Recaps

Huzi’s account of how Zeng Anmin became his uncle impressed Emperor Jianhong and increased his favorable impression of Zeng Anmin. At the Autumn Provincial Examination, Duke Ning, Li Jian, warned the students that the illusion array could expose their true natures, then named Zeng Anmin as the first to enter.

• Huzi explained that Zeng Anmin had promised to be his father and protect him after Huzi’s birth father died, so Huzi had once called him Father.
• Emperor Jianhong praised Zeng Anmin as an upright pillar of the Great Sage Dynasty, while the officials who had condemned Huzi’s words lowered their heads in shame.
• Zeng Anmin arrived at the examination arena and saw Liu Shishi among the Profound Formation Division disciples overseeing the exam.
• Duke Ning, Li Jian, told the students they could withdraw before entering the illusion array and warned that failure could ruin their reputations, while success could bring them a boundless future.
• Liu Shishi announced that Zeng Anmin would be the first student to take the stage, and Zeng Anmin grew suspicious when he saw Li Jian’s knowing smile.

Duke Ning, Li Jian, secretly tampered with the imperial examination illusion array, trapping Zeng Anmin in the deadly Kindling Illusion Array. Zeng Anmin’s Golden Finger protected his mind, and he woke in a future world with a new identity, where Little Fatty Crown Prince had become emperor.

• Liu Shishi activated the illusion array, but a tampered spirit stone caused a crimson Kindling Illusion Array to seize Zeng Anmin.
• Liu Shishi warned Emperor Jianhong and Zeng Shilin that Zeng Anmin could die if he failed the array’s trial, while Li Jian watched with satisfaction.
• Zeng Anmin entered the illusion and found that his Unyielding Martial God entry protected him from the array’s mental attacks and blocked its implanted memories.
• Zeng Anmin noticed in a mirror that the illusion had given him the appearance of a middle-aged man and learned that the emperor had come to visit him.
• Zeng Anmin recognized the emperor as Little Fatty Crown Prince, now an older ruler, and deduced that the illusion showed a world about twenty years in the future.

Inside the Kindling Illusion Array, Zeng Anmin accepted the seemingly suicidal mission to assassinate the invading Empress and devised a plan to approach her under the guise of peace negotiations. He went to the Duke of the State’s mansion to meet the future version of himself, whom he intended to offer as the price that would make the deception convincing.

• Little Fatty Crown Prince Wang Yuanzhen told Zeng Anmin that the Empress had invaded with seven hundred thousand troops and asked the Black Cat Martial Artist to assassinate her.
• Zeng Anmin agreed to risk his life, saying that everyone bore responsibility when the realm faced danger.
• Zeng Anmin proposed sending the Empress a peace treaty offering fifteen cities, then approaching her as an envoy with a map concealing a dagger.
• Zeng Anmin suggested making the Empress believe the offer by staking the head of Duke of the State Zeng Anmin, and promised to speak with him personally.
• Zeng Anmin visited the Duke of the State’s mansion and turned to face the gaunt future version of himself.

Inside the Kindling Illusion Array, Zeng Anmin moved his future self, the Duke of the State, with a poem about the people’s suffering and persuaded him to support an assassination of the Jiang State Empress. The illusion left Zeng Anmin riding as an envoy with a map and the Duke of the State’s head, while the crowd outside hailed him as an unrivaled national scholar.

• Zeng Anmin met the future Duke of the State, who planned to flee the capital with his family rather than resist the Jiang State invasion.
• Zeng Anmin recited a ci poem ending with the words, “When the nation flourished, the people suffered; when the nation perished, the people suffered,” moving his future self and the crowd watching outside the array.
• Zeng Anmin revealed his plan to approach the Jiang State Empress as an envoy and assassinate her with a dagger hidden in a map.
• Zeng Anmin offered to take the Duke of the State’s head to the Empress as a pretext, and the Duke accepted the plan after hearing his resolve.
• The crowd outside the array praised Zeng Anmin, while Duke Ning, Li Jian, suspected that his schemes had benefited Zeng instead.
• Zeng Anmin departed at the head of an envoy procession, carrying a map and the Duke of the State’s head.

Zeng Anmin assassinated the Empress inside the Kindling Illusion Array, then discovered the trial continued and that he had returned to his identity as Duke of the State twenty-seven years later. When the Black Cat Martial Artist asked him to save the people, Zeng Anmin realized how to break the array.

