I Am Nobody Episode 9 Recap
> I Am Nobody Recap
Watching Zhang Chulan's match, Feng Shayan's brother commented on his popularity, but Feng Shayan disagreed, believing many were there hoping to see him defeated. Nearby, Feng Baobao was asleep, completely unconcerned about Zhang Chulan's safety, convinced he would win even against an opponent known for sealing energy flow, Shan Shitong. When Zhang Chulan entered the arena for the Top 32 Elimination Round match, the crowd immediately began shouting insults at him. Despite the hostility, he walked confidently to the center.
His opponent, Shan Shitong, failed to show up after extensive searching. As a result, Zhang Chulan won the match by forfeit, leading the frustrated audience to cry foul and declare the result rigged. An angry audience member jumped from the stands, determined to expose Zhang Chulan as a despicable person and force a fight. Security personnel intervened, reminding everyone that interfering with the tournament was forbidden.
The challenger insisted he wasn't disrespecting the event but simply couldn't stand Zhang Chulan and demanded a fair fight. Zhang Chulan recognized the challenger and recalled a conversation from the previous night with Feng Baobao and Shan Shitong. Zhang Chulan had taunted Shan Shitong, offering him food while he was clearly hungry, and proposed they fight to test Shan Shitong's strength.
Zhang Chulan bet that if he won, he wouldn't fear Shan Shitong anymore, but if he lost, he would bury Shan Shitong himself. Feng Baobao warned she wouldn't help him if he lost, as they were not in the tournament arena. Shan Shitong had accepted the challenge.
During their fight the night before, Zhang Chulan had analyzed Shan Shitong's techniques, noting that while his Vermilion Book ability was strong, he relied on it too heavily, making him slow the more qi he used. Zhang Chulan admitted he only allowed himself to be hit to test its power and advised Shan Shitong to improve his qi distribution, calling it an "old problem."
In the present moment, the challenger, Shan Shitong, stated he couldn't defeat Zhang Chulan and wasn't obligated to be his sparring partner or help him get stronger. He congratulated Zhang Chulan on reaching the Top 16 before walking away from the arena. Feng Shayan's father, observing the scene, found Zhang Chulan increasingly intriguing and instructed his children to get closer to him, unconcerned about the Chief Celestial Taoist's potential involvement. His son agreed to get to know Zhang Chulan first.
In another match, Zang Long faced Zhang Lingyu. Zang Long was repeatedly struck down but kept getting back up, fueled by the hope of having dinner with Lu Linglong if he persevered. Despite Zang Long's renowned resilience, Zhang Lingyu eventually resorted to using the Celestial Taoist Mansion's Lightning Technique, the Yin Five Thunder (also referred to as Lightning Palm by commentators), noting it was his first time using it in the tournament.
The powerful black lightning attack pierced Zang Long's body, causing internal damage and ending the match. Zhang Lingyu was declared the winner. Later, someone using the name Hu Sheng brutally won a match using the Soul-Breaking Palm. During this time, news circulated about a death where someone's qi was completely drained, suspected to be the work of Hu Jie.
Shen Chong, who appeared to control Hu Jie, contacted him, demanding repayment of the qi he had borrowed and threatening him if he failed to find a target soon. Shen Chong admitted that sending Hu Jie to Mount Longhu was just to cause trouble. Separately, a group including Shen Chong and Xia He analyzed a small fragment of Zhang Xilin's memory extracted from his body, discovering who killed him and realizing their initial assumptions were wrong.
This revelation was considered more significant than finding the Qi Apotheosis. They decided to cause chaos at Mount Longhu and planned to invite someone to join them. The real Hu Sheng's body was later discovered, confirming the fighter in the tournament was an imposter. Amidst heavy rain forecasts for Chongqing, a message was sent to Xu Xiang, informing him that Zhang Xilin's killer was at Mount Longhu and inviting him there with the promise of a surprise.
