Chapter Summaries

Xia Fan served Fang Xiandao and the others shaved ice and explained how refined salt made its sweetness stand out. He offered the Fang family bottles of the rare salt as a luxury good, while learning that only extraordinary services or treasures could persuade them to give a Living Dead to an outsider.

• Xia Fan served shaved ice to Fang Xiandao, Qian Zhi, Li, and Shanhui, and they relished the unusual dessert.
• Fang Xiandao warned Qian Zhi to get his permission before going anywhere, but she hesitated when Xia Fan promised her more shaved ice.
• Xia Fan showed Fang Xiandao a bottle of refined salt and explained that a pinch enhanced the dessert's sweetness.
• Xia Fan offered the Fang family bottles of refined salt as a local specialty, while Fang Xiandao cautioned that his family was not especially wealthy.
• Fang Xiandao explained that the Fang family might give a Living Dead to an outsider only in exchange for extraordinary help or rare books and techniques.

Xia Fan explained to himself how Living Dead could power a seafood cold-chain system that would support Jinxia City's food supply and future military expansion. He gave Fang Xiandao spellcraft manuals, while Fang's uncertain divination hinted that an old friend might visit Xia Fan for a final chance to meet.

• Xia Fan concealed his plan to recruit more Living Dead and use their abilities to preserve and transport seafood across Jinxia City and beyond.
• Fang Xiandao collected the spellcraft books Xia Fan had prepared, then struggled to understand the technical material and asked to study it at home.
• Fang Xiandao said his divination suggested someone would visit Xia Fan, but admitted its result might be inaccurate.
• Fang Xiandao speculated that the visit could be Xia Fan's final chance to meet the visitor, then told him to disregard the prediction.

Luo Qingqing prepared to leave Jinxia City for Shangyuan to take revenge on the royal family, but she unexpectedly reunited with Xia Fan, who learned what had happened and refused to let her go alone. The chapter ended with Xia Fan offering Jinxia City’s support despite the danger of treason charges.

• Luo Qingqing said goodbye to Grandma Duo after the Wuming Village households settled into their new homes, then headed for the West City Gate.
• Xia Fan and Li recognized Luo Qingqing at the gate, and Xia Fan stopped her when she tried to leave without explaining herself.
• Luo Qingqing agreed to speak with Xia Fan and Li by the riverbank, where she recounted her experiences and the deaths of Luo Tang and Luo Changtian.
• Luo Qingqing told Xia Fan she planned to return to Shangyuan to confront the royal family and asked him to protect Luo You'er.
• Xia Fan acknowledged the charges Luo Qingqing's plan could bring and told her Jinxia City needed people like her.

Xia Fan brought Luo Qingqing to Princess Guangping’s residence and confirmed that Ning Wanjun intended to rebel against the Da Qi imperial family. He agreed to help her and recommended Luo Qingqing, leaving Ning Wanjun poised to hear more about the former Luo Family genius.

• Xia Fan persuaded Luo Qingqing to follow him to Princess Guangping’s residence.
• Ning Wanjun told Xia Fan that Jinxia City had attracted more than 2,400 new residents in the past month and that military recruitment and artillery preparations were progressing well.
• Xia Fan asked Ning Wanjun whether she intended to rebel, and she confirmed that she did.
• Ning Wanjun asked whether Xia Fan would help overthrow the Da Qi imperial family, and he agreed.
• Xia Fan recommended Luo Qingqing to Ning Wanjun.

Xia Fan brought Luo Qingqing before Princess Guangping Ning Wanjun, who agreed to help her challenge the corrupt powers in Shangyuan City. After learning that Luo Qingqing had gained mysterious abilities from The Gate and that Xia Fan might also be a Listener, Luo Qingqing reunited with her junior sister You'er.

• Luo Qingqing told Ning Wanjun how Ning Chunan and Luo Yufei had pursued her after two Luo Family disciples were killed, and said she wanted the powerful to answer for their corruption.
• Luo Qingqing revealed a strange Flowing Light sword and said she had gained power from The Gate.
• Ning Wanjun identified Luo Qingqing as a Listener and warned Xia Fan that he might also be one, though he denied hearing voices or seeing a gate.
• Ning Wanjun told Luo Qingqing she would not have to fight alone, and Luo Qingqing realized Xia Fan had planned to involve them from the start.
• Li brought You'er into the palace, and You'er ran into Luo Qingqing's arms as the two reunited.

Ning Qianshi arrived in Changye City to assess Suzhou’s defenses as Gao State surrounded the city, but he found the local commanders confident despite their losses. After a banquet with the Fei Clan, Fei Chuxiang escorted him to a side hall and left him with a gift and attendants.

