Chapter Summaries

Le Yu used a classroom racing game to teach that unequal starting lines reflected real injustice, then linked the Silver Blood Society’s rule to hereditary privilege in Radiance. He left the students considering the Huiyao Imperial Family’s permanent hold on the nation’s highest position.

• Ming Shuangli led the class in applauding Le Yu, while Qin Yueshi stayed despite questioning his account of Jing Zhengwei.
• Le Yu compared students’ different starting lines to unequal lives and explained that inherited advantages came from generations of effort.
• Le Yu described how the Silver Blood Society exploited the East Sun District and said its people had rebelled against that injustice.
• Le Yu urged the students to recognize reality’s cruelty without accepting it as normal, and Ming Dailan praised his words.
• Le Yu used Qin Yueshi’s appointment as class captain to illustrate family privilege and identified the Huiyao Imperial Family’s hereditary rule as Radiance’s greatest unfairness.

Le Yu turned his lecture into a political performance, then organized a classroom cleaning contest with generous credit rewards. As the students worked, he relaxed and made them attend to his supposed injuries, drawing Ming Shuiyun’s attention.

• Le Yu claimed that his provocative statements were Jing Zhengwei’s views, declared his loyalty to the Radiant Emperor, and led the class in patriotic chants.
• Le Yu told the students that Xianchan Chenchen would protect him, then divided the class into teams led by Qian Yuya, Ming Shuiyun, Qin Yueshi, and himself.
• Le Yu promised each student up to sixty usual-credit points and let captains earn additional points by deducting credit from disobedient students.
• The students began cleaning the classroom while Le Yu watched from a chair and complained that his injuries had not healed.
• Le Yu asked a female student from his team to massage his shoulder, and Ming Shuiyun touched her neck as she watched him.

Le Yu manipulated his students during a cleanup exercise, using arbitrary participation-point rewards and deductions to demonstrate how the Silver Blood Society maintained control. He revealed himself as Qin Leyin, a Silver Blood Society capitalist who had witnessed and shaped its rise and fall.

• Le Yu ordered students to massage his shoulders, fetch iced tea, and trim his nails in exchange for participation points, while Qian Yuya enforced discipline in her team.
• After Dan Chixia returned with tea, Le Yu sent Qian Yuya's efficient team to clean the neighboring classroom for bonus points.
• Le Yu inspected the cleaned areas, deducted points from most teams, and halved everyone's score for neglecting the lectern, while praising Qian Yuya's team before the penalty.
• Le Yu explained that his arbitrary rewards and deductions illustrated the Silver Blood Society's method of rule.
• Le Yu revealed that he was Qin Leyin, president of the Sixth Chamber of Commerce and a capitalist who had played an important role in the Silver Blood Society's rise and fall.

Le Yu used the students’ participation points to explain how the Silver Blood Society controlled people, then turned Dan Chixia and Shi Wen’s fight into a lesson about cowardice and power. The chapter ended with Le Yu asking Dan Chixia whether he had attacked Shi Wen because he thought, “I can’t deal with the teacher, but can’t I deal with you?”

• Le Yu revealed that he had been a leading figure in the East Sun Incident and explained the Silver Blood Society’s rule through control of the Means of Production.
• Le Yu questioned Dan Chixia about why he had accepted his errands only after losing participation points, and Shi Wen accused him of acting out of timidity.
• Dan Chixia attacked Shi Wen, who fought back with his self-damaging Light Fusion Claw, and Le Yu stopped them before either could seriously injure the other.
• Le Yu challenged Shi Wen over provoking Dan Chixia and reprimanded Dan Chixia for using his teacher’s authority as an excuse to attack someone weaker.
• Le Yu told Dan Chixia that the real enemy was his own cowardice and asked whether he had attacked Shi Wen because he thought he could not confront the teacher but could confront him.

Le Yu used his classroom demonstration to explain how the Silver Blood Society exploited people through control of the means of production and surplus value. After class, he announced that his next lesson would cover the legendary figures of the Silver Blood Society, beginning with Jing Qingfu.

• Le Yu helped Dan Chixia up, explained how gradual exploitation and sunk costs had pressured him, and offered him full marks if he took the course and attended the final exam.
• Le Yu reviewed how he had used assessment points to employ the students, impose personal demands, and deduct their earned points, while praising Qian Yuya's attempt to apply his lesson and awarding her five points.
• Le Yu explained surplus value theory, showing how employers extracted unpaid value from workers and redirected conflict by encouraging team leaders to deduct others' points.
• Le Yu connected the lesson to the Silver Blood Society's exploitative practices and concluded that people endured them because they had little choice.
• Le Yu dismissed the class and announced that next week's lesson would begin his series on the eight legendary figures of the Silver Blood Society with Jing Qingfu.

