Recaps

Zeng Anmin led the Confucian Cultivators through the giant wall, only to discover that the Illusory Demon Lord had lured them into a trap. The Demon Lord revealed herself and prepared to claim them as nourishment.

• Zeng Anmin smashed a hole through the giant wall, and the group discovered a vast crater beyond it.
• Zeng Anmin realized the crater was too deep to cross, led the Confucian Cultivators around it, and punched through the wall to reach a mountain path.
• Zeng Anmin and his group found the Illusory Demon Lord waiting with more than two hundred dazed examinees behind her.
• The Illusory Demon Lord revealed that she had deceived the examinees into gathering there and controlled the area within ten li.
• The Illusory Demon Lord emerged from the mist in a beautiful, alluring form and offered to make Zeng Anmin's group her nourishment.

Zeng Anmin and the Confucian Cultivators faced the Illusory Demon Lord after she transformed the area into a ten-li cage and began draining their Spiritual Power. Zeng Anmin recognized that her strength depended on capturing the scattered examinees and stepped forward to delay her while Fengnian rallied the others.

• The Illusory Demon Lord reshaped the land within ten li into a cage and threatened to drain the Confucian Cultivators one by one.
• The Confucian Cultivators scattered, and Zeng Anmin's warning only led a few dozen, including Liu Xian, to gather near him.
• The Illusory Demon Lord seized a fleeing Confucian Cultivator and absorbed his Spiritual Power, leaving him vacant-eyed among the other drained examinees.
• Zeng Anmin deduced that the Illusory Demon Lord grew more powerful with each examinee she captured and that the walls had bought her time.
• Zeng Anmin unleashed his Vast Righteous Qi, told Fengnian to steady the group, and prepared to hold off the Illusory Demon Lord.

Zeng Anmin fought the Illusory Demon Lord but was overwhelmed by her control of the illusion array. When she offered to spare the Confucian cultivators if he sacrificed himself, he agreed on the condition that she release Liu Xian first.

• Zeng Anmin unleashed his Confucian methods against the Illusory Demon Lord, but she turned his attacks back and explained that she controlled the rules within the array.
• The Illusory Demon Lord offered to spare Zeng Anmin if he joined her, but the Confucian cultivators urged him not to betray humanity.
• Zeng Anmin charged the Illusory Demon Lord with martial power, but she froze him and pulled him close.
• The Illusory Demon Lord failed to draw out Zeng Anmin's divine soul because his Unyielding Martial God ability made him immune to divine soul and mental attacks.
• The Illusory Demon Lord offered to release the Confucian cultivators in exchange for Zeng Anmin entering her furnace to have his divine soul refined, and he agreed if she released Liu Xian first.

Zeng Anmin persuaded Illusory Demon Lord to release the trapped Confucian Cultivators in exchange for entering her furnace, while Liu Xian confronted those who had condemned him. Outside the illusion array, Emperor Jianhong demanded answers from Master Xu and Zeng Shilin, and Master Xu admitted fault.

• Zeng Anmin insisted that Illusory Demon Lord release the Confucian Cultivators before he entered the furnace, and she agreed and freed them.
• The Confucian Cultivators regained their memories, recognized Illusory Demon Lord, and learned that Zeng Anmin had offered himself to save them.
• Zeng Anmin urged the Confucian Cultivators to leave the illusion array, while Liu Xian condemned them for staying silent and blaming Zeng Anmin.
• Liu Xian slapped the Confucian Cultivators who had insulted Zeng Anmin, and Zeng Anmin watched approvingly.
• Outside the illusion array, Emperor Jianhong confronted Master Xu and Zeng Shilin, and Master Xu admitted that the situation was his mistake.

Emperor Jianhong and the others learned that all 472 Confucian Cultivators had escaped Master Xu’s illusion formation, but Zeng Anmin remained unconscious. Liu Xian revealed that Zeng Anmin had sacrificed his Divine Soul Power to save them, leaving Zeng Shilin heartbroken at his son’s side.

