Chapter Summaries

After the Heavenly Origin Pavilion's defeat, Yuan Tianzu escaped while Su Fei and the Imperial Guards secured the prisoners, valuables, and evidence from the rebel hideout. The team prepared to return with proof that could expose officials aiding the Pavilion, and Su Fei expected the mission to be completed.

• Yuan Tianzu used the Great Blood Escape Art to flee, and Elder Mo warned Lei Chongxiao that they could not catch him.
• The remaining Heavenly Origin Pavilion martial artists surrendered, and Su Fei ordered Liu Niang to record everything she knew about Fang Wenhan.
• Lei Chongxiao divided the Imperial Guards into teams to secure prisoners, identify the dead, and search the caves.
• Su Fei and the others discovered chests of silver and jewels, along with account books and secret letters naming officials involved in the rebellion.
• The Imperial Guards gathered forty-six prisoners and the confiscated goods, while Su Fei concluded that the assassination case was nearly solved.
• Lei Chongxiao praised Su Fei for uncovering the hideout and helping destroy the Heavenly Origin Pavilion's main force.

Su Fei returned to the Shuntian Prefectural Office with Heavenly Origin Pavilion prisoners and confiscated goods, while the escaped Yuan Tianzu recovered in hiding and vowed revenge. At the office, Yue Ling'er confronted the captured Liu Niang and mocked her downfall.

• Su Fei and his companions escorted the prisoners and confiscated evidence back toward the prefectural office.
• Yuan Tianzu reached a hidden cabin, swallowed a hundred-year-old fire reishi, and recovered much of his strength.
• Yuan Tianzu vowed to avenge the Heavenly Origin Pavilion by killing Su Fei, Lei Chongxiao, Ouyang, and the others.
• Su Fei arrived at the Shuntian Prefectural Office with the prisoners and goods, and Gao Feng ordered them registered and secured.
• Yue Ling'er approached the shackled Liu Niang and taunted her about her fall from power.

Su Fei’s party prepared to return from Heaven-Answering Prefecture with the captured Heavenly Origin Pavilion prisoners, while Gao Feng paid lavishly to secure support for becoming prefect. At the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion, Yuan Tianzu paid for information about the Imperial Guards behind the operation.

• Yue Ling'er humiliated Liu Niang, and Su Fei ordered the prisoners taken to the prefectural prison and guarded separately.
• Gao Feng offered to treat the Imperial Guards, then hosted them for two days while arranging prison wagons in hopes of becoming prefect.
• Lei Chongxiao promised to report Gao Feng’s cooperation, and Su Fei released Yue Ling'er's true essence seal before she pledged not to oppose Great Xuan again.
• Lei Chongxiao led the Imperial Guards and their prisoners out of Heaven-Answering Prefecture, with Liu Niang locked in a specially secured wagon.
• Yuan Tianzu paid two hundred thousand taels at the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion for information about the Imperial Guards who led the operation against the Heavenly Origin Pavilion.

After learning the identities and strengths of the officials who destroyed the Heavenly Origin Pavilion, Yuan Tianzu vowed revenge while a black-clad watcher followed Su Fei and the returning Imperial Guards. Su Fei claimed his quest rewards, including a powerful sword art, divine sword, personal storage space, and two hundred years of cultivation, then began improving his sword art.

• Yuan Tianzu received the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion's information on Su Fei, Lei Chongxiao, Ouyang Sirui, Zeng Feng, and Elder Mo, and swore to avenge the Heavenly Origin Pavilion.
• Lei Chongxiao sent the prisoners, including Liu Niang, to the Imperial Guard Heavenly Prison and ordered the seized valuables and records secured.
• A concealed black-clad figure watched Su Fei and the others from the roof as Su Fei returned to his office and waited for his quest rewards.
• Su Fei claimed the Heaven-Slaying Sword-Drawing Art, the Crimson Firmament Sword, a Personal Space, and two hundred years of cultivation, then tested the sword and storage space.
• Su Fei instructed the system to spend cultivation to raise the Heaven-Slaying Sword-Drawing Art to perfection.

