Chapter Summaries

Jiang Nan rejected Zhang Chen and ended their relationship, while Zhang Gaoqiu and Shen Ling misunderstood the aftermath of their scheme. Madam Wang forbade Shen Qiu from pursuing Jiang Nan, then received Zhang Gaoqiu, who came to assess what had happened.

• Jiang Nan told Zhang Chen she would not marry him and asked him to treat their past as a forgotten dream; Zhang Chen accepted her rejection and left.
• Zhang Gaoqiu woke at home and learned that Madam Wang and Jiang Nan had left his courtyard looking disheveled, so he hurried to visit Madam Wang.
• Shen Ling woke and learned from Madam Wang that Zhang Chen had agreed to end their engagement, and Madam Wang said she would arrange Shen Ling's marriage to Zhang Gaoqiu.
• Madam Wang ordered Shen Qiu to stop pursuing Jiang Nan, but Shen Qiu insisted he would marry no one else.
• Madam Wang admitted Zhang Gaoqiu, who respectfully greeted her while studying her expression for clues.

Madam Wang arranged for Zhang Gaoqiu to marry Shen Ling while urging him to separate Shen Qiu from Jiang Nan. Zhang Chen ended his engagement and gave up his claim to enter Chongzheng Academy Inner Courtyard in exchange for his mother's relic, then prepared to leave the Shen Family and find a safer home.

• Madam Wang told Zhang Gaoqiu that she would send a proposal to the Capital Zhang Family for his marriage to Shen Ling, and asked him to persuade Shen Qiu to break with Jiang Nan.
• Zhang Chen persuaded the old madam to cancel his engagement and let him withdraw his claim to a slot in Chongzheng Academy Inner Courtyard rather than trade away his mother's relic.
• Zhang Chen decided to leave the Shen Family, which he believed was threatened by the Yellow Heaven Dao, Salt Gang, and Cao Gang, and promised Zhang Shi they would move after he found a house.
• Zhang Chen visited Liu Ji and asked him to find a discreet, secure courtyard, explaining that his budget was ten thousand taels of silver.
• Liu Ji refused Zhang Chen's money and said he could obtain a residence by using the upheaval expected when the Yellow Heaven Dao moved against the Shen Family.

Zhang Chen learned that powerful forces were conspiring to seize the Shen family’s waterways, but he chose not to warn Jiang Nan after she rejected him and insisted they become strangers. Three days later, he visited Liu Ji and recognized the Treasure Sword he was honing as the Immortal Slaughtering Sword.

• Liu Ji explained that the Shen family could not defend its vast waterways from the princes and other forces coveting its fortune, and Zhang Chen decided to keep his distance from the family’s troubles.
• Shen Qiu threatened Zhang Chen’s younger siblings and insulted him as Zhang Chen tried to visit Jiang Nan.
• Jiang Nan told Zhang Chen she loved Shen Qiu and would soon become engaged to him, then asked Zhang Chen to treat her as a stranger.
• Zhang Chen returned to his courtyard, cultivated, and spent three days gathering information about Chongzheng Academy and studying the Heaven and Earth Laws.
• Zhang Chen visited Liu Ji and recognized the Treasure Sword in his hands as the Immortal Slaughtering Sword, whose aura was tied to the Innate Peacock.

Zhang Chen examined Liu Ji’s Treasure Sword and realized it contained the tip of the Immortal Slaughtering Sword, while plotting to take it during Liu Ji’s coming fight with the Shen Family’s Tenth Order God. After settling his family in a new residence, Zhang Chen went to visit the Shen Family’s Old Madam and encountered the Tenth Order God, which recognized a resemblance to the thief it had seen.

• Liu Ji showed Zhang Chen his Treasure Sword, and Zhang Chen identified its tip as part of the Immortal Slaughtering Sword and resolved to steal it during the battle with the Shen Family’s Tenth Order God.
• Liu Ji told Zhang Chen that the Huang Family had given him a three-section courtyard, warned him to keep Cheng Yu inside, and escorted him to the residence.
• Zhang Chen returned to the Shen Family courtyard and told his family they would move the next day, then they began packing their belongings.
• Zhang Chen went to bid farewell to the Old Madam of the Shen Family and saw the Tenth Order God enter her residence.
• The Tenth Order God emerged, recognized Zhang Chen’s resemblance to the thief from its treasure mirror, and a maid summoned Zhang Chen inside.