• Ning Qianshi asked Li An, Zhou Shikai, and Fei Chuxiang to explain Suzhou’s military situation, and Zhou Shikai claimed the Suzhou Triangle could withstand Gao State’s forces.
• A soldier reported that Gao State had sent an envoy, and Li An welcomed the news as a sign that the enemy wanted to negotiate.
• Fei Chuxiang invited Ning Qianshi to a welcoming banquet at the Fei Clan residence.
• At the banquet, Zhou Shikai told Ning Qianshi that Gao State demanded permanent possession of Leizhou and asked whether the Emperor’s health had improved.
• Fei Chuxiang escorted Ning Qianshi to a side hall, where she said the Fei Clan had prepared a gift and arranged attendants for him.

Ning Qianshi met with a Bureau of Military Affairs sorcerer and a Gao State envoy in the Fei Clan’s heated room, where He'er used the Immortal Art, World Chess Game, to deduce the coming operation. The plan had an 87 percent chance of success, and Ning Qianshi decided to proceed while remaining wary of Fei Chuxiang.

• Ning Qianshi found He'er in the heated room with two unconscious maids, whom she had knocked out after they approached her.
• A Bureau of Military Affairs sorcerer and a Gao State envoy arrived secretly and delivered intelligence and plans for the coming operation.
• He'er used the Immortal Art, World Chess Game, to process the intelligence and deduce the possible course of the battle.
• He'er reported an 87 percent chance of success and identified Fei Chuxiang as the operation’s greatest point of divergence.
• Ning Qianshi ordered the sorcerer and envoy to proceed with the existing plan, then gathered the Fei Clan’s calligraphy and paintings to take with him.

Ning Qianshi and an Azure Blade of the Bureau of Military Affairs attacked Fei Chuxiang, accusing the Fei Clan of forbidden arts and demanding its secret Immortal Art. After Fei Qing was killed, the Azure Blade turned to Fei Chuxiang, while Ning Qianshi revealed that the Gao State army would soon enter Changye City.

• Fei Chuxiang awoke to sounds of battle and called for Fei Qing, who guarded her when a chain burst through the door.
• Ning Qianshi and an Azure Blade entered the shattered room, and Ning accused the Fei Clan of forbidden arts.
• Fei Chuxiang accused Ning of seeking the Fei Clan's Immortal Art to gain the throne, and Ning admitted the Gao State army would soon enter the city.
• Fei Chuxiang ordered Fei Qing to kill Ning, but the Azure Blade trapped Fei Qing in a web of chains and stopped her Immortal Art with stronger qi.
• The Azure Blade beheaded Fei Qing and used Lightning-struck Wood to disperse her black qi before turning on Fei Chuxiang.

Fei Chuxiang tried to escape death by transferring her soul into Ning Qianshi's body, but Ning Qianshi's painted duplicate deceived her and killed her. After the Bureau of Military Affairs seized the Fei Clan estate and uncovered its secret experiments, Ning Qianshi told the gathered disciples they were liberated.

• Fei Chuxiang crushed a ring and transferred her soul into the Second Prince's body as Azure Blade's chain struck her original body.
• Fei Chuxiang discovered that Ning Qianshi had created a duplicate body and was stabbed and killed by the real Ning Qianshi.
• Ning Qianshi and Azure Blade discussed Fei Chuxiang's failed counterattack and how Fei Nian's information had helped them plan for it.
• A Fangshi reported that the Bureau of Military Affairs had subdued the resisters and found Fei Clan disciples' remains in an underground chamber used for Evil Spirit experiments.
• Ning Qianshi looked over the gathered Fei Clan disciples and told them they were liberated.

Xia Fan and Luo Qingqing reunited in Jinxia City, and he examined her Listener Art after learning she was willing to stay. Their discussion led to the Luo Family Library Pavilion and its rumored hidden Tower within a Tower, whose entrance Luo Qingqing had never found.

• Luo Qingqing visited Xia Fan without Luo You'er, explaining that You'er had gone to work and would join her later.
• Xia Fan told Luo Qingqing he was glad she had stayed, and she awkwardly changed the subject to testing her Listener Art.
• Luo Qingqing summoned her nearly transparent blade, and she and Xia Fan discussed what to call it and whether books might explain Listener arts.
• Luo Qingqing described the Luo Family Library Pavilion's ten floors and its rumor of a hidden Tower within a Tower.
• Luo Qingqing said she had entered all ten floors but had not found the hidden tower's entrance before the Scholar Examination in Qingshan Town.

