Chapter Summaries

Fang Qi betrayed Zhang Xuan and helped Tang Sha's forces seize Qinghe Temple, leaving Zhang Xuan's supporters trapped and overwhelmed. Zhang Rongfang reached Qingding Mountain and chose to return to the fighting, while an arrow pierced into the besieged Profound Heart Hall.

• Zhang Xuan resisted Fang Qi's drugged wine, learned Fang Qi planned to surrender, and fought him as the betrayal erupted across Qinghe Temple.
• Tang Sha joined Fang Qi against Zhang Xuan, and Chen Lianqing wounded Tang Sha with a crossbow bolt before the rebels gained the upper hand.
• Qing Su warned Zhang Rongfang that traitors and the Spirit Army were attacking his allies, but Zhang Rongfang continued toward Qinghe Temple with his Wish Wheel.
• Zhang Xintai and about thirty defenders barricaded themselves inside the Profound Heart Hall as rebel soldiers killed or captured the temple's people.
• A black-lacquered arrow pierced a window and impaled a Daoist inside the Profound Heart Hall.

Zhang Rongfang returned to Qinghe Temple and cut through the Sea Dragon and Fang Qi forces to reach Zhang Xuan, who was close to defeat. He arrived just as Zhao Yueting turned to face him, leaving Zhang Xuan astonished to see his disciple.

• Zhao Yueting led Sea Dragon forces toward the Back Mountain while Tang Sha fought Zhang Xuan.
• Zhang Rongfang met Qing Su at Qinghe Temple's Mountain Gate, killed the Daoist who blocked him, and charged uphill.
• Zhang Rongfang killed several guards and fighters, shifting the battle and allowing Zhang Xintai and the others to counterattack.
• Zhang Rongfang tracked down Zhao Yueting's group and killed two of his subordinates before Zhao noticed him.
• Zhang Rongfang faced Zhao Yueting and apologized to Zhang Xuan for arriving late.

Zhang Rongfang defeated Zhao Yueting and Tang Sha while rescuing Zhang Xuan at Qinghe Temple’s Back Mountain. Zhang Xuan accepted that his disciple had become extraordinarily powerful and learned that the fighting at the main hall had already been settled.

• Zhang Rongfang advanced on Zhao Yueting, evaded his blade attacks, and crushed his chest with the Wish Wheel.
• Zhang Rongfang asked Tang Sha whether he had sent Qi Shan after Yang Hongyan, and Tang Sha denied it before launching a needle and a close-range attack.
• Zhang Rongfang overpowered Tang Sha with the Wish Wheel, severed his arm, and beheaded him.
• Zhang Rongfang approached Zhang Xuan, who recognized Qing Su’s Golden Wing Tower mask and guessed that Zhang Rongfang had trained in martial arts since childhood.
• Zhang Xuan urged Zhang Rongfang to help his senior brother, but Zhang Rongfang said he had already cleared the main hall and the others should have won.

Zhang Rongfang learned that the Red Dog King was hunting for Yang Hongyan’s family and rushed toward Tanyang with Qing Su. He intercepted the Red Dog King’s party, killed its members, and discovered that the black-clad woman Ye Ying also served Golden Wing Tower.

• Zhang Xuan hurried to alert the Righteous Army leaders while Qing Su warned that the Red Dog King might expose Zhang Rongfang’s identity in Tanyang.
• Qing Su learned that the Red Dog King had traced Yang Hongyan’s family through the Bai Family Merchant Group, and Zhang Rongfang agreed to follow her toward Tanyang.
• Zhang Rongfang and Qing Su descended from Qinghe Temple, with Qing Su using a red bird to guide them toward the Red Dog King.
• The Red Dog King traveled toward an Imperial Court garrison with Zhao Yueting’s deputy, intending to secure an official post by helping the authorities.
• Zhang Rongfang arrived and killed the Red Dog King and his men, while Qing Su’s subordinate Ye Ying revealed herself and greeted her.

After the Spirit Army attacked Qinghe Temple, Zhang Rongfang retreated to Tanyang while Zhang Xuan escaped through a secret passage and disappeared. Months later, Zhang Rongfang continued his training and waited for Golden Wing Tower’s promised benefits, while True One Sect dealt with troubles involving its Hall Master and a stolen blade.

