Chapter Summaries

Li Yan attended the Divine Fist Society gathering with Zhang ShiTong, where he observed powerful martial artists and learned about the region’s conflicts and the Society’s structure. After President Li and the gathering’s Pellet Strength experts arrived, Li Yan watched from the back and reflected that he was standing there like a lackey.

• Senior Zhang XiaoShan of Ezhou used refined force to toss Zhang ShiTong around, then entered the Divine Fist Society with a middle-aged Eight Trigrams expert.
• Li Yan noticed that Zhang XiaoShan’s scent remained unchanged while he exerted force and considered whether this was a trait of Pellet Strength experts.
• Zhang ShiTong told Li Yan how a mysterious challenger had left footprints in the stone arena, humiliating the former Shaan Prefecture president and prompting the new president to preserve them as a warning.
• Li Yan listened as martial artists discussed bandits, killers, trade routes, and other troubles across Shaan Prefecture, then declined Du Qing’s invitation to join the Lantian Divine Fist Society.
• President Li arrived with prominent martial artists, and Zhang ShiTong quietly identified them for Li Yan as the young men watched from the rear of the hall.

After leaving the Year-End Conference, Li Yan traveled with Wang Dao Xuan and Sha LiFei through a snowstorm to the Mass Burial Grounds so he could cultivate in a Yin Fiend Land. They found an abandoned tomb pit, and Li Yan began preparing to draw in Killing Intent as his companions withdrew to safety.

• Li Yan declined Zhang ShiTong's offer to help him settle down and left the Year-End Conference to prepare for cultivation outside Chang'an.
• Wang Dao Xuan and Sha LiFei insisted on accompanying Li Yan, and the three traveled through Chang'an during the noisy Hitting the Night Fox festivities.
• At the Mass Burial Grounds, Li Yan used the Divine Tiger Token and the Northern Emperor Mountain Climbing Art to weaken the surrounding Yin Wind and guide them to an abandoned Mountain God Temple.
• The three took shelter from the storm, found only empty coffins, and warmed themselves with wine, flatbreads, and braised meat.
• After the weather eased, Wang Dao Xuan led the group to a frost-covered abandoned tomb pit where Killing Intent had gathered.
• Wang Dao Xuan and Sha LiFei helped prepare the site, then withdrew as Li Yan lit the costly Soul-Guiding Incense to begin his cultivation.

Li Yan used Soul-Guiding Incense to cultivate the North Emperor Yin Mountain Method, raising the Luo Feng Mountain within his preserved spirit but falling into a deep, icebound slumber. After awakening, he and Wang Dao Xuan and Sha LiFei discovered Commandery Commandant Office gunners testing powerful flintlock rifles, and Li Yan realized the new weapons could overturn the Great Xuan Dynasty’s balance.

• Li Yan burned Soul-Guiding Incense and used the North Emperor Yin Mountain Method to raise the Luo Feng Mountain within his preserved spirit, while dense Yin Energy drew ghosts to the cave.
• Wang Dao Xuan and Sha LiFei waited anxiously as strange disturbances filled the area, then hurried toward the cave after hearing a loud report.
• Li Yan woke from an icebound slumber, rejoined Wang Dao Xuan and Sha LiFei, and identified the repeated booming sounds as gunshots.
• Li Yan, Wang Dao Xuan, and Sha LiFei found a Commandery Commandant Office camp where Guan WanChe oversaw two occultist gunners testing flintlock rifles loaded with New-Style Gunpowder.
• The gunners killed vicious wolves and fired at Kongming Lanterns, demonstrating the rifles’ power and accuracy, while Li Yan connected the test to recent changes in the Great Xuan Dynasty.

Chang Xuan’s men tested powerful new firearms, and Li Yan, Sha LiFei, and Wang Dao Xuan began practicing with flintlocks while preparing for the New Year. Li Yan then joined Manager Wan’s East Village Divine Pavilion team as its elaborate Drum King Assembly procession took shape.

• Chang Xuan praised the gun test and planned to report the method, while Taoist Zi Yuan reminded him of his promise to search for a wanted woman.
• Li Yan, Sha LiFei, and Wang Dao Xuan returned to the Mountain God Temple, discussed the new firearms, and decided to learn marksmanship.
• Li Yan taught Sha LiFei and Wang Dao Xuan to use flintlocks, and the three practiced in the hills before stopping when their ammunition ran out.
• As New Year approached, the three prepared their residence and exchanged gifts with acquaintances and local groups.
• Li Yan visited Manager Wan’s team, found Zhao the Donkey outside, and saw the oversized Divine Pavilion prepared for the Drum King Assembly.
• Manager Wan explained that performers, musicians, drummers, and hired carriers would create a grand procession, and the gathered men agreed to help.

