Chapter Summaries

At the Thieves' Den, the thieves discussed why basic manuals were valuable and speculated about the mysterious organization behind the Trading Boards. The Sand Table then assigned them a theft in Jiangnan: they had to steal the Relying on Heaven Sword, which Shang Xin Lei identified as belonging to Liang Kingdom Chancellor Shang Xuanwen.

• Yaoshi Yuan complained that merchants had driven the price of basic manuals too high, while Shang Xin Lei revealed that she had bought one.
• Ying Ru Shi and Yaoshi Yuan explained that manuals were scarce, helped ordinary people become stronger, and attracted buyers seeking benefits beyond advancement as Heralds.
• Yaoshi Yuan and Ying Ru Shi speculated that the organization selling manuals could use the Trading Boards to influence markets and events across the Central Plains.
• The Sand Table announced a theft in Jiangnan, tasking the thieves with obtaining the Relying on Heaven Sword within a set time or losing thirty thousand spirit jades and access to the Thieves' Den.
• Shang Xin Lei identified the sword's owner as Shang Xuanwen, the current Liang Kingdom Chancellor and a Third Rank Herald.

After the thieves’ meeting, Yan Qing rejected Shang Xin Lei’s thanks and refused to reveal where Jiang Shi had gone, while Ying Ru Shi suspected that Red Snake and Yellow Dog knew each other’s secrets. With a mission approaching in Jiangnan City, Yan Qing created a powerful monk alternate account named Rat Monk to investigate.

• Yan Qing confirmed Jiang Shi was safe but refused to tell Shang Xin Lei where she had gone, then dismissed Shang Xin Lei’s thanks and shut the door on her.
• Ying Ru Shi inferred that Red Snake and Yellow Dog might know each other’s identities and considered what that connection meant for Yellow Dog’s hidden forces.
• Yan Qing decided to send an alternate account to investigate Jiangnan City before the next mission began.
• Yan Qing created a burly monk with advanced and secret talent options, spending game time to build the account for future growth.
• Yan Qing named the monk Rat Monk and started the game in Jiangnan Subordinate Newbie Village.

Yan Qing sent the disguised “Rat Monk” toward Jiangnan City, where he entered despite lacking an ordination certificate and learned that temples charged exorbitant prices for incense. The chapter left Yan Qing determined to find a more affordable temple so he could keep his promise to the old man.

• Yan Qing outfitted “Rat Monk” with a black-band ID and sent him toward Jiangnan City on an ox cart, while he ran dungeons as Jiang Shi.
• Before dropping “Rat Monk” off, the old man asked him to pray for the safety of his pregnant daughter-in-law and bless his family.
• Tax officials at a checkpoint demanded “Rat Monk’s” ordination certificate, so he fled and continued to Jiangnan County Town.
• The guards let “Rat Monk” enter Jiangnan City without asking for papers, and Yan Qing saw a red line that could lead to a milestone challenge.
• Yan Qing went to a temple to fulfill the old man’s request, but its monks demanded spirit jades for incense and threw “Rat Monk” out when he balked.
• Yan Qing resolved to search Jiangnan City for a temple that would let him offer incense without overcharging him.

Yan Qing, through Rat Monk, rescued An Cuihua from the Li Family’s servants and matrons, who were trying to take her back after her father sold her. As Rat Monk asked An Cuihua where she could go, an expressionless middle-aged man appeared and told him he had done it wrong.

• Yan Qing searched Jiangnan City’s temples for a place where he could offer incense earned through labor, refusing temples that demanded expensive offerings.
• Rat Monk encountered a crowd watching the Li Family’s people force An Cuihua into a cage and learned that her father had sold her for gambling money.
• Rat Monk threw aside the six matrons surrounding An Cuihua, reached level two, and prevented the Li Family’s servants from taking her that day.
• Rat Monk led An Cuihua away and asked whether she had relatives, a place to go, or work experience, while two servants watched them from a distance.
• An expressionless middle-aged man appeared behind Rat Monk and told him, “You did it wrong.”

Yan Qing tried to protect An Cuihua from being forced into Li Family, despite a stranger warning that his intervention would make her life worse. When the stranger was targeted by a deadly ambush, Yan Qing helped him escape, and they ended up trapped together in a passage filled with fire oil.

