Chapter Summaries

Cao Huachun’s letter from Jiangyang Dao pleased Eight Thousand Years Old, who agreed to send him several portions of Superior Resources. A sealed reply began traveling to Fang Yuan by Heavenly Net, though Fang Yuan did not know his name was on it.

• The Red-Clad Eunuchs left Eight Thousand Years Old, and Fourth Brother warned Third Brother against scheming against their foster father.
• Fourth Brother resented the thought of Cao Huachun returning from Jiangyang Dao and went back to his duty room.
• Eight Thousand Years Old reread Cao Huachun’s letter and agreed to his request for Superior Resources.
• Eight Thousand Years Old wrote “Granted,” sealed the letter with his imperial seal, and ordered it sent to Jiangyang Dao by morning.
• A young eunuch carried the letter into the Imperial City’s secret Heavenly Net system, while Fang Yuan continued practicing his saber, unaware it was coming.

After practicing his saber through the night, Fang Yuan learned that Eunuch Cao’s Foster Father had approved his choice of resources, and he traveled with Eunuch Cao toward the tournament. Along the way, they heard martial artists celebrating Gu Changqing’s narrow victory over Yunzhong Commandery’s top Heavenly Pride.

• Fang Yuan finished an all-night saber practice and reflected on the cost of Cultivation Methods and the value of the Qinghe Arena.
• Eunuch Cao told Fang Yuan that his Foster Father had granted him permission to choose any resources he wanted.
• Fang Yuan considered the influence of Eunuch Cao’s Foster Father and resolved to rely on Eunuch Cao rather than assume the distant figure was trustworthy.
• Han Bao drove Fang Yuan and Eunuch Cao through the city, where martial artists praised Gu Changqing for narrowly defeating Yunzhong Commandery’s number one Heavenly Pride.
• A dispute broke out among the martial artists over whether Gu Changqing’s half-move victory was worth celebrating.

Fang Yuan and Eunuch Cao discussed rumors meant to turn them against Gu Changqing, and Fang Yuan reasoned that a rival faction was trying to make both contestants suffer. They reached the Imperial City Security Department, where Fang Yuan was about to enter the Mysterious Zone.

• A man spread rumors that Fang Yuan was trying to take Wushui Commandery’s Superior Force resources from Gu Changqing.
• Eunuch Cao threatened the gossips and ordered Han Bao to drive on, while Fang Yuan remained calm.
• Fang Yuan argued that Gu Changqing could not have spread the rumors and suggested someone else wanted the two rivals to fight and weaken each other.
• Eunuch Cao realized that other Noble Families or sects could benefit if Fang Yuan and Gu Changqing were both injured, and decided not to escalate the rumors.
• Han Bao announced their arrival at the Imperial City Security Department, and Fang Yuan followed Eunuch Cao inside toward the Mysterious Zone.

Fang Yuan accompanied Eunuch Cao and Han Bao to the Imperial City Security Department’s underground Armory, where they encountered a mysterious old man seated before a stone door. The chapter ended with Fang Yuan recognizing the seated figure as Old Hei.

• The Captains wondered why Eunuch Cao had stayed calm, and concluded that Fang Yuan might have influenced him.
• Eunuch Cao decided to accompany Fang Yuan to the Mysterious Zone instead of visiting the Main Hall.
• Eunuch Cao told Fang Yuan that Old Hei managed both the Scripture Depository and the Armory, and warned him that Old Hei’s strength and age were unfathomable.
• Eunuch Cao led Fang Yuan and Han Bao down a hidden stairway beneath the Scripture Depository into an enormous stone hall.
• Fang Yuan saw a person reading in a stone chair before a carved stone door and widened his eyes in recognition.

Fang Yuan discovered that the Old Hei in the Armory’s underground chamber was identical to the one he had seen upstairs, while Shen Qianshan and Gu Changqing discussed the coming tournament and Fang Yuan’s Seven-Day Pact. Old Hei confirmed that Fang Yuan had already met another version of him, leaving the mystery of the two Old Heis unresolved.

• Fang Yuan found an Old Hei in the underground stone chamber and realized he looked identical to the old man from the Scripture Depository.
• Shen Qianshan learned that Eunuch Cao had taken Fang Yuan to the Armory instead of coming to confront him about the rumors.
• Gu Changqing reassured Shen Qianshan that he would make a name for himself at the Three Commanderies Martial Tournament and privately planned to cripple Fang Yuan during the Seven-Day Pact.
• Eunuch Cao presented Fang Yuan and his Copper Token to Old Hei so Fang Yuan could view the Armory’s Mysterious Zone under its rules.
• Old Hei told Fang Yuan that he appeared to have already met the Old Hei upstairs.

