Chapter Summaries

The Ten Thousand Chariots Nation halted its expansion and adopted a five-year plan to recover from war losses and domestic unrest. Zhou Ming approved of its leaders’ restraint but recognized Jiang Ruyue as a rising threat to the nation, while deciding not to interfere in matters tied to his previous life.

• After years of war, desertions, depleted forces, and the Four Great Sects’ withdrawal, the Ten Thousand Chariots Nation’s military operations stalled.
• At the Supreme National Defense Conference, Cheng Zhiyuan proposed five years of recuperation, and military leaders and parliament members supported the plan.
• Zhou Ming read the intelligence report and concluded that the Ten Thousand Chariots Nation’s leaders had shown the wisdom to correct their course.
• Zhou Ming considered Jiang Ruyue’s growing power in Eastern Yuan Continent and foresaw that she could unite it into the nation’s strongest rival.
• Zhou Ming chose not to contact Gao Xiuzhen or interfere with Jiang Ruyue, resolving to cultivate in peace and act only if outside events threatened his interests.

Zhou Ming introduced Golden Yuan Notes to ease the burden of carrying Spirit Coins and curb inflation in Xuan Qing City. After the notes succeeded, other cities and the state adopted paper currency, and Zhou Ming profited from selling printing presses.

• Bai Xu Tang asked Zhou Ming how to address the Ten Thousand Chariots Nation’s severe inflation, and Zhou Ming rejected price controls and proposed replacing circulating Spirit Coins with Paper Money.
• Zhou Ming persuaded Bai Xu Tang to approve a Xuan Qing City trial, then developed anti-counterfeit Golden Yuan Notes backed by Spirit Coins and other assets.
• Merchants and residents initially distrusted the notes, but accepted them after Zhou Ming demonstrated their backing and convenience; the ten billion yuan issued was quickly exchanged, and demand drove up black-market prices.
• Bai Xu Tang began supporting the notes, and Xuan Qing City adopted paper currency, bringing its inflation rate below two percent within half a year.
• Other cities and the state followed Xuan Qing City’s example, and Zhou Ming sold out his money-printing presses while receiving orders for over a thousand more.

Zhou Ming learned that Eastern Yuan Continent had adopted paper currency after Jiang Ruyue studied and imitated the Golden Yuan Note. The Free and Unfettered Coin became the continent’s trusted currency, strengthening Free and Unfettered Palace’s control and showing Zhou Ming the power of a latecomer advantage.

• Zhou Ming recalled how Ten Thousand Chariots Nation’s officials had rejected his proposal for a unified paper currency, leaving hundreds of competing banknotes in circulation.
• Jiang Ruyue obtained Golden Yuan Notes through her intelligence network and arranged to smuggle printing equipment from Ten Thousand Chariots Nation.
• Jiang Ruyue introduced the Free and Unfettered Coin in Free and Unfettered Palace’s territory, where merchants and commoners quickly accepted it.
• The Nine Great Leaders issued their own banknotes after recognizing the value of currency issuance, but poor printing and counterfeiting drove people to abandon them.
• Free and Unfettered Coin remained Eastern Yuan Continent’s trusted paper currency, and Zhou Ming praised Jiang Ruyue’s latecomer advantage.

After years of recovery, the Ten Thousand Chariots Nation prepared to confront the Eastern Yuan Continent over its refusal to return abducted technical experts. When negotiations failed, four fleets set sail for war, leaving the two nations on the brink of conflict.

• Cheng Zhiyuan consulted military officials and ordered renewed negotiations while the National Defense Army prepared a war plan and public campaign.
• Jiang Ruyue rejected the Ten Thousand Chariots Nation diplomat’s demands for an apology, compensation, and the return of all abducted technical experts, refusing even a three-month deadline.
• News of the failed negotiations enraged the Ten Thousand Chariots Nation’s public, and its National Defense Army completed mobilization and entered high alert.
• Two months later, four Spiritual Essence Fleets carrying five hundred new-style warships sailed toward the Eastern Yuan Continent.

The Ten Thousand Chariots Nation’s Expeditionary Fleet crushed the Eastern Yuan Continent with superior technology, then negotiated a peace agreement and brought more than 200,000 technical talents home. After the defeat, Jiang Ruyue blamed the Nine Great Leaders for withholding their strength and vowed to eliminate them.

