Chapter Summaries

Ning Wanjun fought An Yourang through his illusion and pain-amplifying arts, enduring his attacks while waiting for help. Qiuyue’s arrow distracted An Yourang just as a mysterious black silhouette struck him and shattered his lower body.

• An Yourang summoned a dark red wilderness and attacked Ning Wanjun with chains, but she broke the illusion and pierced his abdomen despite his pain-amplifying art.
• An Yourang retaliated with a relentless barrage, wounding Ning Wanjun until she committed to a mutual strike that pierced his chest as his hand entered her shoulder.
• An Yourang revealed he had dodged her spear because he intended to keep her for his collection, and Ning Wanjun said she had been waiting for help.
• Qiuyue fired an arrow at An Yourang, who caught it in his teeth while Ning Wanjun locked his arm in place.
• A powerful black silhouette punched through An Yourang’s waist, while Qiuyue ran toward the fallen Ning Wanjun.

Xia Fan struck An Yourang with the Zhen Technique while Ning Wanjun held him in place, but An Yourang absorbed the surrounding Mei and transformed into a gigantic Demon. The chapter ended as An Yourang revealed his perfected Evil Night Demon Transformation above the stockyard.

• Xia Fan moved closer through the shadows and fired the Zhen Technique at An Yourang while Ning Wanjun pinned him with her spear.
• An Yourang’s body and the surrounding Mei turned into black vapor and gathered into a rapidly growing form above the stockyard.
• Xia Fan used the Copper Wire Pendant to strike An Yourang with lightning, but An Yourang retaliated by hurling a Mei at him.
• An Yourang transformed the black mass into a smooth, enormous shape and declared it the An Clan’s Evil Night Demon Transformation.

A Demon formed from An Yourang attacked the survivors as Xia Fan and his allies struggled to retreat through the darkened streets. With Fang Xiandao’s divination offering only the word “Water,” Xia Fan was left to figure out how it could help them defeat the Demon and protect Jinxia City.

• The Demon’s black-mist twigs battered the yard, killing soldiers, destroying Mo Yun’s Mechanical Beast, and weakening the fires that kept the Mei at bay.
• Li arrived and carried Xia Fan away from the barrage, while Shanhui was struck and fell with Ning Wanjun and Qiuyue.
• Fang Xiandao arrived with Qian Zhi, whose Ice-Making Technique raised a wall that blocked the Demon’s attacks and gave the group time to regroup.
• The Demon began moving south and recovering its black mist, while Xia Fan worried about evacuating Jinxia City’s civilians without the fires’ protection.
• Ning Wanjun woke briefly, learned the Demon was still far away, and entrusted the problem to Xia Fan.
• Fang Xiandao revealed that his divination’s answer was “Water,” but could not explain how Xia Fan should use it against the Demon.

As rain weakened the defenders’ fires, Xia Fan devised a way to use Qian Zhi’s ice-making Innate Technique to delay the Demon and sent the princess’s guards toward the West Wall. An Yourang spotted Xia Fan returning to the yard with a Fox Demon and attacked them with black mist.

• Thunder and the first rain of autumn swept through the North District, making it clear that ordinary fires could not hold back the Demon.
• Xia Fan learned that Qian Zhi could shape ice and reasoned that the rain might let her create a massive barrier.
• Xia Fan ordered the princess’s guards to withdraw to the West Wall and persuaded Fang Xiandao to stay and help him.
• Xia Fan asked Fang Xiandao to lend him Qian Zhi, while the Demon entered the wrecked streets and An Yourang struggled against his fading consciousness.
• An Yourang recognized Xia Fan when he returned to the yard with a Fox Demon and sent dozens of streams of black mist toward them.

Xia Fan and his companions carried out an improvised plan to strike An Yourang’s airborne Demon with a bronze bell. The bell hurtled along Qian Zhi’s ice rail, and the chapter ended as it plunged into the Demon’s body.

• Xia Fan used electricity to scatter the Meis while Li dodged the Demon’s attacks and seized the fallen bronze bell.
• Fang Xiandao and Qian Zhi prepared to help Xia Fan, with Qian Zhi using her qi to create a long, sturdy ice rail.
• Li delivered the bronze bell to the ice rail, then drew the Demon’s attention away from Xia Fan and Qian Zhi.
• Qian Zhi launched the bell, and Xia Fan used the Guichen Shock Technique—Caliber Is Justice—to accelerate it along the rail.
• The red-hot bronze bell shot through the rain and plunged into the Demon’s body.

Xia Fan’s attack with the bronze bell severely wounded the Demon, and Fang Xiandao recognized the hidden meaning of his divination. As the Demon was swallowed by a tear in the sky, dawn returned to Jinxia City.