• A middle-aged man warned Yan Qing that saving An Cuihua had angered Li Family and could leave her worse off, while An Cuihua reluctantly agreed to return to them.
• Yan Qing resolved to find another way to help An Cuihua, and she told him the middle-aged man had sent away the two servants watching them.
• Six firemen and their accomplices ambushed the middle-aged man, but Yan Qing delayed one attacker long enough for the man to escape the encirclement.
• Yan Qing followed the middle-aged man into a sloped underground trap filled with fire oil, where they extinguished the torches thrown down after them.
• The middle-aged man promised to arrange An Cuihua's future and help Yan Qing offer incense if they survived, then gave Yan Qing a sword called Heavenly Sword.

Rat Monk helped Shang Xuanwen escape an underground trap, then learned the chancellor’s identity and accepted a three-year guard post in his household instead of being treated as a fugitive. Yan Qing wondered why Shang Xuanwen had shown Rat Monk such unusual regard as he entered the Shang residence.

• Rat Monk and Shang Xuanwen escaped the pit, and Shang Xuanwen ordered officials to investigate the assassins and the other possible traps.
• Shang Xuanwen reprimanded the Directorate of Celestial Observation official and sent his sons on separate errands before asking Rat Monk to return the Relying on Heaven Sword.
• Yan Qing found that the sword was locked as a mission item, returned it to Shang Xuanwen, and identified him as the Liang Kingdom’s chancellor.
• Shang Xuanwen pointed out that Rat Monk had a false identity and offered him three years of supervised service as a guard in the Shang household.
• Yan Qing entered the Shang residence and considered how Rat Monk could use his new position to act from within.

Yan Qing served as Shang Xuanwen’s guard and observed the tense Shang family banquet, learning how isolated the powerful official was even among his relatives. After dinner, Yan Qing followed servants carrying food to Water Moon Pavilion, curious about the prisoner Shang Xin Lei was entertaining.

• Shang Xuanwen returned home after the assassination attempt, dismissed his family’s demands for guards, and ordered Su Pei to treat Rat Monk as a guard.
• Su Pei explained Shang Xuanwen’s approach to appointing capable people, and Shang Xuanwen told Rat Monk he could earn an exemption from three years of service by proving himself.
• Shang Xuanwen admitted that officials and family members alike might want him dead or resent his power.
• At the family banquet, Shang Yue returned from offering incense, and Shang Xuanwen’s relatives ate in oppressive silence before leaving as soon as he dismissed them.
• Yan Qing went to the kitchen for food, then followed servants delivering meal boxes to Water Moon Pavilion after learning Shang Xin Lei was entertaining a friend imprisoned there.

Shang Xin Lei brought Qian Gongyu a lavish meal, gifts of martial manuals, and news of her Hidden Dragon Rankings placement while they joked together in Water Moon Pavilion. Qian Gongyu ended the chapter by asking whether Shang Xin Lei’s protection meant she would never be allowed to leave the Shang Family again.

• Shang Xin Lei carried dinner into Water Moon Pavilion herself and dismissed the servants, leaving her maid frightened by her cold demeanor.
• Shang Xin Lei and Qian Gongyu shared a meal, teased each other, and discussed Qian Gongyu’s recent reading and lack of exercise.
• Shang Xin Lei offered Qian Gongyu an Advanced Footwork manual and gave her a Basic Saber Technique mastery manual.
• Shang Xin Lei told Qian Gongyu she had reached thirtieth place on the Hidden Dragon Rankings and promised her a share of the treasure chests awarded for Wandering Star Forest.
• Qian Gongyu asked Shang Xin Lei whether she would ever be able to leave the Shang Family again.

Qian Gongyu learned she would remain in the Shang Family’s custody while the court pursued a murder case, and Shang Xin Lei explained to Rat Monk that her father had arranged the imprisonment to seize Qian Gongyu’s Legendary Relic and bind her to the Shang Family. Shang Xin Lei admitted she agreed the plan might protect and strengthen Qian Gongyu, but warned Rat Monk to leave before her father arranged his fate too.