• The Expeditionary Fleet defeated the Eastern Yuan Continent’s forces over three months, using radar, wireless psychic wave telegraphs, and coordinated long-range fire to destroy more than 1,000 warships at negligible cost.
• The Free and Unfettered Palace sought peace, but Jiang Ruyue rejected most of the Ten Thousand Chariots Nation’s demands and agreed to compensation, returning technical talent, and annual soul stone exports.
• Cheng Zhiyuan accepted the limited terms, and the two nations signed the Understanding Agreement a week later.
• More than 200,000 technical talents returned to the Ten Thousand Chariots Nation, prompting nationwide celebrations and boosting the military’s reputation.
• Jiang Ruyue wept to her mother, Jiang Ruonan, and blamed the Nine Great Leaders for their hidden strength and the defeat.
• Jiang Ruyue swore to eliminate the Nine Great Leaders so she could consolidate the Eastern Yuan Continent’s power.

Zhou Ming worried that Eastern Yuan Continent would be conquered because of its technological disadvantage, then learned that Jiang Ruyue had devised a plan to obtain technology through Xuan Qing City. He was relieved by her solution but wryly wondered how extensively she intended to infiltrate the Free City.

• Zhou Ming considered Eastern Yuan Continent's defeat and the Ten Thousand Chariots Nation's tightening technological blockade, and worried about Jiang Ruyue's fate and whether he should help her.
• Three months later, Zhou Ming received intelligence that Jiang Ruyue had found a solution to Eastern Yuan Continent's technological crisis.
• Jiang Ruyue identified Xuan Qing City as a Free City where Eastern Yuan Continent could acquire equipment, study technology, and build an intelligence network with fewer restrictions.
• Jiang Ruyue and her think tank created plans for merchant, student, and intelligence infiltration, which she personally oversaw as a strategic priority.
• After learning the plans, Zhou Ming smiled wryly and wondered whether Jiang Ruyue meant to infiltrate Xuan Qing City until it was riddled with holes.

Zhou Ming explained that he supported Eastern Yuan Continent to keep the Ten Thousand Chariots Nation from becoming complacent and unchecked. Months later, Supreme Palace Master Jiang Ruyue arrived in Xuan Qing City and saw how far the Ten Thousand Chariots Nation had advanced, leaving her anxious about Eastern Yuan Continent’s prospects.

• Zhou Ming reasoned that Eastern Yuan Continent needed to remain a strong rival so the Ten Thousand Chariots Nation would keep progressing and preserve its unity.
• Bai Xu Tang told Zhou Ming that many Eastern Yuan Continent people had entered Xuan Qing City, and Zhou Ming advised him to monitor them without overreacting.
• Several months later, Zhou Ming recognized Supreme Palace Master Jiang Ruyue among the passengers arriving at Xuan Qing Airport.
• Jiang Ruyue toured Xuan Qing City and marveled at its buildings, transportation, cleanliness, and prosperity compared with Eastern Yuan Continent.
• Jiang Ruyue concluded that even Xuan Qing City was decades ahead of Eastern Yuan Continent and feared her continent might not survive long enough to catch up.

Jiang Ruyue studied Xuan Qing City and built a wealthy businesswoman’s cover while admiring Bai Feiyang, only to learn that Zhou Ming had identified her months earlier. Zhou Ming insisted the Bai family meant her no harm and began explaining why they had kept her identity secret.

• Jiang Ruyue encouraged Eastern Yuan Continent’s students and infiltrators in Xuan Qing City, then resolved to study the Ten Thousand Chariots Nation more seriously.
• Jiang Ruyue bought books and conducted research while posing as a businesswoman, gradually gaining a reputation among Xuan Qing City’s upper class.
• Jiang Ruyue received an invitation to Bai Feiyang’s banquet, met him at Bai Mansion, and enjoyed their conversation.
• After the banquet, Zhou Ming addressed Jiang Ruyue by her true identity and said the Bai family had discovered her months earlier.
• Jiang Ruyue prepared to defend herself, but Zhou Ming reassured her that the Bai family had no hostility toward Eastern Yuan Continent.
• Zhou Ming showed Jiang Ruyue a portrait that revealed her identity and began explaining why the Bai family had waited to confront her.

Zhou Ming gave Jiang Ruyue books by Zhang Shanhe and taught her their ideas, helping her understand the man’s life and the truth behind his separation from her mother. Jiang Ruyue came to see Zhang Shanhe as a good man, while Zhou Ming felt relieved that she had changed her view of her father.