Li Yan and Zhao the Donkey discussed Heavenly Spiritual Treasures and the Li family's sealed coalfield before parting to celebrate the New Year separately. Li Yan then welcomed New Year's Eve in Chang'an with Wang Dao Xuan and Sha LiFei.

• Manager Wan rallied the Xuan Gate People to prepare for the Divine Tower competition and assigned Li Yan to accompany the procession with the Cloud Thunder Divine Drum.
• Li Yan visited Zhao the Donkey at the Daming Palace ruins, warned him about the imperial court's New Style Firearms, and learned that the Li family had sealed off a coalfield at Shenmu Fort.
• Zhao the Donkey showed Li Yan Coal Essence fossils and explained that outsiders had paid him to locate the deposit before the Li family occupied it; Li Yan urged him to avoid those strangers and bring future treasures to him.
• Zhao the Donkey described the dangers facing treasure hunters and the conflict between the Netherworld Patrol Lineage and the Li Mountain Lineage, then left to tend nearby Mountain God Temples for the New Year.
• On New Year's Eve, Wang Dao Xuan worshiped at the altar and the ancestral shrines, Li Yan prepared dinner, and Sha LiFei swept the courtyard and piled Winter Cypress.
• Li Yan, Wang Dao Xuan, and Sha LiFei lit the Winter Cypress and drank together as Chang'an's households celebrated the New Year.

After the New Year, Li Yan planned his cultivation and the Divine Pavilion Drum Team’s prospects, then joined Manager Wan and the team for a Breaking Five feast. The celebration ended when Guo LuQuan spotted the Enforcement Hall party returning in poor condition.

• Li Yan reviewed his recent gains, considered the limits of his knowledge about the martial world, and planned to earn money for the Drum King Assembly and Huashan Opening Cellar.
• On Breaking Five, Sha LiFei cleared out the New Year rubbish and returned to studying firearms while Wang Dao Xuan performed rituals at home.
• Manager Wan invited Li Yan to a restaurant opening, where they met the sedan bearer Guo LuQuan and other members of the Divine Pavilion Drum Team.
• A renowned Vegetable General served dishes at the feast, and Li Yan joined the others in eating and drinking games.
• Guo LuQuan pointed out that the Enforcement Hall party had returned, and Li Yan saw that they appeared to be in poor condition.

Li Yan learned that Zhao Changsheng had once been the Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect genius Chang KongZi and uncovered a possible link between him and the deaths of Northern Frontier veterans. Luo MingZi rushed to report that Zhao Changsheng might be a God Ascender, while a mysterious woman in a sedan watched from afar.

• Li Yan saw the wounded Chang'an Enforcement Hall return with a Corpse Suppressing Coffin and the captured Maitreya Sect member DuGu Gan.
• At a tavern, Luo MingZi told Li Yan that Zhao Changsheng had been Chang KongZi, a gifted Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect Daoist who later defected and became a Maitreya Sect vice leader.
• Li Yan explained his suspicion that Zhao Changsheng had bewitched the veterans' Hundred Battles Tablets and caused calamities among their families.
• Luo MingZi revealed that the veterans had secretly been sent to destroy the Northern Frontier shamans' dragon-vein arrangements, and that Chang KongZi had led the Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect during the campaign.
• Li Yan deduced that a shaman master had returned to life and possessed Chang KongZi; Luo MingZi warned that Zhao Changsheng might be a dangerous God Ascender and hurried to report the matter.
• After Luo MingZi left, Li Yan sensed a familiar scent, while a woman in white—the concubine from outside Lu Academy in GuShui Village—rode away in a sedan protected by a talisman.

Hua Lian and Long SanJiu gathered Maitreya Sect followers outside Chang'an and debated how to rescue DuGu Gan, while Li Yan learned more about the threat posed by Zhao Changsheng. Red Yaksha demonstrated the Noon Demon Slayer Sword and described seeing a true flying sword, leaving Li Yan wondering whether its wielder had been a God Ascender.

• Hua Lian killed the sedan bearers who had tried to exploit her and told Long SanJiu that DuGu Gan had been captured at the City God Temple.
• Fire Ghost demanded an immediate rescue, but Manager Wu warned that the Enforcement Hall's actions might be a trap, and Long SanJiu ordered him to arrange a meeting with Bai RuoXu.
• Li Yan told Sha LiFei and Wang Dao Xuan about Zhao Changsheng and agreed they should avoid the Guangde Ward area while the Enforcement Hall's trap remained active.
• Red Yaksha visited Li Yan and demonstrated the Noon Demon Slayer Sword's yang sword and soul-severing yin sword.
• Red Yaksha recalled a Daoist using a flying sword to kill a corpse demon, and Li Yan suspected the Daoist had been a God Ascender.

