Chapter Summaries

Bai Zhan opened a bottle containing an Evil Spirit that could provide a tireless, fearless army, and a dark mist spread across the battlefield. As Ning Wanjun’s forces were attacked by mind-controlled Jinxia soldiers, one of them aimed at her through a gap in her Mechanical Beast’s defenses.

• Bai Zhan summoned an Evil Spirit army from a shattered bottle, darkening the sky and draining the surrounding aura.
• Ning Wanjun noticed the localized mist, ordered the Xuanwu Army to regroup, and failed to reach Xia Fan by signal.
• Mind-controlled Jinxia soldiers emerged from the mist and opened fire on their own comrades, killing nearly a hundred before the troops could react.
• Ning Wanjun ordered the Xuanwu Army to shield the others and told the scattered soldiers to retreat southwest toward the Baihe City camp.
• Qiuyue spotted a controlled soldier aiming through a gap in Suzaku’s defenses at Ning Wanjun.

Xia Fan and Li confronted a battlefield where an Evil Spirit had driven Jinxia soldiers to attack one another, then learned that a Demon was being summoned nearby. Guided by Luo Qingqing, they reached the rift where the Demon was emerging, and it fixed its gaze on Xia Fan.

• Xia Fan used Zhen Technique Flowing Light to knock the controlled Jinxia soldiers unconscious so their comrades could carry them away.
• Xia Fan asked Li to summon Shanhui, and Luo Qingqing arrived with news that a Demon was being summoned less than two hundred zhang to the northwest.
• Luo Qingqing traced the Demon’s growing demonic qi and led Xia Fan and Li toward its source before it could fully take shape.
• Xia Fan left Shanhui to guide the soldiers out of the fog and warned him to keep the princess away from the area.
• Li carried Xia Fan and Luo Qingqing through the controlled soldiers to a pitch-black rift, where a half-emerged Demon stared at Xia Fan.

Xia Fan, Luo Qingqing, and Li fought Bai Zhan while Yun Shang Jushi used controlled Jinxia Army soldiers to turn the battle against them. With the Evil Spirit continuing to emerge from the rift, Xia Fan unleashed the Nine Heavens Heavenly Thunder.

• Yun Shang Jushi appeared and blocked a sword strike aimed at Li, revealing himself as the enemy guarding the Evil Spirit.
• Xia Fan, Luo Qingqing, and Li attacked Bai Zhan together, forcing him to defend against thunder, flames, and Dragon Scales.
• Bai Zhan revealed nearly a hundred controlled Jinxia Army soldiers, who fired on Li while Luo Qingqing tried to protect her and sever their control.
• Bai Zhan said he wanted to kill Xia Fan and make their duel decide life and death, while the Evil Spirit continued crawling out of the rift.
• Xia Fan used his Zhen Technique materials to summon the Nine Heavens Heavenly Thunder beneath a vast vortex of Flowing Light.

Ning Wanjun led ten Mechanical Beasts toward the Nine Heavens Heavenly Thunder to help Xia Fan, but Fei Nian blocked her and used controlled soldiers’ deaths to empower a Demon. After Ning Wanjun exposed the Demon’s core, she discovered Ba Xingtian inside—and he pierced her chest.

• Ning Wanjun thanked the soldiers who shot a controlled comrade, steadied the troops, and ordered them to continue toward the Baihe City camp.
• Seeing the Heavenly Thunder vortex, Ning Wanjun took ten Mechanical Beasts with Qiuyue to find Xia Fan while the main force retreated.
• Fei Nian summoned four Demons to stop Ning Wanjun, then made the controlled Jinxia soldiers stab themselves to strengthen one of them.
• Ning Wanjun fought the enlarged Demon, tore open its chest, and exposed a human figure within its core.
• Ning Wanjun recognized the figure as the missing Ba Xingtian and spared him, but he begged her to kill him and pierced her chest.

Ning Wanjun killed Ba Xingtian and Fei Nian, but Evil Spirit energy left her mortally wounded. Meanwhile, Xia Fan's thunder attack failed to stop Bai Zhan's plan until an unexpected voice combined Heavenly Fire with Heavenly Thunder.

• Ning Wanjun killed Ba Xingtian, then charged Fei Nian and beat him before crushing his neck.
• Ning Wanjun collapsed from her Evil Spirit wound, and Qiuyue signaled for help as the princess entrusted Jinxia to Xia Fan and Mo Yun.
• Xia Fan summoned the Nine Heavens Heavenly Thunder against the Demon emerging from the rift.
• Bai Zhan used controlled Jinzhou soldiers and metal poles to divert the lightning in his Lightning Protection Array.
• An unknown woman called for Heavenly Fire, and streams of flame wrapped in lightning crashed toward the rift.

