Chapter Summaries

Fang Yun tested how different powers and treasures withstood Burial Saint’s Poison, then used the Mountain of Ten Thousand Menaces and the Little Meteor to cross the Poison Desert. He concluded that the region was transformed land from Burial Saint Valley and realized that Dragon Race Thunderbone Battle Corpses might be hidden nearby.

• Fang Yun ordered his Poison-Assault Giant Serpent to absorb Burial Saint’s Poison, and the poison destroyed it, leaving it weakened after it revived.
• Fang Yun tested protective powers and treasures in the sandstorm, discovering that Literary Guts strengthened defenses, the Little Meteor reduced the poison’s concentration, and the Mountain of Ten Thousand Menaces drew poison toward itself.
• Fang Yun used the Little Meteor and Mountain of Ten Thousand Menaces to travel safely deep into the Poison Desert and reached mountains formed from Burial Saint Valley’s rocky ground.
• Fang Yun recognized that the landscape matched the area around Sunless Peak, Inverted Stele Mountain, and Mist Village, and inferred that part of that land had fallen into Sea-Cliff Ancient Land and become the Poison Desert.
• Fang Yun recalled that the Dragon Race had hidden treasures near Mist Village, including Thunderbone Battle Corpses that could be controlled outside Burial Saint Valley.

Fang Yun traveled through the Poison Desert toward the Half-Sage Former Residence and learned from Sunless Poison Spirits about the powerful factions and strange locations in the region. He continued toward the residence, aware that a member of the Grave Clan had already occupied it.

• Fang Yun followed a map toward the Half-Sage Former Residence, taking a northern route to avoid the Sea-Cliff Alliance's sentries.
• Fang Yun met twelve Sunless Poison Spirits and implied that he could contact the Great Ming Saint, earning their trust.
• The Sunless Poison Spirits explained that Sunless Peak spirits, Inverse Stele Fierce Spirits, and the Grave Clan had been displaced into the Poison Desert, where they competed with local natives.
• The Sunless Poison Spirits told Fang Yun about Cloud Forest, Countercurrent Lake, Mist Village, a strange mountain with dragon might, and the Grave Clan's occupation of the Half-Sage Former Residence.
• Fang Yun marked the reported locations on his map, then continued toward the Half-Sage Former Residence to find the Brush Elder and assess the Grave Clan member.

Fang Yun found the Grave Clan and negotiated for its help in obtaining the Half-Sage Former Residence, offering sacred bone in exchange. The Grave Clan demanded to learn about the hundred coffins, but Fang Yun refused and challenged its threat to kill him.

• Fang Yun followed the Sunless Poison Spirit’s directions and discovered the Grave Clan disguised as a cluster of hills.
• Fang Yun introduced himself as a disciple of the Star Shepherd with ties to Burial Saint Valley, and the Grave Clan agreed not to make things difficult for him.
• Fang Yun offered sacred bone in exchange for help obtaining the Half-Sage Former Residence, and he and the Grave Clan settled on eighty times his size.
• The Grave Clan asked Fang Yun to take it to a strange mountain with dragon might after they obtained the former residence, and Fang Yun agreed on condition that it swear an oath in the name of the Yellow Springs Ancient Source.
• Fang Yun revealed that he knew about the hundred coffins, prompting the Grave Clan to demand their location and threaten to kill him.
• Fang Yun refused to reveal the location and told the Grave Clan that it was too weak to kill him.

Fang Yun negotiated with Little Grave for help in exchange for Sacred Bones, then parted ways with him and headed toward the Half-Sage Former Residence. He spotted Lei Tingyu among a group of Great Scholars near the floating mansion.

• The Grave Clan member attacked Fang Yun, but Fang Yun blocked his claws with the fourfold Enemy-Blocking Poem and named him Little Grave.
• Fang Yun bargained Little Grave down to seventy Sacred Bones in exchange for help seizing the Half-Sage Former Residence and the Brush Elder and exploring the strange mountain.
• Fang Yun gave Little Grave the Sacred Bones, then sent him toward the strange mountain because he moved too slowly to help.
• Little Grave revealed that he had spared Fang Yun because of his treasure from Yellow Springs and asked about the hundred coffins of Yellow Springs.
• Fang Yun headed toward the floating mansion and saw Lei Tingyu among the Great Scholars gathered nearby; Lei Tingyu turned and stared at him in shock.

