Chapter Summaries

After Jinxia City's victory, Ning Wanjun and Xia Fan organized the prisoners and discussed building a navy while Chi prepared to become the city's public protector. A new Tree Boat arrived, and Xia Fan later heard Li recount the battle against the Demon and questioned how the enemy had summoned it.

• He Guicai reported the prisoners, rescued Elves, enemy dead, and Jinxia's casualties to Ning Wanjun, who ordered compensation and care for the families of the dead.
• Ning Wanjun and Xia Fan agreed to send repeat-offender pirates to Baisha Mine and interrogate technical personnel from Natating's flagship as they considered forming a fleet.
• Chi reminded Xia Fan of his promise to publicize her as Jinxia's Dragon, and he told her to cooperate with the Propaganda Department and appear before residents.
• A new Tree Boat appeared off Jinxia's coast as the Silver Star Tree Boat joined the city, with Zhuofulan leading its residents under Sainiya's guidance.
• Li told Xia Fan that the Bureau of Military Affairs forbade arts that drew on Chaos, and Xia Fan recalled the Gate of Hell used to summon the Demon.

Xia Fan considered the strange phenomena surrounding the Great Demon before Li demonstrated her new illusion on him. On the Noah Tree Boat, Sainiya welcomed Zhuofulan and explained how Silver Star's Islanders could settle in Jinxia, leaving Zhuofulan with the task of setting an example through education.

• Xia Fan wondered why the female mage's summoned Demon had created a rift unlike any Evil Spirit he had seen before.
• Li told Xia Fan that watching slowed lightning had strengthened her Innate Technique, then trapped him in a new illusion.
• Sainiya comforted Zhuofulan as she mourned the fallen World Island and asked about other Tree Boats that had escaped.
• Zhuofulan worried that Silver Star would have to trade Elves to pay for docking in Jinxia, but Sainiya said its initial expenses could be covered with Tree Seeds.
• Sainiya explained that Islanders could earn wages in mainland cities and urged them to learn the local language, asking Zhuofulan to lead by example.

Wei Wushuang bought Golden Weekly, Jinxia City's first newspaper, after seeing that the public hesitated to pay for it. At home, merchant Mr. Zhuang praised its printing and singled out the portrait as its greatest value.

• The Affairs Bureau released five thousand copies of Golden Weekly and sold them for ten copper coins each.
• Wei Wushuang saw a crowd read the newspaper's display copy and heard people discuss the battle, the Natating Kingdom, and Lady Dragon.
• Wei Wushuang bought the first newspaper from the nearby shop, whose shopkeeper said nobody else had purchased one.
• Wei Wushuang brought Golden Weekly home to his father, Wei Yan, and met Mr. Zhuang, a merchant from Anshen City.
• Mr. Zhuang examined the newspaper and praised its paper, printing, and portrait.

Wei Wushuang discovered that a mysterious benefactor had bought and freely distributed the remaining newspapers, while Chi funded the newspaper campaign to spread her reputation in Jinxia City. Chi decided to settle in the city and received an invitation from Xia Fan to discuss the next steps.

• Mr. Zhuang recognized the newspaper portrait’s artistic value and offered to buy half the remaining copies to sell in Anshen City.
• Wei Wushuang and Mr. Zhuang learned that a mysterious guest had bought and distributed all the newspapers at the bookstore.
• Kong Xuanzi told Chi that Penglai had distributed newspapers from two bookstores for 456 taels of silver, with more than seventeen thousand taels still available.
• Chi reflected on Penglai’s vast hidden wealth and her hope of becoming Jinxia’s guardian, then decided to invite Penglai’s reclusive elders to settle in the city after the snow melted.
• Chi received an invitation from the Affairs Bureau to visit Fengyang Mountain Villa and discuss a matter with Xia Fan.

Liu Ruyan joined a gathering of women Xia Fan had invited to help plan performances for Jinxia’s New Year celebration. Xia Fan also asked them to teach Chi, the Dragon from Golden Weekly, to sing.

• Liu Ruyan arrived at Princess Guangping’s Villa after Xia Fan invited her.
• Liu Ruyan reunited with Yanzi, who apologized for having criticized her at Zuiqing Pavilion, and Liu Ruyan forgave him.
• Yanzi told Liu Ruyan that many women had left Zuiqing Pavilion after Liu Ruyan became a teacher at the Academy.
• Xia Fan explained that the women would advise on music and dance for the three-day New Year celebration and receive compensation for their work.
• Xia Fan asked the women to teach Chi to sing, and Liu Ruyan recognized her as the Dragon from Golden Weekly.

