Chapter Summaries

Xu Yi and Lu Shanren tested their skills in a fierce duel, with Xu Yi’s mastery of Qi impressing his senior brother. Lu Shanren admitted that Xu Yi had surpassed him, though the final exchange left the outcome complicated by Lu’s Heart Oath and Xu Yi’s restraint.

• Xu Yi attacked Lu Shanren with a relentless barrage of Finger Sword strikes, forcing Lu to counter with Mountain Gathering.
• Xu Yi used the Tide Listening Sword to break Lu’s Qi wall, and Lu answered with the Heaven Ranking technique Nine-tailed Sword.
• Xu Yi blocked five of the Nine-tailed Sword’s hidden attacks, but the sixth grazed his arm and wounded him.
• Xu Yi conceded defeat, while Lu Shanren praised his talent and declared that he accepted his own loss.
• Lu Shanren realized he had controlled the sixth tail under his Heart Oath, while Xu Yi had held back and impressed him with Return to Origin Palm.

After defeating Lu Shanren, Xu Yi revealed that he had formed a Boundless Sea and accepted a recommendation to join the Golden Dragon Guard. Back at Tianmao, he protected Yuan Qinghua with an official token and settled in to read, while Yan Zi’s pale appearance suggested she was hiding her exhaustion.

• Lu Shanren praised Xu Yi’s Boundless Sea and promised that Marquis Wu Cheng would have to think twice before targeting him.
• Lu Shanren recommended Xu Yi for the Golden Dragon Guard, explained that he would only be needed for the jinshi banquet in three months, and gave him a palace-entry plaque.
• Xu Yi returned to Tianmao and found that rising prices had left his hundred thousand gold coins with only a few valuable pills and a Heavenly Thunder Pearl.
• Xu Yi gave Yuan Qinghua his Guard Department identity token for protection, then went to the back courtyard to read.
• Yan Zi brought Xu Yi water to wash his feet, and he noticed her pale complexion and asked whether she was exhausted.

Xu Yi searched for filthy objects that could break Buddhist restrictions, while Xia Zimo invited herself along to Duke Cheng's Mansion. The chapter ended as Xu Yi and Xia Zimo prepared to attend the Young County Princess's birthday celebration.

• Yan Zi returned to the workshop with Xu Yi's forging notes and medicine so she could study weapon forging while cultivating.
• Xu Yi concluded that heavily polluted objects could break Buddhist restrictions, but he could not find any of the rare substances he needed.
• After three days of fruitless searching, Xu Yi learned that Xia Zimo wanted to accompany him to Duke Cheng's Mansion.
• Xia Zimo dressed Xu Yi in a purple scarf and gave him a folding fan before they set out.
• The chapter explained that Duke Cheng's household sold entry plaques to the public for the Young County Princess's birthday celebration.

Xu Yi and Xia Zimo entered Duke Cheng’s Mansion to compete for an auction license, learning that guests had to pay enormous sums for a chance to advance. After Xia Zimo secured their entry through the first selection, a servant rejected them at the next gate.

• Xu Yi and Xia Zimo arrived at Duke Cheng’s Mansion, where guests paid gifts to register for the birthday celebration.
• Xia Zimo replaced Xu Yi’s thousand-gold note with a twenty-thousand-gold gift and received a jade plaque that let them reach the first selection.
• Xia Zimo explained that the Imperial Household Department was selecting guests by the value of their gifts, and that those who paid too little were eliminated.
• The Head Butler demanded further gifts, and Xia Zimo placed gold notes in the servants’ treasure box in exchange for another jade plaque.
• After guests learned that even fifty thousand gold had not secured entry, a servant took Xia Zimo’s plaque and told her and Xu Yi they could not go in.

Xu Yi and Xia Zimo confronted the Duke's Mansion after its servants barred them from entering, and Xu Yi beat the soldiers and the Second Young Master. Xiao Fuchen admitted he had arranged the obstruction, and Xu Yi answered by mocking him over his earlier public humiliation.

• The Head Butler ordered soldiers to remove Xu Yi and Xia Zimo, while Xu Yi called out Xiao Fuchen and the Second Young Master.
• Xu Yi knocked both squads of soldiers away and struck the Second Young Master, shattering his magic robe.
• The Head Butler revealed his peak Qi Sea cultivation and warned Xu Yi not to cause bloodshed, but Xia Zimo publicly challenged the mansion's treatment of guests and its license auction.
• Xiao Fuchen returned and revealed that he had orchestrated their denial of entry with the Second Young Master.
• Xu Yi reminded Xiao Fuchen that he had once been stripped and spanked outside the Martial Arts Hall.

Xiao Fuchen tried to discredit Xu Yi and stop him from entering the Duke's Mansion gathering, but Xu Yi revealed his Golden Dragon Guard badge and Ten Households ring. As Xiao Fuchen tried to leave, a young man resembling Second Young Master Zhu arrived and declared the misunderstanding settled.