• Zeng Anmin traveled with the envoy delegation, bribed Gu Huaizhong with lavish gifts, and asked him to tell the Empress that the Holy Kingdom would submit and offer fifteen cities.
• Zeng Anmin presented the Empress with the Duke of the State Zeng Anmin's head and a map, then used the map to conceal a dagger and assassinate her.
• The Jiang Kingdom's generals attacked Zeng Anmin, while people outside the illusion array mourned and called him the Unrivaled National Scholar.
• Zeng Anmin awoke as the Duke of the State twenty-seven years later and wondered why the trial had not ended after the assassination.
• The Black Cat Martial Artist asked Zeng Anmin to save the people, and Zeng Anmin recognized the Kindling Illusion Array and declared that he knew how to break it.

Zeng Anmin passed the Kindling Illusion Array by sacrificing himself in the illusion so the Black Cat Martial Artist could assassinate the Empress, earning public acclaim and the array’s First Class ranking. As the Autumn Provincial Examination ended, a mysterious Hat Guest attacked Emperor Jianhong, and Si Zhongxiao and Liu Shishi moved to defend him.

• Zeng Anmin urged the Black Cat Martial Artist to use a map and hidden dagger to kill the Empress, then cut his own throat to give him a chance to approach her.
• The Black Cat Martial Artist swore to honor Zeng Anmin’s sacrifice, while the crowd and scholars praised Zeng Anmin’s righteousness after he awakened from the illusion.
• Zeng Anmin received the First Class ranking, shared an emotional reunion with Bai Ziqing, and left Duke Ning, Li Jian, brooding over his success.
• After the examination concluded, the Hat Guest flew toward Emperor Jianhong and attacked him, but Si Zhongxiao blocked the first strike and Liu Shishi contained its shockwave.
• The Hat Guest struck Si Zhongxiao’s shoulder, and Si Zhongxiao drew a scarlet dagger to fight back.

An assassin attacked Emperor Jianhong at Vermilion Bird Gate, but the imperial city’s Second Rank Martial Artist drove him off with a short sword. Zeng Shilin then confronted Master Xu over the Kindling Illusion Array, who revealed that Zhu Wanjun had tampered with it and that he had secretly strengthened the Arrays imprinted on Zeng Anmin.

• The Hat Guest fought Si Zhongxiao and Duke Ning Li Jian, shrugging off their attacks until the Old Ancestor’s short sword struck him and sent him fleeing.
• Emperor Jianhong ordered an investigation into the assassin, while Master Xu arrived too late to explain the Kindling Illusion Array to the officials.
• Zeng Shilin took Zeng Anmin to Master Xu’s Estate and angrily demanded an explanation for the array malfunction during the imperial examination.
• Master Xu admitted he had known Quanfu was targeted but said the Kindling Illusion Array would not affect Zeng Anmin, and revealed that he had enhanced the Arrays imprinted on him.
• Master Xu said Zeng Anmin had killed the person who tampered with the array, and Zeng Anmin identified Zhu Wanjun before realizing something was wrong.

Zeng Anmin learned that Zhu Wanjun had used Bizarre Qi to target him and discovered the corruption was spreading through his Confucian artifacts. As he searched for a way to stop it, Bai Ziqing arrived with news connected to the Hat Guest case.

• Master Xu explained that Zhu Wanjun and Li Jian had conspired against Zeng Anmin and that Zhu had planted Bizarre Qi in him, while Zeng Anmin learned the array tamperer was imprisoned.
• Wang Dong, the Second Rank Ancestor, visited Master Xu and announced he would seek an old friend in the south, asking Master Xu to protect the palace juniors while he was away.
• Zeng Shilin warned Zeng Anmin that Master Xu had knowingly let his disciple collude with Duke Ning, and Zeng Anmin said he intended to continue toward the metropolitan and Palace Examinations.
• Zeng Anmin saw that Bizarre Qi had consumed his Golden Tablet and begun corrupting his Golden Abacus, leaving him at most three months to find a remedy.
• After searching the Imperial Academy archives for two days without finding clues about the Heavenly Lotus or Dao Sect, Zeng Anmin met Bai Ziqing, who said he had good news about the Hat Guest case.

Zeng Anmin reluctantly took up his post as Northern Chief Clerk of the Imperial City Department, where Bai Ziqing pressured him to investigate the Hat Guest assassination case. Reviewing a reconstructed portrait, Zeng Anmin felt he recognized the assassin.