Zhang Chen moved his family out of the Shen Family estate and gave Cheng Yu an Invisibility Talisman to keep him safe from Yellow Heaven Dao cultivators. When Zhang Chen visited Chongzheng Academy to learn how to enroll, his Human Path reincarnation reacted to the academy, but he discovered that admission required a recommendation and fifty thousand taels of silver.

• A tenth-order Shen Family deity suspected Zhang Chen resembled the thief who had robbed the Shen Family, but Zhang Chen's Inverted Yin Yang fooled the deity's inspection.
• Zhang Chen persuaded the Old Madam to let his family leave the Shen Family estate, and they quietly moved into a new residence.
• Zhang Chen gave Cheng Yu a ninth-order Invisibility Talisman and warned him to use it whenever he went out.
• Zhang Chen used an escape art to travel to Chongzheng Academy, where his Human Path reincarnation reacted to a portion of the Six Paths of Reincarnation within the academy.
• A servant told Zhang Chen that admission required a recommendation and fifty thousand taels of silver, then mocked him and shoved him away when he asked about an entrance examination.

Zhang Chen used his ties to the Jinling Shen Family to draw Dean Zhou Qiucheng to his home, hoping to negotiate entry into Chongzheng Academy and gain access to the Animal Path hidden there. Zhou arrived at night seeking the rare ginseng, but Zhang Chen had not yet met with him.

• A servant told Zhang Chen that finding the seller of the miraculous ginseng might persuade Zhou Qiucheng to admit him to Chongzheng Academy, and Zhang Chen recognized himself in the reward notice.
• Zhang Chen went to Shangjia Medical Clinic and refused Wang Chong's offer to buy more ginseng, warning him not to provoke someone connected to the Jinling Shen Family.
• Wang Chong followed Zhang Chen to the Shen Family residence, learned his address from Lai San, and hurried to Chongzheng Academy to report his whereabouts.
• Wang Chong led Zhou Qiucheng to Zhang Chen's residence and secured a place at Chongzheng Academy for his young son in exchange for his help.
• Zhang Chen sent Zhang Tuowei to receive the late-night visitors, and Zhou Qiucheng's expression froze when Zhang Tuowei cursed him from behind the gate.

Zhang Chen agreed to give Zhou Qiucheng an Eight Thousand Year Ginseng root in exchange for a place in Chongzheng Academy’s inner courtyard, then arranged for Zhou Qiucheng to teach his younger brother, Little Sister, and Cheng Yu. Zhou Qiucheng used the ginseng to revive his gravely injured son, who woke and began recovering.

• Zhou Qiucheng and Wang Chong visited Zhang Chen and begged him to sell ginseng to save Zhou Qiucheng’s son.
• Zhang Chen agreed to give Zhou Qiucheng an Eight Thousand Year Ginseng root if Zhou Qiucheng admitted him to the academy’s inner courtyard.
• Zhou Qiucheng offered to teach Zhang Chen, and Zhang Chen instead arranged for his younger brother, Little Sister, and Cheng Yu to become Zhou Qiucheng’s disciples.
• Zhou Qiucheng gave Zhang Chen a jade token and hurried back to the academy with the ginseng.
• Wang Chong prepared the ginseng soup, and Zhou Qiucheng’s son awakened after drinking it.

Zhang Chen prepared Cheng Yu to study safely and brought the Three Little Ones to Chongzheng Academy, where they formally became Zhou Qiucheng’s apprentices. The children were set to begin classes in three days, while Zhang Chen planned to use the academy as a base to pursue the Animal Path reincarnation and act against the Salt Gang.

• Zhang Chen woke the Three Little Ones and told them they would apprentice under Zhou Qiucheng, then gave Cheng Yu a Jianmu-leaf rabbit mask imbued with Reincarnation power to conceal her identity and nourish her soul.
• Zhang Chen hired a carriage and took the Three Little Ones to Chongzheng Academy, thinking about arranging a Blood God Son as their driver and protector and targeting the Salt Gang.
• Chen Qi met Zhang Chen’s group and guided them to Zhou Qiucheng, who welcomed them with his wife and son and explained that the apprenticeship would be kept private for their protection.
• Zhang Chen and the Three Little Ones completed a simple apprenticeship ceremony, and Zhou Qiucheng arranged their studies and promised to teach them at night.
• Chen Qi escorted Zhang Chen’s group down the mountain, and the servant who had taken Zhang Chen’s ten taels worried he might retaliate before interpreting Zhang Chen’s smile as a sign of forgiveness.

