Chapter Summaries

Ye Weiming regretted joining the Divine Constable Bureau, but learned that leaving would make the martial world hostile to him and that he could not log out of the game. Hoping to gain an exclusive bureau art, he chose the Heaven token and was sent to take an exam with Song Ci.

• Ye Weiming asked to leave the Divine Constable Bureau, but Zhan Zhao warned that other martial sects and their members would treat him with hostility.
• Ye Weiming recalled that players could not log out because they were using the game during a years-long space voyage.
• Zhan Zhao offered Ye Weiming a choice of four tokens for exclusive bureau arts, and Ye Weiming picked the Heaven token.
• Ye Weiming went to the Coroner's Office and met Song Ci, who said he had to pass a test to learn the art.
• Song Ci gave Ye Weiming ten questions and required him to answer at least six correctly.

Ye Weiming passed Song Ci’s reasoning test and learned forensic skills, then accepted two quests in Dukang Village. After warning a new recruit about the Divine Constable Bureau, he watched Fei Yu join and immediately regret it before setting off by carriage.

• Ye Weiming solved the first nine test questions, earned the Washing Away Grievances Collection, and learned the Case Solving profession skill, including Autopsy Method and Corpse Handling Method.
• Song Ci admitted he could not solve the tenth question and gave Ye Weiming the hidden quest to investigate it in exchange for an unknown mental cultivation manual.
• Ye Weiming asked why forensic skills belonged to the “heaven” category, and Song Ci replied that human life was greater than heaven.
• Zhan Zhao offered Ye Weiming wanted notices, and Ye Weiming accepted quests to investigate Old Man Li’s apparent suicide and hunt Chou Ba, both near Dukang Village.
• Ye Weiming warned Fei Yu against joining the Divine Constable Bureau, but Fei Yu dismissed the warning, joined, and soon shouted that he wanted to leave the sect.
• Ye Weiming set out by carriage for his quests, pleased that Fei Yu had ignored his warning.

Ye Weiming investigated Old Man Li’s apparent suicide in Dukang Village and used his autopsy skills to show that the old man had been murdered. After Constable Liu withdrew, Ye Weiming teamed up with fellow investigator Sanyue, who suspected Liu of being an accomplice.

• Ye Weiming arrived at Old Man Li’s home and found Constable Liu arguing with Sanyue over whether the old man had committed suicide.
• Ye Weiming’s Autopsy Method revealed finger marks and other evidence suggesting Old Man Li had been killed.
• Ye Weiming pointed out the neck bruises, an open window with a footprint, and the stool too low to have been used in a suicide, proving the scene had been staged.
• Constable Liu yielded the investigation to Ye Weiming and left with the other constables after being asked to prepare a straw mat.
• Sanyue introduced herself, joined Ye Weiming’s party, and said she suspected Constable Liu was an accomplice.

Ye Weiming and Sanyue discussed Constable Liu’s behavior and began investigating Old Man Li’s death. After Ye Weiming laid the body to rest, he obtained a valuable swordsmanship manual that strengthened his suspicion that Old Man Li had been a martial artist.

• Ye Weiming explained to Sanyue why Constable Liu had avoided helping until the Divine Constable Bureau took over the case.
• Sanyue told Ye Weiming she had completed the ordinary quests in Dukang Village and identified Wang Dalong as Old Man Li’s drinking companion.
• Ye Weiming questioned Wang Dalong, who insisted he knew nothing, then asked Sanyue to interview villagers while he reinspected the scene.
• Constable Liu returned with ten straw mats, and Ye Weiming laid Old Man Li’s body to rest, obtaining the Swordsmanship Insights manual.
• Ye Weiming examined the manual and found that it could add 5,000 Proficiency to a designated swordplay technique.

Ye Weiming and Sanyue investigated Old Man Li’s murder and deduced that Chou Ba was hiding in the back-mountain mine cave. They drove him out with chili smoke and a Beast Trap, leaving him wounded and weakened at the cave entrance.

• Ye Weiming raised Moon Maiden Swordplay to level six and searched Old Man Li’s house for clues.
• Sanyue reported that Old Man Li had been a senior Taishan Sect disciple, had befriended Chou Ba, and had secretly visited the back-mountain mine cave.
• Ye Weiming deduced that Chou Ba had hidden in the mine cave and murdered Old Man Li for his swordplay manual.
• Ye Weiming found climbing marks beneath an elevated passage and filled the mine cave with smoke from burning chili peppers.
• Chou Ba stumbled out coughing, with a Beast Trap clamped onto his leg, and Ye Weiming and Sanyue prepared to fight him.

