Chapter Summaries

Zeng Anmin heard the Crown Prince’s request for help against the Fourth Prince at an upcoming celebration and received cautious advice from his father about court factions. That night, he resolved to reach Confucian Path Fourth Rank to uncover his father’s plans, then learned that Dao would visit the capital and that Nan wanted Dao to befriend him.

• The Crown Prince told Zeng Anmin that the Fourth Prince planned to cause trouble at Prince Nan’s welcome celebration and asked him to steal the limelight.
• Zeng Shilin pretended not to notice the Crown Prince, then advised Zeng Anmin to handle the Crown Prince carefully and avoid choosing a political side.
• Zeng Anmin wondered about Dean Qin’s death and his father’s secret plans, and resolved to advance to Confucian Path Fourth Rank to uncover them.
• Dao told Zeng Anmin through the Dragon Survey Map that he would travel to the Northern Sacred Dynasty to purge demons and visit a senior sister’s relatives in the capital.
• Nan asked Dao to befriend Zeng Anmin and recruit him into the Heavenly Dao Alliance, and Dao agreed to test Zeng Anmin’s character first.

Zeng Anmin searched the histories of Confucianism for clues about his father's plans, then learned that rumors claimed he had been intimate with Sai Chuxue. A contradiction in the records about Great Scholar Qin Li left him wondering how Qin Li appeared in Jiang Kingdom’s history seventeen years after his recorded death.

• Zeng Anmin learned that the Heavenly Dao Alliance members had awakened their diagrams, while he had absorbed their true meaning into his Sea of Consciousness Space.
• Nan recommended the Chronicles of Confucian Cultivators, and Zeng Anmin read it and the History of the Sacred Dynasty's Confucianism at the Imperial Academy library.
• Zeng Anmin spoke with Zeng Shilin about the Crown Prince, Prince Nan’s capture, and the upcoming celebration, but Zeng Shilin warned him against joining the succession struggle.
• Zeng Shilin confronted Zeng Anmin over rumors that he had embraced Sai Chuxue in her quiet chamber, and Zeng Anmin resolved to address the misunderstanding.
• Zeng Anmin realized the histories placed Qin Li’s death at the fall of the Han Dynasty but also recorded him spreading Confucianism in Jiang Kingdom seventeen years later.

Zeng Anmin used a vision from the Confucian Sage's Manuscript to learn how the Sub-Sage had faked his death by transforming into a butterfly, leading him to suspect Dean Qin had done the same. He decided to keep the suspicion from Qin Wanyue and began to wonder whether his father had hidden the Manuscript's secrets to advance a larger political plan.

• Zeng Anmin connected Dean Qin's death with the historical Qin Li and examined the Confucian Sage's Manuscript alongside Bai Ziqing's necklace.
• The Manuscript and necklace triggered a vision of the Sub-Sage's life, including his death and his butterfly transformation into a Demon King.
• Zeng Anmin recognized that the Sub-Sage's desiccated corpse resembled Dean Qin's, and suspected Dean Qin had faked his death after fighting Bi Xuan.
• Zeng Anmin decided not to tell Qin Wanyue that her father might still be alive, so she would not accidentally expose the deception.
• Zeng Anmin reconsidered what his father had said about the Manuscript and suspected his father had concealed its secrets while carrying out a broader plan with Master Xu.

Zeng Anmin searched the Imperial Academy for clues about Grand Confucian Qin Li while trying to reassure Qin Wanyue about rumors linking him to Sai Chuxue. After he and Wanyue reaffirmed their bond, she revealed that her father had researched Qin Li’s life and calligraphy, leaving Zeng Anmin with a potentially important clue.

• Zeng Anmin searched the Imperial Academy’s records for information about Qin Li but found nothing, so he decided to study similar cases of people returning after passing away in meditation.
• Qin Wanyue visited Zeng Anmin with pastries, and he comforted her about the rumors concerning Sai Chuxue and promised to honor their Three-Year Pact.
• Qin Wanyue admitted she feared losing her place beside Zeng Anmin, and he kissed her and gave her a written promise that she could always come to him.
• Zeng Anmin asked Qin Wanyue about Qin Li, and she recalled that he was the last Great Scholar recorded in the Chronicles of Confucian Cultivators.
• Qin Wanyue offered to bring Zeng Anmin her father's notes on Qin Li, explaining that her father had studied him because both had entered the Dao through calligraphy.

