Chapter Summaries

Xia Fan settled into Wanjing Building, learned about the Lantern Festival banquet where he would meet Lord Qian, and prepared for the gathering with his companions. As the group inspected their rooms and discussed the festival, Li introduced a Cat Spirit she had brought along, which Xia Fan renamed Gungun.

• Xin Wu arranged for Xia Fan to stay at Wanjing Building and invited him to the palace Lantern Festival banquet, where he would meet Lord Qian.
• Qian Yan, Luo Qingqing, and Li inspected the rooms and found no hidden passages, surveillance, or other unusual traces; Qian Zhi announced that she was hungry.
• Xia Fan told his companions about Xin Wu's invitation, and Luo Qingqing explained the Lantern Festival's origins and its importance as a gathering for influential people.
• Luo Qingqing revealed that she had attended a Lantern Banquet with her master after advancing, and Fang Yanni asked whether the feast would have good food.
• Li showed Xia Fan the Cat Spirit she had brought from Jinxia City and named Feihua; Xia Fan renamed it Gungun, and the cat reluctantly bowed to him.
• Xia Fan opened a bundle of luggage in the attic and found sections of antenna poles inside.

Xia Fan established a long-distance radio link with Ning Wanjun, who asked him to pay respects at her mother’s grave in Shangyuan City. He brought Li and Qian Yan to the burial ground, where a caretaker led them to an inconspicuous pavilion.

• Xia Fan assembled an antenna and Sound Transmission Device, then successfully contacted Ning Wanjun from Wanjing Building.
• Xia Fan told Ning Wanjun about his arrival in Shangyuan City and the Bureau of Military Affairs’ planned meeting at the Lantern Banquet.
• Ning Wanjun warned Xia Fan not to leave with anyone after the banquet and asked him to light incense for her mother.
• Xia Fan agreed to visit Ning Wanjun’s mother’s grave, and Li revealed that she had overheard their private conversation.
• Xia Fan, Li, and Qian Yan rode to the western outskirts and entered the mausoleum grounds with the Bureau of Military Affairs’ token.
• A caretaker guided Xia Fan and his companions to the stone pavilion where Ning Wanjun’s mother was buried.

Xia Fan and Li visited Qiu Xingyun’s grave, where they discovered that someone had recently tended it, then accompanied Qian Yan to a battlefield cemetery. Qian Yan revealed that the Qian Zhi listed among the dead was not the same person as the living Qian Zhi, and left after asking Xia Fan to keep the truth from her.

• Xia Fan and Li found fresh incense at Qiu Xingyun’s grave and noticed that the gravestone was better maintained than the surrounding pavilion.
• Qian Yan led Xia Fan and Li to a cemetery for Fang family disciples and Living Dead killed in past battles over Shangyuan.
• Xia Fan and Li found Qian Zhi’s name on a gravestone, and Qian Yan explained that the living Qian Zhi had lost her former memories and Mental Nature after revival.
• Qian Yan told Xia Fan that she kept her distance from Qian Zhi because she felt the revived woman was a stranger, and Xia Fan suggested treating her as someone newly born.
• Qian Yan called Xia Fan an outlier whom no one might truly understand and asked him to hide the truth from Qian Zhi.

On Lantern Festival, Xia Fan attended the palace Lantern Banquet alone after his companions warned that divination in Shangyuan City was being disrupted. He met several officials at his assigned seat, including the unexpected Lord Qian, but the banquet had not yet begun.

• The group discussed the festival crowds, their plans for the banquet, and Fang Xiandao's failed attempt to divine Shangyuan City's future.
• Xia Fan decided to attend the Lantern Banquet alone while his companions stayed at Wanjing Building, and Xin Wu escorted him to the palace.
• Guards checked Xia Fan's authorization and confiscated his weapons and materials before allowing him into the palace square.
• Fei Nian greeted Xia Fan at his reserved seat and introduced Bai Zhan, Yu Linglong, Wei Huang, and the Feathered Garment Envoy Lord Qian.

Xia Fan attended a welcome banquet for the Capital Bureau of Military Affairs, where he met its senior members and learned that he had been specially invited to participate in a mysterious grand ceremony. The banquet ended with Crown Prince Ning Weiyuan appearing before the gathered guests.

• Qian welcomed Xia Fan warmly and encouraged him to keep the nickname Nine Heavens Thunder Envoy.
• Bai Zhan cautioned that Xia Fan's position depended on the returning Tianshu Envoy, while Qian predicted Xia Fan would become a capable officer.
• Fei Nian explained that the Bureau had invited many kinds of guests and that Xia Fan was a special participant in the grand ceremony, whose details remained secret.
• Qian questioned whether Xia Fan revered worldly power, and Xia Fan chose not to answer.
• Ning Weiyuan arrived in a golden dragon robe and addressed the assembled crowds.