• Xiao Fuchen accused Xu Yi of being too low-born to attend the gathering, while Xia Zimo challenged him and defended Xu Yi.
• Xiao Fuchen began exposing Xu Yi's work, but Xu Yi cut him off by showing his Golden Dragon Guard badge.
• Xia Zimo revealed Xu Yi's Ten Households ring, and the crowd recognized both official tokens as genuine.
• Xiao Fuchen tried to retreat, but Xu Yi stopped him and challenged the Head Butler for having allowed the insults to continue.
• A young man resembling Second Young Master Zhu arrived, heard the Head Butler's explanation, and invited the guests to take their seats.

Xu Yi used an Imprint Pearl to expose Xiao Fuchen's insults and force him to slap himself, despite Young Master Zhu's efforts to shield him. Xu Yi and Xia Zimo entered the Duke's Mansion's inner residence, where Xia Zimo warned him that Young Master Zhu would seek revenge.

• Young Master Zhu tried to end the dispute, but Xu Yi demanded Xiao Fuchen slap himself ten times until he drew blood.
• Xu Yi played the Imprint Pearl recording of Xia Zimo accusing the Duke's Mansion of cheating guests and Xiao Fuchen insulting the Golden Dragon Guard.
• The Head Butler and Young Master Zhu tried to contain the scandal, and Young Master Zhu persuaded Xiao Fuchen to accept punishment.
• Xiao Fuchen slapped himself, and Xu Yi questioned whether he had counted all ten slaps.
• Xu Yi and Xia Zimo entered the inner residence, where Xia Zimo warned Xu Yi that Young Master Zhu would not let the humiliation go.

At the Duke’s Mansion birthday feast, Xu Yi’s appetite and playful exchange with Xia Zimo drew attention while Second Young Master Zhu arranged a poetry contest aimed at embarrassing him. Three representatives were selected, including Xu Yi, and the chapter ended as Zhu introduced the striking Li Xiuluo to Liu Jiubian.

• Xu Yi eagerly devoured the feast’s delicacies, and Xia Zimo grew embarrassed by the attention he attracted.
• Xu Yi offered Xia Zimo a piece of fish, and her shy reaction left them both awkward until the Head Butler’s toast interrupted them.
• Second Young Master Zhu proposed a poetry game, while Xia Zimo warned Xu Yi that the Zhu and Xiao families were targeting him.
• Zhu tossed jade balls onto three tables, selecting Xu Yi’s table, Liu Jiubian’s table, and Xiao Fuchen’s table for the contest.
• Liu Jiubian and Li Xiuluo stepped forward as representatives, and Zhu introduced Li Xiuluo as a peerless martial artist and accomplished scholar.

Xia Zimo wagered that Xu Yi’s writing was worth two hundred thousand gold, forcing Second Young Master Zhu and Xiao Fuchen to guarantee the payment. Just as Xu Yi prepared to compete, Jiang Nanxun arrived and asked to join the poetry contest.

• Xiao Fuchen and Second Young Master Zhu tried to force Xu Yi to compete, but Xia Zimo stood up in his place and challenged their insults.
• Xia Zimo insisted Xu Yi would reveal his writing only for a wager, and Zhu and Xiao agreed to guarantee two hundred thousand gold if it proved extraordinary.
• Xu Yi warned Xia Zimo that his earlier poems came from an old man’s recitation and that he might lose.
• Young Master Zhu arrived with Jiang Nanxun, introduced him as heir to the Zhongzhou Jiang Family, and welcomed him into the contest.
• Xia Zimo objected that Jiang Nanxun could not simply be added to the agreed contest.

Xu Yi impressed the poetry gathering by writing a powerful poem on the subject of “River and Lake,” while the Auspicious Duck served as judge. The contest remained unfinished as the duck praised Xu Yi’s poem.

• Second Young Master Zhu arranged a poetry contest with subjects drawn at random and half an incense stick to write.
• Xia Zimo questioned whether the contestants could receive a fair judgment, so Xiao Fuchen released the Auspicious Duck to judge.
• The Auspicious Duck misbehaved until Xiao Fuchen subdued it, and Xu Yi agreed to let it judge.
• Second Young Master Zhu announced “River and Lake” as the first subject, and Xu Yi used True Qi to write without moving from his place.
• Xu Yi completed a grand poem about the river and lake, and the Auspicious Duck praised his talent.

Xu Yi won the poetry gathering’s first two rounds with extraordinary poems, then composed a moving poem about love that left the crowd stunned and brought Xia Zimo to tears. The chapter left Xiao Fuchen and Second Young Master Zhu facing Xia Zimo’s demand that they pay the two hundred thousand gold they had wagered.