Ye Weiming and Sanyue fought the powerful, wounded Chou Ba by exploiting the Beast Trap and attacking from a distance. They crippled two of his limbs and weakened him, then Ye Weiming added salt to their hidden-weapon barrage as the battle continued.

• Ye Weiming identified Chou Ba's wound beneath his left ribs and warned Sanyue to target it while avoiding close combat.
• Ye Weiming and Sanyue repeatedly attacked Chou Ba with Flying Knives and Flying Locust Stones, gradually wearing down his health while the Beast Trap restricted him.
• When Chou Ba tried to pry open the Beast Trap, Ye Weiming threatened his head with his sword, forcing him to release it and suffer another crushing bite.
• Sanyue struck Chou Ba's temple and knocked him down, but Chou Ba kicked her away as Ye Weiming wounded his right shoulder with a sword technique.
• Ye Weiming and Sanyue resumed their ranged attacks, and Ye Weiming revealed that a packet of white granules he had thrown was salt.

Ye Weiming and Sanyue defeated Chou Ba, uncovered his role in Old Man Li’s death, and earned quest and first-kill rewards. Deputy Commander You Jin praised their work and offered Sanyue a chance to join the Divine Constable Bureau.

• Ye Weiming and Sanyue peppered the crippled Chou Ba with hidden weapons until he was near death.
• Chou Ba confessed that he had killed Old Man Li to steal a swordsmanship manual, completing Ye Weiming and Sanyue’s quest.
• Ye Weiming killed Chou Ba, earning quest rewards and a first-kill announcement that thrilled Sanyue.
• Ye Weiming reached Level 13 after receiving his experience rewards and explained why he had killed Chou Ba before his confession was finished.
• You Jin appeared, praised Ye Weiming and Sanyue, and gave Sanyue an Entry Token to the Divine Constable Bureau.

After defeating Chou Ba, Ye Weiming and Sanyue divided his drops, and Ye Weiming took a mysterious wooden block and secretly kept notes on Chou Ba’s internal skills. While they buried the corpse, Ye Weiming told Sanyue about the Divine Constable Bureau’s exclusive skills, leaving her to consider whether to join.

• You Jin urged Sanyue to consider joining the Divine Constable Bureau before departing with an impressive movement technique.
• Sanyue looted Chou Ba’s corpse, revealing two manuals, a finger tiger, money, and a strange wooden block.
• Ye Weiming took the wooden block and Eight-Step Toad Leap, while Sanyue chose Thunderclap Palm and the Fine Steel Finger Tiger, and they split the money.
• Ye Weiming secretly kept Chou Ba’s Internal Skill Insights, then went with Sanyue to buy shovels and bury the corpse.
• As they dug, Ye Weiming described the Divine Constable Bureau’s four exclusive skill paths and said he had chosen the Heaven-rank skill.

Ye Weiming raised his skills, solved the Strange Wooden Block puzzle, and uncovered a clue to a Taishan Sect sword manual hidden beneath Leifeng Pagoda. When You Jin offered him a five-star quest in Hangzhou, Ye Weiming refused because its rewards were too weak.

• Ye Weiming returned to Tokyo Bianliang City with Sanyue, used his rewards to improve his Breathing Technique and learn Eight-Step Toad Leap, and raised the new skill to Level 3.
• Ye Weiming copied and reassembled the Strange Wooden Block's carvings, then solved the puzzle to reveal a hidden paper note.
• The note revealed that Old Man Li had hidden the Taishan Sect's strongest sword technique in the Underground Palace beneath Leifeng Pagoda, and Ye Weiming found a map to its location.
• Ye Weiming went to the Divine Constable Bureau to seek Hangzhou quests, but found You Jin in place of Zhan Zhao.
• You Jin offered Ye Weiming a five-star quest to investigate and protect the Dragon Gate Escort Agency, but Ye Weiming refused because the rewards were too weak.

Ye Weiming accepted a dangerous five-star quest to investigate the Dragon Gate Escort Agency after You Jin upgraded its reward to an intermediate swordsmanship manual. When Ye Weiming reached Hangzhou, the agency had already been massacred, and he began searching the bloodied courtyard for clues as Shaolin disciples warned him away.

• Ye Weiming accepted You Jin's quest despite its severe penalty and received Du Dajin's plea for help.
• Ye Weiming learned that the escort agency had been hired to deliver the incapacitated Yu Daiyan to Zhang Sanfeng, but fake Wudang Seven Heroes had crippled Yu Daiyan and taken him away.
• Ye Weiming traveled to Hangzhou and set out for the Dragon Gate Escort Agency after nightfall.
• Ye Weiming arrived to find players dressed as Shaolin monks and Wudang Taoists fighting, while Shaolin NPCs attacked a young man and corpses covered the courtyard.
• The system updated Ye Weiming's quest to investigating the Dragon Gate Escort Agency massacre, and Shaolin disciples told him to step aside while they handled their quest.