Feng FeiYan was drawn into Guo YuHuai’s scheme against Chang Xuan, while Bai RuoXu learned that DuGu Gan had been captured after a disastrous expedition in the Qinling Mountains. Bai RuoXu arranged a nighttime rescue, then fled Chang'an after realizing his identity had been exposed.

• Red Yaksha told Li Yan and the others that a Drought Demon had been sealed in the Qinling Mountains and that Demon Hunters were preparing to move it from Chang'an.
• Guo YuHuai persuaded Feng FeiYan that Chang Xuan would sacrifice her and ordered her to investigate his nighttime trips to the Mass Burial Grounds, then arranged for his men to kill her on the way.
• Guo YuHuai ordered an agent to spread the claim that Bai RuoXu belonged to the Maitreya Sect and had helped steal firearms.
• Manager Wu told Bai RuoXu that the Treasure Painting had led DuGu Gan and Long SanJiu to a false treasure site containing a Corpse Raising Ground, where a Drought Demon and a tide of corpses had devastated their forces and led to DuGu Gan’s capture.
• Bai RuoXu told Manager Wu to gather the others for a nighttime rescue, then took his hidden banknotes and escaped through a secret passage.

After the Commandery Commandant Office searched their courtyard for traitors, Li Yan learned that its New Style Firearm had been stolen and that Feng FeiYan was caught between rival factions. He sent Sha LiFei and Wang Dao Xuan out of Chang'an, then hid in the city as the Lantern Festival and Drum King Assembly approached.

• Feng Han's men searched Li Yan's courtyard, but Guan WanChe arrived and stopped them before they found anything.
• Guan WanChe's hound led officers to Sha LiFei's Medicine-Powered Puppet, and Guan warned the group that Chang'an would soon become dangerous.
• Li Yan secretly overheard Guan WanChe order a search for Bai RuoXu and the missing Divine Firearm, then concluded Feng FeiYan had become entangled in the factional struggle.
• Li Yan sent Sha LiFei and Wang Dao Xuan out of Chang'an, warned Lady Li and Li KongQing to stay cautious, and remained behind for the Drum King Assembly.
• As the Commandery Commandant Office searched Jinbao Gambling House, Courtesan Zhao WanFang found Li Yan eating at Qingyuan Tower and asked if he planned to move into the brothel.

Li Yan learned how the struggles over Feng FeiYan and the Maitreya Sect had thrown Chang'an into chaos, then kept out of sight until officials restored order for the Lantern Festival. As the Drum King Assembly began, performers and crowds filled Vermilion Bird Avenue while rival divine-tower processions gathered outside the city.

• Li Yan told Zhao Wan Fang that revenge would require more than martial arts, and she thanked him with renewed determination.
• Shen SanYou investigated the turmoil and revealed that Guo YuHuai had framed Chang Xuan, Feng FeiYan had escaped with the Thunderbolt Fire, and Bai RuoXu had fled after seizing a firearm.
• Li Yan heard of arrests and deaths across Chang'an, avoided contacting his connections, and waited at Qingyuan Tower for the Lantern Festival.
• Li Siyuan and the King of Chang'an restored order, while the Commandery Commandant Office reprimanded Guo YuHuai and reassigned another chiliarch but retained Chang Xuan.
• The Lantern Festival crowds gathered along Vermilion Bird Avenue as performers prepared for the Drum King Assembly, and rival divine-tower processions assembled outside Mingde Gate.

Li Yan’s procession joined the Drum King Assembly on Vermilion Bird Avenue, where his drumming drew the crowd’s attention and led him to break through to the Peak of Hidden Strength. After completing the daytime circuit, the exhausted team prepared for the night’s contest.

• Manager Wan explained that the rules had changed: twenty-four teams would compete at night to seize ritual flags and carry them to the City God Temple.
• Teams from across the region paraded along Vermilion Bird Avenue, displaying their distinctive drums, divine towers, and traditions.
• Li Yan led his procession with the Cloud Thunder Divine Drum, steadying his team’s rhythm and drawing the crowd’s attention.
• As the Qin Han War Drums moved through their three sections, Li Yan comprehended the Great Cloud Thunder Sound and opened the Yin-Yang Knot, reaching the Peak of Hidden Strength.
• After the procession completed its circuit, Li Yan repaired his injuries, and Manager Wan invited the exhausted team to eat before the nighttime event.

