Recaps

Zeng Anmin befriended Yingchen, learned more about the mysterious Mr. Huang and Consort Xi, then secretly searched Yellow Sparrow Nunnery. He found evidence that Mr. Huang still lived there and cared for Consort Xi’s former room, leaving him convinced the two had known each other.

• Zeng Anmin tapped Yingchen on the head with candy and gave it to him, then shared his sorrow over the death of Ren Weizhi and his resolve to make those responsible for human suffering pay.
• Zeng Anmin questioned Yingchen about Mr. Huang and learned that the man had been associated with Yellow Sparrow Nunnery for at least thirteen years, while Yingchen had never visited the Back Mountain.
• Yingchen explained that Consort Xi had miscarried after being driven from the imperial palace, and Zeng Anmin teased him until he seemed to gain a new measure of insight.
• Zeng Anmin secretly entered Yellow Sparrow Nunnery and found a plainly furnished room that appeared to be Mr. Huang’s, alongside a lavish, carefully maintained room that had belonged to Consort Xi.
• Zeng Anmin found women's clothes and signs of someone living in Consort Xi’s room, as well as a small grave marked “Tomb of the Abandoned Child.”
• Zeng Anmin left the nunnery suspecting that Mr. Huang and Consort Xi had known each other, and recalled that Mr. Huang had also known Ren Weizhi.

Zeng Anmin investigated Consort Xi’s suspected connections to recent crimes and went to the Princess for information, offering what he knew about her possible interest in the Xi Huang Diagram. Their private meeting ended abruptly when the Crown Prince arrived and found them together.

• Zeng Anmin linked Consort Xi, Mr. Huang, and Ren Weizhi to the recent cases and decided to seek information from the Princess.
• The Princess read a secret report about Zeng Anmin and his father, then summoned him to Yongning Palace.
• Zeng Anmin showed the Princess his cracked jade pendant and told her that a cripple at Yellow Sparrow Nunnery had tried to assassinate him.
• Zeng Anmin disclosed Prince Qi’s suspected connection to Ren Weizhi and suggested that Consort Xi might be pursuing the Xi Huang Diagram.
• The Princess agreed to have clues about Consort Xi delivered to Zeng Anmin’s residence, and he promised to help find the Xi Huang Diagram.
• The Crown Prince arrived at Yongning Palace, saw Zeng Anmin bowing to the Princess, and reacted with disbelief.

Ren Weizhi impeached Zeng Shilin for embezzling flood-relief funds and expected an urgent report from Two Rivers Prefecture to prove Jishui Weir had failed. Instead, the injured Bai Ziqing appeared in court, accused Ren Weizhi of treason, and struck him, leaving the court stunned.

• At court, Ren Weizhi presented evidence accusing Zeng Shilin of stealing disaster-relief funds and using inferior materials to build Jishui Weir.
• Zeng Shilin denied the charges and vowed that if Jishui Weir failed within thirty years, the Emperor could execute his entire clan.
• An urgent dispatch arrived from Two Rivers Prefecture, and a bloodied Bai Ziqing entered the hall and collapsed before Emperor Jianhong.
• As Bai Ziqing coughed blood, Zeng Shilin used Righteous Qi to help him while Ren Weizhi grew uneasy.
• Bai Ziqing recovered enough to walk up to Ren Weizhi, call him a traitor, and slap him.

Bai Ziqing accused Ren Weizhi and the Ministry of Revenue of aiding the Demon Race and Eastern Cult spies in a plot to destroy Jishui Weir, prompting Emperor Jianhong to order an investigation. Zeng Shilin then impeached Lou Yingqi over disaster relief funds, and Lou’s testimony further implicated Ren Weizhi, leaving the emperor convinced that Ren was behind the crimes.

