Recaps

Gao Yunyi used the Azure Mystic Sword to slaughter the soldiers attacking him, then left the villagers he had rescued. The village head’s grandson decided he wanted to learn martial arts, while the village head secretly resolved to stop him.

• The squad officer held back to figure out where Gao Yunyi had hidden the weapon that killed Wang Er.
• Gao Yunyi summoned the Azure Mystic Sword and cut through the soldiers’ armor and weapons as they charged him.
• The squad officer fled, and Gao Yunyi killed the remaining soldiers as they ran.
• The rescued villagers watched Gao Yunyi with fear, and the village head stood frozen as Gao Yunyi vanished into the night.
• The village head’s grandson said he wanted to learn martial arts so he could protect his family and village.
• The village head resolved to prevent his sole heir from learning martial arts, while the boy wondered why the back of his neck felt chilly.

Gao Yunyi and the Crane King hunted down the fleeing squad officer, completing their quest and leaving the area by air. Gao Yunyi realized he could claim quest rewards directly through the quest panel, then flew away with the Crane King instead of returning to the villagers.

• The squad officer fled toward his army camp after Gao Yunyi slaughtered his soldiers.
• The Crane King frightened the squad officer’s horse, then attacked and lifted him into the air with its talons.
• After dropping the squad officer, the Crane King left him before Gao Yunyi, who killed him with a flash of white light and received 15 experience.
• Gao Yunyi realized he could complete quests through the quest panel without returning to the quest-giving NPC.
• Gao Yunyi praised the Crane King, climbed onto its back, and flew into the night rather than returning to the villagers.

County Magistrate Zhang longed for the immortal while governing Heyang County, but Prince Ning’s heir arrived with an armed troop. Zhang received him and allowed the soldiers into the city after standing up for the city guards, while the heir concealed his anger to pursue a more important matter.

• County Magistrate Zhang heard that an armored troop bearing Prince Ning’s banner had gathered outside Heyang County and went to meet them.
• Prince Ning’s heir waited at the gate as the city guards barred his troop from entering under the court’s rules.
• The heir’s guard identified him, and Zhang and the County Yamen officials knelt to pay their respects.
• The heir mocked Zhang for letting the city guards stop him, but Zhang defended the guards as following the law.
• The heir’s guard reminded him of his important business, so the heir restrained his anger and entered the city with his troop.

The heir apparent of Prince Ning arrived in Heyang County to invite the immortal, but learned the immortal had left and that Vice Prefect Xiao had taken a life-prolonging Immortal Elixir for the Liang Emperor. Fearing the emperor’s recovery would destroy Prince Ning’s ambitions and his own chance to become emperor, the heir apparent ordered an urgent message sent to his father.

• The heir apparent demanded to see the immortal, and County Magistrate Zhang explained that the immortal had left Heyang County.
• The heir apparent decided to wait for the immortal and stayed in the west room while County Magistrate Zhang warned his subordinates to avoid offending him.
• After a day of boredom, the heir apparent learned from his guard that the immortal had given Zhang Huaimin an Immortal Elixir, but Vice Prefect Xiao had already taken it for the Liang Emperor.
• The heir apparent panicked at the prospect of the Liang Emperor recovering and ordered his guard to send word to his father at full gallop.

County Magistrate Zhang confronted Prince Ning's heir after hearing that his men had abducted Scholar Liu's daughter. The heir emerged from the Drunken Immortal Tower with County Magistrate Zhang's former concubine at his side.

• A Yamen Runner told County Magistrate Zhang that Prince Ning's heir had injured staff at the Drunken Immortal Tower and seized Scholar Liu's daughter.
• County Magistrate Zhang summoned armed Yamen Runners and constables after learning that the heir's guards had blocked Constable Chen.
• Scholar Liu mourned his daughter outside the tower as an angry crowd demanded her release.
• County Magistrate Zhang ordered his men to enter the tower and kill anyone who resisted.
• Prince Ning's heir emerged with a woman whom County Magistrate Zhang recognized as his former concubine.

County Magistrate Zhang stood up to Prince Ning's heir and forced him to release a young woman he had abducted. After Zhang rejected the heir's attempt to provoke him with his former concubine, the heir left and the people of Heyang City cheered their magistrate.

