Recaps

Ma Feifei questioned Zhang Ke and Xun Ling about book authors and their arrival in the Azure Dragon Continent. Xun Ling revealed they wanted to buy a Legendary-grade book, but Ma Feifei refused and ordered them to leave after paying a hundred Book Spirit Stones each.

• Zhang Ke explained that book slaves nurtured book spirits while book attendants served book authors, and Ma Feifei ordered Zhang Yunji to drag him away when he stopped answering.
• Zhang Ke relented, and Ma Feifei demanded to know why he and the middle-aged man had come to the Azure Dragon Continent.
• Xun Ling introduced himself as a third-rank book author and said he and Zhang Ke had crossed the laws to buy a Legendary-grade book from Ma Feifei.
• Xun Ling explained that only book authors of fifth rank or higher generally had a chance to write Legendary-grade books, while Ma Feifei understood that the Bookstore System bypassed those requirements for him.
• Ma Feifei refused to sell a bookstore book and told Xun Ling and Zhang Ke to each leave a hundred Book Spirit Stones before departing.

Ma Feifei forced Xun Ling and Zhang Ke to work as bookboys after they could not pay him, and Zhang Ke tried to recruit Zhang Caicai to help break his seal. The chapter left Zhang Caicai staring into Zhang Ke’s eyes as Zhang Ke began to use his influence on him.

• Ma Feifei demanded one hundred Book Spirit Stones each from Xun Ling and Zhang Ke, then kicked Zhang Ke and sealed his cultivation when they could not pay.
• Ma Feifei kept Xun Ling and Zhang Ke at the Mysterious Bookstore as bookboys, where they spent five days doing chores.
• Zhang Ke warned Ba Jiu that a powerful author from Yong'an Prefecture might destroy the Azure Dragon Continent if he discovered their disappearance.
• Zhang Ke recognized Zhang Caicai as a seed he had cultivated and offered to make him immortal and take him away if he helped break the seal.
• Zhang Caicai refused to help, but Zhang Ke told him to look into his eyes, and Zhang Caicai instinctively obeyed.

Zhang Ke used Zhang Caicai to try to break the seal Ma Feifei had placed on him, but Ma Feifei and the others stopped him and restored the seal. Ma Feifei heard that his Confucianism progress had reached one hundred percent, and the Sound of the Great Dao rang across the Azure Dragon Continent.

• Zhang Ke controlled Zhang Caicai and poured Spiritual Power into himself, but the purple gas devoured it and the seal held.
• Xun Ling arrived and explained that Zhang Ke needed at least Fifth-rank Immortal Realm cultivation to break Ma Feifei’s seal.
• Xun Ling directed Zhang Ke to send Zhang Caicai’s Spiritual Power through the Quchi acupoint, breaking two corners of the purple gas seal.
• Ma Feifei and Yun Qingyang confronted Zhang Ke and Xun Ling, and Ma Feifei reinforced Zhang Ke’s seal with purple gas.
• Zhang Ke offered Ma Feifei a thousand Book Spirit Stones if he would let them return to the Book Battle Continent.
• Ma Feifei received a system notification that Confucianism had reached one hundred percent, and the Sound of the Great Dao rang across the Azure Dragon Continent.

Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy changed across the Azure Dragon Continent as the Great Dao became whole, restoring cultivators and removing the barrier to the Immortal Realm. Yun Qingyang, Ba Jiu, the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey, and other hidden experts began ascending to face their tribulations.

• Cultivators across the Azure Dragon Continent felt their spiritual energy stir as clouds gathered and the world reacted to the change.
• Crown Prince Yan and Yan Xun felt their spiritual energy recover, then agreed to return to Yan State and stand together.
• Zhang Ke and Xun Ling realized the Book Performance World had corrected the book's flaws and made the Great Dao whole.
• Ma Feifei saw Yun Qingyang begin her breakthrough and fly toward the heavens to face her tribulation.
• Ba Jiu, the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey, and several hidden experts also flew toward the thunderclouds to enter the Immortal Realm.