• Xia Zimo urged the contestants to finish writing, while Li Xiuluo conceded that Xu Yi’s first poem was beyond comparison and Jiang Nanxun and Liu Jiubian withdrew.
• Second Young Master Zhu announced the prompt “The ends of the earth,” and Xu Yi wrote a poem that stunned the gathering and defeated Xiao Fuchen’s hopes of winning.
• Xu Yi offered to end the contest after two rounds, but the crowd insisted on hearing the third poem, and Second Young Master Zhu revealed the prompt was “Love.”
• Xu Yi composed a poem about love and parting, moving Xia Zimo to tears and leaving everyone amazed.
• Xu Yi stopped Shaoguang from interrupting and took a ring from Xiao Fuchen, prompting Xiao to accuse him of insulting him.
• Xia Zimo confronted Xiao Fuchen and Second Young Master Zhu over their wager and demanded the two hundred thousand gold, which neither could afford.

Xu Yi and Xia Zimo joined the bidding for the plaque after Second Young Master Zhu traded the Auspicious Duck to settle his debt. The bidding shifted when Li Xiuluo presented a Yin Extremity Bead, and Jiang Nanxun challenged Young Master Zhu to think twice before accepting it.

• Xiao Fuchen tried to make Xu Yi pay his family's debt, but Xu Yi pressed him to explain himself, and Xiao Fuchen stayed silent to protect the Golden Box.
• Second Young Master Zhu offered the Auspicious Duck to settle the two hundred thousand gold debt, then took the duck and put it in a Spirit Beast Pouch.
• Young Master Zhu reprimanded Second Young Master Zhu and sent him away before announcing that the plaque would go to the highest bidder.
• Xia Zimo gave Xu Yi her remaining banknotes so they could combine their money to compete for the plaque.
• Li Xiuluo presented a Yin Extremity Bead as a birthday gift, and Xu Yi recognized it as resembling the Yin Extremity Scripture he possessed.
• Jiang Nanxun warned Young Master Zhu that the bead was not the Yin Extremity Scripture and admitted he had also taken an interest in the bidding.

Jiang Nanxun offered ten Divine Essence Pills for the sole license, but Xu Yi countered with an intact Upper Three-Rank Snake Demon corpse. Xu Yi proposed wagering all three treasures on a contest to decide who would receive the license, and suggested poetry as the contest.

• Jiang Nanxun offered Young Master Zhu ten Divine Essence Pills for the license.
• Xu Yi presented an intact Upper Three-Rank Snake Demon corpse, leaving Young Master Zhu unable to choose between the competing treasures.
• Xu Yi proposed that the Yin Extremity Bead, the Snake Demon corpse, and the Divine Essence Pills become stakes in a wager for the license.
• Li Xiuluo asked Xu Yi what contest he wanted, and Xu Yi proposed a contest of poetry.

At the Duke’s Mansion celebration, Xu Yi accepted Jiang Nanxun’s contest to launch a two-thousand-pound iron ball with True Qi. Jiang Nanxun sent his ball nine zhang and two chi into the air, and Xu Yi began his attempt.

• Jiang Nanxun proposed a round-robin Martial Arts contest and challenged Xu Yi to send a Heavy Iron ball higher than his.
• Xia Zimo pointed out that Jiang Nanxun was at the peak of the Qi Sea Realm, while Xu Yi was only at the middle stage.
• Jiang Nanxun used eight successive walls of Qi to launch his iron ball nine zhang and two chi high.
• Xu Yi stepped forward and formed a five-clawed wave of Qi toward the other iron ball.

Xu Yi revealed his Boundless Sea cultivation by raising the iron ball, forcing Jiang Nanxun to acknowledge his strength and leave. Li Xiuluo then challenged Xu Yi to escape a Three Talents Formation, and Xu Yi entered it but froze when black fog overwhelmed his mind.

• Xu Yi used the Return to Origin Palm and waves of Qi to propel himself into the air and send the iron ball soaring above the flagpole before it crashed into the ground.
• The crowd realized Xu Yi had reached the Boundless Sea, and Young Master Zhu apologized for his earlier hostility.
• Xu Yi asked Jiang Nanxun whether he was satisfied, and Jiang Nanxun admitted defeat before leaving while promising to fight him fairly another day.
• Li Xiuluo challenged Xu Yi to escape a Three Talents Formation within the time it took one stick of incense to burn, and Xu Yi accepted.
• Xu Yi entered the fog-shrouded formation, spotted a path out, then froze when a mass of black fog left his mind blank.

Xu Yi recognized Li Xiuluo as a Ghost King and pursued him to ask for Ghost King's Saliva, which he needed to break the restriction on the Yin Extremity Scripture. Li Xiuluo explained that the saliva was essential to his survival, and Xu Yi accepted his refusal, but Li Xiuluo stopped him as he was leaving.