Xia Fan arranged for Chi to sing at the New Year celebration to promote women’s public role and bring the legendary Yao closer to the people of Jinxia. Chi agreed, but her first attempt at singing revealed that she was astonishingly tone-deaf.

• Xia Fan explained why he wanted women to sing at the New Year festivities and gained Ning Wanjun’s approval.
• Xia Fan persuaded Chi to sing at the celebration, proposing that she descend through the air amid fireworks.
• Xintao suggested “Spring Snow,” and the women chose Liu Ruyan and Yu Shuangxue to accompany the song while Xintao led it.
• Chi sang after Xintao, but her performance was badly off-key and out of rhythm, and she seemed unaware of it.
• Kong Xuanzi covered his face as Chi asked the others what they thought of her singing.

Xia Fan abandoned plans to have Chi sing ancient melodies and proposed a Listener song for her instead, while he and Ning Wanjun finalized a new Jinxia City celebration and discussed an alliance with the Silver Star Tree Boat. The chapter ended with Xia Fan reviewing Silver Star’s goods and adding its Insect-Catching Fruit to the trade list.

• Xia Fan tested Chi on several ancient tunes, confirmed she could not sing them well, and switched to planning a Listener song for her.
• Xia Fan presented the celebration program to Ning Wanjun, who agreed to give a speech as part of establishing a new Jinxia City tradition.
• Ning Wanjun discussed a separate alliance and trade agreement with Silver Star, proposing that Elves’ ID cards identify their Tree Boat of origin.
• Xia Fan read Silver Star’s Tree Seed handbook, learned about its Insect-Catching Fruit, and added the fruit to the next batch of trade goods.

Olina received seized goods from a Natating warship, including an Oceanic Kingdom ceremonial outfit, and learned that Xia Fan had arranged a profitable event for Chi. A week later, Jinxia City began a seven-day paid holiday, and Xia Fan opened a trade fair in the newly built square.

• An Affairs Bureau clerk delivered Olina compensation and a parcel containing a ceremonial robe, high heels, a scarf, and a bearskin coat.
• Olina tried on the clothes and showed them to Yu Shuangxue and Xintao, who told her that Xia Fan had invited Chi to appear at the celebration.
• Xintao explained that Xia Fan planned a later event for Chi, with profits split between both sides, and Olina reconsidered her lack of interest in fame and money.
• A week later, Jinxia City began a seven-day holiday with paid leave for Affairs Bureau staff and project workers.
• Xia Fan turned the former storage-yard district into a large square and held a trade fair showcasing his new inventions.

Xia Fan’s trade fair drew merchants to Jinxia City, where they examined Crystal Glass, canned food, and refined salt seasoning alongside goods from the Elves. As Xia Fan explained why the Affairs Bureau relied on merchants rather than managing production itself, he left Li with a claim that a ruler’s wealth could be effectively limitless once money was properly understood.

• The Jinxia trade fair opened to a packed crowd, and merchants flocked to the Affairs Bureau’s cooperative projects featuring Crystal Glass, Hairtail Canned Food, and Refined Salt Seasoning.
• Visitors bought the Elves’ Bishui Tangerines and considered cooperation over Golden Silk Vine brocade, while street peddlers and merchants trading among themselves added to the fair’s bustle.
• Xia Fan disguised himself and went to enjoy Jinxia City’s Spring Festival holiday with Li, who asked why the Affairs Bureau did not run the businesses itself.
• Xia Fan explained that merchant competition would improve products and expand markets, while requiring workshops to stay in Shenzhou would keep the wealth circulating there.
• Li compared his plan to fattening merchants before slaughtering them, but Xia Fan denied that was his intention and said a qualified ruler’s wealth could be limitless once money was understood.

Ning Wanjun opened Jinxia City's Spring Festival Celebration with a speech promising a new home and equal treatment to everyone who settled there. The celebration began amid cheers, while Chi prepared to appear as the centerpiece of the festivities.

• The two-day exhibition ended, and Mo Yun prepared the Mechanical Bureau rooftops as VIP viewing spots for the celebration.
• Xia Fan worried that Chi was spending too long flying in the sky, but Kong Xuanzi reassured him that she had flown longer before.
• Ning Wanjun joined Xia Fan and Mo Yun, asked about the final song he had composed, and discussed her own experience with music and public speaking.
• At night, Ning Wanjun addressed the crowd, promising that Jinxia would welcome newcomers and treat human and Yao residents equally.
• Ning Wanjun declared the Spring Festival Celebration open, and the crowd erupted in cheers.

