Chapter Summaries

Yang Ling arrived in the Capital with Xu Wenjun and Lu Yunchen, where he saw the Cao Gang’s many player disciples and learned the Department Master wanted to meet them. At the dock, Gu Weizhou confronted Lu Yunchen and insulted the Iron Clothes Department, and Yang Ling challenged him to a fight.

• Yang Ling messaged Zhang Wei that he was in the Capital, and Zhang Wei said they could talk after he finished settling into the Directorate of Ceremonial.
• Xu Wenjun and his group arrived at the Capital’s canal dock, where Yang Ling noticed thousands of players working as Cao Gang grain transport workers.
• Yun Buchuan collected Xu Wenjun, Hong Ruohai, and Lu Yunchen’s official seals, gave them performance review letters, and summoned them to meet the Department Master.
• Gu Weizhou and other scholars confronted the group, and Gu Weizhou mocked Lu Yunchen over Kong Xinghu’s death and the Iron Clothes Department’s failure.
• Yang Ling searched the scholars for Luo Kai, then cursed at Gu Weizhou and challenged him to fight one-on-one.

Yang Ling traded insults with Gu Weizhou and the scholars at the docks, drawing a crowd of officials, players, and onlookers. When Gu Weizhou’s powerful disciple Xie arrived, Yang Ling was challenged to defeat him before learning where his youngest martial uncle was.

• Yang Ling insulted Gu Weizhou and the Star Gazing Academy scholars, while Lu Yunchen and the others watched the argument escalate.
• Han Changyuan and several officials observed the scene, and a middle-aged lay practitioner recognized that Yang Ling had reached minor perfection in qi and blood.
• Gu Weizhou prepared to fight Yang Ling, then reconsidered after learning Yang Ling had killed the upper sixth-rank Monk Ming Xin.
• Xie, an upper sixth-rank disciple who had passed his life tribulation, arrived at Gu Weizhou’s request and offered to handle Yang Ling.
• Yang Ling asked Xie where his youngest martial uncle was, and Xie said he would tell him if Yang Ling could beat him.

Yang Ling defeated Xie Zhihu and Gu Weizhou at the docks, then learned that Luo Kai was supposedly traveling. The players realized that the Iron Clothes Yang was Rank One, who had entered the Capital.

• Xie Zhihu challenged Yang Ling to a duel, and Yang Ling asked Yun Buchuan to confirm that it was legal.
• Yang Ling overwhelmed Xie Zhihu with a rapid barrage of slaps, leaving him badly injured and stunning the witnesses.
• Yang Ling kicked Gu Weizhou more than twenty times and sent him crashing into a cargo crate.
• Yang Ling questioned Xie Zhihu about Luo Kai and learned that he was said to be traveling; Yang Ling suspected he was in the Capital or with the Rong Tribe.
• The dockworkers returned to work, and the players recognized Iron Clothes Yang as Rank One, who had entered the Capital.

Yang Ling arrived at the Capital's Iron Clothes Department and met its Department Master, who questioned him about his recent clash with scholars and tested the meaning of his insults. After learning that Yang Ling had easily defeated Xie Zhihu and already reached Upper Sixth Rank, the gathered officers were surprised.

• Yun Buchuan brought Yang Ling and the others into the vast Capital's Iron Clothes Department, where officers whispered about Yang Ling's reputation and his recent troubles.
• Zhao Xun met the group and warned them that the Department Master was in a bad mood.
• Yang Ling tried to inspect the Department Master's Attribute Panel but felt a dangerous backlash and stopped.
• The Department Master asked Yang Ling what “shithole” and “cock” meant, and Yang Ling answered bluntly.
• The Department Master noted that Yang Ling had easily defeated Xie Zhihu, who had overcome his Life Tribulation, and asked whether Yang Ling was still a Newly Promoted Sixth Rank.
• Yang Ling revealed that he had already broken through to Upper Sixth Rank, surprising Xu Wenjun and the others.

Yang Ling revealed that he had reached Upper Sixth Rank, passed the Life Tribulation, and achieved Qi and Blood Minor Perfection, impressing the Iron Clothes Department Master. The Department Master assigned new posts to Xu Wenjun, Lu Yunchen, and Yang Ling, sending Yang Ling to the Public Security Division First Branch to build experience and merit.

