At the Qingduan Sect's awakening ceremony, Shen Yan forges a piece of rusty iron and is declared to have produced nothing but worthless scrap. He is ridiculed by the Zhou father and son and has his engagement broken off by the elders of the Li family. That night, a mysterious black-gold liquid activates the Primordial Casting Mother in his possession, granting him the ability to reshape scrap metal into weapons containing the power of laws. Shen Yan uses this ability to forge a woodcutter's knife for Uncle Chen that can slay demons. During the sect's small competition, he defeats Zhou Hu with a pair of ground-gripping straw sandals, a notched sword that absorbs spiritual energy, and a pair of rebounding bracers. He earns the appreciation of the head of the Weapon Hall and is accepted as an inner sect disciple. Desperate, Zhou Kui conspires with Black Wind Stronghold to assassinate Shen Yan. At the Myriad Weapons Cave, Shen Yan unseals a broken sword belonging to the Demon Venerable, kills the assassins in retaliation, cripples Zhou Kui's cultivation, and discovers the truth behind his parents' murder.