Chapter Summaries

Fang Yun and Lei Zhongmo tested their War Poetry against each other as their summoned armies clashed. Fang Yun recited an ancient, transmissible battle poem that summoned Li Guang, leaving the contest between the historical generals unresolved.

• Lei Zhongmo summoned five thousand soldiers with his second-realm Grand Academician War Poetry, while Fang Yun answered with ten thousand cavalry.
• Fang Yun’s fallen soldiers transformed into weapons that killed Lei Zhongmo’s soldiers, forcing Lei Zhongmo to summon another army.
• Lei Zhongmo recited “Wei Qing Rhapsody,” strengthening his soldiers until both armies perished together.
• Fang Yun recited a transmissible battle poem about the bright moon of Qin and Han, summoning Li Guang and astonishing Lei Zhongmo and the Demon Kings.
• Li Guang loosed an arrow at Wei Qing, who swung his sword to meet it.

Fang Yun continued toward Lei Zhongmo while their summoned forces clashed, and the Sin Turtle Prison Chariot trapped and destroyed Lei Zhongmo’s Ten Disciples Battle Paintings. Lei Zhongmo was left ashamed as Fang Yun ignored him and kept walking.

• War-poem Wei Qing and Li Guang exchanged fatal attacks, destroying each other as Fang Yun’s cavalry routed Lei Zhongmo’s soldiers.
• Lei Zhongmo summoned the Ten Disciples Battle Paintings and sent the ten painted disciples to attack Fang Yun.
• Fang Yun released the Sin Turtle Prison Chariot from his Legalist Canon, and it chained the ten painted disciples inside its cage until they dissolved into light.
• Lei Zhongmo felt ashamed as Fang Yun continued forward without acknowledging him.

Fang Yun continued his contest with Lei Zhongmo, who challenged him with the power of his World-Covering Literary Platform. Fang Yun’s hidden Song of Triumphant Return wiped out Lei Zhongmo’s War-Poem Soldiers, and Lei Zhongmo prepared to activate the Saint Zong Star Position.

• Lei Zhongmo challenged Fang Yun to pit their first Literary Platforms against each other and summoned his World-Covering Literary Platform.
• Lei Zhongmo used Song of Gaixia and Beyond-the-Pass Mountains and Rivers to strengthen and summon War-Poem Soldiers, overpowering Fang Yun’s Marching to War cavalry.
• Fang Yun’s Myriad-People Literary Platform made his cavalry more agile, but Lei Zhongmo’s soldiers still defeated them and moved to surround Fang Yun.
• Fang Yun’s concealed Song of Triumphant Return assassins appeared among Lei Zhongmo’s soldiers and slaughtered them before vanishing.
• Lei Zhongmo searched for the invisible assassins, then activated the power of the Saint Zong Star Position.

Lei Zhongmo tried to kill Fang Yun with the World-Covering Literary Platform and then a Sea-Dropping Blue Conch, but Fang Yun’s bronze chariot dispersed the first attack and he walked through the second unharmed. The Demon Kings were left wondering what protected him, while Gui Cong seemed to recognize the source of Fang Yun’s defense.

• Lei Zhongmo summoned Saint Zong’s phantom from his World-Covering Literary Platform, but Fang Yun’s ancient bronze chariot made the phantom’s attack disappear.
• The Demon Kings speculated that the chariot was a supreme treasure of the School of Historians, while Gui Cong denied knowing what it was.
• Lei Zhongmo summoned the Sea-Dropping Blue Conch bestowed by the Western Sea Dragon Sage and dropped a vast, compressed ocean onto Fang Yun.
• The seawater receded to reveal Lei Zhongmo unharmed and Fang Yun still walking with dry clothes and unchanged pace.
• The Demon Kings questioned how Fang Yun had survived, and Gui Cong appeared to understand what had happened.

As Fang Yun neared the end of Dragon Might Land, Lei Zhongmo summoned the full might of his Flood Dragon Literary Platform to stop him. Fang Yun continued toward the ten-thousand-mile mark while Lei Zhongmo unleashed the power of the Western Sea Dragon Sage.