Xu Xiang discussed the trip with his companion, who offered to go with him, but Xu Xiang insisted he stay behind. Zhang Chulan was approached by NDT Express staff who escorted him to meet with two elders, Wang Ai and Lyu Ci. Although Zhang Chulan didn't know them, they claimed to know his grandfather. Wang Ai and Lyu Ci immediately demanded the Qi Apotheosis from him, offering anything in return.
Zhang Chulan denied having it, mentioning that Sinister Pleasure and NDT Express had already asked him. The elders were insistent they would find out if he was lying. Lyu Gong, Lyu Ci's great-grandson and Lyu Liang's brother, appeared and claimed that Lyu Liang had killed their sister. Lyu Gong admitted he desired Zhang Chulan's Qi Apotheosis to gain the power to eliminate Lyu Liang. Zhang Chulan again denied possessing it.
Lyu Gong proposed using a non-intrusive application of the Soul Whisperer technique on the surface of Zhang Chulan's body to determine if he was truthful. Zhang Chulan reluctantly agreed. Just then, Feng Baobao arrived, asking if Zhang Chulan was being bothered. Despite being told to wait outside, she remained. Zhang Chulan accepted Lyu Gong's test again, and Lyu Gong confirmed that Zhang Chulan was indeed telling the truth; his grandfather had not taught him anything about Qi Apotheosis.
Xu Xiang arrived with other NDT Express members, interrupting the meeting. He inquired what the elders wanted with their employee. Wang Ai stated they were simply eager to meet Zhang Chulan, a rising star in the tournament. Xu Xiang prepared to take Zhang Chulan, but Wang Ai stopped him, revealing that Zhang Xilin had disappeared from the Celestial Taoist Mansion and hid for decades because he had disrupted the Outsiders' world and colluded with Sinister Pleasure.
Lyu Ci added that the full details involved scandals within the Celestial Taoist Mansion and were better revealed by the Chief Celestial Taoist himself. Xu Xiang then escorted a visibly affected Zhang Chulan away. Xu Xiang left Zhang Chulan with Feng Baobao, asking her to watch over him and ensure he didn't miss his match, to which Feng Baobao replied that Zhang Chulan was more important than the competition.
Later, Shen Chong contacted Hu Jie again, demanding the borrowed qi and threatening him if he didn't find a target within an hour. The fake Hu Sheng's match continued, and the impostor won brutally.
Separately, Xu Xiang discussed the situation regarding the fake Hu Sheng and the real one's death with the Chief Celestial Taoist, who questioned whether Xu Xiang's interest in Zhang Chulan stemmed from genuinely wanting to help him or from using him to uncover secrets about Huaiyi and the Jiashen Calamity for NDT Express or himself. Xu Xiang maintained he was only trying to help Zhang Chulan. The match between Wang Ergou and Feng Baobao began.
Commentators initially predicted an easy win for Feng Baobao, but Wang Ergou surprised them with his unique technique, Flowing Rainbow, which used infused qi to influence opponents' emotions. Despite Wang Ergou's attempts to instill negative emotions and then Fiery Passion with his attacks, Feng Baobao remained completely unaffected, astonishing the commentators. They marveled at her unshakeable mental fortitude, finding it unusual for someone her age, and questioned the nature of her qi.
Wang Ergou, unable to affect her, asked her to reveal the color of her qi and show him who she truly was. He was shocked to discover she possessed "Colorless qi." Defeated and bewildered, Wang Ergou surrendered. Feng Baobao simply stated, "Done. Time to go." Zhang Chulan, meanwhile, received a message. Shen Chong appeared to him, urging him to remain calm and offering to reveal a small part of the truth about his grandfather's death.
He showed Zhang Chulan the memory fragment from Zhang Xilin's final moments, revealing the face of the person his grandfather saw before dying. Shen Chong stated it was surprising that the killer had been beside him all along, and the memory fragment revealed Feng Baobao's face, implying she was responsible for Zhang Chulan's grandfather's death.
