Chapter Summaries

After escaping the collapsing hall, Fang Yun and the others debated what to do with the Ancestral Dragon True Blood and how to track Fierce Lord and Shi Wang. Fang Yun examined his Literary Palace, where the blood remained beside the statue and his new Lip Spear and Tongue Sword appeared as a dragon-patterned Talent Qi Ancient Sword.

• Ao Huang took Lei Jiu's River-Drinking Shell and claimed the Ancestral Dragon Remnant Scale and Ancestral Dragon Teeth, then the group escaped before the hall collapsed.
• Ao Huang and the others realized they could not remember who had helped kill the Prison-Suppressing Evil Dragon, and Fang Yun understood that D Luo had concealed himself.
• The dragons argued over which Dragon Palace should receive the Ancestral Dragon True Blood, while Fang Yun insisted they must find Fierce Lord and Shi Wang before the demon barbarian sages retaliated.
• Fang Yun asked Ao Huang to lead him through the passage and entered his Literary Palace to inspect the Lip Spear and Tongue Sword.
• Fang Yun saw the Ancestral Dragon True Blood floating beside the statue and found his Talent Qi Ancient Sword patterned with golden dragon designs, but he could not determine why the blood had entered his Literary Palace.

Fang Yun named his new War Poetry the Sword-Summoning Poem, which could greatly strengthen Metropolitan Graduates, but Kong Detian warned that the Demon Race might use the Moon Tree Divine Punishment to kill him. Believing he had little chance of surviving after leaving the Dragon Ascension Platform, Fang Yun proposed splitting up to hunt Fierce Lord and the others, intending to use himself as bait.

• Fang Yun named the new War Poetry the Sword-Summoning Poem, and most Human Race Metropolitan Graduates acknowledged him as their teacher to learn it; Zong Ji and Sima He declined.
• Kong Detian warned Fang Yun that the Demon Race might target him with the Moon Tree Divine Punishment because he had become the ancestor of the Sword-Summoning Poem.
• Ji Shouyu explained that King Wen had been gravely wounded by the Moon Tree Divine Punishment, while Ancestor Kong had survived the even greater Ten Thousand Saints Divine Punishment.
• Ao Yun led the Western Sea dragons away, and Ao Huang feared they would reveal Fang Yun's situation to the Demon Realm.
• Fang Yun proposed that the group split into three teams to pursue Fierce Lord and the others, while he went alone as bait.

Fang Yun flew alone to confront Fierce Lord, Shi Wang, and the Ancient Flood Dragon Marquis, determined to test his growing power as a Tongue-Sword Metropolitan Graduate. As he reached the Floating Cloud Lands, Fierce Lord appeared, and Fang Yun dismissed the three enemies as mere remnants of his sharpening.

• Fang Yun explained that he would lure the three enemies into pursuing him, while the others warned him about the danger of his Lord's Star Position and recognized the sharpness of his Tongue-Sword stage.
• Ao Huang gave Fang Yun a dragon scale to summon help, and Ji Shouyu used the Book of Changes to point him toward the least dangerous route.
• Fang Yun flew southeast alone while the other scholars and dragons divided into groups for safety.
• As he approached the Floating Cloud Lands, Fang Yun's Tongue Sword unsheathed its edge, and he used a dragon horn to hone the True Dragon Ancient Sword and Ink Sword.
• Fierce Lord appeared on a Floating Cloud Land and accused Fang Yun of using the three enemies to temper himself, but Fang Yun called them mere powder left behind from sharpening his sword.

Fang Yun used his war poems and the Lord's Star Position to turn the fight against Ancient Flood Dragon Marquis and Shi Wang, then began a battle-music attack as Fierce Lord pursued. The chapter left Fang Yun summoning Qin-Sound Soldiers while his enemies struggled to reach him.

• Fierce Lord transformed into a monstrous state as Ancient Flood Dragon Marquis and Shi Wang attacked Fang Yun from both sides.
• Fang Yun wrote Wind-and-Rain Dream Battle and Li Bai's White Horse Ode, creating cavalry and a White Horse Hero to hold back the two demons.
• Fang Yun invoked the Lord's Star Position and borrowed the Demon Ancestor's power, transforming White Horse Hero and the Ice Knights into stronger Horse Barbarian fighters.
• White Horse Hero wounded Ancient Flood Dragon Marquis, while the Ice Horse Barbarian Commanders forced him and Shi Wang to retreat.
• Fang Yun began playing the Guts-Shaking Qin with Mist Butterfly, combining the powers of Weak Water, Strange Wind, and thunder as Fierce Lord warned the others of the danger.

