Chapter Summaries

Xia Fan demonstrated air pressure to the Academy’s students, then revealed a powered Biplane model that flew before the astonished crowd. The chapter ended with the plane aloft, its brief flight leaving the audience speechless.

• Xia Fan demonstrated that air pressure pushed water into an inverted glass cup after candles inside it went out.
• Qian Yan correctly explained the water’s movement, then questioned Xia Fan about air pressure and whether air was a physical substance.
• Xia Fan said air could freeze at sufficiently low temperatures and described deriving principles from everyday observations.
• Xia Fan introduced a Biplane model, explaining that air could lift heavy objects when used properly.
• Xia Fan switched on the plane’s capacitor-powered motor, and the Biplane accelerated down the runway and rose into the air before more than two hundred onlookers.

Qian Yan and the onlookers were impressed when Xia Fan demonstrated the Double-Winged Wooden Kite, while the Academy’s classes drew growing attention. Zhou Sheng’s campaign against Liu Ruyan faltered as Xia Fan’s support and Ning Wanjun’s appearance as a teacher left his allies unwilling to continue.

• Qian Yan watched Xia Fan’s wooden kite rise and began considering whether other claims about air could be tested.
• Mo Yun recognized the kite’s potential, and Ning Wanjun encouraged her to keep developing the Mechanical Beasts.
• Zhou Sheng received a letter praising Gewu studies and felt his plans were going unanswered.
• Xue Zhigeng taught a class on common knowledge of sorcery arts at the Academy.
• Ning Wanjun appeared as a teacher for a course called Physical Education, prompting Zhou Sheng’s allies to leave and his plan to collapse.

Xia Fan oversaw the first day of the Affairs Bureau Academy and discussed its costs and future with Ning Wanjun, who left after teasing him about romance. Fang Xiandao then introduced Qian Yan, a Living Dead sent by the Fang family to inspect Xia Fan and judge whether he would earn the old madam’s approval.

• Ning Wanjun praised Xia Fan’s plan to feed the students, and he explained that education could eventually make them producers and that the Wang family’s sponsorship funded the Academy’s start.
• Ning Wanjun teased Xia Fan about his romantic interests, then abruptly left the Academy’s remaining work to him.
• Xia Fan finished arranging dinner and answering relatives’ questions as the Academy’s opening day drew a large crowd and sparked excitement across Jinxia City.
• Fang Xiandao accused Xia Fan of deceiving him by using the books as elementary lessons, and Xia Fan argued that they were prerequisites for the Electromagnetic Zhen Technique.
• Fang Xiandao introduced Qian Yan as a Living Dead sent by the Fang family to inspect Xia Fan and warned that her judgment would likely determine whether he earned the old madam’s approval.

Xia Fan explained that he wanted Living Dead to produce ice for a Bureau project, while Qian Yan questioned his motives and learned he was a Listener. She realized he was a Wild Listener who had concealed his identity from the Bureau of Military Affairs, leaving her to see him as separate from the Bureau.

• Qian Yan met Xia Fan at the Command Department Hall and praised his disciplined cultivation.
• Xia Fan asked about Yong State’s unresolved crisis, but Qian Yan refused to share details and asked why he wanted Living Dead.
• Xia Fan said he needed Living Dead to make large quantities of ice and promised them wages and benefits.
• Qian Yan probed whether Xia Fan sought Living Dead for Immortal Arts, but he said he had never heard of them.
• Xia Fan said the knowledge he taught at the Academy had been imprinted in his mind, prompting Qian Yan to identify him as a Listener.
• Xia Fan warned Qian Yan not to reveal his identity to the Bureau of Military Affairs, and she realized he was a Wild Listener who had kept it hidden from the Bureau.

Qian Yan explained to Xia Fan why the Bureau of Military Affairs hunted Listeners and revealed the legend that Immortal Art came from the Heavenly Dao, whose power could decide the fate of nations and races. Afterward, she sent a letter to the Fang family and warned Fang Xiandao that a calamity might soon arrive in Ling Province.

• Qian Yan asked Xia Fan whether he would protect the Living Dead from the Bureau of Military Affairs, and Xia Fan said he would leave any crimes to the Jinxia Affairs Bureau to judge.
• Qian Yan told Xia Fan that the Bureau concealed information about Listeners so it could capture them, and that Listener Immortal Art could be transferred through Chaos at the cost of the previous owner's life.
• Qian Yan explained that legends linked Immortal Art to the Heavenly Dao and warned that whoever mastered it could command all arts and destroy opposing kingdoms or races.
• After returning to their lodgings, Qian Yan told Fang Xiandao that knowledge of Listeners was restricted and asked Fang Yanni to prepare materials for a letter to the Fang family.
• Qian Yan reassured Fang Xiandao that Fang Yu was alive, then warned him that although nothing had yet happened in Ling Province, a calamity was already close.