• Gui Cong explained that Fang Yun’s status as a Literary Star Dragon Noble protected him from the Sea-Dropping Blue Conch’s force, and the Water Demons concluded he had the Ancient Dragon Race’s recognition.
• Fang Yun kept advancing through Dragon Might Land as Lei Zhongmo admitted his earlier attempts to defeat him had failed and prepared to use his strongest power.
• Lei Zhongmo summoned the Flood Dragon King from his Flood Dragon Literary Platform and warned Fang Yun to concede.
• Fang Yun summoned four famed generals and War-Poem Soldiers from his Sea of Learning Literary Platform to intercept the Flood Dragon King while continuing forward.
• As Fang Yun came within two zhang of the ten-thousand-mile mark, Lei Zhongmo unleashed the Western Sea Dragon Sage’s power, and Ao Min’s phantom appeared above the Flood Dragon Literary Platform.

Fang Yun survived Lei Zhongmo’s transformed Flood Dragon King by revealing the True Dragon Literary Platform, then commanded the Dragon Might Land to devour. The chapter left the Dragon Race and Demon Kings facing an unknown power.

• Ao Yu’s Star Position destroyed the Western Sea Dragon Sage’s projection, and the two Dragon Sages’ powers dissipated as Fang Yun reached the edge of the Dragon Might Land.
• Lei Zhongmo used the World-Covering Literary Platform to transform the Flood Dragon King into a white dragon, advancing his platform into a Dragon Race Literary Platform.
• The white Dragon King destroyed Fang Yun’s War-Poem Soldiers and unleashed Dragon Flame, but Fang Yun’s True Dragon Literary Platform blocked the attack and turned the flames back on the dragon.
• Fang Yun turned toward the sky instead of looking at Lei Zhongmo, who realized that Fang Yun had not acknowledged him.
• Fang Yun told the Water Race that they had failed to grasp the Dragon Might Land’s true purpose and commanded it to devour.

Fang Yun’s True Dragon Literary Platform devoured Lei Zhongmo’s White Dragon, and Fang Yun killed Lei Zhongmo with the Dragon Might of Dragon Might Land. The Water Race Demon Kings remained behind as Fang Yun crossed into the white mist, while they anticipated the fallout from his killing of the Lei Family Patriarch.

• Fang Yun’s True Dragon Literary Platform absorbed Dragon Might and Dragon Qi, strengthening his True Dragon Ancient Sword and then swallowing Lei Zhongmo’s Literary Platform White Dragon.
• Lei Zhongmo restored his strength to that of a Peak Grand Academician and fought Fang Yun’s Golden True Dragon while retreating toward the white mist.
• Fang Yun summoned Dragon Might Land’s power into a giant claw and crushed Lei Zhongmo after dismissing his threats.
• Fang Yun restrained the Water Race Demon Kings in Dragon Might Land and left through the white mist.
• The Demon Kings discussed Fang Yun’s Dragon Race status and the trouble he would face for killing the Lei Family Patriarch.

The Talent Selection Hall debated whether Lei Zhongmo should lead the Four Great Talents, with Lei Tingzhen arguing that his contributions to the Human Race outweighed flaws in his private conduct. After the Lei Family pressured key scholars into supporting its choice, He Qionghai agreed to repay an old debt but vowed to exile himself to Two Worlds Mountain if Lei Zhongmo was selected.

• Great Scholar Yun Luo argued that virtue should come before talent when choosing the leader of the Four Great Talents, and Lei Tingzhen countered that Lei Zhongmo possessed great virtue through his marriage into the Dragon Race and his Flood Dragon Literary Platform.
• Yun Luo and Zhang Zangxiang received messages, and Zhang Zangxiang agreed to support Lei Zhongmo because he owed a debt of gratitude to an old friend.
• Liu Bailuo cursed the Lei Family, and Lei Tingzhen had him expelled from the Talent Selection Hall for insulting a Void Sage Family.
• The gathered scholars realized the Lei Family had used private leverage to sway Yun Luo, Zhang Zangxiang, and He Qionghai.
• He Qionghai agreed to repay a wrong he had committed in his youth but declared that he would exile himself to Two Worlds Mountain if Lei Zhongmo became leader.