• Emperor Jianhong and Zeng Shilin blamed Master Xu for trapping the Confucian Cultivators, and Master Xu admitted his oversight.
• The Princess asked Master Xu about the examinees’ chances, and he said they had a fifty percent chance of survival partly because Zeng Anmin was among them.
• The examinees awakened and stared toward Zeng Anmin, who remained unconscious, while those outside the formation realized everyone had survived.
• The Confucian Cultivators wept and mourned Zeng Anmin, and Liu Xian said Zeng Anmin had traded his Divine Soul Power to the Illusory Demon Lord to free them.
• Zeng Shilin approached his unmoving son but could not bring himself to reproach him.

Zeng Anmin sacrificed himself in the illusion array to save 472 Confucian Cultivators, leaving those outside convinced he was doomed and prompting them to pledge themselves to Zeng Manor. Inside the array, he questioned the Illusory Demon Lord about her furnace before jumping into it himself.

• The Crown Prince, Princess, Emperor Jianhong, and others grieved over Zeng Anmin, while Master Xu warned that the Refining Furnace could destroy even a Rank One powerhouse’s Divine Soul Power.
• A Confucian Cultivator knelt before Zeng Shilin and vowed to repay Young Master Zeng, and the surviving Confucian Cultivators pledged to brave fire and water for Zeng Manor.
• Zeng Anmin asked the Illusory Demon Lord what she would do if the furnace could not harm him, and she explained that the illusion array had stabilized after the others left.
• The Illusory Demon Lord moved the furnace toward Zeng Anmin and urged him inside, and Zeng Anmin leaped into it.

Zeng Anmin survived Illusory Demon Lord’s attempt to dissolve and absorb his divine soul, and he awoke at the Spring Provincial Examination grounds after the illusion array collapsed. He reunited with Zeng Shilin, who had been mourning him.

• Illusory Demon Lord sealed Zeng Anmin inside a furnace and intensified the fire, hoping to absorb his powerful divine soul and break through to the First Rank.
• When the furnace failed to dissolve Zeng Anmin, Illusory Demon Lord used her bloodline origin to send Origin Power inside and attack him from within.
• The illusion array collapsed, but Zeng Anmin emerged unharmed and glimpsed an unfamiliar man before falling into darkness.
• Zeng Anmin awoke at the Spring Provincial Examination grounds, where Zeng Shilin had been crying over him.
• Zeng Anmin asked Zeng Shilin if they should go home, then laughed at his father’s tear- and snot-covered face.

Zeng Anmin escaped the Illusion Array unharmed, and Zeng Shilin protected him by telling him to conceal his abilities. Emperor Jianhong planned to exploit Zeng Anmin’s supposed death, but learned that he had returned home and wondered whether the escape was deliberate or accidental.

• Zeng Shilin learned that Zeng Anmin’s powerful divine soul had withstood the Illusory Furnace and urged him to claim he had been cultivating under the Confucian Sage’s method.
• Zeng Anmin accepted his father’s protection and returned with him to the Duke’s Mansion.
• Emperor Jianhong planned to reward Zeng Anmin posthumously and use the title to restrain Master Xu, then ordered a eunuch killed for overhearing his scheme.
• Xing Siya reported that Zeng Anmin had returned home, leaving Emperor Jianhong questioning whether his escape from the Illusory Demon Lord had been deliberate or accidental.

Zeng Shilin and Zeng Anmin investigated how the Illusory Demon Lord infiltrated the imperial examination illusion array and suspected an unknown enemy might be behind it. Zeng Anmin revealed that he had absorbed the Illusory Demon Lord’s Origin Power, leaving his father shocked by the new ability he had gained.

• Zeng Shilin told Zeng Anmin that only Li Zhen, Master Xu, and His Majesty had known about his plan to investigate the Myriad Demon Mountain Range, but he considered Li Zhen too cautious to interfere with the examination.
• Zeng Shilin asked Zeng Anmin to recount everything that had happened in the illusion array, including the handsome man in Daoist robes.
• The Illusory Demon Lord woke in the Illusory Cave and discovered that half of her Illusory Power Source was gone and had ended up with Zeng Anmin.
• Zeng Anmin showed Zeng Shilin the azure Illusory Power coiling around his fingertip and explained that the Illusory Demon Lord had poured her Origin Power into him.
• Zeng Shilin listed Zeng Anmin’s many abilities and reacted in shock to his newly acquired Demon Race talent power.