Second Prince Ning Qianshi confronted the Luo Family over the Immortal Art, which he sought to place under the Bureau of Military Affairs. After Luo Heng died without revealing its location, Ning Qianshi ordered the Library Pavilion searched and the surviving captives sent away.

• Ning Qianshi entered the Library Pavilion with Luo Wuji and bound Luo Family leaders, demanding they hand over the Immortal Art.
• Luo Heng argued that the Luo Family had upheld its duties, while Ning Qianshi said the great clans had to be broken and Luo Wuji confirmed that Luo Family members put the clan first.
• Luo Heng said the Immortal Art was somewhere openly in the library, but that he did not know where it was or who could find it.
• Ning Qianshi had a captive thrown down the Skywell to pressure Luo Heng, who then jumped into the underground library and died.
• Ning Qianshi ordered the remaining captives sent to Xu State and commanded his men to search the pavilion carefully without damaging its books.

Yan Qing and Du Yelong led Bureau of Military Affairs Sorcery Artists into the Outer Mountain Fang Family’s territory, using He’er’s divination to plan a nighttime raid. They found the family had already dispersed, leaving a note that surrendered its property and asked not to be pursued.

• Yan Qing and Du Yelong discussed whether the mission against the Fang family could be resolved through persuasion, while Yan Qing explained why He’er was essential to the operation.
• He’er used the Immortal Art, World Chess Game, on the Fang family’s records and predicted a ninety-nine percent chance of success.
• Guided by He’er’s instructions, Yan Qing and the Sorcery Artists avoided traps and guards, then flew to the Fang family’s treehouses under Fox Bat’s Sorcery Art.
• Yan Qing and Du Yelong entered the family head’s empty residence and found no guards or Sorcery Artists inside.
• Yan Qing read a note from Fang Jiuzhang and Fang Yu saying the family had divided its property, scattered, and did not want to be found.

Yancheng prospered under the Affairs Bureau, and Xia Fan moved into a new home with Li. As they explored its comforts, Li saw through Xia Fan’s excuse to touch her ears but agreed to let him clean them.

• Yancheng’s markets flourished, salt became affordable, and the Affairs Bureau gained the residents’ gratitude.
• At Ning Wanjun’s urging, Xia Fan built a new residence in the southern district and moved in with Li, while Shanhui settled across the street.
• Xia Fan showed Li the home’s underfloor heating and soft furnishings.
• Xia Fan offered to clean Li’s ears, and she recognized his curiosity about Yao and agreed to let him proceed.

Xia Fan examined and cleaned Li’s fox ears, and Li used the Echo Technique to turn the favor into a sensory training exercise for him. Later, Li confided in Shanhui about her feelings toward being Yao and resolved to find a way to address the distance between Yao and humans.

• Xia Fan examined Li’s ears and carefully cleaned them while she allowed him to touch the vulnerable parts of her body.
• Li used the Echo Technique to amplify Xia Fan’s sensations while cleaning his ears, telling him to steady his Mental Nature against the pleasant sensations.
• Li went to the roof late at night and let the Cat Spirit approach, naming it Feihua.
• Shanhui joined Li on the roof, and Li warned him not to tell anyone that she had been lost in thought.
• Li told Shanhui that she sometimes wondered whether being an ordinary person would spare her the troubles of being Yao.
• Li accepted that her Innate Nature and identity could not be changed, and decided she would keep thinking until she found another solution.

Xia Fan proposed using the remaining steel to develop air rifles, a weapon that used compressed air instead of gunpowder. Mo Yun embraced the idea, and they prepared to test its feasibility.

• Xia Fan arrived at the Mechanical Bureau tired after experiencing the intense effects of the Kan Technique while cleaning his ears.
• Xia Fan explained that Jinxia needed to strengthen the princess's army and that its limited steel had to be used carefully.
• Xia Fan proposed air rifles because Jinxia lacked the resources to mass-produce the chemical materials needed for gunpowder firearms.
• Xia Fan described how stamped steel air tanks, one-way valves, and Heavenly Motion Instrument-powered pumps could make air rifles practical for soldiers.
• Mo Yun recognized the potential of using compressed air as a weapon and urged Xia Fan to test the design.

Xia Fan demonstrated a prototype air-powered rapid-fire weapon to military, court, and Elf observers on the beach. Its sustained fire showed Sainiya and Pang Ting that Jinxia City had the means to fulfill its agreement and contend with The Empire.