Fang Yuan discovered that the Imperial Court had known about the Luoshui Village Black Calamity for years and had deliberately sent martial artists, including his master Chen Zhengyang, as sacrifices to contain it. He began searching the Mysterious Zone for more records and picked up a newer scroll about Stone Camp.

• Fang Yuan entered the Mysterious Zone and found an enormous underground archive filled with records from across Wushui Commandery.
• Fang Yuan read the Luoshui Village records and learned that signs of the Black Calamity had appeared three years earlier, while the commandery city ordered officials to observe it.
• Fang Yuan read that the Imperial Court recommended sending third-rank martial artists to feed the early-stage Black Calamity, and saw that Shen Qianshan had left the comment.
• Fang Yuan realized that Chen Zhengyang and the other martial artists had been treated as expendable sacrifices, and blamed the officials in the commandery city and Capital City for allowing the calamity to spread.
• Fang Yuan scanned the archive's other labels and picked up a fresh scroll titled "Stone Camp Records, Qinghe County."

Fang Yuan searched the Armory’s Mysterious Zone for the Essence Condensing Method Wang Family Senior had mentioned, but found no related records before his time ran out. Just as he left, he discovered an old note addressed to a successor and secretly took it, while Old Hei noticed but let him go.

• Fang Yuan read a record about a Minor Black Calamity in Stone Camp and realized the Armory preserved extensive records of Black Calamities across Wushui Commandery.
• Fang Yuan searched the shelves for Wang Family Senior’s records but found nothing before Eunuch Cao called him out as the time limit approached.
• As Fang Yuan hurried toward the closing stone door, an aged paper fell before him, and he caught it and read, “Successor, we meet again.”
• Fang Yuan hid the paper in his clothes and escaped through the stone door just before it shut.
• Old Hei scrutinized Fang Yuan, apparently noticed the hidden note, and told him to go; Eunuch Cao and Han Bao then escorted Fang Yuan outside.

Fang Yuan learned that Old Hei existed in both Wushui Commandery and the Capital City, then read a cryptic note advising him to refine Yin-Yang Force as he approached Essence Condensation. He asked Eunuch Cao whether he knew about it, and Eunuch Cao reacted with surprise.

• Eunuch Cao told Fang Yuan that Old Hei had existed since the Imperial City Security Department was founded and that an Old Hei also existed in the Capital City.
• Fang Yuan reflected on Old Hei’s presence in two distant places and considered the mysteries surrounding the Black Calamity, the Essence Condensing Method, and the paper he carried.
• Fang Yuan unfolded the note, which described yin and yang as the great medicine of the human body and Heaven and Earth and named the resulting force Yin-Yang Force.
• Fang Yuan found that the note ended abruptly, folded it away, and asked Eunuch Cao whether he knew about Yin-Yang Force.
• Eunuch Cao opened his eyes, raised his brows, and repeated the name in surprise.

Fang Yuan chose to pursue the exceptionally rare Yin-Yang Force after Eunuch Cao explained its requirements and potential. Eunuch Cao warned he might not be able to obtain it, but left open the possibility of securing it for him.

• Eunuch Cao explained that Yin-Yang Force required two Intent Realm Cultivation Methods and Dual Qi Induction, and ranked among the top Celestial Phenomenon Forces.
• Fang Yuan recognized that his Essence of Five Grains and Tiger Lord's Energy, along with his hard and soft Cultivation Method Intent Realms, made him suited to Yin-Yang Force.
• Fang Yuan told Eunuch Cao he chose Yin-Yang Force despite its difficulty, and Eunuch Cao was stunned by his decision.
• Eunuch Cao admitted he might not be able to obtain Yin-Yang Force for Fang Yuan, who said Cold and Heat Force would be an acceptable alternative.
• Fang Yuan reflected that Eunuch Cao's favor gave him access to resources beyond what he could have earned on his own, while Eunuch Cao pondered the request.

Eunuch Cao sent Foster Father an urgent request for Yin-Yang Force resources for Fang Yuan, knowing it could anger his adopted brothers. The letter reached the Imperial City under the highest Heavenly Net priority, where a young eunuch recognized its origin.

• Eunuch Cao worried that asking Foster Father for Yin-Yang Force resources would provoke his adopted brothers, but he wrote and sealed the request anyway.
• Eunuch Cao sent the letter by bird toward Jiangyang Dao Prefecture City so the Post Station network could relay it quickly to the Capital City.
• A Post Station Attendant and a Middle-aged Official recognized the Heavenly Net Golden Seal and delivered the letter to an old man for secure handling.
• The old man noted that another Heavenly Net dispatch had arrived from the Imperial Capital only the day before and wondered what powerful figures were in Wushui Commandery.
• A young eunuch in the Imperial City received the letter from Jiangyang Dao and recognized its Golden Seal.

