Chapter Summaries

Zhong Shan examined Ying Ning’s body and the crime scene but found no clues, while Marquis Qitian and others watched his investigation. After he vanished from the Ancient Saintly Capital for ten days, rumors about his past achievements spread and people began to reconsider whether Princess Qian You was guilty.

• Zhong Shan gave the Wind God Bow and Wind God Arrow to Blazing Fire, then went to Ying Ning’s Residence to investigate her death.
• Marquis Qitian objected, but Zhong Shan used the Sacred Sword’s authority to inspect Ying Ning’s body and learned that Marquis Qitian had straightened her expression after death.
• Fan Yipin accompanied Zhong Shan to the crime scene, where Zhong Shan found no clues and suspected that the murderer had meticulously erased every trace.
• Zhong Shan and Blazing Fire vanished from the Ancient Saintly Capital for ten days, prompting Marquis Qitian and Ma Zhuiyue to search for them and wonder whether they had fled with the treasures.
• Stories about Zhong Shan’s accomplishments and his decision to spend all his Military Merits investigating Ying Ning’s death spread through the capital, leading people to question Princess Qian You’s guilt.

Zhong Shan investigated Princess Qian You’s sister’s murder but found no evidence, leading him to suspect Marquis Qitian. Mister Shui Jing arrived with information about Qitian’s plans to win Qian You, and Zhong Shan realized those plans might connect to the murder charge against her.

• Zhong Shan told Princess Qian You that his investigations had cleared the suspicious individuals and that he suspected Marquis Qitian, though he had no proof.
• Zhong Shan explained that Ying Ning’s look of disbelief suggested her killer had been someone she trusted, and he suspected Qitian had altered her expression after her death.
• Mister Shui Jing visited Zhong Shan and Princess Qian You, praised Zhong Shan’s Heavenfall Plan, and said he had information that might help solve Ying Ning’s murder.
• Mister Shui Jing revealed that Marquis Qitian had once said he would use an upper strategy to attack Qian You’s heart, a middle strategy to attack her body, and a lower strategy to attack her crime.
• Zhong Shan connected Qitian’s strategies to his past attempts to court and coerce Qian You, and to the current murder charge that could strip her of her princess title.

Zhong Shan sought a way to prove Marquis Qitian had murdered Ying Ning, while Mister Shui Jing explained how Zhong Shan’s seasoned ruthlessness could overcome the lack of evidence. The chapter ended with Zhong Shan and Zhi Huo arriving at Heavenly Old’s fog-shrouded residence to ask about summoning Ying Ning’s soul.

• Zhong Shan told Mister Shui Jing that he suspected Marquis Qitian but had found no evidence, and he planned to ask Heavenly Old to summon Ying Ning’s soul.
• Mister Shui Jing told Princess Qian You that Zhong Shan’s seasoned ruthlessness gave him an advantage over Marquis Qitian and that he had likely used rumors to win public support for her.
• Mister Shui Jing explained that the people’s support could strengthen the Will of Heaven and help Princess Qian You overcome her relatives and the law.
• At King Da Xuan’s Residence, Fan Yipin predicted that Zhong Shan might defeat Marquis Qitian despite the missing evidence, and King Da Xuan arranged for him to attend the trial.
• Zhong Shan and Zhi Huo reached the dense fog outside Heavenly Old’s residence, where Zhi Huo recognized a feng shui Grand Formation.

Zhong Shan persuaded Heavenly Old to use his Derivative Realm to show Ying Ning’s simulated soul on Judgment Day, offering him the Purple Cotton Kasaya in return. As the day of the verdict arrived, Zhong Shan waited outside the Ancient Saintly Palace while the Emperor and court assembled, joined by two princes.

• Zhong Shan threatened to dismantle Heavenly Old’s formation until Heavenly Old admitted him to Heaven Vein Palace.
• Zhong Shan offered Heavenly Old the Purple Cotton Kasaya to investigate Princess Qian You’s innocence and asked him to derive Ying Ning’s soul for Judgment Day.
• Zhong Shan returned with Chi Huo and explained that he intended to give away the Purple Cotton Kasaya.
• Zhong Shan’s public defense of Princess Qian You gained momentum among the people and softened the court’s certainty that she was guilty.
• Gu Shentong appeared before the assembled ministers as Zhong Shan waited outside the Ancient Saintly Palace with the Sacred Sword beside Gu Taizong and Gu Zhantian.

