Chapter Summaries

Lin Su chose to teach Yang Chun physics after the boy asked to learn a new way to benefit the people, and his lesson caught Mo Qing’s attention from afar. The chapter ended with Sister Chen embarrassed after Lin Su dragged her into the room, while the Flower Demon revealed she was secretly stealing Old Zhou’s wine to vex him.

• Lin Su visited the technical class, reunited with Yang Chun, and took him up the mountain to ask what he wanted to learn.
• Yang Chun chose to study a new discipline that could help ordinary people, so Lin Su introduced physics and gave him a textbook for the technical class.
• Mo Qing recognized that Lin Su’s lesson addressed the principles she had been investigating, while Feng Wu teased her about being drawn into his schemes.
• Lin Su admitted to Sister Chen that he had taught physics to keep Mo Qing there, then dragged Sister Chen into the room after she teased him about his intentions.
• Sister Chen discovered Xing'er had kept watch while she and Lin Su were busy, then hurried off to Haining Tower.
• The Flower Demon told Lin Su she had been stealing wine from the distillery each day to get back at Old Zhou for cursing her.

Lin Su consulted the Flower Demon about his activated Dao Root, then broke through four Cultivation Way realms in a day and formed a Dao Gate Dao Fruit combining Spacetime Law with the Heaven Devouring Demonic Art. After celebrating with his wives, he learned Ding Jiye might soon be released as the court’s response to the Dragon City Betrayal of Country case remained unresolved.

• The Flower Demon explained that Spacetime Law was a taboo power and told Lin Su that his Minor Heavenly Cycle Creation Art would let his Dao Realm cultivation catch up with his Martial Dao, while his Dao Fruit required a personal choice.
• Lin Su entered seclusion and advanced through the Dao Altar, Dao Mountain, and Dao Flower realms before a strange ancient door appeared within his Dao Flower.
• Lin Su formed a Dao Gate Dao Fruit that fused Spacetime Law and the Heaven Devouring Demonic Art, and Qiu Shui Hua Ping briefly felt its force threaten her painted Dao world.
• Lin Su celebrated his breakthroughs with his wives, then stayed home for five days and received news from Zhang Haoran that Ding Jiye might soon be released.
• Zhang Haoran explained that Zhou Ze had been silenced, leaving insufficient evidence to convict Ding Jiye, while His Majesty appeared to be waiting for the uproar to fade before reinstating him; Ding Jiye had written the emperor a letter after receiving birthday wine in prison.

Lin Su learned that Ding Jiye was poised for release and set out for the capital, but stopped at Xixin Temple to ask Master Yiyao about the prophecy tied to his father. There, Lin Su challenged the wine-loving monk by offering him ten jars of fine wine.

• Zhang Haoran told Lin Su that court officials had used Ding Jiye’s letter to demand his release and argue for replacing the three border commanders.
• Lin Su decided to head for the capital, while Qiu Shui Hua Ping told Sister Chen that Lin Su had become the Lingyun First Seat at the Jade Pool Grand Gathering.
• Lin Su entered Huichang City and went to Xixin Temple to ask Master Yiyao about the prophecy his father had received.
• Little Monk recognized Lin Su and reminded him of the temple’s rules for speaking with Master Yiyao, so Lin Su offered twenty taels of silver.
• Lin Su produced ten jars of Grade A Baiyunbian wine, and Master Yiyao’s eyes gleamed at the offering.

Lin Su discovered that the Old Monk had secretly drunk the Baiyunbian he claimed to pour away, then realized the monk had charged him one thousand taels for a verse hidden in his final speech. Outside Xixin Temple, Lin Su saw Yuan Ji enter and watched her storm out after the Old Monk demanded payment for each word of guidance.

• Lin Su used the Thousand Degrees Pupil to see the Old Monk secretly pour ten jars of Baiyunbian into a teapot hidden within the pool.
• The Old Monk confirmed that he had given Marquis of Dingnan the verse “Three Dao Unification, break the tribulation and flourish greatly,” and Lin Su rejected his offer to buy a verse.
• Lin Su counted the Old Monk’s two thousand spoken words and learned that Grade A Baiyunbian cost three hundred taels per jar, leading him to suspect the monk had charged another thousand taels for his verse.
• Lin Su spotted Yuan Ji entering Xixin Temple and learned that she had paid two taels only to be told “Drink tea” and that further guidance required more money.
• Yuan Ji stormed out of the temple and prepared to fly off when a voice suddenly rang out.