• Yang Ling confirmed that he had passed the Life Tribulation and reached Qi and Blood Minor Perfection, surprising Zhao Xun, Yun Buchuan, Xu Wenjun, and Lu Yunchen.
• The Department Master urged Yang Ling to refine his qi and blood toward perfection before advancing, and Yang Ling promised to follow his guidance.
• Zhao Xun proposed rewarding Yang Ling with Crimson Wood Ghost Ginseng, but the Department Master said Yang Ling would need to earn the merit and could apply to exchange his reward after the Sixth Rank Top Hundred Battle on Fire Flood Dragon Island.
• The Department Master appointed Xu Wenjun chief of the Anti-Theft Division First Branch and assigned Lu Yunchen as a Constable in Zhao Xun's Public Security Division Fourth Branch.
• The Department Master assigned Yang Ling as a Constable under the Public Security Division First Branch, despite Yun Buchuan's request to take him into the Third Branch.
• Li Zhong asked why Yang Ling was not assigned to Yun Buchuan, and the Department Master explained that Yang Ling needed to be tempered away from someone he was close to.

Yun Buchuan explained the Capital Iron Clothes Department’s structure to Yang Ling and warned him about its civil-official Patrol Division. They arrived at Ji Kongliu’s courtyard, where Ji was testing his subordinates’ investigative skills, and Ji greeted Yun Buchuan after setting them a criminal-identification challenge.

• Yun Buchuan told Yang Ling how the Capital Iron Clothes Department was organized and cautioned him against attracting the Patrol Division’s scrutiny.
• Yun Buchuan and Yang Ling arrived at the Public Security Division First Branch, where Yang Ling examined Ji Kongliu’s formidable martial arts and attributes.
• Ji Kongliu told his Iron Clothes subordinates that solving cases was essential to exposing Heavenly Wolf Guard spies in Zhao State.
• Ji Kongliu presented the subordinates with a group containing one real criminal and ordered them to identify the culprit within half an hour without conferring.
• Ji Kongliu turned to Yun Buchuan and asked what had brought him there.

Yang Ling arrived in the Capital's Iron Clothes Department and impressed Ji Kongliu with his cultivation, then officially registered as an Upper Sixth Rank expert. Ji Kongliu also told him to take the day's assessment as a Constable, leaving Yang Ling poised to demonstrate his case-solving methods.

• Yun Buchuan introduced Yang Ling to Ji Kongliu, who questioned him about his case files and learned he was an Upper Sixth Rank with qi and blood at minor perfection.
• Ji Kongliu advised Yang Ling to wait until his qi and blood reached perfection before taking Crimson Wood Ghost Ginseng, then began his rank assessment.
• Yang Ling blocked Ji Kongliu's palm without stepping back, astonishing the Iron Clothes watching.
• Ji Kongliu registered Yang Ling as an Upper Sixth Rank expert officially recognized by the Zhao State.
• After the other Iron Clothes finished their assessments, Ji Kongliu told Yang Ling to take the day's Constable assessment and called him Yang Divine Constable.

Yang Ling questioned the suspects and used his perception and Insight Technique to identify Wang Ergou as the genuine criminal among Ji Kongliu’s carefully chosen group. The Iron Clothes officers then revealed their guesses, with Wei Constable insisting that Li Ming was the culprit.

• Yang Ling questioned Li Ming and Zheng Chunhong, but his perception found no signs of lying, and their Insight panels showed no recent crimes.
• Yang Ling questioned the other suspects and asked whether they had committed crimes before; Wang Ergou denied it, but his Insight panel revealed he had stolen silver and been caught.
• Yang Ling concluded that Wang Ergou was the real thief and that the other suspects were experts at concealing lies despite seeming ordinary.
• Ji Kongliu asked the assessors and observing Iron Clothes officers to write down their choices and explain their reasoning.
• Ji Kongliu learned that most officers had guessed at random, while Wei Constable declared that Li Ming was the obvious culprit.

Ji Kongliu’s assessment revealed that Wang Ergou was the real criminal, and Yang Ling and Yun Buchuan were the only ones who passed. Ji Kongliu then disclosed that the other suspects were thirteen spies planted among the Rong Tribe, who had returned and were joining the Iron Clothes Department.

