Recaps

Fang Yuan pursued Yin-Yang Force while Eunuch Cao sought approval from Eight Thousand Years Old and powerful factions tried to sway or buy Fang Yuan out of the Seven-Day Pact. On the pact’s final day, Fang Yuan took the resource and began breaking through as Eight Thousand Years Old confronted Cao the Fourth about his resentment.

• Eight Thousand Years Old granted Cao the First’s request for Superior Resources, while Fang Yuan continued training, unaware of the decision.
• Eunuch Cao took Fang Yuan into the Imperial City Security Department’s Mysterious Zone, where Fang Yuan read records revealing that officials had knowingly sacrificed martial artists to the Black Calamity.
• Fang Yuan found a hidden note naming Yin-Yang Force, chose to pursue it, and Eunuch Cao sent a request to Eight Thousand Years Old.
• Cao the Second and Cao the Third opposed giving Yin-Yang Force to Fang Yuan, while the Holy Maiden, the Empress, and Consort Li added pressure to the decision.
• Shen Qingwan offered Fang Yuan money, resources, and a personal favor to abandon the Seven-Day Pact, but Fang Yuan refused her offers.
• Myriad Treasures Pavilion spread rumors about Fang Yuan, while the Five Tiger Sect debated recruiting him and Su Lingyue learned he would duel Gu Changqing.
• Fang Yuan trained for several days, and Eunuch Cao brought him Yin-Yang Force on the final day of the pact.
• Fang Yuan swallowed the Yin-Yang Force pill and began his breakthrough as Eunuch Cao’s guards secured Cao Mansion, while Eight Thousand Years Old asked Cao the Fourth whether he resented the grant.

Fang Yuan broke through to the fourth rank and defeated Zhao Honglie, ending the Seven-Day Pact before it could be contested. He accepted an Investigative Captain post and began studying the Black Calamity, while Qian Duoduo watched him with suspicion.

• Fang Yuan's uncontrolled fusion of Yin-Yang Dual Qi, Essence of Five Grains, Tiger Lord's Energy, and Nurturing Vitality Qi drew lightning into Cao Mansion, healed and strengthened his body, and let him form his first strand of force.
• Fang Yuan concealed his Yin-Yang Force by claiming to have comprehended Ice Sculpture Force, then prepared to face Gu Changqing under the Seven-Day Pact.
• Eunuch Cao announced that Fang Yuan had reached the fourth rank, making the contest unnecessary, and Fang Yuan said he would not compete for the Superior Resource.
• Zhao Honglie challenged Fang Yuan, but Fang Yuan defeated him with the Wave-Breaking Saber Art and Ice Sculpture Force, leaving him unconscious with severe injuries.
• Shen Qianshan appointed Fang Yuan a Principal Seventh Rank Investigative Captain, and Fang Yuan accepted the dangerous post because it could give him power, protection, and merit.
• Fang Yuan reported to the Imperial City Security Department, completed his appointment, and began studying the assignment board and maps of Black Calamity sites.
• Qian Duoduo visited Fang Yuan, and his Jade Pendant heated when he touched Fang Yuan, prompting him to suspect that Fang Yuan was Black Calamity.
• Eunuch Cao brought Fang Yuan a report on the seven active Investigative Captains and warned him to learn whom and which missions to avoid before taking action.

Fang Yuan and Qian Duoduo investigated the disappearances at Chen Manor and exposed Chen Li as the Black Calamity’s medium. They rescued Chen Wang and delivered the suspicious Bronze Mirror to Old Hei, earning rewards for solving the case.

• Eunuch Cao took Fang Yuan home after Shen Qianshan told Gu Changqing to wait, and Fang Yuan recognized a nearby abandoned residence as a Black Calamity site.
• Fang Yuan warned Eunuch Cao and Han Bao away from the residence, then trained and demonstrated his Six Harmonies Defense by deflecting Eunuch Cao’s needles.
• Fang Yuan joined the Imperial City Security Department’s Mission Courtyard, where Old Hei warned him about the person who had sent him there and Fang Yuan began reading the Chen Wang case file.
• Fang Yuan and Qian Duoduo accepted a cooperative mission to investigate Chen Manor, and Qian Duoduo told him that powerful families were searching for the Superior Resource Fang Yuan possessed.
• At Chen Manor, Fang Yuan found a Bronze Mirror and Chen Li’s diary, while Qian Duoduo disappeared briefly and later reported seeing figures in the courtyard.
• Fang Yuan found Chen Li and identified her as suspicious, then fought her with the help of his black shadow and Qian Duoduo’s Copper Coin before carrying the surviving Chen Wang out.
• Fang Yuan concluded that Chen Li’s diary had helped spread the Calamity and that the Bronze Mirror had been placed at Chen Manor later, then Chen Wang confirmed his wife had changed the previous winter.
• Old Hei took custody of the mirror and awarded Fang Yuan and Qian Duoduo one thousand Contribution Points each for solving the case, while Qian Duoduo said their findings qualified them for additional rewards.

Fang Yuan discovered that his awakened talent could strengthen a willow in his mind and let him teleport, while the Prefect Zhao family’s conflict with him simmered. After agreeing to help Qin Wan, Fang Yuan learned from Su Wan that the White Lotus Sect and a fifth-rank expert from Black Hall were both connected to his growing danger.

• Fang Yuan learned from Qian Duoduo about Black Calamities, talents, and the possibility that Old Hei used his painting to suppress a threat inside the Bronze Mirror.
• Fang Yuan drove Zhao Tianci away from Su Wan and crippled Zhao’s two Fourth-Rank guards, then learned that a Black Calamity was connected to Zhao Tianci.
• Fang Yuan discovered that his talent was Godhood from Collective Delusion and used it to teleport short distances by uniting with his saber.
• Old Madam Zhao protested outside the Imperial City Security Department, while Fang Yuan put off meeting her and researched the willow in his mind.
• Fang Yuan’s talent transformed the black shadow into an Iron-Thread Willow, and he suspected the points of light that strengthened it could be dangerous to reveal to Old Hei.
• Fang Yuan agreed to help Qin Wan find Black Heart Tiger and asked her for the next stage of the Health Cultivation Method in exchange for a future favor.
• Su Wan told Fang Yuan that she belonged to the White Lotus Sect and could erase memories, but her attempt failed because the Iron-Thread Willow disrupted it.
• Su Wan warned Fang Yuan that a fifth-rank expert from Black Hall was pursuing him, possibly for his Health Cultivation Method, and offered to ask Sister Li to protect him.