Yun Luo delayed his decision on whether to yield to the Lei Family until Lei Zhongmo’s death knell sounded, allowing the selection of the Four Great Talents to be reopened. Lei Tingzhen then accused Fang Yun of killing Lei Zhongmo and sought justice, but the Hall of Punishment challenged the claim and demanded an investigation.

• Lei Tingzhen pressured Yun Luo to choose whether to yield to the Lei Family, while the Talent Selection Hall waited through the night.
• The Sacred Academy’s death knell announced Lei Zhongmo’s death, and Yun Luo declared that the Four Great Talents would be selected anew in three days.
• Lei Tingzhen beat the Dengwen Drum and accused Fang Yun of ambushing and killing Lei Zhongmo in the Battle Realm.
• Zong Ganyu presented the Western Sea Dragon Sage’s edict as proof of Fang Yun’s guilt and proposed an Appeal for Sage Judgment.
• Gao Mo argued that the Hall of Punishment had to investigate the accusation and verify evidence before any judgment.

Gao Mo challenged the Western Sea Dragon Sage’s edict and argued that neither the Hall of Punishment nor the Eastern Sage Pavilion could judge Fang Yun’s case alone. The Eastern Sea Dragon Palace’s edict then backed Fang Yun and declared it would investigate the Lei Family’s attempt to kill him.

• Zong Ganyu proposed placing the case under the Eastern Sage Pavilion, but Gao Mo argued that Fang Yun’s status required the Four Sages of the Sacred Academy and the Four Seas Dragon Sages to decide it.
• Gao Mo rejected both the Hall of Punishment and the Eastern Sage Pavilion as sole investigators because of their ties to Fang Yun and the Zong Family, and he revealed that he had contacted the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace.
• Gao Mo defended Fang Yun publicly, saying that if Fang Yun had killed Lei Zhongmo, Lei Zhongmo had deserved to die, and dismissed Lei Tingzhen’s threats to accuse him.
• Ao Qingyue arrived with an edict from the Eastern Sea Dragon Sage, who declared that Lei Zhongmo had tried to kill Fang Yun and that Fang Yun had acted in self-defense.
• The Eastern Sea Dragon Sage severed contact with the Lei Family and ordered an investigation into the mastermind behind the attempt on Fang Yun’s life.

Gao Mo blocked the Lei Family’s attempt to punish Fang Yun, and the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace severed ties with the Lei Family. Zong Ganyu and Lei Tingzhen then planned to exploit the Four Great Talents selection and Fang Yun’s appointment in Xiang Prefecture to damage his reputation.

• The Eastern Sea Dragon Sage issued an edict severing ties with the Lei Family and ordering it investigated, leaving Lei Tingzhen and his clansmen stunned.
• Gao Mo said Lei Zhongmo’s death could be investigated only after the Sacred Academy reached a consensus and nominated Fang Yun for the Four Great Talents.
• A Great Scholar from the Talent Selection Hall publicly supported Fang Yun, while Liu Bailuo mocked the Lei Family’s tactics.
• After the plaza emptied, Zong Ganyu advised Lei Tingzhen to nominate Zhang Longxiang and support him as foremost of the Four Great Talents to provoke a literary contest with Fang Yun.
• Zong Ganyu revealed that Liu Shan had arranged for Fang Yun to become governor-general in Xiang Prefecture and that they planned to smear his reputation, incite unrest, and use further stratagems against him.

After reaching twenty thousand li in the Heaven-Splitting Hall, Fang Yun recovered from the Land of Flames and returned to the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace, having greatly strengthened his body and True Dragon Ancient Sword. Back at Chongwen Academy, he read urgent letters about Lei Zhongmo’s death and found the debate over the Four Great Talents still raging.