After his trial lecture, Le Yu invited his students to help develop Jing Zhengwei-ism and fended off the Radiant palace masters’ attempts to draw close to him. As Ming Shuiyun pulled him away, Qin Yueshi mistakenly concluded that her eldest brother was courting all seven potential empresses to secure influence over the future throne.

• Students crowded Le Yu with questions, and Ming Shuangli challenged him by asking whether he wanted to become the Huiyao Prince.
• Le Yu described the qualities he sought in students, then invited everyone to help refine Jing Zhengwei-ism, and the students enthusiastically agreed.
• Ming Shuangli asked Le Yu whether he knew a red-haired girl named Le Yu and mentioned an outfit she had once given him; Qin Yueshi connected the clues to his cross-dressing disguise.
• Ming Shuangli and the other Radiant palace masters invited Le Yu to spend time with them, but Ming Shuiyun grabbed his hand and pulled him away.
• Qin Yueshi guessed that Qin Leyin was trying to win over all seven potential empresses so he could influence the future ruler and govern from the harem.

Qian Yuya questioned Qin Yueshi about how Qin Leyin knew her and considered the hidden connections between him, Jing Zhengwei, and her late brother. She decided to meet Qin Leyin alone to thank him and discuss other matters, while Qin Yueshi mistakenly assumed she might be falling for him.

• Qian Yuya confirmed that Qin Yueshi had never told Qin Leyin her name, and Qin Yueshi guessed that he had investigated her through his contacts.
• Qian Yuya reflected on the links among Qin Leyin, Jing Zhengwei, Yin Yinyin, and Qian Yuliu, and suspected Qin Leyin might know the truth behind them.
• Qian Yuya told Qin Yueshi she wanted to visit Qin Leyin alone to thank him for easing the class's resentment toward her and to discuss other matters.
• Qin Yueshi assumed Qian Yuya was attracted to Qin Leyin and tried to warn her that he might have been forced to wear women's clothing.
• Qin Yueshi accidentally called Qin Leyin her future brother-in-law, then hastily denied what she had said.

Le Yu pushed Ming Shuiyun away with sarcasm after she exposed their relationship, then told her to focus on campus life and contact him only with news. Later, he returned to his dormitory to read Qing Lan’s letter, but Qian Yuya arrived and greeted him as Teacher Red Le, prompting him to identify himself as Qin Yueshi’s elder brother, Qin Leyin.

• Ming Shuiyun apologized for revealing her relationship with Le Yu, but Le Yu responded with sarcasm and refused to explain his displeasure.
• Ming Shuiyun offered Le Yu her neck, but he rejected her and teased her about smelling bad.
• Le Yu told Ming Shuiyun to enjoy campus life and seek him out only if she had news, and she returned to class.
• Le Yu collected Qing Lan’s letter, ate at the Dog Food Cafeteria, and returned to his dormitory to prepare to read it.
• Qian Yuya visited Le Yu at night, and he introduced himself as Qin Yueshi’s elder brother, Qin Leyin.

Qian Yuya visited Le Yu at night to ask about Yin Yinyin, and Le Yu tried to discourage her from pursuing the matter. She revealed that Jing Zhengwei had told her Yin Yinyin’s name.

• Qian Yuya insisted on speaking privately, so Le Yu let her into his home.
• Le Yu tried to distract Qian Yuya with friendly questions and concern about her studies and personal life.
• Qian Yuya asked Le Yu whether he knew Yin Yinyin and said her elder brother’s friend had mentioned him.
• Le Yu warned Qian Yuya not to associate with people investigating the Silver Blood Society’s secrets and prepared to send her away.
• Qian Yuya told Le Yu that Jing Zhengwei had told her about Yin Yinyin.

Qian Yuya confronted Le Yu about Jing Zhengwei and her brother, but he refused to answer her questions. After Qin Yueshi visited and accused Le Yu of killing Jing Zhengwei, Qian Yuya overheard the revelation from the bedroom.

• Qian Yuya claimed Jing Zhengwei had told her that Yin Yinyin killed her brother, and Le Yu realized Qin Leyin had deliberately exposed his connection to her.
• Le Yu refused to explain Jing Zhengwei, Yin Yinyin, or Qian Yuliu to Qian Yuya, who remained determined to uncover the truth.
• Qin Yueshi arrived after giving Qian Yuya Le Yu's address and warned him not to do anything reckless to her friend.
• Qin Yueshi offered to help with Le Yu's plan at the Imperial Academy and rejected the idea that his actions could compensate for Jing Zhengwu's death.
• Qin Yueshi accused Le Yu of establishing a course about Jing Zhengwei because he regarded him as a friend, then declared that Le Yu had killed Jing Zhengwei himself.
• Qian Yuya overheard Qin Yueshi's accusation from behind the bedroom door.