• Bai Ziqing accused Ren Weizhi of colluding with the Demon Race and Eastern Cult spies to plant Thunder Powder at Jishui Weir, and said the Ministry of Revenue had enabled the spy’s travel.
• Emperor Jianhong ordered Jingzhao Prefecture, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Imperial City Department to investigate Ren Weizhi and the Ministry of Revenue.
• Zeng Shilin impeached Lou Yingqi for embezzling disaster relief funds, then accused him of hiding the Ministry of Revenue’s deficit and forming a corrupt faction.
• Lou Yingqi claimed Ren Weizhi and Prince Qi had embezzled relief funds and threatened his family, prompting Emperor Jianhong to suspect Ren had also plotted against Jishui Weir.
• Emperor Jianhong dismissed court and deferred judgment until the Imperial City Department’s investigation, while Zeng Shilin told Lou Yingqi to prepare for promotion.

Bai Ziqing arrested Ren Weizhi with planted evidence, allowing Zeng Shilin’s faction to gain influence in the Ministry of Revenue. While investigating Consort Xi’s past, Zeng Anmin received a strange necklace from Bai Ziqing and suddenly grasped a possible motive behind Consort Xi’s schemes.

• Bai Ziqing searched the Ministry of Revenue and Ren Weizhi’s residence, where he found evidence linking Ren Weizhi to embezzlement, Prince Qi, and a woman in the harem.
• Emperor Jianhong imprisoned Ren Weizhi, and the ensuing purge brought down several Ministry of Revenue officials while Lou Yingqi became the new minister.
• Zeng Shilin selected Jiangnan and Feng Prefecture youths for advancement and secured several Ministry of Revenue posts for his allies and Princess’s choice.
• Zeng Anmin studied Princess’s intelligence about Consort Xi’s rise and fall, then wondered whether Consort Xi’s child had survived and what she hoped to achieve.
• Bai Ziqing visited Zeng Anmin, gave him a bone-like necklace taken from an Eastern Cult member, and complained that the Crown Prince was jealous of their closeness.
• After Bai Ziqing explained that the Crown Prince had disguised himself as a student to study with Zeng Anmin, Zeng Anmin suddenly realized a possible motive behind Consort Xi’s plans.

Zeng Anmin investigated a thirteen-year-old assassination attempt in the inner palace and connected it to Consort Xi, Duke Ning, Ren Weizhi, and a plot against the Crown Prince. He concluded that Consort Xi’s child had secretly been switched with the Fourth Prince, Wang Yuanhao, though he admitted the theory was only a guess.

• Zeng Anmin asked Bai Ziqing to retrieve records of assassins entering the inner palace thirteen years earlier and arranged to meet him at Yellow Sparrow Nunnery.
• Zeng Anmin waited beside a child’s grave at the nunnery, and Bai Ziqing brought records showing that an assassin had entered the Empress’s bedchamber in Jianhong 4.
• Zeng Anmin linked the recorded Fourth Rank assassin to the concealed-weapons expert who had attacked him and reasoned that the assassin’s concern for someone had prevented his escape.
• Zeng Anmin told Bai Ziqing that the attacks and political schemes were intended to make the Crown Prince lose power by provoking him to plead for Zeng Anmin and his father.
• Zeng Anmin proposed that Consort Xi’s child had survived and been switched with the Empress’s child, making the Fourth Prince, Wang Yuanhao, Consort Xi’s biological son and the beneficiary of her plots.

Zeng Anmin and Bai Ziqing discovered that the bones in the grave were not human, leading Zeng Anmin to suspect the real Fourth Prince had survived. The next day, Zeng Anmin arrived for the Illusion Array Imperial Examination, where Dachun’s unexpected explanation of having slept with his mother and grandmother left him speechless.

• Zeng Anmin and Bai Ziqing dug up the grave and found animal bones, confirming that the real Fourth Prince might still be alive.
• Zeng Anmin warned Bai Ziqing not to reveal the suspected switch until it became useful, and Ren Weizhi later died by hanging in prison.
• At the Imperial Academy’s oath-taking rally, Zeng Anmin spoke to the students and shared food with Qin Wanyue and Liu Xian.
• Qin Wanyue gave Zeng Anmin another fish pastry, which he passed along to her father, Qin Shouchang.
• At the Examination Courtyard, Zeng Anmin recognized Sai Chuxue as the Illusion Array examiner and joked that he would take Dachun out for wine and women after passing.
• Dachun said he had slept with his mother and grandmother, leaving Zeng Anmin stunned before he entered the examination grounds.