Zhang Chen provoked the Shen family into searching Jinling City, then followed a visitor to discover Yellow Heaven Dao and the Salt Gang’s footholds. At Chongzheng Academy, he learned about the mysterious Treasure Pagoda and its dangers, and the chapter ended as he arrived for the first day of classes.

• Zhang Chen recalled the Blood God Son from Lai San, causing Lai San to collapse into Human Skin outside the Shen Residence and prompting the Shen family to put Jinling City on alert.
• Zhang Chen followed a visitor from Liu Ji’s house to uncover Yellow Heaven Dao’s stronghold and the Salt Gang’s foothold, then sent a Blood God Son to possess an old servant.
• Zhang Chen explored Chongzheng Academy’s back mountain and found a Nine-Story Treasure Pagoda that absorbed Great Sun Essence and resonated with the Animal Path.
• Zhou Zhen explained that the tower had appeared during the Great Victory Dynasty, suppressed powerful beings, and now housed the academy’s Mysterious Inner Courtyard.
• Zhang Chen decided not to risk entering the tower before he understood it, and waited for the academy’s classes to begin.
• When Chongzheng Academy opened, Zhang Chen arrived at its gates and found hundreds of richly dressed young people gathered there.

Zhang Chen queued to compete for Chongzheng Academy’s inner academy slots and learned that several powerful newcomers were pursuing them. Shen Ling confronted him from the Shen Family carriage and tried to bar him from the academy, but Zhang Chen went to register anyway as the steward warned him away.

• Wei Bai explained that Chongzheng Academy had opened ten inner academy slots for more than five hundred applicants and identified Zhang Gaoqiu and Chai Chuanxin as leading contenders.
• Zhang Chen recognized the name Chai Chuanxin as connected to Tu Shan Qing, the Gambling Fox, and wondered where Zhuge Cheng was.
• Shen Ling stopped the Shen Family carriage beside Zhang Chen and accused him of relying on her family’s influence to enter the academy.
• Zhang Chen rejected Shen Ling’s accusation, and she ordered the registration steward to prevent him from using the Shen Family’s name.
• After Wei Bai fled, Zhang Chen approached the steward to register, but the steward warned him that no one would admit him after Shen Ling’s order.

Zhang Chen enrolled at Chongzheng Academy but discovered that his old enemy Zhang Xiaohua had also arrived. Zhou Qiucheng explained that Zhang Xiaohua’s presence was part of Yellow Heaven Dao’s growing threat to the Shen Family, leaving Zhang Chen to face a dangerous struggle within the academy.

• Zhang Chen used Zhou Qiucheng’s jade token to enroll under his own name and chose to live at home.
• Zhang Xiaohua arrived at Chongzheng Academy with an invitation and declared himself the Young Lord of the Pacifying Border King.
• Worried Zhang Xiaohua would discover the Three Little Ones at the academy, Zhang Chen left to consider how to keep them safe.
• Zhang Chen visited Zhou Qiucheng and learned that Zhang Xiaohua was an Eleventh-Order deity who had come to confront Zhou Qiucheng on Yellow Heaven Dao’s behalf.
• Zhou Qiucheng told Zhang Chen that Yellow Heaven Dao and the White Lotus Sect were scheming against the Shen Family, while the court and other aristocratic houses were unable or unwilling to protect it.
• Zhou Qiucheng explained that Zhang Xiaohua’s Water Virtue Star Lord title conflicted with the Shen Family’s control of water transport, and that his promised divine positions had divided the Capital Zhang Family.

Zhou Qiucheng promised to protect Zhang Chen and stopped Zhang Xiaohua from attacking him in Jinling City. After Zhang Xiaohua left, Zhang Chen realized he needed to prepare for Yellow Heaven Dao’s plans against the Shen Family and Cheng Yu.

• Zhou Qiucheng told Zhang Chen that he would protect him in Jinling City and advised him to prepare for the academy’s inner selection trials and the mysterious pavilion.
• Zhang Xiaohua arrived and tried to kill Zhang Chen, but Zhou Qiucheng blocked his attack with an illusory ancient tower.
• Zhang Xiaohua accused Zhang Chen of sabotaging Zhang Shicheng’s two dragon transformations, while Zhang Chen said the Pacifying Border Prince’s Mansion had brought its failures upon itself.
• Zhou Qiucheng refused to let Zhang Xiaohua harm Zhang Chen or his family in Jinling City, and Zhang Xiaohua left after warning Zhang Chen not to leave.
• Zhou Qiucheng urged Zhang Chen to stay in Jinling City, while Zhang Chen foresaw that Yellow Heaven Dao might target Cheng Yu after destroying the Shen Family.