• Zhang Rongfang returned to Qingding Mountain and found the Spirit Army surrounding and burning Qinghe Temple, so Qing Su warned him not to charge in.
• Zhang Rongfang left for Tanyang after Qing Su assured him that his identity was safe and that his Master would contact them if he remained nearby.
• Zhang Xuan led the surviving Daoists and Righteous Army soldiers through a secret passage, disguised himself, and declared that Zhang Xuan was dead.
• The Seven Counties Rebellion failed, and Qinghe Dao Palace was destroyed in a fire that killed most of its Daoists.
• Lin Hong dismissed concerns about his daughter seizing people and ordered his followers to avoid Huang Yuzhen, who carried the stolen Moon Chasing Blade.
• Zhang Rongfang drank Mare Milk Wine at Fragrant Braised Tower, reflecting on his weariness as he awaited an attribute point and Golden Wing Tower’s promised movement technique.

Zhang Rongfang met Ye Bai, Golden Wing Tower’s instructor, and learned that his earlier use of low-grade martial arts had irreversibly reduced his potential. Ye Bai said his innate limit was eight Breaking Limits, leaving him only one more opportunity, and that he would eventually stagnate at Eighth Grade.

• Xu Miaotong gave Zhang Rongfang an address and warned him that the Black Ten Sect had uncovered clues about its attacker.
• Zhang Rongfang visited 77 Shanlan Road and met Ye Bai, who granted him Eagle Rank authority and offered to teach him during her remaining week in Shan Province.
• Ye Bai examined Zhang Rongfang and discovered that he had reached Seventh Grade while relying on low-grade Breaking Limits martial arts.
• Ye Bai told Zhang Rongfang that his innate limit was eight Breaking Limits and that he had already used four opportunities on low-grade martial arts.
• Zhang Rongfang asked whether his potential could be restored, but Ye Bai said the damage was irreversible and he would eventually stop advancing at Eighth Grade.

Ye Bai taught Zhang Rongfang the Golden Roc Secret Record, a Superior movement art, over the course of a week. She doubted he could advance far because she believed he was twenty-six and unable to surpass the innate limit, but Zhang Rongfang remained hopeful as she prepared to leave Tanyang.

• Zhang Rongfang chose to learn Martial Arts rather than receive Medicine Pills, and Ye Bai began teaching him the Golden Roc Secret Record.
• Ye Bai explained that the six-grade movement technique could be practiced alongside other Martial Arts, then demonstrated its first layer to Zhang Rongfang.
• During the week of lessons, Zhang Rongfang learned the training methods for only two layers because the art required bodily comprehension and precise control.
• Ye Bai told Zhang Rongfang that she was leaving and that he and Xu Miaotong would manage Tanyang together, advising him to seek Xu Miaotong's instruction for the later layers.
• Ye Bai rejected Zhang Rongfang's hope of surpassing the innate limit, compared the human body to a porcelain bottle, and flicked him a small black porcelain bottle before they parted.

Ye Bai gave Zhang Rongfang a one-use Golden Seal Pill and left open the possibility of taking him as a guard if he ever broke through his limits. Meanwhile, Annuowa suspected Zhang Ying of killing her father, and Zhang Rongfang was sent with Ninth Squad to search for two serious fugitives.

• Ye Bai gave Zhang Rongfang a Golden Seal Pill to protect his damaged constitution, then told Xu Miaotong she might take him as a guard if he became a second Han Shisan.
• Annuowa learned the Red Dog King was dead and ordered her followers to investigate Zhang Ying, whom she suspected of killing her father and having hidden support.
• Zhang Rongfang memorized the Golden Roc Secret Record, but Chen Hansheng soon arrived with an emergency mission calling the squad to the Ministry of Justice.
• Zhang Rongfang ordered Ninth Squad to search for fugitives Huang Yuzhen and Jingying, whose origins and charges were not listed on the mission sheet.
• As the search began, Zhang Rongfang reflected that breaking through the Flame Emperor Talisman's limit would be his eighth breakthrough and wondered whether Attribute Points could exceed the limit.