• Bai Ziqing showed Zeng Anmin an imperial appointment naming him Northern Chief Clerk, and Zeng Anmin went to ask Zeng Shilin how it had been arranged.
• Zeng Shilin told Zeng Anmin to take up the post and explained that the Imperial City Department’s archives held an unparalleled collection of records.
• Bai Ziqing welcomed Zeng Anmin with a large squad of investigators, introduced him as their Second Master, and moved his office into Bai Ziqing’s.
• After the officials left, Bai Ziqing begged Zeng Anmin to solve the Hat Guest assassination case before the Emperor’s three-day deadline expired.
• Zeng Anmin examined the Profound Formation Division’s reconstructed portrait of the Hat Guest and said the person looked familiar.

Zeng Anmin searched the Imperial City Department’s Secret Archives Repository for information about the Bizarre Qi and traced it to the Daoist Talisman Sect. He left with a clear lead to pursue, while Xiang Wangxian offered him double Bai Ziqing’s pay to join his staff.

• Zeng Anmin recognized that the Hat Guest’s portrait resembled Bai Ziqing, then borrowed Bai Ziqing’s North token to enter the Secret Archives Repository.
• Zeng Anmin met Eastern Commander Xiang Wangxian, who warned him about the entrance array, and learned that the token granted access to the first eight floors.
• Zeng Anmin searched the sixth floor for records about the Dao Sect and Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots, finding an account linking bizarre red qi to the Daoist Talisman Sect.
• Xiang Wangxian recognized Zeng Anmin as Mr. Bao Xin and offered to pay him double if he left Bai Ziqing’s staff to work for him.
• Zeng Anmin read that the Dao Sect had split into the Sword, Qi, and Talisman Sects, and found references to the Bizarre Qi and its founder in the Talisman Sect’s history.

Zeng Anmin searched the Imperial City Department’s archives for information about the Heavenly Lotus and discovered that the suspected Hat Guest resembled the female evil corpse he had encountered near Zhu Wanjun’s burial place. He learned the Heavenly Lotus’s location from Nan, but became more interested in the Earthly Lotus after recalling what he had read about evil corpses.

• Zeng Anmin read the Fu Sect guide’s warning that Bizarre Qi afflicted Confucian Cultivators, then left the archives without finding the information he wanted.
• Zeng Anmin remembered Nan’s knowledge of the Record of Strange Herbs and decided to ask her about the Heavenly Lotus.
• Zeng Anmin noticed Bai Ziqing’s portrait of the Hat Guest and altered it with white hair and blank eyes, identifying it as the female evil corpse he had seen near Zhu Wanjun’s burial place.
• Zeng Anmin told Bai Ziqing how Zhu Wanjun had died, while Bai questioned how the corpse could have been held back; Bai then decided to investigate the archives himself.
• Zeng Anmin pretended to be injured in the Heavenly Dao Alliance chat, and Nan gave him the Heavenly Lotus’s location near the border of Great Jiang State and Two Rivers Prefecture.
• Zeng Anmin recalled that the archives described the Earthly Lotus as able to boost an evil corpse, and focused his attention on the Daoist Evil Corpse.

Zeng Anmin suspected Emperor Jianhong had arranged the Hat Guest’s attack to weaken Duke Ning Li Jian, then discovered Liu Shishi had come to bargain for a Spirit Mine on land he managed. After she blocked his way and climbed onto his bed to plead, he told her the mine’s true owner was in the palace.

• Zeng Anmin reasoned that the Hat Guest was an evil zombie empowered by an Earthly Lotus and speculated that Emperor Jianhong had used the attack to undermine Duke Ning Li Jian.
• Liu Shishi visited Zeng Anmin in makeup and new clothes, bringing food; he teased her about being attracted to him until she revealed she wanted land in Qinghai Bay that contained a Spirit Mine.
• Zeng Anmin tried to send Liu Shishi away, but she blocked his path with her Flying Sword and then lay on his bed, crying about the cost of cultivating as a Third-Rank Demon Subduer.
• When Uncle Qi heard Liu Shishi crying, Zeng Anmin hurriedly told him nothing was wrong and demanded that Liu Shishi stop.
• Zeng Anmin said he only managed the land for someone else and that its true owner was in the palace, then told Liu Shishi to leave him alone.

After learning that the Earthly Lotus had been stolen from the Profound Formation Division, Zeng Anmin deduced that Zhu Wanjun had given it to the Daoist Evil Corpse as part of a possible scheme by Duke Ning, Li Jian, and reported his theory to Bai Ziqing. The chapter ended with Zeng Anmin realizing that Emperor Jianhong had sent Si Zhongxiao to investigate alongside Bai Ziqing, a move that alarmed him.