Zhang Chen entered the academy classroom despite Shen Ling and Zhang Gaoqiu’s objections, and Gambling Fox intervened to defend him and wager that he had passed the proper assessment. Zhang Chen spotted the verbal trap in Gambling Fox’s words and refused to agree, leaving the bet with Zhang Gaoqiu to be settled when the teacher called roll.

• Zhou Qiucheng told Zhang Chen to leave the mountain and promised to protect him as long as he stayed in Jinling City.
• Zhang Chen arrived at the academy’s Class A classroom and saw Zhang Xiaohua, Gambling Fox, Shen Ling, Zhang Gaoqiu, Jiang Nan, and Shen Qiu among the students.
• Shen Ling and Zhang Gaoqiu ordered Zhang Chen to leave, but Zhang Chen mocked them and refused.
• Gambling Fox blocked Zhang Gaoqiu’s divine ability and challenged him to wager that Zhang Chen had entered through the proper assessment.
• Zhang Chen recognized that agreeing with Gambling Fox could make him stake his possessions, so he answered irrelevantly and sat down.
• Gambling Fox accepted Zhang Gaoqiu’s demand that the loser kowtow and said the teacher’s roll call would decide the wager.

Zhang Chen and Tu Shan Qing forged an alliance after Tu Shan Qing used Chen Sanliang’s letter to explain his undercover role. At Chongzheng Academy’s roll call, Shen Ling challenged Zhang Chen’s admission, but the teacher confirmed that the Dean had personally approved it.

• Chai Chuanxin used his Power of Gambling to see Zhang Chen as a trove of treasures and resolved to befriend him.
• Tu Shan Qing claimed Chen Sanliang had forgiven him and showed Zhang Chen a letter ordering him to investigate Chongzheng Academy.
• Zhang Chen accepted Tu Shan Qing’s explanation and agreed that they should look after one another.
• Teacher Song Yi began taking attendance, warmly accommodating Zhang Xiaohua and Zhang Gaoqiu.
• When Song Yi called Zhang Chen’s name, Shen Ling objected that he was unqualified to attend the academy.
• Song Yi told Shen Ling that the Dean had personally ordered Zhang Chen’s admission.

Zhang Chen obtained Tu Shan Qing’s Gambling skill through his Golden Finger, then learned that the Shen Family’s ancient tomb might hold the authority and treasure of a Primordial Innate Water God. Tu Shan Qing proposed that they join forces to enter the tomb, leaving Zhang Chen wary of his motives.

• Tu Shan Qing’s karmic power stripped Zhang Gaoqiu of his Bloodline Power, disrupting the academy class.
• Zhang Chen agreed to meet Tu Shan Qing and learned from the Great Sovereign Demon King that Tu Shan Qing wielded the Law of Karma.
• Tu Shan Qing’s attempt to draw Zhang Chen into a wager caused Zhang Chen’s Golden Finger to reveal and grant him the Gambling skill, but Zhang Chen refused to bet.
• At a tavern, Tu Shan Qing told Zhang Chen that the Yellow Heaven Dao and the White Lotus Sect’s Water Branch were targeting the Shen Family’s water transport and its ancient tomb.
• Tu Shan Qing revealed that the tomb might contain an Innate Water God’s authority and Innate Spiritual Treasure, then invited Zhang Chen to join him in seizing its fortune.
• Zhang Chen questioned why Tu Shan Qing had chosen him as an ally and worried that the proposal might be a trap.

Zhang Chen agreed to join Tu Shan Qing in entering the Primordial Great Tomb after Yellow Heaven Dao used the Shen family's blood for a sacrifice, while hearing how Chen Sanliang's Education for All was sweeping the north. He defended the Demon Race's invasion as a force that could break the nobles' hold over the poor, then wandered into a jade shop and was shocked by a jade piece's price.