At the Lantern Festival, Xia Fan learned of Gao State's advance into Da Qi and endured the lively banter at the banquet. As lanterns filled the sky, he spotted a shadow rushing toward Crown Prince Ning Weiyuan, and it leaped at him.

• Qian told Xia Fan that Gao State had invaded Suzhou and that Da Qi's border news was being suppressed.
• Yu Linglong teased Xia Fan about Shangyuan's pleasure houses and revealed that she was a man, while Fei Nian explained that she was like Xia Fan.
• The Crown Prince finished his speech and wished Da Qi peace as lanterns rose across Shangyuan City.
• Xia Fan noticed a shadow crawling along the palace wall toward Ning Weiyuan.
• Yu Linglong cried out, but the shadow leaped onto the wall and pounced at the Crown Prince.

An assassin from the Bureau of Military Affairs attacked Ning Weiyuan during the Lantern Festival, and the palace sealed in the banquet guests while investigating. Xia Fan was cleared to leave under a false identity, reunited with his companions at Wanjing Building, and prepared to tell them what had happened.

• A black-clad assassin killed four of Ning Weiyuan’s guards, but a rainbow glow from the Crown Prince’s chest repelled him before palace guards shot him down.
• Qian, Yu Linglong, Bai Zhan, and Yun Shang Jushi recognized the assassin as Zhang, a newly promoted Myriad-Edge from the Bureau of Military Affairs, and feared the attack would be blamed on their bureau.
• Qian and Fei Nian urged Xia Fan to escape using his forged identity as a Xu State merchant, and Xia Fan slipped away as guards closed in on the group.
• After being held overnight, Xia Fan gave a fingerprint and was cleared to leave, though officials told him Shangyuan City remained sealed and he must stay at his registered residence.
• Xin Wu met Xia Fan in a carriage and took him to Wanjing Building, where Li rushed into his arms and his companions welcomed him back.

After learning that the Crown Prince had survived an assassination attempt, Xia Fan and his companions discussed the city lockdown and the mysterious Bureau of Military Affairs ceremony. Xin Wu then asked Xia Fan to lead an investigation into the assassination, offering the support of thirty-two Fangshi.

• Gungun reported that the palace square showed no sign of bloodshed beyond the attack on the Crown Prince, so the group waited for news until morning.
• Xin Wu reported that the Crown Prince was safe, and the group discussed the assassination, the lockdown, and Xia Fan's meeting with Feathered Garment.
• Xia Fan asked Qian Yan about the Tianshu Envoy, but she said she had never heard of that office.
• Li reminded Xia Fan to report to the Princess, and Xia Fan discovered that Xin Wu was still waiting at the inn.
• Xin Wu knelt before Xia Fan and asked him to uncover the truth behind the assassination, saying thirty-two Fangshi would follow his command.

Xia Fan agreed to help Xin Wu protect the Bureau of Military Affairs from overseas interference after realizing its nearly empty headquarters offered a chance to investigate the hidden enemy. He planned to use that opportunity to enter the Record Department and search for information about Li’s master, leaving his companions wary but committed to the plan.

• Xin Wu told Xia Fan that overseas envoys might be involved in the Crown Prince’s plot against the Bureau of Military Affairs, and Xia Fan agreed to investigate while keeping the remaining alchemists uninformed.
• Xia Fan used a Seven-Star Nameplate to reach a pagoda overlooking the Bureau of Military Affairs General Headquarters.
• Xia Fan told Li and the others that he wanted to enter the Record Department before a hidden enemy could tamper with its records.
• Xia Fan explained that the Alchemist Register might contain information about Li’s master and claimed they would be investigating the assassination attempt with the Bureau’s permission.
• Fang Yanni worried that entering the Record Department could mean a capital crime, but Xia Fan insisted their mission gave them a legitimate reason.

Xia Fan and the others planned to infiltrate the Bureau of Military Affairs at night, using the rooftops and Fang Yanni’s insects to evade the guards. They prepared to enter together, but realized they still needed a way to understand any Western Pole envoys they might overhear.

• Xia Fan mapped the Bureau of Military Affairs and proposed sneaking over its wall from nearby rooftops after nightfall.
• Fang Yanni offered to use the venomous snakes and black bees hidden in her silver crown ornament to draw guards away from their posts.
• Luo Qingqing, Li, and Qian Yan agreed to accompany Xia Fan into the compound, while Fang Xiandao stopped Qian Zhi from joining them.
• Li pointed out that they might miss useful intelligence if they encountered Western Pole envoys whose languages they could not understand.
• Xia Fan realized an Elf might help translate and wondered whether he could set up the Sound Transmission Device and antenna inside the Bureau of Military Affairs.

