Chapter Summaries

Cha Shiyin refused to sacrifice himself to bring out Holy Sword Huiyao, while Cha Huan argued that his power gave him a responsibility to save people. Cha Shiyin explained the cost of wielding the sword and asked the seven Palace Masters to decide whether Radiance was still worth saving.

• Lai Ya brought dessert to the curator’s office and slipped Ming Shuiyun a note as she left.
• Cha Shiyin rejected the Empress Dowager’s pleas and challenged the idea that he owed his life to strangers.
• Cha Huan defended the Martial Pillars’ duty to protect people and urged Cha Shiyin to end the holy sword’s suspension.
• The Empress Dowager and Ling Jiangli offered their own lives, but Cha Shiyin left their fate to the next Supreme.
• Cha Shiyin told the seven Palace Masters that the emperor would lose three-quarters of his lifespan by wielding Holy Sword Huiyao twice, then asked whether Radiance was worth saving.

Cha Shiyin explained why he had withdrawn from humanity and refused to save Flame Capital, then asked the princesses to decide who would wield the Holy Sword Huiyao and rule. After the others declined or chose different duties, Ming Shuangli also refused because Nieruo depended on her, leaving Ming Shuiyun as the only candidate.

• Cha Shiyin recalled centuries of watching suffering and said he would not intervene to save Flame Capital without a reason to care about its people.
• Ming Yueyan accused Cha Shiyin of holding the Sword Quest for Succession because he found it interesting, and he admitted that was his main motive.
• Cha Shiyin asked the princesses who would become the beacon empress, then described why ruling would not suit Ming Taolang, Ming Dailan, or Ming Qingyun; Ming Yueyan agreed to retrieve Qianmian's Water of Variants, and Ming Chaoyan went to sleep.
• Ling Jiangli warned Ming Shuangli that refusing to wield the Holy Sword would lead to war, the destruction of Flame Capital, and the imperial family's massacre.
• Ming Shuangli declined to wield the Holy Sword because Nieruo needed her, and Cha Shiyin told Ming Shuiyun that she was the only candidate left.

Ming Shuiyun weighed whether to claim the Holy Sword Huiyao after learning that the capital’s fall would plunge Radiance into years of war. She decided that sacrificing much of her life was worthwhile if it let her protect the person she loved.

• Principal Cha told Ming Shuiyun that her choice was hers alone, while Ling Jiangli silenced a Cabinet Minister who tried to intervene.
• Ming Shuiyun recalled that Qin Leyin had urged her to flee Flame Capital with him, arguing that they should abandon the throne and protect their lives.
• Ming Shuiyun asked Principal Cha whether anyone could remain safe if the Holy Sword stayed vacant, and he explained that only a ruler commanding a great army could protect people during the coming wars.
• Principal Cha explained that wielding the Holy Sword Huiyao could make an emperor a powerful and wise ruler, but each swing consumed half a lifespan.
• After reading Lai Ya’s note asking her to come out, Ming Shuiyun decided that two swings and roughly ten remaining years of life were enough because she wanted to take responsibility for Qin Leyin.

Le Yu prepared his companions to flee Flame Capital for East Yang, but Cha Shiyin confronted him before he could reunite with Ming Shuiyun. Cha Shiyin revealed that he knew about Le Yu’s plan to use the Saint’s Relic and called it useless.

• Le Yu outlined the escape by cargo ship to East Yang, and Qin Yueshi said she wanted to become an industrialist there.
• Le Yu assured Kui Nianruo and the others they had to leave Flame Capital, while Qian Yuya worried about Ming Shuiyun’s choice.
• Cha Huan appeared in the girls’ room, and the group realized he seemed to have grown old.
• Le Yu found Cha Shiyin, Grand Secretary Ling Jiangli, and six warriors waiting in the principal’s office.
• Cha Shiyin warned Le Yu to wait for the mirror to shatter, then recognized the Saint’s Relic on Le Yu’s wrist and declared it useless.

