Chapter Summaries

After destroying Xuanlun Mountain Villa, Zeng Anmin returned to the capital as rumors credited him with killing Guan Tiansheng using the Confucian Sage’s Supreme Treasure. There, Shi Ze revealed that Ji Qing cultivated Demonic Blood Martial Arts, leaving Zeng Anmin stunned.

• Emperor Jianhong concluded that Guan Tiansheng had failed his tribulation and suspected Zeng Anmin learned of it through the Profound Formation Division and Shen Qiu.
• News of Xuanlun Mountain Villa’s destruction reached the allied armies, and Zeng Shilin pretended that Zeng Anmin had used a Confucian Sage’s Supreme Treasure to kill Guan Tiansheng.
• Gu Xiangnan confirmed through the Phoenix Strategy Diagram that Guan Tiansheng had died after failing his tribulation and agreed to keep Zeng Anmin’s knowledge secret.
• Zeng Anmin returned to the capital with Liu Shishi, Sai Chuxue, and Sima Nan, bringing the ashes and remains of the disaster victims.
• Shi Ze met Zeng Anmin outside the Duke’s Mansion and said Ji Qing cultivated Demonic Blood Martial Arts, shocking Zeng Anmin.

After returning to the capital, Zeng Anmin discovered that Ji Qing’s Xi Huang Diagram was a counterfeit and resolved to find the real one. That night, Bai Ziqing and Wuxin visited him, while the Heavenly Dao Alliance discussed recruiting Bai Ziqing.

• Zeng Anmin told Shi Ze that the Confucian Sage’s talisman had dispersed after being used, and Shi Ze left disappointed.
• Zeng Anmin tried to awaken Ji Qing’s Xi Huang Diagram with the Dao Star, but it did not respond and instead revealed three Dao Sect inheritances in his Sea of Consciousness Space.
• Zeng Anmin used the Buddhist Heavenly Eye to see that the Xi Huang Diagram was counterfeit and decided to investigate Ji Qing’s past to find the real one.
• Bai Ziqing and Wuxin visited Zeng Anmin, and Bai Ziqing invited him to drink with them.
• The Heavenly Dao Alliance discussed recruiting Bai Ziqing, and Zeng Anmin recognized the plan as he watched their conversation.

Zeng Anmin went before Emperor Jianhong to report on the Xiliu disaster relief and the deaths among his agents. He accused the emperor of knowing that Xuanlun Mountain Villa’s Guan Tiansheng and Shen Qiu had caused the disaster and killed officials at Heng River Crossing.

• Zeng Anmin warned the Heavenly Dao Alliance that Bai Ziqing’s ties to the imperial relatives made him a risk, so the group decided to test his character.
• Zeng Anmin learned that Sai Chuxue planned to protect Dongfang Sheng’s orphaned daughter by assessing her aptitude and offering her a place as a disciple.
• Zeng Anmin and Sima Nan entered the Golden Palace Hall, where Emperor Jianhong praised Zeng Anmin’s relief work and urged him not to risk his life again.
• When Emperor Jianhong asked how Guan Tiansheng died, Zeng Anmin said the ancestor had died before he arrived at Xuanlun Mountain Villa.
• Zeng Anmin accused Emperor Jianhong of knowing that Guan Tiansheng and Shen Qiu had killed the grain officials at Heng River Crossing and caused Xiliu’s drought, disaster victims, and calamities.

Zeng Anmin told the court that Xuanlun Mountain Villa had used a million disaster victims to refine pills and smuggled them into the capital, redirecting Emperor Jianhong’s suspicion toward Master Xu. After Qin Wanyue visited him with news of her advancement, Master Xu appeared and asked whether Zeng Anmin remembered his promise.

