The Journey of Legend Episode 1 Recap
> The Journey of Legend Recap
In the early Daxi Era, the martial world was in disarray, with righteous sects declining. The powerful Power Gang dominated the martial circle, while Heavenly King Zhu of the Waterway Sect controlled the waterways, leading to constant conflict between the two. Adding to the turmoil, North Wasteland armies rampaged, causing the emperor to flee the capital. Amidst this chaos, the long-lost Hero Token resurfaced, rumored to hold a great treasure and the key to unifying the martial world.
This token was in the possession of General Wu Jie's elderly mother. Martial artists from various factions pursued her, setting ambushes along her journey and cornering her in Jinzhong. At this critical moment, Xiao Qiushui, the third young master of the Huanhua Sect, intervened, saving Madam Wu from the Power Gang and Heavenly King Zhu.
He had mastered the graceful Huanhua Swordplay to perfection, wielding the Sword of Changge with boundless internal energy and supreme lightness skill, thus earning his fame in the martial world. He respectfully introduced himself to Madam Wu. However, this thrilling scene was merely the imaginative adaptation of a web novelist named Xiao Mingming. Using a tool called the Demon Codex System, he was rewriting the classic martial arts novel "Heroes of Divine Land".
In his story, Xiao Qiushui was an unrivaled martial arts genius, dashingly handsome, with top-tier lightness skill, internal energy, and swordsmanship. At twelve, he mastered the Huanhua Swordplay, and at eighteen, Yan Kuangtu personally imparted all his martial arts secrets, planting a Boiling Blood Cocoon within him that could unleash immense power in times of crisis.
By the age of twenty, Xiao Qiushui accidentally found and mastered the "Book of Oblivion", becoming the martial circle leader after crushing the Power Gang and defeating Heavenly King Zhu. He then led his friends and allies against the invading North Wasteland armies, and General Wu, grateful for his righteousness, bestowed upon him the Hero Token. Xiao Mingming reveled in his protagonist's glorious ascent, feeling "unmatched in the divine land, such pure loneliness."
As he considered integrating his project into the system, a "System bug" and "Out Of Character alert" flashed across his screen. Suddenly, Xiao Mingming found himself in the Daxi Era, transmigrated into his own novel as Xiao Qiushui. He woke up in an ancient room, surrounded by courtesans calling him "Third Young Master." Disoriented, he asked for his friend Li Cai, mistaking the women for actresses.
A servant explained that he, Xiao Qiushui, had led his brothers to raid an underground casino the previous day, and after celebrating, he got drunk and rested there. Xiao Mingming, still confused, wondered if he was dreaming about the character Xie Xiaofeng from "Sword Master". He soon realized that the props and setting were too realistic and that he was indeed Xiao Qiushui, the third young master of Huanhua Sect, in the Daxi Era.
He recalled his novel's Xiao Qiushui as a top master with peerless martial arts and the Boiling Blood Cocoon, initially believing his luck was good. However, when the casino thugs arrived for revenge, and a servant urged him to be careful, his attempt to escape from the second floor using his "supreme lightness skill" resulted in him crashing face-first onto the ground, revealing his real lack of martial prowess.
Just as the thugs were about to attack, Xiao Xueyu, Xiao Qiushui's elder sister, arrived. With a few swift moves, she drove off the thugs and insisted Xiao Qiushui return home to face their father, Xiao Xilou. At home, Xiao Xilou angrily confronted Xiao Qiushui, accusing him of visiting brothels and forgetting his family name. Realizing that, in this reality, he was his father's least favorite son, Xiao Qiushui quickly apologized.
Xiao Xueyu pleaded on his behalf, explaining that Xiao Qiushui had been diligently investigating North Wasteland army spies in Jinzhong as instructed. Xiao Xilou seemed inclined to let the matter drop, but his elder brothers, Xiao Kaiyan and Xiao Yiren, pressed for punishment to teach him a lesson. Before they could act, their mother, Sun Huishan, entered the hall. She took the cane, declaring it was also her fault for not raising her son properly.