Fang Yun met Lei Tingyu and the Great Scholars of the Sea-Cliff Ancient Land, where their old feud quickly turned into a public confrontation over Fang Yun’s standing and the Human Race’s laws. Jing Bushou acknowledged Fang Yun’s rebuke and promised to take the offending Literary Ancestor to the Temple of Sages for punishment.

• Lei Tingyu recognized Fang Yun, and Fang Yun explained that he had come chiefly to find Brush Elder.
• Fang Yun briefly recounted the major events of the past few years, leaving the assembled Great Scholars astonished by his achievements.
• Lei Tingyu accused Fang Yun of harming the Lei Family, and Fang Yun replied that the family deserved its misfortunes.
• When a Literary Ancestor berated Fang Yun, Fang Yun rebuked him and threatened sacred punishment if he continued.
• Jing Bushou introduced himself as the Jing Family patriarch, affirmed that the Sea-Cliff Ancient Land followed Human Race law, and promised to take the Literary Ancestor to the Temple of Sages.

Fang Yun confronted Jing Bushou and Lei Tingyu over the Sea-Cliff Alliance’s control of the Sea-Cliff Ancient Land and its treatment of the Merfolk Tribe. He declared that the Sacred Academy would take authority over the region, then Mi Yuanhuan revealed Fang Yun had already seized the Literary Star Fragment.

• Jing Bushou offered Fang Yun Brush Elder in exchange for not obstructing the Sea-Cliff Alliance, but Fang Yun challenged the Alliance’s claims to govern the land.
• Fang Yun questioned Jing Bushou about the Merfolk Tribe’s slaughter, then warned the Alliance not to harm him.
• Fang Yun declared that the Poison Desert belonged to him and proposed that the Alliance take the Half-Sage Former Residence while leaving him free to act.
• Fang Yun invoked his Void Sage authority and proclaimed that the Sacred Academy would administer the Sea-Cliff Ancient Land, condemning Lei Tingyu and the Jing Family.
• Lei Tingyu argued that Fang Yun was acting alone, and Fang Yun declared he would act if the Sacred Academy would not.
• Mi Yuanhuan arrived and revealed that Fang Yun had seized the Literary Star Fragment, enraging the Sea-Cliff Alliance’s Great Scholars.

Fang Yun demanded justice for the Merfolk Tribe and refused to surrender the Literary Star Fragment, prompting Jing Bushou and the Haiya Great Scholars to move against him. Fang Yun convicted them for plotting to kill a Void Sage, then retreated as they pursued him into the sandstorm and Burial Saint's Poison.

• Jing Bushou demanded that Fang Yun hand over the Literary Star Fragment, but Fang Yun argued that the Merfolk Tribe owned it and had given it to him.
• Jing Bushou and the Haiya Great Scholars agreed to capture Fang Yun, while Lei Tingyu promised to protect them from consequences.
• Fang Yun accused Lei Tingyu of being the chief culprit in the Merfolk Tribe's slaughter and demanded that he destroy his Literary Palace.
• Jing Bushou ordered the Great Scholars to surround Fang Yun, and Fang Yun convicted them of plotting to murder a Void Sage, marking each with a black flame.
• Lei Tingyu warned the Great Scholars to avoid the Sacred Academy and Temples of Sages until they received a pardon, but Mi Yuanhuan urged them to keep pursuing Fang Yun.
• Jing Bushou and Lei Tingyu discussed holding back the Sand Boat and waiting for Fang Yun to reveal his methods before striking.

Jing Bushou and the Sea-Cliff Alliance pursued Fang Yun, but he tricked them into reaching Zhuge Liang’s newly opened Half-Sage Former Residence after him. Inside, Fang Yun entered a city and began a trial at the Heavenly Mechanism Workshop.

• Jing Bushou and Lei Tingyu realized Fang Yun was retreating in an arc and decided to pursue him toward the Half-Sage Former Residence.
• Fang Yun reached the residence just as it officially opened, entered first, and left Jing Bushou and the Great Scholars behind.
• Jing Bushou used the Sand Boat to carry sixteen Literary Ancestors into the residence after Fang Yun.
• Fang Yun emerged on a city street in what he suspected was a trial left by First Sage Zhuge, then followed a shop assistant to inspect faulty spinning wheels.
• Fang Yun determined that outdated machinery had caused the spinning wheels to fail inspection.

