Chapter Summaries

Fang Che confronted three old Guardians who pleaded for the condemned, then addressed the grieving families gathered at the execution ground and promised that every criminal in the abduction case would face punishment. As the first twenty-two condemned men prepared to die, he called for justice for the murdered women, and the execution began at noon.

• Fang Che rebuked three old Guardians for treating the abducted women as prostitutes and warned that sparing the condemned would encourage further crimes; the three men withdrew, shaken.
• Fang Che and Feng Xiangdong, Dong Yunyu, and Qiu Yunshang entered the square, where grieving families parted to make way for them and many knelt in reverence.
• Fang Che announced that more than ten thousand criminals were slated for execution, but told the crowd that fewer than six thousand of the more than one hundred and thirty thousand missing women had been rescued alive.
• Fang Che explained why the twenty-two former Guardians were being executed first and questioned them about the underground brothel's name, “Decent Women”; the condemned admitted their crimes but offered no defense.
• Fang Che called on the dead women to witness justice, and a fierce wind swept through the square as he declared that noon had arrived and the executioners stepped forward.

Fang Che’s Patrol Team Six publicly executed twenty-two Black Tiger Gang offenders and discussed the difficult balance between punishing corruption and preserving the Guardians’ public trust. At the East Lake Guardian Hall, 1,500 rescued women waited anxiously to reunite with their families, but shame and fear kept them from leaving.

• Fang Che and Zhao Shanhe oversaw the public beheading of twenty-two offenders as grieving families mourned and thanked the team for bringing them justice.
• Fang Che told Dong Yunyu, Qiu Yunshang, and Feng Xiangdong that future Guardian misconduct might require internal punishment, and warned that their impartial work would make them unpopular within the Guardians.
• The team sentenced interrogated prisoners to execution, while Dong Yunyu warned Guardian colleagues to control their conduct and visit their homes.
• Feng Xiangdong confronted Dong Yunyu about his privileged upbringing, prompting Dong Yunyu to reflect on how much worry he had caused his parents before boasting about his infamous reputation and getting beaten by Feng Xiangdong and Qiu Yunshang.
• Fang Che brought his team to the East Lake Guardian Hall, where 1,500 rescued women were too afraid and ashamed to leave and reunite with their waiting families.

Fang Che encouraged the rescued girls and their families to face the future, then investigated the deaths of Black Tiger Gang leaders in custody. He suspected a Sole True Sect infiltrator and advised Zhao Shanhe to use the bodies as evidence against the sect while examining the interrogation records.

• Fang Che promised to punish anyone who abused or shamed the rescued girls, gave them three sentences to help them endure hardship, and urged them to reunite with their families.
• The rescued girls left the Guardian Hall to embrace their families, while Fang Che departed after sending them messages of support and reassurance.
• Fang Che told Dong Yunyu, Qiu Yunshang, and Feng Xiangdong that more than a hundred thousand families would never find their missing daughters, and said the only answer was to kill the perpetrators.
• Fang Che returned with his companions to the prison, where Zhao Shanhe reported that several Black Tiger Gang ringleaders had died with parts of their heart meridians missing.
• Fang Che warned Zhao Shanhe that a Sole True Sect infiltrator might be responsible and advised displaying the bodies as evidence while investigating the prisoners' interrogations.
• Zhao Shanhe ordered Wei Changfeng to show Fang Che the sealed records and bring the interrogators in separately, then authorized the public display and dissection of the bodies.

Fang Che used the Life and Death Decree to stage a public clash with Zhao Shanhe, redirecting blame for the executions toward himself while strengthening the Guardians’ unity and public support. After overseeing more than two thousand executions, Fang Che argued with Zhao Shanhe over whether men who patronized brothels tied to abducted women deserved death.

• Fang Che inspected fifteen corpses, exposed their missing heart meridians, and ordered them displayed publicly with their crimes listed.
• Fang Che invoked the Life and Death Decree to investigate thirty Southeast Headquarters interrogators, angering them and Zhao Shanhe before finding no spies and apologizing to Zhao Shanhe.
• Fang Che explained to Feng Xiangdong, Dong Yunyu, and the others that his clash with Zhao Shanhe had been a performance that redirected public anger toward Sole True Sect and strengthened the Guardians.
• The next morning, Fang Che and his companions supervised the executions of more than two thousand convicts while the Guardians continued arresting people named in confessions.
• Fang Che argued with Zhao Shanhe outside the prison, demanding that men who had visited brothels connected to abducted women be executed rather than fined and sent to hard labor.