She revealed she had specially made him leather underpants from a golden python, impenetrable by ordinary blades. She then gently struck Xiao Qiushui once, who feigned extreme pain and fled from the hall, with his mother chasing after him, seemingly scolding him but in fact covering his escape. Later, in a pavilion, Xiao Qiushui and Sun Huishan shared tea. He tearfully expressed his relief at seeing her, as he had feared never seeing her again.
He then asked about his martial arts ranking, including his lightness skill and internal energy, and how he compared to Li Chenzhou of the Power Gang. Sun Huishan was puzzled by his strange questions. She revealed that his lightness skill was his weakness and his internal energy mediocre. She also told him he ranked fifth in their household, after his father, herself, and his two elder brothers, Kaiyan and Yiren.
She explained that while he had potential, his restless nature as a child meant he didn't properly practice Xiao's Swordplay, instead creating his own "Qiushui Swordplay." She sternly warned him never to provoke the Power Gang, describing them as ruthless and dominant, with their leader Li Chenzhou being unfathomably powerful, and the Nineteen Demons being top-tier martial artists. She cautioned him against unrealistic dreams of instant fame.
When Xiao Qiushui asked if Yan Kuangtu had cleared his meridians, she replied that Yan Kuangtu had vanished when Xiao Qiushui was a child and had not reappeared since, warning that his return would bring bloodshed. He also inquired about powerful secret martial manuals and confirmed that Xiao Xueyu was an adopted daughter, whom he must protect.
After his conversation with his mother, Xiao Qiushui realized that while some of his changes to Xueyu's character remained, his own abilities were aligned with the original novel's portrayal. He deduced that if he could boost his combat stats, he might return to his desired storyline. Hoping to find a "cheat code," he headed to the Xiao Family Sword Tomb, remembering that the "Book of Oblivion" was hidden there.
He found a stone coffin in the center and opened it, only to find several fine swords instead of the legendary manual. The coffin automatically closed, and the Demon Codex system reappeared, reprimanding him for deviating from the original character settings of "Heroes of Divine Land". Xiao Mingming complained about the need for "cheat codes" in traditional martial arts stories to succeed.
The Demon Codex informed him that he could only follow his own narrative outline if he became the Huanhua Sect Leader. Otherwise, it would not interfere. It also warned him against "revealing key plot points" and stated that the Boiling Blood Cocoon, which he had intended as a powerful buff, had been reconfigured into a dormant poison that would activate if he crossed any "minefields," with the second activation being lethal.
The system emphasized that this was a "simple growth-through-suffering story." Xiao Mingming protested, but the system then presented him with his first task: "Challenge the Jinyin Bank." He instantly remembered that in his original novel, this event led to the massacre of the entire Xiao family. Fearing for his life, he decided to "lie low" and hide in the mountains, hoping to avoid the difficult plot points and survive until the finale.
However, the Boiling Blood Cocoon in his hand began to ache intensely, and he soon collapsed. The next day, Xiao Mingming woke up to find himself back in his bed at home, concluding that the system had reset. In the courtyard, Huanhua Sect disciples were practicing. Soon, three men approached. Xiao Mingming initially mistook them for his university roommates, Tang Xu, Deng Zhe, and Li Chaofan, wondering if they too had transmigrated and belonged to his university's "Instrument Society."
The men, however, were confused by his questions, mentioning they had only been watching dragon boats. Xiao Mingming quickly realized they were actually the original characters from the novel: Zuoqiu Chaoran, a grappling master; Tang Rou, the Tang Sect heir; and Deng Yuhan, the Hailin Sect leader's son. He understood that he could not evade the plot and his only option was to stick with his new friends to survive.
As Deng Yuhan joked about Xiao Qiushui getting drunk the previous night, Xiao Qiushui informed them that their trip to Zihui for the Dragon Boat Festival was merely a cover. Their true mission was to "take down the Jinyin Bank" which preyed on the vulnerable. His friends eagerly prepared for a fight, but Xiao Qiushui clarified that they would not engage in a direct confrontation but rather execute an "ambush." He then revealed the formidable truth: the Jinyin Bank was backed by Fu Tianyi, a Demon from the powerful Power Gang.