Fang Yun combined battle music, war poetry, and his Qin-Sound Soldiers’ powers to defeat the Ancient Flood Dragon Marquis, while Fierce Lord and Shi Wang remained his targets. He began writing the Dragon Sword Poem and created a second Lip Spear and Tongue Sword, leaving Fierce Lord to warn Shi Wang just as Fang Yun’s plan was about to unfold.

• Fang Yun enhanced his Ox Barbarian Generals with War Poetry and the powers of Mist Butterfly, Thunderclap Stone, and Lord's Star Position, forcing Shi Wang and Fierce Lord to retreat from their attacks.
• Fang Yun used the True Dragon Ancient Sword to frighten Fierce Lord, then recited a war poem that battered the airborne Ancient Flood Dragon Marquis with shattered stones as the Ox Barbarian Generals hurled axes.
• A Dragon Barbarian Marquis arrived on a Dragon Horse and killed the Ancient Flood Dragon Marquis with the Hurricane Dragon Spear, after which the Ox Barbarian Generals chopped up the fallen demon.
• The Ancient Flood Dragon Marquis’s Dragon Qi entered Fang Yun’s True Dragon Ancient Sword, and Fang Yun revealed that the sword’s earlier True Dragon form had been a Military Text deception.
• Fang Yun put away the Guts-Shaking Qin and wrote the Dragon Sword Poem, creating a second Lip Spear and Tongue Sword while Fierce Lord began warning Shi Wang.

Fang Yun used his Talent Qi Ancient Sword and the Crossing the River in Secret tactic to cripple Shi Wang, then launched a rapid sword combo against it. Shi Wang’s counterattack damaged Fang Yun and his duplicate sword, but the chapter ended with Shi Wang’s claw and half its leg exploding.

• Fang Yun’s five-resonance True Dragon Ancient Sword drew Shi Wang’s attack while its duplicate used Crossing the River in Secret to sever Shi Wang’s hind leg and damage its Wind God Wings.
• Shi Wang unleashed Lionheart’s Roar, destroying Fang Yun’s defenses and injuring him, while the White Horse Hero shielded him from most of the blast.
• Fang Yun retreated beyond Shi Wang’s reach, and the Fierce Lord realized Fang Yun had planned to remove the demons’ speed advantage while keeping him from escaping.
• Fang Yun sent his True Dragon Ancient Sword at Shi Wang after the duplicate sword was ruined, and the two clashed as observers counted Fang Yun’s rapid strikes.
• Shi Wang’s right claw and half its leg exploded after Fang Yun landed at least fourteen strikes in a blink.

Fang Yun’s True Dragon Ancient Sword killed Shi Wang, while Fierce Lord tried and failed to intercept it with his Blood-Breaking Ancient Sword. As Fierce Lord invoked the Prison-Suppressing Evil Dragon against Fang Yun, the chapter shifted to Nu Zhi City, where Niu Shan and a Dog Demon Marshal discussed finding Fang Yun.

• Fang Yun’s True Dragon Ancient Sword battered Shi Wang through repeated attacks, and Shi Wang’s final strength faded as it admitted defeat.
• Fierce Lord struck at Fang Yun’s sword with his Blood-Breaking Ancient Sword, but Fang Yun redirected his sword and badly damaged Fierce Lord’s weapon.
• Fang Yun’s True Dragon Ancient Sword beheaded Shi Wang, while Fierce Lord invoked the Prison-Suppressing Evil Dragon against Fang Yun.
• Kong Detian feared Fang Yun could not withstand the Evil Dragon’s power, and Ao Huang burned Dragonforce as he raced toward him.
• In Nu Zhi City, Niu Shan and a Dog Demon Marshal discussed going to find Fang Yun, and Niu Shan vowed to make the Nu Zhi King submit.

Chang Dongyun broke his silence to defeat two Horse Barbarian Commanders and save a grain convoy, while Fang Yun confronted Fierce Lord Meng Lintang during the battle on the Dragon Ascension Platform. Fang Yun exposed the consequences of Meng Lintang’s choices, leaving Meng Lintang’s Literary Guts cracked as he continued reciting his deadly War Poetry.