After the Great Dao was restored, immortals emerged across the Azure Dragon Continent, easing tensions among the five states. Ma Feifei arranged the Chu Kingdom’s first imperial examination and secured Ling Xian’s agreement to join the Book-holding women, completing the quest as the ceremony approached.

• The restored Great Dao allowed cultivators across the continent, including Chu Qiongyu, to enter the Immortal Realm, and the five states entered a period of calm.
• Chu Qiongyu announced an imperial examination for the first day of the third month, following an amnesty and tax exemption in the Chu Kingdom.
• Ma Feifei distributed Badges to eight Book-holding women, bringing the quest’s progress to 8/9.
• Ma Feifei obtained a plain-language translation of the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon for Ling Xian after explaining a passage to her.
• Ling Xian accepted her Badge and agreed to attend the ceremony, completing the Book-holding woman quest at 9/9.

Ma Feifei reflected on the Book-holding woman's nearly completed task and visited the Wantong Trading Market, where he encountered a sorrowful woman selling pastries. The woman refused ordinary payment and then said the pastries were no longer for sale.

• Ma Feifei anticipated earning nine Tianshu Fragments and reaching the Immortal Realm after completing the Book-holding woman's task and the Path of Imperial Examination.
• Ma Feifei left the Mysterious Bookstore for the Wantong Trading Market and passed through its greatly expanded first-floor hall.
• Ma Feifei heard an elderly man advise a woman to sell her stall, but she insisted that the pastries were for sale and the stall was not.
• Ma Feifei approached the woman and asked how much the pastries cost.
• The woman said she would accept neither gold, silver, nor spirit stones, then sighed and declared the pastries no longer for sale.

Ma Feifei encountered a woman selling pastries, realized she had mistaken his code phrases for proof that he was a former bandit, and fled after tricking her into thinking he had eaten her pastries. He then visited Zhou Zhuling and asked her to accompany him to the imperial capital for the imperial examination, where she would serve as a Book-holding woman.

• Ma Feifei tried several code phrases with the pastry seller, and she asked whether he had been a bandit.
• The woman offered Ma Feifei pastries without charge, and he used an illusion to hide them while pretending to eat them before escaping.
• Ma Feifei gave the hidden pastries to Zhou Zhuling, who ate all seven and praised them.
• Ma Feifei asked Zhou Zhuling to go with him to the imperial capital for the March first imperial examination.
• Zhou Zhuling understood that her role as a Book-holding woman served the Path of Imperial Examination and asked whether she would need to travel there every three years.

Ma Feifei left Zhou Zhuling after realizing she still held feelings for him, then brought a pastry seller named Qinglian to the Mysterious Bookstore to hear her proposed deal. Qinglian revealed she had mistaken Ma Feifei for a bandit and wanted help finding the bandit who had once saved her.

• Ma Feifei reassured Zhou Zhuling that he would tell her when it was time to travel to the imperial capital, then left her without addressing their lingering feelings.
• After leaving the trading market, Ma Feifei stopped Qinglian, who asked to make a deal, and took her to the Mysterious Bookstore courtyard.
• Qinglian abandoned her deal when Ma Feifei pressed her, and Yun Qingyang briefly questioned her before returning to the roof.
• Qinglian explained that a young man on a white horse had rescued her from mountain bandits and escorted her to Dubian Town, where she had waited for his return by selling pastries.
• Qinglian revealed that her benefactor was a bandit who had said he wanted to become the most powerful bandit chief on the Azure Dragon Continent.

Ma Feifei learned that Crown Prince Yan had abdicated to Yan Xun, while Luan Feng returned to the bookstore after reaching the Immortal Realm. Zhang Ke then offered to explain the abdication and reveal Qinglian’s identity in exchange for leaving the Azure Dragon Continent, claiming he had ruled the world for over thirty thousand years.

