Chapter Summaries

Qin He’s apparent heavenly punishment struck Xu Deye with five bolts of lightning, ending the attempt to block the Xu Family’s entrance. Xu Changshou returned with his bride and held the wedding rites, but Qin He discovered that Yang Qiao’er’s pregnancy was in danger.

• A bolt of lightning struck Xu Deye immediately after he swore a vicious oath, convincing the crowd that Heavenly Punishment had begun.
• Four more bolts struck Xu Deye, fulfilling his oath, and the onlookers believed he had been killed.
• Wang Tie Zhu suspected Qin He had summoned the lightning, and Qin He hinted Xu Deye would survive for now.
• Xu Deye got up dazed and ran off babbling, while the elderly man and the would-be gate blockers left.
• Xu Changshou returned with the bridal sedan and performed the wedding rites, and Qin He found that Yang Qiao’er’s fetal energy was unstable.

Qin He learned that False Gods could descend through chosen Divine Envoys and discovered a trace of their qi above Yang Qiao'er, which he sealed and marked. At Xu Changshou’s wedding banquet, Wei Wu arrived and confronted Qin He, unsure whether he was Great Immortal Green Ox.

• Qin He asked Hui Miqiu how False Gods entered the mortal world and learned they used Avatar Descent through Divine Envoys.
• Hui Miqiu reported that Xu Yanqing had secretly entered the capital and that Yang Suoxiu and Yang Weiyuan had attacked Cui Chengxiu, but the Emperor had withheld judgment.
• Qin He sealed the strand of False God qi above Yang Qiao'er and marked it for tracking.
• Guests gathered at Xu Changshou’s wedding banquet, where Corpse Burners bickered over food until Wei Wu, Wei Yuanji, and Wei Yuanchun arrived.
• Qin He greeted Wei Wu as Lord Wei Pot, while Wei Wu wondered whether Qin He was secretly Great Immortal Green Ox.

Wei Wu and other Flying Fish Guard officers attended Xu Changshou’s wedding banquet, where they discussed the Lotus Sect’s renewed activity in the Capital City. Qin He and the guests praised the banquet’s salt and pepper fried pig intestines, but Wei Wu and Wei Yuanji vomited after learning what they had eaten.

• Wei Wu entered Xu Changshou’s wedding banquet with Wei Yuanji and joined Qin He, Li Tie, and the others at a table.
• Qin He asked about the Lotus Sect, and Wei Yuanchun warned that An Zhongjiu’s Green Corpse Leader and Xu Hong’s followers were active in the Capital City.
• Servers brought out fragrant meat dishes, and Qin He and the other guests praised the salt and pepper fried intestines.
• Wei Wu asked what the dish was, then vomited when Qin He and Wang Tie Zhu identified it as pig intestines.
• Wei Yuanji also vomited after remembering the bloody intestines he had cut off the previous night, while Qin He urged Wang Tie Zhu to eat the remaining food.

Qin He discovered that False Gods had marked many human-path spirit immortals as Divine Envoys and left Suppression Seals and Marking Techniques on them. He spent the next two days searching the Capital City for more, determined not to leave anyone behind.

• Qin He visited Granny Huang and left a Seal of Suppression and a Marking Technique after noticing the Divine Envoy aura above her.
• Qin He asked Hui Miqiu how False Gods selected Divine Envoys, and Hui Miqiu guessed they favored people easy to possess and seize bodies from.
• Qin He visited human-path spirit immortals across the Capital City and found Divine Envoy auras above many of them.
• Qin He grew angry as he saw that the marked spirits were hardworking people who served their neighbors.
• Qin He took Hui Miqiu around the city for the next two days, continuing to search for every human-path spirit immortal he could find.

Lord Aquina arrived at the Liu Residence and told Liu Changan and the other spies that King Di remained determined to march south. He ordered them to help eliminate Wei Zhongliang and the Eunuch Faction, leaving Great Li unable to obtain grain and military pay from Jiangnan.

• Aquina entered the side hall, and Liu Changan and the gathered spies knelt to pay their respects.
• Aquina assured Liu Changan that King Di intended to march south and contend for the throne.
• Aquina explained that killing Wei Zhongliang would let Dong Lin destroy the Eunuch Faction and cripple the Li Court's access to Jiangnan's grain and silver.
• Liu Changan described the recent attacks on Cui Chengxiu and agreed to help intensify pressure against Wei Zhongliang.
• Aquina and the spies secretly plotted for a long time while rats scurried around the side hall.

