Chapter Summaries

The Steam Merchant Guild’s first edition of the Peerless Ranking sold out in Flame Capital as readers chased its rare Lan Yan cards. At the Imperial Academy, Le Yu stirred up opposition to Lan Yan, and Qian Yuya joined him for a meal.

• The Steam Merchant Guild launched the Peerless Ranking in Flame Capital, where promotional posters and collectible cards drew eager crowds.
• After the first ten thousand copies sold out, wealthy merchants offered high prices for rare epic cards and the unique flash card.
• Xianchan Chenchen sent agents to ask Le Yu to print a supplementary edition, but Le Yu refused and insulted him.
• Imperial Academy students debated Lan Yan’s ranking, while Le Yu secretly used the Qi Harmony Combat Arts to provoke them into denouncing Lan Yan.
• Le Yu completed his mission to turn Imperial Academy students against Lan Yan, and Qian Yuya carried her tray over and sat across from him.

Le Yu met with Qian Yuya, Qin Yueshi, and Ming Shuiyun, who showed him the announcement for the academy’s All-Knowing Eye competition. He learned that the examination was designed to be won through cheating, and the next game had begun.

• Le Yu sat with Qian Yuya, Qin Yueshi, and Ming Shuiyun as they discussed their friendships and Qin Yueshi’s frustration over failing to draw an Epic Card.
• Ming Shuiyun revealed that she had drawn the rare River-Slaying Lan Yan card and offered it to Qin Yueshi, who declined.
• Qian Yuya told Le Yu that they had come to find him, and the sickle-and-hammer symbol on his hand warmed.
• Ming Shuiyun showed Le Yu the announcement for the All-Knowing Eye Title Competition, which required students to pay ten Coins to enter.
• Qian Yuya and Qin Yueshi explained that students could leave early with their scratch paper, allowing others to learn the questions and cheat.
• Ming Shuiyun declared that the examination tested students’ ability to cheat, and Le Yu realized the next game had begun.

Le Yu learned that the All-Knowing Eye examination would begin the Sword Quest for Succession, then visited the White Box Library to investigate a plan for the test. There, he met the first-year student Kui Nianruo, whose name stirred painful memories as he remained determined to see Lan Yan die.

• Ming Shuiyun explained that the All-Knowing Eye examination would award points toward winning the Holy Sword Huiyao, and Le Yu suspected the Sword Bearer had improvised the contest.
• Ming Shuiyun, Qian Yuya, Qin Yueshi, and Le Yu prepared to cheat on the examination, and Qian Yuya asked whether her roommate Lin Xue could join them.
• Le Yu felt old pain when Qian Yuya mentioned Lin Xue and reaffirmed his resolve to make Lan Yan die a spectacular death.
• Le Yu went to the White Box Library to research an idea for the examination while Ming Shuiyun attended class.
• Le Yu met the library’s part-time worker, Kui Nianruo, a first-year student in the Imperial Guard Faction.

Le Yu visited the White Box with Kui Nianruo to find past All-Knowing Eye results and bought examination analyses from curator Cha Shiyin. He learned that the material’s compiler was Shi Wen, who accused him of helping Ming Shuiyun cheat and challenged him over the upcoming examination.

• Le Yu reflected on the people he had hurt and felt guilty about Yin Yinyin stabbing Kui Nianruo while saving him from Kui Zhao.
• Kui Nianruo guided Le Yu through the White Box and took him to curator Cha Shiyin’s office.
• Cha Shiyin sold Le Yu past All-Knowing Eye analyses and offered to introduce him to their compiler, last year’s top individual scorer.
• Shi Wen arrived and accused Le Yu of helping Ming Shuiyun cheat, then pointed out that Le Yu would have to help her take the All-Knowing Eye.

Le Yu learned that Shi Wen’s knowledge of the White Box Library could decide the All-Knowing Eye exam, making him a powerful potential ally or rival in the struggle surrounding Ming Shuiyun. Shi Wen tried to provoke Le Yu into humiliating him, but Le Yu held back and was left facing the prospect of asking his enemy for help.

• Kui Nianruo reflected that Shi Wen had a reputation for clashing with people, though she did not think he was inherently bad.
• Cha Shiyin explained that Shi Wen could join the All-Knowing Eye exam despite not being a student, but could not earn credits or graduate.
• Shi Wen taunted Le Yu and asserted that Le Yu was no longer in control, while Le Yu resisted the urge to insult him.
• Le Yu realized that Shi Wen’s exam experience and familiarity with the White Box Library made him exceptionally effective at finding answers for cheating teams.
• Le Yu inferred that Shi Wen had recognized the exam’s importance to Ming Shuiyun’s faction and was positioning himself as a bargaining chip.
• Le Yu concluded that he might have to seek Shi Wen’s help despite their hostility, and that Shi Wen would likely exploit the situation to retaliate.