• Fang Yun endured the Heaven-Splitting Hall’s trials and reached the twenty-thousand-li mark with seven complete dragon patterns and a third of another on his True Dragon Ancient Sword.
• After recovering from severe burns, Fang Yun decided not to push farther into the Land of Flames and returned through the main hall to the Sea Eye of the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace.
• Ao Huang escaped the Land of Flames at thirty thousand li and lamented how far he still had to go.
• At thirty-four thousand li, Ao Cang blamed Fang Yun for his setbacks and planned to leave the Battle Realm soon to see how Fang Yun was doing.
• Fang Yun returned to Chongwen Academy and read urgent letters, including Zhang Poyue’s praise for killing Lei Zhongmo and an insult from a Lei Family member that he rejected.
• Fang Yun checked the Discourse Ranking and saw that most people supported him as foremost of the Four Great Talents, while a substantial minority backed Zhang Longxiang.

Fang Yun reviewed the political situation in Xiang Prefecture and considered messages urging him to challenge Fang Yun’s rival on the Discourse Ranking. After Jiang Hechuan persuaded him that governing would strengthen his Confucian foundations, Fang Yun agreed to take up his post in July, though he still intended to settle his vendettas before becoming a Great Scholar.

• Fang Yun learned that he would govern Jiangzhou and Xiang Prefecture while Chen Xibi and Fang Shouye oversaw their military affairs.
• Dong Wencong warned Fang Yun that Xiang Prefecture was troubled by conflict between Qing Officials and Jing Officials.
• Fang Yun read messages from Lei Tingzhen and Zhu Fengqiong urging Zhang Longxiang to challenge Fang Yun in a literary contest.
• Fang Yun told Jiang Hechuan that he wanted to fight the Barbarian Race, but Jiang Hechuan warned him that the Western Sea Dragon Sage had sworn to kill him.
• Jiang Hechuan argued that governing a prefecture would prepare Fang Yun to become a Great Scholar, and Fang Yun agreed to take up his post in July.

Fang Yun answered letters and reflected on the Sincere Intent Realm while considering his future visit to the Kong Sage Ancient Land. He replied to Tian Songshi and examined the Sacred Bone Literary Treasure Brush he had received from the Mencius Household.

• Fang Yun accepted Jiang Hechuan's request and continued answering letters from scholars.
• Kong Delun invited Fang Yun to claim his fief in the Kong Sage Ancient Land, and Fang Yun replied that he would wait until he reached at least the Rectified Mind Realm.
• Fang Yun considered the challenges of the Sincere Intent Realm and recalled the contrasting paths of Tian Songshi and the elderly Flower Lord.
• Fang Yun answered Tian Songshi's letter, which mentioned his plans to visit the Burial Saint Valley and discuss the Sacred Way.
• Fang Yun took out the Sacred Bone Literary Treasure Brush containing the Great Scholar Protective War Poetry, Rhapsody on the Three Capitals.

Fang Yun prepared to take up his post as governor-general of two prefectures while considering the dangers facing Jing Kingdom and the challenges of his own cultivation. He arrived at the imperial palace to attend court, with the kingdom’s looming crisis and his new responsibilities before him.

• Fang Yun examined the Three Capitals Brush, a Sacred Bone Literary Treasure given to him by the Mencius Household, then spent the night replying to correspondence.
• Fang Yun considered the struggle between the Qing Officials and Jing Officials, the threat from Ao Min and the Lei Family, the northern barbarians, and how to forge another literary platform.
• After three days at the Sacred Academy, Fang Yun visited the Chen Family in the Jing Kingdom Capital and learned that Liu Shan’s faction was growing stronger as Chen Guanhai’s sagefall approached.
• Fang Yun told Ying Cang to help Zhang Poyue when possible and asked him to relay that Fang Yun would never be absent from the war against the barbarian race.
• Fang Yun rode to the imperial palace, where officials greeted him before he joined their ranks.

Fang Yun returned to court in Jing Kingdom and accepted an appointment as governor-general of Jiangzhou and Xiang Prefecture. The Left Prime Minister Faction challenged his appointment over the killing of Lei Zhongmo, and the court split over whether Jing Kingdom should investigate.