Qin He learned that Aquina and Liu Changan planned to use Donglin officials to impeach Wei Zhongliang, then impersonated Jin Sanhe to approach Yang Suoxiu and Yang Weiyuan. He left the two vice ministers reeling after slapping them both.

• Hui Miqiu reported that Aquina, the Di Kingdom's top expert, had arrived in the Capital City and gone missing after leaving the Liu Residence.
• Hui Miqiu explained that the first step of the plan was for Jin Sanhe and others to persuade Yang Suoxiu and Yang Weiyuan to impeach Wei Zhongliang.
• Qin He told Hui Miqiu to keep watch, then went to the Censorate offices and ate breakfast at a nearby bun shop.
• Qin He introduced himself to Yang Suoxiu and Yang Weiyuan as Jin Sanhe and asked them to step aside to talk.
• Qin He tricked Yang Suoxiu and Yang Weiyuan with a question, then slapped them both hard enough to make them spin and lose teeth.

Qin He beat Yang Suoxiu and Yang Weiyuan, then returned to the Corpse Burning Facility to forge a Chaos Shovel from the Big Black Shovel and a wisp of Chaos Qi. As the forging began, ominous black clouds and thunder engulfed Capital City.

• Qin He slapped Yang Suoxiu and Yang Weiyuan, identified himself as Jin Sanhe, and swaggered away while their servants dared not stop him.
• Yang Suoxiu and Yang Weiyuan recovered and swore to strip Jin Sanhe of his official hat.
• Qin He returned to the Corpse Burning Facility, sealed the room, and refined the Big Black Shovel through nine rounds of fire and hammering.
• Qin He used patterns from the Chaos Codex to grasp a wisp of Chaos Qi and began hammering it into the shovel blank to forge the Chaos Shovel.
• Black clouds rapidly gathered over Capital City, bringing fierce winds, oppressive pressure, and deafening thunder.

Qin He concealed the newly forged Chaos Shovel from a heavenly lightning tribulation, then used the Art of Calling Wind and Rain to obscure the sky and redirect the blame. The chapter left nine lightning bolts striking the Wei Manor at the Flying Fish Guard family.

• A vast thunderstorm stirred across the Capital City, and cultivators suspected Great Immortal Green Ox was behind it.
• Shen Lian and the Flying Fish Guard discussed the approaching conflict and anticipated Aquina's arrival.
• Qin He emerged from the East City Corpse Burning Facility with the Chaos Shovel as the thunderclouds locked onto him.
• Qin He stamped thirty-six concealment and sealing techniques onto the shovel, causing the cloud vortex to lose its target.
• Qin He used the Art of Calling Wind and Rain to intensify the storm and conceal the sky.
• Nine lightning tribulations struck the Wei Manor at the Flying Fish Guard family.

Wei Wu, Wei Yuanji, and Wei Yuanchun mistook the strange storm over Wei Manor for a sign that Great Immortal Green Ox was undergoing tribulation. When the Tribulation Cloud turned toward them, Wei Wu realized Green Ox had given him a lightning-warding technique and braced for the strike.

• Wei Wu and Wei Yuanji concluded that Great Immortal Green Ox was likely behind the terrifying clouds, while Wei Yuanchun praised the immortal.
• Wei Wu declared that he hoped to draw down a Heavenly Tribulation someday, and Wei Yuanji and Wei Yuanchun encouraged him.
• The black-cloud vortex moved over Wei Manor, and the three men feared the Tribulation Cloud was coming for them.
• Wei Wu received the Technique of Making and Using Lightning Rods and realized Great Immortal Green Ox had prepared him to face the lightning.
• Wei Wu planted a training spear in the ground, but heavenly lightning struck its tip and conducted through him, leaving him stiff.

Wei Wu survived nine increasingly powerful bolts of heavenly tribulation lightning, and his body healed as his strength surged. He broke through from peak inner force to outer force while Tu Baishou, Shen Lian, and others watched in shock.

• Wei Yuanji and Wei Yuanchun tried to reach Wei Wu, but the tribulation lightning struck again and forced them to retreat.
• Nine bolts of lightning battered Wei Wu, destroyed the courtyard, and left him charred in a crater as the storm dispersed.
• Tu Baishou, Shen Lian, an old eunuch, and other onlookers arrived; Shen Lian stopped Tu Baishou from entering the crater and said Wei Wu was still alive.
• Wei Wu's Self-Healing Technique restored his body while his strength rose from inner force entry level to its peak.
• Wei Wu released force energy beyond his body and broke through to outer force.