Zhong Shan presented the case against Princess Qian You before Emperor Gu Shentong, challenging the evidence that she had killed Ying Ning. The court remained uncertain when Zhong Shan revealed that his witness was Ying Ning herself.

• King Taizong, King Zhan Tian, and Zhong Shan entered Ancient Saintly Palace, where Gu Shentong asked Zhong Shan to report his findings.
• The court heard the official account of Ying Ning’s death, and Marquis Qitian accused Princess Qian You of murder.
• Ma Zhuiyue and Princess Qian You used magic to project what they had seen in the courtyard, but Marquis Qitian dismissed Qian You’s account as a lie.
• Zhong Shan argued that Ma Zhuiyue had arrived after the killing and said someone had witnessed the entire crime.
• When Marquis Qitian demanded the witness, Zhong Shan revealed that it was Ying Ning.

Zhong Shan arranged for Heavenly Old to project Ying Ning's soul before the court, hoping she would reveal who killed her. Ying Ning vanished without speaking, but Marquis Qitian's fear and relief gave Zhong Shan an opening for his next attack.

• Zhong Shan told Marquis Qitian that Heavenly Old could let Ying Ning confront the court, and Gu Shentong permitted Heavenly Old to enter.
• Heavenly Old used a scroll and ritual to project Ying Ning's soul, explaining that she could see those present but could not be forced to speak.
• Ying Ning looked at Princess Qian You, Gu Shentong, King Da Xuan, the Gu Clan Relatives, and finally Marquis Qitian before vanishing without a word.
• Marquis Qitian sweated with fear during Ying Ning's gaze, then claimed he had been agitated and mourned that she had not identified the murderer.
• Heavenly Old said he could not project Ying Ning again for at least a year, and Zhong Shan recognized that Marquis Qitian's reaction had disrupted his composure.

Zhong Shan dismantled Marquis Qitian’s accusation against Princess Qian You and pressured him into revealing that he had killed Ying Ning. The chapter ended with Marquis Qitian realizing he had exposed himself before the Emperor and the court.

• Zhong Shan argued that Princess Qian You could not have brought the Wind God Bow and Arrow into Ying Ning’s residence, and ruled out Ma Zhuiyue’s gift package as their source.
• Zhong Shan accused Marquis Qitian of lending Ying Ning the bow, killing her with the arrow, and framing Princess Qian You to revive their former engagement.
• Marquis Qitian denied the accusation, but Zhong Shan unsettled him with rapid questions about his whereabouts and his claim that he had been drinking Eight Immortals Brew.
• Zhong Shan asked Marquis Qitian what he had been doing at noon the day before Ying Ning’s murder, and Marquis Qitian blurted out, “the day before I killed her.”
• Marquis Qitian froze as the court realized he had confessed, while Zhong Shan seized the Wind God Bow and Arrow.

Marquis Qitian confessed to killing Ying Ning and framing Princess Qian You, prompting Gu Shentong to strip him of his title and expel him from the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty. Zhong Shan was cleared and promoted, while Shen Qitian faced the approaching Sword Red.

• Ma Zhuiyue recalled that Marquis Qitian had warned her to watch Princess Manor, and Marquis Qitian attacked Zhong Shan in anger after his confession was exposed.
• Gu Shentong immobilized Marquis Qitian, revoked his title and Gu Lin name, ordered him to leave the dynasty, and destroyed his residence with a pillar of light.
• Yuan Fei found Shen Qitian outside the capital, while Sword Red emerged from her mountain cave and pursued him.
• Gu Shentong restored Zhong Shan's military merits, promoted him to Third-rank Duke of the East, and appointed him Vice Minister of Rites.

After receiving honors from Gu Shentong, Zhong Shan returned the Saint Sword and gave the Purple Cotton Kasaya to Heavenly Old, then took leave from court. He reunited with Princess Qian You and broke through to the Nascent Soul Stage, but his newly awakened talisman power sealed the entire hall before fading away.