Zhang Rongfang investigated a suspected fugitive while working an exhausting search, then used a newly gained Attribute Point to advance the Flame Emperor Talisman to Breaking Limits. He reached Eighth Grade but discovered that his body might not be able to train further, leaving him to consider whether raising his Life Attribute was the key.

• Zhang Rongfang led Ninth Squad through a citywide screening, where he noticed a scholar being mistreated and heard that some Confucians in Tanyang made money by submitting songs and plays.
• Zhang Rongfang and nearby squads responded to an emergency signal and watched Captain Zhang Xiangyang fight a Sixth Grade swordsman, who escaped after Zhang Xiangyang drove him into an alley.
• Zhang Rongfang returned home, took a Blood Nourishing Pill, and gained a fourth Attribute Point while practicing the Guanxu Skill.
• Zhang Rongfang spent all four Attribute Points to raise the Flame Emperor Talisman to Breaking Limits and felt his strength increase, though his body became heavier.
• Zhang Rongfang tried to cultivate the Soul Fixing Talisman but felt pain in his heart, leading him to suspect that his body had reached its Eighth Grade limit.

Zhang Rongfang learned that Special Envoy Ouyang Jianrong had taken command of the hunt for Huang Yuzhen, then watched the Ministry of Justice’s deployment get halted amid a dispute between officials. Ouyang’s forces failed to capture Huang Yuzhen, and Zhang Rongfang began considering using the affair to earn merit and return to Mingjing Palace.

• Xu Kai told Zhang Rongfang that Ouyang Jianrong had seized command of the hunt for Huang Yuzhen and ordered the squads to prepare for deployment.
• Ouyang Jianrong confronted Huang Yuzhen at Hundred Silver Valley and sent constables against him, but Huang killed many of them and escaped.
• Ouyang Jianrong withdrew from the valley, determined to use more people to wear Huang Yuzhen down and obtain the Moon Chasing Blade.
• An order sent the Ministry of Justice’s squads to surround Huang Yuzhen, but the Chief of the Ministry of Justice intervened and suspended their deployment.
• Zhang Rongfang suspected a conflict among Tanyang’s officials and considered reviewing Golden Wing Tower’s intelligence and claiming credit to return to Mingjing Palace.

Zhang Rongfang learned that three Owl Rank members controlled the White Eagle Lineage in Tanyang and were resisting his attempt to reclaim authority. At Pingya Temple, they challenged him to pass a test before they would hand over the lineage’s manpower, resources, and businesses.

• Zhang Rongfang received a message summoning him to Pingya Temple in White Mist Forest that night.
• Qing Su told Zhang Rongfang that Wuji, Red Haze, and Zhao Tianming controlled the White Eagle Lineage and described their abilities.
• Zhang Rongfang asked Qing Su about Black Eagle Xu Miaotong, learned that the name was a false identity, and brought Qing Su with him to the meeting.
• Zhang Rongfang and Qing Su arrived at Pingya Temple, where the three Owl Rank members said they would only surrender control if he passed their test.
• One of the three warned that Zhang Rongfang would have to return whence he came if he failed.

Zhang Rongfang took over Tanyang's White Eagle Lineage after defeating its leaders when they challenged him with tests at an abandoned temple. Red Haze and Zhao Tianming submitted to him, while Qing Su arrived after the fight had ended.

• Zhang Rongfang passed the first test by using his robe to extinguish all eighteen incense tips within one breath.
• Zhang Rongfang and Qing Su entered the main hall for the second test, where he discovered the Buddha's missing arms were nowhere to be found.
• Zhang Rongfang broke through the wall behind the Buddha Statue and attacked the three masked leaders hiding there.
• Zhang Rongfang knocked Zhao Tianming down and killed Wuji after blocking his sword attacks and striking him with the Wish Wheel.
• Red Haze knelt in submission, and Zhao Tianming also yielded as Zhang Rongfang claimed control of Tanyang's White Eagle Lineage.
• Qing Su entered through a side door and saw that Zhang Rongfang had finished the fight in about half a minute.

Prefect Chen Anzhi and Li Ran weighed the danger of the Moon Chasing Blade affair, then received orders to support Ouyang Jianrong. In Pingya Temple, Zhang Rongfang learned about Huang Yuzhen and Ouyang's strength and began planning how to profit from the hunt while guarding against other enemies.