Su Fei perfected the Heaven-Slaying Sword-Drawing Art and the Muscle Tendon Changing Scripture, dramatically increasing his combat power and reaching the peak of the grandmaster realm. He recognized that a gap still remained between him and Yuan Tianzu.

• Su Fei applied a hundred years of cultivation to perfect the Heaven-Slaying Sword-Drawing Art, then split a massive locust tree with sword intent alone.
• Su Fei spent another hundred years cultivating the Muscle Tendon Changing Scripture, advancing it to ninth-level perfection and breaking through to the grandmaster realm ninth layer.
• Su Fei demonstrated his precise control of his greatly increased true essence and assessed that it was several times stronger than Lei Chongxiao's.
• Su Fei noted that his perfected cultivation had brought his physical strength to the grandmaster realm's limit, though a gap in realms still remained between him and Yuan Tianzu.

Yuan Tianzu attacked the Southern Commandery Investigation Department, wounded Lei Chongxiao, and killed the Imperial Guards on duty. Su Fei faced him with the Crimson Firmament Sword and shattered his Martial Saint attack with one strike, leaving Yuan Tianzu and Lei Chongxiao stunned.

• Yuan Tianzu broke into the Southern Commandery Investigation Department, killed around a dozen Imperial Guards, and wounded Lei Chongxiao while pursuing him.
• Lei Chongxiao warned Su Fei to flee because Yuan Tianzu had recovered and reached the Martial Saint Realm First Level Peak.
• Su Fei refused to retreat, summoned the Crimson Firmament Sword, and told Lei Chongxiao he would take on Yuan Tianzu.
• Yuan Tianzu formed a massive black true essence palm and attacked Su Fei.
• Su Fei used the Heaven-Slaying Sword-Drawing Art to cleave the palm in two, shocking Yuan Tianzu and leaving Lei Chongxiao rooted in place.

Su Fei killed Yuan Tianzu, a martial saint of the Heavenly Origin Pavilion, after Yuan attacked the Southern Commandery Investigation Department. Situ Qianya arrived and learned that Su Fei had defeated Yuan Tianzu, leaving him astonished.

• Yuan Tianzu launched a volley of black true essence swords at Su Fei, who cut through them with the Crimson Firmament Sword.
• Yuan Tianzu reinforced a black barrier with his origin essence blood, but Su Fei's crimson sword light split the barrier and killed him.
• Su Fei put away his sword, and Lei Chongxiao praised him for protecting the department and killing Yuan Tianzu.
• Situ Qianya arrived, saw Yuan Tianzu's corpse, and asked how the martial saint had died.
• Lei Chongxiao explained that Su Fei had killed Yuan Tianzu after he infiltrated the department to take revenge on the Heavenly Origin Pavilion.

Situ Qianya learned that eighteen-year-old Su Fei, a Grandmaster, had killed the Martial Saint Yuan Tianzu and urged the court to reward and support him. The next morning, Su Fei learned that Yuan Tianzu had also killed Thousand Households Commander Ouyang, while Zeng survived because he was away escorting prisoners.

• Situ Qianya doubted that Su Fei could have killed a Martial Saint, then discovered he was an eighteen-year-old Grandmaster who had recently joined the Imperial Guard.
• Lei Chongxiao described Su Fei's martial achievements and case-solving record, and Situ Qianya praised him, promised to guide his cultivation, and ordered Lei to report his accomplishments to the court.
• Situ Qianya left, and Lei Chongxiao told Su Fei to rest while he handled the wreckage and arranged for the fallen Imperial Guards.
• Su Fei returned to his courtyard, slept, and set off for the Southern Commandery Investigation Department the next morning.
• Lei Chongxiao told Su Fei that Yuan Tianzu had ambushed and killed Ouyang in the storeroom before attacking him, while Zeng survived because he had been escorting prisoners to the Heavenly Prison.