After discovering that his powers were restricted in Zhuge Liang’s Craftsmen Realm, Fang Yun began improving spinning wheels to earn craftsman merit. Jing Lan then unveiled stolen Ning’an technology, prompting Fang Yun to prepare for the Divine Craftsmen Assembly, where he arrived to find Sea-Cliff Alliance Great Scholars watching him.

• Fang Yun apologized to Master Liu for defective spinning wheels, promised repairs and a discount, and explained that the workshop would switch to more efficient models.
• An assistant explained the Craftsmen Realm and its ranks, and Fang Yun learned that Zhuge Liang had made it a testing ground for Craftsmen School technology.
• Fang Yun discovered that an unknown power limited his literary qi and prevented him from using War Poetry and other abilities, so he began improving the workshop’s spinning wheels to earn merit.
• Fang Yun borrowed money for materials and led the workers in producing twenty improved spinning wheels, but learned that Jing Lan had made a wheel using Ning’an technology and entered it in the Divine Craftsmen Assembly.
• Fang Yun abandoned a second production run and raised more funds, then attended the assembly’s Licentiate venue, where he spotted Sea-Cliff Alliance Great Scholars watching him with inscrutable smiles.

Fang Yun faced the Haiya Great Scholars, who demanded that he surrender the Literary Star Fragment and withdraw from the Zhuge Sacred Residence. After they left, he took his place among the Licentiate craftsmen for the tools-and-mechanisms competition.

• Fang Yun realized that the Haiya Great Scholars had gathered in Shu City to overwhelm him, and they surrounded him at the Licentiate venue.
• Jing Lan asked Fang Yun to surrender the Literary Star Fragment and withdraw, arguing that he had to protect the Sea-Cliff Ancient Land.
• Fang Yun argued that the Sea-Cliff Ancient Land needed to integrate with the Saint Origin Continent, and Jing Lan challenged him to defeat all fifty-seven Haiya Great Scholars in the Zhuge Sacred Residence.
• Several Haiya Great Scholars stated their positions and left, while Fang Yun smiled.
• The competition began, and Fang Yun received Mechanism Bell 974 and found his numbered place on the platform.

The Divine Craftsmen Assembly began with participants swearing that they had built their mechanisms alone, and the host explained how the Mechanism Bells would measure their work. As the competitors operated their devices, a Haiya Great Scholar’s treadle spinning wheel produced a startlingly powerful bell, prompting the host to consult the examiners.

• The Metropolitan Graduate host explained the oath and judging rules, including that exceptional mechanisms could ring the Divine Craftsmen Hall Main Bell and earn consecutive literary-rank advancements.
• Fang Yun swore that he had made his mechanism alone, while the host introduced chief examiner Zhao Qianzhang and invited the competitors to begin troubleshooting.
• The competitors displayed mechanisms of many kinds, and Fang Yun recognized that Jing Lan’s treadle spinning wheel surpassed even the best mass-produced wheels on the Saint Origin Continent.
• Several transformed Haiya Great Scholars brought out similar treadle spinning wheels and exchanged peculiar smiles with Fang Yun, who displayed no mechanism.
• The host ended the troubleshooting period and ordered everyone to operate their mechanisms, then a Haiya Great Scholar’s Mechanism Bell rang loudly within a dozen breaths.
• The host asked the spectators to remain calm while he consulted the examiners.

At the Divine Craftsmen Assembly, Jing Lan’s mechanisms triggered a record-breaking series of breakthroughs, advancing him from Licentiate craftsman to Hanlin Academician craftsman. After Sea-Cliff Alliance Great Scholars challenged Fang Yun, he unveiled a forty-spindle Spinning Jenny that dramatically increased spinning efficiency, leaving the examiners stunned.

• A Licentiate craftsman’s spinning wheel made the mechanism bell and the Craftsmen Institute’s great bell ring, signaling his advancement to Academy Student craftsman.
• Mechanism bells rang in rapid succession as many craftsmen advanced, drawing spectators and Great Scholars from the other venues to the Licentiate contest.
• Jing Lan’s mechanism bell rang louder than the others, and the Divine Craftsmen Hall Main Bell tolled four times, marking his advancement by four Literary Ranks to Hanlin Academician craftsman.
• Great Scholars of the Sea-Cliff Alliance taunted Fang Yun and challenged him to surpass Jing Lan.
• Fang Yun produced a forty-spindle Spinning Jenny and began spinning yarn, stunning the examiners with its enormous efficiency.