Cao the Fourth intercepted a letter from Jiangyang Dao intended for Eight Thousand Years Old and took it for himself, then left the palace. In Wushui Commandery, Eunuch Cao awaited his foster father’s decision while Fang Yuan advanced his saber training to the intermediate level.

• Cao the Fourth stopped a young eunuch carrying Jiangyang Dao’s letter and ordered him to hand it over.
• The young eunuch reluctantly let Cao the Fourth take the Bamboo Tube, and Cao warned him to say nothing before heading out of the palace.
• Eunuch Cao wondered whether Eight Thousand Years Old had received the letter and what decision he would make.
• Fang Yuan trained through the night, grasped the essentials of the Six Harmonies Defense saber technique, and discovered his saber technique had advanced to Intermediate Saber Technique.

Fang Yuan reflected on his saber progress and resolved to rely on his own training rather than worry over scarce resources. In the Capital City, Cao the Fourth brought an unopened letter from Jiangyang Dao to his foster father, who asked whether he had read it on the way.

• Fang Yuan assessed his advancing saber arts and other cultivation skills, then recognized that artistic conception had helped him cross into middle-grade saber arts.
• Fang Yuan worried about the fierce competition for cultivation resources and Eunuch Cao’s chances, but reminded himself that he had advanced through talent and hard training.
• Fang Yuan put aside his anxiety and resumed practicing the saber, determined to depend on himself.
• A young eunuch approached the Wooden House in the Capital City, but Cao the Fourth confronted him and invited him to report the letter together.
• Cao the Fourth presented the sealed letter from Jiangyang Dao to his foster father, who checked the seal and asked whether Cao the Fourth had read it on the way.

Eight Thousand Years Old read Cao the First’s request to grant Yin-Yang Force to Fang Yuan, while Cao the Second and Cao the Third arrived to oppose it. After Cao the Fourth challenged their convenient timing, Eight Thousand Years Old called for silence to consider the matter, and a trembling young eunuch addressed him from outside.

• Cao the Fourth told Eight Thousand Years Old he dared not read Cao the First’s letter, and Eight Thousand Years Old read it and later handed it to Cao the Fourth.
• Cao the Second and Cao the Third arrived and urged Eight Thousand Years Old not to grant Yin-Yang Force to Fang Yuan, whom they regarded as an outsider.
• Cao the Fourth suggested Cao the Second and Cao the Third had come specifically to influence Eight Thousand Years Old, and Cao the Second denied it.
• Eight Thousand Years Old stopped the argument and said he would think about the request.
• A trembling young eunuch called to Eight Thousand Years Old from outside the Wooden House.

Cao the Fourth heard competing appeals from Sù Nǚ Palace, the Empress, and Consort Li over whether Fang Yuan should receive Yin-Yang Force. Eight Thousand Years Old sent everyone away to consider the matter, and Cao the Fourth realized his decision might bring someone’s death.

• A young eunuch delivered a letter from Sù Nǚ Palace’s Holy Maiden asking Eight Thousand Years Old to grant Fang Yuan a favor.
• Cao the Second revealed that the Holy Maiden was Wang, and Cao the Fourth noted the Second Prince’s closeness to her.
• The Empress sent word that the Imperial City Security Department should control its own resources and that a worthy recipient should come from a respectable family.
• Consort Li urged that Jiangyang Dao receive a share of resources, adding another powerful voice to the dispute over Fang Yuan.
• Eight Thousand Years Old dismissed the others and asked Cao the Fourth who should receive the resources; Cao the Fourth sensed that someone might die.

Eight Thousand Years Old decided to visit the Empress as rival powers pressed him to choose a side, and he ordered Fourth to quiet the Imperial City. In Wushui Commandery, Fang Yuan continued training while influential households sought meetings with him, including Myriad Treasures Pavilion.

• Eight Thousand Years Old recognized that the struggle over the Yin-Yang Force was a test of his allegiance and reflected on his attachment to Cao the First and his interest in Fang Yuan.
• Eight Thousand Years Old told Fourth that the palace city had become too noisy, and Fourth understood that he meant its scheming people would be removed.
• Fang Yuan trained at Cao Mansion and gained an initial grasp of both prized saber arts.
• Han Bao told Fang Yuan that more than a dozen influential households wanted to meet him, including Myriad Treasures Pavilion.

Fang Yuan received Shen Qingwan, the Wushui Commandery shopkeeper of Myriad Treasures Pavilion, after she arrived at Cao Mansion seeking a favor. He opened the meeting by asking what the pavilion wanted from him.

