Chapter Summaries

Lin Su returned to Lin Manor, brought news that Lin Zheng could marry Princess Hongying, and shared his Azure Lotus Dao Discussion experiences with his family. After adding five stratagems to his military arts, he spent time with his loved ones while Mo Qing repeatedly failed to find a chance to meet him.

• Lin Su left Li Guihan with a promise of a future meeting and returned to Lin Manor, where his mother welcomed him home.
• Lin Su told his mother and sisters-in-law that Marquis of Zhenbei had agreed to discuss Princess Hongying's marriage to Lin Zheng, and he sent the news to his brother at Blood Rain Pass.
• Lin Su hinted to Sister Chen, Luyi, and Cui Ying that he had played a decisive role in the Azure Lotus Dao Discussion, then wrote five new stratagems and brought his total to thirty.
• Lin Manor's family listened to the songs from Tale of the White Snake, while Mo Qing recognized Below Qingcheng Mountain and chose not to interrupt Lin Su.
• Lin Su took Sister Chen for a walk beside the Yangtze, and Mo Qing watched from Big Mist Mountain as they kissed, again missing her chance to speak with him.

Lin Su returned to Haining Riverbank and learned that the River Affairs Department had harassed villagers and tried to destroy the critical embankment. After confronting its officers and healing Zhao Tie, he told Prefect Yang that he intended to remove the department’s people from Haining.

• Sister Chen told Lin Su that the River Affairs Department had tried to demolish the northern embankment and had beaten Zhao Tie nearly to death.
• Lin Su and Sister Chen found River Affairs Department officers extorting the Zhao family, and Lin Su struck the constable and issued an Inspector's Order summoning the department’s personnel.
• Lin Su treated Zhao Tie’s injuries with Spring Return and reassured the villagers that he would handle the matter.
• Mo Qing watched Lin Su intervene, then Lin Su and Sister Chen flew to the Prefectural Manor.
• Lin Su told Prefect Yang that the River Affairs Department must be cleansed, and Prefect Yang warned him against acting outside official procedures.

Lin Su inspected the Haining River Affairs Department and exposed its crimes, using his literary strategy to provoke its runners into attacking him. Prefect Yang used his Official Seal to suppress them, and the surviving officials were arrested as the city celebrated.

• Lin Su went with Prefect Yang to the River Affairs Department and confronted Commander Du Quan over the department’s abuses.
• Lin Su summoned the department’s 176 registered runners and offered leniency to anyone who confessed, but no one stepped forward.
• Lin Su ordered Du Quan to identify the guilty runners, then used “Borrowing a Knife to Kill” to make them draw their blades and attack.
• Song Jianghe killed Du Quan, and Lin Su ordered Prefect Yang to suppress the rebellion.
• Prefect Yang destroyed the runners’ dantians with his Official Seal and ordered the attackers arrested and imprisoned.
• The shackled runners were marched through Haining, where crowds celebrated Du Quan’s downfall.

Lin Su met Mohist Saintess Mo Qing, who sought to learn how he solved the Circle-Square Problem because a calculation error had once led to her father’s failure to save Pass City. He offered to teach her his arithmetic in exchange for teaching device construction at Haining Academy, then began imparting the abacus to the students.

• Little Zhou reported that the River Affairs Department had been purged and reassured Lin Manor that Lin Su had only conducted a routine inspection.
• Mo Qing confronted Lin Su with her suspicion that he had arranged the purge, then invited him to explain his Circle-Square Problem solution after telling him how her father’s mistaken calculation had contributed to Pass City’s fall.
• Lin Su demonstrated an abacus and used it to correctly total the eighteen groups of numbers Mo Qing recited, which represented the ink lotuses on the Moxin Pillars.
• Lin Su offered Mo Qing his arithmetic textbooks and promised she could master Circle-Square Problems if she taught device construction at Haining Academy for three months; Mo Qing accepted.
• Lin Su began teaching the abacus and its calculation methods to the practical studies class, while Bao Shan, Ren Taiyan, and Ding Chengru watched and were deeply impressed.