• Qinglian asked Ma Feifei for guidance on finding the bandit who had saved her, and he suggested she search in Qin State.
• Luan Feng arrived at the bookstore after breaking through to the Immortal Realm and told Ma Feifei that Crown Prince Yan had abdicated to Yan Xun.
• Ma Feifei explained Qinglian’s situation to Luan Feng, who thought the girl resembled someone she knew.
• Ma Feifei told Luan Feng to prepare for a journey to the imperial capital, then Zhang Ke offered to reveal why Crown Prince Yan abdicated in exchange for leaving the Azure Dragon Continent.
• Zhang Ke claimed he could also reveal Qinglian’s background and the identity of her escort, saying he had ruled the world for over thirty thousand years.

Zhang Ke explained that the Book Spirit Memory recorded the fates of characters in the Azure Dragon Continent, but Ma Feifei did not appear in it. He suggested Ma Feifei came from another world, and the chapter left Ma Feifei asking Zhang Ke to bring something out.

• Zhang Ke told Ma Feifei that the Azure Dragon Continent’s Book Spirit contained its story and predetermined the fates of its inhabitants.
• Zhang Ke revealed that Ma Feifei had no record in the Book Spirit Memory, since it included only characters introduced in the book.
• Zhang Ke speculated that Ma Feifei might not be from the Azure Dragon Continent, and Ma Feifei asked him why Crown Prince Yan had yielded the throne to Yan Xun.
• Zhang Ke explained that Yan Xun’s kingship was part of the cycle of destiny, while Ma Feifei realized his bookstore had temporarily changed events.
• Zhang Ke said Luan Feng had escaped the Book Spirit Laws by reaching the Immortal Realm, and Ma Feifei calmly told him to bring it out.

Ma Feifei learned that he could not communicate with the Azure Dragon Continent’s Book Spirit until he reached the Immortal Realm, so he asked Liuli to summon it instead. The Spirit of the Azure Dragon appeared in Liuli’s hand and recognized Zhang Ke, leaving Zhang Ke stunned.

• Zhang Ke explained that the Book Spirit existed as laws throughout the Azure Dragon Continent and could only be controlled by someone who had reached the Immortal Realm.
• Zhang Ke offered Ma Feifei a secret technique to reach the Immortal Realm if Ma Feifei released him, but Ma Feifei rejected the offer and ordered him to keep sweeping.
• Ma Feifei summoned Liuli and asked her to find the Azure Dragon Continent’s Book Spirit.
• Liuli returned with the Spirit of the Azure Dragon, who explained that it had evolved after devouring a Life Spirit Crystal and was further strengthened by Ma Feifei’s completion of the Great Dao’s laws.
• Zhang Ke recognized the Spirit of the Azure Dragon, which greeted him as Author Zhang and asked why he had not gone back yet.

Ma Feifei learned that completing the Great Dao had saved the Spirit of the Azure Dragon and prevented the Azure Dragon Continent from losing its spiritual energy. He wanted to govern the continent and gain access to its past and future, but regulations required approval from Yong'an Prefecture, so he pressured the Spirit into revealing what he wanted to know.

• The Spirit of the Azure Dragon thanked Ma Feifei for restoring the Great Dao and saving his life.
• The Spirit explained that without Ma Feifei’s help, he would have vanished, spiritual energy would have disappeared, and cultivation on the Azure Dragon Continent would have ended.
• Ma Feifei asked to govern the continent, but the Spirit said he needed Yong'an Prefecture’s approval and a Command of Authority to receive the Heart of the Spirit.
• Ma Feifei decided he could not risk traveling to the Book Battle Continent, while Liuli suggested he simply ask the Spirit for information.
• The Spirit cited regulations forbidding him from sharing the continent’s secrets with anyone but its governor, and Ma Feifei threatened him with a Sky-Opening Axe until he agreed.

Ma Feifei learned from the Spirit of the Azure Dragon that Qinglian’s life and the fate of her first love, Qin Shou, differed from the records because the Mysterious Bookstore had changed events. He discovered that he and the bookstore were absent from the original book Azure Dragon Continent and questioned whether his arrival was altering a predetermined future.

