Chapter Summaries

Di Jun ended the banquet after inviting Nuwa to preside over his wedding and receiving the sisters’ agreement. Back in Human Race territory, Xi described the Heavenly Court’s treatment of him and resolved to use his new post as Lord of the Clouds to learn the Demon Clan’s military methods, addressing the Witch Clan’s lack of experienced commanders.

• Di Jun asked Nuwa to preside over his wedding, and she agreed while reminding Xihe and Changxi to stay close to their sisters and seek help if needed.
• Di Jun hosted discussions about the wedding before the gods toasted him and the banquet ended, while Ancestor Minghe Mo watched in anger.
• Xi returned to Human Race territory and told Youchao and Yunruo how he had sparred with the Demon Gods and nearly been killed by the Heavenly Court.
• Xi explained that the Witch Clan lacked experienced grassroots commanders and might be divided and annihilated before gaining enough battlefield experience.
• Xi decided to use his position as Lord of the Clouds to inspect the Heavenly Court and learn its military knowledge, and Youchao approved the necessary budget.
• Yunruo argued that the Human Race could weaken its enemies through alliances and pressure instead of confronting them head-on.

Yunruo and the Human Race’s sages planned to use a sports meet and cross-racial cooperation to challenge the Heavenly Court’s dominance, while Xi and Youchao proposed attacking Di Jun through public opinion. Their campaign spiraled into gossip and scandal, and Di Jun ended the chapter trying to identify the Great Luo who had spread obscene flyers about the Golden Crow royal family.

• Yunruo proposed using the Human Race’s expansion and sports meet to build alliances and undermine the Heavenly Court’s influence.
• Xi urged the Human Race to tarnish Di Jun’s reputation, while Youchao proposed promoting Eastern Hua Dijun’s doctrine to distract the Heavenly Court.
• Writers spread accusations about the Heavenly Court and gossip about Eastern Hua Dijun, drawing widespread attention from the Demon Clan.
• Di Jun complained to Bai Ze about flyers advertising the secret of the Golden Crow royal family, and Bai Ze said the hidden culprit had to be among a small group of powerful figures.
• In a dim blood sea, a mighty being printed several trillion more flyers after grumbling about someone cutting his army.

Ancestor Minghe Mo spread fabricated rumors that Golden Crow legs could make a powerful aphrodisiac, provoking a hunt for the Golden Crow Clan. Di Jun decided to divert the scandal toward the Dragon Clan, whose kings then complained about the resulting rumors and discussed the West Sea Dragon King’s rebellious third son, Ao Lie.

• Ancestor Minghe Mo plastered the Primordial World with flyers claiming Golden Crow legs could be made into a miraculous wine, and some Taiyi-level experts tried to sneak onto the Sun God Star to obtain them.
• Di Jun and Tai Yi discussed the rumors, and Di Jun revealed that he planned to shift the Demon Clan’s attention onto the Dragon Clan by exploiting their connection to life and reproduction.
• The Four Sea Dragon Kings and the Nine Sons of the Dragon Ancestor protested rumors portraying the Dragon Clan as lustful and blamed for the existence of other dragon-blooded beings.
• The West Sea Dragon King said his third son, Ao Lie, was rebellious and that he had asked the Buddhist Sect to include him in a safe but challenging trial.

The Dragon Kings debated how to stop attacks on their clansmen and the blame being shifted onto the Dragon Clan, then accepted Qiu Niu’s plan to turn the clan’s supposed secret into a profitable business. The Dragon Clan survived the crisis but suffered a devastating loss of reputation, while the Demon Emperor conceded that their shameless response had foiled his scheme.

• The Dragon Kings discussed the Dragon Clan’s history of being exploited in major calamities and worried that the Golden Crow Clan had made them a target with rumors of dragon wine.
• The East Sea and North Sea Dragon Kings reported that many clansmen had been attacked and humiliated, and the Dragon Kings struggled to find a way to redirect the blame.
• Qiu Niu proposed that the Dragon Clan embrace its supposed specialty, open consultation centers, and sell medicinal wines as part of a fabricated Dragon Clan secret.
• The Dragon Kings approved Qiu Niu’s proposal, and the Dragon Clan rapidly established special sanatoriums across the Primordial World and promoted its services.
• The Dragon Clan ended the attacks and earned income, but its reputation plunged and several prominent places refused to receive its members.
• A Demon Emperor discarded the Dragon Clan’s promotional notes and admitted that its willingness to abandon shame had thwarted his plan, though he predicted Azure Dragon would face future troubles.