Su Yulou rallied the Five Military Camps against Chen Fengbao while Bu Qi returned to Yanjing raving that the enemy was not human, and Lan Yan ordered his forces to wait for the northern allies. In the Platinum Tower, Cha Shiyin explained the Saint's Relic’s origin and revealed it was a sword sheath made exclusively for emperors.

• Su Yulou pulled himself off the deer antlers, reforged his broken sword, and rallied the Five Military Camps against his former comrade Chen Fengbao.
• The wounded Bu Qi reached Chongsheng Gate and hysterically warned the soldiers that the enemy was not human.
• Lan Yan told Yin Guyue to inform Hunter Leader Chai Xin that they would wait for the allied forces of the three northern regions.
• Cha Shiyin explained that the imperial family had little use for the Saint's Relic and described how Wen Zong sacrificed himself to create it.
• Cha Shiyin revealed that the Saint's Relic was a sword sheath that could copy the Holy Sword Radiance only when the original was absent, and that it was made for emperors.

Le Yu tried to persuade Cha Shiyin to stop Ming Shuiyun from wielding Holy Sword Huiyao, but Cha Shiyin refused and challenged Le Yu’s feelings for her. After the confrontation, Cha Shiyin had Le Yu sent to the Eightfold Blood Prison, where he would remain until Shuiyun’s accession in three days.

• Le Yu urged Cha Shiyin to use his abilities to prevent Ming Shuiyun from sacrificing herself, but Cha Shiyin said he could not overcome the foreign army and had no obligation to intervene.
• Cha Shiyin explained that Ming Shuiyun had chosen to ascend the throne and wield Holy Sword Huiyao, and that she had sent him to persuade Le Yu because she knew he would resist.
• Cha Shiyin argued that Le Yu’s feelings for Shuiyun Palace came from the Holy Sword Imprint and asked whether his devotion would remain if she were someone else.
• Le Yu hesitated to reveal his secret and asked to speak to Ming Shuiyun, but Cha Shiyin sent him to the Eightfold Blood Prison instead.
• Cha Shiyin ordered the guards to treat Le Yu gently, noting that he would become Radiance’s powerful minister in three days.

With Flame Capital threatened by rebels, the people’s prayers pressured Ming Shuiyun to sacrifice her life by wielding Holy Sword Huiyao. Qian Yuya concluded that Qin Hongle had resisted the plan because he had another solution, and the group set out to help him reach Shuiyun.

• Kui Nianruo told Li Ying how the citizens’ fervent prayers for Shuiyun’s safety and Radiance made her feel deeply uneasy.
• Qian Yuya and Qin Yueshi explained that the Upper Class had paid people to pray, hoping to strengthen Shuiyun’s resolve to defend Flame Capital.
• The friends discussed Qin Hongle’s detention and the likely cost of Shuiyun using Holy Sword Huiyao, while Qin Yueshi argued that sacrificing Shuiyun was the only way to survive.
• Qian Yuya inferred that Qin Hongle had been imprisoned for opposing Shuiyun’s decision and called on the group to help him meet her.
• Kui Nianruo, Li Ying, Lin Xue, and Qin Yueshi each offered to seek help through their contacts, while Qian Yuya left to find White Night.

Le Yu spent his second day trapped in the Silence Chamber of the Eightfold Blood Prison, where the deaf-mute prisoners and jailers left him with no apparent means of escape. Though he tried to settle in with food and books, he could not stop thinking about Shuiyun’s impending coronation and the future she would lose.

• Le Yu received a second dinner from a jailer and realized he had been imprisoned for two days.
• Le Yu reflected on the Silence Chamber’s history and how its prisoners gradually accepted life in the silent darkness.
• Le Yu concluded that the cell’s darkness, iron door, and lack of communication made escape or asking for help impossible.
• Le Yu tried to distract himself with the books in his room and imagined what he could do once he regained power.
• Le Yu remained troubled that he would reach the summit while Shuiyun would lose her future when she ascended the throne the next day.