Fang Che forced Zhao Shanhe to send the captured criminals to five years of penal labor at the Gods and Ghosts Mine, then investigated the vanished Azure Dragon Gang and discussed Feng Yun’s schemes with his team. After handing out sesame cakes, Fang Che met a group of beggar children and agreed to take in Ren Dong, while her brother Ren Chun chose to stay with the children who had supported them.

• Fang Che used his Life and Death Decree to pressure Zhao Shanhe over the prisoners, and the criminals agreed to pay fines and work for five years mining Nether Iron.
• Fang Che met with Dong Yunyu, Feng Xiangdong, and Qiu Yunshang to discuss Feng Yun’s role in the Azure Dragon Gang’s disappearance and the difficulty of pursuing the gang.
• Fang Che shared sesame cakes with beggar children, then learned that Ren Chun and his companions feared that criminals would abduct Ren Dong.
• Fang Che offered to take in both Ren Dong and Ren Chun, but Ren Chun refused to leave the other children who had helped protect his sister.
• Ren Chun entrusted Ren Dong to Fang Che and prepared to part from her, while she cried and pleaded to remain with her brother.

Fang Che brought Ren Chun, Ren Dong, and the other six children to the Inspectorate Hall, where they were cleaned, given new clothes and warm beds, and welcomed into the Guardians. After explaining why he had taken them in and warning Feng Xiangdong against using them as bait to investigate the Azure Dragon Gang, Fang Che went to ask An Ruoxing to arrange for his wife to work at the Inspectorate Hall.

• Fang Che returned with Ren Dong and told Ren Chun and the other seven children he would take all of them in.
• Dong Yunyu, Feng Xiangdong, and Qiu Yunshang helped the nine children bathe, dress in new clothes, and settle into a dormitory, where the children fell asleep happy and exhausted.
• Fang Che explained to Feng Xiangdong that Ren Chun's loyalty and the other children's mutual support had convinced him to take them in as Guardians rather than leave them to the Fang Clan.
• Feng Xiangdong suggested that Fang Che might use the children as bait to investigate the Azure Dragon Gang, and Fang Che sternly forbade risking their lives after they had helped uncover a lead.
• Fang Che discussed the group's need for sincerity and praised Feng Yun of the Sole True Sect as far beyond his own reach, then told Feng Xiangdong to ask An Ruoxing about bringing his wife to work.
• After Feng Xiangdong stormed out to fight Dong Yunyu, Fang Che went to An Ruoxing's office and greeted her with a fawning smile.

Fang Che persuaded An Ruoxing to appoint Night Dream as the Sixth Squad’s internal affairs officer, then tricked Zhou Quanfu into signing her paperwork by promising him a share of a nighttime operation. He welcomed the nine little children into the Inspectorate Hall, gave them names, and shared their first nourishing meal as Night Dream joined the family.

• Fang Che convinced An Ruoxing to recruit Night Dream as the Sixth Squad’s internal affairs officer, and An Ruoxing stamped the appointment documents.
• Fang Che persuaded Zhou Quanfu to sign Night Dream’s paperwork by promising him merit from an operation that night, then admitted she was his wife.
• Fang Che and Qiu Yunshang gave the nine children the names Ren Chun, Ren Xia, Ren Qiu, Ren Kuang, Ren Ao, Ren Xiao, Ren Ping, Ren Lang, and Ren Dong.
• Feng Xiangdong brought Night Dream to meet the children, and Fang Che introduced her as their Sister Night Dream.
• Fang Che served the children porridge fortified with crushed Essence Nurturing Pills, and they ate their first nourishing meal with tears of happiness.

Fang Che led Patrol Team Six in a sweeping campaign against gangs, corrupt officials, and the underground networks that exploited children, while arguing that the Life and Death Decree was needed where ordinary law could no longer punish ancient crimes. After Zhao Shanhe agreed to Fang Che’s plan for executions and possible redemption for selected prisoners, Fang Che presided over a mass execution and urged the public to stay alive; six hidden enemies then withdrew, plotting to kill him.

• Fang Che appointed Night Dream as Patrol Team Six’s clerical officer and entrusted her with the nine rescued children and the team’s assets.
• Fang Che and his allies arrested criminals targeting beggars, destroyed the White Snake Gang, and killed its core offenders and the corrupt officials who protected them.
• Fang Che’s team raided the Heaven Cripple Sect’s underground network, killed more than five thousand people, and rescued over seven thousand children, most of whom had been mutilated.
• Zhao Shanhe confronted Fang Che over the mass arrests and executions, but accepted the Life and Death Decree’s purpose and arranged for sixty condemned prisoners without civilian victims’ blood on their hands to have a chance to atone.
• Fang Che warned Zhao Shanhe to prepare for the harsh realities of the campaign and agreed to attend Fang Gu’s burial, while Zhao Shanhe confirmed that his own guilty relatives had been arrested.
• Fang Che presided over the execution of two thousand criminals, told the crowd to stay alive, and unknowingly drew the attention of six assassins who withdrew while plotting against him.