• Gu Shentong appointed Zhong Shan Third-rank Duke of the East and Vice Minister of Rites, and Zhong Shan returned the Saint Sword and asked him to return the Wind God Bow and Wind God Arrow to Princess Qian You.
• Zhong Shan gave the Purple Cotton Kasaya to Heavenly Old and requested two to five years of leave, which Gu Shentong approved.
• Zhong Shan visited Princess Qian You, kissed her, and spent the night with her in Qian You Hall.
• Zhong Shan broke through to the Nascent Soul Stage and found that his Nascent Soul had formed a connection with the Black Jade Talisman.
• Zhong Shan accidentally released talismans that sealed everything in the hall, including Princess Qian You, and the talismans faded after an hour.

After reaching the Nascent Soul Stage, Zhong Shan received the Lightning Foundation Great Art from Princess Qian You and prepared to take her to meet his family. Meanwhile, he launched the Great Zheng Dynasty’s Imperial Dynasty Plan and tested his lightning abilities at sea, attracting Hao Meili’s attention.

• Zhong Shan discovered that the Black Jade Talisman had lost its power, while Princess Qian You explained that she had obtained the Lightning Foundation Great Art for him from The Emperor.
• Zhong Shan told Princess Qian You he would take her to Sky Wolf Island to meet his family after her injuries healed.
• Zhong Shan ordered Wei Taizhong to establish the Altar of Heaven, directed Yi Yan to begin the Imperial Dynasty Plan, and commanded Lin Xiao and Ying Lan to subdue the sects of Sky Wolf Island.
• Zhong Shan announced that the Great Zheng Dynasty would hold an Imperial Examination every three years.
• Zhong Shan used the Lightning Foundation Great Art and Heavenly Law: Wave Cutting to unleash a storm and split the sea, while Princess Qian You watched.
• Hao Meili learned that Zhong Shan was thirty thousand li south of her underwater residence and set out with Xiao Jin to find him.

Zhong Shan and Princess Qian You traveled toward Great Zheng with Hao Meili, who insisted on accompanying them because Zhong Shan owed her a favor. On Sky Wolf Island, Liu Dao returned with a pact with the Black Tortoise Clan, while Ying Lan uncovered a connection between her captive and the Yin Moon Imperial Dynasty and ordered him killed.

• Zhong Shan explained that Qian You needed to respect Bao Er as the first wife, and Qian You agreed to treat her as an elder sister.
• Hao Meili confronted Zhong Shan over the fish he had killed in the East Sea, then insisted on visiting his home; Zhong Shan let her come because he owed her a favor.
• Liu Dao returned to Jinling City with the strange tortoise Xiao Wu and revealed that he had secured a contract with the Black Tortoise Clan.
• Liu Dao told his generals that advancing the Yin Moon Imperial Dynasty required a Heavenly Dynasty Jade Seal, then endured an uneasy visit from the Great Empress.
• Ying Lan interrogated a captive who claimed ties to Golden Light Arhat and the Yin Moon Imperial Dynasty, sent a commander to report to Zhong Shan, and ordered the captive executed.

Yi Yan briefed Zhong Shan on the Yin Moon Imperial Dynasty’s hidden forces and its ties to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Zhong Shan returned to Xuan Capital with Princess Qian You and Hao Meili, where Bao Er welcomed Qian You and Hao Meili accused Zhong Shan of being a womanizer.

• Yi Yan identified Corpse Mister, the Yin Moon Imperial Dynasty’s Great Empress, and the Great Enlightenment Temple as its three secret forces.
• A messenger reported that Golden Light Arhat served Liu Dao and had trained 108 late-stage Golden Core experts in the Arhat Battle Array.
• Yi Yan explained the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss’s influence over dynasties and its past attempt to poison him.
• Zhong Shan arrived in Xuan Capital with Princess Qian You and Hao Meili, astonishing the court officials who had seen his other body in Eternal Life Hall.
• Qian You greeted Bao Er as her big sister, and Bao Er led her to the rear palace.
• Hao Meili called Zhong Shan a big turnip after learning Bao Er was his wife.