• Liu Shishi told Zeng Anmin that the Earthly Lotus had been stolen from the Profound Formation Division, and he revealed that the Princess was behind the Spirit Mine.
• Zeng Anmin deduced that Zhu Wanjun had given the Earthly Lotus to the Daoist Evil Corpse and suspected Duke Ning, Li Jian, had arranged the assassination attempt on Emperor Jianhong.
• Zeng Anmin visited the Princess and claimed Liu Shishi had threatened him and forced her way onto his bed, prompting the Princess to vow to visit the Profound Formation Division.
• Zeng Anmin shared his deductions with Bai Ziqing, who went to report them to Emperor Jianhong and returned with orders to investigate the Daoist Talisman Sect and the Evil Corpse.
• Bai Ziqing told Zeng Anmin that Emperor Jianhong had assigned Si Zhongxiao to accompany him, and Zeng Anmin reacted with alarm.

Zeng Anmin warned Zeng Shilin that Duke Ning Li Jian might exploit the Second Rank Ancestor’s absence to attack the imperial city with the Fourth Prince, Wang Yuanhao. Meanwhile, Wang Yuanhao asked Emperor Jianhong for permission to marry Qin Wanyue, and the emperor agreed, but the Crown Prince objected.

• Zeng Anmin told Zeng Shilin that Duke Ning Li Jian might move against the emperor while the Second Rank Ancestor and Si Zhongxiao were away, and suggested they use the opportunity to eliminate Duke Ning.
• Emperor Jianhong played Go with the Crown Prince, then invited Wang Yuanhao to take the Crown Prince’s place.
• After losing to Emperor Jianhong, Wang Yuanhao asked for permission to marry Qin Wanyue, citing her father’s sacrifice and his wish to protect the Qin Residence.
• Emperor Jianhong agreed to Wang Yuanhao’s request, but the Crown Prince immediately protested.

The Fourth Prince secured Emperor Jianhong’s permission to marry Qin Wanyue, while the Crown Prince was confined for opposing him. That night, Duke Ning and Wang Di launched a coup against the imperial city, and Wang Di’s attempt to reach the Eastern Palace was stopped by Princess.

• The Crown Prince argued that Qin Wanyue and Zeng Anmin were childhood sweethearts, but the Fourth Prince cited rumors about Zeng Anmin and Sai Chuxue and begged Emperor Jianhong to grant him Qin Wanyue.
• Emperor Jianhong approved the Fourth Prince’s request and confined the Crown Prince to the Eastern Palace for three days.
• The Fourth Prince reported the outcome to Wang Yuanhao, who said events had gone as expected and that the operation would begin.
• Duke Ning led a thousand Shadow Cavalry to Vermilion Bird Gate while Wang Di turned on the guards, opened the gate, and joined the attack.
• Duke Ning ordered Wang Di to kill the Crown Prince and sent the Shadow Cavalry deeper into the palace as he headed toward Qiankun Hall.
• Wang Di broke into the Eastern Palace, where Princess confronted him and asked what brought him there.

Princess fought Wang Di in the Eastern Palace while Little Fatty Crown Prince watched from inside his room. After their weapons clashed in a final attack, Princess realized Wang Di had rushed past her toward the Crown Prince’s doorway.

• Wang Di demanded that Princess kill Little Fatty Crown Prince and surrender his head, but she summoned her spear and challenged him.
• Wang Di attacked with his domain and Nine Heavens Slash, while Princess countered with Force Dissipation and River Chronicle.
• The two fighters exchanged blows until the courtyard was shattered, and Little Fatty Crown Prince quietly urged Princess to win.
• Wang Di announced he would stake everything on one final strike, and Princess met his flying sword with her spear.
• Princess survived the clash, but Wang Di darted past her toward Little Fatty Crown Prince’s room.

Wang Di’s attack on the Crown Prince was stopped, while Fourth Prince’s assault on the imperial family met resistance from Zeng Shilin and Wu Qianfeng. Duke Ning Li Jian broke into the Grand Palace intending to kill Emperor Jianhong, but found the emperor calmly playing chess with Quanfu.