Di Jun and Tai Yi assessed the Human Race’s growing military threat as Xi used his position in the Heavenly Court to obtain equipment, recruit allies, and study its war tactics. Di Jun revealed that he had allowed Xi into the Heavenly Court for a reason, leaving Tai Yi to consider the danger of the Human Race imitating the Demon Clan.

• Di Jun warned Tai Yi that the Human Race was building an alliance and improving its military strength with help from the Great Witches.
• Tai Yi showed Di Jun how Xi inspected Heavenly Court equipment, arranged for discarded supplies to reach the Human Race, and cultivated support among logistics officials.
• Di Jun argued that Xi’s actions had helped the Heavenly Court expand production and improve its equipment systems, despite the Human Race gaining supplies.
• Xi studied the Heavenly Court’s military academies, tried to recruit students, and gathered their tactical knowledge for the Human Race.
• Tai Yi called Xi troublesome, and Di Jun asked whether Tai Yi had wondered why he had once given Xi the position of Lord of the Clouds under Nuwa.

Di Jun explained how the Demon Clan’s inherited experience gave the Heavenly Court an advantage in war and how the Human Race’s adoption of its tactics could slowly assimilate them. He warned Tai Yi that the Witch Clan likely planned an assassination outside the battlefield, then revealed his own hidden agents among the Human Race and his intention to strike during the war’s middle stage.

• Tai Yi and Di Jun discussed how the Demon Clan’s accumulated bloodline wisdom and wartime experience made the Heavenly Court’s tactical system difficult for outsiders to master.
• Di Jun argued that Nuwa’s Human Race risked slow assimilation by copying the Heavenly Court’s tactics, and said the Witch Clan might be using the strategy to conceal another plan.
• Di Jun judged that the Witch Clan’s leaders were experienced commanders who could seek victory through moves beyond the battlefield, including an attack on the Heavenly Court’s command center.
• Tai Yi agreed to watch for a decapitation strike, while Di Jun said he planned to end the war in its middle stage rather than follow the slow-war strategy he publicly advocated.
• Di Jun revealed that he had secretly cultivated Outer Realm Heavenly Demons influenced by Demon Clan thought and infiltrated them into the Human Race as hidden agents.

Di Jun explained how he was encouraging corruption within the Human Race and planned to exploit it in the war against the Witch Clan, while Tai Yi misunderstood his role in spreading slander about Nuwa. As the brothers discussed their prospects and Tai Yi pledged to fight, Dijiang watched the stars and sensed that someone was about to cause trouble.

• Di Jun revealed that he was nurturing hidden corruption in the Human Race so it could undermine them outside the battlefield.
• Tai Yi concluded that Di Jun had spread rumors about Nuwa, and Di Jun denied it before blaming Rahu Mo Ancestor and speculating that a Dao Ancestor had helped spread anti-Heaven rhetoric.
• Di Jun urged Tai Yi to perform well on the main battlefield and explained that he expected to survive even if the Demon Clan lost, while worrying that Tai Yi might have no place among the victors.
• Tai Yi promised to fight for Di Jun and said he would remain with the Demon Clan rather than change sides.
• In Witch Clan territory, Houtu found Dijiang watching the stars, and Dijiang said someone was about to cause trouble.

Dijiang warned Houtu that the Heavenly Court was preparing a counterattack against the Witch Clan and the Human Race, while Houtu explained her plans to unite the races through a sports meet and totem system. As the alliance took shape, Houtu privately considered how to keep power from rivals such as Gong Gong, and Dijiang resolved to watch out for her schemes.