On his day off, Zeng Anmin investigated the White Bone Necklace and discovered that it could awaken the golden light in his eyes, which revealed hidden spiritual energy and a strange red gleam in a jade pendant. When Huzi reminded him about visiting Fa'an Temple, Zeng Anmin instead punished him for revealing his conversation with Miss Sai.

• Zeng Anmin studied Qin Li's manuscript but found it difficult to understand, then examined the White Bone Necklace for clues about its secrets.
• The necklace sent a current of air into Zeng Anmin's Sea of Consciousness Space, causing golden light to shine from his eyes and revealing the spiritual energy inside the Prismatic Spirit Stone.
• Zeng Anmin saw both the Prismatic Spirit Stone and Duan Yuanpei's jade pendant flash with red light before the golden light faded.
• Huzi asked Zeng Anmin to take him to Fa'an Temple to see Little Monk Yingchen, and Zeng Anmin questioned him about whom he had met after the trip with the black-clad auntie.
• Huzi admitted he had run into his mother, so Zeng Anmin grabbed him and spanked him for telling Concubine Lin about Zeng Anmin's conversation with Miss Sai.

Duke Wei Tian Ji returned to the capital with Prince Nan imprisoned after conquering Guangnan Prefecture, now renamed Yumen Prefecture. At the victory banquet, the Crown Prince and Fourth Prince Wang Yuanhao prepared for a literary contest as Zeng Anmin arrived with his father.

• Tian Ji returned to the capital with two thousand guards and Prince Nan, who warned that his victory might bring him punishment rather than reward.
• Tian Ji ordered Prince Nan’s prison cart taken by another route so the citizens would not see her.
• Tian Ji entered the palace, where the officials had gathered for a victory banquet.
• Fourth Prince Wang Yuanhao introduced his retainer Xu Nian, who hinted that he intended to challenge Zeng Anmin’s poetic reputation.
• Zeng Anmin and his father, Minister of War Zeng Shilin, entered Golden Palace Hall, drawing the attention of the assembled officials.

Zeng Anmin attended Emperor Jianhong’s palace banquet, traded barbs with Duke Ning Li Jian, and watched Princess Ning'an unsettle the court with her blunt remarks. The emperor arrived just as Ning An turned her attention toward Zeng Anmin.

• Zeng Anmin took his conspicuous seat beside Princess and reassured her that his dealings with Sai Chuxue served their business plans.
• Duke Ning Li Jian greeted Princess, then dismissed Zeng Anmin’s praise and returned to his seat.
• Zeng Anmin mocked Li Jian’s cough and age, prompting the Crown Prince to laugh and Princess to look on with helpless amusement.
• Princess Ning'an arrived, asked Princess for more money, pressed the Crown Prince and Fourth Prince to take her hunting, and embarrassed Li Jian by recalling his song.
• Ning An recognized Zeng Anmin, but Emperor Jianhong arrived before he could answer her.

At Emperor Jianhong’s victory banquet, Prince Nan tried to sow discord between Zeng Anmin and Duke Wei Tian Ji, but Zeng Anmin countered him and won the court’s approval. When the court debated renaming Bi Xuan Valley, Zeng Anmin recited a poem whose hidden name was Qinghai Bay, leaving everyone astonished.

• Emperor Jianhong received Duke Wei Tian Ji and captive Prince Nan, who claimed he had lost to Zeng Anmin’s strategies rather than Tian Ji.
• Zeng Anmin rejected Prince Nan’s praise, credited Emperor Jianhong, the Princess, Qin, and Tian Ji for the victory, and exposed Prince Nan’s attempt to sow discord.
• Emperor Jianhong ordered Bai Ziqing and Imperial City Department agents to escort Prince Nan away, then hosted a banquet for the court and the campaign’s meritorious officials.
• Grand Tutor Yang Qi suggested naming Bi Xuan Valley, and Emperor Jianhong invited the court to propose a name or compose a poem about the southern campaign.
• Xu Nian recited a poem, then Duke Ning, Li Jian, and Xu Nian urged Zeng Anmin to display his poetic talent.
• Zeng Anmin recited a poem that named Qinghai Bay, and the Princess explained its hidden reference to Bi Xuan Valley as the court reacted with astonishment.