• Qian Gongyu asked Shang Xin Lei how long she would be imprisoned, and Shang Xin Lei explained that the law treated her as an accomplice until Lin Yuan was caught, though the Shang Family could keep her in Water Moon Pavilion.
• Qian Gongyu thanked Shang Xin Lei for her help and said their friendship had made her feel safe, leaving Shang Xin Lei flustered as she hurried out.
• Shang Xin Lei confronted Rat Monk for eavesdropping, then told him Qian Gongyu had been framed so the Shang Family could take her Legendary speed boots.
• Shang Xin Lei revealed that her father had orchestrated Qian Gongyu’s imprisonment and Relic seizure, promising to return the Relic after a year if Qian Gongyu changed professions three times.
• Shang Xin Lei said she agreed the plan could protect Qian Gongyu and benefit the Shang Family, but warned Rat Monk that her father made decisions for others and advised him to leave.

Shang Xin Lei argued with Shang Qia about her place in the Shang Family and learned that he had surrendered his Secret Skill Book to buy her time before their father arranged her marriage. Shang Qia left after telling her that, despite her intentions, she was more like their father than her siblings were.

• Shang Qia urged Shang Xin Lei to show concern for their father and visit the other women in the household, but she refused.
• Shang Xin Lei explained that she would not risk taking Jiang Shi outside the Shang Family residence while Jiang Shi’s Token made her a target.
• Shang Xin Lei discovered that Shang Qia had given up his Secret Skill Book to delay their father from arranging her marriage, and she demanded that he tell their father about her work with the Thieves' Den.
• Shang Qia refused, saying he had made the sacrifice to keep her safe and help them live more freely.
• Shang Xin Lei warned that the Shang Family’s influence might be fading and said she trusted only Shang Qia to protect her interests.
• Shang Qia told Shang Xin Lei that her efforts to control their lives ignored what others wanted, then left her stunned by saying she was more like their father than they were.

Shang Xin Lei led Thieves' Den in planning how to reach Shang Xuanwen and steal the Relying on Heaven Sword, then proposed a far bolder scheme: rob the Imperial Secret Vault and seize the Liang Kingdom Emperor. The chapter ended with her challenging the others to join her plan to command the kingdom.

• Shang Xin Lei outlined invasion routes to the Shang Family residence, Shangshu Province, and the imperial palace, accounting for Shang Xuanwen’s uncertain location.
• Shang Xin Lei described Shang Xuanwen’s defensive, offensive, and concealment tokens, while Ying Ru Shi and Yaoshi Yuan suggested ways to counter them.
• Shang Xin Lei proposed exploiting their hour-long mission window to rob the Imperial Secret Vault beneath the palace square.
• Shang Xin Lei revealed that the Liang Kingdom Emperor was their ultimate leverage and urged Thieves' Den to seize him and command Liang Kingdom.

Yan Qing earned a hidden milestone for defeating Zheng Shan and used its Beginner Whetstone to craft improved Flame Mark weapons, which he put up for sale. Through Rat Monk, he debated Shang Xuanwen about ordinary people gaining power and the declining state of Liang, leaving the Chancellor warning that Yan Qing would have to keep his ambitions in check while he remained in office.

• Yan Qing earned the Initial Suppressor of Three Mountains milestone after killing Zheng Shan 50 times and received a Beginner Whetstone that made Zheng Shan deal extra fire damage and reduced Yan Qing's damage against him.
• Yan Qing used the Beginner Whetstone on White Iron Straight Blades, first producing a poor Flame Mark Straight Blade and then achieving a superior sharpening that increased its damage and durability.
• Yan Qing listed Flame Mark Straight Blades and manuals for sale or exchange in the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, drawing a crowd at Shangxiajiu Memorial Archway.
• Rat Monk argued with Shang Xuanwen that ordinary people needed hope and a path to become Messengers, while Shang Xuanwen defended the existing order and warned that upheaval could bring disaster.
• Shang Xuanwen explained that Liang was too weak and resource-poor for reform, and told Rat Monk that while he remained Chancellor, Yan Qing would have to keep his ambitions bottled up.