Fang Che was ambushed by six masked Guardians while rushing to the Red Beauty Tomb, but he fought back and killed five of them despite suffering severe wounds. He faced the surviving leader alone, leaving the outcome of their battle unresolved.

• Fang Che stopped in the woods outside the city when six masked Monarch-level fighters ambushed him and accused him of killing their fellow Guardians.
• Fang Che fought off the attackers, using his saber, Great Sun Sword, and throwing knives while the leader warned the others about his abilities.
• Fang Che unleashed Momentum Gathering Blade, beheading two attackers and killing a third with a throwing knife as his strike injured him and left him badly weakened.
• Fang Che used the Hate Heaven Saber Technique to destroy the two remaining attackers, reducing them to a pink Blood Mist before collapsing to the ground.
• Fang Che mocked the surviving leader, asking how he would thank him for turning his brothers into a sheet of mist.

Fang Che survived Li Pingsheng’s ambush, captured him, and brought the Li Family attackers to Phoenix Slope, where Zhao Shanhe dealt with Li Pingsheng before the burial ceremony for the murdered young women began. Fang Che then took the platform to address the grieving crowd.

• Li Pingsheng revealed himself as the masked attacker and blamed Fang Che for his son’s execution and the deaths of his five younger brothers.
• Fang Che pretended to be helpless until Li Pingsheng approached, then unleashed his Killing Intent, severed Li Pingsheng’s limbs, shattered his dantian, and healed himself with a Heavenly King Pill.
• Fang Che carried Li Pingsheng and the other Li Family attackers to Phoenix Slope, where the crowd had waited for him to attend the young women’s burial.
• Zhao Shanhe confronted Li Pingsheng, who admitted his revenge was wrong but said he would still avenge his son; Zhao then killed him after hearing his final words.
• Zhao Shanhe addressed the mourners and invited Fang Che to speak, and Fang Che told the crowd the young women had waited anxiously.

Fang Che buried the murdered women at Phoenix Slope, discussed investigating Spring Towers, and was given independent command of the Life and Death Patrol Team. As he planned his next moves, Yan Nan assessed his work while Feng Yun analyzed the squad’s arrival and prepared to counter its influence.

• Fang Che led the solemn burial of the murdered women at Phoenix Slope and explained that their families had tried to save them.
• Fang Che told Zhao Shanhe he wanted to investigate Spring Towers for its links to missing children and the Azure Dragon Gang, while Zhao warned him against destabilizing the vast industry.
• Zhao Shanhe made Fang Che’s Patrol Team independent as the Life and Death Patrol Team, and Fang Che learned that people called him “Fang the Butcher.”
• Fang Che reported his recent operations to Yin Shen Gong, who forwarded the message to Yan Nan; Yan approved much of Fang Che’s work but warned against his reckless plans and urged him to be more patient.
• Feng Yun concluded that Dongfang Sansan had placed the Life and Death Patrol Team in the Southeast to constrain him, ordered his forces to stay quiet, and gathered records on Fang Che and the other team members.
• Feng Yun discussed the Sole True Sect’s future rivals and identified Yan Beihan as his main competitor for dominance.

Feng Yun tried to obstruct Fang Che’s Life and Death Squad but struggled with poor intelligence from his own family, so he redirected efforts toward Spring House and an unknown faction while preparing to rescue Azure Dragon Gang personnel. Meanwhile, Mo Ganyun and his companions returned to White Cloud Continent, where Fang Che’s popularity overshadowed their homecoming, then continued toward East Lake Continent.

• Feng Yun traced Fang Che’s investigation of male prostitution back to the Azure Dragon Gang, raged at his family’s slow and incomplete intelligence, and ordered them to guide Fang Che toward Spring House and an unknown organization.
• Feng Yun sent five Venerables to East Lake Continent to observe and rescue key Azure Dragon Gang personnel, then ordered the arriving handler to shift blame toward Spring House and the other faction.
• Mo Ganyun, Rain Song, Jing Shuanggao, and Xue Wanren finished their cleanup in White Elephant Continent and went to White Cloud Continent, where they found Fang Che had already cleared out the local gangs and remained far more popular than they were.
• Fang Qingyun gave the group six Heavenly Countenance Flowers for Fang Che, and Rain Song accepted them while Jing Shuanggao delivered a box of cultivation pills to Fang Qingyun.
• Fang Qingyun refused to keep the pills, insisting he would not accept anything that might compromise Fang Che’s reputation, and Li Changkong and Bing Shangxue let him return the box.
• Mo Ganyun and the others left the academy for a teahouse, complained that Fang Che had overshadowed their homecoming, and snapped at Xue Wanren when he teased them.