Xia Fan tested Luo Qingqing’s Flying Sword, learning its extraordinary cutting ability, limits, and the difficulty she had recording its Sorcery Art. Their experiments revealed that the sword heated nearby metal until Xia Fan’s wooden table caught fire.

• Luo Qingqing explained that she had explored the Luo Family’s collection but had never found the Tower within a Tower.
• Xia Fan tested the Flying Sword against wood, porcelain, stone, and iron, and Luo Qingqing described its sharpness and the cost of controlling several blades at a distance.
• Luo Qingqing said she could not write down the Sorcery Art, and Xia Fan accepted that its underlying concepts might be impossible to express with available knowledge.
• Xia Fan discovered that the sword let an iron block pass through it, then burned his fingertips while handling the heated metal.
• Xia Fan and Luo Qingqing repeated the test and watched the sword heat the iron block until the wooden table burst into flames.

Xia Fan explored the heat-generating power of Luo Qingqing’s Flying Swords and named her Sorcery Art Dragon Scale, while Ning Wanjun received news that Gao State had invaded Qi State’s western border. The chapter ended with the group concerned that the war was worsening and the imperial court was hiding it amid the emperor’s declining health.

• Xia Fan tested Luo Qingqing’s Flying Sword and found that it could transfer enough heat to melt iron, though Luo Qingqing could not control the effect directly.
• Xia Fan suggested that Luo Qingqing visit Mo Yun’s Mechanical Bureau lectures and named her Sorcery Art Dragon Scale.
• Luo Qingqing accepted the name Dragon Scale and quietly resolved to use it against the royal family that claimed to embody the True Dragon.
• Ning Wanjun told Xia Fan that Gao State had invaded Qi State’s western border and that Leizhou had fallen into chaos.
• Staff Officer He reported that refugees had reached Shenzhou, while Ning Wanjun said the imperial court had concealed the war and the emperor’s health was extremely poor.

Ning Wanjun learned that the Shenzhou Army had marched west to reinforce Leizhou, where her friend and former teacher served, and her advisers concluded that the border forces were in grave danger. Xia Fan proposed expanding Jinxia’s influence through the Bureau of Military Affairs and its work against Evil Spirits, leaving the group poised to exploit the army’s absence without relying on military occupation.

• A guard reported that the Shenzhou Army had left its encampment and marched west, prompting Ning Wanjun to worry about her friend serving in Leizhou.
• He Guicai judged that the Leizhou border army had suffered severe setbacks, and Ning Wanjun ruled out sending troops or supplies to support it.
• Xu Sanchong proposed seizing nearby territories during the Shenzhou Army’s absence, but Xia Fan objected that occupation and blockades would alienate local residents.
• Xia Fan suggested expanding Jinxia’s influence by establishing Bureau of Military Affairs branches and using Evil Spirit prevention, aid, and investigations to gain authority.
• He Guicai supported Xia Fan’s plan, which included using the bureau to investigate officials who had violated the Da Qi Code.

Xia Fan proposed recruiting literate people through a crash course to staff the Affairs Bureau across Shenzhou, and laid out safeguards against unreliable officials. He then demonstrated a radio communication device that could keep distant regions in rapid contact with Jinxia City.

• Xia Fan proposed a crash course for recruiting literate people as temporary officials, with assessments determining who became permanent.
• Ning Wanjun supported breaking the old rules, while He Guicai warned that officials posted far from Jinxia City would be difficult to supervise.
• Xia Fan said Imperial Examination candidates would receive an evaluation one grade lower, then proposed rapid communication as another safeguard.
• Xia Fan demonstrated an artifact that made electric current fluctuate and explained how he had developed radio communication using the Flowing Light Spell.

Xia Fan created the Xunyin Technique and built a magical instrument that transmitted voices wirelessly over several li. After Li tested it from the Bureau of Military Affairs, Ning Wanjun recognized its military potential and asked Xia Fan to draft rules for his proposal.

• Xia Fan developed the Xunyin Technique by making the Flowing Light Spell emit high-frequency electromagnetic waves.
• With Mo Yun's help, Xia Fan carved a Xunyin magical artifact and built a crude receiver from pyrite and other materials.
• Ning Wanjun watched as Li spoke to Xia Fan through the receiver from the Bureau of Military Affairs in Jinxia City.
• Xia Fan explained that the instrument could transmit messages for several dozen li and that receiving voices required no Qi Sense User.
• Ning Wanjun recognized the instrument's value for military communication and asked Xia Fan to draft rules for his proposal.

Luo Qingqing reconnected with Luo You'er and the children of Wuming Village after returning to Jinxia City. She learned that the children hoped to become Fangshi and could attend Jinxia Academy without paying tuition, leaving her surprised by the opportunities available to them.