Lin Su finished teaching abacus calculation, recruited Mo Qing to teach engineering, and learned that court officials suspected him of orchestrating the Haining River Affairs Department massacre. The emperor summoned him to the capital within three days, where he faced a promotion and a politically charged inquiry, before Gexin arrived with an invitation from the Prince.

• Lin Su completed his lesson on abacus calculation, and Mo Qing formally began teaching engineering at Haining Academy under the name Lin Qing.
• Qiu Shui Hua Ping told Luyi, Sister Chen, Cui Ying, and Liu Xing'er that Lin Su had brought Mo Qing to Haining as a teacher, and Lin Su later spent the night with Qiu Shui Hua Ping.
• At the Golden Hall, Zhao Xun, Zhang Wenyuan, and Li Zegang argued that a hidden hand had caused the Haining River Affairs Department massacre and cast suspicion on Lin Su, while Zhang Juzheng defended him based on the available evidence.
• The emperor ordered Lin Su to enter the capital within three days, and Zhang Haoran warned him that he would be promoted two ranks while facing accusations over the massacre.
• Lin Su told Luyi and Sister Chen that he did not need to refute the officials' argument, then Gexin appeared and invited him to meet the Prince on Yichuan Lake.

Lin Su met King Chen on Yichuan Lake, where the prince warned him that the Azure Lotus Dao Discussion could be used to kill him and asked him to protect his sister if he died. King Chen revealed the emperor’s purge of his military allies and explained that the Pact of Luocheng had been a prearranged bargain to invite Great Yu’s invasion; Lin Su urged him not to give up.

• Lin Su inspected the lavender and other plants at Yishui North Bank, then traveled to Yichuan Lake to meet King Chen.
• King Chen warned Lin Su that enemies planned to use the Azure Lotus Dao Discussion against him and asked him to look after his imperial sister if King Chen died.
• King Chen told Lin Su that He Fang, Wei Zhiqin, and Du Yuanfang and their families had been executed, leaving his influence in the military destroyed.
• Lin Su admitted he had seen through King Chen’s disguise, and King Chen said he had secretly hoped the emperor would govern justly despite killing his family.
• King Chen explained that the Pact of Luocheng had been a prior deal in which the emperor invited Great Yu to invade in exchange for ceding the Four Garrisons of the North.
• Lin Su urged King Chen to preserve himself and not give up, reminding him that circumstances could change over time.

Lin Su entered the capital expecting a conspiracy and faced court officials who challenged him over the Haining River Affairs Department killings, but he turned their accusations back on them. As six Azure Lotus Grandmasters arrived with news of a grave incident at the Azure Lotus Dao Discussion, Lin Su suspected the court's attack was not over.

• King Chen told Lin Su that Qu Feiyan had used her calligraphy realm to kill three commanders, and revealed that his informant Zhou Zili had witnessed He Fang's death.
• Lin Su left for the capital after reassuring King Chen and accepting his household's celebration of his promotion.
• His Majesty promoted Lin Su to fourth rank and tried to dismiss him, but Gao Gelin stopped him to question him about the Haining River Affairs Department incident.
• Lin Su accused Du Quan and River Affairs Department of trying to destroy the Haining embankment, then rebutted Zhao Xun's claims about shipping accidents with records of the river's safety after renovation.
• Li Zegang questioned Lin Su about the killing of court officials, but Lin Su redirected responsibility toward Gao Gelin and the Ministry of Justice.
• Wei Xinyu, Wang Chengnian, and four other Azure Lotus Grandmasters arrived to report a grave incident from the Azure Lotus Dao Discussion, and Lin Su suspected another attack.

Wei Xinyu and several ministers accused Lin Su of murdering Wang Junyu, but the Confucian Temple Night Watchman arrived with a Literary Way Azure Wood Token that placed Lin Su beyond imperial punishment. Lin Su cleared his name by revealing that Du Song had killed Wang Junyu with a Spiritual Power Secret Technique, then departed with the Night Watchman.