Zeng Anmin waited comfortably as candidates faced different trials in the Illusion Array Imperial Examination, where fear, greed, and abuse of power led many to fail. When his turn came, he entered the array and his own trial began.

• Zeng Anmin passed Huang Shi's inspection and set up a reclining chair, parasol, table, and wine in the candidates' rest area.
• Wang Langlang fled from a demon attack in the illusion and was eliminated for failing to resist, despite being strong enough to defeat the demon.
• Liu Xiu was eliminated after embezzling disaster-relief silver in his illusion, while only two of the eleven candidates examined over three hours passed.
• The candidates recognized Zeng Anmin for his recent achievements in poetry, archery, and calligraphy as he rose from his makeshift resting spot.
• Zeng Anmin presented his examination token and entered the array, where an azure scroll began to unfurl above him.

Zeng Anmin entered an illusion-array examination as a military inspector trapped on a mountain with demoralized soldiers, then rallied them to attempt a breakout against the Demon Race. After learning how badly outnumbered and outmatched they were, he spotted the bamboo groves and began considering a formation that might let them escape.

• Zeng Anmin assessed the battlefield illusion and realized he was a military inspector with nearly forty defeated soldiers stranded on a mountain.
• He confronted the soldiers’ despair, urged them to fight their way out, and promised rewards while declaring that he would lead the charge.
• A burly soldier joined Zeng Anmin, and his crude taunts persuaded more men, including Wang Erma, to rally behind the inspector.
• The soldiers asked Zeng Anmin how they could break out, and he learned that the Demon Race had a major advantage in mountain combat.
• Zeng Anmin noticed the bamboo groves and considered using a sharp formation to exploit the soldiers’ armor and weapons against the poorly equipped demons.

Zeng Anmin organized his soldiers into four Mandarin Duck Formations and led them toward a perilous mountain path, claiming the formation came from Master Xu to restore their morale. When a troop of wolf-headed demons charged them, he took the front position, recited a battle poem, and prepared to meet them in combat.

• Zeng Anmin chose to build wolf spears from moso bamboo and asked the soldiers for a more dangerous mountain path suited to his formation.
• He fashioned wolf spears, divided the soldiers into eleven-man squads, and taught them the Mandarin Duck Formation while falsely crediting Master Xu and Sai Chuxue.
• The soldiers formed four units and followed Zeng Anmin toward the narrow southern mountain path, while Sai Chuxue watched in confusion from outside the illusion formation.
• At the perilous path, Zeng Anmin took the front position and explained that his righteous qi made him best suited to lead against demons.
• A troop of about thirty wolf-headed demons charged toward the soldiers, and Zeng Anmin rallied them with a battle poem as the enemies reached their formation.

Inside an illusion array, Zeng Anmin led the Mandarin Duck Formation through a perilous mountain route, destroying demon forces and killing a Sixth Rank Blood Condensation Realm Demon General. The soldiers escaped into the forest, and the witnesses outside the array watched Zeng Anmin declare that mountain warfare would no longer favor the demons.

• Zeng Anmin and the Mandarin Duck Formation killed forty-three Wolf Demons without losing a soldier, then advanced before reinforcements could arrive.
• The formation defeated three more demon groups, losing only three soldiers across the battles.
• A bull-headed Sixth Rank Blood Condensation Realm Demon General blocked the route and killed three soldiers with a boulder, but Zeng Anmin used Heart Inquiry to distract it and killed it with a Righteous Qi arrow.
• Zeng Anmin led forty-six surviving soldiers off the mountain and into the forest, where they celebrated their escape and praised the formation.
• Zeng Anmin told the soldiers that he had devised an ordinary military formation and proclaimed that the Great Sage Dynasty could now challenge the demons on mountain roads.
• Sai Chuxue blushed at the soldiers' wedding jokes, and Zeng Anmin emerged from the illusion array to the awe of the onlookers.