• Soldiers across Jinxia City saw a bronze bell strike the Demon, which writhed and spewed black mist.
• Ning Wanjun heard Qiuyue describe how Xia Fan and the others had stopped the Demon and said she had expected it.
• Fang Xiandao realized the attack had revealed the meaning of his divination, while Xia Fan urged him to flee.
• Xia Fan warned Li to seek shelter, but she charged toward the warehouses as the Demon began to lose its shape.
• A seam opened in the sky and swallowed the Demon, and Li offered Xia Fan a ride.
• Xia Fan told Li they were safe, and she saw daylight returning over Jinxia City.

After Jinxia City survived the battle, Ning Wanjun recovered from her injuries and visited Xia Fan at the Villa. She told him that Wang Qingzhi was dead, leaving the reason for his death unspoken.

• The reconnaissance team reported that the Dong Sheng Kingdom gunboat had been wrecked and abandoned, and Ning Wanjun assigned Xu Sanchong and Eunuch Li to raid the Wang family.
• Two days later, Ning Wanjun had Qiuyue change her bandages and explained to Mo Yun why she led soldiers from the front.
• Mo Yun resolved to improve the Mechanical Beasts and push for their mass production to strengthen Ning Wanjun's chances of victory.
• Ning Wanjun learned that Xia Fan had visited while she was asleep, then went to see him at the Villa.
• Xia Fan said he had no interest in the Wang family's confiscated goods, and Ning Wanjun told him that Wang Qingzhi was dead.

Xia Fan and Ning Wanjun weighed whether to report Dong Sheng Kingdom’s attack on Jinxia City or conceal it to avoid the court’s intervention. Xia Fan proposed blaming the disaster on sea bandits and using Wang Yi'an’s cooperation to support the account.

• Ning Wanjun told Xia Fan that Wang Qingzhi had hanged himself, Wang Yi'an had gone mad, and Wang Renzhi was missing.
• Ning Wanjun explained that Jinxia City’s chief officials were dead or incapacitated, making the invasion difficult to conceal from the court.
• Ning Wanjun asked whether she could withstand an eventual military campaign by the provinces, and Xia Fan warned that victory would depend on too many uncertain factors.
• Xia Fan proposed presenting the attack as a sea bandit disaster tied to the Wang family’s Sea Salt smuggling and the Donghai Gang.
• Xia Fan suggested offering to preserve the Wang family bloodline in exchange for Wang Yi'an’s cooperation.

Xia Fan and Ning Wanjun discussed a cover story for Wang Renzhi’s disappearance, his growing reputation as a Fangshi, and a strange vision he saw when the Demon vanished. Ning Wanjun began to explain why Xia Fan might be unusual, but news arrived that the Shenzhou Army was crossing the river toward Jinxia City.

• Ning Wanjun agreed that a condemned criminal could impersonate Wang Renzhi if Wang Yi'an confessed, helping keep the Ministry of War from meddling.
• Ning Wanjun permitted Xia Fan to call her by name when they were alone, then asked him to describe how he had used the Zhen Technique in battle.
• Ning Wanjun told Xia Fan that the army had begun calling him the Nine Heavens Thunder Envoy, a title marking his recognized strength.
• Xia Fan told Ning Wanjun that he had felt as if the sky split open when the Demon vanished, and she suggested that only he might have seen it.
• A guard reported that a large force bearing the Shenzhou Army's banners had been spotted crossing the river toward Jinxia City.

Gong Sheng arrived at Jinxia City with Shenzhou Army cavalry and discovered that Princess Guangping controlled access to the city after a devastating Sea Bandit attack. He entered with only a small escort to investigate the deaths of the prefect and most senior officials.

• Gong Sheng learned from Lu Honghua that a large refugee camp had stood outside the city and concluded that Sea Bandits had attacked Jinxia.
• Gong Sheng tried to force his way through the West City Gate, but guards stopped him under Princess Guangping's order to register large groups.
• An unseen archer shot at Gong Sheng as he threatened the guards, and the gate yielded when Princess Guangping arrived.
• Ning Wanjun told Gong Sheng that the main Sea Bandit force had been destroyed and that the prefect and most officials of sixth rank and above had died.
• Ning Wanjun allowed only Gong Sheng, Lu Honghua, and ten subordinates into the city, and Gong Sheng agreed to the restriction.

Ning Wanjun showed Gong Sheng evidence that the Wang family had caused the Jinxia City disaster, then offered the Shenzhou Army a share of the credit for suppressing the sea bandits in exchange for preserving her control over the city's defenses. Gong Sheng accepted and ordered his troops to leave that night, declaring that all signs of their own failures were the work of sea bandits.

