Chapter Summaries

Zhou Sheng infiltrated Jinxia City’s new water plant and began poisoning its reservoirs to sabotage the Affairs Bureau’s water supply project. He left the operation underway, convinced the plant’s weak security gave him the chance to destroy the system.

• Zhou Sheng confirmed that the Affairs Bureau was drawing water from the Jiujiang and supplying Jinxia City’s western and northern districts.
• He led hired men to the water plant, where some hesitated to cut through the Affairs Bureau’s fence until a scarred man and a burly man urged them to act.
• The men sawed a carriage-sized gap in the fence, and Zhou Sheng disguised the damage so they could reopen it during their escape.
• Zhou Sheng led the carriages to the reservoirs and poured reddish-brown dust from a sack into the water.
• He ordered the men to bring over the remaining sacks while he continued his plan to poison the water supply.

Zhou Sheng’s plan to poison Jinxia City’s water supply was exposed when Xia Fan’s allies ambushed the conspirators at the reservoir. The burly Sorcery Art practitioner died in flames, Zhou Sheng was captured, and the poisoning plot was stopped before it could unfold.

• Zhou Sheng poured arsenic into the reservoir, intending to poison Jinxia City’s residents and undermine the princess’s authority.
• A short man revealed that he was on Xia Fan’s side, and the burly man attacked him with the Sorcery Art Earthfire.
• The short man endured the flames and used Shadow Shooter technique to wound the burly man with an unexpected arrow.
• A hidden ally restrained Zhou Sheng and the other conspirators with chains, while the short man reached the carriage.
• The burly man set himself on fire with Traceless Li Fire, and Zhou Sheng realized he had been captured.

Zhou Sheng’s sabotage plot was exposed, and Xia Fan used the crisis to test the waterworks’ purification system. The contaminated water was disinfected successfully, but the pumping pool remained sealed, leaving Jinxia City’s water supply cut off.

• The Affairs Bureau revealed that it had tracked Zhou Sheng’s arsenic purchases and arrested the conspirators, while a disguised Sentinel explained that Xia Fan had allowed the plot to proceed as a test.
• Sainiya detected both arsenic and malignant plague bacteria in the water, and Xia Fan explained that he had prepared the waterworks for sabotage and suspended the city’s supply.
• The waterworks’ Root-Nodule Grass adsorption pools captured mineral impurities, while increased chlorine disinfection targeted the dangerous bacteria.
• The treated water reached the pumping pool, but Xia Fan’s team kept its gates shut and prevented it from entering Jinxia City’s pipelines.

Xia Fan confirmed that double-dose chlorination neutralized the water toxin and learned that Seven Stars had secretly aided Zhou Sheng, prompting plans to identify and supervise Qi Sense Users. In Shangyuan City, Gao Sheng received reports about Seven Stars’ planned invasion of Yama Island and the Western Pole’s use of Evil Spirits before Lady Gongshu came to see him.

• Xia Fan confirmed that the purification system made poisoned water safe and learned that Zhou Sheng had acted as an unwitting intermediary for Seven Stars, which had left him unprotected.
• Yu Linglong said Zhou Sheng would be sentenced to lifelong hard labor, while Xia Fan and Thought Control discussed using scans and a processor to identify Qi Sense Users for registration and supervision.
• Gao Sheng received word that Seven Stars had located the immortal artifact on Yama Island and was restoring its sea transport capacity after Jinxia City disrupted the operation.
• Gao Sheng read a report that Western Pole Qi Sense Users were using Evil Spirits and forbidden arts in their war against the dragon demons, raising his concern about a future conflict with Seven Stars.
• A subordinate announced that Lady Gongshu wished to see Gao Sheng, and he ordered her admitted.

Gongshu Wang showed Gao Sheng a Gongshu Clan imitation of the Jinxia Army’s Iron Pellet Crossbow and explained that a new steel-forming technique made it difficult to reproduce. She urged Seven Stars to attack Jinxia immediately to seize Mo Yun and its mechanical secrets, but Gao Sheng refused and left Jinxia for later.

• Gongshu Wang’s assistants assembled an Iron Pellet Crossbow imitation beside a captured Jinxia weapon, and Gao Sheng asked how many could be produced.
• Gongshu Wang said the Gongshu Clan could make only fifty that year because the crossbow required a difficult way to shape hundredfold-forged steel.
• Gongshu Wang told Gao Sheng that Jinxia’s steel-forming method was a major secret and asked him to obtain Mo Yun or take Jinxia City.
• Gongshu Wang urged Seven Stars to raise a three-hundred-thousand-strong army and attack Jinxia, but Gao Sheng insisted that Seven Stars’ plans focused on the Gate of Heavenly Dao.
• Gongshu Wang warned that delaying the attack would make it too late.

