Recaps

Gongsun Qiong investigated the neglected Confucian Dao Academies and prepared to visit them across the Chu Kingdom. Meanwhile, a rainstorm drew a cultivator to the Mysterious Bookstore, where Ma Feifei managed the monarchs and other Walking Books bound by labor contracts.

• Gongsun Qiong told Zhao Xiaodao that she could not have abducted the four monarchs, then considered who might have done it.
• Zhao Xiaodao reported that most regional Confucian Dao Academies had fallen into neglect, and Gongsun Qiong ordered preparations to visit them.
• A cultivator bought an enchanted umbrella in Dubian Town and learned that crowds were gathering for a new event at the Mysterious Bookstore.
• Ma Feifei warned Qin Shi Huang and the other Walking Books to obey the bookstore's rules under their labor contracts.
• Qin Shi Huang put away his sword after Ma Feifei rebuked him, while the monarchs and others remained tense but orderly.

Ma Feifei reminded the thirty-six abducted figures of their three-month employment contracts and promised rewards for promoting their books, while Qin Shi Huang again demanded to leave but ultimately submitted. Outside the Mysterious Bookstore, the crowd watched the newly arranged tables as famous abductees emerged and took their places, with the final arrival prompting an especially strong reaction.

• Ma Feifei promised readership-based rewards and instructed the thirty-six figures to take their positions.
• Qin Shi Huang demanded to return and unite the Azure Dragon Continent, but Ma Feifei insisted he remain until his contract ended, and Qin Shi Huang relented.
• Cultivators gathered in the rain outside the Mysterious Bookstore and speculated about the long tables and benches arranged at its entrance.
• After Zhang Yunji began checking tickets, Qiu Yunzi came out and sat at one of the tables, prompting onlookers to recognize him as the Shangqing Sect's grand elder.
• Lingyun Fairy and other famous figures emerged from the bookstore and took seats as the crowd called out their identities.
• The crowd's shock grew with each celebrated figure who appeared, especially when the last person came out.

The Mysterious Bookstore revealed that thirty-six powerful figures, including the rulers of four states, would serve as “Walking Books,” allowing people to pay to read their pasts and possibly gain their fortuitous encounters. Zhang Yunji opened the three-month event after warning that every viewing carried risks and could not be canceled once begun.

• The four rulers and other missing figures emerged from the Mysterious Bookstore, shocking the crowd gathered outside.
• Zhang Yunji denied that the Bookstore had abducted the figures and said they had come voluntarily, though the onlookers doubted him.
• Zhang Yunji introduced the Human Book Reading Method and explained that people could pay the figures to read their pasts and seek their fortuitous encounters.
• The crowd began choosing figures to approach, and Zhang Yunji warned that each figure set their own fee and that transactions could not be canceled.
• Zhang Yunji declared the three-month “Walking Books” event officially open.

The thirty-six historical figures took their places at the Mysterious Bookstore’s Walking Books event, where customers crowded the tables and asked for stories from their pasts. Crown Prince Yan and Yan Xun drew little interest, and Yan Xun concluded they needed to earn Spirit Crystals to leave the bookstore.

• A cultivator asked Qin Shi Huang to write about his Emperor’s Aura and divine artifact, and Qin Shi Huang nearly struck him with his sword before Zhang Yunji reminded everyone to follow the rules.
• Customers flocked to the women’s tables and asked about their romantic histories, but the women had to choose only three memories each to turn into books.
• Crown Prince Yan and Yan Xun received few visitors because they were young and had little cultivation experience compared with the other figures.
• Crown Prince Yan worried about the war between Qin State and Yan State, while Yan Xun argued that Qin State was unlikely to attack with Qin Shi Huang and Bai Ling at the bookstore.
• Yan Xun reasoned that the bookstore’s owner wanted them to earn Spirit Crystals, and Crown Prince Yan began to understand.

The gathered figures realized they could earn Spirit Crystals by attracting readers, and Yan Xun began promoting his three books to secure a place among the top three. He sold a young cultivator a viewing of Wind, Flowers, Snow, and Moon for a hundred thousand Spirit Crystals.

• Yan Xun invited customers to read his books after noticing that he and Crown Prince Yan had no line.
• Yan Xun offered books on political strategy, cultivation, and his romantic exploits, claiming the last contained his Way of Mastering Women.
• Crown Prince Yan objected when Yan Xun called himself the ruler of Yan State, and Yan Xun said he expected to reclaim the throne.
• Yan Xun used his Mind-Reading Technique to negotiate a price, rejected the cultivator's offer of fifty thousand Spirit Crystals, and demanded one hundred thousand.
• The young cultivator paid, and Yan Xun produced the pink book Wind, Flowers, Snow, and Moon for him to view.