• Zhou Ming told Jiang Ruyue that he wanted to support Eastern Yuan Continent’s development to preserve peace with Ten Thousand Chariots Nation, then gave her books on politics, economics, technology, and military affairs.
• Jiang Ruyue read the books for days and spent a month discussing their ideas and asking Zhou Ming questions.
• Jiang Ruyue asked Zhou Ming about Zhang Shanhe, and he recounted the story of the man’s life and his connection to her mother, Jiang Ruonan.
• When Jiang Ruyue accused Zhang Shanhe of betraying her mother, Zhou Ming explained that Jiang Ruonan had used one hundred thousand lives to create a Yang-Enhancing Pill and that Zhang Shanhe had died from guilt.
• Jiang Ruyue confirmed the pill’s existence with Old Ancestor Hu Luo and reconsidered Zhang Shanhe, eventually sighing that her father had been a good man.
• Zhou Ming noticed Jiang Ruyue’s changed view of Zhang Shanhe and felt relieved.

Over five years, Jiang Ruyue transformed Eastern Yuan Continent through political, economic, military, and industrial reforms while drawing talent from across the world and improving relations with the Ten Thousand Chariots Nation. The Nine Great Leaders watched her influence spread through the continent and grew desperate over how to stop her.

• Jiang Ruyue established a loyal Political Party, formed the Guard Army, expanded paper-money financing, and pushed industrialization and an opening to foreign investment.
• Jiang Ruyue's Recruitment Orders attracted more than a hundred thousand technical talents, while Eastern Yuan Continent increased its exchange students in Xuan Qing City and reduced equipment purchases after Zhou Ming warned of investigations.
• Jiang Ruyue doubled Soul Stone exports to the Ten Thousand Chariots Nation at half the former price, arguing that trade would reduce the danger of a desperate invasion and mostly serve civilian needs.
• The Ten Thousand Chariots Nation eased its blockade, bilateral relations improved, and tourists began visiting Eastern Yuan Continent in greater numbers.
• The Political Party gained over a million members from the Nine Great Leaders' factions, while Free and Unfettered Palace expanded its economic share and Jiang Ruyue's public support rose above eighty percent.
• The Nine Great Leaders saw their influence weaken and worried that Jiang Ruyue had become too powerful to suppress.

The Nine Great Leaders exposed Jiang Ruyue as the Devil’s daughter, forcing her to abdicate and seize control of Free and Unfettered Palace. When reports revealed she was also Saint Zhang Shanhe’s daughter, public support surged, and Jiang Ruyue returned to power.

• The Nine Great Leaders threatened to expose Jiang Ruyue unless she disbanded her party and army, halted reforms, and surrendered her authority, but she refused.
• The Nine Great Leaders published evidence that Jiang Ruyue was the Devil’s daughter, and Jiang Ruyue publicly admitted it and abdicated.
• While the Nine Great Leaders divided Palace resources, Jiang Ruyue stayed with Jiang Ruonan in the Demon Suppression Tower and privately treated her abdication as a strategy.
• Reports identifying Jiang Ruyue as Saint Zhang Shanhe’s daughter sparked a wave of public support, drawing tens of millions to Free and Unfettered Palace.
• The Nine Great Leaders asked Jiang Ruyue to return and calm the people, and she emerged to cheers as control of Free and Unfettered Palace returned to her.

Jiang Ruyue restored order in the Free and Unfettered Palace, then used mass military defections and the support of most mortal cities to unify the Eastern Yuan Continent. As the Eastern Yuan Nation emerged, the Ten Thousand Chariots Nation debated whether to intervene.

• Jiang Ruyue restored normal order in the Free and Unfettered Palace after the Nine Great Leaders’ takeover disrupted its territories.
• Jiang Ruyue expanded her campaign to bring mortal cities into the Palace’s system and end their tribute payments to the Nine Great Leaders.
• Jiang Ruyue’s Loyalty Operation persuaded three thousand Spiritual Essence Warships and nearly a million soldiers to join the Guard Army.
• Nearly four thousand mortal cities joined the Free and Unfettered Palace, and Jiang Ruyue defeated or absorbed the factions resisting her over the next several years.
• The Ten Thousand Chariots Nation’s upper ranks debated whether to use force to stop the newly unified Eastern Yuan Nation.

Jiang Ruyue abdicated the Eastern Yuan Empire to free her mother, Jiang Ruonan, from the Demon Suppression Tower, but the attempt plunged the nation into disorder. After seeing that the empire had no place for her, Jiang Ruonan returned to the tower, and peace soon resumed.