Xia Fan and his companions infiltrated the Bureau of Military Affairs and reached the Record Department Main Hall, where they discovered a bloodied massacre inside. They entered the archive in search of what Fang Yanni could uncover, but the chapter left them facing the bodies of Imperial Guards and Bureau personnel.

• Li reported that the Bureau of Military Affairs' defenses were unchanged, and Xia Fan waited for Xin Wu to take position.
• Fang cultivators caused a commotion at the Bureau's main gate, drawing guards away and giving Xia Fan's group a chance to cross the wall.
• Qian Yan used her Freeze Art to make a pursuing squad's lead soldier slip, buying Xia Fan time to retrieve the hemp rope.
• Li reported that the Record Department Main Hall was guarded and brightly lit, so Xia Fan's group approached it from the roof.
• Fang Yanni's swarm of bees drove away a guard, allowing Xia Fan, Li, Qian Yan, and Luo Qingqing to enter through the terrace.
• Luo Qingqing smelled blood, and Xia Fan saw more than a dozen dead Imperial Guards and Bureau personnel on the hall's first floor.

Xia Fan and the others entered the Record Department Main Hall and navigated its active underground traps with Luo Qingqing and Qian Yan’s help. They opened a hidden stone door and found a vast chamber that Qian Yan had never seen, suggesting they had taken the wrong passage.

• Qian Yan explained that the dead in the main hall had likely been killed by active defensive mechanisms, while the Bureau of Military Affairs guards had been tortured for information.
• Qian Yan accidentally triggered a freezing trap, then the group lowered themselves into the underground passageways by rope.
• Luo Qingqing detected traps and Qian Yan identified ways to disable them, while Xia Fan and Li helped carry out their countermeasures.
• Luo Qingqing sensed a change ahead, and the group found a stone door marked with the Li Fire trigram.
• Xia Fan pushed the door open, revealing a dark chamber, and Qian Yan said it was not the underground archive and that they had taken a wrong turn.

Xia Fan and his companions found their retreat sealed and returned to the torchlit chamber, where they discovered fuel barrels and a seemingly inanimate statue. The statue awakened as a Xingshi and attacked them, ending the chapter by launching a ball of lightning at the group.

• Xia Fan, Luo Qingqing, Li, and Qian Yan discovered that a stone wall had sealed the passage behind them and chose to continue into the chamber.
• Xia Fan inspected the chamber and found barrels of lamp oil and a foul, flammable liquid, while Qian Yan prepared to freeze them.
• Xia Fan noticed the statue's eyes had shifted and warned the others, but the statue lunged at Qian Yan.
• Xia Fan and Luo Qingqing struck the statue, and Qian Yan knocked it backward with an ice-covered fist.
• Luo Qingqing identified the living, fur-covered monster as a legendary Xingshi, which began gathering lightning and fired a massive lightning ball at the group.

Xia Fan, Qian Yan, and Luo Qingqing defeated the Jing Xingshi and reached the Bottom Level Hub of the Record Department Main Hall, where Xia Fan established radio contact with Ning Wanjun. The group began searching the archive for clues about Li’s master as High Priestess Sainiya reported that interpreters had gathered at the princess’s villa.

• Xia Fan redirected Xingshi’s lightning attack into the ground, and Qian Yan and Luo Qingqing immobilized and killed the Spirit Monster.
• The passage reappeared after Xingshi died, leading Luo Qingqing and the others to the Bottom Level Hub of the Record Department Main Hall.
• Xia Fan used the ventilation shaft to set up an antenna and Sound Transmission Device while Li went to search for clues about her master.
• Xia Fan contacted Ning Wanjun by radio, and she told him she had already made arrangements concerning the Elves.
• High Priestess Sainiya reported that she had gathered islanders who understood the four major Western Pole languages at the princess’s villa.

Xia Fan and his companions uncovered hidden artifacts and a sealed room in the Capital Bureau of Military Affairs, where they found three preserved eyeballs containing the consciousnesses of past sorcerers. Qian Yan recognized them as the means of passing down Immortal Arts, and the chapter ended with Xia Fan realizing he might be able to understand the diagrams that recorded them.

• Xia Fan had Qian Yan copy artifact blueprints and formation plans while Luo Qingqing and Dragon Scale uncovered hidden treasures and compartments.
• Luo Qingqing found a maintained iron door, and Xia Fan melted its lock with the Flowing Light Spell before the group forced it open.
• The group discovered a room of crystal boxes, three of which held mist-shrouded, moving eyeballs.
• Qian Yan identified the room as a storehouse for Immortal Arts and realized the eyeballs contained the consciousnesses of previous holders, preserved for inheritance.
• Qian Yan tried to destroy the eyeballs to free them, but Xia Fan stopped her and warned that the Bureau would suspect them of stealing the Immortal Arts.
• Xia Fan examined an Immortal Art record and said he might be able to understand its complex diagram, surprising the others.