Le Yu turned Shi Wen’s attempt to bargain for battle arts and exam-cheating help into a test of humility, forcing him to accept Le Yu as his master. Shi Wen knelt and asked to be taught, while Kui Nianruo watched in astonishment.

• Le Yu questioned Shi Wen about why he was not an Imperial Academy student and exposed how his humiliation over that fact drove his need to prove himself superior.
• Le Yu pointed out that Shi Wen needed his help as much as Le Yu needed Shi Wen, then insisted Shi Wen address him respectfully when asking to learn battle arts.
• Shi Wen nearly left in anger, but Le Yu warned him that acting on his temper would only hurt himself and challenged him to show he could be a worthy companion and student.
• Le Yu demanded that Shi Wen kneel for an apprentice ceremony, presenting it as a test of trust and respect, while Cha Shiyin egged him on.
• Shi Wen finally knelt and pleaded for battle arts instruction, and Le Yu accepted him as his disciple; Kui Nianruo admired how completely Teacher Qin had reversed their positions.

Kui Nianruo told her roommates about meeting Qin Leyin at White Night, prompting Qian Yuya to seek a greater role in his plans. The chapter ended with Qian Yuya recruiting Lin Xue to help Qin Leyin and Ming Shuiyun, while Lin Xue reflected on how Qian Yuya had replaced her dead brother with a new sworn elder brother.

• Li Ying admitted she had copied Kui Nianruo's homework and got both of them in trouble, then escaped Kui Nianruo's angry pursuit.
• Kui Nianruo described seeing Qin Leyin at White Night, and Qian Yuya decided she needed to prove herself to him and earn a place in Le Yu.
• Lin Xue and Kui Nianruo considered signing up for Qin Leyin's elective course, while Li Ying refused because she preferred napping.
• Lin Xue and Qian Yuya kept Kui Nianruo from learning that her father had died, and Qian Yuya explained that Li Ying kept her distracted to help her cope.
• Qian Yuya told Lin Xue she had acknowledged Qin Leyin as her sworn elder brother and invited her to help him and Ming Shuiyun in the All-Knowing Eye examination; Lin Xue agreed.

Le Yu persuaded Qing Lan to publish a gender-swapped Lan Yan cover, then agreed to cooperate with Nieruo on cheating in the All-Knowing Eye examination. A second visitor arrived with the same proposal, leaving Le Yu poised to hear another alliance pitch.

• Le Yu wrote to Qing Lan asking her to publish a cover depicting Lan Yan as a woman, claiming it would help the Youth Newspaper and provoke Lan Yan.
• Nieruo visited Le Yu and explained that the All-Knowing Eye examination rewarded rankings, so they could cooperate to eliminate nearby cheating assistants while keeping their own cheating channels open.
• Le Yu agreed to Nieruo's proposed alliance to protect Twin Carp Palace and Shuiyun Palace's rankings.
• A youth identifying himself as Ming Dailan's scabbard visited Le Yu and began proposing a similar cooperation against other examination participants.

Le Yu heard Mietangya’s proposal to cooperate against Nieruo and agreed to work with him and Dailan Palace. After learning why Mietangya had chosen his side, Le Yu considered keeping both Nieruo and Mietangya as allies, but their agreement ended when Mietangya spat out Le Yu’s tea.

• Mietangya told Le Yu that Nieruo’s strength and the Madness Mask made him a threat, and proposed they work together to protect Dailan Palace and Shuiyun Palace.
• Le Yu learned that Mietangya was a Beiwei Elf and that Holy Sword Huiyao’s influence made him fiercely protective of Ming Dailan.
• Le Yu and Mietangya agreed to counter Nieruo and help each other eliminate the other cheating assistants.
• Mietangya explained that he had avoided allying with Nieruo because Twin Carp Palace’s strength would make it too likely to win the All-Knowing Eye examination.
• Le Yu considered keeping both Mietangya and Nieruo as allies, but threw Mietangya out after he spat out the Honey Five-Flower Tea.

While bathing, Le Yu received a secret alliance offer from the sword sheath Yin to cooperate during the All-Knowing Eye examination, and accepted. Afterward, a white cat delivered another cooperation proposal, leaving Le Yu stunned by the growing cast of Sword Quest for Succession participants.

• Yin contacted Le Yu through a radio badge hidden in his bathroom and proposed joining forces against other cheating assistants in the All-Knowing Eye examination.
• Le Yu questioned Yin about his secrecy and possible alliances, then accepted the offer and agreed to talk again the next evening.
• Le Yu realized he had secretly allied with three sword sheaths and returned to writing after his bath.
• A white cat entered through Le Yu's window and delivered a letter proposing cooperation with Qin Leyin.
• Le Yu stared at the cat in disbelief, suspecting that another kind of participant had joined the Sword Quest for Succession.