• County Magistrate Zhang confronted Prince Ning's heir at the Drunken Immortal Restaurant and demanded that he release the abducted woman.
• Zhang's officers and yamen runners declared they would follow him inside, and Zhang warned that he would report the heir to the imperial court and Prince Ning's Residence.
• Prince Ning's heir backed down and claimed the abduction had been a misunderstanding, then had the young woman brought out to reunite with her father.
• The heir revealed Zhang's former concubine and asked whether Zhang would part with her, but Zhang dismissed her as a shameless woman.
• Prince Ning's heir shoved the woman away and departed, while the people of Heyang City cheered Zhang.

After leveling up and improving his gear, Gao Yunyi encountered a scholar attempting to hang himself and saved him to complete a quest. A second quest appeared when the scholar asked him to hear his story, so Gao Yunyi agreed to listen.

• Gao Yunyi emerged after two days, having leveled up, strengthened his robe and crown, and refined three Essence Gathering Pills.
• Gao Yunyi found a scholar standing beneath a noose, but the scholar accidentally slipped and began hanging himself.
• Gao Yunyi accepted a quest to save the scholar and cut him down, earning 10 experience points.
• The scholar thanked Gao Yunyi and asked him to hear his story, triggering a quest worth 50 experience points.
• Gao Yunyi accepted the quest and told the scholar to make his long story short.

Gao Yunyi learned that Fu Yihang needed two hundred taels to pass Master Gao’s first test for marrying Miss Gao, then reluctantly accepted a quest to help him. After giving Fu Yihang the silver, Gao Yunyi urged him to go complete the test.

• Fu Yihang told Gao Yunyi how Master Gao had set him three difficult tests before he could marry Miss Gao.
• Fu Yihang asked Gao Yunyi to lend him two hundred taels for the first test, and Gao Yunyi received a quest to help him pass it.
• Gao Yunyi accepted the quest and threw twenty silver ingots at Fu Yihang, leaving him delighted and stunned.
• Fu Yihang gathered the silver, thanked Gao Yunyi, and said his name was Fu Yihang.
• Gao Yunyi told Fu Yihang to hurry and turn in the quest.

Fu Yihang brought two hundred taels of silver to Master Gao as betrothal gifts, accompanied by Gao Yunyi. Master Gao’s attention shifted from Fu Yihang to Gao Yunyi, leaving Fu Yihang wondering whether he was still the one seeking to marry Miss Gao.

• Fu Yihang and Gao Yunyi arrived at Gao Family Village, where the gatekeeper initially refused Fu Yihang entry.
• Fu Yihang told the gatekeeper he had gathered the required bride price, and the gatekeeper eventually let both men into the residence.
• Master Gao recalled why he had set three tests for Fu Yihang and remained determined not to entrust his daughter to him.
• Fu Yihang revealed two hundred taels of silver, surprising Master Gao, who suspected Gao Yunyi was connected to the money.
• Master Gao warmly questioned Gao Yunyi about his family, age, and marital status while Fu Yihang stood bewildered.

Fu Yihang insisted on facing Master Gao’s second trial, a supposed mountain of blades and sea of fire, despite his terror. Gao Yunyi accepted a quest to help him and lent him game-made boots that could protect him, leaving Fu Yihang ready to attempt the trial.

• Fu Yihang reminded Master Gao of his promise to marry Xiuer, but Master Gao claimed the two hundred taels had only completed the first trial.
• Fu Yihang agreed to take the second trial, and Master Gao ordered servants to prepare a board of rusty nails and a path of burning charcoal.
• Gao Yunyi accepted a quest to help Fu Yihang pass the trial, whose reward was three hundred experience points and an unknown item.
• Fu Yihang gathered his courage and charged toward the nail-covered board, but Gao Yunyi stopped him and gave him the Azure Profound Boots.
• Fu Yihang put on the boots, then entrusted Xiuer’s future happiness to Gao Yunyi in case he died before setting off to face the trial.

Fu Yihang passed Master Gao’s sword mountain and sea of fire tests with Gao Yunyi’s boots protecting his feet, then left to make the pond freeze so he could marry Xiuer. Master Gao remained determined to keep his daughter from marrying him, while Gao Yunyi rejected Master Gao’s invitation and left.

