Chapter Summaries

Le Yu deceived Mietangya and Cai Nü into believing they were allies against the Instant Annihilation Sword Sheath, then demonstrated his strength by defeating them and stopping a bullet. He persuaded the Sword Sheaths to cease fighting for now, but Mietangya and Cai Nü secretly planned to ambush their opponents when Le Yu lured them away.

• A red-haired man asked the Sword Sheaths to stop the war, but Le Yu ignored him and attacked Mietangya while pretending to reveal a secret plan.
• Le Yu defeated Mietangya with a powerful strike, then told Cai Nü that they needed to cooperate against the Instant Annihilation Sword Sheath.
• Le Yu knocked Cai Nü down and then challenged the hidden Instant Annihilation Sword Sheath to shoot him.
• With advance warning from Yin, Le Yu struck the bullet out of the air with one finger, convincing Mietangya and Cai Nü of his strength.
• Le Yu proposed a temporary ceasefire, and Mietangya, Cai Nü, and the hidden Sword Sheath each accepted.
• Le Yu rode away with his animal followers while Mietangya and Cai Nü secretly planned to ambush the Sword Sheaths he lured out.

Le Yu tried to prevent the Sword Sheaths from disrupting his side’s cheating plans by forming alliances with them all, then headed to meet Nieruo while letting Mietangya believe he remained loyal. He left Mietangya waiting outside the woods, confident that his self-deception had kept the alliance secret.

• Le Yu reasoned that preventing a fight among the Sword Sheaths would best secure his side’s chances in the All-Knowing Eye, so he had secretly allied with the other Sword Sheaths who approached him.
• Le Yu and his animal companions drove away nearby spies, while students fled the combat zone as the exam’s first hour ended.
• Li Ying and Qin Yueshi left the exam to copy the questions and seek answers at the White Box Library.
• Le Yu told Mietangya truthfully that he was going to find Nieruo, then entered the woods with Nieruo while leaving his animal companions behind.
• Mietangya convinced himself that Le Yu would not ally with Nieruo, and Le Yu confirmed that his act had succeeded when Mietangya stayed behind.

Le Yu admitted to Nieruo that he had secretly contacted other sword scabbards, then persuaded him that cooperating was necessary to protect Twin Carp Palace’s chances in the Sword Quest for Succession. Nieruo forgave him and asked to hear his plan.

• Nieruo explained why Twin Carp Palace’s Madness Mask represented a meaningful bond between Sword Master and sword scabbard, then tested Le Yu with a sword strike.
• Nieruo asked whether Le Yu had betrayed their agreement and allied with other sword scabbards, and Le Yu admitted that he had.
• Le Yu warned Nieruo that the Sword Bearer might favor another candidate and end the Sword Quest for Succession, threatening Twin Carp Palace’s prospects.
• Le Yu urged Nieruo to forgive him for acting in Twin Carp Palace’s interest, and Nieruo lowered his blade and agreed.
• Nieruo asked Le Yu to explain his plan.

Le Yu convinced Nieruo to fake a serious defeat so he could turn the other sword scabbards against one another, then used their fight to activate Blood-Drinking Eight Rice Flow. He overwhelmed Mietangya and announced that Mietangya would also have to withdraw, leaving him to carry out the scheme alone.

• Le Yu proposed that Nieruo pretend to be seriously injured and trust him to incite infighting among the sword scabbards.
• Nieruo agreed to the gamble and gave Le Yu a flare, hoping to eliminate the other sword scabbards before facing him.
• Le Yu practiced Blood-Drinking Eight Rice Flow on Nieruo, and the ensuing clash sent a burst of blood-red light from the woods.
• Le Yu emerged covered in blood and told Mietangya that Nieruo had been seriously wounded, then attacked him.
• After defeating Mietangya, Le Yu explained his plan and declared that Mietangya had to leave the exam seriously injured; Mietangya pleaded for him to go easy.

