Chapter Summaries

Le Yu proposed rankings that would spur martial artists to compete while preventing them from uniting against the imperial court, and Bai Yu agreed to recommend him to lead the project. Bai Yu then revealed that Le Yu would enter the Royal Academy not as a student, but as a teacher.

• Le Yu explained that rankings could provoke martial artists into rivalries and make them too divided to repeat the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.
• Bai Yu said the ranking plan required cooperation with the Wisdom Guard and the Righteousness Guard, then offered to recommend Le Yu as its person in charge while Shi Huaifeng served as deputy.
• Le Yu protested that attending school would interfere with running the project, but Bai Yu insisted that he attend the Royal Academy.
• Bai Yu sent Shi Huaifeng to eat at the academy dining hall and told him not to return, leaving Le Yu alone for a private conversation.
• Le Yu asked why Bai Yu had arranged his entry into the Royal Academy, and Bai Yu revealed that Le Yu would attend as a teacher.

Le Yu learned that he would pose as an elective-course teacher at Yan Jing Royal Academy, where he was expected to become a scabbard in the Sword Quest for Succession and recruit a student for Liwei. The chapter ended with him discovering that Liwei’s sole recruitment candidate was Qian Yuya.

• Le Yu questioned whether he was qualified to teach at the Royal Academy, and Bai Yu explained that his prepared identity was an elective-course teacher.
• Bai Yu told Le Yu that the Grand Empress Dowager had arranged a Sword Quest for Succession, in which seven successors would search for Holy Sword Huiyao at the Royal Academy with scabbards whose strength could not exceed the Proficient Realm.
• Le Yu realized that he was expected to become a Sword Seeker’s scabbard while recruiting students as Liwei disciples.
• Bai Yu said that Le Yu could recruit one student and showed him the dossier of the candidate, Qian Yuya.

Le Yu questioned Bai Yu about recruiting Qian Yuya, a suspected White Night Walker, and learned why the Huiyao Four Guards believed she might accept their offer. The chapter left Le Yu reluctant to draw Qian Yuya into either faction, hoping she could live peacefully instead.

• Le Yu asked Bai Yu why the Righteousness Guard would not arrest Qian Yuya, and Bai Yu explained that White Night remained useful to the Huiyao Four Guards.
• Le Yu warned that Qian Yuya could act as a White Night double agent, but Bai Yu argued that clever White Night members might switch factions when offered better prospects.
• Bai Yu explained that most White Night members opposed the imperial court rather than imperial rule itself, making their goals compatible with the Huiyao Four Guards.
• Bai Yu listed the Four Guards' advantages, including legitimacy, a path to reform, access to the Heart of Nayser, and the expectation that the imperial family would ultimately prevail.
• Le Yu admitted to himself that he did not want Qian Yuya recruited because he hoped she would avoid dangerous factional work and live a happy, ordinary life.

Le Yu agreed to recruit Qian Yuya into the Guard of Rites and resolved to help her become strong enough to survive the struggle between underground organizations. He learned about the Royal Academy’s student factions and visited a bookstore, where a veiled customer bought two books.

• Le Yu agreed to make Qian Yuya a loyal member of the Huiyao Four Guards and decided to help her obtain a replica of the Heart of Nayser and possibly a divine weapon.
• Bai Yu told Le Yu that the Hearts of Nayser had no spare replicas and that replacements would take at least two years to reach him.
• Bai Yu explained that the Royal Academy assigned students to the Imperial Guard, Radiant, Scourge, and Dire factions according to their entrance-exam answers.
• Le Yu browsed Lanling Publishing House books at the Fantasy World Record Bookstore, including sensational stories about famous people and the emperor.
• A veiled customer entered the bookstore and asked the shopkeeper to wrap two books in black paper.

Le Yu learned that Sword Quest for Succession had already turned deadly for potential sword sheaths, so he could not meet his Sword Seeker and instead spent the month preparing on his own terms. He asked Qing Lan to stay in Profound Candle Prefecture, then felt an intensely malicious watcher observing him at the Perfect Battle Card Arena.