Gongshu Wang failed to persuade Gao Sheng to change Seven Stars’ priorities, so she sent Gongshu Feng and Gongshu Jin to infiltrate Jinxia City’s Academy and learn its Mechanism Art. The brothers accepted her order to seek entry into Mo Yun’s Mechanical Bureau under new identities.

• Gao Sheng dismissed Gongshu Wang’s warning that Jinxia City’s advances in Mechanism Art required Seven Stars to act quickly, insisting that attacking Yama Island remained the priority.
• Gongshu Wang returned to her quarters and discussed Jinxia City, Mo Yun, and the Gongshu Clan’s position with Gongshu Feng and Gongshu Jin.
• Gongshu Jin warned that the Gongshu Clan had fallen behind Jinxia City because it treated Mechanism Art as a tool of war rather than entrusting it with broader development.
• Gongshu Wang rejected Gongshu Feng’s suggestion to appeal to the Yuheng Envoy, saying further interference in state affairs would be dangerous.
• Gongshu Wang proposed sending the brothers to Jinxia City’s Academy under untraceable identities so they could study its technology and gain Mo Yun’s trust.
• Gongshu Feng and Gongshu Jin accepted Gongshu Wang’s order to enter the Academy and seek places in the Mechanical Bureau.

Wuyue Yao’s reforms and civilian army broke the stalemate with Dong Sheng and advanced to Bumi Prefecture, whose harbor could secure Yama’s supply route to Jinxia. With the city surrounded, she ordered the assault to begin.

• Wuyue Yao’s government abolished serfdom, lowered taxes, and gained popular support as its civilian army defeated opposing lords and seized Iya Prefecture.
• Wuyue Yao’s forces marched west, capturing cities and reaching Bumi Prefecture with thirty thousand troops.
• Wuyue Yao prepared to punish Yuanjiu Shidi for his role in the An Clan’s blood sacrifices.
• Wuyue Yao ordered the horns and drums sounded and sent Tsi Qing and the Mechanical Beasts toward Bumi Prefecture’s eastern wall.

Yuanjiu Shidi watched the Yama army breach Bumi Prefecture’s defenses with its Mechanical Beasts, cannons, and Xuanwu. As Dong Sheng reinforcements approached, Wuyue Yao spotted a fleet of sails on the sea, leaving the newcomers’ allegiance unclear.

• Yuanjiu Shidi refused to leave Bumi Prefecture’s walls, relying on Dong Sheng’s promised reinforcements and ordering the defenders to prepare their cannons.
• The Wuyue army charged through the cannon fire and used its Air Rifles to suppress the defenders, while ninja attacks failed to stop the armored Mechanical Beasts.
• The Yama army bombarded the walls and sent Xuanwu crashing through the city gates, breaching Bumi Prefecture’s defenses in less than two ke.
• Yuanjiu Shidi prepared to send out his personal guard when a force approached from the north, but Wuyue Yao and Tsi Hong questioned whether the soldiers were fleeing.
• Someone called attention to the sea, and Wuyue Yao saw a dense fleet of sails through her Observation Mirror.

Wuyue Yao’s siege of Bumi Prefecture was interrupted when a Seven Stars fleet bombarded King Dong Sheng’s fleeing army and sent elite soldiers across the sea to attack her forces. Wuyue ordered a retreat, while Tsi Qing’s Xuanwu troops covered the withdrawal and confronted a deadly Qi practitioner.

• Tsi Hong and Wuyue identified the approaching fleet as Seven Stars vessels, and Wuyue recognized them as enemies of Jinxia and Yama.
• The Seven Stars ships bombarded King Dong Sheng’s routed army before landing armored soldiers who ran across the sea and struck Wuyue’s right wing.
• Wuyue ordered the central army and left wing to abandon the siege and retreat east, while Tsi Hong urged her to preserve her forces.
• Tsi Qing led the Xuanwu forces against the Seven Stars soldiers, using her Azure Dragon Long Saber and their large-caliber Air Rifles to open a path for the retreating troops.
• A green-robed Qi practitioner advanced against Tsi Qing, whose dread of him recalled Xia Fan but felt far more intense.

Tsi Qing fought an enemy whose invisible defenses could repel bullets and cripple Mechanical Beasts, then discovered a way past his barrier and attacked him directly. Her strike failed, and he shattered all five fingers on her hand.

• Tsi Qing tried to stall the enemy commander, but he attacked her with an unseen force that wounded her arm.
• The enemy deflected fire from two Xuanwu Mechanical Beasts and crippled their legs, while Tsi Qing ordered her troops to retreat.
• Tsi Qing guessed that the enemy's barrier took time to form and that his ability limited his movement.
• Tsi Qing hurled sand to expose the barrier, then pole-vaulted over it and attacked the enemy.
• The enemy remained unharmed and shattered all five of Tsi Qing's fingers when she grabbed his shoulder.