Le Yu forced Cai Nü to withdraw and enlisted Yin to help him lure and eliminate the remaining Sword Sheaths, believing the All-Knowing Eye exam was already lost. He left the battlefield in control of the situation and hoped Ming Shuiyun and the others would perform well.

• Cai Nü watched Mietangya flee, but Le Yu found her and pressured her into pretending to be seriously wounded and withdrawing.
• Le Yu explained that he planned to draw Nieruo and Mietangya back while searching for the Instant Annihilator, then have Cai Nü help finish them off.
• Le Yu reasoned that the Beast Tamer and the hidden Sword Sheath might already have secured full marks, so winning the exam mattered less than eliminating the other Sword Sheaths.
• Le Yu contacted Yin, explained his plan to have Yin snipe the Sword Sheaths he restrained, and gained Yin's promise to keep watching him.
• Le Yu reflected that he had deceived four Sword Sheaths to shape the exam for Ming Shuiyun and hoped she would perform well.

Cha Shiyin healed Lai Ya and allowed Shi Wen two hours to work without interference. Shi Wen helped Qin Yueshi and Li Ying answer the All-Knowing Eye exam, then insulted them over their shortcomings before apologizing after Li Ying confronted him; meanwhile, Zhaoye Bai escorted a disguised Ming Yueyan to the restroom, but Ming Yueyan escaped and was cornered in the woods.

• Cha Shiyin healed Lai Ya, told her he would not interfere for two hours, and approved of Shi Wen making someone eat his own cooking.
• Shi Wen began helping Qin Yueshi and Li Ying answer their exam by locating reference books and marking responses.
• Shi Wen criticized Li Ying's poor record and Qin Yueshi's privileged admission, prompting Li Ying to confront him and demand an apology to Qin Yueshi.
• Shi Wen apologized, and Qin Yueshi and Li Ying left with the answers; afterward, he told Lai Ya he resented people whose lives seemed easier than his.
• Zhaoye Bai escorted a student claiming to be Ming Yueyan to the restroom, but the real Ming Yueyan escaped through a window and headed for the woods.
• Ming Yueyan climbed a tree to avoid a jackal and two leopard cats, then fainted when a red-haired man appeared upside down in front of her.

Le Yu captured Ming Yueyan and learned that her sword scabbard could disguise itself as different people, while Ming Yueyan revealed she was the author of the Collection of Famous People and agreed to cooperate. As the third stage of the All-Knowing Eye exam began, Xianchan Chenchen drowned out the answer-carrying flute with a suona performance atop the Nightmare Teaching Building.

• Le Yu placed the sleeping Ming Yueyan on the Ferocious Jackal and suspected her sword scabbard could impersonate others.
• Le Yu considered the danger posed by the disguised sword scabbard but decided to keep Ming Yueyan alive and use her to reach them.
• A flute began carrying answers to examinees, and Le Yu explained that the third stage of the All-Knowing Eye exam had begun.
• Ming Yueyan admitted she wrote the Collection of Famous People and agreed to cooperate with Le Yu in finding her sword scabbard.
• Xianchan Chenchen appeared on the Nightmare Teaching Building roof and played a suona loudly enough to overwhelm the flute.

Xianchan Chenchen led Yantong in a campaign to stop candidates from passing answers during the Imperial Academy exam, using music to overwhelm the students. Qin Leyin found a way around the proctors by shooting answers into the examination rooms, leaving Xianchan Chenchen furious and unable to intervene.

• Xianchan Chenchen explained that Yantong aimed to prove its strength and prevent candidates from sharing answers during the exam's second half.
• Students used a qin and flute to send answers, but Linü countered with four suonas that drowned out the music across Yan Capital.
• Xianchan Chenchen considered ways Qin Leyin might transmit answers and concluded that direct delivery would be the safest method.
• Qin Leyin emerged from the woods with two girls, loaded a long-barreled gun, and fired answers into the examination rooms.
• Xianchan Chenchen watched helplessly as the bullets bypassed Yantong's defenses, then struck his operative with a suona despite being offered hot, cold, and iced water.