After Lei Chongxiao reported Yuan Tianzu’s death, he and the Southern Commandery Investigation Department’s commanders visited Ouyang’s grieving family and promised to support his wife and sons. News of Su Fei killing a Martial Saint as a Grandmaster spread across Great Xuan, leaving martial artists debating the feat.

• Lei Chongxiao left to report the previous night’s events and request a reward for Su Fei.
• Lei Chongxiao, Su Fei, and the other commanders visited Ouyang’s home and gave his family silver for the funeral.
• Zeng gave Madam Ouyang thirty thousand taels, then broke down over surviving the attack that killed Ouyang.
• Lei Chongxiao promised to arrange Ouyang’s funeral, provide his sons with education and martial instruction, and support the family monthly.
• Stories of Su Fei killing the Martial Saint Realm Yuan Tianzu spread throughout Great Xuan, prompting heated debate among martial artists in the imperial city.

News of Su Fei’s victory over Yuan Tianzu spread across Great Xuan and beyond, while Su Fei continued his quiet work in the Imperial Guard. An imperial decree then ennobled him as a count with the title Martial Peace.

• Elder Mo, Feng Changqing, and others celebrated Su Fei’s achievement, while barbarian elders and Fusang’s Heavenly Emperor ordered him watched or approached.
• Su Fei avoided the attention of factions in the Imperial City and focused on routine duties and cultivation.
• A palace messenger arrived at the Southern Commandery Investigation Department to deliver an imperial decree.
• The decree praised Su Fei for resolving the Fang Wenhan assassination, capturing Liu Niang, destroying the Heavenly Origin Pavilion, and killing Yuan Tianzu.
• The Emperor ennobled Su Fei as a count with the title Martial Peace.

Su Fei received the title Earl of Martial Peace and substantial rewards from the emperor after defeating the rebels. Lei Chongxiao warned him about court politics, while Su Fei pledged to honor his colleagues and continue investigating cases; his fellow commanders then invited him out to celebrate.

• The imperial envoy bestowed on Su Fei the title Earl of Martial Peace, gold, brocade, farmland, and a Nation-Guarding Sword.
• Su Fei accepted the decree and thanked the emperor as Imperial Guards and commanders congratulated him.
• Su Fei credited Lei Chongxiao, his fellow officers, and Ouyang for helping earn the honor, and Lei Chongxiao cautioned him to navigate court politics carefully.
• Su Fei promised to continue his duties and give part of his rewards to Thousand Households Commander Ouyang's family.
• Su Fei asked Lei Chongxiao to consider him first for major investigations, and Lei agreed.
• Thousand Households Commander Qiu and the other commanders invited Su Fei to an entertainment house, and Lei Chongxiao agreed that they would all go together.

After a carefree stretch in the capital, Su Fei learned of the disaster in Kuaiji Commandery, where collapsed dikes had killed and displaced many people. Emperor Xuan ordered relief and sought an imperial commissioner to investigate, but the court hesitated because the inquiry could implicate Governor Zhou Bo'an and the Crown Prince's faction; the matter remained unresolved when court adjourned.

• Thousand Households Commanders and Vice Thousand Households Commanders took Su Fei around the capital's entertainment houses, and he spent ten carefree days returning their hospitality.
• A rider brought Emperor Xuan an urgent memorial reporting that Kuaiji Commandery's dikes had collapsed, flooding farmland and homes and leaving tens of thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.
• Emperor Xuan ordered nearby grain reserves sent to Yuezhou and summoned the court to discuss relief and an investigation into the dikes' destruction.
• Minister of Revenue Zhang Xiongfei said relief shipments could leave within three days and warned that the disaster could reduce grain and tax revenues.
• Emperor Xuan demanded a volunteer to investigate, but the ministers hesitated because the inquiry could implicate Zhou Bo'an and the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor.
• Lei Chongxiao remained silent as Emperor Xuan agreed to seek recommendations from officials' subordinates and dismissed court until the next morning.