• Ma Feifei asked the Spirit of the Azure Dragon for records about Qinglian, and the Spirit sent him the account of her life.
• Ma Feifei learned that Qinglian was a lotus who had loved the white-clad young man who rescued her, and that her recorded life had diverged from reality after she encountered the Mysterious Bookstore.
• The Spirit of the Azure Dragon identified Qinglian’s rescuer as Qin Shou and explained that Qin Shou and his family were executed after his father opposed Qin Shi Huang.
• The Spirit of the Azure Dragon said the book Azure Dragon Continent shaped people’s fates, but Ma Feifei’s arrival had already changed events that were supposed to be predetermined.
• Ma Feifei confirmed that he and the Mysterious Bookstore were absent from the original book and wondered what his presence meant for the future.

Ma Feifei learned how Yong'an Prefecture and the Spirit of the Azure Dragon related to the Azure Dragon Continent, then obtained the book containing its original world. He went to study it but ended up agreeing to read it with Yun Qingyang.

• The Spirit of the Azure Dragon explained that outsiders could enter the Azure Dragon Continent under Yong'an Prefecture's rules, and that Ma Feifei would likely go unnoticed unless someone reported him.
• The Spirit of the Azure Dragon revealed that he could not control the continent's development and that its overseer had only limited privileges.
• Ma Feifei asked to see the continent's full history, and the Spirit of the Azure Dragon gave him the book Azure Dragon Continent after Ma Feifei threatened him with the Sky-Opening Axe.
• Ma Feifei told Ba Jiu and the others to watch Zhang Ke and Xun Ling, then hurried off with the book to study it.
• Yun Qingyang demanded to read the book with Ma Feifei, and he finally agreed.

Ma Feifei scanned and collected Azure Dragon's Peak, a Life Book, gaining the Book Performance World permission and a strange connection to the book. The Spirit of the Azure Dragon congratulated him for taking control of Azure Dragon Continent, then hesitated as if he had more to say.

• Ma Feifei and Yun Qingyang opened Azure Dragon's Peak and searched its pages for information about Yun Qingyang's father, who she believed might have been taken to the Book Battle Continent.
• Ma Feifei's system detected Azure Dragon's Peak, identified it as a yellow-quality book, and offered to add it to his collection.
• Ma Feifei collected the book and received its contents in his memories, along with the Book Performance World permission to turn qualifying books into worlds using a Life Spirit Crystal.
• Ma Feifei summoned the Spirit of the Azure Dragon, who congratulated him for taking control of Azure Dragon Continent and then hesitated to explain something.

Ma Feifei took control of the Azure Dragon Continent and learned that Zhang Ke’s removal could draw the attention of Yong'an Prefecture. After reading the continent’s original course of events, he faced Zhang Ke’s threats and realized the situation had become dangerous.

• The Spirit of the Azure Dragon confirmed that the previous ruler had taken Yun Qingyang’s parents to the Book Battle Continent thirty thousand years earlier, and Ma Feifei promised to help her find them later.
• Ma Feifei asked the Spirit of the Azure Dragon to show him the Azure Dragon Continent’s original events and read the book alone.
• Ma Feifei came outside after Zhang Ke’s shouting woke him and found the first-rank author tied beneath the plum tree.
• Zhang Ke threatened Ma Feifei with Yong'an Prefecture, but an aura from the back courtyard crushed him with pain before the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey slapped away his reaching hand.
• Ma Feifei eased the pressure on Zhang Ke and returned to the table, worried about the danger ahead.

The Mysterious Bookstore filled with guests celebrating the New Year as Ma Feifei hosted the Book-holding women before their mission. Rumors spread among the staff that Ma Feifei had a private ailment, while errands and kitchen preparations delayed the holiday meal.