Xia Fan and Wei Huang destroyed Bai Zhan’s Demon with the Nine Heavens Heavenly Thunder, while Ning Qianshi and his allies revealed how they had escaped Bai Zhan’s control. Ning then brought the Bronze Jar to the battlefield, and Bai Zhan prepared to fight again.

• Wei Huang’s Starfall destroyed the Lightning Rods, and the unleashed heavenly thunder erased the Demon and its fissure.
• Controlled soldiers returned to normal and surrendered as Bai Zhan realized his plans had failed.
• Wei Huang appeared with Ning Qianshi, who said he had healed her and revealed that his original self had never entered the Ruins.
• Du Yelong showed the severed head of Ning Qianshi’s controlled double, while Ji Wuwang revealed he had helped the group escape the main camp and challenged Bai Zhan.
• Ning Qianshi brought a Bronze Jar to the battlefield, and Bai Zhan laughed before preparing to resume the fight.

Xia Fan used newly mastered techniques to overcome Bai Zhan’s predictions and cripple him in their battle. As Xia Fan surrounded himself with a field of lethal electricity and a wall of floating weapons, Bai Zhan’s chances of victory fell to zero.

• Bai Zhan charged Xia Fan, while Li and Luo Qingqing attacked him from both sides and forced them away with Zhan Wuyin.
• Bai Zhan tried to counter Xia Fan’s Zhen Technique, but Xia Fan’s lightning severed his sword arm and then shattered his left palm.
• Bai Zhan pressed forward despite losing the Square Inch Chessboard’s guidance, hoping to kill Xia Fan and cross the threshold of Mental Nature.
• Xia Fan summoned a wall of electrified weapons around himself, and Bai Zhan’s World Chess Game showed no path to victory.

Xia Fan used his new Zhen Technique—Zephyr to overpower Bai Zhan, while Ning Qianshi and the others tried to preserve the Tianshu Envoy’s soul. The chapter ended with Ning Qianshi killing Bai Zhan and transferring the soul into the Bronze Jar.

• Xia Fan used Zephyr to control nearby weapons and bombard Bai Zhan, keeping the Azure Blade from reaching him.
• Ning Qianshi realized Xia Fan’s new Sorcery Art marked the beginning of a new era.
• Xia Fan’s attacks shattered Bai Zhan’s body, and Wei Huang, Li, and Hundred-Flower Sword urged him to spare Bai Zhan for the Tianshu Envoy’s sake.
• Ning Qianshi apologized to Xia Fan and promised to accept Ning Wanjun’s claim to the Bureau of Military Affairs or the Qi State.
• Xia Fan stopped his attack, and Ning Qianshi cut off Bai Zhan’s head and placed it in the Bronze Jar to preserve the Tianshu Envoy’s soul.

After the Bureau of Military Affairs lost, Ning Qianshi offered to entrust its remaining core members to Jinxia while searching for a way to separate the Tianshu Envoy from Bai Zhan’s soul. Xia Fan left the captured officials in Luo Qingqing and Li’s hands and rushed back to Jinxia, where he found Ning Wanjun encased in ice after Fei Nian had inflicted fatal wounds on her.

• Ning Qianshi explained why the Tianshu Envoy might be able to survive apart from a body and vowed to search for a sorcerer who could separate her from Bai Zhan’s soul.
• Ning Qianshi offered the Bureau of Military Affairs’ remaining core members to Jinxia, but Yan Yue objected and warned of the threat from the Western Pole nations.
• Xia Fan ordered the captured Bureau members escorted to Jinxia City and left their fate to Ning Wanjun.
• Olina brought Xia Fan news that Fei Nian had attacked Ning Wanjun and left her with potentially fatal wounds.
• Xia Fan flew to Fengyang Mountain Villa and found Ning Wanjun encased in solid ice.

After Ning Wanjun was gravely injured, Qian Yan froze her in an Ice Coffin to preserve her life, and Xia Fan rejected the princess’s request that he take over Jinxia. As the Bureau of Military Affairs collapsed and Jinxia prospered, the princess remained out of public view.

• Qian Yan explained that she had used the Fang family's Ice Coffin to preserve Ning Wanjun after Qiuyue's efforts to find a cure failed.
• Yu Linglong confirmed that Ning Wanjun's severe lung and soul injuries had made conventional treatment ineffective, and Xia Fan thanked Qian Yan for acting.
• Qiuyue told Xia Fan that Ning Wanjun had asked him to take over Jinxia if anything happened to her, but Xia Fan refused and vowed to find a way to restore her.
• Ning Qianshi, Qian, and other core practitioners helped bring the allied army's fighting to an end, while Qian and the others withdrew from the Bureau of Military Affairs and settled in Jinxia.
• Jinxia continued expanding and prospering after the war, though people began to notice that Ning Wanjun had not appeared in public for a long time.