• Zhang Chen questioned Tu Shan Qing's motives, but agreed to cooperate with him and enter the Primordial Great Tomb after Yellow Heaven Dao destroyed the Shen family for a Blood Sacrifice.
• Tu Shan Qing told Zhang Chen that Chen Sanliang had won over more than half the northern academies and was gathering enough literary Dao fortune to enter the Eleventh Order.
• Zhang Chen reflected that the Demon Race's invasion could shatter the aristocratic families' oppression and said that the deaths it caused could be worth the resulting reforms.
• Zhang Chen left Tu Shan Qing after drinking with him, walked through the streets, and muttered about trampling the dukes and ministers.
• Zhang Chen entered a jade shop, admired a green piece of jade, and was stunned when the shopkeeper asked fifty thousand taels of silver for it.

Zhang Chen created the Soul Gathering Lamp to search for Han Su Zhen’s scattered souls, but its first discovery revealed that they had shattered into fragments. The next day, Zhang Gaoqiu accused Zhang Chen of stealing his Bloodline Power and threatened to report him to the Old Madam.

• Zhang Chen spent his savings on a large piece of jade and carved it into a lamp, then used Yellow Springs Water, Han Su Zhen’s hair, Gold Thread, and her manuscript to activate the Soul Gathering Lamp.
• The lamp gathered a soul fragment, but Zhang Chen realized Han Su Zhen’s souls and spirits had shattered, making her restoration far more difficult.
• Zhang Chen placed the lamp in his study, ordered his hornets to guard its flame, and recalled Han Su Zhen’s kindness to him.
• The next day, Zhang Gaoqiu confronted Zhang Chen at the academy gates and accused him of stealing his Bloodline Power.
• Zhang Chen denied the accusation and shoved Zhang Gaoqiu away; Shen Ling arrived, helped Zhang Gaoqiu up, and threatened to report Zhang Chen to the Old Madam.

Zhang Chen discussed Chen Sanliang’s advancing Education for All Great Dao with Zhou Qiucheng and warned Zhou Zhen to keep his distance from Chai Chuanxin. The chapter ended with Chai Chuanxin suspecting Zhang Chen had seen through his true nature.

• Zhang Gaoqiu accused Zhang Chen of causing his Bloodline Power to vanish and quietly asked Shen Ling for the Shen Family’s help.
• Zhou Qiucheng summoned Zhang Chen, asked about Zhang Gaoqiu, and learned that Chen Sanliang had unified the north and entered the Eleventh Order.
• Zhang Chen told Zhou Qiucheng that Chen Sanliang’s Education for All Great Dao was nearly impossible to oppose, leaving Zhou Qiucheng troubled about the south’s future.
• Zhang Chen warned Zhou Zhen that Chai Chuanxin was dangerous, and Zhou Zhen agreed to heed him.
• Chai Chuanxin recalled Zhang Chen’s interference with Zhang Shicheng’s plans and suspected Zhang Chen had uncovered his true nature.

Zhang Chen watched Tu Shan Qing use gambling to gather good fortune and realized how dangerous the fox’s hidden abilities were. At Chongzheng Academy, the Inner Sect assessment was announced, and students learned that even those with reserved places had to take the test before using their exemption.

• Tu Shan Qing continued gambling with the noble students, absorbing their good fortune while Zhang Chen and the Great Sovereign Demon King discussed the limits of his ability.
• Zhang Chen reflected on Tu Shan Qing’s past schemes and realized he had underestimated the hidden methods possessed by people in the world.
• Shen Ling insulted Zhang Chen over his chances of entering the inner academy, and Zhang Chen mocked her in return before instructor Zhou Yi arrived.
• Zhou Yi announced that thirty-six inner academy places were available and that all five hundred registered students, including those with reserved places, had to take the assessment.
• The students learned that those with reserved places could use them for exemption if they failed, and an aristocratic student protested that the rule was unfair.

Zhou Yi held an inner courtyard selection by lottery, and Zhang Chen used his Wood Authority to find numbered lots. He secured one for Tu Shan Qing and drew another for himself, leaving both with a path into the inner courtyard.

• Zhou Yi explained that thirty-six numbered lots among six hundred would determine admission, and said numbered lots could be sold.
• A scholar returned his blank lot to the box, while Zhang Xiaohua drew lot eighteen and gave it to his follower.
• Shen Qiu, Shen Ling, Jiang Nan, and Zhang Gaoqiu all drew blank lots, and Zhang Gaoqiu collapsed in despair.
• Tu Shan Qing begged Zhang Chen to draw for him, and Zhang Chen sensed the inked lots using his Wood Authority.
• Zhang Chen pulled out two numbered lots and gave one to Tu Shan Qing, who rejoiced at gaining a chance to enter the inner courtyard.