Chapter Summaries

Yang Zhengshan and his family arrived in the Capital after stopping at Jinhai Guard, where Yu Qingyi met Xue Yun, the girl intended to marry into the Yang Family. As Yang Zhengshan entered the city, powerful figures learned of his return, and the Imperial Guard Superintendent warned Jiang Cheng not to target him directly.

• Yang Zhengshan met Xue Chang'an at Jinhai Guard, while Yu Qingyi met Xue Yun and gave her a pair of bracelets.
• Xue Chang'an provided carriages, and Yang Zhengshan led his family to the Capital and entered through Guangtong Gate.
• Zhou Mao and an elder discussed Yang Zhengshan's promotion and speculated that he had been sidelined from military command.
• Prince Dai heard that Yang Zhengshan had arrived and decided to visit him the next day with prepared gifts.
• Nan Sheng rebuked Jiang Cheng for suggesting that they harm Yang Zhengshan and ordered him to seek instructions from the south.

Emperor Yanping relied on Chen Zhongshu to investigate the hidden force behind Nan Sheng while allowing Yang Zhengshan to return to the Capital. Yang Zhengshan arrived at the Jing'an Marquis Mansion, where he calmly encountered his enemy Su Gan and began settling his family into their new home.

• Emperor Yanping learned that Chen Zhongshu had entered the Capital and ordered him to uncover the troublemakers, while keeping Nan Sheng under observation.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi arrived at the Jing'an Marquis Mansion, where their family greeted them as nobles nearby watched.
• Yang Zhengshan exchanged calm nods with Su Gan, Marquis of Jingyuan, and recalled their families’ deadly feud.
• Yang Zhengshan led his family into the mansion, where the children excitedly explored its grounds and Wang Mingzhe remained drowsy and unimpressed.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi settled into the main courtyard with Mingzhao after he gave Yang Mingcheng and Lu Shou a few instructions.

Yang Zhengshan received a cold reception at the palace and met with Duke of An at the Left Military Governor's Office, where he made clear he intended to keep a low profile. Back at his mansion, he was surprised when Prince Dai knelt and begged to become his disciple, and Yang Zhengshan said the prince would need Emperor Yanping's permission and would have to pass a test.

• Emperor Yanping waived Yang Zhengshan's formal thanks, so Yang Zhengshan left the palace without seeing him.
• Yang Zhengshan met Duke of An, An Huairen, at the Left Military Governor's Office and said he planned to rest rather than compete for authority there.
• Yang Zhengshan returned home and found Prince Dai waiting with a procession of attendants bearing gifts.
• Prince Dai knelt before Yang Zhengshan and begged him to accept him as a disciple so he could learn spear arts.
• Yang Zhengshan said Prince Dai needed Emperor Yanping's consent and would also have to pass his test.

Yang Zhengshan settled into life at the capital and welcomed his family, while Prince Dai failed to persuade Emperor Yanping to let him become Yang Zhengshan’s disciple. The chapter left Yang Zhengshan tending the Three-Yellow Plum tree and other mysterious plants in his Spirit Spring Space.

• Yang Zhengshan asked Wu Zheng to investigate Prince Dai’s reputation and met with Lu Wenyuan, Lin Zhan, and Liang Jinyan.
• Yang Zhengshan reunited with Yang Yunxue and met the younger members of the family, including his granddaughter Qingqing, Lin Zhan’s son, and Lu Miaotong.
• Prince Dai asked Emperor Yanping to let him become Yang Zhengshan’s disciple, but the emperor refused; the Empress told Prince Dai she might speak to the emperor again later.
• Yang Zhengshan spent several idle days at the Marquis Mansion and tended the Three-Yellow Plum sapling he had grown from its pit in the Spirit Spring Space.
• Yang Zhengshan inspected lotus buds growing around the spirit spring and checked the layout of the space’s gardens and fields.

Yang Zhengshan tended to his Spirit Spring Space and settled the Yang Family’s affairs in the capital after Wu Hai returned from Chongshan Pass. That night, an unknown Innate Martial Artist entered the Marquis Mansion and led Yang Zhengshan toward the Back Mountain.