Yan Qing challenged Shang Xuanwen over his treatment of Qian Gongyu, then learned how Shang Xuanwen used the law to pressure powerful families and earned an invitation to Secret Realm training. At the Thieves' Den, Yan Qing stunned the group by saying he might be able to steal the Relying on Heaven Sword directly.

• Yan Qing confronted Shang Xuanwen about exploiting Qian Gongyu's case for the Shang family's benefit.
• Shang Xuanwen revealed that the Soul-Searching Bell let him hear the hidden meanings in people's words, and explained why he trusted Rat Monk.
• Shang Xuanwen showed Yan Qing that he had sent Yang Xia to find the missing Lin Yuan and already knew the Qun and Lin families were behind the scheme.
• Shang Xuanwen defended using the law to make powerful families pay for their crimes and said he would arrange for Yan Qing to train in the Secret Realm Military Garrison.
• At the Thieves' Den, Yan Qing told Shang Xin Lei, Yaoshi Yuan, and Ying Ru Shi that he might be able to steal the Relying on Heaven Sword directly.

As the thieves prepared to steal the Relying on Heaven Sword, Yan Qing used a newly opened shopping channel to buy manuals and token-maintenance supplies, spending heavily on an Advanced Footwork Manual. After practicing dual blades, he saw that Shang Xuanwen had gone to rest and prepared for the operation, which was due to begin in about two hours.

• Yan Qing learned that Shang Xuanwen had received no social invitations and heard him explain that conscientious officials were still trying to ingratiate themselves by doing their work well.
• Yan Qing and the other thieves finalized a plan to prioritize stealing the Relying on Heaven Sword, entering the Imperial Secret Vault only if circumstances allowed, and rejected Shang Xin Lei's proposal to kidnap the emperor.
• Yan Qing discovered that Gai Louxian had opened a captain's shopping channel to Jiang Shi and the others, and bought Swift Thunder Saber Technique Manuals, toolkits, Mithril Furnace Liquid, and an Advanced Footwork Manual.
• Yan Qing used a Hidden Sword Villa Toolkit to restore Bingzi Jiaolin's durability and reflected on how maintaining tokens could make players grow attached to them.
• Yan Qing practiced his Basic Dual Blades Technique, then noticed that Shang Xuanwen had gone to rest and prepared for the sword theft with about two hours remaining.

Yan Qing tried to steal the Relying on Heaven Sword while Shang Xuanwen slept, but an unexpected delivery interrupted the plan. Shang Xuanwen sent a secret reward to his daughter and revealed why he had become unable to trust even his own children.

• Yan Qing prepared to have Rat Monk steal the Relying on Heaven Sword, but a late-night bell woke Shang Xuanwen before the theft could begin.
• A soldier delivered the Wandering Star Forest reward list, and Yan Qing saw that Jie Yuanshao was named for the Third Rank Healing Token Jade.
• Shang Xuanwen wrote down rewards for Shang Xin Lei and Qian Gongyu, then ordered Rat Monk to deliver the paper and claim the items came from the secret realm.
• Yan Qing asked why Shang Xuanwen disguised his gift to his daughter, and Shang Xuanwen explained that he had once heard five-year-old Yue Er secretly wish his baby sister Xin Hao would die out of jealousy.

Yan Qing and the thieves lost their chance to steal the Relying on Heaven Sword when explosions drew Shang Xuanwen away, and they began their mission in Jiangnan amid chaos at the armory and Imperial Palace. With Shang Xuanwen heading toward the palace, Yaoshi Yuan proposed kidnapping the emperor to force him out, while Yan Qing wondered why Shang Xin Lei seemed unsurprised.

• Shang Xuanwen explained that he had put the Soul-Searching Bell back on to shield himself from others’ malicious intentions and had replaced paternal affection with education and confidence for his children.
• An explosion at the City Armory interrupted Yan Qing’s chance to steal the Relying on Heaven Sword, and Shang Xuanwen took soldiers to investigate.
• Rat Monk offered to guard Shang Xuanwen and asked to borrow the sword, but Shang Xuanwen said he would give him a Longsword Token after he changed class to messenger.
• At Thieves’ Den, the group learned the armory blast was suspected to be the work of the Taihu Rebel and worried that confronting the Liang army would put their mission and lives at risk.
• A second explosion struck the Imperial Palace just before the thieves teleported to Jiangnan City, and Shang Xuanwen turned toward the palace.
• Yaoshi Yuan proposed kidnapping the emperor to force Shang Xuanwen out, while Yan Qing noticed that Shang Xin Lei remained quiet and seemed unsurprised.