• Ma Feifei received New Year greetings and red envelopes from the women gathered at the bookstore.
• Zhang Caicai told Ba Jiu a rumor that Ma Feifei had a private ailment, and Ba Jiu sympathized with him.
• Zhang Yunji shared a secret with the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey and sent him out to buy soy sauce.
• Zhang Yunji admitted he had sent the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey to fetch the soy sauce, while Zhang Caicai waited to finish cooking.
• The Sky-reaching Ape Monkey returned without soy sauce because Zhang Yunji had given him no money, and he had stopped to chat with other monkeys.

Ma Feifei prepared to leave Dubian Town for the Imperial Capital, while Zhang Ke and Xun Ling plotted to escape the Bookstore. As the group gathered to travel, Yun Qingyang refused Ma Feifei’s payment and said she wanted to take him to see a doctor.

• Ma Feifei announced that the group would leave for the Imperial Capital in two days, and Zhang Ke and Xun Ling discussed escaping while the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey stayed behind.
• Zhang Ke claimed he knew the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey’s weaknesses and persuaded Xun Ling to agree to his escape plan.
• Two days later, Ma Feifei and more than ten companions gathered south of Dubian Town to travel to the Imperial Capital, leaving the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey at the Bookstore.
• Yun Qingyang proposed charging each traveler ten thousand Spirit Crystals to carry them, then refused Ma Feifei’s offer of twenty thousand and said she wanted to take him to see a doctor.

Yun Qingyang revealed her Frost Giant Dragon form and carried Ma Feifei and the others toward the imperial capital. Meanwhile, Xun Ling and Zhang Ke prepared to escape the Mysterious Bookstore, but a knock at the back door interrupted them.

• Yun Qingyang transformed into a Frost Giant Dragon, stunning most of the group, and Ma Feifei invited everyone to climb aboard.
• The group flew toward the imperial capital inside Yun Qingyang's protective light dome, while Ba Jiu hinted that he and Luan Feng could fly faster than her.
• Zhang Caicai boasted about becoming a chef god, and the light dome vanished, sending him tumbling into the gale.
• At the Mysterious Bookstore, Xun Ling and Zhang Ke waited for Ma Feifei's group to leave before putting their escape plan into motion.
• Xun Ling and Zhang Ke headed for the back door, but someone knocked before they could leave.

On the day of Great Chu’s first imperial examination, crowds gathered to watch more than thirty thousand scholars take their places. As the Empress arrived to open the examination, onlookers wondered why Ma Feifei and the women rumored to be with him were nowhere to be seen.

• Crowds in the capital praised the Confucian Dao Academy and discussed how Ma Fei had unsealed Righteous Qi and enabled its scholars to cultivate.
• A young cultivator claimed Ma Feifei had come to the capital to announce his marriage, and rumors spread about how many women accompanied him.
• The Empress arranged the examination grounds across the inner city, where more than thirty thousand scholars entered, received their numbers, and took their seats.
• The Empress emerged from the palace in a golden dragon robe as the examination was about to begin.
• Onlookers noticed Ma Feifei and his rumored companions were absent and wondered where they were.

Ma Feifei and his companions prepared a display of power during the Chu Kingdom’s first imperial examinations, while Empress Gongsun Qiong urged the scholars to become worthy pillars of the nation. Ma Feifei appeared above the imperial capital and recited from The Analects as Righteous Qi rose over the scholars, and an old man predicted the Chu Kingdom was about to rise.

• As the imperial examinations began, Ma Feifei waited a hundred li east of the capital with Yun Qingyang, Zhang Caicai, Ba Jiu, Zhang Yunji, and Liu Ying, and Chang Kong reported that the ceremony had started.
• Yun Qingyang transformed into a blue pillar of light, and seven more colored pillars rose around the imperial capital, alarming the crowd and the scholars.
• Gongsun Qiong told the scholars to continue their examination, then took out The Analects and wished that every one of them could be like a dragon.
• Gongsun Qiong’s white pillar joined the eight colored pillars, and Ma Feifei appeared above them in the Sage’s Robe with a book in hand.
• Ma Feifei opened the book and recited, causing Righteous Qi to appear above the scholars and grow as they wrote their answers.
• An old man watched Ma Feifei and declared that the Chu Kingdom was about to rise.