• Dijiang told Houtu that the Heavenly Court had knowingly allowed Dong Hua Dijun to spread the Witch Clan's ideals, suggesting it had a hidden plan to weaken the Witch Clan and Human Race.
• Houtu defended Dong Hua Dijun and said the Witch Clan would support him, while Dijiang worried that the Heavenly Court's new arrangements might undermine their ideological influence.
• Houtu described the planned sports meet, where the Human Race would promote learning from other races and establish a totem system backed by an alliance.
• Dijiang said the Human Race's plans lacked a Human Emperor or Heavenly Emperor, but Houtu rejected sharing power with additional rulers.
• Houtu considered how the totem system might strengthen Gong Gong's influence and privately imagined ways he could die or miss out on the spoils.
• Dijiang suspected Houtu was planning to trap someone and decided to stay wary in case she made him her target.

Gong Gong visited Yunruo to negotiate the Dragon Clan’s expanding investment in the Human Race’s totem alliance and secure assurances of fair treatment. Yunruo welcomed the investment, and Gong Gong proposed a role for the Dragon Clan as “Dragon Master Official.”

• Azure Dragon declared that the Dragon Clan would prioritize victory over its tarnished reputation and would invest in the Human Race’s totem system.
• Gong Gong visited Yunruo at the Human Race’s administrative center, claiming he was acting as an intermediary for his Dragon Clan friends.
• Gong Gong asked whether the totem alliance would uphold fairness and protect investors from limits or covert suppression.
• Yunruo assured Gong Gong that the Human Race welcomed the Dragon Clan’s investment and offered to formalize the arrangement with the Witch Clan and Grand Alliance as witnesses.
• Gong Gong said the Dragon Clan chiefly wanted respect from its friends and suggested making it “Dragon Master Official.”

Yunruo weighed the Dragon Clan’s proposal to establish Dragon Master Official titles and approved it as a strategic way to strengthen the Human Race’s alliance. He left Gong Gong to devise an auspicious justification, suggesting that a Divine Dragon Carrying the Map herald Pao Xi’s rise.

• Yunruo warned Gong Gong that the Dragon Clan’s proposed titles could let it influence and eventually control the Human Race, and Gong Gong denied that the clan intended to interfere.
• Gong Gong argued that the Dragon Clan’s experience could help the Human Race unite its totem clans, and Yunruo decided the benefits outweighed the risks.
• Yunruo proposed assigning the five seasonal offices to the Azure, Red, White, Black, and Yellow Dragon Clans, and Gong Gong enthusiastically agreed.
• Yunruo insisted that the Human Race’s independence must not be blamed on him, so Gong Gong proposed an auspicious sign involving a Divine Dragon Carrying the Map.
• Yunruo accepted the proposed story with reservations and suggested adding that Pao Xi was about to rise.

Yunruo and Gong Gong negotiated the Dragon Clan’s lavish performance for Pao Xi’s rise, with each securing a different advantage. After they reached a fee agreement, Gong Gong split his forces and went to report his suspicions to Emperor River and Houtu.

• Yunruo instructed Gong Gong to have the Dragon Clan perform a spectacular, carefully staged auspicious-signs show and gave him a booklet for the dragon extras.
• Gong Gong suspected Yunruo was using the Human Race’s influence to promote Pao Xi, and decided Nuwa should keep her brother in check.
• Yunruo and Gong Gong haggled over the performance fee, then agreed on a fifty percent discount in exchange for greater Dragon Clan exposure at the alliance gathering.
• Gong Gong’s alternate account began arranging actors and special effects with the Dragon Clan, while his true self headed off to report his discovery.
• Gong Gong approached the slacking Emperor River and Houtu and told them he had made a major discovery.

Gong Gong warned Houtu that Fuxi could use the Human Race’s reverence for Nuwa to divide them, while Dijiang proposed three strategies for containing the threat. He ended by urging Houtu to curb blind worship of Nuwa and encourage the Human Race to become rational and virtuous, leaving Houtu to consider the risks of others impersonating her.

• Gong Gong embellished his account of meeting Yunruo and warned Houtu that Fuxi could exploit his seniority and split the Human Race.
• Houtu resolved that she would not hesitate to oppose Fuxi if he obstructed her ambitions.
• Dijiang proposed destroying the planned Auspicious Signs as a quick but temporary solution, and Gong Gong warned that canceling the agreement could harm the Human Race’s reputation.
• Dijiang suggested allowing Pao Xi to rise under rules requiring Nuwa’s approval, which would let the Witch Clan monitor Fuxi and later promote Houtu’s chosen successor.
• Dijiang warned that ambitious people could forge signs and impersonate Nuwa, prompting Houtu to imagine the damage a disguised actor could cause.
• Dijiang recommended that the Human Race replace blind worship with rationality and efforts to cultivate virtues like Nuwa’s.