After winning first place in the Illusion Array Imperial Examination, Zeng Anmin received an appointment as Southern Commander of the Imperial City Department. His father revealed that he had arranged the post so Zeng Anmin could investigate Xiang Wangxian’s suspicious death, and Zeng reported for duty the next morning.

• Zeng Anmin rode in the Top Scholar’s procession to the Duke’s Mansion while Liu Xian celebrated his Second Place Scholar ranking.
• Zeng Anmin learned that Emperor Jianhong had appointed him Southern Commander of the Imperial City Department, a fourth-rank position.
• Zeng Anmin’s father admitted he had proposed the appointment so Zeng could investigate Xiang Wangxian’s death and help form an alliance with Xiang Donglai.
• Zeng Anmin questioned his father’s political motives, received a slap of golden light, and decided to prepare for work.
• Zeng Anmin reported to the Imperial City Department the next morning, where Huang Shi guessed he had been promoted to chief clerk.
• Zeng Anmin told Huang Shi that he was the Southern Commander, shocking him.

Zeng Anmin took charge of the Imperial City Department Southern Commander's Department and used his strength and threats to establish authority over its agents. After the agents dispersed, he pressed Dongfang Sheng to reveal where Sima Nan had really gone.

• Zeng Anmin arrived at the Southern Commander's Department and asked Dongfang Sheng where Director Sima was; Dongfang Sheng said Sima Nan had gone on patrol.
• Zeng Anmin warned the assembled agents against disobeying him or neglecting their duties, then promised benefits to those who worked with him.
• Dongfang Sheng scolded the agents for waiting for his lead instead of following Zeng Anmin's order to disperse.
• Zeng Anmin privately challenged Dongfang Sheng to tell the truth about Sima Nan's whereabouts, and Dongfang Sheng's expression changed.

Zeng Anmin learned that Sima Nan had gone to the Northern Commander's Department to challenge Bai Ziqing over Commander Xiang's unsolved death. He arrived at the Life and Death Arena as Bai defeated Sima, and Bai threatened him after Sima accused the Bai Family of being involved in the case.

• Zeng Anmin questioned Dongfang Sheng about Sima Nan's absence and learned that Sima had gone to confront the Northern Commander's Department over the stalled investigation into Commander Xiang's death.
• Zeng Anmin headed to the Northern Commander's Department, saying he would not let his subordinate suffer a loss there.
• Zeng Anmin and Dongfang Sheng arrived to find Bai Ziqing standing over a defeated Sima Nan on the Life and Death Arena.
• Dongfang Sheng explained that the arena allowed Imperial City Department members to settle disputes, with life and death left to fate.
• Sima Nan accused Bai Ziqing and the Bai Family of being connected to Commander Xiang's death, and Bai threatened him with the White Frost Sword.

Zeng Anmin stopped Bai Ziqing from killing Sima Nan and revealed that he had become the Southern Commander. After clearing up the misunderstanding, Zeng Anmin agreed to investigate the case of Xiang Wangxian, which implicated the Bai Family.

• Zeng Anmin leaped onto the Life and Death Arena to stop Bai Ziqing from striking Sima Nan, and the assembled commanders called him Second Master.
• Bai Ziqing sheathed his sword and pulled Zeng Anmin behind him protectively, confusing Dongfang Sheng.
• Zeng Anmin explained that he had come because of Sima Nan and revealed to Bai Ziqing that he had become the Southern Commander.
• Bai Ziqing rejoiced that Zeng Anmin was still in the capital and invited him for drinks, while Dongfang Sheng warned Sima Nan to curb his reckless temper.
• At the office, Bai Ziqing asked Zeng Anmin to help with Xiang Wangxian's case, and Zeng Anmin agreed to investigate it.