Le Yu finished marking the All-Knowing Eye answers on the examination room wall with gunshots, with Cha Huan allowing the cheating method despite the damage to Academy property. Before leaving with Qin Yueshi and their hostage, Ming Yueyan, he asked Li Ying what reward she wanted, and she requested an internship at the Steam Merchant Guild.

• Li Ying asked to fire Le Yu’s gun, but he refused and dismantled it.
• Qin Yueshi recognized Ming Yueyan as one of the Radiant Heavenly Maidens, and Le Yu said they needed to leave before the area became dangerous.
• Le Yu explained that the bullet-hole pattern gave the exam answers while disguising some incorrect choices, and that Cha Huan had let him proceed.
• Li Ying asked Le Yu for a reward because she had helped him, and he invited her to say what she wanted.
• Li Ying requested an internship at the Steam Merchant Guild, prompting Le Yu to question why an Imperial Academy student wanted to enter business.

Le Yu accepted Li Ying's request to train as a merchant and teased Qin Yueshi until she demanded a thank-you, then softened and thanked her. He took Ming Yueyan into the woods as a witness to a gathering of scabbards and summoned the others with a signal flare.

• Li Ying told Le Yu she wanted to train at his guild because she was interested in business, and Le Yu approved her request.
• Qin Yueshi demanded that Le Yu thank her for what she had done, but he teased her about wanting to settle her debt until she nearly punched him.
• Le Yu thanked Qin Yueshi, and she left with Li Ying, who offered to calm her down.
• Le Yu brought Ming Yueyan toward the woods and told her she would witness a gathering of scabbards.
• Le Yu fired Nieruo's signal flare to summon the other scabbards.

Le Yu decided to keep the other sword sheaths gathered for his All-Knowing Eye exam rather than leave with Ming Yueyan. Nieruo answered the signal flare, but an unseen Instant Annihilator attacked him, and Xia Mu joined the fight with a spear.

• Le Yu tied up his red hair with one of Ming Yueyan’s hairs and announced that his All-Knowing Eye exam was beginning.
• Nieruo recovered beside his poison-soaked flag, prepared his blade, and headed toward Le Yu’s signal flare, pleased that Qin Leyin had kept his promise.
• An unseen sniper fired at Nieruo, who used Cherry Dragon Sword Dance: Brushing Aside the Abode to block the bullet and recognized the threat of the Instant Annihilator.
• Nieruo unleashed Cherry Dragon Sword Dance: Butterfly Waves, destroying another bullet and sweeping the forest with a storm of sword lights.
• As Nieruo pursued a figure through the trees, Xia Mu attacked him from the side with a spear.

Nieruo and Mietangya fought to the brink of a Warrior’s Duel, but Cai Nü’s ambush was interrupted by a shot from the Instant Annihilator. Le Yu arrived and offered to end the conflict, leaving Nieruo to recognize him as both his greatest enemy and his best enemy.

• Nieruo and Mietangya traded powerful attacks, acknowledged their injuries, and agreed to settle who lived and died in a Warrior’s Duel.
• Mietangya activated his battle arts and charged as Nieruo unleashed Cherry Dragon Sword Dance, but Cai Nü sprang from hiding and attacked them both.
• The Instant Annihilator fired at Cai Nü, forcing her to deflect the bullet and withdraw; Nieruo and Mietangya also abandoned their duel and retreated.
• Le Yu arrived with the leopard cat, vicious sable, and Ming Yueyan, then offered to bring the conflict to an end.
• Nieruo’s blade grew sharper as he watched Qin Leyin, and he realized the red-haired man might be his greatest enemy and his best enemy.