• Bai Yu told Le Yu that sword sheaths had been hunted before the contest began and warned him to keep his identity from the Sword Seeker.
• Le Yu realized the Guard of Rites had assigned him the role after its other two potential sword sheaths were killed.
• Le Yu arranged his teaching preparations through Qin Yueyang and spent his time scouting Yan Capital and gathering information.
• Le Yu mailed Qing Lan a letter under the name Mr. Treeman, asking her to stay in Profound Candle Prefecture and remain in touch.
• Le Yu joined Perfect Battle Card Arena and sensed that someone was watching him with intense malice.

Le Yu fled a carefully planned gun ambush and realized the pursuers had driven him into Xianchan Chenchen’s residence. Trapped, he disguised himself as a barefoot, ragged Red-Haired Snow White Princess and begged the women at the pool to save him.

• Le Yu suspected White Night had targeted him over the Shi and Qin families’ escape, the intercepted military funds, and his connection to Jing Zhengwei, so he had kept cautious and stayed home at night.
• Gun-wielding pursuers attacked Le Yu outside the Perfect Arena, chased him through the streets, and used ambushes and gunfire to herd him into narrow alleys.
• Le Yu evaded the gunmen and entered a courtyard, where he heard women identify the residence as theirs and learned that an inspector was searching for him.
• Le Yu recognized the pursuit as a trap connected to Xianchan Chenchen and quickly disguised himself by altering his appearance, clothing, and voice.
• Le Yu ran to the women playing in the pool and pleaded with them to save his life.

Xianchan Chenchen tried to frame Qin Leyin by forcing him into Twin Carp Palace’s residence, hoping to make the noblewomen recognize him as a Sword Scabbard candidate and jeopardize his chances. The plan failed when the women sheltered Qin Leyin, and Chenchen withdrew before going to Haixinsha Bathhouse, feeling humiliated by the cute persona he had to perform.

• Xianchan Chenchen entered Twin Carp Palace’s courtyard alone and endured the noblewomen pinching, teasing, and treating him like a cute child.
• Xianchan Chenchen claimed that a dangerous red-haired fugitive had entered the courtyard, but the women denied seeing anyone and refused to let the Statistics Department search.
• After leaving Liuli Alley, Xianchan Chenchen vomited, admitted to himself that he used cuteness to connect with powerful people, and ordered his agents to abandon the pursuit.
• Xianchan Chenchen realized that the women had recognized Qin Leyin and deliberately sheltered him, so he explained that his attempt to undermine Qin Leyin’s Sword Scabbard prospects had failed.
• Xianchan Chenchen sent his agents back to the Statistics Department and had his driver take him to Haixinsha Bathhouse, murmuring that he had been dirtied again.

Le Yu escaped the Statistics Department by convincing Shuangli and her companions that he had been Jing Zhengwei’s maid, then left dressed in an elaborate disguise. Qin Yueshi spotted the disguised Le Yu entering the Qin residence and was so stunned that she later told Qian Yuya her eldest brother looked more feminine than she did.

• Le Yu told Shuangli and the other women that he had served Jing Zhengwei and recounted a fabricated account of the Silver Blood Burning Night to explain the Statistics Department’s pursuit.
• The women questioned Le Yu about Jing Zhengwei and White Night, then agreed to dress him in a veil and elaborate clothes before letting him leave.
• Qin Yueshi noticed a striking woman in black walking toward the Qin residence and followed her inside, where she recognized the visitor as her eldest brother.
• Qin Yueshi spent the next day distracted, lost a sparring match, and confided in Qian Yuya that her eldest brother looked more feminine than she did.

Mu Qingmei comforted Huyan Siluo after they questioned a disgraced Lan family prisoner, urging her to help rebuild the Profound Candle Prefecture instead of blaming herself for her privileged upbringing. The two left the prison joking together, and Huyan Siluo revealed that she liked a narcissistic woman.