Zeng Anmin began investigating Xiang Wangxian’s murder after Bai Ziqing admitted the case had stalled. Bai explained that the Princess’s water domain could counter Xiang Wangxian’s fire domain, making her a suspect, though her motive remained unknown.

• Zeng Anmin urged Bai Ziqing to begin investigating immediately, and Bai admitted he had planned to seek help only when three days remained before the deadline.
• Sima Nan apologized to Zeng Anmin for cursing him before they met, then hurried away with Dongfang Sheng.
• Bai Ziqing took Zeng Anmin to the Secret Archives Repository and provided the case files, explaining that his investigation had led to a dead end.
• Bai recounted that Xiang Wangxian’s body had been found in an alley about four hours after the murder, with signs of a brief fight.
• Bai listed several powerful potential killers and said the Princess was especially suspicious because her water domain countered Xiang Wangxian’s fire domain; Zeng Anmin asked what motive she could have had.

Bai Ziqing told Zeng Anmin how his investigation of Xiang Wangxian’s death led to a human trafficking case involving the Bai Family, making him a prime suspect. Zeng Anmin’s deductions made Bai Ziqing realize Bai Zihua may have been framed to conceal a direct descendant’s crimes.

• Bai Ziqing admitted he had no alibi for the night Xiang Wangxian died and had visited the imperial city that evening.
• Bai Ziqing revealed that Xiang Wangxian had been investigating Bai Zihua for trafficking people, and that Bai Ziqing himself had arrested him.
• Zeng Anmin connected the trafficking case to Xiang Wangxian’s death and identified Bai Ziqing as a possible killer acting to protect the Bai Family.
• Bai Ziqing denied killing Xiang Wangxian and said the Emperor had summoned him that night, but he could not provide evidence.
• Zeng Anmin suggested Bai Zihua had been offered as a scapegoat, and Bai Ziqing admitted that this was likely true.

Zeng Anmin visited Bai Zihua in prison to uncover whether the Bai Family was behind the human-trafficking case. Using his Illusory Eye to make Bai Zihua believe he was speaking to the dead Xiang Wangxian, Zeng Anmin learned that Bai Zihua had traded away his clansman's nephew and claimed he was only a minor participant.

• Zeng Anmin dismissed the case files and decided to question Bai Zihua, while Bai Ziqing denied that the Bai Family was involved.
• Zeng Anmin and Bai Ziqing went to the Imperial City Department's Imperial Prison, where Bai Zihua was confined in a private cell and refusing food.
• Zeng Anmin sent Bai Ziqing outside and used his Illusory Eye to make Bai Zihua see Xiang Wangxian and believe he was in the underworld.
• Bai Zihua pleaded that abducting his clansman's nephew had been a misunderstanding and said he had traded the boy away without seeing him again.
• Zeng Anmin concluded from Bai Zihua's words that the Bai Family's direct line had not participated in the case.

Zeng Anmin interrogated Bai Zihua and learned that a man in black had coerced him into trafficking children born on Ten Spiritual Day, leading Zeng Anmin to suspect a connection to the Dao Sect. He and Bai Ziqing left the prison to pursue the mastermind, and Zeng Anmin hinted he might have a way to find him.

• Zeng Anmin threatened Bai Zihua with the Ghost Messengers until Bai Zihua confessed that a man in black had poisoned and coerced him into kidnapping children for nine years.
• Bai Zihua said the man required children born on Ten Spiritual Day who were under eight and virgins, and that he always came to conduct the transactions himself.
• Zeng Anmin told Bai Ziqing that the trafficking could be linked to the Dao Sect and its research into Bizarre Qi.
• Bai Ziqing suggested asking Wuxin Daoist for help, but Zeng Anmin said the captured Fu Sect Master might know more and that they first needed to find the man who poisoned Bai Zihua.
• Zeng Anmin admitted he had no plan, then said he might try something.

Zeng Anmin questioned Guanglingzi about the Dao Sect’s knowledge of people born on Ten Spiritual Day and learned they were used in secret arts and pill-making. Guanglingzi revealed that only the Dao Sect knew these uses, leaving Zeng Anmin with a crucial secret as he continued investigating the disappearances.