• Yang Zhengshan visited the Spirit Spring Space, where young horses crowded around him, then picked tea and spent time processing its produce and tending its plants.
• Yang Zhengshan heard Wu Hai’s report that Chongshan Town was progressing, with roads under construction, spring plowing underway, and Yinghe reopened to boats.
• Yang Zhengshan told Wu Hai to resume managing the Marquis Mansion and train Lu Shou to succeed him, then established retirement pay and care for servants over sixty.
• Yu Qingyi told Yang Zhengshan that the Duchess of Ning had brought her grandson to consider a match with a young lady from the Huaiyang Li Family, and she had sent Yang Mingzhi three possible wedding dates for Yang Chengmou’s marriage.
• Yang Zhengshan woke to an unfamiliar sound, recognized an Innate Martial Artist in the courtyard, and followed the black-robed stranger as he fled toward the Back Mountain.

Chen Zhongshu recruited Yang Zhengshan to help raid Chunzai Hall as part of a coordinated operation against the force behind Nan Sheng. After learning that Yang Zhengshan was an Innate Martial Artist, Chen left him to prepare for the raid, while Yang resolved to arrange a way out for his family in case the emperor turned against him.

• Chen Zhongshu revealed that Emperor Yanping had ordered him to investigate Nan Sheng, whose hidden master remained unidentified.
• Chen asked Yang Zhengshan to lead an attack on Chunzai Hall, where Nan Sheng's allies and possibly Innate Martial Artists were concealed, and showed him Emperor Yanping's decree authorizing the operation.
• Chen explained that Marquis Nanyang would handle the Imperial Guard while other nobles dealt with targets elsewhere in the capital, and he realized Yang had reached the Innate Realm.
• Yang told Yu Qingyi that he would move the mansion's guards for the next day's operation and reassured her despite her worries.
• Yang considered the danger of the emperor eventually turning on him and decided to prepare an escape route for the Yang Family.

Yang Zhengshan prepared his guards for an operation in the Capital while Emperor Yanping exposed Nan Sheng’s betrayal and launched a purge across the Imperial City. Nan Sheng named the mysterious Red Monarch before the Blood Blade seized him, and Imperial forces moved to secure the city and target the Imperial Guard Division.

• Yang Zhengshan rallied his two hundred personal guards and one hundred guards, then prepared to lead them out after they ate.
• Emperor Yanping revealed that Black Blade and White Sword of the Blood Blade were present and confronted Nan Sheng about his treachery.
• Nan Sheng admitted that he had betrayed Emperor Yanping after being compromised over his greed and identified his contact as Red Monarch.
• Black Blade and White Sword broke Nan Sheng’s limbs, while Yulin Guard soldiers surrounded Taiji Hall and Imperial Personal Guard soldiers sealed other parts of the Imperial City.
• Chen Zhongshu, Wang Zhongzhi, and the four Regional Commanders of the Secret Martial Guard headed to the Imperial Guard Division to root out the people they called little rats.

Yang Zhengshan led the Yang Family guards to raid Chunzai Hall under an imperial decree, where they fought a group of armed martial artists. As Prince Dai watched the battle, an unkempt elder suddenly flew toward Chunzai Hall, where two figures were clashing above the main building.

• Lu Baishu assembled Imperial Guard officers at Zhengyang Gate while Chen Zhongshu's purge of the Imperial Guard Division proceeded smoothly.
• Yang Zhengshan arrived at Chunzai Hall with three hundred guards, showed Chen Zhongshu's imperial decree, and ordered the book studio sealed while his men searched it.
• Yang Zhengshan's guards fought more than thirty martial artists hidden in Chunzai Hall, surrounding a Ninth Layer expert who tried to escape across the rooftops.
• Prince Dai watched the fighting from a teahouse roof as Xiao Anzi tried to keep him safe, and he excitedly called out what he saw.
• An unkempt elder scolded Prince Dai, then suddenly flew toward Chunzai Hall and stopped nearby as two figures clashed above its main building.

Yang Zhengshan pursued an Innate Martial Artist fleeing from Chunzai Hall and fought him through the streets to Zhengyang Gate. The battle continued amid the gate tower’s collapse, while An Yuxing watched without intervening and noted that Yang Zhengshan’s cultivation seemed deeper than that of a newly advanced Innate Martial Artist.