• Chang Dongyun secretly endured the convoy’s losses until he killed both Horse Barbarian Commanders with his Talent Qi Ancient Sword, allowing him and Deputy General Pan to wipe out the Horse Barbarian army.
• Fierce Lord Meng Lintang began reciting his Third Realm War Poetry, summoning the Prison-Suppressing Evil Dragon’s lingering will and blocking Fang Yun’s attacks.
• Fang Yun disrupted Meng Lintang’s recitation by calling him a traitor literatus and listing his crimes, including trading the Desolate-Suppressing Heavenly Inscription to the Dragon Barbarian Clan.
• Fang Yun warned that Meng Lintang’s actions could let the Evil Dragon slaughter Ao Huang and the Human Race’s finest Metropolitan Graduates, then asked whether he knew his guilt.
• Meng Lintang recognized the force of Fang Yun’s accusations, but continued reciting as his Literary Guts cracked and blood poured from his mouth.

Fang Yun broke the Fierce Lord’s War Poetry recitation with his condemnation, causing his Literary Guts and Literary Palace to shatter and ending his life. After an Evil Dragon remnant attacked Fang Yun, a Dragon Turtle Inkstone Turtle swallowed it, and Fang Yun tried to claim the stubborn creature for himself.

• Fang Yun taunted the Fierce Lord with the River-Drinking Shell of his slain divided soul and denounced him as a Rebel Species, interrupting his War Poetry.
• The Fierce Lord’s Literary Guts and Literary Palace collapsed as the Evil Dragon’s power consumed him, but he resisted its enslavement with his final Divine Sense and turned to dust.
• Fang Yun collected the Fierce Lord’s River-Drinking Shell, but a tiny Evil Dragon head flew out and lunged at him.
• A Dragon Turtle Inkstone Turtle emerged from the Ancient Flood Dragon Marquis’s River-Drinking Shell and swallowed the Evil Dragon head.
• Fang Yun learned that the Inkstone Turtle could double the power of works made with brush and ink, helped it turn over, then grabbed it when it tried to flee.
• The Inkstone Turtle bit Fang Yun’s thumb without hurting him and withdrew into its shell after failing to escape.

Fang Yun tested the Dragon Turtle Inkstone and discovered it greatly enhanced ink, then fed it several ink-related treasures as it devoured them. After Ao Huang's Dragonforce was repeatedly swallowed by the golden dragon in Fang Yun's Literary Palace, Fang Yun searched the Ancient Flood Dragon Marquis's shell and found ancient relics and Human Race treasures to sort and return.

• Fang Yun ground Dragonblood Ink in the Inkstone Turtle and found that its ink produced ninety percent treasure glow, thirty percent more than the usual effect.
• The Ink Flood Dragon drank the brush's remaining ink, and the Inkstone Turtle tried to eat it before tossing it onto its shell; Fang Yun then let the turtle devour the brush washer and Dragon-Brain Inkstone.
• Fang Yun put the Inkstone Turtle into his River-Drinking Shell and asked Ao Huang to lend him Dragonforce to open the Blood-Qi River-Drinking Shell.
• The golden dragon in Fang Yun's Literary Palace swallowed each stream of Ao Huang's Dragonforce, leaving Ao Huang exhausted and inventing curses as he continued to provide it.
• Fang Yun opened the Ancient Flood Dragon Marquis's shell and found dragon supplies, ancient battlefield relics, Human Race books and Literary Treasures, and Demon Race weapons.
• Fang Yun identified some of the Human Race treasures as belonging to fallen Sacred Academy scholars and planned to donate damaged items or return clan-marked Literary Treasures.

Fang Yun left the Dragon Ascension Platform after Ao Huang warned that killing Shi Wang had exposed him to the Demon Race’s Moon Tree Divine Punishment. He returned to the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace and found Jiang Hechuan waiting among the Dragon and Human Races.

• Ao Huang asked Fang Yun for Shi Wang’s Wind God Wings and warned him that Shi Wang’s death would bring the Moon Tree Divine Punishment.
• Fang Yun said he would keep preparing for the Metropolitan Examination rather than let fear of death change his course.
• Kong Detian and the others discussed seeking help for Fang Yun, then separated to search for Dragon Qi.
• On the twelfth day of the eleventh month, a giant cloud dragon eye appeared and drew everyone off the Dragon Ascension Platform.
• Fang Yun returned to the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace, saw Jiang Hechuan among the gathered people, and quietly asked what had happened.

After leaving the Dragon Ascension Platform, Fang Yun learned that the Demon Barbarian saints would use the Moon Tree Divine Punishment to kill him around the beginning of the twelfth month. Jiang Hechuan helped him recover his resolve, and Fang Yun left determined to take first place in the Metropolitan Examination, while discovering he had already achieved a historic Before-the-Sages Four Same-Year Achievements.

