed an attack using his newly mastered Myriad Ghost Devouring Heart Great Law, which he had mastered in just one month, and attacked Wang Lu, leaving him wounded.
Seeing Hai Yunfan's betrayal, Wang Wu immediately expelled him from Lingjian Sect for his disloyalty, forbidding him from ever setting foot in the sect again after the competition. Master Shuiyue seized the opportunity, chastising Lingjian for using "emotional blackmail" and formally welcomed Hai Yunfan as his own disciple. Not content with Hai Yunfan's gain, Master Shuiyue then demanded that Wang Lu be punished for the disruption he caused.
Wang Wu, despite her internal anguish, agreed to publicly whip Wang Lu a hundred times, a punishment that was meant to be severe but, due to Wang Lu's perfected Wuxiang Kungfu, felt no worse than a "massage." Word quickly spread among the disciples about Wang Lu's public humiliation and Hai Yunfan's harsh betrayal, with some pitying Wang Lu while others remarked he deserved it for trusting Hai Yunfan.
Alone later, Wang Lu was dejected by Hai Yunfan's betrayal, admitting the plan to use the Heart Sword to expose Master Shuiyue's secrets had failed. Wang Wu explained that Shuiyue was a "sneaky fox" who likely used a Heart Locking Charm to thwart the Heart Sword's detection, and that even his own disciples seemed unaware of his true "scheme."
Despite the setback, Wang Wu pointed out their success in destroying the Four Devarajas, crippling Shuiyue's "biggest help" and preventing further trouble. Wang Lu jokingly asked for "worker's compensation" for his beating, but Wang Wu playfully dismissed him, remarking on Hai Yunfan's unexpected "fickleness." Meanwhile, Master Shuiyue praised Hai Yunfan's extraordinary talent in mastering the Myriad Ghost Devouring Heart Great Law so quickly, assuring him he would soon achieve his revenge against Hai Tiankuo.
After Hai Yunfan departed, Shuiyue consulted with Du Songzi, who identified Wang Lu and Wang Wu as their primary threats in the upcoming competition due to Wang Lu's unpredictable nature and Wang Wu's biased competition design. Shuiyue then instructed Du Songzi to take preemptive action against the pair.
Back at Lingjian Sect, Wang Wu, confident in her cunning, assured Wang Lu that he would clinch the first place in the competition, having meticulously designed the challenges to exploit Shengjing Sect's weaknesses. She dismissed other competitors as insignificant, identifying only Du Songzi and the "heartbreaker" Hai Yunfan as potential contenders. Her immediate goal was for Wang Lu to "win back his face."
Just then, Fang He urgently summoned Wang Wu to Xuan Yun Hall, announcing a major crisis, prompting Wang Wu to jokingly wonder if their sect leader had passed away, which would finally make her the official leader.