Lin Su and Yuan Ji reunited aboard a ship bound for the capital, where teasing over a cup of tea and a jar of wine led to revelations about their journeys and plans. Yuan Ji disclosed her revenge mission, while Lin Su learned that Li Zexi’s attack on Heavenly Spirit Sect had shielded him from the martial world’s pursuers; the pair ended the night by switching rooms again.

• Lin Su met Yuan Ji on the road and joined her aboard a passenger ship bound for the capital.
• Yuan Ji recounted her visit to Xixin Temple, and Lin Su revealed that he had drunk the tea she later drank, teasing her that they had indirectly kissed.
• Lin Su brought Yuan Ji wine that night, and she exposed his false story about returning home and told him Li Zexi had rescued him before attacking Heavenly Spirit Sect.
• Yuan Ji explained that she was going to the capital to avenge her father, Sun Yiyang, who had been framed and murdered.
• Yuan Ji pointed out that Lin Su was traveling to find Sword Sect leader Dugu Xing in Western Capital, Zezhou, and challenged him for hiding his purpose.
• After Yuan Ji drank the wine and teased Lin Su about its possible medicine, she slipped into his room, leaving him in hers.

Lin Su reunited with his friends at Green Willow Villa and gave them Blue and White Porcelain. They planned how to prevent Ding Jiye from resuming his post, while Zhang Juzheng watched over their secret meeting and trusted Lin Su to handle the danger.

• Lin Su arrived in the capital and warned Yuan Ji about the power of official seals before they went their separate ways.
• Lin Su reached Green Willow Villa, where Zhang Haoran, Qiu Mochi, Li Yangxin, and Huo Qi welcomed him and joked about his poetry and Yuan Ji's absence.
• Zhang Haoran told Lin Su that his sister had entered the top five hundred of the Lingyun Ranking, and Lin Su gave each of the four men a vase of Blue and White Porcelain.
• The friends discussed Ding Jiye's impending release from the Heavenly Prison and asked Lin Su whether Dugu Xing would enter the capital.
• Lin Su said Dugu Xing would not come, but assured his friends that Ding Jiye would not smoothly resume his post and told them to wait.
• Zhang Juzheng watched the friends' sealed meeting and reassured his worried attendant that Lin Su had never been one to suffer at others' hands.

Lin Su returned to the Inspectorate Department, where Shadow warned him that the Heavenly Spirit Sect had sent experts to stop Dugu Xing from entering the capital. After hearing Li San’s account of the mysterious Tian Yin Fang, Lin Su met Li Zhiyuan, who appeared newly prosperous.

• Lin Su asked Qiu Mochi to retrieve a case file concerning Sun Yiyang, a former Governor of Ningzhou.
• Shadow warned Lin Su that Dugu Xing must not enter the capital because at least three fighters capable of matching him had arrived, likely from the Heavenly Spirit Sect.
• Lin Su went to report for duty, exchanged greetings with Chen Dong, and returned to his office, where Li San gave him a report.
• Li San told Lin Su that Tian Yin Fang had stripped Prince Ping’s secondary consort and faced no apparent consequences, prompting Lin Su to wonder about the establishment’s backing.
• Li Zhiyuan visited Lin Su in new official robes and offered to treat him to a meal, saying his salary now allowed him to dine at restaurants.

Lin Su and Li Zhiyuan discussed Beichuan County’s recovery and the candidates to fill White Deer Academy’s vacant dean position. Their conversation ended when Li Qingyang arrived with an invitation from Grand Scholar Chen, leaving Lin Su and Li Zhiyuan surprised.

• Li Zhiyuan brought Zhang Lao Er to confirm his debts were repaid, and Lin Su gave Zhang Lao Er and Li San valuable Spring Tears as gifts.
• Li Zhiyuan described how flower planting, construction, and other industries were improving life for Beichuan County’s three hundred thousand people.
• Li Zhiyuan explained the qualifications and leading candidates for White Deer Academy’s vacant dean position, including Jiang Ruyue’s efforts to build support.
• Lin Su said he would refuse the deanship even if he reached the Literary Realm because he could not tolerate dual jurisdiction.
• Li Qingyang arrived and told Lin Su that Grand Scholar Chen had summoned him to his residence, surprising Lin Su and Li Zhiyuan.