• Zeng Anmin recounted how he uncovered Xuanlun Mountain Villa’s interference with disaster relief and accused the villa of refining pills from the despair of a million victims.
• Zeng Anmin called for an investigation into who in the capital could consume the pills, prompting the court to suspect Old Ancestor Wang Dong before Qin Shouchang intervened.
• Emperor Jianhong ordered the Three Judicial Offices to investigate the fleet that delivered tribute wine and later concluded that Zeng Anmin’s account of the Confucian Sage’s Supreme Treasure was genuine.
• Zeng Anmin waited at home, hoping to draw Master Xu’s attention toward the conflict between the Profound Formation Division and imperial authority, but Qin Wanyue arrived first.
• Qin Wanyue told Zeng Anmin she had reached the Fifth Rank, and Master Xu appeared in the courtyard and asked him about the promise he had made.

Master Xu confronted Zeng Anmin, revealed that he wanted help killing Wang Dong, and agreed to take him to the Holy Dynasty’s Dragon Vein. After Master Xu left, Zeng Anmin revealed that he had manipulated both Master Xu and Emperor Jianhong into moving toward a showdown, and prepared to make his next move.

• Master Xu warned Zeng Anmin that Emperor Jianhong would not let him leave the capital and that Qin Wanyue, Qin Shouchang, and Master Xu’s disciple could become leverage against him.
• Master Xu explained that he had discovered grave soil aboard the tribute-wine ship and asked Zeng Anmin to help kill Wang Dong, who planned to use the Seven Emotion Pill to reach the First Rank.
• Master Xu confirmed that Zeng Anmin had reached Third Rank Martial Cultivation and proposed that they join another Third Rank Martial Artist to kill Wang Dong before taking Zeng Anmin to the Dragon Vein at Shouyang Mountain.
• Zeng Anmin demanded that Master Xu arrange for the Qin Residence and Duke’s Mansion to leave the capital, and Master Xu promised to send news within two days.
• After Master Xu vanished, Zeng Anmin revealed that he had deliberately misled Master Xu and Emperor Jianhong about Shen Qiu to provoke their confrontation, then decided it was time to make his next move.

Zeng Anmin reunited with Zeng Rongyu and Huzi, then awkwardly managed Qin Wanyue and Sai Chuxue’s encounter after Huzi called Sai his “Auntie-in-law.” As Zeng Rongyu helped Qin Wanyue leave in better spirits, she teased Zeng Anmin about his many romantic ties, and he hinted that another woman would join the household in two months.

• Zeng Anmin greeted Huzi and Zeng Rongyu, who explained that she had been correcting Huzi’s unruly behavior.
• Zeng Rongyu tried to take Qin Wanyue away, but Sai Chuxue arrived with Huzi’s Formation Engraving Tool, and Huzi called her “Auntie-in-law.”
• Sai Chuxue blushed and fled after noticing Qin Wanyue, while Zeng Rongyu took Qin Wanyue aside to smooth over the awkward encounter.
• Zeng Rongyu prompted Huzi to call Qin Wanyue “Big Auntie-in-law,” and Qin Wanyue cheerfully promised to bring him treats before leaving.
• Zeng Rongyu warned Zeng Anmin not to let Qin Wanyue and Sai Chuxue down, then teased him about Princess and the rumored women in his life.
• Zeng Anmin revealed that a fourth woman would arrive in two months, and Zeng Rongyu guessed several possibilities before asking if it was the Crown Prince.

Zeng Anmin replenished the Southern Commander's Department’s ranks and recruited Lou Tong, then devised a public academic convention as cover for Master Xu’s plans against Emperor Jianhong and Wang Dong. The Formation-Confucian Convention rumors spread, leaving Zeng Anmin satisfied that he had placed his second move.

• Zeng Anmin caught Dachun returning with Wu Jia, warned him not to be used, and learned Dachun intended to ask Wu Jia about his identity.
• Zeng Anmin visited the reserve academy and selected about seventy Eighth-rank agents for the depleted Southern Commander's Department.
• Zeng Anmin summoned Lou Tong from Qilin Academy to serve as chief clerk, then reflected that he had placed the first piece on the board.
• Zeng Anmin met Master Xu, learned he needed to wait twenty-six days while Emperor Jianhong and Wang Dong prepared, and proposed an academic exchange at South Mountain as cover for traveling to Shouyang Mountain.
• Master Xu agreed to Zeng Anmin's plan, and rumors about the Formation-Confucian Convention spread until Zeng Anmin declared that he had placed his second move.