• Yang Zhengshan discovered an Innate Martial Artist in Chunzai Hall’s Library Building and chased him across the rooftops, but the man’s Flame Blade knocked Yang Zhengshan through several walls.
• The fleeing martial artist headed for Zhengyang Gate, where Lu Baishu tried to stop him and was badly injured by a single punch.
• Yang Zhengshan caught up with the man at the gate tower and resumed fighting, trying to exhaust his opponent rather than defeat him quickly.
• The two Innate Martial Artists fought until the gate tower collapsed, while Imperial Guard soldiers and Lu Baishu watched from a safe distance.
• An Yuxing arrived and declined to intervene because Yang Zhengshan had not asked for help; he said Yang Zhengshan’s true qi did not resemble that of someone who had only recently entered the Innate Realm.

Yang Zhengshan defeated an Innate opponent after unleashing a miraculous spear thrust that An Yuxing said may have touched the level of Entering the Dao. After An Yuxing explained the enemy’s blood-refining cultivation technique, he arranged to visit Yang Zhengshan for Hundred Herb Brew, while Yang Zhengshan left the damaged city gate to Lu Baishu and Shuntian Prefecture.

• Yang Zhengshan exhausted his opponent’s true qi, broke his arm, and pierced him through the chest with a lightning-fast spear thrust as he tried to escape.
• An Yuxing praised Yang Zhengshan’s spear strike as potentially reaching the level of Entering the Dao, while Yang Zhengshan struggled to recall how he had performed it.
• Yang Zhengshan killed the wounded opponent by destroying his dantian, and An Yuxing identified the resulting loss of vitality as a consequence of the Spirit-Continuing Blood-Refining Technique.
• An Yuxing explained that the technique absorbed martial artists’ blood qi to cultivate, then introduced himself to Yang Zhengshan.
• Yang Zhengshan invited An Yuxing to drink Hundred Herb Brew, and An Yuxing agreed to visit his residence the next day.
• Yang Zhengshan handed the corpse to Lu Baishu and left the damaged city gate tower for Shuntian Prefecture to handle.

After Yang Zhengshan helped suppress the attack at Chunzai Hall, he handed the captives and corpses to the Secret Martial Guard and reported to Emperor Yanping, who confirmed that the investigation would continue. The next day, Yang hosted An Yuxing and Lu Baishu at his residence, where An brought him a Drunken Immortal Grass that Yang planned to cultivate in the Spirit Spring Space.

• Yang Zhengshan learned that the Chunzai Hall battle had ended with twenty-eight attackers dead, eight captured, and twelve guards wounded, then ordered the scholars taken to the Secret Martial Guard.
• Yang Zhengshan and Liang Chu delivered the prisoners and corpses to the Secret Martial Guard before reporting to Emperor Yanping, who praised them and said the investigation was not over.
• Yang Zhengshan returned to his residence, checked on the injured guards, and rewarded them for their performance.
• An Yuxing and Lu Baishu visited Yang Zhengshan the next morning, and An gave him a fresh Drunken Immortal Grass as a gift.
• Yang Zhengshan planted the Drunken Immortal Grass in the Spirit Spring Space, then hosted the two guests with roast lamb and wine.

Yang Zhengshan learned about Da Rong’s Innate Martial Artists from An Yuxing, then registered with the Imperial Court and received an Innate Order. He declined to join Three Mountain Valley and left with access to the Imperial Library of Merit and a modest salary as a noble-born Innate Martial Artist.

• Yang Zhengshan hosted An Yuxing and Lu Baishu with wine and heard about Da Rong’s registered Innate Martial Artists and powerful factions beyond its borders.
• An Yuxing explained that Da Rong had thirty-eight registered Innate Martial Artists, including members of the nobility, Three Mountain Valley, and Dacheng Temple.
• Thunder Spear brought Yang Zhengshan to Fengxian Hall, where he received an Innate Order granting access to Three Mountain Valley and the Imperial Library of Merit.
• Thunder Spear explained the Court’s salaries and restrictions for Innate Martial Artists, and Yang Zhengshan declined to enter Three Mountain Valley.
• Thunder Spear completed Yang Zhengshan’s registration and told him he could leave.

