Chapter Summaries

Marquis Qitian staged a spectacular flower-filled welcome for Princess Qian You, but she rejected his courtship and left with Zhong Shan. Back at her residence, Qian You asked Zhong Shan to create an even grander spectacle for her in the Ancient Saintly Capital, and he agreed despite the city’s ban on large-scale magic.

• Marquis Qitian used countless petals to form a flower bridge and presented Princess Qian You with a Purple Heart Heavenly Orchid.
• Princess Qian You declined Marquis Qitian’s invitation, explaining that her aversion to flowers made the display difficult to bear.
• Marquis Qitian watched Princess Qian You depart with Zhong Shan and suspected that Zhong Shan was the reason she had rejected him.
• At Secluded Orchid Hall, Princess Qian You told Zhong Shan that she had liked Marquis Qitian’s flower display and asked him to make it up to her.
• Zhong Shan promised to create a grand visual spectacle for Princess Qian You within ten days, saying the world held more than just magic.

Marquis Qitian gave Mister Shui Jing permission to attend Princess Qian You’s banquet and sent Zhong Shan a challenge concerning the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty’s Imperial Examination. Meanwhile, Zhong Shan arranged a major project through Gathering of Mortals Abode, then gathered with Princess Qian You, Mister Shui Jing, and the Ninth Consort as his promised spectacle awaited its start.

• Marquis Qitian praised Zhong Shan’s influence over Qian You and told Mister Shui Jing to warn Zhong Shan that he must place in the Imperial Examination’s top three or kowtow to him.
• At Gathering of Mortals Abode, Zhong Shan praised Zhong Zheng’s work establishing the Great Rong Merchant Guild’s branch and gave him an urgent assignment to finish in nine days.
• Zhong Shan had Princess Qian You provide Zhong Zheng with nearly ten thousand cultivators to carry out the assignment and promote Gathering of Mortals Abode.
• At Qian You’s Residence nine days later, Zhong Shan and Princess Qian You waited to reveal the spectacle he had promised, while Mister Shui Jing arrived dressed as a refined gentleman.
• The Ninth Consort arrived and greeted Princess Qian You warmly; Mister Shui Jing showed his feelings for her, and the Ninth Consort learned that Zhong Shan was Qian You’s teacher.

Zhong Shan staged a grand lantern and fireworks display across the Ancient Saintly Capital to celebrate Princess Qian You, astonishing the city and leaving merchants eager to buy the new spectacle.

• Zhong Shan gave Princess Qian You a Kongming Lantern bearing a blessing in her name and taught her to release it.
• Zhong Shan had Mister Shui Jing help the Princess Consort release a lantern while A Da and A Er released another.
• Zhong Zheng’s cultivators sent countless Kongming Lanterns across the Ancient Saintly Capital, drawing attention from its residents and law-enforcement teams.
• Zhong Shan’s fireworks formed running giant feet, flowers, and butterflies that gathered around a Purple Heart Heavenly Orchid near Princess Qian You’s Residence.
• After the two-hour display ended, spectators sought out the fireworks makers, and Zhong Zheng’s hired sellers waited at the Gathering of Mortals Abode to take orders.

After a fireworks celebration, Zhong Shan and Mister Shui Jing agreed to take the Imperial Examination. As the examination approached, Princess Qian You learned that the Great Yu and Great Radiance Emperor Dynasties had joined the Great Xun Emperor Dynasty in attacking the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty, and Zhong Shan remained determined to sit the exam.

• Princess Qian You and the Princess Consort praised Zhong Shan’s fireworks, and the Princess Consort urged him to build a career beyond serving as Qian You’s guard.
• At the Princess Consort’s suggestion, Mister Shui Jing agreed to take the Imperial Examination alongside Zhong Shan.
• A Er reported that the Great Yu, Great Radiance, and Great Xun Emperor Dynasties had destroyed the Great Yan and Great Lu Imperial Dynasties, prompting Qian You to conclude they would attack the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty.
• Twenty days later, A Er reported that the war had begun, Matchless City was struggling to hold out, and its lord Shui Tianya had died in battle.
• Zhong Shan reasoned that King Da Xuan was waiting for the Imperial Examination to end before taking charge of the southern front, while Qian You worried about Zhong Shan’s plans.
• Zhong Shan reassured Qian You that he would take the examination and remain connected to her residence regardless of his result.

Zhong Shan entered the Imperial Examination’s first-class martial challenge and defeated three equal-cultivation opponents with a single display of lightning. As he and his companions watched other candidates, Mister Shui Jing hinted that Zhong Shan possessed an invisible advantage that could keep him undefeated, but Zhong Shan refused to reveal it.