• Mu Qingmei offered the imprisoned Lan family man a painless death in exchange for the location of the Lan family's secret manual, and he gave her the address before swallowing the pill.
• Mu Qingmei knocked the prisoner unconscious, and Huyan Siluo mourned him while explaining that his peaceful death was mercy for his crimes.
• Huyan Siluo blamed herself for benefiting from her family's wealth, but Mu Qingmei embraced her and encouraged her to help rebuild the Profound Candle Prefecture.
• Mu Qingmei teased Huyan Siluo about Second Boss and learned that she already liked someone, while Huyan Siluo mentioned Divine Physician Wen Hong's unusual comparison of Minghong to a dog.
• Huyan Siluo refused to name the person she liked, but described her as very narcissistic, prompting Mu Qingmei to call her taste in people strange.

After White Night liberated Profound Candle Prefecture, it avoided declaring rebellion by appointing Huyan Siluo as East Sun’s governor while remaining loyal to the Radiant Court. Mu Qingmei continued leading the Youth Newspaper Agency and searching for Jing Zhengwei, then received a letter from Mr. Treeman at Yan Jing Royal Academy.

• White Night and the workers decided against rebelling and installed Huyan Siluo as East Sun’s nominal ruler, allowing the people to return to work.
• Mu Qingmei returned to the Youth Newspaper Agency, which had become Profound Candle Prefecture’s official newspaper, and beat a man falsely claiming to be Jing Zhengwei.
• Mu Qingmei read letters sent to Qing Lan, screening out false leads and punishing people who tried to exploit her.
• Mu Qingmei found a letter addressed from Mr. Treeman at Yan Jing Royal Academy and froze when she saw the sender’s name.

Qing Lan received a coded letter from Mr. Treeman that recalled her memories of Jing Zhengwei and suggested that death could lead to reunion. She burned the letter without revealing its message, then invited Mu Qingmei to move in with her and protect her.

• Qing Lan instructed Mu Qingmei to publish updates about Grace Locks, the Coastal Army's withdrawal, reconstruction, prices, and planned compulsory education.
• Mu Qingmei gave Qing Lan a scrambled letter from Mr. Treeman, and Qing Lan decoded it using a hole-punched card inspired by a childhood memory with Jing Zhengwei.
• Qing Lan burned the letter and told Mu Qingmei it contained a story about a kind of life in which every death was for the sake of reunion.
• Qing Lan told Mu Qingmei she no longer needed to sleep beside her, but invited her to move in instead.
• Mu Qingmei agreed to live with Qing Lan and promised to protect her.

Le Yu received Qing Lan’s letter and prepared for the Sword Quest for Succession, but Bai Yu visited to explain the Righteousness Guard’s response to Xianchan Chenchen and ask whether Le Yu would risk his life in the contest. Bai Yu revealed that he had made Le Yu the sole candidate because Le Yu had resisted the powerful to protect the weak, then asked how much Le Yu would sacrifice for justice.

• Le Yu read Qing Lan’s letter, learned she planned to come to Flame Capital in six months, and burned the letter after reading it several times.
• Le Yu considered the Sword Quest for Succession and resolved to enter the Royal Academy, where his rivals would be the other six scabbards.
• Bai Yu told Le Yu that the Righteousness Guard had docked Xianchan Chenchen’s salary and ordered him to stay away, but had imposed no harsher punishment because he was important to the Guards.
• Bai Yu asked whether Le Yu was willing to stake his life in the Sword Quest, and Le Yu declared grand ambitions to convince Bai Yu of his resolve.
• Bai Yu said Le Yu’s ambitions sounded false and revealed that he had wagered everything to make Le Yu the sole scabbard candidate because Le Yu had resisted the powerful to protect the weak.
• Bai Yu asked Le Yu how much he was willing to sacrifice for justice.

Bai Yu told Le Yu how Qin Xiao rose through the Propriety Guard by building connections and persuading people to do good deeds, earning him a reputation as a selfless political operator. The story ended as Bai Yu revealed that a civilian uprising in the Skyline District had led the late emperor to consider exterminating the district.