Zhong Shan ordered Great Zheng’s forces to enter the Northern Battlefield as the Yin Moon Imperial Dynasty pressed its attack and the puppet Great Ming Dynasty changed strategy. The chapter ended with Lin Xiao and Wei Yinglan’s armies arriving, marking the start of the great battle.

• Hao Meili reunited with Zhong Shan, and Ying Lan revealed that she had painted a detailed portrait of him.
• Zhong Shan ordered Yi Yan to gather Great Ming’s troops and directed Ying Lan and Lin Xiao to prepare their armies to set out in ten days.
• Liu Dao learned that Great Zheng had cleared out Sky Wolf Island’s sects and eliminated his spies, then ordered his forces to accelerate their conquest.
• Yi Yan led Great Ming to attack its former allies, winning battle after battle as the Yin Moon Imperial Dynasty also seized territory.
• Yi Yan ordered Iron Blood to capture the undefended imperial city of the Great Yan Dynasty, while Lin Xiao and Wei Yinglan’s armies arrived on the battlefield.

The Yin Moon Imperial Dynasty recognized the Great Zheng Dynasty as its main threat and ordered its three legions to destroy Wei Yinglan’s army. Zhong Shan led an expedition into the Northern Battlefield, ordered his forces to converge on Jinling City, and refused Hao Meili’s offer to help.

• Du Xiu warned Liu Dao that the Great Zheng Dynasty’s armies were advancing rapidly, and Liu Dao learned that the Great Ming Dynasty had submitted to Great Zheng.
• Liu Dao ordered the First, Second, and Third Legions to stop taking cities and focus on annihilating Great Zheng’s forces, then later commanded them to attack Wei Yinglan’s army at any cost.
• Zhong Shan departed Xuan Capital aboard the Bronze Battle Island with Xianxian, Bao Er, Qian You, Hao Meili, and his guards, entering the Northern Battlefield.
• Zhong Shan learned that Yi Yan and Lin Xiao had destroyed the three great dynasties and ordered their armies to join Ying Lan’s forces and march on Jinling City.
• Hao Meili offered to talk the Yin Moon Imperial Dynasty into defeat, but Zhong Shan declined her help.

Zhong Shan oversaw Ying Lan’s capture of the Yin Moon Imperial Dynasty’s Third Legion and sent its commander back with a warning for Liu Dao. As the Great Zheng army advanced, Golden Light Arhat’s Arhat Battle Array trapped them in a world of maple leaves, but Zhong Shan broke through it and exposed the monk at its center.

• Ying Lan’s threat prompted the trapped Third Legion to surrender, and Zhong Shan praised her for defeating it.
• Zhong Shan freed the legion commander and ordered him to tell Liu Dao that he would collect an old debt in Jinling City.
• The Third Legion Commander reported the defeat to Liu Dao, who planned to use Golden Light Arhat’s Arhat Battle Array against Great Zheng.
• Fifteen days later, the Arhat Battle Array surrounded Zhong Shan’s army with falling maple leaves as it advanced through a forest.
• Zhong Shan used thunderfire to locate the formation’s eye and reveal the bald monk hiding inside the array.

Zhong Shan’s forces killed Golden Light Arhat and gathered five million soldiers near Jinling City, while Corpse Mister volunteered to hold them back alone. The chapter ended as Corpse Mister raised an ancient battlefield’s dead against Great Zheng’s army.

• Dark Emperor assassinated Golden Light Arhat, allowing Ying Lan’s army to break the monks’ formation and Zhong Shan to absorb the Arhat’s Primordial Spirit.
• Liu Dao’s ministers discussed Great Zheng’s advance, and Corpse Mister volunteered to delay it for one month without any troops.
• Corpse Mister left Liu Dao’s residence, reflecting that he had repaid Liu Dao’s kindness and might join Great Zheng if Zhong Shan survived.
• Lin Xiao’s and Yi Yan’s armies joined Zhong Shan, bringing Great Zheng’s force near Jinling City to five million soldiers.
• Corpse Mister released black smoke into an ancient battlefield, causing skeletal hands and a terrifying skeleton to emerge from the ground.