Ye Weiming repelled two Shaolin players who tried to drive him away, then retreated when four more approached. Wudang's Yin Bukui and Shaolin's Noodle Bun recognized him, leaving Ye Weiming between two groups on opposing sides of the quest.

• Ye Weiming wounded one Shaolin player and disarmed another when they attacked him over the area.
• Ye Weiming pulled back to avoid being surrounded by the four other Shaolin players closing in.
• Yin Bukui introduced himself and asked whether Ye Weiming had come to investigate the truth of the matter.
• Noodle Bun recognized Ye Weiming and praised his rapid progress, mentioning his level 25 boss first kill.
• Ye Weiming recognized Noodle Bun from their time together in the beginner village.

Ye Weiming examined the Dragon Gate Escort Agency massacre and argued that the evidence did not prove Zhang Cuishan was the murderer. Just as he proposed that both sides calmly investigate further, Zhang Cuishan abruptly fled, leaving Ye Weiming and the Wudang players stunned.

• Noodle Bun accused Zhang Cuishan of murdering the Dragon Gate Escort Agency victims and urged Ye Weiming to take the Shaolin side.
• Ye Weiming identified himself as a Divine Constable Bureau investigator and persuaded the Shaolin monks and Zhang Cuishan to pause their fight.
• Ye Weiming examined the sixty-seven victims and found that their wounds mostly came from hidden weapons, palm force, and claw techniques rather than Zhang Cuishan's usual fighting style.
• Ye Weiming argued that Zhang Cuishan remained a suspect but that the available evidence was insufficient to identify him as the murderer.
• Zhang Cuishan suddenly shouted and fled the Dragon Gate Escort Agency, leaving Ye Weiming and the Wudang players shocked.

After the Shaolin and Wudang players left the Dragon Gate Escort Agency to continue investigating Zhang Cuishan’s case, Ye Weiming collected corpses and the manuals hidden among them. He used several insights to improve his skills, then wondered whether Du Dajin’s Blade Technique Insights could be applied to something other than a blade technique.

• Noodle Bun offered Ye Weiming a Returning Wind Swordplay manual to withdraw from the mission, but Ye Weiming insisted they investigate the truth, so the Shaolin players left without fighting.
• Yin Bukui added Ye Weiming as a friend and led the Wudang players out of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency.
• Ye Weiming collected twenty-three corpses and found twenty-one insight manuals, but stopped when his inventory filled up.
• Ye Weiming used Culinary Arts Insights and Medical Arts Insights, raising Culinary Arts to Level 2 and increasing his Medical Arts Proficiency.
• Ye Weiming applied Internal Skill, Lightness Technique, and Swordsmanship Insights to his martial arts, then considered whether he could use Du Dajin’s Blade Technique Insights in an unconventional way.

Ye Weiming tested Cross-Discipline Comprehension and used his spare insight manuals to improve several skills, including Moon Maiden Swordplay. While searching the escort agency’s rear hall, he discovered a hidden Man in Black and chased him, but the man escaped over the courtyard wall.

• Ye Weiming found that Blade Technique Insights could grant reduced Proficiency in other skills through Cross-Discipline Comprehension, then used his remaining manuals to raise Moon Maiden Swordplay to Level 7 and boost other skills.
• Ye Weiming continued collecting and using insight manuals as he searched the escort agency’s rear hall, where he found only female corpses.
• Ye Weiming’s Autopsy Method detected someone breathing behind a curtain, and he attacked the concealed Man in Black with Moon Maiden Swordplay.
• The Man in Black dodged Ye Weiming’s sword, kicked him back, and fled through a window while Ye Weiming gave chase.
• The Man in Black vaulted over the courtyard wall, while Ye Weiming’s Eight-Step Toad Leap could not carry him high enough to follow.

Ye Weiming accepted Yin Bukui’s invitation to cooperate, then headed to Sunset Mountain to retrieve Old Man Li’s secret manual. After the bandits vanished at dawn, he found a scarred woman blocking Leifeng Pagoda’s entrance and met her challenging stare.

• Ye Weiming received Yin Bukui’s message explaining that Zhang Cuishan had pursued someone fleeing the Dragon Gate Escort Agency, and he agreed to meet Yin Bukui at Broken Bridge.
• Ye Weiming finished burying the massacre victims, then left for Sunset Mountain to retrieve Old Man Li’s secret manual before meeting the Wudang group.
• Ye Weiming fought past West Lake Bandits and discovered that encoffining their corpses yielded poor rewards.
• The West Lake Bandits fled into hiding after roosters crowed, and the players left Sunset Mountain once the grinding spot emptied.
• Ye Weiming restored his inner energy outside Leifeng Pagoda, but a scarred woman sat at its entrance and caught him staring.