At the imperial banquet, Zeng Anmin’s poem impressed the court, resolved the debate over Bi Xuan Valley’s name, and humiliated Duke Ning and Xu Nian. Riding home beneath the full moon, he encountered Sai Chuxue flying on her summoned Fire Phoenix, Huo'er.

• Zeng Anmin toasted the Princess and Tian Ji after composing a poem that renamed Bi Xuan Valley Qinghai Bay and answered the Emperor’s questions.
• Lou Yingqi and Zeng Shilin praised Zeng Anmin’s poem, while Zeng Shilin insulted Li Jian and Zeng Anmin added a mocking toast of his own.
• Xu Nian admitted that Zeng Anmin’s poem surpassed his, asked its title, and learned it was called 'Guan Shan Yue.'
• After the banquet, Zeng Anmin rode alone toward the Minister's Residence and reflected on the Mid-Autumn Festival beneath the full moon.
• Zeng Anmin saw Sai Chuxue flying past on a Fire Phoenix, and she stopped to explain that she had entered the Fifth Rank Spirit Caller realm and named her summoned companion Huo'er.

Sai Chuxue took Zeng Anmin on her Fire Phoenix to investigate an evil entity, but they found Zhu Wanjun facing a threat stronger than expected. Zhu sent Sai Chuxue to treat injured villagers and ordered Zeng Anmin to stay and help him confront the entity.

• Sai Chuxue invited Zeng Anmin to ride her Fire Phoenix and investigate an evil entity in the capital, and she explained that it was a Class A Heroic Spirit.
• The Fire Phoenix flew them to Zhu Wanjun, who warned that the evil entity was not the Yellow-grade threat they had expected.
• Zhu Wanjun told Sai Chuxue that injured villagers needed treatment, so she flew off to help them.
• Zhu Wanjun ordered Zeng Anmin to stay and assist him, citing the Fifth Rank Confucian Cultivator's ability to restrain evil entities, and Zeng Anmin asked what he would get in return.

Zeng Anmin and Zhu Wanjun pursued an evil creature through the forest, where Zhu Wanjun revealed himself as the traitor who had plotted against Zeng Anmin. Their battle escalated as Zeng Anmin fought with his martial arts and Confucian Dharma Aspect, while Sai Chuxue waited at the foot of the mountain.

• Sai Chuxue left on the Fire Phoenix after urging Zeng Anmin to stay safe, and Zeng Anmin followed Zhu Wanjun into the forest to track the evil creature.
• The white-eyed woman attacked Zhu Wanjun and fled, so Zeng Anmin and Zhu Wanjun pursued her into the woods before losing her trail.
• Zhu Wanjun used a red light from Zeng Anmin's Prismatic Spirit Stone to corrode his Golden Tablet, and Zeng Anmin realized Zhu Wanjun had plotted against him at Mount Bai Range and allied with Duke Ning.
• Zhu Wanjun attacked, but Zeng Anmin activated his Demon Emperor Blood Array and met his punch with a short axe, forcing Zhu Wanjun to recognize him as a blood-infused martial artist.
• Zhu Wanjun grew to over fifty feet tall and attacked with lightning, while Zeng Anmin summoned his Confucian Dharma Aspect without the corroded Golden Tablet and struck back.
• Sai Chuxue heard a tremendous sound from the mountain and wondered where the villagers threatened by the evil creatures were.

Zeng Anmin killed Zhu Wanjun with the Second Slash and uncovered Zhu’s role in the scheme against Great Scholar Qin Li. He protected Qin Li’s calligraphic piece, then feigned injury so Sai Chuxue would take him back to the capital while believing Zhu had died fighting an evil thing.

• Zhu Wanjun merged with the Thunder Spirit and attacked Zeng Anmin, but Zeng used the Prismatic Spirit Stone’s power to unleash the Second Slash and split Zhu’s body in two.
• Zeng deduced that Zhu had colluded with Duke Ning, tampered with the Demon Searching Compass, and given Jiang Kingdom spy Duan Yuanpei a jade pendant containing red light that restrained the Confucian Path.
• Zeng connected the red light to an attempt to destroy Great Scholar Qin Li’s calligraphic piece, which he believed was the basis of Qin’s resurrection, and secured the piece Qin Wanyue had given him.
• Zeng wounded himself and pretended to be panicked, telling Sai Chuxue that Zhu had sacrificed himself to hold back an evil thing.
• Sai Chuxue took Zeng to the capital on the Fire Phoenix and gave him a Body Transformation Pill, which he secretly stored instead of taking.