• Ning Wanjun questioned Xia Fan about inviting Hong Siqi, and Xia Fan explained that seeing Jinxia City's strength would discourage him from plotting and that the weapon would be difficult to copy.
• Sainiya greeted Ning Wanjun and asked what the test would demonstrate, while Pang Ting worried that it might be a threat to the Tree Boat.
• Aili explained that she had helped develop the weapon with Lord Mo and that the prototype used air rather than gunpowder.
• Xia Fan fired the prototype, and its shots rapidly multiplied into sustained fire that struck the target area.
• Xia Fan replaced the canister and began firing again, leaving Pang Ting convinced that the weapon could help Jinxia City stand against The Empire.

He Guicai saw the Air Rifle’s potential to transform warfare after Mo Yun explained that it could be produced several times a day. Xia Fan then tested the weapon against Luo Qingqing’s Dragon Scales and concluded that stronger, faster electromagnetic weapons would be needed to threaten high-ranking Qi Masters.

• He Guicai asked Mo Yun about mass-producing the Air Rifle, and she said a dedicated production line could make several guns a day until the steel ran out.
• Ning Wanjun asked Mo Yun about her personal Mechanical Beast, which was nearly finished and awaiting distinctive modifications from Xia Fan.
• Xia Fan asked Luo Qingqing how effective the Air Rifle would be against high-ranking Qi Masters, and she offered to demonstrate her defenses.
• Xia Fan fired at a target while Luo Qingqing stood nearby, and her Dragon Scales intercepted every bullet.
• Luo Qingqing explained that battle-tested Qi Masters could sense changes in qi and defend themselves, leading Xia Fan to conclude that electromagnetic weapons needed larger calibers and faster fire.

Xia Fan met the displaced Fang family in a refugee camp and learned they had dissolved to escape the Bureau of Military Affairs’ campaign against the great clans. He welcomed them to Jinxia City and considered hiring their members, including more than twenty Living Dead, as the family urgently needed work to survive.

• Xia Fan learned that the Fang family and its Living Dead branch, numbering more than a hundred and fifty people, had arrived at the refugee camp outside Jinxia City.
• Qian Zhi reunited with the Fang family’s Living Dead, while Xia Fan met the elders Fang Jiuzhang and Fang Yu.
• Fang Yu told Xia Fan that the Bureau of Military Affairs was targeting the great clans, so the Fang family had dissolved and fled to Jinxia City.
• Xia Fan declined to report the Fang family’s situation to the Capital Bureau of Military Affairs and welcomed them to Jinxia City.
• Fang Yu explained that the group included twenty-four Living Dead, and Fang Jiuzhang eagerly asked Xia Fan to give everyone work because they had nearly run out of food and money.

The Fang family settled into Jinxia, where Fang Yu and the others considered whether they could trust Xia Fan and learned he planned to employ the Living Dead in a Logistics Department. At Fengyang Mountain Villa, Ning Wanjun questioned a former border soldier who claimed Ba Xingtian had been betrayed.

• Fang Yu moved the Fang family into new housing and privately discussed Xia Fan’s unusual outlook with Qian Yan, Fang Xiandao, and Fang Jiuzhang.
• Qian Yan explained that Xia Fan seemed to favor stability, self-reliance, and prosperity, and revealed that he wanted the Living Dead to preserve seafood during transport as logistics captains.
• Ning Wanjun received a report from Xu Sanchong over the Wireless Telephone about a suspicious man asking for her at the refugee camp.
• Zhang Shi was brought before Ning Wanjun and pleaded with her to avenge Ba Xingtian, claiming a traitor in the army had framed him.

Ning Wanjun learned that Zuo An may have betrayed Ba Xingtian and helped Gao State trap the border army, then received news that the Son of Heaven had abdicated in favor of the Crown Prince. In the capital, Ning Weiyuan met Miss Olina in a secluded hall and told her that no one worshipped the Buddha statue.

• Zhang Shi told Ning Wanjun that Zuo An's forces had failed to aid Ba Xingtian and that the battle may have been a trap set with Gao State.
• Ning Wanjun ordered Zhang Shi taken for medical care and warned Xu Sanchong not to spread the unconfirmed report that Ba Xingtian was missing.
• A guard delivered an urgent secret letter from the Capital Region announcing the Son of Heaven's abdication and the Crown Prince's impending enthronement.
• Ning Weiyuan entered a secluded hall and told Miss Olina that no one worshipped the Buddha statue.

Ning Weiyuan secured Olina’s help with a spell to prepare his father for the Enthronement Ceremony, while rejecting her invitation to worship Hera. Fei Nian learned that Olina was considered difficult to handle and read a letter from Ning Qianshi about Luo Qingqing and Xia Fan.

