Chapter Summaries

Zhang Guangmu and Miao Zhi’s guards reached Dongmang Town, where Zhang Guangmu realized the town was about to be slaughtered by demons. After spending the evening teaching stories and writing, he sensed the massacre beginning and reacted to the blood in the air.

• Miao Zhi persuaded the group to rest in Dongmang Town, and Zhang Guangmu recognized it as the town destined to become a dead town.
• Zhang Guangmu offered to teach Miao Zhi and the guards from On Demonic Creatures while they stayed in town.
• The young master of You'an Inn mistook Zhang Guangmu for a hidden important figure and gave the group free lodging, food, and tea.
• Zhang Guangmu taught stories about demons and writing, then took a four-hour nap before continuing the lesson.
• At night, the White Ball audience warned that a monster had killed many townspeople, but Zhang Guangmu calmly finished his story and slammed his teacup down after detecting blood in the air.

Zhang Guangmu led the people of the town through attacks by Night Demons and Burning Demons, explaining their weaknesses while his pendant and mysterious protection helped him survive. After he appeared to destroy the Burning Demons, Miao Zhi called him an immortal, and the crowd turned to look at him.

• Zhang Guangmu warned the people that multiple demons were attacking the town and told them to gather around him as residents were killed or turned to ash.
• Zhang Guangmu explained that Night Demons could be blocked with oiled paper or immobilized by keeping them in sight, and the survivors formed watchful groups.
• Zhang Guangmu explained that Burning Demons hunted by sound, but their flames destroyed his book without harming him, while the demons that touched him vanished.
• Zhang Guangmu told everyone to stay silent and keep still, then noticed his Town Evil Pendant vibrating and hid it in his hand.
• Zhang Guangmu drew the Burning Demons toward himself and remained unharmed as their flames flickered out; Miao Zhi called him an immortal, and the crowd looked toward him.

Zhang Guangmu suppressed the demons attacking Dongmang Town and used the survivors’ awe to conceal his plans for the Town Evil Pendant. After he warned the townspeople that the dead would be reborn into wealthy families, he identified several people as threats, and the chapter ended with him waking to find an intruder’s ashes beside his bed.

• Zhang Guangmu collected the immobilized Night Demons and the remaining Burning Demons into the Town Evil Pendant, while the survivors hailed him as an immortal.
• Zhang Guangmu told the townspeople to stop worshiping him, then claimed that everyone killed in the attack would be reborn into wealthy families.
• Zhang Guangmu noticed two strangers and one of his own companions, Miao Zhi, showing suspicious expressions and added them to his blacklist.
• Zhang Guangmu returned to the You'an Inn, placed a Burning Demon beside his bed, and fell asleep without changing his clothes.
• Zhang Guangmu woke in the afternoon to find a human-shaped pile of ashes and a dagger beside his window, while the Little White Balls realized that he had left a Burning Demon to kill the intruder.

Zhang Guangmu killed a Scholar who tried to murder him, then gathered a growing group of followers as he resumed his journey to the capital. Director Xu Qianqiu worried that Zhang Guangmu’s use of the Town Evil Pendant was pushing “The World Knows” beyond the intended plot.

• Viewers debated Zhang Guangmu’s deadly trap, while Zhang Guangmu accepted a Silver Pass from the young master of You'an Inn.
• A Scholar tried to stab Zhang Guangmu, but Zhang Guangmu disarmed him and killed him despite the Script Hint urging restraint.
• Zhang Guangmu sent volunteers to take the Scholar’s body to the mass grave and told those who wanted to travel with him to gather at You'an Inn.
• Zhang Guangmu considered Miao Zhi’s hidden hostility and decided to find an excuse to kill him before he could strike.
• Zhang Guangmu set out for the capital with sixty followers, and Xu Qianqiu realized the Town Evil Pendant and Zhang Guangmu were disrupting his story.

Zhang Guangmu exposed Miao Zhi’s plot to kill him for the supposed healing and immortality powers of his flesh, then had him executed when he attempted to attack. The team continued toward the capital, while Zhang Guangmu dismissed Miao Zhi’s warning that he had already informed Tang Kaixuan.