Wei Wu broke through into first-rank External Force after surviving nine bolts of Heavenly Tribulation, stunning the gathered martial artists. He claimed the tribulation had come from his breakthrough, while privately recognizing that Great Immortal Green Ox had forced the ordeal on him and equipped him to survive it.

• Wei Wu's breakthrough triggered nine bolts of Heavenly Tribulation, shocking the crowd and drawing comparisons to Zhuge Shenji and Daoist Lingyun.
• The tribulation faded, and Wei Wu rose from the crater as a first-rank External Force expert.
• An elderly Dragon Guard Eunuch asked Wei Wu whether his breakthrough had caused the tribulation, and Wei Wu confirmed it and apologized for startling everyone.
• Wei Wu recalled that Great Immortal Green Ox had given him lightning-rod instructions and the Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Technique, which helped him endure the tribulation.
• Wei Wu decided that taking the blame in exchange for Great Immortal Green Ox's rewards was a fair transaction, and told himself that kneeling would be shameful.

Jin Sanhe visited Yang Suoxiu and Yang Weiyuan to recruit them into an effort against Wei Zhongliang, but the two officials mistook his visit for further provocation and had him beaten. The chapter ended with Jin Sanhe trapped in the Yang Residence as the Two Yangs retaliated for the slaps he had given them.

• After Wei Wu's breakthrough into the first rank of External Force stirred the Capital City, Yang Suoxiu and Yang Weiyuan met to discuss how to retaliate against Jin Sanhe for slapping them.
• The steward told Yang Suoxiu that Jin Sanhe had come to visit, and the Two Yangs summoned household guards to attack him.
• Jin Sanhe arrived intending to persuade the Two Yangs to impeach Wei Zhongliang in exchange for Banner Elevation.
• When Jin Sanhe asked why their faces were injured, Yang Suoxiu and Yang Weiyuan ordered their guards to pin him down.
• Yang Suoxiu punched Jin Sanhe, while Yang Weiyuan grabbed his hair and repeatedly slapped him.

After Jin Sanhe returned beaten from his attempt to recruit the Donglin Faction, Liu Changan ordered the three sleeper agents activated to launch the anti-Eunuch Faction campaign. Meanwhile, Shen Lian and Tu Baishou raided the Di Kingdom spies’ base in hopes of drawing out Aquina.

• Jin Sanhe told Liu Changan and Gantuji that Yang Suoxiu and Yang Weiyuan had beaten him and dumped him, though he could not explain why.
• Liu Changan stopped Gantuji from retaliating and ordered the three sleeper agents in the Donglin Party to begin making contacts and building momentum.
• Gantuji resented Liu Changan taking charge and blamed Jin Sanhe for wasting the chance to earn credit.
• Shen Lian and Tu Baishou searched for Aquina, found no trace of him, and went to the Bayala Squad’s base for Di Kingdom spies.
• Shen Lian killed the lookout, disguised himself as Wei Wu of the Corpse Burning Hall, and charged into the courtyard to exterminate the spies.

Shen Lian attacked a Di Barbarian hideout while impersonating Wei Wu, leaving a survivor to report that Wei Wu had destroyed it. The next morning, Hui Miqiu told Qin He that Wei Wu had been used as bait and saddled with the blame.

• Shen Lian killed the Di Barbarians at the hideout and left a wounded survivor alive to carry a message.
• Shen Lian argued with Tu Baishou that he had simply completed the task assigned to Tu Baishou's disciple, Wei Wu.
• The wounded survivor reached Gantuji's secret residence and told him that Wei Wu had slaughtered the hideout, prompting Gantuji to flee and swear revenge.
• Wang Tie Zhu and Lamborghini blamed each other for a hole in the Large Iron Pot, and Qin He scolded both of them before deciding to repair it.
• Hui Miqiu returned to the Corpse Burning Room and told Qin He that Wei Wu had been used as bait and saddled with a huge black pot.

Qin He learned that Shen Lian had impersonated Wei Wu to massacre a Di Barbarian spy nest and bait Aquina, but he remained suspicious of Shen Lian’s motives. Meanwhile, the Donglin faction gathered at Rouge Hall to decide whether to launch a battle against the eunuchs.