Lin Su visited Grand Scholar Chen Geng and challenged his faith in the objectivity of historical records, triggering a crisis in Chen Geng’s Literary Way. As strange phenomena spread through the capital, Lin Su urged Chen Geng to help create history rather than wait for others to record it.

• Lin Su accepted Li Qingyang’s invitation and visited Chen Geng’s residence, where Chen Geng welcomed him with scholarly courtesy.
• Chen Geng described his long seclusion and asked Lin Su how future historians would record Ding Jiye’s release and restoration to office.
• Lin Su argued that historians could whitewash events, causing Chen Geng’s Literary Way Foundation to suffer a devastating blow.
• Masters at White Deer Academy and Green Willow Villa sensed the upheaval and suspected Lin Su was attacking Chen Geng to prepare for Ding Jiye’s release.
• Lin Su told Chen Geng that people could create history themselves, and Chen Geng asked what he meant.

Lin Su prepared for the confrontation over Ding Jiye’s release, having persuaded Chen Geng to choose whether to join the coming action. As the crowd gathered outside the Heavenly Prison, Prime Minister Lu Tiancong ordered Lin Su summoned for a new appointment, while Lin wondered how much longer he would keep his office.

• Lin Su urged Chen Geng to value historical truth, and Chen Geng sincerely bowed before escorting him out.
• Lin Su told Zhang Juzheng, Qu Wendong, and Zhang Haoran that Chen Geng had likely chosen to act in the coming confrontation.
• A masked figure moved through South City, while Qiu Mochi reported that the Sun Yiyang case implicated several officials, including Lei Zheng.
• Qiu Mochi helped draw a growing crowd to the Heavenly Prison ahead of Ding Jiye’s release, and Lu Tiancong refused to postpone the affair.
• Lu Tiancong ordered Nangong Da to summon Lin Su to the Imperial Secretariat for a new official appointment.
• Lin Su told Li San he was wondering how many more days he could remain in his office.

Lin Su refused to report immediately to the Imperial Secretariat for his new appointment, claiming he had caught a chill and invoking the three-day legal deadline. As Lu Tiancong’s faction prepared to exploit unrest at the Heavenly Prison to frame Lin Su and purge their opponents, Lei Zheng resolved to use the law to transfer Lin Su far from the capital.

• Lin Su told the Chancellor’s messenger he would receive his appointment within three days, then told Lei Zheng he had refused Lu Tiancong personally and condemned the Prime Minister.
• Lin Su admitted he feared his new post would be worse than the Inspectorate Department, but Lei Zheng concealed the appointment details and could not persuade him to stay.
• After Lin Su left, Lei Zheng and Zhu Shiyun discussed his defiance, and Lei Zheng vowed to transfer him away from the capital under the law.
• At the Imperial Secretariat, Lu Tiancong and Nangong Puye prepared to arrest Lin Su and the citizens if unrest broke out at the Heavenly Prison, intending to blame Lin Su and his allies.

Lin Su used a Literary Way Cleansing of the Heart to expose Ding Jiye’s betrayal as the Four Garrisons of the North were released from suspicion. The Emperor executed Ding Jiye, punished several officials, and rewarded Lin Su and Chen Geng, while Lin Su left by pointedly questioning Commander Duan about Dugu Xing.

• Ding Jiye was released from prison at noon, and Lin Su arrived to offer to clear his name before the gathered crowd.
• Lin Su began a Literary Way Cleansing of the Heart, but four Second-Rank officials tried to stop him until Chen Geng arrived and drove back their Official Seals.
• Lin Su questioned Ding Jiye, who confessed that he had ordered Zhou Ze to collude with the enemy to deliver the Four Garrisons of the North to Dayu.
• The Emperor ordered Ding Jiye executed on the platform and issued an edict punishing Li Zegang, Li Yubin, and Zhou Hongyu while rewarding Chen Geng and Lin Su.
• Lin Su challenged Commander Duan by asking whether Dugu Xing should also receive a reward for killing a traitor, then departed.