• Wei Constable and the other Iron Clothes failed to identify Wang Ergou during Ji Kongliu’s assessment.
• Ji Kongliu revealed that Yang Ling had chosen Wang Ergou, and Yang Ling explained that he had identified the expert liars and ruled them out.
• Yun Buchuan said he chose Wang Ergou because he noticed Yang Ling pause longer in front of him, and Ji Kongliu named Yun Buchuan and Yang Ling as the only people who passed.
• Ji Kongliu explained that Wang Ergou was a petty thief he had caught recently, while the other suspects’ cases and rumors had been prepared to mislead the assessors.
• Ji Kongliu revealed that the thirteen expert liars were spies planted among the Rong Tribe who had completed a mission and were joining the Public Security Division First Branch.

Ji Kongliu formed Yang Ling's core team in the Capital's Iron Clothes Department and explained his salary and duties. Yang Ling chose to live at the First Branch to focus on cultivation, while Lu Qian revealed that Steward Lu was his uncle.

• Ji Kongliu gave thirteen former undercover agents Eighth Rank Iron Clothes uniforms and promised them the rewards they had earned through years of service.
• Ji Kongliu assigned Li Ming, Zheng Chunhong, He Weixian, and Yu Jiaxing to Yang Ling, then lent other agents to Yun Buchuan's Third Branch.
• Yang Ling selected four Seventh Rank, eight Eighth Rank, and a hundred Ninth-Rank Iron Clothes to form his team.
• Ji Kongliu explained Yang Ling's monthly pills and advised him to focus on cultivation ahead of the Sixth Rank Top Hundred Battle.
• Yang Ling moved into his office at the First Branch and told his subordinates to handle routine matters without disturbing him.
• Lu Qian told Yang Ling that Steward Lu was his third uncle, then accepted Li Huaiyi's invitation to eat at Spring Gathering Restaurant.

Yang Ling mastered the simultaneous circulation of three qi-and-blood forces and met with influential shopkeepers in his jurisdiction. After questioning eight players about the Immortal God Cult, he heard that their gang leader had information and wanted to arrange a meeting with other Capital gang leaders.

• Yang Ling balanced the Vajra Mingwang Technique, Great Grade Azure Dragon Force, and Heavenly Will Hundred Battles Manual, allowing him to use their skills together in combat.
• Lu Qian explained that shopkeepers backed by major forces wanted to meet Yang Ling, who agreed after learning the Divine Weapon Pavilion and Medicine Gang were among them.
• At Spring Gathering Restaurant, Yang Ling met the shopkeepers, warned them to report any Immortal God Cult ties, and told Lu Qian he would not use his office to punish Li Huaiyi over a personal grudge.
• Eight players approached Yang Ling and said they had information about the Immortal God Cult; Xu Peng explained that the cult had harmed their families.
• Xu Peng said his gang leader had specific information and wanted Yang Ling to meet with several Capital gang leaders, prompting Yang Ling to ask which player-founded gangs were there.

Yang Ling offered to approve the Cao Gang players’ guilds and then visited the Divine Weapon Pavilion under the identity Xu Zegang to sell hundred refined blazing gold. Shopkeeper Gu agreed to buy it, and Yang Ling insisted the transaction be completed that day with one million taels exchanged for gold.

• Yang Ling told Xu Peng he would approve a player guild that supported players and asked him to arrange a meeting with its leader.
• Xu Peng named four player-founded Cao Gang guilds, and Yang Ling warned that their names could prevent official approval.
• Yang Ling disguised himself and went to a Divine Weapon Pavilion shop, where he tipped a player attendant and introduced himself to Shopkeeper Gu as Xu Zegang.
• Yang Ling offered to sell ten jin or more of hundred refined blazing gold, and Shopkeeper Gu offered forty thousand taels per jin for a large purchase.
• Yang Ling required one million taels to be exchanged for gold and demanded the deal be completed that day; after inspecting a sample, Shopkeeper Gu hurried to gather the money.

Yang Ling exchanged refined blazing gold for silver notes, sought Spirit Nurturing Pills, and learned of a private auction for cultivation treasures. Near the Iron Clothes Department, a woman confronted him over Xie Zhihu’s injury, and he accused her of being a Rong Tribe spy as the Iron Clothes rushed over.