Zeng Anmin learned that Huang believed Dachun had a rare talent suited to the Barbaric Mystery Realm, then visited the Imperial City Department to address its new recruits. A scarred youth’s account of the Tooth Gang Organization’s kidnappings left Zeng Anmin suspecting they had targeted children born on Ten Spiritual Day.

• Zeng Anmin struggled to finish a game of Go with Huzi, then swept the board away when Dachun announced Lou Tong’s arrival.
• Lou Tong reported vacancies in the Southern Commander's Department and said the Formation-Confucian Convention would be held at Nanshan in ten days, likely attended by the Crown Prince.
• Huang told the Ancestral Dragon Diagram group that Dachun had the Prophet Sage Body and asked Dachun himself to decide whether to join the barbarians and enter the Barbaric Mystery Realm.
• Zeng Anmin went to the Imperial City Department, welcomed eighty new Eighth-rank Martial Artists, and urged them to work hard despite their injuries.
• A recruit told Zeng Anmin that the Tooth Gang Organization had abducted seven children and that the other six disappeared; Zeng Anmin asked whether the gang had sought children born on Ten Spiritual Day.

Zeng Anmin learned that the Tooth Gang Organization abducted children born on Ten Spiritual Day and connected the case to Xiang Wangxian, Ji Qing, and the Xi Huang Diagram. Back at the Duke's Mansion, Zeng Rongyu mentioned the Crimson Flame Spirit Fruit, prompting Zeng Anmin to remember finding one on Stone Mountain and rush to the Profound Formation Division to find Master Xu.

• Zeng Anmin questioned Chang Fenggou and learned that the Tooth Gang Organization had abducted him six years earlier and targeted children born on Ten Spiritual Day.
• Chang Fenggou told Zeng Anmin and Bai Ziqing that Xiang Wangxian had rescued him after destroying a Tooth Gang Organization branch, leading Zeng Anmin to suspect someone had known Xiang Wangxian's movements and link the case to the Xi Huang Diagram.
• Bai Ziqing suggested Si Zhongxiao might be involved, but Zeng Anmin rejected the idea and asked Bai Ziqing for help with another part of the investigation.
• At the Duke's Mansion, Zeng Rongyu told Zeng Anmin that the Crimson Flame Spirit Fruit could greatly speed up comprehension of the Dao Heart Chess Manual.
• Zeng Anmin remembered finding a Crimson Flame Spirit Fruit on Stone Mountain near Two Rivers Prefecture and hurried to the Profound Formation Division to find Master Xu.

Zeng Anmin revealed to Master Xu that he had mastered the third seal of the Ancestral Dragon Diagram and warned that Emperor Jianhong was pursuing the Xi Huang Diagram. He concluded that Emperor Jianhong had kept Princess Anning close because she might be the Heaven-Aversion Person needed to refine an Enlightenment Pill.

• Zeng Anmin sought a private meeting with Master Xu and asked what he knew about the Heavenly Dao Diagram.
• Zeng Anmin transformed into a Primordial Dragon, shocking Master Xu, then explained that he had mastered the third seal of the Ancestral Dragon Diagram.
• Zeng Anmin explained that the Heavenly Dao Diagrams had three seals and said Loyal Far Count's exceptional abilities came from breaking through the second seal of the Xi Huang Diagram.
• Zeng Anmin connected the prematurely picked Crimson Flame Spirit Fruit to Emperor Jianhong's trip to Jiangnan with Princess Ning'an and Bai Ziqing, and suspected the emperor possessed the Xi Huang Diagram.
• Zeng Anmin warned that Emperor Jianhong had gathered children born on Ten Spiritual Days under Ji Qing's name to pursue an Enlightenment Pill.
• Zeng Anmin proposed that Princess Anning was the Heaven-Aversion Person and that Emperor Jianhong had kept her for that purpose.