• Zhang Guangmu decided to purge Miao Zhi from the traveling party after confirming that Miao Zhi wanted him dead.
• Zhang Guangmu tricked Miao Zhi into revealing his murderous intent, and Miao Zhi’s desire to eat immortal flesh for wealth and immortality came to light.
• Zhang Guangmu turned the group against Miao Zhi and challenged him to prove his innocence by killing himself.
• Miao Zhi reached for his saber, but Zhang Guangmu cut off his wrist and ordered an escort to kill him.
• Miao Zhi claimed he had sent word to Tang Kaixuan, but Zhang Guangmu dismissed the threat and resumed the journey.

Xu Qianqiu worried that Zhang Guangmu’s growing interest in demons and human nature would derail the production, but Zhang rejected the Production Team’s attempts to make him postpone his research. He committed to pursuing both the imperial examination and Demonic Studies, ending by declaring that truth, not the sages, would guide him.

• Li Xiaoxiao urged Xu Qianqiu to let Zhang Guangmu grow stronger while the rival factions prepared to clash, but Xu ordered the Film Set staff to guide Zhang, Tang Kaixuan, and Yang Chi along their planned destinies.
• During a rest, Zhang Guangmu wrote “Demonic Studies” and checked his Book of Acting, which showed that his calligraphy had been temporarily raised to level 2.
• The Control Group used Script Hints to argue that Zhang should follow the sages’ teachings and focus on the imperial examination before pursuing Demonic Studies.
• Zhang Guangmu challenged the sages’ authority, rejected postponing his research, and insisted he would become the top scorer while studying demons.
• Zhang Guangmu wrote, “‘Demonic Studies’—All saints are mere shadows; truth is my teacher!”

Xu Qianqiu struggled to keep The World Knows on track as Zhang Guangmu gathered fanatical followers and reached the Thunderstorm Bodhi Temple incident. Zhang Guangmu summoned fog and lightning by chance, then used a failed rain prediction to present Demonic Studies as a path ordinary people could follow.

• Xu Qianqiu decided to salvage the film despite Tang Kaixuan and Yang Chi disrupting their storylines, while Li Xiaoxiao suggested ending filming and making a sequel.
• Zhang Guangmu's growing crowd of believers slowed his journey, and he realized the Fox Demon Offering Fragrance incident had been avoided, leaving the Thunderstorm Bodhi Temple incident ahead.
• Zhang Guangmu called for fog, and thick mist quickly filled the sky, convincing his followers that he was an immortal.
• Zhang Guangmu called for thunder, and lightning struck soon afterward, alarming Xu Qianqiu and astonishing the viewers.
• Zhang Guangmu called for rain, but none fell, so he claimed that studying Demonic Studies could teach people to understand the weather and cultivate like him.

Tang Lanshan arrived at Bodhi Temple after an auspicious divination and met Zhang Guangmu, sharing her plans to leave the marquis's residence and make a name for herself. Zhang Guangmu invited her to see a spectacle, and she found more than a hundred Night Demons gathering above the temple without attacking the crowd.

• Tang Lanshan forced her way into Bodhi Temple, where Zhang Guangmu welcomed her after she demonstrated her coin-based fortune-telling and combat skill.
• Tang Lanshan told Zhang Guangmu she despised the marquis's residence and intended to sever ties with it, while he explained his ambitions to reform the government departments and establish Demonic Studies.
• Tang Lanshan admitted she wanted to make her name resound throughout Great Qian, and Zhang Guangmu invited her to watch a good show.
• Tang Lanshan followed Zhang Guangmu outside and saw more than a hundred Night Demons hovering over the temple while the crowd watched without fear.

Tang Lanshan witnessed Zhang Guangmu destroy a swarm of Night Demons and became convinced that his demon-hunting knowledge and abilities surpassed her own. She chose to follow him toward the capital, while Zhang Guangmu continued testing the Town Evil Pendant’s new offensive and collection functions.