Rumors spread that Ning Wanjun had been gravely wounded, but her public appearance in Jinxia disproved them. Xia Fan released Ning Qianshi from captivity, and Lord Qian confronted Xia Fan after hearing that he planned to leave Jinxia.

• Young Master Chen overheard patrons claim that an Evil Spirit had inflicted a fatal wound on Ning Wanjun and feared the rumors would disrupt Jinxia.
• Ning Wanjun rode through the streets with Xia Fan, reassured the cheering crowd that she had recovered, and exposed Boss Jiang's rumor as false.
• Ning Qianshi removed his disguise and learned from Xia Fan that he was free to leave Jinxia with the Painting Person and Soul Casting Box.
• Ning Qianshi declined to recruit former colleagues, said he would seek a way to save the Tianshu Envoy, and bid farewell to Xia Fan.
• Lord Qian entered Xia Fan's office and demanded to know whether he was leaving Jinxia.

Xia Fan planned to travel to the Western Pole to seek help for Ning Wanjun, after Olina told him that the Son of the Holy Spirit might be able to cure her. He granted Olina Jinxia citizenship and invited her to accompany him to the Holy Wing Islands, and she agreed.

• Xia Fan told Qian that he planned to go to the Western Pole to find a way to treat Ning Wanjun, and Qian warned him that it was enemy territory.
• Xia Fan recalled that Olina had described the Son of the Holy Spirit’s power to destroy Evil Spirits and heal those afflicted by them.
• Olina explained that the Church could be persuaded to provide treatment through several routes, including a donation.
• Xia Fan gave Olina formal Jinxia citizenship and told her she could return to the Holy Wing Islands freely.
• Xia Fan invited Olina to accompany him to the Holy Wing Islands, and Olina solemnly accepted.

Xia Fan prepared to travel to the Western Pole while Qian agreed to guard Jinxia, and he decided Yan Yue could stay and seek a place in the Affairs Bureau after an assessment. Luo Qingqing then visited to say she was temporarily leaving Jinxia.

• Xia Fan told Qian he planned to go to the Western Pole for three months and would establish a Long-wave Sound Transmission Station before sending Her Highness the Princess there.
• Qian pledged to hold Jinxia, and said Wei Huang and the others intended to stay; he also reported that Yan Yue wished to remain and protect the Academy.
• Xia Fan agreed Yan Yue could reside in Jinxia and join the Affairs Bureau if she passed an assessment, possibly leading its planned Medical Department.
• Feathered Garment told Xia Fan that Ji Wuwang had left without sparring and warned that Seven Stars might resist losing control of Qi State.
• Luo Qingqing came to bid Xia Fan farewell, clarifying that she meant she was temporarily leaving Jinxia.

Luo Qingqing told Xia Fan she planned to travel through lands ruled by the Old Order to test her ideas about good governance in practice, while Xia Fan accepted her decision and gave her two manuscripts. After confirming that Li still wanted to accompany him to the Western Pole, Xia Fan prepared to make dinner.

• Luo Qingqing explained that she would travel through Old Order territories to learn firsthand what made an order good or bad, and said her journey was her own choice.
• Xia Fan gave Luo Qingqing his handwritten books on history and Sorcery Arts, and she touched his face so she could remember what he looked like.
• Luo Qingqing said she would leave Jinxia after Xia Fan and could see him off before his departure.
• Xia Fan asked Li whether she still wanted to travel with him, and Li said accompanying him to the Western Pole was what she wanted most.
• Li asked Xia Fan to scratch her before he made dinner.

Fang Jiuzhang gave Qian Yan an ancient coin linked to her unknown origins and asked her to travel west with Xia Fan. Five days later, Qian Yan joined Xia Fan aboard the Baisha Ship as it departed Jinxia for the Western Pole.

• Fang Jiuzhang asked Qian Yan whether she would go to the Western Pole with Xia Fan and showed her an inherited bronze box containing an ancient coin.
• Qian Yan learned that the coin came from the west and might be connected to her origins, though the Fang family did not know who her birth parents were.
• Fang Yu explained that the Fang ancestors had instructed the family to give Qian Yan the box only when circumstances were suitable, and Fang Jiuzhang left the decision to her.
• Five days later, Xia Fan and Li said farewell to their acquaintances at Seaport Pier before boarding the Baisha Ship.
• Qian Yan stood aboard the ship, declined to say goodbye to Qian Zhi, and watched as Feilin Carter ordered the Baisha Ship to set sail for the Western Pole.