Houtu accepted Dijiang’s advice to reduce the Human Race’s blind worship of Nuwa and cultivate independent thought, while designing a campaign that would keep Nuwa’s influence paramount. She hired Gong Gong to ensure the Dragon Clan’s performance presented Pao Xi as Nuwa’s paid tutor, and Gong Gong left eager to carry out the plan.

• Dijiang advised Houtu to transform the Human Race’s worship of Nuwa into informed gratitude and respect so the people could think independently.
• Houtu decided that Fuxi could help educate the Human Race, but only with Nuwa’s approval, and she planned to describe Pao Xi as a tutor hired by Nuwa rather than emphasize his kinship with her.
• Houtu ordered Dijiang to promote education and repayment of kindness while reframing the Human Race’s reverence for Nuwa as an assessment of her specific contributions and virtues.
• Houtu asked Dijiang and Gong Gong to coordinate the plan, and Gong Gong agreed to add Nuwa’s name to the Dragon Clan’s performance.
• Houtu paid Gong Gong a large down payment to highlight Nuwa’s image, and he left to arrange the performance.

Gong Gong left Houtu believing he had profited from the Dragon Clan’s performance deal, while Dijiang warned Houtu that Gong Gong and Yunruo might be hiding a transaction. Houtu followed Dijiang’s advice and approached Fuxi, who immediately revealed that he and Gong Gong had discussed Pao Xi’s rise.

• Gong Gong departed Houtu’s side in high spirits, unaware that Dijiang was watching him and privately shaping suspicions about his motives.
• Dijiang warned Houtu that Gong Gong might be plotting with Yunruo and urged her to question Fuxi about the hidden deal.
• Dijiang persuaded Houtu that approaching Fuxi would demonstrate her wisdom and strengthen her case to become head of the household.
• Houtu went to Phoenix Perch Mountain and tried to win Fuxi over with gentle attention, but his teasing nearly made her lose her temper.
• Fuxi asked Houtu what she wanted to know, then revealed that he and Gong Gong had discussed Pao Xi’s rise.

Fuxi explained that Gong Gong had encouraged the Dragon Clan to weave its systems into the Human Race, and advised Nuwa to tolerate the alliance while preparing limits and countermeasures. When Nuwa pressed him about Pao Xi’s rise, Fuxi claimed he was becoming a chef to serve her love of food.

• Fuxi told Nuwa that Gong Gong had proposed the Human Race adopt Dragon Clan systems and official titles, potentially giving the Dragon Clan influence inside it.
• Nuwa grew furious and threatened to use her culinary skills and the Great Dao of Creation to turn dragons into ingredients, while Fuxi persuaded her not to attack the ally prematurely.
• Fuxi advised Nuwa to focus on the Heavenly Court, let the Human and Dragon Clans grow stronger together, and make clear that she would retaliate if the Dragon Clan crossed a boundary.
• Nuwa questioned Fuxi about the purpose of Pao Xi’s rise, suspecting he had a scheme of his own.
• Fuxi said that he had added Pao, meaning cooking, to his name so he could serve Nuwa, a gourmet.

Fuxi agreed to join the Human Race and help Nuwa control the Dragon Clan, while refusing to command the Witch Clan’s armies against the Heavenly Court. After the siblings planned how to restrain the Dragon Clan, Nuwa left to arrange Fuxi’s appointment, and a mysterious voice questioned her manipulation of others.

• Fuxi told Nuwa he would enter the Human Race to stabilize its rear and keep the Dragon Clan in check, but would not fight against the Heavenly Court.
• Nuwa explained that Fuxi could hold the Human King position only temporarily, and Fuxi agreed to retire once his task was complete.
• Fuxi and Nuwa planned how the Human Race and Witch Clan would coordinate to limit the Dragon Clan’s influence and prevent it from seizing power.
• Fuxi warned that the Dragon Clan could gain overwhelming popular support if it repeatedly won against the Heavenly Court, but Nuwa insisted she could turn the situation around with Pangu’s body.
• Nuwa left to arrange the formalities for Fuxi’s appointment, and a mysterious voice sighed that she was deceiving and baiting people.