• Chen Anzhi told Li Ran that Jingying, not the Moon Chasing Blade itself, was the key to a dangerous secret, and warned him to avoid becoming too deeply involved.
• Chen Anzhi received Magistrate Shangguan Shi's urgent order to fully support Ouyang Jianrong, and he and Li Ran decided to hand over mobilization authority.
• Zhang Rongfang reviewed intelligence showing that Huang Yuzhen was an exceptionally skilled fighter and learned from Red Haze that Ouyang Jianrong and Snow Rainbow Pavilion's ultimate arts posed serious threats.
• Qing Su reported that the Lin Family and Black Ten Sect were investigating Zhang Rongfang, and he told her to keep watching them and Sea Dragon while avoiding any trail to the Yang Family.
• Zhang Rongfang approved Qing Su's proposal to use his importance to secure benefits through cooperation with Ouyang Jianrong, then left for Tanyang.

Zhang Rongfang’s Ninth Squad was ordered into the bloody search for Huang Yuzhen, who was defending a stone house near the Jade Belt River while protecting a young girl. After Ouyang Jianrong threatened Zhang Rongfang’s family and ordered him to charge despite the poisoned caltrops, Zhang Rongfang faced the envoy’s drawn saber.

• Zhang Rongfang received orders to join the massive search for the fugitive at Hundred Silver Valley, where Ouyang Jianrong’s forces began closing in on Huang Yuzhen.
• Ouyang Jianrong drove successive squads into Huang Yuzhen’s attacks, and Huang Yuzhen used arrows, traps, and poisoned Iron Caltrops to inflict heavy casualties.
• Wounded and out of antidote, Huang Yuzhen retreated to a stone cave, where he met a young girl and prepared to move her to safety with the Jade Green Long Blade and one of his remaining Boxes.
• Zhang Rongfang led the Ninth Squad to the riverbank and found the Eighth Squad nearly wiped out after Huang Yuzhen’s counterattack.
• Ouyang Jianrong ordered the Ninth Squad to charge, but Zhang Rongfang warned that Huang Yuzhen might still have a poisoned Black Box.
• Ouyang Jianrong threatened to exterminate Zhang Rongfang’s family and drew his saber, demanding that Zhang Rongfang charge within three breaths.

Zhang Rongfang persuaded Ouyang Jianrong to use fire and smoke to force Huang Yuzhen from the stone house, but Huang Yuzhen broke through while carrying Jingying and fought his way into the forest. Seeing an opportunity to claim the merit and eliminate Ouyang, Zhang Rongfang pretended to go support the Special Envoy and pursued them.

• Ouyang Jianrong threatened Ninth Squad, but Zhang Rongfang proposed using fire to drive Huang Yuzhen and Jingying from their shelter.
• Ouyang Jianrong ordered the officers and soldiers to set fire to the area and prepare to attack as Huang Yuzhen emerged.
• Zhang Rongfang warned that Huang Yuzhen was breaking through north, and Ouyang Jianrong charged after him with the other warriors.
• A hidden weapon went off in the smoke, and Huang Yuzhen fought Ouyang Jianrong while carrying someone on his back, then broke through the surrounding troops.
• After the battle moved into the forest, Zhang Rongfang decided to pursue Huang Yuzhen and Ouyang Jianrong to claim the merit and potentially kill them both.

Zhang Rongfang arrived at the river shoal where Huang Yuzhen and Ouyang Jianrong had grievously wounded each other. After pretending to obey Ouyang’s order, Zhang Rongfang revealed his overwhelming strength, killed Ouyang’s deputy, and turned to Huang Yuzhen with the question of whether they still needed to fight.

• Huang Yuzhen and Ouyang Jianrong fought until both were badly injured, with Huang Yuzhen entering the Limit State and Ouyang’s poisoned blade piercing his thigh.
• Zhang Rongfang arrived carrying the Wish Wheel, and Ouyang urged him to kill Huang Yuzhen in exchange for merit.
• Zhang Rongfang threw the Wish Wheel at Huang Yuzhen, then attacked Ouyang Jianrong instead and tore into his wounded abdomen.
• Zhang Rongfang used his hidden Seventh- or Eighth-Grade strength to incapacitate Ouyang Jianrong and kill the deputy officer who tried to flee.
• Zhang Rongfang stopped before Huang Yuzhen and asked whether they still needed to fight.