• Gong Sheng inspected the bodies at the prefectural office and confirmed that Prefect Xiao and the other officials were dead.
• Ning Wanjun presented account books implicating Wang Yi'an in illicit salt trading and said he would be sent to Shangyuan for trial.
• Gong Sheng asked the Shenzhou Army to escort Wang Yi'an and claim credit for suppressing the bandits, and Ning Wanjun agreed in return for keeping the garrison arrangements largely unchanged and sharing credit with the Bureau of Military Affairs.
• Gong Sheng suggested altering the memorial to portray Prefect Xiao as having tried to blackmail Wang Yi'an, and Ning Wanjun recognized him as a useful candidate.
• After a guard reported a collapsed wall, a capsized ship, and other evidence, Gong Sheng ordered him to call every sign the work of sea bandits.
• Gong Sheng ordered the Shenzhou Army to return to its garrison that night so it could secure its share of the merit before other generals arrived.

Luo Qingqing tried to leave after escorting the drunken Fourth Prince, but Ning Chunan confronted her over rumors about Xia Fan and her past. The chapter ended with Ning Chunan lunging at her.

• Luo Qingqing noticed Ning Chunan had grown less clingy and hoped to avoid becoming entangled with him.
• Ning Chunan summoned Luo Qingqing to his room and demanded to know why she would not become his.
• Ning Chunan accused Luo Qingqing of having a relationship with Xia Fan and cited reports about their time together during the Scholar Examination.
• Luo Qingqing suspected that Luo Fengqing had revealed the secret after Ning Chunan described investigating the exam disciples.
• Ning Chunan insulted Luo Qingqing and claimed he would make her forget Xia Fan, then lunged at her.

Luo Qingqing stopped Ning Chunan from forcing himself on her by breaking his wrist and pinning his hand to the floor, then admitted to the guards that she had injured him and was taken to Dali Temple. In prison, Luo Tang visited her and asked what had happened, while warning that Ning Chunan’s mother, Luo Yufei, might handle the case.

• Ning Chunan threatened a maid with a dagger and ordered Luo Qingqing to undress, but Luo Qingqing struck his wrist and pinned his other hand to the floor.
• Luo Qingqing called for the guards and admitted that she had injured the Fourth Prince, then asked to be sent to Dali Temple.
• Luo Qingqing was held alone in an underground prison, where she felt more at ease than she had in the palace.
• Luo Tang visited Luo Qingqing, said Luo Changtian had been trying to secure help for her, and asked her to explain what had happened.

After Luo Qingqing explained the Fourth Prince’s attempted assault to Luo Tang, Luo Fengqing urged her to accept Consort Luo’s offer and recant, but she rejected him and accused him of betraying her. After five days in prison, she was summoned for questioning and brought to a small inner room where Luo Wuji and others were waiting.

• Luo Tang visited Luo Qingqing in prison, praised her for calling the guards, and promised to inform Luo Changtian and their senior brothers.
• Luo Qingqing warned Luo Tang that she suspected Luo Fengqing had revealed what happened in Qingshan Town to the Fourth Prince.
• Luo Fengqing visited in his new Artistic Internal Guard uniform and asked Luo Qingqing to admit fault in exchange for Consort Luo’s forgiveness.
• Luo Qingqing accused Luo Fengqing of telling the Fourth Prince about Qingshan Town and ended their relationship as senior brother and junior sister.
• Luo Fengqing left the prison, feeling that his lingering image of Luo Qingqing had vanished as he walked away.
• After about five days in detention, Luo Qingqing was summoned for interrogation and found Luo Wuji among the people waiting in a small inner room.

Luo Qingqing faced an interrogation before Qiu Guang over the Fourth Prince’s assault, as Luo Yufei argued that Qingqing had concealed a relationship with Xia Fan. The hearing remained unresolved when Luo Wuji questioned her about choosing Xia Fan’s proposal during the Scholar Examination.

• Luo Qingqing recounted the incident, and Luo Yufei agreed with her account of events while disputing its details and accusing her of misleading the Fourth Prince.
• Luo Yufei presented the Fourth Prince’s maidservant, Qingci, whose testimony supported Luo Yufei’s version of what had happened.
• Luo Yufei showed a letter from Xia Fan and argued that Luo Qingqing’s keeping it proved they had an illicit relationship.
• Luo Qingqing denied having an affair with Xia Fan, but few in the room attended to her denial.
• Luo Wuji asked Luo Qingqing whether she had chosen Xia Fan’s proposal during the Scholar Examination because she preferred the better order to one of her own making.