• Yang Ling sold a hundred refined blazing gold to Shopkeeper Gu and carried away ten chests of gold, secretly storing the bars in his Green Dragon Ring.
• Yang Ling went to the Treasure Medicine Hall to buy Spirit Nurturing Pills, but Shopkeeper Ou said the Capital’s supplies were scarce and purchases were restricted.
• Shopkeeper Ou invited Yang Ling to a small auction the next day, where an old friend would sell treasures that could improve internal energy cultivation.
• Yang Ling received Xu Peng’s message and told him to come to the Public Security Division First Branch at the Iron Clothes Department.
• Near the Iron Clothes Department, a woman asked Yang Ling whether he had injured Xie Zhihu, and Yang Ling shouted that she was a Rong Tribe spy as the Iron Clothes squad arrived.

Yang Ling beat Zhao Yingying, the King of Pinglan’s daughter, after she attacked him in the street, then had her and her companions arrested by the Public Security Division First Branch. The chapter ended with Wei Constable recognizing Zhao Yingying as she was brought in.

• The Anti-Theft Division’s Iron Clothes recognized Yang Ling and held back as he fought Zhao Yingying, who was revealed to be the King of Pinglan’s daughter.
• Yang Ling continued beating Zhao Yingying while accusing her of attacking a Sixth-Rank Iron Clothes and calling her a Rong Tribe spy.
• Lu Qian and Li Huaiyi arrived with Public Security Division Iron Clothes, and Yang Ling ordered them to arrest Zhao Yingying and the seven or eight young people with her.
• Yang Ling dismissed the Anti-Theft Division’s concerns and led Xu Peng and the other Grain Transport Worker players into the Iron Clothes Department.
• Wei Constable recognized Zhao Yingying among the prisoners, and the other constable hurried to Ji Kongliu’s office courtyard.

Yang Ling arrested Zhao Yingying, who claimed to be the King of Pinglan’s daughter, and ordered her group detained despite the Iron Clothes officers’ alarm. He then recruited the Grain Transport Workers as constables to investigate Immortal God Cult members in the Cao Gang, leaving the guild leaders to be officially registered.

• Zhao Yingying revealed her claimed royal identity at the Public Security Division, but Yang Ling challenged her and ordered the group locked up separately.
• Lu Qian and Li Huaiyi detained Zhao Yingying and the others according to Iron Clothes Department procedures.
• Yang Ling met the Grain Transport Workers and heard introductions from guild leaders Lu Xiangdi, Sun Jiayi, Wang Baozhu, and Yang Yi.
• Lu Xiangdi told Yang Ling that an Immortal God Cult member had tried to recruit them and threatened players who refused, while claiming cultists had joined the Cao Gang.
• Yang Ling appointed the players as Iron Clothes Department constables to identify Cao Gang cultists while retaining their Grain Transport Worker identities.
• Yang Ling ordered Lu Qian and Li Huaiyi to register the four guild leaders and issue certificates allowing their guilds to recruit legally in the Capital.

Yang Ling arranged legal Yellow Sixth Rank status for four gangs and registered their leaders as Iron Clothes Department constables. He then began interrogating the associates of Princess Zhao Yingying, and one suspect’s racing heartbeat drew his attention.

• Yang Ling had Lu Xiangdi, Sun Jiayi, Wang Baozhu, and Yang Yi’s gangs registered as Yellow Sixth Rank gangs under new names, each allowed a hundred members.
• Yang Ling brought the four gang leaders into the Iron Clothes Department as ordinary constables and had their identities and uniforms registered.
• Li Huaiyi told Yang Ling that Zhao Yingying was the daughter of the King of Pinglan, but Yang Ling insisted that her status did not excuse her attack.
• Yang Ling questioned the eight young people who had watched Zhao Yingying attack him and accused them of encouraging her.
• Yang Ling asked whether the eight had ties to the Immortal God Cult or the Rong Tribe, then noticed a Ministry of Revenue official’s son whose heartbeat quickened.

Yang Ling defended his arrest of Zhao Yingying to Ji Kongliu, then revealed that one of her childhood friends was connected to the Immortal God Cult. Ji Kongliu agreed to investigate the claim while Yang Ling faced the arrival of the Princess Royal and the officials demanding the prisoners’ release.