Qin Yueshi revealed that Qin Leyin had killed Jing Zhengwei, and Qian Yuya overheard the truth. Ming Shuiyun arrived at Le Yu’s room, prompting Qin Yueshi to hide in the bedroom with Qian Yuya as Le Yu opened the door.

• Qin Yueshi told Le Yu that she suspected he had killed Jing Zhengwei to make amends by living as him, and Le Yu brushed off her apology.
• Ming Shuiyun knocked on Le Yu’s door, and Qin Yueshi withdrew to avoid interrupting what she assumed was a private meeting.
• Qin Yueshi spotted Professor Zhu Yan outside and slipped into the nearby bedroom instead of leaving through the balcony.
• Qian Yuya pinned Qin Yueshi against the bedroom wall and covered her mouth as Le Yu opened the door to Ming Shuiyun.

Ming Shuiyun confronted Le Yu about their relationship and asked to become his sincere partner rather than remain safely on the sidelines. Le Yu refused, but she ended their argument by declaring that she was his master.

• Ming Shuiyun insisted on talking with Le Yu that night, and he agreed to speak with her in his room when Zhu Yan stopped outside in the corridor.
• Ming Shuiyun challenged Le Yu's sarcasm, arguing that he used it to keep people at a distance and protect them from grieving when he died.
• Ming Shuiyun said she wanted to fight alongside Le Yu and proposed that they use each other honestly to fulfill their promise.
• Le Yu dismissed her proposal and ruffled her hair, but Ming Shuiyun brushed his hand aside and declared, "Because I'm your master!"

Le Yu accepted Ming Shuiyun’s offer to become her feeder, but Senior Mentor Zhu Yan interrupted them to discuss complaints about his teaching. While Le Yu was away, Qian Yuya, Qin Yueshi, and Ming Shuiyun confronted one another over their secrets and motives, leaving Qin Yueshi willing to trust Qian Yuya as she tried to earn Le Yu’s trust.

• Le Yu recognized that Ming Shuiyun’s request to become her feeder gave her leverage over him, then agreed to serve her after affirming her ability and resolve.
• Senior Mentor Zhu Yan arrived to discuss the sixteen complaints about Le Yu’s trial lecture and led him away from his room.
• Qin Yueshi and Qian Yuya questioned each other about Jing Zhengwei, Le Yu’s secrets, and their reasons for visiting him, while Ming Shuiyun was caught between them.
• Qin Yueshi restrained Qian Yuya to protect Le Yu, but Qian Yuya argued that Qin Yueshi’s resentment came from feeling neglected and used as a pawn.
• Qian Yuya said she would stand with Qin Yueshi and work to earn Le Yu’s trust because she had already lost someone to fate.

Le Yu explained Jing Qingfu’s strategy of testing allies and enemies through a story he planned to turn into a classroom game, and Zhu Yan agreed to give him a chance to defend his teaching methods. Zhu Yan then revealed that Bai Yu and Qin Xiao had both been his students.

• Zhu Yan confronted Le Yu about a female student entering his room and warned him to protect the Imperial Academy’s reputation.
• Zhu Yan criticized Le Yu for using students as teaching tools, and Le Yu argued that his unconventional lessons were necessary.
• Le Yu described Jing Qingfu’s wine banquet, where he identified which merchants could be allies by observing who endured threats without yielding.
• Le Yu connected the story to how the powerful shift conflicts onto outsiders and the ruled, and said he wanted students to recognize the real source of harm.
• Zhu Yan offered to help Le Yu if his next class earned more letters of praise than complaints, then revealed that Bai Yu and Qin Xiao had both been his students.

Le Yu spoke with Zhu Yan about Qin Xiao and Bai Yu’s rebellious years at the Royal Academy, and learned that Zhu Yan still felt bound to his former students. The chapter ended with Le Yu asking Zhu Yan how to cancel the Holy Sword Huiyao’s suspension, prompting Zhu Yan to realize he was being asked to help start a rebellion.

• Zhu Yan told Le Yu about Bai Yu’s wild Swift Blade exploits at the Royal Academy and his later reforms to the Swift Blade Course.
• Zhu Yan recalled that Qin Xiao had brought him wine on his first day and that both Qin Xiao and Bai Yu had taught him about cultivating connections and Swift Blade techniques.
• Le Yu confirmed that he was at the Royal Academy because of the struggle for the throne, and Zhu Yan offered to help him once in repayment for his years with Qin Xiao and Bai Yu.
• Le Yu asked Zhu Yan to reveal how to cancel the Holy Sword Huiyao’s suspension, a method Qin Xiao and Bai Yu had failed to discover.
• Zhu Yan recognized that Le Yu’s request amounted to helping start a rebellion and regretted confiscating Qin Xiao’s wine.