• Wei Xinyu presented an Official Seal projection of Wang Junyu accusing Lin Su, and the court demanded Lin Su’s punishment.
• The Confucian Temple Night Watchman bestowed the Literary Way Azure Wood Token on Lin Su, placing him beyond the emperor’s authority.
• Lin Su declined to rely on the token to escape the accusation and explained that Wang Junyu had collapsed during the Azure Lotus Dao Discussion under the protection of literary experts.
• The Night Watchman replayed the Dao Discussion and revealed that Du Song had erased Wang Junyu’s consciousness with a Spiritual Power Secret Technique.
• Lin Su said Du Song had also attacked him and was already dead, having been beheaded by a guard after attacking the Fourth Prince of the Ancient Nanyang Kingdom.
• His Majesty cleared Lin Su of the alleged crimes, and the Night Watchman took Lin Su away with him.

Lin Su met with the Night Watchman, learned why he had been protected from confronting Wei Xinyu, and discovered the Sacred Daughter Ya Song had secured his Azure Wood Token. Meanwhile, Zhang Juzheng forced Wei Xinyu to give a detailed account of Great Cang’s Azure Lotus Dao Discussion performance, and the questioning revealed Lin Su’s remarkable achievement after missing the second round’s Dao Seeking Garden.

• The Night Watchman explained that tampering with Lin Su’s Official Seal could only have been done by the Emperor, and that he had taken Lin Su away to prevent a confrontation that could destabilize the court and Holy Hall.
• The Night Watchman told Lin Su that Ya Song had personally secured his Azure Wood Token, and that his new Azure Ci Poetry and Azure Poems would still earn rewards later.
• Zhang Juzheng summoned Wei Xinyu and the other six to Wenyuan Pavilion and demanded a detailed account of the Azure Lotus Dao Discussion, invoking his authority to compile its history.
• When Wei Xinyu urged Zhang Juzheng to seek the Emperor’s instruction, Zhang Juzheng summoned the Execution Envoys and threatened Sacred Punishment for evasive answers.
• Wei Xinyu reported that Lin Su had obtained only one azure lotus in the second round because he had missed Dao Seeking Garden, then earned a rare Dao Garden Gleaning by answering a question unsolved in ten discussions.

Zhang Juzheng exposed Lin Su’s achievements and Wei Xinyu’s misconduct on the Literary Dao Wall, provoking a public outcry and forcing the Emperor to revise the officials’ punishments. Lin Su then asked Qu Wendong about Qu Feiyan, whose extraordinary youth bore similarities to his own.

• Zhang Juzheng ordered the Azure Lotus results and a reprimand against Wei Xinyu posted on the Literary Dao Wall, revealing Lin Su’s overwhelming contribution and Wei’s suppression of him.
• The capital learned that Lin Su had earned 1,300 Azure Lotuses while the other six contestants had earned only twenty-six, and officials and citizens condemned Wei Xinyu and questioned the Emperor’s earlier rewards.
• The Emperor stripped Wei Xinyu, Wang Chengnian, and Xie Yun of their offices and demoted Zhou Hongyu, Yang Haisu, and Xiang Yeqiu, while Lin Su was promoted two ranks.
• At Qu Mansion, Lin Su asked Qu Wendong about Qu Feiyan, and Qu Wendong described the White Deer Academy head as a gifted, generous, romantic, and free-spirited figure.

Lin Su condemned Qu Feiyan’s celebrated reputation and revealed that Qu Feiyan’s actions had helped drive King Chen into danger. He proposed targeting Zhang Wenyuan, then launched a citywide public opinion campaign that left Zhang’s reputation in ruins and brought an impeachment against him as court convened.