Sou explained to Ning how Qin Leyin manipulated the Sword Sheaths into ending their fight and leaving him with Ming Yueyan, while Huang predicted Cai Nü would be the first to leave the game. Qin Leyin escaped with his allies’ trust intact, but an unfamiliar woman rushed up to him and said a Sword Sheath was hunting her.

• Sou explained that Qin Leyin’s speech appealed to the Sword Sheaths’ self-interest while making them feel he had sacrificed for them.
• Qin Leyin rejected Cai Nü’s suggestion to use Ming Yueyan as a hostage and promised to return her to the Thousand-Faced Sword Sheath.
• Huang predicted that Cai Nü would be the first Sword Sheath to leave the game because she had the lowest moral bottom line.
• Qin Leyin led Ming Yueyan away, and Nieruo, Mietangya, and the others let them leave without restarting the fight.
• Sou explained to Ning that Qin Leyin’s departure gave the Sword Sheaths a way to withdraw while preserving their alliance with him.
• An unfamiliar woman ran to Qin Leyin and warned him that someone, possibly a Sword Sheath, was hunting her.

Qin Leyin uncovered Thousand-Faced’s disguise as Ming Shuiyun and failed to catch her before the All-Knowing Eye examination ended. Ning, Sou, and Huang returned to Feng Lü’s hidden headquarters, where they reported on the Sword Sheaths and Qin Leyin.

• Thousand-Faced impersonated Ming Shuiyun and claimed controlled beasts were chasing her, but Qin Leyin realized her story was false.
• Qin Leyin exposed Thousand-Faced by testing her reaction to the word “Master,” then identified her as the Thousand-Faced Sword Sheath.
• Thousand-Faced escaped with Ming Yueyan after setting off a smoke bomb, and the alarm announced the end of the All-Knowing Eye examination.
• Ning, Sou, and Huang returned to a concealed hill in the Forest of Myriad Forms and reported casualties and threats to a young man they called brother.
• The young man recorded their reports about Qin Leyin and gave the three beasts food, while Ning and Sou joked about Huang’s idea that Feng Lü was their master.

After the exam, Qin Leyin revealed that Thousand-Faced had abducted Ming Yueyan and warned the others to verify identities before discussing important matters. Lin Xue joined Ming Shuiyun’s faction, and Qin Leyin established their first password.

• Ming Shuiyun thanked Qian Yuya and Lin Xue for helping her secure the exam honors, and the group went to meet Qin Leyin.
• Qin Leyin told Ming Shuiyun that Thousand-Faced had impersonated Ming Yueyan during the exam, then disguised itself as Ming Shuiyun and took Ming Yueyan away.
• Qin Leyin tested Qian Yuya and Lin Xue with questions to confirm that neither was Thousand-Faced in disguise.
• Qin Leyin offered Lin Xue a reward for her help, but Lin Xue asked to join Ming Shuiyun’s faction instead.
• Ming Shuiyun accepted Lin Xue’s offer, and Qin Leyin set their first identity-check password as “Imperial Jade Liquid Wine, 180 a cup.”

After the All-Knowing Eye exam, Qin Leyin planned to pay for public toilets to make amends with Principal Cha, while Ming Shuiyun worried that Qin Leyin had grown distant from her. The chapter ended with Le Yu puzzling over the Thousand-Faced Sword Sheath’s sex and anatomy.

• Qin Leyin said he would visit Platinum Tower and sponsor public toilets after the exam’s chaos, and Lin Xue explained Principal Cha’s long-standing sanitation policy.
• Ming Shuiyun revealed that she had only one gold coin, and Qin Leyin told her he would cover the remaining cost and collect her coin’s value many times over later.
• Ming Shuiyun spent a cheerful evening with her friends and dormitory sisters, then grew sorrowful at midnight because Qin Leyin had not praised or acknowledged her after the exam.
• Ming Shuiyun wondered whether Qin Leyin wanted to change Sword Masters or no longer cared about her, and she tossed and turned through the night.
• Le Yu lay awake wondering how the Thousand-Faced Sword Sheath changed its anatomy when transforming between male and female forms.