Fang Che’s underground operation was interrupted when Ghost Blade severely wounded Qiu Yunshang, and Zhao Shanhe identified the attacker as the supposedly long-dead Night Emperor. After learning that nearly ninety thousand disabled children remained unclaimed, Fang Che discussed plans to care for them and was asked to become their principal.

• Mo Ganyun proposed that the group return to East Lake Continent by another route and clear out the bandits and mountain organizations along the way.
• Ghost Blade ambushed Fang Che’s group underground, poisoned and severely wounded Qiu Yunshang, and escaped after exchanging ninety-seven blows with Fang Che.
• Fang Che and Dong Yunyu took Qiu Yunshang to Zhao Shanhe, who treated him and identified Ghost Blade as the East Lake Night Emperor, believed to have been poisoned and killed two thousand years earlier.
• Qiu Yunshang awoke, and Dong Yunyu punched him unconscious at his request before Fang Che reassured Dong Yunyu that the injury was not his fault.
• Zhao Shanhe told Fang Che that nearly ninety thousand disabled children remained unclaimed and explained how widespread poverty and cruelty made rescuing and protecting them difficult.
• Fang Che learned that the children needed a suitable site and funding, then protested when Zhao Shanhe asked him to serve as their principal.

Fang Che discussed becoming the nominal principal and secured Zhao Shanhe’s promise to request emergency pills for the Life and Death Patrol Team. He considered how to approach the Night Emperor, treated Qiu Yunshang’s lingering poison, and encouraged the rescued children to become heroes, who insisted on calling him Big Brother.

• Zhao Shanhe pressed Fang Che to serve as the nominal principal, and Fang Che refused unless Zhao requested ten bottles of Heavenly King Pills for the team; Zhao agreed to file the report.
• Fang Che asked Zhao about the Night Emperor, learned how the Sole True Sect’s betrayal destroyed the Night Emperor’s Eight Stars, and concluded that his Limitless True Scripture might give him leverage to negotiate.
• Fang Che used the Limitless True Scripture to suppress the residual poison in Qiu Yunshang’s wound and told Dong Yunyu that Qiu needed two more treatments to recover fully.
• Fang Che returned to the Inspectorate Hall with Qiu Yunshang and sent Feng Xiangdong and Dong Yunyu to check on the Fang Wang Residence.
• Fang Che told the nine children about Qiu Yunshang’s fight against kidnappers and asked Ren Chun what he wanted to become; Ren Chun said he wanted to be a hero like Fang Che and Uncle Qiu.
• The children rejected Fang Che’s suggestion that they call him Uncle Fang and declared that he would always be Big Brother to them.

Fang Che guided the children and his companions through a meal and a bookstore visit, where they discovered Ruler of the World being sold at an outrageous markup. Afterward, Feng Xiangdong realized his wallet had vanished, and the group suspected a skilled thief had taken it.

• Fang Che let the nine children keep calling him Big Brother and encouraged them to grow into heroes who could protect others.
• Fang Che explained that the team would eventually split up so each member could lead independently and help defeat the Sole True Sect.
• Fang Che and the others took the children to eat, where Ren Chun recalled how hunger and rejection had marked their days as beggars.
• Night Dream bought books for the children at Wen Xin Mo Xiang Bookstore, while Fang Che noticed an unusual smell near shelves stocked with Ruler of the World.
• Feng Xiangdong found that his wallet was missing after the group left the bookstore and wondered how anyone could have stolen it unnoticed.

Fang Che recovered Feng Xiangdong’s stolen wallet from a suspicious bookstore owner and suspected the powerful old man was stealing and reselling copies of Ruler of the World. Back at the inn, Fang Che compared a strange scent from the owner’s silver with a sample of Qiu Yunshang’s flesh, leaving Night Dream horrified by the stench.

• Dong Yunyu paid for the meal after Feng Xiangdong discovered his wallet was missing, and Feng Xiangdong realized it also contained three Wind God Blades.
• Fang Che led the group back to Wen Xin Mo Xiang Bookstore, threatened the old owner with his Guardians credentials and Life and Death Decree, and Feng Xiangdong recovered his wallet and blades.
• Fang Che found suspicious broken silver in the owner’s drawer, learned the old man’s surname was Si, and left without confronting him further.
• Feng Xiangdong explained that the old man had severed the Heavenly Silk attached to his wallet, while Fang Che suspected the man stole and resold previously read copies of Ruler of the World.
• Fang Che returned to the inn with Night Dream, released the scent he had preserved from the broken silver, and compared it with Qiu Yunshang’s flesh, making Night Dream vomit.