Zeng Anmin passed the imperial examination and became the first person in the Great Sage Dynasty to have a great achievement from the illusion array recorded on the Examination Courtyard’s stone wall. Sai Chuxue told Emperor Jianhong that Zeng Anmin had devised the Mandarin Duck Formation and defeated four demon armies, leaving the emperor stunned.

• Zeng Anmin learned that he had passed, and the illusion array painted his likeness and the words “The enemy may go; so may I!” on the Examination Courtyard’s stone wall.
• Zeng Anmin packed his belongings, left the examination grounds, and told Dachun they were going home.
• Stories of Zeng Anmin’s achievements and the Mandarin Duck Formation spread throughout the capital.
• Emperor Jianhong reviewed the Ren Weizhi case and worried that the Empress, Consort Li, or the Imperial Consort might have been involved in harem interference in politics.
• Sai Chuxue reported that Zeng Anmin had led fifty soldiers through the mountains and used the Mandarin Duck Formation to defeat four demon armies, leaving Emperor Jianhong speechless.

Sai Chuxue reported that Zeng Anmin’s Mandarin Duck Formation had devastated demon troops in a mountain pass, prompting Emperor Jianhong to consult Duke Wei Tian Ji about its military value. After Tian Ji questioned whether it could work on broader mountain roads, Emperor Jianhong summoned Zeng Anmin to ask if he had created the formation.

• Sai Chuxue gave Emperor Jianhong the Mandarin Duck Formation diagram and reported that forty-nine soldiers had fought successive waves of demon troops, with forty-three surviving.
• Emperor Jianhong summoned Duke Wei Tian Ji, who studied the diagram and recognized its potential against poorly equipped demon troops in narrow mountain passes.
• Emperor Jianhong told Tian Ji that Zeng Anmin had used forty soldiers to annihilate forty demon soldiers in the illusion array, but Tian Ji warned that the formation might fail on broad mountain roads.
• Tian Ji suggested summoning Zeng Anmin to ask about countering demon troops on wider routes, and Emperor Jianhong ordered the young eunuch to bring him in.
• Zeng Anmin arrived at the Imperial Study, received a seat, and was asked by Tian Ji whether he had created the Mandarin Duck Formation.

Zeng Anmin explained how the Variable Mandarin Duck Formation could adapt to mountain terrain and use Righteous Qi-enhanced Wolf Spears to counter the Demon Race. Emperor Jianhong ordered the northern border to test the formation, and Tian Ji confirmed it could be used across a wide range of difficult terrain.

• Duke Wei, Tian Ji, asked how the Mandarin Duck Formation would work on broader mountain roads, and Zeng Anmin said it could change formations to suit the terrain.
• Zeng Anmin explained that each hundred soldiers required one seventh-rank Confucian Path cultivator to imbue their bamboo Wolf Spears with Righteous Qi.
• Zeng Anmin described how the formation's soldiers coordinated their weapons and shifted into the Two Talents Formation or the Three Talents Formation.
• Tian Ji praised the formation and told Emperor Jianhong it could suppress the Demon Race on broader mountain roads.
• Emperor Jianhong ordered the formation diagrams sent to the northern border so Minister Ji and Minister Shi could train a Mandarin Duck Army and test its effectiveness.
• After Zeng Anmin left, Tian Ji told Emperor Jianhong the formation could be used wherever hills, ravines, waterways, or narrow roads shaped the terrain.

Emperor Jianhong ordered Ji Qing and Shi Fucheng to train three thousand soldiers in Zeng Anmin’s Mandarin Duck Formation, while Ji Qing and Shi Bailin examined the formation’s secret letter at the northern border. At the Imperial Academy, Zeng Anmin gained a new insight through Li Lianting’s zither lesson, transforming his Righteous Qi and triggering a rank-up with three Martial Arts Entries to choose from.