• Tang Lanshan realized Zhang Guangmu’s followers had learned valuable demon-hunting knowledge from him and his teachings in Demonic Studies.
• Tang Lanshan ignored the Control Group’s Script Hint to return to the capital and decided to follow Zhang Guangmu instead.
• Zhang Guangmu destroyed the Night Demons with blue-green flames, astonishing Tang Lanshan and strengthening her admiration for him.
• Tang Lanshan heard the believers recount Zhang Guangmu’s feats of summoning fog and thunder and resolved to serve him.
• Zhang Guangmu used the Town Evil Pendant to collect and release demons, expanding it from a defensive tool into an offensive one.

Zhang Guangmu used the Town Evil Pendant’s abilities to destroy a hundred Night Demons and then met Yang Chi, who had arrived with three hundred soldiers. After Tang Lanshan divined Yang Chi’s imperial destiny, Zhang Guangmu earnestly asked him to become his son, leaving Yang Chi stunned.

• Zhang Guangmu demonstrated how he could capture demon-tainted creatures, release demons, and make Night Demons unleash deadly Meat Grinding Lines.
• After the last Night Demon was eliminated, Zhang Guangmu invited Yang Chi out of the woods, where Yang Chi appeared with three hundred soldiers.
• Yang Chi praised Zhang Guangmu and hoped his recognition would legitimize his plans, but Zhang Guangmu told him he could call him his adoptive father.
• Tang Lanshan divined that Yang Chi had the destiny of a future emperor or a general who would claim the throne.
• Zhang Guangmu told Yang Chi that he resembled him and solemnly asked him to be his son, leaving Yang Chi speechless.

Zhang Guangmu persuaded Crown Prince Yang Chi to acknowledge him as his Immortal Father by promising to support his claim to the throne and teach him immortal arts. Yang Chi secretly planned to exploit and eventually kill Zhang Guangmu, while Zhang Guangmu saw through his intentions and used their new relationship as a pretext to intervene in the coming struggle for power.

• Yang Chi was stunned when Zhang Guangmu sincerely asked to take him as his godson, then grew tempted by the promise of learning immortal arts.
• Yang Chi struck eunuch Wei Siqi when he tried to interrupt, and Zhang Guangmu praised Yang Chi for treating those around him well.
• Zhang Guangmu offered to support the legitimacy of Yang Chi's succession, prompting Yang Chi to accept him as his Immortal Father.
• Yang Chi privately promised Zhang Guangmu the title of Imperial Advisor and planned to use his fame before eventually having him killed.
• Yang Chi ordered Tang Lanshan to keep their relationship secret, then left Bodhi Temple with his soldiers to publicize Demonic Studies in the capital.
• Tang Lanshan told Zhang Guangmu her divination had identified a hypocritical, arrogant person, and Zhang Guangmu confirmed he had seen through Yang Chi's hidden murderous intent.

Zhang Guangmu entered the capital and became a sensation by teaching Demonic Studies and demonstrating how he could slay demons. As he prepared for the Imperial Examination, Yang Chi greeted him as emperor, while a hostile black-robed youth approached.

• Zhang Guangmu and his followers entered the capital after he proved his identity and the city guards dropped their demand to search the group.
• The believers learned that Yang Chi had eliminated his eight brothers, forced his father to yield the throne, and become emperor.
• Zhang Guangmu drew crowds by lecturing on Demonic Studies and demonstrating his power against demons, earning gifts and offers of venues from the city's residents.
• Tang Lanshan's ominous fortunes continued, and she watched Zhang Guangmu's popularity make even ordinary objects he touched valuable.
• Yang Chi greeted Zhang Guangmu warmly but privately intended to kill him after using his knowledge, while expecting to become one of his ten disciples.
• Zhang Guangmu noticed a hostile young man in black robes, who rose and strode toward him.

Tang Kaixuan confronted Zhang Guangmu, demanding immortal flesh while using Tang Lanshan’s family ties to torment her. Tang Lanshan severed her own arm to renounce the Tang household, and Zhang Guangmu attacked Tang Kaixuan with blue flames.