• Luo You'er met Luo Qingqing after her lesson at the New Mechanical Bureau, where Luo Qingqing had listened to Mo Yun teach among the Elves.
• Luo You'er told Luo Qingqing that she had found her own strengths and would support her, and Luo Qingqing thanked her.
• Luo You'er teased Luo Qingqing about Xia Fan before leading her to visit the villagers' residence.
• Aduo and the other children welcomed Luo Qingqing, and Erhu said they planned to become Fangshi.
• The children told Luo Qingqing that Jinxia Academy would provide books and supplies, charge no tuition, and offer silver rewards for good grades.

Luo Qingqing saw how the Affairs Bureau’s investments and policies were helping children and displaced villagers thrive, and she decided to keep watching the new order develop. In Ling Province, Fang Jiuzhang learned that the towns could no longer supply the Fang family with as much goat’s milk and received a letter from Fang Xiandao.

• Luo You'er explained that the Affairs Bureau would fund the children’s education and recruit former hunters and herb gatherers as Plant Identifiers to collect plants from the Elves’ Tree Boat.
• Luo Qingqing reunited with villagers who said they were safe and settling into city life, then accepted their invitation to share dinner.
• Fang Jiuzhang learned that the townspeople had brought only half the usual goat’s milk and might not deliver more until after the New Year, so he told Fang Yanni to check their reserves.
• Fang Yanni told Fang Jiuzhang that a letter had arrived from Fang Xiandao.

Fang Yanni read Fang Xiandao’s letter to Fang Jiuzhang, which praised Xia Fan’s arithmetic books and proposed trading Living Dead for more. The pair rejected the proposal for now and prepared the Sea Salt Shaved Ice Fang Xiandao had sent as a gift.

• Fang Yanni read Fang Xiandao’s complaints about Qian Zhi and his praise of his experiences in Jinxia City.
• Fang Xiandao explained that Xia Fan had given him Level One arithmetic books with potential benefits for the Fang family’s divination arts.
• Fang Xiandao proposed trading a mature-Mental-Nature Living Dead for access to Xia Fan’s later books, but Fang Jiuzhang refused because Living Dead could be abused through Command Talismans.
• Fang Jiuzhang agreed to let Yu Niang see the copied pages before any decision, then asked about the gift Fang Xiandao had sent.
• Fang Yanni found the ingredients and illustrated instructions for Sea Salt Honey Matcha Shaved Ice in the ornate box and prepared two bowls.

Fang Jiuzhang told Fang Yanni how the Outer Mountain Fang Family had abused Living Dead, explaining why the Art-Fang Family had refused to lend them out. After reading Fang Xiandao’s letter, Fang Yu agreed to send Qian Yan to Jinxia City and told Yanni to go with them.

• Fang Jiuzhang and Fang Yanni tasted Fang Xiandao’s shaved-ice gift, and Jiuzhang praised its honey, refined salt, and green tea powder.
• Fang Jiuzhang told Yanni that the Outer Mountain Fang Family had repeatedly tortured Living Dead by removing their Command Talismans, and that the previous family head had brought the survivors back to Shuquan Prefecture.
• Fang Yanni wondered whether the abuse explained the late arrival of goat’s milk, but Fang Jiuzhang said the families had many other conflicts.
• Fang Yu returned to the treehouse, caught Fang Jiuzhang hiding his extra shaved ice, and read Fang Xiandao’s letter.
• Fang Yu agreed to send Qian Yan to Jinxia City and ordered Fang Yanni to accompany them as an Art-Fang practitioner.

Fang Yu explained that ominous divinations suggested the imperial court might soon reclaim the clans’ authority to recruit Qi Sense Users, threatening the Fang family’s existence. She prepared to send Qian Yan and Fang Yanni to Jinxia City to investigate and adapt, while encouraging Yanni to pursue Fang Xiandao.

• Fang Jiuzhang questioned Fang Yu’s decision to send Qian Yan, and Fang Yu revealed that the Divination Plate showed unusually ominous readings across all six great clans.
• Fang Yu explained that the Fang family’s division into inner and outer branches had been designed to protect its descendants when the imperial court reclaimed authority over Qi Sense Users.
• Fang Yu said she had contacted other clans and the Capital Region, and that Qian Yan would investigate the Bureau of Military Affairs Prefectural Assistant’s interest in the Living Dead.
• Fang Yu warned that the Fang family might disappear if the imperial court reclaimed its authority, but said the family could survive without its name by preparing ahead.
• Fang Yu told Fang Yanni to take Qian Yan to Jinxia City and encouraged her to choose the other clan head herself, teasing her about her feelings for Fang Xiandao.