After Ding Jiye’s execution, Lin Su reflected on the Holy Hall’s influence and learned that Fu Zetong had been assassinated, though he denied involvement. Qiu Mochi gave him the history of the Sun Yiyang Case, and Lin Su chose to keep its details secret while watching for what would happen next.

• Lin Su received congratulations from Zhang Haoran, Huo Qi, Li Yangxin, and Li Zhiyuan after surviving the court upheaval and receiving Golden Jade Full Hall.
• Qiu Mochi told Lin Su that Fu Zetong had been killed the previous night, and Lin Su insisted that he was not responsible.
• Qiu Mochi explained that the masked killer possessed formidable Dao Fruit cultivation and gave Lin Su records of the Sun Yiyang Case.
• Lin Su learned that Sun Yiyang had united the Seventy-Two Tribes of Cang Mountain with Great Cang against the Crimson Kingdom, but corrupt Ningzhou officials had framed him and destroyed his household.
• Qiu Mochi agreed with Lin Su to keep the case’s details secret, and Lin Su watched toward South City.

Princess Yufeng and the women at West Mountain discussed whether Lin Su would visit and feared the palace struggle was still underway. Lin Su received an imperial reward, then learned from Zhou Mei that Medicine King Mountain had sent Consort Su to the Former Emperor as a medicine maiden, revealing a hidden link between the sect and the imperial succession.

• Princess Yufeng, Lu Youwei, Xie Xiaoyan, and Bi Xuanji speculated about whether Lin Su would come to West Mountain, and Bi Xuanji warned that the contest was not over.
• Princess Yufeng realized that Lin Su had forced Current Majesty to kill Ding Jiye and that the palace remained unsettled.
• Lin Su accepted Golden Jade Full Hall from an imperial envoy and tipped him several hundred taels.
• Lin Su detected Zhou Mei in his room and asked what she had discovered about Current Majesty and Medicine King Mountain.
• Zhou Mei told Lin Su that Medicine King Mountain had sent Consort Su to the Former Emperor as a medicine maiden, exposing her role in the imperial family’s past and succession.

Lin Su learned that a Medicine King Mountain elder had tried to kill Princess Yufeng and went to confront her at Medicine King Hall disguised as Lord Liu. He killed four powerful guards with a willow leaf, and the elder fled into the night.

• Zhou Mei told Lin Su that a Medicine King Mountain elder had left vanished people and strangely enlarged plants and animals in her wake, then had been repelled at West Mountain by the Lingyin Dharma Bell or Lin Su’s literary treasure.
• Lin Su realized the elder had tried to kill Princess Yufeng and decided to seek revenge at Medicine King Hall.
• Lin Su put on a crude mask bearing the name Liu Jun and changed into martial-world attire, claiming Lord Liu’s identity.
• At midnight, the elder sensed that the medicine-grinding sounds had stopped and found four attendants dead from willow-leaf strikes.
• The elder parried Lin Su’s willow leaf, recognized Lord Liu, and escaped as two Medicine King Mountain elders arrived.

Lin Su lured a Medicine King Mountain elder into a battle in Zezhou and fought her with his sword, literary Dao, Dao Door, and Space Law, but she escaped. Zhou Mei suspected the elder was Medicine King Mountain's Saintess, Su Rong, whose worn human skin served as both armor and a means of inheriting another cultivator's insights.

• The old woman pursued the figure wearing Lord Liu's mask to a river valley, where Lin Su revealed he had used the disguise to draw her out and warn Medicine King Mountain away from the western mountains.
• Lin Su struck the old woman with his sword, but strange patterns on her skin absorbed his attack, and she countered with a strange tree as they fought fiercely across the valley.
• Zhou Mei arrived and watched as Lin Su and the old woman exchanged blows; they each recognized traces of literary Dao in his attacks and the power of her skin.
• The old woman unleashed her Sky-Covering Merit, but Lin Su's Dao Door overwhelmed its pull; she escaped after using a Green Wood Box to break free and sacrificing her left arm to evade his Space Rift.
• Lin Su caught a fragment of the old woman's human skin, and Zhou Mei identified the fugitive as Medicine King Mountain's Saintess, Su Rong, who used the skin to gain its former owner's cultivation insights.