• Fu Yihang crossed the iron-nail path safely in the boots Gao Yunyi had given him, shocking Master Gao and the onlookers.
• Master Gao ordered the servants to stoke the flames, and Fu Yihang charged through the sea of fire, suffering burns but surviving.
• Fu Yihang told Master Gao he had passed the tests and asked when he could marry Xiuer; Master Gao reminded him that one test remained.
• Confident that he could make the pond freeze, Fu Yihang ran out to seek help from the heavens and immortals.
• Master Gao invited Gao Yunyi inside for wine, but Gao Yunyi refused and left.

Fu Yihang prepared offerings and prayed for the pond to freeze so he could marry Miss Gao, while Gao Yunyi watched. After Fu Yihang collapsed from exhaustion, Gao Yunyi prepared to intervene with a chilling power.

• Gao Yunyi equipped the Concentric Heart Ring, his reward for completing the second trial.
• Gao Yunyi followed Fu Yihang as he treated his burns and gathered offerings for the third trial.
• Fu Yihang arranged the offerings by the pond without Gao Yunyi's help.
• Fu Yihang repeatedly prayed and kowtowed to the gods to freeze the pond so he could marry Miss Gao.
• Fu Yihang collapsed after praying into the night without an answer.
• Gao Yunyi said Fu Yihang would be better off begging him, and a chill emanated from his fingers.

Fu Yihang woke to find the pond frozen and took it as proof that Heaven approved of his love for Xiuer. Master Gao witnessed the miracle and, fearing Heaven’s displeasure, accepted Fu Yihang and invited him to discuss the marriage.

• Fu Yihang woke sick and cold, discovered the pond had frozen, and excitedly credited the miracle to his devotion to Xiuer.
• Fu Yihang rushed to Gao Family Village to show Elder Gao the ice before it melted, while Gao Yunyi watched him go.
• Fu Yihang returned with Master Gao and a crowd, and they stared in amazement at the frozen pond.
• Master Gao heard the crowd call the ice a miracle and reluctantly accepted that his daughter should marry Fu Yihang.
• Master Gao called Fu Yihang his worthy nephew and invited him home to discuss the marriage.

After the Gao family welcomed Fu Yihang as Miss Gao’s future husband, she saw Gao Yunyi and abruptly chose him instead. Gao Yunyi resolved to force her and Fu Yihang back together so he could complete his task.

• Master Gao and Gao Yunyi returned to Gao Family Village with Fu Yihang, whom the servants and guards now treated deferentially as the family’s future son-in-law.
• Miss Gao and Fu Yihang reunited eagerly, and Fu Yihang announced that her father had agreed to their marriage.
• Fu Yihang asked Miss Gao to marry him, but she noticed Gao Yunyi and became captivated by his appearance.
• Miss Gao said she wanted to marry Gao Yunyi, leaving Fu Yihang and the others stunned.
• Gao Yunyi realized Miss Gao cared about Fu Yihang’s looks rather than him and vowed to force the pair together to complete his task.

Miss Gao rejected Fu Yihang and declared she wanted to marry another young master, but a lightning strike and the crowd’s fury forced her to agree to marry Fu Yihang. Master Gao announced their wedding for the next day, leaving Fu Yihang unable to feel happy about the marriage he had wanted.

• Miss Gao insisted she would marry another young master, while Fu Yihang stared in shock as his hopes were shattered.
• A lightning bolt destroyed a rockery after Miss Gao defied Heaven, and the crowd blamed her and called for her death.
• Master Gao promised the crowd that his daughter would marry Fu Yihang and threatened to punish her himself if she refused.
• Frightened by the lightning and the crowd, Miss Gao agreed to marry Fu Yihang and begged her father to protect her.
• Master Gao announced the wedding for the next day and promised a three-day feast, tripled allowances, and waived land rent.
• Fu Yihang realized that although his wish to marry Miss Gao had come true, he could not feel happy.

On the eve of Fu Yihang’s wedding, Gao Yunyi expected the marriage to complete his task, while Fu Yihang confessed his doubts and announced he wanted to take the Prefectural Examination. The chapter ended with Fu Yihang asking Gao Yunyi to rig the exam for him and Gao Yunyi storming away.