Qian Yueyang dealt with the Statistics Department’s attempts to exploit him while Qin Leyin’s unconventional lesson made him the talk of the Imperial Academy. Qian Yuya met Qin Leyin and asked to become his family.

• Qian Yueyang refused Xianchan Chenchen’s demands for overtime, and Xianchan ordered his officers to find ways to trouble him without harming him.
• Qian Yueyang read the Imperial Academy’s lively discussions about Qin Leyin’s teaching and learned that his elder brother had gone to meet one of Qin Yueshi’s classmates.
• Qin Yueshi told Qin Yueyang that her classmate had overheard that Qin Leyin killed Jing Zhengwei, but she insisted her elder brother would handle the matter.
• Le Yu met Qian Yuya at the Imperial Academy and asked what she wanted in exchange for keeping his secret.
• Qian Yuya told Le Yu that she wanted to become his family.

Le Yu rejected Qian Yuya’s offer to become his family or lover, but she explained that she wanted to work with him while deciding whether to join White Night. Their conversation left Le Yu questioning whether Qian Yuliu had truly believed in White Night’s ideals.

• Le Yu joked that Qian Yuya wanted to become his mother, then teased her about being his lover, and she calmly accepted even the prospect of marriage and children.
• Le Yu ended their proposed deal, refused to share information about Qian Yuliu, Yin Yinyin, and Jing Zhengwei, and told Qian Yuya to stop meeting him.
• Qian Yuya said she had tested Le Yu and found that he was the right person, while Le Yu insisted that he would not treat people as commodities.
• Qian Yuya offered to provide White Night intelligence and secretly cooperate with the organization, explaining that she was still deciding whether to join it.
• Qian Yuya questioned whether Qian Yuliu had truly believed in White Night’s ideals, and Le Yu withheld the answer because he knew the truth.

Qian Yuya revealed that Qian Yuliu, Jing Zhengwei, Yin Yinyin, and Qin Leyin were the inheritances that gave her life meaning, and Le Yu realized she had awakened the Cold-Blooded Physique. To keep her from making herself someone else’s tool, he claimed they belonged to a secret organization dedicated to an egalitarian society and urged her to love her country.

• Qian Yuya explained that Qian Yuliu had joined White Night to give her a chance to escape Star Engraving Prefecture, though he had never truly believed in the organization.
• Qian Yuya told Le Yu that Qian Yuliu, Yin Yinyin, and Jing Zhengwei had been the inheritances that sustained her, and that Le Yu was the fourth because he knew their secrets and understood her.
• Le Yu realized Qian Yuya had awakened the Cold-Blooded Physique and depended on him as her reason to live.
• Le Yu decided to guide Qian Yuya rather than let her become someone else’s tool, while concealing that he might not live another six months.
• Le Yu told Qian Yuya that he, Qian Yuliu, Jing Zhengwei, and Yin Yinyin belonged to an organization seeking a classless society, and urged her to love her country.

Le Yu invented an organization tied to a future-sending device called the Echo to explain why he, Yin Yinyin, and others had killed people destined to die. He left Qian Yuya with the claim that the River of Time ensured those deaths would happen one way or another.

• Le Yu claimed Qian Yuya could not join his organization because she had not unlocked its inner heart-lock, then linked its purpose to Jing Zhengwei's novel, "Echoes of the Future."
• Le Yu told Qian Yuya that Jing Zhengwei, Qian Yuliu, Yin Yinyin, and he knew the future through the Echo, which carried information backward through time.
• Le Yu explained the Observer Effect with a cat in a sealed box and said the River of Time fixed the moment of the cat's death.
• Le Yu admitted that he had killed Jing Zhengwei and Yin Yinyin had killed Qian Yuliu, claiming both men had been destined to die.
• Le Yu told Qian Yuya that the deaths had resulted from coinciding circumstances beyond anyone's will.

Le Yu convinced Qian Yuya that he and the others had gained future knowledge through Echoes, then welcomed her into their cause and recruited her to gather White Night intelligence. He named their future-founded organization Le Yu and revealed his own code name was Number Four.

• Le Yu explained that the Echoes members were driven by different motives and that Qian Yuliu had stayed behind because leaving with Qian Yuya would likely have led to his death.
• Le Yu showed Qian Yuya a mobile phone and claimed it was a communication tool from the future, convincing her to believe his account and inherit Qian Yuliu's aspirations.
• Le Yu welcomed Qian Yuya into his family and urged her to devote herself to the struggle for humanity's liberation.
• Le Yu offered Qian Yuya a place in the Huiyao Four Guards, and she proposed joining Flame Capital White Night to gather intelligence for him.
• Le Yu told Qian Yuya that their future-founded organization was called Le Yu and that his code name was Number Four.