• Emperor Jianhong ordered Ji Qing and Shi Fucheng to select three thousand soldiers and begin training the Mandarin Duck Formation, hoping for a victory that might earn Zeng Anmin the title of Demon Subduing General.
• Ji Qing read Tian Ji’s secret diagrams for the Mandarin Duck Formation and questioned its claim that equal forces could wipe out the demons.
• Shi Bailin examined the letter, warned Ji Qing not to use Martial Arts Aura against him again, and left after restoring the burned letter from ash.
• Li Lianting taught the students about Confucian heart scrutiny and played Border Pass Moon, prompting Zeng Anmin to recall his battle in the illusion array.
• Zeng Anmin struck and plucked his Ten-string Zither in a rough battle rhythm, gaining a zither in his Sea of Consciousness Space as his Vast Righteous Qi turned pale purple.
• Zeng Anmin broke through in rank and received a choice between Silver Adventure, Silver Slow Enlightenment, and Silver Poison Resistance.

Zeng Anmin chose Slow Enlightenment and impressed the Imperial Academy by bringing musical theory to the Dao, then was summoned home just as the court learned that Huang Yuangao had been assassinated under the name of the Black Cat Martial Artist. The chapter left Zeng Shilin fearing that Li Zhen’s question would expose Zeng Anmin to a dangerous crisis.

• Zeng Anmin chose Slow Enlightenment and reflected that he could use it to bring all Six Arts of the Gentleman to the Dao.
• Li Lianting praised Zeng Anmin for bringing musical theory to the Dao, while Qin Wanyue realized that Zeng Anmin had already reached Sixth Grade.
• Liu Xian invited Zeng Anmin to eat at a marketplace, but Dachun arrived and ordered him home at his father’s command.
• A messenger reported to Emperor Jianhong that Huang Yuangao had been assassinated in the Xuanjing Division, and the case file named the Black Cat Martial Artist as the culprit.
• Li Zhen questioned whether Commander Bai, rather than the Black Cat Martial Artist, had stopped the attack on Jishui Weir, making Zeng Shilin fear that his son was in danger.

Emperor Jianhong questioned Bai Ziqing after a case file credited the Black Cat Martial Artist with killing the Eastern Cult spies, and Zeng Shilin helped Bai explain the discrepancy. The court appointed Bai as imperial envoy to investigate in Two Rivers Prefecture, while Zeng Shilin warned Zeng Anmin that their family’s plans were entangled in the case and gave him fifteen days to uncover the truth.

• Emperor Jianhong summoned Bai Ziqing and threatened to execute him for claiming he had killed the Eastern Cult spies.
• Zeng Shilin argued that Bai had fought the spies while the Black Cat Martial Artist arrived afterward, and Bai accepted that explanation.
• Wu Changfeng called for an Imperial Envoy to investigate Two Rivers Prefecture, and court factions tried to appoint Zeng Shilin.
• Yang Qi objected to sending Zeng Shilin, prompting him to volunteer boastfully before Emperor Jianhong rejected his offer.
• Liu Chengqian proposed Bai Ziqing as Imperial Envoy, and Emperor Jianhong ordered him to investigate the case within fifteen days.
• Zeng Shilin told Zeng Anmin that the case threatened their family and their plan against Ren Weizhi, and instructed him to keep their involvement hidden while uncovering the truth.

Zeng Anmin and Bai Ziqing raced south to Two Rivers Prefecture to investigate Huang Yuangao’s suspicious death. After an attacker ambushed them with the Eastern Cult’s Dream into Diagrams, they reached Liangjiang Prefecture City and prepared to begin their investigation.

• Zeng Anmin and Bai Ziqing rode south for four days, then stopped to rest before continuing toward Two Rivers Prefecture.
• An unknown attacker approached their tent while Bai Ziqing was trapped in a dream, but Zeng Anmin struck at the intruder, who escaped at great speed.
• Zeng Anmin used Vast Righteous Qi to dispel the black qi around Bai Ziqing’s temples and wake him; Bai Ziqing identified the attack as the Eastern Cult’s Dream into Diagrams.
• Zeng Anmin and Bai Ziqing discussed the ambush and hurried on, reaching Liangjiang Prefecture City by morning.
• The two entered the city ahead of the Imperial City Department’s investigators and set out to investigate Huang Yuangao’s case.