Li Yan’s team prepared to carry their divine tower through Chang’an during the Lantern Festival, while Gu Chenzi revealed that the procession’s ritual was meant to suppress a Drought Demon tied to the Maitreya Sect. The Prince handed authority to Young Lord Xiao Hongqi, and the nighttime Wandering Gods Society began with the teams converging on Vermilion Bird Avenue; Li Yan’s team met the Jinzhou procession first and reached the Yulin team near East Market.

• Manager Wan told Li Yan’s team they had been assigned Daozheng Ward, and he explained that the Jinzhou and Yulin teams could become rivals along the route.
• Gu Chenzi told Li Yan that the ritual would borrow divine power to stabilize the Drought Demon before it was transported to Mount Hua, and Li Yan agreed to watch for rumors.
• King of Chang'an Xiao Qingyuan announced that Young Lord Xiao Hongqi would take over the manor’s affairs, and Xiao Hongqi bestowed wine on the drum teams.
• At Zi Hour, Guo LuQuan and the men lifted the divine tower, and the Wandering Gods Society processions set out through Chang'an.
• Li Yan’s team saw the Jinzhou procession charge ahead but continued toward East Market, where they encountered the Yulin procession.

Li Yan’s team defeated Hu Qingquan’s team on the road, then reached Vermilion Bird Avenue as rival teams drew crowds with spectacular performances. The chapter ended when a young man from the Xiangchu team challenged Manager Wan’s group.

• Hu Qingquan admitted that the Fire Bear Gang had pressured him to obstruct Manager Wan, so the teams settled their dispute through a contest of strength and skill.
• Guo LuQuan’s formation toppled the Yulin team’s divine tower, and Manager Wan accepted its mystical banner after Hu Qingquan conceded.
• Li Yan’s team continued to Vermilion Bird Avenue, gathering incense and followers as their divine towers absorbed incense power.
• The Ezhou team performed a Hundred-Section Lantern Dragon, while the Xiangchu team displayed an Incense Dragon and a Medicine-Powered Puppet Dragon.
• The Zuo Family Troupe used the Eight Directions Manifestation Art to project towering godly figures through smoke and shadow puppets.
• A young Xiangchu disciple approached Manager Wan and challenged him to a contest.

Li Yan fought Yuan Ba of the Meishan Dharma Sect in a martial and magical contest, winning both rounds with his Pigua Fist and North Emperor Swift Travel Technique. Yuan Ba admitted defeat but offered an ancient Phoenix Gold Ornament instead of a flag, and Li Yan felt unusual good fortune surge from it.

• Manager Wan agreed to Yuan Ba’s challenge, and Li Yan stepped forward to represent their team.
• Li Yan gained the upper hand with Pigua Fist, then exchanged blows with Yuan Ba’s Five Thunders Breaking the Formation before Yuan Ba conceded the fist contest.
• Yuan Ba demonstrated the Snow Mountain Dharma by reaching into a torch’s flames without being burned.
• Li Yan admitted he could not perform Yuan Ba’s fire trick, then used the North Emperor Swift Travel Technique to leap across the street and onto a restaurant.
• Yuan Ba admitted he could not match Li Yan’s Jia Ma technique and offered an ancient Phoenix Gold Ornament instead of a flag.
• Li Yan took the ornament and felt its streams of good fortune flow into his Great Luo Dharma Body.

Li Yan discovered that the Phoenix Gold Token strengthened his Soul Hooking Chain and learned it came from the mountains near Ancient Yunmeng Marsh. At the Lantern Festival, the Fire Bear Gang provoked several processions and surrounded Manager Wan’s group after Li Yan caught Xiong BaoDong’s attention, until Feng Han’s Black Cavalry intervened.

• Li Yan absorbed pale-gold power from the Phoenix Gold Token, strengthening his Soul Hooking Chain to three chi, and learned Yuan Ba had found the token near Ancient Yunmeng Marsh.
• Men deliberately burned their clothes beneath Yuan Ba’s procession’s Incense Dragon, provoked a fight, and stirred up the crowd against Yuan Ba and his master.
• The Fire Bear Gang’s growing influence and alliance with Left Path Sorcerers became clear as Xiong BaoDong led his procession through the festival.
• Xiong BaoDong recognized Li Yan and ordered his men to take Manager Wan’s flag, but Manager Wan’s disciples beat the gang members unconscious.
• Xiong BaoDong surrounded Li Yan’s group, and Feng Han arrived with the Commandery Commandant Office’s Black Cavalry to stop the confrontation.