Xia Fan and his companions examined the strange diagrams recording Immortal Arts before a foreign search party entered the Bureau of Military Affairs. Olina Okan found a report linking the Heavenly Dao to an expedition to Feng State, and ordered her guards to search for records about King Yong.

• Xia Fan studied the complex Immortal Art diagrams and considered how their patterns might encode the arts’ effects.
• After hearing someone enter the secret chamber, Xia Fan sealed the room and led his companions into hiding above the central hub.
• Olina Okan entered with two armored samurai, linked their thoughts and perceptions to hers through her blood, and sent them to search for information about the Heavenly Dao.
• One samurai found a book about a Bureau of Military Affairs expedition to Feng State in search of the Tomb of King Yong, and Olina ordered him to take it and search for other records about the king.

Xia Fan and his companions learned that the Archipelago Nation envoys were searching the Record Department for the legendary Heavenly Dao, and Xin Wu asked them to delay the search. Xia Fan chose to plant clues for Olina, who found a censored record suggesting a dangerous object connected to Heavenly Dao had been moved near Shangyuan City only a month earlier.

• Qian Yan explained the legends surrounding Heavenly Dao and said people had searched for it since ancient times.
• Xia Fan informed Xin Wu about the Archipelago envoys, and Xin Wu asked him to delay their search for five days without confronting them directly.
• Li, Luo Qingqing, Qian Yan, and Xia Fan agreed not to let the envoys search freely, and Xia Fan decided to provide them with clues.
• Olina returned to the Record Department's underground core, where her subordinates found a censored record describing experiments on a suspected physical object related to Heavenly Dao.
• Olina read that the object had been moved from Shangyuan City on November Nineteenth, one month earlier, and realized it might still be nearby.

Olina connected a ruined temple near Shangyuan City to a possible hidden chamber and planned to investigate it, while Xia Fan’s fabricated clue prompted her to act sooner than expected. Fires near Honglu Temple trapped Olina inside overnight, leaving her investigation unsuccessful for the time being.

• Olina learned that Qingguan Temple had collapsed and suspected the ruins concealed something connected to the Holy Grail.
• Olina decided to fly to the temple at night despite the city lockdown, prompting Xia Fan to warn Xin Wu that the inspection would happen early.
• Xia Fan explained how he and the Bureau of Military Affairs had built a convincing false clue around the temple’s real collapse.
• Xia Fan proposed taking magical artifact blueprints from a cabinet, and Luo Qingqing was present as they prepared to loot them.
• Fires broke out near Honglu Temple after Olina departed, and the compound’s gates were shut, keeping her from investigating for the rest of the night.

Xia Fan used traps and clues to wear down Olina Okan and lead her toward Bureau of Military Affairs strongholds. After days of recovery and investigation, Olina finally headed for the Bureau of Military Affairs.

• Gungun delivered Xin Wu's report that Olina had searched Qingguan Temple, endured its traps, and found a honeycomb symbol carved on the wall.
• Li identified the symbol as an Ancient Adept Language mark, and Xia Fan explained that it pointed toward former Bureau of Military Affairs strongholds.
• Xia Fan arranged more traps and sleeping drug at the next site, but Olina reached the end and took away a forged mysterious object while her guard knights emerged later.
• Olina reported herself ill and stayed inside the embassy for two days, where someone heard her smashing things.
• Xin Wu reported that Olina was heading toward the Bureau of Military Affairs on the sixth night.

Olina confronted the hidden figure in the Record Department Hub and threatened to burn it down, but the Second Prince arrived and revealed Xia Fan as the one who had trapped her. Olina attacked Ning Qianshi, and the clash left Du Yelong struck down by a shield-wielding attacker.

• Olina rushed into the Record Department Hub, accused her pursuers of plotting against her, and threatened to set the chamber ablaze.
• Ning Qianshi arrived with Yan Qing and Du Yelong and told Olina that Xia Fan had been responsible for trapping her.
• Xia Fan revealed himself to Ning Qianshi, and Olina ordered her knights to kill him.
• Ning Qianshi restrained Olina’s knights with chains and accused her of violating Da Qi law and conspiring in the Crown Prince’s assassination.
• Olina feigned surrender, then launched a blaze at Ning Qianshi as chains formed an iron net around him, causing a massive explosion.
• Du Yelong tried to defend Ning Qianshi, but a kite shield struck him and hurled him into the stone wall.