• Gao Yunyi drank alone and thought that Fu Yihang’s wedding the next day would complete his task and let him escape.
• Fu Yihang joined Gao Yunyi, complained about the wedding preparations, and claimed he was happy to marry Xiuer despite sounding sorrowful.
• Fu Yihang offered to give up Xiuer to Gao Yunyi, but Gao Yunyi’s icy glare made him retract the offer.
• Fu Yihang said he wanted to take this year’s Prefectural Examination and see more of the world, and Gao Yunyi encouraged him.
• Fu Yihang asked Gao Yunyi to use his connections with the Prefect to help him pass, so Gao Yunyi told him to get lost and went inside.

At Fu Yihang and Miss Gao’s wedding, Gao Yunyi’s mission ended and he was revealed as an immortal, startling the guests before he vanished. In the sky, he considered whether to give Xiaobai a Spirit-Raising Pill that could help it become a first-rank Spirit Beast, but put it away to tease the eager bird.

• Fu Yihang and Miss Gao married in a grand ceremony, though both appeared reluctant despite their former devotion.
• Gao Yunyi’s mission completed, and turning it in caused him to level up and shine with golden light, revealing him as an immortal to the wedding guests.
• The guests knelt before Gao Yunyi, while Fu Yihang recognized that he had secretly helped him and begged to be taken along to cultivate immortality.
• Gao Yunyi vanished, and when Fu Yihang chased after him, a bolt of lightning struck the pavement and frightened him into silence.
• Flying on the Crane King, Gao Yunyi examined a Spirit-Raising Pill that could help Xiaobai advance from a Mortal Fowl to a first-rank Spirit Beast.
• Xiaobai cried eagerly for the pill, but Gao Yunyi put it in his inventory and told the bird its chance depended on how it behaved.

Gao Yunyi gave Xiaobai a Spirit-Raising Pill, and the Crane King endured a brutal transformation that ultimately made him the first spirit beast in the human world. As Xiaobai emerged reborn and more powerful, Gao Yunyi received a notification that his friend Zhang Huaimin had gone offline.

• Gao Yunyi took Xiaobai to an uninhabited mountain peak and gave him the Spirit-Raising Pill.
• Green flames engulfed the Crane King, and he endured agonizing pain as Gao Yunyi watched without helping.
• Believing Xiaobai had failed to break through, Gao Yunyi turned to leave and told him he was not worthy of following if he gave up.
• Xiaobai rallied his pride, and the green flames surged as his body regenerated with golden feathers, a three-colored tail, and a golden crest.
• Xiaobai completed his transformation as the first spirit beast in the human world, and Gao Yunyi saw a notification that Zhang Huaimin had gone offline.

Prince Ning's army besieged Heyang County, and County Magistrate Zhang and his outnumbered defenders fought to buy time for the people to escape. After Clerk Liu died defending the wall, Zhang rallied the survivors for what seemed likely to be their final stand.

• Zhang Huaimin urged the defenders to hold the wall until the people escaped through the south gate, while Constable Chen led the resistance.
• Clerk Liu arrived with a great bow, shot an enemy soldier, and was killed by an arrow to the throat.
• Zhang tried to use Clerk Liu's bow to avenge him but could not draw it, so he retreated behind a crenellation.
• Wounded Constable Chen warned Zhang that they could no longer hold the wall, with most of the defenders dead or injured.
• Zhang picked up a steel saber, praised the remaining defenders, and led them to charge the enemy.

Outside Heyang City, Prince Ning’s heir deliberately prolonged the siege to torment Zhang Huaimin while revealing that Prince Ning’s Residence planned to rebel before the rumored Immortal Elixir reached the Capital. He left the Thunderclap Battalion attacking the county as the first step in a campaign to seize Ji Province and advance on the Capital.

• Prince Ning’s heir refused General Chen’s request to storm Heyang County, claiming the inexperienced troops needed battlefield practice.
• Prince Ning’s heir overruled General Chen’s orders and recalled the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of Zhang Huaimin and Heyang’s soldiers.
• Prince Ning’s heir learned that his father had received his report about the immortal and the Immortal Elixir, which was being sent to the emperor.
• Prince Ning’s heir explained that Prince Ning’s Residence planned to rise before the emperor could take the Immortal Elixir and recover.
• Prince Ning’s heir described the plan to capture Heyang County, seize Ji Province, and advance on the Capital, while intending to make Zhang Huaimin watch his defenders die.