After the imperial examination, Ma Feifei completed his quests, reached the Immortal Realm, and learned that the Mysterious Bookstore would undergo a week-long upgrade. After returning to his companions, Yun Qingyang asked him to examine Ling Xian and determine whether he could be saved.

• The imperial examination ended, and the system rewarded Ma Feifei with the Supreme Sage Teacher title, a nation's grand aspirations, and Immortal Realm cultivation while granting Righteous Qi to the nation.
• Ma Feifei received nine Tianshu Fragments for completing the Book-holding Women quest and considered visiting the Book Battle Continent after reaching the Ninth-Grade Immortal Realm.
• The system announced that the Mysterious Bookstore would close for a week while upgrading to the Large Bookstore System, with new permissions including Mythic-grade books, bookstore relocation, and the Book Garden.
• Ma Feifei returned to the group, and Chang Kong congratulated him on entering the Immortal Realm.
• Yun Qingyang took Ma Feifei to look at Ling Xian and asked whether he could still be saved.

Ma Feifei learned that the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey, Zhang Ke, and Xun Ling had gone missing from the Mysterious Bookstore, and discovered that the monkey was in the Book Battle Continent. Fearing that Zhang Ke and Xun Ling might bring powerful Book Masters back to attack, he ordered everyone to return to Dubian Town immediately.

• Ma Feifei stayed in the imperial capital while the Mysterious Bookstore was closed and waited for Feng Yiming to arrive so he could remove the books from his back.
• Zhang Caicai reported that Zhang Ke and Xun Ling had fled the Mysterious Bookstore and that the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey was missing.
• Ma Feifei asked the system about the incident, and it said the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey was safe in the Book Battle Continent.
• Ma Feifei feared Zhang Ke and Xun Ling might bring other Book Masters to the Azure Dragon Continent and ordered everyone to pack for an immediate return to Dubian Town.

Ma Feifei and the others returned to Dubian Town after learning that the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey, Zhang Ke, and Xun Ling had gone missing. Manager Wang revealed that the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey had rampaged through town, leaving many dead and wounded and Mayor Zhou Wuji unconscious.

• Ma Feifei told the group that the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey, Zhang Ke, and Xun Ling had disappeared, and Chang Kong and Zhou Zhuling agreed to return to Dubian Town.
• Luan Feng carried Ma Feifei and the others to Dubian Town, where they saw deserted streets, fleeing cultivators, and frightened residents.
• Zhou Zhuling brought Manager Wang to Ma Feifei, and Manager Wang said the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey had attacked the town after Ma Feifei left, killing and injuring many people.
• Manager Wang reported that Mayor Zhou Wuji had been severely injured and was unconscious, so Zhou Zhuling rushed to see him.
• Ma Feifei sent Ling Xian after Zhou Zhuling to see whether she could treat Zhou Wuji.

Ma Feifei learned that the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey had rescued Zhang Ke and Xun Ling after rampaging through Dubian Town, but he could not determine why it had acted. As Ma Feifei arranged an apology and compensation, Zhou Zhuling reported that more than eighty thousand people had died, with the final toll possibly higher.

• Steward Wang told Ma Feifei that the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey had taken Zhang Ke and Xun Ling away from Dubian Town.
• Ma Feifei and the others concluded that the monkey had returned Zhang Ke and Xun Ling to the Book Battle Continent, but Ma Feifei could find no reason for its actions.
• Zhou Zhuling told Ma Feifei that residents blamed the Mysterious Bookstore for the rampage, so he ordered a public notice denying the bookstore's involvement and apologizing for the damage.
• Zhou Zhuling reported that the monkey had badly damaged Dubian Town and destroyed more than sixty of the Wantong Trading Market's ninety-nine estates, prompting Ma Feifei to promise compensation.
• Zhou Zhuling told Ma Feifei that more than eighty thousand people had died, including powerful cultivators, and warned that the final death toll could be higher.