張無忌
During the Lion Slaying Ceremony held at Shaolin Monastery, Zhou Zhiruo defeats all martial artists who attended and emerges as champion of the "wulin" (martial artists' community). However, she eventually loses to the Yellow Dress Maiden, who uses an "orthodox" version of the skills in the "Nine Yin Manual" to overcome her "unorthodox" version. The Xuaming Elders attempt to steal the manual from Zhou Zhiruo after seeing how her martial arts have improved from learning it. They injure her with their Xuanming Divine Palm, but Zhang Wuji saves her and heals her with his Nine Yang Divine Skill, which inadvertently negates her "yin" inner energy and restores her back to her original state. Zhou Zhiruo feels guilty for her sins, especially when she encounters the "ghost" of Yin Li and admits to Zhang Wuji her past deeds and her love towards him. Towards the end of the story, Zhang Wuji tells her that he has decided that Zhao Min is his true love, making her give up on him. Zhou Zhiruo also discovers that Yin Li has survived her attack; Yin Li forgives her for trying to murder her. Zhou Zhiruo visits Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min in another version and makes some cheeky remarks when he is about to help Zhao Min paint her eyebrows.