Fang Yun unveiled a forty-spindle spinning machine that astonished the craftsmen and earned six chimes from the Divine Craftsmen Hall's main bell, breaking Jing Lan's record. Jing Lan then presented a large water-powered spinning wheel and also advanced, though Fang Yun's achievement remained greater.

• Fang Yun demonstrated an ordinary, Literary Qi-free spinning machine that made forty strands of yarn at once, impressing the craftsmen and silencing the Haiya Great Scholars.
• The examiners rang Fang Yun's Mechanism Bell, and the Divine Craftsmen Hall Main Bell rang six times, breaking the Craftsmen Realm record and allowing Fang Yun to advance to First Realm Grand Academician.
• Jing Lan congratulated Fang Yun, then proposed presenting a second machine; the examiners opened a channel of running water so he could assemble it.
• Zhao Qianzhang lent Jing Lan a Lu Ban Ruler to speed assembly, and Jing Lan used it to build a hundred-spindle water-powered spinning wheel.
• Jing Lan and several Haiya Great Scholars operated the wheel, and the Divine Craftsmen Hall Main Bell eventually rang four times for him, granting five advances in Literary Rank.

Fang Yun challenged Jing Lan’s lead by building a new set of hydraulic spinning and weaving mechanisms at the Divine Craftsmen Assembly. His Mule Spinning Machine and Flying-Shuttle Loom stunned the Craftsmen Realm, leaving Jing Lan’s entry far behind.

• The Haiya Great Scholars warned Fang Yun to withdraw from the upcoming contests, but Fang Yun announced he would build a new mechanism on-site.
• Chief examiner Zhao Qianzhang allowed Fang Yun to borrow his Lu Ban Ruler, with the condition that Fang Yun earn at least four chimes from the main bell.
• Fang Yun used the Lu Ban Ruler to build a set of hydraulic spinning and weaving mechanisms as craftsmen from Book City gathered to watch.
• Fang Yun completed a thousand-spindle Hydraulic Mule Spinning Machine, far surpassing Jing Lan’s old-style hydraulic spinning wheel.
• Fang Yun assembled a Hydraulic Flying-Shuttle Loom, and Zhao Qianzhang praised the mechanisms as a leap across two eras.

Fang Yun demonstrated the Mule Spinning Machine and Water-Powered Loom, whose unprecedented output and quality earned him enough bells to reach peak Grand Academician. His innovations summoned the Heaven-Measuring Ruler, which illuminated the Craftsmen Realm as scholars advanced in Literary Rank.

• Zhao Qianzhang and the Craftsmen Realm’s Great Scholars praised Fang Yun’s mechanisms and their potential to transform the Craftsmen Realm.
• Fang Yun invited craftsmen to operate the Mule Spinning Machine, which rapidly produced yarn superior to the previous standard.
• Fang Yun had craftsmen run the Water-Powered Loom, which produced cloth faster and better than ordinary looms.
• The Craftsmen Institute’s bell rang once, and the Divine Craftsmen Hall’s Main Bell rang ten times, marking Fang Yun’s record-setting advance to peak Grand Academician after the Lu Ban Ruler deduction.
• The Heaven-Measuring Ruler appeared in the sky, and bells rang throughout the Craftsmen Realm as literary qi spread and scholars advanced in Literary Rank.

Fang Yun’s mechanisms summoned the Heaven-Measuring Ruler, earning him a direct path to Great Scholar rank and prompting an early Craftsmen Literary Assembly. Jing Xiao’s attempt to preserve tomorrow’s contest and Bell-Seizing challenge was crushed by the examiners, while Jing Lan still vowed to challenge Fang Yun.

• The Heaven-Measuring Ruler descended after Fang Yun’s mechanisms earned eleven bell chimes, raising morale and revealing their greater significance.
• Zhao Jiuzhang counted the final chorus of ten thousand bells as another chime and announced that Fang Yun had earned twelve, allowing him to become a Great Scholar after the Divine Craftsmen Assembly.
• When Jing Xiao protested, a Grand Academician struck him down, and Jing Lan promised to reclaim the humiliation by challenging Fang Yun to Bell-Seizing.
• Zhao Jiuzhang ended the Divine Craftsmen Assembly early and announced a Craftsmen Literary Assembly so Fang Yun could teach his techniques to craftsmen from every city.
• Jing Xiao objected to the change, and the Grand Academician struck him again, shattering his bones and leaving him near death.