Tsi Qing was captured and brutally beaten by the Kaiyang Envoy, while the Seven Stars Army forced Wuyue Yao’s forces to retreat from Bumi Prefecture. Wuyue considered her army’s next move and decided to contact Jinxia before choosing a course of action.

• Tsi Qing tricked the Kaiyang Envoy with a dagger hidden in his mouth, cutting the man’s cheek before being thrown against an invisible wall and beaten.
• A Qi practitioner stopped the Kaiyang Envoy from killing Tsi Qing because he was needed as a sacrifice, and the Envoy ordered his men to count the battlefield’s survivors.
• The Kaiyang Envoy abandoned the pursuit of the retreating Mechanical Beasts and Yama troops, then announced he would visit Bumi Prefecture’s prefect.
• Wuyue Yao reviewed the army’s losses at its new camp and worried about Tsi Qing, while Arima Keiichiro reported that Tsi Hong had withdrawn to her tent.
• Keiichiro relayed the staff’s recommendation to retreat to Wima City and Tsushima City, but Wuyue chose to delay that decision and contact Jinxia, preferably that night.

After the army’s defeat, Wuyue Yao decided to send a small group into Bumi Prefecture to find out whether Tsi Qing was alive and gather intelligence on the Seven Stars. Tsi Qing awoke in enemy custody, gravely injured and bound, as someone entered the dungeon.

• Arima Keiichiro warned Wuyue Yao that informing Jinxia of the defeat could make the army appear troublesome, but Wuyue ordered the Signal Squad to set up an antenna.
• Wuyue suspected Tsi Qing might have survived because the enemy had taken her and other wounded soldiers from the battlefield.
• Keiichiro argued that a rescue attempt could cost hundreds of lives, and Wuyue agreed to send only five or six scouts to seek answers and gather intelligence.
• Tsi Qing awoke in a prison with catastrophic injuries and feared the enemy would use monks to keep her alive.
• Tsi Qing tried to find a way to kill herself but remained bound to a torture bed as an iron door opened and someone entered.

Tsi Qing was offered a chance to survive and escape by a monk who claimed to have come to save her, though his motives remained unclear. In Dong Sheng, Anshi Mingshen met with Dong Sheng Xiangri as the king's trust in the An Clan had weakened after their defeat in Yancheng.

• A monk agreed to keep Tsi Qing alive for up to seven days, despite believing her injuries were nearly beyond treatment.
• The monk told Tsi Qing he had lied to the jailers, said he had come to save her, and urged her to regain enough strength within three days to escape.
• Tsi Qing agreed to try to live, and the monk began treating her with Buddhist incantations and medicinal catalysts.
• Anshi Mingshen arrived at Qimei Terrace and noticed that Dong Sheng Xiangri had allowed a young sorcerer to sit beside him.
• Anshi Mingshen recognized that the An Clan had lost the king's trust after failing to control Jinxia and suffering a crushing defeat in Yancheng.

The young sorcerer, Sorcerer Zhang, told King Dong Sheng and Anshi Mingshen that the Seven Stars fleet had invaded Yama Island and seized Bumi Prefecture. King Dong Sheng chose to stand with the An Clan, while Sorcerer Zhang revealed that Seven Stars’ true target was an immortal artifact.

• Sorcerer Zhang told Anshi Mingshen that he had predicted the invasion and that the Seven Stars fleet had captured Bumi Prefecture.
• Anshi Mingshen read Seven Stars’ letter, which accused the An Clan of crimes and demanded that Yama’s feudal lords hand over every clan member.
• Anshi Mingshen warned King Dong Sheng that Seven Stars would threaten all of Yama and urged him not to abandon the An Clan.
• King Dong Sheng assured Anshi Mingshen that he would not surrender his State Preceptor and said Sorcerer Zhang had advised him to resist.
• Sorcerer Zhang said Seven Stars’ invasion was not truly aimed at the An Clan but at an immortal artifact.

Sorcerer Zhang demonstrated an Immortal Art that showed Anshi Ming a likely future in which King Dong Sheng conquered the mainland and the An Clan returned home. He revealed that the bloodstained temple was the immortal artifact, leaving King Dong Sheng eager to seize it.

• King Dong Sheng asked Anshi Ming why he had kept quiet about immortal artifacts, and Anshi Ming explained that even the Yong Dynasty had never controlled one.
• Sorcerer Zhang cast Immortal Art—World Chess Game, showing Anshi Ming possible events including the Bureau of Military Affairs' invasion and King Dong Sheng's eventual rise to the throne.
• Anshi Ming recognized the vision as a detailed extrapolation of likely events and was shaken by its depiction of the An Clan returning to the mainland.
• Sorcerer Zhang said the Bureau of Military Affairs would face opposition and that King Dong Sheng had time to arrange his plans and claim the artifact first.
• King Dong Sheng pressed Sorcerer Zhang to identify the immortal artifact, and Sorcerer Zhang revealed that the temple in the vision was the artifact.