Prince Ning's Heir ordered the Thunderclap Battalion to storm Heyang County after General Chen warned that fleeing residents might expose their movements. County Magistrate Zhang was captured alive, but as townspeople rushed back to save him, the rebel cavalry thundered toward them.

• General Chen urged Prince Ning's Heir to launch a full assault before Heyang County's residents escaped, and Prince Ning's Heir ordered the army to attack.
• County Magistrate Zhang grieved over the dead defenders and, surrounded by rebel soldiers, tried to kill himself by biting his tongue.
• Hundreds of Heyang County residents returned armed with makeshift weapons and shouted that they had come to save County Magistrate Zhang.
• County Magistrate Zhang rejoiced at their return, then panicked when the approaching cavalry made the ground tremble.

Prince Ning's Heir let his soldiers plunder Heyang County and tortured Xiucai Liu's daughter as he indulged in unchecked power. He became enthralled with ruling like an emperor and wondered how he could avoid waiting for his father to take the throne.

• Prince Ning's Heir ordered Heyang County looted for three days, while soldiers robbed shops and abused residents who had stayed behind.
• Prince Ning's Heir plotted to seize control of the Thunderclap Battalion by threatening to have Chen Zhong stripped of his post.
• Prince Ning's Heir tortured Xiucai Liu's daughter and poured wine over her as she lay unresponsive at his feet.
• Prince Ning's Heir ordered his guards to take the woman away, and they eagerly carried her off.
• Prince Ning's Heir reveled in his freedom and wondered how he could become emperor sooner than his father.

Gao Yunyi returned to Heyang County after learning County Magistrate Zhang had died, found his skinned body hanging at the County Yamen, and carried it to the unfinished Immortal Shrine. Enraged, he began slaughtering the soldiers responsible, leaving the county town in terror.

• Two soldiers guarding the County Yamen spotted Gao Yunyi standing in the empty street.
• Gao Yunyi recognized County Magistrate Zhang's straw-stuffed skin and remembered the man's promise and his final message.
• When the two guards attacked, Gao Yunyi killed them with Sword Qi, took Zhang's body down, and laid it on the shrine's divine platform.
• After soldiers discovered the dead guards and raised the alarm, Gao Yunyi turned to face the approaching enemies with killing intent.
• Gao Yunyi unleashed crimson Sword Qi that incinerated six soldiers searching the shrine and stunned the soldiers outside.

Gao Yunyi emerged from the flames and slaughtered the soldiers outside the County Yamen before confronting Xiao Yunzheng, the heir of Prince Ning. Xiao Yunzheng tried to recruit the immortal to help him seize power, but Gao Yunyi attacked him, leaving his guards dead or wounded and Xiao Yunzheng terrified.

• Gao Yunyi used his maxed-out Blazing Sun Sword Qi to incinerate a group of soldiers and carve a trench through the paving.
• The surviving soldiers panicked, fled, or begged for mercy, but Gao Yunyi cut them down with Sword-Ray.
• Xiao Yunzheng emerged with his personal guards, recognized Gao Yunyi as an immortal, and decided he could use him to gain the throne.
• Xiao Yunzheng offered Gao Yunyi treasures, a fief, and honors in exchange for secret support, but Gao Yunyi answered with a blast of crimson Sword Qi.
• A loyal guard shoved Xiao Yunzheng aside, saving him from the attack, which killed or wounded many of his guards and left him so frightened that he wet himself.

After County Magistrate Zhang’s death, Gao Yunyi rejected a system quest and slaughtered the soldiers surrounding the County Yamen, consumed by grief and rage. Prince Ning's Heir went mad and ordered more cavalry sent against him, while Gao Yunyi stood untouched amid the devastation.

• Gao Yunyi rejected the system’s recruitment quest, choosing to keep killing rather than accept its reward.
• Gao Yunyi reflected on County Magistrate Zhang’s death and the loneliness it left him feeling in this world.
• A wounded guard urged Prince Ning's Heir to flee, but Prince Ning's Heir insisted the immortal belonged to him and ordered all the cavalry brought in.
• Soldiers fled and spread conflicting rumors as chaos engulfed the county town.
• Gao Yunyi killed wave after wave of soldiers outside the County Yamen, leaving the street covered in corpses and blood.