Fang Che investigated the bookstore owner while his experiments with Qiu Yunshang’s poisoned flesh left Night Dream nauseated and Qiu Yunshang confused. He forced the old man into a private meeting, where the old man sealed the courtyard and demanded an explanation from Fang Che.

• Fang Che spent the night testing the poison’s smell, while Night Dream repeatedly retreated to the bathroom; the next morning, she recoiled from Qiu Yunshang, who could not discover why.
• Si Kongdou complained to the Snow Condensing Sword about Guardians carrying a Life and Death Decree, and the Snow Condensing Sword ordered him to cooperate with Fang Che.
• Night Dream told Feng Xiangdong to warn Mo Ganyun and the others to bring back their spoils, prompting Rain Song and Mo Ganyun to search for more loot before returning.
• Fang Che visited Wen Xin Mo Xiang Bookstore, intimidated the customers by identifying himself as Fang the Butcher, and persuaded the furious old man to meet him privately for a drink.
• Fang Che posted a notice closing the bookstore for three days, then met the old man in a courtyard, where the old man sealed the area and demanded an explanation.

Fang Che persuaded Si Kongdou to help him meet the Night Emperor, explaining that he believed he could treat the Night Emperor’s poison and wanted him to restore order in the Underground World. Si Kongdou left to consult the Night Emperor and returned with a black-robed figure.

• Fang Che won Si Kongdou over with wine, food, and a sincere account of why he envied the retired thief’s carefree life.
• Fang Che identified Si Kongdou as the Night Emperor’s trusted caretaker, citing clues from the bookstore and their shared withdrawal from the martial world two thousand years earlier.
• Fang Che explained that he had neutralized similar poison in his brother and offered to try to save the Night Emperor, without asking him to join the Guardians or reveal himself.
• Fang Che said he wanted the Night Emperor to take control of the Underground World again to spare ordinary people from further violence.
• Si Kongdou accepted Fang Che’s reasoning, went to consult the Night Emperor, and returned with a fully covered figure in black robes.

Fang Che began treating Night Emperor's poison after learning that they shared a goal of reforming the Underground World. As the treatment reached its most dangerous stage, Si Kongdou replenished Fang Che's strength with a powerful elixir, and Night Emperor's poison began pouring from his sores.

• Fang Che assured Night Emperor that the Guardians had not sent him, and Night Emperor agreed to his conditions after explaining his wish to rebuild the Underground World and remain free.
• Night Emperor revealed that Si Kongdou was his elder brother and recounted how he became Night Emperor, was betrayed, and endured poison for years with Si Kongdou's help.
• Night Emperor agreed to Fang Che's treatment, and Fang Che circulated the Limitless True Scripture through his meridians to force poison from his 1,425 sores.
• Night Emperor told Fang Che that his master, Hai Yunduan, had been the Dragon God Halberd and that Fang Che's cultivation made him a suitable inheritor of his master's Martial Skill.
• Fang Che continued the treatment as Night Emperor's sores burst, while Si Kongdou watched tensely and gave Fang Che a gulp of a powerful substance to restore his strength.
• Fang Che immediately asked Si Kongdou for another gulp after feeling the substance replenish and strengthen him.

Fang Che cured Night Emperor’s poison and received a massive infusion of spiritual energy that advanced him to the sixth stage of the Emperor Rank, leaving him struggling to control his power overnight. The next morning, he joined Night Dream at the Inspectorate Hall, where Mo Ganyun and Rain Song eagerly challenged him to spar.

• Fang Che and Si Kongdou helped Night Emperor purge the Death Poison, while Si Kongdou sealed the foul stench into hundreds of Wax Pills.
• Night Emperor recovered his strength and channeled unclaimed spiritual energy into Fang Che, breaking through Fang Che’s bottleneck to the sixth stage of the Emperor Rank.
• Fang Che left Si Kongdou’s domain and returned to the inn, where his uncontrolled power broke a chair and damaged the floor; he spent the night assimilating the excess energy.
• Fang Che and Night Dream discussed the spoils Mo Ganyun and the others had brought back, and Fang Che decided not to reveal that they had likely bought them themselves.
• At the Inspectorate Hall, Fang Che found Mo Ganyun, Jing Shuanggao, and Rain Song newly advanced to the Monarch-level and eager to spar with him.