• Jiang Hechuan took Fang Yun and Guo Zitong away from the Dragon Palace and told Fang Yun that the Literary Star Descent had greatly strengthened the Human Race.
• Jiang Hechuan revealed that a Primordial Remnant Race had emerged and that the Demon Barbarian saints planned to unleash the Moon Tree Divine Punishment against Fang Yun around the beginning of the twelfth month.
• Fang Yun admitted that he had killed Shi Wang and many other Demon Barbarians on the Dragon Ascension Platform, and Jiang Hechuan and Guo Zitong reacted with astonishment to his deeds.
• Fang Yun said he would return home and continue preparing for the Metropolitan Examination rather than make final arrangements, though he felt there was little hope of surviving.
• Jiang Hechuan urged Fang Yun not to despair, and Fang Yun resolved to strive for first place in the Metropolitan Examination and become Huiyuan.
• Jiang Hechuan told Fang Yun that he had already achieved the first Before-the-Sages Four Same-Year Achievements in history, and Guo Zitong jokingly gave the accomplishment an even grander name.

Fang Yun returned to the capital after surviving the Dragon Ascension Platform, while Liu Shan received a warning about Fang Yun’s Ancestral Dragon True Blood and mysterious protection. Back home, Fang Yun reunited with Yang Yuhuan and Nunu, then discovered that his Inkstone Turtle had eaten every inkstone in his River-Drinking Shell.

• Guo Zitong told Fang Yun that the Left Prime Minister had proposed honors for Fang Yun and his family, while Jiang Hechuan and Guo Zitong discussed the Dragon Race’s interest in his Ancestral Dragon True Blood.
• Fang Yun wrote out his war poems for Jiang Hechuan and Guo Zitong, renamed his White Horse Ode the White Horse Heroic Poem, and said he could still use Dual-Mindedness several more times.
• At his residence, Liu Shan received a letter warning that Fang Yun had obtained Ancestral Dragon True Blood and mysterious protection, and urging him to stop Fang Yun from taking the Metropolitan Examination.
• Jiang Hechuan brought Fang Yun to Upper Lodge Number One, where Nunu greeted him and Yang Yuhuan welcomed him home.
• Fang Yun found that the Inkstone Turtle had eaten all the inkstones in his River-Drinking Shell and asked Nunu to watch it.

Fang Yun reflected on his mistakes and strengths from the Dragon Ascension Platform before a mysterious man demanded the Ancestral Dragon True Blood. Fang Yun refused, and the man left after declaring that Fang Yun would not live past the third day of the twelfth month.

• Nunu subdued the Inkstone Turtle, which later swallowed the ink from Fang Yun’s self-reflection notes.
• Fang Yun reviewed his conduct and battles on the Dragon Ascension Platform, identifying flaws in his etiquette, combat experience, composure, and will.
• A strange knock drew Fang Yun to the front gate, where a tall man in white demanded the Ancestral Dragon True Blood.
• Fang Yun said the blood had entered his Dragon Palace on its own and that he could not command it, then refused to surrender it.
• The man turned, overwhelming Fang Yun with a vision before leaving in the clouds and warning that Fang Yun would not live past the third day of the twelfth month.

Ao Huang arrived in the capital to visit Fang Yun, causing a citywide stir and embarrassing himself with a ridiculous human disguise. He explained that he had chosen Jing Kingdom to travel and study, and that the Dragon Race could not save Fang Yun from the Moon Tree Divine Punishment; the story left them discussing Ao Huang’s hopes for future strength.

• Ao Huang announced his arrival across the capital and sent its residents rushing toward the flower streets to find Fang Yun.
• Fang Yun summoned Ao Huang with a True Dragon scale, and Ao Huang appeared in human form wearing absurd makeup and dozens of gold necklaces.
• After people laughed at him in the streets, Ao Huang returned in dragon form and blamed his sister Ao Yuwei for the disguise.
• Ao Huang told Fang Yun that he had chosen Jing Kingdom to travel and study after becoming a Dragon Marquis, and admitted he had also come hoping to see whether Fang Yun would die and release the Ancestral Dragon True Blood.
• Ao Huang explained that the Dragon Race could not justify saving Fang Yun from the Moon Tree Divine Punishment, then promised to avenge him after becoming a Dragon Sage.

Fang Yun brought the True Dragon Ao Huang to Jing Kingdom Academy, where the dragon’s chatter and antics drew a huge crowd. At the Literary Battle Arena, they began their duel, and Ao Huang launched his first attack against Fang Yun’s Five Resonances True Dragon Ancient Sword.