Le Yu upgraded Ice-Blood Physique to Immortal Blood Physique, but his anger and doubts about his feelings remained. He was left stunned when Qing Lan came to visit him in the Eightfold Blood Prison.

• Le Yu spent his three available points to upgrade Ice-Blood Physique to Immortal Blood Physique and discovered that he still felt angry.
• Le Yu brooded over Ming Shuiyun’s decisions and questioned whether his feelings for her were genuine or distorted by the Holy Sword Imprint.
• Le Yu sat silently in his cell until he heard two sets of footsteps approaching.
• Qian Yuya brought Qing Lan to Le Yu’s cell, where Qing Lan handed him a flask of Honey Five-Flower Tea.
• Le Yu and Qing Lan acknowledged how absurd their reunion was.

In the Eightfold Blood Prison, Le Yu told Qing Lan that he had died and taken over several bodies, including Jing Zhengwei and Qin Leyin. Qing Lan accepted that he was still the person she loved, and they embraced, leaving Le Yu's fears about her rejection behind.

• Qing Lan teased Le Yu about their reunion and asked who he really was.
• Le Yu revealed his name and explained Rebirth Through Death, including how he had become Jing Zhengwei and then Qin Leyin.
• Qing Lan explained how she had pieced together Le Yu's secret from rumors, his writing, and his distinctive humor.
• Le Yu admitted he had feared Qing Lan would not accept his new identity and joked that he could choose handsome bodies for her sake.
• Qing Lan laughed, embraced Le Yu, and reassured him that she loved him regardless of his appearance.

Le Yu struggled to decide whether to meet Ming Shuiyun, fearing his feelings for her were distorted by the Holy Sword Imprint. Qing Lan helped him look back on his motives, and he left the Eightfold Blood Prison to act, though he admitted he had made no progress.

• Qing Lan explained that White Night and Le Yu’s sisters had helped her enter the Eightfold Blood Prison so Le Yu could suppress the rebels without Ming Shuiyun wielding Holy Sword Huiyao.
• Le Yu and Qing Lan joked about their relationship, marriage, and a future search for the Well of Gods and Devils before Qing Lan challenged him to say he would not seek Ming Shuiyun.
• Le Yu told Qing Lan that the Holy Sword Imprint made him feel close to Ming Shuiyun, leaving him unable to tell whether his feelings were truly his own.
• Qing Lan asked whether Le Yu would still have rebelled against Silverblood if he had foreseen the Fire at Black Candle, and Le Yu said he would have acted the same to stop people being treated as worthless.
• Le Yu realized he could not stand by while Ming Shuiyun trusted and depended on him, then left his cell with Qing Lan while admitting he had made no progress.

Li Ying, Lin Xue, Qin Yueshi, and Kui Nianruo waited in the Blood Prison warden’s office as Le Yu emerged with Qian Yuya and Qing Lan. The group prepared to leave and free the other White Night prisoners, while Le Yu said he would repay White Night’s help and discipline those who had risked their futures to rescue him.

• Li Ying realized the group faced a seven-red wanted rating, while Lin Xue explained that attacking a Pure-Blue Agent carried a five-red rating.
• Qin Yueshi searched the warden’s accounts, Kui Nianruo embraced the thrill of breaking the law, and Li Ying found and ate the warden’s pancakes.
• Nai Nishang arrived to ask whether White Night should send more people to search for Qin Leyin, but Lin Xue spotted Le Yu, Qian Yuya, and Qing Lan leaving the passage.
• Lin Xue and the others greeted Le Yu and noticed that he and Qing Lan were holding hands.
• Le Yu told the group to leave after helping free the White Night prisoners, and promised to repay White Night for its assistance.
• Le Yu warned that he would discipline the rescuers for risking their futures and said he would settle accounts with Shuiyun too.