• Bai Yu explained the Propriety Guard's ranks and recalled how Qin Xiao advised him to support poorer relatives so they would help protect his inheritance.
• Bai Yu described Qin Xiao's journey from an orphan in the Skylands to a Royal Academy student and Propriety Guard Walker.
• Bai Yu recounted how Qin Xiao built friendships among officials by helping them complete minor public works and win public praise.
• Bai Yu summarized Qin Xiao's theory that people longed for recognition and could be led to cooperate by doing good deeds and receiving gratitude.
• Bai Yu said Qin Xiao's methods eased political hostility in the Yan Capital as the late emperor began limited reforms.
• Bai Yu revealed that a civilian uprising in the Skyline District had killed officials and prompted the late emperor to consider exterminating the district.

Bai Yu told Le Yu how Qin Xiao had delayed the annihilation campaign against the Skyline District, only to be imprisoned and executed for treason. After hearing Qin Xiao’s final words and learning the history behind his death, Le Yu faced Bai Yu’s question about whether he still intended to enter the dangerous political struggle; then the lights went out and someone opened the bedroom door.

• Bai Yu explained that Qin Xiao used his connections to delay the new army’s departure and sought the Loyalty Guard Commander, leading to the cancellation of the annihilation campaign.
• Bai Yu told Le Yu that Qin Xiao was later imprisoned for treason after court factions and the imperial family feared his influence.
• Bai Yu recalled Qin Xiao’s words in prison: he regretted nothing, was loyal to Radiance rather than its rulers, and would choose the same path again.
• Bai Yu asked Le Yu whether he was still willing to risk his life in the political struggle after learning Qin Xiao’s fate.
• The lights outside went out, plunging the bedroom into darkness, and the bedroom door creaked open.

Le Yu and Bai Yu fought a mysterious Bandaged Assassin who attacked them in the darkness and endured their blows with an unusual, corrosive power. As the assassin raged and blocked their escape, Bai Yu recognized the technique as Seven Emotions Combat Arts.

• Le Yu and Bai Yu suspected a Hidden Sword Assassin had entered the dark bedroom, but Bai Yu reasoned that the intruder was using the darkness to stall for companions.
• Bai Yu unleashed Thunderous Blast, revealing the Bandaged Assassin, and Le Yu and Bai Yu struck him with their Combat Arts and gunfire.
• The Bandaged Assassin resisted Le Yu's attacks, seized him, and hurled him into a lamp, plunging the room back into darkness.
• Le Yu drank red liquid to heal his injuries while he and Bai Yu realized the assassin's power was burning and corroding their bodies.
• Le Yu tried to escape and struck the Bandaged Assassin with Wild Bite, but the attacker shut the door and continued his assault.
• Bai Yu identified the Bandaged Assassin's technique as Seven Emotions Combat Arts.

Le Yu and Bai Yu confronted the Bandaged Assassin and discussed how the Seven Emotions Combat Arts required both Emotion Stirred and Heart Dead to control their miraculous powers. As the assassin attacked, Qin Yueyang encountered a crying young woman whose tears froze servants, then calmly controlled fire to meet her threat.

• The Bandaged Assassin revealed that he had been waiting for a chance to target the academy and raged about being unable to become a scabbard.
• Bai Yu explained the Seven Emotions Combat Arts, including the Emotion Stirred and Heart Dead stages and the powers they could grant.
• Le Yu and Bai Yu faced the Bandaged Assassin as he threatened to make them suffer his pain.
• Qin Yueyang found a frightened young woman beside a passage, with servants frozen behind her.
• The young woman’s lantern burst into fire dragons, but Qin Yueyang drew the flames to his fingertip and said he was good at cleaning up afterward.

Le Yu and Bai Yu fought the Bandaged Assassin in darkness, and Le Yu cut him apart with the Soul-Cleansing Demonic Sword. As the assassin explained why he had joined the emperor, he secretly recovered his madness and healing, leaving Le Yu and Bai Yu facing him again.