• Wang Di reached for the Crown Prince, but Xiang Wangxian severed his wrist and moved to capture him alive on Princess’s order.
• Fourth Prince threatened Ning An and ordered a Shadow Cavalryman to torture her, but an arrow killed the soldier before he could strike.
• Zeng Shilin and Wu Qianfeng arrived with the Mandarin Duck Army to rescue the throne, and Wu Qianfeng led the attack against the Shadow Cavalry.
• Duke Ning Li Jian killed the eunuch at the Grand Palace gates, forced his way inside, and fought through the palace guards.
• Duke Ning entered the main hall and found Emperor Jianhong and Quanfu leisurely playing chess.

Duke Ning Li Jian attacked Emperor Jianhong and Zeng Anmin, but Wang Dong returned to stop him. Li Jian summoned a powerful Daoist Evil Corpse and fled as Si Zhongxiao blocked his escape, while Wang Dong drew a sword against the corpse.

• Zeng Anmin and Emperor Jianhong played chess while Duke Ning Li Jian grew angry at being ignored.
• Bai Ziqing appeared and revealed that Master Xu had warned Wang Dong about Li Jian’s scheme, prompting Wang Dong to return to the capital.
• Li Jian tried to kill Emperor Jianhong and Zeng Anmin, but Wang Dong appeared and challenged him as a Second Rank Ancestor.
• Li Jian summoned a Daoist Evil Corpse with a snow-white lotus root and ordered it to attack while he retreated.
• Si Zhongxiao blocked Li Jian at the palace entrance, and Wang Dong summoned a short sword to attack the Daoist Evil Corpse.

Wang Dong destroyed the Daoist Evil Corpse and praised Zeng Anmin for seeing through Li Jian’s scheme. Outside the palace, Si Zhongxiao defeated Li Jian, who tore out his own heart and died after Si Zhongxiao crushed it.

• Wang Dong’s short sword cut through the Daoist Evil Corpse, erasing her, and he questioned Zeng Anmin about uncovering Li Jian’s plan.
• Zeng Anmin explained that Li Jian had counted on Wang Dong pursuing the Bamboo Hat Assassin, and Wang Dong praised his cleverness to Emperor Jianhong.
• Si Zhongxiao and Li Jian’s battle left the courtyard in ruins, with both men wounded and their weapons shattered.
• Li Jian blamed his failed plan on Heaven’s Mandate, tore out his own heart, and asked Si Zhongxiao if he was reassured.
• Si Zhongxiao crushed Li Jian’s heart with Martial Arts True Qi, and Li Jian’s corpse fell to the ground.

After Duke Ning died, Zeng Anmin arranged for troops to enter the palace and secured Emperor Jianhong’s approval by admitting to the unauthorized mobilization. The Fourth Prince was brought before the emperor and blamed Li Jian for coercing him, while the Empress and Crown Prince pleaded for his life, leaving Zeng Anmin poised to speak against him.

• Zeng Anmin asked to handle Duke Ning’s corpse and proposed raiding his manor, and Emperor Jianhong agreed.
• Zeng Shilin entered the Grand Palace with Princess Ning'an, Wu Qianfeng, and the Fourth Prince after mobilizing troops to rescue Emperor Jianhong.
• Zeng Anmin confessed that he had asked his father to mobilize troops without permission, and Emperor Jianhong forgave him.
• Princess Ning'an accused the Fourth Prince of trying to kill her, and Wang Yuanhao claimed Li Jian had coerced him into joining the plot.
• Emperor Jianhong kicked Wang Yuanhao after rejecting his claim that he had been coerced.
• The Empress and Crown Prince pleaded for Wang Yuanhao’s life, and Zeng Anmin stepped forward to address Emperor Jianhong.

Zeng Anmin exposed that the Fourth Prince was Consort Xi’s son, not Empress Bai’s, and the investigation confirmed the real Fourth Prince was the monk Yingchen. After Duke Ning’s rebellion was crushed and the court rewarded Zeng Anmin with the title County Baron of Feng County, he planned to travel to Jiangnan before the spring examinations and went to confiscate Duke Ning’s manor.

• Zeng Anmin accused the Fourth Prince, Wang Yuanhao, of being switched at birth and explained how clues from the Ren Weizhi case implicated Consort Xi and Duke Ning.
• Emperor Jianhong sent Zeng Anmin to conduct a Heart Inquiry on Consort Xi, confirming that Wang Yuanhao was her son and that the real Fourth Prince was Yingchen at Fa'an Temple.
• Emperor Jianhong ordered Consort Xi’s death; Wang Yuanhao then killed himself, and Emperor Jianhong asked Zeng Anmin to play chess with him.
• The court punished Duke Ning’s household and rewarded Zeng Shilin and Zeng Anmin, granting Zeng Anmin the title County Baron of Feng County and a fief of five thousand households.
• Zeng Anmin told Zeng Shilin he intended to travel to Jiangnan to address the Bizarre Qi and pursue cultivation breakthroughs before returning for the spring examinations.
• After learning that the Imperial City Department was confiscating Duke Ning’s manor, Zeng Anmin went there and found Bai Ziqing in armor.