Le Yu and the students discussed the rebels’ fear of the Holy Sword Huiyao and the danger facing Flame Capital as dawn approached. After Nilü engaged a Martial Pillar, Le Yu split from the students, shared a meal and parting words with them, and entered an alley alone.

• Qing Lan explained that the rebels were attacking through the night to keep their soldiers from losing morale before Shuiyun Palace wielded Radiance at dawn.
• The group learned that Nilü would hold off a Martial Pillar near the Ministry of Justice, while White Night would offer no further help.
• Le Yu told the students to separate and asked what each would do; they planned to gather their belongings, contact White Night, or flee with the Qin family if needed.
• Qing Lan shared pancakes among the group, and they ate together for the first time as Le Yu offered each student personal advice and thanks.
• Le Yu walked into a dim alley alone, and Qian Yuya watched him go, feeling something inside her melt.

Xianchan Chenchen led the Statistics Department to intercept Qin Leyin, who had escaped the Blood Prison and was racing to disrupt Shuiyun Palace’s enthronement ceremony. After learning the Patrol and Punishment Department was also pursuing him, Chenchen chose to clear Qin’s path by attacking their convoy, leaving the pursuit in chaos.

• The Cabinet issued a four-minister Oath of Stone and Gold ordering the Statistics Department not to injure Qin Leyin and to capture, intercept, or delay him.
• Zhaoye Bai drove Xianchan Chenchen and the Statistics Department agents toward the Blood Prison while Chenchen complained about the orders and his earlier treatment by the Commander.
• Scouts signaled Qin Leyin’s location, and the Statistics Department encountered the Patrol and Punishment Department’s larger convoy pursuing him.
• Xianchan Chenchen ordered Zhaoye Bai to ram the Patrol and Punishment Department’s lead vehicle, triggering a chain collision.
• Xianchan Chenchen ordered the Statistics Department agents to beat the Patrol and Punishment Department agents, clearing the way for Qin Leyin.

Le Yu fled toward the imperial court with Nieruo and Qin Yueyang, fighting through the Judges sent to capture him. Qin Yueyang helped Le Yu escape and accepted that he had changed, while he and Nieruo stayed behind to hold off the pursuers.

• Le Yu met Nieruo in an alley, and Nieruo revealed that Ming Shuangli had sent him to help Le Yu reach Shuiyun Palace.
• Nieruo admitted that Skyline assassins had attacked Le Yu before the Sword Quest for Succession and promised to repay the debt after one of them killed an elder who cared for Le Yu.
• The Judges trapped Le Yu and Nieruo behind a Prairie Fire spear formation, but Qin Yueyang smashed through it with a flaming boulder and gave Le Yu Swift Blade Boots components.
• Qin Yueyang helped Le Yu attach the components, and Le Yu asked whether Qin Yueyang had long known he had changed; Qin Yueyang affirmed it and showed him a notebook imagining their family as heroic Emperors.
• Qin Yueyang accepted that Le Yu had simply become a good person, called him his hero, and burned the notebook before he and Nieruo prepared to hold off the pursuing Judges.

Le Yu crossed Front Gate Street and the Imperial Court to reach Ming Shuiyun at the summit of the Ascension Platform, while Cha Huan chose to join the battle at the front. As dawn broke, Le Yu knelt before Ming Shuiyun and answered her call as her scabbard.

• Le Yu was surrounded by Golden Crow Guards on Front Gate Street, but Ning Xinyuan and Yan Yi used a sniper rifle to protect his passage.
• Cha Huan passed Le Yu without stopping him and flew toward the front line, urging him to follow his own will.
• Le Yu entered the Imperial Court and climbed the Ascension Platform as Ling Jiangli and the Empress Dowager allowed him to proceed.
• At sunrise, Le Yu reached Ming Shuiyun, took her hand, and knelt as she called him her scabbard.