Yang Zhengshan used his Innate Order to study cultivation methods and experiences at the Library of Merit, discovering that the Yi Wood Everlasting Technique had four additional volumes for post-Innate cultivation. He was summoned to morning court, where officials began reporting on Liaodong’s recovery from drought.

• Yang Zhengshan visited the Library of Merit, where Wang Shu showed him the eight volumes of the Yi Wood Everlasting Technique and explained its post-Innate teachings and cultivation records.
• Yang Zhengshan spent the next several days reading and copying cultivation experiences, including records for the Yi Wood Everlasting Technique and the Breath Concealment Technique.
• Wu Hai told Yang Zhengshan that an Imperial Attendant Eunuch had summoned him to court, and Yang Zhengshan prepared to attend the following morning.
• Yang Zhengshan met Marquis Changping before court and learned that Liang Chu could not introduce him to his grandfather because the old man was away in Wanshan Ridge.
• Emperor Yanping approved requests for grain relief and tax exemptions for Liaodong after Sun Wenjian reported that the drought had eased and refugees had returned.

At court, Yang Zhengshan maneuvered the debate over the Imperial Merchant Bureau so the civil officials argued among themselves, then Emperor Yanping summoned him to hear the Secret Martial Guard’s findings on Nan Sheng’s rebellion. The investigation identified the Shenyang Sect as the mastermind and revealed its long history, covert network, and use of a blood-refining technique to strengthen its members.

• Emperor Yanping heard the Silla Jin Clan’s offer of annual tribute in exchange for investiture and sent the matter to the Grand Secretariat for discussion.
• Yang Zhengshan shifted his stance on the Imperial Merchant Bureau, prompting officials to divide into opposing factions and debate whether the court should control glass production.
• Emperor Yanping dismissed court and summoned Yang Zhengshan to the Imperial Study, where Wang Zhongzhi reported that the Shenyang Sect had masterminded Nan Sheng’s rebellion.
• Wang Zhongzhi explained that the Shenyang Sect had operated in the capital for ten years, recruited officials and guards through threats and inducements, and forced Nan Sheng to submit.
• Wang Zhongzhi identified Red Monarch, whom Yang Zhengshan had killed, as a Shenyang Sect leader who practiced the Spirit-Continuing Blood-Refining Technique, raising fears that the sect could produce many powerful martial artists.

The court debated how to counter the revived Shenyang Sect after its attack crippled the Secret Martial Guard’s intelligence network. Emperor Yanping asked Yang Zhengshan to remain in service and teach Prince An and Prince Dai, and Yang Zhengshan later drafted proposals for a new system to regulate the jianghu.

• Wang Zhongzhi reported that investigators had found no widespread disappearances of martial artists, while the Shenyang Sect’s attack had exposed and compromised much of the Secret Martial Guard’s network.
• Zhou Mao proposed strengthening existing agencies or creating a new yamen to control the jianghu, and Emperor Yanping asked the ministers to submit further proposals.
• Emperor Yanping asked Yang Zhengshan to stay in service and accept Prince Dai and Prince An as disciples, telling him he intended to make Prince An Crown Prince after two years.
• Yang Zhengshan considered the threat posed by martial artists and drafted a memorial proposing sect rankings, government-run Martial Dao academies, and a supervisory agency established across the provinces and prefectures.

Yang Zhengshan submitted proposals to bring jianghu sects under Imperial Court supervision, then accepted Prince An and Prince Dai as disciples. He visited Three Mountain Valley and realized the Three-Yellow Plum had likely shaped Da Rong’s history and the capital’s location.

• Yang Zhengshan submitted a memorial proposing sect rankings, Martial Dao academies, and a warrior supervision agency, despite their enormous cost.
• Prince An and Prince Dai visited Yang Zhengshan with apprenticeship gifts and formally became his disciples.
• Yang Zhengshan arranged lessons for Prince An every five days and invited Prince Dai to train at his estate with the Elite Guard Battalion.
• Yang Zhengshan tested both princes’ martial skills, gave them guidance, and sent them home with jars of Hundred Herb Brew.
• Yang Zhengshan entered Three Mountain Valley through the Wuxiang Guard camp and saw the towering Three-Yellow Plum tree.
• Yang Zhengshan concluded that the Great Ancestor had likely placed the capital beside the spirit plant because it could provide an unending supply of Innate Martial Artists.