Zeng Anmin and Bai Ziqing returned to Two Rivers Prefecture to investigate Huang Yuangao’s assassination, gathering what Shen Jun knew before examining the Xuanjing Division. At the burned governor’s office, Zeng Anmin learned someone had died in the fire and began to suspect that separate groups may have been involved in the arson and the murder.

• Zeng Anmin and Bai Ziqing visited Wangxianju, where Shen Jun recognized Zeng Anmin and revealed that the restaurant belonged to him.
• Zeng Anmin questioned Shen Jun, who said Huang Yuangao had kept a low profile, caused no known disputes, and attracted no complaints at the restaurant.
• Zeng Anmin concluded that Huang Yuangao’s murder seemed deliberate and that its motive remained unknown, then went with Bai Ziqing to the Xuanjing Division.
• Bai Ziqing presented the Imperial Decree and his Imperial City Department token, and Liu Ji led the two inside to inspect the fire scene.
• Zeng Anmin saw that the burned building had been the Governor of Fengqi Road’s office and asked Liu Xiu whether anyone had died in the fire.
• Liu Xiu confirmed that someone had died, prompting Zeng Anmin to consider whether the arson and Huang Yuangao’s murder had been carried out by separate groups.

Zeng Anmin investigated the fire that killed six clerks in the Xuanjing Division and the murder of Huang Yuangao, finding clues that suggested the blaze involved an insider and that the deaths had been staged. After noticing an inconsistency among the bodies of Huang Yuangao’s servants, he declared that something was wrong, leaving the investigation poised for a breakthrough.

• Zeng Anmin examined the burned building and the six charred corpses, questioning why the victims had been found in their offices instead of fleeing the fire.
• Zeng Anmin questioned Wang Wu, who said the building burst into flames just after he began his patrol shift, suggesting the fire had spread too quickly to be ordinary.
• Liu Ji admitted smelling something unusual after the fire, but said his investigation found no irregular purchases of fire oil, leading Zeng Anmin and Bai Ziqing to suspect an insider.
• Zeng Anmin inspected the North Courtyard where Huang Yuangao had been found, then went to the Corpse Repository to examine the bodies of four servants and four maidservants.
• Zeng Anmin asked what Huang Yuangao had been wearing when he died, compared the answer with the servants’ bodies, and said something was wrong.

Zeng Anmin investigated Huang Yuangao’s death and discovered that the Dragon Survey Map in the Map Repository had been replaced. He concluded that the Demon Race had carried out the arson and turned his attention to how Huang Yuangao died.

• Zeng Anmin questioned Liu Ji about Huang Yuangao’s schedule and ordered the fire-oil procurement records brought to him.
• Zeng Anmin used Heart Inquiry on Wang Wu, who confirmed he had smelled something unusual during the fire, then examined the records with Bai Ziqing and found no suspicious purchases.
• Zeng Anmin noticed irregular lines on the Dragon Survey Map in the Map Repository and realized it had been swapped.
• Zeng Anmin had Bai Ziqing bring Liu Ji to him and accused him of concealing that the Demon Race had taken part in the arson.
• Zeng Anmin reasoned that Liu Ji’s Seventh Rank cultivation meant he could sense the demons, then said they should investigate Huang Yuangao’s death.

Zeng Anmin reconstructed how an Eastern Cult spy and a Demon Race member murdered Huang Yuangao and stole the Dragon Survey Map, while exposing Liu Ji’s attempt to shift blame. He suspected the alliance had a deeper purpose and learned that Assistant Minister of Works Liu Chengqian, who sent Bai Ziqing to the case, was close to the Li Faction.