Lan Yan fought Yu Ke, Xie Chenyuan, and Cha Huan on Chongsheng Gate while the battle for Yanjing continued. On the Ascension Platform, Le Yu questioned Cha Shiyin about the Holy Sword and learned that the four brothers of Huiyao Emperor Gaozu had all been adopted orphans.

• Lan Yan sent Yu Ke and Xie Chenyuan flying, then ordered Yin Guyue to lead the vanguard team against the Radiant Stone Concentrated Cannon.
• Cha Huan arrived on Chongsheng Gate, joined Yu Ke and Xie Chenyuan, and faced Lan Yan and Yin Guyue in battle.
• Le Yu asked Cha Shiyin whether the Undying Heart’s effects could be removed and why Cha Shiyin had never wielded the Holy Sword.
• Cha Shiyin said that many descendants of Gaozu could wield the Holy Sword, but he could not, and explained that he and his three brothers had been adopted orphans.

Cha Shiyin revealed the origins of the Twenty-Four Divine Weapons and explained that the Holy Sword Huiyao drew its power from the people’s Mental Power. As Ming Shuiyun gained the Holy Sword, Le Yu used his third wish to make her sovereign command him to die—and impaled himself on the blade.

• Cha Shiyin recalled how Ming Huiyao raised the brothers and brought home a meteorite that could provide food and power.
• After their mother died and their father was injured, Cha Shiyin and his brothers secretly entered the meteorite’s Sacrifice trials and gained divine weapons; Ming Huiyao later smashed the meteorite, whose fragments became the Twenty-Four Divine Weapons.
• Cha Shiyin explained that heroes could not rule forever and revealed that the Holy Sword Huiyao drew Mental Power from the people, whose recognition determined its succession and strength.
• Cha Shiyin offered his life to cancel the Holy Sword’s vacancy, transferring its power to Ming Shuiyun and warning that his body and spirit would eventually reform through light.
• Ming Shuiyun summoned the Holy Sword Huiyao and told Le Yu she knew he had tried to replicate it with the Saint’s Relic.
• Le Yu invoked his third wish, declaring that a subject ordered to die had no choice, and deliberately drove his throat onto the Holy Sword Huiyao.

Le Yu and Ming Shuiyun switched bodies during their confrontation, and Le Yu revealed that he had planned to replace her as emperor before deciding to protect her. After Shuiyun stabbed him to reclaim her body, Le Yu used the Saint's Relic to seize control of the Holy Sword Radiance and prepared to destroy the rebels.

• Cha Shiyin realized that Le Yu and Ming Shuiyun had exchanged souls, then vanished from the Ascension Platform.
• Le Yu treated Shuiyun's wound and confessed that he had planned to use Rebirth Through Death to replace her after she became emperor.
• Shuiyun stabbed Le Yu with the Holy Sword Radiance, and their souls switched back to their original bodies.
• Le Yu used the Saint's Relic to keep the Holy Sword Radiance from answering Shuiyun, then explained that he would not sacrifice her future for his ambition.
• Le Yu raised the Holy Sword Radiance as a pillar of light appeared over Radiance, while the city's leaders and Le Yu's allies watched.
• Le Yu declared that all rebellious subjects must die, and the Holy Sword descended.

Ting Ri explained why the story split into a happy Loyal Minister IF Route and a darker true-ending route, then summarized the volume and previewed Volume Four: War God. The chapter ended with a warning that the next volume would explore the curse’s intent to make life worse than death.

• Ting Ri said the Loyal Minister arc split into an IF Route where Le Yu lived happily and a true-ending route continuing into the next volume.
• Ting Ri explained that the upcoming fourth volume would unleash the illness he had suppressed while writing the first three volumes.
• Ting Ri summarized how Le Yu’s power grew quickly and the story’s plot threads converged on Flame Capital.
• Ting Ri thanked readers and named the alliance leaders whose tips supported him.
• Ting Ri warned readers that the next volume would be hell and announced its title as War God.