Xia Fan’s celebration continued with local performances that delighted the crowd but drew scorn from Jinxia City’s young scholars. Liu Ruyan’s unfamiliar vernacular song captivated the audience, and Ning Wanjun asked Xia Fan its name.

• Local performers made mistakes onstage, but the lively crowd cheered them while Young Master Chen and other scholars mocked the show from a pavilion.
• The scholars lamented their fading influence in Jinxia City and discussed Zhou Sheng’s departure for the Metropolitan Examination.
• Two skilled women performed “Spring Snow,” though the audience gave them only scattered applause.
• Liu Ruyan took the stage and began a layered, unfamiliar song with vernacular lyrics, surprising Young Master Zhang and the scholars.
• Ning Wanjun watched with interest as Xia Fan explained that the song was called “Baixue Mountain Lakeside.”

Liu Ruyan’s performance of “Baixue Mountain Lakeside” captivated the crowd, while Xia Fan and his companions prepared Chi’s debut at the celebration. Chi revealed her True Dragon form, was recognized by the crowd, and began her performance beneath a sky cleared to reveal the stars.

• Liu Ruyan sang “Baixue Mountain Lakeside,” moving the silent crowd to erupt in applause and cheers.
• Ning Wanjun praised the song, and Mo Yun and Li discussed Chi’s weak singing ability with Xia Fan.
• Xia Fan signaled the celebration’s opening with Heavenly Thunder, and fireworks lit the square as Chi flew over the crowd in her True Dragon form.
• Chi emerged from the smoke onstage, and the crowd recognized her as the Dragon named Chi.
• Penglai’s Qi Sense Users cheered for Chi and formed her name with wooden swords.
• Chi scattered the clouds to reveal the stars as drums, bells, and qin music began.

Chi performed a forceful song that initially drew ridicule, but her raw will reached the audience and stirred them deeply. Xia Fan realized Chi could communicate emotion directly through her singing, revealing her potential as an idol.

• Chi sang a loud, unconventional song while the crowd and Young Master Chen mocked her performance.
• Xia Fan accepted Chi’s earnest effort but feared the song would ruin his Idol-Building Plan.
• As Chi sang the chorus, the crowd fell silent and Young Master Chen began reconsidering his abandoned ambitions.
• Li and Ning Wanjun felt inspired by Chi’s performance, and Xia Fan realized her cries were imprinting her emotions directly into listeners’ minds.

Chi’s heartfelt performance of her song moved the crowd and prompted Young Master Chen to confront his abandoned ambitions. A week later, Olina Okan visited the imprisoned Feilin Carter to interrogate him and assess his value.

• Chi sang about Penglai’s struggle and its people, bringing the square to thunderous applause and tears.
• Young Master Hu and Young Master Qi decided to step back from drinking parties and focus on their studies, while Young Master Chen left in humiliation and wondered if he could still pursue his ambitions.
• Feilin Carter spent a week imprisoned in Jinxia City as his crewmates were taken away and did not return.
• Olina Okan entered Feilin’s cell, identified herself as a follower of Hera, and told him she had come to interrogate him and assess his value.

Olina interrogated Feilin Carter about Natating’s fleet and its search for the Holy Grail, then offered him a paid role training Jinxia City’s sailors in exchange for a pardon. Feilin refused to risk his family, but hinted that the fleet’s captured logs and manuals could provide the necessary knowledge.

• Olina questioned Feilin about the Fourth Fleet, and he identified its commander as Tural Nat, who had been killed, and described the fleet’s mission to hunt fleeing Elves.
• Feilin revealed that Tural had established a docking base on an island near Dong Sheng as a potential springboard for The Empire’s mainland expansion.
• Feilin said the fleet had also pursued the Holy Grail and described the Black Barrier Zone in the Permafrost Sea, where the water slowed and exploration teams could not find a boundary or return to their starting point.
• Olina offered Feilin payment and a pardon for training Jinxia City’s sailors, but he initially refused because his family could be punished in Natating.
• As Olina started to leave, Feilin suggested that the captured fleet logs and manuals contained navigational experience, and Olina agreed to pass his words to the person in charge.

Xia Fan and Mo Yun learned how the Silver Star Tree Boat’s Insect-Catching Fruit could serve as a powerful biological glue, and Xia Fan proposed using invisible light to make thick layers solidify from within. He offered to show Mo Yun the Nine Nether Fire Immortal Art, and she eagerly embraced him.