Lin Su and Zhou Mei escaped to the capital after the Medicine King Mountain incident, which cost the sect its treasure chest and gravely injured its Saintess. Lin Su then went to the Imperial Secretariat, where he confronted the gatekeeper before being ushered in to meet the Prime Minister about his new post.

• Zhou Mei explained that the Medicine King Mountain Treasure Chest and a piece of the founding ancestor's skin had been lost, while the Saintess had lost an arm.
• The old woman from Medicine King Mountain sensed the treasure chest's aura vanish and suspected Space Law had reappeared.
• Lin Su dismissed Zhou Mei's warnings about Medicine King Mountain's revenge and said he would visit the Imperial Secretariat to meet the Prime Minister.
• Zhou Mei learned Lin Su intended to remain in officialdom despite the court's efforts to force him out, and she argued with him before disappearing.
• Lin Su arrived at the Imperial Secretariat and sharply rebuked its gatekeeper for delaying him.
• An official escorted Lin Su inside, while Lin Su criticized the gatekeeper loudly enough for the surrounding departments to hear.

Lu Tiancong appointed Lin Su as Prefect of Nanshan Prefecture, a dangerous territory controlled by Prince Luyang, and Lin Su speculated that the posting might be tied to the princes’ succession struggle. Before he could investigate, Qiu Mochi reported that Yuan Ji had assassinated Wang Jinyu, and Lin Su rushed to find her before the Official Seal wound exposed her location.

• Lu Tiancong gave Lin Su a demotion disguised as a new appointment, sending him to Nanshan Prefecture, and Lin Su accepted it before leaving the Secretariat.
• Zhang Haoran explained that Prince Luyang controlled Nanshan Prefecture through his servants and had escaped censure after Crown Prince Your Highness defended him.
• Lin Su suspected that Lu Tiancong might be using his appointment to undermine Prince Luyang and benefit the Third Prince, while Zhang Haoran warned that the posting could simply be intended to get him killed.
• Qiu Mochi sent Lin Su word that Yuan Ji had assassinated Wang Jinyu and fled after his Official Seal wounded her.
• Lin Su realized that Wang Jinyu’s Official Seal could track Yuan Ji through its Literary Way mark, so he rushed to find her and remove the wound before she was caught.

Yuan Ji's attempt to assassinate Wang Jinyu failed, leaving her gravely injured and trapped as his men searched for her. Lin Su rescued her by severing the tracking aura and disguising their hiding place as a private tryst, then faced Wang Jinyu and sent him away; Yuan Ji was left asking who Lin Su really was.

• Yuan Ji attacked Wang Jinyu, but his activated Official Seal sent her flying and shattered her defense, and she escaped to her house with worsening injuries.
• Yuan Ji's True Essence drained away as she tried to heal herself, and Lin Su arrived and absorbed the Literary Way Power harming her.
• Lin Su cut off Wang Jinyu's tracking of Yuan Ji, then hid with her beneath the bedding as guards searched the house.
• The guards saw Lin Su's Fourth Rank Official Robe and withdrew, and Lin Su emerged to speak with Wang Jinyu, who recognized him and ended the search there.
• Yuan Ji asked Lin Su who he was, and he teased her about their earlier encounter.

Lin Su revealed to Yuan Ji that he was both Lingyun First Seat and a prefectural governor, then offered to kill her targets through officialdom rather than direct violence. He left Yuan Ji watching from a restaurant as he transformed himself into Wang Jinyu with the Mirage Dragon Secret Technique.

• Lin Su confessed his identity to Yuan Ji and spent the night with her while guards searched South City, allowing the real killer to escape.
• Yuan Ji rejected Lin Su’s claim that the night had changed their relationship, but listened as he explained what he knew about her father and revenge.
• Lin Su proposed killing Yuan Ji’s targets in exchange for one month as his wife for each victim, and she agreed to his deal to kill Lei Zheng and Wang Jinyu.
• Lin Su led Yuan Ji past the guards and took her to a restaurant overlooking Wang Jinyu’s residence, where he said she would watch him kill Wang Jinyu.
• Lin Su vanished from the restaurant, changed into Wang Jinyu’s appearance and Third Rank Official Robe with the Mirage Dragon Secret Technique, and set out to manipulate officialdom.