Ma Feifei learned that Qianmu Shuiling’s past romance with Mo Xie had made her book the most expensive, then retrieved a copy from the Investiture of the Gods. The chapter left him preparing to read about how Mo Xie had courted her.

• Yan Xun gained a reader for “Wind, Flowers, Snow, and Moon” at a price of one hundred thousand Spirit Crystals, while Crown Prince Yan struggled to attract customers.
• Qin Shi Huang drew his sword and demanded that people seek books from him, but his threatening demeanor kept the crowd away as they gossiped about his temper and rumored madness.
• Ma Feifei learned from Zhang Yunji that Qianmu Shuiling’s book cost three hundred thousand Spirit Crystals because it told of her romance with Mo Xie and his insight into an incomplete ancient divine-level cultivation technique.
• Ma Feifei apologized to Qianmu Shuiling after speaking carelessly about her relationship with Mo Xie, then told Zhang Yunji to prevent fights while he returned to the bookstore.
• Ma Feifei used the Investiture of the Gods to retrieve Qianmu Shuiling’s book and wondered how Mo Xie had courted her.

After discovering that the Walking Books mostly contained trivial stories that offered readers no insight, Ma Feifei warned Qin Shi Huang and the others to make their next books more worthwhile. He then wondered where to find the last two book-holding women, thought of Azi, and heard someone knock at the back door.

• The first day of the Walking Books earned the Mysterious Bookstore more than ten million Spirit Crystals, but none of the customers gained any insight.
• Ma Feifei read several books and found that their contents were mostly trivial personal stories, including Qiu Yunzi’s childhood romance.
• Ma Feifei sent Ba Jiu to tell Qin Shi Huang and the others that their second books must improve or their contracts would be extended by six months.
• Ma Feifei counted seven book-holding women and considered asking Azi to join them, which would bring the total to eight.
• Someone knocked at the back door and called for the shopkeeper, prompting Ma Feifei to wonder if Azi had appeared.

The rulers held a tense dinner at the Mysterious Bookstore after being forced to stay in Dubian Town for three months, and representatives from their states began arriving to see them. King Qi Wen reunited with Azi and Qi Gongcheng, who raised the possibility that the Chu Kingdom might threaten Qi while its ruler was away.

• Qin Shi Huang called the others prisoners, had several dishes sent to his room, and left the dinner.
• Servants delivered messages to the rulers, who ended the meal and departed to meet representatives from their states, leaving Qiu Yunzi alone.
• Qiu Yunzi learned that people had come to see the rulers and wondered why the nearby Shangqing Sect had not sent anyone for him.
• Azi and Qi Gongcheng arrived in Dubian Town and found King Qi Wen, who explained that his contract required him to stay for three months.
• Qi Gongcheng asked whether other states might invade Qi, and Azi pointed out that their rulers were also in Dubian Town before asking about the Chu Kingdom.

King Qi Wen worried that Qin Shi Huang’s instability would upset the balance among the five nations and ordered precautions along Qi State’s border. Qin Shi Huang then commanded his officials and generals to resume the invasion of Yan State, leaving the war poised to escalate.

• King Qi Wen dismissed the likelihood of Chu Kingdom attacking but feared Qin Shi Huang might continue the war against Yan State.
• King Qi Wen ordered Azi to monitor Qin State and Grand General Qi Gongcheng to reinforce Qi State’s border and expand its spies.
• Qin Shi Huang ordered Di Heyu and the Six Divine Generals to resume the attack on Yan State and release Qin Shuren to replace Bai Ling.
• Qin Shi Huang gave Di Heyu his jade pendant and demanded that Qin State attack within three days and storm Yan State’s Imperial Capital within seven.

Yan Xun rejected the King of Northern Liang’s proposal to seize Yan State while the Qin Army’s intentions remained unclear, then offered his demigod-level Dragon Elephant Divine Skill for study outside the Mysterious Bookstore. A cultivator comprehended the supposedly incomplete technique, and Yan Xun’s shocked reaction revealed the book’s limitation.

• The King of Northern Liang urged Yan Xun to seize the chance to purge Crown Prince Yan’s supporters, but Yan Xun chose to wait until the Qin Army’s plans were known.
• A message from the Mysterious Bookstore reminded Yan Xun that a second book like the first would extend his contract by six months.
• The next morning, Yan Xun offered his Dragon Elephant Divine Skill for a fee of three hundred thousand Spirit Crystals for four hours.
• A middle-aged cultivator secured the first place and successfully comprehended the demigod-level technique.
• Yan Xun blurted out that the book contained only an incomplete portion, then realized he had exposed the secret.