• Fang Yuan learned that Eunuch Cao had left to meet Chief Inspector Shen Qianshan and decided to receive Myriad Treasures Pavilion’s visitors in his courtyard.
• Shen Qingwan waited outside Cao Mansion with Lu Chuan, whose anger grew as he complained about Fang Yuan making them wait.
• Han Bao invited Shen Qingwan and Lu Chuan inside, signaling Fang Yuan’s standing under Eunuch Cao’s protection.
• Shen Qingwan and Lu Chuan met Fang Yuan in his courtyard, where Fang Yuan asked what Myriad Treasures Pavilion wanted with him.

Shen Qingwan visited Fang Yuan to return his Qinghe Arena winnings and negotiate a deal tied to his Seven-Day Pact with Gu Changqing. Fang Yuan accepted the gold notes but questioned why the Myriad Treasures Pavilion wanted him to abandon the contest for a Superior Resource, and the chapter ended with him acknowledging Shen Qingwan’s generous offer.

• Shen Qingwan introduced herself to Fang Yuan and sent Lu Chuan out of the courtyard after he showed hostility toward him.
• Shen Qingwan gave Fang Yuan three Myriad Treasures Pavilion gold notes worth three hundred thousand taels, which he accepted.
• Shen Qingwan apologized for the Myriad Treasures Pavilion’s treatment of Fang Yuan at Qinghe Arena and offered further compensation if he dropped the matter.
• Shen Qingwan warned Fang Yuan that Gu Changqing was a formidable opponent in their Seven-Day Pact.
• Shen Qingwan offered Fang Yuan one million taels of silver and three Intermediate Essence Condensing Resources if he abandoned the contest for the Superior Resource.
• Fang Yuan asked about the Myriad Treasures Pavilion’s relationship with Gu Changqing, then remarked on Shen Qingwan’s generous offer.

Fang Yuan rejected Shen Qingwan’s offer to trade away the Superior Resource, unmoved by her money, favor, and personal appeal. After she left, he grew wary of the dangers posed by powerful interests and asked Han Bao whether Myriad Treasures Pavilion and Gu Changqing were close.

• Shen Qingwan offered Fang Yuan gold, Medium Resources, and a personal favor in exchange for the Superior Resource, but he refused.
• Shen Qingwan invoked Fang Yuan’s wife and companions, prompting him to order Han Bao to see her out.
• Shen Qingwan left Cao Mansion, confident Fang Yuan would return to her after losing to Shen Qianshan in seven days.
• Han Bao explained why Shen Qingwan expected her offer to persuade most young martial artists in Wushui Commandery.
• Fang Yuan reflected on the threats posed by powerful factions and asked Han Bao whether Myriad Treasures Pavilion and Gu Changqing were close.

Fang Yuan learned that Shen Qingwan’s visit likely concerned Murong Qing and the upcoming Three Commanderies Martial Tournament, where Gu Changqing hoped to secure superior resources. After Han Bao advised him to rely on Eunuch Cao’s connections and seek a path to the Capital City instead, Fang Yuan agreed to consider the shortcut rather than enter a dangerous contest dominated by powerful factions.

• Han Bao explained that Shen Qingwan might be trying to prevent Gu Changqing from gaining superior resources so Murong Qing and Yunzhong Commandery would retain a chance in the Three Commanderies Martial Tournament.
• Han Bao described the tournament as a major contest among Yunzhong, Tianshui, and Wushui Commanderies that could open the way to Imperial Court positions and resources.
• Fang Yuan realized Gu Changqing’s fight with Murong Qing had only been a preliminary spar and that the tournament had not yet begun.
• Fang Yuan reflected that the tournament was shaped by powerful families and factions, making it a perilous path for someone without their backing.
• Han Bao urged Fang Yuan to use Eunuch Cao’s connections to go directly to the Capital City, and Fang Yuan said he understood.

Rumors spread that Fang Yuan had demanded a million taels from Myriad Treasures Pavilion, prompting outrage in Wushui Commandery. An Yuan Duke and the Five Tiger Sect debated Fang Yuan’s growing influence and whether they should oppose or recruit him, leaving the sect divided over his place among them.

• Myriad Treasures Pavilion spread rumors that Shen Qingwan had offered Fang Yuan a million taels and that he had demanded more, stirring public anger.
• Chen Boyuan warned An Yuan Duke that Fang Yuan seemed dangerous and that Eunuch Cao had focused his attention on helping him.
• An Yuan Duke decided to watch Fang Yuan longer rather than seek revenge immediately.
• Li Qingwu recounted Fang Yuan’s dealings with the Five Tiger Sect to its elders, concealing her suspicions about the Ice Sculpture Fruit and a disciple’s death.
• The Five Tiger Sect elders argued over whether Fang Yuan was too troublesome to recruit or too promising to abandon.