Sword Snow Stride Episode 10 Recap
> Sword Snow Stride Recap
Following his decision to take his martial arts training seriously, Xu Fengnian practiced diligently under Hong Xixiang's guidance. He focused on a technique that involved drawing circles, which embodied the Taoist principle of returning to nothingness and allowed him to borrow and deflect power. Practicing day and night, he eventually succeeded in splitting a waterfall with a single strike.
In his spare time, Xu Fengnian would find river stones and, while meditating, shape them into black and white chess pieces, an exercise he found useful for training his hand strength and precision. Meanwhile, Jiang Ni meticulously tended to her vegetable garden on Mount Wudang, guarding it possessively. She playfully refused to let Xu Fengnian touch her cucumbers and, after finding sweet potatoes mixed in with her crops, she dismissed them and told Xu Fengnian to take them.
When Hong Xixiang wondered about her dedication to the garden, Xu Fengnian mused that it was likely because she had lost so much since childhood that she craved something that was truly hers. He related this to his own determination to journey to Wudi City to retrieve his sword box from Wang Xianzhi.
Hong Xixiang, in turn, confidently declared his own seemingly impossible goal: to become the world's greatest martial artist, vowing not to descend the mountain until he achieved it, despite having no immediate plans to begin training. They encouraged each other to hold onto their ambitions. Their peace was shattered by the arrival of Princess Suizhu, who stormed directly into Jiang Ni's garden.
She loudly demanded to know the whereabouts of Xu Fengnian and his brother, condescendingly asking if Jiang Ni, a mere maid, could understand her. When Jiang Ni snapped at her to stop stepping on her vegetables, the princess was taken aback. Jiang Ni then forcefully pushed her for ruining the crops. Enraged, Princess Suizhu insulted Jiang Ni and, upon her defiant refusal to apologize, ordered her attendant to slap her.
Following this humiliation, the princess commanded her entourage to destroy the entire garden. Just as they began to lay waste to the garden, a long blade flew through the air, embedding itself in the earth between the princess and Jiang Ni. Xu Fengnian appeared, branding Princess Suizhu a "brute." After Jiang Ni recounted what happened, Xu Fengnian, fiercely protective, declared that while he could bully his maid, no one else was permitted to.
When the princess mocked his audacity, Xu Fengnian retorted, "Do I need to know a dog's name before I beat it?" He engaged her guards, demonstrating impressive skill for a novice but was clearly outmatched when her top attendant, Sun Diaosi, stepped in. Princess Suizhu then revealed her identity and their past engagement, but Xu Fengnian was unfazed, calling her "his wife on some level" and demanding she apologize to Jiang Ni.
When she refused, Xu Fengnian consulted his companion, Elder Qi, who confirmed he could win a fight. As the princess ordered Sun Diaosi to attack, Elder Qi intervened, swiftly and effortlessly defeating Sun Diaosi and disarming the other guards, bringing the confrontation to a halt. At this stalemate, Wang Chonglou, the Chief of Wudang, arrived to mediate. Seeing her disadvantage, Princess Suizhu demanded compensation for her ruined garden.
When Xu Fengnian demanded a thousand taels of gold, the princess, lacking the funds, disdainfully threw him two luminous pearls from her name's origin story as payment. However, Jiang Ni tossed them back, stating she only wanted her garden restored but didn't want the princess's "dirty" people touching it. She then declared their scores settled: a public humiliation in return for the slap. Utterly defeated, the princess inquired about Xu Longxiang's whereabouts.
After Xu Fengnian and Wang Chonglou confirmed his brother had been taken to Mount Longhu, she and her entourage departed. Later, Xu Fengnian apologized to Jiang Ni for his role in the incident, but she refused his offer to help restore the garden. She expressed a deep-seated fatalism, believing she was destined to lose everything she ever possessed, just as she had lost her family and her country.
Meanwhile, descending the mountain, Princess Suizhu concluded that Xu Fengnian was a reckless, impulsive fool and that North Liang would surely fall under his leadership. She revealed to Sun Diaosi that her visit was a calculated test of his character, and he had failed spectacularly. However, Jiang Ni saw through the facade, asking Xu Fengnian if he had deliberately provoked the princess to make her underestimate him.
He admitted it was partly intentional, though also a result of his genuine temper. As Princess Suizhu and Sun Diaosi continued down the mountain, they were intercepted by Hong Xixiang. He claimed to oppose his senior brother's plan to ally with North Liang and offered to help "set things right" by aligning Wudang with the imperial court. To prove his sincerity, he invited them to secretly overhear a conversation between Wang Chonglou and Xu Fengnian at the waterfall.
There, Wang Chonglou explained to Xu Fengnian that his earlier intervention was a calculated political move to signal Wudang's allegiance to North Liang. He described the martial world as insignificant compared to the treacherous undercurrents of court politics, with Wudang caught precariously between the capital and North Liang. Wang Chonglou then detailed the ranks of martial artists, noting the four levels of the first rank: Diamond, Profound, Celestial, and the legendary Land Immortal.
With Wang Xianzhi already at the Celestial level, Xu Fengnian's goal was nearly impossible. Seeing no other way to secure Wudang's survival with his own time running short, Wang Chonglou announced his plan: he would sacrifice his life to transfer his entire Dahuangting cultivation to Xu Fengnian. This powerful energy could alter one's constitution but could only be transferred to a non-practitioner, and its user would die upon its transfer.
This act would irrevocably bind Wudang to North Liang in the eyes of the world. Horrified, Xu Fengnian vehemently refused, calling the chief insane. Wang Chonglou calmly stated the sacrifice was not for him, but for Wudang's legacy. Before Xu Fengnian could react, Wang Chonglou forcibly began the transfer, striking him into the river below and sealing the surface with golden energy.
As Xu Fengnian sank, overwhelmed by the immense power, he experienced a vivid series of visions: himself as a child at his mother's funeral being comforted by Jiang Ni, and the heartbreaking feeling of being utterly alone despite having family. An image of his mother, Wu Su, appeared, gently urging him not to cry. Xu Fengnian struggled desperately for the surface but, trapped by the energy, eventually lost consciousness.