Ye Weiming entered the dungeon beneath Leifeng Pagoda in search of the treasure Old Man Li had described, only to discover another player had reached it first. He encountered the poisoned Scarred Woman fleeing bandits and, after killing her pursuers, found her calmly recovering nearby.

• Ye Weiming buried the corpses he had collected, then returned to Leifeng Pagoda and opened the hidden entrance to its dungeon.
• Ye Weiming found dead West Lake Bandits along the dungeon passages and realized another player had already gone deeper.
• Ye Weiming followed the route toward the treasure and reached a junction where the other player's trail diverged.
• The poisoned Scarred Woman fled a group of bandits and brushed past Ye Weiming as they charged at him.
• Ye Weiming killed the bandits, collected their drops, and found the Scarred Woman sitting nearby to recover.
• Ye Weiming jokingly asked whether she feared he would attack her, and the Scarred Woman replied, “Go ahead.”

Ye Weiming braved a snake-filled chamber in the underground palace and discovered the ultimate mental art Tai Shan's Secret. After learning it, he met the recovered Scarred Woman, who proposed they team up to fight a BOSS.

• Ye Weiming threw Realgar Wine near the Scarred Woman to repel snakes and then went down the right-hand passage, cutting through water bandits.
• Ye Weiming opened a secret stone door, entered a chamber crowded with venomous snakes, and sealed the entrance behind him.
• Ye Weiming used the Autopsy Method to find a loose brick and uncovered a hidden bundle containing the Tai Shan's Secret manual.
• Ye Weiming learned Tai Shan's Secret, gaining bonuses to attack damage, accuracy, and critical damage, along with an active move-reading effect.
• Ye Weiming left the snake chamber and found the Scarred Woman recovered from her poison; she asked him to team up against a BOSS, offering him everything except her sect mission item.

Ye Weiming and Youyou teamed up to hunt Chen Ming, leader of the West Lake Bandits, and Ye Weiming proposed clearing the underground palace before confronting the BOSS for a better mission reward. Their first fight went badly for his martial art: its active effect forced him to solve math problems while Youyou killed the bandit.

• Ye Weiming recognized that Youyou was targeting Chen Ming and agreed to cooperate with her on the hunt.
• Youyou shared her four-star government bounty mission with Ye Weiming, then transferred party leadership to him.
• Ye Weiming changed loot distribution to equal shares and suggested clearing every bandit in the underground palace to improve the mission reward.
• Youyou followed Ye Weiming into the tunnels and attacked seven West Lake Bandits they found around a corner.
• Ye Weiming activated Tai Shan's Secret but had to solve successive multiplication problems, and Youyou killed their first target before the martial art's effect could activate.

Ye Weiming tested Tai Shan's Secret while Youyou fought West Lake Bandits, learning that its powerful taunt was difficult to activate but could frighten players. After the pair cleared the underground palace, they discovered that the level 30 boss Chen Ming's strength came from the treasure-grade Zhuge Divine Crossbow.

• Ye Weiming used West Lake Bandits to test Tai Shan's Secret while Youyou protected him, and he eventually activated its effect to kill a weakened bandit instantly.
• Youyou tested Tai Shan's Secret as a target and said its effect felt terrifying, like having a gun pointed at her head.
• Ye Weiming and Youyou teamed up to clear the underground palace in less than two hours.
• Ye Weiming noticed that the final boss, Chen Ming, was level 30 despite the underground palace's low-level enemies.
• Youyou explained that Chen Ming's Zhuge Divine Crossbow, a treasure-grade Tang Clan artifact, increased his strength by fifteen levels.

Ye Weiming and Youyou confronted Chen Ming, a level-30 ranged boss wielding the unique Zhuge Divine Crossbow. Youyou’s opening barrage and evasive maneuvers nearly brought Chen Ming under control, but he critically wounded her and retreated to the center of the hall, leaving Ye Weiming to adjust his plan.

• Ye Weiming analyzed Chen Ming’s high attack power and ranged fighting style while Youyou explained her five-star sect mission and prepared to draw his aggro.
• Youyou rushed into range and landed repeated six-bolt volleys, dodging Chen Ming’s counterattacks and using stone pillars for cover while reloading.
• Chen Ming anticipated Youyou’s evasive roll and struck her with a crossbow bolt that took most of her health and knocked her down.
• Ye Weiming dragged Youyou behind a pillar to save her, then declared that he would take over.
• Chen Ming refused to approach the pillar and instead retreated to the center of the hall, disrupting Ye Weiming’s ambush plan.