Yan Xun tried to stop cultivators from learning the Dragon Elephant Divine Skill after one reader comprehended it despite his concealment, while Ma Feifei collected books from the thirty-six major figures. The system gave Ma Feifei a quest to establish libraries across the Azure Dragon Continent and fill them with books about the continent and its people.

• Zhang Yunji quieted the cultivators complaining that Yan Xun had used an incomplete demigod-level technique to deceive them.
• Yan Xun paid a cultivator four hundred thousand Spirit Crystals to keep him from reading the book about the Dragon Elephant Divine Skill, then replaced it with an older book.
• The other thirty-five major figures hid their prepared books and created new ones, following Yan Xun's example.
• Ma Feifei extracted more than a hundred books from the thirty-six figures and stored their romantic accounts alongside the others.
• The system gave Ma Feifei the Main Quest to establish libraries in major cities across the Azure Dragon Continent and distribute books about its people, places, and customs.

Ma Feifei learned that the Azure Dragon Library could not hold records about him or the Mysterious Bookstore, then accompanied Yun Qingyang to Long Street, where fighting had broken out at residence number thirty. He and Yun Qingyang found masked corpses at the entrance and more bodies inside.

• Ma Feifei asked the system whether the Azure Dragon Library could contain books about him or the Mysterious Bookstore, and the system said it could not.
• Yun Qingyang asked Ma Feifei for money to buy a Xumei brush, and he disappeared when she named its price as three million Spirit Crystals.
• Ma Feifei and Yun Qingyang walked along Long Street as crowds gathered near the residences where the four monarchs and other powerful figures were staying.
• Yun Qingyang said the visitors had come to see the thirty-six people Ma Feifei had abducted, and mentioned that several people had died there the night before.
• A clash erupted at residence number thirty, so Ma Feifei and Yun Qingyang went to investigate and found masked corpses at the open gates and bodies scattered inside.

After an assassination attempt at Residence No. 30, Ma Feifei dismissed the rulers’ suspicions and learned that Qin Shuren had been released to command Qin State’s invasion of Yan State. He urged Luan Feng to warn Crown Prince Yan and Yan Xun, and offered her leave to help them.

• Yan Xun found a Shenzhao Prison Bureau token on an assassin, prompting King Zhao Kang to deny that Zhao State had sent the attackers.
• Ma Feifei ended the argument and reminded the rulers that the Mysterious Bookstore would protect them during their contract period.
• Luan Feng told Ma Feifei that Qin Shuren, the Human Butcher, had been released and was leading Qin State’s army toward Yan State.
• Ma Feifei asked Luan Feng to warn Crown Prince Yan and Yan Xun, then offered her annual leave if she wanted to help Yan State.
• Customers continued flocking to the Mysterious Bookstore to read the Walking Books, leaving the thirty-six great figures with little to do beyond collecting money.

Yan Xun urged Crown Prince Yan to help kill Qin Shi Huang in Dubian Town before Qin’s army conquered Yan. Crown Prince Yan agreed to seek Luan Feng’s help in staying out of the way, while Yan Xun arranged for powerful allies to assist.

• Yan Xun told Crown Prince Yan that killing Qin Shi Huang could force Qin’s army to withdraw before it defeated Yan’s forces.
• Crown Prince Yan doubted they could overcome Qin Shi Huang, who was far stronger than either of them.
• Yan Xun revealed that Zuo Duanshou and the Dragon Tiger Gate’s master were prepared to help kill Qin Shi Huang, provided Luan Feng did not intervene.
• Crown Prince Yan worried that Luan Feng had cut ties with Yan State, but Yan Xun argued that she still cared about her homeland.
• Crown Prince Yan looked toward Luan Feng and agreed to approach her about standing aside.

Ma Feifei used one of his Book Spirit Stones to feed Mew, triggering a breakthrough that raised the Pokémon from the fourth tier to the sixth. The chapter ended with Ma Feifei discovering Mew’s new strength and its warning that extreme hunger could make it rebel and return to the world of "Pokémon."

• Ma Feifei celebrated his ten Book Spirit Stones from winning the book duel and wondered how to spend his newfound wealth.
• Ma Feifei summoned Mew and fed it one Book Spirit Stone.
• Mew briefly collapsed, then began absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy as Zhang Caicai, Mu Qingyi, Yun Qingyang, and Liuli gathered to watch.
• Mew’s accumulated aura burst outward, and Liuli protected the courtyard furniture from the resulting ripple.
• Ma Feifei checked Mew’s information and found that it had advanced from the fourth tier to the sixth.