• Fu Yunxiao rejected the hardliners’ push for war after public and military support weakened, allowing Eastern Yuan Nation to be established as the Eastern Yuan Empire under Jiang Ruyue.
• Two years after her coronation, Jiang Ruyue abdicated to seek permission to release her mother, Jiang Ruonan, but officials and citizens opposed the plan.
• As Jiang Ruyue stayed away from governing, the empire’s departments stalled, cities seceded, and unrest spread until Guard Army mutineers opened the Demon Suppression Tower.
• Jiang Ruyue emerged from the tower holding Jiang Ruonan’s hand, but officials resigned, cities broke away, and the empire’s remaining power structures began to collapse.
• After seven days outside the tower, Jiang Ruonan told Jiang Ruyue she had to return, then walked back into the Demon Suppression Tower.
• Jiang Ruyue wept as the tower door closed, and Eastern Yuan Nation soon regained its peace.

After Zhou Ming helped Jiang Ruyue accept that she must strengthen the Eastern Yuan Nation before rescuing her mother, she recovered and returned to her duties. The Demon Suppression Tower then collapsed, and Zhou Ming recognized one of the two figures facing off in the sky.

• Zhou Ming explained that people feared Jiang Ruyue's mother because of her overwhelming power and that Jiang Ruyue would need to build a strong empire before bringing her out of the tower.
• Jiang Ruyue abandoned her plan to abdicate immediately, resolved to rule for at least fifty more years, and returned to work with renewed spirits.
• Zhou Ming stayed at the Free and Unfettered Palace, and he and Jiang Ruyue were playing chess when the Demon Suppression Tower suddenly collapsed.
• Jiang Ruyue rushed toward the fallen tower but struck an invisible barrier, and Zhou Ming caught her as she fell.
• Zhou Ming saw two figures facing each other in midair and recognized one of them.

Gao Xiuzhen attacked Jiang Ruonan to kill the heart demon she believed had tormented her, but Jiang Ruonan’s unusual strength left her unable to land a blow. When Gao Xiuzhen tried to self-destruct, Zhou Ming stopped her and knocked her unconscious.

• Gao Xiuzhen confronted Jiang Ruonan and unleashed a relentless sword attack while Jiang Ruyue watched in alarm.
• Zhou Ming told Jiang Ruyue that Gao Xiuzhen was only at the peak of the Core Solidification Late Stage and realized Jiang Ruonan had mastered the Translucent Spirit Realm.
• Jiang Ruonan evaded Gao Xiuzhen’s attacks unharmed, then shattered her confinement domain with a palm strike and sent her flying.
• Gao Xiuzhen declared that she would die together with Jiang Ruonan and began to prepare to self-destruct.
• Zhou Ming interrupted Gao Xiuzhen’s self-destruction, restrained her, and knocked her unconscious.

After the Demon Suppression Tower collapsed, Gao Xiuzhen’s imprisonment brought the Eastern Yuan Nation and the Ten Thousand Chariots Nation to the brink of war. Zhou Ming revealed himself to Gao Xiuzhen as Zhang Shanhe and persuaded her to end her vengeance, but when the crisis passed, Zhou Ming did not remember their conversation and Gao Xiuzhen began following him.

• Jiang Ruonan emerged from the ruined Demon Suppression Tower and stayed there, while Gao Xiuzhen was captured and held under guard.
• The Ten Thousand Chariots Nation demanded Gao Xiuzhen’s release and sent a fleet of one hundred Type-6 Spiritual Essence Warships, escalating tensions with the Eastern Yuan Nation.
• After Gao Xiuzhen refused to promise she would stop pursuing Jiang Ruonan, Zhou Ming decided to speak with her alone.
• Zhou Ming told Gao Xiuzhen that he was Zhang Shanhe, her deceased husband, and proved it by recounting private memories; she believed him and agreed to follow his instructions.
• Zhou Ming told Gao Xiuzhen to leave Jiang Ruonan alone, apologize to Jiang Ruyue, return to the Ten Thousand Chariots Nation, and keep his identity secret.
• Gao Xiuzhen apologized and was released, ending the standoff; Zhou Ming later had no memory of persuading her, while Gao Xiuzhen followed him.

Zhou Ming struggled to manage Gao Xiuzhen’s attachment while planning a long expedition to pursue a breakthrough to the Spirit Saint Stage. After assembling most of his crew for a new high-speed law boat, he began considering an unconventional choice for its final member.