• Xu Yi chased Li Xiuluo to Ba Bridge and invited him to drink in a pavilion.
• Li Xiuluo revealed his ghostly nature and attacked Xu Yi, but Xu Yi absorbed his black Qi with the Three Yin Wood.
• Xu Yi explained that he had seen through Li Xiuluo because of his Yin Eye, while his Ghost Fangs marked him as a Ghost King.
• Xu Yi asked Li Xiuluo for Ghost King's Saliva, and Li Xiuluo explained that he had only three drops and needed them to survive.
• Xu Yi stood to leave after accepting Li Xiuluo's refusal, but Li Xiuluo called him back.

Xu Yi heard Li Xiuluo’s tragic past and wrote a poem for his dead wife, earning Ghost King's Saliva in return. He then hurried to meet Lu Shanren, who told him that his poems had made him a coveted figure among the capital’s officials.

• Li Xiuluo told Xu Yi how a Wen family young master had killed him and his wife, and how he had become a Ghost King while seeking revenge.
• Xu Yi promised not to forget Li Xiuluo’s grievance and wrote a poem for his late wife at Li Xiuluo’s request.
• Li Xiuluo gave Xu Yi a small pot containing two drops of Ghost King's Saliva and promised to help him if needed.
• Xu Yi received an urgent signal from his golden token and ran to meet Lu Shanren at Xuanwu Gate.
• Lu Shanren told Xu Yi that his three poems from Duke Cheng's Mansion had reached the Third Prince and might have reached the Son of Heaven, prompting ministers to compete for him.

Xu Yi arranged to stay away from palace duties while preparing to cultivate, as Li Xiuluo and Marquis Xiao discussed new schemes against him. Xu Yi returned to find that Tianmao had been renamed Zimo Xuan.

• Lu Shanren reassured Xu Yi that the Commander of the Imperial Guard would not try to claim his allegiance and agreed to excuse him from palace duty until the Dragon Ascension List ceremony in three months.
• Xu Yi headed for Tianmao after parting from Lu Shanren, while Li Xiuluo entered a hidden palace beneath Azure Dragon Mountain and apologized to the Blood Bat Demon skeleton for failing to obtain the license.
• Marquis Xiao arrived and argued with Li Xiuluo before the Blood Bat Demon skeleton attacked him and swallowed his blood.
• Li Xiuluo told the Blood Bat Demon skeleton about Xu Yi, and Marquis Xiao requested permission to eliminate Xu Yi because he had become a Boundless Sea.
• The Blood Bat Demon skeleton gave Marquis Xiao a drop of Nine Nether Saliva, and Marquis Xiao outlined a second plan that required more resentment and hostility.
• Xu Yi arrived at his shop at dusk and discovered that its sign had changed from Tianmao to Zimo Xuan.

Xu Yi agreed to let Xia Zimo fund his shop and secretly mastered the Yin Extremity Scripture before traveling to Wen Manor to watch Second Young Master Zhu and a young man named Brother Wen leave. The chapter ended with Brother Wen ordering a steward to prepare a carriage.

• Xia Zimo offered three hundred thousand gold to take a stake in Xu Yi's shop, and Xu Yi accepted while naming it Zimo Xuan and refusing to claim dividends.
• Xu Yi asked Yuan Qinghua to approach Shopkeeper Shen and Shopkeeper Luo about joining the business, then studied the Yin Extremity Scripture and learned its three arts.
• Yuan Qinghua hired five apprentices, and Xu Yi left the shop after learning Xia Zimo had gone to look for a storefront.
• Xu Yi traveled to Wen Manor and listened as Second Young Master Zhu praised a beautiful woman to Brother Wen, who said he planned to take her as a concubine.
• After Second Young Master Zhu left, Brother Wen ordered a steward to prepare a carriage.

Xu Yi secretly took Young Master Wen’s blood, then returned to help Yuan Qinghua open Zimo Xuan. He walked with Xia Zimo to Ba Bridge as she told him she had to leave, unaware that Xiao Fuchen and the Head Butler were preparing to kill them.

• Xu Yi tracked Young Master Wen to a brothel, knocked him unconscious, and collected his blood before healing his finger.
• Xu Yi met Shopkeeper Shen and Shopkeeper Luo at Zimo Xuan and welcomed them as employees, offering to double their salaries.
• Xu Yi and Yuan Qinghua visited the new Zimo Xuan on Shenwu Main Street, where Xia Zimo was overseeing the sign’s installation.
• Xu Yi and Xia Zimo walked to Ba Bridge, where she told him she was leaving for a distant place; he gave her a voice-transmission orb and promised to wait.
• Xiao Fuchen and the Head Butler watched from vultures above, planning to kill Xu Yi and Xia Zimo before their flight rights expired.