Zeng Anmin and Sai Chuxue brought Liu Shishi to the woods where Zhu Wanjun had been killed, and Liu Shishi investigated the scene. Her deductions revealed that an unknown martial artist had fought alongside a Daoist Evil Corpse, while Zeng Anmin learned that several powerful martial artists were active in the capital.

• Zeng Anmin and Sai Chuxue found Liu Shishi at the Profound Formation Division and persuaded her to come help with Zhu Wanjun’s emergency for ten spirit stones.
• Liu Shishi rushed to the woods and found Zhu Wanjun’s corpse split in two; Zeng Anmin claimed Zhu had held off the evil creature before admitting that he had fled first.
• Zeng Anmin described the creature as a beautiful woman with no pupils, and Liu Shishi and Sai Chuxue identified it as a Daoist Evil Corpse.
• Liu Shishi examined the battlefield and concluded that Zhu Wanjun had faced a Daoist Evil Corpse and an unknown martial artist working together.
• Liu Shishi’s deductions revealed that Si Zhongxiao and Li Jian were Third Rank Martial Artists and hinted at a Second Rank figure in the imperial city, prompting Zeng Anmin to reconsider his plans against Li Jian.

After helping Sai Chuxue return Zhu Wanjun’s body to the Profound Formation Division, Zeng Anmin sought a way to counter the red glow corroding his Confucian artifacts. Master Xu recognized Zeng Anmin as the first person to practice Confucian-Martial Dual Cultivation and hinted that he knew about Zeng Anmin’s hidden actions.

• Liu Shishi questioned Zeng Anmin about what he had seen, then left while Sai Chuxue stored Zhu Wanjun’s corpse and returned with him to the Profound Formation Division.
• Zeng Anmin asked Sai Chuxue about restraining Confucian Law, and she suggested asking Xu Mingxin, who recalled that Master Xu’s books listed rare counters to the Confucian Path.
• Zeng Anmin confronted Xu Mingxin over spreading a rumor that he and Sai Chuxue had spent their bridal night together, then discovered Xu Mingxin’s hidden erotic paintings and doll.
• Sai Chuxue reported that Master Xu had told her to bury her Senior Brother properly and had asked to see Zeng Anmin.
• Zeng Anmin met Master Xu, who revealed that Bi Xuan was a Third Rank Great Demon and identified Zeng Anmin as the first person in history to achieve Confucian-Martial Dual Cultivation.

Zeng Anmin confronted Master Xu about Zhu Wanjun, the Demon Searching Compass, and the schemes surrounding him. Master Xu revealed his connection to Zeng Anmin’s father and the Dao Sect, then asked Zeng Anmin to return in a year to learn the name of someone he must kill.

• Master Xu revealed that Qi Xianlin’s divination had identified Zeng Anmin as the Black Cat Martial Artist, and admitted he had forged the jade pendant Zeng Anmin used to contact Bai Ziqing.
• Master Xu said he had known Zeng Anmin’s father for decades and had turned a blind eye to Zhu Wanjun’s actions involving the Demon Searching Compass and Li Jian.
• Master Xu revealed that he had laid a chess net against the Dao Sect, and identified Zeng Anmin’s necklace as an item belonging to the Great Ancestor of Jiang State, connected to Dongfang Cang of the Eastern Cult.
• Zeng Anmin asked what Master Xu wanted from him, and Master Xu said he needed Zeng Anmin to kill someone, whose name he would reveal when Zeng Anmin returned in one year.

Master Xu silently imparted five formations to Zeng Anmin, who then questioned Xu Mingxin about methods for restraining Confucian cultivators. Xu Mingxin revealed that Bizarre Qi could cripple even a First Rank Lesser Sage and explained the obscure method said to dispel it.