Yang Zhengshan visited An Yuxing in Three Mountain Valley and asked him for guidance on cultivating Innate True Qi. After An Yuxing demonstrated Qi Control and refused to take Yang Zhengshan as a disciple, they agreed to exchange grandsons as apprentices.

• Lin Kuanguang welcomed Yang Zhengshan into Three Mountain Valley and led him to An Yuxing's courtyard.
• Yang Zhengshan offered An Yuxing two jars of Hundred Herb Brew and asked for cultivation guidance.
• An Yuxing demonstrated how to control Innate True Qi with extreme precision and use it to move objects from a distance.
• Yang Zhengshan asked An Yuxing to take him as a disciple, but An Yuxing refused because Yang Zhengshan was already an Innate Martial Artist and followed a different cultivation path.
• Yang Zhengshan praised his grandsons' talents, and An Yuxing agreed to take one as his disciple in exchange for Yang Zhengshan teaching his great-grandson An Chenhui.

Yang Zhengshan arranged apprenticeships for An Chenhui and Yang Chengmou, then the Imperial Court approved the establishment of the Imperial Merchant Bureau. The Ministry of Personnel subsequently drafted regulations allowing merchants to serve as its directors.

• An Yuxing introduced An Chenhui to Yang Zhengshan, and Yang Zhengshan reassured the anxious young man that he could continue living with An Yuxing while learning from him.
• An Yuxing chose Yang Chengmou as his disciple, and Yang Chengmou and An Chenhui completed their apprenticeship ceremonies at Yang Zhengshan's residence.
• Yang Zhengshan arranged for An Chenhui to study alongside Prince An and Prince Dai, while Yang Chengmou was to visit An Yuxing once every three days.
• Sun Wenjian argued in court that the Imperial Merchant Bureau was necessary to address the Ministry of Revenue's financial crisis, and Emperor Yanping approved its establishment and set its profit-sharing terms.
• The Ministry of Personnel drafted regulations for the Imperial Merchant Bureau, including permission for merchants to serve as directors.

Yang Zhengshan learned that Luo Shang had been abducted and confronted the nobleman trying to seize the Luo Family’s glass business. The chapter ended with the young man’s private room surrounded by Yang Family guards as Yang Zhengshan entered.

• Luo Shang visited Yang Zhengshan to ask about becoming a Director of the Imperial Merchant Bureau, and Yang advised him to wait while submitting a memorial to protect Chongshan Town’s glass profits.
• Four martial artists took Luo Shang to Chunman Pavilion, where a young noble in a python robe demanded the Luo Family’s glass shops and staff in Longnan, Nanyun Province, and Jiangnan.
• Luo Shang invoked Yang Zhengshan, but the young noble said he would deal with the Marquis himself and insisted that Luo hand over the shops.
• Ding Qiu and Yang Family guards surrounded the private room and restrained the young noble’s men.
• Yang Zhengshan arrived, paid the brothel’s madam to serve wine to the guests, and entered the room while the madam sent for Chunman Pavilion’s backer.

Yang Zhengshan rescued Luo Shang from Prince Ning at Chunman Pavilion and decided to petition for the prince to be sent to his fief. Emperor Yanping approved Yang Zhengshan’s request and ordered Prince Ning to leave the Capital after three months of house arrest.

• Yang Zhengshan confronted Prince Ning, dismissed his guards, and made him stay while the music and dancing continued at Chunman Pavilion.
• Yang Zhengshan warned Prince Ning that he would petition to have him sent to his fief, then left with Luo Shang and advised him to stay home for a few days.
• Yang Zhengshan encountered Wang Zheng of Duke Shou Mansion as their carriages passed, and Wang Zheng turned back after learning Yang Zhengshan had already left.
• Yang Zhengshan wrote a memorial recounting the incident and requesting that Prince Ning be sent to his fief, then sent it to the Imperial City.
• Emperor Yanping discussed the request with Chen Zhongshu and ordered Prince Ning to serve three months of house arrest before leaving the Capital for his fief.