• Lin Su criticized Qu Feiyan’s generosity, conduct, and refusal to attend the Azure Lotus Dao Discussion, then explained to Qu Wendong how Qu Feiyan’s actions threatened King Chen.
• Lin Su rejected moving King Chen out of his mansion and proposed taking down Zhang Wenyuan to force His Majesty to focus on Military Affairs.
• Lin Su recruited his three thousand followers to launch a Public Opinion War by posting accusations against Zhang Wenyuan throughout the capital.
• Crowds gathered across the city, denounced the Zhang Family, and surged toward the Zhang residence as Zhang Wenyuan learned the accusations had spread nearly everywhere.
• Duan Shangao confronted Zhang Wenyuan outside the Golden Hall and announced that he would impeach him.

Lin Su’s public-opinion campaign forced Emperor to strip Zhang Wenyuan of his post, while Lin Su feigned surprise at the accusations and received new intelligence from Li San. The chapter ended with Lei Zheng and Zhu Shiyun recognizing Lin Su as the likely culprit and worrying that his methods could destabilize the court, while Lin Su learned that Zhou Zhang was near death.

• Duan Shangao and other officials impeached Zhang Wenyuan, and Emperor dismissed him as Minister of War and ordered Jingzhao Prefecture to investigate the Zhang Family.
• Lu Tiancong explained to Zhao Xun that the citywide accusations had pressured Emperor by threatening his reputation, and they feared Lin Su had created a dangerous precedent.
• Lin Su returned to the Inspectorate Department, pretended not to know about the accusations against Zhang Wenyuan, and joked about Zhang’s alleged relationship with his maternal aunt.
• Li San gave Lin Su intelligence he had gathered about Zhang Wenyuan, Zhao Xun, Zuo Kuanzhou, and Lu Tiancong, and Lin Su rewarded him with three thousand taels of silver.
• Li San told Lin Su that Censor Zhou Zhang was gravely ill and might die soon, despite having seemed healthy less than a month earlier.
• Lei Zheng and Zhu Shiyun concluded that Lin Su had orchestrated the attack on Zhang Wenyuan and worried that his newly acquired Literary Way Azure Wood Token made him difficult to oppose.

Lin Su agreed to hold a Wenyuan Dao Discussion on arithmetic to strengthen Wenyuan Pavilion’s standing, then secretly went to Zhou Mansion to investigate Zhou Zhang’s condition. The chapter ended with Lin Su watching Zhou Zhang’s sickroom as Thunder Leader moved to the front courtyard.

• Zhu Shiyun warned Lei Zheng that Lin Su could still expose wrongdoing even if he became Inspector, and both officials concluded he had to leave the Inspectorate Department.
• Lin Su reflected on his recent upheavals in the capital and decided to approach Zhou Zhang cautiously because he was unsure whom to trust.
• Zhang Juzheng summoned Lin Su and ordered him to hold a Wenyuan Dao Discussion; Lin Su chose arithmetic as its subject, and they scheduled it for the sixteenth of March.
• Zhang Juzheng told Lin Su that Qu Feiyan had agreed to let Zhang Wenyuan enter White Deer Academy, and Lin Su left to prepare for the Dao Discussion.
• Lin Su used a circuitous route to reach Zhou Mansion at night and watched Zhou Zhang’s sickroom from a tree.
• Thunder Leader left the sickroom area and moved into a tree in the front courtyard, giving Lin Su an opportunity to act.

Lin Su saved Zhou Zhang from two poisons and uncovered that Dark Fragrance had targeted the Zhou family. He proposed letting Zhou Zhang resume his duties to draw out the conspirators, then left as Zhou Zhang awoke and reunited with his family.