Fang Yun chose to rise directly to Great Scholar and received literary qi from First Sage Zhuge, advancing to Grand Academician. He realized he could forge a Craftsmen Literary Platform and began planning two powerful platform types suited to his abilities.

• Xu Hengzhen beat Jing Xiao for opposing Fang Yun, while Zhao Qianzhang and the other craftsmen allowed the punishment to continue.
• Fang Yun chose to advance directly to Great Scholar, and Zhao Qianzhang called upon First Sage Zhuge to bestow literary qi.
• The literary qi entered Fang Yun’s seven Literary Qi Moons, and his Literary Rank rose through the stages until it stopped at Grand Academician.
• Fang Yun realized he could forge a Craftsmen Literary Platform and considered how to make it useful in battle without specializing in weapons or mechanisms.
• Fang Yun settled on enhancing the Craftsmen School’s Furnace Literary Platform and Power-Boost Literary Platform into more powerful forms.

Fang Yun forged the Power Literary Platform and completed his advancement to Great Scholar, gaining mercury-like literary qi and a specialist’s Lu Ban Ruler. Zhao Qianzhang learned Fang Yun was the Human Race’s Void Sage and explained why he had suspected Fang Yun’s extraordinary status.

• Fang Yun chose and forged the Power Literary Platform, which strengthened all his powers.
• Fang Yun resumed his advancement before the waiting assembly and gained literary qi as heavy as mercury and a specialist’s Lu Ban Ruler.
• Zhao Qianzhang took Fang Yun to rest at the Craftsmen Institute before the Craftsmen Literary Assembly.
• Zhao Qianzhang asked about Fang Yun’s identity, and Fang Yun revealed that he was the Human Race’s Void Sage.
• Zhao Qianzhang bowed to Fang Yun and said his composure and accomplishments had made him suspect Fang Yun was extraordinary.

Fang Yun learned from Zhao Qianzhang that the Craftsmen Realm’s people understood they were creations of First Sage Zhuge and hoped to escape their limitations. After discovering outsiders plotted to seize the realm and kill Fang Yun, he pledged to protect it and asked Zhao Qianzhang about the demon barbarians’ offensive.

• Zhao Qianzhang explained that the Craftsmen Realm’s Great Scholars knew they were incomplete creations of First Sage Zhuge and sought to advance their technology to become complete people.
• Zhao Qianzhang thanked Fang Yun for introducing the Heaven-Measuring Ruler, which had strengthened the realm’s craftsmen.
• Fang Yun said he would work to strengthen the Craftsmen Realm rather than focus only on passing the trial and obtaining the Half-Sage Former Residence.
• Zhao Qianzhang revealed that outsiders planned to control the Craftsmen Realm and kill Fang Yun, while some intended to use the demon barbarians against its people.
• Fang Yun assured Zhao Qianzhang that the outsiders would not control the Craftsmen Realm, then asked about its situation as it resisted the demon barbarians’ offensive.

Fang Yun learned that a newly unified Demon Barbarian force threatened the Craftsmen Realm and offered Zhao Qianzhang the Dragonfire War Engine blueprints. Zhao Qianzhang could not build its core components without a Half-Sage, but the Starfire Armillary Mirror might serve as a fire source, though testing it nearly burned him.

• Zhao Qianzhang told Fang Yun that a Demon Barbarian Emperor was uniting the groups and that the Human Race of the Craftsmen Realm could soon face disaster.
• Fang Yun told Zhao Qianzhang that Literary World People could leave Sage Kong's Literary World and might eventually survive on the Saint Origin Continent.
• Fang Yun showed Zhao Qianzhang the Dragonfire War Engine blueprints, and Zhao Qianzhang said its core components would likely require a Half-Sage to refine.
• Zhao Qianzhang revealed that Craftsmen Realm Great Scholars had dreamed of a vast mechanical world they suspected was the Eight Formation Diagram, and that they believed it also held the Wooden Ox and Gliding Horse.
• Fang Yun offered the Starfire Armillary Mirror as a possible fire source for a weaker Dragonfire War Engine, and Zhao Qianzhang nearly burned himself while examining it.