Le Yu read Qing Lan’s letter, finished a deliberately altered ending to “Your Name,” and sent her a playful description of the girls around him. The All-Knowing Eye results then revealed Ming Shuiyun had placed first, while a public scoreboard praised Qin Leyin’s role in the exam.

• Le Yu read Qing Lan’s report about White Night’s possible plan to retake Star Engraving Prefecture and her questions about his writing and the girls around him.
• Le Yu wrote a new ending to “Your Name” in which Taki and Yei met again as agents on opposing sides, then described six girls to Qing Lan and added a joke asking her to collect him.
• After a brief stretch of routine at the academy, Le Yu went to the central square when students gathered to see the All-Knowing Eye results.
• The results showed Ming Shuiyun in first place with 196 points, ahead of the other listed students.
• Le Yu saw a Huiyao Scoreboard notice congratulating Qin Leyin for his performance and awarding him two points.

Le Yu read the Sword Bearer’s Radiance Scoreboard, which rewarded exposed sword sheaths and reshaped the Sword Quest for Succession standings. As students crowded around him over his support for Ming Shuiyun, Ming Yueyan suspected Qianmian’s poor exam performance had kept her out of the Heart of Erudition.

• Le Yu recognized the Radiance Scoreboard as the Sword Bearer’s work and realized its praise and points were meant to encourage open support for Sword Masters.
• The scoreboard placed Ming Shuiyun and Qin Leyin first with five points, ahead of Ming Shuangli and Nieruo with three.
• Students surrounded Le Yu, speculating about his influence and offering to serve Shuiyun Palace, while Ming Yueyan left to promote her new book.
• Le Yu questioned Ming Yueyan about Qianmian’s help on the examination, and she suspected Qianmian might also be an academic underachiever.

Ming Shuiyun and her friends rushed to the cafeteria for a rare popular lunch, where they joked about grades, love letters, and her future as empress. When students began fighting over the disputed Sword Quest for Succession exam, her friends protected her from the argument and Li Ying’s teasing earned her a smack.

• Zhu Yan’s class ran late, so Ming Shuiyun and five friends hurried to Pig Food Cafeteria before the best dishes were gone.
• Li Ying found Beef Brisket Zha Jiang Yi Mein, and the group enjoyed the rare cafeteria favorite together.
• Kui Nianruo cried over a past exam mistake, but Li Ying pointed out that her orange ranking had placed her among the grade’s top students.
• Li Ying and Lin Xue teased each other about love letters and joked that Qian Yuya’s popularity was driving away Li Ying’s romantic prospects.
• Students in the cafeteria argued over alleged unfairness in the All-Knowing Eye exam and the competing palace factions, while Ming Shuiyun kept her head down.
• Li Ying asked Ming Shuiyun for a Death-Exemption Gold Medallion, and someone smacked her for the request.

After the Sword Bearer’s public scoreboard gave the court a way to approach the Sword Masters and Sword Sheaths, Xianchan Chenchen warned Qin Yueyang that powerful interests would try to use him to reach Qin Leyin. Qin Yueyang accepted a mission to negotiate with the National Salvation and Relief Society and left determined to handle it without troubling his elder brother.

• Xianchan Chenchen recognized that the Sword Bearer’s scoreboard had publicly identified the Sword Masters and Sword Sheaths, giving the court and other factions room to court them.
• Qin Yueyang came to Xianchan Chenchen’s office, where the inspector warned him that people would target him as Qin Leyin’s vulnerable relative.
• Xianchan Chenchen proposed that Qin Yueyang use his family ties to negotiate the Steam Merchant Guild’s entry into the National Salvation and Relief Society.
• Qin Yueyang agreed to take over the negotiations from Shi Huaifeng despite the risks of being courted or manipulated.
• Qin Yueyang left, saying the matter was minor and he could handle it without involving Qin Leyin.