• Zhong Shan challenged the first class and defeated three Golden Core Stage opponents in one move, earning a jade token.
• Zhong Shan congratulated Mister Shui Jing, who had also defeated three opponents and planned to compete for a first-class place through his literary talent.
• Princess Qian You questioned Mister Shui Jing about his devotion to her senior sister, and he avoided explaining his feelings.
• The group watched Marquis Qitian, Gu Lin, dominate three Nascent Soul Stage opponents, and Mister Shui Jing praised his strength and concealed qualities.
• Mister Shui Jing told Zhong Shan that his greatest advantage was neither cultivation nor wisdom and could keep him undefeated, while Zhong Shan refused to admit what it was.

The Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty’s Civil Examination began at Wen Yuan Pavilion with the topic “War,” set by The Emperor. As the examinees wrote, Marquis Qitian’s essay summoned a golden dragon, and Golden Cicada’s produced a vast landscape, leaving Zhong Shan still working on his own submission.

• Zhong Shan and Princess Qian You arrived after Golden Cicada had won the martial contest and saw the Great Might Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva escorting him away.
• Five days later, King Da Xuan arrived at Wen Yuan Pavilion and announced that the Civil Examination topic was “War.”
• Zhong Shan studied the laws of heaven and earth before slowly writing his prepared ci poem on White Jade Paper.
• Marquis Qitian finished his essay, which formed a golden dragon phantom and shone with golden light.
• Golden Cicada completed his essay, producing a vast phantom painting of mountains, rivers, birds, and beasts.

Mister Shui Jing’s essay drew the Great Confucian Aura from the sages’ statues, making him seem certain to win the Imperial Examination. Zhong Shan then completed Man Jiang Hong, and heaven answered with a storm of thunder aimed at destroying his essay, leaving the examinees in danger.

• Mister Shui Jing finished his essay, and the statues of past scholars sent their Great Confucian Aura into it.
• Marquis Qitian and Golden Cicada marveled at Mister Shui Jing’s achievement as the examinees gave up hope of competing for the top positions.
• Zhong Shan completed Man Jiang Hong, and his paper blazed with red light.
• Dark clouds gathered above Zhong Shan’s floating island, and the examinees realized that heaven seemed to be rejecting his essay.
• A massive bolt of Purple Lightning struck toward Zhong Shan’s essay as thunder and rain spread across the examination grounds.

During the Civil Examination, Zhong Shan’s essay provoked heavenly punishment, but King Da Xuan shattered the lightning and thunderclouds with a single palm. After time was called, four essays shone with distinct colors, and King Da Xuan inspected the examinees before announcing an Imperial Decree.

• Heavenly lightning descended on Wen Yuan Pavilion, sending frightened examinees fleeing while Zhong Shan stood calmly beneath the storm.
• King Da Xuan stopped the wind and shattered the heavenly lightning and thunderclouds with a single Golden Palm.
• King Da Xuan announced that the examination time was up, and the examinees stopped writing.
• Marquis Qitian’s essay glowed golden, Mister Shui Jing’s shone White, Golden Cicada’s shone Azure, and Zhong Shan’s glowed red.
• King Da Xuan inspected every examinee, then declared, “Imperial Decree.”

King Da Xuan ordered the selected Imperial Examination candidates to join the war against the Great Yu Emperor Dynasty and the Great Radiance Emperor Dynasty. Zhong Shan prepared to leave for the southern front with A Da, and the chapter ended as a colossal golden Divine Boat arrived at Wen Yuan Pavilion.

• King Da Xuan read an Imperial Decree appointing himself Grand Commandant Zhennan and ordering the candidates to campaign against the two dynasties.
• Zhong Shan told Princess Qian You he expected to be selected, and she assigned A Da to protect him while she remained in the Ancient Saintly Capital.
• Zhong Shan collected one hundred Butterfly Firecrackers from Zhong Zheng and searched the city for other unusual items.
• King Da Xuan's examiners selected four hundred candidates, with Zhong Shan ranked first, Shui Jing second, and Marquis Qitian third.
• King Da Xuan led the selected candidates toward the southern front, and an enormous golden Divine Boat flew toward Wen Yuan Pavilion.

Zhong Shan traveled to Great Xuan City and was appointed commander of the Great Xuan Army First Battalion, tasked with reclaiming Matchless City. As both he and Marquis Qitian took charge of their battalions, Marquis Qitian summoned a giant ape and rallied his troops for battle.

• King Da Xuan’s Divine Boat carried Zhong Shan and the other examinees south to Great Xuan City, where he summoned the chosen people to Xuan Hall.
• King Da Xuan appointed Zhong Shan to command the First Battalion’s two hundred thousand soldiers and ordered him to reclaim Matchless City.
• Zhong Shan and Marquis Qitian arrived at the army valley and gathered the First and Second Battalions for inspection.
• Marquis Qitian summoned a sixty-meter-tall giant ape, mounted its shoulder, and rallied the Second Battalion to follow him into battle.