After a month at sea, Xia Fan and his companions reached the Holy Wing Islands and learned about the dangers Li might face there. The Baisha Ship was mistaken for a threat by approaching forces, and Olina flew out to explain.

• Xia Fan questioned Qian Yan about the strange Heavenly Pillar peak, but learned that no one in the Fang family had reached it.
• Xia Fan and Li studied Western Pole Language during the month-long voyage, while Li progressed faster and practiced speaking with the Elves.
• The acting captain identified the approaching land as the Holy Wing Islands and described their route through Azure Fort to the royal capital, Hila.
• Xia Fan learned that the islands treated Elves more leniently than Demi-humans, and Feilin Carter warned that Li should conceal her beast ears if she went out alone.
• A Dragon and a squadron of armed clipper ships approached the Baisha Ship, and Feilin realized the Holy Wing Islands might mistake it for a Natating attack.
• Olina transformed into a giant Dragon and flew toward the approaching ships to explain their presence.

Lasein confronted a Natating warship approaching Azure Fort and learned that it carried Xia Fan, an ambassador from the Qi State. When Lasein tried to inspect the vessel, Xia Fan revealed that it was a prize captured after the Qi State defeated a Natating invasion.

• Lasein approached the warship, and Olina Okan identified herself as an adult Dragonborn and explained that she was escorting Ambassador Xia Fan to the royal capital.
• Olina presented the Qi State's official documents and invoked the Diplomatic Code to demand passage for Xia Fan and the Baisha Ship.
• Lasein welcomed Xia Fan but insisted that his ship undergo an inspection, and Olina rejected his demand as a violation of diplomatic rights.
• Lasein questioned why the eastern ambassador was aboard a Natating warship, and Xia Fan said the Qi State had captured it after defeating an invading Natating fleet.
• Xia Fan called on Captain Feilin to confirm his account.

Xia Fan and his companions arrived in Azure Fort, where Lasein heard Feilin’s account of Natating’s defeat and agreed to pass along his request. While waiting for Count Cleveland to receive them, Xia Fan explored the city and discovered an unpleasant hazard of its streets.

• Feilin spoke with Lasein about Natating’s defeat and its expansion, while withholding details about how Jinxia City had won.
• Lasein said he would convey Feilin’s intentions to Count Cleveland and allowed the visitors to rest at the harbor pier.
• Olina explained that the party might wait a day or two for a meeting, and Xia Fan thanked her for protecting them aboard ship.
• Xia Fan asked Olina to take the group around Azure Fort, and she brought an umbrella for Li.
• Xia Fan admired the city’s paved streets and dragon landing pillars before Li noticed the smell of excrement, and Olina explained that people sometimes dumped waste from buildings.

Xia Fan, Li, and Olina explored Azure Fort together, sharing an umbrella and visiting the market district. After hearing that auction-house experts might identify Qian Yan’s ancient coin, Xia Fan considered taking it there, while the group’s outing continued among the city’s shops and factories.

• Li shared her umbrella with Xia Fan, and Olina reluctantly sheltered his other shoulder as they walked through town.
• Olina described Azure Fort’s docks, market, auction house, and castle, and explained that auction-house experts might appraise Qian Yan’s ancient coin.
• Xia Fan chose to visit the market district first because the auction house would not open until evening and Qian Yan did not want to join them.
• Li bought a jar of Intoxicating Jam and enjoyed its sweet, fruity taste.
• Xia Fan noticed smoke rising from factory chimneys near the market, and Olina explained that the factories processed goods for sale.

Xia Fan, Li, and Olina visited the factory district in Azure Fort, where Xia Fan saw impoverished factory workers’ families and a crude steam-powered machine processing fruit. After Steward Philip Law introduced himself and offered to show Xia Fan around, a fierce commotion broke out behind the factory.

• Olina led Xia Fan and Li through a squalid shantytown where factory workers’ families lived among foul wastewater and filth.
• The three watched workers feed Intoxicating Fruits into a bronze furnace, where a steam-powered hammer crushed them.
• Philip Law, the Steward of Hundred Fruit Garden, approached the visitors and explained that the machine was a new steam-powered product.
• Xia Fan learned that the machine was made by Frank Metalworks and was spreading among small factories in Azure Fort.
• Philip offered Xia Fan a tour of the factory, but a fierce commotion suddenly erupted behind the building.