Fuxi and the white-robed Emperor discussed Nuwa, Fuxi’s schemes, and the Dragon Clan’s growing influence over the totem system. The Emperor proposed using the Phoenix Clan’s name to establish a rival Bird Master position, and Fuxi considered the plan.

• The white-robed Emperor teased Fuxi about deceiving Nuwa, while Fuxi defended his schemes and argued that his support for her proved his conscience.
• Fuxi and the Emperor agreed that Nuwa might need to be kept busy with work, though they joked that she could eventually expose Fuxi and beat him.
• Fuxi asked why the Emperor had come, and the Emperor said the Dragon Clan was gaining influence among Human Race officials and aiming to control the totem system.
• Fuxi explained that the Dragon Clan’s ability to absorb other races gave it an advantage over the Phoenix Clan, whose focus on quality and reluctance to join disputes limited its reach.
• The Emperor proposed borrowing the Phoenix Clan’s name to create a Bird Master position, and Fuxi acknowledged that the idea had merit.

White Emperor secured Fuxi’s support and the Phoenix seal to build a bird faction that could check the Dragon Clan and strengthen the Human Race’s independence. He left to organize the alliance, while Fuxi planned to involve the Lord of the Clouds and establish a Fire Cloud faction as well.

• White Emperor outlined a system of bird officials and clans that could unite the divine birds into a faction rivaling the Dragon Totem.
• Fuxi agreed to lend White Emperor the Phoenix seal, giving him authority to negotiate with the divine-bird clans.
• White Emperor and Fuxi agreed that the bird faction would resist the Dragon Clan and help the Human Race avoid control by outside powers.
• Fuxi warned White Emperor that Nuwa could expose their plans, and White Emperor said he had secretly provided clues for the Lord of the Clouds to discover.
• White Emperor departed to organize the bird faction, while Fuxi concluded that fire and cloud factions were also needed and proposed the Fire Cloud Palace.

Feng Xi toured the Heavenly River Navy camps, gave speeches urging the soldiers to question their purpose, and negotiated with White Tiger to divert outdated equipment through a staged military exercise. Afterward, they traded gossip about the Demon Emperor and the Dragon Clan, with White Tiger crediting the Dragon Clan for giving his tiger clan room to recover.

• Feng Xi greeted his many Heavenly Court acquaintances and accepted their banquet invitations while advocating simple, modest hosting standards.
• Feng Xi inspected thirty-six Heavenly River Navy camps and urged soldiers to consider whom they served and protected.
• Feng Xi visited White Tiger and negotiated a plan to write off equipment during a realistic military exercise, then recover it from the scrap site.
• Feng Xi and White Tiger discussed rumors about Di Jun and the Golden Crow's legendary third leg.
• White Tiger showed Feng Xi goods he had bought on the black market and said the Dragon Clan's troubles had given the tiger clan room to recover.

At a banquet, Feng Xi heard the White Tiger Divine Lord describe Eastern Hua Dijun’s extensive support for the Human Race and began to suspect that Dijun was secretly using the fledgling people to advance a radical reform of the Human Dao. Feng Xi concealed his alarm, while a hidden path in the River of Time suggested his speculation had touched on a real contest among Great Luo powers.

• The White Tiger Divine Lord and Feng Xi discussed rumors, the Five Heavenly Emperors, and the strength attributed to Emperor Yan and White Emperor.
• The White Tiger Divine Lord argued that Eastern Hua Dijun was a plausible White Emperor because of his ties to the Phoenix Lineage and his unusually generous support for the Human Race.
• Feng Xi considered whether Eastern Hua Dijun was secretly guiding the Human Race to defeat the Demon Clan and reform its laws, potentially challenging even Empress Nuwa’s authority.
• As Feng Xi speculated, a concealed path appeared in the River of Time, hinting that powerful Great Luo figures were hiding information and contending behind the scenes.
• Feng Xi calmly ended the banquet and went on to another gathering, while hidden observers praised his composure and joked that he might not have noticed anything.