• Bai Ziqing proposed that the Eastern Cult and the Demon Race had worked together to kill Huang Yuangao, but Zeng Anmin rejected his timeline and reasoning.
• Zeng Anmin explained that an Eastern Cult cultivator had assassinated Huang Yuangao first, allowing a Demon Race member to set the South Courtyard on fire and use the chaos to steal the Dragon Survey Map.
• Zeng Anmin said the alliance had also framed the Black Cat Martial Artist and that Liu Ji had concealed evidence of the Demon Race to lessen his own blame.
• Bai Ziqing abandoned his attempt to pursue the thieves, while Zeng Anmin ordered Liu Ji to submit a truthful case file and later found that the Eastern Cult spy’s corpse had been sent to a mass grave.
• Zeng Anmin asked who had sent Bai Ziqing from the capital, and Bai Ziqing named Assistant Minister of Works Liu Chengqian, who was said to be close to Li Zhen and the Li Faction.

Zeng Anmin pieced together that the Eastern Cult’s search in Two Rivers Prefecture had targeted the White Bone Necklace, then returned to the capital and used Slow Enlightenment to advance to fifth-rank Confucian Path and condense a Dharma Aspect. The chapter ended with him discovering that each bead on the necklace seemed to contain a divine Martial Arts Technique.

• Zeng Anmin concluded that Liu Chengqian had secretly acted for Duke Ning’s manor to help the Eastern Cult find the White Bone Necklace, which he had taken from the spies.
• A Demon Race man emerged from the water with the Dragon Survey Map, while Master Xu and Old Father sensed events from afar.
• Zeng Anmin praised Shen Jun’s growing business and promised to connect him with the Good Friend Trading Company before leaving Two Rivers Prefecture with Bai Ziqing.
• Back in the capital, Zeng Anmin used Slow Enlightenment to master the paths of Rites, Numbers, and Governance, condensing a Confucian Dharma Aspect and reaching fifth-rank Confucian Path.
• Zeng Anmin examined the White Bone Necklace and realized that its beads appeared to contain divine Martial Arts Techniques.

Zeng Anmin finished reflecting on the mysterious beads and reported his conclusions about Huang Yuangao's murder to the Princess, while Emperor Jianhong summoned officials and warned Zeng Shilin that war might soon begin. The Princess was left listening as Zeng Anmin interpreted her poem as a rebuke of political traitors.

• Zeng Anmin experienced a fleeting enlightenment from the beads, stored the necklace, and examined the Golden Vast Righteous Qi at his fingertips.
• Bai Ziqing reported that the Eastern Cult and Demon Race had stolen the Dragon Survey Map, and Emperor Jianhong asked whether Zeng Anmin had solved the case before summoning Li Zhen, Zeng Shilin, and Duke Wei.
• Zeng Shilin met Zeng Anmin outside the palace, heard his account of the case, and warned him that war seemed likely to begin soon.
• Zeng Anmin visited the Princess to thank her, then explained how the Eastern Cult, Demon Race, and Jiang Kingdom rebels had plotted to undermine relations between the Great Sage Dynasty and Jiang State.
• Zeng Anmin claimed the Princess had awakened him from the Eastern Cult's Dream Entry art by reciting a poem, then interpreted its Ode to Willow as a condemnation of political traitors.

Zeng Anmin entertained Sai Chuxue with pastries and watched her enchant Huzi’s wooden sword before she replenished his Strength and Speed Array Imprints. After Zeng Shilin asked what he had learned from his trip to Two Rivers Prefecture, Zeng Anmin revealed that he had comprehended all Six Arts of the Gentleman and manifested a Confucian Dharma Aspect, leaving his father stunned.

• The Princess blushed after Zeng Anmin left, then reflected on the poem he had recited to her.
• Zeng Anmin returned home and found Sai Chuxue waiting to replenish his Array Imprint; he shared pastries with her and Huzi.
• Sai Chuxue inscribed Huzi’s wooden sword with a formation that let him unleash gusts of wind, then drew new Array Imprints on Zeng Anmin.
• Zeng Shilin arrived and asked Zeng Anmin about his insights from Two Rivers Prefecture and the court’s discussion of the Jiang Kingdom and the Demon Race.
• Zeng Anmin said he had comprehended all Six Arts of the Gentleman and manifested a golden Confucian Dharma Aspect, shocking Zeng Shilin.