• Tang Kaixuan approached Zhang Guangmu and demanded a piece of his flesh, claiming it would heal Marquis Tang.
• Tang Lanshan stepped in to defend Zhang Guangmu, but Tang Kaixuan used her birth and blood ties to accuse her of owing flesh to Marquis Tang’s Mansion.
• Tang Kaixuan demanded Zhang Guangmu’s right-arm flesh before the Imperial Examination.
• Tang Lanshan severed her own arm and declared that she had cut ties with Marquis Tang’s Mansion.
• Zhang Guangmu treated Tang Lanshan’s wound with blue flames as Tang Kaixuan demanded that she kill herself to clear her debt.
• Zhang Guangmu attacked Tang Kaixuan with an eruption of eerie blue flame, making him scream in pain.

Zhang Guangmu crippled Tang Kaixuan with Ghost Fire, and Tang Lanshan resolved to kill him, but Yang Chi intervened and let him escape. Zhang Guangmu reaffirmed that Tang Kaixuan would die while trying to steer events back toward the Imperial Examination, as Yang Chi secretly planned to eliminate him and his followers.

• Tang Kaixuan's right arm was burned away by Ghost Fire, and Zhang Guangmu asked Tang Lanshan whether she wanted him dead immediately or after the Imperial Examination.
• Tang Lanshan chose to kill Tang Kaixuan, but he laughed through his pain, threatened revenge, and fled into the crowd with guards from Marquis Tang's Mansion.
• Yang Chi blocked Zhang Guangmu from pursuing Tang Kaixuan and asked him to spare Marquis Tang's family until after the Imperial Examination.
• Zhang Guangmu told Tang Lanshan that Tang Kaixuan was doomed to die, then instructed his believers to preserve her severed arm in case Demonic Studies could help reattach it.
• Zhang Guangmu accepted Yang Chi's intervention as long as it did not disrupt the Imperial Examination, while Yang Chi privately resolved to kill Zhang Guangmu, Tang Lanshan, and their believers once his throne was secure.

Zhang Guangmu took the Imperial Examination, confident that he could follow the story’s main plot despite the production’s many disruptions. After completing and submitting his paper, he left the hall with his belongings and waited for the results, certain he would pass.

• Zhang Guangmu ignored Yang Chi’s killing intent and focused on finishing the Imperial Examination before dealing with his enemies.
• Yuwen Chengzai searched Zhang Guangmu, pledged to follow him, and helped him retrieve his Town Evil Pendant after the examination.
• Zhang Guangmu wrote his examination answers in striking calligraphy, drawing attention from viewers who praised his distinctive style.
• Zhang Guangmu checked his paper, submitted it early to the three examiners, and left the examination hall confidently.
• Zhang Guangmu retrieved his belongings with Yuwen Chengzai’s help and awaited the results, convinced he would pass.

Zhang Guangmu visited the injured Tang Lanshan after the Imperial Examination, and she warned him that his unconventional answers might displease the examiners. He learned the examiners copied all scripts anonymously, but his standing as the founder of Demonic Studies helped secure the result: he took first place, though Director Xu Qianqiu continued filming instead of calling cut.

• Zhang Guangmu went to the medical clinic and teased Tang Lanshan about her pain tolerance as she recovered from cutting off her arm.
• Tang Lanshan asked Zhang Guangmu about the examination, then criticized his answer style and warned that he had not considered the examiners' preferences.
• Zhang Guangmu insisted his prestige meant he could set the standard, but Tang Lanshan explained that examiners reviewed copied scripts, not his handwriting.
• Tang Lanshan realized that Demonic Studies was politically favored, easing Zhang Guangmu's worries about how his answers would be judged.
• Yuwen Chengzai announced that Zhang Guangmu had placed first in the Imperial Examination and become the top scholar.
• Director Xu Qianqiu kept filming after the main plot of The World Knows had essentially concluded, waiting for another major climax.