• Zeng Anmin told Bai Ziqing to investigate past cases of children disappearing on Ten Spiritual Day and bring the clues to him.
• Zeng Anmin returned to the Duke of Qi's Mansion and reflected on the connection between Ten Spiritual Day, Xiang Wangxian, and Bai Zihua.
• Zeng Anmin summoned Guanglingzi and asked what the Dao Sect knew about people born on Ten Spiritual Day.
• Guanglingzi explained that such people were used as catalysts for secret arts, ingredients for pills, or recruited into the Dao Sect for their talents.
• Guanglingzi described the legendary Enlightenment Pill and said it required the flesh and blood of a Heaven-Aversion Person to prevent the recipient from dying.
• Guanglingzi told Zeng Anmin that the Dao Sect’s knowledge of these uses was a top secret that he had shared with no one else.

Zeng Anmin and Bai Ziqing investigated the pattern of Ten Spiritual Day child disappearances and searched the Imperial City Department’s archives for a clue to the mastermind. Their findings narrowed the possible suspects to three powerful figures, including Zeng Anmin’s father.

• Zeng Anmin concluded that the child-trafficking mastermind likely had ties to the Dao Sect and substantial influence in the capital.
• Bai Ziqing brought Zeng Anmin records of child-trafficking cases, and Zeng Anmin found that Ten Spiritual Day children had disappeared in a monthly pattern for most of the past nine years, with one year of interruption.
• Zeng Anmin reasoned that the mastermind knew the Bai Family well and proposed investigating official transfers and political upheavals from the year the pattern broke.
• Zeng Anmin and Bai Ziqing searched the Imperial City Department’s archives overnight for officials connected to events five years earlier.
• Zeng Anmin narrowed the remaining suspects to Director Ji Qing, Dean Shi, and his father, Zeng Shilin.

While investigating Xiang Wangxian’s murder, Zeng Anmin connected Ji Qing to the Zhongyuan Count’s Estate Massacre and concluded that Ji Qing had taken the Xi Huang Diagram. He rushed to tell the Princess, who demanded an explanation after hearing his claim.

• Zeng Anmin and Bai Ziqing narrowed their suspicions in the child trafficking investigation to Shi and Ji Qing, but could not explain how Ji Qing might have killed Xiang Wangxian from the Northern Territory.
• Bai Ziqing mentioned Ji Qing’s role in Yinwu Exterminates Demons, prompting Zeng Anmin to realize the campaign had ended in the same year as the Zhongyuan Count’s Estate Massacre.
• Zeng Anmin concluded that Ji Qing had confiscated the Zhongyuan Count’s estate and taken the Xi Huang Diagram, and that Xiang Wangxian had been killed for discovering traces of it.
• Zeng Anmin rode to the palace and told the Princess that the Xi Huang Diagram was in Ji Qing’s hands.
• The Princess snapped her comb and demanded that Zeng Anmin explain his claim.

Zeng Anmin tried to persuade Princess that his feelings for her were genuine rather than a bargain for the Xi Huang Diagram. After he began to leave, Princess stopped him, leaving their agreement unresolved.

• Princess offered Zeng Anmin anything he wanted, including herself, if he helped her obtain the Xi Huang Diagram.
• Zeng Anmin recalled risking his life to protect Princess during the battle at Qinghai Bay and described how his feelings for her had grown.
• Princess called Zeng Anmin an idiot, and he took her response as a sign that she cared for him.
• Zeng Anmin claimed Princess shared his feelings, then said he would send her every clue about the Xi Huang Diagram and started to leave.
• Princess told Zeng Anmin to wait as he reached the door.

Zeng Anmin rejected the Princess’s demand for an immediate marriage but persuaded her to wait until after the demon-slaying campaign, then explained why he suspected Ji Qing had the Xi Huang Diagram. The Princess contacted Dean Shi to check whether Ji Qing had recently left the northern border, and Dean Shi said he had not seen him for some time.