Zeng Anmin learned that Master Xu planned to kill Emperor Jianhong at the Formation-Confucian Convention, while privately suspecting the emperor was even stronger than Master Xu believed. At Nan Mountain, the convention’s participants and the Little Fatty Crown Prince gathered, and Zeng Anmin was entrusted with maintaining order.

• Master Xu decided to treat Emperor Jianhong as an opponent and planned to kill him at the convention, while assigning Zeng Anmin to hold off Wang Dong.
• After leaving the Profound Formation Division, Zeng Anmin suspected Emperor Jianhong was at least a Third Rank martial artist and had secretly killed Xiang Wangxian.
• Zeng Anmin brought his family to Nan Mountain and arranged for Zeng Rongyu to protect the household and Qin family during the convention.
• The Little Fatty Crown Prince arrived with the hundred officials and wondered why Emperor Jianhong had summoned only Ning An over the past two days.
• Liu Shishi boasted that she could defeat Qilin Academy in debate, while Sai Chuxue admitted she only wanted to see Zeng Anmin.
• Zeng Anmin reported to the Little Fatty Crown Prince, who rebuked Si Zhongxiao for criticizing their familiarity and ordered Zeng Anmin to maintain order at Nan Mountain.

During the Formation-Confucian Convention, Zeng Anmin prepared for Master Xu’s plan to stop Wang Dong from breaking through, while Dachun decided to leave with Wu Jia to seek greater strength. The chapter ended with Zeng Anmin meeting the masked accomplice who was to help carry out the plan and recognizing him.

• Duan Hu, whom Huzi called himself, agreed to compete against Liu Jin in chess after Liu Jin refused to fight him.
• Zeng Anmin confirmed that Sima Nan had positioned agents around the convention and capital for an operation triggered by a signal.
• Dachun told Zeng Anmin he would leave with Wu Jia to improve his strength, then knelt and vowed to succeed despite his pregnant wife.
• Master Xu told Zeng Anmin that Wang Dong was close to breaking through and gave him a Martial Locking Stone to weaken Wang Dong before the attack.
• At the convention the next day, Zeng Anmin followed a signal into a bamboo grove and handed the stone to a black-clad accomplice, whose face he recognized.

Zeng Anmin and Si Zhongxiao infiltrated Shouyang Mountain to use a Martial Locking Stone against Wang Dong, but Wang Dong killed Si Zhongxiao after the device activated. Wang Dong then turned his blade on Zeng Anmin, leaving him to face the weakened Second Rank martial artist alone.

• Si Zhongxiao told Zeng Anmin to meet him at Shouyang Mountain, and Zeng Anmin realized Master Xu had planted him beside Emperor Jianhong.
• At the Mystic Confucian Assembly, Crown Prince Wang Yuanzhen learned Si Zhongxiao was preparing supplies and appointed the young eunuch Wei Zhongquan to serve the Eastern Palace.
• Si Zhongxiao and Zeng Anmin disguised themselves as palace attendants and approached Wang Dong with supplies, intending to detonate the Martial Locking Stone within seven steps.
• When Wang Dong stopped Si Zhongxiao short, Si Zhongxiao pretended his Martial Arts Aura was malfunctioning and persuaded Wang Dong to let him approach.
• Zeng Anmin activated the Martial Locking Stone when Si Zhongxiao was four steps away, restricting Wang Dong's Martial Arts Aura and immobilizing Si Zhongxiao.
• Wang Dong killed Si Zhongxiao with a short blade, then turned toward Zeng Anmin and raised the blade.