After failing to find evidence of Duke Ning’s ties to Jiang Kingdom spies, Zeng Anmin met Wuxin, the Daoist known online as Dao. Wuxin mistook Zeng Anmin’s recitation of Daoist classics for peerless wisdom, resolved to stay in the capital and recruit him into the Heavenly Dao Alliance, while Empress Gu Xiangnan lamented that Great Jiang lacked such talent.

• Zeng Anmin ordered the Imperial City Department agents to search Duke Ning’s manor again after they found no evidence of his dealings with Jiang Kingdom spies.
• Wuxin visited Zeng Anmin, reported that Martial Aunt Huiying was well, and asked to stay at his residence for two days.
• Zeng Anmin recited passages from the Dao De Jing, leaving Wuxin convinced that he might be the reincarnation of the Dao Ancestor.
• Wuxin told the Heavenly Dao Alliance chat group that Zeng Anmin’s wisdom rivaled Heavenly Dao and decided to remain in the capital to recruit him.
• Empress Gu Xiangnan read the Phoenix Strategy Diagram and lamented that Great Jiang Dynasty had no talent like Zeng Anmin.

Zeng Anmin brought Wuxin to Duke Ning's manor to search for hidden evidence, while Wuxin and Bai Ziqing immediately bonded over their grand speeches. Using his Primordial Spirit, Wuxin found an intricate pattern atop a pavilion, but the search left him weakened and he sensed a powerful presence watching from the Profound Formation Division.

• Wuxin visited Zeng Anmin's family for breakfast and presented a jade pendant that reassured Zeng Shilin he had come on Roujie'er's behalf.
• Wuxin followed Zeng Anmin to Duke Ning's manor, where the retainers had found no evidence of the Duke's crimes.
• Wuxin and Bai Ziqing introduced themselves with lofty verses and enthusiastically struck up a friendship.
• Zeng Anmin asked Wuxin to use his Primordial Spirit to search the manor for hidden mechanisms, and Wuxin summoned the Glazed Lamp to protect it.
• Wuxin discovered an intricate pattern at the top of a pavilion, then staggered from the strain and reported sensing a powerful gaze from the Profound Formation Division.

Zeng Anmin and Wuxin discovered a hidden teleportation array beneath Duke Ning’s manor and found secret letters and seven talismans linked to the Daoist Talisman Sect. Zeng Anmin brought the talismans to Xu Mingxin, who identified one as Earth-grade and began explaining its importance.

• Wuxin identified a teleportation array on Lingbo Pavilion’s roof, and he and Zeng Anmin used it to reach an airless underground complex.
• Zeng Anmin found a chest of blank secret letters and stored it in his Preparation Space.
• Wuxin tried to take seven talismans from a secret chamber, but Zeng Anmin claimed them as evidence and stored them himself.
• Zeng Anmin and Wuxin returned to the pavilion, and Zeng Anmin concealed their discovery from Bai Ziqing before leaving for the Profound Formation Division.
• Zeng Anmin showed the talismans to Xu Mingxin, who identified one as Earth-grade and explained that talismans had four grades.

Zeng Anmin learned the talismans’ functions, burned Duke Ning Li Jian’s corpse, and prepared to travel to Jiangnan. As he struggled to uncover the secret of the letters, his Mysterious Necklace suddenly grew hot and sent warmth toward his brow.

• Xu Mingxin explained that the Earth-tier purple talisman could conceal and alter its wearer’s appearance, and described the other talismans’ effects.
• Zeng Anmin took all seven talismans and watched Li Jian’s corpse burn to ash in the Profound Formation Division’s array fire.
• Zeng Anmin told Sai Chuxue he planned to travel to Jiangnan and asked her to look after his father.
• Sai Chuxue offered Zeng Anmin a compass that could withstand one strike from an ordinary Fourth Rank Martial Artist, then fled on Fire Phoenix.
• At the Minister’s Residence, Zeng Anmin’s attempts to reveal the secret letters failed, but his Mysterious Necklace grew hot and sent warmth toward his brow.