• Master Xu pointed at Zeng Anmin, immobilized him, and named five formations before disappearing.
• Zeng Anmin met the fox, who happily accepted the name Fox Immortal and rejected its old name, Wangcai.
• Xu Mingxin told Zeng Anmin he had memorized the Confucian Path Chapter after waiting outside Master Xu's Estate all night.
• Xu Mingxin described a Clam Tribe inner core and South Sea coral incense as ways to restrain Confucian cultivators, though both methods had limitations.
• Xu Mingxin explained that the Dao Sect's Bizarre Qi could erode even a First Rank Lesser Sage's cultivation and said dispelling it required a Heavenly Lotus stem and half a month of cultivation together.

Zeng Anmin left the Profound Formation Division after speaking with Xu Mingxin, then returned home to find his father waiting for him. He told Zeng Shilin that Xu Mingxin had revealed everything to him, leaving his father startled.

• Zeng Anmin warned Xu Mingxin to deal with the quiet room, and Xu Mingxin wondered about Bizarre Qi and Heavenly Lotus after he left.
• Sai Chuxue learned Zeng Anmin had spent the night with Master Xu and was astonished that Master Xu had personally pointed a finger at him.
• Zeng Anmin found Little Green Horse outside his home and learned from Dachun that Zeng Shilin was waiting for him in the study.
• Zeng Anmin told Zeng Shilin he had visited Master Xu, then claimed Master Xu had told him everything he could and could not say.

Zeng Anmin confronted Zeng Shilin with what he had uncovered about Master Xu and Dean Qin, then recounted how he had pieced together Qin Shouchang’s apparent death and butterfly transformation. Zeng Shilin saw through his son’s bluff but encouraged him to pursue the Metropolitan Scholar title.

• Zeng Anmin told Zeng Shilin that Master Xu had asked him to help kill someone from the Jiang Kingdom and knew he could cultivate both Confucian and martial arts.
• Zeng Anmin bluffed that Master Xu had revealed Dean Qin’s infiltration of the Demon Race and Qin Li’s plan for resurrection, prompting Zeng Shilin to react with alarm.
• Zeng Shilin tested Zeng Anmin with a false claim about reshaping Qin Shouchang’s body and preparing Spirit-Guiding Grass, then revealed that he had caught the bluff.
• Zeng Anmin explained how he had suspected a Profound Formation Division disciple of colluding with Duke Ning, Li Jian, and told Zeng Shilin about his recent experiences, including killing Zhu Wanjun.
• Zeng Shilin praised Zeng Anmin’s growing sharpness, patted his head, and urged him to study at the Imperial Academy and strive to become the Metropolitan Scholar.

Shen Jun and Liu Sanjiang led their trading-company caravans toward Qinghai Bay, where they planned to pursue a business venture arranged by the Princess. On the way, they met Liu Shishi, a disciple of the Profound Formation Division who warned them of dangers in Mount Bai and agreed to guard them for a fee.

• Shen Jun and Liu Sanjiang reached Mount Bai after nearly two months of travel and set out with their caravans for Qinghai Bay.
• Liu Sanjiang urged the young traders onward, telling them their benefactor had secured lodgings and bought mining grounds and mountain tracts in Qinghai Bay.
• Liu Shishi called to the caravan from above, descended on a flying sword, swallowed the sword, and identified herself as a disciple of the Profound Formation Division.
• Liu Shishi warned Shen Jun and Liu Sanjiang that a Fox Demon lay twenty li ahead and could attack their untrained group.
• Shen Jun asked Liu Shishi to guard the caravan, and she agreed to escort them to Qinghai Bay for nine hundred and eighty taels.

Liu Shishi escorted Shen Jun’s caravan to Qinghai Bay, where she discovered he had already bought the mountain she wanted. After learning Shen Jun acted for Zeng Anmin, she decided to return to the capital and pursue him.

• Liu Shishi agreed to protect Shen Jun’s caravan in exchange for silver, food, and lodging, then left after collecting a thousand-tael note at Qinghai Bay.
• Shen Jun certified the deed and secured development rights to the Spirit Mine mountain on behalf of Zeng Anmin.
• Liu Shishi tried to buy a northern mountain but learned Shen Jun had already purchased it, so she offered him fifty million taels; Shen Jun refused.
• Shen Jun told Liu Sanjiang that Liu Shishi wanted the mine, and Liu Sanjiang decided to report the matter to Zeng Anmin.
• Liu Shishi overheard that Zeng Anmin stood behind Shen Jun and resolved to return to the capital to plan how to become his concubine and gain control of the land.