• Ning Weiyuan refused Olina’s invitation to become a believer of Hera but reaffirmed their agreement and questioned her spell’s safety.
• Olina assured Ning Weiyuan that her spell would only subtly influence his father and gave him an amulet containing Hera’s power.
• Fei Nian spotted Olina entering Honglu Temple and asked a subordinate to investigate her carriage.
• Qian warned Fei Nian that Olina was difficult to handle and advised him to consult him before making a move, preferably after the Second Prince returned.
• Fei Nian read Ning Qianshi’s request to keep searching for Luo Qingqing and offer her a suitable position in the reformed Bureau of Military Affairs.
• Fei Nian learned that Xia Fan had risen to fourth on He’er’s list despite not appearing in his recent reports.

Fei Nian investigated why Xia Fan had risen in He'er's Fangshi rankings and was told to invite him to Shangyuan City for a ceremony. In Jinxia City, Xia Fan's plans advanced as new civil-service applicants arrived and the Elves' Root-Nodule Grass produced its first shoot.

• Fei Nian told Lord Qian that Xia Fan's ranking had changed despite receiving no relevant intelligence, and Qian suggested checking the Record Department's reconstructed documents.
• Fei Nian decided to investigate the records and learned that Xia Fan was to be invited to Shangyuan City to join the ceremony.
• Ning Wanjun and her associates remained uncertain about the Emperor's abdication and the Crown Prince's hurried enthronement, so they chose to wait and respond as events unfolded.
• The Affairs Bureau sent its first trained civil servants to Anshen and Baisha and opened applications for its second batch, which included many women seeking paid work.
• Xia Fan welcomed the influx of women applicants, and the Elves' Root-Nodule Grass produced the first new shoot in Green Field No. 1.

As Jinxia City’s coastal winter-wheat project began to succeed, envoy Xin Wu invited Xia Fan to attend an internal Bureau of Military Affairs ceremony in Shangyuan City. Princess Ning Wanjun tried to stop him, but Xin Wu revealed that the invitation could lead to Xia Fan becoming a core member with access to vast resources and secret records.

• Sainiya, Aili, the Elves, and Jinxia’s cultivators worked together to establish Root-Nodule Grass along the coast, enabling winter wheat to grow in sandy soil.
• Xin Wu arrived in Jinxia City and invited Xia Fan to attend a Bureau of Military Affairs ceremony in the Capital Region.
• Ning Wanjun rushed into the Command Department Hall and objected to Xia Fan going to Shangyuan City.
• Xin Wu clarified that the ceremony was an internal Bureau of Military Affairs event, separate from the Crown Prince’s enthronement, and said the last invited Fangshi had later become a Feathered Garment.
• Xia Fan learned that core membership offered access to resources, high-ranking Fangshi, and secret records, which might help him find information about Azure Blade.

Xia Fan and Ning Wanjun discussed the Bureau of Military Affairs’ possible schemes and agreed that he should investigate the situation in the Capital Region. He prepared to travel with a group while keeping Jinxia City informed.

• Ning Wanjun questioned Xia Fan about accepting the Bureau of Military Affairs’ invitation, and he said he had not agreed to take a post in the Capital Region.
• Xia Fan warned that the timing of the Six Great Clans’ troubles and Gao State’s invasion could be part of a larger scheme involving the Bureau of Military Affairs.
• Ning Wanjun considered the danger to Jinxia City and agreed that investigating the Capital Region could reveal the intentions of the Bureau and the imperial court.
• Xia Fan planned to bring Li and other companions, while Ning Wanjun offered a squad of one hundred men to scout escape routes outside the Capital Region.
• Ning Wanjun required Xia Fan to report back regularly, and he proposed using the Sound Transmission Device to contact her from the Capital Region.

Xia Fan gathered companions for a risky journey to investigate the Bureau of Military Affairs and traveled with Xin Wu to Shangyuan City. Xin Wu urged Xia Fan to join the Bureau’s core, and the group entered the capital through a guarded side gate.

• Xia Fan invited Li, Luo Qingqing, Fang Xiandao, and the others to join the journey, and Qian Yan and Qian Zhi persuaded Fang Xiandao to go.
• Five days later, Xia Fan and his companions set off by carriage toward Shangyuan City with Xin Wu.
• Xin Wu told Xia Fan that Second Prince Ning Qianshi had changed his outlook and urged him to become a core member of the Bureau of Military Affairs.
• The convoy reached the outskirts of Shangyuan City, where Xin Wu described its size and warned Xia Fan about strict inspections and the Crown Prince situation.
• Xin Wu identified himself to the guards and led the convoy into the city through a smaller gate.