• Lin Su evaded an unseen assassin at Zhou Zhang's sickroom, was wounded, and persuaded the attacker to let him treat Zhou Zhang.
• Lin Su healed Zhou Zhang with Literary Way Power and learned that the attacker was Zhou Zhang's daughter, the Little Demoness, whose special bloodline granted invisibility and poisonous blood.
• The Little Demoness explained that Dark Fragrance had sent assassins after poisoning Zhou Zhang, and she demonstrated that their weapons released Datura Flower Fragrance when they drew blood.
• Lin Su proposed that Zhou Zhang return to his duties to disrupt Dark Fragrance's plans and expose the people behind the attack through official channels.
• Lin Su healed the Little Demoness's cuts and left; at dawn, Zhou Zhang woke, alarming the household and bringing his family to his bedside.

After Lin Su saved Zhou Zhang, Zhou Mei learned that he was the Great Cang Top Scholar and was ordered to protect him as political storms gathered. Wenyuan Pavilion announced Lin Su’s Dao Discussion, stirring officials, scholars, academies, and families across the capital, while the Zhang Family brooded over its disgrace and blamed Lin Su.

• Zhou Zhang learned that Lin Su had saved him, decided to return to duty, and told Zhou Mei to secretly protect Lin Su.
• Wenyuan Pavilion announced that Lin Su would discuss the Dao on the sixteenth day of the third month, admitting Great Confucians and up to two younger descendants each.
• Grand Scholar Chen Geng learned that Great Cang had won the Azure Lotus Dao Discussion through Lin Su and condemned the Hanlin Academy for failing to bring him in.
• Deng Qiushan agreed to ask his father to bring Qi Bei to Lin Su’s Dao Discussion because Qi Bei could not summon a Great Confucian relative in time.
• At West Mountain Villa, Xie Xiaoyan proposed a Beauty Trap to persuade Lin Su to hold another Dao Discussion there, prompting Lu Youwei to chase her.
• The Zhang Family watched its retainers abandon it and continued to blame Lin Su for its disgrace and the ruin of its three younger descendants.

White Deer Academy welcomed Zhang Wenyuan as a professor while Lin Su prepared for his Wenyuan Dao Discussion and secretly set a plan against the Zhang Family. After the Zhang Family Ancestral Grave was desecrated, Zhang Wenyuan led his men to investigate, where Hu Qingqiu and the Qingqiu demons ambushed them in an Enemy Trapping Formation.

• White Deer Academy sent Professor Li, Professor Du, and Professor Wang to welcome Zhang Wenyuan as a professor, prompting Lin Su to tell Qu Wendong that Zhang Wenyuan would soon die.
• Lin Su arranged for action the following night and moved into Wenyuan Pavilion as Great Confucians and officials traveled to attend his Dao Discussion.
• The steward told Zhang Wenyuan that the Zhang Family Ancestral Grave had been dug up and defiled, so Zhang Wenyuan ordered his family and guards to investigate and apologize to their ancestors.
• Zhang Wenyuan led six hundred cavalry to the ancestral grave mountain and ordered men to bring people from the nearby villages to him.
• Hu Qingqiu appeared with the Qingqiu demons and revealed that Lin Su had supplied an Enemy Trapping Formation to conceal their Demonic Qi.
• Zhang Wenyuan ordered his men to fight their way out as the Qingqiu demons attacked.

Lin Su avenged the Zhang family’s crimes by defeating Zhang Wenyuan’s forces, then delivered a groundbreaking arithmetic Dao discussion at Wenyuan Pavilion. The talk ended to acclaim from thousands of students, while officials and rival institutions reacted to the news of the Zhang lineage’s destruction and Lin Su’s astonishing achievement.

• Hu Qingqiu’s formation killed Zhang Wenyuan, Zhang Hong, Zhang Xiu, Zhang Haoyue, and the Zhang family’s chief stewards after Zhang Wenyuan pleaded for mercy.
• Zhou Mei arrived at Wenyuan Pavilion to take up the duty of protecting Lin Su, who stepped onto the Dao Discussion Stage and humbly introduced his arithmetic lecture.
• Lin Su explained numerical symbols, operation rules, abacus calculation, and the Debit and Credit Accounting Method, astonishing the audience with a complete new system of arithmetic.
• Thousands of scholars thanked Lin Su, and several thousand students called him their honored teacher after the lecture produced extraordinary Dao-discussion phenomena.
• Lu Tiancong and His Majesty learned that the Zhang family’s males had been wiped out, while Qu Feiyan led White Deer Academy toward Wenyuan Pavilion before stopping at the spectacle of blossoms filling the venue.