Luo Qingqing accepted a sentence of fifty blows and lifelong exile to Ling Province after the Luo Family and Dali Temple settled her case without investigating the facts. Meanwhile, Luo Yufei planned to reclaim Qingqing after she disappeared from public view, and Ba Xingtian led troops through Pozi Gully toward the Gao State border.

• Luo Qingqing admitted defying the Luo Family's order, and Luo Wuji expelled her from his disciples before Qiu Guang sentenced her to fifty blows and lifelong exile in Ling Province.
• Luo Yufei told Ning Chunan that the Luo Family had protected Qingqing and urged him to wait until Qingqing had left everyone's sight before trying to keep her by his side.
• Ning Chunan said he wanted Qingqing to stay with him, and Luo Yufei warned that he should not give her a chance to choose.
• Ba Xingtian led two thousand elite soldiers across Pozi Gully while Yin Youji asked why they were not attacking the lightly defended Futian Fortress.
• Ba Xingtian explained that capturing the fortress could provoke an unauthorized war with Gao State, whose troops were already preparing for a major operation.

Ba Xingtian led Qi State troops across Pozi Gully with Sky-Suspension Ropes to strike the Gao State army from behind. After routing the troops in the valley, he emerged near Baixi Lake and found a vast, orderly Gao State force waiting there.

• Ba Xingtian and Yin Youji discussed using the Sky-Suspension Ropes to flank the Gao State army and the possibility of future weapons from the Ministry of Works.
• Ba Xingtian’s force crossed Pozi Gully, spotted the Gao State army carrying timber, and waited for General Zuo’s signal to attack.
• After signal rockets rose, Ba Xingtian led his troops in a surprise charge that threw the Gao State rear troops into chaos.
• Ba Xingtian killed Mengduo, claimed his horse, and drove the Gao State soldiers into a panicked retreat.
• Ba Xingtian emerged from the valley near Baixi Lake and saw a huge, orderly Gao State army drawn up along the shore.

Ba Xingtian led his two thousand soldiers in a desperate attempt to break through Gao State’s encirclement, but Fei Nian killed him after he escaped the battlefield. Zuo An believed Ba Xingtian’s force had been wiped out, only to see Xu State’s elite Black Cavalry approach his camp and realize Leizhou was doomed.

• Ba Xingtian ordered his troops north toward Leizhou Prefecture and charged Gao State’s encircling army to carry news of Zuo An’s betrayal back home.
• After fighting through the night, Ba Xingtian escaped alone, gravely wounded, and encountered Fei Nian, who admitted he had come to kill him.
• Ba Xingtian asked whether Zuo An would also die, and Fei Nian promised he would before cutting Ba Xingtian down.
• Zuo An concluded that Ba Xingtian’s force had been destroyed and ordered his camp to prepare to return home.
• Zuo An saw Xu State’s Black Cavalry charging toward his camp and realized Leizhou was doomed.

During court, the Son of Heaven collapsed after receiving news that Gao State had captured Leizhou’s capital and advanced to the Suzhou border. Meanwhile, Ning Qianshi reviewed the Fangshi rankings, circled Luo Qingqing’s name, and completed a painting that He’er thought resembled a black Gate.

• Feng Ke reported that sea bandits had attacked Jinxia City, that Princess Guangping was safe, and that Wang Yi'an had been captured.
• Ning Weiyuan urged the court to prioritize rebuilding Jinxia City and reward Princess Guangping, and the Son of Heaven accepted his recommendations.
• An imperial guard delivered urgent news that Gao State had captured Leizhou’s capital and its main army had reached the Suzhou border, and the Son of Heaven collapsed.
• Ning Qianshi reviewed the updated Fangshi rankings, noted Xia Fan’s rise and Fang Xiandao’s fall, and circled Luo Qingqing’s name.
• Ning Qianshi finished an abstract painting as the palace gates were sealed, and He’er said it resembled a black Gate.

Luo You'er helped residents navigate Jinxia City's new General Affairs Bureau as Ning Wanjun reviewed Xia Fan's costly plans to reshape the city and bring its people under her influence. She approved the initial spending and decided to add funds for recruiting soldiers.

• Luo You'er guided residents to the correct counters and explained the Bureau's hiring and compensation services.
• Eunuch Li reported that Xia Fan's plan required an initial investment of 280,000 taels and could exceed one million taels in later phases.
• Ning Wanjun recalled Xia Fan's proposal for a new institution that would handle daily needs, disaster recovery, employment, and other local government functions.
• Ning Wanjun approved the 280,000-tael initial investment and decided to allocate additional funds to recruit soldiers.