After earning a Usable Ability Point from the Immortal Slays Demons Diagram, Zhang Guangmu raised Imperial Body Forging Technique to level 6 and discovered his body and control over his power had greatly improved. When Zhao Yanqing’s soldiers ambushed his followers, Zhang Guangmu used Azure flames to burn their volley of arrows to ash.

• Zhang Guangmu received a Usable Ability Point after the Immortal Slays Demons Diagram appeared in The Book of Acting, depicting him as a Scholar in blue slaying demons outside Bodhi Temple.
• Zhang Guangmu spent the point on Imperial Body Forging Technique, raising it to level 6 and gaining the Sixty Year Foundation Establishment.
• Zhang Guangmu realized his strengthened body and precise control over his breathing could help him draw more power from the Town Evil Pendant.
• Zhao Yanqing led veteran soldiers from Marquis Tang’s Mansion in a surprise attack on Zhang Guangmu and his gathered believers, killing Yuwen Chengzai.
• Zhang Guangmu exhaled and unleashed Azure demonic flames, reducing the soldiers’ incoming arrows to ash.

Zhang Guangmu used the Town Evil Pendant’s powers to defeat Marquis Tang’s soldiers and take control of the street. He prepared to march on Marquis Tang’s Mansion, while Tang Lanshan stayed behind despite wanting to kill Tang Kaixuan herself.

• Zhang Guangmu’s azure flames destroyed the soldiers’ arrows, then his Meat Grinding Line killed the black-armored soldiers within twenty meters and broke the rest’s will to fight.
• Zhang Guangmu ordered the surviving soldiers to surrender, and Tang Lanshan and the believers echoed his command until the soldiers knelt and laid down their weapons.
• Zhao Yanqing surrendered and blamed Tang Kaixuan, but Zhang Guangmu killed him with Meat Grinding Line, saying he had already given him a chance.
• Zhang Guangmu told the believers to collect the soldiers’ armor and weapons so they could march to Marquis Tang’s Mansion and demand an explanation.
• Tang Lanshan asked to join the attack, but Zhang Guangmu refused and promised her a chance to kill Tang Kaixuan while assigning her a supporting role.

Zhang Guangmu led a rapidly growing procession to Marquis Tang’s Mansion, only to learn that Tang Kaixuan had already rebelled and entered the Imperial Palace. He marched there with thousands of followers and burned away the bodies blocking the gates, leaving six battalion commanders to enter the palace with him.

• Zhang Guangmu armed his followers with captured armor and weapons and led them toward Marquis Tang’s Mansion to settle his old scores.
• His followers spread accusations against Tang Kaixuan as curious citizens joined the march, swelling the procession to thousands.
• Zhang Guangmu organized the unruly crowd into squads, companies, and battalions, using their growing devotion to keep them moving together.
• Scouts reported that Marquis Tang had been poisoned and strangled, while Tang Kaixuan had taken his Death Warriors to the Imperial Palace to seize the throne.
• Zhang Guangmu rode toward the palace with the crowd, burned the corpses blocking its gates with azure demonic flame, and entered with six battalion commanders.

Tang Kaixuan killed Emperor Yang Chi in Panwan Hall and led his black-armored soldiers out to confront Zhang Guangmu’s forces. Zhang Guangmu faced Tang Kaixuan as the battle began, with both sides charging toward each other.

• Zhang Guangmu entered Renji Hall and saw that the court officials had been slaughtered, while his followers and the gathered commoners rallied behind him.
• Tang Kaixuan taunted the wounded Yang Chi, then ordered guards to restrain him and killed him with a sword thrust through the heart.
• Tang Kaixuan took Yang Chi’s head and left Panwan Hall, where his more than a thousand soldiers faced roughly six thousand followers of Zhang Guangmu.
• Tang Kaixuan challenged Zhang Guangmu, and Zhang Guangmu declared that Tang Kaixuan would die that day.
• Tang Kaixuan charged toward Zhang Guangmu at the head of his soldiers and ordered them to kill everyone.