• Fang Yun surveyed the officials and noted how Jing Kingdom’s ranks had grown stronger while Liu Shan’s faction had weakened.
• The empress dowager appointed Fang Yun governor-general of Jiangzhou and Xiang Prefecture after he declined three times.
• Si Yueqing demanded that Fang Yun account for killing Lei Zhongmo before taking office, and twenty-two officials of the Left Prime Minister Faction supported him.
• Mao Enzheng and other officials argued that the Sacred Academy and other authorities should handle the matter, sparking a dispute in court.
• Fang Yun closed his eyes and rested as the officials argued around him.

Fang Yun attended a heated court session where the officials learned that Lei Konghe had returned and become the Lei Family patriarch, accusing the Jing Kingdom’s Ji King of killing Lei Zhongmo. Lei Konghe then publicly challenged Fang Yun on the Discourse Ranking, leaving the court worried that the Lei Family had misled him.

• Fang Yun and Jiang Hechuan read while the officials argued in the Golden Throne Hall.
• Assistant Chancellor Si Yueqing announced that Lei Konghe had accused the Jing Kingdom’s Ji King of killing Lei Zhongmo.
• Fang Yun recalled Lei Konghe’s reputation and realized the Lei Family had been searching for him to take charge.
• Jiang Hechuan warned that the Lei Family might have concealed its conflict with Fang Yun from Lei Konghe.
• Lei Konghe posted “Who is Fang Yun?” and “Have you been well?” on the Discourse Ranking, prompting Jiang Hechuan to send him an account of the dispute.

Fang Yun weathered a court dispute over Lei Yigu’s accusation by having the matter referred to the Sacred Academy, then accepted the Empress Dowager’s request to teach the young sovereign. After bonding with Jing Kingdom officials at a banquet, he returned to Spring Garden and resumed studying a Half-Sage’s work.

• Li Fanming posted a brief jab at Lei Konghe on the Discourse Ranking, and young scholars rallied behind Fang Yun.
• The young sovereign ruled that only the Sacred Academy could judge Fang Yun, and Si Yueqing backed down from the dispute.
• The Empress Dowager invited Fang Yun to guide the young sovereign’s studies, and Fang Yun agreed to delay his departure by a few days.
• Cao Dean hosted Fang Yun and fellow officials at Deyue Tower, where their gathering grew to fifty-seven people and lasted late into the night.
• Fang Yun returned to Spring Garden slightly drunk, but his literary guts soon dispelled the intoxication, and he began reading a Half-Sage’s work.

At a Reclamation Society gathering, Zhou Ziren explained why he favored the Jing Kingdom while distinguishing private interests from loyalty and public duty. He began to consider the public interest, leaving the society’s operation and his argument unfinished.

• Zhou Ziren told the Reclamation Society that people in Xiang Prefecture had the right to choose between the Jing and Qing Kingdoms.
• Zhou Ziren argued that the Great Way had not yet prevailed, so private and public interests had to be weighed against each other.
• Zhou Ziren said he would favor whichever kingdom offered him greater benefits and opportunities for advancement.
• Zhou Ziren condemned the Qing Kingdom for blocking Xiang Prefecture residents’ paths upward and praised the Jing Kingdom for offering them fair opportunities.
• Zhou Ziren said he favored the Jing Kingdom but did not yet feel loyalty or pride in it, then began addressing public interests.

Zhou Ziren explained why Xiang Prefecture should preserve a careful balance between the Jing Kingdom and the Qing Kingdom rather than commit fully to either. He left the scholars focused on the local officials and ambitious men who threatened that balance.

• Zhou Ziren argued that Xiang Prefecture needed fairness and warned that demon barbarians would never grant humans equal standing or power.
• He said humans who joined the demon barbarians expecting to become their equals were dangerously mistaken, and students praised his explanation.
• Zhou Ziren urged Xiang Prefecture to maintain ties with both the Jing Kingdom and the Qing Kingdom until one could secure the region permanently.
• He condemned Qing Officials for disrupting the balance and warned merchants against throwing themselves entirely behind the Qing Kingdom.
• Zhou Ziren said Xiang Prefecture's enemies were the fools and ambitious men who would sacrifice ordinary people's lives to gain power.