Corpse Mister raised an enormous skeleton army, and Ying Lan answered with the Eight Gates Golden Lock Array, whose sandstorm swallowed him and his twenty zombies. Zhong Shan entered the array’s Death Gate to confront Corpse Mister, with Ying Lan’s projection appearing beside him.

• Skeletons crawled from the earth and formed an army around Corpse Mister, while Zhong Shan warned that zombies likely protected him underground.
• Zhong Shan ordered Ying Lan to deploy the Eight Gates Golden Lock Array, and she used its sandstorm to attack the skeletons and surround Corpse Mister.
• Corpse Mister used ultrasonic commands to organize the skeletons into formations, while twenty zombies rose to shield him from the sand tide.
• After the sandstorm swallowed Corpse Mister, Zhong Shan told Ying Lan to open the Death Gate and flew inside to meet him.
• Zhong Shan found Corpse Mister guarded by twenty high-level zombies in the array’s dark inner world, and Ying Lan’s projection appeared beside him.

Zhong Shan defeated Corpse Mister in his own domain with the Black Jade Talisman and persuaded him to join the Great Zheng Dynasty. Corpse Mister agreed to serve as the Fourth Army Corps Commander, while Zhong Shan promised to delay his attack on Jinling City for a month.

• Corpse Mister used a bell to seize control of many zombies in Ying Lan’s array and summoned more from underground.
• Zhong Shan challenged Corpse Mister to a contest in his domain, then used the Black Jade Talisman to immobilize the zombies, skeletons, and surrounding terrain.
• Corpse Mister protected himself with the Blood-Dropping Heart but surrendered when Zhong Shan’s talismans overwhelmed his shield.
• Corpse Mister joined the Great Zheng Dynasty, kept his name secret, and asked Zhong Shan to wait a month before attacking Jinling City; Zhong Shan agreed.
• After the seal wore off, Corpse Mister dismissed the remaining zombies and skeletons, and Zhong Shan appointed him Fourth Army Corps Commander upon their return to Bronze Battle Island.

Zhong Shan led the Great Zheng Dynasty’s army toward Jinling City for a decisive battle against Liu Dao’s Yin Moon Imperial Dynasty. The opposing forces faced off beneath the city walls, where the unexpected appearance of Black Tortoise Generals revealed Liu Dao’s reinforcements.

• Zhong Shan appointed Corpse Mister commander of the Fourth Army Corps and ordered the army to rest for a month before taking Jinling City.
• Liu Dao learned of Corpse Mister’s appointment, ordered Qi Ye to prepare for the coming battle, and urged him to build a good relationship with Xiao Wu.
• One month later, Zhong Shan led five million soldiers to Jinling City, where Princess Qian You identified Xuan Yan, an Emperor Realm expert of the Black Tortoise Clan, beside Qi Ye.
• Nearly a hundred enormous Black Tortoises appeared outside Jinling City, and Zhong Shan and Liu Dao faced each other as their armies prepared for battle.

Zhong Shan’s army was stopped when the Great Empress cursed Ying Lan and shattered the Eight Gates Golden Lock Array, forcing Zhong Shan to seek Hao Meili’s help to save her. He then flew away to face Liu Dao in a duel, taking a Berserk Pill and charging at him with newly amplified strength.

• Ying Lan’s Eight Gates Golden Lock Array clashed with the ground spikes, but the Great Empress used Ying Lan’s birth characters to break the formation and curse her.
• Iron Blood rescued Ying Lan as the ground spikes slaughtered many of the fleeing soldiers, and Yi Yan explained that the curse required a more powerful practitioner of the Curse Technique to undo.
• Zhong Shan asked Hao Meili to help Ying Lan, then accepted Liu Dao’s challenge to settle their rivalry in battle.
• Zhong Shan and Liu Dao flew to a barren Stone Forest, where Zhong Shan took a Berserk Pill and advanced the Heavenly Devil Body Tempering Great Technique to its fifth layer.
• Zhong Shan’s body and strength surged, and he charged Liu Dao with a powerful punch.