After the other commanders refused the dangerous assignment, Su Fei volunteered to investigate the breached dikes in Kuaiji Commandery and help its displaced people. Lei Chongxiao appointed him imperial commissioner and warned him that Japanese pirates also threatened Yuezhou’s coast.

• Lei Chongxiao asked the commanders to investigate the dike destruction and flooding in Kuaiji Commandery, but they feared angering Zhou Bo'an and his political allies.
• Su Fei volunteered to serve as imperial commissioner, saying he would investigate for the people and bring the culprits to justice.
• Su Fei received a system quest to aid disaster relief, uncover the truth, and arrest everyone involved, with the Sacred Heart Formula and 240 years of cultivation as rewards.
• Lei Chongxiao agreed to appoint Su Fei and promised him twenty elite Imperial Guards, a map of Yuezhou, and a list of its officials.
• Lei Chongxiao warned Su Fei that Japanese pirates from Fusang Island raided Yuezhou’s coast and could prey on the displaced people.

Su Fei accepted the imperial commission to investigate the deadly dam breach and disaster relief in Yuezhou, receiving broad authority and funds from Emperor Xuan. After preparing for the journey, he rode south with twenty Imperial Guards, where an elderly man was waiting to speak with him at the Ten-Mile Pavilion.

• Su Fei vowed to uncover the truth about the Yuezhou disaster and give the people and the court an answer.
• When the officials failed to volunteer, Lei Chongxiao nominated Su Fei as imperial commissioner, and Emperor Xuan appointed him with the Imperial Sword of Authority and power to arrest implicated officials.
• Emperor Xuan ordered local authorities to support disaster relief, assigned Su Fei additional helpers, and granted him two hundred thousand taels in disaster-relief Silver Notes.
• Su Fei spent three days preparing, then departed the imperial city with twenty elite Imperial Guards and three swords.
• After traveling thirty li, Su Fei was stopped at the Ten-Mile Pavilion by an elderly man in a green brocade robe who had been waiting to speak with him.

Su Fei met Zhang Xiucheng, the crown prince’s grand tutor, who urged him to shield Yuezhou Governor Zhou Bo’an from investigation. Su Fei rejected the pressure and continued toward Yuezhou, determined to uncover the cause of the levee breach and hold anyone responsible to account.

• Su Fei ordered his Imperial Guards to wait outside a pavilion and met Zhang Xiucheng, who claimed the crown prince often praised him.
• Zhang Xiucheng said Zhou Bo’an was his pupil and urged Su Fei to treat the Yuezhou levee breach as a natural disaster and avoid implicating officials.
• Su Fei cited the levee’s recent renovation, the deaths and displacement caused by the flood, and his duty under Emperor Xuan’s decree to investigate impartially.
• Zhang Xiucheng warned that investigating Zhou could harm Yuezhou’s grain and tax remittances and bring trouble upon Su Fei.
• Su Fei refused to back down, declared that he feared no trouble, and left the pavilion to continue his official journey.

Su Fei arrived in Yuezhou to investigate the dam breach and inspect disaster relief, despite Zhang Xiucheng’s attempt to deter him. At the refugee resettlement site, he suspected Li Qinghe knew more than he let on and noticed Kuaiji Commandery’s streets were unusually deserted.

• Su Fei rejected Zhang Xiucheng’s offer to show mercy and continued toward Yuezhou with the Imperial Guards.
• Zhang Xiucheng told a guard to warn Zhou Bo'an and urged him to be cautious about Su Fei’s investigation.
• Zhou Bo'an and Li Qinghe welcomed Su Fei at the Kuaiji Commandery office, but Su Fei insisted on inspecting the refugee resettlement site immediately.
• Zhou Bo'an left the party, and Li Qinghe tried to blame the dam breach on torrential rain while describing his relief efforts.
• Su Fei observed that Kuaiji Commandery’s streets were unusually empty for a prosperous region.