Wang Dong attacked Zeng Anmin with a Divine Artifact and unleashed a massive lightning strike, but Zeng Anmin survived by activating his own axe’s Blood Robe Physique. Zeng Anmin then fought back, and after Wang Dong stabbed him in the shoulder, he seized Wang Dong’s arm and prepared a counterstrike.

• Wang Dong recognized Zeng Anmin, threatened to kill him, and hurled his short blade at his throat.
• Xu’s Array Imprinting and Zeng Anmin’s Martial Arts Aura protected him from Wang Dong’s blade.
• Wang Dong used his short blade as a Divine Artifact to transform into lightning and trap Zeng Anmin beneath a huge thunder ring.
• Zeng Anmin summoned his giant axe, gained the Blood Robe Physique, and endured Wang Dong’s lightning attack.
• Zeng Anmin attacked with three axe strikes, but Wang Dong dodged them, criticized his technique, and stabbed him between the shoulder blades.
• Zeng Anmin shrank his axe, grabbed Wang Dong’s arm, and raised the axe to strike with “Slay the Three, Be Called Ugly!!”

Zeng Anmin unleashed his full strength against Wang Dong, but Wang Dong regained Second Rank power and began to overpower him. Zeng Anmin transformed into a Primordial Dragon and killed Wang Dong, while Emperor Jianhong broke through to Second Rank and drew the Xi Huang Diagram into his Sea of Consciousness Space; Zeng Anmin was left wondering whether he had controlled the dragon’s actions.

• Zeng Anmin and Wang Dong’s attacks collided, devastating everything within a dozen kilometers and leaving both men gravely injured.
• Wang Dong revealed that he could use some Second Rank abilities and used his overwhelming pressure to force Zeng Anmin toward his knees.
• Zeng Anmin resisted Wang Dong’s pressure as his body transformed into a Primordial Dragon, which tore off Wang Dong’s limbs and killed him with a pillar of white light.
• Emperor Jianhong broke through to Second Rank, entered the cottage where Ning An’s remains lay, and used a pill to draw the Xi Huang Diagram into his Sea of Consciousness Space.
• Zeng Anmin returned to human form and questioned whether he had been responsible for the dragon’s actions.

After defeating Wang Dong, Zeng Anmin discovered Emperor Jianhong had entered the Heavenly Dao Alliance and was preparing to break through to the First Rank. Emperor Jianhong used the Shouyang Dragon Vein to withstand the heavenly lightning and completed his breakthrough, only for Master Xu to appear with a Martial Locking Stone.

• Zeng Anmin recovered from his battle with Wang Dong and realized Master Xu had arranged for them to fight, but his dragon transformation had let him survive.
• Emperor Jianhong appeared in the Heavenly Dao Alliance chat, and Zeng Anmin and the others concealed their surprise while explaining the alliance to him.
• Emperor Jianhong concluded that Bei possessed a powerful treasure and resolved to uncover Bei's identity and claim it.
• Emperor Jianhong drew heavenly lightning at Shouyang Mountain, while Zeng Anmin recognized his breakthrough and fled down the mountain, intending to take the others with him.
• Emperor Jianhong summoned the Shouyang Dragon Vein to conceal the mountain from the Heavenly Dao, repel the lightning, and reach the First Rank.
• Master Xu confronted Emperor Jianhong with a Martial Locking Stone he had prepared to restrain him.

Master Xu used the Martial Locking Stone to suppress Emperor Jianhong and seize him, but found Wang Dong missing and turned toward Nan Mountain. There, Zeng Anmin stopped Master Xu from dragging Dean Shi into a beam of light and challenged him over his identity and schemes.