Zhang Rongfang obtained the Moon Chasing Blade after sparing Huang Yuzhen and Jingying, then discovered that its hilt concealed a mysterious bronze component. After turning in the blade and earning one major merit, he planned to return to the Dao Palace to advance his career.

• Zhang Rongfang demanded the Moon Chasing Blade from the wounded Huang Yuzhen, and Jingying surrendered it to protect him.
• Zhang Rongfang let Huang Yuzhen and Jingying leave, and they escaped before the pursuing shouts reached the riverbank.
• Zhang Rongfang's Attribute Panel revealed a mechanism in the blade's hilt, which concealed one of five mysterious bronze components.
• Zhang Rongfang returned the Moon Chasing Blade to Li Ran and received one major merit after the credit was divided among the group.
• Zhang Rongfang told Chen Hansheng and Liu Han that he planned to return to the Dao Palace after recovering, but a cry from outside interrupted them.

After the deadly pursuit, Zhang Rongfang recovered at home and completed the Mixed Origin Talisman, but his body could no longer withstand further enhancement. He agreed to attend an old-book exchange meeting, while Li Huoyun sought Sun Chaoyue’s help in finding Zhang a suitable match.

• Zhang Rongfang and the Ninth Squad joined the Ministry of Justice in seeing off the dead and wounded, then he returned home on a month of leave.
• Zhang Rongfang cultivated the Mixed Origin Talisman to completion, but its strain confirmed that his body had reached its limit.
• Li Huoyun visited Zhang Rongfang and persuaded him to attend the Yaoyuan Book Club’s old-book and ancient-text exchange meeting.
• Li Huoyun went to the Gathering Fragrance Shop and asked Sun Chaoyue to find Zhang Rongfang a suitable sister-in-law.
• Sun Chaoyue agreed to share Zhang Rongfang’s situation with her circle and see whether anyone was interested.

Zhang Rongfang searched Smoke Willow Lane for unusual old objects and spoke with a Confucian bookshop owner about life under Great Ling. He found a curiosity shop being pressured by official messengers and stepped in after they recognized him.

• Zhang Rongfang bought tangyuan and learned from Grandpa Tangyuan that Smoke Willow Lane sold old books and strange objects.
• Zhang Rongfang visited Path Through the Mountain of Books, scanned its books with the Attribute Panel, and found nothing unusual.
• The old shopkeeper told Zhang Rongfang that Confucian scholars still lived comfortably despite losing the Imperial Examination, and described Great Ling's prosperity and military power.
• Zhang Rongfang followed the shopkeeper's directions to Hall of Curiosities and saw official messengers pressuring its foreign proprietor for more money.
• Zhang Rongfang asked what was happening, and one of the messengers recognized him from the Ministry of Justice and saluted him.

Zhang Rongfang found a mysterious Stone Ball that the Attribute Panel identified as part of a destroyed Daoist sculpture, then sought to learn the complete Guanxu Skill at Mingjing Palace. He met Void One, whose strange explanations left him doubting his choice.

• Zhang Rongfang entered a foreign antiques shop after dismissing the inspecting Official Messengers, and the Attribute Panel reacted to a Stone Ball he bought from the shopkeeper.
• Zhang Rongfang locked the Stone Ball away, searched for information, practiced the Guanxu Skill, and wrote an application to transfer back to the Dao Palace.
• Zhang Rongfang asked Wang Bude to teach him the complete Guanxu Skill, but Wang Bude sent him to Void One, a highly cultivated Merit Transfer Master.
• Void One tested Zhang Rongfang’s understanding of the Guanxu Skill and rejected his answers about Empty Room Generates Light, inner observation, and jade nectar and ambrosia.
• Void One demonstrated jade nectar and ambrosia by spitting into his palm and sucking the saliva back, leaving Zhang Rongfang to wonder whether he had chosen the wrong teacher.