Zhong Shan took command of the Great Xuan Army First Battalion, executed Li Feng for deserting camp, and established his authority with a display of his new saber technique. He set clear military rewards and punishments, then ordered the army to depart the next morning.

• Zhong Shan learned that Li Feng and four soldiers were absent from camp, and ordered Zhao Chuan to bring them back.
• Li Feng boasted of his ties to the Fourth Princess Consort and mocked Zhong Shan, claiming he was only at the Golden Core Stage.
• Zhong Shan used Heavenly Laws! Tear Wind to kill Li Feng with one strike and cleave a nearby mountain in two.
• Zhong Shan ordered Zhao Chuan to execute Li Feng’s four subordinates and distribute Li Feng’s former soldiers among other units.
• Zhong Shan promised promotions for killing five enemies and demotions for soldiers who killed none, then ordered the battalion to rest and depart in the morning.

Zhong Shan gathered intelligence on Matchless City and met Shui Wuhen, who asked him to recover his father’s remains. After learning about the city’s fall and the scattered survivors, Zhong Shan prepared to rally the remnants and local civilians before planning an attack.

• Zhong Shan questioned Shui Wuhen about Matchless City and learned that Great Yu had taken it with four million troops after a spy helped open the gates.
• Shui Wuhen told Zhong Shan that Wu An now commanded Matchless City, which held 1.5 million troops, and asked him to retrieve his father’s remains.
• Shui Wuhen revealed that one group of fleeing remnants had 100,000 people, including about 30,000 able fighters, and that Wu An was hunting the survivors.
• Zhong Shan learned that millions of civilians had fled or hidden near Matchless City, while about two million had accepted Great Yu’s rule for material gain.
• Zhong Shan ordered Zhao Chuan to prepare the army and set out with Shui Wuhen to gather the remnants, confident he could rally the civilians as well.

Zhong Shan rallied Matchless City’s defeated remnants, appointed Shui Wuhen their commander, and prepared to reclaim the city. When General Wu An advanced with five hundred thousand troops, Zhong Shan faced him directly, leaving the battle about to begin.

• Zhong Shan praised the hundred thousand remnants, promised rewards and revenge, and appointed Shui Wuhen as their commander.
• Zhong Shan ordered Shui Wuhen to find the other remnants and gather intelligence, then questioned Zhao Chuan about the banners being made.
• Wu An learned that Matchless City’s remnants and former residents remained nearby and ordered his five hundred thousand troops to destroy the forces around the city.
• A scout warned Zhong Shan that Wu An’s army would arrive within two hours, and Zhong Shan reassured Shui Wuhen that he had prepared for it.
• Zhong Shan and A Da confronted Wu An as his army approached, and Wu An halted his troops to speak with Zhong Shan.

Zhong Shan used a flag-and-arrow ambush to drive Wu An’s much larger army into retreat, then moved his forces before Wu An realized the deception. He gathered additional troops, appointed Shui Wuhen to command them, and began preparing a new plan to attack Matchless City by sending invitations to local leaders.

• Wu An advanced toward Zhong Shan, but Zhong Shan’s hidden forces revealed a million flags, prompting Wu An to retreat after his army took heavy losses.
• Zhong Shan halted his pursuing troops and withdrew, while Wu An later wrongly concluded that Zhong Shan had only two hundred thousand soldiers.
• Zhong Shan learned that the Great Yu Emperor Dynasty was gathering its dead and remarked that Wu An was slow to understand the ambush.
• Zhong Shan named Shui Wuhen commander of three hundred and fifty thousand recovering troops, bringing his forces to four hundred and fifty thousand.
• Zhong Shan gave Zhao Chuan four hundred invitation letters and ordered him to deliver them directly to leaders of nearby sects, groups, and lineages.

Wu An gave up searching for Zhong Shan and ordered Matchless City’s gates sealed. Zhong Shan gathered local leaders and offered them rewards and permission to loot the city, intending to use their greed to force the gates open while preserving the government offices and military camps.

• Wu An dismissed the search for Zhong Shan and ordered all four gates of Matchless City shut.
• Zhong Shan and A Da arrived at a meeting with hundreds of sect and Household leaders outside Matchless City.
• Zhong Shan offered rewards for killing or capturing Great Yu soldiers and promised two days of looting, provided participants did not kill civilians or violate women.
• The leaders accepted Zhong Shan’s terms, giving him the prospect of nearly four million greedy fighters.
• Zhong Shan told A Da that he planned to use their greed to drive them into Matchless City and open its gates.

Zhong Shan brought 200,000 troops north of Matchless City and invited Wu An to a meeting on a floating island, drawing the city’s defenders toward the north. Meanwhile, Shui Wuhen’s forces waited in ambush south of the city for Zhong Shan’s signal.