The thieves infiltrated the imperial palace to locate Shang Xuanwen, but an explosion at the Shang Family forced them to split into teams. Yan Qing followed Shang Xin Lei into the palace, leaving Ying Ru Shi to intercept Shang Xuanwen with Rat Monk nearby.

• Yaoshi Yuan threw the Serpent-Patterned Rope over the palace wall, and the four thieves climbed into the imperial grounds.
• The group debated whether to search Chengqian Hall or Wenyuan Pavilion first, then saw an explosion destroy part of the Shang Family grounds.
• Shang Xin Lei proposed going to Wenyuan Pavilion while Yaoshi Yuan and Ying Ru Shi headed for the Shang Family, and the thieves divided into teams.
• Yan Qing warned Ying Ru Shi that Rat Monk might be beside Shang Xuanwen and asked her not to waste his preparations.
• Yan Qing chose to follow Shang Xin Lei, while Ying Ru Shi misunderstood his warning as a promise to protect his informant.

Shang Xin Lei revealed that she planned to assassinate the emperor to trigger a general amnesty, hoping to resolve the conflict between her loyalty to Qian Gongyu and her duty to the Shang Family. After learning her true goal, Yan Qing faced her request to join the plan.

• Shang Xin Lei hid Fire Oil in the bedding storeroom and lit a fuse to draw palace servants away from the Imperial Secret Vault.
• Yan Qing confronted Shang Xin Lei, suspected she might sabotage the thieves' mission, and learned she had recognized Rat Monk.
• Shang Xin Lei explained that she had lured the thieves toward the palace so they could help steal the Relying on Heaven Sword, but denied seeking revenge on her father for Qian Gongyu.
• Yan Qing asked Shang Xin Lei to leave the palace with him, and she revealed that her real target was the emperor.
• Shang Xin Lei explained that the Shang Family was losing its political influence and that a new ruler's general amnesty could help both Qian Gongyu and her family.
• Shang Xin Lei relit the fuse and asked Yan Qing to help her assassinate the emperor.

Shang Xin Lei and Yan Qing infiltrated Chengqian Hall so she could assassinate the Emperor, hoping his death would resolve the conflict between Qian Gongyu and the Shang Family. Her surprise attack failed when a Foundation Establishment Herald emerged from the palace and overwhelmed them.

• Shang Xin Lei decided to kill the Emperor to protect both Qian Gongyu and the Shang Family, and Yan Qing agreed to follow her without helping with the assassination.
• Yan Qing and Shang Xin Lei used his knowledge of the palace to evade guards and reach the wall beside the Emperor’s chambers.
• Yan Qing subdued a palace maid without killing her while Shang Xin Lei prepared to strike the Emperor through the wall.
• An explosion elsewhere distracted the palace, and Shang Xin Lei kicked through the wall and attacked with her flying ring.
• A Foundation Establishment Herald blasted apart the wall, sent Shang Xin Lei flying into it, and left her and Yan Qing terrified.

Yan Qing and Shang Xin Lei fled after the palace matron’s attack and hid from a massive search, learning that Hermit Yu Li was pursuing them. They headed toward the Imperial Secret Vault, and Yan Qing helped the injured Shang Xin Lei cross the palace square as the chapter ended.

• Yan Qing rescued Shang Xin Lei from the palace and fled when the matron recognized that they were not ordinary assassins.
• Yan Qing and Shang Xin Lei hid in the Laundry Department, where Shang Xin Lei explained that Hermit Yu Li, a Foundation Establishment expert, would soon arrive.
• Shang Xin Lei proposed hiding in the Imperial Secret Vault, and they waited for a chance to cross the palace square.
• Yan Qing supported the injured Shang Xin Lei across the square after she told him to go ahead without her.