Le Yu realized that the sword scabbards all benefited from cooperating with Qin Leyin, and he made agreements with five of them ahead of the All-Knowing Eye examination. The sixth never approached him, leaving Le Yu curious as he prepared to plan with Qian Yuya and the others.

• Le Yu concluded that the sword scabbards would seek Qin Leyin’s cooperation because it offered them the best chance of avoiding defeat and winning the examination.
• Druid Cat Handler offered animal familiars with Savage Bloodline, and Le Yu agreed to cooperate with him.
• The hidden assassin Cai Nü arrived at night and secured a cooperation agreement with Le Yu, who remained wary of her seductive approach.
• Le Yu waited for the sixth sword scabbard to contact him, but it never did, and he grew intrigued by the omission.
• Le Yu planned to discuss passing information during the examination with Qian Yuya and the others, determined to prevent the test from becoming a campaign against Qin Leyin.

Le Yu discovered that Shi Wen and Lai Ya both suffered from severe Nightmare Sickness, which made learning combat arts dangerous and difficult. After exposing Shi Wen’s scheme to secure instruction for Lai Ya, Le Yu agreed to take both students as disciples, though he warned that their training could be dangerous or fatal.

• Shi Wen brought Lai Ya to watch Le Yu teach him combat arts, and Le Yu rebuked Shi Wen for using tricks to ask for help.
• Lai Ya explained that her poor eyesight came from Nightmare Sickness caused by childhood injuries, while Le Yu recalled that Shi Wen’s burns and extreme pain made combat arts training perilous.
• Le Yu realized Shi Wen had used himself as bait so Lai Ya could receive instruction if he refused to teach Shi Wen.
• Le Yu agreed to take Shi Wen and Lai Ya as disciples, warning them that training might be dangerous or fatal.

Le Yu decided to teach Shi Wen and Lai Ya Forbidden Combat Arts, using cruel training methods to exploit their Nightmare Sickness. After receiving a book on a painful variant of Blood-Drinking Eight Rice Flow, he realized its author was trying to shift blame and signed it as Jing Zhengwei.

• Le Yu concluded that Forbidden Combat Arts were the only way to give Shi Wen and Lai Ya a chance to overcome their disabilities, despite the Imperial Academy's ban.
• Le Yu blinded Lai Ya and ordered her to begin practicing Ruyi Sword-Wielding Combat Arts, then forced Shi Wen to train and spar with him.
• Shi Wen swallowed his anger and asked Le Yu to guide him, and Le Yu noticed the distant Platinum Tower as training began.
• That evening, Le Yu found Blood-Thorn Eight Rice Flow on his desk and learned that Principal Chahuan had taught Qin Xiao more than twenty years earlier.
• Le Yu discovered a hidden message in the book offering help in exchange for a name, recognized the author's attempt to shift blame, and signed Jing Zhengwei.

Li Ying rushed to attend Kui Nianruo’s elective and met a masked Hooded Man who was heading to the same class. Their conversation left his identity unknown as they approached the classroom.

• Li Ying recalled that she had promised to attend The Demise of Silver Blood for Kui Nianruo and hurried back to the Imperial Academy.
• Li Ying could not find the classroom and asked a masked Hooded Man for directions.
• The Hooded Man offered to lead Li Ying to class, and they discussed why she disliked Qin Leyin and the Imperial Academy’s notice board.
• Li Ying introduced herself and asked the Hooded Man’s name, but he had not yet answered.

Li Ying arrived late to Teacher Qin’s class and faced a choice between doing push-ups alone or having the whole class do them. Le Yu revealed that he had staged the dilemma to teach the class about authority and Jing Qingfu’s tactic of shifting conflicts elsewhere.

• Li Ying entered the classroom and read Teacher Qin’s demand that she do two hundred push-ups or the class do fifty together.
• The Hooded Man offered to share Li Ying’s punishment, and Qian Yuya, Lin Xue, Dan Chixia, Ming Shuiyun, Ming Shuangli, and other students joined them in doing push-ups.
• After the class finished, the Hooded Man revealed himself as Le Yu and took the podium.
• Le Yu explained that the students could have reported him to the principal instead of accepting either punishment, since he was the one at fault for delaying class.
• Le Yu described the episode as an example of Jing Qingfu’s Wine Persuasion, which shifted a conflict between teacher and students into a conflict among students.

Li Ying showed Lin Xue and the others a Youth Newspaper cover depicting General Lan Yan, prompting them to discuss its unusual, non-erotic style. In Chenfeng, Lu Zhong’s officials called for retaliation against the newspaper, but Lan Yan dismissed the cover as poorly made.