• Zhong Shan positioned the Great Xuan Army First Battalion outside Matchless City and sent Wu An a letter proposing a private meeting on a floating island.
• Wu An read Zhong Shan’s letter, ordered 60,000 troops to guard the northern wall, and flew toward the island with caution.
• Zhong Shan and A Da flew to the floating island while Wu An’s forces watched the army outside the city.
• Shui Wuhen kept 15,000 elite troops hidden in a valley south of Matchless City and told his impatient allies to wait for Zhong Shan’s signal.

Zhong Shan stalled Wu An on a Floating Island while Shui Wuhen launched a surprise assault on Matchless City's South Gate using millions of commoners. The Great Yu defenders began sending troops to reinforce the south, while the commander-in-chief remained unaware of the attack as he negotiated with Zhong Shan.

• Zhong Shan met Wu An on the Floating Island and used its flag array to block sound and divine sense while Wu An invited him to join the Great Yu Emperor Dynasty.
• Wu An told Zhong Shan that the Great Deer King had become a Grand Commandant alongside Iron Blood, and Zhong Shan continued to stall him by bringing up his debt to the princess.
• After receiving Zhong Shan's signal, Shui Wuhen ordered his forces to attack Matchless City's South Gate and open its gates.
• Mo Baili's defenders discovered that nearly four million commoners had emerged from tunnels and were storming the South City Tower.
• The attackers broke through the defenders' arrow fire and entered the city in growing numbers, charging toward the gates as the First and Second Battalions fought to stop them.
• Generals at the East and North Gates initially dismissed reports of the attack, but the North Gate commander recognized Zhong Shan's stratagem and sent two hundred thousand troops to reinforce the south.

Zhong Shan’s trap brought down the Great Yu Army and secured Matchless City. Wu An fled with the remnants of his forces, while Zhong Shan withdrew his troops to stabilize the captured city.

• Zhao Chuan’s soldiers killed a messenger with Armor Piercing Arrows and advanced as the Great Xuan generals struggled to respond.
• After civilians breached Matchless City’s South Gate, Shui Wuhen led troops inside to scatter the Great Yu formations, and the East and West Gates fell as well.
• Zhong Shan finished negotiating with Wu An just as arrows from Matchless City destroyed the floating island’s defenses, revealing that the battle had turned against Wu An.
• Wu An ordered a retreat after seeing the city overrun, and he cursed Zhong Shan as he fled with two hundred thousand battered troops.
• Zhong Shan recalled his pursuing soldiers and entered Matchless City, choosing to secure the city rather than chase the retreating enemy.

Zhong Shan secured Matchless City with a stunning victory, then prepared to seek a wolf mount after learning about beast contracts. An imperial edict later announced that Zhong Shan had also placed first in the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty’s Imperial Examination, astonishing the people of Matchless City.

• Zhong Shan honored his promise to let the civilians plunder the six hundred thousand prisoners, ordered the city’s traitors punished, and directed that the fallen soldiers receive full honors and a Martyr's Memorial.
• King Da Xuan heard the report of Zhong Shan’s victory and ordered the soldier to recount it before The Emperor in the Ancient Saintly Capital.
• A month later, A Da explained how people summoned or contracted demon-beast races, and Zhong Shan decided to seek a wolf mount near Yuheng Sect.
• Zhong Shan left Matchless City with A Da and entrusted the city to Shui Wuhen.
• An imperial edict announced Zhong Shan as the Imperial Examination’s Top Scholar, with Shui Jing second, Marquis Qitian third, and Golden Cicada first in the second rank.

Zhong Shan and A Da reached the Yuheng Sect and found the Blazing Fire Wolf General’s forces facing the Great Deer King’s army over a mysterious source of spiritual energy. As the two leaders battled above the clouds, Wu An tried to seize Liu Wushuang and the young wolf, but A Da’s intervention stopped him.

• A Da sensed that the spiritual energy near the Yuheng Sect was becoming unusually dense and unstable, so Zhong Shan urged him to hurry there.
• Zhong Shan saw the Blazing Fire Wolf General and the Great Deer King confronting each other with their forces, and recognized Liu Wushuang atop the grown young wolf.
• The Great Deer King proposed joining forces to search for the source of the disturbance, but the Blazing Fire Wolf General refused to cooperate with the Great Yu Emperor Dynasty and demanded Nalan Piaoxue’s head.
• The Great Deer King and the Blazing Fire Wolf General exchanged powerful attacks, then flew into the clouds to fight while their armies remained below.
• Wu An provoked Liu Wushuang by revealing that he had scarred the young wolf, then charged into the pack to capture it and use it against the Blazing Fire Wolf General.
• A Da struck Wu An and sent him flying out of the wolves’ territory as the pack filled the sky with fireballs.