• Le Yu charged the Bandaged Assassin while Bai Yu shot him twice, and Le Yu drew the Soul-Cleansing Demonic Sword.
• Le Yu used Formless Combat Arts: Sword Trial to cut the Bandaged Assassin into pieces, while Bai Yu shot him again.
• The Bandaged Assassin recognized the Soul-Cleansing Demonic Sword and explained that he had escaped the Skyline District’s battlefield to serve the emperor and bring peace.
• Le Yu challenged the Bandaged Assassin’s loyalty to the royal family, and the assassin defended his choice as a way to end the Skyline District’s suffering.
• Bai Yu struck his last match, but the Bandaged Assassin snuffed it out after regrowing his body and restoring his healing.
• The Bandaged Assassin declared that the world was crazy and resumed his attack.

Le Yu and Bai Yu fought the corrosive Bandaged Assassin, who died after Le Yu used Empathy to confuse him, but Bai Yu was fatally wounded. At the Qin Residence, Qin Yueshi found Qin Yueyang among the aftermath of another attack and went to summon help, while suspecting something was wrong with him.

• Le Yu and Bai Yu attacked the Bandaged Assassin, but his corrosive body and helmet kept him from being stopped.
• Le Yu smashed his head against the Bandaged Assassin's helmet and used Empathy, leaving the assassin dazed long enough for the fight to turn.
• The Bandaged Assassin grabbed Bai Yu, then unleashed a fatal outburst that killed himself and left Bai Yu mortally wounded.
• Bai Yu told Le Yu that Qin Xiao had revealed a way for Holy Sword Huiyao to accept a new master without twenty years of nurturing, then reminisced about Qin Xiao before dying.
• Qin Yueshi found Qin Yueyang sitting in a pool of blood beside dead servants and gray-black fragments, and he told her to summon people from the Shi Residence.
• Qin Yueshi left, unsettled by Qin Yueyang's unfamiliar yet dreamlike expression.

Xianchan Chenchen and Zhaoye Bai investigated Bai Yu’s gruesome death, and Chenchen recalled Bai Yu’s past as a kind, relationship-building Ritual Guard walker. The chapter ended with Chenchen meeting the bandaged Qin Leyin and struggling to hold back his anger at Qin’s teasing.

• Xianchan Chenchen examined Bai Yu’s corpse while Zhaoye Bai teased him and directed the Statistics Department agents to search for the assassin’s route of entry.
• Zhaoye Bai explained that Director Xie had assigned her to assist and keep an eye on Xianchan Chenchen after his failed attempt to frame Qin Leyin.
• Xianchan Chenchen recalled how Bai Yu had favored building relationships and exchanging intelligence, while the other guards preferred direct violence.
• Zhaoye Bai suggested that Chenchen regretted Bai Yu’s death, but Chenchen did not answer.
• Qin Yueyang led Xianchan Chenchen and Zhaoye Bai to Qin Leyin, who teased Chenchen from his bandaged chaise longue and nearly provoked him into attacking.

Le Yu reunited with Xianchan Chenchen, traded insults with him, and learned that the attacker who had pursued the sword scabbard left no clues. The Heart of Nayser then revealed that Le Yu had become a Propriety Guard Direct Walker, and the chapter ended with Xianchan Chenchen threatening to kill him.

• Xianchan Chenchen lunged at Le Yu, but Shi Huaifeng and Zhaoye Bai restrained him while Qin Yueyang caught the orange cat.
• Le Yu and Xianchan Chenchen exchanged taunts, and Xianchan Chenchen accused Le Yu of blaming him for Bai Yu's death.
• Xianchan Chenchen said the Statistics Department could not identify the bandaged attacker, who had died without leaving a trace after targeting the sword scabbard.
• Zhaoye Bai introduced herself as an operative of the Statistics Department and a Righteousness Guard disciple called Xiangzhao.
• Le Yu activated Bai Yu's Heart of Nayser and learned that he was now a Propriety Guard Direct Walker, tasked with cooperating with the Righteousness Guard on ranking-list affairs.
• Le Yu threw Xianchan Chenchen a mango pit he had licked, prompting Xianchan Chenchen to vow to kill him.