Li Yan confronted the Fire Bear Gang during the Lantern Festival ritual after Feng Han tried to arrest his group. After Li Yan defeated Guo Ai, he challenged Xiong BaoDong, who accepted the fight and prepared to attack.

• Feng Han threatened to arrest the people involved in the street fight, but Gu Chenzi stopped him and the crowd forced Feng Han and his men to leave.
• Xiong BaoDong challenged Li Yan to stake their ritual flags, then sent Guo Ai to fight him.
• Li Yan outmaneuvered Guo Ai and struck him down with blows that shattered his chest and collarbone.
• Li Yan accused Xiong BaoDong of using his men to wear him down and challenged him to fight personally.
• Qiao Sanhu warned Xiong BaoDong that Li Yan was a sorcerer and urged him not to risk a fight, but Li Yan's taunts pushed Xiong BaoDong to accept.

Li Yan killed Xiong BaoDong during a Lantern Festival duel, then the chaos around the ritual tower deepened when a gunman killed Qiao Sanhu. Li Yan recognized the fleeing shooter’s scent as Lu San from Munchuan Pass.

• Li Yan refused Manager Wan’s offer of help and challenged Xiong BaoDong, who revealed that he wore the imperial Six Ding Six Jia Talisman.
• Xiong BaoDong drove Li Yan into a corner, but Li Yan’s Soul Hooking Chain briefly paralyzed him and let Li Yan land a series of deadly strikes.
• Li Yan threw Xiong BaoDong to the ground and killed him with a kick to the temple, then declared that he had rid Chang'an of the scourge.
• The crowd celebrated Xiong BaoDong’s death as Lu Kang’s son attacked the corpse, while Sha LiFei stirred up panic by announcing that the Fire Bear Gang’s warehouses held silver.
• As Qiao Sanhu tried to stabilize the gang and continue the ritual, a black-clad gunman shot and killed him, throwing the crowd into chaos.
• Gu Chenzi handed the remaining ritual flags to Manager Wan and urged him to complete the ritual, while Li Yan recognized the fleeing gunman’s scent as Lu San from Munchuan Pass.

Li Yan faced questioning at the Commandery Commandant Office, defended his status as a Living Underworld Messenger, and left without revealing anything about the firearm murder. He joined the others at the City God Temple, where the ritual subdued a dangerous bronze coffin, then gave away command tokens and pointed their claimants toward the Night Crying Man as a black-robed figure traveled through Tongji Ward with a horde of rats.

• Guo YuHuai tried to force Li Yan to kneel and confess, but Li Yan showed his underworld warrant and identified himself as a Living Underworld Messenger.
• Li Yan denied knowing who had fired the weapon, while Chang Xuan questioned him courteously and ordered his men to see him out.
• Chang Xuan learned that the pursuit had failed and told Guan WanChe that the leaked firearm formulas and turmoil in the capital mattered more than the missing firearm and Bai RuoXu.
• Li Yan met Sha LiFei and Wang Dao Xuan, then joined Manager Wan outside the City God Temple as the ritual flags were presented and a ritual subdued the bronze coffin.
• The Daoists ordered the coffin transported to Mount Hua, and Li Yan took ten command tokens from Manager Wan and directed those seeking tokens to Fengyi Ward to find the Night Crying Man.
• A black-robed man traveled through Tongji Ward as a dense horde of rats followed him.

Yang Baozhu spread word of Li Yan’s valuable head bounty, while Yuan Zhetian joined forces with three Heretical Art Practitioners and armed his bandits with gunpowder to hunt him. As the attackers approached Li Yan’s mountain hideout, Wang Dao Xuan and Sha LiFei prepared defenses while Li Yan continued cultivating inside an ancient tomb.

• Yang Baozhu told teahouse patrons that Li Yan’s tokens had sold for ninety thousand taels and that a five-thousand-tael bounty had been placed on his head.
• Yuan Zhetian met with three Heretical Art Practitioners and recruited his band of roughly thirty men to ambush Li Yan.
• Yuan Zhetian revealed that his men carried gunpowder, making the three practitioners uneasy as the group rode toward the mountains.
• Lu San returned to the abandoned temple and warned Wang Dao Xuan and Sha LiFei that more than thirty horsemen were approaching.
• Wang Dao Xuan began preparing a ritual defense, while Lu San sent a message by rat to Li Yan, who was cultivating lightning-like power in an ancient tomb.