Ma Feifei learned that Yun Qingyang’s painting was a Martial Arts Diagram that could teach its challenger his techniques, but the diagram pulled him inside and forced him to fight a two-dimensional version of himself. The chapter ended as Ma Feifei met his opponent’s Dragon God Arm punch with one of his own.

• Mew refused another Book Spirit Stone, so Ma Feifei gave the remaining stones to Yun Qingyang, who handed him a painting in return.
• The system identified the painting as a First-Grade Martial Arts Diagram created by Yun Qingyang, and Ma Feifei decided to hang it in the Bookstore for visitors to study.
• The Martial Arts Diagram activated and drew Ma Feifei inside, where a two-dimensional version of him appeared and challenged him to a fight.
• When Ma Feifei asked how to leave without fighting, his opponent refused and attacked using Shrink the Earth to an Inch.
• Ma Feifei dodged the first strike, then charged forward to meet the two-dimensional Ma Feifei’s Dragon God Arm with his own fist.

Ma Feifei challenged his reflection in the Martial Arts Diagram and grew stronger through their repeated clashes, breaking through to the fourth stage of the Spirit Saint realm. Back in the bookstore, Yun Qingyang revealed that she had chosen the scroll’s physical-tempering effect for him.

• Ma Feifei learned that the Martial Arts Diagram adjusted challengers to one minor stage below their reflections, leaving him initially unable to match his opponent.
• Ma Feifei realized that his strength increased with each exchange while the reflection’s remained fixed, and he gradually caught up and gained the advantage.
• Ma Feifei broke through from the third stage to the fourth stage of the Spirit Saint realm, and the breakthrough carried over after the diagram returned him to the bookstore’s rear courtyard.
• Ma Feifei noticed his body had grown stronger and asked Yun Qingyang about the scroll’s effects.
• Yun Qingyang said a voice had guided her to choose physical tempering for Ma Feifei because his constitution was poor.

Ma Feifei tried to secure Yun Qingyang’s special-effect paintings for the Mysterious Bookstore, but she caught his attempt to buy them cheaply and negotiated a profit-sharing contract. The deal was signed, and Yun Qingyang revealed she had already painted two more special-effect scrolls.

• Yun Qingyang told Ma Feifei that a voice had explained the special effects on her painting, though she did not know where the voice came from.
• Ma Feifei offered Yun Qingyang a hundred million Spirit Crystals for ten more special-effect paintings, but she refused because he had not offered to split the proceeds.
• Yun Qingyang proposed splitting the profits from each painting fifty-fifty, and Ma Feifei drafted a contract that they both signed.
• After signing, Yun Qingyang fetched two additional special-effect scrolls and told Ma Feifei she could produce one painting every three days, with about one in five gaining a special effect.
• Ma Feifei took the scrolls into the Bookstore to put them to use while Yun Qingyang went to paint.

Ma Feifei hung three Martial Arts Diagrams in the Bookstore and watched Luan Feng try to comprehend them. As regular business hours ended, he decided to open the Bookstore for a night of reading by lamplight.

• Ma Feifei hung the three Martial Arts Diagrams on a blank wall and asked Luan Feng whether she could make anything out.
• Luan Feng studied the diagrams for half an hour but did not enter one, while Ma Feifei read at the checkout counter.
• At five, the books returned to the shelves and the cultivators left, lamenting that they had not had enough time to read.
• Ma Feifei decided to open the Bookstore that night and told Zhang Yunji to notify the staff.
• Luan Feng left after Zhang Yunji said she could take the night off, and Zhang Yunji and the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey went to close the Bookstore.

The Mysterious Bookstore opened late in Dubian Town, drawing a huge crowd eager to read for its promised nighttime benefits. Four hundred cultivators paid to enter, while the rest waited outside as a bloody storm unfolded nearby.

• Ma Feifei decided to charge two hundred thousand Spirit Crystals per person for the late-night opening.
• Chang Kong relayed Ma Feifei's instructions, and Zhang Yunji announced the bookstore would stay open until six in the morning with special nighttime benefits.
• Zhang Yunji collected payment and admitted the first four hundred cultivators, who scattered to find books.
• The cultivators who missed out stayed outside or considered sleeping nearby, hoping to learn what the readers would gain.
• A bloody storm quietly unfolded two li from the Mysterious Bookstore.