Su Fei inspected Kuaiji Commandery’s flood relief efforts and found refugees still unsheltered and being fed watery porridge despite ample imperial funds and grain. He confronted Li Qinghe over the missing supplies, leaving the corrupt official exposed before the refugees.

• Su Fei questioned Li Qinghe about refugees left on the roadside, and Li Qinghe claimed new tents would be ready the next day.
• At the relief camp, Su Fei saw overcrowded, ruined shelters and thousands of refugees left outside without shelter.
• Li Qinghe claimed porridge was distributed punctually, but Su Fei saw that it contained almost no rice and was contaminated with debris.
• Su Fei accused Li Qinghe of withholding the relief grain and demanded to know where the allocated rice had gone.
• The refugees stopped eating and turned angrily toward Li Qinghe, while he knew that he had sold most of the grain and hidden the proceeds.

Su Fei uncovered severe grain-price gouging in Kuaiji Commandery and took charge of the refugee settlement’s relief. He learned that the commandery’s grain shops were colluding to inflate prices, leaving him facing a shortage of affordable grain.

• Su Fei confronted Li Qinghe about stolen relief grain and funds, then ordered the Imperial Guard to take over the refugee settlement.
• Su Fei left five Imperial Guards to maintain order and bring relief, while he and the others rode to Kuaiji Commandery to buy grain.
• Su Fei entered the Great Abundance Grain Store, where Liu Laoshuan quoted a price of twenty taels per shi of rice.
• Su Fei condemned Liu Laoshuan for profiteering, but Liu claimed the market and grain taxes justified the price.
• Ten Imperial Guards reported that the other grain shops also charged exorbitant prices, revealing widespread collusion among Kuaiji Commandery’s grain merchants.

Su Fei traced Kuaiji Commandery’s exorbitant grain prices to merchant Chen Dayou, who was backed by Governor Li Qinghe, and raided Chen’s residence. He found a huge store of grain in sacks stamped with the names of government granaries.

• Liu Laoshuan told Su Fei that Chen Dayou controlled Kuaiji Commandery’s grain shops and was an honored guest of Li Qinghe.
• Su Fei ordered an Imperial Guard to smash the Dayou Grain Shop signboard, then sent men to learn where Chen Dayou lived.
• Liu Laoshuan decided to withdraw the shop’s recent earnings and deliver them to Chen Dayou’s residence.
• Su Fei and the Imperial Guard reached Chen Dayou’s estate, injured the guards who blocked them, and pushed into the compound.
• Su Fei led his men to a packed granary and found grain sacks stamped “Fuzhou Granary” and “Cool Prefecture Granary.”

Su Fei discovered that merchant Chen Dayou had stored disaster relief grain and forced him to confess that Governor Li Qinghe had supplied it for resale. Su Fei arrested Chen and rode to the resettlement site to confront Li Qinghe.

• Su Fei found government-stamped relief grain in Chen Dayou’s granary and ordered the Imperial Guards to detain the workers and arrest Chen.
• Chen Dayou denied wrongdoing until Su Fei threatened him with Flame Blade energy, then confessed that Li Qinghe had given him fifty thousand shi of grain to sell and split the profits.
• Chen Dayou told Su Fei that he had already sold ten thousand shi and paid Li Qinghe one hundred thousand taels of silver.
• Su Fei ordered Chen taken to Kuaiji Commandery Heavenly Prison, had the workers’ details recorded, and assigned guards to protect the remaining grain.
• Su Fei took stamped grain sacks as evidence and rode with the Imperial Guards to the resettlement site to arrest Li Qinghe and investigate the embankment’s destruction.