• The Princess offered to marry Zeng Anmin if he married her properly, severed ties with Qin Wanyue and Sai Chuxue, and never returned to the Southern Dynasty, but he refused to promise.
• Zeng Anmin pulled the angry Princess into an embrace, and she bit his shoulder before agreeing to postpone marriage discussions until after the demon-slaying campaign.
• The Princess questioned Zeng Anmin’s martial arts progress, and he revealed he had reached the Fourth Rank Peak and was nearing a breakthrough.
• Zeng Anmin told the Princess that Ji Qing likely possessed the Xi Huang Diagram and might have killed Xiang Wangxian before returning to the northern border.
• The Princess used a Transmission Talisman to ask Dean Shi whether Ji Qing had recently left the northern border, and Dean Shi said he had not seen Ji Qing for some time.

Zeng Anmin realized Ji Qing might be gathering children born on Ten Spiritual Days and sent agents to search for him, but then discovered Huzi was born on such a day and had gone missing. Racing to West Mountain, Zeng Anmin was ambushed by Ji Qing, who revealed a green tail after their first clash and recognized that Zeng Anmin possessed the Xi Huang Diagram.

• Zeng Anmin deduced that Ji Qing might be in the capital seeking children born on Ten Spiritual Days, and persuaded the Princess to search without involving the Emperor.
• Zeng Anmin visited the Profound Formation Division, learned that Huzi had been missing for a day, and asked Liu Shishi to find him when she returned.
• At dinner, Zeng Anmin saw Huzi's Eight Characters on the garment Concubine Lin was sewing and realized Huzi had been born on a Ten Spiritual Day.
• Zeng Anmin learned that Huzi was last seen at West Mountain and rushed out of the city, suspecting Ji Qing was there.
• Ji Qing ambushed Zeng Anmin with a spear, then attacked him after saying Huzi would return once Zeng Anmin was dead.
• Zeng Anmin blocked Ji Qing's strike with his axe, and Ji Qing revealed a green tail and declared that the Xi Huang Diagram was in Zeng Anmin's hands.

Zeng Anmin fought Ji Qing with his Divine Artifact axe but was overwhelmed by the Third Rank warrior’s domain and spear. At the brink of death, Zeng Anmin awakened the Ancestral Dragon Diagram’s time attribute, froze time around Ji Qing, and brought his axe down.

• Zeng Anmin used his four-attribute power and Divine Artifact axe to trade blows with Ji Qing, but his strongest strike only wounded Ji Qing’s shoulder.
• Ji Qing recovered and prepared his true Prairie Fire Hundred Slashes as Zeng Anmin, exhausted, waited for the fatal attack.
• When Ji Qing’s spear reached him, Zeng Anmin awakened the milky-white fifth attribute in the Ancestral Dragon Diagram and realized it controlled time.
• Zeng Anmin’s white domain stopped time within its ten-zhang range, leaving Ji Qing frozen with his spear against Zeng Anmin’s chest.
• Zeng Anmin raised his axe and struck the motionless Ji Qing, making a cross-rank attack that could kill a Third Rank Martial Artist.

After killing Ji Qing, Zeng Anmin found Huzi safe at Fa'an Temple and questioned the abbot about the rescue. The abbot revealed Huzi’s affinity for Buddhism, praised Zeng Anmin’s Aura of a Unifier, and asked him to look after Yingchen as the abbot’s Great Tribulation approached.

• Zeng Anmin killed Ji Qing, failed to find the Xi Huang Diagram among his remains, and left before Wang Dong arrived to investigate.
• Zeng Anmin searched West Mountain for Huzi, heard the abbot of Fa'an Temple summon him, and rode to the capital while considering why Ji Qing had tried to kill him.
• Zeng Anmin found Huzi and Yingchen playing at Fa'an Temple; Huzi said a fierce man with a long spear had abducted him.
• Zeng Anmin met the abbot, who said he had encountered and rescued Huzi and explained that Huzi possessed a Pure Wisdom Root.
• The abbot told Zeng Anmin that Dongfang Cang had spoken of his Aura of a Unifier, then asked him to look after Yingchen as the abbot's Great Tribulation approached.