• Gao Xiuzhen followed Zhou Ming closely and urged him to take over Bai Feiyang’s body, while Zhou Ming warned her to keep their relationship secret.
• Aboard a passenger plane bound for the Ten Thousand Chariots Nation, Zhou Ming explained that he planned to leave Bai Feiyang’s body someday and asked Gao Xiuzhen to avoid alarming Mu Feiyan.
• Zhou Ming decided that he needed to explore distant continents to seek opportunities for reaching the Spirit Saint Stage and made a plan to travel for a hundred years or more.
• Zhou Ming spent over a trillion Spirit Coin on Deep Space Lightspeed, a small law boat capable of traveling far faster than his previous vessel.
• Mu Feiyan and Gao Xiuzhen joined Zhou Ming’s expedition, leaving one crew slot open; Zhou Ming considered recruiting someone connected to a nearly repaired tower in the Eastern Yuan Nation.

Zhou Ming arranged for Jiang Ruonan to join his exploration team after persuading Jiang Ruyue, Mu Feiyan, and Gao Xiuzhen to agree. The Deep Space Lightspeed departed the Free and Unfettered Palace with Jiang Ruonan aboard, while Gao Xiuzhen concealed her hostility and vowed to kill her and Bai Feiyang.

• Zhou Ming took Mu Feiyan and Gao Xiuzhen to the Eastern Yuan Nation and told Jiang Ruyue that he wanted to bring Jiang Ruonan on the exploration trip.
• Jiang Ruyue persuaded Old Ancestor Hu Luo and tearfully convinced Jiang Ruonan to leave the Demon Suppression Tower and travel with Zhou Ming.
• Mu Feiyan initially refused to let Jiang Ruonan join, but Jiang Ruyue assured her that she had no improper feelings for Zhou Ming and won her agreement.
• Gao Xiuzhen angrily opposed Jiang Ruonan joining, but Zhou Ming insisted on his right to choose the passengers, and Gao Xiuzhen reluctantly accepted.
• Gao Xiuzhen privately told Zhang Shanhe that she wanted to kill Bai Feiyang and Jiang Ruonan, then forced herself to act agreeable around Zhou Ming.
• Jiang Ruyue tearfully farewelled the team as the Deep Space Lightspeed departed the Free and Unfettered Palace and headed east.

Zhou Ming and his companions reached Devil Abyss Continent, where he learned that its Demon Beasts and Soul Cores could offer great wealth and help ease his nations’ Soul Stone shortages. After gathering information in a frontier city, Zhou Ming returned to the inn and was confronted by guards whose young master wanted his women.

• Zhou Ming landed the Deep Space Lightspeed near a large city on Devil Abyss Continent and concealed the spacecraft before entering town with Mu Feiyan, Gao Xiuzhen, and Jiang Ruonan.
• Zhou Ming planned to gather local information about the continent and its enormous Devil Abyss fissure before exploring further.
• Zhou Ming learned that Demon Beasts emerging during the three annual Devil Tides carried valuable Spirit Cores and Soul Cores, while Soul Cores were far cheaper than Soul Stones in his homeland.
• An elderly cultivator told Zhou Ming that Demon Beasts coveted human bodies, which could let them return to the abyss and become stronger.
• After spending another day gathering information at a tavern, Zhou Ming returned to his inn and found city guards waiting to arrest him.
• The guards’ captain said their young master wanted Zhou Ming’s women, then ordered the soldiers to kill him.

Zhou Ming punished Zheng Wanjie for trying to abduct Mu Feiyan and prepared a wilderness camp for Darkness Day. As the Evil Spirit and Demon Beast tides arrived, Zhou Ming used the Soul Devouring Banner to devour the spirits, while a mysterious figure recognized the banner and rushed toward him.

• Zhou Ming learned that Zheng Wanjie had ordered the attempted abduction, then killed the City Lord's immortal cultivators and made City Lord Zheng execute his son.
• Mu Feiyan apologized for provoking the incident, and Zhou Ming's group spent a month preparing a camp outside the city with a thousand helpers.
• On June 28, the Evil Spirit tide reached the camp, and Zhou Ming intercepted it with the Soul Devouring Banner, devouring thousands of spirits and protecting the camp.
• As the Demon Beast tide approached, Mu Feiyan, Gao Xiuzhen, and Jiang Ruonan joined Zhou Ming outside the wall to face it.
• A black figure behind the Demon Beast tide recognized Zhou Ming's Soul Devouring Banner and charged toward him, intent on reclaiming it and taking a new body.