• Fang Yun arranged a guest room for Ao Huang, who declared that he would follow Fang Yun and study human knowledge, but refused to turn into a human book boy.
• Fang Yun invited Ao Huang to spar at the Literary Battle Arena under rules forbidding Dragon Clan Divine Might and other killing moves, then led him through the Academy as Ao Huang chattered on his shoulder.
• Students and teachers flocked after Fang Yun and Ao Huang, and Ao Huang revealed that he was a True Dragon who hoped to attain Saint Enfeoffment after his elder sister.
• Guo Zitong admitted Fang Yun and Ao Huang to the Literary Battle Arena, where the two took their positions thirty zhang apart and Ao Huang returned to his three-zhang-long true form.
• Fang Yun summoned his True Dragon Ancient Sword and raised it to Five Resonances; Ao Huang recognized its sharpness, then charged as dragonforce brought dark clouds and torrential rain.

Fang Yun and Ao Huang fought in the Literary Battle Arena, with Fang Yun’s True Dragon Ancient Sword wounding the dragon but Ao Huang repeatedly evading and counterattacking. The chapter ended as Ao Huang unleashed a faster, more powerful Dragon Tail Sweep against Fang Yun’s slowed sword.

• Ao Huang expected Fang Yun’s True Dragon Ancient Sword to strike his claw head-on, but Fang Yun cut the flesh between his fingers with the sword’s power of “Cut.”
• Fang Yun controlled the sword to turn back and pursue Ao Huang, forcing the dragon to evade attacks aimed at the back of his neck, mouth, and horn.
• Ao Huang dodged the sword and struck it with Dragon Tail Sweep, cracking half of its Dragon Scales as Fang Yun redirected it out of danger.
• Fang Yun sought a way to wound Ao Huang’s vulnerable scales while conserving his strength, and Ao Huang hid his vigilance behind taunts.
• Ao Huang slowed Fang Yun’s sword by scraping it with his horn, then unleashed a Dragon Tail Sweep that surpassed the sword’s speed and carried overwhelming force.

Fang Yun defeated Ao Huang in the Literary Battle Arena and returned home, where he received a personal silk letter from the Empress Dowager urging him to study in peace. After reviewing recent court news, he found himself unable to write.

• Fang Yun outmaneuvered Ao Huang and pierced his body with the True Dragon Ancient Sword, winning their duel.
• Fang Yun healed Ao Huang, then left the arena with him as the crowd congratulated Fang Yun and Ao Huang frightened the onlookers.
• Fang Yun returned to First Residence and slept until the next day while Ao Huang kept visitors away.
• Fang Daniu gave Fang Yun a personal silk letter from the Empress Dowager, who promised Jing Kingdom's protection and told him not to worry about outside affairs.
• Fang Yun reviewed court summaries and official gazettes, then picked up his brush but could not write.

Fang Yun studied the theory of qi and life to steady himself against the coming Moon Tree Divine Punishment, accidentally destroying a window after four days of deep contemplation. He then discovered that the Meng Family had declared him an Enemy of Aristocratic Clans and retrieved Meng Lintang’s River-Drinking Shell.

• Fang Yun reasoned that his fear of death and inability to pursue his Sacred Way had unsettled his mind, then studied the sages’ teachings on qi, life, and death.
• After four days of study, Fang Yun breathed out a strange current of qi that made the window vanish, frightening Ao Huang.
• Fang Yun reassured Yang Yuhuan and told Fang Daniu to replace the window, while declining invitations so he could prepare for the examinations.
• Fang Yun read the Meng Family Patriarch’s letter declaring him an Enemy of Aristocratic Clans because he had not returned the family’s belongings within three days.
• Fang Yun retrieved Meng Lintang’s River-Drinking Shell.

Fang Yun examined Fierce Lord’s spoils and read warnings about growing turmoil at the Sacred Academy, while learning that he had become a Poem Ancestor and would be honored with a statue in the Void Sage Garden. The chapter ended when a Grand Academician arrived at Fang Yun’s gate with more than ten people.

• Fang Yun found twenty Sage Pages, a ten-thousand-year Dragon Ginseng, and other treasures in Fierce Lord’s River-Drinking Shell, along with belongings marked with the Zeng Family’s crest.
• Fang Yun read a threatening letter from a Lei Family elder and warnings from Zeng Yuan, Kong Detian, and Kong Delun about unrest at the Sacred Academy.
• Fang Yun learned from Zeng Yuan’s letter that his Demon Race Hunting List ranking had surpassed every Grand Academician and entered the final rank among Great Scholars.
• Fang Yun received an official notice that the Eastern Sage Pavilion would verify his Poem Ancestor status and arrange a ceremony and statue for the Void Sage Garden.
• A group of more than ten people arrived at Fang Yun’s gate, led by a Grand Academician, startling Fang Daniu.