• Zhuofulan showed Xia Fan and Mo Yun how to prepare and use the Insect-Catching Fruit’s light-sensitive juice.
• Xia Fan tested the glue’s strength, and Mo Yun judged that the Mechanical Bureau could find uses for it.
• Zhuofulan explained that thick layers of the glue trapped uncured liquid inside, making solid objects unsafe to use.
• Xia Fan proposed using invisible light with greater penetrating power to solidify the glue’s interior.
• Xia Fan revealed that he had obtained the Nine Nether Fire Immortal Art Secret Record and offered to let Mo Yun read it.
• Mo Yun grabbed Xia Fan’s arm and pulled him into an embrace.

Xia Fan oversaw Jinxia City's expansion and the creation of a maritime guard as the city prepared to welcome a fleet from the Yama Kingdom. In Shangyuan City, Ning Qianshi learned the north-south road had reopened and ordered his plan to begin, targeting his imperial sister and Xia Fan.

• Mo Yun enthusiastically embraced Xia Fan before asking whether his Immortal Art was related to light, and Xia Fan explained that experiments were needed to understand it.
• Xia Fan ordered the South Side city wall opened to make room for a planned residential district, and Xuanwu Mechanical Beasts began demolishing and hauling its materials.
• The Elves repaired captured Natating ships, and the princess established a maritime guard that expanded Jinxia City's reach beyond East Sea Beach.
• A fleet from the Yama Kingdom arrived at East Sea, and the princess went to welcome it outside the East City Wall.
• Fei Nian reported to Ning Qianshi that the north-south road had reopened enough for foot travel, and Ning Qianshi ordered his plan carried out against his imperial sister and Xia Fan.

Fei Nian organized the Record Department to send secret agents to Jinxia and recruit local sources for the Bureau of Military Affairs. He persuaded Zhou Sheng to return to Jinxia and investigate Xia Fan in exchange for a guaranteed place in the third rank of the palace examination.

• Fei Nian visited Taihe Hall, where Dong Mao explained the Record Department’s new system for processing intelligence.
• Fei Nian addressed more than a hundred secret agents, ordered them to gather intelligence and disrupt the enemy in Jinxia, and promised rewards for useful results.
• Dong Mao told Fei Nian that Zhou Sheng, a Jinxia scholar, had accused Xia Fan of wrongdoing and rebellion.
• Fei Nian questioned Zhou Sheng about his accusations and recognized that his local ties could help the Bureau gather intelligence.
• Fei Nian persuaded Zhou Sheng to return to Jinxia and assist the Bureau of Military Affairs, promising him a third-rank palace examination placement.

Wuyue Yao asked Ning Wanjun for help as Dong Sheng intensified its offensive against Yama Kingdom. Xia Fan proposed a psychological operation against Dong Sheng and offered Yama a batch of Air Rifles, which convinced Wuyue that the weapons could give her country new hope.

• Shanhui reunited with Wuyue Yao and Tsi Qing, who told him that Tsi Hong had been injured and that Yama's forces had retreated to the southwestern mountains under pressure from Dong Sheng.
• Wuyue Yao asked Ning Wanjun to assist Yama Kingdom, while Ning explained that Jinxia could not realistically send troops across the sea.
• Xia Fan suggested using Imperial flags on Jinxia's fleet to sow suspicion between Dong Sheng and the Western Pole Empire, then offered Yama a new weapon to counter its muskets.
• Wuyue Yao tested an Air Rifle and, impressed by its speed and simple air-powered supplies, asked Jinxia to sell the weapons to Yama.
• Ning Wanjun agreed to increase Air Rifle production and have Mo Yun arrange it.

Ning Wanjun’s allies accepted that conflict with the Capital Region was inevitable and planned defenses against an approaching army. As Jinxia prepared for war, silver was secretly distributed in Baihe City, leaving its purpose unclear.

• Xu Sanchong warned that the court would treat Ning Wanjun’s seizure of power as rebellion, and Hong Siqi and Xue Zhigeng declared their loyalty to her.
• Xu Sanchong and He Guicai estimated when the Capital Region might attack and urged stronger Villa defenses and surveillance of nearby roads.
• The meeting’s military officers chose Liuzhou as the main warning point and Qing Prefecture as support for tracking enemy movements.
• Xia Fan worried that the Seven Stars Bureau of Military Affairs might strike before a large army advanced and agreed that Fengyang Mountain Villa needed stronger defenses.
• In Baihe City, a group unloaded chests of silver from a rain-soaked carriage, took ingots, and disappeared into the rain.