• Yang Ling used the Insight Technique on Wu Xiaoshuai and discovered that he had bought explosives from the Immortal God Cult and hidden them in his father’s study.
• Wu Xiaoshuai invoked his connection to Zhao Yingying and expected Ji Kongliu to secure the group’s release, but Yang Ling left to meet Ji Kongliu.
• Yang Ling told Ji Kongliu that Zhao Yingying had tried to kill him and that he had arrested her to determine whether the attack involved the Rong Tribe or the King of Pinglan.
• Iron Clothes reported that the Princess Royal and a group of officials had forced their way into the department to demand the prisoners’ release.
• Yang Ling told Ji Kongliu that one of Zhao Yingying’s childhood friends had ties to the Immortal God Cult, and Ji Kongliu gave him a quarter of an hour while he investigated Wu Xiaoshuai.

Xu Wenjun urged Xu Qingnian to build ties with Yang Ling as the Iron Clothes Department prepared for a crackdown on the Immortal God Cult. After Yang Ling arrested Zhao Yingying and other officials’ children, the Eldest Princess demanded answers and threatened to take Yang Ling away, while Yang Ling pressured Wu Xiaoshuai into confessing.

• Xu Wenjun told Xu Qingnian to get close to Yang Ling on Fire Flood Dragon Island and warned him not to offend Yang Ling again.
• Hong Ruohai reported that Yang Ling had arrested Zhao Yingying, prompting the Eldest Princess and civil officials to demand her release.
• The Department Master discussed the Iron Clothes Department’s gains from its operation against the Rong Tribe and planned a nationwide crackdown on the Immortal God Cult.
• Li Zhong told the Department Master that the Eldest Princess had entered the Iron Clothes Department and demanded a satisfactory explanation, threatening to make Yang Ling her foot-washing servant.
• Yang Ling accused Wu Xiaoshuai of conspiring with the Immortal God Cult, and Wu Xiaoshuai broke down and agreed to confess everything.

Yang Ling interrogated Wu Xiaoshuai, who confessed to joining the Immortal God Cult and buying explosives to kill Tong He, but his plan threatened Sixth-Rank experts gathering for the Sixth Rank Top Hundred Battle. Wu Xiaoshuai signed a confession admitting the cult had also directed him to provoke Yang Ling through Zhao Yingying.

• Wu Xiaoshuai confessed that he joined the Immortal God Cult after Tong He refused to help him obtain a Divine Soul Great Return Pill, and that he bought explosives to take revenge on Tong He.
• Wu Xiaoshuai revealed that the cult promised to help him get revenge and told him to plant the explosives at the Sifang Inn two days later, where Tong He was expected to gather with Sixth-Rank experts.
• Yang Ling and Constable Wei realized the bombing could target participants in the Sixth Rank Top Hundred Battle, while Li Ming warned that the Immortal God Cult and the Rong Tribe's Heavenly Wolf Guard had used similar explosives before.
• Wu Xiaoshuai admitted that the Immortal God Cult had also asked him to send Zhao Yingying to make trouble for Yang Ling in exchange for helping his father advance.
• Yang Ling had Wu Xiaoshuai put his mark on the confession, then carried him out of the interrogation room as Constable Wei followed.

The Eldest Princess demanded that the Iron Clothes Department release Zhao Yingying and Yang Ling, but Ji Kongliu said Yang Ling had arrested them over suspected ties to the Immortal God Cult. Yang Ling arrived with Wu Xiaoshuai, who confessed to his involvement and pleaded that his father was innocent.

• The Eldest Princess pressured Ji Kongliu to release Zhao Yingying and Yang Ling, while Wu Yanjun accused the Iron Clothes Department of abusing its authority.
• Xu Wenjun, Xu Qingnian, and several branch chiefs arrived at the First Branch courtyard as the dispute continued.
• Li Zhong arrived and demanded that Ji Kongliu explain why Zhao Yingying and the others were still being held.
• Ji Kongliu revealed that Yang Ling suspected one of the detainees of having ties to the Immortal God Cult.
• Yang Ling arrived with Wu Xiaoshuai, who confessed to being deceived by the Immortal God Cult and begged the Eldest Princess not to implicate his father.
• Yang Ling gave Ji Kongliu Wu Xiaoshuai's confession, which bore his mark.