• Hui Miqiu told Qin He that Shen Lian had impersonated Wei Wu and slaughtered the Di Barbarians’ spy nest to lure Aquina out.
• Qin He accepted that the plan might tempt Aquina but wondered whether Shen Lian had another motive for making Wei Wu take the blame.
• Hui Miqiu reported that he still could not locate Aquina, who had no fixed residence and was not in the city.
• Hui Miqiu told Qin He that Liu Changan’s side had planted three hidden agents in the Donglin Faction: Huang Wuling, Huang Jian, and Huang Youshu.
• Donglin members gathered at Rouge Hall to decide whether to launch a battle against the eunuchs.

Huang Jian arrived at a Donglin gathering called to discuss overthrowing Wei Zhongliang, and his unexpected bluntness confused the assembled officials. He ended by raising his fists and shouting, “Long live Wei Zhongliang!!”

• Donglin officials gathered at Rouge Hall to discuss a risky move against Wei Zhongliang, waiting for the Donglin Three Huangs to arrive.
• Huang Jian entered, greeted everyone by asking whether they had eaten, and strode into the hall with an imposing manner.
• Xu Yanqing and the assembled officials urged Huang Jian to explain the important matter without further delay.
• Huang Jian said he would be direct, raised both fists, and shouted, “Long live Wei Zhongliang!!”

Huang Jian shocked an anti-eunuch meeting by proclaiming long life to Wei Zhongliang, then beat the assembled Donglin officials and left. Xu Yanqing denounced him as a traitor and chose to continue the meeting, which was interrupted by Huang Wuling's arrival.

• Huang Jian declared, "Long live Wei Zhongliang," provoking outrage among the Donglin officials.
• Kong Tianlu grabbed Huang Jian, but Huang Jian insulted the gathering and fought off the officials with street-brawling techniques.
• Huang Jian defeated the assembled officials, including Xu Yanqing, and left after declaring that none of them could fight.
• Xu Yanqing called Huang Jian Donglin's mortal enemy and urged the officials to continue their anti-eunuch meeting.
• Huang Wuling arrived at Rouge Hall and greeted the officials by asking whether they had eaten.

Huang Wuling and Huang Youshu joined Huang Jian in repeatedly provoking and beating the Donglin faction at Rouge Hall. When the three returned together, the Donglin group finally overpowered them, leaving all sides battered and humiliated.

• Huang Wuling threatened a waiter, shouted “Long live Wei Zhongliang,” and beat the Donglin faction before leaving.
• Huang Youshu arrived, repeated the slogan, and led another fight that left the Donglin members increasingly afraid.
• Huang Youshu returned with Huang Jian and Huang Wuling, and the Donglin faction cursed them and fought back.
• The Donglin faction beat the three Huang men, while Xu Yanqing and the others were also left injured.
• The waiter found the three Huang men sprawled on the floor with chair legs shoved up their rear ends.

After Wei Wu’s lightning tribulation made him a celebrated Imperial Guard Captain, he became notorious for claiming responsibility for every unexplained incident in the Capital City. He finally blamed his cousin Wei Yuanji when Rouge Hall’s courtesans’ clothes vanished, leaving Wei Yuanji bewildered.

• Qin He watched the Dong Lin Party men carry Dong Lin Three Huangs out of Rouge Hall, then vanished after the Golden Dragon of Fortune brightened slightly.
• The new emperor appointed Wei Wu Imperial Guard Captain and Crown Prince's Junior Guardian, and Wei Wu’s rise to External Strength made the Capital City docks more peaceful.
• When rumors credited Wei Wu with wiping out a Di Barbarians spy nest, he claimed the deed despite Wei Yuanji knowing he had stayed home.
• Wei Wu also claimed responsibility for the missing Dog King and the beating of Dong Lin Party members at Rouge Hall.
• After Rouge Hall’s courtesans’ clothes disappeared, Wei Wu blamed Wei Yuanji, who was left confused.

In a ruined temple, Aquina spared Liu Changan despite his repeated failures and ordered him and Gantuji to lie low. After they left, Aquina revealed he had been expecting a visitor from the Flying Fish Guard.

• Liu Changan and Gantuji reported their disastrous losses, including the exposure of Dong Lin agents and the slaughter of Gantuji’s Bayala Elite Soldiers by Wei Wu.
• Liu Changan pleaded for punishment, but Aquina said their opponent was extraordinary and spared him.
• Liu Changan renewed his loyalty to Aquina, recalling how Aquina had raised him from a disgraced minor official to a senior spy in Great Li.
• Gantuji urged Aquina to kill Wei Wu, but Aquina ordered both men to return and avoid further operations without his secret order.
• After Liu Changan and Gantuji departed, Aquina addressed a figure in a Flying Fish Robe who had appeared above him.