Yan Xun and Crown Prince Yan joined prominent figures in an attempt to assassinate Qin Shi Huang, but he easily wounded their first attacker and repelled three more. The battle continued inside Lingyun Fairy’s Void Array, with Qin Shi Huang protected by black gas as his enemies pressed their assault.

• Yan Xun and Crown Prince Yan met with the assembled figures and prepared to attack Qin Shi Huang, while Lingyun Fairy raised a Void Array around his courtyard.
• The assassins entered Qin Shi Huang’s room, and the array concealed the attack as onlookers at nearby residences watched without intervening.
• Zuo Duanshou rushed into the room but was hurled back out, gravely wounded by Qin Shi Huang.
• Three more attackers entered, but Qin Shi Huang’s overwhelming presence sent them flying back into the courtyard.
• The three attackers launched coordinated Shattering Void strikes, but Qin Shi Huang’s black gas blocked them before they continued their assault with Spiritual Power.

Qin Shi Huang overwhelmed the four Spirit Saints attacking him, leaving two badly injured, while the fight continued. At residence number twenty-nine, Ma Feifei revealed that he might help the Chu Kingdom unify the Azure Dragon Continent.

• Lingyun Fairy, the master of Dragon Tiger Gate, and Hen Tianshui attacked Qin Shi Huang, but he repelled them and badly injured the master of Dragon Tiger Gate and Zuo Duanshou.
• Yan Xun reassured Crown Prince Yan that the battle was not over, while the wounded fighters prepared to attack Qin Shi Huang together.
• Ma Feifei watched the battle from residence number twenty-nine and said the five kingdoms had ruled long enough and should be unified.
• Yun Qingyang accused Ma Feifei of arranging the capture of thirty-six people to destabilize the four kingdoms for Gongsun Qiong and the Chu Kingdom.
• Ma Feifei admitted he would help the Chu Kingdom unify the world if he had the chance.

Ma Feifei, Luan Feng, and Yun Qingyang watched Qin Shi Huang defeat the attackers in his courtyard, while Yun Qingyang painted the battle. After Ma Feifei and Yun Qingyang left, Qin Shi Huang noticed Luan Feng, and a pillar of light soon rose over Dubian Town.

• Ma Feifei said Crown Prince Yan and the others would likely fail to kill Qin Shi Huang, and he let the battle continue.
• Yun Qingyang painted the fight inside the Void Array, saying she could see it because she had learned Ma Feifei's abilities.
• The Void Array shattered, revealing Qin Shi Huang alone in his damaged courtyard as the wounded attackers retreated.
• Ma Feifei and Yun Qingyang left with Yun Qingyang's completed painting, while Luan Feng stayed behind and watched Qin Shi Huang.
• Qin Shi Huang met Luan Feng's gaze with a sinister smile, then walked into the darkness.
• A pillar of light shot into the sky, and Luan Feng wondered whether someone had triggered the world in the book again.

Ma Feifei and Yun Qingyang returned to the Bookstore as a woman was drawn into a Martial Arts Diagram depicting the backyard. Trapped inside, she learned from Zhang Caicai that she had to defeat him to leave, while Yun Qingyang revealed the painting tested agility and explained how the woman could win.

• Ma Feifei and Yun Qingyang returned to the Bookstore and found a woman drawn into the Martial Arts Diagram.
• The cultivators watching recognized Zhang Caicai and Ma Feifei in the animated backyard scene, where the woman could not pass the painting’s edge.
• Zhang Caicai told the confused woman to defeat him to escape, then attacked her with his broom.
• Yun Qingyang told Ma Feifei that the woman would win if she held out against Zhang Caicai for an hour, because the painting tested their agility.
• Yun Qingyang revealed that she knew the painting’s effects because she had painted the Martial Arts Diagrams.

Ma Feifei discovered that Zuo Duanshou was on the verge of death and used the Investiture of the Gods to take him in, triggering a new system mission. The system revealed that the book could preserve dying, willing beings until it advanced to the Large Bookstore System, which could grant them new lives.

• Ma Feifei confirmed that the woman fighting Zhang Caicai in the scroll qualified as a Book-holding woman and waited for her to emerge.
• Zhang Yunji told Ma Feifei that Zuo Duanshou was dying after Qin Shi Huang's Emperor's Aura damaged his internal organs and severed his life force.
• Ma Feifei checked the Investiture of the Gods and saw Zuo Duanshou's name fading, then accepted the prompt to let him enter the book.
• The system triggered the Path to Investiture of the Gods mission, allowing Ma Feifei to preserve willing beings on the verge of death until the system advanced to LV4.
• Ma Feifei saw that Zuo Duanshou was the only name left in the Investiture of the Gods and wondered how many people it could hold.