Jinxia’s leaders debated the Seven Stars Bureau of Military Affairs’ motives after learning of its attack on Yama Island. Xia Fan argued that Jinxia should send troops overseas to support Princess Wuyue, leaving the meeting to weigh the risks against striking Shangyuan.

• Qian and Yan Yue were astonished by the report from Yama Island, which had reached Jinxia through the new radio connection.
• Xu Sanchong reported that Gao State forces had been probing the Leizhou border, while Ning Wanjun questioned why Seven Stars had redirected its campaign toward Yama.
• Chi proposed that Seven Stars’ attack on Yazhou had been intended to secure a route to Yama, and He Guicai suggested it had prepared for either an invasion of Jinxia or a shift to its island campaign.
• Ning Wanjun asked why Seven Stars had made Yama its priority, but Yan Yue said she knew nothing of its plans.
• Xia Fan laid out the choices of staying still, counterattacking Shangyuan, or sending troops to Yama, then endorsed supporting Yama and confronting Seven Stars there.

Ning Wanjun chose to honor her promise to aid the Yamato Kingdom rather than seize Shangyuan City, and Jinxia’s leaders planned a military expedition to Yama Island. The operation, named Overlord, was set to depart in three days.

• He Guicai urged Ning Wanjun to focus on the Leizhou border and take Shangyuan City instead of sending troops to Yama.
• Ning Wanjun assigned Xu Sanchong twenty thousand soldiers to defend Leizhou and declared that Jinxia would honor its promise to protect Wuyue Yao.
• Ning Wanjun’s decision persuaded the assembled leaders to support a rapid reinforcement mission to Yama Island.
• Xia Fan and the others planned to transport troops by Tree Boat, send four gunships for cover, and deploy high-ranking Fangshi against the Seven Stars Bureau of Military Affairs.
• The leaders chose Tsushima Prefecture as the landing site, named the operation Overlord, and scheduled the reinforcement division to depart in three days.

Gongshu Feng and Gongshu Jin traveled through Liuzhou, where they saw starving refugees fleeing the collapse of local order and argued with a merchant about who was responsible. Their disguise came under scrutiny, and their ship was stopped for inspection as it approached Huiyang City.

• Gongshu Jin suffered from seasickness while Gongshu Feng told him they would reach Jinxia City after changing boats in Shenzhou.
• The brothers saw scores of emaciated refugees walking south and wondered where they were going.
• Mr. Mo explained that people fled because local powers were exploiting them after the Bureau of Military Affairs was defeated.
• Gongshu Feng blamed Jinxia City and defended handing authority to the Bureau of Military Affairs, but Mr. Mo challenged his assumptions and pointed out flaws in the brothers’ disguise.
• An official at Huiyang Prefecture ordered the cargo ship to stop for inspection.

Gongshu Feng and Gongshu Jin found their southbound ship delayed by a corrupt inspection queue and chose to travel on foot with refugees instead. After two days witnessing the refugees’ suffering, they heard urgent hoofbeats in the wilderness as night fell on the third day.

• The shipowner told Gongshu Feng and Gongshu Jin that southbound ships faced lengthy inspections, and faster passage depended on paying more.
• With only ten taels left and no acceptable way to pay for passage, Gongshu Jin proposed disguising themselves among refugees and walking to the Liuzhou border.
• Gongshu Feng agreed, and the brothers left Huiyang City with refugee groups, relying on their travel permits and the crowd for safety.
• During two days on the road, Gongshu Feng and Gongshu Jin witnessed starvation, deaths, and nightly crying, while Gongshu Jin’s sickness worsened.
• On the third day at nightfall, urgent hoofbeats broke the wilderness’s stillness.

Gongshu Feng and Gongshu Jin were caught in a raid by armed men from the Military-Farming Manor, who attacked and prepared to enslave the refugees. Gongshu Feng claimed that he and his brother worked for the Bureau of Military Affairs, and the sharp-faced man went to consult the chief steward, leaving their fate unresolved.

• Gongshu Feng woke Gongshu Jin as a large group of armed riders approached the refugees at night.
• The riders surrounded the crowd, shot arrows into the vulnerable refugees, and routed the others before sorting them for enslavement.
• A sharp-faced appraiser selected Gongshu Feng as valuable and ordered retainers to take him away, while another man ordered Gongshu Jin killed as worthless.
• Gongshu Feng shoved away the retainers and claimed that he and Gongshu Jin were Bureau of Military Affairs agents on a secret mission.
• Gongshu Feng named the Bureau's local commander, and the sharp-faced man ordered the retainers to wait while he consulted the chief steward.