• Li Ying showed the group the Youth Newspaper cover of Lan Yan reviewing troops, and Qian Yuya pointed out that its style differed from the newspaper’s previous covers.
• Lin Xue kept the cover as a reminder of the gap between herself and Lan Yan, while Qian Yuya predicted that his political enemies would see it.
• At the Prefectural Governor’s Mansion, General Keda Ya demanded soldiers to attack the Youth Newspaper Agency, and Lu Heng urged Lu Zhong to condemn it and raise taxes on Dongyang merchants instead of going to war.
• Lu Zhong asked Lan Yan what he thought of the cover, and Lan Yan said its quality was worse than that of previous issues.

Lan Yan visited his fiancée, Lu Lingyin, and reassured her before their wedding, while his conversation with Yin Guyue revealed that he planned to avenge Lord Lu and was secretly building influence. The chapter ended with Lan Yan sending Yin Guyue to make White Night repay him, framing their actions as being for love and justice.

• Lu Heng defended Lan Yan against rumors and urged him to visit Lu Lingyin before their wedding.
• Lan Yan gave Lu Lingyin an Emerald Green bracelet, apologized, and spent the afternoon playing War Cards with her.
• Lu Lingyin showed Lan Yan four cards depicting different aspects of him, and Lan Yan wondered who had made them.
• As Lan Yan left with Yin Guyue, Yin Guyue accused him of deceiving Lu Lingyin despite his plan to avenge Lord Lu.
• Lan Yan admitted that rumors about his ties to former Statistics Department subordinates and the army's loyalty were true, then told Yin Guyue it was time for White Night to repay him.

Le Yu trained Shi Wen and Lai Ya in the Forbidden Combat Arts while forcing Shi Wen to adapt to his painful Bloodthorn Fishbone bracer. That evening, Yin praised the worldbuilding in Le Yu’s Echoes of the Future but called its plot third-rate, leaving Le Yu wounded and unwilling to discuss the book.

• Le Yu mocked Shi Wen’s cooking and punished him for refusing to train his left hand with the Bloodthorn Fishbone bracer.
• Le Yu made Lai Ya eat Shi Wen’s terrible fried rice while forcing Shi Wen to continue practicing with his left hand.
• Le Yu and Shi Wen discussed the upcoming All-Knowing Eye exam, and Le Yu scheduled their training to resume after noon.
• Le Yu asked Yin for an opinion of Echoes of the Future, and Yin praised its worldbuilding and ideas but rated its plot third-rate.
• Le Yu abandoned the book discussion and asked Yin about the next day’s exam instead.

Ming Shuiyun worried that Qin Leyin had lost interest in her after her bite mark healed, but her sisters encouraged her before the All-Knowing Eye exam. Their support left her feeling hopeful about facing the exam even without Qin Leyin's help.

• Ming Shuiyun noticed that the wound Qin Leyin had left on her had healed and felt uneasy about how long it had been since he had bitten her.
• Ming Qingyun complained about her sword sheath, then encouraged Ming Shuiyun to work hard for the All-Knowing Eye exam.
• Ming Shuiyun helped Ming Chaoyan with her homework, and Ming Chaoyan urged them to work hard together.
• Ming Taolang and Ming Dailan each encouraged Ming Shuiyun and wished her luck for the exam.
• Ming Shuangli told Ming Shuiyun she would take first place and promised that nobody would take second place from her.
• Ming Shuiyun fell asleep feeling hopeful after her sisters showed their support.

Le Yu prepared for the All-Knowing Eye examination as Yan Command agents guarded the Imperial Academy, while Qin Yueshi challenged his reasons for continuing his dangerous plans despite the Qin family’s new wealth. He chose to keep going, and the examination began when Nieruo arrived.

• Xianchan Chenchen and Yan Command agents guarded the Dire Faction Teaching Building, unsettling examinees as Le Yu exchanged barbs with the Civet Cat Inspector.
• Le Yu reassured Qian Yuya, Lin Xue, Li Ying, and Kui Nianruo before the examination, offered to help them with his class, and gave Lin Xue a cryptic hint about the Two Oddities’ strategy.
• The Radiant Heavenly Maidens arrived, and Le Yu jokingly told his students to lift Xianchan Chenchen’s hat and touch his head, claiming they were father and son.
• Qin Yueshi told Le Yu that the Qin family had earned 150 Gold Coins from the Peerless Ranking and could secure a future in Yan Capital, then urged him to abandon his dangerous ambitions.
• Le Yu refused to give up, reflecting on the people and losses that made him want to keep trying; Nieruo arrived as the bell rang and the All-Knowing Eye examination began.