• Emperor Jianhong transformed with the Xi Huang Diagram and attacked Master Xu, but Master Xu shattered the Martial Locking Stone and locked away his martial power.
• Master Xu explained that he planned to use Emperor Jianhong as material for a formation, then captured him and vanished from Shouyang Mountain.
• Master Xu found the forest reduced to ashes and Wang Dong missing, while Emperor Jianhong stalled as the stone’s suppression began to fade.
• Zeng Anmin reflected that he had anticipated Master Xu’s plans, then saw Master Xu’s colossal Dharma Aspect appear over the capital and accuse Si Zhongxiao and Wang Dong of plotting rebellion.
• Master Xu accused Dean Shi of aiding the rebels and pulled him toward a beam of light, but Zeng Anmin intervened and challenged Master Xu’s identity.

Zeng Anmin exposed Master Xu’s plan to use the Reverse Heavenly Dao formation and the dynasty’s national fortune to restore the ancient rules, then challenged him. Master Xu revealed his true youthful form and overwhelming power, but Zeng Anmin announced a countermeasure as the confrontation continued.

• Zeng Anmin explained that the Dao Star linked Master Xu to the Daoist Qi Sect and accused him of plotting to reverse the Heaven and Earth Rules using the lives of First, Second, and Third Rank experts.
• Zeng Anmin claimed Emperor Jianhong had achieved First Rank only to become fuel for Master Xu’s formation, while Dean Shi realized Master Xu had tried to lure him into the formation as its Second Rank sacrifice.
• Master Xu activated the countless formations he had prepared throughout the capital and used the Holy Dynasty’s thousand-year national fortune to reverse Heavenly Dao and transform into a youthful figure.
• Master Xu admitted he had schemed against Demon Emperor Xiangliu and declared that Emperor Jianhong and Dean Shi would die as the Qi Sect rose to power.
• Master Xu drew Liu Shishi from the void, sent her to protect Sai Chuxue, and named Zeng Anmin as the formation’s Third Rank material.
• Zeng Anmin said he would make himself, Dean Shi, and Liu Shishi disappear, then announced a trick called Great Transformation of Living People.

Zeng Anmin used his newly strengthened Space ability to whisk the Crown Prince and others from South Mountain to Qinghai Bay, escaping Master Xu but collapsing afterward. As the southern army struggled against heavy snow and dwindling provisions, the Crown Prince arrived at its camp with Zeng Anmin and the others.

• Master Xu overwhelmed Zeng Anmin and the people on South Mountain, but Zeng Anmin unleashed his Space ability and transported them away before Master Xu could seize them.
• Bai Ziqing found Emperor Jianhong in a pillar of light at the Master Xu's Estate, but the emperor fell to the ground cold and unresponsive when the pillar vanished.
• The Crown Prince and the others appeared at Qinghai Bay, where they found Zeng Anmin unconscious; after waking, Zeng Anmin confirmed that he had brought them there and believed Emperor Jianhong was dead.
• At Yutou Mountain, Zeng Shilin, Princess, and Duke Wei Tian Ji discussed the impassable snowfall, the threat to their provisions, and their hopes for Zeng Anmin's resourcefulness.
• A messenger announced that the Crown Prince had arrived seeking an audience with Shi Ze, Zeng Anmin, and the others.

Zeng Anmin brought the Crown Prince, Dean Shi, and others from the capital to Qinghai Bay, where they revealed that Master Xu had murdered Emperor Jianhong and planned to support the Crown Prince as the new emperor. As Zeng Anmin and Zeng Shilin discussed claiming Fengqi Road, news arrived that the Princess and Empress Gu Xiangnan had begun fighting.

• The Crown Prince and Zeng Anmin entered Zeng Shilin's tent with Dean Shi and the others, stunning Zeng Shilin, Tian Ji, and the Princess.
• Dean Shi revealed that Master Xu had murdered Emperor Jianhong and activated a formation to defy the heavens, and Zeng Anmin confirmed the emperor's death.
• Zeng Anmin told Zeng Shilin that he intended to support the Crown Prince as the new emperor and use Lou Yingqi's ties to claim Fengqi Road.
• Zeng Shilin warned Zeng Anmin that Empress Gu Xiangnan could threaten their plans.
• A messenger reported that the Princess and Empress Gu Xiangnan had started fighting.