Qu Feiyan confronted Lin Su at Wenyuan Pavilion and accused him of causing Zhang Wenyuan’s death, but Lin Su resisted his Literary Way Cleansing of the Heart and turned the crowd against him. Lin Su then challenged Qu Feiyan’s reputation and argued that Azure Lotus Dao Discussion shaped a nation’s strength, leaving their clash unresolved.

• Qu Feiyan arrived at Wenyuan Pavilion with White Deer Academy’s people, where the crowd knelt before him.
• Qu Feiyan accused Lin Su of causing Zhang Wenyuan and the male members of the Zhang family to be slaughtered by the Demon Race.
• Qu Feiyan used Literary Way Cleansing of the Heart on Lin Su, but Lin Su broke through it and condemned the attack as discourteous.
• Lin Su’s remarks turned the crowd against Qu Feiyan, and Lin Su publicly questioned the strength of Qu Feiyan’s Literary Way Foundation.
• Lin Su criticized Qu Feiyan’s literary achievements and condemned him for gambling away his pregnant concubine.
• Lin Su explained that Azure Lotus Dao Discussion affected Jinshi Quotas and national strength, challenging Qu Feiyan’s claim that he had merely refused it for fame.

Lin Su deliberately humiliated Qu Feiyan to taint his literary heart and buy time to reach the Literary Way, while learning that Qu Feiyan was secretly targeting King Chen’s allies. At Banshanju, Bi Xuanji offered Lin Su a chance to help her trusted brother take control of Dark Fragrance, and Lin Su realized the man was her and Luyi’s long-lost brother.

• Lin Su challenged Qu Feiyan to a Literary Way contest, but a summons from His Majesty interrupted them before Qu Feiyan accepted.
• His Majesty told Qu Feiyan that Lin Su had defeated Li Chang Geng and ordered him to make Lin Su his immediate priority; Qu Feiyan said he needed at least three months before acting.
• Lin Su told Qu Wendong that he had provoked Qu Feiyan to taint his literary heart and gain time to enter the literary path, while Qu Feiyan’s assassinations threatened King Chen and their allies.
• Lin Su left Qu Mansion, sensed a possible follower near the city, and visited Bi Xuanji at Banshanju.
• Bi Xuanji revealed that Dark Fragrance’s current leader backed the Crown Prince, but that a trusted person could take over and redirect the organization.
• Lin Su realized Bi Xuanji’s trusted candidate was her and Luyi’s brother, who had vowed to avenge Great Jin and had been missing for thirteen years.

Lin Su discussed Dark Fragrance with Bi Xuanji, visited Lu Youwei, and drew the attention of the Abbot Master and Zhou Mei with his song. He then announced that he would inspect Beichuan after Qingming, alarming Zhao Xun, whom Lei Zheng and Zhu Shiyun recognized as Lin Su’s likely next target.

• Lin Su told Bi Xuanji that they would act on their plan after he returned from Haining, and she declined his invitation to see Yishui North Bank.
• Lin Su visited Lu Youwei at Lingyin Temple, where he sang a Zen poem and song that captivated her and reached the Abbot Master and Zhou Mei.
• Lin Su invited Li Zhiyuan to travel with him to Beichuan after Qingming, and Li agreed.
• Lei Zheng asked Lin Su about Zhang Wenyuan’s household being slaughtered, and Lin Su said Zhang had deserved no peaceful end.
• Lin Su announced that he would inspect Beichuan after Qingming, leading Lei Zheng and Zhu Shiyun to suspect Zhao Xun was his next target.
• Zhao Xun heard that Lin Su was heading to Beichuan and feared that his own death was imminent.